The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-09-13
CHINESE BILL OF FARE.
ucE THE STAFF OF LIFE IN THE
FLoWeRY EMPIRE.
Sutter and Cheese Abhorred-The CeIes-
tiais Can Stomach Many Things we
Could Not Eat, hut Dislike Some of
Our Articles of Diet.

A Chinaman will eat anything that
,e can bite. lie turns up his nose at
nothing, although he is not so fond
Inclined to think. In fact, authorities
lgree in saying that as far as their
experiences go. they have never seen
either of these animals exposed for
ale in the market except at Canton
Of course, the very poor, those who
,nnnot get anything else. will eat
what necessity compels, which in all
probability will be large sleek ro-
lent. Such animals. carefully fed
| for the purpose on rice and such food
| Ire no doubt to be found If you
know where to look for them. but to
| say that these creatures form the com
non articles of food for the millions in
would be to say that the American
| lines on horsehesh.
Rice Is the staff of life in China.
| That Is, In the southern part but in
! he northern regions millet takes its
| place as the mainstay of the peO-
pie. Both of these grains are CON
| sumed in enormous quantities. One
| according to the part of China in
which you are, appears on the table
| twice day, for that Is as often as
Chinaman is supposed to eat. in the
homes of the rich and poor alike,
| though he generally slows away n
few things between meals. The diff.
\ rnNan,n hnf 90 ,,c Ia, al,
and the poor is to be found in the rel
ishes or side dishes which accompany
| this staple diet.
The laborer is content to find on his
| table his bowl of rice and n vegetable
Or two. Sometimes piece of pork or
a fowl Is added; fish are greatly
| priced and are eaten in all manner
| Of ways. None are too small to be
| thrown away, none so large but what
they can be devoured. Sharks fins
are considered great luxury, and
are not found except on the tables
| Of the rich. Neither are the fishes
maws despised, but rather consld-
cred as a dainty. Small fishes of a
variety somewhat like the sardine are
| eaten alive, and the evident enjoyment
which the Celestial derives from feel
ing them wriggle their way down
affords sight nearly as amusing as
1t is Disgusting
This is not the least of the articles
| Of food considered as great delcacies
| by the Chinese which are rather
nauseous to us. Hundreds of greenish
brown worms. fresh from the rice
| fields, are offered for sale by peddlers,
while salted and picked eggs, having
| for their recommendation their old
age. are greatly priced There are,
however, certain things which Chi
| nese stomach rebels. Our fondness for
| butter and cheese, for example, is ut
terly iDcomprehensible to the Celes-
tlal. Cows milk is rather tolerated
than liked. while womens milk Is sold
on the streets, being considered very
healthy for the aged and nfrni.
| Snakes are eaten by the poor people
In some parts of China; for instance,
in the nelghborhood of Annoy. In
some districts of the Canton province
| they are also eaten, hut many other
| varieties of the reptile specie, as the
eel, are undoubtedly included IN the
term. One authority on the subject
says that he saw a man in Swatow
hawking long brown snakes in n has
ket for food "rhcre were three or
four of them" he says, tiled with
| strings around their neck, the strings
being fastened to the top of the basket
to prevent their escape They are
rather an expensive article of diet
costing about seventy cents each"
| which Is a great deal in country
where Il mans wages are from three
to five cents.
The famous birds nest soup is made
from birds nests brought all the way
from Ccylon and Malaga, where they
are gathered at great risk from the
caves on the seashore. These nests
are not at all Ike the ordinary birds
nests of which We are accustomed to
think, composed of job lots of twgs
ana sticks, and hay and grass, but
they are made almost entirely of a sc.
latlnOus substance similar to Irish
| LnOSS, lie ueSt uudlllN, lnoSe lttc
from twlgs, etc, command $50 to $50
per pound, While none of the poorest
fall below So. Here Is a recipe for
preparing birds nest soup, ira aslated
from the Chinese,
Take clean white birds nests
shreds, or biras' nests, and soal, thor
oughly. Pick out III! the feathors.
Boil in soup or water till tender and
CT the color of jade-stone. Place
pigeons eggs below and add some ham
shredS on top. Boil again slowly with
little fluid If required sweet, then
boil in clear water till tender, add
sugar candy and then eat This is n
most clear and pure article, and thick
or oily substances should not be
added 1t should be boiled for long
time; for, II not boiled till tender, II
win cause diarrhoea."
The manner Of preparing food in
China Is totally different than with us
Roasts are seldom indulged in, nearly
all kinds of food being boiled, as the
Chinese regard roasted foods as very
unhealthy. Meat, instead of being the
staple food, is the relish The meat
when eaten at all, is to relish the rice
or the vegetables, and not the vegeta
bles TO relish the meat. Although nom
lnally taking but two meals a day, the