Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-28
FOOD FOR JADEO PAlATES
DAINTY ARCTIC WHITE NICE
AND TAILS OF KANGARooS.
Culinary Eccentricities Affected By
Societies Of English Epicures.
Historic Dining Clubs.
From the London Express.

GIVE me the Injuries Of life and I will
dispense with the necessaries.'' said an
impractical tand probably dyspepticD phi
losophcr who ought to have known be-
ter. For him the roCS: beef of OLD Ting
land. the succulent chop. the fioury pa.
tato. the guiicless rice pudding are no:
good enough. He dcmandS-and IL able
to afford il. pays for-all manner of out
of-thc-way curiosities i'm food stuffs which
tickle the appetite and induce him 10 be-
licvc that he is a gastronomir artist
Many of these culinary eccentricitics are
good enough In their way and not n"ccs-
"a rily deleterions or indigestiblc. ami there
are always discoveries to be made to
those curious in such matters The eX-
pert cook caters for all palates and knows
how To combine the subtle fiavors Of rare
dclicacies so us Tn appeal To the most
jaded deipnosophist
There have been societies before now
for the propagation of out-of-the-way
foods and drinks Many years ago the
Acclimatsation Society Of Great Britain
fiourished for time under the patronage
OF the Duke of Newcastle. Mr.. Berpal
Osborne. Mr.. Herman Me-ivale and
others. They gave dinners at St. James
Hall. cooked by a French chef. and duly
chronicled by George Augustus Saa.
The Geographical Club existed about
eighty years ago as an onShoot OF the
society. 1t was dining club. and pro-
posed to make the cosmopolitan menu Its
speciality. Ii is on record that Spitz-
bergen venison probably reindeer> and
Dead Sea bread were eaten there. In
Paris. as also in Berlin. more than one
dining club of the kind exists and the
Americans have Society of Freak
feeders. which fully justifies it's name.
White mice from the Arctic regions.
when minced and stewed. are very good
indeed. Their exact description is
minced spiral-eared Polar mice and
scientists know them Copex Similo
fantasticus. They were discovered in
Northern Baftin Land by Commander
Robert +. Peary. and when prepared for
the table are said to look like little
redgreen-pepper patties." The real YEN
warRung tbrds'-nest soup may be
bought i'm London: il costs about los.
per pound. and is made from the nests
of a kind of swift mot a swallow. as the
French name would suggesD. which in
habits the islands Of the Malay Archi-
pelago more especially Sumatra and
Borneo. 1t is in the form OF shallow
saucer. somewhat gelatinous, and very
nourshing.
Backbone of Sturgeon.
From the dried backbone of sturgeon.
which has the appearance Of macaroni.
an excellent Russian soup. called vesiga.
is made. 1t is excessively nutritive and
invigorating. almost as much 81. indeed
as the famous beche de mar mot mer,
otherwise the trapang. or edible sea-
slug. 1t is collected i'm large quantities
throughout the Indian archipelago. es-
pecially to the eastward. for the China
market
There are many varieties. such as the
large scarlet trapang from Macassar
the kurok trapang from Borneo. the
great black trapang from Leuconia and
many more. Properly prepared. this ia
absolutely the most inspiring soup
there is. and is as superior to turtle
the latter is to water Cruel. 1t costs
about los. per pound, and can be bought
in Piccadilly.
Kangaroo tails are by no mears to he
despised and have a very good .intipO-
dean flavor of their own. ajso has
shark Sin soup. which is excellent for
all nervous ailments. Bortargo Is a sort
of caviare. but cOarser in grain and
flavor. 1t is one of the oldest foreign
delicacies known in England, and is
mentioned more than once by Pepys in
his diary as an accompaniment to wine.
West Indian pepper pot. a salma-
gundi of fowl, beef and mutton. pep
pered and sauced with the cassareep.
kept simmering and seething IN a huge
jar or pipkin. is novelty to us IN Eng
land, as welcome as it Is appetlzing.
Another variety in meats is Chinese
lamb roasted whole. stuffed with
pistachio nuts quite like the Arabian
Nights'D and served with couscoussou.
a preparation Of wheat used by the
MOors and Algerians instead of rice.
Bear Ham and Bison Tongue.
Further eccentricities which are in their
way good and toothsome are bear ham,
bison tongue and roast monkey stuffed
with chestnuts. Those who were in Paris
during its seige by the Prussians speak
in ecstasy of the excellence of civet de
chat plugged caD, stewed rats and even
elephant steak.
Among the more unusual, curious deli
~<xso ctr ykxav-r 10
from the delicious Swedish jordgubbar.
Cape gooseberry jam. roSe-leaf preserve.
made from the petals of Turkish rose
leaves. orange blossom preserve and the
exquisite Huasco raisins from Chile.
which are to other raisins as an orchid
is to potato flower.
Then there are crystallized carnations
and lavender and lilac and violets. all
redolent of their own perfume, and Mt for
the dainty lips of princesses.
Fruits such as the grenadilla Tor pas
sion flower fruit, the mangosteen and
the custard apple should not be neglected.
although opinions differ about the DURAN.
which has the shell of cocoanut and
the pulp of a pineapple. Its flavor is de-
scribed by Alfred Russell Wallace
sembling that of a rich butter-likc Gus
tard highly favored with almonds and
carrying with it tastes which call to mind
cream cheese, onion sauce and brown
sherry. 1.-The more you eat of it he
adds. tho less you want to stop Owing
to its very messy nature il is usually
eaten in bath.
Such are only few of the many
strange and out-of-the-way dclcacics
which may be offered to the inquirng
seeker after new foods. The list might
be multiplied tenfold. and even then the
end would not be reached. Every nation
has its own specialties, which other peo-
pie affect to decry. usually because they
have never tasted them The Briton, for
instance. laughs at the foreigner for taxi
ing fruit preserves with his meat. for
getting that when at home he takes red
currant jelly with his mutton and apple
sauce with his goose. There is something
good to be found everywhere. and. after
all, nectar and ambrosia are only relative
terms.
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