The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-12-14
SWEETS OF EUROPE
BY MARGERY WELLS

In Europe all candies and cakes
seem to have personality. Some of
them are astonishingly good ana
some of them are extremely bad, but
they all have distinct expression
of their own. They look different
some of the delicacies of taste, in
deed, being ever so surprising to
one unprepared for the treasures of
goodies that lie within the some
times ordinary enough looking eX-
teriors.
Strangely enough, there are not
many of these characteristic ana
characterize cakes and candies, but
they can be found as a reward for
long and sincere search. They
can be hunted out only by diligent
foreign eyes, for after all they carry
no badges or banner to say that they
are totally different from anything
that an American has ever known
One must be of a distinctly inquir-
ing frame of mind in order to Tina
them, and willing to experiment
vastly, with the imminent possibility
of many mistakes happening before
real thrill and sensation comes
ones way.
A timid soul simply can't bring It
self to experiment with something
entirely new in the way of taste,
for the possibilities of unpleasant
ness are too great; hence you Will
see Americans asking for ice cream
continually where tn ne is none and
where it never has been known. To
he sure, they have demanded ham
and eggs SO often and for SO many
onerations that it is always posi-
BILE to find this dish, for every
foreign waiter seems to know 1t by
It's own American name. But that
is as far as he goes and the fine
| points of dessert and sweets ne
knows not Of while the European
has things of his own to offer which
carry delight and pleasant sensa-
tions in their wake.
l met an American girl the other
day, who was making hay while the
sun shone. AS she Travelled she car
| ried with her in her handbag a
miniature notebook in which she
| jotted down every new sweet that
she happened to taste, hoping, by the
| grace of God, to be able to duplicate
| it when she got back to her own
home in America. She said that, at
times, she became so bold as to sum-
mon the cook to ask how he got
| that thinH together. "Of course"
| she went on, "he is not always will
| ing to give away the secret of his
| life's work, but now and again he Is
SO flattered by the inquiry that he
pours forth the information in a
l
language, from which can CLEAN
streaks of information if 4 keep my
nerve and my attention intact"
But don't you ever fear a turn
DOWN." I inquired.
Yes, I do" she said, but I am
really SO set upon this recipe coll
lection idea of mine that l risk all
and smilingly acknowledge his re-
buff when it is necessary"
In France there are the tartlets,
ever so small-the size of an index
finger indeed. They have cherry
| preserves for filling or a conserve
made of Strawberries or gooseberry
jam, most delicious. And the women
in that country, when they pass a
pastry shop, just stop in naturally
and purchase one of these, which
they eat standing in the midle of the
shop. holding the CONNECTION in their
gloved fingers. Oh, no, they do not
bother about coffee or tea. IS is the
sweet they loce and so they frankly
| buy it and eat it right there. OF
course their figures show the ravages
of practices of this sort, for many
times they are large and fat, but
| would seem to make up for that.
| They have marons glace, too. that
are wonderfully attractive to the
sweet tooth and especially diverting
to femininity as a whole.
These people have no temptations
| in the way of soda water and ice
cream, but their own CONNECTIONS are
just as beautifully deadly.
In certain pastry shop In Switz-
erland there was the most Elusive
taste about a semi-sweet roll. An
other one of a different variety or
aspect was tried and it too. had the
same alluring flavor. Then back I