What's New in the World of Cooking? by Judy Jackson
Surprisingly little, if you delve into a cookbook from the past. Pellegrino
Artusi" wrote 'La Scienza in cucina e l'Arte di mangiar bene' (Science in the
kitchen and the Art of Eating Well) in 1891.
It begins as a history, documenting food from Roman times, showing pictures of medieval banquets.
(It was amusing to see how eating was a spectator sport, with the public massed
behind those fortunate enough to be partaking of lavish, celebratory dinners.)
But Artusi's book is more than just a collection of recipes. He is the
forerunner of the modern chef, explaining in easy language how to achieve a
great dish. If we think that risotto with squid ink or crostini are modern
inventions - we should think again. He has included them - along with biscotti,
panettone and chicken or turkey stuffed with sausage and chestnut that he
claims is not 'fine cooking' but food 'for a family.' You could imagine such a
recipe appearing in the Christmas issue of any modern magazine.
Like any up-to-date food writer, he brings in his personal life; telling how he
got so ill after a bowl of minestrone in Livorno (in 1850) that he thought he'd
contracted cholera that was raging there at the time. He sneers at the inclusion
of honey in a German cake saying 'it's not suitable for us Italians'; he admits
to the one recipe he hasn't personally tried out, claiming he trusts the
Englishwoman who told him how to make iced peaches. He distinguishes
between meals for women (a light soup in Tuscany) and dinners in Rome for
men (rosbiffe - roast beef). He berates bought panettone, saying his recipe is
better than the commercial ones found in Milan. What's new?
Reading Artusi's work is a breath of fresh air; instructive and entertaining. If
you want to learn how to cook you would do better with the English (or
Italian) version of this 19th century masterpiece than with a dozen glossily
photographed chef's cookbooks. I wonder what he would say about the
ubiquitous cup cake compared to a brioche or Savarin, pastries that need skill
and patience? Or the dessert that features on every restaurant menu - tiramisu. I
guess it's only food writers who know that this layered concoction (delicious as
it is) needs no culinary training and anyone in the back kitchen can put together
some soaked sponge fingers and a bit of mascarpone with shaved chocolate on
top. Artusi tells us how to make the dish that was surely the forerunner of
tiramisu - Zuppa Inglese (which literally means 'English soup'). This is the
Italian version of trifle: a luscious layering of soaked sponge cake with a
vanilla and chocolate custard. It used to be on every Italian restaurant menu,
but nowadays it's too labour intensive. Plus it doesn't work well in the quick
desserts section in supermarket chiller cabinets.
Young cooks who pick up the work of Nigella Lawson believe that she
invented gooey cakes. They don't realize that her Domestic Goddess ideas
come from the 70's - or even further back than that. Students of Harold
McGee's On Food and Cooking will know that there are only so many ways of
combining eggs, sugar and flour and that the lovely lady Nigella did not invent
Ricciarelli (Artusi 1850) or Maids of Honour (made at a Richmond tearoom
from a Tudor recipe).
And what about meringues? Those giant creations beloved by those who
frequent fashionable deli/cafes? The size of these expensive white blobs
appeals to our greedy side but it would surprise those tucking into huge
eggwhite and sugar balls to know that the first meringue recipe appeared in
Francois Massialot's cookbook of 1692. The first piped meringues were done
by Careme, but I thought the process is such fun that I featured it as one of the
'games' in my cookbook for children, Lookit Cookit.
Food writers are always expected to come up with something new. All they
need to do is go back to the old cookbooks. A copy of Artusi's book costs the
same as a seat in the theatre - just think how many happy evenings it will give
you - to say nothing of getting some amazing dishes on the table.