Everyone
has had that midnight encounter with the fridge trying to find a piece of pizza
or leftover Chinese. Few realize what a
luxury it is to be able to experience another culture through its food. It was the same way in the 18th
century. Food at that time was very much
influenced by where you lived. So if you
were able to get, say, a good cut of beef, some wine and vinegar you could have
“beef in the French way.” This would
allow your imagination to wonder to the bank of the Seine River in Paris. If you think of how long it took to travel at
that time, the ability to experience different parts of the world through food
was an amazing thing to be able to do.
Every
culture has a stereotypical dish or ingredient that sets it apart from
others. For instance if someone mentions
curry you may think of India, or if someone says Jerk you think about
Jamaica. It was the same way in colonial
times. In my research I have found no
other cookbook that mentions as many different food associations as, “The Art
of Cookery”, by Hannah Glasse. Eleven
countries or societies have dishes mentioned in this book from France to Italy
(and even one for a Hamburg, Germany Way.)
Hannah Glasse explains these countries dishes by simply stating “in the
way of” and the reader would know what ingredient was dominant in that
particular dish. So any dish in the
"Italian Way" would have garlic or oil in it.
Any dish in the "Turkish Way" would have a lot of rice and vinegar in it.
"The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy"
Hannah Glasse
1774
In
the 18th century different people groups were also generalized into food types or
flavors. For example the Dutch and the
Jewish people were categorized into distinct food groups. “The Dutch Way” meant
using a lot of milk products like butter, and cream. “The Jews Way” meant using
a lot of pickled beef and cabbage. Each
of these countries or groups way of cooking were categorized as these countries
dishes by what ingredients were in them.
"The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy"
Hannah Glasse
1774
“The Way” was a term that could be interchangeable with whatever meat you wanted to cook. So something like “beefsteaks in the French way” could be changed to “Rump of Beef in the French Way”. The term was also interchangeable by course. So desserts or side dishes could have “the way” put in their description for identification. For instance the “Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary” by John Notts published in 1723, mentions a blanc mange recipe for the French, Italian, and English ways of cooking this type of jelly.
Blanc Mange recipes from
"The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary"
John Notts
1723
"A German Way of Dressing Fowls"
"The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy"
Hannah Glasse
1774
There
were two other predominant ways of saying you wanted a dish from another
country. You could simply say the
country’s name along with the meat you wanted to cook. For example in Hannah Glasse’s book there is
a recipe for “Portuguese Rabbit”. Or in
place of “way” you could use the word “fashion”. This example is used a lot in John Nott’s
book. And all of these foreign dishes
were for eaten from the lower middle class up to the King.
"The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy"
Hannah Glasse
1774
For
centuries foreign food has been enjoyed, and in that way, we are not that
different from our colonial counterparts.
Luxury, then or now, foreign food has always been on the menu.
