Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome Part 41

THE CAPON IS STUFFED IN A SIMILAR WAY BUT IS COOKED WITH ALL THE BONES REMOVED [2].

[1] Sch. _in capso_. May be interpreted thus: Cooked in an envelope of caul or linen, in which case it would correspond to our modern galantine of chicken.

[2] Tor. _ossibus eiectis_; Hum. _omnibus e._; i.e. all the entrails, etc., which is not correct. The bones must be removed from the capon in this case.

[250] CHICKEN AND CREAM SAUCE [1]

_PULLUS LEUCOZOMUS_ [2]

TAKE A CHICKEN AND PREPARE IT AS ABOVE. EMPTY IT THROUGH THE APERTURE OF THE NECK SO THAT NONE OF THE ENTRAILS REMAIN. TAKE [a little] WATER [3] AND PLENTY OF SPANISH OIL, STIR, COOK TOGETHER UNTIL ALL MOISTURE IS EVAPORATED [4] WHEN THIS IS DONE TAKE THE CHICKEN OUT, SO THAT THE GREATEST POSSIBLE AMOUNT OF OIL REMAINS BEHIND [5] SPRINKLE WITH PEPPER AND SERVE [6].

[1] The ancient version of Chicken a la Maryland, Wiener Backhahndl, etc.

[2] Tor. _Leocozymus_; from the Greek _leucozomos_, prepared with white sauce. The formula for the cream sauce is lacking here. Cf. ? No. 245.

[3] The use of water to clarify the oil which is to serve as a deep frying fat is an ingenious idea, little practised today. It surely saves the fat or oil, prevents premature burning or blackening by frequent use, and gives a better tasting _friture_. The above recipe is a mere fragment, but even this reveals the extraordinary knowledge of culinary principles of Apicius who reveals himself to us as a master of well-understood principles of good cookery that are so often ignored today. Cf. Note 5 to ? No. 497.

[4] The recipe fails to state that the chicken must be breaded, or that the pieces of chicken be turned in flour, etc., and fried in the oil.

[5] Another vital rule of deep fat frying not stated, or rather stated in the language of the kitchen, namely that the chicken must be crisp, dry, that is, not saturated with oil, which of course every good fry cook knows.

[6] With the cream sauce, prepared separately, spread on the platter, with the fried chicken inside, or the sauce in a separate dish, we have here a very close resemblance to a very popular modern dish.

(Schuch and Danneil insert here Excerpta XXIX, x.x.x and x.x.xI.)

END OF BOOK VI

[explicit] _TROPHETES APICII. LIBER s.e.xTUS_ [Tac.]

{Ill.u.s.tration: FRYING PAN, ROUND

Provided with a lip to pour out fluids, a convenience which many modern pans lack. The broad flat handle is of one piece with the pan and has a hole for suspension. On some ancient pans these handles were hinged so as to fold over the cavity of the pan, to save room in storing it away, particularly in a soldier's knapsack. Ntl. Mus., Naples, 76571; Field M. 24024.}

{Ill.u.s.tration: FRONTISPICE, SECOND LISTER EDITION

purporting to represent the interior of an ancient kitchen. J.

Gree, the artist and engraver, has invented it. The general tidiness differs from contemporary Dutch kitchens and the clothing of the cooks reminds one of Henry VIII, who issued at Eltham in 1526 this order: "... provide and sufficiently furnish the kitchens of such scolyons as shall not goe naked or in garments of such vilenesse as they doe ... nor lie in the nights and dayes in the kitchens ... by the fire-side...."--MS. No. 642, Harleian Library.}

APICIUS

Book VII

{Ill.u.s.tration: THE GREAT PALLAS ATHENE DISH

One of the finest show platters in existence. Of h.e.l.lenic make. The object in the right hand of Athene has created considerable conjecture but has never been identified.

Hildesheim Treasure.}

{Ill.u.s.tration: FRYING PAN, OVAL

This oblong pan was no doubt primarily used in fish cookery. An oblong piece of food material fitted snugly into the pan, thus saving fats and other liquids in preparation. Around the slender handle was no doubt one of non-heat-conducting material. The shape and the lip of the pan indicate that it was not used for "sauter." Ntl. Mus., Naples, 76602; Field M. 24038.}

BOOK VII. SUMPTUOUS DISHES

_Lib. VII. Polyteles_

CHAP. I. SOW'S WOMB, CRACKLINGS, BACON, TENDERLOIN, TAILS AND FEET.

CHAP. II. SOW'S BELLY.

CHAP. III. FIG-FED PORK.

CHAP. IV. TID-BITS, CHOPS, STEAKS.

CHAP. V. ROASTS.

CHAP. VI. BOILED AND STEWED MEATS.

CHAP. VII. PAUNCH.

CHAP. VIII. LOINS AND KIDNEYS.

CHAP. IX. PORK SHOULDER.

CHAP. X. LIVERS AND LUNGS.

CHAP. XI. HOME-MADE SWEETS.

CHAP. XII. BULBS, TUBERS.

CHAP. XIII. MUSHROOMS.

CHAP. XIV. TRUFFLES.

CHAP. XV. TAROS, DASHEENS.

CHAP. XVI. SNAILS.

CHAP. XVII. EGGS.

[In addition to the above chapters two more are inserted in the text of Book VII, namely Chap. X, Fresh Ham and Chap. XI, To Cook Salt Pork; these being inserted after Chap. IX, Pork Shoulder, making a total of XIX Chapters.]

I