Wednesday 23 June 2021

What makes good cuisine?

 

It is often claimed that great cuisine comes from times of hardship; people worked hard to make the best of what little they had, and as a result classic dishes were created.

In his book 'A Gentleman in Moscow', Amor Towles writes 'In a period of abundance, any half-wit with a spoon can please a palate. To truly test a chef's ingenuity, one must instead look to a period of want, and what provides better than war'. One wouldn't wish war on anyone, but in terms of cuisine, it had its rewards.

From what I've heard of Russian cooking, they were not the most inventive people; unlike the Italians or French. With flour, water, and a Tomato, the Italians could make a delicious meal; the Russians just 'boiled'. My late Father-in-Law spent several years in Moscow, and only ever ate well at foreign embassies, delegations, etc.

When I first arrived to live in France, in 1972, I was often amazed by the pure skill of local farmer's wives. They produced the most spectacular 'banquets' with whatever grew on the farm. Of course, in those days they still had Pigs, Hens, Ducks, Geese, Vines, large Veg' gardens, plenty of fruit, and the passed-down knowledge of how to turn everything into the most delicious meals imaginable. I can remember well being amazed by my lovely next-door neighbour's Confit de Canard and her Hams and Pâtés. I had never tasted such delicacies. She took such care to make everything perfect. Mostly, these skills have now disappeared; the Supermarkets have made sure of that. 

The combination of Peasant Farming, and Poverty, is responsible for some of the world's classic dishes, but with the rise of moped-delivered fast foods, I suspect that (unless something drastic happens) we have seen an end to poverty-based gastronomy. The world will be a lesser place as a result.

RIP Madame D; one of the last of an era. She taught me so much, I can't thank her enough. She would NEVER have presented me a dish either topped with 'foam', or sprinkled with micro-herbs.



36 comments:

  1. There is a German proverb which says "You can learn how to cook from the poor, and how to save from the rich". Now, when I see what the poor put in their shopping carts, I don´t think I could learn anything except how to use a microwave. I don´t know about the rich, though.
    Hilde in Germany

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    1. It's exactly the same here, Hilde. I see people in the supermarkets, who, a few years ago would have been learning from their mothers, are now buying nothing but packets of ready meals, or frozen pizzas. I find it very sad.

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  2. Still some frugal cooks here, ladies making pasta, we often see folk foraging the hillside for plants and herbs. On the other hand we’ve been offered supermarket long life sandwiches fresh from the plastic and giant bottles of cola at friends houses. I fear the latter is now the norm.

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    1. Foraging (for mushrooms) is still a favourite pastime here, but sadly those instant treats from the store are becoming ever more popular.

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  3. One of our guilty pastimes is to look at the contents of other people's shopping baskets/trollies in the supermarket queue.

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    1. I do it all the time, and am quite saddened by what I see. People don't know what they're missing.

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  4. I have always cooked from scratch …. One can make a simple pasta sauce quicker than ringing for a take away and it tastes far better and is better for you ( and, of course, there are many other meals that are quick to make ) Cooking is a lot about confidence too .pretty much all of our grandparents/parents generation cooked as there were no alternatives and the weekly food budget wasn’t a lot so that’s where recipes came from. XXXX

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    1. I also find cooking great fun. I never spend much time on anything, even big roasts just look after themselves.

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  5. What a timely post subject. I was just having a conversation with a Greek neighbour a couple of days ago about 'honest' food. It is possible to live very (VERY) cheaply here even if you don't grow your own. The produce markets present us twice weekly with an excellent array of fresh food, rice and beans type dry goods, oils and vinegars, honey, nuts, eggs, fish, and occasionally cheeses or chicken. I can eat like a king for Euro20 a week, and no foam or micro herbs in sight. Yet the rubbish on our street and beaches tells a different story of takeaway fast food, industrialized instant gratification (fat, salt, sugar), and an absence of traditional respect for food preparation and eating. (And that stuff is comparatively expensive!)

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    1. I'm afraid I do spend quite a lot each week, but that's only because I'm a bit of a foodie. We also grow quite a lot.

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  6. Great food being made because of poverty and war is interesting to contemplate. I'm afraid it didn't happen here. It took immigration to improve our food and diets.

    I don't know if you've ever seen the film Babette's Feast, but I highly recommend it...if it has stood the test of time and it probably has. Well, not really about great food being born from poverty though.

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    1. Yes, I know the film well. I must watch it again.

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  7. I was just thinking of reasons why people don't cook and was going to say it was because lives are much busier now than they used to be, less stay at home wives/mums and then I remembered in the 1970s when I was in a long term relationship and we both worked full time we still prepared and cooked a meal from scratch every night when we got home, no fast food and no microwaves. It must be something else that has caused it. Evolution in the food industry, ready meals and microwaves neither of which have ever really crossed my radar. I still cook as my mother did, not terribly exciting, but good, simple food and not particularly expensive.

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    1. People have a lot more money these days, and think nothing of eating in restaurants every night. Back in the mid 60's I had a friend who bought a flat in Park Lane. The first thing he did was to remove the kitchen, and change it into another bedroom. He ate out 3 times a day!

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  8. Mum was more interested in dancing than learning to cook so when she married she had to learn from scratch with the help of her New World Cookbook. Dad said they lived off corned beef the first few months of their marriage. She did make lovely syrup puddings though.

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    1. I still have my mother's battered old 'New World Cookbook', she also gave a copy to my wife when we were married.

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  9. You made me think of Cornish pasties for some reason. I guess it was the idea of Cornish miners taking them down into the tin mines as sealed, homemade ready-meals.

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    1. Cornish Pasties are a classic example of using basic materials in order to create a 'treat'. Flour, vegs, and (if you're lucky) some meat.

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  10. That Towles quote leaves me speechless on many levels. But then, turns out he is a fiction writer.

    That Russians "boil" everything is utter rot.

    You need "war" to create "cuisine" as you call it? What like "Chicken Marengo" (battle fought by Napoleon at town of same name) and "Beef Wellington" (a battle lost by Napoleon)?

    I also think it shameful to romanticise poverty and its "cuisine".

    Rachel hinted at that times have changed. Not all cooking does take that much time but a lot does. Once upon there was a division of labour, now both partners tend to go out to work. Yes, I too cook from scratch but then cooking is a passion of mine. However, like you I don't do the smoke and mirrors theatre that belongs to a restaurant.

    Seriously, Cro, some balance in your condemnation of others. Please. And, believe it or not there is some excellent ready cooked stuff out there if you know where to source it. Not an E-Number or preservative in sight. Of course, at a price.

    U

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    1. Occasionally you talk rubbish in between bits of common sense, but mostly (like above) you talk complete rubbish from beginning to end. Go back to school.

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    2. Ok. What's "rubbish"? Most of what I said is factual.

      Ethically, the romanticising of poverty is shameful. Sorry, Cro, if the narrative doesn't fit your view of the world. Doesn't alter facts.

      A tiny bit of what I said is opinion as when I ask for balance which I believe is often lacking in how you view yourself and other people. But, as I said, that's just opinion. Mine. I don't claim to be right. In your eyes it's rubbish. To be dismissed.

      U

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    3. Who is 'romanticising' poverty? It is a well known fact that most of the world's great cuisine has been created by using very basic materials during hard times. Ask any chef.

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  11. Lol , I had something interesting to say as recently I have ventured more into baking and being more adventurous cooking( for me) like pasta making ,
    But cro your comment made me laugh so much I couldn’t be bothered writing it all down lol

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    1. If there's one person who guarantees to be contrary (on any subject), it's she who hails from The Motherland. Sometimes I really feel sorry for certain people.

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  12. I work with middle aged adult people with families who can rarely be bothered to cook, and barely know how! These are folks who regularly blow $20 to have a lunch delivered to them. How they can afford to eat like that is beyond me! One of the secretaries astounds me regularly with the list of things she's never tried...fresh figs, garden grown tomatoes, eggplant, the list goes on. When she wants a salad she buys pre-packaged salads at Walmart. Ugh! I'm lucky that I grew up with a grandfather who grew a giant vegetable garden, fruit trees, and loved to fish. We were poor but we ate really well and my grandmother was a fantastic cook. It's a dying art, taking simple ingredients and making a healthy delicious meal with them.

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    1. I'm afraid that it's a modern phenomenon that those who can least afford it, spend the most on what they eat. Most schools have a kitchen, maybe ALL pupils should at some time be made to prepare what is served there.

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    2. One of the elementary schools in our district got a grant to put in large raised beds to grow veggies and I believe they even have chickens! The children help with everything and the cafeteria staff serve some of the food they grow. I think it's wonderful! My school has a working beehive thanks to a science teacher who's a certified beekeeper. She wrote a grant to get it started and our 4H group helps to care for the bees, and even sells honey to fund other projects. Gardening should be a thing at every school, in my opinion. I've seen lots of pictures of happy little faces eating fresh picked veggies and you just KNOW that's something they wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise!

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    3. I totally agree. Learning about food, where it comes from, and how to prepare it, should be on every curriculum.

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  13. Agree totally with what you say in the comment above Cro. Given a choice children choose the wrong food at school lunches - if they eat there at all

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    1. It would be nice if they actually taught cooking at school again like they did in my day.

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    2. Quite right. I think I would have enjoyed it too, although boys schools hardly ever did such things.

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  14. I'll always be grateful for my maternal grandmother, who taught me to be creative in the kitchen. Those skills have been a gift during lean times over the decades and my sons were taught them, too, from home garden to grocery store. It wasn't long ago (the Great Recession of the early 2000s) that such skills became a useful fad, and I suspect there'll be a return to them as inflation continues to rise unchecked.

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    1. I am known for posting cheap, cheerful, and tasty recipes on this page. I consider it an essential part of life to be able to create really good meals for next to nothing.

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    2. Indeed, Cro. We cook much the same way; fresh, simple, tasty and nothing goes to waste.

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  15. It's still mostly basic, local and seasonal cooking from scratch around here but I'm sure city dwellers have moved towards ready made and fast food.
    Your elderly lady looks as though she has been making homemade macaroni. That's still done here, in summer when eggs and goat milk is plentiful.
    But not so much anymore. There are small factory/businesses which will make them from your milk and eggs but most buy ready made.
    Thank goodness we still have small villages where the old traditions are still followed.
    My s on law makes and dries macaroni and so do the aging aunts. Not only macaroni of course

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    1. I do believe that in Italy, the 'Pasta Grannies' are almost a thing of the past. Like me, they all buy their pasta in packets; and very good it is too.

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