THE preparations described hereafter all belong to the order
of cold hors-d’ceuvres. I did not deem it necessary to touch
upon the hot kind, for, apart from the fact that these are very
seldom served in England, at least under the head of hors-
d’ceuvres, they are mostly to be found either among the hot
Entrées or the Savouries proper.
Generally speaking, hors-d’ceuvres should only form part
of a meal that does not comprise soup, while the rule of serving
them at luncheons only ought to be looked upon as absolute.
It is true that restaurants a la carte deliberately deviate from
this rule, but it should be remembered, in their case, that, in
addition to the fact that ‘‘ hors-d’ceuvres de luxe,’’ such as
caviare, oysters, plovers’ and lapwings’ eggs, &c., are mostly
in question, they also find the use of hors-d’ceuvres expedient
if only as a means of whiling away the customers’ time during
the preparation of the various dishes that may have been
ordered.
Moreover, the hors-d’ceuvres enumerated are not subject
to the same objection as those composed of fish, salads, and
marinaded vegetables. The use of cold hors-d’ceuvres in these
special cases is thus, to a certain extent, justified, but it is
nevertheless to be regretted that an exception of this kind should
degenerate into a habit, and that it should be made to prevail
under circumstances which, in themselves, are insufficient
warrant for the abuse.
In Russia it is customary to have a sideboard in a room
adjoining the dining-room, dressed with ail kinds of special
pastries, smoked fish, and other products, and these the diners
partake of, standing, together with strong liqueurs, before taking
their seats at the table. The general name given to the items
on the sideboard is ‘‘ Zakouski.’’ Caterers and hotel-keepers in
different parts of the world, more zealous than judicious, intro-
duced the custom of the zakouski without allowing for the
138 GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY
differences of race, which are due, to some extent, to the in-
fluence of climate; and at first, probably owing to everybody’s
enthusiasm for things Russian, the innovation enjoyed a
certain vogue, in spite of the fact that, in many cases, the dishes
served resembled the Zakouski in name alone, and consisted of
cold and very ordinary hors-d’ceuvres, served at the dining-table
itself.
At length the absurdity of investing-such common things
as hors-d’ceuvres with an exotic title began to be perceived,
and nowadays the occasions are rare when the Russian term
is to be found on a menu; nevertheless, the custom unfor-
tunately survives.
For my own part, I regard cold hors-d’ceuvres as quite
unnecessary in a dinner; I even consider them counter to the
dictates of common sense, and they are certainly prejudicial to
the flavour of the soup that follows.
At the most, caviare might be tolerated, the nutty taste of
which, when it is quite fresh, can but favourably impress the
consumer’s palate, as also certain fine oysters, provided they
be served with very dry Rhine wine or white Bordeaux. But
I repeat that hors-d’ceuvres consisting of any kind of fish,
salad, marinaded vegetables, &c., should be strictly proscribed
from the items of a dinner.
The custom of serving cold hors-d’ceuvres at lunch is, on
the contrary, not only traditional, but indispensable, and their
varied combinations, thrown into relief by tasteful and proper
arrangement, besides lending a cheerful aspect to the table, be-
guile the consumer’s attention and fancy from the very moment
of his entering the dining-room. It has been said, with reason,
that soups should foretell the dominant note of the whole
dinner, and cold hors-d’ceuvres should in the same way reveal
that of a luncheon.
Page 84
Presented as published in 1909. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
THE preparations described hereafter all belong to the order of cold hors-d’ceuvres. I did not deem it necessary to touch upon the hot kind, for, apart from the fact that these are very seldom served in England, at least under the head of horsd’ceuvres, they are mostly to be found either among the hot Entrées or the Savouries proper.
Generally speaking, hors-d’ceuvres should only form part of a meal that does not comprise soup, while the rule of serving them at luncheons only ought to be looked upon as absolute.
It is true that restaurants a la carte deliberately deviate from this rule, but it should be remembered, in their case, that, in addition to the fact that ‘‘ hors-d’ceuvres de luxe,’’ such as caviare, oysters, plovers’ and lapwings’ eggs, &c., are mostly in question, they also find the use of hors-d’ceuvres expedient if only as a means of whiling away the customers’ time during the preparation of the various dishes that may have been ordered.
Moreover, the hors-d’ceuvres enumerated are not subject to the same objection as those composed of fish, salads, and marinaded vegetables. The use of cold hors-d’ceuvres in these special cases is thus, to a certain extent, justified, but it is nevertheless to be regretted that an exception of this kind should degenerate into a habit, and that it should be made to prevail under circumstances which, in themselves, are insufficient warrant for the abuse.
In Russia it is customary to have a sideboard in a room adjoining the dining-room, dressed with all kinds of special pastries, smoked fish, and other products, and these the diners partake of, standing, together with strong liqueurs, before taking their seats at the table. The general name given to the items on the sideboard is ‘‘ Zakouski.’’ Caterers and hotel-keepers in different parts of the world, more zealous than judicious, introduced the custom of the zakouski without allowing for the
differences of race, which are due, to some extent, to the influence of climate; and at first, probably owing to everybody’s enthusiasm for things Russian, the innovation enjoyed a certain vogue, in spite of the fact that, in many cases, the dishes served resembled the Zakouski in name alone, and consisted of cold and very ordinary hors-d’ceuvres, served at the dining-table itself.
At length the absurdity of investing-such common things as hors-d’ceuvres with an exotic title began to be perceived, and nowadays the occasions are rare when the Russian term is to be found on a menu; nevertheless, the custom unfortunately survives.
For my own part, I regard cold hors-d’ceuvres as quite unnecessary in a dinner; I even consider them counter to the dictates of common sense, and they are certainly prejudicial to the flavour of the soup that follows.
At the most, caviare might be tolerated, the nutty taste of which, when it is quite fresh, can but favourably impress the consumer’s palate, as also certain fine oysters, provided they be served with very dry Rhine wine or white Bordeaux. But I repeat that hors-d’ceuvres consisting of any kind of fish, salad, marinaded vegetables, &c., should be strictly proscribed from the items of a dinner.
The custom of serving cold hors-d’ceuvres at lunch is, on the contrary, not only traditional, but indispensable, and their varied combinations, thrown into relief by tasteful and proper arrangement, besides lending a cheerful aspect to the table, beguile the consumer’s attention and fancy from the very moment of his entering the dining-room. It has been said, with reason, that soups should foretell the dominant note of the whole dinner, and cold hors-d’ceuvres should in the same way reveal that of a luncheon.