Unfortunately the ‘ cordon bleu aforesaid has not
altogether grasped the correct nature of the cold
dishes she serves, and consequently mixes up chau-
froix, aspic, and even salad, in a manner more than
disconcerting to the connoisseur, and certainly not
intended by the inventors of these various methods
of food preparation. As a general principle, cold
dishes may be roughly divided into three classes,
chavfroix, entrees en aspic, and mayonnaises. Curiously
enough there is a certain mystery connected with each
of the three. The origin of the name chaufroix, or
CHAUFROIX, &c.
153
chaudfroid, as some still spell it, is open to dis-
cussion. Some people say it takes its name from
chaud, hot, and froid, cold, the dish having been
originally served hot before it made its appearance
as a cold entree. The great objection to this, how-
ever, is that, properly speaking, a chaufroix is by no
means a re-serving of bits left over. On the con-
trary (in spite of a legend that it owes its name to
the fact that some great man was delayed by
business till his dinner was cold, and having no time
to have it re-heated, ate it as it stood and was so
pleased with the result that he requested to have
such dishes served in future as cliaudf voids) , the fact
remains that for a proper chaufroix the meat used
should be specially cooked for the purpose. It
follows therefore that the balance of probability is
in favour of the theory mentioned in the well known
French gastronomic review, L'Art Culinaire, “ that
its name was derived from its inventor Angilon de
Chaufroix, chef-entremetier des cuisines de Versailles”
who flourished about 1774. Aspic again is like
Jeems de la Plush, “ wropped in mistry ” ; some
people advance a somewhat gruesome suggestion
that it is derived from the foundation jelly being
made from asps, or aspics, or small vipers ; viper
broth being still in request in many out-of-the-
way parts, as a restorative, most nourishing for
various kinds of invalids. Those who reject this,
declare it owes its name to its snake-like coldness
and slipperiness. The real fact however is that it
derives its name most probably quite simply from
espic, the old French name for lavender (in connec-
154
ENTRIES.
tion with which it may be mentioned that the
common lavender of the herb garden is still called
in many country places “espic or spike-lavender”),
which of old was of considerably more importance
as a pot-herb than it is in the present day. As a
matter of fact it is mentioned by Grimod de la
Reyniere in the Almanack des Gourmands, in company
with fenouil (fennel), ciboule, and cibouleites (chives),
espic (lavender), &c., as a flavouring herb in much
request. Lavender has been historically known as
popular for many generations, and is said to have
actually derived its common English name from
its use as a perfume in the laundry ; for of old the
laundress or washerwoman was always spoken of as
a lavender, from laver , to wash ; whilst espic, or
spike-lavender as it was called indifferently in the
kitchen, was the name given to the herb used for
flavouring.
Page 74
Presented as published in 1901. 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
Unfortunately the ‘ cordon bleu aforesaid has not altogether grasped the correct nature of the cold dishes she serves, and consequently mixes up chaufroix, aspic, and even salad, in a manner more than disconcerting to the connoisseur, and certainly not intended by the inventors of these various methods of food preparation. As a general principle, cold dishes may be roughly divided into three classes, chavfroix, entrees en aspic, and mayonnaises. Curiously enough there is a certain mystery connected with each of the three. The origin of the name chaufroix, or
chaudfroid, as some still spell it, is open to discussion. Some people say it takes its name from chaud, hot, and froid, cold, the dish having been originally served hot before it made its appearance as a cold entree. The great objection to this, however, is that, properly speaking, a chaufroix is by no means a re-serving of bits left over. On the contrary (in spite of a legend that it owes its name to the fact that some great man was delayed by business till his dinner was cold, and having no time to have it re-heated, ate it as it stood and was so pleased with the result that he requested to have such dishes served in future as cliaudf voids) , the fact remains that for a proper chaufroix the meat used should be specially cooked for the purpose. It follows therefore that the balance of probability is in favour of the theory mentioned in the well known French gastronomic review, L'Art Culinaire, “ that its name was derived from its inventor Angilon de Chaufroix, chef-entremetier des cuisines de Versailles” who flourished about 1774. Aspic again is like Jeems de la Plush, “ wropped in mistry ” ; some people advance a somewhat gruesome suggestion that it is derived from the foundation jelly being made from asps, or aspics, or small vipers ; viper broth being still in request in many out-of-theway parts, as a restorative, most nourishing for various kinds of invalids. Those who reject this, declare it owes its name to its snake-like coldness and slipperiness. The real fact however is that it derives its name most probably quite simply from espic, the old French name for lavender (in connec-
tion with which it may be mentioned that the common lavender of the herb garden is still called in many country places “espic or spike-lavender”), which of old was of considerably more importance as a pot-herb than it is in the present day. As a matter of fact it is mentioned by Grimod de la Reyniere in the Almanack des Gourmands, in company with fenouil (fennel), ciboule, and cibouleites (chives), espic (lavender), &c., as a flavouring herb in much request. Lavender has been historically known as popular for many generations, and is said to have actually derived its common English name from its use as a perfume in the laundry ; for of old the laundress or washerwoman was always spoken of as a lavender, from laver , to wash ; whilst espic, or spike-lavender as it was called indifferently in the kitchen, was the name given to the herb used for flavouring.