These little accessories to tlie menu are familiar to
all who have travelled much, and they are now
still further familiarised by the present fashion of
restaurant dinners, which is so marked a feature of
modern English social life. Whether, however, they
will become really acclimatised is another question, for
their raison d'etre depends on the method of life ;
and, speaking generally, the ordinarily out-of-door
and more or less athletic life of the average Britisher
renders any whet to the appetite (which is after all
the origin of the Erench hors d’oeuvre and its
Eussian equivalent, the zahusha') not so necessary as
it may be in other countries, where climate, manners,
&c., have combined to bring about different con-
ditions of life. Moreover, the English affection for
the after-dinner “ savoury,” so marked a feature in
English bills of fare, renders the appearance of the
hors d’oeuvre at the beginning of the meal some-
what superfluous. An Englishman seldom needs an
indtement to eat, though he found a whet and a
clearer-of-the-palate necessary in the days when
42
SALADS, SANDWICHES, &c.
after-dinner hard drinking was the rule, and has
kept up the tradition of the savoury, even though
we may thankfully admit that the drinking is no
longer so extensive or so universal.
The zakusha differs from the hors d’oeuvre from
the fact that it is usually served in another room
from the dining-room, various dishes being arranged
on a side table or buffet, with the inevitable accom-
paniment of spirits or liqueur ; whereas the hors
d’ oeuvre is seiwed in the dining-room, being usually
either handed round as soon as the guests are seated,
or served in separate portions, one of which is placed
ready for each guest when they enter. France
acknowledges two kinds of hors d’oeuvres, the hot
and the cold, The former was, and is, always served
after the soup, and really forms a kind of entree,
the difference between these two depending, according
to M. Urbain Dubois, on the fact that the hot hors
d’ oeuvre should always be served dry, unaccompanied
by either sauce or garnish, for, as he observes, “ A
garnished and sauced hors d’ceuvre becomes an
entree ; the name of the former shows clearly their
inherent lightness, and a studied simplicity should
in every case be their distinctive characteristic.’'
Accordingly, in private families and on ordinary
occasions, the hors d’ceuvre generally consists of
daintily arranged sliced sausage, smoked ham
(cooked or raw), sardines, anchovies, caviar, pickled
tunnyfish, salted or smoked herring, smoked salmon
(cooked or raw), pickled oysters, olives (stuffed or
plain), seasoned artichoke bottoms, &c., all care-
fully and very thinly sliced, and dished in long
HORS D’CEUVRE.
43
boat-shaped dishes, whence the French name of
bateaux de whatever hors d’oeuvre is served. Whether
hors d’oeuvre of only one or of many kinds are
served at the commencement of each meal is purely
a matter of taste.
Page 20
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
These little accessories to the menu are familiar to all who have travelled much, and they are now still further familiarised by the present fashion of restaurant dinners, which is so marked a feature of modern English social life. Whether, however, they will become really acclimatised is another question, for their raison d'etre depends on the method of life ; and, speaking generally, the ordinarily out-of-door and more or less athletic life of the average Britisher renders any whet to the appetite (which is after all the origin of the French hors d'oeuvre and its Russian equivalent, the zahusha') not so necessary as it may be in other countries, where climate, manners, &c., have combined to bring about different conditions of life. Moreover, the English affection for the after-dinner “ savoury,” so marked a feature in English bills of fare, renders the appearance of the hors d’oeuvre at the beginning of the meal somewhat superfluous. An Englishman seldom needs an inducement to eat, though he found a whet and a clearer-of-the-palate necessary in the days when
after-dinner hard drinking was the rule, and has kept up the tradition of the savoury, even though we may thankfully admit that the drinking is no longer so extensive or so universal.
The zakusha differs from the hors d’oeuvre from the fact that it is usually served in another room from the dining-room, various dishes being arranged on a side table or buffet, with the inevitable accompaniment of spirits or liqueur ; whereas the hors d’ oeuvre is served in the dining-room, being usually either handed round as soon as the guests are seated, or served in separate portions, one of which is placed ready for each guest when they enter. France acknowledges two kinds of hors d’oeuvres, the hot and the cold, The former was, and is, always served after the soup, and really forms a kind of entree, the difference between these two depending, according to M. Urbain Dubois, on the fact that the hot hors d’ oeuvre should always be served dry, unaccompanied by either sauce or garnish, for, as he observes, “ A garnished and sauced hors d’ceuvre becomes an entree ; the name of the former shows clearly their inherent lightness, and a studied simplicity should in every case be their distinctive characteristic.’' Accordingly, in private families and on ordinary occasions, the hors d’ceuvre generally consists of daintily arranged sliced sausage, smoked ham (cooked or raw), sardines, anchovies, caviar, pickled tunnyfish, salted or smoked herring, smoked salmon (cooked or raw), pickled oysters, olives (stuffed or plain), seasoned artichoke bottoms, &c., all carefully and very thinly sliced, and dished in long
HORS D’CEUVRE.
boat-shaped dishes, whence the French name of bateaux de whatever hors d’oeuvre is served. Whether hors d’oeuvre of only one or of many kinds are served at the commencement of each meal is purely a matter of taste.