THE ART OF EATING

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 146, 21 June 1924, Page 17

THE ART OF EATING

"Eating Without Fears." By G. F. Scotson-Clark. '^London: Jonathan Cape'(from Whitcoinbe and Tombs, Wellington). . :• .

Eating should be a joy as well as a necessity, in the opinion of the author. He dedicates his work "to the most perfect of wives" so that he is not writing as out of the bitterness of his gastronomic soul. The book is not intended to take the place of the well-compiled and practicable cookery book, but rather to- inform gourmets of "many of the dishes that the soul of the bachelor loves, dishes that can be easily made by the sweet girl who would win a bachelor's affections, and onc e having won them would hold them for ever and a day." We all know the traditional way to a man's heart';' but unquestionably many marriages would be happier if a young wife knew, and really cared, how to please her husband in the important art and craft of cooking. It is not what he is used to that matters, so much as the titillation of his palate with new sensations that tends to perpetuation of connubial bliss. Sir. Scotson-Clark maintains that "an individual should cultivate his palate just as much as he should cultivate his, brain- .' ... good taste in food Will keep a man from becoming that most disgusting of all creatures, a glutton." One can "eat anything" with impunity if it is properly served. But medical opinion is pretty well unanimous on the, point that, "one man's food j's another man's poison." For instance, some people simply cannot eat bananas or Brazil rrats without suffering acutely thereafter. But Mr. Scotson-Clark allows a very liberal and extremely varied scale. He is dead against water drinking, 'unless it is followed by "quantities of violent exercise, to overcome the Illeffects of over-indulgence." Abstinence from water, he says, not only helps preserve the, figure but eliminates one of the greatest causes of indigestion in the United States and of rheumatism, the national. complaint of the British Isles. Model menus for breakfast, luncheon, and dinner are given, and there is a chapter on curries. Pastry is dealt with in detail, and it is said "there is no difficulty about making pastry, either puff or short, but it cannot be hurried." Hints are given on cooking vegetables so as to preserve colour (where green) and flavour. There is need for them, considering the curious mess like wet brown paper that passes for cabbage on many tables. "Eating Without Fears" is very entertaining to read and essentially practicable to apply.