CURIOSITIES OF DIET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20058, 22 September 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

CURIOSITIES OF DIET.

GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURES. BT E. E. BROWN. This morning the warm sunshine of a glorious spring day lured rnc out to the garden, and accompanied by my small sou, aged six years, I pottered about and made plans for the season's work. Left to his own devices, the laddie proceeded upon a tour of exploration, and I later found him greedily consuming the small black berries of that peristsent weed commonly called " fat-hen." Assuming a stern air, I administered tho advice the occasion demanded, his mother later following this up with a dose of that nauseous oil which most mothers prescribe for errors of diet. Turning the matter over in my mind, it occurred to me that in past ages thousands of men and women must have suffered considerable j.ain or even death, in the process of " trial and error " which has resulted in our diet list of to-day. It must have been by such process that some unfortunate person discovered that the deadly nightshade is not a suitable addition to a salad. What martyr in a good cause proved that all mushrooms are not wholesome ? I wondered how that paleolithic ancestor of ours mustered up sufficient courage to swallow his first live oyster, or what his feelings were during the process of digestion. Background of a Banquet. One supposes that a very large book might be written about the natural history of food, and it should surely add to the satisfaction of the gourmet to possess some knowledge of the historical background of a feast. Primed with information from some authoritative work upon the subject, diners would be able to approach the delicate business of choice of foods with jaunty confidence. There would be no need to smother feelings of' chagrin and expressions of surprise at being confronted with a small chip of dried-tip salt fish in responsa to our order for " Bombay Duck." Tho sight of the item " Digby Chicks " upon the bill-of-fare would not conjure up visions of breast of young fowl in glassy aspic. There are people, however, who consider it good form to affect not to know what they are eating.. Our old friend Charles Lamb in " Grace before Meat," declared that " be hated such folk; be suspected their taste in higher matters." I am of the opinion that, as a nation, English people are not very adventurous in the matter of eating. We experience feelings of disgust when we learn of some of the food-dishes of other peoples. Thoughts of the frogs and snails of the French, the raw salt fish of the Scandinavians, the dried shark of the Maoris,' the sea-slugs and birds'-nests and rnice-in-syrup of the Chinese, tho dried jellyfish of the Japanese, the raw liver of tho Red Indians, the rancid ghee (butter) of the Hindus, the raw blubber of the Eskimos—to mention but a few queer dishes—thoughts of these do not tend to whet our appetites. A Feast in Fiji. During a visit to Taviuui, Fiji, some years ago, I was shown much kindness and hospitality by tho Ratu (headman) of a native village. At a luncheon party to which 1 was invited, the guests were regaled with many (to me at all events) strange dishes. I had read much of The which, without the ' ' ploughman yields The unreap'd harvest of unfurrowed fields. To my disappointment I found that its fruit, baked in a native oven, reminded me more of roasted chestnuts than bread. Another course was stewed cuttle-fish, esteemed a delicacy by seafarers and the peoples of the Mediterranean, where thousands of tons are consumed every year. I may say that of all the unappetising dishes I have ever sampled, this took the palm. It was comparable in appearance, texture, and flavour only with so many cross-wise sections of bicycle tyre. It is known to sailors as " squid," and I am of the opinion that the uneuphonious name fits the dish. Later came yams and taro, the tuberous root of caladium esculentum, which is grown as an ornamental plant by gardeners in Auckland, and cultivated and eaten by the Maoris in North Auckland. We might well add it to our own list of vegetables. The " piece de resistance " was palm salad, somewhat in the nature of the equivalent of turtle soup at a Lord Mayor's banquet. In order to make it, the young shoots at the top of the palm are cut, after which the pahn dies, and considering the value of a full-bearing coco-palm one realised what a sacrifice the Ratu made in order to provide a delectable salad. One was reminded of the story of the Chinese boy who burnt his father's house down to satisfy his cravings for roast pork. "Ou another occasion I was offered a dish of palolo-worms which may be likened to our local whitebait. These creatures live in the coral reefs, and come out of their haunts but otice a year, the natives being able to forecast their coming, to almost a day, in a most-un-canny manner. In such countless numbers do they come that the sea looks like a cauldron of soup thickened with vermicelli. In its cooked state, the palolo did not appeal to me, as the flavour was rather bitter, while the colour was a somewhat repellent shade of green. In the New Hebrides, from December to March, the natives add to their income by gathering biche-de-mer —often, but inaccurately, written becho-dc-mer. This is a sea-slug, some 6 to 15 inches long, met with on coral reefs. It is prepared for export by boiling, drying and smoking, and fetches from £BO to £IOO a ton. .Most of it goes to China, where, as is the caso with the nests of the seaswift, it is made into soup, and considered the greatest luxury known to Celestials. Antimony Wine. It has been stated that the palm for gastronomic adventure should have gone to the late Frank Buckland, curator at Regent's Park Zoo, London, who had a passion for sampling all sorts of new dishes. Of course the position ho held offered scope denied to others, and one supposes that snakes, crocodiles, monkeys, giraffes, and many other strange creatures canto beneath his knife and fork—indeed, that ho fairly ate his way through tho menagerie. Despite the contention of leading dietitians that nowadays wo eat too much, I venture to assert that our efforts at the table pale into insigniiicanco when compared with tlioso of the old aldermen and guildsmen of London in the early part of last century. Preparations tor their huge leasts included the making of antimony ivine. Goblets made of antimony were tilled with wine twenty-four hours before the banquet, and were held in readiness to bo served at the appropriate moment. This tame when the valiant trenchermen had reached tho limit ol their capacity. Tho antimony wine was then called i'or, and, possessing emetic properties, caused the diners to retire for a period,, after which they were enabled to return to their repasts with renewed appetite. Coming to the present century, many will remember the year 1913 when the suffragettes were chaining themselves to railings, biting policemen and slasnmg pictures, until tho Great War came along and swamped all minor disputes. lhe newspapers were full of tho tortures endured bv imprisoned suffragettes who went on "hunger strike. I'or the • of those unacquainted with the tneth >d adopted by tho authorities at the suggestion of Sir Victor Horsley I may say that the recalcitrants were led through the nasal passages, a method which, while not involving any great physical discomfort, must have been exceedingly distressing to the feelings of the ladies.