It will not escape the observation of the reader, that small as
the expence was of providing this dinner, yet very near one-half
of that sum was laid out in purchasing the ingredients for the
sauce.--But it is probable that a considerable part of that
expence might be saved.--In Italy, polenta, which is nothing more
than hasty-pudding made with Indian meal and water, is very
frequently, and I believe commonly eaten without any sauce, and
when on holidays or other extraordinary occasions they indulge
themselves by adding a sauce to it, this sauce is far from
expensive.--It is commonly nothing more than a very small
quantity of butter spread over the flat surface of the hot
polenta which is spread out thin in a large platter; with a
little Parmezan or other strong cheese, reduced to a coarse
powder by grating it with a grater, strewed over it.
Perhaps this Italian sauce might be more agreeable to an English
palate than that commonly used in America. It would certainly be
less expensive, as much less butter would be required, and as
cheese in this country is plenty and cheap. But whatever may be
the sauce used with Food prepared of Indian Corn, I cannot too
strongly recommend the use of that grain.
While I was employed in making my experiment upon hasty-pudding,
I learnt from my servant, (a Bavarian,) who assisted me, a fact
which gave me great pleasure, as it served to confirm me in the
opinion I have long entertained of the great merit of Indian
Corn.--He assured me that polenta is much esteemed by the
peasantry in Bavaria, and that it makes a very considerable
article of their Food; that it comes from Italy through the
Tyrol; and that it is commonly sold in Bavaria AT THE SAME PRICE
AS WHEAT FLOUR! Can there be stronger proofs of its merit?
The negroes in America prefer it to rice; and the Bavarian
peasants to wheat.--Why then should not the inhabitants of this
island like it? It will not, I hope, be pretended, that it is in
this favoured soil alone that prejudices take such deep root that
they are never to be eradicated, or that there is any thing
peculiar in the construction of the palate of an Englishman.
The objection that may be made to Indian Corn,--that it does not
thrive well in this country,--is of no weight. The same
objection might, with equal reason, be made to rice, and twenty
other articles of Food now in common use.
It has ever been considered, by those versed in the science of
political economy, as an object of the first importance to keep
down the prices of provisions, particularly in manufacturing and
commercial countries;--and if there be a country on earth where
this ought to be done, it is surely Great Britain:--and there is
certainly no country which has the means of doing it so much in
its power.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account