Kettner's Book of the Table

Every food on the Victorian table gets its history, its etymology and a strong opinion — the wittiest cookery book of 1877, written in secret by a Times leader-writer and named for London's most fashionable restaurant.

V

8 entries in this part of Kettner's Book of the Table.

Vanilla

when discovered by the Spaniards, had an unpronounceable name-tlilxochitl. The Spaniards, in despair, called it vainilla or baynilla-a…

Veal

When Dr. Lister, who was one of Queen Anne's physicians, went to Paris in the beginning of last century, he declared that the French might…

Vegetables

There are no finer vegetables to be found anywhere than in England; and the English do not know how to eat them. The weak point of an…

Velvet-Down

(Gouffé's receipt, slightly altered.)- Take six pounds of veal and two hens with the fillets cut off. Put them into a stewpan with a quart…

Venetian Sauce

This is an utterly useless name; but it sometimes occurs and must be explained. It is difficult to say wherein it differs from the Poulette…

Verjuice

The sour juice of the crab-apple or of sour grapes; much more used in France than in England, where an acid-as lemon-juice, sorrel, or…

Vermicelli

There are but three well-known instances in Western Europe of disrespectful names being given to the dainties of the table. The English…

Vinegar

Said the prophet Mahomet, "If there is no vinegar in a house it is a sin: there is no blessing neither." To the cook vinegar is far more…

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