Cheshire the Cheese: English History Wrapped in Cloth by Diana Pittet My Education About Cheese from the British Isles Should Start with ITHOUT a Doubt, Cheshire
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• CULINARY HISTORIANS OF NEW YORK• Volume 15, No. 1 Fall 2001 Cheshire the Cheese: English History Wrapped in Cloth By Diana Pittet my education about cheese from the British Isles should start with ITHOUT a doubt, Cheshire. WCheshire was the first To my disappointment and cheese I wanted to sample on my embarrassment, I didn’t love the first day of work at Neal’s Yard dry and orange-tinted cheese at Dairy, the London cheese shop first bite. Not even after several known for its devotion to aging, tastings and lunches while working promoting, and selling of farm- at the Dairy did I fall in love with house cheeses from the British this mild, subtle, slightly acidic Isles. cheese, which many people — I had made many trips to customers, fellow cheesemongers, England, but I was unfamiliar with and judges of fine cheeses — the oldest-named English cheese. consider to be the best cheese sold I had also been intrigued by Steven at the shop. I would much rather Jenkins’ Cheese Primer description have creamy, assertive blue or wash of Cheshire — its having “a sort of rind cheese from Ireland. essential cheesiness.’’ So I felt that Continued on page 4 Adelaide: Expanding the Culinary History Universe By Andrew F. Smith but today, a significant culinary History of Food and Drink, sched- history work is released almost uled for July 2-4, 2001. I didn’t URING the past 20 years, weekly. And so many conferences even bother to check my calendar Dculinary history has expanded are being held around the world — — I e-mailed him back with my from a few isolated scholars doing the most famous being the Oxford acceptance. Not only had I always their own thing to an eclectic Symposium on Food and Cookery wanted to visit Australia and some- global field that is peopled by aca- and the Leeds Symposium on Food how had never succeeded, but I demics and independent scholars; and Society — that I am now had always wanted to learn more librarians and museum profession- unable to attend them all. about the state of culinary history als; popular writers and just plain However, unexpectedly I in Australia. old foodies interested in history. received an e-mail from Dr. Lynn Of course, I was aware of the Ten years ago, I could truth- Martin inviting me to speak at the works of several Australian culinary fully say that I had read most of the Adelaide University’s Second Inter- historians, including Michael books related to culinary history, national Conference on the Continued on page 3 CHNY Steering Committee Letter From the Chair 2001-2002 Our cocktail party cum annual to co-edit the newsletter with Chairperson: Phyllis Isaacson meeting was a rousing success at Helen Brody. Kathleen, who is a Vice-Chairperson: Stephen C-3. The food provided by mem- deputy sports editor at The New Schmidt ber-owner Judy Paul was clearly York Times, joined CHNY two Secretary: Diane Klages greeted with considerable enthusi- years ago. She will be coordinating Treasurer: Lee Coleman asm and encouraged a good give and editing the newsletter’s feature Members-at-Large: and take of ideas and stimulating articles and news about Web sites. conversation. As for business, the A native Texan, who is interested in Wendy Clapp-Shapiro, 2001-2002 Steering Committee all culinary things Texas and Tex- Membership slate (shown at left) was unani- Mex, lives in Forest Hills, Queens, Helen Studley, Programs mously approved. with her husband “and his train John W. R. Jenkins, Publicity I would particularly like to set.” Helen will continue to gather thank retiring secretary, Lois member news, regional events cal- CHNY Information Hotline: O’Wyatt, for doing a timely and endars, and book reviews in (212) 501-3738 outstanding job. addition to coordinating the laying At its July meeting the Steering out, printing, and mailing. Karen CHNY Newsletter Committee unanimously agreed Berman has agreed to continue as Co-Editors: that a $1,000 donation should be copy editor. Kathleen and Helen Helen Brody made to a culinary history project encourage submissions for future Kathleen McElroy or cause each year. It was decided editions. Their goal is to make the Copy Editor: Karen Berman that the first donation, for the year publication a valuable culinary his- 2001, will be to the Culinary tory resource for the organization’s Please send/e-mail member Collection of the New York Public members. news, book reviews, events Library. Finally, the events of Septem- calendars to: Future applications for the ber 11th have greatly intensified Helen Brody annual stipend should be made in the financial difficulties of New PO Box 923 writing, and include background York restaurants already struggling 19 Trillium Lane information, to Stephen Schmidt, with the downturn in the economy. 234 East 87th Street, #5A, New Keeping in mind that we are a culi- Grantham, NH 03753 York, NY 10128. Deadline for nary organization, I hope all our [email protected] applications is June 15, 2002. The members will energetically patron- (603)863-5299 Steering Committee will award the ize their favorite establishments to (603)863-8943 Fax money at its summer meeting in aid in assuring their survival. July and formally announce it at Papers demonstrating serious the first fall meeting. culinary history research will be Kathleen McElroy has agreed considered for inclusion in issues of the CHNY newsletters. Please contact Kathleen McElroy, newsletter co-editor, MEMBERSHIPS ARE DUE !!! at (718) 459-0582 or [email protected]. Please send check, made payable to CHNY, with renewal form to Matriculating students of culi- Wendy Clapp-Shapiro at her NEW address: nary history or related topics are invited to contribute. PMB #133 2565 Broadway New York, NY 10025-5657 2 Adelaide, from page 1 were encouraged to hold their sec- Maryland, and Ludington is a ond conference this past summer. graduate student at Columbia Uni- Symons and Barbara Santich. About 150 participants were in versity. My keynote presentation Symons’s One Continuous Picnic: A attendance, an eclectic group span- was “Toward a Conceptualization History of Eating in Australia (1982) ning the spectrum from scholars of Culinary History.” was the first major culinary history and journalists with international Abstracts from the conference of the continent, and his most reputations to local farmers and can be obtained from Greta Larsen recent book, History of Cooks and restaurant owners. The formal and at [email protected], Cooking (2000), pulls together informal conversations throughout and the complete papers are sched- diverse European sources in dis- the conference were lively and uled for publication by the cussing the early role that cooks stimulating, while the atmosphere Research Centre. Membership is played in the Renaissance. Santich’s was amiable and friendly. But most free, with donations greatly appre- Original Mediterranean Cuisine: impressive were approximately 30 ciated. For more information about Medieval Recipes for Today (1995), is papers presented by scholars from the Research Centre and its pro- an excellent blend of history with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, grams, e-mail Dr. A. Ian Martin at wonderfully updated recipes. Norway, Spain, the United King- [email protected] or I was also aware that the dom, and the United States. write to him at the Research Cen- History Department at Adelaide As expected, some papers fo- tre for the History of Food and University had launched a Re- cused solely on Australia and in Drink, Department of History, search Centre for the History of particular South Australia, where Adelaide University, Adelaide, Food and Drink in 1997 and is cur- Adelaide is located. Through the South Australia 5005. rently developing a master’s degree papers, I found an interesting par- If American culinary historians in gastronomy. Because this is the allel with American culinary think about Australian gastronomy, only university that I know of that history: Because European settlers it’s probably along the lines of has a center and academic program brought their foodways with them drinking Foster’s beer and “putting specifically on culinary history, I to Australia, today’s Australian another shrimp on the barbie.’’ wanted to know more about it. cookery is an amalgam of Euro- Much to my surprise, I found that What I uncovered was impres- pean, Asian, and indigenous Foster’s beer is not particularly sive. The purpose of the Research culinary practices. Papers in this popular with Australians, who also Centre is to promote research into group included Noris Ioannou’s use the word “prawns,” not shrimp. the history of food and drink in “Greek Cypriot Cuisine and Cul- There is so much more to Austra- Australia and throughout the tural Practices in Australia’’ and lian food and drink than our world. They are concerned with Catherine Murphy’s “Adelaide stereotypes suggest, and I’m de- food from production to consump- Central Market: Raw Ingredients lighted to report that culinary tion in all of its aspects: historical, of Cultural Digestion.” history is alive and well in the land political, economic, social and The majority of the presenta- down under. And the good news is environmental. The Research Cen- tions, however, dealt with the that the Research Centre plans on tre publishes a newsletter and history of food and drink around sponsoring another international maintains a Web site the world, including papers on conference in two years. (www.arts.adelaide.edu.au/ women and food, and food in film. CentreFoodDrink), which includes Chronologically, the papers swept Andrew F. Smith teaches culinary an impressive array of information from ancient Greece and Rome to history at the New School. He is the about culinary history events, the present.