A great cookbook
Jan. 16th, 2009 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snousleChow: A Cook's Tour Of Military Food.
Very limited availability, but available nonetheless. Kind of serious, but packed with wisdom. Especially when it comes to feeding large numbers of people. I don't know if the American military ever met the exalted standards of this book - it dwells extensively on ingredient quality, and nearly everything is made from scratch. They talk about making lettuce extra-crisp by soaking it in cold water, that sort of thing. What's interesting is that the density of facts per page is way higher than most cookbooks, without a hint of the annoying preciousness that invades most culinary writing. It's also, shall we say, a little colorful.
Some of their advice, gleaned at random:
Remember that beans, badly boiled, kill more than bullets; and fat is more fatal than powder.
You can boil water in containers made of bark or large leaves. Select materials without holes in them.
Garnishes can add that "special touch". Since they are not the center of attention, keep them small and never gaudy.
How to buy a good cigar: ...the finest and most delicate tobacco should be used.
(Sort of interesting that this was the responsibility of the cook.)
Some Arctic survival tips: Eat as much fat as you can... AVOID POLAR BEAR LIVERS, THEY ARE POISONOUS
LOL. One has to laugh, but it really is quite a good read.
Very limited availability, but available nonetheless. Kind of serious, but packed with wisdom. Especially when it comes to feeding large numbers of people. I don't know if the American military ever met the exalted standards of this book - it dwells extensively on ingredient quality, and nearly everything is made from scratch. They talk about making lettuce extra-crisp by soaking it in cold water, that sort of thing. What's interesting is that the density of facts per page is way higher than most cookbooks, without a hint of the annoying preciousness that invades most culinary writing. It's also, shall we say, a little colorful.
Some of their advice, gleaned at random:
Remember that beans, badly boiled, kill more than bullets; and fat is more fatal than powder.
You can boil water in containers made of bark or large leaves. Select materials without holes in them.
Garnishes can add that "special touch". Since they are not the center of attention, keep them small and never gaudy.
How to buy a good cigar: ...the finest and most delicate tobacco should be used.
(Sort of interesting that this was the responsibility of the cook.)
Some Arctic survival tips: Eat as much fat as you can... AVOID POLAR BEAR LIVERS, THEY ARE POISONOUS
LOL. One has to laugh, but it really is quite a good read.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-17 12:36 am (UTC)But his savory collations add to our esprit de corps!
To think of all the marvelous ways
They're using plastics nowadays,
It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!"
-- Tom Lehrer
no subject
Date: 2009-01-18 03:20 am (UTC)