"M. JL Esq." > wrote in message
...
> Paul M. Cook wrote:
>
>> "M. JL Esq." > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>Steve Pope wrote:
>>>
>>>>Paul M. Cook > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Nobody cooks like that anymore. I mean come on, a half dozen
>>>>>Maine lobsters to make sauce for 4 people? Very wasteful and that
>>>>>symbolized a lot of the old French style.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Entire lobsters? Or just the shells? I could envision a bisque-like
>>>>sauce that involved the shells.
>>>>
>>>>Steve
>>>
>>>There is also an edition of his book for the home cook where in the
>>>amounts are modified for the home cook.
>>>
>>>The market for cook books was different when it was first published than
>>>it is now. But it is still in print.
>>>
>>>The original was written for the trade. And in amounts more common to
>>>commercial establishments or large households with kitchen staff. The
>>>man was a military veteran, and a working chef for the rest of his
>>>professional life, head Chef of several of the best hotels of his day and
>>>iirc responsible for setting up the original kitchens at the Waldorf
>>>Astoria in NYC.
>>>
>>>Anyone familiar with August Escoffier's work knows he decries waste and
>>>excess as much as he demands absolute freshness in all his ingredients.
>>
>>
>> His definition of waste would not be the one we recognize today.
>>
>>
>>>His text does contain some historical curiosities where in he starts the
>>>recipe with words to the effect that "this recipe is rarely produced
>>>today although it was quite common in days gone by"
>>>
>>>And in his section home made liquors he adds "which is to be much
>>>regretted" .... that people don't make these home made liquors any more
>>>(circa 1921 c.e.)
>>
>>
>> By waste he meant food that was left to spoil. He did not consider a
>> sumptuous feast of ingredients that could feed an entire family of 12
>> just to make a sauce for 2 to be a waste. Now it those ingredients
>> spoiled, that was a waste. He cooked for the wealthy who demanded
>> sumptuous and extravagant dishes. No expense was spared to that end.
>> Waste as in 20 pounds of seafood to make a soup for a table of 4 or a
>> whole 100 pound sea turtle for soup for the same table was not an offense
>> to their standards. Back then there was ample supply and ample money.
>> Waste had a whole different definition.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
>
> But i defy you to find a recipe calling for such things in his works.
>
> In his auto biography he repeats an Careme anecdote about reducing several
> oxen, turkey and hams to a thimble full of essence but in his published
> Guide Culinaire remarks about essences: it is far better to add the
> product itself to the stock during its preparation rather than to prepare
> a special essences.
>
> He decries making a special good/strong essence to improve poor quality
> food, as was commonly done by chefs of his day. "therefore it is judged
> unnecessary to give more than one example of a recipe."
>
> he does give recipes for espangnole and various stocks that can use
> upwards of 10 pounds of meats and bones but those can easily be halved as
> he knew or at least hoped, many small resturanterurs if not aspiring chefs
> would be purchasing his book. He gives recipes using 6 - 7 pounds of beef
> in a particular stew, some recipes for some large fish, turkey and capons,
> as well as mutton and whole pigs, venison & etc. but even more do he give
> recipes for individual servings of meats, and his portions for soups vary
> from 5 - 10 cups. His salads don't give much advice on amounts except for
> "take equal quantities of" in the rest its use as much as you need with
> some slight variations according to type of vegetable.
> --


As I recall 5-10 cups was about the yield for his turtle soup which required
an entire live sea turtle. I sure don't have the recipe handy, no. Is it
wasteful to kill a sea turtle for a few bowls of soup? In my view it is an
obscenity. I also seem to remember his recipe for chicken soup which was
essentially 20 chickens cooked down to 1 quart of base which made about a
gallon of soup. People were starving to death back then.

Was the soup(s) good? They were probably to die for. I am sure of that.

Paul