Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2: H-Z

Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl AN ENCYCLOPEDIA

VOLUME 2: H–Z

Edited by Melitta Weiss Adamson and Francine Segan

GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl : an encyclopedia / edited by Melitta Weiss Adamson and Francine Segan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–313–33957–8 (set : alk. paper) ISBN 978–0–313–33958–5 (v. 1 : alk. paper) ISBN 978–0–313–33959–2 (v. 2 : alk. paper) 1. Entertaining—History—Encyclopedias. 2. Cookery, International—History— Encyclopedias. 3. Food habits—History—Encyclopedias. I. Adamson, Melitta Weiss. II. Segan, Francine. TX731.E5824 2008 641.3003—dc22 2008030543 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2008 by Melitta Weiss Adamson and Francine Segan All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 20080305043 ISBN: 978–0–313–33957–8 (set) 978–0–313–33958–5 (vol. 1) 978–0–313–33959–2 (vol. 2) First published in 2008 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The publisher has done its best to make sure the instructions and /or recipes in this book are correct. However, users should apply judgment and experience when preparing recipes, especially parents and teachers working with young people. The publisher accepts no responsibility for the outcome of any recipe included in this volume.

Contents

List of Entries

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Guide to Related Topics

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The Encyclopedia: H–Z

293

Bibliography

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About the Editors and Contributors

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Index

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List of Entries

American Frontier Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Anniversary Parties Antipasto Aztec Entertaining Baby Shower Bachelor Party Bar / Bat Mitzvah Barbeque Barn Raising Beer Halls and Beer Gardens Beeton, Isabella Betty Crocker Birthdays Blair House Block Party Book Clubs Books on Entertaining and Dining, History of Brazil Bridal Shower

Brunch Buffet Cake and Candles Catering Celtic Feasting Chafing Dish Champagne Cheese Course, History of Childhood in South India Children’s Birthday Parties Chinese Banquets Chinese New Year Chocolate Chopsticks Christmas Civil War Cocktails Coffeehouses in London Coffee Klatches Colonial America Colonial Mexico Cookbooks, History of

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List of Entries

Cookbooks, Tools for Entertaining Cordials and Liqueurs Cruise Ships Day of the Dead Debutante Balls Deepavali, Festival of Lights Dessert Dim Sum Dinner Parties Doilies and Coasters Door County Fish Boil Dutch Treat Easter Edible Centerpieces Egypt Etiquette Books Fast Food, History of Finger Bowls Food Network Fourth of July France Funeral Food Garden Party Halloween Hors d’oeuvres and Canapés Inca India Invitations Italy Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival Juneteenth Kaiseki Ryori Kentucky Derby Kitchen Staff Dress Kwanzaa La Quinceanera Luau Mardi Gras Masquerade

Medieval Mesta, Perle New Year’s Eve Parisian Cafés Party Favors Party Planners Philippine Fiestas Potluck Suppers Progressive Dinner Parties Prohibition Renaissance Rent Parties Restaurants Russian Hospitality Saints’ Days Serving Platters Singles Soul Food St. Patrick’s Day Stewart, Martha Sub-Saharan Africa Sugaring Off Party Super Bowl Parties Table Service, French versus Russian Table Settings Tapas Taverns Tea Tearooms in America Thanksgiving Theme Parties Toasts Tupperware Party Valentine’s Day Wedding Receptions Wine World War II Zakuski

Guide to Related Topics

Accoutrements

Celebrations

Chopsticks Doilies and Coasters Edible Centerpieces Finger Bowls Invitations Kitchen Staff Dress Party Favors Serving Platters Table Settings Toasts

Anniversary Parties Baby Shower Bachelor Party Bar / Bat Mitzvah Birthdays Bridal Shower Children’s Birthdays Debutante Balls Juneteenth Kentucky Derby La Quinceanera Wedding Receptions

Beverages Beer Halls and Beer Gardens Champagne Cocktails Cordials and Liqueurs Prohibition Taverns Tea Tearooms in America Wine

Countries and Customs Brazil Childhood in South India Chinese Banquets Chinese New Year Colonial America Colonial Mexico

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Guide to Related Topics

Deepavali, Festival of Lights Door County Fish Boil Dutch Treat Egypt France India Italy Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival Kaiseki Ryori Philippine Fiestas Russian Hospitality Sub-Saharan Africa Table Service, French vs. Russian Tea Zakuski

Birthdays Bridal Shower Thanksgiving Wedding Receptions Festivals Deepavali, Festival of Lights Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival Luau Mardi Gras Masquerade Rent Parties Sugaring Off Party Foods

Courses Antipasto Cheese Course, History of Dessert Dim Sum Hors d’oeuvres and Canapés Kaiseki Ryori Potluck Suppers Table Service, French versus Russian Tapas Tea Domestic Occasions Barbeque Barn Raising Blair House Book Clubs Brunch Chafing Dish Coffee Klatches Dinner Parties Funeral Food Garden Party Potluck Suppers Progressive Dinners Tupperware Party

Antipasto Cakes and Candles Cheese Course, History of Chocolate Dim Sum Fast Food, History of Hors d’oeuvres and Canapés Soul Food Tapas Histories American Frontier Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Aztec Entertaining Celtic Feasting Civil War Colonial America Colonial Mexico Cruise Ships Inca India Medieval Prohibition Renaissance World War II Holidays

Families Anniversary Parties Baby Shower Bar / Bat Mitzvah

Chinese New Year Christmas Day of the Dead Easter

Guide to Related Topics Fourth of July Halloween Kwanzaa New Year’s Eve Saints’ Days St. Patrick’s Day Thanksgiving Valentine’s Day Hostesses Beeton, Isabella Mesta, Perle Party Planners Stewart, Martha

Food Network Party Planners Public Places Beer Halls and Beer Gardens Block Party Coffee Houses in London Cruise Ships Dutch Treat Fast Food, History of Parisian Cafés Rent Parties Restaurants Taverns Tearooms in America

Media Betty Crocker Books on Entertaining and Dining, History of Cookbooks, History of Cookbooks, Tools for Entertaining Etiquette Books

Serving Styles Buffet Catering Chafing Dish Potluck Suppers Table Service, French versus Russian

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H Halloween The first guests on Halloween came to us from the world of the supernatural. The night was once called Samhain—Irish Gaelic for summer’s end—and was recorded in sagas written down by medieval monks. Samhain was a magical time for the mythical peoples of ancient Ireland, when fairies and all manner of unimaginable beasts could trespass in the world of men. The Roman Catholic Church eventually placed two feast days on the calendar around Samhain—November 1, All Saints’ Day (also known as All Hallows’, making the night before, October 31, All Hallows’ Eve), and November 2, All Souls’ Day. It was a time to remember the dead, and church bells rang out to remind townspeople to pray. Food was set out for lost loved ones, and lanterns burned in windows to help lonely spirits find their way home for a visit. All Hallows’ was also a time of plenty. At summer’s end the harvest was safely stored and livestock slaughtered, meaning there was time for pleasure and, importantly, there was enough food to share. Throughout the winter holidays, tricks, performances, and masked processions were enacted in exchange for food, drink, or money: All Hallows’ kicked off the season. As Halloween began to take its familiar modern shape, two aspects of the night were already legend—Halloween’s relationship with the supernatural world and its celebration of shared food.

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AN OCCASION FOR ENTERTAINING Beset by factories and congested cities, the world’s first industrial societies came to hunger for the country, for a simpler way of life more connected to nature and to deeper truths. They sought comfort in ancient traditions, and Halloween, as seen by Victorian Americans—quaint, rural, mystical, and demanding a certain amount of innocence, was entrancing. This need to commune with the past dovetailed with a fascination for spiritualism in the United States beginning around 1850 when people flocked to clairvoyants to communicate with the dead. Toss in an explosion of printed media detailing Old World Halloween rites, and this night became the perfect occasion for a party. Since October 31 was imagined as a time when spirits could release the secrets of the future, Halloween diversions focused on fortune telling. Hostesses eagerly adopted the divination games of the British Isles, especially those colorfully depicted in Robert Burns’s 1786 poem “Halloween.” Place two nuts at the fireplace grate, according to Scottish folk belief, and name them for yourself and the one you love. If they burn solidly and turn to ash, your love is true. If they sputter or pop, there’s trouble ahead. Other games included tests and tricks done with cabbages, kale stalks, apples, candlelight, and mirrors. Partygoers took delight in them all. Girls could eat an apple in front of a mirror to try and spy a future mate in the reflection, or peel an apple in one long paring, loft the peel over their shoulder, and divine the initial of their soul mate in the shape it took on the floor. Male guests played the game of the “three luggies” (a luggie is a small bowl with handles), where vessels are filled with symbolic substances— clean water, dirty water, or nothing—and the seekers, blindfolded, choose one to divine their fate. If they choose the bowl of clean water, for example, the player’s future mate will be a maid; if they choose the bowl filled with muddy water, a widow; and if they choose the empty bowl, they will be doomed to eternal bachelorhood. Other games were updated or invented: players tried to take bites from apples suspended on strings in doorways. They carved letters in pumpkins, put on blindfolds, and tried to stick pins in an initial to determine the name of their future mate. They set tiny walnut-shell candle boats In an apt description of an early Halloween night, the Atlanta afloat in a tub of water and preConstitution ran these words, describing the Mayor Hemphill’s dicted the course of their love house: lives using the movements of their As the guests entered the hospitable mansion they were greeted tiny boats as omens. The folklore by all manner of smiling lanterns made of pumpkins, cleverly and food of the British Isles and carved with faces . . . Upon the mantel heads of ivory-white cabIreland served as the thematic bages vied each other with cheeriness. Above the mantel in the centerpiece for Halloween parties wide central hallway were arranged graceful boughs of bright from the Victorian era all the way maple leaves. through the first few decades of ( Atlanta Constitution. November 1, 1892) the twentieth century.

Halloween YOU ARE INVITED!

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This fateful night black magic shall decide Who is doomed to die a maid, who will be a bride. Search your mirror’s depths with anxious stare— Is your lover tall or short, is he dark or fair?

Early Halloween party invitations were designed to foreshadow the fun that was to come. Since —Beatrice Barry. “Halloween, 1917.” ladies were expected to be handy New York Times. October 31, 1917 with crafts, invitations were often hand-drawn and decorated with witches, cats, and pumpkins. A rhyming verse—“Come at the witching hour of eight; And let the fairies read your fate . . .”—could be written on nearly anything—colored paper, cornhusks, or on strips of paper tied around a small pumpkin—then delivered, in secret, to each door. Mystery, intrigue, and darkness were key to Halloween entertainment. The party-giver’s house would likely be lit only by jack-o’-lanterns and candles, with a crackling fire in the kitchen or dining area. Clever hostesses played up the drama: a silent, dark-robed figure might lead guests to a darkened room where they could remove their coats. A hostess might greet partygoers with an old elbow glove filled with sawdust. In the corner—what’s that?!—guests could be startled by a long, tin snake set writhing from the heat of a lamp, or—watch out!—they might brush against a gigantic cobweb made of yarn. Party decorations most often included the foliage and foods associated with a rural Scots or Irish Halloween, combined with the harvest treasures of each American region. Homes were festooned with cabbages and cornstalks,

An old-fashioned Halloween card. © Artanika | Dreamstime.com.

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deep red maple leaves, sprays of wheat, and garlands of apples and popcorn. In Georgia there were accents of tiny, clustered smilax berries and leaves, and in New England, boughs of evergreens. Advice columns of newspapers and magazines suggested decorating tables with yellow chrysanthemums. For the very wealthy, favors could be purchased: in 1894 one could buy gold or silver walnut favors, a stick pin in the shape of a kale stalk, or even a mirror and candelabra set, all symbols of divination used in Old World Halloween rites. Although it was possible to buy pumpkin-headed candy containers as early as 1900, most hostesses created their own decorations. Refreshments were also concocted from the best of seasonal offerings: hot cider, molasses candy, spicy gingerbread. Nuts were served in carvedout fresh cabbages, chicken salad in hollowed-out turnip shells, and brilliant orange jack-o’-lanterns were laden with apples, grapes, and pears. Some hostesses served Scottish scones; others opted for New England–style Indian pudding. Guests occasionally dressed in costumes, and playful hostesses disguised themselves as witches or ghosts to tell fortunes, but the socially savvy young lady likely made her entrance in a specially made gown: “Halloween, perhaps, more than any other fete,” says the Atlanta Constitution on October 28, 1894, “supplies possibilities for picturesque and effective gowns, and the end-of-the-century girl is not the one to let them slip by. . . . A very fashionable wardrobe now owns, along with other dainty evening toilets, a Halloween supper frock, which may be made in any mode, but which . . . should suggest, in some way, night itself. Tints vague and intangible, hinting of darkness or the white cool moon, are preferred.” Late nineteenth-century Halloween parties were intended largely for young adults, and tricks and entertainments were excuses to interlace fingers, brush lips, gather close together in the dark, or bump blindfolded into each other’s arms. On this night, lit by the moon and etched in the glitter of first frost, romance and superstition were stirred together to tantalize. A TWENTIETH-CENTURY HOLIDAY The popularity of American Halloween celebrations that had begun in the later nineteenth century flourished in the early decades of the twentieth. And although a Victorian sensibility and style lingered, a new Halloween celebration was forming in an increasingly diverse and democratic America. Halloween parties grew more boisterous and less formal. Hosts delighted in staging celebrations in barns, empty attics and cellars, even in their kitchens. There were at-home parties hosted by adults for adults, and those hosted by adults for children. There were parties in clubs, hotels, churches, libraries, and on college campuses. There were town-wide extravaganzas, where thousands of celebrants took to the streets in costume and made a little noise. And there were private, elite gatherings where society icons the likes of the Vanderbilts or Hearsts would inaugurate the winter social

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season with a Halloween dinner “We opened all our house—as we knew the cellar would be as indance. Debutantes waltzed in the teresting to Uncle John as the attic would be to Great-Aunt Martha. grand ballrooms of New York We had jack-o’-lanterns on the gateposts, and in the spooky corners of the cellar, and in the attic. All the young people were given City’s Hotel Astor, the Lorraine, cards, much like dance-cards, with spaces for engagements in and the Plaza to a backdrop of regular order: ‘9 o’clock, Mr. B-, cellar stairs; 9:30 Mr. C-, library jack-o’-lanterns and fall florals, and davenport, 10:00 Mr. D-, kitchen-table’; and so on. This arrangenewspapers dutifully followed the ment of conversational ‘dates’ kept the young people scrambling decorations and doings of Ameriall over the house, upstairs and down, and there was no possibility of stagnation! At half after eleven we all met in the big living-room ca’s elite. A New York City newsand ranged ourselves around the great fireplace . . . we told ghost paper reported that in 1914 J. D. stories, and roasted chestnuts, and popped corn, and counted Rockefeller was out dunking for apple seeds until well after the charmed hour of midnight!” apples at a Tarrytown, New York, —description of a Halloween housewarming party, Halloween party. The Delineator. October 1911 Imaginative hosts continued to search for ways to make their Halloween parties memorable. At Gracefield, the country home of William R. Grace in Great Neck, Long Island, in 1914, guests arrived to discover that their hosts had installed electric eyes in the heads of wild animals shot by Grace in Africa. At a 1923 party in Greenwich, Connecticut, the decor included crates of live pigs and turkeys, which pranksters opened up at midnight, letting the live animals run loose. More and more, people came to parties in costume, although they were still largely handcrafted. There were Egyptian queens, demure milkmaids, dominoes, and Spanish princesses. Father Time, Richard III, and Romeo shared the dance floor with prima ballerinas, Russian peasants, and Mother Goose.

Store-bought decorations appeared in the early twentieth century. Hostesses could buy pumpkin-shaped favors with candles inside, decorated place cards, and candy containers, as well as books full of ideas about how to decorate, such as this Bogie Book from Dennison. From the Mark B. Ledenbach collection.

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Noisemakers, like this tin tambourine from J. Chein (1920s) were an important part of Halloween celebrations in the early twentieth century. From the Mark B. Ledenbach Collection.

Buffet tables sagged under piles of doughnuts, fruit, and cookies, and partygoers roasted apples and marshmallows in the fireplace. Kids would be happy with “sticky molasses taffy, popcorn balls, doughnuts and hot green pickles.” The look of the American Halloween party crystallized between the two World Wars when mass-manufactured party décor, invitations, favors, and specialty foods became available. The first novelties were German imports, but American companies soon followed—the Beistle Company in Pennsylvania and Dennison Manufacturing Company in Massachusetts were two of the better known—and newspapers were filled with ads for Halloween food and favors. There were pretty, pointed crepe paper hats in yellow and black, masks, leering devil figures with wobbly heads, fortune-telling cake sets, and black paper lanterns with bright red, yowling cat faces. Schrafft’s advertised white layered Halloween cakes with orange jelly filling, and confectionary store windows showcased witch-on-a-broom-shaped cookies or licorice- and orange-flavored gumdrops in the shape of bats. A CHILDREN’S HOLIDAY? After World War II, America turned its attention to home and family, and subsequently, America experienced the largest baby boom in its history. Although shelves were full of Halloween merchandise each October, there was also a renewed emphasis on domestic skills, on knowing how to “do it yourself.” Moms baked healthy treats and stitched Halloween costumes. They squeezed frosting through pastry bags to draw cats on their cookies, and they cut out pictures of witches from magazines to press atop cakes. Halloween had become family friendly: a wholesome celebration for everyone, from the Boys Scouts marching down Main Street in the town’s Halloween parade to the Elks’ Club hosting a Halloween party for the city’s kids. Eisenhower’s 1958 White House was lit with an orange glow for a staff lunch given by the First Lady. In 1969, a giant, one-story-tall fabric jack-o’lantern was stretched over the White House entrance where presidential daughter Tricia Nixon greeted the kids coming to her party.

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Place card. USA Whitney Company, 1920s. From the Mark B. Ledenbach collection.

Four-sided shade, United States, 1930s. From the Mark B. Ledenbach collection.

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Most of Halloween’s iconography, as realized in its decorations and costumes, follows the passions and popular culture (witness Dracula and aliens in today’s Halloween mix!), but the essential elements have stayed throughout its entertaining history. From the Mark B. Ledenbach collection.

Halloween play took on the characteristics of other children’s games of the time. There were scavenger hunts, races, ball games, counting games, games of skill (such as hitting one of a row of cardboard pumpkins and winning a prize), and variations on musical chairs. Bobbing for apples was still a favorite, as were marshmallow-eating contests. Matchmaking games and prophesying gradually lost their relevance, and the Old World divinations quietly fell away. Halloween imagery softened over the course of the 1940s and 1950s as Halloween’s celebrants got younger and younger— witches smiled, black cats purred, owls winked. TAKING IT TO THE STREETS But just as Halloween became more family oriented, a new Halloween entertainment was taking shape. Try as they might, no one—not principals, parents, presidents, or police—had been able to stop hordes of young people from pulling pranks on Halloween. And although there had been kids out on the streets accosting passersby or banging on doors to demand sweets or money for decades, it was not a coast-to-coast phenomenon: to tell the truth, the relationship between children and homeowners on Halloween could be downright contentious. Then, in 1950, a group of children from the Philadelphia area sent a donation of their Halloween cash to UNICEF (originally the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund). The idea caught on instantly: in 1954, 500,000 kids raised $200,000 by collecting coins in orange and black UNICEF milk cartons. By 1961, President John F. Kennedy inaugurated the campaign, and by 1965, the year UNICEF won the Nobel Peace Prize, 3.5 million kids had raised $5.5 million. Trick or treat for UNICEF (along with the Halloween candy industry, by 1965 a $300 million business) helped pave the way for trick or treating in general; by the end of the 1950s it was uncharitable, definitely un-neighborly, not to open your door to children on Halloween night. Porch lights blazed on October 31, and America’s Halloween hosts prepared trays of popcorn balls and caramel-coated apples to welcome their newest guests: the neighborhood’s children.

Halloween

Halloween revelers in New York, 2003. © Serguei Bachlakov | Dreamstime.com.

CARPE NOCTEM Halloween entertaining has always had a big element of self-expression, and it’s this aspect that characterized late twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century celebrations. Décor runs the full gamut from gruesome to gorgeous. For some, fake graveyards, animatronic skeletons, and swooping bats join a humble bale of hay to welcome guests on Halloween night. Parties can feature jiggling, blood red Jell-O hearts, cookies in the shape of witch fingers, eggs decorated to look like eyeballs, and bubbling punches spewing fog. For others, Halloween can be nostalgic—décor can include vintage collectibles or novelties crafted by contemporary artists inspired by the ephemera of earlier Halloweens. In all cases, the outdoors is still pulled inside—be it tombstones as place settings or black roses set in a Victorian vase on the mantel. Candlelight and jack-o’-lanterns still reign. Guests have been arriving at the door for over two millennia now. First there were mythical visitors from the other world, then the souls of the dead. Next came the poor, then family, friends, neighbors, and finally, children from all over. Throughout, the essence of Halloween entertaining remains: the night is dark, the fire is warm. Come in, whoever you are, and have something to eat. No one dare turn away a stranger on Halloween night. Further Reading: Arkins, Diane C. Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration of Fun, Food and Frolics from Halloweens Past. Gretna, LA: Pelican

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Publishing Company, 2004; Bannatyne, Lesley. A Halloween How To: Costumes, Parties, Decorations and Destinations. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2001; Bannatyne, Lesley. A Halloween Reader: Stories, Poems and Plays from Halloweens Past. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2004; Bannatyne, Lesley. Halloween: An American Holiday, An American History. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

Lesley Bannatyne

Hors D’oeuvres and Canapés A canapé is a type of snack that consists of a piece of toasted bread or cracker and some topping. While the term is often used interchangeably with hors d’oeuvre, it is strictly speaking only a subset of hors d’oeuvre. The word derives from Latin canapeum, or canopeum, which means “mosquito net,” and in French, canapé is a type of sofa or couch. The term was established in English with the current usage by the 1890s. OVERVIEW OF HORS D’OEUVRE Hors d’oeuvre refers to an assortment of finger food (food small enough to be picked up with one’s fingers and eaten in a few bites) eaten before or between meals. In other words, it differs from the appetizer in that it is not a part of a meal, and the term literally means “outside of the work.” A range of hors d’oeuvres used to be attractively displayed at the entrance area of a restaurant in order to flaunt the menu and give a glimpse of the quality and variety of food they had to offer to their clients. Today, hors d’oeuvres are often served by a caterer at a reception, a gallery opening, or right before a formal sit-down meal while guests are still arriving. An assortment of hors d’oeuvres is often passed around on a tray and eaten standing up, with a small plate in one hand, and the food in the other. While almost anything can be served as an hors d’oeuvre, as long as it is small and steady enough to be picked up by fingers and eaten in only a few bites, there are several standard categories—smoked meat and fish, pâtés, canapé, cocktail, and crudité (and pickles) and dip. The term cocktail, when referring to a type of hors d’oeuvres, refers to cooked (usually steamed) seafood served on crushed ice with a tangy sauce. Shrimp cocktail immediately comes to mind. A cocktail can also be chopped-up pieces of fruit, sometimes tossed with lemon juice or some acidic dressing, to prevent oxidation and the resulting discoloration. Crudité is a piece of raw vegetable (the term means “raw” in French), such as celery, baby carrot, or broccoli, arranged attractively on a plate. It is served with a dip, or several dips, such as flavored mayonnaise or sour cream. Traditionally, hors d’oeuvre was cold food, but it can include something warm such as zucchini fritters, crocquettes, and small pastries, such as gougères (small cheese puffs). The 1961 edition of Larousse Gastronomique devotes over 30 pages to a list of hors d’oeuvres, and today, thanks to the abundant

Hors D’oeuvres and Canapés influence of numerous international cuisines, the possibilities of the hors d’oeuvre are virtually limitless. Cold canapé can be sushi, and warm canapé can include small tempura, Thai chicken on skewers, or falafels (Middle Eastern fried balls of chick pea purée). Dips can be international as well, examples being hummus (Middle Eastern chick pea purée) and taramasalata (Greek potato and fish roe purée). The important aspects of hors d’oeuvre, other than its small size, are variety (in terms of flavors, texture, and temperature) and visual attractiveness. Each item should have a strong flavor to be satisfying by itself but not too strong or filling so that the appetite is continuously piqued. CANAPÉ

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Dips In the Mediterranean and the Far East, dipping hand-held foods into special sauces is a long-held tradition. People in the United States did not serve dips until after World War II. Prior to that time, finger sandwiches were the major foods at casual parties. Around 1954, the Lipton Company introduced its dehydrated onion soup. Once combined with commercial sour cream, this highly popular “dip” gained the name California Dip and it became a favorite sauce for dunking potato chips. This fad for dip brought into use innovative chip-and-dip servers fashioned from hollowed bread shapes and fruits, along with highly creative dipping platters designed to hold a variety of objects for dipping. The rise in popularity of Mexican foods has also influenced dip flavorings. An example includes the popular seven-layer dip made of beans, cream cheese, salsa, cheddar, and other ingredients such as lettuce and tomatoes. Guacamole is a Mexican dish made from mashed avocado, tomato, onion, and pungent seasoning. Also from Mexico is Chile Con Queso: a concoction of cheeses, tomatoes, hot peppers,and sometimes ground meat. Once the dip was fashioned, hosts experimented with items to dunk into the dips. These ranged from salty chips and crackers to almost any morsel, pierced with a toothpick or suitable for fingers—raw or blanched vegetables, celery sticks, pita, bagel pieces, small biscuits, chunks of bread, cooked shrimp or scallops, cocktail sausages, meatballs, and chunks of any cooked meats. Many classic dips from other cultures also became popular. One such dip is hummus, which dating back to the Crusades, is an Arabic combination of chickpea paste, sesame seed paste, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. It was traditionally scooped up and eaten with flatbread. Another is baba ghanouj, a Middle Eastern dip made from eggplant, olive oil, lemon, and garlic. Bagna Cauda from the Piedmont region of Italy is a mixture of butter, olive oil, garlic, and anchovies. From Provence in France, tapenade is made from cured black olives, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, capers, lemon, and cognac.

While it has some variations, the canapé is basically a small open sandwich. It consists of three parts—base, spread, and garnish. The base is traditionally a piece of toasted or fried bread, but today, it can be a cracker, or even a slice of cucumber for those who are trying to cut down on carbohydrates. A base can also be a small, unsweetened tart shell, or savory profiterole. The most basic type of spread is flavored butter or cream cheese (mustard butter, or cream cheese with chives, for example), but it can be meat or fish salad, pâté, or deviled eggs. The garnish can range from a leaf of parsley or caper ( just to add more color and flavor) to something more substantial such as ham or anchovy. In other words, in some applications, the spread is the main component and the garnish is a little decoration, for example, smoked salmon salad for spread and caper for garnish, and in other applications, vice versa, for example, horseradish mayonnaise for spread and a piece of ham for garnish. The possibilities are endless.

Marty Martindale

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Hors D’oeuvres and Canapés

INTERNATIONAL VARIATIONS OF HORS D’OEUVRES AND CANAPÉS Savory English savory, which came to be served at the end of a meal in recent centuries, was typically a hors d’oeuvre in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. More specifically, it was a type of canapé in that it usually consisted of a piece of toasted bread and some savory topping. An example from the mid-eighteenth century is anchovy fillets on fried bread sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and Seville orange juice. From the nineteenth century, one finds a rather elaborate preparation in which a piece of toasted bread, covered with butter, mustard, cheese, and ham, is fried and then placed in a Dutch oven. The savory enjoyed its heyday in Victorian and Edwardian times, and popular items included Scotch woodcook, chopped up anchovy, and fried oysters wrapped in bacon, all served on a piece of toast. Mezze The tradition of mezze (or meze) covers a wide area from Turkey to Lebanon, Morocco to Greece. The term has a Persian origin in the word meza, which were “small bites” (first a piece of sour fruit, later extending to include roasted meat and nuts) eaten together with wine to alleviate its bitter taste. In Turkey, meze is enjoyed with raki, an anise-flavored spirit. The tradition boasts over two hundred different dishes, and it used to be enjoyed at a table separate from a dining table, called the raki table. The variety includes eggplant purée with mint (baba ghanoush), roasted vegetables with tomato sauce, zucchini fritters, and beets with yogurt. An assortment of meze is often served with pita bread, which might qualify at least some of meze as a variation of canapé. In Lebanon, mezze also plays an important part in social activities, where it is enjoyed in conjunction with arak, wine scented with anise seed. Lebanon mezze include a wide variety of dishes, such as grilled or puréed vegetables, hummus, and tabbouleh. Bread is important in the Lebanese tradition as well; it is used to scoop up dip and pick up small morsels of food. While in Muslim countries one can observe a tendency toward making the mezze part of a meal, the original usage is preserved in Greece, where mezze is enjoyed in conjunction with wine, separate from a meal. Internationally famous examples include taramosalata and tzatziki (cucumber and yogurt salad). Smörgåsbord Smörgåsbord, from Sweden, can be either hors d’oeuvres or a full buffet meal. In the former case, various types of little morsels are presented on a table all at once, to be consumed as finger food. The term literally means “buttered-bread table,” and the assortment of food presented often includes small open sandwiches. Other typical items are cured herring, petit-choux

Hors D’oeuvres and Canapés with anchovy paste, fish in aspic, and pieces of cheese. Crispy bread pieces are served alongside. Tapas Tapas, from Spain, are close to traditional mezze in that they are enjoyed outside ( before) a complete meal and in that they are an integral part of socializing, wine-drinking occasions. Each tapas bar has different tapas specialties, and accordingly, tapas are often enjoyed in conjunction with bar hopping. While there are some tapas enjoyed nationally, for example, unpeeled prawn, each region contributes its own tradition, such as fried seafood and Serrano ham from Andalusia, blood pudding, chorizo a la plancha (grilled spicy pork sausage), and montados de lomo ( pieces of bread with a slice of meat on top) from Castile, pan con tomate ( bread with olive oil, tomato, and salt, sometimes with garlic as well) from Catalonia, and tortillas ( pancakes made with wheat and chickpea flours) topped with shrimp from Seville. Zakuski Zakuski from Russia, literally “little morsels,” is close to tapas in that it is enjoyed with alcohol (in this case vodka), between meals, or before ( but not as a part of ) a meal, in a bar called zakusochnaya. In previous centuries, grander houses had a room only used for zakuski, where guests would propose a toast and enjoy vodka with various finger foods. Zakuski can be hot or cold. Hot dishes include pirozhki; cold dishes include caviar or pickled herring on a piece of bread. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Many cultures have a long and cherished tradition of hors d’oeuvres, and while types of topping vary according to geographical regions, the ubiquity of bread to act as a vehicle is rather striking. Until recent centuries, silverware, especially for individual diners, was for the rich, and people often used a piece of bread to carry food to their mouths. Because hors d’oeuvres are typically eaten standing up, as a part of social, drinking events, perhaps the tradition of using bread, instead of plates, as the preferred vehicle for small bites of food developed as a way to ease the difficulty of trying to eat, drink, and socialize while roaming from one place to another. This aspect of socialization is of importance to modern practical applications. Hors d’oeuvres should be served in a small size, in order to facilitate carrying and eating, and should be relatively light, especially if they are to be followed by a meal. Hosts should strive for variety in order to accommodate guests’ various needs and to whet their appetite. When choosing items to serve as hors d’oeuvres, it is important to consider various food orientations and allergies, such as vegetarianism and veganism, wheat and

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dairy allergies, and to prepare enough options for those with specific needs. The whole assortment should also have a good visual appeal, as is evident from the fact that food is enjoyed by the eye first and that beautiful presentation adds to the conviviality of the overall experience of an event. Across cultural boundaries, it is difficult to find descriptions or instructions of hors d’oeuvres that do not start with the emphasis on the importance of elegant presentation that showcases abundance and variety. Further Reading: Casas, Penelope. Tapas: the Little Dishes of Spain. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007; Gisslen, Wayne. Le Cordon Bleu Professional Cooking. 5th ed. New York: Wiley, 2002; Hazelton, Nika Standen. Classic Scandinavian Cooking. New York: Scribner, 1987; Roden, Claudia. Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006; Saulnier, L. Le Répertoire de la Cuisine. Woodbury: Barron’s Educational Series, 1976.

Chika M. Jenkins

I Inca The food that fed the Incas is the stuff of legends. According to myth, potatoes came into being with the “birth” of the founders of the Inca empire, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo in the massive Lake Titicaca. The god Wiracocha taught them how to plant potatoes. There are thousands of varieties of potatoes and tubers native to the highlands of Peru and Bolivia; they were the so-called bread of life for the people who lived there in ancient times. And for people living there today the same holds true. In addition to potatoes, the foods that made up the daily diet of the Incas included corn, chili, squash, beans, tomato, sweet potato, manioc, avocado, peanuts, and various greens and meats. Chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega in his The Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru describes the eating arrangements of the ruler, called The Inca. Because The Inca’s household was so large, tremendous amounts of food were prepared and served for the main meal of the day in the early morning, around 8 A.M. Concubines or wives cooked The Inca’s food and what he did not eat was distributed to the entourage of noblemen who attended him and others in the household, including servants. Another meal was served at nightfall. Dishes that The Inca might have enjoyed included humitas or tamales, each made with ground corn from either boiled fresh corn or dried kernels.

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The usual manner of preparing corn was boiling, but it was also often toasted. Roasted meats included huanaco ( llama, a mammal of the camel family), pacollama (alpaca), deer, and various fowl, of which one resembled the European goose and was called nunuma. Common people ate guinea pigs (cuy) and saved their skins to dry and then chop up to make charqui, which was used in soups and stews. The Inca received his food from the people in the form of tribute, farmed on land that each family owned and worked. Very similar to a welfare state, the Inca empire inspired awe in the Spanish conquerors, who marveled that no one starved, that the state took care of everyone. Laws for what and how much was to be planted, as well as provisions for storage and the handling of food were part of the system. That the Incas could feed everyone without problems was due to their method of storing surplus food in warehouses and holding redistribution banquets, started by the mythological Inca, Pachacuti. These banquets, really ordinary meals, took place in public in the plaza, according to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Fed by their wives or concubines, The Inca and his nobles ate off wooden plates and drank from beaker-like containers called keros sitting on mats on the ground. Keros found in archeological sites indicate that some were painted with intricate and symbolic designs. Servants, both male and female, served the leftover food to those who had not yet eaten. Beverages were drunk after meals. Water was not drunk. Whatever The Inca left on his wooden plate was then stored in

Pen and ink illustration of Inca farmers harvesting a potato crop in June 1515. The Art Archive /John Meek.

Inca a warehouse and burned once a year, so that no one would touch the items he had touched. Bernabé Cobo, who was born in 1580 and wrote much later after the conquest of Peru ended in 1549, stated that Incan kitchens used very little fuel in their small clay stoves. Although the kitchens contained grinding stones similar to those used in Mexico, women ground corn only for maize bread called sanco, which they used for two festivals, Raimi and Citua. According to Guamán Poma de Ayala, an Indian chronicler, wealthy nobles ate deer meat, duck, fish, and fruit like bananas and guavas, while peasants ate squash, stewed vegetables, and greens. Both groups also ate corn, potatoes, cassava, chili, and a tuber called oca, native to the high Andes. Meat, when available, was often cooked in the pachamanca style that is still an important cooking method in the Andes, because it was fuel efficient and many other dishes could be cooked at the same time. Llama meat was not eaten often, partly because their slaughter was highly regulated under Incan laws. As in any culture, the Incas of all classes devised special meals for special occasions. Plantings and harvests were two of those occasions. Planting potatoes in the highlands utilized both chicha and coca leaves, as well as sheep’s manure for fertilizer. Digging holes with chaki takllas, or shovel-like tools, the Inca farmers sprinkled the potatoes with the chicha, dropped in some sheep manure. Later, a potato and coca leaf were buried together to symbolize union. Afterwards, the planting party enjoyed music and a soup the women made with beans, tubers, guinea pig, quinoa, and toasted maize kernels. Harvest time, as with all agrarian cultures, was also a time of festivals, a time to honor the Corn Goddess, Mamasara, and to let loose by imbibing copious quantities of chicha, an alcoholic beverage created in part from pre-masticated corn kernels chewed by women chicha makers even today. Peasants as well as nobles drank chicha; however, according to the early chroniclers, drinking until a person lost judgment was a punishable offense. Drinking chicha was not simply a matter of getting drunk. There were certain religious and ritual connotations involved. Our understanding of the ritualistic aspects of drinking has been diluted somewhat by the prejudices of the early Spanish chroniclers. The planting ritual mentioned above is one example of this ceremonial usage. The drinking vessels for chicha could be of many different materials, ceramic, silver, or gold, or even the skulls of vanquished enemies. Further Reading: Betanzos, Juan de. Narrative of the Incas. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996; Cieza de León, Pedro de. Discovery and Conquest of Peru. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998; Cobo, Bernabé, and Roland Hamilton. History of the Inca Empire: An Account of the Indians’ Customs and Their Origin, Together with a Treatise on Inca Legends, History, and Social Institutions. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979; Coe, Sophie D. America’s First Cuisines. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994; Crosby, Alfred W., Jr. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972; Garcilaso de la Vega, El Inca. The Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of

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Peru. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966; Guamán Poma de Ayala, Felipe. Letter to a King: A Peruvian Chief’s Account of Life under the Incas and under Spanish Rule. New York: Dutton, 1978; The International Potato Center: http:// www.cipotato.org/; Moseley, Michael E. Incas and Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Peru. Rev. ed. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001; Xeres, Francisco de. Reports on the Discovery of Peru. Boston: Adamant Media Corporation, 2001 [reprint of 1872 edition].

Cynthia D. Bertelsen

India The Sanskrit phrase atithi devo bhava, or “the guest is God,” permeates Indian dining and entertaining practices. Sharing food with anybody who comes to the door or hosting feasts and celebrations, not only for entertainment but also as a way of thanks to God almighty, is considered a human being’s duty, the best karma (action). There is a story about Lord Krishna when he was a little boy. Once it rained for several days and the people sought refuge in his care to save them from drowning. He lifted the nearby mountain high on his index finger so that humans as well as animals could take shelter under it. The people were very grateful. When the rain stopped, they brought 56 types of food to thank him. Since then 56 has become an auspicious number for types of food to be offered to God and honored guests. Entertaining practices in India have evolved over time. It was customary to invite friends and family at the birth of a child (especially a son), at weddings, religious festivals, and other joyous occasions. The guests brought gifts, generally money or jewelry, while the host made it a pleasing experience for all those who came. Besides inviting guests to their home, people also distributed sweet and salty treats to all acquaintances. The royalty and the rich of course entertained a larger number of guests. Some opened their kitchens to the poor to come and eat to their heart’s content. While the rich were known to use silver or gold vessels, the common practice was to serve food on banana leaves or other large leaves pinned together as plates. The practice still continues at some places though the preferred way to serve food is on stainless steel or metal plates called thali with katori (small bowls) that are filled with different vegetable entrées, yogurt, and pickles and served with rice, sweets, and hot flat breads. Alcoholic drinks were not very common. Though vegetarian food was the norm, there were instances of a lamb or goat used as a sacrifice to the gods and served to guests. Beef and pork were never used. The advent in A.D. 1526 of the Mughal kings who ruled India for about 200 years largely influenced the entertaining practices and foods. Biryani (rice cooked with meat and vegetables) and some meat dishes were brought from the royal kitchens of Persia by the Mughals. The Muslim warriors established themselves as landed aristocracy. The banquets arranged by the

India noblemen at the Mughal court are described by some English authors who traveled to India after the British settled in the country around 1611. The splendor of the Mughal courts is described in detail. Entertainment at the courts included dancing, drinking, and playing elaborate games. It is said that 50 silver bowls containing different delicacies were placed before the honored guest. The British dominated in India for more than 200 years. The practice of eating formally in a dining room with a complete place setting was introduced by the British. They brought their own butlers and cooks, who prepared a number of meat dishes. The British cooks also worked with Indian cooks to prepare Indian-style dishes with aromatic spices and called them curry. Some say that curry comes from the Hindi word kar-hi, named after the karhi leaves that were one of the spices widely used. The most widely found origin of the word curry indicates that it comes from the Tamil kari which means “sauce, relish for rice.” In India today curry is considered a sauce rather than a spice. The British also promoted the cultivation of tea, which has since become a national drink in India. Any time is tea-time for Indians. In spite of a plethora of external influences, many traditions have remained in Indian dining practices. In general, people wash their hands before eating and eat with their hands. This is based on the philosophy that eating is a very sensual activity in which as many of the senses as possible— taste, smell, sight, and touch—should be involved. However, especially in northern India, it is impolite to use more than the first two segments of the fingers while eating. Another practice is that food must be taken with the right hand and the left hand should be used to serve food or to pass a dish to someone else. In some castes, such as the priestly or Brahmin, upper-class Hindu society, it is believed that the right hand and the food eaten by that hand becomes jhootha (used or soiled) and cannot be shared by anybody else. But in other parts of Indian society, such as in aristocratic Muslim families, it is more a question of courtesy and hospitality that one does not touch dishes that are passed on to others with the jhootha hand, than an attempt to maintain religious purity. People from India, living in their native land or other countries, have carried on most Indian celebration practices. Besides parties at home, larger occasions like anniversaries and weddings are held in restaurants, party halls, and sometimes on open country farms. Naturally a fusion of customs and foods has occurred. Sweet sixteen parties, bridal showers, and baby showers are also celebrated. Noodles cooked in Chinese-Indian style, pizza and different types of burgers have become popular, especially for children. The host makes all efforts to please the guests, not only with delectable food, but also an attractive setting decorated with flowers, lights, streamers, and other welcoming signs. Based on the occasion, light or classical vocal and instrumental music and dances are arranged. It is common for people to dance to lively music at parties. The host and hostess greet the guests on arrival. Guests generally eat first. If a guest is accompanied with a personal

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driver or the children’s nanny, they are also served food. The guests bring appropriate gifts and thank the host before leaving. A box of sweet delicacies or other small favors may be returned to the guests. Weddings are a prime occasion to invite friends and relatives and thus provide an opportunity for the elite to show off their fortunes. Decorating for the weddings, especially the mandap, the structure under which the marriage ceremony is held, is a business in itself. It is not uncommon to be invited to three or four related events that are part of the wedding ceremony. Besides the engagement party with dance, music, and food, a special music program, and mehndi ( henna) are organized before marriage. Applying henna is considered auspicious and is more prevalent in North India. Generally an expert is invited to apply intricate henna designs on the hands and feet of the bride as well as friends and relatives. The elaborate wedding ceremony is accompanied with snacks or lunch, and finally a reception, replete with alcoholic drinks, foods from different parts of India, and dancing to lively music. Some weddings boast 1,000 guests under a marquee that’s the size of a cricket field. Individual booths are set up for dishes from around the world. Wedding celebrations vary from region to region. For example, you may find dance and music at most Hindu and Sikh weddings, but it is very unlikely that you would find them in Muslim weddings (apart from weddings that take place in cosmopolitan cities such as Delhi and Mumbai), and

An Indian marriage. © Nikhil Gangavane | Dreams time.com.

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Typical stage of an Indian wedding. © Gansham Ramchandani | Dreamstime.com.

in some cases, in traditional Hindu, Jain, and Sikh weddings as well. Christian weddings have church ceremonies and church music, sometimes followed by the traditional wedding dance. But conservative Christians often skip the dance entirely. Marriage customs in India vary from absolutely conservative behind-the-veil-segregated ceremonies to completely modern ceremonies with Bollywood-style dances and bachelor / bachelorette parties. Buffets are becoming more of a norm nowadays. Men and women mingle freely though people of the same sex tend to congregate together. Fine china or paper goods are used to serve food. It is a personal preference whether to eat with your hands or with a spoon or fork. The practice to prepare fresh food as much as possible continues. The caterers come with large griddles, gas stoves, and portable ovens. Appetizers can be deep fried or steamed. Baked vegetables, chicken, and fish, along with well-known samosas ( potato or meat stuffed triangular patties) and papad ( large spicy wafers made from lentils), are available as starters. Chat papdi and Bhel, mixtures of flour chips, fried noodles, and chutney, alu-tikki ( potato and peas patties), idli and dhokla (rice and lentil cakes) are popular too. Most of the appetizers are served with sweet and sour chutney made from fresh mint, cilantro, and tamarind. The vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, combined with lentils and beans, full of fresh ginger, aromatic spices, hot green chilies or chili flakes,

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and herbs like green coriander (cilantro) and curry leaves (sweet and bitter leaves from a tree), make a memorable symphony of tastes. The menu always includes a cooling yogurt-based dish; various sour, sweet, and pungent pickles and chutney; and aromatic basmati rice. Different types of round or oblong flat breads are a trademark of Indian cuisine and must be served as they come piping hot from the griddle or oven. Some popular dishes include paneer (cheese chunks made by curdling milk) cooked with spinach, spicy lamb vindaloo and tandoori chicken ( baked marinated pieces of chicken), and stir-fried kadai (wok) vegetables. Ras Malai (milk cakes in thickened milk) tops the list of desserts. There is a variety of burfi (fudge-like delicacies), round cakes called laddu, and halvah (flour, lentils, or carrots slowly browned in butter and mixed with nuts and sugar). The sweets are generally covered with delicate sheets of beaten silver, which besides being a decoration are also considered healthy. Tropical fruits like mangoes and papayas are used in salads and ice creams. Besides water, mango lassi (a yogurt drink, that can be drunk with or without the fruit flavoring), Masala chai (spiced tea with milk), original Darjeeling tea, and coffee with milk are popular drinks. The meals end with paan ( beetle

Indian vegetable curries. © Paul Cowan | Dreamstime.com.

Invitations leaf folded around assorted digestive ingredients), which also acts as mouth freshener. Typical foods served vary from region to region due to climate and traditions. While in one area most of the dishes are onion- and garlic-based, coconut and tamarind ( pulp of a sour pod ) may be more commonly used in another area. Seafood is the staple food in coastal areas. However, the use of spices, the variety of sweets and snacks, and the pleasure of entertaining a guest are what binds the whole country. Further Reading: Baljekar, Mridula. Great Indian Feasts: 130 Wonderful, Simple Recipes for Every Festive Occasion. London: England: John Blake, 2005; Collingham, E. M. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006; Jaffrey, Madhur. From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2003; Jordan, Michele Ann, and Susan Brody. The World is a Kitchen: Cooking your Way through Culture, Stories, Recipes, Resources. Palo Alto, CA: Travelers’ Tales, 2006; Rani. Feast of India— A Legacy of Recipes and Fables. Contemporary Books, 1991; Wickramasinghe, Priya, and Carol Selva Rajah. The Foods of India: A Journey for Food Lovers. North Vancouver, B.C.: Whitecap, 2005.

Kusum Gupta

Invitations Inviting others to share our food and company has probably been around as long as mankind. The word invite first seems to appear in the Sanskrit language, the classical language of India, from the words in (toward) and vitas ( pleasant). As early as the eighth century B.C., hosting social events was of enormous social importance. Who was invited to dine with the host was often carefully considered and still is to this day. However, how different societies have gone about inviting their guests has varied and evolved through the years. The first known form of invitation was given verbally. When a Sherpa host, or the early explorers and mountain people of the Himalayan region, wanted to give what would have been the beginnings of the modern-day dinner party, he would send a small child to act as a messenger to call on the local neighbors. The small children were probably the only persons who didn’t have some other type of work to do. In ancient Athens, Greece, most invitations were offered in the public place of assembly referred to as the agora. The agora, or marketplace, was the hub of a city’s trade, political, and social activities. There were sections for merchants to sell their products, parks with the orchestra, or dancing floor, for dramatic presentations, and various gymnasia. The gymnasia were as much a place for socializing as for exercising. For a large social event, where the host could afford to accommodate many guests, a town crier would be called upon to loudly circulate the announcement in the agora. Or a host may decide to have a smaller, more casual symposium, or drinking party, and spontaneously invite friends in passing at the gymnasium. Here, it is first seen that it

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was customary for the host to inscribe the names of guests on a wax tablet, along with the day and hour for the symposium, and have a servant make the rounds to the guests’ homes. As history shows, the first form of the postal system appears to have started in Ancient Greece. Private messages, such as techniques of war, were written on stone, but carrying these message slabs proved to be a difficult task at best. It was probably the ancient Egyptians, who invented the first paper, called papyrus, that delivered the first light-weight messages. The first credible claim for the structuring of a message delivery system comes from Persia, present-day Iran, around 550 B.C. A message carrier would ride a horse from one station to the next, swap his horse for a fresh one, and continue onto the next. China also developed a mail delivery system; credit given to the Qin Dynasty in 221 B.C. This was an expansion of the previously random system of delivery that dated back to Confucius in 551 B.C. The first well-documented postal service is that of Rome. Organized at the time of Augustus Caesar (62 B.C.–A.D. 14) it is probably the first true mail service. Posta, meaning “place of rest,” comes from the stations where messengers used to rest during their travels. Modern-day mail is organized by national and privatized services, and mail can be sent to almost any country of the world easily. During the times of the New Testament, invitations were offered in two steps. The first invitations were formal and always refused with thanks. There would then follow a second and more personal request from the host until the guest would acquiesce to the offer. Illiteracy was still widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages. Similar to practices in ancient Greece, social events were announced by a town crier, or bidder. This was usually a finely dressed gentleman who would walk the streets and markets and loudly announce the news of the day. Anyone happening to hear the announcement would become part of the celebration. The kings and queens and those members of high society in England and France were the first to invite their guests to weddings with formally written invitations. Neighboring monks, skilled in the art of calligraphy, were often commissioned to write the invitations. The lady of the house or her secretary might also pen the invitations, signifying education and grace. These royal invitations often carried the cote d’armes or coat of arms of the family. These personal crests arose out of the need to identify a person, similar to a signature today. Today, invitations may still carry the family crest at the top to add a touch of class and honor to a society wedding. These invitations needed to be delivered on horseback by one of the servants or couriers. To protect the fragile and beautiful invitations, an outer envelope was used. This would protect the inner envelope from water and dirt. The courier would ride up on horseback, hand it to the butler, who discarded the outer envelope, and placed the inner envelope on a silver tray. This ensured the madam’s hands would never come into contact with the

Invitations grime of the road. The double envelope remains a tradition for many to this day. In 1447 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. Some of the elite, fascinated with industrialization, tried “mass produced” invitations as a novelty and another expression of wealth. But because the ink was just stamped onto poor-quality paper, the look of the invitation was less than ideal and often found unacceptable for stylish invitations. So the novelty dwindled and handwritten invitations continued to be the tradition. During the early 1600s local newspapers started to be widely printed as literacy rose. Not long after, couples started announcing their engagements and upcoming wedding plans to the public, a practice still popular today. In 1642, Ludwig von Siegen created metal-plate engraving. With this method, an artisan was required to “hand write” in reverse onto a metal plate using a carving tool. When “printed” on the paper, engraving actually cuts the surface on the paper and deposits the ink into the cuts. This allowed the invitations to look more stylish and beautiful. A sheet of tissue paper was placed on top of the engraving to keep the ink from smudging. The tradition of a piece of tissue paper is still used today for most wedding invitations. The invention of lithography by Alois Senefelder in 1798 made it possible to produce very sharp and distinct inking without the need for engraving. Thus, the invitations were produced in the marked fashion we are familiar with today. “Dinner-parties rank first among all entertainments” is taken from the English manners book Member of the Aristocracy, dated 1879. The anonymous writer goes on to say, “An invitation to dinner conveys a greater mark of esteem than being asked to any other gathering could do.” Such was the height of social entertaining in the European countries where dinner parties were one of the primary ways to advance socially. Invitations could be tricky, because people on the host’s list might be insulted if someone of a lower class was invited, or if an invitee of certain ambition denied the invitation, it could ruin the whole schematics of the party. The first mass-printed invitations in the United States were probably for large events hosted by the wealthy industrialist wishing to exploit “new technology.“Gradually, the combination of democracy with industrialization led to the common man having the ability to mimic the lifestyles of the socially elite. However, it wasn’t until after World War II that the entire U.S. population began to commercially print wedding invitations. The most socially elite will still choose either engraved or handwritten invitations. For those of lesser means, a cheaper version of engraving called thermography, or “raised ink” printing, is available. Unlike engraving, thermography printed paper is removed from the press with wet ink and a plastic powder is sprayed on the wet ink and blown off. The plastic powder absorbs the ink color. It is then heated until the plastic powder melts and leaves a raised ink, which one can feel when brushing their finger across the paper.

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PAPER SELECTION AND WORDING In the mid-nineteenth century, Victorians sent engraved wedding invitations printed on fine stationary of either white or cream color. Today, white or cream paper is still selected for the most formal occasions. For lesser occasions, a wide range of color options is available, from pastels for baby showers to electric silvers and golds for anniversaries. Since the written invitation emerged in aristocratic society, proper wording has been essential in signifying the degree of formality. The actual wording used then is still very similar to the socially correct wording used today. Emily Post dictates that formal invitations be phrased in the third person. Invitations to a ceremony should request the “honour of your presence.” Honour is spelled the British way. “Requests the pleasure of your company” is the standard wording for formal social events. Names are always written in full, not initials or nicknames. Courtesy titles are abbreviated (Mrs., Ms., Miss., Mr.) as well as “Dr.” Numbers for dates and times are written out, often retaining conservative language, such as “half after seven o‘clock.” Month and state names are written in full, as are addresses. Invitations should include any additional details, such as: “You are welcome to join us for drinks before dinner starting at six o’clock.” Proper wedding invitations include the names of the bride’s parents. Since etiquette rules have relaxed, the groom’s parents are often included, especially if hosting the event. If the parents are divorced and remarried, all their names can be included. If the bride and groom are hosting the wedding themselves, the parents’ names might not be included at all. In the advent of invitations, when all were handwritten, the invitee’s name was always written on the invitation, as well as the inner envelope. Today, to defray cost, seldom is each guest’s name included on their invitation, except on the most elite occasions. In European society, the inner envelope was often affixed with a hot wax seal to ensure the privacy and heighten anticipation for the invitee. The wax seal was often the coat of arms of the host. Today using a hot wax seal adds a touch of class and portrays the importance of sealing each envelope. In the Victorian era, separate reception cards became popular. Today, these additional cards are used to receive an accurate count of guests to such things as dinner parties and receptions so the host can be well prepared. For formal events, cards will be included with the invitations stating, “the favour of a reply is requested.” To less formal and more spontaneous events, a phone call or email may be appropriate. Given the popularity of the Internet and text messaging one might wonder if the tradition of mailing formal invitations is at risk of extinction. This seems unlikely, as there are hundreds of competing companies to choose from to print a personalized invitation. Handmade invitations are becoming more popular, thanks to the efficiency of home computer printing programs and scrap booking techniques. Really, the imagination is the

Italy limit when it comes to options for invitations. Thus, it appears the craft and tradition of mailing invitations is as likely to be part of our future history as is our continuing to socialize. Further Reading: Flaceliere, Robert. Daily Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles. London: Phoenix Press [1959], 1996; Visser, Margaret. The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991; Garland, Robert. Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998; Post, Peggy, and Emily Post. Emily Post’s Etiquette. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004.

WEB SITES “Invitation Cards.” http://www.creativeweddingcards.com. “The History of the Social Invitation.” http://www.ed-it.com. “History of the Wedding Invitation.” http://www.myexpression.com. “Renaissance Writings.” http://www.renaissancewritings.com. “The Past.” http://www.thinkquest.org.

Shannon Heffern

Italy Italian cuisine is one of the best known outside of its country of origin. Pasta, risotto, and pizza are eaten worldwide, and Italian cheese and cold cuts are available in supermarkets everywhere. Many factors have contributed to the success of Italian cooking. First, Italians cook seasonally, using the freshest ingredients available, which are cooked in a way that enhances, rather than smothers, their particular flavors. Second, Italian cuisine has benefited from the wealth and diversity of local culinary traditions and ingredients that characterize most areas of the country. Each Italian regional culinary tradition carries the legacy of past invaders and settlers. In Sicily, for example, some distinctive traits of its culinary tradition, marzipan and nougat, were introduced by the Islamic Saracens, who invaded Sicily in the Middle Ages. Third, geography has also been equally important. From the cheese in the North to the sun-ripened fruits and vegetables of the South, Italian morphology has enhanced such diversity. Finally, food plays a special role in Italian society. It is not seen as a mere way to obtain pleasure. Rather, it is considered a form of art that plays an important role in the way that Italians socialize and identify themselves as a nation. Thus, although Italian food habits may have changed over the centuries due to exogenous factors triggered by the process of modernization, the notion of culinary identity and its role in society has remained almost intact, making it one of the enduring traits of Italian culture.

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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Italian cuisine is characterized by a variety of culinary identities that in some cases share very little in common. Each rural area, town, and region has developed its unique style and recipes, and passed these traditions to future generations. Used as an adjective, as in the expression all’italiana ( Italian style), so-called Italian cooking is rarely associated with a particular dish. On the contrary, images evoking regionalism are plentiful, such as the risotto alla milanese (risotto with saffron, traditionally served with ossobuco); pesto alla genovese ( basil, salt, garlic, Ligurian extra-virgin olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmigiano Reggiano); and “Neapolitan pizza” ( pizza topped with sunripened tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, and basil ). On the other hand, Italy has increasingly seen the emergence of a so-called national diet, which has led to what we now call la cucina italiana. The reason for these apparently contradictory trends can be traced to Italy’s political and historical evolution as a nation. Until 1861, when the kingdom of Italy was established, the country was a divided political entity that had suffered foreign domination at the hands of French, Spaniards, and Austrians. Although a sense of national identity started flourishing in the Middle Ages, this sentiment was limited to few intellectuals, writers, and scholars. The masses were left out from this process to the extent that, when Italy reached its unification, Massimo D’Azeglio noted in the inaugural session of the parliament, “We have made Italy, now we have to make Italians.” Thus, for the next 50 years, Italian authorities implemented a series of measures to build a national identity. In this historical context, Pellegrino Artusi wrote the first and most successful attempt to create a national culinary tradition: the famous cookbook The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well (La scienza in cucina e l’arte del mangiar bene). Artusi’s book, published in 1891, was inspired mainly by his desire to create a national cuisine that could reclaim its autonomy from foreign influences. Drawing mostly from the Florentine and Bolognese cuisine (with few references to Neapolitan dishes, such as pizza and pasta), Artusi created a new national vocabulary that until that moment had been quite fragmentary. If the first edition was not a hit with the public, success eventually arrived, mostly due to the interest of a newly emerging middle class in need of being properly trained in food preparation and taste. In the 20 years following the book’s publication, 14 editions were printed, and by 1931 it had reached 32 editions, making The Science of Cooking the most read book in Italy together with the I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) and Pinocchio. The emergence of the bourgeoisie also had a strong impact on the structure of lunch and the sequence of courses. Since the eighteenth century, banquets consisted in having all dishes on the table simultaneously, and guests were introduced to food without observing any order, each obeying their own taste and appetite. This style of service was known as French style service. Tables were abundantly decorated to reflect the taste of the aristocracy, who were more interested in showing their wealth than in enjoying the

Italy meal. However, by the mid-1800s, French service was replaced by Russian service, where dishes were served one after the other, according to a hierarchical order. The reasons for the success of the Russian service were twofold. To begin with, it reflected a change in taste. Russian service rejected the cacophonic ensemble characterizing the French style, in favor of a more coherent order. From a culinary point of view, the advantages of Russian style service were obvious: dishes arrived at the table cooked to perfection to enhance the flavor and fragrance. Moreover, the bourgeoisie was less concerned with the formalities of proper etiquette and more focused on the pleasures of eating. As a result, the ceremonial went out of fashion, proving that eating well could be achieved without a display of luxury. The contemporary Italian meal owes its structure to the Russian service. A slow progression of dishes and courses still characterize Italian lunches and dinners, especially for special occasions, such as during il pranzo della Domenica (Sunday lunch), when extended families eat together. A Sunday lunch must include pasta fresca ( homemade pasta) as a first course, fish or meat and side dishes as a second one, followed by a dessert. However, social changes and the fast pace of today’s life have increasingly encouraged a more flexible way of consumption, such as making only one dish per meal. Il piatto unico (single dish) indicates “a substantial dish that is easy to prepare—or indeed the opposite—as a very rich and highly appreciated dish served at a dinner among friends” (Capatti and Montanari 151). Originally most popular with poor communities in need of creating a meal at the lowest cost, today’s single dish is eaten by many Italians. Condensing a meal into a single portion saves time and money. Since the 1950s, Italians have rediscovered regional traditions and folklore. Local food festivals, such as sagre, feste, and fiere, have become extremely popular. Centered on local products such as fruit, vegetables, or meat, festivals have become an opportunity to celebrate food, art, and culture. During these celebrations, mostly staged in old fortified villages and rural communities, old country fairs and entertainment are revived, sometimes after many years of oblivion. Simple dishes have been also rediscovered by younger generations. One of the most successful examples of this is spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (garlic, oil, and hot pepper), which has turned into a favorite midnight snack for many, as immortalized by Federico Fellini in his movie, La dolce vita. However, the peculiarity of the Italian search for traditional flavors and smells is not purely hedonistic. Culture and food are strongly tied in Italy. Conviviality is not reduced to a sterilized set of good manners. In the Italian collective imagination, good food is not pretentious, expensive food; good food is tied to the table of the poor peasant family. Food is inextricably linked with the joys of family and sharing. In the 1954 Italian movie Un americano a Roma (An American in Rome), Alberto Sordi plays Nando Moriconi, a young aspiring artist in love with American models and myths: he wants “to eat like an American” (mustard, milk, and jam), and he renounces his mom’s spaghetti. However, at the end of the hilarious scene in which Sordi

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converses with a plate of spaghetti, he throws away the American food and goes back to his pasta. This scene is like a gastronomic hymn to the spirit of Italy and of Italian families everywhere. Although still persisting, this ideal of good food has been challenged from time to time. In the 1980s, there was an obsession for lean bodies and diets. Suddenly, pasta and bread became unhealthy, and dietetic products swept through the country as a storm. One paradox that characterized this process was the role played by media. On one hand, they promoted athletes and models as living examples of a new lifestyle for the common citizen. On the other hand, the same media encouraged consumerism and unconstrained abandonment to the pleasures of eating. This trend became pathological in the 1990s. Anorexia and obesity increased, especially among young people. Despite all these problems, traditional food fundamentally remains an anchor in Italian society. Roberto Benigni wonderfully portrayed this widespread feeling among Italians in his movie La vita è bella (Life Is Beautiful ). Benigni, playing a Jewish prisoner in a German concentration camp, uses food as a way of protecting his son from the cruelty of the camp. In a comically tragic scene, Benigni acts as interpreter to protect his son. He transforms the speech of a German soldier from a list of punishments for those who disobey the orders into a game. He does so by introducing foodrelated words in his translation, such as merendine (snacks) and leccalecca (suckers), which diminish the severity of the experience for his son. However, the turn to traditional food has not just been the result of a spontaneous popular initiative. Parliamentarians and scientists have also recognized the need to preserve certain traditions and the authenticity of Italian food. Italians are highly resistant to the influences of American food. They feel that an Americanization of Italian cuisine, through fast food and pre-cooked meals, would corrupt the unique taste of Italian food, destroy traditional differences, and compromise good nutrition. As a result of this national awareness, a number of institutions and associations, such as the slow food movement and l’Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Italian Academy of Cuisine), have emerged. Founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986, the slow food movement is an attempt to combat fast food by preserving regional cuisine and by linking food production to each ecological region. Although it started as a response to domestic concerns, today the slow food movement is present in more than 100 countries with over 83,000 members.

Traditional Italian pub food. Gianluca Figliola Fantini/Shutterstock.

Italy In contrast to this popular organization, L’Accademia Italiana della Cucina is a more formal institution. Recognized in 2003 by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Affairs for its cultural merits, the Accademia earned the denomination of “Cultural Institution,” thus placing it among the largest and most important Italian cultural organizations. Even though Accademia’s goals and objectives are plentiful and diversified, they believe that the appreciation for Italian food goes beyond the mere act of eating. For the Accademia, preserving Italian culinary traditions means: Discovering or rediscovering the culture of conviviality, also in one’s own home, with friends; acquiring or renewing the awareness of sitting at the same table, united by the participation in what might be defined as a common celebration—almost a re-experiencing of the spiritual significance of the rite of the communion, where the act of being together also has the function of reciprocal support, of solidarity expressed in the gesture of offering—is also a way of valorising oneself, a valid educational principle not to be dispersed. (Accademia Italiana della Cucina Web site)

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Il Cenone (The Italian Christmas Feast) In Italy the spirit of Natale (Christmas) begins around the first day of December. Il presepio (a Nativity scene) is a common sight in smaller towns, where a sense of awe for the day’s profound religious meaning is strongest. For the religious and the secular alike, the celebration is likely to include two important traditions: midnight Mass and il cenone, the Christmas feast, served on Christmas Eve. Many Italian Catholics hold to the Church tradition of abstaining from meat the day before Christmas. Thus il cenone is entirely fish based. Antipasto (appetizers) may include oysters, mussels, clams, shrimp, crab, or smoked salmon. The first course, either rice or pasta, is served with a sauce made with regional seafood. Entrées range from lobster to sea bass to the humble sardine. Baccalà (salted cod) appears on many tables in northern Italy. Eels are specialties of Venice and in the city of Naples. FURTHER READING Christmas in Italy. Chicago: World Book. 1995. Esposito, Mary Ann. Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year. New York: Hearst Books, 1995. Kasper, Lynne Rossetto. The Splendid Table: Recipes from EmiliaRomana, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1992. Kasper, Lynne Rossetto. The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy’s Farmhouse Kitchens. New York: Scribner, 1999. Parmiani, Floria. “Christmas Tradition in Italy: Christmas Customs Split Italy in Two.” Floria Publications. January 13, 2007. January 15, 2007. http://www.floria-publications.com / italy/ life_and_customs /christ mas_tradition_in_italy.html. Plotkin, Fred. Italy for the Gourmet Traveler. London: Kyle Cathie, 2003.

Despite the heterogeneity in the goals and objectives of the slow food movement and the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, they share the notion that the unique Italian culinary experience should be protected. Despite the efforts of many Italians to rediscover their culinary roots, Italian cooking became more homogenized due to the proliferation of mass media, especially television. Local products became popular nationwide. Panettone was until the 1930s a cake exclusively consumed in Milan. The stiff competition between the two leading producers, Motta and Alemagna, which contributed to lower the price of the product, followed by a massive commercial campaign, allowed panettone to become today the country’s

Christine Venzon

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leading Christmas sweet. Another example of a successful marketing campaign is Barilla’s Mulino Bianco ( White Mill ) cookies and baked goods in the 1980s. By the 1990s, Barilla, a world-leading Italian food company, controlled 37 percent of the Italian market, mostly due to the ability of its commercials to connect its baked goods with the idea of a modern family—represented by a picture of a stylized family (father, mother, boy, and girl) living in the countryside in a “white mill” and enjoying a rural cuisine (wholesome products and healthy food). Finally, Nutella, a hazelnut-based sweet spread produced by Ferrero, has exceeded the most optimistic expectations by becoming not only the leading product in its segment, but also a cultural and social phenomenon, celebrated in books and movies. HOLIDAYS Dietary habits mark the pace of life experienced by a given community. Studying how a past culture prepared food can remind us of how for most of human history consumption was marked by the harvesting of seasonal crops. Italian holidays are a living example of this tradition. Although today we can find a wide selection of products, detached from their country of origin or traditional seasonal harvesting, Italian holidays and festivities are still true to their origins. This phenomenon is clearly evident on the occasion of national holidays and celebrations, when Italians turn to traditional cuisine. Carnevale is one of the most famous Italian festivities and surely the most joyful. Although its origins can be traced back to ancient Rome ( Saturnalia), Carnevale as a modern festivity appeared in the Middle Ages and marked the last possible opportunity for people to celebrate before Lent, when fasting and austerity were enforced as a way to become spiritually prepared to commemorate the Passion of Christ at Easter. During Carnevale everything is permitted—dancing, entertainment, and food. One saying says it all: A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale (All’s fair at Carnival ). Even though Carnevale is celebrated with parades and dancing in the streets everywhere in Italy; in some cities these celebrations are so unique that they draw tourists and visitors from all over the world. In Ivrea (Piedmont), one can find the “battle of oranges,” in which oranges are used as bloodless weapons in a “war” between those on carnival floats and those attending the parade. In Viareggio ( Tuscany), majestic allegorical floats, representing big names in show business and politics, are represented with satire and irony. Finally, in Venice, home of the most famous Carnevale in the country, squares and streets are filled with tourists who come to attend the parades and events organized each year. Each region has special culinary recipes for the occasion, but sweets play the leading role, and among them, fried sweets seem better to incarnate this desire for transgression. The most popular recipe is le chiacchere (gossips). They can be found everywhere in Italy, although with different names: in Friuli they are called grostoli, sfrappole in Emilia, galani in Veneto, frappe in Marche, and cenci in Tuscany. Other popular sweets include la cicerchiata (a fried pastry ball cake with honey and almond coating), typical in Central Italy, and gli struffoli, Naples’ answer to la cicerchiata.

Italy Although both sweets seem similar, the two recipes contain many differences, with the latter garnished with diavulilli (candy-coated almonds). Tradition and ritual play a strong role in Italian culture, especially during Pasqua ( Easter). The week preceding Easter is dominated by the numerous solemn dramatizations and processions commemorating Christ’s passion. Pasqua, on the other hand, detonates with joyful celebrations. For example, the annual Scoppio del Carro (explosion of the cart) is a 300-yearold Florentine tradition, during which the Archbishop lights a dove-shaped rocket that crosses the entire cathedral and collides with a cart in the square. Pasqua plays an important role in Italian society not only because of its religious significance but also because of its marking the unofficial beginning of spring. Thus, as the common saying Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi (Christmas with your family, Easter with your friends) suggests, Italians take advantage of the good season to celebrate Pasqua and Pasquetta ( Easter Monday) away from the cities, maybe in somebody’s cottage or in countryside restaurants. During these celebrations, lamb is the main course on Italian tables. After a primo ( pasta or soup), an Easter lunch includes either capretto o agnellino al forno (roasted goat or baby lamb) or costolette d’agnello fritto ( lamb ribs breaded and deep fried ), followed by a wide selection of sautéed and fried vegetables, such as carciofi fritti (fried artichokes). A holiday meal in Italy would not be complete without a traditional dessert, and during Easter there are several. La pastiera is the classic Neapolitan grain pie. Another treat is the Colomba, a sweet, yeasted bread (like panettone plus candied orange peel, minus the raisins, and topped with sugared and sliced almonds) baked in a dove shape. Finally, there is the children’s favorite sweet, l’Uovo di Pasqua, a milk chocolate Easter egg, that, while it may change in size (the range varies from few grams to several kilos), always includes a present hidden inside. Between May and September, Italians like to commemorate two days in particular: la Festa dei Lavoratori ( Workers’ Day) on May 1, and Ferragosto on August 15. Workers’ Day was established by the Second International

Italian candy shop. © Agno_agnus | Dreamstime.com.

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Congress in July 1889 as a living reminder of the sacrifice of hundreds of American workers killed by the police in Chicago on May 1, 1886 during a demonstration, and it became a holiday in Italy in 1891. Although the Fascist regime moved the day to April 21, by 1945 Workers’ Day was moved back to May 1, becoming one of the most cherished holidays in the country. During the Cold War la Festa dei Lavoratori had strong political connotations (the Italian Communist party was the second largest party in Italy and the biggest outside of the Soviet bloc). Today la Festa has lost its revolutionary edge, but it remains a constant reminder of the workers’ struggle. Workers’ Day is now often associated with the rediscovery of the pleasure of eating outdoors. In the countryside, equipped with picnic baskets, Italians enjoy pasta salads, cold cuts, local cheese, sometimes paired with fresh vegetables, such as the classic combination of lima beans and fresh pecorino (goat cheese). Ferragosto commemorates the day when the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed in Heaven. Ferragosto’s popularity comes in part from the fact that the holiday is celebrated in the middle of the Italian holiday season (August) when millions of Italians leave urban areas for the mountains and beaches to find relief from the stress of daily life. Each region has its own typical dish for August: l’anatra (duck) in Lombardy, la bomba di riso (rice mould with pigeon sauce) in Piacenza, and arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with ground beef, mozzarella, tomatoes, and peas) in Sicily. In November, Italians celebrate Il Giorno dei Morti (All Souls’ Day). On November 2, Italians remember their dear ones who died by going to cemeteries and attending masses for them. Far from being a gloomy celebration, Il Giorno dei Morti is instead a happy celebration. Many Italians take advantage of the holiday to return to their places of origin, allowing them to reconnect with relatives and friends. During this holiday, Italians like to celebrate by eating typical desserts. The most popular one is le fave dei morti (the beans of the dead ), bean-shaped cakes made of ground almonds, sugar, egg, butter, and flour. Although celebrated throughout the country, Il Giorno dei Morti assumes a particular meaning in Sicily, where the festivity is associated with gifts and children. According to Sicilian tradition, the dead bring presents to children who behaved well during the previous year. Thus, on November 1, parents prepare and hide sweets and gifts that children must find on the next day. At the end of the game, the entire family goes to the cemetery to thank the relatives for the presents left. Finally, we have Christmas, the most important holiday in Italy, during which Italians like to indulge, showing up the best of the Italian repertoire in food and drinks. Christmas is devoted to family and friends and, from a culinary point of view, to tradition. Christmas season in Italy starts on December 24, called la vigilia (eve), when Italians abstain from meat. Whereas lunch is very simple, such as pasta e ceci (chickpeas soup with pasta), Christmas Eve dinner is a great indulgence. Tradition dictates that fish be the main course. Thus, throughout the entire country, menus include, among others, spaghetti agli scogli (spaghetti with mussels and clams), baccalà (salted dried cod fish), roasted or fried eel, la caponata di pesce (fish salad). On Christmas

Italy day and Santo Stefano ( December 26), meat is the reigning ingredient. Lunch will start with baked pasta ( lasagne, cannelloni, ravioli) or cappelletti in brodo ( little hat pasta stuffed with a mix of beef, pork, chicken, parmesan cheese, and nutmeg, cooked in chicken or beef broth), followed by mixed boiled meats served with different sauces, roasted beef or pork, vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce), insalata russa ( pieces of boiled peas, carrots and potatoes, mixed with mayonnaise), different salads, and roasted potatoes. Traditional sweets are also important items for the Christmas menu in Italy. Among others, you can find dried figs, candied almonds, chestnuts, panforte (traditional Sienese cake), pandolce (a specialty of Genoa), and panettone. On New Year’s Eve, Italians pour into restaurants, night clubs, and convention centers to celebrate the coming of the New Year by eating lavish buffets that must include, among the other courses, lenticchie con il cotechino (a lentil soup and pork sausage made from cotica, or pork rind mixed with lean pork meat, fat, and spices), a dish associated with good luck and money. Christmas season ends on January 6 with l’Epifania ( Epiphany), when la Befana (an ugly old woman) brings gifts to good children. Originated in Rome, the visit of la Befana has now become one of the most loved celebrations in Italy. On January 5 ( Epiphany Eve), Italian families hang stockings that la Befana fills up with sweets for those children who have been good in the previous year or with coal-shaped sweets (traditionally coal) for those who have been bad. CONCLUSION “What is the glory of Dante compared to spaghetti?” the scholar Guiseppe Prezzolini wondered when he noted in 1954 that pasta had “entered many American homes where the name of Dante is never pronounced” (quoted in Capatti and Montanari xx). If comparisons in popularity between culinary and literary traditions would not find too much ground in many countries, in Italy they are more than legitimate. Food defines Italians both at home and in the world, because it has become an integral part of their cultural background. However, what makes Italian cuisine really unique is the capacity to unite a sophisticated and immense selection of dishes with the spontaneity and genuine enthusiasm of its humble origins. The Italian culinary tradition is thus not only the domain of a small elite but of an entire nation, which prides itself on this legacy. Further Reading: Alberini, Massimo. Storia della cucina italiana. Casale Monferrato: Piemme, 1992; Capatti, Alberto, and Massimo Montanari. Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003; Helstosky, Carol. Garlic and Oil: Politics and Food in Italy. Oxford: Berg, 2004; Killinger, Charles. Culture and Customs in Italy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005; Accademia della Cucina Italiana, http://www.accademiaitalianacucina.it /.

Pietro Pirani

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J Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival Viewing the beautiful pink blooms that emerge each year on the cherry trees of Japan is synonymous with the arrival of spring. There are several hundred varieties of cherry trees in Japan, with some existing only in particular locations because the Japanese have long enjoyed cultivating special varieties. To them, the emergence of the cherry blossom (sakura) signifies the fleeting yet spectacular beauty of youth and the fragility of life. Out of this tradition of flower viewing evolved the practice of picnicking under the gorgeous pink trees—hanami. For this occasion, elaborate lunchboxes— bento—are the traditional choice of packed food. Sakura mochi—sakura leaf preserved in salt, wrapped around a glutinous rice (mochi) dumpling—are also consumed at this time of the year. More recently the bento have been supplemented or replaced by sandwiches, stuffed rice balls (onigiri), and processed snack foods such as potato chips and biscuits. Sake (Japanese rice wine) and beer flow freely and sometimes picnickers may become a little boisterous. If the picnic is a gathering of the family, usually the mother or grandmother prepares the food. If it is an office gathering or a group of friends, people are assigned to bring certain things, potluck style. The picnics

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usually last for a couple of hours on weekends or after work during the short week or two that the trees are in flower. During this time, friends, family, and coworkers gather together on a blanket under the prettiest tree they can find. Many Japanese schoolchildren also picnic under the trees with their teachers and classmates in arranged outings. While some locations, such as temples, shrines, and parks, are famous for spectacular groves of cherry trees and enjoy many visitors during the festival, outings can also be low-key affairs with people simply settling under a neighborhood stand or lone tree. The modern practice of flower appreciation evolved from a long history of celebrations centered around the trees and the concept of rebirth. The Hitachinokuni Fudoki, an eighth-century guide to famous places, describes singing and dancing among the flowers after climbing Mount Tsukuba. During the Heian period (795–1192), the Imperial court held a banquet on the day of o-hanami to mark the change of seasons, but it was during the Edo period (1603–1867) that flower viewing became common among all Japanese, with much dancing, singing, and enjoyment of sake. Thus food, rice wine, and flower viewing are intimately linked, with the most commonly quoted poems at these parties being “Hana yori dango” (“Better than the flowers is the food”) and “Sake nakute, nanno, onorega sakura kana” (“Without the wine, the flowers have no attraction”). Today’s Japanese cherry blossom festivals (hana matsuri) feature dance and music concerts that celebrate the cherry blossom and the arrival of spring with poetry competitions, calligraphy exhibits, and paintings that depict the viewing season. Nor is the festival celebrated solely in Japan. With the Japanese government’s gift of

Japanese Flower Hat Dance performance at a Cherry Blossom Festival. Jenny Mie Lau King /Shutterstock.

Juneteenth 3,020 cherry trees to the people of America in 1912, the festival has become a highly anticipated annual event in Washington, D.C., with parades, karaoke, musical performances, and other entertainment, all with the intent of celebrating Japanese culture and the amiable relationship between Japan and the United States. Further Reading: http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/history.htm; Erskine, William Hugh. Japanese Festival and Calendar Lore. Tokyo, Japan: Kyo Bun Kwan, 1933; Dagaku, Kokugakuin, and Nihon Bunka Kenkyu¯jo. Matsuri: Festival and Rite in Japanese Life. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University, 1988.

Karen Lau Taylor

Juneteenth In June of 1865, Union General, Gordon Granger, and 2,000 federal troops arrived by ship in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and to enforce the emancipation of its slaves. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the news and actual emancipation usually came to most states with the arrival of the Union army, so the dates of celebration of emancipation varied from state to state. Due to the small number of Union troops posted in Texas at the time, the Emancipation Proclamation had no impact on Texas when it was first signed. With the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the news finally reached the slaves of Texas. General Granger gathered a crowd on June 19, 1865, and read General Order #3 to the people of Galveston. General Order #3 stated: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced in the streets with jubilant celebrations. The day was commemorated the following year and soon came to be known as Juneteenth, a melding of the words June and nineteenth. Juneteenth was observed mainly in eastern Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Some other locales celebrated the day as Emancipation Day. In the late 1800s many former slaves migrated to what was to become Oklahoma. Many settled in all-black communities, and they brought their Juneteenth traditions with them. Others, who did not settle in communities where it was remembered, often returned to their former homes to commemorate the day.

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Descriptions of initial emancipation celebrations include accounts of slaves tossing their ragged garments into creeks and rivers to redress in clothing taken from the plantations belonging to their former masters. Dress became an important element in early Juneteenth customs. This was in response to the days when there were laws on the books, in many areas, that restricted the kind of clothing worn by slaves. Most festivities took place around rivers, creeks, and on church grounds and usually lasted all day. These locations were perfect for activities such as fishing and picnics. More structured events such as rodeos and baseball were also common, as were dances, suppers, and parades. Education and selfimprovement were customary themes. Guest speakers were often brought in, and the elders were called upon to recount the events of the past. Prayer services were also a major part of these celebrations. Today, Juneteenth continues to be a day of reflection, renewal, and cultural pride. It is a day to take time to appreciate the African American experience. In addition to traditional activities, many celebrations include: music and entertainment; parades and walks; community wellness and betterment forums; health booths for screening, testing, and information distribution by social service and mental health agencies; vendors of handmade arts and crafts; children’s activities and contests of skill and talent. Juneteenth’s Texas roots lead most event menus to include barbeque, and the barbeque pit is often established as the center of attention at celebrations. Meats such as lamb, pork, and beef, which were not commonly available to slaves, are often featured. Strawberry soda pop has also come to be synonymous with the day. Today, many events include foods familiar to African American southerners such as platters of barbequed chicken, long link sausages, and brisket-sized chunks of beef, bowls of brown beans seasoned with hunks of bacon, trays of white store-bought bread, and peach cobbler. Foods that reflect slave traditions are also popular at Juneteenth festivities. These foods, often referred to collectively as soul food, find their roots in West African ingredients and cooking methods that over time were blended with various European and Native American influences. Some believe that barbeque is actually the result of a convergence of African, European, and Native American culinary methods. Many traditional West African cooking ingredients made their way to the Americas and have become very closely associated with African American cooking. Okra, watermelon, leafy greens, and yams were staples of West African cuisine and are now part of American cooking as well. As the Africans began to assimilate into the American slave society, they learned how to make the most of whatever ingredients were at hand. Sweet potatoes took the place of yams in the slaves’ diet. The fresh vegetables found in Africa were replaced by the throwaway foods from the plantation house like the tops of turnips and beets and dandelions. Nothing was wasted. They began cooking with new types of greens such as collards, kale, cress, mustard, and pokeweed. With cast-off ingredients such as pig knuckles or jowls and lard for flavor from the slaughtered hog and cracklin’

Juneteenth from its skin, slaves made filling meals. These practices have evolved into culinary traditions that include soul food dishes such as carrot and raisin salad, fried corn, hush puppies, corn pone, red beans and rice, black-eyed peas, greens, lima beans with ham hocks, stewed okra and tomatoes, cornbread dipped in buttermilk, fried catfish, pickled pig’s feet, fried cabbage, neckbones, tongue, chittlin’s, tripe, and gumbo. In the early years, there was little interest outside the African American community for participating in Juneteenth celebrations. In some cases, there was outward resistance that included barring the use of public property for the revels. As African Americans became landowners, property was donated and dedicated for the use of these festivities. Reverend Jack Yates organized one of the earliest documented land purchases in the name of Juneteenth. His church, Antioch Baptist, and Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church formed the Colored People’s Festival and Emancipation Park Association. In 1872, they pooled $1,000 to put down on 10 acres of open land in Houston, Texas, as home for their Juneteenth celebration. In honor of their freedom, they named it Emancipation Park. In 1896 a group of 54 exslaves, who wanted a regular place where they could celebrate Juneteenth without any hassles, decided to purchase 30 acres of land in Limestone County, Texas. This site, Booker T. Washington Park, became the Juneteenth celebration site in 1898. For decades these annual celebrations flourished, growing continuously with each passing year. As many as 20,000 African Americans once flowed through Booker T. Washington Park, during the course of a week, making their celebration one of the state’s largest. Celebrations began to decline in the early 1900s. Formal education had replaced traditional home and family-taught practices, and there was less emphasis on the activities of former slaves. Classroom textbooks proclaimed Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, as the date signaling the ending of slavery with little or no mention of the impact of General Granger’s arrival on June 19. Economic and cultural forces came into play as well. While there are accounts of early Juneteenth activities being interrupted by local landowners demanding that their laborers return to work, most allowed their workers the day off. Some even made donations of food and money to support the festivities. During the Depression, however, many African Americans left farms in search of work in the cities. Employers in the city were less likely to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday and grant their employees leave. Unless June 19 fell on a weekend, many people were unable to return for the festivities. July 4 was already the established national Independence Day holiday, and a rise in patriotism, especially during World War II, steered more toward this celebration. For many African Americans the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s brought about a rebirth of interest in the historical struggles of their ancestors. Some student demonstrators involved in the Atlanta civil rights campaign in the early 1960s wore Juneteenth freedom buttons. In 1968, Juneteenth received a strong support through the Poor People’s March to Washington, D.C. Reverend Ralph Abernathy called for people of all races,

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creeds, economic levels, and professions to come to Washington to show support for the poor. Many of these attendees returned home and initiated Juneteenth celebrations in areas where they had never been celebrated. Two of the largest Juneteenth celebrations founded after this march are now held in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Juneteenth continued to enjoy a growing and healthy interest from communities and organizations throughout the country. Institutions such as the Smithsonian and the Henry Ford Museum have begun sponsoring Juneteenth-centered activities. On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. The successful passage of this bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration granted official state recognition. Representative Edwards has since actively sought to spread the observance of Juneteenth all across America. Several states, including Florida, Oklahoma, Delaware, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, California, Wyoming, Illinois, Missouri, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, and Kentucky have issued proclamations recognizing the holiday, but the Lone Star State remains alone in granting it full state holiday status, when government employees have the day off. Nonetheless, supporters and celebrants of Juneteenth continue to grow in number and in diversity. Today, Juneteenth is promoted not only as a commemoration of African American freedom, but as an example and encouragement of self-development and respect for all cultures. Further Reading: Cohen, Hennig, and Tristram Potter Coffin, eds. The Folklore of American Holidays. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1987; Ellison, Ralph, Juneteenth: A Novel. New York: Random House, 1999; Harris, Jessica. The Welcome Table—African American Heritage Cooking. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996; Wiggins, William H., Jr. O Freedom! Afro-American Emancipation Celebrations. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1987.

Dorothy Denneen Volo

K Kaiseki Ryori Kaiseki Ryori is an elaborate multi-course meal developed in sixteenth-century Japan to serve as a prelude to the traditional tea ceremony. Today’s version, like the original, uses only the freshest, most seasonal ingredients combined with minimal seasoning to maximize the food’s natural flavors. Furthermore, each course’s presentation plays an important role in the ceremony, and the choice of serving dishes further complements the food. A Zen influence permeates the meal. Indeed, the word kaiseki comes from kai, meaning inside the neckband of the kimono, and seki meaning stone, because during the Muromachi period in Japan (ca. 1336–1573), when the custom of serving a light metal during the tea ceremony became widespread, Zen monks ate only twice a day—in the morning and at noon. To stave off hunger and keep warm, they would heat stones and place them in their kimonos above the chest. Kaiseki cuisine was originally vegetarian; however, the modern kaiseki meal is generally half vegetable, half meat. Depending on the formality of the ceremony, the number of courses varies, though the standard is between 6 and 15 courses, with little to no repetition of flavors or textures. All five tastes—sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami (the savory or meaty taste)— should be achieved in the meal, and the dishes must encompass different elements of nature: mountains, sea, rivers, and fields.

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The initial courses are served in three lacquer bowls positioned triangularly on a lacquer tray. The left-hand bowl is filled with one spoonful of rice (gohan); the bowl on the right with an equivalent portion of soup (misoshiru) that is usually white miso–based but could also be clear broth if the occasion is formal; and the bowl at the top of the triangle holds an equal portion of raw fish (mukozuki). The fourth dish served is the wanmori, or soup course, which is considered the heart and soul of the meal. It is said that if the wanmori is a success, then the whole meal may be considered an accomplishment. It is for this reason that only the finest ingredients are selected and painstaking effort is taken in the preparation. The fifth dish served is the yakimono, a grilled or broiled food (usually fish). Although various sauces may accompany the yakimono, it generally stands alone so that its delicate flavor does not get overshadowed. Following this course is one of simmered foods, usually vegetables, called azukebachi. Next is the hashiarai, or “chopstick wash,” which is usually a light stock flavored with kelp or pickled plum. The chopsticks are rinsed in the bowl, followed by sipping the stock in order for the palate to be refreshed and purified for the remaining courses. The meal continues with hassun, which are “piles” of food from the mountains and the sea that derives its name from the special tray upon which the food is served. Konomono, pickled vegetables, follows. The vinegar in the konomono helps to erase lingering odors and flavors from prior courses and prepares the guest for the formal tea drinking. Following the pickles, the diner may or may not receive kudamono, or fresh fruit. The kaiseki meal finally ends with kashi and ocha, sweets and tea, respectively. Sweets are served to offset the bitterness of the ground tea. To capture the harmony of nature, organic materials are used in the construction of the tearoom and also in the serving ware selected. The plates and bowls should reflect the seasons; brighter colors are showcased during summer months while muted colors are chosen during the winter. Moreover, the physical shapes of the dishes encapsulate the seasons, with summer wares being flatter and more open, while winter plates have lids and more vertical or sloped walls. The majority of serving dishes used in a kaiseki meal are lacquer or ceramic, though an exception is made for the hassun course, as hassun trays are usually made from unadorned Japanese cedar. The host takes great pains in showcasing a variety of dishes, all of which serve to highlight the food and complement one another. Just as the same food must never be offered in succession, the same is true of serving ware, and a range of shapes and styles is used to create a harmonious ambiance that touches all of the senses. The kaiseki meal should be served in a small, relatively unadorned room to help the guests achieve an elevated state of mind. For this reason, only a few guests and the host partake in a kaiseki meal. However, there will always be a principal guest who is the most knowledgeable in the “way of tea” and this guest is served first. The meal is a quiet affair with little talking, though usually after the azukebachi course, guests will comment on the meal and the serving ware. Business, politics, and loud talk are avoided,

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and there is little interaction between the host and the guests. The host is in charge of timing the meal properly, so he or she supervises the meal’s preparation in another room while the guests dine. During the hassun course, the host pours sake for the guests in order of rank beginning with the principal guest. Then the principal guest, in turn, offers the host sake, and they drink together, marking the only time in the meal that they partake together. At the end of the meal, the host rejoins everyone and apologizes for the meal’s inadequacy, which is, of course, a formality. The guests reply by thanking the host for his efforts and, especially, for all of the food served. The ritualized interplay between host and guests is a cornerstone of the kaiseki meal. The mid-1800s marked the end of the Edo period in Japan, and it was at this point that the traditional kaiseki meal shifted from being exclusively found in a tearoom to one served in a public restaurant. However, the meal’s tea component was itself gradually phased out, leaving what is today known as restaurant kaiseki. Although several temples in Kyoto and in other parts of Japan still offer traditional kaiseki meals, most such meals today are eaten in luxury hotel restaurants. Because such care is taken in preparing each course with only the finest ingredients used, it is very expensive and is reserved for truly special occasions. Nevertheless, the kaiseki meal remains an integral aspect of Japanese cuisine, an art form unto itself, for it sets the standards of excellence in food preparation and service, and it imbues all of the senses with the beauty and harmony of nature. Further Reading: Kakuzo, Okakura. The Book of Tea. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press, 2002; Tsuchiya, Yoshio, and Masaru Yamamoto. The Fine Art of Japanese Food Arrangement. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1985; Tsuji, Kaichi. Kaiseki: Zen Tastes in Japanese Cooking. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1972; Tsuji, Shizuo. Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. Tokyo: Kodashana International, 1980.

Lauren Shockey

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday in May every year at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The most famous horse race in the world, the derby is watched by millions on television and is the focus of The Day before Derby Day parties, balls, and galas in the LouAlice Cary Brown, wife of the former chairman of the board of isville area much like Mardi Gras Brown-Forman Corporation, whiskey manufacturers and owners features in the social life of New of the Jack Daniel’s brand, has been hosting the coveted lunch Orleans. slot on Friday, the day before the derby, and the day of the Modeled on England’s Epsom “race-before-the race,” the Kentucky Oaks—the filly counterpart Derby, the race was begun in 1875 of the derby. The Oaks features the best of the three-year-old filto revive Kentucky’s thoroughbred lies. Her husband, William Lee Lyons Brown, Jr., a fourth generahorse breeding industry, which was tion Brown-Forman businessman, inherited the coveted timeslot devastated by the Civil War. Fiffrom his parents, Sally Brown and William Lee Lyons Brown, Sr. teen horses ran on a 1.5-mile track.

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By the beginning of the twentieth century, it had become the most recognized horse race in America. Fame and attention brought rich horse breeders and racing fans to Louisville by private rail car for the race. Other attendees flocked to hotels and private homes for the race and the many breakfasts, parties, and balls during the weeks leading up to the race have become part of the Kentucky Derby tradition. Seating at Churchill Downs is limited and expensive, and many visitors never actually attend the race but come to Louisville for the festivities taking place during the two weeks leading up to the Ina B. Chadwick race and for derby day itself. The city is gripped by “horse fever,” and a carnival atmosphere prevails. The derby events begin two Horsey-set Party Saturdays before the derby with In 1953 famed jockeys Eddie Arcaro and Bill Shoemaker were Thunder Over Louisville, an air invited to Texas oilman Dick Andrade’s hotel suite for “shootshow and one of the largest fireers” before turning in for the night. The Texan, whose reputation works displays in the country; the as a lavish and strange host made his invites irresistible, had show is viewed annually by over not only asked the famous jockeys but, to set the stage for his half a million people. There are paelaborate themed party, he invited an unexpected A-list guest: rades, parties, concerts, steam boat a pony and its groomsman. The horse was outfitted in rubber races, and other activities so that shoes to keep the carpeting in the opulent Brown Hotel from the entire Louisville community getting soiled. It is reported that the horse was not allowed in may join in the festivities. Locals the lobby and had to enter via the service entrance. It rode up and serious horse people attend in the freight elevator where bon vivants and racing luminaries were ready to eat and imbibe. The impact on the party’s bottom the Kentucky Oaks, a race for filline for the one equine guest, without serving it food or liquor, lies held the day before the derby, was hefty for that era—$500. as tickets for the derby itself can be difficult to obtain. Ina B. Chadwick Jocularity and good will is fueled largely by beer at the concerts and outdoor events, and champagne flows freely at dinners and galas but for the race itself, bourbon whiskey is king. Kentucky’s pride and joy, bourbon appears in candies and desserts, and the mint julep is the official drink of the derby. Traditionally served in frosted silver cups, juleps are made of muddled mint, sugar, and the finest bourbon over shaved ice and are sipped through a straw. To most Louisvilleans, it just may be the best party timeslot, as it is more difficult to throw a derby-day party, and get to the races on time. For many decades and up until the sale of their home, Fincastle in Prospect, Kentucky, in 2005, 150 guests gathered around noon beneath a tent extending from the patio to the lawn. The party started with traditional pass-along hors d’oeuvres; cheese biscuits with pecans. The main course, turkey hash, which lends itself easily to cooking in advance, is a blend of onions and celery, mild spices and cooked shredded turkey in a light-colored creamy sauce. For three days prior to the race, the social set is steeped in customs passed on from family members. One of the most notorious events takes place on derby eve at Anita Madden’s Hamburg Place farm in Lexington, where Mr. Madden’s grandfather bred five derby winners. The Madden blowout is famous for its fanciful themes, such as a Greek Odyssey replete with imaginative recreations of Homeric scenes, and one year’s “Rapture of the Deep” with animated mermaids, an octopus, and a shadowy underwater atmosphere rising from dry ice.

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Kentucky Derby Other regional favorite foods are showcased at derby parties. Benedictine spread is traditional to Louisville, a cucumber and cream cheese concoction often dyed bluegreen. Cheese grits star in brunch buffets as well as beaten biscuits with Kentucky’s prized country ham. Burgoo is traditional Kentucky fare that has become popular at derby time. A country stew of cooked meats and vegetables, burgoo is dished up from a steaming vat, preferably over an open fire. The Hot Brown, a turkey sandwich with bacon and melted cheese sauce developed at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, is another regional favorite that is served at lunches and brunches. Henry Bain sauce (named for a legendary head waiter at a local club) tops beef tenderloin at the upper end of the social scale, and barbeque is showcased at backyard events. Pie made with bourbon, pecans, and chocolate has become associated with the derby and every restaurant and home cook has their own name and variation on the recipe. Kentucky blackberry jam cake is another favorite dessert. Decorating a hat for derby day is part of the race tradition, and hats range from custom millinery to homemade glue-gun fabrications. Dressing up for “Millionaire’s Row,” the seating for the elite, is part of the ritual, and many people assemble to gawk at the arriving celebrities in their finery. Race day begins with breakfast, whether served to thousands on the lawn of the governor’s mansion

Mint Julep While there is much lore on how the mint julep and the goblet it is served in became the symbols of the Kentucky Derby, it is safe to say that bourbon, the true whiskey of Kentucky, was the first choice in the fundamental recipe for a mint julep. The magazine The American Museum of 1787 contains the first known mention of a julep: the drink is reported as being a “draught with which to start the day.” Museum details the routine of Virginians (Virginia was once part of Kentucky) waking, and prior to starting their day, swallowing a julep made of rum, water, and sugar, “but very strong.” In 1803 an Englishman tutoring on a plantation in Northern Virginia recorded his most pleasurable quaffing experiences of the mornings, and detailed for the first time, the addition of perfect sprigs of mint to the drink. The classic silver Julep cup seems to have debuted when a wealthy, South Carolina gentleman, William Heyward Traipier, brought casks of bourbon to Oxford for his extended teaching stay. Once there, he asked his hosts’ servants to make him a mint julep. Of course, they couldn’t meet the request, and Traipier supposedly taught the English how to make one and he became a favorite son immediately. From then on, and with varying reports of how the custom was carried on, the New College at Oxford University has served free mint juleps once a year in June, as an endowment from the bountiful American, Traipier. From that legend, the commemorative silver julep cup, hammered from 1740 Georgian silver and then engraved, was born. The original cup, about 5½ inches high now rests among the treasures of New College in England. The inscription is dated 1845. More than a hundred years later in 1956, a visiting Englishman returned the silver cup favor, by bringing with him another cup similar in size to the original and presenting it to the University of South Carolina. Thus, a hundred years of tradition has been handed on to Southerners as the cup was forever deemed a mint julep cup. Exchanging cups as gifts is a derby tradition. FURTHER READING Harwell, Richard Barksdale. The Mint Julep. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005.

Ina B. Chadwick

Silver julep cup with roses and lace. John Clines/Shutterstock.

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in nearby Frankfort or at a tailgate picnic in the parking lot of the racetrack. Many gather at private The W. L. Brown, Jr., family continues to entertain on Kentuckyhomes to start derby day activities designed dishes created especially for them by a local potter, and then proceed by mid-afternoon M. A. Hadley (1913–1991). Hadley, a Louisville resident for most of her adult life, became sought after in the 1940s, after a to the track if they have tickets or custom set of dishes she designed for her own luxury riverboat on to more parties to view the race, gained favor in the in crowd. Each Hadley piece—all plates, that, for all the ballyhoo surroundserving dishes, cups, and bowls—were, and still are, painted ing it, actually lasts less than three freehand by more than a dozen decorators on hand in the Louminutes. isville factory—all still replicating Hadley’s many designs (http:// The race at Churchill Downs www.wku.edu/Library/onlinexh/kwa/hadley.html). Mrs. Hadley is a two-tier social affair. In the sold the company in 1979 but very little changed. Hostesses stands and boxes are the rich and from the area still order custom dishes for their parties from famous that come from all over craftsmen who follow in the Hadley tradition. the world for this premiere race. Ina B. Chadwick Millionaire horse breeders, royalty, politicians, and celebrities mingle while waiters attend to their drink and food requests and elaborate buffets are set out in private boxes. At the other end of the spectrum is the infield crowd, where people dress in T-shirts and shorts and tote their coolers and chairs in for a day of revelry and fun that often becomes a boozy, muddy free-for-all. Few in the infield can actually see the track, and having a good time is the main event. But while the social division is evident, all stand for the traditional, misty-eyed singing of “My Old Kentucky Home.” Most people view the race on television at private parties in homes or at sports bars. The atmosphere is just as festive, and many celebrants spend the day going from party to party. Houseguests are numerous, and work grinds to a halt on Friday and Saturday of the derby weekend for the parades and parties as Louisville becomes the center of the world for a few brief hours.

Derby Dishes

Further Reading: Doolittle, Bill. The Kentucky Derby: Run for the Roses. New York: Time-Life Books, 1998; Hirsh, Joe, and Jim Bolus. Kentucky Derby: The Chance of a Lifetime. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988; Nold, James, Jr., and Bob Bahr. The Insiders’ Guide to Louisville and Southern Indiana. 2nd ed. Manteo, NC: Insiders’ Publishing, 1997; Derby Entertaining: A Celebration of Kentucky Derby Food Traditions. http://southernfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa043000a.htm. This site contains many links to food and drink associated with the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky food traditions.

Mary Sanker

Kitchen Staff Dress Clothing and hats were clear indications of one’s rank and social station among service staff in Western Europe. In the Middle Ages, long before public restaurants existed, male kitchen servants in wealthy homes and manor

Kitchen Staff Dress houses of the royals, wore doublets with shoulder capes and short tunics. They carried napkins, as did the male carvers, working from the sideboards to serve meats in the dining rooms. There are early images of fifteenth-century male cooks wearing aprons and white over-sleeves. The 1662 service manual for “Officers of the Mouth” included mention of uniforms, complete with swords for highest-ranking servants who presented food at formal dining. Rough fabrics in dark, dull colors were worn by lower-level household staff while those in public service positions were dressed in more formal, often more fashionable costumes. In the eighteenth century kitchen boys wore canvas shirts and loose over-jackets, as they fed fires, scrubbed pots and pans, and men wore jumps, informal, buttoned jackets over breeches and stockings. African pages, young male slaves, wore turbans, as they served in parlors, wearing formal tailcoats with silver collars tight around their necks bearing their masters’ names and addresses. Livery staff, those who tended to horses and carriages, were seen in public in formal uniforms similar to the buttoned-down military jackets with shoulder epaulets. In the eighteenth century, in modest households, female cooks wore long aprons covering plain, dark long skirts. Hats also signified individual status and reflected the fashions of the times, with the soft caps of Tudor times giving way to pointed caps for kitchen workers and then the tri-corner caps of the eighteenth century. Women wore white mob caps or smaller coifs in kitchen and parlor and men cooks wore white toques in the larger, wealthier homes. In the nineteenth century top hats were worn by senior livery staff sent on errands to shops on behalf of the household. More formal attire for servants seen in public often indicated the size and wealth of a household while the distinctions of apparel signified ranks and tasks of service staff. During the nineteenth century, women housekeepers served as household managers in modest homes. They carried keys to the larder, the silver service, and most of the valuable provisions under their long, white aprons. They acted as purchasing agents or stewards might in wealthier homes and in commercial kitchens today, controlling costs, dispersing luxury ingredients and liquors. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, in the wealthiest and most formal homes, male butlers wore evening dress suits at all times: the black coat with tails and trousers, white starched shirt, white waistcoat and tie. The British Museum and several European national and historic libraries have etchings and images of household staff dress as it changed from medieval times to the present. The chef’s costume today consists of several elements. The traditional jacket, worn in restaurant and hotel kitchens since the nineteenth century, is white cotton, to demonstrate cleanliness and absorb sweat, although current fashions include a range of styles, colors, fabrics, and detailed stitching. The classic chef’s coat is double-breasted and double buttoned, permitting chefs to reverse their coats if called upon to present themselves to diners, thereby appearing clean.

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The toque, or puffed cloth cap, came in several different heights, indicative of kitchen brigade positions. The tallest erect toque signified the chef, the executive in charge of the kitchen, then a shorter toque was worn by the sous chef, or under-chef, responsible for the execution of most meats and the coordination of timing for delivering foods to guests. Flatter caps were worn by line cooks, those charged with preparation of fish, vegetables, side dishes, sauces, soups, and by the lowest station, where the condiments and cold salads are assembled, called garde mange. This use of hats as symbols of leadership has now merged with the newer requirements for all kitchen staff to cover hair when preparing and handling food for the public. The original purpose of the headgear was to prevent grease dripping from the kitchen ceiling onto chefs’ heads. Nowadays headgear includes baseball caps, kerchiefs, and hairnets as well as a variety of stylish and colorful cloth caps, designed to complement the variety of clothing options that abound. The traditional kerchief, worn around the neck, was intended to prevent sweat dripping into foods, and also served as a tourniquet handy for emergencies. This has now become optional in some kitchens, although it is generally included for formal appearances, when chefs participate in contests, and photographs. Checkered pants also indicated status of workers, but this signifier has changed as pants now come in many styles, colors, and patterns that reflect the tastes of the worker and are not always indicative of kitchen rank. Aprons, worn long to cover and protect cooks’ lower bodies and legs as they faced the heat, also served as convenient hand wipes, an extra cloth with which to grasp pans, and as cover to uniforms, to be changed quickly, if called into the dining room. Long white lab coats were used in large manufacturing facilities, in recipe research and development settings, in butcher shops, and by cheese mongers. In royal and aristocratic manor houses specific costumes existed for each service position. These costumes evolved into the formal attire worn by service staff working in the front of the house in formal or white table cloth dining establishments. When formal restaurants began to develop in the eighteenth century in England and Western Europe, men were trained for professional service work, and wore the formal tuxedo or white dinner jacket, adapted from the butler’s uniform to signify their positions. Women worked in home kitchens and served in homes, often wearing white aprons to cover black or gray skirts and dresses. They made pastry and sold food in retail shops and public street markets, wearing aprons, the dark, long skirt with white collar, cuffs and cap of the maid’s uniforms, or street clothes, but they did not serve food or wine in fine dining establishments. Women were not permitted to dine in most fine restaurants during the nineteenth century, except in the company of a gentleman. The exceptions to this rule were the tearooms, where the service was often performed by women (Kinchin 1998). Respectable women servers wore long dark skirts, white shirt-waists, and black bows at their buttoned-up necklines.

Kwanzaa As factory work increased, managers demanded the workers eat quickly and return to their jobs, requiring more casual eateries. Some allowed women to serve. Horn & Hardart was a famous New York City chain, and the Harvey Dining Rooms, along the Santa Fe railroad system, were another well-known example of the more casual establishments that hired women to serve. Some women donned uniforms similar to those worn by housekeepers and maids, complete with white collars, cuffs, and pocket trim. More contemporary dress codes allow both men and women service staff to wear both formal and less formal attire, such as black or khaki slacks, a vest, and colorful, stylish shirts. Some restaurants select theme costumes for service staff, as bizarre as bunny costumes, space suits, island bikinis with and without wraps. Although dress codes for many service staff have become less formal, black pants and a white button-down shirt remain the standard for many establishments. Further Reading: Cobble, Dorothy Sue. Dishing It Out: Waitresses and Their Unions in the Twentieth Century. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991; Culinary Institute of America. The Remarkable Service SM: A Guide to Winning and Keeping Customers for Servers, Managers, and Restaurant Owners. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001; Cunnington, Phillis. Costume of Household Servants From the Middle Ages to 1900. London: A and C Black, 1974; Drury, Elizabeth. The Butler’s Pantry Book, a Compendium of Household Secrets from the Victorian Age. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981; Ferry, Steven M. Butlers and Household Managers: 21st Century Professionals. North Charleston, SC: Book Surge, 2005; Halvorsen, Francine. Catering Like a Pro: From Planning to Profit. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2004; Kinchin, Perilla. Taking Tea with Mackintosh: The Story of Miss Cranston’s Tea Rooms. Rohnert Park, CA: Pomegranate Communications, 1998; Poling-Kempes, Lesley. The Harvey Girls, Women Who Opened the West. New York: Paragon House, 1989; Roberts’ Guide for Butlers and Household Staff. Old Saybrook, CT: Applewood Books, 1988 [First published in 1827]; Ruhlman, Michael. The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America. New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1997.

Carol G. Durst-Wertheim

Kwanzaa Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American observance that celebrates family, community, and culture. It takes place over seven days from December 26 to January 1. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase matunda ya kwanza, which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Harvest or first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia. These celebrations are also found in ancient and modern times among societies such as the Zulu or smaller societies and groups of southeastern Africa like the Matabele, Thonga, and Lovedu. Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created the celebration in 1966. It was

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designed to strengthen community and reaffirm common identity, purpose, and direction for African Americans as a people and a world community. Dr. Karenga combined facets of several different African harvest celebrations. Families celebrate Kwanzaa in many ways but common elements include songs, dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and traditional foods. African Americans of all religious faiths come together to celebrate based on the rich, ancient, and varied common ground of their cultural heritage. Kwanzaa reinforces seven basic values of African culture. These values are called the Nguzo Saba, which in Swahili means the “Seven Principles,” and stand at the heart of the origin and meaning of Kwanzaa. The first is Umoja, or unity of family, community, nation, and race. The second is Kujichagulia, or self-determination to define oneself and to speak for oneself. Next is Ujima, which means collective work and responsibility. The principle of Ujima encourages community members to unite to solve one another’s problems. Ujamaa represents cooperative economics and encourages the creation of local businesses. Nia means to have purpose, particularly the collective vocation of a community to restore the pride of traditional cultural greatness. Lastly, the principle of Kuumba represents creativity to make the community more beautiful than it was. The greeting during Kwanzaa is in Swahili: “Habari gani?,” translated as “What’s the news?” The answer to this question is the principle of the day for each of the seven days. In this way awareness and commitment to the Seven Principles is reinforced. Kwanzaa has seven basic symbols and two supplemental ones. Each represents values and concepts reflective of African culture and essential to community building and reinforcement. Fruits, or Mazao, are symbolic of African harvest celebrations and the rewards of the season’s collective and productive labor. A straw mat, or Mkeka, is representative of tradition and history. The candleholder, or Kinara, symbolizes African roots. Corn, or Muhindi, stands for children and the future. An ear of corn is displayed for each child in the family. At least two ears of corn are placed down on the mat regardless of whether there are children in the immediate family or not, for the children of the community belong to all, and every adult in African tradition is considered an immediate or social parent to any child. The seven candles, or Mishumaa Saba, represent the seven principles. The unity cup, or Kikombe cha Umoja, commemorates the ancestors. Gifts, or Zawadi, are symbolic of the labor and love of parents and the commitments made and kept by the children. The gifts are modest and should be chosen to encourage creativity, achievement, and success. The two supplemental symbols are the flag, or Bendera, and the poster of the seven principles, the Nguzo Saba. The colors of the Bendera are black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and the hope that comes from their struggle. The colors are the same as those in the Bendera Ya Taifa, the African American flag designed by Marcus Garvey in the early 1900s. In preparation for the celebration, a table in a central place in the home is spread with a piece of African cloth. The mat is positioned on it and all

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa display featuring lit candles. Timothy R. Nichols/Shutterstock.

of the other symbols are placed on or immediately next to it. The candleholder contains one black, three green, and three red candles. The black candle represents the first principle of unity and is placed in the center of the candleholder. The red candles represent the principles of self-determination, cooperative economics, and creativity and are placed to the left of the black candle. The green candles represent the principles of collective work and responsibility, purpose, and faith and are placed to the right of the black candle. This order emphasizes the idea that the people come first, then the struggle, and then the hope that comes from the struggle. Lastly, African art objects and baskets and books on the life and culture of African people are also placed on or next to the mat to symbolize commitment to heritage and learning. On each of the seven nights of Kwanzaa, celebrants gather to light the candles and share their thoughts about that day’s principle. The black candle is lit first on the first day of the celebration. The remaining candles are lit from left to right on the following days. Each gathering includes discussions and activities representing Kwanzaa’s five fundamental concepts: unity of family, friends, and community; reverence for the creator and creation and respect for the environment; commemoration of the past and honoring one’s ancestors; commitment to the cultural ideals of the African community, which include truth, justice, and mutual respect; and celebration of the “Good of Life” and appreciation for the blessings of achievement, family, and community. The weeklong festival culminates in a feast on December 31 that draws on a variety of cuisines. At the center of the celebration is the table, set with a bowl of fruits and vegetables, the straw place mat, communal cup, and

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candelabra. The feast includes a wide variety of dishes, many inspired by African foods. Recipes that feature sweet coconut are particularly popular. Foods that are traditionally served during Kwanzaa include chicken and fish dishes, plantains, sweet potatoes and yams, nuts, and greens. The last day of Kwanzaa is January 1. Historically, this first day of the New Year has been a time of self-reflection and self-assessment for African people. Following in this tradition, Kwanzaa celebrants observe a day of meditation and reflection. They ask themselves, “Who am I? Am I really who I say I am? Am I all I ought to be?” It is a time for reassessment and recommitment on a personal and family level. Further Reading: Angaza, Maitefa. Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day. New York: Dafina, 2007; Karenga, Maulana. The African-American Holiday of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture. Los Angeles, CA: The University of Sankore Press, 2007; Riley, C. Winbush. The Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest. New York: Castle Books, 2002.

Dorothy Denneen Volo

L La Quinceanera La quinceanera is the celebration in many Hispanic cultures that marks a young woman’s 15th birthday and her passage from childhood into womanhood. In the past, it would signify her readiness to be married, but now it more often means that her parents will allow her to start dating. The festejada (the young woman celebrant) typically holds court with 14 maids (damas) and 15 escorts (chambelanes) to make 15 couples all together. This number is significant as it represents her 15 years of life. Depending on the economic means of the family of the celebrant, quinceanera celebrations can range from very simple get-togethers with home cooked food in the backyard to large and lavish events with designer gowns, live bands, and catered meals. One thing most quinceanera celebrations have in common is the church service that is held before the party begins. As a “coming of age” party, these celebrations can be compared to the American traditions of the sweet sixteen party and debutante ball and the Jewish celebrations of Bar/ Bat Mitzvahs. La quinceanera parties have their roots in ancient Aztec traditions. Aztec women, at age 15 or 16, would be celebrated as the future wives and mothers of the community. When the Spanish conquered areas of South America in the sixteenth century, this practice was combined with a Catholic ceremonial

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Dozens of 15-year-old girls prepare for a government-sponsored mass coming-out ball in Mexico City, April 28, 2007. AP/ Wide World Photos.

tradition in which young women would either decide to devote their lives to God and join the church or vow to become good wives and mothers. This Catholic tradition had its roots in France where it was common for young girls to be debuted at debutante balls when they reach a marrying age. The aspects of each quinceanera celebration vary from family to family and from culture to culture, but the most important components of the celebration are always the same. A church service, as stated before, is almost always held before the party begins. Catholic families in Mexico attend a misa de accion de gracias (thanksgiving mass) in which the celebrant is the guest of honor. The celebrant arrives at the church in a formal dress, which traditionally is pink, and at some point during the mass she vows to remain a virgin until marriage. She also uses this occasion to give thanks to God for allowing her the opportunity to reach that age. When the mass is over, friends and family members of the celebrant may pass out favors, called bolos, to those in attendance. After the church service, the guests are led (sometimes by parade) to the place where the party will be held. A father/daughter waltz almost always begins the festivities, after which the celebrant is allowed to have her first coed dance with a boy her own age. In Peru and Argentina, tradition allows the birthday girl to choose her first dance partner by throwing

Luau a bouquet of flowers into a group of her male guests. Whoever catches the bouquet may dance with her. Sometimes, before this dance begins, the celebrant will change her shoes from flats to heels to signify that she has gone from childhood to womanhood. Her headpiece may be replaced with a tiara to indicate that, for the day, she is a princess in the eyes of God. She may also receive a doll, that is dressed in a gown that matches her own, suggesting that this is her last doll she will ever receive. In some quinceanera celebrations, the celebrant may even throw the doll into a crowd of her guests, symbolically ending her childhood. Another common tradition is that of a choreographed dance by the celebrant and her court. After their performance, all of the guests are invited to dance. Food, cake, and alcohol are commonly served, and the party could last well into the night. Further Reading: Arcaya, Sara. La Quinceañera: Performance of Race, Culture, Class and Religion in the Somerville Community. Medford, MA: Tufts University, 2004; Cantú, Norma Elia. La Quinceañera: Towards an Ethnographic Analysis of a LifeCycle Ritual. San Antonio, TX: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 2001; FormanBrunell, Miriam. Girlhood in America: An Encycolpedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001.

Jessica Kokinos-Havel

Luau The luau was originally celebrated to please the ancient gods of Hawaii. The word luau, in Hawaiian, refers to the young, tender leaves of the taro plant that were eaten alone as a vegetable side dish or sometimes added to meat dishes. Current usage is the general term for any feast where Hawaiian food is served. The luau began as a ritualized and elegant event but also could be casual and informal. It was an outdoor event where most of the cooking occurred in a heated, underground pit known as the imu. Hawaii’s fertile soil, tropical climate, and clean salt waters of the Pacific provide a wide variety of vegetables, fish, seaweed, flowers, and other food. Sugarcane, indigenous to Hawaii, was used as the sweetener, and rock salt was the residue of ocean water washed into rock basins and evaporated by the sun. Initially, luaus were forbidden to women; men and women ate separately according to religious taboos. Foods were placed on the floor on a central decorated woven lauhala mat. Among royalty, luaus often lasted weeks—exhibiting unique foods, superior athletic talents of natives, and local customs of the population. Hawaiian games and hula dances were accompanied by ukuleles, guitars, drums, gourds, and other instruments introduced by foreign dignitaries to local arts and culture. The chores in preparation for the luau were many and varied. Gathering food from the ocean was essential, as abundant seafood was once the Hawaiians’ primary source of protein. The finest of fish caught was offered

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Hawaiian women and children at a luau, c. 1900–1910. Library of Congress.

to the gods and religious men and then to royalty. Members of the community received the rest in accordance to their rank. Children picked opihi, a shellfish that clung to rocks on the shore, and gathered seaweed. Banana and ti leaves were picked for the imu, and flowers and vines were gathered and leis sewn. The taro root was harvested, steamed, and pounded for poi, a mashed taro dish common to luaus, and pineapples, breadfruit, coconuts, papayas, and so forth were picked and prepared. Musicians, hula dancers, and athletes also had to be recruited and organized for purposes of entertainment. Central to the feast was the kalua pig, prepared whole, gutted, dehaired, and drained, and then roasted in the imu. The imu is lined with red-hot lava rocks (lava being the foundation of all the Hawaiian Islands). The rocks are covered with a bed of banana leaves, on top of which lies the kalua pig. The pig’s cavity is also lined with hot rocks. Other items are added to the pit such as yams, breadfruit, laulau (made with butterfish, chicken and/or pork wrapped in ti leaves). Another layer of banana leaves tops the comestibles, and moistened bamboo poles protrude from this oven for the purpose of introducing water and allowing steam to escape. The bamboo is covered by a burlap canvas, which is itself covered with a layer of dirt to keep the internal heat of the imu insulated from ambient temperatures. At one time, a dog called the luau dog was raised specifically for consumption at luaus. No descendant of this dog now exists. In order to address the squeamish nature of this unfamiliar delicacy, the head of a hog was sewn onto the dog’s body and all other features that would have identified the

Luau cooked carcass as dog were removed; guests happily consumed the delicacy without complaint. Poi is a staple at luaus; it comes from the root of the taro plant. After it is steamed and pounded into a mash, water is added to form a paste that can be scooped using the index finger and one or two adjoining fingers to eat it. In fact, the fingers and hands are used instead of utensils except when the dish was too soft in which event coconut shells were fashioned into a spoon-like utensil. Fresh poi has a mild flavor; some prefer it fermented which yields a soured taste. Another typical luau dish is lomi lomi salmon. The salmon is cooked with fresh tomatoes and raw onion and scallions. Lomi lomi means “massage,” so lomi lomi salmon is salmon that has been massaged to accept tomato and other flavors of the dish. Aku poke (po’ ki) combines fresh raw tuna, seaweed, rock salt and fresh ginger with scallion and toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Haupia is also commonly served at luaus and is made with coconut milk, sugar, and water congealed with gelatin. Outside of haupia, desserts, other than fresh fruits, were unusual in the early luau feasts. Luaus are no longer just for royalty (as there is no longer any royal family in Hawaii) and nearly any occasion for celebration can call for a kalua pig done in the traditional way along with poi, laulau, and poke.

Undated photo of hula dancers. Hiroyuki Saita/Shutterstock.

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Foods served at luaus reflect the change in Hawaii’s population as laborers came to work the sugar cane and pineapple fields and brought with them new spices, animals, vegetables, and fruits from their homeland. Missionaries from New England brought cod; salmon comes from the Northwest to make lomi lomi salmon; Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Samoans, and European sailors added new ways of cooking indigenous and nonindigenous foods that added diversity and uniqueness to local cuisine. Even the kalua pig is sometimes not done in an imu but rather in the kitchen oven with liquid smoke to make it taste like the real thing! Further Reading: Handy, E. S. Craighill, and Elizabeth Green Handy. Native Plants in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore and Environment. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1972; Josselin, Jean-Marie. A Taste of Hawaii—New Cooking from the Crossroads of the Pacific. Honolulu: Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1992; Keao, Lee, and Mae Keao. The Hawaiian Luau Book. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1988; Krauss, Beatrice H. Plants in Hawaiian Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993; Landau, Rachel. The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii’s Culinary Heritage. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996; McClellan, Edwin North. “Ahaaina or Luau in Old Hawaii.” Paradise of the Pacific, Vol. 52,(1), (1940), p. 9–12; Mitchell, Donald D. Kilolani. Resource Units in Hawaiian Culture. (revised edition). Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press, 1992; Pukui, Mary Kawena, and Samuel H. Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986; Solomon, Jay. Taste of the Tropics: Traditional and Innovative Cooking from the Pacific and Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2003; Titcomb, Margaret. Native Use of Fish in Hawaii. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1972; Wong, Alan, and John Harrison. Alan Wong’s New Wave Luau Recipes from Honolulu’s Award-Winning Chef. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1999; Yamaguchi, Roy, and John Harrison. Roy’s Feasts from Hawaii. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1995.

RELATED WEB SITES http://www.alohafriendsluau.com http://www.alohajoe.com http://www.gohawaii.about.com http://www.hawaiiactive.com http://www.hawaii.luaus.com http://www.hawaii-search.com http://www.hawaiianmagic.net

Ruth Shibuya

M Mardi Gras In the Gulf of Mexico coastal region of the United States, Carnival refers to the period of festivity and public celebration immediately preceding the Christian period of Lent. Most famously celebrated in New Orleans and throughout southern Louisiana, but originally observed in Mobile, Alabama, Carnival the pre-Lenten holiday is not to be confused with a carnival—the traveling show of amusements or circus-type activities. Carnival, as celebrated worldwide traditionally in Roman Catholic communities and countries, is a Bacchanalian celebration of meat-eating and excess. Extraordinary displays of costuming, parading, and feasting are common occurrences of the Carnival season. Carnival ends on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of a period of fasting, piety, and penitence. RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE The first reference to the word or holiday occurs in A.D. 965: Carnelevare, from medieval Latin caro, meaning “flesh,” and levare, “to put away.” By 1140, Roman texts document public street parades followed by a ceremonial slaughter of cows and other animals in the presence of the Pope

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and Roman patricians. Though more unmistakably discernable during the modern-day, infamous Mardi Gras celebrations of New Orleans, the pagan aspects of Carnival festivities undoubtedly have roots in pre-Christian rites. The early Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia, the Greek Dionysian celebration, and rural springtime agricultural ceremonies all incorporated aspects of feasts and masquerades. Historically, the Carnival season developed as a popular Christian reaction against the prohibitions of the Church during the traditional 40 to 50 days (depending on the denomination) of Lent. Lent ends with the most holy of holidays on the Christian calendar, the Holy Week, the period of Christ’s suffering and execution (The Passion) and Resurrection ( Easter Sunday). As prescribed by the church, Lent is a period of human suffering and reflection, thus Lent is also a period of abstinence from selfindulgence—such as excessive eating, sex, and so on. As contrasted to the piety of Lent, Carnival encourages immoderation, sometimes leading to outright hedonism. Falling on different dates throughout the Western Christian calendar—anywhere from February 3 to March 9—Mardi Gras (from French gras for fat and Mardi for Tuesday) marks the final day of the weeks of Carnival excess. In Anglican countries, Mardi Gras is known as Shrove Tuesday—from shrive meaning “confess”—or Pancake Day—after the breakfast food that symbolizes one final hearty meal of eggs, butter, and sugar before the fast. On Ash Wednesday, the morning after Mardi Gras, repentant Christians return to church to receive upon the forehead the sign of the cross in ashes. Thus the present-day American Carnival celebration signifies a seasonal cycle of demise and rebirth, the abandonment of normal life and daily obligations, culminating in a final outburst of overindulgence ( by outwardly becoming someone or something else: through costuming, drunkenness, etc.), and finally resulting in a return to all that is familiar and sacred. FROM EUROPE TO THE GULF COAST As early as the thirteenth century, revelers in Venice attended formal masked balls during the Carnival season. From Italy the practice was carried elsewhere around Europe, especially Paris. The origins of Gulf Coast Carnival celebrations are traceable to the Parisian festivals of the eighteenth century. Wealthy and working class joined in the week-long festivities. Organized, exclusive masquerade balls and dinners for the aristocracy occurred separately from loosely arranged street parades and public costuming. Later adopted in New Orleans, a guild of butchers would march the garlanded boeuf gras (fat ox) through the streets to its slaughter. The authoritarian government of Napoleon III all but eliminated the private and public Parisian Carnivals upon seizing power in 1851. The institution of Carnival survived in the French colonization of Louisiana. Pierre Le Moyne (1661–1706; also called Sieur d’Iberville), a FrenchCanadian soldier of renown, was hired in the service of France to settle

Mardi Gras Louisiana. As legend follows, four ships commanded by d’Iberville, initially unable to sail too far up the Mississippi River, camped nearly 70 miles downriver from the future site of New Orleans. The date was March 3, Mardi Gras back in Paris; d’Iberville named the landing Pointe du Mardi Gras. However it is further east along the Gulf Coast that Carnival in the Americas first began. Mobile was settled in 1702 by d’Iberville and his younger brother JeanBaptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. As the first capital of French Louisiana, Mobile can historically claim the first New World Carnivals. In 1705, at Fort Louis de la Louisiana, just up the Mobile River from the capital, soldiers and colonists celebrated the first Mardi Gras with masking and feasting. The only other mention, in the archival record, of a Carnival during this era is of a faux-boeuf gras (a man wore a papier-mâché bull’s head) occurring in 1711. To find another mention of a Carnival celebration in the Americas one must fast-forward over a century to New Year’s Eve, 1831. That night several dozen costumed Mobilians paraded through the streets, ringing bells and carousing. They called themselves the Cowbellion de Rakin Society (historians speculate the name incorporates the words cowbell and rebellion with the phrase raising a commotion). As the crowd proceeded to be greeted by the mayor, members of the crowd joined in the festivities. Within a decade the Cowbellion Society had become gentrified. Mobile’s civic leaders controlled membership to the organization through invitation-only masquerade balls and official street parades. A direct line may be drawn that traces the Cowbellion de Rakin Society to the modern New Orleans Carnival. NEW ORLEANS CARNIVAL No one nationality or cultural group can claim to be the founders of the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition. Carnival in New Orleans, like its cuisine and musical traditions, was created by the city’s gallimaufry of people and cultures—French, Spanish, German, Italian, Indian, African, Caribbean, and black American. The first mention of a New Orleans Carnival dates to a 1781 edict that prohibited “people of color, both free and slaves . . . from taking advantage of carnival.” Undoubtedly, Carnival and Mardi Gras were being celebrated in New Orleans throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but more importantly this proclamation outlines the racial schisms that underscore Louisiana Carnival to this day. By 1827, the ban on masking was lifted, a petition having been signed by 200 leading Creoles. (Creole is a sensitive and widespread term in Louisiana. Originally a Creole was a person of another nationality born in the Louisiana Territories. Eventually, Creole came to designate a person of French and Spanish or, at times, African and Caribbean heritage living in New Orleans and its environs. Today, many cultures and ethnicities call themselves Creole; based on their ancestry, everyone from Latin Americans, to descendents of slaves, and Croatians can claim Creoleness.)

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Documentation of early Carnival celebrations in New Orleans show them to be egalitarian in nature. At both public and private masked balls, the members of high-society shared the floor, and dances, with freed people and Creoles of color. Spectacles of street parades—its members dressed as animals, creatures of fantasy, and ethnicities other than one’s own—filled the streets in the days leading to Mardi Gras. Members of the procession threw trifles—handfuls of flour, fruit, and kisses—to equally stunned and jubilant onlookers. New Orleans’s infamous reputation as a vulgar, unhinged sort of town may be attributed to these early Carnivals, when prostitution, thievery, and murder proliferated. Increased calls by local newspapers to end or severely limit Carnival coincided with members of the Cowbellion de Rakin Society emigration to New Orleans in the early 1850s. In 1857, a group of six men, some former members of the Cowbellion and none of them born in Louisiana, invited 13 others to join them in forming the Mistick Krewe of Comus and birthed the traditions of the modern Carnival. They took their name Comus, son of Bacchus, and their annual parading themes from readings of English poetry and prose, especially the works of John Milton. Many of the aspects of the first Comus parade and festivities survive in the Mardi Gras Krewes of today. Moneyed New Orleanians soon paid memberships to join other krewes: the Krewe of Rex and the Knights of Momus both started in 1872, followed by the Krewe of Proteus a decade later. By principle these organizations were composed of white males. Members of these early krewes were sworn to oaths of secrecy from revealing the identity of each other or the King, who was voted to lead the festivities each season. However, a public face fronted the privacy of the krewes: eating clubs. These still-exclusive supper clubs—Comus was known as the Pickwick Club in homage to the Charles Dickens novel—allowed the members to deliberate over supposed acts of charity, according to the krewes’ charters. The exclusivity of the krewes and clubs has both been expanded and opposed by start-up organizations. Today the krewes of Bacchus and Endymion are kept private, yet enthusiastically incorporate thousands of members. Smaller krewes, sometimes called marching clubs, walking clubs,or social aid and pleasure clubs, are both private and open to the public and march during the Carnival season and year-round. Many of these clubs center on a theme: the Krewe du Vieux excels at satirizing local politics, the Krewe of Barkus openly invites canines and their owners to march, and college students mostly comprise the Krewe of Tucks. Parading through public streets has long been the most exciting happening during Carnival. Most krewes and clubs march on the same day of the Carnival calendar: the extensive procession of Orpheus rides on Lundi Gras—the Monday before Mardi Gras—while the Krewe of Rex always parades late-morning on the final day of Carnival. In local parlance, larger krewes are said to roll, meaning that the parades are mostly comprised of decorated, wheeled carriages—floats—on which riders sit or stand. Tractorpulled, sometimes double-decker trailers, have replaced the horse-drawn

Mardi Gras transports of the past. Keeping with tradition, the floats largely remain decorated in large papier-mâché items—flowers, local caricatures, fantastical beasts. To the chagrin of traditionalists, animatronics, elaborate lighting, and images of the latest cartoon characters have largely, but not entirely, replaced references to mythology and literature. Along with floats, many other rituals occupy a space in the parade procession. Remainders from the very first Comus parade, flambeaux, or lighted torch, carriers herald the start of many parades. Originally the flambeaux, traditionally carried by African American men, illuminated the parade for spectators, but today they continue as a vital part of the production. The other significant component of parades is marching bands. The bands formed by professional musicians, universities, and high schools are essentially brass bands, being the traditional New Orleans jazz style of band, which evolved from the native second-line dance parades. The bands play both customary gospels, such as “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and the newest pop songs, done brass-style. The second-line of dancing revelers follow the so-called first-line, or members of the band. Whether or not a spectator chooses to join the second-line, the music infuses the audience with the Carnival spirit. Spectator-parade interaction is a highlight of the processions. Very few members of the congregation, which line the streets for hours each day and night of Carnival season, merely sit back and watch. Krewe members often

“Red” Pageant at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, c. 1890–1910. Library of Congress.

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Mardi Gras day in New Orleans, c. 1900–1906. Library of Congress.

spend thousands of dollars on throws and trinkets to toss to the captive audience. Strings of beads are certainly the most famous of throws; once made of glass in Czechoslovakia, the cheap, multi-colored strands are now made of plastic and produced in China. Spectators holler, “Throw me something, Mister!,” to the parade riders for toys, embossed plastic cups, and collectable doubloons—large, commonly metal coins stamped with a krewe’s insignia and the date. The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parade on Mardi Gras features Carnival’s most sought after throw: the Zulu coconut. The coconut is hand-painted and covered in glittering adornments; riders hand this rarity over to lucky parade-goers. For both float riders and street-side spectators abundant alcohol consumption is the norm. Louisiana’s liberal open-container laws, made freer during Carnival, ensure the imbibing of cans of beer and to-go cups of mixed cocktails along the parade route and in the streets of the Vieux Carré, or French Quarter. Although New Orleans is known for its fabulous Creole cuisine, food during Carnival often includes boxes of fried chicken, sandwich trays, and stuffed po-boy loaves. Fortunately, however, the crawfish and oyster seasons coincide with Carnival-time, resulting in numerous backyard crawfish boil feasts and trips to local raw-oyster bars. The time-honored colors of Carnival—purple, green, and gold—were chosen by the Krewe of Rex and enhance the seasonal attire. Most krewes enforce the masking and costuming of float riders. The common parade riders wear plastic masks and brightly colored, shimmering costumes. While the royalty—king, queen, maids of honor—and officers of the krewe wear elaborate often feathered suits and glittery gowns; depending on krewe

Mardi Gras tradition, their faces may be unmasked. Non-krewe members seldom wear masks and costumes, except on Mardi Gras when most businesses close and all of New Orleans seems to crowd the streets. Costumes range from Halloween type dress-ups, to handcrafted, feathered masks, and out-right nakedness. Though the New Orleans Carnival is today famous for the public parades and throngs of Bourbon Street, a private, formal sphere still exists. Old-line krewes maintain annual balls that are as much about social hierarchy and pageantry as the Carnival season is. A long-standing member, commonly a business or civic leader, is chosen to reign as krewe king for one year. The krewe also picks a queen, typically an unmarried, college-aged daughter of former royalty. The social balls are formal and invitation-only; guests speculate as to the identity of the masked king. The King of the Krewe of Rex, since its beginnings in 1872, has been honored as the King of Carnival. Each year on Lundi Gras morning, a fleet of riverboats deposits Rex on the quays of downtown New Orleans. The mayor of the city greets the King, declares the following day to be a holiday, and ceremoniously grants all governing powers to Rex. In a tradition borrowed from eighteenth-century France, King Cake parties continue from Twelfth Night (the last day of Christmas festivities) to Mardi Gras. The cake is an oblong or circular, brioche-style bread covered in icing and purple, green, and gold sugars. A trinket—a small bean or plastic baby figurine—is placed inside the King Cake. Whoever receives the slice of cake with the prize, must provide for the next King Cake. Some krewes nominate their queens in the same fashion, a ritual also repeated in offices and school classrooms during Carnival season. MODERN CARNIVAL Carnival is still celebrated in Mobile and has been adopted in the Gulf Coast region stretching from Galveston, Texas, to Pensacola, Florida, and as far north as St. Louis. The second largest celebration occurs in Lafayette, Louisiana. Contrary to the urban street parades in New Orleans and elsewhere, the citizens of the southwestern Louisiana, rural Acadiana area (or so-called Cajun country) celebrate Carnival in an entirely different way. In the courir de Mardi Gras (literally, the Mardi Gras run), masked riders—in distinctly French-Acadian costumes—ride in packs through the countryside on horseback or wagons. The revelers, under the guidance of a captain, travel from house to house, collecting ingredients—rice, onion, bell pepper, celery, sausage, flour, fat—for a community gumbo to be served at dusk. Like the processional parades, non-active participants and tourists follow the riders with carousing, especially with the hope of catching a glimpse of the comedic live-chicken catch. Neighbors occasionally donate a chicken, which rightly has no wish to be caught and will often fly onto the nearest tree or rooftop. Capturing the chicken proves one’s virility, though women also courir, and it proves that one belongs within the group. By donating

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ingredients the friends, family, and neighbors of the riders strengthen community bonds while ensuring a plate to partake in the evening’s gumbo festivities. Race and racism have unfortunately been a factor since the dawn of Carnival celebrations in America. Many krewes and parades have excluded African-Americans from joining. In 1991, the Krewes of Comus, Momus, and Proteus, when forced by a City Council mandate, chose not to publicly march rather than desegregate their societies. The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, a predominately African-American krewe, first marched in 1909. By dressing in grass skirts and blackface, the Zulus sought to define themselves by appropriating the racial stereotype used by white society and the mass media to portray them. The Mardi Gras Indians is a category used for dozens of groups of African-American men who parade throughout the Carnival season. The Mardi Gras Indians have marched since the mid-nineteenth century. Reputedly, run-away slaves shared a rapport with the social pariah Native Americans. The groups melded their music, dress, and dance. The members wear intricately hand-designed body suits made of feathers and beadwork. The Indian costumes cost thousands of dollars to design and are often worn only once or twice before being dismantled, to prepare for next year’s suit. The Mardi Gras Indians march in tribes—such as the Wild Tchoupitoulas and the Golden Eagles—that are hierarchical. There are the three Chiefs, the Spy Boy (who looks out for other tribes), the Flag Boy (who relays signals from the Spy Boy to the Chiefs), and the Wild Man (who is a sort of escort to the Big Chief ). Crowds come out to watch the tribes “do battle” through dancing, chanting, and one-upmanship; though the so-called battle is for the most part theatrical in nature, there is occasionally real violence. It is a testament to the distinction of New Orleans and the southern Gulf Coast that the term Carnival could include such a variety of ceremonies, involving a mix of so many peoples and cultures. In February of 2006, just six months after Hurricane Katrina and its repercussions demolished New Orleans and the surrounding areas, there was talk in the city of canceling the Carnival celebrations. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, Carnival was held. That year like any other, hands—young and old—reached out for plastic baubles. Crowds swayed to the “Mardi Gras Mambo.” For one day a king named Rex ruled the city. And, yes, breasts were bared on Bourbon Street. Among the ruins, Mardi Gras Indians competed to be “the prettiest” and danced among the survivors. Further Reading: Gill, James. Lords of Misrule: Mardi Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1997; Kinser, Samuel. Carnival American Style: Mardi Gras at New Orleans and Mobile. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Rien T. Fertel

Masquerade

Masquerade The masquerade (masque) is generally thought to have been an outgrowth of the costumed pageants and religious processions used to celebrate marriages, victories, feast days, and other important events during the late medieval period in Europe. In the fifteenth century, masquerades became popular as social functions among the fashionable upper classes of the city-states of northern Italy, and most historians closely associate their development with the annual Venetian Carnival. In Italy the masquerade took many forms including the courtly masque (masque della corte), the masked ball (sfera mascherata), and ultimately the masked opera ball (sfera mascherata di opera). Events like these spread across Europe from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It is not surprising that the masquerade had Italian roots. The wealth accumulated by the maritime states of northern Italy in the Renaissance period came from mercantile enterprises supported by an extensive network of trade over which Italian tastes and styles spread throughout Europe. Italianate tastes in clothing, furnishings, architecture, food preparation, and personal appearance helped to form the characteristics of upper-class culture in much of Europe. The so-called Macaroni—an ornate fop adorned with curled periwig, excessive make-up, and extravagant clothing—was an Italian extraction, but the style was assumed by only a minority of young wealthy men. The lavish Italianate style often expressed itself most strongly in upper-class architecture, art, and music. Initially restricted to the members of the ruling court, the courtly masque was highly scripted and often set to music with pieces written by some of the premiere composers of the day. It might take a year to prepare a masque that would be performed just once for the eyes of a very select audience. The good guys would be elegantly portrayed by courtiers (including at times the king or local ruler) and the bad guys by professional actors who were allowed to be grotesque, sinister, or funny. Courtly masques featured the newest dance steps set to the latest music brought by Italian dancing masters to the courts of Europe. Brilliant costume designs were often copied from the Ballet della Corte of the powerful families of Florence, Milan, or Venice; or from the Commedia Dell’Arte—a form of improvisational and very physical theater developed in sixteenth-century Tuscany. The costs of such an enterprise were enormous, but the ultimate purpose of the masque was to symbolically underpin the authority of the ruler. As long as the masque was considered primarily an aristocratic form, it was unavoidably political and had political consequences. It is important to note, however, that monarchs were not the only sponsors of masquerades, nor were they the sole participants in their production. The so-called Ascension Day masque of 1595, held during the reign of Elizabeth I (Tudor), was sponsored by the Earl of Essex and designed with the help of Sir Francis Bacon. It was meant to upstage the queen in the waning years of her

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Fat Tuesday in Venice. The Art Archive/ Theatre Museum London/Graham Brandon.

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Venetian masquerade mask. © Stephen Stiling | Dreamstime.com.

Masquerade masks in a Venetian market. Luciano Mortula | Dreamstime.com.

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Masquerade Ball-Mi-Careme, 1908. Library of Congress.

reign (1558–1603) and was crucial to Essex’s campaign of self-promotion. He was ultimately beheaded for treason. William Shakespeare included a presentation of a courtly masque in The Tempest (1611) as a sort of window into the life of the royal court of the Stuart kings (James I [reigned 1603–1625], Charles I [reigned 1625–1649]) for the paying audience. The so-called Sun King, Louis XIV of France, was noted for the lavish masques he sponsored throughout much of his long reign (1643–1715); and Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI (reigned 1775–1793), was said to be both a patron of and an avid participant in masquerades—sometimes to the detriment of her reputation as Queen of France. The masked ball developed as a participatory event for the rich from its introduction (c. 1708) by Count John Heidegger, a Swiss diplomat, as an innovative variation on the somewhat boring seasonal regimen of dances, musicals, and other events that composed the upper-class social calendar. These masquerades were largely unscripted affairs—spectacular dance parties, if you will—that retained the characteristic trappings of costume, disguise, and role-play while downplaying the larger political significance. As such, the masquerade was an immediate hit. Thereafter, masked balls and costume parties became wildly popular and fashionable throughout Europe. Masquerades quickly expanded to the residences, ballrooms, and private parks of the well-to-do. Ultimately, semi-public affairs spilled over into the

Masquerade streets and plazas of European cities to affect a growing merchant class, sometimes with unfortunate or unexpected results. Although masquerades varied greatly from one another and from place to place, there were specific elements that tended to be common to all of them. These commonalities ranged from specific costume types to the general atmosphere and the protocols that governed the events. Although costume was important, the defining characteristic of the masquerade was disguise. The donning of masks by all the participants—and the virtual shield of anonymity that it provided—invited a sense of release from the day-to-day behavioral controls imposed by the wider society. The masquerade focused on this anonymity, or at least on the mutual agreement that participants would not be held to close public scrutiny for their actions at the event. This sense of freedom—if not absolute license—was prevalent among masquerade-goers and was the subject of much scrutiny by anti-masquerade factions. The face was often hidden—sometimes by a full headdress, sometimes by a half-mask with two eye-holes made of pressed paper, velvet, lace, or any other appropriate material. The latter were often tied with ribbons at the back of the head, but hand-held masks on wands were also used. At masquerades issues of gender, sexuality, and role-reversal could all find expression within the confines of the ballroom or the opera house. The body was often emphasized through the participant’s choice of costume. Ostentatious, revealing, and suggestive costumes contributed to the sense of open eroticism that was heightened by comparison to everyday clothing. Certain overly revealing feminine costumes shocked contemporary observers and contributed to an air of sexual explicitness. Cross-dressing, a common form of disguise at masquerades, was almost always a form of sexual symbolism rather than of gender denial. Costumes like these tended to generate an erotic atmosphere clearly palpable to the guests. The activities at masquerades went well beyond simply dancing and revelry in costume, and often included the stroking, touching, and fondling of strangers of both genders. While symbolic, the focus of many masquerades became deeply mired in voyeurism, hedonism, and blatant self-display. Due to the fact that they were heavily freighted with sexual innuendo, masquerades were thought to be particularly liberating for women, who normally had to conform to very strict societal rules regarding gender roles and sexuality. However, at masquerades some of these rules were seemingly stripped away. Any hint of open promiscuity exhibited among the female participants might be considered simply titillating. Young women were thought to be particularly prone to the detrimental effects of the masquerade, which threatened to lead them from simple flirting to open promiscuity. Masks were often assigned the power of an aphrodisiac supposedly causing an abrupt loss of sexual inhibition and an immediate detachment from traditional codes of morality. The widely held belief that prostitutes and serving girls regularly used the anonymity of costume to attend masquerades disguised as proper ladies contributed to the sexually charged atmosphere.

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Nonetheless, most masquerades enforced strict codes of dress and interpersonal etiquette on the participants. These were usually imposed by those who were hosting the event. Costume categories were often limited to certain acceptable themes: historic, mythological, literary, grotesque, or exotic. Examples of costumes include witches, conjurers, satyrs, or devils. The colorful guises of the characters from the Commedia Dell’Arte (or their equivalents) like Columbine, Harlequin, Brighella, Pulcinella, and El Capitan were often adopted as costumes. In 1679 the Duke of Mantova, held a notable masquerade in the streets of Venice that featured horsemen in parti-colored livery and guests fitted out as Indiamen, Africans, Turks, and Tartars, all dressed in exotic costumes. The so-called domino costume was often used as a generic alternative to more complicated or expensive outfits. It was comprised of a loose flowing cloak that enveloped the body. Sometimes the cloak was accompanied by a hood called a bahoo, of which female party goers with complicated hairdos were particularly fond. A tricorn hat or silk top hat (depending on the period) often completed the ensemble that was worn with a mask that covered the upper half of the face. These costumes were usually deep black, but occasionally varied to virginal white, royal blue, or blood red. The cloaks were often worn as accessories by both sexes, usually over one’s own clothing, whether they be silk breeches and a frockcoat or an elegant empire gown. The domino costume was meant to lend a sense of intrigue, adventure, and mystery to the experience of the masquerade, and as such, it was a distinctive part of the masquerade tradition. The domino would be immediately recognized by those familiar with the dark characters associated with the twentieth-century musical adaptations Amadeus (1979) or Phantom of the Opera (1976)—the former characteristic of the eighteenth century and the latter, the nineteenth century. The masquerade also provided an interesting plot device for authors who used the setting of the masquerade to add mystery or new perspective to their stories. Shakespeare used the anonymity of a masquerade at the home of the Capulet’s (Romeo and Juliet, 1596, act 1, scene 4), to quietly insinuate Romeo into the presence of Juliet, a daughter of the house. Novelists, in particular, found the masquerade a place of intimacy and intrigue, where reality and logic could be suspended. The masquerade often allowed for the destabilization and replacement of the ordinary. American author Edgar Allen Poe used it as a vehicle of gothic horror in “The Mask of the Red Death,” where death, costumed as himself, invades the supposed protective precincts of a masquerade. More often, however, the masquerade was used as a device to test a character’s virtue, honesty, or chastity. In Vanity Fair, English author William Makepeace Thackery used the masquerade to help expose the foibles of his main character, Becky Sharp, a shameless, self-indulgent, and, by the end of the book, dissipated woman. Despite the different perspectives authors took on masquerades, they were usually associated with a dialogue concerning social change or cultural propriety. These were common threads appearing in many novels, and masquerades fit in quite easily.

Masquerade In 1835, French author Alexandre Dumas penned a short story called “A Masked Ball” that featured a tragic assignation between his hero and heroine at a public masquerade. Dumas described the masquerade as a “sea of scarcely human beings, all in grotesque dominos, all leaping and thrashing around to the strains of a band which could hardly be heard through their obscure shrieks, yells, laughs and cries.” In 1859, Dumas’s short story became the basis for a Giuseppe Verdi opera (Un Ballo in Maschera) that was set at a masked ball. The masked opera ball (an opera party en masque) was a variation on masquerade. From the very beginning, this variety of masquerade was well received and quickly became a social event of the first magnitude. A masked opera ball was held for the first time in England in 1710 at the Haymarket Opera House, and the type quickly spread to Covent Garden and other respected operatic venues. In 1729, Heidegger—now considered the impressario of masquerade—joined with composer George Frideric Handel to produce masked operas at the King’s Theatre in London. Masked opera balls often served to open the French carnival season. In revolutionary France in the 1790s, however, masquerades of any kind, long thought to be aristocratic devices, were deemed to be anti-republican and were widely banned. Indeed the zenith of their popularity was seemingly reached during the brilliant gatherings and receptions held during the Congress of Vienna in 1815 where the multinational aristocracy of Europe celebrated the death of the French republic and tried to piece together the political jumble left behind by the recent defeat of the empire under Napoleon Bonaparte. Late in the nineteenth century, Edouard Manet offered a glimpse of sophisticated Parisian society in his painting the Masked Ball at the Opera (1873). This work was supposedly inspired by the mass of masked young men and women who attended the centennial opening in Paris of The Marriage of Figaro, written by Pierre de Beaumarchais before the revolution. The painting clearly shows the floor of the opera house (the pit) packed with revelers (including Manet in cameo), and the boxes filled with all the pretty, scantily clad women of Paris dans les masques. There is little doubt about the openly sexual nature of the encounters that Manet depicted between the masked young women and the well-dressed young men in their frock coats, silk hats, and capes. Again and again those who attended the masked opera balls in Paris in the nineteenth century were cited for their excesses, leading the Viennese directors of the newly opened Ringstrasse Opera House in 1877 to limit such events to those sponsored by the Austrian court of Emperor Franz Joseph. In this way—for the Viennese at least—masquerades had virtually come full circle. For the British or Anglo-American participant, masquerades redefined the concept of modesty and shocked the cultural rubric that defined the ideals of English Protestantism. In Britain, the masques held in the courts of the early Stuart kings, James I and Charles I, were spectacular dance parties that helped to define the concept of a social occasion during the English Renaissance. However, during much of the seventeenth century,

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the rise of a conservative Puritan sentiment largely repressed the growth of personal ostentation and public revelry of any kind especially during the English Civil Wars and the Republican Period of parliamentary government (c. 1640–1660). Puritans in both Old England and New England rallied against womanish periwigs, perfume, and make-up; banned popular theater; arrested actors as undesirable persons; and made ostentation in costume illegal. There was no way that they would tolerate the lavish and highly erotic qualities of the masquerade. Nonetheless, with the restoration of the Stuart monarchy under Charles II (reigned 1661–1685), the styles that were popular under his royal predecessors were quickly readopted in London and spread to some of the larger population centers of the Anglo-American colonies. James II was deposed in 1688 by Mary Stuart ( his daughter) and her husband William of Orange (reigned 1688–1702) and followed by Queen Anne (Stuart) who reigned until 1714. The so-called Restoration period lasted throughout most of the remainder of the seventeenth century and was noted for its liberal attitudes, its theatrical comedy, and its high style of living. In America, however, masquerades were generally held outside the sphere of influence of the dower Congregationalists and plain-living Quakers and Pietists who dictated the mores of New England and Pennsylvania. Nonetheless, many of the upper-class residents of the Southern and Middle colonies were open to its influence. In the second half of the eighteenth century the popularity of Persian, Indian, and Chinese costumes increased along with the level of Anglo-American world trade in those regions bringing novel elements to the masquerade. Nevertheless, the masquerade remained a rare social commodity in British North America, and it was often attacked by the more conservative elements of colonial society as immoral, depraved, or foreign. Today, remnants of masquerade pepper American popular culture. Modern costume parties, especially those held at Halloween or Mardi Gras, often incorporate elements of the masquerade, especially the concepts of disguise, role play, and the mask itself. No self-respecting eight-year-old would appear as a vampire without the long-flowing black cloak and high collar made popular as an opera accessory in the nineteenth century. Moreover, the celebration of Mardi Gras certainly resurrects some of the gaiety and release from convention among its revelers that characterized the masquerades of earlier centuries. Popular fictional characters of the twentieth century like the Lone Ranger, Zorro, Captain America, Catwoman, Batman, and Spiderman donned masks, hoods, or full costumes to protect their identities and to endow themselves with seemingly irresistible or mysterious powers. Hollywood movie producers have also incorporated the masquerade as a plot device into a large number of films with historic settings such as Vanity Fair, Amadeus, Restoration, Casanova, Marie Antoinette, or The Man in the Iron Mask. It has also been used as a convenient device to further plot in twentieth-century situations as in the movies To Catch a Thief and Eyes Wide Shut.

Medieval Further Reading: Bevington, Davis, and Peter Holbrook, eds. The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006; Castle, Terry. Masquerade and Civilization: The Carnivalesque in Eighteenth-Century English Culture and Fiction. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1986; Ribeiro, Aileen. The Dress Worn at Masquerades in England 1730 to 1790. New York: Garland Publishing, 1984.

James M. Volo

Medieval The two concepts that lay at the heart of the medieval dining experience were status and sharing. The status of the host determined the setting, size, and luxury of a meal, and the sharing of food and dinnerware was a common feature throughout the medieval period in all classes of society. In Europe, the millennium from around A.D. 500 to 1500 known as the Middle Ages was a time of increased refinement. Thanks to the influence of Arab cuisine, dishes and table manners both became more refined. We know little about the way the poorer segments of society entertained during this time, but we can assume that they, too, indulged in some festive foods at Christmas, Easter, or at weddings as they celebrated with family and friends. Most of the information we do have about the preparation and consumption of food comes from the end of the period, the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and from the upper classes. The grandest banquets of all were those given at royal coronations at which fantastic amounts of exquisite foods were served. Manners were considered to be people’s outward expression of their inner worth. Therefore, members of the medieval elite sought to control most bodily functions by making them subject to countless rules, drawn up in a new genre of text, the courtesy or etiquette book. For medieval dining, the fundamental virtues were courtesy, cleanliness, and moderation. Being a glutton that looked after his own belly first and discarded the bones on the floor may be the popular image of a medieval knight painted by the more modern media, but it was not what the age aspired to. On the contrary, diners were expected to offer the best pieces to their companions: in fact, the term companion originally meant the person one shared one’s bread with. Guests were usually arranged in messes of between two and six people that shared the food they were served, whereby a person of lower rank would help a person of higher rank. Sharing food with the poor was also a feature of entertaining medieval style, albeit indirectly, through the almoner, a person whose duty it was to collect the leftovers and hand them out as alms to the less fortunate. Host and guests alike were concerned about cleanliness and hygiene. Diners were advised to make sure their seats were clean before they sat down and to keep their hands clean before, during, and after the meal. Clean hands were important because forks were not yet part of the cutlery, and much of the food was still handled with fingers. The

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hand-washing ceremony quickly evolved into an important ritual at table. Spitting into the water basin or splashing water on fellow diners was considered bad manners. Foodstuffs once they had touched the mouth were not to be shared. For example, bread was to be cut or broken off a shared loaf, but not bitten off. The same was true for other foods that were not to be dipped in liquids a second time. Half-eaten food, too, was not to be returned to the platter on which it was served. Salt was provided in common saltcellars, some of which served as ornate status symbols. Diners were supposed to move salt from a saltcellar to a trencher (a piece of stale bread that served as a plate) for their individual use. Under no circumstances was food to be dipped directly into a saltcellar. Dinnerware, too, was frequently shared by the guests, first and foremost the drinking cup. Diners were to pass a cup on in such a way that the next person would not drink from the same spot on the cup. Then, as now, licking one’s plate or cutlery clean was bad manners. Using bread instead of the tongue was acceptable. Courtesy demanded that men served women first before they helped themselves, and women were expected to appear disinterested in food. Some women carried this concept to the extreme and had their meal in private first and only afterwards put in an appearance at high table. This had the added advantage that their fingers and clothes could remain spotless. Diners usually brought their own knives to the banquet, while the host supplied the spoons. Knives were not to be used at table for activities other than handling food, especially not for paring nails, picking teeth, or carving. Cutlery made of precious metal such as silver or gold, along with cups, were frequently stolen, which is why upper-class households took to counting their flatware before dinner guests were allowed to leave. With oral hygiene leaving much to be desired and bad breath a problem, blowing on food was discouraged, as was belching too close to one’s neighbor. To clean one’s nose at table fingers could be used, which were then to be wiped on one’s clothes. Napkins were not to serve as handkerchiefs. Sitting decorously at table without scratching one’s head or other body parts, without talking a lot, laughing out loud, or whispering were some of the general rules of comportment expected of medieval dinner guests. Banquets usually took place in the great hall which had a raised platform known as the dais at one end and a musicians’ gallery at the opposite end. The lord and lady as well as important guests and close family members would occupy the dais, which was frequently framed with beautiful tapestries. Only the truly rich could afford to cover all the walls of the great hall with tapestries. Covering the walls with wall paintings or decorating them with garlands were less costly alternatives. With the great hall also serving other functions than banquets, tables were rarely permanent. Instead of such “dormant” tables, hosts normally opted for trestles and boards that were easy to put up and dismantle once the meal was over. Most diners sat on benches with only the highest-ranking member being given a chair of his own at the high table. Because the trestle tables were rather crude, much emphasis was put on the perfect tablecloth. Ideally of the finest linen

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and snow white, sometimes also patterned and fringed, tablecloths covered the table generously. To match the tablecloth, napkins and hand towels were usually cut from the same fabric. In preparation for the banquet, servants would arrange the tables in an angular U shape. The food would be served from the inside of the U, while the diners sat on the outside only. In England, rewarde was the term used for the table adjoining the high table to the right, and second messe the table adjoining it to the left. The quality of tablecloth, napkins, table setting, food and drink diminished the farther away a table was from the dais, and so did the status of the guests seated there. One important piece of furniture used for serving and for representation was the buffet, known as the cupboard. Depending on the status of the host, it could have up to seven shelves, with a cupboard in our modern sense of the word located under the top shelf. Pitchers filled with the drinks to be served to the guests were placed on this buffet, as were any expensive gold and silver vessels the host wished to display. A medieval table setting usually consisted of a trencher that served as an edible plate, a spoon, and a napkin. For the highest-ranking diners the carver would cut the trenchers in neat squares, while lower-ranking diners had to take care of it themselves. A saltcellar was placed on each table with the most luxurious, often in the shape of a boat and aptly called a nef ( boat), adorning the dais, and simpler versions at the other tables. For most of the Middle Ages, only the lord and his distinguished guest would be given a knife, all the other diners were expected to bring their own knives. It was in the rich Italian cities where the custom first began to change, and dining knives were made an integral part of a place setting. The bigger and more ornate carving knives were supplied by the host. A knife with a rounded blade was used by the carver to present the carved food to the diner. Spoons, which came in a variety of materials, from wood and horn to silver, were shaped like a fig with a shaft at the pointed end. Forks were used in the

Banquet scene with minstrels playing trumpets from Poems of Guillaume de Machault on a fifteenthcentury French vellum. The Art Archive JFB.

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kitchen, but they were not yet part of the cutlery. This custom reached Italy from the east via Byzantium, and only in the early modern period gradually spread northward. Occasionally at the end of the Middle Ages little forks were used to eat dainty food such as sweetmeats or fruit. There was a great variety of drinking vessels in medieval times, ranging from shallow wooden vessels known as mazers, to cups and goblets and the classic drinking horn resting on legs. Pottery, pewter, and silver cups were often skillfully crafted and much more durable than glass, which was still a precious rarity. Like saltcellars, water jugs such as the famous aquamanile, a jug in the shape of a heraldic animal, could become art objects. This was also the case for the lord’s water basin or ewery, and the cup that was used to test the water for poison. With the great hall decorated and the food in the kitchen ready to be served, the spectacle that was a medieval banquet could begin, sometime between late morning and early afternoon. The ewerer, in charge of linen and hand washing, spread the tablecloths, and prepared the ewery, cup, and towel. The pantler, or head of the pantry, was the one entrusted with the spoon for the lord, as well as with bread knives, saltcellars, bread rolls, and trenchers, which he distributed. Once this task was completed, the lord sat down, grace was said, and the meal began. After bowing three times in front of the lord, the carver uncovered the salt and the lord’s bread while kneeling. The pantler was then given small pieces of white bread and trencher bread to test for poison or to assay. At the same time the cupbearer assayed the water in the lord’s ewery and kissed the towel. By then the dishes of the first course were about to be served. The chief cook and the steward who was in charge of the entire household, assayed samples of the food handed to them by the head waiter and the taster, who was called the sewer. The diners were now allowed to sit down while the wine and ale were examined by the marshal, serving as the chief official at dinner, the butler who was in charge of drinks, and the cupbearer. The carver then began his work at the head table as various courses arrived. Unlike today, a main course consisted of a wide variety of different dishes, from meat and fish to sweet dishes, all of which were brought into the great hall on large platters known as chargers. Two main courses were the norm, but six or seven were also not unheard of at special occasions such as marriages. Following the main courses, the table was cleared of spoons and leftover food, and fruit, cheese, the famous spiced wine known as hippocras, wafers, and sugar-coated spices known as comfits were served. Once these treats were consumed, the table was cleared of all remaining food and utensils, and the banquet ended as it began, with a hand-washing ceremony and grace being said. The lord and distinguished guests would at times continue enjoying some more treats in another room. As a consequence of the fireplace no longer occupying the middle of the great hall but being integrated into the wall in the later Middle Ages, the upstairs chamber, or bedroom of the lord and lady, could now also be heated. This made exquisite dinners for a select group of guests in the

Medieval chamber more and more popular. However, this two-tier banqueting was not welcomed by the “lesser folk” in the great hall that had to make do with cheaper fare. To avoid a diners’ revolt, the lord and lady did return to the great hall for banquets at Christmas, Easter, and on other special occasions. Major feasts were rare and costly events. They took many months of planning to make sure the thousands of deer, boars, pigs, game birds, rabbits, hares, fish, and the enormous amount of firewood required to turn these and other ingredients into delicious dishes were ready when the cook and his army of kitchen staff needed them. Medieval upper-class cuisine was an international cuisine with cookbooks (and cooks) circulating among the courts of Europe. Spices such as pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and saffron were used extensively in the kitchens of the rich, as were sugar, rice, almonds, eggs, chickens, and pork. Judging from the cookbook manuscripts that have survived, a combination of sweet and sour flavors seems to have been the preferred taste at the time. This combining of opposites may have been rooted in medieval medicine that was based on keeping the four humors in balance. Roasted meat, presumed to have a humoral composition of hot and dry, was usually balanced or tempered with sauces that had a cool and moist composition. The high degree of processing of ingredients suggests a preference for a creamy consistency of dishes. Coloring food was a trait of Arab cuisine that became all the rage in late-medieval Europe. The dish found in nearly all medieval recipe collections is blanc manger, a creamy dish made from the principal white ingredients chicken or fish, rice flower, almond milk, and sugar. Omelettes, broths ( brewets), and meat potages (civets), pies with edible crust (tourtes) or without, and mortar dishes (mortrewes) named after the kitchen utensil in which the meat was pounded to a paste, as well as fritters, clear and opaque jellies, marzipan, and signature sauces such as the cinnamon sauce (sawse camelyne) were international favorites. The drink that was the crowning of any medieval banquet was the spiced wine hippocras, named after the Greek physician Hippocrates. Menus varied depending on the status of the host and the region, but some common patterns do emerge across Europe. Soups frequently opened the meal, to be followed by assortments of roasts, pies, pasties, tarts, fritters, and finally sweets. The most famous medieval cookbook was the Viandier written in the fourteenth century by Taillevent, chief cook for the king of France. Its structure more or less follows the sequence of dishes at an aristocratic banquet: potages formed the first course, roasted meats with their appropriate sauces the second course, and surprise dishes (entremets), which could range from venison and fish to frumenty (wheat porridge), provided entertainment before the next course was served. Taillevent did not discuss confections, pastries, and other foods that were eaten at the end of a banquet. Waffles, wafers, and hippocras were prepared by specialized personnel, cheese and fruits were served raw, and candied fruits were usually bought along with the parlor spices such as candied aniseed, coriander seed, or gingerroot that were meant to aid digestion and were eaten in another room after the banquet had officially ended. At about the same time across

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the channel in England King Richard II gave a banquet for the Duke of Lancaster which featured venison, frumenty, and a meat potage first, then an assortment of roasted meats from boar’s head to pigs and swans, followed by a sweet custard, and a surprise dish (sotelty). A jelly and white dish started the second course, which was otherwise made up mostly of wild and domestic birds, rabbits, fish, and tarts, and concluded with another sotelty. A potage, stew, and more meat dishes, including quails and larks, together with a jelly, sweet curd, and egg fritters formed the third course that again concluded with a sotelty. The preferred drink at medieval banquets was wine, drunk either pure or diluted with water. Famous wine regions in the Middle Ages were Beaune near Dijon, and Bordeaux, the Rhine and Moselle region, as well as Alsace, Rivoglio, and Sicily. Greece was known for its sweet wines such as malmsey named after Malvasia on the island of Crete. England imported much of its wine from Gascony, but some was also produced locally. Ale and, at the end of the period, beer were drunk by the masses, especially in northern Europe where wine was an expensive import. Mead still played an important role in the early Middle Ages but by 1400 had gone out of style as a suitable drink for a banquet, while distilled drinks known as aqua vitae were just beginning to leave the medicine cabinet and enter the banquet hall. As the discussion of the menus has shown, dishes known in England as sotelty and in France as entremet were served between courses at medieval banquets. From colorful but simple fare they evolved into elaborate edible and eventually inedible artistic creations that moved from the dining table to the floor of the great hall and even became the backdrop for small plays. The development of surprise dishes was greatly aided by the high degree of processing and coloring that was the hallmark of medieval upperclass cuisine. Among the earliest examples were wheat porridge known as frumenty, and dishes made from the liver, giblet, and feet of poultry, with saffron used to color these dishes golden. Blanc manger, originally a “white dish” made from white ingredients, later also appeared in multicolored arrangements on the tables of the rich, as did jellies in the form of a checkerboard. Clear jellies encasing fish or other seafood were especially sought-after sotelties during Lent when the consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products was not allowed. Eggshells filled with fish roe, fruits, and spices were a type of illusion food designed to provide diners with a guilt-free pleasure on fast days. The same was the case with giant eggs made from differently sized animals bladders whose meat-day fillings of egg yolks and egg whites were substituted with fish roe, almond, fruit, and spice fillings. Ground almonds, a staple in the medieval kitchen, were used to shape smaller animals such as hedgehogs, with almond slivers serving as quills. Fake roasts were covered in fried gingerbread to make them look roasted; pieces of hard-boiled egg whites cut in strips were used to simulate barding, that is, inserting fat in lean meat; and sauces and broths normally served with specific meat dishes were employed as markers to trick diners into thinking that what they were offered really was meat. Molds

Medieval were another convenient way of shaping processed food into a variety of different forms, and so was stuffing the prepared meat back into the raw skin of animals. The meat of a decorative bird such as a swan, peacock, or pheasant, prepared, returned to its plumage, and mounted on a platter in a life-like pose was a more elaborate type of sotelty. A Russian doll effect was achieved when a larger animal such as a pig was stuffed with a goose, which in turn was stuffed with another animal, and so on and so forth. Stuffing the skin of one animal with the prepared meat of another, and placing the roasted carcass of the original animal beside it was a way of turning one animal into two. Rather than stop at giant eggs of fantasy animals, some cooks went further and invented entire fantasy animals; most famous of all was the Cokagrys or cockatrice, whose culinary version was a creature half piglet and half cock. Mimicking human activities were the fowl or fish made to look like knights riding into battle or like pilgrims, complete with pilgrim staff. Soon the static images of these animals were not enough, and special effects were added to make them emit sound or breathe fire. The combination of heat and quicksilver or mercury in the tied neck of a bird helped create the desired sound effect of a singing bird, and cotton with camphor, later also alcohol, when lit had fish, piglets, boar’s heads, and swans emitting flames. Practical jokes that evoked disgust rather than amazement included sprinkling dried animal blood on food to make it look raw and bloody, or using pieces of intestines to make it look wormy. Not for the squeamish diner were the various live animals served in covered dishes, encased in pies, or otherwise made to appear cooked, such as the famous “four-andtwenty blackbirds baked in a pie.” Even humans could find themselves “pied” in this way. Dough is one of the oldest types of processed food used to make imitation dishes, and its popularity in Italy and England extended beyond pies to edible structures such as castles and towers, most famous among them the Parma Pies, shaped like towers, adorned with banners, and covered in gold or silver leaf. As the Middle Ages drew to a close the sotelties became grander and at the same time less nutritious. While the Castle of Love described in a fifteenth-century cookbook from Savoy with its towers and assortment of animal sotelties inside was still edible, one can assume that the living creatures “served” to diners in pies were purely for entertainment. Inedible structures, initially used as centerpieces, soon occupied parts of the floor, and depicted such mythical and religious subject matter as the Annunciation, the Shepherds and the Three Kings, The Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), or the Lady with the Unicorn. Some of these foods and tableaux were certainly nothing more than party games, but others give an impressive demonstration of how food, politics, and religion were capable of merging in the grand spectacle of a medieval feast. An example of a themed feast was the banquet hosted by Philip le Bon on February 17, 1454, commemorating the loss of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks a year earlier. The entremets at table included automata such as fountains, moving tableaux,

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and a pie crust with 28 musicians inside. A boy and the deer he was mounted on sang a duet, and the allegorical figure of Sainte Eglise (Holy Church) entered on the back of an elephant. The performance apparently so moved Philip and his guests that they made vows to the Virgin Mary and to a live pheasant to recapture Constantinople from the Turks. Sotelties, whether edible or not, were by no means the only form of entertainment at medieval banquets. The beginning and end of a meal, and the start of each new course were signaled by the sound of the trumpet; and music usually accompanied feasts as indicated by the presence of the musicians’ gallery in the great hall. Minstrels were an integral part of larger households, with wandering minstrels also being hired for special occasions. These singers performed songs of heroic deeds (chanson de geste), political satires, or love songs, often in praise of the lady of the house. Romances, popular with the ladies even then, were also recited. Of the instruments played by medieval musicians, there were many besides the trumpet. A portable organ known as the dulcimer; the bagpipe; the stringed instruments psaltery, harp, lute, citole, rebec, and viele; and the percussion instruments tabouret and naker were all popular. Mysterious strangers in disguise performing a dance would sometimes appear, and so would mummers and mimes performing short interludes. The list of entertainers could also include acrobats, jugglers, animal trainers, conjurors, a fool, and dancers. Alternatively, the dinner guests themselves would dance popular dances such as the carole, a round dance. When inedible props were used and actors in costumes performed historical events, this was called a pageant in England. One such pageant at a banquet in 1378 recreated the crusaders’ conquest of Jerusalem and included a ship and knights scaling the walls of the city. By 1500 pageant cars were also in use in France, Burgundy, and England, ranging from castles and ships to mountains on wheels. Further Reading: Adamson, Melitta Weiss. Food in Medieval Times. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004; Hammond, P. W. Food and Feast in Medieval England. Stoud, United Kingdom: Alan Sutton, 1993; Henisch, Bridget Ann. Fast and Feast: Food in Medieval Society. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976; Scully, Terence. The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. Woodbridge, United Kingdom: Boydell Press, 1995; Scully, Terence. The Viandier of Taillevent: An Edition of All Extant Manuscripts. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1988; Wilson, C. Anne, ed. ‘The Appetite and the Eye’: Visual Aspects of Food and Its Presentation Within Their Historic Context. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991.

Melitta Weiss Adamson

Mesta, Perle Perle Skirvin Mesta was America’s most famous hostess throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. Known as the “hostess with the mostes’ [sic],” her

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lavish and memorable Washington, D.C., parties made entertaining history. At that time, an invitation to a Mesta party was the most coveted prize in the nation’s capital. The March 14, 1949, issue of Time magazine (featuring her photo on the cover) notes, “in a city where a hostess’ success can be scored like points in a cribbage game by counting up the rank of her guests, Perle Mesta outscores them all.” A bright and energetic woman, astute in both business and politics, and active in women’s rights and social welfare causes, Mesta is most remembered as a political hostess and the inspiration for Irving Berlin’s play and movie, Call Me Madam. Mesta was born Pearl Skirvin in Sturgis, Michigan, on October 12, 1889. That same year, her father, William Balser Skirvin, headed to Oklahoma for the 1889 land rush and then moved on to Texas where he made a fortune in oil and land development. Once she became a renowned hostess, Perle liked to tell guests that she organized her first party on her 12th birthday while the family still lived in Texas. In truth she seemed to be training for her ultimate career throughout her youth. In 1906, when Pearl was 17, Skirvin moved his family to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and set up the American Oil & Refining Company. At that time, their new hometown was in a period of explosive development and had only one luxury hotel so Skirvin determined to build another, the biggest and most opulent hotel in town. On September 26, 1911, he opened the ornate 10-story, 225-room Skirvin Hotel. Featuring English gothic interior details, the hotel included a drug store, air-conditioned café with live music, grill room, tea room, two electric elevators, and telephone service in each room. The Skirvin family moved

Perle Mesta waving before leaving New York for Brussels, 1962. Library of Congress.

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Mrs. Perle Mesta receiving a double presidential handshake from Mrs. Harry S. Truman and Margaret Truman as she sails on the U.S. liner America to take up her duties as the new Minister to Luxembourg, 1949. Library of Congress.

into a five-room suite on the ninth floor, and Pearl and her two siblings had the opportunity to observe lavish entertaining and to welcome hotel guests from all walks of life. Several years later, Pearl was sent East to attend music school. There she met 54-year-old Pittsburgh engineer and steel manufacturer, George Mesta; they were married in 1916. As a new wife, Pearl became interested in the social welfare of the people working in her husband’s mills and started nursery care centers for his employee’s children. During World War I, George Mesta became a one-dollar-a-year consultant for President Woodrow Wilson and the couple moved to Washington, D.C. This was Pearl’s first taste of political and social life in the capitol. She continued her social work and became involved in local children’s projects. After the war ended, the Mestas traveled to Europe 22 times giving Pearl the opportunity to learn much about international business and politics. George Mesta’s substantial contribution to Calvin Coolidge’s presidential campaign brought the couple three overnight visits to the White House. When she was suddenly widowed in 1925, Pearl became director of the Mesta Tool Company, which she had inherited. She took an active role in managing the company until 1949 when she moved to Luxembourg. She also became involved in other businesses, including a cattle ranch with her

Mesta, Perle brother and sister. As a young widow with a substantial fortune, Mesta left Pittsburgh and returned home to Oklahoma for a short time. Then, in 1929, she decided to settle in Newport, Rhode Island. In that seaside resort of opulent mansions called cottages, she soon gained a reputation as an extraordinary hostess. In the 1930s, she became involved in the National Woman’s Party and lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment. She became friendly with Herbert Hoover’s vice president, Charles Curtis, who spent a week at her Newport mansion and, in 1931, arranged for her to be presented at the Court of St. James’s. By the early 1940s, she was ready for a change. Keeping her Newport home, she moved into the exclusive Sulgrave Club in Washington, D.C., and began giving parties. Up until that time, Mesta had been active in the Republican Party but was unhappy with the party’s treatment of Wendell Willkie after his 1940 loss to Franklin Roosevelt. Once in Washington, she changed her political alignment, registered as a Democrat, and in 1944 changed her name from Pearl to Perle. She became an early supporter of Harry S. Truman, was the first to give a party in his honor when he became vice president, and continued to be his so-called unofficial hostess throughout his presidency. According to the Time magazine article, Mesta did not think of herself as just a hostess. She told them, “the entertaining I do is my way of serving the President and the party.” Her work for the president included giving an annual alcoholic “tea” for the women’s press corps, producing an elegant coming-out party for Margaret Truman in 1946, serving as a Rhode Island delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1948, fund-raising and serving on the Democratic finance committee during Truman’s 1948 campaign, and co-chairing his inaugural ball. Mesta’s parties were known for bountiful but simple food, plentiful and high-quality liquor (even though Mesta only drank Coca-Cola), and an atmosphere in which everyone felt comfortable. A friend noted, “You go to Perle’s, and you know it’s going to be fun.” In 1949, Truman named Mesta United States Minister to Luxembourg. She was only the third woman appointed to a foreign diplomatic post and served until 1953, becoming the first woman to receive Luxembourg’s highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Crown of Oak. In her new post, Mesta, who called herself “Madam Minister,” continued orchestrating elegant parties, sometimes for international dignitaries, sometimes for American servicemen and women stationed in Europe. Her experiences in Luxembourg inspired the 1950 Irving Berlin Broadway musical and 1954 Hollywood movie, Call Me Madam, both starring Ethel Merman. A song from the show, “The Hostess with the Mostes’ on the Ball,” gave Perle her well-known nickname. Explaining that “only the busy person is happy,” Mesta traveled extensively after leaving Luxembourg, meeting political leaders all over the world, and continued to entertain until 1970. Her 1960 biography, Perle: My Story, includes dust jacket blurbs from Lyndon B. Johnson and Clare Boothe Luce. Mesta died in Oklahoma City on March 16, 1975, and was buried in Pittsburgh.

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Further Reading: Lesch, Paul, director. Call Her Madam. Bertrange, Luxembourg: Samsa Film. 1997. (Documentary Film); Lesch, Paul. Playing Her Part: Perle Mesta in Luxembourg. American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg. 2001; Mesta, Perle Skirvin. Perle: My Story. New York: McGraw Hill, 1960; “Widow from Oklahoma.” Time Magazine. March 14, 1949. volume 53 (11), http://www. time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794659,00.html.

Joanne Lamb Hayes

N New Year’s Eve New Year’s Eve is celebrated on December 31. Although only a day apart New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are two separate holidays. New Year’s Eve is generally celebrated with parties and social gatherings that begin in the late evening and often continue into the wee hours of the morning. Much of the celebration focuses around the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and rowdy behavior is not unknown. Partygoers often don silly party hats made of cardboard or other inexpensive material. There are a number of traditions that are focused upon the strike of midnight, when the New Year actually commences. It is traditional to make a toast on the New Year. Champagne is the beverage of choice for this event. The champagne toast at midnight has been an American tradition for celebrating New Year’s Eve since the beginning of the twentieth century. This was originally practiced by affluent members of society but has since become popular for people of all income levels. Forty percent of all the champagne sold in the United States is sold during the last several weeks of December. The midnight kiss is another New Year’s Eve custom. Traditionally, it was thought that people could affect the luck they would have in the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. German and English folklore

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Caf Ú, New Year’s Eve. Library of Congress.

held that it was the first person with whom a person came in contact that dictated the year’s destiny. Over time people may have begun to take a proactive approach by kissing someone they knew and liked at the first moment of the New Year. Another luck-governing custom is opening the back door to let out the old year and then opening the front door to let in the new. New Year’s Eve revelers often toot horns or other noisemakers and throw confetti and paper streamers at the stroke of midnight. This is believed to have originated in ancient times when it was thought that the noise would drive away evil spirits. Shooting fireworks is also common. In addition to the noise fireworks create, they also can be linked to Celtic traditions of burning bonfires all night to ward off evil spirits, which symbolized burning the old year out. Singing “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight is also a traditional part of the celebration. The name literally means “old long since” or, in a more modern translation, “in times gone by.” The song is based on a poem written by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns in 1788. Burns drew upon the work on earlier Scots ballads, including works by Robert Ayton, Allan Ramsey, and James Watson. The song is universally sung to an old pentatonic, or five pitch per octave, Scots folk melody, which likely existed as a dance tune with a livelier tempo than is currently used. The lyrics call for remembering old friends. Although the song has five verses, few people know more than the first, “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?” and the chorus, “For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet for auld lang syne.” Bandleader, Guy Lombardo is generally credited with popularizing the tune, which he used in his annual New Year’s Eve broadcasts. Lombardo and his Royal Canadians first played the song at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York

New Year’s Eve City in 1928. Lombardo’s version of the song became such an intimate part of the holiday tradition that Life magazine once wrote that if Lombardo failed to play “Auld Lang Syne” the American public would not believe that the New Year had really arrived. Lombardo did not, however, actually start the custom. Newspaper articles dating back to 1896 describe New Year’s Eve revelers singing the song to welcome in the New Year. Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians became cultural icons with their broadcast from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in New York City, from 1956 to 1976. The program was an outgrowth of Lombardo’s 1928 radio broadcast. The Royal Canadians continued the tradition alone, after Lombardo’s death in 1977 for two more years. In 1972 Dick Clark began hosting Dick Clarke’s Rockin’ Eve, a less sedate version of a New Year’s Eve celebration. It included live video of the crowds gathered in Times Square and the countdown to midnight. Over the years the format has changed, and Clark hosts from indoors while other celebrities broadcast from high atop Times Square. The first celebration of New Year’s Eve in Times Square took place in New York. It was planned to celebrate the official opening of new headquarters for the New York Times in Times Square. The newspaper’s owner, Alfred Ochs, had lobbied to rename Longacre Square after the famous newspaper. Ochs spared no expense for his gala, which included an all-day street festival that culminated with

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Scottish New Year Hogmanay is the celebration of the New Year in Scotland. While the origin of the term Hogmanay is debated, it has been in use since the late seventeenth century. The first written reference was from 1696 when a “hog ma nae” song was sung. Officially lasting from noon on December 31 till noon on January 1, the term is popularly used to refer to all New Years’ celebrations that continue through January 2 (a public holiday in Scotland). This New Year’s celebration likely has its origins in preChristian—Celtic, Viking, and Roman—rituals that entreated the return of the summer sun and gave thanks for the gift of fire while simultaneously lifting peoples’ spirits during a cold dark time of year. A particularly dour strain of Protestantism took hold in Scotland in the 1560s, the leaders of which disapproved of Christmas and the Epiphany except in their purely religious sense. Following this period, Christmas and Epiphany celebrations were banned throughout Scotland up into the twentieth century. However, rather than disappearing entirely, the festivities moved to the New Year period: by the late seventeenth century the feasting and gift-giving previously associated with Christmas was played out at the New Year. Hogmanay has survived mostly intact despite the reintroduction, in the twentieth century, of Christmas festivities in Scotland. Probably the most widespread Hogmanay custom are the large gatherings to ring in the New Year. At midnight, bells toll, and there is toasting accompanied by much hugging and kissing. These large-scale celebrations quickly give way to the smaller-scale rituals of “first footing.” By tradition, the first person to step over the threshold in the New Year will set the luck for the household in the coming year. The type of luck depends on who this person is and the gifts they bring. A tall dark male is

Revelers dressed as Vikings take part in a “Torchlight Procession” as part of the Hogmanay celebrations, 2007, in Edinburgh, Scotland. AP/ Wide World Photos.

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a fireworks display set off at midnight from the base of the tower. The event was a tremendous success, and Times Square replaced Manhattan’s Trinity Church as New York City’s favorite place for New Year’s Eve revelers. During the nineteenth century, Trinity Church had been a favorite gathering place to welcome the New Year with the ringing of the church’s bells, but in 1894, Rector Morgan Dix, believing that the noise and commotion FURTHER READING from the crowds had grown too Banks, M. Macleod. British Calendar Customs: Scotland. Preface by the great, stopped the bell-ringing. FolRev. Canon J. A. MacCulloch, D. D. London: Pub. for the Folk-lore lowing vigorous protests from citiSociety, W. Glaisher, 1937–1941. zens and the newspapers, the bells Brown, Catherine. A Year in a Scots Kitchen: Celebrating Summer’s End to returned a year later, but once the Worshipping Its Beginning. Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing, 2002. Times Square celebrations began, Edwards, Gillian. Hogmanay and Tiffany: The Names of Feasts and Times Square became the hottest Fasts. London: Geoffrey Bles: 1970. spot to celebrate. The city banned the fireworks Kirsten Taylor display for 1907 but Ochs would not be repressed. He arranged to have an illuminated, 700-pound iron and wood ball lowered from the 77-foot-tower flagpole exactly at midnight to signal the beginning of 1908. In 1914 the New York Times relocated but Times Square and the New Year’s Eve tradition had already become part of the culture. The ball has undergone many makeovers over the years. The ball shrunk from 700 to 150 pounds, over the years between 1907 and 1955, but it ballooned to a colossal 1,070 pounds for the Millennium in 2000 and its centennial celebration in 2007. It has been covered in everything from wood to iron, aluminum to Waterford crystal, and has included simple light bulbs and advanced, computerized strobe light systems. In 2008, the lights on the ball were changed to energy-efficient LED lighting. In 1942 and 1943 the glowing ball was on hiatus due to the wartime dimming of New York City’s lights. Revelers still gathered at Times Square to welcome in the new year with a moment of silence, followed by the ringing of chimes from Times Tower. From 1961 to 1988 New York changed the illuminated ball to a large illuminated apple, in recognition of the city’s nickname, “The Big Apple.” The festivities at Times Square have become an international phenomenon as satellites transmit the image of the illuminated ball when it is raised to the top of the flagpole at One Times Square and lit, and, at exactly 11:59 P.M. EST, when it makes its 60-second descent down the flagpole to signal the start of the New Year. the most auspicious, which likely comes from the period of history when a blonde stranger at the door most probably meant a Viking raid. A group of first footers may visit many houses through the course of the night. “Redding” is the custom of cleaning out the house before the New Year. Useful as it no doubt is, it is now almost extinct. It was important to clear out all the ashes in the fireplaces. Based on a pagan ritual, it had the advantage that the new fire was less likely to go out while the household was out enjoying the festivities. Juniper was also burned while the cleaning occurred to ensure that any evil spirits that had moved in during the year were expelled.

New Year’s Eve Many other cities have developed their own version of this countdown celebration and, following in the tradition of “The Big Apple,” they lower an object representative of their community. Some objects dropped are done out of local pride while others are more in jest. Several localities in California and Florida drop an enlarged depiction of an orange. Hershey, Pennsylvania, raises a large Hershey Kiss. Other dropped, or raised, objects include a tangerine, conch, pinecone, rose, and pear but there are many others as well. Seattle countdowns the end of the year by raising the Space needle’s elevator to the top of the needle and then setting off fireworks. In addition to New York, New Year’s Eve is a major event in Las Vegas where the famous Las Vegas Strip is shut down so that people can gather to party. The downtown area hosts “America’s Party” where a light and sound show runs overhead on a lighted “canopy,” and confetti showers down at midnight as the electronic “fireworks” burst on the overhead canopy. The French Quarter in New Orleans and Miami’s South Beach are other popular venues that attract huge numbers of revelers. In South Beach, the New Year’s Eve fireworks show over the ocean is a prized attraction. At Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California, New Year’s Eve is usually the busiest day of the year. The parks stay open late, and a special fireworks show takes place at midnight. Toward the close of the twentieth century, many communities began to host First Night celebrations. First Night is a public festival that marks the passage of another year with art, entertainment, and festivity. The nonalcoholic merriment is family-oriented and offers affordable admission to a wide assortment of entertainments at an affordable price. Participants purchase buttons that admit them to events, which are held in both indoor and outdoor sites. Activities range from puppets to piano recitals and clowns to country music. Naturally, there are plenty of food vendors offering a plethora of tasty treats. Many First Night celebrations include fireworks displays. The tradition was initiated by a group of civic-minded Boston artists who wanted an alternative to the customary New Year’s Eve revelry. Boston offered the event as a finale to its Bicentennial celebrations in 1976. Soon, other communities began to ask for assistance in creating similar events. In 1993 First Night International was created to help communities to plan and to organize their First Night celebrations. Although the event actually takes place on the last night of the year the name “First Night” was chosen to symbolize a look forward to the new year. Some churches hold a Watch Night on New Year’s Eve. The faithful gather to reflect upon and give thanks for the blessings of the past year and ask for continued favor during the New Year. The service begins anywhere between 7 P.M. to 10 P.M. and ends at midnight. Some people go to church before going out to celebrate in a more traditionally secular fashion. For others, this church service is their only New Year’s Eve observance. The practice goes back to the Moravians who held the first Watch Night in 1732. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, adopted the practice. Watch Night is most commonly observed in African American churches. This can be

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traced back to December 31, 1862. Known as “Freedom’s Eve,” that was the night that slaves came together in churches and private homes throughout the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had become law. At the stroke of midnight people fell to their knees and thanked God, for according to Lincoln’s promise, all slaves in the Confederate States were legally free. In actuality, emancipation usually arrived when the Union troops took control of a location but the legal status of freemen had been established on that night. It had been customary, even before 1862, for slaves to gather on New Year’s Eve on many Southern plantations. Plantation owners tallied up their business accounts on the first day of each New Year. Many slaves were sold along with land and furnishings in order to satisfy debts. Families and friends were separated, never to see each other again. Assembling on December 31 was done in fear that it might be the last opportunity to be together with loved ones. Symbols for New Year’s Eve include party items such as party hats, balloons, noisemakers, confetti, and streamers. Champagne and champagne glasses are also popular, as is a clock striking 12. The most iconic image may be that of the bearded Father Time carrying his scythe. Representing the outgoing year, he is often counter posed with Baby New Year, who represents all the potential of the New Year. Further Reading: Cohen, Hennig, and Tristram Potter Coffin, eds. The Folklore of American Holidays. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1987.

Dorothy Denneen Volo

P Parisian Cafés The first café opened in Paris in 1686. By the reign of Louis the XIV, cafés were all the rage. Scandal, gossip, and political tension ignited the pages of the Paris papers, which fueled political discussions, and cafés became centers of information. Cafés were places where men and women could passionately express their ideas, and places where revolutions could be plotted. While eighteenth-century ideals brought change to nineteenth-century France, the importance of cafés stayed the same. As the cafés continued to grow in number, they remained a public venue for social interaction and a forum for free expression. Paris in the nineteenth century faced a housing shortage. Living spaces were cramped and societal demands were eroding family life. In search of more space and to ease the feeling of isolation, people flocked to cafés. There, one could drink, smoke cigars, and play cards, dominoes, billiards, or backgammon. People went to the café to find camaraderie, companionship, and, for those who were willing to pay a price, even love. Cafés became a substitute, in a sense, for domestic life. They provided the setting for both weddings and baptisms, and according to records, café owners served as witnesses to both events. It is interesting to note that socialists in the Paris suburbs created the socialist baptism, held in a café

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Paris café. Dana Ward /Shutterstock.

or dancehall, to try and end the influence of the Church. In fact, after the storming of the Bastille, cafés grew in number as the Church declined. Before the French Revolution, there were 290 churches; more than 200 of them were eventually sold or demolished. The number of French drinking establishments, however, increased to approximately 400,000 between 1789 and 1914. France was experiencing change, and the café reflected a new modernity. For example, women were gaining a sense of independence and equality. Husbands and wives who owned cafés were sometimes business partners. It even became acceptable for women to be the sole owners of cafés. The counter also arrived on the scene, and with it came the women who worked at the counter. While café owners thought pretty girls at the counter would lure men in from off the street, female workers also attracted more female patrons. Sometimes the women were for sale; other times they were not. Nevertheless the presence of women in the cafés made it easier for prostitutes to blend in with both the working girl and the girl next-door. By 1870 there was an abundance of café prostitution. France in the nineteenth century underwent the loss of traditional values, the breakdown of the family, the advancement of female independence, the rise and fall of political regimes, and the transformation of the sacred to the secular. The sentiment surrounding these events infiltrated the cafés, making them a natural headquarters for the bohemian movement and the artist progression associated with it. For a slice of nineteenth-century

Parisian Cafés Parisian life, one need not look any further than the café, where the relationship between art and life fed on each other wildly. INSIDE THE CAFÉS Various cafés throughout Paris tended to attract certain clientele. For example, financiers and literary men gathered at the Café Riche; military men met at the Café du Helder; radical journalists and businessmen went to the Café de Madrid; and the Café de la Paix attracted young and wealthy Parisians, and wealthy people from other countries, such as Brazilians, Englishmen, Chinese, and Arab sheiks. One of the most famous cafés, however, was Café Tortoni, located on the Boulevard des Italiens. Established in the eighteenth century, Tortoni was one of the oldest cafés. Throughout its history, its patrons included King Louis-Philippe, Édouard Manet, Honoré Balzac, Alfred de Musset, and Alexandre Dumas. The exterior of the café is captured in Jean Béraud’s painting “On the Boulevard at the Café Tortoni.” Alfred de Musset provides a written description of the café in the following passage: The Boulevard hardly begins moving until noon. That’s when the dandies arrive; they go into Tortoni by the back door, since the pavement in front is invaded by the barbarians, that is, by the Stock Exchange people. The dandified world, shaved and barbered, lunches until two o’clock, with a great racket, then flies off in polished boots. (Bernier 28)

In addition to the dandies and financiers, Tortoni was popular with the ladies whose carriages would stop in front of the café so that the waiters could bring them Tortoni’s famous ices. Located on one of the most fashionable streets in the city, Tortoni became a symbol of elegance associated with the Parisian boulevard. Not all cafés, however, were located in such sophisticated settings. They flourished in the outskirts of the city as well. Café Guerbois was located on the Grande Rue des Batignolles, near Manet’s studio, which was southwest of the center of Montmartre. The area, occupied by the lower class, was where many artists had their studios. In 1860 the area became a part of the capital under a project dedicated to the rebuilding and modernization of Paris, led by Baron Haussman. The writer Edmond Duranty religiously attended the meetings at the café, and in his short story “La Double Vie de Louis Séguin,” he describes the Café Guerbois (renamed “Barobis” in his story) where a revolutionary art movement was born. After meeting at Guerbois for a decade, the artists moved their gatherings to the Café de La Nouvelle Athènes, located on the Place Pigalle. The artists met in the omnibus, a narrow enclave near the entrance of the café that only fit four tables. They also met in the Le Cénacle, a large room in the back of the café, which was the main area for social encounters. It was here, at La Nouvelle Athènes, that the artists planned the first impressionist exhibit, which opened in 1874.

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In 1876, La Nouvelle Athènes was the setting for a controversial painting of the impressionist movement, Edgar Degas’s “L’Absinthe.” The painting portrays a woman and a man sitting next to each other in a café. The woman is in a stupor and on the table in front of her sits a glass of absinthe. Indeed, Montmartre was the center for both individual and artistic license, as sex and absinthe flowed in excess. Just across the street from La Nouvelle Athènes was Le Rat Mort, where, in the evening, women went to seek other women. Le Hanneton and La Souris were also lesbian bars. La Souris was near Toulouse-Lautrec’s studio and provided inspiration for his paintings of women engaged in amorous caresses with women (Adams 190–191). Lautrec also found subject matter for his art at the cabaret La Moulin Rouge. The cabaret, famous for its raucous entertainment, was patronized by various walks of life, including aristocrats, bourgeois, bohemians, tourists, and women of the demimonde (Adams 131). Another café famous for its audacious theatricality was Le Chat Noir. The sign that hung outside of Le Chat Noir was the famous black cat with an erect tail; it read, “Passant, sois moderne,” or “passerby be modern.” As patrons flocked into the café, owner Rodolphe Salis greeted them with insults. And for dramatic effect, the wait staff was dressed in the livery of the Académie française. The café, formerly a post office, was divided into two rooms by a curtain. Salis invited the writers, musicians, and other artists into the backroom of the café, where they provided entertainment such as singing, recitals, plays, and shadow-puppet performance. Like many cafés, Le Chat Noir produced a literary journal, also called Le Chat Noir, which included the works of Paul Verlaine, Stéphane Mallarmé, Théodore de Banville, and Charles Cros. On Friday and Saturday evenings, literary soirees were held at the café, and Wednesday evenings were absinthes littérairs or literary absinthe nights. The original haunt of poets and writers, however, was the Latin Quarter, which was known for its literary events. Leon Deschamps, for one, held his Soirées de La Plume, first at the Café de Fleurus and then in a basement room of the Soleil d’Or. Deschamps named the soirees after his journal La Plume, which published the work of new and emerging artists. Every other Saturday, about 200 guests, including students, artists, writers, and musicians, would recite poetry and sing songs on a wooden stage. The guests were dressed in capes and wide-brimmed felt hats, which were fashionable in the quarter. The Latin Quarter defined the bohemian lifestyle. It was the center for intellectual life, and students from all over Europe came to live and study there. In fact, the area was named the Latin Quarter because Latin was the students’ common language. The area was noisy and crowded until the early morning hours. Theodore Child captures the busy atmosphere in his

Parisian Cafés article, “Characteristic Parisian Cafés.” He describes the waiters, the strange liqueurs, the fancy costumes, and the aromas of tobacco and onion soup. The noise, activity, and diverse crowds found in the Latin Quarter provided camouflage for prostitutes who mingled among the population. Like Montmartre, the Latin Quarter was known for its easy access to pleasure. ABSINTHE Although cafés served food, they primarily served alcohol, and the most notorious beverage available was absinthe. The drink was first introduced into French society by the military. While in combat in Algeria, the troops drank absinthe for medicinal purposes; it was believed to prevent fever and, when mixed with water, kill microbes. After developing a taste for the beverage, the troops brought the drink home with them, and soon it became popular throughout France. In fact, the hours between 5 P.M. and 7 P.M. were known as the “green hour.” This was the time when everyone drank absinthe, characterized by its green color. Because absinthe was popular among all classes of society, people in the upper classes distinguished themselves from the lower classes by drinking absinthe made from wine alcohol, which was expensive. In addition, they only drank absinthe as an aperitif. If they ordered absinthe after dinner, or if they ordered more than one glass, the waiter and other diners would think less of them. As a result, they would go to one café and drink a glass or two of absinthe and then move on to another café where they would do the same; thus, the invention of the absinthe stroll. Absinthe paraphernalia, particularly the absinthe spoon, also identified the class of the drinker. Elaborate and crafted in expensive material, the absinthe spoon held a cube a sugar and was placed over a glass of the drink. Water was then poured over the spoon. This diluted and sweetened the bitter absinthe, which was high in alcohol content. The water turned the green absinthe into a cloudy white. For some, the enjoyment of drinking absinthe was the ritual involved; consequently, it was considered an insult for the waiter to prepare the drink. Each person diluted his or her drink to their own desired strength, watching the water form white drops until it reached just the right color. In order to dilute the absinthe, the drinker could also frapper or étoner ( knock on or surprise) the drink; another option was to battre ( beat) the drink. On hand was a jug of water with a thin spout that produced a fine trickle so that the water could pour into the glass drop by drop. Later, cafés began to offer absinthe fountains in place of the jug. The ratio of water to absinthe was determined according to taste, the average being around five to one. Some people, however, preferred a stronger drink, mixing it at a ratio of one to two. Others drank it almost straight up. Some absinthe glasses included a cavity at the base to measure the correct dose of absinthe. Others were acid etched to indicate the dose level.

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In general, absinthe glasses were rounded at the foot and flared up at the top. Pictures of the absinthe absinthe de vidangeur or scavenger absinthe: absinthe mixed glass can be seen in many impreswith red wine sionist paintings, including Manet’s absinthe de minuit : absinthe mixed with white wine instead of water “The Absinthe Drinker,” Degas’s absinthe anisée: absinthe with extra anise “L’Absinthe,” and Van Gogh’s “Still une bourgeoisie or une panachée: absinthe with extra anisette cordial Life with Absinthe.” absinthe gommée: absinthe sweetened with gomme syrup Although the cocktail was vichy (called bureau Arabe or “the Arab department” by the milinot popular in nineteenth-century tary): absinthe and orgeat in equal quantities mixed with the usual France, Toulouse-Lautrec was a amount of water cocktail connoisseur. Two drinks tomate: absinthe and a few drops of grenadine plus water he was noted for were the tremblement de terre (earthquake), which consisted of absinthe and cognac, and the maiden’s blush, which was a mix of absinthe, bitters, red wine, and champagne. Absinthe was undeniably attractive to many artists. While some associated themselves with it because of its bohemian image, others became quite addicted. Additionally, the drink was believed to have a hallucinogenic effect. A man and woman in a cafe. This is due in part to the presence Library of Congress. of thujone, a chemical similar to the one found in cannabis. The mind-altering effects of absinthe became more apparent as addiction to the drink increased. There are in fact many accounts that associate both crime and madness with absinthe. Some of the most famous surround the erratic and sometimes violent outbursts of Vincent van Gogh, who was admitted to an asylum after he tried to drink turpentine. Turpentine contains terpenes, a chemical also found in thujone. Artists were not the only people who succumbed to absinthe-induced madness. By the end of the century, stories of men killing their entire families became all too common. The culprit was believed to be absinthe. Although there was a growing temperance movement in France around 1872, it did not receive strong support until the end of the century (Adams 196). In 1891, Dr. Paul-Maurice Legrain began a new society, which was eventually called the Union française du temperance antialcoolique. The organization produced a monthly journal and a children’s magazine. It also taught temperance in all state schools (Adams 196). Still the battles for and against absinthe continued until World War I. The war made it necessary to sober up the troops and unite a country divided by absinthe and moral

In addition to adding water and sugar, there were other ways to drink absinthe. Your choices might have included: • • • • • •

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Party Favors decay. Finally, a law banning absinthe went into effect on March 16, 1915 (Conrad 129). As for the cafés, they continue to survive to this day, even without absinthe. However, the nineteenth-century café, French society, and absinthe are forever united in the work of some of the most famous artists and writers in history. Perhaps, indeed, it is Van Gogh who best captures the reality and escape, the hope and despair, the beautiful and grotesque, and the liberation and entrapment that characterizes both nineteenth-century Parisian life and the cafés. Further Reading: Adams, Jad. Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004; Baker, Phil. The Book of Absinthe: A Cultural History. New York: Grove Press, 2001; Bernier, Georges. Paris Cafes: Their Role in the Birth of Modern Art. New York: Wildenstein & Co., 1985; Child, Theodore. “Characteristic Parisian Cafes.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine 78, no. 467 (April 1889): 687; Conrad, Barnay III. Absinthe: History in a Bottle. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1988; Haine, W. Scott. The World of the Paris Café: Sociability among the French Working Class, 1780–1914. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press, 1996; de Polnay, Peter. “Cabarets, Restaurants, Cafes and Brasseries.” In Aspects of Paris. London: W. H. Allen, 1968, p. 47; Rudorff, Raymond. Belle Époque: Paris in the Nineties. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1972; Seigel, Jerrold. Bohemian Paris: Culture, Politics, and the Boundaries of Bourgeois Life 1830–1930. New York: Viking, 1986; Thomson, Richard, Phillip Dennis Cate, Mary Weaver Chapin, and Florence E. Coman. Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre (exhibition catalog) Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art in association with Princeton University Press, 2005. [Published in conjunction with the exhibition “Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre” shown at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, and the Art Institute of Chicago.]

Amy Seifried

Party Favors The common definition for the term party favor is an object, often a trinket or nominal gift given at celebrations, festivals, or parties as an expression of appreciation to guests and attendees. Depending on the theme or event, the gift may also be given as a keepsake or memento of the occasion and may bear some spiritual, cultural, or providential significance to the host or guests. Party favors have most often been associated with celebratory events such as weddings, birthdays, and notable holidays such as Christmas. Many modern-day party favors are presented at a guest’s table or place setting such as those found at wedding receptions. These gifts are often given to each guest individually, but favors may also be won as prizes in games of chance or in competitions played at parties and events. On these occasions, the winning of the prize can be seen as an indicator of the determination, fortune, or destiny of the receiver. In comparison, contemporary party

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favors may reflect modern themes or trends, such as a Spiderman goody bag at a child’s birthday party. While the literal term party favor is contemporary in nature, the act of giving gifts to guests is steeped in ancient tradition, culture, and history. Some of the earliest evidence of party favors suggests that the practice may have been inspired by the ancient practice of proffering symbolic gifts to ensure a positive outcome such as love, fertility, long life, or prosperity. While specific origins or events are difficult to trace, this gifting to guests can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman times. Although formal occasions are typically the most likely circumstances where favors were given, history has indicated that an array of common events may have sparked the more formalized concept of the gifting of party favors. The most likely forms of ancient favors came in the form of food, flowers, or decorations presented to the guests as part of an event or celebration. In ancient Rome, guests often used two table napkins each, one tied around the neck and the other used to wipe fingers and to wrap around food to take home. It was common for the ancient Greeks to furnish garlands of flowers on the tables of their guests to be used for adornment as part of their drinking parties or symposia. In the Middle Ages, celebrations often included entertainment for the guests between courses, also known as entremets. During this intermission in dining, colored balls or beads were thrown to guests by the entertainers. At the end of these celebrations, elaborate table decorations of carved wood or embroidered banners would often be given away to favored guests. Forms of favors are also traced back to competitions or the running of games by the ancient Greeks. During the celebration of Athena, also known as Panathenaia, victors of competitions were awarded olive oil as a symbol of victory over adversity. WEDDING FAVORS The practice of giving party favors is most closely tied with the celebration of marriage. It has long been the traditional way for the bridal couple to thank their guests by bestowing gifts as an expression of gratitude. Many believe that the practice was born in Italy in the nineteenth century at the wedding of Victor Emanuel of Savoy to Elena of Montenegro. The hosts of the wedding bestowed solid silver favors to the huge number of guests. History also tells us that other wedding favors were simpler in nature. Records dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth century document the practice of English bridal couples giving love knots made of ribbon or lace to guests. Often times these knots were tacked to the bridal gown, and guests were invited to pluck the knots from the bride’s dress. Other origins of the wedding favor are most commonly linked to the cake itself. Ancient Roman wedding ceremonies were finalized by the breaking of a cake over the bride’s head as a symbol of good fortune. The guests would gather and eat the crumbs in an effort to share in the couple’s good

Party Favors luck. A piece of cake would guarantee an auspicious life. The guests were also supplied with confetto a combination of nuts, dried fruit, and honeyed or sugared almonds. In the seventeenth century, British wedding cakes were made in pairs, one for the bride and one for the groom. Smaller than the bride’s cake, the groom’s cake was a dark heavy fruitcake that was often cut into small squares and placed in boxes for the guests to take home as a favor and memento of the event. While the use of a groom’s cake has faded in British tradition, it has undergone a recent revival in the United States. A piece of the more traditional wedding cake given in boxes to guests is still seen today. Other inedible favors can be traced to Scottish wedding traditions. Favours were the ornaments used to decorate the cake itself. These favors were pretty confections of ribbon and artificial flowers, sometimes of tartan and heather. They and the decoration at the top of the cake were removed and distributed by the bride and bridesmaids to the women attending the wedding. Bouquets and table flowers were also sometimes distributed. This practice would ensure that the bride would greet all the female guests at the wedding. A wedding cake can also have surprise favors baked into the cake itself. In Yorkshire tradition, bridal cakes often contain charms, such as a coin, a ring, a button, or a thimble. Each charm carried with it a different meaning. For example, the guest who received the slice with the coin was assured future prosperity, while the ring meant marriage within a year. The button or the thimble meant that the recipient would remain a bachelor or a spinster. Wedding favors also are grounded in cultural and ethnic traditions, many of which have survived the test of time. One of the most common and popular wedding favors is candied or sugared almonds. The almond tree itself has been revered as a provider of life, love, and happiness—all classic themes of traditional marriage. Fresh almonds have a bittersweet taste that represents life. The sugaring is added with the hope that the newlyweds will be more sweet than bitter. Records indicate that sugared or honeyed almonds were used to celebrate weddings and births in Ancient Rome. The ancient Greeks viewed the almond as a sign of youth, everlasting love, and prevention of drunkenness. They would often give five almonds to party guests to avoid unruliness. The practice of giving five almonds is also seen in Italian wedding culture where five almonds are given to each guest to symbolize the five wishes for the bride and groom: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity. In modern-day Greek culture, sugarcoated almonds are called koufeta and are given to guests in odd numbers symbolizing the indivisibility of the marital union. In Middle Eastern weddings, the candy-covered almonds symbolize fertility and are often considered aphrodisiacs. Many wedding favors reflect the ethnicity of the couple or families themselves. For example, in Malaysian culture, hand-painted decorated eggs,

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a symbol of fertility for the couple, are a traditional favor for guests. Orange blossoms are left loose at place settings or in bud vases for each guest at Spanish weddings. The Dutch distribute bridal sugar, which consists of five pieces of candy wrapped in tulle. In Japanese cultures, symbolic flowers, small bottles of sake, or pieces of sugared candy are left for guests. Guests at a Puerto Rican wedding can expect to receive a copias, which is an ornately decorated card with the newlyweds’ name and the date of their marriage. In Muslim cultures, the bride and groom may give guests candy or eggs, representing a sweet and fruitful life. Many cultures share common types of favors such as scented sachets, floral centerpieces, and picture frames. Modern day brides and grooms are no longer limited by wedding favors dictated by tradition. Recent movements in the wedding industry have sparked an explosion in the choices couples have with regard to the favors they bestow upon their guests. Today’s couples can choose from countless options of favors for their guests. While many choose popular favors such as chocolates or flowers, recent trends have included more personalized favors. From CDs with music mixes that express the couple’s personal taste to small bottles of wine with the couple’s name and wedding date, wedding favors have become functional and cherished. Other favors that express the personality of the couple include favors that reflect the couple’s work, hobbies, or interests. Personalized seed packets, apple baskets, and mugs with packets of hot chocolate reflect seasonal themes while Christmas ornaments and Halloween goody bags reflect holidays on or around the wedding date. Even the most common wedding favors have been dressed up in keeping with modern times. Goldencrusted almonds, cookies that mirror the brides dress, and high-end heartshaped truffles can now be found at the place setting of many wedding guests. In opposition to more extravagant favors, some couples opt to donate money to a favorite charity in the name of each guest or couple. CHRISTMAS CRACKERS The origins of some favors, such as Christmas crackers, are grounded in a specific event or holiday. This unique favor, the cracker, was invented, almost by accident, by Tom Smith in 1847. In its simple form, a cracker is a small cardboard tube covered in brightly colored paper and most often pinched at the ends in a traditional firecracker shape. The tube contains a small strip of paper saturated with saltpeter as well as a prize. The ends of the paper extend outside the cracker and the friction causes a sharp pop or crack when the ends are pulled. The prize inside then falls into the waiting hands of the recipient. This ingenious idea became part of the British holiday celebration and tradition and still continues today. Originally, the Christmas cracker contained a bon-bon or confection. However, its contents have evolved into items such as bright paper hats, balloons, and pieces of paper containing a fortune or joke. Tom Smith produced crackers not only for the Christmas season but also for such notable occasions as world fairs and trips by members of the British monarchy. For these occasions, the contents of these

Party Favors crackers were upscale, handmade treasures, such as artistic masks, beautifully illustrated boxes, and jeweled headpieces. Christmas crackers are still made today and are often used at other events including children’s parties, New Year’s Eve, and weddings. OTHER EVENTS From baby showers to birthday parties to holiday celebrations, guests are likely to see favors as part of the festivities. Some events warrant typical, more traditional favors, while the uniqueness of the event may call for more unusual favors. New Year’s is a typical time when favors play an integral role in the celebration. Common New Year’s favors include noise makers, horns, hats, silly string, party streamers, and confetti—all of which are used by the guests during the celebration. Birthdays for all ages are often accompanied by favors. For a child’s party, friends and family will often be given goody bags filled with candies, cookies, confections, comics, or even rub-on tattoos. More elaborate types of children’s favors may include gift certificates in small denominations, T-shirts with messages marking the event, jewelry, or small toys. A growing trend in children’s party favors is an increase in the cost and extravagance of the favors. A competitive environment among parents has resulted in the favors given at children’s parties costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Adult birthday parties are not exempt from the tradition of bestowing gifts to guests. Many adult birthday parties reflect the marking of a birthday of significance such as a 30th, 40th or 50th birthday. Very much like wedding favors, these favors are often personalized and may reflect the hobbies or interests of the guest of honor. Golf balls, cigars, or bottles of wine personalized with the date of the event are a unique way to commemorate the special day. However, our social customs no longer limit these birthday celebrations to humans. Birthday parties for pets, particularly dogs, have come into vogue in recent years. The pooch and his friends may be treated to specially made and decorated party dog biscuits, cookies, and cakes. Expectant mothers and the planners of baby showers also give gifts of appreciation to their guests. While these gifts need not be extravagant, they can be both interesting and creative. Goody bags filled with beauty products, music mixes, personalized fortune cookies, and coffee- or teacups filled with candies or confections are common at these events. Often, if the expectant mother has determined the name of the baby, the gifts may reflect the baby’s name as the giver of the gift. WINNING OR FINDING FAVORS Favors may also be given as a prize for a game. The sharing of favors through activities that require guests to participate in games is often steeped in tradition and symbolism. In cases where guests seek or find the favor, it is usually an indicator of the luck or fortune of the recipient of the favor.

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Piñatas are a classic mechanism for sharing favors with guests. A piñata is a clay or papier-mâché figure that is often filled with candy, fruits, small trinkets, and/or confetti. Traditionally a piñata is hung on a string and a blindfolded guest swings at the piñata with a stick and is encouraged, correctly or incorrectly, by the other guests in hitting the target. If the guest is successful in breaking the piñata, the other guests, often children, will scatter to gather the contents on the ground. Many believe piñata originated in China where clay pots were filled with seeds and the successful act of breaking the pot was a sign of good luck. As the piñata evolved, it was further adorned and was thought to represent Satan masked to attract humanity. Beautiful and highly decorated, the piñata is designed to attract. The most traditional style of piñata resembles a modern-day space satellite, having seven points. These seven points represent the seven deadly sins or pecados—greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath, and lust. The breaking of the piñata represents the overcoming of evil and the treasures inside represent the just reward for keeping the faith. Today, the piñata has lost much of its religious and symbolic significance, and the game is played mostly for fun. It is often seen at Christmas time in Mexico but can also turn up at other occasions such as children’s birthday parties. On the latter occasion, to avoid hurt feelings and tears, a little basket of candy is passed to those children without treats after the goodies are gathered from the ground. The rest of the basket is passed to the guests before the party is over. On other occasions, a favor may be hidden for a guest to seek or find. Modern-day Easter egg hunts, where real or plastic eggs are hidden for children to find are both entertaining and rewarding for the hunters. Real eggs may be exchanged for favors or money, while plastic eggs, which are hollow inside, may house money, candy, or a favor for the child. The king cake is another classic example of this sharing of favors through fortune. The cake is most often associated with New Orleans and Mardi Gras, but other cultures including Latin America also celebrate with king cakes. The cake is traditionally served for the Feast of the Epiphany or Twelfth Night celebrated January 6. Today, the cake is served throughout the Epiphany season or, in New Orleans, until Mardi Gras. Traditionally, a baby figurine representing the Christ child is hidden inside the cake for one of the guests to find. The king cake may also contain a coin, bean, or pea. Traditionally, the finder of the coin was expected to make a contribution to a worthy cause whereas the finder of the bean or pea is hailed as king or queen for the day. The person finding the piece with the baby must provide the king cake for the next gathering of the season. EXTRAVAGANT FAVORS While favors are classically seen as nominal expressions of appreciation, some modern-day circumstances have taken the practice of sharing

Party Favors favors to new and much more extravagant levels. Celebrities and the wellto-do have a history of giving and receiving some elaborate and expensive favors. In 1910, when famed jeweler Pierre Cartier told 24-year-old socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean that the Hope Diamond was cursed, she was intrigued. That next year, she and her husband paid $154,000 for the 45carat, walnut-sized diamond and took it to a priest to have it blessed. At a famed event, she treated the deep-blue gem as a party favor, tossing it into the swimming pool and letting guests dive for it. A more contemporary example of posh and expensive favors can be found at celebrity award shows. Presenters, nominees, attendees, and award winners are given high-end gift bags and presents as favors. Award shows such as the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival all indulge in this extravagant gifting practice. These gift packages are so expensive and so extreme they have warranted their own term—swag. Swag bags, as they are often called, are filled with gifts and services that make traditional favors pale in comparison. Some classic swag bag contents include: a five-night stay at a French Polynesian resort, an extended visit to an exclusive salon, a computerized massage table, a cashmere travel blanket, a $3,400 diamond watch, and a $600 bottle of perfume. These high-dollar favors are used as much for marketing as for appreciation. Firms will donate the contents in the hopes of one day being associated with the celebrity. Swag bags and their recipients have come under fire recently by the IRS. In 2007, tax laws were enforced requiring the recipients of these gifts to pay the taxes on their value, which can be considerable. Madison and Mulholland, a company known for creating these bags, put together the “Ultimate Celebrity Gift Bag” in 2003 valued at $70,000. Due to the recent tax implications, celebrities are becoming more conservative in accepting swag. Some are opting out, while others use a more creative, philanthropic approach of auctioning off their swag and giving the money to their favorite charity. In 2006, George Clooney put his Oscar swag bag up for auction to raise money for the United Way hurricane fund. Bidders paid a sum total of $45,000 for the contents of the bag that included a seven-day Hawaiian vacation, a string of Tahitian pearls, a silk kimono, and a spa treatment package at an exclusive Arizona retreat facility. Further Reading: Charsley, Simon R. Wedding Cakes and Cultural History. New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1992; Garland, Robert, Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998; Gorenflo, Donna. Party Favors: Why Are They Given? [Online, July 2008]. http://articles3000. com / Family/62440/Party-Favors-Why-Are-They-Given.html; Hudson Valley Wedding Company. Party Favors: Origin, Old Standards and New Ideas. [Online, August 2007]. Hudson Valley Wedding Site http://www.hudsonvalleyweddings. com/guide/favors.htm; Roney, Carley. The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World: The Ultimate Source of Ideas, Advice, and Relief for the Bride

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and Groom and Those Who Love Them. New York: Broadway Books, 2004; Visser, Margaret. The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities and Meaning of Table Manners. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991.

Leslie A. Meyer

Party Planners Party planners help clients focus on decisions related to events and guide them to appropriate choices, from the initial idea or concept to the execution of an event. Planners select everything from a theme to a competent caterer, they find a location, they strategize the flow of an event, and they organize the myriad details leading up to an event, such as invitations, entertainment, décor, signage, and transportation. With the globalization of businesses following World War II, there has been an expansion of events, both formal and informal, business and social, which cross cultures and customs and require knowledge of traditions as well as acceptable adapted practices. In nations where religious and cultural traditions became enforced as state rule, it is imperative that international business travelers and government representatives know those traditions and respect the dress codes, dietary rules, seating arrangements, speaking order, and physical contact customs. In other nations where international business and the Internet drive the need for new protocols to be created, information is needed that respects the various traditions as they come together. Party planners can advise on etiquette, helping clients comply with proper ways of greeting and seating honored guests. They can help clients avoid embarrassing social errors that clients may not know how to handle. On one hand, party planners can help relieve the stress of working parents trying to celebrate a child’s birthday, on another extreme, they can advise the proper ways to greet and host royalty at formal events. Party planners can specialize in helping nervous brides select items for a bridal registry, determine seating arrangements, and smooth the awkward etiquette of handling multiple sets of married, divorced, and remarried relatives. Party planners and event management companies can also be asked to organize special transportation needs on a safari or a cruise, hire limousines or hang gliders, locate accommodations for disabled guests or a traveling orchestra. They might apply for parade permits or for licensing for exhibitions and floor plans for trade shows; or they might provide speechwriting, lighting, sightseeing, and many other services needed for conferences and conventions. Party planning is an enormous and expanding industry that encompasses and links many professional companies providing services for a huge range of events. Sometimes called event planning, production or marketing companies, special event management and /or conference management, many creative people find work organizing the food services, logistics, transportation, audio visual services, and décor for spectacles, galas, fundraisers,

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Event Industry Certifications In order to establish standards to help clients select responsible party planners to trust with major events, several professional associations have created certifications that demonstrate the levels of knowledge attained by their members. Among the certifications and granting organizations are the following:

Designation CAE CDME

CERP CFEE CHME CITE CMP CPCE CSEP DMCP TCP (EVC)

TCM (EVM)

Certified Association Executive Certified Destination Management Executive

Certified Event Rental Professional Certified Festival & Event Executive Certified Hospitality Marketing Executive Certified Incentive and Travel Executive Certified Meeting Professional Certified Professional Catering Executive Certified Special Event Professional Destination Management Certified Professional Certified Tourism Professional (Event Coordinator) Certified Tourism Manager (Event Manager)

Affiliation

Web Site

American Society of Association Executives Destination Marketing Association International (formerly International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus) American Rental Association

http://www.asaenet.org

International Festivals and Events Association Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Society of Incentive & Travel Executives Convention Industry Council

http://www.ifea.com

National Association of Catering Executives International Special Events Society

http://www.iacvb.org

http://www.ararental.org

http://www.hsmai.org http://www.site-intl.org http://www.convention industry.org http://www.nace.net http://www.ises.com

Association of Destination Management Executives Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council

http://www.adme.org

Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council

http://www.emerit.ca

http://www.emerit.ca

product launches, even company meetings and picnics. Party planners sell coordination, planning, and decision-making services along with various capacities to identify subcontractors, staff, and locations appropriate to a wide range of events. Some party planners learn through professional associations, some through experience, teaming up with other small service businesses, and some attend colleges for formal programs in hospitality, tourism, or event management degrees at American schools such as: University of Nevada at Las Vegas, University of North Carolina, George Washington University, Northeastern State University, Temple University, College of the Cariboo, Florida State University, among others.

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Depending on the kind of party or event required, party planners might draw on the services of consultants and subcontracted specialists such as caterers, florists, printers, tenting specialists, lighting designers, as well as location locators, audio visual and sound system teams, even mobile staging and trade show booth production companies, and parade and transportation specialists. Independent party planners may require a fee for services from a client and an additional percentage of the amounts to be paid to subcontractors. Thus they fulfill their role as intermediaries, bringing client and services together for events. Some provide the subcontracted goods and services themselves, for additional compensation. Hotels and resorts offer packages through their catering departments, as well as customized event planning and coordination services. Typically these facilities offer a range of in-house meals, services, and function spaces, including private rooms and public space accommodations. They outsource or subcontract many details of execution through a range of independent businesses. Depending on requirements, customers usually can choose from a great variety of services under the umbrella and guidance of a hotel or resort manager who specializes in event planning. Further Reading: Allen, Judy. Event Planning: The Ultimate Guide to Successful Meetings, Corporate Events, Fundraising Galas, Conferences, Conventions, Incentives and Other Special Events. Toronto, Canada: John Wiley & Sons, 2000; Allen, Judy. The Business of Event Planning: Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Successful Special Events. Toronto, Canada: John Wiley & Sons, 2002; Goldblatt, Joe Jeff, and and Kathleen S. Nelson, eds. The International Dictionary of Event Management (The Wiley Event Management Series). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2000; Goldblatt, Joe Jeff. Special Events: Event Leadership for a New World ( The Wiley Event Management Series). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.

Carol G. Durst-Wertheim

Philippine Fiestas Fiestas are festive celebrations commemorated by various towns in the Philippines typically in honor of a town’s patron saint. These celebrations are a legacy of Catholic Spain, which colonized the Philippines for over three centuries, from 1565 to 1898. Today, about 80 percent of the Filipino population is Roman Catholic. Religious and secular activities characterize present-day town fiestas, where church masses and religious processions go hand-in hand with townorganized activities like beauty contests, fairs, variety shows, games, and other commercial-type ventures meant not just to bring fun to the community but to provide extra funding for the town’s coffers as well. All these communal activities set the stage for gatherings that ultimately bring families, friends, and strangers together to townspeople’s homes for the sharing

Philippine Fiestas

of the fiesta meal. The typically extravagant fiesta meal, available to visitors all day long, is a highly-anticipated component of the celebration. It is a fiesta’s highlight for many food-loving Filipinos, second only to the saint being honored. The word fiesta is Spanish, meaning “feast,” from the Latin word festa. Many Catholic countries including Spain and Italy as well as those in Latin America celebrate fiestas. A Philippine fiesta is a unique blend of religion and a country’s own intertwined Hispanic and pagan traditions. It is a time for joyous celebration, a thanksgiving for the earth’s bounty and God’s benevolence. To many Filipinos, the fiesta represents a reaffirmation of their religious faith and just as importantly, their identity as a community. It is to this day celebrated with as much preparation, anticipation, and passion as it was centuries ago. HISTORY Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese-born explorer, was on a naval expedition on behalf of the Spanish Crown to find new trade routes for spices and other riches in the East when he discovered the Philippines in 1521. His discovery paved the way for the eventual occupation of the islands in 1565. Around the 1890s, the Spanish conquerors strongly encouraged the natives, called Indios by the Spanish, to relocate to compact villages. This was their solution to finding an easier way to govern a highly scattered population (the country is made up of over 7,000 islands) while converting as many natives as possible to Christianity. Each village had a church, which became its social center. The church was presided over by the highly influential fraile, or “friar.” Over time, the pagan Filipinos who resettled in these communities converted to Catholicism. The Spaniards used fiestas honoring Jesus Christ and patron saints to teach the faith. For Filipinos, including those who resisted settlement and lived far away from the towns, fiestas were a joyous diversion from the routine of their indentured lives. Their participation in the religious rituals of the fiesta, made so much more appealing with the involvement of dance, music, theater, and food, eventually became an integral part of communities’ social fabric. But all the revelry and worship associated with fiestas were not unfamiliar to Filipinos, who were animists before conversion to the Catholic faith. They were already familiar with rituals and celebrations held to appease or honor spirits and thus, easily adapted to honoring a new God. Presently, parish churches—with the support of the town’s most prominent citizens—still largely control town celebrations, successfully preserving the religious aspects of the festivities. However, a commercial element has also strongly evolved, as townspeople have turned more enterprising and found ways to use these annual events as tools for their town’s economic and cultural development.

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Filipina girl participating in Philippine street parade. shadow216/Shutterstock.

FIESTA PREPARATIONS Fiestas are highly communal events. A committee typically composed of the parish priest and the town’s prominent citizens prepares months ahead of the actual feast day. The committee assigns various townsfolk to handle preparations for many activities including the decoration of the town, publicity for the event, the religious procession, and contests and programs to be held. A few days before the fiesta, colorful buntings and banners are up and around town, the streets are swept clean, the stage is set up for the variety show to be held on fiesta night, and the church cleaned and decorated—its altar adorned with abundant fresh flowers. In townspeople’s homes, preparations are no less intense or frenetic days before the feast. The household’s focus is on the food to be served at the festive table throughout the day. Some relatives and friends will come not just as guests but also to assist in culinary preparations. A fiesta is also a time when townspeople make necessary repairs and improvements to their homes, in their desire to be seen by guests at their best. Close to fiesta day, houses are thoroughly cleaned and the best linens, silver, and china taken out from storage. Some out-of-town guests are expected to stay the night or for a few days following the fiesta, so celebrations, this time more privately

Philippine Fiestas conducted, continue on past the feast day. Many guests are sent home with pabaon, take-away packages containing substantial leftovers of the fiesta meal. Fiestas also serve as homecoming events for many locals who have moved away from their town. Come fiesta day, homes are open to all visitors, invited or not. It is an accepted fact that some households go into debt just to come up with highly memorable feasts for their guests to enjoy. FIESTA FARE The introduction of Catholicism paved the way for the introduction of Spanish cuisine, in part through fiestas that became associated with the celebration of the religion. For many Filipinos, fiestas and holidays mean preparing or ordering a spread of Spanish-influenced Filipino dishes to grace their tables. Indigenous food usually remains in the background, as it is considered everyday fare. Because Spanish food was the food of the colonizers, it was—and still is—considered elitist fare. During the colonial period, the ruling class and more prominent natives served Spanish food to demonstrate wealth, power, and association with the upper classes. Fiestas during this period were showcases of traditional Spanish cuisine, many introduced by cooks employed by friars and wealthy townspeople. Over time, however, many of these dishes were adapted to suit Filipino tastes and the availability of ingredients. These Spanish-influenced dishes using expensive ingredients and prepared through labor-intensive procedures continue to be cooked (or nowadays, ordered) for fiestas. These include morcon (stuffed beef roll in tomato sauce), callos (stewed tripe), caldereta (stewed beef or goat), galantina (deboned chicken stuffed with pork and vegetables), pastel de lengua (ox tongue covered in pastry), and paella. But the festive table would not be complete without its centerpiece, the quintessential lechon (a whole roasted pig stuffed with aromatic leaves such as lemon grass or tamarind). Seafood such as steamed whole fish, crabs, and prawns, as well as various noodle dishes (a culinary legacy from Chinese immigrants), are also mainstays of many festive tables. Some dishes are strongly associated with fiestas. The town of Lucban in Quezon province always celebrates the feast day of San Isidro de Labrador with a dish called jardinera, a steamed meat loaf of cubed pork, sausages, pineapple, cheese, pickles, and eggs molded into a lanera, an oval-shaped tin container also used for making leche flan, a popular steamed or baked egg and milk custard of Spanish origin. POPULAR PHILIPPINE FIESTAS Fiestas are held throughout the Philippines, and many stand out because of the distinctive way they are celebrated. Every June 24th in the town of Balayan in Batangas province, pigs take center stage in the fiesta known as

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Parada ng Lechon, or “parade of roasted pigs,” in honor of their patron saint St. John the Baptist. After mass is held for the parishioners during feast day morning, the officiating priest blesses not just the townsfolk but also a line-up of roasted pigs. The pigs are dressed according to the theme of their sponsoring organization and then paraded around town before all are being consumed by a hungry public. The town of Lucban, Quezon, celebrates the highly festive and colorful Pahiyas every May 15th to honor San Isidro de Labrador, patron saint of workers. Homeowners decorate the façade of their houses with edible ornaments—brightly colored kiping, or rice wafers, as well as various local fruits, vegetables, and flowers. After the celebration, the wafers can be fried and dipped in vinegar or syrup or sprinkled with sugar and deep-fried to make a satisfying snack. There is also a contest for the best-decorated house, injecting a competitive spirit in the festivities. The carabao, or water buffalo, still considered an agricultural workhorse on Filipino farms, takes the limelight in the Carabao Festival held every May 14–15 in Pulilan, Bulacan province. To celebrate the feast of the patron saint, San Isidro de Labrador, the carabaos are elaborately decorated, pulling processional carts containing images of the saint, local produce, and farming implements, as they are paraded around town by their farmer-owners leading to the parish church—where carabaos are made to kneel in front of the church to be blessed by the saint. Further Reading: Fernandez, Doreen G. Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food and Culture. Manila: Anvil, 1994; Lynch, Frank, Aram A. Yengoyan, and Perla Q. Makil eds. Philippine Society and the Individual: Selected Essays of Frank Lynch, 1949– 1976. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984; Phelan, John Leddy. The Hispanization of the Philippines: Spanish Aims and Filipino Responses, 1565– 1700. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1959; Rodell, Paul A. Culture and Customs of the Philippines. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002.

Maria G. Steinberg

Potluck Suppers The word potluck has at least three meanings. It can refer to a meal of whatever is on hand at the moment or to an offer to an unexpected guest to share what has been prepared for the family. In twentieth-century America, however, it was best known as a social occasion in which everyone brought something to share with the group. While the concept of a communal meal to which everyone contributes what they have predates history and is enjoyed around the world, the first known use of the term potluck in English appears in 1592 and refers to accepting whatever is available rather than a meal of foods brought by the participants. The concept of pot luck originated when the remnants of one meal would be thrown into the pot to be

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served as the basis for tomorrow’s Cookbooks inspired by the concept of potluck suppers include meal. Arriving guests would be the following: served the “luck of the pot.” Of Potluck Party Recipes: 200 Suggestions for Casseroles, Salads, Desnecessity, early European coloserts by Thora Hegstad Campbell (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1960). nists in North America shared meals Helen Corbitt’s Potluck Cookbook (Wilmington, MA: Houghton Mifflin, until their individual households 1962). were established, and communal Entertaining With Potlucks How to Survive and Enjoy Them by Marcella Hook (Seattle, WA: Mardelho Publishers, 1990). dinners accompanied political Cooking for Friends: Cookbook for Potluck Suppers by Susan Peery events and patriotic celebrations (New York: Fireside, 1991). throughout the seventeenth and Potluck Plain & Fancy: Our Favorite Recipes from “Quick ‘N’ Easy” eighteenth centuries. Although it to Masterpieces by Susan and Gordon Peery (Chambersburg, PA: was probably never called a potAlan C. Hood & Company, 1996). luck, the communal supper shared in the Plymouth colony in 1621 certainly met the criteria. The Dictionary of American Regional English traces the first use of the word potluck in the New York Times to a March 28, 1880 article about a group called “The Potluck Club.” Similar clubs originated in cities across the country during the nineteenth century and existed throughout the twentieth century. The occasion was a social gathering in which people either brought a finished dish to be shared or brought prepared ingredients and finished cooking the dish in the host’s home. A theme was often selected in advance and the shared responsibility of providing the food allowed the host and hostess more time to create the proper décor. In addition to this social setting for the potluck supper, churches and community groups across the country incorporated the concept into their programs. Church meetings often included a potluck supper (also called a covered dish social ), which encouraged social communication within the congregation and sometimes encouraged competition among participants to bring the most favored dish. A special section in the “Buffet Meals” chapter of the Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking titled “The Potluck Meal” notes that “potluck has become a popular meal for an all-day club meeting, an extension leader training meeting, church social, or a community or family get-together.” The text offers tips on ensuring a varied menu, arranging the foods on the serving table, and avoiding “confusion and delay,” as well as recipes for the event. In the American West, the term potluck also included ingredients brought by a guest to be added to a communal stew. While strictly social potluck clubs are only occasionally found today, church, community group, and fund-raising potlucks are alive and well all over the country. In the late twentieth century, food-safety concerns caused local health departments to require groups sponsoring potlucks to adhere to special procedures and inspections. In some areas local government agencies tried to ban the events entirely. Potluck supper legislation became an incendiary political debate in some parts of the country, and regulations are still in effect in some areas.

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Further Reading: Anderson, Jean. The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century. New York: Clarkson N. Potter. 1997; Hall, Joan Houston, ed. The Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume IV. Cambridge MA: Belknap Press, 2000; London, Anne, ed. Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking. Evanston, IL: Homemakers Research Institute, 1958; Schremp, Gerry. Kitchen Culture: Fifty Years of Food Fads. New York: Pharos Books, 1991.

Joanne Lamb Hayes

Progressive Dinner Parties Not to be confused with the political term progressive, progressive dinner parties allow several participants to share in the preparation of multiple courses, by creating a truly moveable feast. This practice became popular during World War II when it was possible for more than one family to enjoy many of the foods rationed at the time. Groups share one course in one location, and then move along or “progress” to a second, third, even fourth location for subsequent courses of one dinner party. Different from a pot luck supper, where each guest brings something to one location, a progressive party is a party that moves from house to house, thus making it possible for participants to enjoy playing both roles, that of host and guest, in the course of an evening. Progressive parties need to be very tightly choreographed events, with menu and choice of locations carefully selected to allow for seating, parking, and transportation between locations sufficient to accommodate the invited guests. They are most successful if all guests live in close proximity, thus minimizing the risks of drinking and driving as the event progresses. The best recipes are those that can be prepared ahead of time, and the best strategy is to set the table or buffet before the event begins; otherwise, someone must leave one venue early to organize the next course that he or she is hosting. A seasonal, ethnic, or special event theme for the dinner can keep the menu coherent and help simplify decision making for the hosts. Progressive parties allow for guests to share in the preparation and clean up of a party, and they require fairly exacting plans and timing of execution. In addition, respecting times, so everyone’s efforts receive equal attention, is an important courtesy. Allowing about one hour per course, then time for travel between locations, should provide for a leisurely evening, and depending on the number of courses, something like four to five hours will easily be filled. Progressive dinner parties are excellent vehicles for welcoming a new neighbor, for getting a group of nervous hosts to share responsibilities, or as a fundraiser for a good cause. While it is difficult to pinpoint the origins of progressive dinner parties, there are several factors that may have led to their rise in popularity in the late twentieth century. First, fewer middle-class households had servants to help

Prohibition prepare multiple courses and provide cutlery and linens for seated, formal dinner parties, as was done in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, so sharing the task of throwing a party made sense. Second, as time pressures increased with women’s increased participation in the labor market, there was a general lack of home entertaining experience. Progressive dinner parties are a way to share the burdens and lower everyone’s stress levels. Progressive dinner parties reflect back to a time when communities gathered for shared cooking at festivals, harvests, celebrations, and funerals. At this point in our nation’s history, we have precious few barn raisings or communal times to bring in the crops; perhaps this is a way of bonding a community, albeit removed to our separate homes, transposed into suburban and urban settings. Further Reading: Hayes, Joanne Lamb. Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000; http://www.entertaining. about.com; http://www.lifestyle.msn; http://www.progessivedinnerparty.org.

Carol G. Durst-Wertheim

Prohibition Entertaining in America changed dramatically on January 16, 1920. After nearly a century of trying, a disparate coalition of political, social, and religious groups succeeded in pressuring Congress to ban “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes.” Passed on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution went into effect a year later on January 16, 1920. The National Prohibition Act, known as the Volstead Act, which defined the parameters of the amendment and gave the Treasury Department enforcement power was passed on October 28, 1919, and became law on January 29, 1920. It defined “intoxicating liquors” as anything with more than 0.5 percent alcohol. For the first time in the more than four hundred years that Europeans had lived in North America, alcoholic beverages were no longer legally a part of a good meal or an evening’s entertainment. Although there is limited evidence of alcohol consumption in America before the arrival of European explorers, it had certainly been a part of American life after. Coming from Europe where water was not considered safe, each wave of new Americans assumed the consumption of alcohol at each meal to be a part of everyday life, no matter their economic status. The colonial homemaker was judged as much on her beer-making skills as on her breadmaking skills. To the colonial hostess, gracious dining always included wine and spirits. By the nineteenth century, New World fortunes supported the import of much European wine and spirits as well as the skilled production of American

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New York City Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach, right, watching agents pour liquor into the sewer following a raid at the height of prohibition, c. 1921. Library of Congress.

Interior of a crowded New York City bar moments before midnight, June 30, 1919, when wartime prohibition went into effect. Library of Congress.

Prohibition wines and whiskeys. Alcoholic beverages provided both flavor and sophistication to restaurant and hotel menus, as well as to elegant entertaining in the homes of the wealthy and upper-middle class. French cuisine reigned, and wine and spirits are the heart and soul of French cuisine. In Revolution at the Table, Harvey Levenstein quotes a 1931 article by Julian Street that calls the 1890s “the Golden Age of eating in the United States.” He goes on to quote Street saying, “The art of noble dining . . . was assassinated under legal process on January 16, 1920.” The end of legal alcohol in America meant the end of many of the elegant hotels and famous big-city restaurants whose kitchens were dependent upon wines and spirits to provide signature sauces for their dishes and whose budgets were dependent upon the sale of alcoholic beverages in order to show a profit. Legendary restaurants such as Delmonico’s and Louis Sherry closed; hotels such as the new Pierre Hotel in New York went bankrupt. Classically trained chefs left for Europe, moved to the kitchens of wealthy Americans, or headed the food-service staffs of ships not subject to U.S. regulations. Entertaining at home caused hosts and hostesses to choose between serving non-alcoholic beverages and breaking the law. Middle-class hostesses, who were adjusting to the loss of full-time maids in their homes, had just learned to prepare the classic French dishes that were in vogue. They were left two options: pay a great deal for illegal wine and spirits or substitute broth for alcohol. In truth, wine and spirits were not the intended targets of most prohibitionists, and elegant entertaining was not the expected victim. Although so-called demon rum received a lot of bad press, it was beer that caused the brouhaha that led to the passage of the amendment. And, until the Volstead Act defined the alcohol content of the beverages covered, it was assumed by many that the 18th Amendment would only apply to beer. During the nineteenth century, German immigrants brought their brewing skills to America, and local breweries were established across the country. In No Foreign Food, Richard Pillsbury says that there were 4,000 breweries in America in 1876. With transportation by rail available some small breweries became large and extended their reach to nearby cities. In order to promote their beer, breweries set up saloons or supported already existing saloons as exclusive outlets for their products, greatly increasing the number of saloons even in small towns. To compete for survival, saloons offered “free lunch,” and some became associated with illegal activities such as gambling, cock fighting, and prostitution. By 1890, beer was the largest selling alcoholic beverage in the United States and although it was available in the gentlemen’s clubs of the wealthy as well as in saloons, it was associated with the latter. Taverns had always been meeting places for men but just the increased number of places where alcohol was available made it attractive to people who might not have sought out a drink under other circumstances. Increased immigration from the most impoverished areas of Europe brought workers for America’s Industrial Revolution but poor living conditions in many working-class neighborhoods made the saloon an attractive escape. Social reformer Jacob Riis noted, “The dramshop yawns at every step, the poor man’s club, his

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forum and his haven of rest when weary and disgusted with the crowding, the quarrelling, and the wretchedness at home.” WHY PROHIBITION? Prohibition was supported by a bevy of strange bedfellows. First advocated by conservative religious leaders during the so-called Second Great Awakening, a period of revivalist fervor during the late eighteenth to midnineteenth centuries, the temperance movement was always strongly associated with religious organizations including, by the time the 18th Amendment was passed, the Federal Council of Churches. But it also attracted women’s rights activists concerned about alcohol’s effect on the family; abolitionists concerned with the association of slavery and the rum trade; social reformers such as Jacob Riis who saw saloon proliferation destroying neighborhoods; nativists who felt alcohol was an immigrant problem; health food practitioners who declared alcohol unhealthy; the Ku Klux Klan who made the enforcement of prohibition its central goal; and industrialists such as Henry Ford, Sebastian Kresge, and John D. Rockefeller who opposed alcohol because of its effect on labor productivity. Some of the first temperance societies were organized in New York in 1808 and in Massachusetts in 1813. By the mid-nineteenth century, several Northern cities and even a few states had passed laws controlling the sale of alcohol. During the chaos of the Civil War, increased alcohol consumption was overlooked, but temperance activism gained energy as the war ended. Women’s groups such as the Sanitary Commission organized during the Civil War to help in military hospitals gave many women their first opportunity to venture outside the home and to accept responsibilities they would never have been offered in other circumstances. Once the war was over they translated that experience into leadership positions in women’s rights and temperance organizations. The Prohibition Party was started in 1869, just after the war, to offer help to political candidates committed to the prohibition cause. The party still exists as a minor political party. Founded in Fredonia, New York in 1873, Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) lobbied, published, demonstrated, and peacefully invaded taverns. Feminist Frances E. Willard, the first Dean of Women at Northwestern University, became WCTU’s second president, a position she held for life. The Woman’s Crusade of 1873 and 1874 was an effort to involve women in direct action. One of its leaders, Eliza Daniel Stewart, known as “Mother Stewart,” wrote an account of the Ohio crusade entitled, Memories of the Crusade, a Thrilling Account of the Great Uprising of the Women of Ohio in 1873. Temperance even took up residence in the White House. When Rutherford B. Hayes assumed the presidency in 1877, he was convinced by his secretary of state to serve wine for his first grand banquet in the White House. The experience so upset him that his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes, probably at his insistence, banned alcohol from the White House. She was known thereafter as “Lemonade Lucy.” In 1881, Kansas was the first state to outlaw

Prohibition alcoholic beverages in its Constitution. Carrie (or Carry) Nation, famed WCTU member, gained notoriety when she personally enforced the provision against alcoholic beverages by entering Kansas saloons and destroying liquor bottles with a hatchet. The Anti Saloon League, a non-partisan group focused solely on the issue of prohibition, was founded in 1893 and soon became a powerful national organization with its own publishing company. Although women played a large role in making prohibition a public issue and are sometimes blamed for its successful adoption, they did not vote for the legislators who made it legal. The 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote was not proposed until June 4, 1919, and it wasn’t ratified until August 18, 1920. When America entered World War I, prohibition was declared patriotic. In December of 1914, several months after Europe’s entry into the war, Richmond P. Hobson from Alabama suggested a prohibition amendment in the House of Representatives. It received a majority of votes but not the twothirds majority required to send it to the Senate. In 1917, once the United States entered the war, alcohol became a target. In an effort to conserve grain for war-related programs, President Woodrow Wilson first cut beer’s alcohol content to 2.75 percent and reduced production, then banned wartime beer production completely. Beer’s German origin provided an easy association with the nation’s enemy and it became known as “Kaiser brew.” AMERICA’S REACTION Beer and its home, the saloon, were cast as the cause of America’s social ills and prohibition was billed as the perfect solution. Breweries, wineries, and distillers closed or made something other than alcohol. Saloons closed all over the country but the men who frequented them didn’t necessarily go home. It has been speculated that at least twice as many illegal establishments for alcohol consumption appeared as the legal ones they replaced. In 1926, while testifying before a Senate committee on the consequences of prohibition, New York Representative Fiorella H. LaGuardia said, “It is impossible to tell whether prohibition is a good thing or a bad thing. It has never been enforced in this country. There may not be as much liquor in quantity consumed today as there was before prohibition, but there is just as much alcohol.” Hard liquor which, because of its concentration, was less expensive to transport, replaced beer as the favored alcohol source. Rum came into Florida from the Caribbean; Canadian whiskey came across the northern border in a variety of ways (the automobile tunnel between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was nicknamed the “Windsor funnel”); European alcohol landed on Atlantic beaches in small boats. Small local producers redistilled denatured alcohol and added artificial flavors to produce so-called bathtub gin or fermented and distilled grains to make moonshine. Because of prohibition, Americans began to drink more potent drinks and became drunk faster. With no safety standards in illegally purchased

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alcohol, deaths from poisonous liquor rose. There was a noticeable increase in home brewing and wine production. Although not legal, small-volume home production was not a target of enforcement; so-called revenuers had enough else to do. There were several ways to purchase alcoholic beverages legally during prohibition. With a physician’s prescription written on a special government prescription form distilled spirits could be purchased for medicinal purposes from a pharmacy. Wine could be purchased by religious organizations for sacramental purposes. Fermented cider, alcoholflavored syrups, wine vinegars, and near beer with 0.5 percent alcohol or less were not covered by the legislation. Tourism offered another option. A quick flight to Cuba from Key West or a drive across the border to Mexico or Canada could turn back the clock. The years of legislative battle leading up to the amendment gave people time to stockpile and store some wine and spirits, but few people’s reserve lasted the 14 years. Alcohol consumption was no longer associated with good food. It was the Roaring Twenties, and the economy was soaring; Café Society was dancing the Charleston and going to speakeasies where cocktails were highly flavored to cover the taste of inferior liquor, and no one noticed the food. One exception to that rule was New York’s “21” Club. Noted for its good food and wine, it was kept exclusive by very high prices. Other exceptions were the small familyrun Italian restaurants where authentic home cooking was accompanied by homemade wine from the basement. These establishments introduced Italian food to a wide range of customers, who continued to come back after the end of prohibition and within several decades made Italian food one of America’s favorites. Large, easily visible hotel restaurants had more trouble circumventing the law and many became tearooms, ice cream parlors, or sandwich shops. Since there was no good reason to linger over a meal, cafeterias and the automat became popular. One of the most serious results of prohibition was the development of organized crime. The tremendous market for illegal alcohol turned small local gangs into tightly managed and competitive businesses. Many of America’s big cities became more dangerous than they had been when there was a saloon on every corner. Anti-Prohibition groups developed by the mid1920s and pressure for repeal grew. When the country entered the Great Depression, the jobs and tax revenue that a legal liquor industry could produce were appealing. In 1932, presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt recommended repeal. The 21st Amendment repealing prohibition was proposed on February 20, 1933, and ratified at 3:32 P.M. on December 5, 1933. The country celebrated but mostly with soft drinks. Martinis, popular before prohibition became America’s favorite alcoholic drink, but many people were so used to ordering coffee and soft drinks that they didn’t exercise their new freedom. Fine dining didn’t recover for several decades. If people went out for dinner, they ordered simple American food at inexpensive restaurants. If they entertained, it was at home with a luncheon, tea, or cocktail party. Big city hotels didn’t fill their restaurants again until the end of World War II.

Prohibition Further Reading: http://prohibition.osu.edu/content/why_prohibition.cfm; Levenstein, Harvey. Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet. New York: Macmillan, 1995; Lovegren, Sylvia. Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads. New York: Macmillan, 1995; Mariani, John. America Eats Out: An Illustrated History of Restaurants, Taverns, Coffee Shops, Speakeasies, and Other Establishments That Have Fed Us for 350 Years. New York: William Morrow, 1991; Morris, Lloyd. Incredible New York: High Life and Low Life from 1850 to 1950. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1996; Pillsbury, Richard. No Foreign Food: The American Diet in Time and Place. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.

Joanne Lamb Hayes

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R Renaissance Imagine yourself slowly ascending a grand tapestry-lined staircase, then being announced and graciously ushered into a long and narrow hall where the plaintive tones of viols (a bowed, stringed instrument popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) waft through the air. To one side, mullioned windows let in the crisp morning light, as the occasion is dinner, served around 11 A.M. Along the wood-paneled wall await a cadre of servants, arranged hierarchically from banquet manager to carvers and page boys, each brimming behind their starched ruffs, bearing napkins and basins of water. Down the center of the hall a long trestle table, covered in white linen and strewn with flower buds, stands crisply beneath a mist of rosescented perfume. Majolica plates; golden forks and spoons; and silver saltcellars are arranged geometrically along the table’s length. At the end of the hall stands another table, the credenza, laden with antipasto such as olives, cheeses, little pies and pastries, cold wildfowl, and oysters, and at the center, a mountain of artichokes. Strategically placed along the floor are gigantic ice buckets cradling ceramic jugs and bottles of wine, with cup bearers ready to sate diners’ thirst. This was the typical scene of the Renaissance banquet, the prime form of entertainment at European courts in the sixteenth century. Why a meal

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Banquet given by Bartolomeo Colleoni, Italian condottiero, for King Christian I of Denmark, c. 1470–1550. The Art Archive/Malpaga Castello Bergamo Italy/Gianni Dagli Orti.

should take such grandiose form and how such meals became opulent multimedia events designed to titillate every sensation is a story rooted in politics and state building. The Renaissance was not only the era that invented diplomacy and formal ambassadors who were regularly entertained but also a time when burgeoning Italian states vied for power and displayed their newfound wealth in the arts and dining on an unprecedented scale. This wealth was generated partly from efficient systems of taxation and through incorporation of new territory, but also through an efficient bureaucracy which could administer the state’s income. That is, the Italian courts, which often set the fashions had coffers bursting at the seams with which they could wage war or just as often entertain. Strong nations such as France, Spain, and England eventually followed suit. Wherever there is money and patronage of the arts, entertaining on a grand scale necessarily follows, and the greater the concentration of political power, the more resplendent the display of food and festivity. Fledgling courts were obliged to keep up with the greater powers or at least dazzle with wit and sophistication when mere abundance no longer impressed. Renaissance courts engaged in competitive entertaining, ever trying to outdo

Renaissance each other with culinary marvels, just as they vied with each other building magnificent palaces, gardens and patronizing the finest experts in the arts, culinary and otherwise. It should come as no surprise therefore that the great courts of Renaissance Italy and the burgeoning nation states in sixteenth-century Europe witnessed some of the most opulent banquets in recorded history. A wide variety of culinary texts were published for the purpose of documenting for posterity the details of such banquets, and it is precisely because of these texts that we know as much as we do today. The cookbook authors themselves, armed with the new technology of printing, achieved a level of fame never before enjoyed by chefs. Their portraits adorned their massive tomes, and some were even ennobled for their extraordinary service. There were manuscript cookbooks and authors with a degree of notoriety before this time—Apicius in ancient Rome, known as the author of one of the first cookbooks, and Guilaume Tirel, called Taillevent, renowned in the fourteenth century as chef to King Charles V of France. But manuscripts could only be copied by hand so often. It was not until the age of print that great chefs and banquet managers could effectively publicize their expertise to emerge as true celebrities, on a scale if not comparable to today’s TV chefs, at least to an exponential magnitude when contrasted to preceding centuries. The first printed cookbook does not explicitly describe entertaining per se. In fact, it was a strange hybrid: a manuscript cookbook attributed to one Martino of Como, although surviving manuscript variants may have been written earlier, and by someone else, perhaps in Naples. This cookbook was appropriated by Bartolomeo Sacchi, known as Platina, first Vatican Librarian, and stuffed into his guide to food and health De honesta voluptate, published in 1470. Although not about entertaining, it does offer a vivid glimpse of the taste preferences of mid-fifteenth-century Italy. Platina also comments, sometimes negatively, about the effects of consuming these magnificent dishes and about aristocratic dining in general. Fifteenth-century cuisine was essentially the final expression of a culinary tradition stretching back at least four centuries, which depended on heavily spiced, brightly colored, and sometimes finely pounded dishes, highlighted by sour high notes, with vinegar or verjus ( juice of unripe grapes), or by creamy flavors, with almond milk. Spectacles were particularly favored—such as a peacock cooked and resewn into its feathers, presented spewing flames from its mouth—a trick accomplished with a wad of cotton soaked in camphor and alcohol. Martino’s cookbook was still firmly in this tradition, and ancestors of his recipes can be found several centuries before. That is, there was no abrupt change such as experienced in the arts, as taste in food seems always to proceed more cautiously than taste in painting and architecture. Nonetheless, judging from contemporary accounts, the style of Renaissance taste in all the arts was also manifest in actual meals, particularly because dinners in this period were often multimedia events. Performances of theater and music punctuated each course; painted backdrops with

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mythological scenes honored guests through indirect reference; and grand sugar sculptures and “subtleties,” or pretend foods, formed the centerpiece of every grand banquet. An idea of the structure of an actual banquet can be gleaned from the description of Hermolo Barbaro who attended a wedding of the Trivulzio family in 1488 in Milan. He remarked that it seemed the foods were laid out more for spectacle than consumption. The requisite hand washing ceremony was described and then the first credenza or cold course, including pine nut confections flavored with sugar and rosewater, tarts of marzipan, and fresh asparagus. The next course was a dish of birds’ livers and giblets, followed by a roast deer, a veal’s head, then capons, pigeons, beef tongues in lemon sauce. The seventh course consisted of a whole roast kid with cherries; the eighth of a variety of wildfowl: turtledoves, partridge, pheasant, cranes, and fig peckers. The banquet continued with a sugared rooster, then a roast suckling pig, then a roast peacock in a white sauce. Then came a kind of sweet custard tart, preserved quinces, artichokes, and their stalky relative cardoons, and finally, comfits made of coriander, fennel, almonds, or musk. This was a typical banquet structure of the period, and the meal itself was followed by farces and comedies, acrobats, musicians, and fragrant perfumes. Counterfeit animals were then brought out to each table. The animals were so real as to leave the guests dumbstruck. The whole intention was to dazzle every sense into an aesthetic stupor. The spices and perfumes would have been impressively expensive, but what was truly impressive was the sheer volume of food and elegant display, along with the artistry with which each course was prepared, as well as the artistry of the performances. Christoforo Messisbugo’s Banchetti, composed for the Este Court of Ferrara, recounts the festivities arranged by the author for the decades previous to the book’s publication in 1549. Messisbugo was not a chef but a banquet manager or scalco, as well as master of the household and court accountant. There survives not only his testimony of these feasts, but his actual account books recording court expenditure. Clearly cost was no concern, and each banquet, like the Trivulzio wedding, was meant to dazzle every possible sense. Messisbugo’s banquets are nothing short of perverse orgies of feeding and spectacle. A typical meal included dozens of courses and could last for many hours. Not that diners were expected to consume everything. Unlike modern service, food was presented on large platters from which diners could choose whatever they liked and in seemingly any order whatsoever. Today we follow a progression of courses meant to correspond with flavors and textures of food, such that soups and delicate fish precede the heavier taste of meat, and sweet dishes are served after meat. During the Renaissance, such attention to the sequence of dishes as related to flavor was unheard of. Any flavor or form of food could be eaten in practically any course. The only real structure was that cold foods started the meal and fruits concluded, although the term fruit was broad enough to include

Renaissance artichokes, olives, and cheeses. This culinary mayhem was not considered indecorous though, and esthetically it is comparable to the plays, music, and paintings at the Este Court. They were composed of a wild variety of motifs, forms, flavors, and colors intended to overwhelm the spectator with ingenuity and invention, and often with classical allusions favored by all conoscenti of the arts. In art history, this period is known as mannerism, and it is not coincidental that painters such as Giulio Romano, Il Rosso, and Pontormo traveled in these circles and designed decorations for these festivities. At the Este Court the banquets were punctuated by plays written by Ariosto, the author of the greatest literary masterpiece of this period, the Orlando Furioso. Again, these entertainments were intended to be extravagant spectacles enticing the palate, eyes, ears, and nose with every imaginable form of sensory allurement. For example, a banquet thrown on January 23, 1529, for 104 people, including dukes and duchesses, ambassadors, archbishops, and other gentlemen and women, began with a comedy by Ariosto titled Cassaria. This was followed by a procession into the hall where music was playing and a long table covered with three cloths awaited, topped with silver candlesticks as well as cutlery and folded napkins. There were also gilded pine nuts and other confections, flowers of gold, and perfumed silk. Three credenza tables bore antipasto, and another bore bottles of precious wines. Sugar sculptures representing Hercules next appeared, in honor of Duke Hercole d’Este. The meal itself, which takes up nine pages of Messisbugo’s book, includes about 100 different dishes, many of which arrive on separate plates for each diner or on 25 large plates for roughly every four people. The first course began with 104 caper, truffle, and raisin salads in pastry, 104 endive and radish salads, 104 anchovy salads, 25 plates of carved radishes, 104 cream tarts, 25 tongue prosciutto platters, 25 platters of boar pastries, 25 platters of mortadella, 50 smoked mullets, 104 marinated bream. This was only the first of six courses, followed by a fruit course and then confections. Literally thousands of individual dishes were served containing every imaginable ingredient cooked in as many guises as possible. Between each course there was also entertainment—trombones or a singer with lutes and viols, a capella madrigals, and the like. Hands were periodically washed with perfumes as well. The entire banquet was intended to absolutely ravish the senses. The next great guide to dining produced in the sixteenth century is Domenico Romoli’s Dello Scalco of 1560, which is the earliest extant document that specifies the many duties of the scalco. These include devising the menu, instructing the cooks, and managing the staff, including the pages and separate officers in charge respectively of bread, wine, spices, as well as the carvers, or trincianti, and all the servers assigned to every table. The scalco did not cook, but for Romoli, feeding a noble household did mean knowing the qualities of each ingredient and finished dish, and how these might contribute to the health of the master of the household. While there were

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always court physicians on hand, the practical day-to-day dietary considerations were in the hands of the scalco. Another crucial officer was the cook who was in charge of the cold courses laid out on the credenza. His position derives originally from his being the official court taster, checking every dish intended for the mouth of the master for poison. His title, credenziero comes from the verb credo, “to believe or trust,” but by this time the tasting was merely ceremonial, and his real duties were taking charge of the antipasto. The crowning achievement of Renaissance gastronomy is the magisterial tome of Bartolomeo Scappi, chef, rather than banquet manager, to several successive popes, and lastly private cook for Pius V. His Opera (Works) record not only all conceivable ingredients and how to deal with them in a variety of culinary options but also recommendations for buying the freshest ingredients in season, directions on how to set up a professional kitchen, and even a complete set of illustrations of cooking implements. Scappi also offers menus in which a more precise order of courses is discernable—antipasto dishes, such as olives and cheese and pastries (sometimes sweet), appear first. Subsequent courses still offer fish, fowl, and meat cooked in every imaginable fashion, but these are separated by other small cold courses, palate cleansers, as it were. At the end again are fruits and then finally confections and cordials. By this time it is also clear that culinary preferences had evolved. Dairy products such as butter and cream, as well as eggs are featured as never before. Sweetness gradually replaces the fondness for heaping of spices, and certain spices favored in the Middle Ages disappear almost entirely—cubebs, grains of paradise, long pepper, and spikenard. Cinnamon, on the other hand, remains as an almost universal flavoring. Condiments such as almond milk and verjus (the juice of unripened grapes) are still used and there is still a noticeable appreciation for sour flavors, but gradually the ingredients are allowed to speak for themselves. They are increasingly prepared simply, flavored with herbs or with garlic. In many respects the developments we associate with classical haute cuisine in seventeenth-century France, were already occurring in sixteenth-century Italy. Scappi’s recipes are in line with the Italian cuisine of today, though without the majority of New World ingredients such as tomatoes and peppers. Scappi does, however, introduce the turkey and guinea pig. Scappi’s Opera was first and foremost a book about cooking and running a kitchen, rather than a complete guide to entertaining. Giovanni Battista Rossetti’s Dello Scalco of 1584, on the other hand, is precisely that. Rossetti followed in the footsteps of Messisbugo in the same court at Ferrara, and like him, he describes in meticulous detail the many actual banquets thrown for every day of the year. That is, we have not only a few menus but a complete dining repertoire with 547 pages of menus. Obviously this was intended not only to show off the great achievements of this banquet manager but was meant to be imitated in other courts. Publishing of such guides in a sense advertises and instructs.

Renaissance Rossetti was also the first author to give a complete explanation of the entire kitchen and wait staff and how they should be organized into a rationally subordinated army that takes its commands from the top. In a word, the staff was becoming increasingly professionalized, with a recognizable uniform, although the scalco himself, ideally a noble, still carried a sword and was entitled to wear a hat. Nonetheless, this was considered an honorable and worthy position at court, and one of the most trusted since delicate political decisions might very well hinge on the success or failure of the entertainment. With the turn of the seventeenth century a whole new crop of banquet management guides appeared. First among these were the works of Cesare Evitascandalo, written in the late sixteenth century but not published until 1609 in Rome. Clearly there was an eager audience of readers hoping to move up the professional ranks in the service of courtly households, eventually to become master carvers or scalchi. His book on carving is a dialogue outlining the various duties and proprieties of the ideal carver. The book on the scalco describes the hierarchy of the banquet staff and their various qualifications and duties. He was especially careful about making sure servants didn’t steal and about keeping accurate account books. Most importantly he gave instructions on setting the table, including how to lay out dishes for maximum visual effect and how to alternate large and small dishes. There is also a discernable order in the progression of courses, what might be described as a simplification and streamlining of the meal, certainly when compared to the mayhem of early sixteenthcentury banquets. Evitascandalo also offered suggestions about how different wines would best accompany each course. For example, a malvasia or guarnaccia begins the meal, followed by a white Greco or moscatello with the antipasto, then a “small” wine with the boiled course and piquant red wine with the roasts, and finally sweet wines to end. As in many parts of the banquet, there was a new gastronomic sense of order and intensification of flavors as the meal progressed. Also, hot courses were alternated with cold palate cleansers as it were, so as not to dull the palate with too many flavors at once. There was also an increasing tendency to garnish plates, a trend that would only intensify through the century with baroque adornments of the plate such as cockscombs, testicles, pistachios, lemon slices, or gilded slices of toast. Even pasta was considered a garnish rather than a course in its own right. All these served the same function as swags and putti in the paintings of the era—pure frivolous embellishment. By the seventeenth century the flavor profile had also dramatically changed. Diners completely lost interest in dense clusters of spices, though cinnamon and sugar remained in almost every dish. Perfumed food was something fairly new though; musk and ambergris, as well as the old standbys rose water and jasmine, were introduced in contexts that we would find jarring and incoherent, but diners of the seventeenth century seem to have enjoyed these aromas on most any dish.

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As in other scalco guides, Evitascandalo also offers tips about when ingredients come into season, how each is best prepared, as well as how to set menus. In other words, the scalco is both the manager and a professional arbiter of taste—a gastronome before that word was contrived by the French. Similar guides appeared through the seventeenth century and were eventually imitated throughout Europe. Although the origins of modern cuisine might be debated, there is no doubt that elegant entertainment in the form of the grand banquet was invented in Italy, and as the fashion there spread throughout Europe with the other arts, the Renaissance model of fine dining came to be adopted everywhere. It remained in place up to the twentieth century in virtually every place there were still ruling courts. Further Reading: Albala, Ken. The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006; Cappatti, Alberto, and Massimo Montanari. Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003; Evitascandalo, Cesare. Libro dello Scalco. Rome: Carlo Vulietti, 1609; Martino, Maestro. Libro de arte coquinaria. Luigi Ballerini and Jeremy Parzen, eds. Milan: Guido Tommasi, 2001 [Translated by Jeremy Parzen as The Art of Cooking. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005]; Messisbugo, Cristoforo di. Banchetti. Ferrara: Giovanni de Buglhat and Antonio Hucher, 1549 [Reprint: Bologna: Arnaldo Forni, 2001]; Romoli, Domenico. La Singolare Dottrina. Venice: Gio. Battista Bonfadino, 1593 [1st ed. 1560]; Rossetti, Giovanni Battista. Dello Scalco. Ferrara: Domenico Mammarello, 1584 [Reprint: Bologna: Arnaldo Forni, 1991]; Scappi, Bartolomeo. Opera. Venice, 1570 [Reprint: Bologna: Arnaldo Forni, 2002]; Strong, Roy C. Feast: A History of Grand Eating. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2002.

Ken Albala

Rent Parties Rent parties were an important part of the social life of working class African Americans in New York City’s Harlem in the years between the world wars. While not unique to Harlem, as African Americans in other northern industrial cities brought the concept with them as they migrated north seeking jobs, they are most often identified with Harlem during the years of the fabled Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s when art, music, and literature flourished in this neighborhood. Expensive housing and low-wage jobs pressured Harlem’s poorer residents to find creative ways to meet their monthly rental costs. The rent party, derived from the tradition of holding fundraisers, was an easy solution. The host invited friends or sometimes advertised on the streets to strangers to come up for an evening’s entertainment. A nominal fee, usually a quarter, admitted one to plenty of food, liquor, music, and dancing. At the end of the night, the host would have collected enough money to pay for the next month’s rent.

Rent Parties Rent parties were popular with workers in menial jobs, especially recent arrivals from the South who found themselves alone in a strange, urban environment. Many were young people who worked as maids, porters, and bellboys and were the first of their family to come north. Alone in New York, they sought out other young men and women from similar backgrounds for recreation and relaxation. Generally, the middle- and upper-class black population avoided these affairs but occasionally artists and writers would make an appearance. Few white people attended rent parties or even knew of their existence, allowing African Americans to socialize among themselves. Rent parties usually were held on Thursday night as live-in domestic servants traditionally had that night off. Saturday, since it was payday, was also a popular night to host the parties, and they sometimes went on into the early morning hours. Hosts cleared out furniture, cooked food, and either made their own liquor or got supplies from the local bootlegger. Dancing was a staple entertainment and a piano or a small band provided music. After the mainstream Harlem nightclubs closed, musicians such as Fats Waller sometimes stopped by to play with the house band. Guests paid additionally to eat and drink. Food was the comfort food of the South. Collards, fried chicken, pigs feet, chitterlings, corn bread, potato salad, and other familiar fare were served. The costs of cooking these dishes were low so the host could keep the prices down and still make a profit. Corn whiskey and gin were the drinks of choice, and the liquor flowed freely. The majority of hosts focused on providing dancing, drinking, and food but some made extra money by renting out rooms for more private activities such as sex and gambling. These activities made rent parties unpopular with the more straitlaced citizens of Harlem and they developed an unsavory reputation, especially among the middle-class population. By the end of the Great Depression, rent parties had waned. Better wages and more available housing reduced the pressure to hold them and the social needs of lonely migrants lessened. Rent parties remain in history as another colorful facet of the Harlem Renaissance. Further Reading: American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writer’s Project, 1936–1940. Harlem rent parties. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/ r?ammem/wpa:@field(DOCID+@lit(wpa221011010)); Anderson, Jervis. This Was Harlem: A Cultural Portrait, 1900–1950. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1982; Banks, William H., Jr., ed. Beloved Harlem: A Literary Tribute to Black America’s Most Famous Neighborhood, from the Classics to the Contemporary. New York: Harlem Moon, 2005; Bascom, Lionel C., ed. A Renaissance in Harlem: Lost Voices of an American Community. New York: Avon Books, 1999; Watson, Steven. The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920–1930. New York: Pantheon, 1995.

Mary Sanker

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Restaurants Public eating places have long proved indispensable to hosts and hostesses. Whether furnishing dinner parties and banquets on their own premises or delivering meals for home consumption, restaurants have for centuries held a premier place in the annals of American entertaining. Entertaining in public eating places goes back at least to the eighteenth century. It was common for coffeehouses and taverns to set aside one or more dining rooms for private dinner parties. Although these rooms could be used by travelThe Exchange Coffee House ing couples and families, the host When it opened in 1808, Boston’s seven-story Exchange Coffee and guests for most small parties House was an elegant establishment housed in one of the largest were all men. Eating places that and most imposing buildings in the city, perhaps on the entire placed notices in newspapers inEastern seaboard. With rooms for dining, overnight occupancy, variably announced that “parties and business and fraternal meetings, it was meant to serve the of gentlemen” could be accommerchants of Boston and environs. But, although it played host modated with dinner or supper to President James Monroe, the wealthy kid glove–wearing businessmen of Salem, and other dignitaries, clubs, and societies, in separate rooms “on the shortest it was beset by troubles. Costing half a million dollars to build, notice.” Oysters, green turtle soup, it ruined two banks and never attained hoped-for success. Its and beefsteaks, accompanied by dining facilities went through a constant turnover of managers. relishes and imported wine, porIt burned to the ground in 1818, was rebuilt in scaled-down style ter, and ale, furnished the essential in 1822, and was razed in 1853. elements of these feasts. Diners had a choice of eating facilities in the Exchange. Each Often the groups of men day an “ordinary,” or table d’hote, dinner was produced around who dined in private rooms were 2:30 P.M., its menu and meal tickets available each morning at members of organizations such as the bar. Small groups could be accommodated in private dining military companies, college alumni rooms for dinners or suppers. Travelers arriving at odd hours associations, or fraternal societies. and others seeking flexibility could eat in the coffee room anyIn 1832 a Boston restaurant antime from dawn to late at night and order whatever was listed in the daily bill of fare. As was the custom of the times, soup was nounced it had recently opened available each morning at 11:00. several private dining rooms and When the new Exchange opened under the management of could furnish suppers, game, and Dudley Bradstreet in 1822, he promised the public he would wine to “parties, fire-companies, provide the best venison, turtle, and game of all kinds. He inand clubs.” Fire-companies could vited private parties to arrange dinners, even at short notice. be notoriously rowdy, but the proHis successor, the following year, vowed to continue serving prietor carefully noted that “the parties and to keep up the house’s reputation as one of “the decorum, propriety, and style of first respectability.” Several Harvard alumni groups chose it his establishment [has] secured for their reunion dinners in succeeding years. By 1829 new a liberal patronage.” Advertisemanagers renamed the coffee room a “restaurateur” in the ments often mentioned that theirs French manner, nonetheless proclaiming lower prices were in were “genteel” private rooms, imeffect. Despite its rocky operation, the Exchange was long rememplying that many were anything bered as the “pride of Boston,” the founding site of the Ameribut. Nonetheless, a quoit (a game can Antiquarian Society, and the place where many of the finest similar to horseshoes) club, in sailing ships of the Atlantic were planned and financed. Washington, D.C., celebrated its

Restaurants first season in 1838 with a dinner at Monsieur Boulanger’s American and French Restaurant, pronouncing it “one of the most splendid entertainments ever served up at a public house in the United States,” and equal to anything in London or Paris in terms of “sumptuous and recherche [exquisite] viands, splendid appurtenances, or fine wines.” As with home entertaining, restaurant dinners featured luxury foods. At the top of the pyramid was the game dinner. Before game laws regulating the hunting of animals severely curtailed the feasting, almost any creature could be served. One of the best-known resorts in the country was Taft’s, located on Point Shirley in the Boston harbor. In honor of a traveler returning from Europe in 1876, 30 guests assembled for a lavish game dinner that included “owls from the North.” The year before, the restaurant had on occasion served hummingbirds in nutshells. In Washington, banquets were not considered proper unless they featured diamond-back terrapin from the Potomac. In Chicago a big-spending host in 1884 treated 500 men to his annual game dinner that included boiled buffalo tongue, 27 roasted dishes including five kinds of duck and black bear, and 18 broiled dishes including plover, a bird similar to a sandpiper. Perhaps to fill the meat gap left by tightening game laws, the beefsteak dinner came into popularity in the 1890s. Some restaurants and hotels kept a special candle-lit basement “dungeon” outfitted with rustic benches and crates for tables. No utensils were allowed, so guests, swathed in aprons, ate steaks with their bare hands. Stalks of celery and mugs of ale rounded out the all-you-can-eat meal. The Bismarck Café in San Francisco advertised in 1908, “Our Beefsteak Rooms afford an opportunity for novel entertainment, which must appeal to the gentlemen who contemplate bachelor dinners or like functions.” The availability of private dining rooms grew as the number of restaurants and patrons increased in the nineteenth century. In Louisville, Kentucky, the elaborate new Walker’s City Exchange of 1851 boasted several floors with a drinking saloon, an oyster stand, and bowling alleys. Entering the restaurant itself, the viewer saw a series of doors marking “small eating apartments” for groups of two to four, with larger rooms for big parties. That same year, a restaurant and “oyster saloon” opened in New York that boasted “twenty spacious apartments, elegantly fitted and furnished.” Not until the more socially informal twentieth century was it considered proper to entertain guests in the open, public spaces of a restaurant. Although men were generally the primary customers of private dining rooms and public eating places, women were almost certainly included in some of the festivities in taverns, coffeehouses, and other public eating places. Women enjoyed attending balls that were frequently held at larger eating places. Dancing, often preceded by dinner, was capped off by a midnight supper or a light buffet of cold dishes. The multi-storied Boston Exchange Coffee House built in 1809 was designed with a ball and banquet room accompanied by a “resting room” for ladies. Charleston had a coffeehouse next to the city theater where groups as large as 300 could have

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Delmonico’s For nearly 100 years, New York’s Delmonico’s was synonymous with exquisite French cuisine, fine wines, and elite society dinners, banquets, and balls. Beginning as a small European-style coffee house and confectionery in 1827, it soon expanded into a full “restaurateur” serving meals to rival the best found in Paris. Until its closure in 1923 it remained under the control of the ItalianSwiss “Del Monico” family, occupying 11 different addresses over time, usually with several in operation simultaneously. Because Delmonico’s had been the first to institutionalize practices such as the French-language menu, the service of different wines with each course, and the provision of clean linens for each party of patrons, among many others, it swiftly attained the title of the most important restaurant in America’s history. For decades it was almost certain that any bon vivant worth his salt would describe unforgettable dinners at Delmonico’s in his memoirs. So exalted has the reputation of Delmonico’s become over time that it is a useful corrective to recall that, like other restaurants, it employed bouncers, blacklisted undesirable patrons, unwittingly hosted a number of con men, and, according to an 1852 advertisement, used the finest roach and rat poison. Beyond its superlative offerings in food and wine, Delmonico’s was known for hosting internationally famous men in the fields of statecraft, commerce, literature, and the arts. It convened banquets for the alumni of Harvard and other Ivy League schools, and for the many elite social organizations of New York such as the Patriarchs and the St. Nicholas Society. By instituting the strictest rules of behavior for guests—no dining behind closed doors and no heterosexual couples, married or not, permitted to dine alone in private rooms—it won the trust of women of high society and became the center of the social whirl. For about the first 20 years Delmonico’s was considered a foreign eating place and primarily attracted French and European merchants and travelers. It widened its patronage and attained its greatest fame in the latter half of the nineteenth century during the reign of two of its Fifth Avenue restaurants, one in an old mansion at 14th Street, the other at 26th Street near Madison Square. The former was the site of two renowned banquets, one given by an English railroad magnate, Sir Morton Peto, and the other to honor Charles Dickens. In 1865 Peto threw a lavish 10-course dinner for 100 guests, at the unprecedented cost of $20,000. Although Dickens was suffering from gout and arrived one hour late to the 1868 dinner given by 200 journalists, the author was touched by his reception and spoke warmly of Americans, making up for negative views he had presented in

dinner, play cards, and dance. A favorite pastime of wealthy Bostonians around the mid-nineteenth century was a late afternoon sleigh party to one of the old coaching roadhouses that ringed the city. Taking over the entire house, they would enjoy a turkey dinner, followed by dancing until midnight. In summer, decades earlier, such groups might have gone to outlying tea gardens. Many organizations were established around the practice of communal dining. Men of comfortable means formed dining clubs that met regularly for social, business, or political reasons. Later, some of these clubs acquired permanent houses in which members could live and take all their meals. The well-known New York Club, founded in 1846, originated in a group that met for dinner at the Woodcock, a chophouse on East Houston Street. Boston’s hotels hosted 300 or 400 literary, political, and business dining clubs in the late 1890s. On a club night, dining rooms at Young’s, the Bellevue, the Revere House, and other prominent hotels hummed with activity. Generally women were not invited to these events except, possibly, at a club’s annual dinner dance. In the latter nineteenth century, women began to challenge this rule by forming their own dining clubs. Women journalists had started the trend in 1869 when they formed the club Sorosis in response to their exclusion from a Delmonico’s dinner honoring Charles Dickens. Banqueting proliferated in the 1870s and 1880s in large

Restaurants cities, eventually becoming routine. There were so-called professional banquet goers, ritual toasts (invariably ending with “to the ladies”), and complaints about monotonous menus and overcooked foods. Once in a while a banquet would stray off the beaten path with a humorous menu card or unusual food. The Arts and Crafts Society of Chicago avoided standard fare for their 1900 dinner party. Instead of patronizing a hotel, they called upon the skills of the caterer at Jane Addams’s Hull House. The settlement house, which had recently opened a public coffeehouse and lunchroom, provided them a Comida Espanola, with olla podrida, salsa picante, and a chicory salad with a daring “suspicion” of garlic. Banqueting took place nationwide. Like Boston, New York had hundreds of societies and organizations forever holding banquets at Delmonico’s, the Hotel Brunswick, and scores of other restaurants and hotels. By the turn of the twentieth century, the West Coast was catching up. In Los Angeles, Al Levy ran the city’s top banquet house, which he enlarged in 1906. In addition to his first-floor banquet room that held 500, he had three banquet halls on the second floor as well as 57 smaller private rooms and plans for a fourth-floor hall accommodating at least 600. Beginning in the 1880s wealthy Americans began to engage in elaborate, competitive entertaining in public places. Dinners such as that given by a streetcar magnate at Delmonico’s in 1888, at which each woman

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two of his novels. This dinner cost just over $3,000 and featured pâtés and ice creams in the shape of Dickens’ well-loved characters. Women of the press were not admitted and, in indignation, they formed their own club, Sorosis, which continued to dine at Delmonico’s regularly. In the 1870s and 1880s it became commonplace for restaurants with even a degree of pretension to refer to themselves as the Delmonico’s of a certain place, such as the Delmonico’s of Washington, the Delmonico’s of the Southwest, and the Delmonico’s of the Pacific Northwest. Legions of Delmonico’s cooks and waiters opened their own places from one coast to the other, elevating the tone of dining out wherever they settled.

Cabin John Hotel Long before the automobile came on the scene the Cabin John Hotel was a favorite destination for Washingtonians on short pleasure trips in what was then rural Maryland. It could be reached by water on the Potomac, by rail, or by a beautiful carriage ride over the splendid Conduit Road. Because drinking water for the city flowed underneath the road, it was one of the best maintained around Washington. Though called a hotel, Cabin John was a day resort which hosted groups who came out to feast on Maryland fried chicken and biscuits, to ramble on the shady lawns, and to view the remarkable span of the adjacent stone bridge aqueduct. When bicycling became a fad in the 1890s, cyclists piled onto the Conduit Road to make early morning pilgrimages to the hotel for its famed fish breakfasts. In the words of a newspaper reporter in 1896, “You can’t imagine anything more delicious than a broiled Potomac bass after this delightful seven-mile ride.” Summer evenings brought throngs of people to dine, dance, and listen to band music. It was a favorite yearround spot for the annual dinners of social clubs and professional groups such as dentists and typographers. In the early 1900s, the hotel opened a large outdoor dining area, a vaudeville theater, and rides such as a Ferris wheel. In 1904 the roadhouse-cum-amusement-park booked so many Sunday school groups the streetcar company wondered how it would transport them all. Always a target of temperance advocates, the business closed sometime around Prohibition. After years as a derelict, the main structure burned to the ground in 1931, ending a history dating back at least to the Civil War.

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guest was presented with an emerald ring, garnered a lot of press—as well as intense negative reaction from a public increasingly critical of the ostentatious habits of the rich. By 1895 there wasn’t much in the way of food that was considered novel, and, even with wine, it was hard to spend more than $25 or $35 per head for the most lavish dinner. Decorations, favors, and unusual entertainment became ways to distinguish the pedestrian ball from the outstanding one. The bill for flowers could easily outstrip food and wine costs, especially when walls and ceiling Schrafft’s were completely covered with roses, as at the 1901 Valentine’s Begun as a Boston candy maker in the 1860s, Schrafft’s Day dance and dinner given by a launched its New York City restaurant career in 1909. That year bachelor at Sherry’s, the premier a salesman for the company, assisted by his sister and her New York venue of that time. stock of family recipes, opened a small tea shop in one of the The burden of entertaining was firm’s candy stores. By 1925 they had a chain of 21 full-service restaurants in New York known for their dainty food, genteel a heavy one, even for bachelors. atmosphere, and fastidious cleanliness. The growth of the chain If they did not maintain a large coincided with the emergence of legions of women diners in house with many servants, they the 1920s, often eating alone or with other women. Nothing typically repaid their social debts symbolized this change as much as the 1920s installation of a with restaurant dinners. ReputSchrafft’s at the site of the failed Browne’s chophouse, an anedly the annual expenses of a cient males-only gathering place. wealthy bachelor totaled more There were Schrafft’s restaurants in Boston, Syracuse, Philafor the category “restaurants and delphia, and in latter days even in Los Angeles, but the name entertaining” than for either runwas especially associated with the New York metropolitan area, ning a house or keeping a yacht. where there were more than 50 units before the chain’s 1970s Although women hosted ocdecline. casional elaborate dinners in chic After repeal of national prohibition, some Schrafft’s began serving alcoholic beverages. Despite the popularity of Manhatrestaurants of the 1890s, their tans and whiskey sours with patrons, though, the venerable inforte was the luncheon or afterstitution kept its tea room aura. Signature items such as cheese noon tea, often given for bridesbread, crustless sandwiches, creamed chicken dishes, and icemaids or as part of a bridge party. cream cakes and sundaes made with Luxuro chocolate were Around 1905 it became more longtime menu staples. fashionable for women to invite Schrafft’s restaurants were popular places for women’s guests to lunch at a restaurant than organizations to raise funds and honor important women. At their own homes. Tearooms often one all-day fiesta at the 556 Fifth Avenue Schrafft’s women became the scene for luncheons supporters of a medical facility earned 50 percent of the day’s in the 1910s and 1920s, consisreceipts, boosting patronage with a tea dance and a “Celebrity tent with the toned-down type Meeting Place” at the soda fountain. In 1930 Eleanor Rooseof entertainment in wartime and velt was feted by women in the arts with a tea at the new Madison Avenue Schrafft’s in recognition of her project of emamong the supporters of Prohibiploying craftspeople to make adaptations of early American tion. The notion of entertaining furniture. in a restaurant, which had once As late as the 1960s, when shrewd restaurant operators been limited to the wealthy, now timed how long patrons occupied their seats, Schrafft’s was increasingly involved the middle known for refusing to hurry along the lone customer nursing her class, extending into the African cup of coffee. American community as well. In

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1936, for instance, a black hostess in Chicago treated the members of her Bid-Rite card club to lunch, and then play cards, amid the “oriental” decorations of the Pickett Tea Room. After World War I, dining out in restaurants became a popular activity for dating couples as restrictions on young women enjoying a restaurant meal with a man were generally relaxed. In 1904 an etiquette book still advised that “a young woman condemns herself in the eyes of good society who is observed to enter alone with a young man a place for public refreshment, be the restaurant or tea-room ever so select.” But this was quickly becoming obsolete. Few young women could resist restaurants. In large cities the typical courtship of The Pump Room the 1910s was largely conducted in restaurants, as it would be for In its heyday Chicago’s Pump Room was all about theater. This decades to come. glamour spot of the Midwest was located in the Ambassador East Hotel. Outfitted with all the basics such as good food, Restaurant catering has also luxurious backdrops, and hosts of flashbulb-popping photograplayed a major role in entertainphers, it was a jewel case for actors of stage and screen, politiing through several centuries in cians, and deposed royalty. The occupants of its white leather America. Families living near tavbanquettes could be certain to find themselves featured in the erns, coffeehouses, and restaurants gossip columns of the 1940s and 1950s. in the latter eighteenth century According to its lore—and it had a lot—Chicago’s celebrity could easily obtain individual watering hole was inspired by the Pump Room in the spa town dishes or dinners fully prepared, of Bath, England. The original Pump Room was a place for the and clearly did so judging from fashionable lounging class to drink healing waters and spread the number of purveyors who ofgossip. In Chicago they could do the same, though the water fered this service. Restaurateurs was usually mixed with something stronger. The eighteenthwould also come to the home and century dandies of Bath lent their breeches, satin waistcoats, and pom-poms to Chicago’s costumed waiters and coffeeprepare refreshments for special servitors—while the kind of sword play preferred in the Windy occasions such as funerals and City involved spearing beef and chicken livers and setting them weddings. aflame. The fun and games in the Pump Room were always Black men had a place of retongue-in-cheek and meant to entertain rather than follow strict nown in catering, but women were dictates of good taste. As host Ernie Byfield once remarked, also represented in this profession. the atmosphere conveyed by the costumes and flaming swords Samuel Francis (aka Fraunces), a suggested something like “Halloween in Hell.” West Indian who served as stewTo get the enterprise going in 1938, it is said, Byfield ard to George Washington, ran an began sending limousines to the train station to pick up newseating place and cook shop known worthy passengers stranded by cross-country layovers of as the Sign of Queen Charlotte up to 12 hours. As he shrewdly realized, he who entertains in New York. He announced in the entertainers easily draws a crowd of high-rolling limelight baskers. The formula worked beautifully for several decades, 1766 that he supplied all kinds though the Pump Room began to fade in the 1960s, undergoof cooked food, confections, and ing several transitions thereafter. When Sonny Bono dined there pastries, as well as wedding cakes, sans suit jacket in 1968, observers felt the end could not be and “cut Victuals by the Shilling’s far off. In 1976 the establishment’s famed furnishings, includWorth.” In 1770 he advised he ing booth number one reserved for top-notch celebrities, were would also send out dinners and auctioned off. suppers. In 1815 a Mrs. Poppleton

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kept a refreshment room and food shop where she sold a variety of delectable dishes such as savory patties, puff pastry, “Italian Sallads,” cakes for weddings and christenings, and “Elegant ornamental Trays, for ladies’ parties.” In the late nineteenth century, no successful Boston Back Bay hostess could do without the services of black caterer Joseph Lee, while Salem hostesses counted on black caterers and restaurateurs such as Edward P. Cassell to run their dinners. Even in his old age, in 1910, Cassell could be seen on the streets of Salem, impeccably dressed in Chesterfield coat and top hat, hand delivering invitations. Like other society caterers, he undoubtedly knew the rules of etiquette as well as, or better than, his clients. Further Reading: The best sources for late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century coffeehouses, taverns, confectionery and catering establishments, and oysterand chophouses are newspaper announcements such as those found in the Royal Gazette and the Daily Advertiser in New York City, the Aurora General Advertiser in Philadelphia, and the Columbian Centinel and the Boston Commercial Gazette in Boston; “A Royal Feast; A Complimentary Dinner to Mr. Thomas Dana, 2d.” Boston Daily Globe. July 24, 1876, p. 4; “The Clubs at Dinner. Thirtieth Year of the Boston—Other Gatherings at Parker’s and Young’s.” Boston Daily Globe. January 4, 1885, p. 3; “Beefsteak Feasts the Fad.” Washington Post. March 27, 1893, p. 11; Hallmark, Harrydele. “Woman and Home. Women at Cafes. Society Approves High-class Restaurant Dinners.” Los Angeles Times. December 31, 1893, p. 12; “Noted Feasts of Modern Times; Extravagance in Dining.” Current Literature. XVII:2. February, 1895, p. 154; “Catering Extraordinary.” New York Times Sunday Magazine. December 29, 1901, p. 8; “The Washington Season; A Society Girl’s View of the Restaurant Habit in the Capital.” Washington Post. March 23, 1902, p. 23; “While the Kettle Sings; Parties at the Tea Room.” Tea Room and Gift Shop. 2:6, June, 1923, p. 13.

Jan Whitaker

Russia Russian aristocrats hosted marathon banquets that were theatrical extravaganzas of food, table settings, and costumed servants. Yet this showiness contained much that became traditional in city and countryside, in good times and bad: hours-long feasting, sequential table service, heavy drinking, and lavish generosity toward special guests. EARLY TIMES When the sixteenth-century Grand Duke Vasilii III (r. 1505–1533) had an important foreign visitor, all (male) residents within riding or walking distance from the Moscow Kremlin, from nobles to servants to marketplace loafers, were commanded to be part of the welcoming masses and herded to his palace. Inside, rooms were filled with scores of local nobility. By ordering up a crowd the Grand Duke hoped to impress foreign visitors as

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Russian tea table, 1851. The Art Archive/Russian State Museum Saint Petersburg/ Alfredo Dagli Orti.

well as locals with his own importance and power. Once inside, important guests (ambassadors and the like) became part of an elaborately choreographed processional en route to the banqueting room and the royal presence. Guests at first were greeted with handclasps, embraces, and kisses. But on approaching the Grand Duke himself, noblemen did not acknowledge the visitors’ presence, even when greeted directly. Banquet preliminaries included presenting guests to the Grand Duke. Diplomats did not have to bring the Grand Duke gifts but were expected to express their deep gratitude to him. At Vasilii’s court, the banquet tables were arranged in a circle, with a gap near the entrance to the banquet room. Vasilii sat at a long table together with his brothers and most of his councilors. Guests of honor, provided with table settings and implements of gold and /or silver, sat opposite his table. The Grand Duke honored important diplomats by sending them, from his own table, salt (signifying affection) and white bread shaped like a horse collar (signifying favor). Bread and salt are still traditional symbols of welcome in Russia. Guests drank brandy while waiting for their food. The first course was usually roast swans, which were set before Vasilii so that he could determine which was the tenderest and the one for his table. After that judgment was made, expensively costumed servants bore the swans to a nearby carving table. The Grand Duke’s table was served first, and like the other diners, he sprinkled his portion

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of swan with salt, pepper, and vinegar. After the Grand Duke had been served, platters were delivered to guests according to rank and political importance. Guests could also nibble on soured milk and long-preserved cucumbers. Throughout the banquet, Vasilii sent choice pieces of meat to one or another guest, who was expected to stand up and bow as the other guests also rose to their feet. All sat down again until the next tender morsel arrived from the Grand Duke’s table. Foreign guests were sometimes exhausted by the crowded arrangements, rituals, and lengthiness of Russian banquets, which might begin around noon and not end until the next morning. For Russians, however, the endless banquet had become and continued to be a staple for entertaining, however much their guests tired. SEQUENTIAL TABLE SERVICE An early record of Russian-style sequential table service (serving only one kind of food at a time) comes from one of Ivan the Terrible’s (r. 1533– 1584) banquets for 300 diners. There were five courses. The first offered roast fowl: swans, a peacock with its plumage intact, cranes, guinea fowl, and creamed ducks. The second round was a soup course with a variety of soups cold and hot, thick and thin; the third, main course, featured larger mammals: loins of bear, a reindeer, a sheep, a calf, and quarters of beef. The dessert course offered, among other sweets, a pudding in the form of the Kremlin (the walled palace compound). The courses were carried in and guests waited on by servers dressed in uniforms of white satin with sable trim. For Ivan’s court, getting food in separate courses rather than having the feast brought to the table all at once was a novelty, but that style of table service was eventually accepted as a hallmark of Russian dining customs. Sequential service became known in fashionable European circles as dinner à la Russe and was popular in Europe by the 1870s and 1880s. Sequential service, now universal in United States restaurants—first appetizers, then soup or salad, then the entrée, then dessert and coffee, may have originated with stylish dining à la Russe. In the sixteenth century however, despite Ivan’s preference, most noble hosts had all the food, including desserts, set out at once. Banqueters didn’t use forks or knives; every fourth diner shared bowls and plates, but not spoons. Guests wiped their hands on their portion of the tablecloth. DRINK From the earliest accounts of such things, people have noted the importance of alcohol for Russian hospitality. No banquet table was or is complete without a variety of alcoholic drinks. One method of persuading, or even bullying, guests to drink was well-established in the sixteenth century, and lives on in Russian culture: the host proposes a toast, then another,

Russia and another. In the case of a formal state banquet, toasts proposed to a tsar or local bigwig had to be followed by everyone downing his drink. At sixteenth-century banquets, the man who gave the toast was expected to stand in the middle of the room, say which nobleman or royal the toast was meant for, say what kind of good fortune he should have (health, happiness, victory in battle, etc.), and wish the honoree’s enemies might be as drained of blood as the toaster’s own cup, which the speaker then emptied and placed upside-down on his head, praying for his lord’s good health. Guests who preferred not to drink themselves silly could evade some refills by pretending drunkenness or extreme sleepiness. Leaving a palace banquet would not necessarily free guests from their drinking obligation. Honored foreign guests might be guided back to their lodgings, but after arrival the escorts would not leave. Instead, they sat themselves down and told the guests their orders were to stay and provide more cheer. Then people of high station would show up to help pour. It was believed that a guest who had not been made drunk to the point of falling under the table had been neglected by his host. As time went by, the social obligation for hosts to encourage male guests to drink heavily remained unchanged, but vodka, classically about 40 percent alcohol, gradually replaced beer and mead as the social drink of choice. Eventually vodka came to be surrounded by a set of rituals. Russians are expected to drink it straight, to down a small glassful while the bottle remains uncapped, ready for the next round, and finally to be finished by the group one is with. Men should be hearty vodka drinkers; women don’t have to be. OTHER ENTERTAINMENTS AND GIFTING Aside from being banqueted and plied with drink, important guests in sixteenth century Russia might also be entertained by accompanying the royal host for a day of hunting rabbits in the countryside, finishing with a picnic in a tent. They might also be invited to witness a fearsome contest in which a caged wild bear was let loose among a group of poor peasant men armed with wooden pitchforks. If a peasant was injured, he faced the Grand Duke and begged for pity, whereupon the ruler gave him something. Foreign envoys, however, might receive lavish gifts at their departure banquet. The German envoy Herberstein returned from his Russian voyages with such gifts as clothing sewn with gold thread and lined with sable, a sleigh with snowy white, warm blankets and a fine horse to pull it, sable pelts plus hundreds of other valuable furs, and quantities of smoked sturgeon and other varieties of preserved fish. WOMEN And where were women during the sumptuous festivities? Until the accession of Tsar Peter the Great (r. 1682–1725) Russian noblewomen did not mingle with their husband’s guests; rather, they were cloistered

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in special women’s quarters. Only at banquets, and then only to honor a special guest, would the host present his wife to his all-male company. On these occasions, the lord of the manor gave a signal, and then the lady, in her most stunning clothes, appeared holding a golden cup and kissed its rim. While she remained standing, each guest was allowed to give her a kiss. For practical reasons, the lower the social class, the fewer the household servants, the less were women hidden. Under Peter the Great, who admired and imported Western European culture, men and women aristocrats were not only encouraged, but commanded, to attend parties together. But other Russian banqueting traditions remained including marathon lengthiness (eight hours or more) and sequential table service (common by the 1600s, with as many as 200 different kinds of food served). Each course featured one kind of food prepared by a particular method, such as varieties of roasted wild fowl for one course, varieties of salted fish for another, crepes ( blini) with various fillings followed by small pastries ( pirogi, sing. pirog ) with different fillings, and so forth. By the late eighteenth century, the order of Russian-style banquet courses was standardized, at least in the highest society: (1) hot soups; (2) cold dishes, such as cold fish, or fish or meat in aspic; (3) roasts (meat or poultry); (4) boiled or fried fish; (5) savory pies; (6) kasha (a cereal made with grain, usually buckwheat); (7) sweet pastries; (8) candies and other sweet confections. In the nineteenth century, dessert at a banquet might also include ice cream shaped in a mold, then unmolded on a plate. The more formal the banquet, the more attention had to be paid to an artistic table setting. In the late nineteenth century, a wealthy family served their feast on exquisite china accompanied by silver flatware. For very formal banquets, servants collected the dirty dishes and silver after every course and brought clean ones. Tables were decorated with vases of fresh flowers, a glass or silver étagère laden with candies, fruits, and flowers, and each place had monogrammed napkins folded so that the monogram hung gracefully over the table’s edge. Small salt cellars were set at every place or every other place. The banquet table was also laden with water pitchers and wine bottles symmetrically arranged. Around mid-nineteenth century, wealthy hosts giving formal banquets served each different kind of wine in a separate glass. And beneath it all, a spotlessly white tablecloth (no longer used as a hand wiper). After dinner, the guests repaired to an adjoining room to drink black coffee, tea, and liqueur from tiny wine glasses. If a host decided to have a French-style banquet (four or so courses, placing many kinds of food on the table at once) both French and Russian cuisine were served, but the emphasis remained on Russian-style stupefying abundance—each course might feature more kinds of foods than diners. Thus, at one such banquet, the first course had 29 dishes (six different soups); the second course, 24 dishes, featuring many kinds of fish and fowl (including pigeons); the third course, 24 dishes, including eight sauces and eight kinds of salad; the fourth and final course featured 26 platters of both sweet and savory dishes, everything from a wild boar’s head to pistachio

Russia cream. Maybe it was that conjunction of boar’s head and pistachio cream that turned Russians away from the French-style banquet. LITTLE BITES Russians may not have known exactly when a banquet would end, but since the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, they know that every feast begins with zakuski (“little bites,” Russian-style hors d’oeuvres; sing. zakuska). The legend, perhaps inspired by the resemblance to smorgasbord, is that Viking invaders under the leadership of Rurik brought zakuski to Russia in A.D. 862. In any case, zakuski seem not to have come into their own as a banqueting requirement until some time in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, perhaps in the country villas of the pre-Revolutionary elite. Given the Russian custom of casual visiting back and forth and the chronic impassibility of Russian country roads, landed gentry, not knowing exactly when or if guests might arrive, kept a table loaded with snacks for the weary, hungry traveler. That way guests could have something to eat while a meal was being readied. Pre-Revolution, overnight guests at a wealthy household might be offered a second dinner between one and three in the morning. There would be a zakuska table almost as sumptuous as the earlier one but with fewer choices on the main menu. Starting formal meals with “little bites” has a social-psychological benefit. Classically, at formal occasions in a spacious setting, zakuski are set out on a separate table either within the dining room or in an adjoining room. Ideally the appetizer table is surrounded by a generous amount of empty space so that guests can circulate around it, walk away from it carrying their plate and drinking glass, chat with other circles of guests, then return to gather more nibbles and chat some more. In this way, guests who haven’t met before have time to make each other’s acquaintance, and those who prefer to arrive late can do so without missing dinner. For an at-home event, zakuski are placed on the dining table in separate dishes, and everyone immediately sits down at the table. Either way, guests like to linger around the zakuski (an hour at the very least), chatting, nibbling, and drinking vodka from tiny glasses (women might drink sherry). If guests are sitting, there will be many toasts with compulsory clinking of glasses even if diners have to lean precariously across the table to “clink.” On a zakuska table set for a major banquet, guests will find all the necessary implements for helping themselves, plus dozens of different varieties of appetizers, cold and hot, each type presented on a separate plate or platter. There will also be baskets with small squares of white and dark bread for conveying zakuski from plate to mouth. Types of zakuski dishes include a variety of preserved fish, fresh caviar, sausages, fancily prepared tidbits of pork and fowl, pickled and fresh fruits and vegetables, faux caviars made from eggplant and /or mushrooms, boiled eggs prepared in many ways, veal kidneys in sweet wine, chicken livers in sour cream, little sausages or meatballs in tomato sauce, condiments such as horseradish and mustard, and

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a dish called forshmak—herring, boiled potatoes, onions and apples baked in sour cream. At the center of the table: 15 or 20 bottles and /or pitchers of different flavors and kinds of vodka (all icy cold) and vodka glasses. The vodka is to be followed by a bite of zakuska, another bite, another drink, and so on. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, men often drank a glass of English ale after zakuski and before beginning the main meal, believing the ale would sober them up and restore their appetite. By the late nineteenth century, in wealthy homes, zakuski became ever more lavish, varied, and artistic. Examples from one cookbook describe onions cut in rings and formed into a chain to surround a herring, scallions cut to resemble white peacocks with green tails spread wide, and flower-shaped carrot slices submerged in aspic; in short, no vegetable was safe from being sculpted to look like something else. The very arrangement of appetizers also had its ritual: crisp beside soft, light colors next to dark, and so forth. Caviar is the most important food on the zakuska table or platter. The quantity and diversity of kinds and colors of fish roe advertise the host’s status and riches, and the guest’s importance. Earlier in Russian history, eggs from many different kinds of fish were considered delicacies, but by the nineteenth century, fashionable hosts would only serve their guests caviar from four kinds of sturgeon (salmon roe would do for less important dinners). Pre-Revolutionary hosts also followed fashionable rules concerning presentation (in a crystal bowl), and type of bread (such as rye or pumpernickel) to accompany a daub of a particular kind or color of caviar. Preserved herring, prepared, sauced, and cut up in many attractive ways, is second to caviar in its importance to the zakuska offerings and is cheaper than caviar. There are many other cold fish appetizers—pateed, pickled, smoked, or served in aspic. Banqueting as a way of entertaining and honoring guests is not confined to the powerful and wealthy. Whether rich, poor, or middle-class, or city, town, or country folk, holidays and life-milestones are times when a Russian’s thoughts turn to feasting, and often with help from neighbors, relatives, and friends, they set their table as abundantly as they can. HOLIDAYS: EASTER AND MASLENITSA (BUTTER WEEK) After 1917 the new Bolshevik government suppressed religious observances. Before the Revolution, Maslenitsa, a holiday comparable to Carnival or Mardi Gras, was a week-long revelry preceding the dietary restrictions of the 40 days of Lent. Rich people hosted balls for their peers, and feasts occurred daily in every social circle and village, with special emphasis on bliny (a crisp pancake made with yeast batter, then fried in and drenched with butter). The custom of eating buttery round bliny during this spring festival may be a vestige from pre-Christian sun-worshipping religions. In the nineteenth century, and up to the Revolution, rich people held banquets on the last day of Butter Week. Such a banquet would begin around 1 in the afternoon and last until Lent officially began at 6 P.M. Between those

Russia hours, the guests were treated to a multi-course dinner, with bliny as the first course. The pancakes were and are served with many accompaniments. Tasty morsels are rolled up inside bliny as well as piled on top, including caviar. The second course was soups; the third, fish; the fourth; roast game with salad; the fifth, dessert with coffee, tea, liqueurs, and fruit. From the Soviet period Maslenitsa has been celebrated with more casual home bliny parties. Such a party will likely begin with a table or platters of artistically arranged appetizers accompanied by vodka. The bliny themselves will be served with such tidbits as smoked sturgeon, salted herring, red and /or black caviar, sour cream, melted butter, chopped mushrooms, onions, and (for dessert) bliny with jam and sour cream. Besides vodka, guests and host might drink one or all of the following: champagne; wine; liqueurs; and strong sweetened tea, Russia’s most popular nonalcoholic drink. Guests arrive some time in the afternoon or early evening, and would not be surprised to find themselves leaving around midnight or later, if the conversation and camaraderie are as good as the food. Before the Soviet era, midnight Easter services were followed by a period of feasting and drinking that lasted through the second Tuesday after Easter (radonitsa). Although Soviet religious repression caused a radical setback to church attendance, Russians continued to enjoy traditional postchurch Easter banquets whether or not they had actually been to church. Classically, such a meal, served on a table that may be decorated with flowers and /or leafy green plants and a lamb carved out of butter, features some eight courses, beginning with appetizers and vodka and followed by some or all of the following: cold hams baked in rye dough; spicy sausage; cold baked ducks; chicken salad; cold suckling pig; colored hard-boiled eggs. Guests traditionally smash their egg’s pointed end against other guests’ eggs; the last uncracked egg standing is the champion. For Easter, families serve traditional desserts: kulich, a dome-shaped type of yeast-raised coffee cake with raisins and nuts, and paskha (which means Easter), an unbaked cheesecake shaped like a dome or flat-topped pyramid, made of cottage cheese, cream, egg yolks, vanilla extract, sugar, butter, candied fruit, almonds, and raisins. Besides these classic Easter treats, such calorie-rich cakes and pastries as baba, (a yeast-raised cake) and khvorost (crisp, buttery, twig-like pastries), might be served as well. For many families, Easter is a moveable feast with relatives and friends exchanging hospitality in each other’s homes for four days, eating, drinking, playing games. During that time, the dining table that was loaded for Easter Day retains its food and drink, in the spirit of “open house.” CHRISTMAS-NEW YEAR In Russia, the distinction between Christmas and New Year has become murky. Before the Soviet period, Christmas Eve and Christmas were major holidays. One of the regime’s biggest triumphs was in reshaping rituals and festivities associated with Christmas, which in the Russian Orthodox “Old

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Style” calendar is now celebrated January 8. Christmas was secularized and melded with the New Year holiday. After the fall of the Communist government, religious groups, including the Russian Orthodox Church, began a comeback, reviving the old religious holidays and rituals. Still, many who had grown up with Soviet holidays were reluctant to forsake their favorite celebrations. After 1991, holidays during which people were likely to host others, fell into a state of flux, including Christmas and New Year. Before the 1917 Revolution, a prosperous peasant family might have celebrated Christmas with a big, lavishly decorated fir tree; they and their guests enjoyed a banquet of roast suckling pig, fish in aspic, jellied cold cuts, pirogi, cold roast meat, cabbage soup made with meat broth, chicken with noodles, kasha, kisel’ (a fruit dessert), and alcoholic drinks such as beer, brandy, and vodka. After the Christmas dinner there were party games, including fortune telling done by girls. Roving carolers singing about a good harvest, good luck, and money, were invited inside villagers’ huts for refreshments and coins. Today Russians celebrate New Year’s Eve by exchanging presents and / or cards, cooking a special meal (very likely the fanciest meal of the year), decorating a fir tree with ornaments and colored lights, and hosting parties. Children get presents at New Year parties from “Ded Moroz” (Grandfather Frost), a white-bearded man dressed in a long, fur-trimmed robe, which is often red but might be other colors, especially blue. Grandfather Frost may well be accompanied by his trusty companion the Snow Maiden in a furtrimmed blue robe and cap, a pretty young woman with a single long blond braid. Russians often go to their city center for a celebration—the most famous occurs in Moscow’s Red Square—bringing champagne to toast the New Year when the Spassky Tower clock strikes midnight, and a band plays the national anthem. After a fireworks display, many will return to their own or to someone else’s home to continue celebrating with friends and family. Others may opt to watch the public festivities on TV while partying with friends and relations. A typical New Year’s Eve dinner might consist of: zakuski, soup, entrée (suckling pig is traditional), and dessert. For drinks, hosts will offer tea, coffee, vodka, wine, and champagne, and there will be many toasts, especially when clocks strike midnight. Gifts may be exchanged during the evening and besides watching TV, there might be dancing and singing. Children go to bed, but grownups continue to party, in the belief that a joyous celebration insures a joyous New Year.

CELEBRATING LIFE MILESTONES Christening In the Central Russian village of Viriatino a family would throw a party right after a woman in the household returned from the hospital with her new baby. If she had the baby at home, the party occurred a few days after

Russia she gave birth. The party was called a christening feast, although during the Soviet period especially, the baby may not have been christened. The most important guests were the godparents and midwife (if her services had been used). After dinner, the midwife dished out a special “christening porridge” with a wooden spoon, and the guests thanked her by giving her a few coins. The guests also gave the baby gifts. By the 1950s, however, the midwife’s role was dwindling and guests were no longer served porridge. Only the infant’s father had to eat a bit of very salty porridge, to the guests’ amusement. Godparents continued to have a place of honor at the christening feast, sitting near the baby’s closest relatives. Other guests sat at the festive table in order of their relationship to the new child. In earlier times it was taboo for the infant’s mother to attend the christening party, but that taboo vanished by the late 1950s. There could be many revelers at a christening party, and as with other family celebrations, the guests were not necessarily all relatives. Dinner was followed by music, singing, and dancing, inside the house or out, depending on the weather. Marriage Nineteenth-century peasants in Central Russia celebrated a preliminary betrothal party called malyi zapoi (small binge) when marriage negotiations were successfully concluded. The final betrothal party, known as rukobit’e ( handclapping) or bol’shoi zapoi ( big binge), was held at the bride’s house. Between the second betrothal drinking spree and the wedding, the bride and her girlfriends hosted guests while preparing the bride’s trousseau—clothes, bedding, drapery. By the late nineteenth century, the sewing of the bride’s trousseau was mostly symbolic because most families had those goods made professionally. Nevertheless, the tradition provided the bride and her friends with a chance to get together at her home, socialize, and sing laments for a lost carefree girlhood. The atmosphere could get very mournful, and rightly so: after the wedding, a peasant woman traditionally resided in her in-laws’ house as a low-level drudge. When the bride-elect and her girlfriends got together for this betrothal activity, they even wore a kind of mourning dress. On the eve of the wedding there were parties at the bride’s and groom’s houses, the general theme of which was the same mournful farewell to carefree youth and friends. The couple exchanged small “brooms” of twigs tied together and dismantled a decorated tree. Among the peasants of south Russia, there was a ritual baking of the wedding bread. The whole process of mixing, kneading, baking, removing from the oven, was accompanied by special ceremonies and songs. In some areas, a good-luck coin was baked into the loaf, and somehow the coin always ended up in the bride or groom’s slice. This “loaf ritual” may also have occurred at royal weddings of earlier eras. Just before the wedding, the bride’s girlfriends dressed her, unbraided her single long braid, and rebraided the bride’s hair into two braids

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arranged on either side of her head, or encircling the top of her head. The hair fashioning was accompanied by more special songs, and more laments. Then the bride’s parents sat her down with the bridesmaids to await the groom, en route in a ritual procession. The groom’s party would encounter obstacles set up by the bride’s party, such as poles laid across the road, and they had to buy their way to the bride’s house by giving the bride’s friends wine and sweets to remove the obstructions. This custom continued well into the Soviet period. After the groom and his friends and relations entered the bride’s home, there were more rituals: the showing of a “false bride,” the selling (to the best man) of the seat next to the bride, the purchase of the bride from the bridesmaids, and so on. Finally, everyone sat down to a feast from which the bride and groom were supposed to abstain. As with other hospitality events, most or all of the men, very likely including the parish priest, would become extremely drunk, and stay that way to the end of the multi-day festivities or beyond. The bride’s and /or groom’s parents might spend recklessly on vodka for the guests. When the wedding party departed for the church, someone carried an icon around the wedding procession three times, whips cracked, men fired guns, and everyone made a racket to frighten off evil spirits. In the mid-nineteenth century, in rural areas near Moscow, the bridal couple went to the groom’s home after the church service. In south Russia, the wedding party went to the bride’s house for a feast. But whether guests traveled to the bride’s or groom’s home after church, the custom was for the multi-day celebration to be constantly shifting from one to the other, to emphasize the new relationship between the two families. The inlaws welcomed the couple with bread and salt, blessed them, and sprinkled grain kernels on them. The bride’s father-in-law removed her veil. Then bride and groom sat down in the icon corner (the part of the peasant hut decorated with sacred pictures), and family and guests greeted them there. Originally the custom among Russian peasants was for guests to lead the bridal couple to bed in a separate room, or behind a partition, or in an outbuilding, before the first of several wedding feasts began, only allowing them to participate in the banqueting the day after the wedding. Later, the couple was permitted to join in the feast that immediately followed the wedding, and were bedded after the banquet, a custom that continued at least into the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. During the first wedding feast, the bridal couple sat at the head of the table, but the bride was expected to sit very quietly, her head tightly wrapped in a shawl, even when the other guests got very boisterous. The wedding feast (and other important celebrations) would have prominently featured some kind of meat, a rarity in the peasants’ everyday diet. There was much singing, dancing, and drinking. Often the bride’s dowry was presented at this time. Also at this time, the bride’s father gave his new son-inlaw a symbolic whip to wear in his belt. During the festivities the bride gave her in-laws sweets, and they gave (or threw) money at her and the groom, in a ceremony called gilding. In Saratov province, it was customary to hand

Russia the bride a baby to hold for a lengthy time, in order to symbolically promote fertility. In front of the guests, the bride removed the groom’s boots, to show her submission to him (sometimes this boot removal was part of the bedding ritual). When the feast was over the best man and one or two matchmakers and sometimes other guests led the bride and groom to bed while guests sang bawdy songs. Among many nineteenth-century Russian peasants, the bridal bedding customs included placing the groom on top of the bride and tying their legs together with a fine towel or belt, whereupon the guests left the room, locking the door behind them. The next morning, guests banged on pots and pans to awaken the couple and force them out of bed. The bride’s bloody nightgown was shown to the guests, then there was further celebratory racket making, including smashing pottery. After that, bride and groom together went to take a steambath. On this second day, guests gathered or remained at the bridegroom’s house, but later went to the bride’s house for the next ritual. At the girl’s house, her mother cooked a special omelet or pancake, and presented it to the groom, who poked a hole in it. Then the groom put money in a wine-filled wineglass, and handed the glass to his new mother-in-law. By these rituals, the groom acknowledged that his bride had been a virgin. Those ceremonies accomplished, the guests returned to the bridegroom’s house for another day of feasting and heavy drinking. At the groom’s house, the young man was again presented with an omelet, plus a meat pie, both of which he would be the first to taste. On the third day, the bride removed her headscarf and for the first time since her wedding, joined the merrymaking. On this day, her in-laws prepared a ritual testing of the bride’s housekeeping skills by throwing trash on the floor for her to sweep up. When she passed that test, the in-laws threw money on the floor. In the following days (there could be at least three more days of celebration) other relatives held parties, and guests performed comic skits. Among the upper classes in the nineteenth century, it was usually the bride’s parents who paid for the wedding dinner and possibly an orchestra to play during the banquet and white flowers for the table(s). The menu for an upper-class wedding dinner would include champagne and roast meat. As in a peasant wedding feast, there were many toasts to the couple, with guests frequently shouting “It’s bitter!” whereupon the bridal couple must kiss, to “make it sweet.” Sometimes the hosts offered a buffet supper with champagne. Guests were given gifts of “wedding candy”—small pieces of chocolate or other candy, wrapped in white satin trimmed with lace and decorated with orange blossoms, or other elaborate packaging, such as a tiny house or filigree basket. Similar candies in white satin were given out at royal balls, but with miniscule photos of the royal family, framed in bronze. Although the multi-day wedding celebration has been shortened, many traditions persist, with some post-1917 customs. Today, after the ceremony, whether civil or religious, the wedding party commonly visits an historically

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important site or popular landmark, very often a famous grave. Newlyweds ride in a car decorated with ribbons, balloons, big mock-ups of wedding rings on the roof, and a doll on the hood. In the countryside, the bridal couple might still have to treat neighbors to drinks in return for removing logs from the road. The wedding feast, for which both families may share expenses, might take place in a restaurant, a private residence, or a banquet hall. The ritual of raising a glass with orders to kiss still applies, guests still sing and dance, and shower the couple with grain. However, in post-Revolutionary times, couples began to feel freer to reject those parts of a traditional wedding celebration they didn’t like or didn’t want for themselves. Name Days and Birthdays Children born into the Russian Orthodox Church were given a saint’s name at baptism. Pre-1917, people celebrated their saint’s day on the church calendar, rather than their birthday. Birthdays were celebrated, if at all, only by close relatives. In the late nineteenth century, in urban upper- or middleclass households, the cook would prepare several very large pirogi, some filled, and some not. At the name-day dinner, a stuffed pirog was brought in; two relatives broke it over the name-day honoree’s head, expressing the wish that gold and silver would fall on her head just like pirog filling. Afterwards the pirog was divided among guests to eat; vodka was drunk to the honoree’s health, zakuski were served, then dinner was served. A later, simpler version of the name-day meal featured lunch with a large pirog as the entrée following zakuski. During the Soviet period, name-day celebrations were officially frowned on, so people switched to birthday parties. Post-Soviet, many have returned to the older custom, but either way, people like to invite friends and relations for a party, perhaps a surprise party, with, at the least, pie or cake, especially a pretzel-shaped coffee cake called krendel’ and possibly champagne. As with other social events, no one will complain if the party is more elaborate, with a decorated table, and additional food and drink, such as zakuski, vodka, hot chocolate, and so forth. Funeral Meal in Russian Peasant Villages In villages of Central Russia, after returning home from the cemetery, mourners were served pancakes, kisel’ and kut’ia (small cakes made from roasted grains of wheat, or rice, with honey, poppy seeds, and stewed dried fruit). Guests drank vodka, and the meal ended with wheat porridge made with either milk or (during non-dairy fast days) hempseed oil. People believed that the departed was present at the funeral dinner. Among middle-class Russians in the late nineteenth century, the priest, assistant priest, and relatives returned to the deceased’s house after the burial, prayed for the deceased’s soul, and then sat down to the funeral dinner which started with bliny and caviar, and might be followed by cabbage

Russia soup, roast goose or suckling pig, and much vodka and wine. When the roast was brought in, everyone stood, the priests and relatives sang a prayer for the dead, then everyone sat down again and continued eating and drinking. When the funeral meal ended, a pirog surrounded by candles was distributed to beggars (in later years, the guests ate the pirog). After that, guests, including the priests, stayed for drinks (wine, punch, mead) served ceremoniously by the priest’s assistant from a small table in the dining room. Later tea was served, after which guests left. CASUAL ENTERTAINING Russians often drop by a friend’s residence unannounced, even very late at night. Among the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century upper classes, “evening tea” for family and drop-in guests could mean dining between 10 P.M. and midnight, and having a samovar (a Russian urn-style water-boiler) simmering, perhaps on a small separate table or on the dining room table. That table was set with snacks: cold cuts, sliced cheese, sliced white and dark bread, unsalted butter, and a variety of sweets (fruit preserves, candied fruit, and various cakes) on glass dishes. Then as now, people with less money welcomed unexpected friends with whatever food and drink they could provide, the table being the focal point of Russian hospitality, formal and informal. As soon as guests—probably bearing a hostess gift, especially an

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The Russian Samovar The elegant and exotic samovar is a symbol of Russian hospitality. The samovar was introduced by the Mongolians when they invaded Russia in the thirteenth century. Originally the samovar was used for a spiced honey drink called sbiten’. It was not until several hundred years later that the samovar was incorporated into everyday life. By the late eighteenth century, the hiss of the samovar became a familiar sound inside Russian homes, which were always prepared to welcome friends and family with a warm cup of tea. Inside the samovar, which means “self-boiler,” there is a central tube that is heated with hot coals, and this devise heats the water. Because the coals produced smoke, the samovar was heated outside in the summer. In the winter it was connected to a pipe extension that fit into the stove so that the soot from the samovar was carried out of the house through the stove’s chimney. While the samovar kept water boiling, the tea was brewed separately in a small teapot, which was placed on the top of the samovar to keep it warm. The tea was used as concentrate called zavarka, or “essence.” A hostess poured the zavarka for each individual then water from the samovar was added so that each guest could adjust the strength of the tea according to his or her own taste. Most usually, women drank their tea from cups, men drank from glasses, which were inserted into a decorative metal frame and children drank from saucers. Although the Russians still have retained their penchant for tea, the traditional samovar is rarely used to prepare it. Electric samovars or kettles are used instead. Generally, Russians prefer sweet, black tea. A favorite way to take tea is to hold a sugar cube between the teeth while drinking, which is called pit’ chai upriglyadku. Russians also like tea with jam. The thick jam with whole pieces of fruit is served along with the tea. It can either be eaten separately or spooned into the drink, making it sweet and fruity. Amy Seifried

Silver and ivory samovar, c. 1925. The Art Archive/ Private Collection /Gianni Dagli Orti.

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uneven number of flowers—cross the threshold of someone’s home, they remove their shoes and the host provides them with a pair of soft, wellworn, floppy slippers. As an American visitor remarked, “It is hard not to feel at home when your costume ends in an old pair of your host’s slippers.” For drop-in guests, the socializing spot of choice is the kitchen table, but if there isn’t enough space in the kitchen, then hosts and friends can gather around a living room table, or a table in another room, if there is no “living room” as such. A couch in a tiny apartment will substitute for three or four chairs. Guests, no matter when they visit, will be urgently invited to stay for a meal. The point isn’t just to eat and drink but also to converse and commune. A casual Sunday lunch in a middle-class urban apartment might have 10 friends squeezed around a small table. Guests aren’t seated in any special order, the apartment has not necessarily been tidied, tableware doesn’t have to match. The meal is simple but filling, perhaps a salad of home-preserved vegetables, rye bread, soup, meat patties, potatoes, and peas. Dessert might be fresh or preserved fruit. As very special, foreign visitors may discover, it’s best to be careful about admiring something your Russian host owns as you might be forced to take it with you when you leave. Further Reading: Berry, Lloyd E., and Robert O. Crummey, eds. Rude & Barbarous Kingdom: Russia in the Accounts of Sixteenth-Century Voyagers. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1968; Dabars, Zita, with Lilia Vokhmina. The Russian Way. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1995; Dunn, Stephen P., and Ethel Dunn. The Peasants of Central Russia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967; Herlihy, Patricia. “‘Joy of the Rus’: Rites and Rituals of Russian Drinking.” Russian Review, vol. 50 (April 1991): 131–147; Hudgins, Sharon. The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Russia and the Siberian Far East. College Station: Texas A& M University Press, 2003; Kropatkin, Alexandra. How to Cook and Eat in Russian. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1947; Lee, Andrea. Russian Journal. New York: First Vintage Books edition, 1984 [1979]; Markevitch, Marie Alexandre. The Epicure in Imperial Russia. San Francisco: The Colt Press, 1941; Matossian, Mary. “The Peasant Way of Life” in: Beatrice Farnsworth and Lynne Viola, eds., Russian Peasant Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992; Papashvily, Helen, and George Papashvily. Russian Cooking. New York: Time-Life Books, 1969; Richards, Susan. Epics of Everyday Life: Encounters in a Changing Russia. New York: Penguin Books, 1990; Schulze, Sydney. Culture and Customs of Russia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000; Selivanova, Nina N. Dining and Wining in Old Russia New York: E. P. Dutton, 1933; Smith, Hedrick, The Russians (revised edition). New York: Ballantine, 1984; Toomre, Joyce, trans., ed. Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets’ A Gift to Young Housewives. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992; Worobec, Christine. Peasant Russia: Family and Community in the Post-Emancipation Period. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991.

Katherine Bliss Eaton

S Saints’ Days The Roman Catholic Church has influenced many societies and cultures in myriad ways throughout its 2000-year history. The Church’s influence extends into food traditions. A number of foods and dishes—particularly those featuring meat, breads, and sweets—eaten today were once associated exclusively with Roman Catholic feast days or other religious celebrations and festivals during the liturgical year. Many traditions originated during the Middle Ages (ca. 476–1485) in Europe and later spread to other parts of the world with the migration that began with the Age of Exploration and continues to this day. In most cases, feast days revolved around the various saints and martyrs of the Church. Such festivals played (and still play) an important role in defining and forming cultural identity, as well as passing on traditions to the younger generation. As St. Augustine (A.D. 354 – 430) said, apocryphally or not according to Katherine Burton, “We have received these days by tradition from our forefathers and we transmit them to those that follow to be celebrated with like devotion.” Beginning almost immediately in the early days of the Church, devotion to the saints came about because the first saints were martyrs, called red martyrs. Devotion to these martyrs drew believers together and, to honor the saints’ memory, people began to sanctify the lives of these martyrs. In

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Statue of San Gennaro in Little Italy, New York City. Gregory James Van Raalte/Shutterstock.

A.D.

354, the Roman calendar began with a listing of 23 saints’ feast days in the Depositio Martyrum (list of martyrs) and the Depositio Episcoporum (list of bishops). Later, after persecution of Christians stopped in A.D. 313 with the Peace of Constantine, those people imprisoned for the faith or who withdrew into ascetic lives also entered the ranks of sainthood as so-called white martyrs. Up until the tenth century, saints generally were acclaimed by the people; only later did the official canonization process become the major avenue toward sainthood. During the Middle Ages, popular devotion to the saints engendered the pilgrimages, traditions, and festivals that are often still associated with the saints. The concept of festival stems from the Latin words festum (feast) and indirectly, feria (free day). Many of the Church’s festivals had roots in pagan harvest feasts and celebrations of spring or new life. The word Easter in English, for example, stems from Oestre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with the spring equinox. Earth-bound symbols of renewal—water and fire—were incorporated into Christian worship. And All Souls’ Day originally existed as the Saxon New Year or Capodanno in Italy. In the eleventh century, Odilo of Cluny created All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) in an attempt to thwart pagan practices. Festivals tended to be great equalizers, because peasants and landlords both saw changes in their daily behavior. Peasants did not have to work and landlords had to provide goods for the feasts. Time suddenly took on a new dimension, becoming “time out of time.” Sociologist Emile Durkheim’s criteria for feast days and holidays included classifying feast days as either being recommitment holidays (Easter, Christmas, and most saints’ feast days come under this category) or tension-management holidays (Carnival and possibly All Souls’ Day fit into this category).

Saints’ Days Most feast days commemorated the patron saints of villages, although other saints were lauded on name days (christenings) and special days associated with major historical events, for example, St. Joseph’s Day and the end of famine. Patron saints served as protectors of individuals, institutions, occupations, and nations, or at least regions. They also symbolized various virtues aspired to by human beings. Preparations for festivals and feast days included cleaning (purification), wearing special clothing including masks, religious services and processions, incantations, prayers, displays of shrines and special relics, and so on. Village women handled most of the preparations for the festivals. Perhaps the most memorable part of festivals dealt with the foods prepared, usually by the women, although in some cases men prepared various special dishes. Most of these acts of preparation had origins deeply rooted in the past, associated with purification from evil spirits and other polluting elements. Saints in the Roman Catholic Church served several purposes, especially what folklorists call revitalization—a renewal and reconfirmation of the cyclical aspects of an individual’s, and hence, society’s, life. Festivals take celebrants out of so-called ordinary time, cast them into a ritualistic mode, and then bring them back to, and reconfirm, their place in the order of life. Today, nearly every day of the year there is a saint’s day being celebrated somewhere in the world. Some of the grander feast days observed beyond the individual or village level included St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), St. Joseph’s Day (March 19), St. John the Baptist’s Day (June 24), St. James’s Day (Santiago, June 25), All Saints’ Day (November 1), Candlemas (February 2), Christmas (December 25), and “moveable” or “temporal” feasts, such as Easter and Whitsuntide (Pentecost). The feast of San Fermin (July 7) is still acclaimed with the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. And the Feast of the Assumption (August 15) is a harvest feast, glorifying the assumption into heaven of the Virgin Mary, a day when the fruits and vegetables of the harvest, including wheat, were blessed. Of these feasts, Carnival/Carnevale was another moveable feast with deep-rooted traditions. Meaning “goodbye to meat,” Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday was the day when all meat, butter, cheese, and other animal products had to be consumed in preparation for the rigorous 40-day fast of Lent. At the same time, the “time out of time” effect took place, as people donned masks in parts of Italy and behaved in a manner best described as scandalous in ordinary society. Gluttony, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, took the frontseat for a day or several days prior to Ash Wednesday or the beginning of Lent. As Carnevale came to a close, and the feasting ended, people moved back into their ordinary and relatively well-ordered lives. This is what happens in the modern-day celebrations of Mardi Gras in New Orleans; and Carnival in Brazil and Venice, Italy. Many of the foods and dishes served at a particular saint’s day feast came into being because of previous traditions associated with pagan holidays. Examples include Shrove Tuesday pancakes and the tradition of sun

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worship in England, or the time of the year, for example, lambing at Easter (spring). These celebrations originated in religious cult practices and agricultural rituals mixed with the fulfillment of promises made to a saint. Popular songs sung at these feasts often contain traces of these extinct cults, with veiled references to orgiastic encounters, sexual longing, and praises to the sun god. Another factor of importance was the carry-over of the medieval concept of clean and unclean foods, reflected in the rigid fasts of Lent and of other times during the liturgical year. In other words, different saints’ day dishes were served all across Europe or in the regions later colonized by European explorers, missionaries, and settlers. One special food item appeared on most menus when feast days rolled around, at least the more important feasts, and that food was meat. Because of the Roman Catholic Church’s prohibitions against meat for fast days ( Wednesdays and Fridays and sometimes Saturdays), Lent, and the little Lent before Advent, people preferred meat as a celebratory food. While the nobility enjoyed meat more often than did the peasants, because the privilege of hunting was reserved for them, even they felt the sting of the Church’s chronic prohibitions on meat. And during certain feast days, the lords were required to provide meat for their vassals and peasants. For example, the custom of Christmas boar as eaten in medieval England came about because of the hunting season and pagan feasts. Meat given as a sacrifice no longer required the ritual slaughter of animals on the altar, but providing meat was often no less a sacrifice because of the cost. Sometimes the Church would relax the Lenten strictures on certain ingredients in exchange for a specified amount of money. Take the German holiday bread stollen as a case in point. According to a story relayed by Betsy Oppenneer, during Advent in the early Middles Ages, the Church allowed bread made with only flour, water, and oats. Petitioning the pope to permit them to include milk and butter in their loaves, two brothers—Ernest and Albrecht of Saxony—succeeded in getting the “Butter Letter” written. And so stollen came into being. Bread was another food that cooks served in one form or another for most saints’ days. Tied to the Eucharistic ritual, bread also had deep roots from the old days and old ways before the advent of Christianity. After all, wheat traveled with the Roman legions wherever they went. Celebration breads often required the whitest flour possible, at a time when coarse, dark flour provided most people—lords and peasants alike—with the “staff of life.” Many of these breads incorporated expensive ingredients, and so the use of spices, sugar, dried fruits, and nuts reflected the desire to give the best of the family’s larder as an offering to God. Bakers studded stollen, hot cinnamon buns, and other similar breads with these expensive and rare treats that required some financial sacrifice. In the use of various breadstuffs, St. Joseph’s Day (March 19), as memorialized in the United States and Italy, displayed an enormous number of characteristics typical of most saint day festivals. Pope Pius IX named St. Joseph the

Saints’ Days patron saint of the Universal Church on December 8, 1870, but the popular celebration of the feast began in Sicily during the Middle Ages. Practices associated with St. Joseph’s Day represent the type of festival that Durkheim called recommitment or revitalization in more modern parlance. One of the most significant aspects of the celebration included large altars, called tables, dedicated to the saint, festooned with breads of all shapes and sizes and symbols. In thanks to Sicily’s patron saint St. Joseph (Giuseppe) for saving the people from a severe famine, the different loaf shapes of the breads made for this feast day evoke ancient symbolism, often intertwining Christian symbols with ancient fertility motifs. Underlying this feast day is the aura of a pagan spring festival, which makes sense, as the day falls close to the spring equinox. Three braids gracing a loaf of bread stand for the Holy Trinity, while a lamb shape symbolizes Christ, and roses signify the Virgin Mary. But here, too, pagan symbolism shines through, in the form of peacocks (immortality), lilies (purity), horses (intelligence), and broad beans (fertility), all shapes found in breads baked for Sicilian-style St. Joseph’s Day altars by modern-day Italian Americans and Italians, as well as those discussed in historical accounts. Before any eating occurs, the parish priest blesses the altars. And then three children, called virgineddi and representing the Holy Family, eat a sample of each of the breads and other dishes, meatless due to the saint’s day falling during Lent. The total number of dishes numbers in the dozens and includes everything from pasta to bean soup to sfince, special ricotta fritters made for St. Joseph’s Day. Fennel and oranges, both symbols of spring, decorate the St. Joseph tables, as do beans and seeds, ancient symbols of fertility. An abbreviated list of the foods presented at a St. Joseph’s table in Salemi reads like an encyclopedia of Italian cooking, including everything from pasta made with bread crumbs; soups laden with six types of beans; fish-fried, baked, and stuffed; and pastries and breads so numerous that the altar/table really groans with the weight of all the glorious abundance. One of the best places to enjoy a modern version of a saint’s day festival is in Salemi, Sicily, near Palermo, Italy. This revived version of the feast exemplifies the traits of most saints’ day feasts with its ritualization of food and behavior, and the memorializing of a sacred figure. Further Reading: Burton, Katherine, and Helmut Ripperger. Feast Day Cookbook. New York: David McKay Company, 1951. www.ewtn.com/library/FAMILY/ FSTDAY.TXT; Collister, Linda, and Anthony Blake. The Bread Book. New York: Lyons Press, 2000; Cumbo, Enrico Carlson. “La Festa del Pane: Food, Devotion, and Ethnic Identity, The Feast of San Francisco di Paola, Toronto “[Online, August 7, 2006]. Material History of American Religion Project Web site: materialreligion.org/journal/festa.html; Della-Casa, Nicoletta. “Sardinian Ceremonial Breads.” Folklore 95 (1984): 30–37; Field, Carol. Celebrating Italy. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1990, pp. 397–398; Oppenneer, Betsy. Celebration Breads: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003; Schugraf, Ernst. Cooking with the Saints: An Illustrated History of Authentic Recipes Old and Modern. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2001; Urlin,

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Ethel L. Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints’ Days: A Study in Origins and Survivals in Church Ceremonies & Secular Customs. London: Simkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1915 (reprinted 1990); Rodrigues, Gabriel Moacyr. “Traditional Festivities in Cape Verde: http://www.umassd.edu/specialPrograms/caboverde/ cvfestas.html.

Cynthia D. Bertelsen

Serving Platters Serving objects and cooking tools reveal the development of food technologies for storing, cooking, and sharing food through history. Artifacts made of many materials, from stone and clay, bone and ivory, leather, wood, plant fibers, glass and metals, even plastics, are markers of societal development, affluence, social position, customs, and cultural etiquette. While hunter–gatherer campfires allowed for communal serving from the spit or a large pot, more complex societies brought food away from the fire to a table. When kitchens were separated from formal dining areas, many different kinds of vessels were needed to prepare, transport, and serve foods. Some of the oldest surviving samples of serving platters and vessels date from the Bronze Age—in Greek, Persian, Asian, and Roman societies. Bronze vessels from Roman Palestine, dating from the first century, were used in affluent households. The Phoenician colonies, trading along the eastern Mediterranean Sea, used terra-cotta and woven vessels to transport foods. Terra-cotta vessels were used for fermentation, storage, preparation, transportation, and serving food and drink, and samples of this pottery have been uncovered dating back several centuries B.C. in the Middle East. The Greeks prized a black slip glaze for the elegantly styled clay cups and pitchers used for ritualized wine drinking. Romans used Arretine and Samian ware, a red pottery, and served guests from discus-like platters used to carry foods from kitchens. Medieval paintings show farm workers eating in the fields as well as household servants seated at long, wooden tables. The workers used a trencher, literally a tree hollowed out to contain food at the center of a table. Those at the table carried their own knives to slice their share, sometimes bringing food directly to their mouths with their knife or on tranchoirs, stale bread that was used as a plate. The early versions of two-pronged forks appeared first in Italy, in the Middle Ages, along with individual place settings; evidence of smaller trenchers, or wooden plates and pewter mugs set directly in front of individuals, document further changes in etiquette and eating customs. Paintings, museums, and European palaces hold china of ornate decoration, silver candelabra, footed bowls, and huge service trays from wealthy and royal homes. The emergence of such opulent serving dishes reflects the sophistication of silver and gold work as well as hand-painted porcelain

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work. These displays indicate that Gullah Sweetgrass Baskets international trade brought an exchange of techniques to manuWhile many societies developed basketry skills, those skills facture complex porcelain, brass, brought to the South Carolina Low Country by West African bronze, silver, and pewter work, as slaves, called sweet grass baskets, are one of the oldest art forms of African origin in North America. These coiled, woven well as hand-painted pottery made baskets were originally used to collect and store rice, fish, of ceramic and stoneware, handvegetables, and staples. Some were used for winnowing rice, blown crystal, and cut glass. These called a fanner, and others served everyday transportation techniques evolved into significant and storage functions. Gullah families have kept their basket industries in many nations. making tradition, a link to their cultural heritage, passed on Service platters can demonthrough generations. Family members shared the work: men strate wealth, religious affiliation, and boys gathered the sweet grasses (sweetgrass, bulrush, sophistication, and style; they long leaf pine needles, and palmetto leaves) from swamp and may convey artistic expression marshlands, while girls and women “sewed” the baskets. Mount in addition to their useful funcPleasant, just outside Charleston, South Carolina, is the cention. They can mark the affluence ter of the Gullah community where families ply their handmade of their owners, bearing family and signed wares from carts along the road, in the covered Charleston market, and on the sidewalks outside the historic crests, initials and/or significant city sites. dates impressed into the service piece. Some vessels, such as wine decanters, chalice cups, or wafer trays, have ritual significance and traditions associated with them. Platters, soup tureens, trays manufactured from materials such as silver or brass, may be used solely to transport foods cooked in another vessel. Some serving vessels can withstand heat and move directly from cooking heat to table, some rest on trivets—decorative, insulated items that diffuse heat and protect tables and cloths from scorching. By the end of the twentieth century, in most developed societies, style and function had shifted to accommodate commercial appliances and equipment in affluent homes. Industrial design plastics and other man-made, synthetic materials are now used alongside family heirloom silver service and hand-painted platters. Further Reading: The Rietz Collection of Food Technology at the California Academy of Sciences, www.calacademy.org/researc/anthropoloty/rietzcoll/med. html; Allen, Gary, ed. Remarkable Service. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Carol G. Durst-Wertheim

Singles Bachelors have roamed the urban landscape for centuries, entertaining friends and lovers in public and private spaces. It is only in very recent times that single women are expected to compete on equal footing with their

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bachelor counterparts in most arenas. Entertaining and hosting by singles, at home or on the town, is now the province of both genders. The bachelor came into his own in the nineteenth century, as the emerging middle classes created a new demographic of men for whom marrying early in life was not an immediate necessity. For these men, marriage was not necessary for sheer survival or to meet the expectations of their social group. Some young men could afford to spend time on their own to travel or live independently before “settling down.” Clerks and secretaries were universally male, and this group of bachelors, very often newcomers to cities from rural areas, occupied themselves with work and getting ahead in life. Leisure and entertainment options were modest, but beginning to become affordable to more people. Certain professions successfully harbored bachelors and indulged their alleged eccentricities. In academe, such a man, especially in Britain, could live comfortably within his college, living, teaching, and entertaining his students and colleagues in the same set of rooms, and dining communally with all members of the academic community. Other bachelors, perhaps more daringly, began to live on their own in city apartments. In fiction, Sherlock Holmes was quite comfortable alone in his London rooms, and Lawrence Selden in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth provides the ultimate model of Gilded Age bachelorhood. Other, less affluent bachelors, lived in rooming or boarding houses, their meals prepared for them by the proprietors. Since personal privacy was greatly diminished, most outlets for entertaining would be limited to the public sphere: workingmen’s or fraternal associations; nights at the local tavern or sporting events for the company of men; mixed religious activities or lectures; and modest public strolls to entertain a young woman. The need for workers in growing industries in the nineteenth century caused a great population shift from rural areas to urban centers. Single women, too, began to move to cities for employment. Factory-sponsored living arrangements and rooming-house culture left little room for private entertaining but for new urban singles, the rooming-house culture helped create leisure time and disposable income, both necessities for entertaining. Securing independent living arrangements was the key element for bachelors and single girls to properly entertain friends, family, and paramours. This shift began to happen in large numbers in the twentieth century, as more singles began to inhabit their own or shared apartments. Esquire magazine was founded in 1933 (in the middle of the Depression) as a lifestyle magazine for single, moneyed men. With a focus on literature, cars, food, drink, clothing, and women, it created an idealized world of consumption for wealthy bachelors and aspirants. Along with its later rival Playboy, an emphasis on “feminine elements” such as grooming, haberdashery, fine food, and cooking skills was tempered by the liberal exposés of scantily clad women, thus reinforcing the notion that real men could appreciate cooking and fine clothing as well as cars, alcohol, and women. Or, as Hugh Hefner wrote in Playboy’s first issue, which came out in December 1953: “We enjoy

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mixing up cocktails and an hors Keg Parties d’oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph Keg parties are notorious events featuring alcohol served from and inviting a female acquaintance a metal cylinder container referred to as a keg. Keg parties for a quiet discussion on Picasso, are especially popular among the younger generation. They are often held in isolated wooded areas or basements or at college Nietzsche, jazz, sex.” The sophistifraternities. cated bachelor was both a renaisDespite their arguably negative impact on the youth, since sance man, an informed hedonist, the push of kegs in the late 1960s by the breweries, keg parand a good consumer, all in one. ties have been wildly popular among college students. Until Esquire and Playboy both the late 1980s, it was legal to drink alcohol on many college launched their own publishing campuses, with 18 being the legal drinking age in many states. houses, turning articles on food, Many organizations, especially Greek fraternities, held keg pardrink, and entertaining into cookties during the first week of school to draw new and returning books, entertaining manuals, and students. Many of the freshman students did not have a lot of lifestyle handbooks for the sophisexperience with drinking alcohol, and over-indulgence led to a ticated bachelor. Playboy created a string of well-publicized tragedies, including rapes and deaths. media empire of television shows, This has led to many colleges becoming dry campuses, and the day of the open keg party is gone. While keg parties cannot be videotapes and DVDs, and online advertised or admitted to, the word is that they still widely exist. media, beginning with Playboy’s Most have moved to locations off campus, such as local homes Penthouse in 1959, a syndicated TV or outdoor rural locations. variety show staged in an idealized Playboy-designed bachelor pad. EsFURTHER READING quire’s motto today is “Man at His Corsi Staub, Wendy. College Life 101: Kim: The Party. New York: BerkBest.” It offers much the same conley Publishing Group, 1997. tent as in earlier decades: advice for Niles, Bo. What Goes with What for Parties: Planning Made Easy. Sterunderstanding women; and informaling, VA: Capital Books, 2003. tion on accessories, clothing, food, Shannon and Kurt Heffern cooking, and entertaining. Playboy, selling a million copies of each issue by 1959, also featured tableaus and architectural renderings of idealized bachelor spaces, such as “Playboy’s Penthouse Apartment” (September 1956), a “Weekend Hideaway” (April 1959), “The Playboy Town House” (May 1962), and “Playboy’s Patio Terrace” (August 1963). Each space was a carefully rendered design scenario for successful living and entertaining. The bachelor pad has always been seen as a vehicle for seduction. At its comical extreme, one can recall Rock Hudson’s sofa in Pillow Talk (1959) with pushbutton controls to start the stereo, dim the lights, and automatically open the sofabed. For single women, socially acceptable living arrangements were not necessarily as varied. After World War II, the peacetime manufacturing industry and growing corporate world promised jobs. Perhaps by seeing their mothers and older siblings living independently during the war, young unmarried women began to move outside the home in unprecedented numbers. Many would live in women’s rooming houses, but others began to live together in apartments and shared houses. Possibilities for single women living a fulfilling life on their own before marrying began to take shape.

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Singlehood in the 1950s and 1960s was seen as an increasingly preferential state, at least for a few years. One could live and work, experience city life and romance, and enjoy being independent. Working in a corporate environment allowed ample opportunities to meet the right young executive who could provide a happy and secure future. Rona Jaffe provides an interesting look at the postwar working girl’s world in her novel The Best of Everything (1958, and made into a 1959 film). The book is a mildly sensational look at the joys and perils of single life in Manhattan seen through the eyes of a group of young women working in corporate America. There are: deceptive men (many); affairs with married men; drunken passes from the boss; failed and frustrated careers; unexpected pregnancies; and a suicide. The novel shows the complications in women’s lives created by their attempts to integrate into traditionally all-male worlds. In 1962, Helen Gurley Brown’s Sex and the Single Girl created a sensation when it encouraged a considerably less constrictive social lifestyle for single women. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, a landmark study of American women’s identities and their dissatisfaction within traditional marriage roles, was published the following year. Following on the success of Single Girl, Brown wrote Sex and the Office (1964) and eventually became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan. In 1965, a clearly unauthorized knockoff appeared: Saucepans and the Single Girl: The Cookbook With All The Ingredients For That Light-Hearted Leap From Filing Cabinet to Flambé;. Saucepans was written for single women working in corporate America who wanted to cook, impress, and catch an up-and-coming executive for a husband. Brown herself did not advise single girls to cook for their suitors (“After you’re married you’re home a long time cooking, cooking, cooking. Better go out while the going is good!”) but by 1969 had revised her opinions enough to publish a different take on cooking for single women, called Helen Gurley Brown’s Single Girl’s Cookbook. Gay men and lesbians were until recent times part of underground subcultures defined by their distance from mainstream society. They have always used entertaining as a means of self-identification and communitybuilding. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, activities and places such as private tea dances, nightclubs, bars, and other private and semi-private events have been used to demonstrate identity and nurture the gay community in the face of a hostile and disapproving public. But with the more open climate of recent decades, social events, community activities, and other shared entertainments take place more easily in the public sphere as well as in private. Recent population statistics reveal that married couples are now a steadily decreasing population group in America. So as the percent of single adults gradually rises, bachelor and singles entertaining will become even more the norm for many social activities. It has also become firmly imprinted on us because of its near omnipresence in the popular culture of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. From the televised presence of

Soul Food Seinfeld, Friends, and Sex in the City and their innumerable spin-offs, popular representations of singles will continue to offer the suggestion of endless freedom and possibilities for the single life. Further Reading: Brown, Helen Gurley. Sex and the Single Girl. New York: B. Geis Associates, 1962; Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1953; Hollows, Joanne. “The Bachelor Dinner: Masculinity, Class and Cooking in Playboy, 1953–1961.” Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies 16 (2) 2002, pp. 143–155; Israel, Betsy. Bachelor Girl: The Secret History of Single Women in the Twentieth Century. New York: William Morrow, 2002; Jaffe, Rona. The Best of Everything. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958; Kragen, Jinx, and Judy Perry. Saucepans and the Single Girl: The Cookbook With All The Ingredients For That Light-Hearted Leap From Filing Cabinet to Flambé! New York: Doubleday, 1965 [reprint from Warner Books in 2006]; Loeb, Robert H. Wolf in Chef’s Clothing: The Picture Cook and Drink Book for Men. New York: Wilcox & Follett, 1950; Mario, Thomas. Playboy’s Host and Bar Book. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971; Neuhaus, Jessamyn. Manly Meals and Mom’s Home Cooking: Cookbooks and Gender in Modern America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003; Osgerby, Bill. “The Bachelor Pad as Cultural Icon: Masculinity, Consumption and Interior Design in American Men’s Magazines, 1930–65.” Journal of Design History 18 (1) 2005, pp. 99–113.

Jeffrey Makala

Soul Food Soul food is a term from the 1960s used to describe African American traditional cooking and foods unique to the black folk life coming out of the American South. In its generic sense, it means the canon of African American cuisine. The African American tradition in entertaining guests sprung from a synthesis of traditional African values that held hospitality and feasting a visitor in high regard with the Western social graces of wealthy EuroAmerican urban households and the Big House of the plantation. The Wolof of Senegambia, one of the more influential ethnic groups brought to America during the slave trade had an intricate culture based on keeping the social peace, grounded in the practice of teranga, or hospitality. The Igbo, another group that came en masse to the colonies, had a formal ritual by which a guest was provided ceremonial food and drink complete with elaborate prayers and libations. In most traditional agrarian African societies, the harvest season and life-cycle events meant open-door hospitality, widespread feasting, and communal celebration. During slavery, African Americans employed as domestics learned English- and French-based approaches to formal entertaining, and carried many of those elements into their own communities’ approach to hospitality, including special service–wear, the custom of fanning the diners during the meal to cool them down and wave away insects, and a prescribed order of courses, which to people used to

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eating communally was a very different way of approaching the meal. Certain dishes reserved for special company, including cakes, pies, fried chicken, waffles, macaroni, baked ham, and roast turkey, quickly became a part of edible vocabulary of African American entertaining, alongside fare such as egg-based cornbreads, okra, bean dishes, and one-pot stews. During the calendar year, the average enslaved African American could expect several occasions where the diet moved beyond corn, salt pork or fish, potatoes (white or sweet), molasses, legumes, and a few leafy greens. Unofficial by law, but sacrosanct to the community, enslaved Africans held weddings where at least one woman enslaved in North Carolina reported a “pretty white cake with orange flavored icing,” made special for her wedding day. Louis Hughes, formerly enslaved in Mississippi, spoke of apple dumplings, peach cobbler, barbecued pork, and mutton being the main dishes at the Fourth of July barbecue at his home plantation. William Wells Brown reported that in Missouri, if a slaveholder did not have a full feast for a corn shucking, they would be openly derided in song for not having provided cake for a cakewalk, “turkey with clam sauce,” or fresh white bread, for all to enjoy. The African American experience as enslaved domestics carried into an early literature based on their training and experience in the so-called

Ellen Patterson, left, serves “soul food” outside Sylvia’s restaurant in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, where free breakfast and music were provided to celebrate the restaurant’s 40th anniversary, August 1, 2002. AP/ Wide World Photos.

Soul Food Big House. Several African Americans, most notably, Tunis Campbell, wrote short guides on entertaining and hospitality for free domestics of all backgrounds, complete with recipes. His Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers’ Guide (1848) was merely one of several crucial written contributions to formal American entertaining. In the nineteenth century, a growing number of black catering companies were founded by families that had once performed in the capacity of house servants and household chefs during slavery. Among the more remarkable were the Dorsey (Maryland) and Augustin (Haiti) families in Philadelphia, and the Fosset family of Cincinnati, formerly enslaved by Thomas Jefferson. These families not only passed on unique approaches to seasoning and culinary innovation from their own community, they effectively translated American versions of fine European dining to an increasingly more sophisticated audience. The fame of these early black caterers of the Northeast and Midwest was such that they often bragged that no society function was official without their food or circumspect service. After emancipation, more formal membership in black churches, social clubs, and fraternal organizations provided occasions for communities to hold picnics, homecomings, and church socials where soul food was enjoyed. Families were especially honored to host clergy, and chicken came to be known as the preacher’s bird, or gospel bird, since it was usually served to visiting preachers and their families for Sunday dinner. Drawing from “days of rest,” the term used during slavery when better rations might be offered, and from the early days of community formation after Emancipation, the Sunday dinner became a ritual by which families expressed their emotional bonds and aesthetic tastes. Preparing greens, dough for fresh yeast breads and biscuits, shelling peas, snapping beans, making salads, and plucking chickens might occupy the women of the household late into Saturday night. Mothers, grandmothers, and sometimes fathers might rise early to make a substantial Sunday breakfast before a long day at church, and generally someone returned home to ready the table for the late afternoon/early evening meal. Only the best tablecloths, plates, and silverware were used to set the table, the house was cleaned until it was spotless, and candles might be lit to enhance the occasion. As African Americans moved from the rural South to the cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast, they carried many of these organizational dinners and celebratory style to new communities. Despite poverty and hardships based on racial and class status, a special effort was made to normalize community life through these types of events. Besides being fancy affairs attended by well-dressed ladies and gentlemen, African American entertaining moved beyond having “class” and became distinguished by being used as a vehicle for social justice. Rent parties for needy families, communal dinners held by Father Divine (a black religious figure and philanthropist of the Harlem Renaissance), and benefits for legal teams fighting discrimination, racial violence, and other communal woes, all translated food into a means to facilitate social progress. These traditions helped define the

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civil rights movement and the era of greater black professional achievement where scholars, lawyers, and medical professionals scoffed by the white establishment were honored at elaborate dinners held for them by their own communities. In traditional African American cultural, social, and familial gatherings, food is served buffet or family style, with the elders and children fed first according to need. Depending on the religious tradition of the assembled group, whether they are Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Yoruba, or Akan, a benediction or libation of some sort is offered on behalf of the group. In keeping with some elements of African tradition, small circles of eaters form once everyone has received food, replicating the practice of eating around a common bowl. Different occasions call for different dishes. New Year’s Day is typically the most ceremonial and revered opportunity to entertain guests and enjoy traditional African American foods. Greens—collards, mustard, or kale—are served for blessings of cash money, while black-eyed peas are served for change. Some families serve hog jowl or other parts of the hog’s head to represent being at the head and not the tail. Because New Year’s Day also falls on Imani Day, the Day of Faith during Kwanzaa, for some African American families, soul food is served at the Karamu, or feast, where it is joined by Afro-Caribbean curries, chicken and groundnut stew, beef suya, fried plantain, Joloff rice, and other West African dishes celebrating the unity and diversity of the African diaspora. Kwanzaa, innovated in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, is celebrated by an increasing number of African American families and has introduced a number of Pan-African elements, including symbolic table settings such as African straw mats, candles in the colors of the African liberation struggle, African art, incense, and fragrant oils, all of which have become more integrated into the everyday sense of style and family identity practiced by African American households. A number of chicken dishes, including, but not restricted to, fried chicken are prepared for funerals and family reunion as well as the traditional Sunday dinner. At African American weddings in the Yoruba tradition, sweet foods such as pumpkin or sweet potatoes are served to honor Oshun, the orisha, or divinity of love and marriage. In Muslim households, lamb is often served for Eid-ul-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice of Ishmael. Every fraternity, sorority, family reunion, and informal gathering of friends in the African American community has had its share of barbeques, fish fries, and potluck suppers, where spicy food, sweet and sticky desserts, dancing, music, card games, sports, and storytelling bring people together across the generations. Regionally based soul dishes—gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, burgoo, Brunswick stew, crawfish or crab boils, and Frogmore stew (a South Carolina shrimp, corn, sausage, and potato dish)—are still used to bring people together even in those areas of the Northeast, Midwest, or West Coast where African Americans migrated several generations ago. African American cookbooks and restaurateurs have become essential in helping the soul food entertaining tradition to maintain its cultural respect inside and outside of the African American community. Many women

St. Patrick’s Day have authored cookbooks and set up eating establishments that celebrate the African American aesthetic in décor, hospitable service, gastronomic excellence, and a dedication to keeping personal and communal histories alive. Some of these women include the late Edna Lewis of New York and Atlanta, Leah Chase of New Orleans, Mildred “Mama Dip” Council of Durham, and Sylvia Woods of Harlem. Scholar cooks like Jessica Harris have added to this canon by providing volumes of recipes and full menus for different African American cultural and life-cycle events, thus promoting a more self-aware eating experience. Contemporary voices in African American entertaining have emerged to meet the new demands of an African American community that is somewhat underserved by the Martha Stewart market. B. Smith, restaurateur and style-expert began B. Smith with Style in the 1990s showing viewers unique ways to incorporate soul food, contemporary African American visual art, music, and dance into an upscale soul food aesthetic. Following her, is the neo–soul food of G. Garvin, whose cooking show and cookbooks have moved soul food beyond single-dish courses to eye-catching meals plated restaurant style with hints of nouvelle cuisine. Further Reading: Bower, Anne, ed. African American Foodways: Explorations of History and Culture. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007; Harris, Jessica, The Welcome Table: African American Heritage Cooking. New York: Fireside Press, 1995; Zanger, Mark H. The American History Cookbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.

Michael W. Twitty

St. Patrick’s Day St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday honoring Saint Patrick, a missionary in the fifth century A.D. who is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity. It is celebrated annually on March 17, the day believed to be the anniversary of his death. Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick’s life, however, little of it is actually substantiated. Today, people of all nationalities celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in cities across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to some of the largest productions, St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia. Originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday, even in Ireland, where Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17 as late as the 1970s. When St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday, church calendars commonly move it to Monday. When the 17th falls during Holy week, the observance of the feast can even be moved to April. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to increase tourism. Close to one million people now take part in Dublin ‘s St. Patrick’s Festival.

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St. Patrick’s Day Parade on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, 1961. Library of Congress.

The five-day celebration features parades, concerts, street theater, family carnivals, comedy, street performances, dance, a treasure hunt, and fireworks culminating on March 17 with the St. Patrick’s Day parade. St Patrick’s feast day is a national holiday in Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day parades are an American invention. Irish immigrants to the United States began publicly observing St. Patrick’s Day as far back as 1737, when Boston held its first St. Patrick’s Day parade. Among the most renowned of the parades is the New York City parade, which officially dates to March 17, 1766, and was organized by Irish soldiers serving in His Majesty’s service. Over the years many large cities followed suit. The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Montréal, Canada, is the oldest in the country and was first held in 1824. The Savannah, Georgia, parade also dates to 1824, and there has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Pittsburgh since 1869. Today, more than 100 U.S. cities hold St. Patrick’s Day parades. The Irish presence in America increased dramatically in the 1840s, a result of Ireland’s potato famine of 1845–1849. The potato had been introduced to Ireland in the 1600s, and by the end of the 1700s, the Irish depended on it as a main source of nutrients. Tragically, in 1844, the potato crop failed, leaving more than a million people dead from starvation and disease. Many emigrated to America. Irish immigrants in America were often subject to discrimination in the workplace. American newspapers of the

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day Parade in London. Pres Panayotov/Shutterstock.

day portrayed the Irish as lazy drunkards. As a group, the Irish were further disparaged for their role in the draft riots during the Civil War. The parade began to serve as a means for the Irish to show their strength and political power in the United States, and the number of marchers in the parades increased dramatically over the years. The New York press described the burgeoning parades with increased detail. Thirty thousand men marched in the 1870 parade. The line of march started with a platoon of policemen followed by the famous Sixty-Ninth Regiment, an Irish regiment that distinguished itself in the Civil War; the Legion of St. Patrick; the Men of Tipperary; 21 divisions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians; numerous parish benevolent societies; and total abstinence units. The parades sometimes drew criticism. In 1868, the Irish Citizen complained that too many German bands were hired to play. Acknowledging that there were only a few Irish bands in the city, it proffered that virtually every participant would prefer to march to “stirring airs” from the “old land” even if only played by fife and drum. The parade usually concluded with speeches balancing tales of persecution and suffering with those of humorous anecdotes. Music is closely associated with St. Patrick’s Day and has been an important part of Irish life that dates back to the ancient days of the Celts. The Celts’ oral culture passed religion, history, and legend from one generation to another through stories and songs. When the English passed laws forbidding the Irish to speak their own language, they turned to music to help them remember important events and hold on to their heritage. Music, too, was outlawed. Queen Elizabeth I went so far as to order all Irish pipers to be arrested and hanged on the spot. Today, traditional Irish bands are

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featured around the holiday. They use instruments that have been used for centuries, including the fiddle, the uilleann pipes, an Irish style bagpipe, the tin whistle, and the bodhran, an ancient type of frame drum. One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. Irish folktale claims that St. Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock in his sermons to explain the Trinity. He used it to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. The shamrock was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. Patrick’s followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had become a political symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of cultural pride and defiance of English rule. The leprechaun is another image that is closely associated with St. Patrick’s Day. The idea of leprechauns, whose name means “small-bodied fellow,” is believed to come from Celtic belief in fairies whose magical powers were used for both good and evil. Celtic folktales include references to leprechauns acting as shoe-menders for the other fairies. They are portrayed as cantankerous characters that often resort to trickery to protect their fabled treasure. Other than their roots in Irish folklore, leprechauns have nothing to do with St. Patrick. In 1959, Walt Disney introduced a new kind of leprechaun with the release of the film Darby O’Gill and the Little People. This friendlier leprechaun quickly came to be a symbol associated with both St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland itself. Foods commonly eaten on St. Patrick’s Day are Irish stew and corned beef and cabbage with boiled potatoes. Ironically, corned beef and cabbage is not considered the national dish of Ireland, as some people believe. While cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef made its way into the Irish diet at the turn of the nineteenth century when Irish immigrants living on New York City’s Lower East Side learned from their Jewish neighbors that corned beef was a cheap alternative to traditional Irish bacon. While meat and potatoes are a mainstay of the Irish diet, cattle are kept mostly for milk, which makes it possible for them to have a diet rich in dairy products. Root vegetables, such as parsnips, turnips, and carrots, and onions are also eaten in abundance. Also found in abundance in the Irish diet are seafood and lamb and plenty of oats, barley, and wheat. More traditional Irish fare includes baked codfish, poached salmon, kale with Irish bacon, coddle, champ, and colcannon. Coddle is a comfort dish of potatoes, sausages, and bacon. Both champ and colcannon are popular potato and vegetable dishes. Treats include Irish soda bread, bread pudding, and bannock, a buttermilk-moistened bread. Carrageen pudding is another dessert that is traditionally made with carrageen moss, a red algae that grows on rocks in the North Atlantic and forms a jelly when boiled; however, many cooks nowadays prepare carrageen pudding with commercially produced gelatin.

Stewart, Martha While beer is probably the most widely consumed beverage on St. Patrick’s Day, Irish coffee, a cocktail made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar with a thick cream on top is another popular choice and a choice whose tradition does not go that far back in time. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Foynes Airport in Ireland served as the hub for the flying boat, which traveled between the United States and Europe. In order to get to the terminal, passengers had to take a boat trip that often left them chilled to the bone in the cold, North Atlantic winter. Joe Sheridan, head chef at the airport, decided to help some passengers to warm up by adding a drop or two of Irish whiskey to their coffee. A surprised American passenger is said to have inquired if it was Brazilian coffee. Joe replied, “No, that’s Irish coffee!” Shannon airport replaced Foynes in 1945, and a plaque marking the achievement has been erected at Shannon Airport to commemorate the creation of Irish coffee. Years later, travel writer and San Francisco columnist Stanley Delaplane came to be one of the recipients of the warming brew. When Delaplane returned to the United States, he shared the newly discovered delight with a bartender at the Buena Vista restaurant in California, who began to promote the drink. The Buena Vista has since come to claim creation of the beverage and sells sets of stemware and the revised story of Irish coffee. Unfortunately, St. Patrick’s Day, once a day of ethnic pride, has come for many to be a cause for unbridled drinking and rowdiness, stereotypes the Irish hoped to dispel when the parades were popularized in the nineteenth century. By wearing green, the national color of Ireland and sporting shamrocks or green carnations, people proclaim themselves to be “Irish for a day.” Restaurants serve green beer, green bagels, and lime-green Jell-o. The city of Chicago has developed a unique tradition of even coloring the river water green. It started in 1962 when 100 pounds of green vegetable dye were added to its river. The tradition has continued to this day. Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. Indianapolis dyes its Central Canal green. Some sports teams wear special uniforms to celebrate the holiday, a tradition started by the Boston Red Sox at spring training in 1990. Further Reading: Adair, Daryl, and Mike Cronin. The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick’s Day. New York: Routledge, 2002; Cohen, Hennig, and Tristram Potter Coffin, eds. The Folklore of American Holidays. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1987; Fallon, Michael J. The Definitive St. Patrick’s Day Festivity Book. Seattle, WA: Educare, 1997.

Dorothy Denneen Volo

Stewart, Martha For a quarter century, American domestic arts expert and media celebrity Martha Stewart has wielded unprecedented influence over home entertaining trends and consumer behavior. Stewart’s multimedia empire—offering

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“how-to” magazines and books; content for Internet, radio, and television; and mass market home décor products for all occasions—provides a broad consumer base with the techniques and tools to achieve fine living. While sometimes viewed as elitist, Stewart has branched out beyond a complicated, high-end approach to entertaining, creating a fresh perspective on everyday living that treats any social event as something worth celebrating. Stewart’s longevity, among a crowded field of competitors, is attributable to her talent at creating content for diverse audiences and embracing multiple media formats to extend her message and reach. Stewart’s approach to entertaining requires personal creativity and an appreciation of the homemade in a world that is often pre-packaged. She began her career as a caterer in Westport, Connecticut, after working as a model and stockbroker. In 1982 Stewart gained national prominence with the publication of her book, Entertaining. In the lavishly photographed coffee table edition, Stewart compiled recipes for every occasion—often for large groups—and outlined an approach to entertaining characterized by artistic presentation of food, use of antique linens, and unusual serving vessels. The cover portrayed Stewart as an elegantly dressed hostess at the center of activity (this association between her image and her brand was a trend that continued for years). Recipes were elaborate and complex, based on classic culinary techniques, and Stewart described four pillars of effective entertaining that would become the foundation for her future work—Creating an Ambience, Setting the Table, Making Food Look Beautiful, and Organization. Individual chapters portray the home as a natural place to entertain

Martha Stewart, c. 1990s. Courtesy of Photofest.

Stewart, Martha and include directions for staging kitchen parties, country buffets, holiday parties, and at-home weddings. Stewart sprinkled the text with personal anecdotes and encouraged expression of individual style in the planning and execution of parties. She preached an aesthetic of quality ingredients, impeccable culinary techniques, attention to detail, and beautiful presentation, all done amid classic celebratory settings. According to Entertaining, the hostess or host of a party should aim to design a one-of-kind social event, factoring in location, menu, music, serving dishes, utensils, and ambiance. In 1990, Stewart launched her flagship magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and packaged her entertaining philosophy in a monthly format with a more holistic approach that covered ideas for the home, garden, kitchen, and dining room. The magazine established a regular vehicle to present Stewart as a teacher of inspirational ideas, and featured the same style of beautiful photos and detailed instructions that were first seen in the best-selling Entertaining. In her columns, Stewart affirmed that beauty is a key factor in living and entertaining, and that theme was reflected in the materials, ingredients, and presentation techniques covered in the magazine. The magazine explored a wide range of social gatherings, often in more relaxed outdoor settings like skating parties, seaside dinners, lobster bakes, and birthday parties, with Stewart often depicted in the photo spread as hostess or honored guest. Good Things, Stewart’s signature tag line, was a regular section that suggested entertaining flourishes such as handmade napkin rings, place cards, table coverings, and customized ice cubes for special cocktails. The magazine produced a syndicated television show of the same name. For the 15th anniversary edition of the publication, Stewart wrote that her founding idea for the magazine was that the subject of living has no boundaries. The 1994 publication of Martha Stewart’s Menus for Entertaining extended Stewart’s original franchise but emphasized a shift from formal to more relaxed styles of entertaining. Crisp and authoritative, Stewart achieved icon status with regular exposure in print and broadcast venues. She founded a corporation, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “The Martha Stewart Way” was often used to describe her distinctive style, and the magazine and K-Mart “Martha Stewart Everyday” products for the home inspired many imitators. Over time, Stewart introduced simplified options for time-starved homemakers. Everyday Food, a digest-sized publication sold at newsstands and grocery check-outs beginning in 2003, provided fast, simple recipes for weeknights that were suitable to serve company. The recipes in Everyday Food could be prepared with minimal fuss, using easily available supermarket ingredients. Regular features included stylish holiday dinner menus supplemented with shopping lists and preparation schedules. Following an extended legal battle and a conviction and brief prison term for lying to federal officials about an insider trading investigation, Stewart’s philosophy had evolved as she returned to the company she created, this time as Founding Editorial Director. In March 2005, Stewart told employees of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia that the company may have focused

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too much on the details of entertaining and needed to put greater emphasis on the personal reasons that people entertained and decorated their homes. With the resolution of her legal situation, many questioned whether Stewart could regain her standing as a popular domestic expert, but she staged a spectacular comeback, appearing on two television shows and launching a series of DVDs and high-profile publishing projects. Stewart has remained true to her original philosophy and continues to dispense advice on every aspect of entertaining from food preparation to home ambience with her best-selling “Handbook” series—covering hors d’oeuvres, baking, and homekeeping. The marketing of Martha Stewart Signature Furniture, a joint venture with KB Homes to design custom homes, and the announcement of the “Martha Stewart Collection” exclusively for Macy’s have effectively propelled Stewart to the forefront of all segments of the home entertaining market. Further Reading: Editors of Martha Stewart Living, The. The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook. New York: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Clarkson N. Potter, 2000; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, http://www.marthastewart. com; Stewart, Martha, and Roy Finamore. Entertaining. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1982; Stewart, Martha. The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1995.

T. W. Barritt

Sub-Saharan Africa In Nigerian storyteller Chinua Achebe’s classic novel Things Fall Apart, one of the oldest members of an Ibo extended family proclaims: A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. (Achebe 118)

This sentiment applies equally well to kinswomen and to other areas of subSaharan Africa. Africa’s legendary hospitality, symbolized by words of welcome such as akwaaba in Ghana’s Akan language, or karibu in the Swahili of Kenya, extends beyond family. The essence of sub-Saharan African attitudes toward food and entertaining is to find joy in giving, in eating together, and in enjoying food in the lively company of family, friends, and guests. South African Desmond Tutu has written: “We say in Africa that a person is a person through other persons. A solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. We are made for togetherness, for friendship, for fellowship. Food is a part of that fellowship” (Samuelsson IX). Proverbs from throughout sub-Saharan Africa repeatedly bear witness to this emphasis on generosity, hospitality, reciprocity, and communality.

Sub-Saharan Africa “Wealth is not what you own, but what you give away” (Igbo); “Let the guest come so that the host or hostess may benefit [get well]” (Swahili); “If you visit someone and he entertains you with chicken soup, then it is your own chicken at home that you have eaten” ( Twi); “A visitor’s stomach is as small as the kidney of a bird” (Zulu). However, one must recognize, too, that sub-Saharan Africa is composed of some 47 countries spread across the second largest continent in the world. Moving south from the Sahara, the world’s largest desert, subSaharan Africa encompasses other deserts, semi-arid spaces, tropical and sub-tropical rainforests, rolling savannah grasslands, great fertile river and lake areas, coastal swamps, highland mountains and hillsides, and mild, temperate coastal lands. Besides its vast geographical and botanical diversity, it includes around 350 million people speaking over a thousand languages, and it has absorbed numerous cultural influences and mixes due to migration and immigration and social and technological changes. Its history stretches back beyond recorded history to the beginnings of humankind and encompasses the entertaining found in powerful ancient kingdoms alongside that of nomadic, loosely organized egalitarian societies. A common thread throughout this history is the role of hospitality, conviviality, and a communal orientation to society. The questions of who, how, what, and when one entertains are related to issues of power, social relations, inclusion and exclusion. In the context of increasing poverty, instability, and urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa, the traditional values of sharing and eating together are being challenged in new ways. One strategy for coping has been to rely on extended family and friends living outside the country, especially overseas to provide remittances home, particularly for funeral expenses. ANCIENT SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Humankind likely originated in eastern Africa. Ethiopia was the Abyssinia of ancient times, and the legendary Nubian Kingdom of Cush was a commercial and cultural center from the early second millennium B.C. to about A.D. 350 that linked the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations with black African civilizations. Another powerful kingdom was Axum in northern Ethiopia, which was at its height from A.D. 300 to 700, and whose King Ezana converted to Christianity, sowing the seeds for the Amharic state of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Coptic Church with its rigorous fast days and dietary prescriptions. About 3,000 years ago, the donkey began to replace the camel, which revolutionized desert transportation. Trans-Saharan trade routes flourished and aided the spread of Islam into sub-Saharan Africa by Arabs and North Africans such as the Berbers. Islam penetrated the region from the ninth century onwards. Two of the earliest accounts of the area’s food and culture come from the medieval travel writer Ibn Battuta, an Islamic scholar from Tangiers in

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North Africa. In 1331 he made an extended trip to the east coast of Africa, visiting the wealthy multicultural city-states along the Swahili coast, especially Mombasa and Kilwa. Twenty years later, from 1351 to 1352 he traveled to the powerful, cosmopolitan West African kingdom of Mali, which at its height spread over today’s countries of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. A Malian king converted to Islam in 1180, and the city of Jenne (Djenne) in the Mali empire was a center of learning and trade in the ancient Islamic world. Ibn Battuta enthusiastically described the foods he was given by the sultan of Maqdashaw (Mogadishu) as part of the ruler’s generous hospitality. After being greeted with betel nuts and banana leaves, he and his colleagues were given food three times a day for the three days they stayed there: Their food is rice cooked with ghee placed on a large wooden dish. They put on top dishes of ku¯sha¯ n—this is the relish, of chicken and meat and fish and vegetables. They cook banana before it is ripe in fresh milk [probably coconut milk] and they put it on a dish, and they put sour milk in a dish with pickled lemon on it and bunches of pickled chillies, vinegared and salted, and green ginger and mangoes . . .When they eat a ball of rice, they eat after it something from these salted and vinegared foods. Now one of the people of Maqdashaw habitually eats as much as a group of us would. They are extremely large and fat of body. (Hamdun and King 18)

In West Africa, Ibn Battuta was fascinated by the calabashes used for storing and serving foods: The calabashes in the land of the blacks become big and from them they make wooden dishes. They cut the calabash in two halves and make from it two dishes and they decorate them with beautiful decorations . . . the vessels from which he eats and drinks . . . are made out of calabashes. (40)

EASTERN AFRICA (ETHIOPIA, ERITREA, DJIBOUTI, SOMALIA, KENYA, TANZANIA, AND UGANDA) Influences in eastern Africa, especially along the Swahili Coast, come from Arab, Persian (today’s Iranian), Indian, and European (especially Portuguese, German, Italian, British, and French) influences, as well as those from Khoisan-, Bantu-, Cushitic-, and Nilotic-speaking peoples. There is a strong Muslim presence, which profoundly influences the diet of the region, especially seen in proscribed feast and fast days and in dietary prescriptions (e.g., eating only halaal, or lawful, meat; abstaining from alcohol). Coffee was likely discovered in northeastern Ethiopia around 600 B.C., and was originally drunk there mixed with butter, salt, honey, and/or spices. Muslims drink it instead of beer with their nyama choma (Swahili for “grilled meat”) when socializing with friends. The coffee-drinking ceremony is a highly developed art in Ethiopia. Red coffee berries are sun-dried, husked, washed, and re-dried, then roasted

Sub-Saharan Africa over coals to a dark brown, and pounded to powder with a wooden pestle. After careful preparation and heating the water, possibly burning incense to add to the atmosphere, the coffee is poured into a coffee pot, then tiny cups (siniwoch) are ceremoniously rinsed out and placed on a four-legged tray, and the scalding coffee is poured ( ye bunna sibatu, mefajetu, “the pleasure of coffee is in its burning sensation”). The first round, the abol, is sipped leisurely over conversation. Hot water is added to the pot for the second round, the huletegna. The third and final round is the bareka (blessing), when God’s blessing is invoked on the house. The classic staple dish in much of northeastern Africa, the so-called “Horn of Africa,” is the large fermented crepe-like bread called injera in Ethiopia and Eritrea, on which several stews (wats, or w’ets or alichas) and relishes are directly placed. The stews are commonly made from beef or poultry, or are vegetarian; they are occasionally made from fish. Injera is traditionally made from tef (or teff ), a special kind of millet, though it may be made also from corn, barley, sorghum, other millets, or rice. It is traditionally served on a special hourglass-shaped table called a mesob. Historically, housewives wove their families’ mesobs, which are covered circular basket tables made from grasses dyed red, green, blue, and yellow, and waterproofed with aloe. Diners gather around the table to eat from the common injera. Diners tear off a small piece from other injera folded and stacked on trays and use it to scoop up the stews. As a sign of respect and hospitality, a host may place choice pieces of meat wrapped in injera into his or her guest’s mouth, regardless of how full that guest may be.

A Kenyan woman cutting up vegetables, c. 1940–1948. Library of Congress.

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In other parts of eastern Africa, the staple starches include rice, corn, and bananas and plantains, and coconut milk is used to flavor dishes. Ugali, a stiff porridge commonly made from white or yellow cornmeal, finger or bulrush millet, or red or white sorghum, sometimes including cassava flour, has been called the most important food in East Africa. It is commonly eaten with a stew or relish, frequently made from greens, such as the popular dish sukuma wiki (“push the week”), a dish using leftovers and the greens called by the same name. In addition, a strong Indian influence is apparent: chapatis, samosas, and curries are all common along the coastal areas. For non-Muslims, alcoholic beverages play an important role in socializing as well as diet, from the honey mead tej of northeastern Africa to the beers common throughout the region, often made locally from finger millet or now increasingly brewed commercially. Among the Iteso of Kenya, the traditional greeting is “An’ajon?” which translates to “At whose house is beer being drunk today?” (Karp and Karp 101). WESTERN AFRICA (SENEGAL, THE GAMBIA, GUINEA-BISSAU, GUINEA, SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA, IVORY COAST, GHANA, TOGO, BURKINA FASO, BENIN, NIGERIA, AND CAPE VERDE) In many parts of western Africa, a visitor is invited to be seated, possibly on a low stool, and offered a drink of water in a calabash or glass, before being formally greeted and welcomed. He or she may be given kola nuts as a symbol of hospitality, and possibly palm wine. Given the unreliability of communications technologies and transportation, visitors may arrive unexpectedly at any time and are expected to be warmly welcomed. It is important to cook more food than is necessary for the immediate family: There has [sic] to be four extra adult portions every time food is cooked. Two portions for your parents-in-law and one for your dearest friend. The fourth portion is for a stranger, an unexpected visitor. It is not that these people come each day to share the meal, but if they do come the food has to be there. (Karim Traore in Beier 95)

Meals tend to be comprised of a main starch, such as a boiled or pounded root vegetable or rice or a thick corn porridge eaten with a soup/ stew/sauce/relish. The usual utensils, as throughout sub-Saharan Africa, are hands, washed before and after the meal. Only the right hand is dipped into the bowl or platter, and items should not be handed to anyone with the left hand. Both indigenous African foods such as African yams, rice, palm fruit, guinea fowl, millet and sorghum, boabab, and okra, as well as adopted foods like corn, cassava (manioc), chili peppers, tomatoes, coconuts, plantains and bananas, citrus fruits, wheat, and pineapples, are included in meals.

Sub-Saharan Africa In addition to extending hospitality to visitors, western African entertaining revolves around life events such as weddings, funerals, births, and festivals. At such events, rather than meals being served in courses, they tend to be served buffet style, often in the open under canopies with tables and chairs set up for the occasion. The social expectation is to include anyone who comes, even strangers. While extended families are expected to assist with the costs and preparations, families of modest means may be burdened to meet the expectations of lavish entertaining. Music and dancing are often a part of such events, including funerals. A rich layer of oil on top of soup or stew is a mark of prestige, honor, richness, and generosity, as are large serving portions and ample provision of drinks. WEST AFRICAN OUTDOORINGS OR NAMING CEREMONIES An outdooring is a ceremony roughly a week after a child is born, when the infant is brought outside, introduced to the community, and publicly named. The Akan of Ghana generally place a drop of water on the infant’s tongue, followed by a drop of alcohol, and advise the child to know the difference between them, even though they look identical. Water and alcohol among the southern Akan are both important but they cannot be substituted for one another. The distinction between them symbolizes the need for integrity in life. Soup and fufu (a pounded starch from boiled yam/cassava (manioc)/plantain/cocoyam (taro) is likely to be a part of the festive meal following the ceremony for Ashanti families. The Akan and Ga people of Ghana are also likely to serve oto, a sacred dish made with hard-boiled eggs, mashed yam, and palm oil. Yoruba families in Nigeria also introduce specific foods to the infant to symbolize how the child should live and what desirable personality traits the child should have: just as water is important to people, so should the child be important to his or her family; as honey is sweet, the child should be sweet. Other symbolic foods include kola nuts, palm oil, and wine. A Yoruba outdooring feast might include pounded yam with okra soup, rice with pepper soup, and cassava (eba) mashed with egusi soup. Another spiritual aspect of public entertaining includes paying homage to the ancestors, to whom West Africans feel closely connected. This homage is often in the form of pouring libations, often of an alcoholic beverage, to ancestors before public ceremonies. CENTRAL AFRICA (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, CONGO, CAMEROON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, GABON, ANGOLA, BURUNDI, AND RWANDA) Central Africa is also called Equatorial Africa, Middle Africa, or the heart of Africa. It was this area that the Anglo-American journalist and explorer

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Henry Stanley popularized in the late 1800s as “darkest Africa,” a name reinforced by Joseph Conrad’s 1902 novel Heart of Darkness. In discussions, its countries are often absorbed into neighboring regions (e.g., Cameroon into West Africa, Burundi and Rwanda into East Africa, Angola into Southern Africa). This is the region whose dining and entertaining history is least familiar to North Americans, despite the reality that many central Africans were carried to the New World as slaves. Central Africa includes tropical rain forests, historically impenetrable, and the largely unnavigable Congo River, the fifth longest river in the world and the second longest in Africa. Along with the rainforests, the region also includes hills, mountains, and savannah grasslands. Central Africa encompasses a diversity of lifestyles and includes some of the most urbanized, if impoverished, areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The rain forests were the home of indigenous forest peoples long known as pygmies in the West, though the ancient Egyptians called them people of the trees or dancers of the gods. Today they are often described as forest peoples or forest foragers. Their numbers have dwindled down to somewhere between 150,000 and 300,000. Though small in numbers, these hunters and foragers provide food, especially wild game, to those outside the forests, especially in urban areas. The first agriculturalists to move into central Africa were probably Nilosaharan speakers, about 5,000 years ago, followed by Bantu-speaking, iron-working agriculturalists and fishermen a thousand years later. These Bantu-speaking people established the powerful ancient kingdom Kongo by the 1300s. It was ruthlessly destroyed by the Portuguese by the middle 1500s and transformed into the Portuguese colony Angola; and used as a source of slaves, especially for Portuguese sugar plantations in Brazil and Fernando Po. Arab traders also actively exploited the area for slaves and ivory. Eventually the Belgians and the French, too, established colonies in central Africa. Despite some German and British influences (e.g., Cameroon), French is the most common Western language spoken in central Africa today. Lingala is the lingua franca in much of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Cameroon. Foods common in the area, with the exception perhaps of the foods of the forest peoples, contain similar ingredients to those in much of West Africa: palm nuts, peanuts, fish, cooked green leaves, maize, cowpeas, and cassava. Yams and rice are also eaten, but less commonly. Eastern central African locations with highlands (e.g., Rwanda and Burundi) share with eastern Africa a reliance on maize, bananas, plantains, and sweet potatoes. Some linguistic links to the New World include food words, such as the Kimbundi word in Angola for peanut, nguba, the source for the American term goober, or the Quimbundo word in Angola for palm oil, from which the Brazilian term dendê is derived. Central Africans eat fufu ( fufu in Lingala, or bidia in the Tshiluba language), but their versions include both the typical boiled and pounded root type common in much of West Africa (e.g., from plantain, yam, cassava,

Sub-Saharan Africa cocoyam, etc.) and one made from a dry flour of corn or cassava, or a combination of the two,. The result is similar to the sadza or ugali of southern and eastern Africa. Though cassava has been known in central Africa since the seventeenth century, it was originally cultivated for its leaves, not its roots. The Portuguese likely brought cassava to their colonies from Brazil and forced people to eat the tubers. Similarly, they probably introduced the complex processing techniques for removing toxic cyanogenic glucosides from tubers to make the coarse toasted cassava (or manioc) meal gari, similar to Brazil’s farofa. Special occasions include holidays like New Year’s Day and Christmas, independence days, births, christenings, weddings, engagements, funerals, the end of mourning, adolescent initiation ceremonies, the end of the school year, and special rituals of men’s and women’s societies. Food at such gatherings includes palm wine, cassava sticks ( bâtons de manioc), fish, and/or meat, as well as commercial beer, red wine (prized not only for its intoxicating qualities but also its assumed health benefits, such as “giving a person blood” and “heating one up” in the evenings), and spirits (hard liquor). Everyday foods are supplemented with prestige foods to help the hosts maintain their social status and demonstrate generosity, affluence, and masculinity. These items include expensive alcoholic drinks, thick stews rich with meat, and imported foods like rice, pasta and canned foods. The lavish show of food and drink honors the guests, even though the social expectation of lavishness is a hardship on poorer hosts. Among forest peoples, ripe banana beer or juices ( la bière de banane, umutobe, urwangwa) play a role similar to palm wine, with a mild version served to women and children, a stronger one to men. Men drink urwangwa during important discussions and ceremonies. The central African country of Cameroon takes its name from the Portuguese explorers’ name for the Wouri River, Rio de Camarões, or “The River of Prawns.” The country peacefully combines a large French-speaking area with a smaller English-speaking region. A special Sunday dish for a Douala family in Cameroon likely involves preparing ndolé, a dish made from ndolé leaves and other ingredients like beef, onions, tomatoes, peppers and dried crayfish (manjanga). Sautéed fresh shrimp and a drizzle of heated oil, or freshly ground, blanched peanuts, may be added as a garnish. In a traditional Yassa engagement ceremony in southern Cameroon a prospective bridegroom offers food and drinks to his future in-laws in three steps: he brings palm wine or red wine to the girl’s father, and then the groom’s maternal and paternal families give the future wife’s family two cartons of cigarettes, two wads of tobacco, and two bottles of whisky, to which the woman’s family responds by preparing a banquet at which to negotiate the bride price. Finally, at the “bringing in” the bride’s mother receives drinks, meat, money, and presents to share among her family. The two families then feast together, the menu possibly including a roasted, smoked forest porcupine.

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SOUTHERN AFRICA (SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA, BOTSWANA, MALAWI, ZIMBABWE, LESOTHO, SWAZILAND, MOZAMBIQUE, MADAGASCAR, AND ZAMBIA) Archbishop Desmond Tutu popularized the notion of the nation of South Africa being a “rainbow nation” with a “rainbow cuisine,” given the many intertwined cultural influences in the region. These include indigenous hunter-gatherer San (Sanqua) people, formerly known as “bushmen”; cattleherding, more sedentary Khoikhoi (who the Dutch disparagingly called “Hottentots”); metal-working, cattle-rearing Bantu-speaking migrants who came to dominate, such as the Zulu, Xhosa, and Ndebele; mid-seventeenthcentury Dutch settlers who became the Afrikaners; German immigrants who followed the Dutch; Malaysian and other Asian slaves imported by the Dutch; and indentured Indian and Asian laborers who arrived in the 1860s to work on the sugar plantations. One hundred fifty French Huguenots fleeing persecution arrived in Cape Town in 1680 and established the vineyards that have flourished to become the base of today’s wine industry. Contemporary South Africa has the largest Indian population outside of India. Dutch power passed to the British by the early nineteenth century through the 1930s when the Afrikaner Nationalist party consolidated its power, and the British also established power in Rhodesia, today’s Zimbabwe. Some results of this history on the southern African countries include: the profound influence of the Portuguese, and, to a much lesser extent, Spanish, explorers who arrived at the end of the fifteenth century, and who introduced corn, cassava (manioc), peanuts, tomatoes, and hot peppers, which influenced and were integrated into diets. For example, white corn is widely consumed by all people, black and white, and is most commonly eaten as a porridge, called by numerous names, such as pap (South Africa), sadza (Zimbabwe), nsima (Zambia, Malawi), or bogobe (Botswana); cattle, and the kraal, are central to community and family life, and there is a preference for grilled and dried meat, though wild meat is being replaced by domesticated varieties; curries are prevalent and have been called a “national dish” of South Africa, both the milder Malaysian curries, part of what is called “Cape Cookery,” and the spicier curries of Durban; rice, sausages, and sauced stews using greens (called morogo in Swahili, and including leaves from beets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and bean plants), tomatoes, chili peppers (especially the famous fiery hot African bird’s eye peppers called periperi in Swahili), and/or peanuts are popular; there is also a preference for dairy products, including sour, or curdled, milk (amasi) and the popularity of tea including an herbal tea called rooibus (from the Afrikaans word for “redbush”). The rich gold and diamond resources of South Africa and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) fostered a huge migrant population of black workers from neighboring countries and rural areas to work at the mines. This migration has fostered the adoption of new foods and eating patterns, including, in addition to eating corn-based meals, three meals a day, different meals

Sub-Saharan Africa on weekends, Western-style breakfasts, tea, fish and chips, desserts, sweet drinks, and snacks like cakes and cookies. A main avenue of socializing among black southern Africans is beerdrinking, both in homes and at bars. While commercially brewed beers are gaining in popularity, local traditional beers brewed from corn, sorghum, or millet are the most popular. They tend to be thick-textured and bittersweet. Beer is an important part of many rituals and is drunk both on special occasions and daily. Traditionally, women generally grew the grain and brewed the beer. They were also the potters, creating both the large undecorated pots for brewing beer, and the more decorative drinking bowls. Called chipfuko in Zimbabwe’s Shona language, such containers hold one-half to one liter and are often decorated with chevron patterns. Traditionally black ground graphite powder was pressed into the contrasting red clay, and it was marked with incised chevrons or patterns of bands, V-shapes, or triangles. Today, new colors, paints, and designs are used, especially for tourist markets. Beer-drinking also occurs at rowdy, informal male-only race and classsegregated bars called shebeens in South Africa or pungwe in Zimbabwe. A popular social event in South Africa that is said to symbolize that country and foster a sense of national identity is a type of barbeque called a braai ( literally, “grilled”), or braaivleis (“grilled meat”). Braai variously refers to a grill, the act of grilling, and the get together or party itself. Once a rite of passage for white South African males, it has been adopted broadly by all South Africans and expresses the casual lifestyle of the region. A typical braai includes steaks (cooked very well-done by males talking and drinking beer while grilling them), boerwors (sausages), pap, and a tomato and onion gravy, both possibly cooked in a potjeiko (a distinctive three-legged cast iron pot that cooks slowly and evenly), maybe with a dessert of melktert. There might also be grilled fish or chicken, salads and other sauces/stews, vegetables and foil-wrapped baked potatoes, and plenty of beverages, especially beer. The outdoor setting can be anywhere from a backyard, park, kraal, or the “bush,” to a beach or restaurant. The intimate, relaxed time with family and friends may last long into the night. Further Reading: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann, 1977; Beier, Georgina, ed. “They Keep Their Fires Burning”: Conversations on food, manners, and hospitality in Africa. Bayreuth, Germany, Bayreuth African Studies Series, 72, 2005; Hafner, Dorinda. A Taste of Africa. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1993; Hamdun, Said, and Noel King. Ibn Battuta in Black Africa. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1975; Harris, Jessica. The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998; Karp, Ivan, and Patricia Karp. “Social Aspects of Iteso Cookery,” In The Anthropologist’s Cookbook. Ed. by Jessica Kuper. New York: Universe Books, 1977; Katz, Solomon H., and William Woys Weaver, eds. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2002; Kiple, Kenneth F., and Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas, eds. The Cambridge World History of Food, vols. 1 and 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000; Kuper, Jessica, ed. The Anthropologists’ Cookbook. New York: Universe

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Books, 1977; Osseo-Asare, Fran. A Good Soup Attracts Chairs: A First African Cookbook for American Kids Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 1993 (Note: Only the original color hardback version of the book is recommended, not the black and white paperback); Osseo-Asare, Fran. Food Culture in SubSaharan Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005; Osseo-Asare, Fran. “We eat first with our eyes: on Ghanaian cuisine.” Gastronomica, 2, no. 1 (winter 2002): 49–57; Osseo-Asare, Fran. In Hickey, Dennis, ed., Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, vol. 6 Sub-Saharan Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007; Osseo-Asare, Fran. BETUMI: The African Culinary Network at http://www. betumi.com; Samuelsson, Marcus. The Soul of a New Cuisine. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006; Traore, Karim. In “They Keep Their Fires Burning”: Conversations on food, manners and hospitality in Africa. Ed. by Georgina Beier. Bayreuth, Germany: Bayreuth African Studies Series, 72, 2005, p. 95.

Fran Osseo-Asare

Sugaring Off Party A sugaring off party centers around the annual social gathering of family, neighbors, and friends to celebrate the end of maple sugar production season. The parties are referred to as a sugaring off, a sugaring off party, and a cabane à sucre, from Québec and other eastern Canadian provinces. A variety of hearty customary foods are prepared and eaten, many doused with justmade maple syrup. Live folk music, spirited singing, and boisterous dancing add to the festivities. Historically, sugaring off parties were an opportune time for flirtation and courtship, no doubt welcomed after the isolation of a long New England or frosty Canadian winter. Food was prepared at the remote sugar-making site (sugar bush), allowing ample opportunity for all to catch up on news and hearsay, as men took on the physically demanding tasks of maple sugaring and women spent endless hours cooking and baking calorie-packed dishes to feed the hard-working group. Sugaring off events herald the long-awaited return of spring to regions primarily in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Weather conditions must be favorable for sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum) sap to rise, with a westerly wind and temperatures alternating between below freezing at night and gently warming to above freezing during the day. A typical season may run from late February to early April. Among the first producers of maple syrup were the Native American Algonquin and Cree. The Algonquin people referred to maple syrup as sinzibukwud, or seensibaukwut, literally, “drawn from the wood,” and used it to flavor venison, pounded cornmeal, and other foodstuffs. For many eighteenth-century New England settlers, the laborious task of collecting sap from sugar maple trees and converting it into maple syrup provided a year’s worth of sweetener for cooking and eating, readily available and far less costly than cane sugar.

Sugaring Off Party The practice of maple sugaring in the late nineteenth century was portrayed in a series of detailed oil paintings by American portrait artist Eastman Johnson. His works expressed the spirit of rugged New England independence and resourcefulness in accord with the cyclical, restorative nature of the spring season. An ardent abolitionist, Johnson painted scenes of sugaring off as symbols of free labor during the politically contentious years of the Civil War. He chose to depict old-fashioned sugaring methods rather than labor-saving devices; his paintings are a striking commentary on the social and technological turmoil of the era. Sap is composed mostly of water and glucose and does not taste very sweet. The liquid is quite precious, since about forty gallons of sap are needed to make one gallon of syrup. The first-run sap is said to make the best-tasting maple syrup and was traditionally collected by first carefully placing one-and-one-half- to two-inch tapholes into the tree and inserting metal spouts on the south and west sun-facing sides of the tree. The sap would proceed to drip into buckets, which when full, would be collected and emptied into a gathering tub. It was transported to the sugar house (also sugar camp or shack), part of the sugar bush, the family operation that encompassed the trees and maple sugar location. Today commercial maple sugar farmers employ great lengths of plastic tubing and fittings to collect sap. Buckets have been replaced by lightweight plastic bags and sophisticated vacuum pumping systems. The sap is boiled down in large shallow rectangular evaporator pans, giving off great clouds of steam as it condenses into maple syrup ranging in shades from pale amber to a rich deep brown. Although the highest grade of syrup, Fancy or AA, is determined by the lightest color, the darkest hue, grade B has the most intense flavor and is often preferred for cooking and baking. The hot maple syrup is filtered to remove sediment, then bottled on site. To begin the sugaring off process, the maple syrup must be heated until it has thickened. This hot viscous syrup can be poured onto clean packed snow (or shaved ice if the weather is not cooperative) in a thin layer, where it immediately hardens into a very sweet caramel-flavored maple taffy. A wooden stick or (clean) finger is used to lift the sticky substance off the snow while it is twirled into an edible shape. Homemade sour pickles are served alongside sugar-on-snow, (alternately called jack wax, wax sugar, taffy on snow, toffee snowballs, leather aprons) an accompaniment which serves to tame the extreme cloying sweetness of the taffy. In the northeastern United States, sugaring off fare features doughnuts dipped in maple syrup or slathered with maple cream and rinsed down with steaming cups of black coffee. Pancake breakfasts are the norm and sticky pitchers of syrup make the rounds. At a French Canadian cabane à sucre (sugar hut, sugar cabin), the fare is plentiful, serving up substantial food fit for a rugged lumberjack. Starting with a thick pea soup, the meal progresses to filling omelets and boiled or mashed potatoes. Many recipes call for maple syrup as a key flavoring

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ingredient, essential in from-scratch baked beans, maple-glazed ham, fried pork rind, and sausage. This groaning board would not be complete without maple-sweetened pies, cakes, and crepes for dessert, certainly the icing on any sugaring off feast. Sugaring off events remain a community tradition to this day, whether a home cooked family-style supper held by the local church or a historical museum dedicated to preserving regional foodways. There are, of course, hungry tourists eager to taste real maple syrup, a true delicacy that is a far cry from the artificial pancake syrup most commonly found in supermarkets today. Further Reading: Gemming, Elizabeth. Maple Harvest: The Story of Maple Sugaring. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1976; Genessee Country Village and Museum. Genessee, New York. http://www.gcv.org/programsAndEvents/ sapSyrup.shtml; Ledes, Allison Eckardt. “Maple sugar as metaphor.” Magazine Antiques. Feb. 2004. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1026/is_2_165/ ai_113189388; North Country Maturing Gardener. North Haverhill, NH. http:// ncmg.blogspot.com/2006/03/sugaring-off-party_10.html; Tobias, Pam. Hosting the sugaring off party has become a tradition at the Congregational Church. http://www.vermontmaplesyrupfestival.com; Sucrerie de la Montagne, an official Québec Heritage Site. http://www.sucreriedelamontagne.com/sugar. htm; Sugaring Off: The Maple Sugar Paintings of Eastman Johnson. The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA. Resource Library Magazine. http://www.citadellecamp.com/a_faq_sai2.html; http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/4aa/4aa53.htm; What is a “Sugaring Off” party? http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/worldwidepanorama/ wwp304/html/DavidGibson.html; Sugaring off. http://www.bonjourquebec. com/qc-en/erablieres0.html.

Suzanne C. Weltman

Super Bowl Party The Super Bowl party is inextricably tied to the televised Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the U.S. National Football League that is played on a Sunday afternoon or evening in late January or early February. A predominantly American unofficial holiday, celebrated in the United States and by American expatriates, Super Bowl parties are typically held in private homes and in commercial bars, clubs, and taverns. Such parties are devoted to watching the game, eating and drinking, and chatting during commercial breaks and during slow moments of the game. Licensing fees restrict the use of the term Super Bowl for commercial purposes so bars and clubs often refer to Super Bowl events in marketing materials as “watching the big game.” The Super Bowl began in 1967 as a championship game between the then-rival leagues, the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). Super Bowls are designated by Roman numerals, so this 1967 championship game is identified as Super Bowl I and the 2008 Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots as

Super Bowl Party

A group of New York City women raise their glasses in a toast during a Super Bowl party at Harglo’s Cafe on Second Avenue in New York, January 23, 1989. AP/ Wide World Photo.

XLII. In 1970, the AFL and NFL leagues merged but the championship game remained and was dubbed the Super Bowl and its day of observance, Super Sunday. The game is played in a neutral warm-weather location or indoor stadium. Today, the Super Bowl is typically the most-watched televised event of the year with ratings usually around a 60 share, meaning that 60 percent of American households tune in. Consequently, television ads shown during the game cost millions of dollars and are significantly more expensive than ads played during regular-season games or regular Sunday programming. In fact, new ads often premier during the game, and commentaries, reviews, and online discussions concern themselves not only with the game but also with the commercial advertisements. Another key feature of the Super Bowl, and an attraction of Super Bowl parties, is the musical entertainment, pre-game, and half-time shows. While originally understated, relying on marching bands at halftime and a wellknown singer to sing the national anthem, today’s Super Bowl half-time shows feature multiple A-list performers and multi-million dollar productions including dancers, pyrotechnics, and moving stages. Such productions are often engineering feats, as they require being assembled and broken down on the field entirely within the short timeframe allotted. In this way, a Super Bowl party attendee need not be a serious football fan to enjoy the event. The combination of food, drink, and company, along with a televised sporting event and concert provide something for everyone.

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From its inception, the Super Bowl provided an occasion for families and friends to gather together to watch the game, share food and drink, and chat during breaks. But the Super Bowl party as we have come to know it developed over decades, largely influenced by manufacturers and sellers of televisions and home entertainment systems, snack foods, beer, and groceries. Commercials aired during the Super Bowl showed Super Bowl parties, in which the game was being watching on new color televisions by people swigging a particular brand of beer or eating a particular brand of snack chip. These commercials created a new vision of how Super Sunday should be celebrated in the United States. A typical Super Bowl party in a home can be as simple as buying a case of beer and a pizza and inviting some friends over, as often happens in college dormitories, military bases, and other budget-conscious settings. Private parties can also be very elaborate with ticket-themed invitations, decorations, large screen televisions or television projectors purchased or rented for the occasion, catered food and drink, and themed party favors. Commercial parties in bars, clubs, and restaurants typically use the game to promote food and beverage sales but may offer football decorations and giveaways, especially when a hometown team is playing. The main event of the party is obviously the game, but at many parties, gambling related to the game is popular. The most common form of gambling is the football pool where party-goers are given or buy spaces on a grid. If the interim or final score of the game matches the name in the grid, that player wins a percentage of the pot or, in non-gambling situations, a prize. Betting on the ultimate outcome of the game, with odds determined by book makers, is also common. Other less-formal bets abound including betting on number of field goals, on the coin toss, or on which team is the first to score. It should be noted that gambling is illegal in most jurisdictions. Super Bowl parties typically begin about one hour before the kick-off time of the game, which is usually about 6 P.M. Eastern time. They usually end shortly after the conclusion of the game. The television is typically on from the beginning of the party as a nearly full-day schedule of pre-game programming is available. Early in the party betting that must conclude before the kickoff of the game is conducted, and food and drinks are served. Super Bowl Sunday represents the year’s second-highest day of annual food consumption in the United States, second only to Thanksgiving. There is no one traditional Super Bowl menu but typically fatty and salty bar-type foods are served. Such foods may include: nachos, pizza, submarine sandwiches, chili, potato chips, chicken wings, and meatballs. Since food is often eaten throughout the game rather than at a set meal time, foods that can be kept warm or those tasty at room temperature are popular. Regional variations to the menu abound. For example, grilled bratwurst may be served in Wisconsin, buffalo wings in Buffalo, and barbeque throughout the South and Southwest, to name a few. Beer and soda are the

Super Bowl Party usual beverages, though increasingly pitchers of margaritas or other sweet mixed drinks are popular. Some Super Bowl parties strive to be more upscale with fine food and wine served. Further Reading: Sports Dream Challenges. The Last Hurrah: The Ultimate Super Bowl Party Planner. Victoria, Canada: Trafford, 2006; Weiss, Don, and Chuck Day. The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World’s Greatest Sporting Event. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003; National Football League Web site, http://www.nfl.com; Super Bowl Web site, http://www.superbowl.com.

Jonathan Deutsch

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T Table Service, French versus Russian Prior to the seventeenth century, meals were presented in a style belatedly described as service en confusion. Platters of foods were amassed haphazardly on tables, with the only guiding principle being the unquestioned social hierarchy at the core of medieval and Renaissance society: foodstuffs were arranged according to the diners’ status, with the finest dishes placed within easy reach of the most elite and lesser dishes placed near those of humbler rank. To the extent that treatises on meal service existed, they focused on maintaining one’s health and humoral balance while obeying the dietary mandates of the Catholic Church. With a few important exceptions, such as occasional instructions for constructing the glorious subtleties of the late medieval and Renaissance table or suggestions for decorating the dining hall with seasonal flora, discussions of meal service were unnecessary, as everyone knew the rules. Starting in the seventeenth century, new approaches to the service and display of meals reflected changes in European social, political, and material culture. Hierarchical distributions gave way to commensurability, while greater amounts and varieties of tablewares appeared. Where plates and

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platters of food were placed, the sequence in which the different foodstuffs were served, the number and variety of dining implements pressed into service, and the table decorations deemed appropriate and necessary commanded the attention of those charged with supervising the tables of the great European households. This intricately choreographed dinner organization became known as service à la française, or French service, and was the predominant style of elite dinner service from the seventeenth through mid-nineteenth centuries. Thereafter, service à la russe, or Russian service, dominated well-to-do Western tables until the mid-twentieth century. No single model perfectly encapsulates the French or Russian style. The forms continually evolved and varied according to the meal’s importance or the host’s purse. Historical sources sometimes misuse terminology or employ different labels. To generalize, French service divides all of the meal’s dishes into two, or possibly three, courses and brings those multiple dishes to the table simultaneously in a preordained pattern; once the dishes are on the table, the diners largely help themselves and each other, as in familystyle dining, although servants would be available to assist. French service, however, is not to be confused with casualness, as the rules regarding menu and its display were highly prescriptive. Russian service involves a multicourse dinner in which each dish is served individually, sometimes with minor accompaniments, in a defined succession captured by the expression “from soup to nuts.” Russian service continues in elegant catering halls or restaurant tasting menus and requires bevies of servants to shuttle dishes continuously from the kitchen to the dining room. The documented origins of French service are found in the writings of the maîtres d’hôtel of aristocratic households in late seventeenth-century

A Russian restaurant. © Evgeny Dontsov | Dreamstime.com.

Table Service, French versus Russian France. Guides such as Audiger’s La Maison réglée (1692) explained the duties of the various servants in wealthy estates, with particular emphasis on the relation between the kitchen and dining room. The maître d’hôtel, or steward, was generally the most powerful servant, with a close, often daily, relationship with the master. The steward’s responsibilities included keeping tabs on the estate’s purse; consulting with the master on the needs and preferences for the table; communicating the menus to the head cook, ordering foodstuffs; supervising the kitchen, wine cellar, linens, and tablewares; and, very importantly, supervising the arrangement of the foodstuffs on the table according to French service style. The elegance of the table arrangements orchestrated by the steward declaimed the master’s good taste in a society where such display was paramount. A French style dinner arranged full serving platters, plates, bowls, footed dishes, and tureens symmetrically on the table before diners entered the room. Once assembled, the dishes were uncovered and the guests selected their dinner from the many offerings. Because fashionable display required obedience to complicated rules, books geared to elite audiences on both sides of the Atlantic supplied diagrams showing the placement, content, and relative size of the various offerings, among them Audiger’s La Maison réglée (Paris, 1692) Charles Carter’s The Complete Practical Cook (London, 1730), and Louis Ude’s The French Cook (Philadelphia, 1828). The diners could be helped by waiters lurking in the background, by their dining companions seated closer to the desired comestible, or by serving themselves from nearby platters. Depending on the lavishness of the meal, a dinner à la française might have one, two, or, rarely, three main courses of food before the dessert course. The tantalizing variety of dishes within each course was impressive and often approached one novel dish per diner in each course, although no diner was expected to like or sample them all, and plates could be refilled several times during the course. Many of the dishes were insubstantial plates of olives, radishes, pickles, salads, and slices of sausages that punctuated larger dishes and were called hors d’oeuvre, meaning that these dishes were “outside” of the main parts of the meal. The first course of an elaborate, two-course French service would include multiple hors d’oeuvres, platters of oysters, small savory pastries, stews and ragouts, furred or feathered game, hot roasts, possibly some vegetables and salads, and the essential soups and potages. Soup was eaten only at the beginning of the meal. For a fine meal, at least two soups would be offered, one clear and one thick, served from magnificent tureens that dominated most other dishes and were located by the host and hostess or important guest. As an exception to the general rule that dishes in a French service meal remained on the table throughout the course in which they were served, the tureens would be taken away once the diners were served, and would then be replaced by rélevées or “removes” to preserve the table’s symmetry. The remove was a substantial dish, possibly a large fish, such as a salmon, carp, or turbot, a large ham, or a roasted joint. The actual mechanics of serving the meal varied from location to location, subject to some general principles. Plates were relatively expensive

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in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, so that even the well to do typically used the same plate throughout each course, perhaps supplemented by a soup bowl, to enjoy a variety of dishes. One question raised in early nineteenth-century etiquette books was what a diner should do with his soiled utensils while passing his plate for another serving. Most books counseled against clutching utensils while the plate was being refilled but also frowned upon dirtying the tablecloth with them. The last option was to send the utensils with the plate, which tended to be a bit deeper than modern plates, although such passing could be awkward. As the price of fine ceramics declined in the nineteenth century, fresh plates were offered when changing foodstuffs within a single course. Once the first course was completed, the dishes would be removed in preparation for the second course; sometimes the top tablecloths, laid in manageable sections, were removed to reveal clean ones beneath. Guests typically remained at table during this process. Fresh plates would be set before each diner, and the next course of dishes would be set down, consisting of cold roasts, more vegetables and salads, sweet and savory creams, and certain pastries. Hot soufflés, an increasingly popular dish of the early nineteenth century, might be brought in from the kitchen during either of the first two services; their ephemeral nature prevented them from being set in advance. Following the second course, there would be two choices for serving dessert. The party might adjourn to another room for the sweets (following the medieval tradition of adjourning to a separate hall for sweet wine and wafers; the word dessert derives from the French deservir, meaning “to break down”) or, in the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the soiled cloths again would be removed, revealing a polished wooden table for the dessert course. Dessert was a bountiful selection of fresh and candied fruits, cheeses, cakes, ices and ice creams, pastries, and sugar work. Dessert plates often were in a different china pattern from the dinner service, emphasizing the separate nature of the final course. If French service focused on food for visual display, Russian service focused on keeping food fresh. Rather than present multiple dishes within a framework of two or three courses, Russian service presents a variety of dishes individually, in a rapid succession. Dishes emerge hot from the kitchen, are quickly distributed, and then disappear to the pantry or retire to a sideboard, rather than cooling and congealing unappetizingly in front of the diners. Because platters of food no longer occupied the table (although small plates of olives, celery, bonbons, and the like were scattered throughout the main portion of the meal), centerpieces, especially elaborate fresh floral displays, were thought necessary to decorate the table. In a meal served à la russe, waiters placed clean plates and utensils in front of each dinner just before the next course appeared: platters were presented to the diner and, if accepted, a portion was placed onto the individual’s dinner plate before the platter was presented to the next guest. In its heyday, a Russian-style meal might have 20 or more courses, including several small hors d’oeuvres, oysters, soup, fish, entrées of savory pastry or ragoûts,

Table Service, French versus Russian game, hot and cold roasts, palate-cleansing spiked sorbets known as Roman punch, vegetables, salads, cheese, ices and ice creams, sweet pastries, cakes, fruits, and coffee. Diners could decline any course (except at a private dinner, where it was considered impolite to decline soup and the roast), so that the volume of food might not be as staggering as first appears. Nineteenthcentury etiquette also dictated that one leave one bite on the plate “for manners,” although many nineteenth-century feasts were Pantagruelian by contemporary standards. The origins of Russian service are murky. It is believed to have developed in Russia no later than the eighteenth century, although early Russian service lacked the many courses and the legions of flatware and dishware that identified late nineteenth-century service. Nonetheless, dinners à la russe immediately were recognized as different from their à la française counterparts. One of the earliest descriptions comes from an eighteenthcentury English visitor to the court of Peter the Great. The meal was comprised of four courses, beginning with cold foods, followed by soup and roasted meats, then a pastry course, and finally the dessert course. He noted that strangers to Russian service would have been tempted to make their dinner entirely from the first cold meat course, which he deemed more in keeping with the French style of presenting the main meat dishes in one grand course. What makes this meal Russian is the segregation of cold and hot dishes, followed by pastries in a separate course, and then desserts. How was the shift to Russian service viewed? The old guard found much valuable in French service and much objectionable in Russian. The great, romantic French chef, Antonin Carême, was intimately familiar with both styles, having spent a stint cooking for Czar Alexander I in St. Petersburg. In Le Maître-d’hôtel français (1822), Carême floridly wrote that French service was the sumptuous epitome of luxury; in addition to the visual delight of tables glittering with crystal, chandeliers, and domed platters of vermeil, the diner would be seduced by the perfume of fine cooking that suffused the room when the domes were lifted. In 1838 New York’s urbane Phillip Hone voiced several complaints against Russian service, among them that a diner never knew what else was coming, making it impossible to choose one’s food wisely, and that his conversation was constantly being interrupted by greasy platters being thrust between his head and that of his neighbor. Others acknowledged problems with French service. Notwithstanding the speed with which the dishes were arranged, and the use of domes, chafing dishes, or réchauds warmed by hot water, foods often cooled before served, compromising the quality of the meal. The goal of serving foods in peak condition culminated in the widespread acceptance of Russian service for both public and private dining in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Soon diners saw Russian service as the easiest way to sup, as dishes came around “as if by magic,” with all responsibility for service devolved upon the waiters, rather than the diners. While a French style meal of one or two main courses plus dessert gave little opportunity to use legions of different tablewares, multi-course Russian service made all sorts of dining paraphernalia possible and desirable.

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Nineteenth-century innovations in pressing glass, decorating china, and electroplating silver made attractive tablewares affordable by the upper-middle and middle classes in the quantity needed to serve a course meal, so that Russian service, at least from the perspective of dining equipment, could be enjoyed by a broader population. Manufacturers designed implements for each course, from oyster plates to different sized and shaped wine glasses to encourage several changes of wine within a meal. American flatware manufacturers in particular exploited the new meal structure thoroughly: highly specialized utensils, especially forks, were created for nearly every course. Tiny oyster forks became de rigueur to consume the raw oysters that traditionally opened a meal and, for centuries, had been happily slurped from the shell. Ice cream forks, somewhat impractically, dealt with the melting dessert, while pie forks, with a reinforced initial tine, were thought essential to slice through tender crusts. By the early twentieth century, the manufacturer Gorham had created silver patterns with over 130 separate pieces to cover every imaginable and invented serving and eating need. Russian service declined not because of the cost of outfitting the table, but because of the impossibility of properly staffing the dining room. Domestic help was common in middle-class households until the early twentieth century, although the all-purpose maid frequently was ill-trained in, or unable to execute the intricacies of, Russian service on top of her other duties. Although hostesses in the late nineteenth century had plenty of etiquette and cookery books to explain the structure of a complicated meal à la russe, the difficulties of finding well-trained staff caused many books to advocate simpler meals for entertaining. Although less traditionally proper, simpler meals avoided the embarrassment of poorly executed Russian service. With the demise of a serving class in all but the wealthiest homes, Russian service has become a relic of an earlier age. It remains possible in formal banquets and catering halls but is impractical for daily life. Further Reading: Aron, Jean-Paul. The Art of Eating in France: Manners and Menus in the Nineteenth Century. Trans. by Nina Rootes. New York: Harper & Row, 1975; Audiger “La maison réglée” (1692) in L’Art de la cuisine française au XVIIème siècle Ed. by Gilles and Laurence Laurendon. Paris: Éditions Payot & Rivages, 1995; Brears, Peter. “À la Française: The Waning of a Long Dining Tradition.” in Luncheon, Nuncheon and Other Meals. Ed. by C. Anne Wilson, ed. Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1994; Coffin, Sarah D., et al. Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005. New York: Assouline and Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, 2006; Kaufman, Cathy K. “The Dining Room.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Ed. by Andrew F. Smith. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004; Kaufman, Cathy K. “Structuring the Meal: The Revolution of Service à la Russe.” In The Meal: Proceedings of the 2001 Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. Ed. by Harlan Walker. Totnes, Devon, England: Prospect Books, 2002; Ottomeyer, Hans. “Service à la française and service à la russe: or the evolution of the table between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.” In Food and Material Culture: Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium of the International Commission for Research into European Food History. Ed. by Martin Schärer and Alexander Fenton. East Linton, East Lothian,

Table Settings Scotland: Tuckwell Press, 1998; Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. Savoring the Past: The French Table from 1300 to 1789. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.

Cathy K. Kaufman

Table Settings At formal banquets during the Middle Ages, the host and his honored guests would sit at one side of a long, narrow table at the head of the hall. The most important people sat at the head of the table and those of lesser importance would sit toward either end. Salt was placed in salt holders or cellars. These came to be the line of status delineation. People were said to be either “above the salt” or below it. Other guests sat at long tables at right angles to the head table. In the earliest times, women were not permitted to join in the banquet and were consigned to a gallery. Eventually, the wives of the nobles were permitted to sit as a group well below the salt. Food was brought to the banquet hall with great pageantry and placed before the guests. Entertainment was provided between courses or mets. Guests were given light tidbits to eat while enjoying the performances. In time, these very public displays were replaced with more intimate dinners held in the privacy of a lord’s private quarters. The narrow table with seating on only one side was replaced by rectangular tables that seated people on all sides. The wider tables permitted more food to be placed on the table in grandiose displays of abundance. This required that the food be set upon the table prior to the seating of the guests. These private meals grew into larger banquets that were displays of wealth and status. By this point in time, women were fully participating in the dining experience. The practice of alternating women and men at the dinner table was imported to England from Holland during the 1600s and was referred to as the “Dutch style” of eating. By the time of Queen Victoria’s coronation, French cooking and serving methods became the norm throughout most of Europe. The standard method of presentation was still that of the late Middle Ages with all the food placed on the table. In the United States, from colonial times to the 1830s meals were presented in two courses, followed by a dessert course of fruits and sweets. Guests arrived to find all the food on the table. The more food there was the more elaborate was the display. At the head of the table would be the soup tureen. The remainder of the table was filled with lesser side dishes. Diners first had their soup bowls filled by their hostess and then handed around by the servants. A fish course came next, and the servants presented this dish to the host who would carve it so that the servants would again hand it around. At the same time, diners would be filling their plates from side dishes already on the table. These side dishes were referred to as entrees. Once these foods were consumed, the tureen and fish platter were removed and the

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main meat dishes were brought out. These dishes were known as removes as they were removed. Entrees were also sometimes removed. The new dishes were called Flying dishes because they were not on the table when the meal commenced. After the first course, the dishes and tablecloth were removed to reveal a second tablecloth, which would be used for the second course of birds, game, and additional side dishes. In its turn, the second tablecloth was removed and the dessert course was served. When the French style of dinning took hold during the 1840s, the first two courses were broken down into four courses. The first was fish and soup with a few entrees. Then came a second course solely of entrees. The third course was the so-called joints of meat, usually beef, with a few entrees. The fourth and final course included game, sweets, and more entrees, and was followed by fruits, ices, and nuts. As table settings evolved, so did the utensils that were used. From the earliest times people realized that various natural items helped the processing and consumption of food. Sharp stones helped to scrape and cut meat. Hollow horns and shells could hold liquids. A shell fastened to a stick extended the reach and protected the hand from steam and hot fluids. Both the Greek and Latin words for spoon have their roots from cohiea, a small spiral shaped shell. The Romans developed two types of spoons. The cochleare was a small spoon with a round bowl and a slim pointed handle used for eating shellfish and eggs. The ligula had a pointed oval bowl with a decorated handle and was used for soups and soft foods. The Roman occupation of Britain likely influenced the earliest English spoons, which like many of the utensils of northern Europe, were commonly made of wood. The word spoon comes from the Anglo-Saxon spon, which means “splinter of wood.” By the fifth century, spoons were being carved from wood, bone, shell, and stone. During the Middle Ages, hosts generally provided spoons made of horn or wood. Common spoons were provided for general table use. Wealthy families may have had silver spoons, and royalty used those made of even more precious materials. Beginning in the fourteenth century, spoons could be found made of tinned iron, brass (a copper-zinc alloy), and pewter (various alloys of base metals with low melting points). Yellow brass was expensive, but the availability of comparatively inexpensive cast pewter spoons made metal spoons more affordable to a larger portion of the population than might otherwise have been the case. Knives designed specifically for table use is a relatively new concept. When necessary, most people would have used personal knives. Both men and women carried knives on their belts into the seventeenth century. In addition to serving as a potential weapon and as handy tools used for daily chores, knives also were readily available at mealtime and could be used to spear food in order to bring it to the mouth or to cut it. Fingers were also a convenient and acceptable means of conveying food to the mouth. In 1669 Louis XIV of France banned pointed knives in a measure to discourage violence. Grinding knifepoints led cutlers to make other design changes. The blunted ends were made wider and rounder so that food could be piled on the

Table Settings knife. Many knives were designed with a handle like a pistol grip and a blade, which curved backward to make it easier to get the food into the mouth. From the late seventeenth century, it became popular for the very rich to use knife rests. With meals consisting of numerous courses but only one knife for the entire repast, the knife rest provided a place for the utensil to rest in between use, and it protected the table or tablecloth from becoming soiled. During the Victorian period knife rests were made of all kinds of materials including metal, crystal, ivory, horn, glass, or just about any combination of these materials that came to mind. The use of knife rests fell out of favor during the mid-twentieth century. The fork was used by the ancient Greeks and was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible; but it was not introduced into Western Europe until the tenth century. By the eleventh century the fork made its way to Italy, and by 1600 it had gained wide acceptance, becoming commonly used by merchant and upper classes. Dinner guests brought their own fork and spoon to the meal in a box called a cadena. Forks were slower to be accepted in England where they were thought to be a feminine utensil. The exception was the so-called sucket fork, which was a slender fork with two prongs at one end and a narrow bowl at the other. The fork end was used to spear food that was served in sticky syrup, and the spoon end was used for the syrup itself. Prior to the popularity of the fork, some people used two knives when eating. One was used for cutting, while the other was used to steady the piece of food being cut. Initially, dinner forks were made with only two tines. The widely spaced prongs were good for piercing larger food but impractical for small items such as peas and grains. They were longer and sharper than contemporary forks. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the number of tines were increased to three, and later to four. The fork also changed from a spear-like tool to a slightly curved tool that could contain finer pieces of food. During the nineteenth century fork tines were shortened and brought closer together with the utensil taking on a recognizably “modern” look. By the early seventeenth century forks were becoming more commonplace, particularly among the upper classes. Diarist Samuel Pepys noted in his 1664 journal that he had purchased that “new refinement,” a set of forks. The use of forks did not become widespread, especially in northern Europe, until the eighteenth century. Very few forks were imported to the Americas, and few colonial metal-smiths bothered to make them. Some populists among the colonials considered the fork somewhat pretentious. As late as 1779, John Adams was criticized as being anti-democratic for his use of the fork at meals. Colonists used the blunt knife to shovel food into the mouth, and the spoon was used to steady food while cutting it. The spoon was then switched to the right hand to scoop up the morsel. It is believed that this practice established itself and was continued even after forks became commonplace, becoming the distinctly American “zig-zag” method of eating where the fork is exchanged from one hand to the other and is used tines up, much like a spoon.

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Up until the mid-nineteenth century silver eating utensils were very expensive. With the development of efficient manufacturing techniques and with the discovery of vast amounts of silver in the so-called Comstock Load centered on Virginia City, Nevada, in the 1860s, silver utensils became more affordable and available. Combined with the economic growth of the era, by the 1880s silver place settings were within the reach of most of the middle class. During the Victorian era, great emphasis was placed on specialization in many areas of daily living. Rooms began to have specific uses, such as the library, the breakfast room, the children’s nursery, and so forth. Clothing too had specialized uses. There were outfits for boating, cycling, walking, dining, and more. This same sense of unique purpose was reflected in the style of silver utensils. Early nineteenth century dinner sets had a dinner fork and knife as well as tea-, soup-, dessert-, and marrow-spoons. Dessert sets consisted of a smaller knife and fork and often differed in pattern from the rest of the service. Additional specialized pieces became available throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries. Unique spoon types included: egg, demitasse, individual salt, 5 o’clock tea, fruit, rounded soup, bouillon, chocolate, grapefruit, iced tea, sherbet, chocolate muddler/soda water, café parfait, and lemonade sipper. Distinctive knives included: pickle, fish, tea, melon, orange, individual butter, crawfish, individual game, and individual cheese. Specialized forks included: individual pickle, fish, oyster, tea, pie, berry, melon, cocktail, pie, ice cream, pastry, salad, fruit, lemon, lobster, ramekin, escargot, terrapin, individual cheese, mango, corn, and individual game. The nut pick and individual asparagus tongs were also added to the panoply of specialized utensils. It is unlikely that any one family or household had all of the pieces mentioned. Many of the oldest and most established families had silver services that had been passed down from generation to generation since colonial times. These did not contain all the new specialized pieces. Nonetheless, the tremendous proliferation of silverware types became so outrageous that in 1925, Herbert Hoover, who was then Secretary of Commerce, declared that there should be no more than 55 different pieces in a silver service. Today about 20 items are commonly offered. A basic place setting consists of five pieces: teaspoon, soup spoon, salad fork, dinner fork, and dinner knife. The napkin too has evolved as an important accompaniment to fine dining. The first napkin was nothing more than a lump of dough. The Spartans called it apomagdalie. The dough mixture was cut into small pieces, and then at the table diners cleaned their fingers by kneading the dough. It is thought that this led to using a slice of bread to wipe the fingers. The Romans used two kinds of napkins. The sudarium, a pocket-sized handkerchief that was used to wipe the face during meals in the warm climate, and the mappa, a larger cloth that was spread over the couch to protect it from food bits that would drop while eating in a reclining position. The edge of the mappa was also used to blot the lips. Guests brought their own cloth to the meal, but upon leaving, they often filled them with bits leftover from

Table Settings the meal. Evidence suggests that the napkin was absent from the tables of the early Middle Ages, and diners seemingly wiped their hands and lips on whatever was convenient, be it one of their arms, their clothing, or a piece of bread. In time, the European table began to be set with several large cloths. The first was laid lengthwise at the lord’s place. A long towel was then laid over this and indicated a place for an honored guest. A third cloth served as a communal napkin that hung from the edge of the table like a swag. In the late Middle Ages, communal napkins shrank to the size of a modern bath towel and became more napkin-like. This cloth was an important part of the medieval banquet. The ewerer—a person placed in charge of dinnertime ablutions—carried a towel for the lord and his honored guests to use to wipe their hands after washing. A representation of a ewerer with his finger bowl and napkin can be seen in the Bayeux Tapestry. This position of ewerer continued symbolically into modern times with the maitre d’hotel whose napkin draped over the shoulder is a symbol of his office and rank. Servants of lower rank sported folded napkins lengthwise over their arms. A panter or pantler was in charge of the bread. He carried a folded napkin to transport the bread and knife to be used by the lord. The folded napkin was placed on the left side of the place setting. The spoon was wrapped in another napkin and a third napkin was placed over the other two. The cup-bearer kissed the towel the lord used to wipe his hands in a gesture of assurance that the water had not been poisoned. He then placed the towel over the lord’s left shoulder for use while dining. By the sixteenth century napkins had become more common although their size varied from place to place. French kings often had napkins folded into elaborate shapes by special napkin folders. These napkins were decorative only and never intended for use. This practice fell out of favor by the late seventeenth century. To protect the elaborate ruffs worn around the neck during the seventeenth century, the napkin—now a standard 35 inches by 45 inches—was tied around the neck. As the fork gained popularity, the napkin decreased in size, owing to a new emphasis on neatness while eating. By the eighteenth century the napkin had become a diminutive 30 inches by 36 inches. Napkins were tucked into the neck or buttonhole, or secured by a pin to protect the frilly neckwear. By the mid-nineteenth century hostesses were folding napkins into many shapes including “The Slipper,” “The Rose,” “The Boat,” and other designs. Etiquette manuals of the period discouraged the practice. Victorian napkins, whether for dinner or luncheon, tended to be a 36-inch square and, due to the large size, were generally folded in half before being placed on the lap. During the Edwardian period napkins came in different sizes to suit the meal. Breakfast napkins were 17 to 27 inches square. Luncheon napkins were 23 to 27 inches square. Dinner napkins were 29 to 31 inches square. By the 1920s they had shrunk to 13 to 17 inches for luncheon and 24 to 28 inches for dinner. The breakfast-sized napkin was also used for tea, although a special fringed napkin was sometimes favored.

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In family settings, napkins were sometimes used for two or three meals in a row without laundering. Napkin rings were used to identify the owner of the napkin. Families would have a set of napkin rings with some identifying item on each such as an engraved initial or a small decoration. Some sets had themed decorations such as animals. The family member could identify their napkin by the dog or horse or bird that adorned their particular napkin ring. A Victorian guest would be appalled to see napkin rings at a place setting, as it would indicate to them that the napkin had previously been used. Today, napkins vary with the kind of meal served. There are large napkins for multi-course meals; medium sized ones for smaller meals; and small ones for teas and cocktails. Napkins are generally simply folded or, for casual dining, served in a napkin ring. Napkins are sometimes folded into more elaborate shapes for special occasions, particularly at catered events. Further Reading: Giblin, James Cross. From Hand to Mouth, or, How We Invented Knives, Forks, Spoons and Chopsticks, and the Manners to Go with Them. New York: Crowell, 1987; Grover, Kathryn, ed. Dining in America 1850–1900. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1987; Hertzer, Linda. The Simple Art of Napkin Folding. New York: Hearst Books, 1980; Muller, Marianne, and Ola Mikolasek. Great Napkin Folding and Table Settings. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1990; Petroski, Henry. The Evolution of Useful Things. New York: Vintage Books, 1994; Ranholfer, Charles. The Epicurean. New York: Dover Publications, 1971; Schollander, Wendell, and Wes Schollander. Forgotten Elegance: The Art, Artifacts and Peculiar History of Victorian And Edwardian Entertaining in America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002; Venable, Charles L. Silver in America 1840 –1940: A Century of Splendor. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995; Visser, Margaret. Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities and Meaning of Table Manners. New York: Penguin Books, 1991; Von Drachenfels, Suzanne. The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.

Dorothy Denneen Volo

Tapas ¿Le pongo algo para picar? “Would you like something to nibble?” In Spain, food almost always accompanies wine, beer, or sherry, and it is rare to see someone drink alone. It is common to move from place to place to meet friends to drink and consume small bits of food, and the traditional food for such gatherings is tapas. Tapas are a way of life—a tasty means of teasing and appeasing the appetite before lunch (eaten from 2–3 P . M.) and /or dinner (eaten about 10 P.M.). At tascas, or tapas bars, people come together for tapeo, the tradition of stimulating the appetite with tapas while engaging in lively conversation with family, friends, and other patrons. That animated discourse may

Tapas consist of the day’s events, philosophy, politics, or the arts. Even business meetings have been known to be conducted over tapas. Although they may look like appetizers and may at times consist of the same foods, tapas are not appetizers. Appetizers or entrémese precede the first course of a meal, whereas tapas are not eaten as part of a meal. They are consumed between meals with a glass of sherry, wine, or beer. It is generally believed they date back to nineteenth-century Andalusia, where sherry is made. But colorful rival stories exist. One story claims that when King Alfonso X, the Wise, was ill, he was told to take small snacks between meals with some wine. Upon his recovery, he ordered innkeepers to provide some food with wine to prevent inebriation. In fact, King Felipe II did decree that tavern keepers accompany glasses of wine with a cover that included sausage to reduce public drunkenness. Some believe the tapas tradition dates back to the sixteenth century when tavern owners were looking for a way to camouflage cheap wine. In mature cheese they found the perfect foil. Others claim tapas evolved in response to the need of farmers and workers to ingest a small amount of food to tide them over, enabling them to continue working until it was time for the main meal. In winter, tapas was consumed with wine to warm the body; in the summer, especially in the south, gazpacho accompanied the tapas items being served. But perhaps the most likely origin resides in the meaning of the word itself. It is derived from the verb tapar, “to cover,” and the tradition of tapas most likely stems from the custom of covering a wine glass with a small plate in order to prevent insects or impurities from failing in. Beginning in the 1800s, tavern owners in Spain would top the plate with food. Eating a little while drinking not only helped prevent drunkenness, it promoted thirst, thus increasing sales at their tavern. In time, each tavern came to have its own specialties, often prepared by the tavern owner’s wife. Tapas originally were free, and some places in Spain still continue this tradition. The foods generally fall into three categories: cosas de picar (little things to nibble) consist of finger foods. Pinchos are tapas that require a utensil to eat, like a decorated toothpick ( banderillas). Cazuelas usually

Tapas. Dan Peretz/Shutterstock.

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Tapas-filled peppers and smoked ham. Peter Doomen/Shutterstock.

come in a sauce and are usually eaten with a larger, more common utensil such as a spoon or fork, rather than with one’s fingers. All regions of Spain have tapas, although the Basque refer to them as pintxos (from pinchar, “to prick”) because they are served with toothpicks. Ingredients vary by tradition, location, availability, and the individual establishment. Different cultures and countries have influenced tapas. Romans introduced the olive when they invaded the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Olives, along with almonds, citrus, and fragrant spices accompanied the Moors when they invaded the south of Spain. Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, beans, and sweet and chili peppers came from the New World. Tapas bars are crowded, warm, and spirited—patrons squeeze together at the bar, and then two to three people deep, they call out orders. A bodegón, derived from the word bodega meaning “pantry” or “tavern,” is a cheap restaurant that serves mostly drinks accompanied by mini-tapas. A tasca is the most typical pub or bar serving the widest variety of tapas. A mesón, or old-style inn, features a rustic décor that combines a tapas bar and restaurant. A cervecería offers beer and tapas that go well with beer, and a xampanyeria is a champagne bar that serves tapas to complement sparkling wines. Xampanyerias are common in Catalonia. Home entertaining is not common in Spain, and so taverns became the logical place for friends to get away and enjoy food, spirit, and good conversation. Tasca-hopping is a favored pastime. Tapas are consumed in small quantities while standing up, sometimes referred to as picar (“pecking” at the food). Tidbits are quickly chosen and consumed with gusto, as the diner moves on to the next choice or the next tavern. Portions are small, although large sizes

Taverns (ración) may sometimes be had. Bartenders generally keep patrons’ tallies in their heads. Each establishment commonly has 8 to 12 different types of tapas. These may be posted on a blackboard or displayed in cases. Dishes are hot and cold and are often flavored with garlic, chilies, pepper, saffron, or salt, and sometimes are bathed in copious amounts of olive oil. Popular choices include Serrano and Iberico ham, chorizo sausage, Manchego cheese, pickled and stuffed olives, tortilla española (potato omelet), albóndigas (veal and pork meatballs), fried fritters and fish or meat croquettes, and a variety of salads like salpicón de mariscos (shellfish cocktail) and remojón (orange and cod salad). Today, Spain’s fashionable restaurants have expanded the tapas repertoire to include dishes that showcase presentation and new ingredients. Madrid and other Spanish cities even host competitions known as Feria de la Tapa. Different bars have a signature tapa for a week along with their regular selection, and at the end guests vote on the best tapas. In some restaurants in the United States, the ambiance of the tapas bar has been recreated, while others offer a menu where a variety of tapas are combined to make an entire meal. Tapas have also become ideal for home entertaining, bridging the gap between a cocktail party and dinner party. Most can be prepared completely or partially in advance. Ingredients can be as simple to come by as opening a jar or can—olives, anchovies, sardines, capers, pimientos, accompanied by wedges of cheese drizzled with honey, thinly sliced Serrano or Iberico ham, and tomatoes marinated with garlic. Just place the dishes around the room to encourage mingling, and enjoy! Further Reading: Casas, Penelope. Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain. Revised edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007; Garcia, Tomas. Tapas Made Easy. London: New Holland Publishers, 2004.

WEB SITES http://www.andalucia.com /taste/tapas /home.htm http://www.arrakis.es/~jols /tapas/indexin.html http://www.catalanlife.com /index.cfm?uuid=354237ECDD http://www.cliffordawright.com/ history/tapas.html http://www.proper-spanish-tapas.com /

Stephanie Fogel

Taverns Taverns, as we know them today, first came to America with the English. The documented history of taverns as communal meeting and drinking places reaches back into the twelfth century. With the quality of drinking water

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suspect almost everywhere before the late nineteenth century, in most villages brewing and beer were as essential as were baking and bread. Certainly some basic equipment was needed to make beer or ale, principally a large cauldron, but there was nothing so sophisticated that it required a large investment of capital. Almost everywhere brewing was freely permitted, freely practiced, and largely untaxed. Even the poor could brew small beers (low alcohol), and everyone enjoyed sharing the product of their efforts among friends. This was generally not true of wines and wine production, which was often heavily controlled by the manorial lords or their taxing agents. The atmosphere surrounding wine was also a good deal more pretentious and refined than that associated with beer. The leading consumers of wine were often the upper classes, and because of climate most wines were imported into Britain (and later into British North America) from France, Spain, Italy, or Portugal. The vintners (wine sellers) often formed guilds to protect their trade from domestic interlopers. The Vintner’s Company of London, for instance, secured an essential monopoly of the retail wine trade in the city in the fourteenth century (see Gies and Gies, and Reese). Taverns came to America in the seventeenth century in the form of the so-called Puritan Ordinary, a type of public house (that is, open to public trade). A concern for the welfare of travelers and a desire to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors to the locals seem to have been important enough reasons for the magistrates of many New England towns to counsel the opening of some kind of licensed public house in each community. In 1644, Connecticut ordered all but the smallest towns to establish an ordinary for travelers constrained for want of entertainment; and in 1656, the General Court of Massachusetts made towns liable to a fine for not sustaining a

The Old Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, in which the first lodge of Free Masons was organized in North America, c. 1904. Library of Congress.

Taverns

Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, c. 1935. Library of Congress.

licensed public ordinary. By the close of the seventeenth century, the ordinaries, and the word ordinary, had largely passed into disuse in America with so-called inns and taverns taking their place. Inns were often placed at river crossings and bridges, along major roads or stagecoach lines, in ports, or in any well-traveled place. While inns provided lodgings for travelers, taverns were essentially drinking houses catering to the local population. Early taverns were located in town—often among a small cluster of public buildings, residences, and county stores. In fact, the importance of the tavern was far greater to its neighbors than to any itinerant travelers that happened upon it. It was there for the comfort of the community, for the interchange of news and opinions, and for the incidental sociability it provided among the townspeople. The tavern was often the unofficial center of community life. A tavern of this period might be a fairly substantial building of several rooms with a generous cellar for storage, or it might be a room set aside in a private residence. The bar room—an area of one room often set off by a counter and grating made of wooden bars—could be locked to keep out servants or late-night patrons. Colonial taverns were commonly furnished with a hodgepodge of small tables and unmatched chairs, stools, or benches. In some taverns a customer could purchase food in the form of pot-luck (literally whatever the tavern keeper had hanging in the fireplace pot that day), but taverns seldom offered very elaborate feasting, such as would be expected at inns.

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Christiana Campbell’s tavern garden in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1959. Library of Congress.

Many taverns had signs hung over the door to give notice that beer, ale, or rum could be purchased. These taverns often sported historical, descriptive, or comical names and images like the Admiral Benbow, the Willows, or the Belching Pig. Unlike in the drinking places favored by many other cultures, both men and women freely gathered in the English-style tavern. There they passed the evening much like modern villagers visiting the local pub. Convivial pastimes like gambling, singing, music, games, and conversation were a common part of the tavern scene, but accidents, quarrels, and acts of violence sometimes permeated the atmosphere, especially following sessions of hard drinking. Taverns were licensed establishments in most colonies, and most of the licenses were issued to men. Nonetheless, the widows of tavern keepers often continued the businesses long after the death of their husbands, and a remarkable number of licensed establishments in the colonies seemingly had no male proprietor that anyone could remember. The wives of these men had also been their business partners helping to run the establishment, providing food and clean clothing for the workmen or boarders, and sometimes maintaining the accounts. Many women, initially devastated by the loss of a husband, found that their status as a widow left them with more influence in managing the family wealth, business, or estate than might otherwise be the case. The September 2, 1732, South Carolina Gazette carried an advertisement for a tavern kept by Mrs. Peach as well as the public houses of several other ladies—Mrs. Eldrich, Mrs. Saureau, Mrs. Delamare, Mrs. Flavel, and

Taverns Mrs. Ramsey (Sprull 296). Some of these establishments were quite distinguished and appealed to members of the genteel class who preferred quiet, quality surroundings to the often questionable and crowded stagecoach inn or tap room in the tavern. Christiana Campbell’s tavern in colonial Williamsburg—one of five taverns in the town—was a favorite rendezvous for the Virginia Burgesses during so-called Court Days when the colonial assembly met. It was directly behind and just across the road from the capitol building, and it made a fine place to which to adjourn when the public business ground to a halt. Chowning’s, Shield’s, the Raleigh, and the King’s Arms were the other four taverns in town. In the eighteenth century the consumption of alcohol had not yet taken on the negative associations commonly voiced by temperance advocates in nineteenth century America. In the eighteenth century, colonial New England imported 4 million gallons of molasses each year. Half of this was distilled into a very satisfying rum in the 60 distilleries in Massachusetts, and 95 percent of the rum produced was consumed locally. Men and boys as young as 12 were allowed to buy whatever form of alcoholic beverage they wished. Besides domestically produced rum and beer, there were imported wines, brandies, and liqueurs of many types. Whiskeys, gins, and other distilled beverages were not particularly popular in America except as home brews intended to deny import duties to the Crown charged for the mere privilege of enjoying a temporary intoxication. Popular drinks included hot buttered rum (heated by the insertion of a hot poker) and a concoction of hot rum, beer, and brown sugar known as flip. Lucrative profits were also to be realized through the availability of other genial addictions, “a quiet smoke, a nice cup of tea, a sweet tooth . . . exotic rarities converted into cravings” (Schama 409). Tavern keepers often provided long-stemmed clay pipes that could be “rented” for a smoke. These have come to be known as tavern pipes. The end of the pipe stem was broken off when it became foul with tobacco tar. Literally thousands of these small pieces can be found by investigators in the “privy holes” on the sites of former taverns. Imported coffee and chocolate were also highly valued, and many business establishments catered to the “addicted” by providing coffee and chocolate in various forms. Shield’s Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg has recently been converted back into a colonial coffeehouse to better represent this facet of American life—both modern and historical. Colonials willingly spent a fair penny for their favorite extravagances, but they greatly resented paying import duties on them. The disputes surrounding these taxes would result in the American Revolution, and the taverns and coffeehouses would become the seedbeds of discussion, dissention, and rebellion. Some decades after the War for Independence, Senator Daniel Webster called one of America’s taverns the headquarters of the revolution. This was certainly not an overstatement of the facts. At a critical time in American history taverns served as a web of national unity connecting the so-called Committees of Correspondence in all 13 colonies. The firebrand patriot Sam Adams supposedly plotted the Tea Party at Boston’s Green Dragon Tavern

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(the original “Headquarters of the Revolution”), and Thomas Jefferson drafted elements of the Declaration of Independence at the Indian Queen Tavern in Philadelphia. Patrick Henry and the restless patriots of Virginia’s House of Burgesses pledged their dedication to liberty or death at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, and the Secret Committee of Congress planned for the first American navy in a private room at the Tun Tavern on the Philadelphia waterfront in 1775. The initial corps of American Marines was also raised in the Tun Tavern, and Robert Mullan, owner of the tavern, and Samuel Nickolas were made the first Captains of Marines. The Tun Tavern could be called the first Marine recruiting office in America. British Major John André, famed for his involvement with the traitor Benedict Arnold, was held during his trial at Mabie’s Tavern in Tappan, New York. A crowd of about 1,500 soldiers and onlookers witnessed the hanging of André on the hilltop behind the tavern that was owned by Casparus and Yoast Mabie. Finally, General George Washington bade an emotional and tear-filled farewell to his officer corps at war’s end at Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan. The most common sign found along the waterfront of many American cities in the Golden Age of American maritime commerce in the nineteenth century was probably the silhouette of a mug of ale or a bottle of rum. Sandwiched between the chandler’s and blacksmith’s shops, flanking the maritime outfitters or the sail lofts that dotted the entire harbor area were the sailors’ taverns. Sign boards bearing dolphins, anchors, capstans, and mermaids beckoned the sailors to groggeries with descriptive names such as the Jolly Tar, the Crow’s Nest, the Spyglass, the Admiral’s Cabin, or the Spouter. The interiors of these haunts ranged from dives with long wooden benches beneath low-beamed ceilings hung with smoky ship’s lanterns to plush, gilt halls festooned with velvet drapes. Seaport taverns were often the focus of merchants, investors, bankers, insurers, and sea officers who used them as places of business, and they served as fertile fields for hiring seamen and shipwrights. Contrary to common perceptions, the women and girls who served as so-called wenches and waitresses in taverns and alehouses rarely provided illicit entertainment of a sexual nature. This business was reserved for the bordellos and alleyways of the town. Herman Melville–—the author of Moby Dick, Billy Budd, and other nautical stories—described the waterfront as “that portion of the terraqueous globe providentially set apart for dancehouses, doxies, and tapsters, in short what sailors call a fiddler’s green” (Melville 1361). Nonetheless, street prostitutes could be brought into the tavern by patrons for as little as a dollar. The owners of the business, however, commonly frowned upon the practice as they could be fined by the authorities for running a disorderly establishment (Volo and Volo 5). The influx of German and Irish immigrants to America with their culture of social beer drinking initially bolstered the number of taverns and pubs found in cities, but the increase was also blamed for a rise in public drunkenness, wife beating, and crime. Many Americans could not escape the biased view that the decay and degeneracy of cities was due to the immigrants themselves who seemed to tolerate—if not frequent—taverns, beer halls,

Tea saloons, dance halls, gambling establishments, and houses of ill repute with amazing disregard for traditional American standards of conduct. The rise of anti-drinking and temperance causes in the nineteenth century made taverns less attractive as gathering places for public figures, who flocked instead to meet at the well-appointed public rooms of the newly popular hotels. Nonetheless, taverns continued to play a role during America’s Civil War. So common were they that it would be impossible to delineate the role of each; yet a few stand out in the historical record. The Herr Tavern on the Chambersburg Pike in Pennsylvania witnessed the very first clash of arms between Northern and Southern troops on the first day of Gettysburg, and it remains one of the most prominent landmarks along the Confederate lines on Herr Ridge. Dobbins Tavern was located very near the strategic center of the federal lines on Cemetery Ridge. Both taverns were used as hospitals during the crucial three-day battle in Pennsylvania, and both are still open for business. In May 1864, about a dozen miles north of Richmond, Virginia, Federal cavalry clashed with Southern horsemen at Yellow Tavern, a prominent landmark that lent its name to the battle. During the encounter, Confederate leader J.E.B. Stuart—the flamboyant Southern cavalry division commander who had ridden around the Union army three times in as many years to the embarrassment of the Northern horsemen—was killed. The South sorely felt his loss. Recreational drinking lost some of its luster during the temperance and prohibition crusades of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and taverns gave way to the speakeasies and nightclubs in the 1920s. Yet modern taverns have generally been able to recapture much of the homey character, convivial warmth, and welcoming hospitality of their colonial forbearers. Modern Americans continue to visit them to watch sports, to eat food, to argue politics, and to experience cordial sociability over a large pint. Further Reading: Gies, Frances, and Joseph Gies. Life in a Medieval Village. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1990; Melville, Herman. Billy Budd. New York: Literary Classics, 1983; Reeves, Compton. Pleasures and Pastimes in Medieval England. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998; Schama, Simon. A History of Britain, The Wars of the British, 1603–1776. New York: Hyperion, 2001; Sprull, Julia Cherry. Women’s Life and Work in the Southern Colonies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1973; Volo, Dorothy Denneen, and James M. Volo. Daily Life in the Age of Sail. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.

James M. Volo

Tea Tea ceremonies have their origins in China where tea’s cultivation began 4,000 years ago. During the tenth- through the thirteenth-century Song Dynasty, a style of tea drinking developed that involved using powdered

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green tea, ceramic serving bowls, and precise serving rituals. Known as the Song tea ceremony, its customs spread throughout Asia. Although the practice no longer takes place in China, drinking tea remains an integral part of family celebrations and weddings. During the holidays in particular younger generations take their elders to restaurants to have tea and pay their respects. Japanese tea ceremonies began in the thirteenth century after Buddhist monks returning from China introduced the Song tea ceremony to their countrymen. Emphasizing serenity, simplicity, and self-discipline, the Japanese version follows two schools of teaching—Omotesenke and Urasenke. Participants are expected to know the basic tenets of these schools and to exhibit the proper manners for serving and accepting tea. Both Omotesenke and Urasenke require guests to wash their hands, rinse their mouths, and remove their shoes before entering a teahouse. Once inside they are greeted by a kimono-clad host or hostess. Before the tea ceremony begins, the host may serve a small snack finished off with Japanese rice wine, sake, or an array of sweets. The host then kneels on a tatami, or straw mat, and cleans each teamaking utensil in front of his similarly kneeling, formally dressed guests. After completing this ritual, the host selects a ceremonial bamboo whisk with which he mixes hot water and powdered green tea in a ceramic tea bowl. Tea whisked, he then passes the bowl to his guests. Each person takes two or three sips before praising the drink, wiping the bowl’s rim, and, with a bow, passing the bowl to the next person. The procedure is repeated until everyone has drunk the tea. The host then cleans the utensils again. As prescribed, the tea ceremony may take between one to four hours to complete.

Making tea in a wealthy Peking, China home, c. 1901. Library of Congress.

Tea

A tea ceremony in Shanghai, China. TAOLMOR /Shutterstock.

A sense of tranquility is maintained throughout and conversation is kept to a minimum. A contrast to the Japanese ceremonies, afternoon tea in Great Britain and former British colonies acts as a means of satiating one’s appetite. British afternoon tea began in the early nineteenth century when Anna the Duchess of Bedford requested that a snack of tea, bread, and butter be delivered to her chambers in the late afternoon. She required this light meal at five o’clock because she had experienced a “sinking feeling” and could not wait for the standard eight o’clock dinner. Soon after the duchess began inviting friends to join her for this daily repast and stave off pre-dinner hunger pangs. Tea was served then as it is now, in a teapot, accompanied with milk and sugar. Over the years afternoon tea has come to include scones with jam and clotted cream, small iced cakes and pastries, and tea sandwiches, all of which are displayed on a tiered stand. Customary tea sandwiches consist of thinly sliced cucumber, egg, and smoked salmon and dill. The delicate sandwiches are served with the crusts removed and cut into triangles. A simpler version of afternoon tea, Devon cream tea omits the sandwiches and calls only for scones, jam, and clotted cream. Now taken around four o’clock, British afternoon tea is offered in homes, teashops, and hotels, consumed by patrons dressed casually or in their best finery, and with as much conversation as desired. In the United States afternoon tea appears on the menus of teashops and high-end hotels and is often mistakenly referred to as “high tea.” High tea is, in fact, an early evening meal served at six o’clock and stands as a substitute for the later evening dinner.

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Throughout much of North Africa mint tea or atay bi nahna acts as the drink of hospitality. Introduced by the British in the 1850s, green tea was quickly accepted and adapted by the North Africans. Served in a silver, ornamental teapot, the hot tea contains a generous infusion of fresh mint and sugar. Poured from the teapot held high above the table, it splashes gently into small, slender, filigree glasses. Sweet pastries can accompany it and do so during the Festival of Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan. Deemed a symbol of good will in North Africa, mint tea plays a prominent role in welcoming houseguests, conducting business dealings, bargaining for carpets, woodcrafts, or souvenirs and relaxing with friends at a café. Also thought to aid in digestion, it is served at the beginning or end of every meal. Etiquette requires that each person consume three glasses before departing a home, shop, or cafe. To decline a glass is deemed rude. Whether due to its lack of expense, comforting taste, ritualized yet simple preparation, or mildly addictive properties, mint tea has captivated this region. One cannot walk through a busy square without seeing rich, steaming tea being sipped at sidewalk cafes or in storefronts. Wherever tea is taken, lively conversation remains part of the event. Further Reading: Davidson, Alan. The Penguin Companion to Food. New York: Penguin Books, 2002; Fox, Kate. Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2005; Hanger, Catherine. World Food Morocco. Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2000; Herbst, Sharon Tyler. The New Food Lover’s Companion. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2001; The Rough Guide to Morocco. New York: Rough Guides, 2004; Shulman, Martha Rose. The Food Lover’s Atlas of the World. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2002.

WEB SITE http://www.greentealovers.com

Kathy Hunt

Tearooms in America Spurred on by the onset of prohibition, increased women’s rights, and the growth of the highway system, the American tearoom took off during the early years of the twentieth century. An alternative to the preexisting options of expensive hotel and high-class establishments, or roughshod roadside inns, the tearoom offered a more casual dining experience for all, but it catered mainly to a female clientele who had until recently been banned from unaccompanied public dining. The tearoom fad started in the larger cities and then radiated out into the surrounding rural areas, a chain reaction that mirrored the expansion of interstate roads across the country. High society embraced the city tearoom as a meeting place and a social destination during the 1900s and 1910s. Hotels, such as the Plaza and the

Tearooms in America Waldorf in New York City, and department stores, such as Marshall Field in Chicago and Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia, set aside rooms for the sole purpose of serving afternoon tea. After witnessing the success of these establishments, other hotels, stores, and individual proprietors followed suit. The Chicago Daily noted in an article in 1908 that the tearoom’s success with women was so great that it would soon “be more in vogue than it is in London or Paris.” While men constituted a small percentage of patrons, the tearooms were first and foremost a refuge for women. Rules still existed during those years that excluded unaccompanied women from dining in most restaurants. Tearooms were one of the first exceptions to these restrictions. They became a place for women to socialize, relax, and see and be seen. Tea dances became the rage in the hotels in the years leading up to World War I. Proprietors hired bands and removed tables to allow patrons space to dance. While mostly deemed respectable establishments, critics saw tearooms as places of loose morals where women smoked, danced, and in some cases, drank alcoholic beverages. The wealthy patrons of the city tearooms created the demand for the roadside tearoom in the surrounding countryside. Improved state roads and the higher rate of car ownership made day trips easy for the wealthy and as a result, enterprising women in small towns opened establishments that catered to the travelers’ needs. Proprietors renovated run down houses and abandoned barns close to major thoroughfares to serve the pleasure seeking day-trippers, resuscitating areas previously ignored during the preceding years of train travel. The simple cooking and rustic settings of these rural tearooms charmed city dwellers who were accustomed to hotel food and urban landscapes. The décor of the tearooms played an important role in their success. The Colonial style prevailed during a time period when velvet and heavy ornamentation of the Victorian era was common. The simple lines of the wooden tables, the bare floors, the decorative touches, such as a spinning wheel in the corner, were meant to connote cleanliness, simplicity, and hominess. In many cases, the furnishings and wall hangings were sold along with the tea and sandwiches. Some owners installed tea gardens, offering patrons the novelty of dining outdoors. Customers enjoyed signs of a socalled feminine touch, such as floral centerpieces, delicate china, and lantern festooned trees. While individual expression was encouraged, and in some cases, such as the bohemian Greenwich Village–inspired tearooms, expected, all followed certain guidelines. Comfort, cleanliness, and good, simple food were the promises of the roadside tearoom. The tearoom influenced change in the status quo of the restaurant industry as it existed in the early twentieth century. Restaurants at the time were almost exclusively male, both in the makeup of their owners and employees. Tearooms replaced the European standard of maitre d’ and all male wait staff with personable hostesses and well-mannered waitresses. Proprietors made every attempt to emphasize the comfort and happiness of customers over the commercial atmosphere perceived in other restaurants.

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The teahouse of the Vusper Country Club in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, c. 1880–1920. Library of Congress.

Though men ran most hotel tearooms, middle class, often college educated women owned the smaller establishments. Universities offered programs in the domestic sciences, including courses to assist women’s entry into the catering world. Correspondence courses sold informational booklets to wouldbe owners. Newspapers and women’s magazines gave advice and guarded encouragement to women who possessed knowledge of food, a pleasing personality, and an opportune location to enter into the business of running a tearoom. The personal supervision of a female over every aspect of the dining experience contributed in great part to the tearoom’s lasting success. The advent of the female owner and the more delicate sensibilities of the clientele resulted in streamlined menus. Out were the red meat, heavy sauces, and multiple courses of other restaurants. In were fresh vegetables and salads, chicken dishes, and other light meals. Home economists encouraged this turn from heavy meals to lighter fare, armed with the new science of nutrition. Simple preparations were favored over complex, overly spiced food. This emphasis on home style cooking allowed women with little or no professional cooking experience to enter the business since they felt “it’s nothing but housekeeping on a larger scale.” By necessity, tearooms offered limited menus. Thrift was of great importance because of the limited profit margin involved in the sale of tea. The overhead cost of keeping a tearoom increased incrementally the more complicated the menu became. The simplicity of the menus also allowed tearooms to serve meals at untraditional mealtimes to the hungry tourists who made up the majority of their patrons.

Thanksgiving The tearoom’s heyday ended with the very factors that spurred them on. The repeal of prohibition in 1933 and the stock market crash of 1929 slowed down the demand for quiet, genteel places. Tearooms introduced alcoholic beverages to their menus in an effort to lure male clientele away from the newly reopened saloons. Paved roads were replaced by superhighways, which literally passed the tearooms by. Chain restaurants popped up along the highway system that copied and streamlined the many innovations of the tearooms, but at a much lower cost and at a greater savings for the consumer. Though tearooms continued to flourish well into the fifties and have enjoyed a revival in interest in recent years, the craze never returned to the heights of the early twentieth century. Further Reading: “Five O’clock Tea Popular; Chicago Women Take To It.” Chicago Daily Tribune. September 6, 1908; Cades, Hazel Rawson. “Everybody Eats.” Woman’s Home Companion, November, 1928; Whitaker, Jan. Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social History of the Tea Room Craze in America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002.

Siobhan Fagan

Thanksgiving Early American colonists celebrated days of thanksgiving, which were organized in response to specific events, such as military victories, good harvests, or providential rainfalls. New England’s Puritans were particularly enamored of thanksgivings, which to them were solemn religious occasions spent in church. Not much is known about early thanksgiving dinners, if there were any. Of the thousands of the thanksgiving days observed in New England from the seventeenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries, only one church record even suggests the possibility of a feast. While the absence of references does not imply that there were no dinners on thanksgiving days, it is surprising that more records have not been found. Descriptions of sumptuous Thanksgiving dinners date to the early nineteenth century. In 1806 William Bentley, the pastor of the East Church in Salem, Massachusetts, described a two-course meal—the first consisting of turkey and other meat dishes, and the second, of pastries and desserts. Edward Everett Hale, the American author and Unitarian minister, noted that Thanksgiving dinners commenced with chicken pie and roast turkey, then proceeded to several different types of pies, tarts, and puddings, and ended with dried fruit. A New Hampshire Thanksgiving dinner of the same era began with a ham and a large roast turkey, followed by chicken, duck, celery, puddings, pies, and fruit. An 1831 Thanksgiving dinner in Geneva, New York, noted turkey, beef, duck, ham, sausage, potatoes, yams, succotash, pickles, nuts, raisins, pears, peaches, pie, tarts, creams, custards, jellies, floating islands, sweetbreads, wines, rum, brandy, egg-nog, and punch. The writer Harriet Beecher Stowe reported that thanksgiving celebrations in Litchfield,

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Connecticut, included elaborate meals composed of turkey, chicken, chicken pies, plum puddings, and four types of pie for dessert. Many influences helped transform the regional New England thanksgiving dinner into a national holiday. One major factor was migrations. New England soil was not the best for farming and many New Englanders moved to other parts of the country in search of better farmland. New York’s central valley, for instance, was largely settled by New Englanders, as was much of the Midwest. Transplanted New Englanders kept the Thanksgiving dinner alive in their new homes and urged their newly adopted communities to celebrate it as well. In addition, Thanksgiving became part of popular American culture. Thanksgiving became subject matter for songs and poems were common fare. William Wordsworth’s poem, Thanksgiving Ode was popular for decades. Lydia Maria Child, author of The American Frugal Housewife, wrote perhaps the most Thanksgiving poem best known by its first line, “Over the river and thro’ the wood.” Likewise, Thanksgiving was a day when those who were well off gave food to the poor and destitute, a practice that continues today.

THE PILGRIMS AND THANKSGIVING The first published association between the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving appeared in 1841, when Alexander Young published a copy of a letter written by Edward Winslow, dated December 11, 1621, describing an undated three-day event in the fall at Plimoth Plantation. The letter was published the following year in England as part of a larger book titled, A Relation or Iournall of the Beginning and Proceeding of the English Plantation Setled at Plimoth in New England (1622). In this letter, Winslow writes: Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a more special manner re[ j]oice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labours. They four in one day k[i]lled as much fowl as, with a little help besides, served the Company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king, Massasoit with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted. And they went out and killed five deer which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our Governor and upon the Captain and others.

In a footnote to the letter, Young claimed that the event described by Winslow “was the first thanksgiving, the harvest festival of New England. On this occasion they no doubt feasted on the wild turkey as well as venison.” In the same 1841 volume, Young also cited Governor William Bradford’s 1650 manuscript, which told the story of Plimoth Plantation from 1620 to 1647. Bradford made no mention of the event described by Winslow, but he did report that in the fall of 1621, there was “a great store of wild turkeys,” venison, cod, bass, waterfowl, and corn available at the colony. However, neither

Thanksgiving author used the word thanksgiving to describe this or any other event in the fall of 1621. The Puritans made no subsequent mention of it and no evidence has surfaced suggesting that it was remembered or observed in later years. The feast described by Winslow makes no mention of prayer and it does include many secular elements: the Puritans would not have considered it a day of thanksgiving. However, the idea that the 1621 event at Plimoth Plantation was the “First Thanksgiving” was picked up by others, and by the mid-nineteenth century it was generally believed in New England that the Pilgrims had started the Thanksgiving dinner tradition. Of course, Jamestown, settled in 1607, observed days of thanksgiving years before the Pilgrims landed at Plimoth Plantation, and a plaque in Jamestown marks the purported site of the real First Thanksgiving, but factual knowledge was unable to stop the fakelore from spreading. The association between the Pilgrims and thanksgiving remains a popular symbol in the celebration of Thanksgiving today. SARAH JOSEPHA HALE’S TALE The driving force behind making Thanksgiving a national holiday was Sarah Josepha Hale, who published a two-volume novel titled Northwood; or, a Tale of New England (1827). It included an entire chapter describing a Thanksgiving dinner of the time. The publication of Northwood brought Hale fame, and she was selected as the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1836. Hale commenced her campaign to create a national Thanksgiving holiday in 1846. For the next 17 years, she wrote annually to members of Congress, prominent individuals, and the governors of every state and territory, requesting each to proclaim the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving day. In an age before word processors, typewriters, or mass media, this campaign was a daunting task.

A Godey’s Lady’s Book engraving of Sarah Josepha (Buell) Hale at Thanksgiving. Library of Congress.

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Sarah Josepha Hale believed that a national Thanksgiving holiday would help bind America together. She came close to success in 1859 when 30 states and three territories observed Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November. During the Civil War, she was unable to communicate with many Southern states, so rather than lobby each state one by one, she approached President Lincoln, asking for Thanksgiving to be designated a national holiday. A few months after the North’s military victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November a national day of thanksgiving, and the holiday has been celebrated ever since. TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING DINNER Although Thanksgiving church services continued to be held in the nineteenth century, a writer in Scribner’s Magazine in 1871 proclaimed that Americans had “almost lost sight of” the religious character of the day. In cities, the author reported, no one considered attending religious services on Thanksgiving a duty, and in the country women and men attended services, but their attention was really focused on “what has grown to be considered the real event, the raison d’etre of the day, namely, the dinner.” By the turn of the twentieth century, Thanksgiving dinner had become enshrined in cookery magazines and cookbooks, which published menus for proper Thanksgiving meals and offered recipes to help the uninitiated to prepare the traditional dishes. In her Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1896), Fannie Farmer, the principal of the Boston Cooking School, offered a Thanksgiving menu with 23 dishes. Other menus were more elaborate: the Thanksgiving Dinner in The Picayune’s Creole Cook Book (1900), a New Orleans culinary bible, for instance, featured 33 dishes among which were “Baked Red Snapper a la Creole” and “Turkey Stuffed with Chestnuts.” This book also offered a menu for “A More Economical Thanksgiving Dinner” with only 28 dishes. The cookbook also offered extensive suggestions for proper Thanksgiving decorations, which would suggest “wild luxuriance and freedom of growth, the spirit of American liberty which gave birth to this day.” Most Thanksgiving dinners were simpler. Most featured a turkey. At first, it was served with other meats. Venison and game, for instance, were common foods served at early nineteenth century dinners. But as the nineteenth century progressed, game largely disappeared from the American table—particularly in urban areas—and by the end of century it had disappeared from Thanksgiving menus. The domesticated goose, which had been the main course for the traditional English Christmas, was another important meat served at Thanksgiving during the nineteenth century. The goose, however, was smaller and cost more than the turkey and serving goose at Thanksgiving slowly went out of fashion. Beef was occasionally mentioned in descriptions of Thanksgiving dinners; it was an important meat source in New England and it was frequently cheaper per pound than poultry. But by far the closest challenger to the turkey as the center piece

Thanksgiving of the dinner was the chicken pie, a traditional English savory dish. Even this alternative to the turkey disappeared from the Thanksgiving menu by the end of the nineteenth century. The traditional American Thanksgiving that emerged consisted of the turkey as its centerpiece. The price of turkey had declined during the nineteenth century to such an extent that by the century’s end that it was less expensive than the alternatives and thus was affordable to most Americans. The central role of the turkey was exemplified by the phrase “Turkey Day,” which became a synonym for Thanksgiving by the 1880s. Turkeys were prepared in many ways—deboned and boiled, fried, baked, and roasted. Rituals of carving the turkey at the table—usually the responsibility of the senior male at the dinner—derive from the Middle Ages and continued in America until at least the mid-twentieth century. The turkey’s large body cavities presented unique opportunities for the creative cook. The recent popularity of the New Orleans Turducken—a deboned chicken within a deboned duck within a deboned turkey with stuffing placed between the layers is in fact a Renaissance way of preparing turkeys. Most cooks stuff the cavities with a wide variety of ingredients, including oysters, chopped liver, prunes, dried bread, cherries, berries, lard, artichokes, egg yolks, grated cheese, chestnuts, and onions seasoned variously with mint, marjoram, parsley, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, grated cheese, and garlic. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in many different ways. For instance, the practice of giving turkeys at Thanksgiving became common by the early

Thanksgiving dinner in Neffsville, Pennsylvania, 1942. Library of Congress.

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nineteenth century. No doubt this provided the impetus for employers to give turkeys to their staffs. It was a logical step from giving a Thanksgiving dinner for the poor. Similar events for the homeless have been in almost every city in America ever since. As the turkey took central position in the Thanksgiving feast a wide array of side dishes were also institutionalized. In the South, candied yams, sweet potatoes, and tangy relishes became important components. MexicanAmerican families often served posole, menudo, and tamales. IMMIGRANT THANKSGIVING In the 1880s immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe began flooding into the United States. The American public education system’s major task was to create a common American heritage. One curricular need was to create an easily understood history of America. The Pilgrims were an ideal symbol for America’s beginning. Pageants celebrating the mythical First Thanksgiving were commonly conducted in schools. The Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving became imbedded in the nation’s schools, as did the Thanksgiving feast. Immigrant families who had not celebrated Thanksgiving in their native lands readily adopted the holiday and the dinner. In the process, immigrants added to and modified the traditional Thanksgiving menu. Although not every immigrant has retained the turkey as the central feature of the Thanksgiving dinner, historian Elizabeth Pleck has pointed out that in general the turkey “became the symbol of the dominant culture, and the stuffing and side dishes, and desserts the immigrants’ contribution.” FOOTBALL DAY The entertainments on Thanksgiving extend well beyond the family gathering and the massive feast. In 1876, the Intercollegiate Football Association scheduled a championship football game on Thanksgiving Day. Whether this was the first game played on Thanksgiving is unknown, but it is clear that games continued to be played on Thanksgiving thereafter. In the 1890s, the Chicago Tribune estimated that about 10,000 high school, college, and athletic clubs played football on Thanksgiving Day. In 1893 the New York Times concluded that Thanksgiving needed to be renamed as it no longer had any religious content; “football day” was mentioned as a possible alternative. Fans gave up or postponed their Thanksgiving dinner. In 1934 NBC radio broadcast the first national Thanksgiving Day football game. Later television made it possible for fans to remain in their home, enjoy their dinner, and watch their favorite ball game. THE MASS MARKET THANKSGIVING Thanksgiving had become a gift-giving occasion in the early nineteenth century. By mid-century, merchants produced books specifically to be given

Thanksgiving as presents at Thanksgiving. Beginning in the 1880s, Thanksgiving greeting cards were manufactured for use in the same way as were Christmas and Valentine’s Day cards. Other goods—napkins, plates and candies—were also marketed. Commercial companies manufactured Thanksgiving-related products, such as cranberry sauce and boxed stuffing. By the early twentieth century, commercial companies began inserting advertisements into newspapers and magazines with Thanksgiving themes. These early attempts to commercialize Thanksgiving pale by comparison to those efforts associated with Macy’s department store. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was started by Macy’s employees on November 27, 1924. The parade stepped off on 145th Street in Harlem and ended in front of the Macy’s store on Herald Square. Balloons were introduced in the late 1920s, and they have since become the signature attraction for the event. Traditionally, the last float of the parade carries Santa Claus, who officially kicks off the Christmas shopping season. Millions of visitors and television viewers watch the trademark giant balloons as they’re marched down the avenues. Many people feel that the parade and the materialistic mania it ushers in have made Thanksgiving a symbol of crass commercialism. Others watch the parade on television while they are preparing their Thanksgiving Feast or watch the film Miracle on 34th Street, which is frequently aired on Thanksgiving Day. THANKSGIVING PROTESTS Perhaps due to the national significance of Thanksgiving, many Americans promote particular causes on the day. In 1835, William Alcott, a physician, wrote that he was opposed to the feast on moral grounds as well as for medical reasons. He called Thanksgiving a carnival “loaded with luxuries not only on the day of the general Thanksgiving, but for several days afterward.” He was particularly concerned because New Englanders were also beginning to celebrate Christmas, and he claimed that the two feasts had already merged into one long period of overindulgence that caused serious health problems. William Alcott had other reasons to oppose the traditional Thanksgiving dinner: he had become a vegetarian in 1830 and was later one of the founders of the American Vegetarian Society. Few Americans paid any attention to Alcott or the vegetarians until the late twentieth century, when animal rights organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), gained visibility for their beliefs around Thanksgiving. For PETA members, Thanksgiving is not a time to eat turkeys but to convince Americans to give up eating meat. PETA has sponsored petitions and published leaflets encouraging a turkey-less Thanksgivings under the slogan “Give Turkeys Something to be Thankful For!” To counteract Butterball’s Thanksgiving Talk Line, which answers questions about proper cooking techniques, PETA has encouraged its members to call Butterball’s Talk Line and tell them that there was no proper way to kill and cook turkeys. Another organization, the Farm Sanctuary, encourages Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving without eating turkey. Sanctuary also publishes “Thankful Turkey Recipes,” which “provides delicious Thanksgiving recipes that give

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the turkeys something to really be thankful for.” It also distributes a video, “The Making of a Turkey,” with “undercover footage obtained by Farm Sanctuary investigators of inhumane factory farming practices, transportation cruelties, and slaughterhouse abuses.” Variations on the “Mock Turkey” became a regular feature in vegetarian and other cookbooks. Even if turkey does not appear on their tables, turkey images frequently do. Beginning in the 1980s, vegetarians could feast on tofu turkey or Tofurkey, which is a soy-based product shaped like a turkey, instead of the traditional holiday bird. Other vegetarians prefer not to eat even turkey images or foods that are intended to taste like turkey. Yet another protest was launched by Native Americans who began calling Thanksgiving “A National Day of Mourning.” When the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Massachusetts was celebrated in 1970, Frank James, a Wampanoag leader, was invited to speak at the ceremonies. Before he delivered his pro-American Indian perspective, the text was leaked to the press, and his invitation to speak was rescinded. On Thanksgiving Day, James, along with hundreds of other Native Americans and their supporters, gathered at Coles Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, and declared a National Day of Mourning. Every year since, the United American Indians of New England have sponsored similar days. James died in 2001, but his son has carried on the tradition. THANKSGIVING TODAY Today, Thanksgiving remains one of America’s most important holidays. Retailers have commercialized Thanksgiving Day as the start of the Christmas shopping season, and football games remain part of the entertainment. Illustrators, film makers, and television producers have generated new Thanksgiving images. However, the importance of the family Thanksgiving dinner has not faded, for it symbolizes a basic truth for most Americans: our nation is a land of abundance, and we owe thanks for it. Further Reading: Baker, James W., with Elizabeth Brabb. Thanksgiving Cookery. New York: The Brick Tower Press, 1994; Curtin, Kathleen, Sandra L. Oliver, and Plimoth Plantation, Inc. Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and History, from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2005; Pleck, Elizabeth. “The Making of the Domestic Occasion: the History of Thanksgiving in the United States.” Journal of Social History (Summer, 1999): 773–89; Smith, Andrew F. The Turkey: A Social History. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.

Andrew F. Smith

Theme Parties Themes give parties a focus and help organize the series of choices a host or hostess must make to guide menu, location, décor, activities, guest and

Toasts host behaviors and expectations. Many party planning services will organize, plan, and provide a package of goods and services to express one theme or another. Themes can provide verve and structure to a party. Sometimes a theme is suggested by a season, such as a fall harvest: colorful foliage can lend to the décor, and the menu could feature pumpkins, squashes, and perhaps wild game. A spring fling might call for newly budded branches, soft pastel table linens, and a menu that includes such quintessential spring foods as asparagus and lamb. Political issues or fundraising for a cause might suggest color schemes expressing political positions or nationhood. A favorite food could lead to an all chocolate brunch, including party favors of handmade truffles, an intricately designed chocolate sculpture table centerpiece, and comparative chocolate-tasting or cupcake-decorating activities. Holiday traditions or ethnic festivals, such as Halloween or All Saints’ Day, Mexican Fiesta, or Mardi Gras, offer opportunities for guests to engage with historic, cultural, and ethnic customs. Some themes structure the activities conducted during the event, such as a bowling party, casino night gaming, or disco fever dancing, complete with disco balls. Parties centered around an activity or era can easily be made into a costume party, in which guests are asked to dress up according to the era or activity. The best-known historical theme parties are masquerade balls, where guests arrive masked and in costumes. Masked guests might be more willing to behave differently than they might, if they were easily identifiable. Many novels, operas, and plays use the masked ball as the setting of choice for romances, illicit liaisons, and dramas. A story set in a masked ball often results in love or tragedy, or both. Further Reading: Nekola, Pat. Theme Parties: Just for Kids and Families too! Waukesha, WI: Kids and Families Activities Ink/Applewood Ink, 2007; Pals, Ellen M. Create a Celebration: Ideas and Resources for Theme Parties, Holidays, and Special Occasions, Activities for All Ages. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Pub., 1996; Sachs, Patty. 52 Totally Unique Theme Parties. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, 1993.

WEB SITES http://www.creativeimpactgroup.com http://www.eventexperts.com http://www.shindigz.com

Carol G. Durst-Wertheim

Toasts A toast is a term that most often refers to the act of honoring people, things, or ideas by having a sip of an alcoholic beverage. A toast can also refer to the person, thing, or idea that is being honored. For example, “Andy Warhol

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was the toast of New York!,” meaning that Andy Warhol was greatly respected and often toasted by those who knew of him and his work. In most cases, toasting involves several steps. Raising one’s glass almost always comes first. After one person raises their glass, the rest of the group present joins in and raises their own glasses. It is socially unacceptable in most cultures to not raise your own glass if someone has begun a toast. To not do so is a sign of disrespect to the person giving the toast and is a nonverbal way to express disagreement with the toast itself. The second step is verbally announcing the reason for the toast. This can be as simple and common as “To Lisa!,” or it can last several minutes and be funny, sad, or anecdotal, depending on the occasion at which the toast is being given. For example, on a simple night out with friends, one might toast, “To us!” or “To Donald and Lydia’s new house!” However, at a wedding a best man’s toast would be quite different. It might begin with a story of when he and the groom were young and then end with a funny joke. Regardless of its length, once the toast has been made, those in agreement will almost always verbally confirm the sentiment. If the toast was short and simple, they may do this by repeating the toast or they may show their agreement by saying, “Hear, hear!” At this point, everyone involved in the toast may touch their glass to everyone else’s glass that is within reach and then everyone takes a sip of their drink. In some groups, it is considered more sophisticated to not actually touch glasses with those around you, but doing so is more common than not. In certain situations, such as when drinking small glasses of ouzo in Greece, one might drink the entire contents of the glass instead of a small sip. In North American culture this is not typically done and when it is, it can be seen as excessive.

A bridal toast, 1905. Library of Congress.

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There are occasions, such as Some Famous Toasts after a death, that one may give a “silent” toast. This is done by sim“Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter. Sermons and sodaply raising the glass and announcwater the day after.” —Lord Byron ing the toast in as few words as “Stir the eggnog, lift the toddy, Happy New Year, everybody.” —Phyllis possible. For example, “To John, McGinley may he rest in peace.” Those par“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendticipating in the toast will not vership, but never in want.” —Traditional Irish toast bally agree, but instead will simply keep their glasses raised until the person giving the toast lowers his glass and takes a sip. In some parts of the world, including many countries in Europe, it is customary to toast every time a new drink is poured. In North Men in Civil War uniforms toastAmerican culture, where a group ing with glasses of wine, 1864. will typically only toast once Library of Congress. during a gathering or celebration, toasting for every drink may be seen as excessive and unnecessary. One can toast with whatever beverage is available. Most commonly, the beverage is an alcoholic one but it is not looked down upon for someone who doesn’t drink at all to toast with something other than an alcoholic beverage. However, toasting with water is thought by some people to bring bad luck and, at the very least, is seen as insufficiently celebratory by others. Champagne is a very common drink with which to toast, especially when the champagne is opened to specifically celebrate a particular event, such as a marriage, graduation, or holiday. New Year’s Eve is one of the most common reasons for toasting with champagne. Further Reading: Dickson, Paul. Toasts: Over 1,500 Of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings, and Graces. New York: Crown Publishers, 1981.

Jessica Kokinos-Havel

Tupperware Party A new and growing middle class with an increased discretionary income emerged in the newly developed suburbs of post–World War II America. Women, who until recently had been employed as part of the war effort, found themselves pushed back into the home and into their roles as homemaker, mother, and caregiver. The Tupperware party emerged in this dynamic of newly discovered consumer culture and the revival of women’s traditional roles. Although associated by many nowadays as a stereotype

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Women gather at a Tupperware home party in 1958. AP/Wide World Photo.

of all that is kitsch, the Tupperware party in 1950s America allowed many women a chance to work again in a socially acceptable manner. Earl S. Tupper founded Tupper Plastics Co. in 1938, following his discovery of a method that purified polyethylene into a clear, durable, nongreasy plastic. Soon after, inspired by the lid of a paint can in a hardware store, Tupper invented Tupperware, a line of sealable kitchenware which promised to “lock in flavor and lock out air” (quote from Tupperware commercial, Courtesy of Prelinger Archives). The products met with limited success until Tupper’s decision in 1951 to hire a successful regional salesperson, Brownie Wise, as his vice president in charge of Tupper Home Parties, Inc., and the concurrent switch from retail sales to the home party format. While Ms. Wise did not invent the home party, her considerable abilities as a salesperson and inspirational figure helped the company to grow into a multi-million dollar corporation in a few short years. The home party traded upon women’s existing social connections and her abilities as a hostess as decisive factors to her success with Tupperware sales. No experience, education, or age restrictions applied and so what started as an American phenomenon spread throughout the world by the late 1950s. After purchasing a start-up kit, which contained the cups and bowls necessary to demonstrate the new technology, a woman invited her friends and neighbors over for a party. Entertaining at home appeared more genteel than selling goods door-to-door and disguised the ulterior purpose of sales under the acceptable outlet of socializing. Hostesses served refreshments and

Tupperware Party encouraged guests to participate in games or to sing the Tupperware theme song before getting down to the demonstration of the product and its airtight seal. While the format was not set, the in-house magazine Tupperware Sparks offered suggestions for how to hold a successful party. These parties allowed women a welcome opportunity to leave their homes and meet with other women from their community. The social pressure to not only buy, but also host a party worked, as reflected by the 100 percent increase in profits from 1953 to 1954 (Brownie Wise quote, Wall Street Journal, June 9, 1955). Not only the promise of an income, but also gifts in the form of Tupperware products and the allure of the annual Jubilee held at the Tupperware Home Party headquarters in Kissimmee, Florida, acted as incentives for higher sales. Invented by Brownie Wise, the jubilees gathered top salespeople and managers for five-day extravaganzas where women literally dug for rewards ranging from pen and pencil sets, to mink coats and brand new cars. Between inspirational classes, saleswomen dropped wishes sealed in small Tupperware containers into a wishing well; a Tupperfairy later granted a handful of these wishes for the lucky few. Wise went so far as to give away clothing from her own wardrobe. The combination of spectacle and high profits brought Tupperware to the attention of the media, landing the jubilees in pictorial stories in Life magazine and Brownie Wise on the cover of Business Week in 1954. Though Earl Tupper fired Wise in 1958 and subsequently sold the company for more than $9 million, Tupperware parties continued without them, on into today. After an unsuccessful attempt to break into the retail sector in 2002, the company returned to the direct sales format in 2003 as the main source of sales. As of 2002, Tupperware had more than a million sales consultants located in more than one hundred countries. Though the home party is now considered more of a novelty in the United States, women still meet to demonstrate and sell Tupperware at a rate of once every 2.5 seconds throughout the world. Further Reading: Brownie Wise quote. Wall Street Journal. June 9, 1955; Clarke, Alison J. Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999; Quote from Tupperware commercial. Courtesy of Prelinger Archives.

Siobhan Fagan

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V Valentine’s Day The identity of Saint Valentine for whom the day is named is unclear. There are several possible Valentines who were martyred or beheaded during the februa, or the Roman festival of purification held on February 15. One legendary Valentine was a Roman priest or bishop who lived during the reign of Emperor Claudius the Second. Claudius believed that married men made poor soldiers, so he banned marriage for young men who would potentially become soldiers. Valentine defied the Emperor’s decree and continued to quietly marry young couples in clandestine locations, an activity that was considered treasonous by Romans. Valentine’s secret marriage ceremonies were eventually discovered. Attempts were made to dissuade him from continuing the nuptials and even to get him to convert to paganism. Valentine refused. He was imprisoned and beheaded on February 14. Other stories tell of a Valentine who assisted Christians to escape prisons where they were brutally treated. Valentine, himself, was eventually imprisoned. While in prison, Valentine is thought to have fallen in love with the blind daughter of the jailor who visited him during his incarceration. Valentine restored her sight. Despite the jailor’s pleas for Valentine’s release, Valentine was sentenced to death. On his way to be executed he passed a note to the jailor’s daughter that read, “With love, from your Valentine.”

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Yet another Valentine suffered in an African prison along with several companions and was eventually martyred, but nothing else is known of him. All three of these Valentines are mentioned in early martyrologies for February 14. The legend surrounding Valentine is likely an amalgamation of romanticized stories about several different people. The feast of St. Valentine was dropped from the church calendar in 1969. Some see the holiday as having its roots in the Roman feast of Lupercalia, a celebration that was dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture and that honored Rome’s founders, Romulus and Remus. It was celebrated on the ides of February. Roman priests of the Luperci traditionally sacrificed a goat for fertility and a dog for purification in the cave where twin brothers Romulus and Remus were cared for by the she-wolf. After the ceremony, boys would slice the goat hide into strips and soak them in the sacrificial blood. They would then run through the streets slapping the fields and women with the blood-soaked strips hoping to bring greater fertility for the coming year. Other events of the day included a custom wherein young women placed their names in an urn. Young men would then draw a name from the vessel and become paired with the woman for the coming year. Many of these matches ended in marriage. In time this practice was outlawed. The popular traditions of Valentine’s Day are generally traced to medieval times. February 14 was thought to be the date when birds begin to pair. In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement of Richard III and Anne of Bohemia. Following poetic tradition of the day, he linked the occasion to a feast day. His Parliament of Fowls includes the line, “For this was on St. Valentine’s Day when every fowl cometh there to choose his mate,” thus linking the engagement, the mating of birds, and St. Valentine forever. The day came to be thought upon as one that was dedicated to lovers and an occasion for sending tokens and messages of love, many of which initially were in song. The oldest known written valentine was sent from Charles, Duke of Orleans, who while confined in the Tower of London following the battle of Agincourt in 1415, composed romantic verses for his wife in France. Several years later, Henry V hired a writer, John Lydgate, to compose a valentine to Catherine of Valois. In 1640, a book titled Cupid’s Messenger appeared containing poetic verses and romantic sonnets in flowery language. By 1645 many of these verses began to be published more widely and such passionate lines could be found in periodicals and other publications. Samuel Pepys’s Diary contains an entry for St. Valentine’s Day in 1667 noting a surprise valentine he received from his wife. The handwritten message of love was written in gold on paper that had been cut out with scissors and pasted against a blue pastel paper. During the eighteenth century booklets known as writers became popular. They contained an assortment of verses and messages that men could copy into letters to their sweetheart. The book also suggested replies for ladies to

Valentine’s Day return. These messages were usually copied on to specially decorated papers with open space for handwritten messages. Prior to the nineteenth century, valentines were handmade and took a number of forms. Puzziks or puzzle purses were made from folded paper. They had many folds of verses that had to be written in a certain order. The order of the verses was usually numbered and sometimes the recipient had to twist the folds in order to determine the complete message. Rebus valentines contained romantic verses with certain words or phrases replaced by tiny pictures. For the sentence “I love you so much,” the word I would be replaced by the picture of an eye, love by a heart, you with the picture of a female sheep (a ewe), and so with the illustration of a piece of fabric with a needle and thread, leaving only the word much written out. Pinprick valentines were made by piercing tiny holes in paper with a pin or needle to create the appearance of lace. Some valentines used acrostics where the beloved’s name was spelled out by the first letter of each verse of the valentine. By 1815 most of the cities and even rural towns of England had a Penny Post. Prior to this time postage was expensive, and many valentines were either hand-delivered or left on the doorstep. The exchange of valentines increased considerably. For a brief period from 1820 to 1829 insulting valentines, known as penny dreadfuls were sent in certain circles. These cards featured insulting rhymes and unflattering illustrations. Fortunately, this practice was relatively short-lived. When uniform postal rates were introduced throughout the entire United Kingdom in 1840, the English tradition of the valentine really took off. Valentines could affordably be sent all over the country and even beyond its borders. The Victorian period brought with it the “Golden Age of the English Valentine.” Specially made papers with intricate designs became available. Cupids, doves, hearts, and other designs were printed on cards adorned with satin, silk, and netting. The decorated papers were folded into quarto size and decorated with embossed borders as well as pictorial scenes. Some were further decorated with beads, feathers, and lace paper. The paper was then folded over and sealed with wax. Lacy valentines reached their peak in popularity between the 1840s and 1860s. Valentines continued to be more innovative with mechanical valentines that moved when a tab was pulled. Pop-up valentines that lifted open to display three-dimensional scenes also became popular. In the 1870s the fashion shifted to a more pictorial look similar to those that had become popular with Christmas cards. The tradition of valentines in the United States did not become popular until the 1850s when Esther A. Howland, of Worcester, Massachusetts, began commercial production of handmade valentines. While working in her father’s stationary store, she became intrigued by the laced papers and valentines her father imported from England. She began to cut out some designs of her own, further adorning them with crepe and paper flowers and some original artwork. Her father was impressed with her creations and ordered more supplies for her work. Her brother, who traveled around the countryside promoting

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Four Victorian Valentine cards depicting cupids, cherubs, doves, and hearts, nineteenth century. The Art Archive / Private Collection.

their father’s business, took along some of his sister’s creations. They were an overwhelming success. Esther hired some of her friends to help her in drawing and copying valentine designs. She set up a production line where one young woman would paste the background, another cut out the pictures, and finally one to glue on the trim. By 1862 one New York card company bought over $30,000 worth of her valentines. During the Civil War it became popular to have valentines made of a heart split-in-two, representing the separation of the soldier from his sweetheart. Some valentines had tent flaps which when opened revealed a soldier awaiting his beloved with open arms. After the war a similar theme was used with a church and a window that opened to reveal a bride and groom. Some wartime valentines included a lock of the lover’s hair. Other valentines from the Civil War period are of the paper doll variety with elaborate trim and embroidery. By the turn of the century, valentines were generally mass-produced. Postcard valentines were especially popular during the first decade of the twentieth century. While nineteenth-century etiquette prohibited women from sending valentines, the modern times of the early twentieth century lifted the taboo. Whimsical valentines became popular. Many children would exchange

Valentine’s Day them with their friends. By mid-century, books of punch-out valentines were marketed for children. These books often even included one valentine to be given to the teacher. It was not unusual for schoolrooms to have a valentine “mailbox” to facilitate the exchange. Many children’s valentines had a cartoon quality and carried humorous messages. These were often based on puns, such as a card with a caricature of a young pilot waving from his aircraft would say, “It’s ‘plane’ to see that you are the one for me.” Traditional Valentine’s Day colors are red, pink, and white. Red symbolizes passion and deep affection. White represents purity and faithfulness and devotion. Pink signifies warmth and loving kindness. The heart is the most common symbol associated with the day. It is often paired with other symbols such as an arrow that pierces the heart, thus showing the vulnerability of expressing one’s love. Cupid is also a popular symbol. The mythological winged youth is usually depicted with a bow and quiver of arrows, which he used to transfix the hearts of young men and women. Doves are used to represent loyalty and love because they mate for life. Love knots, with a series of interwoven loops with no seeming beginning or end, symbolize everlasting love and are often incorporated into borders. The letters o and x have come to represent hugs and kisses. The o symbolizes an embrace, and the x is thought by many to have evolved from the medieval practice of those who could not write signing with an x and then kissing the x before a witness as a sign of sincerity. Flowers have long been a popular valentine’s gift. During the early 1700s Charles II of Sweden brought the Persian poetical art known as the “Language of Flowers” to Europe. Various flowers were associated with certain feelings and developed specific meanings. This permitted couples to exchange romantic secrets without ever uttering a word. Books were written detailing many shades of meaning and covered a wide variety of blooms of all sorts. The jonquil was said to mean that the sender desired a return of affection. The purple lilac represented the first emotions of love. Ivy meant fidelity and marriage. Sometimes the color of the blossom carried the meaning. The red rose was the symbol of love but the white rose indicated innocence or friendship. A yellow rose meant jealousy or even betrayal. The practice of using flowers as expressions of romantic love gained popularity, reaching its height in the late nineteenth century. The red rose remains as the most popular botanical representation of love. Candy, particularly chocolate, is another popular valentine’s gift. The custom of giving chocolate dates back to the nineteenth century when chocolate was an expensive gift. Cadbury marketed the first box of chocolates in 1868, packed in a box decorated in a sentimental Victorian style. Perugina introduced their famous Baci kisses for Valentines Day in 1922. Luisa Spagnoli, wife of the company’s founder, created the confections. It is said that she was having an affair with Giovani Buitoni, son of her husband’s partner. Luisa wrapped notes around the candies she sent him for his inspection. Buitoni decided to use the idea of a love note tucked under the foil wrapping of each bon-bon when the sweets were marketed.

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While not made out of chocolate, conversation hearts have come to be a Valentine’s staple. In 1860, David Chase, whose brother Oliver was the founder of the New England Confectionary Company ( NECCO), invented a process to print mottos on candies. Originally, the candies were small, crisp, scallop-shaped candies wrapped in colored paper printed with sayings. Sweet Hearts, which were candies with the motto inscribed directly on them, were first made in 1900. The candy was cut into shapes like horseshoes or baseballs in order to allow longer sayings such as, “How long shall I have to wait? Please be considerate.” In time the sayings became shorter and the now familiar heart shape was introduced. Original sayings include “Be mine” and “Kiss me.” Every year new sayings are added. Further Reading: Cohen, Hennig, and Tristram Potter Coffin, eds. The Folklore of American Holidays. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1987; Karl, Michele. Greetings with Love: the Book of Valentines. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2003; Kreider, Katherine. One Hundred Years of Valentines. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1999; Staff, Frank. The Valentine and Its Origin. New York: Praeger Press, 1969.

Dorothy Denneen Volo

W Wedding Receptions As long as there have been wedding ceremonies, there have been celebrations commemorating this coming-of-age ceremony for brides and grooms as they become full-standing members in their society. In virtually all cultures feasting with members of one and another’s family and friends follows the wedding ceremony. These ceremonies often include culturally symbolic foods, dances, toasts, and traditions. In American and European weddings the most basic post-ceremony celebrations feature a cake due to the historical associations with fertility and grains. What was once a chance for new couples to kiss over a stack of baked rolls or cakes evolved into the tiered wedding cake. In the process this cake became a towering symbol of fertility and is often set on a table in a place of honor at the reception. To further enhance the cake’s place of importance the table it rests on is sometimes decorated with draped fabric or other embellishments. With today’s advances in fondant and sugar paste elaborate wedding cakes also set the tone for the reception’s theme or reflect the couple’s interests if a more whimsical cake design is selected. As weddings became more industrialized, questions of class and status became more apparent through the added flourishes such as décor, entertainment, and menu items. In time guests were feted with light luncheons

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Greek Weddings Although Greek Orthodox wedding customs vary from village to village and region to region, a few traditions remain universal. A koumbaros or koumbara, best man or woman, acts as a sponsor and performs many aspects of the wedding ceremony. At the church the koumbaros exchanges the wedding rings three times to indicate true faith, harmony, and love. Greek couples traditionally wear their wedding rings on their left hands while engaged and on their right hands once married. This placement stems from the right hand being the hand that God blesses, the hand to which Christ ascended, and the direction to which those who inherit the earth will go. The koumbaros also places the wedding crowns, or stefana, over the couple’s heads three times to symbolize unity. Made of vines and twigs, the crowns are joined together by a single white ribbon, connoting love and commitment. After drinking wine from a common cup, the couple is led around the altar three times by either the koumbaros or the priest. In early times the priest would then offer honey-dipped almonds to the newlyweds. Today the ceremony ends with jubilant guests throwing both rice and koufetta, sugar-coated almonds. The rice stands for fertility while the koufetta represents the bittersweet aspect of life. Another Greek wedding standard involves the preparation of the wedding bed, the night before the wedding. The bride’s mother and grandmother cover the bed with flower petals, coins, and koufetta to ensure love, prosperity, and fertility. They may also engage in a baby-rolling ceremony, gently rolling the babies of family and friends on the matrimonial mattress to encourage a fertile union. In some towns the koumbaros leads a pre-wedding procession from the bride’s home. Outside the church door the bride may meet and kiss the groom as he hands his bride a bouquet of flowers, which she will later throw into the expectant crowd. In hopes of a sweet marriage the bride may have hidden a small sugar cube in one of her gloves. A Greek bride and groom. Dimitri /Shutterstock.

that became dinners served in a buffet setting and eventually a seated meal. Currently most weddings feature full meals served in special facilities designed to handle large amounts of guests and the tables, linens, dishware, and so forth. In addition to the food and drink there is also entertainment featuring live music or disk jockeys ( DJs) playing music and introducing different activities. Such popular activities would be introducing the bride and groom by their new married name, announcing the couple’s first dance, the mother–son dance for the groom and his mother, as well as the father–daughter dance for the bride and her father. Another important moment is the ritualistic cutting of the cake. Brides and grooms ceremonially cut the first slice and then feed it to each other, a bite for each from that initial piece. This respectful exchange of tasting the cake is sometimes subverted by a new development where happy couples smash pieces of cake into one another’s faces, an act that sends a very different meaning as they enter into marital bliss. Other activities include games like the limbo (a game where guests tip back their head and, leading with their hips, try to shimmy forward underneath a pole; the winner is the person who can clear the pole at the lowest setting), dances like the Conga line (where guests form a long line and weave throughout the reception area to music), or the dollar dance. The dollar dance is a tradition that appears in receptions where the couple is of Polish or

Wedding Receptions eastern European descent; various male friends and family members dance with the bride and place bills of any cash amount into the gift bag or pin them to a tree of sorts (sometimes even the bride) as a way to shower the happy couple with money for a fruitful marriage. Other activities that take place during a reception are the tossing of the bride’s bouquet and the tossing of her garter by the groom, a tradition that goes back to the Middle Ages. A common custom at American wedding receptions is the clinking or tapping of glasses with silverware. This commanding sound dictates that the happy couple should kiss immediately. This comes from a legend that says the noise and locking of newly married lips would keep evil spirits at bay. During a wedding reception there will also be many toasts to the bride and groom. The highlight of the meal portion often begins or ends with the best man and maid or matron of honor’s toasts to the couple. Guests will often stand to give their own impromptu pledges of devotion, happiness, and prosperity for the couple. Originally begun in France, toasts refer to the piece of bread placed in the bottom of a glass and then topped with drink. As glasses were lifted and greetings announced the proclaimer would tilt the glass back, drink the contents, and then consume the beverage soaked piece of bread at the bottom. In Asian cultures there is a special vessel for the bride and groom to drink from. In Europe there is the Nuremberg Cup, a special vessel, named after

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Greek Orthodox priest Konstantinos Kyriakides, left, marries Juan Jose Gregory of Spain, 45, to Iryna Nesina, 24, from the Ukraine, at the Agios Mamas church in Cyprus, 2006. AP/ Wide World Photo.

On some islands the wedding ceremony ends with the bride and groom eating honey and walnuts, symbols of sweetness and fertility, from silver spoons. Walnuts are the nut of choice because they break into four parts, representing the bride, groom, and their families of origin. At the end of the reception guests receive bonbonieres, packages filled with an odd number of white chocolate–covered almonds. These favors are filled not only with sweet candy but also with rich symbolism. The egg-shaped treats stand for fertility as well as for the new life that begins with marriage. The white of the chocolate indicates purity. The odd number of almonds signifies indivisibility for the bride and groom shall henceforth exist as one. When the new bride first arrives at her in-laws’ home, she participates in a ritual known as the sweetening of the bride. In one variation the bride dips her fingers in honey then makes the sign of the cross in hopes of a good relationship with her mother-in-law. In another, the bride throws a pomegranate into her new home, the seeds of which will ensure wealth and fertility. Lastly, the bride’s mother-in-law may ply her with red-colored sweets such as pomegranates and grapes so that the bride will retain the rosy color of youth. FURTHER READING Constantelos, Demetrios J. Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church. Brookline, MA: Hellenic College Press, 1998. Kochilas, Diane. The Food and Wine of Greece. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990. Lonely Planet Greece. Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publications, 1998.

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Macomb, Susanna Stefanachi. Joining Hands and Hearts: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations. New York: Fireside Book, 2003. www.ask4greece.org www.greekthings.com/ bridal www.simplyfamily.com www.yasou.org.

Kathy Hunt

Open Bar The term open bar is defined as a bar at which drinks are served for free. An open bar makes a wide variety of alcoholic drinks available at no charge to the attendees of an event. In contrast, a cash bar is an arrangement that requires attendees to pay for the drinks they consume. Many events make alcoholic drinks available to guests in an open-bar format. They are most closely associated with weddings, but can be found at birthday parties, retirement celebrations, corporate events, and fund-raising parties. The concept of an open bar, or lack thereof, often reflects on the hospitality of the host. The idea of an event, particularly a wedding, having a cash bar is often seen as cheap, crass, or socially unacceptable. Asking guests to pay for drinks may offend some guests, much like asking them to pay for their meal. However, bridal couples and other hosts often struggle with the concept of having an open bar due to the expense and the possibility of drunkenness. Clearly, the cost of an open bar is borne by the hosts of the event and can put a dent in a wedding or event budget. In addition, attendees often see an open bar as a license to overconsume, which can result in erratic and improper behavior. For this reason, hosts of events must balance affordability and control with the need for social acceptance. A bar offering at an event need not be exclusively open or cash in arrangement. A host may limit the open bar to a specific time period. At some events, the bar may be open for a portion of the time and then closed, cash-oriented, or limited thereafter. Alternatively, a bar may be available to guests that may serve only beer and wine (eliminating the option of hard liquor). Some hosts give a limited number of free drink tickets to guests that they must turn in at the bar when they receive their drink—thereby limiting overconsumption by guests. Lastly, a host can always opt for a dry bar where only non-alcoholic beverages and soft drinks are available. FURTHER READING “Your Wedding 101.” Open vs. Cash Bar [Online, August 2007 ]. Your Wedding 101.com available at: http://www.yourwedding101.com / wedding-receptions /open-or-cash-bar.aspx.

Leslie A. Meyer

the city of its birth. According to legend it was created by a metalsmith in response to a challenge issued by his sweetheart’s father to make a cup that two people could drink out of at the same time without spilling any wine. The beau did this by fashioning the stem after the shape of a woman with a full skirt: her upstretched arms hold a cup overhead, from which two people can sip simultaneously. As brides and grooms leave the reception and its festivities they are sometimes showered with birdseed or other grains while en route to a car, carriage, or other form of transportation. Tossing grains of millet at the couple is a popular Asian custom while in America rice has been used. Birdseed has taken the place of these grains because it can be more easily digested and cleaned up by local birds. A new development has some American brides and grooms dashing out of ceremonies and receptions among a canopy of bubbles, blown from small wands that are repeatedly dipped in bubble-blowing liquid. Another popular American custom features cars with signs tied on to the back or in windows proclaiming the inhabitants were “Just Married.” The cars are sometimes also festooned with streamers, ribbon, empty cans, inflated balloons, or other items—even shoes. Ancient Assyrian and Hebrew cultures believed sandals served as a pledge of good faith in business dealings. Therefore tossing a shoe down served as a claim of sorts. Egyptians exchanged sandals when transferring property while Anglo Saxon custom had

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the groom tap the bride’s head German Wedding Traditions with a shoe to demonstrate his authority and her status in the • Freiersmänner (“gentlemen suitors”). When a man is ready to ask his relationship. In time guests took girlfriend to marry him, he enlists two friends to ask for her father’s to throwing shoes at the couple. permission and blessing on his behalf. Now they are simply attached to • Upon acceptance, the woman will wear the engagement ring on her the car bumpers. Since bumpers, left hand. Once married, the ring will move to her right hand. • The night (or the weekend) before the wedding, the couple gather unlike a bride’s head, represent with their friends to celebrate Polterabend, a “night of racket.” The neither bride nor groom, the shoes guests bring ceramic dishes (no glass as it is considered bad luck) of today’s weddings represent a and break them in the driveway. The couple then sweeps up the more egalitarian vision of marital debris, as a symbol of cooperation during their marriage. A more authority. As guests leave the remodern Polterabend practice has the woman “kidnapped,” taken to a bar, and her husband-to-be has to find her and pay the bill. The ception they, too, are showered male friends try to “punish” the husband by hiding the woman very with gifts. well and thereby she and her friends drink a lot. A popular custom is for the • Couples apply for a marriage license that is hung outside the Stanhappy couple to offer wedding fadesamt, or registrar’s office, to announce to the public their intenvors, a small item or memento for tion. Everyone in Germany must get married by civil ceremony. A guests to take with them after the religious ceremony is optional, has no legal bearing, and takes place after the civil union. wedding. Many companies offer • There are no ushers in a German religious wedding; guests seat items that can be monogramed themselves, knowing the first few pews are meant for the family. with the couple’s names and wedding date such as candy bars, wine Liz Tarpy glasses, and so on. Traditionally, sugared almonds, also known as Jordan almonds, are offered to guests. Almond trees are among the first to bloom in Greece and serve as a symbol for the cycle of life. They were used to shower newlyweds in the hopes that they would have lots of blossoms, like the almond tree, and that these lucky couples would have families with many children. In time guests became the lucky recipients of these sugared almonds, perhaps out of gratitude for their blessings and participation in the matrimonial ceremony. In China, as guests arrive for the celebration, they register at the reception table by signing a silk table runner imprinted with either the double happiness symbol or the phoenix and the dragon. The table runner also serves as a keepsake for the couple. As the guests sign-in they are given corsages and boutonnieres to differentiate familial status (Gong 139). During the first hour of the banquet, the guests socialize until the bride and groom are finally announced by the master of ceremonies. The newlyweds are met with applause from the guests who do not allow the couple to sit down until they kiss (Gong 130). Following the reception, couples leave for their honeymoon; a time for the newlyweds to celebrate their marriage away from the stresses of work, family, and the everyday, these trips can be anything from cabins in the country to elaborate European treks. The next day members of the wedding party, the families of the bride and groom, as well as out of town guests may meet for breakfast before leaving to return home.

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Further Reading: Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History of Love. New York: Random House, 1994; Chesser, Barbara Jo. “Analysis of Wedding Rituals: An Attempt to Make Weddings More Meaningful.” Family Relations, volume 29 (April 1980), number 2, pp. 204–209; Costa, Shu Shu. Wild Geese and Tea: An Asian American Wedding Planner. New York: Riverhead Books, 1997; Edwards, Thornton B. “The Sugared Almond in Modern Greek Rites of Passage.” Folklore, volume 107, (1996), pp. 49–56; Eicher, Joanne B., and Lisa Ling. Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006; Gong, Rosemary. Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture. New York: HarperResource, 2005; Long, Becky. Something Old, Something New: 701 Creative Ways to Personalize Your Wedding. New York: Meadowbrook Press, 1997; Metrick, Sydney Barbara. I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Ceremony. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1992; Mordecai, Carolyn. Weddings, Dating & Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide including Royalty. Phoenix, AZ: Nittany Publishers, 1999; Morris, Ann. Weddings. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1995; Otnes, Cele, and Linda M. Scott. “Something Old, Something New: Exploring the Interaction Between Ritual and Advertising.” Journal of Advertising, volume 25 (Spring 1996), p. 33; Packham, Jo. Wedding Parties & Showers: Planning Memorable Celebrations. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1993; Spangenberg, Lisl M. Timeless Traditions: A Couple’s Guide to Wedding Customs Around the World. New York: Universe Publishing, 2001; Waggoner, Susan. I Do! I Do! From the Veil to the Vows—How Classic Wedding Traditions Came to Be. New York: Rizzoli, 2002; Wallace, Carol McD. All Dressed in White: The Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding. New York: Penguin Books, 2004; Westermark, Edward. A Short History of Marriage. New York: Humanities Press, 1968.

Alexa Reynolds Johnson

Wine Wine is a stimulating, aromatic alcoholic drink made from the juice of fermented grapes. A drink as old as civilization, wine has been central to dining and celebrations throughout the ages. Drinking wine is a sensual experience that engages sight, smell, and taste. Wine evokes geography, culture, and history and is served at events that are social, ceremonial, and ritualistic in nature. Perhaps more than any other beverage, wine has inspired legend, passionate devotion, controversy, and debate. A set of protocols, accoutrements and, indeed, an entire vocabulary has evolved to augment wine consumption. Wine is used as a flavor-enhancing ingredient in cooking, consumed by the glass or in a series of servings called a tasting, or enjoyed as an accompaniment to entrees or desserts. ANCIENT ORIGINS There is no definitive knowledge of the exact moment when wine was created, but historical evidence confirms its importance in celebrations and

Wine rituals throughout antiquity. The Egyptians are credited with cultivating grape vines across the Mediterranean region, and Egyptian art depicts scenes of winemaking and great royal feasts where celebrants imbibe wine. The god Osiris was associated with wine and was known as the “lord of carousing.” King Tutankhamun’s tomb contained several dozen jars of wine meant to sustain the young Egyptian ruler in the afterlife. In ancient Greece, wine was important to the economy and to religious festivals. A three-day celebration to honor Dionysus, the god of wine, coincided with the annual pressing of new wine and was commemorated with animal sacrifices, public dancing, dramatic productions, and consumption of herb-flavored wines. The Romans kept detailed records on the production of fine wines for the wealthy and everyday wines for the masses. Nearly two hundred public wine bars were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii. The existence of these bars indicates the central role of wine in the community. Ancient documents show that Romans favored sweet wines. Wines flavored with honey were served as aperitifs at dinner parties, and a recipe appears in the Roman cookery manuscript Apicius, in which a mixture of wine, honey, saffron, a puree of dates, and a bark resin called mastic is prepared over a fire. Bacchus was the Roman god of wine. In 186 B.C., the Bacchanalia festival in his honor was banned by authorities due to excessive public drunkenness. Around 600 B.C., the first wine grapes were planted by the Greeks in France in the region now known as Marseilles. Eventually, French viticulture practices—including regulations to protect the integrity of their best wines—set the standard for wine production across the globe. Wine became deeply embedded within the French culture, from the everyday wine, or the vin ordinaire consumed at daily meals, to the world-renowned wines

A first-century Roman funerary stele depicts a tavern scene with a man tapping a wine barrel. The Art Archive/ Archaeological Museum Merida Spain/ Alfredo Dagli Orti.

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produced in the regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhône and Loire Valleys. The Bible makes numerous references to wine in Jewish family life and celebrations. Wine was a symbol of sacrifice, celebration, and thanksgiving in ritualistic meals in both Jewish and Christian religious observances. During the fourteenth century in Great Britain, the phrase wes heil, or “be whole” was recited at the Christmas holidays with the passing of a communal cup of hot, spiced wine. The wassail bowl contained wine seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and allspice. In the sixteenth century, wassail bowls were carried from house to house by revelers during the holiday season. Wealthy families in Colonial America served red wine such as claret with meals, and some accumulated large collections of glassware as a symbol of their status. Fortified wines like Madeira were preferred, because the added alcohol preserved the wine as it was transported to the colonies and allowed for longer periods of storage. Seventeenth-century colonists also prepared homemade wines enhanced with flavors of local fruits and berries. Martha Washington’s personal cookery receipts contained instructions for fermenting wines made with cherries, currants, lemons, gooseberries, blackberries, and elderberries. Thomas Jefferson was a noted wine enthusiast and served European vintages during formal dinners at his Monticello estate. Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, a Victorian-era domestic manual for the middle class published in Great Britain in 1861, offered etiquette for serving wine to gentlemen and ladies during a formal dinner. Author Isabella Beeton also outlined the responsibilities of a butler in maintaining the household wine cellar and discussed the benefits to family reputation that come with a well-stocked cellar. In the mid-nineteenth century, the state of California in the United States emerged as a major center for wine production. With climate and soil particularly conducive to viticulture, family-owned wineries sprang up along the Pacific coast. Between 1920 and 1933 a powerful temperance movement in the United States, that opposed the consumption of alcohol, convinced the government to ban the production, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquor. Prohibition devastated wine production, although some wineries continued to operate by acquiring licenses to produce sacramental wines. The Prohibition Act was repealed in 1933, but it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that wine consumption and production in the United States began to increase. STYLES OF WINE Wine is an agricultural product, and the quality and flavor is influenced by the type of grape used and environmental conditions such as soil, temperature, and rainfall. There are about 25 grape varietals used in wine production throughout the world. Key winemaking regions include France, Italy, and the United States, although Spain, Portugal, Germany, Argentina,

Wine and Chile are well known for their products. Wineries in Australia and New Zealand have shown significant growth since 1990, and South African wine is gaining in reputation. Many terms have been developed to help consumers understand specific qualities and characteristics of wine. The term style describes the body or fullness of a wine, be it light, medium or full-bodied. Descriptive terms such as lean or lush refer to the flavor of a wine. The term Old World denotes classic European wines that are earthy and subtle, deriving flavor from the soil and climate in which the grape vines are planted. The term New World refers to wines produced in the United States, Australia, and Chile. New World wines are bolder in character with floral and fruity flavors developed by using techniques like barrel aging or the introduction of enzymes during fermentation. RED WINE The complex nature of red wine makes it ideal for pairing with hearty, robust entrees such as red meat or pasta. There are four classic varieties of red wine made from the dark grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah vines. The depth of color in red wine depends on the grape variety and can range from ruby red to deep purple to black. During fermentation, the juice is mixed with a combination of grape skins, seeds, and stem fragments. The length of contact with the skins and debris gives red wine its intense color. Red wine causes a variety of sensations on the palate, with a wider range of flavors discernable than in a glass of white wine. Red wines are aged longer than white wines and contain a natural substance called tannin, found in the skins, stems, and seeds of red grapes. Tannin creates a velvety sensation on the tongue and gives the wine a feeling of texture. Red wines are typically dry, because they lack the residual sugar which adds sweetness. Bold flavors are often identified in red wines such as cranberries, red currants, cherries, black cherries, black currants, blueberries, blackberries, plums, figs, raisins, prunes, black pepper, tobacco, and even chocolate. Red wines are served at room temperature to assure maximum flavor and are poured in larger glasses allowing their rich aromas to circulate. WHITE WINE White wines are far more delicate in flavor and are usually paired with lighter entrees such as white meat, poultry, or fish. White wines are made from grapes with yellow or green skins and can range from almost clear, to gold or deep amber in color. White wines have little or no contact with grape skins during the fermentation process. The classic white grape varietals include Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon. White wine can also be made from dark-skinned grapes if contact with the skins is limited. White wines are lighter, often sweeter, and more

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acidic, which contributes to their crisp taste. Flavors often identified in white wines include green apples, pears, citrus fruits, peaches, apricots, vanilla, or pineapples. White wine is served slightly chilled in smaller glasses. WINE CULTURE EVOLVES European countries have long maintained an enthusiastic wine culture consuming good quality table wines during lunch and dinner, but countries like the United States were slower to embrace the pleasures of drinking wine. Prohibition, global conflicts, and agricultural diseases created significant setbacks for the wine industry. However, the writings of a group of passionate wine experts would do much to revitalize interest and educate the modern world on the history of wine, its vernacular, and how to purchase and consume wine. From the point it was founded in the early 1940s, Gourmet magazine established wine as an essential complement to food, entertainment, and travel. The magazine featured essays by globetrotting writers who captured the romance of wine associated with exotic locales. Voluminous reference books appeared—like Frank Schoonmaker’s Encyclopedia of Wine; Grossman’s Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits; and The Signet Book of Wine: An Introduction by Alexis Bespaloff—all designed to familiarize consumers with the characteristics of wine, the lexicon associated with wine, and the history of major wine producing regions. Glossy periodicals like Bon Appetit and Food and Wine offered monthly how-to advice on home entertaining with food and wine. Amateur wine-appreciation classes grew in popularity, available through local restaurants, community centers, and culinary schools. Large educational institutions and culinary schools began to offer courses that afforded consumers the opportunity to explore the renowned wine regions of the world and improve their ability to use wine in home entertaining. Wineries, producer associations, chefs, and sommeliers have been influential in developing accessible consumer education. Over time a core set of entertaining practices emerged that included cooking with wine, pairing food with wine, wine tasting parties, serving of dessert wines, and pairing sweet wines with desserts. COOKING WITH WINE Many cooking manuals of the twentieth century contained basic primers on wine and confirm the somewhat limited knowledge that home cooks of the day had about cooking with wine and pairing it with food. A 1946 edition of The American Woman’s Cook Book placed a chapter on wine at the back of the book and promised a cursory view on the “accepted laws” for serving wine. The chapter focused on French wines, the only well-known vintages of the period. The author discussed the benefits of wine as a “seasoning of fine foods,” advised allocating a half bottle for each guest at a meal and provided a chart of French wines from 1915 to 1933 that are rated great,

Wine very good, fair, and poor. Editions of Joy of Cooking published in the 1960s and 1970s contained a wordy chapter on wine basics, and a warning to avoid serving wine with asparagus, artichokes, or salads made with vinegar. A detailed chart called “Dining with Wine” suggested pairings and service temperatures and acknowledged that rules of wine etiquette were different between restaurants and household use. They advocated choosing a napkin to wrap a wine bottle at home, instead of the restaurant practice of using a serving basket, as it provided better insulation. Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking from 1961 encouraged home chefs to learn by direct experience which wines complement a dish and which foods accentuate and blend with the qualities of the wine. Child offered axioms like “the bigger the wine, the bigger the glass,” and provided specific wine recommendations with the main course recipes in the text. The Complete Book of Wine Cookery from 1965 contained hundreds of recipes from entrees to desserts that use wine as an ingredient. Author Myra Waldo described wine as “the greatest of all culinary aids.” Vintners looking to increase wine consumption encouraged women to cook with wine. A marketing brochure published by Shieffelin & Co. in the 1970s described Ruffino Chianti as “an elegant beverage accompaniment as well as a charming and versatile ingredient.” The text positioned Chianti as a complement to international menus, a flavor enhancement when added to stews and sauces, and even a refreshing after-dinner drink. The pamphlet contained recipes for Coc au Vin Roti, Pork in Wine Sauce, and Chianti Pot Roast, as well as recommendations for serving and directions to “inhale the bouquet and sip slowly.” MATCHING FOOD AND WINE The French gastronomic tradition assumes that food and wine is an ideal match. Even so, hosts have sometimes found complementary pairings to be a challenge. To make that look as easy as possible for the public, Blue Nun was a brand of German Liebfraumilch that was launched in 1923 and advertised as a versatile wine—compatible with all types of food—that would take the guesswork out of pairing food and wine. It was extremely popular in America in the 1950s. Traditionally, the rules of pairing were simple and specific—white wines accompanied fish and poultry, and red wines were matched with red meats and cheese. As chefs and sommeliers increased their knowledge, a greater understanding evolved of the possibilities available in food and wine pairings. Most experts now agree that there are very few rules and infinite options. Overall focus has shifted to compatible flavors found in wine and food. Acidity and body style in wine are powerful flavor enhancers and therefore better indicators of dynamic food and wine pairings. Some sommeliers, such as Andrea Immer Robinson, identify complex food flavors such as sweetness, meatiness, and fattiness that can be found in food and successfully matched against a range of wine styles. This looser style of guidelines opens

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up the unusual possibilities of pairing buttered popcorn with chardonnay or grilled cod with Pinot Noir. WINE TASTING PARTIES For several decades, tasting parties have been a convivial way for a host and guests to test their sensory skills and share their collective impressions of a sequence of wines. Procedures for wine tasting parties closely parallel the practices followed during a professional wine tasting event. A wine tasting party can be staged with a theme and some simple accessories. Five or six clear wine glasses per person are recommended, so that the color of the wine can be evaluated by each guest. The size and shapes of glasses are important to fully appreciate the bouquet. Wine glasses with deep bowls and narrow, tapered rims allow the wine to be swirled, releasing aromas toward the nostrils. A variety of wine openers are available as well as water and crackers to allow guests to cleanse their palates between wines. A host generally provides a pour bucket or a spittoon for guests who choose not to swallow every sampling of wine. Only small quantities of food are preferable, so as not to distract from the wines being served. Even cheese may be too strong an accompaniment, distracting from the wine, although wine and cheese parties were a popular trend in the 1970s. Guests can be offered sheets of paper and writing instruments to note the specific characteristics of each wine. A wine aroma wheel— with descriptive phrases printed around its circumference—was invented by a professor at the University of California at Davis in 1990 to assist tasters in selecting language that would best capture the characteristics of a particular wine. Hosts are encouraged to select a broad theme for a tasting party, or focus on a specific type of wine. A sequence of 8 to 10 wines might be served. A vertical tasting compares several vintages of the same wine. A horizontal tasting compares different types of wines from the same vintage. A comparative tasting evaluates several examples of a particular style of wine. In a blind tasting, a host hides the identities of the wines by placing them in bags and assigning numbers or letters to each bottle so guests are not influenced by label information. Once organized, the tasting party is a sensory experience and experts recommend a set of steps to evaluate and savor each wine. The taster first uses the sense of sight, examining the color and clarity of the wine against a white background. The next step involves the sense of smell. The taster swirls the wine in the glass, releasing the aromas, and inhales deeply through the nose. Guests are encouraged to describe the aromas and compare impressions. Finally, the guest tastes the wine and holds it on the tongue, identifying the initial flavors, the lingering flavors, and the residual sensations. In tasting a wine, a guest looks for five key characteristics—dryness or sweetness, acidity, tannin, oak and fruit flavors. The guest would then draw conclusions about the vintage and the overall wine tasting experience.

Wine

DESSERT WINE Although wines with higher sugar content have been produced for as long as vineyards have existed, the more recent emergence of dessert wines as a distinct wine-making style inspired a new range of entertaining possibilities. Dessert wines represent those varieties technically known as sweet wines, which have been produced for centuries, going back to ancient Rome. Most dessert wines are made from grapes that are harvested late in the season. The additional time on the vine concentrates the sugar, resulting in an intense sweetness and a higher alcohol content that can range anywhere between 14 and 24 percent. The final product is more expensive than other wines because it is produced in smaller quantities with higher production costs. There are four distinct categories of dessert wines that include frozen grape wines, late-harvested wines, fortified wines, and dried-grape wines. Dessert wines are primarily made from white wine grapes and range in color from straw to deep gold, although some red ice wines are made from the Cabernet Franc grape. Perhaps the most famous dessert wine is Sauternes, a centuries-old wine with a distinctive sweet flavor caused by fungus, which is made from Semillon grapes grown in Bordeaux, France. In Canada, ice wines made from Vidal Blanc grapes grown on the Niagara Peninsula are gaining distinction. The intense, syrupy-sweet quality of dessert wine requires that servings are small, approximately one ounce for each guest. Dessert wines evoke flavors of honey, peach, apricot, caramel, and vanilla. Dessert wines can be served alone at the conclusion of a meal, or easily paired with selections of cheese, fruits, or cookies. Dessert wines may be matched to comparable dessert flavors, so a rich, sweet dessert wine would be paired with a rich sweet dessert, or tropical fruits would pair well with wines exhibiting tropical fruit flavors. A dessert wine is served at room temperature, as chilling can inhibit its flavor. WINE FOR EVERY LIFESTYLE At the start of the twenty-first century, wine was embraced among diverse lifestyles as a mainstay of entertaining and hospitality, suitable for every occasion. A vast amount of data was now easily accessible to wine consumers, in publications and online, encouraging the consumption of wine as an affordable, everyday luxury. Consumers could find advice on how to pair wine with ordinary foods like hamburgers and condiments, macaroni and cheese, creamed chipped beef, salads, and even frozen entrees. Rose wines, sometimes referred to as pink or blush wines, rapidly gained in popularity as a refreshing beverage to complement casual, warmweather entertaining. Various consumer audiences embraced wine as a focal point of entertaining. Built-in wine cellars were becoming an essential feature in luxury homes. Women grew in prominence as the primary consumers and the dominant buyers of high-end wines, and purchasing information was specifically

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tailored for their entertainment needs. New blends of wine were designed for specific audiences, including a rose-blend for gay consumers introduced in New Zealand. Vineyards offered the public new ways to engage in the culture and process of winemaking. For a membership fee, vineyards would allow individuals the opportunity to producing their own barrel of wine, enough for more than 200 bottles of a private label. This hands-on approach afforded wine and entertaining enthusiasts their most personal connection ever to the many facets and pleasures of wine. Further Reading: Berzolheimer, Ruth. The American Woman’s Cook Book. Chicago: Published for the Culinary Arts Institute by Consolidated Book Publishers, 1943; Immer, Andrea. Great Tastes Made Simple: Extraordinary Food and Wine Parings for Every Palate. New York: Broadway Books, 2002; Immer, Andrea. Great Wine Made Simple. New York: Broadway Books, 2000; Johnson, Hugh. The Story of Wine. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2005; MacNeil, Karen. The Wine Bible. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 2001; Reichl, Ruth, ed. History in a Glass: Sixty Years of Wine Writing from Gourmet. New York: The Modern Library, 2006; Robinson, Jancis, ed. The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford University Press, 2006.

T. W. Barritt

World War II The period between December 7, 1941, and August 15, 1945, the years of World War II, saw dramatic changes in all aspects of daily life in America. As the war in Europe and Asia progressed, more and more American men entered the Armed Services leaving farms to be managed, industrial and transportation jobs to be filled, and social services within the country to be strengthened and maintained. Women took on all these roles in addition to their traditional roles of caring for the family and cooking nutritious meals, with the added complications of food scarcity and rationing. But this doesn’t mean that entertaining was neglected. In fact, entertaining became an important part of the war effort and was encouraged by the government and facilitated by the media. Several aspects of life in wartime America changed the focus of entertaining. The most chronicled was food scarcity and rationing, but also of great importance was the migration of large sections of the population to unfamiliar areas in order to be near military installations and defense jobs. Because of the lack of housing in areas that suddenly experienced large increases in populations, wartime households rarely had the usual make-up of parents and their children. Instead, young couples often lived in one room in someone else’s home, groups of young women lived together near their jobs, and several generations of women and their children lived and worked together in family shops or on farms. Despite these changes in the national lifestyle, the government recognized that in times of crisis maintaining traditional folkways and foodways is important in uniting the nation, and therefore, the government encouraged food-related

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celebrations of all kinds. A March 1942 article in Ladies’ Home Journal reminded readers that “good food builds morale. And that is something which is every bit as important in wartime for those of us at home as it is for the men in the army. Coping with food scarcity and rationing was the subject of most wartime magazine and newspaper articles on entertaining. As the war started, the United States was just coming out of the Great Depression, and while entertaining followed the traditions of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, incomes did not allow for the opulence that people would have liked. As the war progressed, this situation reversed. Incomes could have supported more elegant entertaining but luxuries were not available, and celebrations had to be planned within the possibilities of the moment. Food was not really scarce in America; no one had to be hungry. But shoppers had to settle for what was available even though it might not have been what they wanted. Well before the United States entered the war, the government began shipping non-perishable foods produced in America to Allies in Europe and this continued through the post-war period. Ships once used to import foods became a part of the war effort and carried war materials and troops. Food rationing began on May 5, 1942, with the “Sugar Book.” Coffee was next to be rationed, and in February of 1943 rationing was extended to cover meat, butter, margarine, canned fish, cheese, canned milk, fats, and oils.

World War II food rationing urged “the gospel of the clean plate” in order to reduce waste. Library of Congress.

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Wartime hostesses were encouraged to find clever ways to deal with these circumstances and offer guests an enjoyable diversion from the chaos around them. The progressive dinner was one of the ideas that became popular. Several couples would plan a dinner menu in which each course was prepared and served in a different home. This made it possible to enjoy a meal that included meat, butter, and a sweet dessert without wiping out one family’s ration books. Another similar plan was for each couple to contribute coupons toward the purchase of meat or pastries or to bring ingredients and all cook together. Hostesses were reminded that good company and just a few special hard-to-find treats made a very impressive event. A May 1942 Woman’s Home Companion article suggested serving a loaf of homemade bread with butter and coffee when friends come over. At a time when women had become too busy to bake bread, and butter and coffee were hard to come by, that was a special menu indeed. They go on to say, “Everywhere hostesses are simplifying refreshments. Some ideas gleaned from our readers . . .A huge bowl of fruit and popcorn balls. Brownies and milk. Crackers, cheese, coffee. Corn on the cob, all the butter you want.” Gourmet magazine’s unique response to wartime food supply problems was to suggest that readers plant an herb garden, serve game, and enjoy American smoked salmon and blue cheese while caviar and Roquefort cheese are unavailable. In a nation on the move, enjoying the company of people with longterm social and familial ties was not always possible. The fear and insecurity that defined personal relationships led to many young marriages, and young wives followed their husbands from camp to camp as long as they were within the United States. They tried to create a home for them in whatever space was available, often just one room, and magazine and newspaper editors helped them decorate those homes and entertain with style in them. Often the kitchen was just a series of electric appliances. A September 1944 McCall’s magazine article asks, “Ever try cooking with a Percolator? . . .With no other equipment than a large electric percolator you can turn out a variety of satisfying stews, soups and chowders.” Young working women and wives whose husbands were overseas were encouraged to get together for a “Defense Party,” in which volunteer projects and home-front programs were discussed. Many programs were organized to entertain servicemen who were far from home. The most famous was the United Services Organization (USO) canteen program in which clubs were created in large cities and near bases where hostesses (occasionally Hollywood actresses, but usually local girls who wanted to contribute to the war effort) served food and danced and talked with the men. Families were encouraged to invite servicemen from nearby camps into their homes for holidays and Sunday dinners, and churches held special parties to make servicemen feel at home in their area. And a September 1944 issue of American Home suggested that the same hospitality be offered to servicemen’s wives. They tell readers, “We open our homes to the men in service and ask them to dinner with the family—let’s do as much for the homesick women. Can you begin to imagine what it means to a soldier’s wife who has

World War II been waiting three months for a letter to be asked in for a cup of tea?” Women’s volunteer groups organized in large port cities to meet ships returning from Europe and Asia and greet servicemen with sandwiches and cookies. One of the most unique examples of American wartime hospitality involved the little town of North Platte, Nebraska. Located on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad, North Platte was a 10-minute stop for the thousands of servicemen being transferred to one coast or the other to be sent to war. From Christmas Day of 1941 until the end of the war, the people of North Platte greeted each train, thanked the servicemen for what they were doing, and invited them into their little canteen for food, conversation, and treats to take with them. Funded entirely by donations from the townspeople, the volunteers entertained over 6 million men by war’s end. Holiday entertaining was promoted both by government programs and the media. Although stories abound of the Thanksgiving turkey fashioned from Spam, most families were able to arrange to get the real thing. Pooling coupons for rationed items was encouraged, and thrifty wartime homemakers were accustomed to saving up for a celebration. A November 1942 article in Good Housekeeping magazine titled, “Thanksgiving, Don’t Skip It This Year,” offered a hearty turkey dinner as did an article in the same month’s edition of the Woman’s Home Companion titled “For a New Kind of Thanksgiving.” That article went on to say that the holiday table, “though short on courses, is long on shining silver and Grandmother’s china. No ration on hospitality and grace.” A December 1943 Armour and Company advertisement notes, “All of us are mighty glad that our servicemen are getting first choice of America’s food supplies for their holiday dinners. Yet there will still be meat for us at home. So invite your family and friends to gather round.” The other occasion that took some finesse was the wartime wedding. Women’s magazines offered advice and simple menus for the event such as the June 1943 Good Housekeeping article that suggests, “you can marry in haste and have a wedding party, too!” They offer a menu of aspic, rolls, jam, wedding cake, and punch. But families usually pooled their resources and created a memorable celebration despite the difficulties. The wedding cake was the most important item on the menu and was often the most difficult to come by. One bride told of collecting sugar coupons from her whole family to give to the baker in order to have a wedding cake. Further Reading: Greene, Bob. Once Upon a Town: the Miracle of the North Platte Canteen. New York: William Morrow, 2002; Hayes, Joanne Lamb. Grandma’s Baking Book: World War II and the Way We Baked. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2003; Hayes, Joanne Lamb. Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000; Penny, Prudence. Coupon Cookery: A Guide to Good Meals Under Wartime Conditions of Rationing and Food Shortages. Hollywood, CA: Murray & Gee, 1943; Weatherford, Doris. American Women and World War II. New York: Facts On File, 1990.

Joanne Lamb Hayes

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Z Zakuski Zakuska ( pl., zakuski) is a Russian term referring to an elaborate array of hors d’oeuvres served as the appetizer course of a Russian or Slavic meal. It is sometimes served as an alternative to a first course or, when abundant, in place of a dinner. Zakuski are served in a buffet style outside of the main dining room to standing guests. Various types of bread, cheese, dips, cured meats and fish, caviar, and pickled vegetables are served. Traditionally, zakuski dishes are served cold and accompanied with ice-cold Russian vodka. When modern zakuski are served in place of a full meal, dishes may include hot meat, desserts, and coffee or tea. The origins of the zakuska table can be traced back to Scandinavia when, in the ninth century, the dynasty beginning with the first Scandinavian Prince Rurik conquered the Slavic tribes that occupied what is now modern-day Russia. The serving of cold dishes in a casual style proved to be well suited for the Russian culture. Hospitality is one of the most important aspects of the Russian way of life. In fact, the word hospitality in Russian is khlebosol’stvo, a combination of the Russian words for bread and salt (khleb and sol), the two foods that were most essential to life. Accepting, honoring, and feeding a guest is at the heart of the Russian identity. The zakuska table

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became the perfect way to make sure that when guests arrived, they could be entertained, fed, and made to feel welcome. When Peter the Great came to power in the late seventeenth century, he made many attempts to modernize Russia. One of these attempts included adding French chefs to his court. It was during his reign that meal times became elaborate and well-planned events in Russian society. Opulent, decadent, and multi-course meals were served several times a day in wealthy households. In the early eighteenth century Peter the Great invaded Sweden and the Russians were introduced to the Swedish smorgasbord. These elaborate buffet tables, filled with many different dishes influenced the similar but more casual practice of the Russians. Zakuska tables became the elaborate affairs we recognize today and one of the hallmarks of Russian cuisine. One of the most important aspects of creating a zakuska table is going to great lengths in presenting each dish in a beautiful and appetizing way. Decorative and colorful plates are used for each dish, and some foods, like jellied meat, are shaped in grand fashion. Condiments, like butter, are softened and decorated with an attractive pattern. Butter can even be dyed different colors like red, by adding tomato paste, or green, by adding pureed spinach. The table itself is dressed and beautifully laid out with plates, napkins, and cutlery. Although the word zakuska (derived from the verb zakusit) literally means “to have a small bite,” zakuska tables can be quite plentiful. A typical zakuska table will have anywhere from 5 to 20 different dishes. For larger gatherings there can be up to 100. This makes the zakuska table an excellent way to serve a variety of different tastes and cuisines and ensure everyone can have a small bite of each. Further Reading: Goldstein, Darra. A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality. Montpelier, VT: Russian Life Books, 1999.

Jessica Kokinos-Havel

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About the Editors and Contributors

MELITTA WEISS ADAMSON is professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the Department of History of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She has written extensively on medieval food and dietetics, and has published five books on the subject: Food in the Middle Ages (1995); Medieval Dietetics (1995); Daz bouch von guoter spise (The Book of Good Food): A Study, Edition, and English Translation of the Oldest German Cookbook ( 2000); Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe (2002); and most recently Food in Medieval Times (Greenwood, 2004).

FRANCINE SEGAN is a cultural historian who has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs, including Martha Stewart Radio, NPR, NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s Early Show, and Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. In addition she has done several specials for the History and Discovery channels and the Food Network. Segan writes a monthly column on travel and food for the Tribune Media Syndicates, which reaches over 65 newspapers across the country. She has published four books including Shakespeare’s Kitchen (2003) and Opera Lover’s Cookbook (2006), which was nominated for both James Beard and IACP awards. In addition to teaching at Sarah Lawrence College, Segan lectures on various topics, including

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About the Editors and Contributors

art history, throughout the country for organizations such as the Smithsonian Museum, Dahesh Museum, Virginia Fine Arts Museum, Norman Rockwell Museum, Museum of Natural History, and Newport Historical Association.

KEN ALBALA is professor of history at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He has authored many books on food including Eating Right in the Renaissance, Food in Early Modern Europe, Cooking in Europe: 1250–1650, The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe, and Beans: A History. He is currently working on a textbook on world cuisines for the Culinary Institute of America. He has also edited three series for Greenwood Press—Food Culture around the World, Cooking through History, and Food Cultures in the United States—and has coedited with Gary Allen The Business of Food.

JOAN P. ALCOCK is an archaeologist and historian who has written widely on Celtic and Roman history, local history, and food history. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and an Honorary Visiting Fellow of London South Bank University. She is at present writing books on the pagan Celts and life in ancient Rome.

GARY ALLEN teaches at Empire State College, is food history editor at Leitesculinaria, and webmaster for the Association for the Study of Food and Society. His most recent book is The Herbalist in the Kitchen (2007). He also co-edited Greenwood’s The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries (2007). LESLEY BANNATYNE is an author who writes on Halloween. She is also a journalist who has covered a wide range of subjects from Tibetan immigrants to education reform. Bannatyne’s books include a history of Halloween, a how-to, an anthology of Halloween literature from the past 400 years, and a children’s book, Witches Night before Halloween.

JOANNA BAROUCH tested recipes for and contributed to Opera Lover’s Cookbook and has also tested recipes for Cook’s Illustrated magazine. A resident of New Jersey, Joanna is a professional musician and devoted cook. She delights in travel, foreign language study, writing, and the entertainment of family and friends. T. W. BARRITT is a food writer and communications consultant; he is a member of the Culinary Historians of New York and has studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and Apicius, the Culinary Institute of Florence. He is also the author of Culinary Types, Stories of Food and Food Enthusiasts at http://culinarytypes.blogspot.com and http://www.culinary types.com.

About the Editors and Contributors

CYNTHIA D. BERTELSEN is a nutritionist, food historian and researcher, chair of Peacock-Harper Culinary History Friends, cookbook collector and bibliophile, author of several articles on cookbook indexing and ethnic cooking, and editor of The Virginia Culinary Thymes. She has lived and worked in Mexico, Paraguay, Honduras, Haiti, Morocco, and Burkina Faso.

TAMARA V. BIGELOW is a culinary consultant in the New York area. She develops consumer recipes and product prototypes for magazines and food companies. She was raised in Hawaii and attended the University of Michigan and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She lives with her daughter in New Jersey. INA B. CHADWICK began her career as a poet with her work appearing in literary publications such as The Paris Review and The Antioch Review. Subsequently she was the managing editor of several major newspapers and trade magazines, winning awards for both writing and editing. With more than 500 bylines, she is currently a generalist in both journalism and marketing writing with a particular interest in lifestyle, trends, health, and business.

SHIRLEY CHERKASKY is a culinary historian and founding member of the Culinary Historians of Washington, DC, and the Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin. She is an active member of the International Commission on Ethnological Food Research and has compiled an international directory of more than 1,300 food and beverage museums (available on www.foodhistorynews.com). She was coordinator of public programs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History for many years and, since retirement, has been an independent scholar, researching culinary history.

AMANDA LYNN CLARKE is a pastry chef, freelance writer, and food-stylist based in Brooklyn, New York. She is a weekly contributor to seriouseats.com and the author of New York Architecture: A History (as Amanda Johnson). Her food styling has appeared in the New York Times, TimeOut NY’s 2007 Restaurant Guide, and in special promotions for CondéNet.

JONATHAN DEUTSCH is a classically trained chef and assistant professor in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York. He is the secretary of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and the education editor of the journal Food, Culture and Society. He earned his PhD in food studies and food management at New York University and is a graduate of Drexel University and the Culinary Institute of America. He has worked as a chef in the United States and abroad.

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PEGGYANN ROGERS DÍAZ owns and operates Stir Crazy, LLC and is a full-time chef instructor at Masuk High School in Monroe, Connecticut.

CAROL G. DURST-WERTHEIM has taught and served in the administration of several New York metropolitan colleges and universities, culinary, food studies, and hospitality programs. She was the first director of the New York Restaurant School, owned a catering business, and wrote I Knew You Were Coming So I Baked a Cake. She serves on the board of WCR, has been actively involved in the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance, worked on cookbook awards and baking contests, leads “Menus at the Movies” at a local library, and recently completed her doctorate researching women in the food industry.

KATHERINE BLISS EATON has her MA and PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her publications include: The Theater of Meyerhold and Brecht (Greenwood Press, 1985); Enemies of the People: The Destruction of Soviet Literary, Theater, and Film Arts in the 1930s (editor, 2002); Daily Life in the Soviet Union (Greenwood Press, 2004). She was twice a Fulbright Professor in Romania (1982–83 and 1990–91). From 1984–1997 she was Professor of English and ESL at Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, Texas. SIOBHAN FAGAN is a food writer and lives in New York. RIEN T. FERTEL is a native of Louisiana. Born in Lafayette, he grew up in the kitchen of his mother’s restaurant, learning to wash dishes and prep vegetables before he mastered the spelling of his own unconventional name. Later he operated a New Orleans eatery, devastatingly closed by Hurricane Katrina. Rien is now working through the years of his graduate studies in American History. With a foolish sense of pride and purpose, he wants to save New Orleans from herself.

STEPHANIE FOGEL is a New York City–based writer and craftsperson. In the last few years her writing has focused on health, nutrition, and food. Of special interest are the historical, medicinal, and ethno-botanical aspects of foods. ALLISON GREEN is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education and holds a degree in Italian from Middlebury College in Vermont. She is a freelance food writer who has worked with Chile Pepper magazine and the Daily Star Journal of Warrensburg, Kansas.

KUSUM GUPTA was born in India and received her BA (economics honors) and post-graduate diploma in economic administration from Delhi University, India. She has been in the United States since 1966 and worked

About the Editors and Contributors at IBM for almost 25 years. Her main interest is a balanced approach to eating and living to ensure mental, emotional, and physical health. She has published two books: Hindu Spirituality: A Practical Approach Based on the Bhagavad Gita and Recipes with a Spice: Indian Cuisine for Balanced Nutrition.

W. SCOTT HAINE received his PhD at the University of Wisconsin– Madison and currently teaches at the University of Maryland University College. His books include The World of the Parisian Café: Sociability among the French Working Class, 1789–1914 (1996), The History of France (Greenwood Press, 2000, chosen by Choice as an outstanding academic title for 2001), and The Customs and Culture of France (Greenwood Press, 2006). He has contributed articles to other Greenwood encyclopedias such as Historical Dictionary of World War II France: The Occupation, Vichy, and the Resistance (1938–1946) (Greenwood Press, 1998) and Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work (Greenwood Press, 2006).

JOANNE LAMB HAYES is a New York City food writer, editor, historian, and author or co-author of more than a dozen cookbooks including Grandma’s Wartime Baking Book: World War II and the Way We Baked and Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked. She holds a PhD from New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and was on the staff of several national magazines for over 20 years. KURT HEFFERN has been a landscape designer for more than 25 years, creating majestic yards in California and Arizona. Over the years, Kurt has graduated from keg parties to tequila, once a hell raiser, always a hell raiser. Kurt resides in Arizona with his family and three dogs, Delilah, Samson, and Skii. SHANNON HEFFERN has been a registered dietitian for 20 years, working in the areas of menu development, corporate wellness, and health coaching. Heffern was raised in North Dakota, experiencing first hand how to garden and cook from her mother and grandmother. Shannon resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband, Kurt, and daughter, Jade. KATHY HUNT’s writings have been published in a variety of national newspapers and magazines including the Chicago Sun-Times, VegNews, The Sun, and Chester County Town and Country Living. She divides her time between New York and an 1801 farmhouse in suburban Philadelphia. CHIKA M. JENKINS is a graduate of Columbia University and the Institute of Culinary Education, both in the City of New York. She has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Manhattan as a line cook.

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ALEXA REYNOLDS JOHNSON is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and holds a degree in Food Studies from New York University. She currently works for Fairway Markets.

CATHY K. KAUFMAN is the chairperson of the Culinary Historians of New York and a professional chef who teaches historical cookery at the Institute of Culinary Education. She has edited or contributed to numerous encyclopedias and journals and is the author of Cooking in Ancient Civilizations (2006). She is currently writing a history of the dining room.

JESSICA KOKINOS-HAVEL is a graduate student at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City and works as a freelance food writer.

BRUCE KRAIG is Emeritus Professor of History at Roosevelt University, Chicago, who specializes in the history and politics of food, and has published widely in the field. He is also the founding president of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and a convener of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance.

JOSÉ LOVERA lives in Caracas. He has traveled the whole world, especially South America. He is the author of Historia de la alimentación en Venezuela (1988), Gastronomía Caribeña (1991), and Food Culture in South America (Greenwood Press, 2005), among other books, and has published numerous articles in journals and newspapers from Venezuela and other countries. He contributed to the UNESCO General History of Latin America in food history matters. He is associate professor (retired ) at the School of History of the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

JEFFREY MAKALA is assistant special collections librarian in Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of South Carolina. His interests include the history of the book in America, contemporary book arts, and American culinary history, especially the intersections of cooking, cookbook production, and gender in the twentieth century.

WANDA MANN is an events producer in New York City and creator of the Mann About Town events newsletter. Wanda is also the founder of Frocks Rocks & Cocktails and creates events that showcase fashion, jewelry, wine, and spirits. Wanda has published articles about sports, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle.

ERIN G. MARRAZZO is a freelance writer and editor. She splits her time between New York City and Bonn, Germany.

MARTY MARTINDALE is a food writer residing in Largo, Florida. She writes for many sources.

About the Editors and Contributors

LESLIE A. MEYER is a professionally trained chef, culinarian, and food writer with a passion for food and cooking. A graduate of the prestigious French Culinary Institute, Leslie currently owns and operates her own culinary consultancy that highlights her skills as a writer, teacher, and food stylist. She has worked with such notable organizations as Microplane and America’s Test Kitchen to advance their publications through research, writing, and testing. JONATHAN MILDER has worked for the Food Network since 2003, where he is currently research librarian.

FRAN OSSEO-ASARE, MSW, PhD, is an internationally recognized authority, teacher, and author on Sub-Saharan African food and culture; a sociologist; a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals; an award-winning instructional materials designer; and founder of BETUMi: the African Culinary Network (http://www.betumi.com) and its companion BetumiBlog (http://www.betumi.com / blog.html).

ERICA J. PETERS received her PhD in 2000 from the University of Chicago and is the director of the Culinary Historians of Northern California. She has published in French Historical Studies and the Journal of Vietnamese Studies, and is currently finishing a book on food, drink, and politics in nineteenth-century Vietnam.

PIETRO PIRANI is assistant professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Western Ontario, London (Canada). He has also taught at Wilfrid Laurier University and McMaster University in Canada. His most recent research project focuses on the impact of culture on politics in Italy post–World War II. DIANA PITTET is a graduate of New York University’s master’s program in food studies. She has worked at a cheese shop in London and has written about the history of cheese in England and the United States. A former Latin teacher, she is the assistant editor ( production) for Classical World and the editorial assistant for Alimentum.

CHRISTY POPE has emerged as one of the world’s most recognized and talented people in the spirits industry today. Acknowledged for her passion for the artistry and history of the trade, she brings the “spirit” to events around the world by presiding over her and Chad Solomon’s cocktail catering company Cuff & Buttons. Christy has been featured in, or contributed to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Food & Wine, Imbibe, The Robb Report, Lucky Magazine, and Modern Bride.

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AMMINI RAMACHANDRAN is a freelance food writer and author of Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts: Recipes and Remembrances of a Vegetarian Legacy. She has written for Gastronomica, Flavor & Fortune, the Food History Primer, http://www.Sallys-place.com and her own Web site http://www. peppertrail.com. Her recipes have appeared in the Providence Journal and at http://www.leitesculinaria.com. PAUL RUSCHMANN is a writer and researcher who lives in Canton, Michigan. He is one of the creators of BeerFestivals.org, an online beer festival calendar. His writing about beer has appeared in a number of print and online publications, including All about Beer magazine where he writes a regular “Beer Travelers” column.

MARY SANKER is a librarian and writer in Cincinnati, Ohio. She contributed to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2004). ELLEN M. SCHNEPEL is an independent scholar and practicing anthropologist in New York City. She has conducted fieldwork in the French West Indies and Mauritius on language politics, ethnic identity, and changing patterns of food production and consumption. Her numerous articles have appeared in academic journals, including Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture.

AMY SEIFRIED is a writer with a master’s degree in English. She has written on a variety of topics, including entertaining, food, theater, and legal trends. Currently, she lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

RUTH SHIBUYA received her PhD from Purdue University. She is the founder of the Health Science Department and faculty emerita at Western Connecticut State University. LAUREN SHOCKEY is a food writer based in New York City. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute and currently pursuing a master of arts in food studies at New York University, she has written about food for a variety of publications including the New York Times Style Magazine, Gastronomica, Elle Girl, and Zink.

ANDREW F. SMITH teaches food studies and professional food writing at the New School in New York City. He is the author of 13 books, including The Turkey: An American Story and the Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, and he serves as the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.

CHAD SOLOMON has emerged as one of the world’s most recognized and talented people in the spirits industry today. Acknowledged for his

About the Editors and Contributors passion for the artistry and history of the trade, he brings the “spirit” to events around the world by presiding over his and Christy Pope’s cocktail catering company Cuff & Buttons. They have been featured in, or contributed to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Food & Wine, Imbibe, The Robb Report, Lucky Magazine, and Modern Bride.

MARIA G. STEINBERG graduated with a master of arts degree in food studies and food management at New York University. She is currently a marketing manager at a New York–based specialty food company. She also does food writing. Her work has appeared in U.S., Asian, and European publications. LIZ TARPY is the founder of Teaberry Productions, a company specializing in culinary research, recipe testing and editing, and food writing. Her writings have appeared in the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ newsletter and on StarChefs.com. Her article on German farmhouse cooking is slated for publication in Saveur magazine in fall 2008.

KAREN LAU TAYLOR earned her BA from Tufts University in international relations and history. She began her career as a government defense consultant, honing her research and writing skills. In 2008 she earned her MA in food studies from New York University and graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine’s Pastry Arts program. Karen is now a writer based in Washington, DC. KIRSTEN TAYLOR has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Following her scientific studies she moved to New York City, where she wrote food articles and studied toward a masters in gastronomy online through the University of Adelaide in Australia. She is back in New Zealand where she and her cousin have recently started the country’s first cupcake-dedicated bakery.

MICHAEL W. TWITTY is a food historian focused on documenting and preserving the food and folk traditions of enslaved West and Central Africans and their descendants in the American South. He is author of Fighting Old Nep: The Foodways of Enslaved Afro-Marylanders 1634–1864.

EUGENIA VAN VLIET is a Seattle-based author who has degrees in cultural anthropology and classical archeology. She has written cookbooks for teenagers on American regional cooking, for Amber Books in the United Kingdom, and she is currently writing a column for the Seattle Farmers Market Newsletter on culinary history. Eugenia has taught food history of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America on the Celebrity Cruise Line and is doing culinary dinners based on different cultures and times at Cook’s World in Seattle.

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CHRISTINE VENZON is a freelance writer living in Peoria, Illinois. She specializes in food, nutrition, and educational writing.

DOROTHY DENNEEN VOLO is a teacher and historian. She received her bachelor’s degree at the College of Mount St. Vincent in 1971 and her PhD from Berne University in 2002. Dorothy has been intimately involved in local history in Connecticut for many years, and she has a particular interest in the history of American education. She served as a consultant for the CSPN Yellow Bus series “CSPAN Does de Tocqueville” in 1997. Together with her husband, James M. Volo, she has co-authored almost a dozen reference works on American history. These include Daily Life in Civil War America (Greenwood, 1998), Family Life in the 19th Century (Greenwood, 2007), the Popular Culture of the Antebellum Period (Greenwood, 2004), and the Encyclopedia of the Antebellum South (Greenwood, 2000).

JAMES M. VOLO, PhD, has been teaching physics, physical science, and astronomy for the past 40 years. He received his bachelor’s degree from CCNY in 1969, his master’s from American Military University, and his doctorate from Berne University. He has taught science education for secondary and elementary schools teachers on the graduate level for more than 15 years. He is the author of several reference works regarding U.S. military, social, and cultural history, and has served as a consultant for TV and movie productions. SUZANNE C. WELTMAN is Creative Food Officer of Foodways, Inc., a culinary consulting group. With over two decades in the food industry, Ms. Weltman has worked with manufacturers, corporate test kitchens, and cookbook authors. Recipient of a Julia Child scholarship, Ms. Weltman studied at the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. She earned a Master of Liberal Arts in food anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, and taught at New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health. Ms. Weltman was a contributor to Encyclopedia of Appalachia (2006 ) and has published numerous food feature articles and restaurant reviews.

JAN WHITAKER is author of Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social History of the Tea Room Craze in America; Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class; and articles on the restaurant business, food science, and other aspects of commercial and consumer history. Her current research involves restaurant history.

DEBORAH WINDERS grew up on a self-reliant farm and learned about growing and preserving food early in life. She made a late start for a master’s in nutrition, circuitously earning a degree in agronomy. She has also worked in clinical pediatric, community, and long-term care. She has a passion for studying the cultural aspects of food.

Index

Page numbers in bold indicate main entries in the encyclopedia. Absinthe, 391–93 Action, Eliza, 58, 79 Adams, Sam, 503 Advent, 102 Africa: ancient, 469–70; central, 473–75; composition of, 469; eastern, 470 –72; history of, 469; hospitality and, 468 – 69; naming ceremonies of, 473; outdoor ceremonies of, 473; southern, 476 –77; symbols of, 468; western, 472–73 African Americans: bachelor parties and, 43; birthday parties and, children’s celebration of, 124–25; Juneteenth and, 333–34; soul food of, 457– 60 Africanus, 26 Afternoon tea, 507 Age, important celebrations of: Bar/Bat Mitzvah, 44– 45; birthdays, 65, 125 Agincourt, battle of, 526

Aku poke luau, 351 Albala, Ken, 118 Alcohol, 411–12, 503 Alcott, Louisa May, 64 Alcott, William, 517 Alexander the Great, 13, 15 Aliyah, 44 Alley, Tin Pan, 64 All Saints’ Day: contemporary celebration of, 451; defined, 447; festivals, 448; foods and beverages of, 449–51; history of, 447– 48; importance of, 451; medieval concept of, 450; preparations for, 449; purpose of, 449 All Souls’ Day, 109 Almack, William, 208 Almack Assembly Room, 208 America: bridal shower trends in, 92; cheese consumption in, 119–20; consumerism in, 174–76, 181– 82;

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Index

cookbooks in, 190, 192–93; culture and lifestyles in, 3–7; dance and, 180; debutante ball in, popularity of, 210; desserts in, 219; dining history of, 78; entertainment in, 173; French-style service dining rituals in, 177; Halloween in, celebration of, 296 –300; history of, 173; holiday celebrations in, 181, 512; masquerades in, 368; midday meal in, role of, 178 –79; Prohibition in, response to, 413–15; settlers of, first, 173–74; social graces of elite in, 179; taverns and public houses in, 180– 81; transportation in, 1–3 American frontier, 1–7 American Hotel, 6 American Notes for General Circulation (Dickens), 5 Ancient Greece, 7–18 Ancient Rome, 18 – 29 André, John, 504 Animals and medieval dining, fantasy, 375 Anna of Austria, 136 Anne of Bohemia, 526 Anniversaries, 29–31 Anniversary parties, 29–32 Antipasto, 32–34 Apicius, 11, 75 Apollo, 13 Appetizers, 33 Apples, 9 Arabs, 75, 102 Aranjanam, 121 Archaic Age, 8 Ariadne, 15 Aristophane, 13 Armour and Company, 547 Army Corps of Engineers, 67 Arnold, Benedict, 504 Artificial fast food, 251 Artos, 8 Ashurnasirpal II, 75 Asia: bachelor parties in, 43; desserts of, 219; entertainment and dining history of, 75–76 Asparagus, 9 Aspinwall, Marguerite, 80

Astor Hotel, 297 Athenaeus, 10, 14, 107 Athens, 8 Atole, 35 Attic honey, 10 Atticus, 23 Augustus, 23 Aunt Jemima, 139 Austin, Jane, 208 Aztec entertaining, 34 –37 Aztecs: banquets of, 36 –37; chocolate rituals of, 134–35; corn, importance of, 35; feasts of, 35–36; food sources of, 35 Baby shower, 39– 41 Bachelor party, 41– 43 Bachelors, 453–54 Baci kisses, 529 Bagel brunch, 94 Bainian, 131 Bakers, 8 Balance and dim sum, 221 Balkan Peninsula, 7– 8 Ball, New Year’s Eve, 384 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B & O), 2–3 Baltouf, Anna, 137 Bancroft, George, 68 Banquet of the Sages (Plutarch), 14 Banquets: Aztecs and, 36 –37; formal table settings and, 491; funerary, 28; medieval dining and, 370 –71; Renaissance, 417–18; restaurants and, 428 –29; Russian, 432 Barbaro, Hermolo, 420 Bar/Bat Mitzvah, 44– 46 Barbeque, 46 –50; concept of, 50; defined, 46; geographic differences in, 49–50; history of, 46, 48; pork, 47– 50; southern-style, 46 – 47; tidewater regions and development of, 50 Barbeque Belt, 47 Barley, 3, 8 Barn raising, 46, 50–53 Barry, Beatrice, 295 Bars, tapas, 498 –99 Bartering, 29–30 Baskets, Easter, 238

Index Battuta, Ibn, 470 Beans, 9 Beard, James, 80 Beaubien, Mark, 7 Bed and board, 3, 6 Beer halls and beer gardens, 53–57 Bees, 10 Beeton, Isabella, 57–59, 74, 79 Beeton, Mayson Moss, 58 Beeton, Samuel Orchart, 57–58 Beeton’s Book of Household Management (Beeton), 58, 74 Begué, Hypolite, 94 Begué, Madame, 93–94 Beistle Company, 298 Belching Pig, 502 Belenos, 108 Benbow, Admiral, 502 Benedict, Lemuel, 94 Beringer, Guy, 93 Berry, Chuck, 65 Bertram, Thomas, 208 Betty Crocker, 59– 62 Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air, 60 Beverages. see Food and beverages, history of Bible, 62, 537 Bierkeller, 53 Birthdays, 62–66; cultures and celebration of, 62– 63; food and, important role of, 64; greeting cards and, 64– 65; history of celebration of, 62; new born celebrations in India and, 120 –21; parties, age-specific, 65, 122–25; pet celebrations and, 66; picture-taking during, 65– 66; purpose of, 63– 64; religious celebrations of, 63; Russian celebrations of, 444; songs and, 64; symbolic meaning of, 65 Bishop, Boy, 145 Bitters, 33 Blair, Francis Preston, 67 Blair House, 66 – 69 Blair-Lee House, 69 Blind tasting, 542 Blob’s Park, 56 Block party, 70 –71

Boat Decks, 200 Bon, Philip le, 375 Book clubs, 71–74 Books, 73 Books on entertaining and dining, history of, 74 – 81 Boston Cooking School, 60, 514 Boston Tea Party, 503– 4 Bottarga, 33 Bourbon, 3 Bowery, 54 Bradford, William, 512 Brazil, 81–89; birthday parties in, 124; cannibalistic practices in, 81– 82; carnivals associated with, 81; colonization of, 82– 83; foods of, traditional, 84; history of, 81; Portuguese relationship with, 82, 84– 86; Republic of, establishment of, 86 – 89; slaves of, 83, 84 Bread, white (artos), 8 Brethren, Arval, 24 Bridal shower, 89 –93 Bride and groom, showering of, 534 Bridewealth, 30 Brigit, 108 Brillat-Savarin, Jean-Anthêlme, 79, 119 Britain, 78, 119 Brotzeit, 94 Brunch, 93–95 Bruschetta, 33 Buddha, 63 Buffet, 95–98, 313 Bugesses, Virginia, 503 Buitoni, Giovani, 529 Bunny, Easter, 237–38 Buren, Martin Van, 67 Burgers, 259– 61 Burn, Robert, 294 Burros, Marian, 80 Business travelers, international, 400 Butler, Rhett, 49 Byrd, William II, 147 Byron, Lord, 521 Cabral, Pedro Alvares, 82 Cacao tree, 135 Cadbury, John, 139 Caesar, Julius, 23, 24

581

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Index

Cafeterias, 97 Cake and candles, 99 –104; Arabian contributions to, 102; contemporary forms of, 102; food coloring and, use of, 101–2; history of, 99–100, 102–3; quality of, importance of, 101; rituals and, 103; symbols of, 99; technological improvements in, 100; traditions of, common, 103; types of, 100 –101 Calhoun, John C., 67 Caligula, 21, 22, 25 Cameras, 65– 66 Campari, 33 Campbell, Christina, 503 Candy, 529 Cane sugar, 214 Cannibalism, 81– 82 Cappadocian bakers, 8 Cardboard doilies and coasters, 229 Carême, Antonin, 78 Caribbean: bachelor parties, 43; block parties, 70 Carnivals, 81 Carpe noctem, 301 Carter, Charles, 78 Cassell, Edward P., 432 Castillo, Bernal Diaz del, 35–36 Catering, 104–6, 431–32 Catherine of Valois, 526 Catholicism, 136 –37 Cato the Elder, 21, 23, 25 Ceiba, 135 Celtic feasting, 107–13; beverages consumed during, 111–12; chieftains and, 112; entertainment during, 112; festivals and, 108 –9; food preservation and, 107; foods consumed during, 107– 8, 109; history of, 107; purpose of, 109–10; tales of, 110 –11 Centerpieces, 375–76; Chinese, 243; defined, 240; historical examples of, 240 – 42; Japanese, 243; modern, 242– 43 Central Africa, 473–75 Cereal, 8 Cervio, Vincenzo, 76 Chafing dish, 113–15 Chafing dish suppers, concept of, 114

Chai, 45 Champagne, 115–17 Champarado, 140 Chardonnay, 115 Charitable (community) cookbooks, history of, 188 Charles II, 529 Charles the Bold, 77 Charles V, 77 Charles VI, 77 Charlotte, Queen, 431 Charpentier, Jean-Baptiste, 137 Chase, David, 530 Cheese, 9, 117–20 Cheese course, history of, 117–20 Chef’s clothing, 341– 42 Chicago, Illinois, 7 Chickpeas, 9 Chic restaurants, 430 –31 Chieftains, 112 Chiffon cakes, 100 Child, Julia, 80 Child, Lydia Maria, 512 Child, Theodore, 390 –91 Childhood in South India, 120–22 Children’s birthday parties, 122–25 Children’s’ celebrations, 130, 298–300. See also Birthdays China: bridal showers in, 92; desserts of, 218 –19; edible centerpieces in, 243; entertainment and dining history of, 76; funeral foods in, 283; New Year’s celebrations in, 129–32; wedding receptions in, 535 Chinampas, 35 Chinese banquets, 126 –29 Chinese New Year, 129 –32 Chocolate, 132– 41; Aztec rituals associated with, 134–35; bar, 139; beverages, 137–38; Catholicism associated with, 136 –37; desserts, 217–18; European, 135–36; history of, 132; Mayan rituals associated with, 134–35; Mesoamerican origins of, 133–34; parlors/houses, 137–38; popularity of, 140 – 41; production of, 132–33 Chooroonu, 121 Chopsticks, 141– 43 Chretien, Jean-Loup, 117

Index Christ Child, 146 Christenings, 440 – 41 Christmas, 143–54; celebration of, 143– 49; cookies, 151– 52; food and drink of, traditional, 149–53; history of, 143; party favors, 396 A Christmas Carol (Dickens), 143 Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, 124 Cicero, 23, 25 Circus Maximus, 25 City elite, 8 Civil Rights Act of 1964, 46 Civil War, 154–63; holiday feasting during, 157–58; northern hospitality during, 158 – 62; southern hospitality during, 154–57; taverns’ role during, 505 Claudius, 25, 525 Clothing, 210 –11, 239 Clovis, 117 Clubs, social, 407 Cocktails, 163 – 68; Cosmopolitan, 167; defined, 163; history of, 163; origin of, 163– 64; Prohibition linked to, 165, 166; publications about, 164; punch, 163; Roman, 163; sales decline in, 165; symbol of, 166; types of, 164 Cocoa, 133 Coe, Sophie and Michael, 133 Coffee, 216 –17, 470 –71 Coffeehouses in London, 168 –71; characters of, 169; development of, 169; history of, 168; physical attributes of, 169; society of, 169 Coffee klatches, 171–73 “The Coffee Republic,” 86 Coliseum, 25 Colonial America, 173 – 82 Colonial Mexico, 182– 85 Columella, 21 Coming-out-party, 125 Communal dining, 428 Communal drinking, 54 Comparative tasting, 542 Complimentary cheese, 117 Confections, 529 Confucianism, 221 Conga, 532 Congressional Globe newspaper, 67

Congressional Record newspaper, 67 Constantinople, 375 Consumerism, 174–76, 181– 82 Contessa, Barefoot, 80 Continental Sunday, 54–55 Conversation hearts, 530 Convivium, 22, 23 Cookbooks: cordials and liqueurs, 195; dining and entertainment, 191–94; Food Network, 267; history of, 186 –94; soul food, 460 – 61 Cookbooks, history of, 186 –91 Cookbooks, tools for entertaining, 191– 94 Cool Whip, 101 Cordials and liqueurs, 194– 97; cookbooks, 195; defined, 194, 195; distilling of, 195; flavorings of, 196 – 97; fruits and, 196; history of, 194, 196; manufacturers of, 195; types of, 195–96 Corn, 8, 35 Cortés, Hernán, 133–34 Cosmopolitan cocktails, 167 Costumes, 365, 366 Couples, dating, 431 Court Days, 503 Courtesans, 15 Cozinheiro Nacional cookbook, 87 Crassus, 25 Crocker, William G., 60 Crop harvesting, 309 Croquet, 290 Cros, Charles, 390 Crostini, 34 Crownings, 503 Cruise ships, 197–202 Crumb trays, 264 Cunard Line, 201 Cupboards, 371 Cupid, 529 Cupid’s Messenger, 526 Cycle, Ulster, 110 Cyclops (Theophrastus of Eresus), 11 Dai, bon vivant Zhang, 120 Dairy products, 9 Dance, 180 Darius, 17 Dates, 9

583

584

Index

Dawson, Thomas, 77 Day of the Dead, 203 – 7 Death, 246, 283 Debutante balls, 207–11; clothing and, 210 –11; defined, 207– 8; history of, 208 –10; popularity of, American, 210; presentation of, 211 De Causis Plantarium (On Plant Physiology) (Theophrastus of Eresus), 11 Declaration of Independence, 504 Decurions, 24 Deepavali, festival of lights, 211–13 Degas, Edgar, 137 De Gaulle, Charles, 68 Deipnon, 12 Deipnosophistae (Athenaeus), 10 Democratic National Convention, 379 Dennison Manufacturing Company, 298 De Re Rustica (Columella), 21 De’Rosselli, Giovanni, 76 Deschamps, Leon, 390 Dessert, 213–20; Asian, 219; Central and South America, 219; Chinese, 218 –19; chocolate, 217–18; coffee, 216 –17; customs, 214; defined, 213–14; Indian, 219; Japan and, 218; Mediterranean, 219; in Middle Ages, 215–16; Middle Eastern, 219; new, exploration and development of, 216 –18; practices, 215; sweeteners, 214–15; tea, 217; technological advancements in, 220; wine and, 543 Diary (Pepys), 526 Diaz, Bernal, 113 Dickens, Charles, 5, 6 –7, 143 Digestion of cheese, 118 –19 Dim sum, 220 –24 Dinner parties, 224 –27; contemporary, 226 –27; current event types, 226; defined, 224; diversity and, 227; Europe and, ancient, 225; Greece and, 224–25; history of, 224; home, 224; presentation of, 225–26; progressive, 408–9; publications on, 227; Roman, 225; Russian, 226; sensory pleasures and, 225; Victorian, 225; women and, 226 Diogenes the Cynic, 26 Dionysus, 15

Dips, 303 Distilling, 195 Diva, Dea, 24 Diversity, 227 Dobbins Tavern, 505 Dog luau, 350 –51 Doilies and coasters, 227–29 Dollar dance, 532 Domestic manuals, 177–78 Door county fish boil, 229–32; equipment required for, 230 –31; history of, 229–30; popularity of, 230, 231–32; preparing for, 230 –31 Dough, 375 Doves, 529 Dowry, 30 Dream Whip, 101 Druisius, 27 Drunkenness, 19 Duff, Hillary, 65 Dugnad, 52–53 Duke of Edinburgh, 69 Duke of Orleans, 526 Dukes of Burgundy, 77 Dukes of Este, 76 Durum wheat, 8 Dutch treat, 56, 232–34 Dutrey, Louis, 94 Dutrey’s Coffee House, 94 D’Uxelles, Marquis, 77 Dwight, Margaret Van Horn, 4–5 Easter, 235– 40; baskets, 238; bunny, 237–38; clothing, 239; defined, 235; dinners, 239; eggs, 236 –37; history of, 235–36; hot cross buns, 238; jellybeans, 238; parades, 240; Russian, 238 –39; symbols, 239 Eastern Africa, 470 –72 Eat-local movement, 190 Eaton, H. John, 67 Edible centerpieces, 240 – 43 Education, 105, 333 Eggnog, 153 Eggs, Easter, 236 –37 Egypt, 244 – 47; cooking in, 244; death rites, 246; dining in, 244– 45, 246 – 47; food and beverages of, 244; funeral foods of, 283; music of, 245– 46

Index Einkorn, 8 Eisenhower, Dwight D., 298 Elizabeth I, 151 Elizabeth II, 68, 209 Elks’ Club, 298 El-Shuqqafa, Korn, 28 Emmer, 8 Employment, 105, 106 Engagement rings, 30 England: entertainment and dining history of, 77; medieval dining and, 374–75; Valentine’s Day celebration in, 527 Entertainment and dining history: American, 78, 172; Arabian, 75; Asian, 75–76; authors of, 79– 80; bachelor parties, 42; banquets, 75; bridal showers, 91–92; British, 78; catering, 105; Celtic feasting, 112; chafing dish, 114; Chinese, 76; cooking instructions, 75, 79– 80; dinner parties, home, 224; English, 77; English authors of, 79; French, 77–78; future of, 80; garden parties, 290; German, 76; Greek, 75; Halloween, 294; history of, 74–75; Indian, 310; Italian, 76 –77; medieval dining and, 376; Middle Eastern, 76; purpose of, 74; restaurants and, 426, 429–30; Russian, 436, 445–46; super bowl parties and, 481; tapas and, 498–99; women and, 80; World War II and, 547 Epigrams, 19 Epiphany, 144 Epulum, 22 Equal Rights Amendment, 379 Erie Canal, 2 Erie Railroad, 6 Esquire magazine, 454–55 Ethelred, King, 144 Etiquette: books, 247– 49; chopstick usage, 143; dim sum, 222–23 Euripides, 11 Europe: bachelor parties in, 43; catering in, 104; cheese and, 118; chocolate and, 135–36; Day of the Dead celebration of, 205; dinner parties in, ancient, 225; table settings in, 495; toasts in, custom of, 521

Evitascandalo, Cesare, 76 Ewing, Eleanor Boyle, 68 Ewing, Thomas, 68 Fales, Winnifred Shaw, 79 Family holiday, 148 – 49 Famine, 8 Fares, 405 Farinha, 84 Farley, John, 78 Farmer, Fannie, 514 Farm Sanctuary, 517 Fast food, history of, 251– 63; ancient, 252–54; artificial, 251; burgers, 259– 61; hot dogs, 256 –59; pizza, 254–56; sandwiches, 261– 63; types of, 251 Father Time, 297 Faunus, 526 Fazendas, 82 Feast of the Pheasant, 77 Feasts. see also Celtic feasting: Aztec, 35–36; during Civil War, 157–58; Feast of the Pheasant, 77; funeral foods and, 284– 85; Great Feast of the Dead, 204; Little Feast of the Dead, 204; medieval dining, 373; Nativity Feast, 143; Parentalia feast, 26; Polish Christmas Feast, 146 – 47 Feralia festival, 26 Fermentation, 539 Festival of Eid al-Fitr, 508 Festivals. see also Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival: All Saints’ Day, 448; Celtic, 108 –9, 448; Deepavali, the festival of lights, 211–13; Feralia festival, 26; Festival of Eid al-Fitr, 508; of Tlaltecuhtli, 37 Fettiplace, Elinor, 77 Fields, Alonzo, 69 Figs, 9 Finger bowls, 263– 64 Fireworks, 384 First Night celebrations, 385 First Thanksgiving, 516 Flaminius, Titus, 28 Flavorings, 196 –97 Floating restaurants, 2 Flowers, 330 –31, 529

585

586

Index

Food and beverages, history of: All Saints’ Days and, 449–51; Aztec, 34–35; birthdays, 64; book clubs, 73–74; Brazilian, 84; bridal shower, 91; brunch, traditional, 94; Celtic feasting, 107– 8, 109, 111–12; Chinese banquets, 128 –29; chocolate and, 137–38; Christmas, 149–53; coffeehouses in London, 169; coffee klatches, 172; cruise ships, 198, 200; Egyptian, 244; food coloring and, 101–2, 465; Fourth of July, 269; garden parties, 290; Inca and, 307– 8; Indian, 310 –11; Italian, 319; Juneteenth celebration, 332–33; Kentucky Derby, 338 – 40; medieval dining and, 374; Russian, 434–35; Saint Patrick’s Day, 464– 65; sugaring off parties, 479– 80; super bowl parties, 482– 83; toasts and, 521; wine and, 541– 42 Food Network, 265– 68 Food rationing, 545– 46 Football, 516 Forks, 493 Formal dining, 311, 437–38 Fortune magazine, 60 Fourth of July, 268–71 Francatelli, Charles, 79 France, 271– 83; cheese in, 120; dining rituals in, American, 176 –77; entertainment and dining history of, 77–78; history of, 271–72; Renaissance, 272– 82; table settings and, 492 Franklin, Benjamin, 72 Free French, 68 French Line, 199– 200 Frisbee, 291 Fritelle, 34 Frosting, 100 Frugoli, Antonio, 76 Fruitcakes, 150 –51 Fruits, 9, 196 Funeral foods, 283–86; Chinese, 283; cultures and, 283– 84; death and, journey of, 283; Egyptian, 283; feasts and, 284– 85; hauntings and, 284; religious, 285– 86; Russian, 444– 45

Funerary: banquet, 28; cult, 26; gardens, 28 Gaetae, tribe of, 108 Gale, Samuel, 60 Gamala, P. Lucilius, 25 Gambrinus, King, 55 Game laws, 427 Gandhi, Indira, 68 Garapa, 84 Garden party, 287–91; beverages served at, 290; defined, 287; entertainment and, 290; magazine publications concerning, 287–88; occasions for having, 290–91; outdoor, 289–90; practice of, 287; proper dining and, 290; suburban, 288–89 Gare de Avignon, 95 Gaskin, Ina, 80 Gastronomic democracy, 4 Gemütlichkeit, 55–56 General Mills, 59, 60, 61– 62, 100 Gentleman of Cortés, 134 George IV, King, 78 Germany, 53– 54, 76 Gift giving: anniversaries and, 31; Bar/ Bat Mitzvah and, 45; Chinese New Year and, 131; party favors and, 394; Russia and, 436 Gilded Age, 209 Gingerbread, 151 Glasse, Hannah, 78, 100 Globe newspaper, 67 Goethe, Johann von, 102 Golden Temple of Sikhs, 213 Gold Medal flour, 59 Goldsborough, Lillian Purdy, 80 Gone With the Wind (Mitchell), 49 “Good Morning to All” (Hill), 64 Gorham Silver Company, 113 Grace, William R., 297 Grand Prix, 117 Grape pips, 11 Grapes, 115 Great cakes, 99 Great Depression, 545 Great Feast of the Dead, 204 Great Vigil, 35 Greece: Archaic Age of, 8; culture and lifestyles of, 8 –18; dinner parties in,

Index 224–25; entertainment and dining history of, 75; peninsulas of, 7– 8; weddings in, 532 Green Dragon Tavern, 503– 4 Greeting cards, 64– 65 Gregory II, Pope, 204 Gregory VII, Pope, 204 Griddle cakes (maza), 8 Grito do Ipiranga, 84 Guadalupe, José, 205 Guild dinners, 22 Gutenberg, Johann, 64 Habitat for Humanity, 52 Hadrian, 22 “Haftarah,” 45 Hakim, Zahidul, 120 Hale, Edward Everett, 511 Hale, Sarah Josepha, 513–14 Halloween, 293 –302; American celebration of, 296 –98; carpe noctem and, 301; children’s’ celebration of, 298–300; history of, 293; parties and, 294–96; UNICEF and, 300 Hanukkah, 102 “Happy Birthday” song, 64 Harlem Renaissance, 425 Harner, Michael, 35 Harold, book of, 62 Harper’s Bazaar magazine, 150 Hataera, 15 Hauntings, 284 Hawley, Adelaide, 60 Health and nutrition, 188 – 89 Hearst, 296 Helen of Troy, 117 Helots, 16 –17 Hemphil, Mayor, 294 Henderson, Mary F., 79 Hen party, 43 Henry V, 526 Heracala, 11 Herbs, 9 Hercules, 25 Heros, 14 Hersey Company, 139 Hill, Patty and Mildred, 64 Hippocrates, 373 Hofbräuhaus, 53, 56 Homer, 12, 14

Home Service Department, 60 Honey, 9, 10 Hong bao, 131 Hope chests, 90 Horizontal tasting, 542 “Horn of Africa,” 471 Hors d’oeuvres and canapés, 302– 6; defined, 302, 303; international, 304–5; overview of, 302–3; socialization and, 305– 6 Horse transportation, 2 Hospitality, 3, 7; African, 468 – 69; during Civil war, 154– 62 Hot cross buns, 238 Hot dogs, 256 –59 Hotel/resort party planners, 402 House of Burgesses, 504 Housing shortages, 387 Houten, Conrad Van, 133, 139 Howland, Esther A., 527 Hunt, Galliard, 48 Huou, 76 Husted, Marjorie, 60 Icing, 100 Idol, Billy, 65 Iguarias, 86 Illinois Confederacy, 2 Illiteracy, 316 Illustrated London News, 56 Imbolc, 108 Immigration, 2, 516 Importation, 409 –11 Inca, 307–10 Independent party planners, 402 India, 310 –15; buffets in, 313; celebrations in, 311–13; desserts in, 219; dining practices in, traditional, 311; dressers in, 314–15; entertainment in, 310; foods of, 310 – 11; formal dining in, 311; history of, 310; vegetarians in, 313–14 Injera, 471 Inns, 501 Intercollegiate Football Association, 516 Intimate dining, 491 Invitations, 315 –19; history of, 315; illiteracy and, 316; lithography and, 317; marketplace, 315–16; mass-printed, 317; metal-plate

587

588

Index

engraving of, 317; method of, 316 –17; paper selection and wording of, 318 –19; postal system and, 316; printing press invention and, 317; verbal, 315; wealth and, 317 Ireland, 462– 63 Irupathettu, 121 Irving Berlin Broadway, 379 Italy: 319 –27; entertainment and dining history of, 76 –77; foods of, 319; historical overview of, 320 –23; holidays celebrated in, 324–27

King’s Arms, 503 Kinsley, Herbert M., 113 Kissing, 381– 82 Kitchen staff dress, 340– 43 Kit Kat, 139 Kmart, 91 Knickerbocker Magazine, 49 Knives, 492–93 Kora, 121 Küchenmeistercy cookbook, 76 Kuge, 92 Kwanzaa, 343– 46, 460

Jackson, Andrew, 67 Jade Chicken, 128 James, Frank, 518 Jamison, Cherly and Bill, 80 Japan: desserts of, 218; edible centerpieces and, 243; teas of, 506 Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, 329 –31; flowers and, appreciation of, 330 –31; history of, 329–30 Jefferson, Thomas, 79, 504 Jellybeans, 238 Joâo VI, 84 Jocularity, 338 Johnson, Lyndon B., 379 Jubilees, 523 Judaism, 46 Juneteenth, 331– 34; African Americans and, 333–34; celebration of, 331–32; contemporary celebration of, 332; education and, 333; foods and celebration of, 332–33; growth of celebration of, 334; history of, 331 The Junto, 72 Jupiter, 22

Lager beer, 55 Lamb, Patrick, 78 Lancelotti, Vittorio, 76 Land of the Dead, 135 Lanterns, 131–32 La quinceanera, 65, 347– 49 Larvae, 26 Las Vegas, 385 Lebkuchen Baker’s Guild, 151 Lee Dining Room, 69 Lee House, 66 Lemures, 26 Lemuria, 26 Lentils, 9 Lentisk nuts, 9 Lerius, John, 81 Leslie, Eliza, 149 Le Train Bleu, 95 Life milestones, 121–22, 440 – 45 Lille (buffet), 95 Lillet (bitter), 33 Lincoln, Abraham, 2, 64, 68 Lincoln Room, 68 Lindelberg, Florence, 60 Lindt, Rodolphe, 139 Linnaeus, 132 Liotard, Jean-Etienne, 137 Lipton Company, 303 Liquamen, 11 Lithography, 317 Little Feast of the Dead, 204 Livia, 23 Livy, 20, 22 Llefelys, 109 Lludd, 109 Loading the bride, 91 Lomi lomi salmon, 351

Kaiseki Ryori, 335–37 Kalua pig luau, 350 Karl, Bernhard, 3 Kattabos, 15 Keller, 53 Kelley, Janette, 60 Kentucky Derby, 337 – 40 Kettenring, Elizabeth, 93–94 Khan, Kublai, 76 Killen, Mary, 140 Kinderfest, 123 King Cleomenes of Sparta, 14

Index Longhi, Pietro, 137 Lord of Rain and Thunder, 35 Louis XIII, 136 Louis XIV, 492 Louis XV, 137 Love knots, 529 Lovell, Joseph, 67 Löwenbräukeller, 53 Luau, 349–52 Luce, Clare Boothe, 379 Lucian, 21 Lucullus, Lucius, 23–24, 25 Ludi Romani, 22 Lugh, 108 Lugnos, 108 Lukins, Sheila, 80 Lunch counters, 3 Lydgate, John, 526 Lyon, 95 Mabie, Casparus and Yoast, 504 Mabie’s Tavern, 504 Mabinogion, 109 MacArthur, Douglas, 69 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, 517 Magi, 146 Magrin, Gaston, 200 Manes, 26 Manners, table, 369–70 Manuar blanco, 86 Maple sugaring, 478 –79 Marche, Olivier de la, 77 Mardi gras, 353 – 60; history of, 353, 354–55; modern, 359– 60; New Orleans and, 355–59; religious significance of, 353–54 Marie-Antoinette, 117 Marin, François, 78 Marketplace invitations, 315–16 Markham, Gervase, 77 Marriage, 441– 44 Mars Bar, 139 Marshall, Thurgood, 46 Marshall Field, 509 Marshall Plan, 69 Marshmallows, 218 –19 Martial, 19, 21 Martin Chuzzlewit (Dickens), 5 Martino, Maestro, 76 Mary, 63

Marzipan, 102 Masked ball masquerades, 364– 65, 367 Masquerades, 361–69; American, 368; authors and, 366, 367; concepts of, 367–68; contemporary, 368; costumes and, 365, 366; defined, 361; dress codes of, 366; fictional characters and, 368; history of, 361; masked ball, 364–65, 367; politics and, 361–64; publications and, 367; women and, 365 Massialot, François, 78 Mass market thanksgiving, 516 –17 Mass-printed invitations, 317 Maximus, Quintus Fabius, 25 Maximus, Valerius, 25 May, Robert, 78, 146 Mayas, 134–35 Mayson, Benjamin, 57 Mayson, Isabella Mary, 57–59 “Mazel Tov,” 45 McDonald’s restaurant, 94, 124, 125 McGinley, Phyllis, 521 McMein, Neysa, 62 Mead, 10 Medieval, 369 –76 Medieval dining: animals and, fantasy, 375; banquets and, 370 –71; beverages and, 374; centerpieces of, 375–76; concepts of, 369; decorations and, 372; England and, 374–75; entertainment and, 376; feasts, 373; manners of, 369–70; menus and, 373–74; table setting and, 371–72 Medieval paintings, 452–53 Medlars, 9 Melville, Herman, 504 Menalaus, 14 Merman, Ethel, 379 Messenger, 5 Messes, 16 Messisbugo, Cristoforo, 76, 420 Mesta, George, 378 Mesta, Perle, 376–80 Mesta Tool Company, 378 Metal-plate engraving, 317 Mexico: birthday parties in, 124; Day of the Dead celebration in, 205– 6; dining in, 184; history of, 182– 83 Mezze, 304

589

590

Index

Midday meal, 178 –79 Middle Ages, 118, 215–16 Middle East, 76, 96, 219 Milestones, 31 Milk, 9–10 Milk drinkers, 108 Millet, 8, 33 Ming, 120 Mint tea, 508 Miracle of 34th Street (film), 517 Miskawayh, Ibn, 75 Misrule, Lords of, 145 Mississippi, 2 Miss Parloa’s New Cook Book and Marketing Guide, 60 Mitchell, Margaret, 49 Mithridates, King, 25 Mix-Zoquean, 132 “Mock Turkey,” 518 Moctezuma, 35, 134 Moore, Clement, 143 Moralia (Plutarch), 14, 20 Morrison, Toni, 72 Mother Goose, 297 Mullan, Robert, 504 Mushrooms, 9 Music, 245– 46, 463– 64 Myrtle berries, 9 Naming ceremonies, 444, 473 Nanjing, 120 Napkins, 494–96 Napoleon, 78, 84 National Day of Mourning, 518 National Historic Landmarks program, 69 National Register of Historic Places, 69 National Road, 2 Nativity Feast, 143 Nazars, 372 Nebuchadnezzar, 115 Nehru, Jawaharlal, 68 Neighbors, 408 New England Confectionary Company (NECCO), 530 New England Woman’s Club, 72 New Fire Ceremony, 35 Newman vs. Piggy Park Enterprises, 46 New Orleans, 355–59 New Orleans Turducken, 515

New Year’s Eve, 381– 86; ball lowering, 384; broadcast, 383; fireworks, 384; First Night celebrations and, 385; history of, 381, 383– 84; kissing tradition, 381– 82; in Las Vegas, 385; revelers, 382; singing tradition, 382– 83; symbols, 385, 386; toast tradition, 381; Watch Night, 385– 86 New York Sorosis, 72 “The Night Before Christmas” (Moore), 143 Night Owl movement, 70 –71 Nixon, Tricia, 298 Noisemakers, 298 Northend, Mary Harrod, 79 Nullification crisis, 49 Nuremberg Cup, 532–33 The Nutcracker ballet, 152 Nuts, 9 O Cozinheiro Imperial cookbook, 85 Odysseus, 11, 12 Off-premise catering, 104 O’Hara, Scarlet, 49 Ohio River, 2 Oktoberfest, 56 Oldenburg, Ray, 55 Old World, 113 Old World Halloween, 296 Olive oil, 11 Olmecs, 134 Olympian Gods, 14 Omotesenke, 506 Open bar, 534 Oprah’s Book Club, 72–73 Orbinson, Ray, 65 Oshun, 460 Ostia, 26, 28 Outdoors. see also Garden parties: African ceremonies, 473; cooking, 70, 270 Oysters, 11 Paal paayasam, 121 Paper doilies and coasters, 228 Papier-mâché animals, 124 Parades, 240, 462, 463 Parallel Lives (Plutarch), 15 Parentalia feast, 26 Paris Exhibition, 95

Index Parisian cafés, 387– 93; absinthe served in, 391–93; contemporary, 388 – 89; history of, 387, 389–91; housing shortages and, 387; occasions held in, 387– 88 Parloa, Maria, 60 Parties. see also Dinner parties; Garden parties: bachelor, 43; birthday, 65, 122–25; block, 70 –71; Halloween, 294–96; rent, 424–25; sugaring off, 479– 80; super bowl, 480 – 83; theme, 518 –19; Tupperware, 522–23; winetasting, 542 Party favors, 393– 400; Christmas crackers, 396; defined, 394; events that use, 397; extravagant, 398 –99; gift giving and, 394; prizes, 397–98; at weddings, 394–95 Party planners, 400 – 402 Patriotism, 271 Paulaner Keller, 53 Peas, 9 Pedro I, 84 Pedro II, 84– 85 Peking duck, 128 Pelopidas, 15 Peloponnesian War, 8 Pennsylvania Avenue House, 68 Pennsylvania Brewing Company, 56 Penny dreadfuls, 527 Penny Post, 527 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 517 Pepys, Samuel, 526 Pericles, 8, 14 Perugina, 529 Petronius, Titus, 24 Pets, 66 Phaedimus, M. Ulpius, 22 Philadelphia Library, 72 Philip, Prince, 69 Philip of Orleans, 117 Philippine fiestas, 402–6 Philip the Good, 77 Phillip II, 17 Phoenician bakers, 8 Piadena, Bartolomeo Sacchi di, 76 Pickett Tea Room, 431 Pilgrims, 512–13 Pillsbury Bake-Off, 101

Pine kernels, 9 Pinot Meunier, 115 Pinot Noir, 115 Pirannal. see Birthdays Pirozhki, 124 Pius V, Pope, 136 Pizza, 254–56 Pizzette, 34 Platina, 76 Plato, 14, 15, 17, 75 Playboy magazine, 454–55 Plaza Hotel, 508 –9 Pleck, Elizabeth, 516 Plimoth Plantation, 512 Pliny, Elder, 108 Plum pudding, 149–50 Plutarch, 14, 15, 16, 20 Poi luau, 351 Polish Christmas Feast, 146 – 47 Politics, 271, 361– 64 Polk, James K., 68 Pompey, 23 Poppleton, Mrs., 431–32 Pork, 47– 49 Portuguese, 82, 84– 86 Poseidonius, 107 Postal system, 316 Postwar singles, 456 Potluck suppers, 406 –8 Pradesh, Andhra, 213 Prado, Manuel, 68 Printing press, 317 Priscus, C. Iunius, 25 Private rooms, 426 –28 Privy holes, 503 Prizes, 397–98 Program line-ups, 266 – 67 Progressive dinner parties, 408 –9 Prohibition, 409 –15; beer and, 411–12; beer halls and gardens and, 56; cocktails and, 165, 166; history of, 409; importation and, 409 –11; purpose of, 412–13; response to, 413–14; tearooms and, 511 Prohibition Act, 538 Promenades, 200 Protagoras (Plato), 15 Protestant Reformation, 51 Psykter, 14

591

592

Index

Puliyoonu, 121 Pulled pork barbeque, 50 Pulque, 37 Pulses, 9 Pump Room, 431 Punch, 163 Punch magazine, 93 Puritan Ordinary, 500 Puzziks, 527 Puzzle purses, 527 P’ye-back, 43 Queen Mary 2 (cruise line), 201 Queh-queh, 43, 91–92 Rabisha, William, 78 Raeder, Ole Munch, 5 Raffald, Elizabeth, 78 Railroad transportation, 2–3, 4, 6 Raleigh, 503 Ramadan, 508 Randolph, Mary, 79, 113 Ranhofer, Charles, 94 Ratskeller, 53 Receptional drinking, 505 Reclining, 13, 20 Red wine, 539 Religion: birthday celebrations and, 63; funeral foods and, 285– 86; Mardi gras and, 353–54; Philippine fiestas and, 402; tapas and, 498 Relishes, 8 Remus, 526 Renaissance, 417–24; banquets, 417–18; cheese, 118; France, 272– 82; history, 417; wealth, 418 –24 Renoir, Pierre-Auguste, 137 Rent parties, 424–25 Republic of Brazil, 86 – 89 Restaurants, 426 –32; banquets held in, 428 –29; birthday parties celebrated at, 125; catering from, 431–32; chic, 430 –31; communal dining and, 428; cookbooks used in, 192; dating and, 431; entertainment and, 426, 429–30; game laws and, 427; history of, 426; luxury, 427; private rooms in, 426 –28; soul food, 460 – 61; tapas and, 499 Revolutionary Tribunal, 117 Richard II, 77, 144, 374

Richard III, 297, 526 Ringwald, Molly, 65 Rives, John C. and Blair, 67 Road transportation, 2 Rockefeller, J. D., 297 Romanovs, 78 Rome: cocktails in, 163; culture and lifestyles of, 18 –28; dinner parties in, 225 Romeo, 297 Romoli, Domenico, 32 Romulus, 526 Roosevelt, Eleanor, 60 Roosevelt, Franklin, 66, 379 Roses, 529 Rossetti, Giovan Battista, 76 Rossini, 78 Rothschilds, 78 Royal court brewery, 53 Russia, 432–46; banquets in, 432; beverages of, 434–35; birthdays celebrated in, 124, 444; dinner parties in, 226; Easter in, 238–39; entertainment in, 436, 445–46; formal dining in, 437–38; funeral foods in, 444–45; gift giving in, 436; history of, 432–34; holidays celebrated in, 438–40; milestones celebrated in, 440–45; sequential table service style of, 434; women’s’ role in, 436–37 Russo, Julie, 80 Sabinus, Calvisius, 20 Sahagún, Fray Bernardino, 35, 36 –37 Saint James Palace, 209 Saint Joseph’s Day, 63 Saint-Méry, Moreau de, 1, 2 Saint Nicholas’s Day, 146 Saints’ Days, 447– 52 Salami, 34 Salt cellars, 371 Samain, 109 Sandwiches, 261– 63 Santa Claus, 517 Sap, 478, 479 Saturnalia, 144 Satyricon (Petronius), 24 Sauganash Tavern, 7 Savory, 304 Saxon, Anglo, 534–35

Index Scappi, Bartolomeo, 77 Schivelbusch, 136 Schlitz Palm Gardens, 55 Schnaider’s Garden, 55 Schoonmaker, Frank, 540 Schrafft’s, 430 Scotch, 3 Seafood, 33–34 Sectionalism, 49 Seneca, 20, 21 Sensory pleasures, 225 Sequential table service, 434 Serving platters, 452–53 Sextilanus, 19 Sexuality, 456 Shang Dynasty, 76 Sharply, Stephen, 6 Shellfish, 11 Shepherds Hotel, 3 Sherman, Tecumseh, 68 Shieffelin & Company, 541 Shield’s, 503 Shipboard life, 197 Silver, 19 Simmons, Amelia, 113, 152 Singing, 382– 83 Singles, 453 – 57; bachelors and, 453–54; bachelorettes and, 454; Esquire magazine for, 454–55; history of, 456; living standards of, 455; Playboy magazine and, 454–55; population statistics of, 456 –57; postwar, 456; publications regarding, 456; sexuality and, 456 Sisters gathering custom, 92 Sisters party custom, 92 Sixteen Candles, 65 Sixteenth birthday, 65 Slaughtering, 48 Slaves, 83, 84 Smith, Eliza, 78 Smith, Margaret Bayard, 64 Smith, Mrs. E., 100 Smörgåsbord, 97–98, 304–5, 313 Socrates, 15 Solon, 8 Song Dynasty, 505– 6 Songs, 64 Soul food, 457– 61; African America, 457– 60; contemporary, 461;

cookbooks, 460 – 61; defined, 457; restaurants, 460 – 61; types of, 460 Southern Africa, 476 –77 Southern nationalism, 49 Southern-style barbeque, 46 – 47 South India, childhood in, 120 –22 Soyer, Alexis, 79 Spagnoli, Luisa, 529 The Spectator magazine, 140 Speeches and bar/Bat Mitzvah, 45 Spencer, Colin, 93 Spoons, 492 Statius, Publius, 25 Steamboats, 2, 4 Stewart, Martha, 80, 465– 68 St. Nicholas magazine, 148 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 511–12 St. Patrick’s Day, 461– 65; ethnics and, 465; foods and beverages of, 464– 65; green food coloring and, 465; history of, 461– 62; Irish and, 462– 63; music and, 463– 64; parades and, 462, 463; purpose of, 461; symbols of, 464 Strauss, Johann, 55 Sub-Saharan Africa, 468 –78 Suburban garden party, 288 – 89 Sugaring off party, 478 – 80 Sugarplums, 152 Sulla, 23 Super bowl party, 480 – 83 Super Sweet Sixteen (television series), 65 Sweeteners, 214–15 Sweet Hearts candy, 530 Sweet sixteen, 65 Symposiarch, 13 Symposium, 12–14, 20, 75 Symposium (Plato), 14 Syriscus, Maximus, 21 Syssitia, 16 Table outfitting, 490 Table service, French vs. Russian, 485–91; approaches to, 485– 86; courses and, serving of, 487– 89; evolution of, 486, 489; origins of, 486 – 87, 489; publications regarding, 487; style of, history of, 485; table outfitting and, 490; tableware and, 489–90 Table settings, 491–96; 3; courses and, 491–92; European, 495; evolution

593

594

Index

of, 492; forks and, 493; for formal banquets, 491; for French style dining, 492; for intimate dining, 491; knives and, 492–93; for medieval dining, 371–72; napkins and, 494–96; Victorian, 494 Tableware, 489–93 Tacitus, 24 Taillevent, 373 Talkoot, 52 T’ang, 76 Tapas, 496 –99; 305; bars, 498 –99; defined, 496 –97; entertainment and, 498 –99; history of, 497; origin of, 497–98; religions and, 498; restaurants, 499; types of, 497 Target, 91 Taverns, 499–505; advertisements for, 502–3; alcohol and, consumption of, 503; Civil War and, role of, 505; history of, 499–500; inns and, 501; licensing of, 502; physical features of, 501–2; profits of, 503; public houses in America and, 180; purpose of, 500– 501; receptional drinking and, 505; social drinking and, 504–5; symbols of, 504; unity and, national, 503–4; wine and, 500; women’s’ role in, 504 Tea, 505 – 8; afternoon, 507; ceremonies, hosts of, 506 –7; desserts and, 217; Japanese, 506; mint, 508; origin of, 505– 6; symbols of, 508 Tearooms: decorations of, 509; dim-sum, 221–22; history of, 508; influences of, 509–10; Prohibition and, 511; use of, 508 –9; wealth and, 509; women as ownership, 510 Tearooms in America, 508–11 Tejate, 135 Television, 190, 340 Tender shoots, 9 Terebinth nuts, 9 Thais, 15 Thala, 121 Thanksgiving, 511–18; America and, culture of, 512; contemporary, 518; dinner of, traditional, 514–16; First, 516; football and celebration of, 516; history of, 511; immigrant, 516; mass market, 516 –17; Pilgrims

and, 512–13; protests and, 517–18; Sarah Josepha Hale’s tale of, 513–14 Theme parties, 518 –19 Theophrastus of Eresus, 11 Thompson, Eric, 135 Tiallevent, Guillaume Tirel dit, 77 Tiberius, 23 Tlaloc, 35 Tlalteccuhtli, 37 Toasts, 381, 519–21 Tobacco, 37 Tofurkey, 518 Tollund Man, 107 Torah, 44, 45 Trachanas, 8 –9 Traditional Irish toast, 521 Transatlantic travel, 197–98 Transportation, 1–3 Tricliniarch, 22 Trimalchio, 24, 28 The Trireme, 15 Trollope, Anthony, 5 Trollope, Frances (Fannie), 5, 6 –7 Trousseau, 90 Truman, 69, 379 Tubero, Quintus Aelius, 25 Tubero, Scipio Aemilius, 25 Tuna crudo, 33 Tunnel of Fudge Cake, 101 Tun Tavern, 504 Tupper, Earl S., 522 Tupperfairy, 523 Tupper Plastics Company, 522 Tupperware Home Party, 523 Tupperware party, 521–23 Tutankhamun, King, 537 Twelfth Night, 144 Twelve Days of Christmas, 144 U Fleku, 53 Ummarappadi, 122 UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), 300 Union Pacific Railroad, 547 Unity, 503– 4 University of Pennsylvania, 72 Urasenke, 506 Vala, 121 Valenciennes, 95

Index Valentine, 525–26 Valentine’s Day, 525 –30; candy, 529; colors, 529; conversation hearts and, 530; England’s celebration of, 527; flowers, 529; history of, 525; mass production of, 528 –29; popularity of, 527–28; publications, 526 –27; purpose of, 526; stories, 525–26; traditions, 526; Victorian celebration of, 527 Valle, Paulo, 87 Valrhona, 139 Vanderbilts, 296 Varenne, Pierre François de la, 77 Vayambu, 121 Vegetarianism, 189, 313–14 Vehling, Joseph Dommers, 75 Vera, Cocceia, 24 Verbal invitations, 315 Verlaine, Paul, 390 Vermouths, 33 Vertical tasting, 542 Victoria, Queen, 79, 208, 491 Victorians: baby showers and, 39; cheese and, 119; dinner parties and, 225; table settings and, 494; Valentine’s Day and, 527 Vidyarambham, 122 Vintner’s Company, 500 Virtual block parties, 71 Vocatur, 21–22 Vulso, Gnaeus Manlius, 20 –21 Wagons, 2 Waldo, Myra, 541 Waldorf Hotel, 94, 509 Wanamaker, 509 Warhol, Andy, 519–20 Washburn Crosby Company, 59, 60 Washington, George, 64, 504 Washington, Martha, 538 The Wasps (Aristophane), 13 Watch Night, 385– 86 Watering holes, 3 Water transportation, 2 Wealth: beer halls/ gardens and, 55; cruise ships and, 198 –99; invitations and, 317; kitchen staff dress and, 340 – 41; Renaissance and, 418 –24; tearooms and, 509

Webster, Daniel, 503 Wedding receptions, 531– 36; Chinese, 535; decorations, 531–33; history of, 531; party favors used in, 394–95; showering of bride and groom and, 534; traditions, 533–35 Weddings: favors, 394–95; in Greece, 532; during World War II, 547 Weizmann, Chaim, 68 West, John, 135 Western Africa, 472–73 Wheat, 8 Whiskey, 3 White House, 68 White wine, 539– 40 Wigilia, 146 – 47 Wilkes, Ashley, 49 Willows, 502 Wilson, Woodrow, 378, 379 Wine, 11–12, 536– 44; cooking with, 540 – 41; dessert, 543; evolution of culture and, 540; food and, 541– 42; history of, 536; lifestyles and, typical, 543– 44; origins of, 536 –38; red, 539; styles of, 538 –39; tasting, 542; taverns and, 500; white, 539– 40 Wineskins, 11 Winfrey, Oprah, 72–73 Winslow, Edward, 512 Wise, Brownie, 523 Women, history of: catering role of, 104–5, 106; cookbooks and, 187– 88; dinner parties and, 226; entertainment and dining history of, 80; kitchen staff dress and, 342– 43; masquerades and, 365; Russia and, role of, 436 –37; taverns and, role of, 504; tearoom ownership and, 510; Tupperware parties and, 522–23 Woodmason, Charles, 3 Woodward, Stanley, 66 Wooley, Hannah, 77 Wordsworth, William, 512 World cuisines, 194 World War II, 544 –47; entertainment and, holiday, 547; family and, 546 – 47; food rationing and, 545– 46; history of, 544– 45; socialism and, 546; wedding and, 547

595

596

Index

Yeast, 8 Yeast powders, 100 Yellow Tavern, 505 Yin, Yi, 76 Yogurt, 9 Young, Alexander, 512

Zakuska tables: defined, 549; importance of, 550; origins of, 549–50 Zakuski, 305, 549 –50 Zenophon, 15 Zeus Soter, 14