Food and Drink

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 11, 28 January 1937, Page 9

Food and Drink

MankincTs Wide Variety of Tastes

rpEA is the national beverage of England, of Canada, of Australla, and of most lands where the Uhion Jack is flying. It is also the national heverage of Russia, (says a writer in the News Chronicle.) But coffee Is the beverage of the United States. There they have even forgotten how to make tea in the British way. This coffee-drinking links America with the mainland of Europe rather than with the little island. But the American way of drinking coffee is not European. - Chocolate is still the Dutch national beverage, and in France, where it is well prepared, it is a rival of coffee. Of the other drinks the cocktail and iced water ,are characteristically American. Vodka is a Russian national institution. The aperitif is French. Beer is most popular in Britain, Czechoslovakla, and the Scandinavian countries to say nothing of the Tyrol and Southern Germany. It is probably the most popular drink in the world. Kvass is a Rusian specialty. The national beverage of Tartar and Kirghiz is kumis, mare's milk fermented. Whisky is national in Scotland. The best drink before meals is slivovitsa, often served with olives mounted on toothpicks. That is a Rumanian and Balkan specialty. Kummel is Latvian. All nations unite to praise good wine, but the French set most store by it and drink most of it and have the best of it. Food for' Every Begion. Almost every region of every country is proud of some particular food or delicacy. The American prates afifectionally of his com on the cob. The Englishman /sings songs about what he calls the j;oast beef . of old England. ' The RUssian gets lyrical over fish soup. The denizen of New Orleans wants people to be sure and partake of Creole gumbo. ...... In Marseilles one must sup bouillabaisse. In Serbia one must eat baked sucking pig. ' i In Georgla in the Caucasus the shashlik is national and must be washed down with Kakhetian wine. The RUssians are proud of their rowan berries, which they cook and eat. The Scots exalt oak cakes and porrldge and of course, shortbread and haggis. Austria points to the schnitzel. When Russian restaurants have pancakes on the bill of fare they exhibit the one word "blini" in large letters,believing that that is the greatest possible attracr tion. ' In Dalmatia, when there are fried frog's legs, everyone in the restaurant will have a plate of' them. It is an opportunity not to be missed. , In Spain one must have - arrOz; in Greece pilaf. And In Italy they identify themselves with spaghetti and ravioli. There should be types of face and character to correspond with national preference in food, hut it is difiBcult to generalise about the human race. The two peoples who consume most pepper are the Hindus and theMexicans; one is gentle, the other murderous. There

are vegetarians who- are fierce and there are meat-eaters who are spiritless.. Nevertheless, both character and physical characteristics have been considered due to diet. Erasmus said that English ladies were so pretty because of the beef-steaks they consumed. Adam Smith was of opinion that the Irish women were the most beautiful because they lived on potatoes. Certainly the squint of the Mexicansis due to their addiction to pulque, Certain national characteristics can he related, though at- a risk, to diet. Thus, the Greeks tend to be fat and gross. They have an extraordinary weaknessfor sweetmeats. They consume more sugar than most. The massive grandeur of certain Scotmen's heads is due not so much to intellectual attainments as to the whiskv habit, which distends the brow. The Piggish Look. It is incontrovertible that those who habitually eat a great deal of pork 'get a piggish look. The pig is. the one animal which seems to be reincarnated in the inan who eats him.The coastwise people of Scotland Scandinavia live on flsh. They have flne rugged types of men. The only thing about them which may be held due to the fish diet is their clear, sanguine complexions, due" to a perfect digestion. 1 The French are gay because they drink much wine. The Slavs are sombre because they drink too much coffee and are dyspeptlc. Spaniards have a preoccupied expression because they have cockle shells in their soup. The greatest eaters in the world, when food Is available, are the Russians. The next greatest eaters are the Germans. They have appetites, but they are very economical in the kitchen. - »■ All nations who have starved extenslvely in their histofy are big eaters, The nations who have always had enough and not known want and privatioa are in general moderate eaters. The Scots.. Luto this category go the English, hut not the Scots. The Scots are still making up for short commons in the Middle Ages. Each nation has its specialty. So, the French make the best chefs. The Rumanian is the prime judge of the qu&lity of cigars, The Englishwoman is the best maker of puddings and pies. Only Italians understand how to prepare spaghetti. Ohly Bulgars .and Macedonians prepare yoghourt as It ought to , be prepared. The American is the cleverest of drinks, as he is of people. Certain people have decided preference for certain sorts of food. The French, for instance, for veal. The negro raves about fried chicken. In Serbia to be invited to fish sbup ineans generally tp be invited to patch up a quarrel. The Californian Jack London sighed over the porterhouse steak. "It is sad to reflect that were I a millionaire I could not eat more than two porterhouses a day."