Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome

will be nice and fat and good to eat and to sell; there are persons who live of this trade." He praises the crow similarly These instances are cited not only as a commentary upon the taste of the Southern people and their habits which have endured to this day but also to illustrate the singular genius of Platina. Also the following notes to STYRIO tend to show how far advanced was Platina in the matter of food as compared with the masters of the 18th century in France STYRIO, STIRIO, STURIO, {Rx} 145, sturgeon; probably the same fish as known to the ancients as ACIPENSER or STURIO. (A. SIVE S. OBLONGO TEREDEQUE--Stephanus à Schonevelde, in Ichthyologia, Hamburg, 1624). There can be no doubt that the sturgeon or sterlet is meant by this term, for Platina calls the eggs of the fish "caviare." "OVA STIRIONIS CONDITUM QUOD CAUARE UOCANT." Eloquently he describes his struggle with the changing language. The efforts of this conscientious man, Platina, to get at the bottom of things no matter how trivial they may appear, are highly praiseworthy He writes "DE STIRIONE. TRAHI PER TENEBRAS N{=U}C MIHI VIDEOR, QUANDO HOR{=U}, DE QUIBUS, DEINCEPS DICTURUS SUM, PISCI{=U}, NULLUS CERTUS UEL NOMINIS, UEL NATURAE EXISTAT AUTOR. NEGLIGENTIAE MAIORUM & INSCITIAE ID MAGIS, QUÀM MIHI ASCRIBENDUM EST. VTAR EGO NOUIS NOMINIBUS NE DELICATORUM GULAE PER ME DICANT STETISSE, QUO MINUS INTEGRA UTERENTUR UOLUPTATE." As for the rest, Platina cooks the sturgeon precisely in our own modern way: namely in water, white wine and vinegar. And: "SALEM INDERE MEMENTO!--don't forget the salt!" Compare him with France 350 years later. As for caviare, A. Beauvilliers, in his L'Art du cuisinier, Paris, 1814, treats this "ragoût" as something entirely new; yet Beauvilliers was the leading restaurateur of his time and a very capable cook, save Carême, the best. Beauvilliers has no use for caviare which he calls "Kavia." Says he: "LES RUSSES EN FONT UN GRAND CAS ET L'ACHETENT FORT CHER [The Russians make a big thing of this and buy it very dearly] CE RAGOUT, SELON MOI, NE CONVIENT QU' AUX