Cooking Without Tears
THE approach of Christmas was greeted by the appearance of two new and excellent cookery books ; they are doubly welcome, since either would make a most acceptable present ; they can be bought, too, as a form of stimulation for those who, while weary of rations, sub- stitutes, regulations, and meagre store-cupboards, must still provide holiday fare. Cooks of either sex will find much inspiration in the simple pages of Mr. Harben's book, those of M. Diat recall the days of Once Upon A Time when eggs, wine, cream, and olive oil could be obtained by the use of a telephone. The Way to Cook is the perfect gift for the young married woman and for bachelors, either man or girl. Those of our friends who tell us sadly that they are incapable of boiling a potato, or making a cup of tea, should certainly be put on the list for this most admirable book, which in next to no time should cure all such deplorable shortcomings, for Mr. Harben's enthusiasm is refreshing and infectious.
Let no expert sneer at his deficiencies, since the veriest novice in the kitchen will quickly become a reasonably expert cook by putting his precepts into practice. Starting with the assumption that his reader knows nothing of culinary procedure, his first chapter is entitled Sauces and Gravies ; by quick yet easy stages the beginner is led from the humble mixture known as White Sauce to the superior triumphs of Hollandaise, Béarnaise, Mayonnaise, and Tartare: his lucid exposition, coupled with the fact of exciting ambition, should fire-even the most timid of panhandlers. He caters for high days and holidays, besides teaching one how to tackle such modest but essential jobs as cooking sausages, mashed potatoes, and rice pudding. There are chapters on Soups, Salads, Tea and Coffee, Simple English Sweets, Breakfast dishes, the Conservative method of Cooking Vegetables, Pastry, Cake, Suet Pudding and Batter making. Mx. Harben has a pleasing sense of the comic ; gifted as he is, tossing pancakes has obviously defeated him, but his description of the operation is charming, and worthy of being read aloud.
In his introduction the author says: "This book is an attempt to reduce the complexities of cooking to their elements, which are really very simple ; to lay the foundation-stones on which anyone; - no matter how little they know to start with, can build up the technique of a master cook. It is intended to be read consecutively as a novelcl. . ." His attempt is certainly justified, he explains why various -things are done in the preparation of food, as well as how ; this makes his method exciting as well as plausible. While he gives straight-forward instructions for the successful achievement of such difficulties as flaky pastry and omelettes, he avoids the subtleties of the soufflé and the meringue. In the next edition of his book (there ought to be several) he might expound the mystery of the marinade ; how, when and why, larding improves a dish, and he should certainly add a chapter on forcemeat. While not in com- plete agreement with his every dictum, the present reviewer feels that Mr. Harben has produced a most valuable book which may do much to raise the standard of cooking and eating in this country.
Whoever finds both these books among the stack of Christmas presents, should think, if they have any desire for culinary fame, that Fortune has been specially kind ; for once the teachings of Mr. Harben have been assimilated, the deeper problems of M. Diat will not prove insoluble. Cooking a /a Ritz, while useful to the professional, is also intended for the amateur, though the author, Chef of the Ritz-Canton, in New York, presumes that his readers have more than a rudimentary knowledge of gastronomy. No sub- stitutes here, no powdered milk, no dried eggs, no dehydrated vege- tables. or "no want of meat, Sir." Indeed, at times like the present, most of the recipes can only make the mouth water ; this is nbt an assertion of undue extravagance, for as M. Diat is careful to urge, with the practical frugality of a Frenchman: "Out of thousands of recipes I have chosen those that are likely to please the greatest number of people by reason of their tastiness, their ease of prepara- tion and—mindful that these are days of budget-regulated house- holds—of their economy." But for the present, we in England must
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