How to Cook Quandongs.

The Australian joke recipe for mock fish in yesterday’s post mentioned quandongs as one of the ingredients, and I thought this native fruit deserved a little post of its own.

The quandong (Santalum acuminatum) lives in the dry inland regions of Australian states. It is semi-parasitic, and gets some or all of its water from the root systems of other plants. The small red fruit has a large stone and relatively little, very tart, flesh (in spite of which it was euphemistically referred to as the ‘native peach’ by Europeans.) The deeply pitted stone apparently has significant nutritional value too, although it appears this was not much exploited by Australian indigenous people, who did, however, very much value the flesh itself for its food and medicinal value.

Early European settlers quickly caught on to the value of the quandong too - almost anything edible being a welcome treat for pastoralists and stockmen who lived for weeks or months at a time on damper and salt beef. Ordinary householders too, came to appreciate quandongs – fresh or dried - especially during Australia’s regular droughts.

The plant is now protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, although I understand that under some circumstances, Australian Indigenous people are exempt from the prohibition against collecting the fruit. I also understand that, working away in the background, are scientists and horticulturalists who are attempting to develop a commercially viable cropping variety.

So, although most of you, even my Australian readers, will not have access to the fruit, may I give you some recipe for the quandong? First, some basic instructions on how to stew the fruit, and how to dry it for long-keeping, from The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) of 10 October 1929.

How to Cook Quandongs.

The wild quandong should ripen in most districts in October, and no doubt many housewives know the value of this fruit and can make many a tasty dish of it, but there may be many who do not know ways of bringing forth its good qualities. The fruit is a little larger than a cherry, but its flavour is far too sharp to eat it raw. Even when cooked, if not properly treated, it is very unpalatable. The fruit should be washed and stoned, and then put on to cook with just sufficient water to cover. Cook gently until quite tender, and a rich red colour. Then, taking about 1 teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda to every 4 cups of the stewed fruit, stir the soda through, and brown froth will rise to the top, and this should all be skimmed off. Add about 2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit, and boil for a few minutes longer until the sugar is dissolved; the soda takes away much of the acid flavour of the fruit. The fruit is delicious served with custard or blancmange or made into a tart and served with whipped cream. One tasty way of serving it is to stir gelatine throughout. Put about 2 oz. to  4 cups of fruit before removing it from the fire and then pour into a mould, and when set, turn it out and decorate with whipped cream. When quandongs are plentiful we always dry some and store them away. We prefer the dried fruit. As it is not nearly so tart as when fresh. To dry them the stones should be removed and the fruit spread on a cloth in the hot sun, taking the fruit in every night for several days until thoroughly dried and hard, just like chips. When treated this way quandongs will keep for years. We recently used some that were dried over four years ago and they were delicious. The dried fruit should be soaked in water over night, and stewed in the ordinary way, but it requires less soda and less sugar than the fresh fruit.

And from the Sunday Times (Perth, West Australia) of 27 January 1935, we have:-

Quandong Jam.

First stone then weigh 3 lb. quandongs, wash well, put into preserving pan with 1 large cup of water. Cook until fruit is soft then add 3 lb. of sugar, boil until it jellies.

Quandong Chutney.

Prepare fruit as for jam. To every 3 lb. of fruit add 1 cup of water and 1 lb. sugar. Cook until fruit is soft, then add 1 small bottle of Worchestershire sauce. Boil for a few minutes. Bottle and cork.

Funny Fish Recipes.

I have a funny little something for you today, from the Sunday Times (Perth, WA) 23 February, 1908. Without further ado, may I give you a very Aussie recipe for mock fish? A glossary follows.

Mock Flathead.

One bungarra (four feet long at least), one pint pot of bardies, six orcunya (yams), 2 lb annual saltbush leaves (scrub spinach).

Boil saltbush for three days, or as long as the log lasts.

Bake orcunya in ashes of old ridge poles for one hour.

With a handsaw cut bungarra at fourth joint from tail-tip, and at hind legs; make deep sosteen at north-east corner of brisket and take out fat, and stuff with chewed grass or cow-dung – camel will do.

Score body with axe or knife, and fill gaps with mustard and axle-grease in unequal parts.

Bend tail into an untrue lovers’ know, and fry in its own fat at coffee-stall temperature.

Strain the saltbush through a wire fence, dust some condensed willy-willy over it, adding stewed quondongs to taste.

A little naphtha and Dago restaurant sauce will lend a Peek-a-boo flavor.

Serve while the guests aren’t looking.

Then run like h----!

Glossary:

Flathead: one of a number of species of rather ugly but common fish in Australian estuaries. A virtuous fish in that it is cheap to buy or easy to catch, although (to my mind) not delicious, being often muddy in taste and dry in texture.

Bungarra: the sand goanna (a type of monitor lizard.)

Bardies: aka witchetty grubs, edible white wood-boring grubs, very popular amongst tribal Australian indigenous people.

Orcunya: this is a mystery. The article itself translates it as yams (which we all know is sometimes confused with the sweet potato.) This particular article is the only one that I have found with the word ‘orcunya.’ I have no idea where the word comes from.

Sosteen: this is the word as far as I can make out in the blurry newsprint; the context would suggest it means ‘cuts in.’ Perhaps a typo?

Quandong: aka ‘native peach’ or Santalum acuminatum, a desert plant and well-known bush food.

Dago: a now completely and deservedly politically incorrect ethnic slur referring to Italians.

There are other ways of making mock fish however, should you wish to do such a strange thing. Here is one of them, from Guide for nut cookery; together with a brief history of nuts and their food values (Battle Creek, Michigan, 1899) by Mrs. Almeda Lambert.

Mock Fish Stuffed and Baked.

Take 6 cups of water; 1 ½ cups of white corn grits or white corn-meal; 1 teaspoonful of salt.

When the water boils, add the salt and stir in the grits, continuing to stir until it boils; let it boil gently for a few minutes, and then place in a steam-cooker, and steam for three or four hours. Make a stuffing of 2 tablespoonfuls of zwieola, 1 tablespoonful gluten No 3, 2 tablespoonfuls pecan meal, and 1 tablespoonful peanut butter, 1 tablespoonful almond butter, 1 hard-boiled egg, ¼ teaspoonful sage, I teaspoonful grated onion, ¼ teaspoonful salt; add just a little water until the mixture makes a stiff batter. Mix thoroughly.

When the corn grits are done, oil a bake tin and put some of the cooked grits on it, spreading them in the form of a fish, making it as long as can be easily served on the platter you intend to serve it on. Then put some of the dressing the whole length of the fish. Make a little trough in the dressing, and put in the yolks of two eggs, chopped and seasoned with celery salt, then cover the egg with the dressing paste, and cover that with the cooked grits. Form more perfectly into the shape of a fish, and spread with a diluted nut butter, using the slices of the white of egg for the gills and mouth, and filberts for the eyes. Press in a row of blanched Jordan almonds down the center of the back to represent the dorsal fins, also use the almonds to make the tail. Lard it across the back (see cut) by sticking in pine-nuts. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour; if it browns too fast on top, cover with a brown paper, until ten minutes before taking from the oven. Garnish with parsley and curled celery, bank the sides with potato balls made by cutting them from raw potatoes with a scoop made for the purpose, or make balls of mashed potatoes. Roll them in pine-nut butter and bake in the oven until nicely browned. To make the curled celery, take some nice crisp celery, split it into four parts from both ends, leaving about one inch in the center to hold it. Place it into ice-cold water for twenty minutes and it will be curled nicely. If the water is not very cold, leave it in longer.a

Unfashionable Food.

I think it is reassuring to note that food, and dining styles have been going in and out of fashion for some time, although perhaps not at such a rapid rate as they seem to be doing nowadays (kale, anyone?)

I came across the following piece in Cookery, rational, practical and economical, treated in connexion with the chemistry of food, by Hartelaw Reid (Edinburgh, 1853.)  It seemed a good idea to give you something from a Scottish source for a change. I was intrigued by the mention of the one-time Scots ‘fashion’ for serving cheese and ale or porter before the dessert.

REMARKS ON DINNERS, &c.

Dinners:- The provision for each day's dinner, so as to combine economy with variety, is not the least important part of a housewife's duties. In a small family where no very extensive cooking is required, it is often a matter of some little difficulty to practise this combination. For roasting and boiling it is most economical to purchase the best pieces of meat: though perhaps a little dearer when bought, they will go further, and otherwise give more satisfaction. Such pieces are of course much too large to be consumed in one day by three or four persons, and therefore variety upon succeeding days must be sought in a different mode of cooking the remainder. Thus part of the remains of one day's roast may be prepared as English stew for the second day; more of it as a hash or ragout for the third; and for the fourth a French salad may be made if sufficient be left; or if not, the bones may be grilled as a devil for supper; after which these bones will still be useful for soup. In the same way a piece of boiled meat may also be all used up without waste, the liquor being on the second day made into a clear soup, which may afterwards be rewarmed with additional vegetables as a puree soup. Pease soup will keep for a week, and be improved by it. In summer, cold meat occasionally, either plain with pickles, or dressed as a salad, will be found more agreeable than hot meat every day. The cheaper parts of meat, though inferior for roasting or boiling, furnish excellent stews. A maigre dinner once or twice a-week, consisting either of fish, or soup and some kind of pudding, is both economical and healthful. The frequency of such, however, must be regulated by the habits of the consumers,—those engaged in sedentary in-door occupations being generally understood to require a larger proportion of animal food than others.

The arrangement of dishes upon the table is a matter of taste and convenience. The principal ones should be placed at the head and foot, to be dispensed by the master and mistress of the house; and the others, consisting of vegetables &c, arranged on the table symmetrically. The heavy work of carving ought certainly to be allotted to the master, although this is not always the custom. Before serving the dinner, the housewife should see that the table is properly furnished with its proper complement of knives and forks, napkins, glasses, bread, water, condiments, &c, as calling for these things afterwards, unpleasantly interrupts the order of dinner.

The number of courses will depend in some measure upon the number dining, and the "style" maintained in the house. The usual order of serving is—1st, Fish and Soup, which are "removed" by the larger roasts and boiled meats (hence called "Removes") and their appropriate vegetables; filling up the table if the company be large, with side dishes of smaller roasts of poultry etc, and a few made dishes ;—2d, Puddings and sweet fancy dishes of various kinds, jellies, tarts, and pies. At this stage also small game birds are introduced. Lastly comes the dessert, consisting of ripe, preserved, and dried fruits, cake, &c. Before removing the cloth for dessert, cheese, with bread and biscuit, may be served along with port or strong ale. This is an old Scotch custom now generally going out of fashion. All this is of course adapted for a large party. For three or four persons a selection from the above will be all that is requisite. The order of service above described is not altogether a mere regulation of fashion. There is a reason for it. The fish and soup being slightly stimulating, prepare the stomach for the more substantial and cloying roasts &c., after which the fruits and sweets come as a grateful relief to the palate.—

N.B. Hot plates should be provided for all hot meats.

Suppers.—As this meal should be light as compared with dinner, large hot roasts, &c., are of course inappropriate. The best hot dishes, where such are required, are tripe, or poultry, with potatoes,—broiled fish, devils, well-seasoned ragouts, hashes, fricassees, &c. Cold meats are however most generally preferred;—roasts left at dinner (if not too much cut up) meat pies, salads, cold fowls with ham or tongue, potted head, oysters, &c. These may be followed as at dinner by sweets, such as jellies, tarts, custards, fruit pies, &c., after which may come a dessert similar to that served at dinner.

Of course with regard to both dinners and suppers, good taste will dictate that the extent of the service should be so proportioned to the number of the company that there maybe enough, without unnecessary profusion Decorations consisting of either real or imitation fruits, or other eatables, not to be eaten, are symptoms of vulgarity not to be tolerated. Where elegance is aimed at, a vase of flowers in the centre of the table is an admissible and pleasing ornament.

Here, having concluded all we have to say on the choice and preparation of food, we are much disposed to pause, and say to our readers with at least as much sincerity as the Thane of old did to his guests, "May good digestion wait on appetite, and health on both;" but the custom of cookery-books compels us to say a few words on the art of carving, and on the periods of the year in which the various viands will be found in greatest perfection.

I had to find a thoroughly unfashionable recipe for the day for you, so here it is:

It has become unfashionable among first-rate cooks to put those egg-balls, formerly so common, into mock-turtle; but as they are still used by those of the old school, we here add their mode of preparation:-

Take out the yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, and beat them in a mortar with a very little salt and cayenne, and make them into a paste with the white of a raw egg. Roll the paste into balls not larger than marbles, put them into the soup, and boil for 10 minutes.

Murray's Modern Cookery Book: modern domestic cookery, by a lady (London, 1851)

Beverages from Sorghum.

A short while ago I wrote a post called Thingsto do with Sorghum. Sorghum flour and sorghum molasses are very versatile indeed, but there is more to the crop than providing a mere baking ingredient.

For a short while in the mid-nineteenth century in America, there was interest in the concept of sorghum wine. Some, (sorghum growers presumably) waxed lyrical about it as a serious competitor to wine from grapes, but others were violently of the opposite persuasion. Entrepreneurs had a go at making their fortunes with it of course, and one of those hopefuls must have been A.Myers of Springfield, Ohio. In 1863, Myers applied for a patent for his ‘improved sorghum-wine, and the details may be of interest to those of you who like to make your own beverages (for the others amongst you, scroll down a bit further for another beverage.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A.     MYERS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

IMPROVED SORGHUM-WINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,424, dated January 13, 1863; antedated July 23, 1862To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, A. MYERS, of Springfield,in the county of Clarke and State of Ohio, have invented a new and improved preparation from the juice of the Chinese sugar-cane or sorghum, which preparation I denominate Sorghum-Wine; and I do hereby that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same. This invention is in a new article of manufacture obtained from the juice of sugar-cane grown in northern latitudes, known as the Chinese sugar-cane, Sorgo sucrc, Holcus saccharatus, and African imphee, by condensing said juice by evaporation to a sweetness of from 15 to 25 Baum, more or less, and putting it into casks or barrels or vats, where it is left to complete the vinous fermentation, from whence it is drawn of in a proper time and put into new or clean barrels or bottled, ready for the market. To enable others skilled in the manufacture to fully understand my invention, I will proceed to describe the process which I have followed with success. The juice of the cane-stalk is expressed in the ordinary way. The juice is evaporated to a density of from 15 to 25 Baum, more or less, carefully observing not to use any neutralizing agents; or I can use the sirup after it has been reduced by evaporation to a commercial density, and dilute it by adding softwater such as rain-water or water containing but a small solution of lime-to a density of from 15 to 25 Baum, and obtain the same results, being careful to procure sirup which has not been neutralized and has been grown in northern latitudes. I also use the skimmings and washings from the evaporating-pan for the same purpose, clearing it by settling or boiling, then reducing it to a common density, as above described, treating also as above. By this use of skimmings and waste I save in valuable and nutritious wine an amount equal to the cost of manufacturing the sirup. This juice is then placed away in a shed, room, or cellar where the temperature is about 70 or 80 Fahrenheit, when itis allowed to go through the vinous fermentation, which will be completed in from seven to twenty days, according to the degree and regularity of the temperature. These casks must be kept full, that the ferment may work over, or if put up quite pure may be fermented by the siphon process. To assist this fermentaion I use a portion of the white scum which arises in the evaporation. When the vinous fermentation is completed the barrels, &c., are bunged up tight and placed in a cellar where the temperature is uniform at about 60 Fahrenheit, where they should remain two or three months, when they should be drawn off and put into new or clean barrels or bottles, then placed into a room or cellar where they can have the advantage of a temperature of about 80 Fahrenheit. The wine here should have no air, but be firmly bunged or corked. The effect of this temperature has to do with the ripening and settling of the wine, when in a short time it will become clear as distilled spirits. It can now be drawn off again, if desired. It is improved by removing it from the lees. It will now improve rapidly by age. The color of the wine can be varied to any shade desired by burning a portion of the sirup in any ordinary iron pot, then diluting the burned mass by water, then using more or less of this burned sirup, as it may suit the fancy. I do not claim these specific times only in fermentation. I may vary them according to cirstances, as the wine may need. The fragrance of this wine is similar to old Madeira, its flavor so similar that the best judges will readily take it either for Madeira or sherry, the majority ranking it as Madeira. The wine is perfectly healthful and agreeable to the stomach, affording in the disease of dyspepsia or weak stomach an agreeable and excellent medicine. It is obvious that the per cent. of alcohol in the wine will vary according to the degree of sweetness of the juice when first put away for fermentation. It will also depend on the completeness of the fermentation. I have found the per cent. of alcohol to be about seventy-five per cent. of the degree of sweetness. For instance, 8 sweetness will yield six per cent. of alcohol. 16 sweetness will yield twelve per cent. alcohol. 20 sweetness will yield sixteen per cent alcohol. Thus by making my wine originally 15 or more in sweetness I secure a per cent. of alcohol in the wine equal to the best Madeira. By securing this per cent. of alcohol to the wine it is capable of more exposure than any other ordinary grape-wine, can resist the elements of destruction incident to commerce, and by experience 1 have found it capable of more expos ure than any other wine without receiving any perceptible damage.It is believed that the extensive use and manufacture of this wine will conduce greatly to the health of the people and to the cause of saving millions of money to the United States.The same wine can be made in a similar manner from any of the varieties of sugar-cane grown in the United States.I do not wish to claim or be understood as claiming the manufacture of a fermented cider or drink resembling wine, spoken of by H. S. Olcottein his treatise on sorghum and imphee, where it is directed to ferment the juice from a degree of sweetness of 8, 10 or 12, or where the juice has been previously neutralized by lime or any other neutralizing agency, or where the fermentation is arrested at any time, either previous to or after fermentation, by the use of neutralizers. Nor do I wish to claim that kind of fermented drink made in the South from the juice of the cane, all this having been long since known; but the wine produced by my process is similar in flavor and fragrance to that imported from the Madeira Islands and France, known as Madeira and sherry wines.

Sorghum wine is not, however, as far as I am aware, available for sale in any of the regular bottle shops or bars in America today (or Britain, or Australia) so it is to be presumed that the mass of the public were not convinced that it is similar in flavor and fragrance to Madeira and sherry wines.

Coffee was in short supply in the Southern USA during the civil war, and many substitutes were tried and promoted, and sorghum was one of the alternatives tried. From The Southern Banner (Athens, Georgia) of March 15, 1865, we have:

Substitutes for Coffee.

Editor Southern Cultivator:--Nobody has had more occasion to mourn over the blockade than that numerous and highly respectable class, the coffee topers. Many an one would cheerfully munch his dry crusts at breakfast, if he could wash them down with the cheering beverage which used, in former times, to atone for the short-comings of cooks and fortify him against a day of vexations. For the stimulating property to which both tea and coffee owe their chief value, there is unfortunately no substitute; the best we can do is to dilute the little stocks which still remain, and cheat the palate, if we cannot deceive the nerves. The best substitute which we have yet found for either tea or coffee, is plenty of good, rich milk, which is at least nutritive, if not stimulating. But alas! the price of butter plainly tells that milk is almost as scarce as coffee, and many persons want something hot to drive off the fogs of the morning. After many unsatisfactory trials of rye, wheat, corn, potatoes, okra, acorns, and almost everything else that can be purchased, we have found in molasses, we will not say a *substitute* for, but an adulteration of coffee, which leaves but little to be desired, *but the stimulus.* Don't be alarmed, Mr. Editor, we are not about to propose "long sweetening." Molasses when boiled down until it scorches, is converted into an intensely bitter substance, called by chemists caramel. Our method is to put a quart or more of sorghum syrup into any convenient vessel, and stew it down over a slow fire, as if making candy, stirring constantly until the syrup is burnt black; then pour it out into a greased plate to cool. The blackish porous mass thus obtained is pounded, when quite cold, in an iron mortar. We mix it with twice its bulk of ground coffee, and use a teaspoonful of this mixture for each person; thus one teaspoonful of caramel and two of coffee will make six cups of a beverage which, as far as taste is concerned, is far preferable to pure Rio coffee. The burnt molasses or caramel, attracts moisture when exposed to the air, and must, therefore, be kept in a close vessel. It would be well, for the same reason, to prepare it in small quantities. If the molasses is burnt too much, it is reduced to charcoal and loses all taste. By the way, though a very simple matter, many housekeepers do not know that it is perfectly easy to clear coffee by adding a small quantity of cold water, just as it "comes to a boil." CHEMICUS

The Food of Norfolk Island.

Sometimes, while searching online for a specific piece of information, something serendipitous happens, and a completely unrelated – but extremely interesting - topic turns up. This happened to me recently. I forget what the original subject was, but the unexpected, unrelated, but delicious find was about the food of Norfolk Island.

Many of you may not be aware of Norfolk Island. It is a tiny (35 km² or 14 mi²) island in the Pacific Ocean about 1400 km (877 miles) due east of the coastal town of Evans Head, in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales. The island has a resident population of less than 2,500. It is an external territory of the Commonwealth of Australia, and as such enjoys a significant degree of self-governance.

Nofolk Island was inhabited intermittently over the centuries by Polynesian folk, but things changed irrevocably due to the infamous Mutiny of the Bounty in 1789. In 1790, the mutineers, with the Tahitian men and women who accompanied them (a total of fifteen men, eleven women, and one infant) made it to the isolated Pacific island of Pitcairn, and scuttled the Bounty. By 1856, Pitcairn Island could no longer support its much enlarged population, and 194 people - almost the entire population - were re-settled on Norfolk Island.  Norfolk Island had been claimed as a British colony in 1788 and was used as a penal colony for two periods of time (1788-1814, and 1825-1855). The re-settling of the island with the Pitcairn islanders when the penal colony was finally abandoned must have seemed a perfect win-win situation at the time.

Norfolk Island is paradise. It is incredibly beautiful. And how many other places in the world have no traffic lights, where no-one locks their cars, where the cows have right of way (except in the town, which has only one main street anyway,) and the speed limit is 50km/hr (31mi/hr) except in the town, where it is 40km/hr (24 mi/hr.) and the booze is duty-free?

All of which brings me to the serendipitous find I mentioned several paragraphs ago – an article in The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) of 2 January, 1939, which I give you in its entirety:

Some Norfolk Island Recipes Gathered by a Traveller.

One of the countless interests of travel is the variety of food to be met with in different countries. Without being a gourmand, one may find pleasure – sometimes a fearful pleasure – in tasting the unknown dishes placed before us.

Possibly many Australians are not aware that in their own Commonwealth there is one place where they may eat food that is not only different from the general, but has the advantage of being very delicious. To those who do not know this, and who like variety in their menus, let me suggest a visit to Norfolk Island, where they will find dishes which have come into being through the geographical isolation of Pitcairn, which was once the home of the Norfolk Islanders. The productivity of the soil on Norfolk Island gives the inhabitants practically all the fruits of the earth, and from them, and from fish, they have evolved certain dishes which might grace any table.

In addition, the Norfolk Islanders are wonderful cooks, and with a good cook and good material at our disposal one can go to bed happily conscious that –

“Fate cannot harm me, I have dined tonight.”

Let us suppose that it is dinner time. The meat course arrives. On our plates there will be either beef, lamb, pork, or chicken, cooked in the ordinary way. But with it will be a variety of unusual vegetables. Perhaps baked bananas, kumeras, taros, and yams. Or suppose that instead of baked bananas we have a banana pilihi. If you have not tasted a pilihi you have missed something. It is not always  made of bananas. There is a tasty pilihi which is made of kumeras or sweet potatoes, and the Norfolk Island kumera is a very special kind of sweet potato, very superior to the usual kind known in New South Wales. Then you may for sweet have poo-oo plun pancakes.

For tea there are many delights. Banana bread, which is, of course, buttered. With ordinary bread you may have guava jelly or loquat jelly. Guavas grow everywhere; you may gather them for yourself when you go a-walking. As well as using them for jam, the large yellow ones are often stewed and served with cream, while the red ones topped and tailed are strong rivals to strawberries and cream.

Now here are two pilihi recipes:

Kumera Pilihi.

Six kumeras.

Peel and grate them and then mix well. Bake in a shallow pan lined with banana leaves for one hour.

Ripe Banana Pilihi.

Four cups mashed bananas, 1 cup flour, ½ teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda.

Add the flour and soda to the mashed banana and mix well. Bake for one hour.

These pilihi may be divided into small cakes and each one rolled around in a banana leaf for baking.

The next is a pancake recipe, and I am giving it in English first and then in the Norfolk Island language, which is derived from English and Tahitian. Norfolk Island generally is a spoken not a written language, and therefore you are not likely to have seen it in print.

Green Banana Pancake.

Peel 6 bananas. Grate and mix well with pepper and salt. Fry in boiling fat until pale brown.

Poo-oo Plun Pancake.

Tek 6 poo-plun peel et. Yoller et den mitti mitti et gut een some salt and pepper. Den fry een boiling fat tull yaller on both side.

The banana leaves are used a great deal in cooking. Fish is wrapped in them. Somethings taro leaves are used instead, and I can assure you that any of these leaf wrappers are better than the paper we sometimes employ.

Now for a cake:-

Ripe Banana Cake.

One cup sugar, ¾ cup butter, 1 cup mashed bananas, ½ cup milk, 1 ¾ cups flour, 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt.

Cream the butter, sugar, and bananas, then add the unbeaten egg. After that add the milk with the soda dissolved in it. Mix in the flour and salt. Bake for one hour.

Mullet Fishing with Dolphins.

Yesterday I gave you the very impressive menu of a dinner held by the Victorian Acclimatisation Society (of Australia) in 1864. As I said in that post, one of the aims of Acclimatisation societies was the dissemination of knowledge on natural history subjects. In 1862, a lecture was given to members of the Victorian Society by George Bennett: his topic was Acclimatisation: its eminent adaptation to Australia. In his talk, Bennett described an interesting fishing technique employed by the indigenous people of the area around Brisbane, in the state of Queensland. (The ‘porpoises’ he mentions are actually dolphins.)

But the most extraordinary method of fishing among the aborigines is that related by Mr. Fairholme, of their fishing for mullet aided by porpoises:-  "Near the deserted Pilot Station, at Amity Point, near Brisbane, Queensland," he says "some of the natives may constantly be found during the warmer months of the year fishing for mullet." In this pursuit they are assisted in a most wonderful manner by the porpoises. It seems that from time immemorial a sort of understanding has existed between the blacks and the porpoises for their mutual advantage, and the former pretend to know all the porpoises about the spot, and even have names for them. The beach consists of shelving sand, and near the shore are small hillocks of sand on which the blacks sit watching for the appearance of a shoal of mullet. Their nets, which are used by hand, and are stretched on a frame about four feet wide, lie ready on the beach. On seeing a shoal several of the men run down, and with their spears make a peculiar splashing in the water. Whether the porpoises really understand this as a signal, or think it is the fish, it is difficult to determine, but the result is always the same; they at once come in towards the shore, driving the mullet before them. As they near the edge, a number of the blacks with spears and nets quickly divide to the right and left, and dash into the water. The porpoises being outside the shoal, numbers of fish are secured before they can break away. In the scene of apparent confusion that takes place, the blacks and porpoises are seen splashing about close to each other. So fearless are the latter, that strangers, who have expressed doubts as to their tameness, have often been shown that they will take a fish from the end of a spear when held to them. The oldest men of the tribe say that the same kind of fishing has always been carried on as long as they can remember. Porpoises abound in the bay, but in no other part do the natives fish with their assistance.

Mullet is a widespread fish in Australian waters, and cookery books and newspapers in the new colonies quickly adapted them into well-known recipes from ‘home.’

Baked Fish.

Clean a mullet carefully (by carefully I mean with as little water as possible, drawing out the interior and wiping the inside with a clean damp towel: it is a mistaken idea that a large quantity of water is necessary, since it takes away from the delicate flavour and makes the flesh flabby and sodden); next prepare a stuffing of 3oz of grated bread crumbs,  ½ oz suet, 1 dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, small part oiled onion, finely minced, a pinch of sweet herbs moisten with half an egg and some milk. Put this into the fish, tie a string round the tail, and then pass it round and round the body in a series of slip knots till the head is reached. Then put the fish in the same position it assumes when swimming on a greased baking tray, brush over with the remainder of the egg, sprinkle with pepper and salt and bread crumbs, little pats of butter here and there, bake from half an hour to three quarters [of an hour]; baste occasionally with the butter that drops into the tray.

Australian Town and Country Journal, 24 April 1880.

Acclimatisation Society of Victoria Dinner in 1864

I don’t believe I have given you a dinner menu from an Acclimatisation Society before, which has been a serious omission which I will remedy today.

Acclimatisation Societies were a nineteenth century imperial concept. There were two broad aims: one was to aid the study of natural history, the other was to encourage the spread and cultivation of native species from the respective colonies. A third aim was perhaps to have a jolly good eating time – most of the dinners were clearly intended to showcase all of the intriguing exotica that could be obtained and prepared for the table.

The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria (Australia) was established in 1861. The first annual dinner was held in 1863. The following year, the Melbourne newspaper the Argus,  in its edition of 7 July 1864, gave a detailed description of the second annual meeting and dinner. Part of that article is transcribed below:

Acclimatisation Society's Dinner.

The second dinner given under the auspices of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria took place last evening, at Scott's Hotel, Collins-street West. About sixty gentlemen were present, … The whole affair was highly successful. Not only was it a fitting tribute to the cause of acclimatisation, but it was also a complete triumph of gastronomy. All the varieties of " fish, flesh, and fowl" obtainable-indigenous and imported - were represented; and there was in consequence a repast as gratifying to the bon vivant as to the man who looks upon the multiplication of our food resources merely from the utilitarian point of view. There were several kinds of soup - oyster, Murray lobster, wild turkey, and kangaroo. The fish included,"cod" from the Murray, trumpeter from Hobart Town, eels caught at Yon Yean, and perch brought from Gipps Land. Among the entrees were curries, pates, and salmis, in which wombat, bandicoot, and paroquet figured conspicuously; but the bonne bouche was certainly the "vol au vent of frogs." With regard to the more substantial features of the feast, it may bo observed that, although there were saddles of Chinese mutton and kangaroo, the undoubted pièce de resistance was a saddle of mutton (weighing 451b.) cut from a Leicester sheep, and presented by Mr. T. F. Hamilton, of Gisborne. There was also a famous haunch of venison, but it had not been hung long enough to thoroughly satisfy epicures. Other sorts of game were plentiful, and English pheasant and hare were discussed simultaneously with native companion and mallee hen. Of the vegetables, the yams and sweet potatoes were much inquired after.  There was a great assortment of sweets, one prominent item being a pudding named after His Excellency the Governor. The wines included some choice European varieties, samples of the best vintages of New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria ; a sparkling American wine – Cautauba - grown in Ohio; and some colonial Madeira, thirteen years old made by the late Mr. Bear. The success of the entertainment was considerably enhanced by the response made to the Acclimatisation Society's appeal for "palatable contributions. Among these contributions was a fallow buck, a black swan, and some  wallabies, sent by Mr. McHaffie, of Philip Island; a number of pheasants and rabbits, by Mr. T.Austin, of Barwon Park; a hare, by Mr.W. Lyall; yams and sweet potatoes, by Mr. E. Dacomb, of Portland; and several bottles of home-made colonial pickles, by an unknown donor. The contributions by the Acclimatisation Society of Queensland consisted of sugar bananas, pineapples, green ginger, arrowroot, oranges, and preserves, from the estate of Mr. Charles Coxen; some sugar from the station of the Hon. Louis Hope; and a number of yams and sweet potatoes; and we understand it was a matter of regret to Mr. L. A. Bernays and other gentlemen connected with the Queensland society, that, owing to the short notice, other articles could not be sent. For other information about the viands, we must refer our readers to the subjoined "bill of fare.”

LE MENU.

Sydney rock oysters.

LES POTAGES.

A la tortue.

Aux huitres.

Au dindon sauvage.

A la queue de kangaroo.

A la bisque d'ecrevisses du Murray.

LES POISSONS

Les cabillauds de Murray, sauce crevettes.    

Le fillet de merlan au gratín.  

Le filet de sole à l’orliz.

Le mullet grille a la maitre d'hotel

La matelotte d'angullle.

Les anguilles frites au beurre.

Le porch do Gipps Land a la Nantaise

Les anguilles du Yan Yean a la Tartare

Le perch du Murray a la Chambord

Le poisson noir, sauco Gonolse.

Le carrelet, sauce  Normande

Le fillet de trompeteror au turban.

Le dorade au bleu.

LES ENTREES

Le vol au ventt de grenouille a la poulette

La chartreuses de pigeon sauvage.

Le fricandeau de wombat aux epinards

Les côtelettes de venaison, sauce champignons

Le fillot de canard noir, sauce d'orange.

Le bandicoot en currie

Le civet de chevreuil.

Le pate chaud de perroquets.

Le salmi do sarcelles aux truffes.

Le lapin sauvage sauce a la chasseur.

LES FROIDS.

La rnayonaise de volaille.

Le chaud froid de gibier.

Do. do. poulet nouveau.

L'Aspic d'escalop de lapin native

Do. de pigeon native

La galantine de dindoneau.

Hûre de sanglier

Lo cochon sauvage du Goulbourn.

Le jambon glacé – langues glacées.

LES ROTS.

Le selle do mouton de Chine.

L'agneau de Chine garni de pilaf

Lo lapln do Barwon Park, bouilli sauce celery.

Le dinde bouilli sauce celery.

Les dindes rotis.

Les poulettes.

Les oies rôties.

L'ole du Cap Barren.

Le canard sauvago roti.

Le jambon braisé au Madeira

Le lapin de Barwon Park rotis.

Hanche de venaison.

Selle de kangaroo.

LE GIBIER

Le faisan.                                                        Les oiseaux de wattle.

Le lievre                                                          Le dinde sauvage

Le native compagnon                                      Le canard noir

Le canard des bois                                          Les pluviers dorés

Le pintade roti                                                            Les wombats

Les bandicoots                                                la poule de mallee

Les Sarcelles                                                   Les cailles

LEGUMES DE LA SAISON

Les yams de Queensland.

Les pommes de terres douces, les artlchaux.

ENTREMETS.

Les corbeilles garnis.

Les biscuits aux amandes.

Les meringues Suisses.

Les biscuits do Savoie a l'orange.

Les tourtes aux pommes.

La chartreuse de fruits.

La gélée de Danzick.

Les pommes aux riz meringues.

Le boudin de Darling.

Le fondu au Parmesan.

Les gateaux Napolitains.

Le blanc mange a la Moscovite

Les beignets d'ananas.

La Charlotte a la Parisienne

Le gélée au Madeiro,

Le compote d'abricot de Chantilly.

Le meringue a la crême.

Le boudin de Victoria.

Le macaroni au gratin.

OMELETTES SOUFLEES

Le boudin glacé a la Cerito.

Les crêmes aux fraises glacées.

CAFE.

The dinner was served à la Russe, by which it is to understood that almost everything was carved at the sideboard, and handed round by the waiters. The effect of this arrangement was to prolong the repast over a period of something like three hours and a half- an arrangement which, judging by results, was not at all unsatisfactory to the great majorityof the guests.

Recipe selection was difficult today. I decided against giving you instructions for cooking wombat or bandicoot, but still wanted to keep the content Australian. In the end, amidst such elaborate richness, I went for a simple banana recipe, for no better reason than that bananas are an important crop in my home state of Queensland.

Banana Cream.

Procure five ripe bananas, take off the skins and pound the fruit in a mortar to a pulp with 5 oz.white sugar. Beat up half a pint of good cream to a stiff froth, add the pounded bananas, half a glass of brandy, and the juice of one lemon; mix well together, then add ½ oz. of isinglass dissolved in a little boiling water, gently whisk for a few minutes, fill the mould, set in a cool place till wanted. When required dip the mould in warm water for a few seconds, wipe and turn out onto a glass dish.

The Capricornian (Rockhampton, Qld) 6 December 1890.