Showing posts with label Etiquette. Show all posts
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| [Image courtesy of Walt Disney, Alice in Wonderland (1951)] |
"The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. 'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?', he asked.
'Begin at the beginning', the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop'." (p139)
In conclusion, it is clear that food is a prominent theme throughout Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel Alice in Wonderland. Within the text, food has a vital role in the progression of the narrative - for example, Alice could not pass through the door to the garden if she did not eat the cake.
The food mentioned within the novel is often incredibly symbolic, most commonly used as a representation of childhood, indicator of social class and to foreshadow future events.
Throughout the years, Carroll's masterpiece has influenced generations of creatives - inspiring songs such as Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit, cook books and even this very blog - demonstrating a shared readership, a text that appeals to both children and adults alike.
Without doubt, my favourite aspect of this blog has been the opportunity to once again bring to life 'wonderland'. Stepping back from the stresses of university every Sunday afternoon to bake has been the perfect outlet, transporting me away to another reality - if only for an hour. The social aspect of cooking was another unexpected delight, sweetening the bond between me and my housemates, if you'll excuse the pun.
Works Cited:
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.
In conclusion, it is clear that food is a prominent theme throughout Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel Alice in Wonderland. Within the text, food has a vital role in the progression of the narrative - for example, Alice could not pass through the door to the garden if she did not eat the cake.
The food mentioned within the novel is often incredibly symbolic, most commonly used as a representation of childhood, indicator of social class and to foreshadow future events.
Throughout the years, Carroll's masterpiece has influenced generations of creatives - inspiring songs such as Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit, cook books and even this very blog - demonstrating a shared readership, a text that appeals to both children and adults alike.
Without doubt, my favourite aspect of this blog has been the opportunity to once again bring to life 'wonderland'. Stepping back from the stresses of university every Sunday afternoon to bake has been the perfect outlet, transporting me away to another reality - if only for an hour. The social aspect of cooking was another unexpected delight, sweetening the bond between me and my housemates, if you'll excuse the pun.
Works Cited:
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.
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| [Image courtesy of Walt Disney, Alice in Wonderland (1951)] |
"She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large caterpillar, that was sitting on top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the slightest notice of her or anything else." (p68)
Cram-packed with delightful dishes for any manner of tea party, Kerstin Rodger's Ms. Marmite Lover's Secret Tea Party - published in 2014 features an array of Alice in Wonderland inspired recipes. The extract below, a recipe for 'Magic Meringue Mushroom's is taken from the cookbook's fourth chapter 'Themed Teas'.
I have awarded this recipe a difficulty rating of: ★★★★★
♥ 2 egg whites
♥ 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
♥ A pinch of sea salt
♥ 120g caster sugar
Works Cited
Beeton, Isabella. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management: Abridged Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.
Rodger, Kirsten. Ms. Marmite Lover's Secret Tea Party. United Kingdom: Random House, 2014.
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| [Image courtesy of Random House Publications, 2014] |
I have awarded this recipe a difficulty rating of: ★★★★★
Ingredients:
♥ 2 egg whites
♥ 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
♥ A pinch of sea salt
♥ 120g caster sugar
♥ Dark red (claret) food colouring paste (if you want to make magic toadstools) (optional)
♥ A stick of hard liquorice candy
♥ 100g good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
♥ Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)
♥ A stick of hard liquorice candy
♥ 100g good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
♥ Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)
Equipment:
♥ Several disposable piping bags
♥ Pastry brush
♥ Pastry brush
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 110°C. Lay out as many baking sheets as you possess and line with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Whisk your egg whites (I hope you have an electric whisk, as this will save on elbow grease!) until they form soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and salt. Then add the sugar, slowly, while continuing to whisk on high speed. Eventually it should look glossy and stiff.
Using a tall jug or glass to hold your piping bag (folded back so you can get the mixture into the pointy bit), scoop about half the mixture into the bag. Cut the tip off the end of the bag, but not too big - remember the hole will get bigger as you pipe. If you want to make toadstools, put a quarter of the remaining meringue mixture into the another bowl and mix it with some dark red food colouring, if using. Save the rest of the meringue mixture for sticking the stems and caps of the toadstool's meringues together (and for adding little white spots to the toadstool caps), if making these. Keep this in an airtight container or another piping bag.
First, pipe your mushroom stems. Holding the piping bag directly over a prepared baking sheet and making sure it's close to the sheet, pipe a sort of cone shape (about 1.5cm across and 2-3cm high). You need about 20. With a wet finger, slightly flatten the top of each one - you need it flat so that it fits on to the cap of the mushroom. Some of the stems will fall over, so pipe extra. You want them straight and upright.
Now pipe the caps: this is easier. Pipe circular mounds about 5cm across and 2cm high. Again, you will need about 20. And again, smooth the top of each one with a wet finger. Finely grate the liquorice candy on top of the caps. Or, for toadstools, using another piping bag, pipe the same size and number of caps (about 20) using the red meringue.
Bake the caps and stem for 45 minutes, making sure they don't go brown.
If you are making toadstools, make a teensy hole at the end of another piping bag, spoon in some of the leftover white meringue and pipe little white spots on top of the red caps, then bake them for a further 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Once they've cooled, you will notice that the bottom of many of the caps are 'dipped', just like real mushrooms.
Melt your chocolate either in a bain-marie, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the simmering water underneath, or in a bowl in the microwave (on full power) in 30-second bursts (in the microwave is the easiest way). Using a pastry brush, paint the dipped underside of your white mushroom caps with melted chocolate, then stick the stems on to the undersides of the caps and leave to dry. Handle with care or they'll break.
For toadstools, use the leftover meringue mix to stick the stems to the red caps, caps side down, then place them back on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5 minutes until dry. Leave to cool.
If you don't like or cannot get hold of liquorice, dust all the mushrooms (but not the toadstools) with the cocoa powder to give that speckled mushroomy look on top.
If you have any leftover meringue mixture, simply pipe, bake, assemble and decorate some more mushrooms or toadstools in the same way as before.
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It could be argued that Kerstin Rodger's cookbook Ms. Marmite Lover's Secret Tea Party bears a great deal of similarities to Isabella Beeton's hugely famous 1861 publication Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management.
Like a modern day Beeton, Rodger's approach to her audience is ridden with connotations to social class, ranging from her discussion of ingredients (viands) to her thoughts on tea party etiquette. The cookbook's introduction discusses the social and historical importance of tea, dating as far back as the early eighteenth century, with 'the Duchess of Bedford generally considered to be the pioneer of the British Afternoon tea party' in her opinion (p16).
The language used throughout both the chapter, and entirety of the text, assists in creating the illusion of the exquisite, flattering the reader. Her exclamation that 'you don't have to be hungry to enjoy an afternoon tea... real life is on hold... food as fuel is notionally cast away' (p13) speaks volumes about her desired audience, whom is assumed to be middle class housewives.
Each of her recipes - such as Swan Pavlovas, Ruby Shoe Biscuits and Champagne Rose Jellies - alongside descriptions of table arrangement reinforce the notion that tea is an aesthetically pleasing occasion. As noted by Rodger's 'prettiness is essential, a cake is like a fashion accessory' (p13).
The language used throughout both the chapter, and entirety of the text, assists in creating the illusion of the exquisite, flattering the reader. Her exclamation that 'you don't have to be hungry to enjoy an afternoon tea... real life is on hold... food as fuel is notionally cast away' (p13) speaks volumes about her desired audience, whom is assumed to be middle class housewives.
Each of her recipes - such as Swan Pavlovas, Ruby Shoe Biscuits and Champagne Rose Jellies - alongside descriptions of table arrangement reinforce the notion that tea is an aesthetically pleasing occasion. As noted by Rodger's 'prettiness is essential, a cake is like a fashion accessory' (p13).
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| [Image courtesy of Random House, 2014 (p22)] |
Works Cited
Beeton, Isabella. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management: Abridged Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.
Rodger, Kirsten. Ms. Marmite Lover's Secret Tea Party. United Kingdom: Random House, 2014.
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| [Image courtesy of Walt Disney, Alice in Wonderland (1951)] |
"Alice looked all around the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. 'I don't see any wine', she remarked. 'There isn't any', said the March Hare. 'Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it', said Alice angrily. 'It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited', said the March Hare." (p91)
Arguably one of the most recognisable scenes within Alice in Wonderland, the novel's seventh chapter 'A Mad Tea Party' subverts the well-established Victorian conventions regarding table manner and etiquette, which were popular at the time.
The chaotic nature of the Mad Hatter's tea party completely opposes tradition in a variety of ways, amusing and shocking readers in equal measure. Carroll purposely disrupts any sense of order, replacing it with a nonchalant craziness.The broken saucers and spilled cups which occupy the table merely emphasise the erratic nature of both the scene and the characters. This contrasts heavily with the Victorian notion of afternoon tea, which often required careful handling of fine china and sought to appear dainty in almost every aspect.
Throughout the scene Carroll also makes numerous attempts to reveal to his readers further information regarding the identity of Alice. Her constant debate with the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse in relation to correct table manners indicates that she is a middle class background. Alice's insistence that their behaviour improve demonstrates a momentary lapse of fantasy, a reminder of the importance of pleasantries.
Whilst undertaking some wider reading I stumbled upon a marvelously written essay which not only analyses this particular chapter in detail but also provides an extensive discussion of Victorian etiquette manuals. If you would like to learn more, click here.
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In an attempt to make a mockery of the strictness of Victorian dining, Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll published Hints for Etiquette; Or, Dining Out Made Easy (1932). A parody of the vastly popular Hints on Etiquette and the Usages of Society, first published in 1834, the text takes a comical approach, juxtaposing the seriousness nature of its inspiration.
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| [Image courtesy of Bonnefant Press] |
It is clear from the very outset of the text - 'as caterers for the public taste...' - that Carroll considers the dictation of dining etiquette by self-appointed 'experts' as laughable. The opening peritext preceding his list of nine rules is incredibly sarcastic in terms of tone, making a mockery of so-called social expectations.
His second rule, alongside discussing the consumption of soup, states that 'the custom of asking your host his opinion of the weather immediately on the removal of the first course still prevails'. It could be suggested this is a reference to the mundane, stifled nature of the Victorian dining experience, bound by social constraints. As an author, Carroll is implying that the sheer number of restraints placed on diners leaves them with little room to maneuver, ruining the sense of occasion.
The eighth rule is particularly intriguing as it could be interpreted in a variety of different ways, depending on the era. He informs his readers that 'as a general rule, do not kick the shins of the person opposite you, if personally unacquainted with him; your pleasantry is liable to be misunderstood'. It could be argued that this rule has clear homosexual undertones, perhaps an attempt to goad and/or outrage his readers.
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| [Image courtesy of Bonnefant Press] |
Works Cited:
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.
Carroll, Lewis. Hint's for Etiquette; Or, Dining Out Made Easy. United States: Bonnefant Press, 1990.
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| [Image courtesy of Walt Disney, Alice in Wonderland (1951)] |
“Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” (p211)
Within this blog I intend to research and explore the importance of food within Victorian literature, with particular focus on Lewis Carroll's wildly famous 1865 publication, Alice in Wonderland.
Whilst Alice in Wonderland may be better known for it's vivid portrayal of adventures through the rabbit hole, food is without doubt of great importance to the narrative - often at the very heart of Alice's experiences.
My love of Alice in Wonderland stems from my childhood; fascinated by visions of the Cheshire Cat, in awe of the March Hare and captivated by the Mock Turtle's sorrowful story. This passion continued throughout my teenager years (throwing an alcohol and sandwich fueled Mad Hatter's tea party for my nineteenth birthday) and into my adulthood (a tattoo of a twisted Alice reality).
Throughout my blog I have concentrated my thoughts on the following aspects...
♥ Readership e.g. Who is the intended audience? How is this implied?
♥ Symbolism e.g. What is the food's impact on the narrative or recipe? What does it represent?
♥ Context e.g. Does the food in question have a cultural or historical significance?
Unless stated otherwise, all quotes within the blog are taken from the following text -
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.
Whilst Alice in Wonderland may be better known for it's vivid portrayal of adventures through the rabbit hole, food is without doubt of great importance to the narrative - often at the very heart of Alice's experiences.
My love of Alice in Wonderland stems from my childhood; fascinated by visions of the Cheshire Cat, in awe of the March Hare and captivated by the Mock Turtle's sorrowful story. This passion continued throughout my teenager years (throwing an alcohol and sandwich fueled Mad Hatter's tea party for my nineteenth birthday) and into my adulthood (a tattoo of a twisted Alice reality).
Throughout my blog I have concentrated my thoughts on the following aspects...
♥ Readership e.g. Who is the intended audience? How is this implied?
♥ Symbolism e.g. What is the food's impact on the narrative or recipe? What does it represent?
♥ Context e.g. Does the food in question have a cultural or historical significance?
Unless stated otherwise, all quotes within the blog are taken from the following text -
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.