To lay down general recommendations with regard to dinner, we must first
consider the mode of life of the eater. For instance, take two cases. The one of a
City man, say a jobber on the Stock Exchange, who passes his day in a hot scene of
intense excitement, the wear and tear upon the nervous system being teriific. He
returns home exhausted, but not hungry : the reaction of comparative rest in too
many cases being spoilt by another reaction felt after taking occasional stimulants
during the day, such stimulants being felt necessary at the time. Contrast such
a one — and the case is tyjiical of a very large class whose brains are over-taxed,
such as hard-worked barristers, lawyers, hospital physicians, &c. — contrast such
a one. with the stout jolly farmer, who rises at five, and after a heavy and
substantial breakfast, j^asses his day on horseback, i-eturns home with a wolfish
a,ppetite, his sole care and anxiety being that Farmer Styles' wheat is abovit half an
inch higher than his own. We can well understand his feelings expressed in the
gi-aphic words — "None of your kickshaws !" Half a dozen oysters and a glass of
chablis would be as unsuitable a commencement of dinner for the latter as thick
pea soup and underdone roast beef cut thick, with a draught of strong home-
brewed ale, would be for the former.
Probably were we to take the whole, of those who in this country are in the
habit of drinking wine habitually, we should find that by far the greater number
are in the habit of taking a little sheny with dinner in addition to beer, and
a glass or two of poi-t wine afterwards. A sip of sherry after soup, and a
glass after both fish and svv^eets, seems almost necessary. Indeed, I think that
where there is absolutely no wine, I would prefer to dine off the joint, or, at any
rate, butchers' meat alone ; but prefacing that a little good beer is far preferable to
bad sherry, we will first take this most popular of English dinner-wines, and have a
few words to say with regard to its selection and keeping. Sherry may be di\T.ded
into two classes — dinner sherry and after-dinner sherry. I am here speaking of
comparatively cheap sherry, as of course good old East India sherry worth 7s. or 8s.
a bottle is exceedingly good with dinner as well as after, but then in the generality
of houses we expect to get sherry that has cost from 24s. to 36s. a dozen. I know
sherry can be bought as low as 15s. a dozen, even in single bottles, at least a
compound called sherry — I have, indeed, tasted it. I should imagine that it is
bought by that class of persons, who not knowing what really good sherry is, yet
occasionally like to have some on their tables for show. Indeed, the greater part of
the really bad and unwholesome wine that is drunk is consumed by this class — vulgar
persons who attempt to live in the same style as their better-educated and wealthier
PRINCIPLES SHERRY. Ixxxiii
Page 100
Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
To lay down general recommendations with regard to dinner, we must first consider the mode of life of the eater. For instance, take two cases. The one of a City man, say a jobber on the Stock Exchange, who passes his day in a hot scene of intense excitement, the wear and tear upon the nervous system being terrific. He returns home exhausted, but not hungry : the reaction of comparative rest in too many cases being spoilt by another reaction felt after taking occasional stimulants during the day, such stimulants being felt necessary at the time. Contrast such a one — and the case is typical of a very large class whose brains are over-taxed, such as hard-worked barristers, lawyers, hospital physicians, &c. — contrast such a one. with the stout jolly farmer, who rises at five, and after a heavy and substantial breakfast, passes his day on horseback, returns home with a wolfish appetite, his sole care and anxiety being that Farmer Styles' wheat is abovit half an inch higher than his own. We can well understand his feelings expressed in the graphic words — "None of your kickshaws !" Half a dozen oysters and a glass of chablis would be as unsuitable a commencement of dinner for the latter as thick pea soup and underdone roast beef cut thick, with a draught of strong homebrewed ale, would be for the former.
Probably were we to take the whole, of those who in this country are in the habit of drinking wine habitually, we should find that by far the greater number are in the habit of taking a little sheny with dinner in addition to beer, and a glass or two of port wine afterwards. A sip of sherry after soup, and a glass after both fish and sweets, seems almost necessary. Indeed, I think that where there is absolutely no wine, I would prefer to dine off the joint, or, at any rate, butchers' meat alone ; but prefacing that a little good beer is far preferable to bad sherry, we will first take this most popular of English dinner-wines, and have a few words to say with regard to its selection and keeping. Sherry may be divided into two classes — dinner sherry and after-dinner sherry. I am here speaking of comparatively cheap sherry, as of course good old East India sherry worth 7s. or 8s. a bottle is exceedingly good with dinner as well as after, but then in the generality of houses we expect to get sherry that has cost from 24s. to 36s. a dozen. I know sherry can be bought as low as 15s. a dozen, even in single bottles, at least a compound called sherry — I have, indeed, tasted it. I should imagine that it is bought by that class of persons, who not knowing what really good sherry is, yet occasionally like to have some on their tables for show. Indeed, the greater part of the really bad and unwholesome wine that is drunk is consumed by this class — vulgar persons who attempt to live in the same style as their better-educated and wealthier
PRINCIPLES SHERRY. Ixxxiii