The origins of meringue

 

About a week ago, an e-mail arrived.

Goats. I never would have guessed. I saw a review of your book mentioning that you were going to talk about circus tents, whoopie pies and the origins of coffee. I bought it. Got to the essay on coffee, and, goats. I don’t think I have ever immediately put a book down to do a Google search before. But I had to know, and sure enough, when I did, goats.

Thank you for reaching out. But more to the point…

Goats, birds, whatever, food is strange stuff.

Seriously.

These days there are test kitchens all over the place working on recipes and perfecting the already perfected. All sorts of variations for incredible reasons. But the craziest thing to me isn’t where we’re going. It’s where it all begins. Which in turn, explains the goats.

Let’s think about a lemon meringue pie.

I mean, come on, it’s crazy that anyone would think of separating eggs, right? For you and I, today’s world, separating eggs is kind of a normal thing. But this is going back hundreds of years. And we have a pie that takes the yolks to make the lemon curd filling and then says (my words): “Whoa, hey, not so fast. Save those egg whites, my friend. And grab your cream of tartar, because we’ve got more work to do.”

That, right there, is impressive culinary magic and planning.

The history of meringues is, well, unknown. Honestly, no two sources really agree on being able to state anything definitive. Most will mention a small community and a chef by the name of Gasparini. (Several seem to take a tremendous pleasure in noting that it likely was not invented in France. Enough that it was an obvious recurring side note, and I was really wondering why so many articles were mentioning it wasn’t invented in France. Perhaps another story, definitely for another time.)

If you look in enough places, you’ll see meringue creation citations ranging from 1604 to 1720, England to Poland. Most will not mention that Gasparini apparently was located in the town of Meiringen, which makes a claim to a certain waterfall nearby… Reichenbach Falls, of Sherlock Holmes fame.

(But I didn’t come here to talk about Sherlock Holmes.)

Think about some of the recipes you enjoy. Many of them, you probably take for granted. But most cookbooks are filled with history, discovery, and happy accidents.

We have a lot of recipes that have been passed along in our family. Two of the big ones are for pecan rolls and pork pie. Tradition. Emotions. And chances are good that from holiday tables to celebratory gatherings, there are a few things that take place involving food around your home.

So, yes, goats. Where meringue was created. Funny and fascinating. Food can be communal and festive. And also, just a bit strange.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com