THE GOOSE.
When a flock of geese are obliged to pass Mount Taurus—the dreaded abode of their enemies, the eagles—each of them takes the precaution to hold a stone in its beak, in order that he may keep a profound silence, which, otherwise, his natural loquacity would render impossible.[XVII_49] This, if true, would justify Aristotle in attributing foresight to the goose;[XVII_50] a quality which Scaliger also claims for this bird.[XVII_51]
The ancients highly esteemed its flesh. Homer[XVII_52] and Athenæus[XVII_53] speak with praise of the fat geese and goslings which the Greeks ate.
The Egyptians served them at their meals every day; it was, with veal, the favourite dish of their monarchs,[XVII_54] and they did not forget to offer some to King Agesilaus, when he was travelling through the country.[XVII_55]
Some eastern nations were impressed with such deep veneration for this bird that they swore by nothing else.[XVII_56] The Britons honoured it, and forbad all persons to do it the least harm.[XVII_57] It remained for Queen Elizabeth to prove, at her joyous dinners of the 29th September, that tastes and usages are modified by time.[XVII_58] And moreover, many centuries before, her ancestors had been greatly wanting in respect towards a particular kind of goose, which they roasted without any ceremony.[XVII_59] A well-deserved sentiment of gratitude rendered them dear to the Romans: their noisy clamour had formerly saved the Capitol.[XVII_60] They became for them, as for the Egyptians,[XVII_61] a symbol of safety, and were reared, both in town and country, to guard the houses.[XVII_62]
Those which were kept, out of gratitude, in the Capitol, were consecrated to Juno, Isis, Mars, and Priapus,[XVII_63] and every year one of them was chosen for the brilliant and solemn ceremony we have already mentioned.[XVII_64]
But, alas! time obscures and effaces all the glories of this world; and that of the Roman geese, no doubt, had to submit to this sad fate,[XVII_65] for they were eaten at least a century before the time of Pliny. Unfortunate bird! Yes, a perfidious art fed them delicately in the shade, in convenient aviaries, where nothing was wanting for their comfort, and at the end of a few days the poor victims made but one step from this dangerous retreat to the place of execution.[XVII_66] The Emperor Alexander Severus became so fond of this dish, that on his great festival days they served him with a goose and a pheasant.[XVII_67] Nothing, in his estimation, could equal the exquisite flavour of these two birds.
The luxurious Romans, however, neglected the entire animal, and thought only of the liver. They invented the art of fattening this viscera, and of increasing its size to such an extent that it often weighed two pounds. To obtain this result, they simply fed their victims of sensuality, during twenty days, with a paste of dried figs and water.[XVII_68] As soon as the goose was killed, the liver was put to soak in milk and honey.
It is not known exactly to whom we are to attribute this gastronomic discovery. Scipio, Metellus, and Marcus Sejus disputed the glory of the invention.[XVII_69] At all events, it is certain that the same method was used in Greece as in Italy; that white geese were chosen in preference,[XVII_70] and that the fat livers were served roasted, or fried in the frying-pan, and enveloped in the omentum, a membrane which we term the caul.[XVII_71] Pliny assures us that Apicius found means to increase livers to a monstrous size,[XVII_72] which almost equalled in weight the whole body of the animal.[XVII_73]
The wings and neck of the goose also acquired some favour; the feet were added, when Messalinus had taught how to peel them by passing them rapidly over the fire, and then preparing them with cocks’ combs. The remainder was only good for the common people.[XVII_74]
Stuffed goslings also enjoyed a reputation among the Greeks,[XVII_75] who fattened them by giving them, three times a day, during a month, a mixture of bran and flour, moistened with hot water (two parts of flour and four parts of bran); but, if Palladius is to be believed, it is much better to feed them solely with millet, and as much water as they may require.[XVII_76]
Sejus Seasoning.—Bruise pepper, alisander, coriander, mint, and rue; mix with it garum and a little oil; pour it over the roast goose, and serve.[XVII_77]
Apician Seasoning for a Roast Goose’s Liver.—Crush in a mortar, and then well mix, pepper, carrots, cummin, parsley-seed, thyme, onions, benzoin root, and fried pine nuts; add honey, vinegar, garum, and oil, and serve with the roast liver in the omentum.[XVII_78]
Boiled Goose à la Gauloise.—Boil a goose with garum, oil, wine, a bunch of leeks, coriander, and savory; then crush pepper and pine nuts, to which put a little water. Then take the leeks, coriander, and savory out of the saucepan; put in their place the mixture mentioned, add some milk, boil it, thicken with whites of eggs, and serve.[XVII_79]
In the sixteenth century they had dark cages, in which they fattened poultry with ground tares, wheaten flour, and barley meal. Capons fattened in hutches, where they could not turn, nor even stir, were esteemed delicious. They fed pigeons on the crumb of bread, steeped in wine; peacocks on the sediment from cider.
On Michaelmas Day, the 29th of September, many persons in England eat roast goose for their dinner. It is said that this custom dates from the time of Queen Elizabeth, who was being served with a piece of goose on Michaelmas Day, at the very moment when news was brought of the defeat of the famous Armada. Some persons affirm that the Queen expressed a desire that this dish might, each year, serve to perpetuate the remembrance of so signal a victory. Would it not be more simple to suppose that Elizabeth herself already conformed to a custom which had existed before her time?[XVII_80]
At Mans, instead of letting the poultry eat freely, they are shut up in a dark place, and made to swallow pellets of about two inches long and one thick, composed of two parts of barley flour, and one of maize, made with sufficient quantity of milk.
“In the time when the French had a decided taste for spices and aromatics, they imagined to vary at will the flavour and perfume of the flesh of fowls. With the paste used to fatten them was mixed musk, anise-seed, and comfits, with other aromatic drugs. A Queen was known to spend 1,500 francs (£60) in fattening three geese, whose livers she wished to render more delicate.”—Parmentier.