Little Known Facts about Food
Why is breakfast the most important meal of the day?
Originally, dinner was the most important meal of the day, but a wealthy English nobleman who despised traditional English dinners consisting of Yorkshire pudding, lamb chops, and Brussels sprouts declared that only breakfast should be served for dinner. Somewhere in parliament, the declaration was misdecreed, and so, breakfast became the official most important meal, and the nobleman was forced to continue eating traditional English dinners.
Who Discovered Escargot?
Contrary to popular lore, Escargot did not originate with the highest paid feudal serf-chef in 146 B.C. France, but rather with a simple, poor, French country housewife whose husband was a Roman soldier. He came home from fighting the Anglo-Saxons’ barbarian ancestors several weeks earlier than she expected, starving from his long journey. Having not enough bread or cheese to satisfy his hunger and no chickens to prepare, she resorted to rummaging through the newly planted garden for some tender zucchini or young carrots. Finding nothing, she began to weep. While watching her tears fall to the ground, she caught sight of a snail and immediately remembered her mother saying that anything sliced and cooked in butter tasted wonderful, so she began collecting snails. When she placed the meal before her husband glowing with pride at her resourcefulness, he immediately snubbed it, so she convinced him the Anglo-Saxons had invented Escargot, and it was what all the English women were preparing their husbands, and snails were why Englishmen were so strong and valiant in battle. Believing her tale, the husband wolfed down the Escargot, and when he and his troops defeated the Anglo-Saxons the next day, he taunted the captured soldiers with the fact that he had used their own defenses against them. Not wanting to take credit for such a disgusting meal, but afraid to contradict their captors, the Anglo-Saxons went along with it. After the French monarchy was established, Charles II, who’s favorite meal was Escargot, was jealous of the delicacy’s supposed origin and decided to credit the French, deeming one of his predecessor’s serf’s had clearly come up with Escargot since it was cooked in butter, and only the French cook with butter. The English, finally relieved of the wretched mistake, but unwilling to relinquish anything to the French, declared war on France. Although they were defeated, the English fought bravely, so they felt they had done their duty and let the matter drop.