Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/358

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. n. OCT. 28, 1916.

He goes on to point out all the districts in France where les grenouilles are eaten, and also where they are unknown, and he comes to the conclusion that in those parts of France which are farthest from Great Britain the frog is most popular. Then there follows this passage, which goes far to answer MR. ACKERM ANN'S question :

" En Italie et en Allemagne, on mange les grenouilles en entier, la tete exceptee, apres les avoir ecorchees. A Rochefort, ville renommee par 1'abondance et la qualite^ des grenouilles qui habitant ses environs, on les coupe au-dessous des pattes de devant, de fac.on que toute la peau du petit animal suive la partie anWrieure ; ainsi on ne conserve que 1'epine dorsale, les cdtes, et les pattes de derriere parfaitem entdepouill^es ; quelquefois on laisse aussi les pattes de devant ; mais elles offrent peu de chose & manger.

" Ces grenouilles, apros avoir d^gorge deux ou trois heures dans de 1'eau froide, sont egoutttSes et generalement frites. On les fait prealablcment rrmriner une heure avec da vinaigre, du sel, du poivre, du persil, du laurier, de la ciboale et du thyni ; on les farine avant de les mettre dans la poele.

" Lorsqu'on veut les servir & la sauce, on les fait sauter un instant dans une casserole avec du beurre, on les roule ensuite dans la farine, et on les remet dans la casserole avec du beurre, un peu de vin blanc, du sel, du poivre, des 6chalotes hache'es. On fait reduire vivement cette sauce, on la lie avec des jaunes d'oeufs, et on sert.

" Le potage de grenpuilles s'pbtient en les faisant bouiller, prepares comme ci-dessus. Dans la marmite, on ajoute des legumes ; si 1'on veut fa ire un bouillon gras, on met du lard ; sinon, du beurre. Au bout de quatre ou cinq heures de cuisson lente, on obtient un assez bon bouillon, mais le bouilli est fade."

In another volume Grimod de la Reyniere refers to an innkeeper named Simon, living at Riom in Auvergne, who had " un talent particulier pour accommoder les grenouilles." The secret of how it was done was kept in M. Simon's family :

" alors le precieux de'pdt seroit remis a ses h^ritiers, s'ils vouloient continuer ce commerce, ou rendu public a la grande satisfaction de 1'Europe Gourmande."

This story is told in the fourth issue of the ' Almanach,' pp. 123-30.

In the early forties Benson Hill published an English ' Almanach des Gourmands ' under the title of ' The Epicure's Almanac.' He remarks :

" With due reverence for the noble sirloin, I cannot but think that the hind legs of some half-dozen good-sized frogs, taken out of a fine crystal pool, fried with an abundance of cream and parsley, well crisped, would make a convert of the most bigoted John Bull, provided you did not tell him the name of the dish until he had accustomed himself to the flavour."

Any one who cares to visitf Les Halles Cent rales in Paris at a matinale hour would

see frogs' legs strung on skewers ready for the kitchen. The Paris markets have in the past been supplied with frogs from Quievraiu in Belgium, where the frogs are caught at night with nets and hooks baited with worms. " La chasse aux grenouilles " is a considerable sport in various parts of France also. A statement appeared some years ago to the effect that one Belgian frog merchant alone sent two hundred thousand frogs to France during the space of three weeks. It is said that when only the thighs of the frogs are roasted the other parts are utilized as components in mock-turtle soup ; so we may conclude that we have all of us at one time or another eaten frog. In case MR. ACKERMANN wishes himself to stimulate his appetite with a dish of frogs I give two recipes :

Fricassee of frogs. Skin and prepare the hind quarters, blanch and throw them into cold water ; drain and put them, into a saucepan with a piece of butter, a clove, parsley, onions, sweet herbs, and spices ; let them soak a little on the fire, but not to brown ; add a thickening with a glass of wine, a little stock, and salt ; stew them slowly for twenty minutes ; add a little cream ; finish with yolk and lemon juice ; garnish with lemon.

Fried frogs. Prepare as above, and laj* them in a pickle of equal parts of vinegar and water, with sweet herbs, garlic, shallot,

Earsley, and onions shred small, and spices ; jave them for an hour or two ; fry them in oil or top pot, or shake them in a floured cloth, or dip them in butter or egg, and then fry them.

In the United States there are, I under- stand, more frogs eaten even than in France. The bull frog of the States is, I am told, edible. See F. M. Chamberlain, ' Notes on the Edible Frogs of the United States,' 1897.

I could add a considerable bibliography of the esculent Ranidae, but this article has already exceeded the length I intended.

A. L. HUMPHREYS. 187 Piccadilly, W.

Some years ago I ate frogs' legs served in white sauce when I was visiting an English family at Tours. The dish resembled boiled chicken, but according to my palate it had also a flavour suggestive of musk. Have all edible amphibians and reptiles this taste the iguanas of South America, for instance, which are stated to be tender, and of a peculiarly delicate flavour, not unlike the breast of a spring chicken ? African croco- diles are said to have a very strong odour