Today is the birthday of Samuel Pepys, who was born on this day in 1633 in Fleet Street, London. We’ve mentioned Samuel a few times in this blog, because his diaries are such a rich source of information about life in seventeenth century London, as well as covering some major historical events. Although his father was a tailor and his mother, the daughter of a Whitechapel butcher, he was actually pretty well connected. His father had cousins in parliament, one of whom was the First Earl of Sandwich. Samuel lived in a turbulent age. When he was only sixteen years old, he attended the execution of King Charles I, in January 1649. At twenty-two, he married Elisabeth de St Michel who was then only fourteen years old. When he was twenty-five, he had surgery to have a stone removed from his bladder. With no such thing as a general anaesthetic, it was a dreadful process which we rather wish we hadn’t read about.
Pepys diary covers almost ten years between 1660 and 1669, a period which saw the restoration of the monarchy and coronation of King Charles II. Samuel was on the ship that brought the King back from exile. The 1660s also saw the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. Outbreaks of plague were a pretty common occurrence in seventeenth century London. There had been major epidemics in 1603, 1625 and 1636. It was mainly a disease that affected the poor, who lived in cramped conditions, and Samuel wasn’t much troubled by it until June when it began to spread to the City. He sent Elizabeth and their servants away to Woolwich, where they might be out of danger but he remained in London. He tells us how there were no boats on the river, grass growing in Whitehall because it was so deserted and ‘no one but poor wretches in the streets’. He gives many descriptions of houses shut up, the news of deaths and how he himself came upon the body of a plague victim when he was out after dark. He chewed tobacco in an attempt to ward off the miasma that everyone believed was the cause of the disease and he worried that the wigs everyone wore might be being made from the hair of plague victims. But apart from that, he had a great time. He almost quadrupled his fortune and by the end of the year he recorded: “I have never lived so merrily (besides that I never got so much) as I have done this plague-time…”
The Great Fire was far more alarming for him. He described peoples’ homes, even stone churches being destroyed by the fire. He tells us how people had given up trying to put it out and were just trying to save what they could and head for the river. It was so hot that even flying pigeons caught fire. Samuel was the first to bring news of the blaze to the King and the first to suggest tearing down houses ahead of the flames. The fire came very close to destroying Pepys’ house in Seething Lane. In order to save some of his precious belongings: some papers, but also his wine and his Parmesan cheese, he dug a hole and buried them. It might sound odd that he considered his cheese precious enough to bury, but Parmesan cheese is, even today, extremely valuable. There are around $200 million worth of Parmesan cheeses maturing in the bank vaults of Italy that are being used at collateral for loans to cheese makers. Samuel’s house was untouched by the fire, but we don’t know if he managed to retrieve his cheese because he didn’t tell us.
As well as major events, we can also learn a lot from his diary about how the upper middle class of London lived day to day. We know what they ate and how they entertained themselves. He was interested in science, enjoyed singing and playing music. He also loved the theatre. Pepys wrote very frankly about his personal life and his relationship with his wife. So we also know all about his infidelities, his jealously of Elizabeth’s dancing teacher and their arguments. We know how they celebrated holidays, we even know how he celebrated his birthday. Let’s have a look at what he did in 1669…
He took his wife and two young girls, who were distant relatives, to Westminster Abbey to look at the tombs. Here, he tells us “…we did see, by particular favour, the body of Queen Katherine of Valois; and I had the upper part of her body in my hands, and I did kiss her mouth, reflecting upon it that I did kiss a Queen, and that this was my birth-day, thirty-six years old, that I did first kiss a Queen.” Catherine of Valois was the wife of King Henry V. She died in 1437. Her tomb had been opened accidentally during the reign on Henry VII and her body was found to be in a remarkable state of preservation. After that, it became something of a tourist attraction. She was not re-interred until 1878.
The last dated entry in his diary is from May 31st 1669. He gave it up because he believed it was affecting his eyesight. We’ve no idea whether Samuel Pepys ever intended his diary to be seen by others. It’s clear that some of the details are extremely personal. He also wrote it in a kind of shorthand that would be indecipherable to the casual reader. But on the other hand, he did have them bound and left them, along with his extensive library, to his nephew. After that, his library was transferred intact to Magdalene College, Cambridge along with the original bookcase. It was first translated for publication by the Reverend John Smith. It took him three years, between 1819 and 1822 to decipher the shorthand. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until he’d almost finished that he discovered the key to Pepys’ code stored only a few shelves above the diary.
While count ourselves amongst the world’s most passionate lovers of the salty, crystalline, cheesy wonder that is Parmesan, we must admit, we didn’t really know much about how it was made until we found ourselves in a dairy steam bath just outside of Parma. Stepping inside Latteria La Grande in Castelnovo Sotto was in instantaneous education. Our trusty guide, Anne, would show us how the cheese is made from milk to wheel.
Latteria La Grande is a coop, where milk from surrounding farms is sent to be made into D.O.P. Parmegiano Regianno. That label is highly protected, and designates that the cheese has come from this very particular area in Northern Italy. We can all conjure the image of the brail-like writing on the rind of a nice hunk of parm, but did you know that was the in effect, the cheese’s birth certificate? It tells those in the know where the milk came from, where the cheese was made, and what grade it received from the Parmesan experts.
The factory is dense with steamy fog, billowing off copper cauldrons of fresh, local milk. Cheesemakers whisk and mix the milk, adding whey to cause the milk to curdle. Those curdle are allowed settle on the bottom of the conical copper vats, into a piece of cheesecloth. The solids are lifted up, a task requiring Olympic strength, already in bound together in one solid form. That form is cut in half with an impressive knife, and then the cheese is pressed into spring form molds. At this point, we just have a soft cheese, but after about a month submerged entirely in a bath of salty brine, the moisture is drawn from the wheel, and it is ready for aging.
Skipping the halls of the Latteria is a pleasure we can only hope you someday come to know for yourself. Rows and rows of delicious cheese from floor to celling, and a scent that actually reminds one more of blue cheese than parmesan. Anne shows us how each wheel is tested after one year of aging, knocking on one with a tiny brass hammer. She listens, perching her ear close to the majestic wheel. She can hear the density of the cheese, how consistent the texture is, and can predict how much time it needs to age. And finally, we have a chance to taste the cheese at its various stages of aging, from one year to three years. We notice the increase in crystals and complexity over time. And of course, we buy a hunk of each one.
AsJuleswas not home on Easter, we celebrated May Day yesterday with a bright and flavourful Spring Lunch. I had set the table in the dining room, but it was so lovely outside that, after enjoying our drinks (a Gold Rush for her and a Bee’s Knees for me) with nibbles in the sun, we ate the rest of our meal in the garden amongst the myosotis, by the Veg Patch and the apple tree! It was really nice and so was the poached salmon I served with these beautiful Broad Beans, Asparagus and Gnocchi!Happy Monday!
Gadually stir one cup of the flour into the Potato Mash. Add the egg to bind it all and work ingredients together until a soft dough forms, adding more flour if necessary. Roll small portionsofdough between your hands (approximately the size of a heaping teaspoon) and place them on a lightly floured surface. Working with one ball at a time, using your thumb, roll ball on the tines of a lightly floured fork. As you work, place gnocchionto a lightly flouredtray. When all gnocchiare ready, store them into the refigerator
In a large saucepan, bring waterto the boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, stir in coarse sea salt until dissolved.
Trim the ends of the asparagus, and add to the boiling water. Cook, 10 minutes, until tender, then lift off the saucepan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Set aside.
Addbroad beans to the salted boiling water, and cook, 5 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the waterand plunge into a medium bowl filled with cold water andice cubes. Set aside.
Finally, add half of gnocchi to boiling water; cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until done (they will rise to the surface). Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon, and place in a colander to drain. Keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining gnocchi.
Peelbroad beans. Cut asparagus.
Meltbutterwitholive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once foaming, add Dried Lemon Thyme anddried rosemary, cook 1 minute. Then, stir broad beansandasparagus, and sauté, to coat in butter. Finally, stir in gnocchi. Cook, until hot, a few minutes.
ServeRosemary and Thyme Butter Broad Beans, Asparagus and Gnocchi hot, sprinkled with grated ParmesanandLemon Zest, as a side toPoached Salmonor Rosemary and Honey Roast Lamb.
This fragrant and moist Herb and Cheese Loaf makes an excellent and easy-to-pack picnic if you want to make the most of these sunny Spring days. It is also very nice at dinner, with a glass of chilled Sauv BlancorChardie. And it freezes well, so you can cut it into slices and store a couple of them per bag, and you have a lunch, dinner or picnic ready whenever you feel like it! Happy Wednesday!
Preheat oven to 165°C/330°F. Lightly grease a loaf pan with olive oil. Line with baking paper; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour,oregano,rosemary, baking powderandsalt.
Grate in about 1/3 cup Parmesan and 1/3 cupCheddar; give a good stir. Dig a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and break in the eggs. Add milk,sour cream andChili Oil, and stir well, until just blended.
Crumble in Feta cheese and fold gentlyinto the batter, until well-distributed. Spoon batterinto prepared loaf pan.
Bake in the middle of the hot oven, 40 minutes at 165°C/330°F, until risen, a nice golden color, and a toothpick inserted in the centre of loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and let cool. Remove from pan.
ServeHerb and Cheese Loaf warm or cold with cherry tomatoes,Mesclunorlettuce.
This fragrant and moist Herb and Cheese Loaf makes an excellent and easy-to-pack picnic if you want to make the most of these sunny Spring days. It is also very nice at dinner, with a glass of chilled Sauv BlancorChardie. And it freezes well, so you can cut it into slices and store a couple of them per bag, and you have a lunch, dinner or picnic ready whenever you feel like it! Happy Wednesday!
Preheat oven to 165°C/330°F. Lightly grease a loaf pan with olive oil. Line with baking paper; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour,oregano,rosemary, baking powderandsalt.
Grate in about 1/3 cup Parmesan and 1/3 cupCheddar; give a good stir. Dig a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and break in the eggs. Add milk,sour cream andChili Oil, and stir well, until just blended.
Crumble in Feta cheese and fold gentlyinto the batter, until well-distributed. Spoon batterinto prepared loaf pan.
Bake in the middle of the hot oven, 40 minutes at 165°C/330°F, until risen, a nice golden color, and a toothpick inserted in the centre of loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and let cool. Remove from pan.
ServeHerb and Cheese Loaf warm or cold with cherry tomatoes,Mesclunorlettuce.
