Napoleonic Pleasures

Ice cream in stock, sweet and savouryIce cream was very popular during the First Empire. In fact it was a real passion. Ice cream was sometimes called “neige” (snow) and flavoured with caramel, chocolate, vanilla, plums, peaches etc., but also with saffron, or even cloves. Certain restaurants offered more than 80 flavours.The name “sorbets” was […]

Chocolate: friend or foe?At the time of the First Empire, chocolate ventured out of the apothecary's. Up to that time it had been thought of as primarily a medication: chocolate was sold as a purgative, cough mixture, and also an aphrodisiac.From this time on, chocolate, still in liquid form, turned up at the morning meal […]

Madeleines – origins and myths  These little sponge cakes, still widely popular, bear a girl's name that was commonly given to little girls during the period. There are three Madeleines who might lay claim to having invented these sweetmeats.Might it have been the pastry-cook to the Polish king, Stanislas Leczinski, living in exile in the […]

Frascati, from one empire to anotherDuring the Premier Empire, the Frascati establishment, named after a famous Neapolitan ice-cream maker, was one of the most popular venues in Paris. First of all, it had a delightful garden, decorated with the busts of the greatest French and English poets, and lit up at night. A tunnel of […]

The fashion for meringue domesThe Second Empire elevated the meringue to one of the “in” desserts. People liked its light and crispy texture, to the point that they had the idea, albeit initially greeted with incredulity, of combining it with ice cream, to get hot and cold in the same dish. The “Baked Alaska” had […]

AnglomaniaEngland was certainly the enemy of old, but it remained oh so attractive. High society envied the gentleness of English manners, the good cut of English clothes, the speed and comfort of English cabriolets, and was fascinated by English gothic novels peopled by ghosts and ruined towers. When it came to cooking, the level of […]

Rice, are you done?In the 19th century, in classic French cuisine, rice was used in savoury dishes simply as a supplementary ingredient, useful as a base for soups; its use was primarily in sweet dishes along with eggs. On the other hand, rice as a basic foodstuff, accompanying a sauce, was a reality for most […]

A History of the Peninsular War, by Sir Charles Oman Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman (January 12, 1860 – June 23, 1946) was born in India, the son of a British planter, and was educated at Oxford University, where he studied under William Stubbs. He was elected to the Chichele chair of modern history at […]

Napoleon, a life, by John Holland Rose The life of Napoleon I: including new materials from the British official records, London : Bell, 1901 Born in Bedford, England, and after studying at Bedford Modern School, Holland Rose (1855 – 1942) was later educated at Owens College in Manchester in the 1870s. He was then elected […]

Le vrai patineur (The true skater), Delespinasse, 1813 Whilst it is true that nowadays in winter in cities and towns the world over, children of all ages in search of a turn on the ice can find an outdoor rink in the town centre, Parisians of the First Empire looking for a quick skate had […]