The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#1

Post by never-the-bride » Fri, Sep 01, 2017, 6:44 PM UTC

The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)
newyorker.com

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#2

Post by nkelner » Fri, Sep 01, 2017, 8:23 PM UTC

If you enjoy this article you'll love this book: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Ingredients-Yorker-Library-Pap...

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#3

Post by nickserv » Fri, Sep 01, 2017, 8:46 PM UTC

I remember being in my early teens and spearfishing for rascasse in La Ciotat (some 30km from Marseille). Brings back good memories.

Anyway, it's strange that the article makes only a passing mention to the "poissons de roche" (lit. fishes from the rocks), which are an assortment of various species that live among the rocks, such as wrasses and blennies, as opposed to those that live in sandy areas. With these fish you make the base of the Bouillabaisse, and to my knowledge these are also endemic to the Mediterranean.

My grandmother would have to buy these fish fresh from the local fishermen as they are caught with nets, being way too small for spearfishing. To these which she would add my rascasses to make the Bouillabaisse.

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#4

Post by bendbro » Sat, Sep 02, 2017, 1:07 AM UTC

Where can I find contemporary writing like this?

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#5

Post by grzm » Sat, Sep 02, 2017, 1:08 AM UTC

bendbro wrote: post #4

Where can I find contemporary writing like this?

The New Yorker is still around and publishing pieces like this.

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#6

Post by bendbro » Sat, Sep 02, 2017, 1:13 AM UTC

grzm wrote: post #5

bendbro wrote: post #4

Where can I find contemporary writing like this?

The New Yorker is still around and publishing pieces like this.

That is exactly the kind of matter-of-fact response that seems fine to me but makes my friends laugh

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#7

Post by hudibras » Sat, Sep 02, 2017, 12:31 PM UTC

nkelner wrote: post #2

If you enjoy this article you'll love this book: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Ingredients-Yorker-Library-Pap...

And this one, also by A.J. Liebling: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Science-J-Liebling-ebook/dp/B00...

Probably the best book (ostensibly) about sports you'll ever read.

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#8

Post by Syzygies » Sat, Sep 02, 2017, 2:55 PM UTC

My French cooking teacher had a saying something along the lines of "Tradition is the last bad performance."

He is in fact quite traditional, but he understands the basic principle: If there was a significant migration from a famed food region to "here", what would they do to adapt, to interpret the spirit of their beloved dishes?

Anyone who can't do that, doesn't understand what they're cooking. He taught me a brilliant bouillabaisse, by the way, structured around principles rather than ingredients.

Re: The Soul of Bouillabaisse Town (1962)

#9

Post by selimthegrim » Sat, Sep 02, 2017, 3:08 PM UTC

hudibras wrote: post #7

nkelner wrote: post #2

If you enjoy this article you'll love this book: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Ingredients-Yorker-Library-Pap...

And this one, also by A.J. Liebling: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Science-J-Liebling-ebook/dp/B00... Probably the best book (ostensibly) about sports you'll ever read.

While we're on the A.J. Liebling train I have to put in a plug for this one, still shockingly relevant today - https://www.amazon.com/Earl-Louisiana-J-Liebling/dp/08071020...