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LA CUISINE HUMAINEHow to cook like a human beingby Norman SpinradIntroductionMost beings, sapient or otherwise, must eat. What they eat, interms of raw materials, is determined by the requirements of theirevolved biochemistry. Most species intelligent enough to havedeveloped even the rudiments of a fire and tool using cultureprepare, preserve, and combine these ingredients in a self-consciousmanner.It may be as rude and simple as charring animal parts over anopen fire, allowing vegetables to ferment under controlledconditions, smoking, pickling, or drying victuals in order topreserve them for future use, or rotting them with bacteria orfungus, but the preparation of food, implying as it does at leastthe mastery of fire and the use of tools, has long been regarded asa universal criterion of sapience.The point at which such food preparation attains the status ofcuisine, like the point at which a species may be said to haveevolved a true civilization, is more elusive of definition, andindeed the argument has often been made that they are one and thesame.While some strictly carnivorous or entirely vegetarian specieshave evolved both cuisine and civilization, it is generally fair tosay that cuisine begins with the combination of ingredients. Meatand vegetable matter(if only for flavoring)or different species ofvegetation are combined in the same dish, melded via heat,decomposition, or chemical processes to produce a whole which tastesdifferent than the sum of its parts, and voila, cuisine, civilizeddining, and with it civilization, are invented.The point at which rudimentary cuisine attains the status of atrue artform is a matter of critical judgment on the part of thediner, or, as the inhabitants of Earth themselves have it, "oneman's meat is another man's poison."Nevertheless, all civilized beings, given a sufficient degreeof biochemical congruence, can recognize artful cuisine when theytaste it, and within the fraternity of galactic gourmets, thecuisine of the planet Earth has certainly attained this status.Indeed a certain mania for La Cuisine Humaine has been sweepingthe galaxy ever since the recent discovery of the humans' otherwisenot-terribly-noteworthy civilization, resulting in many pleasurablenew dining experiences, but also, alas, the prevalence of all toomany misconceived and loathsome concoctions that the humansthemselves would rightly consider vile desecrations.This cookbook, prepared after several months on Earth samplingits fare and discussing culinary matters with both master chefs anda sampling of ordinary humans is a modest attempt to remedy thisunfortunate situation.Since the humans have published thousands upon thousands ofvast volumes of recipe books down through the centuries, the presentwork can hardly pretend to be definitive. What is instead presentedhere is an introductory work designed to initiate the neophyte intothe philosophy, principles, and working methods of La CuisineHumaine, rather than a definitive compilation of recipes.It may not produce chefs to match the human masters, buthopefully it will at least allow its readers to more or less cooklike human beings.The Planet EarthEarth is the third planet of an unpresupposing yellow star.About three-quarters of its surface is ocean, the rest being sevenlarge continents and numerous islands. The planet is stillgeologically active, and many ecospheres have therefore evolved andcontinue to evolve, resulting in a rich profusion of plants andanimals, most of which are eaten, in one form or another, by one ormore of the many human tribal subcultures, though, alas, theplanetary mismanagement by the still rather primitive humans ispresently resulting in a certain narrowing of this wonderfulbiological diversity.Life on Earth is entirely based on the carbon-biochemistryquite prevalent galaxy-wide, so its cuisine is nourishing andpalatable to the majority of sapient species. The humans themselvesare omnivores, and have therefore evolved cuisines incorporatingboth flesh and vegetation.I say "cuisines" rather than "cuisine" to point to the factthat human civilization has reached that delectable stage when thelocal cuisines which have evolved in isolation over the centurieshave begun to merge, thanks to easy transportation and masscommunication, but have not yet ossified into a single standardizedplanetary style.In the major human cities, one may still find a profusion ofrestaurants dedicated to most of the folkloric "ethnic" styles, sideby side with emporiums devoted to the free-form merging of samewhich has created the glories of the emerging cuisine humaine.Which is to say that we are fortunate indeed to have discoveredthis planet at the very peak of its culinary Golden Age, hence themania for La Cuisine Humaine presently titillating the jaded tasteorgans of more "advanced" civilizations. To judge by generalgalactic cuisinary evolution, such a Golden Age is usually fleeting,soon to be overwhelmed by contact with the so-called advancedcuisine of interstellar society.Enjoy it while it lasts!Basic PrinciplesHuman biochemistry requires the consumption of ten basic aminoacids, which may be obtained entirely from the flesh of terrestrialanimals, or from various combinations of plant material. Humanmetabolism runs on the oxidation of sugars, which may be eatendirectly as such, or which the human digestive mechanism may producefrom carbohydrates.As a result, while it is possible for humans to subsist on asufficiently varied vegetarian diet, it is all but impossible forthem to survive on meat alone, especially since their metabolismalso requires traces of many elements not available to strictcarnivores, and is unable to synthesize many necessary complexmolecules.In some human cultures, meat is cheap and easy to obtain, andforms the basis of the local cuisine, with vegetables and fruitsserving as garnishes or "side-dishes." But, at least throughoutmost of human history, meat has been a comparatively scarce andexpensive item in the majority of local cultures, serving in smallerquantities as a supplement to more vegetarian diets.Indeed, historically speaking, meat has not been readilyavailable to great masses of poorer humans at all, leading to theevolution of "peasant cuisines" cunningly based on the combinationof vegetables which, eaten together, supply both metabolic fuel andall ten essential amino acids.On Earth, there are, generally speaking, two main groups ofsuch plants; carbohydrate-rich plants called "grains" or "tubers,"and legumatious plants which produce "beans" or "haricots" or"frijoles," seeds rich in the essential amino acids not obtainablefrom grain plants.Thus basic human cuisine characteristically combines a "starch"ingredient (corn, wheat, potatoes, rice, etc.) combined with eithersome meat or a bean (of which there are a vast profusion) orfrequently both, flavored with other vegetable products called"herbs" (leaves and stems) or "spices" (usually seeds or driedfruits or seed pods). In addition, humans tend to add sodiumchloride to most foods which do not contain significant amounts ofsugars, the only mineral they consume directly, and which, indeed,is taken to excess.That is the alimentary basis of La Cuisine Humaine, theunderlying biological necessities, but the art of it resides in theprofusion of styles and methods humans have evolved to transformthese basic nutritional combinations into esthetic delights.Whole grains may be boiled into simple filler dishes or complexpilafs containing nuts, fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, or evenbits of meat, seafood and vegetables. Or they are ground intoflour, combined with various liquids and fats, and baked intobreads, or extruded into noodles and pastas (sometimes stuffed)which are then gently boiled, steamed, or fried.Beans, depending upon type, are sauted, steamed or fried ifthey are tender, or boiled and baked in liquids for long periods ifthey are not. The soybean, which supplies all ten essential aminoacids, is eaten as raw or cooked sprouts, or processed into "tofu"or "beancurd," a kind of vegetable cheese which may then be sauted,stir-fried, or steamed.Vegetables, depending upon type, are eaten raw in so-called"salads," or baked, fried, steamed, boiled, sauted, roasted, orbaked.Meats are sometimes taken raw ... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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