Show court (food)
A show dish is a dish that is not prepared for consumption, but serves as a showpiece and attraction for the festive table at a banquet . Show dishes were widespread in aristocratic courts in the Baroque era , but are now only common on a few traditional occasions such as the Hamburg Matthiae meal .
history
The purpose of these show dishes was to raise the host's reputation among the guests and to showcase the excellence of his cuisine, so it served the noble representation. This custom came up in the Middle Ages . There were dishes that were basically not intended for consumption because they were pure replicas of edibles made from wax, plaster of paris and other inedible materials, while other show dishes were both decorative and edible. The aim of these decorations on the table was always to surprise and astonish the guests, so that the cooks had to come up with something new at every feast. In the course of time the representations became more and more artistic and symbolic, for example biblical and mythical scenes were reproduced.
Also very popular as show dishes were animals that were served in their natural form so that they looked alive even though they had been prepared. Swans and peacocks were particularly popular . Since their meat was tough and not very tasty, they were not eaten but only served as table decorations. They were fried beforehand, however, and the trick was to restore the bird to its original shape afterwards. Old cookbooks contain instructions for this. The show animals were often completely or partially gold-plated, as well as swans, lambs, calves, deer or even entire ox heads. A glazed wild boar head, preferably from a boar, was considered particularly decorative and noble . In the 16th century, turkeys were introduced to Europe from America , which gradually replaced swans and peacocks as show dishes because their meat was tasty, so that the objects on display could also be consumed.
A modification of the show dishes were dishes that were served together with live animals, the latter not being intended for consumption. Oversized pies were mainly used for this, from which birds fluttered or a dog jumped out after cutting. Some princes even had their court dwarfs served in a pie. The living contents were of course not baked, but the pie was cut open and then artfully put back together.
Surprise at the table could also mean disgust caused on purpose. “Joke dishes” in the form of pies or suckling pigs , which were filled with live eels or small snakes, were popular for this. "To the delight of the gentlemen, because these spices were intended for the women, whose screams and screams caused amusement when the pie was cut."
From the 18th century, the show dishes were gradually replaced by miniatures made of porcelain , so-called faience and terrines in animal form, with boar heads and turkeys being reproduced in particular. This development was possibly promoted by a decree of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa in 1761, with which she forbade sumptuous show dishes that she regarded as a waste. It is not certain whether the terrines were filled with anything when they were served; they may have remained empty and merely symbolized a show dish.
From the show courts also developed confectionery as a precursor of the confectionery plant, because at the end of each feast alongside edible were desserts and pastries and decorations made from sugar, marzipan and tragacanth served.
swell
- ↑ Information on show judges
- ↑ Article in Der Standard ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
literature
- Ulrike Zischka (ed.): The decent pleasure. From eating culture and table manners , Verlag Droemer Knaur, Munich 1994