Blue Trout and Black Truffles – a journey through Europe in 300 pages
Blue Trout and Black Truffles by J. Wechsberg (Academy Chicago Publishers, Second printing 2001), but the book seems to have been published in German as well (Forelle blau und schwarze Trüffeln (1964)), as Wechsberg also wrote in French, German and Czech (although a majority of his works is in English).
When I was little, and even now, my mom would tell me about the regional specialties of provinces in Vietnam and even other countries. She’s not a traveller, those were places that she has never been to, but she read about them in books and she has the uncanny memory to remember every detail of what she reads and recite it with such enthusiasm and emotion that makes you feel like you’re reading the book yourself. So I never felt the need to travel. (The only thing you can’t really experience from reading is the smell – it’s often the hardest sense to put into words, and any word description is always an understatement of the actual smell.)
Good writers can make you want to travel to the place they describe, taste the food they praise, meet the people they talked to. And then there are the really good writers who pull you into the story. When you read their books, you’re already at that place, eating what they’re eating, listening into their conversation.
When I read “Blue Trout and Black Truffles” by Joseph Wechsberg, I was in Vienna eating Tafelspitz (you have to capitalize the word because it’s German, and did you know that there are 24 different varieties of boiled beef, only one of which is Tafelspitz? [I admire the precision but I’m not convinced of the taste…]), then I was in Prague stuffing down knedlíky (dumplings that contain small cubes of fried bread, dumplings filled with whole plums, cherries, sweet cabbage [?!] or nuts, dumplings made of butter, egg yolk, dry cottage cheese, salted and “almost as light as a soufflé” [!]). I was strolling through the woodlands of Périgord, following a little pig named Mignon in search for black truffles (and almost got convinced that truffle tasted good). Wechsberg, with his gentle, objective humor and a hidden whiff of discerning aloofness, took me from Ostrava before World War I to Budapest in 1946 (when Hungary was still inside the Iron Curtain), then south to Genoa, “where the skies were blue and the people still knew how to laugh” (and made supposedly phenomenal ravioli), then northwest to Paris and Bordeaux and Lyon. I don’t know French and could only silently mumble through the included menus as I read, I’m not even that much into European cuisines, but like an old Roman chapel near L’Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, where “even the unbelieving feel the urge to kneel down”, this book makes even the non-drinker feel the urge to hold a champagne flute by the base (and never at the stem!) [I actually can’t picture how that works (-_-‘)].
At 8 am, I finished the last page. I took a shower until 8:45, then went out to lunch with Cheryl at 11. We had soba at Ippuku. I felt like reciting the old Hungarian proverb, “We are poor, but we live well.”
–.–.–.–.–
A few favorite tidbits:
- “Prague’s women had great charm and vivacity, but they were rarely slim and long-stemmed. Dumplings were the national indoor amusement; to eat twenty or thirty dumplings at one sitting was considered a feat of virility.” (84)
- “… as they say in Bordeaux, people take on the color of the wine that they ‘work’ and drink. M. Landèche’s face had the reddish color of the grapes of Château Lafite-Rothschild. And M. Henriot’s hue reflected the golden glow of the wines of Château d’Yquem.” (190)
- “[La Tour d’Argent] was an immediate success and always jammed, but there was always a way of getting a table. A cavalier who had neglected to make his reservation would pull up his horse, walk in, challenge one of the guests to a duel, kill him with sword or lance, and take his place.” (227)
- Wild goose with plum sauce at La Tour d’Argent was Cardinal Richelieu’s favorite. (228) [To encourage me to eat, my mom would tell me “The Three Musketeers” story (by Alexandre Dumas) while spoon-feeding me. After that story finished, we continued to (and consequentially finished) its two sequel novels, also by Dumas. Ah the good old days…]
- “You can export all the ingredients, and even the cook, but you cannot seal in a can the shining of the Sun or the blue of the sky and the sea, and pour it into the saucepan.” (127) <– EXACTLY why I would only consider food made by Japanese in Japan truly authentic Japanese food, and likewise with other cuisines.
- “A Balatoni Fogas to Start with” really resonated with me, perhaps because I’m from Vietnam and know first- (and second-) hand the detrimental effects of communism on Culture [yes, capitalized Culture].
- “One Moment in Heaven”, “Afternoon at Château d’Yquem” and “Provence without Garlic” are lovely pieces on wine and France [I think… as if I knew anything about wine…].
A little bit about the author:
Joseph Wechsberg worked as the European correspondent of The New Yorker from 1949 to 1983. He studied Law and Economics in Prague, Vienna and Paris, then he studied violin at the Wiener Konservatorium, played music in Parisian nightclubs and later on cruise ships to New York and the Far East. His well-travelled experience gave him great advantage in becoming a journalist and a writer. “Blue Trout and Black Truffles” is a collection of essays, some of which originally appeared in The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, Gourmet, Holiday, and The New Yorker. [I feel incredibly inspired, but that means I need to start traveling and collecting some world(ly) experience soon. (-_-‘)]
I’d forever want to be update on new blog posts on this website , saved to bookmarks! .
1I was just searching for this information for some time. After six hours of continuous Googleing, finally I got it in your web site. I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that don’t rank this type of informative websites in top of the list. Normally the top sites are full of garbage.
2Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can recommend? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any assistance is very much appreciated.
3Hello there, You have performed a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and in my view recommend to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this web site.
4제주 노래방은 매장마다 이용 방식이 다를 수 있어 원하는 분위기와 비용 구성을 먼저 확인하는 게 좋겠습니다. 관련 내용은 제주노래방 안내에서 참고할 수 있습니다.
5But a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw great style. “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” by Albert Einstein.
6We’re a gaggle of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your site provided us with useful information to work on. You’ve performed an impressive process and our whole neighborhood will probably be thankful to you.
7An impressive share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a little bit analysis on this. And he in actual fact bought me breakfast as a result of I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If possible, as you change into experience, would you thoughts updating your weblog with more details? It is highly helpful for me. Huge thumb up for this blog put up!
8Hey there this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
9It is appropriate time to make some plans for the long run and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this submit and if I may I wish to recommend you some fascinating things or advice. Perhaps you could write subsequent articles relating to this article. I desire to read more issues about it!
10There are actually a number of particulars like that to take into consideration. That may be a nice point to carry up. I offer the ideas above as basic inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you convey up the place an important thing will probably be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if greatest practices have emerged around things like that, however I’m positive that your job is clearly recognized as a good game. Both boys and girls feel the affect of just a second’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.
11There are some fascinating cut-off dates in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There’s some validity however I will take hold opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish extra! Added to FeedBurner as nicely
12My brother suggested I might like this website. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
13What’s Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve found It absolutely helpful and it has aided me out loads. I am hoping to give a contribution & aid other users like its helped me. Good job.
14I gotta bookmark this internet site it seems extremely helpful invaluable
15Really enjoyed this article, is there any way I can receive an email sent to me when there is a new post?
16