Andrew F. Smith

Poetry

Appears in
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

By Andrew F. Smith

Published 2004

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There have probably been poems that speak about food since there have been poems. Whether frothy doggerel or considered elucidation of the human condition, poems by some of the world’s most revered poets have dealt with food. Ancient Roman, Greek, Chinese, and other venerable cultures recorded poetry about food.

Some food poems current in colonial American times were “rhyming receipts” to help an illiterate population remember recipes, and they offered enough detail to cook from. Here is an excerpt from one written in Britain by Sydney Smith (1771–1845) but popular in the colonies. It is called “An Herb Sallad for the Tavern Bowl.”

Of wondrous mustard, add a single spoon.Distrust the condiment that bites too soon.But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault,to add a double quantity of salt.Fourtimes the spoon with oil of Lucca crown,and twice the vinegar procured from town.Lastly o’er the flowery compound, tossa magic soupspoon of Anchovy sauce.