Category: dinner

The Government Hospital for the Insane: Nutrition for Those Deemed Non Compos Mentis

government hospital for the insane, washington d.c.

The United States Office of Experiment Stations conducted a number of dietary studies at the Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington, D.C. The hospital was “designed primarily for the benefit of persons who have become insane while performing Government duty as soldiers and sailors,” though it also housed “all the insane of the District of Columbia.” Home to some 2,200 souls, the hospital was chosen as the site of the dietary study because its inmates were said to be “of an exceptionally good class”; the majority of them were neither hostile nor untidy. Being former military men, they were believed to possess above average in intelligence and a decent education.

Continue reading →
Posted on by theausteritykitchen 0

Rinktum Ditty: An Arizona Logger’s Treat

mooney falls, havasu canyon, arizona

In the 1917 travel guide Arizona, the Wonderland author George Wharton James writes that the “casual traveler, riding through Arizona on a railway train, oftentimes passes through the most romantic and fascinating regions” whose charms, because they are of a scrubby, subtle variety, tend to go unappreciated. Yet “no one with an eye for beauty could regard the town of Williams in this light,” James maintains. Situated 6780 feet above sea level and covered in vanilla-scented pines, Williams, Arizona enjoys “a wonderful outlook over the great prehistoric inland sea to the very rim of the Grand Canyon.” Indeed, nature “has done much to make the town attractive,” James concludes.

Continue reading →
Posted on by theausteritykitchen 1

Soured Herring for Swedish Summer Festivals

swedes in traditional costume

Celebrated on the Friday that falls between June 20 and June 26, the Swedish Midsummer (Midsommer) festival involves the joyful consumption of pickled herring, boiled red potatoes with sour cream, strawberries, and brännvin, a potent liquor distilled from spuds, grains, or wood cellulose.

As midsummer gives way to the dog days of August, Swedes opt for a more peculiar delectation — surströmming, or soured Baltic herring, which they eat during August parties known as surströmmingsskiva. The fermented fish comes in cans bulging with trapped gases that when opened release an overwhelming odor of piscine rot. Needless to say, surströmmingsskiva often take place outdoors.

Continue reading →
Posted on by theausteritykitchen 0