Ah, royal politics, where having a better house that the King gets you arrested, but trying to usurp him and starting a civil war only gets you a slap on the wrist and an awkward dinner party
To be honest, Louis XIV was 13 years old at the time, not really the absolute monarch yet (his mother did a lot of the ruling with Mazarin ^^). And Condé was condemned to death, it's just that he stayed in exile in Spain (fighting France with them, because he really didn't like Mazarin, the prime minister ^^), and it's just that he stayed out of reach until Louis XIV graced him ^^
@@ronove Indeed. Years back was a prep cook at a 'Art' style Greek Restaurant. Where even the plates and bowls were selected to be stylish and unique (no two looked alike) and the dining room had mechanical moving art work pieces. The chefs on the line were in full view of the dining room as they 'cooked' with lots of flames and flying food. I don't think any of us were ever sober.
A chef so obsessed with how perfect dinner has to be that he wound up killing himself the moment he thought it was ruined. I could not, even if I made it up myself, think of possibly anything *more* French.
@@StonedtotheBones13 if you could get killed for being too lavish, I’d imagine it would be possible, and much easier, to be killed for a lack of extravagance in the kings presence. Poor guy.
@@rodglen7071 Then you couldn't call it Béchamel sauce. Especially if the King is around. You may search for something from Southern France and create a sauce from olive oil that went with it. But it would be not more of a Béchamel sauce than a haggis is a steak.
Music History fact: The composer you mentioned, Lully, died because he accidentally stabbed himself in the foot and it got infected. he refused to amputate because he was also a dancer.
He did not really stabbed himself, he crushed his toe with a "directin stick", a very heavy cane that was used to give the measures (nowadays we use a little wand, at the time they used a ig cane with ribbons XD). But yeah, he hurt himself, while preparing a music for the recovery of the king, ironically ^^
Slight correction: Versailles did not exist when Fouquet threw his legendary Fete. It was still a hunting chateau at the time. After Fouquet's arrest on charges of misappropriation of funds, Louis XIV poached his painter, groundskeeper, and architect to help build Versailles. Fouquet knew how to pick his staff for sure.
He also took a lot of the actual stuff at Fouquets chateau and reused it at Versailles, supposedly Louis even uprooted some of the trees to bring to his palace
Also historians have thoroughly disproven any accusations of embezzlement or other crimes by Fouquet. He bankrupt himself building the château and commisioning the whole party in the kings honor with the intention of gifting the whole chateau to the king, but this insulted the king and so he had him arrested
Aah yes thanks ! I was going to say that Louis XIV stole the WHOLE staff that made Vaux-le-Vicomte , I'd forgotten (or didn't know?) Vatel had worked for Fouquet there as well…
Purposely flubbing recipes is definitely a thing. I had a grandmother on my husband's side who once won a contest for her coffee cake, and the recipe was printed in the newspaper. I was very familiar with this recipe as we were gifted with a hand-written version from our grandmother. One day I was reading the clipped article and noticed something interesting: She had omitted half the sugar, and an entire stick of butter! She also "neglected" to mention creaming the sugar first with the butter. I laughed and said "Sly old fox!" and showed my husband. He had a good laugh, too. Grandma did not want anyone else to have her prize-winning recipe, and I can understand why!
Many women in past years were very competitive when it came to cooking. If everyone ranted and raved over a particular cake/pie/casserole it was unlikely that recipe would be shared. Makes sense when you realize they had few opportunities to garner praise/recognition in their daily lives.
It's funny reading this- as I am in a FB cooking group and someone just posted a "My grandmother just died, and she was an absolutely a horrible person, so here's her award-winning coffee cake recipe that she's kept secret since the 1950s"
Funny story, my friend and I were making molasses cookies, and she was looking at the label on the molasses jar. There was a recipe on the back for, of course, molasses cookies. She suddenly puts the jar down and reaches up into one of her cupboards for her family cookbook. She looks up her grandmother's molasses cookies recipe and realizes that grandma just stole the recipe off the back of a molasses label. 😂
@@gmaureen Or they were just competive and enjoyed earning the prizes and money, and not because they were desperately seeking recognition they otherwise wouldn't get.
Fun fact: the reason the pepper is really coming through in this sauce is its high fat content! Piperine, the compound that gives black pepper its “heat” and flavor, is significantly more soluble in oil/fat than in water; the extra fat in the sauce basically extracted that much more flavor from the pepper - so it tastes more peppery than a sauce that was lower in fat would have ☺️
Today, in culinary schools, they teach that using white pepper keeps the béchamel as white and pure as possible. After the haul is removed from the peppercorn to create white pepper, I personally think it tastes like what cat piss smells like. I can't stand white pepper. If color of the dish is the only justification for using white pepper, I defy thee (white pepper). LOL And personally I love the contrast of the beautiful black specks in the dish or sauce. Shall I say, "it shows there's pepper in there." Give me black pepper any day ! The fat and perfect heat that your talking about is in the black haul that they remove. The haul contains the oils and heat that they remove for white pepper, which gives that flavor you're talking about. ;) I agree with you whole heartedly. (And whole peppercorn-ly). :-) Cheers mate!
When you said the sword was foreshadowing, I assumed M. Vatel would participate in a duel because someone insulted his cooking, or something like that. The reveal was much darker!
As someone who works in food this story hurt me so. The frustration of working without the tools you need, the sense of dread and impending failure. It can be a lot, and he endured that for 13 days. Worst of all he couldn't even see his works fruition! That itd been a success and all the hardwork had paid off! I weep for this man.
I find extraordinary that a employer, a high ranking noble nonetheless, will care so much for him to even comforting him for a mistake he made during the King's visit, whom his employer was in a rocky situation with. Just imagine how good he was at his jod.
When I was in high school I hated world history and dropped out of it . And here I am at the age of 74 REALLY enjoying it . Thank you so much Mr. Miller . You have done so well in your choices so far that I can't see how any suggestions I could make would make what you do any better . So - - - you pick and I will watch .
My mom couldn’t stand history in school because they made it all about dates. I was taken out of school (health and bullying) around the start of 5th grade, so I ended up doing a lot of teaching myself because that was the style that worked best for me (a.k.a. Point the kid in the direction of the library section you want learned about and let her run). History, along with art, became my favorite subject because the books focus on the people and contexts behind events. I’ve rarely found a historical event that was actually boring. To this day (I’m 29), I cannot convince her of how wonderful history is to learn about. It makes me so happy to hear when someone finds an interest they didn’t think they’d ever like, especially out of school when "interests" are shoved at kids and people think those must dictate that person’s life forever. It also gives me hope I can one day find something to entice her into being interested in history.
Ross, nice post. Cicero, or one of those roman guys, said 'To know nothing of the world before you were born is to remain a child'. So its good to learn history.
I’m in high school taking an AP world history class right now, and I can assure it’s not much better years later. I love the concept of world history and I love learning about it (hence me taking an AP class for it). Though what makes it not much better is that there’s so many blank holes in the course that it’s disappointing. I see why you came to the internet and Miller’s channel because I’m doing the same.
@@valentinehanlon5402 The biggest problem with learning things on the internet is figuring out what's truth and fiction . And that's what makes it fun .
Bro, I'm always impressed with your obviously researched pronunciation of names and words. I mean, your French is as good as your Italian, as your Latin, and even your Mandarin! I love the respect you show these recipes!
As a french person, your pronunciation is amazing. I never get offended when I hear english speaker try french words but I always find that funny as french is difficult, but I haven't laugh once at a mispronunced word! The history lesson was amazing, thank you for that!
I appreciate this, I worked in a French owned salon a few years and HATED answering the phone with the required “Bonjour!” Feeling like I sound like brad Pitt in inglorious bastards
I only worked while attending culinary school and now I have no job because hypocrisy but I know the feeling vatel had there since I was left alone during rush hour once
When you screamed "You just need a spoon!" to eat the béchamel, that's SO relatable - every time my mom cooks béchamel I come by to make several taste test directly with a spoon, it's just so delicious! The nutmeg really elevates it!
I’ve never once had lumps. I melt and mix, take it off the heat until it’s all smooth, then cook it and only then when it’s tinging gold do I add the cold milk. It’s always been a source of wonder how people get lumps 🤷♀️
I watched this and ran to the store to get what I needed to make this. It is amazing. I can agree with you Max that doing shots of the béchamel sauce is not out of the question. Thanks so much. This is the third dish I've made from you videos. And it garnered more complements than the others combined.
Hard agree! It's the best possible combination of food, history, and "oh look at all these lovely folk in the comments" and really - when do we get to say that on YT?!
Best part of the whole episode is the close captions after he takes his first bite "*Ascends our plane of existence". Every part of his episodes are good, and I expect nothing less from the captions.
I knew about Vatel a long time ago when i was studying cooking. Now, 20 years later i can for sure relate to his story. The sense of responsibility you have when you're in charge of a kitchen sometimes can be overwhelming. Mes respects, M. Vatel.
@@CindyduPlessis I’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill sweet rice flour if you need to go gluten free. It is essentially tasteless, and the texture is as close at you can get to a match for wheat flour.
The Romans never occupied Ireland. There was probably some contact and trade, but they never invaded. Also the first Irish writing system, Ogham script was only invented after the Roman period in Britain, so there's probably not a lot to go on there. The Irish did invade Britain right at the end of the Roman period, though- the Scots (Scotti) were originally a tribe from Ireland, and the Irish also settled in Wales and Cornwall.
Even if there aren't written records, maybe some findings in archeology or the bog bodies could enlighten? There's also bog butter. Or something about the fight with Britain, like something with barley. From the Wikipedia entry for the song "The Wind That Shakes the Barley": "The references to barley in the song derive from the fact that the rebels often carried barley or oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the march. This gave rise to the post-rebellion phenomenon of barley growing and marking the "croppy-holes," mass unmarked graves into which slain rebels were thrown, symbolizing the regenerative nature of Irish resistance to British rule. As the barley will grow every year in the spring this is said to symbolize Irish resistance to British oppression and that Ireland will never yield and will always oppose British rule on the island." I also wonder if any of the stories of Cuchalain or others in Irish mythology could mention specific foods? Other than the dog meat that ended up breaking Cuchalain's geas, causing his death, of course.
I happened to have the subtitles on while watching this one - I have to agree with Jose on the caption for your reaction when you took your first bite, I really need to try this at some point.
Max, your videos have strung together my 3 basic loves: cooking, eating and history. Thank you for all of the time and effort you put into this, its been a godsend in this crazy year.
There was a movie about the live of Vatel back in the year 2000. It has everything: stunning visuals, a pointless romantic subplot, historical inacuracy, Vatel was played by Gérard Depardieu and I absolutly love how terribly it aged. The trailer: ruclips.net/video/ncpxoaS0oUM/видео.html
Just happened to watch it last week, before I even knew about Max's vid. Didn't know about Vatel until that movie. You're right, it has everything you mentioned 👍
Great vid and pronunciation! Just wanted to let you know that the technique used in the original recipe is called "singer" as in "singer avec de la farine". First, you fry aromatics and/or meat in butter, when the excess moisture has cooked off and only fat remains at the bottom, adding flour will create a roux, to which you can then add liquid to make a sauce. This way, you don't have to cook shallots in a seperate pan and add it later. It's not that the author didn't use a roux in the recipe, he just used it differently. Anyway, that's what I remember to my father teaching me about French sauce techniques!
That looks absolutely delicious. Such a sad story, but I reckon he'd have appreciated that we still love his recipes years later. Don't overwork yourself, folks.
I had never heard of Vatel before this video, but I feel actual sadness as his death. I relate to the stress of cooking for someone you highly respect, on short notice, and I can also admit that suicide has crossed my mind at the thought of disappointing someone. I wish Vatel's story had a happy ending, but I think the Prince burying him is still a really sweet, touching moment in history. It might be because I'm on my period but I'm actually crying rn. Thanks for this video Max, I both love and hate hearing stories about history that are this relatable and touching.
The power of having important friends: who would remember poor Vatel if Louis XIV was not the second most famous of French rulers after Napoleon? One can only imagine how many funny or terrible things happened in the courts of Louis V or Charles V, but have since been forgotten because only a few scholars spend much time exploring those monarchs compared to the number of people who love to look at Sunny Louis' life.
It’s true- would the Valois kings be remembered in pop culture if not for their connections to the Medici, Tudors, & Stuarts? Francis I is associated with Henry VIII because of their Val d’Or summit & their unfortunate wrestling match - Henri II was the husband of Catherine de Medici, & the father-in-law of Mary of Scots - Francis II was the son of Catherine & the first husband of Mary. Between that, France’s exploration of the New World around this time, & the fact that France’s Wars of Religion (connecting to the Reformation- another event that makes western people popularly think of Henry) occurred during their tenure - those are really the only big markers of their reigns- did they themselves accomplish a lot to make them remembered in their own right?
@@OcarinaSapphr- For sure! It is terrifying how even people with enormous power can have the most bizarre legacies. Really makes one wonder all the more how they will be remembered.
I had so many feelings this episode. First I was wondering if that was in fact a child leash in the one painting. Then I got real sad about Vatel. I feel so bad for him. And it's oddly touching to hear the kindness the prince and the king had for him, even after his death. And then the food. I feel drained.
True enough rock/spiny lobster (palinuridae) and lobster (nephropidae) are different crustaceans... but English rarely makes the distinction. Thus the confusion.
I didn't know until now that people called those crayfish in some parts of the world. Here we keep that term for the unrelated freshwater crayfish (écrevisses)
This is going to sound random but old Hungarian recipes? There’s some wild and wacky stuff Hungarians used to do and their recipe instructions are definitely entertaining to read.
Yes, please! We have some interesting recipe collections from the 16-17 centuries! :D They are really cool, but I don't understand one thing: where did they found ostrich to cook? :))
@@vigacska trade routes from Egypt and Turkey through to Rome existed back to the early Roman Empire. Hungary was just a stop on the route. Exotic, but not impossible, especially if you were trying to impress someone with your wealth and connections.
Your French pronunciation is so good! Thank you for that! (And also for the attention you give in general to the pronunciation of every foreign language that you use in your videos!)
Re: Dumas, I cannot recommend highly enough the Oxford World's Classics version of the entire Musketeers trilogy. The footnotes are incredibly entertaining and so helpful to provide both historical context and a check on accuracy of the story.
Im a new sub and I just have to say this channel is ADDICTIVE! I have a minor in French and when we studied the Reign of Louis XIV our teacher showed us the movie where Gerard Depardieu plays Vatel. Highly recommend. Also there is apparently a saying in France that when you get too desperate you should calm down and “wait for the seafood”. At least thats what our professor told us.
I totally understand his reaction, I'm always on the edge of a break when catering. I can't imagine the amount of work especially without modern equipment!
Ooh that would be interesting. I've actually tried to find English translations of Finnish and other Scandinavian countries recipes before and had a lot of trouble.
Poor Vatel! The poor man was so stressed, it breaks my heart he was pushed so far as to take his own life🥺🥺 he was so dedicated to his work that it was sadly the death of him!
@@TastingHistory Honestly it's pretty good! And I noticed you try with most (all?) the languages you talk about so honestly that's a huge kudos to you!
Since everyday now is "Blursday the Umpteenth" when I get notified of a new Tasting History video, I realize it is Tuesday and I know I'm in for a great time.
Thank you for the history lesson here. I remember the movie from long ago called Vatel, starring Gerard Depardieu, how such a brilliant and creative soul met his end at the shortage of fish... but they made it look like a spurned lover as well at same time, was truly so sad. They did a great job with that movie based on this man. I cannot fathom the immesity of that short notice task, all those people, and such extravagance..... and someone had to imagine all, and oversee all, and make everything to perfection..... amazing, but inhuman to expect of him.
That mention of leaving out the roux on purpose makes me wonder, was that the beginning of how many came to understand french food as "extra fancy, can't cook it at home" dishes?
Well, it was a fancy thing that you could no cook at home at the time ^^ At the time, not everyone could afford all these luxurious ingredients, or had the time to prepare them ^^
@@krankarvolund7771 Roux sauces, whether bechamel or espagnole, are not among those dishes that need constant attention for too long to be practical for the home cook.
On leaving out the uses of Roux, perhaps it was deleted because it was also the basis of other sauces, thus making it a "basis rather than a specific "application" product?
@@ragnkja Yeah, but roux sauces are just a minor part of the cuisine ^^' Béchamel is easy to make, but if you can't afford the lobster, why would you make it? XD
@@krankarvolund7771 Bechamel sauce goes well with a lot of foods, from boiled ham to fish pudding, via many different pasta dishes, in which cheese is often added.
Lobster is so expensive. I’ve only had it on a few incredibly special occasions, and I have always just wanted to taste the lobster in its purest form with just a little melted butter and some lemon, but my goodness, your reaction to tasting this recipe makes me want to try this so badly!
Thank you Max.......made a miserable cold January day a joy. Loved your face when you tasted the lobster with bechamel sauce. I suppose it is because my late Mother who lived in Belgium after /ww2 coming from Romania learned to cook in Brussels. Everything when I was growing up was made with a roux. I would never have guessed my parents were Hungarian and Romanian. Everything at my house was French....with a few good chicken paprikash thrown in for good measure. If my mom could have figured out how to get a roux into Hungarian food she would have tried. Thanks for bringing back good memories. I was born and raised in Canada, so no war stories from me, thank G-d. Love your show....you make me smile.
Jose said as much in the captions! I love how he captures Max's mood and humor, as well as interjecting some of his own. Read the closed captions starting at 16:10.... 🤣😋
Thank you, I was happy to see the humble white sauce elevated to its rightful position. Correctly made, it's a dream. If you exclude the shallots and the nutmeg and add some extra milk instead, and an extra lump of butter when served, you'll get the perfect comfort food before going to bed: a gruel smooth as a baby's butt (a literal translation of how it would be expressed in Swedish). This so-called "smooth gruel" was a festive dish. When I was 7, my brother 8, our mother summoned us two to the wood stove and taught us how to make a white sauce in two ways: preparing the roux first and then adding the milk, and vice versa. This was in 1970, and farm boys didn't cook or do household work. Dad must have shown what he thought about it, for I remember our mother telling him: "They'll have more use in life of knowing how to sew on a button than of knowing how to make a barn door."
It's interesting to hear about changes in French cuisine throughout history. I understand Catherine de Medici brought changes in food and dining habits when she married into the French royal family. When Max reads The Musketeer trilogy it would be cool if he could recreate any dishes mentioned in the stories!
Honestly though some aspics and savory gelatin salads are really tasty. Like, I've had a tomato and beef based aspic with shrimp in it and topped with fresh homemade cheese. It tasted amazing! The odd mix of texture and flavor is what's so off-putting; and that's mostly because we just aren't used to them.
@@scaper8 In my experience, the off-putting part has typically been that they tend to be full of ingredients that I either don’t particularly like at all or don’t like cold.
Why do I love this channel so much? Could it be the delicious recipes? Could it be the history lessons taught in a really fun way, in a universally accessible format? Could it be the seriously hot/gorgeous/dreamy host, Mr Max "Lickable" Miller? … ALL OF THE ABOVE! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
In german it's called Mehlschwitze... a word that unites the words Flour and Sweat to describe food. Or Einbrenne - which loosely translates as 'the burned in one'. 🙃
>eats chicky nuggies with ranch while watching this, trying desperately to pretend it is lobster and béchamel< Ah yes, very creamy. Quite fancy. Food fit for royalty.
Corona may suck, but i have to say. your channel is one of the best things that's come to life on RUclips, during this darn lockdown. Food and history! two of my favorite subjects. cant wait to see more.
@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 wait Jose his husband does the captions? I love it when people take creative license to captions, not just rely on machine learning dictation system.
I've been binging past videos of Max's recently, and I don't know how I missed this episode the first time around. What an interesting story! So tragic and over-the-top! Thank you Max, for telling these stories of the past and teaching me more history than 12 years of public school ever did!
@@SultanFilm Cooking shellfish badly is a crime in itself, in my opinion. Well-prepared shellfish is something I would happily eat every day, but sadly don’t get to eat very often.
Delicacy culture is mostly marketing an only slightly has anything to do with scarcity or skill of the cook. If you tell rich people it's a delicacy, and they believe it due to it being foreign to them; they'll buy all of it, the price gets jacked up, and suddenly the poor people who were eating bottom-feeding crustaceans as a last alternative to starving literally can't afford it in a single lifetime. Anytime you have to ask why a person would eat something weird, especially at a high price? There's a good salesman somewhere back in history who lied to move substandard product at a premium.
Snooty People: "Why do those uncouth Southerners put gravey on everything??" Also Snooty People: "The only thing that could make this better is some Bechamel sauce." Southerners: 🙄
Very true, I'd like to say, as a French guy, that our cuisine is actually quite simple, a good meat and fresh vegetables with a good sauce (base : butter or wine, thickened with flour), just give it time and the little Grandma's touch (garlic, shallots, herbs, spices, go with the feeling). The fancy image of French cuisine has always made me uncomfortable, because that's not the way most of the French like to cook and eat, and that it prevents a lot of people to try cooking French recipes. The most important are the quality of the base products, time, and, of course, love ! (in France, when we feel a little bit sorry about what we serve to our guests, we say as an excuse "it's made with love", "c'est fait avec amour"). I once was in Northeastern US and absolutely loved everything I tasted there, I really hope that one day I will have the chance to come and taste Southern cuisine, seems so great !
I made the sauce for our salmon dinner this evening. Followed all his steps except I didn’t add the nutmeg, because I don’t have it in my pantry. The sauce was a bit on the thick side so I added some water…. Was nervous 😬 about it, but I’m glad I did because it turned out deliciously delicious! 😋 😋 😋.
Love your work! This looks Devine! May I pass on the advice of using white pepper in white sauces? Get a pepper grinder for it that grinds to a very fine powder, so you can’t see it on white sauces, soups or fish. Happy new year!
Make sure you like white pepper... it doesn't taste anything like black pepper, and IMHO ruins most dishes (and any white sauce). Give me the black flecks any time!
This was the most satisfying load of information that I've had in a long time. Recipe with history!!!!! And a GREAT story teller..... give me a couple weeks and I will make this recipe exactly how you did it and I will leave you another comment and tell you what I thought about it aside from that I am subscribing right now to your channel keep doing what you're doing bro.....
I made ceviche today, with cod, but you can use any white fish, it was pretty good. Maybe good enough for an episode. It was originally from Peru (2000 years ago).
But was it not Voltaire who pointed out the French had a thousand sauces but only one religion, while the English had a thousand religions, but only one sauce?
Love this one Max. And I'd love to see more of French historical cooking (along with the history, of course.) I was never taught much about French history beyond the Revolution. My main reaction to the descriptions of the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities is "Wait, knitting? What are they knitting? What kind of wool? What did they dye it with? What kind of stitches?" Yeah...I need more history lessons and yours are perfect because I can listen while I knit!
Question: what era/culture would you like to see more of on Tasting History? I have so many to cover and want to see how best to focus.
The ancient world please sir 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Ancient Egypt would be cool, though I don't know if there are any sources from that period, also it's an incredibly long period
I'd love to see more Ancient, Medieval, and maybe 50s/60s American
I love those anchient romans but the old school south north and colonialnameican dishes like a real thanks givving dinner
Ancient world cuisine is very fascinating o:!
Ah, royal politics, where having a better house that the King gets you arrested, but trying to usurp him and starting a civil war only gets you a slap on the wrist and an awkward dinner party
To be honest, Louis XIV was 13 years old at the time, not really the absolute monarch yet (his mother did a lot of the ruling with Mazarin ^^).
And Condé was condemned to death, it's just that he stayed in exile in Spain (fighting France with them, because he really didn't like Mazarin, the prime minister ^^), and it's just that he stayed out of reach until Louis XIV graced him ^^
Monarchy is goofy.
Being the kings cousin also helps
Didn't something like this happened to a bishop with Henry VIII?
@@AnaGarcia-xv1yh that's how Henry IIIV got Hampton court palace
I think anyone who has worked in a kitchen with tickets piling up can empathize with Vatel’s stress level.
I used to be a server at some very fast paced Nee York restaurants, and I don’t know how the kitchen did it sometimes. And it’s every day!
@@TastingHistory I mean, you *do* know how. Anger, drugs, and alcohol. At least based on *my* time in the food industry as a line and prep cook.
@@ronove it ain't changed. Never met an actual working chef who wasn't an alcoholic who hated everything.
@@ronove all of the chefs that I've met that aren't some form of addict are usually neurotic and stressed out
@@ronove Indeed. Years back was a prep cook at a 'Art' style Greek Restaurant. Where even the plates and bowls were selected to be stylish and unique (no two looked alike) and the dining room had mechanical moving art work pieces. The chefs on the line were in full view of the dining room as they 'cooked' with lots of flames and flying food. I don't think any of us were ever sober.
A chef so obsessed with how perfect dinner has to be that he wound up killing himself the moment he thought it was ruined.
I could not, even if I made it up myself, think of possibly anything *more* French.
As the idiom goes, "truth is stranger than fiction."
In all fairness, the poor man did see his former employer killed for a party so...I understand some of his angst
@@StonedtotheBones13 if you could get killed for being too lavish, I’d imagine it would be possible, and much easier, to be killed for a lack of extravagance in the kings presence. Poor guy.
i've worked with at least three dudes who are basically like that
@@malachimusclerat I'm sorry to hear that. Is the fourth guy still alive?
"a little nutmeg"
Townsends: Now wait right there, just a little?
It's funny how any time we hear nutmeg we instantly think of Townsends..
It's really hard to have too much nutmeg.
To taste.
LOL
Half a nutmeg sounds like enough.
The Krabby is a nice touch. Also, this episode feels like "I'm so done with asafoetida and garum. give me butter"
I only noticed toward the end lol
100% what I thought. 😅🎯
Give me butter. Give me lime. Or give me DEaTH.
Speaking as a chef, there is no panic like the panic of the delivery being late on the day of a huge party. Also, José's subtitles are giving me life.
This is so freaking true, especially when you run a tight prep schedule before service or have things that need to be prep on the spot.
@@matthewwalter67 ?
Yes, especially at the end when he tastes it, those subtitles are *chef's kiss*
Could you substitute say olive oil for butter in a situation like this?
@@rodglen7071 Then you couldn't call it Béchamel sauce. Especially if the King is around. You may search for something from Southern France and create a sauce from olive oil that went with it. But it would be not more of a Béchamel sauce than a haggis is a steak.
Music History fact: The composer you mentioned, Lully, died because he accidentally stabbed himself in the foot and it got infected. he refused to amputate because he was also a dancer.
I had no idea! Tragic. He’s so wonderful.
There's also a rather interesting story surrounding Bach and Handel if you're interested
He did not really stabbed himself, he crushed his toe with a "directin stick", a very heavy cane that was used to give the measures (nowadays we use a little wand, at the time they used a ig cane with ribbons XD).
But yeah, he hurt himself, while preparing a music for the recovery of the king, ironically ^^
Very much like Jack Daniel who kicked a safe and died of the infection....which may or may not be true
@@krankarvolund7771 what i was taught was that he stabbed his foot with the "directin stick"
Slight correction: Versailles did not exist when Fouquet threw his legendary Fete. It was still a hunting chateau at the time. After Fouquet's arrest on charges of misappropriation of funds, Louis XIV poached his painter, groundskeeper, and architect to help build Versailles. Fouquet knew how to pick his staff for sure.
He also took a lot of the actual stuff at Fouquets chateau and reused it at Versailles, supposedly Louis even uprooted some of the trees to bring to his palace
Also historians have thoroughly disproven any accusations of embezzlement or other crimes by Fouquet. He bankrupt himself building the château and commisioning the whole party in the kings honor with the intention of gifting the whole chateau to the king, but this insulted the king and so he had him arrested
@@peat-mosspersephone3565 intention of gifting the chateau to the king so that he didn't have to be in debt anymore...
Aah yes thanks ! I was going to say that Louis XIV stole the WHOLE staff that made Vaux-le-Vicomte , I'd forgotten (or didn't know?) Vatel had worked for Fouquet there as well…
Purposely flubbing recipes is definitely a thing. I had a grandmother on my husband's side who once won a contest for her coffee cake, and the recipe was printed in the newspaper. I was very familiar with this recipe as we were gifted with a hand-written version from our grandmother. One day I was reading the clipped article and noticed something interesting: She had omitted half the sugar, and an entire stick of butter! She also "neglected" to mention creaming the sugar first with the butter. I laughed and said "Sly old fox!" and showed my husband. He had a good laugh, too. Grandma did not want anyone else to have her prize-winning recipe, and I can understand why!
Many women in past years were very competitive when it came to cooking. If everyone ranted and raved over a particular cake/pie/casserole it was unlikely that recipe would be shared. Makes sense when you realize they had few opportunities to garner praise/recognition in their daily lives.
It's funny reading this- as I am in a FB cooking group and someone just posted a "My grandmother just died, and she was an absolutely a horrible person, so here's her award-winning coffee cake recipe that she's kept secret since the 1950s"
Funny story, my friend and I were making molasses cookies, and she was looking at the label on the molasses jar. There was a recipe on the back for, of course, molasses cookies. She suddenly puts the jar down and reaches up into one of her cupboards for her family cookbook. She looks up her grandmother's molasses cookies recipe and realizes that grandma just stole the recipe off the back of a molasses label. 😂
I want these granny coffee cake recipes.
@@gmaureen
Or they were just competive and enjoyed earning the prizes and money, and not because they were desperately seeking recognition they otherwise wouldn't get.
Fun fact: the reason the pepper is really coming through in this sauce is its high fat content! Piperine, the compound that gives black pepper its “heat” and flavor, is significantly more soluble in oil/fat than in water; the extra fat in the sauce basically extracted that much more flavor from the pepper - so it tastes more peppery than a sauce that was lower in fat would have ☺️
Interesting, thanks for this!
Today, in culinary schools, they teach that using white pepper keeps the béchamel as white and pure as possible. After the haul is removed from the peppercorn to create white pepper, I personally think it tastes like what cat piss smells like. I can't stand white pepper. If color of the dish is the only justification for using white pepper, I defy thee (white pepper). LOL And personally I love the contrast of the beautiful black specks in the dish or sauce. Shall I say, "it shows there's pepper in there." Give me black pepper any day ! The fat and perfect heat that your talking about is in the black haul that they remove. The haul contains the oils and heat that they remove for white pepper, which gives that flavor you're talking about. ;) I agree with you whole heartedly. (And whole peppercorn-ly). :-) Cheers mate!
White pepper smells like a horse stall that should probably have been cleaned the day before. That's the only way I can describe it.
@@NotContinuum …..I can’t stand white pepper. It’s disgusting!
@Nix V - Thank you for the food science! But instead of pepper, I bet grains of paradise would be even better in this sauce.
When you said the sword was foreshadowing, I assumed M. Vatel would participate in a duel because someone insulted his cooking, or something like that. The reveal was much darker!
You know, that was exactly what I thought!
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth my eleventh grade European History teacher told this story with gusto,
I thought about the sword being used to .. stop him worrying about hitting his head on a low doorframe.
As someone who works in food this story hurt me so. The frustration of working without the tools you need, the sense of dread and impending failure. It can be a lot, and he endured that for 13 days. Worst of all he couldn't even see his works fruition! That itd been a success and all the hardwork had paid off! I weep for this man.
It would be very interesting to see the sauce made to the exact directions in the book compared to the assumed correct way of making the roux first. 😊
Excuse me Monsieur Max, I didn't order this bucket of feels....
But yeah, poor Vatel. Make it more tragic that his employer really care for him
I find extraordinary that a employer, a high ranking noble nonetheless, will care so much for him to even comforting him for a mistake he made during the King's visit, whom his employer was in a rocky situation with. Just imagine how good he was at his jod.
When I was in high school I hated world history and dropped out of it . And here I am at the age of 74 REALLY enjoying it . Thank you so much Mr. Miller . You have done so well in your choices so far that I can't see how any suggestions I could make would make what you do any better . So - - - you pick and I will watch .
My mom couldn’t stand history in school because they made it all about dates. I was taken out of school (health and bullying) around the start of 5th grade, so I ended up doing a lot of teaching myself because that was the style that worked best for me (a.k.a. Point the kid in the direction of the library section you want learned about and let her run). History, along with art, became my favorite subject because the books focus on the people and contexts behind events. I’ve rarely found a historical event that was actually boring. To this day (I’m 29), I cannot convince her of how wonderful history is to learn about. It makes me so happy to hear when someone finds an interest they didn’t think they’d ever like, especially out of school when "interests" are shoved at kids and people think those must dictate that person’s life forever. It also gives me hope I can one day find something to entice her into being interested in history.
Ross, nice post. Cicero, or one of those roman guys, said 'To know nothing of the world before you were born is to remain a child'.
So its good to learn history.
I’m in high school taking an AP world history class right now, and I can assure it’s not much better years later. I love the concept of world history and I love learning about it (hence me taking an AP class for it). Though what makes it not much better is that there’s so many blank holes in the course that it’s disappointing. I see why you came to the internet and Miller’s channel because I’m doing the same.
@@valentinehanlon5402
The biggest problem with learning things on the internet is figuring out what's truth and fiction . And that's what makes it fun .
Dude, your life is world history at this point hell yeah brother keep on keepin on!
As someone with anxiety disorder and tendency for panic attacks M. Vatel's story was heart wrenching.
Literally 😢
Samee
Vatel's death really hit me hard. needlessly tragic, & I'm humbled by his devotion-to-duty
I do wonder if his sword is somewhere i would love to see it someday
Same, im just sad. I have never been sad while and after watching tasting history before.
Bro, I'm always impressed with your obviously researched pronunciation of names and words. I mean, your French is as good as your Italian, as your Latin, and even your Mandarin! I love the respect you show these recipes!
For real. His French accent is wonderful.
As a french person, your pronunciation is amazing. I never get offended when I hear english speaker try french words but I always find that funny as french is difficult, but I haven't laugh once at a mispronunced word! The history lesson was amazing, thank you for that!
I'll tell you the reason: half the letters in the average french word aren't even pronounced.
I appreciate this, I worked in a French owned salon a few years and HATED answering the phone with the required “Bonjour!” Feeling like I sound like brad Pitt in inglorious bastards
his pronounciation of german is quite decent as well. better than most I have heard from english speakers.
@@karowolkenschaufler7659 Interesting !! Thank you for sharing!! It makes me like the guy even more!
so is his mandarin! also better than most english speakers@@karowolkenschaufler7659
"A little nutmeg", and a wild Jonathan Townsend appears.
🤣
John is kinda like Max with a limited time period
I imagined that Pokémon battle sound a little too easily
I also thought of How to drink
@@GeldtheGelded You forgot to say Max is a lot nicer and more interesting .😎🤩
As person in the service industry who loves what they do very dearly: Vatel is a HUGE MOOD.
I only worked while attending culinary school and now I have no job because hypocrisy but I know the feeling vatel had there since I was left alone during rush hour once
When you screamed "You just need a spoon!" to eat the béchamel, that's SO relatable - every time my mom cooks béchamel I come by to make several taste test directly with a spoon, it's just so delicious! The nutmeg really elevates it!
Of course, have to make sure it’s not “poisonous”
In the immortal words of a New Orleans cook I once knew: "First, you make a roux."
The crass English equivalent for leek soup is, "First you take a leek..."
The German restaurant I used to work at made of pot full of roux which then could be used as needed.
Secret to a roux and lumps I learned from Chef John: "Hot roux, cold milk, no lumps." Make sure that cream's right out of the fridge.
Secret of my mother, only add the wet Ingredients after stiring the roux until it is smooth like a baby cheek!
I love chef john
And using a whisk is infinitely easier than using a wooden spoon, imo
I’ve never once had lumps. I melt and mix, take it off the heat until it’s all smooth, then cook it and only then when it’s tinging gold do I add the cold milk. It’s always been a source of wonder how people get lumps 🤷♀️
@@andreagriffiths3512 a roux can sense fear. you are fearless!
I watched this and ran to the store to get what I needed to make this. It is amazing. I can agree with you Max that doing shots of the béchamel sauce is not out of the question. Thanks so much. This is the third dish I've made from you videos. And it garnered more complements than the others combined.
It's amazing, right!? So glad you liked it.
Last time I was this early, Robespierre still had his head attached.
What about all the people who had their heads detached by Robespierre?
@@weldonwin an issue of timing; before, but not much before.
Last I was this early - 'Last Time I was this early' memes didn't exist yet.
And not even born yet! 😆
What about his jaw?
Just seeing Max's eyes close in an absolute state of bliss was enough for me to know that any words following would be superfluous.
Having worked in restaurants for 20 years, with at times, impossible management, I can fully understand how awful a position he must have been in.
"Half of a whole nutmeg" is kind of a long way of saying "One Townsend of nutmeg".
😂
Ah I see you are a person of culture 👏👏
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
"Half of a whole nutmeg" is 500 millitownsends of nutmeg.
That should be a measure for recipes. …And now add one to two Townsends to taste.
there is no better channel to watch when you want to feel smart
Best. Compliment. Ever.
* smart AND hungry
Hard agree! It's the best possible combination of food, history, and "oh look at all these lovely folk in the comments" and really - when do we get to say that on YT?!
Best part of the whole episode is the close captions after he takes his first bite "*Ascends our plane of existence". Every part of his episodes are good, and I expect nothing less from the captions.
I knew about Vatel a long time ago when i was studying cooking. Now, 20 years later i can for sure relate to his story. The sense of responsibility you have when you're in charge of a kitchen sometimes can be overwhelming. Mes respects, M. Vatel.
Max: "and it's low cal, too"
Me: "what? How?!"
Max: "no it's not"
Me: roaring laughter
I almost got happy. Then I remembered the flour... sigh... Coconut flour? Almond flour? It's just not the same!
@@CindyduPlessis I bet almond flour would give it a nutty flavor that I'd be very interested to try.
@@CindyduPlessis I’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill sweet rice flour if you need to go gluten free. It is essentially tasteless, and the texture is as close at you can get to a match for wheat flour.
Paused now at 17:08 to laugh my arse off and come looking for this comment.
😆 😄 🤣
@@1laurelei1 it's the subtle things that make the biggest mark, right? Was that planned, or is he just that damn quick witted?
sleep deprivation is hell to go through when combined with overwork
Ireland. Either pre-Roman occupation or post of England. Would like to see if the Roman influenced food culture.
Shocking that I haven’t done anything Irish!
The Romans never occupied Ireland. There was probably some contact and trade, but they never invaded. Also the first Irish writing system, Ogham script was only invented after the Roman period in Britain, so there's probably not a lot to go on there. The Irish did invade Britain right at the end of the Roman period, though- the Scots (Scotti) were originally a tribe from Ireland, and the Irish also settled in Wales and Cornwall.
@@chrisball3778 still used the Irish as an axullia force for mercs and the like but I appreciate the call out and correction.
Even if there aren't written records, maybe some findings in archeology or the bog bodies could enlighten? There's also bog butter. Or something about the fight with Britain, like something with barley. From the Wikipedia entry for the song "The Wind That Shakes the Barley": "The references to barley in the song derive from the fact that the rebels often carried barley or oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the march. This gave rise to the post-rebellion phenomenon of barley growing and marking the "croppy-holes," mass unmarked graves into which slain rebels were thrown, symbolizing the regenerative nature of Irish resistance to British rule. As the barley will grow every year in the spring this is said to symbolize Irish resistance to British oppression and that Ireland will never yield and will always oppose British rule on the island."
I also wonder if any of the stories of Cuchalain or others in Irish mythology could mention specific foods? Other than the dog meat that ended up breaking Cuchalain's geas, causing his death, of course.
@@TastingHistory from ireland, I am. Something you may cook, no pressure I put.
I happened to have the subtitles on while watching this one - I have to agree with Jose on the caption for your reaction when you took your first bite, I really need to try this at some point.
His subtitling is truly exquisite
Max, your videos have strung together my 3 basic loves: cooking, eating and history. Thank you for all of the time and effort you put into this, its been a godsend in this crazy year.
Thank you 😊
We get lost in the sauce, this time on tasting history
I C WAT U DID THAR
A good place to get lost.
Just don't get sauced and then lost...
@@dawnclaibourne2183 too late tho...
There was a movie about the live of Vatel back in the year 2000. It has everything: stunning visuals, a pointless romantic subplot, historical inacuracy, Vatel was played by Gérard Depardieu and I absolutly love how terribly it aged.
The trailer:
ruclips.net/video/ncpxoaS0oUM/видео.html
Omg.that trailer is so dated. I'd still watch it tho. I would like to see a movie closer to the real events than the "woman between them". 😣
Very entertaining movie. I've watched it twice and now have to watch it again!
It’s really good
Ohhh I have a friend with whom I watch terrible films we get fancy pizza and have a few drinks and heckle them, this is going on the list!
Just happened to watch it last week, before I even knew about Max's vid. Didn't know about Vatel until that movie. You're right, it has everything you mentioned 👍
Great vid and pronunciation! Just wanted to let you know that the technique used in the original recipe is called "singer" as in "singer avec de la farine". First, you fry aromatics and/or meat in butter, when the excess moisture has cooked off and only fat remains at the bottom, adding flour will create a roux, to which you can then add liquid to make a sauce. This way, you don't have to cook shallots in a seperate pan and add it later. It's not that the author didn't use a roux in the recipe, he just used it differently. Anyway, that's what I remember to my father teaching me about French sauce techniques!
That looks absolutely delicious. Such a sad story, but I reckon he'd have appreciated that we still love his recipes years later.
Don't overwork yourself, folks.
10/10 subtitle work there:
Monch Monch
Ascends this plane of existence
Thank you, thank you
Also: "Please don't hook this to your veins"
I love whoever did your closed captions haha "ascends our plane of existence." "don't hook the bechamel into your veins..."
* sees nutmeg *
* goes searching for comments about townsends *
I made it to the second comment. I'm very proud of all of you.
I had never heard of Vatel before this video, but I feel actual sadness as his death. I relate to the stress of cooking for someone you highly respect, on short notice, and I can also admit that suicide has crossed my mind at the thought of disappointing someone. I wish Vatel's story had a happy ending, but I think the Prince burying him is still a really sweet, touching moment in history. It might be because I'm on my period but I'm actually crying rn. Thanks for this video Max, I both love and hate hearing stories about history that are this relatable and touching.
I would like to add a shout out to Jose Mendosa, your subtitles guy. He's amazing and I love him.
Thank you 🥰
José is Max's fiance!
Unexpected lurve triangle! 🥰😉
🤔 We have almost the same name. That's a first for me. 🤣
The power of having important friends: who would remember poor Vatel if Louis XIV was not the second most famous of French rulers after Napoleon? One can only imagine how many funny or terrible things happened in the courts of Louis V or Charles V, but have since been forgotten because only a few scholars spend much time exploring those monarchs compared to the number of people who love to look at Sunny Louis' life.
It’s true- would the Valois kings be remembered in pop culture if not for their connections to the Medici, Tudors, & Stuarts?
Francis I is associated with Henry VIII because of their Val d’Or summit & their unfortunate wrestling match - Henri II was the husband of Catherine de Medici, & the father-in-law of Mary of Scots - Francis II was the son of Catherine & the first husband of Mary.
Between that, France’s exploration of the New World around this time, & the fact that France’s Wars of Religion (connecting to the Reformation- another event that makes western people popularly think of Henry) occurred during their tenure - those are really the only big markers of their reigns- did they themselves accomplish a lot to make them remembered in their own right?
This is shaping up as an intelligent thread posing some interesting questions.
Imma ruin that by continuing to giggle at "Sunny Louis" :-D
@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 Glad I could make your day shine!
@@OcarinaSapphr- For sure! It is terrifying how even people with enormous power can have the most bizarre legacies. Really makes one wonder all the more how they will be remembered.
"Just hook it to my veins!" nice Barney Gumble reference lol
Glad someone got it 😁
Can we take a moment to appreciate how impeccable Max's French is?
@@Halum11 *Lemao
@@jordinagel1184 hon hon hon hon bon un
Because he puts on an accent?
he can also flawlessly pronounce scandinavian words/food
Indeed😉
"That's going on everything!"
*Puts Béchamel on Cheerios*
Might improve them.
Cheerios in my country are small red saveloys so yeah, that might work. Although tomato sauce would be better.
@@mahenonz What country has that?
@@janinelewis-doncontell8217 New Zealand. Although we now have the cereal as well, so it can get confusing. 😉
I had so many feelings this episode. First I was wondering if that was in fact a child leash in the one painting. Then I got real sad about Vatel. I feel so bad for him. And it's oddly touching to hear the kindness the prince and the king had for him, even after his death. And then the food. I feel drained.
You made a tiny mistake a 4:00 ! In french, a lobster is "un homard". A "langouste" is actually a kind of little crayfish.
True enough rock/spiny lobster (palinuridae) and lobster (nephropidae) are different crustaceans... but English rarely makes the distinction. Thus the confusion.
@@camronconners878 another tiny mistake, 20 years later and notre ten years after ....
@@kaltkalt2504 was that French word intended or a hilarious pun, or both? :D :D
I didn't know until now that people called those crayfish in some parts of the world. Here we keep that term for the unrelated freshwater crayfish (écrevisses)
A mistake?? Sacré bleu!! Wait...someone make sure Max doesn't have a sword handy...
This is going to sound random but old Hungarian recipes? There’s some wild and wacky stuff Hungarians used to do and their recipe instructions are definitely entertaining to read.
I have a couple on my to do list.
Yes! My b/f is Hungarian, and i would love to impress him!
Yes, please! We have some interesting recipe collections from the 16-17 centuries! :D They are really cool, but I don't understand one thing: where did they found ostrich to cook? :))
@@vigacska in Austria. :D
@@vigacska trade routes from Egypt and Turkey through to Rome existed back to the early Roman Empire. Hungary was just a stop on the route. Exotic, but not impossible, especially if you were trying to impress someone with your wealth and connections.
Your French pronunciation is so good! Thank you for that! (And also for the attention you give in general to the pronunciation of every foreign language that you use in your videos!)
Bechamel is honestly the not so secret secret to a good cheese sauce
So true. Love it for Mac and cheese
Mornay is the name when you add cheese.
@@jeffredfern3744 good to know. Thank you
It's also the base for the easiest cheese souflé ever! (See Chef Pepping for further instructions)
@@adedow1333 Ah, but you have to call it "sauce mornay". Way fancier!
Re: Dumas, I cannot recommend highly enough the Oxford World's Classics version of the entire Musketeers trilogy. The footnotes are incredibly entertaining and so helpful to provide both historical context and a check on accuracy of the story.
Loved the Three Musqueteers in high school (Original French).
Will look that version up: thanks for the suggestion!
Im a new sub and I just have to say this channel is ADDICTIVE! I have a minor in French and when we studied the Reign of Louis XIV our teacher showed us the movie where Gerard Depardieu plays Vatel. Highly recommend. Also there is apparently a saying in France that when you get too desperate you should calm down and “wait for the seafood”. At least thats what our professor told us.
I totally understand his reaction, I'm always on the edge of a break when catering. I can't imagine the amount of work especially without modern equipment!
Back in those days you'd have dozens of apprentices and servants to do the repetitive stuff we would use machines for now.
Scandanavian or Finnish, as I live in Finland. I have translated several cookbooks about Finnish food and cuisine into English.
Ooohhhh... I could eat some Pulla right now 🤩
Could you give us the names of those books? Please? 🥰😗
My grandma was Finnish so it'll be cool to see episodes abt that!
Tar icecream!!!
Ooh that would be interesting. I've actually tried to find English translations of Finnish and other Scandinavian countries recipes before and had a lot of trouble.
Poor Vatel! The poor man was so stressed, it breaks my heart he was pushed so far as to take his own life🥺🥺 he was so dedicated to his work that it was sadly the death of him!
Every time the king shows up he looses his job
I never knew I wanted to know the history of Béchamel this bad. Also, good attempts on the French pronunciation. I appreciate the effort!
I try. Don’t always succeed. But try.
@@TastingHistory Honestly it's pretty good! And I noticed you try with most (all?) the languages you talk about so honestly that's a huge kudos to you!
@@TastingHistory No it's good! I think you have an ear for accents.
@@howtubeable Making him feel bad by... complimenting him?
@@xavierdumont You said "good attempts," which means he tried but he didn't succeed. When people say that, it's often interpreted as a veiled insult.
I should be expecting your uploads by now, but it’s always a welcomed surprise to see you again!!!
Surprises are good 😁. Probably going back to the earlier release time next week.
Since everyday now is "Blursday the Umpteenth" when I get notified of a new Tasting History video, I realize it is Tuesday and I know I'm in for a great time.
Thank you for the history lesson here. I remember the movie from long ago called Vatel, starring Gerard Depardieu, how such a brilliant and creative soul met his end at the shortage of fish... but they made it look like a spurned lover as well at same time, was truly so sad. They did a great job with that movie based on this man. I cannot fathom the immesity of that short notice task, all those people, and such extravagance..... and someone had to imagine all, and oversee all, and make everything to perfection..... amazing, but inhuman to expect of him.
Im stuck in this channel and can't get out! you're a brilliant entertainer Sir.
A good place to be stuck.
That mention of leaving out the roux on purpose makes me wonder, was that the beginning of how many came to understand french food as "extra fancy, can't cook it at home" dishes?
Well, it was a fancy thing that you could no cook at home at the time ^^
At the time, not everyone could afford all these luxurious ingredients, or had the time to prepare them ^^
@@krankarvolund7771
Roux sauces, whether bechamel or espagnole, are not among those dishes that need constant attention for too long to be practical for the home cook.
On leaving out the uses of Roux, perhaps it was deleted because it was also the basis of other sauces, thus making it a "basis rather than a specific "application" product?
@@ragnkja Yeah, but roux sauces are just a minor part of the cuisine ^^'
Béchamel is easy to make, but if you can't afford the lobster, why would you make it? XD
@@krankarvolund7771
Bechamel sauce goes well with a lot of foods, from boiled ham to fish pudding, via many different pasta dishes, in which cheese is often added.
Lobster is so expensive. I’ve only had it on a few incredibly special occasions, and I have always just wanted to taste the lobster in its purest form with just a little melted butter and some lemon, but my goodness, your reaction to tasting this recipe makes me want to try this so badly!
Get shrimp instead, it’s close enough.
honestly, you can use it with just about anything. With a few tweaks you can use it in mac&cheese for cryin out loud.
Thank you Max.......made a miserable cold January day a joy. Loved your face when you tasted the lobster with bechamel sauce. I suppose it is because my late Mother who lived in
Belgium after /ww2 coming from Romania learned to cook in Brussels. Everything when I was growing up was made with a roux. I would never have guessed my parents were Hungarian and Romanian. Everything at my house was French....with a few good chicken paprikash thrown in for good measure. If my mom could have figured out how to get a roux into Hungarian food she would have tried. Thanks for bringing back good memories. I was born and raised in Canada, so no war stories from me, thank G-d. Love your show....you make me smile.
Oh man, you can tell that was a transcendent bite,
And it was
@@TastingHistory It had to be good when you go full Barney Gumble. "JUST HOOK IT UP TO MY VEINS!"
Jose said as much in the captions! I love how he captures Max's mood and humor, as well as interjecting some of his own. Read the closed captions starting at 16:10.... 🤣😋
Thank you, I was happy to see the humble white sauce elevated to its rightful position. Correctly made, it's a dream. If you exclude the shallots and the nutmeg and add some extra milk instead, and an extra lump of butter when served, you'll get the perfect comfort food before going to bed: a gruel smooth as a baby's butt (a literal translation of how it would be expressed in Swedish). This so-called "smooth gruel" was a festive dish.
When I was 7, my brother 8, our mother summoned us two to the wood stove and taught us how to make a white sauce in two ways: preparing the roux first and then adding the milk, and vice versa. This was in 1970, and farm boys didn't cook or do household work. Dad must have shown what he thought about it, for I remember our mother telling him: "They'll have more use in life of knowing how to sew on a button than of knowing how to make a barn door."
"Un hommard pour un pauvre paisant des plaiges" as a respectable french noble would say
Homard
paysan
plages ? (Beach?)
Quite true, quite true.
@@tomf3150 idk what ''hommard'' means but i think the rest says ''for a poor peasant from the fields''
@@MadRabbit116 "Homard" is another term for lobster. "Langouste" usually refers to the spiny or rock lobster.
Spelling is a bit anachronistic (the Académie Française already had an iron grip on the language by this point, no more fun) but yes definitely.
This channel is amazing, it combines my favorite topic and hobby
Thank you 😊
It's interesting to hear about changes in French cuisine throughout history. I understand Catherine de Medici brought changes in food and dining habits when she married into the French royal family.
When Max reads The Musketeer trilogy it would be cool if he could recreate any dishes mentioned in the stories!
one of these days I want to see one of those horrid jello salads from the 1950s
Yes, please! If only to watch Max try to hork it down... 😅
I think it’s a must.
Honestly though some aspics and savory gelatin salads are really tasty. Like, I've had a tomato and beef based aspic with shrimp in it and topped with fresh homemade cheese. It tasted amazing!
The odd mix of texture and flavor is what's so off-putting; and that's mostly because we just aren't used to them.
@@GiselleMF oh yes. My ex-sister-in-law's specialty, lime jello with cottage cheese and shredded carrots. Some years, extra-fancy with walnuts.
@@scaper8
In my experience, the off-putting part has typically been that they tend to be full of ingredients that I either don’t particularly like at all or don’t like cold.
I appreciate you becoming more and more descriptive with the flavors and textures over time so that I now also feel like I am tasting history!
Why do I love this channel so much?
Could it be the delicious recipes?
Could it be the history lessons taught in a really fun way, in a universally accessible format?
Could it be the seriously hot/gorgeous/dreamy host, Mr Max "Lickable" Miller?
…
ALL OF THE ABOVE! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Roux is one of the greatest culinary inventions of all-time
Sliced bread is the greatest thing since roux (sliced bread referring to the prepackaged variety)
In german it's called Mehlschwitze... a word that unites the words Flour and Sweat to describe food. Or Einbrenne - which loosely translates as 'the burned in one'.
🙃
@@sisuguillam5109 "Flour Sweat" lol
The English cognate would be "mealsweat"
@@mordekaihorowitz 😂 we do have so much in common!
Another wonderful piece of history, Max, I love those segments!
"Fun" fact: I live down the street from where D'Artagnan was killed in battle. :-)
I appreciate that you always have a different Pokémon in the background
It took me too long to figure that out! 😂
"....and is foreshadowing."
Chekov's sword, if you will
>eats chicky nuggies with ranch while watching this, trying desperately to pretend it is lobster and béchamel< Ah yes, very creamy. Quite fancy. Food fit for royalty.
I was having mozzarella sticks. Close enough, right?
Corona may suck, but i have to say. your channel is one of the best things that's come to life on RUclips, during this darn lockdown. Food and history! two of my favorite subjects. cant wait to see more.
Thank you so much ☺️
@@TastingHistory you're very welcome, thanks for the great content :D
My mom nowadays when she makes bechamel put onions into. That is bad because onions hate me but makes the sauce tastier
Is it all onions, or are you able to eat oniony things like shallots?
That’s called a Sauce Soubise.
The dairy and the onion-y thongs would get me 😭
@@IonIsFalling7217 Onion-y thongs are to be avoided at ALL costs ;-)
@@pennyforyourthots nope not shallots or leeks or onions. Garlic a bit.
Captions are wonderful “ascends our plane of existence”
Thank you :)
@@KetchupwithMaxandJose I felt the love in "Please don't hook this to your veins" :-D
Monch monch lol!
@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 wait Jose his husband does the captions? I love it when people take creative license to captions, not just rely on machine learning dictation system.
@@Neojhun Yes. Very good captions with that superior personal touch :-)
I've been binging past videos of Max's recently, and I don't know how I missed this episode the first time around. What an interesting story! So tragic and over-the-top! Thank you Max, for telling these stories of the past and teaching me more history than 12 years of public school ever did!
Can't believe Lobster was ever considered worse than prison food.
It WAS prison food
When you have it every day and most likely not well cooked you wouldn't like it either.
@@SultanFilm
Cooking shellfish badly is a crime in itself, in my opinion. Well-prepared shellfish is something I would happily eat every day, but sadly don’t get to eat very often.
It’s because the lobster usually “caught” are very old lobsters washed up on shore. Old lobsters don’t taste too good
Delicacy culture is mostly marketing an only slightly has anything to do with scarcity or skill of the cook. If you tell rich people it's a delicacy, and they believe it due to it being foreign to them; they'll buy all of it, the price gets jacked up, and suddenly the poor people who were eating bottom-feeding crustaceans as a last alternative to starving literally can't afford it in a single lifetime. Anytime you have to ask why a person would eat something weird, especially at a high price? There's a good salesman somewhere back in history who lied to move substandard product at a premium.
Snooty People: "Why do those uncouth Southerners put gravey on everything??"
Also Snooty People: "The only thing that could make this better is some Bechamel sauce."
Southerners: 🙄
Bechamel is classy gravy.
@@commentsiguess1263
Espagnole sauce fits that description even better.
White gravy is about as southern as it gets. This? It's white gravy.
😝
Very true, I'd like to say, as a French guy, that our cuisine is actually quite simple, a good meat and fresh vegetables with a good sauce (base : butter or wine, thickened with flour), just give it time and the little Grandma's touch (garlic, shallots, herbs, spices, go with the feeling). The fancy image of French cuisine has always made me uncomfortable, because that's not the way most of the French like to cook and eat, and that it prevents a lot of people to try cooking French recipes. The most important are the quality of the base products, time, and, of course, love ! (in France, when we feel a little bit sorry about what we serve to our guests, we say as an excuse "it's made with love", "c'est fait avec amour"). I once was in Northeastern US and absolutely loved everything I tasted there, I really hope that one day I will have the chance to come and taste Southern cuisine, seems so great !
@@jbabram812 gotta be careful with southern cuisine. Its good but generally not good for you! (Unless you're a bricklayer or something)
I made the sauce for our salmon dinner this evening. Followed all his steps except I didn’t add the nutmeg, because I don’t have it in my pantry. The sauce was a bit on the thick side so I added some water…. Was nervous 😬 about it, but I’m glad I did because it turned out deliciously delicious! 😋 😋 😋.
Really enjoy these videos. I have a great love of history. Culinary history specifically isn't given it's due often enough.
Love your work! This looks Devine!
May I pass on the advice of using white pepper in white sauces? Get a pepper grinder for it that grinds to a very fine powder, so you can’t see it on white sauces, soups or fish. Happy new year!
Make sure you like white pepper... it doesn't taste anything like black pepper, and IMHO ruins most dishes (and any white sauce). Give me the black flecks any time!
The three musketeers is one of my all time favourite book series, so I'm always so happy to hear about other people reading and appreciating it!
Poor Varel, I’ve put on some dinner parties for hundreds of people at a time, and I feel for him.
This was the most satisfying load of information that I've had in a long time. Recipe with history!!!!! And a GREAT story teller..... give me a couple weeks and I will make this recipe exactly how you did it and I will leave you another comment and tell you what I thought about it aside from that I am subscribing right now to your channel keep doing what you're doing bro.....
I’m french and i’m still shocked by your accent and the work you put in your research. it’s just ..big network professional. Love your work.
I made ceviche today, with cod, but you can use any white fish, it was pretty good. Maybe good enough for an episode. It was originally from Peru (2000 years ago).
Classic French food in a nutshell: make the sauce; put it on anything.
But was it not Voltaire who pointed out the French had a thousand sauces but only one religion, while the English had a thousand religions, but only one sauce?
@@urmorph I would happily make food, or indeed French sauces, my religion!
I didn’t realize you only started your channel in 2020,, I’ve already watched all your videos and now I’m re watching all of them
Max: *enjoying the sauce*
Me: *still really super sad about that tragic history section* :(((((((
I love when Max loves something so much, he needs a moment. :)
Love this one Max. And I'd love to see more of French historical cooking (along with the history, of course.) I was never taught much about French history beyond the Revolution. My main reaction to the descriptions of the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities is "Wait, knitting? What are they knitting? What kind of wool? What did they dye it with? What kind of stitches?" Yeah...I need more history lessons and yours are perfect because I can listen while I knit!
I love history. I love cooking. This channel is perfection, this guy is a genius.