ABSTRACT

In their cooking there are few dressed dishes, and on the tables even of the greatest princes and of the Emperor himself the vanity of silver is unknown to them. They use plates of black earthenware, a favourite colour of most of them, seemingly because it is native to them, except when it comes to clothing. The more ancient this slab of earthenware the more highly it is valued. On it they bring in their food prepared in their own way and of which they are very fond. We or other Europeans find it very little to our taste because they consider that the more highly seasoned it is with salt, pepper and butter the better it is. Bread is made on the same day it is eaten. It is made in cakes called apa 1 as large as the wide brims of a cleric's hat of the very largest kind and as thin as those same brims. These apas serve them as tablecloths, napkins, and bread on tables which are round trays, well turned and some of them able to seat twelve or fifteen people around, which is remarkable because each of these tables is made from a single piece of timber.2 They invariably wash their hands before eating but do not dry them. Those of greater nobility are not to touch the food, but each of them has his page, who could properly be called 'gentleman of the mouth', who puts a mouthful of food in it, the greater quantity at a time the better, since it is also an expression of courtesy to eat greedily, with both sides of one's mouth stuffed with food and lustily chewing at what is proffered, because only the poor eat with food on one side of their mouths because of their poverty, and only thieves eat quietly so as not to be heard. But a rich man or a nobleman, who is not a thief, will eat with both sides ofhis mouth full and very audibly. Their best dish is one of raw cow's meat, as raw as when its dam gave birth to it, with no more warming than its own natural warmth, for it is best eaten immediately after the cow has been killed. The leg, being

the best portion, is brought immediately to the table, still palpitating. It is cut into pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper with the gall of the same cow poured over it as if it were the best oil and vinegar dressing available. The gourmets among them dip the pieces of meat into a kind of mustard called manta, 1 which is made of the finest marrow of the tripe, taken warm from the same cow, although they add to it over the fire a mixture of butter, pepper, onion, and salt. On one occasion I was brought a saucer of this mustard as a great delicacy, and if I had not already known about it, I should have used it along with the others, but I put it to one side and someone did not fail to empty it immediately. The best part was when the mistress of the house, thinking that I liked it, brought me a second helping, but having avoided the first one successfully, I informed her that having such a treat once was really too much and if it was considered a delicacy it was not suitable for a religious, because it would be too much of an indulgence.