Читать книгу The Taste of Britain - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Страница 327

The recipe for Patum Peperium is said to have been ‘perfected’ by John Osborn, an English provision merchant living in Paris in 1828. At this time, compounds of fish, meat or cheese, with spices and butter, were very popular. Recipes for potted anchovies, the fish rubbed through a sieve to remove the bones, mixed with spices and sealed with clarified butter were made and used for garnishes, or spread on toast. The recipe remained the intellectual property of the Osborn family and was brought back to England in the middle of the nineteenth century. According to the company history (Elsenham, n.d.), it was very successful. To the original name, Patum Peperium (the first word appears to be a fanciful play on the word for paste, or pâté; the second is derived from the Greek for pepper), the phrase ‘The Gentleman’s Relish’ was added, apparently by customers asking for the product. Despite the fact that the paste was first made in France, it became closely identified with pre-war British upper-class tastes and remains so today. The brand was sold by the Osborns on the retirement of the last 2 surviving members of the family from the business in 1971.