Fundamentals

Fundamentals · Spanish cookbooks

Ángel Muro, El Practicón (1894)

Muro's book promised "comer bien con un gasto módico" (eating well on a modest outlay) and treated the use of leftovers as its most important lesson; it ran to 34 printings by 1928.

Ángel Muro Goiri (1839–1897) was a writer, restaurateur, food critic and journalist. El Practicón was published in Madrid by Librería de Miguel Guijarro; the first edition is dated 1893 or 1894 depending on the source, and the BNE scan used here is already the fifth edition ("Quinta edición ilustrada con 240 grabados"), while the 1894 Internet Archive copy is the third. Lara Anderson calls it a commercial bestseller: reprinted five times within a year, 34 printings by 1928, then out of print until 1982.

The facts, dates and quotations come from the cited sources and from the OCR text of the 1894 scan, with page numbers from its running heads (the Preámbulo and Sinfonía use roman numerals, and the Apéndice has its own page numbers). The six themes, their order and the concepts placed under each are the agent's own placement. "Own wording" marks a definition or example that no source sets.

Summary

Key ideas

Structure. Sections run from primeras materias and utensilios through caldos, sopas, purés and potajes; salsas, fritos and asados; guarniciones, rellenos and guisados; meats, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, eggs and legumes; entremeses and postres; pastelería and conservas. An Apéndice covers leftovers, carving, table service and running a kitchen. The 1894 edition has 240 engravings over 1,018 pages.
Philosophy. Every recipe is Muro's own or one he tested himself, written so that "la cocinera más torpe" and a learned academic can both follow it.
Basic preparations. Five salsas madres (aspic or salsa mayor, salsa española, salsa romana, gran jugo, glaseado), which he says belong to alta cocina and includes for his richer readers.
Aprovechamiento. Sobras means what remains on the serving dishes, not scraps from plates. A worked menu for six diners and two servants turns its leftovers into new dishes, and Muro blames waste and staff pilfering (sisas).
Spain and France. France imposes its cuisine on other nations, while Spaniards "eat to live". He cites Gouffé, Brillat-Savarin and Dumas, yet promises dishes from every Spanish province and overseas, such as olla podrida.
Measures. Metric units (gramos, litros) sit beside traditional ones (libras, onzas, cuartillos), with kitchen French such as aspic and ordubres.
Legacy. Read today as an early text of Spanish culinary nationalism; modern facsimile editions exist.

Book

El Practicón

Ángel Muro · Madrid, Librería de Miguel Guijarro · 1893/1894

A tratado completo de cocina for Spanish households: Muro's own school of cooking, with tested recipes for every course, the five mother sauces for richer tables, and an appendix on using leftovers, carving and table service. Its aim is to eat well on a modest outlay.

Illustrative example The title page announces an Apéndice on "el mejor aprovechamiento de las sobras, las reglas para el servicio de una mesa y el modo de trinchar" (title page).

Theme1

1 Structure

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. III

The book is laid out in sections that follow the order of a kitchen and a meal. They run from primeras materias and utensilios through caldos, sopas, purés and potajes; salsas, fritos and asados; guarniciones, rellenos and guisados; meats, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, eggs and legumes; entremeses and postres; pastelería and conservas. An Apéndice covers leftovers, carving, table service and running a kitchen. The 1894 edition has 240 engravings over 1,018 pages. Metric units (gramos, litros) sit beside traditional ones (libras, onzas, cuartillos), with kitchen French such as aspic and ordubres.

Illustrative example Muro's own plan of the work, in the Preámbulo, lists primeras materias, caldos, sopas, potajes, meat and fast-day cooking, entremeses, postres, pastelería, conservas and, last, "el arte de saber aprovechar las sobras" (p. III).

Concept1.1

1.1 Primeras materias

Muro 1894, p. 1

The raw materials a kitchen must have before any cooking starts. Muro opens the book with a list of them, by kind.

Illustrative example The first page lists carne de carnicería (vaca, ternera, carnero, cordero, cerdo), aves, caza, pescado, legumbres, harinas y pastas alimenticias and sazones (p. 1).

Concept1.2

1.2 Course-by-course sections

Muro 1894, p. 143

The body of the book is split into sections by kind of dish, in roughly the order of a meal: soups first, then sauces, fried and roast dishes, then the main foods, then sweets.

Illustrative example The soups section closes and a new one opens under the heading "Salsas, fritos, asados", which begins with the salsas madres (p. 143).

Concept1.3

1.3 Apéndice: sobras y mesa

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. III

A separate appendix, with its own page numbers, on using leftovers, carving, serving at table and running the gastronomic side of a house.

Illustrative example The Preámbulo announces "un apéndice" on leftovers that also covers "el modo de trinchar, de servir á la mesa" and the running of a house (p. III); the croquetas recipe sits there (Apéndice, p. 44).

Theme2

2 Philosophy

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, pp. I–II

Every recipe is Muro's own or one he tested himself, written so that "la cocinera más torpe" and a learned academic can both follow it. The method is to eat well on a modest outlay, measured against what each household can spend.

Illustrative example The title page promises a "tratado completo de cocina al alcance de todos y aprovechamiento de sobras" (title page).

Concept2.1

2.1 Comer bien, gasto módico

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, pp. I–II

Muro's stated method: to give anyone who cooks the means to eat well at a modest cost, in proportion to their own resources.

Illustrative example "Mi método en este libro, consiste en ofrecer á todo el que de cocina se ocupe, el medio de comer bien con un gasto módico, en relación con los recursos de cada cual" (Preámbulo, pp. I–II).

Concept2.2

2.2 Author-tested fórmulas

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. I

The recipes (fórmulas) are Muro's own, plus outside recipes he approved only after cooking them himself.

Illustrative example The book holds "mi propia cocina" and only those "fórmulas ajenas" he approved "después de haberlas llevado á la práctica" (Preámbulo, p. I).

Concept2.3

2.3 Al alcance de todos

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II

Within everyone's reach: the recipes are written plainly enough for an untrained cook and a scholar alike.

Illustrative example His formulas "las ha de entender la cocinera más torpe, lo mismo que el sabio académico" (Preámbulo, p. II).

Theme3

3 Basic preparations

Muro 1894, pp. 143, 204

Five salsas madres (aspic or salsa mayor, salsa española, salsa romana, gran jugo, glaseado), which Muro says belong to alta cocina and includes for his richer readers. Around them sit the everyday bases: the broth of the puchero, the purées and potajes, and the garnishes and stuffings that give flavour to plainer dishes.

Illustrative example Muro writes that he cannot leave out the salsas madres "porque tengo que contentar á todos mis lectores, entre los cuales hay muchos ricos" (p. 143).

Concept3.1

3.1 Five salsas madres

Muro 1894, pp. 143, 145

The five costly mother sauces of alta cocina, from which other sauces are made: aspic or salsa mayor, salsa española, salsa romana, gran jugo and glaseado.

Illustrative example Salsa española sweats ham, tocino and veal with concentrated broth, is sieved, bound with a dark flour liaison made apart and reduced by a quarter; Muro calls it "en cocina la más socorrida" (p. 145).

Concept3.2

3.2 Caldos, purés, potajes

Muro 1894, pp. 51, 123

Broths, purées and thick soups. The broth of the boiled pot doubles as the liquid for other stews.

Illustrative example In the puchero común, "el caldo sirve para remojar todos los guisados" that need a liquid, instead of water (p. 51); the potato purée soup is finished with caldo de aves and four yolks (p. 123).

Concept3.3

3.3 Guarniciones y rellenos

Muro 1894, p. 204

Garnishes and stuffings: the side preparations that dress a dish and give flavour to foods that lack it. Most need the mother sauces, which makes them costly, but some are cheap.

Illustrative example Muro's example of a food without flavour of its own is "la carne del cocido" as it comes out of the pot; the garnish supplies it (p. 204).

Theme4

4 Aprovechamiento

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. III; Sinfonía, pp. VI–X

Sobras means what remains on the serving dishes, not scraps from plates. A worked menu for six diners and two servants turns its leftovers into new dishes, and Muro blames waste and staff pilfering (sisas). He calls the use of leftovers the most important part of the book.

Illustrative example Muro takes his definition from the Diccionario: sobra is "lo que queda de la comida, al levantar la mesa", not "los residuos que quedan en el plato del que come" (Preámbulo, p. III).

Concept4.1

4.1 Sobras into new dishes

Muro 1894, Sinfonía, p. VI; Apéndice, p. 44

The point of using what is left over is to make new dishes from it, not to give it away or throw it out.

Illustrative example "El verdadero objeto, al utilizar el sobrante de una comida, es la confección de platos nuevos" (Sinfonía, p. VI); croquetas are made only from leftover white meats such as ternera and aves (Apéndice, p. 44).

Concept4.2

4.2 Against waste and sisas

Muro 1894, Sinfonía, p. X

Thrift as household government: Muro sets his advice against waste and against the small thefts (sisas) of cooks, while denying that he preaches meanness.

Illustrative example He says everything he has argued goes "contra el despilfarro" in families given over to bad cooking "y á las sisas de sus cocineras" (Sinfonía, p. X).

Theme5

5 Spain vs France

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II; pp. 50, 55

France imposes its cuisine on other nations, while Spaniards "eat to live". Muro cites Gouffé, Brillat-Savarin and Dumas, yet promises dishes from every Spanish province and overseas, such as olla podrida.

Illustrative example "Si España no tiene la gloria de imponerse con su cocina á todas las demás naciones como le sucede á Francia, débelo á su sobriedad" (Preámbulo, p. II).

Concept5.1

5.1 French cuisine dominant

Muro 1894, pp. 50, 55–57

France is the reference cuisine: its authors are quoted as authorities, even where Muro argues with them.

Illustrative example Muro quotes Gouffé at length on the puchero and broth, down to 750 gramos de carne and 4 litros de agua (pp. 55–57), and answers Brillat-Savarin's scorn for the French boiled dinner by saying a good puchero is made as well in France as in Spain (p. 50).

Concept5.2

5.2 Spanish sobriety

Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II

Muro's explanation of why Spain's cuisine does not rule abroad: Spaniards eat to live, so what little they eat should be cooked well, wherever the recipe comes from.

Illustrative example Spain's sobriety lets its people think only "de comer para vivir y no vivir para comer" (Preámbulo, p. II).

Concept5.3

5.3 Provincial guisos

Muro 1894, pp. 1, 133, 576

Regional dishes of the Spanish provinces and overseas territories, which Muro promises to give where they are good.

Illustrative example Bacalao á la vizcaína comes in a version taught to him by a Bilbao cook, and Muro says each vizcaína has her own method (p. 576); the gazpacho comes in Andújar, Granada and Extremadura versions (p. 133).

Theme6

6 Legacy

Anderson 2013

Lara Anderson calls El Practicón a commercial bestseller: reprinted five times within a year, 34 printings by 1928, then out of print until 1982. It is read today as an early text of Spanish culinary nationalism, and modern facsimile editions exist.

Illustrative example The scanned copy's title page adds "60 minutas de almuerzos y comidas para todos gustos y condiciones" to the book (title page).

Concept6.1

6.1 34 printings by 1928

Anderson 2013

The book's commercial run: reprinted five times within a year of publication and 34 times by 1928.

Illustrative example The title page of the scanned copy already reads "Quinta edición ilustrada con 240 grabados" (title page).

Concept6.2

6.2 Culinary nationalism

Anderson 2013; Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II

The modern reading of the book as an early text that uses cooking to define a Spanish nation and its cuisine.

Illustrative example Muro writes that "nuestra querida España", with its variety of land and climate, is the country with the most resources for feeding all its inhabitants well (Preámbulo, p. II).

Concept6.3

6.3 Revived from 1982

Anderson 2013 · example own wording

After its last early printings the book went out of print, and it came back in 1982; modern facsimile editions exist.

Illustrative example A reader today can find the book again in modern facsimile editions, after decades out of print.

Map

Concept map

El Practicón with its six themes and three concepts under each. The themes, their order and the concept placed under each theme are the agent's own placement; the facts behind each node come from the book and the cited sources, as given in the entries above.

Term tree

BOOKEl Practicón (1894)Ángel Muro · Madrid, Librería de Miguel Guijarro
- THEMEpart ofStructureMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. III · own placement
  - CONCEPTpart ofPrimeras materiasMuro 1894, p. 1
  - CONCEPTpart ofCourse-by-course sectionsMuro 1894, p. 143
  - CONCEPTpart ofApéndice: sobras y mesaMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. III
- THEMEpart ofPhilosophyMuro 1894, Preámbulo, pp. I–II · own placement
  - CONCEPTpart ofComer bien, gasto módicoMuro 1894, Preámbulo, pp. I–II
  - CONCEPTpart ofAuthor-tested fórmulasMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. I
  - CONCEPTpart ofAl alcance de todosMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II
- THEMEpart ofBasic preparationsMuro 1894, pp. 143, 204 · own placement
  - CONCEPTpart ofFive salsas madresMuro 1894, pp. 143, 145
  - CONCEPTpart ofCaldos, purés, potajesMuro 1894, pp. 51, 123
  - CONCEPTpart ofGuarniciones y rellenosMuro 1894, p. 204
- THEMEpart ofAprovechamientoMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. III; Sinfonía, pp. VI–X · own placement
  - CONCEPTpart ofSobras into new dishesMuro 1894, Sinfonía, p. VI; Apéndice, p. 44
  - CONCEPTpart ofAgainst waste and sisasMuro 1894, Sinfonía, p. X
  - CONCEPTpart ofMenu for 6 plus 2 servantsMuro 1894, Sinfonía, pp. VI–VII
- THEMEpart ofSpain vs FranceMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II; pp. 50, 55 · own placement
  - CONCEPTpart ofFrench cuisine dominantMuro 1894, pp. 50, 55–57
  - CONCEPTpart ofSpanish sobrietyMuro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II
  - CONCEPTpart ofProvincial guisosMuro 1894, pp. 1, 133, 576
- THEMEpart ofLegacyAnderson 2013 · own placement
  - CONCEPTpart of34 printings by 1928Anderson 2013
  - CONCEPTpart ofCulinary nationalismAnderson 2013; Muro 1894, Preámbulo, p. II
  - CONCEPTpart ofRevived from 1982Anderson 2013 · example own wording

Sources