Julia Child's Kitchen

[helenas]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2002Jan22.html

[Rachel Perlow]

What's Cooking? Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian

In doing my research for our trip to Washingon DC, I learned that they have begun the unpacking process of the Julia Child's kitchen exhibit and that the curators give talks about the exhibit on Wednesdays & Fridays from 11:30 AM till Noon. I arrived early at the Smithsonian National Museam of American History and headed straight for the exhibit:

It is on the first floor on the West End, you see that blue star to the right of "Science in American Life"? That's it. It's behind the display of Archie Bunker's chair and the Fonz' jacket (see TV Objects to the right of the escalator).

The exhibit is currently being unpacked and documented behind glass walls. I got there around 10:15 AM and looked at what is currently displayed. Most of what they have unpacked so far consists of the larger appliances: the Garland Commercial Range, the Kitchen Aid fridge & dishwasher. Also the stainless steel double sink and surround and the largest morter (sans pestle) I have ever seen (more about that later). There really wasn't that many smaller items out on display yet, although there is a very cute picture of her cooking at school when she was around 20 years old.

I knocked on the door because I thought I saw another visitor walking though behind the scenes, but it turned out to be a volunteer, so I went to get our Washington Monument tickets and came back at 11:30.

I found one of the curators, Paula Johnson, waiting by the exhibit for someone to talk to and I happily had a private discussion with her about their progress for about 15 minutes until more visitors showed up. She had laughed and said I "had it bad" when she saw my rapt expression about seeing all of Julia's things close up. When I saw the smiles on the others' faces I knew what she meant!

By noon I had learned many interesting tidbits about the various pieces in her collection. Paula told me about their interviews with Julia, scheduled for the morning of Sept 11th. They watched the news for a little while then Julia set the tone by turning off the TV, saying they had work to do and could check in on the news throughout the day.

I particularly appreciated the tale of that oversized mortar. Julia bought it at a flea market in Paris years ago. Then made her husband, Paul, carry it around for hours! Over the years it eventually found a permanent home place underneath the portable butcher block chopping table and collected quite a bit of dust from disuse.

By noon I had met the other curators, Rayna Green and Nanci Edwards. All were very friendly and answered all the other visitors questions. There were some ladies there from a local gourmet club who wanted to arrange a private curator talk on a Monday in May and they were very accomodating. Paula also told me about the packers and drivers (all men) who were all big Julia fans. They were so happy when Julia's assistant gave them one of her books!

If I lived closer to DC I'd try to stop by every few weeks to see the progress they are making, but since I don't have that opportunity I'll have to be satisfied with reading the curators' diaries online. They expect the finished exhibit to have a step in area so visitors can have a closer look. Her wine glasses and one wall (primarily her copper pots) was given to The American Institute of Wine & Food, which was founded by Julia Child, Robert Mondavi and Richard Graff. This is the area which will be the entrance to the finished exhibit. They are planning on a grand opening of the exhibit in August in time for Julia's 90th Birthday. Maybe I can make it back down to DC for that!

                                             

  "She asked for all her knives and then talked her way through which three she would select as critical to a well-equipped kitchen, "Or maybe four -- well this one is handy -- so maybe you could get by with three, but these others are certainly useful!" --NE (from the curators' diaries 9/11/01).

[Rail Paul]

Julia also had a famous "wall of pots" with a hook for, and outline of, each of her many pots. I think a portion of that wall is visible, adjacent to her head in the picture.

When the Times had its article on her relocation to CA, the wall received its own picture

[Rachel Perlow]

Like I mentioned, most of the wall is going to the American Institute for Wine & Food, including the copper pots. However, at least a portion of the peg board wall with implement outlines is at the Smithsonian. I know cause I saw it propped up against a side wall like it had just been unpacked.  

[Steve Plotnicki]

Went to the American History Museum at the Smithsonian last weekend and one of the exhibits was Julia Childs kitchen which she has donated to the museum. Aside from seeing the kitchen itself being such a fun thing to do, including viewing videos of her shows (her wearing a fireman's hat while Jacque Pepin was using a blowtorch to make a crust on some dish was in particular a highlight,) and her unusual collection of interesting kitchen tools and gadgets, I thought the curators written narrative was by far the most interesting thing because it talked about how Julia Child was instrumental in helping to end America's post WWII isolationism.

I instantly knew that they were right, and that this is the allure I find in a cookbook that I have always had a hard time expressing. A cookbook is a simple way for a culture to explain itself. Recipes, anecdotes, eating habits, customs, they tell you so much about how people live. And they communicate things in a concise way so you can incorporate the things you find appealing into your own culture. They also promote the exploration of other cultures because they humanize what otherwise might be strange. How many people who started out with a copy of Julia Child's books ended up with plane tickets to Europe because she made them feel comfortable about something that might have sounded strange and alien otherwise?

There are other aspects of the museum's narrative that I haven't even thought about or can't get my arms around yet in order to put them down on paper. But I thought I'd throw it out to the board and see what people can add to it because it was the most profound comment about cooking I've seen in quite some time. I also know that this is an unusual American perspective on this, and that Elizabeth David might have played the same role in the U.K. It would be good if people can add to this from that perspective, or from the perspective of other nationalities where a cookbook author was instrumental in ending their isolationism. Of course, it also raises the question of why this wasn't the case with every country? Who is the Julia Childs or Elizabeth David of Italy, Germany and Spain? Or was postwar isolationism something unique to the victors and was some other dynamic going on in those countries?

[Toby]

As soon as you mentioned the exhibit, I thought of Elizabeth David. In a sense her earliest books were almost fantasies of longing, because of all the ingredients simply not available in England after the war. Can anyone say how influential she was in the UK, as compared to Julia Child in the US? For Julia Child, it must have been more of a spiritual deprivation -- so much nothing in the midst of so much plenty in the US in the 50s and 60s.

[laura]

I don't know if this would really fit into your construct, ,

Steve, but Marcella Hazan has played a pivotal role for

americans, who cook, regarding italian cuisine. I think

this is true because she can present the cuisine in a

clear and opinionated form, in her cookbooks,. She also

has an influential and devoted following who have taken

classes with her both in the US and Italy. Madeline

Kammen has also been an important factor but I think her influence has been felt through the many cooks who have trained with her and their presence is felt in restaurants in the US. I don't think she has had the impact on home cooks the way either Julia or Marcella

has had..Certainly I expect reading and cooking from

both Marcella and Madeline's books stimulates ones appetite for the real thing.

to experience the real thing

[Suzanne F]

Great question. I can only think about it from a USA perspective.

I think that it was more SEEING Julia have such a good time that first opened our minds to foods and by extension their cultures, than reading the cookbooks, great as their influence was. It was so much fun to watch her make and sample such exotic dishes as garlic mashed potatoes (!). People were intrigued; that curiosity opened minds to reading about and then experiencing other cultures.

As much as I may dislike food shows on TV, I now think they have a much stronger positive influence than I used to. Seeing people enjoy experimentation -- especially people to whom the viewers can "relate" -- is such a strong impetus to try something new. Reading alone cannot START that process, but only continue it.

An aside re: Julia's kitchen: how many of us who see it look to see what items we have in common with her?

[srhcb]

I thought the curators written narrative was by far the most interesting thing  because it talked about how Julia Child was instrumental in helping to end America's post WWII isolationism.

While I love Julia Child dearly, and would never seek to diminish her influence on the topic of cooking in America, I think this is a bit overblown.

The returning GI's had experienced European culture, including food, (and to a lesser degree Asian Culture). With the new medium of television, and other modern communications, and aided by the convenience of modern commercial air travel, there was hardly what one could have been called a prevailing attitude of "isolationism" concerning Europe in the post WWII United States.

In fact, European arts, fashions, cars, and influences were considered quite chic, and superior to our own in celebrity and intellectual circles.

Julia surely was the right person, in the right place, at the right time to introduce French cooking, and innovative culinary techniques in general to a new audience, and that by itself is enough to insure her place in History.

[Priscilla]

Srhcb, very good points. The WWII experience (and the heightened expectations it encouraged) of the returning G.I.s is something not often enough discussed. Those with WWII-age dads and uncles and so forth can attest to the phenomenon from a personal point of view. From a wider lens, the effect on American arts and letters is clear.

I do not discount Julia Child's influence on American home cooks. To be certain, she holds a unique position of prominence. But the ground was fertile; Julia herself, I think, has said when she began cooking classes in Paris they were populated by Americans using G.I. bill education benefits.

But the point about cookbooks in general is indisputable. The best ones tell us much MUCH more than how to prepare a certain dish.

[Steve Plotnicki]

srhcb - You are going to have to do a better job in disagreeing with the curators point about postwar isolationism then to imply the curator came to the conclusion about isolationism by themself. I understood it to be an explanation of the isolationism that people are generally in agreement about. And in fact I Googled the issue and from the initial evidence there is an abundance of writing on American isolationism after the war. So I would be happy to look at the third party evidence that shows this not to be the case. In fact, you will find the Internet littered with writings about America's historical isolationism since its inception. And that includes to this day with the current administration ignoring international referendums on things like global warming or being isolated on the issue of the death penalty.

Edited January 4, 2003 by Steve Plotnicki (log)

[stefanyb]

Steve-I remember reading that Julia's kitchen had counters that were made to be unusually high because of her height. Was that readily apparent when you saw it?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Stef - I didn't notice that. I asked my family but they don't remember it either. You can't go into the kitchen and you have to view it from glass windows at 3 different locations. So you don't get to stand next to the counters because if we did I am sure I would have noticed any difference in height.

Edited January 4, 2003 by Steve Plotnicki (log)

[hollywood]

I thought the curators written narrative was by far the most interesting thing  because it talked about how Julia Child was instrumental in helping to end America's post WWII isolationism.

Steve, noting that the first recipe in several of Julia's books if for chicken breasts with risotto, I'm sure you'll agree that she not only helped end isolationism but also promoted tourism.

Edited January 4, 2003 by hollywood (log)

[srhcb]

srhcb - You are going to have to do a better job in disagreeing with the curators point about postwar isolationism then to imply the curator came to the conclusion about isolationism by themself. I understood it to be an explanation of the isolationism that people are generally in agreement about. And in fact I Googled the issue and from the initial evidence there is an abundance of writing on American isolationism after the war. So I would be happy to look at the third party evidence that shows this not to be the case. In fact, you will find the Internet littered with writings about America's historical isolationism since its inception.

All granted as a difffering point of view. I just thought that the statement, "Julia Child was instrumental in helping to end America's post WWII isolationism" was a bit much. Drop "instrumental in" and I'd have no objection.

You have the advantage of having seen the entire exhibit in context. When you speal of "post WWII" do you refer to the late 40's, early 50's, late 50's ....? The degree of American "isolation" from Europe varies considerably.

For most of it's History America has, of course, been isolated from European culture by the Atlantic Ocean and the time factor involved in communicating. The differences between our emerging homogenous society and the older, more established and secular European countries were based on circumstance. To what degree any such differences are properly

labeled "isolationist" is mostly due to the perspective of the labeler.

In this instance, I think the statement was a bit grandiose. You are quite welcome to disagree. In all other regards I will concur in the use of all superlatives concerning Julia!

THANX SB

[Steve Plotnicki]

Aha, I didn't realize that it was the typical eGullet pedantry on display!

Well I was paraphrasing what the narrative said because I am doing it from memory. For all I know it said important instead of instrumental. But does it really matter? In terms of food on a cultural and socio-economic level, is there anyone more important than Julia Child? Who, the Galloping Gourmet? That's why I don't think the distinction makes that much of a difference to the original point.

[srhcb]

Aha, I didn't realize that it was the typical eGullet pedantry on display!  

You are more far qualified to comment on the subject of eGullet pedantry than I, so, yes, I guess so.

I would love to be able to visit this exhibit, and the Smithsonian in general , but being forced to put aside that pleasure for the time being I can only comment on the topic as it was framed by your original Post.

To continue, I think Elizabeth David's position in GB is not quite analogeous to Julia in this Country in that Ms David was always more "British" than Julia was "American". (How's that for a sweeping generality?) Also, with Ms David's works being confined mostly to printed media she was unable to reach as popular an audience as Julia, who was really at the cutting edge of communications technology with her early shows.

At risk of being considered Off-Topic, I submit the observation that the person whose work may have best encompassed the emerging importance of food in culture was MFK Fisher. Having both grown up in a rather privileged, (and isolationist), environment, and spending WWII and the times immediately following coping with the rationing and shortages of England, her views are perhaps uniquely pertinent when comparing the American and British food/culture relationships of the Post WWII period.

SB (or, maybe not?)

[Rail Paul]

I'd nominate the nameless 1950s writers of Better Homes & Gardens with their "international" meals and detailed recipes as a contributor to internationalization. For every green bean almondine and shrimp diablo, new spices would be introduced, new herbs explained.

And, the rise of frozen foods. Spinach out of season, corn, beets, etc were first added to a new bride's repertoire via the magic of Seabrook or other frozen food makers.

[Rachel Perlow]

You may be interested to read an earlier thread about Julia's kitchen here.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I'd nominate the nameless 1950s writers of Better Homes & Gardens with their "international" meals and detailed recipes as a contributor to internationalization. For every green bean almondine and shrimp diablo, new spices would be introduced, new herbs explained.

And, the rise of frozen foods. Spinach out of season, corn, beets, etc were first added to a new bride's repertoire via the magic of Seabrook or other frozen food makers.

Rail Paul - You see I would argue this in the exact opposite way. The European sounding dishes like Sole Almondine were part of the isolationism that was going on in America. There is no need for sole almondine and shrimp diablo, pure American constructs, unless you weren't willing to accept sole meuniere and shrimp fra diavolo to begin with. That is exactly what Julia changed. She showed us that there was a better beef stew out there then the American version which was constructed as a result of isolationism which is why they didn't follow European recipes. It was called Boeuf Bourgignon, or daube, etc. and it was made from recipes that were hundreds of years old and dishes tasted of their point of origin.

How about autos? When I was growing up, nobody owned a foreign car. A few very wealthy or erudite people owned Mercedes. But pretty much it was American made autos. But didn't the Volkswagon change that because the price point and the design promoted were reminiscent of European style

egalitarianism? And didn't that car change the way we all look at cars forever after?

srhcb - Wilfird has had much to say about Elizabeth David's role in the evolution of British cookery infiltrating the British masses and hopefully he will add to this thread tomorrow. But I don't see your point about MFK Fisher? What impact did Fisher have on the common household who was looking to improve their quality of life by making a few authentic French dishes? There is a sub-topic here on how PBS helped shape middle class intelect in the U.S, and how Julia Child was part of that, but we are going to need someone better versed in sociology then I to add that to this discussion.

[srhcb]

How about autos? When I was growing up, nobody owned a foreign car. A few very wealthy or erudite people owned Mercedes. But pretty much it was American made autos. But didn't the Volkswagon change that because the price point and the design promoted were reminiscent of European style

egalitarianism? And didn't that car change the way we all look at cars forever after?

Oddly enough, considering this just came up on another Thread, I view the Post WWII car and food situations as similar. The GI's retuned from Europe having been exposed to food that was entertaining to prepare and eat and cars that were light, responsive and fun to drive.

At first, both were almost underground movements. Julia led the way with her PBS series in exposing us to French cooking in the same way that Road & Track magazine (there were others but R&T was, if I may be so bold, the Julia Child of auto enthusiast publications) introduced the sports car concept.

While neither ever came to actually dominate out culture in their respective fields, there is no doubt that they had significant influence on the poplular culture.

[srhcb]

[

srhcb - Wilfird has had much to say about Elizabeth David's role in the evolution of British cookery infiltrating the British masses and hopefully he will add to this thread tomorrow. But I don't see your point about MFK Fisher? What impact did Fisher have on the common household who was looking to improve their quality of life by making a few authentic French dishes? There is a sub-topic here on how PBS helped shape middle class intelect in the U.S, and how Julia Child was part of that, but we are going to need someone better versed in sociology then I to add that to this discussion.

I look forward to learning more about Ms David's influence. While I've read some of her books, I never had occasion to place her in any particular context before.

I mentioned MFKF because she had a unique perspective on the US and British culinary scenes just previous to the Post WWII period being referred to here, and her writing style gives us great insights into how people thought and reacted in those days. Probably a bit Off Topic; sorry.

Perhaps what we have here is some sort of a generational or geographic failure to communicate fully? Are we looking at the same situation from differing perspectives?

SB (50-midwest)

[Rail Paul]

I'd nominate the nameless 1950s writers of Better Homes & Gardens with their "international" meals and detailed recipes as a contributor to internationalization. For every green bean almondine and shrimp diablo, new spices would be introduced, new herbs explained.

And, the rise of frozen foods. Spinach out of season, corn, beets, etc were first added to a new bride's repertoire via the magic of Seabrook or other frozen food makers.

Rail Paul - You see I would argue this in the exact opposite way. The European sounding dishes like Sole Almondine were part of the isolationism that was going on in America. There is no need for sole almondine and shrimp diablo, pure American constructs, unless you weren't willing to accept sole meuniere and shrimp fra diavolo to begin with. That is exactly what Julia changed. She showed us that there was a better beef stew out there then the American version which was constructed as a result of isolationism which is why they didn't follow European recipes. It was called Boeuf Bourgignon, or daube, etc. and it was made from recipes that were hundreds of years old and dishes tasted of their point of origin.

The timing of this thread is fortuitous. I just asked my mother about her cooking influences in the 1950s.

BH&G, her friends, and frozen foods, which is what I recalled of my personal experience. "The girls," all of whom were college educated, stay at home moms, and cooks of modest skill levels, would often trade recipes which cranky 3 year olds (me and my sisters) might eat. According to her, Julia Child was invisible to that suburban dweller of the 1950s. She, and others, became visible in the 1960s.

Chicken was expensive food in the US into the 1960s, when industrial farming came into being. Beef, especially ground beef, was cheap and widely used. "Everyone" knew somebody who had been sickened by bad fish. However, when we were at the shore, fish was usually purchased from the markets.

re:autos Volkswagen made a splash by comparing its 1966 (?) price favorably with a pound of beef. The price was sixty cents, IIRC. Gasoline was about nineteen cents, and remained so until the 1970s.

[hollywood]

How about autos? When I was growing up, nobody owned a foreign car. A few very wealthy or erudite people owned Mercedes. But pretty much it was American made autos. But didn't the Volkswagon change that because the price point and the design promoted were reminiscent of European style

egalitarianism? And didn't that car change the way we all look at cars forever after?

My father bought a VW Microbus in 1959. Mom kept right on making American meals though. Still does.

[foodie52]

I'm first generation American: my parents came over here in 1950 from Europe. I grew up eating "different" food from my friends. Cabbage rolls. Roast chicken with paprika. Green salads. No Velveeta...no Twinkies...no white bread....no frozen dinners. Consequently, all of that was very exotic to me and I snuck bites of these "forbidden" foods whenever I visited friends' houses! And my dad drove a VW bug in 1955. Now that I think about it, it must have been the only one on the block.

I only became aware of how lucky I was when I started watching Julia on TV. Hey: my mom's cooking was actually OK: in fact, it was now trendy! Fresh ingredients! Real herbs! I glommed onto Julia like white on rice: here was a chef I understood...food I could happily recreate because it tasted like home.

I think part of Julia's success was that she revealed the cooking that is the mother of many of our cuisines. She brought me back to my Eurpean roots. I didn't find her cooking exotic. Now Martin Yan...now THAT was exotic!!!