James Cook's culinary voyages. Continued

 

- I must admit,’ muttered the tomato, ’that Cook's voyages were... well, educational.

- Educational? - the frying pan clinked with indignation. - It was a gastronomic revolution!

- Gastronomic? - I sceptically questioned, finishing my tea. - He mostly fed the crew with sauerkraut and salted meat.

- Ah, you don't understand! - exclaimed the pan, bouncing on the cooker. - He proved that food is not just a way not to die, but the key to survival, to health, to civilisation!

- And to good cheer,’ the coffee beans added. - They took us sailing, too, didn't they?

I raised an eyebrow:

- What do you mean?

- Quite literally,’ the beans said proudly. - Coffee was considered the ideal drink for sailors, especially officers. It was invigorating, helped to stay awake on watch, and most importantly, it didn't spoil, unlike water, which turned into swamp sludge after a couple of weeks in barrels.

- True, they couldn't always afford it,’ said the frying pan. - Tea was cheaper. And rum was even cheaper.

- That's why sailors preferred grog,’ I said knowingly.

- Exactly! - confirmed the frying pan. - And if you think that grog is just a way to get drunk, you are sorely mistaken!

- Enlighten me, O great cast-iron wisdom,’ I said, filling my cup with tea.

The frying pan nodded gravely:

- Admiral Edward Vernon, the great British naval commander, was the first to come up with the idea of diluting rum with water so that sailors wouldn't go on a bender right in the middle of a storm. But just diluting it is boring. So they started adding sugar, lime and even cinnamon.

- That's an interesting fact,’ I said thoughtfully.

- And by the way,’ added the tomato, ’it helped with the scurvy we've already talked about.

- So, - I summarised, - sailors could either eat sauerkraut or drink grog?

- Exactly! - The frying pan glistened.

- Personally, I would have chosen grog,’ I said thoughtfully.

- You're not alone in that,’ the coffee beans hummed.

There was a satisfied silence in the kitchen. I took a last sip of tea and put the cup down.

- Well, my friends, this has been informative. Thank you for the lecture.

- You're welcome! - replied the frying pan proudly.

- Come back often, we haven't discussed the impact of garlic on geopolitics yet,’ said the tomato.

I grinned, but mentally noted that it was a conversation worth having.

To be continued.