Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 March 1893 — TWO Words Often Coufused. [ARTICLE]

TWO Words Often Coufused.

“Gourmand" and “Gourmet” are two well known French terms which are frc-. quently used, but not always with sufficient discrimination. People are apt to confuse them and to use one in lieu of the other, although the difference between the two terms is so great that they may be regarded as complete opposites. The “gourmand” is a mere glutton, who eats as much as he can at a meal, devouring one plate of food after another. In short he is simply aa animal, with a huge, uncontrolled appetite, feeding much as a dog feeds, with this exception in the dog’s favor, that the gourmand is more ornniverous than the dog. He is a sort of man who would not omit any one dish at a table d’hote, and who would, in all probability, wind up with the grumbling assertion that he cannot dine properly at that hotel. In fact, whether dining at home or abroad, his animal nature predominates to such an extent that he cannot be fairly ranked as a civilized being. The “gourmet,” on *the other hand, *is a product of 'high civilization. He enjoys while he is discriminative in his' food, and he is quite on the side of temperance and moderation; and even values the commonest articles of diet if they are excellent of their kind. A French gourmet once remarked, “I am very fond of oysters, but I never exceed one dozen, being'convinced that after that quantity the palate has become incapable of fully appreciating the flavor.” A real gourmet preserves the palate in the healti**t

and most natural condition. He wouldnot smother an oyster with pepper, nor even squeeze a lemon over it. Plain things are often preferred by a gourmet to the richest sorts of food. Persons indifferent to niceties of flavor will drink wine and eat cakes at the same time. Not so the gourmet, unless the wine were unworthy of attention; with a wine of good quality he would rather eat a plain crust of bread. A gourmet prefers the simplest meals, such as a beefsteak or mutton chop, it really well cooked, to an elaborate banquet badly or unsuitably prepared. To sum up, it may be said that the gourmand “lives to eat,” with no regard for anything but quantity; on the contrary, the gourmet “eats to live,” with a chief regard for the quality of the viand, and the excellence of its preparation for the table.