Together with the carrier-pigeon, the rat was to become the most fabled animal of the siege of Paris, and from December on a good rat-hunt was one of the principle activities of the National Guard, although the number actually consumed quite relatively few. The elaborate sauces required to make a rodent palatable meant that rats were essentially a rich man's dish; hence the famous menus of the Jockey Club, featuring such delicacies as salmi de rats and "rat pie".
(p.278, La Belle France. Alistair Horne commenting on the siege of Paris by Bismarck's Prussian army in late 1871.)
Only rich people ate rats? That's an extraordinary twist on my perceptions.
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how interesting!! love it!
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