American writer and social activist Jack London was one of the first American authors who was able to turn his writing ability into a substantial personal fortune. He did this in part by going places and doing things other writers were unwilling to risk, including repeated forays into the remote gold fields of Alaska. He participated in and wrote about the Klondike Gold Rush, and his health was affected by the hardships he endured there. His inability to access housing, food, and medicine was reflected in his fiction, including the short story. to build a fire. He lost his four upper front teeth as a result of scurvy and a poor diet while in Alaska.
Less well known than his ability to “rough it” in and write about Alaska, and other frontier posts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is his very particular palate when it comes to how his rice was prepared. A staple of the goldfields, because it can be bagged and will stay fresh for months, Jack London was very familiar with rice and had very special requirements when it came to cooking it.
San Francisco socialite Sarah M. Williamson, who helped popularize canning and preserving food in the early years of the 20th century, reported in a 1916 newspaper article that she had obtained Jack London’s personal recipe for the preparation of rice for the long-suffering second wife, Charmian Kittredge London.
Here is how Sarah Williamson recounts her discovery of Jack London’s rice recipe:
“Rice, cooked the way American housewives never cook it and can never learn to cook it, appeared on Martin’s table at least once a day.” So says Jack London in the forceful novel that is almost autobiographical. And this is how Jack London cooks his rice: I have the recipe please from Mrs. London, above her husband’s signature,” Williamson wrote.
“Well-cooked rice: First, the rice should be washed well, which will remove all the stickiness of the grains when it is boiled. The ratio of rice should be one to two of cold water. The proper Chinese chef will let it sit for several hours. before placing on the stove.When the pan is finally placed on the stove, the fire should be hot and the rice should be kept boiling until the rice has absorbed all the water and there is no water left on the surface.Then remove where the stove is not too hot. and bring to a simmer. One pot of rice should take fifty minutes to an hour to cook for moderate measure. Just before serving, gently and carefully stir with a fork, which loosens the dough into a light, flaky appearance. Grains should be light, smooth, and separated.”
Williamson claimed that rice was so difficult to cook because it came in so many different grains and subspecies. “The problem is not so much with the cook as with the rice itself,” she wrote. “There are about 49 varieties and no two cook the same way. Some are better parboiled then drained and starting over in cold water. Getting the same type of rice every time would mean a reliable recipe. Like there is Chinese rice , Japanese rice, Indian rice, Georgia rice, South Carolina rice, and now California rice, and a few dozen more, cooking rice is likely to be a problem that will never be solved.”
She also shared another of London’s favorite recipes for a rice dish, this one with onions and green peppers.
“In a steel skillet, melt enough lard to fry one cup of rice to a seared brown color. The rice should be wiped clean with a napkin and not washed. Constant stirring is necessary to prevent the rice from burning. Remove the rice and drain.Into the butter put one or two large peppers, seeded and finely chopped, and the juice of one medium onion (grated).A pinch of salt, pepper to taste.Two heaping teaspoons of chili powder, which has mixed with three cups of finely crushed tomatoes.In a granite saucepan bring one cup of boiling water.Pour the sauce from the pan to the saucepan, then pour in the rice.Simmer slowly until the rice is cooked, place in the oven and bake. If this dish is well cooked, each grain separates and dries.”
Jack London died in November 1916, just a few months after Williamson published his rice recipes, still a relatively young man in his early 40s. Despite his very particular requirements to cook the rice to suit his palate, there is no doubt that the privations of the Arctic and the harsh conditions he endured to pursue his writing contributed to the decline in health that led to his death. early.
