Loose Leaf

The spinach recipe that you recall (“The Amazing Shrinking Leaf,” Feb. 3) has always fascinated me. It comes from M. F. K. Fisher’s translation of Brillat-Savarin’s “The Physiology of Taste.”

--LOUISE PINCUS

Pacific Palisades

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A complete description of the method for the five-days-and-pound-of-butter spinach can be found in Roy Andries de Groot’s “Feasts for All Seasons” (Knopf: 1966).

--MARILOUISE M. ZAGER

Los Angeles

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The recipe incorporating the pound of butter was originated by the late Fernande Point, owner/chef of Le Pyramide restaurant in Vienne, France.

--JOHN CACAVAS

Beverly Hills

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The spinach recipe in question can be found in “The Husband’s Cookbook,” by Mike McGrady (Lippincott: 1979). This is really a good book.

--NANCY MANDOKY

Venice

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Editor’s Note:

It took some sleuthing, but with the help of our resident food historian Charles Perry, we finally tracked down the recipe. It has been reprinted many times, including all of the above examples. Most notably, in his “Feasts for All Seasons,” published in 1966, De Groot (who may have been a better writer than a historian) reprints the entire recipe in a somewhat heightened version of Brillat-Savarin’s words before offering an alternative method. The problem with authenticating it is that though it is usually credited in a general sort of way to Brillat-Savarin, it does not appear in his only book on food, “Physiology of Taste.” The earliest instance of the story we could find was in Elizabeth David’s “French Country Cooking,” published in England in 1951. According to David, the recipe comes from Jeanne Savarin, who published the recipe in the weekly magazine La Cuisine des Familles, in August, 1905.

In the interest of history, here is the original recipe in its entirety, as translated by David:

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“The Abbe Chevrier, contemporary of my great-great-uncle (Brillat-Savarin), left a reputation in Bresse for being the perfect gourmet; he and Brillat-Savarin were the best friends in the world; the Abbe, however, did not always disclose his culinary secrets to Brillat-Savarin.

“Amongst other delectable things, Brillat-Savarin was excessively intrigued by the spinach cooked in butter of the Abbe Chevrier. ‘Nowhere,’ he used to say, ‘does one eat spinach, simple spinach cooked in butter, to compare with his. What can be the secret?’ Brillat-Savarin’s mind was finally put at rest; he discovered the famous secret. Here it is.

“ ‘On Wednesday (for Sunday) choose your spinach, young leaves, neither too old nor in flower, of a good green and with their middle ribs. In the afternoon clean the spinach, removing the stalks and wash it carefully. When it is tender, drain it in an enamel or china colander; drain out as much water as possible by pressing the leaves firmly down in the sieve; then chop them finely.

“ ‘Now put them in a pan (enamel or glazed earthenware) with some fine fresh butter and put on to a very low fire. For a pound of spinach allow 1/4 pound of butter. Let them cook gently for 30 minutes, then take them off the fire and let them cool in the same pan. They are not to be served today.

“ ‘Thursday: Add another 1 1/2 ounces of butter to the spinach, and cook again for 10 to 15 minutes over a very low fire; again leave them to get cold; they are not to be served yet.

“ ‘Friday: Exactly the same operation as the previous day; the same quantity of butter, the same length of cooking. Do not be tempted.

“ ‘Saturday: Again the same operation as Thursday and Friday. Beware of temptation; the spinach will be giving out a wonderful aroma.

“ ‘Sunday: At last the day for your expected guests has arrived.

“ ‘A quarter of an hour before you intend serving the dinner, put the spinach again over a low flame, with two good ounces of butter, for 10 to 12 minutes. This time, take them out of their pan and put them in a warmed vegetable dish and serve them very hot.

“ ‘In the course of five daily cookings, your pound of spinach has absorbed 10 1/2 ounces of butter. Such was the Abbe Chevrier’s secret.’ ”

David then notes: “As well as the 10 1/2 ounces of butter the spinach has absorbed, it has also reduced to practically nothing. It is certain that the butter does give the spinach a most delicate flavour, but it is advisable to cook at least 2 or 3 pounds if all this performance is to be gone through. The recipe is not one to be taken too seriously.”