Question about Gimlet ...

[RathDarkblade]

... and his rat eatery for dwarfs.

When I first encountered Gimlet's rat eatery (the Hole Food Delicatessen), I thought it was simply a joke. After all, candied rat? It seems like it must be a joke. But then I discovered that people have actually eaten rat, and many still do.

So my question is ... how many rats (roughly) would be necessary to make one of Gimlet's famous Rat Pies?

Lest you think that a rat pie is fictional ... here, from History Extra (and also published in the BBC History Magazine, March 2016 issue).

Apparently:

...all classes in Victorian Britain ate it. It was prepared in a similar way to rabbit pie. It was traditionally a recipe found in the north of Britain, but was also a delicacy among wealthy professional epicures who took inspiration from French cuisine of the period.

So, I thought ... OK. Maybe there's something to this.

But then, I read this:

One leading Parisian restaurant from 1870 lists rat cooked in the ashes of roasted dog’s leg and served in a pie with mushrooms on its menu.

Immediately, I thought - hold on! France, 1870 ... Didn't the Germans besiege Paris in 1870? Um ... and rat pie is supposed to be French haute cuisine? I think someone is extracting the urine, yes?

 

[=Tamar]

During WW2, the Ritz served Spam. Haute Cuisine is more of a style than a recipe. When your city has limited food supplies (such as during a siege), you serve what is available.

 

[Tonyblack]

The Siege of Leningrad caused people to be very inventive with their eating habits.

 

[Ghost]

rats in blankets

 

[RathDarkblade]

The Siege of Leningrad caused people to be very inventive with their eating habits.

I heard about that. I remember reading that in one instance, melted sugar from the warehouses had flowed through the floors into the surrounding soil -- and desperate citizens began digging up the frozen earth in an attempt to extract the sugar. This soil was on sale in the 'Haymarket' to housewives who tried to melt the earth to separate the sugar. Other people simply mixed the earth with flour.

My gran was moved to Romania to Russia when the Nazis invaded. (Talk about being between a hammer and a hard place). My granddad fought at Stalingrad against the Nazis. Thank every single god in the book that he survived.