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Stoneware glazed bowl; made 1100-1299; Jiangxi, China
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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An early reference to a 'dish of tea' appears in William Congreve's 1694 comic play 'Double Dealer' when Lady Touchwood invites Sir Paul Plyant to "drink a dish of tea to settle our heads". The scandalous aristocrat Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wrote in a letter in 1718 of visiting Greece and imagining how agreeable it would have been "when, after drinking a dish of tea with Sapho, I might have gone the same evening to visit the temple of Homer in Chios ...". Then, in William Makepeace Thackeray's satire on early 19th century Britain, 'Vanity Fair', the Clapp family was still able, despite straightened circumstances, to "give a friend a dish of tea".
Dish (noun): "A shallow, flat-bottomed container for cooking or serving food"
Oxford English Dictionary
Most ceramic collections refer to these as 'bowls' or 'tea bowls' . So, why the literary references to 'a dish' rather than a bowl? Could it be that using the word 'dish' instead of 'bowl' was highlighting a British affectation? But, enough of this. The star of this piece is a wonderful Chinese tea bowl and the term hare's fur is so beautifully descriptive of the glaze.
Bowl (noun): "A round, deep dish or basin used for food or liquid"
Oxford English Dictionary
Our taste for tea came from China where the Camellia sinensis was first grown and the expertise to turn it into a delicious drink/food was born. Tea was served in a handleless vessel, a custom which crossed borders along with the appreciation of tea drinking, and later the plant itself. The handled cup we know today was being made in Britain by 1740, almost a decade after tea first arrived here. Cups were more expensive to make and more difficult to transport to markets as they didn't stack so neatly, but it seems 'delicate' ladies fingers had to be protected from the heat of the bowl.
The Chinese had, by this time, been making tea for millennia. By the 10th century, tea drinking tastes there changed from leaf tea to powdered green tea which continued for four centuries before there was a return to steeped leaf tea. Drinking a steeped leaf tea from a green bowl was considered elegant and tasteful but a frothy whipped powdered green tea looked much more appealing when served in a brown or black bowl. So began the manufacture of dark glazed bowls in the southern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi in10th century China. Manipulation of the glazing, firing and cooling processes resulted in effects including tortoiseshell, oil spot and hare's fur glazes. The 'hare's fur' tea bowl, above, is in the possession of the V&A Museum in London. Three flying Phoenixes further decorate the bowl. These were created using the 'resist' method which was a speciality of Jizhou potters. Paper silhouettes were applied between a dark brown first glaze and a second lighter toned one, the paper burned away in the kiln leaving outline impressions on the bowl.
With the exception of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who seemed to be serious in her pretensions - Her 'Turkish Embassy Letters' were published only after her death as she believed "a person of quality should never turn author"- the examples of the use of 'dish' I've mentioned are taken from satirical writing. So, 'bowl' it is. Despite the invention of the handled 'cup', some of us retain a fondness for ignoring the handle and enclosing the vessel in our hands. Just to complicate things further we term it "cupping". You've got to envy the man or woman who got to 'cup' this hare's fur bowl in their hands.
Here is a simple recipe for tea-poached prunes. They're good served with double cream but they go well with a buttermilk pudding so I've given you a recipe for that too.
The Chinese had, by this time, been making tea for millennia. By the 10th century, tea drinking tastes there changed from leaf tea to powdered green tea which continued for four centuries before there was a return to steeped leaf tea. Drinking a steeped leaf tea from a green bowl was considered elegant and tasteful but a frothy whipped powdered green tea looked much more appealing when served in a brown or black bowl. So began the manufacture of dark glazed bowls in the southern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi in10th century China. Manipulation of the glazing, firing and cooling processes resulted in effects including tortoiseshell, oil spot and hare's fur glazes. The 'hare's fur' tea bowl, above, is in the possession of the V&A Museum in London. Three flying Phoenixes further decorate the bowl. These were created using the 'resist' method which was a speciality of Jizhou potters. Paper silhouettes were applied between a dark brown first glaze and a second lighter toned one, the paper burned away in the kiln leaving outline impressions on the bowl.
With the exception of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who seemed to be serious in her pretensions - Her 'Turkish Embassy Letters' were published only after her death as she believed "a person of quality should never turn author"- the examples of the use of 'dish' I've mentioned are taken from satirical writing. So, 'bowl' it is. Despite the invention of the handled 'cup', some of us retain a fondness for ignoring the handle and enclosing the vessel in our hands. Just to complicate things further we term it "cupping". You've got to envy the man or woman who got to 'cup' this hare's fur bowl in their hands.
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| Tea-poached prunes & Buttermilk pudding |
Here is a simple recipe for tea-poached prunes. They're good served with double cream but they go well with a buttermilk pudding so I've given you a recipe for that too.
Tea-poached Prunes (Adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters)
250ml (10 fl oz) water
1 tablespoon loose black tea (Earl Grey works well)
140g (5 oz) pitted prunes
45g (1½ oz) caster sugar
Bring the water to boil in a small non-reactive pan.
Remove from the heat and add the tea.
Leave to steep for 3 minutes.
Strain out the tea leaves and pour the liquid back into the pan. Add the prunes and the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar and heat gently for 10 minutes to soften the prunes.
Remove from the heat.
When cold, pour the pan contents into a porcelain or glass bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate until needed (keeps up to 1 week).
Buttermilk Pudding
250ml (10 fl oz) water
1 tablespoon loose black tea (Earl Grey works well)
140g (5 oz) pitted prunes
45g (1½ oz) caster sugar
Bring the water to boil in a small non-reactive pan.
Remove from the heat and add the tea.
Leave to steep for 3 minutes.
Strain out the tea leaves and pour the liquid back into the pan. Add the prunes and the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar and heat gently for 10 minutes to soften the prunes.
Remove from the heat.
When cold, pour the pan contents into a porcelain or glass bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate until needed (keeps up to 1 week).
Buttermilk Pudding
(Serves 6)
3 leaves of gelatin
3 leaves of gelatin
150ml (5fl oz) double cream
70g 2½ oz caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split
450ml (16fl oz) buttermilk*
Cover the gelatine leaves in cold water and leave to soften for 3-4 minutes.
Place the cream and sugar in a pan along with the scraped out seeds and pod of the vanilla.
Bring to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar then remove from the heat.
Remove the gelatine leaves from the water, squeezing out any excess, and stir the gelatine into the warm cream.
Remove the vanilla pod and stir in the buttermilk.
Pour the mix into small ramekins and place in the fridge for at least three hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, put a few centimetres of hot water in a shallow bowl and quickly dip the ramekins in for a 3-4 seconds to loosen the buttermilk puddings from the sides. Dry the ramekins, place a plate on top of each and invert to turn out (you'll hear a distinctive 'slurp' sound - if not, dip the ramekin in hot water again for another second and repeat the process.
450ml (16fl oz) buttermilk*
Cover the gelatine leaves in cold water and leave to soften for 3-4 minutes.
Place the cream and sugar in a pan along with the scraped out seeds and pod of the vanilla.
Bring to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar then remove from the heat.
Remove the gelatine leaves from the water, squeezing out any excess, and stir the gelatine into the warm cream.
Remove the vanilla pod and stir in the buttermilk.
Pour the mix into small ramekins and place in the fridge for at least three hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, put a few centimetres of hot water in a shallow bowl and quickly dip the ramekins in for a 3-4 seconds to loosen the buttermilk puddings from the sides. Dry the ramekins, place a plate on top of each and invert to turn out (you'll hear a distinctive 'slurp' sound - if not, dip the ramekin in hot water again for another second and repeat the process.
Serve with a few poached prunes and a little of the liquor.
Sources:
V&A Museum
“Drinking a dish of tea with Sapho": The sexual fantasies of Lady Mary Wortley Mongagu and Lord Byron by Alison Winch
Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters
* Buttermilk is a by-product of butter-making. It is the low-fat, milky liquid that separates off during the process. I use "pasteurised buttermilk" rather than "cultured buttermilk" which is thicker and has a longer shelf-life but I haven't tested it in this recipe.
V&A Museum
“Drinking a dish of tea with Sapho": The sexual fantasies of Lady Mary Wortley Mongagu and Lord Byron by Alison Winch
Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters
* Buttermilk is a by-product of butter-making. It is the low-fat, milky liquid that separates off during the process. I use "pasteurised buttermilk" rather than "cultured buttermilk" which is thicker and has a longer shelf-life but I haven't tested it in this recipe.
