Among the items that were salvaged from the Titanic's doomed maiden voyage is a lunch menu from the ship's last day before it struck an iceberg and sank in 1912. The menu, due to be auctioned off on Sept. 30, was saved by a rescued passenger.
The 100-year-old artifact sheds light on the typical dishes of the early years of the last century -- you know, just your usual jacket potatoes, corned beef, and ... cockie leekie?
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The menu describes dishes served in the ship's first-class dining room and is dated April 14, 1912, the day before the ship's tragic sinking early the following morning. Of the 2,200 passengers on board, some 1,500 perished in the icy North Atlantic sea.
@joebeef I know @fredmadeit likes train menus, but this one sounds yummy too. pic.twitter.com/SQIwugRhdz— Manuel Ferrarini (@manuelferrarini) August 31, 2015
First-class passenger Abraham Lincoln Salomon, who kept the menu as he escaped via a lifeboat, might have dined on some relatively recognizable dishes: custard pudding, grilled mutton chops, and sardines.
The ship set sail from Southampton in England, meaning the dining menu also includes some traditional British dishes that may sound bizarre to Americans of the present.
Since cockie leekie and the potted shrimps sound like an experimental EDM group, here's a handy explainer on five of the dishes that might leave you scratching your head.
Cockie leekie
Cockie leekie is a Scottish soup consisting of leeks and chicken with rice and sometimes barley.
Potted shrimps
Another dish that finds its roots in England, potted shrimp originates in Lancashire, a county in the northwest. It's exactly what it sounds like: brown shrimp in nutmeg-flavored butter, potted in a small dish. That may not sound too appetizing, but you can also eat it on toast.
Soused herring
A herring fish soaked in a preserving liquid, such as a mild vinegar pickle.
Egg à l’Argenteuil
Despite the fancy name, the dish is relatively simple: scrambled eggs with asparagus.
Galantine of chicken
A French dish of de-boned, stuffed chicken meat, which is not unlike a Turducken, and might not be too out of place at a Thanksgiving dinner.
The auction starts Sept. 30 at 12 p.m. ET via Invaluable, and the menu is expected to fetch $50,000 to $70,000.