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More Than Just Storing and Emptying: The Bladder’s Functions in the Kitchen

Abstract: FRI-09
Sources of Funding: none

Introduction

While centuries of physicians and anatomists dating back to Hippocrates and Galen have sought to characterize the functions of the bladder, another group simultaneously found additional uses: cooks.

Methods

Primary and secondary sources describing the multiple uses of the bladder in food preparation were examined.

Results

An early description of the bladder in cooking comes from Greece in Aristophanes' The Clouds. Written in 423 B.C.E., it contains a passage in which the food placed inside a sheep's bladder for roasting spilled out when the bladder ruptured. The Romans found another use, as described in a recipe for suckling pig from the first century A.C.E. The bladder was filled with a dressing and a bird's quill was placed in the bladder neck. The bladder and quill tip were then used like a pastry bag to apply the dressing under the pig's skin for seasoning prior to baking. The bladder played a role in medieval cooking. A fifteenth-century German cookbook includes a recipe for creating a giant egg: several yolks were placed inside a small bladder, which was then placed inside a large bladder filled with egg whites, then cooked. Popular at Lent, saffron and figs substituted for yolks, while ground almonds and pike roe substituted for the whites. The bladder fulfilled multiple functions in 17th and 18th century cooking. Animal bladders, usually cow or sheep in origin, became commonplace in food storage. Fresh or rehydrated dried bladders were used to cover crockery. As the bladders dried, they created an airtight seal, preserving the contents. During this time, bladders became popular as a way to preserve flavor and moisture during cooking, similar to the modern method of sous vide. Meats, poultry, and seasonings were placed inside the bladder (ox bladders were described in the use of cooking whole chickens in 1730), which was then tied and boiled until the contents were fully cooked. The bladder was then opened and discarded. The technique is referred to as en vessie and is still used today in traditional French cooking. The bladder can also be eaten. For centuries, cow bladder has served as casing in the traditional Italian salumi mortadella di Bologna and culatello, and bladders can be used in preparing regional fare such as Scottish haggis, Slovenian ded and vratnik, or French gogue.

Conclusions

Although well known to the masses for storing and emptying waste, a full understanding of the bladder continues to be debated among urologists. Still, the bladder's history of culinary utility in creating and storing foods is irrefutable, proving it to be a versatile organ.

Funding

none

Authors
Janae Preece
Kristina Suson
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