What's for Dessert? Old Books?

Old books are generally used for collecting, possibly reading if you handle them with great care. However, there are other uses, particularly if they aren't of significant value. Artists will cut them up to use for artworks, or decorate them so as to make the book itself a piece of art. Then, there are more mundane uses like carving out the middle to make a book safe.

Others have found a different way to show their appreciation for old books without actually using them. They have developed scents using the chemicals found in old books (generally binder's glue). They use these to create a perfume. You can smell like an old book if that is your wish.

Now a new use for old books has been devised, and it comes from a famous Spanish chef. His name is Jordi Roca and he and his brothers run the Michelin three-star restaurant El Cellar de Can Roca. He previously designed desserts using exotic flavors such as truffles, flowers and perfume. Recently, he came up with a more original and outrageous idea. He wanted to create a dessert that had the essence of old books. Why? He said he was fascinated by the smell of old books. People are fascinated with lots of smells, like that of a (clean) young baby, but do we want to eat them? I like old books too, but have never had any interest in eating one, and Chef Roca notwithstanding, still don't.

Anyway, this is how he proceeded. He takes the pages out of some “fragrant” old books, slathers them with unflavored butter, lets it absorb the book's fragrance overnight, scrapes off the butter, puts it in alcohol, heats the alcohol until it evaporates, and leaves the essence of the book. He uses that essence to flavor the dessert. A caution he has left out is do not use the pages of a 19^th century book with a bright green cover. The coloring probably contains arsenic. This is a shortened version of how it is done but I don't fully understand the process. I don't need to explain it better because I know you have enough sense not to do this.

Chef Roca posted a video of his making a dessert flavored with old books on TikTok and it has already been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. At the end he flashes the “ok” sign with his hands. The dessert is even garnished with fragments of book pages, which apparently can be eaten too. If you don't want to try to make it, you can go to his restaurant and he will prepare it for you. The desert costs around $350. That's all right with me as I wouldn't buy it at any price. Old books are good for collecting, reading, maybe making a piece of art, but eating should be reserved for food. A chef ought to know that.

If you would like to see how Chef Jordi Roca makes his old book dessert, click here.

Rare Book Monthly

What's for Dessert? Old Books?

Rare Book Monthly

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What's for Dessert? Old Books?

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