SC - Period Tomato Sauce

[lilinah@grin.net]

><< And no, I´m not planning on translating it. >>
>
>Why?


A short and to the point question that unfortunately requires a rather long
answer.

Several reasons. The simplest answer is, I don´t have the time. It took 10
years of my spare time, and one year full-time, to write it (and I´m a very
prolific writer). The book is, after all, the size of maybe 10 ordinary
cookbooks. If I were to translate it, it would take at least a couple of
years, maybe more, because I´m constantly learning something and I couldn´t
resist adding lots of new material.

Another thing is, I´m currently working on a new, large cookbook project
(international and ethnic recipes from all over the world). This is still
mostly in the planning and testing stages but will take up all my time at
work for the foreseeable future.

If the book were to be published for the American market, I would have to
re-test the majority of the recipes because of the difference in measuring
systems. As there are over 1600 recipes in the book, and as I´ve a huge
batch of recipes to test out for the new book, the project frankly doesn´t
appeal to me.

The main reason, however, is something that is in a way related to your
current authenticity debate. You see, even though my book tries to cover the
cuisines of the world, all kinds of foreign ingredients, famous
international dishes, etc, it is by its nature a very Icelandic book,
written from the perspective of an Icelander and with my countrymen in mind.
If I make changes in a recipe, either because some of the ingredients are
unavailable here, or very expensive, or simply because I believe people here
will like it better this way, I´m altering the recipe in an Icelandic way,
building on Icelandic traditions. An American cook would make other
adjustments, building on the culinary traditions of his country. I´m not
sure if I´m being clear enough and I don´t have a concrete example to
illustrate my point but I´ve edited a translation of a large cookbook into
Icelandic and read dozens of translated cookbooks and I have to conclude
that a translated cookbook rarely *feels* right - not even when it is very
well translated.

One more thing: My book is full of stories, quotations, references and
allusions that would only mean something to an Icelander. These are really
an integral part of the book´s character, if I may say so, and a great part
of its appeal (things like explaining an obscure food term from a book
everybody I know had read in their childhood, and everybody had been
wondering about for years). All this is, if not untranslatable, then at
least would lose its significance.

So, in a way I´m saying: The book is Icelandic, it stays that way. (Unless
someone from a big American publishing firm with a fat wallet shows up on my
doorstep, of course.)

Nanna

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