Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1785) of Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm, German philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm’s law in linguistics, the co-author with his brother Wilhelm of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm and the editor of what is known in English as Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Jacob and Wilhelm were not fascists but they were ardent nationalists, and their researches were used by the likes of Hitler to promote German supremacy and domination. I consider nationalism to be one of the great scourges of humanity. In the Grimms’ day, culturally similar Germanic peoples were spread over numerous states and empires. The ideal of a unified German state resonated through the 19^th century following the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna, and led ultimately to the rise of Hitler and fascism in the 1930s. I don’t lay the precise politics and history of German nationalism at the Grimms’ door, but they played a big part in it all.

I could give you a distinctively Germanic recipe, but why bolster nationalism? Here’s a Bulgarian recipe for Салата Снежанка, translated as “Snow White salad.” It’s not really a reference to the tale, just an indication of its whiteness. But let’s not quibble; Snow White got her name because her skin was as white as snow (just in case you need a racist element !!). All it really consists of is cucumbers and nuts in yoghurt flavored with dill. You barely need a recipe. I prepare something similar – raita – when I make really hot curries.

Snow White Salad

Ingredients

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
2 cups plain yoghurt
½ cup walnuts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
fresh dill, finely chopped
olive oil
salt

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl except for the dill, oil, and salt. Everything should be thoroughly mixed. Then add the remaining three to suit your tastes and mix well. Chill for several hours before serving.