COLD CUT PLATTERS
This is another reply I wrote to a question from a subscriber: What is the origin of the Cold Cut Platter?
cold cut platters, origin: My best guess is that it has its origins in the Italian antipasto, which can include cured and smoked meats - and was adopted (both the word and the style) in England as long ago as the late 16th century.
'The first mess [course], or antepast as they call it, is some fine meat to urge them to have an appetite,'
Harleian Miscellany, 1590. (A collection of scarce, curious and entertaining pamphlets and tracts in manuscript and printed forms, many dating back hundreds of years, found in the late Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford's library, interspersed with historical, political, and critical notes. The collection was edited by Harley's secretary, William Oldys and Samuel Johnson in the original edition, 1744-46).
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