The day after Thanksgiving often presents a familiar sight: a refrigerator packed with towers of Tupperware containing turkey, stuffing, and potatoes. While the easy option is to reheat the same meal repeatedly in the microwave until it's gone, there is a more inspired path. This year, you can break free from the 'nuke and repeat' cycle by embracing a culinary philosophy perfected by the French over a century ago.
The French Revolution in Leftovers
Historical research into French home cooking reveals that restyling dinner scraps first became fashionable more than a hundred years ago. In 19th-century France, leftovers were a necessity for survival among the lower classes. In rural areas, the broth from an evening beef stew would form the base for the next morning's breakfast. In cities, street vendors known as "arlequins" would buy dinner scraps from restaurants and wealthy households to resell to the poor. For these individuals, repurposing meals was about economy, not elegance, and consequently, leftovers carried a significant social stigma.
However, a dramatic shift occurred around the turn of the 20th century. It suddenly became chic to create something new from the remains of the previous night's meal. This transformation was heavily influenced by culinary experts who began to champion the creative potential of leftovers.
Chefs and the Art of Reinvention
In 1892, the French chef Alfred Suzanne, who had formerly cooked for British royalty, published his encyclopedic cookbook, "150 Ways to Accommodate Leftovers". In it, he argued that the deep-seated prejudice against leftovers was a mistake. He wrote that dishes, when "reheated with art and discernment, transformed with taste and presented in an appetizing manner… can be as good as, if not better than, the first time they are served."
His views were supported by contemporaries like the French food critic Fulbert-Dumonteil, who praised Suzanne for explaining ingenious methods to restore "mutilated bits and pieces from epic feasts" and turn cumbersome remains into something that delighted the palate.
Education and the Rise of the Modern Home Cook
The leap of leftovers from a symbol of poverty to an outlet for creativity was also driven by social changes. In 1882, the French republican government passed legislation mandating education for all children aged 6 to 13. For girls from the lower and lower-middle classes, home economics lessons became a cornerstone of their schooling. They were taught how to handle leftovers safely, nutritiously, and economically. This skill was framed as a reflection of thrift and resourcefulness—key virtues of middle-class French femininity.
As female literacy rates soared, the publishing industry targeted this new market with a flood of domestic manuals. Many guides featured dedicated chapters on fixing leftovers, with some, like "100 Ways to Accommodate Leftovers," making it their central focus. Furthermore, the growth of the popular press saw top chefs contributing to domestic cooking magazines. These publications often had special sections with titles like "Utilizing Leftovers" and "Delicious Ways to Accommodate the Scraps."
The recipes within these sections varied widely. Some were simple and economical, such as a July 1907 recipe for "Lisette's Cake" from Family Cooking magazine, which used leftover bread soaked in sweetened milk and eggs. Others were complex and costly, like a Cordon Bleu Magazine recipe for repurposing pheasant that required hours of preparation and expensive ingredients like truffles.
For the modern home cook, these recipes were not always about practicality. Scholars suggest that women of the era read this prescriptive literature as a form of escapism, fantasising about a more creative and modern domestic life. The legacy of this movement is a powerful one: it encourages us to view our own leftovers not as a chore, but as a canvas for culinary creativity.
So this Thanksgiving, instead of making another routine turkey sandwich, consider adapting a recipe from Alfred Suzanne's historic work and transform your holiday remnants into a brand-new delight.
