Literary notes about Caul (AI summary)
The word caul appears in literature with a range of meanings, often shifting between the literal and the symbolic. In culinary texts, it designates a membrane used to wrap meat for cooking, serving both to protect and to impart moisture, as seen in directions to cover dishes or fillings with pig’s or veal caul [1, 2, 3, 4]. In religious and anatomical contexts, caul refers to the thin membrane covering internal organs or even an infant’s head at birth—sometimes regarded as a good-luck charm believed to protect from drowning [5, 6, 7]. Moreover, it is employed metaphorically to evoke an idea of something delicate yet protective, as in literary allusions where a caul represents an unseen covering or a hidden safeguard [8, 9].
- Pour in half a pint of water; and cover the dish with a piece of pig's caul, or paper spread with dripping.
— from The Skilful CookA Practical Manual of Modern Experience by Mary Harrison - Cover each half of the kidney with this stuffing, and wrap them securely in pieces of pig’s caul, large enough to allow for the forcemeat
— from Spons' Household ManualA treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management - THESE IN CAUL, FRY, AND SERVE WITH WINE GRAVY.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - COVER THE ROAST WITH CAUL AND PARCHMENT PAPER TIGHTENED WITH SKEWERS, AND PLACE IT IN THE ROASTING PAN, ADDING BROTH, OIL AND WINE.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - The two kidneys with the fat wherewith the flanks are covered, and the caul of the liver with the two little kidneys.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - [Pg 134] could not be drowned himself, for instance, because he had been born with a caul over his face.
— from Navy Boys Behind the Big Guns; Or, Sinking the German U-Boats by Halsey Davidson - “That,” replied I—a sudden thought having struck me—“is my caul; I was born with a caul, and I have always worn it, as it saves a man from drowning.”
— from The Privateer's-Man, One hundred Years Ago by Frederick Marryat - To use an awkward metaphor, it was before her face like an overtone; it was an invisible caul.
— from The Vertical City by Fannie Hurst - I was born with a caul, which was advertised for sale, in the newspapers, at the low price of fifteen guineas.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
