The poem was written by Sydney Smith, an English writer and clergyman, a wit and a liberal reformer, who is also known for being one of the founders of the Edinburgh Review.
The poem is as follows: Two boiled potatoes, strained through a kitchen sieve, Softness and smoothness to the salad give; Of mordant mustard take a single spoon— Distrust the condiment that bites too soon; Yet deem it not, thou man of taste, a fault, To add a double quantity of salt.
Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, And twice with vinegar procured from town; True taste requires it, and your poet begs The pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs.
Let onions' atoms lurk within the bowl, And, scarce suspected, animate the whole; And lastly in the flavoured compound toss A magic spoonful of anchovy sauce.
[1] The poem was reproduced in the book Common Sense in The Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery by Marion Harland, a pen name of Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune, which was to become the most successful American cookbook at the end of the 19th century, selling over 10 million copies.