Cocoa.
Cocoa is rich in nutritive elements. Like milk, it has all the
substances necessary for the growth and sustenance of the body. It is
the fruit of a small tree that grows in Mexico, Central America, the
West Indies and other islands. The fruit is in shape like a large,
thick cucumber, and contains from six to thirty beans. There is a
number of forms in which it is sold in the market, the most convenient
and nutritious being chocolate. Next comes cocoa, then cocoa nibs, and
lastly cocoa shells. The beans of the cocoa are roasted in the same
manner as coffee. The husks or shells are taken off and the beans then
ground between hot rollers. Sometimes the husks are not removed, but
ground with the bean. The ground bean is called cocoa; and mixed with
sugar, after being ground very fine, is termed chocolate. Vanilla is
often added as a flavor. Sometimes the cocoa is mixed with starch.
When the bean is broken in small pieces, these are called nibs.
To Make Cocoa.
Put a gill of the broken cocoa in a pot with two quarts of water, and
boil gently three hours. There should be a quart of liquid in the pot
when done. If the boiling has been so rapid that there is not this
quantity, add more water, and let it boil once again. Many people
prefer half broken cocoa and half shells. If the stomach is delicate,
this is better than all cocoa. Sugar and milk are used, as with
coffee.
Shells.
Use twice the quantity of shells that you would of broken cocoa, and
boil twice as long.
Chocolate.
Scrape fine an ounce (one of the small squares) of Baker's or any
other plain chocolate. Add two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and put in a
small saucepan with a table-spoonful of hot water. Stir over a hot
fire for a minute or two, until it is perfectly smooth and glossy, and
then stir it all into a quart of boiling milk, or half milk and half
water. Mix thoroughly, and serve at once. If the chocolate is wanted
richer, take twice as much chocolate, sugar, and water. Made in this
way, chocolate is perfectly smooth, and free of oily particles. If it
is allowed to boil after the chocolate is added to the milk, it
becomes oily and loses its fine flavor.
Coffee.
There is a variety of coffees; but, unlike the teas, they do not owe
their difference of flavor or color to the curing, but to the soil and
climate in which they grow. Coffee grows on small trees. The fruit is
something like the cherry, but there are two seeds in it. The beans
are separated by being bruised with a heavy roller, and are then
washed and dried. The longer the raw berry is kept the riper and
better flavored it becomes. In countries where coffee is grown the
leaves are used as much as the berry. Like tea, coffee must be
roasted, that the fine flavor shall be developed. There are large
establishments for roasting and grinding coffee. The work is done by
machinery; and nearly always the grains arc evenly roasted, and just
enough to give the right flavor. If the coffee, after roasting, is put
in close tin cans, it will retain its best qualities for a long time.
It can be ground when needed for use. Many persons think that heating
the dry coffee just before making improves the flavor. There are many
modes of making coffee, each having its advantages and disadvantages.
Some people think that by first wetting the coffee with cold water,
and letting it come to a boil, and by then adding the boiling water,
more of the strength of the coffee is extracted. When there is not
cream for coffee the milk should be boiled, as it makes the coffee
richer. As soon as the milk boils up it should be taken off of the
stove, since it grows strong and oily by much boiling. To many people
it is injurious to drink coffee; but physicians say that, taken
without milk, it is harmless. Some element of the coffee combines with
the milk to form a leathery coating on the stomach, which impairs
digestion. A great many substances are mixed with coffee, when sold,
to cheapen it,--chicory, beans, peas, rye, and wheat being the
commonest. To obtain it pure, the safest way is to buy it unground,
unless you purchase of a strictly honest dealer. Coffee drinkers, as a
rule, eat less than other people, though coffee, and also tea, have
little direct food value; but they retard the waste of the tissues,
and so take the place of food. The sugar and milk used with them give
some nutriment.
Boiled Coffee.
The old method of boiling coffee is still practised by at least one-
half the housekeepers in this country. The coffee is sometimes boiled
with an egg, which makes it perfectly clear, and also enriches it.
When an egg is not used a small piece of salt fish skin is boiled with
the coffee to clear it.
Directions for making: A small cupful of roasted and ground coffee,
one-third Mocha and two-thirds Java; a small egg, shell and all,
broken into the pot with the dry coffee. Stir veil with a spoon, and
then pour on three pints of boiling water. Let it boil from five to
ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. As soon as it
has boiled enough, pour in a cupful of cold water, and turn a little
of the coffee into a cup, to see that the nozzle of the pot is not
filled with grounds. Turn this back, and let the coffee stand a few
moments to settle, taking care that it does not boil again. The
advantages of boiled coffee are that when the egg is used the yolk
gives a very rich flavor, and when the milk or cream is added the
coffee has a rich, yellow look, which is pleasing. It has also a
peculiar flavor, which many people prefer to the flavor gained by any
other process. The disadvantages are that the egg coats the dry
coffee, and when the hot water is added the coating becomes hard, and
a great deal of the best of the coffee remains in the grounds after
boiling. Also, in boiling, much of the fine flavor is lost in the
steam that escapes from the pot.
Filtered Coffee.
Another--and really the most economical and the easiest--way of
making coffee is by filtering. The French coffee biggin is valuable
for this. It consists of two cylindrical tin vessels, one fitting into
another, and the bottom of the upper being a fine strainer. Another
coarser strainer, with a rod running from the centre, is placed upon
this. Then the coffee, which must be finely-ground, is put in, and
another strainer is placed at the top of the rod. The boiling water is
poured on, and the pot set where it will keep hot, but not boil, until
the water has gone through. This will make a clear, strong coffee,
with a rich, smooth flavor. The advantage of the two extra strainers
is that the one coming next to the fine strainer prevents the grounds
from filling up the fine holes, and so the coffee is clear, and made
more easily. The upper strainer causes the boiling water to fall on
the coffee like rain. In this way it is more evenly distributed, and
the fine coffee is not carried through the fine strainer, as it would
be if the water were poured directly on the dry coffee. When milk or
cream is added to filtered coffee it does not turn a rich yellow, as
in the case of that boiled with an egg. A few spoonfuls of this
coffee, without sugar or milk, taken after dinner, is said to help
digestion.
Vienna Coffee.
A quartet of a cupful of boiled milk. Add three table-spoonfuls of
whipped cream, and fill up with filtered coffee.
Café au Lait.
This is simply one pint of filtered coffee added to one pint of milk
that has come just to the boiling point.
Steamed Coffee.
Another mode of preparing coffee is to steam it. The coffee is put in
a pot and boiling water poured on it. This pot, which is made to fit
into a tea-kettle, is placed in the kettle, and the coffee is cooked
from ten to twenty minutes, the water in the kettle boiling all the
time. This will make a clear and delicious drink.
Tea.
There are three varieties of the tea plant; both black and green tea
can be prepared from them all. Green tea is made from leaves which are
dried quickly, and black from leaves which have first been allowed to
stand twelve hours or more before roasting. The leaves wilt and grow
moist in that time, and that is what gives the dark and peculiar
appearance to this tea. In making tea the pot should be earthen,
rinsed with boiling water and left to stand a few moments on the
stove, to dry. Put in the tea leaves, and let the pot stand a few
minutes longer. Pour on boiling water, leaving the pot standing where
it will be at the boiling point, yet will not boil, for from three to
five minutes. For moderate strength use one teaspoonful of tea to half
a pint of water. If the water is soft it should be used as soon as it
boils, for boiling causes all the gases which flavor the water to
escape; but if the water is hard it is best to boil from twenty to
thirty minutes. The gases escape from hard water also, but boiling
causes the mineral matter, which hardens the water, to settle on the
bottom of the kettle, and the water becomes softer.
Lemonade.
Good lemonade can be made with half a pint of lemon juice (extracted
with a squeezer, and strained), three pints of water and a generous
pint of sugar. Have the drink cold. Hot lemonade is highly recommended
for a cold. A glass can be made with the juice of a lemon, one large
table-spoonful of sugar and a cupful of boiling water. Drink it hot.