BOTTLED GINGER BEER.—One gallon of boiling water; one pound of loaf
sugar; one ounce of best ginger, bruised; one ounce of cream of tartar
(or a lemon sliced). Stir them up until the sugar is dissolved, let
it rest until the heat falls to the warmth of new milk; then add one
table-spoonful of good yeast, poured on to a bit of bread, and set in
the middle of the pan floating in the mixture. Cover with a cloth, and
stand for twenty-four hours; then strain and put into bottles, filling
each only about three parts. Cork tightly, and tie down; in warm weather
it will be ready to drink in two days. The above will make fifteen to
eighteen bottles, and costs 8d. or 10d.
ANOTHER.—A BETTER ARTICLE, IN LARGER QUANTITY.—White sugar, twenty
pounds; lemon or lime juice, eighteen ounces; honey, one pound; bruised
ginger, twenty-two ounces; water, eighteen gallons. Boil the ginger in
three gallons of the water for half an hour; then add the sugar, the
juice, and the honey, with the remainder of the water, and strain through
a cloth. When cold, add the white of one egg, and half an ounce of
essence of lemon. Stand four days, then bottle. This is first-rate, and
will keep many months.
ANOTHER RECEIPT FOR GINGER BEER.—One ounce of ginger, well bruised,
and boiled in four quarts of water, with the skins of two lemons; when
boiled, add the juice of the lemons, with one ounce of cream of tartar,
and one pound and a half of lump sugar. Stir all well together; then put
four quarts of cold water to it, and when lukewarm, add the whites of two
eggs, beaten to a strong froth, with two table-spoonfuls of fresh yeast;
let it ferment two or three hours, then bottle, and cork it tightly. It
will be ready for use in twelve hours.—[The above receipt may be relied
upon.]
GINGER BEER POWDERS.—Powdered lump sugar, four ounces; carbonate of soda,
five drachms; powdered ginger, one drachm. Mix these ingredients well
together, divide into twelve equal parts—put each into a _blue_ paper.
Tartaric acid, one ounce; divide into twelve equal parts—put each into a
_white_ paper. Dissolve the contents of one of the blue and one of the
white papers, each in half a glass of spring water. Pour one into the
other, and drink while effervescing. [I have used this for many years,
and have given it to many of my messmates.—T. J. L., Midshipman, R. N.]
The tartaric acid may (if preferred) be thrown into the glass of the
other mixture, which should then be nearly full. This plan prolongs the
effervescence. Cost, 7d.
SODA POWDERS.—Carbonate of soda, thirty grains in each blue paper;
tartaric acid, twenty-five grains in each white paper. Mix as ginger beer
powders.
SEIDLITZ POWDERS (APERIENT).—Tartrate of soda, two drachms; carbonate
of soda, two scruples; mix and put it in a _blue_ paper; tartaric acid,
thirty-five grains, to be put in _white_ paper. Mix in half a pint of
water.
ANOTHER.—MAY BE KEPT IN ONE BOTTLE.—Tartrate of soda, three ounces;
carbonate of ditto, one ounce; tartaric acid, one ounce; white sugar,
four ounces; all in fine powder, well dried separately; mix well, add
five drops essence of lemon; pass through a sieve, and put into a clean
dry bottle. A dessert-spoonful to a glass of water. Cost, 1s. 4d., if
mixed at home.
SPRUCE BEER POWDERS.—Powdered white sugar, three ounces; essence of
spruce, forty drops; carbonate of soda, five drachms and a scruple. Mix,
and divide into two _blue_ papers. Tartaric acid, six drachms; wrap in
twelve _white_ papers. Mix as ginger beer powders. Cost, 8d.
PORTABLE LEMONADE.—Tartaric or citric acid, one ounce; finely powdered
lump sugar, half a pound; essence of lemon, twenty drops. Mix. Two or
three tea-spoonfuls make a capital glass of lemonade. Cost, 8d., with
tartaric acid; 1s. with citric acid.
ORANGEADE.—Squeeze out the juice of an orange, pour boiling water on a
little of the peel, and cover it close. Boil water and sugar to a thin
syrup, and skim it. When all are cold, mix the juice, the infusion, and
the syrup, with as much more water as will make a rich drink. Strain
through a jelly-bag, and ice.
GINGER LEMONADE.—Boil twelve pounds and a half of lump sugar for twenty
minutes in ten gallons of water; clear it with the whites of six eggs.
Bruise half a pound of common ginger, boil with the liquor, and then pour
it upon ten lemons pared. When quite cold, put it in a cask, with two
table-spoonfuls of yeast, the lemons sliced, and add half an ounce of
isinglass. Bung up the cask the next day. It will be ready to bottle in
three weeks, and to drink in another three weeks.
HIPPOCRAS.—Digest for three days half a drachm of mace, ginger, cloves,
nutmegs, and galingale, in three quarts of Lisbon wine, and also
carraway; add an ounce of cinnamon. Strain, and mix twenty ounces of
white sugar with the liquor.
IMPERIAL, BOTTLED.—Pour a pint of boiling water on a drachm of cream of
tartar, flavour with lemon-peel and sugar, and bottle.
IMPERIAL DRINK.—Put half an ounce of cream of tartar, four ounces of
white sugar, and three ounces of orange-peel, into a pan; pour three
pints of boiling water on, strain, and cool.
IMPERIAL POP.—Take three ounces of cream of tartar, an ounce of bruised
ginger, a pound and a half of white sugar, an ounce of lemon-juice,
and pour a gallon and a half of boiling water on them; add two
table-spoonfuls of yeast. Mix, bottle, and tie down the corks as usual.
KING CUP.—Take the rind and juice of a lemon, a lump of sugar, a small
piece of bruised ginger, and pour on them about one pint and a half of
boiling water; when cold, strain, add a wine-glassful of sherry, and ice.
LAIT SUCRE.—Boil a pint of milk, sweeten with white sugar, and flavour
with lemon.
LEMONADE.—Take sixteen lemons, pare thin, cut in halves, squeeze well,
and throw all into a pan; add a pound and a half of white sugar, a
gallon of boiling water, and five table-spoonfuls of white wine (four if
sherry); mix, strain, and cool.
LEMONADE AU LAIT.—Take half a pint of lemon-juice, the same of white
wine, three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, and a quart of boiling
water; mix, and when cold add a pint of _boiling_ milk; let it stand
twelve hours, then pour through a jelly-bag. This makes two quarts; and
about seven lemons will produce half a pint of juice.
APPLEADE.—Cut two large apples in slices, and pour a quart of boiling
water on them, strain well and sweeten. To be drunk when cold or iced.
RASPBERRY VINEGAR.—Put a pound of fine fruit into a bowl, pour upon it
a quart of the best white-wine vinegar, next day, strain the liquor on
a pound of fresh raspberries; the following day do the same, but do not
squeeze the fruit, only drain the liquor as dry as you can. Bottle, and
cork well, then cover the corks with bottle cement.
APRICOT EFFERVESCING DRINK.—Take a pint of the juice of bruised apricots,
filter until clear, and make into a syrup with half a pound of sugar,
then add one ounce of tartaric acid, bottle, and cork well. For a tumbler
three parts full of water, add two table-spoonfuls of the syrup, and a
scruple of carbonate of soda, stir well, and drink while effervescing.
BARLEY WATER.—1. Pick clean, and wash well a handful of common barley,
then simmer gently in three pints of water with a bit of lemon-peel.
Prepared thus, it does not nauseate like pearl-barley water. 2. Take
two ounces and a half of pearl-barley: wash well, then add half a pint
of water, and boil for a little time, throw away the liquor, pour four
imperial pints of boiling water on the barley, boil down to two pints,
strain, flavour with sugar, and lemon-peel, if wished.
BARLEY WATER, COMPOUND.—Boil two pints of barley water, and a pint of
water together, with two ounces and a half of sliced figs, half an ounce
of liquorice root sliced and bruised, and two ounces and a half of
raisins. Reduce to two pints, and strain.
BEER, SPRUCE, POWDERS.—See previous page.
BEER, TREACLE.—Take a pound and a half of hops, and boil in thirty-six
gallons of water for an hour, then add fourteen pounds of treacle, and a
little yeast to work it; ferment and bottle.
BROWN SPRUCE BEER.—Pour four gallons of cold water into a nine-gallon
barrel, then add four gallons more, quite boiling, and six pounds of
molasses, with about eight or nine table-spoonfuls of the essence of
spruce, and on its getting a little cooler, the same quantity of good ale
yeast. Shake the barrel well, then leave with bung out for three days;
bottle in stone bottles, cork well, wire carefully, pack in sand, and it
will be fit to drink in two weeks.
CAPILLAIRE, MOCK.—1. Take three pounds and a half of loaf sugar,
three-quarters of a pound of coarse sugar, two whites of eggs well beaten
with the shells, boil together in a pint and a half of water, and skim
carefully. Then add an ounce of orange-flower water, strain and put into
_perfectly dry_ bottles. When cold, mix a table-spoonful or two of this
syrup in a little warm or cold water. 2. Mix two tea-spoonfuls of curaçoa
with a pint of syrup. 3. Boil a quart of water well, add three pounds of
white sugar, the white of an egg; skim, and boil to a syrup; then add,
while warm, four table-spoonfuls of orange-flower water, strain, and use
the same as the others.
CAPILLAIRE, TRUE.—Take forty-eight grains of Canadian maiden-hair
(_adiantum pedatum_), six drams of boiling water, and an ounce and
twenty grains of white sugar. Infuse two-thirds of the maiden-hair in
the water, strain, dissolve the sugar in the infusion. Clarify with the
white of egg, pour it over the remainder of the maiden-hair, placed in
a water-bath, digest for two hours, and strain the syrup. For large
quantities the proportions are:—Maiden-hair, 192 parts. Boiling water,
1500 parts. White sugar, 2000 parts.
CHERRY DRINK.—Prepare the same as apricot, substituting the cherry juice
for the other fruit.
COBBLER, SHERRY.—Take some very fine and clean ice, break into small
pieces, fill a tumbler to within an inch of the top with it, put a
table-spoonful of plain syrup, capillaire, or any other flavour—some
prefer strawberry—add the quarter of the zest of a lemon, and a few drops
of the juice. Pill with sherry, stir it up, and let it stand for five or
six minutes. Sip it gently through a straw.
COOL TANKARD.—Put into a quart of mild ale a wine-glassful of white wine,
the same of brandy and capillaire, the juice of a lemon, and a little
piece of the rind. Add a sprig of borage or balm, a bit of toasted bread
and nutmeg grated on the top.
CRANBERRY DRINK.—Put a tea-cupful of cranberries into a cup of water, and
mash them. Boil, in the mean time, two quarts of water with one large
spoonful of oatmeal, and a bit of lemon-peel; add the cranberries and
sugar (but not too much, otherwise the fine sharpness of the fruit will
be destroyed), a quarter of a pint of white wine, or less, according to
taste; boil for half an hour, and strain.
CURDS AND WHEY—CHEAP METHOD.—Add six grains of citric acid to a
wine-glassful of milk, and the result will be a pleasant acidulous whey,
and a fine curd.
CURDS AND WHEY—ITALIAN METHOD.—Take several of the rough coats that line
the gizzards of turkeys and fowls, cleanse from the dirt, rub well with
salt, and hang them up to dry; when required for use, break off some of
the skin, pour boiling water on, digest for eight or nine hours, and use
the same as rennet.
CURRANT WATER.—Take a pound of currants, and squeeze into a quart of
water; put in four or five ounces of pounded sugar. Mix well, strain, and
ice, or allow to get cold.
DRINK DIVINE.—Mix a bottle of cider, half a bottle of perry, and the same
of sherry, with half a gill of brandy, then add a sliced lemon, the rind
pared as thin as possible, and a toasted biscuit, which is to be added to
the liquor as hot as possible. Drink iced, or cooled.
EAU SUCRE.—Dissolve sugar in boiling water, and drink cold.
EFFERVESCING LEMONADE.—Boil two pounds of white sugar with a pint of
lemon-juice, bottle and cork. Put a table-spoonful of the syrup into
a tumbler about three parts full of cold water, add twenty grains of
carbonate of soda, and drink quickly.
FLAP.—Put a little brandy in a tumbler, and add a bottle of soda-water.
GINGER BEER, BOTTLED.—See previous page.
GINGER BEER, INDIAN.—To ten quarts of boiling water, add two ounces of
pounded ginger, one ounce of cream of tartar, two limes, and two pounds
of sugar. Stir until cold, then strain through flannel until quite clear,
adding a pint of beer, and four wine-glassfuls of good toddy. Bottle, tie
down the corks, shake each bottle well for some time, place them upright,
and they will be fit to drink the next day. This does not keep long.
SUPREME NECTAR.—Put into a nine-gallon cask six pounds of moist sugar,
five ounces of bruised ginger, four ounces of cream of tartar, four
lemons, eight ounces of yeast, and seven gallons of boiling water. Work
two or three days, strain, add brandy one pint, bung very close, and in
fourteen days bottle, and wire down.
TAMARIND DRINK.—Boil three pints of water with an ounce and a half of
tamarinds, three ounces of currants, and two ounces of stoned raisins,
till about a third has evaporated. Strain, add a bit of lemon-peel, which
is to be removed in half an hour, then cool.
WHITE SPRUCE BEER.—Take six pounds of white sugar, four ounces of essence
of spruce, ten gallons of boiling water, and an ounce of yeast. Work the
same as in making ginger beer, and bottle immediately in half pints.
Brown spruce beer is made with treacle instead of sugar.
WINTER BEVERAGES.
ALEBERRY.—Mix two large spoonfuls of fine oatmeal in sufficient sweet
small beer, two hours previous to using it; strain well, boil, and
sweeten according to taste. Pour into a warm jug, add wine, lemon-juice,
and nutmeg to taste, and serve hot with thin slips of toast or rusks.
ALE, MULLED.—Boil a pint of good sound ale with a little grated nutmeg
and sugar. Beat up three eggs, and mix them with a little cold ale; then
add the hot ale to it gradually, and pour backwards and forwards from one
vessel to the other several times, to prevent its curdling. Warm, and
stir till it thickens, then add a table-spoonful of brandy, and serve hot
with toast.
ARRACK, MOCK.—Take a scruple (twenty grains) of benzoic acid, and add to
a quart of rum. Prepare punch with it.
ATHOL BROSE.—Add two wine-glassfuls of Scotch whisky to a wine-glassful
of heather-honey; mix well, and then stir in a well-beaten new-laid egg.
BANG.—Take a pint of cider, and add to a pint of warm ale; sweeten with
treacle or sugar to taste, grate in some nutmeg and ginger, and add a
wine-glassful of gin or whisky.
BISHOP.—Take three smooth-skinned and large Seville oranges, and grill
them to a pale brown colour over a clear slow fire; then place in a small
punch-bowl that will about hold them, and pour over them half a pint
from a bottle of old Bordeaux wine, in which a pound and a quarter of
loaf sugar is dissolved; then cover with a plate, and let it stand for
two days. When it is to be served, cut and squeeze the oranges into a
small sieve placed above a jug containing the remainder of the bottle of
sweetened Bordeaux, previously made very hot, and if when mixed it is not
sweet enough, add more sugar. Serve hot in tumblers. Some persons make
Bishop with raisin or Lisbon wine, and add mace, cloves, and nutmegs, but
it is not the proper way.
CARDINAL is made the same way as Bishop, substituting old Rhenish wine
for the Bordeaux.
CLARY, MOCK.—Warm a bottle of claret, sweeten with honey, and add
allspice and cloves to taste. Serve hot.
CRAMBAMBULL.—Take two bottles of light porter or ale, and boil them in a
pan. Then put into the liquor half a pint of rum, and from half a pound
to a pound of loaf sugar. After this has been boiling for a few minutes,
take the whole from the fire, and put into the mixture the whites and the
yolks of from six to eight eggs, previously well whisked; stir the whole
for a minute or two, and pour it into a punch-bowl, to be drunk out of
tumblers. It tastes well hot or cold.
CAUDLE.—1. Make half a pint of fine gruel with “Robinson’s Patent
Groats,” add a piece of butter the size of a large nutmeg, a
table-spoonful of brandy, the same of white wine, a little grated nutmeg
and lemon-peel, and serve hot. 2. Put three quarts of water into a pot,
set over the fire to boil; mix smooth as much oatmeal as will thicken the
whole with a pint of cold water, and when the water boils, pour in the
thickening, and add about twenty peppercorns finely powdered. Boil till
pretty thick, then add sugar to taste, half a pint of good ale, and a
wine-glassful of gin, all warmed up together. Serve hot.
CAUDLE, BROWN.—Take a quart of water, mix in three table-spoonfuls of
oatmeal, a blade of mace, and a small piece of lemon-peel; let it boil
about a quarter of an hour, skimming and stirring it well, but taking
care that it does not boil over. When done, strain through a coarse
sieve, sweeten to taste, add a little grated nutmeg, a pint of good sweet
ale, and half a pint of white wine; then serve hot.
CAUDLE, COLD.—Boil a quart of spring water, when cold, add the yolk of an
egg, the juice of a small lemon, six table-spoonfuls of raisin wine, and
sugar to taste.
CAUDLE, FLOUR.—Take a dessert-spoonful of fine flour, and rub it into a
smooth batter, with five table-spoonfuls of spring water. Put a quarter
of a pint of new milk into a saucepan, set over the fire, with two lumps
of sugar, and when it boils, stir the flour and water gradually into it,
and keep stirring for twenty minutes over a slow fire. Nutmeg or ginger
may be grated in, if thought proper.
CAUDLE, FLUMMERY.—Put half a pint of fine oatmeal into a quart of spring
water, and let it stand all night. In the morning stir it well, and
strain through a coarse sieve into a skillet or saucepan, then add two
blades of mace and some grated nutmeg; set on the fire, keep stirring,
and let it boil for a quarter of an hour, when if too thick, add a little
more water, and let it boil a few minutes longer; then add half a pint
of white wine, a table-spoonful of orange-flower water, the juice of a
lemon, the same of an orange, sugar to taste, and a piece of butter about
the size of a walnut; warm the whole together, thicken with the yolk of a
well-beaten egg, and drink hot.
CAUDLE, OATMEAL.—Take a quart of ale, a pint of stale beer, and a quart
of water; mix all together, and add a handful of fine oatmeal, six
cloves, two blades of mace, some nutmeg, and eight allspice berries
bruised. Set over a slow fire, and let it boil for half an hour, stirring
it well all the time; then strain through a coarse sieve, add half a
pound of sugar, or to taste, a piece of lemon-peel. Pour into a pan,
cover close, and warm before serving.
CAUDLE, TEA.—Make a pint of strong green tea, pour it into a saucepan,
and set over a slow fire. Beat the yolks of two eggs well, and mix with
half a pint of white wine, some grated nutmeg, and sugar to taste; then
pour into the saucepan, stir well until hot, and serve.
CAUDLE, RICE.—Make the same as flour caudle, using ground rice instead
of flour, and when done, add cinnamon and sugar to taste, and a
wine-glassful of brandy.
CAUDLE, WHITE.—Mix two table-spoonfuls of fine oatmeal in a quart of
water, two hours before using it, strain through a sieve and boil it,
then sweeten with sugar, and season with lemon-juice and nutmeg.
DEVILLED ALE.—Cut a slice of bread about an inch thick, toast and butter
it, then sprinkle with cayenne pepper and ginger, and place in the bottom
of a jug, add a pint of warm ale, and sugar to taste.
EGG-FLIP.—To make a quart of flip, put the ale on the fire to warm, and
beat up three or four eggs with four ounces of moist sugar; remove the
froth of the ale, while on the fire, until it begins to boil, mix the
froth with the sugar and eggs, add grated nutmeg or ginger to taste, and
a gill of rum. When the ale boils, stir it gradually into the eggs and
rum, until quite smooth, then serve.
EGG WINE.—Beat up an egg and mix it with a table-spoonful of spring
water. Put a wine-glassful of white wine, half a glass of spring water,
and sugar and nutmeg to taste, into a small saucepan, place over a slow
fire, and when it boils add it gradually to the egg, stirring well; then
return the whole to the saucepan, and place over the fire again, stir for
a minute, remove, and serve with toast. If it boils when placed on the
fire a second time, it will curdle.
ELDER WINE, MULLED.—Put sufficient wine into a saucepan, warm over the
fire, and if requisite add sugar, spice or water. When warmed, serve with
thin slips of toast or rusks.
HOT PURL.—Put a quart of mild ale into a saucepan, add a table-spoonful
of grated nutmeg, and place over a slow fire until it nearly boils. Mix
a little cold ale with sugar to taste, and, gradually, two eggs well
beaten; then add the hot ale, stirring one way to prevent curdling—and a
quarter of a pint of whisky. Warm the whole again, and then pour from one
vessel into another till it becomes smooth.
JINGLE.—Roast three apples, grate some nutmeg over them, add sugar to
taste, and place in a quart jug, with some slices of toasted plumcake;
make some ale hot, and fill up the jug, then serve.
OXFORD NIGHTCAP.—Take half a tumbler of tea, made as usual with sugar and
milk, add a slice of lemon, a wine-glass of new milk, and the same of rum
or brandy; beat up a new-laid egg, and add to the whole while warm.
POOR MAN’S DRINK.—Take two quarts of water, and place in a saucepan with
four ounces of pearl-barley, two ounces of figs split, two ounces of
stoned raisins, and an ounce of root-liquorice sliced; boil all together
till only a quart remains; then strain, and use as a drink.
POPE is made the same as Bishop, substituting “Tokay” for Bordeaux.
POSSET, ALE.—Boil a pint of new milk with a slice of toasted bread,
sweeten a bottle of mild ale, and pour it into a basin with nutmeg or
other spice, add the boiling milk to it, and when the head rises, serve.
POSSET, COLD.—Take a pint of cream, half a pint of white wine, the juice
of half a lemon, and the peel rasped into it. Sweeten the cream and wine,
put the latter into a basin, and then pour the cream from a height into
the basin, stirring both well all the time; remove the froth, let it
remain for a day in lukewarm water if the weather is cold, and then serve.
POSSET, JELLY.—Take eight eggs, leave out the whites of four, and beat
all the remainder well together in a basin; then add half a pint of white
wine, a little strong ale (to taste), and sugar: put into a saucepan, and
set over a slow fire, stirring all the time. Boil a pint of milk with
a little nutmeg and cinnamon, just enough to flavour it, and, when the
eggs and wine are hot, add the boiling milk to it; then remove from the
fire, pour into a punch-bowl, cover with a plate for half an hour, then
sprinkle the top with pounded sugar and serve.
POSSET, LEMON.—Steep the rind of a lemon pared thin, in a pint of sweet
white wine two hours before required, add the juice of one lemon, and
sugar to taste; put it in a bowl with a quart of milk or cream, and whisk
one way till very thick. This will fill twenty glasses, which may be
filled the day before required.
POSSET, ORANGE.—Take the crumb of a penny loaf grated fine, and put it
into a pint of water, with half the peel of a Seville orange grated, or
sugar rubbed upon it. Boil all together, till it looks thick and clear:
then take the juice of half a Seville orange, three ounces of sweet, and
one of bitter almonds, beat well with a table-spoonful of brandy, add
sugar to taste, and a pint of white or raisin wine; mix well, add to the
posset, and serve.
POSSET, POPE’S.—Blanch and pound four ounces of sweet almonds, and half
an ounce of bitter ones; add boiling water, and strain, sweeten, and make
hot half a bottle of white wine; mix.
PUNCH, AFTER THE FASHION OF THE WEST INDIAN PLANTERS.—“He made his
appearance with a respectably sized bowl, an enormous jug of boiling
water, and a large paper bag filled with sugar. Our punch-maker then
commenced operations, and having extracted from his secret store a
bottle of his matchless _rum_, his _limes_, and a small pot of _Guava
Jelly_, he brewed about a pint of green tea (two ounces); and, the
infusion finished, two-thirds of the sugar was dissolved in it. After the
tea-leaves had been thrown aside, the remainder of the sugar was rubbed
on the rind of the limes, Mr. Hamilton observing that the essential oil
which conveyed the exquisite flavour was thus more strongly diffused
throughout the compound than when the skin was peeled: then the delicious
acid of the fruit was added to the already impregnated sugar, and as
soon as the several lumps had imbibed the proportion required, the Guava
Jelly (and without this confection no punch can be pronounced perfect)
was dissolved in a pint or so of boiling water. This done, the tea, the
sweets and acids were commingled, and the foundation or sherbet tasted by
the experienced palate of the grand compounder; six glasses of cognac,
two of madeira, and the bottle of old rum were added, and over all about
a quart more of boiling water, and, as a finishing touch, the slightest
possible sprinkling of nutmeg. Here was the punch! and oh! what punch!
it out-nectared nectar! I have, in the West Indies, since the period I
am recording, drunk some very luscious and fascinating mixtures nearly
resembling it; but I never know it surpassed, if equalled, even in the
tropical regions.”—_From Topley’s Sportsman in Canada._
POSSET, ROYAL.—Take half a pint of ale, mix a pint of cream with it; then
add the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two well beaten, sweeten to
taste and flavour with nutmeg. Pour into a saucepan, set over the fire,
stir well until thick, and before it boils, remove; pour into a basin and
serve hot.
POSSET, SACK.—Put a quart of new milk into a saucepan, and place it over
a slow clear fire. When it boils, crumble four Damascus biscuits (page
279) into it; give it one boil, remove from the fire, add grated nutmeg
and sugar to taste, stir in half a pint of sack (canary wine), and serve.
French roll will answer instead of the biscuits.
POSSET, SNOW.—Boil a stick of cinnamon, and a quarter of a nutmeg, with
a quart of new milk, and when it boils remove the spice. Beat the yolks
of ten eggs well, and mix gradually with the milk until thick; then beat
the whites of the eggs with sugar and canary wine into a snow. Put a pint
of canary (sack) into a saucepan, sweeten to taste, set over a slow fire,
and pour the milk and snow into the saucepan, stirring all the time it
is over the fire; when warm, remove from the fire, cover close, and set
aside for a little time before being used.
POSSET, TREACLE.—Boil a pint of milk, add sufficient treacle to curdle
it; allow the curd to settle, strain off the liquid, and drink it as hot
as possible.
POSSET, WINE.—Boil some slices of white bread in a quart of milk; when
quite soft take it off the fire, add sugar and grated nutmeg to taste.
Pour it into a basin, add a pint of raisin or other sweet wine by
degrees, and serve with toasted bread.
PUNCH, COLD.—Pour half a pint of gin on the rind of a lemon; add a
table-spoonful of lemon-juice, a wine-glassful of maraschino, a pint and
a half of water, and two bottles of iced water.
PUNCH, COMMON.—Take two large fresh lemons with rough skins and full of
juice. Rub some large lumps of white sugar over the lemons till they
have acquired the oil from the rind, then put them into a bowl with as
much more as is necessary to sweeten the punch to taste; then squeeze
the lemon-juice upon the sugar, and bruise the sugar in the juice, add a
quart of boiling water and mix well; then strain through a fine sieve,
and add a quart of rum, or a pint of rum and brandy, or a pint and a
half of rum and half a pint of porter; then add three quarts more water,
and mix well. About half a pound of sugar is usually required, but it
is impossible to fix a limit to sugar, spirits, or lemon-juice, as they
depend upon taste.
PUNCH MILK—FOR CHRISTMAS-DAY.—Add the peel and juice of twenty-four
lemons, and three pounds and a half of loaf sugar, to five bottles of
cold water, and four bottles of rum; when these are well mixed, add
two bottles of boiling milk, and mix the whole well. Let it stand for
twenty-four hours, strain well, bottle, and cork tight; it is then ready
for use. N.B. The finer the strainer is, the better the punch. This is
the best receipt we have ever seen or used.
PUNCH, MILK, ORDINARY.—Pare six oranges and six lemons as thin as you
can; grate them over with sugar, to get the flavour. Steep the peels
in a bottle of rum or brandy stopped close twenty-four hours. Squeeze
the fruit on two pounds of sugar, add to it four quarts of water and
one of new milk boiling hot; stir the rum into the whole, run through a
jelly-bag till clear, bottle, and cork close immediately.
PUNCH, REGENT’S.—Take a bottle of champagne, a quarter of a pint of
brandy, the juice of a lemon, a Seville orange, and a wine-glassful of
Martinique, with this mix a pint or more of a strong infusion of the best
green tea strained, and syrup or sugar to taste.
PUNCH À LA ROMAINE.—Take a quart of lemon ice, add the whites of three
eggs well beaten, with rum and brandy, till the ice liquefies, in the
proportion of three parts of rum to one of brandy, and water to taste.
Then add a tea-cupful of strong green tea infusion, strained, and a
little champagne.
PUNCH, TEA.—Infuse two ounces of hyson tea, and an ounce of black tea, in
three quarts of boiling water; then add four pounds of loaf sugar, citric
acid and spirit of citron, of each six drachms, rum one pint, and five
pints of brandy; mix well, and serve.—See PUNCH AFTER THE FASHION OF THE
WEST INDIAN PLANTERS, page 229.
SCOTCH PUNCH, OR WHISKY TODDY.—The Duke of Athol’s receipt: Pour about a
wine-glassful of _boiling_ water into a half-pint tumbler, and add sugar
according to taste. Stir well up, then mix a wine-glassful of whisky, and
add a wine-glassful and a half more boiling water. _Be sure the water is
boiling._ Never put lemon into toddy. The two in combination, in almost
every instance, produce acidity on the stomach. If possible, store your
whisky _in the wood_, not in bottles, as the keeping it in the barrel
mellows it, and takes away the coarser particles.
TODDY, BUTTERED.—Mix a glass of rum-grog pretty strong and hot, sweeten
to taste with honey, flavour with nutmeg and lemon-juice, and add a piece
of fresh butter about the size of a walnut.
WARM DRINK.—Boil a quart of milk and the same quantity of water, with
the top crust of a penny loaf, a blade of mace, and sufficient sugar to
sweeten, for a quarter of an hour; pour off, and drink warm.
WHEY, LEMON.—Pour into boiling milk as much lemon-juice as will make a
small quantity quite clear; dilute it with hot water to an agreeable
smart acid, and add a bit or two of sugar, or sweeten to taste.
WHEY, MUSTARD.—Boil four drachms of the bruised seeds of mustard in a
pint of milk, then strain and separate the curd; a fourth part should be
taken three times a day.
WHEY, VINEGAR, is made the same as lemon whey, only using vinegar instead
of lemon-juice.
WINE, MULLED.—1. Boil some cloves, mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg, in about
a quarter of a pint of water till well flavoured with spice, then add to
a pint of port or home-made wine; sweeten to taste, and serve hot with
thin toast or rusks. 2. Boil a small stick of cinnamon, a blade of mace,
and three cloves, in a breakfast-cupful of water for a few minutes; add
some grated nutmeg, and a pint of home-made or port wine, sweeten to
taste, boil for one minute, and serve hot. 3. Put a bottle of port wine,
half a bottle of water, and sugar to taste, into a saucepan, then add
allspice, cloves, and a blade of mace; boil all together, serve in a jug
with grated nutmeg, and rusks or slips of thin toast. Some persons add
lemon-juice to the mull, but it does not generally please.
WINE WHEY.—Put half a pint of new milk in a saucepan, set on the fire,
and when it boils add as much raisin wine as will turn it; let it boil
up, then set the saucepan aside till the curd subsides, but do not stir
it. Pour off the whey, then add half a pint of boiling water, and white
sugar to taste.
THE RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.
The commonly received idea, that what goes under the denomination of
“good plain living”—that is, joints of meat, roast or boiled—is best
adapted to all constitutions, has been proved to be a fallacy. Many
persons can bear testimony to the truth of Dr. Kitchener’s remark,
that “elaborate culinary processes are frequently necessary in order
to prepare food for the digestive organs.” It may be truly said, that
many persons ruin their health by over-indulgence in food rendered
indigestible by being badly cooked.
It is our intention to endeavour to correct the prejudice in favour of
a family joint—by showing, that it is not only very often improperly
cooked, but that the same quantity of meat, if dressed in different ways,
still retaining a certain degree of simplicity, will be more pleasant to
the palate, more healthful, and quite as economical, if brought to the
table, as two or three dishes instead of one.
In French cookery, those substances which are not intended to be broiled
or roasted, are usually stewed for several hours at a temperature below
the broiling point; by which means the most refractory articles, whether
of animal or vegetable origin, are more or less reduced to a state of
pulp, and admirably adapted for the further action of the stomach. In the
common cookery of this country, on the contrary, articles are usually put
at once into a large quantity of water, and submitted, without care or
attention, to the boiling temperature; the consequence of which is, that
most animal substances, when taken out, are harder and more indigestible
than in the natural state.
DIET AND DIGESTION.—From Dr. Beaumont’s Tables it appears that the
following articles are digested in the times indicated:
H. M.
Rice, boiled soft 1 0
Apples, sweet and ripe 1 30
Sago, boiled 1 45
Tapioca, Barley, stale Bread, Cabbage with Vinegar,
raw, boiled Milk and Bread, and Bread and Milk, cold 2 0
Potatoes, roasted, and Parsnips, boiled 2 30
Baked Custard 2 45
Apple Dumpling 3 0
Bread, Corn, baked, and Carrots, boiled 3 15
Potatoes and Turnips, boiled; Butter and Cheese 3 30
Tripe and Pigs’ Feet 1 0
Venison 1 35
Oysters, undressed, and Eggs, raw 2 3
Turkey and Goose 2 30
Eggs, soft boiled; Beef and Mutton, roasted or broiled 3 0
Boiled Pork, stewed Oysters, Eggs, hard boiled or fried 3 30
Domestic Fowls 4 0
Wild Fowls; Pork, salted and boiled; Suet 4 30
Veal, roasted; Pork, and salted Beef 5 30
When the powers of the stomach are weak, a hard and crude diet is sure to
produce discomfort by promoting acidity; while the very same article when
divided, and well cooked upon French principles, or rather the principles
of common sense, can be taken with impunity, and easily digested.
There are only a few persons—with the exception, perhaps, of those who
take violent exercise, or work hard in the open air—who can dine heartily
upon solid food without suffering from its effects; yet in order to
escape indigestion, plain roast or boiled meat should be very sparingly
consumed.
The foundation of all good cookery consists in preparing the meat so
as to render it tender in substance, without extracting from it those
juices which constitute its true flavour; in doing which, the main point
in the art of making those soups, sauces, and made-dishes of every sort,
which should form so large a portion of every well-ordered dinner, as
well, also, as in cooking many of the plain family joints—is _boiling_,
or rather _stewing_, which ought always to be performed over a slow
fire. There is, in fact, no error so common among English cooks as that
of boiling meat over a strong fire, which renders large joints hard and
partly tasteless; while, if simmered during nearly double the time, with
less than half the quantity of fuel and water, and never allowed to “boil
up,” the meat, without being too much done, will be found both pliant to
the tooth and savoury to the palate.
For instance. The most common and almost universal dish throughout
France, is a large piece of plainly-boiled fresh beef, from which the
soup—or “_potage_,” as it is there called—has been partly made, and which
is separately served up as “_bouilli_,” accompanied by strong gravy and
minced vegetables, or stewed cabbage. Now this, as constantly dressed in
the French mode, is ever delicate both in fibre and flavour; while, in
the English manner of boiling it, it is almost always hard and insipid.
The reason of which, as explained by that celebrated cook, Carême, who
superintended the kitchen of His Majesty George IV., is this:—“The meat,
instead of being put down to boil, as in the English method, is in France
put in the pot with the usual quantity of cold water, and placed at the
corner of the fire-place, where, slowly becoming hot, the heat gradually
swells the muscular fibres of the beef, dissolving the gelatinous
substances therein contained, and disengaging that portion which chemists
term ‘osmazome,’ and which imparts savour to the flesh—thus both
rendering the meat tender and palatable, and the broth relishing and
nutritive; whilst, on the contrary, if the pot be inconsiderately put
upon too quick a fire, the boiling is precipitated, the fibre coagulates
and hardens, the osmazome is hindered from disengaging itself, and thus
nothing is obtained but a piece of tough meat, and a broth without taste
or succulence.”
Meat loses, by cooking, from one-fifth to one-third of its whole weight.
More is lost by roasting than by boiling meat. In calculating for a
family, one pound per day for each individual is a general allowance for
dinner.
Meat that is not to be cut till cold must be well done, particularly in
summer.
The use of skewers in joints should be avoided as much as possible, as
they let out the gravy; twine will answer better.
In every branch of cookery much must be left to the discretion of the
cook and knowledge of the family’s taste; particularly in force-meats and
seasonings.
SUET.—When sirloins of beef, or loins of veal or mutton, are brought in,
part of the suet may be cut off for puddings, or to clarify. Chopped fine
and mixed with flour, if tied down in a jar, it will keep ten days or a
fortnight. If there be more suet than will be used while fresh, throw it
into pickle, made in the proportion of one quarter pound of salt to a
quart of cold water, and it will be as good afterwards for any use, when
soaked a little.
To remove the taint of meat, wash it several times in cold water; then
put it into plenty of cold water, into which throw several pieces of
red-hot charcoal. If you fear meat will not keep till the time it is
wanted, par-roast or par-boil it, that is, partly cook it; it will then
keep two days longer, when it may be dressed as usual, but in rather less
time.
When meat is frozen it should be brought into the kitchen and laid at
some distance from the fire, early in the morning; or soak the meat in
cold water two or three hours before it is used; putting it near the
fire, or into warm water, till thawed, should be avoided.
Meats become tenderer and more digestible, as well as better flavoured by
hanging. In summer two days is enough for lamb and veal, and from three
to four for beef and mutton. In cold weather, the latter may be kept for
double that time.
Legs and shoulders should be hung _knuckle downwards_.
An effectual way of excluding the fly is by using a wire meat-safe, or
by covering the joints with a long loose gauze or some thin cloth, and
hanging them from the ceiling of an airy room. Pepper and ginger should
be sprinkled on the parts likely to be attacked by the fly, but should be
washed off before the joint is put to the fire.
A larder should always be placed on the north side of the house; the
window may be closed with canvas, but wire is preferable. There should be
a thorough draft of air through the room.
Articles that are likely to spoil should not be kept in or laid upon wood.
Warm, moist weather is the worse for keeping meat; the south wind is
very unfavourable, and lightning very destructive; so that after their
occurrence meat should be especially examined.
BOILING.—This is the most simple of all processes of cooking. Regularity
and attention to time are the main secrets.
Much less heat is requisite to keep liquids boiling in copper and iron
saucepans than in those made of tin.
There is frequently a great waste of fuel in cooking, which arises from
boiling liquids fast, when they only require to boil slowly. Count
Rumford (the inventor of the Rumford stove) states, that more than half
the fuel used in kitchens is wasted in the above manner.
It is a sad waste to put fuel under a boiling pot. There is a degree of
heat in water called the boiling point; and all the coals or wood in the
world cannot make water hotter in an open vessel; _it can but boil_. By
this waste, the cook not only loses time but spoils the cookery.
The average time for boiling fresh meat is from eighteen to twenty
minutes for every pound: thus, a joint weighing six pounds will require
from one hour and three-quarters to two hours boiling. Salted meat
requires rather more boiling, and water; fresh killed meat longer time:
and all meats longer in cold than warm weather. It is, however, better to
be guided, for time, by the thickness of the joint than by its weight.
Dried or salted fish and meats require soaking in cold water before
boiling.
Meat and poultry will lose their flavour and firmness, if left in the
water after they are done; as will also fish, which will break to pieces.
The water in which fish, meat, or poultry has been boiled, should be
saved; this pot-liquor, as it is called, may be made into soup.
Slow boiling is very important for all meats, to ensure their tenderness;
fast boiling always makes them hard and tough, less plump, and of darker
colour, than when they are boiled gradually.
Skimming the pot will alone ensure the good colour and sweetness of the
meat; a little cold water and salt will aid in throwing up the scum: milk
put into the pot does good in few cases only; and wrapping in a cloth is
unnecessary, if the scum be carefully removed.
The lid of the saucepan should only be removed for skimming; and, before
taking off the lid, be careful to blow from it any dust or blacks from
the fire or chimney.
The joint should always be covered with water; above this quantity, the
less water the more savoury will be the meat.
In some few instances, however, it may be necessary to boil the articles
in a much larger quantity of water; a quart of water is mostly a good
proportion to a pound of meat.
If meat be put into cold water, it should be heated gradually, so as not
to cause it to boil in less than forty minutes; if it boil much sooner,
the meat will shrink and be hardened, and not so freely throw up the scum.
Four skewers, or a plate, inside downwards, should be laid on the bottom
of the saucepan, especially for large joints and puddings; so that they
may be equally done, and escape burning or adhering to the saucepan.
When a pot boils, remove it nearly off the fire, but let the lid remain
on; a very little heat will then keep up the boiling.
The time of boiling should be reckoned from the time bubbles begin to
rise on the surface of the liquid; as the boiling continues, the water
will evaporate, and in some cases it may be requisite to fill up the
saucepan with boiling water.
VEGETABLES and meat are sometimes _steamed_: that is, they are put into
vessels resembling cullenders, and being placed over boiling water, the
steam from it rises through the holes of the vessel, and then through the
vegetables and meat, which are thus as effectually boiled as if they were
put into the boiling water.
ROASTING.—The success of every branch of cookery depends upon the good
management of the kitchen fire: roasting, especially, requires a brisk,
clear, and steady fire; if made up close to the bars of the grate.
The spit being wiped clean, the joint to be roasted should be carefully
spitted even, and tied tight; and if it will not turn round well, balance
skewers, with leaden heads, should be used; for, if the meat be not
evenly spitted, it will probably be burned on one side, and not done on
the other. Avoid running the spit through the prime parts of joints.
Cradle spits answer best.
A leg of mutton should never be spitted, as the spit lets out the gravy,
and leaves an unsightly perforation just as you are cutting into the
pope’s eye.
Make up the roasting-fire three or four inches longer than the joint,
else the ends of the meat will not be done.
In stirring the fire, be careful to remove the dripping-pan, else dust
and ashes may fall in. On no account let the fire get dull and low, as a
strong heat is requisite to brown the meat.
A thin joint requires a brisk fire; a large joint, a strong, sound, and
even fire. When steam rises from the meat, it is done.
Large joints should be put at a moderate distance from the fire, and
gradually brought nearer; else the meat will be over-done half-way
through the joint, and be nearly raw at the bone.
Such meat as is not very fat should have paper placed over it, to prevent
it from being scorched.
Do not sprinkle the meat with salt when first put down, as the salt draws
out the gravy.
Old meats require more cooking than young. The longer the meat has been
killed, the less time it requires to roast it. Very fat meat requires
more time than usual.
The general rule is to allow fifteen minutes to a pound for roasting with
a good fire, and ten or twenty minutes over, as the family like it well
done or not.
Baste the meat first with fresh dripping, and then with its own fat or
dripping: and within the last hour of roasting, take off the paper, and
sprinkle the meat with salt and flour, to brown and froth it; but some
cooks dredge the meat with flour earlier, so that it may imbibe the
gravy, a practice which should be specially avoided.
The spit should be wiped dry immediately after it is drawn from the meat,
and washed and scoured every time it is used.
Perfection in roasting is very difficult, and no certain rules can
be given for it, as success depends on many circumstances which are
continually changing: the age and size (especially the thickness) of the
pieces, the quality of the coals, the weather, the currents of air in the
kitchen, the more or less attention of the cook, and the time of serving,
are all to be considered. Hence, epicures say of a well-roasted joint,
“It is done to a turn.”
Roast meats should be sent to table the moment they are ready, if they
are to be eaten in perfection.
BROILING.—Broiling requires a brisk and clear fire, proportioned to the
article to be broiled; for example, mutton chops require a clear rather
than a brisk fire, else the fat will be wasted before the lean is warmed
through; but for a beef-steak, the fire can neither be too brisk nor
clear, if the gridiron be placed at the proper distance. Fish requires a
steady fire; as also does under-done meat.
Much, however, depends on the substance of the article to be broiled; if
it be thick, it must be placed at a greater distance, at first, to warm
it through; if thin, the fire must be brisk, else the meat will not be of
a good colour.
The gridiron should be wiped clean after it has been used, so that the
bars may be kept bright on top; they should be allowed to get hot before
the article is laid on them, but not too hot, else they will burn the
meat or fish; the latter, especially. To prevent this, the bars should be
rubbed with fat.
A charcoal fire is best for broiling.
To prevent the fat dripping into the fire, set the gridiron aslant.
For turning the broiling article, use tongs, as a fork will let out the
gravy. When the article is done, it will feel firm if touched with the
tongs; by no means cut the meat to ascertain if it be done, as that will
let out the gravy.
FRYING—is “to scorch something solid in fat, or oil,” or butter. Lard,
clarified suet, or dripping, are well adapted for fish, eggs, potatoes,
and meat generally. Olive oil is much used for fish; and the same oil
will serve for more than one frying. Butter is used, but it is not as
well adapted for frying as either of the other articles.
Be careful that the fat or oil is fresh, clean, and free from salt, else
what you fry in it will be of a bad colour and flavour; salt will prevent
it from browning.
Fat or oil, to be used again, should be strained through a sieve before
it is set aside.
Fat becomes richer from having meat fried into it, and may be used
repeatedly; but the fat that has been used for fish cannot be used again
for meat.
The fat must have left off bubbling and be quite still before you put in
the articles.
To prepare crumbs for frying, dry thoroughly in a warm oven, or before
the fire, any waste pieces of bread; then pound them in a mortar and sift
them, and put them away till wanted. This is much better than grating
bread as it is needed, or using oatmeal, &c.
When you wish fried things to look as well as possible, do them _twice_
over with egg and crumbs.
If eggs be very dear, a little flour and water may be substituted for
them in preparing fish to fry.
In frying, use a slice to lift the articles in and out of the pan, and
drain them.
To make batter for frying: melt two ounces of butter in a little warm
water, and pour it upon half a pound of flour; stir it and add water
enough to form a batter, thick enough to adhere to whatever is put into
it; but it should run freely: add some salt and the beaten whites of two
eggs.
A small shallow frying-pan, or _sauté_ pan, as it is called, is very
useful to fry articles to be stewed: this method differs from common
frying, as it only requires butter enough to keep the article from
sticking to the pan and burning.
The fire for frying should be free from smoky coals, sharp, and even.
Charcoal makes the best frying fire.
The fat should be carefully drained from all fried articles; indeed, they
should be so dry as scarcely to soil a cloth. Fish is best drained by
wrapping it in soft white-brown paper, by which it will so dry as not to
soil the napkin upon which it is served.
STEWING.—All articles to be stewed should first be boiled gently, then
skimmed and set aside in an even heat: on this account, charcoal makes
the best fire for stewing.
All stews, or meat dressed a second time should be only simmered, as the
meat should only be made hot through.
A stewpan is the most advantageous vessel in which stews, hashes, soups,
or gravies, can be made; indeed, for all purposes of boiling, a stewpan
is preferable to a deep saucepan, as, in the former, the articles are
exposed to more even heat than when they are placed one upon another in
the saucepan, and are likely to be broken in stirring.
The best stewpans are made of copper or iron; they should be kept covered
as much as possible, unless you wish to reduce the gravy.
Be careful not to fry in a stewpan; or, if so, with great care, and
sufficient butter to save the tinning from melting.
Most of the directions for making soups and gravies apply also to this
branch of cookery.
BAKING.—Baking is the least advantageous mode of cookery; for by it meat
loses about one-third of its weight.
Iron ovens are ill-adapted for baking meat or meat-pies; fruit-pies,
pastry, and puddings, may, however, be baked in them.
LARDING.—Have ready larding-pins of different sizes, according to the
article to be done; cut slices of bacon into bits of proper length, quite
smooth, and put on a larding-needle to suit it, with which pierce the
skin and a very little of the meat, leaving the bacon in, and the two
ends of equal length outwards. Lard in rows the size you think fit.
The same effect with regard to flavour, may be produced by raising the
skin and laying a slice of fat bacon beneath it.
DOUBING consists in passing bacon _through_ meat, while _larding_ is on
the surface only.
BRAISING.—Put the meat you would braise into a stewpan, and cover it
with thick slices of fat bacon: then lay round it six or eight onions,
a faggot of sweet herbs, some celery, and if to be brown, some thick
slices of carrots, and trimmings of any fresh meat-bones you have, with
a pint and a half of water, or the same quantity of stock, according to
what the meat is, and add seasoning. Cover the pan close, and set it
over a slow stove; it will require two or three hours, as its size and
quality may direct. Then strain the gravy; keep the meat quite hot; take
the fat off by plunging the basin into cold water, which will cause the
fat to coagulate; and boil it as quickly as you can till it thickens.
If, however, you wish the gravy to adhere to the meat; it must be still
further thickened; then with a brush kept for the purpose do over the
meat, and if that has been larded, put it into the oven for a few
minutes. This is called “glazing,” and is much in use for made-dishes.
GLAZING is done by brushing melted glaze or jelly over the article, and
letting it cool; in some cases it is requisite to cover the articles with
two or three coats of glaze, allowing each to cool as it is laid on. The
glaze should be of a clear yellow brown, and as thick as good treacle.
If you have not the glaze ready, sift a little sugar over the article to
be glazed, and finish in the oven, with a salamander, or red-hot shovel.
BONING.—In disengaging the flesh from the bones, work the knife always
_close_ to the bone, and take care not to pierce the outer skin. Minute
directions are given in other parts of the work for boning fowls, &c.
BLANCHING makes the article plump and white, and consists in putting it
into cold water over the fire, allowing it to boil up, and then plunging
it into cold water, where the article should remain until cold.
DANGER FROM COPPER SAUCEPANS.—The precise danger from the use of
copper saucepans, or stewpans, imperfectly tinned, is far from rightly
understood. It appears that the acid contained in stews and other
made-dishes, as lemon-juice, though it does not dissolve copper by being
merely boiled in it a few minutes, nevertheless, if allowed to cool and
stand in it for some time, will acquire poisonous matter, as verdigris,
in the form of a green band, or crust, inside the vessel. It has likewise
been proved that _weak_ solutions of common salt, such as are daily
made by adding a little salt to boiling vegetables, fish, or meat, act
powerfully on copper vessels, although _strong_ solutions or brine would
not affect them.
It is, however, in vain to hope that cooks will attend to the nice
distinctions by which copper stewpans may be rendered safe; the general
advice given by prudent physicians is, therefore, against their use at
all.
The kettles in which the soups are made should be well tinned, and kept
particularly clean, by being washed in hot water and rubbed dry before
they are put away. If they are not kept well tinned, the taste as well
as the colour of the soup will be liable to be affected by the iron; and
if the soup-kettle be made of copper, and the tinning not quite perfect,
everything cooked in it will be more or less poisonous, as everything
which is sweet, salt, or sour, extracts verdigris from copper.
HOW TO TOAST WELL.
In toasting bread, we wish to get out the water that remains, and which
makes the bread cold, waxy, and heavy of digestion. Perhaps we shall be
best understood if we first explain what makes bad toast of a piece of
bread, or rather no toast at all, but merely a piece of bread with two
burned surfaces, more wet and waxy in the heart than ever; and which not
a particle of butter will enter, and if put by for an hour or two and
allowed to cool, will get as tough as possible. If the slice of bread
is brought into close contact with a strong fire, the surface becomes
covered with, or rather converted into charcoal, before the heat produces
any effect on the interior of the slice. This being done, the other
side is turned, and has its surface converted into charcoal in the same
manner. The consequence of this will be, that not a particle of butter
will enter such a piece of toast, but only remain upon the surface,
and if vexed with additional fire, turns to a rancid oil of the most
unwholesome description. Charcoal, as every one knows, is a very bad
conductor of heat, and as such is used between the cylinders and casings
of steam engines; it is no consequence whether the said charcoal be
formed of wood, of flour, or any other substance, for its qualities are
in every case the same. Now, when the surfaces of the slice of bread are
over-charred in this manner, there is an end to all toasting, as no heat
can be communicated to the interior, and not one drop can be evaporated
or drawn away. In this state the slice of bread may be wholly burned to
charcoal; but until it is altogether so burned, the unburned part will
become more and more wet and unwholesome. Hence, if you would have a
slice of bread so toasted as to be pleasant to the palate, and wholesome
and easily digested, never let one particle of the surface be charred.
Chesnut brown is even far too deep for a good toast; and the colour of
a fox is rather too deep. The nearer it can be kept to a straw colour,
the more delicious to the taste, and the more wholesome it will be. The
method of obtaining this is very obvious. It consists in keeping the
bread at the proper distance from the fire, and exposing it to a proper
heat, for a due length of time; or it may be done, placed on edge the
same way as dry toast is brought to table, in a rack, in an iron or
brick oven of a proper heat. For those who “make the toast,” especially
if a large quantity be required, it is generally a tedious process, and
for this reason it is commonly hurried. But if the toasting fork was
discarded, and its place supplied by a small apparatus made of wire,
long enough to hold three or four pieces at a time, and so contrived as
to slide in or out to any required distance from the fire, the bread
might be placed in it, and the process of toasting carried on, while
the servant was at liberty to do her other work. Of course, the “Toast
Holder” would require to be made differently, to suit particular shaped
grates and fire-places.
If not cut too thin, if placed at the proper distance from the fire, and
continued long enough, care being taken that not a single black, or even
dark brown spot, makes its appearance on the surface, the slice of bread
may be toasted through and through; and it is this operation which makes
properly toasted bread so much more wholesome than bread which is not
toasted, and still more preferable to bread burned on the surface and
sodden in the interior. By this means the whole of the water may be drawn
out of it, and it may be changed from dough, which has always a tendency
to undergo the acetous fermentation in the stomach, to the pure farina of
wheat, which is in itself one of the most wholesome species of food we
have, not only for the strong and healthy, but more particularly so for
the delicate and diseased. As it is turned to pure farina, the tough and
gluey nature is gone, every part can be penetrated, all parts are equally
warm, and no part is so warm as to turn the butter into oil, which,
even in the case of the best butter is invariably turning a wholesome
substance into an injurious substance. There is another circumstance
regarding the buttering of a rightly toasted slice. The dough, being a
compound of water, repels the butter, which is an oil; but the dried
farina allows the butter to penetrate the whole slice equally through.
There is more advantage in this than some may suppose. Butter in masses
(whatever may be its quality) is too heavy for the stomach; though butter
divided with sufficient minuteness, and not suffered to pass into an
oil, makes a most valuable addition to many kinds of food. The properly
toasted bread absorbs the butter, but does not convert it to oil: and
both butter and farina are in a state of very minute division, the one
serving to expose the other to the free action of gastric fluid in the
stomach; and that this fluid shall be able to penetrate the whole mass
of the food, and act upon it in small portions, is the grand secret of
healthful digestion; so that when a slice of toast is rightly prepared,
there is, perhaps, not a lighter article in the whole vocabulary of
cookery. Unfermented brown bread, treated in this way, forms an excellent
substitute for biscuits, and is in some respects superior, as it may be
eaten with impunity by those persons with whom biscuits may disagree.
SUGGESTIONS TO HOUSEKEEPERS.
The housewife should always, where it is possible, do her marketing
_herself_, and pay ready-money for everything she purchases. This is
the _only_ way in which she can be sure of getting the best goods at
the lowest price. We repeat, that this is the only way compatible with
strict economy; because, if a servant be entrusted with the buying,
she will, if she is not a good judge of the quality of articles, bring
home those she can get for the _least money_ (and these are seldom the
_cheapest_), and even if she is a good judge, it is ten to one against
her taking the trouble to make a careful selection. When the ready-money
system is found inconvenient, and an account is run with a tradesman,
the mistress of the house ought to have a pass-book, in which she should
write down all the orders herself, leaving the tradesman to fill in only
the prices. Where this is not done, and the mistress neglects to compare
the pass-book with the goods ordered every time they are brought in, it
sometimes happens, either by mistake, or the dishonesty of the tradesman
or his shopman, or the servant, that goods are entered which were never
ordered, and that those which were ordered are overcharged; and if these
errors are not detected at the time, they are sure to be difficult of
adjustment afterwards. Let the housewife, therefore, by all means avoid
running accounts, and pay ready-money. By so doing she will escape a
great deal of trouble and anxiety, besides saving the extra price which
the tradesman charges upon all goods sold on credit, and to which he is
justly entitled, both as interest for his money and to cover the losses
to which the system sometimes subjects him.
In purchasing perishable goods, care should be taken to get everything as
_fresh_ and _new_ as possible. This is absolutely necessary in the case
of vegetables, ripe fruits, eggs, butter, and fish generally, as these
cannot be used in too fresh a condition; but, as butcher’s meat requires
to be kept some time, it may, where the butcher’s word can be trusted as
to the day on which it was killed, be purchased ready for cooking. Indeed
this must often be done when a small supply of cut meat, such as steaks
or chops, is required. As, however, it is the butcher’s interest to sell
off his meat while it is fresh, in order to avoid the loss arising from
its spoiling on his hands, he will seldom have any prime pieces which
have been kept long enough for immediate use, so that it is much safer,
as a general rule, to ask for it fresh, and keep it at home. Perhaps the
best plan is to ascertain which day of the week is the butcher’s regular
“killing day,” and to buy upon that day only, a quantity sufficient to
last some time,—which quantity must be determined by the season of the
year; for, since meat keeps much longer in winter than in summer, a
larger stock may be laid in then. Many a good dinner has been spoiled,
and many a fine piece of meat wasted, and this not from ignorance of the
time it ought to be kept, but from inattention to the above rule.
When it is ascertained where the best and cheapest articles are sold,
it is as well to lay in as large a stock as can be afforded at one
time, of those provisions which do not spoil by keeping. By so doing,
the housewife will not only have a good supply of the best always at
hand, but will also be allowed certain discounts from the price, which
she would not otherwise obtain, besides saving much time and trouble in
shopping. Not only will she have to go _oftener_ to the shop for small
supplies, but it may frequently happen that, when she applies for a
_second_ small quantity of an article that has been approved of, she may
find the dealer’s stock of that particular commodity renewed, and the new
supply not so good; and then she will either have to purchase an inferior
article, or to wander from shop to shop in search of a better. Of course
this rule must be disregarded when, at the time of purchase, there is
reason to expect an immediate fall in the price. For instance, it would
be absurd to buy a three months’ supply of tea at 4s., with the knowledge
that within a month there might be such a reduction of duty upon it as
would lower its price to 2s. Such cases, however, occur very rarely.
HOW TO COOK POTATOES.
The goodness of a potato materially depends upon the skill of the cook.
We here introduce a few modes of preparing it for the table, not commonly
in use:—
POTATOES MASHED WITH ONIONS.—Prepare some boiled onions, by putting them
through a sieve, and mix them with potatoes.
POTATO SNOW.—Pick out the whitest potatoes, put them on in cold water;
when they begin to crack, strain, and put them in a clean stewpan before
the fire till they are quite dry and fall to pieces; rub them through a
wire sieve or the dish they are to be sent up in, and do not disturb them
afterwards.
POTATO SCONES.—Mash boiled potatoes till they are quite smooth, adding a
little salt; then knead out with flour, or barley-meal, to the thickness
required; toast on the girdle, pricking them with a fork to prevent them
blistering. When eaten with fresh or salt butter, they are equal to
crumpets—even superior, and very nutritious.
POTATOES FRIED WHOLE.—When nearly boiled enough, put them into a stewpan
with a bit of butter; or some clean beef dripping; shake them about
often, to prevent burning, till they are brown and crisp; drain them from
the fat. It will be an improvement if they are floured and dipped into
the yolk of an egg, and then rolled in finely sifted bread crumbs.
POTATOES ESCALLOPED.—Mash potatoes in the usual way; then butter some
nice clean scallop shells, patty-pans, or tea-cups or saucers; put in the
potatoes; make them smooth at the top; cross a knife over them; strew a
few fine bread crumbs on them; sprinkle them with a paste-brush with a
few drops of melted butter, and set them in a Dutch oven. When nicely
browned on the top, take them carefully out of the shells, and brown on
the other side. Cold potatoes may be warmed up this way.
POTATOES FRIED IN SLICES.—Peel large potatoes, slice them about a quarter
of an inch thick, or cut them into shavings, as you would peel a lemon;
dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them in lard or dripping. Take
care that the fat and frying-pan are quite clean; put it on a quick fire,
and as soon as the lard boils, and is still, put in the slices of potato,
and keep moving them until they are crisp; take them up, and lay them to
drain on a sieve. Send to table with a little salt sprinkled over them.
POTATO PIE.—Peel and slice the potatoes very thin into a pie-dish;
between each layer of potatoes put some chopped onions; between each
layer, sprinkle a little pepper and salt; put in a little water, and cut
about two ounces of fresh butter into bits, and lay them on the top;
cover it close with paste. The yolks of four eggs may be added; and when
baked, a table-spoonful of good mushroom ketchup poured in through a
funnel.—Another method is to put between the layers small bits of mutton,
beef, or pork. In Cornwall, turnips are added. This constitutes (on the
Cornish method) a cheap and satisfactory dish for families.
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING PASTRY.
IN making pastry or cakes, it is best to begin by weighing out the
ingredients, sifting the flour, pounding and sifting the sugar and spice,
washing the butter, and preparing the fruit. Sugar can be powdered by
pounding it in a large mortar, or by rolling it on a paste-board with a
rolling-pin. It should be made very fine and always sifted. All sorts of
spice should be pounded in a mortar, except nutmeg, which it is better
to grate. If spice is wanted in large quantities, it may be ground in a
mill. The butter should always be fresh and very good. Wash it in cold
water before you use it, and then make it up with your hands into hard
lumps, squeezing the water well out. If the butter and sugar are to be
stirred together, always do that before the eggs are beaten, as (unless
they are kept too warm) the butter and sugar will not be injured by
standing awhile. For stirring them, nothing is so convenient as a round
hard stick, about a foot and a half long, and somewhat flattened at one
end. The eggs should not be beaten till after the other ingredients are
ready, as they will fall very soon. If the whites and yolks are to be
beaten separately, do the whites first, as they will stand longer. Eggs
should be beaten in a broad shallow pan, spreading wide at the top.
Butter and sugar should be stirred in a deep pan with straight sides.
Break every egg by itself, in a saucer, before you put it into the pan,
that in case there should be any bad ones, they may not spoil the others.
Eggs are beaten most expeditiously with whisks. A small quantity of
white of egg may be beaten with a knife, or a three-pronged fork.—I have
found the above directions of great use in my housekeeping, and I can
confidently recommend them.—J. M.
TO MAKE BARLEY WATER PROPERLY.
Either Scotch or pearl-barley may be used. The former is much less
expensive, and answers equally well. Soak an ounce in several waters; put
it, with some lemon-peel, into a quart of boiling water and infuse it for
an hour. Then strain. This will be of a sufficient thickness; but, if it
be desired thicker, it is but varying the quantity of barley. This is a
cooling drink, and admits of additions either for flavour or medicinal
use. The juice and rind of lemons, with loaf sugar, are most agreeable.
Figs, raisins, liquorice root, honey, and gum arabic, are often used
either for coughs, cold on the chest, confined bowels, strangury, &c.
Powdered nitre is often used in feverish complaints, and given in barley
water; a drachm to a quart is a good proportion.
The method of mixing either nitre or powdered gum arabic, is to rub the
powder smooth with sugar or honey; then mix it with a spoonful or two
of the barley water, and stir it in the whole while in a boiling state.
As a nourishing drink, boil the barley in water till it thickens. When
reduced, and quite thick, strain, and mix with an equal quantity of new
milk; sweeten it to your taste. A bit of cinnamon, or two laurel leaves,
may be boiled in it for flavour.
Thick barley water, with milk and _a little_ salt and sugar, is a
suitable food for infants, when they begin to take what is at all
thickened. Barley may be used in broth or stew, or to make a pudding.
The valuable sanatory qualities of barley have long been known and
appreciated. Providence designed it as an especial boon to mankind;
for, of all the cultivated grains, it is perhaps that which comes to
perfection in the greatest variety of climates, and is found over the
greatest extent of the habitable world.
SCOTCH PORRIDGE.
For four persons. Boil three pints of water in a clean saucepan, add a
tea-spoonful of salt, mix, _very gradually_, one pound of fine oatmeal,
stirring round constantly while you put in the meal with a round stick
about twelve inches long, called a “spirtle.” Continue the stirring for
fifteen minutes, then pour into soup-plates. Allow them to cool for about
ten minutes, then serve with half a pint of sweet milk to each person.
Scotch porridge is one of the most nutritive diets that can be given,
especially to young persons. They are sometimes made with milk instead of
water, but the mixture is rather rich for delicate stomachs.
ECONOMY IN THE USE OF BUTCHER’S MEAT.
OF BEEF, the round is, in large families, one of the most profitable
parts: it is usually boiled, and like most of the boiling parts of beef,
is generally sold in London at a penny per pound less than the roasting
joints.
The brisket is also a penny a pound less in price than the roasting
parts: it is not so economical a part as the round, having more bone to
be weighed with it, and more fat. Where there are children, very fat
joints are not desirable, being often disagreeable to them, and sometimes
prejudicial, especially if they have a dislike to it. This joint also
requires more cooking than many others; that is to say, it requires
a double allowance of time to be given for boiling it: it will, when
served, be hard and scarcely digestible if no more time be allowed to
boil it than that which is sufficient for other joints and meats. When
stewed it is excellent; and when cooked fresh (_i. e._ unsalted), an
excellent stock for soup may be extracted from it, and yet the meat will
serve as well for dinner.
The edgebone, or aitch-bone, is not considered to be a very economical
joint, the bone being large in proportion to the meat; but the greater
part of it, at least, is as good as that of any prime part. It sells at a
penny a pound less than roasting joints.
The rump is the part of which the London butcher makes great profit, by
selling it in the form of steaks. In the country, as there is not an
equal demand for steaks, the whole of it may be purchased as a joint, and
at the price of other prime parts. It may be turned to good account in
producing many excellent dishes. If salted, it is simply boiled; if used
unsalted, it is usually stewed.
The veiny piece is sold at a low price per pound; but if hung for a day
or two, it is very good and very profitable. Where there are a number of
servants and children to have an early dinner, this part of beef will be
found desirable.
From the leg and shin excellent stock for soup may be drawn; and if not
reduced too much, the meat taken from the bones may be served as a stew
with vegetables; or it may be seasoned, pounded with butter, and potted;
or chopped very fine, and seasoned with herbs, and bound together by egg
and bread crumbs; it may be fried in balls, or in the form of large eggs,
and served with a gravy made with a few spoonfuls of the soup.
Of half an ox cheek excellent soup may be made; the meat, when taken from
the bones, may be served as a stew.
Roasting parts of beef are the sirloin and the ribs, and these bear in
all places the highest price. The most profitable of these two joints at
a family table is the ribs. The bones, if removed from the beef before it
is roasted, will assist in forming the basis of a soup. When boned, the
meat of the ribs is often rolled up, tied with strings, and roasted: and
this is the best way of using it, as it enables the carver to distribute
equally the upper part of the meat with the more skinny and fatter parts
at the lower ends of the bones.
OF MUTTON, the leg and haunch are the most profitable joints, although in
price higher than the shoulder or neck. But these last joints are sold at
a less price per pound than others.
The loin and saddle (the two loins not separated) are expensive joints,
not in price only, but in the great proportion of fat and bone belonging
to them. They are considered to be prime parts.
OF LAMB, the hind quarter is more advantageous in use than the fore, but
can scarcely be regarded as an economical part. In hot weather, and in a
small family, the joints which the quarters form, when divided, are of so
convenient a size as to render them much in request.
OF VEAL, the leg, from which the fillet is taken, the shoulder, the neck,
and the loin, are all in turn serviceable in a family. When the leg is
purchased altogether, without dividing the knuckle from it, the butcher
usually considerably remits the price. In summer, he is often willing to
sell the leg altogether at twopence per pound less than he would sell the
fillet alone.
HINTS ABOUT SALADS.
This is a point of proficiency which, with care, it is easy to attain.
The main point is, to incorporate the several articles required for the
sauce, and to serve up at table as fresh as possible. The herbs should
be “morning gathered,” and they will be much refreshed by lying an hour
or two in spring water. Careful picking, and washing, and drying in a
cloth, in the kitchen, are also very important, and the due proportion of
each herb requires attention. The sauce may be thus prepared:—Boil two
eggs for ten or twelve minutes, and then put them in cold water for a few
minutes, so that the yolks may become cold and hard. Rub them through
a coarse sieve with a wooden spoon, and mix them with a table-spoonful
of water or cream, and then add two table-spoonfuls of fine flask oil,
or melted butter; mix, and add by degrees, a tea-spoonful of salt, and
the same quantity of mustard; mix till smooth, when incorporate with
the other ingredients about three table-spoonfuls of vinegar; then pour
this sauce down the side of the salad-bowl, but do not stir up the salad
till wanted to be eaten. Garnish the top of the salad with the white of
the eggs cut in slices; or these may be arranged in such manner as to
be ornamental on the table. Some may fancy they are able to prepare a
salad without previous instruction, but like everything else, a little
knowledge in this case may not be thrown away.
FOOD AND COOKERY FOR THE MONTHS.
FOOD FOR JANUARY.
Those Fish, Poultry, etc., distinguished by Italics, are to be had in
greater perfection.
MEAT.—Beef, house-lamb, mutton, pork, veal, and doe-venison.
FISH.—Barbel, brill, carp, cod, crabs, cray-feet, dabs, _dace_, eels,
flounders, _haddocks_, herrings, lampreys, ling, lobsters, mussels,
oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, salmon-trout, shrimps, skate,
smelt, soles, sprats, sturgeon, _tench_, thornback, turbot, _whiting_.
POULTRY AND GAME.—Capons, chickens, ducks, wild ducks, fowls, geese,
grouse, _hares_, larks, moor-game, partridges, pheasants, pigeons (tame),
pullets, _rabbits_, snipes, turkeys (hen), widgeons, woodcocks.
VEGETABLES.—Beet, brocoli (white and purple), Brussels sprouts, cabbage,
cardoons, carrots, celery, chervil, colewort, cresses, endive, garlic,
herbs (dry), kale (Scotch), leeks, lettuces, mint, mustard, onions,
parsley, parsnips, potatoes, rape, rosemary, sage, salsify, savoy,
scorzonera, shalots, skirrets, sorrel, spinach (winter), tarragon, thyme,
turnips.
FORCED VEGETABLES.—Asparagus, cucumbers, Jerusalem artichokes, and
mushrooms.
FRUIT.—Almonds, Apples—French pippin, golden pippin, golden russet,
Kentish pippin, nonpareil, winter pearmain. Pears—Bergamot, d’Hollande,
Bon Chrétien, Charmontelle, Colmar, winter beurré. Grapes—English and
Foreign. Chestnuts, medlars, nuts, oranges, walnuts.
COOKERY FOR JANUARY.
SOUPS.
PEA SOUP.—The cheapest and most wholesome way, is to make it by “A.
Braden’s Prepared Peas,” a sixpenny packet of which will make six or
eight quarts of good soup; or, take a third of the packet, mix with
enough soup to form a thick batter, add two or three quarts of the common
soup given below, and boil fifteen minutes.
COMMON SOUP.—Take the bones of beef, (ribs, sirloin, &c.) break small,
put into a digester or a large pan, cover with water, boil, and keep
covered; then add a crust of bread toasted, a pound of pearl-barley,
two onions in slices, a faggot of sweet herbs, a bay-leaf, two carrots
cut small, and other vegetables; fill up to a gallon with the liquor
that corned beef, bacon, pork, or any other meat has been boiled in, and
season with pepper and salt to taste.
HARE SOUP.—Take a hare and cut in pieces, put into an earthen jar,
with two onions cut small, three blades of mace, a pinch of salt, two
anchovies, or three-quarters of a red herring, three quarts of water, and
wine to flavour, perhaps a pint of red wine. Bake in a quick oven for
three hours, then strain the liquor into a stewpan. Have ready boiled
four ounces of fine pearl-barley, add this, scald the liver, and rub it
through a sieve with a wooden spoon, put this into the soup, set over the
fire, and keep it stirring till near boiling—but it must not boil—then
remove. Put some toasted bread into the tureen, pour the soup on, and
serve hot.
FISH.
FISH.—In cleaning cod-fish, haddock, whiting, whiting-polluck, hake,
ling, &c., they should be cut open for some distance below the vent; the
sound of one side being carefully cut up with a sharp knife, as close
to the back-bone as possible, and the blood must be scraped out with a
knife, or scrubbed with a brush. The back-bone of a hake is extracted
entire by separating it with the fore-finger and thumb of the right hand,
from behind the poll, and tearing it out. Fish that are dressed with the
scales on, should be dipped in water, and rubbed with a coarse towel from
the head downwards.
SALT FISH should be properly soaked in water previous to being dressed,
for at least twelve hours, then taken out, scrubbed with a coarse cloth,
and laid on a stone or table to drain for six or eight hours, when it
should be again put into water, just lukewarm, to remain there ten or
twelve hours.
HAKE CUTLETS.—Cut a moderate sized hake into cutlets length-wise, about
the size of ordinary veal cutlets, dry well with a cloth, egg well, dip
in bread crumbs, and fry light brown; then serve hot on a napkin, with
fried parsley garnish.
BARBEL, TO FRY.—Split the barbel, if large; pepper and salt it well, fry
a light brown, and serve with melted butter.
DACE, TO FRY.—Open the belly, cut the fins close off, scale them well,
dry in flour, and fry a light brown; serve with melted butter.
DACE, TO MARINADE.—Clean well, cut off the heads, and rub plenty of
pepper, salt, and allspice, into the inside; place them in layers in a
baking-dish, with bay between the layers; and add three parts vinegar and
one of water, sufficient to fill the dish; add a little whole pepper,
and a blade or two of mace. Bake slowly for about five hours. When cold,
shift the fish and marinade into another dish, taking care not to bruise
or break them.
HADDOCK, TO BOIL.—Boil entire, if not very large; and throw a little
salt, vinegar, and horse-radish into the water, which improve the look
of the fish, and prevent the skin breaking. Serve hot, with oyster sauce.
PERCH AND TENCH AS WATER SOUCHY.—Take a dozen fish, place in a stewpan,
with about two quarts of water, some parsley roots and leaves chopped,
but not fine. Boil until nearly the whole of the flesh of the fish will
run through a coarse sieve with the gravy; place another dozen in the
stewpan, with finely chopped parsley, and add the gravy to them, season
with pepper and salt, and stew until done; then turn gravy and all into a
soup tureen. Some add onions, but in our opinion it spoils the flavour of
the souchy.
POULTRY, GAME, ETC.
CURRY.—Cut up a rabbit or chicken as for a fricassee; fry them a light
brown, and stew in gravy. Add a table-spoonful of curry powder, and, if
necessary, cayenne pepper and salt. When stewed sufficiently, thicken
with butter rolled in flour, and add lemon-juice, shalots or garlic; then
serve with rice, and garnish with lemon.
TO BROIL A PIGEON.—Split it down the back, spread it open, season with
pepper and salt, and broil over a quick clear fire. Serve with mushroom
and salt.
RABBITS, TO STEW.—Divide the rabbit into quarters, lard them with large
slips of bacon, and fry them; then put into a stewpan, with a quart of
good broth, a glass of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, a little
pepper and salt, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. When done, dish
up, and pour the gravy sauce on them, garnishing with sliced lemon.
LARKS, TO ROAST.—Spit them on a little bird-spit, and roast; when done
enough, sprinkle with fried bread crumbs, and serve on toast, with thick
brown gravy.
TURKEY PATTIES.—Mince part of the breast fine, season with salt, nutmeg,
grated lemon, white pepper, and a little butter warmed. Fill the patties,
and bake as usual.
MEAT.
BEEF.—We have already given receipts for cooking cold beef, among which
will be found those for minced beef, cold roast beef and mashed potatoes,
bubble and squeak, lobscous, and beef rissoles. We shall therefore enter
on new ground.
TO DRESS THE INSIDE OF A COLD SIRLOIN OF BEEF.—Cut out all the inside
(free from fat) of the sirloin, in pieces about two inches long; flour it
well, and fry it a light brown; drain, and toss it up in a rich gravy,
well seasoned with pepper, salt, and shalots. Before sending it up, add
two tea-spoonfuls of caper vinegar, and garnish with fried potatoes,
horse-radish, or boiled spinach.
FRICASSEE OF COLD ROAST BEEF.—Cut some thin slices of under-done
beef, an onion in quarters, chop some parsley very small; put these
into a stewpan, with some strong broth, a small piece of butter, and a
little salt and pepper. Simmer gently a quarter of an hour, then add a
table-spoonful of white wine and vinegar, and the yolks of two eggs; stir
quickly over a brisk fire for a few minutes, and then serve in a deep hot
dish.
MUTTON HAM.—Take a leg of mutton of about seven pounds, shape like a
ham, and hang two days. Take six ounces of coarse sugar, an ounce of
saltpetre, four ounces of bay, and three ounces of common salt. Mix, and
rub them well into the ham, lay it in a tub, with the skin downwards, and
rub every day for a fortnight; then have it smoked, or hung in wood smoke
for a week. It is excellent cut in rashers and broiled.
TO COOK A LOIN OF PORK PORTUGUESE WAY.—Cut the skin of the loin across
with a sharp knife, at distances of half an inch; roast as usual. Cut two
onions small, and put them into the dripping-pan, with a pint of vinegar;
baste well with this, and serve hot.
SPARE-RIB OF PORK should be basted with very little butter, well floured,
and then sprinkled with dried sage, powdered. Serve hot, and have
apple-sauce.
VEAL SAUSAGES.—Chop half a pound of lean veal and fat bacon very fine;
add sage, salt, pepper, and allspice to taste; beat well in a mortar,
roll into balls, flatten and fry them.
LIVER PUDDING.—Boil a lamb’s liver well, grate it down; add an equal
quantity of grated bread; cut some onions small with plenty of suet, add
salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and fill them in the white end of the
pudding.
LAMB’S BRAIN CAKES.—Take the brains, and remove any veins, &c., that may
be among them, chop well with a knife, and add salt, nutmeg, or pepper, a
little raw egg, and flour enough to make them stick together; mix well,
make into cakes about the size of the top of a wine-glass, and fry them
brown on both sides with lard.
VENISON, TO BROIL.—Cut thin slices; mix stale crumbs of bread, with salt,
pepper, and spices; egg the slices, dip into the seasoned bread, broil
over a clear fire, serve with a gravy sauce.
VEGETABLES.
POTATOES.—Several ways of cooking potatoes are given at p. 243, viz.:
potato mashed with onions; potato snow; potato scones; potatoes fried
whole, escalloped, fried in slices; and potato pie.
PASTRY.
ELEGANT BREAD PUDDING.—Take light white bread, and cut in thin slices.
Put into a pudding shape a layer of any sort of preserve, then a slice of
bread, and repeat until the mould is almost full. Pour over all a pint
of warm milk, in which four well-beaten eggs have been mixed; cover the
mould with a piece of linen, place in a saucepan with a little boiling
water, let it boil twenty minutes, and serve with pudding sauce.
MINCE PIES.—Take a piece of puff-paste, roll to the thickness of a
penny-piece; butter the pans lightly; line the pans with the puff-paste,
place in the mincemeat made as under:—trim and wet the edges of the paste
with milk, cover with the paste, trim, press the edges closely and crimp,
prick a hole in the centre of the top, egg, and dust some fine white
sugar over. Bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
MINCE MEAT.—Take seven pounds of currants well picked and cleaned; of
finely chopped beef suet, the lean of a sirloin of beef minced raw, and
finely chopped apples (Kentish or Golden Pippins), each three and a half
pounds; citron, lemon-peel, and orange-peel cut small, each half a pound;
fine moist sugar, two pounds; mixed spice, an ounce; the rind of four
lemons and four Seville oranges; mix well, and put in a deep pan. Mix
a bottle of brandy and white wine, the juice of the lemons and oranges
that have been grated together in a basin; pour half over, and press down
tight with the hand, then add the other half, and cover closely. Some
families make one year, to use the next.
MALCOLM PUDDINGS.—Take any number of eggs, which are to be used first
as weights, and then mixed with the ingredients. Place the eggs in one
scale and weigh their equal balance successively in flour, brown sugar,
and butter. Make into a mass by means of the eggs, work well, and bake
in small moulds, with or without currants. Serve hot with wine sauce, or
cold without.
OATMEAL GINGERBREAD.—Mix one pound of Scotch meal into a stiff paste with
sour buttermilk, let it stay all night, and then add one pound prepared
Lentil Powder (Butler and McCulloch’s), into which has been rubbed
half an ounce of bi-carbonate of soda, and one pound of brown flour.
Add treacle enough to bring it to the requisite consistence, roll any
thickness, and bake in a moderate oven. A little sugar may be added.
UNFERMENTED OAT-CAKES.—Soak one pound of meal all night in a pint of sour
buttermilk. The next day, rub a quarter of an ounce of carbonate of soda
and a little salt into one pound of flour, and mix with the oatmeal. Roll
out any thickness required, and bake in a moderate oven.
OATMEAL PUDDING.—Soak four ounces of brown bread and two ounces of meal,
in one pint of boiling milk; when cold stir in two eggs well beaten, and
a little nutmeg and sugar; pour into a buttered basin, and steam or boil
one hour.
FLUMMERY, OR SOWINS.—To three spoonfuls of meal, add one pint of water,
let it stand in a warm place until it is sourish. Boil it the same as
for porridge, and eat with salt only. This gruel is excellent for hot
seasons and climates; taken for breakfast, it assists digestion, and
prevents constipation, cools the body, and creates an active and cheerful
disposition.
FOOD FOR FEBRUARY.
MEAT.—Beef, house-lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
FISH.—Barbel, brill, carp, cockles, cod, crabs, cray-fish, dabbs, dace,
eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lampreys, ling, lobsters, mussels,
oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, salmon, shrimps, skate, smelts,
soles, sturgeon, tench, thornback, turbot, whiting.
POULTRY AND GAME.—Capons, chickens, ducklings, fowl (wild), green geese,
hares, partridges, pheasants, pigeons, tame and wild, pullets with egg,
rabbits (tame), snipes, turkeys, turkey-poults, woodcocks.
VEGETABLES.—Beet, brocoli (white and purple), burnet, cabbage, cardoons,
carrots, celery, chervil, colewort, cresses, endive, garlic, dry herbs,
leeks, lettuces, mint, mustard, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, parsley,
potatoes, radish, rape, rosemary, sage, salsify, savory, scorzonera,
shalots, skirrets, sorrel, spinach, sprouts, tarragon, thyme, turnips,
winter savory.
FORCED VEGETABLES.—Asparagus, cucumbers, and Jerusalem artichokes.
FRUIT.—_Apples_—French pippin, golden pippin, golden russet, Holland
pippin, Kentish pippin, nonpareil, Wheeler’s russet, winter pearmain;
chestnuts, oranges. _Pears._—Bergamot, d’Pasque, winter Bon Chrétien,
winter russelet.
COOKERY FOR FEBRUARY.
SOUP.
OBSERVATIONS ON SOUPS.—Soups, in general, are better if made the day
before they are wanted; because they have the advantage of being
longer boiled. They should always be made from the freshest meat—if
practicable—and should not be put away for any length of time if there
are many vegetables in them, as they will speedily ferment, or turn
sour. When fat remains on soup, mix a tea-cupful of flour and water,
quite intimately, and boil in it: if deficient in richness, boil a pound
of butter mixed with flour in it; if too weak, remove the cover whilst
boiling. In general, a pound of meat is required for every quart of
water. Clear soups must be perfectly transparent; thickened soups about
the consistence of cream.
BEEF STOCK.—Take five pounds of coarse lean beef, cut into small pieces,
put into a pot or a digester, with sufficient water to cover it. As it
simmers, be careful to skim well; add a faggot of herbs, and season with
salt and ground pepper. When the meat is tender, the pot may be removed,
the stock skimmed well, the liquor strained through a fine hair sieve,
and put aside in a covered pan for use.
VEAL STOCK.—Take five or six pounds of the neck, leg, &c. of veal, and
add half to three-quarters of a pound of ham. Cut the meat into small
pieces, break the bones, and put the whole with a faggot of herbs into
rather more than a quart of water. Let all simmer until the meat is
nearly tender; then add as much of the beef stock as will cover the veal,
which must afterwards be kept simmering half an hour longer. Skim it free
from fat, strain through a sieve, and keep the same as beef stock.
BROWNING FOR SOUPS.—1. Take two ounces of coarse brown sugar, and pour
upon it some thyme water; place it on the fire till it becomes burnt.—2.
Take two ounces of powdered lump sugar, and half an ounce of fresh
butter; put them together in a frying-pan, and keep on the fire till the
mixture becomes a chocolate brown, then add three table-spoonfuls of port
wine, and two wine-glassfuls of elder wine, six shalots, half a drachm
of mace, a drachm of allspice, a drachm of black pepper, half an ounce
of salt, two ounces of ketchup, and an ounce of fresh lemon-juice. Boil
all together, let the liquor stand to settle, pour off the clear liquor,
bottle, and cork tight.—3. Take some sugar, white or brown, place it
in an iron spoon, heat until liquid, and then drop into half a pint of
water; repeat until sufficiently brown.
PIGEON SOUP.—Take eight good pigeons, cut up two of the worst, and put
them on with as much water as will make a large tureen of soup, adding
the pinions, necks, gizzards, and livers of the others; boil well, and
strain. Season the whole pigeons within, with mixed spices, and salt,
and truss them with their legs into their belly. Take a large handful of
parsley, young onions, and spinach, pick and wash them clean and shred
small; then take a handful of grated bread, put a lump of butter about
the size of a hen’s egg in a frying-pan, and when it boils throw in the
bread, stirring well until it becomes a fine brown colour. Put on the
stock to boil, add the whole pigeons, herbs, and fried bread, and when
the pigeons are done enough, dish up with the soup.
SOUP À LA SAP.—Boil a pound of beef cut in pieces an inch square, a pint
of gray peas, half a pound of scraped potatoes, an onion, and three
ounces of rice, in six pints of water until reduced to five. Strain
through a sieve, pulp the peas into it, and return to the saucepan with a
head of celery cut small, and a carrot. Stew well, season with pepper and
salt. Put toasted bread into the tureen, pour the soup on, and serve hot.
BEEF BROTH.—Take a leg of beef, crack the bone in two or three parts,
wash clean, put it into a gallon of water, let it simmer; skim well, add
three blades of mace, a bundle of parsley, and a crust of bread. Boil
well, and serve hot with toasted bread.
CARROT SOUP.—Slice up eight or nine large carrots, and stew them in three
quarts of common soup, until quite tender; then rub through a sieve, mix
well, season with salt and pepper, and add sufficient browning to make it
look well. It should be made the day before it is used.
FISH.
CARP, TO STEW.—Clean and cut them in two; place in a stewpan, with some
broken bread crusts, pepper, salt, and mace, a small onion shred fine,
and a few chopped capers. Then add a gill of white wine, the same of red
wine, and water enough to cover them; cover the pan close, and let them
stew until the liquor is thick, then serve with lemon and horse-radish
for garnish.
OYSTERS STEWED.—Take a pint of oysters, gently simmer them in their own
strained liquor. Beard them, and add a quarter of a pint of cream; season
with pounded mace, cayenne, and salt; add two ounces of butter and a
dessert-spoonful of flour, then simmer for a short time. Lay the oysters
in the dish upon a piece of toast, and pour the sauce over. The cream may
be omitted, if thought proper.
PRAWNS, TO CURRY, MALAY FASHION.—Procure sufficient prawns to weigh when
picked about a pound. Mince an onion or two very small, put the prawns
and onion in a stewpan with a little salt, and a stick of cinnamon; add a
pint of cold water, veal or mutton broth, and stew it for half an hour,
then add a table-spoonful of curry powder, and let it stew ten minutes
longer. Take the stewpan off the fire, strain the sauce through a sieve,
wipe the stewpan dry, add the prawns and sauce together, and let them
simmer ten minutes longer. Scrape some cocoa-nut into a basin with a gill
and a half of warm water, press it well with the back of a spoon, strain
through a sieve, and mix a table-spoonful of flour well in the milk, and
five minutes before you serve the curry, add the milk to it, shake the
pan once or twice, squeeze half a lemon in, and serve it up hot; rice
separate. Shrimps or any other fish may be curried in the same manner.
POULTRY, GAME, ETC.
DUCKS, TO ROAST.—After plucking and singeing carefully, let them be well
washed and dried. Make a seasoning of onion, sage, pepper, and salt.
Fasten it tight at the neck and rump. Paper the breast-bone, baste well,
and when the breast is rising take off the paper, and serve before the
breast falls, with plenty of good gravy. Be sure to have apple-sauce
ready.
WILD DUCKS are to be dressed in the same manner.
GOOSE, TO ROAST.—Prepare it the same as the ducks, and when done, cut off
the apron, and pour a glass of port wine and two tea-spoonfuls of mustard
among the seasoning. Apple-sauce must be ready, and plenty of good gravy,
in separate tureens.
HARE PIE.—Cut up a hare and season it; bake it with eggs and sausage
meat, as usual; or in a raised crust, and when cold, cover with savoury
jelly.
RABBIT, FRICASSEE OF.—Wash and cut a young rabbit into joints, put them
in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of streaky bacon cut small, an
onion stuck with cloves, a faggot of herbs, a blade of mace, and some
salt; cover the whole with water, and let it simmer twenty minutes,
keeping it well skimmed; pass the liquor through a sieve. Into another
stewpan put two ounces of butter, a table-spoonful of flour, and a little
of the liquor; set on the fire; stir well until it boils; add the rabbit
and bacon, with a dozen and a half of small onions; let the whole simmer
until the onions are done; skim well; then pour in a wine-glassful of
white wine, mixed with the yolks of two eggs, and a little grated nutmeg;
leave it to thicken, remove the rabbit, pile it on sippets, sauce over,
garnish with sliced lemon, and serve hot.
MEAT.
CURRIED BEEF, MADRAS WAY.—Take about two ounces of butter, and place it
in a saucepan, with two small onions cut up into slices, and let them fry
until they are of a light brown; then add a table-spoonful and a half of
curry powder, and mix it up well. Now put in the beef cut into pieces
about an inch square; pour in from a quarter to a third of a pint of
milk, and let it simmer for thirty minutes; then take it off, and place
in a dish, with a little lemon-juice. Whilst cooking stir constantly,
to prevent it burning. Send to table with a wall of mashed potatoes, or
boiled rice round it. It greatly improves any curry to add with the milk
a quarter of a cocoa-nut, scraped very small, and squeezed through muslin
with a little water; this softens the taste of the curry, and, indeed, no
curry should be made without it.
PASTRY, ETC.
BATH BUNS.—Take a pound of flour, the rinds of three lemons grated fine,
half a pound of butter melted in a coffee cup of cream, a tea-spoonful
of yeast, and three eggs. Mix; add half a pound of finely powdered white
sugar; work well, let it stand to rise well, and it will make thirty-nine
buns.
TEA CAKES.—Take a pound of flour, half a pound of butter, and the same of
sugar; the peel of a lemon finely grated, a little of the juice, an egg,
a little brandy to flavour, and a tea-spoonful of bruised coriander seed.
Roll it out thin, make into cakes, and bake them in a quick oven.
SHORT-BREAD.—Rub one pound of butter, and twelve ounces of finely
powdered loaf sugar, into two pounds of flour, with the hand; make it
into a stiff paste with four eggs, roll out to double the thickness of a
penny-piece, cut it into round or square cakes, pinch the edges, stick
slices of candied peel and some carraway comfits on the top, and bake
them on iron plates in a warm oven.
FRENCH PASTRY.—Take half a pound of flour, half a pound of butter; put
the flour on the board, and the butter in it, just as it is; roll it out
once; then roll the butter up, and put it on one side. Mix the flour to
about the stiffness of the butter, with a little milk, then let it stand
for an hour in a cool place before you roll it out; and before using it
roll it out five times.
GINGERBREAD.—Take one pound of flour, half a pound of butter, sugar,
and treacle, an ounce of powdered ginger, and a tea-spoonful of beaten
cloves. Mix well, and bake in a slow oven.
TO MAKE A SIMNEL.—One pound of flour, quarter of a pound of butter,
quarter of a pound of lump sugar, one pound of currants, two ounces of
candied lemon, a quarter of an ounce of carbonate of soda mixed with an
egg, and a little milk; to be put in a tin mould, and baked till enough.
[Very good.]—L. B.
GINGER CAKES.—To two pounds of flour add three-quarters of a pound
of good moist sugar, one ounce of best Jamaica ginger well mixed in
the flour; have ready three-quarters of a pound of lard, melted, and
four eggs well beaten; mix the lard and eggs together, and stir into
the flour, which will form a paste; roll out in thin cakes, and bake
in a moderately heated oven.—Lemon biscuits may be made the same way,
substituting essence of lemon for ginger. This is an excellent receipt.
DAMSON OR OTHER PLUM CHEESE.—Take damsons that have been preserved
without sugar; pass them through a sieve, to take out the skins and
stones. To every pound of pulp of the fruit, put half a pound of loaf
sugar, broken small; boil them together until quite stiff; pour it into
four common-sized dinner-plates, rubbed with a little sweet oil; put into
a warm place to dry, and when quite firm, take it from the plate, and cut
to any chosen shape.—Used in desserts.
FOOD FOR MARCH.
MEAT.—Beef, house-lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
FISH.—Brill, carp, cockles, cod, conger-eels, crabs, dabbs, dory, eels,
flounders, ling, lobsters, mackerel, mullets, mussels, oysters, perch,
pike, plaice, prawns, salmon, salmon-trout, shrimps, skate, smelts,
soles, sturgeon, turbot, tench, and whiting.
POULTRY AND GAME.—Capons, chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese,
grouse, leverets, moor-game, pigeons, rabbits (tame), snipes, turkeys,
woodcocks.
VEGETABLES.—Artichokes (Jerusalem), beet, brocoli (white and purple),
Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, celery, chervil, colewort,
cresses, endive, garlic, herbs (dry), kale (sea and Scotch), lettuces,
mint, mushrooms, mustard, onions, parsley, parsnips, potatoes, rape,
rosemary, sage, savoy, shalots, sorrel, spinach, tarragon, thyme,
turnips, turnip-tops.