swept with a whisk brush, as it wears them fast; not more than once a
week, and at other times with sprinkled tea-leaves, and a hair brush.
Fine carpets should be done gently on the knees, with a soft clothes'
brush. When a carpet requires more cleaning, take it up and beat it
well, then lay it down and brush it on both sides with a hand-brush.
Turn it the right side upwards, and scour it clean with ox-gall and soap
and water, and dry it with linen cloths. Lay it on the grass, or hang it
up to dry thoroughly.
CARRAWAY CAKE. Dry two pounds of good flour, add ten spoonfuls of yeast,
and twelve of cream. Wash the salt out of a pound of butter, and rub it
into the flour; beat up eight eggs with half the whites, and mix it
with the composition already prepared. Work it into a light paste, set
it before the fire to rise, incorporate a pound of carraway comfits, and
an hour will bake it.
CARRIER SAUCE. Chop six shalots fine, and boil them up with a gill of
gravy, a spoonful of vinegar, some pepper and salt. This is used for
mutton, and served in a boat.
CARROLE OF RICE. Wash and pick some rice quite clean, boil it five
minutes in water, strain and put it into a stewpan, with a bit of
butter, a good slice of ham, and an onion. Stew it over a very gentle
fire till tender; have ready a mould lined with very thin slices of
bacon, mix the yolks of two or three eggs with the rice, and then line
the bacon with it about half an inch thick. Put into it a ragout of
chicken, rabbit, veal, or of any thing else. Fill up the mould, and
cover it close with rice. Bake it in a quick oven an hour, turn it over,
and send it to table in a good gravy, or curry sauce.
CARROTS. This root requires a good deal of boiling. When young, wipe off
the skin after they are boiled; when old, scrape them first, and boil
them with salt meat. Carrots and parsnips should be kept in layers of
dry sand for winter use, and not be wholly cleared from the earth. They
should be placed separately, with their necks upward, and be drawn out
regularly as they stand, without disturbing the middle or the sides.
CARROT PUDDING. Boil a large carrot tender; then bruise it in a marble
mortar, and mix with it a spoonful of biscuit powder, or three or four
little sweet biscuits without seeds, four yolks and two whites of eggs,
a pint of cream either raw or scalded, a little ratifia, a large
spoonful of orange or rose-water, a quarter of a nutmeg, and two ounces
of sugar. Bake it in a shallow dish lined with paste; turn it out, and
dust a little fine sugar over it.
CARROT SOUP. Put some beef bones into a saucepan, with four quarts of
the liquor in which a leg of mutton or beef has been boiled, two large
onions, a turnip, pepper and salt, and boil them together for three
hours. Have ready six large carrots scraped and sliced; strain the soup
on them, and stew them till soft enough to pulp through a hair sieve or
coarse cloth, with a wooden spoon; but pulp only the red part of the
carrot, and not the yellow. The soup should be made the day before, and
afterwards boiled with the pulp, to the thickness of peas-soup, with the
addition of a little cayenne.
[Illustration: Carving]
[Illustration: Carving.]
CARVING. In nothing does ceremony more frequently triumph over comfort,
than in the administration of 'the honours of the table.' Every one is
sufficiently aware that a dinner, to be eaten in perfection, should be
taken the very moment it is sent hot to table; yet few persons seem to
understand, that he is the best carver who fills the plates of the
greatest numbers of guests in the least portion of time, provided it be
done with ease and elegance. In a mere family circle, where all cannot
and ought not to be choosers, it is far better to fill the plates and
send them round, rather than ask each individual what particular part
they would prefer; and if in a larger company a similar plan were
introduced, it would be attended with many advantages. A dexterous
carver, would help half a dozen people in less time than is often wasted
in making civil faces to a single guest. He will also cut fair, and
observe an equitable distribution of the dainties he is serving out. It
would save much time, if poultry, especially large turkeys and geese,
were sent to table ready cut up. When a lady presides, the carving knife
should be light, of a middling size, and of a fine edge. Strength is
less required than address, in the manner of using, it; and to
facilitate this, the butcher should be ordered to divide the joints of
the bones, especially of the neck, breast, and loin of mutton, lamb, and
veal; which may then be easily cut into thin slices attached to the
adjoining bones. If the whole of the meat belonging to each bone should
be too thick, a small slice may be taken off between every two bones.
The more fleshy joints, as fillet of veal, leg or saddle of mutton and
beef, are to be helped in thin slices, neatly cut and smooth; observing
to let the knife pass down to the bone in the mutton and beef joints.
The dish should not be too far off the carver, as it gives an awkward
appearance, and makes the task more difficult. In helping fish, take
care not to break the flakes; which in cod and very fresh salmon are
large, and contribute much to the beauty of its appearance. A fish
knife, not being sharp, divides it best on this account. Help a part of
the roe, milt or liver, to each person. The heads of carp, part of those
of cod and salmon, sounds of cod, and fins of turbot, are likewise
esteemed niceties, and are to be attended to accordingly. In cutting up
any wild fowl, duck, goose, or turkey, for a large party, if you cut the
slices down from pinion to pinion, without making wings, there will be
more prime pieces. But that the reader may derive the full advantage of
these remarks, we shall descend to particulars, and illustrate the
subject with a variety of interesting Plates, which will show at the
same time the manner in which game and poultry should be trussed and
dished.----COD'S HEAD. Fish in general requires very little carving, the
fleshy parts being those principally esteemed. A cod's head and
shoulders, when in season, and properly boiled, is a very genteel and
handsome dish. When cut, it should be done with a fish trowel, and the
parts about the backbone on the shoulders are the firmest and the best.
Take off a piece quite down to the bone, in the direction _a_, _b_, _c_,
_d_, putting in the spoon at _a_, _c_, and with each slice of fish give
a piece of the sound, which lies underneath the backbone and lines it,
the meat of which is thin, and a little darker coloured than the body of
the fish itself. This may be got by passing a knife or spoon underneath,
in the direction of _d_, _f_. About the head are many delicate parts,
and a great deal of the jelly kind. The jelly part lies about the jaw,
bones, and the firm parts within the head. Some are fond of the palate,
and others the tongue, which likewise may be got by putting a spoon into
the mouth.----EDGE BONE OF BEEF. Cut off a slice an inch thick all the
length from _a_ to _b_, in the figure opposite, and then help. The soft
fat which resembles marrow, lies at the back of the bone, below _c_; the
firm fat must be cut in horizontal slices at the edge of the meat _d_.
It is proper to ask which is preferred, as tastes differ. The skewer
that keeps the meat properly together when boiling is here shewn at _a_.
This should be drawn out before it is served up; or, if it is necessary
to leave the skewer in, put a silver one.----SIRLOIN OF BEEF may be
begun either at the end, or by cutting into the middle. It is usual to
enquire whether the outside or the inside is preferred. For the outside,
the slice should be cut down to the bones; and the same with every
following helping. Slice the inside likewise, and give with each piece
some of the soft fat. The inside done as follows eats excellently. Have
ready some shalot vinegar boiling hot: mince the meat large, and a good
deal of the fat; sprinkle it with salt, and pour the shalot vinegar and
the gravy on it. Help with a spoon, as quickly as possible, on hot
plates.----ROUND OR BUTTOCK OF BEEF is cut in the same way as fillet of
veal, in the next article. It should be kept even all over. When helping
the fat, observe not to hack it, but cut it smooth. A deep slice should
be cut off the beef before you begin to help, as directed above for the
edge-bone.----FILLET OF VEAL. In an ox, this part is round of beef. Ask
whether the brown outside be liked, otherwise help the next slice. The
bone is taken out, and the meat tied close, before dressing, which makes
the fillet very solid. It should be cut thin, and very smooth. A
stuffing is put into the flap, which completely covers it; you must cut
deep into this, and help a thin slice, as likewise of fat. From
carelessness in not covering the latter with paper, it is sometimes
dried up, to the great disappointment of the carver.----BREAST OF VEAL.
One part, called the brisket, is thick and gristly; put the knife about
four inches from the edge of this, and cut through it, which will
separate the ribs from the brisket.----CALF'S HEAD has a great deal of
meat upon it, if properly managed. Cut slices from _a_ to _b_, letting
the knife go close to the bone. In the fleshy part, at the neck end _c_,
there lies the throat sweetbread, which you should help a slice of from
_c_ to _d_ with the other part. Many like the eye, which must be cut out
with the point of a knife, and divided in two. If the jaw-bone be taken
off, there will be found some fine lean. Under the head is the palate,
which is reckoned a nicety; the lady of the house should be acquainted
with all things that are thought so, that she may distribute them among
her guests.----SHOULDER OF MUTTON. This is a very good joint, and by
many preferred to the leg; it being very full of gravy, if properly
roasted, and produces many nice bits. The figure represents it as laid
in the dish with its back uppermost. When it is first cut, it should be
in the hollow part of it, in the direction of _a_, _b_, and the knife
should be passed deep to the bone. The prime part of the fat lies on the
outer edge, and is to be cut out in thin slices in the direction _e_. If
many are at table, and the hollow part cut in the line _a_, _b_, is
eaten, some very good and delicate slices may be cut out on each side
the ridge of the blade-bone, in the direction _c_, _d_. The line between
these two dotted lines, is that in the direction of which the edge or
ridge of the blade-bone lies, and cannot be cut across.----LEG OF
MUTTON. A leg of wether mutton, which is the best flavoured, may be
known by a round lump of fat at the edge of the broadest part, as at
_a_. The best part is in the midway, at _b_, between the knuckle and
further end. Begin to help there, by cutting thin deep slices to _c_. If
the outside is not fat enough, help some from the side of the broad end
in slices from _e_ to _f_. This part is most juicy; but many prefer the
knuckle, which in fine mutton will be very tender though dry. There are
very fine slices on the back of the leg: turn it up, and cut the broad
end, not in the direction you did the other side, but longways. To cut
out the cramp bone, take hold of the shank with your left hand, and cut
down to the thigh bone at _d_; then pass the knife under the cramp bone
in the direction, _d_, _g_.----FORE QUARTER OF LAMB. Separate the
shoulder from the scoven, which is the breast and ribs, by passing the
knife under in the direction of _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_; keeping it towards
you horizontally, to prevent cutting the meat too much off the bones. If
grass lamb, the shoulder being large, put it into another dish. Squeeze
the juice of half a Seville orange or lemon on the other part, and
sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Then separate the gristly part from
the ribs in the line _e_, _c_; and help either from that or from the
ribs, as may be chosen.----HAUNCH OF VENISON. Cut down to the bone in
the line _a_, _b_, _c_, to let out the gravy. Then turn the broad end of
the haunch toward you, put in the knife at _b_, and cut as deep as you
can to the end of the haunch _d_; then help in thin slices, observing to
give some fat to each person. There is more fat, which is a favourite
part, on the left side of _c_ and _d_ than on the other: and those who
help must take care to proportion it, as likewise the gravy, according
to the number of the company.--HAUNCH OF MUTTON is the leg and part of
the loin, cut so as to resemble a haunch of venison, and is to be helped
at table in the same manner.----SADDLE OF MUTTON. Cut long thin slices
from the tail to the end, beginning close to the back bone. If a large
joint, the slice may be divided. Cut some fat from the sides.----HAM may
be cut three ways. The common method is, to begin in the middle, by long
slices from _a_ to _b_, from the centre through the thick fat. This
brings to the prime at first, which is likewise accomplished by cutting
a small round hole on the top of the ham, as at _c_, and with a sharp
knife enlarging that by cutting successive thin circles: this preserves
the gravy, and keeps the meat moist. The last and most saving way is, to
begin at the hock end, which many are most fond of, and proceed onwards.
Ham that is used for pies, &c. should be cut from the under side, first
taking off a thick slice.----SUCKING PIG. The cook usually divides the
body before it is sent to table, and garnishes the dish with the jaws
and ears. The first thing is, to separate a shoulder from the carcase on
one side, and then the leg, according to the direction given by the
dotted line _a_, _b_, _c_. The ribs are then to be divided into about
two helpings, and an ear or jaw presented with them, and plenty of
sauce. The joints may either be divided into two each, or pieces may be
cut from them. The ribs are reckoned the finest part, but some people
prefer the neck end, between the shoulders.----GOOSE. Cut off the apron
in the circular line _a_, _b_, _c_, and pour into the body a glass of
port wine, and a large tea-spoonful of mustard, first mixed at the
sideboard. Turn the neck end of the goose towards you, and cut the whole
breast in long slices from one wing to another; but only remove them as
you help each person, unless the company is so large as to require the
legs likewise. This way gives more prime bits than by making wings. Take
off the leg, by putting the fork into the small end of the bone,
pressing it to the body; and having passed the knife at _d_, turn the
leg back, and if a young bird, it will easily separate. To take off the
wing, put your fork into the small end of the pinion, and press it close
to the body; then put in the knife at _d_, and divide the joint, taking
it down in the direction _d_, _e_. Nothing but practice will enable
people to hit the joint dexterously. When the leg and wing of one side
are done, go on to the other; but it is not often necessary to cut up
the whole goose, unless the company be very large. There are two side
bones by the wing, which may be cut off; as likewise the back and lower
side bones: but the best pieces are the breast and the thighs, after
being divided from the drum-sticks.----HARE. The best way of cutting it
up is, to put the point of the knife under the shoulder at _a_, and so
cut all the way down to the rump, on one side of the back-bone, in the
line _a_, _b_. Do the same on the other side, so that the whole hare
will be divided into three parts. Cut the back into four, which with
the legs is the part most esteemed. The shoulder must be cut off in a
circular line, as _c_, _d_, _a_. Lay the pieces neatly on the dish as
you cut them; and then help the company, giving some pudding and gravy
to every person. This way can only be practised when the hare is young.
If old, do not divide it down, which will require a strong arm: but put
the knife between the leg and back, and give it a little turn inwards at
the joint; which you must endeavour to hit, and not to break by force.
When both legs are taken off, there is a fine collop on each side the
back; then divide the back into as many pieces as you please, and take
of the shoulders, which are by many preferred, and are called the
sportman's pieces. When every one is helped, cut off the head; put your
knife between the upper and lower jaw, and divide them, which will
enable you to lay the upper one flat on your plate; then put the point
of the knife into the centre, and cut the head into two. The ears and
brains may be helped then to those who like them.----Carve RABBITS as
directed the latter way for hare; cutting the back into two pieces,
which with the legs are the prime.----A FOWL. The legs of a boiled fowl
are bent inwards, and tucked into the belly; but before it is served,
the skewers are to be removed. Lay the fowl on your plate; and place the
joints, as cut off, on the dish. Take the wing off in the direction of
_a_ to _b_, in the annexed engraving, only dividing the joint with your
knife; and then with your fork lift up the pinion, and draw the wing
towards the legs, and the muscles will separate in a more complete form
than if cut. Slip the knife between the leg and body, and cut to the
bone; then with the fork turn the leg back, and the joint will give way
if the bird is not old. When the four quarters are thus removed, take
off the merrythought from _a_, and the neck bones; these last by
putting in the knife at _c_, and pressing it under the long broad part
of the bone in the line _c_, _b_. Then lift it up, and break it off from
the part that sticks to the breast. The next thing is, to divide the
breast from the carcase, by cutting through the tender ribs close to the
breast, quite down to the tail. Then lay the back upwards, put your
knife into the bone half-way from the neck to the rump, and on raising
the lower end it will separate readily. Turn the rump from you, and very
neatly take off the two sidebones, and the whole will be done. As each
part is taken off, it should be turned neatly on the dish, and care
should be taken that what is left goes properly from table. The breast
and wings are looked upon as the best parts, but the legs are most juicy
in young fowls. After all, more advantage will be gained by observing
those who carve well, and a little practice, than by any written
directions whatever.----A PHEASANT. The bird in the annexed engraving is
as trussed for the spit, with its head under one of its wings. When the
skewers are taken out, and the bird served, the following is the way to
carve it. Fix a fork in the centre of the breast; slice it down in the
line _a_, _b_; take off the leg on one side in the dotted line _b_, _d_;
then cut off the wing on the same side in the line _c_, _d_. Separate
the leg and wing on the other side, and then cut off the slices of
breast you divided before. Be careful how you take off the wings; for if
you should cut too near the neck, as at _g_, you will hit on the
neck-bone, from which the wing must be separated. Cut off the
merrythought in the line _f_, _g_, by passing the knife under it towards
the neck. Cut the other parts as in a fowl. The breast, wings, and
merrythought, are the most esteemed; but the leg has a higher
flavour.----PARTRIDGE. The partridge is here represented as just taken
from the spit; but before it is served up, the skewers must be
withdrawn. It is cut up in the same manner as a fowl. The wings must be
taken off in the line _a_, _b_, and the merrythought in the line _c_,
_d_. The prime parts of a partridge are the wings, breast, and
merrythought; but the bird being small, the two latter are not often
divided. The wing is considered as the best, and the tip of it reckoned
the most delicate morsel of the whole.----PIGEONS. Cut them in half,
either from top to bottom or across. The lower part is generally thought
the best; but the fairest way is to cut from the neck to _a_, rather
than from _c_ to _b_, by _a_, which is the most fashionable. The figure
represents the back of the pigeon; and the direction of the knife is in
the line _c_, _b_, by _a_, if done the last way.
CASKS. New casks are apt to give beer a bad taste, if not well scalded
and seasoned before they are used. Boil therefore two pecks of bran or
malt dust in a copper of water, pour it hot into the cask, stop it
close, and let it stand two days. Then wash it clean, and dry it fit for
use. Old casks are apt to grow musty, if allowed to stand by neglected;
they should therefore be closely stopped as soon as emptied. When
tainted, put in some lime, fill up with water, and let them stand a day
or two. If this be not sufficient, the head must be taken out, the
inside well scoured, and the head replaced.
CATERPILLARS. These noxious insects, sustained by leaves and fruit, have
been known in all ages and nations for their depredations on the
vegetable world. In August and September they destroy cabbages and
turnips in great abundance, and commit their ravages in fields and
gardens whenever the easterly winds prevail. Various means have been
devised for their destruction, and any of the following which may
happen to be the most convenient, may be employed with very good effect.
Mix and heat three quarts of water and one quart of vinegar, put in a
full pound of soot, and stir it with a whisk till the whole is
incorporated. Sprinkle the plants with this preparation, every morning
and evening, by dipping in a brush and shedding it over them; and in a
few days all the cankers will disappear. Or sow with hemp all the
borders where cabbages are planted, so as to enclose them, and not one
of these vermin will approach. When gooseberry or currant bushes are
attacked, a very simple expedient will suffice. Put pieces of woollen
rags in every bush, the caterpillars will take refuge in them during the
night, and in the morning quantities of them may thus be taken and
destroyed. If this do not succeed, dissolve an ounce of alum in a quart
of tobacco liquor; and as soon as the leaves of the plants or bushes
appear in the least corroded, sprinkle on the mixture with a brush. If
any eggs be deposited, they never come forward after this application;
and if changed into worms they will sicken and die, and fall off.
Nothing is more effectual than to dust the leaves of plants with sulphur
put into a piece of muslin, or thrown upon them with a dredging box:
this not only destroys the insects, but materially promotes the health
of the plants. When caterpillars attack fruit trees, they may be
destroyed by a strong decoction of equal quantities of rue, wormwood,
and tobacco, sprinkled on the leaves and branches while the fruit is
ripening. Or take a chafing-dish of burning charcoal, place it under the
branches of the bush or tree, and throw on it a little brimstone. The
vapour of the sulphur, and the suffocating fume arising from the
charcoal, will not only destroy all the insects, but prevent the plants
from being infested with them any more that season. Black cankers,
which commit great devastation among turnips, are best destroyed by
turning a quantity of ducks into the field infested by them. Every
fourth year these cankers become flies, when they deposit their eggs on
the ground, and thus produce maggots. The flies on their first
appearance settle on the trees, especially the oak, elm, and maple: in
this state they should be shaken down on packsheets, and destroyed. If
this were done before they begin to deposit their eggs on the ground,
the ravages of the canker would in a great measure be prevented.
CAUDLE. Make a fine smooth gruel of half grits, strain it after being
well boiled, and stir it at times till quite cold. When to be used, add
sugar, wine, lemon peel and nutmeg. A spoonful of brandy may be added,
and a little lemon juice if approved. Another way is to boil up half a
pint of fine gruel, with a bit of butter the size of a large nutmeg, a
spoonful of brandy, the same of white wine, one of capillaire, a bit of
lemon peel and nutmeg.--Another. Beat up the yolk of an egg with sugar,
mix it with a large spoonful of cold water, a glass of wine, and nutmeg.
Mix it by degrees with a pint of fine gruel, not thick, but while it is
boiling hot. This caudle is very agreeable and nourishing. Some add a
glass of beer and sugar, or a tea-spoonful of brandy.--A caudle for the
sick and lying-in is made as follows. Set three quarts of water on the
fire, 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
twenty peppercorns in fine powder. Boil it up to a tolerable thickness;
then add sugar, half a pint of good table beer, and a glass of gin, all
heated up together.