SEPARATION OF MILK AND CREAM.
1627. If it be desired that the milk should be freed entirely from
cream, it should be poured into a very shallow broad pan or dish, not
more than 1-1/2 inch deep, as cream cannot rise through a great depth of
milk. In cold and wet weather, milk is not so rich as it is in summer
and warm weather, and the morning's milk is always richer than the
evening's. The last-drawn milk of each milking, at all times and
seasons, is richer than the first-drawn, and on that account should be
set apart for cream. Milk should be shaken as little as possible when
carried from the cow to the dairy, and should be poured into the pans
very gently. Persons not keeping cows, may always have a little cream,
provided the milk they purchase be pure and unadulterated. As soon as it
comes in, it should be poured into very shallow open pie-dishes, and set
by in a very cool place, and in 7 or 8 hours a nice cream should have
risen to the surface.
MILK is one of the most complete of all articles of food: that
is to say, it contains a very large number of the elements which
enter into the composition of the human body. It "disagrees"
with fat, heavy, languid people, of slow circulation; and, at
first, with many people of sedentary habits, and stomachs
weakened by stimulants of different kinds. But, if exercise can
be taken and a little patience shown, while the system
accommodates itself to a new regimen, this bland and soothing
article of diet is excellent for the majority of thin, nervous
people; especially for those who have suffered much from
emotional disturbances, or have relaxed their stomachs by too
much tea or coffee, taken too hot. Milk is, in fact, a nutrient
and a sedative at once. Stomachs, however, have their
idiosyncrasies, and it sometimes proves an unwelcome and
ill-digested article of food. As milk, when good, contains a
good deal of respiratory material (fat),--material which _must_
either be burnt off, or derange the liver, and be rejected in
other ways, it may disagree because the lungs are not
sufficiently used in the open air. But it is very probable that
there are really "constitutions" which cannot take to it; and
_they_ should not be forced.
TO KEEP MILK AND CREAM IN HOT WEATHER.
1628. When the weather is very warm, and it is very difficult to prevent
milk from turning sour and spoiling the cream, it should be scalded, and
it will then remain good for a few hours. It must on no account be
allowed to boil, or there will be a skin instead of a cream upon the
milk; and the slower the process, the safer will it be. A very good plan
to scald milk, is to put the pan that contains it into a saucepan or
wide kettle of boiling water. When the surface looks thick, the milk is
sufficiently scalded, and it should then be put away in a cool place in
the same vessel that it was scalded in. Cream may be kept for 24 hours,
if scalded without sugar; and by the addition of the latter ingredient,
it will remain good double the time, if kept in a cool place. All pans,
jugs, and vessels intended for milk, should be kept beautifully clean,
and well scalded before the milk is put in, as any negligence in this
respect may cause large quantities of it to be spoiled; and milk should
never be kept in vessels of zinc or copper. Milk may be preserved good
in hot weather, for a few hours, by placing the jug which contains it in
ice, or very cold water; or a pinch of bicarbonate of soda may be
introduced into the liquid.
MILK, when of good quality, is of an opaque white colour: the
cream always comes to the top; the well-known milky odour is
strong; it will boil without altering its appearance, in these
respects; the little bladders which arise on the surface will
renew themselves if broken by the spoon. To boil milk is, in
fact, the simplest way of testing its quality. The commonest
adulterations of milk are not of a hurtful character. It is a
good deal thinned with water, and sometimes thickened with a
little starch, or colored with yolk of egg, or even saffron; but
these processes have nothing murderous in them.
CURDS AND WHEY.
1629. INGREDIENTS.--A very small piece of rennet, 1/2 gallon of milk.
_Mode_.--Procure from the butcher's a small piece of rennet, which is
the stomach of the calf, taken as soon as it is killed, scoured, and
well rubbed with salt, and stretched on sticks to dry. Pour some boiling
water on the rennet, and let it remain for 6 hours; then use the liquor
to turn the milk. The milk should be warm and fresh from the cow: if
allowed to cool, it must be heated till it is of a degree quite equal to
new milk; but do not let it be too hot. About a tablespoonful or rather
more, would be sufficient to turn the above proportion of milk into
curds and whey; and whilst the milk is turning, let it be kept in rather
a warm place.
_Time_.--From 2 to 3 hours to turn the milk.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
DEVONSHIRE CREAM.
1630. The milk should stand 24 hours in the winter, half that time when
the weather is very warm. The milkpan is then set on a stove, and should
there remain until the milk is quite hot; but it must not boil, or there
will be a thick skin on the surface. When it is sufficiently done, the
undulations on the surface look thick, and small rings appear. The time
required for scalding cream depends on the size of the pan and the heat
of the fire; but the slower it is done, the better. The pan should be
placed in the dairy when the cream is sufficiently scalded, and skimmed
the following day. This cream is so much esteemed that it is sent to the
London markets in small square tins, and is exceedingly delicious eaten
with fresh fruit. In Devonshire, butter is made from this cream, and is
usually very firm.
DEVONSHIRE JUNKET.
1631. INGREDIENTS.--To every pint of new milk allow 2 dessertspoonfuls
of brandy, 1 dessertspoonful of sugar, and 1-1/2 dessertspoonful of
prepared rennet; thick cream, pounded cinnamon, or grated nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Make the milk blood-warm; put it into a deep dish with the
brandy, sugar, and rennet; stir it altogether, and cover it over until
it is set. Then spread some thick or clotted cream over the top, grate
some nutmeg, and strew some sugar over, and the dish will be ready to
serve.
_Time_.--About 2 hours to set the milk. _Seasonable_ at any time.
TO KEEP AND CHOOSE FRESH BUTTER.
1632. Fresh butter should be kept in a dark, cool place, and in as large
a mass as possible. Mould as much only as is required, as the more
surface is exposed, the more liability there will be to spoil; and the
outside very soon becomes rancid. Fresh butter should be kept covered
with white paper. For small larders, butter-coolers of red brick are now
very much used for keeping fresh butter in warm weather. These coolers
are made with a large bell-shaped cover, into the top of which a little
cold water should be poured, and in summer time very frequently changed;
and the butter must be kept covered. These coolers keep butter
remarkably firm in hot weather, and are extremely convenient for those
whose larder accommodation is limited.
[Illustration: BUTTER-DISH.]
In choosing fresh butter, remember it should smell deliciously, and be
of an equal colour all through: if it smells sour, it has not been
sufficiently washed from the buttermilk; and if veiny and open, it has
probably been worked with a staler or an inferior sort.
TO PRESERVE AND TO CHOOSE SALT BUTTER.
1633. In large families, where salt butter is purchased a tub at a time,
the first thing to be done is to turn the whole of the butter out, and,
with a clean knife, to scrape the outside; the tub should then be wiped
with a clean cloth, and sprinkled all round with salt, the butter
replaced, and the lid kept on to exclude the air. It is necessary to
take these precautions, as sometimes a want of proper cleanliness in the
dairymaid causes the outside of the butter to become rancid, and if the
scraping be neglected, the whole mass would soon become spoiled. To
choose salt butter, plunge a knife into it, and if, when drawn out, the
blade smells rancid or unpleasant, the butter is bad. The layers in tubs
will vary greatly, the butter being made at different times; so, to try
if the whole tub be good, the cask should be unhooped, and the butter
tried between the staves.
It is not necessary to state that butter is extracted from cream, or
from unskimmed milk, by the churn. Of course it partakes of the
qualities of the milk, and winter butter is said not to be so good as
spring butter.
A word of caution is necessary about _rancid_ butter. Nobody eats it on
bread, but it is sometimes used in cooking, in forms in which the
acidity can be more or less disguised. So much the worse; it is almost
poisonous, disguise it as you may. Never, under any exigency whatever,
be tempted into allowing butter with even a _soupçon_ of "turning" to
enter into the composition of any dish that appears on your table. And,
in general, the more you can do without the employment of butter that
has been subjected to the influence of heat, the better. The woman of
modern times is not a "leech;" but she might often keep the "leech" from
the door, if she would give herself the trouble to invent _innocent_
sauces.
BUTTER-MOULDS, for Moulding Fresh Butter.
[Illustration: DISH OF ROLLED BUTTER.]
1634. Butter-moulds, or wooden stamps for moulding fresh butter, are
much used, and are made in a variety of forms and shapes. In using them,
let them be kept scrupulously clean, and before the butter is pressed
in, the interior should be well wetted with cold water; the butter must
then be pressed in, the mould opened, and the perfect shape taken out.
The butter may be then dished, and garnished with a wreath of parsley,
if for a cheese course; if for breakfast, put it into an ornamental
butter-dish, with a little water at the bottom, should the weather be
very warm.
CURLED BUTTER.
1635. Tie a strong cloth by two of the corners to an iron hook in the
wall; make a knot with the other two ends, so that a stick might pass
through. Put the butter into the cloth; twist it tightly over a dish,
into which the butter will fall through the knot, so forming small and
pretty little strings. The butter may then be garnished with parsley, if
to serve with a cheese course; or it may be sent to table plain for
breakfast, in an ornamental dish. Squirted butter for garnishing hams,
salads, eggs, &c., is made by forming a piece of stiff paper in the
shape of a cornet, and squeezing the butter in fine strings from the
hole at the bottom. Scooped butter is made by dipping a teaspoon or
scooper in warm water, and then scooping the butter quickly and thin. In
warm weather, it would not be necessary to heat the spoon.
BUTTER may be kept fresh for ten or twelve days by a very simple
process. Knead it well in cold water till the buttermilk is
extracted; then put it in a glazed jar, which invert in another,
putting into the latter a sufficient quantity of water to
exclude the air. Renew the water every day.
FAIRY BUTTER.
1636. INGREDIENTS.--The yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 tablespoonful of
orange-flower water, 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, 1/4 lb. of good
fresh butter.
_Mode_.--Beat the yolks of the eggs smoothly in a mortar, with the
orange-flower water and the sugar, until the whole is reduced to a fine
paste; add the butter, and force all through an old but clean cloth by
wringing the cloth and squeezing the butter very hard. The butter will
then drop on the plate in large and small pieces, according to the holes
in the cloth. Plain butter may be done in the same manner, and is very
quickly prepared, besides having a very good effect.
BUTTER.--White-coloured butter is said not to be so good as the
yellow; but the yellow colour is often artificially produced, by
the introduction of colouring matter into the churn.
ANCHOVY BUTTER.
1637. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of butter allow 6 anchovies, 1 small
bunch of parsley.
_Mode_.--Wash, bone, and pound the anchovies well in a mortar; scald the
parsley, chop it, and rub through a sieve; then pound all the
ingredients together, mix well, and make the butter into pats
immediately. This makes a pretty dish, if fancifully moulded, for
breakfast or supper, and should be garnished with parsley.
_Average cost_, 1s. 8d.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 dishes, with 4 pats each.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
CHEESE.
1638. In families where much cheese is consumed, and it is bought in
large quantities, a piece from the whole cheese should be cut, the
larger quantity spread with a thickly-buttered sheet of white paper, and
the outside occasionally wiped. To keep cheeses moist that are in daily
use, when they come from table a damp cloth should be wrapped round
them, and the cheese put into a pan with a cover to it, in a cool but
not very dry place. To ripen cheeses, and bring them forward, put them
into a damp cellar; and, to check too large a production of mites,
spirits may be poured into the parts affected. Pieces of cheese which
are too near the rind, or too dry to put on table, may be made into
Welsh rare-bits, or grated down and mixed with macaroni. Cheeses may be
preserved in a perfect state for years, by covering them with parchment
made pliable by soaking in water, or by rubbing them over with a coating
of melted fat. The cheeses selected should be free from cracks or
bruises of any kind.
CHEESE.--It is well known that some persons like cheese in a
state of decay, and even "alive." There is no accounting for
tastes, and it maybe hard to show why mould, which is
vegetation, should not be eaten as well as salad, or maggots as
well as eels. But, generally speaking, decomposing bodies are
not wholesome eating, and the line must be drawn somewhere.
STILTON CHEESE.
[Illustration: STILTON CHEESE.]
1639. Stilton cheese, or British Parmesan, as it is sometimes called, is
generally preferred to all other cheeses by those whose authority few
will dispute. Those made in May or June are usually served at Christmas;
or, to be in prime order, should be kept from 10 to 12 months, or even
longer. An artificial ripeness in Stilton cheese is sometimes produced
by inserting a small piece of decayed Cheshire into an aperture at the
top. From 3 weeks to a month is sufficient time to ripen the cheese. An
additional flavour may also be obtained by scooping out a piece from the
top, and pouring therein port, sherry, Madeira, or old ale, and letting
the cheese absorb these for 2 or 3 weeks. But that cheese is the finest
which is ripened without any artificial aid, is the opinion of those who
are judges in these matters. In serving a Stilton cheese, the top of it
should be cut off to form a lid, and a napkin or piece of white paper,
with a frill at the top, pinned round. When the cheese goes from table,
the lid should be replaced.
MODE OF SERVING CHEESE.
[Illustration: CHEESE-GLASS.]
1640. The usual mode of serving cheese at good tables is to cut a small
quantity of it into neat square pieces, and to put them into a glass
cheese-dish, this dish being handed round. Should the cheese crumble
much, of course this method is rather wasteful, and it may then be put
on the table in the piece, and the host may cut from it. When served
thus, the cheese must always be carefully scraped, and laid on a white
d'oyley or napkin, neatly folded. Cream cheese is often served in a
cheese course, and, sometimes, grated Parmesan: the latter should he put
into a covered glass dish. Rusks, cheese-biscuits, pats or slices of
butter, and salad, cucumber, or water-cresses, should always form part
of a cheese course.
SMOKING CHEESES.--The Romans smoked their cheeses, to give them
a sharp taste. They possessed public places expressly for this
use, and subject to police regulations which no one could evade.
A celebrated gourmand remarked that a dinner without cheese is
like a woman with one eye.
CHEESE SANDWICHES.
1641. INGREDIENTS.--Slices of brown bread-and-butter, thin slices of
cheese.
_Mode_.--Cut from a nice fat Cheshire, or any good rich cheese, some
slices about 1/2 inch thick, and place them between some slices of brown
bread-and-butter, like sandwiches. Place them on a plate in the oven,
and, when the bread is toasted, serve on a napkin very hot and very
quickly.
_Time_.--10 minutes in a brisk oven.
_Average cost_, 1-1/2d. each sandwich.
_Sufficient_.--Allow a sandwich for each person.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
CHEESE.--One of the most important products of coagulated milk
is cheese. Unfermented, or cream-cheese, when quite fresh, is
good for subjects with whom milk does not disagree; but cheese,
in its commonest shape, is only fit for sedentary people as an
after-dinner stimulant, and in very small quantity. Bread and
cheese, as a meal, is only fit for soldiers on march or
labourers in the open air, who like it because it "holds the
stomach a long time."
CAYENNE CHEESES.
1642. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of
grated cheese, 1/3 teaspoonful of cayenne, 1/3 teaspoonful of salt;
water.
_Mode_.--Rub the butter in the flour; add the grated cheese, cayenne.
and salt; and mix these ingredients well together. Moisten with
sufficient water to make the whole into a paste; roll out, and cut into
fingers about 4 inches in length. Bake them in a moderate oven a very
light colour, and serve very hot.
_Time_.--15 to 20 minutes. _Average cost_, 1s. 4d.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
TO MAKE A FONDUE.
1643. INGREDIENTS.--4 eggs, the weight of 2 in Parmesan or good Cheshire
cheese, the weight of 2 in butter; pepper and salt to taste.
_Mode_.--Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs; beat the former
in a basin, and grate the cheese, or cut it into _very thin_ flakes.
Parmesan or Cheshire cheese may be used, whichever is the most
convenient, although the former is considered more suitable for this
dish; or an equal quantity of each may be used. Break the butter into
small pieces, add it to the other ingredients, with sufficient pepper
and salt to season nicely, and beat the mixture thoroughly. Well whisk
the whites of the eggs, stir them lightly in, and either bake the fondue
in a soufflé-dish or small round cake-tin. Fill the dish only half full,
as the fondue should rise very much. Pin a napkin round the tin or dish,
and serve very hot and very quickly. If allowed to stand after it is
withdrawn from the oven, the beauty and lightness of this preparation
will be entirely spoiled.
_Time_.--From 15 to 20 minutes. _Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BRILLAT SAVARIN'S FONDUE.
(_An excellent Recipe_.)
1644. INGREDIENTS.--Eggs, cheese, butter, pepper and salt.
_Mode_.--Take the same number of eggs as there are guests; weigh the
eggs in the shell, allow a third of their weight in Gruyère cheese, and
a piece of butter one-sixth of the weight of the cheese. Break the eggs
into a basin, beat them well; add the cheese, which should be grated,
and the butter, which should be broken into small pieces. Stir these
ingredients together with a wooden spoon; put the mixture into a lined
saucepan, place it over the fire, and stir until the substance is thick
and soft. Put in a little salt, according to the age of the cheese, and
a good sprinkling of pepper, and serve the fondue on a very hot silver
or metal plate. Do not allow the fondue to remain on the fire after the
mixture is set, as, if it boils, it will be entirely spoiled. Brillat
Savarin recommends that some choice Burgundy should he handed round with
this dish. We have given this recipe exactly as he recommends it to be
made; but we have tried it with good Cheshire cheese, and found it
answer remarkably well.
_Time_.--About 4 minutes to set the mixture.
_Average cost_ for 4 persons, 10d.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1 egg, with the other ingredients in proportion,
for one person.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
MACARONI, as usually served with the CHEESE COURSE.
I.
1645. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of pipe macaroni, 1/4 lb. of butter, 6 oz.
of Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of
milk, 2 pints of water, bread crumbs.
_Mode_.--Put the milk and water into a saucepan with sufficient salt to
flavour it; place it on the fire, and, when it boils quickly, drop in
the macaroni. Keep the water boiling until it is quite tender; drain the
macaroni, and put it into a deep dish. Have ready the grated cheese,
either Parmesan or Cheshire; sprinkle it amongst the macaroni and some
of the butter cut into small pieces, reserving some of the cheese for
the top layer. Season with a little pepper, and cover the top layer of
cheese with some very fine bread crumbs. Warm, without oiling, the
remainder of the butter, and pour it gently over the bread crumbs. Place
the dish before a bright fire to brown the crumbs; turn it once or
twice, that it may be equally coloured, and serve very hot. The top of
the macaroni may be browned with a salamander, which is even better than
placing it before the fire, as the process is more expeditious; but it
should never be browned in the oven, as the butter would oil, and so
impart a very disagreeable flavour to the dish. In boiling the macaroni,
let it be perfectly tender but firm, no part beginning to melt, and the
form entirely preserved. It may be boiled in plain water, with a little
salt instead of using milk, but should then have a small piece of butter
mixed with it.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to brown it
before the fire.
_Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--Riband macaroni may be dressed in the same manner, but does not
require boiling so long a time.
II.
1646. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of pipe or riband macaroni, 1/2 pint of
milk, 1/2 pint of veal or beef gravy, the yolks of 2 eggs, 4
tablespoonfuls of cream, 3 oz. of grated Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, 1
oz. of butter.
_Mode_.--Wash the macaroni, and boil it in the gravy and milk until
quite tender, without being broken. Drain it, and put it into rather a
deep dish. Beat the yolks of the eggs with the cream and 2
tablespoonfuls of the liquor the macaroni was boiled in; make this
sufficiently hot to thicken, but do not allow it to boil; pour it over
the macaroni, over which sprinkle the grated cheese and the butter
broken into small pieces; brown with a salamander, or before the fire,
and serve.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to thicken
the eggs and cream, 5 minutes to brown.
_Average cost_, 1s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
III.
1647. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of pipe macaroni, 1/2 pint of brown gravy
No. 436, 6 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese.
_Mode_.--Wash the macaroni, and boil it in salt and water until quite
tender; drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Have ready a pint
of good brown gravy, pour it hot over the macaroni, and send it to table
with grated Parmesan served on a separate dish. When the flavour is
liked, a little pounded mace may be added to the water in which the
macaroni is boiled; but this must always be sparingly added, as it will
impart a very strong flavour.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour to boil the macaroni.
_Average cost_, with the gravy and cheese, 1s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
POUNDED CHEESE.
1648. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of cheese allow 3 oz. of fresh butter.
_Mode_.--To pound cheese is an economical way of using it, if it has
become dry; it is exceedingly good spread on bread, and is the best way
of eating it for those whose digestion is weak. Cut up the cheese into
small pieces, and pound it smoothly in a mortar, adding butter in the
above proportion. Press it down into a jar, cover with clarified butter,
and it will keep for several days. The flavour may be very much
increased by adding mixed mustard (about a teaspoonful to every lb.), or
cayenne, or pounded mace. Curry-powder is also not unfrequently mixed
with it.
RAMAKINS, to serve with the CHEESE COURSE.
1649. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of Cheshire cheese, 1/4 lb. of Parmesan
cheese, 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 4 eggs, the crumb of a small roll;
pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste.
_Mode_.--Boil the crumb of the roll in milk for 5 minutes; strain, and
put it into a mortar; add the cheese, which should be finely scraped,
the butter, the yolks of the eggs, and seasoning, and pound these
ingredients well together. Whisk the whites of the eggs, mix them with
the paste, and put it into small pans or saucers, which should not be
more than half filled. Bake them from 10 to 12 minutes, and serve them
very hot and very quickly. This batter answers equally well for macaroni
after it is boiled tender.
_Time_--10 to 12 minutes. _Average cost_, 1s. 4d.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
PASTRY RAMAKINS, to serve with the CHEESE COURSE.
1650. INGREDIENTS.--Any pieces of very good light puff-paste Cheshire,
Parmesan, or Stilton cheese.
_Mode_.--The remains or odd pieces of paste left from large tarts, &c.
answer for making these little dishes. Gather up the pieces of paste,
roll it out evenly, and sprinkle it with grated cheese of a nice
flavour. Fold the paste in three, roll it out again, and sprinkle more
cheese over; fold the paste, roll it out, and with a paste-cutter shape
it in any way that may be desired. Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven
from 10 to 15 minutes, dish them on a hot napkin, and serve quickly. The
appearance of this dish may be very much improved by brushing the
ramakins over with yolk of egg before they are placed in the oven. Where
expense is not objected to, Parmesan is the best kind of cheese to use
for making this dish.
_Time_.--10 to 15 minutes. _Average cost_, with 1/2 lb. of paste, 10d.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
TOASTED CHEESE, or SCOTCH RARE-BIT.
1651. INGREDIENTS.--A few slices of rich cheese, toast, mustard, and
pepper.
[Illustration: HOT-WATER CHEESE-DISH.]
_Mode_.--Cut some nice rich sound cheese into rather thin slices; melt
it in a cheese-toaster on a hot plate, or over steam, and, when melted,
add a small quantity of mixed mustard and a seasoning of pepper; stir
the cheese until it is completely dissolved, then brown it before the
fire, or with a salamander. Fill the bottom of the cheese-toaster with
hot water, and serve with dry or buttered toasts, whichever may be
preferred. Our engraving illustrates a cheese-toaster with hot-water
reservoir: the cheese is melted in the upper tin, which is placed in
another vessel of boiling water, so keeping the preparation beautifully
hot. A small quantity of porter, or port wine, is sometimes mixed with
the cheese; and, if it be not very rich, a few pieces of butter may be
mixed with it to great advantage. Sometimes the melted cheese is spread
on the toasts, and then laid in the cheese-dish at the top of the hot
water. Whichever way it is served, it is highly necessary that the
mixture be very hot, and very quickly sent to table, or it will be
worthless.
_Time_.--About 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
_Average cost_, 1-1/2d. per slice.
_Sufficient_.--Allow a slice to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.
TOASTED CHEESE, or WELSH RARE-BIT.
1652. INGREDIENTS.--Slices of bread, butter, Cheshire or Gloucester
cheese, mustard, and pepper.
_Mode_.--Cut the bread into slices about 1/2 inch in thickness; pare off
the crust, toast the bread slightly without hardening or burning it, and
spread it with butter. Cut some slices, not quite so large as the bread,
from a good rich fat cheese; lay them on the toasted bread in a
cheese-toaster; be careful that the cheese does not burn, and let it be
equally melted. Spread over the top a little made mustard and a
seasoning of pepper, and serve very hot, with very hot plates. To
facilitate the melting of the cheese, it may be cut into thin flakes or
toasted on one side before it is laid on the bread. As it is so
essential to send this dish hot to table, it is a good plan to melt the
cheese in small round silver or metal pans, and to send these pans to
table, allowing one for each guest. Slices of dry or buttered toast
should always accompany them, with mustard, pepper, and salt.
_Time_.--About 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
_Average cost_, 1-1/2d. each slice.
_Sufficient_.--Allow a slice to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--Should the cheese be dry, a little butter mixed with it will be
an improvement.
"COW CHEESE."--It was only fifty years after Aristotle--the
fourth century before Christ--that butter began to be noticed as
an aliment. The Greeks, in imitation of the Parthians and
Scythians, who used to send it to them, had it served upon their
tables, and called it at first "oil of milk," and later,
_bouturos_, "cow cheese."
SCOTCH WOODCOCK.
1653. INGREDIENTS.--A few slices of hot buttered toast; allow 1 anchovy
to each slice. For the sauce,--1/4 pint of cream, the yolks of 3 eggs.
_Mode_.--Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs; beat the
former, stir to them the cream, and bring the sauce to the
boiling-point, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Have
ready some hot buttered toast, spread with anchovies pounded to a paste;
pour a little of the hot sauce on the top, and serve very hot and very
quickly.
_Time_.--5 minutes to make the sauce hot.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1/2 slice to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.
TO CHOOSE EGGS.
1654. In choosing eggs, apply the tongue to the large end of the egg,
and, if it feels warm, it is new, and may be relied on as a fresh egg.
Another mode of ascertaining their freshness is to hold them before a
lighted candle, or to the light, and if the egg looks clear, it will be
tolerably good; if thick, it is stale; and if there is a black spot
attached to the shell, it is worthless. No egg should be used for
culinary purposes with the slightest taint in it, as it will render
perfectly useless those with which it has been mixed. Eggs that are
purchased, and that cannot be relied on, should always be broken in a
cup, and then put into a basin: by this means stale or bad eggs may be
easily rejected, without wasting the others.
EGGS contain, for their volume, a greater quantity of nutriment
than any other article of food. But it does not follow that they
are always good for weak stomachs; quite the contrary; for it is
often a great object to give the stomach a large surface to work
upon, a considerable volume of _ingesta_, over which the
nutritive matter is diffused, and so exposed to the action of
the gastric juice at many points. There are many persons who
cannot digest eggs, however cooked. It is said, however, that
their digestibility decreases in proportion to the degree in
which they are hardened by boiling.
TO KEEP EGGS FRESH FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.
1655. Have ready a large saucepan, capable of holding 3 or 4 quarts,
full of boiling water. Put the eggs into a cabbage-net, say 20 at a
time, and hold them in the water (which must be kept boiling) _for_ 20
_seconds_. Proceed in this manner till you have done as many eggs as you
wish to preserve; then pack them away in sawdust. We have tried this
method of preserving eggs, and can vouch for its excellence: they will
be found, at the end of 2 or 3 months, quite good enough for culinary
purposes; and although the white may be a little tougher than that of a
new-laid egg, the yolk will be nearly the same. Many persons keep eggs
for a long time by smearing the shells with butter or sweet oil: they
should then be packed in plenty of bran or sawdust, and the eggs not
allowed to touch each other. Eggs for storing should be collected in
fine weather, and should not be more than 24 hours old when they are
packed away, or their flavour, when used, cannot be relied on. Another
simple way of preserving eggs is to immerse them in lime-water soon
after they have been laid, and then to put the vessel containing the
lime-water in a cellar or cool outhouse.
_Seasonable_.--The best time for preserving eggs is from July to
September.
EGGS.--The quality of eggs is said to be very much affected by
the food of the fowls who lay them. Herbs and grain together
make a better food than grain only. When the hens eat too many
insects, the eggs have a disagreeable flavour.
TO BOIL EGGS FOR BREAKFAST, SALADS, &c.
[Illustration: EGG-STAND FOR THE BREAKFAST-TABLE.]
1656. Eggs for boiling cannot be too fresh, or boiled too soon after
they are laid; but rather a longer time should be allowed for boiling a
new-laid egg than for one that is three or four days old. Have ready a
saucepan of boiling water; put the eggs into it gently with a spoon,
letting the spoon touch the bottom of the saucepan before it is
withdrawn, that the egg may not fall, and consequently crack. For those
who like eggs lightly boiled, 3 minutes will be found sufficient; 3-3/4
to 4 minutes will be ample time to set the white nicely; and, if liked
hard, 6 to 7 minutes will not be found too long. Should the eggs be
unusually large, as those of black Spanish fowls sometimes are, allow an
extra 1/2 minute for them. Eggs for salads should be boiled from 10
minutes to 1/4 hour, and should be placed in a basin of cold water for a
few minutes; they should then be rolled on the table with the hand, and
the shell will peel off easily.
_Time_.--To boil eggs lightly, for invalids or children, 3 minutes; to
boil eggs to suit the generality of tastes, 3-3/4 to 4 minutes; to boil
eggs hard, 6 to 7 minutes; for salads, 10 to 15 minutes.
_Note_.--Silver or plated egg-dishes, like that shown in our engraving,
are now very much used. The price of the one illustrated is £2. 2s., and
may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J. Slack, 336, Strand.
EGGS.--When fresh eggs are dropped into a vessel _full_ of
boiling water, they crack, because the eggs being well filled,
the shells give way to the efforts of the interior fluids,
dilated by heat. If the volume of hot water be small, the shells
do not crack, because its temperature is reduced by the eggs
before the interior dilation can take place. Stale eggs, again,
do not crack, because the air inside is easily compressed.
BUTTERED EGGS.
1657. INGREDIENTS.--4 new-laid eggs, 2 oz. of butter.
_Mode_.--Procure the eggs new-laid if possible; break them into a basin,
and beat them well; put the butter into another basin, which place in
boiling water, and stir till the butter is melted. Pour that and the
eggs into a lined saucepan; hold it over a gentle fire, and, as the
mixture begins to warm, pour it two or three times into the basin, and
back again, that the two ingredients may be well incorporated. Keep
stirring the eggs and butter one way until they are hot, _without
boiling_, and serve on hot buttered toast. If the mixture is allowed to
boil, it will curdle, and so be entirely spoiled.
_Time_.--About 5 minutes to make the eggs hot. _Average cost_, 7d.
_Sufficient_.--Allow a slice to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.
DUCKS' EGGS.
1658. Ducks' eggs are usually so strongly flavoured that, plainly
boiled, they are not good for eating; they answer, however, very well
for various culinary preparations where eggs are required; such as
custards, &c. &c. Being so large and highly-flavoured, 1 duck's egg will
go as far as 2 small hen's eggs; besides making whatever they are mixed
with exceedingly rich. They also are admirable when used in puddings.
PRIMITIVE METHOD OF COOKING EGGS.--The shepherds of Egypt had a
singular manner of cooking eggs without the aid of fire. They
placed them in a sling, which they turned so rapidly that the
friction of the air heated them to the exact point required for
use.
FRIED EGGS.
1659. INGREDIENTS.--4 eggs, 1/4 lb. of lard, butter or clarified
dripping.
[Illustration: FRIED EGGS ON BACON.]
_Mode_.--Place a delicately-clean frying-pan over a gentle fire; put in
the fat, and allow it to come to the boiling-point. Break the eggs into
cups, slip them into the boiling fat, and let them remain until the
whites are delicately set; and, whilst they are frying, ladle a little
of the fat over them. Take them up with a slice, drain them for a minute
from their greasy moisture, trim them neatly, and serve on slices of
fried bacon or ham; or the eggs may be placed in the middle of the dish,
with the bacon put round as a garnish.
_Time_.--2 to 3 minutes. Average cost, 1d. each; 2d. when scarce.
_Sufficient_ for 2 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
VENERATION FOR EGGS.--Many of the most learned philosophers held
eggs in a kind of respect, approaching to veneration, because
they saw in them the emblem of the world and the four elements.
The shell, they said, represented the earth; the white, water;
the yolk, fire; and air was found under the shell at one end of
the egg.
EGGS A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL.
1660. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 1 tablespoonful of flour,
1/2 pint of milk, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of minced
parsley, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 eggs.
_Mode_.--Put the flour and half the butter into a stewpan; stir them
over the fire until the mixture thickens; pour in the milk, which should
be boiling; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and simmer the whole for
5 minutes. Put the remainder of the butter into the sauce, and add the
minced parsley; then boil the eggs hard, strip off the shells, cut the
eggs into quarters, and put them on a dish. Bring the sauce to the
boiling-point, add the lemon-juice, pour over the eggs, and serve.
_Time_.--5 minutes to boil the sauce; the eggs, 10 to 15 minutes.
_Average cost_, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
OEUFS AU PLAT, or AU MIROIR, served on the Dish in which they are
Cooked.
1661. INGREDIENTS.--4 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste.
_Mode_.--Butter a dish rather thickly with good fresh butter; melt it,
break the eggs into it the same as for poaching, sprinkle them with
white pepper and fine salt, and put the remainder of the butter, cut
into very small pieces, on the top of them. Put the dish on a hot plate,
or in the oven, or before the fire, and let it remain until the whites
become set, but not hard, when serve immediately, placing the dish they
were cooked in on another. To hasten the cooking of the eggs, a
salamander may be held over them for a minute; but great care must be
taken that they are not too much done. This is an exceedingly nice dish,
and one very easily prepared for breakfast.
_Time_.--3 minutes. _Average cost_, 5d.
_Sufficient_ for 2 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
PLOVERS' EGGS.
1662. Plovers' eggs are usually served boiled hard, and sent to table in
a napkin, either hot or cold. They may also be shelled, and served the
same as eggs à la Tripe, with a good Béchamel sauce, or brown gravy,
poured over them. They are also used for decorating salads, the
beautiful colour of the white being generally so much admired.
POACHED EGGS.
[Illustration: EGGS POACHED ON TOAST.]
[Illustration: TIN EGG-POACHER.]
1663. INGREDIENTS.--Eggs, water. To every pint of water allow 1
tablespoonful of vinegar.
_Mode_.--Eggs for poaching should be perfectly fresh, but not quite
new-laid; those that are about 36 hours old are the best for the
purpose. If quite new-laid, the white is so milky it is almost
impossible to set it; and, on the other hand, if the egg be at all
stale, it is equally difficult to poach it nicely. Strain some boiling
water into a deep clean frying-pan; break the egg into a cup without
damaging the yolk, and, when the water boils, remove the pan to the side
of the fire, and gently slip the egg into it. Place the pan over a
gentle fire, and keep the water simmering until the white looks nicely
set, when the egg is ready. Take it up gently with a slice, cut away the
ragged edges of the white, and serve either on toasted bread or on
slices of ham or bacon, or on spinach, &c. A poached egg should not be
overdone, as its appearance and taste will be quite spoiled if the yolk
be allowed to harden. When the egg is slipped into the water, the white
should be gathered together, to keep it a little in form, or the cup
should be turned over it for 1 minute. To poach an egg to perfection is
rather a difficult operation; so, for inexperienced cooks, a tin
egg-poacher may be purchased, which greatly facilitates this manner of
dressing ecgs. Our illustration clearly shows what it is: it consists of
a tin plate with a handle, with a space for three perforated cups. An
egg should be broken into each cup, and the machine then placed in a
stewpan of boiling water, which has been previously strained. When the
whites of the eggs appear set, they are done, and should then be
carefully slipped on to the toast or spinach, or with whatever they are
served. In poaching eggs in a frying-pan, never do more than four at a
time; and, when a little vinegar is liked mixed with the water in which
the eggs are done, use the above proportion.
_Time_.--2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes, according to the size of the egg.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 2 eggs to each person.
_Seasonable_ at any time, but less plentiful in winter.
POACHED EGGS, WITH CREAM.
1664. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 4
teaspoonfuls of vinegar, 4 fresh eggs, 1/2 gill of cream, salt, pepper,
and pounded sugar to taste, 1 oz. of butter.
_Mode_.--Put the water, vinegar, and salt into a frying-pan, and break
each egg into a separate cup; bring the water, &c. to boil, and slip the
eggs gently into it without breaking the yolks. Simmer them from 3 to 4
minutes, but not longer, and, with a slice, lift them out on to a hot
dish, and trim the edges. Empty the pan of its contents, put in the
cream, add a seasoning to taste of pepper, salt, and pounded sugar;
bring the whole to the boiling-point; then add the butter, broken into
small pieces; toss the pan round and round till the butter is melted;
pour it over the eggs, and serve. To insure the eggs not being spoiled
whilst the cream, &c., is preparing, it is a good plan to warm the cream
with the butter, &c., before the eggs are poached, so that it may be
poured over them immediately after they are dished.
_Time_.--3 to 4 minutes to poach the eggs, 5 minutes to warm the cream.
_Average cost_ for the above quantity, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 2 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
1665. COMPARATIVE SIZES OF EGGS.
[Illustration: 1 SWAN'S EGG. 2 TURKEY'S EGG. 3 DUCK'S EGG. 4 PLOVER'S
EGG.]
SCOTCH EGGS.
1666. INGREDIENTS.--6 eggs, 6 tablespoonfuls of forcemeat No. 417, hot
lard, 1/2 pint of good brown gravy.
_Mode_.--Boil the eggs for 10 minutes; strip them from the shells, and
cover them with forcemeat made by recipe No. 417; or substitute pounded
anchovies for the ham. Fry the eggs a nice brown in boiling lard, drain
them before the fire from their greasy moisture, dish them, and pour
round from 1/4 to 1/2 pint of good brown gravy. To enhance the
appearance of the eggs, they may be rolled in beaten egg and sprinkled
with bread crumbs; but this is scarcely necessary if they are carefully
fried. The flavour of the ham or anchovy in the forcemeat must
preponderate, as it should be very relishing.
_Time_.--10 minutes to boil the eggs, 5 to 7 minutes to fry them.
_Average cost_, 1s. 4d.
_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
EGGS A LA TRIPE.
1667. INGREDIENTS.--8 eggs, 3/4 pint of Béchamel sauce No. 368,
dessertspoonful of finely-minced parsley.
_Mode_.--Boil the eggs hard; put them into cold water, peel them, take
out the yolks whole, and shred the whites. Make 3/4 pint of Béchamel
sauce by recipe No. 368; add the parsley, and, when the sauce is quite
hot, put the yolks of the eggs into the middle of the dish, and the
shred whites round them; pour over the sauce, and garnish with leaves of
puff-paste or fried croûtons. There is no necessity for putting the eggs
into the saucepan with the Béchamel; the sauce, being quite hot, will
warm the eggs sufficiently.
_Time_.--10 minutes to boil the eggs.
_Average cost_, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]