_To make stock._ Wash and cut the meat into small pieces or gash it
frequently; crack the bone; let meat and bone soak in the cold water
while preparing the seasonings; then add the seasonings, boil the stock
ten minutes and put it into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. When
cooked, pour it through a wire strainer and set it away to cool. When
cold, it should be kept in a refrigerator or other cold place. Be
careful that the pail is well filled, or the soup will cool with the
long cooking and may sour. If too small a quantity is cooked to fill the
pail or pan it should be set over hot water. The cake of fat which forms
on top when the stock is cold should not be removed until the soup is to
be made, as it seals the stock and keeps out air and germs, thus
helping to preserve it. When soup is to be made, the fat is taken off,
the stock heated, and any desired seasonings or additions are put in.
_To clear soup stock._ Remove the fat, taste the stock, and if it needs
more seasoning add it before the clearing. Put into each quart of the
cold stock the slightly beaten white of one egg and one crushed
egg-shell. Wash the egg before breaking it. Stir the stock constantly
while heating it. Let it boil two minutes and set it in a cooker for
one-half hour or more. Remove the scum and strain it through two
thicknesses of cheese-cloth laid in a colander.
_To remove fat from hot soup or broth._ Skim off all that can be taken
off with a spoon. With a succession of small pieces of soft brown paper
take off the rest as if you were using blotting paper on the surface of
the soup. When no spotted appearance is seen on the papers, the fat is
all removed.
_To bind soups._ This name is given to the process of thickening cream
soups and purées, the liquid and solid part of which would separate
unless bound together. Melt the butter, and when it is liquid add
usually an equal quantity of flour and rub them together till well
blended. They are then added to the soup and stirred constantly till
perfectly mixed. If the proportion of flour is greater than that of the
butter it will be better to add a little of the soup to the flour and
butter in a separate saucepan as for making white sauce, and when enough
has been added to make a smooth sauce, it may be poured into the soup.