kP LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Shelf mA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. J^PR 12 .^^"^ tx^ Entered according to Act of Congi'ess in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-four, By mills & COMPANY, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. MILLS & COMPANY, STEREOTYPEKS AND PRINTERS, DES MOINES, IOWA. PREFACE. In this volume are included, besides many others, the receipts used in the Department of Domestic Economy of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. These, and all others, have been gathered with great care from many sources. Having had excep- tional advantages for the study of cookery, and access to the most complete library on food and kindred subjects in the west, I feel sure, in presenting this book to the public, I am offering a work of practical value. Like all similar books, it is, in great measure, a compilation. I do not claim to be original, I have simply gleaned the best from the highest authorities. Each receipt has been either personally tested, or is vouched for by competent housewives among my friends. Wherever possible I have given credit for such receipts as I have copied. Many, however, have been gathered from papers, or sent to me by friends through a term of years, and their origin is lost. While studying in Germany and England, I collected much that was valuable, all of which I have proved by actual trial to be good. I am under obligations also, to that excellent English paper "The Queen," 4 PREFACE. for a number of capital receipts. Many of these I have altered to suit our markets and taste, making the original instructions simply a basis for final results. I desire to call especial attention to the chapters that close this book by Prof. Ma comber, Prof. Pope, and Dr. Fairchild. These are all valuable and come from gentlemen, each of whom is recognized author ity on the topic of which he treats. Mary B. Welch. .Ames J Iowa. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. MOB. The Coming Cook 9 CHAPTER IT. Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea 13 CHAPTER III. Terms Used in Cooking 23 CHAPTER IV. Utensils 37 CHAPTER V. Marketing 51 CHAPTER VI. Bread and Breakfast Cakes 61 CHAPTER VII. Cake 75 CHAPTER VIII. Pies and Puddings 101 CHAPTER IX. Sweet Sauces 129 6 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. PAOS. Custards, Creams, and Soufflees 131 CHAPTER XL Ices 143 CHAPTER XIL Soups, Meats, Poultry and Game 147 CHAPTER XIII. Savory Sauces 187 CHAPTER XIV. Fish and Oysters 193 CHAPTER XV. Vegetables 199 CHAPTER XVI. Salads 213 CHAPTER XVII. Pickles 219 CHAPTER XVTII. Eggs, Omelettes, and Cheese Fondus 223 CHAPTER XIX. Fruits and Jellies 229 CHAPTER XX. Beverages 237 CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER XXL PAQE. Miscellaneous , 243 CHAPTER XXII. Food 247 CHAPTER XXIII. Food Adulterations 259 CHAPTER XXIV. Antidotes to Poisons 263 CHAPTER XXV. Dangerous Oils 267 OHAPTEB I. THE COMING COOK. CT GENUINE civilization and good cooking are more closely ?Jt^ related than is usually appreciated. Savages live on food either wholly or partially raw and have not the faintest conception of the routine of meals, variety of diet, and combination of flavors that are to us absolute necessities. They gorge themselves when food is plentiful, and starve when it is scarce. They eat the coarsest and grossest substances without subjecting them to the refining effects of fire, or the transform- ing influence of condiments, herbs, or extracts. They know nothing of the subtle combinations by which the palate may be tickled and the digestive powers stimulated to easy and effective work. To their habits of eating may be ascribed, in great measure, their imperfect physical development, their mental dullness, and their moral obtuseness. Improve their diet and you have taken the first step towards a better life. Philanthropists and mission- aries of all kinds are beginning to understand that no appeal can be effectually made to the higher nature until the stomach has first been revived, and that all reforms in the individual must proceed from this center to the head and heart. Coarse food, even though perfectly digested, produces coarse natures. Indigestible food is even worse in its effect, for it re- sults in actual disease, and disease of such a character as to influence in marked degree the whole mental outlook. A sour stomach is apt to produce a sour temper. Melancholy, suspi- cion, envy, false and distorted views of men and things, follow dyspepsia as the shadow follows substance. The effect of diet in stimulating evil passions is well known. Its eftect also in disease is acknowledged and respected. The 9 10 THE COMING COOK. wise physician supplements his medicines by carefully selected and skillfully prepared food. More than this, he is often able to cure without the medicine by judicious advice to his patient as to the kind, quality, and amount of nourishment he shall take. The success of many sanitariums, where attention to diet is a special feature in the treatment of disease, proves this be- yond dispute. No one will deny the further proposition that the sensualist, the drunkard, the debauchee in general, is the victim of over-indulgence in eating and drinking, and that his vice cannot be cured and self-control re-established without a minute and persistent attention to the needs of the stomach. The man or woman whose vile business it is to pander to the animal passions and to corrupt our youth, seem to appreciate the mental and moral effect of eating and drinking, much better, alas! than the cook, the mother, or the minister. Many a boy or girl has been ruined for life after the preliminary work had been accomplished by a feast, set out with the express design on the part of the provider to inflame the passions, dull the finer sensibilities, and fire the blood. The influence of what we eat and drink on the growth and development of the body is so patent that little need be said about it. I have dwelt particularly on its mental and moral effect, since these are less visible to the careless observer. Com- parative values are not sufiiciently considered, even by those who urge most strenuousl}^ the advancement of the human race. Those who decry the claims of the body, and at the same time attempt to exalt the power of mental and spiritual growth, for- get that the body is the medium through which mind acts, and that one cannot be abused or depressed without very sensibly aftecting the other. The only possible way to have a "sound mind" is first to secure a "sound body." The cook exercises, then, a most important function. Her duties may well command the respect of her employers. Her wages should be in some just proportion to the value of her work, and her social position should be graded according to her fitness for her heavy responsibilities. The teacher looks down with something akin to contempt upon the cook, who should rather be regarded as her natural ally. The child, who goes daily to school with a stomach full of badly selected and worse THE COMING COOK. II cooked food tugging at every vital force, is ill prepared for the reception of mental aliment, and the teacher sufiering from the same cause is absolutely unfit to administer it acceptably. Both ire at the mercy of the one whose power they least suspect. If the cook but knew what influence she might exert, and if the world valued her services properly, what a revolution would be wrought in human affairs. When the tired man can say to his cook: " I am weary — re- fresh me with that which will be easy to digest, which will stimulate and energize without reaction," and forthwith the cook does as she is bid; when the poet or the philosopher, the artist or the artisan, the teacher or the taught, each can ask and receive confidently the exact food needed, then will human effort reach its highest achievement. Then, too, will cookery take its proper rank, and the cook receive her just reward. In order to prepare the cook for such service, what are some of the things she must know? Unless the whole routine of her work be hap-hazard and unreliable she should have intelligent and well defined opinions concerning the relation of food to physical growth, so that she can prepare that which is best ad- ajjted to the needs of the entire household, fit to build up symmetrical and healthy bodies for the children, as well as to furnish to the mature workers in the family the necessary nutri- ment to keep good the balance between supply and demand. And not only should these bodies be robust and sound, but fit temples also for the indwelling of a pure spirit, a calm and courageous temper, and a keen, searching intellect. All this implies a practical application of the principles taught in physiology and chemistry, as well as a knowledge of the kind and quality of nutriment stored in plants, flesh, fish, and fowl. Earth, air, and sea, furnish her with the materials which she must understand how to prepare, so they can be easily trans- formed into bone, blood, and muscle, in such proportions that each shall have its normal growth. She must be both too wise and too humane to concoct any dish or brew any drink that will induce dyspepsia, headache, or dullness. The kitchen will be a laboratory wherein zeal and knowledge join hands in the experiments continually being made. It will also be a school in which enthusiastic pupils are willing to work 12 THE COMING COOK. hard as a previous condition to future skill. Fertility of resource, a quick and ingenious wit, knowledge of details, a complete un- derstanding of the materials the whole world furnishes for culi- nary manipulation, these are but a few of the qualifications that must fit a man or woman to be the coming cook. OHAPTEE II. BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. ^HESE may be called our National rotation of meals. Though in the larger cities the routine becomes, break- fast, luncheon, dinner, still by far the greater proportion of housekeepers in the United States adhere to the first programme. In country towns and villages, in farm house, and rural hamlet, on prairie and hillside, in the sunny South and fair Northwest, farmer, merchant, lawyer, mechanic, or minister, gathers his family about him three times a day, at breakfast, dinner, and tea. Some general directions as to the manner in which these may be best served should, therefore, precede the receipts which will form the bulk of this book. While it is im- possible to give advice which can be accurately followed under all circumstances, it is never waste of time to urge system and order in the setting out and dishing up of any meal. No matter how plain the repast, nor how humble the home, a certain order in these can be profitably observed. The table should be set according to a fixed method and the dishes follow each other in regular succession. While, in the parlor, a certain elegant and apparently careless arrangement is allowable, on the dining table straight lines, right angles, and a strict attention to geometric figures should be the rule. We must trust to a pleasing variety in the forms of dishes, to spark- ling glass, highly polished silver, spotless linen, and the charming effect produced by contrasting yet harmonious colors, for attrac- tive and artistic efiect. Breakfast and tea are comparatively simple meals, and sometimes housekeepers who pride themselves on elegant and stately dinners are careless and indifferent regard- ing them. There are many theories afloat as to the proper kind and amount of food for breakfast. One insists that a cup of 13 14 BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. coffee and a roll are all that any man needs to fit him for the work of the day, and substantiates his position by citing the Germans who, he says, are a long-lived, wise, and happy people, and require nothing more for their first meal. He forgets to state, however, that a heartier breakfast follows a little later in the morning, and that any German would think himself greatly abused if obliged to do a full morning's work on the energy supplied by a cup of coffee and a roll. Another urges that oatmeal should form the basis of every breakfast, and quotes the robust and canny Scot as a striking example of the ability of this grain to supply work- ing power. The third pleads that our climate is stimulating, our people filled with a feverish unrest that impels to an abnor- mal and exhausting activity, and that we need, therefore, a great variety of hearty and stimulating food, to fit us for the hurry and worry of the morning's scramble, I suspect there is a grain of wisdom in each of these state- ments. The German does thrive on his "early morsel," followed soon by a heartier supply, and either by reason of, or in spite of, his six meals a day has reached a high position among nations mentally and physically. The Scot does relish his oatmeal, and adding to this the needed amount of stronger aliment, has be- come a shining example of sturdy independence in both mind and body. And we do differ from either, both in climatic condi- tions, nervous susceptibility, and eager energy, and our bill of fare must not, therefore, be too closely modeled after theirs. We have three meals a day to the German's six and the Scotchman's four. We breakfast, as a rule, earlier than either, and work more hours before the next meal is served. We must, therefore, have a larger amount and greater variety to keep the stomach (para- doxically speaking) in good heart until the noon meal. Then again no meal should be prepared with reference simply to one or two members of the family circle. The young, the middle-aged, the very old, each should be considered and a sufl&- cient variety presented to meet the necessities of all. It is too much the custom to offer at the table food fit only for active and robust men, and neglect altogether to provide that suited to the digestive capacity of young children and delicate women, or the feeble, assimilative powers of the aged. This thoughtlessness may be remedied without great trouble and with the most bene- BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. 15 ficial results. There can be oatmeal or similar food, with an abundance of good milk and cream, as well as brown bread and white, for both young and old. Juicy, tender beefsteak, a nour- ishing stew, or delicate, well cooked chops are easily digested and yield much nourishment, while eggs are, as a rule, fitted to satisfy and benefit alike the child, the father, and the father's father. Fresh ripe fruit is, in general, a healthful food for breakfast, and may be partaken of by all with advantage, unless some pe- culiar condition or special disease make it literally " forbidden." One need not despair, therefore, at being told to suit her meals to the dietetic wants of the whole family. While thus urging a suitable variety, I by no means advocate a heavy or elaborate breakfast. It is true that the average American who goes forth to his daily work at half past seven o'clock or earlier, and cannot expect his next meal before twelve or one, must have something substantial and nourishing, but this does not imply four or five courses, or a succession of meats followed by hot cakes or doughnuts. A breakfast may be plain, wholesome, and nutritious, and at the same time offer a sufficient number of viands to tempt the appetite and warm the blood of all who partake of it. Variety may be farther secured by taking pains that no breakfast shall, in the same week at least, repeat itself. Zest for food, which is renewed by novelty and dulled by sameness, is an important factor in digestion. Hence, I imagine, the long lists of different methods of preparing the same food, as well as the illimitable variety of materials offered us by our bountiful friend, generous Dame Nature. The American breakfast on many a farm, the year round, is fat pork, fried potatoes, and, perhaps, pancakes occasionally, as an extra relish, and in many a town and village, fried beef — emphatically not beefsteak — fried potatoes, and as before hot cakes and molasses, when great luxury is desired. I have personal knowledge of a family, a rich and generous family, too, whose morning meal in winter invariably consists of sausage and buckwheat cakes. There is do excuse for such will- ful and reckless neglect of every law of digestion. We live in a land of plenty, and if we suffer from any such intolerable same- ness in diet, it is because we are too lazy, too indifferent, or too ignorant to secure anything better. If we can get no meat but 16 BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. beef, there are many ways of preparing it so as to secure variety. Codfish, mackerel, white fish, and herrings can usually be had at the smallest grocery. Oatmeal, cracked wheat, graham flour, Indian meal, and eggs are almost always cheap and abundant. She who wills may, by the exercise of a little thought and in- genuity, secure almost anywhere in this country an appetizing variety for every meal. And after the bill of fare for the breakfast has been decided on, some attention must be given to the manner of presenting it to the family. How shall the table be set and in what order shall the dishes be served? For this and for every other meal, the first thing to be considered is the table linen. One of the great luxuries within the reach of wealth is the possibility of unlimited clean tablecloths and napkins. No array of delicate food can be either pleasing to the eye or tempting to the palate, when placed against a background of dingy and rumpled linen. Ordinary housekeepers, with ordinary incomes, must exercise care and ingenuity in order to secure, without increasing the weekly washing to a burdensome degree, tablecloths and napkins for every meal that are not unpleasant to refined eyes. There are several expedients that will help at least to this much to be wished for result. To begin with, great care must be taken in clearing the table. Oftentimes table linen is more soiled by the careless- ness of servants in this operation than by actual use during the meal. Glasses of water and cups of coffee are needlessly spilled, gravy and morsels of food are dripped from plate to plate, or dirty knives and forks are laid fall length on the table cloth, leaving their grimy impress to offend the taste of the family at the next meal. Then, after the table is cleared, the cloth should never be shaken, but neatly brushed, then folded in the exact lines the iron left when it came fresh from the laundr}^, and carefully laid away, under a weight if possible, until needed again. Wrinkles and the general mussy appearance of a cloth shaken first and then carelessly folded, are thus avoided. A heavy felt or Canton flannel cover under the linen much im- proves its appearance, and at the same time, lessens in a marked degree the noise of the clatter of dishes as they are moved about, which is always an unpleasant accompaniment to a meal. It saves also the surface of the dining-room table from spot or BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. 17 blemish, and tlie texture o£ the outer cover likewise from hard wear. It is altogether a great improvement, and any housewife who tries it once will never again be satisfied to set her table the old way. Heavy, doublefaced white Canton flannel, wide enough for the purpose, can be bought for from seventy-five cents to a dollar a yard. If ordinary caution is exercised not to soil the outer cloth unnecessarily, such an inner covering does not need frequent washing. A coarse white blanket will serve this pur- pose also, if one cannot conveniently buy the other. Great pains must be taken to lay the cloth perfectly straight and exactly in the middle of the table. It is exceedingly un- pleasant to see it awry in any way, lopped down this side or that, or the center fold straggling uncertainly at any sort of a diag- onal across the table. The coffee or tea service should stand before the "mistress of the manse," the cups and saucers be ranged symmetrically about her plate — and cold bread, butter, salt, cream, etc., should be in their respective places. If there be oatmeal or any similar dish for breakfast, that should be served first, and while it is being^ disposed of, the beefsteak or omelette, the smoking coffee, and all the other hot dishes, except cakes, fried mush, or anything of that sort to be eaten with sweets, can be brought in from the kitchen. The oatmeal is then removed and the substantial dishes placed before the head of the house to be dished out by him on well warmed plates and handed by the waiter to each person at the table. The coffee is served by "my lady" and the butter, bread, etc., offered on a small tray carried by the waiter for this purpose. The attendant should watch the progress of the meal, and if cakes are to follow, as soon as a part of the family are ready she should notify the cook that she may commence to bake them, quietly remove the plates, substitute clean ones, also warmed, and bring the cakes from the kitchen. It is not necessary to wait for every one to finish the first course before beginning to offer the second. If many servants are kept, of course there can be no difficulty in serving every meal in the most approved style. Even with two, the above will be found the easiest, simplest, and pleasantest way of managing breakfast. If fruit, oatmeal, meat, potatoes, and hot cakes are all put on the table at the same time, the effect is confused and the very abundance palls the appetite. No one can partake of all simul- 18 BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. taneously, and the beefsteak and coffee are cold by the time the oatmeal is eaten, and the cakes have long ceased to be hot before it is possible to serve them. On the contrary, by following the first plan, the cook has a few moments for the finishing touches needed by the hot dishes, can make an omelette so it can be served steaming from the pan, and after these have gone in, can have time to get everything ready to bake her cakes. Where a single servant is maid of all work it is somewhat more difficult, but a little ingenuity will still compass it. She can put the oatmeal on the table and summon the family to breakfast. While they are eating this first course, she can dish up the remainder of the breakfast and bring it in, then quietly remove the first plates and return to the kitchen to see to her cakes. The butter, bread, etc., must be passed in this case by different members of the family, and if each one knows what is expected and the table is arranged with reference to this, it can be done quickly, without noise and without confusion. Where no help is kept, the younger members of the family should, as soon as possible, be trained to wait, each in turn, on the table. Of course, the whole method of living must, under these circum- stances, be simplified and made to conform to the strength of the inmates and the character of the surroundings of the home. But in the plainest farm house, or the poorest mechanic's dwelling, system, a well settled routine of work, and a definite notion of the fitness of things, are necessary factors in good housekeeping. Table manners and habits of eating, as well as the quality of the food and its proper preparation, exercise great influence on both character and physique, and every mother should realize the fact, that a well ordered meal, served as perfectly as her circum7 stances will allow, makes a part of that subtle influence which is silently and powerfully evolving the future man or woman from the crude boy or girl under her care. The inequality of incomes and the wide diversity of circum- stances surrounding different housekeepers, make it absolutely impossible to lay down fixed and invariable rules for all. 1 am anxious to be useful to the largest possible number, and shall therefore remember in all my suggestions and all my receipts, that the greater proportion of the housewives this book will probably reach are not likely to be the wives of millionares, nor BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. 19 the mistresses of homes in which expense is of no account. She who can live elegantly on a small income, whose refined taste, cultivated intellect, and hearty interest in home duties, take the place in great measure of the extra dollars of her rich neighbor, achieves a triumph well worth time and thought. During the season of flowers there is no housekeeper so busy that she cannot, if she will, have her table beautified by their presence. Not a month from April to November on our western prairies that does not spontaneously furnish some bloom and fragrance for household adornment. From the hepatica in early spring to the golden rod and aster in the fall there is a constant, ever varying succession of leaf and blossom. Through all gradations of col- oring from tender blues and faintest pinks to flaming scarlets, rich purples, and glowing yellows, Nature tempts every taste, and yields without money and without price bounteous largesse to all her friends. Can we not learn of her to make the common things of our every day life and work attractive by uniting with them some form of beauty. Dinner is the important meal of the day. If it come at noon it should be well studied, as we depend on the warmth, nutrition, and stimulus it furnishes to repair the waste caused by the morning's work, to fortify the system to withstand the fatigue of the remainder of the day, and to furnish sufficient strength to carry us through, with the aid of a light tea, to the next morn- ing. If it come in the after part of the day still more does it need careful thought. The stomach is likely to be weakened from long fasting, and the whole physical tone depressed. One is not fit to digest hearty food at once, yet he is so hungry he will be tempted to eat hastily and ravenously whatever is set be- fore him. All these thing's should be considered by the intelli- gent housewife. The best stomachic to prepare for the easy digestion of a hearty dinner is soup, not a rich, heavy, and greasy liquid, but one of the light, clear soups, which are simply strong extracts of meat, entirely free from grease, clear and sparkling, and almost as stimulating as wine. The sense of warmth and comfort produced by a few tablespoonf uls of such a broth, testifies to its efficacy as a preparatory dish. It dulls the first keen edge of appetite, without in the least degree producing a feeling of satiety. It 20 BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. gives tone to the stomach, and is, moreover, almost at once assimilated, refreshing the whole inner man. He can then pro- ceed deliberately to discuss the remainder of his dinner, and eat- ing slowly, will not only enjoy it but digest it without trouble in due time. Liebig says: "The extractive substances of flesh, when added to food do duty as true nutritive materials," and Dr. Letheby adds: "As they are at once absorbed into the circulation requiring no effort of digestion, they not only create force, but they also economize it. They are, therefore, among the most valuable constituents of food." The hostess who offers her guests at a German a cup of strong broth early in the evening, may do it in blind obedience to what she regards as an arbitrary fashion, but the custom had its origin in a genuine dietetic phi- losophy. Grreat physical exertions are expected of her guests, and the cup of meat extract "not only creates force but also enconomizes it." There are many ways of serving dinner. No doubt the style of setting the dinner table with the dessert alone, and adorning it with a profusion of flowers, makes it a thing of beauty. No doubt also it relieves the host and hostess of all care, to have the substantial part of the dinner presented by servants entirely from the sideboard, course after course, coming regularly, quietly, and systematically as if by magic; but no doubt again, this requires trained servants and plenty of them, and is practically impos- sible to the ordinary housekeeper. A compromise can be effected however if you have a quick, bright maid who can be trained to her work. The table may be set partly after the old style and partly after the more modern or so called Russian way. Some low ornamen_ tal dish may occupy the center, and on either side, arranged with due regard to harmony of color and general effect, may be placed fruit, flowers, and any light, sweet dishes intended for dessert, such as custards, creams, or blanc manges, nuts, raisins, etc., etc. These should extend in a straight line through the middle of the table and compose its main ornamentation. Button hole bouquets, napkins handsomely marked with colored monograms, etched figures or flowers, or suggestive mottos, each enfolding a thick slice of bread, low glass forms for flowers here and there, goblets or tumblers of thin glass, some one, or a variety of the number- BREAKFAST, DINNER, TEA. 21 less fanciful devices for supplying salt to each plate, these break up any tendency to too great formality in the general arrange- ment. The large, clumsy, and conspicuous caster is now banished from the dinner table. All condiments, except salt, are served from the sideboard as they are required. It is also the present custom, and saves time and confusion, to have as many knives, forks, and spoons by the sides of each plate as will be needed in the course of the meal. When dinner is first announced, the soup and soup-plates are found before the hostess, and the former is dished out by her, a small ladlef ul in each soup-plate, and carried by a waiter on a tray and handed over the left shoulder to each person at the table. No one is expected to ask for soup a second time, and the turreen is now quietly removed. As soon as anyone has evi- dently got through with his soup-plate, it is at once replaced by a fresh plate without waiting for all to finish. If fish is to come after the soup, that is then placed before the host to be carved by him, or being previously cut in suitable portions is handed to each person so he may select his own morsel. Plain Irish pota- toes are often passed with the fish. The waiter removes these plates as before, and then the joint is placed before the host who carves it and sends to each his favorite slice. The vegetables, side dishes, etc., are then offered by the waiter, each person help- ing himself as he desires. The last course before dessert is fre- quently a salad with thin slices of bread and butter. The clear- ing of the table is a very simple matter if this method is followed. There are only the plates and the roast, or the fowls, birds, etc. that may have followed the roast, to be removed, then the table is brushed, or the crumbs removed with a silver scraper. The hostess serves the dessert, and lastly small cups of caft noir or coffee without cream, and sometimes bits of bread and butter and cheese, conclude the meal. I shall say nothing about wines in this connection, since I never offer them at my own table and have not made a study of them for my friends. Or the good, hospitable, old fashioned, usual custom may be followed, and indeed, must be in many homes where but one ser- vant is kept, of having first the soup and then the heavy course all placed at once on the table to be served by the heads of the family, and last the dessert. Even then a regular routine should 22 BREAKFAST, DINNEE, TEA. be established aud followed every day. There will still be room for flowers to brighten the table, and the girl can be trained to remove each course, to brush the table, and bring in the dessert in an orderly and quiet manner. She should also be taught to make herself tidy by the addition of a white apron to her usual dress, and any other device that will not take too much time. The younger members of a family can soon learn to be of great assistance in the progress of any meal, if some specific thing is regularly trusted to their care, and they will early come to enjoy and be proud of the want of friction, and the perfect smoothness characteristic of all the routine of a well ordered table. And now comes tea, the pleasant evening meal, around which, the day's work being done, the family gather to relate the day's experience, forget its worries, and plan the evening's pleasure. To me it is the most attractive meal of the three. The unrest and hurry of the day are over. The children are home from school, the father free from care, and the dear mother ready at last for rest and comfort. It is a light repast, and yet the fragrant and steaming tea-pot is even more indicative of good cheer than all the formal array of smoking viands at the midday meal. The tea table should by its brightness and beauty prepare all who approach it for cheerfulness and good fellowship. The silver and glass should reflect serene faces, the bread or biscuit be as light as the heart that beats in each bosom, and the fruit and cake fit companions for these. Then will quick and perfect digestion prepare for " balmy sleep," and balmy sleep ensure an awakening like that of the happy, healthy child, who springs from his bed, bright as a sunbeam, with eyes clear as a dew-drop, eager for the day's fun, refreshed in every member. CHAPTER III. TERMS USED IN COOKING. BAKING. ^HIS is the process by which we as a people cook our so called roasts. It is simply cooking by confined hot air. Baked meat is inferior to roasted because the ventilation of the oven can never be so perfect as that of the spit, and the dry heat evaporates juices so rapidly as to make the joint comparatively hard and tasteless. Any meat baked should therefore be frequently basted. Every dripping pan should be furnished with a rack so that the meat need not come directly in contact with the bottom of the pan, and also that the heated air may be able to surround the meat on all sides. BOILIITG. The manner of this culinary process depends on the effect to be produced. If it is desired to prepare a stew, combining the good features of both soup and meat, then cold water is used at first as the medium for cooking. Salt meats, like ham and corn- beef, must also be put on the fire in cold water. A " pot roast " on the contrary is partly covered at once with boiling water, turned often, and boiled rapidly for the first few moments, the temperature then reduced and the boiling continued more mod- erately. When fish are boiled they must first be carefully tied in cloth so they will not break. Boiling pieces of meat, birds, etc., should also be securely tied in shape before boiling. If puddings are to be boiled in a bag, it must first ha wrung out of hot water and then thickly floured ; if in a mold, it should be well buttered. Never fill the bag or mold full but leave room for the contents to swell. The water must be kept boiling con- 23 24 TERMS USED IN COOKING. stantly the required time or the pudding will surely be ruined. As the water evaporates, the kettle must be replenished with boiling water which should be kept ready for this purpose. Steamhstg is a modification of boiling whereby the article cooked is boiled in the heated vapor of water. Puddings, dump- lings, and many vegetables are better cooked in this way thau boiled, if care be taken to keep the water under the steamer boil- ing all the time. It takes longer to cook by this method than by boiling. Stewikg is another modification of boiling. Here, too, time is a matter of great importance. The fire should be even and regular, and the thing to be stewed put into cold water and kept carefully skimmed. When the water has once boiled up, the kettle should be moved to the back of the stove, and the broth allowed just to bubble slowly and evenly around the edges of the pot. After the liquor has been skimmed until it is clear, cover closely, and do not remove the cover except when absolutely necessary. From "Wholesome Fare" a standard English book on cookery, I extract the following: "Stewing, another modification of boil- ing, is especially open to the observation "the more haste, the worse speed." It is an eminently economical branch of cooking. By it, coarse joints, old poultry, hard portions of animals, feet, gizzards, tendons, and even bones, are made to supply savory and wholesome nutriment. Time and slow cooking are the secret of success; if a thing cannot be stewed tender in one doing, it must be done in two or three, supplying as required, from time to time, the moisture absorbed and evaporated." And Dr. Letheby, an eminent authority on food, says: "Stewing is a deli- cate and safe process when the object is to retain the nutriment of meat, and to render it succulent and tender. All kinds of tough and strong-flavored meat may therefore be cooked with great advantage in this manner." And Dr. Smith, whose valua- ble work on foods is so well known, adds: "A slow fire, or water at a temperature of 160 degrees, will suffice to expand the fibres, and in some degree to rupture them, whilst it separates these and other structures and renders the whole mass more fitted for mas- tication and digestion." TERMS USED IN COOKING. 25 BONING. With a sharp knife, patience, and plenty of time, this is not so difficult an operation as is often thought. In boning a fowl the first thing to do is to lay open the back by one straight cut its entire length. Now cut towards the wings and disjoint them at the body. Then cut the flesh from the carcass to the thigh bones and disjoint these also at the body. Then cut the flesh entirely from the remainder of the skeleton, taking great pains not to cut through the skin where it joins the ridge of the breast bone. If the shape of the bird is to be preserved it is best not to remove the wing and leg bones, though this may be done if preferred. It is more common now, however, not to undertake to preserve the shape, and the flesh of the wings and legs is cut away to the last joint, which is severed by the cleaver. The wings and legs are then turned in, the fowl laid skin down on the table, stuffed and rolled in compact form, sewed or tied tightly in a stout cloth bandage and then boiled. The bones from a shoulder of lamb, or the ribs from a rib roast can likewise easily be removed with a little practice. BOUQUET-GAENI. A houquet-garni or more commonly a bouquet of herbs, is a bunch of herbs, tied together and used to flavor soups, stews, sauces, etc. It is usually composed of a few sprigs of thyme, parsley and a bay leaf. A little celery, sweet marjoram, or in- deed any of the sweet herbs may be added according to the effect desired. I append a few extracts in regard to herbs from Miss Corson's "Cooking-School Text Book." "A bouquet of herbs is made by tying together a few sprigs of parsley, thyme, and two bay-leaves. The bay-leaves, which have the flavor of laurel, can be bought at any German grocery or drug store, enough to last for a long time, for five cents. The best herbs are sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, tarragon, mint, sweet basil, parsley, bay-leaves, celery seed and onions. If the seed of ^ny of the seven first mentioned is planted in little boxes on the window sill, or in a sunny spot in the yard, enough can be raised for general use. Gather and dry them as follows: parsley and tarragon should be dried in June and July, just before flowering; mint in June and 26 TERMS USED IN COOKING. July; thyme, marjoram, and savory in July and August; basil and sage in August and September; all herbs should be gathered in the sunshine, and dried by artificial heat; their flavor is best preserved by keeping them in air-tight cans, or in tightly corked glass bottles." "Deled Celery and Parsley, — In using celery, wash the leaves, stalks, roots and trimmings, and put them in a cool oven to dry thoroughly; then grate the root, and rub the leaves and stalks through a seive, and put all into a tightly corked bottle, or tin can with close cover; this makes a most delicious season- ing for soups, stews, and stuffing. In using j)arsley, save every bit of leaf, stalk, or root, and treat them in the same way as the celery. Remember, in using parsley, that the root has even a stronger flavor than the leaves, and do not waste a bit," "Tarragon Vinegar. — Use a bunch of fresh tarragon in sum- mer, or the dried herb in winter; put it in an earthen bowl, and pour on it one pint of scalding hot vinegar; cover it and let it stand until the next day; then strain it and put it into a bottle tightly corked. Either put more hot vinegar on the tarragon, or dry it, and save it until wanted to make more; a gallon or more can be made from one bunch; only every time it is used it must stand a day longer." "Celery Salt. — Mix celery root, which has been dried and grated as above, with one-foarth of its quantity of salt; it makes a nice seasoning, and keeps a long time." "Spice Salt. — This can be made nicely by drying, powdering, and mixing by repeated sif tings, the following ingredients: one- quarter of an ounce each of powdered thyme, bay-leaf and pepper; one-eighth of an ounce eacli of marjoram and cayenne pepper; one-half of an ounce each of powdered clove and nut- meg; to every four ounces of this powder add one ounce of salt, and keep the mixture in an air-tight vessel. One ounce of it added to three pounds of stuffing, or force meat of any kind, makes a delicious seasoning." BRAIZma. Braizing is a method of cooking by the application of heat both above and below the thing to be cooked. It is accom- plished by means of a kettle having a deep lid which can be filled TEEMS USED IN COOKING. 27 with lighted charcoal, or live embers or coals of any sort. The cover must fit perfectly tight, and the kettle be just large enough to contain the joint, bird, or other meat to be cooked. This must be partially sur- rounded with stock for basting, and the herbs, spices, or vegetables intended for seasoning. Braizing is an operation re- quiring great care, as the heat should be evenly applied, the pot kept as much as possible closely covered, and the basting very frequent. If the heat below is too strong, a plate is sometimes put in the bottom of the pot, and the meat placed on that. An oiled paper, cut just to fit, is placed between the meat and the lid, if that becomes too hot. This, of course must be lifted every time any basting is done. BRAIZING KETTLK. BROILING. This method of cooking is, as a rule, applied only to small things, such as steaks, chops, birds, pan fish, etc. It is a delicate operation and needs con- stant care. The stew-kettle, the dripping-pan, and the ^^sv^J^^ stock-pot may, at times, be ^^^lls*^ left to take care of them- ^^ ^ selves, but the cook must stand over her gridiron until the process is complete. It needs a clear, hot fire, the best for the purpose being American broiler. thoroughly ignited charcoal. The gridiron should be hot, and the bars greased before the steak or chop is placed on it. There have been great improvements made of late in the manufacture of gridirons. Instead of the plain iron bars formerly in use we may purchase now broilers of almost any shape to suit our convenience. The circular gridiron made to fit any range and tightly covered like the American, illustrated above, is exceed- ingly convenient, especially over wood coals. The Henis is also a superior gridiron, the best indeed I have ever tried. There is less smoke, and less dripping, and, being light, it is easily turned. 28 TERMS USED IN COOKING. I can heartily recommend it. The broiler should be turned fre- quently, so as to cook the steak evenly, and to prevent also tho rs THE HKNIS BROILER. escape of the juices. If obliged to turn the meat, instead of the gridiron, care must be exercised not to stick the fork in the muscle, as in that case a hole is made for the escape of the juices. It must be turned either with tongs which come for the purpose, or the fork may be inserted in the fat, or put under the steak and used as a > lever to turn it over. Fish or birds that are split, should ] be broiled inside first. The best gridiron for fish is the wire broiler. They can be purchased of almost any size and it is convenient to have a set of them. Thin cuts of meat will bear a much hotter fire than thick ones. In the latter case sear the outside quickly and then remove to a tongs. greater distance from the coals, or moderate the fire, to give time for slower cooking, be- wiRB BROILER, iug surc to tum frequently in either case. If the fire flames up too much, or is too hot, sprinkle salt over it. FRYING. This is simply boiling in hot fat. Nothing is fried in the proper meaning of that word unless immersed in the hot oil. We have no English word that accurately expresses the idea conveyed to the majority of minds by the monosyllable " fry." The French word saute is used by all cooks for this purpose. This process will be fully described a little later. The causes of failure in frying are thus described in "Whole- some Fare": TERMS USED IN COOKING. 29 ''1. An insufficient quantity of fat in the pan. "2. Putting in things to fry before the fat is hot enough. "3. Too much moisture adhering to the surface of things to be fried." Many things that would be ruined by boiling in water can be quickly and delicately cooked in hot fat. If there be plenty of fat in the pan, if this be of the right temperature, and if the article to be cooked be not wet so the hot liquid can take im- mediate hold of it, it need never be greasy or fat-soaked. On the contrary, the surface will be seared over or hardened as soon as it comes in contact with the hot fat and thus become imper- vious. Boiling water penetrates and finally dissolves most sub- stances long exposed to its influence. Hot fat hardens and finally reduces that which is immersed in it to a cinder. If properly managed the frying-pan is one of the most useful and indispen- sable utensils. Here is an instance in which there's a great deal in a name. By applying the term "fry" to altogether the wrong operation it has come into great disrepute. For frying small things, a wire basket, similar to the cut be- low, is used as a help in handling them. Croquettes, Saratoga potatoes, etc., are first put in the basket, and then the whole lowered into the hot fat. The basket should never quite reach the bottom of the fry-kettle. The temperature of the fat can be tested by dropping a bit of bread in it. If it brown in five or six seconds, the heat is right. When a light, hardly perceptible smoke begins to curl up from the kettle the fat is also generally of the right tem- perature. The fats used for frying are olive oil, butter, lard, or any sweet, clear, dripping. Any one of these may be used again and again if it is properly cared for. It should be kept clear of both dregs and scum, and carefully strained into earthen vessels containing a little water, so that any sediment may fall to the bottom each time after using. Fat used for frying fish should be kept sepa- rate from that used for meats, and that in which sweets, such as doughnuts, are fried, should be kept separate from either. The fry-kettle must be scrupulously clean. Too much pains can- not be taken in regard to this. Croquettes, oysters, small fish, 30 TERMS USED IN COOKING. etc., should be laid for a moment on blotting-paper, near the fire, when taken from the fat. This will entirely absorb any super- ficial grease, and render them dry and crisp. The fry-kettle should be at least six inches deep. Brillat-Savarin, in his most entertaining book on "Gastronomy as a Fine Art," makes a learned professor discourse as follows on "The Theory of Frying," to a delinquent cook who had spoiled a fine fish in the operation, "The liquids which you expose to the action of fire become charged with different amounts of heat, in virtue of some prop- erty impressed upon them by Nature, the secret of which is yet reserved from us. Thus, you might with impunity dip your finger in spirits of wine when boiling, but you would draw it out quick enough from brandy, and quicker still if it were water, while even a hasty immersion in boiling oil would hurt you cru- elly — the capacity of oil for heat being at least three times that of water. "Hence it is that an alimentary substance in boiling water softens, becomes dissolved, and forms a soup; and in oil, it con- tracts, assumes a darker color, and at last has its surface carbon- ized. In the former case, the water dissolves and draws out the juices contained by the sapid substance; in the latter, the juices are preserved, because the oil cannot dissolve them. It is to the second process, boiling in oil or fat, that the term ' to fry ' is properly applied. "The beauty of a good fry is carbonizing or browning the sur- face by sudden immersion — the process known as the ' surprise.' It forms a sort of vault to enclose all that is valuable, prevents the fat from reaching it, and concentrates the juices, so as best to develop the alimentary qualities." LARDIKG. This is one method of garnishing and at the same time season- ing meats naturally dry and deficient in fat, such as fillet of beef, the breast of fowls, liver, etc. It is done by running strips of pork, called lardoons into the surface of the article to be larded. A larding needle [see cut] greatly facilitates the work. These ^__________,,_,__. lardoons should be cut from the firmest dry salted pork or bacon TERMS USED IN COOKING. 31 and must be even in size and of equal length, these being deter- mined by the proportions of that for which they are intended to be used. The process is as follows: A puncture is made with the sharp point of the larding needle on the surface of the article operated on, the needle is pushed partly through and one end of a lardoon is then inserted in the split extremity or eye of the needle, which closes tightly on it as it is drawn to the opposite side. The lar- doons are placed at regular intervals and arranged according to any fanciful design that may please the cook. Their projecting ends should be of equal length. The following illustration shows a fillet of beef partly larded and will explain the whole operation better than words can: LEMON ZEST. This is obtained by rubbing loaf sugar over the yellow surface of a lemon, thus extracting the oil which gives this portion of the rind its peculiar pungency. This sugar is then used to sweeten and flavor custards, creams, puddings, etc. It is also pounded fine and sifted into meringues when it is desired to im- part to them a taste of lemon. It is simply a more delicate and safer way of obtaining the flavor than by grating the rind, since this is contained only in its yellow surface. The white part is bitter and indigestible. This fact should be remembered when a receipt directs that the grated rind of a lemon should be used. BOASTING. This is almost a lost art to American cooks. It can only take place before an open fire and is utterly impracticable in connection with a modern cook stove or range. Mrs. Beeton says: "Of the various methods of preparing meat, roasting is that which most effectually preserves its nutritive qualities. Meat is roasted by being exposed to the direct influence of the fire. This is done by 32 TERMS USED IN COOKING. placing the meat before an open grate, and keeping it in motion to prevent the scorching of any part. When meat is properly- roasted, the outer layer of its albumen is coagulated, and thus presents a barrier to the exit of the juice. In roasting meat the heat must be strongest at first, and it should then be much re- duced. To have a good juicy roast, therefore, the fire must be red and vigorous at the very commencement of the operation. In the most careful roasting some of the juice is squeezed out o£ the meat; this evaporates on the surface of the meat, and gives it a dark brown color, a rich lustre, and a strong aromatic taste. Besides these effects on the albumen and the expelled juice, roasting converts the cellular tissue of the meat into gelatine, and melts the fat out of the fat-cells." EOUX. This is butter and flour melted together and cooked, and it is the foundation of many savory sauces. The common method of making gravies and sauces is to add an uncooked flour paste to the stock or liquor of which these are to be made and thus thicken it. A much better flavored and smoother sauce is ob- tained, however, by cooking the flour and butter and adding the stock very slowly to it. Roux is of two kinds, brown and white. The former is used as a foundation for dark sauces ; the latter for drawn butter, Bechamel and light sauces. The difference in the color of the roux depends upon the length of time the mixture is cooked. If the ingredients are simply melted together and simmered a moment or two, the roux will, be white; if exposed to the efl'ect of heat until the flour is browned, it will be dark. SAUTEING. Frying, as I have already explained, is cooking by immersion in hot fat. Sauteing is a modification of this process by which a small quantity only of fat is used, and the thing cooking must be constantly turned or tossed about, if the operation is to be successfnl. Hence, the word, from the French sauter, to jump OT faire sautei\ to make jump, to toss. In this method, as in frying, the fat should be hot at the beginning of the process. It is a favorite method of cooking potatoes, cutlets, chops, small birds, etc. Dougiinuts, croquettes, and small fish are fried. Pan- TERMS USED IN COOKING. 33 cakes, omelettes, cutlets, are saute. In all cases it requires care- ful attention to saute well, and the cook cannot leave her work with impunity until it is entirely finished. This is a cut of the most approved style of saut6 pan. s^^^fi pan. GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IK MODERN COOKING. (compiled from the best authorities.) Angelica. — A plant, the tender, tubular branches of which,, after being preserved in syrup, are used to decorate puddings, jellies, etc. Assiette (plate). — Assiettes are the small entrees and hors d'oeuvres, the quantity of which does not exceed what a plate will hold. At dessert, fruits, cheese, etc., if served upon a plate, are termed assiettes. Assiette volante. — A dish which the servant hands round to the guests, but is not placed upon the table. Aspic. — A savory jelly, used as an exterior molding for boned chicken, tongue, cold game, etc. This being of a transparent nature, allows that which it covers to be seen through it. It may also be used in other ways for decorating and garnishing. Au bleu. — Fish dressed in such a manner as to have a bluish appearance. Bain-marie. — An open saucepan or kettle of nearly boiling water, in which a smaller vessel or vessels can be set for cooking and warming. Bechamel. — French white sauce. Bisque. — Soup made generally with shell fish. Blanch.— To whiten nuts, v^etables, fruits, poultry, etc., by plunging them into boiling water for a short time, and after- wards plunging them into cold water, there to remain until they are cold. BlatKjiiette. — A sort of fricassee. Bouilli. — Beef or other meat boiled; generally speaking, boiled beef is understood by the term. Bouillie. — A French dish resembling hasty pudding. Bouillon. — A rich beef broth. 34 TERMS USED IN COOKING. Braize. — To cook meat in a kettle having a lid so arranged a? to hold coals, and thus apply direct heat above and below. Braisiere. — A saucepan or kettle having a lid with ledges, to put fire on the top. B rider. — To truss poultry, game, etc., to keep them in shape. Bouquet-garni. — A bunch of soup herbs tied together. Caramel. — Burnt sugar dissolved in boiling water, used to color soups, gravies, etc. Casserole. — A crust . of rice which, after having been molded into form, is baked, and then filled with a fricassee of white meat, or fried chicken. Compote. — A stew, as of fruit or pigeons. Consommee. — Rich, clear stock or soup. Croquettes. — Rolls or balls of minced meat, rice, potatoes, etc., fried. Croutons. — Dic3, or sippets of bread, fried brown, and used in soups. These words both signify something crisp. Dauhiere. — An oval stewpan in which dauhes are cooked; dauhes being meat or fowl stewed in sauce. Desosser. — To bone. Entrees. — Small side or corner dishes, served with the first course. Entremets. — Small side or corner dishes, served with the second course. Escalopes. — Collops; small pieces of tender meat, or fish, chopped and served on toast. Espagnole and veloute. — The two main sauces from which all others are made; the first is brown and the other white. Farce. — Is a coarse kind of force meat used for pies. Feuilletage. — Puff-paste. Flamher. — To singe fowl, or game, after they have been picked. Foncer. — To put in the bottom of a saucepan slices of ham, veal, or thin, broad slices of bacon. Galette. — A broad, thin cake. Gateau. — A cake, correctly speaking; but used sometimes to denote a pudding, and a kind of tart. Glacer. — To glaze, or spread upon hot meats, or larded fowl, a thick and rich sauce or gravy, called glaze. This is laid on with TERMS USED IN COOKINQ. 35 a feather or brush. In confectionery the term means to ice fruits and pastry with sugar, which glistens on hardening. Hors doeuvres. — Small dishes, or assiettes volantes of sardines, anchovies, and other relishes of this kind, served to the guests during the first course. Jardiniere. — A mixed preparation of vegetables, stewed down in their own sauce. Lit. — A bed or layer; articles in thin slices are placed in lay- ers, other articles, or seasoning, being laid between them. Macedoine. — The same as a jardiniere, when of vegetables; when of fruits, a kind of jelly. Maigre. — Broth, soup, or gravy, made without meat. Matelote. — A rich fish stew, made with wine. Mai/onnaise. — Cold sauce, or salad dressing made with the yolk of egg and olive oil. Menu. — The bill of fare. Meringue. — A kind of icing, made of whites of eggs and sugar well beaten, and used to spread over the top of a pudding or pie, and then slightly browned in the oven. Miroton. — Slices of meat. Mouiller. — To add water, broth, or other liquid, during the cooking. Nougat. — A mixture of almonds and sugar. Nouilles. — A kind of vermicelli. Paner. — To cover with very fine crumbs of bread. Piquer. — To lard with strips of fat pork or bacon. Poelee. — Stock used instead of water for boiling turkeys, sweet breads, fowls, and vegetables, to render them more highly fla- vored. Purie. — Vegetables or meat reduced to a very smooth pulp, which is afterwards mixed with enough liquid to make it of the consistency of very thick soup. Quenelle. — A delicate sort of force meat. Ragout. — Stew or hash. Remoidade. — Salad dressing. Rissoles. — Pastry, made of light puff-paste, and cut into va- rious forms and fried. They may be filled with fish, meat, or sweets. Roux. — French thickening; brown, and white. 36; TERMS USED IN COOKING. Salmi. — Ragout of game previously roasted. Sauce plquayite. — A sharp sauce, in which an acid flavor pre- dominates. Sauter. — To cook in a saucepan with hot lard or butter, re- peatedly stirring or moving it about. Souffles. — The word souffle means strictly something puffed up, and is generally applied to a very light and delicate kind of pudding. Taints. — Tammy, a sort of open Qloth or sieve, through which to strain broth or sauces. Tourte. — Tart; fruit-pie. Trousser. — To truss a bird. Vol~au-vent. — A rich crust of very fine puff paste, which may be filled with various delicate preparations of fish, flesb fowl, or fruit. CHAPTER IV. UTENSILS. HE utensils for woman's use in domestic matters are ||f quite as important in tlieir relation to results, as the ap- paratus in the laboratory, or the tools in the work-shop. Under inspection, most kitchens could offer only an array of ill-selected, worse cared for implements, few in number, worn and battered, and entirely inadequate to the needs of the cook if she be expected to do good work. The wonder is that the results of her labor are even as satisfactory as they are. A cook can no more produce dainty food with means unsuited to that end, than an artisan can do good work without fit tools. The carelessness of housekeepers in providing proper conven- iences for kitchen use is due in great measure to their ignorance rather than their p^uriousness. I have been astonished at the curiosity and interest excited in my classes by my array of work- ing tools, and the eagerness with which lists of modern utensils have been copied and forwarded to dealers under my directions. "We did not know there were such things to be had" has been the almost universal exclamation. Especially is this true in the country, where, no call being made for better things, the shelves of hardware merchants repeat forever the same display of iron pot and tin pan our grandmothers used in Revolutionary times, or before. Woman is naturally conservative, and unless her at- tention is called to improved ways and means, will travel indefi- nitdy the well beaten but difficult path worn into ruts by the weary feet of those who have preceded her. But she is quick also to see and imitate, and if once guided into easier ways will follow them eagerly. I shall endeavor in this chapter to illustrate and explain some of the newer and more valuable devices for making the culinary art easier to practice and surer in its results. Should a few think me somewhat too minute, I am sure the many will find no fault 37 UTENSILS. with the full and specific directions here set forth in regard to improved utensils. I have not confined myself strictly to cooking conveniences, but in a very few instances have mentioned tools I have found exceptionally useful in other departments of housework. Apple Corer. — This simple contrivance explains itself. This form is preferable to any other I have tried. If the tube is not sharpened as at a it is almost impossible to avoid splitting the. apple. The Baik Marie is a heavy pan of sufficient size to hold several sauce-pans. It is partly filled with hot water and kept on the back of the range. Bain Marie Sauce-Pan. — The small sauce-pans containing gravies, sauces, etc., being immersed in the hot water, are kept at the proper temperature until needed. The hain marie is kept on the back part of the range where the water will keep hot, yet not actually boil. Food kept warm in this way does not deteriorate in quality nor dry up like that kept on the top of the range or in the oven. The hain marie is almost indispensable in the preparation of a dinner of many courses. It is well nigh impossible in any ordinary kitchen, or with the usual number of servants, to prepare all the different garnishes and sauces at the last moment. Nor is it necessary if .only they can be kept hot and fresh as in the hain marie. Brown Bread Pan. — This is the most convenient shape for a pan in which brown bread is to be steamed. The cover fits closely and laps over far enough to ensure against the possibility of coming off acciden- tally, or of permitting the steam or water to enter the pan. UTENSILS. 39 Cake Box. — The upright cake box with shelves for different varieties of cake, is much more convenient than the old fashioned box with trays, each of which had to be successively lifted out to get at the contents below. It has this advantage, too, that the amount and kind of cake on hand can be determined at a glance. It is easy to keep clean and convenient in every way. ■ It may be obtained in several sizes, either with or without lock and key, and answers as well for bread as for cake. Casseeole. — This is simply a rice border in which may be served a stew of meat, sauted chicken, vegetables, or something sweet, as preserved fruit. The rice, boiled soft and mashed with a wooden spoon until perfectly smooth, is either pressed in a mold and then after it has cooled and hardened, the mold is un- clasped and carefully removed, leaving the rice form, the center of which is scooped out and the casserole filled and placed in a very hot oven for a few mo- ments before serving, or the casserole may be moulded into shape by hand, then baked, the center removed, etc. This latter is a delicate and difficult operation and is seldom attempted except by professional cooks. Franca- telli greatly prides himself on the deftness and artistic skill with which he can shape and decorate a cass^ro^g. He says: "A cas- serole of rice is justly considered one of the most elegant entrees; it requires great care throughout its preparation, especially in the treatment of the rice, that being its basis, and upon the suc- cess of this much of the beauty of the casserole depends. If the rice be not sufficiently boiled, and effectually worked into a smooth paste, it becomes a difficult matter to mold it, and any apparent roughness would spoil the looks of the casseroled Charlotte Russe Cup and Mold. — These are lined with sponge cake and filled with a prep- aration of whipped cream, a cup for each person, or the mold for the CASSEROLK MOLD. 40 UTENSILS. whole number. After the cream has remained long enough in the cake, the molds being surrounded by ice, or standing in a very cold place, to become firm, the whole will slip out, retaining the form of the mold. CiRCULAE Mold. — A is a circular, open tin mold to be filled -".^rmTTnTTTTrr,^ ^^^^ wine jelly, corn starch, hlatic mange, Ba- varian cream, rice, or anything of the sort which can be molded. After the circle of jelly or hlanc mange is removed from the mold, the center can be filled with whipped cream, fruit, jelly, choco- late, etc. The filling may vary indefinitely according to the taste of the cook. If the border is rice, fried chicken, green peas, or something of that kind may compose the filling. Figure a represents a circle of wine jelly filled with whipped cream, b a more ornamental border of hlanc mange filled partly with berries and the center heaped with whipped cream; c is the same mold empty. & A small sized cleaver similar to the illustration is a most con- venient utensil. To be sure a hatchet will do, provided a sharp one is kept for the sole purpose of dis- jointing fowls, breaking the bones of eteaks, etc., tomake he carving easier, or for the many similar purposes for which it may be needed. A good cleaver, however, costs little more than a hatchet, and being heavier in the blade, shorter handled and a better shape, is much to be preferred. Clothes SpRn housewife. The lower compartment a is partly filled with boiling water, the upper one h with milk for cus- tards, tapioca-cream, or any like prep- aration. This can then be left to heat without constant anxiety lest it may UTENSILS. 43 burn. Who cannot remember agonizing over a stew-pan of milk, with a dozen other things requiring immediate attention, and being tormented by the painful certainty that if the milk be left for a single moment it will surely scorch, though it can be watched and waited for half an hour without getting appreciably hotter. Or if the milk be put in a pail, and this placed in a ket- tle of hot water, either the pail obstinately refuses to stand up- right, or the water boils up into the milk. I shall not soon for- get the comfortable sense of satisfaction I experienced when I first tried this double kettle. What had before been a serious and harassing business became easy and comfortable, and the making of a smooth, velvety custard ceased from that moment to be drudgery. Digester. — This is a kind of iron stock-pot, the lid of which fits in a groove, thus effectually preventing the escape of the steam. A self-regulating valve at the top permits the outgo of superfluous steam. This is a valuable utensil, as by its use more nutriment can be obtained to the pound of meat and bone than in any other way. They can be procured in all sizes, and the smaller ones are very useful in making sauces, gravies, etc. They should always be placed over a very slow fire and plenty of time be given for the extraction of all the juices from the meat. Doughnut Cutter. — This illustration explains itself and will suggest a means of relief to those who have been accust;omed to cutting doughnuts first with a biscuit cutter, and then removing the center with the top of the pepper-box. This cutter is a good substitute also for a jumble-mold. Egg Boiler. To those who are exceedingly par- ticular as to the exact second their eggs must be boiled, this copper egg boiler will offer a great lux- ury. It can be used at the breakfast table and the water can be kept boiling, if desired, by a spirit lamp underneath. 44 UTENSILS. Egg Fryers. — Egg fryers are iron spiders, molded after the manner of tlie illus- trations, wliicli are filled with hot lard or drippings, and the eggs are dropped sep- arately in each form. They can be turned if desired, and when sufficiently cooked are slipped out, retaining the imprint of the mold, on thin slices of broiled ham. Egg Poacher. — This illustration presents one form of the egg poacher. They are offered in many pat- terns and with sauce-pans to correspond. They are immersed in boiling water, the eggs dropped in, and when these are cooked the poacher is lifted out of the sauce-pan. Each little perforated cup is movable and can be removed from the stand and the egg carefully emptied out on a slice of toast. Egg Whisk. — For beating a large number of eggs, from eight or ten to a dozen or more, this is preferable to any egg beater. It is also convenient to whip cream. Cream can be beaten to a stiff foam with a good egg whisk in half the time it would take to do it with a " Whipped Cream Churn." Drip-pan Grate or Trivet. — No dripping-pan or meat roaster should be used for baking meats with- out having adjusted to it such a grate, to lift the meat from direct contact with the bottom of the pan. The Fish Kettle is almost indispensable for boiling a fish of any size. Each kettle is fitted with a flat strainer, having a handle to lift it by. The fish is placed on the strainer and lowered into the boiling water. When done, the strainer is carefully lifted out and the fish gently slipped off. UTENSILS. 45 In tliis way the danger of breaking it in dishing up is almost wholly avoided. Felt Jelly Bag. — These can be purchased in all sizes and are used in connection with the jelly strainer illustrated a little farther on. They are stronger, strain more perfectly, and are much more durable than any home-made bag. The Flour Dredge is used to sprinkle flour over fish, meats, and all things that need it. A similar box 'is alsp employed to dredge cookies, buns, etc., with sugar. It is convenient also for flouring the pastry board. Fluted Knife. — Vegetables for garnishing, such as potatoes, carrots, and turnips, can be cut into a va- riety of pleasing shapes with this knife. Below are found a few illustrations of the easier forms. With a little ingenuity many fanciful effects can be produced. Sabatiere's, and French Cooks' Knives. — When these have once been tried, they seem absolutely indis- pensable to the cook. The smallest size is also called a honing knife. ^ The second size is the style and shape of Sabatiere's carving knife which I can also cordially recommend. These knives are strong, of excellent material, easily kept sharp, and of the right shape. 46 UTENSILS. Gravy Strainer. — If gravy and sauces, very unsightly from I lumps, were not so common, I should not think it necessary to illustrate so simple a utensil. The above is an excellent style, as it can be held over a small gravy, or sauce boat, and at the same time it is large enough to hold a reasonable quantity. A wooden handle is to be preferred to a tin one as it does not heat through so quickly, and is also pleasant to hold. Individual Ice Cream Molds. — These are made of lead lined with porcelain, and come in a great variety of shapes. The cream is partly frozen, then the molds are filled, closed and packed in ice. When they are to be removed they are im- mersed for a second in hot water. They then turn out easily, and furnish a much more ornamental way of serving ice cream than the ordinary method of dishing it out by the spoonful. In a city one can order such things from the confectioner, but there is no reason why any good housewife in a small town or on a farm, who has milk and cream in abundance should not have ice cream as often as she desires it. Ice is coming to be consid- ered a necessity, and the wife of a well-to-do and thrifty farmer can almost always command it. With proper utensils she may rival her city friends in the elegance of her entertainments. Jelly or Soup Strainer. — Something of this sort is almost indispensable in a house where jellies and soups are often made. The felt jelly bag described '^ on page 45, is drawn securely over the frame a ^ which fits exactly the top of the stand. This frame is then adjusted to the stand, and the hot liquid poured in without fear of spilling or leaking. A soup stand should, of course, be larger than the jelly stand, and the bag should be made of strong factory, or crash. Lady-Finger Cake Pans. — Of course if one lives in or near a town of any size, where the baker will furnish " lad3^-fingers" whenever they are needed for Charlotte Russe, cabinet puddings, or dainties of that sort, one need not stop to manufac- UTENSILS. 47 ture them herself. But in many villages, and on many farms it is impossible to get them at any price, unless they are manufac- tured at home. Sponge cake is easily made, and when eggs are cheap and abundant, is as inexpensive as it is delicious. With the pans illustrated above, lady-fingers are not so much trouble to make as ordinary cookies. Lemok Squeezer. — The porcelain lined lemon squeezer, as here shown, is the best style for use, as the acid corrodes a metal one, and is apt to receive an unpleasant flavor from one made wholly of wood. Meat Pie Mold. — This cut represents the mold closed and ready for use. It is first well buttered, M. the paste then pressed into it, then filled, the cover put on and orna- mented, and then baked. When taken from the oven, the wire pin A is drawn out, and the mold opens and is taken away from the pie, instead of the pie being lifted from it. There is therefore no danger of breaking or disfigur- ing the crust. Empty cases, to be filled with meat, game, or anything of the sort, are often made in these molds. The paste must necessarily be stiff and rather tough to take and retain the imprint. It is often not intended to be eaten at all, but simply to serve as an ornamental dish, the contents of which can be served as from any other receptacle. Meat Squeezer.— This is used to press the juice from rare cooked beef. An excellent food for in- valids or those convalescing from wast- ing disease, is made by toasting delicately a piece of bread, and then squeezing over it the juice of beef, and adding enough salt to make it palatable. If strong beef extract is needed quickly in an emergency it can be obtained in this way. 48 UTENSILS. MoKTAR AKD Pestle. — This old-fasliioned convenience is so useful it ought never to be omitted from a housekeeper's list. The ac- companying cut shows one made of wedge- wood, which is much to be preferred to iron. MuFFiw Cups and Rings. — The cut A represents the plain ^ deep mufSn cup, B a more orna- mental shape, and C the old style rings. The first is the most con- venient form, as both the other designs require a dripping pan to hold them. The rings are placed in u pan, then filled and baked. Pastry Brush. — Such a brush is used to varnish over pastry, buns, tea-cakes, etc., with the white or yolk of egg. It also serves to apply glaze to meat. Paste Jagger. — The wheel A is used for cutting pastry for ^^q)^^ the borders of pies, strips to criss-cross on 1^ ' ^dU^ cranberry, or other open tarts, and the orna- \iM. mental figure B is imprinted on the outer edge of the pie. Potato Cutters. — By means of these cutters uniform and shapely pieces can be cut from po- tatoes or other vegetables. These, if of potatoes, are first parboiled in salted water, and then fried a deli- cate brown in hot fat and used, in general, to garnish meat dishes, such as boiled beef, beef a-la-mode, etc. Potato Masher. — This style is much to be preferred to the solid wooden masher. When this is used the potato can be thoroughly mashed, and at the same time made light and creamy. jtfUL UTENSILS. 49 Potato Quiklers. — With these, carrots, turnips, or potatoes f 2 I ^ may be cut into the forms illustrated. The quirls of carrot are boiled in salted water until tender, the potatoes usually fried in hot lard like Saratoga pota- toes. They make a handsome garnish, or they may be served by themselves. The quirler is forced into the vegetable as far as A. The handle, as is shown, is separate from the quirlers, fitting them all, and must be taken off each time in order to remove the quirl, the vegetable having first been cut through to meet the steel. Sieve for Purees. — Anyone who has tried to rub pea, or bean, A ^ or any vegetable puree, through an ordinary sieve with a spoon will wel- come this as a valuable addition to their kitchen tools. The handle A is attached to a wooden masher which fits the sieve loosely enough to admit of being moved about sufficiently to press the contents through. The sieve itself is very strong and will admit of the necessary strain. Squash Strainer. — This is a strong, well made strainer somewhat coarser than an ordinary flour sieve, and much stronger. The puree sieve will do nicely for squash also. Taper Strainer. — A most excel- lent form for straining sauces, cus- tards, etc. It holds a convenient quantity, and offers a large surface for the liquid to pass through, and thus enables the work to be done quickly. Tea-kettle Steamer. — This steamer fits the opening in the top of a tea-kettle, and is so made as to hold almost as much as the common steamer. If the stove is crowded it saves the need of an extra kettle of water and thus economizes space. 50 UTENSILS- TfiUSSiifG Needle. — A needle of this sort should be long enough to reach entirely through a turkey, or better still, one should have several needles graduated in size. A fowl cannot be properly trussed unless the cord which holds it in shape is first passed through the body at the second joint, and again at the wings. Vegetable Basket. — A wire basket of this sort is used to hold eggs, potatoes, etc., which are to be boiled. By placing these in the basket before plunging them into the boiling water, they can all, when done, be lifted out of the water at once. Salads can be washed and left to drain in such a basket, and thus frequent handling, so detri- mental to their crisp freshness, can be avoided. Vegetable Cutters. — Here are represented a few of the shapes of these pretty tin cutters. They are useful not only in cutting vegetables for soups or for garnishing, but they may be employed in many other ways. They furnish taste- ful forms for croutons or sippets of bread; and pud- dings, jellies, and cakes can be beau- tif ully ornamented by their aid. The illustration shows the shapes of the cut pieces also. CHAPTER V. MARKETING. ^VERY sensible housekeeper should know enough about marketing to select her supplies wisely and intelligently. Economy begins here. Tradesmen soon discover who f may be imposed on safely. The fine cuts of meat, the freshest eggs, the crispest salads, the soundest vegetables go to the house whose mistress has posted herself on all these matters and cannot therefore be deceived, while she who does not know a porter-house steak from a round, nor a young and tender fowl from the "oldest inhabitant" of the barn-yard, will continually be disappointed because her meat is tough and tasteless, and her supplies in general poor in quality. A little attention will soon compass the more important items of information, and the time employed in learning how to market to the best advantage is certainly well spent. BEEF. This is the most important animal food. How essential, then, that it should be selected with care and that infinite pains should be taken to distinguish healthy sound beef from that which is diseased, or in any way unfit for use. Fortunately the charac- teristics of good beef are so marked that they can be easily dis- tinguished, and a little experience will enable one to tell with tolerable accuracy its condition in regard to health and tender- ness. The necessity for care in securing meat free from disease is so vital that every one should know precisely the marks by which to be guided in its selection. I therefore append Dr. Letheby's instructions in regard to the character of sound meat. Dr. Letheby had charge of the London markets for some years, and paid special attention to the quality and condition of the meat supply. I give this extract, consequently, with perfect 51 52 MARKETING. confidence in the facts it presents. He says: "Good meat has the following characters: — "1st. It is neither of a pale pink color nor of a deep purple tint, for the former is a sign of disease, and the latter indicates that the animal has not been slaughtered but has died with the blood in it, or has suffered from acute fever. "2d. It has a marbled appearance from the ramification of little veins of fat among the muscles. "3d. It should be firm and elastic to the touch, and should scarcely moisten the fingers — bad meat being wet, and sodden, and flabby, with the fat looking like jelly or wet parchment. "4th. It should have little or no odor, and the odor should not be disagreeable, for diseased meat has a sickly, cadaverous smell, and sometimes a smell of physic. This is very discovera- ble when the meat is chopped up and drenched with warm water. "5th. It should not run to water or become very wet on stand- ing for a day or so, but should, on the contrary, dry upon the surface. "6fch. When dried at a temperature of 212 degrees or there- about, it should not lose more than from 70 to 74 per cent of its weight, whereas bad meat will often lose as much as 80 per cent. "7th. It should not shrink or waste much in cooking." The color of the best beef is a deep bright red, and the suet a light cream color. In tender beef the fat is interspersed through the muscle giving it what is called a marbled appearauce. The suet of tender beef is dry and firm, will crumble easily, and con- tains but little fibre. When the suet is oily, or full of stringy fibre, and is small in quantity, it may be regarded as certain proof that the beef is tough, dry, and tasteless. Tough beef will also have an open and coarse grain as well as tough cartilages, sin- ews, ligaments, and muscle. The best beef animals carry a large amount of flesh in proportion to the size of the bones. If the animal has been killed immediate!}" after too hard driving, or when overheated from any cause, the flesh will spoil quickly, and both flesh and fat will have a dark look, caused from excess of blood. Such beef is, of course, to be avoided. The ox when slaughtered is cut into sides, the division line being the back-bone. These sides are again subdivided into quarters. The choice roasting pieces, and most delicate steaks MARKETING. 53 are cut from the hind quarter. The sirloin extends along the back-bone from the hip to the ribs, that nearest the rump being called the thick-end sirloin, and that next the ribs, thinend sirloin or porter-house. The sirloin makes good steaks or prime roasting pieces. SIRLOIN ROAST. This represents, what is sometimes called the middle-cut sir- loin. That is, it is taken from between the thick or hip-sirloin and the thin-end or porter-house. B B are the ridge of the back-bone — d that portion of the back-bone that helps to form the arch of the back, c the tenderloin steak, lying under the bone on the kidney side. [ SIRLOIN STEAK. This "fine steak comes from the thick or hip end of the sirloin and contains the most tenderloin of any of the sirloin steaks. BB is the back-bone, c the flange of the back-bone and d the ten- derloin. The thick end is much more profitable for steak for family use than the porter-house or thin end. Excellent steaks are also cut from the rump, these being the 54 MARKETING. favorite steaks in England. Steak, to be tender, should be cut across the grain. The small or thin end sirloin is cut either into steaks, called porter-house, or into small roasts. PORTER-HOUSE STEAK. B B the back-bone, c the continuation of this bone, (/, the tenderloin. This is a delicious morsel, but more wasteful than any other steak, as all the thin part beyond l9r: n^ier ^KiQ^ snsrar u^sr tids: grvf it ci Iiim , flie £r^ rzc !?:ii two or iifaxee tniilp rpnnr.-ri..,. ^,_ ~aj-_-^^ . T'O.OI[I1I<& SAXOL J,.. ^..■.;^ — _i^ cnjt of fiii@ac,aeeiip of "bntter. two figsm. jnioE aTir crasea riTif] of coib lfi—«i- 3eai xke yolki wlA . •JihpBnjrairi xaod aui Jmee di xiif iemcm.; bear t.Vvf "wniTieg trr tfagmdiveB ami 'V^ies. idiff max 'wxLti iih.e sugaac and yoIkE. Tbe mimtif ImfvrB it s sent to the table stir in iBp- idhr at^-ciQ) of bmlrnp- M'aiet. GEEMAjr SATJCE. Z . - yolkt 01 ruTD eg^ obib taibb^pcHiiifal of BI-- - - pli of BiieirrT. Pirr oi'er iie &b in a Baoee- jfflu anii t>^i rapidrr -wdiii an egg vidsk unial it tiD^ams. Do I" ■ - " M'jiL or ir "vrill cnrdlt. ^Mrt. Seudergon.J Pm twB tqBeb anl iiii£ 'vriiok egg. aisD a Bcani ^a}f ai sugar into a little stew-jran: l>Bai them veil forafe izt%. Then put the sanee-pan intD anatbfiai, GanisEaBaag -water, over xne lire: beat the eggs aod ffi^arlBaldy tvii^ -vrhisk. Trime jon grahnaHj poor in a sesaAlasSi. isA-tsafhA. €f fiherrr: vhen the sherry is all in the egg wSi he^aa. to flwdbwii; then tsiks: it from ihe £ie and add the juice of a qmrter of a Bmall lemon, t Qitantitr sn&sisnt for eoz MACE COlflPOTISrD. (Mome Meifsenper £ecgipf BtakJ lS»tibe &£ pk^e of " bIosttt -mns "' in pidSn^ anisanoBB. Soak half anormoeaf mace eight horns in one t^nnip of lemcai Jmae, add isaiif a t^-ciip of boiling itrater and scald itwij CHAPTEB X. CUSTARDS, CREAMS .\-\D SOUFFLEES. CTST-LZT'S. iigbi of mi*' stircaBsc^ sfeove aK'i apnek 132 CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUPFLEES. or three table-spoonfuls o£ boiling water, then strain into the hot custard; stir until the gelatine is perfectly blended with the cus- tard and then set the whole away to cool. Now whip the cream; use a Dover egg-beater or a large egg-whisk, and be sure that the cream is almost ice cold. Allow two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar to a pint of cream, flavor to taste, and then whisk it quickly and steadily until like the beaten whites of eggs. When the custard is perfectly cold and is beginning to " set " or jelly, stir it briskly for a few moments to even it, then blend delicately with the whipped cream. If these directions are followed the result must be a success. souffl£:es. These depend a good deal on the thoroughness with which the eggs are beaten, the quickness with which the materials are com- bined and the care taken in cooking them. They should be served immediately upon being done. If nut meats are to be blanched, boiling water should be poured over them and they should remain in the hot water until the skin will easily slip oiBf. Then turn them into cold water, remove the skins and dry the meats before pounding or chopping. It is always best to add a few drops of rose-water occasionally to almonds while pounding them. Always, in preparing oranges for souffldes or creams, be partic- ular to remove every particle of the white coat that lies under the skin, otherwise the cream or soufflee will be bitter. BOILED CUSTAED. Allow five whole eggs, the yolks of four and the whites of two, or eight yolks to a quart of milk, one tea-cupful of sugar, a pinch of salt, and one tea-spoonful of flavoring. Then proceed accord- ing to directions. The yolks of eggs make a more delicate cus- tard than when both yolks and whites are used. FOR CHOCOLATE CUSTARD, allow two table-spoonfuls of chocolate to a quart of milk and four eggs. BAKED CUSTARD. This is made with the same ingredients as boiled custard, but baked instead of boiled. My way is to heat the milk and pro- CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. 133 ceed exactly as for boiled custard until I come to strain the mixed milk, sugar, and eggs. I strain this into a deep dish, put this in a pan partly filled with boiling water, and place the whole in the oven to remain until the custard is firm but not watery. It can be baked in custard cups in the same way. A delicate way to flavor custards is to rub the loaf sugar with which they are sweetened on the rind of the lemon until the sugar has absorbed the oil that gives the rind color and flavor. This yellow rind may also be pared ofi^, very thin, so as not to in- clude any of the white underneath it, and boiled in the milk until it imparts the desired flavor. One or two pieces of stick-cinnamon boiled in the milk gives an agreeable flavor. In the spring, a few tender, fresh peach leaves boiled in the milk flavor it delightfully. REKNET CUSTARD, OR CURDS AND WHEY. (Detroit Free Press.) Take a piece of rennet an inch long, or a tea-spoonful of spirits in which rennet has been kept, or a tea-spoonful of liquid rennet (such as is kept by druggists and is apt to be weak), to each quart of milk. Season with vanilla or lemon and a table-spoonful of sugar to each quart. Set in a warm place near the fire, closely covered. Draw a spoon through gently from side to side and down to the bottom of the dish, for half a minute or more before covering. Look at it from time to time, and if in the course of an hour there are no signs of stiffening, add more rennet. When it is firm like hlanc mange., and before the whey separates from the curd, remove the rennet, if you have not used it in liquid form, and set in a cold place until wanted. Grate nutmeg over the dish, and serve with powdered sugar and cream. The nicest rennet is home-made. Buy a calf's stomach from your butcher, having him first scour it thoroughly inside and out with salt. Tack it upon a frame and dry in the sun a day or two. Cut in squares, put them in a bottle and fill with alcohol, or pack down with salt, in which case the rennet to be used must be soaked half an hour in water, washed well and tied to a string, that it may be easily removed from the curd before using. The dried or salted rennet may sometimes be bought of the druggists, or in the markets. Not to be omitted in a list of the 134 custards; ceeams, and soufflees. virtues of curds and whey is its economy and also the ease with which it is prepared. This is so delicate and delicious, as well as so easily prepared, that I recommend it heartily to all my readers. TO MAKE SLIP. Make a quart of rich milk moderately warm; then stir into it one lar^e spoonful of liquid rennet, set it by, and when cold it will be as stiff as jelly. It should be made only a few hours be- fore it is used or it will be tough and watery; in summer set the dish on ice after it has jellied. Eat with powdered sugar, cream, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. CURDS AND CREAM. Prepare one quart of milk as for the slip, and let it stand until just before it is to be served; then take the curd up carefully with a skimmer and lay it on a sieve; when the whey has drained off, put the curds in a dish and surround them with cream, and cover with powdered sugar. APPLE CUSTARD. Put one pound of loaf sugar in a stew-pan with one pint of water and twelve cloves; boil and skim it; then put in twelve good sized tart apples pared, cored, and sliced, and stew them till clear* and but little of the syrup remains; lay them in a deep dish, re- move the cloves, and when they are cool pour in a quart of rich boiled custard ; set the dish in a pan partly filled with hot water, and put in the oven until the custard is firm, APRICOT CREAM. Ingredients. — One pint of sweet cream, one table-spoonful of sugar, one-half can of apricots, one-half ounce of gelatine, the juice of one lemon. Whip the cream and sugar to a stiff froth; press the apricots, leaving out the syrup, through a hair sieve; put the syrup over the fire in a stew-pan and simmer until it is reduced to half the quantity; add the pulp, reduced syrup, lemon juice, and dissolved gelatine to the whipped cream. If it is desired to ornament the mold, pour a little dissolved CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. 135 gelatine into it and let it run over the bottom and sides; when partly set, stick into it candied cherries, citron cut in ornamental shapes, angelica, pistachio nuts, or whatever suits thefp,ncy; fill the mold with the cream and set in a cold place until firm. PINE-APPLE CREAM. This is made in the same way except that the pine-apple is cut in small dice instead of being pressed through a sieve. No lemon juice is added. HAMBUEG CREAM. Stir together the juice and rind of two large lemons and one cup of sugar; add the well beaten yolks of eight eggs, put all in a tin pail and set in a pot of boiling water (if you have not a double boiler); stir for three minutes, take from the fire, add the well beaten whites of the eggs, and serve, when cold, in custard glasses. COFFEE CREAM. Roast four ounces of Mocha cofiee berries in a small stew-pan over a fire, stirring it the whole time with a wooden spoon until it assumes a light brown color; then blow away the small burnt particles, and throw the roasted coffee into a stew-pan contain- ing half a pint of boiling milk or cream, put the lid on the stew- pan and set it aside to allow the infusion to draw out the flavor of the coffee. Next strain this through a napkin into a stew- pan containing four yolks of eggs and six ounces of sugar, and a very small pinch of salt, stir the cream over the fire until it be- gins to thicken, then quicken the motions of the spoon, and when the yolks of eggs are sufficiently set, strain the cream through a sieve into a large basin. Mix a gill of whipped cream and three-fourths of an ounce of Cox's gelatine in with this, pour the whole into a mold ready set in ice for the purpose, and when the cream has become firm, dip the mold in warm water and turn the cream out on a dish. • CHOCOLATE CREAM. Grate four ounces of vanilla chocolate, put this into a stew- pan with four ounces of sugar, four yolks of eggs, and a half pint of cream; stir the whole over a fire until it begins to 136 CUSTARDS, OEEAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. thicken, and the yolks of eggs are sufficiently set without allow- ing them to curdle; strain through a hair sieve, with pressure, into a basin; add a gill of whipped cream, and three-quarters of an ounce of Cox's gelatine; mix the whole well together, and pour into a mold previously imbedded in ice to receive it. LEMOIT CEEAM. To he eaten cold and served in custard cups or glasses. — Pare the rind very thin from four fresh lemons; squeeze the juice and strain it; put both into a quart of water, sweeten to taste, add the whites of six eggs, beaten stiff; set it over the fire and stir until it thickens, but do not let it boil; then pour it into a bowl, let it cool, strain, return to the fire and add the beaten yolks of the six eggs; stir till quite thick. Orange cream is made in the same way, but requires more juice to flavor it well. GOOSEBERRY CREAM. Clean two quarts of green gooseberries; put them in a stew- pan with their weight in loaf sugar, and a very little water; when sufficiently stewed, pass the pulp through a sieve; when cold add enough rich boiled custard to make the mixture like thick cream; put it in a glass dish, and heap whipped cream on the top. BAYARIAI!^ CREAMS. The following Bavarian creams are taken from "Practical Cooking, and Dinner Giving," Mrs. Mary F. Henderson's valua- ble Cook Book. Bavarian Cream with Vanilla. Whip one pint of cream to a stiff froth. Boil another pint of cream or rich milk, with a vanilla bean, and two table-spoonfuls of sugar, until it is well flavored; then take it off the fire and add half a box of Nelson's or Cox's gelatine soaked for an hour in half a cupful of water, in a warm place near the range; when slightly cooled stir in the yolks of four eggs, well beaten. When it has become quite cold, and begins to thicken, stir it without ceasing a few minutes, until it is very smooth, then stir in the whipped cream lightly until it is well mixed. Put it into a mold or molds, and set on the ice, or in some cool place. CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. 137 Bavarian Cream with Chocolate. is made as the preceding cream, adding two sticks of chocolate, soaked and smoothed, to the yolks of the eggs. Bavarian ('ream with Strawberries. After picking two pounds and a half of strawberries, squeeze them through a colander, and add six ounces of sugar to the juice; when the sugar is dissolved, add half a box of gelatine soaked as before described. Place it on the ice, stir it smooth when it begins to set, then stir in a pint of whipped cream ; put it into a mold or molds, and serve with fresh strawberries around it. Bavarian Cream with Almonds. Take three ounces of sweet and one ounce of bitter almonds, blanch and skin them, and put them into a pan on a moderate fire, stirring them continually. As soon as they have acquired a fine yellow color, take them off the fire, and when cold pound them into fine pieces. Then add a pint of cream or rich milk (nearly boiling) and two or three table-spoonfuls of sugar, and half a package of gelatine, which has been soaked as before de- scribed. Put it upon the ice, and when about to thicken, stir it until it is very smooth, then stir in lightly a pint of whipped cream, and put it into a mold. CARAMEL CREAM. Boil two quarts of rich new milk and mix in some caramel as below. Beat up three yolks and one whole egg together and add to the milk. Pass the whole through a fine hair sieve, and put- ting it in a basin in a sauce-pan of boiling water, cook until it thickens. This cream is served in glasses like custard. For car- amel take four ounces of sugar and stir over a good fire with a spoonful of water, until it becomes a rich golden brown. BURNT CREAM. (Francatelli.) Put an ounce of pounded sugar into a stew-pan, with the grated rind of one lemon; stir these with a wooden spoon over a slow fire until the sugar begins to assume a rather light brown color; then pour in half a pint of cream, add to this four ounces 138 CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. of sugar, four yolks of eggs, a little salt, and stir the whole over a fire until the eggs are set; then strain the cream through a hair sieve into a large basin, and mix it with a gill of whipped cream and three-fourths of an ounce of Cox's gelatine. Pour the cream into a mold imbedded in rough ice. CAEAMEL CUSTARD. Put one quart of milk over the fire in a custard kettle. Beat five eggs with a small cup of sugar till light; when the milk boils pour it over the beaten eggs and sugar, stirring carefully all the time. Return to the fire for a moment until the custard thickens, when it should be at once removed and put in a cool place. For flavoring put half a cup of loaf sugar over the fire in a small sauce-pan. Watch it carefully, and when it melts stir it con- stantly so it may brown evenly. When it is a dark rich color add enough boiling water to make a thick syrup. Flavor the custard to taste with this syrup, pour into custard cups and set in a moderate oven till firm in the center. This amount of cara- mel is about right for a quart of custard. FLUMMERY. One measure of jelly, one measure of cream, and half a measure of wine; boil fifteeen minutes, stirring all the time; sweeten and add a spoonful of rose-water; pour into a mold, and when set, turn on to a platter, and surround it with whipped cream. BLANC MANGE. (Detroit — Old fashioned and genuine.) Take four ounces of sweet almonds, blanched, and half an ounce of bitter almonds; pound them in a wedge-wood mortar, moistening them gradually with orange flower water; mix this with one quart of fresh cream. Have the largest half of a box of Cox's gelatine soaking in half a cup of cold water one hour. Set your cream and almonds on the fire, stirring constantly; when it comes to a scald, pour in the gelatine and stir till it dis- solves. Put in molds. CDSTAEDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. 139 BLANC MANGE. Break an ounce of isinglass and pour on it one pint of boiling water; let it stand all night, and add the next morning one quart of rich milk or cream; boil until the isinglass is completely dis- solved; strain it; put in two ounces of sweet almonds, blanched and pounded; sweeten it and pour into a mold. Serve with rasp- berry cream or whipped cream. TO MAKE A HEN'S NEST. Get five even sized eggs; make a hole at one end, empty them, and fill the shells with blanc mange; when cold and stifi", break off the shells. Pare the yellow rind, very thin and in narrow strips, from six lemons; boil these in water until tender, then drop for a few moments in a hot syrup of sugar and water; drain them and then fill a small, oval dish, half full of jelly; put the straw on in the shape of a nest and lay the eggs in it. A delic- ious dessert for Easter Sunday. CHARLOTTE RUSSE. (For a pint mold.) Ingredients. — Sponge cake, thick, sweet cream one-half pint, three tea-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, one-fourth ounce of gela- tine. Line a charlotte mold with sponge cake, fitting the pieces care- fully together. Whisk the cream to a stiff froth with the pre- viously melted gelatine, the sugar, and a few drops of vanilla; pour this mixture into the mold, covering it with a slice of sponge cake the size of the mold; place the mold over it to be- come cold and firm. Turn out when ready to serve. Simple whipped cream, with the whites of three eggs beaten stiff and delicately stirred in makes as good a Charlotte Russe as one could wish. A stale loaf of sponge cake is better than a mold. Cut off the top slice and lay it one side; scoop out the center of the loaf; fill with whipped cream; replace the top, and set the loaf away in the ice-chest till needed. APPLE CHARLOTTE. First of all, some apple marmalade must be prepared as fol- lows: Let two or three dozen apples be pared, cored, sliced up, 140 OUSTAEDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. and placed in a stew-pan witli one pound of sugar, two ounces of butter, and some lemon peel and cinnamon tied up togther; moisten with half a pint of water, place the lid on the stew-pan, and set the apples to boil sharply ovfer a quick fire until they are melted; then remove the lid and with a wooden spoon continue stirring the marmalade over a brisk fire until it is reduced to a rather stiff consistency. A plain round charlotte mold must now be lined at the bot- tom with small thin circular pieces of bread, dipped in clarified butter and placed so as to overlap each other until the bottom of the mold is well covered. Next cut some oblong squares of thin bread, also dipped in clarified butter, and set these up the sides of the mold over lapping each other, in order that they may thus be enabled to hold firmly to the sides of the mold. Fill the cavity with the apple marmalade, cover in the top with a thin circular piece of bread dipped in butter, place the charlotte on a baking sheet, and bake it in a rather brisk oven, of a light color; and when done, turn it out on a dish, glaze it on the top Avith sifted sugar, pour some diluted apricot jam, or any other fruit jam, around the base, and serve. LEMON SOUFFLIEE. Ingredients.. — Two ounces of flour, one ounce of butter, one ounce of sugar, one-half pint of milk, grated rind of two lem- ons, two eggs. Mix the flour and milk together perfectly smooth; add the sugar and butter and put in a sauce-pan over the fire ; stir con- stantly until it boils when it should be quite thick; now take it off the stove and stir in the yolks of the two eggs and the grated lemon peel ; beat the whites to a stiff" froth and add gradually and very gently to the mixture. Put in a well buttered mold and steam one-half to three-quarters of an hour. To be eaten with boiled custard flavored with lemon. APPLE SOUFFLEE. Ingredients. — Six good sized apples, two ounces of sugar, a table-spoonful of water, one and one-half ounces of flour, grated rind of two lemons, one ounce of butter, one-half gill of milk, three eggs. Pare and core the apples and stew them until tender with the CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. 141 sugar and water; then rub them through a sieve (there should be one-half pound of the pulp); work into this pulp the flour, the grated rind of lemon, the butter and the milk; stir over the fire until it thickens; then add the yolks of two of the eggs and one whole egg to the hot mixture; whip the whites of the two eggs to a stiff froth and add gently. Steam in a well buttered mold one-half hour. Eat with cream or boiled custard. BAKED OMELETTE SOUFFLEE. Ingredients. — Whites of six eggs, yolks of four, three ounces of sugar, one-half ounce of flour, one teaspoonful extract of vanilla. Stir the yolks and sugar together for ten minutes; beat the whites to a stiff froth; add the flour veVy lightly to the yolks and sugar at the end of the ten minutes' beating; stir in the vanilla; blend the beaten whites with the mixture, quickly and delicately; bake ten minutes in a hot oven. To be served immediately. OMELETTE SOUFFLEE. Ingredients. — The yolks of four and whites of six eggs, five tablespoonf uls of powdered sugar, vanilla or grated peel of one- half a lemon. Yolks of eggs, sugar and seasoning are well stirred until very stiff; then the stiff froth of the whites is added and carefully mixed in. The mass is then poured on to a flat round baking dish, which must be well warmed before buttering. Place in a quick oven and bake fifteen minutes. ORANGE SOUFFLEE. Make a soft custard with one pint of milk, the yolks of five eggs, and half a tea-cupful of sugar. Grate the rind of one orange and flavor the custard with it. Pare four large oranges, making sure to take every hit of the Avhite rind off; slice thin, take out the seeds, put in the bottom of a pudding dish, and pour over them the hot custard. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add seven table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, put over the top of the custard and orange, and bake a light brown. Serve cold. 142 CUSTARDS, CREAMS, AND SOUFFLEES. SOUFFLlfeE OF RICE. Ingredients. — Three ounces of rice, five ounces of sugar, two ounces of butter, five eggs, one lemon, a pint of milk, and a little salt. Wash the rice and parboil it in water for five minutes; then put in a stew-pan with the sugar, butter, milk and salt, and set this to simmer very gently on a slow fire for about an hour, by which time the grains of the rice will have become quite soft; the whole should now be well worked with a wooden spoon, and the five yolks of eggs, with the rind of the lemon rabbed on sugar, should then be added, and if the rice be too firm, a little cream also. The five whites of eggs must be whipped very firm, then lightly mixed in with the preparation, and poured into the soufflee or any plain mold,' baked for about three-quarters of ar hour, and served immediately OHAPTEE XI. ICES. fi get ready to freeze your cream is half the battle. The ice should be broken fine, the salt should be coarse and well mixed with the ice, the proportion being about one third salt to two-thirds ice. It greatly facilitates freez- ing to have the cream or custard well chilled by having it on the ice for two hours, before you begin to freeze. Put the freezer into a tub, and fill the wooden bucket in which it turns with the pounded ice and salt; then fill in the cream and turn steadily until it becomes stiff. It is really better not to drain the water off while freezing, as the ice cold water and ice together make a more complete surrounding for the freezer than the ice and salt unmelted. When the cream is frozen, carefully re- move the cover, take out the dasher, replace the cover, stop the hole, cover with a clean cloth, and pack well with ice and salt. In making water ices, it is better to boil the sugar and water, making a thin syrup, and then add the lemon juice, or fruit juice. It does not take nearly so many eggs to make the ice smooth when mixed in this way. ICE CREAM. To one quart of rich cream take four table-spoonfuls of sugar; beat the yolks of two eggs to a creamy froth; stir them into the cream; strain the cream into the freezer, and add the whites of the eggs beaten very light with three tablespoonf uls of pow- dered sugar. This cream cannot be surpassed. Flavor, if possible, by boil- ing a vanilla bean in a little milk, and adding it when cold. Burnet's extract of vanilla comes next. Flavor somewhat more heavily than for custard. 143 144 ICES. ICE CREAM. Make a rich boiled custard, flavor to taste, cool thoroughly and freeze. ICE CREAM. (Home Messenger Receipt Book.) Boil two quarts of milk, into which stir a pint of cold milk that has had four level table-spoonfuls of arrow root mixed smoothly in it, then scald, but not boil; when cold add two quarts of cream, a table-spoonful of vanilla or other flavoring, and two pints of sugar; put in the freezer and turn until well chilled, then add the whites of six eggs beaten to a stiff froth. RASPBERRY ICE CREAM. Make a quart of rich boiled custard; when cold pour it on a quart of ripe red raspberries; mash them in the custard, pass through a sieve, sweeten, and freeze. STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM. This is made in the same way. CHOCOLATE CREAM. Scrape a quarter of a pound of chocolate fine, put it in a quart of milk, with one-half pound of sugar; boil it until the choco- late is dissolved, stirring it continually; make a custard of this with six eggs; flavor with vanilla; cool and freeze. COFFEE CREAM. Roast half a pint of coffee a rich even brown, being careful not to burn a single grain; pour over while still hot a quart of rich sweet milk; cover closely and leave one hour; then sweeten to taste, put over the fire, and when scalding hot stir it into the beaten yolks of eight eggs; strain, return to the fire to thicken, cool and freeze. ALMOIO) CREAM. Blanch and dry one pound of sweet almonds; pound them to a paste in a wedge-wood mortar, using a few drops of rose-water to facilitate the progress; mix into this paste one quart of rich cream and one cupful of sugar. Freeze. The kernels of the common black walnut, prepared the same way, make an excellent cream. lOES. 145 LEMON ICE. (Home Messenger Receipt Book.) Take the juice of four lemons, add about three pints of thin syrup made with about one pint of sugar. Into every quart, when it begins to freeze, stir the whites of two eggs beaten very light, with a little powdered sugar. This will make it smooth. Any kind of water ice may be made in this way, by mixing the strained juice of the fruit, currant, raspberry, strawberry, etc., with syrup flavored to taste, and add the whites of eggs when it begins to freeze. LEMON ICE. Make a quart of rich lemonade; whip the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth; mix them well with the lemonade, and freeze. The juice of cherries, or of currants, mixed with water and sugar, and prepared in the same way, makes a very delicate water ice. 10 CHAPTER III. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. GEJ^ERAL REMARKS. F we cut a piece of meat in thin strips, and wash it in several waters, we shall discover that we have left a bundle of almost colorless fibres. Upon examining the waters in which it is washed, you will find the extractive juices of the flesh, blood, and all the materials soluble in cold water. Take now the bundle of fibres and plunge it into boiling water. It will contract and shrivel at the ends and if left boil- ing long enough, will shrink and toughen the whole length. Heat now the water in which the meat was washed, and as it approaches the the boiling point a thick scum will be seen float- ing in the water or gathering on the surface. This is chiefly one form of albumen, a most valuable ingredient in the meat. By this simple experiment you may learn several things; 1. The juices of the meat which give it flavor, and add so much to its nutritive power, as well as give it its peculiar color, a portion of the albumen and such salts as are soluble in cold water, have been washed out. Meat, therefore, soaked in water, loses a large portion of that which gives it value as food. 2. Upon heatir.g the water containing the juices, etc., ex- tracted from the }:)eef, the albumen it contains is hardened, or coagulated. 3. By applying heat to the fibres they are made to contract, and become hard and tough, but by leaving them in water some- thing lower in temperature than boiling, they ai"e softened and made tender. All this knowledge can be directly applied in our methods of cooking meats. 147 148 SOUPS AND MEATS. Stock is simply a strong, highly-flavored extract of meat. How shall we prepare it? By putting the meat, of course, into cold water and heating it very gradually to near the boiling point, thus allowing the water to reach every portion of the fibre which gives it shape. To do this most effectually you should cut the meat into small pieces. Break up the bones also, and add them to the meat and cold water. They will add some- thing, both of flavor and actual value, to the stock. If instead of stock I desire to prepare a piece of boiled meat for the table, how shall I proceed? By plunging the meat at once into boil- ing water. And why? Because by so doing the ends of the fibres will contract, and the albumen distributed over the sur- face will coagulate, both serving to prevent the escape of the juices and sealing them up in the interior of the meat. Shall I continue to boil the meat rapidly until thoroughly cooked? No, because so great a degree of .heat will shrivel the fibre its entire length, and make the meat tough and leathery. It should therefore be subjected to a fierce heat onlj'^ long enough to seal the ends of the fibres, and then simmer gently until done. The same philosophy applies to roasting and broiling. A strong heat at first, and then a more moderate temperature until the process is completed. When meat is cooked for the table by any method whatever, the whole aim should be to preserve the juices in the interior of the cut, and then to apply an even and gentle heat until ready to serve. Beefsteak should never be pounded, since then the fibres are so torn and lacerated as to afford ready escape to all the juices. For the same reason a roast should not be skewered to keep it in shape, but tied rather. Never stick a fork into a roast, steak, or boiling piece. If necessary to turn it, use a spoon or wooden ladle. The general theory as to the cooking of meats, is that all red meats should be underdone, or rare, and all white meats well done. We have beef as an exam- ple in the first class, and veal or pork in the second. Game birds, and game in general, will, as a rule, come under the first class — domestic fowls under the second. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTEY, AND GAME. 149 GENERAL EEMARKS. The pieces of meat for soup are portions of either the shank, the shin, or the neck. The two last named are to be preferred, as containing proportionately more gelatine. The meat should either be cut in small pieces or gashed many times, and the bone should be broken. Every particle of fat should be removed. Greasy soup is an abomination, and no greasy food is either good or wholesome. The advantage of making stock for soup the day before it is served is, that when perfectly cold the grease will collect in a cake on the top, and can then be entirely re- moved. The water in which stock is made should never boil rapidly or irregularly, but should simmer slowly and evenly. If it gets to boiling too fast, pour in a little cold water to reduce the temperature. This will also aid the scum to rise to the sur- face. It will be noticed that as the water approaches the boil- ing point a thick scum will appear. If a clear stock or soup is required, this must be carefully skimmed, oflf. It is, however, nothing unclean, or unfit for food, but on the contrary is a most valuable and nutritious element, being albumen. If the stock is intended for immediate use, add carrot, turnip, an onion stuck with cloves, and a bouquet of herbs; namely, parsley, marjoram, thyme, and a bay leaf. If, however, it is desired to keep the stock for several days, and use from it gradually, do not add the vegetables until the day the soup is to be served, as they are apt to make the stock sour. A little salt is used, as it also aids the scum to rise, but it is better to defer the full seasoning until the soup is prepared for the table. Use pepper corns, whole spices, and herbs in the sprig, for seasoning soups, as thej'' do not cloud and discolor them, and they can be strained out easily when the soup is served. When the stock has simmered the full time, strain through a colander into an earthen vessel. It should never be left to cool in the kettle in which it was cooked. EICH STOCK. Cut the meat from the bones and divide it into rather small pieces of even size; remove all fat; break the bones, and take out 150 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. the marrow, as this will make the stock greasy. Use one pint of cold water to one pound of meat and bone, and an extra pint to every four pounds of meat and bone, to allow for evaporation; add a half tea-spoonful of salt to aid the scum in rising. Put over the fire in a covered pot and bring it quickly to a boil; skim occasionally, and pour in from time to time a half tea-cup of cold water, which will also help the scum to rise. Scrape two carrots, pare one turnip, one large onion, which should be stuck with two or three cloves; wash half a head of celery if it can be obtained, and put all in the stock pot. Tie together a few sprigs of parsley, marjoram, thyme, and a bay leaf, and put these also in the stock pot ; add a few pepper corns. Let the stock simmer one hour for every pound of meat and bone. When it has simmered the requisite time take the stock pot off the fire; have a sieve ready over the jar large enough to contain the stock, put a clean cloth in the sieve, and pour the contents of the stock pot through it. Set it away to cool. When cool, remove all the fat which will have collected at the top in a cake; wring a cloth out of hot water and wipe off the top, so as to remove every particle of fat. When replaced in the soup kettle to heat, be careful to remove the settlings at the bottom of the jelly. If made of beef this will produce brown stock. Veal treated in a similar manner makes white stock. The bones from roast beef, bits of ham, the carcases of fowls, and any bits of cold meat, make good additions to the stock pot. If the stock is to be kept any length of time, it is better not to add the vegetables until the soup is wanted for use, as they cause the stock to sour sooner than if made without them. Browning the vegetables in a little hot fat before putting into the stock, brings out their flavor better. Macaroni, vermicelli, pearl barley, sago, tapioca, rice, and oat- meal, are all used for flavoring soups, the proportion being two or three table-spoonfuls to the quart. Thick soups are made from split peas, beans, etc., one-half a tea-cupful of either being sufficient to thicken one quart of soup. If after straining these the soup is unevenly thickened, the meal of the peas or beans sinking to the bottom of the kettle, it may be held in suspen- sion by mixing together, dry, a table-spoonful of butter and flour, and stirring it into the soup. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 151 TO CLARIFY STOCK. To every quart of stock allow the white and shell of one egg. Beat these to a froth; add a few table-spoonfuls of the cold stock, then mix the whole with the stock to be clarified. Set on the stove and stir pretty constantly until it comes to a boil. Let it boil a few moments, then remove it from the stove and let it stand until the bubbling has entirely ceased. Skim off the egg, etc., that has risen to the top, taking great pains not to disturb the contents of the kettle more than is necessary. Strain through a fine hair sieve, a flannel bag, or a coarse cloth laid in the colander. The broth should be clear and sparkling. If expense is not to be considered, it adds much to the value of the stock, and helps also to make it beautifully clear and bright, to add with the egg one pound of very finely chopped beef to every five pounds of meat used in making the stock. Chop the meat as fine as possible, put it with the whites and shells of the eggs as you put them in the stock; stir constantly until the whole boils; let it boil half an hour, then strain as be- fore. If it does not run clear at first, pass it through the sieve again and again until perfectly clear. CLEAR SOUP, OR CONSOMM^. This is simply the clarified stock heated and seasoned with salt. It may be served in various ways. Thin slices of lemon, at least one slice to a person, are often added just before it is sent to the table, or one poached egg for each person, is served with it, or a little grated cheese may be handed round and each person add a spoonful to the soup served him. The soup plates, the turreen, and even the ladle should be hot. Lukewarm soup is an abomination. C0NS0MM6 A LA ROYALE, OR CLEAR SOUP WITH ROYAL CUSTARD. Consomm6 a la Royale is clear soup in which custard k la Roy ale is served. This is prepared as follows: CUSTARD A LA ROYALE. Take the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two; add one- half pint of clear soup and a half a salt-spoonful of salt, and a 152 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. very little nutmeg. Whisk the eggs and stock well together. Butter a shallow pan and put the custard in it. Place this in another pan containing boiling water. Put the whole in the oven or on the stove, and let it simmer until the custard is firm. When done turn it out on a plate to cool. Cut in dice, or fancy shaped pieces, and just before serving add it to the soup. TOMATO SOUP. This is made from beef stock by adding one pint of tomatoes, freed from seeds by straining, to two quarts of stock; add three table-spoonfuls of rice, salt to taste, and boil until the rice is tender. TOMATO SOUP WITHOUT STOCK. Fry half a medium sized onion, cut in slices, in a little butter; add a quart can of tomatoes, and, if possible, two sprigs of pars- ley. Let it cook fifteen minutes and then pass through a sieve. Put into a sauce-pan a tea-spoonful of butter, and when it bub- bles, add a tea-spoonful of flour; stir until perfectly smooth, and when it begins to boil, stir in the tomato pulp and season with pepper and salt; add one-half pint of boiling water, and a cupful of fresh boiled rice, and a small half tea-spoonful of soda dissolved perfectly in a little boiling water. JULIENNE SOUP. After clarifying the stock as previously described, add to it two carrots, one turnip, and two or three cabbage leaves, or leaves of lettuce, cut into long, narrow strips, or shred. These vegetables must have been previously boiled until tender, each in separate water well salted, so that the color may be perfectly preserved. If they are ready before time to serve the soup, drain them out of the hot water, and put them, still in separate vessels, in cold water. Add them to the soup a long enough time before serving to heat them thoroughly. This is a very pretty and delicious soup. SPEING SOUP. In June or July clear soup, with the addition of peas, aspara- gus tops, and young onions, is called a "spring soup." SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 153 MACARONI SOUP. This is made by the addition of macaroni cut in two or three- inch lengths and boiled until tender in well salted water, to good beef stock. VERMICELLI SOUP is exactly the same except the vermicelli is not cut. POTAGE A LA REIM, OR CHICKEK SOUP. Boil an old fowl in four quarts of water until reduced to two quarts ; add one carrot, an onion stuck with four cloves, a table- spoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and a scrape of nutmeg. Remove the chicken, and strain the soup. Take the breast of the fowl, chop it fine and rub it, with one cupful of rice boiled very soft, through a sieve. Add it to the soup, first skimming off every particle of grease. Let it come to a scald; stir in one- half pint of thick sweet cream, and serve at once. Do not let it boil after the cream has been added. It should just become hot enough to use. Add more salt if necessary. AMBER SOLT*. (Mrs. Henderson.) This soup is served at almost all company dinners. There can be no better choice, as a heavy soup is not then desirable. Ingredients. — A soup bone of two or three pounds, a chicken, a small slice of ham, an onion, two sprigs of parsley, half a small carrot, half a small parsnip, half a stick of celery, three cloves, pepper, salt, a gallon of cold water, whites and shells of two eggs, and caramel for coloring. Let the beef, chicken and ham boil slowly for five hours; add the vegetables and cloves to cook the last hour, having first fried the onion in a little hot fat and stuck the cloves in it. Strain the soup into an eartheru bowl, and let it remain over night. Next day remove the cake of fat on the top; take out the jelly, avoiding the settlings, and mix into it the beaten whites of the eggs with the shells. Boil quickly for half a minute; then, plac- ing the kettle on the hearth, skim oft' carefully all the scum and whites of the eggs from the top, not stirring the soup itself. Pass this through the jelly bag, when it should be quite cleai". 154 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. The soup may then be put aside and reheated just before serv- ing. Add then a large table-spoonful of caramel, as it gives it a richer color, and also a slight flavor. BOUILLON^. This is simply a strong, clear extract of beef, or stock, which is often served in small cups at evening parties shortly after the guests have arrived. One quart of water to four pounds of meat and bone is the right proportion. It is just double that of ordi- nary stock jelly. As a rule no seasoning is added, except salt and pepper. FRENCH GUMBO. (Louisiana Receipt.) Cut up one large fowl; season it with salt and pepper; dredge it well with flour. Put in the kettle a table-spoonful of butter, one of lard, and a chopped onion. Fry the fowl to a good brown; then add to this four quarts of boiling water; cover close and let it simmer two hours. Fifty oysters with their liquor is a good addition. Add a bunch of soup herbs and several pods of gumbo. Season high with cayenne; salt to taste. BEEF SOUP. Boil a soup bone the day before wanting it, according to di- rections for preparing stock. Skim the grease off next day, and melt the jelly; add spices to taste, a little Worcestershire sauce, a small tea-cup of butter rubbed in brown flour, a little vermi- celli, and a grated carrot. Boil three eggs hard, mash smooth, put in turreen, and pour over them. TURKEY SOUP. Take the turkey bones and cook for one hour in water enough to cover them, then stir in a little of the dressing and a beaten egg. A little chopped celery improves it. Take from the fire, and when the water has ceased boiling add a little butter, with pepper and salt. Of course the bones are removed and the soup strained before the dressing and egg are added. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 155 ECONOMICAL WHITE SOUPS. 1. Milk Soup. — To make this you will require two pounds of potatoes, two leeks or onions, two quarts of boiling water, one pint of milk, two ounces of butter, three dessert-spoonfuls of crushed tapioca, and pepper and salt to taste. The potatoes and leeks must be pared and put into two quarts of boiling water, in which they must continue to boil until quite tender; pass both water and vegetables through a sieve, and put them back into the stew-pan; now add the milk, butter, and sea- soning, place it on the fire and keep stirring, at the same time sprinkling in the crushed tapioca; another ten minutes' boiling will be necessary, after this is all added, to cook the tapioca; then serve. Care must be taken to keep stirring to the end, or the tapioca will stick together and be lumpy. 2. Rice-Ckeam Soup. — Take one pound of loin of veal, one- fourth of a pound of Carolina rice, a small quantity of onion, and two quarts of new milk. Cut the veal into small pieces and put it on to stew with the other ingredients, adding a little white pepper and salt to taste; then pass it through a sieve, when it should be of the consis- tency of rich cream. The soup must be warmed again after straining, but great care must be taken that it does not boil, or it will curdle. If more flavor is liked, a very small, thin piece of lemon peel, a little cut celery, and a blade of mace, may be added when the seasoning is put in. 3. Potato Soup. — Vor this you will require a small breast of mutton, from which the fat should be trimmed; it should also be well jointed, as it makes an excellent dish when taken out of the soup. Place the mutton in a stew pan with three quarts of water; as soon as it Ijoils draw it to the side of the fire, skim it care- fully, and season the broth with a very little peppei*, and salt to taste. Peel and cut into quarters six large sound potatoes and three turnips, slice three onions and three heads of celer}"-, and throw all these into the broth with a good sized handful of sweet herbs. Let all stew gently together for four and a half hours over a slow fire; take out the mutton, placing it in a covered dish near the tire, to keep hot till required; strain olf the liquid, and force as much as possible of the vegetables through a coarse 156 so OPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. sieve with a wooden spoon, to be added to the soup; beat up the yoik o£ an egg with a quarter of a pint of milk; stir all together and warm it up for sending to the table, taking care that it does not now boil for fear it should curdle. Should you wish to make this soup richer, add another yolk and use cream instead of milk. CREAM OF RICE. To make cream of rice: Have three pints of rice, wash it well to take the dusty smell off; put it in a stew-pan with two ounces of butter, a little salt and grated nutmeg, and three quarts of boiled milk; set on the fire, heat slowly, stirring once in a while; when it boils cover it and let it simmer gently an hour or so; when done, pass it through a fine wire sieve by rubbing vigor- ously with a wooden spoon; put the residue in a stew-pan, add more boiled milk to give the soup the proper consistency; warm it, stirring continually; do not let it boil; finish with two ounces of table butter and half a pint of boiling cream; taste, season lightly, and serve with small, thin lozenge-shaped pieces of white bread fried in clarified butter and thrown into it. VEGETABLE SOUP. Take three pounds of shin of beef and stew it gently for an hour in two quarts of water, add two large onions cut in slices, one large tomato, two middle-sized vegetable marrows cut in small pieces, and half a peck of green peas; season with pepper and salt, and stew the whole for two hours longer. Neck of mutton may be used instead of shin of beef. TOMATO SOUP. Ingredients. — Three pounds of beef, one quart canned toma- toes, one gallon of water. Let the meat and water boil for two hours, or until the liquid is reduced to a little more than two quarts. Then stir in the tomatoes and stew all slowly for three-quarters of an hour longer. Season to taste, strain, and serve. CHICKEN SOUP. (German Way.) The chicken is singed, scalded, dredged with a handful of flour, and allowed to stand one hour in water. It is then put on the SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 157 fire in this water with salt (the interior of the chicken must also be well rubbed with salt), skimmed, and then boiled four hours with vegetables. Dumplings for this soup. — For three persons take two eggs, two spoonfuls of flour and a little salt. Then put a little butter into a small sauce-pan, add the mixture and stir it until it comes clean off the sauce-pan. When cold add the yolks of two eggs, and sugar, and knead it well; then cut out in little dumplings with a spoon, put them in the soup and let them boil five min- utes. The soup must be strained before the dumplings are put in. OYSTER SOUP. Take one quart of water, one tea-cup of butter, one pint of milk, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, four crackers rolled fine, and a tea-spoonful of pepper. Bring to full boiling heat as soon as possible, then add two quarts of oysters. Let the whole come to a boiling heat quickly and remove from the fire. The crackers serve the purpose of thickening, instead of flour. OYSTER SOUP. To one quart of oysters add a half pint of water. Put this on the fire, and as soon as it scalds, strain the liquor and set on the back of the stove to keep warm until needed. Put into another sauce-pan a heaping table-spoonful of butter, and when it bub- bles add a table-spoonful of sifted flour; stir well and cook a few moments but do not let it brown; then add half a pint of rich milk, the oysters, salt, and cayenne peppei", and a sprinkle of mace. When this is just at the boiling point, add to the hot liquor strained from the oysters. Taste to see that it is suffi- ciently seasoned, and serve at once. MOCK TURTLE SOUP. (South Kensington School.) Ingredients. — Half a calf's head, three ounces of butter, half a table-spoonful of salt, one-quarter of a pound of lean ham, one shallot, one clove of garlic, six mushrooms, one carrot, half a head of celery, one leek, one onion, half a turnip, a sprig of thyme, marjoram, parsley, and a baj' leaf, one blade of mace, six cloves, three ounces of flour, two wine-glasses of sherry, the juice of half a lemon, one dozen force-meat balls. 158 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. Wash the calf's head well in water to remove all blood and im- purities; cut all the flesh from the bones and tie it up in a clean cloth; put it over the fire, in a large stew-pan, with the bones, and four quarts of cold water, and half a table-spoonful of salt. As soon as it boils skim it well, and remove the stew-pan to the back of the stove to simmer gently for three hours, skimming occasionally. Now take out the calf's head, and strain the stock and set it aside to cool. When cold remove every particle of fat; then put one ounce of butter in a stew-pan and put it on the fire to melt; slice the ham, clean the vegetables and slice them, and fry all in the butter ten minutes, adding also the spices and herbs; then add three ounces of flour and stir well; now add the stock and stir until it boils, then reduce the heat and let it simmer about ten minutes. Remove every particle of scum and strain the soup into another sauce-pan. Take the meat from the calf's head out of the cloth and cut it up in small, neat pieces, and add these, two glasses of sherrj^, and the force-meat balls to the soup, and squeeze in through a strainer the juice of half a lemon. FORCE-MEAT BALLS. Ingredients. — Two ounces beef suet, one tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, one-fourth of a tea-spoonful of chopped thyme and marjoram, a little grated lemon-rind and nutmeg, salt and pepper, one egg^i four ounces raw beef. Chop the suet very fine; chop the beef also and put it in a bowl ; rub three ounces of bread crumbs through a sieve and add it with one tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, a quarter of a tea- spoonful each of thyme and marjoram, to the beef. Grate half a tea-spoonful of lemon rind and nutmeg into the basin; season well with pepper and salt, add one egg^ and mix all well together. Form into balls, egg and bread crumb and fry brown. PEA SOUP. (Appledm-e Cook Rook.) Pick the peas over that there may be no blemished ones among them. Wash and soak over night. In the morning turn off the water and put them in the soup pot. For one quart of peas allow eight quarts of cold water, one pound of lean salt pork, a small piece of celery, a little pepper, and half an onion; boil SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 159 gently eight hours, being very careful that it does not brown. Have a large wooden spoon to stir it with. When done it should be thin enough to pour. In boiling it may become too thick; if so, add boiling water. When cooked, it is smooth and rather mealy. If not cooked enough, after standing a few minutes the thick part will settle and the top look watery. Have ready six slices of bread toasted brown, and cut into pieces an inch square; throw about a dozen of these pieces into a turreen, and the re- mainder send to the table dry. Strain the soup through a sieve and serve. If the pork does not salt it enough, use salt. This soup is even better warmed over than at first. Some persons use soup stock and butter, but it is rich enough in this way, and much healthier. CORN SOUP. Boil one quart of corn, cut from the cob, in one and one-half quarts of water, until perfectly tender. Rub two table-spoonfuls of butter with one table-spoonful of flour; let it bubble over the fire, then stir it into the corn and boil fifteen minutes longer. Just before serving beat up an egg and stir it in. Do not let it boil after the egg is put in. Season to taste with salt and pepper. MULLIGATAWNEY SOUP. Put a chicken, cut as for fricassee, into the stock pot, with a knuckle of veal and four quarts of water. Let this boil until the chicken is tender; take out the pieces of chicken, trim them neatly, and set them by to serve with the soup; let the veal sim- mer three hours. Fry an onion, a carrot, and a little celery in butter until a light brown, then add a table-spoonful of flour and brown that; now stir in a level table-spoonful of curry powder, and add slowly the stock. Return to the fire and simmer one hour. Twenty minutes before serving, strain the soup, skim oft' all the fat, and return to the fire vsdth the pieces of chicken. Serve with boiled rice. EGG BALLS FOR SOUP. (Home Cook Boole.) Boil four eggs; put into cold water; mash yolks with the yolk of one raw egg, and one tea-spoonful of flour; add pepper, salt, and chopped parsley to taste; make into balls and boil two minutes. 160 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. CARAMEL FOR COLORING SOUPS. Put one ounce of sugar in a sauce-pan over the fire; stir con- stantly until colored a rich, dark brown; add slowly one-half pint of boiling water; let it boil a few moments, then bottle for use. GENERAL REMARKS. The best roasts are the sirloin, the porterhouse, or thin end sirloin and the rib roasts. The most delicate roast is the fillet, or tenderloin. "Never allow your butcher to skewer your meat. Have it tied carefully into shape, and then cut and remove the strings before dishing. Wooden skewers invariably give an un- pleasant taste to the beef through which they pass, and any skewer makes a hole for the flow of the juices. Never wash meat in a pan of water. If it is dusty, wring a cloth out of cold water and wipe it off. Many a careless cook wastes a good pro- portion of the best part of the roast in a pan of water which is thrown away. The best pieces for boiling, stewing, a la mode, etc., are from the round, the chuck rib, and the cross rib. The choice cuts of steak are the porterhouse and the sirloin. The origin of both names is curious. The porterhouse steak is cut from the small end of the sirloin, and is so named from hav- ing been first used by the proprietor of a "Porter House" in New York city. The small size of the steak when trimmed makes it very convenient to be served to one or two persons at a time, and it soon became very popular. It is not to be recommended as an economical steak for family use, however, as there is more waste in the trimming for the table than in either the sirloin or round. The word " sirloin" is said to have originated with Charles II, who, on returning from a hunt ravenously hungry, was so de- lighted with a choice roast of beef that was served him from the loin, that he jocularly knighted it, dubbing it " Sir Loin." This is indeed a delicious morsel, and can be cut either into fine roast- ing pieces or large, handsome steaks. The round steak is also a favorite with many, and is perhaps SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 161 the most economical piece for ordinary family "use. There is a larger proportion of meat to bone, and less waste than in either of the other pieces. All steak should he cut from one-half to three-quarters of an inch thick. It should never be pounded, since then the fibres are so torn and lacerated as to afford ready escape to all the juices. I have used the word "roast" in the following receipts, al- though not strictly correct, because it is the word most generally used among housekeepers and will be perfectly understood. My receipts are all for baking meats, as so few have conveniences for roasting. TO KOAST BEEF. No. 1. — Make a bed of vegetables and sweet herbs for the bot- tom of the dripping-pan, by cutting in small pieces one-half a car- rot, one-half a turnip, one small onion, and adding to these a sprig of parsley, a little thyme, and a bay leaf. The vegetables will do without the herbs if you cannot procure them. A piece of celery (the- green top will do) is also a pleasant addition. Place these in a little mound, or bed, in the dripper (the dripper should be furnished with a rack), and, after tying the roast in good shape, place it on this bed. Do not put any water in the pan, and do not season the meat at first, as the salt extracts the juices. The temperature of the oven should be high at first. After the surface of the roast is well seared over, and the juices locked in, season the meat, reduce the heat, baste often, and cook slowly the requisite time. TO ROAST BEEF. No. 2. — Tie the roast in proper shape, rub it well with salt and pepper, then dredge it thoroughly with flour, and put it on the rack in the dripping pan. If the meat is very dry and lean, a little boiling water may be poured in the pan, but this must never be enough in quantity to touch the beef. The heat should be regulated according to instructions in No. 1. The basting should be frequent and regular after the first fifteen minutes. Allow ten minutes to the pound if liked rare; fifteen or twenty if preferred well done. The juice of the beef is the best sauce to serve it with, but if a made gravy is desired proceed as follows: 162 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. If the meat is baked after the first plan, take the vegetables out; if the roast is very fat, skim the most of this off; then put the pan on the top of the stove, stir in smoothly a table-spoonful of flour, and add, very gradualJy, stirring all the time, sufficient boiling water to make it of the proper consistency. If baked after the second plan, proceed in the same way, ex- cept that there will be no vegetables to remove. BEEF A LA MODE. Remove the bone from a small round of beef (five or six pounds); cut lardoons of dry-salted pork, or sweet, fat bacon, one-half an inch square and two or three inches long; make gashes in the beef, and insert these at regular intervals; fill the opening from which the bone was taken with rich force meat, or good bread-crumb dressing, and sew it up; rub the beef well with a mixture composed of the following ingredients: one grated nutmeg, one table-spoonful of black pepper, one of ground cloves, one of allspice, and two of salt; add parsley, thyme, and sweet marjoram (it is a good plan to roll the lar- doons in this, also, before inserting them). Put the trimmings of the pork in a saucepan, and when they are tried out, skim them from the grease, and put the beef, securely tied in shape, into the hot fat; brown it well on all sides, then dredge it with a heaping table-spoonful of flour, and turn it until that, too, is well browned; now pour in enough boiling water to about half cover the meat; pare and cut in pieces a carrot, a turnip, and an onion, and put these on top of the beef. If there is danger that the beef may burn or stick to the bottom of the kettle, slip a kitchen plate or saucer under it. Put the kettle on the back of the stove, to simmer gently and evenly four hours. Serve with the pieces of vegetables arranged on the platter around the beef with a portion of the sauce in which it is stewed; or baked onions may be served on the platter with it. FILLET OF BEEF. The fillet must be well trimmed and freed from fat and skin. Then lard it neatly; put the trimmings of pork or bacon with which you have larded it in the bottom of the dripping pan; pour into the pan a cupful of good beef stock, or hot water, SOUPS, MEATS, POULTEY, AND GAME. 163 though the stock is much the better, sprinkle salt and pepper over the fillet, put it in the pan, and bake from half to three- quarters of an hour, according to the size of the fillet, basting frequently, and adding, if necessary, a little stock occasionally. Serve with mushroom sauce. Mushroom Sauce. — Put a table-spoonful of butter and a table- spoonful of flour in a saucepan over the fire. Stir until the flour is well browned. Add very slowly the juice from half a can of mushrooms, and sufficient hot beef stock to make the sauce the proper thickness; season with pepper, salt, and a tea-spoon- ful of lemon juice; add a half can of mushrooms, simmer a few moments, pour over the fillet and serve. BOILED BEEF, NO. 1. Plunge the beef into a small quantity of boiling water, about half enough to cover it, and boil rapidly in a tightly covered ket- tle for ten minutes. Then remove the kettle to the back part of the stove and simmer gently, allowing twenty minutes to the pound. Do not season until half an hour before it is done; then the water should have boiled away sufficiently to allow the meat to brown in the bottom of the pot. Now put in a table-spoonful of butter or sweet beef drippings, and a table-spoonful of flour rubbed together. Turn the beef until thoroughly browned. If necessary add more hot water after the meat is browned, or, better still, a ladleful of good beef stock. BOILED BEEF, NO. 2. Put some trimmings of pork, or a table-spoonful of other sweet fat into the stew-pan; have ready a saucerful of sliced carrot, turnip, and onion; brown these slightly in the fat, and then skim them out. Put now the piece of meat into the hot fat and brown it well; when a rich brown dredge it with a table- spoonful of flour, and gradually, stirring all the time, sufficient boiling water to make the gravy just thick enough. Season with salt and pepper and return the vegetables to the pot; remove to the back part of the stove and simmer gently until done. Serve with the vegetables neatly arranged around the meat, and a part of the gravy poured over them. 164 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. YORKSHIRE PUDDING. To be baked under a roast of beef. It is put in the bottom of the pan, the roast lying on the rack. Bake half an hour. Ingredients. — One pint of milk, two large table-spoonfuls of flour, two eggs, one salt-spoonful of salt. Mix the flour and eggs well together; add the milk by degrees, and lastly the salt. Put it in the oven to set, then put it under the meat till one side is thoroughly browned, then turn and brown the other side. BEEP STEW. (Miss Parloa.) Ingredients. — Two pounds of beef (the round, flank, or any cheap part (if there is bone in it, two and one-half pounds will be required), one onion, two slices of carrot, two of turnip, two potatoes, three table-spoonfuls of flour, salt, pepper, one generous quart of water. Cut all the fat from the meat, and put in a stew-pan and fry gently for ten or fifteen minutes. While the fat is frying, cut the meat in small pieces, and season well with salt and pepper, and then sprinkle on two table-spoonfuls of flour. Cut the vegeta- bles into very small pieces, and put them in the pot with the fat; fry them for five minutes, stirring all the time to prevent burning. Now put in the meat, and move it about in the pot until it begins to brown ; then add the quart of boiling water. Cover over, let it boil up once, skim, and set back where it will just bubble for two and one-half hours; then add the potatoes cut in slices, and one table-spoonful of flour, which mix smooth with half a cup of cold water, pouring about one-third of the water on the flour at first, and when perfectly smooth adding the remainder. Taste now to see that the stew is seasoned enough, and if not add more salt and pepper. Let the stew come to a boil again, and cook ten minutes; then add the dumplings. Cover tight and boil rapidly ten minutes longer. Mutton, lamb, or veal can be cooked in this same manner. When veal is used, fry out two slices of pork, as there will not be much fat on the meat. Lamb and mutton must have some of the fat put one side, as there is so much on these kinds of meat they are very gross. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 165 DUMPLINGS. Ingredients. — One pint of flour measured before sifting, one- half tea-spoonful of soda, one of cream tartar, one-half of salt, one of sugar. Put all into a sieve, mix thoroughly, and run through the sieve; then Avet v^ith a small cup of milk; sprinkle a little flour on the board, turn the dough (which should have been stirred into a smooth ball with a spoon) on it, roll about half an inch thick, cut into small cakes, and cook ten minutes, as directed. Things to he carefully noted: That the dumplings boil just ten minutes; that they do not sink too deep in the stew; that the stew is boiling rapidly when they are put in; that the cover fits tight on the pot, so that the steam shall not escape; and that the pot boils all the time, so that the steam shall be kept up. These few directions carefully followed will insure success every time. BEEFSTEAK. For broiling, the coals should be clear and bright. The broiler should be heated before the steak is put on it, and then exposed to the fiercest heat of the coals and turned frequently. As soon as the surface of the steak is seared over perfectly on all sides, it can be moved a little farther from the coals and cooked more slowly. It can be tested in the following manner: Press the flat part of the blade of a kitchen knife against the surface of the steak. If on removing it the fibre springs immediately back to its place, the steak is still very rare; if it resumes its natural appearance after a second or two, it is medium rare, but if it re- tains the impression of the knife, it is thoroughly well done. Never stick a fork into a steak. If you have not a double broiler turn the steak either by putting the fork under the slice and the flat blade of the knife above it, or 5^ou may put your fork into a portion of the fat, being sure not to pierce the mus- cular fibre. Do not season the steak until it is cooked. Then place it on a hot platter and put a lump of butter, and salt and pepper on its upp3r surface; then carefully turn and treat the other side in the same wa3^ A little chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar mixed with the butter, before seasoning the steak, makes what is known as Maitre d' Hotel butter, which is considered a very great improvement upon sim- ple butter for steak. 166 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTEY, AND GAME. If the conveniences for broiling are lacking, or if it is not easy to get good coals, there is a way of cooking it in a spider or skil- let that is next to broiling, and as different as possible from the ordinary fried steak. Have the spider very hot. Do not put one particle of grease in it, but when hot put in the steak and turn continually, as in broiling, until the surface is seared; then re- duce the heat as before and cook gradually until done. Of course, the precise point when it is done varies with individual taste. It can be tested in the same way as the broiled steak. Seasoned like broiled steak after it is done. TO MAKE TOUGH STEAK TENDER. Prepare a Marinade., or pickle, of one table-spoonful of vine- gar, one of olive oil or melted butter, and a salt-spoonful of pepper. Soak the steak in this for an hour or more, turning it occasionally. The vinegar softens the fibre, the oil or butter keeps it soft, and the pepper seasons it somewhat. Never add any salt. It would be injurious in two ways: it would aid in extracting the juices, and would harden the fibre. The oil is better than the butter, as the latter hardens so soon. If butter is used, the dish containing the pickle must be kept in a warm place. The flavor of the steak will not be unpleasantly affected by this process, and the result is sure if thoroughly tried. If the steak is very tough, it is well to prepare the pickle in the eve- ning before the meat is needed for breakfast, and allow it to remain in it all night. It is much better to treat tough steak in this way than to pound it. When ready to broil it, drain it out of the pickle, and proceed exactly according to the preceding directions. BEEFSTEAK PUDDING. {English Receipt.) Line a basin with thin, plain pastry. For a small pudding, take three-fourths of a pound of rump steak, cut into thin slices without fat or gristle. Make a powder of pepper and salt; dip each slice into it, and lay round in layers in the basin until nearly full. Fill up the center with oysters or mushrooms, tie it tight in a cloth, and boil for three hours. Add water in the saucepan as required, but it must not reach the top of the pud- ding basin. Fill up the basin with good stock. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 167 BEEFSTEAK BOLLS. Cut a beefsteak quite thick, then split open lengthwise and cut in strips four or five inches wide; rub over the inside with an onion, and in each strip roll up a thin slice of bread buttered on both sides; stick two cloves in the bread, and sprinkle over it some salt, pepper, and celery seed (cut, or thin slices of celery stalk, if in season). Tie each roll with a thread; dredge it with flour, and fry it in hot butter. Then put these, when a delicate brown, into a stewjDan, with only water enough to stew them. Make a nice thickened gravy from the liquor in which the steaks were stewed, and serve with the rolls, very hot. The rolls should stew slowly two hours. Yeal or mutton is good prepared in this way. FRIZZLED BEEF FOR BREAKFAST. Brown a piece of butter the size of an egg in a saucepan, add a cup of cream or milk, one tea-spoonful of flour, mixed with a little cold milk. Have ready one-half pound of thinly shaved smoked beef, add it to the mixture, let it just come to a boil, serve. HASH AND TOAST. Toast slices of bread and put on a platter. Hash very fine cold beef or mutton; put in a saucepan, season with salt, pepper, and butter, add as much water or stock as the toast will absorb; boil ten minutes, pour over the toast, and serve immediately. TO HASH BEEF. (English Method.) Cut slices of raw beef, put them in a stew-pan with a little water, some catsup, pepper, and salt; stew them till done, thicken the gravy with a lump of butter rubbed into brown flour. POLISH HARE. Take one pound of raw beef and one pound of sausage meat, two rolls or two good slices of bread softened in milk and squeezed out well, a little onion, salt, and ground allspice, cloves, and black pepper — all to taste, and three eggs and grated bread so as to make a nice dough; form it into a loaf and fry in butter. This is most excellent. 168 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME. KLOPS OF BEEF. Take the lean part of the raw meat, from the leg, cut in thin slices, and if you have a machine for chopping use it, if not, scrape the beef free from the gristle and sinews with a knife, and chop it fine with a chopping knife. Take one-third the quantity of meat, of finely chopped suet, one-fourth of bread crumbs which have been boiled thick in a little butter, water, pepper and salt, with one or more eggs; form therefrom round balls the size of a small apple, press them rather fiat, smooth them with the blade of a knife dipped in water and '"criss-cross" them with the sharp end of a knife. Then put into a bread pan, parsley, a little onion, with tarragon, all chopped very fine, and let them stew slowly in butter; add the juice of a lemon with some white wine; lay in the klops, cover them over and then stew slowly for some minutes over a gentle fire; turn them over so the under side comes up and then stew slowly until done. Take them out and lay them in regular shape on a round dish, and mix with the sauce in which they have been stewed, some of Crosse and Blackwell's sardine or anchovy sauce; let it boil up and pour all over the klops and serve with little round potatoes fried brown in butter. BEEF OMELET, Ingredients. — Three pounds round steak put through the sau- sage mill, six butter crackers (rolled), three eggs (well beaten), one table-spoonful of salt, one tea-spoonful of sage, one tea- spoonful of pepper. Mix with two table-spoonfuls of butter and water and bake one hour. LANGUE DE BOEUF AU GRAT^, OR BAKED TON"GUE. Chop very fine a little parsley, lemon thyme, tarragon, capers and three anchovies. Soak a piece of crumb of bread in some good gravy; put it in a mortar with the herbs and a small piece of butter and thoroughly pound it together. Place a layer of this stuffing in the bottom of a fire proof baking dish. Then put slices of cooked tongue on the top of it, then another layer of stuffing. Pour over the surface a little butter melted in stock; place the dish in the oven until a nice color. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 169 STEWED TONGUE. (English Receipt.) Cut up a slice of bacon into lardoons; sprinkle the pieces with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and a little allspice. Lard an ox tongue with these and lay it in a saucepan with two slices of bacon, four small bunches of parsley, two sprigs of thyme, two carrots cut into small pieces, two small onions, a few cloves, salt and pepper. Cover with stock to which has been added a glass of sherry. Simmer five hours, keeping the saucepan well cov- ered. Strain the sauce on the tongue. POTTED MEAT. Remove all gristle, hard pieces, and fat from the meat; mince it very fine, and pound it in a mortar with a little butter, some gravy, well freed from fat, and a spoonful of Harvey or Worces- ter sauce ; beat it to a smooth paste, seasoning during the process with pounded clove or allspice, mace, or grated nutmeg, salt, and a little cayenne; put it into pots, press it close down and cover with clarified butter or with marrow fat. MEAT PIE WITH POTATO CRUST. Cut beef or mutton (either raw or cooked), season with pep- per, salt, and a finely shred onion. Line a buttered dish with mashed potato, put in the meat, with half a tea-cupful of boiling water; cover thickly with mashed potato, and bake an hour and a half. TO MAKE TOUGH MEAT TENDER. Soak it in vinegar and water; if a very large piece for about twelve hours. For ten pounds of beef use three quarts of water to three-quarters of a pint of vinegar^ and soak it for six or seven hours. TO ROAST A LEG OF VEAL. Take out the bone, and fill the cavity with a dressing made as follows: three tea-cupfuls of grated bread crumbs, one cupful finely chopped suet, one-half cupful of chopped green parsley, one table-spoonful of sweet marjoram, and summer savory, one- half tea-spoonful of pepper, one tea-spoonful of salt, one egg^ 170 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. beaten. Put scraps of pork or bacon in tlie dripping-pan. Dredge the veal thoroughly with salt, pepper, and flour; lay- slices of pork over it, and bake, allowing twenty minutes to the pound. Baste often. VEAL CUTLETS. Veal cutlets should be cut from the leg. They should be of an equal size, and must be pressed into shape with the blade of a knife, or a cutlet bat. Fry some thin slices of ham in their own fat; remove them from the saucepan; egg and bread the cutlets, and fry in the same fat. Make a gravy by adding flour to a part of the fat, then a little hot water, as in directions for beef gravy. Season with salt and pepper and a tea-spoonful of lemon juice. Serve in alternate slices of veal and ham, gar- nish with slices of lemon and the gravy. FEICANDEAU OF VEAL. {Miss Corson.) Ingredients. — Two pounds of veal, one-fourth pound of lard- ing pork, vegetables and seasonings, one-half peck of spinach. Choose a thick, compact slice of veal from about the middle of the leg, and lard it as follows: Cut the pork in strips an eighth of an inch thick and two inches long; lay the veal on a folded towel on the left hand; put a strip of pork in the larding needle, and take a stitch with it in the upper surface of the veal; as you draw the needle out, the strip of pork, or lardoon, will remain in the meat. Insert the lardoons in even rows along the cutlet, making as many rows as its width will permit. Put into a pan some scraps of vegetables and the trimmings of pork; lay the cutlet on them and cook it in a moderate oven, taking care not to let it burn, and seasoning it when half done with white pep- per and salt. Meantime wash and trim the spinach, put it into well salted boiling water, and boil it rapidly, with the cover oft", until it is tender, which will be in from three to seven minutes, according to the age of the spinach; while it is boiling press it under the water with a wooden spoon. As soon as it is tender drain it in a colander, run plenty of cold water over it, chop it fine, and rub it through a sieve with a wooden spoon. When the veal is done, warm the spinach with a table-spoonful of but- SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME- 171 ter and a salt-spoonful of salt; or take up the meat and keep it hot while you strain its gravy and warm the spinach in it. Ar- range the puree of spinach neatly on a dish, lay the fricandeau on the spinach, and serve it hot. FRICAKDEAU OF VEAL. Cut slices an inch thick and six inches long, lard them with slips of lean bacon, bake them a light brown, stew them well in seasoned stock made as thick as rich cream, serve them up hot, and lay around the dish sorrel stewed with butter, pepper and salt till quite dry. VEAL CROQUETTES. Dredge pieces of cold veal with flour; season with salt and pepper, and chop very fine; add enough warm water to bind to- gether, form into cork-shaped rolls, dip into well beaten egg^ roll in cracker or fine bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard. BLANQUETTE OF VEAL. (Miss Corson.) Ingredients. — Three pounds breast of veal, two eggs, one ounce of butter, flour, vegetables, and seasonings. Cut three pounds of breast of veal in pieces two inches square, put them in enough cold water to cover them, with one salt- spoonful of white pepper, one tea-spoonful of salt, a bouquet of sweet herbs, half a carrot scraped, a turnip peeled, and an onion stuck with three cloves; bring slowly to a boil, skim care- fully until no more scum rises, and cook gently for thirty or forty minutes until the veal is tender; then drain it, returning the broth to the fire, and rinsing the meat in cold water to whiten it. Meantime make a white sauce by stirring together over the fire one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour until they are smooth, then adding a pint and a half of the broth gradually; season with a little more salt and pepper if they are required, and a quarter of a salt-spoonful of grated nutmeg. When the sauce has boiled up well, stir into it with an egg-whip the yolks of two raw eggs, put in the meat and cook for five min- vites, stirring occasionally. A few mushrooms are a great im- provement to the hlanquette; or it may be served with two table- 172 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. spoonfuls of chopped parsley sprinkled over it after it is put on a hot platter. VEAL OLIVES. Take the bone out of the fillet and cut thin slices the size of the leg, beat them flat, rub them with the yolk of an egg well beaten, lay on each piece a thin slice of boiled ham, sprinkle salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, chopped parsley and bread crumbs over all, roll them up tight, tie them, rub them with egg, and roll them in bread crumbs, lay them on a tin dripping-pan, and set them in the oven. When brown on one side turn them, and when sufficiently brown cover them with stock and simmer un- til tender. TO STUFF AND EOAST A CALF'S LIVER. Take a fresh calf's liver, and, having made a hole in it with a large knife run in lengthways, but not quite through, have ready force meat, or stuffing, made of part of the liver parboiled, fat of bacon minced very fine, and sweet herbs powdered; add to these some grated bread and ground spice, with pepper and salt. With this stuffing fill the hole in the liver, which must be larded with fat bacon, and then roast, flouring it well and basting with butter till it is cooked enough. This is to be served hot with gravy sauce. VEAL LOAF. Ingredients. — Three pounds of veal and two thick slices of pork, chopped fine, two eggs, two Boston crackers rolled, three tea-spoonfuls each of salt and pepper, one-fourth of a nutmeg. Make into a loaf, dredge with flour. Bake from two and one- half to three hours. Baste often, and serve with meat gravy. Very nice hot or cold for tea. SWEET-EREADS. Sweet- breads, if properly cooked, make one of the most deli- cate dishes that can be put upon the table, but care must be taken in selecting them as there are two kinds, and it is only one kind that is very good. Ask for the "heart sweet-bread" and select the largest. There are many ways to cook them. This is a good way: Parboil the sweet-breads and put them into a stew- SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 173 pan, and season with salt and cayenne to taste; place over a slow fire; mix one large table-spoonful of browned flour with a small piece of butter, add a leaf of mace; stir butter and gravy well together and let all stew for half an hour; then set the stew-pan in the oven and when the sweet-breads are nicely browned place them on a dish. Pour the gravy into half a pint of stewed tomatoes, thickened with a tea-spoonful of flour and a small piece of butter, and season. Strain it through a wire sieve into a stew-pan, let it come to a boil, and stir until done; then pour over the sweet-breads and serve very hot. HOW TO DEESS SWEET-BREADS. 1. When well washed and cleared from skin, they may be larded with delicate strips of very fresh bacon or not, according to taste. Boil till nearly done, then put them into a thickly buttered deep dish which will stand the oven (metal or earthen- ware), strewing the bottom of the dish with thin slices of carrot and onion, add a ladleful of good broth, salt and pepper, and brown in the oven till of a dark golden color. Take out the sweet-breads, strain the juice, adding some good veal stock and a few drops of lemon juice, and serve. 2. Butter a stew-pan or good-sized saucepan thickly, line it with slices of carrot and onion, put in the sweet-breads prepared as above, i. e., washed and freed from skins, and larded, but not boiled. Let them brown well over in a brisk oven, shaking oc- casionally to prevent adherence, and turning if necessary, so that they may brown evenly on all sides. When of a deep golden hue all over moisten with three or four table-spoonfuls of thick cream, add enough veal stock to nearly cover the sweet-breads, cover tightly, and put live coals on the lid (this can be best done in a braizing kettle); place over a moderate fire, and let them stew gently for nearly an hour. To serve them, strain the sauce and add a little lemon juice. They are very good also when cooked in this way and served upon fresh young peas, spinach, or sorrel done in the French way. It is essential that the stock used should be veal stock, because one of the first rules of all good cookery is that all meats should be cooked in their own sauces, i. e., that the sauce should be of the same meat as the thing cooked. 174 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. TO FRY LIVER. Fry first some thin slices of bacon ; take them out and keep them warm until required. Plunge the slices of liver for a mo- ment into boiling water, drain and roll them in flour; fry in the fat left from the bacon. Arrange the liver and bacon in alter- nate slices; garnish with lemon and parsley and serve smoking hot. If the flavor of onion is liked a sliced onion may be fried with the liver. ROAST LEG OF MUTTON". Bone the leg, or take out the first joint, and fill the cavity with a bread crumb or force meat dressing. Dredge with flour, salt, and pepper, and roast the same as beef. Allow fifteen minutes to the pound. BOILED LEG OF MUTTON. Plunge into boiling water sufficient to cover it well; let it boil up and skim; add a little salt, remove to the back of the stove and simmer until tender. A handful of rice thrown into the pot whitens the meat. Serve with caper sauce. (See Savory Sauces.) MUTTON CHOPS. Broil like beefsteak, and serve with parsley. AN EXCELLENT WAY TO COOK A BREAST OF MUTTON. (Mrs. Buton.) Ingredients. — Breast of mutton, two onions, salt and pepper to taste, flour, a bunch of savory herbs, green peas. Cut the mutton into pieces about two inches square, and let it be tolerably lean ; put it into a stew-pan with a little fat or but- ter, and fry it a nice brown; then dredge in a little flour, slice the onions, and put them with the herbs in the stew-pan; pour in sufficient y^oiev just to cover the meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender. Take out the meat, strain, and skim off all the fat from the gravy, and put both the meat and gravy back into the stew-pan; add about a quart of young green peas, and let them boil gently until done. Two or three slices of bacon added and stewed with the mutton give additional flavor; and to ensure the peas being a beautiful green color, they SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 175 may be boiled in water separately, and added to the stew at the moment of serving. HARICOT MUTTON. Cut pieces from the breast or scrag of mutton and fry them a good brown; dredge well with flour and add enough boiling water to cover them. Stick an onion with three cloves; prepare a bouquet of herbs; pare and cut in dice a turnip and two car- rots; put these with a blade of mace, salt and pepper to taste in the stew, and simmer gently until the mutton is tender. Re- move the herbs and the mace. Serve on a hot platter surrounded by the vegetables and a part of the gravy. RICE CUTLETS. One-quarter pound of boiled rice, one-quarter pound of bread crumbs, one-quarter pound of mutton, one-quarter pound of beef, one small onion chopped very fine, one gill of stock or cream, salt and pepper to taste. Shape into cutlets, egg and bread crumb, and fry in hot lard. Serve with fried parsley. BOILED LEG OF LAMB. (English Receipt.) Time, one hour and a quarter after the water simmers. Select a fine fresh leg of lamb weighing about five pounds; soak it in warm water for rather more than two hours, then wrap it in a cloth and boil it slowly for an hour and a quarter. When done, dish it up and garnish with a border of carrots, turnips, or cauli- flower around it. Wind a cut paper around the shank bone and serve it with plain parsley and butter sauce poured over it. ROAST LEG OF LAMB. Leg of lamb may be stuffed and roasted like leg of mutton. If is just as well not to stuff" it, however. It should be done rathei rare, just pink on the inside. Serve it with mint sauce. (See Savory Sauces.) SHOULDER OF LAMB. The shoulder blade should be removed, and the opening stuffed, then the shoulder is roasted according to the directions for roast leg of mutton. 176 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. LAMB CHOPS. These are broiled for ten or fifteen minutes, turning often, season well witli butter, salt, and pepper. LAMB CROQUETTES. These are made exactly like chicken croquettes, substituting cold lamb for the cold chicken. ROAST PORK. Roast the same as beef, except sage is added to the flour with which pork is dredged. Pork also requires to be very well done — from twenty to thirty minutes should be allowed to the pound, according to the thickness of the roast. Serve with baked apples. BOILED HAM. Scrub it well with a brush kept for the purpose. Mere wash- ing will not suffice. Put over in cold water and boil from three to five hours, according to size. A ham weighing twelve pounds will take five hours. When done take out of the boiling water and plunge in cold water; remove the skin carefully and trim the underside of the ham. Then put it in a dripping-pan, and cover with grated bread crumbs and chopped lemon, and set it in the oven to brown. Trim the bone with cut tissue paper. PORK SPARE RIBS. Broil or fry them and serve with apple sauce. They are more delicate broiled. Make sure they are well done. TENDERLOIN'S. Broil or fry; serve without gravy and with baked apples. TO PRY SALT PORK. Cut the slices very thin; soak them in sweet milk an hour, or in boiling water a few moments; cut off the rinds; have the spider hot, and brown them quickly on both sides. TO BROIL SALT PORK. Prepare in the same way and broil in a double broiler over a good clear bed of coals; serve immediately on a hot platter Very nice. SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 177 TO FRY HAM. If the ham is salty and hard, soak some time in sweet milk, cut the slices thin; have the spider hot and fry quickly. Serve at once with a fried or poached egg on each slice of ham. BROILED HAM. Prepare as to fry, and broil quickly and serve at once. BACOK ' This is broiled or fried like salt pork. i PORK AND BEANS. (Miss Parloa.) Examine and wash one quart of dry beans (the pea bean is the best), and then put them in a pan with six quarts of cold water; let them soak in this over night; in the morning wash them in another water, and place them on the fire with six quarts of cold water and a pound of salt pork. If they are the present year's beans, they will cook enough in half an hour; if older, one hour. Drain them and put half in the bean pot; then gash the pork, put it in, cover with the remainder of the beans, one table- spoonful of molasses, and one of salt, and cover with boiling water. Bake ten hours; watch them carefully, and do not let them cook dry. DEVILED HAM. One pint of boiled ham chopped fine with a good proportion of fat, one table-spoonful of flour, one-half cup of boiling water. Press in a mold, and cut in slices. HAM OR TONGUE TOAST. Cut a slice of bread, toast and butter it, take a small quantity of the remains of either ham or tongue, and chop very fine; have ready chopped, also very fine, two hard-boiled eggs; put both meat and eggs into a stew-pan with a little butter, salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper. When thoroughly hot, spread it on the toast, and serve immediately. 178 SODPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. EOAST TURKEY. Dressing. — To one cup of fine bread crumbs allow one-third of a cup of finely chopped suet, four sprigs of parsley, a tea- spoonful of sweet marjoram, summer savory and thyme, half a tea-spoonful of salt, a salt-spoonful of pepper, and half a beaten egg. Use no water, and be sure that the crumbs are very fine. Good dressing is never solid and leathery, but crumbs in the spoon when it is taken from the fowl. If the flavor of onion is liked, a tea-spoonful of chopped onion may be added to the above. Never put sage in stuffing for fowls. It is too strong, and should only be used with such rich and greasy meats as pork. The turkey should be carefully picked, singed and drawn. In drawing, the first cut should be made lengthwise in the back of the neck. The windpipe and crop should be drawn from this opening; then cut inside the right thigh as you hold the turkey towards you, down carefully to the vent and clear around it, tak- ing great pains not to cut into the entrails, and to loosen them, at the vent, perfectly from the body. Now put the forefinger in the opening at the neck and loosen the liver, heart, etc., from the carcase. Then introduce the hand into the opening below, loosen the ligaments that bind the entrails to the back, and then grasp firmly the mass from the top, and draw evenly and gently the whole contents of the body out. The next step is to sepa- rate the liver, etc., from the rest. This must be done with care, so as not to break the gall bladder, which lies directly under the liver. The heart must also be cut away and squeezed gently be- tween the fingers, to force out any clot of blood that may have lodged there; and, lastly, the gizzard must be freed from the sur- rounding membrane and fat, and carefully cut open so as not to split th.e inside skin which holds the contents, as then the little sack can be removed whole. Unless the turkey is very rank it does not need other washing than is recommended for beef. If it is rank, wash it in strong soda water and wipe dry. The gib- lets should, in this latter case, be soaked in soda water ten or fif- teen minutes. Now stuff the craw, pat it into shape, and draw the skin over the neck, lap it in the back where the opening was SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 179 made, and fasten it with a single stitch, tying the ends. Then fill the body of the fowl and sew the opening up. Now press the legs back towards the upper part of the body, and put your trussing needle clear through the carcase, just at the second joint, then draw the cord the needle is threaded with through, and take the next stitch through the wings, putting the needle first through the upper joint, and then bending the tip of the wing back and pushing the needle through that, then through the body just below or inside of the wishbone, then through the tip of the other wing, and finally through the upper joint. Now take the needle ofi", and tie the thread which you have brought through the upper part of the body to that which you started with on the same side of the body. Now turn the turkey over, and after threading the needle again, take one stitch through the back, just above the oil sack, which must always be cut out, and, turning the fowl back, tie the ends of the legs down close to the body. A long trussing needle is, of course, needed to pre- pare a fowl in this manner. It is something like a mattress needle, and a very good home-made one can be manufactured from one of the springs that give an umbrella shape. Take one of these wires from an old umbrella, sharpen the end, and you have a capital trussing needle. The turkey is now ready for the oven. Put some scraps of pork in the bottom of the dripping-pan, put a slice of pork under each wing and a slice over the breast ; then put the turkey in the dripping-pan, in a pretty hot oven for the first fifteen minutes. After that moderate the heat, and allow from fifteen to twenty minutes to the pound, according to the age of the fowl, in a slow oven. Baste frequently with the hot drippings from the pork. A turkey should be cooked sloivhj and hasted freqiienthj. A large turkey needs four hours at least. Rub the inside with salt and pepper before stuffing. Half an hour before taking out dredge well with flour and baste with melted butter. Gravy. — When the turkey is in the oven, put the giblets, or the heart, liver, gizzard, and neck, over the fire in cold water; let them come gradually to a boil, and then simmer until tender. Then chop the heart and gizzard fine, and mash the liver, and put all into the bottom of a gravy boat. Now brown a table- spoonful of flour and a table-spoonful of l)utter in a saucepan, 180 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. and then add very gradually the liquor in which the giblets were boiled. When the turkey is taken up, the threads removed, and it is ready for the table, pour the hot gravy into the gravy boat, over the giblets, and serve. Serve with cranberries or with currant jelly. Sausages are often used to garnish turkeys and chickens. BOILED TURKEY WITH OYSTER SAUCE. Select a plump turkey for boiling; clean and singe carefully; cut off the head and neck and the first joint of the legs. Stuff with a dressing made of bread, chopped celery, a little pork or' butter, salt and pepper, and a generous allowance of raw oysters. Truss carefully, so as to make it look round and plump. Sew it tightly in a strong cloth, cover with boiling water, and simmer gently two hours. Be careful to skim thoroughly; if boiled hard it will be tough. When done take out of the cloth and garnish with green celer}-- tops. For the oyster sauce or gravy, take two dozen large fresh oys- ters, put them in a stew-pan, drain the liquor on them ; let them just come to a scald, but not boil. As soon as they are scalded take out the oysters; have ready a tea-spoonful of flour, mix smooth with a small cup of milk, and salt and pepper to taste, and a tea-spoonful of butter; add this to the liquor in which the oysters were scalded. Let all boil up once, put in the oysters, and serve. TO BOIL A TURKEY WITH OYSTER SAUCE. Grate a loaf of bread, chop a score or more of oysters fine, add nutmeg, pepper and salt to your taste, mix it up into a light force meat, with a quarter of a pound of butter, a spoonful or two of cream, and three eggs; stuff the craw with it, and make the rest up into balls and boil them; sew up the turkey, without stuffing the body, dredge it well with flour, put it in a kettle of cold water, cover it, and set it on the fire; skim it, let it boil very slowly an hour, then take off your kettle and keep closely covered; if it be of a middle size let it stand in the hot water half an hour, the steam being kept in will stew it enough, make it rise, keep the skin whole, tender, and very white; when you dish it pour on a little oyster sauce, lay the balls around, and serve it up with the rest of the sauce in a boat. The turkey SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 181 should be set on in time so that it may stew as above; it is the best way to boil one to perfection. Put it over the fire to heat iust before you dish it up. OYSTER SAUCE FOR TURKEY. Put a pint of oysters in a bowl, wash them out of their own iquor and put them in another bowl; when the liquor has set- tled pour it off into a saucepan with a little white gravy and a tea-spoonful of lemon juice; thicken it with flour and a good lump of butter, boil it three or four minutes, put in a spoonful of good cream, add the oysters, keep shaking them over the fire till quite hot, but don't let them boil, for it will make them hard and shrivel them. ROAST CHICKEN. A chicken is drawn, stuffed, and baked exactly like a turkey. BR0W:5T FRICASSEE OF CHICKEJ^". Try the grease from scraps of pork and put into a spider or saucepan. Cut up the chicken into as even sized pieces as possible, wipe dry, and then brown evenly and thoroughly in the hot fat. Add a heaping table-spoonful of flour, and turn the pieces of chicken several times until the flour is browned, being very careful not to scorch it. Now pour over the whole enough boiling water to cover it, and remove to the back part of the stove, add pepper and salt to taste, and let it simmer until ten- der. This is very nice served in a border of rice. WHITE FRICASSEE OF CHICKEN. Cut up the chicken as before, cover with boiling water, and let simmer until tender. Add a cupful of sweet cream, salt and pepper to taste, and a table-spoonful of flour wet in a little cold milk, and stirred until perfectly smooth. Let it boil up, and then pour over slices of biscuit arranged nicely on a platter. FRIED CHICKEN. Cut up the chicken as for fricassee. See that every piece is wiped dry. Put equal quantities of lard and butter into a spider and set it on the stoye to heat. Have a plate with a cupful of sifted cracker crumbs which are well seasoned with pepper and 182 SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. salt. Roll the pieces of chicken in this, and then fry them in the hot grease, turning often, and browning evenly and well. PRESSED CHICKEN. Boil two chickens until dropping to pieces. Pick, the meat off the bones, taking out all skin; season with salt and pepper, put in a deep tin or mold. Take one-fourth of a box of gelatine dissolved in a little warm water, add to the gravy left in the kettle, pour over the chicken in the mold, and set away to cool. When cold remove from the mold and cut in slices. JELLIED CHICIvEN. (Canadian Receipt.) Boil the chicken as above and until the water is reduced to a pint. Pick the meat from the bones in fair sized pieces, remov- ing all gristle, skin, and bone. Skim the fat from the liquor, add an ounce of butter, a little pepper and salt, and half a packet of Nelson's gelatine. Put the cut up chicken into a mold, wet with cold water, and when the gelatine has dissolved pour the liquor hot over the chicken. Turn out when cold. CHICKEN PATTIES. Mince cold chicken and stir it into a white sauce made of milk thickened with corn starch and flavored with pepper, salt, and butter. Line small patty pans with puff paste, bake first, then fill with the mixture and set in a hot oven a few minutes to brown. CHICKEN LOAE. (Canadian Receipt.) Boil a chicken in as little water as possible, until the meat can be easily picked from the bones. Cut it up finely, then put it back into the saucepan with two ounces of butter and a season- ing of pepper and salt. Grease a square mold, and cover the bot- tom with slices of hard boiled egg; pour in the chicken. Place a weight on it and set it aside to cool, when it will turn out. MACAEONI AND CIIICIC2N. Line a tin quart mold with butter about one-half an inch thick. Cut macaroni, previously parboiled in salt and water. S0UP3^ MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 183 into inch lengths and stick them close together all over the mold. Chop cold chicken or turkey very fine, moisten it with milk or gravy and season well with curry or pepper. Fill the mold with this mixture, cover closely, and cook long enough to make the macaroni very tender. Serve with a white sauce made as follows: White Sauce — Ingredients. — One tea-spoonful of butter, one table-spoonful of flour, one pint of milk^ salt and pepper to taste, one table-spoonful of grated cheese. Rub the butter and flour together in a saucepan over the fire, until the mixture bubbles, add the milk very slowly, stirring all the time until of the proper consistency. Add salt and pepper and a table-spoonful of grated cheese. CHICKEN" CEOQUETTES. Chop the meat off from one cold boiled chicken very fine; add one-half a tea-cupful of chopped suet, one tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, one-fourth of a nutmeg, grated, one tea-spoonful of chopped mushroom, one tea-spoonful of chopped onion, one tea- cupful of boiled rice (fresh boiled and hot), the juice and grated rind of half a lemon, salt, cayenne, and black pepper to taste; mix well together, and add just enough sweet cream to make ifc right for molding. Form into balls, or rolls, and fry in hot lard. Cold beef, cold veal, and cold lamb can be made into croquettes in exactly the same way, substituting either for the chicken. The canned mushrooms can be used, or they can be omitted alto- gether. CHICKEN CURRY. Cut one large onion, or two small ones, in slices; put a heap- ing table-spoonful of butter in a stew-pan, and when it bubbles, add the onions and brown them ; now skim out the onions, put in the pieces of chicken, cut as for ar fricassee (one chicken), and brown them thoroughly on all sides; when they are brown, dredge them with a table-spoonful of flour, and turn until this too is brown. Pour boiling water slowly over this, stirring all the time, using enough to just cover the chicken; return the onions, add a bouquet of herbs if possible, and simmer slowly until the chicken is tender. Half an hour before serving mix a table-spoonful of curry powder to a smooth paste with some of 184 SOUPS, ME.iTS, POULTRY, AND GAME. the gravy, stir it into tlie stew, add the juice of half a lemon, and take out the herbs. Cover tightly until done. Serve in a border of rice. A sour apple fried with the onion is an improvement. Half a tea-cupful of grated, fresh cocoanut is also frequently added. ROAST GOOSE. Select a goose with a clean white skin, plump breast, and yel- low feet; if the feet are red the bird is old. Pluck, singe, draw, and carefully wipe the goose; cut off the neck close to the back, leaving the skin long enough to turn over. Cut off the feet at the first joint, and separate the pinions at the first joint. Beat the breast pin flat with a rolling-pin, and after stuffing truss according to directions for turkey. Prepare the stuffing accord- ing to directions, adding sage and onion, a tea-spoonful of the former, a dessert-spoonful of the latter. Dredge the top of the goose with salt and pepper. Put a cupful of boiling water in the bottom of the dripping-pan. Baste often. A large goose will require two hours. If you have any suspicion that it is tough, pour over it a cupful of vinegar and rub it well in, before putting it in the pan. DUCKS. These are prepared, stuffed and baked in the same way. They are generally preferred under done, half an hour being allowed for an average sized duck. If they are old it is better to parboil them slightly before baking. STEWED QUAIL. Halve them, lay them in a deep kettle, cover with boiling water, and stew gently; skim thoroughly, season with salt and pepper, and when nearly done thicken with butter and flour rubbed together, made into a paste, and poured slowly in. Boil for five minutes after. TO ROAST QUAIL DOWN IN" A FLAT BOTTOMED POT. Stuff the birds with a bread crumb dressing, seasoned accord- ing to directions and adding a little nutmeg; tie them up; rub them well with salt, pepper, butter, and flour, and put them in the pot, adding a little boiling water, and a heaping table-spoon- SOUPS, MEATS, POULTRY, AND GAME. 185 ful of butter; cook them very slowly, closely covered, turn often, and make them a light brown. Serve in the gravy from the pot. BROILED QUAIL. Split them open down the back; dip them in melted butter, and broil, turning frequently. Have ready slices of buttered toast ; lay each quail on a slice, butter it well, add salt and pep- per, and serve. A still nicer way is to have a stew-pan over the fire containing hot cream salted to taste; when the quail is broiled, lay it for a moment in the cream, put it on the toast, and then cover with the hot cream. PEAIRIE CHICKENS. These can be cooked in exactly the same way as quails. SADDLE OF VENISON. No. 1. — Select a saddle of fresh juicy venison weighing about eight pounds. Season with pepper and salt; lard it with pork according to directions for larding; dredge with flour; sprinkle a little water over it, and put it into a hot, steady oven, with a cupful of hot water in the bottom of the dripping-pan. Bake it according to directions for roast beef, basting verij often. Allow fifteen minutes to the pound. Always serve it steaming hoti and with currant or grape jelly. A haunch of venison, the neck, and the leg are roasted in the same way. SADDLE OF YENISON. No. 2. — Rub it well with butter; make a paste of flour, salt, and water; roll it out and entirely cover the saddle; put it in a mod- erate oven and baste often; allow twenty minutes to the pound; fifteen minutes before serving, take off the paste, dredge the saddle well with flour, baste well, and then when nicely browned and frothed on top, serve with jelly. VENISON STEAK Have the gridiron hot and well greased with butter or the fat of steak, turn often, and allow from five to ten minutes, accord- ing as the steak is liked rare or well done. When cooked to your taste take it off the gridiron, season with salt, pepper, and butter, and cover it up for five minutes in the oven. OHAPTEE XIII. SAVORY SAUCES. DEAWN BUTTEE. iLLOW three times as mucli butter as flour by weight. Put two-thirds of the butter in a saucepan and stir until it bubbles; then mix in the flour and stir constantly for about five minutes, being very careful the flour does not brown. When the flour is well cooked add slowly, stirring constantly, enough boiling water, or white stock, to make the sauce like thick cream. Let this boil up, then draw to one side of the stove and stir in the rest of the butter. Serve at once. This is the foundation o£ many white sauces. Add hard boiled eggs chopped fine and you have egg sauce; add capers and caper sauce is the result; so a flavoring of anchovy gives anchovy sauce, etc., etc. . CAPEE SAUCE. Put two ounces of butter in a saucepan with two table-spoon- fuls of flour and stir well on the fire until the mixture assumes a brown color; add rather less than a pint of stock, free from fat, season with a little pepper, salt, and Worcester sauce. When the sauce boils throw in plenty of capers, let it boil once more, and it is ready. MINT SAUCE FOE LAMB. Two table-spoonfuls of chopped mint, one table-spoonful of sugar, one-fourth of a pint of vinegar; add water and heat. CHILI SAUCE. Eight good sized ripe tomatoes, one onion, one green pepper. Pare and slice the tomatoes and chop the onion and pepper. 187 188 SAVORY SAUCES. Stew all together until the peppers are done, two-thirds of a cup of vinegar, one-half a cup of sugar. Spice to taste with cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and mace. After adding these cook till thick. CHILI SAUCE. Ingredients. — Forty-eight ripe tomatoes, ten peppers, two large onions, two quarts of vinegar, four table-spoonfuls of salt, two tea-spoonfuls each of cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, one of sugar. Slice the tomatoes, chop the peppers and onions together; add the vinegar and spices, and boil until thick enough. Mustard and curry powder improves this. SAUCE FOE COLD SALMON. The yolks of two eggs, half a tea-cupful of cream, a little cayenne pepper and salt. Mix them together and simmer in a pan, stirring all the time till it thickens. When cold add two table-spoonfuls of vinegar. TAETAKE SAUCE. Put the yolks of four eggs into a basin with salt and mustard to taste, and stir olive oil into them, one table-spoonful at a time. After each table-spoonful of olive oil put in one tea-spoonful of tarragon vinegar. Keep on doing this until the sauce is of the de- sired consistency; then add pepper, the least bit of cayenne, and a couple of shallots or a few pickled gherkins or onions chopped very fine. SAUCE FOR FISH. Ingredients. — Two ounces of butter, one-half cup of vinegar, one tea-spoonful of ground mustard, one tea-spoonful of salt, a little pepper. Let this boil and add one cup of milk and yolks of two Qggs. Let this just boil, stirring all the time. EGG SAUCE FOR A SALT COD. . Boil four eggs hard; first, half chop the white, then put in the yolks and chop them both together, but not very small; put them into a pint of good drawn butter and let it boil up, then pour it on the fish. SAVORY SAUCES. 189 PISH SAUCE. Yolks of two raw eggs; add salad oil, drop by drop, until it is of the consistency of thick cream; add the juice of half a lemon. MOCK OYSTER SAUCE. Ingredients. — One tea-cupful of good gravy, one tea-cupful of milk, three dessert-spoonfuls of anchovy sauce, two dessert- spoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, two ounces of butter, one tea- spoonful of pounded mace, whole black pepper. All to be boiled until thoroughly mixed. BREAD SAUCE. Put into half a pint of cold milk one small onion, three or four cloves, a blade of mace, a few pepper corns, and a little salt. Set the whole to boil, then strain the milk over a tea-cupful of fine bread crumbs. Stir well on the fire for a few minutes, add- ing at the time of serving either a small pat of butter or a table- spoonful of cream. WHITE SAUCE EOR GAME. Boil an onion in a pint of milk until it is like a jelly; then strain and stir into the boiling milk sifted bread crumbs, enough to make it like thick cream when well beaten. Beat while boil- ing, and season with salt, black and cayenne pepper, and a little nutmeg. SAUCE FOR TURKEY. Cut the crumb of a loaf of bread into thin slices, put it in cold water with a few pepper corns, a little salt and onion; then boil till the bread is quite soft, beat it well, put in a quarter of a pound of butter and two spoonfuls of thick cream, and put it in the dish with the turkey. CELERY SAUCE. Wash and pare a large bunch of celery very clean, cut it into little bits, and boil it gently till it is tender; add half a pint of cream, some mace, nutmeg, and a small piece of butter rolled in flour; then boil it gently. This is a good sauce for roasted or boiled fowls, turkeys, par- tridges, or any other game. 190 SAVORY SAUCES. SAVORY GRAVY. Mince one onion fine; fry it in butter to a dark brown, and stir in a table-spoonful of flour. After one minute add half a pint of broth, or stock, pepper, salt, and a very small quantity of Worcester sauce. PLAIN" DUTCH SAUCE, OR SAUCE HOLLANDAISE. Pour half a pint of drawn butter into a small saucepan, add four raw yolks of eggs, a little grated nutmeg, a little pepper, two ounces of fresh butter, and a little salt; stir the sauce briskly on the fire in order to set the yolks; pass it through a fine sieve, add the juice of half a lemon, and serve at once. SAUCE HOLLANDAISE. (Dubois' Receipt as given hif Mrs. Henderson.) Pour four table-spoonfuls of good vinegar into a small stew-pan and add a few pepper corns and some salt; let the liquid boil until it is reduced to half; let it cool, then add to it the well beaten yolks of four or five eggs, four ounces of good butter, more salt if necessary, and a very little nutmeg. Set the stew-pan on a very slow fire, and stir the liquid until it is about as thick as cream; immediately remove it. Now put this stew-pan or cup into another pan containing a little warm water kept at the side of the fire. Work the sauce briskly with a spoon, or with a little whisk, so as to get it frothy, but adding little bits of butter, in all about three ounces. When the sauce has become light and smooth it is ready for use. TOMATO SAUCE. Stew six tomatoes, or half a can of tomatoes, with a spray of parsley (if it can be had), two cloves, a tea-spoonful of chopped onion, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and a salt-spoon of pepper, half an hour. Strain through a sieve and add a cupful of good beef stock, if you have it. It is, however, very good without. Now put a table-spoonful cf butter and a table-spoonful of flour in a saucepan over the fire, and mix well and cook thoroughly. Add the tomato pulp by degrees, stirring constantly. Cook a few moments. SAVORY SAUCES. 191 MUSHROOM CATSUP. Put alternate layers of mushrooms and salt in an earthen jar, . using at least a quarter of a pound of salt to two quarts of mush- rooms. Let them stand for half a day, then cut the mushrooms in small pieces, and let them stand for three days, stirring them well once a day; then strain them, and to every quart of juice add half an ounce each of allspice and ginger, half a tea-spoonful of pow- dered mace, and one tea-spoonful of cayenne pepper. Put this all in a stone jar, set in a kettle of boiling water, and let it boil for five hours briskly; then let it simmer in a porcelain kettle for three-quarters of an hour; let it stand all night in a cool place; in the morning drain off the clear liquor and bottle it, Cork the bottles and seal tightly. The smaller bottles you use the bet- ter, as the catsup will not keep its distinctive flavor long if ex- posed to the air. CURRANT CATSUP. Six pounds of currants, three pounds of brown sugar, one pint of vinegar, one table-spoonful each of cloves and cinnamon, one- half table-spoonful each of allspice and black pepper, and a little cayenne pepper. Boil all together well from a half to three- quarters of an hour. TOMATO CATSUP. Take a bushel of tomatoes, and cut them in small pieces and boil until soft; then rub them through a wire sieve, add two quarts of the best cider vinegar, one pint of salt, one-quarter of a pound of whole pepper, one-quarter of a pound of allspice, one table-spoonful of black pepper, one good-sized pod of red pepper (whole), and five heads of garlic. Mix together and boil until reduced to one-half the quantity. When cold strain through a colander and bottle, sealing the corks. It will keep for two or three years as fresh as when made. TOMATO CATSUP. Ingredients. — One peck of tomatoes, one quarter of a pound each of pepper, allspice, and white mustard seed, two ounces of cloves, six table-spoonfuls of salt, half a gallon of vinegar. Boil slowly six hours; cool and then bottle. CHAPTEE XIV. FISH AND OYSTERS. TO BAKE FISH. not remove head or tail; stuflp, sew, or wind a string around the fish. Lay pieces of sliced pork across the top; sprinkle with water, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs; pour hot water into the pan; baste often while baking; serve with drawn butter sauce. If not frequently basted, the fish will be too dry. BAKED FISH. A fish weighing from four to six pounds is a good size to bake. It should be cooked whole to look well. Make a dressing of bread crumbs, butter, salt, and a little salt pork, chopped fine (parsley and onions if you please); mix this with one egg. Fill the body, sew it up and lay it in a large dripper; put across it some pieces of salt pork to flavor it ; put a pint of water and a little salt in the pan. Bake it an hour and a half; baste fre- quently; after taking up the fish, thicken the gravy and pour over it. CREAM GRAVY FOR BAKED FISH. Have ready in saucepan one cup of cream diluted with a few spoonfuls of hot water. Stir in carefully two table-spoonfuls of butter and a little chopped parsley ; heat this in a vessel filled with hot water. Pour in the gravy from the dripping-pan of fish. Boil thick. TO BOIL FISH. Except salmon. Place in a fish-kettle with salted cold water. Add a little vinegar or lemon juice. Boil gently, not to break. 13 193 194 FISH AND OSYTERS. Remove from the water as soon as thoroughly done, and drain before the fire. A little onion, parsley, carrots or cloves, with seasoning, adds to flavor and appearance. Sauce. — Egg sauce, or Sauce HoUandaise. (See chapter on savory sauces.) BOILED FISH. Choose a good sized fish; lay it in the fish-kettle with plenty of well salted cold water; when the water boils draw the kettle aside, lift up the fish and let it drain, covered up, over the water until the time of serving. Serve with White Sauce. — Melt an ounce of butter in a saucepan, add to it a dessert-spoonful of flour, mix thoroughly; add salt and white pepper to taste, and about a tumblerful of boiling water; stir on the fire until it thickens. Then take the saucepan off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained. TO FEY FISH. Cut this fish in even sized, regular pieces, egg and bread crumb and fry in hot lard. SCALLOPED FISH. Take any remains of cooked fish and pick them to pieces; put fine bread crumbs in the bottom of a deep dish, then a layer of the fish with a few table-spoonfuls of drawn butter, then the bread crumbs, and so on, alternately, until the dish is full. Let the top layer be bread crumbs, over which scatter little lumps of butter. Bake half an hour. EUSSIAN" FISH. Tal^e a pound of any cold fish, remove the bones and skin and flake it; place at the bottom of a pie dish about an inch thick, then put a layer of cold boiled rice (half a tea-cupful is sufficient for the quantity of fish), salt and pepper each layer; then, if no sauce be left, stew the bones in some milk, thicken with a little flour, pepper, salt, and a dessert-spoonful of anchovy sauce, pour over the rice layer; put a layer of cold hard boiled eggs cut in thin slices (two are enough), another layer of fish, rice, sauce and eggs, and when your dish is full, having eggs at the top, scatter FISH AND OYSTERS. 195 a few finely chopped capers, a few small pieces of butter; warm thoroughly before the fire or in the oven and serve. COD PIE. Ingredients. — Any remains of cold cod, oysters, melted butter sufficient to moisten, mashed potatoes enough to fill up the dish. Flake fish from the bone and take all the skin away. Lay in a pie dish, pour over it the melted butter and oysters with sauce; cover with mashed potatoes. Bake for half an hour, and send to table of a rich brown color. Instead of melted butter use cream, if preferred. HOW TO USE CANNED SALMON. Cut round the top of the tin, which place in boiling water for a few minutes, until thoroughly heated through, taking care, however, that the water does not reach sufficiently high to be in danger of flooding the contents. Have ready some nicely mashed potatoes, which arrange in a border around a very hot dish; turn the salmon into the center of this, removing quickly any pieces of bone which may appear amongst the meat. Sprinkle a few capers over it, interspersed with morsels of fresh butter, and serve immediately before it has time to chill. This dish, if prop- erly dressed, could not possibly be told from the remains of fresh salmon. Rice, boiled same as for curry, may be substituted for potato, and is preferred by many. BKOILED MACKEREL. Soak over night in cold water, to which is added a little vine- gar. Scrape all the black skin from the underside; broil over a quick fire, season with butter, and serve. ERIED MACKEREL. Soak as above, and scrape also; then put into a hot spider with a little butter; turn often till browned; when cooked pour over the fish, in the spider, one cupful of sweet cream. Dish up the fish and pour the gravy over it. FISH BALLS. Allow twice as much mashed potato as fish; mix well together, form into balls, and fry. Use any remains of cold fish. 196 FISH AND OYSTERS. CODFISH FOR BREAKFAST. Take the fish and soak over night in cold water made slightly acid with vinegar. Wash in clean water; put into a saucepan with a lump of butter, and just heat through; then dredge with flour and stir well; then add slowly enough rich milk to make sufficient gravy. Have some hard-boiled eggs ready; save out the yolk of one, and garnish the platter, in the center of which the fish is served, with slices of egg^ and pass the yolk through a sieve over the top of the fish. CLAM CHOWDER. Put in a pot a layer of sliced pork, chopped potatoes, chopped clams, salt, pepper and lumps of butter, and broken crackers soaked in milk; cover with the clam juice and water, stew slowly for three hours; thicken with a little flour. It may be seasoned with spices if preferred. OYSTER STEW. Put one quart of oysters in their own liquor on the fire. The moment they begin to boil skim oysters out and add to the liquor half a pint of hot cream, salt, pepper, and mace to taste. Skim well, remove, add to it the oysters and one and one-half ounces of butter. Serve hot with toast or crackers. FRIED OYSTERS. Select large, even-sized oysters; strip them and drain; beat two eggs slightly; dip the oysters first in the egg, then roll them in sifted bread or cracker crumbs; see that they are thoroughly coated with the egg and cracker, then fry in hot lard. Salt and pepper the crumbs. SCALLOPED OYSTERS. Be sure to have enough oysters. The trouble with scalloped oysters often is that crackers predominate so largely as to en- tirely smother the oysters. Strip the oysters, and strain the liquor. By stripping the oysters is meant taking each one in the fingers and quickly making sure there are no pieces of shell adhering to it. Cover the bottom of a deep dish with sifted cracker crumbs, pour over these a little of the liquor; next a FISH AND OYSTERS. 197 layer of oysters; season with salt, pepper and butter, and a very little mace; then more crumbs and oysters, seasoning as before, alternately, until the dish is filled. The top layer should be crumbs, seasoned with lumps of butter. Now pour over the whole half a tea-cupful of thick, sweet cream. Bake three- quarters of an hour, keeping the dish covered half the time; then remove the cover and brown. OYSTER PATTIES. {Home Messenger Receipt Book.) Make a rich puff paste, cut in small squares, place a layer of oysters, which have been dried on a napkin, on the paste, dust a little salt, powdered mace, and cayenne pepper over them, cover- ing with another piece of paste; wet the edges of the paste with cold water, using a paste brush, and pinch tightly together; bake in a rather quick oven to a delicate brown. CHICKEN AND OTSTER CROQUETTES. Take equal quantities of chicken, oysters, and bread crumbs. Chop the chicken and oysters very fine; season with salt and pepper and a little mace; moisten with one well-beaten egg and enough thick, sweet cream to make just thick enough to handle. A lump of butter should be added and stirred well in before the egg and cream are used. Egg and bread crumb after forming into balls or rolls, and fry in hot lard. OYSTERS A LA CR^ME. Use one pint of cream, rich and perfectly'- sweet, for one quart of oysters. Strip the oysters, and drain them from the liquor; strain the liquor. Put the cream over the fire and thicken it with a dessert-spoonful of flour, made into a smooth paste with a little cold milk; season with salt, pepper, and a little mace; when the cream boils, add the liquor from the oysters, which has been scalded and skimmed until clear; then put in the oysters, leaving them just long enough to heat through. Have ready a platter covered with thin slices of toast. OYSTER SHORT-CAKE. Prepare the oysters as above, and have ready a short-cake crust. Split it open while hot, pour the hot oysters on the bottom layer, cover, send piping hot to the table. 198 FISH AND OYSTERS. OYSTERS IN THE SHELL. Open the shells and keep the deepest ones for use. Melt some butter, season with minced parsley and pepper; when slightly cool roll each oyster in it, using care that ifc drips but little, and lay in the shells. Add to each shell a little lemon juice, cover with grated bread crumbs, place in a baking-pan and bake in a quick oven; just before they are done add a little salt. Serve in the shells. OYSTER FRITTERS. Time, five or six minutes. Some good sized oysters, four whole eggs, a table- spoonful of milk, salt and pepper, crumbs. Bread some good sized oysters, make a thick omelet batter with four eggs and a table-spoonful of milk, dip each oyster into the batter, and then into the grated bread, fry them a nice color and use them to garnish fried fish. CHAPTEE XV. VEGETABLES. THE POTATO. ^HE potato is three-fourths water. The greater part of what remains is starch with a little fibrine, albumen and a small amount of mineral salts, fat, etc. It will be seen from its composition that it is not fit to be eaten as an exclusive article of diet. It is too poor in the muscle making elements. We also see that bread cannot be made from potato meal, since it is too deficient in gluten to be capable of vesciculation. As I have said before, a small quantity may be added with advantage to bread sponge, as the starch is eagerly appropriated by the yeast plant and the activity'' of the sponge is thereby increased. In the compo- sition of the potato will also be found the reason for the addition of fat, milk, eggs, buttermilk, cabbage, etc., which are made by those who live chiefly on it. Being deficient in fat, in gluten, and other albuminous materials, instinct has led the Irishman, for instance, to increase its nutritive power by cooking with it cabbage, which is rich in gluten, and adding likewise a little pork or bacon for its fat. This combination of cabbage, fat, and potato, makes the famous Kol-kannon, which gives to the Irish laborer who lives on it, just what he requires, a cheap and nutritious food, which yields to him in proper pro- portion all that he needs to make him vigorous. Buttermilk, too, which is often combined with the potato in Ireland, con- taining as it does the casein and salts of the milk, adds to its value as food, and when it is enriched still more by the addition of some fat cheaper than butter, offers an article of diet which is cheap and at the same time sufficient for the needs of the body. 199 200 VEGETABLES. A laboring man can sustain life on potatoes and salt, but lie will certainly lose vigor and capacity for long continued exertion. The potato is one of the most valuable of vegetable foods and has many qualities to recommend it to the rich and the poor. It is one of the few articles found on the tables of both, esteemed as a luxury by the former, as a necessity by the latter. It is easily cultivated, yielding nearly always a rich return for com- paratively little labor, and requires no great extent of land to supply the wants of an ordinary family. It can be kept from one season to the next without great expense and with a reason- able degree of care, and it never wearies the palate. It is like bread in the universality of its use, and a knowledge of the proper methods of cooking it is, therefore, of great importance. Its history you are, doubtless, acquainted with. It is thought to be a native of Chili, and was brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh in the sixteenth century. The story of his attempts to in- troduce it as food is interesting. It was planted in his garden in the county of Cork in Ireland, and the gardener, mistaking the seedballs that grew on the plant for that which was to be cooked, brought them to the cook to be prepared for her master's table. They were declared unpalatable and the gardener ordered to dig up the plant and throw it away, Sir Walter imagining he had brought home the wrong vegetable. Upon digging it up, the potatoes were discovered and a new trial made. This time they were so badly cooked, or rather so little cooked, being sent to the table nearly raw, that they stuck like wax to the teeth of those who tried to masticate them. They would have been again re- jected had not some guest at the table, who had happened to have seen them elsewhere, explained the mistake and caused them to be returned to the fire. It was not, however, until more than a hundred years later that they came into anything like general use. No vegetable is, perhaps, as a rule, more carelessly and wretchedly cooked than the potato. The most economical method is to cook them in their jackets. The waste caused by paring is at least 14 per cent, while cooked in the skins it is but 3 per cent. The salts moreover which add flavor to the potato lie next the skin and they are largely lost when this is cut off. We thus impair the taste as well as diminish the quantity when VEaETABLES. 201 we remote tlie skins before cooking. There is considerable dis- cussion as to whether they should be thrown into hot or cold water to be boiled. So high an authority as Dr. Edward Smith says: "Potatoes and similar vegetables should be well cooked with a considerable degree of heat. If it be intended to boil them they should be placed at once in hot water, and if to be roasted the oven should be moderately hot. When peeled and soaked in cold water a larger proportion of the fecula will be extracted than is desirable, and with a slow oven the peel will be hardened and thickened." TO BOIL POTATOES. Throw them at once into boiling hard water, to which salt in the proportion of a tea-spoonful to one quart has been added. When tender the water should be well drained off and the kettle placed on the back of the stove and covered with several thick- nesses of cloth, a clean kitchen towel folded two or three times answering this purpose. This cloth allows the steam to pass through and at the same time keeps the potatoes warm and dry. [f left for a few moments to dry off in this way they will be- come dry and mealy. Boiled potatoes should never be served in a covered dish. The cover will confine the steam, which will condense and fall back on the potatoes rendering them sodden and waxy. The best way to bing them to the table is in a dish in which a warm napkin has been placed. The ends of the napkin can then be folded over the potatoes. This will serve every purpose of a cover and at the same time will not be im- pervious to steam. Boiled potatoes should be eaten the moment the starch cells are burst and the potato is tender. The skin acts upon the inte- rior of the potato just as the cover of a vegetable dish acts upon the potatoes it contains. It keeps all the moisture inside the potato. TO BAKE POTATOES. Select as even sized and regular shaped potatoes as possible; cut a thin rim of skin off as for boiled potatoes. Put them on the grate in the middle of a ver^'^ hot oven and bake rapidly for half an hour for ordinary sized potatoes. They should be eaten the moment the starch cells are burst and the potato is tender. 202 VEGETABLES. MASHED POTATO. Boil according to preceding directions. When perfectly tendei remove to an earthenware bowl or a very bright tin pan. Be sure to have this and everything that is to be added as seasoning hot. Heat the milk and butter together. Let salt and pepper be near at hand. Then mash thoroughly and when every lump is out, season with salt and pepper and stir in the heated milk and butter. Make the mixture quite soft, and now comes the most laborious and important part of the process. After the seasoning is all in, and most persons would consider the potato ready for the table, it should be beaten to a creamy snow-white froth, with a large fork. It needs a strong arm and plenty of energy. Do not feel entirely satisfied until the mixture looks light and foamy, like the beaten whites of egg. Potatoes mashed after this method will not be recognized as the same article as the heavy, stiflf, lumpy food often offered as " mashed potato." POTATO s:tirow. After the potato is prepared according to the above directions, press it through a colander into the vegetable dish in which it is to be served, and it will not only be extremely palatable, but will be "a thing of beauty" as well, adorning the table, and giv- ing pleasure to the eye, while at the same time it appeals to the "inner man." DUCHESSE POTATOES. When the potatoes are boiled, press them at once through a colander. Season with salt, pepper, butter and a very little nut- meg. To two cupf uls of mashed potato, add the beaten yolks of two eggs. Now flour your pastry board. Take half of this mix- ture at once, flour your hands, and press it into a long roll. Cut round cakes from the end of this, brush the top of each with the white of eggs, and brown in the oven, or put the entire roll in a greased pan, brush it over with the white, and brown. POTATO PUFF. Press the hot potatoes through the colander as for Duchesse potato. Season with salt, pepper, butter and milk, as for Mashed potato. To two cupf uls of this, take two eggs; beat yolks and white separately. Mix in the yolks and lastly the VEaETABLES. 203 stiffly beaten whites. Have ready a greased pan or pudding dish, and put this mixture in it by spoonfuls, heaping them up in a light and uneven way. Brown in the oven. LYOXXAISE POTATOES. Cut cold boiled potatoes into even and rather thick slices. Cut, also, an onion in the same way. Put a spoonful of butter, or any sweet drippings, into a saucepan, over the stove. When it is hot, drop in the sliced onion and shake it about until it is a very delicate cream color, hardly a brown; then put in the sliced potato and shake until that, too, is delicately colored; add salt and pepper, and lastly a spoonful of chopped parsley. When this is thoroughly mixed with the potato and onion, place on a small platter, or in a shallow vegetable dish, and serve at once. POTATO CROQUETTES. Ingredients. — Three cups of cold mashed potato, one cup of sweet cream, a little salt, and two well-beaten eggs. Mold into balls, egg and bread crumb and fry a delicate brown in hot lard. POTATO MUFFLE. Potatoes mashed fine, butter and salt as for table. Add one cup of sweet cream, six eggs beaten separately whites and yolks. Bake in a pudding dish until browm. POTATO BUMPO. Boil some mealy potatoes, mash them with butter and cream, season well, and put a layer of this in the bottom of a pudding dish; then put a layer of any kind of cold chopped meat or fish well-seasoned, then another layer of potato, and so on until the dish is full, making the last layer one of potato. Strew bread crumbs over the top with little pieces of melted butter. Bake until well browned. SARATOGA POTATO. Shave thin, soak in ice-water thirty minutes, dry, and fry in boiling lard to light brown; drain and salt. Serve hot in folded napkin. 204 VEGETABLES. PARISIENNE POTATOES. Cut small balls with the potato-cutter described in the chapter on utensils; parboil in hot water well-salted, and then fry brown in hot lard. SWEET POTATO. Take those that are nearly of the same size, that they may be done equally; wash them clean, but do not peel them; boil them till tender, drain the water off and put them in the oven for a few minutes, to dry. SWEET POTATOES BROILED. Cut them across without peeling, in slices half an inch thick; broil them on a griddle and serve them with butter. TO STEW CABBAGE. Parboil in milk and water and drain it; then shred and put into a stew-pan with a tea-spoonful of butter, a tea-cup of cream, pepper and salt to taste, and stew until tender. DRESSING FOR CABBAGE. One half cup of vinegar, table-spoonful of butter, one egg. Beat the egg, heat all together, and pour on the chopped cabbage. CABBAGE A LA CREME. (English Receipt.) For this entree, which is very delicate if carefully prepared, it is necessary to choose a cabbage as firm and white as possible. Throw the vegetable into some boiling water with some salt and boil till it is almost done, but not quite tender. Take it out and drain it thoroughly from all moisture. Then cut it up length- wise into several pieces. Melt about an ounce of butter in a stew-pan. The quantity of butter must be regulated by the size of the cabbage; sufficient must be used to make a rich sauce. Add salt, white pepper to prevent any discoloration, and a spoon- ful of flour; then put in the cream, according to taste, in any case not less than a quarter of a pint. Lay in the pieces of cab- bage, and finish cooking in the sauce until perfectly tender. Arrange symmetrically on the dish, and place some fried croft- tons round. VEGETABLES. 205 CABBAGE FAUCI, OR STUFFED. {English Receipt.) Cook the cabbage in salt and water sufficiently to open the leaves, and insert between them ordinary veal stuffing, slices of sausage meat, or some highly-spiced force meat; then tie it se- curely round with thread to prevent the force meat falling out. Replace in the stew-pan, and cook briskly at first, then simmer until completely tender. Serve with a little gravy poured over the whole. In winter roast chestnuts hidden in the center are sometimes added, when it is termed " chou en surprise." CABBAGE. Cabbage takes two hours in cooking. Cut it in quarters and examine it carefully to see that there are no insects or worms concealed between the leaves; then pour boiling water over it and let it stand half an hour; then put it in boiling, well-salted water, and boil till tender. It is well to set the dish containing it in the wood-shed while it is soaking the half hour, as then the odor does not fill the house, and soaking in this way and chang- ing the water prevents, in a great measure, the strong smell which is such an annoyance in the usual method of boiling cab- bage. When the cabbage is done, drain thoroughly in a colan- der, and then pour over it a little melted butter. Or cut the cabbage as for salad, and then pour the boiling water on it and let it stand as before, then put in fresh boiling water to cook until tender, then drain and boil up once in cream or milk. COLD SLAW. Sprinkle a quart of finely-chopped cabbage lightly with salt, and let it stand one hour; drain off the brine into a saucepan; add to it one cupful of strong vinegar, a tea-spoonful of but- ter, a tea-spoonful of mustard mixed smoothly with a little cold water and a salt-spoonful of pepper. When it boils stir in two well-beaten eggs and three table-spoonfuls of rich sweet cream; pour hot on the cabbage. Let it stand until cold, and serve. It is exceedingly nice. ONIONS. New onions can be boiled in one hour. Late in the fall and all winter the time must be increased to two hours. Throw them 206 VEGETABLES. into boiling, well-salted water. After boiling balf an hour change this water; renew the water, using boiling water each time, three times. Fifteen minutes before time to serve put a little sweet cream, a half a tea-cupful for eight or ten onions, over the fire in a stew-pan, and heat. Add a spoonful of butter, and stir it all the time until the butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the onions out of the water, and boil them up once in this hot cream. BAKED OmONS. Boil until tender in well-salted water, according to directions; then arrange them in a baking dish, put a lump of butter on the top of each onion, and sprinkle over them some sifted bread crumbs; pour half a cupful of sweet cream into the dish and bake slowly half an hour. FRIED ONIONS. Slice the raw onions into a saucepan; add a heaping table- spoonful of sweet drippings; fry thirty minutes, turning often. TO STEW TOMATOES. If the tomatoes are fresh throw them in boiling water and re- move the skins. Then cut away all the hard pith in the center and slice the tomato very fine. Put in a saucepan and stew gently half an hour. Long boiling makes the tomato very dark colored and very acid. Season with salt, pepper and butter, and if liked thickened, add a few very fine bread or cracker crumbs. If the tomatoes to be stewed are canned instead of fresh, they need not stew more than fifteen minutes. After the can is opened examine its contents, and see that there are no hard, green pieces left in when you put the tomatoes on to stew. Cut them into fine pieces, and stir and mash them until they are re- duced to an even, fine pulp. Season as before, and serve hot. BAKED TOMATOES. Have a quantity of fine bread or cracker crumbs prepared as for scalloped oysters. Put a layer of these crumbs in the bottom of a greased baking dish or bright tin pan, and cover with a layer of tomatoes; sprinkle salt, pepper, and place little lumps of but- ter over this layer. Add also a few small pieces of raw onion — VEGETABLES. 207 just enough to flavor slightly; then another layer of bread crumbs and another of tomatoes^ seasoned as before. Alternate in this manner until the dish is filled. The top layer should be crumbs. Put a little butter on this layer so as to brown the crumbs. Now put in a slow oven; allow an hour and a half for the baking if the tomatoes are fresh, one hour if canned. Keep the dish cov- ered the first hour. Remove the cover half an hour before time to serve and allow the dish to brown nicely. TO BROIL TOMATOES. Broiled tomatoes make a delicious dish; select those that are not over ripe, and cut them in halves crosswise; dip the cut side into beaten egg, and then into wheat flour, and place them upon a gridiron, whose bars have been previously greased. As they become well browned turn them over and cook the skin side until thoroughly done. Put butter, salt, and pepper upon the egg side and serve upon a platter. STUFFED TOMATOES. Get them as large and firm as possible. Cut a round place in the top, scrape out all the soft parts; mix with stale bread crumbs, onions, parsley, butter, pepper, salt; chop very fine and fill the tomatoes carefully; bake in a moderately hot oven; put a little butter in the pan and see that they do not burn or become dry. Serve on slices of buttered toast. GREEJ^" TOMATOES FRIED. Cut the tomatoes in slices about one-fourth of an inch thick and soak one hour in brine strong enough to season them. For every three tomatoes add one onion, of about the same size, sliced. Fry together in sweet drippings with a little butter added. Frj' until tender or until they can be pierced with a broom straw. TURI^IPS. Winter turnips need to be cooked two hours in well salted, boiling water. When they are perfectly tender, either mash and season well with salt, pepper, and butter, and then place smoothly and in good shape in a vegetable dish and finish by dotting vsdth sprinkles of red pepper; or, cut in slices, arrange neatly in a 208 VEGETABLES. vegetable dish, and pour over them a little melted butter; sprinkle with salt and add a small quantity of red pepper as before. TURNIPS A LA CR£:ME. Boil them as directed; slice them evenly; have a saucepan with hot cream, slightly thickened with flour and seasoned with salt and pepper, over the fire ; heat the sliced turnip in this and serve in a hot dish. EGG PLANT. The purple ones are best; get them young and fresh, pull out the stem and parboil them to take out the bitter taste; cut them in slices an inch thick, but do not peel them; dip them in the yolk of an egg and cover tliem with grated bread and a little pepper and salt — when this has dried, cover the other side in the same way — fry them a nice brown. SUMMER SQUASH. Gather young squashes, peel and cut them in two; take out the seeds and boil them till tender; drain off the water and rub them through a colander with a wooden spoon; then put them in a stew-pan with a cupful of cream, k small piece of butter, some pepper and salt; stew them, stirring frequently until dry. This is the most delicate way of preparing squashes. WINTER SQUASH. Cut in pieces, pare, and cut away the soft, stringy part. Cover with boiling water and cook till tender; then drain, return to the hot kettle, mash, season with butter, pepper and salt, and stir a few moments till thoroughly hot and dry. Squash is also good steamed. BAKED SQUASH. Cut in pieces; do not pare, but cut away the soft part as be- fore directed. Bake until done; then scrape the squash away from the rind, season, heat, and serve. SPINACH. Pick and wash perfectly clean two or three pounds of spinach, put into a saucepan with a little water and let it boil till quite VEGETABLES. 209 done. Turn it out on a hair sieve to drain, tlirow the water away and pass the spinach through the sieve. Put a good lump of butter into a saucepan with a pinch of flour, mix well, add the spinach, pepper and salt to taste, and a little milk; stir well and serve. BOILED ASPARAGUS. Place heads one way; tie in small bundles and cut off in equal lengths; put into salted boiling water and boil until tender; when well drained arrange upon thin slices of toast; pour over them drawn butter sauce; cook eighteen minutes. BEETS. Wash but do not scrape or cut at all, or you will injure the color. Old beets cannot be boiled too much; allow at least five hours. Young beets will cook in half that time. When tender, plunge into cold water, and the skin will come off easily. STRING BEANS. Cut into inch lengths after stringing them; put into boiling, well salted water; boil one hour; season with butter, salt and pepper. PEAS. Throw into well salted, boiling water; cook from twenty to thirty minutes; season with salt, pepper, butter, and add a little sweet cream. BOILED PARSNIPS. Scrape and boil one hour. If very large it is well to cut them in lengthwise slices. They can be served with drawn butter, or simply seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper. FRIED PARSNIPS. Boil as above, and then fry the slices in hot laxd or pork fat. BOILED CARROTS. Scrape and boil until tender (from one to two hours). They should be cut in slices before boiling, and throw a into boiling, well salted water. Pour over them drawn butter. 14 210 VEaETABLES. CORK Remove the husks and silk and throw into boiling water. Young corn will boil tender in half an hour. Serve covered with a napkin. TO BOIL CORN ON THE COB. (Mrs. Henderson.) At the Saratoga Lake House there is a third specialty of good things. The first is the fried potato, the second is the fresh trout, the third is boiled corn, which is served as a course by itself. The corn is boiled in the husk. The latter imparts sweet- ness and flavor to the corn, besides keeping it moist and tender. The unhusked corn is put into salted boiling water, and when done, and well-drained, some of the outside husks are removed, and the corn is served with the remaining husks about it; or, the cobs may be broken from the husks just before sending to the table, which would save this trouble afterward. CORN CUT FROM THE COB. Cut the corn from the cob, scrape the cob so as to be sure of getting all the juice or milk of the corn. Cover with boiling water and cook one hour; then pour in a tea-cupful of sweet cream, or rich milk, season with butter, salt and pepper and serve. CORN PATTIES. Twelve ears of corn, grated, one tea-spoonful of salt, one tea- spoonful of pepper, one egg beaten into two table-spoonfuls of flour. Fry in hot butter or lard. MOCK OYSTERS. One pint of grated green corn, three table-spoonfuls of milk, one tea-cup of flour, one half tea-cup of drawn butter, one tea- spoonful of pepper, one egg. Drop a table-spoonful into hot butter and fry from eight to ten minutes, or can be baked on a griddle. Can be made without eggs and butter. CAULIFLOWER. Trim off the outside leaves, and cut the stalk off flat at the bottom. Put the cauliflower, head down, in salt and water, and VEGETABLES. 211 leave it to soak one hour to free it from vermin; then rinse off, put into salted boiling water and boil rapidly until tender. Serve plain, or pour drawn butter over them. COOICED CUCUMBERS. Peel and cut into quarters. Remove the seeds. Put into salted boiling water and boil until tender. When done, place on buttered toast and spread with butter. SLICED CUCUMBERS. Slice thin and soak in ice-water, well salted, at least an hour before serving. Drain them from the ice-water and send to table. MACARONI. Look over carefully one-half pound of macaroni, but do not wash it unless absolutely necessary. Break it as little as possi- ble. Plunge it into well-salted boiling water and let it boil rap- idly twenty minutes. While it is boiling, melt together in a saucepan, over the fire, one table-spoonful each of butter and flour. When they are thoroughly blended, add by degrees, one pint of sweet milk, stirring constantly so that the mixture will be perfectly smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Drain the macaroni and put a layer of it in the bottom of an earthen- ware or tin baking dish ; cover this with a few spoonfuls of the sauce, and a sprinkle of grated cheese, Parmesan being the best, then another layer of macaroni, sauce and cheese, until the dish is full, having a good layer of cheese on top of the dish. Now brown in the oven and serve hot. The macaroni can be prepared simply with the sauce, omitting the cheese. MACARONI WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Boil the macaroni as above, cover with tomato sauce and set in the oven ten or fifteen minutes, long enough for the macaroni to absorb the sauce. (For Tomato Sauce, see chapter on "Savory Sauces.") 212 VEGETABLES. MACAKOKI CROQUETTES. Boil one half pound (or one half a paper) of macaroni in salted water the usual way. When done and drained, chop it verijjine, then add pepper, salt, two eggs and a cupful of grated cheese. Put a tea-spoonful of butter in a saucepan and when it is bubbling hot add the macaroni mixture and let it cook about five minutes, stirring all the time. When the mixture is cool enough, form into shape, roll in egg and cracker crumbs and fry in boiling lard. Serve with tomato sauce. OHAPTEE XVI. SALADS. MAYONNAISE SAUCE. J ^UT the uncooked yolk of an egg into a cold bowl. Beat ^'''l™ it well with a wooden spoon, then add two salt-spoon- fuls of salt, and one salt-spoonful of mustard powder. Work them well a minute before adding the oil, then mix in a little good oil which must be poured in very slowly, a few drops at a time, at first alternated occasionally with a few drops of vinegar. In proportion as the oil is used the sauce should gain in consistency. When it begins to have the appearance of jelly, alternate a few drops of lemon juice with the oil. When the egg has absorbed a gill of oil finish the sauce by adding a very little pinch of cayenne pepper and one-half a tea-spoonful of good vinegar. Taste it to see if there are enough salt, pepper, mustard, and cayenne; if not, add more very carefully. EKENCH SALAD DRESSING. Ingredients. — Three table-spoonfuls of salad oil, one table- spoonful of vinegar, one salt-spoonful of salt, one-half salt- spoonful of pepper. Mix the oil, pepper, and salt together; add the oil stirring well, SALAD DRESSING. To six eggs well beaten add one small tea-spoonful each of salt and pepper, one table-spoonful each of mustard and sugar, one cup of sweet cream, piece of butter the size of an egg. Of this make a custard and when cold add one coffee-cup of cider vinegar. 213 214 SALADS. SALAD DRESSING. Beat up two hard boiled yolks of eggs, mix with them one salt- spoon of table salt, one mustard-spoon of raw mustard, one tea- spoonful of soft sugar, one cayenne-spoon of cayenne pepper. When all is well pounded add, very gently, mixing all the time, four table-spoonfuls of cream or milk, and about two table- spoonfuls of vinegar; the last must be put in slowly, as it depends on the strength of the vinegar how much to use. Stop pouring in when the dressing becomes thick. The basin may be rubbed over with garlic or onion if the flavor is liked. TOMATO MAYONNAISE. Pare smooth even-sized, ripe tomatoes without scalding them. Slice rather thickly, keeping each tomato by itself so it can be put back in shape. Marinate the tomatoes by soaking them for a moment in the French dressing; arrange the slices so that the tomatoes seem to be whole, and put a spoonful of the Mayon- naise dressing on the top of each one. This makes both a beautiful and a delicious salad. TOMATO SALAD. Slice alternate layers of onion and tomato, and salt the onion suflScient to season the whole. Let it stand one-half hour and then pour over it the following: FEENCH SALAD MIXTURE. Ingredients. — Three table-spoonfuls of salad oil, one table- spoonful of vinegar, one salt-spoonful of salt, one-half a salt- spoonful of pepper. Mix thoroughly the oil, salt and pepper, and add the vinegar, stirring well. CELERY SALAD. Ingredients. — The yolk of one egg^ two table-spoonfuls of cream, one table-spoonful of white sugar, three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one tea-spoonful of olive oil, one tea-spoonful of made mustard, a pinch of salt, celery. Beat the yolk of the egg, add the other ingredients and pour it over the celery, cut into inch lengths. SALADS. 215 CHICKEN SALAD. Ingredients. — One boiled chicken cut in small pieces, four leaves of celery cut fine, two cucumber pickles cut fine, a small quantity of hashed cabbage, so that the proportion shall be one- third meat to two-thirds cabbage, etc. Rub the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs to a paste, add two table- spoonfuls of melted butter, one table-spoonful of mustard, one table-spoonful of salt, one-half table-spoonful of black pepper and one-fourth as much cayenne, one tea-spoonful of vinegar, yolk of one e^g, uncooked. Pour this dressing over the salad just before placing on the table. EUSSIAN SALAD. Cut into pieces about an inch long carrots, French beans, po- tatoes, cucumbers, onions, beet root, lettuce, endive, green peas, and a little tarragon — in fact any cold vegetables you may hap- pen to have (but of course the tarragon, cucumbers, lettuce and endive are not to be boiled); mix all together with a very rich salad dressing. When all is mixed add the lettuce, endive, etc., and mix in with the cold vegetables small pieces of cold boiled salmon or lobster, or both if you have them. Turn the whole well over together, and put into the dish; garnish well with hard-boiled eggs cut in four, be^et root according to your own fancy, and little sprays of parsley. The consistency of the salad dressing should be that of good cream. RUSSIAI^ SALAD. To make this in the greatest perfection, small pieces of the flesh of partridges, poultry, or cold salmon are required, a few anchovies filleted, turnips, carrots, asparagus heads, green peas, French beans, beet root, prauns, and capers — all finely chopped; eschallot, pepper, mustard, vinegar, and caviare. The cold vege- tables should be cut in small dice, and the amalgamation must be so cleverly managed as not to allow any one flavor to pre- dominate. Of course this receipt can be greatly modified and Btill be very appetizing. 216 SALADS. CABBAGE SALAD. Ingredients. — One small head of cabbage, one-half a bunch of celery, one-fourth of a cup of vinegar, one-fourth table-spoonful each of mustard, sugar, pepper, and salt, one egg well beaten. Take a little of the vinegar to wet the mustard, put the rest over the fire; when boiling stir in the other ingredients and cook until it becomes thick; pour it over the cabbage while hot and mix it well. When cold it is ready for the table. The same sauce, when cold, will do for lettuce. HERRII^^G SALAD. Ingredients. — Two dozen potatoes which have been pared and boiled, six salted cucumbers, two gherkins, two dozen apples pared, cold veal, the same quantity as of herring, and four salted herrings which have been soaked in cold water for some hours, then taken out, skinned, and boned. Chop the veal, herrings, potatoes, apples, cucumbers and gher- kins, and some capers, fine. Make the dressing of three table- spoonfuls of olive oil, one table-spoonful of vinegar, a salt-spoon of salt, a pinch of cayenne, one-half tea-spoonful of sugar, three- fourths of a tea-spoonful of dry mustard — mix all together; if too dry a little stock may be added. This salad must be nicely formed on a dish, rather high in the center, and then can be garnished to taste with beets cut in dif- ferent shapes; also small pickles, olives, capers, etc. This is ex- cellent. SAUERKRAUT SALAD. Chop fine as much onion as is needed to flavor the salad, and salt it well. Mix it with the cold sauerkraut, and allow all to stand until the kraut has the flavor of the onion. Make a dress- ing of sour cream and a little vinegar, pour it over the mixture and serve. SALMOK MAYONJ^AISE. Drain thoroughly half a can of salmon, and flake it into rather small pieces. Cover the bottom of a salad bowl with leaves of lettuce, drop in a layer of salmon, season with the French dress- mg, add small pieces of pickle, capers, or beets, also slices of hard- SALADS. 217 boiled eggs; put a few more leaves of lettuce, then another layer of salmon, seasoned as before, and so on until the bowl is full. Mask the top with the mayonnaise sauce, and garnish with let- tuce, celery tops, beets, capers, eggs, or anything suitable. Chicken, cold veal, cold beef, cold mutton, can be made into a mayonnaise in the same way, and all are exceedingly good. CHICIvEN SALAD. Boil the chicken until tender, pick all the meat from the bones, and free it perfectly from skin, fat and gristle. Use half as much celery as chicken; do not cut either very fine; mix them thoroughly and marinate with the French dressing. Shape in a salad bowl, or on a platter, and mask with ma3'^onnaise sauce. Garnish with the celery tops, capers, olives, beets, etc. Cabbage (the hard part) can be used in the place of celery. Id that case, season with celery salt. CHAPTEE XVII, PICKLES. FRENCH PICKLE. jNE peck of green tomatoes chopped fine, six chopped onions, one cup of salt stirred in. Let it stand over night. Drain off the water, then take two quarts of water and one quart of vinegar, boil all together twenty minutes and strain through a colander. Then take two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of sugar, one pound of white mustard seed, two table-spoonfuls each of ground pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, ground mustard. Put all in a kettle and boil fifteen minutes. MUSTAED PICKLES. Ingredients. — One hundred small cucumbers, two quarts of silver skinned onions, two quarts of French beans, two cauli- flowers, one pint nasturtiums, one dozen small red peppers, one- half pound ground mustard, two quarts vinegar. Salt each of these vegetables twenty-four hours, then scald them well with vinegar separately and throw the vinegar away; then take one-half pound of ground mustard, beat it smooth with a little vinegar and pour over it two quarts of boiling vinegar. Mix the pickles thoroughly and pack them as close as possible in bottles, fill with the vinegar and mustard, and seal. This makes an elegant pickle. RIPE CUCUMBER PICKLES. Ingredients. — One quart of vinegar, one pound of sugar, spices. Peel the ripe cucumbers and take out the seeds, cut in length- 219 220 PICKLES. wise slices. Mix together the sugar, vinegar, and spices to taste, put in the fruit and let the whole stand over night. In the morning boil all together until the cucumber is tender. CHOPPED PICKLE. Ingredients. — Cut four cabbages as for slaw, one dozen green peppers, one peck of green tomatoes, one dozen cucumbers. Chop all together; sprinkle with salt and let stand over night; drain off all the water. To every quart' of the mixture add one pint of onions, chopped and scalded; stir them in with the other ingredients, put in a jar, and cover with vinegar, and let it stand twenty-four hours; then drain and put a layer of the mixture, a layer of ground mace, with black and white mustard seed alter- nately. Take vinegar enough to cover it, add spices, and to every quart of vinegar add one-half pound of brown sugar. Boil and pour over while hot. This makes a splendid pickle. PICKLED PLUMS. Ingredients. — One peck of plums, one pint of vinegar, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of cinnamon, four pounds of sugar. Boil the vinegar, sugar and spices together; pour boiling hot over the fruit, leave two days. Drain the fruit, boil the liquor, and pour again boiling hot over the fruit. SPICED CURRANTS. Ingredients. — Seven pounds of currants, three and one-half pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one table-spoonful of cloves, one table-spoonful of cinnamon, one tea-spoonful of mace. Can while hot. SPICED PEACHES. To seven pounds of fruit add three pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, cloves, cinnamon, and a little mace. Pour this syrup boiling hot over the peaches for nine mornings. GREEN TOMATO SWEET PICKLES. Three pounds of white sugar to one quart of vinegar, and spice to suit the taste; put in a porcelain lined kettle and let it come to a boil; have ready six pounds of green tomatoes unpared, sliced or whole as you prefer; drop them in and cook until tender. PICKLES. 221 PICKLED CABBAGE. Take the red cabbage, remove the outer leaves, and shred; sprinkle thoroughly with fine salt; let it remain with salt two days, removing the water; make a pickle with vinegar, four ounces each of ground pepper and ground ginger, and one ounce of cloves and boil it; put the cabbage in jars, packing closely; when the vinegar with spices is on the boil fill up the jars. Will be good to eat in a week. gree:n' tomato pickles. Ingredients. — One peck green tomatoes, ten white onions, six green peppers, one small box of mustard, two quarts of vinegar, one and one-half pints of salt, one-half pound of white mustard seed, one-fourth of a pound of whole cloves, one table-spoonful of black pepper. Cut the onions and tomatoes in thin slices and chop the pep- pers fine; make layers of them in a large stone pot and sprinkle each layer with salt; let them stand twenty-four hours and then drain off the brine. Put tomatoes, onions, and peppers in a preserving kettle, sprinkle on each layer the mustard seed, spice, and pepper, and so fill the kettle. The mustard should be thor- oughly mixed with the vinegar and thrown into the kettle after everything else is in. Stew slowly over a moderate fire for three- quarters of an hour. MIXED PICKLES. Ingredients. — Half a peck of green tomatoes, one cabbage, one dozen onions, and other vegetables you may like ; slice them and sprinkle with salt; let them stand one night; then wash them with cold water and wring dry in a cloth. Put them on to boil, covering well with vinegar, in which are mixed two tablespoon- fuls of mustard, two ounces of white mustard seed, one ounce each of cloves, allspice, celery seed, and turmeric powder, and one-half a pound of brown sugar. Boil until tender. OHAPTEE XVIII. EGGS, OMELETTES, AND CHEESE FONDUS. FRIED EGGS. i^^ F one has an egg fnj-pan^ it is an easy matter to fry eggs. )lm Fill the little cups partly full of lard, or the grease from ill fried ham or salt pork; drop in the eggs, being careful Vf not to break the yolks; turn them if liked that way, and slip carefully out. If one has only a common spider, it is still no difficult matter to fry an e^g properly. Have enough grease in the spider to nearly cover the eggs; dip it over the surface and fry carefully. Take out without breaking. Do not put more eggs in the spider than you can keep separated. It is a good plan to put muffin rings in the spider, or saucepan, and drop the eggs in these. This keeps them in good shape. If they are ragged when done, trim the edges. POACHED EGGS. Let the water boil before, but not after the eggs are dropped in. Salt the water and add a very little vinegar. Drop the eggs into muffin rings as above described, and when they are done take up on a skimmer, or on a pancake turner. It is, of course, easier to poach them in a regular ''''Qgg poacher." BEATEN OMELETTE. Never use more than three eggs ; beat the whites and yolks separately, the whites very stiif,'the yolks but little; add a salt- spoonful of salt and half the amount of pepper to the yolks be- fore beating; when both are beaten, whisk them delicately to- gether; then put a spoonful of butter into a sauce-pan; let both butter and saucepan be hot; pour in the egg^ heap it to one side, 223 224 EGGS, OMELETTES, AND CHEESE FONDUS. and keep it free from the botttom by lifting it occasionally with a silver fork, and by shaking the pan ; when brown on the under side, turn, then slip off on to a hot platter. One egg treated in this way will make an omelet large enough for one person. FOLDED, OR EOLLED OMELETTE. Break three eggs into a bowl, add a half salt-spoonful of pep- per, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Give the egg seven or eight beats with the spoon; have ready on the stove a hot saucepan with a good lump of butter melted in it; pour in the egg; as it sets on the bottom prick with a fork, but do not stir; keep it free from the bottom of the saucepan, and when creamy in the center, either roll, or fold, serving at once on a hot platter. These omelettes may be varied ad infinituin. Chopped parsley, mushroom, and onion sprinkled over the folded omelette, just before folding, gives an "Omelette aux Fines Ilerhes." Chopped ham added in the same way, makes a ham omelette. And one may use jelly, or sweetmeats in the place of the herbs or ham, and so the omelette may be varied to suit the taste. SCALLOPED EGGS Ingredients. — Six eggs, five table-spoonfuls of minced ham, a little chopped parslej', a very little minced onion, three spoonfuls of cream and one spoonful of melted butter, salt and pepper to taste, one-half a cup of bread crumbs moistened in milk, and a spoonful of melted butter. Line the bottom of a small dish, well buttered,, with the soaked bread crumbs; put upon these a layer of chopped ham, seasoned with the onion and parsley. Set in the oven, closely covered, until smoking hot. Beat up the eggs to a stiff froth, season with pepper and salt; stir in the cream and a spoonful of melted butter; pour evenly upon the layer of ham. Put the 3ish, uncovered, back into the oven and bake until the eggs are " set." SHIRRED. EGGS. Ingredients. — Six eggs, three table-spoons of gravy — from poultry is best — enough fried toast to cover the bottom of a flat dish, a very little grated cheese, one tea-spoonful of butter. Melt the butter in a frying pan; when hot break into this the eggs; stir in the gravy, pepper and salt to taste, and continue EGGS, OMELETTES, AND CHEESE FONDUS. 225 to stir very quickly and well up from the bottom, until the whole is a soft yellow mass. Have ready in a flat dish the fried toast, spread thinly with anchovy paste; sprinkle the grated cheese over this ; heap the shirred egg in the center and serve before it has time to harden. EGG EOLLS. (German Receipt.) Allow one egg for each person, three-quarters of a pint of milk and four tea-spoonfuls of flour for every three eggs. Beat whites and yolks separately ; mix the flour smoothly with the milk, then add the eggs and whisk well. Try a little at a time in a buttered omelet pan. Roll as an omelet; serve very hot; to be eaten with sugar or molasses. SWISS EGGS. Butter well a dish that will stand the heat of the oven, line the sides of the dish with shavings of good cheese. Drop on to the already buttered dish five or six raw eggs; pour over them about three table-spoonfuls of good cream. Season with salt, cayenne and a small grate of nutmeg. Sprinkle a little grated cheese over all and two table-spoon- fuls more cream. Place in the oven for about seven minutes or until the eggs are set. CURRIED EGGS. Cut a couple of onions into slices and fry them to a light golden color in plenty of butter; add one table-spoonful of curry powder and a sprinkling of flour, moisten with a cupful! of stock and simmer gently for ten minutes. Then add six hard boiled eggs cut into slices; simmer for a few minutes longer and serve. EGGS A LA CR£:ME. Boil twelve eggs just hard enough to allow you to cut them in slices — cut some crusts of bread very thin, put them in the bottom and around the sides of a moderately deep dish, place the eggs in, strewing each layer with stale bread grated and some pepper and salt. Sauce d la crime, for the eggs. — Put a quarter of a pound of butter, with a large table-spoonful of flour rubbed well into it 15 226 EGaS, OMELETTES; AND CHEESE FOND US. in a sauce pan; add some chopped parsley, a little onion, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a gill of cream; stir it over the fire until it begins to boil, then pour it over the eggs, cover the top with grated bread, set in the oven and when a light brown send it to the table. TO KEEP EGGS FRESH. (Our Continent.) At a recent farmers' convention in Iowa it was decided that well-dried oats not less than a year old were the best medium for packing; and cold storage, at a temperature ranging from 40° to 42° was also an essential, though they must be used almost im- mediately when taken out of cold storage, as they soon spoil. If kept in paper cases they will become musty, as the eggs sweat in changes of temperature, the paper becomes damp, and in time taints the eggs. In all cases they should be stood upon the small end, as in this position they keep fully a month longer. Dry salt has been found good for storing small quantities for family use. Dipping the eggs in melted tallow, covering them with a brine made of one pint of slacked lime, one pint of salt, two ounces of cream tartar, and four gallons of water has proved very effec- tual; the rule for brine covering two hundred. TOMATO OMELET. Ingredients. — One-half can of tomatoes, drained and chopped fine, five eggs beaten together, one small cup of bread crumbs; season to taste. Stir in spider until it thickens. Cook with plenty of butter. BREAD OMELET. Put into a tea-cup of bread crumbs, a tea-cup of sweet cream, a spoonful of butter and salt and pepper to taste. When the bread has softened break in four eggs, beat all together and fry like a plain omelet. ANCHOVY OMELETTE. Ingredients. — Two eggs, salt, pepper, half tea-spoonful of an- chovy essence, four anchovies. Season the yolks of the eggs with the salt, pepper and essence. Cut the four anchovies into small pieces. Beat the whites of EGGS, OMELETTES, AND CHEESE FONDUS. 227 eggs to a stiff froth, blend gently witli the yolks and put in a well-buttered saucepan over the fire. Drop in the pieces of an- chovy, and keep the egg well to one side of the saucepan. When it is browned on the bottom put in the oven to set. CHEESE OJSIELETTE. Two whites and three yolks beaten together. Add salt and pepper, and one ounce of Parmesan cheese, grated. Beat it thor- oughly; add one table-spoonful of sweet cream; put into a well- buttered saucepan, stir from the bottom until it begins to thicken well, then heap it to one side of the saucepan and keep it in good shape until it is brown on the bottom and sufiiciently firm. Put more butter in the saucepan if necessary. When done turn out on a warm plate, CARROT OMELETTE. Use rather more of potatoes than carrots. Boil well and run them through a sieve; stir well in a good table-spoonful of but- ter, one egg, and seasoning. Butter and crumb a pie dish; pour the mixture in, thickly crumb the top and spread with bits of butter. Bake and turn out. CHEESE EONDU— MELTED CHEESE. Ingredients. — One cup of bread crumbs, very dry and fine, two scant cups of milk, rich and fresh, one-half pound dry old cheese, grated, three eggs whipped very light, one small table-spoonful of melted butter, season to suit, a pinch of soda, dissolved in hot water and stirred into the milk. Soak the crumbs in the milk, beat into these the eggs, the butter, seasoning, lastly the cheese. Pour the fondii into a but- tered dish, strew dry bread crumbs over the top, and bake in a rather quick oven until delicately browned. Serve immediately in the baking dish, as it soon falls. CHEESE SCALLOP. (German Receipt.) Soak a small tea-cupful of stale bread crumbs in fresh milk. Beat into this one large egg, a tea-spoonful of melted butter, and three ounces of grated cheese, pepper and salt to taste. Strew sifted crumbs on the top, and bake till it is a delicate brown. 228 EGGS, OMELETTES, AND CHEESE FONDUS. COTTAGE CHEESE. To be in perfection, cottage cheese must be made from fresh clabbered milk. Skim the sour milk, and set a gallon or two of it on the back part of the stove in a milk pan, and let it grad- ually heat until it is lukewarm all through. Stir it occasionally to prevent its hardening at the bottom. When it is a little warmer than new milk, and the whey begins to show clear around the curd, pour it all in a thin, coarse bag, tie it close, and let it hang up to strain two or three hours in a cool place; then take from the bag and keep the contents in a covered dish. When preparing for a meal, mix with the curd rich, sweet cream, sugar and nutmeg. It is even better to add a little fresh butter and salt, then those preferring sugar can use it in addition, and those who like it without the sugar can also be suited. CHAPTER XrX. FRUITS AND JELLIES. PEEPARING FRUITS FOR CANm^G. OIL cherries moderately, five minutes; raspberries moder- M ately, six minutes; blackberries moderately, six minutes; jj^ plums moderately, ten minutes; strawberries moderately, eight minutes; whortleberries five minutes; pie plant, sliced, tin minutes; small sour pears, tvhole, thirty minutes; Bart- lett pears, in halves, twenty minutes; peaches, in halves, eight minutes; peaches, whole, fifteen minutes; pine-apple, sliced, half an inch thick, fifteen minutes; Siberian or crab-apple, whole, twenty-five minutes; sour apples quartered, ten minutes; ripe currants, six minutes; wild grapes, ten minutes; tomatoes, twenty minutes. The amount of sugar to a quart should be: for cherries, six ounces ; raspberries, four ounces; Lawton blackberries, six ounces; field blackberries, eight ounces; whortleberries, four ounces; quince, ten ounces; small sour pears, whole, eight ounces; wild grapes, eight ounces; peaches, four ounces; Bartlett pears, six ounces; pine-apples, six ounces; Siberian or crab-apples, eight ounces; plums, eight ounces; pie plant, ten ounces; sour apples, quartered, six ounces; ripe currants, eight ounces. CURUAKT JELLY. (Home Messenger Cook Book.) This receipt is the only one which we will ivarrant to make good jelly against odds. We have made jelly by it on the fifth of July, and on the fifteenth, and each time it was a perfect suc- cess. While we recommend all persons to make their jelly from fresh fruit early in the season, we can still assure those who are 229 230 FRUITS AND JELLIES. behindhand that they need not despair of jelly that will set firm and hard later in the season. Run the currants through your hand, picking out the leaves and any stray thing that may adhere to them, but leaving the currants on their stems. Weigh the fruit, being accurate in remembering the number of pounds. Put a pint of water into the preserving kettle, and add a bowl or two of currants, mash- ing and pressing them until you have suflS-cient juice to cover the bottom of the kettle; then add the remainder of the currants; let them come to a boil, and boil at least twenty minutes, of course stirring and pressing them from time to time, that they may not burn. Have a three-cornered bag of thin, but strong, unbleached cotton, that has been well scalded and wrung till al- most dry; hang it up and pour the boiled currants into it. Let it drip into a stone crock all night, but by no means squeeze it; the currants will drain perfectly dry. In the morning, pour the strained juice into a preserving kettle without measuring; let it come to a boil and boil throughly for three or four min- utes, then pour in half as many pounds of sugar as 3^ou had pounds of currants. For instance, a peck of currants will prob- ably weigh twelve pounds, therefore, use six pounds of sugar. The moment the sugar is entirely dissolved the jelly is done. To make sure that the sugar is entirely dissolved, see that it begins to jelly on the ladle. It will look thick, and drop thick and a little stringy, but if let heat beyond this point it will lose its thickness, and not jelly nearly so well, and always disappoints you if you lose faith in your instructions and insist upon "let- ting it come to a boil," All the boiling is done before the sugar is added. RHUBARB JELLY Peel and cut up quite small some fresh rhubarb, put it into a preserving pan with a very little water, and the thin rind of half a lemon to every pound of fruit. Boil until reduced to a pulp. Strain the juice, weigh it, and allow one pound of pounded sugar to every pound of juice. Boil up the juice, add the sugar, boil, skim, and when it jellies on the skimmer pour into pots, and tie down when cold. FRUITS AND JELLIES. 231 CLARET JELLY. One bottle of claret. Put the rind of one lemon, one tea-cup- ful of red currant jelly, half tea-cupful of brandy, seven ounces of lump sugar, one ounce (or two and one-fourth ounces if liked rather stiff), of isinglass; boil five minutes and strain. Serve with whipped cream. LEMON" JELLY. Wet quite one-half package of Cox's gelatine. Soak in cold water half an hour. Add the juice of one lemon, one cup of sugar, one pint of boiling water. When the gelatine is all dis- solved, strain through a cloth into molds or cups and set in a cold place. APPLE JELLY. Boil sour apples until tender in as little water as possible with- out burning. Strain through a flannel bag. To every pint of juice use one pound of granulated sugar. Boil the juice seven minutes, then add the sugar and boil three minutes longer. Put in tumblers and seal up when cold. ICELAITD MOSS JELLY. Soak for an hour four table-spoonfuls of the moss in cold water enough to cover it; then stir into it a quart of boiling water and simmer gently until it dissolves; strain, sweeten to taste, flavor with the juice of two lemons and a glass of wine; strain into molds and cool. CALF'S FOOT JELLY, WITH WINE. (Francatelli.) Split two calf's feet, break up the bones, and put the whole into a gallon sized stew-pan, or stock-pot, then add two quarts of cold water and set it on the fire to boil; remove the scum as it rises to the surface, and when the stock has been thoroughly skimmed set it on the back part of the stove, to continue gently boiling for about five hours. The stock must then be strained off through a sieve into a basin or pan and set aside in a cool place until it has become firm. The grease should be scraped off the surface with a spoon, and a little boiliug water thrown over 232 FRUITS AND JELLIES. it in order to wash away any that may remain. It should then be wiped with a clean cloth and put in a stew-pan to melt over the fire. Next add one pound of loaf sugar, half a pint of sherry, one glass of brandy, six cloves, a half a stick of cinnamon, the rind of two lemons peeled very thin and without any of the pith as this is bitter; then pour in the whites of three eggs and one whole egg whipped up with a little cold water and the bruised shells; whip this well together over the fire, and when it is nearly boiling throw in the juice of four lemons, stir the jelly with the whisk for a minute or so, and then set the stew- pan down by the side of the fire, put on the lid with some live embers upon it and allow the jelly to stand by the side of the stove fire for a quarter of an hour longer, to set the eggs; next throw the jelly into a jelly-bag, fixed on a stand, ready with a basin placed under to receive the jelly as it passes through the bag; continue pouring the jelly back again through the bag until it runs quite bright and clear; then cover over the stand with a cloth and leave the jelly to run until the whole is passed. This kind of jelly may either be served in glasses or set in molds imbedded in ice; when it has become quite firm, dip the mold in hot water, wipe it and turn the jelly out carefully on its dish. CLARIFICATI02T OF CALF'S FOOT JELLY, FOR GEI^^ERAL PURPOSES. Put the prepared stock of two calf's feet into a stew-pan with a pound of sugar, the rind of two lemons and the juice of four; whip three whites and one whole egg together, with a quarter of a pint of spring water, throw this in with the stock, and whisk the whole together over the fire until it is on the point of boiling, then add the juice of half a lemon and a little spring water; withdraw the jelly from the stove and set it down by the side, to continue gently simmering for about ten minutes longer, covered with the stew-pan lid containing some live embers of charcoal. The jellj'- may then be passed through the bag in the usual way, and when it has run through perfectly bright, let it be kept in a cool place to be used as occasion may require. This kind of foundation or stock jelly, prepared without any decided flavor, may be used for making all kinds of jellies, it will FRUITS AND JELLIES. 233 then be only necessary to add, to the quantity required to fill a mold, a gill and a half of any kind of liqueur, and if the jelly be too stiff, a little thin syrup may also be added. It may be used likewise to make fruit jellies, with the addition of a pint of the filtered juice of currants, raspberries, cherries, or strawberries, or half a pint of the clarified infusion syrup of peaches, apricots, or pine-apples. PRESERYED CUCUMBERS. (German way.) Pick and cut in long slices fifteen cucumbers, sprinkle them with a handful of salt and let stand over night, then take them out and dry them on a napkin. Put two quarts of vinegar on the fire and boil the cucumbers in it till tender. Let them stand over night in this vinegar, then take out and dry, and put in a jar with alternate layers of herbs and button onions, the upper layer being herbs; the herbs used are terragon and mint. Then boil one quart of wine vinegar with half a pound of loaf sugar, skim it and when cold pour over the cucumber and tie up the jar well. PRESERVED PLUMS. (German tvay.) The plums are washed and dried, then put into a jar, and for one peck boil three-fourths of a quart of wine vinegar with one pound of sugar, skim it well and pour over the plums when cold. After one or two days strain off the vinegar and boil it up again and pour over the plums when cold. Repeat this operation three times, at intervals of one or two days. The last time boil some cloves and cinnamon with the vinegar; prick the plums with a fork in several places before the vinegar is poured over them to keep them from shriveling. PRESERYED CRANBERRIES. (German way.) The cranberries are picked over, washed and dried on a colan- der; then they are boiled in their own juice. To one peck, one and one-fourth pounds of sugar are added, boil down and skim well. Then put them in a jar, mixing with them ground allspice, cloves and cinnamon. 284 FRUITS AND JELLIES. PRESERVED MELOI^'S. (German tvay.) The melons are pared, sliced, and put on a dish in layers with sugar, the upper layer being of sugar. Then, for a large musk- tnelou, boil one gill of vinegar with three pounds of sugar, skim it well. In this the slices of melon are put and boiled till tender, carefully skimming. Repeat this operation at intervals of one or two days, until the juice becomes thick. SPICED CURRAl^TS. Ingredients. — Five pounds of currants, four pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, four tea-spoonfuls each of cinnamon and cloves. Boil three hours; no pepper or salt; delightful with venison or mutton. MACEDOINE OF FRUITS. Stew carefully some pears, apples, plums, cherries and apri- cots, or any variety of fruit that may be convenient, and cut up into pieces. Prepare a gelatine jelly, flavored with half a tum- bler full of champaigne (or any wine which is convenient, good currant or sherry). Fill a mold with alternate layers of jelly and fruit and serve after freezing. If the fruit is very ripe it is bet- ter not to cook it. Indeed, no soft fruit, strawberries, etc., re- quires cooking for macedoine. The jelly may if preferred be flavored with lemon instead of wine. APPLE MARMALADE. Wipe the apples well, but do not peel them, core and quarter them and cut in thin slices. If the apples are very small ones, there will be an excess of skin in the marmalade ; to counteract this and provide liiore pulp, a few large apples must be peeled and added to the rest. Have ready some syrup, made in the pro- portion of three pounds of sugar to a pint of water, and boil quickly for five minutes; moist sugar will do if a brown marma- lade is not objected to, but loaf sugar makes it transparent and finer flavored. Into this boiling syrup throw the sliced apple, and boil rather rapidly for one hour, reckoning from the time of its first boiling up, stirring frequently. It should then be clear, FRUITS AND JELLIES. 235 jellified and rather stiff. The rapid boiling drives off the watery- particles in steam, and on this depends much of the success in keeping the marmalade from fomentation. Allow three pounds of sugar to four pounds of apples. Some people like cloves, cin- namon or lemon peel added as flavoring; but in this marmalade the natural flavor of the apples is so nicely preserved that it is almost a pity to spoil it. PEACH MAEMALADE. To make peach marmalade, pare, stone and weigh the fruit, heat slowly to draw out the juice, stirring up often with a wooden spoon. After it is hot, boil quickly, still stirring, three-fourths of an hour; add then the sugar, allowing three-fourths of a pound to each pound of fruit. Boil up well for five minutes, taking off every particle of skum; add the juice of one lemon to every three pounds of fruit, and the water in which one-fourth of the peach kernels have been boiled and steeped. Stew all to- gether for ten minutes more, stirring to a smooth paste. Put it up hot in air tight cans, or if you prefer to, put it in glass jars, put it in them when nearly cold and put white paper on the top of each jar. APPLE GINGEE. Seven pounds of apples, pared and cored; seven pounds of pounded loaf sugar, two ounces of ground ginger, the juice of three lemons, one pint of water. Boil slowly rather more than half an hour. Put in molds and cover. STEWED APPLES FOE CHILDEEN". Peel and core as many apples as are required, take the peel and cores and put them in a baking dish, with as much water as is required to stew the apples in afterward, add two cloves and a table-spoonful of raw sugar; let them stew until tender, then pour the juice through a sieve upon the apples that are peeled and quartered, and put them ju the oven and stew until tender^ Do the same with the peels and cores when making pies or pud- dijigs with apples. 236 FRUITS AND JELLIES. TO BAKE APPLES FOR CHILDREN. Core, but do not peel them; into the hole that is made with the corer put plenty of sugar. Take a baking tin and strew it well with sugar, then pour a little water on it; then put the ap- ples on the tin and bake them till thoroughly done. A delicious jelly will be thrown out, and if the sight of the tin is disliked, it must all be scraped up and served on the dish with the apples. ICED APPLES. Pare and core one dozen large apples, fill with sugar, very lit- tle butter and nutmeg or cinnamon; bake till just done. Let them cool and remove without breaking to another dish; have some icing prepared, lay on top and sides and return to the oven to brown slightly. Serve with cream. CHAPTER XX. BEVERAGES. TEA MAKING. JE the quantity of tea you think sufficient very loosely in a thin muslin bag, or inclose it in one of the little wire balls that are made for this purpose. Put it into an urn or silver kettle with a spirit lamp beneath; pour boiling water over it, and when it has stood a few moments take out the tea and light the lamp. Tea is none the worse for boil- ing or being kept hot, if the tea leaves have been removed. The principle in good tea-making is to keep the infusion as free from tannin as possible, therefore it should not be allowed to draw for longer than three minutes at the most. A perfect cup of tea should be a delicate brown, with a golden tinge chang- ing to a light yellow when the cream is added. This is the English method. My way is to allow one tea-spoon- ful of tea to every person; enclose the tea in the tea ball, pour over it water that has just come to the boil and let it steep five minutes. Steep it always in an earthernware steeper. Let both steeper and tea be hot when the water is poured on. After the tea has steeped sufficiently, remove the tea ball, and serve, if possible, in the same pot in which it was steeped. COFFEE. Buy coffee by the quantity and always brown and grind it yourself. Use one-third Mocha and two-thirds Old Government Java. Brown evenly and thoroughly and only a little at a time, and keep it in a tightly covered can or bottle. Allow one table- spoonful of coffee for a person, if liked only medium strong. Beat an egg, shell and all, with the ground coffee, add enough 237 238 BEVEEAGES. cold water to cover it, and let it stand an hour or so; it may be prepared in this way, for breakfast, the night before, if only it is kept closely covered. Half an hour before it is needed, pour boiling water over it, all that will be needed, stir it thoroughly, cover it tight, and cover the spout also, and put on the stove where it will keep boiling hot, but not actually boil. Serve in the same cq fee-pot in which it is made. See that the spout is free from setlings. Coffee is sometimes made in this way, and called, GOLDEX corrEE. For two persons take two table-spoonfuls of ground coffee, tie up in a piece of Swiss muslin, leaving room for expansion, pour on one pint of boiling water, cover close and set on the back of the stove for twenty minutes. Beat one egg with a Dover egg- beater thoroughly, divide it into two coffee-cups, and add the usual quantity of sugar for each. Hold the coffee-pot high up, pour the boiling coffee on the egg, and add warm milk, and with the golden foam standing above the rim of the cup you will have a pretty picture to look at, and a delicious drink to partake of. CHERRY SYRUP. Pick the stems off some cherries, not too ripe, crush and leave them twenty-four hours; pass through a hair sieve first, thor- oughly pressing the crushed fruit, then through a filter. To eighteen ounces of the liquid add two pounds of loaf sugar, in a copper preserving pan; just allow it to boil, clearing away any scum as it rises; when cool, pour into bottles, pint size being best. RHUBARB WINE. Cut in small pieces as you would for pies one peck of rhubarb; pour three quarts of boiling water on it and let it stand one week, stirring and mashing it every day; squeeze through a coarse cloth and add three pounds of good brown sugar to one gallon of juice; let stand in a jug loosely corked until October, then rack off and bottle tight. Blackberr}^, currant, cherry-, and other berries may be made into wine the same way, except that the proportion of water is, one gallon of boiling water to one gallon of fruit. BEVERAGES. 239 RASPBERRY VINEGAR. To one gallon of red raspberry juice, add one quart of good cider vinegar, four pounds of white sugar; mix well and let it stand twelve hours, strain, put on the stove and let it boil up, then bottle and seal while hot. It will keep for years and it makes a delicious cooling drink for sick or well in hot weather. RASPBERRY ACID. Dissolve five ounces of tartaric acid in one quart of cold water, pour it on twelve pounds of fruit in a large jar, let it stand twenty-four hours, strain it from the fruit without pressing, and to every pint of juice put one and one-fourth pounds of pounded loaf sugar; stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is all dis- solved. Let it stand a day or two, then take ofi* the scum and bottle. GOOSEBERRY SYRUP. Four pounds of gooseberries, not too ripe, one pound of ripe cherries, and one-half pound of red raspberries; crush all to- gether and then leave them to ferment in an earthen jar for twenty-four hours. After this, if the juice looks fairly clear, put the fruit in a large clean hair sieve and press the juice through with the hands. W eigh the liquid thus passed, and to one and one-fourth pounds of liquid add two pounds of white sugar; melt over a clear fire, and after boiling up four separate and distinct times, take it off the stove, skim, and pour gently in a large earthen vessel. When quite cold, pour it off into pint bottles, well cork them, 'and keep in a cool place. BARLEY WATER. Add two ounces of pearl barley to half a pint of boiling water; let it simmer five minutes, drain, and add two quarts of boiling water; add two ounces of sliced figs and two ounces of stoned raisins; boil until reduced to a quart; strain for drink. This is very nutritious for an invalid. JELLICE. One-half a tea-spoonful of currant, lemon, or cranberry jelly put into a goblet; beat well with two table-spoonfuls of water; 240 BEVERAGES. fill up with ice water, and you have a refreshing drink for a fever patient. ROOT BEER. Take one pound of yellow dock roots, one pound of burdock, one pound of sarsaparilla, one pound of hops, a quarter of a pound of spruce twigs, all boiled together in three gallons of water. Strain off the liquor, add six gallons more of water, one gallon of molasses, and one pint of good yeast; fill the cask full that it is put in and leave out the bung for the skum to overfiow. When the fermentation ceases, stop it up tight and you will have a healthy, blood cleansing and refreshing beverage that will strengthen and invigorate the system. Add ice in the summer. GINGER BEER. Take one table-spoonful of ginger, one of cream tartar, one pint of yeast, one pint of molasses, and six quarts of water. Stir well* together and set in a warm place. When it begins to fer- ment bottle it up and in eight hours it will be good to use and will keep good several days. RASPBERRY WINE. To every quart of ripe fruit put one quart of soft water. Mash them and let them stand two days, then strain, and to every gal- lon put three pounds of sugar. In tAvo months bottle it and to each bottle add a wine-glass of brandy. ORANGE AND LEMON SYRUP. Put one pint of cold sugar syrup in an earthen jar with the rind of six oranges and three lemons, or vice versa; cover the jar, and let the cojitents infuse for twenty-four hours. Press the juice from the oranges and lemons into a quart of water, pass the whole through a tammy, a silk one, if possible. Put three pounds of cut loaf sugar and the juice as above into a preserving pan on a clear bright fire; let the whole melt and heat until it arrives at a heat corresponding to thirty-two degrees of a saccha- rometer. Pour into an earthen jar and let it cool. Then bottle for use. BEVERAGES. 241 SWISS BLACKBERRY WINE. (Said to he excellent and medicinal.) To one bushel of berries put two gallons of water and express the juice. To each gallon of the liquid add one pound of refined white sugar; put in a cask a peck of freshly burned charcoal broken up in small pieces; then pour the ]iquid upon it. Let if ferment; when done, close the cask tight. Let it remain til] January, then draw off and bottle. BLACKBERRY WINE. To every gallon of crushed berries add one quart of boiling water; let it stand twenty-four hours, then squeeze through a jelly bag. To every gallon of juice add two pounds of good brown sugar, the whites of two eggs well beaten and stirred in the juice. Pound some cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg together, tie them in a muslin bag and drop them into the juice. Put the mixture in a jug or cask till done working, then cork close and in four months bottle. It will improve with age. i6 CHAPTER XXI. MISCELLANEOUS. BEEF TEA. (By Dr. Chambers.) , AKE the cook understand that the virtue of beef tea is to contain all the contents and flavors of lean beef in a liquid form; and that its vices are to be sticky and strong, and to set in a hard jelly when cold. When she understands this, let her take half a pound of fresh killed beef for every pint of beef tea required, and remove all fat, sinew, veins and bone. Let it be cut up into pieces under half an inch square, and soak for twelve hours in half a pint of cold water. Let it then be taken out and simmered for two hours in one pint of water, the quantity lost by evaporation being replaced from time to time. The boiling liquor is then to be placed on the cold liquor, in which the meat was soaked. The solid meat is to be dried, pounded in a mortar, freed from all stringy parts, and mixed with the rest. When the beef tea is made daily, it is convenient to use one day's boiled meat for the next day's tea, as thus it has time to dry and is easier pounded. A wholesome flavoring for beef tea is fresh tomato. A piece of green celery stalk, or a small onion, and a few cloves, may also be boiled in it. Beef tea and broth should not be kept hot, but heated up as required. BEEF TEA. Cut a pound of the round steak into small pieces; pour over it a cup of cold water and let it stand one hour; pour them into a 243 244 MISCELLANEOUS. glass fruit jar, screw on the cover, put over the stove in cold water and bring nearly to a boil. Strain the liquor off, after it has remained at nearly the boiling point for an hour or so, season with salt, and it is ready to use. - TOMATO BUTTER. Ingredients. — Nine pounds of tomatoes, three pounds of brown sugar, one pint of good vinegar, three table-spoonfuls of cinna- mon, one table-spoonful of cloves. Cook well. Boil three hours. CANNING SWEET CORN. Cut the corn raw from the cobs; to every six quarts of corn allow one ounce tartaric acid dissolved in water; put the corn, with sufficient water to keep it from burning, over the stove; when it boils add the tartaric acid; when the corn is parboiled can as you can tomatoes, using, however, glass jars instead of tin. When the corn is opened for use, turn it into a colander and pour cold water over it until the sour taste is removed. Add a small lump of soda when cooking. PASTE FOR CLEANING BRASS. Quarter of a jjound of soft soap, one ounce of spirits of wine, four ounces of well ground rotten stone, one tea-spoonful of sweet oil. Mix and keep in a jar. This has been in use fifty years. TO CLARIFY DRIPPING. Take the dripping hot from the fire and pour it into a basin with half a pint of boiling water, stir well, and let it stand until cold. The impurities will settle *in the water and at the bottom of the cake of fat; this can be scraped off with a knife, when the dripping will be quite pure. TO PRESERVE MEAT OR FISH FRESH. Cover with a solution of borax and water — one-fourth of a pound of borax to one gallon of water. Add a little salt if you choose. Dissolve the borax in a little hot water, and then add the rest of the water cold. Cool the whole, and it is ready to use. MISCELLANEOUS. 245 RECEIPT FOR BRONCHITIS. Ingredients. — One pound of baking pears, half a pound of raw sugar, one pint of vinegar. Simmer all together four or five hours and bottle. TO DETECT ADULTERATION IN MUSTARD. Drop a few drops of ammonia on it. If red pepper is present it will turn red ; if not it will remain a greenish yellow. POMADE. Ingredients. — Two ounces of white wax, six ounces of castor oil, two ounces of lard, one ounce of oil of sweet almonds, one- half ounce of citronella. Melt and mix together, and beat to a light froth. JAPANESE CREAM. {Very good for cleaning men's clothing and dark dresses.) Ingredients. — Four ounces each of white castile soap and am- monia, two ounces each of alcohol and ether, and one ounce of glycerine. Cut the soap thin; dissolve it in one quart of soft water over the fire; when dissolved add four quarts more of cold soft water, then add the spirits. TABLE OF DOMESTIC MEASURES OF FLUIDS. {For medicinal or other purposes.) Sixty drops, one tea-spoonful or drachm; two tea-spoonfuls, one dessert-spoonful; two dessert-spoonfuls, one table-spoonful, or half an ounce; four table-spoonfuls, one wine-glassful; two wine-glassfuls, one tea-cupful, or one gill. CANDY. Ingredients. — One pound of white sugar, two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one tea-spoonful of cream tartar, one tea-spoonful of butter, one tea-cup of cold water, flavor to suit the taste. Do not stir until it is done. Fresh lemon may be used in the place of cream tartar. 246 MISCELLANEOUS. CARAMELS. Ingredients. — Two cups of sugar, oue cup of molasses, one- half pound of French chocolate, one cup of rich cream, butter the size of a hickory-nut, vanilla. SUPERIOR CANDY. Ingredients. — One pound of white sugar, two-thirds of a com- mon tumbler of water, one table-spoonful of good sharp vinegar or lemon juice, a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Let it dissolve and slowly boil, but do not stir it any. Try it by dipping a little out occasionally from one side until it stiffens in water, then pour out and cut in small pieces. LEMON TOAST. Beat the yolks of three eggs and mix them with half a pint of milk. Dip slices of bread into the mixture, then fry them to a delicate brown in butter. Take the whites of two eggs, beat them to a froth, add to them three ounces white sugar and the juice of a small lemon. Stir in a small tea-cup of boiling water and serve as a sauce on the toast. APRICOT TOAST. Take some ripe, but not over-ripe, apricots, halve and stone them. Make a syrup with plenty of white sugar and some water; when boiled for a couple of hours strain; lay the pieces of apricot in the syrup and add a glass of white wine ; simmer for a few minutes. Cut out of the crumb of a milk loaf some rounds a little larger than the apricots. Fry them a pale yellow in fresh butter, drain and arrange them in a circle on a dish with a piece of apricot on each round, concave side uppermost; put a kernel in the center of each, pour the syrup well over, and serve with some whipped cream in the center of the dish. CHAPTER XXII. FOOD. BY DR. D. S. FAIRCHILD, Professor of Pathology, Histology, etc., Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Ames, Iowa. FOOD. |NE of the weightiest influences which determine the life of the individual is the nature of the food he eats. The value of this influence can be plainly traced all along the line of man's advancement from a condition of barbarism up to the highest point of his present civilization; the strength of his muscles, the course of his thoughts and his whole menial tone are determined by the nature of his food. The sum of the factors which influence the welfare of the individual must in like manner influence the welfare of the nation. Accepting the fact that an abundance of nutritious food is necessary to the development of the physical and mental energies of the individual, and that the present welfare and future progress of the nation is depend- ent upon the physical and mental qualities of its individual members, it is clearly apparent that the first importance should be attached to the quantity and quality, as well as the preparation of the foods which make up our diet. The economy of nature as illustrated in the development of our digestive organs is directed as far as possible to the reduction of the quantity of the material ingested to the narrowest limits consistant with the character of our diet which is, or should be, selected from every kingdom of nature. Appreciating this fact civilized communities adopt various methods of improving the 247 248 FOOD. quality of grains and vegetables, selecting such varieties as con- tain the largest amount of nutritive matter and the least amount of fibrinous or innutritions material, and they also select such breeds of animals for food purposes as contain the largest amount of nutritive juices and fat, in the finest and most delicate fibrous framework. Civilized communities, furthermore, find it greatly to their advantage to employ the best methods of preparing their food, consulting both the stomach and the palate in such a manner that the food shall become palatable and at the same time digestible. The increasing difficulty of obtaining good food imperatively demands that the best methods be employed in utilizing all the nutritive principles therein contained in the most economical manner. These considerations have already been recognized in the establishment of schools of cookery in various countries. It is a fact well known to physiologists that a normal or healthy diet cannot be made up of any one kind or class of foods, but must, on the contrary, contain substances derived from all classes. Therefore the notion Avhich some people have of con- fining their diet to some particular kind of food is a false one, and usually, sooner or later, leads to imperfect nutrition, attended by a train of difficulties resulting from a loss of balance between waste and repair in the different tissues, and a consequent im- pairment of the physical and mental strength and endurance. The foods which science and experience have taught us to be necessary for the perfect nourishment of the human body, are divided into two groups, one of which contains nitrogen and the other does not. The first, or nitrogenous group, as albumen, casein, gluten and gelatin, is used in the sys'tem in building up muscular and other tissue, and for the repair of waste or injury sustained by them. The second, or non-nitrogenous group, as starch and sugar, oils and fats, are employed largely in the pro- duction of animal heat. To these must be added the inorganic substances, as chloride of sodium (common salt), phosphate of calcium, etc. Now as these substances have their specific offices to perform in the physical economy, and as one cannot perform the office of another with any degree of success, it becomes ap- parent that they must be mixed in varying proportions to form a normal diet, for while albumen and gluten can supply the tis- FOOD. 249 sues with nutritive material, they cannot generate animal heat, and the animal would sooner or later die. On the other hand, while oils and fats, starch and sugar, can produce animal heat and cause fat to be stored up in the system, they cannot supply the needs of the muscles and other tissues. The truth of these observations is established by experiments made in feeding, and furthermore by the fact that foods which form the exclusive diet at certain periods of life contain all of these elements in ad- mixture, as milk and eggs. The value of certain foods may depend quite as much on their digestibility as on the relative qualities of the necessary elements which they contain. Moreover, the quantity and kind of food to be taken with the greatest economy and advantage cannot be settled for each individual, except by a consideration of the ex- act quantities of certain elements that are required. Much will depend upon the habits and digestive powers of the individual. Food, which to one person is appropriate, may be quite unfit for another, and the changes of diet so instinctively practiced by all to whom they are possible, further indicate that the varying ne- cessities of the body are determined by the conditions of waste and repair. The adult human being does not find in any one kind of food all of the material the body requires, otherwise, one might suf- fice for all his wants. It is by a combination of foods that the requirements are met, each substance contributing to one or more of the wants of the system. Some foods are more valuable than others in that they supply a greater number of the sub- stances which the body requires. Animal food, as flesh or mus- cular tissue contains the elements which onr system needs as flesh-formers, and also as heat-generators, and life may be main- tained for very long periods if it be eaten in large quantities. Since the source of flesh in animals used as food is found in veg- etables, it follows that vegetables should have the same elements as flesh, and it is a fact of great interest that in vegetables we have foods closely analagous to the flesh of animals, hence our appetites and the demands of our system cause us to extend our choice to both the animal and vegetable kingdoms. 250 FOOD. ANIMAL FOODS. These may be divided into flesh, fish, and fowl, and their pro- ducts, milk and eggs. Flesh may be divided into lean and fat, the former contains nitrogen and the latter does not. While all kinds of flesh contains nutritive qualities in common, the pro- portion in which these qualities exists varies. The lean meats are made up mainly of networks of fibres containing a greater or less amount of fat. The fibrous tissue gives rise to the tough- ness which varies with the age and breeding of the animal; in old animals the fibres are dense and firmer, in young animals more juicy and tender. The aim of modern breeding is to produce the greatest amount of muscle and fat at the earliest period of life, but while delicacy of flavor may thus be obtained, fullness and richness can be {produced by age only. Good meat should contain a certain amount of fat mixed with the lean, the rela- tive proportions of which vary both with the animal and the condition in which it is killed. The nutritive value of the "fat and lean respectively is much the same in all animals used as food, so that the same weight of lean meat from one animal should nourish the body as well as the same weight from an- other. As, however, the influence of appetite and relish plays an important part in the phenomena of nutrition, reference should be had to the taste in selecting the particular kind of meat, as this fact will exercise an important influence in diges- tion and assimilation. All thiugs being considered, beef is the most nutritious and the most easily digested. The eflect of cooking flesh is chiefly physical, rendering the meat more easy of mastication and digestion, but the object may be frustrated if the substance of the flesh be hardened in any ap- preciable degree. Cooking is also employed to make the food hot when it is eaten, with a view to improve its flavor and to stimulate the sense of taste. The efiect of roasting or boiling meat is to decrease its bulk. This loss in bulk and weight is due to the extraction of the juices of so much of the mass of flesh as may be acted on by the heat. These are chiefly water containing salts and the peculiar flavor of meat, with a proportion of fat in a fluid state, gelatine, and perhaps some al- bumen. If these matters are collected there will be no real loss FOOD. 251 of nutriment. The difference between roasting and boiling lies chiefly in the fact that in roasting the outside is exposed to the hot air and becomes overcooked before the inside is sufSciently cooked. This occurs to a far greater extent in roasting than in boiling. Stewed meat occupies a position between that of boiled and roast. The degree in which extraction of juices takes place in cooking meat depends upon the method of applying heat and becomes a fundamental question in cookery. Various methods have been employed for the purpose of pre- serving meat, the chief of which is salting. Salted meat is much less valuable for food than fresh. The salt extracts a consider- able quantity of the juices and so mucli lessens the nutritive value and natural flavor of the meat. The flesh is also harder, this depending of course considerably on the strength of the saline solution. The introduction of so much salt into the sys- tem is prejudicial to health, by inducing a craving for fluids, and by causing indigestion or skin diseases. The capability to nour- ish the system is lessened by the various effects mentioned. VEAL. Veal, while it is sometimes a delicacy when properly killed, is not so valuable as a food as beef, and it is more difiicult of di- gestion, being about equal to pork. MUTTON. Mutton is much more valuable than veal as a food, and is more easily digested, but not equal to beef. It is better suited to those who follow sedentary habits than to those who are engaged in much physical labor. Mutton broth has less nutritive value than beef broth, but having a more delicate flavor is preferred by many persons. POKK. Pork, having so very large a proportion of fat cannot be re- garded as equal to beef or mutton in nourishing the system of those who make much muscular exertion. It is also digested with greater diflSculty. The frequent presence of parasites in pork is an objection to its use as a food, but the danger from these may be obviated by thoroughly cooking the meat. 252 FOOD. LEBIG'S EXTEACT OF MEAT AND BEEP TEA. In preparing these extracts the insoluble and most nutritious parts are left behind. They yield an agreeable flavor and are a valuable addition to other foods. They give a degree of exhil- aration which may be useful to the feeble, but a great mistake is made if they are relied upon as a principal diet for the sick. While these substances are not nutritious in themselves, they modify assimilation and nutrition in a useful manner. EGGS. Eggs, from the large amount of nutritious matter contained in them, furnish an important article of food. The length of time required to digest them is about the same as for mutton. The man- ner of cooking eggs exercises an important influence upon their digestibility. When boiled to the extent of slightly hardening the albumen they are, undoubtedly, more easily digested than in any other form. The impression that a raw egg is more readily digested than a cooked one is a mistake. If taken raw they should be beaten thoroughly so as to expose the particles of al- bumen to the air, otherwise the unboiled white forms a viscid clotted mass of low diffusibility into which the gastric juice per- meates with the greatest difficulty. For sick people a compro- mise may be made by adding a stimulent, both to render the compound more agreeable to the palate and more easily digest- ible, as for example, wine and egg, or brandy and egg. Poach- ing is an admirable way of cooking eggs. POULTRY AND GAME. The flesh of birds contains relatively less fat and juices than mammals and is, therefore, less nutritious and also less fitted for strong men than for invalids, who require a lighter diet. The flesh of wild birds is closer and firmer than domesticated birds, but the flavor is fuller and stronger. It contains more nitrogen but less fat and is probably less valuable as a food, although wild birds living on insects and grain are both rich and delicate food when properly cooked. FOOD. 253 FISH. Fish, for food purposes, are divided into two classes, white blooded and red blooded. The first may be represented by the cod, and the second by the salmon. The nutritive value of fish varies very considerably. The white fish contain but little oil and are, therefore, less nutitious, while in the salmon the oil is distributed throughout the muscular tissue, which consequently gives them a greater food value. Eels are a luscious and rich food, and possess a high nutritive value. The methods of preparing fish for the table are numerous and may exercise all the skill of the cook. OYSTEES. The oyster is not a food of high nutritive value, but its delicacy of flavor makes it useful to the sick. The mode of eating it may depend upon the taste of the individual. The raw oyster is much more easily digested than the cooked, hence in feeble con- ditions of the stomach, if it can be tolerated, it is to be preferred. LOBSTER AND CEAB. These are neither very nutritious nor easy to digest. Their tissues are coarse and tough, and while they are popular as a change of food and as a luxury, they are a frequent cause of in- digestion. CHEESE. The value of cheese as an article of diet depends upon the va- riety. Rich cheese of proper age is highly nutritive, and while somewhat difficult to digest in itself, it promotes the digestion of other foods. MILK. This is one of the most valuable foods we have. It contains all the elements of nutrition within itself, and in the most di- gestible form. Whatever the source of milk, it contains essen- tially the same elements and has always the same qualities. The milk of one animal differs from another only in the relative pro- portions of these elements. The test of quality is usually the pro- portion of cream. Cow's milk is the most agreeable to the taste, and differs from human milk chiefly in having a larger propor- 254 FOOD. tion of fat and casein, and a less proportion of sugar. If a mix- ture be made of two-thirds of cow's milk and one-third of warm water, to which half an ounce of sugar of milk, or half that quantity of refined cane sugar, be added to the pint, we shall obtain a composition very similar to that of the mother's milk. Skimmed milk is more nutritive than is generally supposed. It differs from new milk in the removal of nearly all the cream. It is said that if one-fourth or one-half ounce of fat, as suet, to a pint, be added to skimmed milk, it is equal in nutritive value to new milk. The milk of all animals is more easily digested when eaten warm. BUTTER AND FATS. The value of these substances in the animal economy is very great, both chemically and physically. Fat supplies the heat forming elements of food, and is more readily transformed than starch. It supplies an essential element in growth, and in the daily use of the body it is necessary that there should be a full supply of fat in some of its forms. It supplies an agreeable flavor, without which bread and farinaceous food could not be readily eaten, and it lubricates the passages, through which the masticated food is more readily conveyed. VEGETABLE FOODS. The same nutritive elements exist in vegetables that exist in animal foods, and within certain limits the two classes are inter- changeable. They are also divided into flesh formers and into heat givers. The former consists of seeds and vegetable tissues, whilst the latter consists of starch and sugar. That is, seeds when digested will produce flesh, and starch when transformed may produce fat, although the latter is denied by some cliemists. The mineral and organic salts which are required for nutrition are also found in the vegetable kingdom. It will be seen tliat both kingdoms contain the same nutritive elements, and while we may subsist on substances obtained exclusively from one or the other, experience shows that the processes of nutrition can be performed better on a diet derived from both kingdoms in varying proportions. The coolciug of flesh is desirable, although it is not necessary to its digestion, but the cooking of seeds is FOOD. 255 still more so in order to enable the stomach to dissolve and per- fectly transform them. It is commonly supposed that the di- gestion of vegetables is easier than that of animal food, and that the process is more quickly performed, but the experiments of Dr. Beaumont have shown that mutton will be digested more quickly than bread, and an egg earlier than a potato. Another fact of importance is that a greater bulk of vegetable than of animal food is required to provide the necessary amount of nu- triment, and hence those who live chiefly on the former must eat larger quantities ; otherwise the difference would not be great. Vegetables also require a greater power of digestion, and the vital actions move more slowly. PEAS AND BEANS. The most highly nutritious seeds are peas and beans, as they contain a large percentage of nitrogen. It is well known that they must be thoroughly cooked. The time required to digest beans when boiled is from two and one-half to three hours. INDIAN CORN. While corn is less nutritious than the leguminous seeds it is more agreeable to the taste, and it is more readily eaten, aud at the same time more readily cooked and digested. It contains a larger proportion of nitrogen than wheat and, hence, is a more stimulating food. The time required for the digestion of corn- cake or bread is from three to tliree and one-half hours. WHEAT. This is the most important of the vegetable products as a food. It is preferable to any others on which men chiefly live, since it is a far more agreeable food than corn, and more nutritious than rice. It contains nearly all the essential elements of nutrition. The quality varies with the seed, the cultivation, the season, and the climate. In hot climates and in hot seasons the product is harder and more nitrogenous than that of a wet or cold season. The outside layers of a wheat grain contains a considerable quan- tity of nitrogen, and are therefore nutritive. The inner part consists largely of starch, hence flour made exclusively of the interior of the grain is relatively poor in nutritive qualities. 256 FOOD. The most improved methods of grinding, however, eflPect a com- promise by which a large percentage of the nitrogen-containing- parts are retained in the finest and whitest flour. Newly made bread is less digestible than that which has been kept for a certain time. This is due to a degree of toughness which renders the bread less capable of mastication, whilst after bread has been kept for a short time it has lost some of its water, and is more friable. It is also probable that new and hot bread is eaten rapidly with less mastication, and is consequently swal- lowed in larger lumps than old bread. Bread made from good flour is easier to masticate and digest than that made from poor. EICE. Rice consists almost exclusively of starch and is relatively de- ficient in nitrogenous elements, and is therefore inferior to wheat in nutritive value. New rice is said to be inferior in quality to old, as it is mucli less digestible, and is likely to produce indiges- tion, diarrhoea, and rheumatism. The time required for the di- gestion of boiled rice is from one to two hours. OATMEAL. Oatmeal is a strong and highly nutritious food, but requires much cooking to break its starch cells, in order to make it easily digested. VEGETABLES. The potato is the most important representative of this class, both for nutritive value and for its agreeable flavor. It forms an important article of food for many people. The chemical composition does not difi'er materially in the several varieties, al- though there is some diSerence in flavor which serves as the ba- sis of choice in the difierent kinds. The relative value of pota- toes is determined by their weight, for the heavier they are m relation to size, the more starch they contain. They are defi- cient in mineral matter and are therefore unfit to be a sole food. New and waxy potatoes are less digestible than old and mealy ones. The time required for their digestion is from two and a half to three and a hal f hours. Cabbage, mustard, radishes, turnips, onions, tomatoes, cucum- FOOD. 257 bers, and pumkin, constitute the least nutritious class of veget- able foods, and ai'e perhaps less valuable for their direct nutritive elements than for their indirect and medicinal and saline juices. FRUITS. These are less nutrient foods than luxuj'ious, yet they are ad- ditions to a dietary. Their agreeable flavor moistens the mouth and stimulates the sense of taste. They differ in digestibility according to the proportion of fibrous tissue they contain. In such fruits as the strav^berry, pine-apple, grape, and banana the cell-wall is very thin and easily broken up, hence digestion is easily performed. All fruits contain much fluid in relation to the solid matter, and supply sugar, acids, salts, and various vola- tile essences, upon which their flavor depends, and are extremely useful in preserving health and promoting the appetite. A great blessing has been gained by the development of the vari- ous methods of preserving fruits in such a manner as to retain their juices, salts, and flavor. CONDIMEITTS. While condiments are not foods, they are extremely valuable adjuncts to food and useful medicines. They render the food more palatable, stimulate the appetite, and assist in preserving food. 17 OHAPTEE XXIII. FOOD ADULTERATIONS. BY THOMAS E. POPE. Professor of Chemistry, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Ames, Iowa. BAKING POWDERS. ^AKING powders are a mixture of bicarbonate of soda with either tartaric acid, cream of tartar, or acid phos- phate of lime. The adulterations are generally flour, starch, and alum. The flour and starch being used to increase the weight and bulk, and alum to make the bread white and stiffen the gluten of the flour, so that an inferior flour can be used to make good bread. To detect flour, and starch, dissolve the powder in water. If nothing but cream of tartar, tartaric acid, and bicarbonate of soda have been used, the powder will dissolve completelJ^ If tartaric acid has been used some flour has to be added to keep the powder from spoiling, and a small amount therefore must not be looked upon as an impurity. Tartaric acid is the most economical to use of the two, one half of the acid properties be- ing neutralized in cream of tartar. To detect alum see article on flour. As the value of baking powders depends entirely on the amount of gas they will generate, an estimation of the amount will de- termine their comparative merits. This can be done roughly as follows: Wrap some of the baking powder up in porous paper, then fill a pan with warm water, hold a tumbler inclined under the water, when filled with water raise the closed end out, and lift 259 260 ' FOOD ADULTERATIONS. the tumbler as high as possible without letting the mouth come out from the water. Then insert the paper containing the pow- der quickly under the mouth of the tumbler. As soon as the water sinks through the paper gas will be formed, and the amount in the tumbler will show the value of the powder. COFFEE. Raw coffee when shaken up with cold water, allowed to stand for fifteen minutes and filtered, gives a filtrate nearly colorless. The coffee bean is not changed by soaking in warm water, but the imitated bean either crumbles, renders the water turbid, or else changes its color. Roasted unground coffee when shaken with water floats, but the imitated bean sinks. The water remains colorless if the cof- fee has not been sprinkled with sugar to glaze before roasting. To test ground roasted coffee, shake three parts of the coffee up with twenty parts of cold water, set aside for half an hour, shake again and filter. The filtrate ought not to be bitter and should be colorless or slightly yellow. Adulterations give a yel- low or brown tint and some a bitter taste to the filtrate. To detect adulterations with wheat, rye, or any substance con- taining starch, shake up the cofiee with a dilute solution of caus- tic potash, filter, dilute with considerable water, acidify with hj'- drochloric or sulphuric acid, and add a few drops of iodine solu- tion. The solution will turn blue if starchy adulterations are present. — From Fresenius^ '"'Zeitscheifs." FLOUR. To detect adulteration with alum, make a solution of logwood by soaking for twenty minutes about two parts of logwood in the form of sawdust, or raspings, with one thousand parts of rain water. This solution must be made up fresh when Avanted, and the logwood from which the sawdust is made must be taken from the center of a large piece where it is not exposed to the air. Logwood chips will not do as well, and the extract is of no value at all. Make a solution of carbonate of ammonia by dis- solving one part of the salt in three parts of water and one of ammonia. Take about half an ounce of the flour and mix with rain water to a thin paste, add about a table-spoonful of the log- wood solution previously mixed with an equal bulk of the car- FOOD ADULTERATIONS. 261 bonate of ammonia; if alum is present the mixture will turn bluish black; if not it remains pink. — Bobbins'' test. SUGAR. Pure sugar is soluble in water, and some adulterations, such as starch, terra alba, gypsum, etc., can be detected by their in- solubility. To detect glucose, add to the solution of sugar a few drops of a solution of copper sulphate, then enough of a solution of caustic potash to dissolve the precipitate first formed, and boil. A red precipitate proves the presence of glucose, the amount of precipitate depending on the quantity of glucose present. A simpler method, though not as delicate, is to boil the solution of sugar with a solution of caustic potash; if glucose is present the solution will turn brown, the depth of color depending on the amount of glucose present. Brown sugars, molasses, and syrups all contain some glucose, and powdered sugar some starch. TEAS. To detect coloring or facing material, agitate half an ounce or so of tea in a little warm water for a few minutes, and strain through muslin; the coloring matter will pass through, and, on standing, settle out. Green teas are more apt to be covered with injurious matters than black. Foreign leaves can best be de- tected after soaking in water, when they unroll and show their form; if the tea is powdered the microscope must be used. VINEGAR. To detect the presence of mustard, ginger, or any astringent principle used to give a fictitious strength, add carbonate of soda (washing s&da) until there is no more effervescence; any acid or astringent taste will be the test for impurities. To prove the presence of mineral acids, sulphuric, hydrochloric, etc., boil three or four ounces of vinegar twenty minutes with six or seven grains of powdered starch, then add one or two drops of diluted tincture of iodine; a blue color, the reaction of starch on iodine, will prove the absence of mineral acids. This test is based on the fact that boiling starch with mineral acids changes it to dextrine and glucose; if no mineral acids are present the starch is left unchanged, and gives its characteristic color with iodine. The strength of vinegars can be roughly ascertained by weigh- 262 FOOD ADULTERATIONS. ing out one ounce of clear and transparent crystals of washing soda, and slowly pouring on it the vinegar to be tested until ac- tive effervescence ceases; this will take place as soon as enough acid has been added to neutralize the soda. One ounce of wash- ing soda will neutralize one-half ounce of acetic acid, the acid of vinegar, and dividing this number by the number of ounces of vinegar used, will give its strength. Good vinegar ought to con- tain about four and one-half per cent of acid. WATER. Water when pure is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and not turned brown by Nessler's solution. The odor is best detected by heating the water nearly to boiling in a clean flask or bottle, shaking and smelling; heating makes the odor stronger. The color can best be observed by holding the bottle, which must be of clear white glass, up to the light, and no particles should be seen floating round in the water. Nessler's solution had better be prepared at a drug store or by some chemist. The formula is: Dissolve four parts of iodide of potash in ten parts of distilled water, and add while warming powdered red iodide of mercury, until a little remains undis- solved, then dilute with forty parts of water; filter and add seventy-five parts of dilute caustic soda solution (one part of soda to twenty of water); let it stand for two days, and decant from any residue that may settle. Add about a tea-spoonful of the Nessler's solution to a couple of ounces of water in a wine-glass. A brown or red coloration is due to free ammonia, and though harmless in itself, indicates that the water has been contaminated with organic matter which has since been destroyed. Water showing much of a coloration is not fit to drink. A white precipitate is due to lime or mag- nesia, which makes a water hard but is not unhealthy. Another simple test for organic impurities is to add a table- spoonful of granulated sugar to a pint of water, pour into a clean glass bottle and set in the sunlight; the bottle must be kept corked loosely. If the water remains clear, it is free from or- ganic mater; if it clouds, it is impure. Water when freezing throws out lime and other inorganic impurities, but retains much of the organic matter, and ice made from impure water is unfit to drink. CHAPTEE XXIV. ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. BY PROF. T. E. POPE. ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. HERE are three general raethods to be pursued: First— To remove the poison from the body by emetics and purgatives. Warm water and mustard is a safe and quick emetic. Salt and water may also be employed. Vomiting may be aided by tickling the throat with a feather. Second — To administer something that shall retard the absorp- tion of the poison. White of eggs, flour, milk and lard, all act in this manner, and sometimes form harmless compounds with the poison. Lard or fats must not be given in cases of poison- ing by phosphorus. Third — To administer some substance that shall act chemically on the poison and form a harmless com- pound or else combat its physiological action. ACIDS. Hydrochloric, called also muriatic; sulphuric, called also oil vitriol; nitric, called also aqua fortis; acetic acid and vinegar. Antidotes. — Some alkali, as carbonate of soda, or soapsuds. Very dilute nitric acid in sawdust is useful for cleaning brass. ALKALIES. Ammonia, potash, soda, and their carbonates. Antidote. — Vinegar or vegetable acids, lemons, milk. Ammonia is used to soften water and remove grease stains; potash and soda to make soap. 263 264 ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. AJ^TIMONY. Antidote. — Vomiting should be induced by large draughts of warm water. Chemical antidote — strong infusion of green tea, oak bark, or nut-galls have been recommended. Antimony is met with generally as tarter emetic. AESENIC. Antidote. — Give an emetic and white of egg in milk. The chemical antidote is hydrated resquioxide of iron, prepared by add- ing ammonia to tincture of iron, and straining off the precipitate on muslin. A table-spoonful or more of this may be given at a dose. Arsenic in a poisonous form is found in arsenious acid, frequently called arsenic, fly powder or cobalt, Fowler's solution, Paris green, Emerald green, and a number of other substances. COPPER. Antidote. — Emetics and white of egg or milk. Vinegar must not be given. Copper in the form of copper sulphate, verdigris, and Paris green are all poisonous. Cases of poisoning are known from cooking acid food in copper or brass vessels. LEAD. Antidote. — Emetics; sulphate of magnesia or epsom salts; very dilute sulphuric acid ; milk with white of egg. Lead in the form of white lead, sugar of lead, red lead and litharge are all poisonous, and rain water kept in contact with lead pipes in cisterns is un- safe to drink. HYDROCHLORIC ACID— See Acids. IODINE AND IODIDE OF POTASH. Antidote. — Emetics; wheat flour; starch. Iodine forms an in- soluable compound with starch. There is no chemical antidote to iodide of potash. DOVER'S POWDER— See Opium. LAUDANUM— See Opium. MORPHINE— See Opium. NITRIC ACID— See Acids. ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. 265 OPIUM. Paragoric, laudanum, Dover's powders and morphiue are all made from opium. Antidote. — Emetics. Keep the person awake; striking with wet cloths and dashing cold water over the head and chest are useful. As a stimulant strong coffee is recommended. OXALIC ACID. Antidote. — Powdered chalk, magnesia, white wash, large draughts of warm water; these should be given as soon as possible. Carbonate of soda is of no use. Oxalic acid is used to remove ink stains and iron rust from white clothing, polishing marble, and looks very much like epsom salts; it differs in its acid taste. PAKAGOKIC— See Opium. PHOSPHOROUS. Antidote. — An emetic as soon as possible. Fats must not be given. Purgatives may be given if the poison has passed into the intestines. Phosphorous is found on matches, and in rat poison. POTASH— See Ammonia. SILVER AS I^ITRATE. Antidote. — Common salt administered as soon as possible. Nitrate of silver is used in indelible inks and also as a caustic. SODA— See Ammonia. SULPHURIC ACID— See Acids. STRYCHNINE. Antidote. — Emetic and use of chloroform as a chemical anti- dote; strong solution of green tea has been recommended. Used only as a poison. ZINC. Antidote. — Milk and white of egg; large amount of warm water, repeatedly given. Carbonate of soda has been recom- mended as an antidote. CHAPTER XXV. DANGEROUS ILLUMINATING OILS. BY J. K. MACOMBER, B. SC, Professor of Physics in the Iowa College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Ames, Iowa. DANGEEOUS OILS. |TL lamps continue to explode. Life and property are des- [I troyed almost every day because of accidents, with what are supposed to be kerosene oil lamps. The general pub- lic attributes the explosion to the upsetting of the lamp or some other carelessness. People are not aware of the fact that good kerosene oil will not explode. They seem slow to believe that an explosion or a sudden burst of flame from a broken lamp IS certain evidence of a bad oil. It is the purpose of these pages to point out the nature of these substances, and the practical methods by which the dangerous can be detected and distin- guished from the safe oils. All these oils are the product of petroleum. Petroleum or "rock oil," occurs as a natural product in enormous quantities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other adjacent states. It is found in wells from which, in some cases, hundreds of barrels flow in a day. The native petroleum is a dark colored fluid, and from it by distillation are obtained a large number of substances which are used for illuminating purposes. All of these substances may be classed as " Hydro-carbons," being composed of hydrogen and carbon in various proportions. All are inflammable and all are sometimes used for burning in lamps. When petroleum is heated the first liquid driven off, that we need consider, is GASOLENE. This is a very clear transparent liquid with a specific gravity of about Q6, calling water 100. It has a penetrating odor and is 267 268 DANGEROUS ILLUMINATING OILS. SO volatile that unless it is kept in a perfectly air-tight vessel it soon escapes. Its vapor is highly inflammable far below the ^ freezing point of water, and if a quantity is once fired it blazes up with such violence that it can hardly be extinguished. Mixed with a certain proportion of air it forms a compound which ex- plodes like gunpowder. This is the substance used in automatic gas machines for making gas. Air is pumped over the gasoline and mixed with the vapor. If the proportion of air to vapor is kept about right it burns much like ordinary gas, aifd by storing the liquid under ground far from a building, no special danger need be feared. GASOLENE STOVES AND GASOLENE LAMPS. Stoves are now made in which gasolene vapor is burned. A reservoir holding about a gallon is placed several feet above the point where it is to be burned, and then by heating a tube con- taining the liquid, the vapor issues forth mixed with air and pro- duces a very hot flame. In careless hands these stoves are certainly dangerous. And the greatest danger arises from the fact that those who use them must generally store some of the gasolene about the premises. If there exists the slightest defect in the vessel, the vapor steals out and a lighted lantern or lamp brought near will almost certainly result in a violent explosion. Lamps were formerly made which burned gasolene, and the same objection applies to them that does to stoves. No good insur- ance company will take risks on buildings where this substance is used. The following article, clipped from a Chicago paper, illustrates the nature of gasolene: "GrASOLENE EXPLOSION". — A mixed case of bad judgment, hero- ism and suffering occurred at an early hour yesterday morning at the house of Mr. J. M — , Barber street. The husband and father of the family had gone away, and Mi's. M. subsequently went to light a gasolene stove, on which she had been accustomed to pre- pare her meals. As she bent over it with a lighted match an explo- sion occurred which was heard in several houses in the vicinity. Before Mrs. M. could realize her dangerous situation, the flames from the combustible material had enveloped her dress and were scorching her body. The flames had taken hold of some timber DANGEROUS ILLUMINATING OILS. 269 and spread rapidly to a bed near by, in which her twelve year old boy was sleeping. Before he awoke he was badly scorched. His mother in her despair ran to the back yard, her clothing ablaze, and crying for help in her frenzy. Her daughter pursued her with a blanket and threw it about her mother and smothered the flames, but not before her own face and hands were blistered. In the meantime the boy had been battling for himself and had suc- ceeded in extinguishing the flames on his own clothing, but at the expense of intense suffering. The greater portion of his body was literally roasted and he was unable to speak. The mother was delerious. The fire department turned out and extinguished the fire. The boy and girl will recover, but there is little hope for the mother." — Times. XAPTHA AND BENZIKE. The next product of petroleum is naptha. This substance is also highly inflammable, with a very pungent odor and clear trans- parent appearance. There are three grades of naptha in the mar- ket, A, B and C. These vary in specific gravity from TO to 75. A light naptha is called ''benzine." Both are used for removing grease from clothing. Naptha is used for making gas by forc- ing the liquid into a red-hot retort in the absence of air. It is then driven into a gas holder and mixed with about forty per cent of air. This process is used very successfully at the Agri- cultural College. In some countries naptha is mixed with earth and then used for fuel. All grades of naptha are dangerous, when used for illuminating purposes. Like gasolene, its vapor ignites far below the freezing point of water, and at the ordi- nary temperature of the air it burns with great fury. Its vapor mixed with air in certain proportions produces a compound as explosive and dangerous as gunpowder. If the spout of a can containing it is left open, fire is liable to run down into the ves- sel, following the vapor, and explode the can. If a lighted lamp containing this substance breaks, the entire room will be filled with flame in an instant, all light objects will be ignited and the results are always disastrous to life and property. The per cent of naptha in our American petroleums is very large; and since its uses are comparatively few, its cheapness offers a constant 270 DANGEROUS ILLUMINATING OILS. temptation for dishonest manufacturers and dealers, to mix it with the next and most valuable product of petroleum. KEROSENE. Good kerosene is almost as transparent as water when prop- erly prepared. Some of it is of a yellowish color, and has a pe- culiar bluish tint when viewed by transmitted light. Its specific gravity is about 80, sometimes a little more or a little less. It evaporates very slowly, and does not give off any inflammable vapors until heated to J 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Good, standard kerosene oil is perfectly safe. A lighted match can be thrust into it at any temperature below 150 degrees and it will not fire it. If spilled on a table and a match applied, it will be difficult to light it, and when ignited it burns very slowly at first. It is the mixing of naptha with kerosene which renders it so danger- ous. Good kerosene sells at twenty-five to thirty cents per gal- lon, retail. Naptha can be purchased at 11 to 12 cents per gallon by the dealer. By selling naptha for kerosene enormous profits are made and the consumer is cheated in two ways. He is in constant danger of fire, and the naptha does not give near as much light as good oil. Formerly it was thought to be safe to use oil having a burning point of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. If lamps were always kept in good condition this would answer; but it frequently happens that the top portion of a lamp gets very hot. This raises the fluid up to the burning point and serious consequences may follow. The fire test should be 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil of this quality may be regarded as perfectly safe. HOW TO TEST OILS. With a little care any one can test a specimen of oil and de- termine whether it is fit for use. A common thermometer, a tea-cup, saucer, and a little warm water includes the apparatus needed. First remove all objects from the table which are in- flammable. Put some boiling water in the tea-cup and gradu- ally pour in cold water, until its temperature is about 145 de- grees. Four a little oil on the warm water and stir well until the oil has the same temperature as the water. Light a match and move it quickly two or three times over the surface of the oil. DANGEROUS ILLUMINATING OILS. 271 Do not hold it still a moment. The test is for the purpose of determining the presence of inflammable vapors over the fluid. Finally plunge the match quickly into the oil. If it does not ignite the oil is all right. If it lights, reject it as below the standard and dangerous. To extinguish the oil when lighted place the saucer over the tea-cup. If the oil is suspected to be very bad, pour a little on water at about 60 or 70 degrees. If it contains naptha or gasolene it will ignite the moment a match comes over it and burn furiously. Again, pour a little good ker- osene oil on a smooth board and apply a lighted match. It will ignite with great difficulty and probabl}' go out. Now pour a little oil which contains naptha, or a little pure naptha, on a board and apply a lighted match. It will burst into a great flame instantly, and unless very little is used the flame will rise up several feet. All these tests should be made in a room where there is no light or fire near, as any specimen may be a danger- ous one. Below is presented a table, giving the specific gravities of a number of these substances, and also their burning points: NAME, SPECIFIC GRAVITY. BURNING POINT, CHARACTER. Gasolene C Naptha B Naptha A Naptha — Kerosene Paraffine "Safety Fluid "Kerosene" B 66.5 70 72 74 80 84 69 77.5 Below freezing point Below freezing point Below freezing point Below freezing point 150" Solid Below freezing point 40« Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Perfectly safe Very dangerous Dangerous The specific gravities represent the relative weight compared with water, which is called 100. Paraffine is a white, wax-like substance sometimes used for making candles, and is the residuum from the distillation of some petroleums. The so-called " safety fluid" is a specimen sent me for examination after a lamp filled with it had exploded and burned two children to death. The specimen marked "kerosene" B is another which was sent me for examination, and the person using it had been warned against it by having two slight explosions, or " puffs," which blew out the light. He had also noticed that the light 272 DANGEROUS ILLUMINATING OILS. from it was very poor. It is vile, dangerous stuff, and the men who sell such should be prosecuted to the extent of the law. But the so-called " Safety Fluid" is one of the most dangerous substances ever put into a lamp ; a man could read by a lighted candle stuck into a keg of gunpowder with more "safety" than by a lamp fed with such fluid. Better have a powder magazine under your bed than to store such safety fluids about your house. There are certain dishonest dealers who put some substance into low grade oils and claim that it renders them safe. Then some such name as " safety fluid" is given it, and it goes forth on its errand of death; for it can be depended upon, that no chemi- cals put into a bad oil can make it safe. Accidents are most likely to occur when using a lamp only partially full of the dan- gerous oil. When the lamp cools, air enters and mixes with the vapor, and the next time it is lighted perhaps the flame will run down beside the wick and an explosion results. In testing an oil a bluish flame will sometimes be seen to run over the surface of the fluid, and then go out at a temperature below where the oil burns. This first temperature is called the "flashing point." In some states the "flashing point" is used as the basis for test- ing oils. This is a lower temperature by five or ten degrees than the " burning point." The dangerous qualities of naptha and gasolene are inherent in the nature of the liquids themselves, and no human device can alter them, and yet there are men who go about pretending to sell " non-explosive napthas," and " non-explosive" lamps and stoves. " Safety lamps" and "safety fluids" are only safe when the fluid used is good kerosene, and this is always safe. The victims of these disasters are generally innocent women and children. By purchasing oils in quantities of five gallons at a time, and applying the tests as described in this paper, all danger can be avoided. INDEX. A. PAGE. Acids 263 Adulterations— Food 259 Adulterations in Mustard 245 Alkalies 263 Almond Cream 144 Amber Soup 153 Anchovy Omelette 226 Angels' Food 85 Animal Foods. 250 Antidotes to Poisons 263 Antimony 264 Apple Amber Pudding 115 Apple Batter Pudding 117 Apple Charlotte 139 Apple Corer 38 Apple Custard 134 Apple Ginger 235 Apples — Iced 236 Apple Jelly 231 Apple Marmalade 234 Apple Omelet 116 Apple Pies 107 Apple Pudding 116 Apple Soulflee 140 Apples — Stewed, for children . . 235 Apple — To Bake for children . . . 226 Apricot Cream 134 Apricot Toast 246 B. Bain Marie 88 Baking 23 Baked Apple Pudding 116 Baked Cui?tard 132 Baked Fish 193 Baked Indian Pudding 126 Baked Omlette Soufflee 141 Baked Onions 206 Baked Potatoes 201 Baked Squush 208 Baked Tomatoes 206 Baked Tongue 168 Baking Powders 259 Baking Powder Biscuit 71 Baking Powder Muffins 71 Barley Water 239 Batter Padding 119 lo FAOE. Bavarian Creams . 135 Beaten Omelette 223 Beef 61 Beef a la Mode 162 Beef Soup 154 Beefsteak 165 Beefsteak Omelet 168 Beefsteak Pudding 166 Beefsteak Rolls 167 Beef Stew 164 Beef Tea 243 Beets 209 Benzene 269 Berry Pie Ill Beny Pudding 120 Beverages 237 Biscuit 70 Blackberry Wine 241 Black Cake 78 Black Pudding 118 Blanc Mange 138, 139 Blanquette of Veal 171 Boiled Apple or Fruit Pudding. 117 Boiled Asparagus 209 Boiled Beef 163 Boiled Carrots 209 Boiled Custard 132 Boiled Fish 193, 194 Boiled Ginger Pudding 119 Boiled Ham 176 Boiled Icing 99 Boiled Indian Pudding 127 Boiled Leg of Lamb 175 Boiled Leg of Mutton 174 Boiled Parsnips 209 Boiled Potatoes 201 Boiled Turkey 180 Boiling 23 Boning 25 Boston Cream Cake 95 Bouillon 154 Bouquet-Garni 25 Braising 26 Bread and Breakfast Cakes 61 Bread 61, 66 Bread-crumb Cakes 73 Bread Cake 79 Bread Omelette 226 Bread Sauce 189 273 274 INDEX. PAGE. Breakfast.. 13 Breakfast, Dinner, Tea 13 Breakfast Cakes 72 Breakfast Rolls 67 Breast of Mutton 174 Brillat-Savarin 30 Broiling 27 Broiled Mackerel 195 Broiled Quail.... 185 Bronchitis — Receipt for 245 Brown Betty 115 Brovm Bread 68, 69 Brown Bread Pan 38 Brown Fricasee of Chicken 181 Buckwheat Cakes 73 Burnt Cream 137 Butter and Fats (as foods) 254 c. Cabbage 205 Cabage a la Creme 204 Cabbage Farci, or Stuffed 205 Cabbage Salad 216 Cabinet Pudding 127 Cake 75 Cake Box 39 Calf's Foot .Jelly 232 Calf's Foot Jelly, with wine 231 Candy 245, 246 Canned Salmon — How to Use. . 195 Canning Sweet Corn 244 Caper Sauce 182 Caramel Cream 137 Caramel Custard 138 Caramel for Coloring Soup 160 Caramel Pudding 120 Caramels .... 246 Caramel Sauce 129 Carrot Omelette 227 Casserole 39 Cauliflower 210 Celery Salad 214 Celery Salt 26 Celery Sauce 189 Charlotte a la Farisienne 97 Charlotte Polonaise Cake 95 Charlotte Russe 139 Charlotte Russe Cup 39 Cheese (as food) 253 Cheese Cakes 112 Cheese Fondu 227 Cheese Omelette 227 Cheese Scallop 227 Cherry Syrup 238 Chicken and Oyster Croquettes. 197 Chicken Croquettes 183 Chicken Curry 183 FAGB Chicken Loaf 182 Chicken Patties 182 Chicken Salad 215, 217 Chicken Soup 156 Chili Sauce 187, 188 Chocolate Cake 80 Chocolate Cream 135, 144 Chocolate Custard 132 Chocolate Icing 84, 99 Chocolate Pudding 124. 125 Chopped Pickle 220 Christmas Pudding 118 Cider Spiced Cake 89 Cii-cular Mold 40 Clam Chowder 196 Clarify Stock 151 Claret Jelly 231 Clear Soup or Consomme 151 Cleaver - 40 Clothes Sprinkler 40 Cocoanut Cake 81 Cocoanut Pie 112 Cocoanut Pudding 124 Codfish for Breakfast 196 Cod Pie 195 Coffee 237 Coffee, Adulterations in 260 Coiree Cream 135, 144 Coffee, Golden 238 Cold Apple Pudding 114 Cold Pine-apple Pudding 115 Cold Slaw 205 Composition Cake 78 Condiments 257 Confectioner's Tube 41 Consomme a la Royale 151 Cookies 91 Copper (antidote for) 264 Copper Stew-pan 40 Corn 210 Corn, To boil on the cob 210 Corn cut from the cob 210 Corn Bread. 69 Corn Cake Pans 42 Corn Meal Bread 70 Corn Soup 159 Corn Patties 210 Corn Starch Cake 81 Corn Starch Pudding 124 Cottage Cheese 228 Cottage Pudding 118 Cranberries — Preserved 233 Cream Cake 92 Cream Gravy 193 Cream Pie 94, 111 Cream Pudding 122 Cream of Rice 156 Creams 131 INDEX. 275 PAGE. Cruller 42 Cucumbers Cooked 211 Cucumbers Preserved 233 Cucumbers Sliced 211 Curds and Cream 134 Curds and Whey 133 Currant Catsup 191 Currant Jelly 229 Currants Spiced , 2o4 Curried Eggs 225 Custard a la Royale 151 Custard Cake 89 Custard Kettle 42 Custard Pie 110 Custards 131 D. Dangerous Oils 267 Darioles a la Duchess 78 Dark Puddmg 117 Delicate Cake 82 Delmonico Pudding 122 Deviled Ham 177 Digester 43 Dinner 19 Dough Cake 79 Doughnuts 91, 92, 93 Doughnut Cutter 43 Dover's Powder (antidote) 264 Drawn Butter 187 Dressing for Cabbage 204 Dried A pple Pie 108 Dried Celery and Parsley 26 Dried Peach Pie 108 Drip-pan Grate 44 Dripping — To Clarify 244 Duchesse Potatoes 202 Ducks 184 Dumplings •• 165 E. Economical Wlaite Soups 155 Egg Balls for Soup 159 Egg Boiler 43 Egg Fi-yer 44 Egg Plant 208 Egg Poacher 44 Egg Rolls 225 Egg Sauce 188 Eggs (as food) 2^2 Eggs, a la Creme 225 Eggs, Cun-ied 225 Eggs, Fried 223 Eggs, Poached 223 Eggs, Scalloped 224 PAGE. Eggs, Shen-ed 224 Eggs, Swiss 225 Eggs, To Keep Fresh 226 Egg Whisk 44 English Buns 68 F. Fairy Butter 129 Fancy Nut Cakes 78 Felt Jelly Bag 45 Fig Cake 79, 80 Fig Pudding 118 Fillet of Beef 55, 162 Fish (as food) 253 Fish and Oysters 193 Fish Balls 195 Fish Kettle 44 Fish Sauce 189 Flour, Adulterations in 260 Flour Griddle Cakes 73 Florentine Cake 84 Flumineiy 138 Fluted Knife 45 Foaming Sauce 130 Folded or Rolled Omelette 224 Food 247 Force Meat Balls 158 French Cook's Knife 45 French Gumbo 154 French Pickle 219 French Salad Dressing 213 French Salad Mixture 214 Fricandeau of Veal 170, 171 Fried Cakes 92 Fried Chicken 181 Fried Mackerel 195 Fried Onions 206 Fried Oysters 196 Fried Parsnips 209 Frizzled Beef 167 Frosting 99 Fruitcake 77 Fruits 59 Fruits (as food) 253 Fruits and Jelues 229 Frying 28 G. Galettes 68 Gasolene 267 Gasolene Stoves and Lamps. . . . 268 German Custard Sauce 113 German Pound Cake 98 German Sauce 130 GilletCake 88 276 INDEX. PAGE. Ginger Beer 240 Ginger Bread 90, 91 Ginger Cakes 94 Ginger Pudding 119 Ginger Snaps 90, 91 Glen Cottage Cake 88 Glossary ofTerms Used in Cook- ing 33 Golden Coffee 238 Gold and Silver Cake 85 Gooseberry Cream 186 Gooseberry Syrup 239 Graham Bread 69 GraT)^ Strai^ner 46 Green Apple Pies 107, 108 Green Corn Pudding 121 Green Tomatoes — Fried 207 Green Tomato Pickles 221 Green Tomato Sweet Pickles. . . 220 H. Hamburg Cream 135 Ham or Tongue Toast 177 Harricot Mutton 175 Hash and Toast 167 Herring Salad 216 Hickory Nut Cake 90 Hindquarters of Mutton 57 Hop Yeast 66 How to Cook Rice 122 How to Test Oils 270 How to Use Canned Salmon 195 Huckleberry Cake 88 Hydrochloric Acid (antidote) . . . 264 I. Ice Cream 143-144 Ice Cream Cake 86 Iced Apples 236 Iceland Moss Jelly 231 Ices 143 Imperial Cake 85 Indian Corn 255 Individual Ice Cream Molds ... 46 Iodine and Iodine of Potash 264 J. Jackson Jumbles 91 Japanese Cream 245 Jellice 239 Jellied Chicken 182 Jelly Puddmg 117 Jelly or Soup Strainer 46 Jenny Lind Cake 89 Julienne Soup 152 Katie's Plain Cake 88 Kerosene 270 Klopsof Beef 168 Krapfen 87 L. Ladies' Cake 88 Lady Finger Cake Pans 46 Lamb 57 Lamb Chops 176 Lamb Croquettes 176 Larding 30 Laudanum (antidote for) 264 Lead (antidote) 264 Liebig's Extract of Meat and Beef Tea 252 Lemon Ca,ke 82,915 Lemon Cookies 94 Lemon Ice 145 Lemon Jelly 231 Lemon Pie 109,110 Lemon Pudding 125, 126 Lemon Soufflee 140 Lemon Squeezer 47 Lemon Toast 246 Lemon Zest 31 Light Biscuit 70 Liver 55 Lobster and Crab 253 Lunch Loaf Cake 94 Lyonnaise Potatoes 203 M. Macaroni 211 Macaroni and Chicken 182 Macaroni Croquettes 212 Macaroni Soup. 153 Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.. 211 Mace Compound. ... 130 Macedoine of Fruits 2;i4 Mackerel 195 Madeira Cake 98 Marketing 51 Marmalade Cakes 95 Ma«hed Potato 202 Mayonnaise Sauce 2 13 Measures 76 Meat Pie 169 Meat Pie Mold 47 Meats 160 Meat Squeezer 47' Melons — Preserved 234 Middle Rib Cuts 54 Milk (as food) 25a INDEX. 277 PAGE. Milk Cracker Pudding 122 Mince Meat 110 Mint Sauce for Lamb 187 MisceDaneous 243 Mixed Pickle 221 Mock Mince Pies 112 Mock Oysters 210 Mock Oyster Sauce 189 Mock Turtle Soup 157 Molasses Pudding 121 Morphine (antidote) 264 Mortar and Pestle 48 MuffinCups 48 Muffins 71 Mulligatawney Soup 159 Mushroom Catsup 191 Mustard Pickle 219 Mutton 56 Mutton (as food) 251 Mutton Chops 57,174 N. Naptha 269 New Year's Cake 89 Nitric Acid (antidote) 264 Nut Cakes 78 0. Oatmeal (as food) 256 Oils— How to Test 270 Omelette Soufflee 141 One Egg Cake 89 Onions.^ 205 Onions Baked 206 Onions Fried 206 Opium (antidote) 265 Orange and Lemon Syrup 240 Orange Cake 9o Orange Pudding 125 Orange Soufflee 141 Oyster Fritters 198 Oyster Patties 197 Oyster Soup 157 Oyster Sauce for Turkey 181 Oyster Stew 196 Oyster Shortcake 197 Oysters (as food) 253 Oysters a la Creme 197 Oysters Pried 196 Oysters in the Shell 198 Oysters Scalloped 196 P. Paragoric (antidote) 265 Parisienne Potato 204 Parker House Rolls 70 PAQK. Parsnips 209 Paste for Cleaning Brass 244 Paste Jagger 48 Pastry 102 Pastry Brush 48 Peach Cobbler 111 Peach Marmalade 235 Peas 209 Peas and Beans (as food) 255 Pea Soup 158 Phosphorous (antidote) 265 Pickled Cabbage 221 Pickled Plums 220 PieTlanfc Pie 108, 109 Pies and Puddings 101 Plain Cake 90,98 Plain Dutch Sauce 190 Plain Pie Crust 102 Plain Plum Pudding 113 Plum Pudding 113, 114 Plums — Preserved 233 Poached Eggs 223 Polish Hare 167 Pomade 245 Poor Man's Pudding 113 Pop Overs 72 Pop Pudding 121 Pork 58 Pork (as food) 251 Pork-and Beans 177 Pork Cake 87 Pork Spare Ribs 176 Porter House Steak 54 Potage a la Rheim 153 Potash (antidote) 265 Pototo 199 Potato Bumpo 203 Potato Cheese Cakes 112 Potato Croquettes 203 Potato Cutters 48 Potato Masher 48 Potato Muffle 203 Potato Pudding 118 Potato Puff 202 Potato Quirlers 49 Potato, Saratoga 203 Potato Snow 202 Potato, To Bake 201 Potato, To Boil 201 Potato Yeast 65 Potted Meat 169 Poultry 58 Poultry and Game (as foods) . . . 252 Pound Cake 79 Prairie Chickens 185 Preparing Fruits for Canning. . 229 Preserved CranbeiTies 233 Preserved Cucumbers 233 278 INDEX. PAGE. Preserved Melons 234 Pressed Chicken 182 Pudding a la Francaise 114 PuffPaste 103-106 Puffs 121 Pumpkin Pie Ill Q Queen Cake 85 Queen of Puddings 121 Quick Pudding 121 R. Radankuchen • 87 Raised Muffins 71 Raspbeny Acid 239 Raspberry Ice Cream 144 Raspberry Vinegar 239 Raspberry Wine 240 Receipt for Bronchitis 245 Rennet Custard 133 Rhubarb Jelly 230 Bhubarb Wine 238 Rice (as food) 256 Rice Cutlets 175 Rice, How to Cook 122 Rice Pancakes 73 Rice Puddmg 123 Rice Waffles 72,73 Rich Stock 149 Ripe Cucumber Pickles 219 Roast Beef 161 Roast Chicken 181 Koast Goose 184 Roast Leg of Lamb 175 Roast Leg of Mutton 174 Roast Leg of Veal 169 Roast Pork 176 Roast Quail 184 Roasting 31 Roast Turkey 178 Rock Cakes 97 Root Beer 240 Rough Puff Paste 103 Roux 32 Russian Fish 194 Russian Salad 215 s. Sabyllon 130 Saddle of Venison • 185 Salad Dressing 213, 214 Sally Lunn 71 Salmon Mayonnaise 216 Saratoga Potato 203 PAGE. Sauce for Cold Salmon 188 Sauce for Fish 188 Sauce for Turkey 189 Sauce Hollandaise 190 Sauces for Plum Pudding 129 Sauerkraut Salad 216 Sauteing 32 Savory Gravy 190 Savory Sauces 187 Scallopped Eggs 224 Scalloped Fish 194 Scalloped Oysters 196 Scones 72 Serving Dinner 20 Setting the table 16 Shirred Eggs 224 Short Bread 97 Short Crust 103 Shoulder of Lamb 175 Shoulder of Mutton 57 Sieve for Purees 49 Silver Cake 82 Silver Nitrate (antidote) 265 Sirloin Roast 63 Sirloin Steak 53 Sliced Cucumber 211 Snow Pudding 127 Soda (antidote) 265 Soda and Cream -Tartar Biscuits 70 Soda Cake 88 Soufflees 132 Soufflee of Rice 142 Soup 149 Soups, Meats, Poultry and Game 147 Southern Pound (^ake 79 Spanish Buns 94 Spiced Currants 220, 234 Spiced Peaches 220 Spmach 208 Sponge Cake 83, 84. 98 Spring Soup 152 Squash, Baked 208 Squash Pie Ill Squash Strainer 49 Steam Pudding 118 Stewed Apples, for Children. . . 235 Stewed Cabbage 204 Stewed Quail 184 Stewed Tomatoes 206 Stewed Tongue 169 Strawberrv Ice Cream 144 String Beans 209 Strychnine (antidote) 265 Stuffed Tomatoes 207 Suet Pudding 117 Sugar Ginger Bread 90 Sugar (adulterations in) 261 INDEX. 279 PAGE. Sulpliuric Acid (antidote) 265 Sunderland Pudding 120 Summer iSquash 203 Sweet Breads 172-173 Sweet Potato 204 Sweet Potato, Broiled 204 Swiss Blackberry Wine 241 Swiss Eggs 225 Swiss Roll 97 T. Table of Domestic Measures of _,Fluids 245 Table of Weights 76 Taper Strainer 49 Tapioca Puddmg 123 Tartare Sauce 188 Tea Kettle Strainer 49 Tea Making 237 Teas (adulterations) 261 Tenderloins r.'6 The Potato 199 Tipsy Cake 86 To Bake Fish 193 To Bal« Apples for Children. . . 236 To Boil Fish 193 To Broil salt Pork 176 To Clarify Dripping 244 To Fry Fish 194 To Fry Ham 177 To Fry Liver 174 To Fry Salt Pork 176 To Hash Beef 167 To Keep Eggs fresh 226 To Make a Hen's Nest 139 To Make Slip 134 To Make Tough Meat Tender. . 169 To Make Tough Steak Tender. . 166 Tomato Butter 244 Tomato Catsup 191 Tomato Mayonnaise 214 Tomato Omelette 226 Tomato Salad 214 Tomato Sauce 190 Tomato Soup 152, 156 Tomatoes, Baked 206 Tomatoes, To Broil 207 Tomatoes, To Stew 206 Tomatoes Stuffed 207 PAQE. To Preserve Meat or Fresh Fish. 244 To Stew Cabbage 204 To Stuff and Roast a Calf's Liver 172 Trussing Needle 50 Turkey Soup 154 Turnips 207 Turnips a la Creme 208 V. Ygr^j 55 Veal (as food). . .. '. ........... 251 Veal Croquettes 171 Veal Cutlets 170 Veal Loaf 172 Veal Olives 172 Vegetable Basket 50 Vegetable Cuiters 50 Vegetable Foods 254 Vegetable Soup 156 Vegetables 59, 199 Venison Steak 185 Vermicelli Soup , 153 Viennoise Pudding 114 Vinegar (adulterations) 261 w. Waffles 72 Washington Cake 88 Water (adulterations) 262 Wedding Cake 77 Wheat (as food) 255 White Cake 82 White Fricassee of Chicken 181 White Mountain Cake 86 White Sauce for Game 189 White Sponge Cake 83 Winter Squash 208 Y. Yeast 65 Yeast Bread 66-67 Yellow Cake 89 Yorkshire Pudding 164 z. Zmc (antidote) 265 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 010 230 529 2