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Title: The ladies' new book of cookery : a practical system for private families in town and country; with directions for carving, and arranging the table for parties, etc. Also, preparations of food for invalids and for children.
Author: Sarah Josepha Buell Hale
Publisher: New York, H. Long & Brother

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> THE LADY'S NEW BOOK OF COOKERY.

> CHAPTER I.

> GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR SOUPS AND STOCK.

Cleanliness Essential--Proper Meats--Water--Time--Ingredients--To Clarify--Seasoning--Stock--Brown--White--Veal Gravy--Jellies--Coloring.

THE perfection of soup is, that it should have no particular flavor: this can only be secured by careful proportion of the several ingredients.

The kettles in which the soups are made should be well tinned, and kept particularly clean, by being washed in hot water and rubbed dry before they are put away; otherwise they will have a musty smell, which will give a disagreeable taste to all things afterwards cooked in them. If they are not kept well tinned also, the taste as well as the color of the soup will be liable to be affected by the iron; and if the soup-kettle be made of copper and the tinning not quite perfect, every thing cooked in it will be in a greater or less degree poisonous as every thing which is sweet, salt, or sour, extracts verdigris from copper.

Soup must never be suffered to stand in any vessel of tin, or copper, or iron, to get cold; but always must be poured off, while hot, into a shallow, well-glazed earthenware pan, and be stirred about, every five minutes, till it is nearly cold, otherwise, the liquor will become sour.

Lean, juicy, fresh-killed meat, is best for soup: stale meat will make it ill-flavored; and fat meat is very wasteful. An economical cook will save, as ingredients for soup, the liquor


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in which meat has been boiled; for example, leg of pork liquor may be easily made into peas' soup; and calf's head liquor, and knuckle, be made the base or stock of white soup. The trimmings of undressed meat and game will be useful to enrich soups; and the bones of dressed or undressed meat assist to make a good stock. Ham gives fine flavor, as well as the bone of a dressed ham, taking care to allow for its saltness.

Soft water should always be used for making soup, unless it be of green peas, in which case hard water better preserves its color; and it is a good general rule to apportion a quart of water to a pound of meat, that is to say, flesh without bone; but rich soups may have a smaller quantity of water.

Meat for soup should never be drowned at first in water, but put into the kettle with a very small quantity and a piece of butter, merely to keep the meat from burning until the juices are extracted; by which means of stewing the gravy will be drawn from it before the remainder of the water is added. A single pound will thus afford better and richer soup than treble the quantity saturated with cold water.

The water in the soup-kettle, when first put on, should not be allowed to boil for at least half an hour; else the water will not penetrate, but harden the meat, and keep in the impurities which, in slow heating, will rise as scum. Long and slow boiling, for at least four or six hours, is necessary to extract the strength from meat; but the pot should never be off the boil from the time it commences. The fat should be taken off as it rises. If, however, as is generally thought desirable, the soup should be prepared the day before it is wanted, the fat can be removed when cold, in a cake; and the soup attains more consistence without losing the flavor; but it need not be seasoned till wanted, and then slowly heated till boiling.

When put away to cool, the soup should be poured into a freshly scalded, and thoroughly dried earthen pan; and, when to be kept for some days, occasionally simmered for a few minutes over the fire, to prevent its becoming mouldy; in re-warming soup be careful not to pour in the sediment.

All vegetables, bread-raspings, or barley, for plain common soups, when merely intended to thicken and flavor the soup, should be put in as soon as the pot is skimmed; but if the vegetables are to be served in the soup, none, with the exception of onions, should be put down to stew at the same time as the meat, and the different sorts should be put down at different


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times. Onions, whether whole, or sliced and fried, at once; pot-herbs, carrots, and celery, three hours afterwards; and turnips and others of a delicate kind, only about an hour before the soup is ready.

Spices should be put whole into soups; allspice is one of the best, though it is not so highly esteemed as it deserves.

Seville orange-juice has a finer and milder acid than lemon-juice; but both should be used with caution.

Sweet herbs, for soups or broths, consist of knotted marjoram, thyme, and parsley,--a sprig of each tied together. Tarragon is also used in soups.

The older and drier onions are, the stronger their flavor; in dry seasons, also, they are very strong: the quantity should be proportioned accordingly.

Although celery may generally be obtained for soup throughout the year, it may be useful to know, that dried celery-seed is an excellent substitute. It is so strongly flavored, that a dram of whole seed will enrich half a gallon of soup as much as will two heads of celery.

Mushrooms are much used, and when they cannot be obtained fresh, mushroom ketchup will answer the purpose, but it should be used very sparingly, as nothing is more difficult to remove than the over-flavoring of ketchup.

A piece of butter, in proportion to the liquid, mixed with flour, and added to the soup, when boiling, will enrich and thicken it. Arrow-root, or the farina or flour of potato, is far better for the thickening of soups than wheaten flour.

The finer flavoring articles, as ketchup, spices, wines, juice, &c., should not be added till the soup is nearly done.

A good proportion of wine is, a gill to three pints of soup, this is as much as can be used without the vinous flavor predominating, which is never the case in well made soups. Wine should be added late in the making, as it evaporates very quickly in boiling.

Be cautious of over-seasoning soups, with pepper, salt, spices, or herbs; for it is a fault that can seldom be remedied: any provision over-salted is spoiled. A tea-spoonful of sugar is a good addition in flavoring soups.

Vermicelli is added to soups in the proportion of a quarter of a pound for a tureen of soup for eight persons: it should be broken, then blanched in cold water, and is better if stewed in broth before it is put into the soup.

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If soups are too weak do not cover them in boiling, that the watery particles may evaporate; but if strong, cover the soup-kettle close. If they want flavor, most of the prepared sauces will give it to meat-soups, and anchovy with walnut ketchup and soy, will add to those of fish, but must be used sparingly.

If coloring be wanted, a piece of bread toasted as brown as possible--but not blackened--and put into soup to simmer for a short time before its going to be served, will generally be found sufficient. Burnt onions will materially assist in giving a fine brown color to soup, and also improve the flavor, or burnt sugar, the usual browning may be used.

To clarify soup, put into it, when first set on, the whites of 1 or 2 eggs beaten to a stiff froth; skim the pot constantly, and the liquor will be clear when strained. Soak the napkin in cold water before you strain hot soup through it, as the cold will harden the fat and only allow the clear soup to pass through. Clarifying destroys somewhat of the savor of the soup, which ought, therefore, to be more highly seasoned.

It is very usual to put force-meat balls, of various sorts, into many different soups, for the purpose of improving their flavor and appearance.

There is sometimes great prejudice against the use of particular sorts of seasoning and spices. Garlic is amongst these; and many a dish is deprived of its finest flavor for want of a moderate use of it.

Tomatoes would also be found a great improvement in many kinds of soup. If onions are too strong, boil a turnip with them, and it will render them mild.

In stirring soup, do it always with a wooden spoon.

By a tureen of soup is generally meant 3 quarts.

Soup-Herb Powder, or Vegetable Relish, is an excellent article to keep on hand; it may always be used when fresh herbs cannot be had. Make it in the following manner. Take dried parsely--winter savory--sweet marjoram--lemon-thyme of each two ounces; lemon peel, cut very thin and dried--and sweet basil, one ounce each. Dry these ingredients in a warm (not hot) oven, or by the fire, till you can pound them fine in a mortar, and pass the powder through a hair-sieve. Put this powder in a clean dry bottle, and keep it closely corked. The fragrance will be retained many months. It is an economical and delicious flavoring.

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> STOCK.

[Illustration: An illustration of a tall pot with a handle on each side and a lid.]

The basis of all well-made soups is composed of what English cooks call "Stock," or broth, made from all sorts of meat, bones, and the remains of poultry or game; all of which may be put together and stewed down in the "Stock-pot;" the contents of which are, by the French, termed Consommé.

This is chiefly used for the preparation of brown or gravy soups: that intended for white soups being rather differently compounded, though made in nearly the same manner.

Brown Stock. -- Put 10 lbs. of shin of beef, 6 lbs. of knuckle of veal, and some sheep's trotters or a cow-heel, in a closely covered stew-pan, to draw out the gravy very gently, and allow it nearly to dry in until it becomes brown. Then pour in sufficient boiling water to entirely cover the meat, and let it boil up, skimming it frequently; seasoning it with whole peppers and salt, roots, herbs, and vegetables of any kind. That being done, let it boil gently 5 or 6 hours, pour the broth from off the meat, and let it stand during the night to cool. The following morning take off the scum and fat, and put it away in a stone jar for further use.

Or:--Put into a stew-pan a piece of beef, a piece of veal, an old fowl, some slices of ham or bacon, and all the trimmings of meat that can be obtained; add to these materials, where such things are abundant, partridge, grouse, or other game, which may not be sufficiently young and tender for the spit. Put a little water to it, just enough to cover half the meat, and stew very gently over a slow fire or steam apparatus. When the top piece is done through, cover the meat with boiling water or broth; season with spices and vegetables; stew all together for 8 or 10 hours in an uncovered stew-pan; skim off the fat, and strain the liquor through a fine sieve, or woollen tamis,known by cooks as a "tammy."

Brown stock may be made from an ox-cheek, ox-tail, brisket,


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flank, or shin of beef; which will, either together or separately, make a strong jelly if stewed down with a piece of ham or lean bacon, in the proportion of 1/2 lb. to every 7 lbs. of meat; but the shin of beef alone will afford a stronger and better flavor.

This stock may also be reduced to a glaze by boiling the skimmed liquor as fast as possible in a newly-tinned stew-pan, until it becomes of the desired consistence and of a good brown color; taking care at the same time to prevent it from burning.

White Stock. --Take scrag or knuckle of veal, ox-heel, or calf's-head, together with an old fowl and the trimmings of any white poultry or game which can be had, and lean ham in the proportion of 1 lb. to every 14 lbs. of meat. Cut it all into pieces (add 3 or 4 large unroasted onions and heads of celery, with a few blades of mace; but neither carrots, pepper, nor spice of any kind but mace); put into the stock-pot with just water enough to cover it: let it boil, and add 3 onions and a few blades of mace; let it boil for 5 hours, and it is then fit for use.

Veal Gravy. --When all the meat has been taken from a knuckle of veal, divide the bones, and lay them in a stew-pot, with a pound of the scrag of a neck, an ounce of lean bacon, a bunch of parsley, a little thyme, a bit of lemon-peel, and a dessert-spoonful of pepper: add as much water as will cover them. Boil and skim it; stop the pot down close, and let it simmer, as slowly as possible, 3 hours. Strain off, and let it stand till cold; then skim it, and take the jelly from the sediment. Pound some mace fine, and boil it with 2 spoonsful of water, and add to the gravy. If cream is to be put to it, do not add the salt until the gravy comes off the fire.

Savoury, or Aspic Jelly. --Bone 4 calves' feet, clean them, boil, and skim till the water is quite clear; simmer till the feet are done, add 1/2 lb. of lean ham, and strain, remove the fat, add the juice of two lemons, a tea-spoonful of whole pepper, a blade of mace, some salt, a sprig of knotted marjoram, thyme, and parsley, and 2 onions; whisk in the whites of 10 eggs, and boil till they are curdled; then pass the whole through a jelly-bag till clear. 2 table-spoonsful of tarragon vinegar will heighten the flavor.

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This jelly may be put into meat pies, when warm, or upon the tops of cold pies: cold meats, and fish, are likewise garnished with it; for which purposes it is sometimes colored pink with cochineal, or green with spinach-juice.

Cow-heel Jelly --Is useful to thicken and improve weak soups. It may be made as follows:--soak the heels 12 hours; boil them 3 hours, and when cold, take off the fat; when nearly clear, lay white paper on the jelly, and rub it with a spoon to remove any grease that may remain.

Brown Coloring for Soup or Made Dishes. --Put in a small stew-pan 4 oz. of lump sugar, and 1/2 oz. of the finest butter, and set it over a gentle fire. Stir it with a wooden spoon till of a bright brown. Add 1/2 pint of water; boil, skim, and when cold, bottle and cork it close. Add to the soup or gravy as much of this as will give a proper color.

To restore Soups or Gravy. --Should brown gravy or mock turtle soup be spoiling, fresh-made charcoal roughly pounded, tied in a little bag and boiled with either, will absorb the bad flavor and leave it sweet and good. The charcoal may be made by simply putting a bit of wood into the fire, and pounding the burnt part in a mortar.

Mullagatawny means, simply, pepper-water. The following is the receipt to make it. Slice and fry 1 or 2 large onions, add 1 table-spoonful of Chili vinegar, and a spoonful of curry powder; mix it well with a pint of water, or more, according to taste, and salt. Let it boil for an hour, well covered, over a slow fire. This is excellent in flatulencies and bilious complaints, and may be used to flavor the broths for invalids.

Curry Powder. --Put the following ingredients in a cool oven all night, and the next morning pound them in a marble mortar, and rub them through a fine sieve:--Coriander seed, 3 oz.; turmeric, 3 ounces; black pepper, mustard, ginger, 1 oz. each; allspice and less cardamons, 1/2 oz. each; cummin seed, 1/4 oz.; thoroughly pound and mix together, and keep the powder in a well-stopped bottle.

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> CHAPTER II.

SOUPS.

Utensil for cooking Soup--White--Veal--Currie--Potage Harrico--Chicken--Cottage--Pepper-pot-- Portable--Glaze--Clear Gravy--Maccaroni--Sago--Vermicelli--Potato--Asparagus--Tomato--Peas--Ochra--Gumbo--Rice--Onion--Carrot--Venison--IIure-Mullagatawny--Pigeon--Maigre--Turtle--Lobster--Clam--Oyster--Chowder--Eel--Fish--Broths.

A COMMON camp-kettle will be found an excellent utensil for making soup, as the lid is heavy and will keep in the steam. An earthen pipkin or jar of this form, if of a long and narrow make, widening a little in the centre, is perhaps one of the best vessels for soups, and universally used by foreign cooks, who insist "that it renders the gravy more clear and limpid, and extracts more savor from the meat, than when made in tin or copper."

[Illustration: An illustration of a camp-kettle.]

White Soup. --Take a good knuckle of veal, or 2 or 3 short shanks; boil it in 4 quarts of water about 4 hours, with some whole white pepper, a little mace, salt, 2 onions, and a small piece of lean ham; strain it, and when cold take off all the fat and sediment; beat up 6 yolks of eggs, and mix them with a pint of cream; then pour the boiling soup upon it. Boil the cream before putting it in the soup.

Veal Soup. --Skin 4 lbs. of a knuckle of veal; break it and cut it small; put it into a stew-pan with 2 gallons of water; when it boils skim it, and let it simmer till reduced to 2 quarts;


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strain and season it with white pepper, salt, a little mace, a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, and thicken it with a large table-spoonful of flour, kneaded with an ounce of butter.

Currie Soup. -- Season 2 quarts of strong veal broth with 2 onions, a bunch of parsley, salt, and pepper; strain it, and have ready a chicken, cut in joints, and skinned; put it in the broth with a table-spoonful of curry powder; boil the chicken till quite tender. A little before serving, add the juice of a lemon, and a tea-cupful of boiling cream. Serve boiled rice to eat with this soup.

N.B. Always boil cream before putting it in soup or gravy.

Veal Potage. --Take off a knuckle of veal all the meat that can be made into cutlets, &c., and set the remainder on to stew, with an onion, a bunch of herbs, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, and 5 pints of water: cover it close; and let it do on a slow fire, 4 or 5 hours at least. Strain it, and set it by till next day; then take the fat and sediment from the jelly, and simmer it with either turnips, celery, sea-kale, and Jerusalem artichokes, or some of each, cut into small dice, till tender, seasoning it with salt and pepper. Before serving, rub down half a spoonful of flour, with half a pint of good cream, and butter the size of a walnut, and boil a few minutes. Let a small roll simmer in the soup, and serve this with it. It should be as thick as middling cream, and, if thus made of the vegetables above mentioned, will make a very delicate white potage. The potage may also be thickened with rice and pearl-barley; or the veal may be minced, and served up in the tureen.

Potage a la Reine. -- Is so called from its having been said to be a favorite soup at the table of Queen Victoria.

Stew 2 or 3 young fowls for about an hour in good fresh-made veal broth: then take them out, skin them and pound the breast, or only the white meat, in a mortar until it becomes quite smooth. That done, mash the yolks of 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs with the crumb of a French roll, soaked either in broth or in milk, and mix this with the pounded meat to form a paste, which must be afterwards passed through a sieve. During this operation the bones and skin have been left stewing in the broth, which must then be strained, and the paste


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put gradually into it: then, let it boil briskly for a short time, stirring it all the while to ensure its thorough mixture. When that is done, take it from the fire; warm a pint or more of cream, and pour it gently into the soup.

This being a delicate white soup, the broth should only be seasoned with salt and mace, nor should there be any other vegetable used than celery; but the cream may be flavored with almonds.

Hurrico Soup. --Cut some mutton cutlets from the neck; trim and fry them of a light brown; stew in brown gravy soup till tender. Have ready some carrots, turnips, celery, and onions; fry them in butter for some time, and clear the soup from the fat; then add the vegetables, color it, and thicken it with butter and flour; season, and add to it a little port wine and ketchup. If the gravy be ready, the soup will require no more time to prepare than may be necessary to render the chops and vegetables tender, and is an excellent family dish. If wished to be made more highly flavored, put in a little curry powder.

Soup for an Invalid. --Cut in small pieces, 1 lb. of beef or mutton, or part of both; boil it gently in 2 quarts of water; take off the scum, and when reduced to a pint, strain it. Season with a little salt, and take a tea-cupful at a time.

Chicken Soup. --Cut up a large fowl, and boil it well in milk and water; thicken with cream, butter, and flour. Add vegetables of different kinds cut in small pieces, such as potatoes, turnips, the heart of cabbage, one or two onions, celery, &c., with thyme, parsley, cayenne or black pepper, and mace. Boil all together: and just before you dish it, add wine, or a little lemon juice, and salt to your taste.

Shin of Beef Soup. - Put on the shin at 7 o'clock in the morning to boil--at 9 o'clock add the vegetables; take a large head of cabbage cut fine, 12 carrots cut small, 5 or 6 turnips, 2 or 3 potatoes, 2 onions roasted in hot ashes, and, if tomatoes are in season, add 2 or 3. Put in thyme, parsley, black pepper, salt, allspice, and a little mace.

When you serve, take out the meat first, and with a skimmer


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take from the bottom the thick part of the vegetables; mash them to a pulp, and pour on them the more liquid part. Serve the meat separately in a dish. This soup is excellent the second day, if kept quite sweet. Some people add mushrooms, parsnips, &c.

Cottage Soups. --Take 2 lbs. of lean beef, cut into small pieces, with 1/4 lb. of bacon, 2 lbs. of mealy potatoes, 3 oz. of rice, carrots, turnips, and onions sliced, and cabbage. Fry the meat, cabbage, and onions, in butter or dripping, the latter being the most savory; and put them into a gallon of water, to stew gently over a slow fire for 3 hours, putting in the carrots at the same time, but the turnips and rice only time enough to allow of their being well done; and mashing the potatoes, which should be then passed through a cullender: season only with pepper and salt: keep the vessel closely covered. It will make 5 pints of excellent soup.

Or:--To any quantity or kind of broth, add whatever vegetables may be in season, and stew them gently till quite tender. Then strain the soup; thicken it with flour and water, to be mixed gradually while simmering; and, when that is done, and seasoned to your taste, return the vegetables to the soup, and simmer for an hour.

Pepper Pot. --Stew gently in 4 quarts of water, till reduced to 3, 3 lbs. of beef, 1/2 lb. of lean ham, a bunch of dried thyme, 2 onions, 2 large potatoes pared and sliced; then strain it through a cullender, and add a large fowl, cut into joints and skinned, 1/2 lb. of pickled pork sliced, the meat of 1 lobster minced, and some small suet dumplings, the size of a walnut. When the fowl is well boiled, add 1/2 a peck of spinach that has been boiled and rubbed through a cullender; season with salt and cayenne. It is very good without the lean ham and fowl.

Portable Soup. -- Put on, in 4 gallons of water, 10 lbs. of a shin of beef, free from fat and skin, 6 lbs. of a knuckle of veal and 2 fowls, break the bones and cut the meat into small pieces, season with 1 oz. of whole black pepper, 1/4 oz. of Jamaica pepper, and the same of mace, cover the pot very closely, and let it simmer for 12 or 14 hours, and then strain it. The following day, take off the fat, and clear the jelly from any sediment adhering to it; boil it gently upon a stove without covering


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the sauce-pan, and stir it frequently till it thickens to a strong glue. Pour it into broad tin pans, and put it in a cool oven. When it will take the impression of a knife, score it in equal squares, and hang it in a south window, or near a stove. When dry, break it at the scores. Wrap it in paper, and put it closely up in boxes. There should always be a large supply of this soup, as with it and ketchup, no one will ever be at a loss for dressed dishes and soups.

Glaze. --Glaze is made like portable soup; a small portion will flavor a pint of water, and, with an onion, parsley, sweet herbs, allspice, and seasoning of salt and Cayenne pepper, will make a fine soup in a very short time. Sauces and gravies for game or poultry, are likewise quickly made with glaze.

Clear Gravy Soup. --Take solid lean beef in the proportion of 1 lb. of meat and 2 oz. of ham to 1 pint of water; cover the meat with cold water, and let it simmer by the fire for at least 3 hours; during which time it should not be allowed to boil, but, when coming to that point, check it with cold water, and skim it. As the gravy will then be drawn, throw in 3 quarts of warm water, along with 1/4 oz. each of black pepper, allspice, and salt, as well as a bundle of sweet herbs, a few cloves, 2 onions, 2 or 3 carrots and turnips, (the latter an hour afterwards,) together with 2 heads of celery; allow the whole to boil slowly, skimming it carefully, until the meat is done to rags, and the vegetables become tender. Then strain it through a napkin, without squeezing it. Boil the vegetables to be served in the soup separately, a few hours before dinner, in a portion of the broth, and add them to the soup. When soup is sufficiently boiled on the first day, all that it requires on the second is, to be made thoroughly hot.

This soup should be of a clear amber color, without any artificial browning; but if wanted of a deep color, a burnt onion will suffice.

This soup is, in fact, the foundation of all gravy soups, which are called after the names of the ingredients put in them; that is, vermicelli, macaroni, rice, barley, &c.

Macaroni Soups. --Take a quart of gravy soup; break 2 oz. of Naples macaroni into pieces of little more than an inch long,


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putting them, by degrees, into a small portion of the boiling soup, to prevent them from sticking together, and let them boil until quite tender, but not soft or pulpy--from 15 to 20 minutes, if quite fresh, but nearly 1/2 an hour, if at all stale. Vermicelli is used in the same manner. They will improve the consistence of the soup if the quantity above stated be added; but it is useless, and does not look well, to see as at some tables, only a few strings of it floating in the tureen.

Sago Soup. --Take gravy soup, quite clear and brown; add to it a sufficient quantity of sago to thicken it to the consistence of pea-soup, and season it with soy and ketchup; to which may be added a small glass of red wine, or a little lemon juice. It may also be made, as a white soup, of beef, by leaving out the soy and ketchup, and using white wine, adding a little cream and mace.

Vermicelli Soup. --Put into a stew-pan 1 1/2 lbs. of lean veal, a small slice of lean ham, a bunch of sweet herbs, a head of celery, an onion, some whole white pepper, a blade of mace, and 1/4 lb. of butter; set the pan over a clear fire, taking care the articles do not burn; then thicken 2 quarts of white gravy and pour it into the pan, adding a few mushroom trimmings: when it boils, set it aside, remove the scum and fat, and strain the soup upon some vermicelli, which has been soaked a few minutes in cold water, and stewed in strong broth. This soup is sometimes served with a few blanched chervil leaves in it.

potato Soup [Scotch]. --Rasp off the skin of as many potatoes as will make the quantity required; throw them into tepid water to cleanse; have water, with a little clarified dripping, butter, the stock of roast beef bones, or any other stock; put in the potatoes, and fry some onions and add them, and let it simmer till it has thickened, and the potatoes are all dissolved. A salt or red herring is an excellent relish for this soup, or a little cheese. It is astonishing, that Rumford's economical plans have made so very little progress amongst us.

This is an excellent family soup, as well as for the poor Rasped carrots, celery, and sweet herbs, are great improvements; turnips and carrots may be cut down and served in it. Should the potatoes fall to the bottom, mix in a little rice flour or fried crumbs. It may also be made with a mixture of peas.

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Asparagus Soup. --cut off the heads of asparagus about an inch long, blanch and set aside in cold water a 1/2 pint of them; put the remainder of the heads in a stew-pan, with the rest of the asparagus, broken off as low as tender, and stew them in white stock till they can be pulped through a sieve; boil them with the soup, and add the 1/3 pint of whole heads previously dried. Add 2 or 3 lumps of sugar. To make 2 quarts of this soup will require 300 heads of asparagus.

Tomato Soup. --Put in 5 quarts of water a chicken or a piece of any fresh meat, and 6 thin slices of bacon; let them boil for some time, skimming carefully, then throw in 5 or 6 dozen tomatoes peeled, and let the water boil away to about 1 quart, take out the tomatoes, mash and strain them through a sieve; mix a piece of butter, as large as a hen's egg, with a table-spoonful of flour, and add it to the tomatoes; season with salt and pepper; an onion or two is an improvement. Take the meat from the kettle, if it is done, and put back the tomatoes. Let them boil 1/2 an hour. Lay slices of toasted bread in the tureen, and pour on the soup.

Green Peas Soup. --May be made with or without meat. For the former, boil 3 pints of peas, with mint, in spring water; rub them through a sieve, put to them 3 quarts of brown gravy soup, and boil together; then add about 1/2 pint of whole boiled peas; season, and if not green enough, add spinach-juice. Or, if the gravy be not made, boil with the first peas a ham bone, or veal, or beef bones, and trimmings, to make the stock.

To make this soup without meat, put the peas, with some butter, 2 onions, seasoning, and a pint of water, into a stew-pan. Stew till the peas can be passed through a sieve, which being done, add to the liquor and pulp more water, 1/2 pint of young peas, a few fine lettuce-leaves, and some mint, shred finely; stew all together till soft. Thicken with butter and flour, if requisite.

In either of the above cases, the pea-shells, if very young, may be boiled and pulped with the first parcel of peas.

Dried Green Peas Soup. --Simmer in soft water a quart of split green peas, with a small piece of butter, until they can be pulped through a cullender; then add to them a lettuce, boiling


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water to make the soup, and some spinach-juice to color it. Simmer till ready, thicken with butter and flour, boil a few minutes, and season with pepper and salt, and sugar. The lettuce may be taken out, and asparagus-tops, or a few young peas substituted.

Old Peas Soup. --Put 1 1/2 lbs. of split peas on in 4 quarts of water, with roast beef or mutton bones, and a ham bone, 2 heads of celery, and 4 onions, let them boil till the peas are sufficiently soft to pulp through a sieve, strain it, put it into the pot with pepper and salt, and boil it nearly 1 hour. 2 or 3 handsful of spinach, well washed and cut a little, added when the soup is strained, is a great improvement; and in the summer, young green peas in the place of the spinach; a tea-spoonful of celery seed, or essence of celery, if celery is not to be had.

Vegetable Soup. --To 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, boiling hot, add onions chopped very fine. When they are quite soft, throw in spinach, celery, carrots, kidney beans, &c., also chopped fine, with green peas, and any other vegetables that you can collect. Stir them well in the onions and butter till they begin to dry. Have ready a tea-kettle of boiling water, and pour about a pint at a time over your vegetables, till you have as much as you want. Serve up with bread or toast in the bottom of the dish. Pepper and salt to your taste.

Ochra Soup. --Boil a leg of veal with about 4 dozen ochras, an hour; then add 6 tomatoes, 6 small onions, 1 green pepper, a bunch of thyme and parsley, and let it boil till dinner-time. Season it with salt, and red pepper to your taste, and if agreeable, add a piece of salt pork which has been previously boiled. The soup should boil 7 or 8 hours.

Gumbo Soup. --Cut up a chicken or any fowl as if to fry, and break the bones; lay it in a pot with just enough butter to brown it a little; when browned, pour as much water to it as will make soup for four or five persons; add a thin slice of lean bacon, an onion cut fine, and some parsley. Stew it gently 5 or 6 hours; about 20 minutes before it is to be served make a thickening by mixing a heaping table-spoonful of sassafras leaves, pounded fine, in some of the soup, and adding it to the


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rest of the soup; a little rice is an improvement. If the chickens are small, 2 will be required, but 1 large pullet is sufficient.

Ochru Gumbo. --Heat a large table-spoonful of hog's lard on butter. Stir into it, while hot, 1/2 table-spoonful of flour. Add a small bunch of parsley, a large onion, with plenty of ochra, all chopped up very fine. Let it fry till it is quite brown. Then add a common-sized fowl cut up in small pieces, and let all fry together until quite cooked. Then pour in about 3 quarts of hot water, and boil till reduced to one-half.

Rice Soup. --Take white stock, season it, and either whole rice boiled till very tender, or the flour of rice may be used; 1/2 lb. will be sufficient for 2 quarts of broth.

Onion Soup [Plain]. --Simmer turnips and carrots for 2 hours, in weak mutton broth; strain it, and add 6 onions, sliced and fried; simmer 3 hours, skim, and serve.

Rich Onion Soup. --Put into a stew-pan 12 onions, 1 turnip, and a head of celery, sliced, 1/4 lb. of butter, and a quart of white gravy; stew till tender; add another quart of gravy, pulp the vegetables, and boil with the soup, strained, for 1/2 an hour, stirring it constantly; and, just before serving, stir in 1/2 pint of boiling cream, and about 18 button onions nicely peeled, and boiled soft in milk and water. Season with salt. Spanish onions only are sometimes used; and the soup may be thickened, if requisite, with rice flour, worked with butter.

Hotch Potch. --Boil for 2 hours or more if not perfectly tender, 1 lb. of peas with 1/2 ounce of butter, or a little fat; pulp them through a sieve; put on, in a separate sauce-pan, a gallon of water, 3 lbs. of mutton chops, some salt and pepper, 1 1/2 lbs. of carrots, the same of turnips, cut small; boil till the vegetables become tender, which may be in about 2 hours, add the strained peas to it, and let it boil 1/4 of an hour.

Carrot Soup. --Take 6 or 8 full-grown carrots, of the red sort, scrape them clean, and rasp only the outer rind, or soft red part, and if you have a single ripe tomato, add it, sliced, to the raspings, but use no other vegetable except onions. While


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this is doing, the broth of any kind of fresh meat which has been got ready should be heated and seasoned with a couple of onions fried in butter, but without pepper, or any other kind of seasoning, except a small quantity of mace and a little salt. When all is ready, put the raspings into 2 quarts of the skimmed broth, cover the stew-pan close, and let it simmer by the side of the fire for 2 or 3 hours, by which time the raspings will have become soft enough to be pulped through a fine sieve: after which the soup should be boiled until it is as smooth as jelly, for any curdy appearance will spoil it.

Thus all the roots, and most of such vegetables as can be easily made into purées, and combined with any sort of broth, will, in this manner, make excellent soup of different denominations, though all founded upon the same meat-stock. The gravy of beef is always preferred for savory soups, and that of veal or fowls for the more delicate white soups: to which from 1/2 pint to 1 pint of cream, or, if that cannot be had, the same quantity of milk, and the yolks of 2 raw eggs, should be added for every 2 quarts of soup; remembering, however, that the latter will not impart the richness of cream.

Parsnip Soup --is made in the same way as that of carrots; only that the whole of the root is used, and it requires either another tomato or a spoonful of Chili vinegar to cheek its rather mawkish sweetness.

Venison Soup. --Take 4 lbs. of freshly-killed venison cut off from the bones, and 1 lb. of ham in small slices. Add an onion minced, and black pepper to your taste. Put only as much water as will cover it, and stew it gently for an hour, keeping the pot closely covered. Skim it well, and pour in a quart of boiling water. Add a head of celery cut small, and 3 blades of mace. Boil it gently 2 1/2 hours; then put in 1/4 lb. of butter, cut small and rolled in flour, and 1/2 pint of Port, or Madeira. Let it boil 1/4 of an hour longer, and send it to the table with the meat in it.

Clear Hare Soup. --Cut a large hare into pieces, and put it, together with a scrag or knuckle of veal, and a cow-heel, into a kettle, with 5 or 6 quarts of water, herbs, onions, &c., and a little mace; stew it over a slow fire for 2 hours, or until the gravy is good; then take out the back and legs, cut the meat


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off, returning the bones, and stewing the whole until the meat is nearly dissolved. Then strain off the gravy, put a glass of wine to every quart of soup, and send it to table with the meat cut into small pieces, and warmed with the wine, which will take about 10 or 15 minutes. Soup may be made in much the same way of either rabbit or fawn, only not stewing them so long.

French Hare Soup. --Skin and wash perfectly clean 2 young hares, cut them into small pieces, and put them into a stew-pan, with 2 or 3 glasses of Port wine, 2 onions stuck with 2 cloves each, a bunch of parsley; a bay leaf; of thyme, sweet basil, and marjoram, 2 sprigs each, and a few blades of mace; let the whole simmer upon a stove for an hour. Add as much boiling broth as will entirely cover the meat, simmer till it be soft enough to pulp through a sieve, then strain it and soak the crumb of a small loaf in the strained liquor; separate the bones from the meat, pound the meat in a mortar, and rub it along with the liquor through a sieve; season with pepper and salt, and heat the soup thoroughly, but do not let it boil.

Chicken Mullagatawny. --Cut up a young chicken, as for a currie; fry 2 sliced onions with butter until of a light brown color, when add a table-spoonful of currie, and half as much flour; mix these with the onions, and add 1 quart or 3 pints of rich gravy, previously made, either from veal, beef, mutton, or poultry. Boil it, skim off the butter, add a pinch of salt, and put into it the chicken, cut up as above. Simmer the whole until the fowl be tender, when the soup will be ready to serve in a tureen, with a dish of boiled rice. A young rabbit may be substituted for the chicken.

Madras Method of Preparing Mullagatawny. --Cut up a fowl, duck, rabbit, beef, or mutton, and boil the same in 2 quarts of water for 15 minutes. Next, mix 2 table-spoonsful of currie, a table-spoonful of butter, the juice of a lemon, and 6 tea-spoonsful of pea-flour, pour on them 1/2 a pint of boiling water, and, having well stirred them together, strain them through a sieve, over the fowl in a stew-pan, to which add 3 onions, and 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely, and fried in butter. Boil the whole together for 1/2 an hour, or till the soup is the thickness of cream; but no water should be added late in the process.


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If eaten as soup and bouilli, boiled rice should be mixed with it.

The currie-powder above directed is made as follows: mix 1/2 oz. of turmeric, 1/6 oz. of Cayenne, 1 1/2 oz. of coriander seed, 1/3 oz. of powdered cassia, and about a dram of ground black pepper.

Friar's Chicken. --Take 3 quarts of water, and put into it 3 or 4 lbs. of knuckle of veal; stew gently till all the goodness is out of the meat; skim the fat off, and strain the broth through a sieve. Then take a chicken, or a full-grown young fowl, dissect it into pieces, and put it into the broth, which should be made hot, and seasoned only with salt and parsley. Let it simmer for nearly another hour; beat the whites and yolks of 3 or 4 eggs thoroughly, and mix them effectually with the soup, just before serving; taking care to stir them all one way. Rabbits may be substituted for fowls.

Pigeon Soup. --Make a strong beef stock, highly seasoned as if for brown soup, take 6 or 8 pigeons according to their size, wash them clean, cut off the necks, pinions, livers, and gizzards, and put them into the stock; quarter the pigeons and brown them nicely; after having strained the stock, put in the pigeons; let them boil till nearly ready, which will be in about 1/2 an hour, then thicken it with a little flour, rubbed down in a tea-cupful of the soup, season it with 1/2 a grated nutmeg, a table-spoonful of lemon-juice or of vinegar, and one of mushroom catsup; let it boil a few minutes after all these ingredients are put in, and serve it with the pigeons in the tureen; a better thickening than flour is to boil quite tender 2 of the pigeons, take off all the meat and pound it in a mortar, rub it through a sieve, and put it, with the cut pigeons, into the strained soup.

To make partridge soup, partridge may be substituted for pigeons, when only 4 birds will be required; pound the breast of one.

Rich Soup Maigre [Scotch].-- Take a handful, or sufficient quantity, of 2 or 3 different vegetables; blanch and fry them with a large proportion of onion, in butter or dripping; dredge with flour, and put them into a sauce-pan with fish stock: let it simmer till the vegetables dissolve. Have ready bread or


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vegetable, &c., to put into the soup. Observe, if dripping is used, it is not then maigre. The French use the juice of dry peas for making maigre soups.

Onion Soup Maigre. --Slice 12 large onions with 2 turnips and 2 heads of celery. Fry them in 1/2 lb. of butter till quite brown, but not allowing them to burn. When of a nice color, put them in a gallon of boiling water, with either a soft-roed red herring, or 2 or 3 anchovies, or 1 table-spoonful of anchovy sauce, seasoned with a few blades of pounded mace, and some grains of allspice, pepper, and salt, and let the whole stew until it is tender enough to pulp. When ready, have the crumb of a loaf of bread boiled in milk, and pass it, with the vegetables, through the cullender. Put it again over a fire to stew for a few minutes; if not thick enough, add the yolks of raw eggs, to be beaten up into the soup when just going to be put on the table.

potato Soup Maigre. --Take some large mealy potatoes; peel and cut them into small slices, with an onion; boil them in 3 pints of water till tender, and then pulp them through a cullender; add a small piece of butter, a little Cayenne pepper and salt, and, just before the soup is served, 2 spoonsful of good cream. The soup must not be allowed to boil after the cream has been put into it.

N.B. This will be found a most excellent soup, and, being easily and quickly made, is useful upon an emergency, when such an addition is suddenly required to the dinner.

Turtle Soup. --Hang up the turtle by the hind fins, cut off the head, and allow it to drain.

Cut off the fore fins; separate the callipash (upper shell) from the calipee (under shell), beginning at the hind fins. Cut off the fat which adheres to the calipash, and to the lean meat of the callipee. Then cut off the hind fins. Take off the lean meat from the fins, and cut it into pieces 2 inches square and put it into a stew-pan. The callipash, calipee, and fins, must be held in scalding (but not boiling) water a few minutes, which will cause the shell to part easily.

Cut the callipash and calipee into pieces about 6 inches square, which put into a stock-pot with some light veal stock. Let it boil until the meat is tender, and then take it out into


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cold water; free the meat from the bones, and cut it into pieces an inch square. Return the bones into the stock and let it boil gently for 2 hours, strain it off, and it is then fit for use.

Cut the fins across into pieces about an inch wide, boil them in stock with an onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a faggot of parsley, and thyme, a sprig of sweet basil and marjoram. When tender, take them out, and add this stock to the other.

Take the lean meat, put into a stew-pan with a pint of Madeira, 4 table-spoonsful of chopped green shalot, 2 lemons sliced, a bunch of thyme, marjoram, and savory (about 2 table-spoonsful each when chopped), 1 1/2 table-spoonsful of sweet basil (chopped), and 4 table-spoonsful of parsley. Pound together a nutmeg, 1 dozen allspice, 1 blade of mace, 5 or 6 cloves, 1 table-spoonful of pepper and of salt. Mix the whole together with as much curry powder as will lie on a shilling. Put about 2/3 of this to the lean meat, with 1/2 lb. of fresh butter and 1 quart stock. Let the whole be gently sweated until the meat is done.

Take a large knuckle of ham, cut it into very small dice, put into a stew-pan with 4 large onions sliced, 6 bay-leaves, 3 blades of mace, 1 dozen allspice, 3/4 lb. of butter; let it sweat until the onions are melted. Shred a small bunch of basil, a large one of thyme, savory, and marjoram; throw these into the onions, and keep them as green as possible: when sweated sufficiently, add flour according to your judgement sufficient to thicken the soup. Add, by degrees, the stock in which the callipash and calipee were boiled, and the seasoning stock from the lean meat. Boil for an hour; rub through a tammy, and add salt, Cayenne, and lemon juice to palate. Then put in the meat; let it all boil gently about 1/2 an hour; and if more wine be required, it must be boiled before being added to the soup. This is for a turtle of from 40 to 50 lbs. It should, however, be recollected that the animal is of various weight--from a chicken-turtle of 40 lbs. to some cwts.--and the condiments must be apportioned accordingly. It should invariably be made the day before it is wanted.

Forcemeat for Turtle. --1 lb. of fine fresh suet, 1 lb. of ready-dressed veal or chicken chopped fine, crumbs of bread, a little shalot or onion, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, mace, pennyroyal, parsley, and lemon-thyme finely shred; beat as many fresh


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eggs, yolks and whites separately, as will make the above ingredients into a moist paste; roll into small balls, and boil them in fresh lard, putting them in just as it boils up. When of a light brown, take them out, and drain them before the fire. If the suet be moist or stale, a great many more eggs will be necessary.

Balls made this way are remarkably light; but being greasy, some people prefer them with less suet and eggs. They may therefore be made thus:--Chop up the materials with a little white pepper and salt, a sage leaf or two scalded and finely chopped, and the yolk of an egg; make them into small cakes or fritters, and fry them.

Another Turtle Soup. --When the turtle is ready for dressing, cut off all the meat that is good for baking, and put it aside for that purpose. Then take the bones, fins, entrails, heart, and liver; and put them on with a piece of fresh beef and a little salt to stew. When about half done, season with black pepper, Cayenne, mace, cloves, nutmeg, thyme, parsley, and onions, chopped very fine. Thicken with drop dumplings, made by beating together a thick batter of cream, salt, and the yolks of eggs.

Mock Turtle Soup. --Scald and clean thoroughly a calf's head with the skin on; boil it gently an hour in 4 quarts of water, skimming it well. Take out the head, and when almost cold, cut the meat off and divide it into bits about an inch square.

Slice and fry, of a light brown in butter, 2 lbs. of the leg of beef, and 2 lbs. of veal, and 5 onions cut small, and 2 oz. of green sage. Add these to the liquor in which the head was boiled, also the bones of the head and trimmings, 2 whole onions, a handful of parsley, 1 tea-spoonful of ground allspice, and 2 tea-spoonsful of black pepper, salt to your taste, and the rind of a lemon; let it simmer and stew gently for 5 hours--then strain it, and when cold take off the fat. Put the liquor into a clean stew-pan, add the meat cut from the head, and for a gallon of soup add 1/2 pint of Madeira wine, or claret, or the juice of a lemon made thick with pounded loaf sugar; mix a spoonful of flour and a cup of butter with a little of the broth, and stir it in. Let it stew very gently till the meat is tender, which will be about an hour.

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About 20 minutes before it is to be served, add a small tea spoonful of Cayenne, the yolks of 8 or 10 hard-boiled eggs, and a dozen forcemeat balls; some add the juice of a lemon. When the meat is tender the soup is done.

To make the meat balls, boil the brains for 10 minutes, then put them in cold water; when cool, chop and mix them with 5 spoonsful of grated bread, a little grated nutmeg, pepper, salt, and thyme, and 2 eggs; roll the balls as large as the yolk of an egg, and fry them of a light brown in butter or good dripping.

Very good soup, in imitation of turtle, is also made from calves' feet;--4 of these boiled in 2 quarts of water, till very tender--the meat taken from the bones, the liquor strained--a pint of good beef gravy and 2 glasses of wine added, seasoned as the calves' head soup--with hard eggs, balls, &c.

Lobster Soup. --Cut small a dozen common-sized onions, put them into a stew-pan with a small bit of butter, a slice or two of lean ham, and a slice of lean beef; when the onions are quite soft, mix gradually with them some rich stock; let it boil, and strain it through a fine hair sieve, pressing the pulp of the onions with a wooden spoon; then boil it well, skimming it all the time. Beat the meat of a boiled haddock, the spawn and body of a large lobster, or of two small ones, in a marble mortar; add gradually to it the soup, stirring it till it is as smooth as cream; let it boil again and scum it. Cut the tail and the claws of the lobster into pieces, and add them to the soup before serving it, and also some pepper, cayenne, white pepper, and a glass of white wine.

Forcemeat balls may be added to oyster soup and lobster soup, made as directed under the article "Forcemeat for Fish."

Clam Soup. --Take 50 large or 100 small clams, and wash the shells perfectly clean. Throw them into a kettle of boiling water; use only water enough to keep the clams from burning; as soon as the shells open and the liquor runs out, take out the clams and strain the liquor into the soup-kettle. Cut the clams small and put them in the kettle, adding a quart of milk and water each. Add also an onion cut small, some blades of mace, and 12 whole pepper corns. Let it boil 15 minutes, skimming it well; then add 1/4 lb. of sweet butter rolled in flour, cover the kettle a few minutes, and serve it hot.

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Oyster Soup. -- Take 2 quarts of oysters and drain them with a fork from their liquor; wash them in one water to free them from grit; cut in small pieces 2 slices of lean bacon; strain the oyster liquor and put in it the bacon, oysters, some parsley, thyme, and onions tied in a bunch as thick as the thumb, season with pepper and salt, if necessary; let it boil slowly, and when almost done, add a lump of butter as large as a hen's egg, rolled in flour, and a gill of good cream. It will take from 20 to 30 minutes to cook it.

Chowder. -- Fry some slices cut from the fat part of pork, in a deep stew-pan, mix sliced onions with a variety of sweet herbs, and lay them on the pork; bone and cut a fresh cod into thick slices, and place them on the pork, then put a layer of slices of pork, on that a layer of hard biscuit or crackers, then alternately, the pork, fish, and crackers, with the onions and herbs scattered through them till the pan is nearly full; season with pepper and salt, put in about 2 quarts of water, cover the stew-pan close, and let it stand with fire above and below it for 4 hours; then skim it well and serve it.

Eel Soup. --Take 3 lbs. of small eels, and skin them; bone 1 or 2; cut them in very small pieces; fry them very lightly in a stew-pan with a bit of butter and a sprig of parsley. Put to the remainder 3 quarts of water, a crust of bread, 3 blades of mace, some whole pepper, an onion, and a bunch of sweet herbs; cover them close, and stew till the fish breaks from the bones; then strain it off; pound it to a paste, and pass it through a sieve. Toast some bread, cut it into dice, and pour the soup on it boiling. Add the scollops of eel, and serve. The soup will be as rich as if made of meat. 1/4 pint of cream or milk, with a tea-spoonful of flour rubbed smooth in it, is a great improvement.

To every pound of eels add a quart of water, and let the whole boil till 1/2 of the liquor is wasted. The soup of conger eels is also said to be good, but the fish has not the richness of the fresh water eel, and can only be recommended by its cheapness.

Lake and Pond Fish Soup. --For every person take a pound each of pike, perch, roach, dace, gudgeon, carp and tench, eels, or any fresh water fish that can be obtained; wash them in salt


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and water, and stew them with a tomato, carrots, leeks, fried onions, and sweet herbs, in as much water as will cover them; and let them stew until the whole is reduced to a pulp; then strain the liquor, and boil it for another hour until it becomes quite smooth. Then have ready some roots of any sort that may be in season, which have been chopped small, and boiled either in milk or water: add them to the soup, and let it simmer for 15 minutes; season it, if milk has been used, with mace and celery, with a little Cayenne; but if made solely with water, then use Chili vinegar, soy, mushroom ketchup, or any of the savory sauces.

Stock for Fish Soup. --Take a dozen of any small fish, and the same number of perch; gut and clean them carefully; put them into a stew-pan with 2 quarts of strong veal-broth; add a few slices of lean ham, 2 or 3 carrots, celery and onions cut in slices, some sweet herbs and salt, with a little Cayenne; stew till the fish will pass through a coarse sieve; then return it into the stew-pan, with a good lump of butter and some flour to thicken it; add a couple of large glasses of white wine, and a large spoonful of garlic vinegar. The gravy from potted herrings, anchovies, or a little Oude sauce, will also improve the flavor.

This stock, if once re-boiled, will, in cold weather, keep well for a month; or, if served as soup, the quantity may of course be reduced according to the number of the party intended to partake of it, and it will be found excellent. Indeed, any species of fish may be made into soup in the same manner. If meant to be browned, the onions, should be fried, and a good spoonful of mushroom ketchup, or India soy be added; and red wine will be better than either Sherry or Madeira. But if left white, cream should be substituted for ketchup and soy; a glassful of ginger wine will answer the purpose of red wine.

In making this stock it should also be observed, that the bones of the fish are what constitute its best part; for if stewed down in a digester, they will become a jelly of a very rich nature, which may be applied to many sorts of soups and sauces. The bones of large fish--salmon, cod, soles, and turnbot--are never taken from the dish on which they are served; and therefore, should always be returned to the stock-pot; or any remains and trimmings of the fish may be used. Add to


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this a carrot and an onion or two, and let the whole stew until dissolved.

To thicken or enrich white or fish soups, it is a good way to pour them, boiling hot, on the beaten yolks of 2 or 3 fresh eggs.

Fish Soups. --Good soups may be made by simmering a cod's head, or any fish, in water enough to cover the fish; adding pepper and salt, mace, an onion, celery, parsley, and sweet herbs. When done, strain, and thicken the soup with oatmeal, or flour. If for brown soup, first fry the fish.

> BROTHS.

Mutton Broth. --The best part of the mutton from which to make good broth is the chump end of the loin, but it may be excellently made from the scrag end of the neck only, which should be stewed gently for a long time--full 3 hours, or longer if it be large--until it becomes tender; but not boiled to rags, as it usually is. A few grains of whole pepper, with a couple of fried onions and some turnips, should be put along with the meat an hour or two before sending up the broth, which should be strained from the vegetables, and chopped parsley and thyme mixed in it. The turnips should be mashed, and served in a separate dish, to be eaten with the mutton, with parsley and butter, or caper-sauce.

If meant for persons in health, it ought to be strong, or it will be insipid. The cooks usually skim it frequently; but if given as a remedy for a severe cold, it is much better not to remove the fat, as it is very healing to the chest.

Another way--for an Invalid. --Boil 3 lbs. of the scrag end of a neck of mutton, cut into pieces, in 3 quarts of water, with 2 turnips and a table-spoonful of pearl barley or rice. Let it boil gently for 3 hours, keeping it cleanly skimmed.

Veal Broth. --Stew a knuckle of veal of 4 or 5 lbs. in 3 quarts of water, with 2 blades of mace, an onion, a head of celery, and a little parsley, pepper, and salt; let the whole simmer very gently until the liquor is reduced to 2 quarts; then take out the meat, when the mucilaginous parts are done,


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and serve up with parsley and butter. Add to the broth either 2 oz. of rice separately boiled, or of vermicelli, put in only long enough to be stewed tender. Dish the knuckle separately, and serve it with parsley and butter.

Barley Broth. --Take a breakfast-cupful of pearl barley, boil it in a gallon of water gently for 30 minutes, then take 3 lbs. of meat--lamb or mutton chops, with the fat cut off, or lean beef--put them into a separate stew-pan, dress them with a small quantity of water, add to them any kind of vegetables--carrots and turnips, with small onions, celery, and green peas, if in season--salt, pepper, and, with the water and the barley, let the whole boil gently for 2 hours or longer, and serve it up all together.

Or:--Take 3 quarts of good broth, cut into a stew-pan 2 carrots, 3 or 4 turnips, 2 heads of celery, a lettuce, a little parsley, and some small onions, and a little butter and gravy. Stew until the vegetables become quite tender; add to this a few spoonsful of rice, boiled separately; put the whole together, and boil for 15 minutes.

Beef Brose. --Skim off the fat of water in which beef has been boiled: boil it, and stir in oatmeal to thicken it.

Chicken Broth. --Cut a chicken into joints, wash them, and put them into 3 pints of water, with 2 oz. of rice, some pepper, salt, and a blade or two of mace. Boil and skim carefully, and then simmer for 2 hours. Serve with vermicelli, or chopped parsley, boil 5 minutes in the soup.

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> CHAPTER III.

FISH.

Directions for choosing Fish--Cooking in different ways--Marinade--Preserving--Utensils, &c.

[Illustration: An illustration of a rectangular pot with handles and a lid with wholes in the top.]

THE cook should be well acquainted with the signs of freshness and good condition in fish, as many of them are most unwholesome articles of food when stale, or out of season. The eyes should be bright, the gills of a fine clear red, the body stiff, the flesh firm, yet elastic to the touch, and the smell not disagreeable. When all these marks are reversed, and the eyes are sunken, the gills very dark in hue, the flesh itself flabby and of offensive odor, it is bad, and should be avoided. The chloride of soda, will, it is true, restore it to a tolerably eatable state,* if it be not very much over-kept, but it will never resemble in quality fish that is fresh from the water.

[Illustration: An illustration of an oval pot with a handle on the side and the lid.]

A good turbot is thick, and full fleshed, and the under side is of a pale cream color or yellowish white; when this is of a bluish tint, and the fish is thin and soft, it should be rejected.

*We have known this applied very successfully to salmon, which from some hours keeping in sultry weather, had acquired a slight degree of taint of which no trace remained after it was dressed.

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The best salmon and codfish are known by a small head, very thick shoulders, and a small tail; the scales of the former should be bright, and its flesh of a fine red color: to be eaten in perfection, it should be dressed as soon as it is caught, before the curd (or white substance which lies between the flakes of flesh) has melted and rendered the fish oily. In that state it is really crimp, but continues so only for a very few hours.

The flesh of cod fish should be white and clear before it is boiled, whiter still after it is boiled, and firm though tender, sweet and mild in flavor, and separated easily into large flakes. Many persons consider it rather improved than otherwise by having a little salt rubbed along the inside of the back bone, and letting it lie from 24 to 48 hours before it is dressed. It is sometimes served crimp like salmon, and must then be sliced as soon as it is dead, or within the shortest possible time afterwards.

Herrings, mackerel, and whitings, lose their freshness so rapidly, that unless newly caught they are quite uneatable. The herring may, it is said, be deprived of the strong rank smell which it emits when broiled or fried, by stripping off the skin, under which lies the oil that causes the disagreeable odor. The whiting is a peculiarly pure flavored and delicate fish, and acceptable generally to invalids from being very light of digestion.

Eels should be alive and brisk in movement when they are purchased, but the "horrid barbarity," as it is truly designated, of skinning and dividing them while they are so, is without excuse, as they are easily destroyed "by piercing the spinal marrow close to the back part of the skull with a sharp pointed knife or skewer. If this be done in the right place all motion will instantly cease." We quote Dr. Kitchener's assertion on this subject; but we know that the mode of destruction which he recommends is commonly practised by the London fishmongers. Boiling water also will immediately cause vitality to cease, and is perhaps the most humane and ready method of destroying the fish.

Lobsters, pawns, and shrimps, are very stiff when freshly boiled, and the tails turn strongly inwards; when these relax, and the fish are soft and watery, they are stale; and the smell will detect their being so instantly even if no other symptoms of it be remarked. If bought alive, lobsters should be chosen by their weight and "liveliness." The hen lobster is preferred


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for sauce and soups, on account of the coral; but the flesh of the male is generally considered of finer flavor for eating. The vivacity of their leaps will show when prawns and shrimps are fresh from the sea.

Oysters should close forcibly on the knife when they are opened; if the shells are apart ever so little they are losing their condition, and when they remain far open the fish are dead, and fit only to be thrown away. Small plump natives are very preferable to the larger and coarser kinds.

Preparatory to the dressing, the fish should be carefully gutted, and afterwards cleaned thoroughly by the cook, from all appearances of blood, particularly scraping the blood that lodges about the back bone, and cutting the fish open for some distance below the vent. If, however, the fishmonger does not clean it, fish is seldom very nicely done, for common cooks are apt not to slit the fish low enough, by which, and not thoroughly washing the blood, &c., from the bone, a very disgusting mass is left within, and mistaken for liver; but fishmongers generally wash it beyond what is necessary for cleaning, and by perpetual watering diminish the flavor. It should, in fact, be handled as little as possible, and never left in the water a moment after it is washed. In washing it, the best way is to hold the fish firmly by the head with your left hand, and scrape off the scales or slime; wash it once in clean cold water, and either dry it with a towel or hang it up and leave it to drain.

Some kinds, as whiting, bass, cod, and haddock, eat firmer if salt be put into their gills, and they be hung up a few hours before dressing.

Fish are either boiled, fried, or broiled. Salt may be added to the water in which all kinds of fish are boiled; and the flavor of sea-fish is much improved by boiling it in sea-water. Fish should boil gently, or rather simmer after it has once boiled up, and the water should be constantly skimmed.

Instead of dissolving salt in the water in which fish are to be boiled, some cooks prefer to steep the fish in salt and water from 5 to 10 minutes, before putting it in the kettle to cook: the necessity of using salt in boiling fish is thus avoided; less scum rises, so that the lid has not to be taken off so often to skim it, and the fish comes to table not only nicer, but with a better appearance.

Almost all cookery books direct that fish should be put into as much or more water as will cover them, this is also a very


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bad way: if the fish be a little more than half covered with water, and gradually brought to boil, then well covered down with your sauce-pan lid, and boiled gently till done, it will eat much richer, have a finer flavor, and be more firm than if cooked the old way, or rather drowned in water, which only soddens fish, and takes away the fine firmness so much prized.

To render boiled fish firm, put a small bit of saltpetre with the salt in the water in which it is boiled; 1/4 oz. will be sufficient for a gallon.

To determine when fish is sufficiently boiled, draw it up upon the fish-plate, and if the thickest part of the fish can be easily divided from the bone with a knife, the fish will be done, and should be at once taken from the water, or it will lose its flavor and firmness.

By most cooks it is considered better to put all fish on in boiling than cold water.

An oval pan is best adapted to frying fish. Olive oil is best to fry in, but dripping or lard is commonly used. It should boil before the fish is put in it, and be kept gently boiling until the fish is of a yellowish brown color, when it should be taken out and drained.

To broil fish, have a clear but not fierce fire. Dry the fish in a cloth, season it with pepper and salt, and flour it; then put it on a gridiron, having first rubbed the heated bars with suet, otherwise the fish will stick to them and be broken: it should be often turned in broiling.

In the dressing of flat fish as cutlets, the fillets should be lifted from the bones, and the spine which runs through the centre of the round sorts should be extracted.

The stewing of fish, and dressing it in fillets and cutlets, requires considerably more care in the cookery, as well as cost in the ingredients, than either of the previous modes; and as a preliminary to the operation, a gravy should be got ready, to be made in the following manner:--Take out all the bones, cut off the heads and tails, and, if this should not be sufficient, add an eel, or any small common fish; stew them with an onion, pepper, salt, and sweet herbs; strain it, and thicken it to the consistence of cream, flavoring with a slight addition of wine or any other sauce. The French employ the commonest sorts of their wine as a marinade, or sauce, both for the boiling and stewing of fish.

Marinade--is commonly used in France for the purpose of


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boiling fish, which imbibes from it a more pleasant flavor than it naturally possesses, and has been so generally adopted by English professed cooks that we here insert the receipt:--Cut up 2 carrots, 3 onions, 6 shalots, a single clove of garlic, and put them into a stew-pan with a piece of butter, a bunch of parsley, and a bundle of sweet herbs; fry the whole for a few minutes, then add, very gradually, 2 bottles of any light wine or of cider. Put in a handful of salt, 2 dozen of peppercorns, the same quantity of allspice, and a couple of cloves. Simmer the whole together for 1 1/2 hour, strain the liquor, and put it by for use.

This marinade, if carefully strained after the fish has been taken out, will serve several times for the same purpose, adding a little water each time. Fish dressed in it should simmer very gently, or rather stew than boil, as it affords to mackerel, fresh herrings, perch, roach, and any of the small river fish, the advantage of dissolving, or so thoroughly softening their bones, as to render them more agreeable in eating. For large fish, they should be cut into steaks before being marinaded. Instead of the wine or cider, a quart of table-beer, a glass of soy, 1 of essence of anchovies, and 1 of ketchup, may be used; or a pint of vinegar and these sauces, fennel, chives, thyme, and bay-leaves, may be added with the wine, cider, &c. Or, choose a kettle that will suit the size of the fish, into which put two parts water, 1 of light (not sweet) white wine, a good piece of butter, some stewed onions and carrots, pepper, salt, 2 or 3 cloves, and a good bunch of sweet herbs; simmer 15 minutes, let it become cold, then boil the fish therein. Serve with anchovy-sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

Fresh-water Fish are equally nutritious with those of the sea; they are much lighter as food, and therefore easier of digestion; they are, however, more watery, and it is requisite to use salt, in order to extract the watery particles. Every sort of fresh-water fish, ought, therefore, as soon as killed and cleaned, to have salt well rubbed inside and outside, and should be allowed so to remain for some time before it is cooked, when it should be well washed out with pure spring water, and wiped thoroughly dry with a clean cloth.

If bred in ponds, it often acquires a muddy smell and taste; to take off which, soaking in strong salt and water, or, if of a size to bear it, scalding in the same, will have the proper effect.

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To Preserve Fish Fresh.--Boil 3 quarts of water and a pint of vinegar, in which, when boiling, put the fish, and scald it for 2 minutes. Then hang up the fish in a cool place, and it will keep for 2 or 3 days, and dress as well as if fresh caught.

If the fish should happen to freeze they should be placed in cold water without salt, for an hour or so, to thaw them.

Fish is usually garnished with horse-radish, sliced lemon, or fried parsley; and the roe, melt, and liver. When served up it should not be covered.

Fish-kettles [See cuts at the head of this chapter,] have always a perforated false bottom, with handles affixed, called a fish-strainer, so that it is very easy to take up fish when done, without breaking it; when dished up, it must be slid off this strainer on to a fish-plate, which fits the dish you serve it up in, on which fish-plate a nice clean white napkin is sometimes put to lay the fish on, to absorb all the moisture.

Some people do not approve of a napkin to lay fish on; in which case, of course, you must only slide the fish off the strainer on to the fish-plate, which you put into a dish that it fits, and serve it up.

Should it so happen, that the fish is done before it is wanted, or that the family is not ready to sit down, the best way will be to wrap a wet napkin round the fish, and placing it very carefully on the tin strainer, suspend it in the fish-kettle, over so much of the boiling water as will keep it hot, but not touch it. It will thus be kept ready to serve up when wanted; but it will not be near so nice as if it had been sent up to table the moment it was cooked.

Melted butter to be served with the fish, should be made thicker than when intended for any other purpose, as it is usually thinned at table by one or other of the sauces taken with fish.

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> CHAPTER IV.

FISH.

How to cook Cod-fish--Salmon--Mackerel--Shad--Rock-fish--Bass--Black-fish--Haddock--White-fish--Sturgeon--Halibut--Trout--Perch--Small Fish--Fish Cutlets--Kedgeree--Fillets of Fish--To Scollop Fish--Fish Cake--Casserole of Fish--Croquettes of Fish-- Herrings-- Anchovy Butter--Sandwiches--Toast--Caviare.

COD-FISH.

In highest season from October to the beginning of February; in perfection about Christmas.

To boil Cod-fish. --When this fish is large, the head and shoulders are sufficient for a handsome dish, and they contain all the choicer portion of it, though not so much substantial eating, as the middle of the body, which, in consequence, is generally preferred to them by the frugal housekeeper. Wash the fish, and cleanse the inside, and the back bone in particular, with the most scrupulous care; lay it into the fish-kettle and cover it well with cold water mixed with 5 oz. of salt to the gallon, and about 1/4 oz. of saltpetre to the whole. Place it over a moderate fire, clear off the scum perfectly, and let the fish boil gently until it is done. Drain it well,* and dish it carefully upon a very hot napkin, with the liver and the roe as a garnish. To these are usually added tufts of lightly scraped horse-radish round the edge. Serve well made oyster sauce and plain melted butter with it; or anchovy sauce when oysters cannot be procured. Moderate size, from 20 to 30 minutes; large, from 30 to 45 minutes to boil.

*This should be done by setting the fish-plate across the kettle for a minute or two.

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Slices of Cod-fish fried. --Cut the middle or tail of the fish into slices nearly an inch thick, season them with salt and white pepper or Cayenne, flour them well, and fry them of a clear equal brown on both sides; drain them on a sieve before the fire, and serve them on a well-heated napkin, with plenty of crisped parsley round them. Or, dip them into beaten egg, and then into fine crumbs mixed with a seasoning of salt and pepper (some cooks add one of minced herbs also,) before they are fried. Send melted butter and anchovy sauce to table with them. From 8 to 12 minutes to fry.

Obs. --This is a much better way of dressing the thin part of the fish than boiling it, and as it is generally cheap, it makes thus an economical, as well as a very good dish: if the slices are lifted from the frying-pan into a good curried gravy, and left in it by the side of the fire for a few minutes before they are sent to table, they will be found excellent--would be quite spoiled, if they are boiled with the fish. Garnish the dish with slices of hard boiled eggs, and serve with egg-sauce.

Cod Sounds --are the soft parts about the jowl of the fish, which are taken out, salted, and barrelled. For boiling, they should be soaked in warm water for about 30 minutes, and then scraped and cleaned. Boil them in milk and water till tender, when they should be served with egg sauce.

For broiling cod sounds, scald, and clean them; simmer them till tender, then take them out, flour, and broil them. While this is doing, make a sauce for them with a little brown gravy, seasoned with pepper, salt, a little mustard, and a teaspoonful of soy, with flour and butter; boil together, and pour over the sounds.

To stew Cod-fish. --Cut 4 lbs. of cod in slices, season them with pepper and salt, put them into a stew-pan with 1/2 pint of water, some good gravy, 1/2 pint of wine, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, a dozen or two of oysters with their liquor, a piece of butter rolled in flour, and 2 or 3 blades of mace. When the fish is sufficiently stewed, which will be in 15 minutes, serve it up with the sauce. Any kind of fish-sauce may be substituted for the wine, and a variety given by employing anchovies instead of oysters.

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To bake Cod-fish. --Butter a pan, lay the fish in it with a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with 6 cloves, a spoonful of black and white pepper, salt, and a quart of water: flour the fish, stick it over with pieces of butter, and add to it raspings of bread. When sufficiently baked, take out the fish carefully, strain the gravy, thicken it, and add to it a pint of shrimps, 1/2 pint of oysters, a spoonful of essence of anchovies, and a glass of Harvey or Reading sauce; warm all together, and pour it round the fish; garnish with lemon, crisped parsley, and fried bread or paste.

Codlings are very good dressed in this manner.

To bake Cod or Haddock. --Choose the middle part of the fish, and carefully take off the skin; then make a stuffing with a little of the roe par-boiled, the hard-boiled yolks of 2 eggs, some grated lemon peel, bread crumbs, a little butter, pepper, and salt, binding the whole with the white of an egg, with which stuff the fish, and sew it up. Bake it for an hour in a tin dish, in a Dutch oven; turning it often, and basting it with butter. Serve with oyster sauce, shrimp sauce, or plain butter.

Crimped Cod. --Cut a fresh cod into slices, lay them for 3 hours in salt and water, to which add a glass of vinegar; when it may be boiled, fried, or broiled.

To dress Salt Fish. --Soak it in cold water, according to its saltness; the only method of ascertaining which, is to taste one of the flakes of the fish. That fish which is hard and dry will require 24 hours' soaking, in 2 or 3 waters, to the last of which add a wine-glassful of vinegar. But less time will suffice for a barrelled cod, and still less for the split fish. Put the fish on in cold water, and let it simmer, but not actually boil, else it will be tough and thready. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs, the yolks cut in quarters, and serve with egg-sauce, parsnips, or beet-root.

Or:--Lay the piece you mean to dress all night in water, with a glass of vinegar; boil it enough, then break it into flakes on the dish; warm it up with cream and a large piece of butter rubbed with a bit of flour, and serve it as above with egg-sauce.

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Fricaseed. --Salt fishthat has been boiled and left until cold is an excellent dish when warmed; break it into flakes, and put it into a pan with sauce thus made: beat boiled parsnips in a mortar, then add to it a cup of cream, a good piece of butter rolled in flour, a little white pepper, and a 1/2 tea-spoonful of mustard, all simmered together; keep the fish no longer on the fire than to become hot, but not boil.

Or:--Shred the fish into very small pieces, break up potatoes which have been already boiled, and put them along with the fish under the rolling-pin, so as to reduce the whole nearly to a paste. Then mix with it some hard-boiled eggs, minced fine; put the whole into a stew-pan to warm with a good piece of butter, and send it up with egg-sauce. Should you prefer not to mix them, build a wall of mashed potatoes, put the fish in the centre, and heat in a Dutch oven; if you have a parsnip, mash it, and add it to the mass.

> SALMON.

To boil Salmon. --Put on a kettle with plenty of spring water, and when it boils, add a handful of salt, and take off the scum as it rises; then put in the fish, and boil very gently. Allow 15 minutes to each pound of fish, for it requires nearly as much boiling as meat. But in some cases the thickness, not the weight, must be considered; so that a quarter of a salmon may take nearly as long boiling as half a salmon.

The best method, therefore, of boiling salmon, is to split the fish from head to tail: if you neglect this, but boil it whole, cut crosswise through the middle, it is scarcely possible to cook it evenly, the thickness of the back and shoulders being such, that if the outside be properly done, the inside will be imperfectly so. On the Tweed, and in other salmon districts, a salmon is never boiled whole, or cut across. Serve with shrimp, anchovy, lobster, or fennel sauce.

About 10 lbs. of a full-grown salmon make a fine dish. Salmon peel, or small salmon, are dished crooked, in the form of an S; they are mostly good fish, but neither so rich nor full flavored as the large salmon. A few slices of culvered salmon make an elegant but very expensive dish.

To broil fresh Salmon. --Cut slices from the thickest part of the fish, an inch thick, dry them, season them with pepper and


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salt, and rub them with butter or salad oil; put the gridiron over a clear slow fire, wipe it clean, and rub the bars with oil or lard: lay on the salmon, and broil it carefully 10 or 12 minutes. Or, the pieces of salmon may be put in oiled paper, thus broiled, and served in the paper. To turn the salmon on the gridiron, lay a stew-pan cover on the fish, turn the gridiron over, and the salmon will be on the cover.

Broiled salmon may be served with anchovy butter, or tomato, or caper sauce.

Salmon is, however, better baked than broiled.

To broil dried Salmon. --Cut in pieces, as above, and broil with or without paper; but it should only be warmed through. It is a relishing addition to breakfast; and is likewise a dinner dish, with egg-sauce and mashed potatoes.

To bake Salmon. --Scale it, and take out the bone from the part to be dressed, but fill up the cavity with forcemeat, and bind the piece with tape. Then flour it, rub it with yolk of egg, and put it into a deep baking-dish, covering it very thickly with crumbs of bread, chopped parsley, and sweet herbs, together with shrimps, if they can be got, and put into the covering a few small bits of fresh butter; place it in a Dutch oven, or, if already boiled and thus re-dressed, heat it only before the fire until browned.

To fry Salmon. --Salmon cutlets should be cut from a piece of a split salmon; cut them without bone about 1/2 an inch thick, and rub them over with egg well beaten; season with pepper and salt, dip them in chopped herbs and bread crumbs, fry them as you would a veal cutlet; serve with Indian-pickle sauce.

Or:--Cut pieces 1/2 an inch thick; season them, and put them in paper, and broil until hot through: serve with lemon only. This is usually eaten at breakfast.

Or:--As in the Hebrew fashion, slice the salmon, and cover it with salt for 2 hours; then dry it, and brush it over with yolk of eggs. Fry it in oil, and serve it cold with salad. Any small pieces of salmon may be dressed with salad, or with salad-sauce.

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To pickle boiled Salmon. --Lay it in a deep dish, and cover it with vinegar and pump water, in equal proportions, with a little salt.

Or: --Add to some of the water in which the salmon was boiled, 1/4 part of vinegar, 2 or 3 bay-leaves, some salt, and whole black pepper; boil this liquor 30 minutes, and when cold, pour it over the salmon, which will be ready in 4 or 5 days.

To pickle Salmon. --Split and clean the fish, and cut it into pieces; boil it for a few minutes in a brine strong enough to bear an egg; then take out the salmon, and lay it on a sloping board to drain off the liquor. Next, boil and skim the liquor in the kettle, mix it with an equal quantity of vinegar, and pour it over the salmon, with a handful of salt, 6 bay-leaves, 6 blades of mace, and 1/2 oz. of whole black pepper. Omitting the spice, this is said to be the Newcastle method of pickling salmon for the London market.

Sturgeon, herrings, sprats, and mackerel, may be pickled in the above manner.

To pot Salmon. --Bone, skim, and clean, but do not wash the salmon, salt it, and when the salt is dissolved and drained off, season it with ground mace, a few cloves, and whole pepper, lay it in a pan, with a few bay-leaves, cover it with butter, and bake it 2 or 3 hours; then drain off the gravy, press the salmon into pots, and pour over it clarified butter.

To stew Salmon. --Scrape the fish, and stew slices of it in a rich white gravy; to which add, just before serving, a table-spoonful of essence of anchovies, a little salt, and some parsley chopped fine.

To dry Salmon. --Cut the fish down, take out the inside and roe, rub the whole with common salt, after scaling it; let it hang 24 hours to drain. Pound 3 or 4 oz. of saltpetre, according to the size of the fish, 2 oz. of bay salt, and 2 oz. of coarse sugar; rub these, when mixed well, into the salmon, and lay it in a large dish or tray 2 days; then rub it well with common salt, and in 24 hours more it will be fit to dry; wipe it well after draining. Hang it either in a wood chimney or in a dry


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place, keeping it open with 2 small sticks. Dried salmon is eaten broiled in paper, and only just warmed through, egg-sauce and mashed potatoes with it; or, it may be boiled, especially the bit next the head.

> MACKEREL

Are so well known, and in such general use as an esteemed fish, that any description is unnecessary. Their season is the months of May, June, and July, after which time they spawn and lose condition; but some have an after season, about October, when they recover their flesh and flavor. They are so tender that they keep worse than any other kind of fish; if not dressed within 45 hours after being caught they become putrid. Their freshness may be ascertained not only by the signs common to all fish, of fulness in the eye and glossiness of the skin, but also by the appearance of the bars on the back, which should be distinctly marked black, those of the male being nearly straight, whilst those of the female are waving; an observation worth attending to, as the flesh of the male is better than that of the female. Their condition should also be looked to, for, if the body be not full and deep from the shoulder downwards, it is a proof that the fish has been diseased, or lost its roe as "shotten mackerel," which is always ill-tasted. They are delicate, though not rich in flavor.

They may be dressed in various ways, but plainly boiled is the most usual, and considered by many good judges as the best mode of preserving their flavor.

To boil Mackerel. --They should be carefully cleaned both inside and out: then washed in vinegar and water, and left to hang a little to dry before being put into the fish-kettle. A handful of salt should be put into the water, which should be at first cold, and only allowed to boil gently from 15 to 20 minutes, though some prefer having the water boiling hot. The fish should be watched about that time, as "when the eye starts, and the tail splits, they are done, and should be immediately taken up; if left in the water they will break."

The most customary sauce is that of fennel, which has partly superseded the gooseberry, but parsley and butter is still in use.

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Or: --Mackerel may beboiled in a marinade made as follows:--Take, with some weak broth, 2 table-spoonsful of vinegar, a bundle of sweet herbs, a few small onions, or a large one stuck with a clove, pepper, and salt; boil these together an hour; then boil the fish in this gravy: take them out when ready, strain the liquor, and thicken it; make it green with chopped parsley and fennel; add a tea-spoonful of any kind of fish sauce, and send it to table.

To broil Mackerel. --Clean and split them open; wipe dry; lay them on a clean gridiron, rubbed with suet, over a very clear slow fire; turn; season with pepper, salt, and a little butter; fine-minced parsley is also used.

Trout and perch are broiled in the same way.

Mackerel boiled whole [An excellent receipt]. --Empty and cleanse perfectly, a fine and very fresh mackerel, but without opening it more than is needful; dry it well, either in a cloth, or by hanging it in a cool air until it is stiff; make with a sharp knife, a deep incision the whole length of the fish, on either side of the back bone, and about 1/2 an inch from it, and with a feather put in a little Cayenne and fine salt, mixed with a few drops of good salad oil, or clarified butter. Lay the mackerel over a moderate fire upon a well heated gridiron, which has been rubbed with suet; loosen it gently should it stick, which it will do unless often moved; and when it is equally done on both sides, turn the back to the fire. About 30 minutes will broil it well. If a sheet of thickly-buttered writing paper be folded round it, and just twisted at the ends before it is laid on the gridiron, it will be finer eating than if exposed to the fire; but sometimes when this is done, the skin will adhere to the paper, and be drawn off with it, which injures its appearance. This is one of the very best modes of dressing a mackerel, which in flavor is quite a different fish when thus prepared, to one which is simply boiled. A drop of oil is sometimes passed over the skin to prevent its sticking to the iron. It may be laid to the fire after having been merely cut as we have directed, when it is preferred so. Large, 30 minutes; 25, if small.

To bake Mackerel. --Cut off the heads and tails, open them, and clean them well; rub them with pepper and salt, put them


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into a deep dish, with a little mace, one or two bay leaves, and some whole black pepper; then pour over them equal quantities of cold vinegar and water, tie the dish over with strong paper, (not brown,) and bake for an hour in a slow oven. Or, the mackerel may be seasoned as before, buttered and baked in a dish with butter, without the vinegar and water, and eaten with fennel or parsley and butter.

Pickled Mackerel, or Caveach. --Clean 6 large mackerel, cut them, split or whole, into 4 or 5 pieces, leaving out the heads and tails. Then mix an ounce of pepper, 2 nutmegs, a little mace, (both finely powdered) and a handful of salt; rub the pieces of fish with this powder, and fry them brown in oil; when cold, put them into a jar, and fill it up with vinegar. Mackerel may thus be kept good for several months, especially if oil be poured upon the vinegar.

To souse Mackerel.-- If kept until cold, to be eaten on the following day, they should be soused in equal proportions of vinegar and water, sufficient to cover them, and containing some whole black pepper, mace, and a few bay-leaves.

> SHAD.

> In season in April, May, and the early part of June.

To bake a Shad. --Empty and wash the fish with care, but do not open it more than is necessary, and keep on the head and fins. Then stuff it with forcemeat. Sew it up, or fasten it with fine skewers, and rub the fish over with the yolk of egg and a little of the stuffing.

Put into the pan in which the fish is to be baked, about a gill of wine, or the same quantity of water mixed with a table-spoonful of Cayenne vinegar, or common vinegar will do. Baked in a moderate oven 1 1/2 or 2 hours, or according to its size.

To broil Shad. --This delicate and delicious fish is excellent broiled. Clean, wash, and split the shad, wipe it dry and sprinkle it with pepper and salt--broil it like mackerel.

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Shad, Touraine Fashion. --Empty and wash the fish with care, but do not open it more than is needful; fill it with forcemeat and its own roe; then sew it up, or fasten it securely with very fine skewers, wrap it in a thickly-buttered paper, and broil it gently for an hour over a charcoal fire. Serve it with caper sauce, or with Cayenne vinegar and melted butter.

We are indebted for this receipt to a friend who has been long resident in Touraine, at whose table the fish is constantly served, thus dressed, and is considered excellent. It is likewise often gently stewed in the light white wine of the country, and served covered with a rich bechamel. The charcoal fire is not indispensable: any that is entirely free from smoke will answer. We would suggest as an improvement, that oyster-forcemeat should be substituted for that which we have indicated, until the oyster season ends. Broiled gently, 1 hour, more or less, according to its size.

To fry Shad. --Clean the fish, cut off the head, and split it down the back; save the roe and eggs when taking out the entrails. Cut the fish in pieces about 3 inches wide, rinse each in cold water, and dry on a cloth; use wheat flour to rub each piece. Have ready hot salted lard and lay in the fish, inside down, and fry till of a fine brown, then turn and fry the other side. Fry the roe and egg with the fish.

To Bake a Shad, Rock-fish, or Bass. --Clean the fish carefully, sprinkle it lightly with salt and let it lie a few minutes; then wash it, season it slightly with Cayenne pepper and salt, and fry it gently a light brown. Prepare a seasoning of bread crumbs, pounded mace and cloves, majoram, parsley, Cayenne pepper and salt; strew it over and in the fish; let it stand an hour. Put it in a deep dish, and set it in the oven to bake; to a large fish, put in the dish 1/2 pint of water, 1 pint of wine, Port and Madeira mixed, or the juice of a lemon made thick with loaf sugar, 1/2 tea-cupful of mushroom or tomato ketchup; to a small one allow in proportion the same ingredients; baste frequently, and garnish with sliced lemon.

To boil Rock-fish, Black-fish, and Sea Bass. --Clean the fish with scrupulous care, particularly the back bone, then lay the fish into the fish-kettle and cover it with cold water, strewing in a handful of salt, (and a small pinch of saltpetre, if you


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have it,) and place it over a moderate fire. Clean off the scum carefully, and let it boil very gently till it is done; then drain it, as directed for cod-fish, and dish it nicely--garnished with hard boiled eggs, cut in halves. Celery sauce, or anchovy sauce, is the proper kind for these fish, or plain melted butter.

To souse Rock-fish. --Boil the fish with a little salt in the water until it is thoroughly cooked. Reserve part of the water in which it was boiled, to which add whole pepper, salt, vinegar, cloves allspice, and mace, to your taste; boil it up to extract the strength from the spice; and add the vinegar after it is boiled. Cut off the head and tail of the fish, and divide the rest in several portions. Put it in a stone jar, and when the fish is quite cold, pour the liquor over it. It will be fit to use in a day or two, and will keep in a cold place two or three weeks.

Black-fish and Bass. --These fish are cooked in a manner similar to Rock-fish and Shad.

> HADDOCK.

To boil Haddock. --They are in season from June till January, and their condition may be tested in the same manner as Cod; but they should be immediately gutted, much below the vent, and carefully cleaned, to prevent the rancidity which would otherwise be occasioned to their flavor by the oiliness of the liver, if it be allowed to remain in the body. The gills and eyes should also be taken out, and a very little salt put into the body, which should be hung up for a short time to dry. Their average weight rarely exceeds 4 to 5 lbs., but the larger they are the better they will generally be found, their firmness being the greatest merit in their quality, and depending much upon their size. The fish is very delicate in flavor, and is most usually left unskinned; plainly boiled, very fast, for about 15 minutes, or 20 minutes if it be large. It may be served with parsley and butter, or oyster sauce.

To fry Haddock. --If of a very small size, they may be turned round with their tails run through their jaws; but this


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cannot be done when they are large; they are in that case either cut in slices or filleted, and fried with crumbs of bread and egg.

To broil Haddock, &c. --The fish is either scored or skinned, and split up, brushed over with a feather dipped in oil, peppered and salted, and laid whole upon the gridiron, without either crumbs of bread or egg, and eaten, if it befresh, with only a squeeze of lemon, or some anchovy sauce; if dried and salted, as the Findhorn, or, as they are commonly called "Finnan haddock," they are merely used as a breakfast relish, without any sauce or condiment but a spoonful of mustard.

To bake Haddock, &c. -- scales should be craped off, but the tail and head must not be removed, though the spinal bone should be taken out, and the body stuffed with any approved forcemeat.

The Scottish mode of Baking is:--Take 2 good-sized haddocks, clean, and wipe them well in a cloth, but do not wash them; keep the breasts as whole as possible. Strew salt over them, and lay them on a board for several hours; then wipe the salt from them, cut off the heads and fins, cut the skin through down the back, and take it off neatly, being careful to keep the fish whole. Beat up the yolks of 3 eggs, dip each in the egg, have ready some bread crumbs, mixed with pepper, salt, and chopped parsley; roll the fish in the crumbs, and stuff the heads and breasts with oysters chopped, but not too small, and bread crumbs blended with an egg. Butter a dish, lay the fish upon it, stick pieces of butter upon each, and bake them. For sauce, take a pint of veal gravy, the same quantity of cream, mix 2 table-spoonsful of flour in a little of the cream, cold, and boil till smooth; add a blade of mace, a little nutmeg, salt, and an onion. When about to dish, take out the onion, add a wine-glassful of wine with the yolk of an egg well beaten. Lay the heads of the fish at each end, and garnish with lemon.

> WHITINGS.

To boil Whitings [French Receipt] --Having scraped, cleaned, and wiped them, lay them on a fish-plate, and put them into water at the point of boiling; throw in a handful of salt,


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2 bay-leaves, and plenty of parsley, well washed, and tied together; let the fish just simmer from 5 to 10 minutes, and watch them closely that they may not be over-done. Serve parsley and butter with them, and use in making it the liquor in which the whitings have been boiled. Just simmered from 5 to 10 minutes.

Baked Whiting, a la Francaise. --Proceed with these exactly as with baked Soles, or, pour a little clarified butter into a deep dish, and strew it rather thickly with finely-minced mushrooms, mixed with a tea-spoonful of parsley, and (when the flavor is liked, and considered appropriate) with an eschalot or two, or the white part of a few green onions, also chopped very small. On these place the fish, after they have been scaled, emptied, thoroughly washed, and wiped dry: season them well with salt, and white pepper, or Cayenne; sprinkle more of the herbs upon them; pour gently from 1 to 2 glasses of light white wine into the dish, cover the whitings with a thick layer of fine crumbs of bread, sprinkle these plentifully with clarified butter, and bake the fish from 15 to 20 minutes. Send a cut lemon only to table with them. When the wine is not liked, a few spoonsful of pale veal gravy can be used instead; or a larger quantity of clarified butter, with a table-spoonful of water, a tea-spoonful of lemon-pickle and of mushroom catsup, and a few drops of soy. 15 to 20 minutes.

> STURGEON.

To boil Sturgeon. --Having cleaned a strugeon well, boil it is as much liquor as will just cover it; add 2 or 3 bits of lemon-peel, some whole pepper. a stick of horse-radish, and a pint of vinegar to every half-gallon of water.

When done, garnish the dish with fried oysters, sliced lemon, and horse-radish, and serve it up with melted butter, with cavear dissolved in it; or with anchovy sauce; and with the body of a crab in the butter, and a little lemon-juice.

To roast sturgeon, place it on a lark spit, which fasten on a large spit; baste it continually with butter, and serve with a good gravy and some lemon-juice.

To stew Sturgeon. --Cut the fish in slices 1 1/2 inch thick, dip them in vinegar, dry them well, flour, and broil the slices;


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then flour and lay them in a stew pan with some good broth, and let them stew gently until perfectly tender; thicken the gravy with butter or cream, add a spoonful of Harvey's sauce, 1/2 a glass of wine, and serve it up with capers strewed over the top, and garnished with slices of lemon.

To roast Sturgeon. --Put a good-sized piece in a large cradle-spit (5 or 6 lbs. will make a handsome dish for the head of the table); stuff it with forcemeat; keep it at the fire for 2 or 3 hours, but remove the skin; cover it with crumbs of bread, and brown it with the salamander; baste it constantly with butter, and serve with a good brown gravy, an anchovy, a squeeze of Seville orange or lemon, and a glass of sherry boiled up, and poured into the dish.

Sturgeon Cutlets. --Cut in slices 1/4 inch thick; dry, flour, and egg them; dip them in crumbs, seasoned with pepper, salt, parsley, and thyme; fry them, and serve with Indian pickle, tomato, or piquant sauce.

> HALIBUT, OR, HOLIBUT,

Partakes somewhat of the flavor of the turbot, and grows to an enormous size, being sometimes caught weighing more than a cwt.; the best size is, however, from 20 to 40 lbs., as, if much larger, it is coarse. The most esteemed parts are the flakes over the fins, and the pickings about the head; but on account of its great bulk, it is commonly cut up and sold in collops, or in pieces of a few pounds weight, at a very reasonable rate. A small one cut in thin slices and crimped, is very good eating.

To boil Halibut. --Take a small halibut, or what you require from a large fish. Put it into the fish-kettle, with the back of the fish undermost, cover it with cold water, in which a handful of salt, and a bit of saltpetre the size of a hazel nut, have been dissolved. When it begins to boil, skim it carefully, and then let it just simmer till it is done. 4 lbs. of fish will require nearly 30 minutes, to boil it. Drain it, garnish with horse-radish or parsley--egg sauce or plain melted butter, are served with it.

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Fillets of Halibut, Black-fish, Bass, &c. --The word fillet, whether applied to fish, poultry, game, or butcher's meat, means simply the flesh of either (or of certain portions of it), raised clear from the bones in a handsome form, and divided or not, as the manner in which it is to be served may require. It is an elegant mode of dressing various kinds of fish, and even those which are not the most highly esteemed, afford an excellent dish when thus prepared. The fish, to be filleted with advantage, should be large; the flesh may then be divided down the middle of the back, next, separated from the fins, and with a very sharp knife raised clean from the bones.* When thus prepared, the fillets may be divided, trimmed into a good form, egged, covered with fine crumbs, fried in the usual way, and served with the same sauces as the whole fish; or each fillet may be rolled up, in its entire length, if very small, or after being once divided, if large, and fastened with a slight twine, or a short thin skewer; then egged, crumbed, and fried in plenty of boiling lard; or merely well floured, and fried from 8 to 10 minutes. When the fish are not very large, they are sometimes boned without being parted in the middle, and each side is rolled from the tail to the head, after being first spread with butter, a few bread crumbs, and a high seasoning of mace and Cayenne; or with pounded lobster mixed with a large portion of the coral, and the same seasoning, and proportion of butter; then laid into a dish, well covered with crumbs of bread and clarified butter, and baked from 12 to 16 minutes, or until the crumbs are colored to a fine brown, in a moderate oven.

The fillets may likewise be cut into small strips or squares of uniform size, lightly dredged with pepper or Cayenne, salt, and flour, and fried in butter over a brisk fire; then well drained, and sauced with a good bechamel, flavored with a tea-spoonful of minced parsley.

[Editorial note: This footnote appears at the bottom of page 48 in the original text.]

* A celebrated French cook gives the following instructions for raising these fillets:- "Take them up by running your knife first between the bones and the flesh, then between the skin and the fillet; by leaning pretty hard on the table they will come off very neatly."

To collop Halibut-- Cut the fish into nice cutlets, of about an inch thick, and fry them; then put them into a broth made of the bones, 4 onions, a stick of celery, and a bundle of sweet herbs, boiled together for 1/2 an hour. Strain this broth, thicken


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it, and stew the fish for 1/2 an hour, adding salt, pepper, a grating of nutmeg, and pounded mace, a spoonful of soy or fish sauce, and half that quantity of lemon juice, with a little shred lemon-peel.

Or:--The collops may be fried in batter, or with beaten eggs and crumbs of bread; or, if made into cutlets, cut quite thin, and fried in sweet oil, without egg and bread crumbs, are very good if eaten with sauce a la Tartare.

To stew the Head of Halibut. --Put a pint of beer, or any kind of wine, a few anchovies, an onion stuck with cloves, a bunch of sweet herbs, and some pepper, into a stew-pan; fill it nearly with water, though ale, without water, is used by many good cooks, and stew it for an hour: then strain it, and put in the head of a halibut, stew it till tender; when done enough, thicken the gravy with butter and flour, add a little fish-sauce, and serve it up with forcemeat-balls made of a part of the fish, pounded, and rolled up with crumbs of bread, thyme, marjoram, and nutmeg, bound together with the yolk of an egg. If the fish has been stewed in plain water, a glass of wine should then be added to the sauce.

> TROUT

Are, by many people, thought to be a small kind of salmon, but, though much resembling it in outward appearance and delicacy of taste, they are of a distinct species, only inhabiting rivulets of running water, and never bred, as the salmon is, in the sea. They are very small, seldom exceeding 2 to 3 lbs., and more frequently not reaching more than 3/4 lb. in weight.

To fry Trout. --Clean and dry them thoroughly in a cloth, fry them plain in hot butter; or beat the white of egg on a plate, dip the trout in the egg and then in very fine bread crumbs, which have been rubbed through a sieve--biscuit-powder is better. Fry them till of a delicate brown; it takes but a few minutes, if the trout be small--serve with crisp parsley and plain melted butter.

To bake Trout[in the Foreign Mode]. --Cover the bottom of a small oval paper form with a few very thin slices of fat bacon,


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cut down the back some nicely-washed small trout, and, having removed the bones, lay the fish open, flat upon the bacon; sprinkle with chopped parsley, pepper, salt, a little mace, and 2 cloves finely pounded. Bake 30 minutes in a quick oven, and serve in paper.

Another Mode. --Baking, if you have an oven, is decidedly the best mode of dressing all the larger sort of fresh-water fish, and also the simplest. Dry the fish, lay them in a baking-dish, season with pepper and salt, and put a little butter on them; bake them according to the size; add the juice that comes from the fish to some rather thick melted butter.

To boil Trout. --They should be wiped dry with a coarse towel, rubbed from head to tail, and boiled whole, putting them into cold water mixed with a small quantity of vinegar, into which should be also put some scraped horse-radish; let them boil gradually for about 20 to 30 minutes, according to size, and take care not to break the skin; serve with plain melted butter.

> PERCH.

To boil Perch. --First wipe or wash off the slime, then scrape off the scales, which adheres rather tenaciously to this fish; empty and clean the insides perfectly, take out the gills, cut off the fins, and lay the perch into equal parts of cold and of boiling water, salted as for mackerel: from 8 to 10 minutes will boil them unless they are very large. Dish them on a napkin, garnish them with curled parsley, and serve melted butter with them, or Mâitre d'Hotel sauce maigre.

Very good French cooks put them at once into boiling water, and keep them over a brisk fire for about 15 minutes. They dress them also without taking off the scales or fins until they are ready to serve, when they strip the whole of the skin off carefully, and stick the red fins into the middle of the backs: the fish are then covered with the Steward's sauce, thickened with eggs. In warm water, 8 to 10 minutes; in boiling, 12 to 15.

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To fry Perch or Tench. --Scale and clean them perfectly; dry them well, flour and fry them in boiling lard. Serve plenty of fried parsley round them.

> SMALL FISH.

Roach, smelts, gudgeons, minnows, or other small fish, must be well cleaned and dried, and shaken in a floured cloth, and may then be fried either with a little butter, or in boiling fat. Or they may be first dipped in egg, and sprinkled with fine bread crumbs.

They will scarcely take more than two minutes to make them of a nice brown color, when they are done. Let them be drained on a hair sieve, before the fire, till they are pretty free from fat.

Fish Cutlets. --Chop a considerable quantity of herbs with a small piece of shalot, season it with pepper and salt; and put it into a stew-pan with 2 oz. of butter; as the butter is melting, add a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies. Do not allow the butter to more than melt, and mix the whole well together; then cut any kind of white fish, dressed or raw, into handsome cutlets, and, when the herb seasoning is nearly cold, spread it on the fish thickly with a knife; dredge the fish with bread crumbs, and cook them on butter-pans in an oven, or before the fire. Stew a few silver button-onions, or a chopped onion, with any green vegetables in season, cut it into dice in a little broth, add nasturtiums, and a little of the pickle; keep them in the middle of a dish, and lay the cutlets round.

Or:--Take any fish previously dressed, pull it in pieces, and mix it with a little good stock, and any fish sauce which may have been left from table; spread it on a flat dish, brush it with egg, and sprinkle thick with bread crumbs, cut it out in cutlets and fry brown.

Kedgeree for Breakfast. --Boil 2 table-spoonsful of rice, add any fish previously cooked, (salmon or turbot is preferable) and nicely picked; beat up an egg well, and stir it in just before serving. The egg must not boil.

Fillets of Fish. --Take any white fish, bone, split, and cut them into handsome fillets, and squeeze the juice of a lemon


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over them, make a fine forcemeat with lobsters or shrimps, lay it thickly on the fillets, roll them up, and tie or skewer them. Put them into a fish gravy, and bake them in an oven: when done, thicken the gravy and serve up the fish in it.

To scollop Fish --Is in some measure to make it into a pie, as the usual mode is to bake it in scollops or shapes resembling the shells; as thus:--

Flake the fish, and imbed it in bread crumbs moistened with thin melted butter or cream, flavored with any approved sauce; cover the top thickly with bread crumbs, lay bits of butter over, and bake it either before the fire or in a Dutch oven; or lay the fish in the bottom of the dish, with a rich white sauce of cream, and cover the top only with bread crumbs.

Fish Cake. --Cut the meat from the bones, put them, the head and fins, over the fire to stew for gravy, with a pint of water, and onion, herbs, pepper, and salt. Mince the meat, put to it 1/3 part of crumbs of bread, a little minced onion, parsley, pepper, salt, and a very small bit of mace: mix well, and make it into a cake with white of egg and a little melted butter; cover it with raspings, and fry it a pale brown, keeping a plate on the top while doing. Then lay it in a stew-pan, with the fish gravy, and stew it gently 15 minutes; turn it twice, but with great care not to break it: cover it closely while stewing.

Cake of dressed meat, done in the same way, is remarkably good.

Casserole of Fish. --Is a title given, among others, by French cooks, to "poisson rechauffé," or fish which has been left after being dressed, and is meant to be re-heated. There are almost as many modes of doing this, as of originally dressing the various sorts; but we here only retain a few of the most simple:--

Take any kind of cold fish, and divide it into large flakes; boil 2 or 3 eggs hard, and cut them into slices; have also some mashed potatoes; butter a mould, and put in the fish, eggs, and potatoes, with a little delicate seasoning of white pepper; moisten the whole with cream, or thin melted butter, and a spoonful of essence of anchovies; boil the mould and turn it out.

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Or:--Take some fish which has been dressed, and rub it through a sieve; to 1/2 lb. of fish allow 1/4 lb. of bread-crumbs, 2 eggs well beaten, 1 tablespoonful of essence of anchovies, 1 of Harvey sauce, and a little salt and cayenne pepper; mix all well together, and put it into a mould; let it boil 1/2 an hour, and serve it with a good fish-sauce in the dish.

Croquettes of Fish. --Take dressed fish of any kind, separate it from the bones, mince it with a little seasoning, an egg beaten with a teaspoonful of flour, and one of milk; roll it into balls; brush the outside with egg, and dredge it well with bread-crumbs, fry them of a nice color: the bones, heads, tails, with an onion, an anchovy, and a pint of water, stewed together, will make the gravy. Lobsters make delicate croquettes; in which case the shell should be broken, and boiled down for the gravy.

> RED HERRINGS.

Red herrings are dried when salted, but those cured in Ireland, Scotland, and Holland are packed and left in the pickle for exportation. Dutch herrings have acquired the highest reputation in consequence of their superior delicacy. They are brought to London in small casks, containing only a dozen each, and in Holland are always eaten raw, though English prejudice spoils them by broiling. They are so highly cured as to make the fish quite transparent; are generally steeped for an hour or two in cold milk, scored across, and form an excellent relish.

Choose those that are large and moist; cut them open and pour some boiling water over them to soak 1/2 an hour; drain them dry, and make them just hot through before the fire; then rub some cold butter over them, and serve. Instead of butter, a little salad oil will add to the richness; but it must be dropped on while before the fire, and in the smallest quantity. A very usual mode is, however, to split them open without any soaking, and hang them separately on the hooks of a cheese-toaster, by which means the soft roe will be browned. Some of them will have hard roes, in which case the belly should be carefully opened, and a little butter inserted between the lobes, but again close up the belly to more readily melt the butter.

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> EELS.

Eels are in season the whole year, excepting in April and May, and when in high condition have a bright, glossy appearance on the back, and a brilliant white on the belly. Unless eels weigh at least half a pound in weight, they are hardly worth purchasing, except for the purpose of enriching fish-stews, or making small eel-patties.

Preparatory to most modes of dressing, they should be well cleaned, gutted, and skinned; the heads and tails cut off, and the rest of the fish cut into short pieces of 3 to 4 inches in length, and left for an hour or two in salt water.

To boil Eels. --They should be of a good size, prepared as above, dried, floured, and boiled in salt and water, with a good deal of parsley, for about 30 minutes, or until tender; then served with parsley and butter, of which a portion may be thrown over them, and they may be garnished with scraped horseradish.

To fry Eels. --They should be rolled in yolk of eggs and bread-crumbs, or a thick coating of sweet herbs, and fried a pale brown. They may be served with any savory or acid sauce that may be preferred.

To broil. --The same process may be adopted by merely changing the frying-pan for the gridiron, and wrapping the eels in buttered paper; but, if thought proper, the bread-crumbs and herbs may be omitted, as well as the envelope of paper, and the eel merely brushed over with the yolk of egg. Turn them frequently, and take them up when quite brown.

Eels stewed in the French way. --Skin the eels, and skewer them round; put them into an earthen pan with all sorts of roots cut small, a few peppercorns, cloves, and a little salt, about a pint of vinegar and ketchup, with as much broth: bake them 1 hour in the oven uncovered with pie-crust, and in the meanwhile thicken the stock with some good cream flavored with a grate of nutmeg. The other modes are more in the difference of sauce than the methods of dressing, though put under various names.

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> ANCHOVY.

Anchovy Butter. --Pick and wipe, but do not wash, six anchovies, and beat them with two or three ounces of fresh butter; rub the paste through a fine hair-sieve; cut it into ornamental forms with warm cutters, and serve at breakfast, or as garnish for salads.

Anchovy Sandwiches. --Wash fine anchovies, split them, and carefully remove the bones; then lay the fish between slices of bread and butter, neatly cut; or spread thinly upon bread anchovy butter.

Anchovy Toast. --Cut the crust off bread, toast it evenly, spread plain butter on the under side, and anchovy butter on the top: serve cut into square pieces. If the butter be not strong enough, lay on the toast also split and quartered anchovies.

Caviare. --Caviare is the roe of the sturgeon; it is served on toasted bread; and is eaten with roast meat, or with cheese.

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> CHAPTER V.

SHELL FISH.

ALTHOUGH crabs and lobsters may be seen at the fish mongers' the whole year round, they are yet only in high season and plentiful from the month of April till the close of October.

If lobsters have not been long taken, the claws will have a strong motion when you put your finger on the eyes and press them. The heaviest, if of good size, are the best, but the largest are not the best. When you buy them ready boiled, try whether their tails are stiff, and pull up with a spring; if otherwise, they are either watery or not fresh. The "cock-lobster," as the male is called, is known by the narrow back part of his tail, and the two uppermost fins within it are stiff and hard; but those of the hen are soft, and the tail broader. The male, though generally smaller, has the highest flavor; the flesh is firmer, and the color, when boiled, is a deeper red; but the female has that fine coral so highly prized by cooks for the improvement of their sauces, which appears with the rudiments of the spawn.

To boil Lobsters. --Put them alive, with their claws tied together, into the water when boiling hot, and keep it so until the fish is done, which, if of a pound weight, will take about fifteen minutes, and if larger will require not quite the same proportion of time, for if boiled too long the meat will be stringy. Many people are shocked at the apparent cruelty of thus killing them, but death takes place immediately, and life cannot be taken away without pain.

When sent to table to be eaten cold, the tail and body should be split from end to end, the claws cracked, but not unshelled, and the meat may be made into salad, or mixed in such manner as each person pleases, and many persons add a


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teaspoonful of white powdered sugar, thinking that it gives a mellowness to the whole. It is scarcely necessary to mention that the head of a lobster, and what are called the "lady-fingers," are not to be eaten.

To stew Lobsters. --Take the meat out of the shells of 1 or 2 boiled lobsters. Put the shells into a pint of water with some whole pepper, salt, and a little mace. Let it boil till all the goodness is extracted from the shells; then strain it. Mix with a little cream, or thin melted butter, the rich portion of the lobster, and the coral: add a small quantity of lemon-juice and 2 tablespoonsful of wine, mix it with the gravy, and warm the lobster in it; a few minutes will suffice.

Or:--Cut the meat of a boiled lobster into pieces, and put them into a covered metal dish with a bit of butter, 2 large spoonsful of any sort of gravy, 1 of soy or walnut-ketchup, a little salt and cayenne, with a glass of port wine, and warm it. If there be a lamp under the dish, you may do it at your own table within a few minutes.

Another mode of stewing lobsters is:--Take the meat of 2 lobsters, mince it small, and put it into a pint of beef-soup. Let it stew a little; thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour; add a glass of white wine, with a little pepper; add salt and nutmeg, a spoonful of ketchup, 1 of anchovy, and 1 of lemon-juice. Let the whole stew together, and serve up, garnishing the dish with the small claws.

To fricassee Lobster. --Parboil it, extract the meat from the shell, and cut it into small pieces; season it with white pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and put it into the stewpan, with as much cream or richly-made white sauce as will cover it. Keep the lid close, set the pan on hot coals, and stew it slowly for about as long a time as it was previously boiled.

To roast Lobsters. --When half boiled, take them out of the kettle, butter the shells, lay the fish before the fire, and baste them with butter, till it froths. Serve with high-seasoned melted butter.

Potted Lobsters, Crabs, Shrimps, or Prawns. --Choose fine hen lobsters, full of spawn; boil them, pick out the tail and claws, season with salt, pepper (black or cayenne), and mace,


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and cover them with melted butter; bake them one hour, and strain off the butter; then pound the lobster with the spawn into a paste, put it into pots, clarify the butter and pour upon it, and tie over. Lobsters may also be potted in pieces, with out beating.

Crab, shrimps, and prawns, may also be potted as above; and all, when cut out, make fine sandwiches.

Curried Lobsters. --Lay the meat in a pan, with two or three blades of mace, and equal quantities of veal gravy and cream; then rub with butter, two teaspoonsful of currie-powder, and half the quantity of flour; which put into the pan, and simmer the whole an hour, adding salt, and the juice of half a lemon.

Croquettes of Lobster. --Take the meat from the shell, chop it finely, mix it with a little salt, pepper, and pounded mace; take one quarter part of fine bread-crumbs, make it up into balls with melted butter, brush the balls with yolk of egg, and dredge them with bread crumbs, and fry them, serving with or without gravy: if dry, they must be sent up with crisped parsley.

Lobster Salad. --Take one or two heads of white heart lettuce; they should be as fresh as possible; if they are not "morning gathered," lay them in spring water for an hour or two; then carefully wash them, and trim off all the withered or cankered leaves; let them drain awhile, and dry them lightly in a clean napkin.

To make the dressing; boil 2 eggs for 12 minutes, and put them in a basin of cold water for a few minutes, till the yolks become thoroughly cold and hard. Rub the yolks through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and mix them with a tablespoonful of water; then add 2 table-spoonsful of oil or melted butter; when these are well mixed, add by degrees a tea-spoonful of salt, and the same of made mustard; when these are smoothly united, add very gradually 3 table-spoonsful of vinegar.

Take out the finest parts of a lobster and mince them small. Just before it is to be served, mince the lettuce; mix it with the lobster and the dressing. Cut up the white of the egg, and garnish the salad with it.

Hen lobsters are preferred for salad on account of their coral.

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Lobster salads are also made in moulds, when ornaments of the whites of eggs boiled hard, some cut gherkins, or beet-root, are placed in the moulds with jelly, lobster, &c.; the whole is set in ice, and when frozen, is turned out of the mould, and served with salad sauce. This is an elegant supper-dish, but should be attempted only by a skilful hand.

> CRAB.

Though not so well known as the lobster, is looked upon by many as being a better-flavored fish, and perhaps rather more digestible. The female is considered inferior to the male, and may be known by the claws being smaller, and the tail much wider. The heaviest are usually thought to be the best, but those of a middling size are the sweetest. If light, they are watery; when in perfection, the joints of the legs are stiff; the shell, whether alive or dead, should be of a bright red; and the body has a very agreeable smell. The eyes look dead and loose when stale, or when the fish have died a natural death. They are boiled in the same manner as lobster, but require rather longer time, and are most usually eaten cold with oil and vinegar, as thus:--Pick out all the fish from the shell, divide it into small pieces, mixing the rich part well with the rest; moisten it with salad dressing, and return it to the shell with an edge all round of sliced lemon.

If hot, pick the fish out as above; then put the meat, with a little nutmeg, salt, pepper, bits of butter, crumbs of bread, and 3 spoonsful of vinegar, into the shell again, and set it before the fire. You may brown it with a salamander, but it should be always served in the shell. Dry toast should be served to eat with it. Observe to remove "the lady," as it is called.

To stew Crabs. --Pick the meat carefully out of a large crab and its claws; cut into small pieces, mix it with about a fourth part of bread-crumbs, and a very small quantity of finely shred parsley. Season it well, and return it to the shell with some small bits of butter here and there, enough, when warmed, to keep it moist. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over it, or a spoonful of lemon-pickle or acid sauce. Put a


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thick layer of crumbs of bread upon the top with small bits of butter laid all over it, and bake it in the shell before the fire or in the oven. The shell of one crab will contain the meat of two.

> TERRAPINS.

This is a favorite dish for suppers and parties; and, when well cooked, they are certainly very delicious. Many persons in Philadelphia have made themselves famous for cooking this article alone. Mrs. Rubicam, who during her lifetime always stood first in that way, prepared them as follows:- Put the terrapins alive in a pot of boiling water, where they must remain until they are quite dead. You then divest them of their outer skin and toe-nails; and, after washing them in warm water, boil them again until they become quite tender, adding a handful of salt to the water. Having satisfied yourself of their being perfectly tender, take off the shells and clean the terrapins very carefully, removing the sand-bag and gall without breaking them. Then cut the meat and entrails into small pieces, and put them into a sauce-pan, adding the juice which has been given out in cutting them up, but no water, and season with salt, cayenne, and black pepper, to your taste; adding a quarter of a pound of good butter to each terrapin, and a handful of flour for thickening. After stirring a short time, add four or five table-spoonsful of cream, and a half pint of good Madeira to every four terrapins, and serve hot in a deep dish. Our own cook has been in the habit of putting in a very little mace, a large table-spoonful of mustard, and ten drops of gall;and, just before serving, adding the yolks of four hard boiled eggs. During the stewing, particular attention must be paid to stirring the preparation frequently; and it must be borne in mind, that terrapins cannot possibly be too hot.--Sanderson.

> OYSTERS.

To feed Oysters. --Wash them clean, lay them bottom downwards in a tub or pan, and cover them with water, to 2 gallons of which add a pound of salt. In 12 hours change the salt


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and water. Colchester barrelled oysters, if tightly packed, will be better without water. Barrelled oysters may be kept alive by removing the top hoop of the barrel, and placing a heavy weight upon the head or top, so as to keep the oysters close.

To fry Oysters. --They should be large for this purpose. Simmer them for a couple of minutes in their own liquor, beard and dry them in a cloth, dredge them lightly with flour, dip them in egg and fine bread crumbs, and fry them a delicate brown in boiling lard.

Another way to fry Oysters. --Take a score or two of the largest oysters you can find. The yolks of 4 or 5 eggs well beaten up, with a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and a table-spoonful of fine flour. Dip in the oysters, and fry them in butter a light brown.

To scollop Oysters. --Take 12 of the smaller sort, beard them, cut out the hard part which adheres to their shells, and leave them in their liquor; have ready a quantity of crumbs of fresh bread, not too finely grated, and mixed with a little pepper and salt; then grease a scollop shell, strew upon it some of the crumbs with bits of butter, and lay upon them a layer of the oysters; then crumbs, bits of butter, and oysters, layer upon layer, until the shell is filled up; cover it with a thick coating of the crumbs well buttered, and brown it in a Dutch oven. A dozen oysters, with the proper quantity of crumbs, will fill up the largest scollop shell, and take an hour to be thoroughly done.

Some cooks scald the oysters for 5 minutes in their own liquor, and mix with them minced shalot, or chives, and pot herbs; but these although they may please an epicurean palate, will destroy the natural flavor of the oyster.

Or:--Keep the oysters in their liquor, put a bit of butter in a stew-pan, with minced parsley, shalot, and a little pepper; brown them with a fried onion; then add the oyster liquor, strained, and a little good gravy, work them until they are of the consistence of sauce, but do not add flour to thicken it, as it spoils the taste of the oyster liquor, and gives them a soddened appearance; then toss and put in the oysters, add lemon juice, and fill the scollop shells, which may be put before the


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fire to be kept hot, but without bread crumbs or artificial browning of any sort: they are an admirable addition to a rump-steak.

To broil Oysters. --Take them from the shells, beard them, and put them with their liquor into tin shapes made to imitate scollops, 6 in a shell (not more), with a little pepper and butter. Put the shells upon a gridiron over a good fire, and serve them when plump and quite hot. They are delicious this way; but to be eaten in perfection should be cooked in the room where they are eaten. Squeeze a little lemon juice over them when they come from the fire.

Or:-- They may be put singly in their under shells along with their own liquor, a little minced parsley and spice, and a bit of butter, and thus put upon the gridiron, to be taken off when thoroughly heated.

To stew Oysters. --Take a pint of oysters. Set them over the fire in their liquor, with a glass of white wine, a piece of butter, some salt, a little black pepper, and some blades of mace. Let them stew gently about half an hour: then put in another piece of butter; toss all around together till the butter is melted; and turn out the oysters and liquor upon thin slices of bread.

To pickle Oysters. --Open as many oysters as will fill a gallon, together with the liquor--wash them well in their own liquor, carefully clearing away the particles of shell--then put them into an iron pot, and pour the liquor gently over them, adding 2 table-spoonsful of salt, or a little more if they are fresh; set them on the fire till they are ready to boil, and the fins much shrivelled; if the oysters are large, they may boil a minute or two; then take them out and lay them on a table to cool; take the liqour, putting some mace and whole pepper into it, and let it boil for some time, carefully skimming it as long as any scum remains; then pour it into a pan. When perfectly cold, add a pint of white wine, and half a pint of strong vinegar. Place the oysters gently in a jar; pour the liquor on them so as to cover them.

Oyster Pie. --Butter a deep dish; line it with puff-paste rolled to about half an inch in thickness. Lay a clean napkin


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over the top of the dish, and put on the towel a cover for the pie, of paste. Bake it well. Meanwhile, take oysters enough to fill the pie, and put them in a stew-pan with just enough of their liquor to prevent them from burning; season them with pepper, mace, and some grated nutmeg; add a large portion of butter cut small and rolled in a very little flour. Let the oysters simmer, but not boil, for a few minutes. Then beat the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, according to the size of the pie, and stir them in the oysters. Let it simmer a few minutes. Pour the oysters while hot into the pie, carefully taking off and replacing the cover. Oyster pies may be eaten warm or cold.

Oysters prepared in the same way but without the egg, may be put into the pie before it is baked, and cooked with it.

For Oyster Patties. --Make some rich puff-paste, and bake it in very small tin patty-pans. When cool, turn them out upon a large dish. Stew some large fresh oysters with a few cloves, a little mace and nutmeg, some yolk of egg boiled hard and grated, a little butter, and as much of the oyster liquor as will cover them. When they have stewed a little while, take them out of the pan, and set them away to cool. When quite cool, lay 2 or 3 oysters in each shell of puff-paste.

Or:--The oysters may be put into the shells when hot, and served immediately.

To boil Hard-shell Clams. --Wash the shells, and put them in a kettle with about a pint or more of water. The less water the stronger will be the flavor of the clams. Lay them with their edges downwards; let them boil constantly, and when their shells open wide take them off, as they are done. Then take them from the shells; lay in a dish some slices of toasted bread buttered; pour the clams with some of their juice upon them; season it with pepper, and if you choose add a little butter.

Sand clams are preferable for every purpose.

To fry Hard-shell Clams. --Take the large sand clams; wash them in their own liquor; beat well the yolks of 4 eggs with a little pepper and a table-spoonful of fine flour. Dip in the clams and fry them in butter a light brown.

To stew Hard-shell Clams. --Take the clams from their shells,


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and put them in a stew-pan with enough of their own liquor mixed with an equal quantity of water to cover them; let them simmer from 30 to 40 minutes, skimming them carefully; mix a table-spoonful of flour with 3 table-spoonsful of butter and stir it in; season it with pepper, but no salt; cover the stew-pan and let them simmer from 15 to 20 minutes.

Sand clams are to be preferred.

Clam Fritters. --Take 12 large, or 25 small clams from their shells; if the clams are large, divide them. Mix 2 gills of wheat flour, with 1 gill of milk, half as much of the clam liquor, and 1 egg well beaten. Make the batter smooth, and then stir in the clams. Drop the batter by table-spoonsful in boiling lard; let them fry gently, turning them when done on one side.

To boil Soft-shell Clams. --When the shells are washed clean, put the clams in a pot with the edges downwards; pour a quart of boiling water over them to open the shells; set them over the fire for nearly an hour. When they are done the shells will be wide open; then take them out of the shells, trim off the black skin that covers the hard part; put them in a stew-pan with some of their own liquor, to which add butter, pepper, and salt. Let them boil a few minutes.

To stew Soft-shell Clams. --Take the clams from their shells, and free them from their black skin; wash them, and put them with a little water in a stew-pan; cover it and let them simmer gently for 30 minutes; then thicken the juice with butter and flour rolled together; season with salt and pepper; let them stew for 10 minutes.

To fry Soft-shell Clams. --Proceed as with hard-shelled clams.

To stew Muscles. --Open them put them intp a pan with their own liquor, to which add a large onion and some parsley, with 2 table-spoonsful of vinegar; roll a piece of butter in flour, beat an egg, and add it to the gravy, warming the whole up very gradually.

In France, muscles are skewered upon a small skewer and roasted, or dipped into a thick batter and fried.

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In preparing muscles for table, care should be taken to destroy the beards, as well also as a small species of crab which is sometimes found in their shells. They are not in season during the summer.

To stew Scallops. --Boil them very well in salt and water, then take them out and stew them in a little of their liquor, a glass of white wine, and a little vinegar; add some grated bread crumbs, and the yolks of 2 or 3 hard eggs minced small. Stew all together till they are sufficiently done, then add a large spoonful of essence of anchovy and a good piece of butter rolled in flour; or stew very gradually in a rich white sauce, with thick cream, until quite hot, but without being allowed to boil, and serve with sippets.

Crayfish, prawns, and shrimps may all be done in the same manner.

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> CHAPTER VI.

RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.

Plain living not the most wholesome--Diet and Digestion--Advantage of Variety in Food--French mode of Cookery--Hints on Boiling--Roasting--Broiling--Frying--Stewing--Baking--Larding--Glazing--Braising--Blanching--Boning--Danger from Copper Saucepans

THE commonly received idea, that what goes under the denomination of "good plain living"--that is, joints of meat, roast or boiled--is best suited to all constitutions, has been proved to be a fallacy. Many persons can bear testimony to the truth of Dr. Kitchener's remark, that "elaborate culinary processes are frequently necessary in order to prepare food for the digestive organs." It may be truly said that many persons ruin their health by over-indulgence in food rendered indigestible by being badly cooked.

It is our intention to endeavor to correct the prejudice in favor of a family joint--by showing, that it is not only very often improperly cooked, but that the same quantity of meat, if dressed in different ways, still retaining a certain degree of simplicity, will be more pleasant to the palate, more healthful, and quite as economical, if brought to the table, as two or three dishes instead of one.

In French cookery, those substances which are not intended to be broiled or roasted, are usually stewed for several hours at a temperature below the boiling-point; by which means the most refractory articles, whether of animal or vegetable origin, are more or less reduced to a state of pulp, and admirably adapted for the further action of the stomach. In the common cookery of this country, on the contrary, articles are usually put at once into a large quantity of water, and submitted,


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without care or attention, to the boiling temperature: the consequence of which is, that most animal substances, when taken out, are harder and more indigestible than in the natural state.

Diet and Digestion.--From Dr. Beaumont's Tables it appears that the following articles are converted into chyle, i.e.digested, in the times indicated:--

H. M.

Rice, boiled soft.........................................1 0

Apples, sweet and ripe....................................1 30

Sago, boiled..............................................1 45

Tapioca, Barley, stale Bread, Cabbage with Vinegar, raw, boiled Milk and Bread and Milk, cold...................2 0

Potatoes, roasted, and Parsnips, boiled...................2 30

Baked Custard.............................................2 45

Apple Dumpling............................................3 0

Bread Corn, baked, and Carrots, boiled....................3 15

Potatoes and Turnips, boiled: Butter and Cheese...........3 30

Tripe and Pig's Feet......................................1 0

Venison...................................................1 35

Oysters, undressed, and Eggs, raw.........................2 3

Turkey and Goose..........................................2 30

Eggs, soft boiled; Beef and Mutton, roasted or boiled.....3 0

Boiled Pork, stewed Oysters, Eggs, hard boiled or fried...3 30

Domestic Fowls............................................4 0

Wild Fowls; Pork, salted and boiled; Suet.................4 30

Veal, roasted; Pork, and salted Beef......................5 30

When the powers of the stomach are weak, a hard and crude diet is sure to produce discomfort by promoting acidity; while the very same articles when divided, and well cooked upon French principles, or rather the principles of common sense, can be taken with impunity, and easily digested.

There are only a few persons--with the execption perhaps of those who take violent exercise, or work hard in the open air--who can dine heartily upon solid food without suffering from its effects; yet in order to escape indigestion, plain roast or boiled meat should be very sparingly consumed.

The foundation of all good cookery consists in preparing the meat so as to render it tender in substance, without extracting from it those juices which constitute its true flavor; in doing which, the main point in the art of making those soups, sauces, and made dishes of every sort, which should form so large a portion of every well-ordered dinner, as well, also, as in cooking many of the plain family joints--is boiling, or rather stewing, which ought always to be performed over a slow fire. There is, in fact, no error so common among all English and American cooks as that of boiling meat over a strong fire, which renders large joints hard and partly tasteless; while, if simmered during nearly double the time, with less than half the quantity of fuel and water, and never allowed to "boil up," the meat, without being too much done, will be found both pliant to the tooth and savory to the palate.

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For instance. The most common and almost universal dish throughout France, is a large piece of plainly-boiled fresh beef from which the soup--or "potage," as it is there called--has been partly made, and which is separately served up as "bouilli," accompanied by strong gravy, and minced vegetables, or stewed cabbage. Now this, as constantly dressed in the French mode, is ever delicate both in fibre and flavor; while, in the American manner of boiling it, it is almost always hard and insipid. The reason of which, as explained by that celebrated cook, Carême, who superintended the kitchen of His Majesty George IV., is this:--"The meat, instead of being put down to boil, as in the English method, is in France put in the pot with the usual quantity of cold water, and placed at the corner of the fireplace, where, slowly becoming hot, the heat gradually swells the muscular fibres of the beef, dissolving the gelatinous substances therein contained, and disengaging that portion which chemists term 'osmazome,' and which imparts savor to the flesh--thus both rendering the meat tender and palatable, and the broth relishing and nutritive; whilst, on the contrary, if the pot be inconsiderately put upon too quick a fire, the boiling is precipitated, the fibre coagulates and hardens, the ozmazome is hindered from disengaging itself, and thus nothing is obtained but a piece of tough meat, and a broth without taste or succulence."

Meat loses by cooking, from one-fifth to one-third of its whole weight. More is lost by roasting than by boiling meat. In calculating for a family, one pound per day for each individual is a general allowance for dinner.

Meat that is not to be cut till cold must be well done, particularly in summer.

The use of skewers in joints should be avoided as much as possible, as they let out the gravy; twine will answer better, often.

In every branch of cookery much must be left to the discretion of the cook, and knowledge of the family's taste; particularly in force-meats and seasonings.

Suet.--When sirloins of beef, or loins of veal or mutton, are brought in, part of the suet may be cut off for puddings, or to clarify. Chopped fine and mixed with flour, if tied down in a jar, it will keep 10 days or a fortnight. If there be more suet than will be used while fresh, throw it into pickle, made in the proportion of one-quarter pound of salt to a quart of cold


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water, and it will be as good afterwards for any use, when soaked a little.

To remove the taint of meat, wash it several times in cold water; then put it into plenty of cold water, into which throw several pieces of red-hot charcoal. If you fear meat will not keep till the time it is wanted, par-roast or par-boil it, that is, partly cook it; it will then keep two days longer, when it may be dressed as usual, but in rather less time.

When meat is frozen, it should be brought into the kitchen and laid at some distance from the fire, early in the morning; or soak the meat in cold water two or three hours before it is used: putting it near the fire, or into warm water, till thawed, should be avoided.

Meats become tenderer and more digestible, as well as better flavored, by hanging. In summer, two days is enough for lamb and veal, and from three to four for beef and mutton. In cold weather, the latter may be kept for double that time.

Legs and shoulders should be hung knuckle downwards.

An effectual way of excluding the fly is by using a wire meat-safe, or by covering the joints with a long loose gauze or some thin cloth, and hanging them from the ceiling of an airy room. Pepper and ginger should be sprinkled on the parts likely to be attacked by the fly, but should be washed off before the joint is put to the fire.

A larder should always be placed on the north side of the house; the window may be closed with canvass, but wire is preferable. There should be a thorough draft of air through the room.

Articles that are likely to spoil should not be kept in or laid upon wood.

Warm, moist weather is the worst for keeping meat; the south wind is very unfavorable, and lightning very destructive; so that after their occurrence, meat should be especially examined.

Boiling.--This is the most simple of all processes of cooking. Regularity and attention to time are the main secrets.

Much less heat is requisite to keep liquids boiling in copper and iron saucepans than in those made of tin.

There is frequently a great waste of fuel in cooking, which arises from making liquids boil fast, when they only require to be kept slowly boiling. Count Rumford, (the inventor of


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the Rumford stove,) states, that more than half the fuel used in kitchens is wasted in the above manner.

It is a sad waste to put fuel under a boiling pot. There is a degree of heat in water called the boiling-point; and all the coals or wood in the world cannot make water hotter in an open vessel; it can but boil. By this waste, the cook not only loses time, but spoils the cookery.

The average time for boiling fresh meat is from eighteen to twenty minutes for every pound: thus, a joint weighing six pounds will require from one hour and three quarters to two hours boiling. Salted meat requires rather more boiling and water; fresh-killed meat longer time: and all meats longer in cold than warm weather. It is, however, better to be guided, for time, by the thickness of the joint, than by its weight.

Dried or salted fish and meats require soaking in cold water before boiling.

Meat and poultry will lose their flavor and firmness, if left in the water after they are done; as will also fish, which will break to pieces.

The water in which fish, meat, or poultry has been boiled should be saved: this pot-liquor, as it is called, may be made into soup.

Slow boiling is very important for all meats, to ensure their tenderness; fast boiling always makes them hard and tough, less plump, and of darker color, than when they are boiled gradually.

Skimming the pot will alone ensure the good color and sweetness of the meat; a little cold water and salt will aid in throwing up the scum: milk put into the pot does good in few cases only; and wrapping in a cloth is unnecessary, if the scum be carefully removed.

The lid of the saucepan should only be removed for skimming; and, before taking off the lid, be careful to blow from it any dust or blacks from the fire or chimney.

The joint should always be covered with water; above this quantity, the less water, the more savory will be the meat.

In some few instances, however, it may be necessary to boil the articles in a much larger quantity of water: a quart of water is mostly a good proportion to a pound of meat.

If meat be put into cold water, it should be heated gradually, so as not to cause it to boil in less than 40 minutes; if it boil


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much sooner, the meat will shrink and be hardened, and not so freely throw up the scum.

Four skewers, or a plate, inside downwards, should be laid on the bottom of the sauce-pan, especially for large joints and puddings; so that they be equally done, and escape burning, or adhering to the sauce-pan.

When a pot boils, remove it nearly off the fire, but let the lid remain on; a very little heat will then keep up the boiling.

The time of boiling should be reckoned from the time bubbles begin to rise on the surface of the liquid; as the boiling continues, the water will evaporate, and in some cases it may be requisite to fill up the sauce-pan with boiling water.

Vegetables and meat are sometimes steamed: that is, they are put into vessels resembling cullenders, and being placed over boiling water, the steam from it rises through the holes of the vessel, and then through the vegetables and meat, which are thus as effectually boiled as if they were put into the boiling water.

Roasting.--The success of every branch of cookery depends upon the good management of the kitchen fire: roasting, especially, requires a brisk, clear, and steady fire; if made up close to the bars of the grate.

The spit being wiped clean, the joint to be roasted should be carefully spitted even, and tied tight; and if it will not turn round well, balance skewers, with leaden heads, should be used; for, if the meat be not evenly spitted, it will probably be burned on one side, and not done on the other. Avoid running the spit through the prime parts of joints. Cradle spits answer best.

A leg of mutton should never be spitted, as the spit lets out the gravy, and leaves an unsightly perforation just as you are cutting into the pope's eye.

Make up the roasting-fire three or four inches longer than the joint, else the ends of the meat will not be done.

In stirring the fire, be careful to remove the dripping-pan, else dust and ashes may fall in. On no account let the fire get dull and low, as a strong heat is requisite to brown the meat.

A thin joint requires a brisk fire; a large joint, a strong, sound, and even fire. When steam rises from the meat it is done.

Large joints should be put at a moderate distance from the


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fire, and gradually brought nearer; else the meat will be over done half way through the joint, and be nearly raw at the bone.

Such meat as is not very fat should have paper placed over it to prevent it from being scorched.

Do not sprinkle the meat with salt when first put down, as the salt draws out the gravy.

Old meats require more cooking than young. The longer the meat has been killed, the less time it requires to roast it. Very fat meat requires more time than usual.

The general rule is to allow 15 minutes to a pound for roasting with a good fire, and 10 or 20 minutes over, as the family like it well done or not.

Baste the meat first with fresh dripping, and then with its own fat or dripping: and within the last hour of roasting, take off the paper, and sprinkle the meat with salt and flour, to brown and froth it; but some cooks dredge the meat with flour earlier, so that it may imbibe the gravy, a practice which should be specially avoided.

The spit should be wiped dry immediately after it is drawn from the meat, and washed and scoured every time it is used.

Perfection in roasting is very difficult, and no certain rules can be given for it, as success depends on many circumstances which are continually changing: the age and size (especially the thickness) of the pieces, the quality of the coals, the weather, the currents of air in the kitchen, the more or less attention of the cook, and the time of serving, are all to be considered. Hence, epicures say of a well-roasted joint, "It is done to a turn."

Roast meats should be sent to table the moment they are ready, if they are to be eaten in perfection.

Broiling.--Broiling requires a brisk and clear fire, proportioned to the article to be broiled; for example, mutton chops require a clear rather than a brisk fire, else the fat will be wasted before the lean is warmed through; but for a beef steak, the fire can neither be too brisk nor clear, if the gridiron be placed at the proper distance. Fish requires a steady fire; as also does under-done meat.

Much, however, depends on the substance of the article to be broiled: if it be thick, it must be placed at a greater distance, at first, to warm it through; if thin, the fire must be brisk, else the meat will not be of a good color.

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The gridiron should be wiped clean after it has been used, so that the bars may be kept bright on top; they should be allowed to get hot before the article is laid on them, but not too hot, else they will burn the meat or fish: the latter, especially. To prevent this, the bars should be rubbed with fat.

A charcoal fire is best for broiling.

To prevent the fat dripping into the fire set the gridiron aslant.

For turning the broiling article, use tongs, as a fork will let out the gravy. When the article is done, it will feel firm if touched with the tongs: by no means cut the meat to ascertain if it be done, as that will let out the gravy.

Frying.--is "to scorch something solid in fat, or oil," or butter. Lard, clarified suet, or dripping, is well adapted for fish, eggs, potatoes, and meat generally. Olive oil is much used for fish; and the same oil will serve for more than one frying. Butter is used, but it is not as well adapted for frying as either of the other articles.

Be careful that the fat or oil is fresh, clean, and free from salt, else what you fry in it will be of bad color and flavor; salt will prevent it from browning.

Fat or oil, to be used again, should be strained through a sieve before it is set aside.

Fat becomes richer from having meat fried into it, and may be used repeatedly; but the fat that has been used for fish cannot be used again for meat.

The fat must have left off bubbling and be quite still before you put in the articles.

To prepare crumbs for frying, dry thoroughly in a warm even, or before the fire, any waste pieces of bread; then pound them in a mortar and sift them, and put them away till wanted. This is much better than grating bread as it is needed, or using oatmeal, &c.

When you wish fried things to look as well as possible, do them twice over with egg and crumbs.

If eggs be very dear, a little flour and water may be substituted for them in preparing fish to fry.

In frying use a slice to lift the articles in and out of the pan, and drain them.

To make batter for frying: melt two ounces of butter in a little warm water, and pour it upon half a pound of flour; stir it and add water enough to form a batter, thick enough to


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adhere to whatever is put into it; but it should run freely: add some salt and the beaten whites of two eggs.

A small shallow frying-pan, or sauté pan, as it is called, is very useful to fry articles to be stewed: this method differs from common frying, as it only requires butter enough to keep the article from sticking to the pan and burning.

The fire for frying should be free from smoky coals, sharp and even. Charcoal makes the best frying fire.

The fat should be carefully drained from all fried articles; indeed, they should be so dry as scarcely to soil a cloth. Fish is best drained by wrapping it in soft whited-brown paper, by which it will so dry as not to soil the napkin upon which it is served.

Stewing.--All articles to be stewed should first be boiled gently, then skimmed and set aside in an even heat: on this account, charcoal makes the best fire for stewing.

All stews, or meat dressed a second time, should be only simmered, as the meat should only be made hot through.

A stew-pan is the most advantageous vessel in which stews, hashes, soups, or gravies, can be made; indeed, for all purposes of boiling, a stew-pan is preferable to a deep sauce-pan, as in the former, the articles are exposed to more even heat than when they are placed one upon another in the sauce-pan, and are likely to be broken in stirring.

The best stew-pans are made of copper or iron; they should be kept covered as much as possible, unless you wish to reduce the gravy.

Be careful not to fry in a stew-pan; or, if so, with great care, and sufficient butter to save the tinning from melting.

Most of the directions for making soups and gravies, apply also to this branch of cookery.

Baking.--Baking is the least advantageous mode of cookery; for by it meat loses about one-third of its weight.

Iron ovens are ill adapted for baking meat or meat-pies; fruit-pies, pastry, and puddings, may, however, be baked in them.

[Editorial note: This illustration appears at the bottom of page 74 in the original text.]

[Illustration: An illustration of a flat iron with a long handle.]

A salamander, which is a flat iron with a long handle, is


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heated and placed over some articles, to brown them after they are dished. The kitchen fire-shovel, if made red hot, will answer the same purpose.

Larding.--Have ready larding-pins of different sizes, according to the article to be done; cut slices of bacon into bits of a proper length, quite smooth, and put into a larding-needle to suit it, with which pierce the skin and a very little of the meat, leaving the bacon in, and the two ends of equal length outwards. Lard in rows the size you think fit.

[Illustration: An illustration of a long, sharp needle.]

[Illustration: An illustraton of a larding needle with a Lardoon inserted at the end.]

The same effect with regard to flavor, may be produced by raising the skin and laying a slice of fat bacon beneath it.

Doubing consists in passing bacon through meat, while larding is on the surface only.

Braising.--Put the meat you would braise into a stew-pan, and cover it with thick slices of fat bacon; then lay round it 6 or 8 onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, some celery, and, if to be brown, some thick slices of carrots, and trimmings of any fresh meat-bones you have, with a pint and a half of water, or the same quantity of stock, (which you will find directed under the head of Soups and Gravies,) according to what the meat is, and add seasoning. Cover the pan close, and set it over a slow stove; it will require 2 or 3 hours, as its size and quality may direct. Then strain the gravy; keep the meat quite hot; take the fat off by plunging the basin into cold water, which will cause the fat to coagulate; and boil it as quickly as you can till it thickens. If, however you wish the gravy to adhere to the meat, it must be still further thickened; then with a brush kept for the purpose do over the meat, and if that has been larded, put it into the oven for a few minutes. This is called "glazing," and is much in use for made-dishes.

[Illustration: An illustration of a tall pot with a lid.]

[Illustration: An illustration of a brush with a short handle and long bristles.]

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Glazing is done by brushing melted glaze or jelly over the article, and letting it cool; in some cases it is requisite to cover the articles with two or three coats of glaze, allowing each to cool as it is laid on. The glaze should be of a clear yellow brown, and as thick as good treacle.

If you have not the glaze ready, sift a little sugar over the article to be glazed, and finish in the oven, with a salamander, or red hot shovel.

Boning.--In disengaging the flesh from the bones, work the knife always close to the bone, and take care not to pierce the outer skin. Minute directions are given in other parts of the work for boning fowls, &c.

Blanching makes the article plump and white, and consists in putting it into cold water over the fire, allowing it to boil up and then plunging it into cold water, where the article should remain until cold.

Danger from Copper Sauce-pans.--The precise danger from the use of copper sauce-pans, or stew-pans, imperfectly tinned, is far from rightly understood. It appears that the acid contained in stews and other made dishes, as lemon-juice, though it does not dissolve copper by being merely boiled in it a few minutes, nevertheless, if allowed to cool and stand in it for some time, will acquire poisonous matter, as verdigris, in the form of a green band, or crust, inside the vessel. It has likewise been proved that weak solutions of common salt, such as are daily made by adding a little salt to boiling vegetables, fish, or meat, act powerfully on copper vessels, although strong solutions, or brine would not affect them.

It is, however, in vain to hope that cooks will attend to the nice distinctions by which copper stew-pans may be rendered safe; the general advice given by prudent physicians is, therefore, against their use at all.

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> CHAPTER VII

BEEF.

How to choose and cook Beef--Sirloin--Rib--Rump--Fillet--Heart--Baked Beed--Potted--Stew--A la Daube--Al-a-mode--Braised--Minced--Collops--Boullie--To Collar--Steaks--Tongue--Tripe, &c. &c.

[Illustration: A diagram of a cow. The numbers below correspond to the diagram.]

No.

1. Sirloin.

2. Rump.

3. Edge bone.

4. Buttock, or Round,

5. Mouse Buttock.

6. Veiny Piece.

7. Thick Flank.

8. Thin Flank.

9. Leg.

10. Fore Rib. (Five Ribs.)

11. Middle Rib. (Four Ribs.)

12. Chuck Rib. (Three Ribs.)

13. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece.

14. Brisket.

15. Clod.

16. Neck.

17. Shin.

18. Cheek.

To Choose Beef --If young and freshly killed, the lean of ox-beef will be smoothly grained, and of a fine, healthy, carnation-red, the fat rather white than yellow, and the suet white and firm. Heifer-beef is more closely grained, and rather less bright of color, the bones are considerably smaller, and the fat of a purer white.

In choice and well-fed beef, the lean will be found intergrained with fat: very lean meat is always of an inferior quality.

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The ribs, the sirloin, and the rump, are the proper joints for roasting. The round, or buttock, the edge-bone, the second round, or mouse-buttock, the shin, the brisket, the shoulder, or leg of mutton piece, and the clod may be boiled or stewed. The neck is generally used for soup or gravy; and the thin flank for collaring. The best steaks are cut from the middle of the rump; the next best from the veiny piece, or from the chuck-rib. The inside of the sirloin, commonly used for the purpose in France, makes by far the most delicate steaks: but though exceedingly tender, they are considered by epicures to be wanting in flavor.

The finest part of the sirloin is the chump-end, which contains the larger portion of the fillet: of the ribs, the middle ones are those generally preferred by experienced house-keepers.

Keeping Meat. --As soon as the meat is brought in, it should be wiped dry and examined, and the fly-blown parts, if any, should be cut off. This should be attended to daily, else, when dressed, the outer slices are liable to have a musty flavor.

Sirloin of Beef, to Roast. --The sirloin is usually hung a few days, to make it eat short and tender, therefore, before you dress it, you should wash the meat in cold water, wipe it with a clean cloth; when you have made it nice and clean, hang it carefully down to the fire, so that it may turn round evenly; a piece of writing-paper, well buttered, must be tied on with a string, or skewered on with very small skewers, over the fat side, till the meat is about three parts done, to prevent the fat from burning. A good durable fire having been made up, the meat should be so hung down, that the thickest part of the joint will get the strongest part of the fire, but not too near at first, or it will get scorched on the outside, before it is warmed through. Put into the dripping-pan a pint of water, or clean dripping, and begin to baste the meat immediately it is warmed, and continue to baste the meat immediately it is warmed, and continue to baste it every quarter of an hour, till about half an hour before it is done. Then take the meat back from the fire; clean out all grit that has fallen into the dripping-pan; take off the paper that covered the fat, stir the fire, if necessary, that it may burn fierce and clear, baste the meat well; sprinkle


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a little salt all over the joint, and dredge it well with flour. Put it to the fire again, and let it roast till it is done, and the outside is nicely browned and frothed; observing not to baste it for a full quarter of an hour after flouring it.

A sirloin weighing ten pounds, that has been kept a proper time, will take two hours and a half to roast it. Rather more time must be allowed in cold than in hot weather. About twenty minutes to the pound, is a safe rule.

Ribs of Beef. --Ribs of Beef should also be kept hanging a few days to become short and tender, therefore wipe and make it nice and clean before you hang it to the fire, as directed for the sirloin; there are sometimes two and sometimes three ribs to a joint; and it must be cooked the same way as the sirloin; only they are best done, and eat nicest, if they are hung to roast the thick part upwards, at first, till they are full half done, or rather longer; but take care to hang it so that the thick part gets the most of the fire; and be sure to tie well buttered paper over the fat part, as directed for the sirloin. Less time, however, will be required for roasting the ribs than the sirloin, because the joint is thinner. From three hours to three hours and a half, may be allowed for ribs of beef weighing fifteen or sixteen pounds; giving a little more time if a thick joint, and a little less if a thin one. When the joint is a little more than half done, you must hang it the other way upwards, baste it, sprinkle it with salt, and dredge it very slightly with flour; but sprinkle it with salt, and dredge it well again with flour, about half an hour before you take it up, first taking off the paper which covers the fat, as directed for the sirloin.

Rump of Beef. --This is one of the most juicy of all the joints of beef, but is more frequently stewed than roasted. As it is too large to serve whole, generally, cut as much from the chump end to roast as will make a handsome dish. Manage it as the sirloin. When boned and rolled into the form of a fillet of veal, it requires more time.

Gravy Sauce for Roast Beef. --When beef is of a good quality, and roasted with care, the gravy which flows from it is the best sauce for the meat. Clear it of the fat and sediment, add


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a little salt, and if too thin, a dust of browned flour, and boil it up. To the gravy of veal, a little butter may be added.

Pickles or grated horse-radish should always be served with roast beef--with catsup and mustard in the castor. The vegetables most in favor are potatoes, plain boiled or mashed--turnips, beets, and boiled spinach.

To Roast a fillet of Beef. --Raise the fillet from the inside of the sirloin, or from part of it, with a sharp knife; leave the fat on, trim off the skin, lard it through, or all over, or roast it quite plain; baste it with butter, and send it very hot to table, with tomato sauce, or sauce piquante, or eschalot sauce, in a tureen. It is sometimes served with brown gravy or currant jelly: it should then be garnished with forcemeat-balls. If not very large, an hour and a quarter will roast it well with a brisk fire.

Obs. The remainder of the joint may be boned, rolled, and roasted or braised; or made into meat cakes; or served as a miniature round of beef.

To Roast Beef Heart. --Wash it well, and clean all the blood carefully from the pipes; parboil it ten or fifteen minutes in boiling water; drip the water from it; put in a stuffing which has been made of bread crumbs, minced suet or butter, sweet marjorum, lemon thyme, and parsley, seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Put it down to roast while hot, baste it well with butter, froth it up, and serve it with melted butter and vinegar; or with gravy in the dish, and currant jelly in a sauce tureen. To roast, allow 20 minutes to a pound.

To dress the Inside of a Cold Sirloin of Beef. --Cut off the meat, with a little of the fat, into strips 3 inches long and half an inch thick; season with pepper and salt, dredge them with flour, and fry them brown in butter; then simmer them in a rich brown gravy; add of mushroom catsup, onion, and shalot vinegar, a table-spoonful each. Garnished with fried parsley.

Baked Beef. --A rump of 20 to 25 lbs. weight. Take 2 oz. each of pepper and allspice, 1 oz. of pounded cloves, and the same quantity of mace; rub this all over the joint, which should be hung up for a fortnight or 3 weeks, according to the weather--taking care to keep it dry, and to occasionally renew


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the seasoning. When ready for baking, wash off the spice with port wine or warm vinegar and water, and lard the rump throughout, by inserting large lardoons in different parts of the meat. Then put a large quantity of suet, shred fine, both under and over it, and cover it with coarse flour and water paste, between which and the suet you may put a few bay-leaves or some sweet-herbs. If eaten hot, the dough, bay-leaves, and suet must all be taken off; the joint basted, sprinkled with a little salt and flour, over which a salamander should be passed; and served up with strong gravy or brown sauce. If cold, leave on the dough till wanted.

It should be baked in a moderately-heated oven, and will take according to the size, from 6 to 8 hours' baking.

A Round of Beef may be dressed in the same manner; but the bone should in that case be taken out, and the hole filled up with forcemeat. The flap should be filled in like manner, skewered, and tightly bound round with linen or strong tape, in which case the dough and the larding may be omitted, though the latter will be found an improvement. It should be always left until cold.

Brisket. --Take all the bones out of 8 lbs of brisket of beef; make holes in it about an inch asunder, and fill one with fat bacon, a second with parsley, a third with oysters, and so on, each being chopped and seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. When completely stuffed, lay it in a pan, dredge it well with flour, pour upon it a half pint of water, and the same of broth. Bake it 3 hours, and then skim off the fat; put the meat into a dish, strain the gravy over, and garnish with pickles.

Any piece of fresh beef, even of the coarsest pieces, may be dressed in this manner, or baked before the fire in a Dutch oven with button onions, the meat being previously rubbed over with oil. It is a common mode in Portugal and Spain.

Potted Beef. --Rub two pounds of lean beef with salt and saltpetre, and let it lie for two days; then dry the meat, season it with black pepper, and put it into a small pan with half a pound of butter: cover it with paste, and bake slowly for


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about four hours. When cold, pick out the stringy pieces, cut up the lean, and beat it in a mortar with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter just warmed, and a little of the gravy, seasoning with pounded mace, allspice, and pepper, to taste: when beaten to a very smooth paste, put the beef closely into small pots, and pour on it clarified butter. If to be kept a long time, tie it over with bladder, and set it in a dry place.

Or, the beef may be baked without being previously salted, in which case, salt should be added in beating it.

Or, beat in a mortar with butter, pepper, salt, and nutmeg, beef that has been dressed, either boiled or roasted.

To Stew Beef. --It should be put down in a pot with just sufficient cold water to cover the meat, and closely covered. After boiling 3 or 4 hours, according to the size of the piece, cut in small pieces, not larger than dice, 2 or 3 carrots and heads of celery, with a little sweet herbs, and put them into the pot along with peppercorns, mace, and a couple of large onions stuck full of cloves, and let it then simmer by the side of the fire for 2 or 3 hours, taking care to skim off any grease that may appear on the top.

By this time the meat will probably be tender enough; when take out the whole onions, mince them, and fry them in butter, to be mixed in the gravy made by the meat, which season with salt and cayenne, or chili vinegar, to which add some mushroom or walnut ketchup. Thicken the gravy with a little flour, and brown it, if necessary, with a spoonful of sugar burnt soft; which, besides imparting its color, adds an agreeable flavor. Such is the most simple mode; but the sauce may be much improved by a glass or two of port wine and a spoonful of curry powder: if the odor of garlic be not objected to, a clove boiled in the stew will be found to give it a fine flavor. Garnish with vegetables.

A small piece of beef--say of 4 lbs--will take the time mentioned; but the large joints will require full double that time; and should be put to stew overnight, adding the vegetables in the morning.

To stew a Rump of Beef. --Wash it with care, and season it well with pepper, salt, ground allspice, mace, and cloves; then tie it up, and put it into a pot, upon twigs or wooden skewers, to prevent the meat from sticking; add to it three


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large onions sliced, two turnips, three carrots, a shalot, some celery, and a handful of sweet herbs. Cover the meat with boiling water, add beef or mutton shankbones, and simmer the whole till tender, or about four hours. Then strain the gravy, take off the fat, and add from half a pint to a pint of port wine or sherry, or the juice of a fresh lemon, and a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup; thicken it, simmer for half an hour, and then pour it over the beef. Garnish with carrots and turnips.

Beef and Sauer Kraut. --Boil about six pounds of beef for five minutes; then put it into a stewpan, cover it with sauer kraut, and add a pint of weak gravy; stew gently for four hours, and serve in a deep dish.

Fricandeau of Beef. --Lard of piece of lean beef, with bacon seasoned with pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice. Put it into a stewpan, with a pint of broth, or beef gravy, a glass of sherry, a bundle of parsley, and of sweet herbs, a clove of garlic, and a shalot or two. When the meat is tender, cover it closely; skim the sauce, strain it, and boil till it is reduced to a glaze; then glaze the larded side, and serve the fricandeau on tomata sauce to make which, see Sauces.

A Family Stew of Beef. --Take any piece of beef good for stewing, cut it into small pieces, slice 2 or 3 large onions, and put them into the stewpan with 2 ounces of butter or good beef-dripping. When melted, dredge in some flour, add the meat also dredged with flour, and enough water to keep it from burning. When the gravy has drawn, fill up with boiling water, let it come to a boil gently, skim the pot well, then add a spoonful of mixed spices, and a bay-leaf or two; set the pan by the side of the fire to stew slowly for a couple of hours. 6 lbs. of meat will take 3 hours. This dish may be thickened like Irish stew, with potatoes, or it may be served with the addition of chopped vegetables of all kinds, previously fried.

Beef à la Daube. --Lard well a round of beef and put it in a stew-pan; take the meat from a shin of beef, or any other fresh meat, and cut it in small slices; cut also a few slices of bacon, and place them around and over the beef with slices of


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carrot and onion; season with pepper, salt, and thyme. Cover the whole with water, and let it stew very slowly from 4 to 6 hours till perfectly done; then take out the round and let it cool.

To make the jelly, take all the meat from the stew-pan, and strain the broth through a sieve: skim the fat from the top very carefully. Put it over the fire, with a few grains of pepper, and let it simmer slowly; beat the whites of 4 eggs in a cup of water and stir them in; let it remain on the fire simmering slowly for about 15 or 20 minutes: strain the jelly, and when it is cool garnish the beef with it.

This dish should be prepared the day before it is wanted. The stew-pan should not be too large.

Beef à la Mode. --Take a round of fresh beef and cut deep slits in it; grate a loaf of stale bread, mix with it thyme, sweet marjoram, one onion chopped fine, cayenne pepper, salt, cloves, mace to your taste--an egg boiled hard and chopped fine, and one-quarter of a pound of butter: stuff the beef, and brown it with a sufficient quantity of butter. When brown, add water enough to stew it. When nearly done, add 1 glass of wine, or the juice of a sweet orange. It will take 4 or 5 hours to stew.

Beef Olives. --Cut cold under-done beef, in slices half an inch thick, and 4 inches square: cover them with crumbs of bread, a little fat, finely shred shalot, pepper, and salt. Roll the slices up, and fasten them with a small skewer; then put them into a stew-pan, with the gravy of the joint, and a little water, and stew them till tender. Serve with beef gravy.

Fillet of Beef. --Cut the inside of a sirloin or rump in slices half an inch thick; trim them neatly; melt a little butter in a frying pan; season the fillets; fry them lightly; serve with tomato sauce, sorrel, anchovy butter, or gherkin sauce.

Fillet of Beef Braised. --Take the inside of a sirloin of beef, stuffed or plain, but rolled together so as to bring the fat into the centre. Then strew the bottom of the stew-pan with a few slices of ham, in which a small quantity of gravy has been put, just to prevent the bottom of the pan from burning; and on this place the meat, covering it with chopped carrots, celery, button


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onions, and a pickled chili, together with a sliced gherkin, sweet herbs, salt, mace, and a little allspice, and simmer until tender, then brown it before the fire or with a salamander, skim and season the sauce, and send the meat, sauce, and vegetables, up in the same dish.

Beef Kidney. --Trim, and cut the kidney into slices; season them with salt and pepper, and dredge them well with flour; fry them on both sides, and when they are done through, lift them out, empty the pan, and make a gravy for them with a small slice of butter, a dessert-spoonful of flour, pepper and salt, and a cup of boiling water; shake these round, and give them a minute's simmering: add a little mushroom catsup, lemon juice, eschalot vinegar, or any store sauce that will give a good flavor. Minced herbs are to many tastes an improvement to this dish, to which a small quantity of onion shred fine can be added when it is liked. 6 to 9 minutes.

To Mince Beef. --Shred the under-done part fine, with some of the fat; put into a small stew-pan some onion or shalot (a very little will do), a little water, pepper, and salt; boil it till the onion is quite soft; then put some of the gravy of the meat to it, and the mince. A few minutes will dress it, but do not let it boil. Have a small hot dish with sippets (small pieces) of bread ready, and pour the mince into it, but first mix a large spoonful of vinegar with it. If shalot vinegar is used, there will be no need of the onion nor the raw shalot.

Savory Minced Collops. --Make a little brown thickening with about an ounce and a half of butter, and a dessert-spoonful of flour; when it begins to be colored, shake lightly into it a large teaspoonful of finely shred parsley or mixed savory herbs, two-thirds as much of salt, and half the quantity of pepper. Keep these stirred over a gentle fire until the thickening is of a deep yellow brown; then add a pound of rump steak, finely minced, and keep it well separated with a fork until it is quite hot; next pour to it gradually half a cupful of boiling water, and stew the collops very gently for ten minutes. Before they are served, stir to them a little catsup, Chili vinegar, or lemon juice: a small quantity of minced onion, eschalot, or a particle of garlic, may be added at first to the thickening when the flavor is not objected to.

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Breslaw of Beef; (good.) --Trim the brown edges from half a pound of under-dressed roast beef, shred it small, and mix it with 4 oz. of fine bread crumbs, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, and two-thirds as much of thyme, 2 oz. of butter broken small, half a cupful of gravy or cream, a high seasoning of pepper and cayenne, and mace, or nutmeg, a small teaspoonful of salt, and 3 large eggs, well beaten. Melt a little butter in a pie dish, pour in the beef, and bake it half an hour; turn it out, and send it to table with brown gravy in a tureen. When cream or gravy is not at hand, an additional egg or two, and rather more butter, must be used. We think that grated lemon-rind improves the breslaw.

Bouilli. --The rump of beef is best for this purpose, as the meat is to be served up in a separate dish, and will make a finely-flavored sort of soup. Take as much of it as may be thought necessary; but for a small party, say from 4 to 6 lbs., along with 2 or 3 large roasted onions, in one of which some cloves may be stuck, and a moderate quantity of whole pepper, with a bunch of sweet herbs; to which an anchovy may be added: put it in a stewpan, covered with rather more than a pint of cold water to every pound of meat; and let it simmer by the side of the fire for 4 or 5 hours, or until is has become quite tender; then take out the herbs and onions, and add carrots, turnips, and celery, either cut into small squares or sliced, and let the whole boil until sufficiently stewed, and ready for the table.

The soup should then be strained off, and served separately, leaving only so much as may be necessary for making sauce for the vegetables. The sauce should be a little thickened, and seasoned to the palate; if a clove of garlic, or a teaspoonful of garlic and chili vinegar, be added, it will improve the flavor. In Ireland it is not uncommon to send up the bouilli smothered in onion-sauce, the other vegetables being either not used, or brought up in the soup; in France it is very usual to dress cabbage and sausages as an accompaniment to the bouilli; but, in England, it is more customary to serve it up with the vegetable-sauce as above stated. Cucumbers cut into dice and stewed, with a spoonful of chili vinegar added, are served at most of the German hotels. The meat, if gently stewed until quite tender, without being boiled to rags, will be found excellent, and the whole an admirable dish.

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Another Boulli. --Take a handsome piece of brisket of 10 lbs. weight; put it over the fire with a small quantity of water until the gravy is out; add a very large bunch of parsely, pepper, salt, and an onion. When the gravy is drawn, add 2 gallons of boiling water, and let it stew until perfectly tender; chop the parsley, and lay it on the top of the meat, thicken the gravy with vegetables, and serve it up.

Or:--Take about 9 lbs. of the beef tie it tightly with a tape, and put it into a stewpan with just sufficient water to cover it: add onions, celery, a little parsley, and spice: allow it to boil gently, and, when about half done, add a large anchovy. Cut a small quantity of carrots, greens, and capers very fine, mix them with a part of the soup; let them stew till tender, and then serve them with the beef, laying part on the top and the rest round; or, served up separately, and smothered in onion sauce.

The tops of the long ribs make good bouilli, simmered in a small quantity of water, and served on a bed of red cabbage, stewed separately, and flavored with a glass of vinegar. It also eats excellently, if, when simply, boiled, it is served up smothered with onion sauce.

Ribs of beef, though rarely dressed en bouilli, are yet most excellent when so prepared. Take the middle of the flat ribs of beef, stew it until the meat is tender and the bones will come out, employing as small a quantity of water as will cover the meat, and a bundle of sweet herbs. Let it stand until it is cold, remove the fat, add to the gravy, carrots, turnips, and celery, cut in dice, and a dozen or two of small silver onions; warm up the beef in it, and send it to table.

Bouilli with Tomatoes. --Take a rump of beef, and have the bone taken out by the butcher: put it in water just enough to cover it; and let it boil slowly until it is tender. Then season it to your taste with salt, pepper, mace, and cloves, pounded fine. Dress tomatoes as a vegetable, strain them, pour them over the beef after it is dished, and let them mix with the gravy. It is important to boil the beef a long time and slowly.

To collar Beef. --Salt the thin end of the flank daily for a week with salt and saltpetre; then take out all bone, gristle, and inside skin, and cover it with this seasoning, cut finely: a


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handful of sage, the same of parsley, some thyme, marjoram, and pennyroyal, pepper, and allspice. Roll up the meat in a cloth, tie it very tight, and boil it gently for about eight hours. Then take it up, do not untie it, but put on it a heavy weight to make the collar oval. A piece of the breast of veal, rolled in with the beef, is an improvement.

To boil a Rump of Beef. --Mix some common salt, a little saltpetre, some parsley, thyme, marjoram, green onions, and pepper; rub all well into the meat, and let it lie 3 or 4 days; then put it into a pot, and cover it with water; add some celery with 2 or 3 sliced carrots, and some small whole onions. Let it simmer gently 3 or 4 hours, according to the size, skimming it carefully, and serve with vegetables.

The other joints that are usually salted and boiled are the round, the aitch-bone and the brisket.

Boiled Scarlet Beef. --Take a brisket or thin flank of beef, and rub it well all over with equal quantities of common and bay salt, and an ounce of saltpetre; let it remain for 4 or 5 days in an earthen pan, when it will become red; it should be turned once every day. Boil it gently for 4 hours, and serve it hot, with savoys or any kind of greens; or leave it to get cold, and press it with a heavy weight.

Sauce Piquante for Boiled Beef. --Brown in a pan a little butter and flour, add to it half pint of the soup from the beef, 1 carrot, 2 onions, and 1 clove of garlic chopped fine. Let it stew for about 15 minutes. Then add a pickled cucumber chopped fine, and a table-spoonful of vinegar. Let the whole stew for a few minutes, and pour it over the beef when served.

To broil Beef Steaks. --The steaks should be from half to three-quarters of an inch thick, equally sliced, and freshly cut from the middle of a well kept, finely grained, and tender rump of beef. They should be neatly trimmed, and once or twice divided, if very large. The fire must be strong and clear. The bars of the gridiron should be thin, and not very close together. When they are thoroughly heated, without being sufficiently burning to scorch the meat, wipe and rub them with fresh mutton suet; next pepper the steaks slightly, but never season them with salt before they are dressed; lay


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them on the gridiron, and when done on one side, turn them on the other, being careful to catch, in the dish in which they are to be sent to table, any gravy which may threaten to drain from them when they are moved. Let them be served the instant they are taken from the fire; and have ready at the moment, dish, cover, and plates, as hot as they can be. From 8 to 10 minutes will be sufficient to broil steaks for the generality of eaters, and more than enough for those who like them but partially done.

Genuine amateurs seldom take prepared sauce or gravy with their steaks, as they consider the natural juices of the meat sufficient. When any accompaniment to them is desired, a small quantity of choice mushroom catsup may be warmed in the dish that is heated to receive them; and which, when the not very refined flavor of a raw eschalot is liked, as it is by some eaters, may previously be rubbed with one, of which the large end has been cut off. A thin slice or two of fresh butter is sometimes laid under the steaks, where it soon melts and mingles with the gravy which flows from them. The appropriate tureen sauces for broiled beef steaks are onion, tomato, oyster, eschalot, hot horse-radish, and brown cucumber, or mushroom sauce.

Obs. 1. --We have departed a little in this receipt from our previous instructions for broiling, by recommending that the steaks should be turned but once,instead of "often," as all great authorities on the subject direct. By trying each method, our readers will be able to decide for themselves upon the preferable one: we can only say, that we have never eaten steaks so excellent as those which have been dressed exactly in accordance with the receipt we have just given, and we have taken infinite pains to ascertain the really best mode of preparing this very favorite dish, which so constantly makes its appearance both carelessly cooked and ill served, especially at private tables.

Obs. 2. --It is a good plan to throw a few bits of charcoal on the fire some minutes before the steaks are laid down, as they give forth a strong heat without any smoke.

A Spanish Steak. --Take the tenderloin of beef. Have onions cut fine and put into a frying-pan with some boiling butter. When quite soft, draw them to the back part of the


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pan; and, having seasoned well the beef with pepper and salt, put it in the pan, and rather broil than fry it. When done, put the onions over it, and just as much boiling water as will make a gravy. Let it stew a few minutes.

Another Beef Steak, a la Francaise. --Must be cut either from the sirloin or some other prime part of the beef, as rump steaks are not known in France. Pour over it 2 large spoonsful of the best Lucca oil, and let it remain all night; then put it and the oil into a frying-pan, with some finely chopped parsley, pepper and salt; fry it until the gravy dries up, and it becomes rather brown. Pour the contents of the pan over the steak as sauce. The steaks are usually garnished with slices of fried potatoes. As butter is not known in the southern states of Europe, oil is there constantly used in lieu of it, and this Parisian practice is borrowed from those countries.

Stewed Beef Steaks. --Put the steak into a stew-pan, with a lump of butter, over a slow fire, and turn it until the butter has become a fine white gravy, then pour it into a basin, and put more butter to the steak. When the steak is nicely done, take it out, return all the gravy into the stew-pan, and fry the steak; then add it to the gravy in the stew-pan, with a table-spoonful of wine or of catsup, and a shalot finely sliced; stew it for 10 minutes, and serve it up. Or, fry the steak merely at first, then put it into half a pint of water, an onion sliced, a spoonful of walnut catsup, pepper and salt, cover it close, thicken it with flour and butter, and serve it up very hot.

With Vegetables. --Cut the steak about two and a half inches thick; dredge it with flour, and fry it in butter, of a fine brown. Lay it in a stew-pan, and pour water into the frying-pan; let it boil, and add it to the steak, which is rendered richer by this process; slice in turnips, carrots, celery, and onions, adding pepper, salt, and a little mace. It should be highly seasoned, and sent to table with the surface ornamented with forcemeat balls, carrots and turnips cut into shapes, and sometimes with onion fritters, the vegetables to be put round it.

With Oysters. --Cut the steak rather thick; brown it in a frying pan with butter. Add half a pint of water, an onion sliced, pepper and salt, cover the pan close, and let it stew


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very slowly for 1 hour; then add a glass of port wine, a little flour, and a dozen or two of oysters, their liquor having been previously strained and put into the stew-pan.

Beef Steak Stewed in its own Gravy; (good and wholesome.) --Trim all the fat and skin from a rump steak of nearly an inch thick, and divide it once or twice; just dip it into cold water, let it drain for an instant, sprinkle it on both sides with pepper, and then flour it rather thickly; lay it quite flat into a well-tinned iron sauce-pan or stew-pan, which has been rinsed with cold water, of which a tablespoonful should be left in it. Place it over (not upon) a very gentle fire, and keep it just simmering from an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters, when, if the meat be good, it will have become perfectly tender. Add salt to it when it first begins to boil, and turn it when rather more than half done. A couple of spoonsful of gravy, half as much catsup, and a slight seasoning of spice, would, to many tastes, improve this dish, of which, however, the great recommendation is its wholesome simplicity, which renders it suitable to the most delicate stomach. A thick mutton cutlet from the middle of the leg is excellent dressed thus. 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hour.

Beef Steak Pie. --Boil water with a little fine lard, and an equal quantity of fresh dripping, or of butter, but not much of either. While hot, mix this with as much flour as you will want, making the paste as stiff as you can to be smooth, which you will make it by good kneading, and beating it with the rolling-pin. When quite smooth, put a lump into a cloth, or under a pan, to soak till nearly cold.

In raising paste it should be brought to a firm consistence, and of sufficient thickness to hold the meat together; it should therefore not be too rich, and it is easier to be worked if moderately warm than cold. The proper way to raise the crust is by placing the left hand on the lump of paste, and with the right keep working it up the back of the hand, till all be of the proper shape and thickness. When worked into the desired form the meat is then put into the pie, and, when quite full, the lid is put on and fixed to the wall or side; the top being ornamented with some device, also made of paste. Before putting it in the oven glaze it all over with white of egg.

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Those who are not a good hand at raising crust, may roll the paste of a proper thickness, and cut out the top of the pie, then a long piece for the sides, then cement the bottom to the sides with egg, bringing the former rather farther out, and pinching both together: put egg between the edges of the paste to make it adhere at the sides. Fill the pie, put on the cover, and pinch it and the side crust together. The same mode of uniting the paste is to be observed if the sides are pressed into a tin form, in which the paste must be baked, after it shall be filled and covered: the tin should be buttered, and carefully taken off when done enough; and as the form usually makes the sides of a lighter color than is proper, the pie should be put into the oven again for quarter of an hour.

Take rump-steaks that have been well hung: beat them gently with a rolling-pin: season with pepper, salt, and a little shalot minced very fine; put the slices in layers with a good piece of fat and a sliced mutton kidney; fill the dish; put some crust on the edge, and about an inch below it, and a cup of water or broth in the dish. Cover with rather a thick crust, and set in a moderate oven. Cut a slit in the paste.

Mutton Pies may be made in the same way.

Beef Steak and Oyster Pie. --Prepare the steaks as above, and put them in the pie in alternate layers with oysters. Stew the liquor and beards of the oysters with a blade of mace and a teaspoonful of walnut catsup. Strain it and pour it in the pie, when it is baked. A small pie may be baked in 2 hours.

Vealmay be used instead of beef.

Beef Tongue. --If it has been dried and smoked before it is dressed, it should be soaked over night, but if only pickled, a few hours will be sufficient. Put it in a pot of cold water over a slow fire for an hour or two, before it comes to a boil. Then let it simmer gently for from 3 1/2 to 4 hours, according to its size; ascertain when it is done by probing it with a skewer. Take the skin off, and before serving surround the root with a paper frill.

An excellent way of preparing Tongues to eat cold. --Season with common salt and saltpetre, brown sugar, a little bay salt, pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice, in fine powder, for a fortnight; then take away the pickle, put the tongue into a small


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pan, and lay some butter on it; cover it with brown crust, and bake it slowly till so tender that a straw will go through it, put it into a tin mould, and press it well, laying in as much fat as possible.

The thin part of tongues, if hung up to dry, grates like hung beef, and also makes a fine addition to the flavor of omelets.

To roast Beef Tongue. --Take a fine large fresh tongue, scald it, and take off the skin; cut it off at the root and trim it neatly; stick a few cloves here and there in it, and put it in a cradle-spit; sprinkle it with salt, and baste it well with butter. Serve it with a good sauce in a sauce-boat, made as follows:--Put into a stew-pan half a pint of port wine, with about half the quantity of well-seasoned gravy; reduce it to one-half; then stir in a good piece of butter and a table-spoonful of flour; add a squeeze of lemon; when the butter is melted and the sauce done, place the tongue in a dish, and serve hot with the sauce poured round. In Spain, the sauce is strongly impregnated with saffron.

Fresh Beef Tongue. --Take a green tongue, stick it with cloves, and boil it gently for 3 hours: then brush it over with the yolk of an egg, dredge it well with bread crumbs, and roast it, basting it well with butter. When dished, serve it with a little brown gravy flavored with a glass of wine, and lay slices of currant jelly round it. A pickled tongue, well washed, may be dressed in the same way, and beef-udders also.

A fresh Neat's Tongue and Udder may be roasted together in the manner thus described; but when ready to be dished, instead of currant jelly, put half a pint of gravy into a sauce-pan, with the juice of a Seville orange, 2 lumps of sugar, a glass of claret, and a piece of butter: toss the whole over the fire, and serve it up with the tongue and udder, garnishing the dish with slices of lemon. The udder should be stuck with cloves, and both should be continually basted.

To boil Ox Cheek. --Wash very clean, half a head; let it lie in cold water all night; break the bone in two, taking care not to break the flesh. Put it on in a pot of boiling water, and let it boil from 2 to 3 hours; take out the bone. Serve it


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with boiled carrots and turnips, or savoys. The liquor the head has been boiled in may be strained and made into Scots barley broth or Scots kale.

To stew Ox Cheek. --Clean the head, as before directed, and parboil it; take out the bone; stew it in part of the liquor in which it was boiled, thickened with a piece of butter mixed with flour, and browned. Cut into dice, or into any fancy shape, carrots and turnips, as much, when cut, as will fill a pint basin. Mince 2 or 3 onions, add the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan closely, and stew it 2 hours. A little before serving, add a glass of port wine or ale.

Many excellent and economical dishes are made of an ox cheek, and it is particularly useful in large families.

To dress Kidneys and Skirts. --Wash the kidneys, cut them into slices; take the skin off the skirts, and cut them into small pieces; dust them with flour, and fry them brown in butter. Simmer them an hour in a pint of gravy, with an onion finely minced, some salt and pepper. A little before serving, add a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup. They may be broiled and eaten like a beef steak.

To dress Palates and Sweetbreads. --Boil the palates till the black skin can be easily peeled off; parboil the sweetbreads with them; skin and cut the palates into pieces, and if the sweetbreads are large, cut them in two the long way; dust them with flour, and fry them of a light brown, in butter; then stew them in rather more than a pint of the liquor in which they were boiled. Brown a piece of butter with flour; add it, with a little Cayenne, salt, pepper, grated lemon peel, and nutmeg, and a glass of white wine. A little before serving, stir in a spoonful of vinegar, or the squeeze of a lemon.

To clean and boil Tripe. --Wash it thoroughly in cold water; then sprinkle fine lime over it, lay it in a tub and cover it with warm water; let it remain about 4 hours, then scrape it with a knife till it is perfectly clean. Wash it in cold water, and lay it in weak salt and water for 4 or 5 days, changing the water every day; then cut it in pieces.

Tripe may be dressed in several ways, but, whatever mode


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may be employed, it will always be found an improvement to soak it for a whole night in milk. Indeed, if left in the milk until that becomes sour, the acidity thus imparted to it will render it still better.

To boil Tripe. --Put it into hot milk and water, an equal quantity of each; milk may be entirely omitted, or that used in which it may have been soaked; let it boil until quite tender, for 2 or 3 hours. Boil several large onions in 2 waters, so as to diminish their flavor; if Spanish onions can be got, they should be preferred. When quite tender, slice the onions into small flakes, but leave them in that state, and do not mash them into smooth sauce; put the onions into a casserole with milk and butter, so as to make a delicate white sauce, and season it only with a little salt, or a slight grating of nutmeg; then put the tripe, hot from the pot, into a deep dish, and smother it entirely with the sauce. It is usually eaten with pepper and mustard, at the discretion of the guests. Oyster sauce is sometimes used, and much approved.

To fry Tripe. --Cut it into bits 3 or 4 inches square; make a batter thicker than for pancakes, of 3 eggs beaten up with flour and milk, a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg; dip in the tripe, and fry it in butter, or fresh dripping, of a light brown color. Serve it garnished with parsley. Sauce--melted butter with lemon pickle in it.

Sauce for Tripe, Cow-heel, &c. --Stir into half a pint of oiled butter, (that is, butter melted and strained,) a table-spoonful of garlic-vinegar, and a tea-spoonful each of made mustard, ground black pepper, and brown sugar.

Cow-heels. --Ox-feet, or Cow-heels, are rarely eaten by Americans, but in Europe, and particularly in Great Britain, they are always cooked. They contain much nutriment, and may be dressed in the various ways already stated for tripe, with which they are commonly boiled. They are frequently eaten cold, with mustard and vinegar.

Soak them well; boil, and serve in a napkin, with thick melted butter, a large spoonful of vinegar, and a little mustard and salt. Or boil, and then stew them in a brown gravy. Or


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cut the heel in 4 parts, dip each in egg, flour and fry them in butter. Or fry, and serve with onions fried and put round them: sauce as above.

The water in which they are boiled will make equally good jellies, either relishing or sweet, with that of calves' feet, if duly prepared; and at a far less expense. This jelly gives great additional richness likewise to soups and gravies.

To fry Ox-feet, or Cow-heel. --After preparing them as above, cut them into small pieces; have ready some bread finely crumbled, dip the pieces into the yolk of an egg beaten up, and roll them in the bread crumbs mixed with chopped parsley, pepper, and salt; fry them in butter or fresh lard, of a fine brown color.

Marrow Bones. --If too long to serve undivided, saw them in two; cover the open end with a lump of paste and a cloth floured and tied close; the paste must be removed before sent to table. Boil 1 1/2 or 2 hours, according to the size; put a ruffle of paper round each, and serve in a napkin, with very hot toast. The marrow is spread upon the toast, and seasoned with pepper and salt.

Bubble and Squeak. --Slice under-done cold roast or boiled beef, with fat to fry it a nice light brown; take care that it is not done hard. Mince some cooked cabbage, and fry it with pepper and salt, without burning; lay some in the dish, and lay in the meat, and cover it nicely with the rest, garnishing with fried beet-root, eggs or apples. This is an excellent dish if well-made, but very bad if ill done.

Under-done roasted meat may be cut into steaks, and hardened upon the gridiron or in the frying-pan, and served under an oyster, mushroom, onion, or any other ragoût.

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> CHAPTER VIII.

VEAL.

To Choose and Cook Veal--Roast Loin--Boiled and Stewed--Fillet, Knuckle--Shoulder--Gohote--Blanquettes--Fricandeau--Rolled Veal--Potted--Minced--Cutlets--Collops--Veal Olives--Neck to Braise--Ragout--Stewed Veal and Peas--Sweetbread--Croquettes--Calf's Head--Dressed many ways--Brains--Feet--Kidney, &c.--Veal Forcemeats.

[Illustration: An illustration of the various parts of a calf. The list below corresponds to the numbers in the illustration.]

No.

1. Loin, Best End.

2. Loin, Chump End.

3. Fillet.

4. Hind Knuckle.

5. For Knuckle.

6. Neck, Best End.

7. Neck, Scrag End.

8. Blade Bone.

9. Breast, Best End.

10. Breast, Brisket End.

To Choose Veal. --Veal should be fat, finely grained, white, firm, and not overgrown: for when very large it is apt to be coarse and tough. It is more difficult to keep than any other meat except pork, and should never be allowed to acquire the slightest taint before it is dressed, as any approach to putridity renders it equally unwholesome and offensive to the taste. The fillet, the loin, the shoulder, and the best end of the neck, are the parts generally selected for roasting; the breast and knuckle are more usually stewed or boiled. The udder, or firm white fat of the fillet, is much used by French cooks instead


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of butter, especially in the composition of their forcemeats: for these, it is first well boiled, then left until quite cold, and afterwards thoroughly pounded before it is mixed with the other ingredients. The head and feet of the calf are valuable articles of food, both for the nutriment which the gelatinous parts of them afford, and for the great variety of modes in which they may be dressed. The kidneys, with the rich fat that surrounds them, and the sweetbreads especially, are well known delicacies; the liver and the heart also are very good eating; and no meat is so generally useful for rich soups and gravies as veal.

Veal,more than any other meat, requires to be wiped with a clean cloth every morning. The kernel should be taken out of the thick fat of the leg, and the udder slightly sprinkled with salt. Cut out the pipe from along the chine-bone of the loin, remove the kernel from under the inside fat, and sprinkle the chine-bone with salt. The pipe and chine-bone should be cut out from the neck, and the inside of the ribs rubbed with salt. From the breast, cut off the loose inside fat, and piece of skirt. The shoulder is rarely kept above a day or two.

Roast Loin of Veal. --It is not usual to stuff a loin of veal, but we greatly recommend the practice, as an infinite improvement to the joint. Make the same forcemeat as for the fillet; and insert it between the skin and the flesh just over the ends of the bones. Skewer down the flap, place the joint at a moderate distance from a sound fire, keep it constantly basted, and be especially careful not to allow the kidney fat to burn: to prevent this, and to ensure the good appearance of the joint, a buttered paper is often fastened round the loin, and removed about half an hour before it is taken from the fire. It is the fashion in some countries to serve egg-sauce and brown gravy with roast loin, or breast of veal.

The cook will scarcely need to be told that she must separate the skin from the flank, with a sharp knife, quite from the end, to the place where the forcemeat is to be put, and then skewer the whole very securely. When the veal is not papered, dredge it well with flour soon after it is laid to the fire. 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Boiled Loin of Veal. --If dressed with care and served with good sauces, this, when the meat is small and white, is an excellent


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dish, and often more acceptable to persons of delicate habit than roast veal. Take from eight to ten pounds of the best end of the loin, leave the kidney in with all its fat, skewer or bind down the flap, lay the meat into cold water, and boil it as gently as possible from two hours and a quarter to two and a half, clearing off the scum perfectly, as in dressing the fillet. Send it to table with well-made oyster sauce, or bechamel, or with white sauce well flavored with lemon-juice, and with parsley, boiled, pressed dry, and finely chopped.

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours.

Stewed Loin of Veal. --Take part of a loin of veal, the chump end will do; put into a large, thick, well-tinned iron saucepan, or into a stewpan, about a couple of ounces of butter, and shake it over a moderate fire until it begins to brown; flour the veal well all over, lay it into the saucepan, and when it is of a fine, equal light-brown, pour gradually in veal broth, gravy, or boiling water to nearly half its depth; add a little salt, one or two sliced carrots, a small onion, or more when the flavor is much liked, and a bunch of parsley; stew the veal very softly for an hour or rather more; then turn it, and let it stew for nearly or quite another hour, or longer should it not appear perfectly done. As none of our receipts have been tried with large, coarse veal, the cooking must be regulated by that circumstance, and longer time allowed should the meat be of more than middling size. Dish the joint; skim all the fat from the gravy, and strain it over the meat; or keep the joint hot while it is rapidly reduced to a richer consistency. This is merely a plain family stew.

fillet of Veal Stewed. --Take a fillet of veal, and with a sharp knife make deep incisions in the upper and lower surfaces. Make a rich stuffing of grated bread, sweet herbs, pepper and salt, mixed with the yolk of eggs, and put it into the holes which you have made. Then rub the stuffing thickly all over the meat, with the addition of some ham or bacon cut into very thin slices. Put it into a pot and add enough butter or lard to stew and brown it. It will take about 3 hours to cook. Some persons add the ham, for the stuffing, others leave it out entirely, and do not use the stuffing on the outside. If the ham or bacon is used, it should be very fat and cut very thin.

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Fillet of Veal Roasted. --Take out the bone, and fill the space with a fine stuffing of bread crumbs, seasoned with parsley, rather less of marjoram, a little pepper and salt, mixed thoroughly with the yolk and white of an egg or two, according to quantity. A small onion, finely chopped, may be added, and let the fat be skewered quite round; stuff it also well under the skin--as much depends on the quantity and flavor of the stuffing--and send the large side uppermost. Put a paper over the fat; and take care to allow a sufficient time for roasting; put it a good distance from the fire, as the meat is very solid, and must be so thoroughly done as not to leave the least appearance of red gravy; serve it with melted butter poured over, and gravy round. Ham or bacon should be served with it, and fresh cucumbers if in season.

Although considered very indigestible, it is a favorite joint, and easily divided into 3 parts and each dressed separately; that piece known in a "round of beef" as the "silver side" being roasted, and the remaining two stewed in different ways.

In Paris, a longe de veau is cut somewhat in the shape of a haunch of mutton, with the fillet and part of the loin joined together.

Fillet of Veal Boiled. --Choose a small delicate fillet for this purpose; prepare as for roasting, or stuff it with an oyster forcemeat; bind it round with a tape; after having washed it thoroughly, cover it with milk and water in equal quantities, and let it boil very gently three and a half or four hours, keeping it carefully skimmed. Send it to table with a rich whtie sauce, or, if stuffed with oysters, a tureen of oyster-sauce; garnish with stewed celery and slices of bacon. A boiled tongue should be served with it.

Knuckle of Veal; (en Ragoût.) --Cut in small thick slices the flesh of a knuckle of veal, season it with a little fine salt and white pepper, flour ir lightly, and fry it in butter to a pale brown, lay it into a very clean stewpan or saucepan, and just cover it with boiling water; skim it clean, and add to it a faggot of thyme and parsley, the white part of a head of celery, a small quantity of cayenne, and a blade or two of mace. Stew it very softly from an hour and three-quarters, to two hours and a half. Thicken and enrich the gravy, if needful, with


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rice-flour and muchroom catsup or Harvey's sauce, or with a large teaspoonful of flour, mixed with a slice of butter, a little good store-sauce and a glass of sherry or Madeira. Fired forcemeat balls may be added to pleasure. With an additional quantity of water, or of broth (made with the bones of the joint), a pint and a half of young green peas stewed with the veal for an hour, will give an argeeable variety of this dish.

Boiled Knuckle of Veal. --After the joint has been trimmed and well washed, put it into a vessel well adapted to it in size, for if it be very large, so much water will be required that the veal will be deprived of its flavor; it should be well covered with it, and very gently boiled until it is perfectly tender in every part, but not so much done as to separate from the bone. Clear off the sucm with scrupulous care when the simmering first commences, and throw in a small portion of salt; as this, if sparingly used, will not redden the meat, and will otherwise much improve it. Parsely and butter is usually both poured over and sent to the table with a knuckle of veal, and boiled bacon also should accompany it. From the sinewy nature of this joint, it requires more then the usual time of cooking, a quarter of an hour to the pound not being sufficient for it.

Veal, 6 to 7 lbs: 2 hours or more.

Knuckle of Veal with Rice or Green Peas. --Pour over a small knuckle of veal rather more than sufficient water to cover it; bring it slowly to a boil; take off all the scum with great care, throw in a tea-spoonful of salt, and when the joint has simmered for about half an hour, throw in from eight to twelve ounces of well-washed rice, and stew the veal gently for an hour and a half longer, or until both meat and rice are perfectly tender. A seasoning of cayenne and mace in fine powder with more salt, should it be required, must be added 20 or 30 minutes before they are served. For a superior stew, good veal broth may be substituted for the water.

Veal, 6 lbs.; water, 3 to 4 pints; salt, 1 tea-spoonful; 30 to 40 minutes. Rice, 8 to 12 ozs.: an hour and a half. Seasoning of cayenne, mace, and more salt if needed. A quart or even more of full-grown green peas added to the veal as soon as the scum has been cleared off will make a most excellent stew. It should be well seasoned with white pepper, and the mace should be omitted.

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Shoulder of Veal. --Cut off the knuckle for a stew or gravy. Roast the other part with a stuffing; you may lard it. Serve with melted butter.

The blade-bone, with a good deal of meat left on, eats extremely well, when grilled, with mushroom or oyster sauce, or mushroom catsup in butter.

Being a large joint of what is considered rather coarse meat, it is rarely served to any but plain family parties; but, if braised, it makes an excellent dish.

Gohote: (a very nice dish.) --Take all the fillet of veal that will chop, and mince it fine. Season it with salt, pepper, a little parsley, and an onion, chopped fine. Add about half a teacup of bread crumbs, a little fat of ham or pork, if not the latter some butter, and 2 eggs. Mix it well with the hands, and make it into one large ball: sprinkle it with bread crumbs, and put several pieces of butter about it. Bake it in 2 hours. Make a good gravy with the scraps and bone, and serve with it.

This may be made of veal that has been once cooked, baking it a shorter time.

Blanquettes. --Melt a piece of butter the size of a walnut in a stew-pan; then put in a little thyme, parsley, or any herbs you like the flavor of, and a little onion, all chopped fine, with a pinch of flour. Brown the herbs; add pepper and salt, with a clove or two. Then put in cold or undressed veal, cut in thin slices the size of half a crown; add gravy or broth half a pint, or according to the quantity of meat you want to dress. It should not be too large a dish. Let it stew very gently over a stove; if of dressed meat, 1 hour will be sufficient: add half a teacupful of cream, and stir it well together for a few minutes; then take it up, and before you turn it out have 2 yolks of eggs well beaten, and add to your dish. Give it a few shakes over the fire. It must not boil, or it will curdle.

Or: Cut rabbits, fowl, veal, or lobster, in pieces, steep them (except the veal or fish) in water for half an hour, changing the water. Put some butter in a stew-pan to melt, but do not let it fry; put in the meat with a very little flour, and keep shaking it well; pour in by degrees some broth made of white meat; add a bunch of parsley, an onion, salt, mace, and white


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pepper. Stew it well a quarter of an hour before it is dished; take out the parsley and onion, and add some raw parsley chopped, and the yolk of an egg and cream beaten together. You must never cease shaking the pan until the blanquette is put over the dish.

Veal à la Chartreuse. --Line a copper mould with fat bacon, lay sliced carrots and turnips round the edges, then cover with a forcemeat, and put in a fricassee of veal or fowl. Cover the top of the mould with a paste, steam it an hour, and serve it turned out upon a dish.

To Marble Veal. --Boil tender, skin, and cut a dried neat's tongue in thin slices, and beat it as fine as possible, with half a pound of butter and some mace pounded. Have ready some roasted fillet of veal, beaten with butter, and seasoned with white pepper and salt; of this put a thick layer in a large potting-pot, then put in the tongue, in rough, irregular lumps, not to touch each other; fill up the pot with veal, and press it down quite close. Pour clarified butter thick over; keep in a dry, cool place and serve in thin slices, taking off the butter. Garnish with parsley.

Fricandeau of Veal. --Cut a piece about two inches thick from a fillet of veal; shape it like the back of a turtle, high and round in the middle, and thin at the edges, and lard the top and sides very thickly with fat bacon; then put into a stew-pan 4 onions, a carrot, sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, some allspice, salt, and whole pepper, three blades of mace, and a small piece of lean ham: cover these with slices of fat bacon, and place upon them the veal, which also cover with bacon. Next cover the whole with veal broth, or boiling water, put on the lid, and stew very gently, until the veal is so tender as to be divided with a spoon; then take it up, and quickly boil the gravy, uncovered, to a glaze, which strain, and brush over the fricandeau; to be served upon spinach or endive, tomato, or mushroom-sauce, or upon the remainder of the glaze. A moderately-sized fricandeau will require about three hours and a half stewing.

The lean part of a neck of veal, stewed with the meat of


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two or three bones in water, will make a plain fricandeau. Sweet-breads, larded and prepared as veal, make fine fricandeaux, being served in a rich gravy.

Rolled Veal. --The breast is the best for this purpose. Bone a piece of the breast, and lay a forcemeat over it of herbs, bread, an anchovy, a spoonful or two of scraped ham, a very little mace, white pepper, and chopped chives; then roll, bind it up tight, and stew it in water or weak broth with the bones, some carrots, onions, turnips, and a bay-leaf. Let the color be preserved, and serve it in veal gravy, or fricassee sauce.

Potted Veal. --Pound some cold veal, and season it with pepper, salt, and a little mace, in powder; then pound or shred the lean of ham or tongue; put layers of veal and ham, or tongue, alternately into a pot, press them down, put on the top liquid butter, and tie over. This may be cut in slices, or served whole.

Or, the ham or tongue may be put in rough lumps, not to touch each other, so as to marble the veal.

Minced Veal. --Cut, without chopping, cold veal, very finely; grate over it a little lemon peel and nutmeg, and season with pepper and salt; cover the veal with broth, water, or milk, and simmer gently; thicken with flour rubbed in butter, and serve in a deep dish, with sippets of toast bread. A spoonful or two of cream, and a little lemon pickle, are fine additions.

Minced Veal and Oysters. --The most elegant mode of preparing this dish is to mince about a pound of the whitest part of the inside of a cold roast fillet or loin of veal, to heat it without allowing it to boil, in a pint of rich white sauce, or bechamel, and to mix with it at the moment of serving three dozen of small oysters ready bearded, and plumped in their own strained liquor, which is also to be added to the mince; the requisite quantity of salt, cayenne, and mace, should be sprinkled over the veal before it is put into the sauce. Garnish the dish with pale fried sippets of bread, or with fleurons of brioche, or of puff-paste. Nearly half a pint of mushrooms minced, and stewed white in a little butter, may be mixed with the veal instead of the oysters; or, should they be very small,


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they may be added to it whole: from ten to twenty minutes will be sufficient to make them tender. Balls of delicately fried oyster-forcemeat laid round the dish will give another good variety of it.

Veal minced, 1 lb.; white sauce, 1 pint; oysters, 3 dozens, with their liquor; or mushrooms, half pint, stewed in butter 10 to 12 minutes.

Veal Cutlets. --Cutlets should be cut from the fillet, but chops are taken from the loin. Some persons have deprecated the practice of beating meat, but it is essentially necessary in veal cutlets, which otherwise, especially if merely fried, are very indigestible. They should be cut about one-quarter or half an inch in thickness, and well beaten; they will then, when fried, taste like sweetbreads, be quite as tender, and nearly as rich. Egg them over, dip in bread crumbs and savoury herbs, fry, and serve with mushroom sauce and fried bacon.

Or:--Prepare as above, and fry them; lay them in a dish, and keep them hot: dredge a little flour, and put a bit of butter into the pan; brown it, then pour a little boiling water into it, and boil quickly; season with pepper, salt, and catsup, and pour it over them.

Maintenon Cutlets. --Prepare the cutlets with egg and seasoning, as above, fold them in buttered writing-paper, and broil or fry them. Serve in the paper, and with them, in a boat, sauce as above, sauce piquante, or cucumber sauce.

Lamb and mutton cutlets may be dressed as above.

To dress Collops quickly. --Cut them as thin as paper with a very sharp knife, and in small bits. Throw the skin and any odd bits of the veal, into a little water, with a dust of pepper and salt; set them on the fire while you beat the collops; and dip them in a seasoning of herbs, bread, pepper, salt, and a scrape of nutmeg, but first wet them in egg. Then put a bit of butter into a frying-pan, and give the collops a very quick fry; for as they are so thin, 2 minutes will do them on both sides: put them into a hot dish before the fire; then strain and thicken the gravy.

Or:--Cut the collops thin; flatten them with a beater; have


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a large dish, dredge it with flour, and sprinkle a little black pepper over it: as the collops are flattened, lay them in the dish; put a piece of butter in a frying-pan, and, when it is melted and hot, lay in the collops; do them quickly; when lightly browned, dish them up, and serve with a mushroom sauce.

Veal Olives. --Cut long thin slices, beat them, lay them on thin slices of fat bacon, and over these a layer of forcemeat, seasoned high with some shred shalot and Cayenne. Roll them tight, about the size of 2 fingers, but not more than 2 or 3 inches long; fasten them round with a small skewer, rub egg over them, and fry them of a light brown. Serve with brown gravy, in which boil some mushrooms, pickled or fresh. Garnish with balls fried.

Veal Olives and Collops. --Lay over each other thin slices of veal and fat bacon, and upon them a layer of highly-seasoned forcemeat, with finely shred shalot; roll and skewer them up tightly, egg and crumb them, and fry them brown. Serve them with brown gravy, with pickled or fresh mushrooms; that is, brown mushroom sauce.

Neck of Veal. --Take the best end of a neck of veal, cut off the ends of the bones, and turn the flap over; saw off the chine bone, or joint it thoroughly; paper it, and baste it well all the time it is roasting. Larding the fillet or thick part is a great improvement. Or, stew it with rice, small onions, and peppercorns.

Or:--Take the best end of a small neck; cut the bones short, but leave it whole; then put it into a stew-pan just covered with brown gravy; and when it is nearly done, have ready a pint of boiled peas, 3 or 4 cucumbers, and 2 cabbage-lettuces cut into quarters, all stewed in a little good broth; put them to the veal, and let them simmer for 10 minutes. When the veal is in the dish, pour the sauce and vegetables over it, and lay the lettuce round it. This is an excellent summer stew.

Neck of Veal à la Braise. --Cut off the ends of the long bones, and saw off the chine-bones: raise the skin of the fillet, lard it very close, and tie it up neatly. Put the scrag end, a


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little lean bacon or ham, an onion, 2 carrots, 2 heads of celery, and about a glass of Madeira wine, into a stew-pan. Lay on them the neck, add a little water, and stew it 2 hours, or till it is tender, but not too much. Strain off the liquor; mix a little flour and butter in a stew-pan, till brown; stir some of the liquor in, and boil it up; skim it nicely, and squeeze orange or lemon juice into it, and serve with the meat. The bacon should be browned with a salamander and glazed. It may be also served with spinach.

Breast of Veal ragoût. --Cut the breast in two, lengthwise, and divide it into moderately-sized pieces; fry them in butter of a light brown, and put them into a stew-pan with veal broth or boiling water to cover the meat, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and parsley, tied together, a tea-spoonful of allspice, 2 blades of mace, 2 onions, the peel of a lemon, and salt and pepper to season; cover the whole closely, and stew from 1 1/2 to 2 hours; then strain the gravy, take off the fat, and cover up the veal. Next put a little butter into a small stew-pan, dredge in flour, and gradually add the gravy; boil and skim it; add a glass of white wine, the same of mushroom catsup, and the juice of half a lemon, or, instead of the two latter, a wine-glass of lemon pickle: boil it up and serve in a deep dish with the veal.

Stewed Veal and Peas. --Cut into pieces a breast or a neck of veal, and stew it 2 hours, with 2 onions, pepper and salt, and broth or water to cover it; then add 2 quarts of green peas, and a sprig of mint, and stew half an hour longer: thicken, if required, with butter and flour. Dish up the peas, and heap peas in the centre.

Or:--The peas may be stewed separately, thus:--Put a pint and a half into a stew-pan, with a quarter of a pound of butter, a few green onions, and sprigs of parsley, cover them with water, and warm; let them stand a few minutes, then pour off the water, add about an ounce of lean ham; when done, work in a small piece of butter kneaded with flour; keep the peas in motion over the fire until done; season with a tea-spoonful of pounded sugar, and pepper and salt.

To collar a Breast of Veal. --Remove the bones,thick skin, and gristle, and season the meat with chopped herbs, mace, salt


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and pepper; then lay between the veal, slices of ham, variegated with hard yolks of eggs, beet-root, and chopped parsley; roll the whole up tightly in a cloth, and tie it. Simmer for some hours, or till tender, in a very little water: when done, lay it on a board with a weight upon it till cold. Then take off the cloth, and pour the liquor over the veal.

Sweetbreads (Simply dressed). --In whatever way sweetbreads are dressed, they should first be well soaked in lukewarm water, then thrown into boiling water to blanch them, as it is called, and to render them firm. If lifted out after they have boiled from five to ten minutes, according to their size, and laid immediately into fresh spring water to cool, their color will be the better preserved. They may then be gently stewed for three quarters of an hour in veal gravy, which, with the usual additions of cream, lemon, and egg-yolks, may be converted into a fricassee sauce for them when they are done; or they may be lifted from it, glazed, and served with good Spanish gravy; or, the glazing being omitted, they may be sauced with sharp sauce. They may also be simply floured, and roasted in a Dutch oven, being often basted with butter, and frequently turned. A full sized sweetbread, after having been blanched, will require quite three quarters of an hour to dress it.

Blanched 5 to 10 minutes. Stewed 3/4 hour or more.

Sweetbread Cutlets. --Boil the sweetbreads for half an hour in water, or veal broth, and when they are perfectly cold, cut them into slices of equal thickness, brush them with yolks of egg, and dip them into very fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with salt, cayenne, grated lemon-rind, and mace; fry them in butter of a fine light brown, arrange them in a dish, placing them high in the centre, and pour under them a gravy made in the pan, thickened with mushroom powder, and flavored with lemon-juice; or, in lieu of this, sauce them with some rich brown gravy, to which a glass of sherry or Madeira has been added.

To Broil a Sweetbread. --Parboil it, rub it with butter, and broil it over a slow fire, turn it frequently, and baste it now and then, by putting it upon a plate kept warm by the fire with butter in it.

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Veal Croquettes. --Pound, in a marble mortar, cold veal and fowl, with a little suet, some chopped lemon peel, lemon thyme, chives, and parsley. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt; mix all well together, and add the yolk of an egg well beaten; roll it into balls, and dip them into an egg beaten up, then sift bread crumbs over them, and fry them in butter.

French Croquettes of Sweetbread. --Brown in a little butter and lard 6 sweetbreads; chop them up with a cold tongue that has been parboiled; mix them well and season with a little parsley, an onion, pepper and salt if required. Take the gravy in which the sweetbreads were browned, and when it is cold, break into it 3 eggs; use this to moisten the mince-meat; if not enough add a little other gravy. Take 3 more eggs to roll the croquettes in, with bread crumbs, into the proper shape. Fry them in lard, like fritters; take them up with a ladle with holes in it.

To take the Hair from a Calf's Head with the skin on. --It is better to do this before the head is divided; but if only the half of one with the skin on can be procured, it must be managed in the same way. Put it into plenty of water which is on the point of simmering, but which does not positively boil, and let it remain in until it does so, and for five or six minutes afterwards, but at the first full bubble draw it from the fire and let it merely scald; then lift it out and with a knife that is not sharp scrape off the hair as closely and as quickly as possible. The butchers have an instrument on purpose for the operation; but we have had the head look quite as well when done in the manner we have just described, as when it has been sent in ready prepared by them. After the hair is off, the head should be well washed, and if it cannot be cooked the same day, it must be wiped extremely dry before it is hung up; and when it has not been divided, it should be left whole until the time approaches for dressing it. The brain must then be taken out, and both that and the head well soaked and washed with the greatest nicety. When the half head only is scalded, the brain should first be removed. Calves' feet are freed from the hair easily in the same manner.

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Boiled Calf's Head. --When the head is dressed with the skin on, which many persons prefer, the ear must be cut off quite close to it; it will require three-quarters of an hour or upwards of additional boiling, and should be served covered with fried crumbs. In either case, first remove the brain, wash the head delicately clean, and soak it for a quarter of an hour; cover it plentifully with cold water, remove the scum as it rises with great care, throw in a little salt, and boil the head gently until it is perfectly tender. In the mean time, wash and soak the brains first in cold and then in warm water, remove the skin or film, boil them in a small saucepan from fourteen to sixteen minutes, according to their size, and when they are done, chop and mix them with eight or ten sage leaves boiled tender, and finely minced, or, if preferred, with parsley boiled instead; warm them in a spoonful or two of melted butter, or white sauce; skin the tongue, trim off the root, and serve it in a small dish with the brains laid round it. Send the head to table very hot, with parsley and butter poured over it, and some more in a tureen. A cheek of bacon, or very delicate pickled pork, and greens, are the usual accompaniments to boiled calf's head.

We have given here the common mode of serving this dish, by some epicures considered the best, and by others, as exceedingly insipid. Tomato sauce sometimes takes the place of the parsley and butter; and rich oyster or Dutch sauce are varieties often substituted for it.

With the skin on, from two and a quarter to two and three quarter hours; without the skin, from 1 hour and a quarter to 1 and three quarters, to boil.

To Bake Calf's head. -- Mix pepper, salt, bread-crumbs, and chopped sage together; rub the head over with butter and put the seasoning upon it; cut the brains in 4 pieces, and rub them also in the crumbs, and lay the head in a deep dish with the brains; put a piece of butter into each eye, with plenty of the crumbs also, fill the dish nearly full of water, and let it bake 2 hours in a quick oven.

To Roast a Calf's Head. -- Wash and clean it well, parboil it, take out the bones, brains, and tongue; make forcemeat sufficient for the head, and some balls with bread-crumbs, minced suet, parsley, grated ham, and a little pounded veal, or cold


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fowl; season with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and lemon peel; bind it with an egg, beaten up, fill the head with it, which must then be sewed up, or fastened with skewers and tied. While roasting, baste it well with butter; beat up the brains with a little cream, the yolk of an egg, some minced parsley, a little pepper and salt; blanch the tongue, cut it into slices, and fry it with the brains, forcemeat balls, and thin slices of bacon. Serve the head with white or brown thickened gravy, and place the tongue, forcemeat balls, and brains round it. Garnish with cut lemon. It will require an hour and a half to roast.

Calf's Head Stew. --Parboil the head the day before you want it, and keep the water in which it was boiled for gravy. Cut the meat off the bones the next day in thin slices; fry these in butter or lard, seasoning them with cloves, pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, &c., to your taste. After the slices are fried brown, take them out, and add to the gravy about 1 pint of the liquor in which the head was boiled; thicken with a little brown flour, and put back the slices to stew gently till dinner-time.

Meanwhile have the brains mashed with seasoning as above, add the yolks of 2 eggs beaten, thicken in some flour, and drop them in little pats in the frying pan. Fry them brown and add them to the dish when you serve it. A glass of wine added to the stew just before it is done is to some a great improvement; or a little lemon juice and catsup.

If your family is small, the residue of the head and the liquor in which it was boiled will make soup enough for dinner. For the soup, use a small onion, the seasoning above mentioned and allspice. Make dumplings the size of marbles, and cut in quarters 3 or 4 potatoes to boil in it. Calf's head soup should look black from the seasoning and only semi-transparent. The tongue may be used for the stew, or the soup.

Calves' Brains. --Remove all the large fibres and skin; soak them in warm water for 4 hours; blanch them for 10 minutes in boiling water, with a little salt and vinegar in it; then soak them 3 hours in lemon juice in which a bit of chervil has been steeped; dry them well, dip them in batter, and fry them. Make hot a ladleful of glaze, some extremely small onions browned in butter, artichoke bottoms divided in half, and some


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mushroom-buttons, and serve round the brains; or, after preparing as above, serve in a rich white acidulated sauce, with lemon juice or tomato sauce.

Or:--Blanch the brains, and beat them up with an egg; pepper, and salt, a small quantity of chopped parsley, and a piece of butter. Make them into small cakes, put them into a small frying-pan, and fry them.

Or:--Prepare them as above; wet the egg, and sprinkle crumbs, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, and finish dressing in a Dutch oven. Serve with melted butter, with or without a little mushroom catsup.

Croquettes of Brains. --Take calf's brains, blanch, and beat them up with 1 or 2 chopped sage leaves, a little pepper and salt, a few bread crumbs soaked in milk, and an egg beaten; roll them into balls, and fry them.

Calf's Feet and Ears. --Boil them tender, 3 hours will do, and serve with parsley and butter. Or, having boiled a foot, split it, roll it in bread crumbs, fry it in butter, and serve in brown gravy. Calves' ears may also be dressed as above.

Calves' Feet Fricasseed. --Having boiled and split them, as above, simmer them three-quarters of an hour in veal broth, with a blade of mace and lemon peel; and thicken the sauce with flour and butter.

Or:--Soak the feet 3 or 4 hours, and simmer them in milk and water, until the meat can be taken from the bone in handsome pieces; season them with pepper and salt, dip them in yolk of egg, roll in bread crumbs, fry them light brown, and serve in white sauce.

Calf's Kidney. --Chop the kidney, and some of the fat, season it with pepper and salt, and make it, with egg and bread crumbs, into balls, which fry in lard or butter; drain upon a sieve, and serve with fried parsley. Or, the lean of cold veal may be substituted for the kidney.

Calf's Liver and Lights. --Half boil them, then mince them, and add a little of the water in which they were boiled, with


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butter and flour to thicken: season with salt and pepper; simmer, and serve hot.

Calf's heart may be stuffed and roasted as beef heart.

Calf's Liver and Bacon. --Pare and trim the bacon, and fry it; and, in its fat, fry the liver, in thickish slices, floured. Then lay both in a dish, and pour over them gravy made as follows: Empty the pan, and put into it a small piece of butter, a little broth or water, pepper, salt, and lemon juice; and warm together. Garnish with fried parsley.

Veal Forcemeat. --Mix a pound of scraped veal with half the quantity of fat bacon, in a mortar, adding the crumbs of a stale French roll, half a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace, a table-spoonful of chopped parsley, and pepper and salt. Mix this well together with 2 well beaten eggs.

Egg Balls. --Beat in a mortar 3 hard-boiled yolks of eggs with 1 raw; sprinkle in a little flour and salt, and make the paste into balls.

Both forcemeat and egg balls are much used for savory pies and made dishes.

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> CHAPTER IX.

MUTTON.

To choose and cook Mutton--Roasted Haunch--Saddle--Loin--Venison Fashion--Shoulder--Leg Braised--Fillet--Breast--To Collar--Boiled Leg--With Oysters--Minced Mutton--Stewed--China Chilo--Cutlets--A la Maintenon--To broil--Rolled Boiled Shoulder--Neck--Horn's Irish Stew-Hotch Potch--Heart--Kidneys, &c.

[Illustration: An illustration of the different parts of a sheep. The numbers below correspond to the illustration.]

No.

1. Leg.

2. Best End of Loin.

3. Chump End of Loin.

4. Neck, Best End.

5. Neck, Scrag End.

6. Shoulder.

7. Breast.

A Saddle is the two Loins.

A Chine, the two Necks.

To choose Mutton. --The best mutton is small-boned, plump, finely grained, and short-legged; the lean of a dark, rather than of a bright hue, and the fat white and clear: when this is yellow, the meat is rank, and of bad quality. Mutton is not considered by experienced judges to be in perfection until it is nearly or quite five years old; but to avoid the additional expense of feeding the animal so long, it is commonly brought into the market at three years old. The leg and the loin are the superior joints; and the preference would probably be given more frequently to the latter, but for the superabundance of its fat, which renders it a not very economical dish. The


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haunch consists of the leg and the part of the loin adjoining it; the saddle, of the two loins together, or of the undivided back of the sheep: these last are always roasted, and are served usually at good tables, or for company-dinners, instead of the smaller joints. The shoulder, dressed in the ordinary way, is not very highly esteemed, but when boned, rolled, and filled with forcemeat, it is of more presentable appearance, and, to many tastes, far better eating; though some persons prefer it in its natural form, accompanied by stewed onions. It is occasionally boiled or stewed, and covered with rich onion sauce. The neck is sometimes roasted, but it is more generally boiled; the scrag, or that part of it which joins the head, is seldom used for any other purpose than making broth, and should be taken off before the joint is dressed. Cutlets from the thick end of the loin are commonly preferred to any others, but they are frequently taken likewise from the best end of the neck (sometimes called the back-ribs) and from the middle of the leg. Mutton kidneys are dressed in various ways, and are excellent in many. The trotters and the head of a sheep may be converted into very good dishes, but they are scarcely worth the trouble which is required to render them palatable. The loin and the leg are occasionally cured and smoked like hams or bacon.

The leg spoils sooner than any other joint of mutton; to prevent which, take out the kernel from the fat, and fill up its place with salt. The neck will keep well, if the pipe be cut out from along the chine-bone. Take out the kernel from the shoulder. Cut the skirt out of the breast. Lamb should be managed as mutton. Veal and lamb, it may here be observed, spoil sooner than other meat.

Haunch of Mutton Roasted. --It will require to be kept for some time, and must therefore be well washed with vinegar, wiped every day, and, if necessary, rubbed with pounded pepper and ginger.

Cut off the knuckle rather close to the joint of the leg; nick the cramp-bone, and that will allow the cushion or thick part of the leg to draw up and be more plump; trim off the thick skin at the flank, and round off the corner of the fat, so as to make the joint appear neat. Cover the fat with oiled paper, which should be taken off quarter of an hour before you think it will be done; then dredge the meat very lightly with flour,


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and sprinkle it freely with salt; serve it up with currant jelly and a sauce of port wine, spice, and gravy; a piece of fringed paper being tied neatly around the shank-bone. To roast a haunch of 14 or 16 lbs. will take from 3 to 3 1/2 hours; or even a little more if the weather be very cold, or if required to be "very well done."

To make it taste like Venison. - Let the haunch hang nearly the usual time; then take the skin carefully off, and rub the meat with olive oil, then put it into a pan with a quantity of whole pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, a bundle of sweet herbs, consisting of parsley, thyme, sweet marjoram, and 2 bay-leaves. Pour upon the meat a pint of good vinegar and 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of olive oil. Cover the upper surface of the meat with slices of raw onion, and turn the mutton every day, always taking care to put the slices of onion on the top surface. At the expiration of 4 days, take the meat out, wipe it with a napkin, and hang it up in a cool place till the next day, when it is fit for roasting.

A more simple method is to rub it every day, and let it hang until it is tender. A clove or two of garlic in the knuckle will, however, give it a much higher flavor, if put into the knuckle when the haunch is hung up.

To roast a Saddle of Mutton. --A saddle, i.e. the two loins, being broad, requires a high and strong fire; and, if weighing 11 or 12 pounds, two hours and a half roasting. The skin should be taken off, and loosely skewered on again; or, if this be not done, the fat should be covered with paper, tied on with buttered string. Twenty minutes before the joint is done, take off the skin or paper, baste, flour, and froth it. Serve with gravy and jelly, as haunch of mutton.

A saddle of mutton is an elegant joint, when well trimmed by cutting off the flaps, tail, and chump-end, which will reduce a saddle of 11 pounds to 7 pounds' weight.

To Roast a Loin of Mutton. --The flesh of the loin of mutton is superior to that of the leg, when roasted; but to the frugal housekeeper this consideration is usually overbalanced by the great weight of fat attached to it; this, however, when economy is more considered than appearance, may be pared off and melted down for various kitchen uses, or finely chopped,


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and substituted for suet in making hot pie or pudding crust. When thus reduced in size, the mutton will be soon roasted. If it is to be dressed in the usual way, the butcher should be desired to take off the skin; care should be taken to preserve the fat from being ever so slightly burned; it should be managed, indeed, in the same manner as the saddle, in every respect, and carved also in the same way, that is to say, the meat should be cut out in slices the whole length of the backbone, and close to it.

Without the fat, 1 to 1 1/2 hour; with, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hour.

To Dress a Loin of Mutton like Venison. --Skin and bone a loin of mutton, and lay it into a stewpan, or with a pint of water, a large onion stuck with a dozen cloves, half a pint of port wine and a spoonful of vinegar; add, when it boils, a small faggot of thyme and parsley, and some pepper and salt: let it stew three hours, and turn it often. Make some gravy of the bones, and add it at intervals to the mutton when required.

This receipt comes to us so strongly recommended by persons who have partaken frequently of the dish, that we have not thought it needful to prove it ourselves. 3 hours.

To Roast a Shoulder of Mutton. --Flour it well, and baste it constantly with its own dripping; do not place it close enough to the fire for the fat to be in the slightest degree burned, or even too deeply browned. An hour and a half will roast it, if it be of moderate size. Stewed onions are often sent to table with it. A shoulder of mutton is sometimes boiled, and smothered with onion sauce.

Superior Receipt for Roast Leg of Mutton. --Cover the joint well with cold water, bring it gradually to boil, and let it simmer gently for half an hour; then lift it out, put it immediately on to the spit, and roast it from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half, according to its weight. This mode of dressing the joint renders it remarkably juicy and tender; but there must be no delay in putting it on the spit after it is lifted from the water; it may be garnished with roast tomatoes.

Boiled, half an hour; roast, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hour.

Leg of Mutton Braised. --Take a very small leg of mutton,


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cut off the knuckle, and trim it nicely; half roast it; then put it into a stewpan with the knuckle-bone broken, the trimmings, a few slices of fat bacon or 2 oz. of butter, an onion stuck with cloves, and a bundle of sweet herbs. Shake the stewpan over the fire until there is gravy enough from the meat and the trimmings to stew the mutton, and take care to turn it in the braise. When very tender, take it up, remove the fat from the gravy, strain it, and boil it quickly until it is reduced to a glaze; pour it over the mutton, and serve it up with a purée of vegetables beneath.

Fillet of Mutton Roasted. --Cut some inches from either end of a large leg of mutton, and leave the fillet shaped like one of veal. Remove the bone, and fill the cavity with forcemeat made of two cups of bread crumbs and one of butter or minced suet, a little parsley finely shred, the quarter of a nutmeg grated, a tea-spoonful of powdered lemon peel, allspice and salt. Work the whole together with two or three yolks of egg, well beaten. It may be flavored with a little minced onion, if it is liked: more forcemeat may be added by detaching the skin on the flap side to admit it. Then the fillet may be floured and roasted, served with currant-jelly and brown gravy, or with only melted butter poured over it; or it may be stewed gently for nearly or quite four hours, in a pint of gravy or water, after having been floured and browned all over in a couple of ounces of butter; it must then be turned every hour, that it may be equally done. Two or three small onions, a faggot of herbs, a couple of carrots sliced, four or five cloves, and twenty whole peppercorns can be added at will.

Roasted 2 hours, or stewed 4 hours.

Breast of Mutton. --The brisket changes first in the breast; and if it is to be kept, it is best to rub it with a little salt, should the weather be hot.

Cut off the superfluous fat, joint it well, and roast; or to eat cold, sprinkle it well with chopped parsley while roasting.

Or:--Bone it, take off a good deal of the fat, and cover it with bread-crumbs, herbs, and seasoning; then roll and boil till tender: serve with tomato sauce.

Or:--Cut off the fat, and parboil it; take out the bones,


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and beat the breast flat; season it with pepper and salt; brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and strew over it minced parsley and onions mixed with bread crumbs; baste it well with fresh butter, and broil it. Serve with Sauce Robert.

To Collar a Breast of Mutton. --Take out the bone and gristle; then make a forcemeat with bread crumbs, parsley, and sweet herbs, chopped fine, and seasoned with salt and pepper; rub the mutton with the yolk of egg, and spread the forcemeat over it, roll it up and tie it tight; and boil 2 hours. If it be eaten hot, make a gravy of the bones, 2 onions, herbs and seasoning, strain, thicken it with butter and flour, and add vinegar and mushroom catsup to flavor; and pour over the mutton. If to be eaten cold, do not remove the tape till the mutton is wanted.

Leg of Mutton Boiled. --Let the joint be kept until it is tender, but not so long as for roasting, as mutton for boiling will not look of a good color if it has hung long.

To prepare a leg of mutton for boiling, trim it as for roasting; soak it for a couple of hours in cold water; then put only water enough to cover it, and let it boil gently for 3 hours if of the largest size, and, if smaller, according to its weight. Some cooks boil it in a cloth; but if the water be afterwards wanted for soup, that should not be done, as it would be no longer fit for that purpose: some salt and an onion put into it is far better. When nearly ready, take it from the fire, and, keeping the pot well covered, let it remain in the steam for 10 or 15 minutes. It is sent to table with caper sauce and mashed turnips.

To stuff a Leg of Mutton. --Take a leg of mutton, cut off all the fat, take the bone carefully out and preserve the skin whole; take out the meat and mince it fine, and mix and mince with it about 1 lb. of fat bacon and some parsley; season the whole well with pepper and salt, and a small quantity of eschalot or chives chopped fine; then put the meat into the skin and sew it up neatly on the under side; tie it up in a cloth and put it into a stew-pan with 2 or 3 slices of veal, some sliced carrots and onions, a bunch of parsley, and a few


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slices of fat bacon: let it stew for 3 or 4 hours, and drain the liquor through a fine sieve; when reduced to a glaze, glaze the mutton with it and serve in stewed French beans.

To dress a Leg of Mutton with Oysters. --Parboil some fine well-fed oysters, take off the beards and horny parts; put to them some parsley, minced onion, and sweet herbs, boiled and chopped fine, and the yolks of 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs. Mix all together, and cut 5 or 6 holes in the fleshy part of a leg of mutton, and put in the mixture; and dress it in either of the following ways:--Tie it up in a cloth and let it boil gently for two and a half or three hours, according to the size.

Or:--Braise it, and serve with a pungent brown sauce.

Minced Mutton. --Minced dressed meat very finely, season it, make a very good gravy, warm the meat up in it, and serve with fried bread round the dish, or with poached eggs.

To Stew a Shoulder of Mutton. --Bone a shoulder of mutton with a sharp knife, and fill the space with the following stuffing:-- grated bread, minced suet, parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg; bind with the yolks of 2 eggs well beaten. Sew or fasten it with small skewers; brown it in a frying-pan with a bit of butter. Break the bone, put it into a sauce-pan, with some water, an onion, pepper, salt, and a bunch of parsley; let it stew till the strength be extracted; strain, and thicken it with butter rolled in flour; put it, with the mutton, and a glass of port wine, into the sauce-pan; cover it closely, and let it stew gently for two hours. Before serving, add two tablespoonfuls of mushroom catsup. Garnish with pickles.

Or with Oysters. --Hang it some days, then salt it well for two days; bone it, and sprinkle it with pepper and a bit of mace pounded; lay some oysters over it, and roll the meat up tight and tie it; stew it in a small quantity of water, with an onion and a few peppercorns, till quite tender.

Have ready a little good gravy, and some oysters stewed in it, thickened with flour and butter. Take off the tape: pour the gravy over the mutton.

To Stew Mutton. --Cut some slices rather thick out of any part of mutton; put them into a stew-pan with some pepper


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and salt, an onion or two, a sliced carrot, and a little eschalot; cover the steaks with broth, and let them stew from twenty minutes to half an hour, but no longer, or they will become hard; cover the stew-pan close, and when the steaks are about half done, turn them. Before serving, add a little butter rolled in flour, and a spoonful or two of mushroom catsup.

Or:--Cut some slices from an underdone leg of mutton, and put them into a sauce-pan to simmer with half a pint of good gravy, a teaspoonful of white sugar pounded, a small quantity of onion minced, a teacupful of port wine, some pepper and salt, and two or three cloves. This dish should not be allowed to simmer more than five or six minutes.

A Camp Dish. --Take any joint of mutton, put it into a pot with a good many onions cut small, and as many vegetables as can be obtained to add to it; 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 5 of port wine; season it with black and red pepper; add a spoonful of flour, and, if at hand, 4 dessert-spoonfuls of Harvey's sauce and essence of anchovies. Cover the meat with water, and let it stew one hour and a half; it should be stirred frequently to prevent it from burning, as there should be only water sufficient to cook it.

China Chilo. --Mince a pound of an undressed loin or leg of mutton, with or without a portion of its fat, mix with it two or three young lettuces shred small, a pint of young peas, a teaspoonful of salt, half as much pepper, four tablespoonsful of water, from two to three ounces of good butter, and, if the flavor be liked, a few green onions minced. Keep the whole well stirred with a fork, over a clear and gentle fire until it is quite hot, then place it closely covered by the side of the stove, or on a high trevet, that it may stew as softly as possible for a couple of hours. One or even two half-grown cucumbers, cut small by scoring the ends deeply as they are sliced, or a quarter-pint of minced mushrooms may be added with good effect; or a dessert-spoonful of currie-powder and a large chopped onion. A dish of boiled rice should be sent to table with it.

Mutton Cutlets. --Cut the best end of a neck of mutton into cutlets half an inch thick, and chop each bone short; flatten


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and trim them, scraping the end of the bone quite clean; brush them with egg, and cover them with crumbs, herbs, and seasoning, and fry them in hot fat; serve them with tomato sauce or any other piquant sauce.

With potato Purèe. --The cutlets should be dipped in clarified butter, then in crumbs, afterwards in yolk of egg, and again in crumbs; flatten them with a knife, and fry in hot fat as you would fish. The potatoes are to be boiled, rubbed through a hair-sieve, and worked up fine and light with a little butter and boiling cream; season with pepper, salt, and an atom of nutmeg; dish the cutlets round this purée, which must be softer than mashed potatoes.

For Côtelettes de Mouton en Ragoût. --Take off all the fat from the cutlets, dredge the meat with flour, and put them into a stewpan with the fat melted, a bundle of sweet herbs, and 2 shalots minced; let them brown, then strain the gravy, add a glass of wine, or a little lemon-juice, and one of Reading sauce; thicken, if necessary, and let the whole stew until very tender.

To dress Côtelettes de Mouton à la Polonaise. --Remove all the fat, put the meat into a covered stewpan, with a carrot and a turnip sliced, 2 onions, a bundle of sweet herbs, a little pepper and salt, and enough broth to moisten the whole; let it stew very gently until the meat is perfectly done, then take it out, strain the gravy, put it over a brisk fire, and reduce it to a glaze; then cover the cutlets with the glaze, and serve them up with tomato-sauce or a vegetable purée of any kind.

For Côtelettes à la Maintenon. --Cut and trim cutlets from a neck or loin of mutton; chop very finely a quantity of parsley, a little thyme, and a shalot; put them with butter into a stewpan,


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and fry the chops a little; then take out the chops; allow them to cool: add to the herbs some fresh parsley chopped and a few crumbs of bread, and seasoning; spread this over the cutlets with a knife, wrap them in buttered paper, and broil them over a slow fire. Serve a sauce piquant in a boat.

Or:--Cut them handsomely from the loin or back end of the neck; half fry them, and then cover them with herbs, crumbs of bread, and seasoning; lay this on very thickly and put them into a stewpan with a little gravy; stew until tender, then wrap them in writing-paper, and finish them on the gridiron.

To broil Mutton Cutlets (Entrée). --These may be taken from the loin, or the best end of the neck, but the former are generally preferred. Trim off a portion of the fat, or the whole of it, unless it be liked; pepper the cutlets, heat the gridiron, rub it with a bit of the mutton suet, broil them over a brisk fire, and turn them often until they are done: this, for the generality of eaters, will be in about 8 minutes if they are not more than half an inch thick, which they should not be. French cooks season them with pepper and salt, and give them a light coating of dissolved butter or of oil, before they are laid to the fire, and we have found the cutlets so managed extremely good.

Lightly broiled, seven or eight minutes. Well done, ten minutes.

Obs.--A cold Mâitre d'Hotel sauce may be laid under the cutlets when they are dished; or they may be served quite dry, or with brown gravy; or when none is at hand, with good melted butter seasoned with mushroom catsup, Cayenne, and Chili vinegar, or lemon juice.

Mutton Cutlets stewed in their own Gravy. --Trim the fat entirely from some cutlets taken from the loin; just dip them into cold water, dredge them moderately with pepper, and plentifully on both sides with flour; rinse a thick iron saucepan with spring-water, and leave a couple of table-spoonsful in it; arrange the cutlets in one flat layer, if it can be done conveniently, and place them over a very gentle fire; throw in a little salt when they begin to stew, and let them simmer as softly as possible, but without ceasing, from an hour and a quarter


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to an hour and a half. If dressed with great care, which they require, they will be equally tender, easy of digestion, and nutritious; and being at the same time free from every thing which can disagree with the most delicate stomach, the receipt will be found a valuable one for invalids. The mutton should be of good quality, but the excellence of the dish mainly depends on its being most gently stewed; for if allowed to boil quickly all the gravy will be dried up, and the meat will be unfit for table. The cutlets must be turned when they are half done: a couple of spoonsful of water or gravy may be added to them should they not yield sufficient moisture, but this is rarely needful. From one hour and a quarter to one hour and three-quarters.

Mutton Chops. --Cut the chops off a loin or the best end of a neck of mutton; pare off the fat, dip them in a beaten egg and strew over them grated bread, seasoned with salt and finely-minced parsley; then fry them in a little butter, and make a gravy, or broil them over coals, and butter them in a hot dish. Garnish them with fried parsley.

Rolled Mutton. --Bone a shoulder of mutton carefully, so as not to injure the skin, cut all the meat from the skin, mince it small, and season it highly with pepper, nutmeg, and a clove, some parsley, lemon thyme, sweet marjoram chopped, and a pounded onion, all well mixed, together with a well-beaten yolk of an egg; roll it up very tightly in the skin, tie it round, and bake it in an oven two or three hours, according to the size of the mutton. Make a gravy of the bones and parings, season with an onion, pepper and salt, strain and thicken it with flour and butter; add of vinegar, mushroom catsup, soy, and lemon pickle, a table-spoonful of each, and a tea-cupful of port wine; garnish with forcemeat balls, made of grated bread, and part of the mince.

Shoulder of Mutton Salted and Boiled. --Bone a shoulder of mutton, if large take 4 oz. of common salt, the same quantity of coarse sugar, mixed with a dessert-spoonful of pounded cloves, half that quantity of pepper, a little pounded mace and ginger; rub them well into the mutton, turning it every day for a week; then roll it up tight, and boil it gently for 3 or 4 hours in a quart of water, with a carrot, turnip, onion, and a


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bunch of sweet herbs. Serve it with some of its own gravy, thickened and highly flavored, or with any piquant sauce; or served up smothered with onions. This is very convenient to families who kill their own mutton. Captains of ships are recommended, when they have fresh mutton, to tow it over board for some hours, and then lay it up in the shrouds. It will then be coated with briny particles which will effectually keep in all the juices.

Neck of Mutton. --Is particularly useful, as many dishes may be made of it. The best end of the neck may be boiled for 1 1/2 hour, and served with turnips; or roasted; dressed in steaks; in pies; à-la-Turc; or en haricôt.

The scrag may be stewed into broth; or with a small quantity of water, some small onions, a few peppercorns, and a little rice, and served together.

When a neck is to be boiled to look particularly nice, saw down the chine-bone, strip the ribs half-way down, chop off the ends of the bones about 4 inches, and turn the flap under. The skin should not be taken off till boiled, and then the fat will remain white. The neck is very commonly divided, the "scrag" being boiled for broth, and the remaining part either roasted or cut into chops; but, if boiled together, the scrag will require rather more stewing than the other part to make it tender. If only slightly salted, for 2 or 3 days, the fat will be so much improved as to become firm and appear clarified; and the mode which we recommend for dressing the joint is thus:--

Boil the neck very gently until it is nearly done enough; then, 1/2 an hour or 20 minutes before serving, cover it thickly with bread-crumbs and sweet herbs chopped, with a little drawn butter or the yolk of an egg, and put it into a Dutch oven before the fire. By this process the meat will taste much better than if merely roasted or boiled; the dryness attendant upon roasting will be removed, and the disagreeable greasiness which boiled meat--mutton especially--exhibits, will utterly disappear. Too much cannot be said in favor of this method of dressing the neck and breast of mutton, for the liquor they have been boiled in, if stewed with peas, will make a very good soup.

To Harrico a Neck of Mutton. --Roast it till nearly done,


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then cut it into cutlets, and stew it in a well-seasoned gravy, adding, cut like straws an inch long, the red part of two or three carrots and some turnips.

Irish Stew. --Take two pounds of neck or loin chops; peel and slice two pounds of potatoes, and half a pound of large onions; first put into a stewpan a layer of potatoes, then chops and onions, and so on, till full, sprinkling pepper and salt upon each layer; then pour in cold water or broth, cover the pan, and stew over a very slow fire for an hour and a half, or until the meat be done. Before serving, add two table-spoonsful of mushroom catsup.

Hotch-Potch. --Stew peas, onions and carrots, in a very little water, with a beef or ham bone. In the meantime, fry mutton or lamb chops, lean, of a nice brown; then stew them with the vegetables for about half an hour. Serve all together in a tureen.

Hotch-potch may also be made with any two sorts of meat, stewed with vegetables, as above; to which may be added rice, and thickening of butter and flour.

Sheep's Tongues. --Boil them till the skin can be taken off; split them, and put them into a stewpan, with some gravy, parsley, mushrooms, and a minced shalot, and some butter, pepper, and salt; stew till tender, and strain the gravy over them: or they may be glazed, and served with the gravy under them.

Sheep's tongues may also be skinned, larded, braised, and glazed: and served with onion sauce.

Sheep's Heart. --Take a Sheep's Heart and stuff it throughout, using a considerable quantity of chopped bacon in the stuffing; half boil it, and when cooled a little rub it over with pepper and salt, and wrap it in paste in the shape of a cone. Rub the paste over with the yolk of an egg, and strew vermicelli loosely over it. Set it with the broad end downwards and bake it in the oven. When baked, send it to table with gravy sauce.

Sheep's Kidneys Broiled. --Wash and dry some nice kidneys, cut them in half, and with a small skewer keep them open in


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imitation of two shells, season them with salt and pepper, and dip them into a little fresh melted butter. Broil first the side that is cut, and be careful not to let the gravy drop in taking them off the gridiron. Serve them in a hot dish, with finely chopped parsley mixed with melted butter, the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt, putting a little upon each kidney.

This is an excellent breakfast for a sportsman.

Sheep's Trotters. --Boil the trotters, or rather stew them gently, for several hours, until the bones will come out. The liquor they are boiled in will make excellent stock or jelly. Take out the bones without injury to the skin, stuff them with fine forcemeat; stew them for half an hour in some of the stock, which must be well flavored with onion, seasoning, and a little sauce; take out the trotters, strain the sauce, reduce it to a glaze, and brush it over the feet. Serve with any stewed vegetable.

Or:--Prepare them in the same way, and dip them in a batter and fry them. The paste, or batter, for frying, is best made thus: mix 4 spoonsful of flour with 1 of olive-oil, and a sufficient quantity of beer to make it of the proper thickness; then add the whites of 2 eggs well beaten and a little salt. Serve with tomato-sauce.

Or:--Simply boil them, and eat them cold with oil and vinegar.

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> CHAPTER X.

LAMB.

To choose and cook Lamb--Saddle, Roasted--To bone Lamb--To stew--Breast, Loin, Shoulder grilled--To boil a Leg, Neck, or Breast--Lamb's Head--Lamb Chops--Blanquette d' Agneau--Sweetbread--Fry.

[Illustration: An illustration of a lamb with various parts labeled with numbers. These numbers correspond to the list below.]

1. Leg,

2. Shoulder,

3. Loin, Best End,

4. Loin, Chump End,

5. Neck, Best End,

6. Breast,

7. Neck, Scrag End,

NOTE.--A Chine is two Loins: and a Saddle is two Loins, and two Necks of the Best End.

LAMB is a delicate and tender meat; but it requires to be kept a few days, when the weather will permit--and should be thoroughly cooked to be healthful. Never take lamb or veal from the spit till the gravy that drops is white.

The fore-quarter of lamb consists of the shoulder, the neck, and the breast together; the hind-quarter is the leg and loin. There are also the head and pluck, the fry, sweetbreads, skirts, and liver.

In choosing the fore-quarter, the vein in the neck should be ruddy, or of a bluish color. In the hind-quarter, the knuckle should feel stiff, the kidney small, and perfectly fresh. To


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keep it, the joints should be carefully wiped every day, and in warm weather, sprinkled with a little salt.

The fore quarter is the prime joint, and, if weighing 10 lbs., will require about two hours roasting. In serving, remove the shoulder from the ribs, put between them a lump of butter, sprinkle with pepper and salt, lemon or Seville orange juice; and when the butter is melted, take off the shoulder, and put it into another dish. A hind-quarter, of 8 lbs., will require from one hour and three-quarters to two hours roasting.

A leg of lamb, of 6 lbs., will require an hour and a half roasting.

A shoulder of lamb, an hour.

Ribs, from an hour to an hour and a quarter.

Loin, of 4 lbs., an hour.

Neck, of 3 lbs, three-quarters of an hour.

Breast, three-quarters of an hour.

The gravy for lamb is made as for beef and mutton: it is served with mint sauce; and a joint, to be eaten cold, should be sprinkled with chopped parsley when taken up.

To Roast Lamb. --The hind quarter of lamb usually weighs from 7 to 10 pounds: this size will take about two hours to roast it. Have a brisk fire.

It must be very frequently basted while roasting, and sprinkled with a little salt, and dredged all over with flour, about half an hour before it is done.

Fore Quarter of Lamb. --A fore quarter of lamb is cooked the same way, but takes rather less time, if the same weight, than the hind quarter; because it is a thinner joint: one of nine pounds ought to be allowed two hours.

Leg of Lamb. --A leg of lamb of four pounds' weight will take about an hour and a quarter; if five pounds, nearly one hour and a half; a shoulder of four pounds, will be roasted in an hour, or a very few minutes over.

Ribs of Lamb. --Ribs of lamb are thin, and require great care to do gently at first, and brisker as it is finishing; sprinkle it with a little salt, and dredge it slightly with flour, about twenty minutes before it is done. It will take an hour,


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or longer, according to thickness. Gravy for this and other joints of roast lamb, is made as directed elsewhere.

Loin, Neck, and Breast of Lamb. --A loin of lamb will be roasted in about an hour and a quarter; a neck in an hour; and a breast in three quarters of an hour. Do not forget to salt and flour these joints about twenty minutes before they are done.

Garnish and Vegetables for Roast Lamb. --All joints of roast lamb may be garnished with double parsley, and served up with either asparagus and new potatoes, spring spinach and new potatoes, green peas and new potatoes, or with cauliflowers or French beans and potatoes: and never forget to send up mint sauce.

Obs.--The following will be found an excellent receipt for mint sauce. With 3 heaped tablespoonsful of finely-chopped young mint, mix 2 of pounded and sifted sugar, and 6 of the best vinegar: stir it until the sugar is dissolved.

To bone a quarter of Lamb. --Take the fore quarter, remove the shoulder, and take out the bone; stuff it with fine forcement, and skewer it in a handsome shape. Braise it with 2 oz. of butter, add a teacupful of water, stirring the braise until the gravy is drawn. Then cut the brisket into pieces, and stew them in white gravy; thicken it with cream and eggs so that it shall be very white; cut the long bones into chops and fry them; thicken the gravy of the braise, add to it haricots, minced truffles, or anything else of vegetable in season. Place the shoulder in the centre of a dish with its own sauce, lay the brisket covered with white sauce round it, and place the fried chops at the edge.

To Stew Lamb. --A quarter of lamb may be stewed by putting it into a stew-pan with a little oil, parsley, chives, and mushrooms, together with some slices of bacon. Let it stew gently in any kind of broth, and when thoroughly done take it out, strain the gravy, and serve the joint along with the mushrooms only. To be well done it will require 4 hours in stewing.

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For a breast of Lamb. -- Cut off the thin ends, half boil, then strew with crumbs of bread, pepper, and salt, and serve in a dish of stewed mushrooms.

Cut a Loin of Lamb into steaks, pare off the skin and part of the fat, fry it in butter a pale brown, pour away the fat, and put in boiling water enough to cover the meat, a little pepper and salt, a little nutmeg, half a pint of green peas, cover it down, and let it stew gently for half an hour.

To stew a Breast of Lamb. --Cut it into pieces, season them with pepper and salt, and stew them in weak gravy: when tender, thicken the sauce, and add a glass of white wine. Cucumbers, sliced and stewed in gravy, may be served with the lamb, the same being poured over it. Or, the lamb may be served in a dish of stewed mushrooms.

To Grill a Shoulder of Lamb. --Half-boil it, score it, and cover it with egg, crumbs, and parsley, seasoned as for cutlets. Broil it over a very clear, slow fire, or put it in a Dutch oven to brown it: serve with any sauce that is liked. A breast of lamb is often grilled in the same way.

To boil a Leg of Lamb. --This is considered a delicate joint in the very first families. It should be put into a pot with cold water just enough to cover it, and very carefully skimmed so long as the least appearance of scum rises.

This joint should not be suffered to boil fast, for on its being gently boiled depends all its goodness, and the delicate white appearance it should have when served up.

A leg of four or five pounds weight, will take about one hour and a half, reckoning from the time it comes to a boil.

A boiled leg of lamb may be served up with either green peas, or cauliflower, or young French beans, asparagus, or spinach, and potatoes, which for lamb should always be of a small size.

Parsley and butter for the joint, and plain melted butter for the vegetables, are the proper sauces for boiled lamb.

To boil a neck of Breast of Lamb. --Those are small delicate joints, and therefore suited only for a very small family. The neck must be washed in warm water, and all the blood carefully cleaned away.

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Either of these joints should be put into cold water, well skimmed, and very gently boiled till done. Half an hour will be about sufficient for either of them, reckoning from the time they come to a boil.

To dress Lamb's Head. --Take care that the butcher chops it well through, and cuts out all the nostril bones: when you cook it, take out the brains, lay them into a basin of cold water, and well clean the head in water just milk warm.

When thus cleaned, tie the head up in a sweet clean cloth, and put it into a pot with just enough cold water to cover it. Let it come to a boil very gradually, and take care to remove all the scum as fast as it rises.

It will take about one hour very gentle boiling.

A quarter of an hour before the head is done, pick off the thin black skin from among the brains, wash them clean, tie them up with one or two clean sage leaves in a piece of muslin rag, and let them boil ten minutes.

Then take up the head, just cut out the tongue, skin it, and return it to the head, keeping both warm in the hot cloth and hot water they were boiled in.

Next take up the brains, throw away the sage leaves, and chop up the brains, mixing among them one tablespoonful of parsley and butter, and a small pinch of salt; just give them a gentle warm up in the butter sauce-pan, taking great care they do not boil; lay them round the tongue in a small warm dish, and the head in another dish larger and warm.

A sheep's head may be dressed in the same way.

Lamb chops. --Take a loin of lamb, cut chops from it half an inch thick, retaining the kidney in its place; dip them into egg and bread-crumbs, fry and serve with fried parsley.

When chops are made from a breast of lamb, the red bone at the edge of the breast should be cut off, and the breast parboiled in water or broth, with a sliced carrot and 2 or 3 onions, before it is divided into cutlets, which is done by cutting between every second or third bone, and preparing them, in every respect, as the last.

If house-lamb steaks are to be done white--stew them in milk and water till very tender, with a bit of lemon-peel, a little salt, some pepper and mace. Have ready some veal-gravy, and put the steaks into it; mix some mushroom-powder, a cup


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of cream, and the least bit of flour; shake the steaks in this liquor, stir it, and let it get quite hot, but not boil. Just before you take it up, put in a few white mushrooms.

If brown--season them with pepper, salt, nutmeg, grated lemon-peel, and chopped parsley; but dip them first into egg: fry them quickly. Thicken some gravy with a bit of flour and butter, and add to it a spoonful of port wine.

Blanquette d'Agneau. White Fricassee of Lamb. --Cut the best part of the breast of small lamb into square pieces of 2 inches each: wash, dry, and flour them. Having boiled 4 oz. of butter, 1 of fat bacon, and some parsley, 10 minutes, put the meat to it: add the juice of half a lemon, an onion cut small, pepper and salt. Simmer it 2 hours; then add the yolks of 2 eggs, shake the pan over the fire 2 minutes, and serve.

Lamb Dressed with Rice. --Half roast a small fore quarter, cut it into steaks; season them with a little salt and pepper; lay them into a dish, and pour in a little water. Boil a pound of rice with a blade or two of mace; strain it, and stir in a good piece of fresh butter, and a little salt, add also the greater part of the yolk of four eggs beaten; cover the lamb with the rice, and with a feather put over it the remainder of the beaten eggs. Bake it in an oven till it has acquired a light brown color.

Lamb's Sweetbreads. --Blanch them, and put them into cold water. Then put them into a stewpan, with a ladleful of broth, some pepper and salt, a small bunch of button onions, and a blade of mace: stir in a bit of butter and flour, and stew half an hour. Have ready the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs well beaten in cream, with a little minced parsley and a few grates of nutmeg. Put in some boiled asparagus-tops to the other things. Do not let it boil after the cream is in; but make it hot, and stir it well all the time. Take great care it does not curdle. French beans or peas may be added, but they should be very young.

Lamb's Fry. --This is sweetbreads, skirts, and a portion of the liver. Flour, and season it, and fry plain; or, dip the fry in egg, and strew crumbs over it before frying: serve fried parsley with it, and either of the sauces directed for cutlets. Pork and venison fries are similarly dressed.

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> CHAPTER XI.

VENISON.

To Choose and Cook--Haunch of Venison Roasted--Neck and Shoulder--Venison Steaks--To Stew Venison.

BUCK and Doe Venison are cut up nearly like mutton. The joints are,--

[Illustration: An illustration of a deer with various parts of the body numbered. The numbers correspond to the list below.]

1. Haunch.

2. Neck.

3. Shoulder.

4. Breast.

The fat should be clear, bright, and thick; and if the cleft of the haunch be smooth and close, it is young; but if the


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cleft is close and tough, it is old. To judge of its sweetness, run a very sharp narrow knife into the shoulder or haunch, and you will know by the scent. Few people like it when it has much of the haut-goût; but it bears keeping better than any sort of meat, and if eaten fresh killed it is not so good as mutton. Observe the neck of a fore-quarter; if the vein be bluish, it is fresh; if it have a green or yellow cast, it is stale. In the hind-quarter, if there is a faint smell under the kidney, and the knuckle is limp, the meat is stale. If the eyes be sunk,, the head is not fresh. The haunch is the finest joint. The kernel in the fat, as in the leg of mutton, should be taken out; the part should then be wiped dry, and ground pepper and ginger rubbed on the inside, to keep the flies from it. The neck is the next best joint, and merely requires wiping dry with a clean cloth. The shoulder and breast are mostly used in two or three days for pasties; but sometimes the shoulder is roasted as the haunch.

To Roast a Haunch of Venison. --Cut off the knuckle, trim the flap, and remove the thick skin on the flank; nick the joint at the cramp-bone. Spit it, rub it over with butter, sprinkle well with salt, cover it with a sheet of very thin paper, then with a paste of flour and water, and again with paper; tie it up well with a stout string laced across it; baste it all the time it is roasting. Let it cook about 4 or 5 hours. A quarter of an hour before serving it, remove the paste, throw a handful of salt on it, dredge it with flour and baste with a little fresh butter.

The gravy should be made as follows: cut two or three pounds of the scrag, or the lean of a loin of old mutton, brown it on a gridiron, and put it into a saucepan with a quart of water; cover it closely, and simmer for an hour; then uncover it, and stew the gravy to a pint; season only with salt, and color brown, and strain.

Another, but much more expensive gravy, is made with a pint of port wine, a pint of strong mutton gravy, as above, and a table-spoonful of currant jelly; let these merely boil up. Or much less wine and more jelly may be used. Seasoned beef gravy is sometimes preferred to mutton gravy.

If the plain gravy only is chosen, cold currant jelly should be served in a side dish, or boat. Vegetables--French beans and potatoes.

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Venison should be served in a metal dish, with a lamp beneath it, else it will soon grow cold.

Neck and Shoulder of Venison. --Roast, as the haunch, but with the paste laid on thinner, from two to three hours; and serve as the haunch. A neck is best spitted by putting three skewers through it, and then passing the spit between the skewers and the bones: the top of the ribs should be cut out, and the flap doubled under, as in a neck of mutton for boiling.

Breast of venison may be dressed as above, or baked with mutton gravy, and, when cold, cut up and made into pasty.

Venison, like all wild meats, requires less cooking than tame.

Venison Steaks. --Cut them from the neck; season them with pepper and salt. Heat the gridiron well over a bed of bright coals, and grease the bars; lay the steaks on it; broil them well, turning them once, and save as much of the gravy as possible. Serve them with some currant jelly laid on each steak.

To Stew cold Venison. --Cut the meat in small slices, and put the trimmings and bones into a saucepan, with barely enough water to cover them. Let them stew 2 hours. Strain the liquor in a stew-pan; add to it some bits of butter rolled in flour, and whatever gravy was left of the venison. Stir in some currant jelly, and let it boil half an hour. Then put in the meat, and keep it over the fire long enough to heat it through, but do not let it boil.

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> CHAPTER XII.

PORK.

General Directions--Lard--To roast Pork--Sauce for the Roast--Loin--Head--Shoulder--Chine--Spare-rib--Pork Cutlets--Steaks--Pork Cheese--Pork and Beans--To boil Pork--To cook Pig--Hams--Bacon--Sausages, &c.

[Illustration: An illustration of a pig with various body parts numbered. The numbers correspond to the list below.]

1. The Spare Rib,

2. Hand,

3. Belly, or Spring,

4. Fore Loin,

5. Hind Loin,

6. Leg.

To choose Pork. --This meat is so proverbially, and we believe even dangerously unwholesome when ill fed, or in any degree diseased, that its quality should be closely examined before it is purchased. When not home-fatted, it should be bought, if possible, of some respectable farmer, or miller, unless the butcher who supplies it can be perfectly relied on. Both the fat and lean should be very white, and the latter finely grained; the rind should be thin, smooth, and cool to the touch; if it be clammy, the pork is stale, and should be at once rejected; it ought also to be scrupulously avoided when the fat, instead of being quite clear of all blemish, is full of small kernels, which are indicative of disease.

The manner of cutting up the pork varies in different counties, and also according to the purposes for which it is intended. The legs are either made into hams, or slightly salted


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for a few days and boiled; they are also sometimes roasted when the pork is not large nor coarse, with a savory forcemeat inserted between the skin and flesh of the knuckle.

The part of the shoulder called the hand, is also occasionally pickled in the same way as hams and bacon, or it may be salted and boiled, but it is too sinewy for roasting. After these and the head have been taken off, the remainder, without further division than being split down the back, may be converted into whole sides or flitches, as they are usually called, of bacon; but when the meat is large, and required in part for various other purposes, a chine may be taken out, and the fat pared off the bones of the ribs and loins for bacon; the thin part of the body converted into pickled pork, and the ribs and other bones roasted, or made into pies or sausages. The feet, which are generally salted down for immediate use, are excellent if laid for two or three weeks into the same pickle as the hams, then well covered with cold water, and slowly boiled until tender.

The loins of young and delicate pork are roasted with the skin on; and this is scored in regular stripes of about a quarter of an inch wide with the point of a sharp knife, before the joints are laid to the fire. The skin of the leg also is just cut through in the same manner. This is done to prevent its blistering, and to render it more easy to carve, as the skin (or crackling) becomes so crisp and hard in the cooking, that it is otherwise sometimes difficult to divide it.

To be at any time fit for table, pork must be perfectly sweet, and thoroughly cooked; great attention also should be given to it when it is in pickle, for if any part of it be long exposed to the air, without being turned into, or well and frequently basted with the brine, it will often become tainted during the process of curing it.

To Melt Lard. --Strip the skin from the inside fat of a freshly killed and well-fed pig; slice it small and thin; put it into a new or well-scalded jar, set it into a pan of boiling water, and let it simmer over a clear fire. As it dissolves, strain it into small stone jars, or deep earthen pans, and when perfectly cold, tie over it the skin that was cleared from the lard, or bladders which have been thoroughly washed and wiped very dry. Lard thus prepared is extremely pure in flavor, and keeps perfectly well, if stored in a cool place; it may be used with advantage


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in making pastry, as well as for frying fish, and for various other purposes. It is better to keep the last drainings of the fat apart from that which is first poured off, as it will not be quite so fine in quality.

To Preserve Unmelted Lard for many months. --It may be kept well during the summer months by rubbing fine salt rather plentifully upon it when it is first taken from the pig, and leaving it for a couple of days; it should then be well drained, and covered with a strong brine: this, in warmer weather, should be changed occasionally. When wanted for use, lay it into cold water for two or three hours, then wipe it dry, and it will have quite the effect of the fresh leaf when made into paste.

Inner fat of pig, 6 lbs.; fine salt, 1/2 to 3/4 lb.: 2 days. Brine, to each quart of water, 6 ozs. salt.

To roast a Leg of Pork. --Cut a slit near the knuckle, and fill the space with sage and onion, chopped fine, and seasoned with pepper and salt, with or without bread-crumbs. Rub sweet oil on the skin, to prevent it blistering and make the crackling crisp; and the outer rind may be scored with lines, about half an inch apart. If the leg weigh seven or eight pounds, it will require from two and a half to three hours' roasting before a strong fire. Serve with apple-sauce and potatoes; which are likewise eaten with all joints of roasted pork.

If the stuffing be liked mild, scald the onions before chopping them.

If pork is not stuffed, you may serve it up with sage and onion sauce, as well as apple-sauce, which should always accompany roast pork, whether it is stuffed or not; and also with mustard.

Roast leg of pork must always be served up with plenty of nicely boiled potatoes.

To make Sage and Onion sauce. --Chop fine as much green sage leaves as will fill a dessert-spoon after they are chopped, and chop as much onion very fine as will fill a table-spoon after it is chopped, and let them simmer gently in a butter saucepan, with four table-spoonsful of water, for ten minutes; then add half a tea-spoonful of pepper, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and one ounce of grated bread crumbs: when these are


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well mixed, pour to them a quarter of a pint of thin melted butter, or as much gravy, and let the sauce simmer a few minutes, stirring it all the time, and serve it up hot in a sauce tureen.

To make Apple-sauce. --Pare, quarter, and core five or six large apples into a saucepan, with three table-spoonsful of water, cover the saucepan close, and place it over a slow fire two hours before you want the sauce. When the apples are done quite soft, pour off the water, and beat them up with a piece of butter the size of a nutmeg, and a dessert-spoonful of powdered lump-sugar. The apples must be tried while they are stewing, to know when they are quite soft; for some kinds of apples will take a longer time than others. Some persons use moist sugar.

The Spring, or Fore-loin of Pork. --Cut out the bone, and, in its place, put a stuffing of sage and onion, made as directed for roast pork. Skewer it in the joint; hang it down to a moderate fire, and allow it about twenty minutes to a pound; but you must give a little more or less time, according to its thickness, more than to its weight: only do it slowly till rather more than half done; and finish it off with a brisker fire. Serve it up with potatoes and apple sauce; same as the leg.

Loin and Neck of Pork. --Simmer the best end of either of the joints till nearly fit for the table, strip off the skin, put it into a cradle-spit, wet it all over with yolks of eggs, and cover it thickly with crumbs of bread, sweet herbs and chives chopped fine for stuffing, and seasoned with pepper and salt. It will get a good brown in about half an hour.

Either of them may also be rolled.--Bone it: put a forcemeat of chopped sage, a very few crumbs of bread, salt, pepper, and two or three berries of allspice, over the inside; then roll the meat as tight as you can, and roast it slowly, and at a good distance at first from the fire.

To parboil it before the herbs are put on will be an improvement.

A hand of pork may likewise be boned, stuffed, rolled, and roasted, as above.

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To roast a Porker's Head. --Clean it, and take out the eyes and snout; stuff it with sage and bread crumbs, seasoned, sew it up firmly, and roast it before a quick fire, or bake it.

Pig's head may be stuffed as above, or with onions, and baked.

Belly of Pork. --Lovers of pork are very fond of having the belly part of a porker, either fresh or salted, strewed thickly over the inside with sage, sweet herbs, and minced eschalots, then rolled, tied tightly together, and either baked or roasted.

Shoulders and Breasts of Pork. --Put them into pickle, or salt the shoulder as a ham; cut accordingly. When very nice, they may be roasted.

Chine of Pork. --The chine is more usually salted, and served as an accompaniment to roast turkey. Salt the chine for three days, roast it, and serve it up with sauce made thus: Fry in oil or butter two or three sliced onions until they take color; then pour off the oil, and add some gravy-sauce, chopped mushrooms, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, with one teaspoonful of made mustard. Give the whole a boil, and serve it up in the dish.

To roast a Spare-rib of Pork. --A spare-rib of 8 or 9 lbs. weight will require from 2 to 3 hours roasting; though the time depends more upon the thickness than the weight: if it be very thin, it will be done in half the above time. On putting it down, baste it with a little butter; and, about 20 minutes before it is done, dry a few sage leaves, rub them to powder, mix salt and pepper with them, and sprinkle over the pork.

The griskin may be roasted as above: if of 7 or 8 lbs. weight, it will require an hour and a half.

To broil or fry Pork Cutlets. --Cut them about half an inch thick from a delicate loin of pork, trim them into neat form, and take off part of the fat, or the whole of it when it is not liked; dredge a little pepper or Cayenne upon them, and broil them over a clear and moderate fire from 15 to 18 minutes, sprinkle a little fine salt upon them just before they are dished. They may be dipped into egg and then into bread crumbs


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mixed with minced sage, then finished in the usual way. When fried, flour them well, and season them with salt and pepper first. Serve them with gravy made in the pan, or with sauce Robert.

Pork Cutlets and Tomato Sauce. --Cut the bone out of pork chops, and trim off part of the fat, fry them delicately, and drain them; then simmer them a few minutes in a stew-pan with tomato sauce, made as follows:--Chop a shalot very fine; put it into a small stew-pan, with a little vinegar, simmer, and add some tomato sauce, with brown gravy, to taste: dish the chops with the sauce in the middle, and round them. Or, the cutlets may be fried with bread crumbs, and served upon tomato sauce.

Blade-bone of Pork.--Broil it, and when done, pepper and salt it; rub over it a piece of butter, and serve very hot.

Pork Steaks. --Cut them off a neck or loin; trim them neatly, and pepper them; broil them over a clear fire, turning them frequently; they will take 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt when put in the plate, and add a small piece of butter.

Italian Pork Cheese. --Chop, not very fine, 1 lb. of lean pork with 2 lbs. of the inside fat; strew over and mix thoroughly with them 3 tea-spoonsful of salt, nearly half as much pepper, a half-tea-spoonful of mixed parsley, thyme, and sage (and sweet basil, if it can be procured), all minced extremely small. Press the meat closely and evenly into a shallow tin, and bake it in a very gentle oven from an hour to an hour and a half: it is served cold, in slices. Should the proportion of fat be considered too much, it can be diminished on a second trial.

Pork and beans is an economical dish, but it does not agree with weak stomachs. Put a quart of beans into two quarts of cold water, and let them stand all night near the fire. In the morning, pour off the water, rinse them well with two or three waters poured over them in a colander. Take a pound of rather lean pork, salted, score the rind, then place the beans just covered with water in the kettle, and keep them hot an hour or two; then drain off the water, sprinkle a little pepper and a teaspoonful of salt over the beans: place them in a well glazed earthen pot, not very wide at the top, put the pork down


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in the beans, till the rind only appears; fill the pot with water till it just reaches the top of the beans; put it in a brisk oven and bake three or four hours.

Stewed beans and pork are prepared the same way, only they are kept over the fire for three or four hours instead of in the oven.

To Boil a Leg of Pork. --Pickled pork takes more time to boil than other meat. If you buy your pork ready salted, ask how many days it has been in salt; if many, it will require to be soaked in water before you dress it. When you cook it, wash and scrape it as clean as possible; when delicately dressed, it is a favorite dish with almost every body. Take care it does not boil fast; if it does, the knuckle will break to pieces, before the thick part of the meat is warm through; a leg of seven pounds takes three hours and a half very slow simmering. Skim your pot very carefully, and do not allow any scum to settle on the meat. The proper vegetables are parsnips, potatoes, turnips, or carrots. Some like cabbage; but it is a strong, rank vegetable, and does not agree with a delicate stomach. It should not be given to children.

Pork Cheeks. --Divide the head, clean it, and take away the snout, eyes, and brains. Salt it with common salt and salt-petre for eight or ten days, when it will be fit to boil for two hours. Or, the cheek may be salted only three or four days, and then washed, and simmered with peas till tender.

Sukking-Pigs: to Scald a Sucking-Pig. --The moment the pig is killed, put it into cold water for a few minutes; then rub it over with a little resin, beaten extremely small, and put it into a pail of scalding water half a minute; take it out, lay it on a table, and pull off the hair as quickly as possible: if any part does not come off, put it on again. When quite clean, wash it with warm water, and then in two or three cold waters, that no flavor of the resin may remain. Take off the feet at the first joint; make a slit down the belly and take out the entrails: put the liver, heart, and lights, to the feet. Wash the pig well in cold water, dry it thoroughly, and fold it in a wet cloth to keep it from the air.

Roast Pig. --A sucking pig is nicest when about three weeks


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old; and should, if possible, be dressed the same day it is killed; one of this age will take about two hours to roast.

The most particular thing in dressing a sucking pig is carefully to cleanse thoroughly; to do which you must take the wax out of the ears, and the dirt from the nostrils, by using a small skewer covered with a bit of thin rag, which you must wipe off upon a clean dish-cloth; then take out the eyes with a fork or a sharp-pointed knife, clean the tongue, gums, and lips, by scraping them with a clean knife, and wiping them, being careful not to cut them, and with your hand up the inside of the throat, take out all the clotted blood and loose pieces you will find there; and lastly, you must cleanse the other end of the pig also most carefully, by putting a thick skewer covered with a piece of rag through from the inside, so as to push everything out at the tail, which generally comes out with a small portion of the pipe with it, wiping the inside of the pig clean with a damp cloth; and unless all this is done by the cook, a sucking pig cannot be very nice; and for want of knowing how to do it, they are frequently brought to table not far from offensive: for butchers and porkmen never do clean them properly, whatever they may tell you, or promise you.

When all this is done, and the stuffing sewed into the belly, (to make which, see the two following receipts,) wipe the outside of the pig, and rub it well all over with a table-spoonful of salad oil or fresh butter, (but oil is the best,) cover the loins with a piece of greased writing-paper, and hang it down to a pretty good fire, giving most of the heat to the rump and shoulders, as they require more doing than the loin part; therefore, when the loin is done enough, put the ends to the fire to finish them. While it is roasting, you must baste it well, very frequently, with nice sweet dripping, to keep the skin from blistering, till within about 20 minutes of its being done, when you must take the paper off, and baste it with a little butter.

When you serve up the pig, the two sides must be laid back to back in the dish, with half the head on each side, and one ear at each end, all with the crackling side upwards. Garnish the dish with slices of lemon; and serve it up with rich gravy in one sauce-tureen, and with brain sauce, or bread sauce, in another.

To make Stuffing for a Sucking-Pig. --Chop fine or crumble two dozen good-sized clean sage leaves, four ounces of stale


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crumb of bread grated, and one ounce of butter, broken into small pieces; mix them well together with a tea-spoonful of pepper, and half as much salt; put all into the belly of the pig, and sew it up.

Another way to make Stuffing for a Pig. --Chop fine or crumble two dozen good sized clean sage leaves, and mix them with half a small salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and half a tea-spoonful of salt; then cut four slices of crumb of bread and butter, about four inches long, two wide, and a quarter of an inch thick; roll the bread and butter in the herbs and seasoning, and put them into the pig, and sew it up.

To make Brain Sauce. --Before the pig is served up, put it into a dish, cut off the head, and cut the pig down the middle into two parts; then cut off the ears, and cut the head in two, take out the brains, chop them very fine with about a table-spoonful of the stuffing taken from the inside of the pig, and all the gravy which runs from the pig when it is cut; put it all into a saucepan, with a large table-spoonful of melted butter, give it a warm up, stirring it all the time, and send it up in a sauce tureen.

To Bake a Sucking-Pig. --A sucking-pig is one of the few things which is rather nicer baked than roasted. You must clean and stuff it, and prepare it exactly the same as for roasting, except that you must mix the yolk of a raw egg with the table-spoonful of salad-oil, and rub it well all over the pig; cover the ears with well buttered paper; allow two or three ounces of butter, to baste it with. For a baked pig, you must make gravy, and sauce, and send it to table in every thing the same as directed for roast pig.

It takes about two hours to bake.

To choose Ham. --Stick a sharp knife under the bone, and also up to the knuckle. If it comes out with a pleasant smell, the ham is good; but do not buy it if the knife has a bad scent. Hams short in the hock are best; nore should long-legged pigs be chosen for any purpose.

If the rind be thin, the fat firm and of a reddish tinge, the lean tender, of a good color, and adhering to the bone, you


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may conclude it is good and not old. If there are yellow streaks in it, it is rusty.

All hams require soaking and scraping before they are dressed, to make them clean and tender. An old dry ham should be laid to steep in cold water about twenty-four hours; though half that time may be enough for a small ham, or one that is not very dry. When the ham has steeped long enough, take it out of the water, cut off all the ragged, rusty, or decayed parts, from the sides and under part, and make it perfectly clean all over, by a nice and careful scraping. Put it into a pot with enough cold water completely to cover it about two inches, but not more, and let it be heated slowly, so that it may be an hour and a half to two hours before it begins to boil. It must be well skimmed so long as any scum will arise, and then covered close down and kept simmering very gently till it is done. From four to five hours gently boiling will in general be enough for a ham that weighs fifteen or sixteen pounds, reckoning from the time it comes to a boil, but allowances must be made for the thickness or thinness of the ham, and for the time it has been kept. If the ham is thin, you must allow rather less time.

When the ham is done, the skin should be carefully peeled off, without breaking, if possible, as it will serve to cover the ham, and keep it moist, when it is put by. As soon as you have pulled off the skin, coat the top of the ham over with brown raspings, by rasping over it a little of the crust from the bottom side of a loaf. Then trim and wipe the knuckle, and wrap round it a piece of writing paper, fringed, to hold it by in carving.

The dish may be garnished with either thin slices of turnips or carrots, or slices of lemon.

If the ham is not to be cut till it is cold, it should be allowed to boil gently half an hour longer than if it is intended to be cut while hot.

Another Way. --We have seen the following manner of boiling a ham recommended, but we have not tried it:--"Put into the water in which it is to be boiled, a quart of old cider and a pint of vinegar, a large bunch of sweet herbs, and a bay-leaf. When it is two-thirds done, skin, cover it with raspings, and set it in an oven until it is done enough: it will prove incomparably superior to a ham boiled in the usual way."

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A good Flavoring for Gravies and Soups. --The gravy which runs out of ham when it is cut, is called essence of ham, and should be very carefully saved to flavor soups or gravies.

French Receipt for Boiling a Ham. --After having soaked, thoroughly cleaned, and trimmed the ham, put over it a little very sweet clean hay, and tie it up in a thin cloth; place it in a ham kettle, a braising pan, or any other vessel as nearly of its size as can be, and cover it with two parts of cold water, and one of light white wine (we think the reader will perhaps find cider,a good substitute for this); add, when it boils and has been skimmed, four or five carrots, two or three onions, a large bunch of savory herbs, and the smallest bit of garlic. Let the whole simmer gently from four to five hours, or longer should the ham be very large. When perfectly tender, lift it out, take off the rind, and sprinkle over it some fine crumbs, or some raspings of bread mixed with a little finely minced parsley.

To Bake a Ham. --Unless when too salt, from not being sufficiently soaked, a ham (particularly a young and fresh one) eats much better baked than boiled, and remains longer good. The safer plan is to lay it into plenty of cold water over night. The following day soak it for an hour or more in warm water, wash it delicately clean, trim smoothly off all rusty parts, and lay it with the rind downwards into a coarse paste rolled to about an inch thick; moisten the edges, draw, pinch them together, and fold them over on the upper side of the ham, taking care to close them so that no gravy can escape. Send it to a well-heated, but not a fierce oven. A very small ham will require three hours baking, and a large one five. The crust and the skin must be removed while it is hot. When part only of a ham is dressed, this mode is better far than boiling it.

Ham Relish. --Cut a slice of dressed ham, season it highly with Cayenne-pepper, and broil it brown; then spread mustard over it, squeeze on it a little lemon juice, and serve quickly.

Broiled Ham. --Cut ham into thin slices, and broil on a gridiron. If the ham is too salt, soak the slices before broiling, in


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cold water; if you are obliged to do this, dry them well with a cloth before broiling.

Fry what eggs you want in butter, and when dished lay an egg on each slice of ham, and serve.

Fried Ham and Eggs. --Broil thin slices of ham; fry eggs in the gravy of the ham or in butter, and serve one on each slice of ham. Or, the eggs may be poached.

Sausages. --Common farm-house sausages are made with nearly equal parts of fat and lean pork, coarsely chopped, and seasoned with salt and pepper only. They are put into skins (which have previously been turned inside out, scraped very thin, washed with exceeding nicety, and wiped very dry) then twisted into links, and should be hung in a cool airy larder, when they will remain good for some length of time. Odd scraps and trimmings of pork are usually taken for sausage-meat when the pig is killed and cut up at home; but the chine and blade-bone are preferred in general for the purpose. The pork rinds will make a strong and almost flavorless jelly, which may be used with excellent effect for stock, and which, with the addition of some pork-bones, plenty of vegetables, and some dried peas, will made a very nutritious soup for those who do not object to the pork-flavor which the bones will give. Half an ounce of salt, and nearly or quite a quarter of an ounce of pepper will sufficiently season each pound of the sausage-meat.

Excellent Sausages. --Chop, first separately, and then together, one pound and a quarter of veal, perfectly free from fat, skin, and sinew, an equal weight of lean pork, and of the inside fat of the pig. Mix well, and strew over the meat an ounce and a quarter of salt, half an ounce of pepper, one nutmeg grated, and a large tea-spoonful of pounded mace. Turn, and chop the sausages until they are equally seasoned throughout, and tolerably fine; press them into a clean pan, and keep them in a very cool place. Form them, when wanted for table, into cakes something less than an inch thick, flour and fry them for about 10 minutes in a little butter.

Lean of veal and pork, of each, 1 lb. 4 oz.; fat of pork, 1 lb. 4 oz.; salt, 1 1/4 oz.; pepper, 1/2 oz.; 1 nutmeg; 1 large tea spoonful of mace. Fried in cakes, 10 minutes.

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Oxford Sausages. --Chop a pound and a half of lean pork very finely, and mix with it half the quantity of minced beef-suet; add 2 or 3 table-spoonsful of bread crumbs, the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten, and season with dried sage, black pepper, and salt; beat the whole well together in a marble mortar, put it into a jar, and tie over. For use, make it into rolls, dust them with flour, and fry in lard, or fresh beef-dripping.

To fry Sausages. --Put lard or dripping, into a clean frying-pan, and as soon as it is melted, put in the sausages, fry them gradually over a moderate fire, shaking the pan and turning them frequently. When done, put them before the fire on a sieve, to drain off the fat, and serve hot.

Bologna Sausages. --Mince 6 lbs. of rump of beef very fine, and 2 lbs. of bacon; pound them; mix well with 6 or 8 cloves of garlic; season it high with spices; fill it into very large hog-puddings, and tie them in 9 inch lengths; hang them in a dry, warm place, or in the smoke: they are eaten raw or boiled.

To dress Pig's Feet and Ears. --Boil them, fresh or salted, 3 hours, or till tender, when take out the large bones; glaze them, and cover them with fried bread crumbs, and serve upon tomato sauce: or, melted butter thinned with mustard and vinegar.

To stew Pigs's Feet. --Clean and split them, and boil them tender; then put them into a stew-pan, with a little gravy or water, a shred onion, sage leaves, salt, some whole black pepper, and allspice: stew for half an hour: then strain the gravy, thicken it with butter and flour, add a table-spoonful of lemon pickle, or vinegar, and serve with the feet.

Pig's Harslet. --Clean the liver and sweetbreads, and put to them fat and lean bits of pork, with which mix pepper, salt, sage, and onions shred fine: put all into a caul, tie up, and roast on a hanging-jack; or put into a dish and bake.

Or:--Slice the liver and sweetbreads, and fry them with pieces of bacon; garnish with fried parsley.

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American Souse. --Take pig's feet and ears, &c.; clean them well, and simmer them for 4 or 5 hours, until they are too tender to be taken out with a fork. Then lay them in cold water till they are cool. Pack them down tight in jars. Boil the jelly-like liquor in which they were cooked, with an equal quantity of vinegar, and salt to your taste: add cloves, all-spice and cinnamon, and pour it over the feet.

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> CHAPTER XIII.

CURING MEATS, POTTING AND COLLARING

General Directions--Pickle for Beef, Pork, &c.--Dutch way to Salt Beef--Tongues--French method--Welsh Beef--Hunters'--Curing Pork--Bacon--Hams--Lard--Pork Cheese--Potting--Collaring--A Marinade Brawn--Mutton Ham, &c.

MEAT intended for salting should hang a few days, till its fibres become short and tender, instead of being salted as soon as it comes from the market; though, in very hot weather, it may be requisite to salt as soon as possible; beginning by wiping dry, taking out the kernels and pipes, and filling the holes with salt.

Beef and pork, after being examined and wiped, should be sprinkled with water and hung to drain a few hours after, before they are rubbed with salt: this cleanses the meat from blood, and improves its delicacy. The salt should be rubbed in evenly; first, half the quantity of salt, and, after a day or two, the remainder. The meat should be turned every day, kept covered with the pickle, and rubbed daily, if wanted soon. The brine will serve for more than one parcel of meat, if it be boiled up, skimmed, and used cold.

In salting beef, the brisket and flat ribs should be jointed, so as to let in the salt, which should also be rubbed well into each piece; the meat should then be put down tightly in the salt-bin, the prime pieces at the bottom, and covered with salt; the coarse pieces being at the top, to be used first.

Bay-salt gives a sweeter flavor than any other kind. Sugar makes the meat mellow and rich, and is sometimes used to rub meat before salting. Saltpetre hardens meat, so that it is rarely used but to make it red. In frosty weather, warm the salt to ensure its penetrating the meat.

Remember, that unless meat be quite fresh, it cannot be


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kept by salting. Neither will salt recover stale meat; for, if it be in the least tainted before it is put into the pickle, it will be entirely spoiled in one hot day.

In frosty weather, take care the meat is not frozen, and warm the salt in a frying-pan. The extremes of heat and cold are equally unfavorable for the process of salting. In the former the meat changes before the salt can affect it: in the latter, it is so hardened, and its juices are so congealed, that the salt cannot penetrate it.

If you wish it red, rub it first with saltpetre, in the proportion of half an ounce, and the like quantity of moist sugar, to a pound of common salt.

In summer, canvas covers should be placed over salting-tubs to admit air and exclude flies, which are more destructive to salt than fresh meat.

As our book is designed for country as well as city families we shall give several receipts for curing meats, making brine &c., which are chiefly important to the former.

Pickle for Beef, Pork, &c. --To four gallons of pump-water add eight pounds and a half of muscovado sugar, or treacle two ounces of saltpetre, and six pounds of bay or common salt. Boil the whole, and remove all the scum that rises; then take off the liquor, and, when cold, pour it over the meat, so as to cover it. This pickle is fine for curing hams, tongues and beef, for drying; which, upon being taken out of the pickle, cleaned, and dried, should be put into paper bags, and hung up in a warm place.

Another pickle is, six ounces salt, and four ounces sugar to a quart of water, and one-quarter of an ounce of saltpetre; to be boiled and skimmed.

A round of beef, of twenty-five pounds, will take a pound and a half of salt to be rubbed in at once, and requires to be rubbed and turned daily: it will be ready, but not very salty in four or five days; if to be eaten cold, it will be finer flavored, and keep better, for being a week in the brine.

An aitch-bone, of a dozen pounds' weight, will require three quarters of a pound of salt, mixed with one ounce of coarse sugar, to be well rubbed into it for four or five days.

Pickle of Beef. --Allow to four gallons of water two pounds of brown sugar, six pounds of salt, and four ounces of saltpetre;


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boil it about twenty minutes, taking off the scum as it rises; the following day pour it over the meat which has been packed into the pickling-tub. Pour off this brine, boil and skim it every two months, adding three ounces of brown sugar and half a pound of common salt. By this means it will keep good a year. The meat must be sprinkled with salt, and the next day wiped dry, before pouring the pickle over it, with which it should always be completely covered.

To salt Beef red. --Choose a piece of beef with as little bone as you can (the flank is the best), sprinkle it, and let it drain a day; then rub it with common salt, a small proportion of saltpetre, bay-salt, and a little coarse sugar; you may add a few grains of cochineal, all in fine powder. Rub the pickle every day into the meat for a week, then only turn it.

It will be excellent in 8 days. In 16, drain it from the pickle; and let it be smoked at the oven's mouth when heated with wood, or send it to a smoke-house. A few days will smoke it. It is extremely good eaten fresh from the pickle, boiled tender with greens or carrots. If to be grated, then cut a lean bit, boil it till extremely tender, and while hot put it under a press. When cold, fold it in a sheet of paper, and it will keep in a dry place 2 or 3 months, ready for serving on bread and butter.

The Dutch way to salt Beef. --Take a lean piece of beef, rub it well with treacle or brown sugar, and turn it often. In 3 days wipe it, and salt it with common salt and saltpetre beaten fine; rub these well in, and turn it every day for a fortnight. Roll it tight in a coarse cloth, and press it under a heavy weight; hang to dry in wood-smoke, but turn it upside down every day. Boil it in pump-water, and press it: it will grate or cut into shivers, and makes a good breakfast dish.

To 12 lbs. of beef the proportion of common salt is 1 lb.

To salt Beef for immediate use, and to make into Soup. --Take the thin flank or brisket, cut it into pieces of the size you wish for your family--from 3 to 7 lbs. Rub the pieces thoroughly with dry salt; then lay them in a tub, and cover it close. Turn the pieces every day, and in a week it will be excellent


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boiled with vegetables, or made into plain peas soup. It will last six weeks in this way.

Mutton may be salted in the same manner.

An excellent Pickle for Hams, Tongue, &c. --Take one gallon of water, one pound and a half of salt, one pound of brown sugar or molasses, one ounce of allspice, and one ounce of saltpetre; scald, skim, and let it cool. Rub the meat with salt, and let it lie two days; then pour the pickle over it. Let the hams remain from a fortnight to a month in this pickle, according to their size, turning them every day.

Care must be taken to secure bacon and hams from the fly. The best method is, to put them in coarse calico or canvass bags; paper is apt to break in damp weather. Always keep smoked meat in a dark place.

To salt Fat Pork. --pakc it down tightly in the barrel, each layer of pork covered with clean coarse salt; then make a strong brine with two gallons of water and as much coarse salt as will dissolve in it; boil and skim; let it stand till it is perfectly cold, and then pour it to the meat till that is covered. Pork is best without sugar or saltpetre, provided it be always kept covered with this strong brine.

Beef Tongues. --These may be cured by any of the receipts which we have already given for pickling beef, or for hams and bacon. Some persons prefer them cured with salt and saltpetre only, and dried naturally in a cool and airy room. For such of our readers as like them highly and richly flavored we give our own method of having them prepared, which is this: --Rub over the tongue a handful of fine salt, and let it drain until the following day; then should it weigh from seven to eight pounds, mix thoroughly 1 oz. of saltpetre, 2 oz. of the coarsest sugar, and half an ounce of black pepper; when the tongue has been well rubbed with these, add 3 oz. of bruised juniper berries; and when it has lain 2 days, 8 oz. of bay salt dried and pounded; at the end of 3 days more, pour on it half a pound of treacle, and let it remain in the pickle a fortnight after this; then hang it to drain, fold it in brown paper, and send it to be smoked over a wood fire for 2 or 3 weeks. Should the peculiar flavor of the juniper berries prevail too much, or be disapproved, they may be in part, or altogether, omitted


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and 6 oz. of sugar may be rubbed into the tongue in the first instance when it is liked better than treacle.

Tongue 7 to 8 lbs.; saltpetre, 1 oz.; black pepper, half an oz.; sugar, 2 oz.; juniper berries, 3 oz.: 2 days. Bay salt, 8 oz.; 3 days. Treacle, half a pound: 14 days.

Obs.--Before the tonue is salted, the gullet, which has an unsightly appearance, should be trimmed away: it is indeed usual to take the root off entirely, but some families prefer it left on for the sake of the fat.

Beef Tongues (a Suffolk Receipt). --For each very large tongue, mix with half a pound of salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and three-quarters of a pound of the coarsest sugar; rub the tongues daily, and turn them in the pickle for five weeks, when they will be fit to be dressed, or to be smoked.

1 large tongue; salt half a pound: sugar, three-quarters of a pound; saltpetre, 2 ounces: 5 weeks.

Keeping Meat in Snow. --An excellent way to keep fresh meat during the winter, is practised by the farmers in the country, which they term "salting in the snow." Take a large clean tub, cover the bottom 3 or 4 inches thick with clean snow; then lay in pieces of fresh meat, spare-ribs, fowls, or whatever you wish to keep, and cover each layer with 2 or 3 inches of snow, taking particular care to fill snow into every crevice between the pieces, and around the edges of the tub. Fowls must be filled inside with the snow. The last layer in the tub must be snow, pressed down tight; then cover the tub and keep in a cold place--the colder the better. The meat will not freeze; and, unless the weather should be very warm, the snow will not thaw, but the meat will remain as fresh and juicy as when it was killed.

French Method of Smoking Hams. --Stop up all the crevices of an old cask, as a sugar hogshead, and cut a hole in the bottom of it, large enough to introduce a small stove or pan, to be filled with saw-dust, wood, or other fuel, which produces much smoke. The articles to be smoked must then be hung upon a cross stick, fixed near the top of the cask, and the head must be covered with a cloth. It is stated, that half a dozen hams may be completely cured in this way in 48 hours.

Tongues, fish, and beef, may be smoked in the same way.

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Hung Beef (the Derrynane Recipe). --Rub the beef well with salt and saltpetre, in the proportion of 2 oz. of saltpetre and 7 lbs. of salt to 50 lbs. of beef. Put the beef into a cask or tub, place a board over it, and weights upon that; leave it so for about a fortnight, then take it out and hang it in the kitchen to dry, which will generally take about 3 weeks. Some persons leave it for a longer time in the tub, which they merely cover without the weight; but the above is the better way.

Cheap Hung Beef. --Take the fleshy part of a leg of beef, salt it three days; then put it into a clean pan, and rub it with this mixture daily for a week,--four ounces of coarse sugar, one ounce of ground allspice, and one ounce of powdered saltpetre; next drain the beef, wrap it in brown paper, hang it in a chimney to dry; and in a month it will be fit to dress.

Welsh Beef. --Rub 2 oz. of saltpetre into a round of beef, let it remain an hour, then season it with pepper, salt, and a fourth portion of allspice; allow the beef to stand in the brine for 15 days, turning it frequently. Work it well with pickle; put it into an earthen vessel, with a quantity of beef suet over and under it, cover it with a coarse paste and bake it, allowing it to remain in the oven for 6 or 8 hours. Pour off the gravy, and let the beef stand till cold. It will keep for 2 months in winter, and will be found useful amid the Christmas fare in the country.

To Dress Beef Tongues. --When taken fresh from the pickle they require no soaking unless they should have remained in it much beyond the usual time, or have been cured with a more than common proportion of salt; but when they have been smoked and hung for some time, they should be laid for two or three hours in cold, and as much longer in tepid water, before they are dressed: if extremely dry, ten or twelve hours must be allowed to soften them, and they should always be brought very slowly to boil. Two or three carrots and a large bunch of savory herbs, added after the scum is cleared off, will improve them. They should be simmered until they are extremely tender, when the skin will peel from them easily. A highly dried tongue will usually require from three and a half to four hours' boiling; an unsmoked one, about an hour


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less; and for one which has not been salted at all, a shorter time will suffice.

Curing Pork. --The pork being killed, several points require attention--first, the chitterlings must be cleaned, and all the fat taken off; they are then to be soaked for two or three days in four or six waters, and the fat may be melted for softening shoes, &c.; the inside fat, or flare, of pork must be melted for lard as soon as possible, without salt, if for pastry. The souse should be salted for two or three days, and then boiled till tender; or fried, or broiled, after being boiled. The sides for bacon must be wiped, rubbed at the bone, and sprinkled with salt, to extract the blood: the chines, cheeks, and spare-ribs, should be similarly salted. On the third day after pork is killed, it may be regularly salted, tubs or pans being placed to receive the brine, which is useful for chines and tongues. December and January are the the best months for preparing bacon, as the frost is not then too severe.

The hog is made into bacon, or pickled.

Bacon--(The method of curing Malines Bacon, so much admired for its fine flavor). --Cut off the hams and head of a pig, if a large one; take out the chine and leave in the spare-rib, as they will keep in the gravy and prevent the bacon from rusting. Salt it first with common salt, and let it lie for a day on a table that the blood may run from it; then make a brine with a pint of bay-salt, one-quarter peck of common salt, about one-quarter pound of juniper-berries, and some bay-leaves, with as much water as will, when the brine is made, cover the bacon; when the salt is dissolved, and when quite cold, if a new-laid egg will swim in it, the brine may be put on the bacon, which after a week must be rubbed with the following mixture:--Half pound of saltpetre, 2 oz. of sal-prunella, and 1 pound of coarse sugar; after remaining 4 weeks, it may be hung up in a chimney where wood is burned; shavings, with sawdust and a small quantity of turf, may be added to the fire at times.

Westphalia Hams --Are prepared in November and March. The Germans place them in deep tubs, which they cover with layers of salt and saltpetre, and a few laurel-leaves. They are


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left four or five days in this state, and then are completely covered with strong brine. At the end of three weeks, they are taken out, and soaked twelve hours in clear spring water; they are then hung for three weeks in smoke, produced from the branches of juniper-plants.

Another method is to rub the leg intended for a ham with half a pound of coarse sugar, and to lay it aside for a night. In the morning, it is rubbed with an ounce of saltpetre, and an ounce of common salt, mixed. It is then turned daily for three weeks, and afterwards dried in wood and turf-smoke. When boiled, a pint of oak saw-dust is directed to be put into the pot or boiler.

Obs.--Dried meats, hams, &c., should be kept in a cold but not damp place.

Smoked provisions keep better than those which are dried, on account of the pyroligneous acid which the former receive from the smoke.

Hams superiors to Westphalia. --Take the hams as soon as the pork is sufficiently cold to be cut up, rub them well with common salt, and leave them for three days to drain; throw away the brine, and for a couple of hams of from fifteen to eighteen pounds' weight, mix together two ounces of saltpetre, a pound of coarse sugar, and a pound of common salt; rub the hams in every part with these, lay them into deep pickling-pans with the rind downwards, and keep them for three days well covered with the salt and sugar; then pour over them a bottle of good vinegar, and turn them in the brine, and baste them with it daily for a month; drain them well, rub them with bran, and let them be hung for a month high in a chimney over a wood-fire to be smoked.

Hams, of from 15 to 18 lbs. each, 2; to drain, 3 days. Common salt and coarse sugar, each 1 lb.; saltpetre, 2 ozs.: 3 days. Vinegar, 1 bottle: 1 month. To be smoked 1 month.

Obs.--Such of our readers as shall make trial of this admirable receipt, will acknowledge, we doubt not, that the hams thus cured are in reality superior to those of Westphalia. It was originally given to the public by the celebrated French cook, Monsieur Ude, to whom, after having proved it, we are happy to acknowledge our obligation for it. He directs that the hams when smoked should be hung as high as possible


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from the fire, that the fat may not be melted;--a very necessary precaution, as the mode of their being cured renders it peculiarly liable to do so. This, indeed, is somewhat perceptible in the cooking, which ought, therefore, to be conducted with especial care. The hams should be very softly simmered, and not over-done. They should be large, and of finely-fed pork, or the receipt will not answer. We give the result of our first trial of it, which was perfectly successful.

Leg of farm-house pork, 14 to 15 lbs.; saltpetre, 1 1/4 oz. strong coarse sugar, 8 ozs.: 3 days. Fine white-wine vinegar, 1 pint. In pickle, turned daily, 1 month. Smoked over wood, 1 month.

Obs.--When two hams are pickled together, a smaller proportion of the ingredients is required for each than for one which is cured by itself.

To cure Pig's Cheeks. --Cut out the snout, remove the brains, split the head, and take off the upper bone. Rub the cheek well with salt; next day pour off the brine, and salt it again the following day. Then rub over the cheeks half an ounce of saltpetre, two ounces of bay-salt, a little common salt, and four ounces of coarse sugar. Turn the cheeks often, and in ten days smoke them as bacon.

Pork Cheese. --Choose the head of a small pig which may weigh about twelve pounds the quarter. Sprinkle over it and the tongues of four pigs, a little common salt and a very little saltpetre. Let them lie four days, wash them, and tie them in a clean cloth; boil them until the bones will come easily out of the head, take off the skin as whole as possible, place a bowl in hot water and put in the head, cutting it into small pieces. In the bottom of a round tin, shaped like a small cheese, lay two strips of cloth across each other; they must be long enough to fold over the top when the shape is full; place the skin round the tin, and nearly half fill it with the meat, which has been highly seasoned with pepper, cayenne, and salt; put in some tongue cut into slices, then the rest of the meat, and the remainder of the tongue, draw the cloth tightly across the top; put on it a board or a plate that will fit into the shape, and place on it a heavy weight, which must not be taken off till it be quite cold. It is eaten with vinegar and mustard, and served for luncheon or supper.

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Hog's Lard. --Melt it with great care in a jar, put into a kettle of water, set on the fire to boil, adding to the lard a sprig of rosemary, while melting; then run it into small clean bladders.

Suet and lard keep better in tin than in earthen vessels; suet may be kept for a year, if chopped, packed in tin, and covered with treacle.

Potting and Collaring. --To pot and collar are only different modes of preserving fish and meat for a longer time than they could be kept fresh; chiefly, in the instance of potting, by pounding the materials with seasoning, when dressed, and then putting small portions in closely covered jars or pots; while collaring is done by slicing portions of the meat or fish, and, when well seasoned, rolling it in round pieces, to be eaten cold as savory dishes at breakfast and luncheon.

In potting, take care to wait until the meat is cold; press the meat firmly into the pots; but, before putting it there, drain the gravy thoroughly from the meat, or the gravy will turn it sour; then cover well with clarified butter, and tie over it oil-skin, or oiled paper, to exclude the air.

To clarify Butter for Potting. --Put the butter into a basin, or boat, and set it in a stewpan with water in it, over the fire. As the butter melts, the milky parts will sink to the bottom, and the clear should be poured off upon the articles to be potted. After being used it will still serve for basting or for meat-pie paste.

Potted Beef. --Rub a piece of lean fleshy beef, about three pounds in weight, with an ounce of saltpetre powdered, and afterwards with two ounces of salt; put it in a pan or salting-tray, and let it lie two days, basting it with the brine, and rubbing it into it each day. Then put the meat into an earthenware jar, just large enough to hold it, together with all the skin and gristle of the joint, first trimmed from it: add about a pint of water, put some stiff paste over the top of the jar, and place it in a slow oven to bake for four hours. When it is done, pour off the gravy, (which save to use for enriching sauces or gravies,) take out the gristle and the skin; then cut the meat small, and beat it in a mortar, adding occasionally a little of the gravy, a little fresh butter, and finely powdered allspice, cloves, and pepper, enough to season it. The more


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you beat and rub the meat, the better, as it will require so much less butter or gravy, which will assist it to keep the longer; but when potted beef is wanted for present use, the addition of gravy and butter will improve its taste and appearance. When it is intended for keeping, put it into small earthenware pots or into tin cans, press it down hard, pour on the top clarified butter to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, and tie over it a piece of damp bladder.

To make potted meat more savory, you may beat up with it the flesh of an anchovy or two, or a little minced tongue, or minced ham or bacon; or mushroom powder, curry powder, a few shalots, or sweet herbs of any kind, the flavor of whichever may be most agreeable.

Meat that has been stewed to make gravy, may be used to make potted beef; only adding the salt, seasoning, and flavoring in pounding it.

Potted ham, veal, or ox-tongue is made in the same manner, only varying the seasonings to suit the taste of the meat.

To pot Beef in imitation of Venison. --Put 8 or 10 lbs. of lean beef into a deep dish; pour over it a pint of red wine, and let it lie in it for 2 days, seasoning it well with mace, pepper, salt, and a clove of garlic; then put it into a closely covered pot along with the wine, and another glassful of it be not sufficient, and bake it for 3 hours in a quick oven; when cold, pound it to a paste, and pot it as above.

Potted Chicken or Partridge. --Roast the birds as for table, but let them be thoroughly done, for if the gravy be left in, the meat will not keep half so well. Raise the flesh of the breast, wings, and merrythought quite clear from the bones, take off the skin, mince, and then pound it very smoothly with about one-third of its weight of fresh butter, or something less, if the meat should appear of a proper consistence without the full quantity; season it with salt, mace, and Cayenne only, and add these in small portions until the meat is rather highly flavored with both the last: proceed with it as with other potted meats.

To pot Boned Pigeons whole. --Bone, truss, and pack them into a deep pan, with pepper, salt, and a little fine powder of thyme, or any sweet herb that may be agreeable, and a clove


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of garlic bruised and rubbed into the salt, and spices; cover with butter; bake them well covered. While they are yet warm, put them into the pots they are to be presented in; these pots ought to have close covers; press them well down, and lay a weight upon them; when cold put a little of the butter they were baked in over them. If mushrooms can be had, pack them with the pigeons, or stuff them with them.

All birds that are potted should be boned, as they cut with less waste, and keep better.

Potted Lobster. --Pick out, from a boiled lobster, the white meat, and mix it with the spawn of a good hen-lobster that has been boiled; beat it well in a mortar with the addition of a little powdered mace, white pepper, Cayenne pepper, and salt enough to flavor it. Let all be well beat, and mixed into a stiff paste; then put it into a jar or pot, pressed down as close as possible; pour over it clarified butter, and tie over the jar a piece of bladder.

Crabs are potted in the same manner, also crayfish, shrimps, and other small fish; but the seasoning may be varied by the addition of powdered allspice, and leaving out the Cayenne.

In Collaring, be careful to roll the meat tightly and bind it firmly. Let it be thoroughly done, left in a cool place, sometimes rubbed with pickle, but always wiped perfectly dry.

To collar Beef. --Make a pickle with 6 oz. of brown sugar, 4 oz. of common salt, and 1 oz. of saltpetre. Then take a flank of beef, and leave it in the pickle for ten days or a fortnight, turning it every day. When taken out, remove the bone and gristle, but leave on the outer skin; lay it upon the table, with the skin downwards, and beat the inside well with a rolling-pin or wooden mallet until quite tender; that done, score the flesh in rows, down and across, about the breadth of two fingers; but in doing so take care not to cut the outside skin. Then fill the scores alternately with slices of the fat of the bacon and corned pork, and sweet herbs of all sorts, chopped, and seasoned with spice, till you have filled them all; after which, roll the flank up very tightly, and bind it round with coarse broad tape, wrap it in a cloth, and boil it gently, but steadily, for four or five hours, according to the size of the joint. When quite cold, take it out of the cloth, unbind the


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tape, and fasten the roll with small skewers. If you wish to improve its appearance, you may also either glaze it, or rub it with yolk of egg, and brown it with a salamander.

An economical way. --Take the best part of a shin of beef, of which soup has been made (for it must be stewed until very tender), and an ox-tail, also well stewed; cut them into small pieces, season them well, add a glass of wine, and a glass of catsup, and put it into a stew pan covered with a part of the liquor in which the ox-tail has been boiled; stew it for about 20 minutes, and then put it into a mould. It must be very cold before it is turned out. This is a good way of employing the beef and heel when soup or jelly is made; a few chopped sweet herbs may be added, and hard eggs cut into slices, or pickles, such as sliced cucumbers, intermingled. The flavor may be varied in many ways.

To collar a Pig. --Take a fine fat pig of a month or five weeks old, prepared for the table; cut off the head and split the pig down the back, and bone it; chop a handful of sage very small, mix it with 2 nutmegs and 3 or 4 blades of mace beaten fine; add to it a large handful of salt, and season the pig all over; roll it hard, tie it with tape, sew it in a clean linen cloth, and boil it in water with a little oatmeal and a good seasoning of salt; boil till very tender, which will take several hours. Keep it in the cloth in which it was boiled until quite cold. Then take the cloth from the pig, and let it lay for eight days in a marinade. Eat it with mustard, sugar and vinegar.

A Marinade for Collared Meats. --Make thin water-gruel of oatmeal; season it well with salt; add half a pint of white wine and half a tea-spoonful of white pepper; boil it all together for half an hour; allow it to become cold before the collar is put into it.

Brawn. --Split and nicely clean a hog's head, take out the brains, cut off the ears, and rub a good deal of salt into the head; let it drain 24 hours; then lay upon it 2 oz. of saltpetre, and the same of common salt, for 3 days; lay the head and salt into a pan, with just water to cover it for 2 days more.

Wash it well, and boil until the bones will come out; remove them, and chop the meat as quickly as possible in pieces


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of 1 inch long; but first take the skin carefully off the head and the tongue, the latter also cut in bits. Season with pepper and salt. Put the skin of one side of the head into a small long pan, press the chopped head and tongue into it, and lay the skin of the other side of the head over, and press it down. When cold it will turn out. The head may probably be too fat, in which case prepare a few bits of lean pork with the head. Boil 2 oz. of salt, a pint of vinegar, and a quart of the liquor, and, when cold, pour it over the head. The ears are to be boiled longer than the head, cut in thin strips, and divided about it, the hair being nicely removed. Re-boil the pickle often.

To care Mutton Ham. --Cut a hind-quarter of good mutton into the shape of a ham, pound 1 oz. of saltpetre, with 1 lb. of coarse salt, and 4 oz. of brown sugar, rub the ham well with this mixture, taking care to stuff the whole of the shank well with salt and sugar, and let it lie a fortnight, rubbing it well with the pickle every 2 or 3 days; then take it out and press it with a weight for 1 day; smoke it with saw-dust for 10 or 15 days, or hang it to dry in the kitchen. If the ham is to be boiled soon after it has been smoked, soak it 1 hour, and if it has been smoked any length of time, it will require to be soaked several hours. Put it on in cold water, and boil it gently 2 hours. It is eaten cold at breakfast, luncheon, or supper. A mutton ham is sometimes cured with the above quantity of salt and sugar, with the addition of half an ounce of pepper, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, and 1 nutmeg.

Turkish Method of making new-killed Meat tender. --Slash it from 3 to 5 slashes. To give a proper idea of the distance, a leg of mutton will take 5 slashes. Bruise some cloves of garlic, and put a clove of it with a little bit of bay salt into each slash; bind up the meat, that the slashes may go together; and wrap it up tight. It may be used in 12 hours after.

This might be tried with new-killed venison.

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> CHAPTER XIV.

POULTRY.

General Directions--Poelée--Turkey boiled--Roasted--To "devil" a Turkey--Stuffing--Boning--Roast Goose--Sauce--To boil Ducks--Stewed--Salmi--Fowls boiled--Roasted--Broiled--Fried--Stewed--Ragouts--Pillau--Croquettes--Fricassee Jelly--Curry of Chicken--Dumpokht--Minced Fowls--Giblets--Chicken Pot Pie--Egyptian mode of cooking Poultry--Pigeons, in various ways.

[Illustration: An illustration of a skinned fowl on a skewer.]

To choose Poultry. --Young, plump, well-fed, but not over fatted, poultry is the best. The skin of fowls and turkeys should be clear, white, and finely grained, the breasts broad and full-fleshed, the legs smooth, the toes pliable and easily broken when bent back; the birds should also be heavy in proportion to their size. This applies equally to geese and ducks, of which the breasts likewise should be very plump, and the feet yellow and flexible: when these are red and hard, the bills of the same color, and the skin full of hairs, and extremely coarse, the birds are old.

White-legged fowls and chickens should be chosen for boiling, because their appearance is the most delicate when dressed;


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but the dark-legged ones often prove more juicy and of better flavor when roasted, and their color then is immaterial.

Every precaution should be taken to prevent poultry from becoming ever so slightly tainted before it is cooked, but unless the weather be exceedingly sultry, it should not be quite freshly killed:* pigeons only are the better for being so, and are thought to lose their flavor by hanging even a day or two. Turkeys, as we have stated in our receipts for them, are very tough and poor eating if not sufficiently long kept. A goose also, in winter, should hang some days before it is dressed, and fowls, likewise, will be improved by it.

All kinds of poultry should be thoroughly cooked,though without being over-done, for nothing in general can more effectually destroy the appetite than the taste and appearance of their flesh when brought to table half roasted or boiled.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 166 in the original text.]

* If from accidental circumstances it should become apparently unfit for table, it may be restored to an eatable state by the same means as fish; it should not, however, be purchased, at any time, when it exhibits a greenish tint on any part of the skin, as this indicates its being already stale.

Trussing Fowls. --Remove immediately the crops of fowls and pigeons, but do not draw and truss them till wanted for dressing, else they are apt to dry.

Having picked poultry, remove the crop and windpipe of all birds, by opening the skin in front of the throat, and pulling each separately; first, from the beak or bill, and then from the stomach. For drawing poultry, make a slit with a sharp knife, at which slip in the fingers; get fast hold of the gizzard, and draw it carefully forward, with the intestines; but, if the liver remains, again slip in the finger, and take out the heart, which will bring the liver with it. Be careful not to break the gall-bladder, else it will cause a bitterness, which no washing can remove.

Having thus cleared the inside of a fowl, select such of the internal parts as are to be used. Remove the gall-bladder from the liver, slit the narrow side of the gizzard, and, turning it inside out, remove the hard bag, and trim round the gizzard; but do not cut the skin by which it is joined in the middle. The throat should be cut off about two joints from its commencement, leaving skin enough to turn over the back. Make a slit in the apron or skin of the belly, and tuck the rump through it.

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Fowls for roasting are trussed as follows: Extend the legs on each side of the bird; only cut off the toes, and run a skewer through each foot, to keep them at a proper distance: in some cases, the feet should be scalded, and the outside scaly skin taken off. Make a small slit in the skinny part of each pinion; through one thrust the liver, and through the other the gizzard; turn the top of the pinion over the back, and run a skewer through the first joint of one wing, through the body to the other wing. For boiling, the under part of the thigh must be cut off, and the stump tucked into a slit made on each side of the belly.

Before dressing, singe off the hairs of the fowl with piece of white paper, and dredge it lightly with flour. The head of a capon is sometimes twisted under the wing.

The French adopt the following method to make old poultry eat tender: Let the bird soak in cold water for 24 hours, with a handful or two of wood-ashes; pick off the feathers, and let it hang for another 24 hours; truss it, and let it boil for quarter of an hour in a little veal-broth; take it out, lard, and roast it; when nearly done, baste it with very hot butter. By observing these directions, you will impart to an old bird all the delicate flavor of a young chicken.

Poelée to boil Fowls in. --Cut into large dice two pounds of lean veal, and two pounds of fat bacon, cured without salt-petre, two large carrots, and two onions; to these add half a pound of fresh butter, put the whole into a stewpan, and stir it with a wooden spoon over a gentle fire, until the veal is very white, and the bacon is partially melted; then pour to them three pints of clear boiling broth or water, throw in four cloves, a small bunch or two of thyme and parsley, a bay-leaf, and a few corns of white pepper; boil these gently for an hour and a half, then strain the poelée through a fine sieve, and set it by in a cool place. Use it instead of water for boiling the various kinds of poultry; it will answer for several in succession, and will remain good for many days. Some cooks order a pound of butter in addition to the bacon, and others substitute beef suet in part for this last.

To boil a Turkey. --Make a stuffing as for veal; or if you wish a plain stuffing, pound a cracker, or some bread-crumb


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very fine, chop raw salt pork very fine, sift some sage and any other sweet herbs that are liked, season with pepper, and mould them together with the yolk of an egg; put this under the breast and tie it closely. Set on the turkey in boiling water, enough to cover it; boil very slowly, and take off the scum as it rises. A large turkey will require more than two hours' boiling; a small one, an hour and a half. Garnish with fried forcemeat, and serve with oyster or celery sauce; for which, see SAUCES.

Or:--Fill the body with oysters, and let it boil by steam without any water. When sufficiently done, take it up, strain the gravy that will be found in the pan, and which, when cold, will be a fine jelly; thicken it with a little flour and butter, add the liquor of the oysters intended for sauce, also stewed, and warm the oysters up in it; whiten it with a little boiled cream, and pour it over the turkey.

To roast a Turkey. --Prepare a stuffing of pork sausage meat, one beaten egg, and a few crumbs of bread; or, if sausages are to be served with the turkey, stuffing as for fillet of veal: in either, a little shred shalot is an improvement. Stuff the bird under the breast; dredge it with flour, and put it down to a clear brisk fire; at a moderate distance the first half-hour, but afterwards nearer. Baste with butter; and when the turkey is plumped up, and the steam draws towards the fire, it will be nearly done; then dredge it lightly with flour, and baste it with a little more butter, first melted in the basting-ladle. Serve with gravy in the dish, and bread sauce in a tureen. It may be garnished with sausages, or with fried forcemeat, if veal-stuffing be used. Sometimes the gizzard and liver are dipped into the yolk of an egg, sprinkled with salt and cayenne, and then put under the pinions, before the bird is put to the fire. Chestnuts, stewed in gravy, are likewise eaten with turkey.

A very large turkey will require three hours' roasting; one of eight or ten pounds, two hours; and a small one, an hour and a half.

Roasted chestnuts, grated or sliced, and green truffles, sliced, are excellent additions to the stuffing for turkeys.

To "devil" Turkey. --Mix a little salt, black pepper, and


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Cayenne, and sprinkle the mixture over the gizzard, rump, and drumstick, of a dressed turkey; broil them, and serve very hot with this sauce: mix with some of the gravy out of the dish, a little made mustard, some butter and flour, a spoonful of lemon juice, and the same of soy: boil up the whole.

Stuffing for Turkeys, Fowls, and Veal. --Chop, finely, half a pound of suet; and with it mix the same quantity of bread-crumbs, a large spoonful of chopped parsley, nearly a tea-spoonful of thyme and marjoram, mixed, one-eighth of a nutmeg, some grated lemon-peel, salt, and pepper; and bind the whole with two eggs. A tea-spoonful of finely-shred shalot, or onion, may be added at pleasure.

To Bone a Turkey or Fowl. --Cut through the skin down the centre of the back, and raise the flesh carefully on either side with the point of a sharp knife, until the sockets of the wings and thighs are reached. With the point of the knife detach the joints, and, till a little practice has been gained, it will perhaps be better to bone these joints, by passing the knife carefully between the bone and flesh, and pulling out the bone, before proceeding further; but after they are once detached from it, the whole of the body may be easily separated from the flesh and taken out entire: only the neck-bones and merry-thought will then remain to be removed, and they can be easily cut away. It is usual to leave the pinions unboned, in order to give more easily its natural form to the fowl when it is dressed. The bird thus prepared, may be restored to its original form, by filling the legs and wings with forcemeat, and the body with the livers of two or three fowls, if they can be procured, mixed with alternate layers of parboiled tongue, freed from the rind, fine sausage-meat, or veal forcemeat, or thin slices of the nicest bacon, or aught else of good flavor, which will give a marbled appearance to the fowl when it is carved; and then be sewn up and trussed as usual; or the legs and wings may be drawn inside the body, and the bird being first flattened on a table may be covered with sausage meat, and the various other ingredients we have named, so placed that it shall be of equal thickness in every part; then tightly rolled, bound firmly together with a fillet of broad tape, wrapped in a thin pudding-cloth, closely tied at both ends, and dressed as follows:--Put it into a braising-pan, stew-pan, or thick iron sauce-pan, bright


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in the inside, and fitted as nearly as may be to its size; add all the chicken-bones, a bunch of sweet herbs, two carrots, two bay-leaves, a large blade of mace, twenty-four white pepper-corns, and any trimmings or bones of undressed veal, which may be at hand; cover the whole with good veal-broth, add salt, if needed, and stew very softly, from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half; let it cool in the liquor in which it was stewed; and after it is lifted out, boil down the gravy to a jelly and strain it; let it become cold, clear off the fat, and serve it cut into large dice or roughed, and laid round the fowl, which is to be served cold. If restored to its form, instead of being rolled, it must be stewed gently for an hour, and may then be sent to table hot, covered with mushroom, or any other good sauce that may be preferred; or it may be left until the following day, and served garnished with the jelly, which should be firm, and very clear and well-flavored; the liquor in which the calf's foot has been boiled down, added to the broth, will give it the necessary degree of consistency. French cooks add three or four onions to these preparations of poultry (the last of which is called a galantine); but these our taste would lead us to reject.

Rolled, one and a quarter to one hour and a half; galantine, one hour.

Obs.--A couple of fowls, boned and rolled make an excellent pie.

To Bone Poultry and Game. --First, take out the breast-bone; then remove the back with a sharp knife, and next the leg-bones: keep the skin unbroken, and push within it the meat of the legs.

To Bone Fowls for Fricassees, Curries, and Pies. --First carve them entirely into joints, then remove the bones, beginning with the legs and wings, at the head of the largest bone; hold this with the fingers, and work the knife as directed in the receipt above. The remainder of the birds is too easily done to require any instructions.

To Roast a Goose. --Geese seem to bear the same relation to poultry that pork does to the flesh of other domestic quadrupeds; that is, the flesh of goose is not suitable for, or agreeable


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to, the very delicate in constitution. One reason doubtless is, that it is the fashion to bring it to table very rare done; a detestable mode!

Take a young Goose , pick, singe, and clean well. Make the stuffing with two ounces of onions, (about four common sized,) and one ounce of green sage, chopped very fine; then add a large coffee cup of stale bread crumbs and the same of mashed potatoes; a little pepper and salt, a bit of butter as big as a walnut, the yolk of an egg or two; mix these well together, and stuff the goose; do not fill it entirely--the stuffing requires room to swell. Spit it, tie the spit at both ends, to prevent its swinging round, and to keep the stuffing from coming out. The fire must be brisk. Baste it with salt and water at first--then with its own dripping. It will take two hours or more to roast it thoroughly.

A Green Goose , that is, one under four months old, is seasoned with pepper and salt, instead of sage and onions. It will roast in an hour.

Sauce for a Roasted Goose. --Put into a saucepan a tablespoonful of made mustard, half a tea-spoonful of Cayenne pepper, a glass of port wine, and a gill of gravy; mix, and warm, and pour it through a slit in the apron into the body of the goose, just before serving.

To stew a Goose. --Truss the goose as for boiling, cover it with bacon, and tie it up; cover the sauce-pan with bacon; put in a sprinkle of sweet herbs: a carrot cut in dice and two bay leaves; lay in the goose and giblets; cover with bacon; moisten with as much stock as will cover the goose; let it boil cover with buttered paper and a close cover, and set it on a hot hearth, with fire over it: give it an hour an a half. Serve it with onion or apple sauce.

Obs.--Both geese and ducks, if old, are better to be parboiled before they are roasted. Put them on in just sufficient water to boil them; keep the vessel close covered; let a tough goose simmer two hours, then dry and wipe it clean: stuff and roast, basting it at first with a little bacon fat or butter.

Ducks. --Ducks may be roasted as soon as killed. Keep a clear bright fire. Let them be done of a light brown, but if


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wild they should not be much roasted or the flavor will be spoiled. They take about an hour to roast, and should be well basted. The livers and gizzard are parboiled, chopped fine, and thrown into the gravy.

Canvas back ducks are roasted in half an hour; they should always be served with currant jelly. For tame ducks apple sauce is more appropriate.

A duckling will require proportionally more roasting.

To boil Ducks. --Salt them two days, and boil in a cloth for an hour. Serve with onion sauce made with milk. Or, ducks may be boiled fresh, stuffed with sage and onion, and served with gravy.

To stew a Duck. --Stuff and half roast a duck; then put into a stew-pan, with a shred of onion, some black pepper and salt, a little mint, sage, winter savory, and marjoram, chopped small, and about a pint of beef gravy. Simmer about twenty minutes, and then skim it, and take out the herbs. Add a quart of green peas, lightly boiled, and simmer half an hour longer. Thicken with a little butter and flour, if requisite, and serve the duck and peas in one dish. A glass or two of port wine, or the juice of half a lemon with a little sugar, will much improve this dish.

Cabbage, boiled, well drained, shred, and fried in butter, may also be stewed with ducks, instead of the peas, as above.

To hash a Duck or Goose. --Fry a chopped onion in a stew-pan, with a little butter; add to it gravy, or boiling water, and thicken it with flour; then put the duck or goose, cut up, into the sauce to warm; season it with pepper, salt, a little soy, or catsup, and the juice of half a lemon. Serve in a deep dish, with toasted sippets of bread.

Salmi, or Hot Duck Salad. --Cut off the fillets of roasted ducks into proper pieces; sprinkle allspice and salt over, add a gill of olive oil, a glass of claret, or the juice of two Seville oranges; shake it well over the fire and serve it.

A green Goose may be dressed in the same way.

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[Illustration: An illustration of two fowls with skewers through them.]

Boiled Fowls. --White-legged poultry should always be selected for boiling, as they are of better color when dressed than any others. Truss them firmly and neatly, with the legs drawn into the bodies, and the wings twisted over the backs; let them be well covered with water, which should be hot, but not boiling when they are put in. A full-sized fowl will require about three-quarters of an hour from the time of its beginning to simmer; but young chickens not more than from twenty to twenty-five minutes; they should be very gently boiled, and the scum should be removed with great care as it gathers on the surface of the water. Either of the following sauces may be sent to table with them: parsley and butter, béchamel, English white sauce, oyster, celery, or white mushroom sauce. The fowls are often dished with small tufts of delicately-boiled cauliflower placed round them; or with young vegetable marrow, scarcely larger than an egg, merely pared and halved after it is dressed; white sauce must be served with both of these. The livers and gizzards are not, at the present day, usually served in the wings of boiled fowls. When they are not so, the livers may be simmered for four or five minutes, then pressed to a smooth paste with a wooden spoon, and mixed very gradually with the sauce, which should not boil after they are added.

Full-sized fowl, three-quarters of an hour: young chickens, 20 to 25 minutes.

Boiled Fowls with Oysters. --Take a young fowl, fill the inside with oysters, put it into a jar, and plunge the jar in a kettle or saucepan of water. Boil it for one hour and a half. There will be a quantity of gravy from the juices of the fowl and oysters in the jar; make it into a white sauce, with the addition of egg, cream, or a little flour and butter; add oysters to it, or serve it up plain with the fowl. The gravy that comes from a fowl dressed in this manner will be a stiff jelly the next day; the fowl will be very white and tender, and of an exceedingly fine flavor--advantages not attainable in ordinary boiling--while the dish loses nothing of its delicacy and simplicity.

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To roast Fowls or Capons. --Fowl, capons, and chickens, are roasted and served as turkeys, with the addition of egg-sauce; but they require proportionally less time at the fire, and are seldom stuffed. A full grown fowl will require about three-quarters of an hour; a capon, an hour and a quarter; and a chicken, from 30 to 40 minutes. A large fowl may be stuffed as a turkey.

To broil a Fowl. --Split the fowl down the back; season it very well with pepper, and put it on the gridiron with the inner part next the fire, which must be very clear. Hold the gridiron at a considerable distance from the fire, and allow the fowl to remain until it is nearly half done; then turn it, taking great care that it does not burn. Broil it of a fine brown, and serve it up with stewed mushrooms or a sauce with pickled mushrooms. A duck may be broiled in the same way. If the fowl is very large, half roast it, then cut it into four quarters and finish it on the gridiron. It will take from half an hour to three-quarters of an hour to cook.

Sauce for a Fowl. --Stew the neck and gizzard, with a small piece of lemon peel, in about a cupful of water; then bruise the liver of the fowl with some of the liquor; melt a little good butter, and mix the liver with the gravy from the neck and gizzard with it; let it boil a minute or two, and pour it into the sauce tureen.

To fry Chickens. --Cut up the chickens, and season them with salt and Cayenne pepper; roll them in flour, and fry them in hot lard; when the whole are fried, pour off the lard and put in 1/4 lb. of butter, 1 teacupful of cream, a little flour, and some scalded parsley chopped fine for the sauce.

To fry cold Chicken. --Cut up the chicken, and take off the skin, rub it with egg, cover it with seasoned bread-crumbs and chopped parsley, and fry in butter: serve with brown gravy, thickened with flour and butter, and seasoned with Cayenne, mushroom catsup, and lemon pickle. Or, the chicken may be seasoned, and fried in plain butter.

To stew Chickens in haste. --Take fresh-killed chickens, clean, cut them in pieces and scald them in hot water, without giving


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them time to cool: fry them in butter with sweet herbs chopped, white pepper, and salt, then add some boiling water and flour; stew them until the sauce is reduced: strain, and add to the sauce a tablespoonful of cream, the yolk of an egg beaten, squeeze a little lemon-juice over the chickens, and serve them up. This dish will be useful when it is requisite to add to the dinner at a short notice; and if the chickens do not grow cool, they will be tender.

To stew a Fowl with Onions. --Wash it clean, dry and truss it as for boiling, put a little pepper and salt into it, rub it with a bit of butter, as also the sauce-pan; put in with the fowl a pint of veal stock or water, a little pepper and salt, turn it now and then, and when it becomes quite tender, add twelve or sixteen small onions, and let them stew for half an hour; a young fowl will take one hour, and an old one three hours to stew.

Chicken baked in Rice. --Cut a chicken into joints as for a fricassee, season it well with pepper and salt, lay it into a pudding-dish lined with slices of ham or bacon, add a pint of veal gravy, and an onion finely minced; fill up the dish with boiled rice well pressed and piled as high as the dish will hold, cover it with a paste of flour and water, and bake one hour in a slow oven. If you have no veal gravy, use water instead, adding a little more ham and seasoning.

To warm dressed Poultry. --Beat up an egg or two, and add to it chopped parsley, bread-crumbs, and seasoning; with which cover the pieces of poultry; fry them in dripping of a light brown color, or put them into a Dutch oven before a clear fire. Thicken some gravy, add to it a little mushroom catsup, warm it, and pour it over the fry in a deep dish. Garnish with sippets and lemon.

Ragouts of Poultry, Game, Pigeons, Rabbits, &c. --Half roast it, then divide it into joints and pieces proper to help at table, and put it into a stew-pan, with one pint and a half of broth, or as much water, with any trimmings of meat you have, one large onion with cloves stuck in it, twelve berries of allspice, the same of black pepper, and a roll of lemon-peel; when it


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boils, skim it very clean; let it simmer very gently for about an hour and a quarter, if a duck or fowl--longer if a larger bird; then strain off the liquor, and leave the ducks by the fire to keep hot; skim the fat off; put into a clean stew-pan two ounces of butter; when it is hot stir in as much flour as will make it of a stiff paste; add the liquor by degrees; let it boile up; put in a glass of port wine, and a little lemon-juice, and simmer it ten minutes; put the ducks, &c., into the dish, and strain the sauce through a fine sieve over them.

Garnish with sippets of toasted or fried bread.

Obs.--If the poultry is only half roasted, and stewed only till just nicely tender, this will be an acceptable bonne bouche to those who are fond of made dishes. The flavor may be varied by adding catsup, curry powder, or any of the flavored vinegars.

This is an easily prepared side dish, especially when you have a large dinner to dress; and coming to table ready carved saves a deal of time and trouble; it is therefore an excellent way of serving poultry, &c., for a large party.

To make a Pillau. --Boil one pint of rice in as much water as will cover it: when half boiled, put in a chicken with one onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper and salt. When it is boiled sufficiently, put the fowl in a dish, and pour the rice in it. A small piece of salt pork or bacon boiled in the rice, and then taken out, adds to the flavor.

To make Croquettes. --Take cold fowl, or fresh meat of any kind, with slices of ham, fat and lean; chop them together very fine, and add half as much stale bread grated, some salt, pepper, nutmeg, a teaspoonful of made mustard, tablespoonful of catsup, and a lump of butter: knead all well together till it resembles sausage meat; make it up in cakes or little balls the size of a walnut, dip them in the yolks of eggs beaten, cover them thickly with grated bread, and fry them a light brown.

A brown Fricassee. --Cut the chicken in small pieces and parboil it. Take onions, parsley, butter, pepper, and salt, put them into a pot well floured, and stew them. Add the chicken, and stew until quite brown, having put in some of the water


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in which the chicken was boiled. Fifteen or twenty minutes will be sufficient to cook it.

A white Fricassee. --Cut in pieces two chickens, and lay them in warm water to drain out the blood; then lay them in a clean cloth to dry, put them in a stew-pan with milk and water; stew them till they are tender; take them out and strain the liquor; put them over the fire again with half a pint of the liquor, half a pint of cream or milk, the yolks of two eggs, half a nutmeg, a glass of white wine, and a piece of butter rolled in flour: stir all together in one way for fifteen or twenty minutes, till they are thoroughly cooked.

Fricasseed Chicken with Green Corn. --Cut the green corn from the cob; put it in the pot with water enough to cover it; let it stew till corn is nearly done. Then cut up the chicken, put it with the corn, and let them stew together about half an hour. Put in a few whole grains of pepper with a tea-cupful of cream or milk. Thicken with two table-spoonsful of flour stirred in a lump of butter. Add salt the last thing.

Turkey, or Fowl, in Jelly. --Bone the bird, and fill it with forcemeat, in which are mushrooms; lard it with fat bacon, and tie it up; stew it in strong gravy, till a skewer may be passed through it easily: when cold, take off the fat, and serve with a savory jelly round it.

Curry of Chicken (a Receipt brought from Bengal). --To make a dish of curry for six or seven persons, take one large or two small fowls, and cut them into pieces. Put them in salt and water until the other ingredients are ready; take 2 tablespoonsful of powdered ginger, 1 table-spoonful of fresh turmeric, a few cloves, some mace, cardamom seeds, Cayenne pepper, and a dessert-spoonful of black pepper; salt to your taste. Put these ingredients into a mortar; add 8 large onions. Bruise the spices and onions together until they form a paste; then brown the chicken in butter. Put 3 pints of water in a sauce-pan, and when it boils throw in the paste; when this is dissolved, put in the chicken and boil it. When the meat is done, the curry is ready for the table.

Rice must be served in a separate dish. Curry may be made of lamb, veal, eggs, oysters, lobsters, or any sweet poultry.

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Another Method --is, to pour over the chickens a pint of cream, and the juice of a lemon, and to let them remain an hour. Meanwhile, fry sliced onions and two spoonsful of curry-powder in butter; then put all into a stew-pan, with a little gravy, and stew till done. Season with salt and Cayenne pepper, and serve with rice as above.

Or:--A readier method is to cover each piece of poultry, or game, in a mixture of flour and curry-powder; then fry them with sliced onions in butter, till brown: put all into a stew-pan, with boiling water to cover, and simmer about two hours.

A fourth method is, to put the poultry, or game, into a stew-pan, with about 3 oz. of butter, 3 spoonsful of curry-powder, 4 or 6 table-spoonsful of cold water, and a tea-spoonful of salt; stew slowly, stirring all the time, or about 20 minutes; then serve hot in a deep dish. About a table-spoonful and a half of curry is a good proportion for every pound weight of poultry or game.

Obs.--Curry is also made with sweetbreads, breast of veal, veal cutlets, lamb, mutton, or pork chops, lobster, eels, and oysters.

Dumpokht.* --Clean and truss a fowl, or rabbit, as for roasting; then stuff it with sultana raisins, pistachio-nuts, and boiled rice in equal parts. Rub fine 1 oz. of coriander-seed, freed from the husks, 4 onions, a dozen peppercorns, 6 cloves, and a tea-spoonful of pounded ginger. Set 12 oz. of butter in a stew-pan over the fire, rub the pounded ingredients over the fowl or rabbit, and let it fry until perfectly well browned and tender. Have boiled in a quart of white broth 12 oz. of rice, 2 oz. of sultana raisins, 2 oz. of pistachio nuts, and 2 of almonds, the two latter blanched, and cut into thin slices. When the rice is nearly tender, strain off the broth, and add the rice to the fried fowl; stir the whole well, that the butter may completely saturate the rice, and keep it near the fire to swell till wanted. In serving surround the fowl with the rice.

Observe, that in pounding the onions, the juice only is used with the spices, or they must be rubbed and pounded so finely as not to be perceptible. Chestnuts may be substituted for pistachio-nuts.

* The dish mentioned in the Arabian Nights as the kidd stuffed with pistachio-nuts.

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Chicken Pot Pie. --Cut a chicken in pieces; if it is not a young chicken parboil it in water enough to cover it, with half a pound of salt pork cut in slices, or a tea-spoonful of salt in it. Skim it carefully. Make a paste with half a pound of sweet lard rubbed into one pound of flour and a tea-spoonful of salt; add enough water to work it to a smooth paste; roll the crust about half an inch thick, and line with it the sides of a stew-pan nearly to the bottom. Lay the chicken in the crust, and add a piece of butter the size of an egg rolled in flour; put in the water the chicken was parboiled in, and if necessary add more hot water till the stew-pan is nearly full. Cut part of the paste in small diamonds, and put them in the pie. Put on the top crust, first laying skewers across the top of the stew-pan. Cut a slit in the centre. Put on the lid of the stew-pan, and let it boil slowly three-quarters of an hour, or more, if necessary. When the crust is well done the dish can be served.

An Egyptian Method of dressing Meats and Poultry. --Prepare a proper soup, or properly seasoned water; cut the fowl in quarters, or the meat into steaks, and let it simmer till sufficiently done upon a hot hearth; then take out the meat, and put in as much rice as will thicken the liquor into a pillau; in the meantime, fry some onions and the meat; dish the rice, strew over the onions, and lay meat over it.

Pigeons. --are dry and easily digested food, but not quite so delicate as partridges. For the sick the latter are very appropriate, and may be eaten, if good, (they are sometimes almost poisonous, in the early spring, supposed to be caused by feeding on a certain berry,) when other meats would be injurious.

Pigeons may be dressed in various ways. The good flavor of them depends much upon their being cropped and drawn as soon as killed. No other bird requires so much washing.

To stew Pigeons. --To make a good stew of them, see that they are fresh, carefully cleansed and cropped; soak them for half an hour. In the meantime, cut a hard white cabbage in slices (as if for pickling) into water; drain it and lay some of it at the bottom of a stew-pan. Put the pigeons upon it, seasoning them well with pepper and salt; cover them with the remainder of the cabbage; add a little broth and stew them


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gently till the pigeons are tender; then add two or three table-spoonsful of cream, and a little butter and flour for thickening; let them boil a minute or two, and serve the birds with the cabbage placed around them.

Another way of Stewing Pigeons. --Wash and clean six pigeons, cut them into quarters, and put all their giblets with them into a stew-pan, a piece of butter, a little water, a bit of lemon-peel, two blades of mace, some chopped parsley, salt, and pepper; cover the pan closely, and stew them till they are tender; thicken the sauce with the yolk of an egg beaten up with three table-spoonsful of cream and a bit of butter dusted with flour; let them stew ten minutes longer before serving. This is an excellent and economical way of cooking them.

To Roast Pigeons. --Scald some parsley, chop it with the livers, mix them with a piece of fresh butter, season with pepper and salt; put a portion inside each pigeon; cover the breast with a slice of bacon-fat; roast them; serve with parsley, and butter in the dish.

Pigeons A-la-mode (an excellent way). --After they are thoroughly picked and cleaned, put a small slice of salt pork, and a little ball of stuffing, into the body of every pigeon. The stuffing should be made of one egg to one cracker, an equal quantity of suet or butter seasoned with sweet marjoram, or sage, if marjoram cannot be procured. Flour the pigeons well, lay them close together in the bottom of the pot, just cover them with water, throw in a bit of butter, and let them stew an hour and a quarter, if young; an hour and three-quarters, if old. Some people turn off the liquor just before they are done, and brown the pigeons on the bottom of the pot; but this is very troublesome, as they are apt to break to pieces.

Pigeon Pie. --In making a pigeon-pie, put inside of every bird a piece of butter and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg.

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> CHAPTER XV.

GAME AND SMALL BIRDS.

General Observations--To Roast Woodcocks--Canvass-Back Ducks--Wild Ducks--Widgeon and Teal--Sauce for Wild Fowl--Pheasants--Partridges, Roasted, Boiled, &c.--Reed Birds--Small Birds--Larks--Rabbits--Hare.

WHEN game seems to be spoiled, it may often be made fit for eating by nicely cleaning it, and washing with vinegar and water. If there is danger of birds not keeping, draw, crop, and pick them; then wash them in 2 or 3 waters, and rub them with salt; plunge them, one by one, into a saucepan of boiling water, drawing them up and down by the legs, that the water may pass through them. Let them stay in 5 or 6 minutes; then hang them up in a cool place. When drained, pepper and salt the inside well. By this method the most delicate birds may be preserved. Before roasting, wash them well. But, as a rule, no game should be washed, for one-half the game that is sent to table is spoiled by being saturated in water.

In dressing game be careful to keep a clear fire. Let it be done of a bright brown, but not much roasted, or the fine flavor will be destroyed. It requires to be continually basted, and to be sent up beautifully frothed. Wild-fowl take a much shorter time than domestic poultry.

The following will give, pretty nearly, the time required for roasting the several birds:--Wild-ducks quarter of an hour, widgeons the same, pheasants half an hour, grouse quarter of an hour, quails 10 minutes, woodcocks 20 minutes, partridges from 20 to 25 minutes. A hare or rabbit will take an hour; the hind part requires most heat, and that should be attended


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to, as it commonly happens that the thick part of the thigh is underdone, as well as the shoulders. The blood stagnated round the neck and shoulders is not easily removed: to do this, put those parts into a pan of lukewarm water, and prick them with a skewer; before dressing, rub and squeeze it out.

To take off the fishy taste which wild-fowl sometimes have, put an onion, salt, and hot water into the dripping-pan, and baste them for the first 10 minutes with this; then take away the pan, and baste constantly with butter.

[Illustration: An illustration of a small bird ready to be cooked.]

To roast Woodcocks or Snipes. --Handle them as little and as lightly as possible, and pluck off the feathers gently; for if this be violently done the skin of the birds will be broken. Do not draw them, but after having wiped them with clean soft cloths, truss them with the head under the wing, and the bill laid close along the breast; pass a slight skewer through the thighs, catch the ends with a bit of twine, and tie it across to keep the legs straight. Suspend the birds with the feet downwards to a bird-spit, flour them well, and baste them with butter, which should be ready dissolved in the pan or ladle. Before the trail begins to drop, which it will do as soon as they are well heated, lay a thick round of bread, freed from the crust, toasted to a delicate brown, and buttered on both sides, into the pan under them to catch it, as this is considered finer eating even than the flesh of the birds; continue the basting, letting the butter fall from them into the basting-spoon or ladle, as it cannot be collected again from the dripping-pan should it drop there, in consequence of the toast or toasts being in it. There should be one of these for each woodcock, and the trail should be spread equally over it. When the birds are done, which they will be, at a brisk fire, in from twenty to twenty-five minutes, lay the toasts into a very hot dish, dress the birds upon them, pour a little gravy round the bread, and send more to table in a tureen. Woodcock, 20 to 25 minutes; snipe, 5 minutes less.

Another way. --Cut up the backs, and take out the intestines; mince, and add half the quantity of bacon, with a little minced


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parsley, shalots, scallions, pepper, and salt; stuff the woodcocks, sew them up, cover with slices of bacon, and finish as directed in the last receipt: serve bread-sauce in a sauce-boat.

Attention is to be paid to pick out the gall, which is attached to the liver, as well as the gizzard, which is full of small pebbles and other calcareous matter.

Salmi of Woodcocks. --Cook the intestines, taking out the gall and gizzard. (See Table Salmi.)

Woodcocks with Truffle, or à la Péragueux. --Open the woodcocks by the back; have truffle ready cooked in rasped lard; let it cool a little; mince the intestines, and mix them with the truffle; stuff the woodcocks, truss and lard; either roast or braise them. Use truffle-powder, if there is no fresh truffle.

To roast Canvass-back Ducks. --Let the duck be young and fat; pick it well; draw and singe it carefully, but do not wash it. Truss it, leaving its head on to distinguish it from common game, and place it on the spit before a brisk fire, for at least fifteen minutes: serve it hot in its own gravy. The best are found on the Potomac River. They have the head purple, and the breast silver-color. The season is only during cold weather.

Wild Ducks. --You must pluck, draw, singe, and clean the inside of these, the same as directed for poultry. To roast them properly, you must hang them down to a brisk, clear, bright fire, and baste them with butter, as the outside must be nicely browned and frothed, and yet the flesh be juicy and full of gravy. They will take about twenty to thirty-five minutes to roast, according as the family like them more or less done which you must inquire. Serve up with sauce made thus half a teacupful of port wine, the same of good meat gravy, a small onion sliced, a little cayenne pepper and salt, a grate of nutmeg, and a bit of mace: simmer them for ten minutes; then put in a little bit of butter and flour, give it all one boil, strain it, and pour it through the birds.

Or you may serve them up without making gravy, by only mixing the gravy which drops from them with half a teacupful of boiling water, and a little pepper and salt and straining it into the dish.

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Widgeon and Teal. --Widgeon and teal are to be dressed and served up in the same manner as wild duck; but twenty to twenty-five minutes will be long enough to roast a widgeon; and fifteen to twenty minutes, a teal.

Sauce for Wild Fowl. --Put into a saucepan half a pint of gravy, a few leaves of basil, a small onion or shalot, and a small piece of lemon peel; boil a few minutes, and strain off; then add the juice of half a lemon, or Seville orange, or a glass of port wine; and season with salt and Cayenne, or black pepper. This is a fine sauce for all kinds of wild fowl.

An onion, or shalot, chopped fine, and warmed in plain brown gravy, is a readier sauce than the above.

To roast Partridges. --Let the birds hang as long as they can possibly be kept without becoming offensive; pick them carefully, draw, and singe them; wipe the insides thoroughly with a clean cloth; truss them with the head turned under the wing and the legs drawn close together or crossed. Flour them when first laid to the fire, and baste them plentifully with butter. Serve them with bread sauce, and good brown gravy. A little of this last should be poured over them.

In preparing them for the spit, remove the crop through a slit cut in the back of the neck; clip the claws close; hold the legs in boiling water for a minute that they may be easily skinned.

[Illustration: An illustration of a partridge on a skewer ready for roasting.]

Another way. --Cover the breasts with slices of lemon, and then with bacon, and fix the paper tightly over, and when ready, unpaper and froth them: serve with clear juice, all-spice, and a little Seville orange-juice.

Broiled Partridge: (French receipt.) --After having prepared the bird with great nicety, divided and flattened it, season it with salt, and pepper, or cayenne, dip it into clarified butter, and then into very fine bread crumbs, and take care that every part shall be equally covered: if wanted of particularly good appearance, dip it a second time into the butter and crumbs.


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Place it over a very clear fire, and broil it gently from twenty to thirty minutes. Send it to table with brown mushroom sauce, or some Espagnole.

To roast wild Pigeons. --Pigeons, when stuffed, require some green parsley to be chopped very fine with the liver and a bit of butter, seasoned with a little pepper and salt; or they may be stuffed with the same as a fillet of veal. Fill the belly of each bird with either of these compositions. They will roast in about twenty or thirty minutes. Serve with parsley and butter, in a dish under them, with some in a boat. Garnish with crisp parsley, fried bread crumbs, bread sauce or gravy.

Wild Pigeons may be stewed, &c., by the receipts for Pigeons.

Reed Birds. --Having carefully picked your birds, which should be very fat, draw them with the greatest care possible so as not to rob them of any fat, and truss them on a skewer, which you fasten to the spit, and cook them before a brisk fire; a very few minutes is requisite. In serving them, place them on buttered toast, and pour a small portion of gravy over them. Let them be hot. This is generally considered the best manner of serving reed birds, although many persons prefer them breaded and fried, or barbacued. When they are very fat it is unnecessary to draw them. The season for this delicious bird is from the middle of September to the first or second week in October.

Small Birds. --Sparrows, larks, and other small birds, must be carefully picked, gutted, and cleansed; then rub them over thinly with the yolk of an egg, and sprinkle them with bread crumbs; hang them down, and baste with butter while they are roasting. They will take 10 to 15 minutes, with a brisk fire.

Obs.--Larks are not found in America, but robins, we are sorry to say, are sometimes killed for the table. We fully agree in sentiment with the English lady, whose remarks we subjoin, on the barbarity of killing, for amusement, singing birds and inoffensive little animals:

"I cannot here lay down my pen without calling upon my countrywomen to stamp on the barbarous practice of hunting


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or murdering for diversion the indelible stigma of their abhorrence. It argues, indeed, a degraded state of morality and of science, when men can be found, without the plea of necessity, so weak in head, and strong in heart, as to have recourse to such practices for amusement and for occupation.

"Nor less does it argue in their matrons of England and their daughters the absence of that delicacy and gentleness, for which we are so willing to take credit to the female character. The desire of the sexes to be mutually agreeable to each other is so constant and intense, that unless where women have no will of their own, anything much disliked by the one cannot long be continued by the other. If women are unable to demand from their husbands, instead of the brush, or the leading the field, superiority of intellect and refinement of manners, they certainly can require them from lovers, and instil them into the minds of their children."

Rabbits. --Rabbits being rather dry meat, are much improved by larding. Should the process be deemed too troublesome upon common occasions, a good effect may be produced by lining the inside of the rabbit with slices of fat bacon previously to putting in the stuffing. This is a very easy method of improvement, and ought never to be neglected.

A boned rabbit, larded, stuffed, and braised, or stewed affords a cheap and elegant side-dish for a dinner party.

Leveret, or Rabbit, with Herbs. --Cut either of the two into pieces, put it into a stew-pan with butter, salt, pepper, parsley, sorrel, and young onions chopped. When sufficiently done, add the juice of a lemon. The legs may be broiled and laid on the top.

To roast a Rabbit. --Put veal-stuffing into it, and the back may be larded; roast three-quarters of an hour, and serve with rich brown gravy.

To boil a Rabbit. --Put into boiling water, with a piece of crumb of bread, a little mutton-suet, and a slice of peeled lemon; boil three-quarters of an hour and serve with onion sauce, or parsley and butter.

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> CHAPTER XVI.

GRAVIES.

Introductory Remarks--Gravy--To Draw--Rich Gravy for Roast Fowl--Cheap Veal Gravy--Gravy for Fowls--To keep--Without meat--Velouté--Thickening for Gravies.

[Illustration: An illustration of a kettle with a very long handle for pouring gravy.]

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 187 in the original text.]

* We know of an instance of a cook who stewed down two or three pounds of beef to make gravy for a single brace of partridges; and who complained of the meanness of her employers (who were by no means affluent) because this was objected to.

GRAVIES are not often required either in great variety, or in abundant quantities, when only a moderate table is kept, and a clever cook will manage to supply, at a trifling cost, all that is generally needed for plain family dinners; while an unskilful or extravagant one will render them sources of unbounded expense* [*-We know of an instance of a cook who stewed down two or three pounds of beef to make gravy for a single brace of partridges; and who complained of the meannessof her employers (who were by no means afluent) because this was objected to.] But however small the proportions in which they are made, their quality should be particularly attended to, and they should be well adapted in flavor to the dishes they are to accompany. For some, a high degree of savor is desirable; but for fricassees, and other preparations of delicate white meats, this should be avoided, and a soft, smooth sauce of refined flavor should be used in preference to any of more piquant relish.

Gravy may be made quite as good of the skirts of beef, kidney, or milt, or of the liver of a fat ox, as of any other kind of meat, if cut in pieces, fried with onions, and seasoned with herbs and spices, as other gravies. A clever servant will contrive to supply, at a trifling expense, as much gravy as is wanted for the use of a small family by stewing down the

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trimmings of meat and bones. It may even be made of the shank-bones of legs and shoulders of mutton: they should be thrown into water, and, after a good soaking and brushing, be long boiled. The water in which they are done will add greatly to the richness of gravy, as does the jelly of cow-heels. The latter must lie all night in water, which causes the jelly to be of a good color. When boiled three hours, and become cold, let the fat be carefully taken off; and when apparently quite clear, lay some white paper upon it, rubbing it close with a spoon, which will remove every particle of grease, and it will be as pure as the jelly of a calf's foot.

In preparing meat to stew for gravy , beat it with a mallet or rolling-pin, and score it across in various places, as this will make it give out its juices; season it with pepper and salt, and put it into a stew-pan with butter only, heating it gradually until it becomes brown, but shaking the pan frequently to see that it does not burn or stick to the bottom. It will generally be browned sufficiently in half an hour. If kept in a very cool place and covered closely in a stone jar, it will keep good for 2 or 3 days in summer, and more than a week in winter, but should not be thickened until it is meant to be used.

To draw Gravy. --Cut gravy beef into small pieces, and put it, with some whole black pepper, into a jar, which tie over with a bladder; set the jar in a saucepan of cold water, and boil it gently for 6 or 7 hours, filling up the saucepan with hot water as the water boils away. The gravy thus made may be reduced and flavored for use.

A Pint of Rich Gravy for Roast Fowl. --Cut small 1 lb. of gravy beef, slice 2 onions, and put them in a stew-pan with a quart of water, some whole black pepper, a small carrot, and a bunch of sweet herbs; simmer till reduced to one pint; strain the gravy and pour it into another stew-pan, upon 1/4 lb. of butter browned with 2 table-spoonsful of flour; stir and boil up.

Cheap Veal Gravy. --Put in a stew-pan the bones and trimmings of a knuckle of veal, a bit of lean bacon, lemon-peel,

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sweet herbs, some whole black pepper, some salt, and a blade of mace. Cover with water, boil and skim; simmer about 3 hours, and strain.

Rich Gravy. --Slice 1 pound of lean beef and 2 large onions; flour and fry them only brown in a little butter; then put them into a stew-pan, pour half a pint of boiling water on the meat and onions; add a small bunch of sweet herbs, one blade of mace, a table-spoonful of whole black pepper and allspice, mixed, and a bit of lean bacon. Simmer for three hours; skim as soon as it boils, and frequently after--shaking it round, to prevent its burning. Strain, and take off the fat; and it will be ready to serve without thickening or browning, if properly made.

Slice beef and onions, flour them, and fry them a light brown, in very little butter; put them into a stew-pan with a bunch of sweet herbs, some whole pepper and allspice, three cloves, and two blades of mace; simmer till the meat is almost tasteless, skim carefully and strain. A dessert-spoonful of essence of anchovies or soy will be a great improvement.

When ham is wanted for gravy, cut the under part rather than the prime, and be careful in using salt.

Garlic or shalot vinegar, used with caution, say a few drops to a pint of gravy, is one of the finest flavors in cookery.

Gravy for Fowls without Meat. --Clean the feet and gizzard, and cut them and the neck into small pieces; put them into a sauce-pan with two small onions, a few sprigs of sweet herbs, a tea-spoonful of whole pepper, and some salt, and the liver, to which add a pint of water; simmer an hour; then mix the liver into paste with a little flour and butter; strain the gravy to it, stir well and boil up. A tea-spoonful of soy will enrich it, and a little coloring may be added, as a knob of sugar burnt in an iron spoon.

Gravy, in a few minutes. --Put a table-spoonful of glaze, or portable soup, into half a pint of warm water, with an onion; boil five minutes, add salt and some coloring, and strain. This will serve for any roast poultry or game.

Gravy, to keep. --Lay in a stew-pan lean beef, cover it with water, and let it stew gently; then add more water, a small


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slice of lean ham, sweet herbs, onion, and seasoning, and simmer till it is rich. Set it by to cool, but do not remove the fat till the gravy is wanted, as that serves to keep the air from it.

Or, lay the meat in the pan, set it on the fire to draw out the gravy, and when that is done, add the water, &c., as above. Be careful not to let the meat burn.

The sediments of cold gravies should not be used.

Velouté. --Take 1 pound of veal, with the remains of a fowl and a dozen of full-grown mushrooms, or a smaller number of green truffles; heat these in melted butter, or beef fat, without browning; season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, or mixed spices, to which may be added a couple of carrots and onions, with a table-spoonful or two of flour. When boiled, skim off the fat, and let it simmer for one hour and a half, after which strain it, and keep it closely stopped for further use.

Essence of Ham , for improving the flavor of sauces, is also made in nearly the same manner--the meat being stripped from the bone, and put into a sauce-pan with the bone broken in small pieces, then stewed in a small quantity of water for several hours until the liquor becomes thick; after which it is strained, and again stewed with about the same quantity of very strong and well spiced veal-gravy. If carefully bottled and corked, it will remain good for a long time, and a spoonful or two will frequently be found a useful addition.

Thickening for Sauces and Gravies. --For white thickening, put four ounces of fresh butter into a stew-pan, over a clear fire, when it is melted, stir in gradually, with a wooden spoon, eight table-spoonsful of flour till quite smooth; then put it into an earthen pan, and tie over, to keep. It should not be darker than cream.

For brown thickening, only six table-spoonful of flour should be used with four ounces of fresh butter; it should be made over a stronger fire, and gradually browned lightly. If it burn, or have dark specks, it will make sauce bitter.

The usual proportion of thickening for gravy is a tablespoonful to a quart.

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> CHAPTER XVII.

SAUCES.

Introductory Remarks--Melted Butter--Sauce for Roast Beef--Egg Sauce--Mustard Sauce--Sauce Robert--Christopher North's Sauce--Béchamel--Asparagus Sauce--Parsley and Butter--Onion Sauce--Oyster--White--French Maitre D'Hotel--Bread Sauce--Mushrooms--Tomato--Caper--Shalot--Sauces for Poultry--For Fish--Apple Sauce--Gooseberry--Cranberry--Sauces for Pudding.

[Illustration: An illustration of two pots in a large pan partly submerged in water.]

THE difference between good and bad cookery can scarcely be more strikingly shown than in the manner in which sauces are prepared and served. {Illustration} If well made, appropriate to the dishes they accompany, and sent to table with them as hot as possible, they not only give a heightened relish to a dinner, but they prove that both skill and taste have been exerted in its arrangements. When coarsely and carelessly prepared, on the contrary, as they too often are, they greatly discredit the cook, and are anything but acceptable to the eaters. Melted butter, the most common of all--the "one sauce" of England and America, which excites the raillery of foreigners--is frequently found to be such an intolerable compound, either oiled or lumpy, or composed principally of flour and water, that it says but little for the state of cookery amongst us. We trust that the receipts in the present chapter are so clearly given, that if strictly followed they will materially assist the learner in preparing tolerably palatable sauces at the least. The cut at the commencement of the chapter


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exhibits the vessel called a "bain marie," in which sauce-pans are placed when it is necessary to keep their contents hot without allowing them to boil: it is extremely useful when dinners are delayed after they are ready to serve.

Melted Butter. --Although it may be presumed that every cook who understands her business, knows how to melt butter, it is yet constantly brought to table either too thick or too thin, and not unfrequently filled with lumps of flour or in a state of oil, and requires more care in the management than is generally thought necessary.

The excellence of melted butter greatly depends upon the pains taken to blend it with the flour before it is put upon the fire, the best plan of doing which is to rub them together with a knife on a wooden trencher. When well mixed, add two table-spoonsful of hot water, or the same quantity of milk; put it into a small pipkin, shaking it one way until it boils, and not leaving it an instant; it must boil a minute to take off the rawness, and if made of fresh butter, add a little salt. Remember that if you set it on the hot coals, or over the fire, it will be oily; if the butter and flour be not well mixed, it will be lumpy; and if you put too much water, it will be thin and poor. By attending to these directions, and only using sufficient flour to prevent the butter from oiling, it will be rich and smooth.

Or:--Mix together by degrees two spoonsful of flour in cold water; make it smooth and thin; then put on a pint of water, let it boil, stir in the flour and water to make it the required thickness, cut half a pound of fresh butter in small pieces, put it into the flour and water, let it boil well; it is then fit for use; a pinch of salt may be required.

When thin melted butter is required to pour over puddings, roast veal, &c., make it the same way, adding a larger proportion of water or milk, the latter rendering it rather whiter than the water; and if meant to be more rich than common, use cream instead of milk. Indeed, the French frequently enrich melted butter by adding the yolk of a raw egg.

To brown Melted Butter. --Put a lump of butter into a frying-pan, and toss it round over the fire until it becomes brown; then dredge some flour over it, which has been also browned


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by putting it either in the oven or before the fire, and stir it round with a spoon until the butter boils.

By adding some of the flavored vinegars and compound sauces to melted butter thus prepared, most of the fish sauces can be made, and many of those in common use are composed in this simple manner.

Sauces for Roast Beef or Mutton. --Grate horseradish on a bread-grater into a basin, then add 2 table-spoonsful of cream, with a little mustard and salt; mix them well together; then add 4 table-spoonsful of the best vinegar, and mix the whole thoroughly. The vinegar and cream are both to be cold. This is a very fine sauce; it may be served in a small tureen.

Or:--Scrape the horseradish thin and chop it small, or grate it, which is better; warm it in melted butter, adding a spoonful of mushroom catsup and one of walnut, or the vinegar from walnut pickle.

Or:--Scrape very fine or grate the horseradish; add a little made mustard, and 2 spoonsful of pounded white sugar to 4 of vinegar: mix the whole well together, and place it under the meat, when nearly done, to catch the gravy which drops from it while roasting. This sauce should be very thick.

Very good Egg Sauce. --Boil four fresh eggs for quite fifteen minutes, then lay them into plenty of fresh water, and let them remain until they are perfectly cold. Break the shells by rolling them on a table, take them off, separate the whites from the yolks, and divide all of the latter into quarter-inch dice; mince two of the whites only, tolerably small, mix them lightly, and stir them into the third of a pint of rich melted butter, or of white sauce; serve the whole as hot as possible.

Eggs, 4--boiled 15 minutes, left till cold. The yolks of all, whites of 2; third of pint of good melted butter or white sauce. Salt as needed.

Common Egg Sauce. --Boil a couple of eggs hard, and when they are quite cold cut the whites and yolks separately; mix them well, put them into a very hot tureen, and pour boiling to them a quarter-pint of melted butter: stir, and serve the sauce immediately.

Whole eggs, 2; melted butter, one quarter of a pint.

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Mustard Sauce. --Stir made mustard into melted butter, in the proportion of two table-spoonsful of the former to a quarter of a pint of the latter. This is a useful sauce for boiled tripe, herrings, and hot lobsters.

Sauce Robert. --Put a piece of butter, the size of an egg, into a sauce-pan; set it over the fire, and when browning throw in a handful of onions cut in small dice; fry them brown, but do not let them burn; add half a spoonful of flour, shake the onions in it, and give it another fry; then put 4 spoonsful of gravy, and some pepper and salt, and boil it gently 10 minutes; skim it. When ready to serve, add a tea-spoonful of made mustard, a spoonful of vinegar, and the juice of half a lemon, and pour it round the steaks or chops. They should be of a fine yellow brown, and garnished with fried parsley and lemon. The sauce must not boil after the mustard is put in, otherwise it will curdle.

This is an excellent sauce for rump of beef, roast pork, or goose, as well as steaks and chops.

Christopher North's Sauce. --To a glass of port wine add a tablespoonful of lemon juice, two of Harvey's sauce, a dessert-spoonful of mushroom catsup, the same of pounded loaf sugar, a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, and a small quantity of salt. Mix these well together, and set it to heat, but it should not boil. It is excellent either with game or meat.

Béchamel. --This is a fine French white sauce, now very much served at good tables. It may be made in various ways, and more or less expensively; but it should always be thick, smooth, and rich, though delicate in flavor. The most ready mode of preparing it, is to take an equal proportion of very strong pale veal gravy, and of good cream, (a pint of each, for example), and then by rapid boiling over a very clear fire, to reduce the gravy nearly half; next, to mix with part of the cream a tablespoonful of fine dry flour, to pour it to the remainder, when it boils, and to keep the whole stirred for five minutes or more over a slow fire, for if placed over a fierce one, it would be liable to burn; then to add the gravy, to stir and mix the sauce perfectly, and to simmer it for a few minutes longer. All the flavor should be given by the gravy, in which French cooks boil a handful of mushrooms, a few green


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onions, and some branches of parsley before it is reduced: but a good béchamel may be made without them, with a strong consommée.

Strong pale veal gravy (flavored with mushrooms or not), 1 pint: reduced half. Rich cream, 1 pint; flour, 1 tablespoonful: 5 minutes. With gravy, 4 or 5 minutes.

Obs.--Velouté, which is a rather thinner sauce or gravy, is made by simply well reducing the cream and stock separately, and then mixing them together without any thickening.

Common Béchamel. --Cut half a pound of veal, and a slice of lean ham into small dice, and stew them in butter, with vegetables, as directed in the foregoing receipt: stir in the same proportion of flour, then add the milk, and let the sauce boil very gently for an hour. It should not be allowed to thicken too much before it is strained.

Obs.--Common béchamel, with the addition of a spoonful of made mustard, is an excellent sauce for boiled mutton.

Asparagus Sauce for Lamb Chops. --Cut the green tender points of some young asparagus into half-inch lengths, wash them well, drain and throw them into plenty of boiling salt and water. When they are quite tender, which may be in from ten to fifteen minutes, turn them into a hot strainer and drain the water thoroughly from them; put them, at the instant of serving, into half a pint of thickened veal gravy, mixed with the yolks of a couple of eggs, and well seasoned with salt and cayenne, or white pepper; or, into an equal quantity of good melted butter: add to this last a squeeze of lemon juice. The asparagus will become yellow if reboiled, or if left long in the sauce before it is served.

Asparagus points, half pint: boiled 10 to 15 minutes--longer if not quite tender. Thickened veal gravy, half pint; yolks of eggs, 2.

Parsley and Butter. --Pick and wash clean a large bunch of parsley, tie it up, and boil it for a few minutes in water; drain and chop it very finely, add to it some melted butter, and make it quite hot. It is better to be made thick with parsley.

Fennel Sauce. --Proceed as for parsley and butter.

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The first is used for the various purposes of fish, poultry, and fresh boiled meats; fennel mostly for mackerel.

Celery Sauce. --Wash and pare a bunch of celery, cut it into pieces, and boil it gently until it is tender; add half a pint of cream, and a small piece of butter rolled in flour: now boil it gently. This is a good sauce for fowls of all kinds, either roasted or boiled.

Mint Sauce. --Soak a bunch of young mint until all the gravel is removed from it, strip the stalks and chop up the leaves, then mix them with vinegar and powdered white sugar. The sugar should be well melted before the sauce is served. It is generally eaten with roast lamb, and imparts to it a delicious flavor.

The usual proportions of this sauce are: 3 heaped table-spoonfuls of young mint minced; 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar; 6 tablespoonfuls of vinegar. The proportions can be altered to suit the taste: it is generally served too liquid and not sweet enough. It is eaten with roast lamb.

Onion Sauce for Steaks. --Slice and fry brown, in very little butter, two onions; put them into a gill of brown sauce, and season with Cayenne pepper, salt, and lemon-juice.

Young Onion Sauce. --Peel thirty button onions, all of a size, and boil them till tender; then put them into half a pint of melted butter, made with milk instead of water, and season with salt.

Onion Sauce. --Peel and slice six middle-sized onions; boil them till very soft, when rub them through a sieve; put them into a sauce-pan with three ounces of butter, simmer five minutes, add a table-spoonful of flour, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and half a pint of cream or good milk, and stir till it boils.

This sauce may be made milder, by first scalding the onions, and then putting them into cold water; or by boiling the onions in two waters.

English White Sauce. --Boil softly in half a pint of well-flavored pale veal gravy a few very thin strips of fresh lemon


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rind, for just sufficient time to give their flavor to it; stir in a thickening of arrow-root, or of flour and butter; add salt if needed, and mix with the gravy a quarter-pint of boiling cream.

Good pale veal gravy, half pint; third of rind of 1 lemon; 15 to 20 minutes. Freshly pounded mace, third of saltspoonful; butter, 1 to 2 ozs.; flour, 1 teaspoonful (or arrow root an equal quantity); cream, quarter of a pint.

Obs.--For the best kind of white sauce, see béchamel.

French Mâitre d'Hotel, or Steward's Sauce. --Add to half a pint of rich, pale veal gravy, well thickened with the white roux, a good seasoning of pepper, salt, minced parsley, and lemon-juice; or make the thickening with a small tablespoonful of flour, and a couple of ounces of butter; keep these stirred constantly over a very gentle fire from 10 to 15 minutes, then pour to them the gravy, boiling, in small portions, mixing the whole well as it is added, and letting it boil up between each, for unless this be done, the butter will be likely to float upon the surface. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes, and skim it well, then add salt should it be needed, a tolerable seasoning of pepper or of Cayenne, in fine powder, from two to three teaspoonsful of minced parsley, and the strained juice of a small lemon. For some dishes, this sauce is thickened with the yolks of eggs, about four to the pint. The French work into their sauces generally a small bit of fresh butter, just before they are taken from the fire, to give them mellowness: this is done usually for the Mâitre d'Hotel.

Bread Sauce. --Pour quite boiling on half a pint of the finest bread-crumbs, an equal measure of new milk; cover them closely with a plate, and let the sauce remain for 20 or 30 minutes; put it then into a delicately clean saucepan, with a small saltspoonful of salt, half as much pounded mace, a little Cayenne, and about an ounce of fresh butter; keep it stirred constantly over a clear fire for a few minutes, then mix with it a couple of spoonsful of good cream, give it a boil, and serve it immediatley. When cream is not to be had, and additional spoonful or two of milk must be used; and as the sauce ought to be perfectly smooth, it is better to shake the crumbs through a cullender before the milk is poured to them; they should be of stale bread, and very lightly grated. As some will absorb more liquid than others, the cook must increase a little the


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above proportion, should it be needed. Equal parts of milk and of thin cream make an excellent bread sauce: more butter can be used to enrich it when it is liked.

Bread-crumbs and new milk, each half a pint (or any other measure); soaked 20 to 30 minutes, or more. Salt, small saltspoonful; mace, half as much; little Cayenne; butter, 1 oz.: boiled 4 to 5 minutes. 2 to 4 spoonsful of good cream (or milk): 1 minute.

Or:--Bread-crumbs, half a pint; milk and cream, each quarter of a pint; and from 2 to 4 spoonsful of either in addition.

Obs.--Very pale, strong veal gravy is sometimes poured on the bread-crumbs, instead of milk.

Bread Sauce with Onions. --Boil a large onion, cut into 4, with some whole black pepper, in milk, till the onion is quite a pap. Pour the milk strained on grated white stale bread, and cover it. In an hour put it into a saucepan, with a good piece of fresh butter; boil the whole up together, and serve; add a little salt.

Or:--Take a large onion, slice it down very thin, put it into some broth or water, let it boil until tender; add a sufficient quantity of bread-crumbs to thicken it, 2 ounces of butter, pepper, and salt, and a little good cream; boil it until it is thick and very smooth, but do not allow it to be too thick to pour into the sauce-tureen.

Or:--Grate a teaspoonful of fresh onion and put it to the bread-crumbs before the boiling milk is poured over it. Season it, and add a few grains of Cayenne pepper.

White Mushroom Sauce. --Cut off the stems closely from half a pint of small button mushrooms; clean them with a little salt and a bit of flannel, and throw them into cold water, slightly salted, as they are done; drain them well, or dry them in a soft cloth, and throw them into half a pint of boiling béchamel, or of white sauce made with very fresh milk, or thin cream, thickened with a tablespoonful of flour, and two ounces of butter. Simmer the mushrooms from 10 to 20 minutes, or until they are quite tender, and dish the sauce, which should be properly seasoned with salt, mace, and Cayenne.

Mushrooms, half a pint; white sauce, half a pint; seasoning of salt, mace, and Cayenne: 10 minutes.

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Brown Mushroom Sauce. --Very small flaps, peeled and freed entirely from the fur, will answer for this sauce. Leave them whole, or quarter them, and stew them tender in some rich brown gravy; give a full seasoning of mace and Cayenne, add thickening, and salt if needed, and a tablespoonful of good mushroom catsup.

Common Tomato Sauce. --Tomatoes are so juicy when ripe, that they require but little liquid to reduce them to a proper consistency for sauce; and they vary so exceedingly in size and quality that it is difficult to give precise directions for the exact quantity which is needed for them. Take off the stalks, halve the tomatoes, and gently squeeze out the seeds and watery pulp; then stew them softly with a few spoonsful of gravy or of strong broth until they are quite melted. Press the whole through a hair-sieve, and heat it afresh with a little additional gravy should it be too thick, and some Cayenne, and salt. Serve it very hot.

Fine ripe tomatoes, 6 or 8; gravy or strong broth, 4 table-spoonsful; half to three quarters of an hour, or longer if needed. Salt and Cayenne sufficient to season the sauce, and two or three spoonsful more of gravy if required.

Obs.--For a large tureen of this sauce, increase the proportions; and should it be at first too liquid, reduce it by quick boiling. When neither gravy nor broth is at hand, the tomatoes may be stewed perfectly tender, but very gently, in a couple of ounces of butter, with some Cayenne and salt only, or with the addition of a very little finely minced onion; then rubbed through a sieve, and heated, and served without any addition, or with only that of a teaspoonful of vinegar.

French Tomato Sauce. --Simmer the tomatoes in weak gravy until you can pulp them through a sieve; add to the pulp a little rich gravy, pepper, and salt, and a small piece of butter; simmer, and serve. This is an excellent sauce for pork, mutton, lamb, or veal cutlets, and calves' feet, and should be served with them in the dish.

Caper Sauce. --Stir into one-third of a pint of good melted butter from three to seven dessert-spoonfuls of capers; add a little of the vinegar, and dish the sauce as soon as it boils. Keep it stirred after the capers are added. Part of them may


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be minced, and a little Chili vinegar substituted for their own. Pickled nasturtiums make a very good sauce. For a large joint increase the quantity of butter to half a pint. To be served with boiled mutton.

Shalot Sauce. --Put a few chopped shalots into a little gravy, boiled clear, and nearly half as much vinegar; season with pepper and salt; boil half an hour.

Tarragon Sauce. --Put two or three tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar into a stew-pan, with a small piece of lean ham, and a sliced shalot; set it over a slow fire, and in a few minutes add half a pint of white gravy; simmer, skim, and pass through a fine sieve; and, just before serving, put in a little chopped tarragon and chervil: add lemon juice, and season with cayenne pepper.

Sauce for Ducklings. --Take young green onions or chives; chop them very small, then put them into some thick melted butter, with pepper, salt, and a spoonful of lemon pickle; stir it well together, and, when very hot, put it into the dish with the ducks upon it. Should the flavor of the onions be thought too strong, they may be scalded previously.

Green Sauce. --To half a teacupful of sorrel or spinach juice, add the beaten yolk of an egg, the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a bit of butter; simmer together, and serve, with ducklings or a young goose.

White Sauce for boiled Chickens. --Put into a stew-pan the trimmings of the chickens, with a small piece of the scrag of veal, two blades of mace, some whole white pepper, a bunch of sweet herbs, some lemon-peel, and a pint and a half of water; simmer to three-quarters: strain, and thicken with butter and flour, and biol up; then add a teacupful of cream, simmer, but do not boil: season with salt, and add a little lemon juice.

Sauce for Fowls. --Put into a stew-pan a slice of lean ham, half a shalot, and a sliced onion; add half a pint of white or brown gravy, the juice of half a lemon, and some pepper;


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simmer about an hour, strain, and serve in the dish or a tureen. A glass of port wine will be a great improvement.

Chestunt Sauce for roast Turkey. --Scald a pound of ripe chestnuts, peel them, and stew them slowly about two hours in white gravy; then thicken with butter and flour, and serve the sauce poured over the turkey. Pork sausages, cut up and fried, are sometimes put into this sauce.

Sauce for Wild Fowl. --To a quarter of a pint of good gravy add a minced shalot and some cayenne pepper and salt; simmer ten minutes; add a teaspoonful of butter and flour, and two glasses of port wine, boil up, and serve over the birds, or in a tureen.

Liver Sauce. --Boil the liver of a rabbit or fowl, mince it, or rub it through a sieve; then chop parsley, mix it with the liver, put it into a quarter of a pint of melted butter and boil up: season with pepper and salt.

Sauces for roast Fowls. --Stew any moderate quantity of ham, veal, and mushrooms, with sweet herbs, a shalot, a little allsipice, and a piece of butter, until all become brown; then let the whole simmer gently for a long time in either weak broth or water, until they form a strong gravy; strain it, and season it with any additional flavor that may be given by some of the made sauces. Serve hot in a sauce-tureen.

Or:--Put into a small stew-pan two slices of ham, a clove of garlic, a laurel-leaf, and sliced onions; add a little good gravy, a sprig of knotted marjoram, and a spoonful of tarragon vinegar; simmer slowly an hour, strain off, and put into the dish or a boat.

Or:--Boil some veal gravy, pepper, salt, the juice of a Seville orange and a lemon, and quarter as much of port wine as of gravy; and pour it into the dish or a boat.

Good Oyster Sauce. --At the moment they are wanted for use, open three dozen of fine plump oysters; save carefully and strain their liquor, rinse them separately in it, put them into a very clean sauce-pan, strain the liquor again, and pour it to them; heat them slowly, and keep them from one to two minutes


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at the simmering point, without allowing them to boil, as that will render them hard. Lift them out and beard them neatly; add to the liquor three ounces of butter, smoothly mixed with a large dessert-spoonful of flour; stir these without ceasing until they boil, and are perfectly mixed; then add to them gradually a quarter of a pint, or rather more, of new milk, or of thin cream, (or equal parts of both,) and continue the stirring until the sauce boils again; add a little salt, should it be needed, and a small quantity of Cayenne in the finest powder; put in the oysters, and keep the sauce-pan by the side of the fire, until the whole is thoroughly hot, and begins to simmer, then turn the sauce into a well-heated tureen, and send it immediately to table.

Small plump oysters, 3 dozens; butter, 3 oz.; flour, 1 large dessert-spoonful; the oyster liquor; milk or cream, full quarter of a pint; little salt and Cayenne.

Lobster Sauce. --Pick the meat from a lobster and cut it into small pieces. Break the shell, and stew it with the legs, &c., in a pint and a half of water, until reduced to the quantity required; then strain; add flour and water to thicken it. Pound some of the live spawn from the tail, adding a little water to it; when well pounded pour it by degrees into the sauce; let it boil up; add fresh butter to it in the proportion of three-quarters of a pound of butter to a quart of sauce; throw in the lobster; season with a little anchovy, Cayenne, salt, and a small quantity of lemon juice. It should be thick rather than thin.

Crab Sauce is made in the same manner; but crabs, being without coral, and the flesh less firm than that of lobster, form a rather inferior sauce.

Sauce Piquante. --Brown lightly, in an ounce and a half of butter, a table-spoonful of minced eschalots, or three of onions; add a tea-spoonful of flour when they are partially done; pour to them half a pint of gravy, or of good broth, and when it boils, add three chilies, a bay leaf, and a very small bunch of thyme. Let these simmer for 20 minutes; take out the thyme and bay leaf, add a high seasoning of black pepper, and half a wine-glassful of the best vinegar. A quarter of a tea-spoonful of Cayenne may be substituted for the chilies.

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Eschalots, 1 table-spoonful, or 3 of onions; flour, 1 teaspoonful; butter 1 1/2 oz: 10 to 15 minutes. Gravy or broth, half a pint; chilies, 3; bay leaf; thyme, small bunch: 20 minutes. Pepper, plenty; vinegar, half a wine-glassful.

Egg Balls. --Pound the yolks of as many hard eggs as will be wanting in a marble mortar, with a little flour and salt; add as much raw yolk of egg as will make this up into balls, and boil them before they are put into soups, or any other preparation.

Sauces for Fish. --The stock for fish sauces should be made of the water in which fish has been boiled, adding the bones, fins, &c., all well stewed down; when fish is filleted, the bones should always be employed in this way: stew them with an onion and a little white pepper, strain the broth, which will be very rich, thicken it with cream, butter, and flour, or roux; and add whatever the sauce is to be made of. The following may be generally used, according to fancy, for nearly every species of fish.

Horseradish Sauce. --Stew an onion in a little fish stock until it will pulp; add a tea-spoonful of grated horseradish, and one or two spoonsful of essence of anchovies. Beat all together over a fire, thicken it with a little butter, and finish with a spoonful of lemon pickle, or lemon juice. Vinegar may be substituted, in which case it must be mixed with the horse-radish, and boiled with it; while the lemon or lemon pickle, being of a more delicate flavor, should only be warmed.

Or:--Scrape the horseradish thin and chop it small, or grate it, which is better; warm it in melted butter, adding a spoonful of mushroom catsup, and one of walnut, or the vinegar from walnut pickle.

For Fresh-water Fish. --Take 2 large anchovies, half of an onion, finely chopped, 1 spoonful of vinegar, and 4 of sherry or ginger wine: boil it together, thicken it with flour, and add 4 spoonsful of cream or melted butter, in which latter case, the flour may be omitted.

For all sorts of Fish. --Take a spoonful of vinegar, one of Indian soy, the same of mushroom catsup and Harvey's sauce


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with a little Cayenne. Add three large spoonsful of melted butter; stir all well, and heat it over the fire.

Or:--Put equal quantities of water and vinegar into a sauce-pan, and thicken it with the yolk of an egg to every flour spoonsful of the water and vinegar. Make it quite hot, but do not boil it; stir it or shake the pan all the time; season it to your liking, and add a spoonful of the liquid to every three of melted butter.

Rich Dutch Fish Sauce. --Put two ounces of butter with two table-spoonsful of flour, into a quarter of a pint of water or gravy; simmer and stir, adding half a tea-cupful of cream beaten with the yolks of four eggs, and three table-spoonsful of horseradish vinegar; warm, but do not boil together, add salt and the juice of half a lemon, and strain through a sieve.

Brown Sauce. --Fry an onion in butter and flour until it becomes brown; then simmer it in a glass of port wine, with a table-spoonful of soy and walnut catsup, seasoned with salt and Cayenne; strain it, and thicken it with the necessary quantity of melted butter.

Anchovy Sauce. --Season melted butter with essence of anchovies, and a little lemon juice. Or, pick, but do not wash, two or three anchovies, beat them to a paste, with fresh butter, pass the paste through a sieve, add flour, and proceed as for melted butter.

Boiled Apple Sauce. --Apples of a fine cooking sort require but a very small portion of liquid to boil down well and smoothly for sauce, if placed over a gentle fire in a close-shutting sauce-pan, and simmered as softly as possible, until they are well broken; and their flavor is injured by the common mode of adding so much to them, that the greater part must be drained off again before they are sent to table. Pare the fruit quickly, quarter it, and be careful entirely to remove the cores; put one table-spoonful of water into a sauce-pan before the apples are thrown in; and proceed, as we have directed, to simmer them until they are nearly ready to serve: finish the sauce by the receipt which follows.

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Apples, half a pound; water, 1 table-spoonful; stewed very softly: 30 to 60 minutes.

Obs.--These proportions are sufficient only for a small tureen of the sauce, and should be doubled for a large one.

Baked Apple Sauce; (good). --Put a table-spoonful of water into a quart basin, and fill it with good boiling apples, pared, quartered, and carefully cored; put a plate over, and set them into a moderate oven for about an hour, or until they are reduced quite to a pulp; beat them smooth with a clean wooden spoon, adding to them a little sugar, and a morsel of fresh butter, when these are liked, though they will scarcely be required.

The sauce made thus is far superior to that which is boiled. When no other oven is at hand, a Dutch or an American one would answer for it.

Good boiling apples, 1 quart; baked, 1 hour, (more or less, according to the quality of the fruit, and temperature of the oven); sugar, 1 oz; butter, half an ounce.

Stewed Apple Sauce. --Pare and core apples, put them into a preserve-pot, cover up, and set it on a hot hearth, or in a sauce-pan of wtaer, to boil; when the apples are soft, mix them to a pulp with a small piece of butter, and sweeten with brown sugar. This is a much better method than the common one of boiling the apples with water. A little grated lemon-peel is sometimes added.

Gooseberry Sauce. --Cut the stalks and tops from half to a whole pint of quite young gooseberries, wash them well, just cover them with cold water and boil them very gently indeed until they are tender; drain them well, and mix with them a small quantity of melted butter made with rather less flour than usual. Some eaters prefer the mashed gooseberries without any addition; others like that of a little ginger. The best way of making this sauce is to turn the gooseberries into a hair-sieve to drain, then to press them through it with a wooden spoon, and to stir them in a clean stew-pan or sauce-pan over the fire with from half to a whole tea-spoonful of sugar, just to soften their extreme acidity, and a bit of fresh butter about the size of a walnut. When the fruit is not passed through the sieve it is an improvement to seed it.

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Cranberry Sauce. --This sauce is very simply made. A quart of cranberries are washed and stewed with sufficient water to cover them; when they burst mix with them a pound of brown sugar and stir them well. Before you remove them from the fire, all the berries should have burst. When cold they will be jellied, and if thrown into a form while warm, will turn out whole.

To Stew Cranberries. --To a pound of Cranberries allow a pound of sugar; dissolve the sugar in a very little water, boil it for ten minutes, and skim it well. Have the cranberries well washed, put them with the sugar and boil them slowly till they are quite soft, and of a fine color.

Sweet Pudding Sauce. -Boil together for 15 minutes, the thin rind of half a small lemon, an ounce and a half of fine sugar, and a wine-glassful of water; then take out the lemon peel, and mix very smoothly an ounce of butter with rather more than a half tea-spoonful of flour, stir them round in the sauce until it has boiled one minute; next add a wine-glassful-and-a-half of sherry or Madeira, or two-thirds of that quantity and a quarter of a glass of brandy: when quite hot, serve the sauce.

Port wine sauce is made in the same way, with the addition of a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, some grated nutmeg, and a little more sugar: orange rind and juice may be used to give it flavor when preferred to lemon.

Rind half a lemon; sugar, 1 1/2 oz.; water, 1 wine-glassful: 15 minutes. Butter, 1 oz.; flour, large half tea-spoonful: 1 minute. Wine, 1 1/2 wine-glassful; or, 1 of wine, and a quarter of a glass of brandy.

Common Pudding Sauce. --Sweeten a quarter of a pint of good melted butter with an ounce and a half of sugar, and add to it gradually a couple of glasses of wine; stir it until it is at the point of boiling, and serve it immediately. lemon grated, or nutmeg, can be added at pleasure.

[Illustration: An illustration of a tall pot with a handle on the side and a beater in the center.]

A delicious German Pudding Sauce. --Dissolve in half a pint of sherry, or of Madeira, from 3 to 4 ounces of fine sugar, but do not allow the wine to boil; stir it hot to the well beaten yolks of six fresh eggs, and mill the sauce over a gentle fire


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until it is well thickened and highly frothed; pour it over a plum, or any other kind of sweet boiled pudding, of which it much improves the appearance. Half the quantity will be sufficient for one of moderate size. A small machine, resembling a chocolate mill, is used in Germany for frothing this sauce; but a couple of silver-forks, fastened together at the handles, will serve for the purpose, on an emergency. We recommend the addition of a dessert-spoonful of strained lemon juice to the sherry or Madeira wine.

For large pudding, sherry or Madeira, half a pint; fine sugar, 3 to 4 oz.; yolks of eggs, 6; lemon juice, (if added), 1 dessert-spoonful.

Obs.--In the above receipts, the wine and brandy may be omitted, and more sugar and lemon juice added, if the strict temperance principle is considered to extend to food.

French Sauce for Puddings. -Beat half a pound of butter to a cream, and stir in half a pound of brown sugar; add the yolk of an egg, and one gill of wine; place it over the fire, stirring it all the time till it simmers. Grate nutmeg over it before it is sent to the table.

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> CHAPTER XVIII.

THE STORE CLOSET.

Store Sauces of many kinds--Pickles of various sorts--Vinegar--Making of various sorts.

SAUCES.--A well-selected stock of these will always prove a convenient resource for giving color and flavor to soups, gravies, and made dishes; but unless the consumption be considerable, they should not be over-abundantly provided, as few of them are improved by age, and many are altogether spoiled by long keeping, especially if they be not perfectly secured from the air by sound corking, or if stored where there is the slightest degree of damp. To prevent loss, they should be examined at short intervals, and at the first appearance of mould or fermentation, such as will bear the process should be reboiled, and put, when again quite cold, into clean bottles; a precaution often especially needful for mushroom catsup when it has been made in a wet season. This, with walnut catsup, Harvey's sauce, cavice, lemon-pickle, Chili, cucumber, and eschalot vinegar, will be all that is commonly needed for family use, but there is at the present day an extensive choice of these stores on sale.

Universal Sauces. -- Any of the following will be found good:

--1. half an ounce each of black pepper and pounded allspice, 1 ounce of salt, half an ounce of minced shalot, 1 pint of mushroom catsup, a tablespoonful of port wine, and teaspoonful of Chili vinegar. Set the bottle for 24 hours in a heat of about 90 ° of Fahrenheit; let it stand for a week, then strain it off and bottle it. A spoonful mixed with gravy is excellent for cutlets.

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2. A wineglass each of mushroom and walnut catsup, port wine, lemon-pickle, and Chili vinegar, with half a glass of essence of anchovy. Put all together into a bottle, and shake it well; it will be ready for immediate use, and greatly improve any sauce that needs pungency.

3. Instead of anchovy, put the same quantity of soy, either with or without shalot or garlic vinegar, in lieu of lemon-pickle.

4. Mix two spoonsful of Indian soy with half a pint of vinegar, half quarter ounce of Cayenne pepper, and a small quantity of garlic. Let the whole stand for some time in bottle. It will be found an excellent relish for fish or cold meat.

Tomato Catsup (Excellent) .-Boil one bushel of tomatoes until they are soft; squeeze them through a fine wire sieve, and add, half a gallon of vinegar; 1 1/2 pint of salt; 2 ounces of cloves; 1/4 lb. of allspice; 3 ounces of Cayenne pepper; 3 tablespoonsful of black pepper; 5 heads of garlic, skinned and separated.

Mix these together and boil about 3 hours, or until reduced one half. Then bottle without straining.

If you want half the quantity, take half of the above.

Mushroom Catsup. -Take the large flaps of mushrooms gathered dry, and bruise them; put some at the bottom of an earthen pan; strew salt over them, then put on another layer of mushrooms, then salt, and so on till you have done. Let them stand a day or two, stirring them every day. Strain the liquor through a flannel bag, and to every gallon of liquor add 1 quart of red wine, and half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of allspice, with a race or two of cut ginger; if not salt enough add a little more; boil it till 1 quart is wasted; strain it into a pan, and let it get cold. Pour it from the settlings, bottle it, and cork it tight.

Walnut Catsup. --Take 100 walnuts when a pin may be thrust through them; beat them in a mortar and pass them through a flannel bag; add to the juice 3 tablespoonfuls of salt and as much vinegar as will give them a sharpness. Boil it in a bell-metal pan; skim it well; put quarter of an ounce of mace, cloves and nutmegs each and a little whole pepper all beat together. When it is of the color of claret, it is done enough. When cold, bottle it, and it will last for years.

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Lemon pickle. --Peel, every thinly, six lemons, take off the white, and cut the pulp into slices, taking out the seeds. Put the peel and pulp into a jar, sprinkling between them two ounces of bay-salt; cover the jar, and let it stand three days; then boil in a quart of vinegar six cloves, three blades of mace, two or three shalots, and two ounces of bruised mustard-seed; pour it, boiling, over the lemons in the jar, and, when cold, tie over: in a month, strain, and bottle the liquor, and the lemons may be eaten as pickle. The above is a useful sauce, especially for veal cutlets and minced veal.

Quin's Sauce. --Mix a quarter of a pint of walnut catsup with half a pint of water, half a glass of soy, and a quarter of a pint of port or raisin wine; add six anchovies, beaten to a paste, or a gill of essence, six sliced shalots, and a quarter of an ounce of chilies; simmer all slowly for half an hour, then let the mixture stand a few days, when it may be strained and bottled for use.

This, and other store sauces, can only be fined by passing them through a flannel or felt bag.

To prepare Mustard for the dinner-table. --Mix an ounce of the best flour of mustard with a teaspoonful of salt; when they are well blended together, add eight teaspoonfuls of cold water, a little at a time, and stir and rub it well together with a wooden spoon, till it is quite smooth; the more pains taken in stirring and rubbing, the better the mustard will be. Mustard is best if made only an hour before it is wanted; and it will get dry and spoil in a few hours, if left uncovered.

Scraped horse-radish may be boiled in the water used to mix mustard; and cayenne pepper, and other pungent additions, are sometimes made to mustard. Milk is used by some, and vinegar by others, instead of water, and sugar instead of salt, in mixing mustard; but we think these by no means improvements.

Mushroom Powder. --Peel large, fleshy, button mushrooms, and cut off the stems; spread them on plates, and dry them in a slow oven. When thoroughly dry, pound them with a little cayenne and mace; bottle and keep the powder in a dry place. A teaspoonful of this powder will give the mushroom flavor to a tureen of soup, or to sauce for poultry, hashes, &c.

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Powder of fine herbs for flavoring Soups and sauces, when fresh herbs cannot be obtained. --Take dried parsley two ounces; of lemon-thyme, summer-savory, sweet marjoram and basil, one ounce each; dried lemon peel, one ounce: these must be dried thoroughly, pounded fine, the powder mixed, sifted, and bottled. You can add celery seeds if liked.

Horseradish Powder. - In the beginning of winter, slice horse radish, and dry it slowly before the fire. When dry, pound and bottle.

Mixed Spices and Seasonings. --Dry and pound fineone ounce of black pepper; of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon half an ounce each, and a dozen cloves. Mix the whole together, and bottle tightly: use for flavoring forcemeats and gravies.

Seasonings for White Sauce, Fricassees, and Ragouts. --White pepper, nutmeg, mace, and lemon peel--equal quantities pounded together.

> PICKLES.

Rules to be observed with Pickles.--Avoid as much as possible the use of metal vessels in preparing them. Acids dissolve the lead that is in the tinning of saucepans, and corrode copper and brass; consequently, if kept in such for any length of time, they become highly poisonous. When it is necessary to boil vinegar, do it in a stonejar on a stove.

Use alsowoodenspoons and forks.

See that the pickles are always completely covered with vinegar; and if any symptoms appear of their becoming mouldy, boil the vinegar again, adding a little more spice. It is a good rule to have two-thirds of the jar filled with pickles and one-third with vinegar; keep them also close stopped, as exposure to the air makes the pickle soft.

In greening pickles, keep them closely covered, so that none of the steam of the vinegar in which they are boiled be allowed to evaporate; and boil them only for a few minutes, or it will take away their strength.

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A very small quantity of alum will make them firm and crisp, but too much will spoil them.

The following is a good general proportion of spice:--To each quart of vinegar put half an ounce of whole black pepper, the same of ginger and allspice, and one ounce of mustard-seed; with four shallots, and two cloves of garlic.

Home pickles are not required to keep so long as those for sale, consequently, the vinegar need not be so often boiled; it should, however, be almost invariably poured through a sieve upon the articles to be pickled. The jar should be covered for a time, say with a plate or board, but not tied over, so as to confine the steam.

The principal season for pickling is July and August.

Cucumbers. --If full-grown,the small long sort are the best for pickling. Let them be fresh-gathered; pull off the blossoms, but do not rub them; pour over them a strong brine of salt and water boiling hot, cover them close, and let them stand all night. The next day stir them gently to take off the sand, drain them on a sieve, and dry them on a cloth; make a pickle with the best cider vinegar, ginger, pepper (long and round), and a little garlic. When the pickle boils throw in the cucumbers, cover them, and make them boil as quickly as possible for 3 or 4 minutes; put them into a jar with the vinegar, and cover them closely; when cold, put in a sprig of dill, the seed downward. They will be exceedingly crisp and green done in this manner; but if they do not appear to be of a fine color, boil up the pickle the next day, and pour it boiling on the cucumbers.

To pickle Gherkins or Small Cucumbers. --Choose nice young ones, spread them on dishes, salt them, and let lie a week, with a small bit of alum; then drain them, and, putting them in a jar, pour boiling vinegar over them. Set them near the fire, covered with plenty of vine-leaves; if they do not become tolerably good green, pour the vinegar into another jar, set it over the hot hearth, and when it becomes too hot to bear your hand, but still not to boil, pour it over them again covering with fresh leaves; and thus do till they are of as good a color as you wish. As an additional reason for preparing them at home, it is indeed well known that the very fine green pickles are made so by the dealers using brass or


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bell-metal vessels, which, when vinegar is put into them, become highly poisonous.

If spices be not mixed among the pickle, put into the kettle in a thin muslin bag allspice, mace, and mustard-seed, to every quart of vinegar in the proportion of rather less than half an ounce each of the former to one ounce of the seed.

To make the celebrated pickle called Poke-Melia. --Put a layer of white-oak leaves and black currant leaves, at the bottom of an oak-cast; then put a layer of cucumbers; strew some horseradish, garlic, race-ginger, whole pepper, allspice, and cloves, then a layer of leaves, cucumbers, spice, &c. &c., and so on until the cask is full. Add half a gallon of good cider-vinegar; and fill the cask up with salt and water strong enough to bear an egg.

Mangoes. --Although any melon may be used before it is quite ripe, yet there is a particular sort for this purpose, which the gardeners know, and should be mangoed soon after they are gathered. Cut a small piece out of one end, through that take out the seeds, and mix with them mustard-seed and shred garlic; stuff the melon as full as the space will allow, and replace the cut piece. Bind it up with pack-thread. To allow for wasting, boil a good quantity of vinegar, with pepper, salt, ginger, and any of the sweet spices; then pour it boiling hot over the mangoes during four successive days; and on the last, put flour of mustard and scraped horseradish into the vinegar, just as it boils up. Stop close. Observe that there be plenty of vinegar, as pickles are spoiled if not well covered. Large cucumbers, called "green turkey," prepared in the same way, are excellent, and are sooner fit to be eaten.

Another Way. --Musk melons should be pickled for mangoes, when they are green and hard. They should be cut open after they have been in salt water 10 days, the inside scraped out clean, and filled with mustard-seed, allspice, horseradish, small onions, &c., and stewed up again. Scalding vinegar poured upon them.

To pickle Walnuts. --The walnuts for this pickle must be gathered while a pin can pierce them easily, for when once the shell can be felt, they have ceased to be in a proper state for


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it. Make sufficient brine to cover them well, with 6 oz. of salt to the gallon of water; take off the scum, which will rise to the surface as the salt dissolves, throw in the walnuts, and stir them night and morning; change the brine every 3 days, and if they are wanted for immediate eating, leave them in it for 12 days; otherwise, drain them from it in 9 days, spread them on dishes, and let them remain exposed to the air until they become black; this will be in 12 hours or less. Make a pickle for them with something more than half a gallon of vinegar to the hundred, a teaspoonful of salt, 2 oz. of black pepper, 3 oz. of bruised ginger, a drachm of mace, and from a quarter to half an ounce of cloves (of which some may be struck into 3 or 4 small onions), and 4 oz. of mustard-seed. Boil the whole of these together for about five minutes; have the walnuts ready in a stone jar, or jars, and pour it on them as it is taken from the fire. When the pickle is quite cold, cover the jar securely, and store it in a dry place. Keep the walnuts always well covered with the vinegar, and boil that which is added to them.

Walnuts, 100; in brine made with 12 oz. of salt to 2 qts. of water, and charged twice or more, 9 or 12 days. Vinegar, full half-gallon, salt, 1 tea-spoonful; whole black pepper, 2 oz.; ginger, 3 oz.; mace, 1 drachm; cloves, quarter to half an oz.; small onions, 4 to 6; mustard-seed, 4 oz.: 5 minutes.

To pickle Beets. --Wash it, but do not cut off any of the root lets; boil or bake it tender, peel it, or rub off the outside with a coarse cloth, cut it into slices, put them into a jar, with cold boiled vinegar, black pepper and ginger. This is one of the most ornamental pickles brought to table.

To pickle Onions. --Choose all of a size, peel them, and pour on them boiling salt and water; cover them up, and when cold, drain the onions, and put them into jars and bottles; for white or silver, fill up with hot distilled water vinegar; for brown, white wine vinegar; in either case, adding ginger, two or three blades of mace, and whole pepper.

The onions are sometimes put into milk and water immediately after they are peeled, to preserve their color.

Another method, by which crispness is ensured, is to soak the onions in brine for three or four days, then drain them, and pour on them cold boiled vinegar with spice.

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To pickle Tomatoes. --Wash the tomatoes; puncture them slightly with a pointed stick about the size of a straw. Then fill a jar with alternate layers of tomatoes and salt; let them stand for eight or ten days. Then to each gallon of tomatoes add 2 bottles of powdered mustard; 4 oz. of ground ginger; 4 oz. of pepper slightly bruised; 1 oz. of cloves; and 12 onions sliced. Put these ingredients in layers through the tomatoes. Then cover the whole with strong vinegar.

To pickle Mushrooms. --Select the smallest buttons, rub them with flannel and salt, removing any red inside, and rejecting such as are black underneath. As they are cleaned, throw them into cold water, to keep their color; then put them into a stew-pan, with some salt, over a slow fire, until they are dry, when cover them with distilled vinegar, and warm: put them into wide-mouthed bottles, with a blade or two of mace in each, and, when quite cold, cork, and cement.

To pickle Red and White Cabbage. --Choose the purple red cabbage, take off the outside leaves, quarter them, cut out the stalk, shred the cabbage into a cullender or small basket, and sprinkle it with common salt: let the cabbage remain a day or two, when drain it, put it into jars, and fill up with boiling vinegar, the usual quantity of ginger and black pepper, and a few grains of cochineal, powdered, or a few slices of beet-root.

Or:--If the boiled vinegar be poured over the cabbage, it will better insure its crispness; though the cabbage will not keep so long as when pickled with boiling vinegar.

White Cabbage may also be pickled as above, with the addition of a little turmeric powder.

To pickle Nasturtiums. --Choose them young, and soak them 12 hours in brine; drain, and pour on them boiling vinegar, with whole black pepper and allspice. They are sometimes used as economical substitutes for capers; and the flowers and young seeds are used in salads.

To pickle Green Peppers. --The peppers must be pickled when half ripe, and the smallest ones chosen. Make a small hole at the top and another at the bottom of the pepper, and extract the core and seeds. A penknife should be used in performing


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this operation. Simmer the peppers for a whole day in salt and water over a very moderate fire--stir them every once and awhile that those at the bottom may not burn. Leave them over night to cool, and the next morning lay them gently into a jar, sprinkle a small quantity of mustard over them, and fill up the jar with cold vinegar.

Lemon Pickle. --Peel six large lemons; cut them in quarters, lay them on a dish, and strew over them half a pound of salt, turning them every day for a week. Then put them into a stone jar; add 6 large cloves of garlic, 2 oz. of horseradish shred very thin; of cloves, mace, nutmeg, and Cayenne, each quarter of an oz.; 2 oz. of mustard-seeds, bruised and tied up in a bit of thin muslin, and 2 quarts of the best vinegar. Cover the jar and set it in a pan of boiling water; let it boil 10 minutes, then set it in the oven, or anywhere that it may simmer gently, for 2 hours. Keep the jar closely covered, stirring it every day for 6 weeks, and when settled, strain it and bottle for use. Another quart of vinegar may be added to the ingredients, and boiled up, which will make a very good pickle for common purposes, or the lemons may be added to any mixed pickles.

> VINEGAR-MAKING.

It will be economical to make vinegar at home, as it is an article of great profit, and the ingredients are very cheap; or, in some cases, would be thrown away, if not so employed. Such are the fruits from which wine has been made.

Vinegar-making requires great attention, especially to the casks used for it; they should not remain empty to grow musty; and a cask that has not before contained vinegar, should have boiling vinegar poured into it, and be allowed to stand some hours.

Ropiness in vinegar should not discourage the maker: it is not a defect in the domestic process only, but is incidental to all vinegar made by fermentation; though less likely to occur in wine-vinegar, which is the purest kind.

Cider Vinegar. --Fill nearly a cask with cider, set it in a warm situation, with the bung-hole loosely covered over


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the cider will then begin to sour, and in six months will become vinegar. It should then be racked off, and kept either in bottles or casks, taking care to decant it when it gets thick of mothery. Should the vinegar prove weak, it may be strengthened by the addition of small quantities of sugar. Cider that has not kept well and has soured, will be the most economical and convenient for conversion into vinegar; the change will also be effected in a shorter space of time.

Sugar Vinegar. --To every gallon of water put 2 lbs. of coarse brown sugar. Boil and skim this. Put it to cool in a clean tub; when about lukewarm, add a slice of bread soaked in fresh yeast. Barrel it in a week, and set it in the sun in summer, or by the fire in winter, for six months, without stopping the bung-hole; but cover it with thin canvass or an inverted bottle to keep out the flies.

Obs.--If vinegar of extra quality is wanted, use common loaf sugar.

Pyroligneous Acid. --This acid is applicable to all the purposes for which vinegar is employed, and, if diluted with water, will form vinegar of any strength. One pint of the acid, and six pints and a half of water, will form the strongest pickling vinegar. One pint of the acid, and nine pints of water, are equal to the excellent pickling vinegar, which is proper for pickling most kinds of vegetables, for salads, table, or culinary and family uses. In diluting the acid with water, it is only necessary to stir both well together.

This acid, also, if applied to meat, fish, or game, will completely remove must, taint, or incipient putrefaction. It is used in the same manner as brine for immersing raw or cooked meats.

To strengthen Vinegar. --Expose a vessel of vinegar to the cold of a very frosty night; next morning, ice will be found in it, which, if thawed, will become pure water. The vinegar being freed from so much water, will consequently, be more acid than before; and the vinegar may thus be frozen again and again, until it becomes of the desired strength.

Horseradish Vinegar .- On 4 oz. of young and freshly-scraped horseradish pour a quart of boiling vinegar, and cover it


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down closely: it will be ready for use in 3 or 4 days, but may remain for weeks, or months, before the vinegar is poured off. An ounce of minced eschalot may be substituted for one of the horseradish, if the flavor be liked.

Basil Vinegar. --Half fill a bottle with the green leaves of sweet basil, fill it up with vinegar, cork it, and let it stand for a fortnight; then strain it, and bottle it for use.

Tarragon Vinegar is made by infusing the leaves of tarragon, in the same manner as directed for basil vinegar.

Pepper Vinegar. --Take 6 large red peppers, slit them up, and boil them in 3 pints of strong vinegar. Boil them down to 1 quart. Strain, and bottle it for use. It will keep for years.

Flavored Vinegars. --These are a cheap and agreeable addition to sauces, hashes, &c. Infuse 100 red chilies, fresh gathered, into a quart of good vinegar; let them stand 10 days, shaking the bottle every day. A half ounce of Cayenne will answer the same purpose. This is good in melted butter for fish sauce, &c.

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> CHAPTER XIX.

VEGETABLES.

Preliminary Remarks--Potatoes--Boiled--Roasted--Baked--Fried--Potato Balls--Ragoût--Puré--Omelette--To Brown--Potato Flour--Jelly--Wall--To keep--Sweet Potatoes--Turnips--To Boil--Mash, &c.--Beets--To Boil--Bake--Stew, &c.--Carrots--To Boil--Parsnips--Oyster Plant--Green Peas--French Beans--Windsor Beans--String Beans, &c.--To dress Egg Plant--Squashes--Rice--Green Corn--Succatash--Hominy--Cabbage--Cauliflowers--Spinach--Celery--Onions--Leeks--Artichokes--Tomatoes--Asparagus--Mushrooms.

To dress Vegetables. --Vegetables should be fresh gathered, and washed quite clean; when not recently gathered, they should be put into cold spring-water sometime before they are dressed. When fresh gathered, they will not require so much boiling, by a third of the time, as when they have been gathered the usual time those in our markets have.

Shake the vegetables carefully to get out the insects; and take off the outside leaves.

To restore frost-bitten vegetables, lay them in cold water an hour before boiling, and put a piece of saltpetre in the sauce-pan when set on the fire.

Soft water is best for boiling vegetables; but if only hard water can be obtained, a very small bit of soda,or carbonate of ammonia, will soften it, and improve the appearance of the vegetables. Pearlash should never be used, as it imparts an unpleasant flavor, as will also soda if not cautiously used.

All vegetables (except carrots) should be boiled by themselves, and in plenty of water. Salt should be used with


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green vegetables; and the water should be skimmed before they are put in. Fast boiling, in an uncovered sauce-pan, will preserve their color. When they sink they are done, and should be taken out and drained, else they will lose their color, crispness, and flavor.

Green vegetables, generally, will require from twenty minutes to half an hour, fast boiling; but their age, freshness, and the season in which they are grown, require some variation of time. They should, almost invariably, be put in boiling water.

Vegetables are very nutritious and wholesome, when thoroughly boiled; but are very indigestible when not sufficiently dressed. The principal points in cooking them are, to boil them so soft as to be easy of digestion, and sufficiently to get rid of any rankness, without losing their grateful flavor.

> POTATOES.

Potatoesrequire no attention for the preservation of their color, but their flavorwill be spoiled if their dressing be not attended to, which, although of the most simple nature, is frequently ill performed. The best mode of doing it is to sort the potatoes, and choose them of an equal size; wash them with a scrubbing-brush, and put them into cold water sufficient to cover them and no more. About ten minutes after the water has come to a boil, take out the half of it, and replace with cold water, to check it; the reason assigned for which is, "that the cold water sends the heat from the surface to the heart, and makes the potatoes mealy." Then throw in a large handful of salt, leave the pot uncovered, and let it remain upon the fire to simmer until the potatoes are done; this is the moment to be watched, for, if overboiled, they will become waxy. The cook should, therefore, occasionally try them, by piercing them to the heart with a fork, and, when they are tender, the pot should be instantly taken off the fire, and the potatoes passed through a cullender to drain; which being done, and the water thrown out, they should then be replaced upon a folded flannel, in the same pot, which should be left by the side of the fire to keep hot and to cause evaporation of the steam. when served they should be wrapped in a warmed cotton napkin. If of moderate size they will take about half


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an hour boiling, to which 15 minutes must be added for evaporation ere they can be sent to table. An iron pot is the best vessel for boiling potatoes in, since, after the water has been poured off, it retains sufficient heat to dry them thoroughly.

A good and economical mode of dressing potatoes, when soup, meat, or other eatables are to be boiled, is to have a tin strainer fitted to the mouth of the sauce-pan, so as to allow the steam to ascend from the boiler. {illustration: iron pot} By which simple contrivance awill boil the soup;b, when fixed in the pot, will steam the potatoes; and c, being the lid, will cover the whole, having a couple of small holes left in it to allow the steam to escape, in order to prevent it from falling down upon the potatoes.

[Illustration: An illustration of a pot with a long handle. Above it there is a tallstrainer with handles and a lid. The pot is labeled a; the strainer is labeled b; the strainer lid is labeled c.]

Another way to Boil Potatoes. --Pare, wash, and throw them into a pan of cold water; then put them on to boil in a clean pot, with cold water sufficient to cover them, and sprinkle over a little salt; let them boil slowly uncoveredtill you can pass a fork through them; pour off the water, and set them where they will keep hot till wanted. When done in this way they are very mealy and dry.

Potatoes, either boiled or roasted, should never be coveredto keep them hot.

To Boil New Potatoes. --These are never good unless freshly dug. Take them of equal size, and rub off the skins with a brush, or a very coarse cloth, wash them clean, and put them, without salt, into boiling, or at least, quite hot water; boil softly, and when they are tender enough to serve, pour off the water entirely, strew some fine salt over the potatoes, give them a shake, and let them stand by the fire in the sauce-pan for a minute, then dish and serve them immediately. Some cooks throw in a small slice of fresh butter, with the salt, and


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toss them gently in it after it is dissolved. This is a good mode, but the more usual one is to send melted butter to table with them, or to pour white sauce over them when they are very young, and served early in the season, as a side or corner dish.

Very small, 10 to 15 minutes moderate sized, 15 to 20 minutes.

New Potatoes in Butter. --Rub off the skins, wash the potatoes well, and wipe them dry; put them with three ounces of good butter, for a small dish, and with four ounces, or more, for a large one, into a well-tinned stew-pan or sauce-pan, and simmer them over a gentle fire for about half an hour. Keep them well-shaken or tossed, that they may be equally done, and throw in some salt when they begin to stew. This is a good mode of dressing them when they are very young and watery.

To Boil Potatoes; &(Captain Kater's Receipt.); --Wash, wipe, and pare the potatoes, cover them with cold water, and boil them gently until they are done; pour off the water, and sprinkle a little fine salt over them; then take each potato separately with a spoon, and lay it into a clean warmcloth, twist this so as to press all the moisture from the vegetable, and render it quite round; turn it carefully into a dish placed before the fire, throw a cloth over, and when all are done, send them to table quickly. Potatoes dressed in this way are mashed without the slightest trouble; it is also by far the best method of preparing them for puddings or for cakes.

To Roast or Bake Potatoes. --Scrub, and wash exceedingly clean, some potatoes nearly assorted in size; wipe them very dry, and roast them in a Dutch oven before the fire, placing them at a distance from it, and keeping them often turned; or, arrange them in a coarse dish, and bake them in a moderate oven. Dish them neatly in a napkin, and send them very hot to table; serve cold butter with them.

One and three-quarters to upwards of two hours.

Another way to Roast Potatoes. --Parboil, rub off the skin, and put them into the Dutch-oven, or, if there are embers,


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wrap them in two or three papers; wet the last and cover them with the hot ashes, or bake them in the oven. Best of all, if the ashes are reduced and hot, to wash the potatoes clean, and bury them in them, which frees them from all moisture.

Scooped Potatoes (entremets); or second course dish. --Wash and wipe some large potatoes of a firm kind, and with a small scoop adapted to the purpose, form as many diminutive ones as will fill a dish; cover them with cold water, and when they have boiled gently for five minutes, pour it off, and put more cold water to them; after they have simmered a second time, for five minutes, drain the water quite away, and let them steam by the side of the fire from four to five minutes longer. Dish them carefully, pour white sauce over them, and serve them with the second course. Old potatoes thus prepared, have often been made to pass for newones, at the best tables, at the season in which the fresh vegetable is dearest. The time required to boil them will of course vary with their quality: we give the method which we have found very successful.

Fried Potatoes (entremets). --After having washed them, wipe and pare some raw potatoes, cut them in slices of equal thickness, or into thin shavings, and throw them into plenty of boiling butter, or very pure clarified dripping. Fry them of a fine light brown, and very crisp; lift them out with a skimmer, drain them on a soft warm cloth, dish them very hot, and springle fine salt over them. This is an admirable way of dressing potatoes. When pared round and round to a corkscrew form, in ribbons or shavings of equal width, and served dry and well-fried, lightly piled on a dish, they make a handsome appearance and are excellent eating. We have known them served with a slight sprinkling of Cayenne. If sliced, they should be something less than a quarter-inch thick.

Cold Potatoes. --They may be cut in slices somewhat less than half an inch thick, and fried in like manner. They are sometimes fried with onions as an accompaniment to pork chops, or a rasher of bacon.

Mashed Potatoes. --Boil them perfectly tender quite through, pour off the water, and steam them very dry; peel them


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quickly, take out every speck, and while they are still hot, press the potatoes through an earthen cullender, or bruise them to a smooth mash, with a strong wooden fork or spoon, but never pound them in a mortar, as that will reduce them to a close heavy paste. Let them be entirely free from lumps, for nothing can be more indicative of carelessness or want of skill on the part of the cook, than mashed potatoes sent to the table full of lumps. Melt in a clean saucepan a slice of good butter with a few spoonsful of milk, or better still, of cream; put in the potatoes after having sprinkled some fine salt upon them, and stir the whole over a gentle fire, with a woodenspoon, until the ingredients are well mixed, and the whole is very hot. It may then be served directly; or heaped high in a dish, left rough on the surface, and browned before the fire; or it may be pressed into a well-buttered mould of handsome form, which has been strewed with the finest bread-crumbs, and shaken free of the loose ones, then turned out, and browned in an oven.

Obs.--More or less liquid will be required for potatoes of different kinds. For 2 pounds of potatoes add 1 tea-spoonful of salt, 1 ounce of butter and one-quarter pint of milk or sweet cream.

Potatoes a-la Maitre D'Hotel. --Cold potatoes that have been boiled should be used for this purpose. Lay them in a frying-pan with sufficient milk (or cream) to cover them, add a little butter, salt, and chopped parsley, and fry them until the milk thickens. They will be sufficiently cooked in a quarter of an hour, and make an excellent dish for breakfast.

Purée of Potatoes. --Mash the potatoes, and mix them while quite hot with some fine white gravy drawn from veal, together with butter and cream. The purée should be rather thin, and seasoned with salt, a very little pepper, and an atom of nutmeg.

potato Omelette. --It may be made with a mashed potato or 2 ounces of potato-flour and 4 eggs, and seasoned with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg. It should be made thick, and, being rather substantial, a squeeze of lemon will improve it. Fry a light brown.

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potato Balls. --Make mashed potatoes into balls with egg yolk, flour them, fry them in dripping, and drain them; or brown them before the fire.

Ragoût of Potatoes. --Fry potato-balls, as above, drain them dry, and serve them covered with brown sauce.

To Brown Potatoes. --While the meat is roasting, and an hour before it is served, boil the potatoes and take off the skins; flour them well, and put them under the meat, taking care to dry them before they are sent to table. The kidney potatoes are best dressed in this way. The flouring is very essential.

Boiled Potatoes. --If waxy, or to be eaten with cold meat, they should be peeled and put whole upon the gridiron until nicely browned.

potato Flour. --Rasp the potatoes into a tub of cold water, and change it repeatedly until the raspings fall to the bottom like paste; then dry it in the air, pound it in a mortar and pass it through a hair sieve. It is nearly as nutritive, and much lighter, than wheaten flour; it is, therefore, preferable for making puddings and pastry for infants and invalids; a portion of it also improves the appearance of household bread, and dealers constantly pass it off as arrowroot. If kept dry, it will remain good for years.

potato Jelly. --Is made from the flour, only boilng water must be poured upon it, but care must be taken that it be absolutely boiling, or the complete change into jelly will not take place. It does not take many minutes to thus change a raw potato into this substance, which is not only highly nutritive, but extremely agreeable to the palate when flavored with a little sugar, nutmeg, and white wine.

Potato-Wall , or edging, to serve round fricassees, forms also a pretty addition to a corner dish.--Mash in a mortar as many boiled potatoes as you may want, with a good piece of butter; then, with the bowls of two silver spoons, raise a wall of it 2 1/2 inches high within the rim of the dish to be used. Let the upper part be a little thinner than the lower; smooth


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it; and, after brushing it all over with egg, put it into the oven to become hot and a little colored. Before egging it, the outside may be ornamented with bits of paste cut into shapes.

To Keep Potatoes. --Buy them as dug from the ground, without taking off the earth that adheres to them, and never wash them till they are wanted to be dressed. Place them in a dry cellar, upon straw, and cover them in winter with straw or mats, to guard them from the frost.

Obs.--Potatoes should always be boileda little before being put into stews, &c., as the first water in which they are boiled is of a poisonous quality.

Sweet Potatoes. --These are better roasted or baked, than boiled.

To bake them, wash them clean and wipe them dry; then place them in a quick oven. They will take from half an hour to an hour, according to their size.

To roastthem; prepare them as for baking, and either cook them in the hot ashes of a wood-fire, or in a Dutch oven. They will take from half to three-quarters of an hour.

To boilthem; wash them carefully, put them in a pot with just water enough to cover them; let them boil from one-half to three-quarters of an hour; try them with a fork to see if they are done.

> TURNIPS.

To boil Turnips. --Pare entirely from them the stringy rind, and either split the turnips once or leave them whole; throw them into boiling water slightly salted, and keep them closely covered from smoke and dust till they are tender. When small and young they will be done in from 15 to 20 minutes; at their full growth they will require from three-quarters to a full hour, or more, of gentle boiling. After they become old and woolly, they are not worth dressing in any way. When boiled in their skins and pared afterwards, they are said to be of better flavor and much less watery than when cooked in the usual way.

Young turnips, 15 to 20 minutes: full grown, three-quarters to one hour, or more.

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To mash Turnips. --Split them once or even twice should they be large; after they are pared, boil them very tender, and press the water thoroughly from them with a couple of trenchers, or with the back of a large plate and one trencher. To ensure their being free from lumps, it is better to pass them through a cullender or coarse hair-sieve, with a wooden spoon; though, when quite young, they may be worked sufficiently smooth without this. Put them into a clean sauce-pan, and stir them constantly for some minutes over a gentle fire, that they may be very dry; then add some salt, a bit of fresh butter, and a little cream, or in lieu of this new milk &(we would also recommend a seasoning of white pepper or Cayenne, when appearance and fashion are not particulary regarded), and continue to simmer and to stir them for five or six minutes longer, or until they have been quite absorbed all the liquid which has been poured to them. Serve them always as hot as possible. This is an excellent receipt.

Turnips, weighed after they are pared, 3 lbs.: dried 5 to 8 minutes. Salt, 1 tea-spoonful; butter, 1 oz. to 1 1/2 oz.; cream or milk, nearly half pint: 5 or 6 minutes.

Turnips in White Sauce. (Entremets.) --When no scoop for the purpose is at hand, cut some small finely-grained turnips into quarters, and pare them into balls, or into the shape of plums or pears of equal size; arrange them evenly in a broad stew-pan or sauce-pan, and cover them nearly with good veal broth, throw in a little salt, and a morsel of sugar, and boil them rather quickly until they are quite tender, but unbroken; lift them out, draining them well from the broth; dish, and pour over them some thick white sauce. As an economy, a cup of cream, and a tea-spoonful of arrowroot may be added to the broth in which the turnips have stewed, to make the sauce; and when it boils, a small slice of butter may be stirred and well worked into it should it not be sufficiently rich without.

Turnips stewed in Butter. (Good.) --This is an excellent way of dressing the vegetable when it is mild and finely grained; but its flavor otherwise is too strong to be agreeable. After they have been washed, wiped quite dry, and pared, slice the turnips nearly half an inch thick, and divide them


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into dice. Just dissolve an ounce of butter for each half-pound of the turnips, put them in as flat as they can be, and stew them very gently indeed, and from three-quarters of an hour to a full hour. Add a seasoning of salt and white pepper when they are half done. When thus prepared, they may be dished over fried or nicely broiled mutton cutlets, or served by themselves.

For a small dish: turnips, 1 1/2 lb.; butter, 3 oz.; seasoning of white pepper; salt, half tea-spoonful, or more: three-quarters to one hour. Large dish, turnips, 2 lbs.; butter, 4 ozs.

Turnips in Gravy. --To a pound of turnips sliced and cut into dice, pour a quarter-pint of boiling veal gravy, add a small lump of sugar, some salt and Cayenne, or white pepper, and boil them quickly 50 to 60 minutes. Serve them very hot.

Turnip-Tops. --Should be nicely picked, (as the full leaves are coarse and strong,) and thrown into cold water an hour before boiling; put them on in plenty of boiling water, with salt, and they will be done in about 20 minutes; when press them dry.

> BEETS.

To boil Beets. --Wash the roots delicately clean, but neither scrape nor cut them, as not a fibre even should be trimmed away, until after they are dressed. Throw them into boiling water, and according to their size boil them from one hour and a half to two hours and a half. Pare and serve them whole, or thickly sliced, and send melted butter to table with them. Beet-root is often mixed with winter salads; and it makes a pickle of beautiful color; but one of the most usual modes of serving it at the present day is, with the cheese, cold and merely pared and sliced, after having been boiled or baked.

Boiled, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours; baked, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.

Obs.--This root must not be probed with a fork like other vegetables, to ascertain if it be done or not; but the cook must endeavor, by attention, to learn the time required for it. After it is lifted out, the thickest part may be pressed with the fingers, to which it will yield, if it be sufficiently boiled.

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To bake Beets. --Beet-root, if slowly and carefully baked until it is tender quite through, is very rich and sweet in flavor, although less bright in color than when it is boiled: it is also, we believe, remarkably nutritious and wholesome. Wash and wipe it very dry, but neither cut nor break any part of it: then lay it into a coarse dish, and bake it in a gentle oven for 4 or 5 hours: it will sometimes require even a longer time than this. Pare it quickly, if to be served hot; but leave it to cool first, when it is to be sent to table cold.

The white beet-root is dressed exactly like the red: the leaves of it are boiled and served like asparagus.

Bake in slow oven from 4 to 6 hours.

Stewed Beet. --Bake or boil it tolerably tender, and let it remain until it is cold, then pare and cut it into slices; heat and stew it for a short time in some good pale veal gravy (or in strong veal broth for ordinary occasions), thicken this with a tea-spoonful of arrow-root, and half a cupful or more of good cream, and stir in, as it is taken from the fire, from a tea-spoon to a table-spoonful of vinegar. The beet may be served like-wise in thick white sauce, to which, just before it is dished, mild eschalots may be added.

> CARROTS.

To boil Carrots. --Wash the mould from them, and scrape the skin off lightly with the edge of a sharp knife, or, should this be objected to, pare them as thin and as equally as possible; in either case free them from all blemishes, and should they be very large, split them across the tops a few inches down; rinse them well, and throw them into plenty of boiling water with some salt in it. The skin of very young carrots may be rubbed off like that of new potatoes, and from 20 to 30 minutes will then be sufficient to boil them; but at their full growth they will require from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It was formerly the custom to tie them in a cloth, and to wipe the skin from them with it after they were dressed; and old-fashioned cooks still use one to remove it, but all vegetables should be served with the least possible delay. Melted butter should accompany boiled carrots.

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> PARSHNEPS.

To boil Parshneps. --Parships are cooked as carrots; but they do not require so much boiling, and are sometimes served differently, being mashed with some butter, a little cream or milk, and seasoned with pepper and salt.

Parsneps are also excellent fried.

Parsnep Fritters. --Boil 6 parsneps tender; then skin and mash them; mix with them 1 or 2 eggs well beaten, and 2 teaspoonsful of wheat flour. Make them up in small cakes, and fry them in a little lard or beef gravy, made boiling hot before the cakes are put in. A little salt should be added to the lard or gravy.

> SALSIFY, OR OYSTER PLANTS.

Salsify, or Oyster Plants. --Scrape the salsify, cut it in long strips, and parboil it, then chop it up fine with egg batter.

It is sometimes served with the roots whole, having been first thoroughly boiled and then fried in egg batter.

> PEAS.

Green Peas. --Boil them very fast in plenty of water with the lid off the stew-pan; the water should be moderately salted. they are unfit for eating when they become hard and yellowish, but when growing rather old a very small quantity of carbonate of ammonia put into the water, with 2 or 3 lumps of loaf-sugar, will greatly improve them. The old English method of putting a sprig of mint, or a little parsley, is still a good practice, and ought to be continued unless specially forbidden, or the mint may be chopped and put round the dish. A few bits of raw butter should also be put into the peas when boiled, and a dust of pepper and salt thrown over them if they be completely ripe; but if quite young, neither butter, salt, nor pepper should be added to them, but a tea-spoonful of pounded white sugar. When growing to maturity the pods are of different ages, and young and old peas should not be


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boiled together; sift them, therefore, from each other, and put the old ones into the water some minutes sooner than the young: they require from 15 to 20 minutes boiling.

Another way to boil Green Peas. --Having shelled them, put a tea-spoonful of white sugar and some salt into the water, and when it boils, put in the peas, with a small bunch of mint; boil 20 minutes; or until they are done; then drain them in a cullender; put a piece of butter into the dish with the peas, stir them about, and serve.

A peck of peas will require a gallon of water to boil them in.

To stew Green Peas. --Put into a stew-pan a quart of peas, one onion, two ounces of butter, a sprig of mint, a tea-spoonful of white sugar, and two table-spoonsful of gravy; stew till soft, when take out the onion and mint, and thicken with flour and butter. A lettuce is sometimes stewed with them.

Peas dressed together should be as nearly one size as possible, else some only will be properly done. To ensure this, the peas should be passed through a coarse sieve.

To stew Old Peas. --Soak a quart of good boiling peas in water an hour, and put them into a stew-pan, with weak gravy, a slice of lean bacon, and a tea-spoonful of white sugar; stew till tender, when take out the bacon, and mix well with the peas a beaten egg or two, and a bit of butter rolled in flour.

Split-Peas Pudding. --Take any quantity, say 1 pint of yellow split peas; allow them to remain in water the whole night before you wish to use them; after which take them out and put them into a cloth so loose as to allow the peas to swell; boil them for 4 hours, or until they are quite tender, then rub them through a cullender, so as to render them perfectly smooth; add to the pulp a lump of butter and some salt. After being well mixed put the peas again into a cloth, tie tightly, and boil for about half an hour. Pour over it melted butter.

A richer pudding may be made if two well-beaten eggs are added along with the butter. It is served with boiled pork.

To preserve Peas for Winter use. --Gather them when ripe, for if too young they will be watery. Shell them, put them


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in strong jars, or open-mouthed bottles, and shake them to make them sit closely together. Cork the jars tightly; place them in any iron pot large enough to contain them, with hay between them to prevent breakage; fill the pot with cold water up to the neck of the jars, and allow it to boil 1 1/2 hour if in cool moist weather, but for 2 hours if it be hot and dry. Do not take the jars out of the pot till the water is cold.

Obs.-French beans and asparagus may be preserved in the same manner; they retain their color, but lose much of their flavor, and require a little sugar to improve it.

> BEANS.

To boil Windsor Beans. --When young, freshly gathered, and well dressed, these beans, even with many persons accustomed to a luxurious table, are a favorite accompaniment to a dish of streaked bacon, or delicate pickled pork. Shell them only just before they are wanted, then wash, drain, and throw them into boiling water, salted as for peas. When they are quite tender, pour them into a hot cullender, drain thoroughly, and send them to table quickly, with a tureen of parsley and butter, or with plain melted butter, when it is preferred. A boiled cheek of bacon, trimmed free of any blackened parts, may be dished overthe beans, upon occasion.

From 20 to 30 minutes; less when veryyoung.

Obs.--When the skin of the beans appear wrinkled, they will generally be found sufficiently tender to serve, but they should be tasted to ascertain that they are so.

To stew. --Take them when too old to dress any other way, boil them, and remove the tough outer skin by peeling it off after the beans are boiled; thicken some white broth with a little cream or flour and butter, add the beans to it, and stew them all together over the fire for a few minutes. Add pepper and salt to palate.

To boil French, or String beans. --When early and young, they should be clipped and cut finely, or almost shred, and thrown into cold water; then put them on in boiling water with some salt, and boil till tender.

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When the beans are older, cut off the ends, strip off the strings, and cut each bean into 4 or 8 pieces; and boil as above.

To preserve the fine green color of beans, cover them as soon as done with melted butter.

String Beans fricasseed. --When nearly boiled tender, strain the beans, and put them into a stew-pan with a tea-cupful of white gravy; add 2 table-spoonsful of cream, a little butter and flour, simmer a few minutes, season, and serve.

String beans a la Français (an excellent Receipt). --Prepare as many young and freshly gathered beans as will serve for a large dish, boil them tender, and drain the water well from them. Melt a couple of ounces of fresh butter, in a clean sauce-pan and stir smoothly to it a small dessert-spoonful of flour; keep these well shaken and gently simmered until they are lightly browned, add salt and pepper, and pour to them by degrees a small cupful of good veal gravy, (ir, in lieu of this, of sweet rich cream,) toss the beans in the sauce until thay are as hot as possible; stir quickly in, as they are taken from the fire, the beaten yolks of 2 fresh eggs, and a little lemon juice, and serve them without delay. The eggs and lemon are sometimes omitted, and a table-spoonful of minced parsley is added to the butter and flour; but this, we think, is scarcely an improvement.

beans, 1 to 2 quarts: boiled 15 to 20 minutes. Butter, 2 oz.; flour, 1 dessert-spoonful; salt and pepper; veal gravy, a smallcupful; yolks of egg, 2; lemon juice, a dessert-spoonful.

To dress Dried French Beans. --Boil for more than 2 hours, in 2 quarts of water, a pound of the seeds or beans of scarlet runners; fill a pint basin with onions peeled or sliced, brown them in a sauce-pan, with rather more than a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; stir them constantly; strain the water from the beans, and mix them with the onions; add a teaspoonful of pepper, some salt, and a little gravy. Let them stew for 10 minutes, and stir in the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, and a table-spoonful of vinegar. Serve them hot.

To stew Red beans. --Put 1 pint of red beans in 2 quarts of water, and let them soak over night. Drain off the water


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early the next morning and place them over the fire in 2 quarts of fresh water. When they are perfectly soft break them a little without throwing off the water; add 2 table-spoonsful of butter; season with pepper, salt, parsley, thyme, and add an onion. When the beans are soft and mashed, let them simmer slowly till dinner.

Lima Beans. --Wash in cold water 1 quart of Lima beans shelled; then put them in a stew-pan with just enough boiling water to cover them. Let them boil, with the stew-pan closely covered for half an hour; then try them to see if they are tender; turn off almost all the water, and add a tea-cup nearly full of butter, salt and pepper to your taste. Stir them well together. Heat them for a few minutes longer and serve.

> EGG-PLANT.

To dress Egg-Plant. --Parboil the egg-plants till they become soft, then cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside, leaving the skin whole; take half of a small onion to about seven egg-plants, with half pound of butter, and put them over the fire in a pot for a few moments; then mix with it half a good-sized loaf of bread which has been soaked in milk; mix it all well together; put in salt, black and red pepper, and a little parsley, and let it stew an hour. Then take some grated toast and strew over it, and put it for half an hour over the coals on a gridirion, then return the mixture to the shells, and serve them.

A very fine way to dress Egg-Plant. --Take as many egg-plants as the size of your family requires--pare, quarter and boil them till soft enough to mash like turnips. Mash them, add a little bread crumb soaked in milk, butter, chopped parsley, an onion boiled and mashed, some butter, pepper, and salt. Mix these well together, and pour it into a baking dish; cover the top with grated bread, and bake it for half an hour.

Another way to dress Egg Plant. --Split the egg-plant in half; parboil it until soft enough to scrape out the inside, leaving the shell whole. Take an onion cut up, pepper, salt, parsley, and one egg. Sprinkle in a little flour; stew all together with


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a lump of butter, in a sauce-pan, until thoroughly cooked. Then put them in the shells, sprinkle them with crumbs of bread, and bake them till brown.

To fry Egg-Plant. --Cut the egg-plant into slices quarter of an inch thick; let it lie for several hours in salted water to remove the bitter taste. Heat a small quantity of butter; when very hot, put in the slices; turn them when one side is done. Let them cook thoroughly.

Summer Squashes or Cymbelins. --When these vegetables are fresh, the rind will be crisp when cut by the nail. If very young and tender, they may be boiled whole; if not, pare them. Extract the seeds and strings, cut them small, put them in a stew-pan with water enough just to cover them; add one tea-spoonful of salt to each common sized squash; boil them till the pieces break; half an hour is generally enough, and then press them through a culender with a skimmer. Mix them with butter to your taste, and a little salt if necessary.

Winter Squash. --This requires rather more boiling than the summer kind. Pare it, cut it in pieces, take out the seeds and strings; boil it in a very little water till it is quite soft. Then press out the water, mash it, and add butter, salt, and pepper to your taste.

From half to three-quarters of an hour will generally suffice to cook it.

> RICE.

To Boil Rice. --Wash the rice perfectly clean, and put on one pound in two quarts of cold water; stir it up from the bottom of the kettle once or twice, till it boils; let it boil twenty minutes, strain it through a sieve, and put it before the fire; shake it up with a fork every now and then, to separate the grains, and make it quite dry. Serve it hot.

To Boil Rice Carolina Fashion. --Wash and pick the rice in cold water, which, when you are ready for the rice, pour off. Put it in a pot of boiling water, already salted. Boil it hard


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for 20 minutes; then take it off the fire, and pour off the water. Set the pot in the chimney corner with the lid off, while dishing the dinner, to allow the rice to dry. Each grain will then be separate and free from moisture.

Casserole de Riz aux Œufs. --Clean and wash 6 ounces of rice, put it into a stew-pan with cold water, and, after it has boiled for about a minute, strain it; then add twice the quantity of broth, and let it stew gently until the rice will break easily with a spoon. Should the liquor dry too much before the rice is soft enough, add a little more broth. Work it well with stock and an egg beaten, as the rice should be firm and well-blended; then make it into a wall, lining the inside of a mould of the requisite height; bake the casserole. Take the white portion of cold fowl, cold veal, or sweetbreads; mince them finely, add some thick white sauce and mushrooms, fill the casserole, and cover the top with poached eggs; cover them with glaze, and serve it up very hot.

> GREEN CORN.

Sweet or sugar corn is best for boiling. Trim off the husks, excepting the inside leaves; throw the corn into boiling water with a little salt in it, and let it boil from one-half to three-quarters of an hour, according to its size. Then take off the remaining husks, and serve the corn, laid in a dish on a napkin; let the corners of the napkin be thrown over the corn, to keep it hot. It is eaten with salt and butter.

Or:--Cut the corn from the cob and put it in a stew-pan, with a tea-cupful of water to each quart of corn; cover it closely, and let it stew gently for nearly one hour; then add half a tea-cupful of butter, and pepper and salt to your taste.

Common white corn may be improved by the addition of a little white sugar. To roast it, take off the husks, and lay it over the coals on a gridiron, turning it occasionally.

Succatash. --Take 12 ears of sweet corn, and cut the kernels from the cob; string 1 quart of green beans, and cut them in small pieces; wash them, and put them with the corn in a stew-pan with half a pint of boiling water; milk may be used


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if preferred. Let them boil three-quarters of an hour, closely covered; then add a piece of butter the size of a large egg, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a little pepper; stir them well together; cover them for ten minutes, and serve them.

Half a pound of salt fat pork cut in slices may be substituted for the butter.

Lima beans and corn make a still finer succatash than string beans.

Corn Pudding--to be eaten as a vegetable. --Grate ears of green corn; add to a quart of it a tea-cupful of cream or milk, a lump of butter about the size of an egg, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Mix all well together; put it in your dish and bake it an hour and a half. To be eaten as a vegetable, with butter, pepper and salt.

Hominy. --There are three sizes of hominy. Large hominy requires to be boiled from 4 to 5 hours over a gentle fire. It should be washed clean, and put in the stew-pan with just enough water to cover it. It is eaten as a vegetable. To cook the smaller hominy, wash it in two waters; then, to one tea-cupful of hominy, add a quart of water and a tea-spoonful of salt, and place the dish that contains it in a kettle of boiling water, to prevent it from getting burnt, or else over a very gentle fire. Let it boil for an hour, stirring it well with a spoon. It is generally eaten for breakfast. It is excellent, sliced and friend, after it has become cold.

> CABBAGES.

To boil Cabbage and Greens. --A full-grown cabbage, quartered, will require an hour's boiling; a young one, half that time. Greens will require about 20 minutes quick boiling. In both cases, salt should be put into the water.

Savoys should be boiled whole, and quartered before serving.

It has been recommended to boil cabbages in two waters; that is, when they are half done to pour off the water, and add fresh boiling water.

Be careful to press the greens as dry as possible.

Sauer Kraut. --Shred very finely 6 white cabbages, having


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cut out the stalks; mix with them half a pound of salt, and press them as closely as possible into a cask; put over a cloth, then a wooden cover, and upon that a heavy weight: let it stand in a warm cellar 2 months, keeping the liquor that rises on it, and it will be fit for use: it should then be removed to a cooler place. In Germany, half an ounce of juniper berries, anniseed, or caraway seeds, would be added to the above; but this is not recommended for American taste.

To dress Sauer Kraut. --Put a quart into a stew-pan with a little butter, and half a pint of weak gravy; stew gently until tender, and serve under boiled pork or beef, or sausages, boiled or fried. The Bavarian method of dressing sauer kraut is, after it has been boiled, to mix it with butter and red wine.

To stew Cabbage. --Parboil in milk and water, and drain it; then shred it, put it into a stew-pan, with small piece of butter, a small tea-cupful of cream, and seasoning, and stew tender. Or, it may be stewed in white or brown gravy.

To stew Red Cabbage. --Shred finely half a cabbage, and put it into a stew-pan, with a tea-cupful of gravy, and 2 oz. of butter; stew slowly till tender, season with salt and serve. To heighten the color of the cabbage, a slice or two of beetroot may be added, but should be taken out before serving.

Another Way (Flemish Receipt). --Strip the outer leaves from a fine and fresh red cabbage; wash it well, and cut it into the thinnest possible slices, beginning at the top; put it into a thick sauce-pan in which two or three ounces of good butter have been just dissolved; add some pepper and salt, and stew it very slowly indeed for 3 or 4 hours in its own juice, keeping it often stirred, and well pressed down. When it is perfectly tender add a table-spoonful of vinegar; mix the whole up thoroughly, heap the cabbage in a hot dish, and serve broiled sausages round it; or omit these last, and substitute lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and half a cupful of good gravy.

The stalk of the cabbage should be split in quarters, and taken entirely out in the first instance.

To boil Cauliflowers. --Choose those that are close and white, cut off the green leaves, and look carefully that there are no


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caterpillars about the stalk; soak an hour in cold water, with a handful of salt in it; then boil them in milk and water, and take care to skim the sauce-pan, that not the least foulness may fall on the flower. It must be served very white, and rather crimp.

In White Sauce. --Take off the whole of the leaves of a cauliflower, and half boil it; then cut it into handsome pieces and lay them in a stew-pan with a little broth, a bit of mace, a little salt, and a dust of white pepper; simmer half an hour, but let the stalk be put down quarter of an hour before the flower; then put a little cream, butter, and flour; shake, and simmer a few minutes, and serve.

To boil Brocoli. --Peel the stalks, and boil them 15 minutes with a little salt in the water; tie the shoots into bunches, and boil half the above time; serve with melted butter or toast.

> SPINACH.

Spinach, (Entremets,) French receipt. --Pick the spinach leaf by leaf from the stems, and wash it in abundance of spring water, changing it several times; then shake it in a dry cloth held by the four corners, or drain it on a large sieve. Throw it into sufficient well-salted boiling water to allow it to float freely, and keep it pressed down with a skimmer that it may be equally done. When quite young it will be tender in from eight to ten minutes, but to ascertain if it be so, take a leaf and squeeze it between the fingers. If to be dressed in the French mode, drain, and then throw it directly into plenty of fresh water, and when it is cool form it into balls and press the moisture thoroughly from it with the hands. Next, chop it extremely fine upon a clean trencher; put two ounces (for a large dish) of butter into a stew-pan or bright thick sauce-pan, lay the spinach on it, and keep it stirred over a gentle fire for ten minutes, or until it appears dry; dredge in a spoonful of flour, and turn the spinach as it is added; pour to it gradually a few spoonsful of very rich veal gravy, or, if preferred, of good boiling cream, (with the last of these a dessert-spoonful or more of pounded sugar may be added for a second-course dish, when the true French mode of dressing the vegetable is liked.) Stew the whole briskly until the whole is well absorbed; dish,


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and serve the spinach very hot, with small, pale fried sippets round it, or with leaves of puff paste fresh from the oven, or well dried after having been fried. For ornament, the sippets may be fancifully shaped with a tin cutter. A proper seasoning of salt must not be omitted in this or any other preparation of the spinach.

Spinach, (common English mode.) --Boil the spinach very green in plenty of water, drain, and then press the moisture from it between two trenchers; chop it small, put it into a clean sauce-pan, with a slice of fresh butter, and stir the whole until well mixed and very hot. Smooth it in a dish, mark it in dice, and send it quickly to table.

Eggs and Spinach. --Boil and mince the spinach, and serve upon it the eggs, poached; or, stew spinach, or sorrel, and place the poached eggs round the dish, with pieces of fried bread between them.

To stew Celery. --Wash the heads, and strip off their outer leaves; either halve or leave them whole, according to their size, and cut them into lengths of 4 inches. Put them into a stew-pan with a cup of broth or weak white gravy; stew till tender; then add 2 spoonsful of cream, a little flour and butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a little pounded white sugar;and simmer all together.

Or:--Parboil it, cut it into quarters, fry it, and serve it on a napkin, or with beef gravy.

Celery is a great improvement to all soups and gravies, and much used as a white sauce, either alone or with oysters.

> CUCUMBERS.

To stew Cucumbers. --Pare eight or ten large cucumbers, and cut them into thick slices, flour them well, and fry them in butter; then put them into a sauce-pan with a tea-cupful of gravy; season it with Cayenne, salt and catsup. Let them stew for an hour, and serve them hot.

Boiled Cucumbers. Dr. Kitchiner's receipt. --Cucumbers may be cut into quarters and boiled like asparagus, and served up with toasted bread and melted butter. This is a most


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delicate way of preparing cucumbers for the dinner-table, and they are a most luscious and savory dish.

> ONIONS.

To Preserve Onions. --Onions should be pulled up as soon as their tops are nearly dead, or they will push out fresh roots after rain, which will greatly injure their bulbs, and prevent their keeping sound.

Being gathered in September, they should be spread thin on the ground, in the full sun; turn them over once or twice daily until they are thoroughly dried, and then store them in a well-aired loft; lay them thinly, string them up by the tails, or hang them in nets. The outer husks should be taken off before housing, as should also the tails, if the onions are not to be strung. String them thus:--tie three or four onions by the tails, with matting, or packthread; then place on two or three more onions and bind the thread once or twice round their tails; place and bind more onions, and so on. In this manner is made a string or rope of onions, which will keep, if hung up in a dry, well-aired place, free from frost. If onions begin to sprout, sear the roots with a hot iron, which will check the vegetation.

To Boil Onions Plain. --Peel them and soak them an hour in cold water; put them into boiling milk and water, boil them till tender, and serve with melted butter. Or, boil the onions in two waters.

To Stew Onions. --Peel them, flour, and fry them in a little butter, a light brown; then put them into weak gravy, season, and stew slowly two hours. Dish them up-side down, with the sauce over them. In peeling, be careful not to cut the top or bottom too closely, else the onion will not keep whole.

Baked or Roasted Onions. Put them, as taken from the store-room, into a tin, and bake in a moderate oven; or, roast in a Dutch oven. Serve with cold butter in a small plate. The outer peel should not be removed until the onions are to be eaten.

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Ragoût of Onions. --Boil button onions, peeled, until they are tender; put them into brown sauce, and add salt.

Or: having peeled the onions, brown them in a Dutch oven, and put them into a stew-pan with any meat bones, a slice of lean bacon, a little water, and some pepper; stew them till tender, when take out the bone and bacon, and thicken the gravy.

The onions should be spread in one layer in the stew-pan.

Leeks --Are generally looked upon as a species of onion, and, as such, commonly employed in the same manner, though rather milder in flavor. If boiled in separate waters, changing it 3 or 4 times, until stewed quite tender, then served in white sauce, or quartered and placed upon toast like asparagus, they will eat nearly, if not quite, as delicate.

> ARTICHOKES.

Boiled. --Cut the stalk even, trim off a few of the outside leaves and the points of the others. If young, half an hour will boil them. Serve them with melted butter in as many small cups as there are artichokes, to help with each.

Or: Cut the artichokes in 4, remove the choke, trim the pieces neatly, boil them quickly in salt water, dish them, laying the leaves outwards, and pour melted butter or white sauce over the bottoms.

Stewed. --Strip off the leaves, remove the choke, and soak them in warm water for two or three hours, changing the water every hour; then put them into a stew-pan with a piece of butter rolled in Cayenne pepper and flour; a tea-cupful of gravy, and a spoonful or two of catsup or other sauce; add a spoonful of vinegar, or one of lemon-juice, before serving; let all stew till the artichokes are quite tender, and, if necessary, thicken the sauce with a little more butter.

Artichoke Bottoms. --If dried, must be soaked, then stewed in weak gravy, or baked and served with or without forcemeat in each. Or they may be boiled in milk, and served with cream-sauce; or added to ragoûts, French pies, &c.

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They may also be dipped in batter and fried, then served with a sauce made of fine herbs, a spoonful of oil, and the juice of lemon.

A-la Poivrade. --Take very small artichokes, cut them in quarters from the bottom, and remove the choke. Serve them in a little cold water, like radishes; make a sauce with oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt: they have the flavor of nuts.

Jerusalem Artichokes ---Should be boiled, putting them at first into cold water, and must be taken up the moment they are done, or they will be too soft.

They may be boiled plain, or served with white fricassee-sauce. When boiled, if rubbed through a sieve with a little fresh butter and cream, they form an excellent purèe as a sauce for cutlets, or as a thickening for some sorts of white soup; or they may be sliced and fried.

> TOMATOES.

To stew Tomatoes. --Take 10 large tomatoes--put them into a pan, and pour scalding water over them to remove the skins easily; peel them and cut out all the hard or unripe portion; then cut them through and take out the seeds. Boil an onion and mash it fine, add it to the tomatoes with pepper and salt to your taste, and a piece of butter as large as a hen's egg. Put them on to stew in an earthen pipkin, and let them simmer 2 hours. A quarter of an hour before dinner is ready, add 4 or 5 tablespoonsful of grated bread, and let it all stew till ready to serve.

The onion may be put in raw if cut fine, provided the tomatoes are stewed longer, which is desirable, and instead of bread, 2 table-spoonsful of flour might be mixed with a piece of butter as large as a turkey's egg, and stirred in half an hour before dinner.

Another way to stew Tomatoes. --Slice the tomatoes into a well-tinned stew-pan, seasoning them with pepper and salt; place bits of butter over the top. Put on the lid close, and stew gently for about 20 minutes. After this stir them frequently, letting them stew until they are well done. A spoon-


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ful or two of vinegar will be considered an improvement by many. Excellent with roast beef or mutton.

To bake. --Slice them into a baking-dish; season, put butter over in bits, and strew bread-crumbs on the top. Bake them for about three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven.

To stuff. --Cut them in halves and hollow out the centre; take whatever cold meat may be at hand, either chicken, partridge, or hare, with ham, &c., onions, fine herbs, crumbs of bread, and form a forcemeat ball, with beaten eggs; fill up the centres of the tomatoes, and let them stew gently in any gravy; before serving up, pass them over with a salamander or hot iron.

Portuguese way. --A favorite mode of dressing them in Portugal, where they are largely grown, is, to stew them along with rice and onions in strong brown gravy; the rice forming the greater portion of the dish. There are also various other ways employed throughout the Continent, but garlic should never be added, as it destroys the delicacy of the tomato.

Eggs and Tomatoes. --Peel the skins from 12 large tomatoes; put 4 oz. of butter in a frying pan; add some salt, pepper, and a little chopped onion; fry it a few minutes--add the tomatoes and chop them while frying; when nearly done, break in 6 eggs, stir them quickly, and serve them up.

Ochra and Tomatoes, or Gumbo. --Take an equal quantity of each' let the ochras be young; slice them and skin the tomatoes; put them into a pan without water, adding a lump of butter, an onion chopped fine, some pepper and salt, and stew them one hour.

A Spanish Dish. --Peel the skins from ripe tomatoes; put them in a pan with a table-spoonful of melted butter, some pepper, salt, and an onion chopped fine. Shred cold meat or fowl; add it to the tomatoes, and fry it sufficiently.

To keep Tomatoes a year. --Take half a bushel, skin and boil them well, then add a tea-cupful of salt, a table-spoonful of black pepper, one table-spoonful of Cayenne, an ounce of


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cloves, an ounce of mace. Mix well, and put them in jars, and run mutton suet over them, and tie them up with strong paper or buckskin, and they will keep well, free from mould and acidity.

> ASPARAGUS.

To boil Asparagus. --Scrape clean the stalks, and throw them into cold water; tie them in bundles of about 20 each, with tape, and cut the stalks even. Put them into boiling water, with a handful of salt, and boil half an hour, or until they are tender at the stalk. Having toasted a round of bread, dip it into the water in which the asparagus were boiled, lay them upon the toast, the white ends outwards each way; and serve with melted butter.

Asparagus dressed like Green Peas. --This is a convenient mode of dressing asparagus, when it is too small and green to make a good appearance plainly boiled. Cut the points so far only as they are perfectly tender, in bits of equal size, not more than a third of an inch in length; wash them very clean, and throw them into plenty of boiling water, with the usual quantity of salt and a morsel of soda. When they are tolerably tender, which will be in from 10 to 12 minutes, drain them well, and spread them on a clean cloth; fold it over them, wipe them gently, and when they are quite dry put them into a clean stew-pan with a good slice of butter, which should be just dissolved before the asparagus is added; stew them in this over a brisk fire, shaking them often, for 8 or 10 minutes; dredge in about a small tea-spoonful of flour, and add half that quantity of white sugar; then pour in boiling water to nearly cover the asparagus, and boil it rapidly until but little liquid remains; stir in the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, heap the asparagus high in a dish, and serve it very hot. The sauce should adhere entirely to the vegetable.

> MUSHROOMS.

Cooks should be perfectly acquainted with the different sorts of things called by this name by ignorant people, as the death


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of many persons has been occasioned by carelessly using the poisonous kinds.*

The eatable mushroomsat first appear very small and of a round form on a little stalk. They grow very fast, and the upper part and stalk are white. As the size increases, the under part gradually opens, and shows a fringed fur of a very fine salmon color, which continues more or less till the mushroom has gained some size, and then turns to a dark brown. These marks should be attended to, and likewise whether the skins can be easily parted from the edges and middle. Those that have a white or yellow fur should be carefully avoided, though many of them have the same smell, but not so strong, as the right sort.

To stew Mushrooms. --The large buttons are best for this purpose, and the small flaps while the fur is still red. Rub the buttons with salt and a bit of flannel; cut out the fur, and take off the skin from the others; put them into a stew-pan with a little lemon juice, pepper, salt and a small piece of fresh butter, and let the whole simmer slowly till done; then put a small bit of butter and flour, with 2 spoonsful of cream; give them one boil, and serve with sippets of bread.

To stew Mushrooms--an easy way. --Cut off that part of the stem that grows under ground, wash them carefully, and take the skin from the top. Put them into a stew-pan with some salt but no water; stew them till tender, and thicken with a table-spoonful of butter, mixed with one of browned flour.

To broil Mushrooms. --The largest are the best. Have a clear cinder fire; make the gridiron hot, and rub the bars with suet to prevent the mushrooms from sticking; place them also on the gridiron with their stalks upwards; sprinkle them slightly with salt, and a good shake of pepper, and serve them on a hot dish, with a little cold butter under and over them. When they begin to steam they are sufficiently done.

*We do not believe that mushrooms are nutritive; every one knows they are often dangerously indigestible; therefore the rational epicure will be content with extracting the flavor from them, which is obtained in the utmost perfection in good mushroom catsup.--Dr. Kitchiner.

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> CHAPTER XX.

SALADS, MACARONI, ETC.

Different kinds of Salads--Salad dressing--Summer Salad--Winter Salad--Vegetable Salads--French--Italian--Spanish--Vinaigrette--Chicken--Tomatoes en Salade--Coldslaw--Radishes--Cucumbers--To dress Macaroni--Milonese--à Eitalienne Pàtí de Macaroni--Vermicelli--Stewed Cheese--Roast Cheese--Welsh Rabbit.

SALAD.--The herbs and vegetables for a salad cannot be too freshly gathered; they should be carefully cleared from insects and washed with scrupulous nicety; they are better when not prepared until near the time of sending them to table, and should not be sauced until the instant before they are served. Tender lettuces, of which the outer leaves should be stripped away, mustard and cress, young radishes, and occasionally chives or small green onions (when the taste of a party is in favor of these last) are the usual ingredients of summer salads. Half grown cucumbers sliced thin, and mixed with them, are a favorite addition with many persons. In England it is customary to cut the lettuces extremely fine; the French, who object to the flavor of the knife, which they fancy this mode imparts, break them small instead. Young celery alone, sliced and dressed with a rich salad mixture is excellent: it is still in some families served thus always with roast fowls.

Beet-root, baked or boiled, blanched endive, small salad-herbs which are easily raised at any time of the year, celery, and hardy lettuces, with any ready-dressed vegetable, will supply salads through the winter. Cucumber vinegar is an agreeable addition to these.

In summer salads the mixture must not be poured upon the lettuce or vegetables used in the salad, but be left at the bottom,


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to be stirred up when wanted, as thus preserving the crispness of the lettuce.

In winter salads, however, the reverse of this proceeding must be adopted, as thus: the salad of endive, celery, beet, and other roots being cut ready for dressing, then pour the mixture upon the ingredients, and stir them well up, so that every portion may receive its benefit.

In doing this, it should likewise be recollected that the spoon and fork should always be of wood, and of sufficient size to stir up the vegetables in large quantities.*

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 248 in the original text.]

There is a Spanish proverb which says, "To make a good salad, four persons are wanted,--a spendthrift for oil, a miser for vinegar, a counsellor for salt, and a madman to stir it all up."

Salad dressing. --For a salad of moderate size pound very smoothly the yolks of two hard boiled eggs with a small tea-spoonful of unmade mustard, half as much sugar in fine powder, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Mix gradually with these a small cup of cream, or the same quantity of very pure oil, and two table-spoonsful of vinegar. More salt and acid can be added at pleasure; but the latter usually predominates too much in English salads. A few drops of Cayenne vinegar will improve this receipt.

Hard yolks of eggs, 2; unmade mustard, 1 small tea-spoonful; sugar, half as much; salt, 1 salt-spoonful; cream or oil, small cupful; vinegar, 2 table-spoonsful.

Obs. 1.--To some tastes a tea-spoonful or more of eschalot vinegar would be an acceptable addition to this sauce, which may be otherwise varied in numberless ways. Cucumber-vinegar may be substituted for other, and small quantities of soy, cavice, essence of anchovies, or catsup may in turn be used to flavor the compound. The salad bowl too may be rubbed with a cut clove of garlic, to give the whole composition a very slight flavor of it. The eggs should be boiled for fifteen minutes, and allowed to become quite cold always before they are pounded, or the mixture will not be smooth: if it should curdle, which it will sometimes do, if not carefully made, add to it the yolk of a very fresh unboiled egg.

Obs. 2.--As we have before had occasion to remark, garlic, when very sparingly and judiciously used, imparts a remarkably fine savor to a sauce or gravy, and neither a strong nor a


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coarse one, as it does when used in larger quantities. The veriest morsel (or, as the French call it, a mere soupcon) of the root is sufficient to give this agreeable piquancy, but unless the proportion be extremely small, the effect will be quite different. The Italians dress their salads upon a round of delicately toasted bread, which is rubbed with garlic, saturated with oil, and sprinkled with Cayenne, before it is laid into the bowl: they also eat the bread thus prepared, but with less of oil, and untoasted often before their meals, as a digestor.

French Salad dressing. --Stir a saltspoonful of salt and half as much pepper into a large spoonful of oil, and when the salt is dissolved, mix with them four additional spoonsful of oil, and pour the whole over the salad; let it be well turned, and then add a couple of spoonsful of vinegar; mix the whole thoroughly and serve it without delay. The salad should not be dressed in this way until the instant before it is wanted for table: the proportions of salt and pepper can be increased at pleasure, and common, or cucumber-vinegar may be substituted for the tarragon, which, however is more frequently used in France than any other.

Another Salad dressing. --Boil two eggs ten minutes, and put them into cold water, to harden and cool; then take out the yolks, and rub them through a coarse sieve into a basin; add two table-spoonsful of olive oil, a tea-spoonful of salt, the same quantity of mustard, half the quantity of ground black pepper, a tea-spoonful of soy or essence of anchovies, and two table-spoonsful of vinegar: incorporate the whole, and pour this sauce down the side of the salad-bowl, or keep it in an incorporator. The whites of the eggs will serve to garnish the salad.

Summer Salad. --Wash very clean one or two heads of fine lettuce, divide it, let it lie some time in cold water; drain and dry it in a napkin, and cut it small before serving. Mustard and cresses, sorrel and young onions, may be added.

Winter Salad. --Wash very clean one or two heads of endive, some heads of celery, some mustard and cresses; cut them all small, add a little shredded red cabbage, some slices


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of boiled beet-root, an onion, if the flavor is not disliked; mix them together with salad sauce. In spring, add radishes, and also garnish the dish with them.

Vegetable Salads made of roots which have been boiled, also make good winter salads, amongst which potato and beet-root salads are perhaps the best. Cut the roots into thin slices, season them with pepper and salt, and pour over them the salad mixture, to which may be added, if the flavor be not disapproved, a few slices of raw onion.

French Salad. --Chop 3 anchovies, a shalot, and some parsley small, put them into a bowl with 2 table-spoonsful of vinegar, 1 of oil, a little mustard, and salt. When well mixed, add by degrees some cold roast or boiled meat in very thin slices; put in a few at a time, not exceeding 2 or 3 inches long. Shake them in the seasoning, and then put more; cover the bowl close, and let the salad be prepared 3 hours before it is to be eaten.

Italian Salad is made by picking the white portion of a cold fowl from the bones in small flakes, piling it in the centre of a dish, and pouring a salad mixture over, enriched with cream; make a wall around with salad of any kind, laying the whites of eggs, cut into rings, on the top in a chain.

Spanish Salad. --Take whatever salad can be got, wash it in many waters, rinse it in a small net, or in napkins, till nearly dry, chop up onions and tarragon, take a bowl, put in equal quantities of vinegar and water, a tea-spoonful of pepper and salt, and four times as much oil as vinegar and water; mix the same well together; take care never to put the lettuce into the sauce till the moment the salad is wanted, or it loses all its crispness and becomes sodden.

For Vinaigrette. --Take any kind of cold meat, chop it finely, and lay it in a dish; chop the whites of the eggs employed for the salad very finely with small onions; add any kind of herb, and pickled cucumbers, all chopped finely; make a garnish round the meat, serve it with salad mixture, but do not stir it together, as it would spoil the appearance of the dish, which looks very pretty with the eggs and herbs in a ring.

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Chicken Salad. --Boil a chicken that weighs not more than a pound and a half. When very tender, take it up, cut it in small strips; then take 6 or 7 fine white heads of celery, scrape and wash it; cut the white part small, in pieces about three-quarters of an inch long, mix it with the meat of the fowl, and just before the salad is sent in, pour a dressing made in the following way, over it.

Boil 4 eggs hard; rub their yolks to a smooth paste with 2 table-spoonsful of olive oil; 2 tea-spoonsful of made mustard; 1 tea-spoonful of salt, and 1 tea-cupful of strong vinegar.

Place the delicate leaves of the celery around the edges of the dish.

White-heart lettuce may be used instead of celery.

Any other salad dressing may be used, if preferred.

Tomatoes en Salade. --These are now often served merely sliced, and dressed like cucumbers, with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.

For Winter use. --Late in the season take tomatoes not too ripe, cut them into thick slices, salt them lightly in a flat dish, sprinkling the salt over them as you cut them. Pour off the water; put them in a jar, strewing black and Cayenne pepper through them and a few slices of onion, 2 wineglassfuls of sweet oil, a few blades of mace, and vinegar enough to cover them up tight to exclude the air.

Coldslaw. --Shave as fine as possible a hard head of white cabbage, put it in a salad bowl, and pour over it the usual salad dressing.

Another way is, to cut the cabbage head in two, shave it finely, put it in a stew-pan with half a tea-cupful of butter, a tea-spoonful of salt, two table-spoonsful of vinegar, and a salt-spoonful of pepper; cover the stew-pan, and set over a gentle fire for five minutes, shaking it occasionally. When thoroughly heated, serve it as a salad.

Radishes. --Radishes should always be freshly gathered; let them lie in cold water one hour before serving, then cut off all their leaves and almost all the stalk, serve them in glasses half filled with water, or on a plate.

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Shalots or Green Onions are sometimes served and eaten in the same way.

Dressed Cucumbers. --Pare and slice them very thin, strew a little fine salt over them, and when they have stood a few minutes drain off the water, by raising one side of the dish, and letting it flow to the other; pour it away, strew more salt, and a moderate seasoning of pepper on them, add two or three table-spoonsful of the purest salad-oil, and turn the cucumbers well, that the whole may receive a portion of it; then pour over them from one to three dessertspoonsful of Chili vinegar, and a little common, should it be needed; turn them into a clean dish and serve them.

To dress Macaroni. --Wash and drain as much macaroni as you desire for dinner; put it on to boil in tepid water. When it is soft enough to pass a fork through, take it off, drain it through a cullender, wipe out the skillet, and return it immediately back again. Then add milk enough to half cover it, salt and red pepper to your taste, a piece of butter as large as a turkey's egg, and grated cheese as plentifully as you please; stew it all together, while stirring it for 5 or 10 minutes; then throw it out into a dish, cover the top with grated bread crumbs, and set it in the oven for a few minutes to brown on the top. If left long in the oven it will dry up and become tough and unpalatable.

Macaroni Milanese. --Throw the macaroni in boiling water with some salt in it. Let it have plenty of room and be well covered with water. Let it boil 25 minutes. Drain it in a cullender; then put it in a deep dish in alternate layers of macaroni and grated cheese; lay on the top slices of fresh butter; pour over it milk and cream enough to cover the whole, and place the dish in an oven where it can cook at the top and bottom equally. In 15 or 20 minutes it will be done. Serve it up immediately. Too much fire will make it dry.

Macaroni ā L'Italienne. --Take one quarter of a pound of macaroni, boil it in water till tender; thicken half a pint of milk with flour and a small bit of butter; add 2 table-spoonsful of cream, half a tea-spoonful of mustard, a little white pepper, salt, and cayenne. Stir into this half a pound of grated


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cheese; boil all together a few minutes; add the macaroni; make all quite hot, and serve. This is the mode adopted at the best tables in Florence.

Pâte de Macaroni. --Stew some macaroni in butter and water, or broth, strain it, cut it into pieces, and lay it at the bottom of the dish, adding ham balls, made of ham pounded in a mortar, and blended with butter; then have ready any kind of game, boned and filleted, sweetbread cut into dice, and mushrooms, all stewed in good rich sauce; place a layer upon the macaroni, then another layer of meat, and until the pie is filled, add to it equal quantities of cream and gravy, cover it with a paste, and bake it, or omit the paste, and stew it before the fire in a Dutch oven. The macaroni may be mixed with grated Parmesan or rich old cheese.

Another mode. --Swell 4 oz. of pipe macaroni in milk, with a large onion. Put a layer at the bottom of a pie-dish, with some bits of butter and scraped cheese sprinkled lightly over. Cover the whole with a well-seasoned beef-steak, cut small and thin, then some more macaroni, and then another layer of beef steak; cover the whole with macaroni, pieces of butter, and grated cheese, instead of crust. Bake in a slow oven.

Cold Macaroni. --If already dressed, may be warmed in any kind of broth, letting it simmer gently upon a slow fire, with the yolks of 2 eggs to thicken; after which it should be put into the oven in a mould covered with crumbs of bread: or, if undressed, it may be made by leaving it over night in broth, and then proceeding with it as above.

Vermicelli --Is of the same substance as macaroni, but made much smaller, and frequently put into meat soups, as giving them additional richness; but it is, in our country, too sparingly used. To be well made the soup should be thickened with it, and for that purpose it is preferable to macaroni.

Semolina --Is of the same material, but made into small grains, which more easily thicken the soup into which it is mixed: it can also be made into an excellent pudding with eggs and milk, using it instead of flour.

It should be observed, as a general rule, that in using any


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of the Italian pastes--unless they should be sweetened--old, or Parmesan cheese should always form part of the dish, in the proportion of one-half the quantity to that of the paste.

> CHEESE.

Stewed Cheese. --Slice thinly or grate 2 ounces of fat cheese into a sauce-pan; add a little ale or porter, and set before a clear fire, occasionally stirring them until the cheese is entirely melted. If the cheese be not very fat, butter may be added.

Or: grate cheese into a sauce-pan, melt it, and stir in a little cream and a well-beaten egg; and, if necessary, a little butter.

To Roast Cheese. --Mix two ounces grated cheese with the yolk of an egg, two ounces of grated bread, and about an ounce of butter; beat them in a mortar, with mustard, pepper, and salt, to a paste, which spread thickly on toast, and warm and lightly brown it in a Dutch oven.

Cheese Toast. --Grate thickly over well-buttered toast, good Cheshire cheese, and lightly brown it before the fire.

Welsh Rabbit. --Cut bread half an inch thick, toast it on both sides very lightly, and cut off the crust; then cut a slice of fat cheese without rind, not quite so large as the toast, upon which lay the cheese in a toaster before a clear fire: watch it lest it burn or get hard, and when the cheese is thoroughly melted, remove from the fire, and season with mustard, pepper, and salt. Some persons prefer the bread toasted on one side only.

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> CHAPTER XXI.

EGGS AND OMELETTES.

To Choose Eggs--To Keep for Winter--To Boil--Poach--Cupped--Scrambled--Œufs Brouillié--Soufflé--Omelettes--Savory, or Ragoût Eggs.

To Choose Eggs. --In choosing eggs hold them to the light: if they are clear, they are fresh; if they are thick, they are stale; if they have a black spot attached to the shell, they are worthless. Eggs should be new, or not more than 24 hours old, when they are stored, else their flavor cannot be relied on. The safest mode of choosing them is by holding them to the light of a candle.

Unless an egg is perfectly fresh it is unfit for any purpose.* You may try the freshness of eggs by putting them in a pan of cold water. Those that sink the soonest are the freshest. Eggs may be preserved a short time by putting them in a jar of salt or lime water, with the small ends downwards. The salt should not afterwards be used. They may be preserved several months by greasing them all over with melted mutton suet, and wedging them close together in a box of bran. The small ends always downwards.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 255 in the original text.]

*Bought eggs ought always to be suspected; therefore, let an earthen pan be kept with charcoal or lime-water in the pantry to put them in. The longer they are kept in it, the better they will be, as these waters destroy must, and even corruption.

To Keep Eggs for Winter Use. --Pour a full gallon of boiling water on two quarts of quick lime and half a pound of salt; when cold, mix it into an ounce of cream of tartar. The day following put in the eggs. After the lime has been stirred well into the boiling water, a large part of it will settle at the


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bottom of the vessel, on which the eggs will remain. Keep them covered with the liquor, and they will keep for 2 years.

To Boil Eggs to eat in the Shells, or for Salads. --The fresher laid, the better: put them into boiling water; if you like the white just set, about 2 minutes boiling is enough; a new-laid egg will take a little more; if you wish the yolk to be set, it will take 3, and to boil it hard for a salad, 10 minutes.

Obs.--A new-laid egg will require boiling longer than a stale one, by half a minute.

Tin machines for boiling eggs on the breakfast table are sold by the iron-mongers, which perform the process very regularly: in 4 minutes the white is just set.

Poached Eggs. --The beauty of a poached egg is for the yolk to be seen blushing through the white, which should only be just sufficiently hardened, to form a transparent veil for the egg.

Have some boiling water in a tea-kettle; pass as much of it through a clean cloth as will half fill a stew-pan; break the egg into a cup, and when the water boils, remove the stew-pan from the stove, and gently slip the egg into it; it must stand till the white is set; then put it over a very moderate fire, and as soon as the water boils, the egg is ready; take it up with a slice, and neatly round off the ragged edges of the white; send them up on bread toasted on one side only, with or without butter.

To poach Eggs in the Frying-pan. --Put very little butter, oil, or top-pot into the frying-pan: break the eggs gently into a deep cup, of the size the egg is to be of, sometimes smaller, sometimes larger; with a quick slight turn of the hand, turn the cup over with the egg into the pan, and leave the cup upon it, and continue to turn over the cups till all the eggs are put in; the fire must be very slow: when the first egg has taken, raise the cup a little to ascertain it: they must be done very slowly, otherwise the under part will be over-done: dress them over parsley, spinach, or on toasted bread.

Cupped Eggs. --Put a spoonful of very nice high-seasoned brown gravy into each cup; set the cups in a sauce-pan of boiling


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water; when the gravy heats, drop a fresh egg into each cup; take off the sauce-pan, and cover it close till the eggs are nicely and tenderly cooked; dredge them with very fine mace, or nutmeg and salt; serve them in a hot-water plate, covered with a napkin.

Scrambled Eggs. --Beat seven or eight eggs quite light, and throw them into a clean frying-pan with a small quantity of butter and a little salt. Stir them carefully until they are well thickened, and turn them out on a hot dish, without permitting any portion of them to adhere to the frying-pan. This dish is excellent with a trimming of stewed tomatoes.

Œufs Brouillés. --Break 4 or 6 eggs; beat them and put them into a sauce-pan with a piece of butter, a little salt, and a spoonful of sauce or gravy, which makes the eggs softer; stir them over the fire until sufficiently thick; serve on a plate garnished with toasted bread. To eggs dressed this way, ham, mushrooms, &c., minced, may be added. The difference between this and an omelette is, that an omelette is compact and turns out smooth, whereas œufs brouillés are less done, and are therefore broken.

In Ireland, where it is in general use, it is usually served upon hot buttered toast, and is there called "buttered eggs." It is also very common in France, where it is usually served for breakfast.

Or:--Butter a dish well, sprinkle it with salt, then break the eggs very carefully so as not to disturb the yolk; add a little more salt and some white pepper; melt a small quantity of butter, pour it gently over, with 1 or 2 spoonsful of cream. Put the dish over a slow fire, and finish the eggs by covering them with a red-hot shovel.

Soufflé Française. --Put into a stew-pan 1 oz. of butter; when melted, add 2 table-spoonsful of flour; stir them well over the fire, so that that flour be thoroughly cooked, but not colored; add by degrees a wineglass of boiling cream, and four times that quantity of boiling milk; work it quite smooth, take it off the fire, add 4 yolks of eggs, sugar to palate, a grain of salt, and a table-spoonful of orange-flower water; whip up strongly the whites of 8 eggs, mix them lightly in the batter, put the whole into a soufflé-dish, and bake for an hour.

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The flavor of this soufflé may be varied according to fancy, omitting the orange-flower water, and substituting either vanilla, curacoa, noyeau, maraschino, chocolate, coffee, &c.

> OMELETTE.

Omelettes. --Eggs* may be dressed in a multiplicity of ways but are seldom, in any form, more relished than in a well-made and expeditiously served omelette. This may be plain, or seasoned with minced herbs, and a very little eschalot, when the last is liked, and is then called an "Omelette aux fines herbes;" or it may be mixed with minced ham, or grated cheese; in any case, it should be light, thick, full-tasted, and fried only on one side; if turned in the pan, as it frequently is, it will at once be flattened and rendered tough. Should the slight rawness which is sometimes found in the middle of the inside, when the omelette is made in the French way, be objected to, a heated shovel, or a salamander, may be held over it for an instant, before it is folded on the dish. The pan for frying it should be quite small; for, if it be composed of 4 or 5 eggs only, and then put into a large one, it will necessarily spread over it and be thin, which would render it more like a pancake than an omelette; the only partial remedy for this, when a pan of proper size cannot be had, is to raise the handle of it high, and to keep the opposite side close down to the fire, which will confine the eggs into a smaller space. No gravy should even be poured into the dish with it, and indeed, if properly made, it will require none. Lard must not be used for omelettes.

Four eggs will make a very pretty sized omelette, but the number of eggs must of course depend on the size required. If sweet herbs be put in, a good deal of parsley should form part; tarragon gives a high flavor, and chives or shalots are not unfrequently used, but care should be taken that the flavor should not supersede that of the other ingredients.

Omelettes are judiciously varied by mixing minced ham or tongue with them, when served at supper or as a side-dish at dinner; but when intended for the breakfast table, it is more delicate to make them of eggs alone.

*They reckon 685 ways of dressing eggs in the French kitchen; we trust our more limited number will be sufficient for Americans. A good egg, cooked, in almost any way, or uncooked, is good and nutritious food.

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A Common Omelette. --From 4 to 8 very fresh eggs may be used for this, according to the sized dish required. Half a dozen will generally be sufficient. Break them singly and carefully; clear them, or when they are sufficiently whisked pour them through a sieve, and resume the beating until they are very light. Add to them from half to a whole tea-spoonful of salt, and a seasoning of pepper. Dissolve in a small frying-pan a couple of ounces of butter, pour in the eggs, and as soon as the omelette is well risen and firm throughout, slide it on to a hot dish, fold it together like a turnover, and serve it immediately. From 5 to 7 minutes will fry it.

An Omelette Soufflée.-- Separate as they are broken, the whites from the yolks of 6 fine fresh eggs; beat these last thoroughly, first by themselves and then with 4 table-spoonsful of dry white-sifted sugar, and the rind of half a lemon grated on a fine grater. Whisk the whites to a solid froth, and just before the omelette is poured into the pan, mix them well, but lightly, with the yolks. Put 4 oz. of fresh butter into a very small delicately clean omelette, or frying-pan, and as soon as it is all dissolved, add the eggs and stir them round, that they may absorb it entirely. When the under side is just set, turn the omelette into a well-buttered dish, and send it to a tolerably brisk oven. From 5 to 10 minutes will bake it; and it must be served the instant it is taken out; carried, indeed, as quickly as possible to table from the oven. It will have risen to a great height, but will sink and become heavy in a very short space of time: if sugar be sifted over it, let it be done with the utmost expedition.

Eggs, 6; sugar, 4 table-spoonsful; rind, half a lemon; butter, 4 oz.: omelette baked, 5 to 10 minutes.

Savory, or Ragoût Eggs. --Boil the eggs hard, as for salad, put them into cold water, remove the shells, cut them into halves, and take out the yolks, keeping the white halves unbroken; then beat up the yolks in a mortar, with forcemeat, with lean ham in it; fill the halves with this mixture, fry them lightly, and serve with good brown gravy over them, either with or without slices of ham or bacon. Or, beat up the yolks with anchovy paste, or shred ham, fill the whites, and serve cold as a supper-dish.

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> CHAPTER XXII.

PASTRY.

Directions for making Paste--Baking Pies--Glazing Pastry--French Puff Paste--Good Puff Paste--Light Paste--Suet Paste--Seasoning for Raised Pies--Meat Pies--Modern Potato Pastry--Beef-steak Pie--Veal--Mutton--Pork--Ham--Sea-Pie--Chicken--Giblet--Partridge--Venison--Cold Pies--Vol au Vent--Oyster Patties--Chicken Patties--Mince Pies--Fruit Pies--Tarts--Apple Pie--Pumpkin--Squash--Custard--Potato--Peach--Cocoa-nut--Cheese Cakes--Puffs.

THE art of making paste requires a good memory, practice, and dexterity; for, it is principally from the method of mixing the various ingredients of which it is composed, that paste acquires its good or bad qualities.

Before making paste, wash the hands in hot water; touch the paste as little as possible, and roll it but little; the less the better. If paste be much wetted it will be tough.

A marble slab is better than a board to make paste on; both, together with the rolling-pin, cutters, and tins, should be kept very clean; as the least dust or hard paste left on either will spoil the whole.

The coolest part of the house and of the day should be chosen for the process during warm weather.

Flour for the finest paste should be dried and sifted, as should pounded white sugar.

Butter should be added to paste in very small pieces, unless otherwise directed.

If fresh butter be not used, break salt butter into pieces wash it well in spring water, to cleanse it from salt, squeeze it carefully, and dry it upon a soft cloth. Fresh butter should also be well worked to get out the buttermilk.

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After the butter has been pressed and worked well with a wooden knife on the paste-board, press it very lightly with a clean, soft cloth, to absorb the moisture. If good fresh butter is used, it will require very little if any working.

Lard is sometimes used instead of butter, but the saving is of very trifling importance, when it is considered that although lard will make paste light, it will neither be of so good color or flavor as when made with butter.

Dripping, especially from beef, when very sweet and clean, is often used for kitchen pies: and is, in this instance, a good substitute for butter, lard, &c.

In hot weather the butter should be broken into pieces, and put into spring water, or into ice; but, on no account, put the paste into ice, else the butter in it will harden, and in baking, melt, and separate from the paste.

The same thing happens in winter, when the butter has not been sufficiently worked, and the paste is rather soft; for, though the season be favorable to the making of paste, care must be taken to work the butter sufficiently.

In winter, paste should be made very firm, because the butter is then so; in summer, the paste should be made soft, as the butter is then the same.

It is important to work up paste lightly and gradually into an uniform body--no strength nor pressure being used.

It is necessary to lightly flour both sides of paste when you roll it, in order to prevent its turning grey in baking; but, if much flour be sprinkled on it, the paste will not be clear.

Attention to the rolling out is most important to make light puff-paste; if it be too light, it may be rolled out once or twice more than directed; as the folding mainly causes it to rise high and even.

Be sure, invariably, to roll puff-paste from you. Those who are not practiced in making puff-paste, should work the butter in, by breaking it into small pieces, and covering the paste rolled out; dredge it lightly with flour, fold over the sides and ends, roll it out very thin, add the remainder of the butter, and fold and roll as before.

To ensure lightness, paste should be set in the oven as soon after it is made as possible; on this account, the paste should not be begun to be made till the oven is half heated, which sometimes occupies an hour. If paste be left 20 minutes or more before it is baked, it will become dull and heavy.

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Paste should be light, without being greasy; and baked of a fine color, without being burnt; therefore, to ensure good baking, requires attention.

Puff-paste requires a brisk oven; a moderate one will best bake pies and tarts, puddings and biscuits. Regulation of heat, according to circumstances, is the main point in baking.

If the oven be too hot, the paste, besides being burned, will not rise well; and if it be too slack, the paste will be soddened, not rise, and want color. Raised pies require the quickest oven.

When fruit pies are baked in iron ovens, the syrup is apt to boil out of them; to prevent this, set a few thin bricks on the bottom of the oven before it is heated; but this will not be requisite, if the oven have a stone bottom.

Tart-tins, cake-moulds, and dishes, should be well buttered before baking; articles to be baked on sheets should be placed on buttered paper.

Directions for Baking Pies. --Before you put any thing to bake, be sure the oven is quite clean, for if the juice or gravy of any thing which is baking should boil over into the oven, or anything dirty has been in the oven, it will give a disagreeable taste to whatever is baked in it. A cook should therefore be careful to sweep and clean her oven carefully out with a damp cloth, before she lights her fire, or before it is too hot to do so, and let it dry before she closes the door tight. All pies must be attended to while cooking, to see that the juice does not boil over, for if it does, it will make a steam in the oven, which will spoil your crust, by making it heavy, and make the pie appear to be done, before it is well warmed. After it has been in the oven about half an hour, at furthest, it must be looked to, and turned, or it may be spoiled, by burning at one part and not cooking at another.

If you should find the juice of a pie run over, you must take out your pie, raise the crust at one end, and pour out some of the juice, which save, and pour again into the pie when it is done, if there is room, and if not, send it up with the pie in a boat, or sauce-tureen.

To Glaze or Ice Pastry. --The fine yellow glaze appropriate to meat pies is given with beaten yolk of egg, which should be


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laid on with a paste brush, or a small bunch of feathers: if a lighter color be wished for, whisk the whole of the egg together or mix a little milk with the yolk.

The best mode of icing fruit-tarts before they are sent to the oven is, to moisten the paste with cold water, to sift sugar thickly upon it, and to press it lightly on with the hand; but when a whiter icing is preferred, the pastry must be drawn from the oven when nearly baked, and brushed with white of egg, whisked to a froth; then well covered with the sifted sugar, and sprinkled with a few drops of water before it is put in again: this glazing answers also very well, though it takes a slight color, if used before the pastry is baked.

Feuilletage, or Fine French puff paste. --This, when made by a good French cook, is the perfection of rich light crust, and will rise in the oven from one to six inches in height; but some practice is, without doubt, necessary to accomplish this. In summer it is a great advantage to have ice at hand, and to harden the butter over it before it is used; the paste also in the intervals of rolling is improved by being laid on an oven-leaf over a vessel containing it. Take an equal weight of good butter free from the coarse salt which is found in some, and which is disadvantageous for this paste, and of fine dry, sifted flour; to each pound of these allow the yolks of a couple of eggs, and a small tea-spoonful of salt. Break a few small bits of the butter very lightly into the flour, put the salt into the centre, and pour on it sufficient water to dissolve it (we do not quite understand why the doing this should be better than mixing it with the flour, as in other pastes, but such is the method always pursued for it); add a little more water to the eggs, moisten the flour gradually, and make it into a very smooth paste, rather lithe in summer, and never exceedingly stiff, though the opposite fault, in an extreme, would render the crust unmanageable. Press, in a soft thin cloth, all the moisture from the remainder of the butter, and form it into a ball, but in doing this be careful not to soften it too much. Should it be in an unfit state for pastry, from the heat of the weather, put it into a basin, and set the basin in a pan of water mixed with plenty of salt and saltpetre, and let it remain in a cool place for an hour if possible, before it is used. When it is ready (and the paste should never be commenced


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until it be so), roll the crust out square,* and of sufficient size to enclose the butter, flatten this a little upon it in the centre, and then fold the crust well over it, and roll it out thin as lightly as possible, after having dredged the board and paste-roller with a little flour: this is called giving it one turn. Then fold it in three, give it another turn, and set it aside, where it will be very cool, for a few minutes; give it two more turns in the same way, rolling it each time very lightly, but of equal thickness, and to the full length that it will reach, taking always especial care that the butter shall not break through the paste. Let it again be set aside to become cold; and after it has been twice more rolled and folded in three, give it a half-turn, by folding it once only, and it will be ready for use.

Equal weight of the finest flour and good butter; to each pound of these, the yolks of two eggs, and a small salt-spoonful of salt: six and half turns to be given to the paste.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 264 in the original text.]

*The learner will perhaps find it easier to fold the paste securely round it in the form of a dumpling, until a little experience has been acquired.

Good puff paste. --Take 1 lb. of flour, sift it; 1 lb. of butter, and divide it into 4 equal parts; weigh 1/4 lb. of flour to dust with. Rub one of the quarters of butter into the pound of flour, and mix up with a very little very cold water; roll out 3 times, adding each time a quarter of butter, and dusting each time with flour. When you cut off from the large roll of dough a piece for one pie, roll out the piece you cut off very thin, and dust it with flour, double it in folds and roll it the thickness of your crust.

Very Light Paste. --Mix the flour and water together, roll the paste out, and lay bits of butter upon it. Then beat up the white of an egg, and brush it all over the paste before it is folded; repeat this when rolling out, and adding the butter each time till the whole of the white of egg is used. It will make the paste very flaky.

For Tarts and Cheesecakes. --Beat the white of an egg to a strong froth; then mix it with as much water as will make three-quarters of a pound of fine flour into a very stiff paste: roll it very thin, then lay the third part of half a pound of butter upon it in little bits; dredge it with some flour left out


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at first, and roll it up tight. Roll it out again, and put the same proportion of butter; and so proceed till all be worked up.

Family Pie Paste.-- Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of flour, and add water enough to knead it thoroughly.

Another common proportion is half a pound of butter to a pound and a half of flour.

Beef Dripping Paste. --Rub half a pound of clarified dripping into one pound of flour, work it into a stiff paste with water, and roll it twice or thrice. This crust is best eaten hot.

Suet Paste. --Rub well with half a pound of fresh beef suet, chopped as finely as possible, three-quarters of a pound of flour, and half a tea-spoonful of salt; make it into a stiff paste with cold water, work it well, beat it with the rolling-pin, and roll it out two or three times. This paste answers for any kind of boiled fruit pudding.

potato Paste. --Mash 16 ounces of boiled potatoes, while they are warm, then rub them between the hands, together with 12 ounces of flour; when it is well mixed, and all looks like flour, add half a tea-spoonful of salt, and, with a little cold water, make it into a stiff paste; beat and roll it out three or four times, making it very thin the last time. Lay over it black currant jam, raspberries, or any sort of preserve, rub the edges with water, roll it up like a bolster pudding, and boil it in a buttered and floured cloth for three or four hours. Serve it with a sweet sauce.

Paste for a Common Dumpling. --Rub into a pound of flour six ounces of butter, then work it into a paste with two well-beaten eggs and a little water. This paste may be baked, a large table-spoonful of pounded loaf sugar being added.

Raised Crust. --Melt, in one pint of water, one pound of fresh lard; weigh four pounds of flour, put it into a basin, and when the water and lard is hot, with a wooden spoon stir it by degrees amongst the flour. When well mixed, work it with the hands till it is a stiff paste, when it is fit for use.

Paste for Raised Pies. --Put two ounces of butter into a pint


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of boiling water, which mix, while hot, with three pounds of flour, into a strong but smooth paste; put it into a cloth to soak till near cold; then knead it, and raise it into the required shape.

To raise a pie well requires considerable practice; it is best done by putting one hand in the middle of the crust, and keeping the other close on the outside till you have worked it into the round or oval shape required: the lid is then to be rolled out. An unpracticed hand will, however, do better to roll the paste of a good thickness, and cut out a long piece for the circle of the pie, to be joined with egg as a hoop; then cut two pieces for the top and bottom: these are to be cemented with egg, the bottom being brought out and pinched over: fill the pie, and pinch on the lid: or, if the crust be for a standing pie, line it with paper, fill it with bran, and bake it and the lid separately. The paste should be similarly joined with egg, if the pie be baked in a tin shape, when it should be put into the oven a few minutes after it is taken from the shape. In either case, wash the pie over with egg, and put on the ornaments before it is baked.

To make the ornaments, mix one ounce of sifted loaf sugar with half a pound of the above crust roll, and cut out.

Seasoning for Raised Pies. --Three pounds of salt dried and pounded, 3 oz. of white pepper, half oz. of Cayenne pepper, 2 oz. of cloves, 2 oz. of allspice, 1 oz. of basil, 1 oz. of marjoram, 1 oz. of thyme, 1 oz. of bay-leaf, 1 oz. of nutmeg, one and half oz. of mace.

Pound the spices and herbs by themselves, and sift through a fine sieve; then mix with the salt, and put away in a stoppered bottle: three-quarters of an ounce is sufficient for 1 lb. of farce, and half an ounce for 1 lb. of boned game.

Jelly for Meat or Raised Pies. --Take a quart of veal gravy, dissolve 2 oz. of isinglass in a little of it; add the remainder with one-quarter pint of tarragon vinegar; boil all together for one-quarter of an hour. Clarify it with the whites of six eggs, then pass it through a bag.

Meat Pies, Patties, &c. --There are few articles of cookery more generally liked than relishing pies, if properly made; and they may be formed of a great variety of things.

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Raised Pies may be made of any kind of flesh, fish, fruit, or poultry, if baked in a wall of paste instead of a baking-dish; but they are generally eaten cold, and made so large and savory as to remain a long time before being consumed, for which reason they also bear the name of "standing pies." In making them the cook should always take care to have a good stock that will jelly, made from the bones and trimmings, to fill up the pie when it comes from the oven, and also that when cold there may be enough jelly. For want of this precaution pies become dry before they can be eaten. The materials are of course frequently varied, but the mode of preparation is so nearly the same as not to require the recital of more than a few prominent receipts.

Modern potato Pasty; (an excellent family dish). --A tin mould of the construction shown in the plate, with a perforated moveable top, and a small valve to allow the escape of the steam, must be had for this pasty, which is an excellent family dish, and which may be varied in numberless ways. Arrange at the bottom of the mould from two to three pounds of mutton cutlets, freed, according to the taste, from all, or from the greater portion of the fat, then washed, lightly dredged on both sides with flour, and seasoned with salt and pepper, or Cayenne. Pour to them sufficient broth or water to make the gravy, and add to it at pleasure a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup or of Harvey's sauce. Have ready boiled, and very smoothly mashed, with about an ounce of butter, and a spoonful or two of milk or cream to each pound, as many good potatoes as will form a crust to the pasty of quite three inches thick; put the cover on the mould, and arrange these equally upon it, leaving them a little rough on the surface. Bake the


[Illustration: Two illustrations: The one on the left is a circular mould with high sides. Sitting in the center is a thin, flat circle with a handle on the top. This circular cover is shown by itself in the illustration on the right.]




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pastry in a moderate oven from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter, according to its size and its contents. Pin a folded napkin neatly round the mould, before it is served, and have ready a hot dish to receive the cover, which must not be lifted off until after the pasty is on the table.

Chicken, or veal and oysters; delicate pork chops with a seasoning of sage and a little parboiled onion, or an eschalot or two finely minced; partridges or rabbits neatly carved, mixed with small mushrooms, and moistened with a little good stock, will all give excellent varieties of this dish, which may be made likewise with highly seasoned slices of salmon freed from the skin, sprinkled with fine herbs or intermixed with shrimps; clarified butter, rich veal stock, or good white wine, may be poured to them to form the gravy. To thicken this, a little flour should be dredged upon the fish before it is laid into the mould. Other kinds, such as cod, mackerel in fillets, salt fish (previously kept at the point of boiling until three parts done, then pulled into flakes, and put into the mould with hard eggs sliced, a little cream, flour, butter, Cayenne, and anchovy-essence, and baked with mashed parsneps on the top), will all answer well for this pasty. Veal, when used for it, should be well beaten first: sweetbreads, sliced, may be laid in with it.

For a pasty of moderate size, two pounds, or two and a half of meat, and from three to four of potatoes will be sufficient: a quarter-pint of milk or cream, two small tea-spoonsful of salt, and from one to two ounces of butter must be mixed up with these last.

Beef Steak Pie. --Choose steak that has been long hung, cut it into moderately-sized pieces, and trim off all skin or sinews; season them with pepper, salt, and minced shalot or onion, and lay them in the dish: put crust on the ledge and an inch below, cover with thick crust, and bake it about two hours. A tea-cupful of gravy or water may be put into the dish before the pie is baked, or some good gravy poured into it after it is taken from the oven.

A table-spoonful or two of mushroom catsup, or a flap mushroom, added to the steak, will greatly enrich this pie.

Beef Steak and Oyster Pie. --Prepare the steaks as above, and put layers of them and of oysters. Stew the liquor and


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beards of the latter with a bit of lemon-peel, mace, and a table-spoonful of walnut catsup. When the pie is baked, boil with the above 3 spoonsful of cream and 1 oz. of butter rubbed in flour; to which, however, many people object as injuring the savoriness of the pie; in which case, should any addition be required, a few spoonsful of beef gravy and port wine will answer the purpose. Strain it, and pour it into the dish: for a small pie a dozen of oysters will be sufficient, and the pie may be baked in a couple of hours.

Veal Pie. --Cut into steaks a loin or breast of veal, season them highly with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, mace, and a little lemon-peel mixed; lay them into the bottom of a dish, and then a few slices of sweetbreads seasoned with the spices; add some oysters, forcemeat balls, and hard-boiled yolks of eggs, half a pint of white stock, and a table-spoonful of lemon pickle; put puff paste on the edge of the dish, and cover with the same; bake it for one hour.

Mutton Pie. --Cut the mutton into small slices, without bone; season it very well, and stew it with the fat also cut in pieces, putting in no water. When tender allow it to remain until cold; remove all the grease and fat very carefully; have some gravy made from the bones, add to it the strained gravy from the mutton, and a glass of port wine, but the wine may be omitted if the gravy be strong and highly seasoned. A minced shalot and button onions are good additions, and if the latter be pickled, their acidity will be an improvement. Put it into a dish, or into small pattypans, and bake it; if in patty pans, use puff paste. Mutton pies are better hot than cold.

The underdone part of a leg of mutton may be thus dressed; but the loin and kidneys are better suited for the purpose.

Raised Pork Pie. --Make a raised crust from 3 to 4 inches high; pare off the rind, and remove the bone from a loin of pork, cut it into chops, flatten them, and season them with chopped or powdered sage, black pepper, and salt, and pack them closely into the crust; then put on the top, and pinch the edge; brush the crust with yolk of egg, and bake 2 hours in a slow oven; when done, remove the lid, pour off the fat, and add some seasoned gravy.

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Or:--The pork may be put into a dish, covered with crust, and baked.

Or:--The pork may be cut into dice and seasoned.

When a hog is killed, this pie may be made of the trimmings; but there should be no bone, as the meat must be packed closely, fat and lean alternately.

Raised Ham Pie. --Choose a small ham, soak it, boil it an hour, cut off the knuckle, then remove the rind, trim the ham, and put it into a stew-pan with a quart of veal gravy to cover it: simmer till nearly done, when take it out and let it cool; then make a raised crust, spread on it some veal forcemeat, put in the ham, and fill round it with forcemeat; cover with crust, and bake slowly about an hour; when done, remove the cover, glaze the top of the ham, and pour round it the stock the ham was stewed in, having strained and thickened it, and seasoned it with Cayenne pepper. A ham thus dressed will be an excellent cold supper dish.

Sea Pie. --Skin and cut into joints a large fowl; wash and lay it into cold water for an hour; cut some salt beef into thin slices, and if it is very salt, soak it a short time in water; make a paste of flour and butter in the proportion of half a pound of butter to 1 pound of flour, cut it into round pieces according to the size of the bottom of the pot in which the pie is to be stewed; rub with butter the bottom of a round iron pot, and lay in a layer of the beef, seasoned with pepper, and finely-minced onion; then put a layer of the paste, and then the fowl, highly seasoned with pepper, onion, and a little salt; add another layer of paste, and pour in 3 pints of cold water; cover the pot closely, and let it stew gently for nearly 4 hours, taking care it does not burn, which, if neglected, it is apt to do. It is served in a pudding dish, and answers well for a family dinner.

Meat Pie with potato Crust. --Cut beef or mutton into large pieces, and season them with pepper, salt, and a finely-shred onion; boil and mash potatoes with milk, so as to form the crust, with which line a buttered dish; then put in the meat, with a tea-cupful of water, lay the crust thickly over the meat, and bake about an hour and a half.

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potato Pie. --Peel and slice potatoes, and put them in layers between cutlets of veal, mutton, or beef steaks; add a little water, cover with crust, and bake.

Chicken Pie. --Wash and cut the chicken (it should be young and tender,) in pieces, and put it in a dish; then season it to your taste with salt, pepper, a blade or two of mace, and some nutmeg. When your paste is ready for the chicken, put it in, and fill it about two-thirds with water; add several lumps of good sweet butter, and put on the top crust. A pie with one chicken will require from one hour to three-quarters of an hour to bake.

Obs.--If the chickens are old, or at all tough, it is best to parboil the pieces in just sufficient water to cover them; then strain this water and add it to the pie, no other moistening will be required.

Giblet Pie. --Take two sets of goose giblets, clean them well and let them stew over a slow fire in a pint and a half of water, till they are half done; then divide the necks, wings, legs, and gizzards, into pieces, and let them lay in the liquor till the giblets get cold. When they are quite cold, season them well with a large tea-spoonful of pepper, a small one of salt, and half a salt-spoonful of Cayenne; then put them into a pie-dish, with a cupful of the liquor they were stewed in; cover it with paste for meat pies, and let the pie bake from one hour to an hour and a half.

Skim off the fat from the rest of the liquor in which the giblets were stewed, put it in a butter-sauce pan, thicken it with flour and butter, add pepper and salt to your taste; give it a boil up, and it is ready. Before the pie is served up, raise the crust on one side, and pour in the gravy.

Partridge Pie à la Française. --Take 6 partridges, trussed as for boiled chickens, and season them with the above seasoning. Take also 2 lbs. of veal and 1 lb. of fat bacon; cut these into small bits, and put them into a stew-pan with half a pound of butter, together with some shalots, parsley, and thyme, stewing them until quite tender. Strain and pound the meat in a mortar till made perfectly smooth.

The pie-crust being raised, put in the partridges with the


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above-mentioned forcemeat over them, and over that lay some thin slices of bacon. Cover the pie with a thick lid, and be sure to close it well, to prevent any portion of the gravy from oozing out.

This sized pie will require 3 hours' baking, but care must be taken not to put it into the oven till the fierce heat be gone off.

Partridge Pie in the ordinary way. --Lay a veal cutlet in the bottom of the dish; line the inside of the birds with fat bacon, season them well and place them with the breast downwards; fill the dish with good gravy, and add forcemeat balls, with a few button mushrooms freshly gathered.

Pies of this sort may be made nearly in the same manner of every species of game; but the mixture of the brown and white meats is not desirable, as the former have a peculiar flavor which ought to be maintained, and is weakened by the admixture of the latter: also hare and venison, though each forming admirable pasties separately, yet spoil each other when put together.

Venison Pasty. --Cut a neck or breast into small steaks, rub them over with a seasoning of sweet herbs, grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt; fry them slightly in butter; line the sides and edges of a dish with puff paste, lay in the steaks, and add half a pint of rich gravy made with the trimmings of the venison; add a glass of port wine, and the juice of half a lemon, or a tea-spoonful of vinegar; cover the dish with puff paste, and bake it nearly 2 hours; some more gravy may be poured into the pie before serving it.

Cold Pies. --When meat pies are prepared to be eaten cold, suet should not be put into the forcemeat that is to be used with them. If the pie is made of meat that will take more dressing, to make it extremely tender, than the baking of the crust will allow, prepare it in the following way:--

Take 3 lbs. of the veiny piece of beef that has fat and lean; wash it, and season it with salt, pepper, mace, and allspice, in fine powder, rubbing them well in. Set it by the side of a slow fire, in a stew-pot that will just hold it; put to it a piece of butter of about the weight of 2 oz., and cover it quite close; let it just simmer in its own steam till it begins to shrink.


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When it is cold, add more seasoning, forcemeat, and eggs; if it is made in a dish, put some gravy to it before baking; but if it is only in crust, do not put the gravy to it till after it is cold and in jelly. Forcemeat may be put both under and over the meat, if preferred to balls.

Obs.--Both veal and chicken pies are generally eaten cold, and as they are always seasoned highly, will keep good for several days in the hottest weather.

Cold Beef Steak Pie. --Cover a shallow dish with paste, and spread on it the steak in one layer, well seasoned; cover with paste, glaze, and bake. This pie is mostly eaten cold, for luncheon, or supper, the steak and the crust being cut together, sandwich fashion.

Vol-au-vent. --Is a large kind of patty. Roll out puff paste from an inch to an inch and a half thick; cut it to suit the shape of the dish it is to be served on; in cutting it make the knife hot in water. Cut another piece not quite so large for the cover; mark the cover an inch from the edge, and brush it over with the yolk of egg; bake it in a quick oven. When it appears sufficiently browned, take off the top, clean out the soft paste, return it to the oven for a few minutes to dry; dish it on a napkin.

Care must be taken in taking out the soft part not to break the outside.

It may be filled with ragoût of sweetbread, fricassée of chicken, lobster, or oysters, but is never made of a large size.

Oyster Patties, (entree). Line some small patty-pans with fine puff paste, rolled thin and to preserve their form when baked, put a bit of bread into each; lay on the covers, pinch and trim the edges, and send the patties to a brisk oven. Plump and beard from two to three dozens of small oysters; mix very smoothly a tea-spoonful of flour with an ounce of butter, put them into a clean sauce-pan, shake them round over a gentle fire, and let them simmer for two or three minutes; throw in a little salt, pounded mace, and cayenne, then add, by slow degrees, two or three spoonsful of rich cream, give these a boil, and pour in the strained liquor of the oysters; next, lay in the fish, and keep at the point of boiling for a couple of minutes. Raise the covers from the patties, take


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out the bread, fill them with the oysters and their sauce, and replace the covers. We have found it an improvement to stew the beards of the fish with a strip or two of lemon-peel, in a little good veal stock for a quarter of an hour, then to strain and add it to the sauce. The oysters, unless very small, should be once or twice divided.

Good Chicken Patties, (entree). --Raise the white flesh entirely from a young undressed fowl, divide it once or twice, and lay it into a small clean sauce pan, in which about an ounce of butter has been dissolved, and just begins to simmer; strew in a slight seasoning of salt, mace, and cayenne, and stew the chicken very softly indeed for about ten minutes, taking every precaution against its browning: turn it into a dish with the butter, and its own gravy, and let it become cold. Mince it with a sharp knife; heat it, without allowing it to boil, in a little good white sauce (which may be made of some of the bones of the fowl), and fill ready-baked patty-crusts, or small vol-au-vents with it, just before they are sent to table; or stew the flesh only just sufficiently to render it firm, mix it after it is minced and seasoned with a spoonful or two of strong gravy, fill the patties, and bake them from fifteen to eighteen minutes. It is a great improvement to stew and mince a few mushrooms with the chicken.

The breasts of cold turkeys, fowls, partridges, or pheasants, or the white part of cold veal, minced, heated in a béchamel sauce, will serve at once for patties: they may also be made of cold game, heated in a good brown gravy.

Obs.--A spoonful or two of jellied stock or gravy, or of good white sauce, converts these into admirable patties: the same ingredients make also very superior rolls.

Mince Pie Meat. --Mix carefully 3 lbs. of suet, shred and chopped fine; 4 lbs. of raisins, stoned and chopped fine; 4 lbs. of currants, washed, picked, and dried; 50 pippins chopped fine. Cloves, mace and nutmeg, 1/2 oz. each; 1 1/2 lbs. of sugar; 1 pint of brandy, 1 pint of white wine, the juice of an orange and lemon, and 4 oz. of citron. Bake in rich puff paste.

Family Mince Pies. --Boil 3 lbs. of lean beef till tender, and when cold, chop it fine. Chop 2 lbs. of clear beef suet and mix the meat, sprinkling in a table-spoonful of salt.

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Pare, core, and chop fine, 6 lbs. of good apples; stone 4 lbs. of raisins and chop them; wash and dry 2 lbs. of currants; and mix them all well with the meat. Season with powdered cinnamon, 1 spoonful, a powdered nutmeg, a little mace, and a few cloves pounded, and 1 lb. of brown sugar. Add a quart of Madeira wine, and 8 oz. of citron, cut into small bits. This mixture, put down in a stone jar and closely covered, will keep several weeks. It makes a rich pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Plain Mince Pies. --Take 2 lbs. of lean beef boiled, and 1 lb. of suet, chopped fine; 3 lbs. of apples, 2 lbs. of raisins or currants, 1 lb. of sugar, a little salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and 1 nutmeg; moisten with new cider or sweet cream. Make a good paste, and bake about an hour.

The currants must be washed and dried at the fire; raisins stoned and chopped.

Rich Mince Meat. --Cut the root off a neat's tongue, rub the tongue well with salt, let it lie 4 days, wash it perfectly clean, and boil it till it becomes tender; skin, and when cold chop it very finely. Mince as small as possible 2 lbs. of fresh beef suet from the sirloin, stone and cut small 2 lbs. of bloom raisins, clean nicely 2 lbs. of currants, pound and sift half an ounce of mace, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves, grate a large nutmeg; mix all these ingredients thoroughly, together with 1 1/2 lbs. of good brown sugar. Pack it in jars.

When it is to be used, allow, for the quantity sufficient to make 12 small mince pies, 5 finely minced apples, the grated rind and juice of a large lemon, add a wine-glass and a half of wine; put into each a few bits of citron and preserved lemon peel. Three or four whole green lemons, preserved in brown sugar, and cut into thin slices, may be added.

lemon Mince Pies. --Weigh 1 lb. of fine large lemons, cut them in half, squeeze out the juice, and pick the pulp from the skins; boil them in water till tender, and pound them in a mortar; add 8 oz. of pounded loaf sugar, the same of nicely cleaned currants, and of fresh beef suet minced, a little grated nutmeg, and citron cut small. Mix all these ingredients well, and fill the pattypans with rather more of the mince than is usually put.

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> FRUIT PIES AND TARTS.

OBSERVATIONS.-- Gooseberries, currants, cherries, raspberries plums of many kinds, cranberries, and damsons, are used for making large pies. Cherries are mixed with currants or raspberries, or both; and currants with raspberries. The usual proportion of sugar is one pound to a quart of fruit, or not quite so much to very ripe fruit. Lay the fruit in the dish, highest in the middle, with the sugar between it, add a little water; wet the edge of the dish with water, cover with paste about half an inch thick; close it, pare it, make a hole in the middle, and bake in a moderate oven.

Some fruits, as quinces, require stewing before they are put into a pie.

To prepare Apples for Pastry. --Take 10 eggs, leaving out the whites of 5; beat them very light; add 1 pint of apples stewed and strained through a sieve. While hot stir in 4 oz. of butter, the grated peel of 2 large lemons, and the juice of 1. Add sugar to your taste. If you have no lemons, mace and nutmeg will do very well. Bake it in a crust.

To prepare Cranberries for Tarts. --Simmer them in moist sugar, without breaking, 20 minutes: and let them become cold before being used. A pint will require nearly 3 oz. of sugar.

Iceing for Pies and Tarts. --Just before you put them into the oven, beat up the white of an egg till it comes to a stiff froth; wash over the tops of the tarts with it, using a quill feather, or your paste brush, and sift white sugar over the egg.

Or:--Use only plain water, and sift pounded white sugar over it.

Or:--Warm a piece of butter about the size of a walnut, and beat into it the yolk of 1 egg, and wash over the tops with a little of this mixture, with a quill feather, or your paste brush, sifting pounded sugar over it.

Cranberry Tart. --To every pint of cranberries, allow a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and three ounces of good moist sugar.


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First, pour all the juice of your cranberries into a basin; then well wash the cranberries in a pan, with plenty of water, pick out all the bad ones, and put the cranberries into a dish; add to them the sugar and lemon-juice, pour the juice out of the basin gently to them, so as to leave behind the dirt and sediment which will settle at the bottom; mix all together, and let it lie while you are making your pie,--thus: line the bottom of your dish with puff-paste not quite a quarter of an inch thick, put your cranberries upon it, without any juice, and cover with the same paste not quite half an inch thick; close the edges as usual, ice it, and bake it from three-quarters of an hour to an hour, according to size. Simmer the juice a few minutes, which serve up with your tart in a small sauce tureen. A pint of cranberries makes a pretty sized tart.

A Good Apple Tart. --A pound and a quarter of apples, weighed after they are pared and cored, will be sufficient for a small tart, and four ounces more for one of moderate size. Lay a border of puff-paste, or of cream-crust round the dish, just dip the apples into water, arrange them very compactly in it, higher in the centre than at the sides, and strew amongst them from three to four ounces of pounded sugar, or more, should they be very acid: the grated rind, and the strained juice of half a lemon will much improve their flavor. Lay on the cover rolled thin, and ice it or not at pleasure. Send the tart to a moderately brisk oven for about half an hour. This may be converted into the old-fashioned creamed apple tart, by cutting out the cover while it is still quite hot, leaving only about an inch-wide border of paste round the edge, and pouring over the apples when they have become cold, from half to three-quarters of a pint of rich boiled custard. The cover divided into triangular sippets, was formerly stuck round the inside of the tart, but ornamental leaves of pale puff-paste have a better effect. Well-drained whipped cream may be substituted for the custard, and piled high, and lightly over the fruit.

Barberry Tart. --Barberries, with half their weight of fine brown sugar, when they are thoroughly ripe, and with two ounces more when they are not quite so, make an admirable tart. For one of moderate size, put into a dish bordered with paste, three-quarters of a pound of barberries stripped from their stalks, and six ounces of sugar in alternate layers; pour


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over them three table-spoonsful of water, put on the cover, and bake the tart for half an hour. Another way of making it is, to line a shallow tin pan with very thin crust, to mix the fruit and sugar well together with a spoon, before they are laid in, and to put bars of paste across instead of a cover; or it may be baked without either.

Tourte Meringuée, or Tart with Royal Icing. --Lay a band of fine paste round the rim of a tart-dish, fill it with any kind of fruit mixed with a moderate proportion of sugar, roll out the cover very evenly, moisten the edges of the paste, press them together carefully, and trim them off close to the dish; spread equally over the top, to within rather more than an inch of the edge all round, the whites of three fresh eggs beaten to a quite solid froth, and mixed quickly at the moment of using them, with three table-spoonsful of dry sifted sugar.

Frangipane Tart. --Sheet a tart-tin with puff-paste, pour into it some of the following cream:--beat well four eggs, add to them a pint of cream, four spoonsful of flour, and some loaf sugar; put them into a stew-pan, and rasp in, with a lump of sugar, the peel of a lemon; simmer the whole, constantly stirring it, on a slow fire, for about twenty minutes; then stir in two dozen sweet and bitter almonds, previously beaten to a paste, with a few drops of water. Having filled the tart with this cream, bake it, and sift over it fine loaf sugar.

Custard Tart. --Line a deep plate with puff-paste; have ready six or eight middling-sized apples, pared and the cores taken out. They should be mellow and pleasant. Put into each apple any kind of preserve you have, or a bit of sugar flavored. Now fill the dish with rich custard and bake it about half an hour. Make in the same manner without crust--it is then called custard pudding.

Tartlets. --Are always so called when made of a small size and uncovered with a crust; nor should preserved fruit of any kind be put under crust. The paste is made stiff enough to support the contents, being cut thin, put into pattypans, and crimped at the edges. The fruit is then frequently ornamented with small strips of paste laid over it crosswise, which are made thus:--Mix quarter of pound of flour, 1 oz. of fresh butter,


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and a little cold water; rub it well between the board and your hand till it begins to string; cut it into small pieces, roll it out, and draw it into fine strings, then lay them in any way you please across your tartlets, and bake immediately.

The jam of raspberries, currants, or any other fruits, as well as the marmalade of apricot, quince, and apple, may be made into tartlets; and when baked in a quick oven may be filled up with raw custard or whipped cream.

Apple Pie (American). --Apples of a pleasant sour, and fully ripe, make the best pies. Pare, core, and slice them, line a deep buttered dish with paste, lay in the apples, strewing in sugar to the taste, and a little grated lemon peel or cinnamon; cover them with the paste, and bake them in a moderate oven about 40 minutes.

When apples are green, stew them with a very little water before making your pie. Green fruit requires double the quantity of sugar.

Gooseberries and green currants are made in the same manner.

Apple Pie (English). --Pare, core, and cut into quarters, 8 or 10 russet or other good baking apples; and lay them as close together as you can, in a pie-dish, sprinkling among the apples, 4 cloves, 4 oz. of moist sugar, half the peel of a fresh lemon grated, with a squeeze of the lemon juice, and a little nutmeg. Add a table-spoonful of ale, or water; cover it with puff paste, and put it in the oven. It will take about an hour and a quarter to bake it; but you must see to it, that it does not burn, and keep your oven of a moderate heat.

Rhubarb Pies. --Take the tender stalks of the rhubarb, strip off the skin, and cut the stalks into thin slices. Line deep plates with pie crust, then put in the rhubarb, with a thick layer of sugar to each layer of rhubarb--a little grated lemon peel improves the pie. Cover the pies with a crust; press it down tight round the edge of the plate, and prick the crust with a fork, so that the crust will not burst while baking, and let out the juices of the pie. Rhubarb pies should be baked about an hour, in a slow oven; it will not do to bake them quick. Some cooks stew the rhubarb before making it into pies, but it is not so good as when used without stewing.

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Pumpkin Pie (American). --Take out the seeds, and pare the pumpkin or squash; but in taking out the seeds do not scrape the inside of the pumpkin; the part nearest the seed is the sweetest; then stew the pumpkin, and strain it through a sieve or cullender. To a quart of milk, for a family pie, 3 eggs are sufficient. Stir in the stewed pumpkin with your milk and beaten-up eggs, till it is as thick as you can stir round rapidly and easily. If the pie is wanted richer make it thinner, and add sweet cream or another egg or two; but even 1 egg to a quart of milk makes "very decent pies." Sweeten with molasses or sugar; add 2 tea-spoonsful of salt, 2 table-spoonsful of sifted cinnamon, and 1 of powdered ginger; but allspice may be used, or any other spice that may be preferred. The peel peel of a lemon grated in gives it a pleasant flavor. The more eggs, says an American authority, the better the pie. Some put 1 egg to a gill of milk. Bake about an hour in deep plates, or shallow dishes, without an upper crust, in a hot oven.

Pumpkin Pie (English). --Take out the seeds, and grate the pumpkin till you come to the outside skin. Sweeten the pulp; add a little ground allspice, lemon peel and lemon juice; in short, flavor it to the taste. Bake without an upper crust.

Carrot Pies. --These pies are made like pumpkin pies. The carrots should be boiled very tender, skinned, and sifted.

Squash Pie. --Pare, take out the seeds, and stew the squash till very soft and dry. Strain or rub it through a sieve or cullender. Mix this with good milk till it is thick as batter: sweeten it with sugar. Allow 3 eggs to a quart of milk, beat the eggs well, add them to the squash, and season with rose water, cinnamon, nutmeg, or whatever spices you like. Line a pie plate with crust, fill and bake about an hour.

Custard Pie. --Beat 7 eggs, sweeten a quart of rich milk, that has been boiled and cooled; a stick of cinnamon, or a bit of lemon peel should be boiled in it. Sprinkle in a salt-spoon of salt, add the eggs, and a grated nutmeg, stirring the whole together.

Line 2 deep plates with good paste, set them in the oven 3 minutes to harden the crust; then pour in the custard and bake 20 minutes.

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Obs.--For these pies roll the paste rather thicker than for fruit pies, as there is only one crust. If the pie is large and deep, it will require to bake an hour in a brisk oven.

potato Pie. --Boil Carolina or mealy Irish potatoes until they are quite soft. When peeled, mash and strain them. To a quarter of a pound of potatoes, put a quart of milk, three table-spoonsful of melted butter, four beaten eggs, a wine-glass of wine--add sugar and nutmeg to the taste.

Peach Pie. --Take mellow juicy peaches--wash, slice, and put them in a deep pie plate, lined with pie crust. Sprinkle a thick layer of sugar on each layer of peaches, put in about a table-spoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour over the top--cover it with a thick crust, and bake from fifty to sixty minutes.

Peach Pie. --Take mellow juicy peaches--wash, slice, and put them in a deep pie plate, lined with pie crust. Sprinkle a thick layer of sugar on each layer of peaches, put in about a table-spoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour over the top--cover it with a thick crust, and bake from fifty to sixty minutes.

Cocoanut Pie. --Cut off the brown part of the cocoanut, grate the white part, and mix it with milk, and set it on the fire and let it boil slowly eight or ten minutes. To a pound of the grated cocoanut allow a quart of milk, eight eggs, four table-spoonsful of sifted white sugar, a glass of wine, a small cracker, pounded fine, two spoonsful of melted butter, and half a nutmeg. The eggs and sugar should be beaten together to a froth, then the wine stirred in. Put them into the milk and cocoanut, which should be first allowed to get quite cool--add the cracker and nutmeg--turn the whole into deep pie plates, with a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake them as soon as turned into the plates.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 281 in the original text.]

*This is best secured by boring the shell before it is broken.

Cocoanut Cheese Cakes--(Jamaica Recipe). --Break carefully the shell of the nut, that the liquid it contains may not escape.* Take out the kernel, wash it in cold water, pare thinly off the dark skin, and grate the nut on a delicately clean bread-grater; put it, with its weight of pounded sugar, and its own milk, if not sour, or if it be, a couple of spoonsful or rather more of water, into a silver or block-tin sauce-pan, or a very small copper stew-pan perfectly tinned, and keep it gently stirred over a quite clear fire until it is tender: it will sometimes require an hour's stewing to make it so. When a little cooled, add to


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the nut, and beat well with it, some eggs properly whisked and strained, and the grated rind of half a lemon. Line some pattypans with fine paste, put in the mixture, and bake the cheese cakes from thirteen to fifteen minutes.

Grated cocoanut 6 ounces; sugar 6 ounces; the milk of the nut, or of water, 2 large table-spoonsful: half to one hour Eggs, 5; lemon-rind, half of one; 13 to 15 minutes.

Obs.--We have found the cheese-cakes made with these proportions very excellent indeed, but should the mixture be considered too sweet, another egg or two can be added, and a little brandy also.

lemon Cheese-Cakes--(Christ-Church-College Recipe). --Rasp the rind of a large lemon with four ounces of fine sugar, then crush and mix it with the yolks of three eggs, and half the quantity of whites, well whisked; beat these together thoroughly; add to them four table-spoonsful of cream, a quarter of a pound of oiled butter, the strained juice of the lemon, which must be stirred quickly in by degrees, and a little orange-flower brandy. Line some pattypans with thin puff-paste, half fill them with the mixture, and bake them thirty minutes in a moderate oven.

Sugar, 4 ounces; rind and juice 1 large lemon; butter, 4 ounces; cream, 4 table-spoonsful; orange-flower brandy, 1 table-spoonful; bake half an hour.

Orange Cheese-Cakes --Are made as in the last recipe, except that oranges are substituted for the lemons. A few thin slices of candied lemon or orange peel may be laid on the cheese-cakes before baking.

Apple Puffs. --Peel and core apples, and simmer them with a little water and sugar until they make a kind of marmalade; put this, when cold, into puff taste, ice it, and bake quickly.

Preserve Puffs. --Roll out puff paste very thinly, cut it into round pieces, and lay jam on each; fold over the paste, wet the edges with egg, and close them; lay them on a baking sheet, ice them, and bake about a quarter of an hour.

Orange and lemon Puffs. --Zest 4 large oranges or lemons, add 2 lbs. of sifted sugar, pound it with the zest, and make it


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into a stiff paste, with a strong infusion of gum-dragon; beat it again, roll it out, cut it into any shape, and bake it in a cool oven.

Spiced Puffs. --Beat up any quantity of whites of eggs, adding white sifted sugar with any spices; the puffs are to be flavored with a mace, cinnamon, or cloves, and drop them from the point of a knife, in a little high towering form, upon damp wafer sheets, and put them into a very slow oven.

Puffs to Fry.--Blanch and beat a handful of almonds with 2 table-spoonsful of orange-flower water; beat up 5 yolks and 3 whites, and put in 2 table-spoonsful of dried flour, a pint of cream, and sweeten; drop them into hot clarified butter.

Gauffres. --Take 4 or 5 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 2 gills of whipped cream, 4 or 5 eggs, a small stick of pounded vanilla, a grating of nutmeg, and a little salt, with a glass of curaçoa, or ratifia.

Place the flour, sugar and salt in a basin, then add the yolk of eggs, the vanilla, and the spirit, mixing them well together, and gradually adding the whipped cream. Just before using the batter, add the whites of eggs, whipped to a froth, and mix them in lightly, so as to thoroughly incorporate them with it.

Bake these gauffres in tongs made for the purpose, observing, however, that the iron be very carefully heated, and the superfluous heat allowed to go off previously to filling them with batter; rub the tongs with fresh butter; fill the bottom part with batter, and fasten on the top, then turn it, and, when a fine brown on both sides, shake some pounded spice and sugar over them, and send them to table.

They may be spread with any kind of preserve or jelly.

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> CHAPTER XXIII.

PUDDINGS.

General Directions--To Clean Currants--Mix Batter--Boiling Puddings--Baking--Plum Pudding--Cottage--Suet--Sponge--Almond--Vermicelli--Rice in Shape--Rice Pudding--Snow Balls--Flour--Flummery--Bread Puddings--Batter--Indian Meal--Arrowroot--Sago--Tapioca--Potato--Apple--Charlotte--Eve's Pudding--Cherry--Blackberry--Apricot--Quince--Lemon--Orange--Cocoanut--Bird's Nest--Custard Pudding--Dumplings.

General Directions for making Puddings. --Many of the directions for making pastry apply also to the preparation of puddings.

The freshness of all ingredients of puddings is of much importance; as fresh-ground flour, pure milk, new-laid or sweet eggs, fresh suet, and fresh butter, or washed salt butter.

Suet makes light pudding crust: beef suet is best, next mutton, and then veal. Beef marrow is sometimes substituted for suet in puddings, which it much enriches. Dripping may also be used for common crust; but neither dripping nor butter will make crust so light as suet.

Dried fruits for puddings should be carefully picked, and sometimes washed. Currants may be plumped out by pouring boiling water upon them; they should be dried on a sieve or cloth before the fire. It is a good plan to pick them, in large quantities, upon a tinned sheet, as, in rubbing them on it, any stone or grit may be detected by its noise.

Raisins should be stoned with clean hands; if done with a knife-point, much of the pulp is liable to be removed with the stones. The best raisins for puddings are the large, rich kinds; the sultana kind, free from stones, is neither so well-flavored


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nor luscious. Raisins should generally be once cut, not chopped small, for puddings.

Candied peels, as citron, lemon, and orange, should be cut small, but not minced.

Fresh fruits should be picked free from stalks, and wiped, if required.

Rice, sago, tapioca, &c., should be soaked half an hour, and well washed and picked, before they are mixed into puddings; and mustiness should be guarded against.

To Clean Currants for Puddings or Cakes. --Put them into a cullender, strew a handful of flour over them, and rub them with the hands to separate the lumps, and to detach the stalks; work them round in the cullender, and shake it well, when the small stalks and stones will fall through it. Next pour plenty of cold water over the currants, drain, and spread them on a soft cloth, press it over them to absorb the moisture, and then lay them on a very clean oven-tin, or a large dish, and dry them very gradually (or they will become hard), either in a cool oven, or before the fire, taking care in the latter case that they are not placed sufficiently near it for the ashes to fall amongst them. When they are perfectly dry, clear them entirely from the remaining stalks, and from every stone that may be amongst them. The best mode of detecting these, is to lay the fruit at the far end of a large white dish, or sheet of paper, and to pass it lightly, and in very small portions, with the fingers, towards oneself, examining it closely as this is done.

To Mix Batter for Puddings. --Put the flour and salt into a bowl, and stir them together; whisk the eggs thoroughly, strain them through a fine hair sieve, and add them very gradually to the flour; for if too much liquid be poured to it at once it will be full of lumps, and it is easy, with care, to keep the batter perfectly smooth. Beat it well and lightly, with the back of a strong wooden spoon, and after the eggs are added, thin it with milk to a proper consistency. The whites of the eggs beaten separately to a solid froth, and stirred gently into the mixture the instant before it is tied up for boiling, or before it is put into the oven to be baked, will render it remarkably light. When fruit is added to the batter, it must be made thicker than when it is served plain, or it will sink to the


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bottom of the pudding. Batter should never stick to the knife when it is sent to table; it will do this both when a sufficient number of eggs are not mixed with it, and when it is not enough cooked. About 4 eggs to the half pound of flour will make it firm enough to cut smoothly.

Do not break many eggs into a bowl together; for, if there be one bad one, it will spoil those previously in the bowl; but break them one at a time into a basin, beat all together with a whisk or fork, and strain through a sieve, when the whites of eggs only are required, the yolks, if not broken, will keep good for two or three days, if they be covered up.

Warmed butter will not oil, if mixed with a little milk or wine. Salt improves the flavor of every pudding mixture, even if it be sweet: a pinch of salt will improve a plum pudding.

Batter pudding, to be made very light, should only have the whites of eggs in it, and milk enough to make it the thickness of a custard: a pudding made with a pint of milk requires an hour's boiling.

Puddings are better for being mixed some time before boiling or baking, if they be well stirred before they are tied up or put into the dish: it is, however, advisable to add the eggs only just before.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 286 in the original text.]

To Clean Pudding Cloths.--To a pint of wood-ashes pour three quarts of boiling water, and either wash the cloths in the mixture without straining it, or give them two or three minutes boil in it first, then let the whole cool together; wash the cloths perfectly clean, and rinse them in abundance of water, changing it several times: this both takes the grease off, and renders them very sweet. Two ounces of soda dissolved in a gallon of water will answer almost as well, providing the rinsing afterwards be carefully attended to.

Pudding cloths, and tapes with which they are tied, should be sweet and clean, else the outside of the pudding will have an unpleasant taste.

Of Boiling Puddings. --It is not requisite to flour a pudding cloth, but merely to dip it in boiling water, and immediately put the pudding into it.

Puddings are boiled in cloths,* or in moulds tied in cloths: they should be tied tightly, and the moulds be buttered before the puddings are put into them. They should not be tied up, or put into moulds or dishes, till the minute before they are to be put into the sauce-pan or oven.

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Liquid puddings are best boiled by placing the mould or basin in a stew-pan, with hot water enough to boil the pudding without boiling over.

As a general rule, however, puddings are lighter when boiled in a cloth only: in some cases, as rice, or bread pudding, the cloth should be tied loosely; if of flour-crust, tightly.

Puddings should be put into plenty of boiling water, which should be kept filled up, if requisite: if the fire be very fierce the pudding may stick to the bottom of the sauce-pan and burn; to prevent which, before putting in the water, place a plate or dish, hollow downwards, in the sauce-pan.

Upon taking out a pudding boiled in a cloth, dip it into cold water before you untie it, when it will not stick to the cloth or mould.

Of Baking Puddings. --All of the custard kind, whether made of eggs and milk only, or of sago, arrow-root, rice, ground or in grain, vermicelli, &c., require a very gentle oven, and are spoiled by fast-baking. Those made of batter, on the contrary, should be put into one sufficiently brisk to raise them quickly, but without scorching them. Such as contain suet and raisins must have a well-heated, but not a fierce oven; for as they must remain long in it to be thoroughly done, unless carefully managed, they will either be much too highly colored, or too dry.

By whisking to a solid froth the whites of the eggs used for any pudding, and stirring them softly into it at the instant of placing it in the oven, it will be rendered exceedingly light, and will rise very high in the dish; but as it will partake then of the nature of a soufflé, it must be despatched with great expedition to table from the oven, or it will become flat before it is served.

When a pudding is sufficiently browned on the surface (that is to say, of a fine equal amber-color) before it is baked through, a sheet of writing paper should be laid over it, but not before it is set: when quite firm in the centre, it will be done.

Potato, batter, plum, and every other kind of pudding indeed, which is sufficiently solid to allow of it, should be turned reversed on to a clean hot dish from the one in which it is baked, and strewed with sifted sugar, before it is sent to table.

Puddings without Eggs. --Very good puddings may be made


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without eggs: but they should have very little liquid added to them, and must boil longer than puddings with eggs. A spoonful of yeast will serve instead of 2 eggs, and a pinch of soda will make it still lighter. Two large spoonsful of snow will supply the place of 1 egg, and make a pudding equally good. This is a useful piece of information, as snow generally falls in the season when eggs are dear. The sooner it is used after it falls the better; but it may be taken up from a clean spot, and kept in a cool place some hours, without losing its good qualities.

Obs.--to avoid repetition, let it be observed that, when pudding-sauce is ordered, wine, sugar, and very thick melted butter, boiled up together, is the sauce intended. Or, instead of the wine, add more sugar, and a little vinegar or lemon-juice.

Plum Pudding. --Suet, chopped fine, six ounces; Malaga raisins, stoned, six ounces; currants, nicely washed and picked, eight ounces; bread-crumbs, three ounces; flour, three ounces; eggs, three; sixth of a nutmeg; small blade of mace; same quantity of cinnamon, pounded as fine as possible; half a tea-spoonful of salt; half a pint of milk, or rather less; sugar, four ounces; to which may be added, candied lemon, one ounce; citron, half an ounce. Beat the eggs and spice well together; mix the milk with them by degrees, then the rest of the ingredients; dip a fine close linen cloth into boiling water, and put it in a hair sieve; flour it a little, pour in the mixture, and tie it up close; put it into a sauce-pan containing six quarts of boiling water; keep a kettle of boiling water along side of it, and fill up your pot as it wastes; be sure to keep it boiling six hours at least.

Cottage Christmas Pudding. --A pound and a quarter of flour, fourteen ounces of suet, a pound and a quarter of stoned raisins, four ounces of currants, five of sugar, a quarter-pound of potatoes smoothly mashed, half a nutmeg, a quarter-tea-spoonful of ginger, the same of salt, and of cloves in powder; mix these ingredients thoroughly, add four well-beaten eggs with a quarter-pint of milk, tie the pudding in a well-floured cloth, and boil it for four hours.

Flour, one pound and a quarter; suet, 14 ounces; raisins


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stoned, 20 ounces; currants, 4 ounces; sugar, 5 ounces; potatoes, quarter of a pound; half a nutmeg; ginger, salt, cloves, quarter of a tea-spoonful each; eggs, 4; milk, half a pint:--4 hours.

Small Light Plum Pudding. --Put half a pint of fine bread crumbs into a basin, and pour on them a quarter-pint of boiling milk; put a plate over, and let them soak for half an hour; then mix with them half a pint of suet chopped extremely small, rather more of stoned raisins, three tea-spoonsful of sugar, one of flour, three eggs, a tiny pinch of salt, and sufficient grated lemon-peel or nutmeg to flavor it lightly. Tie the pudding in a well-floured cloth, and boil it for 2 hours.

Bread-crumbs, half a pint; milk, quarter of a pint; suet, half a pint; raisins, nearly three-quarters of a pint; sugar, 3 tea-spoonsful, and 1 of flour; eggs, 3; little salt and nutmeg:--2 hours.

Another Pudding, light and wholesome. --With three ounces of the crumbs of a stale loaf finely grated and soaked in a quarter pint of boiling milk, mix six ounces of suet minced very small, one ounce of dry bread-crumbs, ten ounces of stoned raisins, a little salt, the grated rind of a china-orange, and three eggs, leaving out one white. Boil the pudding for two hours, and serve it with very sweet sauce; put no sugar in it.

Suet Pudding. --Suet, quarter of a lb; flour, 3 table-spoonsful; 2 eggs; a little grated ginger, and half a pint of milk. Mince the suet as fine as possible, roll it with the rolling-pin, so as to mix it well with the flour; beat up the eggs, mix them with the milk, and then mix all together; wet your cloth well in boiling water, flour it, tie it loose, put it into boiling water, and boil it an hour and a quarter.

Mrs. Glasse has it, "when you have made your water boil, then put your pudding into your pot."

Sponge Cake Pudding.-- Melt some butter and rub with it the mould in which the pudding is to be made; rub it very evenly with a feather or brush. Sift on the butter some pounded sugar, and take care that all parts of the mould are equally covered with it so as to look white. Stone some raisins and currants, and put them according to fancy in the


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carvings of the mould. Take some sponge cake, the staler the better, cut it up in small pieces, and fill the mould lightly with it, mixing through it currants and raisins rubbed in flour. Beat separately the whites and yolks of four eggs, mixing with the yolks four table-spoonsful of sugar; pour on them one and a half pint of cold milk, and pour this over the sponge cake. It should fill the mould entirely; grate the peel of one lemon in the custard. Set the mould in a sauce-pan of cold water; let the water cover one-third of the mould, and place it over the fire; when the water begins to boil, set it on one side the fire so that the custard will cook slowly, or it will turn. When nearly done put it again over the fire, but do not let it brown. It will bake in a quarter of an hour.

To make a sauce for it, beat the yolks of two eggs in half pint of new milk, and sugar to your taste; strain it through a cloth or sieve, and flavor it with rose-water, bitter almonds, or any thing that is preferred. Turn the pudding into a dish, and pour the sauce around it.

Sponge Cake Pudding, No. 2. --Beat three eggs very light, leaving out the whites of two; add three table-spoonsful of sifted flour; three table-spoonsful of pounded white sugar; gradually stir one and a half pint of new milk. Boil it over a slow fire, stirring it constantly to prevent it from burning. Pour part of the mixture in a deep dish. Dip slices of sponge cake into wine, and lay them over the mixture. Pour in the rest of the mixture. Sprinkle over the top powdered cinnamon or nutmeg. Flavor with vanilla or lemon. It is eaten cold.

Almond Pudding. --Blanch three-quarters of a pound of sweet and 3 oz. bitter almonds, and beat them to a fine paste, mixing them well, and adding by degrees a tea-cupful or more of rose-water. Boil in a pint of rich milk a few sticks of cinnamon broken up, and a few blades of mace. When the milk has come to a boil, take it off the fire; strain it into a pan, and soak in it five stale rusks cut into slices. They must soak till quite dissolved. Stir to a cream three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter mixed with the same quantity of powdered loaf-sugar. Beat ten eggs very light, yolks and whites, and then stir alternately into the butter and sugar the rusk, eggs, and almonds. Set it on a stove, and stir the whole together till very smooth and thick. Put it into a buttered dish, and bake it three-quarters of an hour.

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Half the quantity of materials will be sufficient for an elegant table.

Or:--Take two and half ounces of white bread-crumbs, and steep them in a pint of cream; then pound half a pint of blanched almonds to a paste with some water. Beat the yolks of six eggs and the whites of three; mix all together, and add three ounces of sugar and one ounce of beaten butter; put all over the fire; stir it until it thickens, and then bake it in a puff-paste.

Vermicelli Pudding. --Wash three ounces of vermicelli; boil it for fifteen minutes in a pint of milk, with a bit of cinnamon and lemon-peel. When nearly cold, pick out the cinnamon and peel, sweeten it, and add the well-beaten yolks of six, and the whites of two eggs. Mix it well, and bake it in a buttered dish for half an hour.

It may be boiled for one hour and a half, and served with a sweet sauce.

[Illustration: An illustration of a circular rice mould.]

Whole Rice in a Shape. --Wash a large tea-cupful of rice in several waters; put it into a stew-pan with cold water to cover it; when it boils add 2 cupsful of rich milk or thin cream, boil it till the rice is soft; put it into a mould and press it down tight: when cold turn it out and serve with sweetmeat or jelly round it. If put into a cylindrical mould, the centre should be filled with fruit or sweetmeat.

Rice Pudding, Baked or Boiled. --Wash in cold water and pick very clean 6 oz. of rice; boil it in 1 quart of milk, with a bit of cinnamon, very gently, till it is quite tender; it will take about an hour; be careful and stir it often. Take it from the fire, pick out the cinnamon, and stir in a tea-cupful of sugar, half a cup of butter, 3 eggs well beaten, a little powdered nutmeg--stir it till it is quite smooth. You can line a pie-dish with puff paste, or bake it in a buttered dish, which is better. About three-quarters of an hour will bake it.

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If you wish it more like custard, add another egg and half a pint of milk.

If you boil it, you can add whatever fruit you like; 3 oz. of currants, or raisins, or apples minced fine; it will take an hour to boil it. Serve with wine sauce, or butter and sugar.

A Good Boiled Rice Pudding. --Swell gradually, and boil until quite soft and thick, 4 1/2 oz. of whole rice, in 1 1/2 pint of new milk; sweeten them with from 3 to 4 oz. of sugar, broken small, and stir to them, while they are still quite hot, the grated rind of half a large lemon, 4 or 5 bitter almonds, pounded to a paste, and 4 large well-whisked eggs; let the mixture cool, and then pour it into a thickly-buttered basin, or mould, which should be quite full; tie a buttered paper and a floured cloth over it, and boil the pudding exactly an hour; let it stand for 2 or 3 minutes before it is turned out, and serve it with sweet sauce, fruit syrup, or a compote of fresh fruit. An ounce and a half of candied orange rind will improve it much, and a couple of ounces of butter may be added to enrich it, when the receipt without is considered too simple.

Whole rice, 4 1/2 oz.; new milk, 1 1/2 pint; sugar, 3 or 4 oz.; salt, a few grains; bitter almonds, 4 to 6; rind of half a lemon; eggs, 4: boiled 1 hour.

An Easter Pudding. --To 4 oz. of fresh rice flour, add by slow degrees half a pint of cold new milk, being careful to keep the mixture free from lumps. Pour it into a pint of boiling milk, and stir it without intermission over a very clear and gentle fire for 3 or 4 minutes; then throw in 2 oz. of fresh butter, and 2 of pounded sugar, and continue the boiling for 8 or 10 minutes longer. Let the rice cool down, and give it an occasional stir, to prevent the surface from hardening. When it has stood for 15 or 20 minutes, pour to it a gill of cold milk, and stir well into it a few grains of salt, the grated rind of a large sound lemon, 5 full-sized, or 6 small eggs, properly cleared and well whisked, first by themselves and then with 2 additional ounces of pounded sugar. Beat up these ingredients thoroughly together, pour them into a deep dish which has been rubbed with butter, and in which about a table-spoonful should be left liquified, that it may rise to the surface of the pudding; strew lightly upon it 4 oz. of clean, dry currants, and bake it gently from three-quarters to a full hour.

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A Plain Rice Pudding. --Well wash and pick 8 oz. of rice, and put it into a deep dish, with 2 quarts of milk; add to this 2 oz. of butter, 4 oz. of sugar, and a little cinnamon or nutmeg, ground; mix them well together, and bake in a very slow oven. It will take about 2 hours.

Rice Snow Balls. --Boil some rice in milk till it is swelled and soft; pare and carefully scoop out the core of 5 or 6 good sized apples, put into each a little grated lemon-peel and cinnamon; place as much of the rice upon a bit of linen as will entirely cover an apple, and tie each closely. Boil them 2 hours, and serve them with melted butter, sweetened with sugar.

Rice Flour Pudding. --Thicken 1 pint of new milk with 3 table-spoonsful of ground rice; mix half a pound of butter with three-quarters of a pound of sugar, and put them into the milk; take 10 eggs, leaving out the whites of 5; beat them light, and add them to the other ingredients. Bake it in pastry or not, as you please.

Rice Flummery. --Put 1 quart of milk on to boil, and when it is about to begin to boil, sweeten, and flavor it with rose water to your taste. Take the half of one of the papers of rice flour, and mix it very smoothly with half a pint of cold milk. As soon as the milk already flavored begins to boil, stir the flour and milk in until it becomes quite thick. Then put it in moulds and let it cool.

Bread Pudding. --Sweeten a pint of new milk with three ounces of fine sugar, throw in a few grains of salt, and pour it boiling on half a pound of fine and lightly-grated bread-crumbs; add an ounce of fresh butter, and cover them with a plate; let them remain for half an hour or more, and then stir to them four large well-whisked eggs, and a flavoring of nutmeg, or of lemon-rind; pour the mixture into a thickly-buttered mould or basin, which holds a pint and a half, and which ought to be quite full; tie a paper and a cloth tightly over; and boil the pudding exactly an hour and ten minutes. This is quite a plain receipt, but by omitting two ounces of the bread, and adding more butter, one egg, a small glass of brandy, the grated rind of a lemon, and as much sugar as will sweeten the


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whole richly, a very excellent pudding will be obtained; candied orange-peel also has a good effect when sliced thinly into it; and half a pound of currants is generally considered a further improvement.

New milk, 1 pint; sugar, 3 ounces; salt, few grains; bread-crumbs, half a pound; eggs, 4 (5, if very small); nutmeg or lemon-rind at pleasure: 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Or: Milk, 1 pint; bread-crumbs, 6 ounces; butter, 2 to 3 ounces; sugar, 4 ounces; eggs, 5; brandy, small-glassful; rind, 1 lemon. Further additions at choice: candied peel, 1 ounce and a half; currants, half a pound.

Brown Bread Pudding. --To half a pound of stale brown bread, finely and lightly grated, add an equal weight of suet, chopped small, and of currants cleaned and dried, with half a salt-spoonful of salt, three ounces of sugar, the third of a small nutmeg grated, two ounces of candied peel, five well-beaten eggs, and a glass of brandy. Mix these ingredients thoroughly, and boil the pudding in a cloth for three hours and a half. Send wine sauce to table with it. The grated rind of a large lemon may be added with good effect.

Brown bread, suet, and currants, each 8 ounces; sugar, 3 ounces; candied peel, 2 ounces; salt, third of a salt-spoonful; half of a small nutmeg; eggs, 5; brandy, 1 wine-glassful: 3 hours and a half.

Plain Bread Pudding. --Pour a quart of boiling milk over 4 ounces of bread crumbs, cover it till cold, and mix with 3 well-beaten eggs, a tea-cup of sugar, and half the peel of a grated lemon, or a little pounded cinnamon; bake it in a buttered dish, and serve with sweet sauce.

Bread-and-Butter Pudding. --Butter a quart dish, and lay in it slices of thin bread-and-butter, strewing in a few currants; then beat 4 eggs in a basin, add 4 ounces of sugar, half a nutmeg, grated, and stir in a pint of milk; fill up the dish, and bake three-quarters of an hour. A stale French roll, cut in slices and buttered, is superior to household bread-and-butter for this pudding.

The Penny Pudding. --Take a penny roll with the crust rasped, one egg, half a pint of milk, and rather less than two


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ounces of loaf sugar. Put the roll and sugar into a basin, pour upon them the cold milk, and let it soak an hour; then beat up the egg with the roll, sugar, and milk; put it into either a half-pint shape, or a cloth; and boil it twenty-five minutes if in a shape, or twenty minutes if in a cloth. Serve it up with sweet white wine sauce.

It may be made double the size, by using twice the quantity of everything; and it will only take five minutes longer to boil it.

Common Batter Pudding. --Beat four eggs thoroughly, mix with them half a pint of milk, and pass them through a sieve, add them by degrees to half a pound of flour, and when the batter is perfectly smooth, thin it with another half pint of milk. Shake out a wet pudding-cloth, flour it well, pour the batter in, leave it room to swell, tie it securely, and put it immediately into plenty of fast-boiling water. An hour and ten minutes will boil it. Send it to table the instant it is dished, with wine sauce, a hot compote of fruit, or raspberry vinegar: this last makes a delicious pudding sauce. Unless the liquid be added very gradually to the flour, and the mixture be well stirred and beaten as each portion is poured to it, the batter will not be smooth: to render it very light, a portion of the whites of the eggs, or the whole of them, should be whisked to a froth and stirred into it just before it is put into the cloth.

Flour, half pound; eggs, four; salt, three-quarters tea-spoonful; milk, one pint: one hour and ten minutes.

Obs.--Modern taste is in favor of puddings boiled in moulds, but, as we have already stated, they are seldom or ever so light as those which are tied in cloths only. Where appearance is the first consideration, we would recommend the use of the moulds, of course.

Another Batter Pudding. --Mix the yolks of three eggs smoothly with three heaped table-spoonsful of flour, thin the batter with new milk until it is of the consistency of cream, whisk the whites of eggs apart, stir them into the batter, and boil the pudding in a floured cloth or buttered basin for an hour. Before it is served, cut the top quickly into large dice, half through the pudding, pour over it a small jarful of fine currant, raspberry, or strawberry jelly, and send it to table without delay.

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Flour, three table-spoonsful; eggs, three; salt, half tea-spoonful; milk, from half to a whole pint: one hour.

Obs.--For a very large pudding, double the quantity of ingredients and the time of boiling will be required.

Batter Fruit Pudding. --Butter thickly a basin which holds a pint and a half, and fill it nearly to the brim with good boiling apples pared, cored, and quartered; pour over them a batter made with four table-spoonsful of flour, two large or three small eggs, and half a pint of milk. Tie a buttered and floured cloth over the basin, which ought to be quite full, and boil the pudding for an hour and a quarter. Turn it into a hot dish when done, and strew sugar thickly over it: this, if added to the batter at first, renders it heavy. Morella cherries make a very superior pudding of this kind; and green gooseberries, damsons, and various other fruits, answer for it extremely well: the time of boiling it must be varied according to their quality and its size.

Baked Batter Pudding. --Beat separately yolks and whites of three eggs; mix three table-spoonsful of flour with half pint of milk, a small piece of butter and some salt; stir in the eggs. Bake in a quick oven, and eat with any sweet sauce.

Indian Meal Pudding, baked. --Scald a quart of milk (skimmed milk will do), and stir in seven table-spoonsful of sifted Indian meal, a tea-spoonful of salt, a tea-cupful of molasses or treacle, or coarse moist sugar, and a table-spoonful of powdered ginger or sifted cinnamon: bake three or four hours. If whey is wanted, pour in a little cold milk after it is all mixed.

Boiled Maize Pudding. --Stir Indian meal and warm milk together "pretty stiff;" a little salt and two or three "great spoonsful of molasses added; also a spoonful of ginger, or any other spice that may be preferred. Boil it in a tight-covered pan, or in a very thick cloth; if the water gets in, it will ruin it. Leave plenty of room, for Indian meal swells very much. The milk with which it is mixed should be merely warmed; if it be scalding hot, the pudding will break to pieces. Some chop suet very fine, and warm in the milk; others warm thin slices of apple to be stirred into the pudding. Water will answer instead of milk.

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Hasty Pudding. --Boil water, a quart, 3 pints, or 2 quarts, according to the size of your family; sift your meal, stir 5 or 6 spoonsful of it thoroughly into a bowl of water; when the water in the kettle boils, pour into it the contents of the bowl; stir it well, and let it boil up thick; put in salt to suit your own taste, then stand over the kettle, and sprinkle in meal, handful after handful, stirring it very thoroughly all the time, and letting it boil between whiles. When it is so thick that you stir it with great difficulty, it is about right. It takes half an hour's cooking. Eat it with milk or molasses. Either Indian meal or rye meal may be used. If the system is in a restricted state, nothing can be better than rye hasty pudding and West India molasses. This diet would save many a one the horrors of dyspepsia.

Obs.--When cold it is nice for breakfast, cut off in slices and browned in a frying pan, with a little butter or fresh sweet lard or dripping.

Arrow Root Pudding. --Dissolve 4 tea-cupsful of arrow-root in a quart of fresh milk. Boil it with a few bitter almonds pounded up, or peach-leaves, to give it a flavor. Stir it well while it is boiling or until it becomes a smooth batter. When it is quite cool, add 6 eggs well beaten, to the batter, then mix with it a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar--if brown is used it spoils the color. Grate some lemon-peel into the mixture and add a little of the juice. The pudding should be baked an hour and sent to the table cold. Quince, raspberry or strawberry preserves, may be served with it; and to add to the appearance, ornament the top with slices of preserves.

Another Arrow Root Pudding. --From a quart of new milk take a small tea-cupful, and mix it with 2 large spoonsful of arrow-root. Boil the remainder of the milk, and stir it amongst the arrow-root; add when nearly cold, 4 well-beaten eggs, with 2 ounces of pounded loaf sugar, and the same of fresh butter broken into small bits; season with grated nutmeg. Mix it well together, and bake it in a buttered dish 15 or 20 minutes.

Sago Pudding. --Boil 5 table-spoonsful of sago, well picked and washed, in 1 quart of milk till quite soft, with a stick of


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cinnamon. Then stir in 1 tea-cup of butter and 2 of powdered loaf sugar. When it is cold, add 4 eggs well beaten, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix all well together, and bake it in a buttered dish about three-quarters of an hour. Brown sugar, if dried, will answer very well to sweeten it.

Tapioca Pudding. --Soak in warm water 1 tea-cupful of tapioca; beat 4 eggs with 3 table-spoonsful of sugar; melt in half a pint of milk 1 table-spoonful of butter. Stir all together; flavor to your taste, and bake in a quick oven.

potato Pudding.--A pound of potatoes, peeled and boiled; one-third of a pound of fresh butter mashed with the potatoes; add the juice of a sour orange or of a lemon, and the peel of 1 grated, a quarter of a pound of sugar, 8 eggs, (half the whites left out) a grated nutmeg, and a gill of wine. Beat them well together, and bake in a thin crust. Add a little salt to the ingredients.

Another potato Pudding. --Boil 3 large mealy potatoes, mash them very smoothly, with 1 ounce of butter, and 2 or 3 table-spoonsful of thick cream; add 3 well-beaten eggs, a little salt, grated nutmeg, and a table-spoonful of brown sugar. Beat all well together, and bake it in a buttered dish, for half or three-quarters of an hour in a Dutch oven. A few currants may be added to the pudding.

Sweet Potato Pudding.-- Beat to a cream 1 pound of sugar, and 1 pound of butter; boil and pound fine 2 pounds of potatoes; beat the potato by degrees into the butter and sugar; add 5 eggs beaten light, 1 wine-glass of wine, 1 of brandy, and 1 of rose-water; 2 tea-spoonsful of spice, and half a pint of cream.

Bake it in a crust. This will fill 7 puddings.

Baked Apple Pudding, or Custard. --Weigh 1 lb. of good boiling apples after they are pared and cored, and stew them to a perfectly smooth marmalade, with 6 oz. of sugar, and a spoonful or two of water; stir them often that they may not stick to the pan. Mix with them while they are still quite hot, 3 oz. of butter, the grated rind and the strained juice of a lemon,


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and lastly, stir in by degrees the well-beaten yolks of 5 eggs, and a dessert-spoonful of flour, or in lieu of the last, 3 or 4 Naples' biscuits, or macaroons crushed small. Bake the pudding for a full half hour in a moderate oven, or longer should it not be quite firm in the middle. A little clarified butter poured on the top, with sugar sifted over, improves all baked puddings.

Apples, 1 lb.; sugar, 6 oz.; water, 1 cupful; butter, 3 oz.; juice and rind, 1 lemon; 5 eggs: half an hour or more.

Obs.--Many cooks press the apples through a sieve after they are boiled, but this is not needful when they are of a good kind, and stewed, and beaten smooth.

A Common Baked Apple Pudding. --Boil a pound and a quarter of apples with half a small cupful of water and 6 oz. of brown sugar; when they are reduced to a smooth pulp, stir to them 2 oz. of butter, a table-spoonful of flour, or a handful of fine bread crumbs, and 5 well-beaten eggs; grate in half a nutmeg, or flavor the pudding with pounded cinnamon, and bake it nearly three-quarters of an hour. More or less of sugar will be required for these puddings, according to the time of year, as the fruit is much more acid when first gathered than when it has been some months stored.

Apples, 1 1/4 lb.; water, half small cupful; sugar, 6 oz.; butter, 2 oz.; flour, 1 table-spoonful, or bread crumbs, 1 handful; half a nutmeg; eggs, 5: three-quarters of an hour.

Nice Apple Pudding. --Pare and core 12 large apples, put them into a sauce-pan with water sufficient to cover them, stew them till soft, and then beat them smooth, and mix in three-quarters of a pound of pounded loaf sugar, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, the juice and grated peel of 2 lemons, and the well-beaten yolks of 8 eggs; line a dish with puff paste, put in the pudding, and bake it for nearly three-quarters of an hour; before serving grate loaf sugar over the top till it looks white.

An Apple Charlotte. --Pare and slice a quantity of apples; cut off the crust of a loaf, and cut slices of bread and butter. Butter the inside of a pie dish, and place bread and butter all round; then put in a layer of apples sprinkled with lemon


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peel chopped very fine, and a considerable quantity of good brown sugar. Then put on a layer of bread and butter, and another of apples, lemon peel, and sugar, until the dish is full, squeezing over the juice of lemons, so that every part shall be equally flavored. Cover up the dish with the crusts of bread and the peels of the apples, to prevent it from browning or burning; bake it an hour and a quarter; then take off the peels and the crust, and turn it out of the dish.

Marlborough Pudding. --Grate enough apples to make 8 oz.; add to this 8 oz. of fine white sugar, 8 oz. of butter, 6 eggs well beaten, the juice of 2 lemons, with the grated peel of 1. Line a pie dish with fine puff paste, put the pudding in it, and bake in a quick oven.

Apple Meringues. --Fill a small pudding-dish half full of stewed or preserved apples, or any other acid fruit. Beat the whites of 6 eggs to a very stiff froth, and mix in 1 table-spoonful of sugar to each egg. Pile the egg on the fruit, and bake it in a slow oven from 1 to 2 hours. It can be eaten cold or hot.

Eve's Pudding. --Take 6 large, fair, juicy apples; pare, core, and chop them fine; 6 oz. of bread crumbs; 6 oz. of currants; 6 eggs, and 3 oz. of sugar. Mix them well, and boil in a mould, or closely-covered pan, for 3 hours; serve with sweet-sauce.

Virginia Cherry Pudding. --Beat 6 eggs light: add 2 gills of milk, 6 oz. of flour, 8 oz. of grated bread, 6 oz. of suet, chopped very fine, and half a table-spoonful of salt. Stir all well together, and add 10 oz. of dried cherries with a little mace. Boil it 4 or 5 hours. It may be baked instead of boiled.

Blackberry Pudding. --Make a batter of 1 quart of flour, 3 pints of milk, and 5 eggs. Stew 3 pints of blackberries sweetened to your taste, and stir them in the batter. Bake it, and eat it with any sweet sauce.

Apricot, Peach, or Nectarine Pudding. --Scald the fruit; peel, beat, and sweeten it; beat 6 yolks and 2 whites; mix all together,


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with a pint of cream; put it into a dish sheeted with cream paste: as the pudding stuff requires a moderate oven, puff paste would not answer. A cook ought to attend to this, as either the paste or pudding will be spoiled unless she does.

Quince Pudding. --Pare 6 large quinces, cut out the cores and blemishes, chop them as fine as possible, and boil them 2 hours with as little water as possible, stirring them frequently that they may not burn. Drain off the water and mix them, when cold, with a pint of cream and half a pound of powdered sugar. Beat the yolks of 7 eggs, using the whites of 2, and stir them gradually into the mixture, to which add a glass of rose-water. Stir the whole together for some time and bake it in a buttered dish an hour, or if the oven is not very hot, an hour and a half. Serve it cold.

Lemon Pudding. --Melt six ounces of butter, and pour it over the same quantity of powdered loaf sugar, stirring it well till cold. Then grate the rind of a large lemon, and add it with 8 eggs well beaten, and the juice of 2 lemons; stir the whole till it is completely mixed together, and bake the pudding with a paste round the dish.

Or:--Take one pound and a half of bread-crumbs, quarter of a pound of finely-chopped suet, the rind of 2 lemons grated, and the juice of 1; 2 eggs well beaten; mix the whole with quarter of pound of sugar sifted, and boil it three-quarters of an hour.

Or:--Pare 6 lemons finely, and boil the peel till it is tender; then pound it in a mortar, add the juice of 3 lemons, and quarter of pound of butter melted into a little cream, 3 sponge or ratafia cakes, the yolks of 6 eggs and the whites of 3; mix all up well together, with sugar to the taste, adding a little nutmeg and brandy.

Orange Pudding. --Beat separately, till perfectly light, 8 yolks and 4 whites of eggs; with the yolks, beat 4 ounces of grated loaf sugar; pound one ounce and a half of sugar biscuit, and with 2 table-spoonsful of orange marmalade, mix all well together; beat before the fire 4 ounces of butter; line a dish with puff-paste, and just before putting the pudding into the oven, stir in the butter. Bake it for 15 or 20 minutes.

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Cocoanut Pudding. --Break the shell of a middle-sized cocoanut so as to leave the nut as whole as you can; grate it with a grater after having taken off the brown skin; mix with it 3 oz. of white sugar powdered, and about half of the peel of a lemon; mix well together with the milk, and put it into a tin lined with paste, and bake it not too brown.

Transparent Pudding. --Beat the yolks of 8 eggs, and the whites of 2, and mix with them half a pound of warmed butter, and the same of loaf sugar, pounded: butter cups or moulds, lay at the bottom orange marmalade or preserved apricots; pour the pudding upon the sweetmeat, and bake it about 20 minutes.

Bird's Nest Pudding. --If you wish to make what is called "bird's nest puddings," prepare a custard,--take 8 or 10 pleasant apples, pare them, dig out the core, but leave them whole, set them in a pudding-dish, pour your custard over them, and bake them about 30 minutes.

Custard Pudding. --Mix with 1 table-spoonful of flour a pint of cream, or new milk, 3 eggs, a spoonful of rose water, 1 oz. of fresh butter broken in small bits; sweeten with pounded loaf sugar, and add a little grated nutmeg. Bake it in a buttered dish for half an hour. Before serving, you can strew over it pounded loaf sugar, and stick over it thin cut bits of citron if you wish it to look very rich.

American Custard Puddings.-- Sufficiently good for common use, may be made by taking 5 eggs beaten up and mixed with a quart of milk, sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg. It is well to boil your milk first, and let it get cold before using it. "Boiling milk enriches it so much, that boiled skim milk is about as good as new." (We doubt this assertion; at any rate, it can only be improved by the evaporation of the water.) Bake 15 or 20 minutes.

A Cream Pudding. --Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs and 2 whites; add a pint of cream, and 2 oz. of clarified butter, a spoonful of flour, a little grated nutmeg, salt, and sugar; beat till smooth: bake it in buttered cups or paste.

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Apple Dumplings. --Pare and scoop out the core of 6 large baking apples, put part of a clove, and a little grated lemon peel, inside of each, and enclose them in pieces of puff paste; boil them in nets for the purpose, or bits of linen, for an hour. Before serving, cut off a small bit from the top of each, and put in a tea-spoonful of sugar, and a bit of fresh butter; replace the bit of paste, and strew over them pounded loaf sugar.

Fashionable Apple Dumplings. --They are boiled in small knitted or closely-netted cloths (the former have, we think, the prettiest effect) which give quite an ornamental appearance to an otherwise homely dish. Take out the cores without dividing the apples, which should be large, and of a good boiling sort, and fill the cavity with orange or lemon marmalade, enclose them in a good crust rolled thin, draw the cloths round them, tie them closely and boil them for three-quarters of an hour. Lemon dumplings may be boiled in the same way.

Three-quarters to one hour, if the apples be not of the best boiling kind.

Norfolk Dumplings. --Make a stiff pancake batter; drop this batter by small spoonsful into quick boiling water; let them boil from 2 to 3 minutes, when they will be enough done: drain, and lay a piece of fresh butter over each.

Potato Apple Dumplings. --Boil 12 (or more) white potatoes, pare them, put them hot upon your paste-board, and mash them with a rolling pin; add a little salt. When they are sufficiently mashed, dredge in from your dredging-box enough flour to make it of the consistency of dough made of flour, and then roll it out and make up your dumplings.

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> CHAPTER XXIV.

PANCAKES, FRITTERS, ETC.

Observations--Pancakes--Apple--New England--French--Rice Fritters--Apple--Potato--Venetian--Spanish--Fish--Oyster--Snow Balls--Croquettes of Rice--Puffs.

PANCAKES.

OBSERVATIONS.--Although egg forms the chief foundation of all pancakes, they are yet made in various ways according to different tastes and countries.

The common sort are composed of a light batter, made of eggs, flour, and milk, fried in hot dripping or lard, only half the whites of the eggs being generally used; but salt, or nutmeg, and ginger, may be added, and sugar and lemon should be served to eat with them. Or, when eggs are scarce, make the batter with flour and small beer, ginger, &c.; or clean snow, with flour, and a very little milk, will serve as well as eggs.

Pancakes--a good receipt. --Take 1 lb. of flour; mix it with 6 eggs, a table-spoonful of brandy, a good pinch of salt,[GAP IN TEXT. Type: . Extent: one word] table-spoonsful of orange flower water, and the same quantity of milk and water, or as much as will give the batter a proper consistency; melt a piece of butter or lard in a frying-pan pour in as much batter as will cover the pan; when brown on one side, with a knife loosen the edges of the pancake all round and turn and brown it on the other side; roll each pancake up and send them to table very hot, powdered with sugar.

Hand round sugar, either raw or pounded, together with lemon and Seville orange.

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Or, 1 lb. of flour, 1 quart of milk, 6 eggs, half an oz. of salt, 4 oz. of pounded sugar, and peel of 1 lemon grated,* with pounded sweet spice, or not, according to fancy; fry as usual, and serve each separately on a plate.

Pancakes.--Dr. Kitchiner's receipt. --Break 3 eggs in a basin; beat them up with a little nutmeg and salt; then put to them 4 1/2 ounces of flour, and a little milk; beat it of a smooth batter; then add by degrees as much milk as will make it of the thickness of good cream: the frying-pan must be about the size of a pudding plate, and very clean, or they will stick; make it hot, and to each pancake put in a bit of butter about as big as a walnut : when it is melted, pour in the batter to cover the bottom of the pan; make them the thickness of a crown; fry them of a light brown on both sides.

Apple Pancakes. --Mix 2 large spoonsful of flour in a cup of milk; when smooth add 8 eggs, some pounded cinnamon, grated lemon-peel, a handful of currants, and 6 or 8 apples peeled and chopped: mix it all well together; melt some butter in a frying-pan; when hot pour the whole mass in, and fry it on both sides: serve it strewed with pounded cinnamon and sugar very hot.

New England Pancakes. --Mix a pint of cream, 5 spoonsful of fine flour, 5 eggs, and a very little salt; fry them very thin in fresh butter, and between each strew sugar and cinnamon. Send up 6 or 8 at once.

Obs.--Pancakes are excellent made of ground rice or rice flour. The folly and waste of discarding so many whites of eggs from pancakes and puddings may be seen, as they are alone used in making the finest pancakes and puddings; and snow surely does not partake of the nature of yolk.+

[Editorial note: The following footnotes appear at the bottom of page 305 in the original text.]

*Whenever brandy or wine are given, it should be remembered, that pounded lemon peel and sweet spices may be substituted instead of the spirituous liquid.

+Yolk thickens and enriches, but does not lighten or raise.

French Pancakes. --Beat separately the yolks and white of 7 eggs; beat with the yolks 4 table-spoonsful of pounded loaf sugar, the same quantity of flour, 1 pint of cream or milk, the


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grated peel and juice of 1 lemon, and 2 table-spoonsful of rose water; add the beaten whites the last thing. Allow three table-spoonsful to each pancake.

Rice Pancakes. --Add to 3 well-beaten eggs a pint of new milk, 3 table-spoonsful of boiled rice, some sugar, and a little pounded cinnamon; mix it all well together, and fry it in butter; brown the upper side for a minute before the fire; serve it, cut into 4, with pounded sugar strewed over it.

> FRITTERS.

Plain Common Fritters. --Mix with three well-beaten eggs a quarter-pint of milk, and strain them through a fine sieve: add them gradually to 3 large table-spoonsful of flour, and thin the batter with as much more milk as will bring it to the consistency of cream; beat it up thoroughly at the moment of using it, that the fritters may be light. Drop it in small portions from a spouted jug or basin into boiling lard; when lightly colored on one side, turn them, drain them well from the lard as they are lifted out, and serve them very quickly. They are eaten generally with fine sugar, and orange or lemon juice: the first of these may be sifted thickly over them after they are dished, the oranges or lemons cut in two, and sent to table with them. The lard used for frying them should be fresh and pure-flavored: it renders them more crisp and light than butter, and is, therefore, better suited to the purpose.

Eggs, 3; flour, 3 table-spoonsful; milk, quarter to half pint.

Apple Fritters. --Make a batter with 3 eggs, 5 ounces of flour, a little salt and nutmeg grated; beat the batter smooth, then add, by degrees, as much milk as will make it like stiff cream--peel your apples, and cut them in thick slices; take out the core, dip them in the batter, and fry them in hot lard; put them on a sieve to drain; dish them neatly, and grate some loaf sugar over them.

potato Fritters. --Peel, and pound in a mortar, 6 mealy potatoes, with a little salt, a glass of white wine, some pounded sugar, cinnamon, and 1 ounce of butter; roll it out with a little flour, cut them the size of a wine glass, and fry them in boiling clarified dripping. Serve them with sifted loaf sugar over them.

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Venetian Fritters, (very good.) --Pick, wash, and drain 3 ounces of whole rice, put it into a full pint of cold milk, and bring it very slowly to boil; stir it often, and let it simmer gently until quite thick and dry. When about three parts done, add to it 2 ounces of pounded sugar, and 1 of fresh butter, a grain of salt, and the grated rind of half a small lemon. Let it cool in the sauce-pan, and when only just warm mix with it thoroughly 3 ounces of currants, 4 apples, chopped fine, a tea-spoonful of flour, and 3 well-beaten eggs. Drop the mixture in small fritters, fry them in butter from 5 to 7 minutes, and let them become quite firm on one side before they are turned: do this with a slice. Drain them as they are taken up, and sift white sugar over them after they are dished.

Whole rice, 3 ozs.; milk, 1 pint; sugar, 2 ozs.; butter, 1 oz.; grated rind of half a lemon; currants, 3 ozs.; minced apples, 4 ozs.; flour, 1 tea-spoonful; a little salt; eggs, 3; 5 to 7 minutes.

Spanish Fritters. --Cut into lengths about the size and thickness of your finger the crumb of a French roll, you may please your fancy as to the shape; soak it in a compound of cream, nutmeg, sugar, pounded cinnamon, and an egg; when thoroughly soaked, fry it a nice brown; serve with butter, wine, and sugar sauce.

Corn Fritters: American. --Take 12 small ears of corn, free from all silk; cut the grains down the centre, and scrape all the corn and milk off the cob; add about 2 table-spoonsful of flour, 2 eggs well beaten, pepper and salt to your taste, and mix the whole well together. Put a table-spoonful of this mixture at a time in a frying-pan with hot lard or butter; when brown, turn them, and serve them hot. If the corn is large it will require 3 eggs, if very milky, a little extra flour. It should be thicker than pancake batter; a hot fire will cook them in 5 minutes. They are excellent for breakfast, and may be mixed the night before. For dessert put in sugar instead of salt and pepper, and eat them with your favorite sauce.

Fish Fritters. --Make a light forcemeat with any kind of fish, put a small quantity into pieces of puff-paste the size of a common puff, fry in boiling lard and drain dry; serve with béchamel sauce round them.

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Oyster Fritters. --Blanch some oysters in their own liquor, then place them for some time in vinegar and water, with salt, shred parsley, and small white onions sliced; then dry them well; dip each in batter and fry them.

Fritters Soufflés. --Mix the yolks of 4 eggs, half a table-spoonful of olive oil or butter, and a little salt, with half a pound of flour; whip the whites of the eggs to a froth, and add to the rest; when the paste is equal to a thick batter, take 1 table-spoonful of it and roll it in flour, make each ball about the size of an English walnut, fry them in boiling lard or olive oil, sprinkle with white sugar, and serve hot.

Snow-Balls boiled in Butter. --Mix with 6 well-beaten eggs one pint and a half of sour cream, and add by degrees as much flour as will make the batter thick enough for the spoon to stand in it; sweeten it with brown sugar, and put in a few cardamoms; stir into this mixture half a pint of beer, beat it all well together, and drop it with a dessert-spoon into some boiling lard, or butter. Drain them upon a towel before the fire, and serve them in a napkin, with sugar sifted over them.

Croquettes of Rice. (Entremets.) --Wipe very clean, in a dry cloth, 7 ounces of rice, put it into a clean stew-pan, and pour on it a quart of new milk; let it swell gently by the side of the fire, and stir it often that it may not stick to the pan, nor burn; when it is about half done, stir to it 5 ounces of pounded sugar, and 6 bitter almonds beaten extremely fine: the thin rind of half a fresh lemon may be added in the first instance. The rice must be simmered until it is soft, and very thick and dry; it should then be spread on a dish, and left until cold, when it is to be rolled into small balls, which must be dipped into beaten egg, and then covered in every part with the finest bread-crumbs. When all are ready, fry them a light brown in fresh butter, and dry them well before the fire, upon a sieve reversed and covered with a very soft cloth, or with a sheet of white blotting-paper. Pile them in a hot dish, and send them to table quickly.

Rice, 7 ozs.; milk, 1 quart; rind of lemon: three-quarters of an hour. Sugar, 5 ozs.; bitter almonds, 6: 40 to 60 minutes, or more. Fried, 5 to 7 minutes.

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Finer Croquettes of Rice. (Entremets.) --Swell the rice in thin cream, or in new milk strongly flavored with cocoanut; then add the same ingredients as in the foregoing receipt, and when the rice is cold, form it into balls, and with the thumb of the right hand hollow them sufficiently to admit in the centre a small portion of peach jam, or of apricot marmalade; close the rice well over it; egg, crumb, and fry the croquettes as usual. As, from the difference of quality, the same proportions of rice and milk will not always produce the same effect, the cook must use her discretion in adding, should it be needed, sufficient liquid to soften the rice perfectly: but she must bear in mind that if not boiled extremely thick and dry, it will be difficult to make it into croquettes.

Puffs. --Put into a sauce-pan a pint of milk, boil slowly, and stir in flour till it be very thick, like paste; when cold, mix with it 6 well-beaten eggs, a table-spoonful of sugar, half a nutmeg, and the peel of a small lemon grated, and a table-spoonful of brandy; beat it well together for 15 minutes, and when quite light, drop it from a dessert-spoon into a pan of boiling clarified suet or lard. Serve with pounded loaf sugar strewed over them.

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> CHAPTER XXV.

CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE.

Of Custards--Cream--Rice--Chocolate--Plain--Baked--Souffle--Apple--Fool--Flummery--Creams--Fruit--Italian--Almond--Vanilla--Charlotte Russe--Cream Hasty--Curds and Cream--Junket--Snow-Balls--Floating Island--Trifle--Ices--Ice-Cream--Currant, Ginger, Water Ices--Jellies--Isinglass to clarify Blanc Mange.CUSTARDS.

CUSTARD is always eaten cold, and either poured over fruit tarts, or served up separately in custard-cups, in each of which a macaroon steeped in wine, and laid at the bottom, will be found a good addition.

The flavoring may likewise be altered, according to taste, by using a different kind of essence, the name of which it then acquires; as of lemon, orange, maraschino, vanilla, &c. It is almost needless to say that cream or a portion of it will make it richer than mere milk.

It should be recollected that in custard, when made as cream, and eaten as usually called "raw," the whites of the eggs are never all used; but they may be devoted to many other purposes.

The French mode of making it is, to measure the number of cups which are to be filled, and use nearly that quantity of milk or cream, simmering it upon the fire until beginning to boil, then adding about half an ounce of powdered sugar to each cup, with lemon-peel, bay-leaves, or almond-powder;


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then take the yolk of an egg to each small cup, beat them up with the milk, fill the cups, place in bain-marie or vase of boiling water until the custard become firm.

Custard Cream. --Boil half pint of new milk with a piece of lemon-peel, 2 peach-leaves, a stick of cinnamon, and 8 lumps of white sugar. Should cream be employed instead of milk, there will be no occasion to strain it. Beat the yolks, say of 4 eggs; strain the milk through coarse muslin, or a hair sieve; then mix the eggs and milk very gradually together, and simmer it gently on the fire, stirring it until it thickens, but removing it the moment it begins to boil, or it will curdle.

A cheap and excellent sort is made by boiling 3 pints of new milk with a bit of lemon-peel, a bit of cinnamon, 2 or 3 bay-leaves, and sweetening it. Meanwhile, rub down smooth a large spoonful of rice-flour into a cup of cold milk, and mix with it 4 yolks of eggs well beaten. Take a basin of the boiling milk, mix it with the cold, and pour that to the boiling, stirring it one way till it begins to thicken, and is just going to boil up; then pour it into a pan, stir it some time, add a large spoonful of peach-water, 2 tea-spoonsful of brandy, or a little ratafia.*

For Rich Custard. --Boil a pint of milk with lemon peel and cinnamon; mix a pint of cream and the yolks of 8 eggs, well-beaten; when the milk tastes of the seasoning, strain it, and sweeten it enough for the whole; pour it into the cream, stirring it well; then give the custard a simmer till of a proper thickness. Do not let it boil; stir the whole time one way.

Or:--Boil a pint of cream with some mace, cinnamon, and a little lemon-peel: strain it, and when cold add to it the yolks of 4 and whites of 2 eggs, a little orange-flower water, and sugar to your taste. A little nutmeg and 2 spoonsful of sweet wine may be added, if approved. Mix well, and bake in cups.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 311 in the original text.]

*Marbles, boiled in custard, or anything likely to burn, will, if shaken in the saucepan, prevent it from catching.

Rice Custards. --Sweeten a pint of milk with loaf-sugar, boil it with a stick of cinnamon, stir in sifted ground rice till quite


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thick. Take it off the fire; add the whites of 3 eggs well beaten; stir it again over the fire for 2 or 3 minutes, then put it into cups that have lain in cold water; do not wipe them. When cold, turn them out, and put them into the dish in which they are to be served; pour round them a custard made of the yolks of the eggs and little more than half a pint of milk. Put on the top a little red currant jelly, or raspberry jam. A pretty supper dish.

Orange Custard. --Boil very tender the rind of half a Seville orange; beat it in a mortar to a paste; put to it a spoonful of the best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, 4 ounces of lump-sugar, and the yolks of 4 eggs. Beat all together 10 minutes, and pour in by degrees a pint of boiling cream. Keep beating until the mixture is cold; then put into custard-cups, and set them in a soup-dish of boiling water; let them stand until thick, then put preserved orange-peel, in slices, upon the custard. Serve either hot or cold.

Or:--Take the juice of 12 oranges, strain it and sweeten it well with pounded loaf-sugar, stir it over a slow fire till the sugar is dissolved, taking off the scum as it rises; when nearly cold add the yolks of 12 eggs well beaten, and a pint of cream; stir it again over the fire till it thickens. Serve it in a glass dish or in custard-cups.

Lemon Custard --May be made in the same manner, or as follows:--Strain 3 wine-glassfuls of lemon-juice through a sieve; beat 9 eggs, yolks and whites, strain them also, and add them to the lemon-juice, with one-quarter pound of powdered loaf-sugar, a glass of white wine, and half a wine-glass of water, with a little grated lemon-peel. Mix all together, and put the ingredients into a sauce-pan on the fire, stirring it until it becomes thick and of a proper consistence.

Almond Custard. --Boil in a pint of milk, or cream, 2 or 3 bitter almonds, a stick of cinnamon, and a piece of lemon-peel pared thin, with 8 or 10 lumps of sugar; let it simmer to extract the flavor, then strain it and stir it till cold. Beat the yolks of 6 eggs, mix it with the milk, and stir the whole over a slow fire until of a proper thickness, adding 1 oz. of sweet almonds, beaten fine in rose-water.

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Chocolate Custards. --Dissolve gently by the side of the fire an ounce and a half of the best chocolate in rather more than a wine-glassful of water, and then boil it until it is perfectly smooth; mix with it a pint of milk well flavored with lemon-peel or vanilla, and two ounces of fine sugar, and when the whole boils, stir it to five well-beaten eggs that have been strained. Put the custard into a jar or jug, set it into a pan of boiling water, and stir it without ceasing until it is thick. Do not put it into glasses or a dish till nearly or quite cold. These, as well as all other custards, are infinitely finer when made with the yolks only of the eggs.

Rice Custards without Cream. --Take 1 tea-spoonful of rice flour, a pint of new milk, the yolks of 3 eggs, sugar to your liking; mix the rice very smooth, and stir it, with the eggs, into the boiling milk. An excellent dish for children.

Plain Custard. --To 1 quart of cream or new milk, add a stick of cinnamon, 4 bay leaves, and some mace; boil them all together a few minutes; then beat well 12 eggs, sweeten them, and when the milk is cold stir in the eggs, and bake or boil it till of a proper consistency, and perfectly smooth. The spice can be omitted, and 4 or 5 bitter almonds used in its place.

Common Baked Custard. --Mix a quart of new milk with 8 well-beaten eggs, strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and sweeten it with from 5 to 8 ounces of sugar, according to the taste; add a small pinch of salt, and pour the custard into a deep dish, with or without a lining or rim of paste; grate nutmeg or lemon rind over the top, and bake it in a very slow oven from twenty to thirty minutes, or longer, should it not be firm in the centre. A custard, if well made, and properly baked, will be quite smooth when cut, without the honey combed appearance which a hot oven gives; and there will be no whey in the dish.

New milk, 1 quart; eggs, 8; sugar, 5 to 8 ozs.; salt, one-quarter salt-spoonful; nutmeg or lemon-grate: baked, slow oven, 20 to 30 minutes, or more.

A Finer Baked Custard. --Boil together gently, for 5 minutes, a pint and a half of new milk, a few grains of salt, the


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very thin rind of a lemon, and 6 ounces of loaf sugar stir these boiling, but very gradually to the well-beaten yolks of 10 fresh eggs, and the whites of 4; strain the mixture, and add to it half a pint of good cream; let it cool, and then flavor it with a few spoonsful of brandy, or a little ratafia; finish and bake it by the directions given for the common custard above; or pour it into small well-buttered cups, and bake it very slowly from 10 to 12 minutes.

Apple or Gooseberry Soufflé. --Scald and sweeten the fruit, beat it through a sieve, and put it into a tart-dish. When cold pour a rich custard over it, about 2 inches deep; whip the whites of the eggs, of which the custard was made, to a snow, and lay it in small rough pieces on the custard; sift fine sugar over, and put it into a slack oven for a short time. It will make an exceedingly pretty dish.

Gooseberry-Fool. --Put the fruit into a stone jar, with some good Lisbon sugar; set the jar on a stove, or in a sauce-pan of water over the fire; if the former, a large spoonful of water should be added to the fruit. When it is done enough to pulp, press it through a cullender; have ready a tea-cupful of new milk and the same quantity of raw cream boiled together, and left to be cold; then sweeten pretty well with fine Lisbon sugar, and mix the pulp by degrees with it.

Or:--Mix equal proportions of gooseberry pulp and custard.

Apple-Fool --May be made as gooseberry, except that when stewed they should be peeled and pulped.

French Flummery. --Boil 1 ounce and a half of isinglass in a pint and a half of cream for 10 minutes, stirring it well; sweeten it with loaf-sugar, flavor with 2 table-spoonsful of orange-flower water, strain it into a deep dish.

> CREAMS.

Fruit Creams. --Take half an ounce of isinglass, dissolved in a little water, then put 1 pint of good cream, sweetened to the taste; boil it; when nearly cold lay some apricot or raspberry jam on the bottom of a glass dish, and pour it over. This is most excellent.

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Burnt Cream. --Set over the fire in a pan 3 ounces of sifted sugar, stir it, and when it browns, add a quart of cream, and 2 ounces of isinglass; boil and stir till the latter is dissolved, when sweeten it, and strain it into moulds.

Or, this cream may be made by boiling it without sugar, adding the yolks of 4 eggs, sweetening and sifting over it in a dish loaf sugar, to be browned with a salamander.

Lemon Cream. --Take a pint of cream, add the zest of a lemon rubbed on sugar; whip it well; add sugar and lemon-juice to palate. Have half an ounce of isinglass dissolved and cool; when the cream is thick, which it will be when the lemon-juice is added, pour in the isinglass, and immediately mould it. A smaller quantity of isinglass may suffice, but that depends on the thickness of the cream.

Other flavors may be used, as orange, almond, maraschino.

Or:--Take a pint of thick cream, and put to it the yolks of 2 eggs well beaten, 4 oz. of fine sugar, and the thin rind of a lemon; boil it up, then stir it till almost cold; put the juice of a lemon in a dish or bowl, and pour the cream upon it, stirring it till quite cold.

Raspberry Cream. --Put 6 ounces of raspberry jam to a quart of cream, pulp it through a lawn sieve, mix it with the juice of a lemon and a little sugar, and whisk it till thick. Serve it in a dish or glasses.

Strawberry Cream. --Pulp 6 ounces of strawberry jam with a pint of cream through a sieve, add to it the juice of a lemon, whisk it fast at the edge of a dish, lay the froth on a sieve, add a little more juice of lemon, and when no more froth will rise put the cream into a dish, or into glasses, and place the froth upon it, well drained.

Pine Apple Cream. --Have some pine apple prepared in syrup, and cut into small dice, putting it in your cream with a little of the syrup, the other process as before.

Raspberry and Currant Cream. --Use a pottle of raspberries, and the juice of a handful of currants, passed through the sieve with the raspberries, then proceed the same as before, precisely

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Creme Meringuée. --Infuse in a pint of new milk the very thin rind of a lemon, with 4 or 5 bitter almonds bruised. As the quantity should not be reduced, it should be kept by the side of the fire until strongly flavored, and not be allowed to boil for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Sweeten it with 3 ounces of fine sugar in lumps, and when this is dissolved, strain, and mix the milk with half a pint of cream; then stir the whole gradually to the well-beaten yolks of 6 fresh eggs, and thicken it like boiled custard. Put it, when cold, into a deep dish, beat to a solid froth the whites of 6 eggs, mix them with 5 table-spoonsful of pounded and sifted sugar, and spread them evenly over the custard, which should be set immediately into a moderate oven, baked half an hour, and served directly it is taken out.

New milk, 1 pint; rind of 1 lemon; bitter almonds, 5; sugar, 3 ozs.; cream, half pint; yolks of eggs, 6; frothed whites of eggs, 6; sifted sugar, 5 table-spoonsful: baked, half an hour.

Italian Cream. --Mix 1 pint of rich cream with half pint of milk; sweeten it to your taste; add 2 gills of Madeira wine; 1 gill of rose water; beat these ingredients thoroughly; dissolve in boiling water 1 1/2 oz. of isinglass; strain it through a napkin or sieve, and stir it into the cream; fill the moulds, and when firm turn out.

Almond Cream. --Boil 1 quart of cream with a grated nutmeg, a blade or two of mace, a bit of lemon-peel, and sugar to your taste; then* blanch one-quarter of pound of almonds, and beat them very fine with a table-spoonful of rose water or orange flower water; beat well the whites of 9 eggs and strain them to the almonds; beat them together and rub them well through a coarse hair-sieve; mix it with the cream; set it on the fire, and stir it all one way until it almost boils; pour it into a bowl and stir it till cold. Put it into cups or glasses and send it to table.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 316 in the original text.]

*To Blanch Almonds, or other Kernels.--Put your almonds into a basin, and pour some scalding hot water over them, let them lie in it a minute, then rub them between a clean cloth, and the brown skins will easily come off.

Crême à La Vanille. --Boil 1 oz. of isinglass in a pint of milk for 10 minutes, taking care it does not stick to the bottom


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of the stew-pan. Put into it half a stick of vanilla; cover it down, and let it stand till nearly cold. Beat up the yolks of 5 eggs, mix into them 6 oz. of pounded sugar, put these into a stew-pan; take the vanilla out of the milk, which add to the eggs, mix them well, and stir the custard over the fire till it thickens, but do not let it boil. Strain it into a bowl; when nearly cold add a glass of noyeau or maraschino; keep stirring it, and when on the point of setting add three-quarters of pint of cream well whipped; mix it well, and pour it into a mould; set it upon ice till wanted, when dip it for a moment into warm water, wipe it dry, and turn over upon a dish.

This is a very fine cream for a Charlotte Russe; but there should be a little more isinglass added, and a glass of brandy instead of the noyeau.

Or:--Boil half a stick of vanilla in a quarter of pint of new milk until it has a very high flavor; have ready a jelly of 1 oz. of isinglass to quarter of pint of water, which mix with the milk, and 1 1/4 pint of fine cream; sweeten with fine sugar, and whip until quite thick; then pour into the mould and set it in a cool place.

Or:--Pound thoroughly with loaf sugar quarter of a stick of vanilla, sift it, taking care that the vanilla is passed through the sieve: whip a pint of cream; add the vanilla, sugar, and half an ounce of dissolved isinglass; pour into a mould.

Crême au Marasquin. --Prepare a cream as the Crême à la Vanille, adding a quarter ounce more isinglass, and substituting maraschino for vanilla.

Charlotte Russe. --Line the bottom of a plain round mould with Savoy biscuits, placing them close together in a star or some device; line the sides, placing the biscuits edgeways, to make them form a compact wall; put the mould upon ice; have ready a Crême au Marasquin, adding a glass of brandy. Fill the mould as it stands on the ice, and leave it till the time of serving, when turn it over upon the dish and take off the mould.

Charlotte Russe.--(American).--An easy way. --Mix with the yolks of 4 eggs quarter of pound of sugar pounded fine, and add to this half pint of new milk. Put it over the fire till


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it begins to thicken like custard, but do not let it boil; then add half pint of very stiff calve's foot jelly. Strain it through a napkin; put in a pan placed on ice, a pint of very rich cream, flavored or not as you like, and whip it until it looks like float--pour the cream into another dish, and put the custard in the pan on the ice; stir it on the ice, with a paddle, until it becomes thick like jelly; then add the cream very lightly. The mixture should look like light sponge-cake before it is baked. A round tin pan must be prepared with sponge cake, called Ladies' fingers, placed around and at the bottom very evenly and closely; pour the charlotte in it, and place it on the ice till wanted. When wanted put a round dish or plate on it, and turn it out. The bottom will then be at the top--and no cake at the bottom.

Cream Hasty. --Take a gallon of milk from the cow, set it on the fire, and when it begins to rise take it off the fire, skim off all the cream and put it on a plate, then set the skillet on the fire again and repeat the skimming till your plate is full of cream, put to it some orange flower and sugar, and serve it.

Cream au Naturel. --Take some thin cream, mind and let it be fresh, and put it in a bowl on ice to cool, add to it powdered sugar, and serve it.

Cream, to Keep. --Cream already skimmed may be kept 24 hours if scalded without sugar, and by adding to it as much powdered lump sugar as will make it sweet, it will keep good two days in a cool place.

Curds and Cream. --With about half a table-spoonful of rennet, turn 2 quarts of milk just from the cow; drain off the whey, and fill a mould with the curd; when it has stood an hour or two, turn it out. Strew colored comfits over it, sweeten some cream, mix grated nutmeg with it, and pour it round the curd.

Curds and Cream, as in Scotland. --Put 2 quarts of new milk into the dish in which it is to be served, and turn it with a tea-spoonful of rennet; when the curd has come, serve it with cream in a separate dish.

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Naples Curd. --Put into a quart of new milk a stick of cinnamon, boil it a few minutes, take out the cinnamon, and stir in eight well-beaten eggs, and a table-spoonful of white wine; when it boils again, strain it through a sieve; beat the curd in a basin, together with about half an ounce of butter, 2 table-spoonsful of orange-flower water, and pounded sugar sufficient to sweeten it. Put it into a mould for 2 hours before it is sent to table.

White wine, sugar, and cream, may be mixed together, and poured round the curd; or, it may be served in a sauce tureen.

Kerry Butter-Milk. --Put 6 quarts of butter-milk into a cheese cloth, hang it in a cool place, and let the whey drip from it for two or three days; when it is rather thick, put it into a basin, sweeten it with pounded loaf sugar, and add a glass of brandy, or of sweet wine, and as much raspberry jam, or syrup, as will color and give it an agreeable flavor. Whisk it well together, and serve it in a glass dish.

Devonshire Junket. --Put warm milk into a bowl; turn it with rennet; then put some scalded cream, sugar and nutmeg on the top without breaking the curd.

Whip Syllabub. --Whip cream, as directed above; mix a glass of brandy and half a pint of white wine with a pint of the cream, which sweeten with sifted loaf sugar, and grate in lemon-peel and nutmeg: serve in glasses, and set some of the whip on each.

Snow Balls. --Beat the whites of 6 eggs to a froth; sweeten them to your taste and flavor them with rose-water. Drop them into a pot of boiling water in table-spoonsful for a minute or two, to harden them. Make a cream of milk, eggs, and sugar, to float them in.

A Floating Island. --Take a pint of thick cream, sweeten with fine sugar, grate in the peel of one lemon, and add a gill of sweet white wine; whisk it well till you have raised a good froth; then pour a pint of thick cream into a china dish, take one French roll, slice it thin, and lay it over the cream as lightly as possible; then a layer of clear calves' feet jelly, or


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currant jelly; then whip up your cream, and lay on the froth as high as you can, and what remains pour into the bottom of the dish. Garnish the rim with sweetmeats.

Floating Island--another way. --Beat together the whites of three eggs, and as many table-spoonsful of raspberry jam or red currant jelly; when the whole will stand in rocky forms, pile it upon apple jelly, or cream, beaten up with wine, sugar, and a little grated lemon-peel.

To Whip Cream. --Sweeten a bowl of cream with loaf-sugar, and flavor it with orange-flower water, any juicy fruit, or lemon or orange, by rubbing sugar on the peel: set another bowl near the above, with a sieve over it; then whip the cream with a whisk, and, as it rises in a froth, take it off with a skimmer, and put it into the sieve to drain; whip also the cream which drains off, and, when done, ornament with lemon-raspings. This cream may be used before it is set upon custard, trifle, or syllabub.

A Trifle. --Whip cream, as directed above, adding a little brandy and sweet wine; then lay in a glass dish sponge cakes, ratafia cakes, and macaroons, and pour upon them as much brandy and sweet wine as they will soak up; next, a rich custard about 2 inches deep, with a little grated nutmeg and lemon-peel; then a layer of red currant jelly or raspberry jam, and upon the whole a very high whip. A trifle is best made the day before it is wanted.

Cake Trifle. --Cut out a rice or diet-bread cake about 2 inches from the edge; fill it with a rich custard, with a few blanched and split almonds, and pieces of raspberry jam, and put on the whole a high whip.

Gooseberry or Apple Trifle. --Scald a sufficient quantity of fruit, and pulp it through a sieve, add sugar agreeable to your taste, make a thick layer of this at the bottom of your dish; mix a pint of milk, a pint of cream, and the yolks of 2 eggs, scald it over the fire, observing to stir it; add a small quantity of sugar, and let it get cold. Then lay it over the apples


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or gooseberries with a spoon, and put on the whole a whip made the day before.

If you use apples, add the rind of a lemon grated.

> ICES.

Vanilla Ice Cream. --Take 2 quarts of rich cream, and 1 quart of rich milk; put the milk on the fire; cut up a vanilla bean in small pieces, and throw it into the milk, letting it boil half an hour. Beat up a table-spoonful of flour or powdered arrow-root in some cold milk, and stir it gradually into the boiling milk. Beat up 3 eggs well, adding a little cold milk to them, and pour them into the boiling milk; boil it all together a few minutes, stirring it all the time. Take it off the fire and strain it through a fine sieve. Add the 2 quarts of cream, and 3 lbs. of sugar; stir it till the sugar is dissolved. When cold put it in the freezer, which should be made of pewter, though block-tin is often used; place the freezer in a deep pail, which is partly filled with pounded ice, and surround it with coarse salt and ice in alternate layers. Shake the freezer by turning the handle all the time. Every ten minutes open the freezer and cut down the cream as it congeals around the sides, beating the cream well each time, also digging it out from the bottom. A little iron or tin spade with a strong handle is the best for the purpose.

If the ice is to be kept after it is frozen, the water must be let off from the bottom of the pail by a hole that is stopped with a cork, and a woollen cloth put on the top of the freezer to exclude the air. When the freezer is opened the edges should be carefully wiped with a towel to prevent the salt from getting in. When the frozen cream is to be turned out, apply a cloth wrung out of boiling water to the bottom and sides of the freezer. When it is well frozen, transfer it to a mould; surround it with fresh salt and ice, and then freeze it over again. If you wish to flavor it with lemon instead of vanilla, take a large lump of sugar before you powder it, and rub it on the outside of a large lemon till the yellow is all rubbed off upon the sugar. Then, when the sugar is all powdered, mix with it the juice. Do the same for orange.

For strawberry ice cream, mix with the powdered sugar the juice of a quart of ripe strawberries squeezed through a linen bag.

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Strawberry Ice-Cream, (excellent). --Pass a pint of picked strawberries through a sieve with a wooden spoon, add 4 ozs of powdered sugar, and a pint of cream, and freeze.

Pine Apple Ice Cream. --Pare a ripe juicy pine apple, chop it up fine, and pound it to extract the juice. Cover it with sugar and let it lie a while in a china bowl. When the sugar has entirely melted, strain the juice into a quart of good cream, and add a little less than a pound of loaf sugar. Beat up the cream and freeze it in the same manner as common ice cream.

Currant Ice Cream. --Put one large spoonful and a half of currant jelly into a basin with half a gill of syrup, squeeze in one lemon and a half, add a pint of cream and a little cochineal, then pass it through a sieve and finish in the general way.

Brown Bread Ice. --One pint of cream, sweeten with thick syrup, a little grating of nutmeg, a glass of jelly, have ready some very fine bread crumbs made from brown bread four days old, to be sprinkled by degrees into the cream when about half frozen, add jelly if you have it.

Ginger Cream Ice. --Make half a pint of good custard, boiling an ounce of the best ground ginger, sweeten it, add half a pint of cream, a little lemon juice, put into it when half frozen two ounces of preserved ginger cut in small dice; go on as for former ices.

Fine Cochineal Coloring. --Pound 1 ounce of cochineal, put it in 1 pint of water, with 1 ounce of roach alum, 1 ounce of cream of tartar,--when all are boiled, add 1 ounce of salts of wormwood, and the juice of 3 lemons, and 3 gills of spirits of wine. Bottle it closely.

Water Ices --Are made with the juice of the orange, lemon, raspberry, or any other sort of fruit, sweetened and mixed with water. To make orange-water ice, mix with 1 pint of water the strained juice of 3 fine oranges, and that of 1 lemon. Rub some fine sugar on the peel of the orange, to give it the flavor. Make it very sweet and freeze it. lemon ice is made in the same manner.

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Orange-Water Ice. --Take as many oranges as will be necessary, cut them in half, press the juice from them; take the pulp carefully from the rind, and put it in a bowl, pour a little boiling water on it, stir it well and strain it through a sieve; mix this with the orange-juice, and stir in as much sugar as will make a rich syrup. If the oranges are fine, rub some of the sugar on the peel to extract the essence. Freeze it like ice-cream.

Water Ices, generally. --If made from jams, you must rub them through a sieve, adding thick boiled syrup, and lemon-juice, and some jelly, and coloring if for pink, and the white of an egg whipt up before you add it to the best half of a pint of spring water; if of jam, you must have a good pint of mixture in all to make a quart mould; if from fruits with syrup you will not require water.

Currant Fresh Water Ice. --Pass through a sieve a pint of currants, then add to them four ounces of powdered sugar and one pint of water, strain it and freeze it rich.

Red Currant Water Ice. --Use either the syrup from currants, or currant jelly dissolved, and half a pint of barley water, always cold, use a little lemon juice, the rest as for former ices.

White Currant Water Ice. --Press half a pint of juice from the white currants, strain them, add sufficient thick syrup to sweeten it, and a cup of barley water, or spring water, beat up the white of an egg, and put into it a glass of jelly if you have it, a little boiled isinglass, and freeze as before; these ices will, both pink and white, look well together.

Lemon Water Ice. --Rub on sugar the clean rinds of lemons, squeeze the juice of twelve lemons, strain them, boil the sugar into a strong thick syrup, add to the juice half a pint of water, or good barley water, sweeten it with your syrup, add the white of an egg and jelly.

Roman Punch. --To make 1 gallon, take 1 pint and a half of the best brandy, 1 pint and a half of the best rum, 3 gills of good Madeira or sherry, 1 pound of loaf sugar, and 6 lemons;


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rub 4 of the lemons on the sugar, and then mix as you would for punch, with 2 and a half quarts of water; freeze it as ice-cream is frozen.

> JELLIES.

It is a complaint amongst even experienced house-keepers that they cannot feel a certainty of having jelly clear; but by strictly attending to the following method for making calf's-foot jelly, they can scarcely fail to have it beautifully bright.

Feet for all jellies are boiled so long by the people who sell them that they are less nutritious: they should be procured from the butcher and only scalded to take off the hair. The liquor will require greater care in removing the fat; but the jelly will be far stronger. A little isinglass, half an ounce to a quart of stock, may be used to secure the firmness, particularly in summer. In peeling lemons, care should be taken not to cut below the color, as by so doing a great deal of the flavor of the essential oil is lost, and the white part gives a disagreeable flavor. The stock should be measured when set to get cold, as the exact quantity cannot be measured when it is set.

Jelly is equally good made of cow-heels nicely cleaned.

Calf's-feet Jelly.--Take 1 set of calf's-feet nicely cleaned, and boil them in 3 quarts of water, until the meat drops from the bones. Strain it and set it away to cool. When perfectly cold, skim off the fat carefully, then put it into a kettle, which must be entirely free from grease, and add 1 pint of white wine, half pound of loaf sugar, the juice of 2 lemons, and the whites of 5 eggs beaten light. Boil it over a brisk fire; examine it with a spoon, and when the particles begin to separate and look clear, take it off; pass it through a sieve into a flannel-bag, and let it drip till it clears. If it does not clear on straining it, boil it up again. The feet after having been boiled first should stand all night for the fat to congeal; it is then more effectually removed. This is essential, for if the least fat remains it will not clear.

Orange Calf's-feet Jelly. --To a pint and a half of firm calf's-feet jelly, put a pint of strained orange-juice, mixed with that of 1 or 2 lemons; add to these 6 ounces of sugar, broken


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small, the very thin rinds of 3 oranges and of 1 lemon, and the whites of 6 eggs with half the shells crushed small. Stir these gently over a clear fire until the head of scum begins to form, but not at all afterwards. Simmer the jelly for 10 minutes from the first full boil; take it from the fire, let it stand a little, then pour it through a jelly-bag until perfectly clear. This is an original, and entirely new receipt, which we can recommend to the reader, the jelly being very pale, beautifully transparent, and delicate in flavor: it would, we think, be peculiarly acceptable to such invalids as are forbidden to take wine in any form.

The proportions both of sugar and of lemon-juice must be somewhat varied according to the season in which the oranges are used.

Strong calf's-feet jelly 1 1/2 pint; strained orange-juice, mixed with a small portion of lemon-juice, 1 pint; sugar, 6 ozs.; rinds of oranges, 3; of lemon, 1: 10 minutes.

Obs.--A small pinch of isinglass thrown into the jelly when it begins to boil will much assist to clear it. When the flavor of Seville oranges is liked, 2 or 3 can be used with the sweet ones.

Obs.--Lemon, strawberry, raspberry and other calf's-feet jellies are made like the orange--only requiring more or less sugar, according to the fruit used.

To Clarify Isinglass. --Take 2 ounces of isinglass, pour on it a pint of spring water which has been mixed with a tea-spoonful of beaten white of egg and a table-spoonful of lemon-juice. Stir them thoroughly together, and let them heat slowly, taking care the isinglass does not stick to the bottom of the pan; simmer a few minutes, clear off the scum till no more appears; strain it through muslin, and set it by for use: it will be transparent, and may be warmed and mixed with the clear juice of any kind of fruit already sweetened, or with syrup in jellies flavored with liqueur. As a portion of the isinglass is taken up by the white of egg, a quarter to each oz. should be allowed for this. The finest sort of isinglass, which should be white and without any smell, does not require to be clarified, excepting for clear jellies; for all other purposes it is enough to dissolve and skim it, and to pass it through a strainer. A great variety of excellent jellies may be made


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with clarified isinglass and the juice or syrup of almost any kind of fresh fruit, the color of which is best preserved by mashing it lightly and strewing pounded sugar over it, letting it stand 3 or 4 hours for the juice to drain off; pour a little water over, and use the juice without boiling. This can only be done when fruit is plentiful, as it requires double the quantity. It is also a great improvement to these jellies to put the moulds into ice 3 or 4 hours before serving them.

Strawberry Isinglass Jelly. --A great variety of equally elegant and excellent jellies for the table may be made with clarified isinglass, clear syrup, and the juice of almost any kind of fresh fruit; but as the process of making them is nearly the same for all, we shall limit our receipts to one or two, which will serve to direct the makers for the rest. Boil together quickly for 15 minutes 1 pint of water and three-quarters of a pound of very good sugar; measure a quart of ripe richly-flavored strawberries without their stalks; the scarlet answer best from the color which they give; on these pour the boiling syrup, and let them stand all night. The next day clarify 2 ounces and a half of isinglass in a pint of water, as directed at the beginning of this chapter; drain the syrup from the strawberries very closely, add to it 2 or 3 table-spoonsful of red currant juice, and the clear juice of 1 large or of 2 small lemons; and when the isinglass is nearly cold mix the whole, and put it into moulds. The French, who excel in these fruit-jellies, always mix the separate ingredients when they are almost cold; and they also place them over ice for an hour or so after they are moulded, which is a great advantage, as they then require less isinglass, and are in consequence much more delicate. When the fruit abounds, instead of throwing it into the syrup, bruise lightly from 3 to 4 pints, throw 2 table-spoonsful of sugar over it, and let the juice flow from it for an hour or 2; then pour a little water over, and use the juice without boiling, which will give a jelly of finer flavor than the other.

Water, 1 pint; sugar, three-fourths of a pound: 15 minutes. Strawberries, 1 quart; isinglass, 2 ounces and a half; water, 1 pint (white of an egg 1 to 2 tea-spoonsful); juice, 1 large or 2 small lemons.

Obs.--The juice of any fruit mixed with sufficient sugar to sweeten, and of isinglass to stiffen it, with as much lemon-juice as will take off the insipidity of the flavor, will serve for this


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kind of jelly. Pine-apples, peaches, and such other fruits as do not yield much juice, must be infused in a larger quantity of syrup, which must then be used in lieu of it.

Orange and Lemon Jellies. --Simmer in a pint of water, 1 ounce and a half of isinglass, the rind of an orange and a lemon, cut thin, and 4 ounces of loaf sugar, till the isinglass is dissolved; add to it the juice of 2 sour oranges, 1 lemon, and of sweet oranges enough to make a pint of mixture, simmer a few minutes longer, and strain it through a lawn sieve; let it stand half an hour in a cold place, and then pour it into the mould.

Or:--Put into a stew-pan 1 quart of good stock, 1 ounce of isinglass, the thinly-pared rinds of two sour oranges, 2 sweet oranges, and 2 lemons; the juice of 3 of each, and half a pound of loaf sugar; boil the whole 20 minutes, run it through a jelly-bag, and pour into moulds.

Lemon jelly is made as above.

These jellies are served, garnished with very thin slices of oranges or lemons.

Wine Jelly. --Take 1 ounce and a half of isinglass, and soak it for 5 minutes in cold water; pour off the water; dissolve the isinglass in 2 quarts of boiling water; let it cool a little, and add 1 pound of sugar, a little cinnamon, the juice of 3 lemons, the peel of 2 lemons, 1 quart of wine, and the whites of 3 eggs. Stir all well together; boil it 1 minute; strain it while hot through a jelly-bag.

Blanc Mange. --Boil 1 ounce of isinglass, 3 ounces of sweet and 6 bitter almonds, well pounded in a quart of milk; let it boil until the isinglass is dissolved; then sweeten it, stir it until nearly cold, and put it into the mould.

Or:--To a pint of new milk and as much cream, add 1 oz. and a half of the best isinglass, a large handful of sweet and bitter almonds pounded in a mortar and moistened with water, 3 oz. of fine sugar, and 2 bay or peach leaves. Boil the whole until the isinglass is dissolved, then strain it into a basin, let it stand until it is cold, turn it out and take off the sediment, warm it up again, flavor it with a little orange-flower water, stir it until it is nearly cold, and then put it into the mould.

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Observe, to wash the isinglass in cold water before it is put to the milk, and soak the moulds in cold water some hours before they are used.

Blanc Mange--another way. --To 1 ounce of isinglass, put a pint of water, boil it till the isinglass is melted, with a bit of cinnamon; put to it three-quarters of a pint of cream, 2 ounces of sweet almonds, 6 bitter ones, blanched and beaten, a bit of lemon peel, sweeten it, stir it over the fire, let it boil, strain and let it cool, squeeze in the juice of a lemon, and put into moulds; garnish to your fancy.

Calf's Feet Blanc Mange. --Boil 1 set of calf's feet in 4 or 5 quarts of water, without any salt. When the liquor is reduced to 1 quart, strain and mix it with 1 quart of milk, several sticks of cinnamon, or a vanilla bean. Boil the whole 15 minutes, sweeten it to the taste with white sugar, strain it, and fill your moulds with it.

American Blanc Mange. --Mix 2 oz. of arrow-root in half a pint of cold water; let it settle for a quarter of an hour; pour off the water and add a table-spoonful of orange or rose water; sweeten 1 quart of new milk; boil it with a bit of cinnamon, half the peel of a lemon, and 4 laurel or bay leaves; pour the boiling milk upon the arrow-root, stirring it all the time: put it into the mould and turn it out the following day.

Jaumange, or Jaune Manger. --Pour on the very thin rind of a large lemon, and half a pound of sugar broken small, a pint of water, and keep them stirred over a gentle fire until they have simmered for 3 or 4 minutes, then leave the sauce-pan by the side of the stove, that the syrup may taste well of the lemon. In 10 or 15 minutes afterwards add 2 ounces of isinglass, and stir the mixture often until this is dissolved, then throw in the strained juice of 4 sound, moderate-sized lemons, and a pint of sherry; mix the whole briskly with the beaten yolks of 8 fresh eggs, and then pass it through a delicately clean hair-sieve: next thicken it in a jar or jug placed in a pan of boiling water, turn it into a bowl, and when it has become cool, and been allowed to settle for a minute or two, pour it into moulds which have been laid in water.

Rind of 1 lemon; sugar, 8 oz.; water, 1 pint: 3 or 4 minutes. Isinglass, 2 oz.; juice, 4 lemons; yolks of 8 eggs; wine, 1 pint.

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> CHAPTER XXVI.

PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES, MARMALADE.

General Directions--To Clarify Sugar--To Preserve Strawberries--Raspberries--Damsons--Plums--Gooseberries--Almack's Preserve--Peaches--Pines--Quinces--Ginger--Apples--Pears--Chestnuts--Melons--Pumpkin--Jams--Raspberry--Currant--Grape, &c.--Marmalades--Plum Cheese--Compotes Currant Jelly--Orange or Bottled Fruit--Frosted--Candied Lemon Drops--Nongat, Toffie Coloring, &c.

A FEW GENERAL RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING.

1. Let every thing used for the purpose be delicately clean and dry; bottles especially so.

2. Never place a preserving-pan flat upon the fire, as this will render the preserve liable to burn to, as it is called; that is to say, to adhere closely to the metal, and then to burn; it should rest always on a trevet, or on the lowered bar of the kitchen range.

3. After the sugar is added to them, stir the preserves gently at first, and more quickly towards the end, without quitting them until they are done; this precaution will always prevent the chance of their being spoiled.

4. All preserves should be perfectly cleared from the scum as it rises.

5. Fruit which is to be preserved in syrup must first be blanched or boiled gently, until it is sufficiently softened to absorb the sugar; and a thin syrup must be poured on it at first, or it will shrivel instead of remaining plump, and becoming clear. Thus, if its weight of sugar is to be allowed, and


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boiled to a syrup with a pint of water to the pound, only half the weight must be taken at first, and this must not be boiled with the water more than 15 or 20 minutes at the commencement of the process; a part of the remaining sugar must be added every time the syrup is reboiled, unless it should be otherwise directed in the receipt.

6. To preserve both the true flavor and the color of fruit in jams and jellies, boil them rapidly until they are well reduced, before the sugar is added, and quickly afterwards, but do not allow them to become so much thickened that the sugar will not dissolve in them easily, and throw up its scum. In some seasons, the juice is so much richer than in others, that this effect takes place almost before one is aware of it; but the drop which adheres to the skimmer, when it is held up, will show the state it has reached.

7. Never use tin, iron, or pewter spoons, or skimmers for preserves, as they will convert the color of red fruit into a dingy purple, and impart, besides, a very unpleasant flavor.

8. When cheap jams or jellies are required, make them at once with loaf sugar, but use that which is well refined always, for preserves in general; it is a false economy to purchase an inferior kind, as there is great waste from it in the quantity of scum which it throws up.

9. Pans of copper or bell-metal are the proper utensils for preserving fruit: when used, they must be scoured bright with sand. Tinned pans turn and destroy the color of the fruit that is put into them. There is now a new sort of stew-pan made of iron coated with earthenware, which is very nice for preserving.

To Clarify Sugar. --Take the finest kind, break it into large lumps, and put it into a preserving-pan. If for syrup, add a pint of cold water to each pound; if for candying, a couple of wineglassfuls to the pound will be sufficient. Beat the white of an egg, add it to the water, mix it well, and pour it over the sugar; 1 egg is enough for 12 lbs. of sugar, if it is fine, or 2 if it is coarse. When the sugar is nearly melted, stir it well, and put it over a gentle fire; do not stir it after the scum begins to rise; let it boil 5 minutes, then take it off the fire, let it stand a minute or two, then take the scum carefully off; put the pan again on the fire, and when the syrup begins to boil throw in a little cold water, which should be kept back for the


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purpose; boil till the scum rises, draw it off the fire, and skim it as before; repeat this till quite clear; it is then fit for use. It is by long boiling that the different degrees are acquired, which the confectioner requires.

A simple method of candying, is to lay some fruits from syrup into a clean sieve; to dip it quickly into hot water, and then put the fruit into a fine cloth, to drain; sift over it refined sugar, and dry on sieves in a moderate oven.

A little powdered alum dissolved in water, and put into the syrup of preserves, with a full quantity of sugar, will some times prevent their candying.

The only secret of storing preserves, is to exclude the air from them, and to set them in a dry place, not placing the pots on each other.

All fruits for preserving should be gathered in dry weather; but as this is not always practicable, much inconvenience may be obviated by boiling the fruit for jellies and jams long before the sugar is added. By so doing, the watery particles will evaporate, and the preserve will be better flavored, by the sugar not being too long on the fire.

To Preserve Strawberries or Raspberries, for Creams or Ices, without boiling. --Let the fruit be gathered in the middle of a warm day, in very dry weather; strip it from the stalks directly, weigh it, turn it into a bowl or deep pan, and bruise it gently, mix with an equal weight of fine dry sifted sugar, and put it immediately into small, wide-necked bottles; cork these firmly without delay, and tie bladder over the tops. Keep them in a cool place, or the fruit will ferment. The mixture should be stirred softly, and only just sufficiently to blend the sugar and the fruit. The bottles must be perfectly dry, and the bladders, after having been cleaned in the usual way, and allowed to become nearly so, should be moistened with a little spirit on the side which is to be next to the cork.

To Preserve Strawberries. --To 2 lbs. of fine large strawberries add 2 lbs. of powdered sugar, and put them in a preserving-kettle, over a slow fire, till the sugar is melted; then boil them precisely 20 minutes, as fast as possible; have ready a number of small jars, and put the fruit in boiling hot. Cork and seal the jars immediately, and keep them through the


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summer in a cold dry cellar. The jars must be heated before the hot fruit is poured in, otherwise they will break.

To Preserve Raspberries whole. --Take 5 quarts of raspberries, and cull from them about 3 pints of the largest and firmest, and set them aside; put the remainder in the preserving-pan, and put them on the fire to extract the juice. When they are boiled enough, let them cool, and then strain them through a cloth. While they are cooling, boil up the sugar in the proportion of 1 lb. to 1 quart of the fruit, and when you have removed the scum, and it is a good syrup, throw in your whole raspberries: let them boil rapidly a few minutes, but be careful they do not fall to pieces or become ragged. Take them out with a skimmer full of holes, and spread them over a large dish to cool; then throw into the syrup the juice of those you have previously boiled, and let it boil till it is nearly a jelly; throw in again the whole fruit, and give it a smart boil: then put it in your jars hot, and do not cover them till cold.

To Preserve Damsons. --To every pound of damsons allow three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar; put into jars or well-glazed earthen pots, alternately a layer of damsons, and one of sugar; tie strong paper or cloth over the pots, and set them in the oven after the bread is drawn, and let them stand till the oven is cold. The next day strain off the syrup, and boil it till thick; when it is cold, put the damsons into small jars or glasses, pour over the syrup, which should cover them, and tie a wet bladder or strong cloth over them.

Magnum Bonum Plums. --Gather the plums with stalks; scald them in boiling water, and take off the skins, leaving on the stalks. If not quite ripe, they will require to be simmered a few minutes over a stove; to every pound of fruit, allow one of fine loaf sugar; clarify it, and when nearly boiled, candy high, put in the plums, and boil them nearly fifteen minutes; with a spoon carefully put them into a basin, and let them stand a day or two; then boil them ten minutes, or till perfectly transparent; put them into the jars; strain the syrup through a sieve, and pour it equally over them.

To Preserve Greengages. --Pick and prick all the plums;


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put them into a preserving-pan with cold water enough to cover them. Let them remain on the fire until the water simmers well; then take off, and allow them to stand until half cold, putting the plums to drain. To every lb. of plums allow 1 lb. of sugar, which must be boiled in the water from which the plums have been taken; let it boil very fast until the syrup drops short from the spoon, skimming carefully all the time. When the sugar is sufficiently boiled put in the plums, and allow them to boil until the sugar covers the pan with large bubbles. Then pour the whole into a pan, and let them remain until the following day. Drain the syrup from the plums as dry as possible, boil it up quickly, and pour it over the plums: then set them by; do this a third and fourth time. On the fifth day, when the syrup is boiled, put the plums into it, and let them boil for a few minutes; then put them into jars. Should the greengages be over ripe, it will be better to make jam of them, using three-fourths of a lb. of sugar to 1 lb. of fruit. Warm the jars before putting the sweetmeats in, and be careful not to boil the sugar to a candy.

To Preserve Gooseberries. --Take the rough-skinned fruit when quite dry, with rather more than their weight of sugar pounded fine; lay a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar till all are in the pan; add a tea-spoonful of water, and boil the fruit quickly until it is clear; take it out and put it into jars; boil up the syrup until it is thick, then pour it over the fruit.--When cold, cover it closely.

Almack's Preserve. --Take different kinds of fruit, stone the plums and slice the apples and pears; put them in alternate layers in a jar; set them in the oven until they are quite soft; then pass the pulp through a coarse sieve, and to every lb. of fruit put a lb. of moist sugar, set it over a slow fire and stir it till very thick, then put it into a wide shallow pot, and put it in slices for use. Windfalls may be employed for this sort of sweetmeats.

An Economical way of Preserving Peaches whole. --To 15 lbs. of cling-stone peaches take 7 1/2 lbs. of loaf sugar; put 2 or 3 quarts of water in the kettle with 1 tea-spoonful of pearl-ash to destroy the skins of the fruit. When the water is hot, throw in a few peaches, and let them remain a few minutes;


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take them out and wipe off the skins with a coarse towel, and then throw them into cold water. Take half the sugar with as little water as possible to dissolve it; then put in a layer of peaches, and let them boil from 20 to 30 minutes. Take them out on a flat dish to cool. After 2 or 3 layers have been boiled in this way the syrup will increase; by degrees add the rest of the sugar. When all are done, boil the syrup until it becomes a little thick, then add while in the kettle half a pint of alcohol, which will cool and thicken it sufficiently to put on the peaches, which should be ready in your jars; do not cover them until the next day. They will not have the least taste of the alcohol, and are a very fine preserve.

To Preserve Peaches. --The clear-stone yellow peaches, white at the stone, are the best. Weigh the fruit after it is pared. To each pound of fruit allow a pound of loaf sugar. Put a layer of sugar at the bottom of the preserving kettle, and then a layer of fruit and so on until the fruit is all in. Stand it over hot ashes until the sugar is entirely dissolved; then boil them until they are clear; take them out piece by piece, and spread them on a dish free from syrup. Boil the syrup in the pan until it jellies; when the peaches are cold, fill the jars half full with them, and fill up with the boiling syrup. Let them stand a short time covered with a thin cloth, then put on brandy paper, and cover them close with corks, skin, or paper. From 20 to 30 minutes will generally be sufficient to preserve them.

Brandy Peaches.--(American Recipe.) --Take 4 lbs. of ripe peaches, 2 lbs. powdered loaf sugar. Put the fruit over the fire in cold water--simmer, but not boil, till the skins will rub off easily. Stone them, if liked. Put the sugar and fruit in alternate layers in the jars, till filled; then pour in white brandy, and cover the whole. Cork tightly.

Brandy Peaches. --To 6 lbs. of the fruit peeled put 3 lbs. of loaf sugar and 3 pints of white French brandy. Put them in a jar tightly corked, and boil till soft in a kettle of hot water. The water should reach to the top, but not over the top of the jar.

To Preserve Pine-Apples. --Slice the pine-apples rather thinner to preserve than to eat--and take 1 lb. of loaf sugar


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to 1 lb. of fruit; powder the sugar, and place in the kettle alternately a layer of pine-apple and a layer of fruit. To each pound of fruit put 3 table-spoonsful of water. Let it remain over a slow fire until the sugar is all melted; then boil it slowly until the fruit looks clear; take out the fruit piece by piece, and lay them on a dish, until the syrup is boiled nearly to a jelly. Put the fruit in jars, and pour on the syrup hot. After putting on brandy papers, cover the jars with paper and paste it on, which secures their keeping, and preserves the flavor of the pine-apple.

To Preserve Quinces. --Peel the quinces and clear the cores out well, saving all the seeds. Wash the peelings well and put them on to boil; let them boil until the water partakes strongly of the flavor of the quinces; put the seeds in a linen bag and boil them with the parings. Put the quinces in a separate pan, and let them boil until almost tender. Strain all the quince water, put 1 pint of the water to each pound of fruit and sugar; boil the quinces until they are quite clear; then put them on dishes cleared from the syrup. Boil the syrup till it jellies with the bag of seeds, from which the substance should be pressed in the jelly.

It is well to add 2 or 3 pints of quince water, and 2 or 3 lbs. of sugar more than is required for the fruit, for floating islands, &c.

To Preserve Green Ginger. --For two weeks put the ginger every night and morning in fresh boiling water. Take off the outside skin with a sharp knife; boil it in water till it is quite tender; slice it thin; prepare a syrup of 1 lb. of sugar to half pint of water; clarify it, and then put the ginger into it. Boil it until it is clear.

Apples Preserved Whole. --Make a syrup of loaf sugar--allowing a pound of pleasant sour apples to a pound of sugar. Be very particular in skimming it until it is quite clear. The apples should be pared very nicely and their cores extracted, with an instrument made for the purpose, before they are weighed. Boil the apples in as much water as will cover them until they become soft, but take care that they do not commence to break. Those that cook first should be removed on a strainer until they are all tender. Squeeze the juice of 1


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large lemon for every pound of loaf sugar. Pare off the lemon-peel if possible without breaking it--boil the juice and the peel in the same water that has boiled the apples. Pour in the syrup as soon as the lemon-peel is tender, and boil it 10 minutes, or till it is a strong syrup. The apples which have been cooling on a dish should then be gently put in jars and the hot syrup poured on them. Tie up the jars and do not open them for a fortnight.

Preserved Apples--another way. --Weigh equal quantities of good brown sugar and of apples; peel, core, and mince them small. Boil the sugar, allowing to every 3 pounds a pint of water; skim it well, and boil it pretty thick; then add the apples, the grated peel of one or two lemons, and two or three pieces of white ginger; boil till the apples fall, and look clear and yellow.

Obs.--If a very nice preserve is wanted, use loaf-sugar, then the apples will look delicately white.

Crab Apples. --Make a syrup, allowing the same weight of sugar as apples. Let it cool, then put in the apples, a few at once, so that they will not crowd, and break to pieces. Boil them till they begin to break, then take them out of the kettle. Boil the syrup in the course of 3 or 4 days, and turn it while hot on to the apples. This continue to do at intervals of 2 or 3 days, till the apples appear to be thoroughly preserved.

To Preserve Pears. --Pare them very thin, and simmer in a thin syrup; let them lie a day or two. Make the syrup richer, and simmer again, and repeat this till they are clear; then drain and dry them in the sun or a cool oven a very little time. They may be kept in syrup, and dried as wanted, which makes them more moist and rich.

To Bake Pears. --Wipe some large sound iron pears, arrange them on a dish with the stalk end upwards, put them into the oven after the bread is drawn, and let them remain all night. If well baked they will be excellent, very sweet, and juicy, and much finer in flavor than those which are stewed or baked with sugar. The bon chrétien pear also is delicious baked thus.

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To Stew Pears. --Pare and halve or quarter large pears, according to their size; throw them into water, as the skin is taken off, before they are divided, to prevent their turning black. Pack them round a block-tin stew-pan, and sprinkle as much sugar over as will make them pretty sweet, and add lemon-peel, a clove or two, and some allspice cracked; just cover them with water, and add a little red wine. Cover them close and stew 3 or 4 hours; when tender, take them out, and strain the liquor over them.

Boiled Chestnuts. --Make a slight incision in the outer skin only of each chestnut, to prevent its bursting, and when all are done, throw them into plenty of boiling water, with about a dessert-spoonful of salt to the half gallon. Some chestnuts will require to be boiled nearly or quite an hour, others little more than half the time; the cook should try them occasionally, and as soon as they are soft through, drain them, wipe them in a coarse cloth, and send them to table quickly in a hot napkin.

Roasted Chestnuts. --The best mode of preparing these is to roast them, as in Spain, in a coffee-roaster, after having first boiled them from 5 to 7 minutes, and wiped them dry. They should not be allowed to cool, and will require but from 10 to 15 minutes roasting. They may, when more convenient, be finished over the fire as usual, or in a Dutch or common oven, but in all cases the previous boiling will be found an improvement.

Never omit to cut the rind of each nut slightly before it is cooked. Serve the chestnuts very hot in a napkin, and send salt to table with them.

To Preserve a Melon Whole. --Scrape off the thin outside skin, make a hole in the top, take out the seeds; then throw the melon into water, and after it has remained 12 hours take it out and put it into a preserving-pan with a large piece of loaf-sugar and as much water as will cover it; then cover the pan closely, and let it remain for an hour on a very slow fire. Repeat this process 3 times, on 3 successive days, taking care not to allow it to boil; make a thin syrup, drain the melon carefully out of the liquor, and put it into the syrup, set it over a slow fire, closely covered for half an hour every day for 3 ensuing


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days, on the last day boiling the syrup until it is very rich, with the rind of one, and the juice of two lemons. To improve the flavor of a melon, take it when nearly ripe, cut out so much of the large end as to permit the scooping out of the seeds; then fill up the hollow with water and sugar, or white wine; close the top, put the melon in a net exposed to the sun for as many days as it remains good. A water-melon will thus acquire a fine flavor; but a musk-melon requires no improvement.

Or:--Take a melon, cut it into pieces as for eating, trim off the outer rind, freely dust it over with the fine sugar, and 12 hours after put it in a preserving-pan with sufficient syrup to cover it; boil it gently until tender, repeat the boiling for 3 successive days, when the syrup should be thick.

To Preserve Water Melon Rind and Citrons. --Pare off the green skin, cut the water melon rind into pieces. Weigh the pieces, and allow to each pound a pound and a half of loaf sugar. Line your kettle with green vine leaves, and put in the pieces without the sugar. A layer of vine leaves must cover each layer of melon rind. Pour in water to cover the whole, and place a thick cloth over the kettle. Simmer the fruit for 2 hours after scattering a few bits of alum amongst it. Spread the melon rind on a dish to cool. Melt the sugar, using a pint of water to a pound and a half of sugar, and mix with it some beaten white of egg. Boil and skim the sugar. When quite clear, put in the rind, and let it boil 2 hours; take out the rind, boil up the syrup again and pour it over the rind, and let it remain all night. The next morning boil the syrup with lemon juice, allowing one lemon to a quart of syrup. When it is thick enough to hang in a drop from the point of a spoon, it is done. Put the rind in jars, and pour over it the syrup. It is not fit for use immediately.

Citrons may be preserved in the same manner, first paring off the outer skin, and cutting them into quarters. Also green limes.

To Preserve Pumpkins. --Choose a thick yellow pumpkin which is sweet; pare, take out the seeds, and cut the thick part into any form you choose--round, square, egg-shaped, stars, wheels, &c.; weigh it; put it into a stone jar or deep dish, and place it in a pot of water to boil, till the pumpkin is so


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soft that you can pass a fork through it. The pot may be kept uncovered, and be sure that no water boils into the jar.

Take the weight of the pumpkin in good loaf sugar; clarify it, and boil the syrup with the juice of 1 lemon to every pound of sugar and the peel cut in little squares. When the pumpkin is soft, put it into the syrup, and simmer gently about an hour, or till the liquor is thick and rich, then let it cool, and put it in glass jars well secured from air. It is a very rich sweetmeat.

Cantelope Rind Preserved. --Take 1 pound of rind not quite mellow, and cut the outside carefully off; lay it in a bowl and sprinkle over it 1 tea-spoonful of alum; cover it with boiling water, and let it stand all night; then dry it in a cloth, scald it in ginger tea, but do not boil it; then dry it again in a cloth; to 1 pound of rind allow 1 pound of sugar and half a pint of water. Boil it an hour.

> JAMS.

Raspberry. --Take equal weights of fruit and moist sugar; put them on the fire together; keep stirring and breaking the fruit till the sugar melts, then boil till it will jelly on a plate.

Though simple, this will be found a very good receipt.

Or:--Take equal weight of fruit and roughly-pounded loaf-sugar; bruise the fruit with the back of a spoon, and boil them together for half an hour; if a little more juice is wanted, add the juice of currants drawn as for jelly.

Strawberry Jam. --Allow equal weights of pounded loaf sugar and of strawberries; mash them in the preserving-pan, and mix the sugar well with it; stir, scum, and boil it for 20 minutes.

Black Currant Jam. --Allow equal weight of clipt currants and of pounded loaf sugar; bruise and mash the fruit in a preserving-pan over the fire; add the sugar; stir it frequently; when it boils, skim, and let it boil for 10 minutes.

White or Red Currant Jam. --Pick the fruit very nicely, and allow an equal quantity of finely-pounded loaf sugar; put


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a layer of each alternately into a preserving-pan, and boil for 10 minutes; or they may be boiled the same length of time in sugar previously clarified and boiled candy high.

Grape. --The grapes ought not to be very ripe. They should be carefully picked, and all that are at all injured should be rejected. To 1 lb. of grapes add a half pound of sugar; no water but what hangs about them after they have been washed. Put the grapes into a cooking-pan, then a layer of sugar, then a layer of grapes. Boil on a moderate fire, stirring it all the time, to prevent its burning.

Cherry. --Stone 4 lbs. of cherries, and put them in a preserving-pan with 2 lbs. of fine white sugar and a pint of red-currant juice. Boil the whole together rather fast, until it stiffens, and then put it into pots for use.

Gooseberry. --Stalk and crop 6 lbs. of the small, red, rough gooseberry, put them into a preserving-pan, and, as they warm, stir and bruise them to bring out the juice. Let them boil for 10 minutes, then add 4 lbs. of sugar, and place it on the fire again; let it boil, and continue boiling for 2 hours longer, stirring it all the time to prevent its burning. When it thickens, and will jelly upon a plate, it is done enough. Put it into pots, and allow it to remain a day before it is covered.

Blackberry. --In families where there are many children, there is no preparation of fruit so wholesome, so cheap, and so much admired, as this homely conserve. The fruit should be clean picked in dry weather, and to every pound of berries put a half pound of coarse brown sugar; boil the whole together for three-quarters of an hour or 1 hour, stirring it well the whole time. Put it in pots like any other preserve, and it will be found most useful in families; it is medicinal for children.

Pine-Apple Jam. --Pare and weigh the pine-apples, and grate them down on a large grater. To 1 lb. of fruit put three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar; put it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, stir till done. Boil it half an hour or more till clear; put it in jars, and cover it carefully.

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> MARMALADES.

Apricot. --Gather the fruit before it is too ripe, stone and blanch the kernels. To every pound of fruit take three-quarters of pound of fine loaf sugar; break the sugar into lumps, dip the lumps in water, allow them to dissolve, put it over a clear fire, and let it boil to a candy; then pound and sift it; pare the fruit, cut it into thin slices, put them with the sugar over a slow fire, let it simmer till clear, but do not boil it; add the kernels, and then put the marmalade into jars.

Or:--Boil ripe apricots in syrup until they will mash; beat them in a mortar; take half their weight in loaf sugar, and sufficient water to dissolve it; boil all together, and skim until it is clear, and the syrup thick like fine jelly.

Apple. --Pare and core some green pippins, and boil in water till quite soft; break them gently with the back of a spoon; strain the water through a jelly-bag till quite clear; then to every pint of the fruit put 1 lb. of double-refined sugar, the peel and juice of a lemon, and boil to a strong syrup. Drain off the syrup from the fruit, and pour the apple-jelly over it, and simmer the whole until it becomes thick. Cover with paper.

Common moist sugar is sometimes employed for family use.

Quince. --Pare and quarter the fruit, put it in layers in a stone jar with sugar sprinkled between each; add a tea-cupful of water, and bake it in a cool oven. Have a quantity of sugar equal in weight to the fruit; allow 1 quart of water to every 4 lbs.; boil the sugar and water together, skimming it well. When the quinces are soft add them, with a quart of the juice which will be found in the jar: boil them in the syrup, beating it with a spoon until the marmalade is quite smooth.

Peach Marmalade. --The fruit for this preserve, which is a very delicious one, should be finely flavored, and quite ripe, though perfectly sound. Pare, stone, weigh, and boil it quickly for three-quarters of an hour, and do not fail to stir it often during the time; draw it from the fire, and mix with it 10 ounces of well-refined sugar, rolled or beaten to powder, for


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each pound of the peaches; clear it carefully from scum, and boil it briskly for 5 minutes; throw in the strained juice of 1 or 2 good lemons; continue the boiling for 3 minutes only, and pour out the marmalade. Two minutes after the sugar is stirred to the fruit, add the blanched kernels of part of the peaches.

Peaches, stoned and pared, 4 lbs.: three-quarters of an hour. Sugar, 2 1/2 lbs.; 2 minutes. Blanched peach-kernels; 3 minutes. Juice of 2 small lemons; 3 minutes.

Obs.--This jam, like most others, is improved by pressing the fruit through a sieve after it has been partially boiled. Nothing can be finer than its flavor, which would be injured by adding the sugar at first; and a larger proportion renders it cloyingly sweet. Nectarines and peaches mixed, make an admirable preserve.

Greengage Marmalade. --When the plums are thoroughly ripe, take off the skins, weigh, and boil them quickly without sugar for 50 minutes, keeping them well stirred; then to every 4 lbs. add 3 of good sugar reduced quite to powder, boil the preserve from 5 to 8 minutes longer, and clear off the scum perfectly before it is poured into the jars. When the flesh of the fruit will not separate easily from the stones, weigh and throw the plums whole into the preserving-pan, boil them to a pulp, pass them through a sieve, and deduct the weight of the stones from them when apportioning the sugar to the jam. The Orleans plum may be substituted for greengages, in this receipt.

Greengages, stoned and skinned, 6 lbs.; 50 minutes. Sugar, 4 1/2 lbs.; 5 to 8 minutes.

Orange Marmalade.--Scottish method. --Weigh an equal quantity of Seville oranges and loaf sugar; cut the oranges into halves, take out the pulp, and put the rinds into cold water; boil them till tender, changing the water once or twice, and when cold, remove the white from the peel; mash the orange pulp, and squeeze it through a cloth, adding a little water the second time of squeezing; then shred the peel finely, add the juice and sugar, and boil 20 minutes over a slow fire.

Damson or Plum Cheese. --Bake the fruit in a stone jar, with


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a few of the kernels to flavor it; then pulp it through a coarse sieve, and to each pound of pulp, free from skin and stone, add half a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in a pan; boil and skim till the sides candy, when pour the cheese into shallow pans, previously rubbed with butter, and tie them over.

> COMPOTES OF FRUIT.

We would particularly invite the attention of the reader to these wholesome and agreeable preparations of fruit, which are much less served at American tables, generally, than they deserve to be. We have found them often peculiarly acceptable to persons of delicate habit, who were forbidden to partake of pastry in any form; and accompanied by a dish of boiled rice, they are very preferable for children, as well as for invalids, to either tarts or puddings.

Compote of Spring Fruit.--(Rhubarb.) --Take a pound of the stalks after they are pared, and cut them into short lengths, have ready a quarter-pint of water boiled gently for 10 minutes with 5 ounces of sugar, or with 6, should the fruit be very acid; put it in, and simmer it for about 10 minutes. Some kinds will be tender in rather less time, some will require more.

Obs.--Good sugar in lumps should be used generally for these dishes, and when they are intended for dessert, the syrup should be enriched with an additional ounce or two. Lisbon sugar will answer for them very well on ordinary occasions, but that which is refined will render them much more delicate.

Compote of Green Currants. --Spring water half pint; sugar, 5 ounces; boiled together 10 minutes. 1 pint of green currants stripped from the stalks; simmered 3 to 5 minutes.

Compote of Green Gooseberries. --This is an excellent compote if made with fine sugar, and very good with any kind. Break 5 ounces into small lumps and pour on them half a pint of water; boil these gently for 10 minutes, and clear off all the scum; then add to them a pint of fresh gooseberries freed from the tops and stalks, washed, and well drained. Simmer them gently from 8 to 10 minutes, and serve them hot or cold. Increase the quantity for a large dish.

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Compote of Green Apricots. --Wipe the down from a pound of quite young apricots, and stew them very gently for nearly 20 minutes in syrup made with 8 ounces of sugar and three-quarters of a pint of water, boiled together the usual time.

Compote of Red Currants. --A quarter-pint of water and 5 ounces of sugar: 10 minutes. 1 pint of ready picked currants to be just simmered in the syrup from 5 to 6 minutes. This recipe will serve equally for raspberries, or for a compote of the two fruits mixed together. Either of them will be found an admirable accompaniment to batter, custard, bread, ground rice, and various other kinds of puddings, as well as to whole rice plainly boiled.

Compote of Cherries. --Simmer 5 ounces of sugar with half a pint of water for 10 minutes; throw into the syrup a pound of cherries weighed after they are stalked, and let them stew gently for 20 minutes; it is a great improvement to stone the fruit, but a larger quantity will then be required for a dish.

Compote of Morella Cherries. --Boil together for 15 minutes, 5 ounces of sugar with half a pint of water; add a pound and a quarter of ripe Morella cherries, and simmer them very softly from 5 to 7 minutes; this is a delicious compote.

Compote of Damsons. --4 ounces of sugar and half a pint of water, to be boiled for 10 minutes; one pound of damsons to be added, and simmered gently from 10 to 12 minutes.

Compote of the Magnum Bonum, or other large Plums. --Boil 6 ounces of sugar with half a pint of water the usual time; take the stalks from a pound of plums, and simmer them very softly for 20 minutes. Increase the proportion of sugar if needed, and regulate the time as may be necessary for the different varieties of fruit.

Compote of Peaches. --Pare half a dozen ripe peaches, and stew them very softly from 18 to 20 minutes, keeping them often turned in a light syrup, made with 5 ounces of sugar, and half a pint of water boiled together for 10 minutes. Dish the fruit; reduce the syrup by quick boiling, pour it over the peaches, and serve them hot for a second-course dish, or cold


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for dessert. They should be quite ripe, and will be found delicious dressed thus. A little lemon-juice may be added to the syrup, and the blanched kernels of 2 or 3 peach or apricot stones.

Sugar, 5 ozs; water, half pint: 10 minutes. Peaches, 6: 18 to 20 minutes.

Obs.--Nectarines, without being pared, may be dressed in the same manner.

Currant Jelly. --Mash and strain the currants. Boil the juice and skim it. To each pint of juice allow 1 lb. of loaf sugar. Measure the juice when it is boiled, and then throw the sugar into a pan, and make a syrup of it with a little water. Then add to it the juice, and let it boil rapidly till done.

Jellies should always be made quickly. Those who are very particular, use only the juice which first flows through the straining bag, as the thicker particles which come through when the bag is squeezed prevent its being so brilliantly clear. Jelly should always be boiled sufficiently at first, as it cannot be reboiled like preserves. If boiled a second time it will not be jelly, but only of the consistence of syrup.

Very fine White Currant Jelly. --The fruit for this jelly should be very white, perfectly free from dust, and picked carefully from the stalks. To every pound add eighteen ounces of double refined sifted sugar, and boil them together quickly for 6 minutes; throw in the strained juice of a sound fresh lemon, or of 2, should the quantity of preserve be large; boil it 2 minutes longer; pour it into a delicately clean sieve, and finish it by the directions given for the Norman red currant jelly.

White currants, 6 lbs.; highly refined sugar, 6 3/4 lbs.; 6 minutes. Juice of 2 moderate-sized lemons; 2 minutes.

Grape Jelly. --Strip from their stalks some fine ripe black-cluster grapes, and stir them with a wooden spoon over a gentle fire until all have burst, and the juice flows freely from them; strain it off without pressure, and pass it through a jelly-bag, or through a twice-folded muslin; weigh and then boil it rapidly for 20 minutes; draw it from the fire, stir in it till dissolved, 14 ounces of good sugar, roughly powdered, to


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each pound of juice, and boil the jelly quickly for 15 minutes longer, keeping it constantly stirred, and perfectly well skimmed. It will be very clear, and of a beautiful pale rose-color.

Juice of black-cluster grapes; 20 minutes. To each pound of juice, 14 ozs. good sugar; 15 minutes.

Obs.--We have proved this jelly only with the kind of grape which we have named, but there is little doubt that fine purple grapes of any sort would answer for it well.

Orange Jelly. --Peel 12 large and sweet oranges; cut them into small pieces, and squeeze them thoroughly through a linen bag. To 1 pint of juice add 1 lb. of sugar; when the sugar is dissolved, put it over the fire; dissolve 2 ounces of isinglass in just enough hot water to cover it, and add it to the jelly as it begins to boil. Let it boil very fast for 20 minutes. Put it hot into the jars and tie it up with brandy-paper.

Lemon jelly may be made in the same way, only to 1 pint of juice add 2 lbs. of sugar.

Strwberry Jelly. --This, when made with fine, full-flavored, scarlet strawberries, is a very delicious preserve, and is by many preferred to guava jelly, which it greatly resembles. Stalk the fruit, bruise it very slightly, and stir it for a few minutes over a gentle fire; strain it without pressure, weigh, and boil it quickly for 20 minutes in a German enamelled stew-pan, or preserving-pan, if possible, that the color may not be injured; take it from the fire, and stir into it 12 ounces of sugar to the pound of juice; when this is dissolved, boil it again quickly for 20 minutes, clear it perfectly from scum, and pour it into jars or glasses. The preserves will be firmer, and require less boiling, if one-fourth of red or white currant juice be mixed with that of the strawberries, but the flavor will not then be quite so perfect. A superior jelly to this is made by taking an equal weight of juice and sugar, and by boiling the latter to candy-height, before the juice (which should previously be boiled 5 minutes) is added to it; and when they have been stirred together off the fire until this is entirely dissolved, boiling the whole quickly from 10 to 20 minutes; the time required varying very much from the difference which is found in the quality of the fruit.

Fruit, simmered 4 to 5 minutes. Juice of strawberries, 4


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lbs.; 20 minutes. Sugar, 3 lbs.; 20 minutes. Or, juice of strawberries, 4 lbs.; 5 minutes. Sugar, boiled to candy-height, 4 lbs.; 10 to 20 minutes.

Another very fine Strawberry Jelly. --Express the juice from the fruit through a cloth, strain it clear, weigh, and stir to it an equal proportion of the finest sugar, dried and reduced to powder; when this is dissolved, place the preserving-pan over a very clear fire, and stir the jelly often until it boils; clear it carefully from scum, and boil it quickly from 15 to 25 minutes.

Equal weight of strawberry-juice and sugar; 15 to 25 minutes.

Obs.--This receipt is for a moderate quantity of the preserve: a very small portion will require much less time.

Apple Jelly. --Pare, core, and cut small, any good baking apples, say 9 pounds in weight, put them into a stew-pan with 3 pints of water, boil them gently, stirring them till the liquid can be passed through a jelly-bag; then to each pint add three-quarters of a pound of powdered loaf sugar, set it on the fire, boil it 15 minutes, skimming it, when it will jelly; but if it be overboiled, it will resemble treacle.

Apple Jelly in Moulds. --Peel and core juicy apples, and boil 2 pounds of them with half a pint of water to a pulp; pass it through a sieve; add three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 ounce of isinglass, dissolved in very little water; mix together, strain, and pour into moulds.

Quince Jelly. --Pare, quarter, core, and weigh some ripe but quite sound quinces, as quickly as possible, and throw them as they are done into part of the water in which they are to be boiled; allow 1 pint of this to each pound of the fruit, and simmer it gently until it is a little broken, but not so long as to redden the juice, which ought to be very pale. Turn the whole into a jelly-bag, or strain the liquid through a fine cloth, and let it drain very closely from it, but without the slightest pressure. Weigh the juice, put it into a delicately clean preserving-pan, and boil it quickly for 20 minutes; take it from the fire and stir into it, until it is entirely dissolved, 12 ozs. of sugar for each pound of juice, or 14 ozs. if the fruit should be very acid, which it will be in the earlier part of the season; keep it constantly stirred and thoroughly cleared from scum


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from 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until it jellies strongly in falling from the skimmer; then pour it directly into glasses or moulds. If properly made, it will be sufficiently firm to turn out of the latter, and it will be beautifully transparent, and rich in flavor. It may be made with an equal weight of juice and sugar mixed together in the first instance, and boiled from 20 to 30 minutes. It is difficult to state the time precisely, because from different causes it will vary very much. It should be reduced rapidly to the proper point, as long boiling injures the color: this is always more perfectly preserved by boiling the juice without the sugar first.

To each pound pared and cored quinces, 1 pint water; three-quarters to 1 1/2 hour. Juice, boiled 20 minutes. To each pound, 12 ozs. sugar; 10 to 20 minutes. Or, juice and sugar equal weight; 20 to 30 minutes.

Bottled Fruit. --The best way of preserving all fruit for tarts, is by bottling; and if the following directions be exactly observed, it will be found to answer admirably:--Gather any kind of fruit on a dry day--currants, gooseberries, plums, &c., put it into wide-mouthed bottles; it should not be fully ripe. Mix currants and raspberries in the same bottle, and put 2 ozs. of sugar into each; then have bladders cut so large, that when they are tied over the bottles they will hang an inch all round below the string. Let the bladders be wet, and tied tightly; then put the bottles up to their necks into a copper of cold water, with some straw between. Light a fire under the copper, and, when the fruit has sunk into the juice, let the fire go out, and leave the bottles in the water until it is cold; turn the bottles upside down, and keep them in a cool place. If they leak they must be used at once. Fruit thus preserved will keep for any number of years, retaining all its original freshness. They will require more sugar when put into tarts or puddings. The contents of a bottle when opened must be used at once, for the air getting in will spoil them.

To Preserve Fruit for Tarts. --Cherries, plums of all sorts, and American apples, gather when ripe, and lay them in small jars that will hold a pound; strew over each jar 6 ozs. of good loaf-sugar pounded; cover with 2 bladders each, separately tied down; then set the jars in a large stew-pan of water up to


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the neck, and let it boil 3 hours gently. Keep these and all other sorts of fruit free from damp.

Frosted Fruit. --Pick out the finest cherries, plums, apricots, grapes, or small pears--leave on their stalks. Beat the whites of 3 eggs to a stiff froth--drain them, and beat the part that drips off again. Lay the fruit in the beaten egg with the stalks upward--select them out one by one and dip them into a cup of finely powdered sugar. Cover a pan with a sheet of fine paper, place the fruit inside of it, and set it in an oven that is cooling. When the icing on the fruit becomes firm, pile them on a dish and set them in a cool place.

Candied Orange or Lemon Peel. --Take the fruit, cut it lengthwise, remove all the pulp and interior skin, then put the peel into strong salt and water for 6 days; then boil them in spring water until they are soft, and place them in a sieve to drain; make a thin syrup with 1 lb. of sugar-candy to 1 quart of water, boil them in it for half an hour, or till they look clear; make a thick syrup with sugar and as much water as will melt it; put in the peel, and boil them over a slow fire until the syrup candies in the pan; then take them out--powder pounded sugar over them, and dry them before the fire in a cool oven.

Black Butter. --This is a very nice preserve to spread on bread for children, and much healthier in the winter than salt butter. Take any kind of berries, currants, or cherries--(the latter must be stoned)--to every pound of fruit allow half a pound of sugar, and boil it till it is reduced one-fourth.

Lemon Drops. --Squeeze and strain the juice of 6 good-sized lemons; mix with it pounded and sifted loaf-sugar till so thick that it is stirred with difficulty; put it into a preserving-pan and with a wooden spoon stir it constantly, and let it boil 5 or 6 minutes; then drop it from the point of a knife upon writing paper, in drops as large as a shilling. When cold, they will readily come off.

Barely Sugar Drops. --Clarify and boil the sugar to that degree, that upon dipping in a wooden stick and plunging it into cold water, the sugar becomes crisp, and will snap; boil


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with it the thinly-pared rind of one or two lemons; drop the sugar upon a stone or marble slab in round drops; when quite cold, roll them in sifted loaf-sugar, and lay them between layers of white paper, or fold them in little bits of square paper, and twist it at the end.

Barley Sugar. --Boil the sugar as for the drops, and flavor it with lemon-juice or oil of lemons; rub a little fresh butter over a stone or marble slab, and pour the sugar along it in narrow strips; twist it while warm, and when cold, with a knife mark it across, and it will break into any lengths.

Nongat. --Blanch three-quarters of pound of shelled almonds, and quarter of pound of bitter shelled almonds; throw them into cold water, take them out and wipe them; cut them into small pieces, but do not pound them; mix them well together; break small 1 lb. of loaf sugar, and add to it half pint of cold water, and 1 oz. of isinglass dissolved in a very little boiling water; boil and skim the sugar well; when it is quite clear, squeeze over the almonds the juice of 2 lemons, and throw them into the sugar. Stir the almonds so as to mix them well with the syrup, and then take the kettle off the fire; have ready a mould or square tin-pan well buttered, and put the mixture into it a little at a time, making only a thin coat of it around the mould or pan. Take care that the almonds are equally dispersed through the sugar before it cools; but if it becomes cold before the almonds are well mixed, set it over the fire again to melt. Turn it frequently in the mould to prevent it from sticking. When it has become a hard cake, set the mould for a moment in warm water, and turn it out. When turned out it is in a hollow cake. In stirring it, a wooden spoon had better be used.

Everton Toffie. --Put into a brass skillet, or preserving pan 3 ounces of very fresh butter, and as soon as it is just melted add a pound of brown sugar of moderate quality; keep these stirred gently over a very clear fire for about 15 minutes, or until a little of the mixture, dropped into a basin of cold water, breaks clean between the teeth without sticking to them: when it is boiled to this point, it must be poured out immediately, or it will burn. The grated rind of a lemon, added when the toffie is half done, improves it much; or a small tea-spoonful of


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powdered ginger, moistened with a little of the other ingredients, as soon as the sugar is dissolved, and then stirred to the whole, will vary it pleasantly to many tastes. The real Everton toffie is made, we apprehend, with a much larger proportion of butter, but it is less wholesome on that very account. If dropped upon dishes first rubbed with a buttered paper, the toffie when cold can be raised from them easily.

Butter, 3 ozs.; sugar, 1 lb.; 15 to 18 minutes.

Toffie, (another way). --Boil together a pound of sugar and 5 ounces of butter for 20 minutes; then stir in 2 ounces of almonds blanched, divided, and thoroughly dried in a slow oven, or before the fire. Let the toffie boil after they are added, till it crackles when dropped into cold water, and snaps between the teeth without sticking.

Sugar, 1 lb.; butter, 5 ozs.; almonds, 2 ozs.: 20 to 30 minutes.

Coloring, to stain Jellies, Ices, &c. --For a beautiful red, boil 15 grains of cochineal in the finest powder, with 1 1/2 dram of cream of tartar, in half pint of water, very slowly for half an hour. Add in boiling a bit of alum the size of a pea. Or use beet-root sliced, and some liquor poured over.

For white, use almonds finely pounded, with a little drop of water; or use cream.

For yellow, yolks of eggs or a bit of saffron steeped in the liquor, and squeezed. Likewise the flower of the crocus, which has no taste.

For green, pound spinach-leaves or beet-leaves, express the juice, and boil in a tea-cup in a sauce-pan of water to take off the rawness.

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> CHAPTER XXVII.

CAKES.

Preliminary Remarks--Lady Cakes--Common--Delicate--Washington--French--English--Scocth--Irish--Dutch--Fruit--Bride--Pound--Queen--Cookies--Savoy--Almond--Sponge--Vienna--Rice--Cup--Cinnamon--Cream--Jumbles--Diet Bread--Seed Cakes--Macaroons--Meringues--Kisses--Wafers--Cracknels--Buns--Gingerbread--Cakes, fried, &c.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS. --In making cakes, it is indispensably necessary that all the ingredients should be heated before they are mixed; for this purpose every thing should be prepared an hour before the time it is wanted, and placed near the fire, or upon a stove--the flour thoroughly dried and warmed; the currants, sugar, carraway-seed, and anything else required, heated in the same way; butter and eggs should be beaten in basins fitted into kettles or pans or warm water, which will give them the requisite degree of temperature. Without these precautions, cakes will be heavy; and the best materials, with the greatest pains, will fail to produce the desired results.

The following observations should also be strictly attended to:--

Currants should be very nicely washed, dried in a cloth, and then set before the fire. If damp, they will make cakes or puddings heavy. Before they are to be used, a dust of dry flour should be thrown among them, and a shake given to them, which causes the cakes to be lighter.

Eggs should be very long beaten, whites and yolks apart, and always strained.

Sugar should be pounded in a mortar, or rubbed to a powder on a clean board, and sifted through a very fine hair or lawn sieve.

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Lemon-peel should be pared very thin, and, with a little sugar, beaten in a marble mortar to a paste; and then mixed with a little wine or cream, so as to divide easily among the other ingredients. The pans should be of earthenware; nor should eggs or batter and sugar be beaten in tins, as the coldness of the metal will prevent them from becoming light.

Use no flour but the best superfine; for if the flour be of inferior quality, the cakes will be heavy, ill-colored, and unfit to eat; but if a little potato-flour be added, it will improve their lightness. Cakes are frequently rendered hard, heavy and uneatable, by misplaced economy in eggs and butter, or for want of a due seasoning in spice and sugar.

After all the articles are put into the pan, they should be thoroughly and long beaten, as the lightness of the cake depends much on their being well incorporated.

Unless you are provided with proper utensils as well as materials, the difficulty of making cakes will be so great as in most instances to be a failure. Accuracy in proportioning the ingredients is also indispensable; and therefore scales, weights, and measures, down to the smallest quantity, are of the utmost importance.

When yeast is used, a cake should stand for some time to rise, before it is put in the oven.

All stiff cakes should be beaten with the hand; but pound and similar cakes should be beaten with a whisk or spoon.

Of Baking Cake. --The goodness of a cake depends almost wholly on careful baking. The oven for large cakes should be pretty quick, or the batter will not rise; paper should be put over the top to prevent their scorching. To judge whether a cake be ready, plunge into the middle a clean knife; draw it out instantly, when, if the blade be sticky, the cake is not done, and should be returned to the oven; if the blade be clean, the cake is ready.

Great attention should be paid to the different degrees of the heat of the oven for baking cakes: it should be, at first, of a sound heat, when, after it has been well cleaned out, such articles may be baked as require a hot oven; then, such as are directed to be baked in a moderately heated oven; and lastly, those in a slack or cooling oven. With a little care, the above degrees of heat may soon be known.

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How to Keep Cakes. --Rich cakes keep good for a longer period than plain ones; as water is not used in making the former, and sugar, of which they contain much, will not ferment unless it be dissolved in water.

Cakes are best kept in earthen pans, or in tin; but they soon become dry in drawers or wooden boxes.

Cakes wetted with milk eat best when new, but do not keep so well as others.

How to Prepare Butter. --To cream it, drain the water well from it, after it is cut--soften it a little before the fire, should it be very hard, and then with the back of a large strong wooden spoon beat it until it resembles thick cream. When prepared thus, the sugar is added to it first, and then the other ingredients in succession.

To Whisk Eggs for light rich Cakes. --Break them one by one, and separate the yolks from the whites: this is done easily by pouring the yolk from one half of the shell to the other, and letting the white drop from it into a basin beneath. With a small three-pronged fork take out the specks from each egg as it is broken, that none may accidentally escape notice. Whisk the yolks until they appear light, and the whites until they are a quite solid froth; while any liquid remains at the bottom of the bowl they are not sufficiently beaten; when a portion of them, taken up with the whisk, and dropped from it, remains standing in points, they are in the proper state for use, and should be mixed into the cake directly.

Icing for Cake. --Beat the white of 1 egg perfectly light--then add 8 tea-spoonsful of loaf sugar, pounded fine and sifted, very gradually, beating it well; after every spoonful, add one drop of the essence of lemon or rose-water to flavor it. If you wish to color it pink, stir in a few grains of cochineal powder or rose-pink; if you wish it blue, add a little of what is called powder-blue. Lay the frosting on the cake with a knife, soon after it is taken from the oven--smooth it over, and let it remain in a cool place till hard. To frost a common-sized loaf of cake, allow the white of 1 egg and half of another.

To Blanch Almonds. --Put them in a sauce-pan with plenty of cold water, and heat it slowly; when it is just scalding,


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turn the almonds into a basin, peel, and throw them in cold water as they are done; dry them well in a soft cloth before they are used. If the water be too hot, it will turn them yellow.

To Pound Almonds. --After they are blanched, it is better to have them thoroughly dried in a gentle heat; left, for example, in a warm room for 2 or 3 days, lightly spread on a large dish. During the heating, sprinkle them with a few drops either of cold water, rosemary, white of egg, or lemon juice, and pound them in a mortar to a smooth paste.

Lady Cake. --Beat to a stiff froth the whites of 8 eggs, then add 1 spoonful at a time, 1 lb. of powdered loaf sugar; beat to a cream quarter of pound of good butter, and add to it 1 tea-cupful of sweet milk with 1 tea-spoonful of saleratus dissolved in it. Stir the eggs in the milk and butter, and sift in enough flour to make a batter as thick as pound cake. Blanch and pound finely quarter of pound of sweet almonds, and add them to the mixture; flavor with essence of lemon or orange-water; beat the whole together till very light; then take it in a tin pan lined with buttered paper. It will require half an hour to bake it in a quick oven. When nearly cold, ice it on the under side, and when the icing becomes almost firm, mark it in small squares.

Good Common Cake. --Take 2 cups of light bread dough; 2 eggs; 1 cup of sugar; 1 cup of raisins; half cup of butter; 1 nutmeg; 1 tea-spoonful of saleratus; mix them thoroughly; and, add a little flour. Let it stand half an hour before baking.

Delicate Cake. --Beat to a cream 7 ozs. of sweet butter; beat to a stiff froth the whites of 8 eggs, and mix gradually with it 1 lb. of fine white sugar, stir in the eggs 1 lb. of flour together with the butter, half a nutmeg grated, and some essence of lemon or bitter almonds, or rose-water. Bake in a pan lined with buttered paper. Almonds blanched and pounded may be substituted for the butter.

Washington Cake. --Beat together 1 1/2 lb. of sugar, and three quarters of pound of butter; add 4 eggs well beaten, half pint of sour milk, and 1 tea-spoonful of saleratus, dissolved in a


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little hot water. Stir in gradually 1 3/4 lb. of flour, 1 wine glassful of wine or brandy, and 1 nutmeg grated. Beat all well together.

This will make two round cakes. It should be baked in a quick oven, and will take from 15 to 30 minutes, according to the thickness of the cakes.

French Cake.--Bolas d' Amor. --1 1/4 lb. of flour, 1 small tea-cupful of yeast, half pint of milk warmed, 1 lb. of butter, and 4 eggs. Make a hole in the flour, and pour into it the milk, eggs, and yeast; mix them all well together; beat the dough, adding the butter by degrees. Let it stand for 1 hour to rise: then take half pound of sifted sugar, and mix it well in with the dough; butter the cups or pans, put in the dough, and ornament the top with candied orange or lemon peel.

Derby, or Short Cakes. --Rub 1 pound of butter into 2 pounds of sifted flour, add 1 pound of currants, 1 pound of good moist sugar, and 2 beaten eggs mixed with half a pint of milk; work the whole into a paste, roll it out thinly, cut it into cakes, and bake them about 5 minutes in a moderate oven.

Shrewsbury Cakes. --Make a stiff paste of a 1 1/2 lb. of flour, three-quarters of a pound of sifted loaf sugar, a tea-spoonful of pounded cinnamon, half a pound of warmed butter, and 1 egg, with a little milk; roll it out thin, cut round, and bake on a tin, in a slack oven.

Banbury Cakes. --First, mix well together a pound of currants, cleaned with great nicety and dried, a quarter-pound of beef-suet, finely minced, 3 ounces each of candied orange and lemon-rind, shred small, a few grains of salt, a full quarter ounce of pounded cinnamon and nutmeg mixed, and 4 ounces of macaroons or ratafias rolled to powder. Next, make a light paste with 14 ounces of butter to the pound of flour; give it an extra turn or two to prevent its rising too much in the oven; roll out one-half in a very thin square, and spread the mixed fruit and spice equally upon it; moisten the edges, lay on the remaining half of the paste, rolled equally thin, press the edges securely together, mark the whole with the back of a knife in regular divisions of 2 inches wide and 3 in length; bake the pastry in a well-heated oven from 25 to 30 minutes, and


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divide it into cakes while it is still warm. They may be served as a second-course dish either hot or cold, and may be glazed at pleasure.

Currants, 1 lb.; beef-suet, 4 ozs.; candied orange and lemon-rind each, 3 ozs.; salt, small pinch; mixed spices, quarter of an ounce; macaroons or ratafias, 4 ozs.: baked 25 to 30 minutes.

Scotch Cake. --Stir to a cream a pound of sugar, and three-quarters of a pound of butter--put in the juice and grated rind of a lemon, and a wine glass of brandy. Separate the whites and yolks of 9 eggs, beat them to a froth, and stir them into the cake--then add a pound of sifted flour, and just before it is put in the cake pans, a pound of seeded raisins.

Irish Cake. --Take 1 lb. of butter beaten to a cream, three-quarters of a pound of sugar sifted and dried, 9 eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately, quarter of pound of almonds blanched and sliced, 1 1/4 lb. of currants picked and dried, the same weight of flour also dried. When the butter has been worked with the hand to a cream, sift in the sugar, which should be quite hot; when mixed pour in the yolks of eggs, then add the whites; work it half an hour, then add the flour by degrees; when thoroughly mixed, add a very small tea-cupful of brandy. The currants and almonds, with quarter of pound of lemon or citron peel, should be added just before the cakes are placed in the oven, which should be hot. The cake should be beaten an hour; the hand should be kept moving the same way, and not taken out.

Dutch Cake. --Mix 5 1/2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of butter, 1 1/2 lb. of sugar, 1 1/4 lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 5 eggs, 1 nutmeg, 36 cloves, 1 oz. of cinnamon, a table-spoonful of allspice, 2 glasses of brandy, 1 1/2 glass of rose-water, 3 pints of milk, a little salt and yeast enough to raise it.

Fruit Cake. --Take 1 lb. of butter and 1 lb. of sugar, and beat them together with the yolks of 8 eggs; beat the whites separately; mix with these 1 1/2 lb. of flour, 1 tea-cupful of cream, 1 wine-glassful of brandy and 1 of wine, 1 nutmeg, 1 tea-spoonsful of mace, 1 tea-spoonful of cloves, 2 tea-spoonsful of cinnamon, 1 salt-spoonful of salt, three-quarters of a pound of raisins stoned, three-quarters of a pound of currants, half a


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pound of citron; mix with the flour 2 tea-spoonsful of Babbitt's yeast powder.

Plum Cake, or Wedding Cake. --1 lb. of dry flour, 1 lb. of sweet butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 12 eggs, 2 lbs. of raisins, stoned; 2 lbs. of currants, well washed, dried, and floured; as much spice as you please; a glass of wine, one of brandy, and a pound of citron. Mix the butter and sugar as for pound cake. Sift the spice, and beat the eggs very light. Put in the fruit last, stirring it in gradually; it should be well floured; if necessary, add more flour after the fruit is in; butter sheets of paper, and line the inside of 1 large pan or 2 smaller ones; lay in some slices of citron, then a layer of the mixture, then of the citron--and so on till the pan is full. This cake requires a tolerably hot and steady oven, and will need baking 4 or 5 hours, according to its thickness. It will be better to let it cool gradually in the oven: ice it when thoroughly cold.

Small Plum Cakes. --Mix 6 ozs. of powdered loaf sugar with 1 lb. of flour, to which add 6 ozs. of butter beaten to a cream, 3 well beaten eggs, and half a pound of currants; beat all to a stiff paste, which drop on floured tin plates, and bake in a brisk oven.

Plain Plum Cake. --Beat 6 ozs. of butter to a cream, to which add 6 well-beaten eggs; work in 1 lb. of flour and half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, half a pound of currants, and 2 ozs. of candied peels; mix well together, put it into a buttered tin, and bake in a quick oven.

Bride-Cake. --Wash 2 1/2 lbs. of fresh butter in plain water first, and then in rose-water; beat the butter to a cream; beat 20 eggs, yolks and whites separately, half an hour each. Have ready 2 1/2 lbs. of the finest flour, well dried and kept hot, likewise 1 1/2 lb. of sugar pounded and sifted, 1 oz. of spice in fine powder, 3 lbs. of currants nicely cleaned and dry, half a pound of almonds blanched, and three-fourths of a pound of sweet-meats cut, not too thin. Let all be kept by the fire, mix all the ingredients, pour the eggs strained to the butter, but beat the whites of the eggs to a strong froth; mix half a pint of sweet wine with the same quantity of brandy, pour it to the butter and eggs, mix well, then have all the dry things put in


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by degrees; beat them very thoroughly--you can hardly do it too much. Having half a pound of stoned jar-raisins chopped as fine as possible, mix them carefully so that there should be no lump, and add a tea-cupful of orange-flower water; beat the ingredients together a full hour at least. Have a hoop well-buttered; take a white paper, doubled and buttered, and put in the pan round the edge; do not fill it more than three parts with batter, as space should be allowed for rising. Bake in a quick oven. It will require full 3 hours.--In making cakes of a larger size, put at the rate of 8 eggs to every pound of flour, and other ingredients in the same proportion.

The cake must be covered with an icing.

Pound Cakes. --Beat to cream 1 pound of butter, and work it smoothly with 1 pound of sifted loaf sugar; and 9 well beaten eggs, and mix in lightly, 1 pound of flour, half a nutmeg grated, and a little pounded cinnamon or mace; beat together half an hour and bake about 1 hour in a brisk oven.

Candied lemon peel cut thin, and blanched and chopped sweet almonds, are sometimes added; and half a pound of currants will make the cake much richer.

Half the above proportions will make a moderately sized cake.

Family Pound Cake. --Beat to a cream half a pound of butter, add one pound of dried flour, half a pound of powdered loaf sugar, half a pound of dried currants, or carraway-seeds, 4 well beaten eggs, and half a pint of milk; beat well together, and bake with care.

A plain Cake. --Mix together three-quarters of a pound of flour, the same of moist sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, one egg well beaten, and two table-spoonsful of milk; bake moderately.

Queen Cake. --Mix 1 lb. of dried flour, the same of sifted sugar and of washed currants. Wash 1 lb. of butter in rose-water, beat it well, then mix with it 8 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately, and put in the dry ingredients by degrees; beat the whole an hour; butter little tins, tea-cups, or saucers,


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filling them only half full. Sift a little fine sugar over just as you put them into the oven.

Or:--Beat 8 ozs. of butter, and mix with 2 well beaten eggs strained; mix 8 ozs. of dried flour, and the same of lump-sugar, and the grated rind of a lemon; then add the whole together, and beat full half an hour with a silver spoon. Butter small pattypans, half fill, and bake 20 minutes in a quick oven.

The same materials made into a paste, then rolled out into small round cakes, and baked, make very nice tea-cakes.

Cookies. --One pound of butter, half pound of sugar, 2 tea-spoonsful (or 3 drachms) of saleratus, 3 lbs. of flour, and about a pint of buttermilk, or milk that that is slightly sour may be used instead; flavor the whole with ground coriander-seed according to taste. Cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg, may be substituted for the coriander if desired. Warm the buttermilk, and dissolve the saleratus in it by stirring. The sugar may be boiled in half pint of water, and allowed to cool before using, when less buttermilk must be used, and the butter must be rubbed small with the flour; or beat the butter and sugar together in a pan to a nice cream; add the other ingredients, and make into a paste. Make into rolls half an inch thick, and cut into what shape you please; or roll out the paste to the same thickness, and cut it into any desired form. Bake from 20 minutes to half an hour in a moderately cool oven. The same preparation, with only half the quantity of butter and sugar, and half pint more milk or water, makes a most excellent cake (superior to soda) for tea, or for children, to which carraway-seeds or currants may be added.

Sugar Cakes. --Take half a pound of dried flour, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, a quarter of a pound of sifted loaf sugar; then mix together the flour and the sugar; rub in the butter, and add the yolk of an egg beaten with a table-spoonful of cream; make it into a paste, roll, and cut it into small round cakes, which bake upon a floured tin.

Honey Cake. --One pound and a half of dried and sifted flour, three-quarters of a pound of honey, half a pound of finely pounded loaf sugar, a quarter of a pound of citron, and half an ounce of orange-peel cut small, of pounded ginger and cinnamon


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three-quarters of an ounce. Melt the sugar with the honey, and mix in the other ingredients; roll out the paste, and cut it into small cakes of any form.

Savoy Cakes. --Break 10 very fresh eggs into a pan, with 1 lb. of sifted loaf sugar; set the pan in warm water, and whisk very briskly for a quarter of an hour, or until the batter is quite thick and warm; take it out of the water and whisk until cold; stir in as lightly as possible, to mix it thoroughly, 1 lb of flour; flavor with essence of lemon, or the rind of a lemon rubbed on sugar; pour it into a mould, and bake.

Prepare the mould as follows:--Melt a little fresh butter--take off the scum, and pour it off the dregs; let it cool, and with a brush rub it well, so that it looks creamy, into all points of the mould, and dust it with sugar and flour, mixed in equal quantities, sufficient to adhere to the batter.

The same preparation is used for sponge-cakes, when baked in a mould.

[Illustration: An illustration of a circular mould with a design around it. There are two pieces to the mould: a large base and a smaller piece that sets on top.]

Almond Sponge Cake. --Pound 8 ozs. of blanched almonds very finely, adding a little water to prevent their oiling; add to them half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, some grated lemon peel, and mix all with the well-beaten yolks of seven eggs--beat them together, and add the whites of 5 eggs, whisked, with 2 ozs. of sifted flour; prepare the mould as for a Savoy cake, and bake it in the same manner.

Sponge Cake. --Beat separately the whites and yolks of 10 eggs very light; add to the yolks 1 lb. of sugar and the juice and peel grated of 1 lemon; then stir in the whites, together with half a pound of flour. Bake as quickly as possible.

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Jelly, or Vienna Cake. --1 lb. of flour, the same quantity of butter and of sifted loaf sugar, and the yolks of 14 eggs--the whole to be beaten together for three-quarters of an hour;--then beat the whites of the egg to a froth; mix the greater part by degrees to the paste, and keep beating till the whole is soft and light. Cut pieces of paper the size and shape of the dish to be used, spread the paste upon them not quite 1 inch thick, put it into the oven, and let it bake, but not enough to be brown; then spread each with jam made of fruit, and a little jelly, and pile one upon the other. Let it remain until quite cold, and, some hours afterwards, add a fresh quantity of sugar to the whites of eggs; pour it over the top, and ornament it with preserved orange and lemon chips, colored sugar-plums, &c., and let it stand in a cool oven to dry.

Or:--Take 4 layers of fine sponge-cake, not quite 1 inch thick; or the sponge-mixing may be baked at once in a round shape, about 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and afterwards divided into slices. Put between each layer of cake one of preserves, each of a different sort, with strawberries at the top; and cover the whole cake, top and sides, with a thick icing of sugar, similar to that used in bride-cake, tinted red, and flavored with essence of lemon, rose, or vanilla. The icing must be dried; but the cake must not be again put into the oven.

Rice Cakes. --Take 8 yolks and 4 whites of eggs, and beat to a foam, add 6 ozs. of powdered sugar, and the peel of one lemon grated; then stir in half a pound of ground rice, and beat all together for half an hour. Put it into a buttered tin, and bake 20 minutes. This cake is recommended as very easy of digestion.

Rice Cakes with Butter. --Beat, till extremely light, the yolks of 9 eggs; add half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, and the same quantity of sifted rice flour; melt half a pound of fresh butter, and mix it with the eggs, sugar, and flour, along with a few pounded bitter almonds; half fill small buttered tins, and bake in a quick oven.

Cup Cakes. --Mix 3 tea-cups of sugar with 1 1/2 of butter; when white, beat 3 eggs, and stir them into the butter and sugar, together with 3 tea-cupsful of sifted flour, and rose-water


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or essence of lemon to the taste. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus in a tea-cup of milk, strain it into the cake, then add 3 more tea-cups of sifted flour. Bake the cake immediately, either in cups or pans.

Cinnamon, or Lemon Cakes. --Rub 6 ozs. of good butter into a pound of fine dry flour, and work it lightly into crumbs, then add three-quarters of a pound of sifted sugar, a dessert-spoonful of pounded cinnamon, (or half as much when only a slight flavor is liked,) and make these ingredients into a firm paste with 3 eggs, or 4, if needed. Roll it, not very thin, and cut out the cakes with a tin shape. Bake them in a very gentle oven from 15 to 20 minutes, or longer, should they not be done quite through. As soon as they are cold, put them into a clean and dry tin canister, a precaution which should be observed with all small sugar-cakes, which ought also to be loosened from the oven-tins while they are still warm.

Flour, 1 lb.; butter, 6 ozs.; sugar, three-quarters of a pound; cinnamon, 1 dessert-spoonful (more or less, to the taste;) eggs, 3 to 4.

Obs.--lemon cakes can be made by this receipt, by substituting for the cinnamon the rasped or grated rinds of 2 lemons, and the strained juice of 1, when its acidity is not objected to. More butter, and more or less sugar, can be used at will, both for these and for the cinnamon cakes.

Cream Cakes. --Take a quart of milk, from which take out 3 table-spoonsful to moisten 4 heaping table-spoonsful of flour, and put the remainder on to boil. Beat up 4 eggs, yolks and whites together to a froth, with 5 heaping table-spoonsful of sugar. When the milk is boiling stir in the eggs with the moistened flour, and let it boil a few minutes. Add the grated peel and juice of 1 lemon, and set it away to cool.

Then make the paste by putting in a pint of water, quarter of a pound of butter, and placing it on the fire till the butter is melted. Then stir in three-quarters of a pound of flour, and let it boil or scald thoroughly. Then let it get cold. Beat all the lumps out--beat separately 12 eggs and stir them in. Butter 24 small round tins, and fill them not quite half full. Bake the cakes thoroughly, and when cold open them a little with a knife, and put in the cream. Do them over with egg to make them look like confectioners.

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Cocoanut Jumbles. --Cut the meat of a large cocoanut in slices and grate them. Beat up the white of 5 eggs, and the yolks of 3, and mix with them a few drops of the essence of lemon. Mix the grated cocoanut with a small portion of flour, roll it lightly on a floured paste board, cut it into rings with a tumbler, the edge of which is floured. Butter the pans into which the cakes are to be laid, and after sifting a little loaf sugar over the cakes, bake them in a quick oven. When they begin to brown they are done.

Common Jumbles. --Stir together, till of a light color, a pound of sugar and half the weight of butter--then add 8 eggs, beaten to a froth, essence of lemon, or rose-water, to the taste, and flour to make them sufficiently stiff to roll out. Roll them out in powdered sugar, about half an inch thick, cut it into strips about half an inch wide, and 4 inches long, join the ends together, so as to form rings, lay them on flat tins that have been buttered, and bake them in a quick oven.

Diet Bread. --To half pound of sifted sugar put 4 eggs; beat them together for an hour; then add quarter of pound of flour dried and sifted, with the juice of half a lemon and the grated rind of a whole one. Bake in a slow oven.

Or:--Boil 1 lb. of loaf sugar in half pint of water; whisk it with 8 eggs until cold; then stir in 1 lb. of fine flour, and keep beating until it is put into the oven, which, if it be quick, will bake it in an hour.

Or:--Beat up separately the yolks and whites of 4 eggs for quarter of an hour; then sift into both quarter of pound of grated sugar; beat it well up with the eggs, and stir the whole gradually but effectually into as much flour as will make it of a proper thickness; season it slightly with cinnamon, and bake it in a quick oven.

Almond Bread. --Blanch, and pound in a mortar, half a pound of shelled sweet almonds till they are a smooth paste, adding rose-water as you pound them. They should be done the day before they are wanted. Prepare a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered, a tea-spoonful of mixed spice, mace, nutmeg and cinnamon, and three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour. Take 14 eggs, and separate the whites from the yolks.


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Leave out 7 of the whites, and beat the other 7 to a stiff froth. Beat the yolks till very thick and smooth, and then beat the sugar gradually into them, adding the spice. Next stir in the white of egg, then the flour, and lastly the almonds. You may add 12 drops of essence of lemon.

Put the mixture into a square tin pan, well buttered, or into a copper or tin mould, and set it immediately in a brisk oven. Ice it when cool. It is best when eaten fresh.

You may add a few bitter almonds to the sweet ones.

Seed Cakes. --Beat 1 lb. of butter to a cream, adding, gradually, quarter of pound of sifted sugar, beating both together. Have ready the yolks of 18 eggs, and the whites of 10, beaten separately; mix in the whites first and then the yolks, and beat the whole for 10 minutes; add 2 grated nutmegs, 1 1/2 lb. of flour, and mix them very gradually with the other ingredients. When the oven is ready, beat in 3 ozs. of picked carraway-seed.

A cheap Seed Cake. --Mix quarter of peck of flour with half pound of sugar, quarter of an ounce of allspice, and a little ginger; melt three-quarters of a pound of butter with half pint of milk; when just warm, put to it quarter of a pint of yeast, and work up to a good dough. Let it stand before the fire a few minutes before it goes to the oven; add seeds or currants; bake 1 1/2 hour.

Seed Cake without Butter. --Dry and warm 13 ozs. of flour and 1 lb. of loaf sugar pounded finely, 4 spoonsful of warm water, 4 of brandy, 1 of orange-flower water, and 2 ozs. of carraway-seed; mix all together, then beat up 12 eggs with half the whites, add them to the cake, beat the whole well, and bake it 2 hours.

Another. --Mix 1 1/2 lb. of flour and 1 lb. of common lump-sugar, 8 eggs beaten separately, 1 oz. of seeds, 2 spoonsful of yeast, and the same of milk and water.

Small Rout Cakes. --Rub into 1 pound of dried and sifted flour, half a pound of butter, 6 ounces of pounded and sifted loaf sugar, and the yolks of 2 well-beaten eggs; mix them all into a paste with a little rose-water; divide the quantity, put


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a few dried currants or carraway-seeds into one-half; roll out the paste, cut it into small round cakes, and bake them upon buttered tins.

Macaroons. --Pound well in a mortar with the white of an egg half a pound of sweet almonds blanched, with a few bitter ones also blanched. Beat to a froth the whites of 4 eggs, and mix with them 2 lbs. of sugar. Mix all together, and drop them on paper placed on a tin. A half an hour in a gentle oven bakes them.

Obs.--Cocoa Macaroons may be made by substituting grated cocoa-nut for pounded almond.

Meringues. --Beat to a very solid froth the whites of 6 fresh eggs, and have ready to mix with them half a pound of the best sugar, well dried and sifted. Lay some squares or long strips of writing-paper closely upon a board, which ought to be an inch thick to prevent the meringues from receiving any color from the bottom of the oven. When all is ready for them, stir the sugar to the beaten eggs, and with a table or dessert-spoon lay the mixture on the paper in the form of a half egg; sift sugar quickly over, blow off all that does not adhere, and set the meringues immediately into a moderate oven: the process must be expeditious, or the sugar melting will cause the meringues to spread, instead of retaining their shape. When they are colored a light brown, and are firm to the touch, draw them out, raise them from the paper, and press back the insides with a tea-spoon, or scoop them out, so as to leave space enough to admit some whipped cream or preserve, with which they are to be filled, when cold, before they are served. Put them again into the oven to dry gently, and when they are ready for table fasten them together in the shape of a whole egg, and pile them lightly on a napkin.

Whites of fresh eggs, 6; sifted sugar, half a pound.

Obs.--4 ounces of pounded almonds may be mixed with the eggs and sugar for these cakes, and any flavor added to them at pleasure. If well made, they are remarkably good and elegant in appearance. They must be fastened together with a little white of egg.

Almond Cakes. --Beat 1 lb. of almonds very fine with rose-water, mix in half a pound of sifted sugar, make them into


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shapes, put them before the fire to dry on one side, then turn them. When dry on both sides, take some sifted sugar and as much white of egg as will just wet it; beat it with a spoon; as it grows white put in a little more egg, till it is thin enough to ice the cakes; then ice one side, dry it before the fire, and be sure it is quite dry before icing the other side. The flavor of the almond is often given to pastry by bay-leaves and the essence of fruit-kernels, but pounded bitter almonds are safer and better for the purpose.

Ratafia Cakes. --Are made in the same manner, but substitute ratafia-brandy for rose-water, and use a quarter pound of bitter instead of the same quantity of sweet almonds; make them rather smaller.

Kisses. --Beat the whites of 4 eggs till they stand alone. Then beat in, gradually, a pound of finely-powdered sugar, a tea-spoonful at a time. Add 8 drops of the essence of lemon, and beat the whole very hard.

Lay a wet sheet of paper on the bottom of a square tin pan. Drop on it at equal distance, small tea-spoonfuls of stiff currant jelly. Put a little of the beaten egg, and sugar it first, under the currant jelly. With a large spoon, pile some of the beaten white of egg and sugar, on each lump of jelly, so as to cover it entirely. Drop on the mixture as evenly as possible, so as to make the kisses of a round, smooth shape.

Set them in a cool oven, and as soon as they are colored, they are done. Then take them out, and place the two bottoms together. Lay them lightly on a sieve, and dry them in a cool oven, till the two bottoms stick fast together, so as to form one ball or oval.

Sugar Drops. --Beat the whites and yolks of 4 eggs separately to a light foam; dilute the yolks with 2 tea-spoonsful of water, and turn them with the whites, and beat them some time; then add by degrees a pound of sugar in fine powder, and then 4 ounces of superfine flour, beating the mixture constantly. Drop the mixture on white paper placed in a tin plate, in any shape you please, ice them over with sugar in powder, to prevent running, and bake about 10 minutes in a moderate oven.

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Wafers. --Take fine flour, dried and sifted, make it into a smooth thin batter with very good milk, or a little cream and water; add about as much white wine as will make it thick enough for pancakes, sweeten it with a little loaf-sugar, and flavor with beaten cinnamon. When thus prepared, have the wafer-irons made ready by being heated over a charcoal fire; rub the irons with a piece of linen cloth dipped in butter, then pour a spoonful of the batter upon them, and close them almost immediately; turn them upon the fire, pare the edges with a knife, as some of the batter will ooze out. A short time will bake them when the irons are properly heated. The wafers must be curled round whilst warm.

Sugar-wafers, which are much in use throughout France and Spain for eau-sucrée,are made by whisking white sugar into a froth with the white of eggs and isinglass and then baking it as above.

Isle of Wight Cracknels. --Mix with a quart of flour half a nutmeg grated, the yolks of 4 eggs beaten, with 4 spoonsful of rose-water, into a stiff paste, with cold water; then roll in 1 lb. of butter, and make them into a cracknel shape; put them into a kettle of boiling water, and boil them till they swim; then take them out and put them into cold water; when hardened, lay them out to dry and bake them on tin plates.

Kringles. --Beat well the yolks of 8 and whites of 2 eggs, and mix with 4 ozs. of butter just warmed, and with this knead 1 lb. of flour and 4 ozs. of sugar to a paste. Roll into thick biscuits; prick them, and bake on tin plates.

Plain Buns. --Weigh 2 lbs. of flour, and set sponge with half of it, three table-spoonsful of yeast, and half a pint of warmed milk; cover it, and in about an hour, or when it has risen, add a quarter of a pound of sugar, the same of butter warmed, and the remainder of the flour, with warm milk enough to make a light dough; let it rise an hour, then work it into cakes or buns, place them on a buttered tin to rise, and bake them in a brisk oven about ten minutes; when done, brush them over with milk and sugar.

Spice may be added to the above; as three-quarters of an


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ounce of allspice and cinnamon mixed; and an ounce of coriander-seeds, ground very finely. Buns made with these additions, are eaten on Good Friday.

Seed, or Currant Buns. --Make 2 lbs. of dough as for plain buns, adding two or three well-beaten eggs, spice as above, and 1 oz. of carraway-seeds; ice them with white of egg and sifted sugar, and bake as plain buns.

For currant buns, add half a pound of currants instead of the carraway-seeds, with 2 ozs. of candied orange peel; and bake as above.

Rich Bath Buns. --Work half a pound of butter into a pound of flour, to which add 5 well-beaten eggs, with a table-spoonful of yeast; mix them with a little warm milk, cover the dough, and put it in a warm place to rise for an hour; then mix in 4 ozs. of loaf sugar, and 3 ozs. of carraway-comfits, and strew a few on the top of each bun; bake in a brisk oven, and when done, brush them over with milk and sugar.

Spanish Buns. --Take 1 lb. of fine flour, rub into it half pound of butter; add half pound of sugar, the same of currants, a little nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon; mix it with 5 eggs well beaten; make this up into small buns, and bake them on tins 20 minutes; when half done, brush them over with a little hot milk.

Soft Gingerbread. --Take 3 cups of flour; beat together 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar; then add 1 cup of molasses and 1 cup of sour cream with a little of the flour. Take 4 eggs, and beat the whites and yolks separately; put in the yolks adding more flour; then 1 table-spoonful of ground ginger; 1 table-spoonful of cinnamon; 1 tea-spoonful of ground cloves; 2 cups or more of fruit; 1 tea-spoonful of soda; then the whites of the eggs, and lastly the remainder of the flour.

Another Recipe for Gingerbread. --Into 3 lbs. of flour cut 1 lb. of butter; add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; 2 ounces of ginger; 8 dozen of cloves; 10 dozen of allspice; half ounce of cinnamon, all pounded fine, and 1 quart of molasses. It


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will require half a pound of flour to make it up with. When mixed, knead it well in small quantities; afterwards knead it all well together.

Cup Gingerbread. --Mix together 6 cups of flour; 1 cup of butter; 1 cup of sugar; 1 cup of molasses; 1 cup of milk; 4 eggs well beaten; 1 nutmeg, grated; 3 table-spoonsful of ginger; some grated orange-peel; 1 dessert spoonful of pearl-ash. Bake it quickly.

Ginger Pound Cake. --2 cups of butter, 2 of sugar, 2 of molasses; 2 table-spoonsful of powdered ginger, 2 of dissolved Saleratus, 1 of pounded cinnamon, 1 nutmeg grated fine, 1 tea-spoonful of essence of lemon, 6 eggs, 6 cups of flour. The butter and sugar must be beaten to a cream: the whites and the yolks of the eggs beaten separately. Add together all the ingredients, and beat for a few minutes.

Hard Gingerbread. --Rub half a pound of butter into 1 lb. of flour; then rub in half a pound of sugar, 2 table-spoonsful of ginger, and 1 table-spoonful of rose-water; work it well; roll out, and bake in flat pans in a moderate oven. It will take about half an hour to bake. This gingerbread can be kept some time.

Gingerbread Nuts. --Put into an earthen vessel 1 lb. of molasses, 1 lb. of coarse brown sugar, and 1 lb. of butter; place the vessel over the fire in a sauce-pan of boiling water, and let it remain until the butter and sugar are dissolved. In the mean time mix together 1 1/4 oz. of allspice pounded fine; 2 ozs. of ginger, and 2 lbs. of flour; stir this into the butter, sugar and molasses; make into small cakes and bake them about a quarter of an hour.

Soda Cake. --1 lb of flour, 1 drachm of soda, half pound of sugar, half pound of currants, and quarter of a pound of butter. Mix the soda with the flour, then rub in the butter, after which add the sugar and currants, and then a pint of milk. Put it into the oven immediately. A variety may be given by substituting a quarter pound of lemon, orange, and citron, candied, and 1 oz. of pounded sweet almonds, for the currants; but in that case the cake will require rather more soda.

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Cider Cake. --Cider cake is very good, to be baked in small loaves. 1 1/2 lb. of flour, half a pound of sugar, quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of cider, 1 tea-spoonful of pearl-ash; spice to your taste. Bake till it turns easily in the pans. I should think about half an hour.

Hopkinton Springs Cake. --Take 4 cups of sugar and 2 cups of butter, and mix them well together. Take 2 cups of milk, in which dissolve 2 small tea-spoonsful of saleratus; beat well 6 eggs, which add alternately with the milk and 8 cups of flour to the sugar and butter. Add mace and nutmeg to your taste and also fruit. This will make 2 loaves of cake. It is very good when well made and baked.

Family Bread Cake --When making bread, take enough from the dough to make a small loaf, and knead well into it 2 ozs. of butter, 2 ozs. of sugar, and 8 ozs. of currants. Warm the butter in a tea-cupful of good milk. The addition of 1 oz. of butter or sugar and an egg or two makes the cake richer. A tea-cupful of raw cream is also an improvement. Bake it in a pan. It will keep several days. Carraways may be substituted for currants.

Tea Cakes. --With a pound of flour rub a quarter of a pound of butter; add the beaten yolks of two, and the white of one egg, a quarter of a pound of pounded loaf sugar, and a few carraway-seeds; mix it to a paste with a little warm milk, cover it with a cloth, and let it stand before the fire for nearly an hour; roll out the paste, and cut into round cakes with the top of a glass, and bake them upon floured tins.

Carraway Cakes. --Rub half a pound of butter into 1 lb. of flour, and mix with it half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, and half a tea-cupful of carraway-seeds; make them into a stiff paste with a little cold water, roll it out two or three times, cut it into round cakes, prick them, and bake them upon floured tins in a slow oven. Currants may be used instead of carraway-seeds, if preferred.

Sweet Carraway Cakes. --Mix well together 1 1/2 lb. of fine flour, half a pound of butter warmed, the same of sugar, two well-beaten eggs, and 2 ozs. of carraway-seeds; roll the paste thinly, cut out, and bake on floured tins.

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Common Crullers or Twist Cakes. --Mix well together half a pint of sour milk, or buttermilk, 2 tea-cupsful of sugar, 1 tea-cupful of butter, and 3 eggs, well-beaten: add to this a tea-spoonful of saleratus dissolved in hot water, a tea-spoonful of salt, half a nutmeg grated, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon; sift in flour enough to make a smooth dough; roll it out not quite a quarter of an inch thick; cut in small oblong pieces; divide one end in three or four parts like fingers, and twist or plait them over each other. Fry them in boiling lard.

These cakes may be cut in strips, and the ends joined, to make a ring, or in any other shape.

Richer Crullers. --Beat to a cream a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and mix with it the same quantity of pounded and sifted loaf sugar, and 4 well-beaten eggs; add flour till thick enough to roll out; cut the paste into oblong pieces about 4 or 5 inches in length; with a paste-cutter divide the centre into 3 or 4 strips; wet the edges, and plait one bar over the other, so as to meet in the centre; throw them into boiling lard, or clarified suet; when fried of a light brown, drain them before the fire, and serve them in a napkin, with or without grated loaf sugar strewed over them.

Dough-nuts. --Take 3 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of butter, 1 1/2 lb. of sugar; cut the butter fine into the flour; beat 6 eggs light, and put them in; add 2 wine-glasses of yeast, 1 pint of milk, some cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg; make it up into a light dough, and put it to rise. When it is light enough, roll out the paste, cut it in small pieces, and boil them in lard.

Soft Dough-nuts. --Take 3 pints of milk, 4 eggs, beaten separately, 2 1/2 lbs. of sugar, half a pound of butter, some ground orange-peel, and a pint of yeast; add flour enough to make a thick batter. When sufficiently raised, dip out with a spoon, and drop into boiling lard. A few currants added to the batter improve them.

Spanish Puffs. --Put into a sauce-pan, half a pint of water and a quarter of a pound of butter; stir it till it boils, and mix in 4 table-spoonsful of flour; stir it well together, and add 6 yolks and 4 whites of eggs--two at a time; let it cool, and,


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with a dessert-spoon, drop it into boiling clarified dripping or lard.

To make ginger-puffs, a tea-spoonful of pounded ginger may be added.

Nuns. --Roll puff paste about a quarter of an inch thick, cut it into rounds, or any other shape; lay upon one bit a small tea-spoonful of any sort of preserved fruit, wet the edges, and put over it another bit of paste; fry them in boiling clarified beef suet, or fresh lard; drain them upon the back of a sieve. Serve them in a napkin, and strew pounded loaf sugar over them.

[Illustration: An illustration of a pair of salt shakers. One of them looks like a boy carrying a basket and the other looks like a girl carrying a basket.]

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> CHAPTER XXVIII.

BREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES, ETC.

Flour--Making Bread--Milk Bread--Potato--Household--Dyspepsia--Indian--Yeast--Rolls--French--Toast--Biscuit--Tea Cakes--Breakfast--Short--Belvidere--Laplands--Sally Lunn--Nuns--Flannel--Crumpets--Batter--Buckwheat Waffles--Indian meal bread of various kinds.

Flour. --The first requisite for good bread is that the flour or meal be good. Wheat is always better for being washed; if it be at all injured by smut, it is not fit for food unless it be thoroughly washed. In the country this is easily done.

Put the grain in a clean tub, a bushel at a time; fill the tub with water, and stir the whole up from the bottom, briskly, with your hand, or a stick. Pour off the water and fill it with clean till the water ceases to be colored or dirty. Two or three waters usually are sufficient. Finish the washing quickly as possible, so as not to soak the grain; then spread it thinly on a large, strong sheet, (it is best to keep a coarse unbleached sheet solely for this purpose, if you wash your grain,) laid on clean boards in the sun, or where the sun and air can be freely admitted. Stir the grain with your hand every two or three hours; it will dry in a day, if the weather be fair.

Fresh-ground flour makes the best and sweetest bread. If you live in the vicinity of a mill, never have more than one or two bushels ground into flour at a time.

A bushel of good, clear wheat will make 56 pounds of flour, beside the bran and middlings.

If you purchase flour by the barrel or sack, be careful to ascertain that it is good and pure. In Europe, flour is often adulterated, that is, mixed with other substances, to swell its


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bulk and weight. Whiting, ground stones, and bones, and plaster of Paris, are the ingredients chiefly used. To be sure, none of these things are absolutely poisonous; but they are injurious, and no one wants them in bread. In our country we think such deceptions are seldom attempted, still it may be well to know how to detect the least bad matter in flour.

To discover whiting, dip the ends of the fore-finger and thumb into sweet oil, and take up a small quantity of flour between them. If it be pure, you may freely rub the fingers together for any length of time, it will not become sticky, and the substance will turn nearly black; if whiting be mixed with the flour, a few times rubbing turns it into putty, but its color is very little changed.

To detect stone dust or plaster of Paris--drop the juice of lemon or a little sharp vinegar on a small quantity of flour; if adulterated, an immediate effervescence takes place; if pure, it will remain at rest. Another quick, and pretty sure method of trial is to squeeze tightly for a minute a handful of the flour--if it be pure, when the hand is opened, the flour will remain in a lump, and the grains or wrinkles of the skin of the hand will be visible; but if it contain foreign substance, it will crumble almost immediately.

Making Bread. --To make the proper quantity for a small family, take 10 quarts of flour, put it into a kneading trough, or well-glazed earthen pan, large enough to hold double the quantity of flour. Make a deep round hole in the centre of the flour, and pour into it half a pint of brewer's yeast, or the thick sediment from home-brewed beer--the last, if good, is to be preferred. In either case the yeast must be mixed with a pint of milk-warm water, and well stirred before it is poured in. Then with a spoon stir into this liquid, gradually, so much of the surrounding flour as will make it like thin batter; sprinkle this over with dry flour, till it is covered entirely. Then cover the trough or pan with a warm cloth, and set it by the fire in winter, and where the sun is shining in summer. This process is called "setting the sponge." The object is to give strength and character to the ferment by communicating the quality of leavento a small portion of the flour, which will then be easily extended to the whole. Setting sponge is a measure of wise precaution--for if the yeast does not rise and ferment in the middle of the flour, it shows that the yeast


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is not good; the batter can then be removed, without wasting much of the flour, and another sponge set with better yeast.

Let the sponge stand till the batter has swelled and risen so as to form cracks in the covering of flour; then scatter over it a table-spoonful of fine salt, and begin to form the mass into dough, by pouring in, by degrees, as much warm water as is necessary to mix with the flour. Ten quarts of flour will require about two quarts of water. It will be well to prepare rather more; soft water is much the best; it should in summer be warm as new milk; during winter, it ought to be somewhat warmer, as flour is a cold, heavy substance.

Add the water by degrees to the flour, mix them with your hand, till the whole mass is incorporated; it must then be worked most thoroughly, moulded over and over, and kneaded with your clenched hands, till it becomes so perfectly smooth and light, as well as stiff, that not a particle will adhere to your hands. Remember that you cannot have good bread, light and white, unless you give the dough a thorough kneading. Then make the dough into a lump in the middle of the trough or pan, and dust it over with flour to prevent its adhering to the vessel. Cover it with a warm cloth, and in the winter the vessel should be placed near the fire. It now undergoes a further fermentation, which is shown by its swelling and rising; this, if the ferment was well formed, will be at its height in an hour--somewhat less in very warm weather. It ought to be taken at its height, before it begins to fall.

Divide the dough into four equal portions; mould on your paste-board, and form them into loaves; put these on well-floured tin or earthen plates, and place them immediately in the oven.

Of the Oven. --A brick oven, heated with wood, is far superior to any other for baking bread, as well as for most other purposes, being much more easy to regulate, as well as more economical, than an iron one.

If the brick oven be a good one, it will heat sufficiently in an hour. Kindle the fire with some quick burning material; then fill it up with hard wood, split fine and dried; let the wood burn down, stir the coals evenly over the bottom of the oven, and let them lie till they are like embers. When the oven is sufficiently hot, the bricks at the arch and sides will be clear from any color of smoke. Sweep out the oven:


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throw in a little flour on the bottom; if it turns black at once, do not put in the bread, but let it stand a few moments and cool.

It is a good rule to put the fire in the oven when the dough is made up--the latter will rise, and the former heat in about the same time.

When the bread is in the oven it must be kept closed, except it is opened for a moment to see how the bread appears. If the oven is properly heated, loaves of the size named, will be done 1 1/2 or 2 hours. They will weigh 3 1/2 lbs. nearly, per loaf.

When loaves are done, place them on a clean shelf in a cool pantry. If the crust should be scorched, or the bread too much baked, the loaves, when taken from the oven, may be wrapped in a clean coarse towel, which has been slightly damped. Keep a light cloth over all the loaves. When one has been cut, it should be kept in a tight box to prevent its drying.

Obs.--Three things must be exactly right in order to have good bread--the quality of the yeast; the lightness or fermentation of the dough; and the heat of the oven. No precise rules can be given to ascertain these points. It requires observation, reflection, and a quick, nice judgement, to decide when all are right.

Milk Bread. --To 14 pounds of flour use a pint of yeast, 4 eggs, and milk of the warmth it comes from the cow; make it into a dough, the thickness of hasty-pudding; leave it 2 hours to rise; sift over it a sufficient quantity of fine salt; work it with flour to a proper consistence. It takes a quick oven: always try a little bit before the bread is made up, as it will show the state of the bread as well as the oven.*

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 377 in the original text.]

*If the oven is cold, it will sodden; if too hot, it will burn; if the bread has not been enough worked, it will rise in holes. The proof of well-made bread is the fine, close, yet light texture. Some flour takes much more working than others, and some, more water.

A very light Potato Bread. --Dry 2 pounds of fine flour, and rub into it a pound of warm mealy potatoes; add warm milk and water, with a sufficient quantity of yeast and salt, at the proper time; leave it 2 hours to rise in a warm corner, in winter; bake it in tin shapes, otherwise it will spread, as the


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dough will rise very light. It makes nice hot rolls for butter. An excellent tea or bun bread is made of it, by adding sugar, eggs, and currants.*

Bread for flatulent Stomachs. --Add to a pound of well-dried sifted flour 8 eggs; sift in a pound of sugar; beat all together for an hour and a half; form it into cakes, and bake them in a quick oven.+

Excellent Household Bread --Take 4 quarts of the best flour, a tea-spoonful of salt, three table-spoonsful of yeast, a pint and a half of warm water.

Another Excellent Bread. --Sift half a peck of the finest flour into a kneading-trough; make a hole in the middle, and put in half a pint of warm milk, and half a pint of good yeast; work it with a little of the flour; cover it well up in a warm place an hour to rise; add 1 1/2 pint of milk and half a pint of water, of a proper warmth, with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and 2 spoonsful of sugar; knead it well, and set it again before the fire; put in a little fine pounded salt; knead it well; form it, and put it again before the fire to rise; bake in a quick oven.

Obs.--Where families bake but once a week--often the case in the country during winter--they will find simple additions very economical, as the bread goes much farther, and, if well made, keeps longer sound and good. In families, two kinds of bread are generally made; and this management holds equally good with both. When the large batch is made, a certain quantity may be taken off, into which a little butter or top-pot, eggs, carraway-seeds, currants, ginger, &c., may be added; also, sugar may be worked in. Two or three different cakes may be thus prepared for breakfast, tea, or the children. Such cake-bread is more nourishing than rich cakes, and less likely to injure children.

*When bread gets stale, particularly at sea, where it is very apt to get mouldy, dip it in water, wipe, and dry it in a middling hot oven. It may also be cut in pieces, and dried as hard as rusks. Sugar and eggs should always be put into bread for sea store, as it keeps longer.

+When bread sours upon flatulent stomachs, instead of having recourse to diet bread, it is better to soak good light bread in a quantity of hot or cold water; this takes out the gelatine, which may be done in more or less quantity according to the degree necessary to the stomach for which it is prepared.

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Brown, or Dyspepsia Bread. --This bread, made of unbolted wheaten flour, is an excellent article of diet for the dyspeptic, and would be beneficial for most persons of sedentary habits. The most difficult point in making this bread is to obtain good pure meal. To make it, take 6 quarts of meal, 1 tea-cupful of good yeast, and half a tea-cupful of molasses; mix these with a pint of milk-warm water, and a tea-spoonful of pearl-ash or saleratus: make a hole in the flour, and stir in this mixture in the middle of the meal till it is like batter. Proceed as with fine flour bread. When sufficiently light, make the dough into 4 loaves, which will weigh 2 lbs. per loaf, when baked. It requires a hotter oven than fine flour bread, and must bake about an hour and a half.

Rye and Indian Bread. --There are many different proportions of mixing it--some put one-third Indian meal with two of rye; others like one-third rye and two of Indian; others prefer it half and half.

If you use the largest proportion of rye meal, make your dough stiff, so that it will mould into loaves; when it is two-thirds Indian, it should be softer, and baked in deep earthen or tin pans, after the following rule:

Take 2 quarts of sifted Indian meal; put it into a glazed earthen pan, sprinkle over it a table-spoonful of fine salt; pour over it about a quart of boiling water, stir and work it till every part of the meal is thoroughly wet; Indian meal absorbs a greater quantity of water. When it is about milk-warm, work in 1 quart of rye meal and a tea-cupful of lively yeast, mixed with half a pint of warm water; add more warm water, if needed. Work the mixture well with your hands: it should be stiff, but not firm as flour dough. Have ready a large, deep, well-buttered pan; put in the dough, and smooth the top by putting your hand in warm water, and then patting down the loaf. Set this to rise in a warm place in the winter; in the summer it should not be put by the fire. When it begins to crack on the top, which will usually be in about an hour or an hour and a half, put it into a well-heated oven, and bake it nearly 3 hours. It is better to let it stand in the oven all night, unless the weather is warm. Indian meal requires to be well cooked. The loaf will weigh about 4 lbs. Pan bread keeps best in large loaves.

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Indian bread is economical, and, when wheat is scarce, is a pretty good substitute for dyspepsia bread.

Obs.--Many use milk in mixing bread. In the country, where milk is plentiful, it is a good practice, as bread is certainly richer wet with sweet milk than with water; but it will not keep so long in warm weather.

Baking can very well be done in a stove; during the winter this is an economical way of cooking; but the stove must be carefully watched, or there is danger of scorching the bread.

Yeast. --It is impossible to have good light bread, unless you have lively, sweet yeast. When common family beer is well brewed and kept in a clean cask, the settlings are the best of yeast. If you do not keep beer, then make common yeast by the following method:--

Take 2 quarts of water, 1 handful of hops, 2 of wheat bran; boil these together 20 minutes; strain off the water, and while it is boiling hot, stir in either wheat or rye flour, till it becomes a thick batter; let it stand till it is about blood-warm; then add a half pint of good smart yeast and a large spoonful of molasses, if you have it, and stir the whole well. Set it in a cool place in summer, and a warm one in winter. When it becomes perfectly light, it is fit for use. If not needed immediately, it should, when it becomes cold, be put in a clean jug or bottle; do not fill the vessel, and the cork must be left loose till the next morning, when the yeast will have done working. Then cork it tightly, and set in a cool place in the cellar. It will keep 10 or 12 days.

Obs.--Never keep yeast in a tin vessel. If you find the old yeast sour, and have not time to prepare new, put in saleratus, a tea-spoonful to a pint of yeast, when ready to use it. If it foams up lively, it will raise the bread; if it does not, never use it.

To Preserve Yeast. --Lay the yeast with a brush on a board or tub, and as it dries, lay on more, and continue to do so till it cracks and falls off; put it into clean bottles, and cork it well. This is excellent for taking to sea, where sugar-beer with little trouble might be made in any quantity, and always fresh.

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To Assist Yeast. --When there is a scarcity of yeast, use the following method: Work into half a pint of water a spoonful of flour, until it becomes smooth, and boil it; put it into a jug and stir it till it cools. When milk-warm, put in a spoonful of yeast, and a spoonful of moist sugar; stir them well, and put in a warm place, and if well made, there will be as much in a short time as will raise 3 pecks of flour; the bread made of this yeast requires to be laid 5 hours before it is baked.

To Extract Bitter from Yeast. --Beat it up with the white of an egg; add a double quantity of water; beat all well together: cover it; let it stand all night, and pour off the water, when it will be sweet; 1 egg is sufficient for a quart of yeast.

Milk Yeast. --Take 1 pint of new milk; 1 tea-spoonful of fine salt, and a large spoon of flour--stir these well together; set the mixture by the fire, and keep it just lukewarm; it will be fit for use in an hour. Twice the quantity of common yeast is necessary; it will not keep long. Bread made of this yeast dries very soon; but in the summer it is sometimes convenient to make this kind when yeast is needed suddenly.

Hard Yeast. --Boil 3 ounces of hops in 6 quarts of water, till only 2 quarts remain. Strain it, and stir in while it is boiling hot, wheat or rye meal till it is thick as batter. When it is about milk-warm, add half a pint of good yeast, and let it stand till it is very light, generally about 3 hours; then work in sifted Indian meal till it is a stiff dough. Roll it out on a board; cut it into oblong cakes about 3 inches by 2, and half an inch thick. Lay these cakes on a smooth board, over which a little flour has been dusted; prick them with a fork, and place the board in a dry clean room, where the sun and air may be freely admitted. Turn them every day. They will dry in a fortnight, unless the weather be damp. When the cakes are perfectly dry, put them in a coarse cotton bag; hang it up in a cool, dry place. If rightly prepared these cakes will keep a year.

Two cakes will make yeast enough for a peck of flour. Break them into a pint of lukewarm water, and stir in a table-spoonful of flour, the evening before you bake. Set the mixture where it can be kept moderately warm. In the morning it will be fit for use.

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> ROLLS.

French Rolls are usually made by the bakers, but in country houses, where families bake their own bread, they may be done in either of the following ways:--

Sift 1 lb. of flour, and rub into it 2 ozs. of butter; mix in the whites only of 3 eggs beaten to a froth, and a table-spoonful of strong yeast; to which add enough of milk, with a little salt, to make a stiff dough, and set it, covered, before the fire to rise--which will take about an hour; and, if cut into small rolls, and put into a quick oven, will be done in little more than 10 minutes.

Or:--Take quarter of peck of the very finest flour, 1 oz. of butter melted in milk and water: mix with it 2 or 3 spoonsful of yeast, according to its strength, and strain it through a hair sieve; whisk the white of an egg and work it into a light paste, add salt, and leave it all night. Then work it up well again and make it into rolls.

English Rolls. --Sift 1 lb. of flour into a pan, and mix with it a small tea-spoonful of salt. Warm a gill of milk and water; make a hole in the middle of the flour and put into it a gill of brewer's yeast, making it all into a thin batter, which must be stirred until quite free from lumps: then strew a handful of flour over it; set it in a warm place, and leave it to rise, which will take 2 hours or more; let it, however, remain until it has cracked on the top, and then make it into a dough with more milk and water. Knead it well for 10 minutes, cover it, and set it again to rise for 20 minutes longer. Then form the dough into small rolls, bake them, and send them to table hot.

Or:--To 2 lbs. of flour well dried, and 1 pint of water milk-warm, put 3 spoonsful of yeast: then knead in 2 ozs. of fresh butter and a little salt, and work all well together. The oven must be very quick, and quarter of an hour will bake them; the dough should make 12 rolls.

Or:--One pound and a half of flour, a pint of milk, 1 egg, and 2 spoonsful of yeast, well mixed and set before the fire to rise, will make still nicer rolls, and 20 minutes will bake them. They should be served hot, cut in 3, buttered, put together again, and covered when brought to table.

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Rolls. --Warm an ounce of butter in half a pint of milk, then add a spoonful and a half of yeast of small beer, and a little salt. Put 2 pounds of flour into a pan, and put in the above. Set it to rise for an hour; knead it well; make it into 7 rolls, and bake them in a quick oven.

Hot Short Rolls. --Dry before the fire a sufficient quantity of flour to make three penny rolls, or larger if you like; add to it an egg well beaten, a little salt, 2 spoonsful of yeast, and a little warm milk; make into a light dough, let it stand by the fire all night. Bake the rolls in a quick oven.

Light Rolls. --Take 1 lb. of flour, and rub in it a little butter and salt; mix as much milk and yeast in it as will wet it; knead them together; after it is light, knead it again; make the rolls 1 hour before they are to be baked; let the oven be quick.

Another receipt for Light Rolls. --Mix together 2 quarts of flour; and a lump of butter as big as an egg melted with a little milk and water, enough to make the flour the consistency of dough; add 2 table-spoonsful of yeast, and set it before the fire to rise; then make it into rolls and bake them half an hour in a quick oven.

Fresh Rolls. --Take 3 quarts of flour; 3 eggs, and a piece of butter as large as a walnut; mix them with milk enough to moisten them well, and as little yeast early in the morning. Stir the dough well and make it into rolls. Set them by the fire to rise, and when risen bake them in a quick oven.

Part of this dough rolled very thin and baked quickly makes a nice breakfast bread.

Milk Toast. --Boil a pint of rich milk; then take it off the fire and stir into a it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, with a small tablespoonful of flour, and a teaspoonful of salt. Let it come again to a boil. Have ready two deep plates, with 6 slices of toasted bread in each. Pour the milk over them hot, and keep them covered till they go to table. Milk toast is generally eaten at breakfast.

Milk Biscuit. --Take three-quarters of a pound of flour, and


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put in a wine-glassful of yeast, half a pint of milk, and little salt. Roll the dough into small balls, and set them to rise. When risen sufficiently, bake them in a quick oven.

Biscuits. --A pound and a half of flour, made wet with equal quantities of milk and water, moderately warm, made stiff and rolled out very thin; cut them to any size you please, prick them, and bake them in a moderate oven on a tin. No flour to be put on the tins or biscuits.

Soda Biscuit. --Take 1 lb. of flour, and mix it with milk enough to make a stiff dough; dissolve in a little milk 1 tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda; add this to the paste, with a tea-spoonful of salt. Work it well together, and roll it out thin; cut it into round biscuits, and bake them in a moderate oven. The yolk of an egg is sometimes added.

A Galette. --The galette is a favorite cake in France, and may be made rich, and comparatively delicate, or quite common, by using more or less butter for it, and by augmenting or diminishing the size. Work lightly three-quarters of a pound of good butter into 1 lb. of flour, add a large salt-spoonful of salt, and make these into a paste with the yolks of a couple of eggs mixed with a small cup of good cream should it be at hand; if not, with water; roll this into a complete round, three-quarters of an inch thick; score it in small diamonds, brush yolks of egg over the top, and bake the galette for about half an hour in a tolerably brisk oven; it is usually eaten hot, but is served cold also. 1 oz. of sifted sugar is sometimes added to it.

A good galette:--flour, 1 lb.; butter, three-quarters of a pound; salt, 1 salt-spoonful; yolks of eggs, 2; cream small cupful: baked half an hour. Common galette: flour, 2 lbs.; butter, three-quarters to 1 lb.; no eggs.

Tea Cakes. --Rub into 1 lb. of flour 2 ozs. of butter, beaten egg, and half a tea-spoonful of salt; wet it with warmed milk; make the paste rather stiff, and let it remain before the fire, where it will be kept warm for an hour or two then roll it thin, and cut it with the top of a tumbler; bake it quick.

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Breakfast Cake. --Put into a quart of flour four ounces of butter, and, if you use new milk, put in three large spoonfuls of yeast; make it into biscuits, and prick them with a fork.

If you have sour milk, omit the yeast, and put a tea-spoonful of pearlash in the sour milk; pour it while effervescing into the flour. These biscuits are less likely to injure the health than if raised with yeast.

Cream Short Cakes. --In the country, where cream is plenty, this is a favorite cake at the tea table. Rub into a quart of flour a bit of butter as large as an egg, sprinkle over a tea-spoonful of salt; take half a pint of thick cream, a little sour, half a tea-spoonful of pearlash dissolved in water, poured into the cream, and milk added sufficient to wet the flour. Some use all cream, and that sweet. Then there needs no pearlash. It is expensive food.

Belvidere Cakes, for Breakfast or Tea. --Take 1 quart of flour, 4 eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, a piece of lard the same size; mix the butter and lard well in the flour; beat the eggs light in a pint bowl, and fill it up with cold milk; then pour it gradually into the flour; add a tea-spoonful of salt; work it for 8 or 10 minutes only; cut the dough with a knife the size you wish it; roll them into cakes about the size of a breakfast-plate, and bake in a quick oven.

Laplands, for Breakfast or Tea. --Beat separately the whites and yolks of 5 eggs; add 1 pint of rich cream, and 1 pint of flour, or perhaps a little more--enough to make it the consistency of pound-cake. Bake it in small round tins, in a quick oven.

Sally Lunn Tea Cakes. --To 1 quart of milk, add a quarter of a pound of butter, 3 eggs, (yolks and whites beaten separately,) 1 tea-spoonful of salt, 1 gill of yeast; beat it very light. Let it rise an hour, and bake it in a quick oven.

Nun's Puffs. --Boil for a few minutes 1 pint of milk with half a pound of butter; then stir the milk and butter into three-quarters of a pound of flour; stir it until it does not stick to the sides of the pot; let it cool; add the yolks of 9 eggs;


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beat the whites to a stiff froth and stir them in last. Butter small round tins, and fill them half full.

Rusks. --Beat 7 eggs well, and mix with half a pint of new milk, in which have been melted 4 ozs. of butter; add to it a quarter of a pint of yeast and 3 ozs. of sugar, and put them by degrees into as much flour as will make a very light paste, rather like a batter, and let it rise before the fire half an hour; then add some more flour to make it a little stiffer, but not stiff. Work it well, and divide it into small loaves or cakes, about 5 or 6 inches wide, and flatten them. When baked, and cold, slice them the thickness of rusks, and put them in the oven to brown a little. The cakes, when first baked, eat deliciously, if buttered for tea; or, made with carraways, to eat cold.

Flannel Cakes. --Beat the yolks of 3 eggs, and put them into 1 quart of milk; stir in flour till it is about the thickness of buckwheat or pan-cake batter; then add 2 table-spoonsful of yeast--if the yeast be good, 1 1/2 will do; and lastly, the whites of the 3 eggs, beaten light. Let it rise about 3 hours, and bake it on a griddle as you would buckwheat cakes.

Or:--Stir into 2 pints of flour as much milk as will make a light batter. Melt a large lump of butter, and add with it a little salt. Beat together 5 eggs, and stir them into the batter.

These cakes are to be baked on a griddle. Serve them with powdered sugar.

Muffins. --Take 1 pint of new milk, 1 pint of hot water, 4 lumps of sugar, 1 egg, half a pint of good brisk yeast, and flour enough to make the mixture quite as thick as pound-cake. Let it rise well; bake in hoops on a griddle.

Rice Muffins. --Rice muffins are made in the same manner exactly as rice cakes, except that the batter of the former is thinner--that is, to a quart of milk and 3 eggs, you put less rice and less flour.

Rice Cakes. --Boil a cupful of rice until it becomes a jelly; while it is warm, mix a large lump of butter with it and a little salt. Add as much milk to a small tea-cupful of flour as will make a tolerable stiff batter--stir it until it is quite


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smooth, and then mix it with the rice. Beat 6 eggs as light as possible, and add them to the rice.

These cakes are fried on a griddle as all other pancakes--they must be carefully turned.

Serve them with powdered sugar and nutmeg. They should be served as hot as possible, or they will become heavy--and a heavy pancake is a very poor affair.

Crumpets. --Take 3 tea-cups of raised dough, and work into it, with the hand, half a tea-cup of melted butter, 3 eggs, and milk to render it a thick batter. Turn it into a buttered bake-pan; let it remain 15 minutes, then put on a bake-pan, heated so as to scorch flour. It will bake in half an hour.

Batter Cakes. --Beat 2 eggs, put them in half a pint of milk and a tea-cup of cream, with half a tea-spoonful of pearlash dissolved in it; sprinkle a tea-spoonful of salt, and grate half a nutmeg, a little cinnamon, and rose-water, if you like. Stir in sifted flour till the batter is smooth and thick. Bake them on a griddle or in a pan. Butter the pan well, and drop the batter in small round cakes and quite thin. They must be turned, nicely browned, but not made black; lay them on a plate, in a pile, with a little butter between each layer. This batter will make good pancakes, fried in hot lard.

Buckwheat Cakes. --Take 1 quart of buckwheat meal, a handful of Indian meal, and a tea-spoonful of salt; mix them with 2 large spoonsful of yeast and sufficient cold water to make a thick batter; beat it well; put it in a warm place to rise, which will take 3 or 4 hours; or, if you mix it at night, let it stand where it is rather cool.

When it is light, bake it on a griddle or in a pan. The griddle must be well buttered, and the cakes are better to be small and thin.

Indian Slapjacks. --Mix 1 pint of sifted Indian meal and 4 large spoonsful of wheat flour into a quart of new milk, and 4 eggs beaten, and a little salt. Bake them on a griddle, like buckwheat cakes; eat with butter and molasses.

Raised Flour Waffles. --Stir into a quart of flour sufficient lukewarm milk to make a thick batter. The milk should be


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stirred in gradually, so as to have it free from lumps. Put in a table-spoonful of melted butter, a couple of beaten eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, and half a tea-cup of yeast. When risen, fill your waffle-irons with the batter, bake them on a bed of coals. When they have been on the fire between 2 and 3 minutes, turn the waffle-irons over--when brown on both sides, they are sufficiently baked. The waffle-irons should be well greased with lard, and very hot, before each one is put in. The waffles should be buttered as soon as cooked. Serve them up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon.

Quick Waffles. --Mix flour and cold milk together, to make a thick batter. To a quart of the flour put 6 beaten eggs, a table-spoonful of melted butter, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Some cooks add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and half a nutmeg. Bake them immediately.

Rice Waffles. --Take a tea-cup and a half of boiled rice--warm it with a pint of milk, mix it smooth, then take it from the fire, stir in a pint of cold milk, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Beat 4 eggs, and stir them in, together with sufficient flour to make a thick batter.

Wafer Cakes. --Wafer cakes are an excellent tea-cake, and they do not take long to make, although a little practice is necessary before they can be successfully made.

Beat 3 eggs quite light. Wash a little less than a quarter of a pound of butter, to extract the salt from it, and mix it with a quarter of a pound of sifted sugar--add the beaten eggs a tea-spoon of rose-water, and as much flour (that has been carefully passed through a sieve) as will make a stiff batter. Stir the batter with a wooden spoon until it is perfectly smooth and so tight as to break when it falls against the sides of the vessel. Your wafer-iron should be heated, but not too hot, or the butter will burn. Grease the iron with butter tied up in a linen rag, twice doubled. Fill the iron with the batter and close it. Place it in the fire in such a manner that both sides will heat at once; if this cannot be done, turn the iron frequently. The batter should be cooked in about 2 minutes.

Take out the wafer, split it open with a knife, and butter it or sprinkle it with pounded sugar and roll it over a smooth stick made for the purpose.

Grease the iron every time you put in the batter.

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Indian Meal Bread. --Mix 1 quart of Indian meal with enough boiling milk or water to make a very stiff batter; stir in a tea-cupful of molasses and a tea-spoonful of salt, with half a tea-spoonful of saleratus dissolved in a little hot water. Let the mixture stand till it is lukewarm, then add a gill of baker's yeast; stir it well together, and let it stand in a warm place to rise, for 2 hours. Then fill to the depth of an inch buttered basins with the mixture; bake it one hour in a moderate oven, and serve it hot.

Indian Meal Muffins. --Scald a quart of Indian meal with enough boiling water to made a thick batter; let it cool; when lukewarm, add a small tea-cupful of butter, a table-spoonful of yeast, a tea-spoonful of salt, and 2 eggs well beaten. Put it in a warm place for 2 hours, then bake it in muffin rings, on a hot griddle. When one side is well browned, turn them.

They may be made without the yeast, if baked as soon as they are mixed.

Indian Meal Cake for Breakfast. --Pour enough boiling water on a pint of corn meal to make a stiff dough; dissolve in a little hot water half a tea-spoonful of saleratus, and stir it in the meal, with 1 tea-spoonful of salt, 2 eggs well beaten, and a table-spoonful of butter. Stir the materials well together, and bake it in buttered tin pans for half an hour in a quick oven. Serve it hot.

Another Indian Meal Cake. --Take 1 quart of milk, and stir into it enough Indian meal to make a very thick batter; beat well 4 eggs and add them to the batter, with a tea-spoonful of salt; fill small buttered tin pans with this mixture, 1 inch deep, and bake them in a moderate oven from forty minutes to one hour. Open the oven as seldom as possible.

Bannock or Indian Meal Cakes. --Stir to a cream 1 1/4 lb. of brown sugar, a pound of butter--beat 6 eggs, and mix them with the sugar and butter; add a tea-spoonful of cinnamon or ginger; stir in 1 3/4 lb. of white Indian meal, and a quarter of a pound of wheat flour, (the meal should be sifted.) Bake it in small cups, and let it remain in them till cold.

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Johnny Cake. --Take a quart of sifted Indian meal, sprinkle a little salt over it, and mix it with scalding water, stirring it well; bake it on a board before the fire, or on a tin in a stove. It is healthy food for children, eaten warm (not hot) with molasses or milk.

Indian cake made with buttermilk, or sour milk, with a little cream or butter rubbed into the meal, and a tea-spoonful of pearl-ash in the milk, is very light and nutritious.

Indian Slappers. --Take 1 quart of Indian meal, 2 quarts of milk, and 4 eggs; beat the eggs and put them into the milk and then stir in the meal with a little salt. They require no rising and may be made 5 minutes before they are to be baked. Bake them on a griddle, as you would buckwheat cakes.

Hoe Cakes. --Scald 1 quart of Indian meal with just water enough to make a thick batter. Stir in 2 tea-spoonsful of salt and 2 table-spoonsful of butter. Put it in a buttered tin pan and bake it half an hour.

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> CHAPTER XXIX.

COFFEE, TEA, CHOCOLATE.

To roast Coffee--Coffee made in a filter--Coffee Milk--With hot water--Cold water--French Method--Tea--Boiling water--Chocolate--Cocoa.

To roast Coffee. --The best coffee is from Mocha; but this can very rarely be procured. Coffee imported in small parcels is better flavored than that in bulk, from the circumstance that the latter is apt to become heated. To have coffee in the greatest perfection, it should be roasted, ground, and made, in immediate succession. As that will seldom happen, the rule should be observed as nearly as circumstances will allow. Whilst kept, after roasting, the air should be excluded from it, as in a closed bottle or jar. A good mode of roasting is in an earthen basin, placed in an oven with the door open, the coffee to be frequently stirred with a spoon. This mode is said to allow certain coarse particles to fly off, and to render the flavor more delicate than when the coffee is roasted in the usual close cylinder.

Coffee made in a French Filter or Grecque. --In a quart filter put 2 ozs. of coffee, newly ground, upon the filter, put on the presser, and then the grating, pour slowly on the latter about three parts of a pint of boiling water, and let it filter through, keeping the nozzle of the coffee-pot covered with the sheath, and the lid on the grating; when it has filtered through, add a like quantity of boiling water; and when this has passed through, add the remaining quantity, press down the coffee grounds, remove the upper portion containing filter and grating, put on the lid and serve.

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Coffee Milk. --Boil a dessert-spoonful of coffee in nearly a pint of milk a quarter of an hour, then put in a little isinglass and clear it, and let it boil a few minutes, and set it on the fire to grow fine.

To make Coffee with hot water. --Pour hot water into your coffee-pot, and then stir in your coffee, a spoonful at a time, allowing three to every pint of water; this makes strong coffee. Stir it to prevent the mixture from boiling over, as the coffee swells, and to force it to combine with the water. This will be done after it has boiled gently a few minutes. Then let it stand and boil slowly for half an hour; remove it from the fire, and pour in a tea-cup of cold water, and set it in the corner to settle. As soon as it becomes clear, it is to be poured, gently, into a clean coffee-pot for the table.

Made in this manner, it may be kept two or three days in summer, and a week in winter; you need only heat it over when wanted.

The grounds and sediment may be boiled over and used once for coffee.

To make Coffee with cold water--(Excellent). --upon 2 ozs. of coffee pour 7 cups of cold water, then boil it until the coffee falls to the bottom; when the froth has disappeared, and it is clear at the top like boiling water, it must be taken off the fire and be allowed to stand; but as it often requires clearing, a little cold water should be poured in it the instant it is taken off the fire from boiling. A quicker way of clearing it is by putting in a small piece of isinglass; when it has stood a sufficient time to settle, pour it off into another coffee-pot, and it is fit for use.

French method of making Coffee. --The principal points are these:--The coffee, Turkey or Bourbon, should be roasted only till it is of a cinnamon color. The coffee should be coarsely ground soon after it is roasted, but not until quite cool. The proportions for making coffee are usually 1 pint of boiling water to 2 1/2 ozs. of coffee. The coffee being put into the water, the coffee-pot should be covered up, and left for 2 hours surrounded with hot cinders, so as to keep up the temperature, without making the liquor boil. Occasionally stir it, and after two hours' infusion, remove it from the fire,


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allow it a quarter of an hour to settle, and when perfectly clear, decant it. Isinglass is sometimes used to clarify the coffee; but by this addition you lose some portion of its delicious aroma.

This is the café-noir served after dinner in French families, without cream or milk; the sugar is served in lumps.

Tea. --Tastes differ regarding the flavor of various sorts of tea: some preferring all black; others, all green; and many, a mixture of both in different quantities; though most persons--when not fearful of their nerves--agree that fine Hyson is the best. A good mixture, in point of flavor, we know to be two-fifths black--two-fifths green, and one-fifth gunpowder: all being, of course, of superior quality.

Presuming all ladies to be intimately acquainted with the mode of making tea, yet, to some, a few hints on the subject may not perhaps be found objectionable.

First, never make it in any other than a highly-polished tea-pot, for it is a chemical fact that metal retains the heat longer than earthenware; and the better it is polished, the more completely will the liquid be kept hot, and the essence of the tea be extracted. A silver tea-pot is decidedly the best; for you will be sure that the metal is not mixed up with zinc or other materials of a pernicious nature.

Secondly, see that the water be really boiling, not simmering, as is too commonly the case when taken from an urn, but kept either on the fire until boiled, or in one of those metal tea-kettles warmed by a spirit-lamp, as formerly used by our grandmothers, and now--thanks to good taste in tea-drinking--again coming into fashion.

A good way of making Tea. --A tea-spoonful of tea for each person. Heat the tea-pot first with some boiling water, then pour that into the tea-cups to warm them; put in the tea, and pour water enough on the tea to cover it; let it stand 3 or 4 minutes, then nearly fill the tea-pot with water, let it stand a few minutes, and pour out, leaving some portion of tea in the pot when you replenish, that all the strength may not be poured away in the first cup.

Obs.--Never add fresh tea to that which has already been made, by way of strengthening it; for it will not have that


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effect; but in case of its being too weak, then put the tea into a large tea-cup, fill it up with boiling water, and leave it there closely covered, for a few minutes, after which throw the contents into the tea-pot.

Tea another way. --Scald the tea-pot with boiling water; then put in the tea, allowing 3 tea-spoonsful to a pint of water--or for every 2 persons. Pour on the water. It must be boiling hot, and let the tea steep about 10 minutes.

Black tea is considered healthier than green. Hyson and Souchong mixed together, half and half, is a pleasanter beverage than either alone, and safer for those who drink strong tea than to trust themselves wholly with green.

Boiling water. --Too little attention is paid to the water we use, which may accidently contain much poisonous matter from the substances it passes over, so that, if it is not filtered, ought to be strained through a thick linen bag, with a sponge in it.

In boiling water, no attention is paid to the long ebullition which forces out the fixed air, and renders it very unhealthy and that which is generally used for tea is boiled half away. Therefore, be ready to make tea when the water boils.

Chocolate. --This forms the common breakfast throughout Spain; and, is there made by chipping a portion of the cake and leaving the chips in water for a whole night to soften. It may then be slowly warmed, along with either water or milk, working it all the time with the mill, which is a small moveable pole passed through the lid of a chocolate-pot, and furnished with a headpiece in order to mix the chocolate equal by turning the mill rapidly between the hands and without intermission, thus to prevent it from becoming clotty; care, however, should be taken not to let it boil; for, in that case, the vegetable oil which is contained in the nut will be extracted from it and appear on the surface. The flavor is better retained by making it in water than milk.

To make Chocolate; (French receipt.) --An ounce of chocolate, if good, will be sufficient for one person. Rasp, and then boil it from 5 to 10 minutes with about 4 table-spoonsful of water; when it is extremely smooth add nearly a pint of new milk, give it another boil, stir it well, or mill it, and serve


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directly. For water-chocolate use three-quarters of a pint of water instead of the milk, and send rich hot cream to table with it. The taste must decide whether it shall be made thicker or thinner.

Chocolate, 2 ozs.; water, quarter pint, or rather more; milk, 1 3/4 pint: half minute.

Obs.--See page 207--that plate is a chocolate-mill, or similar. Work the stick quickly around between both hands to froth the chocolate, or stir it with a silver fork.

To make Chocolate another way. --To each square of chocolate, scraped off fine, and put in the pot, allow a pint (less if you like it strong) of water. Stir it while boiling, and let it be uncovered. Let it boil about 15 minutes, or half an hour, then pour in your cream or rich milk, and let it boil up. Nutmeg grated over a cup of chocolate improves the flavor.

Cocoa. --An excellent breakfast beverage may be made by simply pounding the nut--which is the substance of chocolate--and boiling it in the same manner in either water or milk. The best quality is that of Caraccas, which is small, very dark-colored, and appears as if partly mouldy or broken; while that usually to be found in the shops is plump and glossy, and the patent sort, or paste, still more inferior; it being always made from the cheapest kind, and not unfrequently from that which has been damaged.

Cocoa Shells or Nibs, or as they are more appropriately called in Ireland, "Miserable," are the thin coverings of the cocoa kernel, and can only be had at some chocolate manufactory, where they can be bought at a very low price, and form a light food for an invalid, when taken warm.

Soak them in water during the whole night, and then boil them in the same water until reduced to half the quantity: they should boil 2 hours, and should then be mixed up with milk.

Fine Broma. --Powder half a pound of pure chocolate, and mix it with 12 ounces of loaf sugar and 2 ounces of arrow-root, and pass the whole through a fine sieve.

Obs.--Cocoa is very digestible, and of a fattening nature. In cold weather it is a healthy as well as nutritious beverage.

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> CHAPTER XXX.

LIQUEURS AND SUMMER BEVERAGES.

Water-Filter--Soda Water--Beer--Spruce--Ginger--Mead--Nectar--Syrup--Lemonade--Orange Water--Raspberry Vinegar--Verjuice--Curaçoa--Ratafia--Noyeau--Mint Julep--Sherbets--Nut Beverages--Punch--Milk Lemonade--Bishop--Mulled Cider--Mulled Wine--Home-made Wines.

OBSERVATIONS.--Water is the best beverage to quench thirst and preserve the system in perfect health. But this requires pure, sweet, wholesome water, and such a beverage is not often found: therefore, substitutes or antidotes are sought out. People who decline entirely the use of these, must be very particular to clarify the water they use; and it would be well if this were done by all.

A Cheap Water-Filter. --Make a mattress of charcoal to fit a large common flower-pot,--put it in the bottom, with a mattress of sand over it, each about 5 inches thick; hang this pot on a cock, with a vessel under to receive the water. Where there is no filter, this is in every one's power.

Obs.--A bit of quick-lime thrown into a water-cask is useful in purifying the water. Agitating the water and exposing it to the air, will both soften it and help to keep it fresh. Strain muddy water through a fine sieve, in which a cloth and sponge, or layer of fine sand or charcoal is placed.

Soda Water rarely contains any soda; it being merely common water charged with fixed air. It is often drunk to neutralize acid in the stomach, in which case 15 or 20 grains of carbonate of soda, finely powdered, should be put into a large glass, and the contents of a bottle of soda water poured on it.

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Seidlitz Powders. --These form a cooling and effervescent aperient, and correct acidity of stomach. To make half a dozen powders, mix 12 drams of powdered Epsom salts with 12 scruples of carbonate of soda powdered, and divide into 6 parts, in blue papers. Divide also into 6 parts, in white papers, 4 drams of tartaric acid in fine powder. Mix in 2 glasses.

Cheap Small Beer.--To 12 quarts of cold water, add 1 1/2 pint of strong hop tea, and 1 1/2 pint of molasses. Mix it well together, and bottle it immediately. It will be fit for use the next day, if the weather is warm.

Common Beer. --Two gallons of water to a large handful of hops is the rule. A little fresh-gathered spruce or sweet fern makes the beer more agreeable, and you may allow a quart of wheat bran to the mixture; then boil it 2 or 3 hours. Strain it through a sieve, and stir in, while the liquor is hot, a tea-cup of molasses to every gallon. Let it stand till luke warm, pour it into a clean barrel, and add good yeast, a pint, if the barrel is nearly full; shake it well together; it will be fit for use the next day.

Spruce Beer. --Allow an ounce of hops and a spoonful of ginger to a gallon of water. When well boiled, strain it, and put in a pint of molasses, and half an ounce or less of the essence of spruce; when cool, add a tea-cup of yeast, and put into a clean tight cask and let it ferment for a day or two, then bottle it for use. You can boil the sprigs of spruce-fir in room of the essence.

Ginger Beer Quickly Made. --A gallon of boiling water is poured over three-quarters of a pound of loaf-sugar, 1 ounce of ginger, and the peel of 1 lemon; when milk-warm, the juice of the lemon and a spoonful of yeast are added. It should be made in the evening, and bottled next morning, in stone bottles, and the cork tied down with twine.

Good brown sugar will answer, and the lemon may be omitted, if cheapness is required.

Ginger Beer. --Put in a perfectly clean tub or bucket, 4 lbs. of brown sugar; 1 1/2 oz. of race ginger cracked; 1 oz. of cream


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of tartar; 4 gallons of boiling water. When cool, add half pint of home-made yeast; cover it with a cloth, and let it stand precisely 24 hours. Then skim it, strain it through a cloth, and bottle and cork it tight. Do not let the beer go into the neck of the bottles or they will burst. This quantity will fill 16 bottles. It will be fit for use in 3 or 4 days. If it is needed in 2 days, put in 1 pint of yeast. This is a particularly acceptable beverage in warm weather.

Eau Sucre. --Sweeten boiling water with sugar to your taste. This beverage is much used by French ladies. It is considered soporific, and good for fatigued or weak nerves.

Simple Mead. --One part of honey is dissolved in 3 parts of water, and boiled over a moderate fire till it is reduced to two-thirds of the quantity. It is then skimmed, and put into a barrel, which must be quite full; it is allowed to subside for 3 or 4 days, and then drawn off for use.

To make it from the combs from which honey has been drained, they are to be beaten in warm water, and after the liquor has subsided, it is to be strained.

The cottagers in Scotland make an excellent beer by adding a little yeast to the strained liquor, and allowing it to ferment, for a few days, in a cask, and then bottling it.

Mead. --To each gallon of water put 4 lbs. of honey; boil it 1 hour; when the scum has done rising pour the liquor into a tub, and when cool put a toast with yeast spread over it into the tub; allow it to stand until the next day; then pour it into the cask and put the bung lightly over it; let it stand 1 year in the barrel.

Syrup for Liqueurs. --Put a quart of water into a saucepan, and let it boil; then drop into it, lump by lump, 1 lb. of loaf-sugar. When all the sugar is dissolved, let it boil again, and put it into a broad dish to cool; when cool it is fit for use.

Nectar. --Take 2 lbs. of raisins chopped, and 4 lbs. of loaf-sugar, and put them into a spigot-pot; pour 2 gallons of boiling water upon them. The next day, when it is cold, slice 2 lemons into it. Let it stand 5 days, stirring it twice a-day. Then let it stand 5 days more to clear; bottle it, put it into a cold cellar for 10 days, and it will be fit to drink.

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Syrup of Currants. --Pick ripe currants, and put them into a stew-pan over the fire, so that they get hot and burst; press them through a sieve, and set the liquor in a cool cellar for 36 hours; then strain it through cloths, sweeten with loaf-sugar, and bottle for use. The juice of cherries and raspberries may be prepared as above.

This syrup, mixed with spring water, makes a refreshing summer drink.

Raspberry Vinegar. --Put 1 quart of raspberries into a quart of the best vinegar, and let them stand a week, stirring them occasionally; then add 1 pound of loaf-sugar, boil slowly 20 minutes, strain, and bottle.

Or: Cover raspberries with the best vinegar, let them stand a day, and strain through a flannel bag; then make a syrup that will feather, and boil an equal quantity of it and the raspberry juice for 10 minutes; strain it through a cloth, and bottle.

Strawberry acid may be made in the same way.

Lemonade. --Three lemons to a pint of water, makes strong lemonade; sweeten to your taste.

This is the best beverage for social parties; cool, refreshing, pleasant and salubrious.

Orangeade. --Roll and press the juice from the oranges in the same way as from lemons. It requires less sugar than lemonade. The water must be pure and cold, and then there can be nothing more delicious than these two kinds of drink.

Orange Water. --Mix with a quart of spring water the juice of 6 sweet oranges and that of 2 lemons; sweeten with capilaire, or syrup. This water iced is a delicious evening drink.

Orgeat. --Blanch 1 pound of sweet and 1 ounce of bitter almonds, and pound them in a marble mortar, with water enough to prevent oiling; then mix with them 1 pint of spring water and a quarter of a pint of rose or orange-flower water; rub through a lawn sieve, and to the liquor add 2 pounds of loaf-sugar; boil together, and skim, and when cold, bottle it. For use, shake the bottle, and pour a table-spoonful into a tumbler of cold water.

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Lemon Syrup. --Boil 2 lbs. of loaf or crushed sugar with 2 pints of water; skim it till clear; then add the juice of 8 good lemons. The juice should not be strained till the syrup is done. Boil in the juice for about 10 minutes the rind of 3 lemons. Let it boil 15 or 20 minutes. Strain and bottle it. This quantity will fill two claret bottles.

Excellent Portable Lemonade. --Rasp with a quarter-pound of sugar, the rind of a very fine juicy lemon, reduce it to powder, and pour on it the strained juice of the fruit. Press the mixture into a jar, and when wanted for use dissolve a table-spoonful of it in a glass of water. It will keep a considerable time. If too sweet for the taste of the drinker, a very small portion of nitric acid may be added when it is taken.

To Prepare Verjuice. --Press unripe currants, grapes, or gooseberries, without bruising the seeds, and strain the juice through a linen cloth; bottle it and expose it uncorked to the sun for 6 or 7 days. The liquor will ferment, and the bottles must be filled up every morning. When the fermentation has ceased, decant the liquor into other bottles, cork them and store them, for use.

Verjuice is much used in France as a summer beverage; a little syrup or sugar being mixed with it, and water then added.

Curaçoa. --Take 1 lb. of the dried peel of the Seville orange, wash it in several lukewarm waters, then drain it over a sieve; put it into a jar with 8 pints of brandy and 2 of water; let it stand for a fortnight, shaking it frequently; strain it. Melt 5 lbs. of sugar in 3 pints of water, mix it with the liquor and strain it.

Ratafia. --Blanch 2 ozs. of peach and apricot kernels, bruise and put them into a bottle, and fill nearly up with brandy. Dissolve half pound of white sugar-candy in a cup of cold water, and add to the brandy after it has stood a month on the kernels, and they are strained off; then filter through paper, and bottle for use. The distilled leaves of peaches and nectarines, when the trees are cut in the spring, are an excellent substitute for ratafia in puddings.

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Noyeau. --The real liqueur under this name is made in the island of Martinique, upon a foundation of French brandy, with a species of berry grown in the island, and sweetened with syrup. It requires age to give it the flavor of the berry, and even in the West Indies is far from being cheap. The following recipes, however, are good imitations.

Blanch 3 ozs. of bitter and the same quantity of sweet almonds, and bruise them in a mortar; add them, with the rind of 2 lemons, to 1 quart of English gin, which must be kept in a moderate heat for 3 days and nights. Shake the bottle 3 or 4 times a-day, then add 14 ozs. of loaf-sugar dissolved in half a pint of boiling water, and let it stand 1 day and night longer, shaking the bottle frequently; then strain it, and filter it afterwards in blotting-paper such as the chemists use; bottle it, and it will be fit to drink in 6 months, but will improve by keeping for a year.

Or:--To 1 quart of English gin, or, what is better, of good French brandy, put 3 ozs. of bitter almonds, blanched and cut into pieces, and the rind of 3 lemons. Let it stand 3 days before the fire, shaking the bottle 2 or 3 times a-day; then add 1 lb. of good loaf-sugar, or half a pint of syrup; let it dissolve, shaking it frequently during the day or two which it will take; then filter it through blotting-paper.

Mint Julep (an American Recipe.) --Strip the tender leaves of mint into a tumbler, and add to them as much wine, brandy, or any other spirit, as you wish to take. Put some pounded ice into a second tumbler; pour this on the mint and brandy, and continue to pour the mixture from one tumbler to the other until the whole is sufficiently impregnated with the flavor of the mint, which is extracted by the particles of the ice coming into brisk contact when changed from one vessel to the other. Now place the glass in a larger one, containing pounded ice: on taking it out of which it will be covered with frost-work.

Turkish Sherbets. --Extract by pressure or infusion the rich juice and fine perfume of any of the odoriferous flowers or fruits; mix them in any number and quantity to taste.

When these essences, extracts, or infusions are prepared, they may be immediately used, by mixing in proper proportions


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of sugar; or syrup and water, some acid fruit, such as lemon, pomegranate, tamarind, &c., are added to raise the flavor, but not to overpower the perfume, or taste of what the sherbet is made.

These sherbets are very healthy, having all that is exhilarating, with the additional refreshing and cooling qualities so requisite in hot countries, and free from fermentation, which is destructive in certain degrees to health, however satisfying for the moment.

Almond and Nut Beverages. --Dry and clear the nuts from the skins, and blanch the almonds; make them very crisp in the mouth of the oven, preserving them perfectly white, and reduce them into fine powder with triple-refined sugar, and serve it in a crystal basin along with iced water.

This may also be perfumed or acidulated by drying any essence or colors into the sugar, before it is pounded.

To make Punch. --To make 2 quarts, provide 2 fine fresh lemons, and upon a few lumps of sugar rub or grate off the outer peel; put the sugar into a bowl, and add half a pound of white sugar, in powder, upon which press the juice of the lemons; mix the whole with a crusher, add the thin rind of another lemon, and 2 1/2 pints of very hot water that has not boiled. The sherbet being thus prepared, add a pint of rum, and half a pint of brandy; stir together; pass it through a silver strainer, or one of wood and muslin, and let it stand a few minutes before it is drunk. Whisky punch may also be made as above.

In making punch, there are a few points to be specially attended to. The water should not be at boiling heat when it is mixed, nor should it before have been boiled, else the punch will not have the creamy head so much relished: the powdered sugar will likewise aid this effect. Punch should be well mixed, which may be done by stirring in each ingredient as it is added; or, a good plan is to pour the punch from one jug to another, so that it be not too much cooled in the pouring.

Punch, when made with green tea instead of water, is excellent; or, if it be mixed in a large tea-pot instead of a bowl, upon green tea leaves.

Arrack will much improve punch: its flavor may be imitated


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by dissolving a scruple of the flower of benjamin in each pint of rum. The juice and thin peel of a Seville orange add variety of flavor to punch; especially of whisky punch; lime-juice is also an excellent addition. On no account, however, should citric acid be substituted for the fresh juice of the lemon, since it lacks the delicate flavor and perfume of the fresh fruit.

Several additions may be made to soften the flavor of punch: as a wine-glass of porter, or of sherry; a table-spoonful of red currant jelly; a piece of fresh butter or the substitution of capillaire for sugar.

Milk Punch. --Grate 6 oranges and 6 lemons with loaf sugar; pare them very thinly, and steep the peel for a day in a bottle of rum or brandy; squeeze the oranges and lemons upon 2 pounds of loaf sugar, including that with the peel flavor, and pour on it 4 quarts of water and 1 of new milk, both boiling; strain the rum or brandy from the peels into the above, and run it through a jelly-bag till clear, when bottle and cork it.

Delicious Milk Lemonade. --Dissolve 6 ounces of loaf sugar in a pint of boiling water, and mix with them a quarter pint of lemon-juice, and the same quantity of sherry; then add three-quarters of a pint of cold milk, stir the whole well together, and pass it through a jelly-bag till clear.

Bishop. --Roast 4 good-sized bitter oranges till they are of a pale brown color; lay them in a tureen, and put over them half a pound of pounded loaf sugar, and 3 glasses of claret; place the cover on the tureen, and let it stand till next day. When required for use, put the tureen into a pan of boiling water, press the oranges with a spoon, and run the juice through a sieve; then boil the remainder of the bottle of claret, taking care that it do not burn; add it to the strained juice, and serve it warm in glasses.

To Mull Cider. --If your cider be hard, reduce it with water to a palatable strength; set it on to boil with a few allspice in it. For every quart of cider take 8 eggs, and, while the cider is heating, beat the eggs in a large pitcher, with as much sugar as you may think sufficient: by the time the cider boils, they


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will be light; then pour the boiling liquid on them, and continue to pour the liquid from one pitcher to another until it has a fine froth on it. When you pour it into glasses, grate a little nutmeg over it.

Mulled Wine, in prose. --Add to 1 quart of wine 1 pint of water and 1 table-spoonful of allspice; boil them together a few minutes; beat up 6 eggs with sugar to your taste; pour the boiling wine on the eggs, stirring it all the time. Be careful not to pour the eggs into the wine, or they will curdle.

MULLED WINE IN VERSE.

"First, my dear Madam, you must take
Nine eggs, which carefully you'll break--
Into a bowl you'll drop the white,
The yolks into another by it.
Let Betsy beat the whites with switch,
Till they appear quite frothed and rich--
Another hand the yolks must beat
With sugar, which will make them sweet;
Three or four spoonsful may be'll do,
Though some, perhaps, would take but two.
Into a skillet next you'll pour
A bottle of good wine, or more--
Put half a pint of water, too,
Or it may prove too strong for you:
And while the eggs (by two) are beating,
The wine and water may be heating;
But, when it comes to boiling heat,
The yolks and whites together beat
With half a pint of water more--
Mixing them well, then gently pour
Into the skillet with the wine,
And stir it briskly all the time.
Then pour it off into a pitcher;
Grate nutmeg in to make it richer.
Then drink it hot, for he's a fool
Who lets such precious liquor cool."

Home-made Wines. --When sugar is cheap and fruit plentiful, household wines may be added to the store of home comforts as easily as preserves. These wines are useful in many kinds of cookery, and may be made by families who have gardens, at a comparatively small cost.

They should be thoroughly fermented, and never be used till they are more than a year old.

The substances essential to vinous fermentation are--sugar,


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vegetable extract, the tartaric or malic acids, and water. Sugar is the most essential of these, as from its decomposition alcohol is derived. The most saccharine juices, therefore, produce the strongest wine; hence the necessity of adding sugar to all fruit in which the tartaric acid predominates.

The use of brandy is quite unnecessary, if the wine is properly fermented, and it keeps sound much better without it.* Yeast also should never be used in wine made of fresh fruit, as if the proportions are properly adjusted, the fruit will ferment of itself.

Ripe Grape Wine. --Grape wine is the finest of all homemade wines. In a plentiful year, 15 pounds of grapes, or even 20 pounds should be used to each gallon of water. They should be picked from the stalks, and slightly broken with the hand; let them stand for 3 days, when press them, draw off the liquor and wash any remaining flavor from the husks. Add 2 pounds of good sugar to each gallon of the juice and water, and draw it off into a cask to ferment: examine it carefully once a week, and when the fermentation has nearly subsided, rack it off; if it has been reduced, put into the cask 1 pound of sugar candy, bung it down, and let it stand 15 months before it is bottled.

Very superior wine is made from the pure juice of ripe grapes, with from 1 to 2 pounds of sugar, and 1 ounce of crude tartar to each gallon.

To make Seven gallons of good Grape Wine. --Take 4 1/2 gallons of water, and 5 gallons of ripe grapes; crush the fruit, and soak it in the water for a week; then add 18 pounds of good loaf-sugar, ferment, and put into a 7 gallon cask. Wine made as above may be kept good for 10 years.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 405 in the original text.]

*The use of wine is permitted, we may add encouraged, by Scripture authority; and, though the abuse of this privilege, when extended to intoxicating drinks in general, has led to such dreadful results of crime and misery, as to induce many Christians to abstain entirely from wines, as well as from distilled liquors, yet that the former may be considered, under proper restrictions, a suitable and beneficial beverage, is certain--because the Word of God sanctions their use. Therefore, a few receipts for the manufacture of these domestic wines, in which not a drop of distilled spirit is admitted, are necessary to the wise household economy we advocate, that provides for every taste and enjoyment compatible with health, humantiy, and virtue.

Wine from Unripe Grapes. --As the stems and husks of


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grapes give no bad flavor to the fruit, it may be used in any stage of ripening, or different degrees may be mixed together. The fruit is in the best state when just beginning to ripen. For every gallon take 5 lbs. of fruit; have a tub which will hold 15 or 20 gallons; bruise the grapes into this so thoroughly that if possible every berry shall be mashed; when the whole are in, stalks and all, add 4 gallons of cold spring-water; mix all well with the hand till the juice and pulp are separated from the more solid matter; cover the tub, and let it stand 24 hours; strain it through a coarse bag, and squeeze the fruit quite dry; pour a gallon of water over the solid mass, to get any soluble matter which may remain. Put into a tub or cooler 30 lbs. of loaf sugar; pour the fluid upon it, first measuring it; make up with water to the total bulk of 10 1/2 gallons; mix this until the sugar is dissolved. This is called the must, and is equivalent to the juice of the grape. Cover up the vessel with a board, over which throw a blanket, and let it stand in a moderate temperature for 24 hours or more, according as it may appear to begin to ferment. Put it into the cask, which should be kept full to the bung-hole, and a little inclined to one side to let the scum work off: you have half gallon of must for this purpose. There should be a hole near the bung which should be stopped with a wooden peg, and when the bung is closed up, the peg should in a day or two be loosened, that the fixed air may have vent: this should be repeated at intervals till the excessive expansion has ceased, when the peg may be driven tight. The best way to keep the bung air-tight is to paste a double piece of brown paper over it. Let the wine remain in a cool cellar till a clear warm day in January, then rack it off, and let it stand to the end of March before bottling. It will keep for many years. If it is a brisk or champagne wine, it will be very good the following summer. When racked and clarified, the isinglass should be dissolved in a little of the wine, and well mixed in the barrel.

Green Gooseberry and Green Currant may be made in exactly the same way.

Currant Wine. --Gather the currants when dry, extract the juice, either by mashing and pressing the fruit, or putting it in a jar, placed in boiling water; strain the juice, and for every


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gallon allow 1 gallon of water and 3 pounds of sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and take off the scum; let it cool add it to the currant juice, and put the mixture in a keg, but do not close it tightly till it has ceased fermenting, which will not be under a week. In 3 or 4 weeks it may be bottled. The white of an egg beaten, mixed with a tea-spoonful of cream of tartar, and stirred into the liquid, makes the wine look clear and bright.

Or:--To every 3 pints of fruit, carefully cleared from any that is mouldy or bad, put 1 quart of water; bruise the former. In 24 hours strain the liquor, and put to every quart 1 lb. of sugar, of good middling quality of Lisbon. If for white currants use lump-sugar. It is best to put the fruit, &c., in a large pan; and when in 3 or 4 days the scum rises, take that off before the liquor is put into the barrel.

Those who make from their own gardens may not have sufficient to fill the barrel at once: the wine will not be hurt if made in the pan in the above proportions, and added as the fruit ripens, and can be gathered in dry weather. Keep an account of what is put in each time.

French Currant Wine. --Dissolve 8 pounds of honey in 15 gallons of boiling water; to which, when clarified, add the juice of 8 pounds of red or white currants. Then ferment for 24 hours, to every 2 gallons add 2 pounds of sugar, and clarify with whites of eggs.

French Blackberry Wine. --Boil together 5 gallons of ripe blackberries, 7 pounds of honey, and 6 gallons of water; strain, and leave the liquor to ferment; then boil it again, and put it into a cask to ferment.

Elder Wine. --To every gallon of picked ripe berries, allow 1 gallon of water, and let them stand 24 hours, often stirring them; then put them into a copper, and boil well for half an hour, when draw the whole off, and strain it through a sieve; put the juice into the copper a second time, and to each gallon add 3 1/2 lbs. of moist sugar; boil it for half an hour, and, within the last 5 minutes, add, tied in muslin, bruised ginger and all-spice, of each 4 ounces to every 10 gallons; then take out the spice, and, when cool, set the must to work, with some good


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yeast upon a toast. When it ceases to ferment put it into a cask, bung down closely, let it stand 3 or 4 months, and bottle it, though it may remain in the wood if more convenient. The addition of a few damsons, sloes, or any rough plum, to the elder-berries, will give this wine the roughness of port. It will likewise be improved by the addition of crude tartar, before the wine is set to ferment.

A superior elder wine may be made by using, instead of moist sugar, 4 pounds of loaf sugar to every gallon of mixed juice and water.

A rich and pleasant Wine. --Take new cider from the press, mix it with as much honey as will support an egg, boil gently 15 minutes, but not in an iron, brass, or copper pot; skim it well; when cool, barrel it, but do not quite fill the cask. In March following bottle it, and it will be fit to drink in 6 weeks, but will be less sweet if kept longer in the cask. You will have a rich and strong wine, and it keeps well. This will serve for any culinary purposes which sack or sweet wine is directed for.

Honey is a fine ingredient to assist, and render palatable, new crabbed austere cider; but this should be made from apples that are perfectly sound and of good quality.

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> CHAPTER XXXI.

PREPARATIONS OF FOOD FOR INVALIDS.

General Observations--To make Gruel--Caudle--Arrow-Root--Tapioca--Sago--Sago Milk--Ground Rice Milk--Milk Restorative--Suet--Asses' Milk--Barley--Baked--Calves' Feet--Isinglass--Jellies--Panadas--Sippets--Broths--Eggs--Stews--Puddings--Bread--Luncheon--Wheys--Buttermilk--Drinks.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. --In the "Introductory, or the Philosophy of Cookery"--(see page vii.)--will be found many interesting facts respecting the properties and effects of different kinds of food on the human constitution. From the philosophy thus set forth, rules of diet may be formed which will, undoubtedly, be of much advantage in preserving health. But still people will, at times, be sick and, for these, particular care in preparing food is necessary. Many receipts, suitable for invalids, are scattered through this volume, but we have here brought together such as are more particularly intended for the sick. These preparations, requiring great nicety and exactness, should rarely be left to a domestic.

One of the loveliest accomplishments of a lady is to understand how to make the invalid in her family comfortable. Food prepared by the kind hand of a wife, mother, sister, friend, has a sweeter relish than the mere ingredients can give, and a restorative power which money cannot purchase. These receipts will enable the watchful attendant to vary the food, as choice or symptoms may render expedient. Jellies and meat broths, together with the various kinds of farinaceous food, are the lightest on the stomach, as well as, generally, the most nutritious for an invalid. Milk preparations are useful when


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the lungs are weak. Food that the stomach can digest without distressing the patient, is the kind that gives actual strength.

To make Gruel. --Mix a dessert spoonful of fine oatmeal or patent groats, in 2 of cold water, add a pint of boiling water, and boil it 10 minutes, keeping it stirred.

Or, boil a quarter of a pint of groats in a quart of water for about 2 hours; and strain through a sieve.

Stir into the gruel a small piece of butter, and some sugar, nutmeg, or ginger, grated: or, if it be not sweetened, add a small pinch of salt.

Indian Meal Gruel. --Sift the Indian meal through a fine sieve; wet 2 spoonsful of this meal with cold water, and beat it till there are no lumps; then stir it into a pint and a half of boiling water, and let it boil half an hour, stirring it all the time. Season it as liked best.

Barley Gruel. --Wash 4 ozs. of pearl-barley; boil it in 2 quarts of water with a stick of cinnamon, till reduced to a quart; strain and return it into the sauce-pan with sugar and three-fourths of a pint of port wine; or, the same quantity of milk. Heat up, and use as wanted.

[Illustration: An illustration of an upside down cone with a flat circular base. At the top of the cone is a handle and an opening that resembles a spout.]

The Etna. --This useful little machine is almost indispensable in a sick room. It enables you to have a pint of water boiled in a few minutes by means of a small quantity of spirits of wine burnt in the saucer under the cup. A little measure is sold with it, by which the quantity required can be regulated according to whether the fluid to be heated is required to be boiled or not.

Flour Caudle. --Mix, smoothly, a table-spoonful of flour with a gill of water; set on the fire in a sauce-pan a gill of new milk, sweeten it, and, when it boils, add the flour and water; simmer and stir them together for a quarter of an hour.

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White Caudle. --Make the gruel as above, strain through a sieve, and stir it till cold. When to be used, sweeten it to taste, grate in some nutmeg, and add a little white wine: a little lemon-peel, or juice, is sometimes added.

The yolk of an egg, well beaten, may likewise be stirred in when the gruel is boiling.

Rice Caudle. --This may be made with water or milk; when it boils, add some ground rice, previously mixed smoothly with a little cold water; boil till thick enough when sweeten it, and grate in nutmeg, or add a little powdered cinnamon.

Arrow-root. --It is very necessary to be careful not to get the counterfeit sort; if genuine, it is very nourishing, especially for persons with weak bowels. Put into a sauce-pan half a pint of water, a glass of sherry or a spoonful of brandy, grated nutmeg, and fine sugar; boil up once, then mix it by degrees into a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root, previously rubbed smooth with 2 spoonfuls of cold water.

Or:--Mix a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root with a little cold water, have ready boiling water in a kettle, pour it upon the arrow-root until it becomes quite clear, keeping it stirred all the time; add a little sugar. Where milk may be taken, it is very delicious made in the same way with milk instead of water, a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root, and half a pint of milk; add a small bit of lemon-peel.

Tapioca. --Choose the largest sort, pour cold water on to wash it 2 or 3 times; then soak it in fresh water 5 or 6 hours, and simmer it in the same until it becomes quite clear; then put lemon-juice, wine, and sugar. The peel should have been boiled in it. It thickens very much.

Sago. --Cleanse it by first soaking it an hour in cold waters, and then washing it in fresh water. To a tea-cupful add a quart of water and a bit of lemon peel, simmer it till the berries are clear, season it with wine and spice, and boil it all up together. The sago may be boiled with milk instead of water, till reduced to one-half, and served without seasoning.

Sago Milk. --Cleanse as above, and boil it slowly, and wholly with new milk. It swells so much, that a small quantity


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will be sufficient for a quart, and when done it will be diminished to about a pint. It requires no sugar or flavoring.

Ground Rice Milk. --Boil 1 spoonful of ground rice, rubbed down smooth, with 1 1/2 pint of milk, a bit of cinnamon, lemon peel and nutmeg. Sweeten when nearly done.

Restorative Milk. --Boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass in a pint of new milk till reduced to half, and sweeten.

Suet Milk. --Cut one ounce of mutton or veal suet into shavings, and warm it slowly over the fire in a pint of milk, adding a little grated lemon-peel, cinnamon and loaf-sugar.

Imitation of Asses' Milk. --Boil together equal quantities of new milk and water, add 1 ounce of candied eringo-root: sweeten with white sugar-candy, and strain.

Or: Stir into a gill each of milk and boiling water a well-beaten egg, and sweeten with white sugar-candy.

Barley Milk. --Boil half a pound of washed pearl barley in 1 quart of milk and half a pint of water, and sweeten: boil it again, and drink it when almost cold.

Baked Milk --Is much recommended for consumptions. The milk should be put into a moderately-warm oven, and be left in it all night.

Calves' Feet and Milk. --Put into a jar 2 calves' feet with a little lemon-peel, cinnamon, or mace, and equal quantities of milk and water to cover them; tie over closely, and set in a slack oven for about 3 hours: when cold, take off the fat; and sweeten and warm as required.

Sheep's Trotters. --Simmer 6 sheep's trotters, 2 blades of mace, a little cinnamon, lemon-peel, a few hartshorn shavings, and a little isinglass, in 2 quarts of water, to 1; when cold, take off the fat, and give nearly half a pint twice a-day warming with it a little new milk.

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Isinglass. --Boil 1 oz. of isinglass shavings, 40 Jamaica peppers, and a bit of brown crust of bread, in a quart of water, to a pint, and strain it.

This makes a pleasant jelly to keep in the house; of which a large spoonful may be taken in wine and water, milk, tea, soup, or any way most agreeable.

Gloucester Jelly. --Boil in 2 quarts of water, till reduced to 1 quart, the following ingredients: hartshorn shavings, isinglass, ivory shavings, barley and rice, one ounce of each.

When this jelly, which is light and very nourishing, is to be taken, a few table-spoonsful of it must be dissolved in a little milk, together with a bit of cinnamon, lemon peel, and sugar. It will be very good without the seasoning.

Bread Jelly. --Cut the crumb of a penny roll into thin slices, and toast them equally of a pale brown; boil them gently in a quart of water till it will jelly, which may be known by putting a little in a spoon to cool; strain it upon a bit of lemon peel, and sweeten it with sugar. A little wine may be added.

Rice Jelly. --Boil half a pound of Carolina rice, and a small piece of cinnamon, in two quarts of water for one hour; pass it through a sieve, and when cold it will be a firm jelly, which, when warmed in milk and sweetened, will be very nutritious; add 1 pint of milk to the rice, in the sieve, boil it for a short time, stirring it constantly, strain it, and it will resemble thick milk, if eaten warm.

Strengthening Jelly. --Simmer in 2 quarts of soft water, 1 ounce of pearl barley, 1 ounce of sago, 1 ounce of rice, and 1 ounce of eringo-root, till reduced to 1 quart; take a tea-cupful in milk, morning, noon, and night.

Hemp-seed Jelly. --Bruise hemp-seeds, boil them in water, and strain; afterwards, simmer the liquor until it is of the thickness of gruel.

Tapioca Jelly. --Wash the tapioca, soak it for 3 hours in cold water, in which simmer it till dissolved, with a piece of thin lemon peel; then sweeten, add white or red wine, and take out the peel before using.

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To make Panada in five minutes. --Set a little water on the fire with a glass of white wine, some sugar, and a scrape of nutmeg and lemon peel: meanwhile grate some crumbs of bread. The moment the mixture boils up, keeping it still on the fire, put the crumbs in, and let it boil as fast as it can. When of a proper thickness just to drink, take it off.

Or:--Put to the water a bit of lemon peel, mix the crumbs in, and, when nearly boiled enough, put some lemon or orange syrup. Observe to boil all the ingredients, for, if any be added after, the panada will break and not jelly.

Chicken Panada. --Boil a chicken till about three parts ready in a quart of water; take off the skin, cut the white meat off when cold, and put into a marble mortar: pound it to a paste with a little of the water it was boiled in, season with salt, a grate of nutmeg, and the least bit of lemon peel. Boil gently for a few minutes to the consistency you like; it should be such as you can drink, though tolerably thick.

This conveys great nourishment in a small compass.

Sippets --When the stomach will not receive meat, are very nutritious, and prepared in this simple manner:--

On an extremely hot plate put 2 or 3 sippets (small square pieces) of bread, and pour over them some gravy, from beef, mutton, or veal, with which no butter has been mixed. Sprinkle a little salt over.

Broths, of Beef, Mutton and Veal. --Put 2 lbs. of lean beef, 1 lb. of scrag of veal, 1 lb. of scrag of mutton, sweet herbs, and 10 peppercorns, into a nice tin sauce-pan, with 5 quarts of water; simmer to 3 quarts, and clear off the fat when cold. Add 1 onion, if approved.

Soup or broth made of different meats is more supporting, as well as better flavored.

To remove the fat, take it off when cold as clean as possible; and if there be still any remaining, lay a bit of clean blotting-paper on the broth when in the basin, and it will take up every particle. Or, if the broth is wanted before there is time to let it get cold, put a piece of cork up the narrow end of a funnel, pour the broth into it, let it stand for a few minutes, and the fat will rise to the top remove the cork, and


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draw off in a basin as much of the broth as is wanted, which will be perfectly free from fat.

For a quick-made Broth. --Take a bone or two of a neck or loin of mutton, take off the fat and skin, set it on the fire in a small tin sauce-pan that has a cover, with three-fourths of a pint of water, the meat being first beaten and cut in thin bits; put a bit of thyme and parsley, and, if approved, a slice of onion. Let it boil very quickly; skim it; take off the cover if likely to be too weak, else cover it. Half an hour is sufficient for the whole process.

Calf's Feet Broth. --Boil 2 calf's feet, 2 ozs. of veal, and 2 of beef, the bottom of a penny loaf, 2 or 3 blades of mace, half a nutmeg sliced, and a little salt, in 3 quarts of water, to 3 pints; strain, and take off the fat.

Chicken Broth --May be made of any young fowl which is afterwards to be brought to table; but the best sort is to be procured from an old cock or hen, which is to be stewed down to rags, with a couple of onions, seasoned with salt and a little whole pepper; skim and strain it.

A Weaker kind. --After taking off the skin and rump, put the body and legs of a fowl, from the white meat of which chicken panada has been made, into the water it was boiled in, with 1 blade of mace, 1 slice of onion, and 10 white pepper corns. Simmer till the broth be of a pleasant flavor.

Beef Tea. --Cut half a pound of lean fresh beef into slices, lay it in a dish and pour over it a pint of boiling water; cover the dish and let it stand half an hour by the fire, then just bail it up, pour it off clear, and salt it a very little.

Veal Teais made in the same way, and Chicken Tea also.

To Drink Cold. --Take 1 lb. of lean beef, clear it from every particle of skin, fat, or sinew, rasp or divide it into very small pieces; then put it into a jar, and pour a quart of boiling water upon it; plunge the jar into a kettle of boiling water, let it stand by the side of the fire, but not near enough to simmer, and allow it to grow cold. Then strain the beef


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tea through a muslin sieve, and, if the patient be very delicate, filter it through blotting-paper.

This tea is to be taken when cold, and will remain upon the stomach when other nourishment fails; it may be given to infants.

Eggs. --An egg broken into a cup of tea or beaten and mixed with a basin of milk, makes a breakfast more supporting than tea alone.

An egg divided, and the yolk and white beaten separately, with a little wine put to each, will afford 2 very wholesome draughts, and prove lighter than when taken together.

Eggs very little boiled, or poached, taken in small quantity, convey much nourishment; the yolk only, when dressed, should be eaten by invalids.

Stew for Persons in Weak Health. --Cut veal into slices, and put them into an earthen jar, with sliced turnips, and a little salt; cover closely, set the jar up to the neck in boiling water, and stew till the meat is tender.

To Stew Partridges for the Sick. --Half stew 1 or 2 partridges; cut them up; take out some of the largest bones; put them in a chafing-dish, with the liquor they were stewed in, with a little salt, mace, and lemon-zest; when cooked, send it in the same dish to table.

All sorts of poultry and game are delicate in this way of dressing, and most nutritive and proper for patients that require nourishment.

Puddings for Invalids. --Whatever farinaceous substance is selected for a pudding should be boiled quite tender in milk, and of a good thickness, so that the eggs may just set it, and give it firmness enough to stand without breaking, when turned out of the mould. These puddings for invalids cannot be made too delicate: they should be well steamed for about an hour, or a quarter more, according to the size; and whether the pudding be steamed or baked, it should never be taken from the stew-pan or oven until within 2 or 3 minutes before it is sent to table.

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Brown Bread --Is recommended to invalids for its containing bran, which possesses a resinous, purgative property; but its efficacy is generally counteracted by the bread being made too fine.

Obs.--Fresh bread should never be given to invalids.

Wine Whey. --Set on the fire, in a sauce-pan, a pint of milk; when it boils, pour in as much white wine, foreign or home-made, as will turn it and make it clear; boil it up and set it aside till the curd has settled, when pour off the whey add half as much boiling water, and sweeten it.

Plain Whey. --Put into boiling milk as much alum, cider lemon-juice, or vinegar, as will turn it, and make it clear; then pour it off, add some hot water, and sweeten.

Tamarind Whey. --Boil 2 ounces of tamarinds in 2 pints of milk, and strain: this is an excellent drink in fevers.

Irish or Two Milk Whey. --One third of fresh butter-milk is allowed to two-thirds of sweet-milk; put the milk into a sauce-pan, and make it boiling hot, and then pour in the butter-milk, and gently stir it round the edges of the pan; let it come to a boil, take it off the fire, let it settle, and strain off the whey.

Sour milk may be substituted for butter-milk. An excellent drink in fever.

Vinegar and Lemon Whey. --Pour into boiling milk as much vinegar or lemon-juice as will make a small quantity quite clear, dilute with hot water to an agreeable acid, add a bit or two of sugar. This is less heating than if made of wine, and, if only to excite prespiration, answers as well.

Luncheon for an Invalid. --Put bread crumbs and red currant, or any other jelly, alternately into a tumbler, and when nearly half full, fill it up with milk.

Butter-milk; Good for Consumptive Patients. --Take the milk from the cow into a small churn; in about 10 minutes begin churning, and continue till the flakes of butter swim about pretty thick, and the milk is discharged of all the greasy


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particles, and appears thin and blue. Strain it through a sieve, and drink it frequently.

It should form the whole of the patient's drink; the food should be biscuits and rusks, ripe and dried fruits of various kinds, when a decline is apprehended.

Baked and Dried Fruits --Raisins in particular, make excellent suppers for invalids, with biscuits or common cake.

Butter-milk --Although generally preferred when made from sweet cream, is liked better by some when sour, and is considered more wholesome in that state, as being lighter on the stomach.

> DRINKS.

A soft and fine draught for those who are weak and have a cough may be made thus:--Beat a fresh-laid egg, and mix it with one-fourth of a pint of new milk warmed, a large spoonful of syrup, or loaf sugar, the same of rose-water, and a little nutmeg scraped. Do not warm it after the egg is put in. Take it the first and last thing.

A very agreeable draught is made by putting into a tumbler of fresh cold water a table-spoonful of syrup from preserves, and the same of good vinegar.

Tamarinds, currants, fresh or in jelly, or scalded currants or cranberries, make excellent drinks, with a little sugar or not, as may be agreeable.

A Refreshing Drink in a Fever. --Put a little tea-sage, 2 sprigs of balm, and a little wood-sorrel, into a stone jug, having first washed and dried them; peel thin a small lemon, and clear from the white; slice it, and put a bit of the peel in; then pour in 3 pints of boiling water, sweeten and cover it close.

Perhaps no drink, however, is more refreshing in such a case than weak green tea, into which lemon juice is infused instead of milk. It may be drunk either cold or hot but the latter is the best mode.

Toast and Water. --Toast slowly a thin piece of bread till extremely brown and hard, but not the least black; then


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plunge it into a jug of cold water, and cover it over an hour before used. This is of particular use in weak bowels. It should be of a fine brown color.

Barley Water. --1 oz. of pearl barley, half an ounce of white sugar, and the rind of a lemon, put into a jug. Pour upon it 1 quart of boiling water, and let it stand for 8 or 10 hours; then strain off the liquor, adding a slice of lemon, if desirable. This infusion makes a most delicious and nutritious beverage, and will be grateful to persons who cannot drink the horrid decoction usually given. It is an admirable basis for lemonade, negus, or weak punch, a glass of rum being the proportion for a quart.

Barley Water with Honey. --Add the juice and rind of 1 lemon to 1 table-spoonful of honey and 2 tea-cupsful of barley; put it into a jug, and pour a quart of boiling water upon it.

Barley Water with Isinglass. --A table-spoonful of pearl-barley, 6 lumps of loaf-sugar, half a lemon, and enough isinglass to clear it. Pour 2 quarts of boiling spring water on these ingredients, and let it stand until cold.

Soda Water. --Dissolve 6 drachms of dried carbonate of soda in a quart bottle of water, and 4 1/2 drachms of tartaric acid in another bottle of the same size; pour out a wineglassful from each bottle, and throw them at the same time into a tumbler, when it will immediately effervesce; it should be drunk in this state. This is a good soda water and very cheap. If 10 drops of the muriated tincture of iron be previously put into the tumbler a most excellent and agreeable tonic mineral water is produced, which strengthens the tone of the digestive organs in a very remarkable degree.

Cream of Tartar --When to be taken, either medicinally or as a cooling-drink, may be mixed in the proportion of a heaped tea-spoonful to a pint of water, which has, when hot, been poured upon the thin peel of half a lemon, and allowed to stand till quite cold. Sweeten with honey or sugar.

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Apple Water. --Cut 3 or 4 large apples into slices, put them into a jug, and pour a quart of boiling water over them; cover the jug. When quite cold, strain and sweeten it, and add a little lemon juice.

A Refreshing Drink for the Sick. --Boil 2 ozs. of hartshorn shavings in 1 quart of water; when quite dissolved set it aside to settle, and before it is cold strain it upon half a lemon sliced thin, with sugar to taste; cover it, and let it remain till cold, mixing with it a glass of Moselle or French wine.

Cooling Drink. --A palatable and cooling drink may be made by pouring hot water over slices of lemon; when cold, to be strained and sweetened.

Balm, Mint, and other Teas. --These are simple infusions, the strength of which can only be regulated by the taste. They are made by putting either the fresh or the dried plants into boiling water in a covered vessel, which should be placed near the fire for an hour. The young shoots both of balm and of mint are to be preferred, on account of their strong aromatic qualities. These infusions may be drunk freely in feverish and in various other complaints, in which diluents are recommended. Mint tea, made with the fresh leaves, is useful in allaying nausea and vomiting.

Wholesome Beverage. --Boil a pint of sweet milk, add a teaspoonful of curry powder and sugar to your taste. Drunk warm, it will be found a grateful beverage for those of weak bowels, who may require to go abroad on cold mornings before breakfast.

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> CHAPTER XXXII.

COOKERY FOR CHILDREN.

Observations on the Care of Children--Times of Giving Food important--Duty of Mothers--Food for Infants--Milk--Porridge--Meats--Vegetables--Puddings--To prepare Fruit--Rice and Apples--Fresh Fruits--Blackberry Jam, &c.

SOME preparations of food proper for the young have been given in the course of this work; nevertheless, we are sure a chapter on this important subject, so generally neglected in cookery books, will be welcomed by the judicious.

It is of great consequence to fix the times of taking food, as well as to regulate the quantity given to a child. The mother should, personally, attend to these arrangements; it is her province.

There is great danger that an infant, under 3 years of age, will be over-fed, if it be left to the discretion of the nurse. These persons, generally, to stop the screaming of a child, whether it proceed from pain, or crossness, or repletion (as it often does)--they give it something to eat--often that which is very injurious, to tempt the appetite; if it will only eat and stop crying, they do not care for the future inconvenience which this habit of indulgence may bring on the child and its mother.

Arrange, as early as possible, the regular times of giving food to your children, according to their age and constitution. Young infants require food every 2 hours when awake; after 3 months old, they may go 3 hours--then cautiously lengthen the time, as the child can bear it. But remember that all temperaments are not alike. Some of the same age may require more food than others. One rule, however, will apply to all


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--never give a child food to amuse and keep it quiet when it is not hungry, or to reward it for being good. You may as rationally hope to extinguish a fire by pouring on oil, as to cure a peevish temper or curb a violent one by pampering the appetite for luxuries in diet; and all the traits of goodness you thus seek to foster will, in the end, prove as deceptive as the mirage of green fields and cool lakes to the traveller in the hot sands of the desert.

"My children have very peculiar constitutions," said an anxious mother--"they are so subject to fevers! If they take the least cold, or even have a fall, they are sure to be attacked by fever." The family lived high, and those young children had a seat at the table, and were helped to the best and richest of everything. And their luncheon was cake and confectionary.

It was suggested to the mother that if she would adopt a different diet for those children, give them bread and milk morning and evening, and a plain dinner of bread, meat, and vegetables, their liability to fevers would be much lessened.

"My children do not love milk, and won't touch plain food"--was the answer, with a sort of triumphant smile, as though this cramming of her children with good things till the blood of the poor little creatures was almost in a state of inflammation, was a high credit to her good housekeeping.

But do not err on the other hand; and for fear your child should be over-fed, allow it insufficient nourishment. There is not in our country much reason to fear that such will be the case; the danger is, usually, on the side of excess; still we must not forget that the effects from a system of slow starvation are, if not so suddenly fatal as that of repletion, more terrible, because it reduces the intellectual as well as the physical nature of man, till he is hardly equal to the brutes.

In many parts of civilized and Christian Europe, the mass of the people suffer from being over-worked and under-fed; few may die of absolute starvation, but their term of life is much shortened, and their moral and intellectual powers dwarfed or prostrated.

"Under an impoverished diet," says Dr. Combe, "the moral and intellectual capacity is deteriorated as certainly as the bodily"--and he adverts to the work-house and charitable institution system of weak soups and low vegetable diet, and to the known facts that children brought up on such fare are


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usually feeble, puny and diseased in body, and are at best but moderate in capacity.

The rational course seems to be, to feed infants, till about 3 years old, chiefly with milk and mild farinaceous vegetable preparations; a large portion of good bread, light, well-baked, and cold, should be given them; after that period, to proportion their solid food to the amount of exercise they are able to take. Children who play abroad in the open air, will require more hearty nourishment, more meat, than those who are kept confined in the house or school-room. From the age of 10 or 12 to 16 or 18, when the growth is most rapid and the exercises (of boys especially) most violent, a sufficiency of plain nourishing food should be given; there is little danger of their taking too much, if it be of the right kind and properly cooked. But do not allow them to eat hot bread, or use any kind of stimulating drinks.

Food for a Young Infant. --Take of fresh cow's milk 1 table-spoonful, and mix with 2 table-spoonsful of hot water; sweeten with loaf-sugar as much as may be agreeable. This quantity is sufficient for once feeding a new-born infant; and the same quantity may be given every 2 or 3 hours--not oftener--till the mother's breast affords the natural nourishment.

Thickened Milk for Infants, when 6 months old. --Take 1 pint of milk, 1 pint of water; boil it, and add 1 table-spoonful of flour.

Dissolve the flour first in half a tea-cupful of water; it must be strained in gradually, and boiled hard 20 minutes. As the child grows older, one-third water. If properly made, it is the most nutritious, at the same time the most delicate food, that can be given to young children.

Broth --Made of lamb or chicken, with stale bread toasted, and broken in, is safe and healthy for the dinners of children, when first weaned.

Milk --Fresh from the cow, with a very little loaf-sugar, is good and safe food for young children. From 3 years old to 7, pure milk, into which is crumbled stale bread, is the best breakfast and supper for a child.

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For a Child's Luncheon. --Good sweet butter, with stale bread, is one of the most nutritious, at the same time the most wholesome articles of food, that can be given children after they are weaned.

Milk Porridge. --Stir 4 table-spoonsful of oatmeal, smoothly, into a quart of milk, then stir it quickly into a quart of boiling water, and boil up a few minutes till it is thickened: sweeten with sugar.

Obs.--Oatmeal, where it agrees with the stomach, is much better for children, being a fine opener as well as cleanser; fine flour in every shape is the reverse. Where biscuit powder is in use, let it be made at home; this, at all events, will prevent them getting the sweepings of the baker's counters, boxes, and baskets.*

Meats for Children. --Mutton, lamb, and poultry, are the best. Birds and the white meat of fowls, are the most delicate food of this kind that can be given. These meats should be slowly cooked, and no gravy, if made rich with butter, should be eaten by a young child. Never give children hard, tough, half worked meats, of any kind.

Vegetables for Children, Eggs, &c. --Their rice ought to be cooked in no more water than is necessary to swell it; their apples roasted, or stewed with no more water than is necessary to steam them; their vegetables so well cooked as to make them require little butter, and less digestion; their eggs boiled slow and soft. The boiling of their milk ought to be directed by the state of their bowels; if flatulent or bilious, a very little curry powder may be given in their vegetables with good effect--such as turmeric and the warm seeds (not hot peppers) are particularly useful in such cases.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 424 in the original text.]

*All the left bread in the nursery, hard ends of stale loaves, &c., ought to be dried in the oven or screen, and reduced to powder in the mortar.

Potatoes and Peas. --Potatoes, particularly some kinds, are not easily digested by children; but this is easily remedied by mashing them very fine, and seasoning them with sugar and a little milk.

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When peas are dressed for children, let them be seasoned with mint and sugar, which will take off the flatulency.* Never give them vegetables less stewed than would pulp through a cullender.

Puddings and Pancakes for Children. --Sugar and egg, browned before the fire, or dropped as fritters into a hot frying-pan, without fat, will make them a nourishing meal.

Rice Pudding with Fruit. --In a pint of new milk put 2 large spoonsful of rice well washed; then add 2 apples, pared and quartered, or a few currants or raisins. Simmer slowly till the rice is very soft, then add 1 egg, beaten, to bind it. Serve with cream and sugar or molasses.

Hasty-Pudding --Made of Indian meal, and eaten in milk or with molasses, is nutritious and healthful food.

To Prepare Fruit for Children. --A far more wholesome way than in pies or puddings, is to put apples sliced, or plums, currants, gooseberries, &c., into a stone jar; and sprinkle among them as much Lisbon sugar as necessary. Set the jar in an oven or on a hearth, with a tea-cupful of water to prevent the fruit from burning; or put the jar into a sauce-pan of water till its contents be perfectly done. Slices of bread or some rice may be put into the jar, to eat with the fruit.

Rice and Apples. --Core as many nice apples as will fill the dish; boil them in light syrup; prepare a quarter of a pound of rice in milk, with sugar, and salt; put some of the rice in the dish, and put in the apples, and fill up the intervals with rice, and bake it in the oven till it is a fine color.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 425 in the original text.]

*If they are old, let them be pulped, as the skins are perfectly indigestible by children's or weak stomachs.

A nice Apple Cake for Children. --Grate some stale bread, and slice about double the quantity of apples; butter a mould, and line it with sugar paste, and strew in some crumbs, mixed with a little sugar; then lay in apples, with a few bits of butter


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over them, and so continue till the dish is full; cover it with crumbs, or prepared rice; season with cinnamon and sugar. Bake it well.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 426 in the original text.]

*The summer sickness among children is often caused by their eating too much meat, rich cakes, and high-seasoned, hearty food. During the hot months, they should eat mostly light cold bread, rice, milk, custards, &c., with good ripe fruits.

Fruits for Children. --That fruits are naturally healthy in their season, if rightly taken, no one, who believes that the Creator is a kind and beneficent Being, can doubt. And yet the use of summer fruits appears often to cause most fatal diseases, especially in children. Why is this? Because we do not conform to the natural laws in using this kind of diet. These laws are very simple and easy to understand. Let the fruit be ripe when you eat it; and eat it when you require food.

Now, nearly one half of the summer fruits used are eaten in an unripe or decaying state; more than half sold in the cities are in this condition. And this unhealthy fruit is often taken when no fruit is needed, after the full dinner, or for pastime in the evening. It is given to children to amuse them or stop their crying, when they are often suffering from repletion. Is it a wonder that fruits make people and children sick under such circumstances?*

In the country, fruits in their season usually form part of the morning and evening meal of children with bread and milk; fresh gathered fruits; and they seldom prove injurious, eaten in this manner.

Fruits that have seeds are much healthier than the stone fruits, except perhaps peaches. But all fruits are better, for very young children, if baked or cooked in some manner, and eaten with bread. The French, who are a healthful people, always eat bread with raw fruit.

Apples and winter pears are very excellent food for children, indeed for almost any person in health; but best when eaten at breakfast or dinner. If taken late in the evening, fruit often proves injurious. The old saying that apples are gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night, is pretty near the truth. Both apples and pears are often good and nutritious when baked or stewed, for those delicate constitutions that cannot bear raw fruit.

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Much of the fruit gathered when unripe, might be rendered fit for food by preserving in sugar.

Ripe Currants are excellent for children. Mash the fruit, sprinkle with sugar, and with good bread let them eat of this fruit freely.

Blackberry Jam. --Gather the fruit in dry weather; allow half a pound of good brown sugar to every pound of fruit; boil the whole together gently for an hour, or till the blackberries are soft, stirring and mashing them well. Preserve it like any other jam, and it will be found very useful in families, particularly for children--regulating their bowels, and enabling you to dispense with cathartics. It may be spread on bread, or on puddings instead of butter; and even when the blackberries are bought, it is cheaper than butter. In the country, every family should preserve, at least, a half peck of blackberries.

To make Senna and Manna palatable. --Take half an ounce, when mixed, senna and manna; put it in half a pint of boiling water; when the strength is abstracted, pour into the liquid from a quarter to half a pound of prunes and 2 large table spoonsful of W.I. molasses. Stew slowly until the liquid is nearly absorbed. When cold it can be eaten with bread and butter, without detecting the manna, and is excellent for costive children.

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> CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE DAIRY.

American Dairies--Care of Milk--Devonshire Method--To Make Butter--To Salt Butter--Making up Butter--Summer Butter--Winter Butter--To Cure Butter--Pickle for Butter--To Make Cheese--Cheshire--Stilton--New Cheese--To Keep Cheese--To Soften Old Cheese.

GENERAL REMARKS. --Always make good butter or cheese shows great care and excellent judgement in the farmer's wife. When every department of the dairy is kept perfectly neat, there is hardly any exhibition of woman's industry more likely to make her husband proud, or gratify a beholder of good sense and benevolence, than the sight of a neat dairy-room filled with the rich, valuable productions which her skill has fashioned from the milk of the cow.

"The farmer's wife," says the accomplished Addison, "who has made nine hundred cheese, and brought up half a dozen healthy children, is far more amiable in the eyes of unprejudiced reason, than the fine lady, who has made two millions of insipid visits, and propagated scandal from one end of the town to the other." The moral of this sentiment is true; rational employment, the industry either of hand or head, which produces benefit to society, is the real test of excellence in character,--and few American ladies desire any other standard.

The secret of success in the dairy is strict attention and scrupulous neatness in all its operations. The best time to make butter is in June, when the pastures are rich with clover, and September, when the fall feed is in its perfection.


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July and August are the months for cheese; then the rich new milk and cream cheese are made.

Dairy work must be learned by practice and requires as nice judgement and taste as cake-making. A few general directions may be followed to advantage; but there have not yet been any settled rules for this work which will insure good butter and cheese; it seems to depend very much on the skill of the individual manager, who does not often choose to communicate the secret of her infallible success. It is to be hoped that some of the intelligent women who are eminently successful in managing the dairy, will give the result of their experience--we might then frame receipts which would be very advantageous to the young farmer's wife, and of great benefit to the public; for it is a real calamity to have poor butter and cheese sent to market. Bad butter, particularly, is not only unhealthy, but it entirely spoils every good article of food in which it is mingled. Never purchase it, let it be ever so cheap. It is far better to eat molasses, or honey, or preserves, with bread, and use lard, beef drippings, suet, &c., for gravies and shortening, than to use bad butter.

To insure good butter, you must always scald your pans, pails, &c., in hot water, and then heat them by the fire, or in the hot sun, so that they may be perfectly sweet.*

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 429 in the original text.]

*Such is the English way, and has been followed in our country till lately. A recent discovery is against this plan. It has been found that milk keeps longest in air-tight vessels; and that the light of the sun should never visit milk, butter, or cheese.

"Dairy rooms should be perfectly dark, and in the day time, when the sun shines, no air should be allowed to circulate through them. Air warmed in the sun will spoil butter and cream in 12 hours, if allowed to blow upon it. The vessels in which butter, milk, and cream are to stand, should never be dried in the sun. It would be better to sprinkle a little salt in them and let them stand in a cool cellar."--Northern Farmer.

Care of Milk. --When the milk is brought into the dairy, it should be strained into pans immediately, in Winter, but not till it is cool in Summer.

In Summer, milk should be skimmed in the morning, before the dairy becomes warm, and from 12 to 20 hours after it has been in the pans; in Winter, the milk should stand twice as long. In hot weather, the new milk should be scalded very gently, without boiling, as on a hot hearth, or in a brass kettle of water, large enough to receive the pan.

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A spoonful of scraped horse-radish, put into each pan of milk will keep it sweet for several days.

Cream may be kept for 24 hours by scalding it; and if sweetened with loaf-sugar, powdered, it may be kept 2 days in a cool place. Cream for butter should be kept in a jar in the coolest part of the dairy; it should also be stirred often, and shifted every morning into a scalded vessel.

Devonshire Method of Scalding Milk. --This mode is very advantageous when the dairy is small, or the milk is produced in small quantities; for, by it, the cream may be kept for a long time, so that, instead of having butter rancid from being made with stale or sour cream, the butter is as sweet and fresh as if made from one day's cream. The trouble is trifling; pour the milk into a shallow brass or tin pan, and simmer it over a stove or wood fire until a bubble rises; take it off, let it stand till cold, when skim off the cream, and it may be more readily churned into butter than raw cream.

To Make Butter. --For large quantities of butter, the horizontal or barrel churn is the best; the upright or pump churn being adapted for making butter from the produce of a few cows only.

In Summer, you should churn 3 times a week, or twice a week at least; the churn ought then to be chilled with cold water before the cream is put into it, as well as whilst churning; and in Winter the churn should be soaked some time in warm water before it is used. Sweet cream requires 4 times as much churning as sour.

The quality of the butter depends much upon the temperature at which it is churned, which may be regulated by the aid of the thermometer. The cream should be kept at a moderate temperature. The greatest quantity of butter is obtained at 60 degrees, and the best quality at 55 degrees, in the churn, just before the butter comes. At a higher heat, the butter comes quicker, but in less quantity, and of inferior quality. But when the heat is below 50 degrees, it may be brought up to the temperature required by placing the churn in hot water, but it will be better to wait; as butter thus hastened by hot water is worse than that which is turnip-flavored.

In the course of an hour's churning, more or less, according to circumstances, the butter will come, when the churn should


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be opened, and the butter taken out and put into a shallow pan or tub. The buttermilk should be set aside for pigs or for domestic purposes. The next point is to squeeze the milk from the butter, else it will not keep. This is usually done by spreading the butter in the tub, beating it with the hand, or a flat wooden spoon, and washing it repeatedly with clear spring water, until all milkiness disappears in the water which is poured off. Some persons maintain that the butter is injured by washing, and that the buttermilk should be beaten out of it with the hand, to be kept cool by frequently dipping it into cold water; or with a moist cloth, wrapped in the form of a ball, which soaks up all the buttermilk, and leaves the butter quite dry, No person should work butter who has not a very cool hand; the less it is handled to the better, wherefore a wooden spoon or spatula, is preferable to the hand.

To Salt Butter. --A half ounce of salt to a pound of butter, is the rule. Add a little powdered sugar, say half a tea-spoonful, and less salt; the butter is sweeter and keeps better.

To make up Butter. --Butter requires more working in hot than in cold weather. When it is free from buttermilk, and salted, it should be divided into portions, if it is intended to be eaten soon. It should then be made into rolls of 2 pounds, or circular forms, to be impressed with some figure from wooden print; the rolls are made oblong, with four sides, slightly flattened by throwing the lump on a stone or board successively on each of the four sides, and then on the two ends.

To make prints, first work the butter into balls, and then press on it the wooden pattern: trim the sides up along the edge of the wood, and press the whole against a marble or wooden slab, so as to have the impression uppermost, and form a flattened cake. The wooden print is readily struck by holding it in the left hand, and giving a smart blow with the right upon it. A hole bored through the centre, prevents the butter sticking from the exclusion of the air.

Box-wood moulds, for shaping butter, may be bought at the turners'; they are in the form of fir-cones, pine-apples, shells, and swans, or in little tufts, coral branches, &c.

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Butter in Hot Weather --Is usually soft and unsightly; to prevent which, set the dish in which it is kept to stand in cold spring-water, with a little saltpetre dissolved in it. Butter may also be kept cool in ice, or in water, but it should not stand long in the same water.

Butter in Winter. --To ensure good butter in Winter, wash and beat it free from milk, and work it up quickly with half an ounce of powdered saltpetre, and the same of loaf-sugar, powdered, to every pound of butter; pack it very closely in earthen jars or pots, and in a fortnight it will have a rich marrow flavor; it will keep for many months.

Obs.--To prevent butter made from the milk of a cow fed with turnips having their flavor, pour a pint of boiling water into the milk after milking: or, dissolve an ounce of saltpetre in a pint of water, and put about a quarter of a pint into the cream-pot with the cream from 3 good cows in a week.

To Cure Butter in the best manner. --The following receipt is from "The Housewife's Manual," a work said to have been prepared by Sir Walter Scott.

Having washed and beaten the butter free of buttermilk, work it quickly up, allowing a scanty half ounce of fine salt to the pound. Let the butter lie for 24 hours, or more; then, for every pound, allow a half ounce of the following mixture:-- Take 4 ounces of salt, 2 of loaf-sugar, and a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre. Beat them all well together, and work the mixture thoroughly into the butter; then pack it down in jars or tubs. Instead of strewing a layer of salt on the top of the butter, which makes the first slice unfit for use, place a layer of the above mixture in folds of thin muslin, stitch it loosely, and lay this neatly over the top, which will effectually preserve it.

To Freshen Salt Butter. --Churn it anew in sweet milk, a quart to the pound. The butter will gain in weight.

To Improve Rancid Butter. --Wash it, melt it gradually, skim it, and put to it a slice of charred or hard-toasted bread or some bits of charcoal.

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Pickle for Butter. --Allow half a pound of salt, an ounce of saltpetre, and half a pound of sugar to 3 quarts of water. Dissolve them together; scald and skim the pickle, let it be entirely cold, and then pour it over the butter.

Work out all the Butter-milk. --This must be done, or the butter will not keep well; and do not make the butter too salt.

Never put butter in a pine tub.

> TO MAKE CHEESE.*

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 433 in the original text.]

* These receipts are, chiefly, English; as the cheese made in that country is considered, by many people, superior to American cheese.

Pour out the milk, as soon as brought warm from the cow, into the cheese-tub; add a sufficient quantity of rennet to turn it, and cover it over with a cloth. This will make what is called a one-meal cheese. Let it stand till it is completely turned, when cut the curd with a cheese-knife or skimming-dish, into uniform pieces. Cover up the tub, and allow it to remain about 20 minutes. The pieces having settled, ladle off the whey, gently gather and press the curd towards the side of the tub, letting the whey pass through the fingers. Then break the curd as small as possible, and salt it to taste, either in the proportion of a handful of salt for every six gallons of milk, or about half an ounce to every pound of curd.

If the cheese be made of two meals of milk, unless in very hot weather, a portion of the creamed milk of the first meal should be made scalding hot, and poured back into the cold; then, when well mixed, it should be poured back into the cold; then, when well mixed, it should be poured into the cheese-tub; and the second meal of milk added warm from the cow. If, however, the milk be too hot, the cheese will be tough; as the tenderness of the curd depends upon the coolness of the milk.

In making very rich cheeses, the whey should be allowed to run off slowly; for, if forced, it might carry off much of the fat of the cheese. This happens more or less in every mode of making cheese. To collect this superabundant fat, the whey is set in shallow milk-pans, and an inferior kind of butter, called whey butter, is made from the cream of fat skimmed off.

If the cheese be colored, the substance used for coloring


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should be mixed with the milk at the time the rennet is put in. If herbs, as chopped sage, be added, they are mixed at the same time.

Cheshire Cheese. --In the cheese-making districts of Cheshire the milk is set together very warm, when the curd will be firm; it is then cut crosswise with a knife, in lines about an inch apart, about the depth of the knife-blade, so as to allow the whey to rise between the lines. The curd is then broken uniformly small, with a skimming-dish, and left with a cloth over it an hour to settle. Next, cut the curd into pieces of about an inch square, put it into a cloth, and then into a large wooden drainer, with a cover fitting inside it. Set it before a good fire, and first put on the cover about half a hundred weight, so as to press the curd moderately; in 20 minutes, take out the curd, cut it still smaller, and press as before; and, in 20 minutes longer, cut it and press it again. Then put the curd into a tub or pan, cut it as small as birds' meat, and salt it; next put it into a cloth of thin gauze, into the chessel, or hoop, set it before a fire 12 or 15 hours and then put it into the press, taking it out from time to time and giving dry cloths, till, by the pressing, the cloths come off quite dry; if the last cloth be of a finer texture, dipped in warm water and wrung out, it will give the cheese a finer skin or rind.

Having taken the cheese out of the press, lay it on a dry shelf; at first turn and rub it daily with a dry cloth; and as the cheese becomes firm, turning and wiping twice a week will be sufficient. The following are good proportions: 6 drachms of anotta* to a cheese of 20 to 22 pounds; and 8 or 9 ounces of salt; 70 quarts of milk will make a cheese of the above weight, or about 3 quarts for each pound of cheese.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 433 in the original text.]

*A coloring substance much used in England.

To Make Stilton Cheese. --The best season for making this rich cheese is from July to October. Add the cream of the preceding evening to the morning's milking, and mix them well together; great attention being paid to the even temperature of both, as the quality of the cheese rests much upon this part of the process. To make it in perfection, as much depends on the management of the cheese after it is made as upon


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the richness of the milk. The rennet should be very pure and sweet; when the milk is coagulated, do not break the curd, as in making other cheese, but take it out whole, drain it on a sieve, and press it very moderately. Then put the curd into a shape of the form of a cylinder (ten and a half inches deep, and 8 inches over,) and turn it 4 or 5 times a day into clean cloths. When it is sufficiently firm, bind a cloth or tape round it to prevent its breaking, and set it on a shelf. It should be occasionally powdered with flour, and plunged into hot water; this hardens the outer coat, and assists the fermentation, or ripening.

New Cheese. --Add a little hot water to 6 quarts of milk, warm from the cow, with rennet to turn it; when it is set, cut the curd, put it into a cheese-cloth, and hang it up; in half an hour, again break the curd, hang it up, and allow it to remain a few hours, when put it into the press; on the following day, take out the cheese, salt each side, and in 2 days it will be ready for use.

To Keep Cheese. --The keeping of cheese depends upon the mode of preparing it. Soft and rich cheeses are not intended to be kept long; hard and dry cheeses are best adapted to be kept. Of the first kind are all cream cheeses, and those soft cheeses called Bath cheeses, which are sold as soon as made, and if kept too long, become putrid. Stilton cheese is intermediate. Dutch, Cheshire, and Gloucestershire, and similar cheeses, are intended for longer keeping. The poorer the cheese is, the longer it will keep; and all cheese that is well cleared of whey, and sufficiently salted, may be kept for years. Cheese is often made from skim-milk, but it is never good.

If the milk be from cows fed on poor land, the addition of a pound of fresh butter in making a cheese will much improve it. A few cheeses thus made, in moderately warm weather, and when the cows are in full feed, will be advantageous for the parlor table.

To Soften Old Cheese. --If a cheese be much salted and very dry, wash it several times in soft water, and lay it in a cloth moistened with wine or vinegar; when it will gradually lose its saltness, and from being hard and dry, become soft and mellow, provided it be a rich cheese. This singular method of


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improving cheese, is generally practiced in Switzerland, where cheeses are stored for many years; and if they were not very salt and dry, they would soon be the prey of worms and mites. A dry Stilton cheese may be much improved by the above means.

Good Rules. --Never wash your cheese shelves; but always wipe them clean with a dry cloth, when you turn your cheese.

Do not heat the milk too hot; it should never, for new milk cheese, be more than blood-warm; be sure that your rennet is good, and do not use more than it requires to bring the curd.

Cover the pan or tub in which milk is set to coagulate, and do not disturb it for half an hour or more.

Cut the curd, when fully formed, carefully with a knife; never break it with your hand; and be very particular, when draining it from the whey, not to squeeze or handle the curd; if you make the white whey run from the curd, you lose much of the richness of the cheese.

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> CHAPTER XXXIV.

HINTS FOR A HOUSEHOLD.

Duties of the Mistress--A Word to Domestics--Domestic Economy--Washing Day--To Purify Water--How to Wash Flannels, &c.--How to Clean Paint--Paper--Marble--Furniture--Pictures--Mirrors--Carpets--Brass--Glass--Ironing--Baking, &c. &c.

THE MISTRESS.--Far the greater proportion of households, throughout our whole country, are managed without the aide of much hired help, by the females of each family. The maxim, "If you would be well served, you must serve yourself," has considerable truth in it; at least those families who serve themselves, escape many vexations of spirit, because, if the work be not very well done, when we do it with our own hands, we are more apt to be satisfied. There are some sorts of domestic work, that of dairy work is one, which no hired help would be competent to discharge. This must be done by a wife or daughter, who feels a deep personal interest in the prosperity of her husband or father. Many of our farmers' wives are among the best housekeepers in the land, possessing the good sense, vigor of mind, native delicacy of taste or tact, and firm conscientiousness, which gift the character with power to attempt everything that duty demands. These are the "noble matronage" which our republic should honor. It is the sons of such mothers who have ever stood foremost to defend or serve their country--

"With word, or pen, or pointed steel."

One of the greatest defects in the present system of female


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education, is the almost total neglect of showing the young lady how to apply her learning so as to improve her domestic economy. It is true that necessity generally teaches, or rather obliges her to learn this science after she is married; but it would have saved her from many anxious hours, and tears, and troubles, if she had learned how to make bread and coffee, and cook a dinner before she left her father's house; and it would have been better still, if she had been instructed at school to regard this knowledge as an indispensable accomplishment in the education of a young lady.

I was once told by a lady of Boston, that, when she was married, she scarcely knew how a single dish should be prepared. The first day of her housekeeping, the cook came for orders--"What would she have for dinner?"

The lady told her, among other items, that she would have an apple pudding.

"How shall I make it?" was the question which the lady was unable to answer--she knew no more how to make a pudding than to square a circle. She evaded the question as well as she could, by telling the girl to make it in the usual way. But the circumstance was a powerful lesson on the inconveniences of ignorance to the housekeeper. The lady possessed good sense, and was a woman of right principles. She felt it was her duty to know how to order her help--that wealth did not free her from responsibility in her family. She set herself diligently to the study of cookery; and, by consulting friends, watching the operations of her servants, and doing many things herself, she has become a most excellent housekeeper.

For the young bride, who is entirely ignorant of her house-hold duties, this is an encouraging example; let her follow it, if she would be happy and respected at home. But it would be better to begin her lessons a little earlier; it is not every woman who has sufficient strength of mind to pursue such a rigid course of self-education. And no lady can be comfortable, unless she possess a knowledge of household work; if she need not perform it herself, she must be able to teach her help, otherwise she will always have bad servants.

I am aware that it is the fashion with many ladies to disparage Irish domestics, call them stupid, ignorant, impudent, ungrateful, the plagues of housekeeping. That they are ignorant, is true enough; it does require skill, patience, and judgment,


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to teach a raw Irish girl how to perform the work in a gentleman's family; but they are neither stupid nor ungrateful, and if they are taught in the right manner, they prove very capable, and are most faithful and affectionate domestics.

A friend of mine, who is just what a woman ought to be, capable of directing--even doing, if necessary--in the kitchen as well as shining in the drawing-room, hired one of these poor Irish girls, new from the land of the Shamrock, who only understood the way of doing work in a hovel, yet, like all her class, she said, "Sure couldn't she do anything the lady wanted?" The lady, however, did not trust the girl to make any experiments, but went to the kitchen with her, and taught her, or rather did the work herself, and allowed the help to look on and learn by example, which for sure is much more effectual than lectures. When the dinner was nearly ready, the lady retired to dress, telling Julia to watch the roast, and she would return soon, and show her how to prepare it for the table. We may imagine with what utter bewilderment the poor girl had been overwhelmed during this, her first lesson in civilized life. The names of the articles of furniture in the kitchen, as well as their uses, were entirely unknown to her; and she had seen so many new things done, which she was expected to remember, that it must have made her heart-sick to reflect how much she had to learn. But there was one thing she though she understood--which was to cook potatoes. These were done, and she would show the lady she knew how to prepare them for the table.

When the lady returned, she found the girl seated on the floor, the potatoes in her lap, while she, with a very satisfied look, was peeling them with her fingers!

Are there not ladies who would have exclaimed--"Oh, the stupid, ignorant, dirty creature! She cannot be taught to do my work. I must send her away!" And away she would have been sent, irritated if not discouraged, and perhaps with out knowing a place where to lay down her head in this strange country.

My friend did not act in this manner--she expressed no surprise at the attitude of the girl, only quietly said--"That is not the best way to peel your potatoes, Julia--just lay them on this plate, and I will show you how I like to have them done."

That Irish girl remained a servant in the same family for 5


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years, proved herself not only capable of learning to work, but willing and most devoted in the service of her mistress, whom she regarded with a reverence little short of what a Catholic feels for his patron saint.* And thus, if with patience and kindness these poor Irish girls are treated and taught, may good and faithful help be obtained.

But unless ladies know how the work should be done, and are willing to teach their domestics, they should not employ the Irish when they first arrive.

Those who do employ and carefully instruct this class of persons, perform a most benevolent act to the usually destitute exiles, and also a good service to the community, by rendering those who would, if ignorant, become a burden and a nuisance, useful and respectable members of society.

To educate a good domestic is one of the surest proofs that a lady is a good housekeeper.

[Editorial note: The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 440 in the original text.]

*Julia only left her mistress to be married; she is now the good wife of a respectable mechanic.

A Word to Domestics. --Domestics in American families are very differently situated from persons of the same class in any other part of the world. Few enter the employment with any intention of remaining servants; it is only for a present resource to obtain a living and a little cash, so that they may begin business or house-keeping for themselves.

American help, therefore, should be very particular in their good behavior, and be careful to do by their employers as they will want help to do by them, when their turn to keep domestics shall arrive.

Never leave a good place because a little fault has been found with your work; it is a very great injury to a domestic to change her place often; she will soon have the name of being bad-tempered, and besides, she cannot gain friends; you must remain some time in a family before they will become attached to you. And if you are, as is generally the case, out of employment for a week before you go to a new place, you lose your time; and often have to pay for board too; thus a loss of 2 or 3 weeks' wages is incurred, because you will not bear to be reproved, even for a fault. What folly! thus to punish yourself for the sake of punishing your mistress, even if she did blame you without cause. The better way is to remain


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and behave so well that she shall be made to acknowledge your excellence; which she will be pretty sure to do, if she finds you faithfully try to please her.

Do not think it degrades you to endeavor to please your employer. It surely adds to your respectability, for it shows that you live with people you respect. You are bound to please your employers as far as you honestly can, while you receive your wages. No person hires a domestic to be idle, cross, or disrespectful. It is worse than theft to take wages from your employers which you must know you have not earned, if you have been unfaithful, impertinent, and quarrelsome, and made them constant trouble.

Resolve, therefore, when you go as help, to prove help indeed; which you will be, if you practice the following rules:--

Always treat your employers with respect.

Be faithful and honest in managing all that they entrust to you.

Be kind and obliging to every body, particularly to all the domestics of the family.

In a word--do to others in all things, as you would wish them to do by you in similar circumstances.

If you conduct thus, you will, though working in the kitchen, be as really respectable and independent as the lady in the parlor. In truth, she will be more dependent on your assistance than you will be on her for employment, and she will feel this, and treat you with the consideration and kindness which your merit deserves. But do not presume on this favor, and grow slack and careless. As long as you find it necessary to receive wages, be conscientious to perform all your duties as help.

Never think any part of your business too trifling to be well done.

The foregoing are general rules; a few particular directions may be needed.

One of the faults which a cook should most seriously guard against, is bad temper. She has a good many trials. Her employment, in the summer season, is not a pleasant or healthy one--obliged, as she is, to be over the hot fire, and confined, often, in a dark, close kitchen. Then she sometimes has a difficult lady to please, who does not know when the work is well done, and often gives contradictory or impracticable orders.

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And the other domestics frequently interrupt the arrangements of the cook; or, she is not furnished with proper implements and articles. All these things try her patience, and if it sometimes fails, we ought not too much to blame her. But she need not be always cross. And she should remember, too, her privileges--mistress of the kitchen, the highest wages, and, if she conducts well, the favorite always of her employers.

It is in the power of the cook to do much for the comfort and prosperity of the family. If she is economical and conducts with propriety, the whole establishment goes on pleasantly; but if she is cross, intemperate, and wasteful, the mischief and discomfort she causes are very great. Never let the family have reason to say--"The cook is always cross!"

Intemperance is said to be the failing of cooks, oftener than of other domestics. It is a vice which, if persisted in, will soon destroy the character and usefulness of the cook. Every one who desires to sustain a respectable station in her employment, must abstain totally from spirituous liquors. "Touch not, taste not, handle not." It is poison to your blood; it is death to your reputation, if not to your body and soul.

Country girls who come to the cities as help, because they can there obtain large wages, should be careful in their diet. Remember that as you cannot take so much exercise in the open air, you must live sparingly at first, or the change will injure your health. And all that injures the health, injures also the bloom and beauty of youth.

To take a young woman, one of our farmer's daughters, from the free, pure air of the country, and confine her in the hot kitchen, often under ground, of one of our crowded city establishments, is such a change, that unless she is very particular in her care of herself, will soon cause her to look old, haggard, and disagreeable. Her hair will be often matted with sweat and dust, and her complexion like a mummy. To avoid these unpleasant results, let the cook, from the first, adopt the following rules:--

1st. Eat regular meals, instead of tasting of every good thing you cook, till you have no appetite for food.

2d. Keep your sleeping room well aired, and your skin clean.

The best way is to wash yourself thoroughly when going to bed; comb your hair also, and wear a night-cap or handkerchief


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on your head. The next morning, you will only require to smooth your hair, not take it down, and wash your face and hands. It would look neater, and keep your hair much smoother, if you would wear a cap or handkerchief while at work, as English servants do.

Let your dress be of good, durable materials, that will wash well; keep it clean as possible, and always wear an apron.

In the afternoon, when the work is done, then you can wash and dress as neatly as you choose, only remember that a domestic in a showy, flimsy gown, and decked out with pinch-beck rings and ear ornaments, always makes a ridiculous figure in the eyes of every sensible person; because such persons see that you are spending your hard-earned wages for that which really does you no good.

Keep your kitchen, and all the utensils, clean and neat as possible. Sweep the chimney often. with an old broom kept for the purpose, so that no soot may collect to fall down on the dishes at the fire, and be sure that the hearth is neat as a table.

Always have plenty of hot water ready; and take care that your wiping cloths are washed every day.

The three rules you must follow, if you would always have your work done well, are these:--

"Do every thing at the proper time.
Keep every thing in its proper place.
Use every thing for its proper purpose."

If your mistress professes to understand cookery, the best way will be to follow her directions; if you find the dish is not as good as when you cooked in your own way, respectfully ask her to let you try once alone. But never be angry or pout when you are told how your employer wishes to have the work done.

The great fault of the Irish help is, that they undertake to do what they have never learned. They will not acknowledge their ignorance; if they would do this, and patiently try to learn, they would soon, with their natural quickness, become good cooks--if they have good teachers. And what a privilege and blessing it is to a poor Irish girl, who has only lived in a hovel, with scarcely an article of furniture, save the pot "to boil the praties," to be instructed in household work! It is really a fortune to her; she can then always have good


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places and good pay, and soon clothe herself well, and lay up money.

There are benevolent and sensible ladies who do act thus kindly by the Irish girl; not only teach her how to work in the kitchen, but teach her needlework, and instruct her in reading and writing.

If you have had such a kind mistress, my poor girl, for the honor of old Ireland be grateful and faithful to your benefactress; and show yourself worthy to be the mother of American citizens; for to such good fortune your children, should you marry, will be entitled.

There is no danger that our domestics will have too much ambition, if it be of the right kind--the ambition of doing their duty as faithful, capable help, while they continue to work for others. But I would wish every young female domestic to hope that she may some time be mistress of her own house; and I would urge her to improve every opportunity she has of learning the best and most prudent manner of doing all kinds of work. Then she will be fitted to make her husband happy, and bring up her children to be respectable members of society.

One of the most certain evidences that she is worthy to enjoy prosperity, is her faithfulness to promote the interest of those for whom she works. If she is really trustworthy, she will show it in her conduct.

There is a class of cooks who cannot be trusted; every thing they dare take is slyly carried out of the house, and given to their friends; and they go on with this system of pilfering till they are turned away from every respectable place.

Do not be tempted to begin this system, nor think that the broken bits, which the family may not need, belong to you. The mistress of the house must manage these charities; ask her, and if she give you leave to dispose of the broken pieces, be very careful not to make fragments unnecessarily for the sake of giving them to your poor relations.

Act, in all these things, as you would if your employer was looking on you; and forget not that One, to whom you are more responsible than to any earthly master or mistress, is constantly watching you.

Domestic Economy. --If you would practice this economy to the greatest advantage, be regular in the arrangement of your


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work, punctual in preparing your meals, and take good care that nothing is wasted.

It is best to have the washing done on Mondays, if this can be managed without encroaching on that rest from labor which the holy Sabbath should always bring, as well to the domestics as to every other member of a Christian family. But whether Monday or Tuesday be the day, let it be fixed, and the washing never omitted when it is possible to have it done. The next morning, early, should be the time to begin ironing, so that the clothes may have time to be aired and put away before night.

Mend clothes before washing, except stockings; these can best be darned when clean.

Soft water is indispensable to the washerwoman; rain or river water is the best. If you have good water, do not use soda; it gives a yellowish tinge to the clothes. If you buy your soap, it is most economical to use hard soap for washing clothes, and soft soap for floors, &c.

To Purify Water. --A large spoonful of powdered alum stirred into a hogshead of impure water will, after the lapse of a few hours, precipitate the impurities, and give it nearly the freshness and clearness of spring water. A pailful may be purified with a tea-spoonful of alum.

Water-casks should be well charred before they are filled, as the charcoal thus produced on the inside of the cask keeps the water sweet. When water, by any accident, becomes impure and offensive, it may be rendered sweet by putting a little fresh charcoal in powder into the vessel, or by filtering the water through fresh-burnt and coarsely powdered charcoal.

Flannels --Should be washed in clean hot suds in which a little bluing has been mingled; do not rinse them. Woollens of all kinds should be washed in hot suds.

Colored Dresses. --Turn the inner side out, and wash them in cold water, in which a little boiled soap is well mixed; rinse them well in clean cold water, and the last time with a little salt in the water; and dry them in the shade. They should be washed and dried with as much expedition as possible.

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Mildew Stains --Are very difficult to remove from linen. The most effectual way is to rub soap on the spots, then chalk, and bleach the garment in the hot sun.

Ink and Iron Mould --May be taken out by wetting the spots in milk, then covering them with common salt. It should be done before the garments have been washed. Another way to take out ink is to dip it in melted tallow. For fine, delicate articles, this is the best way.

Fruit and Wine Stains. --Mix 2 tea-spoonsful of water and 1 of spirit of salt, and let the stained part lie in this for 2 minutes; then rinse in cold water. Or wet the stain with hartshorn.

To Wash Carpets. --Shake and beat it well; lay it upon the floor, and tack it firmly; then with a clean flannel wash it over with 1 quart of bullock's gall, mixed with 3 quarts of soft cold water, and rub it off with a clean flannel or house-cloth. Any particular dirty spot should be rubbed with pure gall.

To Sweep Carpets. --The oftener these are taken up and shaken, the longer they will wear, as the dust and dirt underneath grind them out. Sweep carpets with a stiff hair brush, instead of an old corn broom, if you wish them to wear long or look well. At any rate, keep a good broom purposely for the carpet.

To Clean Paint. --Put a very little pearl-ash, or soda, in the water to soften it, then wash the paint with flannel and soft soap; wash the soap off, and wipe dry with a clean linen cloth.

To Clean Paper Walls. --The very best method is to sweep off lightly all the dust, then rub the paper with stale bread--cut the crust off very thick, and wipe straight down from the top, then begin at the top again, and so on.

To Polish Mahogany Furniture. --Rub it with cold drawn linseed oil, and polish by rubbing with a clean dry cloth, after wiping the oil from the furniture. Do this once a week, and your mahogany tables will be so finely polished that hot water


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would not injure them. The reason is this, linseed oil hardens when exposed to the air, and when it has filled all the pores of the wood, the surface becomes hard and smooth like glass.

To take Ink out of Mahogany. --Mix in a tea-spoonful of cold water, a few drops of oil and of vitriol; touch the spot with a feather dipped in the liquid.

To Clean Pictures. --Dust them lightly with cotton wool, or with a feather brush.

To Clean Mirrors. --Wipe them lightly with a clean bit of sponge or fine linen that has been wet in spirits of wine, or in soft water; then dust the glass with fine whiting powder; rub this off with a soft cloth--then rub with another clean cloth, and finish it with a silk handkerchief. Dust the frames with cotton wool.

To Clean Straw Carpets. --Wash them in salt and water, and wipe them with a clean dry cloth.

To Clean Marble. --Pour very finely a quarter of a pound of whiting and a small quantity of stone blue; dissolve in a little water one ounce of soda, and mix the above ingredients carefully together with a quarter of a pound of soft soap; boil it a quarter of an hour on a slow fire, carefully stirring it. Then, when quite hot, lay it with a brush upon the marble, and let it remain on half an hour. Wash it off with warm water, flannel, and a scrubbing brush, and wipe it dry.

To Clean Freestone. --Wash the hearth with soap, and wipe it with a wet cloth. Or rub it over with a little freestone powder, after washing the hearth in hot water. Brush off the powder when dry.

To Black a Brick Hearth. --Mix some black lead with soft soap and a little water, and boil it--then lay it on with a brush. Or mix the lead with water only.

To Clean Brass. --Rub it over with a bit of flannel dipped in sweet oil--then rub it hard with finely powdered rotten stone


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--then rub it with a soft linen cloth--and polish with a bit of wash leather.

Rub creaking hinges with soft soap.

To Prevent the Smoking of a Lamp. --Soak the wick in strong vinegar, and dry it well before it is used.

Glasses should be washed and rinsed in cold water, and the water wiped off with one cloth; then rub dry and clean with another.

Cut Glass should be rubbed with a damp sponge dipped in whiting, then brush this off with a clean brush, and wash the vessel in cold water.

An Ironing Board, Sheets, and Holders, should always be kept purposely for the ironing. A small board, 2 feet by 14 inches wide, covered with old flannel, and then with fine cotton, is handy to iron small articles on.

Isinglass is a most delicate starch for fine muslins. When boiling common starch, sprinkle in a little fine salt; it will prevent its sticking. Some use sugar.

Bed Linen should be well aired before it is used. Keep your sheets folded in pairs on a shelf--closets are better than drawers or chests for linen, it will not be so likely to gather damp.

Hair, or even Straw Mattresses, are more healthy to sleep on than feather beds. Never put children on these heating beds. Keep your sleeping rooms very clean and well aired; and do not cumber them with unnecessary furniture.

Bed Curtains are unhealthy, because they confine the air around us while we are asleep.

Bread.--One of the most important household rules is, not to eat new bread; for it is expensive and unwholesome, and does not afford near so much nourishment as bread 2 or 3 days old.

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Baking. --When baking is done twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays should be chosen; if only once a week, Saturday is the best, because it allows of preparation for the Sunday dinner--a pudding can be baked--and meat, too, if the family have a real desire of keeping the day for that which it was evidently intended, rest from worldly care, as well as for moral and religious improvement.

Old Bread may be made almost as good as new by dipping the loaf in cold water, then putting it in the oven after the bread is drawn, or in a stove, and let it heat through.

Crusts and pieces of bread should be kept in an earthen pot or pan, closely covered, in a dry cool place.

Keep fresh lard and suet in tin vessels.
Keep salt pork fat in glazed earthen ware.
Keep yeast in wood or earthen.
Keep preserves and jellies in glass, china, or stone ware.
Keep salt in a dry place.
Keep meal in a cool, dry place.
Keep ice in the cellar or refrigerator, wrapped in flannel.
Keep vinegar in wood or glass.
Housekeepers in the country must be careful that their meats are well salted, and kept under brine.
Sugar is an admirable ingredient in curing meat, butter, and fish.
Saltpetre dries up meat--it is best to use it sparingly.

To Preserve Eggs. --Cover the bottom of a small tub or cask with coarse salt--then place a layer of fresh eggs, standing upright on the large end--cover these with salt--then put another layer of eggs; and so on, till the tub is full. Keep it in a cool, dry place, and the eggs will remain good for a year. The last layer should be of salt, and an inch in thickness.

In the summer season, when eggs are not put in salt, they should be turned every day. Rubbing them over with butter or oil is said to make them keep fresh for several weeks.

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> CHAPTER XXXV.

OF DINNER PARTIES AND CARVING.

Rules for a Dinner Party--Carving--Its Importance--How to Carve Fish--Beef--Veal--Mutton--Lamb--Pork--Ham--Roast Pig--Turkey--Goose--Fowls--Pigeons--Tea Table.

MANAGEMENT OF A DINNER. --As a dinner affords the best proof of the management of a household, a few hints upon the subject may be useful to the heads of families.

The comfort of dinner-guests depends much upon the proper regulation of the temperature of the dining-room. In hot weather, this may be effected by ventilation and blinds. In winter, there is little difficulty to accomplish this with a bright blazing fire, and due care.

In families where a dinner is seldom given, it is better to hire a cook to assist in dressing the dinner, than to engage an uninformed person.

In selecting dinners, you should provide for the party such dishes as they are not most used to, and those articles which you are most in the way of procuring of superior quality.

Large dinner-parties, as 14 or 16 in number, are rarely so satisfactory to the entertainer or the guests as small parties of 6 or 8 persons. The latter, especially, are pleasant numbers.

Everything that unites elegance with comfort, should be attended to, but elegance ought to give way at all times to comfort. Two or three cloths make the table look much handsomer; and it is astonishing how meagre to an eye accustomed to that style, a table with only one appears; but this may be easily obviated, if the cloth is not removed during the service, by having a stout coarse one under it, or a scarlet


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cloth under a fine thin damask, gives it an imperceptible glow; but, if such is used, the cloth must not be taken off, as nothing can look well in removing but linen. A scarlet cloth, fitted to the table, and laid between the table-cloths, preserves the polish, as well as adds to the appearance.

Finger Glasses, half filled with water, should be got ready to be set upon the table with the dessert.

Bread should never be cut less than one inch and a half for dinner.

To ensure a well-dressed dinner, provide enough, and beware of the common practice of having too much. The table had better appear rather bare than crowded with dishes not wanted, or such as will become cold before they are partaken of. This practice of overloading tables is not only extravagant but troublesome. The smaller the dinner, when sufficient, the better will be the chance of its being well cooked.

Vegetables, in abundance and well dressed, are important in a dinner; and it is a good plan to serve a fresh supply with each dish, to ensure them hot. In France, more attention is paid to the dressing of vegetables than in this country or in England; and the French, consequently, produce these cheap luxuries in high perfection.

Before a dish is placed upon the table, its sauces and vege tables should be set in their proper places.

Between the serving of each dish should be a short interval, which will not only be pleasant to the guests, but will give time to the cook and attendants.

There should be a reserve of sauces as well as of vegetables; for nothing lessens the enjoyment of a dinner so much as a short supply of these adjuncts.

A chief point to be attended to for a comfortable dinner is, to have what you want, and when you want it. It is vexatious to wait for first one thing and then another, and to receive these little additions, when what they belong to is half or entirely finished.

One or more sets of cruets, according to the size of the party, should be placed upon table; the cruets should contain such articles as are continually wanted, and special attention should be paid to the freshness of their contents, as of fish sauces.

Much money is often unnecessarily expended in pastry and desserts. A few kinds of ripe fruit, in season, and not forced


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are sufficient; though the morning is the best time for eating fruit.

Wines should vary with the season; light wines are best in summer; in winter, generous wines are preferred. White wine is drunk with white meats, and red with brown meats. Light wines are suitable to light dishes, and stronger wines to more substantial dishes. In summer, wine and water, cooled by a piece of ice being put into it, is a luxury; as is also a bottle of iced water (the best beverage) and bottled porter iced.

Wine is often set upon the table before it is wanted, for show; so that it loses its proper temperature before it is required to be drunk.

Do not press persons to eat more than appears agreeable to them, nor insist upon their tasting any particular dish.

It is a good custom to send coffee into the dining-room before the gentlemen leave the table. The hour for sending in the coffee should be previously appointed, so that the bell need not be rung for it. Two or three hours are a proper interval between the dinner hour and coffee.

Servants who wait at table should wear clean white linen gloves.

There are a few points of the etiquette of a dinner-party, which it may be useful to particularize.

The members of the party having assembled, the master or mistress of the house should point out which lady each visitor is to take into the dining room, the married having precedence of the single.

The lady of the house should take the head of the table, and be supported by the two gentlemen of the most consideration, who should assist her to carve. The gentleman of the house should take the bottom of the table, and on each side of him should be seated the two ladies whose age or station gives them precedence.

As well-bred people arrive as punctually as they can to the appointed hour, the dinner should not be kept waiting after that time.

In serving soup, one ladleful to each plate is sufficient.

A knife applied to a fish is likely to spoil the delicacy of its flavor; so that a slice only should be used in helping fish.

Do not pour sauce over meat or vegetables, but a little on one side.

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In helping at table, never employ a knife where you can use a spoon.

In giving dinners, avoid ostentation, which will not only be very expensive, but will make your guests uncomfortable. Again, it is not merely the expense, but the trouble and fuss of dinner-giving on the extravagant system, that checks the extended practice of giving dinners, and imposes a restraint upon sociable enjoyment.

> ON CARVING.

One of the most important acquisitions in the routine of daily life is the ability to carve well, and not only well but elegantly. It is true that the modes now adopted of sending meats, &c. to table are fast banishing the necessity for promiscuous carving from the elegantly served boards of the wealthy; but in the circles of middle life, where the refinements of cookery are not adopted, the utility of a skill in the use of a carving knife is sufficiently obvious.

Moreover, the art of carving is a very requisite branch of domestic management; it not only belongs to the honors of the table, but is important in an economical point of view; for a joint of meat ill carved, will not serve so many persons as it would if it were properly carved.

Ladies ought especially to make carving a study; at their own houses they grace the table, and should be enabled to perform the task allotted to them with sufficient skill to prevent remark, or the calling forth of eager proffers of assistance from good natured visitors near, who probably would not present any better claim to a neat performance.

In the first place, whatever is to be carved should be set in a dish sufficiently large for turning it if necessary; but the dish itself should not be moved from its position, which should be so close before the carver as only to leave room for the plates. The carving knife should be light, sharp, well-tempered, and of a size proportioned to the joint, strength being less required than address in the manner of using it. Large solid joints, such as ham, fillet of veal, and salt beef, cannot be cut too thin; but mutton, roast pork, and the other joints of veal should never be served in very slender slices.

There are certain choice cuts, or delicacies, with which a good


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carver is acquainted; among them are the sounds of cod-fish, the thin or fat of salmon, the thick and fins of turbot; the fat of venison, lamb and veal kidney, the pope's eye in a leg of mutton, the ribs and neck of a pig; the breast and wings of a fowl, the legs and back of a hare, and its ears being by some persons considered a great delicacy; the breast and thighs (without the drumsticks,) of turkey and goose, the wings and breast of game, and the legs and breast of ducks.

Fish should be helped with a silver slice or trowel, care being taken not to break the handsome flaky pieces; a portion of the liver and roe should be served to each person.

Much of the enjoyment of the party will depend on the stuffing, gravies, sauces, &c., being fairly apportioned to each plate.

By aid of the following instructions, occasional practice, and by closely observing "good carvers," the learner may soon become proficient in this important branch of the honors of the table.

Fish. --The carving of fish calls for but little observation, as it is always cut with a silver trowel, or a knife and fork made for the purpose, and should never be approached by steel; but, in helping it, care should be taken to avoid breaking the flakes, which should be kept as entire as possible.

[Illustration: An illustration of a fork and knife with fancy handles. The knife is pointing to the right and the fork to the left.]

[Illustration: An illustration of the front half of a cod. The head area of the cod is labeled 1; the shoulder area of the cod is labeled 2; the middle of the cod, between the eye and the fin, is labeled 3.]

Cod's Head and Shoulders. --Take off slices, quite down to the bone, in the direction from 1 to 2, and as low as 3. With each slice of fish give a piece of the sound, which lies underneath


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the back-bone and lines it, and may be found by passing the slice under the bone. A few choice parts are in and about the head, as the soft part about the jaw-bone, and the palate and tongue, to be taken out with a spoon.

Salmon, and all short-grained fish, should be cut lengthwise, and not across; portions of the thick and thin being helped together.

Haddock is served like cod--but the head is worthless.

Mackerel are commonly served up head to tail, and a slice cut lengthwise from the bone.

[Illustration: An illustration of a big piece of meat. The right side is labeled A; the left side is labeled B; the bottom is labeled C; the top is labeled D.]

Sirloin of Beef. --The under part of the sirloin should be first served, and carved, as indicated in the engraving, across the bone. In carving the upper part of the same directions should be followed as for the ribs, carving either side, or in the centre, from A to B, and helping the fat from D.

Ribs of Beef. --The best manner of carving this joint is to cut across the bone, commencing in the centre, and serving fat from A, as marked in the engraving of the sirloin. Another way, is to carve the slices from A to C, commencing either in the centre of the joint or at the sides. When the bones are removed, and the meat formed into a fillet, it should be carved as a round of beef.

A Round (Buttock) or Aitch Bone of Beef --Is usually boiled, and requires no print to point out how it should be carved. A thick slice should be cut off all round the buttock, that your


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friends may be helped to the juicy and prime part of it. The outside thus cut off, thin slices may then be cut from the top; but as it is a dish that is frequently brought to table cold a second day, it should always be cut handsome and even. When a slice all round would be considered too much, the half, or a third, may be given with a thin slice of fat. On one side there is a part whiter than ordinary, by some called the white muscle. In some places, a buttock is generally divided, and this white part sold separate, as a delicacy; but it is by no means so, the meat being coarse and dry; whereas the darker colored parts, though apparently of a coarser grain, are of a looser texture, more tender, fuller of gravy, and better flavored; and men of distinguishing palates ever prefer them.

Fillet of Veal --Should be cut in thin, smooth slices, with a little fat to each; cutting also a thin slice from the stuffing, which lies within the flap. The brown outside is much liked by some persons.

[Illustration: An illustration of a large piece of veal. The ride side of the meat is labeled A; the left side is labeled B; the top is labeled C C C; the bottom is labeled D D D.]

The Breast of Veal. --Separate the ribs from the brisket, cutting from A to B; these small bones, which are the sweetest and mostly chosen, you will cut them as at D D D, and serve; the long ribs are divided as at C C C, and having ascertained the preference of the person, help accordingly; at good tables the scrag is not served, but is found, when properly cooked, a very good stew.

Loin of Veal. --The joint is sent to table served as a sirloin of beef. Having turned it over, cut out the kidney and the fat, return it to its proper position, and carve it as in the neck of veal, from B to A; help with it a slice of kidney and fat. The kidney is usualy placed upon a dry toast when removed from the joint.

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Shoulder of Veal --Is sent to table with the under part placed uppermost. Help it as a shoulder of mutton, beginning at the knuckle end.

[Illustration: An illustration of half of a calf's head on a serving plate. The back of the head, near the ear, is labeled A; the front of the head, near the mouth, is labeled B.]

Calf's Head. --There is much more meat to be obtained from a calf's head by carving it one way than another. Carve from A to B, cutting quite down to the bone. At the fleshy part of the neck and you will find the throat sweetbread, which you can help a slice of with the other part; you will remove the eye with the point of the knife and divide it in half, helping those to it who profess a preference for it; there are some tasty, gelatinous pieces around it which are palatable. Remove the jaw-bone, and then you will meat with some fine flavored lean; the palate, which is under the head, is by some thought a dainty, and should be proffered when carving.

Leg of Mutton. --The under or thickest part of the leg should be placed uppermost and carved in slices moderately thin. Many persons have a taste for the knuckle, and this question should be asked, and if preferred should be assisted. When cold, the back of the leg should be placed uppermost, and thus carved.

A leg of Lamb --Is carved as a leg of mutton. A leg of mutton or lamb, roasted or boiled, should be laid in the dish back downwards.

[Illustration: An illustration of a large shoulder of Mutton. The top of the piece of meat is labeled 1; the middle is labeled 2; the left side is labeled 3; the inside left is labeled 4; the bottom left is labeled 5.]

A shoulder of Mutton --Affords a variety of cuts, fat and lean, and should be lain in the dish back uppermost. The leaner parts should be cut straight to the bone, from 1 to 2; the most delicate slices, however, may be cut on each side of


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the blade bone, 3 to 4; the finest fat lies at 5, and should be cut in thin slices. The under-side affords many nice cuts, of fat and lean intermixed. The most tender of the lean is under the blade-bone, and is called the oyster cut.

A Saddle of Mutton. --Cut moderately thick slices, longwise, from the tail to the end, on each side the back-bone; if they be too long, divide them: cut fat from the sides or flaps.

A Haunch of Mutton --Should be carved as venison.

Loin of Mutton. --Cut the joints into chops and serve them separately; or cut slices the whole length of the loin; or run the knife along the chine-bone, and then slice it, the fat and lean together.

Neck of Mutton. --It should be prepared for table as follows:--Cut off the scrag; have the chine-bone carefully sawn off, and also the top of the long bones (about 1 1/2 inch), and the thin part turned under; carve in the direction of the bones.

The Scrag of Mutton --When roasted, is very frequently separated from the ribs of the neck, and in that case the meat and bones may be helped together.

A Fore-Quarter of Lamb. --Cut round the shoulder in the direction of 1, 2, and 3; then lift up the shoulder, and squeeze between it and the ribs the juice of half a lemon, with a slice of butter, some pepper and salt; replace the shoulder, and presently remove it to another dish, to be cut as a shoulder of


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mutton. Then separate the neck from the ribs, in the line from 3 to 4, and serve according to choice. A ruffle of white paper should be placed around the shank of the shoulder, for the convenience of lifting it while seasoning, &c.

[Illustration: An illustration of a piece of lamb. The top right portion of the meat is labeled 1; the bottom right is labeled 2; the middle is labeled 3; the lower left is labeled 4.]

Haunch of Venison. --Have the joint lengthwise before you, the knuckle being the furthest point. Cut from a to b, but be careful not to let out the gravy; then cut along the whole length from a down to d. The knife should slope in making the first cut, and then the whole of the gravy will be received in the well. The greater part of the fat, which is the favorite portion, will be found on the left side, and care must be taken to serve some with each slice.

[Illustration: An illustration of the hip of a vension. The joint is pointing to the right. TO the left of the joint the upper portion of the venison is labeled a; the lower portion is labeled b; the left side of the venison is labeled d.]

Pork. --The leg when sent to table should be placed with the back uppermost and the crackling be removed; if sufficiently baked, this may be done with ease; the meat should be served in thin slices cut across the leg, the crackling being served with it, or not, according to taste; the loins are cut into the pieces as scored by the butcher.

Boiled Tongue. --Carve across the tongue, but do not cut through; keep the slices rather thin, and help the fat from underneath.

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[Illustration: An illustration of a large ham. The bone is on the left. To the right of the bone, on the top of the ham, is labeled A; the same position on the bottom of the ham is labeled B; The far right side of the ham is labeled C; the area just to the right of the bone, in the center of the ham, is labeled D.]

Ham. --It is served as placed in the engraving, and should come to table ornamented. Carve from A to B, cutting thin slices out slantingly, to give a wedge-like appearance. Those who prefer the hock carve at D, in the same direction as from A to B, then carve from D to C, in thin slices, as indicated in the diagram.

[Illustration: An illustration of a pig in a serving dish, carved and served with plenty of sauce.]

Sucking Pig. --The cook should send a roast pig to table as displayed here, garnished with head and ears, carve the joints in the direction shown by the lines in the diagram, then divide the ribs, serve with plenty of sauce; should one of the joints be too much, it may be separated; bread sauce and stuffing should accompany it.

The carving of both winged game and poultry requires more delicacy of hand and nicety in hitting the joints than the cutting of large pieces of meat, and to be neatly done, requires considerable practice.

Roast Turkey. --Cut long slices from each side of the breast down to the ribs, beginning at a b from the wing to the breast-bone. If the party be so large as to render it necessary, the legs may then be removed, and the thighs divided from the


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drum-sticks, which are only served in cases of necessity, as being rather tough, but the pinions of the wing are very savory, and the white part of the wing is preferred by many to the flesh of the breast. The joint of the pinion may be found a little below b, and the wing may then be easily removed without touching the leg. The carcass is very seldom dissected, but the body is frequently filled with either truffles, mushrooms, or other matter, in which case an opening must be made into it by cutting a circular incision through the apron, at c.

[Illustration: An illustration of a Turkey with a skewer in its legs. The rib area of the Turkey is labeled a; the wing area is labeled b; the lower portion with the skewer through it is labeled c.]

Boiled Turkey --Is carved in the same way as the roast, the only difference being in the trussing: the legs in the boiled being, as here shown drawn into the body, and in the roast skewered.

[Illustration: An illustration of a Turkey with a skewer in its lower side. The legs are not visible in the picture.]

Turkey Poults --Are carved and helped in the same way as pheasants; the stuffing of the grown birds being usually omitted.

A Goose. --Place the neck end towards you, cut the breast into slices, and serve them as cut. If the legs to be required, turn the goose upon the side, put the fork into the small end of the bone in the leg, press it to the body, pass the knife in


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at 4, turn the leg back, and it will easily come off. Next, remove the wing on the same side, by putting the fork into the small end of the pinion, pressing it to the body, dividing the joint at 4, and taking it off in the direction of 3; then turn over the goose, and take off the other leg and wing. Remove the merry thought as from the fowl, and cut off the side-bones by the wing, and the lower side-bones. Divide the breast from the back, and the back itself, as of a fowl. Next to the breast, the thigh and the fleshy portion of the wing are favorite parts. If the goose be not entirely cut up, the apron, 1, 2, should be removed to get at the stuffing.

[Illustration: An illustration of a goose. The top portion of the goose is labeled 1; the area just to the right of 1 is labeled 2; the lower left portion of the goose is labeled 3; the lower right portion of the goose is labeled 4.]

A Duck --Should be cut up as a goose.

[Illustration: An illustration of a fowl. Its legs are to the left and the body to the right. The leg area is labeled a; the right side of the fowl is labeled b; the top of the fowl is labeled c; the middle of the fowl is labeled d.]

Roast Fowl. --Slip the knife between the leg and body, and cut to the bone; then with the fork turn the leg back, and the joint will give way if the bird is not old. Take the wing off in the direction of a to b, only dividing the joint with your knife. When the four quarters are thus removed, take off the merrythought from c, and the neck-bones; these last, by putting in the knife at d, and pressing it, will break off from the part that sticks to the breast. The next thing is to divide the breast from the carcass by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breasts, quite down to the tail. Then lay the back upwards, put your knife into the bone half way from the neck to the rump, and on raising the lower end it will separate readily. Turn the rump from you, take off the two sidesmen,


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and the whole will be done. To separate the thigh from the drumstick of the leg insert the knife into the joint as above. It requires practice to hit the joint at the first trial. The breast and wings are considered the best parts.

If the bird be a capon, or large and roasted, the breast may be cut into slices in the same way as a pheasant.

The difference in the carving of boiled and roast fowls consists only in the breast of the latter being always served whole, and the thigh-bone being generally preferred to the wing.

[Illustration: An illustration of the front of a breast of fowl.]

[Illustration: An illustration of the back of a breast of fowl.]

[Illustration: An illustration of the side of a fowl. There is a knife which is cutting the leg of the fowl from the breast.]

A Partridge --Is to be cut up as a fowl: take off the wings in the lines 1, 2, and the merrythought in that of 3, 4. Partridges may likewise be cut in half. The prime parts are the breast and wings, the tip of the latter being the greatest delicacy.

[Illustration: An illustration of a partridge with its legs towards the front of the picture. The bottom left portion of the partridge is labeled 1; the left side of the partridge is labeled 2; the middle of the partridge is labeled 3; the bottom right portion is labeled 4.]

Pigeons. --May be cut in half, the lower half being usually most esteemed. In helping a pigeon-pie, if the birds be not previously divided, take them out separately on a plate, and cut each asunder.

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> THE TEA TABLE.

"Now stir the fire and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round;
And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer, but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful evening in."

The tea-table is in most families a delightful relaxation, it is prepared with no trouble and little expense, and the only time, perhaps, a father can spare to have his family once a-day collected about him, where he may see the different dispositions of his children, and draw a knowledge of the general management of his family.

It is a great pity that the tea-table, as a magnet for social re-unions, is now, in our cities, so nearly obsolete. In Paris it has been partially introduced within the last few years;--but the pleasantest society there is in the evening, where they give nothing at all, where the ladies all work, and the gentlemen, if they do not play, walk about and converse with them.

An evening spent thus, in agreeable conversation, with well-informed and pleasant people, is a delightful relaxation to men engaged in engrossing pursuits through the day. If American ladies would add to this French fashion of evening re-unions the comfort of a cup of tea and a few cakes--without the fuss and formality attending fashionable evening parties--the pleasures of social intercourse with our friends would be immeasurably enhanced, and the extravagant expenses, now incurred, entirely be avoided.

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