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[Illustration: THE LARDER.]




[Illustration]




THE

ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER:

OR,

MANUAL OF DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT:

CONTAINING

ADVICE ON THE CONDUCT OF HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS, AND

Practical Instructions

CONCERNING

  THE STORE-ROOM,
  THE PANTRY,
  THE LARDER,
  THE KITCHEN,
  THE CELLAR,
  THE DAIRY.

THE WHOLE BEING INTENDED

FOR THE USE OF YOUNG LADIES WHO UNDERTAKE THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THEIR OWN
HOUSEKEEPING.

_SIXTH EDITION._

(IMPROVED BY THE INTRODUCTION OF MANY NEW RECEIPTS.)


BY ANNE COBBETT.


LONDON: PUBLISHED BY A. COBBETT, 137, STRAND.


1851.

[_Price Six Shillings._]




  LONDON:
  GEO. PEIRCE, PRINTER, 310, STRAND.

{iii}INTRODUCTION.

  "She looketh well to the ways of her _Household_, and eateth not the
  bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed: her
  husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously,
  but thou excellest them all."--PROVERBS, Chap. xxxi., vs. 27, 28, & 29.


I HAVE taken so much pains to make the following work deserving of the
title it bears, that I could not, without affectation, pretend to
undervalue my own performance, by anticipating doubts of its utility, or by
expressing any fear lest my friends should be disappointed when they look
into it. Every publication of this description is necessarily calculated to
be of some essential service; for it must not only be practical in its
descriptions and directions, but must relate to matters touching the daily
and hourly wants of all mankind; and it will, of course, be approved
according as it may happen to meet those wants.

As a mere Cookery-book, mine must submit to be placed in a lower rank than
some others, because I do not profess to bring to light discoveries in the
culinary art, neither do I design to favour epicurism. I have no pretension
beyond that of advising young ladies who are their own housekeepers; and
the receipts which will be found in my selection, are such as appeared to
me suitable to any family of moderate style in living, and such as may be
easily comprehended and put in practice. These have been carefully
{iv}revised and amended in the present edition, and some others added.

While I am offering advice with respect to the manner of conducting
domestic affairs, I cannot refrain from expressing my regret that so large
a proportion of the young ladies of England are sadly deficient in that
information, and in those practices of economy which are the most
essentially necessary to their welfare as persons of influence and
authority in a house. I am by no means singular in lamenting that the
advantages of a knowledge of housekeeping seem to be so entirely lost sight
of by those who have the responsibility of bringing up either their own or
other people's daughters; and I find it frequently the subject of remark
that the ladies of the present day have become incapable of being so
skilful in the discharge of their domestic duties as the ladies of a former
period were, in proportion as they have become more cultivated and more
accomplished. But is it so? Are there now a greater proportion of women
whose minds are really cultivated than there were formerly? Is there not
rather a greater pretence of learning with less of it in reality? It is
erroneous to suppose that persons of real learning look upon the minor
duties of life with contempt, because of their learning; for, though
learning does not, perhaps, give sense, it surely does not destroy it, and
there is not only a want of sense, but a positive folly, in that
affectation of refinement, and that assumption of superiority, which has
led to the result now complained of. But the system of education which has
prevailed of late years is certainly in fault; a system which assigns the
same species of learning, indiscriminately, to young persons of every rank
and degree, without distinction even as to ability. Such a method of
bringing up has unavoidably been productive of very injurious effects; for,
while it withdraws the daughters of farmers and tradespeople, and others,
during a great part of their youth, from the practice of those homely arts
which belong to their {v}stations, it leaves them, in nine cases out of
ten, without anything more than the mere fancy that they possess
acquirements of a higher order.

The desire which many persons feel to give their children a better
education than has been bestowed upon themselves is laudable, because it
proceeds from sincere affection: but how often is the success equal to the
motive which actuates? How often is the manner of attempting at all
calculated for attaining the object so earnestly sought? An ambition to
promote the welfare of children reconciles parents to part with them at
that tender age when they ought to command more constant care than they
generally need at a more advanced time of life; and this ambition is so
strong that it will even cause little girls to be consigned to the
blighting atmosphere of a crowded schoolroom, there to bewail the loss of
the warm hearth, or the airy room of their own homes, and all the comforts
which depend upon a mother's solicitude. With a view to their being
educated, that is to say, fitted for the world, and for the discharge of
their respective duties in it, girls are sent to school, and are there
condemned to a dull course of lessons, before their minds have sufficient
strength to imbibe any kind of learning that requires mental labour, and
before their understandings are equal to any greater exertion than that of
perceiving the difference between a roasted apple and a sugar-plum.

A knowledge of housekeeping is not difficult to attain. It needs no natural
superiority of talent, and no painful application. It is rather a habit
than a science, and, like the neatness so characteristic of English women,
this knowledge rarely comes to perfection at all, unless it be partly
formed in early life, and by means of our very earliest associations.
Little girls are always prone to imitate the ways of older persons,
particularly in housekeeping matters. They very soon begin to find
amusement in learning to make preserves, pastry, and such things. Those
children, therefore, who are brought up at home, {vi}and have the daily and
hourly practice of domestic duties before their eyes, will naturally fall
into habits of usefulness, and acquire, by degrees and imperceptibly, a
knowledge of what belongs to home, which should constitute the elementary
education of every woman who is not born to rank and to luxury. But the
unhappy little creatures who drag through seven or more years of continuous
monotony within the walls of a school, their minds taking little or no part
in the tasks which their memories are racked upon, have but little chance
of learning any thing which will benefit their after lives; for, those
whose mothers knead the bread, churn the butter, and help to cook the
dinner, have not the benefit of that sort of society that would teach them
to apply their learning, that would call forth their acquirements, or that
would be able to appreciate those acquirements when displayed. During the
period which these children spend at school, their mother continues her
old-fashioned occupations, and, as time passes on, she looks forward,
perhaps, with cheering anticipations to the _help_ which her daughters are
to afford her. But alas! how often do these daughters return from school
with false notions of the lives they are to lead, and with mistaken ideas
of their own consequence, such as lead them to despise the humble
occupations of their home, although their "education" may not have given
them one single idea to justify any pretension of the kind. It is generally
acknowledged, that girls educated at schools are seldom far advanced in
learning. Where history and geography, and other sciences, are learnt by
rote, "a page of Greece on Monday," a "page of Rome on Tuesday," a "page of
Universal Biography on Wednesday," with occasional readings of the middle
ages, of modern times, and application being made to maps, globes, charts,
&c., to fill up the time which is not devoted to the fine arts (for it all
goes on at once), the stock of real solid information which is gained by
the end of the year, will be very scanty, or will probably {vii}have
resolved itself into such a confused mass of imperfect information that all
practical benefit may be despaired of. No wonder, if, after having
undergone a course like this, a young girl is often found to have gained
less from books than others have gained from vulgar report, and be puzzled
to say whether it was Scipio or Washington who was the first President of
the United States of America. They learn lessons, but they do not reason or
think about what they are getting by heart; and many girls, whose education
has cost a large sum of money, are unable to answer a question of name,
place, or date, in their geography or history, without first running over a
certain portion of one whole lesson, the sound of which has left a deeper
impression on the ear, than its sense has left on the understanding. Just
as, when wanting to ascertain the number of days in a particular month, we
repeat the words, "Thirty days hath September," &c., thus recalling by
means of the jingle of words, what of itself had slipped our memories.

Girls so educated are very much to be commiserated. They live, through that
part of their lives in which the mind is most open to receive impressions,
without any opportunity for exercising their powers of observation, till,
at last, those powers fall into a state of inertness; and their education
is finished without their having gained the least knowledge of what the
world really is, or of the part which they are to be called upon to act in
it. Having had no intimate association with persons really well informed,
it is no matter of surprise, if they become conceited of their supposed
attainments, or if they remain in ignorance of the fact, that a little
music, a little drawing, and a very little French and Italian, are not
sufficient to make an accomplished woman, and that merely going the round
of primers will not, of itself, constitute what is looked for in a "good
education." Nor is it, indeed, to be wondered at, if the home, which has
been so cherished in recollection from one holiday time to another, fail to
realise all the anticipations {viii}of pleasure and of happiness which the
thought of it has excited. Its simple occupations are not of a kind to make
them, as novelties, attractive to one who is _only_ a fine lady; the want
of capacity to fill domestic duties will, of course, render them rather
disagreeable than otherwise; and it is but natural that young women who,
during all the early part of their lives, have been unaccustomed to think
of household cares, should entertain some degree of aversion to them, and
feel dissatisfied when called upon to take a part in them. Many a father
has repented that he did not rather lay up for his daughter, the money
which has been expended to no better purpose than to cause her to repine at
the condition in life in which he must leave her. And many a mother's
pride, in the fancied superiority of her daughter, has been saddened by the
recollection, not only that her daughter was incapable of helping her, but
that the time must come when that incompetent daughter would be left to
take care of herself.

My readers may imagine that I forget my proper theme: they may wish me to
remember that this book professes only to aid those young ladies who are
uninformed on this subject, _how to keep house_, and that I am diverging
from that subject, and raising objections to a very common way of bringing
up children. But when it is generally acknowledged that there is, in the
ladies of the present day, a great want of skill as regards the affairs of
their household, an ignorance, in fact, of some of their first duties, it
cannot be impertinent for me to inquire, whether this want of skill, and
this ignorance, be not properly ascribable to a defective, or even to a
mischievous, course of education. I certainly do think that habits of
usefulness, and the cultivation of talents, may be combined, but then the
acquiring of the useful, and the cultivating of the finer accomplishments
must proceed hand in hand. There are, doubtless, many who do not think it
beneath them to be able to make a pudding, merely because they can execute
a difficult piece of music, or sing with good taste; who do not regard
these as things absolutely incongruous; and who do not consider, when they
receive applause for excelling in fashionable powers to charm, that the
offering carries with it an excuse for their being inefficient and helpless
mistresses of families. There are, however, not a few, who do think that
{ix}qualifications of a refined nature render it unbecoming in their
possessors to give that personal superintendence to the affairs of the
kitchen, of the store-room, and of all the other branches of household
arrangement, which is so necessary, that, for the want of it, moderate
fortunes often prove inadequate to the support of families in the middle
rank. Young persons cannot be expected to entertain a proper estimation of
the value of useful habits, as compared with the value of ornamental
acquirements, unless they have grown up in the exercise of those habits.
The idea that capability in the domestic, is incompatible with taste in the
elegant accomplishments, is so deeply rooted in the minds of most persons
who aspire to be fashionable, that I despair of the power to do much
towards eradicating the fatal error. And yet, I would fain represent to
parents, the wrong which is done to children by suffering this idea to
plant itself in their minds; for it not only reduces young women to a
standard of comparatively little consequence, by making them helpless in
all the ordinary business of life, but it produces incidentally, a variety
of injurious effects on the health, on the spirits, and even on the temper.
It is proverbial, that the largest portion of happiness belongs not to the
higher ranks of society; and the reason is, not that the rich and luxurious
are, as a matter of course, unworthy and consequently unhappy; but that
their minds are not diverted by necessary cares, that their amusements are
easily obtained, and that the enjoyment of them is never interrupted by
their having duties to perform. Pleasures fail to excite and interest the
mind, unless they come in the way of relaxation. Therefore it is, that even
in youth, something by way of employment is necessary to keep gaiety from
subsiding into dulness; and in mature life nothing is more salutary than
occupation. To have _something to do_, to be obliged to _be doing_,
withdraws the mind from the contemplation of fancied sorrows, and prevents
its being subdued by the recurrence of unavailing regrets. Women who have
been accustomed, in their youth, to be industriously engaged and to
contribute to the daily happiness of others, are sure to enjoy the greatest
share of tranquillity and satisfaction in a review of days gone by, to show
the most courage in adversity, the most patience in sickness, and to be the
most cheerful and resigned under the infirmities of age; and those parents,
{x}therefore, who instil into the minds of their daughters the principle of
_making themselves useful_, will confer upon them one of the greatest of
blessings.

Let it not be supposed, however, that by _useful_, I mean that a woman
should be a mere household drudge, that all her ideas should be confined
within the limits of her domestic offices, or that her guests as well as
her family, should be entertained by nothing better than details of the
household. Ladies who have houses and servants to look after, should be
capable of superintending the whole in a manner so systematic, as that they
may have a due portion of their time, and of their thoughts, to give to
other, and, if they deem them such, higher matters. I by no means
recommend, as patterns, the fussy people, who are always busy and have
never done, who let you know every thing that they have to do, and who,
sometimes, do very little after all. Neither is it advisable to imitate,
too closely, that class of housewives who are distinguished by the
phrase--"very _particular_:" for even the virtue of neatness, when
incessantly exercised, or manifested too much in matters of little moment,
becomes an intruder upon comfort, and, consequently, offensive. What I
recommend is, that quiet and orderly method of conducting the business of a
house, which tends rather to conceal than to make an appearance of much to
do, which puts all that part of the family, who are not immediately engaged
in it, as little as possible out of the way, and which may enable strangers
to remain under the roof without being constantly reminded of the trouble
they occasion. Every woman who presides over a home, and who wishes to
preserve its attraction, should bear in mind the many minute cares which
all contribute to give to that home, not only the semblance, but the
substance of enjoyment; and I earnestly impress upon my youthful readers
the important fact, that, as far as mere fortune is concerned, those often
prove to be the most poor in reality, who may have been thought to be the
most rich. Competence and ease may be changed for narrowed circumstances,
and a struggle may ensue, to stem a torrent of difficulties which follow in
succession, and threaten to destroy the home which has been hitherto
considered secure. Then she who has passed her life in total listlessness,
possessing no acquirements but of a showy kind, and {xi}ignorant of what is
wanted to preserve the foundation of a family's happiness; then such a
woman will prove as unfitted to lighten sorrow, as she has been careless to
avert it: for herself, she can but quail as difficulties assail her; for
others, she can only seek for protection where, if she were capable, she
might be of assistance; and, instead of aiding to alleviate distress, she
will become the main cause of rendering the common burden intolerable.

How often do we see families stricken to the very dust, by the first, and
perhaps only a slight blow, of misfortune; and this, merely for the want of
a little of that practical knowledge, and that experience, which would have
enabled them to husband their diminished means so that they might still
supply sufficient to meet all real wants, and still procure every material
comfort. From a want of this experience, some of the very best intentioned
persons will so misapply the resources left to them, at one time laying out
money where they ought to refrain altogether, and at another parting with
more than the occasion requires, that, by degrees, those resources dwindle
away to nothing before they seem to be aware of the natural consequences,
and not only poverty, but destitution and misery are let into an abode
where comparative ease and contentment might still have remained. The great
art of economy in domestic life, is comprised in the two very homely
phrases, "_to turn every thing to account_," and "_to make the most of what
you have_." But their meaning is often perverted, and the habit of _turning
every thing to an account_, and of _making the most of every thing_, is
ascribed to those who are actuated, not by a laudable desire to produce as
much comfort as their circumstances will admit, but by an inclination to
indulge in a strong propensity to stinginess. But of this class of persons
I am far from being the advocate; between extravagance and parsimony the
widest possible interval exists; and that economy, that management and
application of means, which I deem perfectly consistent with the most rigid
virtue and the most generous impulse, is of too admirable a character to
partake either of the spendthrift's criminality or of the miser's meanness.

If my censures upon the present system of educating young ladies should
appear to be presumptuous, I greatly fear that any disapproval of that
which is now so {xii}universally adopted with regard to _the poor_ will be
still more unpopular; but it does appear to me that _there_, there exists a
mistake also, which, perhaps, in its consequences, will prove still more
fatal. It appears to me that something better might be done, more
advantageous to both rich and poor, by educating the latter to be useful
members of society; and I think that ladies who live in the country may
have ample opportunities of training up good servants, by attending to the
education of poor neighbours of their own sex. By _education_, I do not
mean that kind of teaching which merely qualifies them for reading letters
and words. Small literary accomplishments, accompanied by idle habits, are
already but too common, though the fact is more generally known than
acknowledged. Nor do I mean that sort of education which creates
expectations of gaining a livelihood by any other means than those of
honest industry; or which tends to raise the ideas of persons who are born
to work above the duties which fortune has assigned to them. I mean such an
education as shall better their condition, by making them better servants.
In large establishments, where there are old and experienced persons in
service, it is very much the custom to have younger ones as helpers, and
thus the latter have the benefit of learning all the duties of the
household; but these establishments are comparatively few in number. The
fashion of the day is opposed to my opinion, and the same ladies who now
condescend to teach poor children to read and write, because it is the
fashion to do so, would, in many cases, think it beneath them to teach a
little girl to make a pudding. It would, in a work of this nature, be a
hopeless and presumptuous attempt, to argue against the all-powerful
influence of fashion, against which the keenest shafts of invective and
ridicule, and in short every weapon of satire, have been so often aimed in
vain; but, all are not under the dominion of so senseless and so capricious
a tyranny, and I have to regret my inability to set before my readers the
benefits which mistresses of families would confer and receive, from
bringing up young country girls to be good servants. There might always, in
a country-house, be one or more young girls, according to the size of the
establishment; to be placed under older servants, or be instructed by the
mistress herself, in all household occupations, from {xiii}the hardest work
and most simple offices, to the more delicate arts of housekeeping,
including needle-work. This practice would not only insure more good
servants than there now are; but, young girls so trained would, by the
force of hourly tuition and good example, imbibe a right sense of duty, and
acquire good habits, before they could have had time to become vicious or
unmanageable.

When ladies take the trouble to teach the poor to read and write, they mean
well, no doubt, and think they are doing the best they can for their
pupils. But teaching industry is more to the purpose; for when learning has
been found insufficient to preserve the morals of princes, nobles, and
gentry, how can it be supposed that it will preserve those of their
dependents? The supposition is, in fact, injurious to the cause of true
learning, since the system founded upon it has been attended by no moral
improvement. Our well-being is best secured by an early habit of earning
our bread by honest labour; and

 "Not to know at large of things remote
  From use, obscure, and subtle, but to know
  That which before us lies in daily life,
  Is the prime wisdom; what is more, is fume.
  Or emptiness, or fond impertinence,
  And renders us in things that most concern,
  Unpractis'd, unprepar'd, and still to seek."

A country girl, the daughter of a labourer, would, by making herself in
some way practically useful to society, and gaining a respectable
livelihood, be more profitably employed than in going through that long
course of literary exercise which has, of late, been so generally bestowed
on the children of poor people, but which, I fear, has not generally
imparted to them much of what MILTON styles "the prime wisdom." It should
also be considered, that the literary education of the poor, such as it is,
cannot be much more than half completed at the age when the children cease
to receive lessons from their charitable instructors. They are taught to
read, to write a little, and perhaps something of the elements of
arithmetic. The reading, however, is the principal attainment; and in this,
they generally become well enough schooled before they are eleven, or, at
most, twelve years of age. But alas! have they at that age, or at the age
of thirteen or fourteen, {xiv}been taught all that is necessary for girls
so young to learn, with regard to the _choice of books_? With the use of
_letters_, indeed, as the mere components of words, they have been made
acquainted. But why have they been taught to read at all, unless there be
some profit to be derived from their reading; and how can any profit be
looked for from that reading, unless there be the same kind of pains taken
to point out the proper objects of study as there have been to teach the
little scholars to spell? Surely that advice which is required by all young
persons in the pursuit of book-learning, is at least as necessary to those
who can do no more than just read their own native language, as it is to
those who are brought up in a superior way. The education of youth, among
the higher and middle classes, does not terminate, or, at least, it never
should, immediately on their leaving school. At that period, a fresh series
of anxieties occur to the parent or the guardian, who is quite as sedulous
as before, to finish that which has been, in fact, only begun at school. If
this be not the case, how is it, that though the son may have been eight or
ten years at the best schools, the father, after the schooling is ended,
finds it necessary to consult the most discreet and experienced advisers,
concerning the right guidance of his child in the course of his future
studies? The attention paid to the studies of young ladies, after they come
from school, is, to be sure, not precisely the same as that which parents
think requisite for their sons. But, while the daughter has generally the
advantage of being with her mother, or with some female relative much older
than herself; and while the success in life of our sex does not so
frequently depend upon literary acquirements, and the proper employment of
them; yet under such circumstances, favourable as they are, we all know
that there is still much wanting, both in the way of counsel and attractive
example, from the parent or guardian, to render the learning which a young
girl has acquired at school, of substantial service to her in after years.
If the daughters of the rich require to be taught, not merely to read, but,
also, _what_ to read, why should not this be the case with the daughters of
the poor? in whose fate, it is too often proved, that "a little learning is
a dangerous thing," owing to the want of that discretion which is necessary
to prevent the little learning becoming worthless, and even mischievous, to
its possessor.

{xv}In the way of practical education, there are many things of importance
to the poor, which ought to be taught them in early youth. At the age of
fifteen or sixteen, a girl should already have learned many of the duties
of a servant; for if her education up to that age have been neglected, she
must necessarily, for the next three or four years of her life, be
comparatively useless and little worthy of trust. The poor do not, as some
may suppose, inhale with the air they breathe any of that knowledge which
is necessary to make them useful in the houses of their parents or their
employers. To learn cookery, in its various branches; making bread;
milking, butter-making, and all the many things that belong to a dairy;
household offices innumerable; besides the nice art of getting up fine
linen, and plain work with the needle; not only requires considerable time,
but, also, unless the learner be uncommonly quick and willing, great
attention on the part of the person who undertakes to teach them. It is
lamentable to see how deficient many female servants are in some things,
the knowledge of which ought to be thought indispensable. Some are so
ignorant of plain needle-work as to be incapable of making themselves a
gown; and this, too, where they happen to be what the country-people call
"scholars," from their ability to read a little, and to make an awkward use
of the pen. A maid-servant who can assist her mistress in plain
needle-work, is a really valuable person. Strange as it may seem, however,
there are but few common servants who can do so, notwithstanding that
superiority in learning by which the present generation of the labouring
people are said to be distinguished from their predecessors.

With young servants, nothing has a better effect than _encouragement_. If
they are, by nature, only good tempered, and blest with as much right
principle as those who have not been spoiled generally possess, whatever
you say or do in the way of encouraging them, can hardly fail to produce
some good, though it may not always accomplish everything that you would
desire. A cheerful tone in giving directions, a manner of address which
conveys the idea of confidence in the willingness, as well as the ability,
of the person directed, has great influence upon the minds of all young
persons whose tempers and inclinations have not been warped by ill-usage,
or soured {xvi}by disappointment. Very young servants frequently take pride
in their work, though of the most laborious kind, and many a young girl
might be proud to improve in the more refined departments of housewifery,
and would regard a little congratulation upon the lightness of her pastry,
or the excellence of her cakes, as worth ten times all the thought and care
which she had bestowed upon them. There is no mistress who does not
acknowledge the importance of a servant who can assist in preserving,
pickling, wine-making, and other things of this description, which demand
both skill and labour, and which must, where there is no one but the
mistress herself sufficiently acquainted with them to be trusted, take up
much of her time and give her considerable trouble.

To teach poor children to become useful servants, may, perhaps, be thought
a serious task; but it surely cannot be said that this sort of instruction
is at all more difficult than that which is necessary to give them even a
tolerable proficiency in the lowest branches of literature. The learning
here recommended, seems naturally more inviting, as well as more needful,
than that which is taught in the ordinary course of school education; and
it possesses this advantage, that while its benefits are equally lasting,
they are immediately perceptible. It is sometimes said that the poor are
ungrateful, and that after all the pains and trouble which may have been
taken in making them good servants, it often happens, that instead of
testifying a proper sense of the obligation, they become restless, and
desirous of leaving those who have had all the trouble of qualifying them
for better places and higher wages. Servants cannot be prevented from
bettering themselves, as they call it, but that constant changing of place
which operates as one of the worst examples to young women who are at
service, would become less frequent if their employments were occasionally
varied by relaxation and amusement, and their services now and then
rewarded by small presents. The influence of early habits is so universally
felt and acknowledged, that it seems almost superfluous to ask why an early
and industrious education of the poor, and the teaching of the youth of
both sexes to look upon prosperity and right endeavour as inseparable,
should not produce a taste, the reverse of that which leads to a
discontented and unsettled existence.

{xvii}It is equally the interest of the rich and of the poor, that the
youthful inhabitants of the mansion and those of the cottage, should grow
up with sentiments of mutual good will. If the poor are indebted to their
opulent neighbours for the assistance which makes a hard lot tolerable,
there exists a reciprocal obligation on the part of the rich, since they
could not obtain the comforts and the luxuries which they enjoy, without
the aid of those who are less fortunate than themselves. But there is
another and superior motive, which ought to narrow the distance between the
poor and the rich: the lady of the mansion, when she meets her washerwoman
in the village church, must know that, in that place, she and the
hard-working woman are equals. The lady of the mansion, when she beholds
the ravages which but a few years of toil have wrought in the once blooming
and healthful country girl, is astonished, perhaps, that her own looks and
health have not undergone a similar change; but, she forgets that the
pitiable creature before her has been exposed to the damp floors and steams
of a wash-house, to the chill of a cold drying-ground, and the oppressive
heat of an ironing stove, in order to earn her miserable portion of the
necessaries of life. No wonder that her beauty has vanished; that her
countenance betrays the marks of premature age, and that her air of
cheerfulness is exchanged for that of a saddened resignation. But the lady
of the mansion should not, in the confidence of her own happier fate, lose
sight of the fact, that this poor and destitute creature is a _woman_ as
well as herself; that her poor inferior is liable to all those delicacies
and weaknesses of constitution of which she herself is sensible; and that,
in the eyes of their Maker, the peeress and the washerwoman hold equal
rank.

The ingratitude of the poor is often made a pretext for neglecting to
relieve their wants. But are not their superiors ungrateful? Is "the
ingratitude of the world," of which philosophers of the earliest ages have
said so much, confined to the lowly and unrefined? By no means. High birth
and refinement in breeding do not, alone, ensure feelings of honour and of
kindness to the heart, any more than they ensure common sense and sound
judgment to the head; for these qualities seem to be in the very nature of
some, while it passes the power of all art to implant them in
{xviii}others. It is for those who have known what adversity is to say
whether they have not met with instances of devoted attachment, of
generosity, and of every other good feeling, on the part of servants, at
the very time when they have been depressed by the heart-sick sensation
caused by the desertion of friends. Those have been unfortunate in their
experience of human nature, who cannot bear testimony to the admirable
conduct of servants in fulfilling that wearisome, and often most trying,
but at the same time most imperative of all earthly duties, attendance upon
a sick bed. Perhaps it has not occurred to most others, as it has to me, to
witness such proofs of virtue in poor people. Among the truly charitable
there are, no doubt, many in whom disgust has been excited by ingratitude;
but has it been excited by the hard-working and the half-starving only? It
is but a very limited acquaintance with this life, which can justify the
unselfish and noble nature in denouncing the _poor_, for being ungrateful.
Be this, however, as it may, one thing is certain, that no probability of
disappointment, no apprehensions of an ungrateful return, ought to have any
influence with the mind of a Christian, and that such obstacles were never
yet a hinderance to any man or woman whose desire was to do good.




{xix}TABLE OF CONTENTS.

                                                                       PAGE

  INTRODUCTION                                                          iii

  CHAPTER I.

  General observations relating to Housekeeping, with remarks on
  the fitting up of a House, and conducting its affairs. On the
  choice and management of Servants.                                      1

  CHAPTER II.

  The Store Room; the mode of fitting up, and the uses of it             14

  CHAPTER III.

  The Pantry; the uses of it, with Receipts for Cleaning Plate and
  Furniture.                                                             18

  CHAPTER IV.

  The Larder; with Directions for Keeping and Salting Meat.
  Seasons for Meat, Poultry, Game, Fish and Vegetables                   23

  CHAPTER V.

  The Kitchen, with observations upon the fitting it up                  35

  CHAPTER VI.

  Directions for Jointing, Trussing and Carving, with plates of
  Animals and various Joints                                             44

  CHAPTER VII.

  General Instructions for Boiling, followed by Directions for
  Boiling various Joints                                                 59

  CHAPTER VIII.

  General Instructions for Roasting, followed by Directions for
  Roasting particular Joints                                             67

  CHAPTER IX.

  Directions for Baking                                                  81

  CHAPTER X.

  Directions for Broiling                                                83

  CHAPTER XI.

  Directions for Frying                                                  87

  CHAPTER XII.

  General Instructions for the making of Soups and Broths, and
  Directions relating to particular sorts                                92

  CHAPTER XIII.

  Instructions for Boiling, Frying, Baking, Pickling and Potting
  Fish                                                                  114

  CHAPTER XIV.

  General Instructions for Made Dishes, and Directions relative
  to particular Dishes                                                  133

  CHAPTER XV.                                                        {xx}

  Stuffing and Forcemeat                                                187

  CHAPTER XVI.

  Gravies and Sauces                                                    191

  CHAPTER XVII.

  Seasonings                                                            206

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  General and particular Instructions for Cooking Vegetables,
  and also for Mixing Salads                                            210

  CHAPTER XIX.

  General Instructions for making Pastry, with particular Directions
  relating to Meat, Fish, and Fruit Pies                                227

  CHAPTER XX.

  General and particular Directions for making Puddings                 245

  CHAPTER XXI.

  Directions for making Bread, Cakes, Biscuits, Rolls and Muffins       268

  CHAPTER XXII.

  General Observations on Confectionary, and particular Instructions
  for making Jellies, Creams                                            283

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  General and particular Instructions for making Preserves              303

  CHAPTER XXIV.

  Instructions for making Pickles                                       318

  CHAPTER XXV.

  Instructions for making Vinegars                                      324

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  Instructions for making Essences                                      328

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  Instructions for making Catsups                                       329

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  General Remarks upon the Cellar, followed by Directions for
  Brewing Beer, and the making of Wines and Cordials                    332

  CHAPTER XXIX.

  General Observations relating to the fitting up, and the care of
  the Dairy, with Directions for making Cheese and Butter               348

  CHAPTER XXX.

  Observations upon Cooking for the Sick, and Receipts for Broths,
  Jellies, Gruels                                                       354

  CHAPTER XXXI.

  Medical Recipes                                                       365

  CHAPTER XXXII.

  Various Receipts                                                      375

  CHAPTER XXXIII.

  Observations relating to, and Directions for Cooking for the Poor     382



{1}THE ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER.

----


CHAPTER I.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.


IT would be impossible to give rules for the management of a domestic
establishment, because they would necessarily be subject to many and
various exceptions, produced by various circumstances. But a few general
observations, accompanied by remarks on the most important matters in
domestic life, may not be unacceptable to young housekeepers.

In the young and thoughtless, a spirit of emulation, leading them to vie
with those who are richer than themselves, is often the source of domestic
unhappiness, by causing so much to be sacrificed to appearance, as to
circumscribe the means of enjoying the substantial comforts of life. It
sometimes manifests itself in houses, equipages, and retinues of servants;
but amongst persons of moderate income, for whose use this work is
principally intended, it is commonly displayed in costly furniture and
expensive entertainments. Many young married women conceive the notion,
that unless they have as fine a house, as expensive furniture, plate,
china, and glass, as some others have, and give as fine entertainments as
others give; in short, unless they make the appearance of living quite as
well as their richer neighbours, they will not be held in equal estimation.
It is not that they derive any real pleasure from the false appearance
which they make; indeed, expensive furniture is but an annoyance to its
possessor, if there be not a sufficient number of good servants to keep it
in order. Where the whole family concur in this sort of pride, no
{2}mortification arises from difference of opinion, but the unanimity tends
only to accelerate the ruin.

The young housekeeper should consider the serious consequences that are
likely to result from setting out in a style of lavish expenditure, and she
should remember that, while it is easy to extend, it is extremely difficult
to reduce, her establishment. One expensive article requires another to
correspond with it, and one expensive entertainment imposes the necessity
of other equally expensive entertainments; for it requires no small share
of moral courage to risk the loss of consequence which may result by its
being surmised that we are not so well off, as we have been supposed to be.
And when the time comes, as sooner or later it assuredly must, when the
means are not adequate to the demands, what sacrifices are made, and what
unseemly contrivances are resorted to, in order to keep up, to the last, a
poor remnant of "_appearance!_" and, when this can no longer be effected,
then comes the humiliation, with all the bitter feelings attendant upon
_retrenchment_; of all which feelings, the bitterest is, the dread of being
degraded in the world's estimation. To endure privations with resignation,
to feel the want of habitual comforts, yet be grateful for the blessings
which are left to us, is the duty of every Christian, and is the less
arduous when the reverse of fortune which has befallen us, has not been
produced by any fault of our own. But if, in addition to the distresses of
adversity, the wife and the mother be doomed to writhe under the pang of
self-reproach, great indeed must be her suffering, and one for which I can
suggest no adequate relief. To the young and generous-minded, the hardest
portion which accompanies reverses of fortune, is, the change which they
sometimes produce in the behaviour of acquaintances. When we are become
poorer than we were, and have lost the ability to entertain guests in the
accustomed manner, it is painful to perceive some of those very people who
have been the most hospitably entertained, and who, in our prosperity, have
appeared the most attached to us, turn from us and our difficulties, while
they banish from their minds the recollection of past kindness. To meet
with indifference in those whose smiles have courted ours; to feel that we
have thrown away sincere friendship upon mere heartlessness, is hard to be
endured, even by the faultless, but how {3}intolerable must it be, when
aggravated by the consciousness that we have incurred it by our own
misconduct. To the experienced, this is one of the severest vicissitudes of
life; what, then, must it be to us, before we have acquired that equanimity
of mind, which falls only to the lot of those who have passed through the
ordeal of the world, and who have been amply compensated for the desertion
of the many, by the sincerity, the warmth of heart, and the steadfastness
of the few.

Houses and furniture properly belong to the extraordinary expenses of the
household. When a young woman is called upon to exercise her judgment in
the choice of a house, she must pause before she rejects one which, though
she may consider it rather too small, might, nevertheless, be made to
accommodate the family _well enough_, and might be fitted up at a less cost
than a larger one. Such a house would require fewer servants, and would
certainly present a better appearance, than one that is rather too large
for the quantity, or for the style of its furniture, and is, perhaps,
larger than is actually required for the number of its inhabitants. It is
easier to remove from a small to a large house, when circumstances require
it, than it is to remove from a large to a small one. It is so easy to
increase our wants, and so difficult to reduce them, that young persons
should begin the world with caution, and not multiply their wants, lest, in
time, they lack the means of gratifying them.

In fitting up a house, the young housekeeper, who sets out with a
determination to choose furniture suitable to her circumstances and station
in life, will be content with that which is just _good enough_, rather than
be induced to exceed her previous good intentions, and gratify her fancy at
the expense of her comforts. She must never yield to the seductive
reflection, that "_only_ five pounds more cannot make much difference;"
for, the same argument may be equally applied to the sofa, the tables, the
carpet, the curtains, the grate, the fire-irons and fender; all of which
are necessary to furnish a dining room; to say nothing of the lamps, the
mirrors, and other articles of ornament, which fashion in some cases makes
of absolute necessity. If "_only five pounds_" be given for some of these,
and two, or even one pound, for others, more than is necessary, she {4}will
find that the "difference" is very great by the time that she has fitted up
only one room.

The rage for vying with our superiors shows itself in the bad taste which
encumbers houses with unsuitable furniture. Massive sideboards, and
unwieldy chairs, occupy too much space in a small room, while draperies not
only obscure the light, but have an inelegant appearance, unless the room
be large and lofty, or in keeping with the size and weight of cornices,
cords, tassels, and other ornaments, which give offence to the eye when too
gorgeous or prominent. Of equal bad taste, is the habit of occasionally
changing furniture, to suit the varying of fashions; which is so much the
practice that even persons in trade, having families to provide for, change
furniture, sufficiently good to serve its purpose for a lifetime, for other
no handsomer, but a little more fashionable.

It is strange that persons pretending to gentility should not rather
imitate the higher class of their superiors, who value their high-backed
chairs the more because they are old, and would on no account exchange them
for modern finery. When expensive furniture is introduced into the houses
of persons of small fortune, the long upholsterer's bill rises like a
phantom before the misplaced couches, ottomans, and ottoman sofas, crowded
into small drawing rooms; and my feelings of regret become almost feelings
of indignation on seeing plate, which belonged to fathers and mothers, or
to grandfathers and grandmothers, and spoons which have touched those lips
which spoke tenderness to our infancy, about to be bartered for the
"Prince's," the "King's," or the "fiddle pattern," or for some other
pattern that may happen to offer the newest temptation to vulgar taste.

Every young woman who has the good taste to wish that her house may be
characterised by its simplicity, and be more remarkable for comfort than
for show, will, if she wish to spare herself and her family much
discomfort, avoid having show-rooms; such rooms, I mean, as are considered
too fine to be habitually occupied by the family, and are, therefore, kept
shut up; except when, on particular occasions, and perhaps only a few times
in the year, a fire is lighted for the reception of company. Upon such
occasions, children are seen to look about them as if they {5}had never
beheld the place before; the master of the house fidgets from one seat to
another, as if he were anywhere but at home; and it is probable, that
before the entertainment is over, the mistress of the house is heard to
remark, that she is "never so comfortable as in the room she is accustomed
to;" by which her friends discover that their visit has put her out of the
way. True hospitality conceals from guests any trouble which their presence
may unavoidably occasion; but in the luxurious taste of the times, there is
little real hospitality left: friendly intercourse seems lost in
ostentatious display, and in our vain attempts to equal, if not to
outshine, each other. Most persons acknowledge this to be the case, and
lament that it is so; yet few have the courage to pursue a different
system.

There is no species of decoration which produces so much effect in
ornamenting a house as flowers. The artificial productions of the painter
and the upholsterer, the gilded ceilings, glittering mirrors, and couches
of brocade, are more splendid and durable, and are worthy of admiration for
their individual beauty and the ingenuity and industry which has produced
them, but they have not the lively, gay, and varied attractions of flowers.
Vases, whether gaudy or elegant, excite interest only as mere objects of
curiosity, unless filled with flowers.

To point to any particular department of the household, as demanding the
greatest share of attention, would tend rather to mislead than instruct;
for a due proportion ought to be bestowed upon every department; where the
mistress of the house is over particular on any one point, other matters,
of equal importance, may be neglected.

Perfect and uniform neatness is indispensable, not only for comfort, but
appearance. By uniform neatness, I mean, that nothing which presents
itself, whether about the house, in the dress of mistress, children, or
servants, should be left open to unfavourable remark. A young lady who
relaxes in attention to her own dress, merely because she has more
important cares after, than she had before her marriage, does wrong; but
she whose studied attire forms a contrast to the little soiled fingers
which are forbidden to approach it; she who strikes the beholder as having
bestowed care on herself, while her children bear the appearance of
neglect, does infinitely worse. To preserve the {6}neatness of a house,
there must be regular attention on the part of the mistress. I am a great
enemy to the system of periodical scrubbings and general house-cleanings,
which prevails to so great an extent, and especially in the country, where,
when the appointed day comes round, carpets are taken up, and floors, even
though they be delicately clean, are washed, whether the weather be
suitable or otherwise, the health of the family being left to take its
chance. The day of _general house-cleaning_ is no other than a day of
commotion and discomfort. One attendant evil is, the make-up dinner, which
does not, perhaps, content all the family; and it is a singular piece of
good fortune if friends do not select that very day for paying you a visit.
It is certainly a more simple process to clean a house, than it is to keep
a house clean; for mere labour is required for the one, while method is
necessary for the other. But this method every young housekeeper should
endeavour to acquire. Sweeping, dusting, and polishing, should proceed
daily. Carpets should be swept every day with a hair broom; but only once a
week with a carpet broom, because it wears them: and damp tea leaves should
always be used, whether in sweeping carpets or boards, as they lay the
dust, which would otherwise fly over the furniture, and again settle on the
floor. Bed room carpets should be in different pieces, not nailed to the
floor, for the convenience of shaking, which may then be done once in a
week. Bed rooms should be swept every day, and a damp mop passed under the
beds, chests of drawers, &c., &c., which will remove all the flue and dust,
and prevent accumulation of dirt, so that the washing of boards will not be
so often required during the winter. In summer, indeed, frequent washings
refreshen the atmosphere, and are also beneficial in removing the
collections of light dust which engender insects so difficult to get rid
of.

Upon the subject of wet boards, I believe that my dislike to great
scrubbings was acquired in that cleanest of cities, Philadelphia; where,
though American servants do not and will not work so hard as English
servants, yet, because it was the custom of the place, they were,
notwithstanding severe cold, everlastingly scrubbing the stairs during the
months of December and January. Some years afterwards, at Rome, one of the
dirtiest of cities, and in the middle of {7}summer, I recalled to mind,
with a complacency I had never bestowed on them before, the
scrubbing-brushes and the curd-white pails of Philadelphia, and marvelled,
as every one must, that in wet and cold countries people wash their houses
so much, and that, in hot and dry countries, they do not wash them at all.

With regard to the ordinary expenses of housekeeping, the most important
branch of domestic duty which devolves upon the mistress is, to estimate
and keep an exact account of the expenditure of her family. She may make
this a simple affair by first ascertaining the sum of money to be allotted
to it, and then making such arrangements as will confine the expenses
rigidly _within_ that sum. By keeping a strict account of every article for
the first three months, and making a due allowance for casualties, she will
be able to form an estimate for the year; and if she find she has exceeded
in these three months the allotted sum, she must examine each article, and
decide where she can best diminish the expense; and then, having this
average to go by, she may calculate how much to allow each month for meat,
bread, groceries, washing, and sundries. Having formed her plan, whatever
excess circumstances may have required in one month, she must make up for
in the next. I should not advise paying for everything at the moment, but
rather once a week; for if a tradesman omit to keep an account of the money
received for a particular article, he may, by mistake, make a charge for
it, as something had upon trust. A weekly account has every advantage of
ready money, and is a more convenient mode of payment. All tradesmen may be
paid on a Monday morning, the bills receipted, endorsed, and put by in a
portfolio or case (which should have the date of the year on the outside),
and they can then be referred to as vouchers, or to refresh the memory as
to the price of any particular article. It is a satisfaction, independently
of the pecuniary benefit, for the head of a family to be able, at the end
of the year, to account to herself for what she has done with her money.

Having, in the arrangement of her house, and in the choice of her servants,
kept in view the two main objects, namely, the comfort of her family, and
the care of her purse, the young housekeeper ought to commence her career,
by strictly adhering to order and regularity in the {8}performance of those
duties which devolve peculiarly upon herself. If the mistress of a house be
regular in the superintendence of her domestic affairs, if she proceed
every day to each department at the appointed time, and never pass over any
neglect, in such a manner as to give the servants an idea that it had
escaped her observation; if, in short, she be regular herself, her servants
must be so too, and she will find the business of housekeeping a matter of
no difficulty, and of comparatively little labour.

The comfort and respectability of a house depend, in a great degree, upon
the servants. Clean, neatly-dressed, and well-behaved servants, always
impress a visitor with a favourable idea of the mistress of a house; while
it is scarcely possible not to be somewhat prejudiced against her, if they
be the reverse.

Servants who understand their work, and do it without being continually
looked after, are invaluable; and, as regards wages, not to be compared
with ignorant and incapable ones, who perform their services only as they
are directed at every turn. A few pounds a year more to a good servant is
not, therefore, a consideration; the addition in wages will occasion little
additional cost; for, the bad servant consumes as much as the other, and
she wastes or damages more.

The hours of meals should vary as little as possible; particularly the
first meal of the day; for the work may be said to commence immediately
after breakfast, and when that takes place one hour only, after the usual
time, the whole business of the house is retarded. In even the most regular
families, the time of dining may unavoidably be postponed. But this should
happen as seldom as possible: for if the dinner ordered for five, be kept
waiting till half-past six, one day, and, perhaps, later still another day,
the cook may be prevented from performing some other part of her work, for
which she had allotted the time; she will naturally be dissatisfied in
having to consume that time in watching over the dinner; and if the dinner
upon which she has, perhaps, exerted her utmost skill, be spoiled by
waiting, she may be excused if she reproach herself for having taken so
much trouble in its preparation. If the trial of her patience and temper be
repeated, she will soon take little interest in pleasing her employers; she
will {9}take _her_ turn to be irregular, and that, perhaps, on some
occasion when it may produce inconvenience to the family. Under such
circumstances, it would be unreasonable to find fault with the cook, who
would only be following the bad example of those whose duty it is to
preserve regularity. Their hours for going to bed, and getting up, should
be as early as other arrangements will permit. But, those ought to be so
regulated as to make it unnecessary that the servants should be kept up
late, except on extraordinary occasions. Late dinners have, in a great
measure, done away with hot suppers. Where these are not eaten, the labours
of the twenty-four hours may be ended by ten o'clock at night; and that is
the latest hour at which the servants of a family of the middle rank, and
of regular habits, ought to remain up. Some one of the family should see
that fires have been put out, and doors and windows secured.

The honesty of servants depends, principally, upon their bringing up. But
it also depends much, with young servants especially, upon the temptations
to be dishonest they may have had to contend with; and it is the duty of
every master and mistress to put all such temptations out of their way, as
much as possible. The practice of locking up does not, as a matter of
course, imply _distrust_, but it denotes _care_; and surely carefulness is
one of the first principles to impress upon the mind of a poor person. I
would as scrupulously avoid anything which should lead a servant to imagine
that a drawer or tea-chest was locked up from _her_, as I would avoid
giving the same idea to an acquaintance; but it is a culpable practice to
leave tea, sugar, wine, or other things, open at all times, or only now and
then locked up. The _habit_ is bad; and it is the result, not of
generosity, but of negligence; it is also a habit which cannot fail to
excite, in the minds of experienced and well-disposed servants, feelings
rather of contempt, than of respect for their employers; while to the
young, and more particularly to those of unsettled principles, it is
nothing less than a temptation to crime. Little pilferings at the
tea-chest, perhaps, have been the beginning of that which has ended in
depriving a poor girl of her character, and, consequently, of all chance of
gaining her bread by honest means. To suspect servants of being disposed to
be dishonest merely because they are servants, is as silly as it is
unfeeling. I should {10}never hesitate to give my keys to a servant, when
it happened to be inconvenient to me to leave company, any more than I
should hesitate to entrust them to one of my own family; but such an act of
confidence is far different in its effects, from that neglect which often
proceeds from mere idleness, and, while it proclaims a disregard of the
value of property, is the occasion of much waste, and, in the end, proves
as ruinous to the employer as it is fatal in the way of example to
servants.

That "_servants are plagues_" may be the fact; but when the hardships which
belong to the life of a maid-servant are taken into consideration, the
wonder is, that they are not less obedient to the will of their employers,
and more callous to their displeasure, than we really find them. It is too
much the habit to regard servants as inferior beings, hired and paid to
perform certain services, but whose feelings are unworthy of the
consideration of those upon whom they wait, for whom they cook, and whom
they enable to sit at their ease, or to go about, and take their pleasure.
True, they are paid for what they do; but how paid? Not in a degree
adequate to their services. The double or the treble of what they are paid,
would not compensate us for the discomfort of having to work for ourselves.
Yet, "they are _paid_ for it," is said in justification of unreasonable
demands upon the time, strength, and patience of servants; when, in fact,
the whole of the pay to a female servant consists of that food, without
which she would be unable to work, and of a sum of money, barely sufficient
to keep her clothed, which she is required to be, for the credit of the
house she lives in. Ladies who shudder as they meet the cold air, in
descending to their breakfast rooms, forget the sufferings of the female
servant, who has, perhaps, gone to bed over-night exhausted by fatigue, but
whose duty compels her to rise again, some hours before she is rested, to
begin her work afresh, and to do over again all that had been done the day
before. A lady who thinks her servant _sufficiently paid_ for all she
endures, has never known what it is to get up in the dark of a cold winter
morning, and to spend half-an-hour on her knees, labouring to produce a
polish on the bars of a grate, which bars were burnt black yesterday, and
will be burnt black again to-day. Such a lady has never suffered from the
drudgery of a kitchen, not {11}from the scorching of a kitchen fire, either
of which is sufficient to impair the constitution of any woman,
independently of all that wearing of the spirits, which those exposed to
such trials must experience.

It is true, also, that it is by their own choice that servants go to
service; they are not compelled to do so by any other law than that of
necessity; but starvation is their only alternative; and we should think it
hard to be reduced to the alternative of either starving to death, in the
bloom of our youth, and of quitting a world which was made for us, as well
as for our more fortunate fellow beings, or of yielding up the whole of our
lives, to promote the ease of those who deem us amply rewarded, in being
fed and clothed, and suffered to repose from toil, at those times only when
their wants happen not to require our attention.

The apprehension of lowering our dignity and encouraging disrespect, by
giving way to familiarity with inferiors, is pleaded by some as an excuse
for haughty and overbearing demeanour towards servants. But such as adopt
that kind of demeanour are mistaken. There are few better judges of good
breeding than servants. Their ideas upon this subject are not formed by
rules, or by fashions; but they have generally, from observation, a
remarkably correct knowledge both of what is due to themselves, and of what
is most becoming to the dignity of their superiors. I have occasionally
been astonished at the quickness with which a servant has made the
discovery, that some upstart person, notwithstanding her lofty bearing,
"was no lady." The behaviour which characterises such persons is more
likely to give rise to contempt, in those who are beneath them, than any
behaviour that is unaffectedly conciliating and kind. To be loved, and to
be cheerfully served, is for those only who respect the feelings, and
consult the comfort of their dependents; and, as a single trait is often
sufficient to reveal the whole character, they will most assuredly be
disappointed, who expect to meet with the qualities which conduce to the
happiness of domestic life, in a woman who considers the feelings of a
female servant as unworthy of the same consideration as that which she
gives to the feelings of others of her own sex.

With regard to the general character and merits of servants, nothing is
more common than the remark, that {12}"servants are not so good as they
used to be." This is surely an error. There cannot be a greater
predisposition to misconduct in them now than formerly. It may be said,
that there are more frequent instances of bad conduct; but this does not
warrant the idea, that the servants of the present day have a degree of
inborn viciousness from which those of times past were free. If all who
rail at the negligences, the waste, the want of care, the dislike of work,
and the liking for dress and for gadding, to which servants are as much
addicted as their betters; if all such were themselves as free from fault
as they would have their servants be, it would probably be found that the
effect, what with precept and example combined, would be quite enough to
banish this commonplace remark. The truth is, that the change which has
taken place in the habits of the middle class, has produced a change, but a
very natural change, in the habits of those of a more humble station. There
exists now a greater degree of high living than formerly; and consequently,
a want of frugality, a waste in all sorts of ways, formerly unknown.
Persons of moderate income keep more company than persons of the same class
used to keep; they imitate the late hours, and other fashionable habits
which used to be reckoned among the privileges of their superiors in
fortune, instead of wisely avoiding emulation in such things, and keeping
to their own more simple, and less hazardous mode of life. What wonder,
then, if we find the most humble copying those of the middling, when the
middling are doing all they can to rival those of the highest rank.

Servants were formerly more the object of care with their employers than
they have been of late. When ladies gave a considerable portion of their
time to domestic duties, and prided themselves on their skill in household
matters, they were not above maintaining a certain degree of friendly
intercourse with their servants. This afforded opportunities for giving
good counsel, and for superintending their conduct, and was a more
efficient check upon them than "a good scolding now and then," which many
think better than "being always on the watch."

In addressing myself to young persons, it may not be considered impertinent
or foreign to the general purpose of this work, to offer a few remarks upon
the subject of {13}company. I do not mean in respect to the selection of
friends and acquaintance, or the _kind_ of visitors proper to be invited,
but simply as to the mode of entertaining them, which must, necessarily, be
a matter of importance in housekeeping, and, therefore, comes properly
within the scope of domestic economy.

It should be a rule, not to invite such visitors as cannot be entertained
without trespassing on the comforts and conveniences of the family. True
hospitality may be enjoyed without much ceremony, and may be practised in
the plainest manner; but when efforts to entertain _company_ disturb the
usual arrangements of a house, they are inconsistent with their object. Let
nothing, therefore, be attempted which cannot be performed without
difficulty; let nothing be provided which cannot be provided plentifully;
let nothing which is necessary be wanting, and nothing produced which may
seem to be out of place or uncalled for. Do nothing, in short, which you
cannot really afford to do; and the result will be, that while you consult
your own ease, you will, at the same time, ensure that freedom from
restraint which contributes, more than all besides, to make visiting
agreeable, and which never fails to create in your departing guest, those
mixed feelings of regret at going, but of pleasure at the prospect of
returning, which are amongst the most flattering acknowledgments that
genuine hospitality can receive.




{14}CHAPTER II.

THE STORE ROOM.


EVERY housekeeper knows the value of a good Store-room; for it seems to be
little less essential than a good kitchen. Few modern town residences,
except those for large establishments, have a store-room sufficiently large
to answer all its purposes.

In the country a good store-room is so indispensable that where there is
none it ought to be built; it should be on the same floor with, and as near
as possible to, the kitchen; and as this would be on the ground floor, it
would be necessary to make a cellar underneath, or to raise the building a
little distance from the ground, to prevent its being damp, above all
things to be guarded against, in a place where stores are kept. It may,
perhaps, be kept dry by flues from the kitchen fire; and this would be a
saving of fuel and labour; but if not practicable, the room should have a
fire-place.

If it be sufficiently large, and there be no other place for the purpose,
there might be a closet, or press, for household linen. This should always
be kept in a dry situation, and in some houses a small room is fitted up,
with closets or presses round it, some of these having shelves or drawers
for linen, and others with hooks, for a variety of things belonging to a
family; but in this room there ought to be a fire-place, unless it be aired
by one adjoining. In the store-room, there should be a closet or shelves
for china and glass, not in every-day use. But as these ought to be free
from dust, open shelves would not be so desirable as a closet; and if
expense is not of importance, glass doors would be the most convenient.
Preserves and pickles require air; they will ferment if shut up, or the
place very warm; and, therefore, open shelves are best for them; and they
should be at a convenient distance from the ground, so as not to be out of
sight, for they ought to be examined frequently, and the coverings dusted.
For {15}bottles of green gooseberries, peas, or any kind of fruit preserved
dry, without sugar, have shelves with holes in them, to turn the bottles
with their necks downwards. This effectually excludes the air.

A dresser is a convenience in a store-room; or a table in the middle of the
room may answer the purpose; but in either of these, or at the bottom of
the linen press, there should be drawers for dusters, tea-cloths, &c., &c.,
unless they be kept in the Pantry.

There should be boxes for candles and soap, but as these smell, the
store-boxes may be kept in a garret, or some dry place, and a smaller
quantity in the store-room for immediate use. Late in the summer is the
best time to provide the year's stock of candles and soap. Both are the
better for being kept some time before they are used: and the latter should
be cut in pieces the size required for the different household purposes,
and left, before packed in the box, a few days exposed to the air; but not
in a thorough draught, for that would cause the soap to crack. It is
mismanagement to buy candles a few at a time, and soap just as it is
wanted; and not good to buy cheap candles. The dearest articles are not
always the best; but it is very certain that the best are the cheapest.
Good candles afford more light than bad; and do not waste, particularly if
they have been kept some time, even for a year.

There ought to be a place in the store-room appropriated to groceries, for
they, too, should be laid in, not oftener than two or three times a year.
The price of starch varies with the price of flour; and, therefore, as it
keeps well, a stock should be laid in when flour is at a low price. Rice
keeps very well, and is useful in a family, particularly in the country,
where new milk and eggs are plenty. We once kept a quantity more than three
years, by spreading a well-aired linen sheet in a box, and folding it over
the rice, the sheet lifted out on the floor, once in two or three months,
and the rice spread about upon the sheet for a day or two. This had the
effect of keeping away the weevil. Jars and canisters, with closely fitting
lids, for tea, sugar, coffee, cocoa, mustard, pepper, spices, and such
things, will last many years. By giving, in the course of the year, one or
two large orders, to any respectable shop, and always to the same one, you
may pretty well depend upon {16}being supplied with good articles; but not
so, if you send here and there, and for small quantities at a time; besides
the inconvenience of finding yourself, now and then, without the very thing
which you want. To dispose of these things properly, they should be kept in
a closet, some in earthen jars, others in tin or japan boxes; and the
spices in little drawers very closely fitted. If drawers, which are
preferable, they should be labelled.

As it may be convenient sometimes to perform little culinary matters in the
store-room, there should be a rolling pin, pasteboard, and pestle and
mortar kept there, in addition to those of the kitchen, and on this account
a small marble slab would be very useful, for making pastry in hot weather.
The fire-place might have an oven attached to it; for though it would be
imprudent to heat the store-room, on account of preserves, &c., it may be
occasionally used, when there is more cooking than usual. Besides which, in
the season for making preserves, a hot plate in the store-room would be
found useful. Weights and scales of various sizes are absolutely necessary,
that the housekeeper may be able to ascertain the weight of the largest
joint of meat, as well as of the smallest quantity of spice. Care should be
taken to keep these in good order.--A hanging shelf is also a good thing in
a store-room. Here the flour-bin may find a place, if there be no other
more suitable.

A store-room of this description is not adapted for keeping fruit; it would
be too warm, besides that the fruit might prove injurious to other stores,
from the smell which it occasions. There are various methods of keeping
apples through the winter; but scarcely any other will be found to succeed
so well as that of making layers of fruit, and layers of perfectly fresh
and dry straw, in hampers, boxes, or the corner of a dry room. The apples
should be examined every now and then, the specked ones taken away for use,
the others wiped, and covered up again. In hard frosts, windows that have
no shutters could be covered with rugs, old carpet, or mats, and something
of the same kind spread over the apples. When we were in America, we were
surprised to find that our neighbours took so little care to preserve their
apples, during the three months of unremitting hard frost, which occur in
their winter season. They merely {17}laid their apples on the floor of a
spare room, sometimes of the barn, or of an outhouse, each sort by itself,
and then covered them with a linen sheet. The people told us that their
apples never became frozen, and attributed this to the dryness of the
atmosphere. Apples and pears may also be preserved in the following way.
Gather them on a dry day: wipe, and roll them, singly, in very soft paper,
then pack them in jars, each containing about a gallon. Put a cover on the
jar, and cement it closely, so as to keep out the air; and place the jar in
a dry cellar. When a jar is opened, the fruit will eat the better for being
taken out of the paper, and exposed to the air of a warm room for two or
three days. Large baking pears may be suspended by their stalks on lines,
placed across near the ceiling of a room. There are many ways of preserving
grapes; but the best way is, to gather them with about five or six inches
of the branch to each bunch, to seal the end with common sealing wax, and
hang them to lines in a dry room. Examine them frequently, and cut out the
mouldy berries. Nuts of all kinds may be preserved in jars, the covers
cemented, the jars in a dry cellar.

In this short sketch of what a store-room ought to be, even in the plainest
houses in the country, many things requisite to the fitting up of a
complete one are omitted. But one thing more necessary to be observed than
any other, must not be omitted; which is, that it must be always in order,
and everything kept in its proper place, or the main object in having it
will be defeated. A store-room out of order can be compared to nothing but
a drawer in a state of confusion. A lady once dressing in haste, to keep an
appointment for which she was already too late, needed the assistance of
all about her, to aid in her search for different articles necessary to
complete her toilet. I sought a pair of gloves, and discovered many single
ones of various sorts and colours, but no two to form a perfect match. And
with this ill success must have ended my labours, if the drawer had not
been regularly _put to rights_: and by the time that scarfs were folded,
ribands rolled, collars smoothed, and scissors disentangled from sewing
silk, half a dozen gloves were paired.

The saving of time occasioned by observing order, and the waste of time
occasioned by want of order, are {18}incalculable. A general putting to
rights, every now and then, does not answer the purpose, because, in that
case, it is sure to happen that some things will find new places; and
persons coming in a hurry be unable to find them. The mistress of a house,
when she sends her servant or a child to a store-room, should be able to
say precisely where what she wants may be found. Negligence, and its
companion disorder, are the two demons of housekeeping. Once admit them,
and, like the moth, they gradually but completely destroy.




CHAPTER III.

THE PANTRY.


WHAT is commonly called the _Butler's Pantry_, does not of necessity imply
the presence of a butler; nor does it require to be spacious, when the
china and glass not in daily use are kept in the store-room. Where women
servants only are kept, the care of the pantry belongs either to the
parlourmaid or the housemaid, and the same servant usually performs the
office of laying the cloth, and waiting at table: which is always done
better by women than by men servants, except it be the higher order of men
servants, those who are in the daily practice of it, and whose occupation
is in the house. The same hands which, in the morning, rubbed down the
horses, swept the stable, cleaned the harness, and blackened the shoes,
seem unfit to be employed in placing dishes on the dining-table, folding up
napkins, and handling tea-things. It is almost impossible that occupations
so widely differing should be equally well suited to one and the same
person. The employing of men servants in work which properly belongs to
women is highly objectionable; and nothing renders travelling in the South
of France and Italy so disagreeable as being waited on by men, acting as
housemaids and chambermaids. If, indeed, men were employed to scrub the
floor, wash the stone halls, and clean the dirty doorsteps in London, the
lives of many female servants might be saved. But the more delicate
{19}occupations, such as wiping glasses, trimming candles, and waiting in
the parlour, seem more suitable for women.

Some women servants, it is true, never learn to wait at table well; but,
then, others are very expert at it. Short people are generally the most
nimble, but it is desirable that the servant who waits at table be tall,
for the convenience of setting on and taking off dishes; and it requires
long arms to carry heavy mahogany trays. Practice is as necessary to good
waiting as it is in any of the higher domestic occupations. The mistress,
therefore, should require the same particularity in preparing the table,
arranging the sideboard, and waiting at dinner, when her family dines
alone, as she requires when there are visitors; because, in the latter
case, an increase in number gives sufficient additional trouble to a
servant, without her being thrown into confusion by having to do what she
may have forgotten, from being out of practice.

There is one item of expenditure in housekeeping which should not be too
narrowly restricted, and that is the washing of table-cloths and napkins.
The fineness is not so much a matter of consideration with me: neither
should I desire a clean table-cloth every day, merely for the sake of the
change; but, if at all soiled, I would rather not see it on the table
again. It is a very neat practice to spread a napkin on the centre of the
table, large or small according to the size of the latter, and to remove it
with the meat. In Italy this napkin is clean every day, and I have seen it
folded in a three-cornered shape, and then crimped at the edges with the
thumb and finger, which, when the napkin was spread out, gave it a pretty
appearance. It is also a neat practice to place the dessert on the table
cloth, and a convenient one too, where there are few servants, because the
cloth saves the table; and rubbing spots out of dining tables, day after
day, seems waste of labour. But the cloth must be preserved from gravy
spots, or it will disgrace the dessert. A baize between two cloths is
sometimes used, and this, being rolled up with the upper cloth and removed
with the dinner, leaves the under cloth for the dessert. A table cloth
_once folded_ may be laid over the one which is spread, and then removed
with the dinner. A table cloth press is a convenience.

The fitting up of the pantry must, in a great measure, be {20}regulated by
the style of the establishment, but, in any case, there should be a
dresser, furnished with drawers, one for table cloths, napkins and mats
(unless all these be kept in sideboard drawers); another for tea cloths,
glass cloths, dusters, &c. &c., and another drawer lined with baize, for
the plate which is in use. Plate-leathers, flannels and brushes, kept in a
bag; and the cloths and brushes used in cleaning furniture, in another bag,
to preserve them from dust. A small sink, with the water laid on,
indispensable. There should also be a horse, or lines, for drying tea and
glass cloths upon.

China and glass, whether plain or of the finest kind, require to be kept
equally clean; and the servant whose business this is ought to have soft
cloths for the purpose. China should be washed in warm water, with a piece
of flannel, and wiped with a clean and soft cloth, or it will look dull.
Glass washed in cold water, drained nearly dry, and then wiped; if the
cloth be not clean and dry, the glasses will not look clear. For cut glass
a brush, because a cloth will not reach into the crevices to polish it; and
dull looking salts, or other cut glass, spoil the appearance of a table.
Wash lamps and lustres with soap and cold water. When looking glasses are
become tarnished and dull, thump them over with a linen bag containing
powdered blue, and wipe it off with a soft cloth.

Paper trays are the best, considering the small difference in the price,
compared with the great difference in the appearance: it would be better to
save in many other things, than to hear tea-things, glasses, or snuffers,
jingle on japan. Paper trays are very durable, if taken care of. They will
seldom require washing; but when they do, the water should only be
lukewarm, for if hot water be poured on them the paper will blister. Wipe
clean with a wet cloth, and when dry, dust a little flour over, and wipe
that off with a soft cloth. To prevent their being scratched, keep
tea-boards and trays in green baize cases, under the dresser of the pantry,
or, if convenient, hung against the wall, to be out of the way, when not in
use.

Plate, plain, handsome, old or new, looks badly, if not perfectly clean and
polished. Washing is of great consequence; and if in cold soft water, wiped
dry with a linen cloth, and then polished with leather, it will not want
any other cleaning oftener than once a week. Unskilful {21}servants may do
great injury by using improper things to polish plate, or by rubbing it too
hard, for that may bend it. Plate should be kept covered up, when not in
use, to preserve it from tarnish. Tea pots, coffee pots, sugar bowls, cream
jugs, candlesticks, and all large things, each in a separate bag of cloth,
baize, or leather; a lined basket for that which is in daily use, preserves
it from scratches. Where there is neither butler, nor housekeeper, to take
charge of it, the mistress of the house usually has the plate basket taken
at night into her own room, or that of some one of the family, where it
may, occasionally, be looked over and compared with the inventory, kept in
the basket. If a spoon or any article be missing, it should be immediately
inquired after; the effect of this will be that the servant who has the
care of these things will take more care of them for the future. It has
happened to us to have spoons found, at different times, in the pig-sty,
which had been thrown out in the wash. If they had not been discovered
there, the servant, who was only careless, might have been suspected of
dishonesty.


_To clean Plate._

Having ready two leathers, and a soft plate brush for crevices, and the
plate being washed clean, which it always should be first, rub it with a
mixture of prepared chalk, bought at the chemist's, and spirits of wine;
let it dry, rub it off with flannel, and polish with leather. I find this
the best way of all.

Much of the labour necessary to keep tables in good order might be saved,
if mats were used, when jugs of hot water are placed on the table; and,
also, if the servant were brought to apply a duster, the instant any
accident had occurred to cause a stain. For this purpose a clean and white
duster should always be in readiness. Rosewood and all polished, japanned,
or other ornamental furniture, is best _dusted_ with a silk handkerchief,
and wiped with a soft leather. China and all ornaments dusted with clean
leathers.

So little furniture is now used which is not _French polished_, that I
shall only give the plainest receipt I know of, for cleaning mahogany. Take
out ink spots with salts of lemon; wet the spot with water, put on enough
to cover it, let it be a quarter of an hour, and if not disappeared, put
{22}a little more. Wash the table clean with stale beer, let it dry, then
brush it well with a clean furniture brush. To polish it, use the following
FURNITURE PASTE:--½ lb. beeswax, turpentine to moisten it, _or_ spirits of
wine, melt it, stirring well, and put by in a jar for use. Rub some on with
a soft cloth, rub it off directly, and polish with another soft cloth.

Nothing betrays slovenliness and want of attention more than ill-used and
badly cleaned knives and forks. Plate, glass and china, however common, may
be made to answer every purpose; but knives and forks ought to be good in
quality, or they soon wear out, and nothing looks so bad on a table as bad
knives and forks, and when good they are so expensive that it is
unpardonable not to take care of them. Carving knives are of great
consequence; there should be a judicious assortment of them, to suit
various joints, or different carvers, and particular attention paid to
their cleaning and sharpening. When it can be done, knives and forks should
be cleaned immediately after they have been used; but when not, they ought,
if possible, to be dipped in warm (not hot) water, wiped dry, and laid by
till the time of cleaning comes. After bath brick has been used, dip the
handles into lukewarm water, or wipe them with a soaped flannel, and then
with a dry soft cloth. Inexperienced men servants seldom _wipe_ knives and
forks sufficiently; but it is next to impossible for a woman to clean them
well, and it is a masculine occupation. To preserve those not in daily use
from rust, rub with mutton fat, roll each one in brown paper, and keep in a
dry place. A good knife-board indispensable; covered with leather saves the
steel, but the knives not so sharp as if cleaned on a board, and bath
brick. Both knives and forks are the better for being occasionally plunged
into fresh fine earth, for a few minutes. It sweetens them.

Knife-trays do not always have so much care as they ought to have. Out of
sight when in the dining-room, they are often neglected in the pantry; but
they ought to be as clean as the waiters on which glasses are handed. The
tray made of basket work and lined with tin, is best; there should be a
clean cloth spread in it, before it is brought into the parlour, and also
one in the second tray to receive the knives and forks, as they are taken
from the table.




{23}CHAPTER IV.

THE LARDER.


A GOOD larder is essential to every house. It should have a free
circulation of air through it, and not be exposed to the sun. If it can be
so contrived, the larder ought to be near the kitchen, for the convenience
of the cook. For a family of moderate style of living it need not be very
roomy. There should be large and strong hooks for meat and poultry; a
hanging shelf so placed as for the cook to reach it with ease; and a safe,
either attached to the wall, or upon a stand, for dishes of cold meat,
pastry, or anything which would be exposed to dust and flies on the shelf.
Wire covers should be provided for this purpose, and in hot weather, when
it may be necessary to place dishes of meat on a brick floor, these covers
will be found to answer every purpose of a safe. There should be a pan,
with a cover, for bread, another for butter, and one for cheese. A shelf
for common earthenware bowls, dishes, &c., &c., &c. Cold meat, and all
things left from the dinner, should be put away in common brown or yellow
ware; there ought to be an ample supply of these. Tubs and pans for salted
meat sometimes stand in the dairy, but it is not the proper place for them,
for meat ought not to be kept in a dairy.

Meat should be examined every day in cold, and oftener in warm weather, as
it sometimes taints very soon. Scrape off the outside, if the least
appearance of mould, on mutton, beef, or venison; and flour the scraped
parts. By well peppering meat you may keep away flies, which cause so much
destruction in a short time. But a very coarse cheese-cloth, wrapped round
the joint, is more effectual, if the meat is to be dressed soon. Remove the
kidneys, and all the suet, from loins which are wanted to hang long, in
warm or close weather, and carefully wipe and flour that part of the meat.
Before you put meat which is rather stale to the fire, wipe it with a cloth
dipped in vinegar. A {24}joint of beef, mutton, or venison, may be saved by
being wrapped in a cloth and buried, over night, in a hole dug in fresh
mould. Neither veal, pork, or lamb should be kept long.

Poultry and game keep for some length of time, if the weather be dry and
cold, but if moist or warm, will be more liable to taint, than venison or
any kind of meat, except veal. A piece of charcoal put inside of any kind
of poultry will greatly assist to preserve it. Poultry should be picked,
drawn and cropped. Do not wash, but wipe it clean, and sprinkle the parts
most likely to taint with powdered loaf sugar, salt, and pepper. As I
should reject the use of all chemical processes, for the preservation of
meat, I do not recommend them to others.

Frost has a great effect upon meat, poultry, and game. Some cooks will not
be persuaded of the necessity for its being completely _thawed before it is
put near the fire_; yet it neither roasts, boils, nor eats well, unless
this be done. If slightly frozen, the meat may be recovered, by being five
or six hours in the kitchen; _not_ near the fire. Another method is, to
plunge a joint into a tub of _cold_ water, let it remain two or three
hours, or even longer, and the ice will appear on the outside. Meat should
be cooked immediately after it has been thawed, for it will keep no longer.

If the tastes of all persons were simple and unvitiated, there would be
little occasion for the cook's ingenuity to preserve meat after it has
begun to putrefy. An objection to meat in that state, does not arise merely
from distaste, but from a conviction of its being most unwholesome. There
may have been a difference of opinion among the scientific upon this
subject: but, it seems now to be generally considered by those who best
understand such matters, that when meat has become poisonous to the air, it
is no longer good and nutritious food. The fashion of eating meat _à la
cannibale_, or half raw, being happily on the decline, we may now venture
to express our dislike to eat things which are half decomposed, without
incurring the charge of vulgarity.



SALTING AND CURING MEAT.

The Counties of England differ materially in their modes of curing bacon
and pork; but the palm of excellency in {25}bacon has so long been decreed
to Hampshire, that I shall give no other receipts for it, but such as are
practised in that, and the adjoining counties. The best method of keeping,
feeding, and killing pigs, is detailed in COBBETT's _Cottage Economy_; and
there, also, will be found directions for salting and smoking the flitches,
in the way commonly practised in the farm-houses in Hampshire. The
_smoking_ of bacon is an important affair, and experience is requisite to
give any thing like perfection in the art. The process should not be too
slow nor too much hurried. The skin should be made of a dark brown colour,
but not black; for by smoking the bacon till it becomes black, it will also
be made hard, and cease to have any flavour but that of rust.--Before they
are dressed, both bacon and hams require to be soaked in water; the former
an hour or two, the latter, all night, or longer, if very dry. But,
according to some, the best way to soak a ham is to bury it in the earth,
for one, two, or three nights and days, according to its state of dryness.

Meat will not take salt well either in frosty or in warm weather. Every
thing depends upon the first rubbing; and the salt, or pickle, should not
only be well rubbed in, but this is best done by a hard hand. The following
general direction for salting meat may be relied on:--"6 lbs. of salt, 1
lb. of coarse sugar, and 4 oz. of saltpetre, boiled in 4 gallons of water,
skimmed and allowed to cool, forms a very strong pickle, which will
preserve any meat completely immersed in it. To effect this, which is
essential, either a heavy board or flat stone must be laid upon the meat.
The same pickle may be used repeatedly, provided it be boiled up
occasionally with additional salt to restore its strength, diminished by
the combination of part of the salt with the meat, and by the dilution of
the pickle by the juices of the meat extracted. By boiling, the _albumen_,
which would cause the pickle to spoil, is coagulated and rises in the form
of scum, which must be carefully removed."

It is a good practice to wash meat before it is salted. This is not
generally done; but pieces of pork, and, more particularly, beef and
tongues, should first lie in cold spring water, and then be well washed to
cleanse them from all impurities, in order to ensure their being free from
taint; after which, drain the meat, and it will take the salt much
{26}quicker for the washing.--Examine it well; and be careful to take all
the kernels out of beef.

Some persons like salted meat to be red. For this purpose, saltpetre is
necessary. Otherwise, the less use is made of it the better, as it tends to
harden the meat. Sweet herbs, spices, and even garlic, may be rubbed into
hams and tongues, with the pickle, according to taste. Bay salt gives a
nice flavour. Sugar is generally used in curing hams, tongues and beef; for
the two latter some recommend lump sugar, others treacle, to make the meat
eat short.

In cold weather salt should be warmed before the fire. Indeed, some use it
quite hot. This causes it to penetrate more readily into the meat than it
does when rendered hard and dry by frost.

Salting troughs or tubs should be clean, and in an airy place. After meat
of any kind has been once well rubbed, keep it covered close, not only with
the lid of the vessel, but, in addition, with the thick folds of some
woollen article, in order to exclude the air. This is recommended by good
housekeepers; yet in Hampshire the trough is sometimes left uncovered, the
flitches purposely exposed to the air.


_To cure Bacon._

As soon as the hog is cut up, sprinkle salt thickly over the flitches, and
let them lie on a brick floor all night. Then wipe the salt off, and lay
them in a salting trough. For a large flitch of bacon, allow 2 gallons of
salt, 1 lb. of bay salt, 4 cakes of salt prunella, a ¼ lb. of saltpetre,
and 1 lb. of common moist sugar; divide this mixture into two parts; rub
one half into it the first day, and rub it in _well_. The following day rub
the other half in, and continue to rub and turn the flitch every day for
three weeks. Then hang the flitches to drain, roll them in bran, and hang
them to smoke, in a wood-fire chimney. The more quickly, in reason, they
are smoked, the better the bacon will taste.


_To cure a Ham._

Let a leg of pork hang for three days; then beat it with a rolling pin, and
rub into it 1 oz. of saltpetre finely {27}powdered, and mixed with a small
quantity of common salt; let it lie all night. Make the following pickle: a
quart of stale strong beer, ½ lb. of bay salt, ½ lb. of common salt, and
the same of brown sugar; boil this twenty minutes, then wipe the ham dry
from the salt, and with a wooden ladle, pour the pickle, by degrees, and as
hot as possible, over the ham; and as it cools, rub it well into every
part. Rub and turn it every day, for a week; then hang it, a fortnight, in
a wood-smoke chimney. When you take it down, sprinkle black pepper over the
bone, and into the holes, to keep it safe from hoppers, and hang it up in a
thick paper bag.


_Another._

For one of 16 lb. weight. Rub the rind side of the ham with ¼ lb. of brown
sugar, then rub it with 1 lb. of salt, and put it in the salting-pan, then
rub a little of the sugar, and 1 oz. of saltpetre, and 1 oz. salt prunel,
pounded, on the lean side, and press it down; in three days turn it and rub
it well with the salt in the pan, then turn it in the pickle for three
weeks; take it out, scrape it well, dry it with a clean cloth, rub it
slightly with a little salt, and hang it up to dry.


_Another._

Beat the ham well on the fleshy side with a rolling pin, then rub into it,
on every part, 1 oz. of saltpetre, and let it lie one night. Then take a ½
pint of common salt, and a ¼ pint of bay salt, and 1 lb. of coarse sugar or
treacle; mix these ingredients, and make them very hot in a stew-pan, and
rub in well for an hour. Then take ½ a pint more of common salt and lay all
over the ham, and let it lie on till it melts to brine; keep the ham in the
pickle three weeks or a month, till you see it shrink. This is sufficient
for a large ham.


_Another, said to be equal to the Westphalian._

Rub a large fat ham well, with 2 oz. of pounded saltpetre, 1 oz. of bay
salt, and a ¼ lb. of lump sugar: let it lie two days. Prepare a pickle as
follows: boil in 2 quarts {28}of stale ale, 1 lb. of bay salt, 2 lb. of
common salt, ¾ lb. of lump sugar, 2 oz. of salt prunella, 1 oz. of pounded
black pepper, and ½ an oz. of cloves; boil this well, and pour it boiling
hot over the ham. Rub and turn it every day for three weeks or a month;
then smoke it for about a fortnight.


_To cure a Mutton Ham._

A hind quarter must be cut into the shape of a ham: rub into it the
following mixture: ¼ lb. saltpetre, ¼ lb. bay salt, 1 lb. common salt, and
¼ lb. loaf sugar; rub well, every other day, for a fortnight, then take it
out, press it under a weight for one day, then hang it to smoke ten or
fifteen days. It will require long soaking, if kept any length of time,
before it is dressed. Boil very gently, three hours. It is eaten cut in
slices, and these broiled for breakfast or lunch.--_Or_; the ham smoked
longer, not boiled, but slices very thinly shaved to eat by way of relish
at breakfast.


_To pickle Pork._

For a hog of 10 score.--When it is quite cold, and cut up in pieces, have
well mixed 2 gallons of common salt, and 1½ lb. of saltpetre; with this,
rub well each piece of pork, and as you rub, pack it in a salting tub, and
sprinkle salt between each layer. Put a heavy weight on the top of the
cover, to prevent the meat's swimming. If kept close and tight in this way,
it will keep for a year or two.


_Leg of Pork._

Proceed as above, salt in proportion, but leave out the saltpetre if you
choose. The hand and _spring_ also, in the same way--and a week sufficient
for either. Rub and turn them every day.

_Pig's Head_ in the same way, but it will require two weeks.


_To pickle a Tongue._

Rub the tongue over with common salt; and cut a slit in the root, so that
the salt may penetrate. Drain the tongue next day, and rub it over with 2
oz. of bay salt, {29}2 oz. of saltpetre, and 2 oz. of lump or coarse sugar,
all mixed together. This pickle should be poured over the tongue, with a
spoon, every day, as there will not be sufficient liquor to cover it. It
will be ready to dress in three weeks or a month.


_To salt Beef._

Be sure to take out the _kernels_, and also be sure to fill up the holes
with salt, as well as those which the butcher's skewers have made. In
frosty weather, take care that the meat be not frozen; also, to warm the
salt before the fire, or in a frying pan.

For a piece of 20 lb. weight.--Sprinkle the meat with salt, and let it lie
twenty-four hours; then hang it up to drain. Take 1 oz. of saltpetre, a ½
oz. of salt prunella, a ¼ lb. of very coarse sugar, 6 oz. of common salt,
all finely powdered, and rub it well into the beef. Rub and turn it every
day. It will be ready to dress in ten days, but may be kept longer.


_To salt a Round of Beef._

For one of 30 lb. weight.--Rub common salt well into it all over and in
every part, cover it well with salt: rub it well next day, pouring the
brine over the meat. Repeat this every day for a fortnight, when it will be
ready. Let it drain for 15 minutes, when you are going to cook it. You may,
if you wish it to look red, add 4 oz. salt prunel, and 1 lb. saltpetre to
the pickle.


_An Edge Bone._

To one of 10 or 12 lb. weight allow ¾ lb. of salt, and 1 oz. of moist
sugar. Rub these well into the meat. Repeat the rubbing every day, turning
the meat also, and it will be ready to dress in four or five days.


_Tongue Beef._

After the tongues are taken out of the pickle, wash and wipe dry a piece of
flank or brisket of beef; sprinkle with salt, and let it lie a night; then
hang it to drain, rub in a {30}little fresh salt, and put the beef into the
pickle; rub and turn it every day for three or four days, and it will be
ready to dress, and if the pickle have been previously well prepared, will
be found to have a very fine flavour.


_To smoke Beef._

Cut a round into pieces of 5 lb. weight each, and salt them very well; when
sufficiently salted, hang the pieces in a wood-smoke chimney to dry, and
let them hang three or four weeks. This may be grated, for breakfast or
luncheon. _Another._--Cut a leg of beef like a ham, and to one of 14 lb.
make a pickle of 1 lb. salt, 1 lb. brown sugar, 1 oz. saltpetre, and 1 oz.
bay salt. Rub and turn the ham every day for a month, then roll it in bran
and smoke it. Hang it in a dry place. Broil it in slices.


_To make pickle for Brawn._

To rather more than a sufficient quantity of water to cover it, put 7 or 8
handsful of bran, a few bay leaves, also salt enough to give a strong
relish; boil this an hour and a half, then strain it. When cold, pour the
pickle from the sediment into a pan, and put the meat into it.

Any of these pickles may be used again. First boil it up and take off all
the scum.


----

THE SEASONS FOR MEAT, POULTRY, GAME, AND VEGETABLES.

IT is always the best plan to deal with a respectable butcher, and to keep
to the same one. He will find his interest in providing his regular
customers with good meat, and the _best_ is always the _cheapest_, even
though it may cost a little more money.

_Beef_ is best and cheapest from Michaelmas to Midsummer.

_Veal_ is best and cheapest from March to July.

_Mutton_ is best from Christmas to Midsummer.

_Grass Lamb_ is best from Easter to June.

_House Lamb_ comes in in February.

_Poultry_ is in the greatest perfection, when it is in the greatest plenty,
which it is about September.

{31}_Chickens_ come in the beginning of April, but they may be had all the
year round.

_Fowls_ are dearest in April, May, and June, but they may be had all the
year round, and are cheapest in September, October, and November.

_Capons_ are finest at Christmas.

_Poulards_, with _eggs_, come in in March.

_Green Geese_ come in in March, and continue till September.

_Geese_ are in full season in September, and continue till February.

_Turkey Poults_ come in in April, and continue till June.

_Turkeys_ are in season from September till March, and are cheapest in
October and November.

_Ducks_ are in season from June till February.

_Wild Ducks_, _Widgeons_, _Teal_, _Plovers_, _Pintails_, _Larks_, _Snipes_,
_Woodcocks_, from the end of October till the end of March.

_Tame Pigeons_ are in season all the year, _Wild Pigeons_ from March till
September.

_Pea-Fowl_ (young ones) from January till June.

_Partridges_ from 1st September till January.

_Pheasants_ from 1st October till January.

_Grouse_ from the 12th of August till Christmas, also _Black Cocks_ and
_Grey Hens_.

_Guinea Fowls_ from the end of January till May; their eggs are much more
delicate than common ones.

_Hares_ from September to March.

_Leverets_ from March to September.

_Rabbits_ all the year round.


_Fish._

The seasons of Fish frequently vary; therefore the surest way to have it
good is to confide in the honesty of respectable fishmongers; unless,
indeed, you are well acquainted with the several sorts, and have frequent
practice in the choosing of it. No fish when out of season can be wholesome
food.

_Turbot_ is in season from September to May. Fish of this kind do not all
spawn at the same time; therefore, there are good as well as bad all the
year round. The finest are brought from the Dutch coast. The belly of a
Turbot {32}should be cream coloured, and upon pressing your finger on this
part, it should spring up. A Turbot eats the better for being kept two or
three days. Where there is any apprehension of its not keeping, a little
salt may be sprinkled on it, and the fish hung in a cool dry place.

_Salmon._--This favourite fish is the most unwholesome of all. It ought
never to be eaten unless perfectly fresh, and in season. Salmon is in
season from Christmas till September. The Severn Salmon, indeed, is in
season in November, but it is then obtained only in small quantities. This,
and the Thames Salmon, are considered the best. That which comes from
Scotland, packed in ice, is not so good. _Salmon Peel_ are very nice
flavoured, but much less rich than large Salmon; come in June.

_Cod_ is in perfection at Christmas; but it comes in, generally, in
October; in the months of February and March it is poor, but in April and
May it becomes finer. The Dogger Bank Cod are considered the best. Good Cod
fish are known by the yellow spots on a pure white skin. In cold weather
they will keep a day or two.

_Skate_, _Haddocks_, _Soles_, _Plaice_, and _Flounders_ are in season in
January, as well as _Smelts_ and _Prawns_. In February, _Lobsters_ and
_Herrings_ become more plentiful; _Haddocks_ not in such good flavour as
they were. In March _Salmon_ becomes plentiful, but is still dear. And in
this month the _John Dory_ comes in.

In April _Smelts_ and _Whiting_ are plentiful; and _Mackerel_ and _Mullet_
come in; also river _Trout_.

In May _Oysters_ go out of season, and _Cod_ becomes not so good; excepting
these, all the fish that was in season at Christmas, is in perfection in
this month.

In June _Salmon_, _Turbot_, _Brill_, _Skate_, _Halibut_, _Lobsters_,
_Crabs_, _Prawns_, _Soles_, _Eels_ and _Whiting_ are plentiful and cheap.
Middling sized Lobsters are best, and must weigh heavy to be good. The best
Crabs measure about eight inches across the shoulders. The silver eel is
the best, and, next to that, the copper-brown backed eel. A humane method
of putting this fish to death is to run a sharp-pointed skewer or fine
knitting needle into the spinal marrow, through the back part of the skin,
and life will instantly cease.

In July fish of all sorts plentiful, except Oysters, and about at the
cheapest. Cod not in much estimation.

{33}In the months of August and September, particularly the former, fish is
considered more decidedly unwholesome than at any other time of the year,
and more especially in London. _Oysters_ come in, and _Turbot_ and _Salmon_
go out of season. In choosing Oysters, natives are best; they should be
eaten as soon after they are opened as possible. There are various ways of
_keeping_ and _feeding_ oysters, for which see Index.

In October _Cod_ comes in good season, also _Haddocks_, _Brill_, _Tench_,
and every sort of shell fish.

In November most sorts of fish are to be got, but all are dear. _Oysters_
are excellent in this month.

_Fresh Herrings_ from November to January.

_River Eels_ all the year.

_Red Mullet_ come in May.

_Flounders_ and _Plaice_ in June.

_Sprats_ beginning of November.

_Gurnet_ is best in the spring.

_Sturgeon_ in June.

_Yarmouth Mackerel_ from May till August.


_Vegetables._

_Artichokes_ are in season from July to October.

_Jerusalem Artichokes_ from September till June.

_Asparagus_, forced, may be obtained in January; the natural growth, it
comes in about the middle of April, and continues through May, June, and
July.

_French Beans_, forced, may be obtained in February, of the natural growth,
the beginning of July; and they continue in succession through August.

_Red Beet_ is in season all the year.

_Scotch Cale_ in November.

_Brocoli_ in October.

_Cabbage_ of most sorts in May, June, July, and August.

_Cardoons_ from November till March.

_Carrots_ come in in May.

_Cauliflowers_, the beginning of June.

_Celery_, the beginning of September.

_Corn Salad_, in May.

_Cucumbers_ may be forced as early as March; of their natural growth they
come in July, and are plentiful in August and September.

{34}_Endive_ comes in in June, and continues through the winter.

_Leeks_ come in in September, and continue till the Spring.

_Lettuce_, both the Coss and the Cabbage, come in about April, and continue
to the end of August.

_Onions_, for keeping, in August.

_Parsley_, all the year.

_Parsnips_ come in in October; but they are not good until the frost has
touched them.

_Peas_, the earliest forced, come in about the beginning of May; of their
natural growth, about the beginning of June, and continue till the end of
August.

_Potatoes_, forced, in the beginning of March; and the earliest of natural
growth in May.

_Radishes_, about the beginning of March.

_Small Salad_, in May and June; but may be had all the year.

_Salsify_ and _Scorzonera_, in July and August.

_Sea Kale_ may be found as early as December or January, but of the natural
growth it comes in in April and May.

_Eschalots_, for keeping, in August and three following months.

_Spring Spinach_, in March, April, and three following months.

_Winter Spinach_ from October through the winter.

_Turnips_, of the garden, in May; but the field Turnips, which are best, in
October.




{35}CHAPTER V.

THE KITCHEN.


THE benefit of a good kitchen is well known to every housekeeper, but it is
not every mistress that is aware of the importance of having a good cook. I
have seen kitchens which, though fitted up with every convenience, and
certainly at considerable expense, yet failed to send forth good dinners,
merely because the lady of the house was not happy in her choice of a cook.
I do not in the least admire gourmands, or gourmandism; and yet I would be
more particular in selecting the servant who is to perform the business of
preparing the food of the family, than I should deem it necessary to be in
selecting any of the other servants. In large establishments there is a
greater quantity of cookery to be performed, and, consequently, a greater
quantity of waste is likely to be caused by unskilful cooks, than there can
be in small families; but even in the latter considerable waste may be the
consequence of saving a few pounds a year in the wages of a cook. An
experienced cook knows the value of the articles submitted to her care; and
she knows how to turn many things to account which a person unacquainted
with cooking would throw away. A good cook knows how to convert the remains
of one dinner into various dishes to form the greater part of another
dinner; and she will, also, be more capable than the other of forwarding
her mistress's charitable intentions; for her capability in cooking will
enable her to take advantage of everything which can be spared from the
consumption of the family, to be converted into nourishing food for the
poor, for those of her own class who have not the comfort of a home such as
she herself enjoys. The cook who knows how to preserve the pot-liquor of
fresh meat to make soup, will, whenever she boils mutton, fowls, or
rabbits, &c., &c., carefully scum it, and, by adding peas, other
vegetables, or crusts of bread, and proper seasonings, make some tolerable
soup for poor {36}people, out of materials which would otherwise be thrown
away.

To be a good cook she must take pleasure in her occupation; for the
requisite painstaking cannot be expected from a person who dislikes the
fire, or who entertains a disgust for the various processes necessary to
convert meat into savoury dishes. But a cook who takes pride in sending a
dinner well dressed to table, may be _depended upon_, and that is of great
importance to the mistress of a house: for though Englishmen may not be
such connoisseurs in eating as Frenchmen, I question whether French
husbands are more dissatisfied with a badly-cooked dinner than English
husbands are. Dr. KITCHENER observes, "God sends us victuals, but _who_
sends us cooks?" And the observation is not confined to the Doctor, for the
walls of many a dining-room have echoed it, to the great discomfiture of
the lady presiding at the head of the table. Ladies might, if they would,
be obliged to confess that many ill humours had been occasioned by either
under or over roasted meat, cold plates, or blunt knives; and perhaps these
_are_ grounds for complaint. Of the same importance as the cooking is
neatness in serving the dinner, for there is a vast difference in its
appearance if neatly and properly arranged in hot dishes, the vegetables
and sauces suitable to the meat, and _hot_--there is a vast difference
between a dinner so served, and one a part of which is either too much or
too little cooked, the meat parting from the bone in one case, or looking
as if barely warmed through in the other case; the gravy chilled and
turning to grease, some of the vegetables watery, and others crisped, while
the edges of the dishes are slopped, and the block-tin covers look dull. A
leg of mutton or piece of beef, either boiled or roasted--so commonly the
dinner of a plain-living family--requires as much skill and nicety as the
most complicated made dishes; and a plain dinner well cooked and served is
as tempting to the appetite as it is creditable to the mistress of the
house, who invariably suffers in the estimation of her guests for the want
of ability in her servants. The elegance of the drawing-room they have just
left is forgotten by those who are suffocating from the over-peppered soup;
and the coldness of the plate on which is handed a piece of turbot bearing
a reddish hue, may hold a place in the memory of a visitor, to {37}the
total obliteration of the winning graces, and agreeable conversation, of
the lady at the head of the table.

It is impossible to give particular directions for fitting up a kitchen,
because so much must depend upon the number of servants, and upon what is
required in the way of cookery. It was the fashion formerly to adorn it
with a quantity of copper saucepans, stewpans, &c., &c., very expensive,
and troublesome to keep clean. Many of these articles, which were regularly
scoured once a week, were not, perhaps, used once in the year. A young lady
ought, if she has a good cook, to be guided by her, in some measure, in the
purchase of kitchen utensils; for the accommodation of the cook, if she be
a reasonable person, ought to be consulted. But, where there is no
kitchen-maid to clean them, the fewer coppers and tins the better. It is
the best plan to buy, at first, only just enough for use, and to replace
these with new ones as they wear out; but all stewpans, saucepans,
frying-pans, &c., &c., should be kept in good order--that is to say, clean
and in good repair.

Some of the best cooks say that iron and block tin answer every purpose.
There is an useful, but somewhat expensive, article, called the
_Bain-marie_, for heating made dishes and soups, and keeping them hot for
any length of time, without over-cooking them. A _Bain-marie_ will be found
very useful to persons who are in the habit of having made dishes. A
_braising_ kettle and a _stock-pot_ also; and two or three cast-iron
_Digesters_, of from one to two gallons, for soups and gravies. Saucepans
should be washed and scoured as soon as possible after they have been used:
wood ashes, or very fine sand, may be used. They should be rinsed in clean
water, wiped dry (or they will rust), and then be turned down on a clean
shelf. The upper rim may be kept bright, but it seems labour lost to scour
that part where the fire reaches; besides which, the more they are scoured
the more quickly they wear out. Copper utensils must be well tinned, or
they become poisonous. Never allow anything to be put by in a copper
vessel; but the fatal consequences of neglect in this particular are too
well known for it to be necessary here to say much in the way of caution.

The fire-place is a matter of great importance. I have not witnessed the
operations of many of the steam cooking apparatuses, which the last thirty
years have produced, but {38}the few I have seen do not give me
satisfaction. It is certainly desirable that every _possible_ saving should
be made in the consumption of coals; but it is _not possible_ to have
cooking in perfection, without a proper degree of heat; and, as far as my
observation has gone, meat cannot be well roasted unless before a good
fire. I should save in many things rather than in coals; and am often
puzzled to account for the false economy which leads persons to be sparing
of their fuel, whilst they are lavish in other things infinitely less
essential. A cook has many trials of her temper, but none so difficult to
bear as the annoyance of a bad fire; for she cannot cook her dinner well,
however much she may fret herself in the endeavour; and the waste caused by
spoiling meat, fish, poultry, game, &c., is scarcely made up for by saving
a few shillings in coals. "Economy in fuel" is so popular, that every
species of invention is resorted to, in order to go without fire; and the
price of coals is talked of in a fine drawing room, where the shivering
guest turns, and often in vain, to seek comfort from the fire, which, alas!
the brightly polished grate does not contain. The beauty of the cold marble
structure which rises above it, and is reflected in the opposite mirror, is
a poor compensation for the want of warmth. I advise young housekeepers to
bear in mind, that of the many things which may be saved in a house,
without lessening its comforts, firing is _not_ one.

It is best to lay in coals in the month of August or September, to last
until the spring. They should be of the best kind; paid for in ready money,
to prevent an additional charge for credit. The first year of housekeeping
will give a pretty correct average to go by: and then the consumption
should be watched, but not too rigidly.

To return to the fire-place.--Perhaps there is no apparatus more convenient
for a family of moderate style of living than the common kitchen range,
that which has a boiler for hot water on one side, and an oven on the other
side. It is a great convenience to have a constant supply of hot water, and
an advantage to possess the means of baking a pie, pudding, or cake; and
this may always be done, when there is a large fire for boiling or
roasting. There is a great difference in the construction of these little
ovens. We have had several, and only three which {39}answered; and these
were all, I believe, by different makers.--A _Hot plate_ is also an
excellent thing, as it requires but little fire to keep it sufficiently hot
for any thing requiring gradual cooking; and is convenient for making
preserves, which should never be exposed to the fierceness of a fire. The
charcoal stoves are useful, and so easily constructed that a kitchen should
not be without one. There is a very nice thing, called a _Dutch Stove_, but
I do not know whether it is much in use in England. On a rather solid
frame-work, with four legs, about a foot from the ground, is raised a round
brick-work, open at the top sufficiently deep to receive charcoal, and in
the front, a little place to take out the ashes; on the top is a trivet,
upon which the stew-pan, or preserving-pan, or whatever it may be, is
placed. This is easily moved about, and in the summer could be placed
anywhere in the cool, and would, therefore, be very convenient for making
preserves.--Where there is much cooking, a _Steamer_ is convenient; it may
be attached to the boiler of the range. I have seen lamb and mutton which
had been steamed, and which in appearance was more delicate than when
boiled, and equally well flavoured. But there is an _uncertainty_ in
cooking meat by steam, and, besides, there is no liquor for soup. Puddings
cook well by steam.--The _Jack_ is an article of great consequence, and
also a troublesome one, being frequently out of repair. A _Bottle-jack_
answers very well for a small family; and where there is a good _meat
screen_ (which is indispensable), a stout nail and a skein of worsted will,
provided the cook be not called away from the kitchen, be found to answer
the purpose of a spit.

There are now so many excellent weighing-machines, of simple construction,
that there ought to be one in every kitchen, to weigh joints of meat as
they come from the butcher, and this will enable the cook to weigh flour,
butter, sugar, spices, &c., &c.

The cook should be allowed a sufficiency of kitchen cloths and brushes,
suitable to her work. Plates and dishes will not look clear and bright
unless rinsed in clean water, after they are washed, then drained, and
wiped dry with a cloth which is not greasy. A handful of bran in the water
will produce a fine polish on crockery ware.

{40}As they do not cost much, there need be no hesitation to allow plenty
of jelly-bags, straining cloths, tapes, &c. &c. These should be very clean,
and scalded in hot water before they are used.

There should be a table in the middle of the kitchen, or so situated as not
to be exposed to a current of air, to arrange the dishes upon, that
blunders may not be committed in placing them upon the dining-table. Much
of the pleasure which the lady at the head of her table may feel at seeing
her guests around her, is destroyed by the awkward mistakes of servants in
waiting; who, when they discover that they have done wrong, frequently
become too frightened and confused to repair the error they have committed.

The cook in a small family should have charge of the beer; and where there
are no men servants, it should be rather good than weak, for the better in
quality, the more care will be taken of it. When more is drawn than is
wanted, a burnt crust will keep it fresh from one meal to another, but for
a longer time it should be put into a bottle, and corked close; it would be
well for the cook to keep a few different sized bottles, so that the beer
may not stand to become flat before she bottle it.

A clock, in or near the kitchen, will tend to promote punctuality. But the
lady herself should see to its being regulated, or this piece of furniture
may do more harm than good. There is nothing fitter to be under lock and
key than the clock, for, however true to time, when not interfered with, it
is often made to bear false testimony. That good understanding which
sometimes subsists between the clock and the cook, and which is brought
about by the instrumentality of a broom-handle, or some such magic, should
be noted by every prudent housekeeper as one of the things to be guarded
against.

The kitchen chimney should be frequently swept; besides which, the cook
should, once or twice a week, sweep it as far as she can reach; for where
there are large fires in old houses, accidents sometimes occur; and the
falling of ever so little soot will sometimes spoil a dinner.

Every lady ought to make a receipt-book for herself. Neither my receipts
nor those of any cookery book can be supposed to give equal satisfaction to
every palate. After {41}performing any piece of cookery according to the
directions given in a book, a person of common intelligence would be able
to discover whatever was displeasing to the taste, and easily alter the
receipt, and so enter it in her own book that the cook could not err in
following it. This plan would be found to save much trouble.

As soon after breakfast as she conveniently can, the mistress of a house
should repair to the kitchen; which ought to be swept, the fire-place
cleaned, tea-kettles, coffee-pots, and anything else used in preparing the
breakfast, put in their appropriate places, and the cook ready to receive
her orders for the day. Without being parsimonious, the mistress should
see, with her own eyes, every morning, whatever cold meat, remains of
pastry, bread, butter, &c., &c., there may be in the larder, that she may
be able to judge of the additional provision required. Having done that,
she should proceed to the store-room, to give the cook, the housemaid, and
others, such stores as they may require for the day. This will occupy but
very little time, if done regularly every morning; and having done this,
she should proceed to make her purchases at once, lest visitors, or any
accidental circumstance, cause her to be late in her marketing, and so
derange the regularity of the dinner hour, the servants' work, &c., &c.
Many ladies, in consequence of their own ill health, or that of their
children, are compelled to employ their servants to market for them; but
when they can avoid doing so it is better. I do not say this from a
suspicion that either tradespeople or servants are always likely to take
advantage of an opportunity to impose upon their customers or their
employers, but because this important part of household management ought to
be conducted by some one of the family, who must necessarily be more
interested in it than servants can be. Besides, more judgment is required
in marketing than all servants possess. A servant, for instance, is sent to
a fishmonger's for a certain quantity of fish, and she obeys the order
given her and brings home the fish, but at a higher price, perhaps, than
her mistress expected. Now if the lady had gone herself, and found that the
weather, or any other circumstance, had raised the price of fish for that
day, she would probably have made a less expensive one suit her purpose, or
turned to the Butcher or Poulterer to supply her table. {42}Also it is a
hindrance to a servant to be sent here and there during the early part of
the day, not to mention the benefit which the lady of the house would
derive by being compelled to be out of doors, and in exercise, for even a
short time, every day.

Although I like French cookery, I am not sufficiently acquainted with the
interior of French kitchens to know whether we should improve in the
fitting up of ours by imitating our neighbours. When I was abroad, and had
opportunities of informing myself upon this subject, I had not the present
work in contemplation. And though it is the object of travellers in general
to inquire into almost every thing while passing through a foreign country,
it happened once to me to meet with so much discouragement, when prying
into the culinary department of a large Hotel in the south of France, that
I hesitated to enter a foreign kitchen again. I was then on the way to
Italy, and from what was afterwards told me respecting the kitchens of the
latter country, I have reason to think that my resolution was not unwise,
since, had it been overcome by fresh curiosity, I might have been induced
to starve from too intimate knowledge of the mode in which the dishes of
our table were prepared. We had, at the hotel I am speaking of, fared
sumptuously for three days. There were, among other things, the finest
poultry and the most delicate pastry imaginable. But some chicken broth was
wanted for an invalid of our party, and the landlord suggested that if
Mademoiselle would herself give directions to the cook, the broth might,
perhaps, be the better made; and he went, accordingly, to announce my
intended visit to the important person who commanded in the kitchen. Upon
receiving intimation that all was ready, I descended, and was introduced to
the said cook, who met me at the door of a large, lofty, vaulted apartment,
the walls of which were black, not from any effect of antiquity, but from
those of modern smoke, and decorated with a variety of copper utensils, all
nearly as black on their outsides as the walls on which they hung. Of what
hue their insides might be I did not ascertain; and, at the moment, my
attention was suddenly diverted by the cook, who, begging me to be seated,
placed a chair by the side of a large, wild-looking fire-place. I had not
expected to see a tall, thin and bony, or a short and {43}fat woman, like
the cook of an English kitchen; I imagined a man, somewhat advanced in age,
and retaining some traces of the _ancien regime_, with large features and a
small body, with grizzly and half-powdered hair, and, perhaps, a pigtail;
at all events, with slippers down at heel, hands unclean, and a large
snuff-box. It was, therefore, not without surprise that I found the very
contrary of this in the personage who, dressed in a white apron, white
sleeves, and white night cap of unexceptionable cleanness, and bowing with
a grace that would have done credit to the most accomplished _petit maître_
of the last century, proceeded to relate how he had been instructed in the
art of making chicken broth by an English _Miledi_, who in passing into
Italy for the benefit of her health, had staid some weeks at the Hotel de
l'Europe. His detail of the process of broth-making was minute, and no
doubt scientific, but unhappily for the narrator, it was interrupted by his
producing a delicate white fowl, which he without ceremony laid on the
kitchen table, which stood in the middle of the room, and rivalled the very
walls themselves in blackness. I was assured, by the first glance at this
table, by reason of the fragments of fish, fowl, and pastry, strewed over
it, that the same piece of furniture served every purpose of
_chopping-block_ and _paste-board_. When, therefore, under these
circumstances, I saw the preparation for the broth just going to commence,
the exclamation of "Dirty pigs!" was making its way to my lips, and I, in
order to avoid outraging the ears of French politeness, in the spot of all
France most famous for the romantic, made the best of my way out of the
kitchen, and endeavoured, when the next dinner-time arrived, to forget that
I had ever seen it. Whenever afterwards the figure of this black table
appeared to my fancy, like a spectre rising to warn me against tasteful and
delicate looking _entremets_, I strove to forget the reality; but I never
recovered the feeling of perfect security in what I was about to eat until
the sea again rolled between me and the kitchen of the Hotel de l'Europe,
and I again actually saw the clear bright fire, the whitened hearth, the
yellow-ochred walls, the polished tins, the clean-scrubbed tables and
chairs, and the white dresser cloths, of the kitchen, such as I had always
been used to see at my own home.




{44}CHAPTER VI.

JOINTING, TRUSSING, AND CARVING.


Below will be found the figures of the five larger animals, followed by a
reference to each, by which the reader, who is not already experienced, may
observe the names of all the principal joints, as well as the part of the
animal from which the joint is cut. No book that I am acquainted with,
except that of MRS. RUNDELL, has taken any notice of this subject, though
it is a matter of considerable importance, and one as to which many a young
housekeeper often wishes for information.


_Venison._

[Illustration]

  1. Shoulder.
  2. Neck.
  3. Haunch.
  4. Breast.
  5. Scrag.


{45}_Beef._

[Illustration]

  1. Sirloin.
  2. Rump.
  3. Edge Bone.
  4. Buttock.
  5. Mouse Buttock.
  6. Leg.
  7. Thick Flank.
  8. Veiny Piece.
  9. Thin Flank.
  10. Fore Rib: 7 Ribs.
  11. Middle Rib: 4 Ribs.
  12. Chuck Rib: 2 Ribs.
  13. Brisket.
  14. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece.
  15. Clod.
  16. Neck, or Sticking Piece.
  17. Shin.
  18. Cheek.


_Mutton._

[Illustration]

  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.


{46}_Veal._

[Illustration]

  1. Loin, Best End.
  2. Fillet.
  3. Loin, Chump End.
  4. Hind Knuckle.
  5. Neck, Best End.
  6. Breast, Best End.
  7. Blade Bone, or Oyster-part.
  8. Fore Knuckle.
  9. Breast, Brisket End.
  10. Neck, Scrag End.


_Pork._

[Illustration]

  1. Leg.
  2. Hind Loin.
  3. Fore Loin.
  4. Spare Rib.
  5. Hand.
  6. Belly or Spring.


{47}_Cod's Head._--FIG. 1.

[Illustration]

_Cod's Head_ (_Fig. 1_) is a dish in carving which you have nothing to
study beyond that preference for particular parts of the fish which some
persons entertain. The solid parts are helped by cutting through with the
fish trowel from _a_ to _b_ and from _c_ to _d_, and so on, from the
jaw-bone to the further end of the shoulder. The _sound_ lies on the
inside, and to obtain this, you must raise up the thin part of the fish,
near the letter _e_.--This dish never looks so well as when served dry, and
the fish on a napkin neatly folded, and garnished with sprigs of parsley.


_Haunch of Venison._--FIG. 2.

[Illustration]

_Haunch of Venison_ is cut (as in _Fig. 2._) first in the line _a_ {48}to
_b_. This first cut is the means of getting much of the gravy of the joint.
Then turning the dish longwise towards him, the carver should put the knife
in at _c_, and cut, as deep as the bone will allow, to _d_, and take out
slices on either side of the line in this direction. The fat of venison
becomes cold so very rapidly, that it is advisable, when convenient, to
have some means of giving it renewed warmth after the joint comes to table.
For this purpose, some use water plates, which have the effect of rendering
the meat infinitely nicer than it would be in a half chilled state.


_Haunch of Mutton_ is carved in the same way as _Venison_.


_Saddle of Mutton._--FIG. 3.

[Illustration]

_Saddle of Mutton._ This is prepared for roasting as in _Fig. 3_, the
_tail_ being split in two, each half twisted back, and skewered, with one
of the kidneys enclosed. You carve this by cutting, in straight lines, on
each side of the backbone, as from _a_ to_ b_, from _c_ to _d_. If the
saddle be a fine one, there will be fat on every part of it; but there is
always more on the sides (_ee_) than in the centre.


{49}_Edge Bone of Beef._--FIG. 4.

[Illustration]

_Edge Bone of Beef_, like the Round of Beef, is easily carved. But care
should be taken, with both of these, to carve neatly; for if the meat be
cut in thick slices or in pieces of awkward shape, the effect will be both
to cause waste and to render the dish, while it lasts, uninviting. Cut
slices, as thin as you please, from _a_ to _b_ (_Fig. 4_). The best part of
the fat will be found on one side of the meat, from about _c_ to _d_. The
most delicate is at _c_.


_Fore Quarter of Lamb._--FIG. 5.

[Illustration]

_Fore Quarter of Lamb_ is first to be cut so as to divide the _shoulder_
from the rest of the quarter, which is called {50}the _target_. For this
purpose, put the fork firmly into the shoulder joint, and then cut
underneath the blade-bone beginning at _a_ (_Fig. 5_), and continue all
round in the direction of a circular line, and pretty close to the under
part of the blade-bone. Some people like to cut the shoulder large, while
others take off no more meat with it than is barely necessary to remove the
blade-bone. It is most convenient to place the shoulder on a separate dish.
This is carved in the same way as the shoulder of mutton. (See _Fig. 7_.)
When the shoulder is removed, a lemon may be squeezed over that part of the
remainder of the joint where the knife had passed: this gives a flavour to
the meat which is generally approved.--Then, proceed to cut completely
through from _b_ to _c_, following the line across the bones as cracked by
the butcher; and this will divide the ribs (_d_) from the brisket (_e_).
Tastes vary in giving preference to the ribs or to the brisket.


_Leg of Mutton._--FIG. 6.

[Illustration]

_Leg of Mutton_, either boiled or roasted, is carved as in _Fig. 6_. You
begin, by taking slices from the most meaty part, which is done by making
cuts straight across the joint, and quite down to the bone (_a_, _b_), and
thus continuing on towards the thick end, till you come to _c_, the
_cramp-bone_ (or, as some call it, the _edge-bone_). Some {51}mutton is
superfluously fat on every part of the leg. The most delicate fat, however,
is always that which is attached to the outside, about the thick end. After
cutting as above directed, turn the joint over, and cut longwise the leg,
as with a haunch of venison (see _Fig. 1_). Some people like the _knuckle_,
that part which lies to the right of _b_, though this is always the driest
and the leanest. A few nice slices may be taken at _d_, by cutting across
that end: these are not juicy, but the grain of the meat is fine; and here
there is also some nice fat.


_Shoulder of Mutton._--FIG. 7.

[Illustration]

_Shoulder of Mutton._--Cut first from _a_ to _b_ (_Fig. 7_) as deep as the
bone will permit, and take out slices on each side of this line. Then cut
in a line with and on both sides of the ridges of the blade-bone, which
will be found running in the direction _c_ to _d_. The meat of this part is
some of the most delicate, but there is not much of it. You may get some
nice slices between _e_ and _f_, though these will sometimes be very fat.
Turn the joint over, and take slices from the flat surface of the under
part: these are the coarsest, yet some think the best.--In small families
it is sometimes the practice to cut the under side while hot; this leaves
the joint better looking for the next day.


{52}_Ham._--FIG. 8.

[Illustration]

_Ham_ is generally cut by making a deep incision across the top of it, as
from _a_ to _b_, and down to the bone. Those who like the _knuckle_ end,
which is the most lean and dry, may cut towards _c_; but the prime part of
the ham is that between _a_ and the thick end. Some prefer carving hams
with a more slanting cut, beginning in a direction as from _a_ to _c_, and
so continuing throughout to the thick end. The slanting mode is, however,
apt to be very wasteful, unless the carver be careful not to take away too
much fat in proportion to the lean.

_Sucking Pig_ should always be cut up by the cook; at least, the principal
parts should be divided before the dish is served. First, take off the
_head_ immediately behind the ears: then cut the body in two, by carrying
the knife quite through from the neck to the tail. The _legs_ and the
_shoulders_ must next be removed from the sides, and each of them cut in
two at their respective joints. The _sides_ may either be sent to table
whole, or cut up: if the latter, separate the whole length of each side
into three or four pieces. The _head_ should be split in two, and the lower
jaws divided from the upper part of it; let the _ears_ be cut off. In
serving, a neat cook will take care to arrange the different parts thus
separated so that they may appear, upon the dish, as little uneven and
confused as possible. The sides, whether whole or in several pieces, should
be laid parallel with each other; the legs and {53}shoulders on the outer
side of these, and opposite to the parts to which they have respectively
belonged; and the portions of the head, and the ears, may be placed, some
at one end, and some at the other end, or, as taste may suggest, at the
sides of the dish.


_Hare, or Rabbit, for Roasting._--FIG. 9.

[Illustration]

_Hare, or Rabbit, for Roasting_, is prepared for the spit as in _Fig.
9_.--To carve: begin by cutting through near to the back-bone, from _a_ to
_b_; then make a corresponding cut on the other side of the back-bone;
leaving the _back_ and the _head_ in one distinct piece. Cut off the _legs_
at the hip joint (_e_), and take off the _wing_ nearly as you would the
wing of a bird, carrying the knife round the circular line (_c_). The
_ribs_ are of little importance, as they are bare of meat. Divide the
_back_ into three or four portions, as pointed out by the letters _f g h_.
The _head_ is then to be cut off, and the lower jaws divided from the
upper. By splitting the upper part of the head in the middle you have the
_brains_, which are prized by epicures. The comparative goodness of
different parts of a hare, will depend much on the age, and also upon the
cooking. The back and the legs are always the best. The wing of a young
hare is nice; but this is not so good in an old one, and particularly if it
be not thoroughly well done. The carving of a _rabbit_ is pretty much the
same as that of a hare: there is much less difficulty, however, with the
former; and it would always save a good deal of trouble, as well as delay,
if hares which are not quite young were sent to table already cut up.


{54}_Rabbit, for Boiling._--FIG. 10.

[Illustration]

_Rabbit, for Boiling_, should be trussed, according to the newest fashion,
as in _Fig. 10_. Cut off the _ears_ close to the head, and cut off the
_feet_ at the foot-joint. Cut off the _tail_. Then make an incision on each
side of the backbone, at the _rump-end_, about an inch and a half long.
This will enable you to stretch the legs further towards the head. Bring
the _wings_ as close to the body as you can, and bring the legs close to
the outside of the wings. The _head_ should be bent round to one side, in
order that, by running one skewer through the legs, wings and mouth, you
may thus secure all and have the rabbit completely and compactly trussed.


_Turkey, for Roasting._--FIG. 11.

[Illustration]

_Turkey for Roasting_, is sometimes trussed with the _feet_ on; and it is
sometimes brought to table with the _head_ as {55}well as the feet. But
such trussing is exceedingly ugly, and altogether unworthy of a good cook.
The manner here described (see _Fig. 11_) is the most approved. If the
breast-bone be sharp, it should be beaten down, to make the bird appear as
plump as possible.--See _Carving_, in observations on _Fig. 15_.


_Goose._--FIG. 12.

[Illustration]

_Goose._--For Carving, see observations on _Fig. 15_.


_Fowls, for Roasting._

[Illustration: FIG. 13.] [Illustration: FIG. 14.]

_Fowls, for Roasting._--The most modern way of trussing these is as in
_Figs. 13_ and _14_. If it be but a chicken, or a small fowl, a single
skewer through the wings, and the legs simply tied, as in _Fig. 14_, will
be sufficient. But a large fowl is best kept in shape by the other method
(_Fig. 13_).--See _Carving_, in observations on _Fig. 15_.


{56}_Turkey or Fowl for Boiling._--FIG. 15.

[Illustration]

_Turkey or Fowl, for Boiling._--For boiling, turkeys and fowls should,
according to the newest fashion, both be trussed in the same way. There is
nothing peculiar in this way, excepting as to the legs, which are to be
trussed _within the apron_. To do this, the cook must first cut off the
feet, and then, putting her fingers into the inside of the fowl, separate
the skin of the leg from the flesh, all the way to the extreme joint. The
leg, being drawn back, will thus remain, as it were, in a bag, within the
apron; and, if this be properly done, there need be no other break in the
skin than what has been occasioned at the joint by cutting the feet. If it
be a turkey, or a large fowl, the form may be better preserved, by putting
a skewer through the legs as well as through the wings (_see Fig. 15_). But
with small fowls there needs no skewer for the legs. All skewers used in
trussing should be taken out before the dish comes to table. To carve
fowls, turkeys, &c., see _Fig. 15_. Begin by taking off the _wings_,
cutting from _a_ to _b_, _c_ to _d_. Next the _legs_, putting your knife in
at _f f_. Then, if it be a large bird, you will help slices from the breast
(_e e_). But with the smaller birds, as chickens, partridges, &c., a
considerable portion of the breast should come off with the wing, and then
there is not enough left to spare any thing more from the breast-bone. _The
merry-thought_, situated at the point of the breast-bone, is taken off by
cutting straight across at _h h_. In helping, recollect that the
_liver-wing_ is {57}commonly thought more of than the other. The
_breast-bone_ is divided from the back by simply cutting through the ribs
on each side of the fowl. The _neck-bones_ are at _g g_; but for these see
_Fig. 16_, and the directions for carving the _back_.


_Back of a Fowl._--FIG. 16.

[Illustration]

Rest your knife firmly on the centre of the back, at the same time turning
either end up with your fork, and this part will easily break in two at _a
b_. The _side-bones_ are at _c d_; and to remove these, some people put the
point of the knife in at midway the line, just opposite to _c d_; others at
the rump end of the bones _e f_. The _neck-bones_ (at _g h_) are the most
difficult part of the task. These must be taken off before the breast is
divided from the back; they adhere very closely, and require the knife to
be held firmly on the body of the fowl, while the fork is employed to twist
them off.


_Duck._--FIG. 17.

[Illustration: _Breast._] [Illustration: _Back._]

_Duck._--This should be trussed as in _Fig. 17_. The _leg_ is {58}twisted
at the joint, and the _feet_ (with the _claws_ only cut off) are turned
over, and so brought to lie flat on the rump.--For _Carving_, see
observations on _Fig. 15_.


_Pheasant._--FIG. 18.

[Illustration]


_Partridge._--FIG. 19.

[Illustration]

_Pheasant and Partridge._--These two are trussed nearly in one way, as in
_Figs. 18_ and _19_, excepting, that the _legs_ of the partridge are
raised, and tied together over the apron, crossing each other. For
_Carving_, see observations on _Fig. 15_.




{59}CHAPTER VII.

BOILING.


THERE is no branch of cookery which requires more nicety than plain
boiling, though, from its simplicity, some cooks think it does not. They
think that to put a piece of meat into water, and to make that boil for a
given length of time, is all that is needful; but it is not so. To boil a
leg of mutton, or a fowl, properly, requires as much care as to compound a
made dish. Meat which is poor and tough cannot be made tender and fine
flavoured by boiling; but that which was, to all appearance, very fine meat
before it was put into the pot, has often been taken out really good for
nothing. And many a Butcher and Poulterer have been blamed, when the fault
was not theirs.

Meat should be put into cold water, enough to keep it _well_ covered. The
longer in reason it is coming to a boil, the better, as a gradual heating
produces tenderness, and causes a separation from the meat of the grosser
particles, which rise in the shape of scum to the surface, and which should
be carefully taken off. The finest leg of mutton must be disgusting, if
garnished with flakes of black scum. Care should be taken to watch the
first moment of the scum's appearing in order to remove it, and then, by
throwing in a little salt, the remainder will be caused to rise; and if the
fast boiling of the water render the scumming difficult, pour in a very
little cold water. The practice of boiling meat, such as poultry, veal, and
lamb, in floured cloths, to keep it white, must have been the invention of
lazy cooks, if not of tasteless and extravagant housewives; for the meat is
rendered less juicy, and the liquor in which it has been boiled, so good
for broth or gravy, must be lost.

When the pot has been well scummed, and no more scum to be seen, set in
such a situation on, or by, the fire, that it may continue to boil _gently_
and _regularly_, for the time required; and see that it do not stop boiling
{60}altogether at one time, and then be hurried to a wallop at another
time, for this dries up the juices, hardens the meat, and tears it. A
kettle of boiling water should be at hand, in order to replenish the pot,
as the quantity diminishes, taking heed not to exceed the original
quantity, namely, enough to _cover_ the meat, for the less water, the
better the broth will be.

Salted meat, if very salt, and all smoked meat, should be washed, and in
some cases, _soaked_ before it is boiled. If too little salted, it must not
be either washed or scraped, and may be put on to boil in water a little
heated, because a slow process would help to freshen it.

No positive rule can be given for the time required to boil meat, any more
than to roast, for much depends on its freshness, and a piece of _solid_
meat requires a longer time to boil than a joint of equal weight but of
less thickness. Salted and smoked meat require longer boiling than fresh
meat, veal longer than beef, mutton, or lamb; and pork, though ever so
little salted, still longer than veal. A leg of mutton which has hung long
will boil in less time than one which is quite or nearly fresh; but then
the former ought not to be boiled at all, but roasted, for the fire takes
away mustiness, and all the impurities with which the boiling water would
only tend still more to impregnate the meat. A quarter of an hour, and a
quart of water, to every pound of meat, is the rule of boiling, but
practice must teach this, as well as many other important parts of culinary
science. By a little care and attention, a cook will soon gain sufficient
experience to preserve her from the risk of sending a joint to table too
little, or too much done.

When meat is sufficiently boiled, take it up directly; and if it have to
wait, stand it over the pot it was cooked in, to keep it hot; remaining in
the water will sodden it.

The next thing for consideration, after that of cooking the meat properly,
is the turning to account the liquor in which it is boiled. This, be the
meat what it may, is good as a foundation for _Soups_ or _Gravies_ unless
it be the liquor of ham or bacon, and that can only be used in small
quantities, to flavour. The liquor of pork makes good pease soup. When such
liquor is not wanted for the family, it may always, at a trifling expense,
be converted {61}into wholesome and nourishing food for the poor. (_See
cookery for the poor._)


_Round of Beef._

If too large a joint to dress whole, for a small family, or where cold meat
is not liked, it may be cut into two or even three pieces, taking care to
give to each piece a due portion of fat; skewer it up tightly, of a good
shape, then bind it with strong coarse tape, or strips of linen. The vessel
roomy, the beef placed on a fish drainer (as should all large joints), and
care taken to keep it covered with water. Three hours for a piece of 12
lbs. About three hours and a half to 16 lbs., and so on, in proportion. Put
in carrots and turnips two hours after the meat. See that there be no scum
left on, before you send it to table. Garnish with sliced carrots, and
serve mashed turnips or greens, in a separate dish. Also dumplings, if
approved.

The whole round, if 30 lbs. weight, will require to boil five hours. But
remember, that the _boiling_ should be only steady _simmering_. Place the
vessel over the fire, that the water may come to a boil; then draw it to
the side, and never let it cease to simmer. Have a kettle of boiling water
by the side, to fill up with.


_Edge Bone of Beef._

One of 20 lbs. weight will require to boil three hours and a half. One of
10 lbs. weight will be done in two hours. The soft fat is best hot, the
hard fat cold.


_Brisket of Beef._

This being a long, awkward joint, may be cut in two; it requires longer
boiling than the edge bone; five hours not too much for a large piece. (See
_Beef to Press._)

For _Bouilli_ and other ways of cooking beef, see the _Index_.


_Leg of Mutton._

This joint should be kept from two days to a week. Cut out the pipe, and
carefully wipe the meat to clear it of all {62}mustiness. Chop but a very
small piece off the shank. Boil carrots and turnips with it if you _like_,
but the former will not improve the colour; and do not put them in before
the pot has been carefully scummed. A leg of 9 lbs. will take three hours
_slow_ boiling. Garnish with slices of carrot, or a rim of mashed turnip.
Serve caper sauce in a boat. _Walnut_ also is good, in place of capers. If
chickens or a fowl be wanted for the same dinner, they may boil in the same
vessel with the mutton, but not with vegetables. The _broth_ will be better
for this addition. If broth be wanted the same day, put into the water, as
soon as it has been scummed, some barley or rice, and after it has boiled
one hour and a half, lift out the mutton and place it by the fire, covered
to keep warm; take the lid off the pot, and let it boil quickly till the
liquor be reduced to the quantity you desire; put in turnips and carrots,
in small pieces, a head of celery, and a little parsley; return the mutton,
and boil it slowly half an hour.--A leg of mutton, if too large to cook at
once, may be divided into two; roast the fillet and boil the shank. _Or_:
you may take cutlets off the large end two days running, and then dress the
shank.--Tongue is good with boiled mutton.


_Neck of Mutton._

Should be very much trimmed of its fat, and, if from 3 to 5 lbs. weight,
boil _slowly_ two hours; it will likewise make very good broth, as the leg.
Garnish and serve in the same way.--Some do not cut off any of the fat,
until after it is cooked, then pare it off, and put it by: this, shred
finely, makes light pudding crust.


_Leg of Lamb._

A delicate dish, if nicely boiled, served with parsley and butter, and
garnished with sprigs of cauliflower, brocoli, or spinach. A dish of the
latter should be served with it. (_See in the Index._) If small, the loin
may be cut into steaks, fried, and placed round the leg, lightly garnished
with crisped parsley; or they may be placed round mashed potatoes, in
another dish. A leg of 5 lbs. should _simmer_ gently two hours, counting
from the time it is first put on, in cold water.


{63}_Calf's Head._

Wash it well in several waters, and soak it in warm water for a quarter of
an hour, but first take the brains out, and having well washed, let them
soak in cold water with a little salt for an hour. _Half_ the head (without
the skin), will require _gentle_ boiling two hours; with the skin, another
hour. Put it on in cold water. Boil 8 or 10 sage leaves, and the same
quantity in bulk of parsley, half an hour, then drain, chop very fine, and
spread them on a plate. Scald and peel the skin off the brains, put them
into a saucepan with plenty of cold water: when it boils, carefully scum
it, and let it boil gently fifteen minutes; chop the brains, but not very
fine, and put them into a small saucepan with the parsley and sage, also 2
table-spoonsful of thin melted butter, a little salt, and, if you like,
cayenne and lemon juice. Take the tongue out of the head, trim off the
roots, skin and place it in the middle of a dish, the brains round it. Pour
parsley and butter over the head, garnish with broiled rashers of bacon.
Serve ham, bacon, or pork, and greens. Save a quart of the liquor to make
sauce for the hash (_which see_). A very good sauce for this, eaten in
France, is as follows: 2 table-spoonsful of chopped eschalots, 1 of
parsley, 1 of tarragon and chervil, 1 of salt, a little pepper, 6
table-spoonsful of salad oil, 1 of vinegar: mix well together and serve
cold.


_Veal._

In some parts of England a boiled fillet is considered a delicacy. It
should not be large. Stuff it the same as for roasting (_which see_), or
with the forcemeat directed for boiled turkey. Serve white sauce, and
garnish with slices of lemon and barberries.--The neck is good boiled, and
eaten with parsley and butter.


_Pork._

This must be exceedingly well done. Wash and scrape a leg, and let it lie
in cold water a quarter of an hour to whiten; put it on to boil in cold
water; do not let it boil fast, because the knuckle will be broken to
pieces, before the thick part of the meat is done. Be careful to {64}take
off all the scum, and let a leg of 7 lbs. weight simmer three hours. If to
eat cold, do not cut it in the middle, because that will allow too much
gravy to be lost, but cut from the knuckle, and it will eat more tender.
Peas pudding with leg of pork, also parsnips, carrots, turnips or greens,
and mashed potatoes.


_Petit-Toes._

Put a thin slice of bacon at the bottom of a stew-pan, with a little broth
or thin melted butter, a blade of mace, a few peppercorns, and a sprig of
thyme; in this boil the feet, the heart, liver and lights, till tender; the
three latter will be done first; take them out and mince them fine: put
this mince and the feet into another saucepan with some good gravy
thickened with butter rolled in flour, season with pepper, salt, and a
small quantity of walnut and mushroom catsup; let it simmer five minutes.
While this is cooking prepare some sippets of toasted bread, lay them round
a dish, pour the mince and sauce into the middle, and having split the
feet, lay them lightly on the top.--A little cream may be added. (_See to
fry._)


_Poultry._

Be careful in picking, that the skin be not broken. Some cooks wash
poultry, but if wiping will be sufficient, it is best not washed. Chickens
and fowls will keep two or three days, except in very hot weather. A fowl
put on in cold water, should simmer by the side of the fire, from
twenty-five minutes to half an hour. Some cooks boil a little fresh suet
sliced, and also slices of lemon peel, with fowl. Some boil them in milk
and water. The water must be well scummed.

_Boiled Fowls_ with white sauce, or mushroom, oyster, celery, liver, or
lemon sauce, or parsley and butter. A pretty remove of fish or soup, is, a
small tongue in the centre, a boiled chicken on each side, and small heads
of brocoli, with a few asparagus and French beans to fill the spaces. Serve
any of the above sauces.--Always ham, bacon or tongue, and some sort of
green vegetable, with fowl and turkey; chine with the latter. Garnish with
slices of lemon.


{65}_Ducks._

Choose fine fat ones. Some persons salt them slightly, for two days, others
boil them without. Smother them with onions, or serve onion sauce.


_Turkey._

Let it hang four days, and take care not to blacken it in singeing. It is
usual to fill the crop of a turkey with forcemeat (_see forcemeats_), or
with a stuffing of bread-crumbs, suet shred fine, a little parsley, thyme,
and lemon peel, chopped fine, nutmeg, pepper, and salt, the whole mixed
together by an egg. In America it is the practice to stuff turkeys with
oysters chopped and mixed with bread-crumbs. About 4 would be sufficient. A
large turkey, with the crop filled, requires two hours _slow_ boiling; not
filled, half an hour less; and a small hen turkey an hour. Serve with
oyster or celery sauce, and either chine, bacon or tongue. The forcemeat
may be enriched by grated tongue or ham, chopped veal, an anchovy and a
little bit of eschalot. (_See to hash, also grill._)


_Rabbits._

A full-sized one will boil in half an hour; an old one above an hour. Some
use _milk_ and water. Serve with onion sauce poured over; or a sauce made
of melted butter, and the livers, previously boiled, and minced small, with
a little parsley. Lay slices of lemon round the dish. Ham or Bacon.


_Bacon_

Should be well washed and scraped, and old bacon soaked in cold water.
After coming slowly to a boil, let a piece of 4 lbs. simmer by the fire two
hours, if young and fresh cured, less time. Some cooks put fat bacon into
hot water, and lean into cold. Take off the rind and set it before the fire
to dry up the oozing fat. Strew bread-raspings over.


_Ham._

The main thing to be attended to is the previous soaking, and the requisite
time must be left to the discretion of the cook, for, whereas one night
would be sufficient for a small {66}and tender ham, if very old and dry,
less than four days and four nights will scarcely be enough. The water
should be changed every day, and the night before it is boiled, scrape
well, pour warm water over it, and trim off all the rusty, ill-looking,
bits, then lay it in the water again. Scum the pot, and let the ham _simmer
from three to five_ hours, according to its weight. When done, take the
skin off gently, and after covering the ham with bread-raspings, set it
before the fire, to crisp it. Twist writing paper round the shank, and
garnish with greens, or little heaps of bread-raspings. The liquor, if well
scummed at first, may be strained or put by, and if you boil fowls or veal
on the following day, you may put the two liquors together, boil them
rapidly down; add pepper, mace, eschalot, and a faggot of herbs, and you
will have a highly relishing gravy. Some persons contend that the practice
of boiling a ham until half cooked, and then finishing by _baking_ it,
improves the flavour. (_See to bake meat._)


_Tongue._

If you buy it salted, learn how long it has been in pickle, for according
to that it must soak. If old and hard, twenty-four hours will not be too
much. Have plenty of water, and let it be a full hour in coming to a boil;
then _simmer gently_ for three hours; longer if very large. The root is an
excellent ingredient for peas soup.


_Tripe._

Cut in cutlets, or not, as you choose, and simmer it in milk and water till
quite tender. Peel and boil a dozen button onions, put the tripe in a deep
dish with some of the sauce, and the onions on the top; or you may boil it
in plain water. Mustard sauce is good.--As all persons would not choose
onions, you may serve onion sauce as directed for rabbits (_which see_).
Serve rashers of bacon, if approved.


_Cow-Heel._

When well boiled, cut into nice pieces, egg, bread crumb, and fry them of a
light brown, and serve with fried onions or any piquant sauce. Is very good
only boiled, and served with parsley and butter.




{67}CHAPTER VIII.

ROASTING.


FOR roasting, meat should be kept longer than for boiling, or it will not,
though ever so good, eat well. The proper length of time depends upon the
state of the weather, and the age of the animal when killed, for young meat
bears keeping less time than old meat. Two days of hot weather will do as
much to render meat fit for the spit, as a week of cold weather.

Next after the state of the meat, the thing of most consequence is
preparing the fire, which ought to be made up (of the size required by the
length and breadth of the joint) half an hour before the meat is put down.
It should not at first be exposed to a fierce fire. Let there be a backing
of wetted cinders or small coals: this tends to throw the heat in front;
lay large coals on the top, smaller ones between the bars, give the fire
time to draw, and it will be clear. Before you put down the meat, stir the
fire, clear it at the bottom, and see that it be free from smoke in front.

Some cooks make a practice of washing meat, with salt and water, then
wiping it dry, before it is roasted. Where there is mustiness, or slimy
appearance, it should be wiped off with a wet cloth, otherwise much washing
is neither necessary nor beneficial. See that it be properly jointed; if
there be too much fat, cut it off (it is better for puddings, in the shape
of suet, than dripping); cover the meat with kitchen paper, _tied_ on with
twine, and not fastened by _pins_; see also, that the spit be bright and
clean, and take care to run it through the meat, in the right place, at
once, for the more the meat is perforated, the greater chance will be given
for the escape of the gravy. Great nicety is required in spitting, that the
joint may be accurately balanced. In the absence of spits and smoke-jacks,
a bottle-jack, or a stout nail with a strong string or skein of worsted,
will {68}dangle a joint, and if the fire be made proportionably high to the
length of the joint, there is no better mode of roasting. A strong skewer
must be run in, at each end of the joint, in order to turn it.

The larger the joint the greater distance it should, at first, be from the
fire, that the outside may not be shrivelled up before the middle is
warmed. A quarter of an hour to a pound of meat, is the rule for roasting,
and it admits of the same exceptions as in the case of boiling, with this
addition, that fat meat takes longer than lean meat, as do pork and veal
longer than any other kind. Fillets and legs, on account of their
solidness, longer than loins and breasts. Much depends upon the situation
of the fire-place, and whether the joint be exposed to draughts of cold
air, or whether it be preserved from them, and the fire assisted, by a meat
screen. Where there is none, a contrivance must be resorted to, by way of
substitute, such as small wooden horses, or chairs, with cloths hung over
them; these will keep off the cold, but a meat screen, lined with tin,
keeps in the heat, and acts as a reflector.--Twice, or if the roast be
large, oftener, remove the pan, pour off the dripping (it ought to be
strained), draw the spit to a distance, and stir the fire, bring forward
the hot coals, and put fresh at the back. Be careful that cinders do not
reach the dripping-pan, for the smoke which they cause to rise from the
fat, gives a disagreeable flavour to the meat, besides the injury to the
dripping. (_See Dripping._)--When the meat is nearly done, the steams will
draw towards the fire; take the paper off, and move the joint nearer to the
fire, particularly the ends, if they want more cooking; sprinkle salt
lightly over the roast; then pour off all the remaining dripping, dredge
flour _very lightly_ over the joint, and baste with a very little fresh
butter, which will not injure the gravy in the pan, but give a delicate
froth to the meat. To the gravy now flowing from the meat, the best
addition is a teacupful of boiling water. (_See Gravies._)

With a clear strong fire (and meat cannot be well roasted without a strong
fire), time allowed for gradual cooking, a cook may ensure for her roasts
that fine pale brown colour, to produce which is esteemed one of the
greatest proofs of a cook's skill.


{69}_Sirloin of Beef._

After reading the foregoing observations, the cook must gain, by
observation and practice, that experience which will enable her to send
this very best of joints to table, done enough, yet not overdone. A piece
of 15 lbs. weight will require nearly four hours to cook it well: cover it
with two half sheets of foolscap paper, and put it near to the fire for a
few minutes; then rub it well over with butter, and draw it back to a
distance (provided always that there is a very _good, steady_ fire); and in
this case do not baste at all, but put some boiling water into the
dripping-pan when you first put the meat down, and this, by the time the
meat is done, will be good gravy, after you have poured the fat off. The
older fashion is to baste with dripping as soon as you put it down, and
continue the basting every quarter of an hour; but I think the other method
gives the meat the most delicate taste and appearance. However, a cook
should try both ways, and afterwards follow the one which best suits the
taste of her employers.

The old fashion of Yorkshire pudding with roast beef is too good a one to
be abandoned, though its substitute of potatoe pudding is not to be
rejected. Garnish with finely scraped horseradish.--Where cold roast beef
is not liked, or if too underdone to eat cold, slices may be gently
simmered over the fire in gravy or broth, or a very little water, and a
little pepper and salt, eschalot vinegar, or some sort of catsup. The
sirloin always came to table whole in the house in which I was brought up;
therefore, I am able to give instructions for cooking it. No spit will
carry round a whole sirloin; it must be _dangled_, and one which weighs
(after great part of the suet has been taken out) 40 lbs. will roast in
five hours, for it is no thicker than a piece of 10 lbs. weight. The fire
must be large and high, the heat, of course, very great. Many a cook's
complexion, to say nothing of her temper, has suffered in the cause of our
"noble sirloins." If the inside, or tender-loin, be taken out leaving all
the fat to roast with the joint, this part may be cooked to resemble hare.
For this purpose, spread some hare stuffing over the beef, roll that up
tightly with tape, and tie it on the spit. Send this to table with the
sauces for roast hare. When the whole joint is roasted, the inside {70}will
be sufficiently underdone to make hashes. If only a part of the sirloin be
cooked, the inside is best eaten hot, as it is not so good cold as the
upper side.--Roast beef bones should be taken care of, for soup and gravy,
and used before they become musty.


_Rump of Beef._

Roast in the same manner. _Half_ of this joint makes a nice family dish.
Parboiled potatoes, browned in the dripping-pan are good.


_Ribs of Beef._

Roasted the same as the sirloin. But it requires to be basted. Is a better
joint to eat cold than sirloin. 15 or 20 lbs. weight, three hours or more,
according to the size. Paper the fat and the thin part. Another way is to
take out the bones, lay the meat flat, and beat it with a rolling pin; soak
it in two thirds of vinegar and one of water, or, better still, white wine
in place of vinegar, a night; next day cover it with a rich forcemeat, of
veal, suet, grated ham, lemon peel, and mixed spices. Roll it tightly up,
fasten with small skewers and tape, and roast it, basting constantly with
butter, and serve with venison sauce.--_Or:_ you may take out the bones,
roll the meat up like a fillet of veal, lard it, then roast and serve with
tomata sauce.


_Leg, Loin, Haunch, Saddle, and Shoulder of Mutton._

Cut out the pipe that runs along the back bone, wipe off all mustiness.
Rather a _quick_ fire is required for mutton, particularly if it have been
kept. Roast in the same manner as beef. Paper it, and baste every twenty
minutes till the last half hour, when lightly sprinkle with salt, baste
with _butter_, and dredge flour lightly over, and as soon as the froth
rises, take it up. Onion, sweet sauce, or currant jelly, are eaten with
mutton. Some think it an improvement to the _haunch_ and _saddle_ to take
the skin off; to do this you must beat it well with a rolling pin, slip the
skin with a sharp knife from the meat, and with a cloth pull it off nearly
to the shank. Some put a thin paste over, as directed for venison, others
paper only, and the latter is sufficient, if the cook baste enough, and do
not let {71}it burn.--A good sauce for roast mutton is made by putting 2
glasses of port wine, 1 of Reading sauce, and a tea-spoonful of garlic
vinegar into a small saucepan, and pouring the contents hot over the joint
just before serving it.


_Haunch of Mutton._

_To dress as Venison._--Keep it as long as you can, then rub with the
following, and let it lie in it, thirty-six hours. Mix 2 oz. of coarse
sugar, 1 oz. of salt, and ½ oz. of saltpetre. A taste somewhat peculiar to
our house, and of American growth, is stewed cranberries, as sauce with
roast mutton, and I recommend the trial to all who can procure good
cranberries. Tomata sauce is also good with roast mutton.


_Bullock's Heart._

Soak it well in lukewarm water to disgorge, dry and stuff the interior with
a veal stuffing, and roast it two hours. _Calves'_ and _Sheep's_ heart the
same.


_Tongue._

Stick a fresh tongue all over with cloves, roast it, baste with butter, and
serve with port wine sauce, and currant jelly.


_Sucking Pig._

The age at which it ought to be killed is a matter of dispute; some say at
twelve days old, others at three weeks; but all agree that the sooner it is
cooked after, the better. After the inside is taken out, wash the pig well
with cold water. Cut off the feet at the first joint, leaving the skin long
enough to turn neatly over. Prepare a stuffing as follows: ½ oz. of mild
sage, 2 onions, parboiled and chopped fine, a tea-cup full of grated bread
crumbs, 2 oz. of good butter, and some pepper, cayenne and salt; put this
into the pig, and carefully sew the slit up. Some cooks baste, at first,
with salt and water, and then keep brushing the pig with a brush of
feathers, dipped in salad oil. Others tie a piece of butter in muslin, and
diligently rub the crackling with it; either is good. It should be dredged
with flour, soon after it is put down, and the {72}rubbing with butter or
oil never cease, or the skin will not be crisp. The fire should be brisk,
and a pig iron used, or the pig will be unequally cooked, for the middle
will be burnt up, before the two ends are done. A good-sized one will take
two hours. A pig should never go whole to table. Take the spit from the
fire, and place it across a dish, then with a sharp knife cut the head off,
cut down the back, and slip the spit out. Lay it back to back in your dish,
and the ears, one at each end, which ought to be quite crisp. For sauce,
clear beef, or veal gravy, with a squeeze of lemon, and, if approved, the
brains and liver, or a little of the stuffing out of the pig, mixed in it,
also a very little finely chopped sage. Apple sauce and currant sauce are
not yet out of fashion for roast pig. Chili or eschalot vinegar is an
improvement to pig-sauce. The easiest way is to _bake it_. (See _Baking._)


_Venison, Haunch or Shoulder._

This will hang three weeks with care, but must be watched. Wet it as little
as possible; a damp cloth, only, should be used to cleanse it. Butter a
sheet of kitchen paper, and tie it over the fat side of the joint, then lay
over that a paste of about ½ an inch thick of flour and water; tie another
sheet of paper over that, fasten all on firmly, and rub butter over the
outside paper, that the fire may not catch it. Baste well, and keep up a
strong clear fire. A haunch of from 20 to 25 lbs. weight, in a paste, will
take from four to five hours, and not be overdone. Half an hour before it
is ready take off the coverings, and put it nearer the fire to brown and
froth. Baste with fresh butter, and lightly dredge it with flour. For
sauce, currant jelly in heated port wine, in one boat, and clear drawn,
unspiced gravy, in another. (_See Gravies._) Raspberry vinegar may be used
in making sauce for venison. Some epicures like eschalots or small onions,
served with venison, hare, or any meat, eaten with sweet sauce.--The
shoulder, breast, and neck, are all roasted, but the two latter are best in
pies; and if lean, may be used in soup.--Serve French beans, and currant
jelly.


_Fawn._

This should, like a sucking-pig, be dressed soon after it {73}is killed.
When quite young, it is trussed and stuffed like hare. But it is best, when
large enough, cut in quarters, and dressed like lamb. The hind quarter is
the best. It may be half roasted, and then hashed like hare or
venison.--_Or_: in pies the same as venison. It may also be baked. Venison
sauce.


_Veal_

Must have a strong and brisk fire. It must not only be _well done through_,
but be of a nice brown. For the fillet a stuffing of forcemeat made thus:
two parts of stale bread-crumbs, one part suet, marrow or fresh butter, a
little parsley boiled for a minute and chopped fine, 2 tea-spoonsful of
grated lemon peel, a little nutmeg, a very little cayenne and some salt,
the whole to be worked to a proper consistence, with yolks of 2 or 3 eggs.
Many things may be used in flavouring stuffing, such as grated ham, beef,
sausages, pickled oysters, anchovy, sweet herbs, eschalots, mushrooms,
truffles, morels, currie powder and cayenne. The fillet should be covered
with paper, and securely fastened in a nice shape. Baste well, and half an
hour before you take it up, remove the paper, and bring the meat nearer the
fire, to brown it. Garnish with slices of lemon. When in the dish, pour
some thin melted butter over it, to mix with its own gravy. A fillet of 15
lbs. weight will require 4 hours' roasting. Serve sausages, ham, or bacon,
and greens.


_Shoulder of Veal._

Stuff it, using more suet or butter than for the fillet. Serve and garnish
the same. From three hours to three and a half.


_Loin of Veal_

Must be well jointed. The kidney fat papered, or it will be lost. Toast
half the round of a loaf, and place it in the dish under the kidney part,
and serve and garnish the same as the fillet. About three hours.


_Breast of Veal._

Keep it covered with the caul till nearly done, for that will preserve the
meat from being scorched, and will also {74}enrich it.--From one hour and a
half to two hours. Some put in a very delicate stuffing.


_Neck, best end._

Two hours to roast.


_Lamb._

Lamb must be young, to be good, and requires no keeping to make it tender.
It is roasted in _quarters_, or _saddles_, _legs_, and _shoulders_; must be
well done, but does not require a strong fire. Put oiled paper over a fore
quarter. One of 10 lbs. weight will require two hours.--When the shoulder
is removed, the carver ought to sprinkle some salt, squeeze ½ a lemon, and
pour a little melted butter (it _may_ have finely chopped parsley in it),
over the target, and then replace the shoulder for a few minutes.--Mint
sauce; and garnish with crisp parsley, sprigs of parsley, sprigs of
cauliflower, or alternate slices of lemon and sprigs of water cress.--Serve
salad, spinach, French beans, cauliflower or green peas. (_See Sauces._)


_Pork_

Requires a very strong fire, and must be well done.


_Leg of Pork._

Make a slit in the shank, and put in a stuffing of mild sage, and parboiled
onions, chopped fine, also pepper, salt, grated stale bread-crumbs, a piece
of butter, a tea-spoonful of made mustard, and an egg to cement the whole,
then sew it up. Rub the skin often all over with salad oil or fresh butter,
while the roast is going on. The skin must be scored about twenty minutes
after the pork is put down. A leg of 8 lbs. about three hours. Serve onion
sauce, mustard, or apple sauce. (_See Sauces._)


_Spare Rib._

When put to the fire, dust some flour over, and baste gently with some
butter. Have some sage leaves dried and rubbed through a hair sieve, and
about a quarter of an hour {75}before the meat is done, sprinkle this over
it, just after the last basting with butter. Apple sauce; mashed potatoes.


_Loin and Griskin._

Score the loin, and, if you like, stuff it as the leg, or mix powdered sage
and finely-chopped onion with the basting. A loin of 5 lbs. two hours; if
very fat, half an hour longer. A griskin of 7 or 8 lbs. one hour and a
half. Either of these may be baked. Score the rind, rub over it well with
butter or oil, and stand it in a common earthen dish, with potatoes peeled
and cut in quarters; and, if you like, add some apples also, and two or
three onions previously parboiled and cut up. Dress the pork round with
these when you serve it. _Apples roasted_, and sent to table in their
skins, are very good with pork.


_Turkey._

It is not a good practice to wash poultry, only to wipe it out quite clean;
but if it be _necessary_ to wash it, then dredge flour over before you put
it down to the fire.

A turkey ought to hang as long as the weather will allow. Take care, in
drawing, not to break the gall bag, for no washing would cure the mischief.
It is still the custom, in some counties, to send a roast turkey to table
with its head on. Press down the breast-bone. Fill the craw with a stuffing
as follows: a large cup of bread-crumbs, 2 oz. minced beef suet, a little
parsley (always parboiled, as well as onions, for stuffings), a little
grated lemon peel, two or three sprigs of thyme, some nutmeg, pepper and
salt; mix the whole well, and cement it with an egg. Add, if you choose,
parboiled oysters (a few), or a little grated ham. Do not stuff too full,
and keep back some of the stuffing to make little balls, to fry and garnish
with, unless you have sausages. Paper the breast. Score the gizzard, dip it
in melted butter, and then in bread-crumbs, fix it under the pinion, cover
it with buttered paper, and be sure that it has its share of basting, as
well as the liver, which must be placed under the other pinion. The fire
must be the same as for beef. Keep the turkey at a distance from the fire,
at first, that the breast and legs may be done. A very large one will
require three hours, and is never so good as a {76}moderate sized one, such
as will roast in little more than one hour and a half. Dredge with flour,
and baste with fresh butter, or wash it with salt butter. Half an hour
before it is done, take off the paper, to let the turkey brown, and when
the steam draws towards the fire, lightly dredge it with flour; then put a
good sized piece of butter in the basting ladle, hold it over the turkey,
and let it drop over it as it melts. This will give a finer froth than
basting from the dripping-pan. Clear gravy in the dish, and more in a
tureen, with egg, bread, or oyster sauce, in another. Chine and greens.


_Capons and common Fowls._

Roasted the same as turkeys, and stuffed, if the size will admit. A large,
full-grown fowl will take about one hour and a quarter; a chicken from
thirty to forty minutes. The sauces for fowls are, gravy, parsley, and
butter, either with or without the liver (roasted) chopped up in it, or
mushroom, bread or egg sauce. Three or four slices of fat bacon, not too
thick, may be attached by skewers to the breast of a fowl, and is an
improvement to a large one.


_Goose._

Well wash and dry it in a cloth; then stuff it with four onions, parboiled,
a fourth of their bulk in sage, and half, or, if you like it, the whole of
the liver; parboil these together slightly, and mix them with the crumb of
a penny loaf and an egg. _Or_, prepare a stuffing of six good onions, two
or three apples, and some sage; chop these together quite fine, season with
pepper and salt, and warm it in a saucepan sufficient to half cook it. Put
the stuffing in the goose, tie that tightly at both ends, when on the spit:
keep it papered the first hour, and baste with a little dripping. Froth it
the same as turkey. The fire must be kept brisk. A large goose will require
two hours. Take it up before the breast falls. Its own gravy is not good.
Serve a good gravy flavoured with port wine, or cider, and walnut catsup,
also a table-spoonful of made mustard.--It is a good plan for the cook to
cut up the goose, remove the joints separately on another _hot_ dish, then
pour the gravy boiling hot over. This may not be fashionable, but it
preserves the {77}goose from eating _greasy_, saves the lady of the house
trouble, and insures its being hot when helped. Serve apple sauce.--Some
persons like goose stuffed with potatoes, previously boiled, then mashed
without butter, and well peppered and salted.


_Green Geese_

Will roast in half an hour; are not stuffed. Put a good sized piece of
butter inside, pepper and salt. Froth and brown nicely. Gooseberry sauce.


_Ducks_

Will keep three days, but are better dressed the day they are killed. Ducks
may be stuffed or not (the same as geese), according to taste. But if two
are roasted, one may be stuffed, and the other merely seasoned inside, with
pepper, salt, an eschalot, and cayenne, if liked. Serve green peas with
ducks. From three quarters to an hour will roast them. Baste well, and give
a good froth. (_See Sauces and Forcemeats._) Some persons squeeze a lemon
over the breasts when dished.


_Wild Ducks_

Take from twenty-five minutes to half an hour. Have a clear brisk fire.
They are, generally, preferred underdone, but brown outside. Cut slices in
the breast, and squeeze in lemon juice with cayenne; _or_ put an oz. of
butter into a stew-pan with a little cayenne, the rind of an orange cut
thin and previously blanched in boiling water, and the juice of a lemon;
warm this over the fire, and when melted, but not oiled, pour it over the
duck and serve. (_See Sauces._)


_Pheasants, Partridges, Guinea and Pea-fowl_,

Require a brisk fire. All are trussed in the same way, and the heads left
on. Make a slit in the back of the neck to take out the craw; do not turn
the head under the wing, but truss it like a fowl, and fasten the neck to
its side with a skewer. Thirty minutes will roast a young pheasant, and
forty or fifty minutes a full grown one. Good sized partridges take nearly
as long. Baste with butter, and {78}froth them. Clear, well-flavoured
gravy, in which there should be a tea-spoonful of the essence of ham. Also
bread sauce.

French cooks lard all these. (_See to Lard._) They also have a method of
dressing them thus: lay slices of lemon over the breast, and upon these,
slices of fat bacon, cover with paper, and roast them. Another way is to
fill the bird with a delicate stuffing of veal, grated ham, lemon grated,
and spice; then roast it.


_Woodcocks, Snipes, and Ortolans_,

Should be kept as long as they are good. Do not draw woodcocks, for the
trail is considered a delicacy, nor cut off their heads. They should be
tied to a bird spit, or dangled singly. The fire must be clear. Twenty or
thirty minutes is enough for woodcocks, and less for the rest, in
proportion to their size. Lay some slices of toasted bread, the crust cut
off, in the dripping-pan, to dish them on. Serve melted butter. Garnish
with slices of lemon.--In France they stuff woodcocks with truffles, and
other things, then roast, or stew them.


_Grouse, Black Game, Plovers, Rails, Quails, Widgeons and Teal_,

Are roasted the same as partridges, the head of grouse twisted under the
wing. Do not let them be over-done. A rich gravy, and bread sauce. Garnish
with fried bread-crumbs.


_Pigeons._

Clean them as soon as killed, and the sooner they are dressed the better.
Wash them very well, stuff each with a piece of butter the size of an egg,
a few bread-crumbs, a little parsley, and the liver chopped, if you like:
season well with pepper and salt. Roast twenty-five or thirty minutes. Pour
into the dish a little thin melted butter, with or without the parsley, to
mix with their own gravy. Serve bread or rice sauce, or parsley and butter.
They may be served on a thin toast. Wood-pigeons should hang till tender,
then roasted and served in rich gravy. They require less roasting than tame
pigeons.


{79}_Larks, Wheat-ears, and other Small Birds._

Some of these are nice eating, particularly the _Wheat-ear_, which, from
its superior flavour, has been called the English ortolan. A roast of small
birds is so much the fashion in France, that you seldom travel many days
together without finding it one of the principal dishes of the supper
table. In the autumn, and, indeed, through the winter, you will constantly
see a partridge, or a woodcock, served up in the midst of a numerous
company of blackbirds, thrushes, larks, and a variety of such small birds;
a truly "dainty dish to set before a king." This custom is remarkable
because there is a comparative scarcity of small birds in France, whilst we
in England are overstocked with them. The _sparrow-pudding_ is _known_ in
many country places, but is not often seen. Indeed, in this land of beef
and mutton, it would be hard if these little creatures could not be left to
sing and build their nests in peace. With the French there is such an
avidity for all sorts of small birds, that a string of them is one of the
most ordinary articles in the larder. Nothing that flies in France above
the order of humming-birds in its size, is too insignificant to come within
the scope of the sportsman's ambition, and the purveyor's nets and
springes. I am not sure whether our exquisite neighbours ever proceed so
far as to devour sweet Philomel herself; but they certainly do what would
be deemed still more shocking in England, making no exception in favour of
that little bird, to injure which is here a sort of crime; they kill the
robins and cook them by dozens at a time. The Forest of Ardennes abounds in
them, and in the season the traveller may fare sumptuously upon these
pretty little creatures, without being aware of what he is eating. Lovers
of delicacies might find it worth their while to travel in the countries
where the vine and the fig-tree abound. There the small birds feed and
fatten on the grapes, even in the winter, for, long after the conclusion of
the vintage, refuse grapes may always be found hanging. This food, so
superior to our blackberries, hips and haws, may well cause the flavour of
the birds to be in the highest perfection: for the fruit is so nutritious
that the labouring people almost entirely live upon it through one whole
season of the year. In Sicily the grapes will keep for months {80}after
they are quite ripe, hanging on the vines in the open air. There is a
little bird, about the size of the nightingale, called the _fig-pecker_,
from its feeding upon the figs. This is one of the most prized delicacies
of the south of France and Italy.--All the above-named birds require to be
well cleaned. Then put them on a bird-spit or skewer, and tie that on
another spit, or dangle it before the fire. Baste constantly with good
butter, and strew sifted bread-crumbs over as they roast. French cooks
generally put a thin small slice of bacon over the breast of each bird,
bringing it over each wing. Fifteen minutes will roast them. Serve larks on
bread-crumbs, and garnish with slices of lemon.--_Or_: dip the birds into a
batter, then roll them in bread-crumbs.


_Hare_

Should, unless a leveret, hang several days, to become tender. Cooks differ
as to the proper method of keeping it. Some keep it unpaunched, while
others see that it is paunched instantly, wiped clean and dry inside, and
then let it hang as many as eight days. If really an _old_ hare, it should
be made into soup at once, for it will never be tender enough to roast. The
heart and liver should be taken out as soon as possible, washed, scraped,
parboiled, and kept for the stuffing. Most cooks maintain the practice of
soaking hares for two hours in water, but more are rendered dry and
tasteless by this method than would be so naturally. A slit should be cut
in the neck, to let the blood out, and the hare be washed in several
different waters. Prepare a rich and relishing stuffing, as follows: the
grated crumb of a penny loaf, a ¼ lb. beef suet, or 3 oz. of marrow, a
small quantity of parsley and eschalot, a tea-spoonful of grated
lemon-peel, the same of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and the liver chopped, mix
all together with the yolk of an egg; and an anchovy, if approved; put it
inside the hare, and sew it up. For basting, most cooks use milk and water
till within twenty minutes, or thereabouts, of the hare being done, and
then baste with butter. But a cook of ours, first basted it with milk and
water, for about ten minutes, to draw away the blood, then with ale, and
for the last half hour with fresh dripping, until about five minutes before
the hare was taken up, when she basted with butter to give {81}a froth,
having previously lightly floured it. Where cream and eggs abound, you may,
after the hare has been basted with butter, empty the dripping pan, and
baste with warm cream, and the yolk of an egg mixed in it. A good-sized
hare will take one hour and a quarter to roast. Serve good gravy in a
tureen, and currant jelly, or some piquant sauce. (_See Sauces._) Kid is
dressed the same way.


_Rabbit_

Is roasted in the same manner as hare; in addition to the stuffing, put
three or four slices, cut very thin, of bacon. Liver sauce.




CHAPTER IX.

BAKING.


SOME joints of meat bake to advantage. It is convenient, occasionally, to
send the dinner out to be cooked, and the meat which suffers least from
such cookery ought to be selected; veal is good baked, so is pork, a
sucking pig, a goose, and a duck; but not mutton. Some pieces of beef bake
well, with peeled potatoes under to catch the gravy, and brown. Some sorts
of fish also bake well. (_See Fish in the Index._)


_Breast, Loin, Fillet, or Shoulder of Veal._

The two last stuffed with forcemeat; put the joint on a stand in a deep
baking dish, and stick bits of butter over the top. The heat of the oven
strong, but not fierce. Baste often; when nearly done, sprinkle salt over,
and ten minutes before it is taken out, dredge with flour.


_Pig._

Put it in a shallow baking dish, wrap the ears and tail in buttered paper;
send a good sized piece of butter tied in muslin, for the baker to rub over
it frequently.


_Goose and Duck._

Prepare as for roasting: put them on a stand, and turn {82}them when half
done.--_Wild Goose_ the same, with a piece of suet inside.


_Ham._

Boil it till half done, then cover it with a paste of flour and water, and
set it in an oven, hot enough for bread, till you think it done.


_Ox Cheek._

Cover with a strong seasoning of pepper, salt, and minced onion. Bake three
or four hours, according to its size, then set it by till next day, take
off the fat, and warm it as you want it. A _Shin of beef_ in the same way.


_Hare and Rabbit._

Prepare as for roasting, and baste it constantly with butter. The stuffing
should be rich.


_A Fawn._

Put a caul over and set it in the oven; about a quarter of an hour before
it is done, take off the caul and baste well with butter. It will bake in
the same time that a pig requires.

Meat pies require the oven to be as hot as for joints of meat, yet they
should not be scorched. They also require time to soak through, or the meat
will not be done.

Fish pies require half an hour less baking than the same sized meat pies.

Great nicety is required in baking fruit pies and light pastry. All these
ought to be baked at home; when the precise heat of the oven, required, may
be attained, which it rarely can be at the bakehouse. Pastry suffers, too,
in being exposed to the air on its way to the oven; and it ought not to
wait long before it is baked.


_Pork._

Any joint will bake well. It must be scored. Rub it over with oil, or stick
bits of butter all over it. Put it on a stand, and put peeled potatoes
under it; also, you may put onions and apples. Sprinkle dry sage over,
before you serve it. Stuff the pork, or not, as you choose.




{83}CHAPTER X.

BROILING.


THIS is seldom excelled in, though it appears simple, and is of general
utility; for few like to dine on cold meat, and none dislike a broil. There
is no economy in broiling, but such meat, poultry, or game, as cannot be
hashed with advantage, had best be broiled.

The great art in broiling is to have a suitable fire. It must be strong,
bright, and clear, and entirely free from smoke; if half burnt down, so
much the better. Have two gridirons, one for meat and poultry, the other
for fish. Those which hang before the fire are useful. A gridiron should be
rubbed clean immediately after being used, not set aside with a particle of
grease or soot attached to it. Just before you lay meat on, after you have
made it hot, rub the gridiron with a piece of fresh suet, if for meat; if
for fish, rub with chalk. A pair of steak-tongs is indispensable. Above all
things, it is necessary that the broil be served immediately, closely
covered on its way from the fire to the table, and that the plates and the
dish be hot.


_Beef Steaks._

These are eaten in perfection in England only, and, it is said, best in the
Chop-houses in London, where daily practice makes the cooking perfect, and
because in London the best beef may always be procured. No skill in
broiling will render tough meat tender. Steaks are best from the middle of
the rump (unless it be the under part of the sirloin), after the meat has
been killed five days (if the weather permit), or even longer. They should
be of about ¾ of an inch in thickness; beat them a very little. Sprinkle a
little salt over the fire, lay the steaks on the hot gridiron, {84}turn
them frequently, and when the fat blazes and smokes much, quickly remove
the gridiron for an instant, till it be over, and the steak will be
sufficiently done, in from ten to fifteen minutes. Have a hot dish by the
side of the fire; and, to gratify the taste of some persons, rub it with a
piece of eschalot; at all events let the dish be _hot_, and as you turn the
steaks, if there be any gravy at the top, drop it into the dish. Before you
dish them, put a piece of fresh butter, and a spoonful of catsup in the
dish; then sprinkle the dish with a little salt, lay the steaks in the
dish, and turn them once or twice, to express the gravy. Garnish with
horse-radish, or pickles. Oyster, and many other sauces may be served; some
beef steak eaters say that its own gravy, pepper and salt, are all that a
good beef steak requires, unless it be a little sliced raw onion or
tarragon; others like fried onions.


_Beef Steaks, with Potatoes._

Beat them flat; season on both sides with pepper, salt, and such mixed
spices as you choose; dip the steaks in melted butter, lay them on the
gridiron, and broil them, as directed in the last receipt. Have a little
finely-rubbed parsley, or chopped eschalot, a piece of butter, and some
pepper and salt, in a hot dish; when the steaks are done, lay them in it,
turn them once or twice, and arrange slices of potatoes fried, round them.
_Or_: spread mashed potatoes quite hot in the dish, and lay the steaks on.


_Blade bone of Veal._

Broil it till quite done. Serve it with stewed mushrooms, or a garnish of
pickled mushrooms and slices of lemon.


_Mutton and Lamb Chops, also Rabbit and Fowl cut up, Sweetbread and
Kidneys._

These may all be broiled in the same way as plain beef steak. Take care
that the fat which drops from mutton and lamb, does not smoke the chops;
where there is danger, take off the gridiron, and hold it aslant over the
fire. {85}Kidneys must, to prevent their curling, be stretched on a skewer.
They may be dressed in a more savoury way, thus: dip them in egg, then in a
mixture of bread-crumbs, and savoury herbs, before you put them on the
gridiron. For mutton, a piece of butter in a hot dish, with a little
catsup, is good sauce; but no catsup for lamb; cucumber sauce is
better.--(_See Blade bone of Pork._)


_Pork Chops_

Require a very strong fire, and more cooking than mutton, for they must be
well done, about a quarter of an hour; cut them once to ascertain the state
they are in. Mix in a _little_ gravy, rather thin than rich, a spoonful of
made mustard; pour this quite hot, over the chops, in the dish, to mix with
their own gravy; then strew over them a little dry sage, rubbed small, and
some chopped eschalot. Pork chops may be dressed in a Dutch oven.


_Blade bone of Pork._

Cut it with a small quantity of meat to it: lay it on the gridiron, and
when nearly done, pepper and salt it well, then rub a piece of butter over,
and serve it directly. Mutton in the same way.


_Chickens and Pigeons._

After a chicken is picked, singed and washed, or wiped clean, truss, and
lay it open, by splitting down the back; season the inside with pepper and
salt, and lay that side on the gridiron, at a greater distance from the
fire than you put a steak, for it will take longer to cook; at least half
an hour is necessary for a good sized chicken. From time to time remove the
chicken from the fire, and rub it over with a piece of butter, tied in
muslin. Run a knife into the breast to ascertain if it be done. The gizzard
should be scored, well seasoned, broiled and divided, to garnish the
chicken, with the liver, and slices of lemon. Serve mushroom sauce or
parsley and butter. You may egg the chicken and strew grated bread over it,
and broil till it is of a fine brown; take care that the fleshy side is not
{86}burnt. Pigeons are broiled in the same way, or may be done whole; in
which case truss and put inside each a large piece of butter, pepper and
salt, tie close at both ends, lay them on the gridiron, and turn them
frequently. You may brush them with egg, and roll them in bread-crumbs and
chopped parsley, with which mixture dredge them whilst broiling. Parsley
and butter in the dish, with mushroom catsup, if you like. Stewed mushrooms
are served with these, or pickled mushrooms as garnish. Chickens should be
skinned before they are broiled for a sick person.


_Partridges._

Prepare as above, and place them in a frying-pan in which you have melted a
little very delicate dripping, or butter; let them stay ten minutes; turn
them once, finish on the gridiron; this makes them more firm than they
would otherwise be. Poor man's sauce (_see Sauces_) is good with all
broiled birds.

(_See in Index for Devils, also in Made Dishes, for Cutlets._)

_Note._--_Sauce Robert_ is good with all broils.




{87}CHAPTER XI.

FRYING.


NOT so difficult to _fry_ as it is to _broil_ well, and it is quite as
good, for some things, but the fat must be good. Lard, butter, dripping,
topfat (i.e. the cake of fat which is taken off soup or broth, when it has
stood a night), oil, and suet, are all good for frying. If butter, suet and
dripping be clarified, the pan will not be so apt to burn, and the fat will
be more delicate. Housekeepers lose much of their credit by neglecting
this, and similar niceties. The pan should be thick at the bottom: an oval
shape is best, particularly for fish. The fire not fierce, as fat soon
scorches, and the meat may be burnt, before it is half cooked; neither must
it be too slack, for then the meat will be soddened; and if fish, of a bad
colour, and not crisp. Ascertain the heat by throwing a bit of bread in; if
the pan be too hot the bread will be burnt up. The fat in which veal, lamb
or sweetbreads have been fried, will do for fish; let it stand to settle,
then pour the top carefully from the sediment, and put it by. Fritters,
pastry or sweet things, must be fried in good butter, lard or oil.

Care is required to fry fish well, and is attainable only by practice. To
ascertain the heat of the pan, dip the tail of the fish into the boiling
fat, and if it crisps quickly, the pan is ready.

Fries, as well as broils, served hot, as soon as off the fire, or they will
be spoiled.


_To Clarify Butter._

Cut in pieces, and put it into a jar: set that in a kettle of boiling
water, to melt; skim carefully, take the jar out of the water, let the
butter cool a little, then pour it gently off, keeping back the milky
sediment.


{88}_Suet._

Chop beef, mutton, or veal suet, take off all skin and fibrous parts, melt
it _slowly_, as in the last receipt, or in a Dutch oven, before the fire.
Strain, and pour it off: beef or mutton dripping may be done the same way,
and is good for peas soup, and for plain pastry. For soup, it may be
seasoned, after it is melted and strained. A piece of charcoal will remove
a rancid taste, put into the melting fat, and stirred round a few minutes.
Use butter or lard in frying white meat.


_Beef Steaks and Mutton Chops_

Must be fried in butter. Steaks the size directed for broiling will be done
in from ten to fifteen minutes. When nearly done, cover with a dish and let
the pan remain five minutes by the fire, after you take it off. Then lay
the steaks in a hot dish, and add to the gravy in the pan a piece of butter
rolled in flour, a glass of port wine, or some catsup, a very little water,
pepper, salt, a little minced eschalot or onion; let this boil, then pour
it over the steaks. Garnish with horse-radish, and serve mashed potatoes
and pickles. (_See Made Dishes, for Cutlets._)


_Veal Cutlets_

May be cut from the fillet or the loin, ½ an inch thick: brush them over
with egg, cover with bread-crumbs, and fry of a nice light brown, in a good
deal of butter or lard. You may, if you choose, add to the bread-crumbs, a
mixture of parsley, lemon thyme, lemon peel, and a little nutmeg and
cayenne. When done place the cutlets in a hot dish, while you make some
gravy in the pan; pour all the fat out, and pour in ¼ pint of boiling
water, the same of melted butter, and let it boil till thickish, then add
Harvey sauce, white wine, and any other sauce you like: strain this over
the cutlets. Garnish with rashers of bacon, curled parsley, and slices of
bacon. Cutlets, _without gravy_, may be served round mashed potatoes.


_Lamb and Pork Chops._

Pork chops may be cut from neck or loin. Fry the same {89}as veal, either
plain or egged. Garnish with slices of lemon, or crisped parsley. Pork
chops, egged, are improved, to some persons' tastes, by a little finely
chopped onion and sage. You may make a sauce thus: put the chops on a dish,
keep hot while you pour part of the fat from the pan, stir in a
tea-spoonful of flour, moisten ½ pint of water, or broth, a table-spoonful
of vinegar, a little salt and pepper, and 6 small gherkins or slices (or
_for lamb, pickled mushrooms_), put the chops back into the pan to re-warm
in the sauce, and serve it altogether. You may add mustard to the sauce;
also, chopped onions, for pork. If there be no herbs used before, you may
sprinkle dried parsley over lamb chops in the dish; also, lemon peel.


_Sausages._

Some suppose that these do not require fat to fry them. It should be butter
or dripping, not lard (a little for beef or pork, more for veal), and
sausages ought to cook slowly, that they may be done, without being
scorched, and not burst. Prick them with a darning needle to prevent this,
but gradual heating is the best preventative. Drain, _very_ lightly flour,
and set them before the fire to froth. For dinner or supper, serve mashed
potatoes with sausages.


_Rabbits_

_Must_ be young, either tame or wild. Carve in joints, brush these with
egg, and dip them in bread-crumbs, in which there may be, if you like it,
some dried parsley, grated ham or lemon peel; fry nicely and serve with
rashers; make some gravy in the pan as directed for veal cutlets.


_Eggs with Ham or Bacon._

Soak the slices, of ham or bacon, in lukewarm water, and dry them in the
folds of a cloth; and they will be less hard than fried bacon usually is.
The pan used to fry eggs should be delicately clean. A good method is, to
melt a little fat in the pan, pour that off, and then, whilst the pan is
quite hot, rub it hard with a cloth. Let the bacon be nearly done, and if
the fat be burnt, pour that off, and put in some fresh; then slip the eggs
gently in. When they {90}are done lay the slices of bacon in a dish, trim
the eggs, and lay them on the bacon. The eggs may be fried in one pan, and
the bacon in another; some prefer the latter broiled. For breakfast, slices
of ham or bacon should not be broiled or fried, but toasted before the
fire.


_Sweetbreads._

Parboil them while fresh, and then fry them in long slices, or whole, in
plain butter; or else egged, covered with bread-crumbs, and seasoned with
lemon peel, pepper, and a sprig of basil. Garnish with crisped parsley, and
lemon sliced: serve on a toast, with either parsley and butter, or plain
butter, and a very little walnut, mushroom or any other catsup. Garnish
with small slices of crisped bacon. (_See Made Dishes._)


_Ox, Calves', and Lamb's Liver, and Pig's Harslet_,

Must be quite sound. Cut the liver in long thin slices, soak in water, then
dry them in a cloth, flour, and season with pepper, salt, a little onion,
or eschalot and sage, chopped fine. Fry the slices in butter or lard, of a
light brown, and when nearly done, put into the pan some slices of bacon.
When you take the liver and bacon out of the pan, pour in a tea-cupful of
boiling water, dredge some flour in, let it boil up, and pour this gravy
over the liver. You may fry a handful of parsley in the gravy. You may
improve this gravy, by adding to it pepper, salt, a wineglass of vinegar,
lump of sugar, and a tea-spoonful of made mustard. Garnish with crisped
parsley; serve mashed potatoes, or better still, stewed cucumbers. Of the
pig's harslet, the lights, sweetbread, and heart may be parboiled, cut up,
and fried with the liver. _Or_:--After the fashion of _Herefordshire_, cut
in slices, 2 inches thick, the liver, griskins, heart, kidney, lights,
crow, and some fat of bacon; rub these slices well with a seasoning,
composed of onions, apples, a _little_ sage, and plenty of pepper and salt;
then put them on a small spit in alternate slices of lean and fat, cover
all over with a pig's caul, and roast it three hours, or more, if the
harslet be large. When done, remove the caul and pour a kettle of boiling
water over. Make some gravy of the water that has been poured over, and
flavour it with port wine, cyder, and walnut catsup. Serve apple sauce.
_Harslet_ is {91}very good stewed in just enough water to make gravy, and
seasoned well. A little cayenne.


_Tripe._

Boiled tender, cut in long narrow slips, these dipped in a batter of egg
and flour, and, if you like, a little minced onion and salt. Fry from seven
to ten minutes, of a light brown. Serve, if approved of, onion
sauce.--(_Cow-Heel the same._)


_To Fry Parsley._

After it has been washed and picked, shake the parsley backwards and
forwards in a cloth till dry; then put it into a pan of hot fat, and fry it
quickly of a light brown; take it out with a slice the moment it is
crisp--it will be spoiled if done too much. Lay it on a sieve before the
fire. Herbs, lemon peel, and onions, must always be chopped fine before
they are mixed with bread-crumbs to fry. _Or_: Spread it on paper in a
Dutch oven before the fire, and turn it often till it is crisp.


_To Fry Bread Sippets._

Cut a slice of bread about a ¼ inch thick, divide it into pieces of any
shape you like. Make some fat quite hot, in the frying-pan, put in the
sippets, and fry of a light brown; take them up with a slice, and drain
them before the fire ten minutes. Take care the pan be not hot enough to
burn.


_To Fry Bread Crumbs._

The bread two days old: rub it into very smooth crumbs, put them into a
stew-pan with some butter; set it near a moderate fire, and stir them
constantly with a wooden spoon, till of a fine light brown; spread them on
a sieve to drain, and stir occasionally. Serve with roasted sweetbreads,
small birds, and game, if approved. (_See Made Dishes._)




{92}CHAPTER XII.

SOUPS AND BROTHS.


THE prejudice against French soup, arising from a belief that it must be
_maigre_, is as ridiculous as was the assuming that all Frenchmen are the
small, thin, miserable looking creatures which they used to be represented
in caricatures. Soup is nourishing, and also economical, as it converts
into palatable food, the coarser parts of meat, all trimmings, and much
that could not be cooked with effect in any other way.

The French excel, merely because they take such pains in making soup, and
not from the quality or quantity of their ingredients. A little meat with
slow and regular boiling, will produce richer soup, than double the
quantity, if the soup kettle be suffered to boil fast one quarter of an
hour, and to stop boiling altogether the next quarter of an hour.--The
fault most common in English soup is, the want of the juice of meat, caused
by too quick and irregular boiling, to remedy which want, recourse is had
to pepper, herbs, and wine. It is very easy to vary the _sort_ of soup, by
making a good clear _stock_, or what the French call _bouillon_, and the
next or following days, flavour it, or add vegetable ingredients to your
taste. Soup made solely of brown meat or game, without vegetables, will
keep better than that made of veal, fowl, any vegetable substance, or fish.
As the French are great economists in their kitchens, and are most
scientific cooks, it may not be amiss to recommend their practice.

Read the directions for boiling meat, for they must be observed in the
first process of soup making. Always use the softest water; and, as a
general rule, give a quart to a pound of meat for soup, rather less for
gravy. Place the soup-kettle over a moderate fire, that the meat may be
gradually heated through, which will cause it to swell and become tender;
also the water will penetrate into it, and {93}extract all the gross
particles, which will then go off in scum. If it be suffered to boil up
quickly, it will be just as if scorched before the fire, and will never
yield any gravy.--After the soup has been near to a boil for half an hour,
let it boil _gently_, to throw up the scum; remove that carefully, and when
you think no more will appear, put in the vegetables and a little salt:
these will cause more scum to rise; watch and take it off, then cover the
pot close, and place it so, by the fire, that it may boil or _simmer_
gently, and not vary its rate of boiling. From four to six hours may be
enough, but an hour more would not be too much, for the bare meat and
vegetables; all flavouring ingredients should be allowed the shortest
possible time, because their flavour evaporates in boiling. Great
extravagance is often committed for the want of attention to this, for a
larger quantity of costly ingredients is used, than need be if they were
put in just at the proper time. It may be necessary to put in _some_ of
these things earlier than others; but this must rest with the discretion of
the cook. Remember that where catsup is used, care must be observed not to
give so much salt as where there is none.

If the soup waste much in boiling, add boiling water. Keep the lid close,
and remove it as seldom as possible, because so much of the flavour escapes
by that means. If the soup be over-watered, leave the lid half way off,
that some of it may evaporate in steam.

French cooks, I believe, invariably brown the meat and vegetables first,
thus: put a good piece of butter in a stew or frying-pan, then the meat and
vegetables and a little water (no seasoning), set it over a sharp fire,
turn it frequently that none of it may burn, or the flavour will be
spoiled; when it is all browned, put your quantity of water to it. The soup
may, perhaps, have a finer flavour, but it will not be so clear, for after
the meat has been fried the scum will not be extracted from it in boiling.

Thickening may be made of bread-raspings. But that most commonly used, is
flour rubbed in butter or fat skimmings. Flour or meal is coloured, spread
on a plate, in a Dutch oven before the fire. Turn it with a spoon till it
is of the colour you wish. Keep covered close, for use. Potato flour, a
table-spoonful, mixed smooth in a cup of water, is a nice thickening.
Barley and oatmeal, also Indian {94}corn meal, in the same quantity.
Thickening should be put in after that scumming has taken place which the
vegetables have made necessary. But the French mode of thickening soup is
best of all. (_See Roux._)

Some persons boil vegetables by themselves to a mash, and pulp them through
a sieve into the soup. This helps to thicken it. The fatter the meat, the
more of green vegetables, such as leeks and greens, may be used. Meat
should not be very fat, nor yet all lean, for soup.

No seasoning whatever, except salt, should be given to plain stock, if not
to be eaten the day it is made. Thickened soup requires a greater quantity
of flavouring ingredients than clear soup, as the thickening material
absorbs a portion of the flavouring.--Take care not to over-season, for
this is a common fault. Of wine, the quantity should not exceed a
wine-glassful to a quart. The sort must depend upon taste, but claret is
best for brown soup; Madeira for Mock Turtle; Brandy is used in soup, and
so is lump sugar. Vegetable soup requires a little cayenne.

Soup or stock to be eaten on the following day, should stand by the side of
the fire a quarter of an hour to settle, before it is strained; the fat
skimmed carefully off, and put by. Strain the stock into an unglazed
vessel. In hot weather, let it stand in a cool place; if you wish to keep
it three or four days, boil it up every day. When you rewarm it, take off
the cake of fat at the top, and hold back the sediment. Be careful in
warming soup, that it do not get smoked. Also remember that it should but
just come to a boil, and be taken off the fire, for every bubble tends to
flatten its flavour. When macaroni, or other paste, or any kind of green
vegetable, is added at the time of re-warming the soup, of course time must
be given for such addition to be cooked; it is best partly cooked by itself
first.

Ham is used for making stock; but except for ragouts, or sauces very highly
flavoured, I should reject it.

When cream is added, it must be boiled first, or it will curdle. Pour it in
by degrees, stirring all the while.

The French use earthenware soup-kettles, and some prefer them to the
cast-iron digester, or stock-pot. Tammis cloths (bought at the oil shops)
are better for straining than sieves.

Never use stale meat for broth or soup. Vegetables as {95}fresh as
possible. The older and drier the onion, the stronger its flavour.


_Plain Stock._

Having read the foregoing directions, get a leg or shin of beef, break it
in two or three places, wash it, and cut some nice pieces to eat. Cover
with water, and boil it slowly. If you wish it to be very good, add an old
fowl, rabbit, any trimmings of meat, or gizzards of poultry, or bones, but
mind that whatever it be, it is quite fresh; take care that you take off
the first scum as it rises, then put in salt, and a large carrot, a head of
celery, two turnips, and two onions. Simmer this so gently as not to waste
the liquor, from four to five hours, then strain as directed.--Rabbits are
excellent in making stock. More onions may be used than I have given
directions for in this receipt; indeed, where their flavour is not objected
to, it is scarcely possible to use too many, for nothing enriches soup and
gravy so much. The meat of shin of beef is excellent for your family
dinner; before what is cut into smallish pieces are cooked too much, take
them out and keep hot to serve with a little of the soup poured over, as
sauce. Serve pickles.


_Soup and Bouilli._

About 5 lbs. of fresh, juicy rump, or flank of beef, four quarts of water,
let it come slowly to a boil, put in a heaped table-spoonful of salt,
taking off all the scum carefully; put in three carrots, four turnips, two
leeks, one head of celery, three onions (one burnt), three cloves in each,
a small bunch of herbs; this should boil very gently five hours. All the
vegetables cut or sliced. Some persons like a small cabbage cut up in this.
Serve the bouilli garnished with the vegetables; put slices of bread in
your tureen and pour the soup over, without straining. Tomata sauce is good
with bouilli.


_Good Plain Stock._

7 lbs. of knuckle of veal cut in pieces, five inches in diameter, also ¾
lb. of lean ham, cut in dice, put ¼ lb. of butter into a stew-pan, turn it
round, then put in the meat, two {96}onions, four cloves in each, a turnip,
carrot, leek and a head of celery. Cover the pan and keep skimming its
contents over a sharp fire, until there be a thick white glaze that will
adhere to the spoon; then put in four quarts of soft water, and when coming
to a boil, set it on one side of the fire, that it may _simmer_ for three
hours. Skim off the fat, and strain it.


_Very good Clear Gravy Soup._

First heat, then rub with a coarse cloth, a good-sized stew-pan or
stock-pot, then rub the bottom and sides with a marrow, or a large piece of
butter. Lay in about 6 or 7 lbs. of shin of beef chopped across, a knuckle
or scrag of veal, four shanks or the knuckle part of a leg of mutton, and
any trimmings of meat, game or poultry you have, a slice of carrot, a head
of celery, two onions, two leeks, and turnip sliced, and two
table-spoonsful of salt. Let this catch, not burn, over a rather brisk
fire, and add five quarts of soft water. When it has been carefully scummed
once, give it a pint of cold water, to throw up more scum. Simmer slowly
full four hours. Place it by the side of the hearth to settle, skim off the
fat, and strain it. Of this soup, which ought to be very clear, are made
many sorts, on following days, thus:--

_Vermicelli._--Boil the quantity you wish to use, in a little water, till
nearly cooked enough, then put it into the clear soup, when you put that on
the fire to re-warm. _Brown thickening, which see, in the Index._

_Maccaroni Soup._--The same as the last, but do not make it too thick. Boil
the maccaroni till rather more than three parts cooked, and put it into the
soup to finish while that is heating. Cream is an improvement. Serve grated
parmesan. _White thickening._

_Carrot or Turnip Soup._--Cut red carrots in thin strips, boil them till
tender, and put them into clear soup, when it is rewarmed. _Or_: Boil six
or eight carrots quite tender, then pulp them through a sieve into the
soup. Scoop turnips into little balls, or cut them in any shapes you like,
boil them till tender, and put into the soup. _Brown thickening._

_Celery and Asparagus Soup._--Cut these in pieces rather more than ½ an
inch in length, and boil them gently, till {97}tender, then put them into
clear gravy soup. Cream may be used if the thickening be white.

_Julienne Soup._--Cut leeks and celery in squares, turnips and carrots in
strips, boil them till tender, and put into clear brown soup. _Or_: Cut
carrots and turnips in strips, put a large tea-cupful of these into a
stewpan with ½ lb. of butter, and shake it over the fire till they are
tender and look transparent, then pour in the stock; add young peas, two
onions, two leeks, a small lettuce, some sorrel and chervil, all these cut
small; simmer gently till the vegetables are cooked, then put in three
lumps of sugar.


_Clear Herb Soup._

Cut up what herbs you like the flavour of; also leeks, celery, carrots,
turnips, cabbage, lettuce, and young onions, in preference to old ones, a
handful of young peas, put the whole into boiling water, and give them just
a scald. Drain them on a sieve, put them into some clear stock, and simmer
slowly till the roots are tender. Season with salt, and a very little
cayenne, if you choose.


_A Clear Soup._

Cut 6 lbs. of gravy beef small, put it into a large stewpan, with two
onions, a small carrot and turnip, a head of celery, a bunch of sweet
herbs, and a pint of water. Stew slowly an hour, add nine pints of boiling
water. Simmer it slowly six hours, strain, and let it stand till next day.
Take off the fat, pour it from the sediment, and boil up with whatever
flavouring ingredient you choose. This may be made _Julienne_ by putting in
the mixture of vegetables as directed above. Also _Ox-tail_ by adding one
to it.



_Brown Soup._

Make this as clear gravy soup, and strain it. Then fry to a nice brown 2
lbs. rump steaks, cut in small pieces, drain them from the fat, and put
them in the soup. Let them simmer an hour, add salt, pepper, and cayenne to
taste, also a wine-glassful of any catsup you like, and when done, let it
stand by the fire, to allow the fat to rise; take that off, and serve the
soup with the steaks.


{98}_Plain White Soup._

Soak a large knuckle of veal, put it into the soup-kettle with 2 fowls
skinned, or a rabbit, ¼ lb. of lean undressed bacon or ham, a bunch of
lemon thyme, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, a head of celery, a few white
peppercorns, and 2 blades of mace, cover with water, and boil for two hours
and a half, and strain. This should form a jelly. To re-warm it, take off
the top fat, clear the soup from the sediment, and put it in a stewpan. Add
vermicelli or maccaroni, previously boiled, till nearly done.


_Another White Soup._

Fry 2½ lbs. veal, and ¼ lb. ham or bacon, with a faggot of herbs, 2 onions,
a parsnip cut small, and a head of celery. When the gravy is drawn, pour
upon it 2 quarts of water, and 2 quarts of skim milk. Boil it slowly an
hour and a half. Add 2 table-spoonfuls of oatmeal, rubbed smooth in a
tea-cupful of broth. Boil half an hour, then strain it into the tureen.
_Cow heel_ and _calf's feet_ are good in making white soup; also rabbits,
in place of fowls. When veal is dear, use lean beef.


_Another with herbs._

Boil a quart of beef and a quart of veal stock together, with a
table-spoonful of chopped tarragon, and one of chervil; when tender, have
ready a coffee-cupful of cream and three eggs beaten together, stir them
gently in, and keep stirring till cooked, but do not let it boil.


_Lorraine Soup._

Blanch ½ lb. of sweet and 1 oz. bitter almonds, pound them in a mortar,
with a very little water, to a paste. Take all the white part of a cold
roast fowl, skin and mince it very fine, with the yolks of 3 hard-boiled
eggs, and some fine bread-crumbs; put this into a pint of _plain white
soup_, with a large piece of lemon peel, and a little mace and nutmeg; let
it come to a boil, add a quart more of the same stock boiling hot, and
after it has simmered a few minutes, strain the soup, and add, by degrees,
a quart of cream which has been boiled.


{99}_Onion Soup._

The number of onions must depend upon taste; if 10 or 12, chop and stew
them, in a saucepan, with a good piece of butter; stew them gradually, and
when done, add some good stock: salt, pepper, and cayenne, if the stock be
not already seasoned. This may be strained, and a pint of boiling cream
added, to make it more delicate.--_Another_: cut small silver onions in
rings, fry them of a light colour, drain and cook them for twenty minutes
in _clear gravy soup_. Serve toasted sippets.


_Onion Soup Maigre._

Fry in clarified butter 12 large onions, 2 heads of celery, a large carrot
and a turnip, all chopped. When soft, pulp them through a sieve, into 2
quarts of boiled water, thickened with 4 or 5 oz. of butter, worked up with
potato flour, and seasoned with mace and white peppercorns, 2 lumps of
sugar, or you may thicken with the beat yolks of 4 eggs. Bread sippets in
the tureen.


_Green Peas Soup._

An old-fashioned, but good receipt. Boil quite soft, 3 pints of green peas,
and work them through a hair sieve. Put into the water in which the peas
were boiled, 3 large slices of ham, a small knuckle of veal, a few beet
leaves shred small, a turnip, 2 carrots, and a little more water. Boil an
hour and a half. Then strain the liquor into a bowl, and mix it with the
pulp. Put in a little juice of spinach, which is obtained by squeezing the
spinach, after it has been boiled, through a cloth. This will give a good
colour. Then give it a gentle boil, to take off the taste of the spinach,
slice in the whitest part of a head of celery, and a lump of sugar the size
of a walnut. Cut a slice of bread into little square pieces, a slice of
bacon in the same manner, and fry together in fresh butter, of a light
brown. Cut a large lettuce in slices, fry that, after the other, then put
them all together into the tureen. Have ready boiled, a pint of young peas,
put them also into the tureen, and pour the soup over.--Onions may be added
if approved.--Serve toasted bread, and also dry powdered mint.


{100}_Green Pea or Asparagus Soup._

Put 5 pints of peas, with ½ lb. of butter and ¼ lb. lean ham, in dice, into
a stew-pan with two onions cut up and a little parsley, moisten it with
water, and keep stirring or shaking over a sharp fire; when quite tender
put in a thickening of flour rubbed smooth with water or broth, and having
stirred that well in, add 3 quarts of any stock you have; whatever salt and
pepper you think is required, also cayenne if you like, and 3 lumps of
sugar: boil ten minutes and strain it. This may be served at once; or,
after you have strained it, you may boil it up again with ½ pint of boiling
milk, skim it, and serve on crisp sippets. _Asparagus_ the same way: keep
back part of the heads, and boil them separately, not very tender, cut them
in pointed pieces, and put into the strained soup.


_Artichoke Soup._

Wash and peel 2 doz. Jerusalem artichokes, and cut them in thin slices. Put
2 large onions, 1 turnip, a head of celery, 2 bay leaves, a sprig of thyme,
and 1 lb. of lean ham into a stew-pan, with ½ lb. butter, stir all the
time, and let it fry over a slow fire 20 minutes; it will form a white
glaze, then take it off, and put it all with the artichokes into a stew-pan
with a pint of thin broth or soft water, and simmer it, till all the
vegetables are quite tender, then put in 3 table-spoonsful of flour rubbed
smooth with broth, mix well together; add 3 quarts of good stock and a pint
of boiled milk, a tea-spoonful of salt, the same of sugar, let it just boil
up, then strain it, and boil it up again with mushroom catsup, and a glass
of white wine; and pour it over fried bread in the tureen.


_A good Maigre Soup._

Melt slowly, in a stew-pan, ¾ lb. butter, put in a head of celery, 1
carrot, and 1 turnip sliced, shake them well and let them brown; add three
quarts of boiling water, 1½ pint of young peas, and some black pepper; when
these are done, let it settle, strain the soup into another stew-pan,
leaving all sediment; put it on again with 3 large onions in slices,
{101}another head of celery, and 3 turnips and carrots in pretty shapes.
Boil slowly till done, then serve the soup.


_Yellow Peas Soup_

Should soak the night before, and if old, again in the morning, in lukewarm
water. Allow 1½ lb. to 4 quarts of soft water, with 3 lbs. of lean sinewy
beef, or fresh trimmings of meat, poultry, or roast beef bones, a small
piece of pickled pork, the shank of a bacon or mutton ham, or the root of a
tongue a little salted, and soaked and washed; also 2 carrots, 2 turnips,
and 6 rather small onions. Scum well, as soon as it boils, and stir the
peas up from the bottom; add another quart of boiling water, or the liquor
of any boiled meat. (Pot liquor should always be saved for peas soup.) Let
it simmer till the peas will pulp. Then strain through a coarse sieve. Take
the onions out from the pulp, and put the latter back into the soup, with a
fresh head of celery, or a large tea-spoonful of celery seed, tied in
muslin, and some salt and pepper. Simmer it, if thin, three-quarters of an
hour, to thicken it; then put it into the tureen, let it stand covered a
few minutes, and remove the fat which will have gathered on the top. Shake
dried mint or parsley over the soup, and serve with dice of toasted
bread.--This soup may be made in a very economical way, by the means of pot
liquor, roast beef bones, fragments of meat, and fresh clarified dripping.
The liquor in which a leg of pork has been boiled, should be saved for peas
soup.--Very little pieces of boiled pork may be served in peas soup, also
cucumbers cut and fried, or bacon cut and fried. A pickled herring is used
to give flavour, when there is no pot liquor. Peas soup is very good quite
maigre; the water must be soft, and the peas boiled long and slowly, before
they are pulped.


_Carrot Soup plain._

Scrape and wash six large carrots, and peel off the outsides quite thick;
put these into a soup-kettle, with a large head of celery, an onion cut
thin, two quarts of soft water, or pot liquor, and, if you have them, roast
beef bones. After this has been boiled and scummed, set it by the fire,
keep it close covered and simmer it gently two hours. {102}Strain through a
sieve, and pulp the vegetables, with a wooden spoon, into a clean saucepan,
and as much broth as will make it as thick as peas soup; season with salt
and pepper. Make it hot, and send it to table. Add what spices you like.
Serve toasted bread, either fried or plain.--_Celery_ and _Turnip_ soup the
same way. When celery cannot be procured, the seed pounded fine, about ½ a
drachm, put in a quarter of an hour, will give the flavour of two heads of
celery.


_Mock Turtle Soup._

Make it the day before it is wanted. Get a good sized calf's head, the skin
on, scald and split it, take out the brains, and the bones of the nose, and
lay it in lukewarm water to soak. Change the water often, to draw out the
blood and slime. When the head is quite clean, put it into a stew-pan with
rather more soft cold water than to cover it. Let it come to a boil rather
quickly, and scum well. Then boil gently, rather more than half an hour.
Take out the head, place it in a dish, and when cold, cut it into small
neat pieces: skin the tongue, and cut it up. Keep the meat covered, and set
it by till the next day. Put all the bones and refuse parts of the head
into the soup-kettle, in the liquor in which it was boiled, with a knuckle
of veal broken, and about 3 lbs. shin of beef, but the latter must be
soaked first. Let this boil, then take off all the scum, and simmer it
gently from four hours and a half to six hours, strain it into a pan, and
set it by. When you want to make the soup, take off the cake of fat, and
pour the stock into a large stew-pan, holding back the sediment; set it on
the fire, let it come quickly to a boil, then throw in a little salt to
facilitate the rising of whatever scum there may still be, and take this
off. Put in from 10 to 12 sliced onions, browned in the frying-pan; also a
few sprigs of fried sage, a few leaves of sweet basil, and the peel of a
large lemon, not fried; a little cayenne, black pepper to your taste, a
very little allspice, three blades of mace, some cloves, one eschalot, and
the thickening; which latter may be of flour worked up in butter, or of
brown _roux_ (which _see in the Index_). Let it simmer nearly two hours, or
till it taste strong, and be of a good colour; pass it gently through a
hair-sieve into another stew-pan, and put into that the cut {103}up pieces
of head, and what wine you choose, Madeira, sherry, or claret, about a
wine-glassful of either of the two former, to a quart of soup. When the
meat is tender, the soup is done, and from half to three-quarters of an
hour ought to cook it.

Have ready 12 each of forcemeat and egg balls to serve in the tureen.
_Forcemeat balls_ are made of veal or fowl, suet and parsley, all minced
very fine, mixed with bread-crumbs, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon-peel,
nutmeg, and allspice, and wetted with yoke of egg, to make up into balls.
Fry of a light brown, and lay them in a small sieve to drain before you put
them in the tureen. _Egg balls_ are eggs boiled hard, the yoke taken from
the white and pounded well in a mortar, a little salt added, and as much
raw yolk of egg and flour as will bind these into balls, not bigger than a
marble. Put them into the soup soon enough to cook them. Before you serve
the soup, squeeze the juice of a lemon into the tureen.

Some persons put ox palates, in slices, in mock turtle; pickled cucumbers
cut very thin may also be an improvement. The above is not an expensive
receipt, though, perhaps, quite rich enough. _Cheaper Mock Turtle_ may be
made of cow-heels or calf's feet, stewed gently, strained, and the liquor
added to plain stock of beef, an onion, and what herbs and other seasonings
you like. Cut up the feet, and put them into the soup, just before you
serve it. Add lemon juice and wine, if you like.


_Hare Soup._

The hare must be quite fresh. Cut it up (washed, but not soaked), put it in
a stewpan, with six middling-sized onions (two burnt), two bay leaves, a
blade of mace, three cloves, a bunch of parsley, a little sweet basil,
thyme, and celery, also a little broth, plain stock, or, if you have
neither, soft water, to cover the meat. If you desire it to be very good,
add 1 lb. of gravy beef, notched and browned first; when it has come to a
boil, and been scummed, put in three quarts of water, and simmer, if the
hare be young, three hours; if old, longer. Strain it, set the best pieces
cut rather small apart, to serve in the tureen, and cut all the meat off
the other parts, to pound with soaked crumb of {104}bread, to give
thickness to the soup. When this is put into the strained soup, season it
to your taste, and add catsup and port wine; also fried forcemeat balls, if
you like.


_Another, and a better._

If you happen to have two hares, one old and tough, the other young, cut up
the first and put it on in three quarts of water, with three onions, two
anchovies, six cloves, a blade of mace, a teaspoonful of salt, half a one
of cayenne, and simmer it four hours. Meantime, roast the other hare,
properly stuffed, till half done, then cut it up, and put it all, with the
stuffing, into the soup, and let it simmer gently nearly an hour. You will
have kept back some of the best pieces to serve in the soup the next day,
unless you prefer it clear without any meat, in which case put it all in.
Next day, when you re-warm it, add a tumbler of port wine. Not having the
old hare, two rabbits may be found very good.


_Rabbit Soup._

Cut up the rabbits, and if two, put the pieces into water sufficient to
cover them; let it boil slowly, and take off all the scum; when no more
rises, add two quarts of good stock (or soft water), prepared of shin of
beef and veal, or of knuckle of veal alone, or of trimmings of veal and two
or three shanks of mutton: this stock must be already flavoured with onions
or eschalots, white peppercorns, and mace; simmer gently till the meat is
quite tender, and then put it by till next day. Take off all fat before you
re-warm it; take out the liver, rub it through a sieve, moisten with a
little flour and butter, and add to the soup, also a teacupful of Port, the
same of white wine, a table-spoonful of walnut catsup, and lemon pickle.


_Game and Venison Soup_,

May be made of any and of every kind of game. Skin the birds; if large
ones, carve them; if small ones, only split down the back; fry them, with
slices of ham or bacon, and a _little_ sliced onion and carrot. Drain the
pieces, lay them in a stewpan with some good _stock_, a head of celery, a
little chopped parsley, and what seasonings you like. Stew gently {105}for
an hour. If venison be at hand, fry some small steaks, and stew with the
birds. Serve the meat in the soup, taking out the ham.


_Another, and plainer._

In the season, and in houses where game abounds, make soup as follows: cut
the meat off the breasts of any cold birds, and pound it in a mortar. Boil
the legs, and all the bones, in whatever broth you have, for an hour. Boil
four large turnips to a mash, and pulp them to the pounded meat, mix these
well, then strain in the broth, by degrees, and let it stand close by the
fire, in the stew-pan, but do not let it boil. Season to your taste. Just
before you serve it, beat the yolks of 6 eggs in a pint of cream, and pass
through a sieve; then put the soup on the fire, and as it is coming to a
boil, stir in the cream, and keep stirring a few minutes, but do not let it
quite boil, or it will curdle.


_Stewed Knuckle of Veal and Soup_,

May be made of the breast, shoulder-blade, or scrag, but best of the
knuckle. Cut it in three pieces: wash, break, and place it on skewers, in
the stew-pan, with 1 lb. of streaked bacon, a head of celery, 4 onions, 2
carrots, 1 turnip, a bunch of parsley and lemon thyme, and a few black and
Jamaica peppercorns. Cover the meat with water, and let it simmer till
quite tender. Strain the soup, put it on the fire again, and season and
thicken it to your taste. Either serve the meat in the tureen with the
soup, or put it in a dish with the bacon, and the vegetables round it. You
may pour parsley and butter over the meat, or serve it in a boat. A little
rice flour is good to thicken with. Some have whole rice boiled, as for
eating, and put to the soup when it is returned to the fire. Others use
vermicelli. Eggs and cream beaten together and strained, would enrich this
soup; when you put them in, stir all the time, and take off the soup before
it quite boils.


_Mulligatawny Soup._

Put a few slices of bacon into a stew-pan with a knuckle of veal, and no
vegetables; simmer an hour and three {106}quarters; cut about 2½ lbs. of
breast of veal into rather small pieces, add the bones, and gristly parts
of the breast, to the knuckle which is stewing; fry the pieces of meat, and
6 sliced onions, in a stew-pan, with a piece of good clarified dripping or
butter. Strain the stock if done, and put the fry to it, set it on the
fire, and scum carefully; simmer it an hour. Have ready mixed in a batter,
2 dessert-spoonsful of curry powder, the same of lightly browned flour, and
salt and cayenne as you choose; add them to the soup. Simmer the meat till
quite tender. You may have 2 chickens parboiled, and use them in place of
the breast of veal. The above receipt is a plain one.


_Another and richer._

Make a strong stock of a knuckle of veal, roast beef bones, a ham bone, a
faggot of sweet herbs, 2 carrots, 4 turnips, 8 onions, 1 clove of garlic, 3
heads of celery, previously fried in butter, 6 cloves, some black pepper,
salt, cayenne, mace, and mushroom powder; stew it all in 5 quarts of water,
eight hours, then strain through a fine sieve. When cold take off all the
fat, and if the stock be not rich enough, add to 3 quarts, a pint of good
gravy; rub 3 table-spoonsful of curry powder, 1 of ground rice, and 1 of
turmeric with some butter and flour, then moisten with a little stock, and
add it by degrees to the rest, and simmer it two hours. Add 2 or 3
wine-glassfuls of sherry or Madeira, 1 of oyster, 1 of walnut pickle, 1 of
eschalot or chili vinegar, 2 table-spoonsful of soy, 2 of Harvey or Reading
sauce, and 1 of essence of anchovy; simmer it a few minutes. Have ready 2
chickens, or a rabbit, parboiled, then browned in fresh butter, or pieces
of ox-tail previously cooked, add whichever of these it may be to the soup,
simmer it again till the meat be cooked, then squeeze in the juice of a
lemon and serve. Serve rice, cayenne, chili vinegar, and pickles.--_Cold
Arrack_, or _Rum Punch_, after mulligatawny.


_Ox-Tail Soup._

Three tails will make a good sized tureen-ful of soup; it is very
strengthening, is considered an elegant, and is by no means an expensive
soup. Have the tails divided at the {107}points, rub with suet, and soak
them in lukewarm water. Lay them in a stew-pan with  6 onions, a turnip, 2
carrots, some peppercorns, and 3 quarts of soft water. Let it simmer two
hours and a half; take out the tails, cut them in small pieces, thicken it
brown, then strain it into a fresh stew-pan, put in the pieces of meat,
boil up and skim it; put more pepper, if wanted, and either catsup, or Port
wine.


_Grouse Soup._

Roast 3 birds, cut off all the meat, reserve some nice pieces to serve in
the tureen; put the bones and all the rest into 2 quarts of good stock, and
boil them half an hour; then pound the meat in a mortar; put a large onion,
½ a carrot and turnip, cut up, into a stew-pan with ½ lb. butter, 2 sprigs
each of parsley, thyme, 2 bay leaves, 6 peppercorns, and ½ a blade of mace,
and stir them a few minutes over the fire; then add a pint of stock, and
stew it all till tender, put in the pounded meat, and 4 oz. of flour rubbed
smooth, and the soup, mix it all well together, simmer it 20 minutes,
stirring all the while; if required, add salt, and a table-spoonful of
sugar; strain it into another stew-pan, boil it up, skim it well, and pour
into the tureen over the reserved slices of meat, and some fried pieces of
bread, cut in any shape you please. The _stock_ for the above is good made
of 4 or 5 lbs. of beef and 1 or 2 rabbits, according to the quantity, and
the richness you require. I should put a large wine-glassful of Port into a
moderate sized tureen-ful.


_Partridge and Pheasant Soup._

The same as the above.


_Poacher's Soup._

This excellent soup may be made of any kind of game. About 4 lbs. of any of
the coarse parts of venison, beef, or the same weight in shanks, or lean
mutton, for the stock; boil in it celery, onions, carrots, turnips, what
herbs you like, and ¼ oz. of mixed black and Jamaica peppers. Simmer three
hours, then strain it. Skin and cut up a black cock, a woodcock, a
pheasant, half a hare, a rabbit, a brace {108}of partridges, or grouse, or
slices of venison; any one, or parts of several of these, according to what
you may require and what game you may have. Season the meat with such mixed
spices as you like, then flour and fry it in the frying-pan, or put them,
at once, into the strained stock, for the frying process is not actually
necessary. Put in with the pieces of meat, about 10 small onions, 2 heads
of celery cut up, and 6 peeled potatoes; when the stock comes to a boil,
add a small white cabbage, or a lettuce quartered, black pepper, salt, and
allspice if you like. Simmer till the meat be tender. If the meat be
composed of small birds, the vegetables must be put into the soup and
cooked before the meat, for _that_ must not be _overdone_. This may be
enriched by wine, catsup, anchovies, and forcemeat balls.


_Scotch Barley Broth._

About 4 lbs. of mutton to 4 quarts of water, and ¼ lb. of Scotch barley
(more or less according to taste), a large spoonful of salt, also a large
cup of soaked split peas, if in season. Scum carefully, and let the broth
boil slowly an hour. Then add 2 carrots, 2 turnips, cut small, 3 onions, or
3 leeks sliced, and a head of celery, or a bunch of parsley, and some green
or split peas. When these are done, season to your taste. This may be made
of beef, with greens instead of turnips. The meat, if mutton, is served in
a dish, with parsley and butter; and the vegetables in the soup. Remove the
fat from the top before you serve.


_Hotchpotch, a German dish._

Cut 6 lbs. of either beef or mutton, or both, into nice shaped pieces, and
put to them as much water as you require soup. Boil and scum well, then put
in carrots and turnips sliced, parsley chopped, leeks and German greens cut
up, suiting the quantity to the meat. Serve all together.


_A Pepper Pot._

Three quarts of water, 2 lbs. of mutton or veal, and a small piece of lean
bacon; a fowl if you have it; as many carrots, turnips, and onions as you
like, and a tea-cupful of {109}rice. Scum well, season highly, and let it
stand a little before you serve it, to take off the fat.


_Scotch Cock-a-leekie._

Make a stock of 5 lbs. of shin of beef, strain, and put to it a large fowl
trussed for boiling, and when it boils, put in six leeks (blanched), in
pieces an inch long. In half an hour put in six more leeks and the
seasoning; if these leeks do not make the soup thick enough, put more. When
the fowl is done, serve it in the soup.


_Mutton Broth._

Put 2 lbs. of scrag of mutton into a saucepan, with just enough water to
cover, and when that is near boiling, pour it off, and carefully take all
the scum off the meat; then put it back into the saucepan with four pints
of boiling water, a table-spoonful of grits, a little salt, and an onion;
set it over a slow fire, scum well, and then put in two turnips, and simmer
it slowly two hours. (_See Cooking for the Sick._)


_Veal Broth._

The knuckle is best, but the scrag is good. A gallon of water to the
knuckle, add an onion, a blade of mace and salt. Carefully scum, and boil
it gently till the meat be thoroughly done, and the liquor greatly reduced.
Add vermicelli or rice.


_Chicken Broth_

Should simmer very gently, and its strength will be in proportion to the
quantity of water. A good-sized chicken will make a quart of very good
broth. As this is seldom made except for invalids, neither onion, carrot,
nor turnip ought to be used. A bunch of parsley may be boiled in the broth,
then taken out and chopped fine. Skim the fat off the broth, and serve the
parsley in it.


_Milk Soup._

Boil two quarts with a little salt, cinnamon, and sugar. {110}Lay thin
slices of toasted bread in a tureen, pour a little hot milk over them, and
cover close that they may soak. Beat the yolks of five eggs, add them by
degrees to the milk; stir it over the fire till it thickens, take it off
instantly or it will curdle; pour it into the tureen upon the bread. You
may stir into the boiling milk a ¼ lb. of sweet almonds, and a few bitter
ones, all blanched. In France _buttermilk_ is cooked in this way, and
poured on thin slices of boiled apples, spread in a tureen.


_Ox-Head Soup._

Put half an ox cheek into a tub of cold water, and let it soak two hours.
Take it out, break the bones not already broken, and wash it well in
lukewarm water. Then put it in a pot, cover with cold water, and let it
boil; scum carefully, put in salt, one head of celery, one turnip, two
carrots, two large onions (one burnt), a bay leaf, two dozen berries of
black pepper, the same of allspice, a good handful of parsley, some
marjoram, savory, and lemon thyme; cover the soup kettle close, and set it
over a slow fire. As the liquor is coming to a boil, scum will rise, take
that off, and let the soup stew gently by the fire three hours. Then take
out the head, pour the soup through a fine sieve into a stone-ware pan, and
set both by till the next day. Cut the meat into small pieces, skim all fat
from the top of the liquor, and put about two quarts of it, all the meat,
and a head of celery cut up and fried with an onion, into a clean saucepan,
and simmer it half an hour. Cayenne may be added, a glass of white wine, or
a table-spoonful of brandy.


_Giblet Soup._

Scald two sets of fresh giblets, and pick them very clean. Cut off the
noses, split the heads, and divide the gizzards and necks into small
pieces; crack the bones of the legs, put all into a stewpan, and cover them
with cold water. When it boils scum well, and put in three sprigs each of
lemon thyme, winter savory, or marjoram, and a little bunch of parsley;
also twenty berries of allspice, and the same of black pepper, in a muslin
bag; let this _stew very gently_, till the gizzards are tender, which will
be in about an hour and {111}a half. Lift out the giblets with a skimmer,
or spoon with holes, into a tureen, and keep it, covered, by the fire. Melt
1½ oz. of fresh butter in a clean saucepan, stir in enough flour to make a
paste, and pour in, by degrees, a ladleful of the giblet liquor, and the
rest by degrees, and boil it ten minutes, stirring all the time. Skim and
strain the soup through a fine sieve into a bason. Rince the stewpan,
return the soup into it, and add a glass of Port wine, a tablespoonful of
mushroom catsup, and a little salt. Give it one boil up, put the giblets in
to get hot, and serve it.--You may make this much better by using plain
stock in place of water, and a ham bone. You may add a pint of Madeira
also; squeeze a small Seville orange into the tureen, and add three lumps
of sugar and a little cayenne.


_Soup Maigre._

Cut the white part of eight-loaved lettuces small as dice, wash and drain
them, also a handful of purslain, the same of parsley. Cut six large
cucumbers into pieces the size of a crown piece, peel and mince four large
onions, and have three pints of young peas. Put ¾ lb. of fresh butter into
a stewpan, brown it of a high colour, and put in all the vegetables, with
thirty whole peppers, and stew it ten minutes, stirring all the time, to
prevent burning. Add a gallon of boiling water, and one or two French
rolls, cut in three pieces, and toasted of a light brown. Cover the
stew-pan, and let the soup stew gradually two hours. Put in ½ drachm of
beaten mace, two cloves bruised, nutmeg and salt to your taste; boil it up,
and just before you serve, squeeze the juice of one lemon into it: do not
strain it.--Soup may be made of any, and of every sort of vegetable, in the
same manner, but they must be thoroughly cooked. Cream is an improvement,
and French rolls, if not stewed in the soup, may be cut in slices, toasted,
and put into the tureen before the soup.


_Stock for Fish Soup._

This may be made of either meat or fish, the latter for maigre days. If
meat, make it the same as for meat soup. If fish be used, it may be cod's
head, haddocks, whitings, {112}eels, skate, and all white fish. Boil the
fish for stock in two quarts of water, with two onions, some salt, a piece
of lemon peel, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Scum carefully, and strain it.
If the soup is to be brown, you may brown the fish for stock in the
frying-pan before you boil it. Fish stock will not keep.


_Lobster Soup._

For this there should be a good stock, of beef, ham, onions, and fresh fish
trimmings; strain it and pulp back the onions. Pound the spawn and all the
body of the lobster, and stir it smoothly into the soup. Cut all the meat
of the claws in small pieces, and put it in the soup also. Add cayenne,
white pepper, and a glass of sherry. _Or_--Having a stock of fish prepared,
cut up the meat of the lobster in pieces, and mix the coral with it. Bruise
the spawn with a little flour in a mortar, wet it with a little of the
strained stock, and mix it by degrees into the rest. Take half of the cut
up meat and coral, add oysters, an anchovy, a blade of mace, nutmeg, lemon
peel grated, and a little cayenne; pound all together, with the yolks of
two eggs, and a very little flour, and make forcemeat balls for the soup;
fry or brown them in a Dutch oven, or use them without being browned or
fried. Put the balls and the remainder of the cut up meat into the soup,
let it simmer half an hour, then serve it, first squeezing half a lemon or
Seville orange in the tureen. Madeira may be added.


_Oyster Soup._

Veal makes the most delicate stock; it should be strong and clear: put to
it a quart of the hard part of fresh juicy oysters, which have been pounded
in a mortar with the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs. Simmer for half an
hour, then strain it into a fresh stewpan, and put in another quart or more
of oysters, trimmed, and washed from their shells, also some mace and
cayenne, and let it simmer ten minutes. Beat the yolks of three eggs, take
out a little soup in a cup, let it cool, mix it by degrees with the eggs,
and stir into the soup, having first drawn that aside from the fire; stir
all the time until you send it to table, or it will curdle. Give {113}this
soup any additional flavour you like. The oysters put in whole, may be
first run on fine wire skewers, and fried.


_Another Maigre._

Into four pints of water put five onions fried in butter, some mace, salt,
pepper, and what herbs you like, in a small quantity. When this has boiled,
and been carefully scummed, put in 1 lb. of fresh butter, a few mushrooms,
and a 100 oysters; thicken with vermicelli, and let the soup boil gently a
quarter of an hour.


_Cray Fish Soup._

If to be maigre, the stock must be made of fish alone; it must be quite
fresh, and 3 lbs. will make two quarts; put in an onion or two, and some
black and Jamaica peppers. Boil the fish to a mash, and keep straining the
liquor till clear. About four dozen cray fish will be enough, pick and stew
them in the soup, after it has been strained, till done; add a little
cayenne, and the spawn of a lobster pounded, and stirred in to thicken as
well as flavour the soup. _Prawns_, _cockles_, and _muscles_, in the same
way. It may be made of meat stock, and flavoured to be richer.


_Eel Soup._

To 3 lbs. of eels, cut in pieces, allow three quarts of water; after this
has boiled and been scummed, add two rather large crusts of toasted bread,
eight blades of mace, three onions, a few whole peppercorns, and a faggot
of herbs. Let this boil gently till half wasted, and then serve it with
dice of toasted bread. You may add ¼ pint of cream, with a dessert-spoonful
of flour, rubbed smooth in it. (_For fish forcemeats see in the Index._)




{114}CHAPTER XIII.

FISH.


_To Boil._


THE fish-kettle ought to be roomy: the water should, according to some, be
cold, and spring water, and be slow in coming to a boil. I incline to this:
according to others, it ought to be hot at the time of putting in the fish,
upon the supposition that the shorter time it is in water the better.
Experience must, however, be the best instructor; and much depends on the
size, and sort of the fish. A handful of salt in the water, helps to draw
the slime from the fish, and gives it firmness. Vinegar is used for the
latter purpose, particularly for cod and turbot.--When the water boils,
take off the scum, and place the fish-kettle by the side of the fire, to
simmer gently; the usual allowance of time is twelve minutes to the pound,
but there is no certain rule. Run a sharp knife into the thick part, and if
it divide easily from the bone, it is done. When you think the fish done,
lift up the strainer, and place it across the kettle to drain, and if it
have to wait, put a heated cover on it, and over that, several folds of
flannel; this is the best substitute for a _Bain Marie_. It must not stay
an instant in water, after it is done. Serve on a fish drainer, which, as
well as the dish, ought to be quite hot, for half cold fish is very bad.
Crisp parsley, slices of lemon and barberries, also picked red cabbage, are
used to garnish.

Some cooks say that _salt fish_ should scarcely _boil_ at all, but remain
till tender, in hot water, just coming to a boil; put it on in cold water,
and let it be a long time heating through.

Stock for gravy, for stewing, or sauce, is made of meat or fish, according
to whether it be to be maigre or not. Any white fish, and the trimmings of
all quite fresh fish, may be used. These may be browned first, in the
{115}frying-pan, then put into 1 or 2 quarts of water, according to the
quantity you require, with a bunch of sweet herbs, onion, eschalot, mace,
and lemon peel; boil it and scum well; then strain it, and put in the fish
to stew. Fish stock is best made on the morning it is wanted. _Court
Bouillon_, for boiling or stewing fish, is as follows: to a gallon of
water, a handful of salt, 2 onions, 2 carrots, and eschalots, a bunch of
parsley, thyme, and basil, 2 bay leaves, 12 peppercorns, and 6 cloves, also
a large piece of butter. Stew, then strain it. This may be enriched as
required. It keeps well, and is a good basis for stock.


_To Fry._

This is rather difficult, and requires exceeding care and attention. Some
people consider that lard is essential, but clarified dripping is as good.
Oil is used in countries where the olive tree grows. Wash, and lay the fish
in the folds of a clean cloth, for it must be quite dry. Flour it lightly,
if to be covered with bread-crumbs, for if not quite dry, the bread will
not adhere to it. The crumbs of stale bread; or to be very delicate in
appearance, use biscuit powder. Having floured the fish, brush over with
yolk and white of egg, then strew over the crumbs or powder, so as to cover
every part of the fish. The frying-pan of an oval shape. The fire hot, but
not fierce. If not hot enough, the fish will be soddened, if too hot, it
will catch and burn. There should be fat enough to cover the fish; let it
boil, (for frying is, in fact, _boiling in fat_,) skim it with an egg
slice, as it becomes hot, then dip the tail of the fish in to ascertain the
heat; if it become crisp at once the pan is ready, then lay in the fish.
When done, lay it before the fire to dry, either on whity brown paper or a
soft cloth; turn it two or three times, and if the frying fat has not been
sufficiently hot, this will, in some measure, remedy the defect.--Fat in
which veal or lamb has been fried may be used for fish, when it has settled
long enough to be poured from the sediment.


_Turbot to Boil._

First wash well, and soak it in salt and water; when quite clean, score the
skin of the back, or the belly will crack {116}when the fish begins to
swell. Do not take off the fins, as they are a delicacy. Place it on a
fish-strainer, in a roomy turbot-kettle, the back downwards. You may rub it
over with lemon juice, to keep it white. Cover the fish with cold water,
and throw in salt. Allow 1 lb. salt to a gallon and a half of water. It
should be quite half an hour in coming to a boil, scum well, then draw the
kettle to the side, and if a fish of 10 lbs. weight (larger are not so
good), let it simmer 30 minutes, but if it do not simmer _gently_ the fish
will be spoiled and the skin cracked. When done, garnish with slices of
lemon, scraped horse-radish, parsley, barberries, whole capers, or the pea
of a lobster, forced through a sieve. A very few smelts or sprats fried,
laid round the turbot. Lobster sauce is most esteemed, but shrimp or
anchovy sauce answer very well. (_See to dress Cold Turbot._)


_Brill._

The same as turbot, except that you put it into boiling water, the flesh
being softer. _Or_: parboiled, covered with egg and crumbs, and browned
before the fire, or in the frying-pan. If 6 lbs. simmer it ½ an hour, but
when it begins to crack it is done.


_John Dory._

The same as brill.


_Sole to Boil._

Wash clean, cover it with cold water, put in a handful of salt, and let it
come gently to a boil, take off the scum, and set the fish-kettle aside;
let it simmer very gently five minutes, and it is done, unless very large,
then eight or ten minutes. Oyster sauce.


_Cod to Boil._

Wash clean, and rub the inside with salt; cover it with water, in the
kettle. A small fish will be done in fifteen minutes after the water boils;
a large one will take half an hour; but the tail being much thinner than
the thick part, it will be done too much if boiled all at once;
{117}therefore, the best way is to cut the tail in slices, to fry, and
garnish the head and shoulders, or serve separately. Lay the roe on one
side, the liver on the other side of the fish. Serve oyster, shrimp sauce,
or plain melted butter; also scalloped oysters.--Garnish with lemon, and
horse-radish. If the fish be in _slices_, the water should be made to boil
as soon as possible after they are in it, and 10 minutes will cook them:
pour shrimp or anchovy sauce over the slices. If you wish it to be rich,
having some clear broth, put in a boned anchovy, some pickled oysters,
chopped fine, pepper, salt, a glass of Port wine, and a thickening of
butter and flour; boil this up, skim it, and pour over the slices of cod.


_Cod to Boil Crimp._

Put it into boiling hot salt and water, draw it to the side, and let it
simmer 15 or 20 minutes, according to its size. Slices less. Oyster sauce.


_Salt Cod and Ling._

Soak it, according to the time it has been salted. If hard and dry, two
nights, changing the water two or three times. The best _Dogger Bank_ split
fish require less. Let there be plenty of water, and the fish a long time
in becoming heated through. Then simmer _very gently_, or it will be tough.
Garnish with hard-boiled eggs, in quarters. Serve egg sauce, parsnips, or
beet-root.


_Cod to Fry._

Cut in thick slices; flour or egg, and cover with bread-crumbs or biscuit
powder. Fry in hot dripping or lard.


_Cod's Head and Shoulders._

Wash clean, then quickly dash boiling water over it, which will cause the
slime to ooze out; this should be carefully removed with a knife, but take
care not to break the skin; wipe the head clean, and lay it on a strainer,
in a turbot-kettle of boiling water; put in salt and a tea-cupful of
vinegar. Take care that it is quite covered. Simmer {118}from thirty to
forty minutes. Drain, and put it into a rather deep dish; glaze it with
beaten yolk of egg, strew bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, and lemon-peel over,
stick in bits of butter, and brown it before the fire; baste with butter,
constantly strewing more bread-crumbs and chopped parsley over.--A rich
sauce for this is made as follows; have a quart of beef or veal stock; or,
if to be maigre, a rich well-seasoned fish stock; thicken with flour rubbed
in butter, and strain it; add 50 oysters, picked and bearded, or the hard
meat of a boiled lobster cut up, and the soft part pounded, 2 glasses of
sherry, and the juice of a lemon. Boil it altogether, five minutes, skim
and pour part into the dish where the fish is: the rest serve in a sauce
tureen. It may be garnished with fried smelts, flounders, or oysters. The
French stuff it with meat or fish forcemeat, with some balls of the same
fried, as a garnish.--_Cold cod_ may be dressed as cold turbot. The head
may be baked; bits of butter stuck all over it.


_Cod Sounds._

Scald, clean, and rub them with salt; take off the outer coat, and parboil,
then flour and broil them. Pour over a thickened gravy, which has a
tea-spoonful of made mustard, cayenne, and what other seasoning you
like.--_Or,_ fried, and served with the same kind of sauce.--_Or_, dressed
in _ragout_, parboiled, cut in pieces, and stewed in good gravy, or in
white sauce. Serve mustard and lemon.


_Cabeached Cod._

Boil vinegar enough to cover the pieces of fish, a little mace, a few
peppercorns, a few cloves, and a little salt; when this is cold put a
tea-cupful of olive oil. Cut the tail part of a cod fish in slices, rub
pepper and salt on each, fry them in oil, then lay them on a plate to cool;
when cold, put them into a pan or jar, and pour the pickle over. If you
like, lay thin slices of onion between the fish. _Salmon_ is good in this
way. Serve salad with this.


_Cod to Stew._

Lay three slices of cod in a stewpan, with ½ pint of weak {119}white wine,
_not_ sweet, 6 oz. butter, two dozen oysters and their liquor, three blades
of mace, salt, pepper, and a few crumbs of bread; stew this gently, and
thicken with flour before you serve it.


_Salmon to Boil_,

Should be well cleaned and scaled (the less washing the better), and cut
open as little as possible. Let there be water enough to well cover the
fish, and salt in the proportion of 1 lb. to a gallon and a half. When it
begins to boil, scum well, and put the fish in; for most cooks, I believe,
are of opinion that salmon eats _firmer_ when put on in hot or boiling
water. A fish of 10 lbs. will take a full hour, or a little more, but it
must only simmer all the time. Let the drainer be hot, put a folded napkin
on it, and serve the fish directly. Garnish with curled parsley,
horseradish, or slices of lemon. Serve shrimp, anchovy, or lobster sauce,
also plain melted butter. Cucumber, and also salad, are eaten with salmon.


_To boil Crimp._

Cut off the head, with about two inches of the neck, and clean the fish,
opening it as little as possible, and do not cut it up the breast; also cut
off the tail. Then cut the fish in circular slices, wash them, and lay them
in salt and water. Put the head and tail on the strainer of the kettle, and
pour in boiling water, with a little salt, and a very little vinegar; boil
it five minutes, then put in the slices, and boil fifteen minutes, scumming
all the time. Put the head and tail in the middle of the dish, the slices
round. Sauces the same as the last.--Mustard is good with salmon.


_Salmon to Grill._

Split the salmon, and endeavour not to mangle it in taking out the bone.
Cut it into fillets four inches in breadth. Dry, but do not beat or press
them, in the folds of a linen cloth, or dust them with flour to dry them.
Have a clear fire, as for steaks, rub the gridiron with chalk, lay on the
slices, and turn them occasionally. Serve very hot, with anchovy or shrimp
sauce. French cooks steep the {120}slices in oil, cover them with
seasonings and fine herbs, and broil them, basting the while with oil.
Caper sauce with this. Salmon may be thus prepared, then _fried_.--Some put
the slices in paper to broil.


_Salmon, Trout, Haddock, or Gurnet to bake._

Mix a seasoning of salt, pepper, and allspice, and rub a little in the
fish. If a small salmon, turn the tail round to the mouth, and run a skewer
through the fish to keep it in form. Place it on a stand, in a deep dish,
cover with bits of butter, and strew the remainder of the seasoning over.
Put it in the oven (an American or Dutch oven, before the fire, is very
good for this), and baste occasionally with the liquor which runs from it.
Garnish and serve the same sauce as boiled salmon. _Slices_ of salmon may
be baked this way.--Or: make it richer as follows: boil in a quart of
vinegar, a piece of butter, 2 onions, the same of eschalot and carrots, a
bunch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, some basil, cloves, and
allspice. Having cleaned and scaled the fish, fill it with fish forcemeat,
sew it up, turn the tail into the mouth and skewer it. Place it on a stand
in a baking dish, and pour the liquor over. Baste it from time to time.
When the fish is done, pour off the liquor, and boil it up with an anchovy,
cayenne, lemon juice, and a little thickening of butter rolled in flour.
Place the fish in a rather deep dish, and strain the liquor round it. A
_salmon peel_ is best suited to this, being less rich than large salmon.
(_See Haddock to stew._)


_Salmon to Pickle._

Cut the fish in pieces, not very small, and boil them in a little water and
salt, scumming carefully all the time. When done, lift the fish out into a
pan, and boil the liquor up with vinegar and spices to your taste, with
black pepper, mace and ginger. Pour it cold over the fish.--_Or_: into the
best vinegar, put 1 pint of white wine (supposing there to be 2 quarts of
liquor or water to 1 of vinegar), add mace, ginger, horse-radish, cloves,
allspice, a bay leaf, a sprig of lemon thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour it
cold over the fish. Put away carefully, in a vegetable dish, any salmon
left at table, strew over it ½ a salt-spoonful of cayenne; boil 12
{121}allspice in a pint of white wine vinegar, and pour it scalding hot
over the salmon. Keep it in a cool place.


_Salmon to Dry._

Cut the fish down, take out the roe, and rub the whole with common salt;
let it hang twenty-four hours to drain. Pound 3 oz. saltpetre, 2 oz. bay
salt, and 2 oz. coarse sugar; rub these into the salmon, and lay it on a
large dish for two days; then rub with common salt, and in twenty-four
hours it will be fit to dry. Drain it, wipe it dry, stretch it open and
fasten it with pieces of stick, in order that it may dry equally; hang it
in a chimney corner where wood or peat is burnt, and it will be smoked in
five days. Broil slices for breakfast. If too much smoked, or too dry, soak
the slices in lukewarm water, before you broil them. To make this more
relishing, dip the slices in oil, then in a seasoning of herbs and spices,
and broil them.


_Salmon to Collar._

Clean, scale, and bone the fish, then season it highly with mace, cloves,
pepper and salt, roll it up into a handsome collar, and bandage it; then
bake it with vinegar and butter, or simmer in vinegar and water. Serve
melted butter, and anchovy sauce.


_Salmon to Pot._

Do not wash, but clean with a cloth, and scale the fish, rub with salt, and
let it lie three hours; then drain, and cut it into pieces. Sprinkle over
them a seasoning of mace, black and Jamaica pepper, pounded, and lay them
in a dish; cover them with melted butter, and set the dish in the oven.
When done, drain the fat from the fish, and lay the pieces into little
pots; when cold, cover with clarified butter.


_Sturgeon_

Is generally roasted or baked, if the former, tie a piece of 3 or 4 lbs. on
a lark spit, and fasten that to a large one, baste with butter, and serve
with a rich meat or maigre gravy highly flavoured. Serve besides, or
instead of gravy, {122}oyster, lobster, or anchovy sauce. _Slices_ of
sturgeon may be egged, rolled in bread-crumbs, seasonings, and herbs, then
broiled in buttered papers. Also it is _stewed_ in good beef gravy.


_Skate._

This should be broad, thick, and of a bluish cream colour. It must be quite
fresh, if to be crimp, and put on in hot water. It will keep, in cold
weather, two or three days, but will eat tender. Shrimp, lobster, or caper
sauce, parsley and butter, or onion sauce.--_Or_: put into a stew-pan ½
pint of water, ½ pint of vinegar, all the trimmings of the skate, two
onions, a clove of garlic, some parsley, and a little basil. Boil till the
trimmings are cooked to a mash, then strain and put the skate into the
liquor; it should just come to a boil, and stand by the side of the fire
ten minutes. Garnish with the liver. Serve caper sauce.


_Skate to Fry._

Parboil it first, then cut in thin slices, and dip them in egg and
bread-crumbs. Then either fried or broiled. Both ways skate is good _cold,_
with mustard, pepper, oil and vinegar.


_Thornback and Maids._

Dress the same as Skate.


_Trout to Boil._

Put a good-sized fish into boiling water, in which there is a handful of
salt, and simmer gently 20 minutes. Melted butter plain, or with chopped
gherkins.


_Haddock to Boil._

The night before, fill the eyes with salt, and hang the fish up. _Or_, for
a few hours before cooking, sprinkle them with salt. Serve egg sauce. It
may be stuffed, as in the next receipt.


_Haddocks to Stew, Bake, or Roast._

If you have six small ones, take the heads, tails and {123}trimmings of
all, and one whole fish, boil these in a quart of water or broth, with an
onion, sweet herbs, and cayenne; boil well, and thicken with brown flour;
add spices, and mushroom catsup, or essence of anchovy; strain this, boil
again, and skim well; then lay in the rest of your haddocks, cut in pieces.
If there require more sauce, add as much as is necessary, of any broth or
gravy you have; some oysters, or oyster-pickle. When done, take the fish
out with a slice, lay it in a dish, and pour the sauce, which ought to be
thick, round. This fish may be stuffed with meat, or rich forcemeat, and
dressed whole in the above gravy.--_Another_: the fish being well cleaned,
dry it, and put in the stuffing directed for fillet of veal; tie the tail
to the mouth, put the haddock in a pie-dish, rub it over with flour, half
fill the dish with veal stock, and bake it in a slow oven 40 minutes. A
glass of white wine, or half a one of brandy, oyster-pickle, or lemon
juice, either of these may be used, according to taste. _Gurnet_ the same.
_To Roast_: Stuff a good-sized one with veal stuffing, and dangle it before
the fire; baste with butter, and when nearly done, take the gravy out of
the pan, skim off the fat, then boil up the gravy with pepper, salt, and a
wine-glassful of Port wine.


_Haddocks to Bake, quite plain._

Boil and mash some potatoes. Season the fish, and put a piece of butter
inside, lay it in the middle of the dish, and put a thick border of the
potatoes round. Brush over the whole with egg, stick bits of butter over
the fish, and bake for half an hour; when in the oven a short time, pour a
little melted butter and catsup in the dish.


_Haddock or Mackerel to Broil._

Split the fish, bone the haddock, salt it, and hang it for two days in the
chimney corner.


_Haddocks, Soles, Flounders, Plaice, Perch, Tench, Trout, Whitings, and
Herrings to Fry._

Haddocks, soles, and generally whitings, are skinned. Plaice wiped, not
washed, and must lie three or four hours {124}after being rubbed with salt.
When the fish is cleaned and wiped dry, dust with flour, and lay it gently
into the boiling fat; having first egged and dipped it into bread-crumbs.
The fat may be either lard, butter, dripping, or oil. Turn it carefully,
lift it out when done, and lay it on a sheet of paper in a sieve, whilst
you fry the rest; or put it before the fire, if it require drying. Garnish
with curled parsley, and slices of lemon. Serve very hot. Shrimp or anchovy
sauce, and plain butter. _Whitings_ and _haddocks_ should have the tail
skewered into the mouth.


_Mackerel and Herrings to Boil._

The fresher these are eaten the better. They require a great deal of
cleaning. Choose soft roes to boil. A small mackerel will be done in a
quarter of an hour. When the eye starts it is done, and should not stand in
the water. Serve fennel boiled and chopped, in melted butter, and garnish
with lumps of chopped fennel. Both these may be broiled, whole or split,
and sprinkled during the cooking with chopped herbs and seasonings.


_Mackerel and Herrings to Bake._

Choose fine ones, in season, cut off the heads and take out the roes. Pound
together some mace, nutmeg, Jamaica pepper, cloves, and salt; put a little
of this into each fish, then put a layer of them into a pan, and a layer of
the mixture upon them, then another layer of fish, and so on. Fill the
vessel with vinegar, and tie over close with brown paper. Bake them 6 or 8
hours. To be eaten cold.


_Mackerel and Herrings to Pickle._

The same as salmon.--_Or_: as follows: get them as fresh as possible. Take
off the heads, split the fish open, and lay them in salt and water an hour;
prepare the following pickle: for 1½ dozen mackerel, take 1 lb. common and
1 lb. bay salt, 1 oz. saltpetre, 1 oz. lump sugar broken, and mix well
together. Take the fish out of the water, drain and wipe them. Sprinkle a
little salt over them, put a layer into a jar or cask (the skin side
downwards), then a layer of {125}the mixture, till the vessel is full.
Press it down, and cover close. Ready in three months.


_Red Herrings and Sardinias to Broil._

Open and trim them, skin them or not, as you like. If hard, soak in
lukewarm water. Broil them, either over or before the fire, and rub butter
over as they broil.


_Carp, Perch, and Tench to Stew._

If very large, divide the fish. Rub the inside with salt and mixed spices,
stick in a few cloves, and a blade or two of mace, in pieces, lay them in a
stew-pan, and cover with good fish, or meat stock. Put in 2 onions, an
anchovy chopped, cayenne, 3 glasses of claret, or 2 of Port. When done,
take the fish up, and keep it hot, while you thicken the gravy with butter
and browned flour; add mushroom catsup, oyster-pickle, chili vinegar, or
the juice of a lemon; simmer the sauce, skim and pour it over the fish. The
roe may be kept back and fried, to garnish the fish, with sippets of bread
fried. Use horse-radish and slices of lemon also, to garnish. Where meat
gravy is not used, more wine is required.--_Cod's skull, Soles, Eels,
Flounders, Trout, Whitings and fillets of Turbot, Cod and Halibut_, may be
dressed the same way. _Or_: having parboiled the fish, brown it in the
frying-pan, and stew it in good gravy seasoned with sweet marjoram, lemon
thyme, basil, onions, pepper, salt, and spices: when nearly done, thicken
the sauce, and flavour it, with a small portion each, of Worcester,
Harvey's and Reading sauces, soy, anchovy sauce, oyster-pickle, catsup, and
an equal portion of Port and white wine. The carp's blood should not be
omitted.


_Carp and Pike (or Jack) to Boil or Bake._

If to be maigre, make a forcemeat of the yolks of 3 eggs, some oysters
bearded, 3 anchovies, an onion and some parsley, all chopped; mace, black
pepper, allspice, and salt, pounded; mix this with biscuit flour, or crumbs
of bread, and the fish being well cleaned and scaled, fill it with the
stuffing, and sew it up. If to bake, lay it in a deep dish, {126}stick
butter over, and baste plentifully, as it bakes, in a moderate oven. Serve
anchovy sauce. _Or_: you may take the fish out, and keep it hot, whilst you
make a rich sauce thus: thicken the gravy in the dish, and boil it up with
parsley and sweet herbs; then strain it, add made mustard, a glass of Port
wine, and one of chili or any other flavouring vinegar, also pounded mace,
salt, and cayenne. Pour this over the fish.


_Eels to Stew._

Skin and cut them in pieces. They may be egged and rolled in bread-crumbs,
or merely floured. If to be maigre, stew them in fish stock; if otherwise,
in good clear beef gravy, in which seasoning herbs, and roots have been
boiled. Stew the fish gently, until done, then take them out, keep them
hot, and thicken the gravy with browned flour, or what you like; add a
glass of white wine, and one of mushroom catsup, also a spoonful of made
mustard; boil it up, strain and pour it over the fish. Garnish with scraped
horse-radish, and barberries. _Whiting_, also _slices of Turbot_, in the
same way.


_Lampreys to Stew._

After cleaning the fish carefully, remove the cartilage which runs down the
back, and season well with cloves, mace, nutmeg, allspice, a tea-spoonful
of mushroom powder, a little black pepper and cayenne; put it into a
stew-pan with good gravy to cover it, and sherry or Madeira; keep the pan
covered till the fish is tender, then take it out, and keep it hot while
you boil up the liquor with essence of anchovy, lemon pickle, Gloucester
sauce, and thickening; add the juice of a lemon, a spoonful of made
mustard, 1 of soy, and 1 of chili vinegar. Fry the spawn to put round the
fish.


_Eels to Fry._

They should always be _gently parboiled_, before they are either fried or
broiled, then allowed to be cold, before they are cut up; but if very
small, turn the tail round to the mouth, and fry it whole. Rub with a
mixture of spices, {127}brush with egg, and cover them with bread-crumbs.
Fry of a light brown, and lay them on a sieve to drain.--Small eels are
sometimes boiled, and served with dried sage and parsley strewed over.


_Eels to Collar._

Choose a large eel. Slit open the belly and take out the bone. Rub it well
with a mixture of pepper, salt, parsley, sage, thyme, and lemon peel. Roll
up, quite tight, and bind it with tape; then boil it gently, in salt, a
little vinegar, and water to cover it, till tender. It will keep in the
pickle it was boiled in.


_Eels to Spitchcock._

They are not skinned, but well cleaned, and rubbed with salt. Take out the
bone, wash and dry them in a cloth. Either cut in pieces, or roll them
round and cook them whole. First (parboiled) dip the fish into a thick
batter of eggs, chopped parsley, sage, eschalot, lemon peel, pepper and
salt; then roll them in bread-crumbs or biscuit powder, dip again in
batter, and again in the crumbs. Broil over a clear fire. Garnish with
curled parsley or slices of lemon, and serve anchovy sauce, or butter
flavoured with cucumber vinegar.


_Trout to Stew._

The fish being cleaned, put it into a stew-pan, with half champagne and
half rhenish, or half moselle and half sherry, in all a tumbler full;
season with pepper, salt, an onion with 3 cloves in it, and a very little
parsley and thyme, also a crust of bread. When the fish is done, lift it
out whilst you thicken the sauce; bruise the bread, but if that be not
enough, add a little flour rubbed smooth, and a bit of butter, boil it up
and pour over the trout in the dish. Garnish with sliced lemon and fried
bread.


_Sprats, Smelts, and Gudgeon to Bake, Boil, or Fry._

Rub the gridiron with chalk or mutton suet, and set it over a clear fire.
Run a long thin skewer through the heads of the sprats, and lay them on the
gridiron. They {128}should be eaten quite hot.--To _bake_, lay them in a
deep dish, strew bits of butter, pepper, salt and spices over, cover with
vinegar, and set them in the oven.--To _fry_, dip them in batter, then in a
mixture of seasoning, chopped herbs, and biscuit powder, and fry them.


_Allice or Shad._

These are broiled and eaten with caper sauce.


_Red Mullet._

The inside is not taken out. Wash the outside of the fish, fold it in oiled
paper, lay in a rather shallow dish, and bake it gently. Make a sauce of
the liquor, a piece of butter rolled in flour, a little anchovy essence,
and a glass of sherry. Boil it up, and serve in a tureen. Send the fish to
table in the paper.


_Water Souchy._

_Eels, whitings, soles, flounders, and mackerel_ are generally used. Stew
it in clear fish stock, until done, eight minutes will be enough; add
cayenne, catsup, an anchovy, and any other flavouring ingredient; let it
boil up, skim, and serve hot altogether in a tureen.


_Pipers to dress._

Stuff the fish with a forcemeat of suet, bread-crumbs, 2 eggs, chopped
parsley, pepper, salt and cayenne. Skewer the tail in the mouth, flour and
egg the fish, and bake in a hot oven. Drain it, and serve with Dutch sauce.


_Cray Fish to Boil._

Boil in the shell; five minutes is enough. Some cooks put a bunch of herbs
in the water. Serve on a napkin.


_Lobsters and Crabs to Boil._

Have plenty of water, make it quite salt, brush the lobster or crab, and
put it in. From forty to fifty minutes {129}for the middling size, more if
very large, less if very small. They will throw up a great deal of scum,
which must be taken off. Wipe the lobster with a damp cloth, rub a piece of
butter over, then wipe it with a dry cloth. Take off the large claws, and
crack them; split down the tail, and place the whole neatly in a dish. A
very nice sauce, as follows: boil hard 2 eggs, pound the yolk in a mortar,
with a little vinegar, and the spawn of the lobster, make it quite smooth,
add a large spoonful of salad oil, 3 spoonsful of good vinegar, a
tea-spoonful of made mustard, and a little cayenne and salt.


_Lobster or Crab, to eat hot._

Cut the meat in pieces, or mince it fine; season with spices, nutmeg,
cayenne and salt, and warm it in a little good gravy, thickened: or if
maigre, fish stock, or just enough water to moisten the meat, and a
good-sized piece of butter rolled in flour, a little cream, and some
catsup. Serve on toasted sippets; or have the shell of a lobster or crab
cleaned, and serve the meat in it.--_Another way_ is, not to warm the mince
_over_ the fire, but to put it into the shell, and set that before the fire
in a Dutch oven, strew some fine bread-crumbs or biscuit powder over all,
and stick some bits of butter over that; brown with a salamander, and serve
quite hot. _Prawns_ the same way.--Lobster is sometimes fricasseed, in rich
veal gravy; or with cream, and yolk of egg. Garnish with pickled cucumber,
or other pickle.--Lobster may be cooked as follows: chop the meat of a
large one, and mix with it a very little lemon peel, pepper, salt, nutmeg,
butter, cream, and crumbs of stale bread; roll this well, and divide it
into small quantities; put each one into light puff paste, the size of
sausages, rub them over with yolk of egg, then with bread-crumbs; fry of a
yellow brown, and serve with crisped parsley.--_Or_: wash and clean some
spinach and put it into a saucepan, with the meat of a lobster, or a pint
of picked shrimps cut small, an onion, a clove of garlic minced, salt and
cayenne; when nearly done, add 2 onions sliced and fried; cover close a few
minutes; garnish with slices of lemon.


_Lobsters and Crabs to Pot._

Parboil the fish, cut it into small pieces, put a layer into {130}a potting
can, or deep tin dish, sprinkle salt, pepper, cayenne and pounded mace
over, then a layer of the spawn and coral, then a layer of the meat, and so
on, till all is in, press it down, pour melted butter over, and put it half
an hour in a slow oven. Let it then get cold, take off the butter, take out
the meat and pack it into small pots; clarify the butter, and pour over.
The butter left may turn to account in sauces, as it will be highly
flavoured. If for sandwiches, the meat must be pounded in a mortar before
it is baked, that it may spread more easily.


_Prawns, Shrimps, and Cray Fish to Pot._

Boil them in salt and water, pick them carefully, then pound in a mortar,
with, to 1 lb. fish, a salt-spoonful of mace, the same of allspice, half
the quantity of salt and cayenne, the ¼ of a nutmeg grated, and butter to
make it a thick paste. Put into pots, pour clarified butter over, and tie
it down close.


_Prawns and Shrimps to Butter._

Take them out of their shells, and warm them in gravy, with a bit of butter
rolled in flour, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer it a little, stir all the
time, and serve with toasted sippets.


_Prawns or Cray Fish in Jelly._

Make a good calf's-feet or cow-heel jelly, and boil in it some trimmings of
cod, turbot, and skate, a little horse-radish, lemon peel, an onion, a
piece of pounded mace, grated nutmeg and grated tongue, hung beef, or ham.
Boil it well, strain, and let it get cold. Take off the fat, pour the jelly
from the sediment, and boil it up with 2 glasses of white wine, and the
whites of 4 eggs whisked to a froth. Do not stir this as it boils. When
done, let it stand a quarter of an hour to settle; then pass it through a
jelly bag: pour some of it into a mould, or deep dish, to become firm; then
stick in the fish, neatly picked, in any form you like, and fill up the
dish with jelly. When quite cold, turn it out.


_Fish Cake._

Pick the fish from the bones, add 1 lb. of mashed {131}potatoes to 2 lbs.
fish, a little white pepper, mace, cayenne, and lemon peel; flavour either
with essence of anchovy, of lobster, of shrimp, or of oyster, according to
taste and the sort of fish; add Harvey's or Camp or Gloucester sauce, also
lemon pickle and eschalot vinegar, to your taste: mix the whole with a
little melted butter and an egg, dip in bread-crumbs, and fry of a light
brown. Use no salt with the above sauces.--_Another_: Having some cold
boiled fish, add to it the third of its weight in bread-crumbs, a little
butter beaten with a spoon, a small onion, parboiled and minced fine,
pepper, salt, and the whites of 2 eggs to bind; mixed well together, make
it in the form of a thick cake, and fry on both sides of a light brown:
stew it in good gravy, made from either meat or fish stock, and flavoured
with onion, pepper, and salt. Thicken the sauce, and add mushroom catsup.


_Fish to Pull._

When cold, pick the fish clean from the bones, and to 1 lb. add two
table-spoonsful of anchovy, two of lemon pickle, one of Harvey's, one of
Camp sauce, one of chili vinegar, a little cayenne, white pepper, and mace;
when nearly hot, add a piece of butter rolled in flour to thicken it, then
make it quite hot, put it in a dish, grate bread-crumbs over, and baste
with melted butter, to moisten them, then brown with a salamander, or in a
Dutch oven, or on a tin before the fire, with a Scotch bonnet behind
it.--_Or_: Pick from the bones, in flakes, any cold or boiled fish, salmon,
cod, turbot, sole, skate or pike; and to 1 lb. fish, add ½ pint of cream,
or ¼ lb. of butter, a table-spoonful of mustard, the same of essence of
anchovy, mushroom catsup, any flavouring sauce you like, salt and pepper;
heat it in a saucepan, put it into a hot dish, strew crumbs of bread over,
moisten the top with thin melted butter, and brown in a Dutch oven.


_A Salmagundi._

Wash and cut open, then take out the meat from the bones of two large
herrings, mince the fish with cold chicken, two hard-boiled eggs, one
onion, a boned anchovy, and a little grated ham, season with cayenne,
vinegar, and oil, salt, if necessary; and serve the mince, garnished with
{132}heaps of chopped boiled egg, parsley and pickles, also spun butter.


_Oysters to Stew._

Choose plump natives, beard and stew two dozen in their own liquor, till
just coming to a boil; take them out and lay them in a dish, whilst you
strain the liquor into a saucepan; add a little piece of butter rubbed in
flour, a blade of mace, a few peppercorns, lemon peel, three
table-spoonsful of cream, and a little cayenne. Lay the oysters in, cover
the saucepan, and let them simmer five minutes, very gently. Have toasted
sippets in a deep dish, take out the oysters when done with a silver spoon,
lay them in and pour the gravy over.--The French strew grated parmesan over
the oysters, before the sauce. _Oysters to Grill._--Toss them in a stew-pan
in a little of their own liquor, a piece of butter, and a little chopped
parsley, but do not let them boil. Clean their own shells, lay an oyster in
each, and some little bits of butter. Put the shells on the gridiron, in
two minutes they will be done. _Oysters to Brown._--Open carefully, lift
them out of their liquor, and dip each one in yolk of egg, beaten up with
flour, pepper and salt, then brown them in a frying-pan, with a piece of
butter; take them out, pour the liquor into the pan, thicken with a piece
of butter rolled in flour, add a little catsup, minced lemon peel, and
parsley, let it boil up, put in the oysters, and stir them in it a few
minutes. Serve on toasted sippets. _Oysters to Fry._--Make a batter of
three or four eggs, a table-spoonful of flour, a tea-spoonful of salt, and
the ¼ of one of cayenne, also a very little mace. Cover the oysters well
with this, and fry in boiling lard of a light brown; then grate toasted or
brown bread over them, and put before the fire for three minutes in a Dutch
oven. _Oysters or Cockles to Scallop._--Stew the oysters in their own
gravy. Have ready some bread-crumbs, put a layer into the scallop shells,
or dish, moisten with the oyster liquor, and put some little bits of
butter, then a layer of oysters, then of crumbs, till the shell is full; a
light sprinkling of salt, pepper, and cayenne; let bread-crumbs be at the
top, and lay on some little bits of butter. Brown before the fire in a
Dutch oven. _Cold fish_ may be re-cooked in this way for supper or
luncheon. _Oysters in Dean Swift's way._--Wash the shells {133}clean, and
put the oysters, unopened, into an earthen pot, with their hollow sides
downwards; set the pot, covered, in a kettle of water, and make that boil.
Do not let the water get into the shells; three or four minutes will cook
the oysters.


_Oysters to Keep._

Wash them clean, lay them, bottom downwards, into a tub, and cover them
with strong salt and water, in the proportion of a large handful of salt to
a pail of water. Some persons sprinkle them with flour or oatmeal; this
fattens them, but does not always improve the flavour.

See in the Index for _Curry of Fish_.




CHAPTER XIV.

MADE DISHES.


WHAT is generally understood in England to represent a "made dish" is
something too rich, or too highly seasoned, to be available for a family
dinner; but this is an error. Made dishes are not of necessity rich or
costly, but judgment is required in compounding them, and, by a little
practice, a cook will acquire this judgment, and then will be able to
convert the remains of joints, and much that would not appear to advantage
if plainly cooked, into nice palatable dishes. It is the proper application
of seasonings and flavouring ingredients, and not the superabundance of
them, which constitutes the excellence of "made dishes."--(_See in the
Index for Sauces._)

It has been directed, in making soup, that it must not boil fast. Made
dishes should never boil at all; _very_ gentle simmering, and the lid of
the stewpan must not be removed, {134}after the necessary scumming is over.
Time should be allowed for gradual cooking, and that over, the stewpan
ought to stand by the fire a few minutes, that the fat risen to the top be
taken off, before the dish is served. Indeed, ragouts are better made the
day before, because then the fat is more completely taken off. Shake the
stewpan if there be danger of burning, but if the lid be removed, the
savoury steams escape, and also much of the succulent qualities of the
meat.

Great delicacy is required in re-warming made dishes; they should be merely
heated through; and the safest mode is to place the stewpan in a vessel of
boiling water.

All made dishes require gravy, more or less good, and, in most houses,
this, by a little previous forethought, may always be ready; for if the
liquor in which meat has been boiled be saved, that seasoned, flavoured,
and thickened, the cook will always be provided with gravy for a ragout or
fricassee. (_See the Chapter on Soup, and also that on Gravy._)

The following is a good store gravy.--Boil a ham, or part of one, in water
to cover it, with four onions, a clove of garlic, six eschalots, a bay
leaf, a bunch of sweet herbs, six cloves, and a few peppercorns. Keep the
pot covered, and let it simmer three hours. The liquor is strained, and
kept till poultry or meat of any kind is boiled; put the two together, and
boil down fast till reduced to three pints; when cold, it will be a jelly,
and suits any sort of ragout or hash.

Every cook ought to learn the art of _larding_, and also of _braising_, as
they are both used in made dishes.


_To Lard._

Have larding pins of various sizes. Cut strips of bacon, with a sharp
knife, put one into the pin, pierce the skin and a very little of the
flesh, and draw it through; the rows may be either near together or far
apart. The bacon is sometimes rolled in seasonings to suit the meat.


_To Blanch, either Meat or Vegetables._

This gives plumpness as well as whiteness. Put whatever it be into a
saucepan with cold water to cover, and let {135}it come to a boil; take it
out, plunge it into cold water, and let it remain till cold.


_To Braise._

This is, in fact, to stew in highly seasoned fat. Poultry must be trussed
as for boiling. Either lard, or stuff it, with good forcemeat, and provide
a thick-bottomed stew-pan, large enough to hold it. Line this with slices
of bacon, or fat beef, sliced onion, carrot, and turnip. Strew in a few
chopped herbs, salt, mace, black and Jamaica pepper, 2 bay leaves, and a
clove of garlic. (The seasoning to suit the meat.) Lay the meat in, and
cover it, first with the same quantity of herbs and spices as above, then
with thin slices of bacon, and, over all, white paper; wrap a cloth about
the lid of the stew-pan, and press it down, setting a weight on the top.
Place the stew-pan over a slow fire, and put embers on the lid. The cooking
process should be very slow. Braised joints are generally glazed.


_To Glaze._

When the meat is sufficiently cooked, take it out of the stew-pan and keep
it covered. Strain the gravy into a clean stew-pan, put it on the fire, and
let it boil quickly, uncovered, a few minutes; brush the meat over with
this, let it cool, and then brush again. What is not used may be kept in a
jar tied down, in a cool place.--_Fowls_, _Hams_, and _Tongues_, cooked by
plain boiling, are often glazed, to be eaten cold.--_Another way_ is, to
prepare a glaze beforehand, for _Hams_, _Tongues_, or _Fricandeaux_, thus:
break the bone of a knuckle of veal, cut the meat in pieces, the same with
shin of beef, add any poultry or game trimmings, and a few slices of bacon;
put them in a stew-pan over a quick fire, and let them _catch_, then put in
a little broth of cow-heels, or calf's-head, or feet. Let this stew to a
strong jelly; then strain, and put it by in jars. It may be flavoured to
suit the dish, at the time it is heated to be used. Glaze should be heated
in a vessel of boiling water, and when quite hot, brushed over the meat.
When _cream_ is used, it should be first heated (not boil), poured in by
degrees, and stirred, to prevent curdling. In making a stew, remember to
let it stand by the fire nearly ten minutes, not simmering, that {136}you
may remove the fat, before you put in the thickening. The _flour_ for this
should be of the finest kind, well dried. For _Ragouts_, you may brown it,
before the fire, or in the oven, and keep it ready prepared. It is
convenient to keep spices ready pounded; the quantity so prepared, as to be
proportioned to the usual consumption. _Kitchen pepper_ is: 1 oz. ginger, ½
oz. each, of nutmeg, black and Jamaica pepper, and cinnamon; pound or
grind, and keep them in small phials, corked, and labelled. For _white
sauces_, white pepper, nutmeg, mace, and grated lemon peel, in equal
proportion, may also be kept prepared; cayenne, added or not, as taste
requires; cayenne is used in preparations of brains, kidneys, or liver.
Made dishes are sometimes served on a _Purée_ of mushrooms or vegetables.
This is: boiled to a mash, just thicker than a sauce, and much used in
French cookery. To _Marinade_ is to _steep_ meat or fish, in a mixture of
wine, vinegar, herbs and spices.

_Onions_, small silver ones, are blanched, peeled and boiled in good broth
to serve as garnish to _bouilli_ and many other made dishes; or not
blanched, but stewed with butter, if to be brown. When very strong you may
parboil them with a turnip, for a stew, or forcemeat.

Some persons use _brandy_ in made dishes. _Wine_ in the proportion of a
wine-glassful to a pint of gravy; the quantity of brandy small in
proportion.

_Truffles_ and _Morells_ are a valuable addition to gravy and soup. Wash 1
oz. of each, boil them five minutes in water, then put them and the liquor
into the stew.


_Rump of Beef to Stew, Ragout, or Braise._

Cut out the bone, break it, and put it on in cold water, with any trimmings
you can cut off the rump; season with onion, sweet herbs, a carrot, and a
turnip. Scum, and let it simmer an hour; then strain it into the stew-pan
in which you stew the beef. Season the rump highly with kitchen pepper
(_which see_), and cayenne; skewer and bind it with tape. Lay skewers at
the bottom of the stew-pan, place the meat upon them, and pour the gravy
over. When it has simmered, rather more than an hour, turn it, put in a
carrot, turnip, and 3 onions, all sliced, an eschalot, and a glass of
flavouring vinegar. Keep the lid quite close, and {137}let it simmer 2
hours. Before you take it up, put in a little catsup, made mustard, and
some brown _roux_, or butter rolled in flour, to thicken the gravy.--_Or_:
having taken out the bone, lard the beef with fat bacon, and stew it for as
many hours, as the beef weighs pounds, in good gravy, or plain water, with
vegetables and seasoning, as in the other receipt, to which you may add a
head of celery. This dish should be nicely garnished; for which purpose
have carrots boiled, and cut into any shapes you like, also button onions,
Brussels sprouts, sprigs of cauliflower, &c., &c.; a border of mashed
potatoes round the meat, and carrot or green vegetables disposed upon it,
is also nice. Stewed tomatas also, or tomata sauce.


_Brisket of Beef to Stew._

Wash, then rub the beef with salt and vinegar, put it into a stew-pan to
just hold it, with water or broth; when it boils scum well, and let it stew
an hour; add carrots, turnips, and onions, cut up. Stew it 6 hours, take
out the bones, skim the gravy, add butter rolled in flour, a little catsup
and mixed spices. Put the meat into a dish; add made mustard, and more
catsup, to the gravy, pour some into the dish, and the rest in a tureen.
This may be enriched by walnut and mushroom catsup, truffles, morells, and
Port wine; also, carrots and turnips cut in shapes, boiled separately, and,
when the meat is dished, spread over and round it. Serve pickles.


_Beef, or Veal à la Mode._

The rump, the thick part of the flank, the mouse buttock, and the clod, are
dressed as follows; take from 8 to 10 lbs. beef, rub well with mixed spices
and salt, and dredge it with flour. Put some skewers at the bottom of a
stew-pan, and on them thin slices of bacon, 2 table-spoonsful of vinegar,
and a pint of good gravy or broth; then put in the beef, and more bacon.
Cover close, and let it stew slowly 3 hours; then turn the meat, and put in
cloves, black and Jamaica peppers, 2 bay leaves, and a few mushrooms, or
catsup, also a few button onions, browned in the frying-pan, and a head of
celery. Let it stew till the meat is tender, then take out the bay leaves,
put in a tea-cupful of Port {138}wine, and serve the meat with the gravy in
the dish. The gravy will have thickened to a glaze. Some cooks lard the
beef with thick slices of fat bacon, first dipped in vinegar, then in a
mixture ready prepared, of black pepper, allspice, a clove and parsley,
chives, thyme, savoury and knotted marjoram, all chopped very fine. Serve
_salad_ or _cucumber_. When veal is dressed this way (the breast is best),
flavour with oyster catsup, lemon peel, lemon pickle, mace, bay leaf, and
white wine. Garnish with pickled mushrooms, barberries, and lemon. This may
be cooked in the oven, in a baking dish with a close fitting lid.


_Beef to Collar._

The thin flank is best; the meat young, tender, not very fat. Rub it with
salt and a very little saltpetre, lay it across a deep dish one night, to
drain; rub in a mixture of brown sugar, salt, pounded pepper and allspice;
let it lie a week in the pickle; rub and turn it every day. Then take out
the bones, cut off the coarse and gristly parts, and the inner skin, dry
it, and spread over the inside some chopped herbs of whatever flavour you
choose, and mixed spices; roll it up as tight as you can, and bind with
tape; allow it four or five hours' slow, but constant boiling. When done
press it under a heavy weight, and put by to eat cold. It is sometimes
served hot.


_Boeuf Royale._

Bone the brisket, then scoop holes or cut slits in the meat, about an inch
asunder, fill one with small rolls of fat bacon, a second with chopped
parsley and sweet herbs, seasoned with pepper and salt, the third with
oyster cut small and powdered with a very little mace and nutmeg. When all
the apertures are stuffed, tie up the meat in a roll, put it into a baking
pan, pour over it a pint of sherry, quite hot, and six cloves, flour the
meat, cover close and set it in the oven for three hours; pour off the
gravy, and put it by to cool that you may skim off the fat; if it is not
already in a jelly, which it should be, boil it a little longer. Serve the
beef cold, and the jelly round it.


_Beef to Fricandeau._

Lard a piece of lean beef with strips of bacon, seasoned {139}with salt,
pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice; put it into a stew-pan, with a pint of
broth, a faggot of herbs, parsley, half a clove of garlic (if you like),
one eschalot, four cloves, pepper and salt. Let it stew till tender, take
it out and keep hot by the fire; strain the gravy, and boil it quickly,
till reduced to a glaze; and glaze the larded side of the beef. Serve on
stewed sorrel or cucumbers.


_Ox Cheek to Stew._

Having washed the cheek, tie it up round, and stew it in good gravy, or
water, with two bay leaves, a little garlic (if approved), two onions,
mushrooms, two turnips, two carrots, half a small cabbage, a bunch of sweet
herbs, six whole peppers, a little allspice, and a blade of mace. Scum
well, and when nearly done, take out the cheek, cut off the tapes, put it
into a fresh stew-pan; strain the liquor, skim off the fat, add lemon
juice, or vinegar, salt, cayenne, and catsup; whisk in some white of egg to
clear it, pour it through a strainer, to the cheek; and stew it till quite
tender.


_Ox Palates._

Parboil them till the upper skin will easily come off, and either divide,
or cut them in slices. Stew them slowly, in gravy thickened with browned
flour, with a little minced eschalot or onion, or a spoonful of onion
pickle, some catsup, and cayenne. If to be dressed high, add wine,
mushrooms, truffles, and morells to the sauce, and forcemeat balls in the
dish. Stewed cucumbers with this.--_Beef skirts_ the same way.--_Or_: boil
the palates in milk, and serve them in white sauce, flavoured with mushroom
powder and mace.


_To Pickle Ox Palates._

Clean and simmer them in water, scum well, then put as much mace, cloves,
pepper, salt, and sweet herbs, as will make them highly seasoned, and let
them boil gently 4 hours, or till quite tender; then take the skin off, cut
them into small pieces, and set them by, to cool. Cover them with a pickle
of half white wine, half vinegar, and spices as above: when this is cold,
strain it, and pour over the palates; add 2 bay leaves, if you like. Cover
very close.


{140}_Bouilli._

See this in direction for soup. But if to be dressed without soup, boil a
piece of the flank or brisket in water to cover it, with a sufficiency of
cut carrot and turnip to garnish, also a head of celery and 12 or 16 button
onions, browned; add a small table-spoonful of black and Jamaica peppers
tied in muslin; simmer it gently; and it requires a long time to cook it
enough. When it has boiled till tender, take out enough of the liquor to
make sauce; thicken it with brown _roux_, or flour rubbed in butter, add
catsup, cayenne, and made mustard. Garnish with the vegetables. Caper,
walnut, or tomata sauce. Pickled gherkins on the table.


_Tongue to Stew._

Cut off the root, and boil a salted tongue tender enough to peel. Stew it
in good gravy, with herbs, celery, soy, mushroom catsup, and cayenne. To be
very rich this is served with truffles, morells, and mushrooms. Lard it if
you like.--_Or_: put the tongue into a pan that will just hold it, strew
over a mixture of pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice, and thin slices of
butter, put a coarse paste over, and bake it slowly, till you think a straw
will pass through it. To eat cold.


_Ox Tails to Stew._

Divide them at the joints. Scald or parboil, then brown them in a stew-pan,
with a little piece of butter, to keep from burning. Stew them slowly till
tender, in broth or water, enough to make sufficient gravy, seasoned with
salt, pepper, cayenne, chopped parsley, and a spoonful of made mustard.
Thicken the gravy with brown flour. If you approve, put into the stew three
onions (one brown), two carrots, and a bay leaf; or you may boil some cut
carrots and turnips, stew them in melted butter, and serve round the pieces
of meat in the gravy.


_Irish Stew._

This excellent dish is made of mutton or beef. Chops cut from a loin or
neck of mutton, trimmed of most of the {141}fat, and well seasoned with
salt, pepper, and spices. Parboil and skin as many potatoes as you think
enough, the proportion is 4 lbs. weight to 2 lbs. of meat. Peel 8 or 10
onions (for 4 lbs. meat), lay some sliced suet at the bottom of the
stew-pan, or a tea-cupful of melted butter, put in a layer of potatoes
sliced, a layer of chops, slice a layer of onions over, then potatoes and
mutton, and so on, the top layer potato; pour in half a pint of broth or
water. A shank or small piece of ham is an improvement. This should stew
very slowly; when the meat is tender the potatoes _may_ be boiled to a
mash, therefore have some boiled whole, by themselves. Beef steaks, and any
of the coarser parts, make a better stew than mutton.


_Rump Steaks to Stew._

The steaks should be of one thickness, about ¾ of an inch. Put about 1 oz.
of butter into a stew-pan, and 2 onions sliced, lay in the steaks, and let
them brown nicely on one side, then turn them to brown on the other side.
Boil a large tea-cupful of button onions three quarters of an hour, strain,
and pour the liquor over the steaks; if not enough to cover them, put a
little more water or broth, add salt, and 10 peppercorns. Stew them very
gently half an hour, then strain off as much of the liquor as you want for
sauce; put it into a saucepan, thicken with brown flour, or _roux_, add
catsup, a little cayenne, also a glass of red wine. Lay the steaks in a
dish, and pour the sauce over. The boiled onions may be laid over the
steaks. Mushrooms stewed with steaks are an improvement; 2 or 3 tomatas,
also, will help to enrich the stew, and about 4 pickled walnuts may be put
in. Harvey's and Reading sauces may be used to flavour, also chili or
eschalot vinegar. _With Cucumbers, or Potatoes._--Having your steak either
broiled or fried, pour over it the following:--3 large cucumbers and 3
onions, pared, sliced, browned in the frying-pan, and then stewed till
tender in ½ pint of gravy or water.--_Or_: cut the under side of the
sirloin into steaks, broil them three parts, rub a piece of butter over
each, and finish in the Dutch oven: serve them on potatoes, parboiled, cut
in slices and browned.--_Italian Steak_: have a large tender one, season it
with salt, pepper, {142}and onion, or eschalot: put it, without any water,
into an iron stew-pan, with a close-fitting lid, and set it by the side of
a strong fire, but do not let it burn: in 2 hours, or a little more, it
will be tender: serve, in its own gravy.


_Rolled Beef Steaks._

Prepare a forcemeat of the breast of a fowl, ½ lb. veal, ¼ lb. ham, fat and
lean, the kidney of a loin of veal, and a sweetbread, all cut very small,
also a few truffles and morells stewed, an eschalot, a little parsley,
thyme and grated lemon peel, the yolks of 2 eggs, ½ a nutmeg and ¼ pint of
cream, stir this mixture over the fire ten minutes, then spread it on very
tender steaks, roll them up and skewer them; fry them of a fine brown, then
take them from the fat, and stew them a quarter of an hour with a pint of
beef gravy, a spoonful of catsup, a wine-glassful of Port wine, and, if you
can, a few mushrooms. Cut the steaks in two, serve them the cut side
uppermost, and the gravy round. Garnish with lemon or pickled
mushrooms.--The forcemeat may be less rich, according to what you have.

A _fillet of beef_, namely, the under cut of the rump, makes very nice
steaks; cut in pieces ¼ inch in thickness, put them on the gridiron over a
sharp fire, season them whilst broiling with pepper and salt, and turn them
often, to keep the gravy in. Make a sauce of the yolks of 4 eggs, ½ lb.
butter, in slices, salt, pepper, the juice of ½ a lemon, and a little
chopped parsley; keep stirring it over the fire in every direction, till
rather thick, then take it off and keep stirring until the butter is
melted; if too thick, add milk or cream, and pour round the steak.


_Beef Olives._

Cut slices, of ½ an inch thick, about 5 long, and 3 inches broad. Beat, dip
them in egg, then in a seasoning of chopped herbs, bread-crumbs, salt,
mixed spices, and a little finely shred suet. Roll up and fasten them with
thread. These may be roasted in a Dutch oven, or stewed in clear gravy,
after being browned in the frying pan. Thicken the gravy, and add catsup
and walnut pickle; dish {143}the olives, skim, and pour the gravy hot over
them. They may be made of slices of cold roast beef, forcemeat spread over
them, and when neatly tied up, stewed in gravy, or boiling water, with
brown flour rubbed in butter, to thicken it.--_Or_: spread on the slices of
beef this mixture; mashed potatoes worked to a paste, with cream, the yolks
of 2 eggs, and 1 spoonful of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper; when
this is spread on the slices, strew over each a very little finely chopped
onion, parsley, and mushrooms; roll the olives up, fry in butter, or bake
in a Dutch oven.


_Beef Marrow Bones._

Fill up the opening with a piece of paste, tie a floured cloth over that,
and place them upright in the pot. Two hours' boiling. Serve on a napkin,
with slices of dry toast.


_Beef Heart._

Soak it and cut off the lobes. Put in a good stuffing, and roast, or bake
it, two hours. Serve gravy and currant jelly.--When cold, hash it like
hare.


_Hunter's Beef._

Take the bone out of a round, and rub in the following mixture, all in fine
powder: ¼ lb. saltpetre, ¼ lb. lump sugar, 1 oz. cloves, 2 nutmegs, and 3
handfuls of salt; this for 25 lbs.; rub and turn it every day, till you
think it salted enough to boil; take it out of the brine, wipe it with a
sponge, and bind up firmly with tape. If you choose, a stuffing may be put
into the place where the bone came out. Put the meat into an earthenware
pan just to hold it, with a pint of broth or thin melted butter; put some
pieces of butter or suet on the top of the beef, lay folds of brown paper
over the pan, or a coarse crust is still better, and bake it at least five
hours. This is generally eaten cold, but it may be eaten hot. The gravy
left in the pan is preserved to flavour soups and sauces. It may be made of
the _Ribs_: rub into a piece of 12 lbs., boned, 4 oz. bay salt, 3 oz.
saltpetre, ½ lb. coarse brown sugar, 2 lbs. salt, and a teacupful of
juniper berries bruised: rub and turn every day for three weeks, then bake
it, covered with a coarse paste.


{144}_Hamburgh Beef._

Rub a rump or round of beef well with brown sugar, and let it lie five
days; turn it each day. Sponge, and rub into it a mixture of 4 oz. common
salt, 4 oz. bay salt, and 2 oz. saltpetre, well beaten, and spices to your
taste. Rub and turn it every other day, for a fortnight: then roll up, tie
it, put it in a cloth, then under a heavy weight; that done, hang for a
week in a wood-smoke chimney. Cut pieces to boil as it is wanted, and when
boiled enough, press the meat again under a weight, to eat cold.


_Hung Beef._

Rub the best end of the ribs well with lump sugar, or treacle, and
saltpetre; on the third day rub with common salt and saltpetre; rub and
turn it every day for a week; let it lie a fortnight, turning it every
other day, pouring the brine over. Take it out, wipe, and dust bran over,
then hang it to dry (not smoke) six or eight weeks.


_Boeuf à la Flamande._

Lard a piece of ribs of beef of 8 lbs. weight, and braise it over a slow
fire, a slice of bacon under and over it; then add a pint of fresh
mushrooms, 2 lbs. truffles, 2 doz. forcemeat balls, made with plenty of
eggs, and ½ pint Madeira. Carrots and turnips, cut small, boiled separately
in broth till quite tender, also silver onions as directed for made dishes;
all or any of these may be laid over the beef.


_Beef to Press._

Bone the brisket, flank, or ribs, and rub it with a mixture of salt, sugar,
and spices; let it be a week, then boil till tender, and press it under a
heavy weight till cold.


_Beef to Hash, or Mince._

Cut thin slices of the underdone part, leaving aside the gristly parts and
burnt outside to make gravy, with the bones; put these on in a quart of
water, pepper, salt, two onions, a little allspice, cayenne, sweet herbs,
and parsley: when the water has wasted one half, thicken with flour,
{145}mixing it in by degrees, a little at a time; when this has boiled up,
skim off the fat, set it by the side of the fire to settle, strain it into
another saucepan, and put it again on the fire; add mushroom catsup,
pickle, or whatever ingredient you choose; when hot, put in the slices of
meat, and all the gravy left of the joint; let the meat slowly warm
through, but not _boil_, or it will become hard; a very few minutes will be
sufficient. Toasted sippets round the dish. You may add any flavouring
sauce you choose; eschalot vinegar is good, but use no onion. A
table-spoonful of curry paste makes it a good curry.


_Beef Cecils._

Mince cold meat very finely, and mix it with bread-crumbs, chopped onion,
parsley, pepper, and salt. Put it into a stew-pan with a very little melted
butter, and walnut pickle, stir it over the fire a few minutes, pour it in
a dish, and when cool, put enough flour to make it into balls, the shape
and size of large eggs; brush with egg, roll them in bread-crumbs, and
brown before the fire. Pour good gravy over them. The minced beef may be
warmed in scallop shells, between layers of mashed potatoes, or only a
layer spread thinly over the top, and little bits of butter stuck on, and
then browned before the fire: this may be moistened with any gravy you
have, or walnut pickle.--_Or_: you may serve the mince on toasted bread, or
under poached eggs. Chopped _onions_, previously parboiled, make this more
relishing to some persons' tastes.


_Beef Collops._

Cut thin slices of very tender beef, divide them in pieces three inches
long, beat them with the blade of a knife, and flour them; fry them in
butter three minutes, then stew them in a pint of water or gravy; if water
add salt and pepper, half a pickled walnut, 3 small gherkins, or a
table-spoonful of capers, a lump of butter and flour to thicken it. Take
care it do not boil, but stew gently. The pickles all cut small.--_Or_: do
not stew, but fry them in butter with 1 onion in slices, till cooked, about
ten minutes; then put them in a hot dish, keep that covered, while you boil
{146}up in the pan a table-spoonful of boiling water, a tea-spoonful of
lemon pickle, of oyster pickle, walnut catsup, soy and made mustard; pour
all hot over the collops.


_Beef en Miroton._

Cut thin slices of cold boiled (not salted), or roast beef, or tongue. Put
6 onions chopped into a saucepan with ¼ lb. of butter, turn it round
frequently, and in a few minutes add a little flour mixed in a tea-cup of
broth, and a wine-glass of white wine; let it be on the fire until the
onions are cooked; then put in the meat with salt, pepper, and a spoonful
of vinegar. After one boil, stir in a spoonful of made mustard, and serve
it; the edge of each slice lying a little over the other round the dish.


_Bubble and Squeak._

Cold boiled beef is best, but roast meat is very good. Cut it in thin
slices, pepper well and fry them in butter, then keep them hot, while you
fry some boiled cabbage, chopped; when done, put this high in the middle of
the dish, and lay the slices of meat round: if you like, an equal portion
of cold potatoes, chopped and fried with the cabbage. Serve thick melted
butter, with pickled cucumbers, or onion or capers, and a little made
mustard. _Veal_ may be cooked this way, with spinach instead of
cabbage.--_Or_: what is more delicate, cut bits of cold veal without any
skin, about an inch long, and warm them in the frying pan with the white
part of a boiled cauliflower in little bits, ½ pint of cream, and a light
sprinkling of salt and cayenne.


_Beef to Pot._

Lean meat is best. Salt, and let it lie two days. Drain, season with
pepper, and spices; bake it in a slow oven. When done, drain it from the
gravy, and set it before the fire, to draw the moisture from it. Tear in
pieces, and beat it up well in a mortar, with mixed spices, and enough
oiled butter to make it the proper consistence. Flavour with mushroom
powder, anchovy or minced eschalot. Put it into potting-cans, and pour
clarified butter {147}over, which may afterwards be used for various
purposes. _Potted Beef_ is generally made of meat which has been used to
make clear gravy, _or_ the remains of a joint.


_Mock Hare._

Put the inside of a sirloin of beef into an earthen pan, cover it with Port
wine, and let it lie 24 hours: then spread over it a forcemeat of veal,
suet, and anchovies, chopped, also grated bread, mace, pepper, and mushroom
powder, lemon peel, lemon thyme, eschalot, and the yolks of two eggs: roll
up the beef tight, and roast it, by dangling before the fire: baste with
the wine in which it was soaked, till half done, then with cream, or milk
and butter, and froth it, till well coated, like hare. Serve a rich gravy,
flavoured with walnut or mushroom catsup, and a table-spoonful of eschalot
vinegar. Sweet sauce.--_Or_: a cold uncut inside of a roasted sirloin may
be re-warmed whole, in gravy flavoured with eschalot vinegar, walnut or
mushroom catsup, and Port wine.


_Fillet of Veal to Stew._

Stuff it with a good forcemeat, roll tightly, and skewer it. Lay skewers at
the bottom of a stew-pan, place the meat on them, put in a quart of broth,
or soft water, lay some bits of butter on the top of the fillet, cover the
stew-pan close, after taking off all the scum, and let it simmer slowly
till the meat is tender; take it out, strain the sauce, thicken it, and put
it on the fire to re-warm; season with white pepper, mace, nutmeg, a glass
of white wine, and the juice of a lemon, pour it hot over the meat; lay
slices of lemon, forcemeat balls, pickled mushrooms, or fresh ones stewed,
over the meat, and round the dish. Serve white sauce.--This dish is made
more savoury if you put mushrooms, and ham or tongue, in the forcemeat.
Also, you make it richer by putting the best part of a boiled tongue,
whole, where you take the bone out, fill up the cavities round the fillet
with forcemeat; tie it up in a good shape, and either stew or bake it, in
gravy, as above; or roast it, basting well. This may be served with a wall
of mashed potatoes round, and that ornamented with pieces of tongue and
bacon, cut in dice, alternately, with sprigs of green {148}vegetable; or
pieces of stewed cucumber; or Jerusalem artichokes cooked in white sauce;
or garnish with lumps of young green peas.


_Neck of Veal to Braise._

Lard the best end with bacon rolled in a mixture of parsley, salt, pepper,
and nutmeg: put it into a stew-pan with the scrag end, a slice of lean ham,
1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 heads of celery, nearly cover with water, and
stew it till tender, about two hours. Strain off the liquor, and put the
larded veal (the upper side downwards) into another stew-pan, in which you
have browned a piece of butter, then set it over the fire, till the meat is
sufficiently coloured; keep it hot in a dish whilst you boil up quickly a
little of the strained liquor; skim it, put in a glass of Madeira, some
orange or lemon juice, and pour it hot over the veal. Garnish with slices
of lemon.--This joint may be covered with a veal caul and roasted; ten
minutes before it is done, uncover it to brown. Serve it on sorrel sauce,
celery, or asparagus tops: or with mushrooms fricasseed, or in sauce.


_Breast of Veal to Stew, Ragout, or Collar._

An elegant dish for the second course. Put on the scrag and any bones of
veal you have, to make gravy; put a well seasoned forcemeat into the thin
part, sew it in; egg the top of the breast, brown it before the fire, and
let it stew in the strained gravy an hour; when done, take it out and keep
it hot over boiling water, while you thicken the sauce, and put to it 50
oysters cut up, a few mushrooms chopped, lemon juice, white pepper and
mace; or catsup and anchovy sauce may be used to flavour it; also cream,
white wine, truffles, and morells, at discretion. Pour the sauce hot over
the meat, and garnish with slices of lemon and forcemeat balls, also
pickled mushrooms.--A _Scrag_ of veal is very good, stewed in thin broth or
water, till very tender; make a sauce of celery, boiled in two waters to
make it white, then put into very thick melted butter, stir in a
coffee-cupful of cream, shake it two minutes over the fire, and pour it
over the veal. _Or_ tomata or onion sauce. _To Ragout_--Make a little gravy
of the scrag and bones of {149}the breast, cut the meat into neat pieces,
rather long than broad, and brown them in fresh butter. Drain off the fat,
and stew them in the gravy, with a bunch of sweet herbs, a piece of lemon
peel, a few cloves, a blade of mace, two onions, white pepper, salt, and a
little allspice. Simmer slowly, keeping it covered close. When done, take
out the meat, skim off the fat, strain and thicken the gravy, add the juice
of a lemon and a glass of white wine, and pour it hot over the veal,
holding back the sediment. _Breast_ and _neck of veal_ may be stewed in
water, or weak broth, without forcemeat. _Veal_ is sometimes stewed with
green peas, chopped lettuce, and young onions.--_Lamb_ may be dressed this
way, and served with cucumber sauce.--_Rabbit_ the same, with white onion
sauce. _To Collar_--Bone it, take off the skin, and beat the meat with a
rolling pin; season it with pepper, salt, pounded mace, and a mixture of
herbs, chopped very fine, then lay on thick slices of ham or 2 calves'
tongues, boiled and skinned; bind it up in a cloth, and fasten it well with
tape. Simmer it in enough water to cover it, over a slow fire, till quite
tender, which will be about three hours and a half; then put it under a
weight till cold. You may put in, in different parts, pigs' and calves'
feet boiled and taken from the bones; also yolk of hard-boiled egg, grated
ham, chopped parsley, and slices of beet root. _Collared Veal to be eaten
Hot_--Spread a forcemeat over the breast (boned), then roll, bind it up
tight, and stew it in water or weak broth. Serve it in good veal gravy, or
on fricasseed mushrooms, and artichoke bottoms. This is sometimes roasted.


_Veal Olives or Veal Rolls._

Cut long thin slices and beat them, lay on each one a very thin slice of
bacon, and then a layer of highly seasoned forcemeat, in which there is a
little eschalot. Roll them tight the size of two fingers 3 inches long;
fasten them with a skewer, rub egg over, and either fry them of a light
brown, or stew them, slowly, in gravy. Add a wine-glassful of white wine,
and a little lemon juice.--If you do not choose the bacon, put only
forcemeat strongly flavoured with ham; or grate ham thickly over the
slices. Garnish with fried balls and pickled mushrooms.


{150}_Scotch Collops._

Cut small slices of the fillet, flour and brown them in fresh butter in the
frying-pan, and simmer them very gently in a little weak broth or boiling
water; when nearly done, add the juice of a lemon, a spoonful of catsup, a
little mace, pepper and salt; take out the collops, keep them hot in the
dish; thicken the sauce with browned flour, and pour it hot over the
collops; garnish with curled slices of bacon.


_Veal en Fricandeau._

The fat fleshy side of the knuckle, a little thin slice from the fillet, or
the lean part of the neck boned. Take off the skin, beat the meat flat, and
stuff with forcemeat; lard it, or not, as you like. Lay some slices of
bacon at the bottom of a stew-pan, the veal on them, and slices of bacon on
the top; put in 1½ pint of broth, or water, the bones of the meat, or 2
shanks of mutton; a bunch of herbs, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, 3 onions sliced, a
blade of mace, 2 bay leaves, some white pepper, and lastly, more slices of
bacon. Let this stew slowly, after being scummed, two hours, keeping the
stew-pan closely covered, except when you baste the upper side of the
fricandeau. The meat ought to be cooked to eat with a spoon. Take it out,
when done, and keep it hot while you take all the bones out of the gravy,
skim off the fat, and let it boil quickly till it thickens, and becomes a
glaze; pour it over the meat. Mushrooms, morells and truffles may be added.
Sorrel or tomata sauce.--_Another_: put the veal into a stew-pan, the
larded side uppermost, add 2 tumblers of water, 2 carrots and onions in
slices, 2 cloves, pepper and salt to taste, and a bunch of parsley: boil
slowly three hours and a half; then brown the veal with a salamander;
served with stewed mushrooms.


_Knuckle of Veal to Ragout, or with Rice._

Break the bone and put it into a stew-pan with water to make a quart of
broth, with the skin, gristles, and trimmings of the meat, a bunch of
parsley, a head of celery, one onion, one turnip, one carrot, and a small
bunch of lemon {151}thyme; this being ready, cut the meat off the knuckle,
the cross way of the grain, in slices smaller than cutlets, season with
salt and kitchen pepper, dredge with flour, and brown them in another
stew-pan. Then strain the broth, pour it over them, and stew it _very_
slowly half an hour; thicken the gravy with white _roux_, and add the juice
of half a lemon. _With Rice_--Cut off steaks for cutlets, or a pie, so as
to leave no more meat on the bone than will be eaten hot. Break and wash
the shank bone; put it into a stew-pan, with two quarts of water, salt, an
onion, a blade of mace, and a bunch of parsley. When it boils, scum well,
put in ¼ lb. of well-washed rice, and stew it at least two hours. Put the
meat in a deep dish, and lay the drained rice round. Serve bacon and
greens.


_Granadin of Veal._

Line a dish, or shape, with veal caul, letting it hang over the sides of
the dish; put in, first a layer of thin slices of bacon, then a layer of
forcemeat, made of herbs, suet, and crumbs of bread, then a layer of thin
slices of veal, well seasoned, and so on till the dish is filled; turn the
caul over the whole, tie a paper over the dish, and bake it. Mushrooms may
be added. When done, turn it out of the dish, and serve with a clear brown
gravy.


_Veal à la Daube._

Cut off the chump, and take out the edge-bone of a loin of veal; raise the
skin and put in a forcemeat; bind the loin up with tape, cover with slices
of bacon, and put it into a stew-pan, with all the bones and trimmings, one
or two shanks of mutton, and just cover with water, or broth; a bunch of
sweet herbs, two anchovies, some white pepper, and a blade of mace. Put a
cloth over the stew-pan, and fit the lid tight, with a weight on the top.
Simmer it slowly two hours, but shake the pan occasionally. The gravy will
have become a strong glaze; take out the veal, the bacon, and herbs; glaze
the veal, and serve it with tomata or mushroom sauce, or stewed mushrooms.


_Veal to Haricot._

Shorten the bones of the best end of the neck; you may {152}cut it in
chops, or dress it whole. Stew it in good brown gravy, and when nearly
done, add a pint of green peas, a large cucumber pared and sliced, a
blanched lettuce quartered, pepper, salt, a very little cayenne, and
boiling water, or broth, to cover the stew. Simmer it till the vegetables
are done, put the meat in a hash dish, and pour the stew over. Forcemeat
balls to garnish, if you choose.


_Veal Cutlets à la Maintenon._

_See Mutton Steaks à la Maintenon_; or cook them without paper as follows:
first flatten, and then season them with mixed spices, dipped in egg first,
then in bread-crumbs mixed with powdered sweet herbs, grated nutmeg, and
lemon peel. Broil them over a quick, clear fire, and serve directly they
are done, with good gravy well flavoured with different sauces; or catsup
in melted butter, or mushroom sauce. Garnish with lemon and curled parsley.
They may be dressed in the Dutch oven, moistened, from time to time, with
melted butter. The fat should be first pared off pretty closely. Serve
pickles.


_Calf's Heart._

Stuff it with a rich forcemeat, put the caul, or a well buttered paper
over, and roast it an hour. Pour a sauce of melted butter and catsup over
it.--_Or_: stuff, and brown it in a stew-pan, with a little butter, or a
slice of bacon under it; put in enough broth or water to make a very little
gravy, and let it simmer gently till done; take out the bacon, simmer and
thicken the gravy, and pour it over the heart. Sweet sauce, or currant
jelly.--_Sheep's_ hearts are very nice, in the same way; a wine-glassful of
catsup, or of Port wine, in the gravy.


_Calf's Pluck._

Parboil half the liver and lights, and mince them. Stuff the heart with
forcemeat, cover with the caul, or a buttered paper, or, instead of either,
lay some slices of bacon on, and bake it. Simmer the mince of the liver in
gravy or broth, add salt, pepper, chopped parsley, the juice of a lemon and
catsup: fry the rest of the liver in slices, with parsley. {153}When done,
put the mince in a dish, the heart in the middle, the slices round. Garnish
with fried parsley, or toasted sippets.--_Or_: cut the liver into oblong
slices an inch thick, turn these round, and fasten with thread, or form
them into any shape you like. Chop onions very fine, also mushrooms and
parsley, fry these in butter, pepper and salt; then dredge flour over the
pieces of liver, and put them into the frying-pan; when done enough, lay
them in a dish, pepper slightly and keep them hot, whilst you pour enough
broth or boiling water into the frying-pan to moisten the herbs; stew this
a few minutes, and pour it over the liver. A nice supper or breakfast
dish.--_Lamb's pluck_ the same way.--_Calf's liver_ is very good stewed.
This is made rich, according to the herbs, spices, and sauces used. Chili
vinegar is good.


_Veal Sweetbreads._

Parboil a very little, then divide and stew them in veal broth, or milk and
water. When done, season the sauce with salt and white pepper, and thicken
with flour; add a little hot cream, and pour it over the
sweetbreads.--_Or_: when parboiled, egg the sweetbreads, dip them in a
seasoned mixture of bread-crumbs, and chopped herbs; roast them gently in a
Dutch oven, and pour over a sauce of melted butter and catsup.--_Or_: do
not parboil, but brown them, in a stew-pan, with a piece of butter, then
pour over just enough good gravy to cover them; let them simmer gently,
till done, add salt, pepper, allspice and mushroom catsup; take out the
sweetbreads, thicken the sauce with browned flour, and strain it over them.
Mushroom sauce and melted butter are served with sweetbreads.--_Or_:
par-roast before the fire, cut them in thin slices, then baste with thin
melted butter, strew bread-crumbs over, and finish by broiling before the
fire.--Truffles and morells may be added to enrich the gravy.


_Calf's Tails._

Clean and parboil the tails, brown them in butter, then drain and stew them
in good broth, with a bunch of parsley, a few onions, and a bay leaf. Green
peas, sliced {154}cucumber, or lettuce, may be added and served altogether,
when done, and the fat skimmed off.


_Calf's Head._

Wash and soak it in warm water, take out the brains, and the black part of
the eyes. Boil it in a large fish-kettle, with plenty of water and some
salt. Scum well, and let it simmer gently nearly two hours. Lift it out,
carefully sponge it to take off any scum that may have adhered, take out
the tongue, and slightly score the head, in diamonds; brush it with egg,
and sprinkle it with a mixture of bread-crumbs, herbs, pepper, salt and
spices; strew some little bits of butter over, and put it in the Dutch oven
to brown. Wash and parboil the brains; skin, and chop them with parsley and
sage (parboiled); add pepper and salt, with melted butter, to a little more
than moisten it, add the juice of a lemon, and a small quantity of cayenne;
turn this a few minutes over the fire: skin the tongue, place it in the
middle of a small dish, the brains round it; garnish with very small sprigs
of curled parsley, and slices of lemon; serve the head in another dish,
garnish the same. Serve melted butter and parsley. If you have boiled the
whole head, half may be dressed as above, and the other half as
follows:--cut the meat into neat pieces along with the tongue, and re-warm
it in a little good broth, well seasoned with spices and lemon peel; when
it is done, put in the juice of a lemon, pour it into your dish, lay the
half head on it, garnish with brain cakes and lemon.--_Calf's Head to
Stew_--Prepare it as in the last receipt to boil; take out the bones, put
in a delicate forcemeat, tie it up carefully, and stew it in veal broth or
water; season well with mace, mushroom powder and a very little cayenne.
Stew very slowly, and when done, serve it with fried forcemeat balls, and a
fricassee of mushrooms. It may be enriched to almost any degree, by
flavouring sauces, truffles and morells, also oysters. _A Collared Calf's
Head_ in the same way: when boned season as in the last receipt; put
parsley in a thick layer, then thick slices of ham or the tongue, roll it
up, tie as firmly as you can in a cloth and boil it, and put it under a
weight till cold.


{155}_Brain Cakes._

Take off all the fibres and skins which hang about the brains and scald
them; beat them in a bason, with the yolks of two eggs (or more, according
to the quantity of brains), one spoonful of flour, the same of
bread-crumbs, a little lemon peel grated, and two tea-spoonsful of chopped
parsley; add pepper, salt, nutmeg, and what spices you like; beat well
together, with enough melted butter to make a batter; then drop it, in
small cakes, into boiling lard, and fry of a light brown. Calf's or lamb's
brains, in this way, for garnishing, or a small side dish. _Brains à la
Maître d'Hotel_: Skin the brains and soak them in several waters, then boil
them in salt and water, with a little piece of butter, and a table-spoonful
of vinegar. Fry in butter, some thin slices of bread, in the shape of
scollop shells. Lay these in a dish, the brains divided in two on them, and
pour over a Maître d'Hotel sauce.


_Calf's Head to Fricassee, and to Hash._

First parboil, then cut the meat into small pieces, and stew it, in a very
little of the liquor in which it was boiled, or in rich white gravy,
seasoned with white pepper, salt, onion and sweet herbs. Simmer gently,
and, when nearly done, thicken with butter, rolled in flour, and just
before you dish it, add a tea-cupful of hot cream, or the yolks of two eggs
beaten; let it simmer, but not boil. Garnish with brain cakes, or curled
slices of bacon.--_To Hash_: Calf's head cold, makes an excellent hash, and
may be enriched to any degree, by adding to the following plain hash, some
highly flavouring ingredients, such as sweetbreads, truffles, artichoke
bottoms, button mushrooms, forcemeat and egg balls.--Cut the head and the
tongue into slices. Take rather more than a quart of the liquor in which it
was boiled, two shanks of mutton, or bones or trimmings of veal, and of the
head; a bunch of sweet herbs, parsley, one large onion, a piece of lemon
peel and some white pepper; boil this slowly, so that it may not waste too
much, till it is well flavoured gravy, then thicken it with butter rubbed
in flour, and strain it into a clean saucepan, add pounded mace, a large
spoonful of oyster catsup or lemon pickle, sherry, and {156}any sauce you
like; put in the slices of meat, and warm them by gently simmering. Garnish
with forcemeat balls, curled slices of bacon, or fried bread, in sippets,
or brain cakes.


_Mock Turtle._

Soak a large head, with the skin on, in hot water, then parboil it, in
sufficient water to cover it, with a bunch of sweet herbs, 2 onions and a
carrot; and after it has boiled to throw up the scum, simmer it gently half
an hour. Then take the head out and let it get nearly cold before you cut
it up. Take out the black parts of the eyes, and cut the other part into
thin round slices, the gristly parts of the head into strips, and the
peeled tongue into dice or square bits. Put the bones and trimmings of the
head back into the stew-pan, and keep it simmering by the fire. Fry some
minced eschalot or onion, in plenty of butter dredged with browned flour;
then put it into a clean stew-pan, with all the cut meat, toss it over the
fire a few minutes, then strain into it, a sufficient quantity of the stock
to make the dish a stew-soup; season with pounded mace, pepper, salt, and a
pint of Madeira; simmer it very slowly, till the meat is done, add a large
spoonful of catsup or soy, a little chopped basil, tarragon and parsley. It
must be skimmed before it is served; add the juice of a lemon, and pour it
into a tureen. Forcemeat balls may be used as garnish: this is made richer
by a cow heel, and also, by sweetbreads parboiled, or oysters and anchovies
being added.


_Veal to Mince._

Cold veal is generally used to mince, but undressed meat is the most
savoury. Mince it finely, only the white part, and heat it in a little
broth, or water (a piece of butter rolled in flour, if the latter), salt,
white pepper, pounded mace, and plenty of finely chopped or grated lemon
peel; when warm, put to it a small coffee-cupful of hot cream, and serve
with sippets round the dish. This preparation does for _patties_ or
_cecils_ or _scallops_, the same as directed for _beef_.--You may mix with
the mince some stewed mushrooms. _Veal_ may be _hashed_ the same as beef;
adding to the gravy, mace, nutmeg, and lemon peel.


{157}_Veal to Pot._

Season a thick slice of an undressed fillet, with mace, peppercorns and 3
cloves, bake or stew nearly four hours, pound it quite small in a mortar,
with salt, and butter sufficient, just melted. Put it in pots, and cover
with clarified butter. A portion of ham is an improvement.


_Veal Cake._

Boil 8 eggs hard, cut two in half, the others in rings, put some of the
latter and the halves round the bottom of a deep dish or shallow mould, and
between each, a light sprig of parsley to make a layer; then a layer of
very thin small pieces of cold veal, ham or tongue, and sprigs of parsley
between, and more egg, moisten as you go on with a very good savoury jelly,
flavoured with cayenne.--_Or_: make a very pretty dish; having boiled two
calf's feet or a cow heel for jelly, or other purpose, put some nice little
bits of the meat at the bottom of a deep round pudding mould, and little
bits of ham or tongue and sprigs of parsley between, season to taste, then
another layer, till full, moisten as you go on with some of the liquor. Set
in a rather cool oven just to stiffen, then in a cool place, and turn it
out of the shape. Bunches of barberries to garnish it.


_Mutton to Haricot._

Cut the neck or loin, into chops, and trim off all the fat and bones. Have
3 pints of good broth, in which a turnip, carrot, bunch of parsley and 3
onions have been boiled. Season the chops well with kitchen pepper, and
flour them; then brown them in the frying-pan, with a piece of butter, put
them in a stew-pan, and pour the strained broth over. Let them stew very
slowly half an hour, then put in 2 large carrots, cut in slices, and
notched on the edges, 10 or 12 pieces of turnip, cut in fanciful shapes, 6
button onions, previously half roasted in the frying-pan, or parboiled,
also a head of celery, cut up. When the chops are tender, skim the gravy,
thicken it with browned flour; add pepper and salt, and a table-spoonful of
walnut catsup, the same of camp sauce, of universal sauce, {158}of chili or
eschalot vinegar, and a wine-glassful of either Port or white wine. Lay the
chops in a hash dish, the vegetables on them, and pour the gravy hot over.
_Cucumbers_ sliced, _endive_ parboiled and cut up, or _haricots_ parboiled,
are good in this. _Veal cutlets_, _beef steaks_, and _lamb chops_, in the
same way. Young lettuces and celery are more suitable to veal than turnip
and carrot. Garnish with pickled mushrooms.


_Leg of Mutton with Carrots._

Lard the leg and put it in a stew-pan just large enough to hold it, with a
piece of butter. Set it over the fire five or ten minutes, and turn it to
every side; take it out, and mix in the saucepan, with the butter, a
spoonful of flour, and two tea-cupsful of broth or boiling water; let this
simmer, turning the saucepan often; put in the mutton, and fill up with
broth or boiling water; add salt and pepper, and a small bunch of herbs.
Boil it slowly two hours, then put in a large plate of carrots cut in small
pieces, and browned in another saucepan. Boil the mutton another hour after
the carrots are added, and then serve it. Any lean joint of mutton may be
cooked in this way.


_Loin of Mutton to Roll or to Stew._

Keep it till quite tender, take out the bones, and put them on in water to
cover them, with an onion and herbs, to make a good gravy. Season the meat
highly with black and Jamaica pepper, mace, nutmeg and cloves, and let it
lie all night. Flatten the meat with a rolling-pin, and cover it with a
forcemeat, as directed for roast hare; roll it up and bind with tape; bake
it in a slow oven, or half roast it before the fire, and baste from time to
time with the made gravy. Let it get cold, skim off the fat which will have
settled on it, dredge it with flour, then finish the cooking by stewing it
in the gravy with which you basted, which must be carefully preserved,
after the roasting or baking be over. When cooked enough, put to the gravy
an anchovy pounded, a wine-glass of catsup, one of Port wine, and a
table-spoonful of lemon pickle. Mushrooms are an improvement.--_The Loin_
may be boned, larded, stuffed with {159}forcemeat, then rolled, and stewed
in white stock, with plenty of delicate vegetables, and served with spinach
round it, and a sharp sauce.


_Shoulder of Mutton._

The same as the loin; or stuffed with oysters solely (bearded); the meat
rolled up, bound with tape, and stewed in broth, with a few peppercorns, a
head of celery, and one or two onions. When done, take off the tape, and
pour oyster sauce over.--_Or_: half roast a well-kept shoulder of mutton,
let it get nearly cold, then score it on both sides, put it in a Dutch
oven, before the fire, with a clean dish under to catch the gravy, and let
it continue to roast. Bone and chop four anchovies, melt them in the
basting ladle, add pepper and salt, then mix it into ½ pint of hot gravy, ¼
pint of Port wine, a spoonful of mushroom, the same of walnut catsup, and ½
a spoonful of lemon pickle; baste the meat with this as it roasts; when
done, lay it on a clean hot dish, skim the dropped gravy, heat it, if
necessary, and pour over the mutton.--_Or_: bone the shoulder, and steep it
in wine, vinegar, herbs, and spices; have ready a stuffing, in which there
are either oysters or mushrooms, put it in, cover the shoulder with a veal
caul, and braise it. Serve with venison gravy, and sauce. Some like the
flavour of garlic in this.


_Breast of Mutton to Grill._

Cut off all fat which will not be eaten with the lean, score that in
diamonds, and season with pepper and salt. Brush it with egg, and strew a
mixture of bread-crumbs and chopped parsley over. Either roast or broil it
in a Dutch oven, baste well with butter, strewing more crumbs and parsley
over. Serve with chopped walnut or capers in butter.


_Neck of Mutton to Stew._

Cut off some of the fat, and the meat into chops, put it into a stew-pan
with water or broth to cover it, pepper, salt, an onion, and what herbs you
like, cover close, and let it stew very gently; when half the water is
wasted, put it by the side to let the fat rise, take that off, put in ½
pint claret, {160}12 oysters, and let it stew till quite tender; take out
the herbs, thicken the gravy, and add the juice of ½ a lemon, and what
catsup you like.


_To Dress Kidneys._

Skin and split mutton kidneys, rub with salt and pepper, and pin them out
with small wire skewers, to keep them open. Dip in melted butter, then lay
them on the gridiron, the inside downwards first, that when you turn them
the gravy may be saved. Put the kidneys in a very hot dish, and pour melted
butter into each one.--_Or_: cut a fresh kidney into slices or mouthfuls;
soak in warm water and well dry them, dust them with flour, and then brown
with butter in the frying-pan: put them in a stew-pan with the white of 3
young onions chopped, salt, pepper, parsley, a table-spoonful of eschalot
vinegar, and then let them simmer till the kidney is quite done. Mushroom
or walnut catsup may be used. Serve mustard with this.--_Or_: mince the
kidney and season well with salt, pepper, and cayenne; fry this, and
moisten it with gravy or boiling water, or use what catsup or flavouring
vinegar you like. Serve on a hot dish for breakfast.--_Or_: put the mince
into a stew-pan with a bunch of sweet herbs and an onion tied up in muslin,
as soon as it is just browned cover with boiling water and let it simmer 3
hours, then take out the herbs, and sprinkle over the mince a
table-spoonful of sweet herbs in powder.


_Mutton or Lamb Chops and Collops._

_Cutlets_ for a supper or breakfast dish may be cut from a rather underdone
leg: put a good sized piece of butter in the frying-pan, when hot lay the
slices of meat in, and turn them often till done, then take them out and
keep them hot, while you make a little gravy in the pan, of parsley, other
herbs if you like, and a very little broth or boiling water; any flavouring
sauce you have, and cayenne. The gravy should be thick of herbs; dish the
cutlets in the centre, and the herbs round.--_Or_: pare and slice some
cucumbers, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, pour a little vinegar over,
and let them lie an hour; then stew them with the collops in broth, enough
to make sufficient gravy; season {161}with catsup and what flavouring
ingredient you prefer, skim the gravy when the meat is done, and serve in a
hash dish.--_Or_: chop the leaves of 6 sprigs of parsley with 2 eschalots,
very fine, season with salt and cayenne, and mix all well together with a
table-spoonful of salad oil, cover the cutlets on both sides with this,
then shake grated bread-crumbs over, and fry them in fresh butter.


_Cutlets à la Maintenon._

Lightly season and lay them in a pan with 3 table-spoonsful of oil; fry
over a moderate fire till 3 parts cooked, then take them out, and fry 2
table-spoonsful of chopped onions of a light brown, pour off the oil and
put in a pint of good brown sauce, 3 table-spoonsful of tomata sauce, a
tea-cupful of chopped parsley, a little sugar, nutmeg, pepper and salt,
reduce it till rather thick, then put in the cutlets for about 5 minutes:
take them out, let them be cold in the sauce, and fold each one (the gravy
about it), in white paper (oiled), and broil them 10 minutes over a
moderate fire. Serve in the papers.

Sauces for cutlets may be made of oysters, mushrooms, tomatas, anchovies,
&c., &c., by stewing them in gravy, suitably seasoned; always add some lump
sugar. Serve with Jerusalem artichokes, cooked in white sauce, round them:
_or_, a bunch of asparagus in the centre, the cutlets round, and more grass
cut in points to garnish: _or_, French beans or peas the same way: _or_ (a
very pretty dish), divide in 8 or 10 pieces 2 nicely boiled small
cauliflowers, and put them into a saucepan with a tea-cupful of white
sauce, a tea-spoonful of lump sugar, and a little salt; when it boils, pour
in the yolk of an egg mixed with 4 table-spoonsful of cream, and serve it
as above.


_Mutton to Hash._

When a leg of mutton comes from the table, cut slices to hash the next day,
and leave them in the gravy; if the joint be underdone, all the better.
Make a gravy of the gristles, trimmings and any bones of mutton, pepper,
salt, parsley, and 1 or 2 cut onions; skim off the fat, strain it, and put
in the meat (having well floured each slice), with salt to {162}your taste,
and cayenne: simmer very gently about five minutes, to warm the meat
through, and serve with toasted sippets round the dish. This may have
walnut catsup or any other you choose: or 2 pickled walnuts, cut up, and a
little of the liquor; or, and this is a great improvement, when the gravy
is ready, put in 4 tomatas, and simmer for a quarter of an hour before you
put in the meat. Stewed mushrooms are a nice accompaniment. Mutton may be
minced and warmed in a pulp of cucumbers or endive, which has been stewed
in weak broth.--_Or_: put a good sized piece of butter into a stewpan with
½ pint of mushrooms, ½ an eschalot minced, and boil them gently; then mix
in, by degrees, a table-spoonful flour, ½ pint broth, and stew till all the
flavour be extracted; let it cool a little, and put in some minced
underdone mutton, to heat through, without boiling.


_Hunter's Pie._

Line a mould with mashed potatoes, fill it with slices of cold beef or
mutton, or mutton or lamb chops, well seasoned, cover with mashed potatoes,
and bake it. Some add a very little minced onion.


_Leg of Lamb with Vegetables._

Cut the loin of a small hind quarter into chops, and fry them. Boil the
leg, delicately white, place it in the middle of the dish, a border of
spinach round, and the fried chops upon that.--_Or_: instead of spinach,
put a sprig of boiled cauliflower between each chop. Pour hot melted butter
over the leg.--_Or_: season the chops, brush them with egg, and roll them
in a mixture of bread-crumbs, chopped parsley, grated lemon peel, nutmeg,
and salt; fry them in butter, and pour over a good gravy, with oysters or
mushrooms. Serve hot; garnish with forcemeat balls.


_Breast of Lamb._

Stew it in good broth twenty minutes, let it cool, then score it in
diamonds. Season well with pepper, salt, and mixed spices; dredge flour
over, stick on some little bits of butter, finish in the Dutch oven, and
serve on spinach, stewed cucumbers, or green peas.


{163}_Lamb Cutlets and Steaks._

Flatten, season, and stew them in veal broth, and a little milk; season
with white pepper and mace. When nearly done, thicken the sauce with
mushroom powder, a bit of butter rolled in flour, and add a tea-cupful of
hot cream.--_Lamb Chops with Potatoes_--Cut handsome chops from the neck,
and trim the bone. Season, egg, and dip them in bread-crumbs and parsley,
and fry of a pale yellow. Mash some potatoes thin, with butter or cream,
place this high in the centre of a dish, score it, and arrange the chops
round, leaning each one on the side of the adjoining one. Garnish with
lemon slices, and pickled mushrooms.


_Shoulder of Lamb Stuffed._

Take out the bone, and fill the vacancy with forcemeat. This may be
roasted; or, if to be rich, stewed in good gravy, or braised. Glaze it, if
you like, and serve with sorrel, or tomata sauce.--_Or_: parboiled, allowed
to cool, scored in diamonds, seasoned with pepper, salt, and kitchen
pepper, and finished on the gridiron, or in a Dutch oven. _Sauce Robert_,
mushroom, or sorrel sauce, or a clear gravy. _Or_: bone a small shoulder,
lard the under side, with strips of bacon, rolled in a mixture of cloves,
mace, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and salt, in small proportions. Roll the
meat up, tie, and stew it in veal broth: or braise, and then glaze it.
Serve it on cucumbers stewed in cream, or on stewed mushrooms.


_Lamb's Head_

May be dressed the same as _Calf's Head_.--_Or_: parboil, then score,
season and egg it, cover with a mixture of bread-crumbs and parsley, and
brown it before the fire. Mince part of the liver, the tongue, and heart,
and stew till tender, in a little broth or water, with pepper and salt. Fry
the rest of the liver with parsley. Put the mince in a dish, the head on
it, and the fried liver round.


_Lamb Fricassee._

Cut the best part of the brisket into square pieces of 4 {164}inches each;
wash, dry, and flour them. Simmer for ten minutes 4 oz. butter, 1 of fat
bacon, and some parsley, then put in the meat, an onion cut small, pepper,
salt, and the juice of half a lemon: simmer this two hours, then add the
yolks of two eggs, shake the pan over the fire five minutes, and serve it.


_Lamb's Sweetbreads._

Blanch, then stew them in clear gravy twenty minutes; put in white pepper,
salt, and mace; thicken with butter rolled in flour, and add the yolks of
two eggs well beaten, and stirred into a coffee-cup of cream, a little
nutmeg and finely chopped parsley; pour the cream and eggs in by degrees,
then heat it over the fire, but stir all the time. _Veal sweetbreads_ in
the same way. The best mode of re-warming _Lamb_ is to _broil_, either over
or before the fire.


_Venison to Hash._

Cut in thin slices, and warm it in its own gravy; season with pepper, salt,
mace, grated lemon peel, one wine-glassful of port and white wine mixed,
and a table-spoonful each, of mushroom and walnut catsup and soy. Serve
toasted sippets round it. If lean, mix with it some thin small slices of
the firm fat of mutton. Cold venison may be minced and dressed as directed
for beef.


_Shoulder of Venison to Stew._

If too lean to roast, then bone and flatten it, lay over some thin slices
of fat, well-flavoured mutton; season well with white pepper, salt, and
mixed spices, roll it up tight, bind with tape, and stew it slowly in beef
or mutton gravy, in a stew-pan which will just hold it; the lid close. When
nearly done, put in a very little cayenne, allspice, and ½ pint of claret
or Port. Stew three hours. Take off the tape, place the meat in a dish, and
strain the gravy over. Venison sauce.


_Venison Collops and Steaks._

A good way to dress what is too lean to roast well. Having cut thin long
slices from the haunch, neck, or loin; {165}make a good gravy of the bones
and trimmings, strain it into a small stew-pan, put in a little piece of
butter rolled in flour to thicken it, then a very little lemon, a
wine-glassful of port or claret, pepper, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg; whilst
this simmers gently, fry the collops, and pour the sauce hot over. You may
add tarragon or eschalot vinegar, also soy and mushroom catsup. Garnish
with fried crumbs. Season the steaks, and dip them in melted butter, then
in bread-crumbs, and broil them in buttered papers, over a quick fire.
Serve very hot, with good gravy in a tureen.


_Pig to Collar._

It should be three or four weeks older than for roasting. Bone it, and
season well with mixed spices; then spread over a layer of thin forcemeat
of herbs, hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and a _little_ suet, then a layer
of thin slices of veal, a layer of seasoning, and so on; roll it up, tie in
a cloth, and stew it three hours, in just enough water to cover the pig. It
will then require to be tied tighter at each end, and put under a weight
till cold.


_Pork to Roll._

Bone the neck, spread over the inside a forcemeat of sage, crumbs, salt,
pepper, and a very little allspice. Tie it up, and roast very slowly.


_Pork Chops with Onions._

Season the chops on both sides with pepper and salt, brush them over with
olive oil, and roll them in bread-crumbs; put them on the gridiron, taking
care that the fire be clear, and do not turn the chops more than once. Put
12 large onions in slices, into a saucepan with a large piece of butter,
turn the saucepan frequently that the onions may imbibe the butter equally;
add half a tea-cupful of boiling water, some pepper and salt, and let the
onions simmer three quarters of an hour; strain and mix with them a little
made mustard. Place the onions in a dish and the chops on them.


_Pig's Head Roasted._

Divide the head of a young porker in half, take out the {166}brains and
clean the inside; stuff it with bread-crumbs, sweet herbs, lemon peel, a
very little suet, and an egg, to bind it, tie the head up carefully, and
roast it. Serve with brain and currant sauce.


_Pig's Feet and Ears soused._

Clean carefully, soak them some hours, then boil them tender, and when cold
pour over the following pickle: some of the liquor they were boiled in, ¼
part of vinegar and some salt. Cut the feet in two, slice the ears, dip
them in batter and fry them. Serve melted butter, vinegar and mustard.


_To Fricassee._

Boil, and when cold cut in pieces, and simmer them in a very little veal
broth, with onion, mace and lemon peel; just before you serve it, add a
little cream, and a bit of butter rolled in flour.


_Corned Pork with Peas._

Put a large piece of butter into a stew-pan with half a table-spoonful of
flour, and when it is melted add a tea-cupful of boiling water, chopped
herbs and pepper. Wash in three waters a small piece of corned pork, put it
in the stew-pan, and when it has cooked half an hour add three pints of
green peas, and let it cook one hour. Take out the herbs and pork, pass the
rest through a sieve; serve the peas round the pork.


_Hare to Jug._

A tender young hare is better jugged than an old one, but one that is too
old to roast, may be good jugged. Cut it in rather small pieces, season
with salt and pepper, and you may lard them if you like, if not put into
the jar two slices of good bacon, then put in the pieces of hare with the
following mixture; half a tea-spoonful of cayenne, a blade of mace and a
very small bunch of sweet herbs, four silver onions, one stuck with six
cloves, two wine-glassfuls of Port wine, half a pint of water, or thin
broth, and a table-spoonful of currant jelly. Set the jug in a saucepan of
boiling {167}water, or put it in the oven for two or three hours, according
to its age. Lay the meat on a dish before the fire, strain the liquor, boil
it up, and pour hot over the hare; you may add lemon juice, walnut or
mushroom catsup, and another glass of Port wine.--_Or_: you may put 2 lbs.
of coarse beef in, to make the gravy better. This, and especially if the
hare be an old one, will require an hour longer.


_Hare to Stew._

Cut off the legs and shoulders, cut down the back and divide each side into
three. Season these with pepper, salt, and mixed spices, and steep them 4
or 5 hours in eschalot vinegar, and 2 or 3 bay leaves. Make about 1½ pint
of good gravy, of beef or mutton stock, the neck, head, liver, heart and
trimmings of the hare, 3 onions, a carrot, a bunch of sweet herbs, 12 black
peppers, the same of allspice, and a slice of bacon, in small pieces.
Strain this into a clean stew-pan, and put the hare and the vinegar into
it; let it stew slowly, until done. If required, add salt, more spices, and
cayenne; also good sauces, and Port wine if you choose. Thicken with
browned flour. An _old hare_ may be larded and stewed in a braise.


_Hare to Hash._

Into a pint of gravy put 2 silver onions, 4 cloves, and a very little salt
and cayenne, simmer gently till the flavour of the spice and vegetables is
extracted, then take them out, add 2 table-spoonsful of red currant jelly,
the same of Port wine, and when quite hot, put in the slices of hare, and
any stuffing there may be. Serve it hot with sippets and currant jelly.


_Rabbits with fine herbs._

Joint 2 white young rabbits, and fry the pieces in butter with some rasped
bacon, a handful of chopped mushrooms, parsley, eschalot, pepper, salt, and
allspice; when of a nice brown put it into a stew-pan, with a tea-cupful of
good gravy and a tea-spoonful of flour. Stew slowly till done, skim and
strain the sauce, and serve it hot about the {168}meat; the livers minced
and cooked with it. When you serve it, add the juice of ½ a lemon and a
very little cayenne.


_Rabbits to Fricassee._

Cut them in joints and parboil them; take off the skin, and stew them in
gravy of knuckle of veal, lean ham, sweet herbs, mace, nutmeg, white
pepper, lemon peel and mushroom powder; when the meat is tender, thicken
the gravy with the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs in a pint of cream; stir in
gradually 2 table-spoonsful of oyster, 1 of lemon pickle, and 1 of essence
of anchovy. Serve very hot. Stewed mushrooms are good with this. Garnish
with slices of lemon and pickled barberries.


_Rabbit, Hare, and Game to Pot._

_Rabbit_ must be seasoned with pepper, salt, cayenne, mace, and allspice,
all in fine powder.--_Hare_ with salt, pepper, and mace.--_Partridges_,
with mace, allspice, white pepper, and salt in fine powder.--Read
directions to pot beef, and proceed in the same way.


_Turkey to Braise._

Truss it as for boiling: put 3 onions, a carrot, turnip, and a head of
celery, all sliced, at the bottom of a stew-pan, with a bunch of parsley, a
sprig of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 3 cloves, and a blade of mace, also ½ lb. of
lean ham, and 2 lbs. of veal cut small, put in 2 quarts of water, and then
the turkey (the breast downwards), cover close, and let it simmer over a
slow fire about two hours, according to its size; then take it up, and keep
it hot, strain the stock into a stew-pan, boil it over the fire, and skim
off all the fat; have 2 oz. butter melted in another stew-pan, stir in
enough flour to make it thickish, and keep stirring till it is cooked
enough, but keep it white, then take it from the fire, and keep stirring
till half cold, pour in the stock, add a little sugar, and boil it all up,
stirring all the time: place the turkey on the dish, with either some
cauliflower heads or Brussels sprouts round it, and pour the sauce over.


{169}_Fowls, with Mushroom Sauce._

Braise them the same as directed for turkey, and when the stock is strained
into the stew-pan, put in some mushrooms, and stew it till they are cooked,
add lump sugar, and, at the last, stir in the yolk of 1 egg, beat up with a
table-spoonful of cream, take it off the fire, and pour over the fowl in
the dish.--_Or_: do not braise, but stew the fowl, in good stock, and when
done, thicken the gravy, and put in enough button mushrooms; serve mushroom
sauce with this, or a white fricassee of mushrooms round it.--_Fowl with
Oysters_: the same as either of the above, using oysters in the place of
mushrooms.


_Fowl to Force._

Bone, then stuff a large fowl with a forcemeat made of ¼ lb. of veal, fowl,
or turkey; 2 oz. grated ham, 2 oz. yolk of hard-boiled egg, lemon peel,
mixed spices, and cayenne to taste; beat the whole in a mortar, to a paste,
adding 2 raw eggs to bind it. Sew up the fowl, form it into its own natural
shape, draw in the legs, and truss the wings. Stew it slowly in clear white
broth; when nearly done, thicken the sauce with butter, rolled in flour;
just before you serve it, add a little hot cream, by degrees, to the sauce,
stirring all the time. Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a dish, lay the
fowl in the centre, and pour the sauce over it.--_Or_: the stuffing may be
of pork sausage, and the fowl roasted; serve good gravy in the dish, and
bread sauce in a tureen.


_Chickens, Pigeons, or Rabbits, to Braise._

Bone and stuff them as directed in the last receipt, and lay slices of
bacon on them. Brown a few sliced onions in a stew-pan, and add all the
bones and trimmings, with, if you can, two shanks or a scrag of mutton, or
a shank of veal, a bunch of sweet herbs, mace, and a pint of broth or soft
water; simmer gently one hour. Then put in the chicken, cover the lid of
the stew-pan with a cloth in thick folds, and let it stew very gently till
done. If you wish to glaze the chicken, pigeon, or rabbit, take it out, and
keep it hot while you strain the gravy, and boil it quickly to a jelly;
{170}glaze the chicken, and serve with a brown fricassee of mushrooms.


_Chickens to Fricassee._

Cut them up, and season the joints with mixed spices and white pepper. Put
into a pint of clear gravy or stock, two onions, three blades of mace, a
large piece of lemon peel, and a bunch of sweet herbs. When ready put in
the chickens, and stew them gently half an hour, covered close. When done,
take them out, keep hot over boiling water, strain the sauce, thicken it
with butter rolled in flour, and add salt and nutmeg. Just before you serve
it, pour in, by degrees, ¼ pint of cream, heated, and the yolks of two
eggs, beaten; keep stirring least it curdle, and do not let it boil: pour
it over the chickens. A glass of white wine may be added. Garnish with
lemon. You may put into the stew-pan, a quarter of an hour after the
chickens, some quite young green peas and lettuce.--The French _Fricassée
Naturel_ is as follows: cut up the chickens, blanch them in hot water a few
minutes, then dip them into cold water, and put them into a stew-pan with 4
oz. butter, parsley, green onions, and a tea-cupful of trimmed button
mushrooms, to warm through, and slightly brown; add salt and white pepper,
and dredge flour over them; then put in a little of the liquor they were
blanched in, and let it simmer half an hour, or till the chickens are done:
take them out, and keep hot, strain the sauce, give it a quick boil, add
the yolks of two eggs, and pour it over the chickens.


_Fowl à la Chingara._

Cut a fat fowl down the back and breast, then across, to be in four equal
parts. Melt a very little piece of butter in a stew-pan, put in four slices
from the thickest part of a boiled ham, then the fowl, and stew it gently,
till done; take out, keep it hot, pour the fat off the glaze at the bottom
of the stew-pan, and pour in a little good gravy, salt, pepper, and
cayenne. Simmer gently a few minutes, during which, fry, in the fat you
have poured off, four toasts, dust over them a little pepper and salt,
place them in a dish, a quarter of the fowl on each; either with the ham or
not. Skim the sauce, and serve in a tureen.


{171}_Cold Fowl or Turkey to Pull._

Take off the skin, and pull the meat off the breast and wings, in long
flakes; brown these in the frying-pan with a piece of butter, drain them
from the fat, put them into a saucepan with a little gravy previously
seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg and mace. Simmer gently, to warm the
meat; during which, score and season the legs, if turkey, and broil them,
with the sidebones and back. Thicken the sauce with the yolks of two eggs,
and add a tea-cupful of hot cream. Serve the hash in the middle, the broil
round. Garnish with toasted sippets. Mushroom sauce good with this.
_Boudins_ are made thus: mince the meat which is left on fowl or turkey;
put a tea-spoonful of chopped onion and a piece of butter into a stew-pan
and turn it over the fire, for a minute or two, then put in a
table-spoonful of flour and mix it well, a pint of stock and the mince,
season with pepper, salt, and sugar; simmer it till heated through, and
then stir quickly in, the yolks of three eggs well beaten, stir it over the
fire, but do not let it boil, and pour it out on a dish to get cold; divide
it into equal parts, and roll them round or to your fancy, egg and
bread-crumb them two or three times, and fry of a light brown. These may be
flavoured with ham, tongue or mushroom cut up in the mince.


_Goose or Hare to Braise._

Stuff it for roasting, lay thin slices of bacon over it; line a stew-pan
with bacon, put the goose and giblets in the centre, 5 or 6 onions, 2
carrots and turnips, a clove of garlic, all sliced, salt, black and Jamaica
peppers, 2 bay leaves, and a slight sprinkling of finely chopped herbs.
Moisten with boiling water. Lay a sheet of paper over, cover close, lay a
folded cloth over the lid, put a weight on the top to keep it tight, and
stew gently. (_See instructions for braising._) Apple, pear, or currant
jelly sauce.


_Turkey or Hare en Daube._

Lard the breast and legs of the turkey with strips of bacon, with salt,
pepper, spices, and herbs; and lay slices of bacon over the breast. Line a
stew-pan with bacon, {172}and put in the turkey, with a hock of ham or a
calf's foot (both if you can), also the head and feet of the turkey, 4
onions, 2 carrots, young onions, a few sprigs of thyme, a bunch of parsley,
and 6 cloves; moisten this, with a tea-cupful of melted butter, and cover
it with white paper. Simmer it five hours; take it off the fire, and let it
stand by the side twenty minutes, or half an hour. Take out the turkey,
strain the gravy, and boil it down quickly; beat up an egg, stir it into
the gravy, put it on the fire, and let it come nearly to a boil, then stand
by the side of the fire half an hour, and it will be a jelly; strain it
again if not clear, and pour it over the turkey.


_Pigeons to Stew._

Put a piece of butter, rolled in flour, a little chopped parsley, and the
liver, into each pigeon, truss, then place them on slices of bacon, in a
stew-pan; cover with more slices of bacon, and stew them three quarters of
an hour. Serve good brown gravy. Stewed mushrooms, if liked. Garnish with
sprigs of boiled cauliflower, or small heads of brocoli. _Or_: add
bread-crumbs to the stuffing, truss them for roasting, and brown them in
the frying-pan; then put them into the stew-pan, with good stock of beef,
flavoured with herbs, mace, anchovies, mushroom powder, onions, and pepper;
stew till tender, then add oyster, mushroom and walnut catsup, Port and
white wine, soy, Gloucester and camp sauces. Garnish with egg balls and
pickled mushrooms.--_Or_: first stuff them with bread-crumbs, spices,
parsley, and a little fresh butter; half roast them in a Dutch oven, and
finish in the stew-pan, in good gravy; to which wine, lemon peel, and
mushrooms may be added. Pour it over the pigeons. Asparagus may be laid
round and between them.--_Pigeons in Jelly_--Pick, wash, and singe two
plump pigeons; leave the heads and feet on, clean them well, clip the nails
close to the claws, and truss them, propping the heads up with skewers;
season inside with pepper and salt, and a bit of butter in each. Put a
quart of the liquor of boiled knuckle of veal, or calf's head or feet, into
a baking-dish, with a slice of lean ham, a blade of mace, a faggot of sweet
herbs, white pepper, lemon peel, and the pigeons. Bake them in a moderate
oven; when done, take them out {173}of the jelly, and set by to get cold,
but cover them to preserve their colour. Skim the fat off the jelly when
cold, then boil it up with the whites of 2 eggs beaten, to clear it, and
strain through a bag. Place the pigeons in a dish, the clear jelly round,
and over them, in rough heaps. Instead of baking, you may roast the
pigeons, and when cold, put a sprig of anything you like into their bills,
place them on some of the jelly, and heap more of it round.--_Pigeons in
Forcemeat_--Spread a savoury forcemeat in a dish, then in layers, very thin
slices of fat bacon, young pigeons cut up, sliced sweetbreads blanched, 2
palates boiled tender and cut up, mushrooms, asparagus tops, cockscombs and
the yolks of 4 eggs boiled hard; spread more forcemeat on the top, bake it,
and turn it out in a dish, with rich gravy poured round. _Pigeons en
Compote._--Parboil 2 large pigeons; take them out of the water, and squeeze
the juice of half a lemon over the breast of each. Have prepared in a
stew-pan ¼ lb. of butter, a table-spoonful of flour, and 2 tea-cupsful of
weak broth, a faggot of herbs, pepper, salt, a piece of ham and 8 mushrooms
in quarters: place the pigeons in this, and stew them slowly till tender.
Blanch 12 button onions, and a ¼ of an hour before they are done, put them
in the stew-pan. When done, take out the herbs and ham, skim the gravy,
pour it over the pigeons, in a dish, and the onions round.


_Ducks with Peas._

Season them with salt, pepper, cayenne and mixed spices. Lay some very thin
slices of bacon in a stew-pan, the ducks on them, more slices over them,
moisten with broth, or water, and stew them from half to a whole hour,
according to their age, and size. While they are stewing, parboil, and fry
in butter, or with bits of bacon, 2 or 3 pints of young green peas, pour
off the fat, put them in a stew-pan with a very little water or broth,
salt, pepper, sugar, a bunch of parsley, and some young onions. Take the
onions and parsley out from the peas, skim off the fat, and pour the gravy
over the ducks.--_Or_: half roast the ducks, and stew them in a pint of
good gravy, a little mint, and 3 sage leaves chopped small, cover close and
let it stew half an hour. Boil a pint of green peas as for eating, and put
them in, after you have thickened the {174}gravy: put the ducks into a
dish, and pour the gravy and peas over.


_Ducks to Ragout._

Prepare them the same as pigeons to stew, brown them all round, in the
frying-pan, then stew them in good broth, till tender. Season well with
pepper, salt, onions, sage, and what other herbs you like. Thicken the
sauce with browned flour and butter. Add a glass of Port, if you like, and
pour it over them.


_Ducks to Hash._

Cut them up, as at table, and if you have not any gravy suitable, prepare
some of the trimmings, 3 onions, a bunch of herbs, pepper, salt, sugar, and
spices. Strain, thicken it, and put in the pieces of duck; do not let the
gravy even simmer, but keep hot by the side of the fire until the meat is
heated through. Port wine or catsup, and cayenne may be added.--_Goose_ may
be hashed in this way, the legs scored, seasoned and broiled, laid on the
hash, or served by themselves.


_Wild Fowl to Ragout._

Half roast the bird, score the breast in 3 at each side, lightly strew
mixed spices and cayenne into each cut, squeeze lemon juice over the
spices. Stew it till tender, in good brown gravy, take it out and keep hot;
add 1 or 2 finely shred eschalots to the gravy, also a glass of Port wine,
and pour it over the wild fowl; any game may be re-warmed cut up, in good
gravy, boiling hot, thickened with bread-crumbs, and seasoned with salt,
spices to taste, wine, and lemon juice, or pickle.


_Snipes, Landrails or Woodcocks to Ragout._

Pick 2 or 3 very carefully, take out the trail, and lard them with slices
of fat and lean ham, dredge well with flour, and fry in butter of a light
brown: then stew in good gravy, flavoured with sherry or Madeira, Port or
claret, anchovy, oyster, and lemon pickle, and walnut catsup, 2
table-spoonsful of soy, cayenne and Gloucester sauce. Thicken with
{175}flour and butter. Just before serving add the juice of a lemon, and 1
table-spoonful of eschalot vinegar. Pound the trail with salt, lay it on
slices of buttered toast, before the fire, put it in a deep dish, serve the
ragout over.


_Partridge or Wild Duck Salmi._

Par-roast two partridges, which have been kept long _enough_, when cold,
skin and carve them, put them into a small saucepan with one eschalot, a
bit of lemon peel, a very little dressed ham in small bits, all the
trimmings of the birds, a large glass of Madeira, half a wine-glassful of
the best olive oil, pepper, salt, cayenne and the juice of a lemon. When
just heated through, dish the birds on a very hot dish, pour the strained
sauce over, and serve very hot, with grilled toasts. A little good sauce of
veal gravy, the trimmings, cayenne, and the juice of a bitter orange; then
put in the pieces of duck, and simmer till hot.


_Tripe to Fricassee._

Stew a piece of the thick part in well-seasoned veal stock. Cut it in
strips, shake it over the fire in white sauce, five minutes; squeeze the
juice of a lemon in the dish, pour the fricassee in, and garnish with
slices of lemon. If maigre, cream and yolk of egg will enrich it.


_Mock Brawn._

Having cleaned a hog's head, split it, take out the brains, cut off the
ears, and rub the head well with salt. Let it drain for twelve hours,
spread 2 oz. common salt and 1½ oz. bay salt over it, and the next day put
it into a pan, cover with cold water, and let it stand a day and night.
Then wash well, and boil it until the bone comes out; skin the head and
tongue, and cut both into bits. Put half of the skin into a pan, spread the
meat in layers, season with salt and pepper, press it down hard, and cover
with the other half of the skin. If too fat, add bits of lean pork. Make a
pickle of 2 oz. salt, a pint of vinegar, and a quart of the liquor; boil it
three times, and when cold pour it over.


{176}_Tripe in the Scotch Fashion._

First boiled and cold; then simmer it gently in milk and water, with salt,
and a piece of butter. When quite tender, take it out, and let it cool,
whilst you prepare a thick batter of three eggs, three spoonsful of flour
and some milk; add green onions or chives, parsley chopped fine, and
ginger. Cut the tripe in square cutlets or strips, dip them in the batter,
thick enough to form a thick crust, and fry in beef dripping.


_A Scotch Haggis._

Having cleaned a sheep's pluck, cut some places in the heart and liver, to
let out the blood, and parboil it all (during which the windpipe should
hang over the side of the pot in a bowl, that it may empty itself). Scum
the water, as the pluck boils: indeed, it ought to be changed. From half to
three quarters of an hour will be sufficient. Take it all out, cut off
about half of the liver, and put it back to boil longer. Trim away all
pieces of skin and black-looking parts from the other half of the liver,
the heart, and part of the lights, and mince all together, with 1 lb. of
beef suet and three or four onions. The other half of the liver having
boiled half an hour longer, put it in the air to get cold; then grate it to
the mince, and put more onions if you like, but slightly parboiled. Toast a
large tea-cupful of oatmeal flour; turn it often with a spoon, that it may
be dried equally of a light brown. Spread the mince on a board, and strew
the meal lightly over, with salt, pepper and cayenne. Have ready the haggis
bag (it is better to have two, for one may burst), put in the meat, with
broth to make a thick stew; the richer the broth the better; add a little
vinegar, but take care that the bag be not too full, for the meat must have
room to swell. When it begins to boil, prick the bag with a needle; boil it
slowly, three hours. The _head_ may be parboiled, minced and added.


_Curry of Chicken, Rabbit, or Veal._

_Read in the Chapter on Seasonings, the part relating to Curry
Powder._--Curry may be made of cold meat, and makes a variety with the
common mode of re-warming {177}meat, but not so good a _Curry_ as when made
of undressed meat. Cut the meat into pieces, as are served at table, and
brown them, in butter, with 1 or 2 sliced onions, over a quick fire. When
of a fine amber colour, put it and the onions in a saucepan, with some
veal, mutton broth, or stock of poultry and veal, or mutton trimmings; when
this has simmered long enough to cook the meat, put in the curry powder,
from 2 to 3 dessert-spoonsful, according to the quantity of meat, rubbed
and mixed very smooth with a spoonful of flour; stir this carefully in the
sauce, and simmer it five minutes; when done, put in the juice of a lemon,
and stir in by degrees a coffee-cupful of thick cream. A small part of the
meat and the livers of poultry may be pounded to thicken the sauce.--_Or_:
rub the powder into a thin paste, with cream, and rub each piece of meat
with it, when half cooked, then return it to the saucepan to finish
stewing.--_Another_--Fry 4 large sliced onions in 2 oz. of butter, and put
all into a stew-pan, with either a loin of lamb in steaks, a breast of veal
cut up, chicken, duck or rabbit jointed, or any thing undressed and _lean_,
with a pint of good stock, or more, according to the quantity of meat; stew
till tender: then take out the meat, and mix with the gravy about 2
dessert-spoonsful of turmeric powder, 6 pounded coriander seeds, cayenne to
taste, and 2 table-spoonsful of chili, or eschalot vinegar. Boil these till
thoroughly mixed and thick, and till the turmeric has lost the raw flavour;
then put in the meat, and give it one boil. Squeeze in the juice of a lemon
or a lime, and serve it _very hot_, in a deep dish, with plenty of gravy;
the rice in another.--Stewed onions, stewed cucumbers, or stewed celery,
_brown_, are good with curry. Serve pickles (melon mangoes most suitable),
and chili vinegar.--_Veal cutlets_ fried with onions in butter, and stewed
in gravy as above. _Lamb_, _Duck_, _Cow-heel_, and _Lobster_ make good
curries. Indeed tender _steaks_ and _mutton chops_ are also very good
dressed in curry.


_Curry Kebobbed._

Cut into bits, either chicken and tongue, or veal and ham; season with
eschalot, and fasten them in alternate slices on small skewers. Mix with
flour and butter 2 dessert-spoonsful of curry powder, or 1 of curry paste,
1 of {178}turmeric, and add by degrees ½ pint of good gravy. Fry the meat
with 3 onions, chopped in butter, and put all into a stew-pan with the
gravy, a tea-spoonful of mushroom powder, a wine-glassful of sherry or
Madeira, 2 table-spoonsful of lemon pickle, 2 of garlic or tarragon
vinegar, 1 of soy, 1 of walnut pickle, 1 of claret or Port, and a
tea-spoonful of cayenne vinegar.--Garnish with pickles.


_Curry of Fish._

Slices of _cod_, _turbot_, _brill_, and _halibut_, also _whitings,
haddocks_, and _codlings_, may all be curried. To be maigre, make the gravy
of well-seasoned fish stock; if not, of beef or veal broth, in which an
onion and carrot have been boiled; thicken with butter rubbed in browned
flour. Bone the fish, and cut them into neat pieces, rub with flour, and
fry them in butter, of a light brown. Drain them on a sieve. Mix very
smoothly a table-spoonful of curry powder (more or less according to the
quantity of fish), with a dessert-spoonful of flour, and mix it to a paste
with a little of the broth; add 2 onions, beaten in a mortar, and ¼ pint of
thick cream, mix this in the gravy, or roll the piece of fish in it, then
put them in the gravy, and stew them gently till tender; place them in a
dish, skim the fat off the sauce, and pour over the fish.--_Lobsters_,
_prawns_, _shrimps_, _oysters_, and _muscles_ are curried in the same way,
to form a dish by themselves, or with other fish.--Slices of _cold_ cod,
turbot, or brill are re-warmed in curry sauce.


_Beef or Ham Chutney._

To 1 oz. of grated meat, put 1 small onion chopped very fine, 1
tea-spoonful of grated ginger, and cayenne to taste; mix well together,
adding vinegar or lemon juice.


_Fish Chutney._

Parboil an onion, chop it very fine, and add to the fish, which should be
rather salted, and chopped fine, or grated; add cayenne and vinegar to
taste.


_Rice to Boil for Curry._

Pick, and soak it in water; then boil very quickly, with a {179}little salt
in the water, till tender, but not soft; drain, and lay it on a sieve
reversed, before the fire, to dry. Turn it with a fork, as lightly as
possible, but do not use a spoon. Serve it in a dish by itself; or round
the dish in light heaps, the curry in the middle. After it is boiled, some
cooks pour cold water over, and then set it before the fire to dry. Every
particle ought to be distinct, yet perfectly tender.--_Another_ way is, to
wash it in warm water, pick it carefully, pour boiling water over it in a
stew-pan, cover that close, and keep it by the side of the fire to be quite
hot. In an hour's time, pour off the water, set the stew-pan on the fire,
and stir briskly with a fork till the rice is dry, but not hard.--The
_Hindostanee_ mode is this: when well picked, soak it in cold water a
quarter of an hour; strain and put it into boiling water rather more than
enough to cover it; boil it ten minutes, skimming, if necessary; then add a
gill of milk for each lb. of rice, and boil it two or three minutes; take
it off the fire, strain, and put it back into the saucepan over a slow
fire; pour on it ½ oz. of butter melted, and a table-spoonful of the water
in which it was boiled; boil it slowly, another eight minutes, and it will
be ready.--In _Carolina_ they soak the rice two hours in salt and water,
wash it, put it in a bag of cheese cloth, then steam it twenty minutes, and
each grain will be separated.


_A Pillau._

Stew some rice in broth, or melted butter, till tender, season with salt,
pepper, and mace. Prepare a boiled fowl, or mutton chops, or veal cutlets,
dressed as you like; place them in a hot dish, and if fowl or veal, slices
of boiled bacon over; cover the meat with the rice, glaze it with beaten
egg, and place it before the fire, to brown. Garnish with hard-boiled egg
and slices of lemon.--_Or_: half roast a breast of veal, cut it in pieces,
season with pepper and salt (curry powder, if you like), and stew them in
gravy, or broth. Place a high border of rice round a dish, the veal in the
centre, thin slices of bacon on it, and cover with rice, glaze with yoke of
egg, and brown it. A turkey capon, or old fowl, larded, may be dressed in
this way; or cold poultry, or rabbit.


{180}_Sausages._

To the following receipts saltpetre may be added, to give a red hue.
Mushrooms and oysters give a nice flavour, but the sausages do not keep
well. Sausage meat may be cooked without skins: mould it into flat cakes,
moistening with yolk of egg, to bind, and then fry them. These cakes form a
pretty supper dish, garnished with curled parsley; also a garnish for roast
turkey or fowl. The ingredients must be _well mixed_. Herbs ought to be
used sparingly. _Pork Sausages._--Cut 3 lbs. of fat, and 3 lbs. of lean
pork, into thin slices, scrape each one, and throw away the skin; cut the
meat altogether, as small as possible, with 2 oz. salt, ½ oz. pepper, 6
tea-spoonsful of sage, chopped fine, 2 nutmegs, and 2 eggs. Boil a pint of
water, let it get cold, put in the crumb of a penny roll, to soak all
night; the next morning mix it with the other ingredients, and fill the
skins. _Oxford Sausages._--To 1 lb. pork, add 1 lb. veal, 12 oz. beef suet,
3 oz. grated bread, 3 eggs, well beaten, with mace, black pepper, salt, and
sweet herbs, these last chopped, then pounded in a mortar, before they are
put to the other ingredients. Anchovy is an improvement.--_Or_: leave out
the bread, herbs and suet, have plenty of fat to mix with the lean, mix it
with yolk of egg, into long thin cakes, and fry them. _Epping
Sausages._--Equal portions of young tender pork, and beef suet. Mince them
very finely, season with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, and a little chopped
sage. _Veal Sausages._--Equal quantities of lean veal and fat bacon, ½ a
handful of sage leaves, salt, pepper, and a few anchovies; beat all well in
a mortar. Roll this into cakes and fry them. _Bologna Sausages._--An equal
portion of beef, veal, lean pork and fat of bacon, minced and mixed well
together. Season with pepper, salt, and spices; fill a large skin, and boil
it an hour.


_Rissoles._

Any sort of cold meat, but veal, chicken, turkey and sweetbreads are best.
Mince the meat, season with salt and pepper, and stew it two minutes in
well-seasoned gravy; use no more than sufficient to moisten the mince. Let
it get cold, then roll into balls; dip these into egg beaten; then into
bread-crumbs, and fry them of a light {181}brown. When done, place them in
a dish, and pour good gravy into it.--_Or_: roll out thin puff paste,
spread some mince on it, and roll up, in what shape you please; fry of a
light brown. Rissoles may be made of cold turbot, shrimps, lobster and cod;
season with cayenne and thin melted butter; add the yolk of an egg to bind
it, then roll up in thin puff paste and fry them.


_A Bread Border._

Cut slices of firm stale bread, the thickness of the blade of a knife, into
any shape you like. Heat some top fat, or oil, in a saucepan, and put in
the sippets. Take some out before they are much browned, and let the rest
brown more. Drain well, fasten each one up with white paper, until you are
ready to use them; then pierce the end of an egg, let out a little of the
white, beat it up with a knife, and mix in a little flour. Heat a dish, dip
one side or point of each sippet in the egg, and stick them, one by one, on
the dish, in what form you please, and put the ragout or fricassee in the
centre.


_A Rice Border._

Soak the rice well, then stew it with salt and a blade of mace; to be
richer, use butter and yolk of egg. When just tender, and no more, place it
round the dish, as an edging; glaze with beaten yolk of egg, and set it in
the oven, or before the fire, a few minutes; then put in the curry, or
hash, &c. &c.


_Potatoe Border._

Mash them nicely; and form a neat border round the edge of the dish; mark
it and glaze with yolk of egg; brown it in the oven, and put the hash in
the centre.


_Omelets._

These with practice, are easily made, and are convenient to make out a
dinner or supper, especially in the country, where fresh eggs may almost
always be obtained. Omelets are so common in France, that the poorest inn
by the road {182}side will always furnish one. _Fresh_ eggs are essential;
the frying-pan should be round and small. The basis of most omelets is the
following: beat well the yolks of 6 and the whites of 3 eggs, put to them a
little salt and 2 table-spoonsful of water; put 1½ oz. fresh butter into
the frying-pan, and hold it over the fire; when the butter is hot, pour in
the eggs, shake the pan constantly, or keep stirring the eggs till they
become firm, then with a knife lift the edge all round, that the butter may
get under. If over done, it will be hard and dry. Gather the border up,
roll the omelet, and serve in a hot dish. This may be flavoured in various
ways: with grated lemon peel, nutmeg and mace; _or_ with the juice of a
Seville orange; _or_ with grated ham, tongue, _or_ veal kidney, pepper and
salt; _or_ finely chopped parsley, green onions, chives and herbs: _also_,
for maigre dinners, lobster meat, shrimps or the soft parts of oysters may
be pounded, seasoned and put into the eggs. A pounded anchovy, and, also,
mushroom powder, may be used to give flavour. Potatoe or wheaten flour,
about a table-spoonful, is sometimes added to the eggs.


_Eggs to Poach._

Boil some spring water, skim it, and put in a table-spoonful of vinegar.
Break off the top of the egg with a knife, and let it slip gently into the
boiling water, turning the shell over the egg, to gather in the white; this
is said to be a better way than to break the egg into a cup, then turn it
into the water. Let the saucepan stand by the side of the fire till the
white is set, then put it over the fire for two minutes. Take them up, with
a slice; trim them, and serve on toasts, spinach, brocoli, sorrel, slices
of broiled ham, or in the centre of a dish, with pork sausages round.


_Eggs to Fry._

Melt a piece of butter in a frying-pan, and slip the eggs in.--_Or_: lay
some thin slices of bacon in a dish before the fire, to toast; break the
eggs into tea-cups, and slip them gently into boiling lard, in a
frying-pan. When done, little more than two minutes, trim the white, and
lay each one on a slice of bacon. Make a sauce of weak broth, cayenne, made
mustard and vinegar.


{183}_Eggs to Butter._

Beat 12 eggs with 2 table-spoonsful of gravy; melt ¼ lb. butter, stir the
eggs and this together, in a bason with pepper, salt, and finely minced
onion, if liked. Pour this backwards and forwards from one bason to
another, then into a stew-pan on the fire, and stir constantly with a
wooden spoon, to prevent burning. When of a proper thickness, serve on
toast.


_Eggs to Fricassee._

Boil them hard, then cut the eggs in slices, pour a good white sauce over,
and serve with sippets round the dish.


_Eggs to Ragout._

Boil 8 eggs hard, take off the shell, cut them in quarters. Have ready a
pint of gravy, well seasoned and thickened, and pour it hot over the
eggs.--_Or_: melt some butter, thicken with flour, season with nutmeg and
mace, add a tea-cupful of cream, and pour hot over the eggs.


_Swiss Eggs._

Put a piece of butter the size of a small egg into a saucepan with ¼ lb.
grated cheese, a little nutmeg, parsley and chives finely chopped, and ½ a
glass of white wine. Stir it over a slow fire, till the cheese is melted;
then mix in 6 eggs well beaten, set it on the fire, and keep stirring till
done. Serve in the centre of a small dish, with toasted sippets round.


_Scotch Eggs._

Boil 4 eggs hard, as for salad, peel and dip them, first in beaten egg,
then in a forcemeat of grated ham, crumbs and spices. Fry in clarified
dripping, and serve in gravy. _Or_: in white sauce.


_Eggs à la Tripe._

Fry 4 sliced Spanish onions in butter, then dust in some flour, let it
catch to a light brown, put in a breakfast {184}cupful of hot milk, salt
and pepper, and let it reduce. Then add 12 hard-boiled eggs, some in halves
or quarters, others in slices, mix these gently in the sauce (a
tea-spoonful of made mustard if you like), and serve it.


_Eggs à la Maitre d'Hotel._

Fry onions as in the last receipt, add melted butter, with plenty of
parsley chopped in it, put in the eggs and serve quite hot.


_Fondu._

Mix an equal quantity of grated parmesan and Gloucester cheese, add double
the weight in beaten yolk of egg and cream, or melted butter; beat all well
together, add pepper and salt, then the whites of the eggs, which have been
beaten separately: stir them lightly in, and bake in deep tin dish, or in
paper cases, but fill only half full, as it will rise very much. Serve
quite hot.


_Ramakins._

Beat an equal portion of Gloucester and Cheshire cheese in a mortar, with
the crumb of a French roll, soaked in milk, and the yolks of 3 eggs; season
with salt and pepper, and when beaten to a paste, add the whites of 2 eggs,
and bake them in saucers, in the Dutch oven.--_Or_: roll paste out thin,
lay a thin slice of cheese on it, cover with paste, and bake like
puffs.--_Or_: beat ¼ lb. Cheshire cheese with 2 eggs and 2 oz. butter, and
form it into cakes to cover thin pieces of bread cut round with a
wine-glass. Lay these on a dish, not touching one another, put it on a
chaffing dish of coals, hold a salamander over till quite brown, and serve
hot.


_Asparagus and Eggs._

Beat 4 eggs well, with pepper and salt. Cut some dressed asparagus into
pieces the size of peas, and stir into the eggs. Melt 2 oz. of butter, in a
small stew-pan, pour in the mixture, stir till it thickens, and serve hot
on a toast.


{185}_Mushrooms and Eggs._

Slice and fry some large onions and a few button mushrooms; drain them
well; boil some eggs hard, and slice them; simmer in good gravy, or melted
butter, with pepper, salt, mustard, and eschalot vinegar.


_Devils._

These are made of legs, rumps, backs and gizzards of cold turkey, goose,
capon, and all kinds of game, venison, mutton kidney, the back bone of
mackerel well buttered, biscuits and rusks. The meat must be well scored
for the seasonings to find their way into it: salt, pepper, cayenne, curry,
mushroom, truffle, and anchovy powder, must be used according to taste.
Broil, over a quick strong fire, and serve them dry, if to eat with wine;
but they may be served with anchovy, or any _piquant_ sauce. Served in a
hot water dish.--_Biscuits_ are spread with butter, heated before the fire
and sprinkled with the seasonings.


_Anchovy Toasts._

Fry thin slices of bread, without the crust, in butter. Spread them with
pounded anchovies mixed with butter.


_Mock Caviare._

Bone 6 anchovies, pound them in a mortar with dried parsley, a clove of
garlic, cayenne, salt and salad oil, also lemon juice if you like. Serve on
toast or biscuit.


_Sandwiches._

The bread should be cut in thin slices with a sharp knife. Various things
are used. Slices of beef, ham, or tongue, or either of the last two grated
or scraped; also German or pork sausage, anchovies and shrimps; forcemeat,
and all kinds of potted meat. Some persons cut the meat in very little
pieces, and spread them over the bread; a mixture of ham and chicken in
this way makes delicate sandwiches: or ham and hard-boiled yolk of egg,
seasoned with salt, mustard, or curry powder, according to the meat. Cheese
sandwiches are made thus: 2 parts of grated parmesan or {186}Cheshire
cheese, one of butter, and a small portion of made mustard; pound them in a
mortar; cover slices of bread with a little, then thin slices of ham, or
any cured meat, cover with another slice of bread, and press it lightly
down; cut these sandwiches small.


_Maccaroni._ (_See to make the paste._)

Boil 2 oz. in good broth or gravy, till tender; add a small piece of
butter, and a little salt, give it a turn in the stew-pan, and put it in
the dish. Scrape parmesan, stilton, or any other dry rich cheese over, and
brown it before the fire.--_Or_: mix a pint of milk and a pint of water,
put in 2 oz. maccaroni, and simmer it slowly three hours, till the liquor
is wasted, and the maccaroni tender. Add grated cheese, salt, and cayenne,
mix well, and brown it before the fire. Maccaroni plain boiled, with a
little salt, till tender, and the gravy of roast or boiled meat poured over
it, is light and nourishing for an invalid. _Maccaroni in the Italian
way._--Mince about six livers of fowl or game with a very little celery,
young onion, and parsley (blanched), and stew them in good butter. Then
have six more livers cut small, not minced, and cooked in a little butter.
Boil 2 oz. of maccaroni in white gravy, season it, if necessary, add
powdered mace and cayenne; when done, put a layer of it in a deep hot dish,
then a layer of the mince, a layer of grated parmesan, then maccaroni, and
at top the chopped livers and more cheese, and enough of the gravy to
moisten it sufficiently; put it before the fire a quarter of an hour, or on
a slow stove: then brown it or not as you choose. _Another_
(_Italian_).--Boil it in water, pass it through a cullender, and having
ready prepared some tomata sauce (_which see_), lift a layer of the
maccaroni lightly with two forks out of the cullender into a deep vegetable
or hash dish, put a light sprinkling of grated cheese, then tomata sauce,
then maccaroni, and again tomata sauce, till the dish be full; if the
maccaroni be dry, add butter in little bits, and cayenne, if you think
proper. This is not browned. You may omit the cheese. _Maccaroni
Maigre._--Simmer 2 oz. maccaroni in a pint of milk and a pint of water
(mixed) three hours, and the liquor wasted: stir into it grated cheese,
salt, and cayenne, and brown it before the fire.


{187}_Toast and Cheese._

Toast a slice of stale bread half an inch thick, without the crust, butter
one side, and lay on slices of toasting cheese; put it into a
cheese-toaster before the fire; when done, lightly pepper and salt it, and
serve it hot.


_Welsh or Scotch Rabbit._

There are many receipts for this, and the following is a good one. Mix some
butter with grated cheese (unless that be so fat that the butter is not
required), add salt, pepper, made mustard, and a tea-cupful of brown stout
or Port wine; put this into a cheese-toaster, stir till the cheese be
dissolved, then brown, and serve it quite hot: toasts in a separate dish.




CHAPTER XV.

STUFFING AND FORCEMEAT.


WITH regard to the flavouring ingredients to be used in making these, no
precise instructions can be given, because what is disagreeable to one
palate is indispensable to another one, therefore, practice alone will
teach a cook how to succeed in the art of forcemeat making; and so many
flavouring condiments may be used that she may vary her forcemeats to
almost any variety of dishes, taking care that no one flavour predominates,
but the whole be so blended that the proper zest be given without too much
poignancy. Some choose the flavour of onions, thyme, and other herbs, to be
strong, while others dislike even a very little of either. Onion is milder
for being parboiled in two waters, and some think the flavour of eschalot
preferable.--Suet is indispensable; but if it cannot be obtained, beef
marrow, or good fresh butter, are the best substitutes.--Bread-crumbs are
better soaked in milk, than grated dry; in the former case their quantity
must be {188}judged by bulk, not by weight: the bread should be stale. The
French use _Panada_, and prepare it thus: Soak slices of bread in hot milk,
when moist press out the milk from the bread, and beat the latter up, with
a little rich broth or white sauce, and a lump of butter. Stir till
somewhat dry, add the yolks of 2 eggs, and pound the whole well together.
Sweetbreads make delicate forcemeat flavoured with tongue.

Stuffing and forcemeat require to be well pounded in a mortar, and
thoroughly mixed: it ought to be firm enough to cut with a knife, but not
heavy.

The following flavouring ingredients may all be used.

  Ham.
  Tongue.
  Eggs, boiled hard.
  Anchovy.
  Oysters.
  Pickled ditto.
  Lobsters.
  Mushrooms.
  Truffles.
  Morells.
  Salt.
  White pepper.
  Jamaica pepper.
  Nutmeg.
  Mace.
  Mushroom powder.
  Cayenne.
  Cloves.
  Curry powder.
  Onion.
  Parsley.
  Tarragon.
  Savory.
  Knotted marjoram.
  Thyme and lemon thyme.
  Basil.
  Sage.
  Lemon peel.
  Chervil.
  Garlic.
  Eschalot.


_The French preparation, called Godiveau._

Scrape 1 lb. of fillet of veal, mince 1½ lb. beef suet, chop scalded
parsley, young onions and mushrooms, enough to season the meat, add pepper,
salt, allspice, and mace; pound the whole well, mixing in 3 raw eggs at
different times, with a little water.


_Another, called Gratin._

½ lb. fillet of veal (if for fowl the livers parboiled), veal udder skinned
and parboiled, and panada, equal parts of each; pepper, salt, cayenne, and
fine herbs; with 3 eggs.


{189}_Forcemeat for Veal, Turkey, Fowls, or Rabbits._

Scrape fine 2 oz. of lean undressed veal, the same of ham, beef or veal
suet, and bread-crumbs; add parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg or mace;
pound well, and add the yolk of an egg to bind it. Add, if you like, a
little onion, parboiled and chopped; sweet herbs, according to taste. For
_boiled_ turkey, the soft parts of 12 oysters, or an anchovy may be
added.--_Room should be given for stuffing to swell._


_Plain stuffing for Veal, Poultry, or Fish._

Chop ½ lb. of beef or veal suet, mix it with 4 oz. bread-crumbs, chopped
parsley, thyme, marjoram, a bay leaf, salt and pepper, and 3 eggs.


_Stuffing for Goose or Duck._

Mix together 4 oz. bread-crumbs, 2 oz. onion, parboiled, ½ oz. sage leaves,
pepper and salt.--_Or_: the liver, some bread-crumbs, butter the size of a
walnut, a sage leaf or two, a sprig of lemon thyme, pepper and salt.


_For Hare._

About 2 oz. beef suet, 1 drachm of parsley leaves, the same of marjoram,
lemon thyme, lemon peel, ½ a drachm of eschalot, and nutmeg, pepper, and
salt; (an anchovy, and cayenne if you choose), mix with an egg; it must be
a stiff stuffing; add the liver, parboiled and minced.


_Forcemeat Balls for Made Dishes._

Pound a piece of veal with an equal quantity of udder, or a third part the
quantity of butter; moisten bread-crumbs with milk; (or soak a piece of
bread in warm milk), then mix in a little chopped parsley and eschalot,
pound it together to a smooth paste; rub through a sieve, and when cold mix
it with the veal and udder, and the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs; season
with salt, pepper, curry powder or cayenne, add the raw yolks of two eggs,
and mix well together in a mortar. This does for small balls to fry, or to
boil in soup.


{190}_Egg Balls._

Boil four eggs ten minutes and put them into cold water; when quite cold,
pound the yolks in a mortar with a raw yolk, a tea-spoonful of flour,
chopped parsley, salt, black pepper and cayenne; roll into small balls, and
boil them two minutes.


_Curry Balls._

Panada, hard-boiled yolk of egg, and fresh butter, pounded well, and
seasoned with curry powder. Boil two minutes.


_Stuffing for a Pike._

Grated bread-crumbs, herbs to taste, 2 oz. beef suet, salt, pepper, mace, ½
pint of cream and the yolks of 4 eggs; mix well, and stir over the fire
till it thickens.


_Fish Forcemeats, for Fish Soup, Stews, or Pies._

Put about 2 oz. of either turbot, sole, lobster, shrimps or oysters, free
from skin, into a mortar with 2 oz. fresh butter, 1 oz. bread-crumbs, the
yolks of 2 eggs boiled hard, a little eschalot, grated lemon peel, and
parsley, minced fine; season with salt and cayenne. Break in the yolk and
white of one egg, mix well, and add an anchovy pounded.--_Another_: beat
the meat and the soft parts of a middling sized lobster, ½ an anchovy, a
large piece of boiled celery, the yolk of a hard egg, a little cayenne,
mace, salt, white pepper, 2 table-spoonsful of crumbs or panada, 1 of
oyster liquor, 1 of mushroom catsup, 2 oz. warmed butter, and 2 eggs well
beaten: make into balls, and fry of a fine brown.




{191}CHAPTER XVI.

GRAVIES AND SAUCES.


READ the directions for making stock for soup.--A cook ought never to be
without stock for gravy, as she may preserve all bones and trimmings of
meat, poultry and game; also liquor in which meat (unsalted), and poultry
have been boiled, and thus seldom buy meat expressly for the purpose.

Sauces in which cream and eggs or acids are mixed, must be constantly
stirred to prevent their curdling. Cream heated first, then stirred in by
degrees.--The greatest nicety should be observed in thickening gravy, both
for look and taste. The common method is to rub flour in butter; but the
French _roux_ is better.

The following is a list of store sauces, to keep in the house, to flavour
hashes and stews. A bottle of each lasts some time, and the cost not very
great.--The basis of all sauces for made dishes of _fish_ is soy and chili
vinegar.--A little practice and _great attention_ will enable a cook to use
these judiciously, to suit the dish, and the taste of her employers. Some
like a combination of flavours, others prefer one, or two at most.

  Worcester Sauce.
  Camp Sauce.
  Gloucester Sauce.
  Harvey's Sauce.
  Oude Sauce.
  Reading Sauce.
  Tomata Sauce.
  Lopresti's Sauce.
  Essence of Shrimps.
  Oyster Catsup.
  Walnut Catsup.
  Mushroom Catsup.
  Chili Vinegar.
  Universal Sauce.
  Essence of Anchovy.
  Essence of Lobster.
  Eschalot Vinegar.
  Tarragon Vinegar.
  Lemon Pickle.

Gravy ought to be perfectly clear and free from fat; flavoured, to suit the
dish it is intended for; and always served hot; if in a tureen, that ought
to be covered.

{192}Some very good cooks use _brandy_ in making sauces, particularly for
ragouts; _sugar_ also.


_White Roux._

Melt slowly 1 lb. of good butter in a little water, then stir in 1 lb. of
fine, well dried flour; stir till as thick as paste, then simmer it a
quarter of an hour, stirring all the time, or it will burn. It will keep
two or three days. The common mode of browning soup and gravy with burnt
sugar is not so good as brown flour, but the browning is prepared thus: put
¼ lb. of fresh butter with ½ lb. of lump sugar into a saucepan, shake it
often, and when of a clear brown bottle it for use.


_To Brown Flour._

Spread flour on a plate, set it in the oven, or before the fire, and turn
often, that it may brown equally, and any shade you like. Put it by in a
jar for use.


_Brown Roux._

Melt butter very slowly, and stir in browned flour; it will not require so
long as to cook white _roux_, because the flour has been browned. Will keep
two or three days. When you use either of these _Roux_, mix the quantity
you wish (a table-spoonful for a tureen of soup), with a little of the soup
or gravy quite smooth, then use it.

The basis of most English sauces is melted butter, yet English cooks do not
excel in making it, and the general fault is deficiency of butter.


_To Melt Butter, the French Sauce Blanche._

Break ¼ lb. of good butter in small pieces, into a saucepan, with 3
table-spoonsful of sweet cream, or milk, milk and water, or water alone;
dredge fine dried flour over, hold the saucepan over the fire, toss it
quickly round (always one way) while the butter melts, and becomes as thick
as very thick cream; let it just boil, turn the saucepan quickly, and it is
done.

Butter for oysters, shrimps, lobsters, eggs, or any {193}thickening
ingredient, should be made rather thin, and if to be rich, a great
proportion of cream. If for catsup or any flavouring ingredient, melt the
butter with water only, and stir the ingredients in, by degrees, just
before you serve it.


_To Brown Butter._

Toss a lump of butter in a frying-pan, over the fire, till it becomes
brown. Skim, then dredge browned flour over, stir round with a spoon till
it boils; it ought to be quite smooth. This, adding cayenne, and some
flavouring vinegar, is a good fish sauce.


_Parsley and Butter, or Maitre d'Hotel Sauce._

Tie the parsley in a bunch, and boil it in salt and water, 5 or 10 minutes,
according to its age, drain it, cut off the stalks, mince very fine, and
stir it into melted butter.

_Fennel_, _basil_, _burnet_, _cress_, _chervil_, and _tarragon_ the same.
When you have not the fresh vegetable, boil celery or parsley seeds in the
water to be used with the butter.


_Ham Extract._

Cut away all skin and the fat of an undressed ham; cut out the bone, and
put it into a large saucepan, with 3 quarts of water, 2 large carrots, 3
onions (2 in slices), a bunch of sweet basil and parsley, 3 cloves, and a
table-spoonful of mushroom powder: let this simmer by the fire two hours;
stirring up the vegetables from time to time; then take out the bone, put
in the meat, and stew it 3 hours, or till the liquor, when strained and
cold, is a jelly. A table-spoonful will flavour a tureenful of soup, and
half the quantity in melted butter, is good sauce for poultry and game.
Also good in veal and chicken pie.


_To Draw Plain Gravy._

Notch and flour 1 lb. of gravy beef, or an ox melt, and put it in 1½ pint
cold water; scum carefully, and stew gently, till all the juice is
extracted from the meat, and about half an hour before it is done, put in a
piece of crust of bread. When done, strain and clear it from the {194}fat,
and pour it again into a saucepan to thicken, with butter rolled in flour;
season with salt, black or cayenne pepper.


_Beef Gravy._

This, the basis of many rich sauces, is made of lean juicy meat. Cut 4 lbs.
into thin slices, and score them; place a slice of streaked bacon, or the
knuckle of a ham, at the bottom of a stew-pan, the beef upon it, and bits
of butter; add half a large carrot, 3 onions, half an eschalot, and 3 heads
of celery, all cut up; also a bunch of sweet herbs. Brown it over the fire,
shaking the saucepan occasionally; in half an hour the juices will be
drawn; then put in 2 quarts of boiling water, scum well, and when that is
no longer necessary, wipe the edges of the saucepan and lid, and cover
close. Simmer 3 hours, by the side of the fire; let it stand to settle,
then strain it into an earthen vessel, and put it by in a cool place. For
hare, add an anchovy.


_Savoury Gravy._

Line a stew-pan with thin slices of ham or bacon, and add 3 lbs. of fillet
of veal, or 2 of beef, in slices, a carrot and onion; moisten this with a
tea-cupful of broth. The juices will form a glaze. Take the meat out on a
dish, pick it all over, put a little more broth, or boiling water, add
young onions, parsley, and sweet herbs to taste, also celery, cayenne, a
bay leaf, mushrooms, and garlic, if you like; and after it has been
scummed, simmer very gently. Strain, and then stand it in a cool place.
This gravy may be enriched and flavoured at the cook's discretion. Wine,
flavoured vinegar, truffles, morells, curry powder, tarragon, anchovy,
pickled mushrooms and oysters, may be used to suit the dish it is required
for.--Some cooks use more carrots and onions than I have directed.


_White Gravy Sauce._

Part of a knuckle of veal, and some gravy beef. (The quantity will depend
upon the degree of richness required.) Cut it in pieces, and put it in a
stew-pan, with any {195}trimmings of meat or poultry. Moisten with broth or
water, and add a carrot, 3 onions, parsley, thyme, 2 bay leaves, and
chopped mushrooms, if convenient. Let the meat heat through, without
burning, and prick it, to let the juices flow. When the knuckle is
sufficiently cooked for the table, take it out, let the stew-pan stand by
the fire a few minutes, skim the fat off the sauce, strain, and boil it
again till reduced to the quantity you require; thicken it with white
_roux_ (it can be thinned afterwards), boil it again, and skim if needful;
keep stirring, lifting it often in a spoon and letting it fall, to make it
smooth and fine. Sweet thick cream is a nice substitute for white _roux_,
in this sauce.--_Or_: put 2 lbs. of lean gristly veal, and ¼ lb. lean bacon
or ham, in little bits, into a stew-pan, in which some butter has been
melted, let the gravy flow, but do not brown the meat. Mix 2
table-spoonsful of potatoe or rice flour smooth, with a little water, put
it into a stew-pan, with a quart or 3 pints of veal broth, water, or milk;
also an onion, a bunch of parsley and lemon thyme, a bay leaf, a piece of
lemon peel and a tea-spoonful of white peppercorns; stew it very slowly an
hour and three quarters, then stand a few minutes to settle, strain it, add
a tea-cupful of cream, boil it up, and strain again.--A nice sauce for
boiled fowls is made of thin veal broth and milk, seasoned as above, and
thickened with the yolk of an egg stirred in, just before you serve
it.--Mushrooms may be put in this sauce.--_Another_ very good sauce for
boiled fowls, veal, rabbits, and fricassees, is as follows: to ½ pint of
the liquor in which either of these have been boiled, an onion sliced, a
small bunch of parsley, lemon thyme and basil, a little pounded mace,
nutmeg, and a few white peppercorns. Strain, boil it again, with a piece of
butter rolled in flour, and at the last a little cream. If for boiled
fowls, put the peel of a lemon in this, and add the juice just at the last.


_Gravy without Meat._

Slice a large onion, flour, and fry it in butter; put it into a saucepan
with a breakfast-cupful of good fresh beer, the same of water, a few
peppercorns, salt, grated lemon peel, 2 cloves, and a table-spoonful of
catsup. Simmer {196}nearly half an hour, then strain it. An anchovy may be
added.


_Gravy that will keep a Week._

Put some lean beef, in thin slices, into a stew-pan with butter, and what
herbs and roots you like, strewed over: cover close, and set it over a slow
fire. When the gravy is drawn, keep shaking the stew-pan backwards and
forwards several minutes, that it may dry up again, then put in as much
water as you require, let it simmer an hour and a half. Keep it in a cool
place. A thin slice of lean ham may be added.


_Jelly for Cold Meat_

May be made of the knuckle of a leg or shoulder of veal, or a piece of the
scrag, and shanks of mutton, or a cow heel. Put the meat, a slice of lean
ham or bacon, some herbs, 2 blades of mace, 2 onions, a tea-spoonful of
Jamaica peppers bruised, the same of black pepper, and a piece of lemon
peel, into a stew-pan; cover with about 3 pints of water, and let it boil;
scum well, and let it simmer till the liquor is strong: strain it, and when
nearly cold take off all the fat. Put it rough round cold poultry or veal.
Eaten with cold meat pies.


_Savoury Gravy for Venison._

Make a pint of good gravy, of the trimmings of venison, and mutton shanks;
the meat should be browned first in the frying-pan, then stewed slowly, in
water, to make the quantity required; scum carefully and strain it when
done: add salt, pepper, walnut pickle, and a wine-glass of Port or claret.


_Mutton Gravy, for Venison or Hare._

Broil a scrag of mutton, in pieces, rather brown; put them into a stew-pan,
with a quart of boiling water; cover close, and simmer gently an hour:
uncover the stew-pan, and let it reduce to ¾ pint; pour it through a hair
sieve, take the fat off, add a little salt, and serve it quite hot.


{197}_Orange Gravy Sauce, for Game and Wild Fowl._

Put into a pint of clear good veal broth, an onion, twelve leaves of basil,
a large piece of orange or lemon peel, and boil it slowly ten minutes; then
strain, and put it back into the saucepan, with the juice of a Seville
orange or a lemon, ½ a tea-spoonful of salt, the same of pepper, and a
wine-glass of Port. Serve quite hot. Add cayenne, unless it be the practice
to introduce it into cuts in the breast of the birds, at table.


_Relishing Sauce for Goose, Duck, or Pork._

Steep 2 oz. of fresh sage leaves, 1 oz. lemon peel, 1 oz. minced eschalot,
the same of salt, ½ a drachm of cayenne and of citric acid, in a pint of
claret, a fortnight; shake it well every day. Let it stand 24 hours, to
settle, then strain into a clean bottle, and cork it close. A
table-spoonful to ¼ pint gravy or melted butter, heat it up, and serve
quite hot.--_Another_, to make at once: stir a tea-spoonful of mustard, ½
tea-spoonful of salt, a little cayenne, and a wine-glass of Port or claret,
into a ¼ pint of good melted butter or gravy.--_Or_: the mixture may be
heated by itself and poured into the goose, by a slit made in the apron,
just before you serve it.


_Sauce Robert, for Broils of every kind._

Put 1 oz. butter into a saucepan, with half a large onion, minced very
fine; shake the saucepan frequently, or stir the butter with a wooden
spoon, till the onion be of a light brown. Rub a table-spoonful of browned
flour smooth, into a little broth or water, add salt and pepper, a
table-spoonful of Port wine, and of mushroom catsup, and put this with ½
pint more of broth or water into the saucepan with the onions; boil it, add
a tea-spoonful of made mustard, the juice of ½ a lemon, and two
tea-spoonsful of any flavouring vinegar you like. _Another Grill Sauce_ is:
To ½ pint of clear drawn gravy, add 1 oz. butter, rubbed smooth in flour, a
table-spoonful of mushroom catsup, 2 tea-spoonsful of lemon juice, 1½
tea-spoonful of made mustard, the same of capers, 1 tea-spoonful of essence
of cayenne, ½ a one of black peppers, and 1 of chili vinegar; simmer it a
{198}few minutes, pour some over the grill, and serve the rest in a tureen.


_Sauce for Turkey or Fowl._

Season veal gravy with pepper and salt, the juice of a Seville orange and a
lemon, 2 wine-glassfuls of Port wine, and serve it in a sauce tureen.


_Liver Sauce for Fowl._

Parboil the liver, and mince it fine; pare a lemon thin, take off the white
part, and cut the lemon in small bits, picking out the seeds; mince a
quarter part of the peel very fine, and put it with the lemon, the minced
liver, and a little salt, to ½ pint of melted butter. Heat it over a gentle
fire, but if it boil it will become oily. Parsley may be chopped with the
liver.--_Or_: chop the parboiled liver, and stir into thin melted butter,
boil it up, and then thicken it with the yolk of an egg; add a tea-spoonful
of made mustard, and the same of walnut catsup.


_Egg Sauce for Poultry and Salt Fish._

Boil 4 eggs hard, dip in cold water, and roll them under your hand, that
the shell may come off easily; chop the whites and yolks separately, stir
first the whites, then the yolks, into boiling hot melted butter. Serve
directly.


_Mushroom Sauce._

Wash and pick, a bason full of small button mushrooms, take off the thick
skin, and stew them in veal broth, with pepper, cayenne, salt, mace, and
nutmeg, 3 lumps of sugar, also enough butter rolled in flour, or arrow
root, to thicken the sauce. Stew gently, till tender, stirring
occasionally. When done, keep the sauce hot, and pour it over fowls, veal,
or rabbit.--_Or_: stew the mushrooms in thin cream, instead of broth, and
thicken as above. Pickled mushrooms, may be fried to make this sauce,
instead of fresh ones.


_Celery Sauce, for Boiled Turkey and Fowls._

Cut a young head of celery into slices of 1½ inch long, {199}season with
salt, a very little white pepper, nutmeg and mace, and then simmer till the
celery be quite tender, in weak broth, or water. Thicken with butter rolled
in white flour. The juice of a lemon may be added, when the sauce is ready.
Pour it over the fowls, or serve in a tureen. This may be made brown, by
thickening with browned flour, and adding a glass of red wine.


_Rimolade, for Cold Turkey or Fowl._

Chop an eschalot very fine with 5 sprigs of parsley; beat 2 yolks of egg,
and mix 3 table-spoonsful of olive oil with them, beat the mixture till
quite thick, then stir in the eschalot and parsley with a tea-spoonful of
good vinegar, a salt-spoonful of salt and the same of cayenne.


_Tomata Sauce._

Put the tomatas into a jar, and place it in a cool oven. When soft, take
off the skins, pick out the seeds, beat up the pulp, with a capsicum, a
clove of garlic, a very little ginger, cayenne, white pepper, salt and
vinegar; rub it through a sieve, and simmer it, a very few minutes. A
little beet root juice will improve the colour.--_Or_: stew them in weak
broth or water with salt and pepper, when done, pass them through a rather
wide sieve, add butter, stir well and serve it hot.--Italians, who use
tomatas a great deal, cut them open, squeeze them gently to get rid of
their liquor, and just rinse them in cold water, before they dress them.


_Apple Sauce._

Pare, core, and slice 5 large apples, and boil them gently, in a saucepan,
with a very little water, to keep them from burning; add lemon peel to
taste. When they are soft, pour off the water, and beat them up, with a
small bit of butter and some sugar. Some add a table-spoonful of brandy.


_Gooseberry Sauce._

Cut off the tops and tails of a breakfast-cupful of gooseberries; scald
them, till tender, then stir them into melted {200}butter.--_Or_: mash the
gooseberries after they are scalded, sweeten to taste, and serve, without
butter.


_Cucumber Sauce._

Pare the cucumbers, slice, and cut them in small pieces, stew them in thin
broth or melted butter, till tender, then press them through a sieve into
melted butter, stir and beat it up; season with mace, nutmeg, lemon peel,
and finely grated ham. A dish of _stewed_ cucumbers answers the purpose.


_Onion Sauce._

Peel 12 onions, and lay them in salt and water a few minutes, to prevent
their becoming black. Boil them in plenty of water, changing it once. When
done, chop fine, and rub them with a wooden spoon, through a sieve; stir
this pulp into thin melted butter, or cream, and heat it up. The onions may
be roasted, then pulped, in place of being boiled. A very little mace, or
nutmeg, may be added to onion sauce having cream in it. _Brown onion sauce_
is made by frying, in butter, some sliced Spanish onions; simmer them in
brown gravy, or broth, over a slow fire, add salt, pepper, cayenne, and a
piece of butter, rolled in browned flour. Skim the sauce, add ½ a glass of
Port or claret, the same of mushroom catsup, or a dessert-spoonful of
walnut pickle, or eschalot vinegar. To make the sauce milder, boil a turnip
with the onions.


_Eschalot Sauce._

Chop enough eschalot to fill a dessert-spoon, and scald it in hot water,
over the fire; drain, and put it into ½ pint of good gravy or melted
butter, add salt and pepper, and when done, a large spoonful of
vinegar.--_Or_: stew the eschalots in a little of the liquor of boiled
mutton, thicken with butter rolled in flour, add a spoonful of vinegar, and
this is good sauce for the mutton.


_Sauce Partout._

Take 1 pint of walnut pickle liquor, the same of {201}catsup, ½ pint of
white wine, ½ lb. anchovies unwashed, 2 cloves of garlic, one stick of
horse-radish, a faggot of sweet herbs, the rind of a lemon, and cayenne to
cover a sixpence. Boil together till the anchovies are dissolved. Strain
and bottle it for use.


_Chetna Sauce._

Pour heated vinegar over 12 eschalots, let it stand twelve hours, then
strain and add ½ pint of walnut, and ½ pint of mushroom catsup, 2
wine-glassfuls of soy, a tea-spoonful of cayenne, ½ a tea-spoonful of chili
vinegar: boil five minutes, then bottle and rosin it.


_Carrier Sauce, for Mutton._

Boil some chopped eschalots in gravy, seasoned with salt and pepper, and
flavoured with vinegar.


_Horse-radish Sauce._

Scrape fine, or grate, a tea-cupful of horse-radish, add salt, and a little
cupful of bread-crumbs, stew this in white gravy, and add a little
vinegar.--This may be made brown by using browned gravy; a tea-spoonful of
made mustard is an improvement. Vinegar may be used alone, instead of
gravy.--_Or_: to 3 table-spoonsful of cream, put 2 table-spoonsful vinegar,
1 tea-spoonful made mustard, a little salt, and grated horse-radish.


_Mint Sauce._

Wash and pick some young mint, and mince the leaves very fine; mix them
with powdered sugar, put these into the sauce tureen, and pour good white
vinegar over.


_Sauce for Cold Meat._

Chop some eschalots, parsley, and mint, and put to them an equal portion of
olive oil, vinegar, and a little salt.--_Another_: chopped parsley,
vinegar, oil, and a tea-spoonful of made mustard.--You may add to either of
these an equal portion of tarragon and chervil.


{202}_Coratch Sauce._

Half a clove, or less, according to taste, of garlic pounded, a large
tea-spoonful of soy, the same of walnut pickle, a little cayenne, and good
vinegar.


_Miser's Sauce._

Chop 2 onions, and mix them with pepper, salt, vinegar, and melted butter.


_Poor Man's Sauce._

Mince parsley and a few eschalots, and stew them in broth or water, with a
few peppercorns; add a little vinegar when done. Good with broils of
poultry and game.


_Sauce for Roast Beef._

Mix 1½ table-spoonful of grated horse-radish with a dessert-spoonful of
made mustard, the same of brown sugar; add vinegar to make it as thin as
mustard.


_Lemon Sauce._

Pare a lemon, and take off all the white part; cut the lemon in thick
slices, take out the seeds, and cut the slices into small pieces; mix them
by degrees into melted butter, and stir it, that the butter may not oil.


_Caper Sauce._

Mince 1 table-spoonful of capers very fine, and another one not so fine,
put a spoonful of good vinegar to them, and mix all into ½ pint of melted
butter, or gravy. Stir it well or it may oil.--This is a good sauce for
fish, with a little of the essence of anchovies.--A very good substitute
for capers, is made by chopping pickled gherkins or nasturtiums or radish
pods: a little lemon juice will improve these.--Walnut sauce made in the
same way, is good with boiled mutton.--Some persons deem it better not to
mince capers, but have them whole.


{203}_Bread Sauce._

Put a small tea-cupful of grated bread-crumbs into a small saucepan, and
sufficient to moisten them of the liquor in which fresh meat, or poultry,
has been boiled; let it soak, then add a small onion (parboiled), salt,
mace, and six or eight peppercorns. Beat it up from time to time, and when
the bread is smooth and stiff, take out the onions and peppercorns, and put
to the sauce two table-spoonsful of cream. Some persons add cayenne, a
_little_.


_Rice Sauce._

By some preferred to bread sauce. Wash and pick 2 oz. rice, and stew it in
milk, with a parboiled onion, salt, and 6 peppercorns. When tender, take
out the onion and peppercorns, rub the rice through a cullender, and heat
in milk, cream, or melted butter.


_Sweet Sauce._

Melt some white, or red currant jelly, with a glass or two of red, or white
wine. _Or_: send the jelly to table in glasses, or glass dishes.


_Sharp Sauce._

Melt ¼ lb. of loaf sugar-candy in ½ pint of champagne vinegar; take off the
skim as the sugar dissolves.


_Store Sauces for Ragouts, &c., &c._

To ¼ pint good mushroom catsup, add the same of walnut catsup, of eschalot
and basil wine, and soy, 1 oz. of slices of lemon peel, 1 drachm of
concrete of lemon, a wine-glassful of essence of anchovies, 1 drachm of the
best cayenne, and 2 wine-glassfuls of tarragon or eschalot vinegar. Let
these infuse ten days, then strain and bottle for use: 2 table-spoonsful
will flavour a pint of gravy. _Another, for Roast Meat, Steaks, or
Chops._--Take ½ pint of mushroom or oyster catsup, the same of walnut
pickle, add ½ oz. Jamaica pepper in powder, the same of scraped
horse-radish and of minced eschalot, and 4 grains cayenne. Infuse these
{204}ten days, strain and bottle for use. A table-spoonful or two,
according to the quantity of gravy. Melted butter flavoured with this, to
pour over steaks or chops.


_Sauce for Tench._

To ½ a tea-cupful of gravy an equal quantity of white wine, 2 anchovies, 2
eschalots and a small piece of horse-radish: simmer till the anchovies are
dissolved, then strain and thicken it: add a tea-cupful of cream, also a
little lemon juice.


_A Good Store Sauce for Fish, Stews, &c._

To 1 pint of sherry add ½ pint of walnut pickle, ¼ pint of soy, ¼ pint of
lemon pickle, 1 pint of white wine vinegar, a wine-glassful of eschalot and
the same of chili vinegar, ¾ pint of essence of anchovy, the peel of 2 and
the juice of 1 lemon, 10 eschalots, 10 blades of mace, 2 nutmegs, 12 black
and 12 white peppers, some cayenne, and mushroom powder: boil ten minutes,
and when cold strain and bottle it. Good with all fried fish, and with
salmon.


_An excellent Fish Sauce._

Chop 6 cloves of eschalot, 4 of garlic, a handful of horse-radish and 24
anchovies; put them into 1 pint of white, and 1 pint of Port wine, also 2
wine-glassfuls of soy, the same of walnut catsup, and 1 wine-glassful of
chili vinegar. Boil well, strain, and when cold, bottle and rosin it.


_A Plain Fish Sauce._

Boil in ¼ pint water 3 anchovies, 2 onions, and a faggot of herbs, all
chopped, a little horse-radish (scraped), and a large spoonful of vinegar.
Boil till the anchovies are dissolved, then strain it, and mix what
proportion you like with melted butter, or send it to table in a cruet.


_Lobster Sauce._

A hen lobster is best. Pound the coral and spawn with a bit of butter, and
rub it through a coarse sieve into melted {205}butter, mix smooth, and
season with cayenne; then add the meat of the tail, cut in very small dice,
and let the sauce heat up, but not boil. A little essence of anchovy, or
catsup, and spices may be added; also cream, heated first. _Crab sauce_ the
same way.


_Oyster Sauce._

Do not open them till ready to make the sauce, then save all the liquor;
put it and the oysters into a small saucepan, and scald them; lift them out
on a sieve with a spoon with holes in it; let the liquor settle, and pour
all but the sediment into good melted butter; beard the oysters, put them
into a saucepan, and pour the butter over them; let it nearly boil, then
stand by the side of the fire till they are tender, for boiling makes them
hard. When ready, stir in a little cream.--A very little mace, lemon peel,
and a tea-spoonful of oyster catsup, or essence of anchovy, may be added.


_Anchovy Sauce._

Bone and pound 3 anchovies, with a piece of butter, and stir into thick
melted butter. Add cayenne, soy, essence of anchovy, mustard, horse-radish
or vinegar.


_Shrimp and Cockle Sauce._

Shell and wash carefully, put them into thick melted butter, let it boil,
and then stand covered two minutes.


_Roe Sauce._

Boil 2 or 3 soft roes, take off all the filaments which hang about them,
bruise in a mortar with the yolk of an egg, and stir them in thin parsley,
or fennel, and butter; add pepper, salt, and a small spoonful of walnut
pickle.


_Dutch Fish Sauce._

Boil equal quantities of water and vinegar, season with pepper and salt,
and thicken with beaten yolk of egg; stir the egg in, but do not boil, or
it will curdle.


{206}_Sauce for Devils._

Thicken some good gravy (of either fish or meat stock,) with browned flour,
till it is a batter, add a dessert-spoonful of walnut catsup, a
tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies, the same of made mustard, 12 capers
and a bit of eschalot, all finely minced, a tea-spoonful of grated lemon
peel, and a little cayenne. Simmer for a minute, pour a little of it over
the broil, and serve the rest in a tureen.




CHAPTER XVII.

SEASONINGS.


EXCEPT in the matter of plain roasting, boiling, or baking, the test of
good cooking is the taste and skill displayed in giving _flavour_ to the
composition. Care is not all that is required here; there needs study, and
practice. No rules can be given, except to avoid over flavouring, and to
suit the ingredients, as much as possible, to the compound which is to be
flavoured. In order to be able always to do this, some forethought is
requisite on the part of the housekeeper, who will save herself much
vexation and trouble by keeping a small assortment of seasonings always
ready for use in her _Store Room_; and by taking some little pains, to have
a sufficient _variety_.

Many prefer cayenne made from English chilies to any other: they are in
season in September and October; cut off the stalks, and lay them before
the fire to dry for twelve hours. When dry, pound them in a mortar with one
fourth their weight in salt, till they are as fine as possible, and put the
mixture into a close stopped bottle.

Before spices are rubbed into meat, they should be pounded, and well mixed.
For the convenience of the cook they may be kept prepared in the following
manner.


{207}_Kitchen Pepper._

Fill little square bottles with an equal quantity of finely ground or
pounded ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Keep
these corked tight, and when "kitchen pepper" is required, take the proper
proportion of each, and mix them, with common salt. For _white sauces_, use
white pepper, nutmeg, mace, lemon peel (dried), ginger and cayenne; pounded
or grated, and kept in bottles.


_Savoury Powder._

1 oz. of salt, ½ oz. mustard, ¼ oz. allspice, ¼ oz. ginger, ¼ oz. nutmeg, ½
oz. black pepper, ½ oz. lemon peel, and 2 drachms cayenne; grate and pound
well together, pass the mixture through a fine sieve and bottle it.--Some
leave out allspice and ginger, substituting mace and cloves.


_Curry Powder._

Take 12 oz. of coriander seeds, 2 oz. cummin seeds, 1 oz. fenugreek seeds,
1 oz. ginger, 1 oz. black pepper, 4 oz. cayenne, and 2 oz. pale turmeric.
Pound the whole and mix well together. Put these ingredients before the
fire, stir and rub them frequently, till quite dry. Then set them by to get
cold, rub through a hair sieve, and put them into a dry bottle, cork close,
and keep in a dry place. A table-spoonful will make curry sufficient for
one fowl.--_Another_: Take ¼ lb. coriander seed, 2½ oz. turmeric, 1 oz.
cummin seed, ½ oz. black pepper, and cayenne to taste; then proceed in the
same way.--_Another_: 2 oz. coriander seeds, ¼ lb. turmeric; of black
pepper, flour of mustard, cayenne and ginger, each 1 oz.; of lesser
cardamoms ½ oz., cummin seed ¼ oz., and fenugreek seeds ¼ oz.--_Another_: 4
oz. turmeric in powder, 4 oz. of coriander, 2 oz. carraway seeds in powder,
2 oz. fenugreek, and cayenne to taste.--_Curry paste_ is very good, but it
may be better to prepare curry powder at home; for different curries
require different flavouring; as fish and veal require more acid than
fowls, rabbit, &c., &c. The ingredients may be kept in bottles, and mixed
when used.


{208}_Herbs._

As these cannot always be procured green, it is convenient to have them in
the house, dried and prepared, each in the proper season. The common method
is to dry them in the sun, but their flavour is better preserved, by being
put into a cool oven, or the meat screen, before a moderate fire, taking
care not to scorch them. They should be gathered when just ripe, on a dry
day. Cleanse them from dirt and dust, cut off the roots, put them before
the fire, and dry them quickly, rather than by degrees. Pick off the
leaves, pound and sift them; put the powder into bottles, and keep these
closely stopped.

Basil, from the middle of August, to the same time in September.

Winter and Summer Savory, July and August.

Knotted Marjoram, July.

Thyme, Orange Thyme, and Lemon Thyme, June and July.

Mint, end of June and through July.

Sage, August and September.

Tarragon, June, July, and August.

Chervil, May, June, July.

Burnet, June, July, August.

Parsley, May, June, July.

Fennel, May, June, July.

Elder Flowers, May, June, July.

Orange Flowers, May, June, and July.

The following mixture of herb powder is good for soups or ragouts: 2 oz.
each of parsley, winter savory, sweet marjoram, and lemon thyme, 1 oz. each
of sweet basil and lemon peel, cut very thin. For made dishes, the cook may
keep this mixture, with one fourth part of savory powder mixed in it. Dried
herbs may be infused in spirits of wine or brandy ten days or a fortnight;
then strained, the spirit closely corked, and put by for use.--Some
recommend the following mixture: infuse in 1 pint of wine, brandy, vinegar,
or spirits of wine, ½ oz. each of lemon thyme, winter savory, sweet
marjoram, and sweet basil, 2 drachms grated lemon peel, 2 drachms minced
eschalots, and 1 drachm celery seed: shake it every day for a fortnight,
then strain and bottle it.


{209}_Horse-Radish Powder._

In November and December, slice horse-radish the thickness of a shilling,
and dry it, _very gradually_, in a Dutch oven; pound and bottle it.


_Pea Powder._

This gives a relish to pea soup. Pound 1 drachm celery seed, ¼ drachm
cayenne pepper, ½ oz. dried mint, ½ oz. of sage; when well mixed, rub
through a fine sieve, and bottle it.


_Mushroom Powder._

Wash ½ a peck of large mushrooms, quite fresh, and wipe them with a piece
of flannel; scrape out the black clean, and put them into a saucepan
without water, with 2 large onions, 4 cloves, ¼ oz. mace, and 2
tea-spoonsful of white pepper, all in powder; simmer and shake them till
all the liquor be dried up, but do not let them burn; lay them on tins or
sieves, in a slow oven, till dry enough to beat to a powder, then put it in
small bottles, and keep them in a dry place. Cayenne, if you choose; a
tea-spoonful sufficient for a tureen of soup. To flavour gravy for game,
and for many made dishes. _Mushrooms to Dry._--Wipe them clean, and take
off the brown and skin; dry them on paper, in a cool oven, and keep them in
paper bags. They will swell, when simmered in gravy, to their own size.


_Anchovy Powder._

Pound the anchovies, rub them through a hair sieve, then work them into
thin cakes with flour, and a little flour of mustard. Toast the cakes very
dry, rub them to a powder, and bottle it. For sauces, or to sprinkle over
toasts, or sandwiches.




{210}CHAPTER XVIII.

VEGETABLES.


PERSONS who live in the country, may generally have fresh vegetables; but
in towns, and especially in London, the case is different; and vegetables
not quite fresh are very inferior to those which have been only a short
time out of the ground.--Take the outside leaves off all of the cabbage
kind, and plunge the part you mean to cook into cold water, the heads
downwards; let there be plenty of water, and a large piece of salt, which
helps to draw out the insects. Examine the leaves well, and take off all
the decayed parts. They should be boiled in soft water, to preserve their
flavour, and alone, to preserve their colour. Allow as much water as the
vessel will hold, the more the better; and a handful of salt. The shorter
time they are in the water the better, therefore see that it boil fast,
before you put the vegetables in, and keep it boiling at the same rate
afterwards; let the vessel be uncovered, and take off all scum. When done,
take them out of the water instantly, and drain them; they ought then to go
to table, for vegetables, particularly green ones, suffer in look and in
taste, every moment they wait.

In dressing vegetables, as well as in making soup, the French greatly excel
us, for they always cook them enough. Besides they make more of them than
we do, by various ways of dressing them, with gravy and cream. Several
receipts are here given, by which a side or supper dish, may be prepared at
very little cost, particularly in the country, where fresh vegetables are
always at hand.

Salads, if mixed with oil, are not injurious, except in peculiar cases, for
they are cooling and refreshing in hot weather, and beneficial in many
respects, in the winter. Most persons, particularly the Londoners, eat
cucumbers, but strange to say, they do not, generally, value a well made
salad so highly.


{211}_Potatoes to Boil._

The best way, upon the whole, is to _boil_, not steam them. Much depends
upon the sort of potato, and it is unfair to condemn a cook's ability in
the cooking of this article, until it be ascertained that the fault is
really hers, for I have seen potatoes that no care or attention could boil
enough, without their being watery, and others that it would be difficult
for any species of cookery to spoil. They should be of equal size, or the
small ones will be too much done before the large ones are done enough; do
not pare or cut them; have a saucepan so large that they will only half
fill it, and put in cold water sufficient to cover them about an inch, so
that if it waste, they may still be covered; but too much water would
injure them. Put the saucepan on the fire, and as soon as the water boils,
set it on one side, to simmer slowly till the potatoes will admit a fork;
the cracking of the skin being too uncertain a test; having tried them, if
tender, pour the water off, and place the saucepan by the side of the fire,
take off the cover, and lay a folded cloth, or coarse flannel, over the
potatoes. Middling sized ones will be boiled enough in fifteen minutes.
Some (and I believe it is the practice in Ireland), when they have poured
off the water, lay the potatoes in a coarse cloth, sprinkle salt over, and
cover them a few minutes, then squeeze them lightly, one by one, in the
folds of a dry cloth, peel and serve them. Some peel potatoes for the next
day's dinner and put them into cold water enough to cover them, over night;
the water is poured off just before the potatoes are boiled. After the
beginning of March potatoes should be peeled before they are boiled, and
after April they should always be mashed. Potatoes may be dressed in
various ways to make supper or side dishes, and there are sauces suitable
to enrich them. _Young Potatoes._--Rub the skin off with a cloth, then pour
boiling water over them in a saucepan, let it simmer, and they will soon be
done.


_Potatoes to Fry, Broil, or Stew._

Cold potatoes may be cut in slices and fried in dripping, or broiled on a
gridiron, then laid on a sieve to drain; serve on a hot dish, and sprinkle
a little pepper and salt {212}over them. Garnish with sprigs of curled
parsley, or the parsley may be fried and strewed over.--_Or_: when the
potatoes are nearly boiled enough, pour off the water, peel and flour them,
brush with yolk of egg, and roll them in fine bread-crumbs or
biscuit-powder, and fry in butter or nice dripping.--_Or_: stewed gently
with butter; turn them, while stewing; pour a white sauce in the dish.


_Potatoes to Mash._

Peel them, cut out the specks, and boil them: when done, and the water
poured off, put them over the fire for two or three minutes, to dry, then
put in some salt and butter, with milk enough to moisten sufficiently to
beat them to a mash. The rolling-pin is better than anything else. Cream is
better than butter, and then no milk need be used. Potatoes thus mashed may
be put into a shape, or scallop-shells, with bits of butter on the top,
then browned before the fire; either way makes a pretty dish.--_Or_: they
may be rolled up, with a very little flour and yolk of egg into balls, and
browned in the dripping-pan under roast meat. These balls are pretty as a
garnish.--_Or_: make them up into a _Collar_, score it, and brown it before
the fire, then serve it with a brown gravy in the dish.


_Colcannan._

Boil 4 lbs. potatoes, also as many of the inside leaves of curled kale as
will fill a saucer. Mash the two together in the saucepan the potatoes were
boiled in, to keep them hot; put a piece of butter in the centre, when you
serve it. Some prefer parsley to kale, but use less.


_Potatoes to Roast._

Some cooks half boil them first. They should be washed and dried. If large,
they will take two hours to roast, and should be all of a size, or they
will not all be done alike.--_Or_: pour off the water, peel and lay them in
a tin pan, before the fire, by the side of roasting meat. Baste, from the
dripping-pan, and turn them to brown equally.


{213}_Potatoe Pie._

Having washed and peeled the potatoes, slice them, and put a layer into the
pie dish, strew, over a little chopped onion, small bits of butter, salt,
and pepper (and, if you like, hard-boiled egg in slices), then put more
potatoes, and so on, till the dish is full; add a little water, then stick
over the top nearly ¼ lb. of fresh butter, in bits; cover with a light puff
paste, and bake an hour and a half.


_Potatoe Balls._

Mash quite smooth 7 or 8 mealy potatoes, with 3 oz. of butter, 2
table-spoonsful cream, 1 of essence of anchovy, and 1 or 2 eschalots _very
finely_ chopped; make up into balls, dip them into egg beaten, and brown
them. Garnish with curled parsley, for a side or supper dish.


_Potatoe Ragout._

Mash 1 lb. of potatoes with butter (no milk or cream), and grate in some
ham, nutmeg, salt, pepper, 2 eggs beaten, and a very little flour. Mix well
together, and form it into loaves, or long thin rolls, fry or stew of a
light brown, for a garnish to veal cutlets, or a dish by themselves.


_Potatoes à la Maître d'Hotel._

Boil, peel, and cut the potatoes in slices ½ an inch thick, put them into a
stew-pan with some young onions skinned, chopped parsley, butter (a large
piece), pepper, salt, and a little broth to moisten the potatoes. Toss them
till the parsley is cooked; serve with parsley and butter poured over.


_Cabbages to Boil._

Wash well, and quarter them, if large. A young cabbage is done in from
twenty minutes to half an hour, a full grown one will take nearly an hour.
Have plenty of water, that they may be covered, all the time they are
boiling; scum well. Serve melted butter. _Savoys, Sprouts, and Young
Greens._--Boil the same as cabbages, but twenty minutes will be sufficient.


{214}_Cabbage à la Bourgeoise._

Wash and pick quite clean a large cabbage; take the leaves off one by one,
and spread upon each some forcemeat, made of veal, suet, parsley, salt, and
pepper, mixed with a little cream and an egg; then put the leaves together,
in the form of a whole cabbage, tie this up securely at each end, and stew
it in a braise. When it is tender, take it out, and press in a linen cloth
to clear it from the fat. Cut in two, in a dish, and pour good gravy over
it.


_Red Cabbage to Stew._

Melt sufficient butter, to stew the quantity of cabbage; cut it into shreds
and put it into a saucepan, with a chopped onion, 2 cloves, a bay leaf,
cayenne pepper and salt. Keep the saucepan covered close, and when done,
add a good spoonful of vinegar. This may be spread in a dish, and sausages
served on it.


_Cabbage, Greens, or Spinach to Curry._

After they are boiled, drain, chop and stew them in butter with curry
powder to taste; the powder previously mixed with salt, pepper, and
vinegar. It is an improvement to spinach, to add sorrel; and some like a
small quantity of chopped onion. To these curries you may add minced veal,
chicken or rabbit, and serve with a gravy of veal; _or_, if to be maigre,
minced cold fish, prawns or oysters, and fish gravy.


_Spinach._

As spinach harbours insects, and is often gritty, wash it in two or three
waters; then drain it on a sieve. Some boil it in very little water, but
this is not a good way. Put a small handful of salt into the water, and
when it boils, scum well; put in the spinach, and boil it quickly till
quite tender, ten minutes will be enough. Pour it into a sieve, then
squeeze between two plates or trenchers, chop fine, and put it into a small
saucepan, with a piece of butter and a little salt. Stir with a spoon, five
minutes over the fire, spread in a dish, score nicely, and serve it
hot.--_Spinach, Sorrel, and Chicory_, may be stewed, the two former in
equal {215}portions together, or all separately, for fricandeaus. Wash,
pick, and stew very slowly, in an earthen vessel, with butter, oil, or
broth, just enough to moisten them.--_Or_: do not put any liquid at all,
but when tender, beat up the sorrel, &c. &c. with a bit of butter.


_Spinach au Gras._

When boiled, pour through a sieve and press it, to squeeze the water out;
put a large piece of butter or dripping into a saucepan, and, when it has
melted, put in some sippets of toasted bread for a few minutes, take them
out and put in the spinach chopped fine, and a little good gravy of the day
before, or out of the dripping-pan, if you be roasting meat, or some good
broth, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and flour; simmer a few minutes, and serve
with the toasts round it. _Au Sucre._--Having boiled and squeezed all the
water from spinach, chop, and put it into a saucepan with a good sized
piece of butter, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a little flour. Shake the
saucepan over the fire a few minutes, then put in some cream or very good
milk, to moisten the spinach, and 2 or 3 lumps of sugar, according to
taste. Simmer very gently, and serve it garnished with toasts.


_Asparagus and Sea Kale._

Scrape the stalks quite clean, and throw them into a large pan of cold
water. Tie them in bundles of equal size with tape, not string, as that is
likely to break off the heads; cut the ends of the asparagus even, and
having a pot of boiling water ready (it ought to be scummed when the water
boils), put in the bundles. When the stalks are tender, the asparagus is
done; but loses flavour by being a minute too long in the water; indeed, it
is the only one which will bear being a _little firm_. Before it is done,
toast the round of a loaf, dip it into the boiling water, lay it in a dish,
and the asparagus on it. Serve melted butter with asparagus and kale. The
French, when the butter is melted, beat up the yolk of an egg, and stir in
it, by degrees, a small quantity of vinegar, enough to flavour it; stir
well for two minutes over the fire, and it is an excellent sauce for
asparagus, or any green vegetable.


{216}_Cauliflower and Brocoli._

Choose middling sized ones, close and white, trim off the outside leaves,
and cut off the stalks at the bottom. Strip off all the side shoots, peel
off the skin of the stalk, and cut it close at the bottom. Boil and scum
the water, then put the vegetables in; cauliflower will be done in fifteen
or twenty minutes, and spoiled if it boil longer. Brocoli in from ten to
fifteen minutes. Lift out of the water with a slice. Serve melted butter.
Both may be served on toasts, and the sauce for asparagus served with them,
either for the second course or for supper.


_Cauliflower with Parmesan._

Boil nicely and place it in a dish (not a close one), grate cheese over,
and then pour white sauce over. Brown it, grate more cheese, then pour more
white sauce over. Brown it again before the fire, or with a salamander.
Serve it with white sauce, or melted butter in a dish.


_Cauliflower to Stew._

Boil a large cauliflower till nearly done, then lift it out very gently,
separate it into small pieces, put these into a stew-pan, with enough rich
brown gravy to moisten, and let it stew till tender. Garnish with slices of
lemon.--_Or_: if you have no gravy, put into a stew-pan a piece of fat
bacon, 2 or 3 green onions, chopped small, a blade of mace, and a very
little lemon thyme, shake the stew-pan over the fire, ten minutes, then put
in the cauliflower, let it brown, add a very little water, and let it
stew.--_Or_: if to be a maigre, put a lump of butter into a saucepan, an
onion minced, some nutmeg, salt, and pepper, shake the saucepan over the
fire a few minutes, then put in the pieces of cauliflower, and pour in
enough boiling water to moisten; simmer it a few minutes, add the yolks of
3 eggs well beaten, turn the saucepan over the fire till the eggs are
cooked, then serve the cauliflower.


_Cauliflower or Brocoli to Fry._

Boil till nearly tender enough to eat, then pick it in nice {217}pieces,
dip them in a batter made of ¼ lb. flour, the yolks of 3 eggs and a
coffee-cupful of beer, pepper, and salt. Then fry the pieces in boiling
lard, of a light brown, and put them on a sieve to drain and dry before the
fire.--_Or_: dip them first in egg, then in fine crumbs of bread, and then
egg again, before you fry them.--Celery and onions the same.--Serve white
sauce.


_Peas._

They should be shelled but a short time before they are cooked. The
younger, of course, the better. When the water boils, scum it, put the peas
in, with a little salt, and a piece of sugar, and let them boil quickly
from fifteen to twenty minutes. When done, drain, and put them in a dish
with some bits of fresh butter; stir the peas with a silver spoon, and
cover the dish. Some like mint boiled with peas; others boiled alone,
chopped, and laid in little lumps round them.--_Or_: after they are partly
boiled, drain and stew the peas in a little broth, with a lettuce, a little
green onion, and mint, or a sliced cucumber in the place of the lettuce;
stew them till nearly done before you put in the peas; add a little salt,
pepper, and brown or white sugar. Essence of ham, or mushroom catsup, may
be added.--_Or_: when the peas are partly cooked, drain, and rub in some
butter kneaded in flour, then stew them in weak broth, till quite done; add
salt, a bunch of parsley, and green onions. Before you serve the peas,
drain them, dip a lump of sugar into boiling water, stir it amongst them,
and grate parmesan over. For maigre dinners, use more butter, instead of
broth. _In White Sauce._--Put quite young peas into a stew-pan, with a
piece of butter, a cabbage lettuce, and a little each of parsley and
chives. Do not add any liquor, but stew them very gently over a slow fire.
When done, stir, by degrees, ½ pint cream, and the beat yolks of 3 eggs,
into the peas; let it thicken over the fire, but not boil, then serve it.
The peas which are eaten in their shells may be dressed in this way.


_Windsor Beans._

Boil in plenty of water, with salt, and a bunch of parsley. {218}Serve
parsley and butter; garnish with chopped parsley. The French parboil them,
take off the skins, stew them, and when done pour a rich veal gravy over.


_French Beans._

Cut off the stalks, and if the beans are not young, string them, cut them
in two, slantways; if old, split first, then cut them slantways; if very
young, do not cut them at all. Lay them in water, with a little salt, for
about half an hour. Then put them into water, boiling fast, and boil till
tender. Serve melted butter. These beans may be stewed in all the ways
directed for peas. _Beans à la Maitre d'Hotel._--Warm them up in parsley
and butter.


_Turnips._

Some think turnips are most tender when not pared before they are boiled,
but the general practice is to cut off a thick peel. Most persons slice
them also, but it is not the best way. An hour and a half of gentle boiling
is enough. When done, lift them out with a slice, and lay them on a sieve
to drain; when dry, serve them. To very young turnips leave about an inch
of the green top. _To Mash Turnips._--Squeeze them as dry as possible
between two trenchers, put them into a saucepan with a little new milk or
cream, beat well with a wooden spoon, to mash them, add a piece of butter
and a little salt; stir over the fire till the butter is melted, then serve
them. It is an improvement to put in with the cream a table-spoonful of
powdered sugar. _To Ragout._--Turnips may be made a ragout to serve under
or round meat. Cut in slices an inch thick, and parboil them; then stew
them in broth, which, if not already seasoned, may be seasoned at the time
the turnips are put to it. When done, skim off the fat, and serve in the
dish with any stew or braise, or by themselves. _Turnips and Parsnips to
Stew White._--Parboil, cut in four, and stew them in weak broth, or milk
and water (enough liquid to keep the turnips from burning); add salt and
mace. As the liquid diminishes, put in a little good cream, and grated
nutmeg. When done, mix with them a piece of butter rolled in flour.


{219}_Turnip Tops._

When they have been carefully picked, let them lie in cold water an hour.
Boil in plenty of water, or they will taste bitter. If quite fresh and
young, twenty minutes will be enough. Drain them on the back of a sieve.


_Parsnips._

Boil them the same as turnips; or longer, according to their size and
quality.


_Carrots._

Boil the same as turnips; but if old, longer.--_Turnips_, _carrots_, and
_parsnips_ may be dressed together, or separately, in the following
way:--Cut up 2 or 3 onions (or less, according to the quantity of roots),
and put them into a stew-pan, with a large piece of butter kneaded in brown
flour. Shake the saucepan a few minutes over the fire, then put in a little
broth, let it stew slowly while you prepare the roots. Scald, or parboil,
turnips, carrots, parsnips, and celery, cut them in thin slips, and put
them to the onions; season with salt and pepper. When done, add a little
made mustard and vinegar.--_Or_: wash and parboil them, cut in thin slices,
and put them in a saucepan with a large piece of butter, a bunch of
parsley, sweet basil, chives, a clove of garlic, and an eschalot. Shake
them over the fire, add a little salt, whole pepper, a blade of mace, and
some flour, then put in a very little broth or milk and water. Stew it
gently till they are tender, and the liquid reduced. Lift out the herbs,
and put in some cream (according to the quantity required), with 2 or 3
eggs beaten up in it. Turn the saucepan, over the fire, till the sauce
thickens. When done, add a little vinegar.


_Beet Root and Mangel Wurzel._

Wash but do not scrape it, for if the skin be broken, the colour is lost. A
middling-sized beet root will take from three to four hours to boil, and
the same sized mangel wurzel another hour. When quite tender it is done.
Serve it, cut into thin slices; thick melted butter poured over.


{220}_Onions to Boil._

Peel and boil them till tender in milk and water. The time required must
depend upon their size.--They may be served in white sauce. _Onions to
Stew._--Spanish onions are best. Peel and parboil very gently; then stew
them in good broth, or milk and water, and season with white pepper and
salt. When done, thicken the sauce with butter rolled in flour, lift out
the onions, place them in a dish, and pour the sauce over.--_Or_: stew them
in rich, brown gravy. _Onions to Roast._--Roast them before the fire, in
their skins.


_Cucumbers to Stew._

Pare the cucumbers, and cut them in four, longways; to each one put a
_small_ onion, sliced; then stew them in broth, with cayenne, pepper, salt,
and nutmeg. When done, lay them in a dish, thicken the sauce with butter
rubbed in flour, and pour over them. For maigre dinners, stew them in
enough water to moisten them, with a large piece of butter: when done, pour
some cream, mixed with beaten yolk of egg, into the saucepan, enough to
make a sufficiency of sauce, let it thicken over the fire, lay the
cucumbers in a dish, and pour the sauce over.--_Or_: cut onions and
cucumbers in halves, fry in butter, and pour good broth or gravy over them;
then stew till done, and skim off the fat.


_Celery to Stew._

Cut the head in pieces of 3 inches long, and stew as directed for
cucumbers. Some cooks stew it whole, or, if very large, divided in two, and
in strong brown gravy.--_Or_: if to be white, in rich veal broth, and add
some cream. It must be cooked till quite tender to eat well.


_Mushrooms and Morels._

Both are used in sauces and ragouts. For stewing, button mushrooms, or the
smallest flaps, are best. Trim them carefully, for a little bit of mould
will spoil the whole. Stew them, in their own gravy, in an earthen vessel,
with a very little water to prevent their burning. When nearly done, add as
much rich brown gravy as is required for {221}sauce, a little nutmeg, and,
if you like, finely sliced ham, cayenne, pepper, and salt, if required;
thicken, by mixing the yolk of an egg, by little and little, into the
gravy. If to be white, squeeze lemon juice over the mushrooms, after they
have stewed in their own gravy: add a tea-spoonful of cream, a piece of
butter rolled in flour, cayenne, white pepper, salt, and nutmeg; thicken
with the yolk of an egg. _Mushrooms to Broil._--The largest flaps are best,
but should be fresh gathered. Skin them, and score the under side. Lay
them, one by one, into an earthen vessel, brushing each one with oil, or
oiled butter, and strewing a little pepper and salt over each. When they
have steeped in this, an hour and a half, broil, on both sides, over a
clear fire, and serve with a sauce of melted butter, minced parsley, green
onions, and the juice of a lemon.


_Salsify._

Boil the young shoots, about a year old, as asparagus.


_Scorzonera and Skirrets._

The same as carrots; and are good in soup.


_Artichokes._

Take off the outer leaves and cut off the stalks. Wash well in cold water,
and let them lie in it some time. Put them head downwards, into the pot,
take care to keep the water boiling, and add more as it diminishes, for
they ought to boil two hours, or more. Float a plate or dish on the top to
keep the artichokes under. Draw out a leaf, and if tender, they are done,
but not else. Drain them dry, and serve melted butter, in a tureen. _To
Fry._--Cut off an inch or more, of the leaves, and cut the artichoke down
in slices of ¾ of an inch thick, taking out the choke. Parboil the slices
in salt and water, then fry them in a pan nearly full of boiling lard, to
be quite crisp, and of a fine colour. Drain them before the fire a few
minutes.


_Jerusalem Artichokes._

Boil, but do not let them remain in the water after they {222}are done, or
they will spoil; pour melted butter over.--_Or_: they may be cooked in a
rich brown gravy, or white sauce, and served with sippets of toasted bread.


_Artichoke Bottoms._

If dried, soak them, then stew in gravy.--_Or_: boil in milk, and serve
them in white sauce.


_Endive to Stew._

Trim off all the green part, wash, cut in pieces, and parboil it till about
half done; drain well, and chop it, not very fine; put it into a stew-pan
with a little strong gravy, and stew gently till quite tender; season with
pepper and salt, and serve as sauce to roast meat or fricandeaus.


_Lettuce to Stew._

Wash, parboil, and stew, in rich brown or white gravy; if to be white,
thicken with cream and yolk of egg. Lay them in a dish and pour gravy over.


_Cabbage Lettuce with Forcemeat._

Parboil gently, for half an hour, then dip into cold water, and press them
in your hand. Strip off the leaves, spread a forcemeat, rich or maigre as
you please, on each leaf:--_Or_: put the forcemeat into the middle of each
lettuce; tie them up, neatly, in their original shape, and stew them in
gravy. When done, serve with the gravy poured over.


_Vegetable Marrow._

This may be boiled and served on toast, like asparagus; serve melted
butter.--_Or_: when nearly cooked enough by boiling, divide in quarters,
and stew gently in gravy like cucumbers.--_Or_: serve it in white sauce.


_Marrow to Stuff_ (_Italian_).

Cut very young ones, about six inches long, in two, lengthways; take out
the seeds and pulp with a small spoon, put a little salt on each one, and
lay them between 2 {223}cloths, the hollow part down, to draw the water
out. Soak some crumb of bread in warm broth or milk and water, beat it up
like thick pap, add pepper, salt, the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, nutmeg and
lemon peel; to this the Italians add grated parmesan; pour off the water,
and fill the vegetable marrow with this stuffing; put the halves together,
bind them slightly with thread, brush over beaten yolk of egg, cover with
bread-crumbs, and lay them, singly, in a broad shallow stew-pan, well
rubbed round the sides and the bottom with butter. Place the stew-pan over
a slow fire, cover it, and when the butter is dried up, keep the marrow
moistened with broth. When nearly cooked enough, put in some tomata sauce,
and then put hot coals on the lid of the stew-pan to brown the vegetables.
Minced fowl and grated ham may be added to the stuffing. _To Fry._--Cut the
long shaped ones (quite young), in four, longways, and each piece into long
thin slices, lay these between cloths, sprinkle salt over to draw out the
water, and let them lie half an hour: during which, prepare a smooth batter
of flour, water, and 2 eggs, dip the marrow into it, and fry in lard, of a
light brown. Shake the pan gently, but do not touch the fry, lest the paste
should break and the fat get in, and make it greasy. Spread a sheet of
paper on a sieve, lay the fry on it, before the fire a few minutes to dry,
then serve it.


_Cardoons._

Choose the whitest, and cut them into pieces of 2 inches long; half boil
them in salt and water, with a very little vinegar; pour off the water,
take out the cardoons, and peel off the threads; finish by stewing them, in
stock of fish or meat, and butter, if required, to enrich it. Mix some
flour with a little oil, the whites of 2 eggs, and a little white wine. Cut
the pieces of cardoon in 2, dip them in the above mixture, and fry them in
lard, of a light brown.


_Lentils_

Are chiefly used to make cullis for soups and made dishes, as follows: pick
and wash ½ a pint or more, according to the quantity wanted. Stew them in
broth; when done, pulp them through a sieve, and season as you like.


{224}_Samphire to Boil._

Boil in a good deal of water, with salt in it, till quite tender. Serve
melted butter.


_Laver._

This is generally prepared at the sea coast, and requires only to be
heated. This is done best over a lamp, or, at a distance over the fire.
When hot stir in a piece of butter, and a very little lemon juice or
vinegar.


_Haricots Blanc._

These should be soaked, at least, all night. Then be poured from the water,
and stewed in broth, or with butter, salt, pepper, chopped parsley and
young onions. They must be cooked till tender, or they are not eatable.


----

SALADS.

Lettuce, endive, and small salading, are the most commonly used, but there
are many other greens which eat well, as salads. They should be fresh
gathered, well washed, picked, and laid in water with a little salt in it.
When you take them out, which should not be till just before they are
wanted, shake them well, lay them in a cloth, shake that, to make them as
dry as possible, but do not squeeze, for that will destroy their crispness.

In countries where salad is in more general request than in England, the
greatest pains are bestowed to have it in perfection. It is essential to a
good salad, that the leaves of lettuces should be crisp; and the French
people shake them in a basket, made for the purpose, which answers better
than anything. The French are justly famed for their salads, but the main
cause of their superiority in them, is attributable to the abundance and
goodness of both the oil and the vinegar used in the mixture.


_To dress Salad._

Do not cut it up till you are going to mix it. Strew a {225}little salt,
and then pour over it, 3 table-spoonsful of oil to 1½ of vinegar, add a
little pepper, and stir it up well with a spoon and fork. There ought not
to be a drop of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. To this may be added
hard-boiled yolk of egg, also beet root well boiled and sliced. Any kind of
salad may be dressed in this way. Good oil is not dear, but exceedingly
wholesome. The least degree of the flavour of garlic is liked by some in
salad, and may be obtained by cutting open a clove and rubbing it a few
times round the salad bowl. Some persons like a very little grated
parmesan, in their salad.

Where oil is not liked, use oiled butter, or cream. Rub very smooth on a
soup plate the yolks of hard-boiled eggs, with thick cream; when this is
done, add more cream, or oiled butter, vinegar, pepper, and salt to your
taste, and mix the salad in it: or pour the mixture into the bowl, the
salad on the top, and do not stir it up at all, but leave this to be done
at table.

The top of a dressed salad should be garnished with slices of beet root,
contrasted with rings of the white of hard-boiled eggs; or a few young
radishes and green onions, or cresses, tastefully arranged on the top.
Plovers and sea birds' eggs may be laid on the top, arranging some herb to
form each one's nest; or all in one nest, in the centre. A pretty salad is
a great ornament to a table, and not an expensive one.

The following list may be imperfect, but though there may be other herbs
which would be useful in salads, all these are good.

  Lettuce.
  Radishes.
  Water Cresses.
  Young Onions.
  Corn Salad.
  Endive.
  Celery.
  Mustard and Cress.
  Chervil.
  Coriander.
  Tarragon.
  Nasturtiums.
  Sorrel.
  Young Spinach.
  French Fennel.
  Burnet.
  Basil.
  Chicory.

The French make salads of cold boiled cauliflower, celery, French beans,
and haricots. A mixture of either with {226}some green herbs, dressed with
oil, is very good; by way of variety.


_Lobster Salad._

Prepare a mixture of white lettuce, and green salading, mix it with cream
or oil; take out the coral of the lobster, and dispose it amongst the
vegetables so as best to contrast the colours.--_Or_: lobster may be cut
up, dressed as eaten at table, then mixed with lettuce and small salading
also cut up and dressed; the dressing of each must be according to taste.
Some persons dress their lobster with lemon juice and cayenne. Put the
mixture into a salad bowl, light sprigs of cresses on the top, and heaps of
the coral amidst them.


_Italian Salad._

About three hours before the salad is wanted, bone and chop 2 anchovies,
and mix them in a salad bowl, with an eschalot, and some small salading, or
lettuce, or any herbs, fresh gathered; boil 2 eggs hard, bruise the yolks,
then mix them with 2 spoonsful of oil, 1 of vinegar, a little pepper, and a
little made mustard. To this sauce, put very thin slices of cold roast meat
of any kind, fowl, game, or lobster (and any cold gravy), and leave them to
soak. Garnish it prettily. Cold fish may be dressed in this way; then
hard-boiled eggs may be added; and, with either meat or fish, cold boiled
vegetables. Nicely garnished, these salads are pretty for supper tables.
Capsicums, barberries, and pickled fruit are of use in ornamenting them.


_Cucumbers_

Should be fresh, mixed with onion, and never eaten without oil.




{227}CHAPTER XIX.

PASTRY.


PRACTICE is more requisite than judgment to arrive at perfection in making
pastry, particularly raised crusts, and very little can be given in the way
of general instruction on the subject.--The flour should be of the best
quality, dried before the fire, and then allowed to get cool before it is
wetted.--Good salt butter, washed in several waters, to extract the salt,
is cheaper in some seasons, and is as good as fresh butter. Fresh butter
should be worked, on a board, with a wooden spoon, or the hand, to extract
the butter-milk, before it is used for delicate pastry; after you have well
worked, dab it with a soft cloth.

Finely shred suet makes very good crust for fruit, as well as meat pies,
and, if good, is more delicate and wholesome than lard; veal suet is the
most delicate. Some cooks cut the suet in pieces, and melt it in water,
then, when cold, press out the water, pound the suet in a mortar, with a
very little oil, till it becomes the consistence of butter, and use it for
pie crust; but I prefer fresh suet very finely _shred_, not chopped. For
this purpose it must be quite sweet.--Lard varies much in quality; and if
not good, the paste will not be light. Sweet marrow is very good.

A marble slab is very useful for making pastry, particularly in hot
weather. Pastry is never good made in a warm room, neither will it bear
being exposed to a draught of air. The sooner it is baked, the lighter it
will be. There is ample room for display of taste in ornamenting pastry,
both for meat pies and sweets. Paste cutters are not expensive, and if kept
in good order, will last a long time; but, if not delicately clean, the
paste will be spoiled.

For very _common meat pies_, a crust may be made of mashed potatoes, spread
thickly over the top. For more delicate pies, rice may be boiled in milk
and water till it {228}begins to swell, then drained, and mixed with 1 or 2
eggs well beaten, and spread in a thick layer over the meat.

_A glazing_ for meat pies is made of white sugar and water; yolk of egg and
water; yolk of egg and melted butter.

_To ice paste_, beat the white of an egg, and brush it over the tart, when
half baked; then sift finely powdered sugar over that.--_Another way_:
pound and sift 4 oz. refined sugar, beat up the white of an egg, and by
degrees add it to the sugar, till it looks white, and is thick; when the
tarts are baked, spread the iceing over the top with a brush, and return
them to the oven to harden, but take care that the iceing do not burn.

Be careful to keep the pasteboard and rolling-pin quite clean; and
recollect that the best made paste will be spoiled, if not nicely _baked_.


_Plain Crust for Meat Pies._

To 2 lbs. of fine, well dried flour, put 1 lb. finely sliced fresh suet,
and a little salt, mix it up lightly, with enough cold water to mould it,
then roll out thin, fold it up, roll again, and it is ready. Put more suet
to make it richer. _Another._--Common bread dough, or French roll dough,
makes very good crust for plain pies. Roll it out, and stick bits of butter
and lard into it, and roll up again. If the dough be good the crust will be
light.


_Richer Crust._

For 2 lbs. of flour, break in pieces 1½ lb. washed salt butter, rub it in
the flour, wet it up with the yolks of 3 eggs well beaten, and mixed in
from ½ to a whole pint of spring water. Roll the paste out thin, double it,
and roll out again; repeat this three times, and it is ready.


_An Elegant Crust._

Wash ¾ lb. of very good butter, and melt it carefully, so that it do not
oil, let it cool, and stir into it an egg well beaten: mix this into ¾ lb.
of very fine well dried flour. It should not be a stiff paste, and must be
rolled out thin.


{229}_A Flaky Crust._

Wet 1 lb. of well dried flour, with as much water as will make it into a
stiff dough. Roll it out, and stick bits of butter over. ¾ lb. of butter
should be divided in 3, and rolled in at three different times.


_Puff Paste._

Weigh an equal quantity of fine flour, and fresh, or well washed salt
butter: crumble one third part of the butter into the flour, mix well
together, and wet it with cold water to make it into dough. Dust some dry
flour over the pasteboard, and work the dough well, with your hands, into a
stiff paste; then roll out thin, and stick little bits of butter into it,
sprinkle flour lightly over, fold the paste, roll out again; stick in more
butter, fold up again, and repeat the same till all the butter is used. Lay
a wet cloth in folds over, till you use it. _Another._--Rub ½ lb. fresh
butter into 1 lb. fine flour, with the yolks of 2 eggs beaten, and some
finely sifted sugar: rub all together very smoothly, wet with cold water,
and work it into a stiff paste.


_Crisp Paste._

Rub ¼ lb. butter into 1 lb. flour, add 2 table-spoonsful of sifted loaf
sugar, and the yolks of 3 eggs, work it well with a horn spoon, roll it out
very thin, touching it as little as possible.


_A Good Light Crust._

Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg, the same of lard, and soda to lie
on a shilling, into 1 lb. flour; mix it into a stiff paste with 1 egg and a
little water; roll it out 3 times, spread lightly, once with butter, and
twice with lard.


_Short Crust not Rich._

Rub into 1 lb. of flour, 6 oz. butter, 2 oz. sifted white sugar, and the
yolks of 2 eggs mixed with a little cream or new milk. To make it richer,
use more butter and perfume {230}the paste with orange or rose water, or
flavour with lemon juice. The butter must all be crumbled into the flour
before it is wetted; the less it is rolled the better.


_A Nice Crust for Preserved Fruits, Cheesecakes, &c._

Beat ½ lb. good fresh butter, in a bason, with a spoon, till it becomes
cream, add 2 oz. finely sifted sugar, and mix in 1 lb. fine flour, then wet
it with the whites of 3 eggs well beaten, and roll out the paste. If not
stiff enough, use more flour and sugar.--_Or_: rub together equal
quantities of flour and butter, with a little sifted sugar; work it into a
paste with warm milk, roll it out thin and line your patty pans.
_Another._--Melt 4 oz. of butter in a saucepan, with a tea-spoonful of
water, 2 oz. sifted sugar, and a bit of lemon peel; when the butter is
melted, take out the lemon peel, and first dredge a little flour into the
liquid, shake the saucepan, then put in as much more flour, with a spoon,
as the butter will take, keep the saucepan over the fire, and stir briskly
with a wooden spoon. Turn it out into another saucepan and let it cool;
then put it over the fire, and break in, first 1 egg, stir it well, then 3
more eggs, and stir well again, till the paste is ropy.


_Raised Crust for Meat Pies._

Put ¾ of a pint of water and ½ lb. lard into a saucepan, set it on the
fire; have ready on the paste-board, 2½ lbs. of flour, make a hole in the
middle, and when the water in the saucepan boils, pour it into it, gently
mixing it by degrees with the flour, with a spoon; when well mixed, knead
it into a stiff paste. Dredge flour on the board, to prevent the paste from
sticking, continue to roll, and knead it, but do not use a rolling-pin. Let
it stand to cool before you form the crust for the pie, as follows: cut out
pieces for the bottom and top, roll them of the proper thickness, and roll
out a piece for the sides; fix the sides round the bottom pieces, cement
them together with white of egg, and pinch the bottom crust up round to
keep it closed firmly; then put in the meat and lay on the top crust,
pinching the edges together closely.--It must be thick in proportion to the
size of the pie.


{231}_Rice Paste._

Mix ½ lb. rice flour into a stiff paste with the yolk of an egg and milk,
beat it out with a rolling-pin, and spread bits of butter over, roll it up,
and spread more butter till you have used ½ lb. This will boil as well as
bake.


_Maccaroni Paste._

Work 1 lb. flour into a paste with 4 eggs; it will be very stiff; must be
well kneaded, and then beaten for a long time with a rolling-pin, to make
it smooth; then roll out very thin, and cut it in strips. This is rather
toilsome than troublesome, because it is difficult to roll thin enough, on
account of its stiffness; yet is well worth the trouble, to those who like
maccaroni. It cooks in much less time than that which is bought, and is
much more delicate.


_Meat Pies._

Some cooks say that meat should be a _little_ stewed with seasoning, a
piece of butter, and only a _very_ little water, before it is put into a
pie.--Common meat pies should have a thin under crust; but the covering
must be thick, or it will be scorched up, before the meat is cooked. Meat
pies require a hot, but not a fierce oven.


_Venison Pasty._

Make a stiff paste of 2 lbs. of flour and 1 lb. of butter, or fresh suet
shred finely, wet it with 4 or 5 eggs well beaten and mixed in warm water.
Roll it out several times, line the sides of the dish, but not the
bottom.--Some cooks _marinade_ or _soak_ the venison for a night, in Port
wine and seasonings.--Take out all the bones, season the meat with salt,
pepper, pounded allspice and mace, and a little cayenne, then put it into a
stone jar, and pour over some gravy of the trimmings, or of mutton or beef;
place the jar in a saucepan of water, and simmer it over the fire, or on a
hearth two or three hours, but the meat should not be over done. Put it by
till the next day; remove the cake of fat from the top, lay the meat in
alternate pieces of fat {232}and lean in a pie dish, add more seasoning if
required, the gravy, and ¼ pint of Port or claret; also a little eschalot
or any flavouring vinegar. If the venison want fat, slices of mutton fat
may be substituted.--The breast is best for a pasty, but the neck is very
good; also the shoulder if too lean to roast. If any gravy be left have it
ready to pour hot into the pasty.


_Beef Steak Pie._

Cut small steaks from the rump: season, and roll up as olives, or lay them
flat, fat and lean mixed, seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices. Then put
in ½ pint of gravy, or ½ pint of water, and a table-spoonful of vinegar. If
you have no gravy, a piece of kidney will enrich the gravy of the beef, and
is a valuable addition to a meat pie. Forcemeat in layers between the
slices of beef, or in small balls, makes this much richer; if to be eaten
cold, suet must not be used: some cooks put in a few large oysters also.
Walnut or mushroom catsup. A good gravy may be poured into the pie, when
baked.


_Pork Pie._

This is generally made in a raised crust, but in a common pie dish, with a
plain crust, it is very good. Season with pepper and salt. Cut all the meat
from the bones, and do not put any water into the pie. Pork pie is best
cold, and small ones are made by laying a paste in saucers or small plates,
then the meat; cover with paste, turning the two edges up neatly.--The
griskin is best for pies.


_Sausage Rolls._

Use sausage meat; or, take equal portions of cold roast veal and ham, or
cold fowl and tongue; chop these very small, season with a tea-spoonful of
powdered sweet herbs and a tea-spoonful of mixed salt and cayenne: mix well
together, put 3 table-spoonsful of the chopped and seasoned meat, well
rolled together, into enough light paste to cover it, and bake half an hour
in a brisk oven.--These may be tied in a cloth and boiled; the crust
plainer.


{233}_Mutton Pie._

Cut cutlets from the leg, or chops from the neck or loin, season with
pepper and salt, and place them in a dish, fill this with gravy or water,
and, if you choose, strew over a very little minced onion or eschalot and
parsley, and cover with a plain crust.--_Squab Pie_, is made of mutton, and
between each layer of meat, slices of apples, potatoes, and shred onions.


_Lamb Pie._

The same as mutton pie; only being more delicate, it does not require so
much seasoning, and is best, made to turn out of patty pans.


_Veal Pie._

Cut chops from the neck or breast, or cutlets from any other part, season
with salt, pepper, mace, nutmeg, lemon peel, or what herbs you like, lay
them in the dish; very thin slices of bacon over them; pour in a little
gravy, made from the bones or trimmings, or a little water. Forcemeat
balls, hard-boiled yolks of eggs, scalded sweetbreads, veal kidneys,
truffles, morels, mushrooms, oysters and thick cream, may be used to enrich
this pie.--_Or_: slices of veal, spread with forcemeat, and rolled up as
olives; make a hole in the top part of the crust, and when it comes out of
the oven, pour in some good gravy.--To be very rich: put the olives in a
dish, and between and round them, small forcemeat balls, hard-boiled yolks
of eggs, pickled cucumbers cut in round pieces, and pickled mushrooms; pour
in good gravy, a glass of white wine, the juice of a lemon, or lemon and
oyster pickle.


_Maccaroni Pie._

Swell ½ lb. in broth or water; put a thick layer at the bottom of a deep
dish, buttered all round, then a layer of beef steak cut thin, or thin
slices spread with forcemeat, and rolled up like olives; season the beef,
then another layer of maccaroni, then more beef, the top layer maccaroni;
pour over gravy or water to fill the dish, and cover with a _thin_
{234}crust, and bake it. As the maccaroni absorbs the gravy, there ought to
be more to pour in, when it comes from the oven. A light sprinkling of
cheese over each layer of maccaroni is an improvement. This pie may be made
of fowl, or veal and ham. It is excellent. To be eaten hot.--The _white
chedder_ is as good as parmesan cheese.


_Calf's Head Pie._

Clean and soak, then parboil the head for half an hour, with part of a
knuckle of veal, or 2 shanks of mutton, in a very little water, with 2
onions, a bunch of parsley, and winter savory, the rind of a lemon, a few
peppercorns, and 2 blades of mace. Take it up, and let it cool, cut it into
neat pieces, skin and cut the tongue into small bits. Boil in the liquor a
few chips of isinglass, till of a strong jelly. Spread a layer of thin
slices of ham, or tongue, at the bottom of a dish, a layer of the head, fat
and lean assorted, with forcemeat balls, hard-boiled yolks of eggs, and
pickled mushrooms: then strew over salt, pepper, nutmeg, and grated lemon
peel; put another layer of slices of ham, and so on, till the dish is
nearly full; pour in as much of the jelly as there is room for, cover with
a crust, and bake it. Good cold only, and will keep several days.


_Sweetbread Pie._

Boil ½ a neck of veal and 2 lbs. gravy beef in 4 quarts of water, with ½ a
tea-spoonful of grated nutmeg, and equal quantities of mace and cayenne,
and a tea-spoonful of salt; simmer this till it is reduced to ½ pint, and
strain it off. Put a good puff paste round your dish; put in 6 sweetbreads,
stuffed with green truffles, and 12 oysters with their liquor (omit either
or both, as you choose); but take care that the fish and meat are
distributed; then fill the dish with the gravy, put on the top crust, and
bake, in a quick oven, an hour and a quarter. To be eaten hot.


_Pigeon, Rook, or Moorfowl Pie._

Season them inside with salt and pepper, and put in each a bit of butter,
rolled in flour. (Some parboil the livers, minced with parsley, and put
them inside also.) Lay a beef {235}steak (some stew it first) at the bottom
of the dish, or veal cutlets, seasoned, and thin slices of bacon; put in
the pigeons, the gizzards, yolks of hard-boiled eggs (forcemeat balls, if
you like), and enough water to make gravy. Cover with a puff paste, and
bake it. Some cooks cut up the pigeons, and use no beef steak, as they say
that the pigeons, if cut up, will produce a sufficiency of gravy. Port and
white wine may be added; also catsups, sauces, and mushroom
powder.--_Rooks_ must be skinned; the back-bone cut out.--_Moorfowl pie_
must not be over-baked: when done, you may pour in a hot sauce of melted
butter, lemon juice, and a glass of claret.


_Hare Pie._

Cut up a leveret, and season it well; to be very rich, have relishing
forcemeat balls, and hard-boiled yolks of eggs, to mix with the meat in the
dish. Put plenty of butter, rolled in flour, and some water, and cover with
a paste. This pie will require long soaking, as the meat is solid; but,
unless it be a leveret, much the best way is, to stew the hare first, like
venison for pasty.


_Chicken, or Rabbit Pie._

Cut up the chickens, season each joint with salt, white pepper, mace, and
nutmeg, lay them in the dish, with slices of ham or bacon, a few bits of
butter, rolled in flour, and a little water, cover with a crust, and bake
it. This pie may be made richer, by putting veal cutlets or veal udder, at
the bottom of the dish, adding forcemeat balls and yolks of hard-boiled
eggs; also a good jelly gravy, seasoned with peppercorns, onions, and
parsley, and poured over the chickens before the pie is baked. Mushrooms
are an improvement. Forcemeat for _rabbit_ may be made of the livers, suet,
anchovies, eschalot, onion, salt, and pepper.


_Goose Pie._

Bone, then season well, a goose, and a large fowl; stuff the fowl with the
following forcemeat: 2 oz. grated ham, the same of veal and suet, a little
parsley, salt, pepper, {236}and 2 eggs to bind it. Place the fowl within
the goose, and put that into a raised crust; fill up round with slices of
tongue, or pigeons, game, and forcemeat; put pieces of butter, rolled in
flour, over all, and cover with a crust. Bake it three hours.


_Giblet Pie._

Stew the giblets in broth, with peppercorns, onions, and parsley. When
quite tender, take them up, to get cold, then divide, and lay them, on a
well-seasoned beef steak, in a pie dish, and the liquor in which they were
stewed, and cover with a plain crust. When done, pour in a tea-cupful of
cream.


_Partridge, also Perigord Pie._

Made the same as pigeon pie.--Or: instead of the steak (some use veal), at
the bottom of the dish, spread a thick layer of forcemeat, put in the
partridges, bits of butter rolled in flour, and a few scalded button
mushrooms, or a table-spoonful of catsup. Cover with a good crust, and bake
(if 4 partridges), an hour.--_Perigord Pie_: Singe and truss 6 partridges,
lard, season highly, and stuff them with a forcemeat made of 2 lbs. of
truffles (brushed, washed, and peeled), the livers of the partridges, and a
piece of veal udder parboiled; season with salt, pepper, spices, minced
onion and parsley, all pounded; put a little into each partridge, and fill
up with whole truffles; line a raised crust with thin slices of bacon and
forcemeat, put in the partridges, cover the pie, and bake it.


_Pheasant Pie._

Cut off the heads of two pheasants, bone and stuff them, with the livers,
bread-crumbs, lemon peel, ham, veal, suet, anchovies, mace, pepper, salt,
mushroom powder, and a little eschalot; stew them in good gravy a few
minutes, then put them into a baking dish, with some balls of the forcemeat
and pickled mushrooms; fill up with good gravy, flavoured with lemon,
oyster, and mushroom pickle, a table-spoonful of brandy, and the same of
camp sauce. {237}Cover with puff paste, and bake it. Good either hot or
cold.


_Sea Pie._

Cut up a fowl or two, and thin slices of salt beef, the latter soaked in
lukewarm water. Make a good paste of half flour and half mashed potatoes,
with butter, lard, or dripping; roll out thin, put a layer at the bottom of
a deep tin baking dish, then a layer of fowl and beef, season with pepper,
salt, and a little shred onion; then another layer of paste, and one of
meat, till the dish is nearly full, fill up with cold water, and bake it;
when done, turn it out and serve quite hot.--_Or_: slices of bacon, and no
beef.


_Parsley Pie._

This may be made of veal, fowl, or calf's feet, but the latter partly
cooked first; scald a cullender full of fresh parsley in milk, drain it,
season it with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, add a tea-spoonful of broth, and
pour it into a pie dish, over the meat. When baked, pour in ¼ pint of
scalded cream.


_Herb Pie._

One handful of spinach, and of parsley, 2 small lettuces, a very little
mustard and cress, and a few white beet leaves; wash, then parboil them,
drain, press out the water, mix with a little salt, cut them small, and lay
them in a dish: pour over a batter of flour, 2 eggs, a pint of cream, and ½
pint of milk: cover with a rich crust and bake it.


_Fish Pie._

The fish should be boiled first; indeed, the remains of the previous day's
dinner may answer the purpose. As any and every sort of fish is good in
pies, one receipt will do for all, leaving it to the taste of the cook to
enrich or flavour it.--If _Turbot_, cut the fish in slices, put a layer in
the dish, strew over a mixture of pepper, salt, pounded mace, allspice, and
little bits of butter, then a layer of fish, then of the seasoning and
butter, till the dish is full. Having saved some of the liquor in which it
was boiled, {238}put it on to boil again, with all the skin and trimmings
of the fish, strain and pour this into the dish for gravy. Lay a puff paste
over, and bake in a slow oven half an hour. _Cod Sounds_ must be washed
well, then soak several hours, and lay them in a cloth to dry. Put into a
stew-pan 2 oz. fresh butter, and half an onion sliced, brown these, and add
a table-spoonful of flour rubbed into a small piece of butter, and ½ pint
boiling water; let it boil up, put in about 8 cod sounds, season with
pepper, the juice of a lemon, and essence of anchovies, stir it a few
minutes over the fire, put it in a pie-dish, cover with a light paste, and
bake it an hour.--_Another and richer_: Cut the fish into fillets; season
them with pounded mace, pepper, cayenne, and salt; or, if whitings, eels,
trout, or any fish that will admit of it, do not cut them up, but season
the inside, and turn the fish round, fastening with a thread. Have some
good fish stock, warm it, add seasoning, and any catsup you like. If you
wish it to be _very_ rich, line the dish with fish forcemeat, lay some bits
of butter at the bottom, put a thick layer of the fish, then strew over
chopped shrimps, prawns, or oysters, then the rest of the fish, strain the
stock over it, enough for gravy, cover with a light puff paste, and bake
it.


_Lobster Pie._

This is a rich compound, at its very plainest, and may be made very rich
indeed. Parboil 1, 2, or 3, according to the size of your dish. Take out
all the meat, cut it in pieces, and lay them in the dish, in alternate
layers, with oysters cut in two, and bread-crumbs, moisten with essence of
anchovies. Whilst you are doing this, let all the shells and the spawn of
the lobster be stewed in half water and half vinegar: add mace and cayenne;
when done, strain it; add wine and catsup, boil it up, and pour over the
lobster. Lay a light puff paste over, and bake it.


_Herring, Eel, or Mackerel Pie._

Skin eels, and cut them in pieces 2 inches long. Season highly, and put a
little vinegar into the sauce. This, and all fish pies, may be baked
_open_, with a paste edging.


{239}_Shrimp and Prawn Pie._

Having picked, put them into little shallow dishes, strew bits of butter
over, season as you like, but allspice and chili vinegar should form a
part, white wine, also 2 anchovies, if you like. Cover with a puff paste.


_Salt Fish Pie._

Soak the fish a night. Boil it till tender, take off the skin, and take out
the bones. If the fish be good, it will be in layers, lay them on a fish
drainer to cool. Boil 5 eggs hard, cut them with 2 onions, and 2 potatoes
in slices; put a layer at the bottom of a pie dish, season with pepper and
made mustard, then a layer of fish, season that, another layer of the
mixture, and so on till the dish be full; lay some bits of butter on the
top, pour in a tea-cupful of water, with a tea-spoonful of essence of
anchovy, and of catsup and oyster pickle. Cover with a puff paste, and bake
it an hour.--The _sauces_ appropriate to fish, are suitable to fish pies.
_Fresh Cod Pie._--Salt a piece of the middle of a fish, one night; wash,
dry, and season it with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; lay it in a deep pie
dish, with some oysters, put bits of butter on it, pour in some good broth,
and cover with a crust. When done, pour in a ¼ pint of hot cream, with a
bit of butter rolled in flour, nutmeg, and grated lemon peel.


_Patties._

These are convenient for a side dish at dinner, or a principal one at
supper or luncheon. An expert cook may contrive to reserve meat or fish,
when cooking a large dinner, to provide a dish of patties. The compound
must be very nicely minced, suitably seasoned, and sent to table in baked
paste; or fried in balls, for a garnish.


_Crust for Savoury Patties._

If you can, get from the pastry-cook empty puff patties, it will save you
trouble; if not, make a thin puff paste, and line the patty pans; cut out
the tops, on white paper, with a thin stamp, and mark them neatly; put a
piece of soft {240}paper crumpled, in the middle of the lined patty pan, to
support the top; put it on and bake them. Prepare the mince, and when the
patties are baked enough, lift off the top, put the mince in (not so much
as to run over the edges), and lay the top on.


_Chicken, or Turkey and Ham, or Veal Patties._

Mince very finely, the breast, or other white parts of cold chicken, fowl,
turkey, or roast veal, and about half the quantity of lean ham, or tongue.
Have a little delicate gravy, or jelly of roast veal or lamb, thicken it
with butter, rolled in flour, add pepper, salt, cayenne, and lemon juice;
put the mince in, and stir it over the fire till quite hot, and fill the
baked patties with this quite hot. A few oysters may be minced with the
meat.


_Rabbit and Hare Patties._

Mince the best parts with a little mutton suet. Thicken a little good
gravy, and season with salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, mace, lemon peel, and
Port wine, also the stuffing that may be left of the hare or rabbit; heat
the mince in it, and fill patties, as above.


_Beef Patties._

Mince a piece of tender, underdone meat, with a little of the firm fat;
season with salt, pepper, onion, a chopped anchovy, and a very little chili
or eschalot vinegar; warm it in gravy, and finish, like other patties.


_Oyster Patties._

Beard and wash in their own liquor, some fresh oysters; strain the liquor,
and if of 12, put to it 1 oz. butter rolled in flour, with the oysters cut
small, a little salt, white pepper, mace, nutmeg, and lemon peel, add to
the whole 1 table-spoonful of thick cream; warm, and put it hot into the
baked patties.--_Or_: 2 parts of oysters, prepared as above, and one part
of fresh mushrooms, cut in dice, fried in butter, and stewed in enough
gravy to moisten them; stir the oysters to the mushrooms, and fill the
patties.


{241}_Lobster and Shrimp Patties._

Chop finely the meat of the tail and claws of a hen lobster; pound some of
the spawn, with ½ oz. of butter, and a little meat gravy or jelly, or a
table-spoonful of cream; season with cayenne, salt, lemon peel, and essence
of anchovy.


_Gooseberry, or Green Currant Pie._

Top and tail fruit enough to fill your dish; lay a strip of paste round the
edge, put in half the fruit, then half the sugar, the rest of the fruit,
more sugar, and cover with a good puff paste. Mark the edges neatly, and
ornament the top. When it comes out of the oven, sift powdered sugar
over.--First put a little cup in the centre of the dish, to preserve the
juice.


_Rhubarb Pie._

When old and stringy, peel the skin off, cut the stalks slantways, and make
it into a pie, the same as gooseberry: if young, do not peel it.--Some like
lemon peel in it.

_Red currants, raspberries, ripe gooseberries, cherries, plums, all sorts
of damsons, apricots, and peaches_, make excellent pies; allow plenty of
sugar, put in a little cup, and fill the dish high in the middle with
fruit. Divide the apricots and peaches.


_Green Apricot Tart._

The fruit should be stewed till tender in a very little water and some
sugar; baked in a pie dish with a covering of puff paste, and is an
excellent tart.


_Apple Pie._

Russetings, ribstone pippins, and such apples as are a little acid, are
best. Pare, core, and slice them; sprinkle sugar between, as you put them
in the dish, also a little pounded cinnamon and cloves. Slices of quince
are an improvement, or quince marmalade, or candied citron or orange peel.
Put a strip of paste round the edge of the dish, and {242}cover with a
light paste. If they are dry, put in a little lemon juice, and a
wine-glassful of white wine.


_Green Codling Tart._

Make the pie as directed in the last receipt, and when it comes out of the
oven, with a sharp knife cut round the crust, an inch from the edge, take
it off, and pour over the apples, a plain or rich custard; have ready baked
on a tin, some paste leaves, and stick round the tart; or else cut the top,
you have taken off, into lozenges, or the best shape you can, and stick
them round.

In the country, fresh cream ought to accompany fruit pies. Clouted cream is
excellent with fruit pies.--_Apples_, _gooseberries_, and _rhubarb_ stewed,
with sugar enough to sweeten, are better for children, than cooked in
paste.--_Or_: fruit thus prepared, may be spread on very thin paste,
covered up in turn-overs, and baked on tins.


_Cranberry Tart._

The cranberries should be stewed first, with brown sugar, and a very little
water, then baked in open tarts, or in patty-pans lined, and covered with
light puff paste.


_Tarts of Preserved Fruits._

Cover patty-pans, or shallow tins or dishes with light puff paste, lay the
preserve in them, cover with light bars of paste, or with paste stars,
leaves, or flowers. For delicate preserves, the best way is to bake the
paste, first, then put in the preserves, and ornament with leaves baked for
the purpose, on tins.


_Small Puffs._

Roll out light paste nearly ½ an inch thick, cut it in pieces of 5 inches
wide, lay preserves on each, fold it over, wet the edges, and pinch them
together, lay these on buttered paper, and bake them.--_Or_: cut the paste
into squares, lozenges, and leaves, bake them on tins, and then lay
different preserves on each one, and arrange them tastefully in a dish.


{243}_Spanish Puffs._

Boil ½ the rind of a lemon, a small stick of cinnamon, and a bit of butter
the size of a nut, in ¼ pint of milk, strain it, and set it on the fire in
a stew-pan; when it boils, stir in 2 spoonsful of flour, and a large
table-spoonful of brandy, take it off, and rub it well together; when quite
cold, add 4 eggs, one at a time, rubbing well all the while; divide the
mixture into tea-spoonsfuls, or on a plate, let it stand to grow firm, then
fry in plenty of boiling lard.


_Apple Puffs._

Stew the apples, pulp them through a sieve, and sweeten with white powdered
sugar; make them as directed for _small puffs_, and bake in a quick oven.


_Orange and Lemon Puffs._

Grate the peel of 2 Seville oranges, or 3 lemons, and mix with it ¾ lb.
grated lump sugar. Beat up the whites of 4 eggs to a solid froth, put that
to the sugar, beat the whole, without stopping, for half an hour, pour it
in little round cakes, on buttered paper laid on tins, and bake them in a
moderate oven. When cold, tear off the paper.


_Minced Pie Meat._

Par-roast, or slightly bake, about 2 lbs. of lean beef (some prefer neat's
tongue); when cold, chop it finely; chop 2 lbs. beef suet, also 2 lbs.
apples, peeled and cored, 1 lb. stoned raisins, and the same of currants;
mix these together in a pan, with 1 lb. of good moist sugar, 2 nutmegs,
grated, 1 oz. salt, 1 oz. ginger, ½ oz. coriander seeds, ½ oz. allspice, ½
oz. cloves, the juice of 6 lemons and their rinds, grated, ½ lb. candied
citron, the same of candied lemon, ½ pint of brandy, and the same of sweet,
ginger, or Madeira wine. Mix well, and it will keep some time, in a cool
place. To use it, stir it, and add a little more brandy. Cover patty pans
or shallow dishes with a puff paste, fill with the mince, and put a puff
paste over: bake in a moderate oven.--_Or_: 1 lb. beef, 3 lbs. suet, 3 lbs.
raisins, 4 lbs. currants, 3½ lbs. sugar, 3 lbs. apples, the rind of 3
lemons, and the {244}juice of 2½ lbs. candied lemon; nutmeg, ginger, and
pepper to taste. These receipts are both good.


_A Bride's Pie._

Boil 2 calf's feet quite tender, and chop the meat. Chop separately 1 lb.
suet and 1 lb. apples, quite fine; mix these with the meat, add ½ lb.
currants, ½ lb. raisins (chopped fine), ¼ oz. cinnamon, 2 drachms nutmeg,
and mace (all pounded), 1 oz. candied citron and lemon peel, sliced thin, a
wine-glass of brandy, and of Madeira. Line a tin pan with puff paste, put
in the mince, cover with a paste, and ornament it.


_Maigre Mince Meat._

To 6 lbs. currants add 3 lbs. raisins, 2 oz. cloves, 1½ oz. mace and 1
nutmeg, 3 lbs. fine powdered sugar, the rinds of 2 lemons, and 24 sharp
apples, all these ingredients chopped or pounded separately, and then mixed
together; add a pint of brandy. Let it stand a day or two, and stir it from
the bottom once or twice a day. It will keep in a dry place, for months.
Add butter or suet, when you make it into pies, also citron, if you like.

  _Note._--Mince meat is improved by the currants being plumped in brandy.
  Raisins should be chopped _very_ fine.




{245}CHAPTER XX.

PUDDINGS.


PRACTICE, which, generally speaking, is every thing in cooking, will not
ensure success in making puddings, unless the ingredients be good.

For pudding crust, nothing is so good as veal suet finely shred, though
beef suet and beef marrow make light crust. Fresh dripping is also very
good. Lard is not so good, for either meat or fruit puddings. Meat puddings
(or dumplings, as they are called, in some of the counties in England) are
generally liked, and are, either in crust or in batter, an economical dish,
when made of the trimmings of beef or mutton, or the coarser parts of meat,
which, though very good, would not so well admit of any other species of
cooking. The meat should be quite fresh, and a due mixture of fat and lean.
A piece of kidney, cut in bits, will enrich the gravy of beef steak or hare
pudding. The crust for these puddings should be less rich, and thicker than
for fruit puddings. Puddings will not be light unless the flour be fresh,
and dried before the fire.

The number of eggs must be regulated by their size, for a small egg is but
half a large one. Break them separately into a tea-cup, and put them into
the basin one by one; by this means you ascertain their freshness before
you mix them together, for if one be the least stale, it will spoil any
number with which it may be mixed. Beat them well, the two parts
separately, and strain them to the other ingredients.

Butter, whether salt or fresh, should be perfectly sweet; and milk or
cream, if only a little upon the turn, will render of no avail all the
labour that has been bestowed upon either pudding or custard.

Let all seasoning spices be finely pounded; currants {246}washed, rubbed
dry, carefully picked, and laid on a sieve before the fire to plump;
almonds must be _blanched_, namely, covered with hot water, and then
peeled.

Puddings of both meat and fruit may be boiled in a mould or bason, but they
are lighter in a cloth; but then the crust must be thicker, for if it
break, the gravy or juice will be lost. Spread the cloth in a cullender, or
bason, flour it, lay in the crust, then the fruit or meat, put on the top,
and pinch the edges firmly together, but do not let them be so thick as to
form a heavy lump at the bottom, when the pudding is turned out.

Pudding cloths should not be washed with soap, but boiled in wood ashes,
rinsed in clear water, dried, and put by in a drawer. When about to use it,
dip the cloth in boiling water, squeeze dry, and dredge it with flour. Do
not put a pudding in the pot till the water boils fast, and let there be
plenty of it; move the pudding from time to time for the first ten minutes;
and, as the water diminishes, put in more, boiling hot. The water should
boil _slowly_, and never for a minute cease to boil during the time the
pudding is in. When you take it out of the pot, dip the pudding into cold
water for an instant, and set it in a bowl or cullender, for two or three
minutes; this will cause it to turn more easily out of the cloth.

A pudding in which there is much bread should be tied up loosely, to allow
it to swell. A batter pudding tied tight. Batter requires long beating; mix
the milk and eggs by degrees into the flour, to avoid making it lumpy; this
will be the case sometimes, and then the batter may be strained; but such
waste may be avoided, by care in mixing at first. Tie meat puddings up
tight.

More care is necessary in baking than in boiling puddings. They should not
be scorched in a too hot, nor made sodden, in a too cool oven.

It is an improvement to puddings, custards, and cakes, to flavour them with
orange flower, or rose water, or any of the perfumed distilled waters.


_Paste for Meat Puddings._

Shred ½ lb. suet and rub it into 1¼ lb. flour, sprinkle a little salt, and
wet it into a stiff paste with cold water; {247}then beat it a few minutes
with a rolling pin. Clarified dripping is not so good, but more economical.


_Beef Steak Pudding._

The more tender the steak, the better, of course, the pudding. Cut it into
pieces half the size of your hand, season with salt, pepper, and grated
nutmeg. Spread a thin crust in a buttered bason, or mould; or a thicker one
in a cloth: put the meat in, and a little water, also a wine-glassful of
walnut, the same of oyster catsup, or 6 oysters, and a table-spoonful of
lemon pickle; cover it with the top crust, fasten the edges firmly, and tie
it up tightly. Finely minced onion may be added. A piece of kidney will
enrich the gravy. A beef pudding of 2 lbs. of meat ought to boil _gently_
four hours.

_Hare, rabbit, and chicken_, make good puddings, the same as beef; slices
of ham or bacon are an improvement to the two latter. Boil _hare pudding_
as long as beef. _Dumplings._--Chop beef small, season well, and put it
into dumplings, the same as apple dumplings, and boil one hour.--_Sausage_
meat, or whole sausages, skinned, may be boiled in paste, and are very
good.


_Suet Pudding and Dumplings._

Chop 6 oz. suet very fine, put it into a basin with 6 oz. flour, 2 oz.
bread-crumbs, and a tea-spoonful of salt, stir well together, and pour in,
by degrees, enough milk, or milk and water, to make it into a light
pudding; put it into a floured cloth, and boil two hours. For dumplings,
mix the above stiffer, make it into 6 dumplings, and tie them separately in
a cloth; boil them one hour. 1 or 2 eggs are an improvement. 6 oz. of
currants to the above quantity, make _currant dumplings_.


_Meat in Batter._

Cut the meat into chops or steaks, put them in a deep dish, season with
pepper and salt, and fill up the dish with a batter, made of three eggs,
and 4 large table-spoonsful of flour, to a pint of milk; then bake
it.--_Or_: bake the meat {248}whole, and if a large piece, let it be in the
oven half an hour before you pour in the batter, or else they will be
cooked unequally.


_Kidney Pudding._

Split and soak 1 or 2 ox kidneys, and season well; line a bason or cloth
with a crust, put them in, and boil it two hours and a half; rather less,
if in a cloth.


_Fish Pudding._

Pound some slices of whiting in a mortar, with ¼ lb. butter; soak slices of
2 French rolls in cold milk, beat them up with pepper and salt, and mix
with the fish. Boil this, in a buttered bason, about an hour and a half.
Serve melted butter.--_Mackerel_ is made into puddings; for this follow the
directions for beef steak pudding.


_Black Pudding._

They are made of hog's blood. Salt, strain, and boil it _very slowly_, or
it will curdle, with a little milk or broth, pepper, salt, and minced
onion; stir in, by degrees, some dried oatmeal and sliced suet; add what
savoury herbs you like, fill the skins, and boil them. Some put in whole
rice or grits (parboiled), in place of oatmeal.


_Hog's Puddings, White._

Mix ½ lb. almonds blanched and cut in pieces, with 1 lb. grated bread, 2
lbs. beef or mutton suet, 1 lb. currants, some cinnamon and mace, a pint of
cream, the yolks of 5 and whites of 2 eggs, some Lisbon sugar, lemon peel,
and citron sliced, and a little orange-flower water. Fill the skins rather
more than half, and boil in milk and water.


_Apple Pudding to Boil._

Make a paste in the proportion of 4 oz. suet, or 2 oz. butter, lard, or
dripping, to 8 oz. flour, and a little salt. Some use an egg or two, others
cold water only, but it should be a _stiff_ paste. Line a mould, bason, or
cloth, with this paste, rolled smooth, put in the apples, pared,
{249}cored, and sliced; sweeten with brown sugar, and flavour with cloves,
cinnamon, or lemon peel, as you like. Some persons put in 3 or 4 cloves, or
a small piece of cinnamon, also lemon peel.


_Green Apricot Pudding._

The same as the last, and is delicious. Let the crust be delicate, and use
white powdered sugar.


_Roll Pudding._

Roll out a paste as directed for apple pudding, spread jam or any other
preserve you like on it, roll it over, tie it in a cloth, and boil it.--A
very nice mixture to spread over paste in place of preserves, is composed
of apples, currants, and a very little of mace, cinnamon, and sugar.
_Another Jam Pudding_: line a bason with a thin paste, spread a layer of
preserve at the bottom, then a thin paste to cover it, then a layer of
preserve, and so on, till the bason is filled, cover with paste, pinch it
round the edges, and boil it.


_Apple Dumplings._

Peel large apples, divide them, take out the cores, then close them again,
first putting 1 clove in each. Roll out thin paste, cut it into as many
pieces as you have apples, and fold each one neatly up; close the paste
safely. Tie up each dumpling separately, very tight, and boil them an hour.
When you take them up, dip each one into cold water, stand it in a bason
two or three minutes, and it will turn more easily out of the cloth.

_Green currants_, _ripe currants_, _and raspberries_, _gooseberries_,
_cherries_, _damsons_, and all the various sorts of _plums_, are made into
puddings, the same as _apple pudding_.


_Plum Pudding._

For this national compound there are many receipts, and rich plum puddings
are all very much alike, but the following receipts are very good:--To 6
oz. finely shred beef {250}suet, add 2 oz. flour, 4 oz. stoned raisins, 4
oz. well picked and plumped currants, pounded allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg,
and sugar to taste, and a tea-spoonsful of salt; mix these ingredients
well, and wet them with 3 eggs well beaten, and as much milk as is required
to mix it into a rather stiff pudding. You may add a wine-glassful of
brandy, or 2 of sweet white wine; indeed, brandy is rarely omitted; some
prefer the flavour of orange flower or rose-water. This pudding may be made
richer by the addition of 1 oz. candied lemon peel, and ½ oz. citron. It
should boil at least four hours.--_Or_: ½ lb. of slices of stale bread,
pour ½ pint of boiling milk over, and cover close for fifteen or twenty
minutes; beat this up with ½ lb. suet, ½ lb. raisins, and the same of
currants, all chopped fine; add 2 table-spoonsful of flour, 3 eggs, a
little salt, and as much milk as is required. This may be either boiled or
baked.--_Or_: to ¾ lb. currants, ¾ lb. raisins, and ½ lb. suet, add ½ lb.
bread-crumbs, 6 eggs, a wine-glassful of brandy, ½ a tea-cupful of fine
sugar, ½ a nutmeg grated, and as much candied orange or lemon peel as you
like: mix well, and boil three hours. No other liquid is required.


_A Christmas Pudding._

To 1 lb. suet add 1 lb. flour, 1 lb. raisins, 1 lb. currants (chopped
fine), 4 oz. bread-crumbs, 2 table-spoonsful sugar, 1 of grated lemon peel,
a blade of mace, ½ a nutmeg, a tea-spoonful of ginger, and 6 eggs well
beaten. Mix well and boil five hours.


_Marrow Pudding._

Pour a quart of boiling milk over a large breakfast-cupful of stale crumbs,
and cover a plate over. Shred ½ lb. fresh marrow, mix with it 2 oz.
raisins, 2 oz. currants, and beat them up with the soaked bread; sweeten to
your taste, add a tea-spoonful of cinnamon powder, and a very little
nutmeg. Lay a puff paste round the edge of a shallow pudding dish, and pour
the pudding in. Bake from twenty-five minutes to half an hour. You may add
lemon peel, a wine-glassful of brandy, some almonds blanched and slit; also
candied citron and lemon peel.


{251}_Sauce for Plum Pudding._

Melt good fresh butter, thicken it, and stir in by degrees, a wine-glassful
of white wine, the same of brandy or old rum; sweeten to your taste, and
add grated lemon peel and cinnamon. _A Store Pudding Sauce._--To ½ pint
brandy, and 1 pint sherry, add 1 oz. thinly pared lemon peel, and ½ oz.
mace; infuse these two or three weeks, then strain and bottle it. Add as
much as you like to thick melted butter, and sweeten to taste.


_French Plum Pudding._

Mix 6 oz. suet, 7 oz. grated bread, 2 oz. sugar, 3 eggs, a coffee-cupful of
milk, a table-spoonful ratafia, or 2 of rum, and ½ lb. French plums; let it
stand two hours, stir well again, and boil it in a mould, two hours.


_Plum Pudding of Indian Corn Flour._

To 1 lb. corn flour add ½ lb. shred suet, and what currants, raisins, and
spices you choose; mix the whole well together, with a pint of water, and
boil the pudding in a cloth three hours.


_Maigre Plum Pudding._

Simmer in ½ pint milk, 2 blades mace, and a bit of lemon peel, for ten
minutes; strain into a basin, to cool. Beat 3 eggs, with 3 oz. lump sugar,
¼ of a nutmeg grated, and 3 oz. flour; beat well together, and add the milk
by degrees; then put in 3 oz. fresh butter, 2 or 3 oz. bread-crumbs, 2 oz.
currants, and 2 oz. raisins; stir all well together. Boil it in a mould two
hours and a half. Serve melted butter sweetened, and flavoured with brandy.


_Bread Pudding._

Pour a pint of boiling new milk over a breakfast-cupful of stale
bread-crumbs, cover till cold, then beat them with a spoon; add 2 oz.
currants, or a few cut raisins, a little sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 3 or
4 eggs, well beaten; beat well together, and either boil in a buttered
mould, or {252}bake in a dish. It may be enriched by candied citron, or
lemon peel, and flavoured with orange flower or rose water. This may be
baked in little cups, turned out into a dish, and served with sweet sauce.
_Brown Bread Pudding._--Grate ½ lb. stale brown bread, and mix it with ½
lb. shred suet, and ½ lb. currants; sugar and nutmeg to taste, 4 eggs, 1
table-spoonful of brandy, and 2 of cream. Boil it three hours, and serve
with sweet sauce.


_Sweet Sauce._

Flavour thick melted butter with cinnamon and grated lemon peel, sweeten to
taste, add 1 or 2 wine-glassfuls of white wine.--_Or_: sweeten some thin
cream, put in a little piece of butter, heat it, then flavour with cinnamon
or lemon peel, and white wine; pour it hot over the pudding, or serve in a
tureen.--_Or_: break a stick of cinnamon into bits, boil it ten minutes, in
water enough to cover it, add ¼ pint of white wine, 2 table-spoonsful of
powdered sugar, and boil it up, strain, and pour over the pudding.


_Bread and Butter Pudding._

Lay thin slices of stale bread and butter in a pudding dish, sprinkle
currants over, then another layer of bread and butter, and so on till the
dish is full to about an inch; pour over an unboiled custard (3 eggs to a
pint of milk), sweeten to taste, soak it an hour, and bake half an hour.


_Custard Pudding._

Boil a stick of cinnamon and a roll of lemon peel, in a pint of new milk,
or cream, and set it by to cool. Beat 5 eggs, pour the milk to them,
sweeten to taste, and bake in a dish lined with puff paste twenty minutes.
You may add a wine-glassful of brandy. _To Boil._--Prepare a mould as
follows; put into it enough powdered sugar, to cover it, set it on the
stove for the sugar to melt, and take care that the syrup cover the whole
inside of the mould; grate lemon peel over the sugar, and pour the above
mixture of milk or cream and eggs into it; tie a cloth over, and put
instantly into boiling water, and boil it half an hour. Turn it out, and
garnish with preserves. These puddings are good, hot or cold.


{253}_Little Puddings._

Grate a penny loaf, and mix well with a handful of currants, a very little
fresh butter, nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg; make it into little balls,
flour them, tie separately in a cloth, and boil them half an hour. Serve
quite hot, with wine sauce.


_An Excellent Pudding._

Boil a bit of cinnamon in a pint of milk, pour it over thin slices of
French roll, or an equal quantity of rusks, cover with a plate to cool;
beat it quite smooth with 6 oz. shred suet, ¼ lb. currants, 3 eggs beaten,
and a little brandy, old rum, or orange-flower water. Bake an hour.


_Oatmeal Pudding._

Steep the oatmeal all night in milk. Pour off the milk, and stir into the
meal some cream, currants, spice, sugar, or salt, to your taste, and 3 or 4
eggs; or, if no cream, use more eggs. Stir well, and boil it in a basin an
hour. Pour melted butter, sweetened, over it.


_Batter Pudding._

Beat 4 eggs and mix them smoothly, with 4 table-spoonsful of flour, then
stir in by degrees, 1 pint of new milk, beat it well, add a tea-spoonful of
salt, and boil in a mould an hour, or bake it half an hour.--_Black Cap
Pudding_ is made in the same way, with the addition of 3 oz. currants;
these will fall to the bottom of the basin, and form a black cap when the
pudding is turned out.--_Batter Pudding with Fruit_ is made as follows:
pare, core, and divide, 8 large apples, put them in a deep pudding dish,
pour a batter over, and bake it.--Cherries, plums, damsons, and most sorts
of fruit, make nice puddings in this way.--Serve sweet sauce with batter
puddings.--_Or_: raspberry vinegar, such as is made at home, clear, and
possessing the flavour of the fruit.


_Yorkshire Pudding._

This is batter, the same as the last receipt, baked, and {254}eaten with
roast meat; but in some houses it is not baked, but cooked under the meat
thus: pour it into a shallow tin pan, put it under roasting meat, and stir
till it begins to settle. After one or two trials a cook will know when to
put the pudding under the meat, for that must depend upon the size of the
joint, as it ought to go to table as soon as it is done, or it will be
heavy. They are much lighter not turned. The fat will require to be poured
off, once or twice.


_Potato Puddings._

Boil in a quart of milk, a bit of lemon peel, and some nutmeg. Rub smooth,
in a little cold milk, 4 table-spoonsful of potato flour, and stir it, by
degrees, into the hot milk; when cool, add sugar, and 3 or 4 eggs, or more
as you like, put it into a dish, and bake an hour. Add brandy or
orange-flower water.


_Carrot Pudding._

Mix ½ lb. grated raw carrot with ½ lb. grated bread, and stir these into a
pint of thick cream and the yolks of 8 eggs well beaten, then stir in ½ lb.
fresh butter, melted, 3 spoonsful of orange-flower water, ½ a wine-glassful
of brandy, a nutmeg grated, and sugar to your taste; stir all well
together, and if too thick, add a very little new milk, pour it into a dish
lined with paste and bake it an hour.


_Hasty Pudding._

Beat the yolk of an egg into ½ pint new milk with a little salt, stir this
by degrees into 3 table-spoonsful of flour, and beat it to a smooth batter.
Set 1½ pint of milk on the fire; when scalding hot pour in the batter, keep
stirring that it may be smooth and not burn: let it thicken, but not boil.
Serve it directly.


_Buttermilk Pudding._

Use fresh buttermilk, and make the same as batter pudding, but without
eggs. This is very good, with roast meat.--_Or_: warm 3 quarts of milk with
a quart of {255}buttermilk, then pour it through a sieve; when the curd is
dry, pound it with ½ lb. sugar, the peel of a lemon boiled till tender, the
crumb of a roll, 6 bitter almonds, 4 oz. butter, the yolks of 5 and whites
of 3 eggs, a tea-cupful of good cream, a wine-glassful of sweet wine and of
brandy; mix well, and bake in small cups, well buttered. Serve quite hot,
with sweet sauce.


_Save-all Pudding._

Put scraps of bread, or dry pieces of home-made cake, into a saucepan, with
milk according to the quantity of bread; when it boils, beat the bread
smooth, add 3 eggs, sugar, nutmeg, ginger, and lemon peel; put it into a
buttered dish, and strew over the top 2 oz. shred suet, or butter. Bake or
boil it three quarters of an hour. _Currants_ or _raisins_ are an
improvement.


_Camp Puddings._

Melt ¼ lb. butter in ½ pint of water, with a little salt, sugar to your
taste, and grated lemon peel. When melted, stir in ¼ lb. flour, and when
nearly cold, add 3 eggs well beaten. Bake in cups twenty minutes, or fry
them in plenty of lard.


_Pretty Puddings._

A pint of cream, or new milk, 4 eggs (leave out 2 whites), ½ a nutmeg
grated, the pulp of 2 large apples (boiled), ¼ lb. butter melted, and a
tea-cupful of grated bread. Beat it well together, sweeten to your taste,
and bake it.


_Nursery Pudding._

Cut the crumb of a twopenny loaf in slices, pour on it a quart of boiling
milk, cover close for ten minutes; beat it and stir in ¼ lb. fresh butter,
4 eggs, a little nutmeg, and sugar. Bake in patty-pans, or in a dish, half
an hour.


_Arrow Root Pudding._

Rub 2 dessert-spoonsful of arrow root quite smooth in a little cold milk,
pour upon it by degrees, stirring all the {256}time, a pint of scalded new
milk; put it on the fire a few minutes to thicken, but not boil; stir
carefully, or it will be lumpy. When cold add sugar, and 3 yolks of eggs.
Boil, or bake it half an hour.


_Ground Rice Pudding._

Mix 2 oz. ground rice with ½ pint of cold milk; scald 1½ pint of new milk,
and pour the rice and milk into it, stirring over the fire till it
thickens: let it cool, then add 5 eggs well beaten, 6 oz. of powdered
sugar, nutmeg, and a spoonful of orange-flower water, stir all well
together, and bake in a dish, with a paste border, half an hour. Currants
may be added. It may be boiled in a mould, an hour. Indian corn flour makes
good puddings the same way; and there are preparations of Indian corn, such
as _soujie_, _semolina_, and _golden polenta_, which may be dressed in the
same way.


_Semolina Pudding._

Mix 2 oz. of semolina quite smooth, with a little cold milk, then pour over
it a pint of boiled milk, and sweeten to your taste, then put it into a
saucepan, and keep stirring till it boils, take it off the fire, and stir
till only lukewarm; add a slice of butter, the yolks of 4 eggs, the juice
of a lemon, and a wine-glassful of brandy. Bake in a dish lined with paste,
half an hour.


_Indian Corn Mush._

The same thing as oatmeal porridge, but made of Indian corn meal. Boil 2
quarts of water with a little salt, and mix it, by degrees, into 1 lb. corn
meal; boil very gently three quarters of an hour, stirring all the time,
that the meal may not adhere to the bottom of the saucepan, and burn.


_Hommony._

Boil one third of a pound of Indian meal in water to cover it, for twenty
minutes, or until nearly all the water is wasted; it must be like thick
paste. Put a piece of butter the size of a walnut into a vegetable dish,
pour in the hommony, {257}and serve it, like mashed turnips. Dip your spoon
in the middle when you help it. In some parts of America, what they call
_hommony_ is made of the _cracked_ corn: and if so, it must be something of
the same kind as our peas-pudding, but not boiled in a cloth.


_Polenta._

The best thing to prepare this in, is a three legged iron pot, hung over
the fire. Let the fire be hot, and also blazing, if possible. To a quart of
water, when it boils, put in a little salt, then add 12 oz. of meal, but be
careful to do it in the following manner: while the water is boiling stir
in half the meal first, but be sure to stir quickly all the time, or it may
be lumpy, then you may put in the remainder at once, but keep stirring
constantly. When it has been on the fire a quarter of an hour, cease to
stir, take the pot off the fire and set it on the floor for two minutes,
then put it on the fire again, and you will see the polenta first rise in a
great puff, then break and fall; as soon as you perceive this, take it off
the fire, and turn it out into a dish; it ought to come out quite clean,
not leaving a particle adhering to the pot, else there has been some fault
in the boiling. It is stirred with a long stick, thicker at one end than
the other. Of this the Italians make an endless variety of dishes, some of
which are the following: the most simple mode of dressing the polenta is
thus: pour it from the boiling into a bowl, when cold turn it out; take a
coarse thread in your two hands, put it on the side of the polenta away
from you, draw the thread towards you, and you will find that it cuts a
clean slice of polenta off, continue till you have cut it all into slices,
and then you may dress them in different ways: the commonest is to cut the
slices _thick_ and brown them on a gridiron.


_Whole Rice Pudding._

Rice should be soaked an hour in cold water. Wash well, and pick, a
tea-cupful of good rice, boil it slowly ten minutes, in a little water,
pour that off, and pour over the rice 1½ pint of new milk; let the milk
boil up, pour it into a deep dish, stir in a bit of butter, sugar to your
taste, a little pounded cinnamon, and grated lemon peel; {258}bake it, and
it will be a good plain pudding. This is made richer by adding to the rice
and milk, when poured into the dish, some sliced suet, and raisins, or
candied peel, also 3 or 4 eggs.--_Or_: apples pared, cored, and sliced,
spread at the bottom of the dish, the rice and milk poured over
them.--_Little rice puddings_ are made by boiling the rice (after it has
been parboiled in water) in a pint of cream, with a bit of butter; let it
get quite cold, then mix with it the yolks of 6 eggs, sugar, lemon peel,
and cinnamon; butter some little cups, lay slices of candied citron, or
lemon, at the bottom, fill up with rice, bake, turn them out in a dish, and
pour sweet sauce round. Ratafia is an improvement.


_Rice Pudding to Boil._

Wash and pick ¼ lb. of rice, tie it in a cloth, leaving room to swell, boil
it two hours. Turn it out in a dish, pour melted butter and sifted sugar
over.--_Or_: apples sliced may be mixed with the rice when it is put into
the pudding cloth.--_Or_: boil ½ lb. of rice in 1½ pint of milk till
tender, then mix with it ½ lb. suet, and the same of currants and raisins
chopped, 3 eggs, 1 table-spoonful of sugar, the same of brandy, a little
nutmeg and lemon peel; beat well, put 2 table-spoonsful of flour to bind
it, and boil in a mould or bason three hours.


_Snow Balls._

Boil ½ lb. whole rice tender in water, with a large piece of lemon peel;
drain off the water. Pare and core 4 large apples. Divide the rice into
equal parts, roll out each one, put an apple in, cover with the rice, and
tie each one tightly up in a cloth, and boil half an hour. Pour pudding
sauce round.


_Buxton Pudding._

Boil 1 pint new milk; rub smoothly with a little cold milk, 2
table-spoonsful of flour, and mix it by degrees to the boiled milk, and set
it over the fire, let it boil five minutes, then cool; stir in 4 oz. melted
butter, 5 eggs, 6 oz. lump sugar, and the rind of a lemon grated. Bake half
an hour.


{259}_Vermicelli Pudding._

Boil 1½ pint of new milk, put to it 4 oz. fine vermicelli, boil them
together till the latter is cooked; add ¼ lb. butter; the yolks of 4 eggs,
¼ lb. sugar, a little cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon peel grated. Boil in a
bason; or bake twenty minutes. Cream is an improvement.


_Sago, or Tapioca Pudding._

Wash it in several waters, then soak it an hour. Boil 5 table-spoonsful in
a quart of new milk, with sugar, cinnamon, lemon peel and nutmeg, to taste;
when cold add 4 eggs, bake it in a dish with a paste border, in a slow
oven. Some prefer the prepared sago powder.


_Pearl Barley Pudding._

Wash 3 table-spoonsful of pearl barley in cold water, then boil it two
hours or till quite soft, in a quart of milk, then beat in 2 eggs, some
sugar, and 3 drops of essence of lemon: bake it in a pie dish.


_Millet Pudding._

Wash 4 oz. of the seeds, pour on them 1½ pint of boiling milk, add 2 oz.
butter, a little sugar, ginger, and nutmeg; cover with a plate, and let it
remain till cold, then stir in 3 eggs: boil or bake it.


_Maccaroni Pudding._

Simmer 3 oz. pipe maccaroni in 1½ pint of milk, and a little salt, till
tender. (_Or_: simmer it in water, pour that off, then put the hot milk to
the maccaroni.) Let it cool, add the yolks of 4 eggs, a little nutmeg,
cinnamon, powdered sugar, and a table-spoonful of almond-flower water, and
bake it.--_Or_: to make it richer, put a layer of any preserve in the
centre of the maccaroni. Lay a paste round the edge of the dish.--_Or_:
simmer 6 oz. maccaroni till tender, pour the water off, and let the
maccaroni cool. Beat the yolks of 6 eggs, the whites of 3, and stir them
into ½ pint of good cream, with a very little salt and pepper. {260}Skin
and mince the breast of a cold fowl, with half its quantity of lean ham;
grate 1½ oz. parmesan over the mince, and mix it with all the rest; then
pour it into a shape or bason; boil or steam it.--_Excellent._ Serve a good
clear gravy with this.


_A Pudding always liked._

Put ¼ lb. ratafia drops, 2 oz. jar raisins stoned and slit in two, 1 oz.
sweet almonds slit and blanched, 1 oz. of citron and candied lemon (both
sliced), in layers in a deep dish, and pour over a wine-glassful of sherry
and the same of brandy; pour over a good, rich, unboiled custard, to fill
up the dish, then bake it.


_Cheese Pudding._

Grate ½ lb. of Cheshire cheese into a table-spoonful of finely grated
bread-crumbs, mix them up with 2 eggs, a tea-cupful of cream, and the same
of oiled butter; bake in a small dish lined with puff paste. Serve this
quite hot.


_Ratafia Pudding._

Blanch, and beat to a paste, in a mortar, ½ lb. of sweet, and ½ oz. of
bitter, almonds, with a table-spoonful of orange-flower water; add 3 oz. of
fresh butter, melted in a wine-glassful of hot cream, 4 eggs, sugar to
taste, a very little nutmeg, and a table-spoonful of brandy. Bake in a
small dish, or little cups buttered: serve white wine sauce.


_Staffordshire Pudding._

Put into a scale 3 eggs in the shells, take the same weight of butter, of
flour, and of sugar: beat the butter to a cream, then add the flour, beat
it again, then the sugar and eggs. Butter cups, fill them half full, and
bake twenty minutes in a slow oven. Serve in sweet sauce.


_Baked Almond Pudding._

Beat 6 oz. of sweet and 12 bitter almonds to a paste; mix this with the
yolks of 6 eggs, 4 oz. butter, the grated peel {261}and juice of a lemon,
1½ pint of cream, a glass of white wine, and some sugar. Put a paste border
round a dish, pour in the pudding, and bake it half an hour.


_Wafer Pudding._

Melt 1 oz. butter and mix it with a gill of cream; when this is cold, work
it into 1½ table-spoonful flour, and 4 eggs, mix well, and bake it in
saucers, half an hour. Serve with wine sauce.


_Orange Pudding._

Grate the rind of a large Seville orange into a mortar, put to it 4 oz.
fresh butter and 6 oz. finely powdered sugar; beat well, and mix in,
gradually, 8 eggs; have ready soaked in milk 3 sponge biscuits, and mix
them to the rest; beat well, pour it into a shallow dish, lined with a rich
puff paste, and bake till the paste is done.--_Or_: the yolks of 8, and
whites of 4, eggs well beaten, 4 table-spoonsful of orange marmalade, 4 oz.
pounded sugar, 4 oz. fresh butter, 2 oz. pounded Naples biscuits, 2
table-spoonsful of cream, 2 of sherry, and 1 of good brandy; mix all
together, and bake in a dish with a very thin paste.


_Lemon Pudding._

Put ½ lb. fresh butter with ½ lb. lump sugar into a saucepan, and stir it
over the fire till the sugar is melted, turn it out to cool; beat 8 eggs,
very well, add to them the juice of 2, and the grated peel of 3, lemons,
and mix these well with the butter and sugar, also a wine-glassful of
brandy; bake in a dish lined with puff paste, half an hour.--_Or_: boil in
several waters the peel of 4 large lemons, and when cold pound it in a
mortar with ½ lb. of lump sugar; add ½ lb. fresh butter beaten to a cream,
6 yolks of eggs, 3 whites, 2 table-spoonsful of brandy, and the juice of 3
lemons, mix well, and bake in a moderately quick oven; when done strew
sifted sugar over.--Some persons put 2 sponge biscuits into the mixture.


_Cabinet or Brandy Pudding._

Line a mould, first with raisins stoned, or with dried {262}cherries, then
with thin slices of French roll, then with ratafias or maccaroons, then put
in preserved, or fresh, fruit as you like, mixed with sponge, and what
other cakes you choose, until the mould be full, sprinkling in at times 2
glasses of brandy. Beat 4 eggs, yolks and whites, and put them into a pint
of scalded and sweetened new milk or cream, add grated nutmeg and lemon
peel; let the liquid sink gradually into the solid part, tie a floured
cloth tight over, and boil the pudding one hour, keeping the bottom of the
bason up.--_Another_: pour a pint of hot cream over ½ lb. of Savoy biscuit,
and cover it; when cold, beat it up, with the yolks and whites of 8 eggs,
beaten separately, sugar and grated lemon peel: butter a mould, stick some
stoned raisins round, and pour in the pudding: boil or bake it.


_Baked Apple or Gooseberry Pudding._

Having pared and cored them, stew 1 lb. of apples, or 1 quart of
gooseberries, in a small stew-pan, with a very little water, a stick of
cinnamon, 2 or 3 cloves, and grated lemon peel: when soft, pulp the apples
through a sieve, sweeten them, or, if they want sharpness, add the juice of
half, or a whole lemon, also ¼ lb. good fresh butter, and the yolks of 6
eggs well beaten; line a pudding dish, or patty-pans, with a good puff
paste; pour the pudding in, and bake half an hour, or less, as required. A
little brandy, or orange-flower water, may be used.--You may mix 2 oz. of
Naples biscuit, with the pulp of gooseberries. _Another._--Prepare the
apples as in the last receipt: butter a dish and strew a very thick coating
of crumbs of bread, put in the apples and cover with more crumbs; bake in a
moderate oven half an hour, then turn it carefully out, and strew bits of
lemon peel and finely sifted sugar over.--Rice may be used instead of
crumbs of bread, first boiled till quite tender in milk, then sweetened,
and flavoured with nutmeg and pounded cinnamon; stir a large piece of
butter into it.


_Quince Pudding._

Scald 1 lb. fruit till tender, pare them, and scrape off all the pulp.
Strew over it pounded ginger and cinnamon, {263}with sugar enough to
sweeten it. To a pint of cream, put the yolks of 3 eggs, and stir enough
pulp to make it as thick as you like. Pour it into a dish lined with puff
paste, and bake it. Any stone fruit may be coddled, then baked in the same
way.


_Swiss Apple Pudding._

Break some rusks in bits, and soak them in boiling milk. Put a layer of
sliced apples and sugar in a pudding dish, then a layer of rusks, and so
on; finish with rusks, pour thin melted butter over, and bake it.


_Peach, Apricot, and Nectarine Pudding._

Pour a pint of boiling, thin cream, over a breakfast-cupful of
bread-crumbs, and cover with a plate. When cold, beat them up with the
yolks of 5 eggs, sugar to taste, and a glass of white wine. Scald 12 large
peaches, peel them, take out the kernels, pound these with the fruit, in a
mortar, and mix with the other ingredients; put all into a dish with a
paste border, and bake it. _Another Apricot Pudding._--Coddle 6 large
apricots till quite tender, cut them in quarters, sweeten to your taste,
and when cold, add 6 yolks of eggs and 2 whites, well beaten, also a little
cream. Put this in a dish lined with puff paste, and bake it half an hour
in a slow oven: strew powdered sugar over, and send it to table.

For this and all delicate puddings requiring little baking, rather shallow
dishes are best; and if the pudding is not to be _turned out_, a pretty
paste border only is required; this formed of leaves neatly cut, and laid
round the dish, their edges just laying over each other.


_A Charlotte._

Cut slices of bread, an inch thick, butter them on both sides, and cut them
into dice or long slips, and make them fit the bottom, and round the sides
of a small buttered dish or baking tin, and fill up with apples which have
been stewed, sweetened, and seasoned to taste; have some slices {264}of
bread soaked in warm milk and butter, cover these over the top, put a plate
or dish on the top, and a weight on that, to keep it down, and bake in a
quick oven: when done, turn it out of the dish.--This is very nice, made of
layers of different sorts of marmalade or preserved fruit, and slices of
stale sponge cake between each layer. _Another of Currants._--Stew ripe
currants with sugar enough to sweeten them: have ready a basin or mould
buttered and lined with thin slices of bread and butter, pour in the stewed
fruit hot, just off the fire, cover with more slices of bread and butter,
turn a plate over, and a weight on that: let it stand till the next day,
then turn it out, and pour cream or a thin custard round it, in the dish.


_Bakewell Pudding._

Line a dish with puff paste, spread over a variety of preserves, and pour
over them the following mixture:--½ lb. clarified butter, ½ lb. lump sugar,
8 yolks, and 2 whites of eggs, and any thing you choose to flavour with;
bake it in a moderate oven. When cold you may put stripes of candied lemon
over the top, and a few blanched almonds. To be eaten cold.--This without
any preserves is called _Amber Pudding_.


_Citron Pudding._

Mix ½ pint of good cream by degrees, with 1 table-spoonful of fine flour, 2
oz. of lump sugar, a little nutmeg and the yolks of 2 eggs; pour it into a
dish or little cups, stick in 2 oz. of citron cut very fine, and bake in a
moderate oven.


_Maccaroon Pudding._

Pour a pint of boiling cream or new milk, flavoured with cinnamon and lemon
peel, over ¼ lb. maccaroon and ¼ lb. almond cakes; when cold break them
small, add the yolks of 6 and the whites of 4 eggs, 2 table-spoonsful of
orange marmalade, 2 oz. fresh butter, 2 oz. sifted sugar, a glass of
sherry, and one of brandy mixed: mix well, put it into cups, and bake
fifteen minutes.


{265}_New College Pudding._

(The Original Receipt.)

Grate a stale penny loaf, shred fine ½ lb. suet, beat 4 eggs, and mix all
well together, with 4 oz. of sifted sugar, a little nutmeg, a wine-glassful
of brandy, a little candied orange and lemon peel, and a little rose or
orange flower water. Fry these in good butter, and pour melted butter with
a glass of white wine over them in the dish. The several ingredients may be
prepared apart, but must not be mixed till you are ready to fry
them.--_Another_: to 4 oz. of grated bread add 4 oz. suet shred fine, 4 oz.
currants, 2 eggs, 3 table-spoonsful of brandy, with sugar, lemon peel, and
nutmeg to your taste; mix well together, make into 4 little puddings, and
boil them an hour.


_Paradise Pudding._

Pare and chop 6 apples very fine, mix them with 6 oz. bread-crumbs, 6 oz.
powdered sugar, 6 oz. currants, 6 eggs, 6 oz. of suet, a little salt,
nutmeg, and lemon peel, also a glass of brandy. Boil in a bason one hour
and a half.


_Yeast or Light Dumplings._

Put 1½ table-spoonful of good yeast into as much lukewarm water as will mix
a quartern of fine flour into dough; add a little salt, knead it lightly,
cover with a cloth, and let it stand in rather a warm place, not exposed to
a current of air, two hours. Make it into 12 dumplings, let them stand half
an hour, put them into a large vessel of boiling water, keep the lid on,
and they will be done in fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve melted butter.


_Hard Dumplings._

Sprinkle a little salt into the flour and mix it up rather stiff with
water, make it into dumplings, and boil them with beef or pork. They may be
made in cakes as broad as a small plate, about an inch thick; place a
skimmer in the pot, lay the cake on it, boil it half an hour; score it
deeply, and slip slices of butter in, sprinkle a little salt over, and
serve it quite hot. A very little _lard_ may be rubbed into the flour.


{266}_Pancakes._

The batter requires long beating, but the great art consists in frying
them. The lard, butter, or dripping must be fresh and hot, as for fish.
Beat 2 eggs and stir them, with a little salt, into 3 table-spoonsful of
flour, or allow an egg to each spoonful of flour, add pounded cinnamon,
and, by degrees, a pint of new milk, and beat it to a smooth batter. Make a
small round frying-pan quite hot, put a piece of butter or lard into it,
and, when melted, pour it out and wipe the pan; put a piece more in, and
when it has melted and begins to froth, pour in a ladle or tea-cupful of
the batter, toss the pan round, run a knife round the edges, and turn the
pancake when the top is of a light brown; brown the other side; roll it up,
and serve very hot. Currant jelly, or marmalade, may be spread thinly on
the pancake before it is rolled up. Cream and more eggs will make it
richer; also brandy or lemon juice.


_Whole Rice Pancakes._

Boil ½ lb. rice in water till quite tender, strain, and let it cool; then
break it very fine, and add ½ lb. clarified butter, ½ pint of scalded
cream, or new milk, a little salt, nutmeg, and 5 eggs, well beaten. Mix
well, and fry them. Garnish with slices of lemon, or Seville orange.


_Ground Rice Pancakes._

Stir, by degrees, into a quart of new milk, 4 table-spoonsful of ground
rice, and a little salt; stir it over the fire till it is as thick as pap;
stir in ½ lb. butter and grated nutmeg, and let it cool; add 4
table-spoonsful of flour, a little sugar, and 9 eggs; beat well, and fry
them.


_Fritters._

Make batter the same as pancakes, but stiffer; pour a large spoonful into
boiling lard; fry as many at a time as the pan will hold. Sift powdered
sugar over, and serve on a hot dish. Fritters are usually made with minced
apple or currants, stirred into the batter, or any sweetmeat stiff enough
to be cut into little bits, or candied lemon or orange {267}peel.--_Or_:
grate the crumb of a stale roll, beat it smooth in a pint of milk over the
fire, then let it get cold, and mix it with the yolks of 5 eggs, 3 oz.
sifted sugar, and ½ a nutmeg. Fry in boiling lard, and serve hot. Sweet
sauce in a tureen. _Curd Fritters_--Rub a quart basin full of dried curd
with the yolks of 8 and whites of 4 eggs; 3 oz. sugar, ½ a nutmeg grated,
and a dessert-spoonful of flour; beat well, and drop the batter into
boiling lard. _Apple Fritters_--Make a stiff common pancake batter. Boil ½
a stick of cinnamon in a breakfast-cupful of water, and let it cool. Peel
and core some large apples, cut them in round slices, and steep them half
an hour, or more, in the cinnamon water; then dip each piece in the batter,
and fry them in lard, or clarified dripping. Drain, dust sugar over each
one, and serve hot.--_Or_: to make a pretty dish, drop enough batter into
the pan to form a fritter the size of the slices of apple, lay a slice of
apple upon that, and drop batter on the top.--_Or_: the apples may be
pared, cored, half baked (whole), then dipped in the batter, and fried.


_A Rice White Pot._

Boil 1 lb. whole rice quite tender, in 2 quarts of new milk, strain, and
beat it in a mortar with ¼ lb. blanched almonds, and a little rose water.
Boil 2 quarts of cream with a blade or 2 of mace, let it cool, and stir
into it 5 eggs well beaten, sweeten to taste, pour it into the rice, mix
well, and bake half an hour. Lay some slices of candied orange and citron
on the top before you put it into the oven.--_Or_: to a quart of new milk
add the yolks of 4 and the whites of 2 eggs, a table-spoonful of rose
water, and 2 oz. sugar; beat well, and pour it into a pie dish, over some
thin slices of bread: bake it half an hour.


_Pain Perdu._

Boil a pint of cream, or new milk; when cold, stir in 6 eggs and put in a
French roll, cut in slices, to soak an hour. Fry the slices in butter, of a
light brown, and serve with pudding sauce poured over.




{268}CHAPTER XXI.

BREAD, CAKES, BISCUITS, ROLLS, AND MUFFINS.


ALMOST every county has its peculiar fashion of making bread: and almost
every hand differs in the practice. The receipt here given is the one
followed by most persons in Hampshire; and I select it, being the one I am
most familiar with, and not because that county is famed for excellence in
bread; for much depends upon the goodness of the flour, and some other
parts of England excel Hampshire in this respect.

Good bread is so essential, that no pains ought to be spared to procure it.
For this purpose the flour ought to be well prepared, and kept in a dry
place. Some persons like brown bread, but it is not, in general, so
wholesome as that which is all white. Six pounds of rye flour, to a peck of
wheaten flour, makes very good bread.

The advantages of making bread _at home_, in preference to buying it at the
baker's, are stated in COBBETT'S "COTTAGE ECONOMY"; and I refer my readers
to that little work, to convince them that they will benefit greatly by
following the advice there given on this subject.

Small beer yeast is the best for making bread, as ale, or strong beer
yeast, is generally too bitter.

_To take the Bitter from Yeast._--Put the yeast to the water you use to mix
the "batter," or as the country people call it, "set the sponge," and stir
into it 2 or 3 good handfuls of bran; pour it through a sieve or jelly bag
(kept for the purpose), and then mix it into the flour. The bran not only
corrects the bitterness of the yeast, but communicates a sweetness to the
bread.--_Or_: put into the yeast 2 or 3 pieces of wood coal, stir them
about, pour the water in, and then strain it.


{269}_Household Bread._

(From Cobbett's Cottage Economy.)

"Supposing the quantity to be a bushel of flour, put it into the trough,
and make a deep hole in the middle. Stir into a pint (or if very thick and
good, ½ or ¾ pint), of yeast, a pint of soft warm water, and pour it into
the hole in the flour. In very cold weather the water should be nearly hot,
in very warm weather only lukewarm. Take a spoon and work it round the
outside of this body of moisture, so as to bring into that body, by
degrees, flour enough to form a _thin batter_, which you must stir about
well for a minute or two. Then take a handful of flour and scatter it
thinly over the head of this batter, so as to _hide_ it. Cover a cloth over
the trough to keep the air from the bread, and the thickness of this
covering, as well as the situation of the trough as to distance from the
fire, must depend on the nature of the place and state of the weather, as
to heat and cold. When you perceive that the batter has risen enough to
make _cracks_ in the flour that you covered it over with, you begin to form
the whole mass into _dough_, thus: you begin round the hole containing the
batter, working the flour into the batter, and pouring in, as it is wanted,
soft water, or half milk and half water, in winter a _little_ warm, in
summer quite cold; but before you begin this, you scatter the salt over the
heap, at the rate of a lb. to a bushel of flour. When you have got the
whole _sufficiently moist_, you _knead it well_. This is a grand part of
the business; for unless the dough be _well worked_, there will be _little
round lumps of flour in the loaves_; besides which, the original batter,
which is to give fermentation to the whole, will not be duly mixed. The
dough must, therefore, be well worked. The _fists_ must go heartily into
it. It must be rolled over; pressed out; folded up, and pressed out again,
until it be completely mixed, and formed into a _stiff_ and _tough dough_."

The loaves are made up according to fancy, both as to size and shape; but
the time they require to bake will greatly depend upon the former, for the
household loaf of a Hampshire farm-house takes three hours or three hours
and a half, while that of a Norfolk farm-house does not, I should imagine,
require half the time.


{270}_French Bread or Rolls._

Warm 1½ pint of milk, add ½ pint yeast; mix them with fine flour to a thick
batter, put it near the fire to rise, keeping it covered. When it has risen
as high as it will, add ¼ pint of warm water, ½ oz. salt, 2 oz. butter; rub
the butter first with a little dry flour, mix the dough not quite so stiff
as for common bread; let it stand three quarters of an hour to rise, then
make it into rolls. Bake in a quick oven.


_Rice Bread._

To ¼ lb. wheat flour, allow 1 lb. rice; the latter first boiled in four
times its weight of water, till it becomes a perfect pulp, then mix by
degrees, the flour with the rice, and sufficient yeast for the quantity of
bread; knead and set it to rise.

It was the fashion in this country to present a variety of cakes, some hot
and some cold, on the tea-table; but now, except in some of the northern
counties, the good custom is obsolete.

In America, it is the general custom to dine early, to take tea rather
late, and no supper; and there the tea table is a matter of as much
consideration as the dinner table is in England or France. Every house in
America, especially in the country, has one, two, or more cottage ovens of
various sizes. I believe that these very useful things are known in some
parts of England, but I never saw them except in America. They are
particularly adapted to open fire-places, where wood or peat are burnt.
They are much the same as the iron pots, which stand on legs, except that
the bottom of the oven is flat, not round, and that the lid fits into the
top, leaving a space sufficient to hold a layer of hot coals: the oven
stands upon legs, at a little distance from the ground, to admit of hot
coals being placed under it. A loaf the size of our quartern loaf may be
baked in this way, as well as tarts, cakes, custards, apples, pears, &c.,
&c. By means of this little oven, much labour and fuel are saved. Another
appendage to an American kitchen, is the _girdle_ for baking many sorts of
cakes, and crumpets; and on this girdle they cook their far-famed buckwheat
cakes. It is a round iron plate with a handle over it, which is hung upon
the crane upon which {271}iron pots are hung, or it will stand upon a
trivet, and then the crumpets are cooked in the same way as pancakes; and
are much better thus, fresh made, than as they are generally eaten.

In the country, where eggs, cream, and flour (the chief ingredients), are
always to be obtained in perfection, there is no excuse for an absence of
cakes for the tea, or of rolls at the breakfast table. In most houses,
there are young ladies who might attend to this department, with very
little loss of time, and with much credit to themselves, and I should be
glad if I saw reason to hope that those who are now growing up would not
despise the practice. The more difficult and intricate articles of
ornamental confectionary, may be too troublesome for any but professors of
the art; but all _cakes_ may be made at home. Nothing worth knowing, is to
be learned without trouble; but in the art of making and baking cakes, few
failures can arise after any number of trials.

Flour for cakes should be of the best quality, well dried, and sifted. The
eggs fresh, beaten separately, and beaten well. Currants well washed,
picked, and dried in a cloth, or before the fire. The ingredients
thoroughly mixed, and the cake put into the oven _instantly_, unless there
be yeast, and then time must be given for it to rise.

Sal Volatile is used, not to make cakes rise, but to prevent their
flattening, after they have risen, but though the practice may not be
injurious, it had better be avoided. Yeast ought to be sweet, white, and
thick; and may be prepared in the manner directed for bread. Pearl-ash is
sometimes used to lighten bread and cakes.

An iceing is made as follows: to ½ lb. finely sifted sugar put the whites
of 2 eggs, beaten with a little water; beat all well with a whisk till
quite smooth, and spread it thickly over the cake, with a spoon; for small
cakes, put it on lightly, with a brush.

Ovens vary so much, that experience alone can teach what quantity of fuel,
and what portion of time may be required to heat any particular one. When
such knowledge is once obtained, it will be a matter of no great difficulty
so to manage the oven that it be always of the right temperature; which it
must be, or all labour is lost.

Cakes keep moist covered with a cloth, in a pan.


{272}_Common Currant Loaf._

Melt ¼ lb. butter in a pint of milk, and mix it with 4 oz. yeast and 2
eggs, then stir it into 2 lbs. flour, beat well with a wooden spoon, and
set it before the fire to rise; then add 1 lb. currants, and 2 oz. sifted
sugar, and bake it an hour in a moderate oven.


_A Rich Plum Cake._

To 1 lb. each, of currants and flour, rubbed together, add 12 oz. fresh
butter beaten to a cream. Beat the whites and yolks of 16 eggs, put to them
nearly 1 lb. finely powdered sugar, set this mixture over the fire, and
whisk it till the eggs are warm; then take it off, beat till cold, and stir
in, first, the butter, then the flour and currants; beat well, add ½ oz.
bitter almonds, beaten to a paste, 2 oz. sweet almonds, blanched, and cut
the long way, ½ oz. pounded cinnamon and mace, and ½ lb. candied peel,
either citron, lemon, or orange, or a portion of each; add a little brandy
or any highly flavoured liquor. Paper a hoop and pour in the cake. An hour
and a half, or two hours will bake it.--_Another_: beat 1 lb. butter to a
cream, put to it ¾ lb. sifted sugar, and a little rose or orange flower
water, beat it; then add 8 yolks of eggs, the whites of 4, ½ lb. almonds,
blanched and beaten, 1½ lb. currants, a little each, of cinnamon, mace,
cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, and 1 lb. flour. You may add 2 table-spoonsful
of brandy, 1 oz. citron, 1 oz. candied lemon peel, and the same of orange
peel. Bake two hours.


_A very good Cake._

Beat 2 lbs. fresh butter, with a little rose water, till it is like cream;
rub it into 2 lbs. well dried flour; add the peel of a lemon grated, 1 lb.
loaf sugar pounded and sifted, 15 eggs (beat the whites by themselves, the
yolks with the sugar), a ¼ pint of brandy, the same of Lisbon or Marsala,
2½ lbs. currants, ½ lb. almonds, blanched and cut in slices, beat well
together, put it into a buttered tin or dish, bake two hours. Candied lemon
or citron may be added.


{273}_Pound Cake._

To 1 lb. flour add 1 lb. butter beaten to a cream, and 8 eggs: beat well,
add sifted sugar, and grated lemon peel. You may add currants or carraways,
to your taste. Beat well, and bake in rather a quick oven, an hour.


_Common Cake._

To 2 lbs. flour, add ½ lb. butter, ½ lb. sugar, 4 eggs, 1 lb. currants, 1
oz. candied citron or lemon, 1 oz. carraway seeds, a little nutmeg, and 3
table-spoonsful yeast. Beat well, for half an hour, then put it in the oven
_directly_.


_A Cake without Butter._

Take the weight of 5 eggs (in their shells), in sifted sugar, and the
weight of 3 in flour: beat the eggs, add first, the sugar, then the flour,
the rinds of 2 large lemons grated, and a wine-glassful of sherry or
brandy. Bake in a tin mould in a quick oven.--_Another_: to a quartern of
dough add ½ lb. butter, 4 eggs, ½ lb. currants, and ½ lb. sugar, beat all
well together more than half an hour, and bake in a buttered tin.


_A Rich Seed Cake._

Mix 1 lb. sifted sugar into 1 lb. flour, and stir in, by degrees, 8 eggs,
beaten, whisk well together, and add 3 oz. sweet almonds blanched and cut,
some candied citron, lemon, and orange peel, and 12 oz. butter, beaten to a
cream; a little pounded cinnamon, mace, and carraway seeds. Pour it into a
papered hoop, and strew carraways on the top.--_Or_: put 2 lbs. flour into
a deep pan, and mix in ¼ lb. sifted white sugar. Make a hole in the centre,
pour in ½ pint of lukewarm milk and 2 table-spoonsful good yeast; stir a
little of the flour in, cover a cloth lightly over, and let it stand an
hour and a half to rise. Then work it up, with ½ lb. melted butter, a
little allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and 1 oz. carraway seeds; adding warm milk
sufficient to work it to a proper stiffness. Butter a hoop or dish, and
pour in the cake; let it stand in a warm place another half hour to rise,
then bake it. You may add 2 table-spoonsful of brandy.


{274}_A Rice Cake._

Mix 6 oz. ground rice, 4 oz. sugar, the grated peel of ½ a lemon, the yolks
of 5 and whites of 3 eggs, and 1 table-spoonful orange flower water; break
the eggs into a deep pan, and put the rice flour to them at once, mix it
with a wooden spoon, then add the sugar and the other ingredients; beat
well for twenty minutes, and it will be a fine light sponge; then
immediately half fill the moulds, put them into a moderate oven, and bake
three quarters of an hour, of a light brown colour. _Little Rice Cakes_--1
lb. ground rice, 1 lb. 2 oz. sugar, ¾ lb. butter, 8 eggs, and flour to make
it into a stiff paste.--_Or_: 1 lb. sugar, ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. ground rice,
6 oz. butter, 8 yolks and 2 whites of eggs. Both these require long
beating. Roll the paste out, cut it in shapes, and bake on buttered tins.
Some persons add a few drops of the essence of lemon, and of almond
flavour.


_Harvest Cake._

Mix into 3 lbs. flour ¼ oz. of powdered allspice; in another bowl put ¾ lb.
sugar, either moist or lump, 2 oz. butter, 2 eggs, 3 table-spoonsful of
yeast; beat well, then mix in the flour, with ¾ lb. currants, and warm milk
and water, to make up the cake; set it by the fire an hour to rise.


_Temperance Cake._

Rub ¼ lb. butter into 1 lb. flour, add ½ lb. moist sugar, ½ lb. currants,
and a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda, dissolved in a ¼ pint of warm
milk; mix well, and bake it in a tin.


_Sponge Cake._

The weight of 12 eggs in sifted sugar, and the weight of 6 in fine flour;
beat the eggs separately, stir the sugar into the yolks, and beat well,
then put in the whites and beat again, add a little nutmeg and rose-water,
and just before you put the cake into the oven, stir the flour lightly into
the eggs and sugar. This cake must be beaten with a whisk. Bake, in rather
a quick oven, three quarters, or nearly an hour.--_Or_: beat, separately,
the yolks and whites of 5 eggs, {275}put them together, add grated lemon
peel, and 5 oz. fine sugar, beat again an hour and a half, then stir in as
lightly as possible 4 oz. flour, previously dried before the fire.--_Or_:
boil ¾ lb. lump sugar in ½ pint of water to a syrup; beat 7 eggs well, and
pour the syrup, boiling hot, into them, stirring all the time; then beat it
three quarters of an hour, and just before it is put in the oven, stir in
lightly 10 oz. of fine flour, pour it in a mould, and bake in a slow oven.
Lemon peel may be added. Some persons put in a dessert-spoonful of essence
of lemon.


_Marlborough Cake._

Beat 8 eggs, strain, and put to them 1 lb. finely sifted sugar, and beat
the mixture well half an hour; then put in ½ lb. well dried flour, and 2
oz. carraway seeds, beat well five minutes, pour it into shallow tin pins,
and bake in a quick oven.


_Gingerbread._

Put 1¼ lb. treacle on the fire, and as it gets hot, take off the scum; stir
in ¼ lb. of fresh butter, and let it cool; then mix it into a paste with 1½
lb. flour, 4 oz. brown sugar, a little ginger, and allspice; cut it into
shapes, and bake on tins. More butter, or a little cream may be added.
Candied orange, lemon peel, or carraway seeds, may be added.--_Another_:
mix 1 lb. flour, ½ lb. butter (rubbed in), ½ lb. brown sugar, lemon,
ginger, and ½ lb. treacle; let it stand all night, and bake it the next
day. _Soft Gingerbread_--Six tea-cupfuls of flour, 3 of treacle, 1 of
cream, and 1 of butter, 2 eggs, a table-spoonful of pearl-ash, dissolved in
cold water, a table-spoonful of ginger, 1 tea-spoonful of pounded cloves,
and a few raisins, stoned; mix well, and bake in a rather slow oven.
_Gingerbread Nuts_--They may be made the same way as the receipt before the
last, adding more spice. Cut in small cakes, or drop them from a spoon, and
bake on paper. _Parliament_--Melt ¾ lb. butter with 2 lbs. treacle, and 1
lb. sugar, add ½ oz. ginger, the juice and grated rind of a lemon, and
sufficient flour to make it into a paste: roll out thin, cut it into cakes,
and bake it.


{276}_Parkin._

Mix 4 lbs. of meal with 2 lbs. treacle, 1 lb. sugar, 1 lb. butter, and ½
oz. ginger, with a tumbler full of brandy and rum; add nutmeg and mace if
you like, and bake in large cakes.


_Volatile Cakes._

Melt ½ lb. butter, and stir in 4 eggs, 1 tea-spoonful of powdered volatile
salts, dissolved in a tea-spoonful of milk, ½ lb. flour, ¼ lb. finely
powdered loaf sugar, a few currants and carraway seeds. Mix well, and drop
the cakes on tins. They will rise very much. Bake in a quick oven.


_Ginger or Hunting Cakes._

To 2 lbs. sugar, add 1 lb. butter, 2 oz. ginger, and a nutmeg grated; rub
these into 1 lb. flour, and wet it with a pint of warm cream, or as much as
is sufficient; roll out in thin cakes, and bake in a slack oven.


_Rough Cakes._

Rub 6 oz. butter into 1 lb. flour, ½ lb. sifted sugar, ½ lb. currants, and
a little mace or lemon peel, break in 2 eggs, work it all into a rough
paste, and drop on tins. You may add 1 oz. almonds.


_Ginger Rock Cakes._

Pound 1 lb. of loaf sugar, leaving a part of it as large as hemp seed; beat
the whites of 2 eggs to a froth, add a dessert-spoonful of refined ginger
(sold by the druggists in bottles), mix well with a tea-spoon, drop it on
tins, and bake in a moderate oven, a quarter of an hour.


_Plain Biscuits._

To 1 lb. flour, put the yolk of 1 egg, and milk sufficient to mix it to a
stiff paste, knead it smooth, then roll out thin, cut it in round shapes,
prick with a fork, and bake them in a slow oven.--_Or_: to 1 lb. flour add
¼ lb. butter, beaten to a cream, 5 oz. loaf sugar, 5 eggs, and some
{277}carraway seeds: beat well for an hour, and pour the biscuits on tins,
each one a large spoonful. If not sufficiently thin and smooth, add another
egg, or a little milk.--_Or_: rub 4 oz. fresh butter very smooth into 8 oz.
flour, add 3 oz. sifted sugar, and a table-spoonful of carraways: then add
the yolks of 4 eggs, and a table-spoonful of cream. Bake in a quick oven.


_Indian Corn Biscuits._

To ½ lb. butter, add 6 oz. pounded sugar, and 3 eggs; when well mixed, add
¾ lb. corn flour, a little nutmeg, and carraway seeds, beat well, and bake
on little tins.--_Or_: into ¾ lb. flour, rub 4 oz. butter, add 4 oz. sifted
sugar, and nearly 1 oz. carraway seeds; make into a paste with 3 eggs, roll
out thin, and cut them in any shape you like.


_Dr. Oliver's Biscuits._

Put 2 lbs. flour into a shallow pan, mix 1 table-spoonful of yeast with a
little warm water, and pour it into a hole in the middle of the flour, work
a little of the flour into the yeast, and set the pan before the fire a
quarter of an hour. Melt ¼ lb. butter in milk to mix the flour into a stiff
paste, and bake on tins.


_Lemon Biscuits._

Beat the yolks of 12, and the whites of 6 eggs, with 1 lb. loaf sugar: when
the oven is ready, add 2 table-spoonsful rose water, 12 oz. flour, the
juice and rind of 2 lemons, grated, a few almonds if you choose. Bake in a
quick oven.--_Or_: mix 1 lb. sifted sugar with ¼ lb. butter melted, the
rind of a lemon grated, 2 eggs, and a very little flour: roll into little
flat cakes, and bake on tins.


_Rusks._

Boil a quart of milk, let it cool, then put to it ½ pint of yeast, 2 eggs,
2 oz. coriander seeds, 2 oz. carraway seeds, a little ginger, and ¼ lb.
finely pounded sugar, beat these together and add flour to make a stiff
paste: divide it into {278}long thin bricks, put these on tins and set them
before the fire a short time to rise, then bake them. When cold, cut in
slices, and dry them in a slack oven.--_Or_: melt ½ lb. butter in a quart
of milk, let it cool, add 1 egg, ½ pint yeast, and 4 oz. sifted sugar, beat
this a few minutes, then work in flour to make a light dough, and set it by
the fire to rise. Make this into little loaves, bake them on tins, in a
quick oven; when half done take them out of the oven, split, and put them
back to finish.


_Maccaroons, and Ratafia Cakes._

Blanch, and pound, with the whites of 4 eggs, 1 lb. of sweet almonds, 2
lbs. fine sugar, and beat it to a paste; add 8 more whites of eggs and beat
well again. Drop it from a knife, on buttered paper, and bake on tins.
_Ratafia Cakes._--The same as maccaroons, only use half bitter and half
sweet almonds.


_Jumbles._

Rub ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. sifted sugar, with ¼ lb. butter, add a
table-spoonful brandy and 2 eggs; keep out part of the flour to roll them
out with; twist them up, and bake on tins. If too soft, leave out 1 white
of egg.


_Small Plum Cakes._

Mix 2 lbs. flour with 1 lb. sugar, rub in 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. currants, add
6 eggs. When well mixed, roll out the paste equally thin and flat; cut it
into small round cakes with a wine-glass, and bake them in a moderate
oven.--_Or_: do not _cut_, but _pull_ it into small cakes.


_Small Carraway Cakes._

Mix 1 lb. flour, 14 oz. butter, 5 or 6 table-spoonsful of yeast, 3 yolks of
eggs and 1 white, into a paste, with cream. Set it before the fire half an
hour, to rise; add a small tea-cupful of sugar and ½ lb. carraway seeds.
Roll out into cakes, wash them over with rose water and sugar, and prick
the top, with a knife. The oven rather quick.


{279}_Shrewsbury Cakes._

Beat ½ lb. butter to a cream, mix it with 6 oz. sifted sugar, 8 oz. flour,
pounded cinnamon, carraway seeds, 2 eggs, and a little rose water. Roll out
the paste a ¼ inch thick, cut the cakes into shapes, and bake on tins in a
slack oven.


_Shortbread._

Melt 1 lb. butter and pour it on 2 lbs. flour, ½ a tea-cupful of yeast, and
1 oz. carraway seeds; sweeten to your taste, and knead well. Roll out thin,
cut this into 4 pieces, pinch round the edges, prick well with a fork, and
bake on tins.--_Or_: rub 1½ lb. butter, melted without water, into the 4th
of a peck of flour, add 6 oz. sifted sugar, 2 oz. each of candied orange,
citron and blanched almonds, all these cut in rather large pieces; work it
together, but not too much, or the cake will not be crisp; roll the paste
out, about 1½ inch thick, divide it into cakes, pinch the edges neatly, and
mark them on the top with a fork; strew carraways, strips of citron, and
little bits of almonds on the top, and bake on buttered papers.


_Derby Short Cakes._

Rub 1 lb. butter into 2 lbs. flour, ½ lb. sifted sugar, 1 egg, and milk to
make it into a paste. Roll out thin, cut the cakes in slices, and bake on
tins, twenty minutes.


_Cinnamon Cakes._

Beat 6 eggs, with a coffee-cupful of rose water, add 1 lb. sifted sugar, ¼
oz. pounded cinnamon, and sufficient flour to make it into a paste. Roll
out thin, and stamp it into small cakes. Bake on paper.


_Rout Cakes._

Beat 1 lb. butter to a cream, and stir in the yolks of 12 eggs, 12 oz.
flour, some grated lemon peel, and a few pounded almonds, or some orange
flower water. Mix well, and pour it into a mould not more than an inch
high, and lined with paper; bake it, and when it has cooled, cut it into
{280}shapes, with a sharp knife; moisten the sides of these with sugar, and
crisp them before the fire.


_Queen Cakes._

1 lb. well dried flour, 1 lb. butter, worked to a cream, 1 lb. sifted
sugar, and 8 eggs. Beat the yolks and whites separately, put half the sugar
into the butter, and the other half into the eggs, beat them well, then
beat all together, except the flour, which must be lightly dredged in as
you continue beating the mixture, and shaking in ½ lb. currants.


_Buns._

Mix ½ lb. moist sugar with 2 lbs. flour, make a hole in the centre, and
stir in ½ pint of lukewarm milk and a _full_ table-spoonful of yeast. Cover
it for two hours, in a warm place. Melt to an oil, 1 lb. butter, stir it
into the mixture in the middle of the pan, and, by degrees, work it into a
soft dough, dust it over with flour, cover with a cloth, and let it stand
another hour. Make it into buns the size of a large egg, then lay them on a
floured paste-board, and put them before the fire to rise to the proper
size; bake on tins, in a hot oven; when done, brush them over with
milk.--_Cross Buns_: in the same way, adding to the plain buns, about 1 oz.
of ground allspice, mace, and cinnamon; when half baked, take them out of
the oven, and press the form of a cross on the top; brush them over with
milk when done.--_Another for Plain Buns_: melt 6 oz. butter, mix it well
with 4 eggs, ½ lb. sifted sugar, 1 lb. flour, and a tea-spoonful of
volatile salts dissolved in a tea-spoonful of warm milk; add ¼ lb.
currants, with seeds to taste, and bake ten minutes. A tea-spoonful of
essence of lemon, and one drop of essence of almond may be added.--_Seed or
Plum Buns_: mix into the same quantity of bun dough as the first receipt, 1
oz. carraway seeds, or currants, or Smyrna raisins. Butter small tart pans,
mould the dough into buns, put one into each pan, and set them to rise; ice
them, with white of egg, dust fine sugar over, and dissolve that by
sprinkling water lightly over. Bake them ten minutes, in a quick oven. Mark
the edges, and ice the top, or not, as you choose.--_Bath Buns_: rub ½ lb.
butter {281}into 1 lb. flour, wet it with 4 eggs, and a wine-glassful of
yeast, set it before the fire to rise; add 4 oz. sifted sugar, and a few
carraway seeds. Make into buns, brush them over with white of egg, and
strew sugar carraways over the top.


_Sally Lumm's Tea Cakes._

Warm a pint of new milk, or cream, with 2 oz. butter; then add ¼ lb. flour
to make it a stiff dough. Roll to the size you choose, and bake it on a
tin. When done, cut it in 3 or more slices, butter, and send it to table
directly; if it wait before the fire it will quickly be spoiled.--Some add
eggs, a little yeast, and sugar, to make it eat shorter.


_Breakfast Cakes._

Rub 3 oz. butter into 1 lb. flour, and a little salt. Mix 1 egg with a
table-spoonful of yeast, and a little warm milk, and wet the flour, using
as much milk as is required to make a light batter, as for fritters; beat
well with the hand, then cover, and let it stand three or four hours, in a
warm place, to rise. Add flour to make it into a paste to roll out. Make
the cakes the size you choose, let them stand half an hour before the fire,
prick them in the middle, with a skewer, and bake in a quick oven.--_Or_:
mix 1 pint of cream, 2 eggs, a table-spoonful of yeast, and a little salt,
into ½ lb. flour. Cover and let it rise. Bake on tins.--_Or_: melt ¼ lb.
butter in new milk enough to wet up 2 lbs. flour, add 4 eggs, 4
table-spoonsful yeast, and wet up the flour; let it stand ten minutes, make
it into 6 cakes, prick them with a fork, and let them stand covered near
the fire, half an hour; bake in a moderate oven, a quarter of an hour.


_Yorkshire Cakes._

Mix 1½ pint of warm milk, with a tea-spoonful of good yeast, into flour to
make a thick batter; let it stand, covered, in a warm place, to rise. Rub 6
oz. butter into a little flour, add 3 eggs, mix well, then mix it with the
batter, add flour enough to work it into a stiff dough, and let it stand
again a quarter of an hour; then knead again, {282}and break it into small
cakes, roll round and smooth, then put them on tins, cover lightly, and set
them by the fire fifteen minutes, to rise, before you put them into the
oven.


_Roehampton Rolls._

To 1 lb. of flour, add the whites of 3 eggs, 3 oz. butter, and 1 spoonful
of yeast, wet it with milk into a stiff dough; let this rise, before the
fire, an hour, make it into rolls, and bake ten minutes.--_Or_: to ½ pint
of yeast add 2 eggs, 2 lumps of sugar, a piece of butter the size of an
egg, and 2 quarts of milk, beat well, and strain in as much fine flour as
it will take up, mix well, and divide it into rolls; set them before the
fire, an hour, then bake half an hour.


_Muffins._

Mix a pint of scalded milk, with ¼ pint fresh yeast, and flour to make a
thick batter. Set it in a warm place to rise. Rub 2 oz. butter in a little
flour and add it to the batter, with flour to make it into dough; cover and
let it stand again; knead well, and make it into muffins: put them on tins,
let them stand a quarter of an hour, then bake them.


_Crumpets._

Mix a quart of good milk into flour to make a thick batter, add a little
salt, 1 egg, and a table-spoonful of small beer yeast; beat well, cover,
and let it stand near the fire half an hour, to rise. Hang the girdle, or
put the frying-pan over the fire, and when hot wipe it clean with a wet
cloth. Tie a piece of butter in muslin, and rub it over the girdle: then
pour on it a tea-cupful of batter, and as it begins to cook, raise the edge
all round, with a sharp knife; when one side is done, turn it and bake the
other side. When done, put it in a plate before the fire, rub the girdle
with the buttered rag, and pour in another cupful of batter, then spread
butter over the one in the plate, and so on, till they are all baked. Send
a few at a time, quite hot, to table. Crumpets made thus are lighter than
in the common way. Rye flour makes excellent cakes this way, and likewise
Indian Corn meal. N.B.--Receipts for various ways of cooking _Indian Corn_
flour or meal will be found in "COBBETT'S COTTAGE ECONOMY."


{283}_Scotch Slim Cakes._

Rub 3 oz. butter into ½ lb. flour, mix it into a light dough with 2 eggs
and warm milk. Roll lightly out, and cut them round, the size of a saucer,
bake them, as directed, for crumpets. Butter, and serve them quite hot.




CHAPTER XXII.

CONFECTIONARY.


As I should always have recourse to the confectioner for all ornamental
dishes, I shall give under this head, only such things as may be prepared
at home with comparatively little risk of failure, and consequent waste of
materials; observing, at the same time, that the plainest custard requires
as much attention as the richest cream, and that all sweet dishes require
to be flavoured with judgment. It is impossible to produce delicate creams,
jellies, &c., &c., unless the ingredients, particularly cream, milk, and
eggs, be perfectly fresh, and unless there be _enough_ of them. If served
in glasses or dishes, use only eggs; but, if the cream is to be turned out
of a shape, isinglass must be used to stiffen it. The quantity greatly
depends upon the size of the shape; 1 oz. to a pint is the general
allowance, but more is often necessary.--The sugar used in jellies ought to
be clarified, for one point of excellence is clearness.--To prevent oiling,
put a little rose water into the mortar in which you pound almonds.--Where
there is much practice in making sweet dishes, all the vessels should be
kept wholly for that purpose. Jelly bags and sieves delicately clean,
always dipped into, and wrung out of, hot water, before they are used.


_Common Custards._

To ½ pint new milk, put a little piece of lemon peel cut {284}very thin, a
little cinnamon, and 8 bitter almonds blanched and pounded. Simmer the milk
ten minutes. Then strain, and when cool, put to it a pint of cream, the
yolks of 5 eggs, 2 table-spoonsful sifted sugar, and set it in a saucepan
over the fire. Stir one way, all the time; take care that it do not burn,
and not boil. When thick enough it will be done, and a minute or two too
much will cause it to turn. When taken from the fire, add half a glass of
brandy, and stir a quarter of an hour before you pour it into cups. In case
of no cream, use 3 more eggs.--_Or:_ mix a table-spoonful of rice flour in
a little cold milk, and add the beaten yolks of 6 eggs. Have ready boiled,
a quart of new milk, with a bit of lemon peel, and cinnamon; let it cool,
then stir the eggs and some sugar into it: let it thicken over the fire,
but not boil, stirring all the time. Take it off the fire, pour it into a
jug, and stir till cool. Serve in cups, or a glass dish, and grate nutmeg
over. Some persons boil custards in a jug, set into a deep saucepan of
water, which is kept boiling.


_Rich Custards to Bake, or Boil._

Boil a quart of cream with mace and cinnamon. Take it off the fire, add
sugar to taste, and let it stand till no warmer than milk from the cow;
then add 10 eggs, well beaten. Strain it, and fill the cups very full. The
oven must be as hot as for tarts, and the cups often turned; or finish by
boiling them in a jug stood in boiling water, but keep stirring all the
while. Brandy is an improvement, in the proportion of a wine-glassful to a
quart. Some flavour with ratafia, peach water, or orange flower water. A
dessert-spoonful of isinglass will add to the firmness of custards made
entirely of milk.


_Lemon Custards._

Beat the yolks of 8 eggs till they are as white as milk, add the grated
rinds and juice of 2 lemons, sweeten to taste; pour in a pint of boiling
water and stir over the fire till it thickens, add a wine-glassful of white
wine, and the same of brandy, stir over the fire again for a few minutes,
then pour it into cups.


{285}_Orange Custards._

Beat the rind of a Seville orange (previously boiled), to a paste, and mix
it with a dessert-spoonful of brandy, the juice of a lemon, 5 oz. sugar,
and the yolks of 5 eggs; beat it well, a quarter of an hour, and pour in,
by degrees, a pint of boiling cream; keep on beating till cold, then pour
it into cups, and set them in a deep dish in boiling water, till very
thick.


_Spanish Custards._

Set 1½ pint of thin cream over the fire, leaving out a tea-cupful; put in 6
or 8 bitter almonds, and ¼ oz. isinglass dissolved in a basin with boiling
water enough to cover it; simmer for three-quarters of an hour, or till the
isinglass is dissolved; mix smoothly into the cold cream a table-spoonful
of ground rice, pour it into the hot cream, stirring all the time, and
simmer it gently till it thickens sufficiently. Flavour with 2
table-spoonsful of orange flower, or rose water, or what you like; strain
through a coarse hair sieve, and stir till nearly cold, when pour it into
cups dipped in cold water. Let these stand in a cool place; when firm, turn
them out on a dish, stick them with blanched almonds sliced, and garnish
with preserved cucumber, citron, or other preserve; when about to serve,
pour a little cold cream into the dish.--_Or_: boil a pint of cream with a
stick of cinnamon, let it cool, strain it, add 3 table-spoonsful of rice
flour, the whites of 3 eggs well beaten, sugar, and a little rose water;
set it over the fire, and simmer till as thick as hasty pudding; wet a
mould with rose water, pour the custard in; when cold, turn it out.


_Custards with Apples._

Pare, core, and either stew or bake some apples, in an earthen pan, with as
little water as possible, and sugar to sweeten. When they are fallen, put
them into a pie dish, and let them stand to get cold; pour over an unboiled
custard, and set the dish into the oven, or before the fire, until the
custard is fixed.


{286}_Custard with Rice._

Boil some rice in milk till quite tender, with cinnamon and a very few
bitter almonds; when cold, sweeten it, and form a thick high wall round a
glass dish, and pour a boiled custard in the centre. Just before it goes to
table, strew coloured comfits, in stripes, up the wall.


_A Trifle._

Whisk a quart of good cream with 6 oz. powdered sugar, a glass of white
wine, the juice and grated peel of 1 lemon, and a little cinnamon. Take off
the froth as it rises, and lay it on a sieve, reversed, over a bowl. This
should be done early in the morning, or the day before, that the froth may
be firm. Place in a deep trifle dish 3 or 4 sponge cakes, some maccaroons,
and ratafia cakes, also a few sweet almonds blanched and split, then pour
over enough white wine, with a little brandy, to moisten them; when the
wine is soaked up, spread over the cakes a layer of raspberry jam, or any
good preserve, and pour over that a _rich_ and boiled custard. Heap the
whip lightly on as high as the dish will allow. The preserve used or left
out, according to taste.


_Gooseberry or Apple Trifle._

Scald the fruit, and pulp it through a sieve, sweeten it, and put a thick
layer in a glass dish. Mix ½ pint of milk, ½ pint of cream, and the yolk of
1 egg, scald it over the fire, stirring all the time, add sugar, and let it
become cold, then lay it on the fruit, and on it a whip, as directed in the
last receipt.--_Or_: scald, pulp, and sweeten the fruit, then stir it over
the fire, into a thin custard: when cooked enough, pour it into a glass
dish, to get cold. If apple, grate nutmeg and cinnamon, or lemon peel, over
the top, add also lemon juice, and lay a whip on the top.


_A Tipsy Cake._

Put a stale sponge cake into a deep china or glass dish, pour round it some
raisin wine or Marsala, and brandy to your taste, but enough to saturate
the cake: when it is {287}soaked up, strew sifted sugar over, and pour in
the dish a rich custard. Ornament the top of the cake by sticking a light
flower in the centre, or bits of clear currant jelly; _or_, sweet almonds
blanched and split.


_Crême Patisserie._

Boil a quart of new milk with cinnamon and lemon peel. Rub a heaped
table-spoonful of flour quite smooth with a little cold milk; stir the
boiled milk, by degrees, into it; add 5 eggs, and sugar to taste. Stir it
over a slow fire till it thickens; pour it into a dish, and stir it slowly
a few minutes. Flavour with vanilla, orange-flower water, ratafia, or
brandy. This is flavoured with _tea_ or _coffee_, in the following manner:
put a heaped table-spoonful of green tea into the milk, boil it up, cover
the saucepan, simmer it a few minutes, then strain it. This will give a
strong flavour of tea. For coffee: make a breakfast-cupful of very strong
coffee, and put it into the milk just before it boils: use no other
flavouring ingredient, and sweeten the cream sufficiently.--_Or_: boil in a
pint of thin cream, the peel of a large lemon grated or pared very thin,
sugar to taste, and a very small piece of cinnamon. Work up a
table-spoonful of flour with the juice of the lemon; pour the boiling cream
to it, by degrees, and stir it over the fire till the flour is cooked; pour
it into a dish, and stir slowly till nearly cold; garnish with candied
sweetmeats.


_Chocolate Cream._

Boil a quart of cream, having first scraped into it 1 oz. scented
chocolate; add nearly ¼ lb. lump sugar, and 8 whites of eggs; whisk well,
and, as the froth rises, take it off, and put into glasses.


_A Plain Cream._

Boil together, or separately, a pint of cream and a pint of new milk, with
lemon peel, cinnamon, and sugar to taste; then add 12 sweet and 3 bitter
almonds, pounded to a paste, with a little rose water, also a
table-spoonful of rice flour rubbed smooth in cold milk; scald it, pour
into a jug to cool. Serve in glasses, or a glass dish.


{288}_Italian Cream._

Boil 1½ pint of sweet cream with ½ pint of new milk, the rind of a lemon
cut thin, and sugar to taste; then let it cool. Beat the yolks of 8 eggs,
add them to the cream, set it over the fire, stir till it thickens, and put
in about 1 oz. of melted isinglass, to stiffen it. Whisk well, and strain
it through a fine sieve into a mould, to turn out. First try a little in a
saucer to ascertain if more isinglass be wanted. It may be flavoured with
_curaçoa_ or _noyeau_.


_Ginger Cream._

The same as chocolate cream; using only cream, no milk. Flavour it by
boiling in the cream either preserved, or essence of ginger. Serve it in
cups.--_Or_: after the cream has thickened over the fire, add isinglass, as
directed for Italian cream, and strain it into a mould.


_Lemon Cream._

Beat the whites of 9 eggs with one yolk, till as thin as water, but not
frothed, add 9 table-spoonsful cold water, and the juice of 2 lemons, with
sugar to taste: strain it through a fine sieve, put in a piece of lemon
peel, and stir it over the fire, till as thick as cream. Do not let it stay
long on the fire, to get too thick.--_Or_: steep the peel of 2 lemons, cut
very thin, in a pint of water, all night, then sweeten and boil it; stir in
the whites of 6 eggs beaten to a froth, and keep stirring over the fire
till thick, then add the yolks. You may add ¼ oz. of isinglass, which makes
it more like ice.--_Or_: boil up a pint of thick cream with the beaten
yolks of 2 eggs, 4 oz. sugar, and the thin rind of a lemon; stir till
nearly cold, and pour it upon the juice of a lemon, in a bowl; stir it till
cold.--_White lemon cream_ is made by using whites of eggs only.


_Orange Cream._

Pare a large orange very thin, put the peel into a bason, and squeeze 4
oranges over it; pour in 1 pint of cream, and set it over the fire; before
it quite boils take out the peel, or the cream may be too bitter. Let the
cream become cold, {289}then stir in the yolks and whites of 4 eggs, and
sugar to taste. Set it over the fire again, and just scald it. Pour into
cups.--_Or_: squeeze and strain the juice of 11 oranges, sweeten well with
pounded loaf sugar, and stir over a slow fire till the sugar be melted,
taking off the scum as it rises; when cold mix it with the beaten yolks of
12 eggs, mixed with a pint of cream, stir it over the fire again to
thicken, and serve in a glass dish or cups.--_Or_: boil ¾ oz. of isinglass
in ½ pint of water, till half reduced, and when nearly cold stir in the
juice of 4 oranges and 1 lemon well sweetened, and a pint of cream
previously beaten to a froth, stir it over a slow fire till it begins to
thicken, and then pour it into a mould.--N.B. the juice of any fruit may he
used in the same way, always adding the juice of a lemon.


_Lemon or Orange Cream frothed._

Squeeze the juice of a large lemon, or orange, into a glass or china dish.
Sweeten a pint of cream, and let it just boil; pour it out to get cold, put
it into a tea-pot, hold it up as high as possible, and pour it upon the
juice.


_Alamode Cream._

Grate 2 lemons into a bason, squeeze in the juice, add ¼ lb. sifted sugar;
melt ½ oz. isinglass in a tea-cupful of hot water, strain it on the lemon,
stirring all the time, then pour in a pint of cold cream, but stir all the
while, or it may be lumpy. Pour it in a glass dish, and keep it in a cool
place. Garnish with almonds and apple paste.


_Velvet Cream._

Put into a deep glass or china dish, 3 table-spoonsful of lemon juice, a
little grated peel, and preserved apricot cut small, 3 table-spoonsful of
white wine or brandy, and powdered sugar. Scald a pint of cream, put in ¼
oz. of melted isinglass, stir it over the fire a few minutes, and continue
to stir till no warmer than new milk; then strain, and pour it into the
dish. Made the day before it is wanted.


_Vanilla Cream._

Boil ½ a stick of vanilla in a tea-cupful of milk till the {290}flavour is
as strong as you like, and mix it with a jelly made of calf's feet, or made
with 1 oz. of isinglass in a pint of water and a pint of cream, sweeten to
taste, stir it till nearly cold, then pour it into a mould which has stood
in cold water. The day before it is wanted.


_Burnt Cream._

Boil a stick of cinnamon with a large piece of lemon peel, in a pint of
cream; when nearly cold, stir in gently the yolks of 6 eggs; sweeten it,
take out the spice and peel, strew pounded sugar over, and brown it with a
salamander.


_Snow Cream._

Pare, core, and stew, 10 or 12 apples and pulp them; beat the pulp nearly
cold, stir in enough finely powdered sugar to sweeten, a little lemon peel,
and the whites of 12 eggs, already beaten, whisk, till it becomes stiff,
and lay it in heaps in a glass dish.


_Currant and Raspberry Cream._

Mash the fruit and strain ¼ pint of juice through a fine sieve, add rather
more than ½ pint of cream, sugar to taste, and a little brandy; whisk it
the same as a trifle.--_Or_: put a very little sifted sugar into 1½ pint of
cream, a tea-cupful of raspberry jelly, the grated rind of 1 and the juice
of ½ a lemon, whisk well, for half an hour, till it be thick and solid,
then pour it into a glass dish or cups.


_Strawberry Cream._

The same as the last.--_Or_: sweeten some cream, and make a strong whip.
Beat up what remains of the cream with yolk of egg (3 to ½ a pint), and
scald it; let it cool, mix the fruit with it, pour it into glasses or a
dish, and lay the fruit on the top. The pulp of apples, apricots, and plums
may be mixed with cream, in this way.--_Or_: it may be formed in a mould by
adding melted isinglass to the cream, just scalding, then straining it:
when nearly cold, add the fruit and put it into a shape.


{291}_Clouted Cream._

Put 2 blades of mace and a wine-glassful of rose water, into a ¼ pint of
new milk, scald and strain it; let it cool, stir in the yolks of 2 eggs,
and a quart of cream. Stir it over the fire till scalding hot, and it is
done. Excellent with fruit stewed, or with fruit pies.

Creams and jellies are _iced_, by putting the shape (the mixture being
_perfectly cold_), in a bucket of ice broken in small bits. Let it stand
till you are ready to send it to table, then take it out, wrap a towel,
dipped into hot water, round the mould, and turn it out.


_Strawberry Ice Cream._

Mash the fruit, strain off the juice, and sweeten it. Mix it, in the
proportion of 1 lb. of fruit to a pint of sweet cream, whip it, pour it
into glasses, and freeze as directed; or, add melted isinglass, and freeze
it in a shape.--_Raspberry Ice Cream_, the same.


_Pine Apple Ice Cream._

To 1½ gill of pine apple syrup, add the juice of 1½ lemon, and a pint of
cream, sweeten, then stand it in the ice, and let it freeze as thick as
butter. If you would have it the shape of a pine, take the shape and fill
it; then lay half a sheet of brown paper over the mould before you put it
into the ice, and let it remain some time; be careful that no water gets
into it.


_Coffee Ice._

A refreshing preparation, and suitable to entertainments. Make some strong
coffee, sweeten with sugar candy, add what cream you like, pour it into a
bowl, place that in an ice pail till the coffee is frozen: serve in
glasses.


_Paris Curd._

Put a pint of thin cream on the fire, with the whites of 6 eggs and the
juice of a lemon; stir till it becomes a curd; hang it all night in a
cloth, to drain; add 2 oz. sweet {292}almonds, beaten to a paste, sugar to
taste, and a little brandy. Mix well, and put it in shapes.


_Blancmange._

Blanch 1 oz. sweet and ½ an oz. of bitter almonds and pound them with a
little brandy, put them with ½ an ounce of isinglass into a bowl with ½ a
pint of milk and ½ a pint of cream, and 2 oz. of pounded sugar, and let it
stand 3 hours; then stir it over the fire till it begins to boil, when take
it off and strain it, but keep stirring it till nearly cold, and then pour
it into a mould. If you choose, have 12 bitter, no sweet almonds, a
wine-glassful of brandy and a table-spoonful ratafia.--When about to turn
it out, wrap a towel dipped in hot water round the mould, and draw a silver
knife round the edge of the blancmange.


_Rice Blancmange._

Boil 4 oz. of whole rice in water till it begins to swell, pour off the
water, and put the rice into nearly a quart of new milk, with sugar, a
little cinnamon and lemon peel. Boil slowly till the rice is mashed, and
smooth. Do not let it burn. Put it into a mould to turn out. This may be in
the centre of a dish with custard round it.


_Blancmange with Preserves._

Boil 1 pint of cream with cinnamon and lemon peel; sweeten it, add 1 oz.
isinglass dissolved in a little water, stir it over the fire till it is on
the point of boiling, then pour it into a jug, stirring it occasionally;
when milkwarm add a wine-glassful of brandy and a table-spoonful of
ratafia. Have ready in a china or glass dish, some East or West India
preserves, pour the blancmange on it, and set it by till the next day.


_Jaunemange._

Dissolve 2 oz. isinglass in nearly a pint of boiling water; put to it ¾
pint of white wine, the juice of 2 oranges, and 1 lemon, the peel of a
lemon shred fine, sugar to taste, a little cinnamon and brandy, and the
yolks of 8 eggs. Simmer gently a few minutes, then strain it into moulds.


{293}_Rice Flummery._

Boil 5 oz. sifted ground rice in a quart of new milk, with ½ oz. bitter
almonds, 2 table-spoonsful rose water, and sugar to sweeten; keep stirring
till very thick, then put it into a mould. When cold turn it out, stick
blanched almonds in, and pour round it some thick cream sweetened and
flavoured with white wine; or no cream, but preserves in lumps.


_Dutch Flummery._

Boil the rinds of 2 and juice of 3 lemons in ½ pint of white wine, ½ pint
water, ¼ lb. sugar and 1 oz. of isinglass, ten minutes, then strain and mix
it gradually with the yolks of 5 eggs, stir it over the fire five minutes,
then stir till nearly cold, and pour it into a mould.


_Rice Cups._

Sweeten a pint of new milk, with sifted sugar, and boil in it a stick of
cinnamon, when it boils stir in 2½ oz. of sifted ground rice; then take it
off the fire, and add the beaten whites of 3 eggs, stir again over the
fire, for three minutes, and pour into cups, previously dipped in cold
water. When cold, turn them out, pour a custard round, and ornament with
preserves or stewed pears.


_Syllabub._

Pour a bottle of sherry or Port into a china bowl, sweeten, and add plenty
of nutmeg and cinnamon. Milk into it nearly double the quantity, and let it
froth up high. Serve with sponge cakes. Some add a little brandy.


_Solid Syllabub._

Scald a pint of cream, and sweeten it; when cold, add ½ a pint of white
wine, the juice of a lemon, the peel grated: more sugar if required.
Dissolve 1 oz. isinglass in water, strain, and when cold, stir it into the
mixture, and put it into a mould the day before it is wanted.


{294}_Whipt Syllabub._

Rub ½ lb. sugar on lemon rind, and put into a deep narrow pan, with ½ pint
white wine, the juice of ½ a lemon, the rind of a whole one, and a pint of
thick cream; whisk well, always one way and without stopping, till it is
all in a good froth; put it in glasses. It will be more firm the next
day.--_Or_: to ½ pint of cream, add a pint of milk, ½ pint sack or white
wine, sweeten with loaf sugar, and whisk it to a froth; pour a little white
wine in the glasses, and the froth on the top.


_Calf's Feet Jelly._

The day before you want jelly, boil a cow heel and one foot in 2½ quarts of
water, till they are broken, and the water half wasted, strain and put it
by till the next day. Then remove all the fat as well as the sediment, put
the jelly into a saucepan with sugar, wine, lemon juice, and peel to your
taste. Let it simmer, and when the flavour is rich, add the whites of 5
eggs well beaten, also their shells; let it boil gently twenty minutes, but
do not stir it; then pour in a tea-cupful of warm water, let it boil gently
five minutes longer, take the saucepan off the fire, cover close, and let
it stand by the side, half an hour. It ought to be so clear as to require
only once running through the jelly bag. Some mutton shanks (10 to 2 calf's
feet), make the jelly richer. Raisin wine is generally used, but Marsala is
better: it gives a more delicate colour to the jelly.--This is made _Noyeau
Jelly_ by using noyeau in sufficient quantity to give a strong flavour.
Also _Madeira Wine Jelly_. But as the firmness of the jelly may be
diminished by the wine, add a little isinglass. Some think that jelly eats
best in the rough, not out of a mould.--_Another_: boil 4 feet in 2½ quarts
of water, boil twelve hours, or till all their goodness is extracted. The
next day remove all fat as well as sediment, put the jelly into a saucepan
with 1½ pint of sherry or Marsala, the peel and juice of 7 lemons, and
sugar to your taste. Finish in the same way as directed above, and when
strained, add a wine-glassful of Champagne brandy. You may add 1 oz.
isinglass to make the jelly very stiff, but some object to this, as it
makes it tough {295}as well as stiff. Some use a coarse brown bag, in
preference to flannel.


_Punch Jelly._

Boil 2 oz. isinglass in a pint of water, add the juice of 4 lemons, and the
grated rind of one, put to this 6 oz. loaf sugar, previously boiled in a
very little water till it is a rich clear syrup, then add 6 table-spoonsful
of rum.--_Or_: make a good bowl of punch (_which see_), stronger if you
like. To every pint of punch add 1½ oz. isinglass, dissolved in ¼ pint of
water; pour this into the punch whilst hot, then fill the moulds, taking
care that they are not disturbed until the jelly is completely set.


_Savoury Jelly._

Boil 2 lbs. knuckle of veal, 1 lb. lean beef, and 4 mutton shanks, in 2
quarts of water, with salt, pepper, mace, and 1 onion; boil till the liquor
is reduced one half, then strain it; when cold, put it into a saucepan with
the whites of 3 eggs, stir well, then set it over the fire till it boils,
and strain through a jelly bag. A table-spoonful of soy will improve the
colour.


_Orange and Lemon Jelly._

Grate the rinds of 2 Seville, 2 sweet oranges, and 2 lemons; squeeze the
juice of 2 sweet, 6 Seville oranges, and 3 lemons; mix the rinds and juice
together; boil slowly 1 lb. lump sugar in a pint of water to thick syrup,
turn it into a bowl; when _nearly_ cold, add the juice and stir well; boil
¼ lb. of isinglass in a pint of water till dissolved, let it cool, add it
to juice, stir till cold, and fill the mould.--_Another, and much better_:
rub the rinds of 8 oranges with lump sugar, and boil a quarter of an hour
in the stock of calf's feet and ½ oz. isinglass, with sugar to your taste;
have the juice of the oranges, the juice of 3 lemons, and the whites of 6
eggs in a bason, pour the stock in, stir well, and boil altogether ten
minutes; then pour in a wine-glassful of cold water, let it stand ten
minutes, then pour through a jelly bag.--_Lemon Jelly_ is made the same
way; the rind of 2 and juice of 3 large lemons, the rind and juice of 1
orange.


{296}_Colouring for Jelly._

Boil slowly in ½ pint water, for half an hour, 15 grains cochineal in fine
powder, ½ drachm of cream of tartar, and a bit of alum the size of a pea;
let it stand till the next day, then pour it off.


_Arrow-root Jelly._

Put ¼ pint of water into a saucepan, with a wine-glassful of sherry, or a
spoonful of brandy, sugar, and grated nutmeg. Boil up once, then mix it, by
degrees, with a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root, rubbed smooth, and mixed
with 2 spoonsful of cold water. Return it into the saucepan, stir, and boil
it three minutes.--_Or_: steep for three hours the rind of a lemon, and 4
bitter almonds, pounded, in 2 table-spoonsful water, strain, and mix the
water with 3 table-spoonsful arrow-root, and of lemon juice, 1 of brandy;
sweeten, stir over the fire till thick, and put it into glasses.


_Hartshorn Jelly._

To 3 quarts of water put 1 lb. hartshorn shavings, and 1 oz. isinglass,
boil gently till it becomes a jelly (about four hours); the next day melt
it, add the juice of 2 lemons, half the peel, and a pint of sherry, also
the whites of 5 eggs beaten to a froth, and sugar to taste; boil for a few
minutes, and pass it through a jelly bag till clear.


_Apple Jelly._

Pare 12 firm apples, and simmer them in a quart of water till quite cooked,
but not broken; strain the liquor, and put to it 2 oz. isinglass, the juice
of 2 lemons, the peel of one cut thin, sugar to taste, and a little
cochineal, tied in muslin; boil till the isinglass is dissolved and the
jelly of a nice colour, strain, and pour it into a mould.


_Isinglass Jelly._

Dissolve 1 oz. isinglass in ½ pint of water, and put to it ½ lb. lump
sugar, the juice of a large lemon, the peel cut thin, and a pint of sherry;
boil five minutes, then strain it into a mould.


{297}_Gâteau de Pomme._

Dissolve 1½ oz. isinglass in ½ pint water, and boil it with ½ lb. sugar,
the juice and rind of a lemon and 1 lb. of apples, pared and cored; boil it
three quarters of an hour, pour it into a mould; when quite cold, turn it
into a glass dish, and pour a good custard round.


_A Bird's Nest._

Make some clear jelly, of an amber colour, and fill a small round basin
half full. Have some bird's eggs blown, fill them with blancmange; when the
latter is quite cold, peel off the shells, and it will represent small
eggs. Put some moss round a glass dish, turn the jelly out, into the
middle, lay some lemon peel, cut in thin strips to represent straws, on the
jelly, and the eggs on the top.


_Strawberry Jelly._

Boil 2 oz. isinglass in ¼ pint of water till dissolved, skimming it all the
time; then strain and let it cool. Mash a quart of fresh fruit in an
earthen vessel, with a wooden spoon; add powdered sugar and a very little
water. Pass it through a jelly bag, stir the melted isinglass into it, and
fill your mould.--_Raspberry_ and _red currant_ jelly in the same way.


_Lemon and Orange Sponge._

Dissolve ½ oz. isinglass in a pint of water, strain it, and the next day
put to it the juice of 2 lemons, and the grated peel of 1; then rub some
raspberry jam through a hair sieve into the mixture, and whisk it well,
till it is like sponge; then put it into an earthen mould in a cool place.
Any preserve may be used, or lemon only, or orange; or it may be flavoured
with raspberry vinegar.--_Or_: dissolve ¾ oz. isinglass in a little water,
add ¾ pint of cream, the same of new milk, and ½ pint of raspberry jelly,
and the juice of a lemon: whisk well, one way, till it is thick, and looks
like sponge; then pour it into the mould.--_Or_: pour a pint of boiling
water on 2 oz. isinglass, when dissolved add the strained juice of 4
Seville and 4 sweet oranges or {298}lemons, sugar to taste; whisk well,
half an hour, then pour it into a mould.--_Or_: dissolve 2 oz. isinglass in
½ pint of water, strain and add to it, the juice of 10 sweet oranges, and
the grated rind of 2, the juice of 1 lemon, and sugar to taste; when nearly
cold whisk it till it looks like sponge, and pour it in a mould. Make it in
the evening, to turn out next day. Some use more isinglass.


_Rice Soufflè._

Boil 2 table-spoonsful ground rice very slowly, in ½ pint good milk, with a
piece of lemon peel, stirring all the time. Let it cool, then stir in the
yolks of 4 eggs, and some sugar, stir it over the fire a few minutes, and
let it cool again. Then add the whites of 6 eggs, well whipped; put it into
a deep and round dish, and bake in a rather slack oven till the _soufflè_
rises; send it to table _instantly_, or it will flatten. _Potato
Soufflè_,--Half the quantity of potato flour, as directed for rice flour,
and make it the same way.


_A Good Soufflè._

Soak 4 or 5 slices of sponge cake in sherry and brandy mixed, and
sweetened, cover with a layer of preserves, then pour over a rich boiled
custard; beat the whites of 4 eggs to a froth, and lay it over the top to
look rough; brown it in a Dutch oven, and serve _directly_, or it will be
spoiled.


_Orange Soufflè._

Mix a table-spoonful of flour with a pint of cream, put it into a saucepan,
with 2 table-spoonsful rose water, some orange and lemon peel; stir till it
boils, then strain and sweeten it: when cold add 2 table-spoonsful orange
marmalade. Beat 6 eggs, stir in a wine-glassful of brandy, mix with the
other ingredients, and put all into a buttered shape; place it in a
saucepan of boiling water, over a stove: let the water boil an hour and a
quarter without any cover to the shape.


_Lemon Soufflè._

Pour ¾ pint of boiling water over 1 oz. isinglass, the juice of 3 lemons,
and 5 oz. sifted sugar; when dissolved, {299}boil all together five
minutes, pour it into a large bason, when the steam is gone off whisk it
till it becomes spongy, then put it in a glass dish. It should be made the
day before it is wanted, and requires long whisking.


_Omelet Soufflè._

Beat the yolks of 6 eggs, and whip the whites; strain and sweeten the yolks
with powdered sugar; add a little grated lemon peel; stir in lightly the
whites, and pour the whole into a frying-pan, in which you have just melted
a large piece of fresh butter. Cook over a slow fire, but do not let it
scorch, and, when done, turn it carefully out, and set it in the oven to
rise.


_Sweet Omelets._

Mix a table-spoonful of fine flour, or potato flour, in ½ pint of new milk;
then whisk together the yolks and whites of 4 eggs, and add to the milk.
Put fresh butter enough to fry the omelet into a pan, about ¼ lb., make it
hot over a clear fire, and pour in half the mixture; when this is a little
set, put 4 table-spoonsful of red currant jelly, or any other preserve, or
apple pulp in the centre, and the remainder of the mixture on the top; as
soon as the upper portion is fixed, send the dish to table.--_Or_: the
omelet being fried, spread the preserve on it, in the pan, and roll it.
Apples boiled to a pulp and sweetened, may be used instead of preserve.


_Soufflè of Apples._

Pick, wash, and scald 4 oz. whole rice, drain off the water, and put the
rice into a quart of new milk, or thin cream, which has been boiled with a
bit of cinnamon or lemon peel. Simmer it very slowly till the rice is
swelled, (not broken), drain it, and having brushed the edge of the dish
with white of egg, place the rice in the form of a high wall round it. Mix
with some apple jam, or pulped apples, 2 oz. butter, sugar to taste, and
the yolks of 6 eggs; stir this over the fire, a few minutes, to cook the
eggs; then stir in by degrees, the whites of 8 or 9 eggs, whipped, put it
in the centre of the dish, and bake till it rises sufficiently.


{300}_Gooseberry and Apple Fool._

Pick or pare the fruit, put it in a jar, with a tea-cupful of cold water,
and a little moist sugar; set the jar in a vessel of boiling water, or on a
stove, till the fruit will pulp; press it through a cullender, and when
nearly cold, mix in it some good cream, or thin custard.


_Orange Fool._

To a pint of cream add the juice of 3 Seville oranges, 3 eggs, nutmeg,
cinnamon, and sugar to taste. Set this over a slow fire, and stir till as
thick as melted butter; it must not boil; pour it into a dish to be eaten
cold.


_Stewed Oranges._

Pare 4 sweet oranges, and be careful to remove the white part without
breaking the skin; pare 2 lemons very thin, cut the peel in narrow lengths,
and boil it in ½ pint water, with ¼ lb. lump sugar, until it becomes a
thick syrup, then add the oranges, the juice of 1 lemon, and ¼ lb. lump
sugar, and simmer it a quarter of an hour.


_Red Apples in Jelly._

Pare and core some fine pippins, and throw them into a pan of cold water,
then boil them in a very little water, with some cochineal, and when done,
put them in a dish; boil the water with sugar, lemon peel, and a little
isinglass, till it jellies; let it cool, scoop it into heaps with a
tea-spoon, and lay it amongst the apples. Garnish with rings or straws of
lemon peel, and some green sprigs.


_Pears to Stew._

After peeling them, cut the pears in halves, take out the cores, and lay
the pears, flat side upwards, in a tin saucepan, with sugar to taste, ¼
pint of port wine, water to cover them, and a few cloves; spread the peel
over the pears, and stew them gently till tender; the saucepan covered.


{301}_Apples to Bake._

Pare and core, but do not divide them, unless very large. Bake them in an
earthen dish, with sugar, a little port wine, pounded cloves, and grated
lemon peel.--_Or_: pare 16 large apples, and put them with 1 lb. sifted
sugar, juice of 1 lemon, and a tea-cupful water, in a large flat dish; cut
the rind of the lemon in strips, and put them over the apples; bake in
rather a quick oven, and baste from time to time with the syrup.
_Excellent._--_Or_: pare fine large apples, scoop out the core, without
dividing the fruit, and fill the hole with butter and sugar, bake in a deep
dish, and baste frequently. _Also very good._


_Cheesecakes._

Beat the curd of 3 pints of milk quite smooth, mix with it ½ lb. currants,
a little pounded cinnamon, and the rind of a lemon, rubbed off with lumps
of sugar (add more sugar, as you like), the yolks of 4 eggs, ½ pint scalded
cream, and a wine-glassful of brandy. Mix well, and bake in patty-pans,
lined with a light puff paste, twenty minutes, in a quick oven.--For
_Almond Cheesecakes_, mixed pounded sweet and bitter almonds, instead of
currants.


_Lemon Cheesecakes._

Boil the peel of one lemon in water, till tender, then pound it in a mortar
with ¼ lb. lump sugar, the juice of 2 lemons, and a table-spoonful of
brandy; stir in ¼ lb. fresh butter, melted, and 3 eggs; mix well and pour
into saucers or patty-pans, lined with a very light paste.--_Or_: to 1 lb.
lump sugar (in lumps), add ¼ lb. butter, the yolks of 6 eggs, the whites of
4, the juice of 3 lemons, and the rinds of 2, grated. Simmer over a slow
fire till the sugar is dissolved, begins to thicken, and looks like honey.
Stir gently one way, or it will curdle. This will keep a long while,
closely tied down in a jar, in a cool place.--_Or_: ½ lb. butter, ½ lb.
lump sugar, stir over the fire till melted, let it get cold, then add the
yolks of 8 eggs, juice of a large lemon, mix it very well, and bake in a
crust to turn out.--_Or_: beat 12 eggs, leaving out 4 whites; melt ½ lb.
butter in a tea-cupful of cream, stir in ½ lb. sifted sugar, {302}and when
cold, stir in the eggs, then the grated rind of 2 lemons, then the juice:
stir it over the fire till near boiling, then fill your patty-pans, and put
them in the oven, to brown of a light colour. You may add ½ lb. of sweet
almonds, blanched and pounded with rose water.


_Another Curd Cheesecake._

Beat the curd of 2 quarts new milk, quite smooth, with 4 oz. butter; then
mix it with ½ oz. of sweet, and 4 bitter almonds, blanched and pounded with
3 table-spoonsful rose water, add a ¼ lb. lump sugar, the peel of 3 lemons,
the yolks of 6 eggs, candied citron cut small, ¼ lb. currants, ½ pint of
cream, and a wine-glassful of brandy. Mix well, and bake in patty-pans,
lined with thin paste.


_Orange Cheesecakes._

Beat ½ lb. sweet almonds with orange flower water, add ½ lb. sugar, 1 lb.
butter, melted, and nearly cold, the beaten yolks of 10 and the whites of 4
eggs, beat 2 candied oranges, the peel of a fresh one (the bitterness
boiled out), till they are as tender as marmalade, then beat all well
together, and bake in little patty-pans, lined.


_Apple Cheesecakes._

½ lb. each, of grated apples, sugar and butter, the juice of 1 lemon, and
the rind cut thin, 4 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately: mix well and
bake in lined patty-pans.


_Rice Cheesecakes._

Beat the yolks of 6 with the whites of 3 eggs, add 4 oz. sifted ground
rice, the same of sugar and melted butter, a wine-glassful brandy, and the
grated peel of 1 lemon; mix well and bake in patty-pans, lined with paste.


_Lent Potatoes._

Blanch, then pound with a little rose water, 3 oz. of sweet, and 4 or 5
bitter almonds; add 8 oz. butter, 4 eggs beaten and strained, 2
table-spoonsful white wine, {303}and sugar to taste; beat well, grate in 3
savoy biscuits, and make into balls with a very little flour, the size of
walnuts; boil in lard of a pale brown, drain and serve with sweet sauce.


_Stewed French Plums._

Stew 1½ pound in a pint of Rhenish wine, till tender, then set them by to
cool in a glass dish. Some use half Port and half water.

_Note._--Those who like to use _Gelatine_ will find directions with the
packets, when they buy it. It is useful as a means of taking wine and
brandy in the form of jelly, and is quickly prepared, but has little else
to recommend it.




CHAPTER XXIII.

PRESERVES.


FRUIT for every sort of preserve, ought to be the best of its kind; ripe
enough, but not over ripe; gathered _on_ a dry day, and _after_ a dry day.
The sugar of the best quality, and plenty of it, otherwise they are not
good, neither will they keep; and much is wasted by boiling up a second
time. Long boiling injures the colour of preserves, and they _must_ be
boiled too long, if there be not sugar enough. The bags and sieves should
be kept delicately clean; wring them out of hot water the moment before you
use them. Do not squeeze the bag, or press the fruit much, or the jelly
will not be clear; this is not wasteful, for the fruit which is left, and a
little fresh added to it, will make jam, or black butter; a very useful
preserve. In boiling jams, try a little in a saucer; if the juice runs off
as it cools, the jam requires longer boiling.

Some persons clarify all the sugar they use, but, for common preserves for
private families, good loaf sugar, not clarified, answers the same purpose.
After the {304}preserve is poured into the jar, let it stand uncovered two
days, then put brandy paper over, and cover with bladders, or paper, tied
down close. Keep in a dry place, or they will be musty; but very hot, they
will dry up, and be spoiled.


_To Clarify Sugar._

Break lump sugar in pieces, and to every pound you put into the
preserving-pan, add ¼ pint of water, and to every 2 lbs. sugar, the white
of 1 egg, beaten; stir over the fire, till the sugar dissolves. When it
boils it will throw up scum; take that off, with a slice, and lay it on a
sieve, reversed, over a basin, that the syrup may run off. Pour into the
pan the same quantity of cold water as you put in at first, and boil it up
gently. Take off the scum, and return into the pan all the syrup which
drains from it; keep it gently boiling until no scum rises.--_To Candy
Sugar_, boil it till the surface is covered with little clusters, in the
form of pearls.--_Moist Sugar_ is clarified in the same way, but requires
longer boiling and scumming; it answers for common jams, for immediate use,
but they will not keep so long as when made of lump sugar.


_Red Currant Jelly._

Strip the currants and put them into an earthen pan or jar, set that in a
vessel of boiling water, and keep it boiling till the fruit is all burst;
then pass through a jelly bag, but do not squeeze it. When the juice has
all run off, put it into a preserving-pan, and to each pint allow 1¼ lb. of
lump sugar; less may do, but the jelly will not be so sure to keep. Boil
the jelly, rather quickly, from fifteen to twenty minutes, scumming
carefully all the time; try a little in a saucer, to see if it be stiff
enough, then fill your pots or glasses; leave them uncovered two days;
cover brandy papers over, and tie skins over tight. _White Currant
Jelly_--The same; but rather less boiling. The sugar must be very fine, to
insure delicate clearness for the jelly. _Black Currant Jelly_--The same as
red currant jelly. When the juice is put into the preserving-pan, with the
sugar, add a very little water. Less sugar _may_ do. But boil it well.


{305}_Currant Jam._

When jelly is made, if the bag be not squeezed, the fruit in it will have
juice enough for jam; or, if not, put a fourth part of fresh fruit to it,
then boil it up, with its weight of sugar, fifteen or twenty minutes.


_Raspberry Jam._

Take 4 parts of raspberries and 1 part of red currant juice, boil it
fifteen or twenty minutes, with an equal weight of sugar. Skim off the
dross, as it rises.--_Or_: use raspberries alone, and no juice.--_Or_: some
persons recommend the _Antwerp_, they are so juicy as to require boiling by
themselves until nearly dry; then add 1 lb. fine lump sugar to 1 quart
fruit, then boil again fifteen minutes, and no more, or the colour will be
injured.


_Strawberry Jam._

Gather fine scarlet strawberries, just ripe, bruise, and put them into a
preserving-pan, with about a fifth part of red currant juice; strew over
nearly their weight of sifted lump sugar, and boil quickly fifteen minutes.


_Gooseberry Jam._

This may be made of gooseberries only, in the same manner as directed for
currant jam, or of a mixture of red or black currants and gooseberries.


_Green Gooseberry Jam._

First crack them in a mortar, put them into a preserving-pan with ¾ lb.
lump sugar, to 1 lb. fruit, and boil till it begins to look clear. A nice
preserve for tartlets.


_Damson Jam._

Boil 1 lb. sugar to 1 lb. fruit, till the juice adheres to the fruit. For
_open tarts_.


_Rhubarb Jam._

Boil an equal quantity of rhubarb, cut in pieces, and {306}gooseberries,
before they are quite ripe, with ¾ lb. loaf sugar to 1 lb. of fruit. Well
boiled, it forms a rich jam, similar to apricot. _Or_: boil 6 lbs. fruit
cut in square pieces, 6 lbs. lump sugar, and let it stand a few hours, to
draw out the juice, boil the juice three different times, and pour over the
rhubarb.


_Black Butter._

A very nice preserve to spread on bread, and is a mixture of currants,
gooseberries, cherries, raspberries, or strawberries. To every 2 lbs.
fruit, put 1 lb. sugar, and boil it till reduced one-fourth.


_Fruit for Puddings._

Pare apples, pears, plums, and any fruit you have, and put them in a stone
jar with brown sugar, to sweeten. Place the jar in a cool oven till the
fruit is cooked.


_To preserve Damsons, Bullaces, Morella Cherries, Gooseberries, and
Currants, for Winter use._

All these fruits may be put into wide-mouthed bottles, with about 6 oz.
Lisbon sugar to each; put corks lightly in, and set them in a vessel of
cold water, and then let it boil very gently till the syrup rises over the
fruit; when the fruit is cold, make the corks tight, dip them in rosin, and
tie bladders over.


_To Bottle Green Gooseberries and Currants._

The same as the last receipt, only without sugar. Let them remain in the
water till the fruit begins to shrivel; take them out, and when the fruit
is cold, cork the bottles tight, and dip them in melted rosin. The rough
sort is best.


_To Bottle Raspberries._

Mix an equal weight of crushed fruit and powdered loaf sugar, put them into
wine-bottles, cork tight, and rosin the corks.


{307}_Damsons for Tarts._

Gather damsons quite dry, put them into large stone jars, having pricked
them with a pin, tie bladders over, and put the jars into a vessel of cold
water; set that over the fire, and let it simmer (not boil) for two hours,
or till you see the damsons begin to sink (the water should reach nearly to
the top of the jars), then wipe the jars, and put them away in a dry
place.--_Or_: choose jars to hold 8 or 9 lbs., of equal size at top and
bottom; put in each jar one fourth of the fruit, then a fourth of good
moist sugar (allow 3 lbs. sugar to 9 lbs. fruit), then another layer of
fruit, and so on, till the jar is full; put it in an oven just hot enough
to bake it through. When household bread is drawn the oven is generally hot
enough for this purpose, and the jars may remain in all night. When the
fruit is cold, put a clean stick, a little forked at one end, into the
middle of the jar, leaving the forked end a little above the top; put a
piece of white paper over the fruit (which ought to reach the neck of the
jar), then run melted mutton suet over it, of an inch thick, and keep the
jar in a cool place. When you open it, lift up the covering of suet by the
stick.


_Apricots for Tarts._

Cut the apricots in two, but do not pare them, take out the stones, and to
every pound of fruit put 1 lb. lump sugar, pounded. Let them stand all
night, then stew them gently over a slow fire till tender; skim them, as
they simmer, till they are quite clear. Put them in pots, and when quite
cold, cover with silver papers dipped in brandy, and tie down close.


_Apple Marmalade._

Pare and core the apples, leave them in a cool oven all night; the next day
boil them up gently with an equal quantity of sugar, a little lemon peel
and pounded cinnamon.


_Apple Jelly._

Take the blossoms and stalks out of 6 lbs. ripe apples, but do not pare
them; put them into a stew-pan with {308}scarcely enough water to cover
them, cover close, and stew them to a pulp, pour it into a cloth, and hang
that up to drain, but do not squeeze it. To a quart of juice allow 1½ lb.
lump sugar, boil gently to the consistency of other jelly, and before it is
quite done add the juice of 2 lemons.--_Or_: pare and core your apples as
if for pies, put them in the oven till quite soft, then squeeze them
through thin muslin: to every pint add 1 lb. of lump sugar, half a
wine-glassful of white wine, and a tea-spoonful of brandy, with the rind of
a lemon; boil twenty minutes, or till it sets.


_Peach, Apricot, or Plum Marmalade._

Skin the fruit, take out the stones, and mash it in a bowl; put an equal
weight of fruit and sugar into a preserving-pan, boil it fifteen minutes,
taking off all the scum. The kernels may be bruised and added.


_Quince Marmalade._

Cut the fruit in quarters, and to 5 lbs. weight, and 3 lbs. sugar, add a
pint of water; cover a piece of white paper over to keep in the steam, and
simmer gently three hours; then beat them up to a jam, add ½ lb. more
sugar, and simmer the jam another half hour.--_Or_: take the parings and
cores of 2 lbs. quinces, cover them with water, and let it boil well; add 2
lbs. sugar, and when that is dissolved in the liquor, set it over a slow
fire, and let it boil till it becomes a thick syrup; but the scum must be
taken off as it rises. Let it get cold, then put in the quinces, with a
little cochineal, and set it over a slow fire; stir and beat with a pewter
spoon till it is done.


_Quince Jelly._

Weigh them and measure 1 pint of water to 1 lb. fruit; pare the quinces as
quickly as possible, as they are done, throw them into the water, then
simmer gently until they are a little broken, but not long enough to redden
the liquid, which should be very pale. Turn the whole into a jelly bag, and
let it drain without pressure. Weigh the juice and boil it quickly 20
minutes, take it from the fire and stir in till dissolved, ¾ lb. lump sugar
to each pound of juice, or {309}rather more, if the fruit be very acid;
then boil gently from ten to twenty minutes, or until it jellies strongly
in falling from the skimmer, but stir it all the while, and take off all
the scum as it rises. Pour it into glasses or moulds: it ought to be firm
enough to turn out of the latter, and be rich and transparent.


_Damson and Bullace Cheese._

Put the fruit into a stone jar, cover it, and set it on a hot hearth, or in
an oven, and let it coddle for about six hours, stirring it now and then.
Pulp the damsons through a sieve, add ½ lb. lump sugar to every 2 lbs. of
fruit, and some of the kernels, blanched, and beaten in a mortar. Put it
all in a stew-pan, and boil very gently for two or three hours (it can
hardly boil too long, as boiling makes it firm), skimming carefully all the
time. Some persons boil it only one hour; it is clearer, but less firm.
Some add a very few bitter almonds, blanched and cut small.


_Apricot Cheese._

Pare, then boil them with their weight of sugar, previously melted with a
very little water; as the fruit breaks, take out the stones, blanch and
pound the kernels, and put them to the fruit. Let the apricots boil, not
more than half an hour. Pour the cheese into shapes.


_Orange Cheese._

Scrape off the outward rind of Seville oranges, take out the pulp and skin,
boil the peel tender, in water, beat it in a marble mortar to a pulp, add
its weight of loaf sugar (already dissolved in the juice), and boil it
quickly an hour; when done pour it into moulds, or on plates, to cut in
shapes. Keep it in a dry place.


_Pine Apple to Preserve._

Pare off the rind, and divide the pine apple into rather thick slices; boil
the rind in ½ pint water, with 1 lb. loaf sugar in powder, and the juice of
a lemon, twenty minutes. Strain this liquor, and boil the slices in it for
half an hour; {310}next day pour off the syrup, and boil it, taking care to
scum as it rises, and pour it hot over the fruit; tie down the jar with a
bladder, brandied paper being over the preserve.


_Cucumbers to Preserve._

Choose the greenest and most free from seeds, some small, to preserve
whole, others large, to cut in long slices. Put them in strong salt and
water, cover with vine leaves, and set them in a warm place till yellow;
then wash, and set them over the fire, in fresh water, with a little salt
and fresh vine leaves; cover the pan close, but take care the fruit does
not boil. If they are not of a fine green, change the water, and that will
help to green them; cover as before, and make them hot. When of a good
colour, take them off the fire and let them get cold; then cut the large
ones into quarters, take out the seeds and soft parts, put them into cold
water, for two days, but change the water twice every day to take out the
salt. Boil 1 lb. loaf sugar, and ½ pint of water, scum well, add the rind
of a lemon, and 4 oz. scraped ginger. When the syrup is very thick, take it
off the fire, and when cold, wipe the cucumbers dry, and put them in. The
syrup should be boiled once in two or three days, for a fortnight, and you
may add more to it if necessary. When you pour the syrup upon the
cucumbers, be sure that it is cold. Cover close and keep in a dry place.


_Strawberries to Preserve whole._

Choose fine scarlets, not over ripe; have their weight in sifted sugar, and
sprinkle _half_ over the fruit, and let it stand all night. Next day simmer
it gently with the rest of the sugar, and 1 pint of currant juice, to 1 lb.
of fruit, till it jellies.


_Raspberries whole._

Gather them on a dry day, after a dry night. To 1 lb. fruit, ¾ lb. sugar;
put these in alternate layers in a preserving-pan, and keep shaking till it
boils, then boil ten minutes, taking off all the scum. When cold, cover
with brandy papers and bladders.


{311}_Strawberries in Wine._

Fill a wide mouthed bottle three parts full of strawberries gathered quite
dry, strewing amongst them 4 table-spoonsful of finely pounded sugar; fill
up with fine old sherry, and cork it close.


_Red Gooseberries whole._

They must be just ripe, but no more. Clip off the top of each berry, make a
little slit in the side, with a needle, that the sugar may penetrate, and
take an equal weight of fruit and of sugar: boil them together, very
gently, scum well, and when the skins begin to look transparent, take out
the fruit, with a skimmer, and put it into jars or glasses; boil the syrup
till it jellies, then strain, and pour it over the fruit.


_Morella Cherries._

Cut off the stalks, and prick the fruit with a needle, boil a fourth more
than its weight of sugar, about five minutes, with ¼ pint of red or white
currant jelly; then put in the cherries, and simmer gently till they look
bright. Some take out the stones.


_Cherries en Chemise._

Cut off half the stalk of large ripe cherries; roll them, one by one, in
beaten white of egg, and then lightly in sifted sugar. Spread a sheet of
thin white paper on a sieve reversed, and place that on a stove, spread the
fruit on the paper, and send them from the stove to table. Bunches of
currants, or strawberries, in the same way.


_Cherries in Syrup._

Take out the stones, put the fruit into a preserving-pan, with 2 lbs. lump
sugar to 6 lbs. fruit, let it come slowly to a boil, set it by till next
day, boil up again, repeat this the third day, when they will begin to look
bright and plump; then pot them in the syrup.


{312}_To dry Apricots._

Pare thin, then cut in half, 4 lbs. of apricots, weighed after they are
pared, and add 3 lbs. sifted sugar. When the sugar is nearly all melted,
put it into a pan, and simmer it very gently over a slow fire; as each
piece becomes tender lift it out into a china bowl, and when all are done,
let the syrup cool a little, then pour it over the fruit. In two days pour
out the syrup, leaving only a little in each half. Keep the apricots in a
sunny place, and turn them every day, till quite dry. Keep in boxes,
between layers of paper.


_Dried Cherries._

To every 6 lbs. cherries, stoned, allow 1 lb. lump sugar. Scald the fruit
in a preserving-pan, with very little water, then take it out, dry it: put
it into the pan, with the sugar powdered, and put it over the fire to get
scalding hot, then set it aside to get cold, put it on the fire again, and
repeat this a third time, then drain them from the syrup, and lay them
singly to dry on dishes, in the sun, or on a stove. Keep in boxes, between
layers of white paper.


_Orange Chips._

Cut oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve; cut the peel off
very thin, and steep it a night in water, and the next day boil it till
tender in the same water. Then cut the peel in strips and put them with the
juice, in an earthen pan, with an equal weight of lump sugar, set it high
over a moderate fire or stove, till the chips candy, stirring frequently;
then spread them out in a cool room for a fortnight, to dry.


_Orange Marmalade._

Get the clearest Seville oranges you can; cut them in 2, scoop out all the
pulp and juice into a basin, and pick out the seeds and skins. Boil the
rinds in spring water, changing that two or three times, to take off their
bitterness: if for smooth marmalade, heat the rinds in a marble mortar, if
for thick marmalade cut the rinds in thin pieces, {313}add it to the juice
and pulp, put it all into a preserving-pan, with double the weight of lump
sugar, boil it over a fire, rather more than half an hour. Put it into
pots, cover with brandy papers, and tie down close.--_Or_: put 6 Seville
oranges into a scale, and weigh their weight, and half their weight again,
of lump sugar: to every lb. of fruit measure a wine-pint of cold spring
water. Cut the fruit in quarters, remove the pips, and throw them into the
water; then cut the oranges in slices on plates, so as not to lose any part
of the juice or pulp, then take the pips out of the water, put all the
fruit, juice, and sugar in, and boil it gently an hour, or until it is
sufficiently consistent. Put by in pots. Both these are good receipts.


_Oranges to Preserve._

Cut a hole at the stalk end, and scoop out the pulp, tie each one in
muslin, and lay them in cold spring water, to cover them, for two days,
changing the water twice a day; then boil them in the last water, till
tender. Take the oranges out of the liquor and allow 2 lbs. of the best
lump sugar, and 1 pint of water, to every lb. of fruit, and put it into the
liquor; boil and scum till it is a clear syrup, let it cool, then put in
the oranges, and boil them gently half an hour. Boil the syrup every day,
for a week, or till it looks clear.--_Or_: grate the oranges, put them in
water, change it twice a day, then boil gently, till tender, and put them
in cold water again, for two or three hours. Cut a small piece off the top,
take out the seeds, and to every orange allow ½ lb. of lump sugar, strew it
over them in a preserving-pan, without any water, and set that over a
gentle fire, turning the oranges occasionally: when clear, lift them out,
put them into little pots, boil up the syrup, and pour it hot over the
oranges. If the oranges do not look clear, boil them half an hour, for two
or three days: then boil the syrup by itself, or make a fresh one thus:
pare and core some green apples, and boil them to make the water taste
strong; do not stir the apples, only put them down, with the back of a
spoon; strain the water till quite clear, and to every pint put 1 lb.
double refined sugar, and the juice of a lemon strained, boil it to a
strong jelly, drain the oranges out of the syrup, each one in a {314}jar
the size of an orange, the hole upwards, and pour the jelly over. Cover
with brandy papers, and bladders. Do _lemons_ the same way.--_Or_: pare the
oranges, tie them separately in cloths, boil them in water till tender,
that a straw may pass through them: cut a hole in the stalk end, take out
the seeds, but not the pulp. Make a syrup of sweet oranges, lemons, and
sugar, and when clear, put in the oranges.


_Apricots, Peaches, Magnum Bonum Plums, and Greengages._

Pare and stone the finest fruit, not over ripe, and weigh rather more than
their weight of lump sugar. Spread the fruit in a dish, the split part
upwards, strew the sugar over, and let them stand all night. Break the
stones, blanch the kernels, and simmer the whole gently, till the fruit
looks transparent: scum well, lift the fruit out carefully into pots, pour
the syrup over, and, when quite cold, cover close.


_To Preserve Green Apricots._

Spread vine or apricot leaves at the bottom of the pan, then fruit, then
leaves, till the pan be full, but the upper layer thick of leaves, fill up
with water, and cover quite close, to keep the steam in. Keep the pan at
such a distance from the fire, that in four or five hours, the fruit may be
soft, not cracked. Make a thin syrup of sugar and some of the water, and
drain the fruit; when both are cold, put the fruit and syrup back into the
pan, no leaves, and keep it over the fire till the apricots are green, but
they must not boil or crack; repeat this for two or three days: then pour
off as much of the syrup as you think necessary, and boil it with more
sugar and some sliced ginger to make a rich syrup; when this is cold, drain
the apricots, and pour it over them. What there is left of the _thin_ syrup
will be useful to sweeten fruit tarts.


_Orlean Plums._

An equal quantity of sugar and of plums. The fruit gathered before it is
quite ripe. Put it into a pan with {315}cold water, simmer it till the
skins appear to crack, so that you may peel them off. Have ready, a thin
clear syrup made of 1 lb. sugar, and a gill of water, put in the plums,
give them a gentle boil, and put them by in a basin, till the next day; if
they then appear done enough, drain them from the syrup, if not, boil
again, and remain till the following day; then drain them, add the
remainder of the sugar to the syrup, boil it till rich, and quite clear;
put the plums into jars, pour the syrup over, leave them open till the next
day, then put brandy papers over, and over them run mutton suet.


_Jargonelle Pears._

Pare smoothly and thinly, some large, well shaped pears. Simmer in a thin
syrup, and let them lie two days. Then pour off the syrup, add more sugar:
simmer and scum it; then put the pears in, simmer till they look
transparent, lift them out into pots, pour the syrup over, and tie closely.
Rather more than the weight of fruit in sugar. A grain of pounded cochineal
may be put in the syrup; lemon juice is an improvement.


_Quinces._

Pare the quinces very thin, and put them into a stew-pan; cover with their
parings, and fill the saucepan with hard water, set it over a slow fire,
and keep the lid close that the steam may not escape; when the fruit is
tender take it out, and put to it 1 quart of water, 2½ lbs. lump sugar, to
make a clear syrup: put in the quinces, boil them ten or twelve minutes,
and set them by, for four or five hours; then boil again five or six
minutes, take them off the fire, and set them by two days: boil again, ten
minutes, with the juice of 2 lemons. Let the quinces be quite cold, put
them into broad pans, singly, and pour the syrup over. Cover with brandy
papers, and skins over the whole.--_Or_: cut them in quarters, and to 5
lbs. fruit, put 3 lbs. sugar, and ½ pint water; lay a piece of white paper
over, to keep in the steam, and let them simmer gently, three hours.

Fruit _pastes_ are made by boiling the fruit with clarified sugar to a
thick marmalade; moulded into thin cakes, and dried in a stove.


{316}_To Candy Fruit._

Put fruit, finished in syrup, in a layer, in a new sieve, and dip it
quickly into hot water; spread it on a napkin before the fire to drain, and
do more in the sieve; sift double refined sugar over the fruit, till white
all over. Spread it on the shallow ends of sieves to dry in a _warm_ oven,
turning it two or three times. Do not let it get cold before it is dry.
Watch it carefully.


_Almacks._

1 lb. each of baking pears, apples, apricots, and plums; slice the two
first, and open the others, put them, in alternate layers, in an earthen
jar, in a slow oven. When the fruit is soft, squeeze it through a
cullender, put to it 1 lb. lump sugar, and simmer gently, stirring all the
while, till it leaves the pan clear, then put it in small moulds, or drop
it in little cakes; when cold, put them by.


_Peaches, Apricots, and Plums in Brandy._

Gather peaches before they are quite ripe, prick them with a needle, and
rub off the down with a piece of flannel. Pass a quill carefully round the
stone to loosen it. Put them into a large preserving-pan, with cold water,
rather more than enough to cover them, and let it gradually become scalding
hot. If the water does more than simmer very gently, or the fire be fierce,
the fruit may crack. When tender, lift them carefully out, and fold them in
flannel, or a soft table cloth, in several folds. Have ready a quart, or
more, as the peaches require, of the best brandy, and dissolve in it 10 oz.
of powdered sugar. When cool, put them into a glass jar, and pour the
brandy and sugar over. Cover with leather, or a bladder.


_Cherries in Brandy._

Gather morella cherries on a dry day, when quite ripe; cut off _half_ the
stalk, and put them into wide mouthed bottles, strewing layers of finely
pounded sugar between. Allow to each bottle half the weight of the fruit in
sugar. {317}When the fruit reaches the neck of the bottle, fill up with
brandy; cork and rosin it tight.


_Grapes in Brandy._

Put some close bunches, of any sort, into a jar (having pricked each
grape), strew a good quantity of pounded sugar candy over them, and fill up
the jar with brandy. Tie a bladder over, and keep in a cool place.


_Barberries for Tartlets._

Pick barberries without stones, from their stalks, and put them into a
stone jar, in a kettle of water, or on a hot hearth, and simmer very slowly
till the fruit is soft: then put it into a pan with ¾ lb. lump sugar to 1
lb. barberries, and boil slowly for fifteen minutes. Use no metal but
silver.


_Barberries in Bunches._

Tie the stalks of the fruit on little flat pieces of wood, 3 inches long, a
¼ inch wide. Simmer these in syrup two successive days, and when cold,
cover them with the syrup. On the third day candy them. (See to candy
fruit.)




{318}CHAPTER XXIV.

PICKLES.


THE great art of pickling consists in using good vinegar, and in selecting
the various articles, at the proper seasons.--Pickles are indigestible, but
their liquor is good to give relish to cold meat, therefore the strongest
vinegar should be used, because a less quantity will suffice. They should
be kept in a dry place, and glass jars are best, because then it is easy to
perceive whether the vinegar diminishes, and if it does, more should be
boiled with spice, and poured over the pickles. Fill the jars 3 parts full
with the pickles, but always let there be 3 inches above their surface of
vinegar. If earthenware jars are used, let them be unglazed; and vinegar
should always be boiled in unglazed earthenware; indeed, it ought never to
_boil_ at all, but be just scalding hot, for boiling causes much of the
strength to evaporate. Keep the bottles closely stopped, with bungs, and a
bladder, wetted in the pickle. When you have opened a bottle, cork it
again, put a fresh bladder over, if you wish the pickles to keep. When the
pickles are all used, the vinegar should be boiled up with a little more
spice, and bottled when cold. The colour of pickles is a matter of no small
difficulty, though of the greatest consequence, when used by way of
ornament. A fine colour is sometimes preserved by keeping pickles a long
time in scalding hot vinegar, the vessel being covered. When a bottle of
capers or pickles is opened, it should be kept filled, by fresh boiled
vinegar.

Artichokes are in season in July and August.

Cauliflowers, in July and August.

Capsicum pods, end of July and beginning of August.

Cucumbers, the end of July to the end of August.

French beans, July.

{319}Mushrooms, September.

Nasturtium pods, middle of July.

Onions from the middle to the end of July.

Radish pods, July.

Red cabbage, August.

Samphire, August.

Tomatas, the end of July to the end of August.


_Walnuts._

Make a strong brine of salt and water, about ¼ lb. salt to a quart of
water, and steep the walnuts in it a week, previously pricking them with a
large needle; then put them, with the brine, into a stew-pan, gently simmer
them, pour off the liquor, lay the walnuts on a sieve to drain in the air
two days, to turn them black. Have ready made a pickle of strong vinegar;
add to each quart 1 oz. ginger, 1 oz. strong pepper, 1 oz. eschalots, 1 oz.
salt, ½ oz. allspice, and ½ a drachm of cayenne (some persons add garlic,
brown mustard-seed, bay leaves, cloves, mace, chopped chilies, and
horse-radish); put all into a stone jar, tie over a bladder wetted with
vinegar, and over that a leather; keep it close by the side of the fire two
days and nights; shake it frequently. Put the walnuts into jars, and pour
the pickle hot over them; when cold, put in bungs, and tie wetted bladder
over.


_Walnuts, Green._

The best time is while the shells are still tender, and before they are
quite ripe. Lay them in a strong brine of salt and water for ten days,
changing the brine twice during that time; put in a thin board to float
over, that the air may not get to them and turn them black; then pour the
brine from the walnuts, and run a large needle several times through each
one; lay some vine leaves at the bottom of an earthen pan, put in the
walnuts, and cover with more leaves, fill up the vessel with water, and put
it on the fire till scalding hot; then pour off the water, put fresh in,
let that become hot, pour it off, and repeat this once again; scrape off
the husks, rub the walnuts smooth with flannel, and throw them into a
vessel of hot water. Boil, three minutes, a quart of vinegar for every 50
walnuts, with {320}white pepper, salt, ginger, cloves, and cayenne (in the
proportion of the last receipt), and after rubbing the walnuts, dry them
out of the water, and pour the vinegar over them.


_Gherkins._

The best are about 4 inches long, and 1 inch in diameter. Put them into
unglazed jars, or open pans, and pour salt and water over (¼ lb. salt to a
quart of water), cover, and set them by the side, when not convenient for
them to stand before the fire; in two or three days they will be yellow;
pour off the water, and cover them with scalding hot vinegar: set them
again before the fire, and keep them of an equal heat, if possible, for ten
days, and they will become green; then pour off the vinegar, and have ready
to pour over the gherkins (in jars), the same pickle as that for walnuts,
leaving out the eschalots if you choose. The vinegar poured from the
gherkins should be bottled, for it will be good cucumber vinegar.


_Onions._

Take off the tops and coats of small round silver button onions, the size
of a nutmeg, and put them into a stew-pan three parts full of boiling
water; put no more at once than just enough to cover the top of the water.
As soon as the onions look transparent, take them up in a sieve, lay them
on a folded cloth, whilst you scald the remainder. Make them quite dry with
these cloths, then fill the jars three parts full, and pour over them the
following pickle, quite hot: to a quart of strong vinegar put 1 oz.
allspice, 1 oz. ginger, 1 oz. mace, 1 oz. scraped horse-radish, 1 oz. black
pepper, and 1 oz. salt; infuse it by the fire three or four days; when the
pickle and the onions are cold, bung the jars, and cover them, first with
bladder wetted in vinegar, then with leather.--_Or_: put the onions into
salt and water, change that every day for three days, then put them in a
stew-pan with cold milk and water, let that stand over a fire till _near_
to a boil, take out the onions, dry, and put them into jars, and pour a
pickle over of good vinegar, salt, mace, and pepper, boiled and become
cold.


{321}_Cucumbers and Onions._

Boil in 3 pints of vinegar ¼ lb. flour of mustard, mixed as for table use;
let it get cold; slice 12 large cucumbers, and ½ gallon large onions; put
them into jars with 2 oz. ginger, ½ oz. white pepper, and a small quantity
of mace and cloves, and pour the vinegar, cold, over them.


_Red Cabbage._

Cut out the stalk, and divide a firm, dark coloured middling sized cabbage,
then cut in slices the breadth of straws; sprinkle salt over, and let it
lie two days; then drain the slices very dry; fill the jar, 3 parts full,
and pour a hot pickle over them, of strong vinegar, heated with black
pepper, ginger, and allspice. Cover the jar to keep the steam in, and when
the pickle is cold, put in bungs, and tie bladders over.


_Melon Mangoes._

Cut a small square piece out of one side, and take out the seeds; fill them
with brown mustard seeds, garlic, eschalot, scraped horse-radish, ripe
capsicums, and a little finely pounded ginger: stuff the melons as full as
the space will allow, replace the square piece, and bind them up tightly
with thread. Boil a gallon of white wine vinegar, with ¼ oz. mace, ¼ oz.
cloves, ½ oz. ginger, ½ oz. black and long pepper, and ½ oz. cayenne; as it
is coming to a boil, pour in a wine-glassful of essence of horse-radish,
and of garlic vinegar.


_Beet Root._

Boil them very gently from an hour and a half to two hours, or till 3 parts
done; take them out of the water to cool; peel and cut them in slices about
half an inch thick. Prepare a pickle of good vinegar, and to each quart 1
oz. black pepper, ½ oz. salt, ½ oz. horse-radish, ½ oz. ginger, and a
little cayenne; infuse these by the fire three days, and let the pickle be
cold before you pour it over the beet-root.


{322}_Mushrooms._

Take the red inside out of the large ones, and rub both large and small,
with a piece of flannel and salt; put them into a stew-pan, with a little
mace and pepper, and strew salt over; keep them over a slow fire, till the
liquor which will be drawn, dries up again; shake the stew-pan often; then
pour over as much vinegar as will cover them, let it become hot, but not
boil, and put all into a jar.--_Or_: boil buttons in milk and water till
rather tender, put them into a cullender, and pump cold water on them till
they are cold; put them into salt and water, for twenty-four hours, then
dry them in a cloth. Make a pickle of distilled vinegar, mace, and ginger,
if to be _white_, if not, white wine vinegar. It must be cold before you
pour it over the pickle.


_India Pickle._

Put into a jar a gallon of white wine vinegar, 1 lb. sliced ginger, ½ oz.
turmeric bruised, ½ lb. flour of mustard, ½ lb. salt, 1 oz. long pepper,
bruised; peel ½ lb. garlic, lay it on a sieve, sprinkle it with salt, let
it stand in the sun, or before the fire, three days to dry, then put it
into the vinegar. Place the jar by the side of the fire, cover close, and
let it remain three days, shake it every day, and it will be ready to
receive the vegetables.--_Or_: boil in a gallon of vinegar, ten minutes, 2
oz. black and white peppercorns, 2 oz. flour of mustard, 2 oz. turmeric,
and 2 oz. ginger, 1 oz. of the best cayenne, and a good quantity of young
horse-radish: (you may add ½ oz. more turmeric, and 2 oz. white mustard
seed), add curry powder and eschalots.--_Or_: to a gallon of the strongest
vinegar allow 3 oz. curry powder, the same of flour of mustard, rub these
together with ½ pint of olive oil, 3 oz. ginger bruised, 1 oz. turmeric,
and ½ lb. of eschalots, and 2 oz. garlic (both these sliced and slightly
baked in the Dutch oven), ¼ lb. salt, and 2 drachms cayenne; put it all
into a jar, cover with bladder wetted in the vinegar, and keep it by the
side of the fire three days, shake it several times during each day, and it
will be ready to receive the vegetables. Great care is required, to prepare
the vegetables; they should be gathered, as they come in season, on a dry
day. {323}Parboil in salt and water strong enough to bear an egg, then
drain and spread them in the sun, before the fire, or on a stove, to dry;
this will occupy two days; then put them into the pickle. The vegetables
are, large cucumbers sliced, gherkins, large onions sliced, small onions,
cauliflowers, and brocoli in branches, celery, French beans, nasturtiums,
capsicums, white turnip radishes, coddling apples, siberian crabs, green
peaches, a large carrot in slices, nicked round the edges, and a white
cabbage cut up; neither red cabbage nor walnuts. Small green melons are
good; cut a slit to take out the seeds, parboil the melons in salt and
water, drain and dry, then fill them with mustard seed, and 2 or 3 cloves,
tie round, and put them into the pickle.--Some persons boil it up after the
vegetables are in. These receipts are all good.


_Lemons._

Cut them across, about half way through, and put 1½ tea-spoonful of salt
into each one, let them lie in a deep dish five or six days; to each lemon
add 1½ nutmeg, grated, 1 table-spoonful of black mustard seed, and a little
mace; boil till tender, in vinegar to cover them, then put them by. Keep
the jar filled with vinegar.--_Or_: cut the lemons in 4 parts, but not
through, fill with fine salt, put them in layers in a jar, and sprinkle
fine salt over each layer. Examine and turn them, every five or six days,
and in six weeks they will be ready. If dry, add lemon juice to
them.--_Or_: grate the rind of 8 lemons, rub well with salt, and turn them
every day for a week: put them into a jar with 2 oz. race ginger, a large
stick of horse-radish sliced, 2 tea-spoonsful flour of mustard, 3 of
cayenne, 1 oz. turmeric, and vinegar enough to cover them. Put more vinegar
if required.

_Cauliflower_ and _brocoli_ before they are quite ripe, may be picked in
neat branches, and pickled, the same way as _gherkins_; also _French
beans_, nasturtiums and radish pods, in the same way.




{324}CHAPTER XXV.

VINEGARS.


VINEGAR is seldom made at home, and as the best is made from wine only, it
is scarcely worth the trouble, for, for every purpose, the best vinegar is
the cheapest.


_Gooseberry Vinegar._

To every quart of bruised ripe gooseberries, put 3 quarts of spring water,
stir well, and steep them eight and forty hours; then strain into a barrel,
and to every gallon of liquor, put 2 lbs. white pounded sugar, and a toast
soaked in yeast. Put it in the sun in summer, and by the fire in winter,
for six months, without stopping the bung hole, but keep it always covered
with a plate. White currants, stripped, in the same way.--_Or_: boil 1 lb.
coarse brown sugar in a gallon of water, a quarter of an hour, scumming
well; put it in a pan; when nearly cold put in a thick slice of toasted
bread spread with yeast: let it work twenty-four hours, put it in a cask or
jar, and place that in the sun, or near the fire. You may add some ripe
gooseberries, bruised.


_Good Common Vinegar._

To every gallon of water, put 2 lbs. coarse sugar, boil and skim. Put it in
a pan or tub, and when sufficiently cold add a slice of toast, spread on
both sides with fresh yeast. Let it stand a week, then barrel, and set it
in the sun or by the fire, for six months.


_Cider Vinegar._

To every gallon of cider, put 1 lb. white sugar, shake well, and let it
ferment, four months.


{325}_Vinegar of Wine Lees._

Boil the lees half an hour, during which, skim well. Pour it into a cask,
with a bunch of chervil. Stop the cask close, and in a month it will be
ready.


_Cayenne Vinegar._

Put into a quart of the best vinegar, 10 oz. cayenne, 1 oz. salt, 1 oz.
cloves, 1 oz. garlic broken, and 2 grains cochineal bruised; shake it every
day, for a fortnight.


_Chili Vinegar._

Put 100 fresh gathered red chilies into a quart of the best white wine
vinegar; infuse them, ten days, shaking the bottle every other day. ½ an
ounce of really good cayenne will answer the purpose of the chilies.--A
spoonful or two in melted butter, for fish sauce. _Chili Wine._--The same
way as the last, using sherry, or brandy, instead of vinegar. A fine
flavouring ingredient.


_Eschalot Vinegar or Wine._

Infuse in a pint of vinegar, 1 oz. eschalots, peeled and sliced, a little
scraped horse-radish, and 2 tea-spoonsful cayenne: shake the jar or bottle,
once a day for three weeks, then strain and bottle the liquor.
_Wine._--Very good for flavouring made dishes: peel, mince and pound in a
mortar, 3 oz. eschalots and steep them in a pint of sherry ten days, pour
off the liquor and put in 3 oz. fresh eschalots, and let it stand again ten
days, then pour off and bottle it.


_Tarragon Vinegar._

Pick the leaves on a dry day, about Midsummer, make them perfectly dry
before the fire, then put them into a wide-mouthed bottle or jar, and pour
in vinegar to cover them; steep them fourteen days, then strain through a
flannel jelly bag, into half pint bottles; cork carefully, and keep in a
dry place.


{326}_Vinegar for Salads._

Take of chives, savory, tarragon, and eschalots, each 3 oz., of balm and
mint tops, a handful each. Dry, pound, and put them into a wide mouthed
bottle or jar, with a gallon of the best vinegar, and cork close. Set it in
the sun, for a fortnight, strain it, squeeze the herbs; let it stand a day,
then strain and bottle it.


_Garlic Vinegar._

Peel and bruise 2 oz. garlic, infuse it in a quart of vinegar, three weeks.
Strain and bottle it. A few drops to a pint of gravy; a very slight flavour
is approved of by some, which by others, is considered highly offensive.


_Green Mint Vinegar._

Fill a wide mouthed bottle with the green leaves, cover with vinegar and
steep them a week; pour off the vinegar, put in fresh leaves, let it stand
another week, then bottle it.


_Horse-radish Vinegar._

Prepare this about November. Scrape 3 oz., also 2 oz. eschalots, and 1
drachm of cayenne, pour on them a quart of vinegar, and let it stand a
week, then strain, and it is ready.


_Camp Vinegar._

Put into a pint of the best vinegar, 1 drachm of cayenne, 3 table-spoonsful
soy, 4 table-spoonsful walnut catsup, a small clove of garlic, minced fine,
and 4 anchovies chopped. Steep a month, shake it every other day, strain
it, pour it into pint or ½ pint bottles.


_Cucumber Vinegar._

Pare 8 or 10 large cucumbers, cut in thin slices, and put them into a china
bowl, with 2 onions sliced, a few eschalots, a little salt, white pepper,
and cayenne. Boil a quart of {327}vinegar, let it cool, then pour it into
the bowl; cover close, let it stand three days, and bottle it.


_Basil Wine._

About the end of August fill a wide mouthed bottle with fresh leaves of
basil, cover with sherry and infuse them ten days; strain and put in fresh
leaves, infuse another ten days, then pour off, and bottle it. A
table-spoonful to a tureen of mock turtle, just before it is served.


_Raspberry Vinegar._

This, besides being a nice sauce for batter and other light puddings, is
good with water, as a summer drink, also for colds, sore throat or fever.
It will not be good unless made with fresh fruit; and the finer the sugar,
the clearer the syrup.--To 1 quart of fruit add 1 pint of vinegar (cold);
cover close for twenty-four hours; pour off the liquor, and put to it a
quart of fresh fruit, cover close and let it again stand for twenty-four
hours; repeat this for the third time. Then boil up the vinegar, with a lb.
of lump sugar to each pint, until it becomes a syrup.




{328}CHAPTER XXVI.

ESSENCES.


SOME of the following are useful in culinary, others in medicinal
compounds, and some in both.


_Essence of Ginger._

Put 3 oz. fresh grated ginger, and 1 oz. thinly cut lemon peel into a quart
of brandy, let it stand ten days, and shake it every day.--_Essence of
Allspice_--Oil of pimento, 1 drachm, strong spirits of wine, 2 oz., mix
them by degrees; a few drops will flavour a pint of gravy or
wine.--_Essence of Nutmeg, Clove, or Mace_--Put 1 drachm of either into 2
oz. of the strongest spirit of wine. A few drops will be
sufficient.--_Essence of Cinnamon_--2 oz. spirits of wine, and 1 drachm of
oil of cinnamon.


_Essence of Savoury Spice._

1 oz. black pepper, ½ oz. allspice finely pounded, ¼ oz. grated nutmeg,
infused in a pint of brandy ten days.


_Essence of Cayenne._

Steep 1 oz. good cayenne in 1 pint of brandy, or spirits of wine, a
fortnight, then strain and bottle it, for use.


_Essence of Seville Orange and Lemon Peel._

Rub lump sugar on the lemon or orange, till quite saturated with the rind,
then scrape the sugar so saturated into the jar you keep it in, rub the
rind again, and so on, till you have enough, press the sugar down close,
and keep it for use. This imparts a very nice flavour to custards and
puddings. Tincture of lemon peel is made by paring the peel, and steeping
it in brandy.




{329}CHAPTER XXVII.

CATSUPS.


THESE should be made at home, as well as pickles. A small quantity of
catsup every year is sufficient, and very little time and trouble will
provide it. It should be put into small bottles (filled to the neck), for
when a cork is once drawn, catsups, essences, and pickles begin to decay.
The bottles kept lying on their side, because this tends to preserve the
cork. Keep them in a dry place.


_Mushroom Catsup._

Made in September. The large flaps are best. Break off whatever parts are
dirty or decayed, and lay the rest in pieces, in an earthen pan in layers,
with salt between; put a folded cloth over, and let it stand a day and
night, or longer, by the side of the fire; then strain off the liquor into
the saucepan, and to every quart, put ½ oz. black peppercorns, a ¼ oz.
allspice, ½ oz. sliced ginger, a few cloves, and 2 or 3 blades of mace.
Boil the liquor, fifteen minutes, over a quick fire, though it will be
stronger and keep longer, if boiled until the quantity be reduced one half,
and then the spices need not be put in until it has been boiling about
twenty minutes. When you take it off the fire, let it stand to settle, pour
off clear, and bottle it; the sediment may be strained and bottled also,
for it answers for fish sauce and brown soup. Anchovies, bay leaves, and
cayenne, may be added to the spices. Dip the corks in melted rosin. Some
put a table-spoonful of brandy into each pint bottle. A table-spoonful of
mushroom catsup is sufficient to flavour ½ pint of sauce.--_Or_: break them
in a pan, sprinkle salt between and let them stand till the next day, when,
if their liquor be not drawn, add fresh mushrooms and more salt: the next
day pour off {330}the liquor, boil it three hours, let it settle, strain
and add to every 2 quarts, ½ oz. of cloves, ½ oz, nutmegs, ½ oz. mace, 1
oz. race ginger, 1 oz. jamaica, and 1 oz. black pepper, some eschalots and
horse-radish, and 1 pint of Port wine, then boil it again half an hour.
This will keep well.


_Walnut Catsup._

Gather them green, prick them with a large needle, and let them lie three
days, in an earthen pan, sprinkled with a handful of salt, and a very
little water. Mash them well each day, with a rolling pin. On the fourth
day, pour some scalding hot salt and water over, mash again, and let them
stand the whole day; then with a spoon or cup, lift out what liquor there
is, pound the walnuts well, and pour a little good vinegar and water over
them, which will extract all their juice; pour this off, and put to it what
you already have, boil it slowly, and scum well. When there is no longer
any scum, put to every quart 1 oz. bruised ginger, 1 oz. allspice, 1 oz.
black pepper, a ¼ oz. each of cloves, mace, and nutmeg; simmer it three
quarters of an hour, when cold, bottle it.--_Or_: when of a full size, but
tender, pound the walnuts, strain out the juice, let it settle and boil it
up, taking off the scum as it rises: to each 2 quarts allow 3 lbs.
anchovies, and boil gently till they are dissolved, then strain, and boil
again with a small quantity of garlic and eschalots, a stick of cinnamon, ½
an oz. each of black pepper, cloves and mace, the rind of 2 lemons, 3 pints
of vinegar, 4 wine-glassfuls of port wine, and the same of strong beer;
boil it gently three quarters of an hour; scum well. The longer this is
kept the better.


_Oyster Catsup._

Use fresh Melton oysters. Pound them in a marble mortar, and to a pint of
oysters add a pint of sherry. Boil them up, then add 1 oz. salt, 2 drachms
of pounded mace, and 1 drachm of cayenne; boil up again, skim, then strain
it through a sieve, and when cold, bottle it, and seal down the corks.
Brandy will assist to keep it: it is a nice catsup for white
sauces.--Cockles and muscles, the same way, but a pounded anchovy or two
may be added to give {331}flavour.--_Or_: boil 100 oysters in 3 pints of
sherry, with 1 lb. of anchovies, and 1 lemon sliced, for half an hour; then
strain it, add a ¼ oz. cloves, ¼ oz. mace, 2 oz. eschalots, and 1 nutmeg
sliced, boil it a quarter of an hour: when cold, bottle it, with the spice
and eschalots. If the oysters are large they should be cut.


_Tomata Catsup._

Take 6 doz. tomatas, 2 doz. eschalots, 1 doz. cloves of garlic, 2 sticks of
horse-radish, and 6 bay leaves; slice and put them in 1½ pint of vinegar,
with a handful of salt, 2 oz. pepper, 2 oz. allspice, and a little mace.
Boil well together, ten minutes, pour it into a pan, let it stand till the
next day, add a pint of sherry, give it one boil, take it off the fire,
skim it, and after it has stood a few minutes, add a tea-cupful of anchovy
sauce, and a tea-spoonful of cayenne. Strain, and when cold, bottle it. The
pulp may be rubbed through a sieve for sauce.


_Lobster Catsup._

Get a lobster of about 3 lbs. weight, and full of spawn, pick out all the
meat, and pound the coral with 6 anchovies in a marble mortar: when
completely bruised, add the meat, pound and moisten it with ½ a pint of
sherry or Madeira, a tea-spoonful of cayenne, a wine-glassful of chili or
eschalot vinegar, and 1½ pint of eschalot wine; mix well, put it into
wide-mouthed bottles, on the top put a dessert-spoonful of whole black
peppers, to each bottle: cork tightly, rosin them, and tie leather over.
Keep in a cool place. 4 or 5 table-spoonsful to a tureen of thick melted
butter.




{332}CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE CELLAR.


A GOOD cellar, besides its general convenience, in regard to a variety of
household purposes, is indispensable to every one who wishes to have good
beer. However skilful and successful the brewer, no beer, nor, indeed, any
fermented liquors (with few exceptions), can be kept good, any length of
time, especially in the summer months, unless they be secured from being
turned sour by heat, and by sudden variations of the atmosphere. No cellar
can be considered perfect which is not below the surface of the ground.
Houses in the country are frequently without the convenience of underground
cellaring; but every house ought, where it is practicable, to be built over
cellars, which, independently of other advantages, contribute very
materially to the dryness and warmth of the building.

The directions for brewing, given by my father, in his "_Cottage Economy_,"
are so circumstantial, and so simple, clear, and intelligible, that any
person, however inexperienced, who reads them with attention, may, without
further instruction, venture to brew without risk of a failure. It is
certain that many families, who had previously never thought of brewing
their own beer, have been encouraged by the plainness and simplicity of his
directions to attempt it, and have never since been without good home-made
beer. Brewing is not, perhaps, in strictness, a feminine occupation; there
are, nevertheless, many women who are exceedingly skilful in the art. It is
obviously not within the province of the mistress of a house, even to
superintend the brewing department, but, when circumstances may render it
necessary that she should undertake the task, she cannot, when about to
give her directions, do better than consult the "_Cottage Economy_."

{333}The utensils necessary are: a copper, a mash-tub and stand, an
under-back, to stand under the edge of the mash-tub, when the malt is put
in, two buckets, a strainer, a cooler, a tun-tub, and a cask to put the
beer in.

Having these utensils, the next thing is, materials for making the beer.
These are, soft water, malt, and hops. The water should be _soft_, because
hard water does not so well extract the goodness of the malt; but if you
have none but hard water, soften it by letting it stand two days in some
open vessel in the air. The malt should be (or, at least, usually is)
ground or bruised into a very coarse meal. The hops should be fresh, of a
bright yellow, and highly scented. Farnham hops are the cleanest and best.
I give receipts for finings, but do not recommend them, though they
certainly will make beer clear which might not be so without them.

The process is this: if you mean to make about a hogshead of beer, take 120
gallons of water (soft, or softened by exposure to the air), and put it
into the copper. When it has boiled, pour it into the malt. This is rather
a nice matter; if you put in the malt too soon, it cakes and becomes dough.
The old-fashioned rule is, to let the steam keep flying off till you can
see your features in the water; but as the weather frequently renders this
an uncertain criterion, take your thermometer, and plunge it into the water
now and then, and when the quicksilver stands at 170, the heat is about
right. Pour the malt in gently, taking care to stir it about as it goes in,
so as to separate it, and make every particle come in contact with the
water; when it is all in, stir it for twenty minutes or half an hour; then
put your stirring-stick across the mash-tub, and cover cloths all over to
keep in the heat. Let this, which is called _mashing_, go on for four or
five hours. It cannot well be too long about. When the malt has remained
soaking all this time, draw off the liquor by means of your buckets, and
put it into the copper again. This liquor is called the "_sweet wort_."
Light the fire under the copper, and pour into it, for _every bushel_ of
malt that you have mashed, ¾ lb. of _hops_, or, if not very good, 1 lb. for
every bushel. Stir these well into the wort, and keep it on a good hard
boil for an hour, being very particular to make it boil all the while. This
being done, you have now to cool the beer: {334}rake the fire out from
under the copper, and again take out your liquor in your buckets; put the
cooler in some place away from the chances of dirt falling into it, and
where it may stand level; then strain the liquor into it. The next
operation is, the _working_; and the most difficult part of this is, to
ascertain when, precisely, the liquor is cool enough to bear it.
Experienced brewers generally ascertain this by the feel of the liquor, by
merely putting the finger into it; but it is better to use the thermometer
again; plunge it in, and when the quicksilver stands at 70 the heat is
right. Then, with your buckets again, put the whole of the liquor out of
the cooler into the tun-tub; and take a pint, or thereabouts, of fresh
yeast (balm), and mix it in a bowl with some of the liquor; then pour it
into the tun-tub with the liquor that is now cool enough to be set to work;
mix it up a little by dipping the bowl in once or twice, and pouring it
down from a height of two or three feet above the surface of the liquor in
the tun-tub; then cover the tun-tub with cloths, as you did the mash-tub.
In a few hours it will begin to work; that is, a little froth, like that of
bottled porter, will begin to rise upon the surface; when this has risen to
its height, and begins to flatten at the top and sink, it should be skimmed
off, and is good yeast, and the beer is ready to put into the cask in your
cellar. When you put it into the cask, let it stand a day, without being
bunged down, because it may work a little there. When you find that it does
not, then, if you use finings, put them in, and bung down tightly.

The following receipt is given to me by a gentleman who is celebrated for
the excellence of his beer.

Suppose the brewer is about to make a hogshead of beer of good strength.
Eight bushels of malt will be sufficient. Let the water, if not _soft_,
stand two days in some vessel in the open air, which will soften it. One
hundred and twenty gallons will be sufficient; and, if he uses ground malt,
let him remember to attend to the heat of the water in the mash-tub before
he puts it in, and also to the stirring and separating as it goes in. When
it has stood long enough in the mash-tub, he must draw it off, and put it
into the copper, and then throw in ¾ lb. of good hops _for every bushel of
malt_; or, if the hops be not really good and strong, 1 lb. _to the
bushel_. Boil the liquor at least an hour; {335}but be very particular to
make it boil the whole time; for much depends on this. Beer that has not
boiled well is always crude, and soon spoils. It is the great fault of most
brewers, that, to save the evaporation caused by a good boiling, they cool
the liquor before it is sufficiently cooked. When it has boiled the proper
time, pour it immediately, hot as it is, into a clean cask; put the bung
and vent-peg in lightly; watch the cask, and when you find fermentation
going on, which will show itself by a little oozing out of froth round the
bung, take out both bung and vent-peg, and let them remain out till the
working is over, and the froth begins to sink down into the cask; then put
the bung and vent-peg in tightly, and the brewing is over. The cask should
not be filled to running over, yet very little space should be left below
the bung when driven in, as the body of air that would fill this vacancy
would deaden the beer.

This mode deviates from that practised by my father, in two essential
points: namely, the _cooling_ and the _working_ of the beer; for, in the
last receipt it is not cooled at all, and no yeast is required to work it.
If it answers, it is a less troublesome, and, calculating the cost of the
coolers, less expensive mode of brewing than that detailed in the "_Cottage
Economy_."

The "Cottage Economy" speaks of the necessity of keeping the casks in good
order; and this is a matter, though of great importance, often neglected.
New casks should be seasoned before they are used; one way recommended is,
to boil 2 pecks of bran or malt dust in a copper of water, pour it hot into
the cask, stop close, and let it stand two days, then wash it out well, and
drain the cask. Servants are negligent about vent-pegs and bungs. They
should be put in tight, the tap taken out, and a cork put in, as soon as
the last beer is drawn. If the casks were kept in proper order, beer would
not so often be spoiled. Of equal consequence, is the cleanness of the
brewing utensils. They should be scoured well with a brush and scalding
water, after they have been used. Do not use soap or any thing greasy. A
strong ley of wood ashes may be used, if there be any apprehension of
taint. When hops are dear, gentian may be substituted in part for them, in
the proportion of 8¼ oz. gentian, and 2 lbs. hops, to 12 bushels of malt.


{336}_To Fine Beer._

Draw out a gallon of ale, put to it 2 oz. isinglass, cut small and beaten;
stir the beer, and whip it with a whisk, to dissolve the isinglass, then
strain, and pour it back into the cask, stir well, a few minutes, and put
the bung in lightly, because a fresh fermentation will take place. When
that is over stop it close; let the vent-peg be loose. Fermentation is
over, make the vent-peg tight; and in a fortnight the beer will be fine.
Drink 3 parts, and bottle the rest.--A good way to fine new beer, is to run
the wort through a flannel into the tun, before it has worked.


_For Stale Small Beer._

Put 1 lb. chalk, in small pieces, into a half hogshead, and stop it close.
It will be fit to drink on the third day.--_Or_: put half chalk, and the
other half hops.


_To Bottle Beer._

Stone bottles are best. The best corks the cheapest, put them in cold water
half an hour before you use them. The bottles perfectly clean and sweet,
fill them with beer, put in each bottle a small tea-spoonful of powdered
sugar, and let them stand uncorked, till the next day: then cork, and lay
the bottles on their sides; or, better still, stand them with the necks
downwards.--When a bottle is emptied, the cork should be returned into it
directly, or it will become musty.


_To Make Cider._

The apples quite ripe, but not rotten. If the weather be frosty, gather the
apples, and spread them from 1 to 2 feet thick, on the ground, and cover
with straw; if mild, let them hang on the trees, or remain under, if
fallen, until you are ready to make the cider. It should not be made in
warm weather, unless they are beginning to rot, in which case you must not
delay. Unripe fruit should be made by itself, as the cider never
keeps.--Large cider mills will make from 100 to 150 gallons in a day,
according to the difference in the quality of fruit, some sorts of apples
being {337}more tough and less juicy than others, consequently requiring
more grinding. Not more than 7 or 8 bushels should be put into the mill at
once. They should be ground, till the kernels and rinds are all well
mashed, to give the flavour to cider. Pour the cider from the mill into a
press; press the juice well, then pour it into hogsheads. When it has done
fermenting, and the time for this is very uncertain, rack it off into other
hogsheads, let it settle, and then bung it down.


----

ENGLISH WINES AND CORDIALS.

Fruit of every kind should be gathered in dry sunny weather, quite ripe.
All home made wines are the better for a little brandy; though some persons
never use any.


_To Clear Wine._

Dissolve ½ lb. hartshorn shavings in cider or rhenish wine; this is
sufficient for a hogshead.--_Or_: to 2 table-spoonsful boiled rice, add ½
oz. burnt alum in powder: mix with a pint, or more, of the wine, stir it
into the cask, with a stout stick, but do not agitate the lees.--_Or_:
dissolve ½ oz. isinglass, in a pint or more of the wine, mix with it ½ oz.
of chalk in powder, and put it into the cask: stir the wine, but not the
lees.


_British Sherry, or Malt Wine._

Take 12 quarts of the best sweet wort, from pale malt, let it cool and put
it into a 10 gallon cask. Take as much water as will be required to fill up
the cask, put it on the fire, with 22 lbs. of the best lump sugar, stir
from time to time, and let it boil gently about a quarter of an hour,
taking off the scum as it rises. Take it off the fire, let it cool, pour it
into the cask, and put in a little good yeast. It may, perhaps, continue to
ferment two or three weeks; when this has ceased, put in 3 lbs. raisins,
chopped fine; these may cause fresh fermentation, which must be allowed to
subside; then put in the rinds of 4 Seville oranges, and their juice, also
a quart of good brandy; at the end of three {338}or four days, if a fresh
fermentation have not taken place, put the bung in tight. Keep it a year in
the cask, then bottle it; the longer it is kept the better.--_Or_: stir 42
lbs. good moist sugar into 14 gallons of water, till it is dissolved, then
boil it twenty minutes; let it cool in a tub, then put in 16 lbs. good
Malaga raisins, picked and chopped; when it is quite cold pour in 2 gallons
of strong beer ready to be tunned, and let it stand eight days; then taking
out the raisins, put it into a 16 gallon cask, with 2 quarts of the best
brandy, 1 lb. bitter almonds blanched, and 2 oz. isinglass. Bottle it in a
year.


_British Madeira._

Boil 30 lbs. moist sugar in 10 gallons of water, half an hour, and scum
well. Let it cool, and to every gallon put 1 quart of ale, out of the vat;
let this work, in a tub, a day or two; then put it in the cask, with 1 lb.
sugar candy, 6 lbs. raisins, 1 quart of brandy, and 2 oz. isinglass. When
it has ceased to ferment, bung it tight, for a year.


_English Frontiniac._

Boil 11 lbs. lump sugar in 4 gallons of water, half an hour; when only milk
warm, put it to nearly a peck of elder flowers, picked clear from the
stalks, the juice and peel of 4 large lemons, cut very thin, 3 lbs. stoned
raisins, and 2 or 3 spoonsful yeast: stir often, for four or five days.
When quite done working, bung it tight, and bottle it in a week.


_Red Currant Wine._

To 28 lbs. of moist sugar, allow 4 gallons of water, pour it over the
sugar, and stir it well. Have a sieve of currants (which usually produces
between 10 and 11 quarts of juice), squeeze the fruit with the hand, to
break the currants, and as you do so, put the crushed fruit into a
horse-hair sieve, press it, and when no more will run through the sieve,
wring the fruit in a coarse cloth. Pour the juice on the sugar and water,
mix it, and then pour it all into a 9 gallon cask, and fill it with water,
if the barrel should not be full.--The cask should be filled up {339}with
water every day, while the wine ferments, and be bunged up tight, when it
ceases. This is a cheap and simple method of making currant wine.--_Or_:
put a bushel of red, and a peck of white currants, into a tub or pan,
squeeze well; strain them through a sieve upon 28 lbs. of powdered sugar;
when the sugar is dissolved put in some water in the proportion of 1½
gallon to 1 gallon of juice, pour it all into the barrel, add 3 or 4 pints
of raspberries, and a little brandy.


_Raisin Wine._

Put the raisins in at the bung-hole of a close cask (which will be the
better for having recently had wine in it), then pour in spring water, in
the proportion of a gallon to 8 lbs. raisins; the cask should stand in a
good cellar, not affected by external air. When the fermentation begins to
subside, pour in a bottle of brandy, and put the bung in loosely; when the
fermentation has wholly subsided, add a second bottle of brandy, and stop
the cask close. In a year it will be fit to bottle, immediately from the
cask, without refining. Malaga raisins make the finest wine: Smyrna, rich
and full, and more resembling foreign wine.


_Gooseberry Wine._

To every pound of green gooseberries, picked and bruised, add 1 quart of
water, steep them four days, stirring twice a day. Strain the liquor
through a sieve, and to every gallon add 3 lbs. loaf sugar; also to every
20 gallons, a quart of brandy, and a little isinglass. When the sugar is
dissolved, tun the wine, and let it work, which it will do in a week, or
little more, keeping back some of the wine to fill up the cask, before you
stop it close. Let it stand in the barrel six months, bottle it, in six
more begin to drink it.


_To make 4 gallons of Elder Wine._

Boil 1 peck of berries in 4 gallons of water, half an hour; strain and add
2½ lbs. moist sugar. To every gallon of water add ½ oz. cloves, and 2 oz.
ginger, tied in a linen {340}bag, boil it again five minutes, and pour it
into a pan. When cold, toast a piece of bread on both sides, spread it with
good yeast, and put it in the wine. When worked sufficiently, put it into a
spirit cask, and cork it down; take the spice out of the cloth, and put it
into the cask, with a tumbler of brandy. Leave the vent peg out a few days;
in three weeks or a month bottle it. _Elder Wine to drink cold._--Boil 1
gallon of berries in 2 gallons of water, two hours and a half. Add 3 lbs.
moist sugar to every gallon of wine; boil it twenty minutes. Next day work
it with a yeast toast. When worked enough, cask it, with ½ a bottle of
brandy, and 7 lbs. raisins.


_Ginger Wine._

Boil in 9 gallons of water 12 lbs. loaf sugar, 12 lbs. of moist, 12 oz.
good ginger sliced, and the rind of 8 lemons, half an hour, scumming all
the time; let it stand till lukewarm, put it into a clean cask with the
juice of the lemons, 6 lbs. chopped raisins, and a tea-cupful of yeast,
stir every day for ten days, add ¾ oz. of isinglass and 2 quarts of brandy.
Stop close, and in four months bottle it.--_Or_: in 12 gallons of water
boil 12 lbs. loaf sugar, 12 oz. ginger, and the rind of 24 lemons, half an
hour, scumming all the time; then put it in the cask with the lemon juice,
12 lbs. raisins, and the yeast, stir every day for a fortnight, add 2 oz.
isinglass and 1 quart of brandy.


_Mountain Wine._

To 5 lbs. of large Malaga raisins, chopped very small, put a gallon of
spring water; steep them a fortnight; squeeze out the liquor, and put it in
a barrel: do not stop close until the hissing is over.


_Primrose Wine._

Boil 18 lbs. lump sugar in 6 gallons of water, with the juice of 8 lemons,
6 Seville oranges, and the whites of 8 eggs; boil half an hour, taking off
the scum as it rises; when cool put in a crust of toasted bread, soaked in
yeast, let it ferment thirty-six hours: put into the cask the peel of 12
lemons, and of 10 Seville oranges, with 6 gallons of {341}primrose pips,
then pour in the liquor. Stir every day for a week, add 3 pints of brandy;
stop the cask close, and in six weeks bottle the wine.


_Cowslip Wine._

Boil 3½ lbs. lump sugar in 4 quarts of water an hour, skim and let it stand
until lukewarm, pour it into a pan, upon 4 quarts of cowslip flowers; add a
piece of toasted bread spread with yeast, and let it stand four days: put
in as many lemons, sliced, as you have gallons of wine, mix and put it into
a cask, and stop close.


_Grape Wine._

To 1 gallon of bruised grapes (not over ripe), put 1 gallon of water. Let
it stand six days, without stirring, strain it off fine, and to each gallon
put 3 lbs. moist sugar; barrel, but do not stop it, till it has done
hissing.--_Or_: the fruit barely half ripe, pick from the stalks, and
bruise it, then put it in hair cloths, add an equal weight of water, and
let it stand eighteen hours, stirring occasionally: dissolve in it from 3
lbs. to 3½ lbs. lump sugar, to each gallon, as you wish the wine to be more
or less strong. Put it in a cask, fill it to the brim, and have 2 or 3
quarts in reserve to fill up with, as it diminishes by fermenting. Let it
ferment ten days, when that is over, and there is no danger of the cask
bursting, fasten it tight, leaving a small vent to open once a week, for a
month. Fine and rack the wine in March, and bottle it in October; for a
_brisk_ wine, it must ferment eight days longer, and be bottled the
following March, in cold weather.


_Parsnip Wine._

Boil 1 bushel of sliced parsnips in 60 quarts of water, one hour, then
strain it, add 45 lbs. lump sugar, boil one hour more, and when cold
ferment with yeast; add a quart of brandy, then bottle it.--_Or_: to each
gallon of water add 4 lbs. of parsnips, washed and peeled, which boil till
tender; drain, but do not bruise them, for no remedy will make the wine
clear: to each gallon of the liquor add 3 lbs. loaf sugar, and ½ oz. crude
tartar, and when cooled to the {342}temperature of 75, put in a little new
yeast; let it stand four days, in a tub, in a warm room; tun it, and bung
up when the fermentation has ceased. March and October are the best
seasons. It should remain twelve months in cask before it is bottled.


_Almond Wine._

Warm a gallon of water, add 3 lbs. loaf sugar, stir well from the bottom,
and put in the white of an egg well beaten. When the water boils, stir,
skim, and boil it an hour, put it in a pan to cool, and add ½ pint of
yeast. Tun it next day, work it ten days, stirring once a day, then add to
every gallon 1 lb. of sun raisins chopped, and rather less than ¼ lb. of
almonds (pounded), more of bitter than sweet, and a little isinglass. Stop
the cask close, for twelve months.


_Cherry Bounce._

To 4 quarts of brandy, 4 lbs. of red cherries, 2 lbs. of black cherries,
and 1 quart of raspberries, a few cloves, a stick of cinnamon, and a bit of
orange peel: let it stand a month, close stopped, then bottle it; a lump of
sugar in each bottle.


_Orange Wine._

To 10 gallons of spring water put 30 lbs. of lump sugar: mix well, and put
it on the fire with the whites of 7 eggs well beaten; do not stir before it
boils: when it has boiled half an hour, skim well, put it into a tub, and
let it stand till cold. Then put to it a pint of good ale yeast, and the
peels of 10 Seville oranges very thin, let it stand two days, stirring
night and morning. Then barrel it, adding the juice of 40 Seville oranges,
and their peels. When it has done working, stop it close for six months
before it is bottled.--_Or_: to 10 gallons of water, put 32 lbs. loaf
sugar, and the whites of 4 eggs, beaten, boil as long as any scum rises,
take that off, pour it through a sieve, and boil again, until quite clear;
then pour it into a pan. Peel 100 Seville oranges, very thin; when the
steam is a little gone off the water, put the peel into it, keeping back
about a double handful. When the liquor is quite cold, squeeze in the
{343}juice; let it stand two days, stirring occasionally; then strain it,
through a hair sieve, into the cask, with the peel in reserve. If the
fermentation has ceased, it may be bunged down in a week or ten days.


_Orange Brandy._

Steep the rinds of 8 Seville oranges and 3 lemons with 3 lbs. lump sugar,
in 1 gallon of brandy, four days and nights. Stir often, and run it through
blotting paper.


_A Liqueur._

Fill one third of a quart bottle with black currants and a quarter part as
much of black cherries, fill up with brandy, put in a cork, and let it
stand a month; strain it through linen, put in sugar to taste, let it stand
again a month, then strain and bottle it.--_Quince_ may he used the same
way, but in _Rum_.


_Shrub._

To 1 quart of strained orange juice, put 2 lbs. loaf sugar, and 9 pints of
rum or brandy; also the peels of half the oranges. Let it stand one night,
then strain, pour into a cask, and shake it four times a day for four days.
Let it stand till fine, then bottle it.--_Lemon Shrub_: to 1 gallon of rum
or whiskey, put 1½ pint of strained lemon juice, 4 lbs. of lump sugar, the
peel of 9 lemons, and 5 bitter almonds. Mix the lemon juice and sugar
first, let it stand a week, take off all the scum, then pour it from one
jug carefully to another, and bottle it.


_Currant Rum._

To every pint of currant juice 1 lb. lump sugar, and to every 2 quarts of
juice, 1 pint of water, set it over the fire, in a preserving pan, boil it,
take off the scum, as it rises, and pour it into a pan to cool, stir till
nearly cold, add to every 3 pints of liquor, 1 quart of rum, and bottle it.


_Ratafia._

Infuse 1 oz. each of anise, dill, carraway, coriander, {344}carrot, fennel,
and angelica seeds, in 2 quarts of brandy, a fortnight in summer, and three
weeks in winter: in the sun in summer, and in a chimney corner in winter.
Shake it every day; strain through a jelly bag, and to every pint put 6 oz.
of sugar, dissolved in water. Strain again, that it may be quite
fine.--_Or_: _for Pudding Sauces_: blanch an equal quantity of peach,
apricot, and nectarine kernels, slit and put them into a wide-mouthed
bottle, with 1 oz. white sugar candy; fill it with brandy.


_Noyeau._

Put ¼ lb. sweet and ¼ lb. bitter almonds with 2 lbs. sugar and the rinds of
3 lemons into a quart of brandy (white is best), with ½ pint new milk:
shake and mix well together, every day for a fortnight; then strain and
bottle it.


_Real Drogheda Usquebaugh._

1 oz. anise seeds, ½ oz. fennel, 1 oz. green liquorice, 1 drachm coriander
seeds, of cloves and mace, each 1 drachm, 1 lb. raisins of the sun, and ½
lb. figs. Slice the liquorice, bruise the other ingredients, and infuse all
in a gallon of brandy eight days. Shake it 2 or 3 times a day; strain it,
add 1 oz. of saffron in a bag: in two days bottle it.


_Milk Punch._

Take 2 quarts of water, 1 quart of milk, ½ pint of lemon juice, 1 quart of
brandy, and sugar to your taste: put the milk and water together a little
warm, then the sugar, then the lemon juice, stir well, then add the brandy;
stir again, run it through a flannel bag, till very fine; then bottle it.
It will keep a fortnight or more.--_Or_: steep the rinds of 6 lemons in a
bottle of rum three days; add 1 quart of lemon juice, 3 quarts of cold soft
water, 3 quarts of rum, 3 lbs. lump sugar, and 2 nutmegs grated; mix well,
add 2 quarts boiling milk, let it stand five hours; strain through a jelly
bag, and bottle it.


_Excellent Punch._

Put a piece of lemon peel into 3 pints of barley water, let {345}it cool,
add the juice of 6 lemons, and ½ pint of brandy; sweeten to taste, and put
it in the cool, for four hours. Add a little fine old rum.


_Norfolk Punch._

Steep the pulp of 12 lemons and 12 oranges, in 4 gallons of rum or brandy,
twenty-four hours. Boil 12 lbs. of double refined sugar in 6 gallons of
water, with the whites of 6 eggs, beaten to a froth; scum well; when cold,
put it into the vessel with the rum, 6 quarts of orange juice, the juice of
12 lemons, also 2 quarts of new milk. Shake the vessel, to mix it; stop
close, and let it stand in the cask two months, before you bottle it.


_Roman Punch._

To the juice of 12 lemons and 2 oranges, add the peel of 1 orange cut thin,
and 2 lbs. pounded loaf sugar, mix well, pass through a sieve, and mix it,
gradually, with the whites of 10 eggs, beaten to a froth. Ice it a little,
then add champagne or rum to your taste.


_Regent's Punch._

A bottle of champagne, a ¼ pint of brandy, a wine glass of good old rum,
and a pint of very strong green tea, with capillaire or any other syrup, to
sweeten.


_A cool Tankard._

Mix 2 wine-glassfuls of sherry, and 1 of brandy, in a tankard, with a hot
toast, and sugar to taste; pour in a bottle of clear nice tasted ale, and
stir it with a sprig of balm: then let it settle and serve it.


_Porter Cup._

Put a bottle of porter, the same of table ale, a wine-glass of brandy, a
dessert-spoonful of syrup of ginger, 3 lumps of sugar, and half a nutmeg
grated into a covered jug, and set it in a cold place half an hour; just
before you serve it stir in a table-spoonful of carbonate of soda.


{346}_Cider Cup._

Begin with whatever quantity of brandy you choose, and go on, doubling the
other ingredients, namely: sherry, cider, soda water, a little lemon peel
and cinnamon, sugar to your taste, and a bush of borage. Some persons put
in a very little piece of the peel of cucumber, but this must be used
sparingly, as the flavour is strong.


_Ginger Beer._

Boil 14 lbs. lump sugar in 1½ gallon of water, with 2 oz. ginger, bruised,
one hour; then add the whites of 8 eggs, well beaten; boil a little longer,
and take off the scum as it rises; strain into a tub, and let it stand till
cold; put it into a cask with the peel of 14 lemons cut thin, also the
juice, a pint of brandy, and half a spoonful of ale-yeast at the top. Stop
the cask close for a fortnight: then bottle, and in another fortnight it
will be ready. Stone bottles are best.--_Or_: 1 oz. powdered ginger, ½ oz.
cream of tartar, 1 large lemon sliced, 2 lbs. lump sugar, to 1 gallon of
water, simmered half an hour: finish as above. _Ginger Imperial._--Boil 2
oz. cream of tartar, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, 4 pieces of ginger
bruised, and 1 lb. of sugar, in 6 quarts of water, half an hour. When cool,
add 2 or 3 spoonsful yeast, and let it stand twenty-four hours, then bottle
in ½ pint bottles, and tie down the corks. In three days it will be ready.
An improvement to this is ¾ lb. sugar, ¼ lb. honey, and 1 tea-spoonful of
essence of lemon.


_Spruce Beer._

Mix a pint of spruce with 12 lbs. of treacle, stir in 3 gallons of water,
let it stand half an hour, put in 3 more gallons of water, and a pint of
yeast, stir well, and pour it into a 10 gallon cask, fill that with water,
and let it work till fine; bottle it; let the bottles lie on their sides
three days, then stand them up, in three more days it will be ready.


_Crême d'Orange._

Slice 16 oranges, pour over them 1 gallon of rectified {347}spirits, and 1¼
pint of orange flower water; in ten days, add 7 lbs. of clarified syrup, a
quart of water, and ½ oz. of tincture of saffron: keep it closed, and in a
fortnight strain the liquor through a jelly bag, let it settle, then pour
from the sediment, and bottle it.


_Raspberry or Mulberry Brandy or Wine._

Bruise fine ripe fruit with the back of a wooden spoon, and strain into a
jar through a flannel bag, with 1 lb. of fine powdered loaf sugar to every
quart of juice; stir well, let it stand three days, covered close; stir
each day: pour it off clear, and put 1 quart of brandy, or 2 of sherry, to
each quart of juice; bottle it, and it will be ready in a fortnight.


_Spring Sherbet._

Scrape 10 sticks of rhubarb and boil them, ten minutes, in a quart of
water; strain the liquor through a tammis cloth into a jug, add the peel of
1 lemon, very thin, and 2 table-spoonsful of clarified sugar; in six hours
it is ready.


----

FLIP.

While a quart of ale is warming on the fire, beat 3 eggs with 4 oz. moist
sugar, a tea-spoonful of grated ginger or nutmeg, and a quart of rum or
brandy. When the ale is near boiling, pour it into one pitcher, the eggs
and rum into another, and turn it from one to the other, until smooth as
cream.


_Egg Wine._

To 1 quart of Lisbon white wine, put 1 quart of water, sweeten to taste,
and add a little nutmeg. Have ready the yolks of 3 eggs well beaten; boil
the mixed wine and water, and pour it quickly on the beaten eggs, and pour
from one bason to another, until it froths high. Serve in cups.


_To Mull Wine._

Boil the quantity you choose, of cinnamon, nutmeg {348}grated, cloves or
mace, in a ¼ pint of water; add a pint of Port, and sugar to taste, boil it
up, and serve it hot.


_The Pope's Posset._

Blanch, pound, then boil in a little water, ½ lb. sweet, and a very few
bitter almonds, strain, and put the liquid into a quart of heated white
wine, with sugar to sweeten; beat well, and serve hot.




CHAPTER XXIX.

THE DAIRY.


THIS, of all the departments of country house-keeping, is the one which
most quickly suffers from neglect; and of all the appendages to a country
dwelling, there is nothing which so successfully rivals the flower garden,
in exciting admiration, as a nice dairy. From the show-dairy, with its
painted glass windows, marble fountains and china bowls, to that of the
common farm house, with its red brick floor, deal shelves, and brown
milk-pans, the dairy is always an object of interest, and is associated
with every idea of real comfort, as well as of imaginary enjoyment,
attendant upon a country life.

The management of this important department in a country establishment,
from the milking of the cows, to the making of the butter and the cheese,
must necessarily be almost wholly intrusted to a dairy maid, who ought to
be _experienced_ in the various duties of her office, or she cannot be
skilful in the performance of them. Those persons who have excelled in
dairy work, have generally learnt their business when quite young, as a
knowledge of it is not to be hastily acquired. The great art of butter and
cheese-making, consists in extreme care and scrupulous cleanliness; and an
experienced dairy maid knows, that when her butter has a bad taste, some of
the dairy utensils, the churn, the pail, or the pans, have been neglected
in the scalding, _or_, the butter {349}itself not well made: unless,
indeed, as is sometimes the case, the fault lies in the food provided for
the cows.

  _Note._--COBBETT'S "Cottage Economy" contains directions for the keeping
  and feeding of cows.

The utmost care and diligence, on the part of the dairy maid, may, however,
prove ineffectual, if the dairy itself be not convenient, and provided with
the proper utensils. The principal requisites of a dairy are, coolness in
summer, and a temperature warmer than the external air, in very cold
weather. The building should, therefore, be so constructed, as to exclude
the sun in summer, and the cold in winter. The windows should never front
the South, South East, or South West. They should be latticed, or, which is
preferable, wired, to admit a free circulation of air, with glazed frames,
to be shut and opened, at pleasure. The room should be lofty, and the walls
thick, as nothing more effectually preserves an even temperature, or
excludes extremes of cold and heat. It should be paved with brick or stone,
and laid with a proper descent, so that all water may be drained off. The
floor should be washed every day in summer, and three or four times a week
in the winter.

The utensils should not be scalded in the dairy, as the steam from hot
water is injurious to milk. Neither rennet, cheese, or cheese-press, should
be kept in it, as they diffuse an acidity. The dairy should not be used as
a larder; it cannot be too scrupulously devoted to its own proper purposes.

The cows should be milked twice a day, and as nearly at the same hour as
possible; and they should be milked _quite clean_: this is a matter of
great consequence, not only as being conducive to the health of the
animals, but if neglected, very much diminishes the value of their produce;
for that which is milked last, is much richer than that which is first
milked.

Some persons when they strain the milk into pans, for creaming, pour into
each one, a little boiling hot water (in the proportion of 1 quart of water
to 3 pails of milk); this was never done in our dairy in Hampshire, but I
believe the effect is, to destroy the taste of turnip. It is very good, for
this purpose, to keep a piece of saltpetre in the cream pot. This latter
should have a stick in it, and be well {350}stirred up twice a day, or,
every time the dairy maid goes into the dairy. The cream should not be kept
longer than four days, before it is made into butter. If twice a week be
too often to churn, it ought not to be less frequent than three times in a
fortnight. In private families the milk is generally skimmed only once, and
this leaves the milk very good; but where butter is made for sale, and
quantity rather than quality, is the object, a second skimming is generally
resorted to. Some dairy maids object to the second skimming, on account of
the bitter taste, which they say the cream so skimmed is sure to give the
butter.


_To Make Butter._

In summer the churn should be filled with cold spring water, and in winter
scalded with hot water, preparatory to churning; then pour the cream in,
through a straining cloth. In warm weather the churning should be performed
in a cool place; and, in a general way, the butter will come in an hour;
but it often does come in half the time, though it is not the better for
coming so quickly. In very cold weather the churning must be done in a warm
place; indeed, it is sometimes necessary to bring the churn near the fire,
but this should never be allowed but in extreme cold weather, when the
butter will sometimes be five or six hours in coming: when this is the
case, it is almost always of a white colour and a poor taste. The butter
being come, pour off the buttermilk, leaving the butter in the churn, pour
in a pailful of cold water, wash the butter about, pour off the water, and
pour in a fresh pailful; let the butter stand in this ten minutes. Scald a
milk-pan, and stand it half an hour or more in cold water, lift the butter
out of the churn into it, pour fresh water over, and wash the butter about
well, drain the water off as dry as possible, and then proceed to work the
buttermilk out of the butter. Some persons do this with the hands (which
should first be dipped in hot water), others with a straining-cloth: if the
latter, scald and wring it dry; then work the butter by squeezing it, by
degrees, from one side of the pan to the other, pour cold water over to
rinse, and pour that off; then work the butter back again, and rinse again;
repeat this till the rinsing water is no longer coloured with milk,
{351}and then you may be sure that the buttermilk is all worked out; for,
if there be any of it left, the butter will have streaks of white when cut,
and will not be sweet. Having worked out the milk, the next thing is, to
put in the salt. The quantity must depend, in some measure, on taste; some
persons like their butter very much salted, while others think that the
flavour of salt should not be distinguishable in fresh butter. Roll it
quite fine, and you may allow ½ lb. to 5 lbs. butter: press the butter out
thin, sprinkle over it some salt, fold up the butter, press it out again,
strew over more salt, fold it up again, and so on, till all the salt is in,
work the butter about well, to mix the salt with it, and pour off whatever
liquid there may be in the pan. Take the butter out, a piece at a time (if
the quantity be great), on a square wooden trencher (previously scalded and
dipped into cold water), and, either with the hand, a fresh cloth, or a
flat, thin piece of wood (made for the purpose), beat the butter out thin,
fold it up, beat it out again, and repeat this several times, till the
water is all beaten out. By the time it has arrived at this latter stage,
it ought to be quite firm, except in extreme hot weather, when no pains are
sufficient to make it so. When the water is all out, make up the butter, in
what form and size you choose; place it on a board, or a marble slab, in a
cool place, but not before a window, as too much air will not benefit it;
spread over it a cheese-cloth, first scalded, then dipped in cold water,
and it will harden in a few hours.

Different parts of England vary so much in the butter they produce, that
what is considered very good in one county would be regarded as inferior in
another. This is caused by difference in the pasturage, and not by
variation in the mode of preparing the cream or making the butter; except,
indeed, in some parts of the West of England. In Devonshire the cream is
always, I believe, prepared according to the following directions, which
were written for me by a Devonshire lady.


_To make Butter without a Churn._

Spread a linen cloth in a large bason, pour in the cream, tie it up like a
pudding, fold another cloth over it, and bury it in a hole two feet deep,
in light earth, put all the earth {352}lightly in, lay a turf on the top,
and leave it twenty-four hours; take it up, and it will be found in the
state that butter is when it is just come. The buttermilk is lost, but this
method answers very well in hot weather. We tried it in America.


_Clouted Cream._

Strain the milk, from the cow, into glazed earthenware vessels, and let it
stand twelve hours in summer, and twenty-four, or thirty-six, in winter,
before you scald it. Then place the vessels over a very small fire or
hearth, for half or three-quarters of an hour, until the surface begins to
swell, and the shape of the bottom of the pan appears on it (but if made
hot enough to simmer, it will be spoiled); then set it to cool, and in
twelve hours' time in summer, and eighteen or twenty-four in winter, the
cream may be taken off with a skimmer which has holes.


_Butter from Clouted Cream._

Scald well a large wooden bowl, then rinse it with cold water, but do not
wipe it dry. Put in the cream, work it well with the hand (in one direction
only), until the milk comes from it, which should be drained off, and will
serve for making cakes and puddings; when the milk is all beaten out, wash
the butter with cold water to cleanse it from the milk, then salt it, thus:
spread it out on the bottom of the bowl, sprinkle salt over, roll it up,
wash it again with cold water, beat out again, then shape and print it, as
you please. The hands should be well washed in hot water, before you begin
to work the butter. In winter and in weather of a moderate temperature the
butter is speedily made, but in very hot weather it will take nearly or
quite an hour of stirring round, and working with the hand, before it will
come into butter.


_To Pot Butter for Winter use._

In the summer, when there is plenty of butter, care should be taken to
preserve enough for winter use. But observe, that none but good butter,
well made, and quite free from buttermilk, will pot well. Have potting
pans, to hold from 6 to 10 lbs. of butter. Put a thick layer of butter
{353}in the pan, press it down hard, then a layer of salt, press that down,
then more butter, and so on: allowing 1 oz. of salt to every lb. of butter.
If too salt, it can be freshened by being washed in cold water, before it
is sent to table. Always keep the top well covered with salt, and as that
turns to brine, more salt may be required. Tie paper over, and keep the pan
in the dairy, or cellar. Some persons use one quarter part of lump sugar,
and the same of saltpetre, to two parts of common salt.


_To Make Cheese._

The milk should be just lukewarm, whether skimmed or not. To a pailful put
2 table-spoonsful of rennet, cover the milk, and let it stand, to turn:
strike down the curd with the skimming dish, or break it with the hand,
pour off the whey, put the curd into a cheese-cloth, and let two persons
hold the four corners, and move it about, from side to side, to extract the
whey: lay it into the vat, fold the cloth smoothly over the cheese, cover
it with the lid of the vat, and put a weight of 10 or 12 lbs. on the top.
Let it stand twelve hours; then take it carefully out, put it on a wooden
trencher, or a clean hanging shelf, and sprinkle salt thickly over the top.
The next day, wipe it dry all over, turn it the other side upwards,
sprinkle salt on the top, and repeat this every day, for a week: after
that, turn it every day, and occasionally wipe it.--_Another_: to 6 quarts
new milk, add 2 quarts lukewarm water, and sufficient rennet to turn it:
when the curd is settled put it into a small vat, about a foot square, and
1½ inch deep, with holes in the bottom; place a lid on it, and put on that
a lb. weight, for a day.--_Another_: put 5 quarts of the last of the
milking into a pan, with 2 table-spoonsful of rennet; when the curd is
come, strike it down with the skimming dish two or three times, to break
it: let it stand two hours. Spread a cheese-cloth on a sieve, put the curd
on it, and let the whey drain; break the curd with the hand, put it into a
vat, and a 2 lbs. weight on the top. When it has stood twelve hours, take
it out and bind a cloth round it. Turn it every day, from one board to
another. Cover the cheese with nettle leaves, and put it between 2 pewter
plates, to ripen. It will be ready in three weeks.




{354}CHAPTER XXX.

COOKERY FOR THE SICK.


OFTEN when the Doctor's skill has saved the life of his patient, and it
remains for the diligent nurse to prepare the cooling drinks and
restorative foods, the taste and the appetite of sick persons are so
capricious that they will reject the very thing which they had just before
chosen: and frequently, if consulted upon the subject, will object to
something which, if it had appeared unexpectedly before them, they would,
perhaps, have cheerfully partaken of. Everything which is prepared for a
sick person should be delicately clean, served quickly, in the nicest
order; and in a small quantity at a time.

_See, in the Index_, _Mutton_ and _Chicken_ broths.


_Mutton Chops to Stew._

Chops for an invalid may be stewed till tender, in cold water to cover
them, over a _slow fire_; scum carefully, add 1 onion, and if approved, 3
turnips. The broth will be very delicate.


_A Nourishing Broth._

Put 1 lb. lean beef, 1 lb. scrag of veal, and 1 lb. scrag of mutton, into a
saucepan with water enough to cover, and a little salt, let it boil to
throw up the scum, take that off, pour off the water, and take off all the
scum hanging about the meat: pour in 2½ quarts of warm (not hot) water, let
it boil, and simmer gently till very much reduced, and the meat in rags. A
faggot of herbs may be added, and a few peppercorns: also an onion, if
desired. When the broth is cold remove the fat. If to serve at once, the
fat may be taken off, by laying a piece of blotting paper over the
top.--_Tapioca_ is very nice in broths for invalids.--_Or_: put {355}a
knuckle of veal, with very little meat, and 2 shanks of mutton, into an
earthen jar or pan, with 3 blades of mace, 2 peppercorns, an onion, a thick
slice of bread, 3 quarts of water, and salt: tie a paper over, and bake it,
four hours: then strain, and take off the fat.


_Calf's-feet Broth._

Boil 3 feet in 4 quarts of water, with a little salt: it should boil up
first, then simmer, till the liquor is wasted half: strain, and put it by.
This may be warmed (the fat taken off), a tea-cupful at a time, with either
white or Port wine, and is very nourishing.--_Or_: boil the feet with 2 oz.
lean veal, the same of beef, half a penny roll, a blade of mace, salt, and
nutmeg, in 4 quarts of water: when well boiled, strain it, and take off the
fat.


_Eel Broth._

This is very strengthening, ½ lb. small eels will make 1 pint of broth.
Clean, and put them into a saucepan with 3 quarts of water, parsley, a
slice of onion, a few peppercorns, and salt; simmer, till the broth tastes
well, then strain it.


_Beef Tea._

Notch 1½ lb. of beef (the veiny piece), put it into a saucepan with a quart
of water, let it boil, take off the scum, and let it continue to simmer two
hours. Beef tea should be free from fat and scum, and not burned.


_Beef Jelly._

Let a shin of beef be in water an hour, take it out, and drain it; cut it
in small pieces, break the bones, and put all in a stew-pan or jar, with 6
quarts of milk. Put it in the oven, and stew it till reduced to 3 quarts;
skim off the fat, take out the bones, strain through a jelly bag, and add 1
oz. hartshorn shavings and a stick of cinnamon. Boil again gently over a
slow fire, but be careful not to burn. Take every morning fasting, and at
noon, a tea-cupful, warmed with a glass of wine.


{356}_Shank Jelly_ (_very strengthening_).

Soak 12 shanks of mutton, then brush and scour them very clean. Lay them in
a saucepan with 3 blades of mace, an onion, 20 Jamaica and 40 black
peppers, a bunch of sweet herbs, a crust of bread, browned by toasting, and
3 quarts of water; set the saucepan over a slow fire or hearth, keep it
covered, let it simmer, as gently as possible, five hours. Strain, and keep
it in a cold place. You may add 1 lb. of lean beef.


_For a Weak Stomach._

Cut 2 lbs. of lean veal and some turnips into thin slices. Put a layer of
veal and a layer of turnips into a stone jar, cover close and set it in a
kettle of water. Boil two hours, then strain it. You may not have more than
a tea-cupful of liquor, which is to be taken, a spoonful at a time, as
often as agreeable. This has been known to stay on a weak stomach, when
nothing else would.--_Or_: put a cow heel into a covered earthen jar or
pan, with 3 pints of milk, 3 pints of water, 1 oz. hartshorn shavings, and
a little fine sugar. Let it stand six hours in a moderate oven, then strain
it.--_Or_: bake a neat's foot, in 2 quarts of water and 2 quarts of new
milk, with ½ lb. sun raisins, stoned. When the foot is in pieces, set it by
to get cold, and take off the fat. A tea-cupful, dissolved in warm milk or
wine.


_Bread Jelly, for a Sick Person._

Pare all the crust off a penny roll, cut the crumb in slices, toast these
on both sides, of a light brown. Have ready a quart of water, boiled, and
cold, put the slices of bread into it, and boil gently until the liquor is
a jelly, which you will ascertain, by putting some in a spoon, to cool.
Strain through a thin cloth, and put it by for use. Warm a tea-cupful, add
sugar, grated lemon peel, and wine or milk as you choose; for children the
latter. This jelly is said to be so strengthening that one spoonful
contains more nourishment than a tea-cupful of any other jelly.--_Or_:
grate some crumbs very fine; put a large tea-cupful of water into a
saucepan, with a glass of white wine, sugar and nutmeg to taste, make this
boil, stir in the crumbs, by degrees, {357}boil very fast, stirring all the
time, till it is as thick as you like.


_Jelly for a Sick Person._

Boil 1 oz. of isinglass, in a quart of water, with 40 Jamaica peppers, and
a crust of bread; let the water reduce one half. A large spoonful of this
may be taken in wine and water, milk, or tea.--_Or_: boil ¼ oz. of
isinglass shavings in a pint of new milk, till reduced half; sweeten to
taste, and take it lukewarm.


_Panada._

Boil a chicken, till 3 parts cooked, in a quart of water, let it get cold,
take off the skin, cut the white meat into pieces, and pound it in a marble
mortar, with a little of the water it was boiled in, salt and nutmeg. Boil
it in more of the liquid, till of the proper consistency.


_Strengthening Jelly._

Boil ¾ lb. hartshorn shavings, 1½ oz. of isinglass and candied eringo root,
in 5 quarts of water, to a strong jelly, strain it, add ¼ lb. brown sugar
candy, the juice of a Seville orange, and ½ pint of white wine. A
wine-glassful three times a day.--_Or_: put 2 oz. of the best isinglass, 1
oz. gum arabic, 2 oz. white sugar candy, and a little nutmeg, in a white
jar with a pint of Port or sherry, and simmer it twenty-four hours in a
vessel of water; then strain it. Take the size of a walnut three times a
day.


_Gloucester Jelly._

Boil 2 oz. hartshorn shavings, 2 oz. pearl barley, 1 oz. sago, ½ oz.
candied eringo root, and 3 pints of water, till reduced to a quart. A
tea-cupful, warmed, morning and evening, in wine, milk, broth, or water.


_Port Wine Jelly._

Boil 1 pint of Port wine, 1 oz. isinglass, 1 oz. sugar candy, ¼ oz. gum
arabic, and ½ a nutmeg, grated, five {358}minutes, and strain it through
muslin. Some add lemon peel and juice, cloves, and nutmeg. For table,
colour it with cochineal.


_Arrow-root Jelly._

If genuine, this is very nourishing. Put ½ pint of water into a saucepan,
with a wine-glass of sherry, or a table-spoonful of brandy, sugar, and
grated nutmeg; let it come quickly to a boil; rub smooth a dessert-spoonful
of arrow-root in two table-spoonsful of cold water; stir this by degrees
into the wine and water, put it all into the same saucepan, and boil it
three minutes.--_Or_: pour _boiling_ (not merely _hot_) water over the
arrow-root, and keep stirring; it will soon thicken. Add brandy, lump
sugar, and, if approved, lemon juice.


_Tapioca Jelly._

Wash well, and soak it five or six hours, changing the water two or three
times; simmer it in the last water, with a piece of lemon peel, until
clear; add lemon juice, wine, and sugar to taste.


_Sago to Boil._

Put a large table-spoonful into ¾ of a pint of water. Stir and boil very
gently, till it is as thick as you require. Add wine, sugar, and nutmeg to
taste.--_Tapioca_ in the same way. Soak both these two or three hours
before they are boiled. They may be boiled in milk, like rice.


_Gruel._

Put 2 table-spoonsful of the best grits into ½ pint cold water; let it boil
gently, and stir often, till it is as thick as you require. When done,
strain, and serve it directly; or if to be put by, stir till quite cold.
Boil in it a piece of ginger, and, if for caudle, lemon peel also. _Barley
Gruel_--Wash 5 oz. of pearl barley, boil it in two quarts of water, with a
stick of cinnamon, till reduced half; strain, then warm it with 2
wine-glassfuls of wine.


{359}_Barley Cream._

Boil 1 lb. of veal, free from skin and fat, with 1 oz. pearl barley, in a
quart of water, till reduced to a pint, then rub it through a sieve till it
is of the consistency of cream, perfectly smooth; add salt and spice to
taste.


_Water Gruel._

Put a large spoonful of oatmeal into a pint of water, mix well, and let it
boil up three or four times, stirring constantly; then strain, add salt to
taste, and a piece of butter. Stir till the butter is melted, and the gruel
will be fine and smooth.


_Caudle._

Make some smooth gruel, well boiled, strain, and stir it. Some like half
brandy and half white wine; others, wine, sugar, lemon peel, and
nutmeg.--_Or_: add to ¼ pint gruel a large table-spoonful of brandy, the
same of white wine, capillaire, a little nutmeg and lemon peel. Some use
_ale_; no wine or brandy. _Rice Caudle_--Soak 2 table-spoonsful of rice in
water, an hour, then simmer it gently in 1¼ pint of milk till it will pulp
through a sieve; put the pulp and milk back into the saucepan, with a
bruised clove and a bit of sugar. Simmer ten minutes; if too thick, add
warm milk.--_Or_: rub smooth some ground rice with cold water, then mix
with boiling water; simmer it a few minutes, add lemon peel, nutmeg
pounded, cinnamon, and sugar, a little brandy, and boil it for a minute.


_Rice Milk._

Wash, pick, then soak the rice in water, boil it in milk, with lemon peel
and nutmeg: stir often, or it may burn.--_Ground Rice Milk_: rub a
table-spoonful quite smooth, with a little cold water; stir in, by degrees,
1½ pint of milk, with cinnamon, lemon peel, and nutmeg; boil till thick
enough, and sweeten to taste.


_A Mutton Custard for a Cough._

Into a pint of good skim milk, shred 1 oz. of fresh {360}mutton suet, and
let it boil; then simmer gently an hour, stirring it from time to time.
Strain, and take it at bed-time. Old fashioned, but good for tightness of
the chest.--_Another remedy for the same_: heat the yolk of a fresh egg,
and mix with a dessert-spoonful of honey, and the same of oatmeal; beat
well, put it into a tumbler, and stir in by degrees, boiling water
sufficient to fill it.--_Or_: mix a fresh laid egg, well beaten, with ¼
pint of new milk _warmed_, a table-spoonful of capillaire, the same of rose
water, and a little grated nutmeg. Do not warm the milk after the egg is
added to it.


_Artificial Asses Milk._

To ½ oz. candied eringo root, add ½ oz. hartshorn shavings, and ½ oz. pearl
barley; boil them in a pint of water over a slow fire till the water is
reduced half. Mix a tea-cupful, with the same quantity of warmed milk, and
take it half an hour before rising.


_Onion Porridge._

Put 12 small, and 6 large onions, cut small, into a saucepan with a large
piece of butter, shake over the fire, but do not let them burn: when half
cooked, pour in a pint of boiling water, and simmer it till they are
cooked. Some thicken with flour.


_French Milk Porridge._

Stir some oatmeal and water together, and let it stand to settle; pour off
the liquid, add fresh water to the oatmeal, and let it stand: the next day
pass it through a sieve, boil the water, and while boiling, stir in some
milk, in the proportion of 3 parts to 1 of water.


_White Wine Whey._

Let ½ pint new milk come to a boil, pour in as much white wine as will turn
it; let it boil up, and set the saucepan aside till the curd forms: then
pour the whey off, or strain it, if required. Some add ½ pint of boiling
water, and a bit of sugar; lemon juice may be added.


{361}_Rennet Whey._

Steep a piece of rennet, about an inch square, in a small tea-cupful of
water, boiled and become a little cool. Then warm a quart of new milk, to
the same temperature as from the cow, and when in this state, add a
table-spoonful of the rennet. Let it stand before the fire until it
thickens, then in a vessel of boiling water, on the fire, to separate the
curds from the milk.


_Vinegar or Lemon Whey._

Pour into boiling milk as much vinegar or lemon juice as will make a small
quantity clear, dilute with warm water till it be of an agreeable acid;
sweeten it to taste.


_Mustard Whey._

Strew into a pint of milk, just coming to a boil, flour of mustard to turn
it; let it stand a few minutes, then strain it.


_Treacle Posset._

Into a pint of boiling milk pour 2 table-spoonsful of treacle, stir briskly
till it curdles, then strain it.


_Orgeat._

Beat 2 oz. of sweet, and 2 or 3 bitter almonds, with a tea-spoonful of
orange-flower water, to a paste: mix them with a quart of milk and water,
and sweeten with sugar or capillaire. Some add a little brandy.


_Lemonade._

Pare 6 lemons very thin, and put the rinds into 3 pints of boiling water,
and keep covered till cold. Boil 1 lb. of lump sugar in water to make a
thin syrup, with the white of an egg to clear it. Squeeze 8 lemons in a
separate bason, mix all together, add a quart of boiling milk, and pass it
through a jelly bag till clear. Keep it till the next day.--_Or_: pour
boiling water on a little of the peel, and cover close. Boil water and
sugar together to a thin {362}syrup, skim, and let it cool; then mix the
juice, the syrup and water, in which the peel has infused, all together,
and strain through a jelly bag. Some add capillaire.


_Barley Water._

Wash 1 oz. of pearl barley, boil it in very little water, pour the latter
off, then pour a quart of fresh water over, and boil it till reduced to
half the quantity. Some boil lemon peel in it, others add lemon juice or
cream of tartar, and sugar. A small quantity of gum arabic is good boiled
in it.--_Another_, and by some doctors considered the best, is merely to
pour boiling water on the barley, let it stand a quarter of an hour, and
then pour it off clear.


_Capillaire._

Put 14 lbs. of loaf sugar, 3 lbs. coarse sugar, and 6 eggs well beaten,
into 3 quarts of water; boil it up twice, skim well, and add ¼ pint of
orange-flower water. Strain through a jelly bag, and bottle it. A spoonful
or two in a tumbler of either warm or cold water is a pleasant drink.


_Linseed Tea._

Boil 1 quart of water, and as it boils put in a table-spoonful of linseed;
add two onions, boil a few minutes, then strain it, put in the juice of a
lemon, and sugar to your taste. If it gets thick by standing, add a little
boiling water.--_Or_: put the linseed in a piece of muslin, then in a quart
jug, pour boiling water over and cover it close, an hour.


_Lemon and Orange Water._

Put 3 slices lemon peel into a tea-pot, with a dessert-spoonful of
capillaire, and pour ½ pint of boiling water over.--_Or_: pour boiling
water over preserved orange or lemon.--_Or_: boil lemon or orange juice in
some thin syrup of sugar and water.


_Apple Water._

Pour boiling water over slices of apple in a covered jug.


{363}_Toast and Water._

Toast a piece of bread quite brown, without burning, put it in a covered
jug, and pour boiling water on it; before the water is quite cold strain it
off.


_A Drink for Sick Persons._

Boil 1 oz. of pearl barley in 2 pints of water, with 1 oz. sweet almonds
beaten fine, and a bit of lemon peel; when boiled to a smooth liquor, add
syrup of lemons and capillaire.--_Or_: _to take in a fever_: boil 1½ oz.
tamarinds with ¾ oz. raisins and 2 oz. currants stoned, in 3 pints of
water, till reduced half; add a little grated lemon peel.


_Saline Draughts._

Pour ½ pint spring water on 2 drachms salt of wormwood, and 4
table-spoonsful lemon juice; 2 table-spoonsful lump sugar may be added, if
approved.--_Or_: pour 4 table-spoonsful lemon juice on 80 grains of salt of
wormwood, add a small piece of sugar, finely pounded. When the salt is
killed, add 4 table-spoonsful of plain mint water, and the same of spring
water; strain, and divide it into 4 draughts, 1 to be taken every six
hours. If the patient be bilious, add 10 grains of rhubarb, and 4 of jalap,
to the morning and evening draught.--_Or_: pour into one glass a
table-spoonful of lemon juice, and dissolve in it a lump of sugar; dissolve
½ a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda in 2 table-spoonsful of water, in
another glass: pour the two together, and drink in a state of
effervescence. For delicate persons, a wine-glassful of sherry takes away
the debilitating effect.


_Coffee._

To be good must be made of a good kind, for poor, cheap coffee, though ever
so strong, is not good. A breakfast-cup, quite full, before it is ground,
makes a quart of good coffee. When the water boils in the coffee-pot, pour
in the coffee, set it over the fire; the coffee will rise to the top, in
boiling, and will then fall; boil it slowly three minutes longer, pour out
a cupful, pour it back, then another, and let it stand five minutes by the
side of the fire. A small {364}piece of dried sole skin will fine it, or 2
lumps of sugar.--Coffee requires cream or boiled milk.


_Chocolate._

Some prefer milk alone, others milk, and half its quantity in water; let it
boil (be careful it do not burn), and put in the chocolate, scraped; in
quantity according to the strength desired; mill it quickly, and let it
boil up, then mill it again.--For sick persons, use thin gruel, not milk.


_Tea._

For invalids who do not take tea for breakfast, its flavour may be given,
by boiling a dessert-spoonful of green tea in a pint of milk, five minutes,
then strain it. This renders it comparatively harmless.


_Barley Sugar._

Put the beaten whites of 2 eggs in an earthen pipkin with a pint of water,
and 2 lbs. clarified lump sugar, flavoured with essence or oil of lemons;
boil quickly, skimming all the time, till stiff enough. Pour into a shallow
brown dish, and form it as you please.


_Everton Toffy._

To ¼ lb. treacle, put ½ lb. sugar, and 2 oz. butter, boil them together
until they become hard when dropped in cold water. Then take the pan off
the fire, and pour the toffy immediately into a tin dish.




{365}CHAPTER XXXI.

MEDICAL RECIPES.


IN almost every family little illnesses are likely to occur, which may
require medicine, though not, perhaps, the aid of a Doctor; it is,
therefore, convenient to keep a small supply of common medicines in the
house, especially in the country. The list I give was written by a medical
gentleman; but while I am induced to insert it in this work, from a belief
that it may, in some cases, be found of use, I cannot refrain from
observing that it is far from my desire to lead any young housekeeper to
adopt the fatal error that _Doctors_ may be dispensed with, when anything
approaching to serious illness betrays itself. Too many instances have
occurred wherein life has been lost, for the want of timely medical skill,
which might, perhaps, have arrested the progress of disease at its feeble
commencement, and before it had acquired sufficient strength to baffle
opposition.

The following receipts have all been tried by the persons who gave them to
me; many of them may be old fashioned, but some I can assert to be good.
That for the _croup_ has been resorted to, several times in our own family,
and always with success. The complaint is a violent one, its attacks are
sudden and the progress of the disease is so rapid that there ought not to
be an _instant_ of delay in administering the remedies. The _croup_ is of
common occurrence in America, and the following receipt came from that
country.


_For the Croup._

The healthiest children are the most liable to this complaint, which is
caused by sudden changings in the atmosphere, draughts of cold air, and
checking of the perspiration, {366}It betrays itself by a hoarse croaking
cough, something like the hooping cough.--Put the child into a warm bath
placed opposite the fire; cover it all over with flannel, or a blanket; in
the meantime chop an onion or two, squeeze the juice through a piece of
muslin, mix it in the proportion of 1 tea-spoonful with 2 table-spoonsful
treacle; get the child to swallow as much of this, from time to time, as
you can: when it has been in the bath ten or twelve minutes, take it out in
a blanket, and as quickly as you can, rub the stomach and chest with a
mixture of rum and oil, or goose grease, wrap the child in a flannel and
put it to bed, or keep it in the lap by the fire; if the child go to sleep,
it will be almost sure to awake free from the disorder. These remedies may
not succeed if there be delay in applying them.


_For Weakness of Stomach._

1 drachm of prepared Columba root, and ½ drachm of rhubarb root, infused in
½ pint of boiling water, one day: add 1 oz. tincture of Columba, and a
little sugar. 2 table-spoonsful, twice a day.--_Or_: put about 25 camomile
flowers into ½ a pint boiling water, with 3 cloves, and 2 hops, cover close
and let it stand all night: a tea-cupful first in the morning, and again an
hour before dinner. If giddiness ensues, the camomile does not agree with
the patient, and must not be continued. Where it does agree, this will be
found to restore the appetite.


_Camphor Julep._

Rub ¼ oz. of camphor in a mortar, with a few drops of spirits of wine, and
a few lumps of sugar; add, by degrees, a quart of water, boiled, and cold.
Let it stand twenty-four hours, then strain through muslin, and bottle it.


_For Bilious Complaints and Indigestion._

Pour over twenty grains each of rhubarb and ginger, and a handful of
camomile flowers, a pint of boiling water. A wine-glassful the first in the
morning, and an hour before dinner.


{367}_A Mild Aperient._ (_To take in the spring._)

Put 1 oz. of senna into a jar, and pour 1 quart of boiling water over it;
fill up the vessel, with prunes and figs; cover with paper, and set it in
the oven, with household bread. Take every morning, one or two prunes, and
a wine-glass of the liquor.--_Or_: dissolve 3 oz. of Spanish liquorice in
one pint boiling water, add 1 oz. socotrine aloes in powder, and 1 pint
brandy. Take 1 tea-spoonful in a wine-glassful of water, either in the
morning, at night, or both.--_Or_: a large tea-spoonful of magnesia, a lump
of sugar, a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, in ½ pint of spring water.


_Gout Cordial._

Rhubarb 1 oz., senna, coriander seeds, sweet fennel seeds, cochineal,
saffron, and liquorice root, of each, a ¼ oz., and of jar raisins 4 oz. Let
the raisins be stoned, and all the ingredients be bruised. Put them into a
quart of French brandy. Shake well every day for a fortnight. Take 1
table-spoonful, with peppermint, or plain water.


_Hallett's Gout and Bilious Cordial._

Infuse in a gallon of distilled aniseed water, 3 oz. Turkey rhubarb, 4 oz.
senna leaves, 4 oz. guaiacum shavings, 3 oz. elecampagne root, 1 oz. fennel
seed, 14 oz. saffron, 14 oz. cochineal, 1 lb. sun raisins, 1 oz. aniseed;
shake it every day for a fortnight; strain and bottle it.--A table-spoonful
(or two) an hour after dinner.


_For Nervous Affections._

Take a small wine-glassful of the following mixture: a tea-spoonful of sal
volatile, of tincture of hops, and an equal portion of infusion of orange
peel and of gentian.


_Mustard Whey, for Dropsy and for Rheumatism._

Boil 1½ oz. bruised mustard seed, in a quart of milk and water, till the
curd which forms is separated. Strain it and take a tea-cupful three times
a day. _Another for Rheumatism._--A handful of scraped horse-radish, and a
{368}table-spoonful of whole mustard seed, infused in a bottle of Madeira;
the longer the better. A wine-glassful in bed at night, and another before
the patient rises.


_An Embrocation for Rheumatism._

Dissolve 1 oz. of gum camphor in 6 oz. of rectified spirits of wine; add by
degrees, shaking the phial frequently, 2 oz. spirits of sal ammoniac and 2
drachms oil of lavender. This has been used with success.--_Another_:
(known to mitigate the tic douloureux), is the _caja peeta oil_, but it
_must_ be genuine. It is also good for strains, bruises, and
chilblains.--_Or_: a mixture of 6 drachms French soap, 6 drachms ether, and
1 oz. spirits of wine.


_For a Sore Throat._

At the beginning of a sore throat, get fresh ivy leaves, tack them
together, warm them, and put the shady side to the throat.--_Or_: wet
bread-crumbs with brandy, and tie them round the throat. Make a gargle of 2
carrots, sliced and boiled, and use it often.--_Or_: dissolve 4 oz. camphor
in a pint of rectified spirits of wine. Dip a piece of new Welsh flannel
into this, and apply it to the throat. Be careful to wet frequently.


_A remedy for a Common Cold._

3 grains compound extract of colocynth, and 3 grains of soap, in 2 pills,
taken at going to bed. The following night, take 16 or 18 grains of
compound powder of contrayerva, and ½ a pint vinegar whey.--Breakfast in
bed the next morning.


_Syrup for a Cough._

Boil 1 oz. balsam of tolu, very gently, two hours, in a quart of water; add
1 lb. white sugar candy, finely beaten, and boil it half an hour longer.
Strain through a flannel bag twice; when cold, bottle it. You may add 2 oz.
syrup of red poppies, and the same of raspberry vinegar. A spoonful when
the cough is troublesome.--_Or_: 2 oz. honey, 4 table-spoonsful vinegar, 2
oz. syrup white poppies, and 2 oz. gum arabic: boil gently to the
consistency of treacle; {369}a tea-spoonful when the cough is
troublesome.--_Or_: 1 table-spoonful treacle, 1 of honey, 1 of vinegar, 15
drops laudanum, and 15 drops peppermint. Simmer together a quarter of an
hour. A dessert-spoonful to be taken at going to bed.--_Or_: mix together
in a phial, 2 drachms of compound tincture of benjamin, 6 drachms ethereal
spirits of nitre, 3 drachms of compound tincture of camphor, and 5 drachms
of oxymel; a tea-spoonful in a wine-glass of warm water, when the cough is
troublesome.--_Or_: mix 1 oz. gum arabic, 1 oz. sugar candy, and the juice
of a lemon; pour on it a pint of boiling water; a little when the cough is
troublesome.


_Extract of Malt, for a Cough._

Over ½ a bushel of pale ground malt, pour hot (not boiling) water to cover
it, let it stand eight and forty hours; drain off the liquor, without
squeezing the grains, into a stew-pan large enough to boil quickly, without
boiling over. When it begins to thicken, stir, till it is as thick as
treacle. A dessert-spoonful three times a day.


_For a Cold and Cough._

To 3 quarts of water, put ¼ lb. linseed, two pennyworth stick liquorice,
and ¼ lb. sun raisins. Boil it, until the water be reduced half; add a
spoonful of rum and of lemon juice. A ¼ pint at bed time, and in smaller
quantities, during the night, if the cough be troublesome.


_For the Hooping Cough._

Dissolve 1 scruple of salt of tartar in 1¼ pint of cold water: add 10
grains of pounded cochineal, and sweeten with lump sugar.--The dose
increased in proportion to the age of the patient; for a child five years
old, a table-spoonful is sufficient; for adults 2 table-spoonsful 3 times a
day.--Abstain from all acids.


_Garlic Syrup, for Hooping, or any other Cough._

Put 3 roots of garlic, sliced thinly and transversely, with 4 oz. honey,
and 4 oz. vinegar, into a ½ pint bason, {370}and set that into a large
wash-hand bason; let it infuse half an hour, then strain it. Take the first
in the morning, and the last at night, a tea-spoonful of the syrup, in an
equal quantity of brandy and water; put the water in the glass first.


_Almond Emulsion for a Cough._

Beat well in a marble mortar, 6 drachms of sweet almonds blanched, and 2
drachms of white sugar, add 1 pint cold water, by degrees; strain, then add
2 table-spoonsful of sweet spirits of nitre. Cork, and keep it in a cool
place, or in cold water. A tea-spoonful three times a day.


_For a Hoarseness._

Sweeten a ¼ pint of hyssop water with sugar candy, and set it over the
fire; when quite hot, stir in the yolk of an egg well beaten, and drink it
off; this may be taken night and morning.--_Or_: put a new laid egg in as
much lemon juice as will cover it: let it stand twenty-four hours, and the
shell will be dissolved. Break the egg, then take away the skin. Beat it
well together, add 2 oz. of brown sugar candy pounded, ¼ pint of rum, a
wine-glassful of salad oil, and beat all well together. A table-spoonful
the first in the morning, and the last at night.


_Plaster for a Cough._

Beat together 1 oz. each, of bees-wax, white Burgundy pitch, and rosin, ¼
oz. coarse turpentine, ½ oz. oil of mace; spread it on white leather, the
shape of a heart; when it flies off, renew it, two or three times.


_Bark Gargle._

Boil 1 oz. powdered bark and 1 drachm myrrh, in 1½ pint of water, over a
slow fire, till one third is wasted; strain, then add a table-spoonful of
honey, and a tea-spoonful of spirits of lavender.


_An excellent Gargle for a Sore Throat._

Half fill a teapot with _dark_ red rose leaves, pour boiling {371}water
over; when cold strain it into a 6 oz. bottle, add a tea-spoonful of
tincture of myrrh, and 25 drops of elixir of vitriol: if the throat be
ulcerated, a tea-spoonful of tincture of cayenne.


_Chilblains._

Make a liniment, of 1 oz. of palma oil, 1 oz. of expressed oil of mace, and
2 drachms of camphor.


_For Burns or Scalds._

Keep in a bottle, tightly corked, ½ oz. of trefoil, and the same of sweet
oil; apply with a feather, immediately that the accident has occurred.
_Linseed_ or olive oil, applied instantly, will draw out the fire;
_treacle_ will have the same effect, and is recommended by some persons, in
preference to anything else. Others say that _fine flour_, applied
_instantly_, is the best thing; as soon as it becomes warm, replace it with
fresh. _Wadding_ also laid on the part instantly is good to draw out the
fire.


_For Bruises, Cuts, or Wounds._

Keep in the house a bottle containing a mixture of ¾ oz. of scented
trefoil, of rum, and of sweet oil.--_Or_: have a bottle three parts full of
brandy, fill it quite full with the white leaves of the flowers of the
garden lily, and cork it close. Lay some of the leaves on the wound, and
keep it wet with the liquor. The root of the same lily is used to make
_strong_ poultices.


_For a Sprain._

Stir the white of an egg with alum, until it curdles; rub the part affected
often.


_Vegetable Ointment._

A small handful of smallage, red pimple, feverfew, rue, and pittory of the
wall; simmer them in 1 lb. of unsalted butter, over a slow fire, half an
hour: stir and press well, then strain it.


{372}_Opodeldoc._

Put a pint of rectified spirits of wine in a bottle, with 1 oz. camphor,
and 6 oz. soft soap; shake it three times a day for three days, and it is
ready.


_Elder Ointment._

Melt 3 lbs. of mutton suet in 1 pint of olive oil, and boil in it 4 lbs.
weight of elder flowers, full blown, till nearly crisp; then strain, and
press out the ointment.--_Another_: take 4 oz. each, of the inner bark of
the elder tree, and the leaves, boil them in 2 pints of linseed oil, and 6
oz. of white wax. Press it through a strainer.


_A Carrot Poultice._

Boil washed carrots, and pound them to a pulp with a wooden pestle; add an
equal quantity of wheaten meal, and 2 table-spoonsful yeast, and wet it
with beer or porter. Let it stand before the fire to ferment. The _soft_
part to be made into a poultice with lard.


_An Excellent Bitter._

Cut ½ oz. of gentian in thin slices into a stone jar, with the same
quantity of fresh orange peel and sliced ginger. Pour over them 1 quart of
boiling water, and let it stand ten hours. Strain it, add a gill of sherry,
and bottle it. For a weak stomach, a wine-glassful the first thing in the
morning will create an appetite.


_For Weak Eyes._

(Dr. Bailey's.)

Boil 2 quarts of water, and stir into it ¼ oz. camphor, pounded in a mortar
with a bitter almond, 1 oz. bolalmanack, and ½ oz. copperas; when cold,
bottle it. Bathe the eyes often.--_Or_: dissolve in spring water, 10 grains
of white vitriol, and 10 grains of sugar of lead. Wash the eyes four or
five times a day.--_Or_: boil in spring water five minutes, ¼ oz. white
copperas and ¼ oz. of common {373}salt. Put a drop in the eye with a
feather the last thing at night. The bottle to be marked
_poison_.--_Another_, and very good: put 10 drops of laudanum and 6 drops
of goulard into a ¼ pint of elderflower water: bathe the eyes with it.


_For the Tooth-ache._

Each of the following remedies _have_ been known to alleviate suffering.
Turn up a wine-glass, put a little powdered alum on the round part, rub it
to a paste with sweet spirits of nitre, and apply it directly to the cavity
of the tooth, if there be one, if not, on the gum round it. Repeat this
often.--_Or_: mix 2 drachms of alum, in impalpable powder, and 2 drachms of
nitrous spirits of ether.--_Or_: 2 drachms of alum powdered very fine, with
7 drachms of nitrous spirits of ether.--_Or_: a drop of ether and of
laudanum on cotton: this will also relieve the _ear-ache_.--_Or_: 1 oz.
tincture of myrrh, 1 oz. tincture of gumlac, ½ oz. tincture of bark: mix
the two last, shake well, add the myrrh by degrees, and shake well
together. 1 table-spoonful to 2 of hot water; wash the mouth frequently,
holding it in for some time.--_For an intermitting pain in the Teeth_: boil
½ oz. bark, grossly powdered, in a pint of cold water, till it wastes to a
pint; then strain through muslin and bottle it. When the teeth are free
from pain, put 2 table-spoonsful of laudanum, then gargle and wash the
mouth well with it. Repeat it several times in the day.


_Peppermint Water._

Pour 5 drops of oil of peppermint on a lump of sugar. Put the sugar into a
½ pint phial, with a tea-spoonful of brandy, and fill up with water.


_Soda Water._

To 40 grains of carbonate of soda, add 30 grains of tartaric acid in small
crystals. Fill a soda bottle with spring water, put the mixture in, and
cork it instantly, with a well fitting cork.


{374}_Medicinal Imperial._

Useful in the Spring, or in slight Fevers, or Colds.

Pour 3 quarts of boiling water over 1½ oz. of cream of tartar, 1 oz. Epsom
salts, ¾ lb. lump sugar, the peel of 3 lemons, and the juice of 1; cover
close half an hour, then boil up, skim and strain it through thin muslin,
into decanters.--A wine-glassful before breakfast.


_Lime Water._

Mix 4 oz. quick lime in 6 pints of soft water, and let it stand covered an
hour; then pour off the liquid.


_Seidlitz Powders._

Put into one tumbler, 2 drachms of Rochelle salts, and 2 scruples of
carbonate of soda; into another tumbler put 2 scruples of tartaric acid,
fill each tumbler rather more than a quarter part, then pour the two
together.--_Or_: mix carefully 2 drachms of sulphate of magnesia in fine
powder, with 2 scruples of bicarbonate of soda, and mark the packet No. 1;
in another packet, marked No. 2, put 40 grains of tartaric acid in fine
powder. Mix in two different tumblers, each a quarter part filled with
water, and drink in a state of effervescence.


_Medicines to keep in the House._

  Camomile Flowers.
  Camphorated Spirits.
  Castor Oil.
  Epsom Salts.
  Hartshorn.
  Jalap Powder.
  Magnesia Calcined.
  Peppermint Water.
  Rhubarb.
  Sal. Volatile.
  Salt of Wormwood.
  Senna Leaves.
  Soda Carbonate.
  Spirits of Lavender.
  Sweet Spirits of Nitre.
  Tincture Rhubarb.
  Tincture Myrrh.




{375}CHAPTER XXXII.

VARIOUS RECEIPTS.


_Eau de Cologne._

INTO 2 quarts spirits of wine, at 36, put 2 drachms essence of bergamot,
the same of essence of cedrat (a superior kind of bergamot), 2 drachms
essence of citron, 1 oz. essence of rosemary, and a ¼ drachm of the essence
of neroly (an oil produced from the flowers of the Seville orange tree);
let it stand 24 hours, then strain through brown paper, and bottle it.


_Lavender Water._

Into 1 pint of spirits of wine put 1 oz. oil of lavender, ½ a drachm
essence of ambergris, ½ a drachm essence of bergamot. Keep it three
months.--_Or_: 8 oz. spirits of wine, 1 drachm oil of lavender, 10 drops of
ambergris, and 20 drops of essence of bergamot.


_Milk of Roses._

Thirty grains of salt of tartar, pulverised, 2 oz. oil of almonds, 6 oz. of
rose water; mix the two first, then the rose water by degrees.--_Or_: 2 oz.
of sweet almonds in a paste, 40 drops oil of lavender, and 40 oz. rose
water.--_Or_: 1 oz. oil of almonds, 1 pint rose water, and 10 drops of oil
of tartar.


_Henry's Aromatic Vinegar._

Camphor, 2 drachms; oil of cloves, ½ a drachm; oil of lavender, 1 drachm;
oil of rosemary, 1 drachm; and a ½ oz. of the best white wine vinegar;
macerate for ten days, then strain it through paper.


{376}_Wash for the Skin._

An infusion of horse-radish in milk, or the fresh juice of house leek, are
both good.--_Honey water_, very thick, is good in frosty weather.--Also, a
wash made of 4 oz. potash, 4 oz. rose water, and 2 oz. lemon juice, mixed
with 2 quarts of water; pour 2 table-spoonsful in a bason of water.


_Pomade Divine._

Put ½ lb. of beef marrow into an earthen vessel, fill it with spring water,
and change that every day for ten days, drain it off, put a pint of rose
water to it, let it stand 24 hours; take the marrow out, drain and wipe it
thoroughly dry in a thin cloth, beat it to a fine powder, add 1 oz. of
benjamin, the same of storax, cypress nuts, florence, cinnamon, nutmeg, and
½ oz. of cloves: mix all these together first, then mix up with the marrow,
and put into a pewter vessel with a close-fitting lid; put this vessel into
a copper of boiling water, and boil it three hours, having boiling water to
replenish the copper, so that the pewter vessel may be covered with water
all the time. In three hours pour the mixture through fine muslin into
pots, and, when cold, cover close with paper.


_Lip Salve, very good._

Two oz. white wax, 2 oz. of unsalted lard, ½ oz. spermaceti, 1 oz. oil
sweet almonds, 2 drachms balsam of Peru, a lump of sugar, and 2 drachms of
alkali root; simmer together, then strain through muslin.


_Pomatum._

Mix ½ lb. fresh lard with 4 oz. marrow, and beat them with a shilling
bottle of essence of lemon.


_Cold Cream._

To ½ a pint of rose water add ½ a pint of oil of almonds, 1 oz. virgin wax,
and 1 oz. spermaceti; melt over a slow fire, and beat them together till
quite cold.--_Or_: melt ½ lb. hog's lard in a bason over steam; add ¾ pint
rose water, {377}and ½ a wine-glassful of oil of almonds; stir together
with care till of a proper consistency.


_For Chapped Hands._

Mix 1/3 pint double distilled rose water, ½ oz. oil of almonds and 7 grains
salt of tartar.--_Or_: yolks of 3 eggs, 3 table-spoonsful honey, 4
table-spoonsful brandy, and 4 sweet almonds, pounded.--_Or_: dissolve a
tea-spoonful of pulverised borax in a tea-cupful of boiling soft water, add
a tea-spoonful of honey, and mix well together. After washing, wipe the
hands very dry, and put the mixture on with a feather.--_Oil of Almonds_ or
spermaceti rubbed on at night are soft and healing.


_Almond Paste for the Hands._

To 1 lb. stale bread grated, ½ lb. bitter almonds (blanched and pounded), ¼
lb. honey, and 3 table-spoonsful of oil of almonds. Beat well together and
keep it in jars with bladders tied over. As you use it add more honey and
oil, if it requires moisture.


_Tooth Powder._

Bol ammoniac, gum mastic, red coral, and myrrh, of each an equal quantity
finely powdered.--_Another_: 3 oz. camphor, 1 oz. powdered cinchona bark, 1
oz. prepared charcoal, and sufficient spirits of wine to dissolve the
camphor. Mix thoroughly, and pass through a fine sieve.--The mixture of
chalk and camphor is very good for preserving as well as cleansing teeth.


_Curling Fluid._

Melt a bit of bees-wax, about the size of a filbert kernel, slowly, in 1
oz. of oil of almonds, and then add a drop or two of ottar of rose.


_To clean Carpets._

Mix ox gall and water; rub the carpet with a flannel dipped into the
mixture, then with a linen cloth. Sometimes carpets shrink after being
wetted, therefore fasten them to the floor.


{378}_To clean Silk Dresses._

The dress must be taken to pieces. Take out all grease spots, with spirits
of turpentine; rub the silk over, with a sponge dipped in an equal quantity
of honey, and soft soap, with spirits of wine, sufficient to make it nearly
liquid. When well cleaned, dip the silk in cold spring-water, hang it up to
dry; when nearly cold, smooth it on the wrong side, with a cool
iron.--_Or_: make some strong salt and water, in the proportion of a
handful of salt to a bucket of cold water, lay in the breadths of silk, do
not rub, but occasionally lift them up and down singly, for three days,
rinse the silk in cold spring-water, hang it up to dry, and when nearly
dry, smooth it out; iron it on the wrong side with a cool iron.


_To take Grease out of Silk or Stuff._

Moisten ½ lb. fuller's earth with water, dry it before the fire, then
pound, sift, and mix it with 2 oz. starch (beaten and sifted), ½ the white
of an egg, ¼ pint camphorated spirits, and of turpentine; mix well, and
bottle it. Spread it over the spot: if too dry moisten with soft water.


_To remove Grease from Satin, Silk, Muslin, Drawing-paper, and other
things._

Drop pure water upon the spot, and scrape on it caked magnesia, until it is
saturated with the powder. When dry brush it off, and the grease, in most
cases, will be removed. Some find _soda_ to answer.


_To clean Blond._

Soap it well, with curd soap, in lukewarm water, and let it lie all night;
then wash it out, rinse in cold water, made blue, fold in a cloth, and iron
it, with a cool iron.


_To Wash Silk Stockings._

Put them into lukewarm water to cover them, soap the feet well, and rub
that part which is soiled, with smelt blue; lay them smooth in the water,
strew some blue {379}between the folds, and let them lie all night; be
careful in washing to rub them well, as the blue is hard to come out: the
second lather must be of equal heat, but not quite so blue. Cut bear is
used to tinge them pink.


_To clean Floor Cloths._

Sweep, then rub the floor cloth with a damp flannel, then with milk or milk
and water, and polish with a clean dry cloth. This is better than wax.


_To clean Stone Stairs._

Boil in 2 quarts of water ½ pint of size, the same of stone blue, 2
table-spoonsful of whitening, and 2 cakes of pipe-maker's clay. Wet a
flannel with this, wash the stones with it, and when dry, rub with a clean
flannel and brush.


_To take Oil from Stone or Boards._

To a strong ley of pearl-ashes, add some unslacked lime, let it settle,
pour it off clear; lower it with water, and scour the grease spots; but it
must be done quickly.


_To get a Stopper out of a Decanter._

Drop a few drops of spirits of wine on it, and it will soon come out.


_To take Rust from Steel._

Rub well with sweet oil, and two days after, rub with unslacked lime till
the rust disappears.


_To clean Steel Stoves and Fire Irons._

Rub with a piece of flannel dipped in oil, then in emery powder; polish
with a leather and rotten stone.


_To clean Paint._

Put a very little pearl-ash or soda into the water, to soften it, then wash
the paint with a flannel and soft soap; wash the soap off, and wipe dry
with clean linen cloths.


{380}_To clean Papered Walls._

The very best method is to rub with stale bread. Cut the crust off very
thick, and wipe straight down from the top, then go to the top again, and
so on.


_To clean Tin Covers._

They should be wiped dry after being used, to prevent their becoming rusty.
Mix a little fine whitening with sweet oil, and rub well, wipe this off
clean, then polish with a leather and dry whitening.


_To clean Copper Utensils._

If the kitchen be damp, or very hot, the coppers will turn black. Rub brick
dust over, then a flannel dipped in oil; polish with leather and rotten
stone.


_Marking Ink._

Mix 5 scruples of silver caustic, 2 drachms of gum arabic, 1 scruple of sap
gum, in 1 oz. distilled water, in a glass bottle. The _wash_ to use
previously; ½ oz. of soda subcarbonate in 2 oz. distilled water.


_Ink._

Infuse in a gallon of rain or soft water, ¾ lb. of blue galls, bruised;
stir every day, for three weeks. Add 4 oz. green copperas, 4 oz. logwood
chips, 6 oz. gum arabic, and a wine-glassful of brandy.--_Or_: put 1½ oz.
nut galls pounded, 1 oz. gum arabic, 1 oz. copperas into 1½ pint of rain
water: shake every day for a fortnight, and it is ready.


_Blacking for Shoes._

Boil 6 oz. ivory black, 1 oz. bees-wax, and 1 oz. mutton suet, in 3 pints
of water till melted and mixed.--_Or_: 1 quart vinegar, 6 oz. treacle, 2
oz. ivory black, and the yolks of 2 eggs, well beaten. Boil together till
well mixed, keep it covered close.--_Or_: mix into a pint of small beer, 4
oz. ivory black, 3 oz. coarse sugar and a table-spoonful sweet oil.


{381}_Pot Pourri._

Mix together one handful of orange flowers, of sweet marjoram, lemon thyme,
lavender flowers, clove pinks, rosemary, of myrtle flowers, 2 of stock
flowers, 2 of damask roses, ½ a handful of mint, and the rinds of 2 lemons,
dried and pounded; lay some bay salt at the bottom of your jar, then a
layer of the mixture, till the jar is full.


_To Thicken the Hair._

Simmer ½ lb. of the best lard in a tea-cupful of olive oil half an hour,
scumming all the time: add 9 drops of any scent. Rub it in three times a
week.


_To Destroy Bugs._

Corrosive sublimate, in spirits of wine, poured into crevices, or put on
with a feather; it should be repeated as often as necessary. A deadly
poison.


_Paste._

Mix a very small portion of white lead in paste which is to be used about
books, drawings, &c., &c. This will keep away the worm which is so
destructive. _Poison._




{382}CHAPTER XXXIII.

COOKERY FOR THE POOR.


I HAVE selected such receipts as appear to be the most profitable to adopt;
and the insertion of these will accomplish nearly all that I can hope to
effect under the above head, for we all know that a supply of food alone
can avert the misery of hunger, and that if there were a thousand different
_systems_ for feeding the poor by the means of voluntary aid, the success
of each system must depend on the practical efforts made in its
application.

Some persons object to making soups, &c., for the poor, on the ground that
poor people are not so well satisfied with this mode of relief as they
would be if the materials were given them to dispose of in their own way.
This objection is just in some cases, but not so in all; because, as
respects domestic management, there are two distinct classes among the
poor, the one having learned arts of economy while faring well, and the
other being ignorant of those arts from never having had enough means to
encourage them to make such things their study.

It is true that the old-fashioned English cottagers, that class so fast
falling into decay, are by no means wanting in the knowledge of
housekeeping and of cooking in an economical manner. Not only does their
labour in the fields produce fertility, bring the richest harvests, and
cause those appearances on the face of the country which make it admired as
one of the most beautiful in the world; but the habitations of the
labourers themselves, their neat cottages, and their gardens so abounding
at once with the useful and the elegant; these have always been regarded as
one complete feature, and that not the least important, in the landscape of
England. And, if we look at the interior of these dwellings, we there find
every thing corresponding with what we have remarked without. Where the
father, after having done a hard day's work for his master, will continue,
in the evening, to toil upon his own small {383}plot of ground for a couple
of hours, and where the children are bred up to respect the edges of the
borders, the twigs of the shrubs, and the stems of the flowers, and to be
industrious and even delighted in such things, it is natural that the
mother should take the same pains with all that belongs to the inside of
the dwelling. And, accordingly, those who have occasionally visited the
poor of the rural districts of England, must have observed, that if they
are often deficient in the means of living well, they are, as often,
patterns of cleanliness, and as anxious to make a respectable appearance
with their scanty furniture, to polish their half dozen pewter platters, to
scrub their plain table or dresser, to keep clean and to set in order their
few cups and saucers of china-ware, as their betters are to make a display
of the greatest luxuries of life. These excellent habits of the people are
so fixed, that we see a portion of them still clinging to those labourers,
perhaps the most of all to be commiserated, who are employed in the
factories of the north of England.

But the condition of the other class is very different. Some of these have
never, from their earliest infancy, been accustomed to any of those scenes
in which, though there be difficulties, there are circumstances to excite
perseverance, and to reward painstaking. These are born in absolute want;
their experience under the roof of their parents has been but a course of
destitution; and they go forth into the world rather as fugitives from
misery than as seekers to be more prosperous. If they obtain employment,
their labour is perhaps repaid by wages barely sufficient to keep them
alive; destitute of the means of practising anything like household
management, never having known what it is to have a home, worthy to be so
called, for a single day, it is scarcely possible for them to obtain that
knowledge, simple as it is, which is required to contrive the various modes
of making much out of a little. Besides, if the poor people existing in
this condition were ever so inclined to do well, there are the strongest
inducements held out to them to mismanage their small stock of means; they
are continually standing in need of some temporary sustenance; and, who can
wonder if thus bereft of all power to _provide_ or to _economise_, they
yield to destruction, and suffer themselves to be allured by the {384}glare
of the gin-palace, or the revelry of the pot-house! It is one of the signs
of misery with such persons, that they are little acquainted with the art
of cookery. Here and there may be found a poor woman who has become skilful
by serving in the kitchens of other persons: but this is only an exception,
and too rare to be of account.

In almost every family there are, occasionally, things which may be spared
from its consumption, to be converted, by an experienced cook, into
palatable and nourishing food for poor people, but which, if given to them
in the shape of fragments, they would be totally ignorant how to make use
of. Such, for instance, as bones with very little meat on them, trimmings
of meat, of poultry, &c., some cooked, some uncooked, crusts of bread, and
pieces of dripping; yet these, with a little pepper, salt, and flour to
thicken, may, by careful cooking and scumming, be made to produce an
excellent meal for a family of children.--Few servants are unwilling to
take the trouble of helping their poor fellow creatures, and, if the head
of every family would give as much as she can spare to the poor who live
immediately in her own neighbourhood, more general good would be done than
ladies can reasonably hope to do by subscribing their money to "societies,"
which, though they may have been established by the best-intentioned
persons, and for the kindest of purposes, can never be so beneficial in
their effects as that charity which one individual bestows on another. The
relief which is doled out by a "Society" is accompanied by very imperfect,
if any, inquiries into the particular circumstances of the persons
relieved; by no expressions of sympathy, by no encouraging promises for the
future, to cheer the heart of the anxious mother as she bends her way
homeward with her kettle of soup: the soup which has been obtained by
presenting a ticket is apportioned to the little hungry creatures, without
their being reminded who it is that has so kindly provided for them, and
after it is eaten there is no more thought about the source whence it came
than about the hunger which it has removed. The private mode of charity is
superior to the public in every way. There are great advantages arising
from the former which the latter can never procure. Not only must the
attentions of a known individual be the most {385}gratefully appreciated by
a poor man and woman, but the child which has often gone to bed satisfied
and happy, after a supper provided by some good neighbour, cannot be
expected to grow up without some of those feelings of personal respect and
attachment for its benefactor, which, while they prevent the contrast of
riches with poverty from becoming odious, are the strongest assurances of
union between him who claims a property in the soil and him whose labour
makes that property of value. Self-interest and humanity are not the least
at variance in this matter; the same course of policy is dictated to both.
It may seem glorious to be advertised throughout Europe, and to be read of
in newspapers, as a large subscriber to a public Institution; but the
benefits which are confined to a single parish are the more lasting from
being local, and the fame of the distributor, though bounded in distance,
is all the more deserved, the longer kept alive and cherished, and,
consequently, the better worth endeavouring to obtain.

The soup I would recommend for poor people, should be made of the shin, or
any coarse parts of beef, shanks and scrags of mutton, also trimmings of
any fresh meat or poultry. 1 pound of meat to every pint of soup (that is,
every three ½ pints of water), and then all the meat should not be boiled
to rags, but some be left to eat. There should be a sufficient quantity of
turnips, carrots, onions and herbs; also pepper and salt; and dumplings, of
either white or brown flour, would be a good addition. A quart of soup,
made in this way, with about ½ lb. of meat, and a dumpling for each person,
would be a good dinner for a poor man, his wife and children; and such a
one as a lady who has a kitchen at her command, may often regale them with.
Less meat will do where there is pot-liquor. The liquor of all boiled meat
should be saved, in a clean pan, and made the next day into soup. That of a
leg of mutton will require but little meat in addition, to make good soup.
The liquor of any fresh meat, of boiled pork, if the latter be not very
salt, will make good peas soup, without any meat.--Soak a quart of peas all
night, in soft water, or pot-liquor, and, if the former, some bones or
pieces of meat; a small piece of pork would be very good. Put in 2 onions,
cut up, a head of celery, a {386}bunch of sweet herbs, and what salt and
pepper you think it requires. Let it boil, and then simmer gently _by the
side_ full three hours, or longer if the peas be not done; stir the peas up
from the bottom now and then. When you have neither meat nor pot-liquor,
mix 2 or 3 oz. of dripping with an equal quantity of oatmeal, and stir it,
by degrees, into the soup, or boil in it some dumplings of flour and suet.

In houses where a brick oven is heated once a week or oftener, for bread,
it would give little additional trouble to bake a dish of some sort or
other for a poor family. Soup may be made in this way: first put the meat
on the fire in just enough water to cover it; when it boils, take off the
scum, pour off the water, put the meat into an earthen pan, with 3 carrots
cut up, a turnip, 2 onions, pepper and salt, and stale dry crusts of bread;
pour over boiling water, in the proportion of a gallon to 2 lbs. meat, and
let it bake three hours. Shanks of mutton, cowheels, ox and sheep's head,
may be cooked in this way, but the two latter must be parboiled, to cleanse
them; and will require four or five hours' baking. The soup made of ox head
is not so nourishing as that of shin of beef. If there be room in the oven,
a plain pudding may be baked as follows. Pour boiling skim milk over stale
pieces of bread, and cover with a plate or dish. When it has soaked up the
milk, beat the bread, dust in a little flour, add sugar, an egg or two, or
shred suet, or pieces of dripping, and more milk if required; butter a
brown pan, pour in the pudding, and bake it three-quarters of an
hour.--_Or_: a batter pudding, made with two eggs, a quart of milk; or if
eggs be scarce, leave them out, and use dripping; rub it into the flour,
with a little salt, mix this by degrees with some milk into a batter and
bake it. A batter pudding of this kind, rather thick, is very good with
pieces of meat baked in it; in the proportion of 1 lb. solid meat, to a
batter made with 1 quart of milk. Pickled pork, not very salt, makes a very
good pudding. A plain rice pudding, without egg or butter, made with skim
milk, and suet or dripping, is excellent food for children. But rice costs
something, and my object is to point out to young housekeepers how they can
best assist the poor without injury to their own purses; and, therefore, I
do not {387}urge the use of barley, rice, sugar, currants, &c. &c. They do
not, of themselves, produce much nourishment; sufficient, perhaps, for
children, and for persons who do not labour, but for hard working people,
the object is to provide as much animal food as possible; therefore, when
money is laid out, it ought to be for meat.

Puddings with suet approach very nearly to meat. A thick crust, with a
slice of bacon or pork in it, and boiled, makes a good pudding.

_Hasty pudding_, made with skim milk, in the proportion of 1 quart to 3
table-spoonsful of flour, would be a good supper for children, and the cost
not worth consideration, to any lady who has a dairy.

_Buttermilk_ puddings, too, are cheap and easily made.

_Milk_ is of great value to the poor.

Where there is a garden well stocked with vegetables, a meal for poor
people may often be prepared, at little expense, by cooking cabbages,
lettuces, turnips or carrots, &c. &c. in the water which has been saved
from boiling meat, or thin broth. The vegetables, stewed slowly till
tender, with or without a small piece of meat, and the gravy seasoned and
thickened, will be much more nourishing, as well as palatable, than plain
boiled.


_To dress Cabbages, Lettuces, Brocoli and Cauliflower._

Put ½ lb. bacon or pork, in slices, at the bottom of a stew-pan, upon them
a large cabbage, or two small ones, in quarters; a small bunch of herbs,
some pepper and salt, the same quantity of bacon or pork on the top, and a
quart of water or pot liquor; let it simmer till the cabbage is quite
tender.

_Another_: wash a large cabbage or lettuce, open the leaves, and put
between them little pieces of bacon or pork, and any fragments of fresh
meat cut up; tie up the cabbage securely, and stew it till tender in a very
little broth or water, with a little butter rolled in flour, and some
seasonings. A little meat will go a great way in making this a palatable
dish. Turnips, carrots, and potatoes, either raw, or such as have been
cooked the day before, may be {388}just warmed up, or stewed till tender in
a little weak broth, thickened with flour, and seasoned with salt and
pepper, and then, poured with the gravy on slices of bread in a tureen,
they will be good food for children.



In "COBBETT'S _Cottage Economy_" there will be found a variety of receipts
for cooking Indian corn meal.


THE END.



{389}INDEX.



  PAGE

  Allice, to broil,                                        128
  Anchovy toasts,                                          185
  Artichokes, to boil,                                     221
    Jerusalem,                                             ib.
    bottoms,                                               222
  Asparagus, to boil,                                      215

  Bacon, to salt and cure,                              25, 26
    to boil,                                                65
    to broil or fry,                                        90
  Baking, directions for,                                   81
  Beans, Windsor,                                          217
    French,                                                218
  Beef, to joint,                                           45
    to carve,                                               49
    to salt,                                                29
    to smoke,                                               30
    round of, to boil,                                      61
    edge-bone of, to do.,                                  ib.
    brisket of, to do.,                                    ib.
    sirloin of, to roast,                                   69
    rump of, to do.,                                        70
    ribs of, to do.,                                       ib.
    steaks, to broil,                                       83
      with potatoes,                                        84
      to fry,                                               88
    to stew, ragout, or braise,                            136
    à la mode,                                             137
    to collar,                                             138
    royale,                                                ib.
    to fricandeau,                                         ib.
    bouilli,                                               140
    steaks, to stew,                                       141
      rolled,                                              142
    olives,                                                ib.
    marrow bones,                                          143
    heart,                                                 ib.
    hunter's,                                              ib.
    Hamburgh,                                              144
    hung,                                                  144
    à la Flamande,                                         ib.
    to press,                                              ib.
    to hash or mince,                                      ib.
    cecils,                                                145
    collops,                                               ib.
    en Miroton,                                            146
    bubble and squeak,                                     ib.
    to pot,                                                ib.
  Beer, to brew,                                           334
    ginger,                                                346
    spruce,                                                ib.
  Beet root, to boil,                                      219
  Birds, small, to roast,                                   79
  Biscuits, to make,                                       276
    Indian corn,                                           277
    Dr. Oliver's,                                          ib.
    lemon,                                                 ib.
  Blanch, directions to,                                   134
  Boiling, general directions for,                          59
  Boudins, to make,                                        171
  Braise, directions to,                                   135
  Brawn, mock,                                             175
    pickle for,                                             30
  Bread border, a,                                         181
    to make,                                               268
    French,                                                270
    rice,                                                  ib.
  Brill, to boil,                                          116
  Brocoli, to boil,                                        216
    to fry,                                                ib.
  Broiling, general directions for,                         83
  Broth, Scotch barley,                                    108
    mutton,                                                109
    veal,                                                  ib.
    chicken,                                               ib.
  Butter, to make,                                         350
    without a churn,                                       351
    from clouted cream,                                    352
    to pot,                                                ib.
    to clarify,                                             87
    to brown,                                              193
    to melt,                                               192
    parsley and,                                           ib.

  Cabbage, to boil,                                        214
    red, to stew,                                          ib.
    to curry,                                              ib.
    à la Bourgeoise,                                       ib.
    lettuce, with forcemeat,                               222
  Cakes, to make,                                          270
    common currant,                                   272, 273
    rich plum,                                             272
    very good,                                             ib.
    without butter,                                        273
    rich seed,                                             ib.
    a rice,                                                274
    harvest,                                               ib.
    temperance,                                            ib.
    sponge,                                                ib.
    Marlborough,                                           ib.
    gingerbread,                                           ib.
    parkin,                                                276
    volatile,                                              ib.
    hunting,                                               ib.
    rough,                                                 ib.
    rock,                                                  ib.
    rusks,                                                 277
    maccaroons,                                            278
    ratafia,                                               ib.
    jumbles,                                               ib.
    small plum,                                            ib.
    carraway,                                              ib.
    Shrewsbury,                                            279
    shortbread,                                            ib.
    Derby short,                                           ib.
    cinnamon,                                              ib.
    rout,                                                  ib.
    Queen,                                                 280
    buns,                                                  ib.
    Sally Lunn's tea,                                      281
    breakfast,                                             ib.
    Yorkshire,                                             ib.
    Roehampton rolls,                                      282
    muffins,                                               ib.
    crumpets,                                              ib.
    Scotch slim,                                           283
  Calf's head, to boil,                                     63
    heart and pluck,                                       152
      to dress,                                            154
      to fricassee,                                        155
      brains,                                              ib.
    mock turtle,                                           156
    tails, to dress,                                       153
  Catsup, mushroom,                                        329
    walnut,                                                330
    oyster,                                                ib.
    tomata,                                                331
    lobster,                                               ib.
  Cardoons, to boil,                                       223
  Carp, to stew,                                           125
  Carrots, to boil,                                        219
  Carving, directions for,                                  47
  Cauliflower, to boil,                                    216
    with parmesan,                                         ib.
    to stew,                                               ib.
    to fry,                                                ib.
  Caviare, mock,                                           185
  Celery, to stew,                                         220
  Cellar, observations relating to the,                    332
  Cheese, to make,                                         353
    to toast,                                              187
  Chicken, to broil,                                        85
    to braise,                                             169
    to fricassee,                                          170
    curry of,                                              176
  Chutney, beef or ham,                                    178
    fish,                                                  ib.
  Cider, to make,                                          336
    cup,                                                   346
  Cocks, black, to roast,                                   78
  Cod, to boil,                                            116
    to fry,                                                117
    head and shoulders,                                    ib.
    to bake,                                               118
    sounds,                                                ib.
    cabeached,                                             ib.
  Colcannon,                                               212
  Cow-heel, to boil,                                        66
  Crab, to boil,                                           128
    to eat hot,                                            129
    to pot,                                                ib.
  Cray Fish, to boil,                                      128
    to pot,                                                130
    in jelly,                                              ib.
  Cream, clouted, to make,                                 352
  Crumbs, to fry,                                           91
  Cucumbers, to stew,                                      220
    to dress,                                              226
  Curry, directions for making,                            176
    kebobbed,                                              177
    of fish,                                               178
    balls,                                                 190
    powder,                                                207
    vegetables to,                                         214
  Confectionary, to make,                                  283
    custards,                                              ib.
      rich, to bake or boil,                               284
      lemon,                                               ib.
      orange,                                              285
      Spanish,                                             ib.
      with apples,                                         ib.
      with rice,                                           286
    trifle, a,                                             ib.
      gooseberry or apple,                                 ib.
    tipsy cake,                                            ib.
    crême patisserie,                                      287
    cream, chocolate,                                      ib.
      a plain,                                             ib.
      Italian,                                             288
      lemon,                                               ib.
      orange,                                              ib.
         "   frothed,                                      289
      alamode,                                             ib.
      velvet,                                              ib.
      vanilla,                                             ib.
      burnt,                                               ib.
      snow,                                                ib.
      currant and raspberry,                               ib.
      strawberry,                                          ib.
      clouted,                                             291
      ice,                                                 ib.
    Paris curd,                                            ib.
    blancmange,                                            292
      rice,                                                ib.
      with preserves,                                      ib.
    jaunemange,                                            ib.
    flummery,                                              293
      Dutch,                                               ib.
    rice cups,                                             ib.
    syllabub,                                              ib.
      solid,                                               ib.
      whipt,                                               ib.
    jelly, calf's feet,                                    ib.
      punch,                                               295
      savoury,                                             ib.
      orange and lemon,                                    295
      arrow-root,                                          296
      hartshorn,                                           ib.
      apple,                                               ib.
      isinglass,                                           ib.
      strawberry,                                          297
    gâteau de pomme,                                       ib.
    bird's-nest, a,                                        ib.
    sponge, lemon and orange,                              ib.
    souffle, a good,                                       298
    rice,                                                  ib.
    orange,                                                ib.
    lemon,                                                 ib.
    omelet,                                                299
    sweet,                                                 ib.
    of apples,                                             ib.
    fool, gooseberry and apple,                            300
    orange,                                                ib.
    oranges, stewed,                                       ib.
    apples, red, in jelly,                                 ib.
    pears, to stew,                                        ib.
    apples, to bake,                                       301
    cheesecakes,                                           ib.
      lemon,                                               ib.
      curd,                                                302
      orange,                                              ib.
      apple,                                               ib.
      rice,                                                ib.
    Lent potatoes,                                         ib.
    plums, French, stewed,                                 303

  Dairy, the, observations upon,                           348
  Devils,                                                  185
  Dory, John, to boil,                                     116
  Duck, to truss and carve,                                 57
    to boil,                                                65
    to roast,                                               77
    wild, to do.,                                          ib.
      salmi,                                               175
    to bake,                                                81
    to dress with peas,                                    173
    to ragout,                                             174
    to hash,                                               ib.
    curry of,                                              177
  Dumplings, apple,                                        249
    yeast,                                                 265
    hard,                                                  ib.

  Eels, to stew,                                           126
    to fry,                                                ib.
    to collar,                                             127
    to spitchcock,                                         ib.
  Eggs, to fry,                                        89, 182
    to poach,                                              182
    to butter,                                             183
    to fricassee,                                          ib.
    to ragout,                                             ib.
    Swiss,                                                 ib.
    Scotch,                                                ib.
    à la tripe,                                            ib.
    à la maître d'hotel,                                   184
    with asparagus,                                        ib.
    with mushrooms,                                        185
    balls,                                                 190
  Endive, to stew,                                         222
  Essence of ginger,                                       328
    allspice, nutmeg, cloves, mace, cinnamon,              ib.
    savoury spice,                                         ib.
    cayenne,                                               ib.
    orange and lemon peel,                                 ib.

  Fawn, to roast,                                           72
    to bake,                                                82
  Fish, seasons for,                                        31
    directions for cooking,                                114
    soups,                                                 111
    to pull,                                               131
    cake,                                                  130
    pies,                                                  237
    patties,                                               240
    flounders, to fry,                                     123
  Flour, to brown,                                         192
  Forcemeat, balls of,                                     189
    fish,                                                  190
  Fondu,                                                   184
  Fowl, to truss and carve,                             55, 56
    to boil,                                                64
    to roast,                                               76
    guinea, to do.,                                         77
    pea, to do.,                                           ib.
    to broil,                                               86
    to force,                                              169
    à la chingara,                                         170
    to pull,                                               171
    wild, to ragout,                                       174
  Fritters, to make,                                       267
    curd,                                                  ib.
    apple,                                                 267
  Frying, general directions for,                           87
  Furniture, to clean,                                      21

  Game, seasons for,                                        31
    to truss and carve,                                     55
  Glaze, directions to,                                    135
  Godiveau, to make,                                       188
  Goose, to truss and carve,                                55
    to roast,                                               76
    green, to do.,                                          77
    to bake,                                                81
    to braise,                                             171
  Gratin, to make,                                         188
  Gravy, directions for making,                            191
    ham extract for,                                       193
    to draw plain,                                         ib.
    beef,                                                  194
    savoury,                                               ib.
    without meat,                                          195
    to keep a week,                                        196
    jelly, for cold meat,                                  ib.
    savoury, for venison,                                  ib.
    mutton, for venison or hare,                           ib.
    orange, for game and wildfowl,                         197
  Grouse, to roast,                                         78
  Gudgeon, to boil,                                        127
    to bake,                                               ib.
    to fry,                                                ib.

  Haddock, to boil,                                        122
    to stew,                                               ib.
    to bake,                                               123
    to fry,                                                ib.
    to broil,                                              ib.
  Haggis, Scotch,                                          176
  Ham, to cure,                                             26
    mutton, to do.,                                         28
    to carve,                                               52
    to boil,                                                65
    to bake,                                                82
    to broil or fry,                                        90
  Haricots blanc,                                          224
  Hare, to roast,                                           80
    to bake,                                                82
    mock,                                                  147
    to jug,                                                166
    to stew,                                               167
    to hash,                                               167
    to pot,                                                168
    to braise,                                             171
    en daube,                                              ib.
  Heart, bullock's, to roast,                               71
  Heart, calf's, to roast,                                 ib.
    sheep's, to roast,                                     ib.
    calf's and sheep's, to dress,                          152
  Herrings, to fry,                                        123
    to boil,                                               124
    to bake,                                               ib.
    to pickle,                                             ib.
    to broil,                                              ib.
  Indian corn pudding,                                     251
    mush,                                                  256
    hommony,                                               ib.
    polenta,                                               257
    biscuits,                                              277
  Irish stew,                                              140

  Jointing, observations and directions relating
      to,                                           44, 45, 46

  Kale, to boil,                                           215
  Kidney, to broil,                                         84
    to dress,                                              160
  Kitchen, directions for arranging of the,                 35
  Knives, to clean,                                         22

  Lamb, to carve,                                           49
    to boil,                                                62
    to roast,                                               74
    chops, to broil,                                        84
      to fry,                                               88
      to dress,                                            160
    leg of, with vegetables,                               162
    breast of, to stew,                                    ib.
    cutlets and steaks,                                    163
    shoulder of, stuffed,                                  ib.
    head,                                                  ib.
    fricassee,                                             ib.
    sweetbreads,                                           164
    curry of,                                              177
  Lard, directions to,                                     134
  Larks, to roast,                                          79
  Laver, to dress,                                         224
  Lentils, to boil,                                        223
  Lettuce, to stew,                                        222
  Liver, to fry,                                            90
  Lobster, to boil,                                        128
    to eat hot,                                            129
    to pot,                                                ib.

  Maccaroni, to dress,                                     186
    paste, to make,                                        231
    pie,                                                   233
  Mackerel, to boil,                                       124
    to broil,                                              123
    to bake,                                               124
    to pickle,                                             ib.
  Maids, to boil,                                          122
  Marrow, vegetable, to boil,                              222
    to stuff,                                              ib.
  Meat, the season for,                                     30
    to preserve,                                            23
    to salt,                                                24
  Mutton, to joint,                                         45
    to carve,                                               48
    to salt and smoke,                                      28
    leg of, to boil,                                        61
    neck of, to do.,                                        62
    leg of, to roast,                                       70
    loin of, to do.,                                       ib.
    haunch of, to do.,                                     ib.
    to dress as venison,                                    71
    saddle of,                                              70
    shoulder of,                                           ib.
    chops, to broil,                                        84
    to fry,                                                 88
    to haricot,                                            157
    leg of, with carrots,                                  158
    loin of, to roll or stew,                              ib.
    shoulder of,                                           159
    breast of, to grill,                                   ib.
    neck of, to stew,                                      ib.
    kidneys, to dress,                                     160
    chops and collops,                                     ib.
    cutlets à la maintenon,                                161
    to hash,                                               ib.
    hunters' pie,                                          ib.
  Morels, to stew,                                         220
  Mushrooms, to stew,                                      ib.

  Omelets,                                                 181
  Onions, to dress,                                        220
  Ortolan, to roast,                                        78
  Ox cheek, to bake,                                        82
    to stew,                                               139
    palates,                                               ib.
      to pickle,                                           ib.
    tails, to stew,                                        140
  Oysters, to stew,                                        132
    to keep,                                               133

  Pain Perdu, to make,                                     267
  Pancakes, to make,                                       266
    whole rice,                                            ib.
    ground rice,                                           ib.
  Parsley, to fry,                                          91
  Partridge, to truss and carve,                            58
    to roast,                                               77
    to broil,                                               86
    to stew,                                               172
  Parsnips, to boil,                                       219
  Pastry, general directions for making,                   227
    glazing for,                                           228
    iceing for,                                            ib.
  Paste, plain, for meat pies,                             227
    richer,                                                ib.
    elegant,                                               ib.
    a flaky,                                               229
    puff,                                                  ib.
    crisp,                                                 ib.
    good light,                                            ib.
    short,                                                 ib.
    for preserved fruits,                                  230
    raised, for meat pies,                                 ib.
    rice,                                                  ib.
    maccaroni,                                             ib.
    for patties,                                           239
    for puddings,                                          246
  Patties, to make,                                        239
    chicken, turkey and ham, veal,                         240
    rabbit and hare,                                       ib.
    beef,                                                  ib.
    oyster,                                                ib.
    lobster and shrimp,                                    241
  Peas, to boil,                                           217
  Perch, to fry,                                           123
    to stew,                                               124
  Pheasant, to truss and carve,                             58
    to roast,                                               77
  Pickles, observations on the making of,                  318
  Pickle, walnuts to,                                      319
    gherkins,                                              320
    onions,                                                ib.
    cucumbers and onions,                                  321
    cabbage, red,                                          ib.
    mangoes, melon,                                        ib.
    beet root,                                             ib.
    mushrooms,                                             322
    India,                                                 ib.
    lemons,                                                323
    cauliflower and brocoli,                               ib.
  Pie, meat,                                               231
    venison,                                               ib.
    beefsteak,                                             232
    pork,                                                  ib.
    sausage,                                               ib.
    mutton,                                                233
    lamb,                                                  ib.
    veal,                                                  ib.
    maccaroni,                                             ib.
    calf's head,                                           234
    sweetbread,                                            ib.
    pigeon, rook, or moor-fowl,                            ib.
    hare,                                                  235
    chicken,                                               ib.
    rabbit,                                                ib.
    goose,                                                 ib.
    giblet,                                                236
    partridge or perigord,                                 ib.
    pheasant,                                              ib.
    a sea,                                                 237
    parsley,                                               ib.
    herb,                                                  ib.
    fish,                                                  ib.
    lobster,                                               238
    herring, eel, mackerel,                                ib.
    shrimp or prawn,                                       239
    salt fish,                                             ib.
    rhubarb,                                               241
    gooseberry, or green currant,                          241
    green apricot,                                         ib.
    apple,                                                 ib.
    codling,                                               ib.
    cranberry,                                             ib.
    of preserved fruits,                                   ib.
    small puffs,                                           ib.
    Spanish puffs,                                         243
      apple,                                               ib.
      orange,                                              ib.
      lemon,                                               ib.
    mince,                                                 ib.
      without meat,                                        244
    a bride's,                                             ib.
  Pig, sucking, to roast,                                   71
    to bake,                                                81
    harslet, to fry,                                        90
      to roast,                                            ib.
    to collar,                                             165
    head, to roast,                                        ib.
    feet and ears, soused,                                 166
      to fricassee,                                        ib.
  Pigeons, to roast,                                        78
    to broil,                                               85
    to braise,                                             169
  Pike or jack, to boil,                                   125
    to bake,                                               ib.
  Pillau, a,                                               179
  Pipers, to dress,                                        128
  Plate, to clean,                                          21
  Plaice, to fry,                                          123
  Plovers, to roast,                                        78
  Potatoes, to boil,                                       211
    to fry, broil, or stew,                                212
    to mash,                                               ib.
    to roast,                                              ib.
    pie,                                                   213
    balls,                                                 ib.
    ragout,                                                ib.
    à la maître d'hotel,                                   ib.
    a border of,                                           181
  Pork, to joint,                                           46
    to boil,                                                63
    petit-toes, to cook,                                    64
    to salt,                                                28
    to roast,                                               74
    griskin, to ditto,                                      75
    to bake,                                                81
    chops, to broil,                                        85
    bladebone of,                                          ib.
    chops, to fry,                                          88
      with onions,                                         165
    to roll,                                               ib.
    corned, with peas,                                     166
  Porter, cup,                                             345
  Poor, the, cooking for,                                  382
  Poultry, seasons for,                                     31
    to truss and carve,                         54, 55, 56, 57
    to boil,                                                64
    to roast,                                               75
    to broil,                                               85
    to dress,                                              169
  Powder, curry,                                           207
    savoury,                                               ib.
    horse-radish,                                          209
    pea,                                                   ib.
    mushroom,                                              ib.
    anchovy,                                               ib.
  Prawns, to pot,                                          130
    to butter,                                             ib.
    in jelly,                                              ib.
  Preserves, to make,                                      303
    sugar, to clarify,                                     304
    jelly, currant,                                        ib.
      apple,                                               307
      quince,                                              308
    jam, currant,                                          305
      raspberry,                                           ib.
      strawberry,                                          ib.
      gooseberry,                                          ib.
         green,                                            ib.
      damson,                                              ib.
      rhubarb,                                             ib.
    butter, black,                                         306
    fruit, for puddings,                                   ib.
      for winter use,                                      ib.
      to bottle,                                           ib.
    damsons for tarts,                                     307
    marmalade, apple,                                      ib.
      orange,                                              312
      quince,                                              308
    cheese, damson,                                        309
      apricot,                                             ib.
      orange,                                              ib.
    pine apple,                                            ib.
    cucumber,                                              310
    strawberries,                                          ib.
    raspberries,                                           ib.
    strawberries in wine,                                  311
    gooseberries, whole,                                   ib.
    morella cherries,                                      ib.
      in brandy,                                           316
    cherries en chemise,                                   311
      in syrup,                                            ib.
      to dry,                                              312
    apricots to dry,                                       ib.
      to preserve,                                         314
    orange chips,                                          312
      to preserve,                                         313
    plums, to preserve,                                    314
      in brandy,                                           316
    greengages,                                            314
    pears,                                                 315
    fruit, to candy,                                       316
    grapes, in brandy,                                     317
    barberries,                                            ib.
  Puddings, general directions for making,                 245
    paste, for meat,                                       246
    beefsteak,                                             247
    suet,                                                  ib.
    meat in batter,                                        ib.
    kidney,                                                248
    fish,                                                  ib.
    black,                                                 ib.
    hog's,                                                 ib.
    apples, currants, gooseberries, cherries,
        damsons, rhubarb and plums,                        249
    apple, baked,                                          262
    green apricot,                                         249
    roll,                                                  ib.
    plum,                                                  ib.
    a Christmas,                                           250
    marrow,                                                ib.
    French plum,                                           251
    maigre plum,                                           ib.
    bread,                                                 ib.
      and butter,                                          252
    custard,                                               ib.
    little,                                                253
    an excellent,                                          ib.
    oatmeal,                                               ib.
    batter,                                                ib.
    Yorkshire,                                             ib.
    potatoe,                                               254
    carrot,                                                ib.
    hasty,                                                 ib.
    buttermilk,                                            ib.
    save-all,                                              255
    camp,                                                  ib.
    pretty,                                                ib.
    nursery,                                               ib.
    arrow root,                                            ib.
    ground rice,                                           256
    semolina,                                              ib.
    whole rice,                                            257
    snow balls,                                            258
    Buxton,                                                ib.
    vermicelli,                                            259
    sago,                                                  ib.
    tapioca,                                               ib.
    pearl barley,                                          ib.
    millet,                                                ib.
    maccaroni,                                             ib.
    one always liked,                                      260
    cheese,                                                ib.
    ratafia,                                               ib.
    Staffordshire,                                         ib.
    baked almond,                                          ib.
    wafer,                                                 261
    orange,                                                ib.
    lemon,                                                 ib.
    cabinet,                                               ib.
    gooseberry, baked,                                     262
    quince,                                                ib.
    Swiss apple,                                           263
    peach, apricot and nectarine,                          ib.
    a Charlotte,                                           ib.
    bakewell,                                              264
    citron,                                                ib.
    maccaroon,                                             ib.
    new college,                                           265
    paradise,                                              ib.
  Punch, excellent,                                        344
    milk,                                                  ib.
    Norfolk,                                               ib.
    Roman,                                                 ib.
    Regent's,                                              ib.

  Quails, to roast,                                         78

  Rabbit, to truss and carve,                               53
    to boil,                                                65
    to roast,                                               81
    to bake,                                                82
    to broil,                                               84
    to fry,                                                 89
    with fine herbs,                                       167
    to fricassee,                                          168
    to pot,                                                ib.
    to braise,                                             169
    curry of,                                              176
    Welch,                                                 187
  Rails, to roast,                                          78
    to ragout,                                             174
  Ramakins,                                                184
  Recipes, medicinal,                                      365
  Recipe, for the croup,                                   ib.
    for weakness of stomach,                               366
    camphor julep,                                         ib.
    for bilious complaints,                                ib.
    a mild aperient,                                       367
    gout cordial,                                          ib.
      Hallett's,                                           ib.
    for nervous affections,                                ib.
    mustard whey,                                          ib.
    almond emulsion,                                       370
    for hoarseness,                                        ib.
    plaster for a cough,                                   ib.
    bark gargle,                                           ib.
    gargle for a sore throat,                              ib.
    for chilblains,                                        371
    burns,                                                 ib.
    cuts or wounds,                                        ib.
    a sprain,                                              ib.
    vegetable ointment,                                    ib.
    elder,                                                 372
    opodeldoc,                                             ib.
    carrot poultice,                                       ib.
    for weak eyes,                                         ib.
      toothache,                                           373
    peppermint water,                                      ib.
    soda water,                                            ib.
    medicinal imperial,                                    374
    lime water,                                            ib.
    seidlitz powders,                                      ib.
    medicines to keep in the house,                        ib.
  Receipts, various,                                       375
    eau de Cologne,                                        ib.
    lavender water,                                        ib.
    milk of roses,                                         ib.
    aromatic vinegar,                                      ib.
    wash for the skin,                                     376
    pomade divine,                                         ib.
    lip salve,                                             ib.
    pomatum,                                               ib.
    cold cream,                                            ib.
    for chapped hands,                                     377
    almond paste,                                          ib.
    tooth powder,                                          ib.
    curling fluid,                                         ib.
    to clean carpets,                                      ib.
    silk dresses,                                          378
    to take grease out of silk or stuff,                   378
    to clean blond,                                        ib.
    silk stockings,                                        ib.
    floor cloths,                                          379
    stone stairs,                                          ib.
    to take oil from stone or boards,                      ib.
    to take rust from steel,                               ib.
    to clean stoves and fire irons,                        ib.
    to clean paint,                                        ib.
    to clean papered walls,                                380
    to clean tin covers,                                   ib.
    to clean copper utensils,                              ib.
    marking ink,                                           ib.
    ink, to make,                                          ib.
    blacking for shoes,                                    ib.
    pot pourri,                                            381
    to thicken hair,                                       ib.
    to destroy bugs,                                       ib.
    paste, to make,                                        ib.
  Rice, to boil for curry,                                 178
    border,                                                181
    white pot,                                             267
    rissoles,                                              180
  Roasting, general directions for,                         67
    roux, white,                                           192
    brown,                                                 ib.

  Salads, directions for making,                           224
    lobster,                                               226
    Italian,                                               ib.
  Salmon, to boil,                                         119
    to grill,                                              ib.
    to bake,                                               120
    to pickle,                                             ib.
    to dry,                                                121
    to collar,                                             ib.
    to pot,                                                ib.
  Salmagundi, a,                                           131
  Salsify,                                                 221
  Samphire, to boil,                                       224
  Sandwiches,                                              185
  Sardinias, to broil,                                     124
  Sauces, directions for making,                           191
    list of,                                               ib.
    sauce blanche,                                         192
    maître d'hotel,                                        193
    white gravy,                                           194
    for game and wild fowl,                                197
    for goose, duck and pork,                              ib.
    Robert, for broils,                                    ib.
    for turkey or fowl,                                    198
    liver,                                                 ib.
    egg, for poultry and fish,                             ib.
    mushroom,                                              ib.
    celery,                                                ib.
    rimolade,                                              199
    tomata,                                                ib.
    apple,                                                 ib.
    gooseberry,                                            ib.
    cucumber,                                              200
    onion,                                                 ib.
    eschalot,                                              ib.
    partout,                                               ib.
    chetna,                                                201
    carrier,                                               ib.
    horse-radish,                                          ib.
    mint,                                                  ib.
    for cold meat,                                         ib.
    coratch,                                               202
    miser's,                                               ib.
    poor man's,                                            ib.
    for roast beef,                                        ib.
    lemon,                                                 ib.
    caper,                                                 ib.
    bread,                                                 203
    rice,                                                  ib.
    sweet,                                                 ib.
    sharp,                                                 ib.
    store, for ragouts,                                    ib.
    for tench,                                             204
    good store, for fish and stews,                        ib.
    plain fish,                                            ib.
    excellent fish,                                        ib.
    oyster,                                                205
    anchovy,                                               ib.
    shrimp,                                                ib.
    cockle,                                                ib.
    roe,                                                   ib.
    Dutch fish,                                            ib.
    for devils,                                            206
  Sausages, to fry,                                         89
    to make,                                               180
  Scorzonera and skirrets,                                 221
  Seasonings, directions for preparing,                    206
  Shad, to broil,                                          128
  Shrimps, to pot,                                         130
    in jelly,                                              ib.
  Sippets, to fry,                                          91
  Sick, the, cooking for,                                  354
    chops, to stew,                                        ib.
    broth, a nourishing,                                   ib.
    calf's feet broth,                                     355
    eel broth,                                             ib.
    beef tea,                                              ib.
    beef jelly,                                            ib.
    shank jelly,                                           356
    for a weak stomach,                                    ib.
    bread jelly,                                           ib.
    jelly for a sick person,                               357
    panada,                                                ib.
    Gloucester jelly,                                      ib.
    port wine jelly,                                       ib.
    arrow root jelly,                                      358
    tapioca jelly,                                         ib.
    sago, to boil,                                         ib.
    gruel,                                                 ib.
    barley cream,                                          359
    water gruel,                                           ib.
    caudle,                                                ib.
    rice milk,                                             ib.
    mutton custard,                                        ib.
    asses milk,                                            360
    onion porridge,                                        ib.
    milk porridge,                                         ib.
    white wine whey,                                       ib.
    rennet whey,                                           361
    vinegar or lemon whey,                                 ib.
    mustard,                                               ib.
    treacle posset,                                        ib.
    orgeat,                                                ib.
    lemonade,                                              ib.
    barley water,                                          362
    capillaire,                                            ib.
    linseed tea,                                           ib.
    lemon and orange water,                                ib.
    apple water,                                           ib.
    toast and water,                                       363
    drink for sick persons,                                ib.
    saline draughts,                                       ib.
    coffee,                                                ib.
    chocolate,                                             364
    tea,                                                   ib.
    barley sugar,                                          364
    Everton toffy,                                         ib.
  Skate, to boil,                                          122
    to fry,                                                ib.
  Smelts, to fry,                                          127
    to bake,                                               ib.
    to boil,                                               ib.
  Snipe, to roast,                                          78
    to ragout,                                             174
  Sole, to boil,                                           116
    to fry,                                                123
  Soup, general directions for making,                      92
    stock, plain,                                           95
    bouilli,                                               ib.
    good clear gravy,                                       96
    vermicelli,                                            ib.
    maccaroni,                                             ib.
    carrot,                                                ib.
    turnip,                                                ib.
    asparagus,                                             ib.
    celery,                                                ib.
    julienne,                                               97
    clear,                                                 ib.
    clear herb,                                            ib.
    brown,                                                 ib.
    plain white,                                            98
    another white,                                         ib.
    another, with herbs,                                   ib.
    lorraine,                                               99
    onion,                                                 ib.
    onion maîgre,                                          ib.
    green pea,                                             ib.
    another,                                               100
    artichoke,                                             ib.
    good maîgre,                                           ib.
    another maîgre,                                        111
    yellow pea,                                            101
    carrot, plain,                                         ib.
    mock turtle,                                           102
    hare,                                             103, 104
    rabbit,                                                104
    game and venison,                                      ib.
    knuckle of veal,                                       105
    mulligatawny,                                          ib.
    ox-tail,                                               106
    grouse,                                                107
    partridge,                                             ib.
    pheasant,                                              ib.
    poacher's,                                             107
    hotch potch,                                           108
    pepper pot,                                            ib.
    cock-a-leekie,                                         109
    milk,                                                  ib.
    ox-head,                                               110
    giblet,                                                ib.
    stock for fish,                                        111
    lobster,                                               112
    oyster,                                                113
      maîgre,                                              ib.
    cray fish,                                             ib.
    eel,                                                   ib.
  Spinach, to boil,                                        214
    au gras,                                               215
  Sprats, to fry,                                          127
    to bake,                                               ib.
    to boil,                                               ib.
  Stuffing, to make,                                       187
    seasonings for,                                        188
    for veal,                                              189
    poultry,                                               ib.
    fish,                                                  ib.
    goose,                                                 ib.
    duck,                                                  ib.
    hare,                                                  ib.
    pike,                                                  190
  Sturgeon, to dress,                                      121
  Suet, to clarify,                                         88
  Sweetbreads, to broil,                                    84
    to fry,                                                 90
    to dress,                                         153, 164

  Tankard, a cool,                                         345
  Teal, to roast,                                           78
  Tench, to fry,                                           123
    to stew,                                               124
  Thornback, to boil,                                      122
  Tongue, to pickle,                                        28
    to boil,                                                66
    to stew,                                               140
  Tripe, to boil,                                           66
    to fry,                                                 91
    to fricassee,                                          175
    in the Scotch fashion,                                 176
  Trout, to boil,                                          122
    to fry,                                                ib.
    to stew,                                               127
  Turbot, to boil,                                         115
  Turkey, to truss and carve,                               54
    to boil,                                                65
    to roast,                                               75
    to braise,                                             168
    to pull,                                               171
  Turnips, to boil,                                        218
    tops,                                                  ib.

  Veal, to joint,                                           46
    to boil,                                                63
    fillet of, to roast,                                    73
    shoulder of, to do.,                                   ib.
    loin of, to do.,                                       ib.
    breast of, to do.,                                     ib.
    neck of, to do.,                                        74
    to bake,                                                81
    to broil,                                               84
    cutlets, to fry,                                        88
    à la mode,                                             137
    fillet of, to stew,                                    147
    neck of, to braise,                                    148
    to stew, ragout, or collar,                            ib.
    olives or rolls,                                       149
    Scotch collops,                                        150
    en fricandeau,                                         ib.
    knuckle of, with rice,                                 ib.
    granadin of,                                           151
    à la daube,                                            ib.
    to haricot,                                            ib.
    cutlets à la maintenon,                                152
    heart,                                                 ib.
    pluck,                                                 ib.
    sweetbread,                                            153
    mock turtle,                                           156
    to mince,                                              ib.
    to pot,                                                157
    cake,                                                  ib.
    curry of,                                              176
  Vegetables, the seasons for,                              33
    directions for cooking,                                210
  Vinegar, gooseberry,                                     324
    good common,                                           ib.
    cider,                                                 ib.
    of wine lees,                                          325
    cayenne,                                               ib.
    Chili,                                                 ib.
    eschalot,                                              ib.
    tarragon,                                              ib.
    for salads,                                            326
    garlic,                                                ib.
    green mint,                                            ib.
    horse-radish,                                          326
    camp,                                                  ib.
    cucumber,                                              ib.
    basil,                                                 ib.
    raspberry,                                             ib.
  Venison, to joint,                                        44
    to carve,                                               47
    to roast,                                               72
    to hash,                                               164
    shoulder of, to stew,                                  ib.
    collops and steaks,                                    ib.

  Wine and cordials, to make,                              337
    British sherry or malt,                                ib.
    Madeira,                                               338
    frontiniac,                                            ib.
    red currant,                                           ib.
    raisin,                                                339
    gooseberry,                                            ib.
    elder,                                                 ib.
    ginger,                                                340
    mountain,                                              ib.
    primrose,                                              ib.
    cowslip,                                               341
    grape,                                                 ib.
    parsnip,                                               ib.
    almond,                                                342
    cherry bounce,                                         ib.
    orange,                                                ib.
      brandy,                                              343
    a liqueur,                                             ib.
    shrub,                                                 ib.
    currant rum,                                           ib.
    ratafia,                                               ib.
    noyeau,                                                344
    usquebaugh,                                            ib.
    crême d'orange,                                        346
    raspberry brandy and wine,                             347
    mulberry brandy,                                       ib.
    sherbet,                                               ib.
    flip,                                                  ib.
    egg,                                                   ib.
    to mull,                                               ib.
    posset, the Pope's,                                    348
  Widgeons, to roast,                                       78
  Wheat-ears, to roast,                                     79
  Whitings, to fry,                                        123
  Woodcock, to roast,                                       78
    to ragout,                                             174




N.B.--_All the Books undermentioned are published by A. COBBETT, at No.
137, Strand, London, and are to be had of all other Booksellers._




SELECTIONS

FROM

COBBETT'S POLITICAL REGISTER;

BEING

_A Complete Abridgement of the 100 Volumes which comprise the writings of_
"PORCUPINE," _and the_ "WEEKLY POLITICAL REGISTER" (_from 1794 to 1835_)

WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY,

BY JOHN M. COBBETT AND JAMES P. COBBETT, ESQRS.,
BARRISTERS-AT-LAW,


Is now published, in Six Volumes, 8vo., with a COMPLETE ANALYTICAL INDEX to
the whole. The Index to this work gives it an advantage over the original
one, which, being without any general Index, and the indices to the volumes
being scanty, where there are any, and being omitted in a great many of the
volumes, is, in fact, a work very difficult to refer to. The great object
of the editors of this abridgement has been to preserve a series of the
best papers of Mr. COBBETT'S writings, and to render them easily referred
to by a General Analytical Index. The price of the Six Volumes 8vo. is 2l.
10s. boards.


----

THE

COBBETT LIBRARY.

When I am asked what books a young man or young woman ought to read, I
always answer, Let him or her read _all_ the books that I have written.
This does, it will doubtless be said, _smell of the shop_. No matter. It is
what I recommend; and experience has taught me that it is my duty to give
the recommendation. I am speaking here of books other than THE REGISTER;
and even these, that I call my LIBRARY, consist of _thirty-nine_ distinct
books; two of them being TRANSLATIONS; _seven_ of them being written BY MY
SONS; _one_ (TULL'S HUSBANDRY) revised and edited, and one published by me,
and written by the Rev. Mr. O'CALLAGHAN, a most virtuous Catholic Priest. I
divide these books into classes, as follows:--1 BOOKS FOR TEACHING
LANGUAGE; 2. ON DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT AND DUTIES; 3. ON RURAL AFFAIRS; 4. ON
THE MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS; 5. HISTORY; 6. TRAVELS; 7. LAWS; 8.
MISCELLANEOUS POLITICS. Here is a great variety of subjects, and all of
them very _dry_; nevertheless, the manner of treating them is in general
such as to induce the reader to go through the book when he has once begun
it. I will now speak of each book separately, under the several heads
above-mentioned. N.B.--All the books are bound in boards, which will be
borne in mind when the price is looked at.--W.C.




1. BOOKS FOR TEACHING LANGUAGE.

ENGLISH SPELLING-BOOK.


I have been frequently asked by mothers of families, by some fathers, and
by some schoolmasters even, to write a book that they could _begin_
teaching by; one that should begin at a beginning of book learning, and
smooth the way along to my own English Grammar, which is the entrance-gate.
I often promised to comply with these requests, and, from time to time, in
the intervals of political heats, I have thought of the thing, till, at
last, I found time enough to sit down and put it upon paper. The objection
to the common spelling books is, that the writers aim at teaching several
important sciences in a little book in which the whole aim should be the
teaching of spelling and reading. We are presented with a little
ARITHMETIC, a little ASTRONOMY, a little GEOGRAPHY, and a good deal of
RELIGION! No wonder the poor little things imbibe a hatred of books in the
first that they look into! Disapproving heartily of these books, I have
carefully abstained from everything beyond the object in view, namely, the
teaching of a child to spell and read; and this work I have made as
pleasant as I could, by introducing such stories as children most delight
in, accompanied by those little woodcut illustrations which amuse them. At
the end of the book there is a "Stepping-stone to the English Grammar." It
is but a step; it is designed to teach a child the different _parts of
speech_, and the use of _points_, with one or two small matters of the
kind. The book is in the duodecimo form, contains 176 pages of print, and
the price is 1s. 6d.--W. C.


ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

COBBETT'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (_Price_ 3s.)--This work is in a series of
letters addressed to my son James, when he was 14 years old. I made him
_copy the whole of it_ before it went to press, and that made him a
_grammarian at once_; and how able an one it made him will be seen by his
own Grammar of the ITALIAN LANGUAGE, his RIDE IN FRANCE, and his TOUR IN
ITALY. There are at the end of this Grammar "Six Lessons intended to
prevent Statesmen from using false Grammar;" and I really wish that our
statesmen would attend to the instructions of the whole book. Thousands
upon thousands of young men have been made correct writers by it; and it is
next to impossible that they should have read it with attention without its
producing such effect. It is a book of principles, clearly laid down; and
when once these are got into the mind they never quit it. More than 100,000
copies of this work have been sold.--W. C.


FRENCH GRAMMAR.

COBBETT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR (_Price_ 5s.); or, _Plain Instructions for the
Learning of French_.--This book has had, and has, a very great effect in
the producing of its object. More young men have, I dare say, learned
French from it than from all the other books that have been published in
English for the last fifty years. It is like the former, a book of
_principles_, clearly laid down. I had this great advantage too, that I had
learnt French _without a master._ I had grubbed it out, bit by bit, and
knew well how to remove _all the difficulties_; I remembered what it was
that had _puzzled_ and _retarded_ me; and I have taken care, in this, my
Grammar, to prevent the reader from experiencing that which, in this
respect, I experienced myself. This Grammar, as well as the former, is kept
out of _schools_ owing to the fear that the masters and mistresses have of
being looked upon as COBBETTITES. So much the worse for the children of the
stupid brutes who are the cause of this fear, which _sensible_ people laugh
at, and avail themselves of the advantages tendered to them in the books.
Teaching French in _English Schools_ is, generally, mere delusion; and as
to teaching the _pronunciation_ by _rules_, it is the grossest of all human
absurdities. My knowledge of French was so complete thirty-seven years ago,
that the very first thing in the shape of a book that I wrote for the
press, was a Grammar to _teach_ the Frenchmen English; and, of course, it
was _written in French._ I must know all about these two languages; and
must be able to give advice to young people on the subject: their time is
precious; and I advise them not to waste it upon what are called _lessons_
from masters and mistresses. To learn the pronunciation, there is no way
but that of _hearing_ those, and _speaking_ with those, who speak the
language well. My Grammar will do the rest.--W. C.


A GRAMMAR OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE;

Or, a Plain and Compendious Introduction to the Study of Italian. By JAMES
PAUL COBBETT. This work contains explanations and examples to teach the
language practically; and the principles of construction are illustrated by
passages from the best Italian authors. Price 6s.


A LATIN GRAMMAR.

A LATIN GRAMMAR, for the Use of English Boys; being an Explanation of the
Rudiments of the Latin Language. By James PAUL COBBETT. _Price_ 3s. boards.


FRENCH EXERCISES.

EXERCISES TO COBBETT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR (price 2s.) is just published. It is
an accompaniment to the French Grammar, and is necessary to the learner who
has been diligent in his reading of the Grammar. By JAMES COBBETT.


FRENCH AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY.

COBBETT'S FRENCH AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY.--This book is now published. Its
price is 12s. in boards; and it is a thick octavo volume.


GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF ENGLAND AND WALES.

This book was suggested to me by my own frequent want of the information
which it contains; a suggestion which, if every compiler did but wait to
feel before he puts his shears to work, would spare the world many a
voluminous and useless book. I am constantly receiving letters out of the
country, the writers living in obscure places, but who seldom think of
giving more than the _name_ of the place that they write from; and thus
have I been often puzzled to death to find out even the _county_ in which
it is before I could return an answer. I one day determined, therefore, for
my own convenience, to have a list made out of _every parish_ in the
kingdom; but this being done, I found that I had still _townships_ and
_hamlets_ to add in order to make my list complete; and when I had got the
work only half done, I found it a book; and that, with the addition of
bearing, and population, and distance from the next market town, or if a
market town, from London, it will be a really useful _Geographical
Dictionary._ It is a work which the learned would call _sui generis_; it
prompted itself into life, and it has grown in my hands: but I will here
insert the whole of the title-page, for that contains a full description of
the book. It is a thick octavo volume, _Price_ 12s.--W. C.

"A GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF ENGLAND AND WALES; containing the Names, in
Alphabetical Order, of all the Counties, with their several subdivisions
into Hundreds, Lathes, Rapes, Wapentakes, Wards, or Divisions; and an
Account of the Distribution of the Counties into Circuits, Dioceses, and
Parliamentary Divisions. Also the names (under that of each County
respectively), in Alphabetical Order, of all the Cities, Boroughs, Market
Towns, Villages, Hamlets, and Tithings, with the Distance of each from
London, or from the nearest Market Town, and with the population, and other
interesting particulars relating to each; besides which there are MAPS;
first, one of the whole country, showing the local situation of the
Counties relatively to each other, and then each County is also preceded by
a Map, showing, in the same manner, the local situation of the Cities,
Boroughs, and Market Towns. FOUR TABLES are added; first a Statistical
Table of all the Counties; and then three Tables showing the new Divisions
and Distributions enacted by the Reform Law of 4th June, 1832."



----

II. BOOKS ON DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT AND DUTIES.

COTTAGE ECONOMY.

COBBETT'S COTTAGE ECONOMY (_Price_ 2s. 6d.); containing information
relative to the brewing of Beer, making of Bread, keeping of Cows, Pigs,
Bees, Ewes, Goats, Poultry, and Rabbits, and relative to other matters
deemed useful in the conducting of the Affairs of a Labourer's Family; to
which are added, instructions relative to the selecting, the cutting and
bleaching of the Plants of English Grass and Grain, for the purpose of
making Hats and Bonnets; and also instructions for erecting and using
Ice-houses, after the Virginian manner. In my own estimation, the book that
stands first is the POOR MAN'S FRIEND; and the one that stands next is this
COTTAGE ECONOMY; and beyond all description is the pleasure I derive from
reflecting on the number of happy families that this little book must have
made. I dined in company with a lady in Worcestershire, who desired to see
me on account of this book; and she told me that until she read it she knew
nothing at all about these two great matters, the making of bread and of
beer; but that from the moment she read the book, she began to teach her
servants, and that the benefits were very great. But, to the labouring
people, there are the arguments in favour of good conduct, sobriety,
frugality, industry, all the domestic virtues; here are the reasons for all
these; and it must be a real devil in human shape who does not applaud the
man who could sit down to write this book, a copy of which every _parson_
ought, upon pain of loss of ears, to present to every girl that he marries,
rich or poor.--W. C.

"Differing as I do from Mr. Cobbett in his politics, I must say that he has
been of great use to the poor. This 'Cottage Economy' gives them hints and
advice which have, and continue to be, of the greatest service to them; it
contains a little mine of wealth, of which the poor may reap the advantage;
for no one understands the character of the English labourer better than
Mr. Cobbett. Since writing the above, Mr. Cobbett is no more; his 'Cottage
Economy' should be considered as his legacy to the poor."--JESSE'S
GLEANINGS. Vol. 2. p. 358.

"Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to Cobbett's political
writings, and as to his peculiar views and prejudices, there cannot be a
doubt that all his works on domestic management, on rural affairs, and on
the use of language, are marked by strong sense, and by great clearness of
thought and precision of language. His power of conveying instruction is,
indeed, almost unequalled; he seems rather to woo the reader to learn than
to affect the teacher; he travels with his pupil over the field of
knowledge upon which he is engaged, never seeming to forget the steps by
which he himself learned. He assumes that nothing is known, and no point is
too minute for the most careful investigation. Above all, the pure mother
English in which his instructions are conveyed, makes him a double teacher;
for whilst the reader is ostensibly receiving instruction on some subject
of rural economy, he is at the same time insensibly imbibing a taste for
good sound Saxon English--the very type of the substantial matters whereof
his instructor delights to discourse. Most of Cobbett's works on rural and
domestic economy, though written for the industrious and middle classes of
this country, are admirably adapted to the use of settlers in new
countries. For an old and thickly-peopled country like England, perhaps
Cobbett carried his notion of doing everything at home a little too far;
but in a new country, where a man is at times compelled to turn his hand to
everything, it is really well to know how everything connected with rural
economy should be done, and we really know of no works whence this extended
knowledge can be acquired so readily as from those of Cobbett. He
understood all the operations incidental to the successful pursuit of
husbandry, and his very prejudice of surrounding the farm with a wall of
brass, and having every resource within, prompted him to write on rural
affairs with completeness.

"The little half-crown book, which we now introduce to our readers,
contains a mine of most valuable instruction, every line of which is as
useful to the colonist as to those for whom it was written. We have just
read it through, from the title to the imprint, with especial regard to the
wants of the colonists, and we do not believe there is a single sentence of
the instructional portion that need be rejected. The treatise on brewing
and making bread are particularly applicable to New Zealand. We observe by
the published list of prices, that while flour was there selling at a
moderate price, bread was enormously high. There is nobody to blame for
this; it arises simply out of the high rate of retail profit which prevails
in new countries, and we know no reason why bakers should be expected to
keep shop for less remuneration than other tradesmen. The remedy then is,
not to abuse the baker, but to bake at home. How this is to be accomplished
Cobbett here points out. Some idea of the saving by means of home baking in
our colonies, where retail profits are high, may be gleaned from the great
difference between the price of flour and that of bread at Wellington, at
the same date. When flour was selling at 20_l_. per ton, the bakers of
Wellington were charging 1s. 8d. for the 4lb. loaf. Now, one cwt. of flour
would make from 126lb. to 134lb of bread, that is, on an average, 32 loaves
of 4lb. each. These would cost:--flour 20s, yeast 1s, salt 6d, with fuel
1s--together 22s 6d, or something under 9d per 4lb loaf. Here, then, would
be an enormous saving to the settler's family by means of home bread
making:--is not Cobbett right when he deprecates the idea of the farm
labourer going to the baker's shop? and, if he be right in England, where
the baker works for a small profit, his recommendation has ten times the
force when applied to a colony like New Zealand. Let it be remembered also,
that, by home-baking, the quality of the bread is guaranteed. Doubtless,
honest bakers do exist; but if there be only a few who occasionally make
use potatoes, and other materials less nourishing than wheat, surely the
guarantee is worth something where soundness of muscle and sinew is of so
much importance. Earnestly, then, do we recommend every New Zealand
emigrant to purchase this little book, and make himself master of all it
contains."--NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL, 8th January, 1842.


ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN.

COBBETT'S ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN, and (incidentally) _to Young Women, in the
middle and higher Ranks of Life_ (_Price_ 5s.) It was published in fourteen
numbers, and is now in one volume complete.


SERMONS.

COBBETT'S SERMONS (_Price_ 3s. 6d.): There are thirteen of them on the
following subjects:--1. Hypocrisy and Cruelty; 2. Drunkenness; 3. Bribery;
4. The Rights of the Poor; 5. Unjust Judges; 6. The Sluggard; 7. Murder; 8.
Gaming; 9. Public Robbery; 10. The Unnatural Mother; 11. Forbidding
Marriage; 12. Parsons and Tithes; 13. Good Friday; or, _God's Judgment on
the Jews_.--More of these Sermons have been sold than of the Sermons of all
the Church Parsons put together since mine were published. There are some
parsons who have the good sense and virtue to preach them from the
pulpit.--W. C.




----

III. BOOKS ON RURAL AFFAIRS.

TULL'S HUSBANDRY.

COBBETT'S EDITION OF TULL'S HUSBANDRY (_Price_ 15s.): The HORSE-HOEING
HUSBANDRY; or, A TREATISE on the Principles of TILLAGE and VEGETATION,
wherein is taught a Method of introducing a sort of VINEYARD CULTURE into
the CORN-FIELDS, in order to increase their Product and diminish the common
Expense. By JETHRO TULL, of Shalborne, in the county of Berks. To which is
prefixed an INTRODUCTION, explanatory of some Circumstances connected with
the History and Division of the Work: and containing an Account of certain
Experiments of recent date, by WILLIAM COBBETT.--From this famous book I
learned all my principles relative to farming, gardening, and planting. It
really, without a pun, _goes to the root_ of the subject. Before I read
this book I had seen enough of _effects_, but really knew nothing about the
_causes_. It contains the foundation of all knowledge in the cultivation of
the earth.--W. C.


YEAR'S RESIDENCE IN AMERICA.

COBBETT'S YEAR'S RESIDENCE IN AMERICA, WITH A MAP (_Price_ 5s.); treating
of the Face of the Country, the Climate, the Soil, the Products, the Mode
of Cultivating the Land, the Prices of Land, of Labour, of Food, of
Raiment, of the Expenses of Housekeeping, and of the usual Manner of
Living; of the Manners and Customs of the People; and of the Institutions
of the Country, Civil, Political, and Religious; in three Parts. The Map is
a map of the United States. The book contains a Journal of the Weather for
one whole year; and it has an account of my Farming in that country; and
also an account of the causes of poor Birkbeck's failure in his
undertaking. A book very necessary to all men of property who emigrate to
the United States.--W. C.


THE ENGLISH GARDENER.

COBBETT'S ENGLISH GARDENER (_Price_ 6s.); or a Treatise on the Situation,
Soil, Enclosing and Laying-out of Kitchen Gardens; on the Making and
Managing of Hot-beds and Green-Houses; and on the Propagation and
Cultivation of all sorts of Kitchen-Garden Plants, and of Fruit-Trees,
whether of the Garden or the Orchard. And also on the Formation of
Shrubberies and Flower-Gardens; and on the Propagation and Cultivation of
the several sorts of Shrubs and Flowers; concluding with a Kalendar, giving
Instructions relative to the Sowings, Plantings, Prunings, and other
labours to be performed in the Gardens, in each Month of the year.--A
complete book of the kind. A plan of a Kitchen-Garden, and little plates to
explain the works of pruning, grafting, and budding. But it is here, as in
all my books, the Principles that are valuable: it is a knowledge of these
that fills the reader with delight in the pursuit. I wrote a Gardener for
America, and the vile wretch who pirated it there had the baseness to leave
out the Dedication. No pursuit is so rational as this, as an amusement or
relaxation, and none so innocent and so useful. It naturally leads to Early
Rising; to sober contemplation; and is conducive to health. Every young man
should be a gardener, if possible, whatever else may be his pursuits.--W.
C.


THE WOODLANDS.

COBBETT'S WOODLANDS (_Price_ 14s.); or, a Treatise on the preparing of
Ground for Planting; on the Planting; on the Cultivating; on the Pruning;
and on the Cutting down of Forest Trees and Underwoods; describing the
usual Growth, and Size, and Uses of each sort of Tree, the Seed of each;
the Season and Manner of collecting the Seed, the Manner of Preserving and
Sowing it, and also the Manner of Managing the Young Plants until fit to
plant out; the Trees being arranged in Alphabetical Order, and the List of
them, including those of America as well as those of England, and the
English, French, and Latin name being prefixed to the Directions relative
to each Tree respectively.--This work takes every tree at ITS SEED, and
carries an account of it to the cutting down and converting it to its
uses.--W. C.


A TREATISE ON COBBETT'S CORN.

COBBETT'S CORN-BOOK (_Price_ 5s.); or, A Treatise on Cobbett's Corn,
containing Instructions for Propagating and Cultivating the Plant, and for
Harvesting and Preserving the Crop, and also an Account of the several Uses
to which the Produce is applied, with Minute Directions relative to each
Mode of Application. This edition I sell at 5s. that it may get into
_numerous hands_. I have had, even _this year_, a noble crop of this corn;
and I undertake to pledge myself, that this corn will be in general
cultivation in England in two or three years from this time, in spite of
all that fools and malignant asses can say against it. When I get time to
go out into the country, amongst the labourers in Kent, Sussex, Hants,
Wilts, and Berks, who are now _more worthy_ of encouragement and good
living than they ever were, though they were always excellent, I promise
myself the pleasure of seeing this beautiful crop growing in all their
gardens, and to see every man of them once more with a bit of meat on his
table and in his satchel, instead of the _infamous potato_.--W. C.




----

IV. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS.


THE CURSE OF PAPER MONEY.

THE CURSE OF PAPER MONEY; showing the Evils produced in America by Paper
Money. By WILLIAM GOUGE; and Reprinted with a Preface, by WILLIAM COBBETT.
_Price_ 4s.


POOR MAN'S FRIEND.

COBBETT'S POOR MAN'S FRIEND (_Price_ 8d.); or, a Defence of the Rights of
those who do the Work and Fight the Battles: my _favourite_ work. I
bestowed more labour upon it than upon any large volume that I ever wrote.
Here it is proved, that according to all laws, Divine as well as human, no
one is to die of hunger amidst abundance of food.--W. C.


MANCHESTER LECTURES; price 2s. 6d.

COBBETT'S MANCHESTER LECTURES. A small duodecimo volume, containing Six
Lectures delivered at Manchester in the Winter of 1831. In these lectures I
have gone fully into the state of the country, and have put forth what I
deem the proper remedy for that state. I fully discussed the questions of
Debt, Dead Weight, Sinecures and Pensions, Church, Crown Lands, Army and
Navy; and I defy all the doctors of political economy to answer me that
book. It contains a statement of the propositions which, please God, I
intend to make as a ground-work of relief to our country.--W. C.


USURY LAWS.--Price 3s. 6d.

USURY LAWS; or, LENDING AT INTEREST; also the Exaction and Payment of
certain Church Fees, such as Pew Rents, Burial Fees, and the like, together
with forestalling Traffic; all proved to be repugnant to the Divine and
Ecclesiastical Law, and Destructive to Civil Society. To which is prefixed
a Narrative of the Controversy between the Author and Bishop Coppinger, and
of the sufferings of the former in consequence of his adherence to the
Truth. By the Reverend JEREMIAH O'CALLAGHAN, Roman Catholic Priest. With a
Dedication to the "Society of Friends," by WILLIAM COBBETT. Every young man
should read this book, the _history_ of which, besides the learned matter,
is very curious. The "Jesuits," as they call them, in France, ought to read
this book, and then tell the world how they can find the _impudence_ to
preach the _Catholic Religion_, and _to uphold the funding system_ at the
same time.--W. C.


LEGACY TO LABOURERS; Price 1s. 4d.

Or, What is the Right which the Lords, Baronets, and Squires, have to the
Lands of England? In Six Letters, addressed to the Working People of
England; with a Dedication to Sir Robert Peel. By WM. COBBETT.


LEGACY TO PARSONS; Price 1s. 6d.

Or, have the Clergy of the Established Church an Equitable Right to the
Tithes, or to any other thing called Church Property, greater than the
Dissenters have to the same? And ought there, or ought there not, to be a
Separation of the Church from the State? In Six Letters addressed to the
Church Parsons in general, including the Cathedral and College Clergy and
the Bishops; with a Dedication to Blomfield, Bishop of London. By WILLIAM
COBBETT. Third Edition.




----

V. HISTORY.

PROTESTANT REFORMATION; Price 5s.

COBBETT'S HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION in England and Ireland,
showing how that event has impoverished and degraded the main body of the
People in these Countries; in a Series of Letters, addressed to all
sensible and just Englishmen; with a list of the Abbeys, Priories,
Nunneries, Hospitals, and other Religious Foundations, in England and
Wales, and in Ireland, confiscated, seized on, or alienated, by the
Protestant "Reformation" Sovereigns and Parliaments. This is the book that
has done the business of the _Established Church_! This book has been
translated into all living languages, and there are two Stereotype Editions
of it in the United States of America. This is the source from whence are
now pouring in the petitions for the _Abolition of Tithes_.--W. C. This new
and cheap edition has been published in Monthly Parts, 6d. each, and is now
complete in two vols., 2s. 6d. each vol.


ROMAN HISTORY; Price 6s.

COBBETT'S ROMAN HISTORY; Vol. I. in English and French, from the foundation
of Rome to the Battle of Actium; selected from the best Authors, ancient
and modern, with a Series of Questions at the end of each chapter; for the
use of schools and young persons in general. Vol. II. AN ABRIDGED HISTORY
of the EMPERORS, in French and English; being a continuation of the History
of the Roman Republic, published by the same Authors, on the same plan, for
the use of schools and young persons in general. This work is in French and
English. It is intended as an _Exercise-Book_, to be used with my French
Grammar, and it is sold at a _very low price_, to place it within the reach
of young men in general.--W. C.


LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON; Price 3s.


REGENCY AND REIGN OF GEORGE IV. Price 10s. 6d.

COBBETT'S HISTORY OF THE REGENCY AND REIGN OF GEORGE IV.--This work is
published in Nos. at 6d. each; and it does _justice_ to the late "_mild and
merciful_" King.--W. C.

LAFAYETTE'S LIFE (_Price_ 1s.); a brief Account of the Life of that brave
and honest man, translated from the French, by Mr. JAMES COBBETT.




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VI. TRAVELS.

LETTERS FROM FRANCE; Price 4s. 6d.

MR. JOHN COBBETT'S LETTERS FROM FRANCE, containing observations on that
country during a Journey from Calais to the South, as far as Limoges; then
back to Paris, and then, after a Residence, from the Eastern parts of
France, and through part of the Netherlands; commencing in April, and
ending in December, 1824.


RIDE IN FRANCE; Price 2s. 6d.

MR. JAMES COBBETT'S RIDE OF EIGHT HUNDRED MILES IN FRANCE, in 1823 (the
Third Edition); containing a sketch of the Face of the Country, of its
Rural Economy, of the Towns and Villages, of Manufactures and Trade, and of
such of the Manners and Customs as materially differ from those of England;
also, an Account of the Prices of Land, Houses, Fuel, Food, Raiment,
Labour, and other things in different parts of the Country; the design
being to exhibit a true picture of the Present State of the people of
France; to which is added, a General View of the Finances of the Kingdom.


TOUR IN ITALY.

MR. JAMES COBBETT'S TOUR IN ITALY, and also in Part of FRANCE and
SWITZERLAND (_Price_ 4s. 6d.); the Route being from Paris through Lyons to
Marseilles, and thence to Nice, Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Naples, and
Mount Vesuvius; and by Rome, Terni, Perugia, Arezzo, Florence, Bologna,
Ferrara, Padua, Venice, Verona, Milan, over the Alps, by Mount St. Bernard,
Geneva, and the Jura, back into France. The space of time being from
October 1828 to September 1829: containing a description of the Country; of
the principal Cities and their most striking Curiosities; of the Climate,
Soil, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Products; of the Price of Provisions,
and of Labour, and of the Dresses and Conditions of the People. And also
some account of the Laws and Customs, Civil and Religious, and of the
Morals and Demeanor of the Inhabitants in the several States.


TOUR IN SCOTLAND.

TOUR IN SCOTLAND, by MR. COBBETT; the tour taken in the Autumn of 1832, and
the book written during the Tour. It is a small duodecimo volume, 2s. 6d.




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VII. LAW.

MARTENS'S LAW OF NATIONS. Price 17s.

COBBETT'S TRANSLATION OF MARTENS'S LAW OF NATIONS; being the Science of
National Law, Covenants, Power, &c. Founded upon the Treaties and Customs
of Modern Nations in Europe. By G. F. VON MARTENS, Professor of Public Law
in the University of Gottingen. Translated from the French, by WM. COBBETT.
One of my first literary labours. An excellent Commonplace Book to the Law
of Nations.--W. C.




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VIII. MISCELLANEOUS POLITICS.

COLLECTIVE COMMENTARIES; Price 3s.

COBBETT'S COLLECTIVE COMMENTARIES; or Remarks on the Proceedings in the
Collective Wisdom of the Nation, during the Session which began on the 5th
of February, and ended on the 6th of August, in the Third Year of the Reign
of King George the Fourth, and in the Year of our Lord, 1822; being the
Third Session of the First Parliament of that King. To which are subjoined,
a complete List of the Acts passed during the Session, with Elucidations,
and other Notices and Matters; forming, altogether, a short but clear
History of the Collective Wisdom for the Year.


TWOPENNY TRASH; Price 3s.

TWOPENNY TRASH, complete in two vols., 12mo.




_Just Published, Price 6s., Boards_,

SIXTH EDITION, WITH MANY NEW RECEIPTS,

OF

THE ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER;

OR,

MANUAL OF DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT;

  Containing advice on the Conduct of Household Affairs; in a separate
  Treatise on each particular Department, and Practical Instruction
  concerning

  THE KITCHEN,
  THE LARDER,
  THE CELLAR,
  THE PANTRY,
  THE OVEN,
  THE DAIRY,
  THE STORE ROOM,
  THE BREWHOUSE.


Together with

Hints for Laying Out Small Ornamental Gardens; Directions for Cultivating
and Preserving Herbs; and some Remarks on the best Means of Rendering
Assistance to poor Neighbours.

FOR THE USE OF YOUNG LADIES

WHO UNDERTAKE THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THEIR OWN HOUSEKEEPING.

BY MISS COBBETT.

BOOKS FOR EMIGRANTS.

"If the emigrant require elementary works on any subject of domestic
management--extending the term domestic matters outside as well as inside
of the house--it is not too much to say that the name of Cobbett may be
considered a guarantee that he will find the subject treated with
completeness, and in a style at once simple and attractive. Whilst we say
this, the reader must not be alarmed lest we design to thrust all Cobbett's
political views down his throat. Like all strong-passioned men he was not
unfrequently inconsistent; on subjects of social and politico-economical
science especially, he was as often unsound as sound; he frequently threw
himself into the stream of popular prejudice, not only closing his mind to
the reasonings of others, but scarcely daring to use his own strong powers
lest he should be convinced against his previous determination. But on the
subjects embraced by the Cottage Economy, and others of a like character,
Cobbett was and is a trustworthy instructor, and we hesitate not to say
that the emigrant who will follow his instructions will, in a few years,
find himself a wiser, a wealthier, a better, and, above all, a happier man,
in consequence of having done so. The English Housekeeper is by Miss
Cobbett, and bears evident marks of the Cobbett school of domestic
management. The same wholesome healthy tone--the same simplicity of taste
pervades all its recommendations; and even in the good sound mother-English
in which it is written we recognise the pure source whence it sprung. It
cannot be expected that we should examine all the receipts and pronounce
our opinion on their merits. To confess the truth, we are not competent to
the task. The reader, therefore, must be content with the information that
this part of the work appears to be very amply stored with the good things
of this world, and, what is more to the purpose, a very cursory glance has
convinced us that the colonist family might avail themselves of the greater
part of this division of the book with advantage and profit. The truly
valuable portions of the work are those which relate to domestic
management. We have not space to go into particulars, and extracts would
scarcely serve any good purpose. As one might expect from a Cobbett, the
chapter devoted to the Cellar contains some excellent directions for the
making of British wines, many of which will be found applicable to New
Zealand and the Australian Colonies, and afford a cheap luxury to
colonist's family. Here also we have some useful directions brewing, in
addition to the instructions given in the Cottage Economy. Cookery for the
Sick, and Cookery for the Poor, are two valuable chapters; and it is an
additional recommendation that many of the articles under these heads may
easily be made at sea. In conclusion, we earnestly recommend the books to
the emigrant's notice. The general instructions may be studied with profit
during the voyage, and when fairly settled we have no doubt the colonist's
wife would insensibly find the book constantly in her hand."--_New Zealand
Journal_, Jan. 22, 1842.


THE ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER; OR, MANUAL OF DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT.

"This excellent household book has now reached a third edition. We can
recommend it heartily to every young lady who undertakes the management of
her domestic affairs, not only for the valuable instructions it contains
concerning all that relates to the kitchen and cookery, but for the
sensible advice it offers to females in the most important duties of
domestic life. This to us most interesting portion of the work is written
in the plain, forcible, and convincing style of the author's late father.
There is the same wholesome and practical advice put forward in that easy,
familiar way which impresses itself indelibly upon the reader's mind. There
are some observations upon the mode of educating daughters which should be
attentively perused by every mother. There is a truth and beauty, and a
spirit of kind womanly feeling in the chapter on servants. It is a noble
vindication of the poor, which ought to be written in letters of gold upon
the walls of the rich man's chamber. Of the culinary receipts, the
directions for managing the pantry, larder, store-room, &c., we can speak
in terms of unqualified commendation. The medical and miscellaneous
receipts are numerous and valuable."--SUNDAY TIMES, January 30, 1842.

"If we had seen the _twentieth_ edition on the title of the 'English
Housekeeper,' instead of the _third_, we should not have been surprised. We
passed our humble opinion on the merits of this work upon its first
appearance. Now we behold a new and improved edition, enlarged, and with
numerous indispensible recipes, rendering it one of the most complete works
of the kind that has come under our criticism; everything as regards
housekeeping being laid down in a clear, concise style, not only of
essential utility to the young housekeeper, but to the already experienced
practitioner. Miss Cobbett must have devoted years to the production of the
volume, for turn to what page you will, it abounds with striking and
useful, as well as practical facts, so admirably arranged, that a very
young lady might become, after a few hours' perusal, well qualified to
discharge the domestic duties of a wife."--BLACKWOOD'S LADIES' MAGAZINE,
1842.


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G. PEIRCE, PRINTER, 310, STRAND.