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University of California Berkeley

Gift of
MRS. GEORGE L. HARDING

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MISS BEECHER'S

HOUSEKEEPER

AND

HEALTHKEEPER:

CONTAINING

FIVE HUNDRED RECIPES

FOB

ECONOMICAL AND HEALTHFUL COOKING;

ALSO,

MANY DIRECTIONS FOR SECURING HEALTH AND HAPPINESS,

APPROVED BY PHYSICIANS OF ALL CLASSES.

NEW YORK:

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,

FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1873.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by

HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

CONTENTS.

PAET FIEST.

CHAPTER I.

HEALTH, ECONOMY, AND PLEASURE IN FOOD.

Rules of Health in regard to Food and Drink Measures used in Cook
ing Page 15

CHAPTER II.

MARKETING AND* THE CARE OF MEATS.

Marketing BeeM)ifferent "Cuts," etc. Veal Mutton Pork Poultry
Fish Shell-fish Care of Meats To salt down Beef To cleanse Calf 's
Head and Feet To prepare Rennet To salt down Fish To try out
Lard Molasses-cured Hams Brine for corning Hams, Beef, Pork, etc.
Another Brine by Measure To salt down Pork To prepare Cases
for Sausages Sausage Meat Another Recipe Bologna Sausages To
smoke Hams , 18

CHAPTER III.

STEWS AND SOUPS.

New Soup and Stew Kettle General Directions Stews : of Beef and Po
tato ; Mutton and Turnip, (French ;) Simple Mutton ; Beef, with vegeta
ble flavors ; Fowl, M r ith Celery or Tomatoes Irish Stew Veal Stew
Another Pilaff (Turkish) Rice or Hominy Stew English Beef Stew
Pot au Feu (French) Olla Podrida (Spanish) French Mutton Stew-
French Modes of Cooking Flavors Soup Powder 28

CHAPTER IV.

SOUPS.

General Directions Soup Stock Soup of Potato Plain Beef Rich Beef-
Green Pea Dried Bean or Pea Clam Vegetable and Meat for Sum
mer Dried Pea, with salt Pork Dried Bean or Pea, with Meat stock
Mutton Vegetable (French) Plain Calf's HeadSimple Mutton.... 35

4 CONTENTS.

<r
CHAPTEK V.

' HASHES.

Four Ways of spoiling Hashes Hashes : of Fresh Meats, seasoned ; Cold
fresh Meats and Potatoes ; Meat, with Eggs ; Meat, with Tomatoes ; Beef;
Veal ; Rice and cold Meats ; Bread-crumbs and cold Meats ; Another ;
Cold Beefsteak ; Same, with Potatoes and Turnips ; Cold Mutton or Ven
ison; Corned Beef; Cold Ham Meats warmed over To Cook cold
Meats Cold meat Hash Souse Tripe Page 39

CHAPTEK VI.

BOILED MEATS.

To Cook tough Beef Boiled Ham Beef Fowls Fricasseed Fowls To
boil Leg or Shoulder of Veal, Mutton, or Lamb Calf's Feet Calf's Liver
and Sweet-breads Kidneys Pillau Smoked Tongue Corned Beef-
Partridges or Pigeons Ducks Turkey 43

CHAPTER VII.

ROAST AND BAKED MEATS.

The best Beef Brown Flour for Gravies Roast Beef To roast in a Cook-
stove Roast Pork ; Mutton ; Veal ; Poultry Pot-pie of Beef, Veal, or
Chicken Mutton and Beef Pie Chicken-pie Rice Chicken-pie Potato-
pie Calf 's Head 46

CHAPTER VIII.

BROILED AND FRIED BiEATS AND RELISHES.

Boiled Mutton or Lamb Chops ; Beefsteak ; Fresh Pork ; Ham ; Sweet
breads ; Veal Pork Relish Frying Calf's or Pig's Liver Beef Liver
Egg Omelet Frizzled Beef Veal Cheese Codfish Relish Another
Salt Herrings 50

CHAPTER IX.

PICKLES.

General Directions Sweet Pickles To pickle Tomatoes ; Peaches ; Pep
pers ; Nasturtions ; Onions ; Gherkins ; Mushrooms ; Cucumbers ; Wal
nuts ; Mangoes ; Cabbage To prepare Tomatoes for eating Martinoes
Spiced Cucumber Pickles Indiana Pickles Cauliflower or Broccoli... 52

CHAPTER X.

SAUCES AND SALADS.

Milk and Egg Sauce Drawn Butter Mint Sauce Cranberry Sauce Ap
ple Sauce Walnut or Butternut Catsup Mock Capers Salad Dressing
Turkey or Chicken Salad Lettuce Salad Tomato Catsup 56

CONTENTS. 5

CHAPTER XI.

FISH.

Oysters, Stewed ; Fried ; Scalloped ; Broiled Oyster Fritters Oyster Ome
let Pickled Oysters Roast Oysters Scallops Clams Clam Chowder
Fish, Boiled; Broiled; Baked Pickle for cold Fish Page 58

CHAPTER XII.

VEGETABLES.

General Remarks Potatoes Old Potatoes Potato Puffs Sweet Potatoes
Green Corn Succotash Oyster-plant or Salsify Egg-plant Carrots
Beets Parsnips Pumpkin and Squash Celery Radishes Onions
Tomatoes Cucumbers Cabbage and Cauliflower Asparagus Maca
roniEggs 60

CHAPTER XIII.

FAMILY BREAD.

General Remarks Fine and unbolted Flour Middlings Kneading Yeast :
Hop and Potato ; Potato ; Hard Bread : of fine Flour ; of middling
or unbolted Flour ; raised with Water ; Rye and Indian ; Third ; Rye ;
Oat-meal ; Pumpkin ; Apple ; Corn-meal Sweet Rolls of Corn-meal
Soda Biscuit Yeast Biscuit Potato Biscuit Bung ; 64:

CHAPTER XIV.

BREAKFAST AND SUPPER.

General Supplies Receipts for Corn-meal Hominy Rice Economical
Breakfast Dish Biscuits of sour Milk and Flour Pearl or cracked Wheat
Rye and Com Meal Oat-meal Wheat Muffins Sally Lunn, improved
Cream Griddle-cakes Royal Crumpets Muffins Waffles Drop-cakes
Sachem's Head Corn-cake Rice Waffles A Rice Dish To use cold
Rice Buckwheat Cakes Cottage Cheese 70

CHAPTER XV.

PUDDINGS AND PIES.

Sweet Food, Remarks Queen of all Puddings Flour Pudding Flour and
Fruit Pudding Rusk and Milk Rusk Pudding Meat and Rusk Pud
ding A good Pudding Pan Dowdy Corn-meal Pop-over Best Ap
ple-pie Puddings : of Rice ; Bread and Fruit ; Boiled Fruit Curds (En
glish) Common Apple-pie Plain Custard Another Mush or Hasty
Pudding Stale Bread Pudding Rennet Wine Rennet Custard Bird's-
nest Pudding Minute Pudding of Potato Starch Tapioca Pudding
Cocoa-nut Pudding New-England Squash or Pumpkin Pie Ripe-fruit
Pies : Peach, Cherry, Plum, Currants, and Strawberry Mock Cream
Pudding of Bread-crumbs and Fruit Bread and Apple Dumplings Indian

6 CONTENTS.

Pudding without Eggs Boiled Indian and Suet Pudding Dessert of Rice
and Fruit Another Cold Rice and stewed or grated Apple Rich Flour
Pudding Apple-pie Spiced Apple-tarts Baked Indian Pudding Ap
ple Custard Macaroni or Vermicelli Pudding Green-corn Pudding
Bread Pudding for Invalids or young Children A good Pudding Loaf
Pudding Lemon Pudding Green-corn Patties Cracker Plum-pudding
Sauces for Puddings, Liquid Hard Another A healthful Sauce
Universal Sauce Paste for Puddings and Pies Pie-crusts without Fats ;
made with Butter, very rich Page 74

CHAPTER XVI.

CAKE.

General Directions. Cake raised with Powders One, two, three, four Cake
Chocolate; Jelly; Orange ; Almond and Cocoa-nut. Cake raised with
Eggs Pound Cake ; Plain; Fruit; Huckleberry; Gold and Silver ; Rich
Sponge; Plain Sponge Gingerbread, etc. Aunt Esther's Gingerbread
Sponge Gingerbread Ginger Snaps Seed Cookies Fried Cakes. Cakes
raised with Yeast Plain Loaf-cake Rich Loaf-cake Dough-cake
Icing for Cake 85

CHAPTER XVII.

PRESERVES AND JELLIES.

General Directions Canned Fruit To clarify Sirups for Sweetmeats
Brandy Peaches Peaches (not rich) Peaches (elegant) To preserve
Quinces whole Quince Jelly Calf-foot Jelly To preserve Apples Pears
Pine-apples Purple Plums, No. 1 and No. 2 White or green Plums
Citron Melons Strawberries Blackberry Jam Currants to eat with
Meat Cherries Currants Raspberry Jam, No. 1 and No. 2 Currant
Jelly Quince Marmalade Water-melon Rinds Preserved Pumpkin . 90

CHAPTER XVIII.

DESSERTS AND EVENING PARTIES.

Ice-cream Strawberry Ice-cream Ice-cream without Cream Fruit Ice
cream A Cream for stewed Fruit Currant, Raspberry, or Strawberry
Whisk Lemonade Ice and other Ices Charlotte Russe Flummery
Chicken Salad Wine Jelly Apple-lemon Pudding Wheat-flour Blanc
mange Orange Marmalade Simple Lemon Jelly Cranberry Apple
Ice Whip Syllabub Apple-snow Iced Fruit Ornamental Froth To
clarify Isinglass Blanc-mange Apple Jelly Orange Jelly Floating
Island A Dish of Snow To clarify Sugar Candied Fruits Another
wa y Ornamental Pyramid 95

CHAPTER XIX.

DRINKS AND ARTICLES FOR THE SICK AND YOUNG CHILDREN.

Tea Coffee Fish-skin for Coffee Cocoa Cream for Coffee and Tea

CONTENTS. 7

Chocolate Milk Lemonade Strawberry and Raspberry Vinegar White
Tea and Boys' Coffee Dangerous use of Milk Simple Drinks Simple
Wine Whey Toast and Cider Panada Water-gruel Beef-tea Toma
to Sirup Sassafras Jelly Egg-tea, Egg-coffee, and Egg-milk Oat-meal
Gruel Pearl Barley-water Cream-tartar Beverage Rennet Whey A
fever Drink Food, etc., for Infants Page 100

CHAPTER XX.

THE PROVIDING AND CARE OP FAMILY. STORES.

The Art of keeping a good Table Suciessive Variety Doing every thing
in the best Manner Stores and Store-rooms Flour Unbolted Flour
Indian-meal Rye Buekwheat Rice Hominy Arrow-root Tapioca,
etc. Sugars Butter Lard and Drippings Salt Vinegar Oil Molas
ses Hard Soap Starch Indigo Coffee Tea Soda Raisins Cur
rants Lemon and Orange Peel Spices Sweet Herbs Cream-tartar
Acids Essences, etc. Preserves and Jellies Hams Cheese Bread
Cake Codfish Salted Provisions..... 103

CHAPTER XXI.

SETTING TABLES, PREPARATION OP FOOD.

Table-cloth Napkins Table Furniture Bread Butter Dishes Soiled
Spots Plates to be warmed in Winter Certain Dishes served together
Strong flavored Meats Boiled Poultry Jelly Fresh Pork Drawn But
ter Pickles Garnishing Dishes Boiled Ham or Veal Greens and As
paragus Hashes Curled Parsley Mode of setting Table 109

CHAPTER XXII.

WASHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING.

Modes of economizing the Wash Good Washing depends on Conveniences
Articles needed Common mode of Washing Fine Clothes White Ar
ticles Colored Articles Flannels Bedding Calicoes Waters, etc.
To cleanse Broadcloth To make Lye Soft Soap Potash Soap To pre
pare Starch Beef's Gall To do up Laces Articles needed for Ironing
Sprinkling, Folding, and Ironing To whiten Articles and remove Stains
Mildew Stain-mixture Another To remove Grease, Tar, Pitch, Tur
pentine, Lamp-oil, Oil-paint, Ink-stains, Stains on varnished Articles To
clean silk Handkerchiefs and Ribbons To clean silk Hose or Gloves. 112

CHAPTER XXIII.

MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE AND RECIPES.

How to keep Cool in hot Weather Indelible Ink To keep Eggs To pre
vent Earthen, Glass, and Iron ware from breaking easily Cement for
broken Ware To keep Knives from Rust To cleanse or renovate Furni
ture To clean Silver To cleanse Wall-paper To purify a Well To
take care of Roses and other Plants To keep Grapes Snow for Eggs

CONTENTS.

Paper to keep Preserves To cool Butter in hot WeatherTo stop Cracks
in Iron To stop creaking Hinges To stop creaking Doors and make
Drawers slide easily To renovate black Silk To clean Kid Gloves To
remove grease Spots To get rid of Rats and Mice Odds and ends for
Housekeepers Additional Recipes Page 122

PAKT SECOND.

CHAPTER I.

NEEDFUL SCIENCE AND TRAINING FOR THE FAMILY STATE.

Women need both scientific and practical Training even more than Men
Woman's Duties as important as difficult, and much greater in Variety
The business of a Housekeeper includes all connected with the Construc
tion and Care of a House, Yard, and Garden ; the Selection of Furniture ;
the Ornamentation of a Home ; its Cleansing, Neatness, and Order ; the
Selection and Cooking of proper Food ; the providing of family Furniture
and Clothing ; the Care of Health ; the Charge of family Expenses ; the
Training of Servants, and, as Wife and Mother, the Supervision of Nursery,
the Educator of Children, and the religious Minister of the family State
Evils consequent on not training Women for these Duties 127

CHAPTER II.

A HEALTHFUL AND ECONOMICAL HOME.

Advantages of close Packing of Conveniences Plan of a model Cottage to
economize Time, Labor, and Expense, with Estimates of Cost Advan
tages described 133

CHAPTER III.

ON HOME VENTILATION.

Mode in which the Body is nourished by the Air Construction of the Lungs
and Heart Description of Evils consequent on Neglect of a proper Sup
ply of pure Air 150

CHAPTER IV.

ON WARMING A HOUSE.

Principles of Heat, viz., Conduction, Convection, Radiation, and Reflection
Best Mode of warming a House illustrated Importance of Moisture in
the Air 164

CONTENTS. 9

CHAPTER V.

ON STOVES AND CHIMNEYS.

The general Properties of Heat, Conduction, Convection, Radiation, Reflec
tion Cooking done by Radiation the simplest but most wasteful Mode :
by Convection (as in Stoves and Furnaces) the cheapest The Range
The model Cooking-stove Interior Arrangements and Principles Con
trivances for economizing Heat, Labor, Time, Fuel, Trouble, and Expense
Its Durability, Simplicity, etc. Chimneys : why they smoke, and how
to cure them Furnaces : the Dryness of their Heat Necessity of Moisture
in warm Air How to obtain and regulate it Page 182

CHAPTER VI.

ECONOMIC MODES OF BEAUTIFYING A HOME.

Educating Influence of natural and artistic Beauty On Curtains Sketch of
a Parlor with cheap and beautiful Ornaments On the tasteful Combina
tion of Colors 192

CHAPTER VII.

ON THE CARE OF HEALTH.

Importance of some Knowledge of the Body and its Needs Fearful Respon
sibility of entering upon domestic Duties in Ignorance The fundamental
vital Principle Cell-life Wonders of the Microscope Cell-multiplication
Constant interplay of Decay and Growth necessary to Life The red
and white Cells of the Blood Secreting and converting Power The nerv
ous System The Brain and the Nerves Structural Arrangement and
Functions The ganglionic System The nervous Fluid Necessity of
properly apportioned Exercise to Nerves of Sensation and of Motion
Evils of excessive or insufficient Exercise Equal Development of the
Whole 199

CHAPTER VIII.

DOMESTIC EXERCISE.

Connection of Muscles and Nerves Microscopic cellular muscular Fibre
Its Mode of Action Dependence on the Nerves of voluntary and involun
tary Motion How Exercise of Muscles quickens Circulation of the Blood,
which maintains all the Processes of Life Dependence of Equilibrium
upon proper muscular Activity Importance of securing Exercise that will
interest the Mind 208

CHAPTER IX.

HEALTHFUL FOOD AND DRINKS.

Construction of the Body in Relation to Food The Construction of a Kernel
of Wheat as proportioned to the Body Construction and Action of the

1*

10 CONTENTS.

Stomach Advicd as to Food, Drinks, and Stimulants Opinions of Phy
sicians .. Page 214

CHAPTER X.

ON CLEANLINESS.

.Construction of the Skin The secreting Organs Care of the Skin 235

CHAPTER XI.

CLOTHING.

Construction of the Bones Influence of Dress Description of two Modes
of Breathing, and the Effects of Weight and Tightness of Clothing Prop
er Mode ^sustaining the Clothing 243

CHAPTER XII.

EARLY RISING.

A Virtue peculiarly American and democratic In aristocratic Countries,
Labor considered degrading The Hours of Sunlight generally devoted to
Labor by the working Classes, and to Sleep by the indolent and wealthy
Sunlight necessaiy to Health and Growth, whether of Vegetables or Ani
mals Particularly needful for the Sick Substitution of artificial Light
and Heat by Night a great Waste of Money Eight hours' Sleep enough
Excessive Sleep debilitating Early Rising necessary to a well-regulated
Family, to the Amount of Work to be done to the Community, to Schools,
and to all Classes in American Society 254

CHAPTER XIII.

DOMESTIC MANNERS.

Good Manners the Expression of Benevolence in personal Intercourse Se
rious Defects in Manners of the Americans Causes of peculiar Man
ners to be found in American Life Want of clear Discrimination
Necessity for Distinctions of Superiority and Subordination Importance
that young Mothers should seriously endeavor to remedy this Defect while
educating their Children- Democratic Principle of Equal Rights to be ap
plied, not to our own Interests, but to those of others The same Court
esy to be extended to all Classes Necessary Distinctions arising from
mutual Relations to be observed The Strong to defer to the Weak Prec
edence yielded by Men to Women in America Good Manners must be
cultivated in early Life Mutual Relations of Husband and Wife Parents
and Children The Rearing of Children to Courtesy De Tocqueville on
American Manners 2GO

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PRESERVATION OF GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER.

Easier for a Household under the Guidance of an equable Temper in the

CONTENTS. 1 1

Mistress Dissatisfied Looks and sharp Tones destroy the Comfort of Sys
tem, Neatness, and Economy Considerations to aid the Housekeeper
Importance and Dignity of her Duties Difficulties to be overcome Good
Policy to calculate beforehand upon the Derangement of well-arranged
Plans Object of Housekeeping, the Comfort and well-being of the Family
The End should not be sacrificed to secure the Means Possible to re
frain from angry Tones Mild Speech most effective Exemplification
Allowances to be made for Servants and Children Power of Religion to
impart Dignity and Importance to the ordinary and petty Details of do
mestic Life Page 274

CHAPTER XV.

HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER.

Relative Importance and Difficulty of the Duties a Woman is called to per
formHer Duties not trivial A Habit of System and Order necessary
Right Apportionment of Time General Principles Christianity to be the
Foundation Intellectual and social Interests to be preferred to Gratifica
tion of Taste or Appetite Neglect of Health a Sin in the Sight of God
Regular Season of Rest appointed by the Creator Divisions of Time
Systematic Arrangement of house Articles and other Conveniences Reg
ular Employment for each Member of a Family Children Family Work
Forming Habits of System Early Rising a very great Aid Due Ap
portionment of Time to the several Duties 280

CHAPTER XVI.

HEALTH OF MIND.

Intimate Connection between the Body and Mind Brain excited by im
proper Stimulants taken into the Stomach Mental Faculties then affected
Causes of mental Disease Want of oxygenized Blood Fresh Air ab
solutely necessary Excessive Exercise of the Intellect orFeelings Such
Attention to Religion as prevents the Performance of other Duties wrong
Unusual Precocity in Children usually the Result of a diseased Brain
Idiocy often the Result, or the precocious Child sinks below the Average of
Mankind This Evil yet prevalent in Colleges and other Seminaries A
medical Man necessary in every Seminary Some Pupils always needing
Restraint in regard to Study A third Cause of mental Disease, the Want
of appropriate Exercise of the various Faculties of the Mind Extract from
Dr. Combe Beneficial Results of active intellectual Employments Indi
cations of a diseased Mind 293

CHAPTER XVII.

CARE OF THE AGED.

Preservation of the Aged, designed to give Opportunity for Self-denial and
loving Care Patience, Sympathy, and Labor for them to be regarded as
Privileges in a Family The Young should respect and minister unto the
Aged Treating them as valued Members of the Family Engaging them

12 CONTENTS.

iii domestic Games and Sports Reading aloud Courteous Attention to
their Opinions Assistance in retarding Decay of Faculties by helping
them to Exercise Keeping up Interest of the Infirm in domestic Affairs
Great Care to preserve animal Heat Ingratitude to the Aged : its base
ness Chinfese Kegard for old Age Page 301

CHAPTER XVIII.

CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

Interesting Association of Animals with Man, from Childhood to Age Do
mestic Animals apt to catch the Spirit of their Masters Important Neces
sities Good Feeding Shelter Cleanliness Destruction of parasitic Ver
min Salt and Water Light Exercise Rule for Breeding Care of
Horses : Feeding, Grooming, special Treatment Cows : Stabling, Feed,
Calving, Milking, Tethering Swine: naturally cleanly, Breeding, fresh
Water, Charcoal, Feeding Sheep : winter Treatment Diet Sorting
Use of Sheep in clearing Land Pasture Hedges and Fences Poultry -
Turkeys Geese Ducks Fowls Dairy Work generally Bees Care of
domestic Animals, Occupation for Women 305

CHAPTER XIX.

CARE OP THE SICK.

Prominence given to Care and Cure of the Sick by our Saviour Every
Woman should know what to do in the Case of Illness Simple Remedies
best Fasting and Perspiration Evils of Constipation Modes of reliev
ing it Remedies for Colds Unwise to tempt the Appetite of the Sick
Suggestion for the Sick-room Ventilation Needful Articles The Room,
Bed, and Person of the Patient to be kept neat Care to preserve animal
Warmth The Sick, the Delicate, the Aged Food always to be carefully
prepared and neatly served Little Modes of Refreshment Implicit Obe
dience to the Physician Care in purchasing Medicines Exhibition of
Cheerfulness, Gentleness, and Sympathy Knowledge and Experience of
Mind Lack of competent Nurses Failings of Nurses Sensitiveness of
the Sick "Sisters of Charity," the Reason why they are such excellent
'Nurses Illness in the Family a providential Opportunity of training Chil
dren to Love and Usefulness 313

CHAPTER XX.

FIRES AND LIGHTS.

Management of Lamps and Candles 324

CHAPTER XXI.

CARE OF ROOMS.

Miscellaneous Advice as to Furniture, setting Tables, Packing, and Stowing
Rules for Washing, Carving, and Helping Care of Chambers, ^Kitchen,
and Cellar 330

CONTENTS. 1 3

, CHAPTER .XXII.

CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS.

Preparation of Soil Making a Hot-bed Re-potting Laving out Yards and
Gardens Care of house Plants Propagation of Plants Ingrafting Cul
tivation of Fruit by Women Page 349

CHAPTER XXIII.

SEWING, CUTTING, AND FITTING.

How to instruct in these Arts in common Schools 361

CHAPTER XXIV.

ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.

Treatment of the Drowned Antidotes for Poisons Conduct in Thunder
storms and Fires 366

CHAPTER XXV.

RIGHT USE OF TIME AND PROPERTY.

Meaning of the Word Right How do Men decide what is wise, best, and
right? What is, an intuitive Principle in all rational Minds Who are
called righteous and virtuous Men in all Nations and Ages Effect of Dan
ger in deciding what is right The Law of Rectitude or Right Distinc
tion between emotive Love and voluntary Love illustrated by Christ's
Teachings and Example Explanation of "Faith," "Love," and " Repent
ance, "as taught by Jesus Christ The proportion of Time and Property
required of the Jews Illustrations of Christian Benevolence Self-deny
ing Benevolence happifying, and can be cultivated Consideration of vari
ous Modes of Charity 370

CHAPTER XXVI.

CARE OF INFANTS.

Remarks of Herbert Spencer and Dr. Combe A4vice of medical Writers
Best Remedy for Fevers 390

CHAPTER XXVII.

MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN.

Physical Care Intellectual Training On cultivating Benevolence in Chil
dren Sympathy with Little Ones important Gentle tones best 401

CHAPTER XXVIII.

FAMILY RELIGIOUS TRAINING.

Woman's Responsibility as chief Educator of the Family The meaning of

14 CONTENTS.

the Word Right The End, or Object, for which all Things are made, and
how learned Difficulties in interpreting Revelation Distinctive principle
of Protestantism Danger in the future Life, and different Views Influ
ence of Belief in Danger illustrated Rule of Interpretation used in com
mon Life, and to be applied to the Bible What we must do to be saved
Theories differ, but an agreement in facts revealed How a Woman must
decide for herself and for those she controls Page 414

CHAPTER XXIX.

CARE OF SERVANTS.

Distinction between emotional and voluntary Love to others This the Prin
ciple to guide in the Care of Servants Ladies who do their own Work
Intelligence saves Labor Benefits of domestic Labor The Training of
Servants a prime Duty of American Housekeepers Modes of avoiding Dif
ficulties Rewards of benevolent Care here and in the Life to come. . 424

CHAPTER XXX.

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES.

The only proper Object of Amusement Various kinds that are safe, and
others that are wrong, either in Quality or Excess Hospitality 440

CHAPTER XXXI.

LAWS OF HEALTH.

The Laws of Health are Laws of God, and should be taught to all Children
Laws of Health for the Bones, Muscles, Lungs, Digestive Organs, Skin,
Brain and Nerves, Teeth, Eyes, Hair, etc 454

CHAPTER XXXII.

COMFORT FOR A DISCOURAGED HOUSEKEEPER.

Some of the great Trials of American Housekeepers enumerated How to
meet them with Comfort and Success 459

NOTE A v 46G

INDEX... . 473

THE

HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

PART FIRST.

CHAPTER I.

ADDRESS OF THE AUTHOR TO AMERICAN HOUSEKEEPERS.

MY DEAR FRIENDS, This volume embraces, in a concise
form, many valuable portions of my other works on Domes
tic Economy, both those published by Harper and Brothers
and those published by J. B. Ford and Co., together with
other new and interesting matter. It is designed to be a
complete encyclopaedia of all that relates to a woman's du
ties as housekeeper, wife, mother, and nurse.

The First Part embraces a large variety of recipes for food
that is both healthful and economical, put in clear, concise
language, with many methods for saving labor, time, and
money, not found in any other works of the kind. It also
gives more specific directions as to seasonings and flavors
than the common one of" Season to the Taste," which leaves
all to the judgment of the careless or ignorant. The recipes
have been tested by some of the best housekeepers, and all
relating to health has been approved by distinguished physi
cians of all schools.

The Second Part contains interesting information as to the
construction of' the body, in a concise form, omitting all de
tails, except such as have an immediate connection with a
housekeeper's practical duties. These are so simplified and
illustrated, that by aid of this, both servants and children can
be made so to understand the reasons for the laws of health,

16 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

as to render that willing and intelligent obedience which
can be gained in no other way.

It is my most earnest desire to save you and your house-^
hold from the sad consequences I have suffered from igno
rance of the laws of health, especially those which women
peculiarly need to understand and obey.

God made woman to do the work of the family, and to
train those under her care to the same labor. And her body
is so formed that family labor and care tend not only to good
health, but to the highest culture of mind. Head all that is
included in our " profession," as detailed in the Second Part
of this work, and see how much there is to cultivate every
mental faculty, as well as our higher moral powers. Domes
tic labor with the muscles of the arms and trunk, with inter
vals of sedentary work, are exactly what keep all the func
tions of the body in perfect order, especially those which, at
the present day, are most out of order in our sex. And so
the women of a former generation, while they read and
studied books far less than women of the present time, were
better developed both in mind and body.

It was my good fortune to be trained by poverty and good
mothers and aunts to do every kind of domestic labor, and
so, until one-and-twenty, I was in full enjoyment of health
and happiness. Then I gave up all domestic employments
for study and teaching, and in ten years I ruined my health,
while my younger sisters and friends suffered in the same
mistaken course. And my experience has been repeated all
over the land, until there is such decay of female constitu
tions and health, as alarms, and justly alarms, every well-in
formed person.

After twenty years of invalidism, I have been restored to
perfect health of body and mind, and wholly by a strict obe
dience to the laws of health and happiness, which I now com
mend to your especial attention, with the hope and prayer
that by obedience to them you may save yourselves and
households from unspeakable future miseries.

I wish I could give you all the evidence that I have gain
ed to prove that woman's work in the household might be so
conducted as to be agreeable, tasteful, and promotive of both

17

grace and beauty of person. But this never can be general
ly credited till women of high culture set the example of
training their sons and daughters, instead of hired servants
alone, to be their domestic helpers.

According to the present tendency of wealth and culture,
it is women of moderate or humble means who will train
their own children to health and happiness, and rear prosper
ous families. Meantime, the rich women will have large
houses, many servants, poor health, and little domestic com
fort, while they train the children of foreigners to do family
work, and in a way that will satisfy neither mistress nor
servant ; for a woman who does not work herself is rarely
able to properly teach others. Choose wisely, then, O youth
ful mother and housekeeper ! train yourself to wholesome
labor and intelligent direction, and be prepared to educate
a cheerful and healthful flock of your own children.

Your friend and well-wisher,

CATHARINE E. BEECHER.
NEW YORK, April 2, 1873.

18 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

CHAPTER II.

MARKETING AND THE CARE OF MEATS.

EVERY young woman, at some period of her life, may need
the instructions of this chapter. Thousands will have the
immediate care of buying meats for the family ; and even
those who are not themselves obliged to go to market,
should have the knowledge which will enable them to direct
their servants what and how to buy, and to judge whether
the household, under their management, is properly served
or not. Nothing so thoroughly insures the intelligent obe
dience of orders, as evidence that the person ordering knows
exactly what is wanted.

The directions given in this and the ensuing chapters on
meats, were carefully written, first in Cincinnati, with the
counsel and advice of business men practically engaged in
such matters. They have been recently rewritten in Hart
ford, Conn., after, consultation with intelligent butchers and
grocers.

MARKETING.

BEEF.

The animal, when slaughtered, should be bled very thor
oughly. The care taken by the Jews in this and other points
draws custom from &ther sects to their markets. The skin
is tanned for leather, and the fat is used for candles and
other purposes. The tail is used for soups, and the liver,
heart, and tripe are also used for cooking. The body is split
into two parts, through the back-bone, and each half is di
vided as marked in the drawing on following page. There
are diverse modes of cutting and naming the parts, butchers
in New England, in New York, in the South, and in the
West, all making some slight differences ; but the following
is the most common method.

MARKETING AND CARE OF MEATS.

19

Fig. 1.

1. The head : frequently used for mince-pies ; vsometimes it is tried out for
oil, and then the bones are used for fertilizers. The horns are used to make
buttons and combs, and various other things. 2. The neck; used for soups
and stews. 3. The chuck-rib, or shoulder, having four ribs. It is used for
corning, stews, and soup, and some say the best steaks are from this piece.
4. The front of the shoulder, or the shoulder-clod, which is sometimes called
the brisket. 5." The back of the shoulder ; used for corning, soups, and stews.
G. The fore-shin, or leg ; used for soups. 7, 7. The plate-pieces; the front
one is called the brisket, (as is also 4,) and is used for corning, soups, and
stews. The back plate-piece is called the flank, and is divided into the thick
flank, or upper sirloin, and the lower flank. These are for roasting and
corning. 8. The standing ribs, divided into first, second, and third cuts;
used for roasting. The second cut is the best of the three. 9. The sirloin,
which is the best roasting piece. 10. The sirloin steak and the porter-house
steak; used for broiling. 11. The rump, or aitch-bone; used for soup or
corning, or to cook a la mode. 12. The round, or buttock ; used for corning,
or for a la mode; also for dried beef. 13. The hock, or hind shank; used
for soups.

In selecting Beef, choose that which has a loose grain,
easily yielding to pressure, of a clear red, with whitish fat.
If the lean is purplish, and the fat yellW, it is poor beef.
Beef long kept turns a darker color than fresh killed. Stall-
fed beef has a lighter'color than grass-fed.

Ox beef is the best, and next, that of a heifer.

In cold weather, it is economical to buy a hind quarter ;
have it cut up, and what is not wanted immediately, pack
with snow in a barrel. All meats grow tender by keeping.
Do not let meats freeze ; if they do, thaw them in cold water,
and do not cook them till fully thawed. A piece weighing
ten pounds requires ten or twelve hours to thaw.

20

THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

Fig. 2.

VEAL.

The calf should not be slaughtered until it is six weeks
old. Spring is the best time for veal. It is divided as marked
in the drawing.

1. The head, sold with the pluck, which includes the heart, liver, and
sweet-breads. 2. The rack, including the neck ; used for stews, pot-pies, and
broths ; also for chops and roasting. 3. The shoulder. This, and also half
the rack and ribs of the fore-quarter, are sometimes roasted, and sometimes
used for stews, broths, and cutlets. 4. The fore-shank, or knuckle ; used for
broths. 5. The breast ; used for stews and soups ; also to "stuff and bake.
6. The loin ; used for roasting. 7. The fillet, or leg, including the hind
flank ; used for cutlets, or to stuff and boil, or to stuff and roast, or bake.
8. The hind shank, or hock, or knuckle ; used for soups. The feet are used
for jelly.

In selecting Veal, take that which is firm and dry, and the
joints stiff, having the lean a delicate red, the kidney covered
with fat, and the fat very white. If you buy the head, see
that the eyes are plump and lively, and not dull and sunk
in the head. I you buy the legs, get those which are not
skinned, as the skin is good for jelly or soup.

Fig. 3.

MUTTON.
1. The shoulder; for boiling or corning. 2, 2. The neck and rack; for

MARKETING AND CAKE OF MEATS. 21

boiling or corning. 3. The loin ; is roasted, or broiled as chops. 4. The
leg ; is boiled, or broiled, or stuffed and roasted. Many salt and smoke the
leg, and call it smoked venison. 5. The breast ; for boiling or corning.

In choosing Mutton, take that which is bright red and
close-grained, with firm and white fat. The meat should feel
tender and springy on pressure. Notice the vein on the
neck of the fore-quarter, which should be a fine blue.

Fig. 4.

PORK.

1. The leg, or ham ; used for smoking. 2. The hind loin. 3. The fore
loin. 4. The spare-rib ; for roasting ; sometimes including all the ribs. 5.
The hand, or shoulder ; sometimes smoked, and sometimes corned and boiled.
6. The belly, or spring, for coming or salting down. The feet are used for
jelly, head-cheese, and souse.

In selecting Pork, if young, the lean can easily be broken
when pinched, and the skin can be indented by nipping with
the fingers. The fat also will be white and soft. Thin rind
is best.

In selecting Hams, run a knife along the bone, and if it
comes out clean, the ham is good ; but if it comes out smear
ed, it is spoiled. Good bacon has white fat, and the lean ad
heres closely to the bone. If the bacon has yellow streaks,
it is rusty, and not fit to use.

In selecting Poultry, choose those that are full grown, but
not old. When young and fresh-killed, the skin is thin and
tender, the joints not very stiff, and the eyes full and bright.
The breast-bone shows the age, as it easily yields to press
ure if young, and is tough when old. If young, you can with
a pin easily tear the skin. A goose, when old, has red and

22 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

hairy legs; but when young, they are yellow, and have few
hairs. The pin-feathers are the roots of feathers, which break
off and remain in the skin, and always indicate a young bird.
When very neatly dressed, they are pulled out.

Poultry and birds ought to be killed by having the head
cut off, and then hung up by the legs to bleed freely. This
makes the flesh white and more healthful.

In selecting Fish, take those that are firm and thick, hav
ing stiff fins and bright scales, the gills bright red, and the
eyes full and prominent. When fish are long out of water,
they grow soft, the fins bend easily, the scales are dim, the
gills grow dark, and the eyes sink and shrink away. Be sure
and have them dressed immediately; sprinkle them with salt,
and use them, if possible, the same day. In warm weather,
put them in ice, or corning, for the next day.

Shell-fish can be decided upon only by the smell. Lob
sters are not good unless alive, or else boiled before offered
'for sale. t They are black when alive, and red when boiled.
When to be boiled, they are to be put alive into boiling
water, which is the quickest and least cruel way to end their
life.

THE CABE OF MEATS.

In hot weather, if there is no refrigerator, then wipe meat
dry, sprinkle on a little salt and pepper, and hang in the cel
lar. Or, still better, wrap it, thus prepared, in a dry cloth,
and cover it with charcoal or with wood-ashes. Mutton,
wrapped in a cloth wet with vinegar, and laid on the ground
of a dry cellar, keeps well and improves in tenderness.

Hang meat a day or two after it is killed before corning it.

In winter, meat is kept finely if well packed in snow, with
out salting ; but some say it lessens the sweetness.

Frozen meat must be thawed in cold water, and not cook
ed till entirely thawed. .

Beef and mutton are improved by keeping as long as they
remain sweet. If meat begins to taint, wash it, and rub it
with powdered charcoal, which often removes the taint.

MAKKETING AND CAEE OF MEATS. 23

Sometimes rubbing with salt will cure it. Soda water is
good also.

Take all the kernels out that you will find in the round
and thick end of the flank of beef, and in the fat, and fill the
holes with salt. This will preserve it longer.

Salt your meat, in summer, as soon as you receive it.

A pound and a half of salt rubbed into twenty-five pounds
of beef, will corn it so as to last several days in ordinary
warm weather ; or put it in strong brine.

In most books of recipes there are several different ones for
corning, for curing pork hams, and for other uses, while an in
experienced person is at a loss to know which is best. The
recipes here given are decided to be the best, after an exami
nation of quite a variety, by the writer, who has resided where
they were used; and she knows that the very best results
are secured by these directions. These also are pronounced
the best by business men of large experience.

To Salt down Beef to keep the Year round. One hundred pounds of
beef ; four quarts of rock-salt, pounded fine ; four ounces of saltpetre, pound
ed fine ; four pounds of brown sugar. Mix well. Put a layer of meat on
the bottom of the ban-el, with a thin layer of this mixture under it. Pack
the meat in layers, and between each put equal proportions of tbis mixture,
allowing a little more to the top layers. Then pour in brine till the barrel is
full.

To cleanse Calf's Head and Feet. Wash clean, and sprinkle pounded res
in over the hair ; dip in boiling water and take out immediately, and then
scrape them clean ; then soak them in water for four days, changing the
water every day.

To prepare Rennet. Take the stomach of a new-killed calf, and do not
wash it, as it weakens the gastric juice. Hang it in a cool and dry place
five days or so ; then turn the inside out, and slip off the curds with the
hand. Then fill it with salt, with a little saltpetre mixed in, and lay it in a
stone pot, pouring on a tea-spoonful of vinegar, and sprinkling on a handful
of salt. Cover it closely, and keep for use. After six weeks, take a piece
four inches square and put it in a bottle with five gills of cold water and two
gills of rose brandy ; stop it close, and shake it when you use it. A table-
spoonful is enough for a quart of milk.

To Salt down Fish. Scale, cut off the heads, open down the back, and re
move most of the spine, to have them keep better. Lay them in salt water

24 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

two hours, to extract blood. Sprinkle with fine salt, and let them lie over
night. Then mix one peck of coarse and fine salt, one ounce of saltpetre,
(or half an ounce of saltpetre and half an ounce of saleratus,) and one pound
of sugar. Then pack in a firkin. Begin with a layer of salt, then a layer
of fish, skin downward. A peck of salt will answer for twenty-five shad,
and other fish in proportion.

As in most country families, when meat is salted for the
year's use, pork is the meat most generally and most largely
relied upon, considerable space is devoted to its proper prep
aration. Special attention is given to various modes of cur
ing and preserving it.

To try out Lard. Take what is called the leaves, and take off all the skin,
cut it into pieces an inch square, put it into a clean pot over a slow fire, and
try it till the scraps look a reddish-brown ; take great care not to let it burn,
which would spoil the whole. Then strain it through a strong cloth, into a
stone pot, and set it away for use.

Take the fat to which the smaller intestines are attached, (not the large
ones,) and the flabby pieces of pork not fit for salting, try these in the same
way, and set the fat thus obtained where it will freeze, and by spring the
strong taste will be gone, and then it can be used for frying. A tea-cup of
water prevents burning while trying.

Corn-fed pork is best. Pork made by still-house slops is
almost poisonous, and hogs that live on offal never furnish
healthful food. If hogs are properly fed, the pork is not un-
healthful.

Pork with kernels in it is measly, and is unwholesome.

A thick skin shows that the pork is old, and that it re
quires more time to boil. If bought pork is very salt, soak
it some hours. Do not let pork freeze, if you intend to salt it.

The gentleman who uses the following recipe for curing
pork hams, says it has these advantages over all others he
has tried or heard of, namely, the hams thus cured are sweet
er than by any other method ; they are more solid and ten
der, and are cured in less than half the time. Moreover, they
do not attract flies so much as other methods :

Recipe for Molasses-cure'd Hams. Moisten every part of the ham with
molasses, and then for every hundred pounds use one quart of fine salt, and
four ounces of saltpetre, rubbing them in very thoroughly at every point.
Put the hams thus prepared in a tight cask for four days. Then rub again

MAKKETING AND CAKE OF MEATS. 25

with molasses and one quart of salt, and return the hams to the cask for four
days. Repeat this the third and the fourth time, and then smoke the hams.
This process takes only sixteen days, while other methods require five or six
weeks.

The following is the best recipe for the ordinary mode of
curing hams ; and the brine or pickle thus prepared is equal
ly good for corning and all other purposes for which brine is
used. Some persons use saleratus instead of the saltpetre,
and others use half and half of each, and say it is an improve
ment:

Brine or Pickle for corning Hams, Beef, Pork, and Hung Beef. Four gal
lons of water ; two pounds of rock-salt, and a little more of common salt ; two
ounces of saltpetre ; one quart of molasses. Mix, but do not boil. Put the
hams in a barrel and pour this over them, and keep them covered with it for
six weeks. If more brine is needed, make it in the same proportions.

Brine for Beef, Pork, Tongues, and Hung Beef .Four gallons of water ;
one and a half pounds of sugar ; one ounce of saltpetre. ; one ounce of sale
ratus. Add salt ; and if it is for use only a month or two, use six pounds of
salt ; if for all the year, use nine pounds. In hot weather, rub the meat with
salt before putting it in, and let it lie for three hours, to extract the blood.
When tongues and hung beef are taken out, wash the pieces, and, when
smoked, put them in paper bags, and hang in a dry place.

Brine by Measure, easily made. One gallon of cold water ; one quart of
rock-salt ; and two of blown salt ; one heaping table-spoonful of saltpetre, (or
half as much of saleratus, with half a table-spoonful of saltpetre ;) six heaping
table-spoonfuls of brown sugar. Mix, but not boil. Keep it as long as salt
remains undissolved at bottom. When scum rises, add more salt, sugar, salt
petre, and soda.

To Salt down Pork. Allow a peck of salt for sixty pounds. Cover the
bottom of the barrel with salt an inch deep. Put down one layer of pork,
and cover that with salt half an inch thick. Continue thus till the barrel is
full. Then pour in as much strong brine as the barrel will receive. Keep
coarse salt between all pieces, so that the brine can circulate. When a white
scum or bloody-looking matter rises on the top, scald the brine and add more
salt. Leave out bloody and lean pieces for sausages. Pack as tight as pos
sible, the rind next the barrel ; and let it be always kept under the brine.
Some use a stone for this purpose. In salting down a new supply, take the
old brine, boil it down and remove all the scum, and then use it to pour over
the pork. The pork may be used in six weeks after salting.

26 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

To prepare Cases for Sausages. Empty the cases, taking care not to tear
them. Wash them thoroughly, and cut into lengths of two yards each.
Then take a candle-rod, and fastening one end of a case to the top of it, turn
the case inside outward. When all are turned, wash very thoroughly, and
scrape them with a scraper made for the purpose, keeping them in wann wa
ter till ready to scrape. Throw them into salt and water to soak till used.
It is a very difficult job to scrape them clean without tearing them. When
finished, they look transparent and very thin.

Sausage-Meat. Take one third fat and two thirds lean pork, and chop it;
and then to every twelve pounds of meat add twelve large even spoonfuls of
pounded salt, nine of sifted sage, and six of sifted black pepper. Some like
a little summer-savory. Keep it in a cool and dry place.

Another Recipe. To twenty-five pounds of chopped meat, which should
be one third fat and two thirds lean, put twenty spoonfuls of sage, twenty-five
of salt, ten of pepper, and four of summer-savory.

Bologna Sausages. Take equal portions of veal, .pork, and ham ; chop
them fine ; season with sweet herbs and pepper ; put them, in cases ; boil them
till tender, and then dry them.

To smoke Hams. Make a small building of boards, nailing strips over the
cracks to confine the smoke. Have within cross-sticks, on which to hang the
hams. Have only one opening at top, at the end farthest from the fire. Set
it up so high that a small stove can be set under or very near it, with the
smoke-pipe entering the floor at the opposite end from the slide. These di-

Fig. 5.

MARKETING AND CAKE OF MEATS. 27

rections are for a wooden house, and it is better thus than to have a fire with
in a brick house, because too much warmth lessens the flavor and tenderness
of the hams. Change the position of the hams once or twice, that all may
be treated alike. When this can not be done, use an inverted barrel or hogs
head, with a hole for the smoke to escape, and resting on stones ; and keep a
small, smouldering fire. Cobs are best, as giving a better flavor ; and brands
or chips of walnut wood are next best. Keeping a small fire a longer time is
better than quicker smoking, as too much heat gives the hams a strong taste,
and they are less sweet.
The house and barrel are shown in Fig. 5, on preceding page.

28 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

CHAPTER HI.

STEWS AND SOUPS.

IN using salt and pepper, diversities of strength make a
difficulty in giving very exact directions ; so also do inequal
ities in the size of spoons and tumblers. But so much can
be done, that a housekeeper, after one trial, can give exact
directions to her cook, or with a pencil alter the recipe.

It is a great convenience to have recipes that employ meas
ures which all families have on hand, so as not to use steel
yards and balances. The following will be found the most
convenient :

A medium size tea-spoon, even full, equals 60 drops, or one eighth of an
ounce.

A medium size table-spoon, even full, equals two tea-spoonfuls.

One ounce equals eight even tea-spoonfuls, or four table-spoonfuls.

One gill equals eight even table-spoonfuls.

Half a gill equals four even table-spoonfuls.

Two gills equal half a pint, and four gills equal one pint.

One common size tumbler equals half a pint, or two gills.

One pint equals two tumblerfuls, or four gills.

One quart equals four tumblerfuls, or eight gills.

Four quarts equal one gallon.

Four gallons equal one peck.

Four pecks equal one bushel.

A quart of sifted flour, heaped, a sifted quart of sugar, and a softened
quart of butter each weigh about a pound, and so nearly that measuring is
as good as weighing.

Water is heavier, and a pint of water weighs nearly a pound.

Ten eggs weigh about one pound.

The most economical modes of cooking, as to time, care,
and labor, are stews, soups, and hashes ; and when properly
seasoned, they are great favorites, especially with children.

Below is a drawing of a stew and soup-kettle that any tin
man can easily make. Its advantages are, that, after the
meat is put in, there is no danger of scorching, and no watch
ing is required, except to keep up the fire aright, so as to

STEWS AND SOUPS. 29

have a steady simmering. Another advantage is, that, by
the tight cover, the steam and flavors are confined, and the
cooking thus improved. Then, in taking up the stew, it of
fers several conveniences, as will be found on trial.

Fig. 6.

This stew-kettle consists of two pans, the inner one not
fastened, but fitting tight to the outer, with holes the size of
a large pin-head commencing half an inch from the bottom
and continuing to within two inches of the top of the under
pan. It has a flat lid, on which may be placed a weight, to
confine steam and flavors. The holes may be an inch apart.
The size of the kettle must depend on the size of the family :
it may be of any desired size.

General Directions.

Generally, in making stews, use soft water ; but when only
hard is at hand, put in half a tea-spoonful of soda to every
IJWQ quarts of water. Put in all the bones and gristle first,
breaking the bones thoroughly.

Rub fresh meat with salt, and put it in cold water, for
soups, as this extracts the juices.

As soon as water begins to boil, skim repeatedly till no
more scum rises.

Never let water boil hard for soups or stews ; for

" Meat fast boiled
Is meat half spoiled."

Let the water simmer gently and not stop simmering long,
as this injures both looks and flavor.

30 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

Keep in water enough to cover the meat, or it becomes
hard and dark.

In preparing for soups, it is best to make a good deal of
broth at one time ; cool it slowly, first removing sediment
by straining through a colander. When cold, remove the
fat from the top, and keep the liquor for soups and gravies.
This is called stocJc, and as such should have no other season
ing than salt. The other seasoning is to be put in when
heated and combined with other material for soup.

In hot weather, stock will keep only a day or two ; but in
cool weather, three or four days. If vegetables were boiled
in it, it would turn sour sooner.

Remnants of cooked meats may be used together for soup ;
but take care that none is tainted, thus spoiling all. Liquor
in which corned beef is boiled should be saved to mix with
stock of fresh meat, and then little or no salt is needed. The
recipes for stews that follow will make good soups by add
ing more water.

Beef and Potato Stew. Cut up four pounds of beef into strips three inches
by two, and put them into two quarts of water, with one onion sliced very
fine. Let this simmer four hours. Add in half a cup of warm water six
even tea-spoonfuls of salt, three of sugar, three of vinegar, a tea-spoonful of
black pepper, and six heaping tea-spoonfuls of flower, lumps rubbed out.
Pour these upon the meat ; cut up, slice, and add six potatoes, and let all
stew till the meat is very tender, and the potatoes are soft. If potatoes are
omitted, leave out half a tea-spoonful of salt and a pinch of the pepper.

Be sure and skim very thoroughly when boiling commences, and do not
allow hard boiling, but only a gentle simmer.

French Mutton and Turnip Stew. Cut up two pounds of mutton, with a
little of the fat, into two-inch squares. Rub two heaping table-spoonfuls of
butter into two table- spoonfuls of flour, and stir it into the meat, with water
just enough to^over it. Add three even tea-spoonfuls of salt, half a one of
pepper, four of sugar, a sprig of parsley, and a small onion, sliced very fine.
Skim as soon as it begins to boil, and then add thirty pieces of turnips, each
an inch square, that have been fried brown. Let all stew till meat and tur
nips are tender ; throw out the parsley, and serve with the turnips in the
centre, and the meat around it.

A Simple Mutton Stew. Cut four pounds of mutton into two-inch squares,
add four even tea-spoonfuls of salt, four of sugar, half a one of pepper, and a
small onion, sliced fine. Stew three hours, in two quarts of water, and then

STEWS AND SOUPS. 31

thicken with five tea-spoonfuls of flour, lumps rubbed out. Six tomatoes, or
some tomato catsup, improves this.

A Beef Stew, with Vegetable Flavors. Cut up four pounds of beef into
two-inch squares, and add two quarts of water. Let it stew one hour. Then
add one sliced onion, two sliced turnips, two sliced carrots, four sliced toma
toes, four heaping tea-spoonfuls of salt, one small tea-spoonful of pepper, four
tea-spoonfuls of sugar, and five cloves. Let it stew till there is only about
a tea-cupful of gravy, and thicken this with a little flour.

The above may be cooked without cutting up the meat, and it is good
eaten cold. Pressing it under a weight improves it, and so does putting it
in an oven for half an hour.

A Stew of Chicken, Duck, or Turkey, with Celery or Tomatoes. Take a
quart of lukewarm water, and add two heaping tea-spoonfuls of salt, two of
sugar, and a salt-spoonful of pepper. Cut up a large head of celery, or four
large tomatoes. Cut the fowl into eight or more pieces, and let all simmer
together two hours, or till the meat is very tender. Then add two table-spoon
fuls of butter, worked into as much flour, and let it simmer fifteen minutes.

A Favorite Irish Stew. Cut two pounds of mutton into pieces two inches
square ; add a little of the chopped fat, three tea-spoonfuls of salt, half a one
of black pepper, two of sugar, two sliced onions, and a quart of water. Let
them simmer half an hour, and then add six peeled potatoes, cut in quar
ters, that have soaked in cold water an hour. Let the whole stew an hour
longer," or rather till the meat is very tender. Skim it at first and just
before taking up.

Veal Stew. Put a knuckle of veal into two quarts of boiling water, with
three tea-spoonfuls of salt and half a tea-spoonful of ground pepper. Then
chop fine and tie in a muslin rag one carrot, two small onions, a small
bunch of summer savory, and another of parsley ; put them in the water,
and let them stew three or four hours, till the meat is very tender. There
should only be about half a pint of gravy at the bottom. Pour in boiling
water, if needed. Strain the gravy, and thicken with four spoonfuls of flour
or potato-starch, and let it boil up a minute only. This is improved by add
ing at first half a pound of salt pork or ham, cut in strips. When this is
done, no salt is to be used, or only one tea-spoonful. Tomatoes improve it.

Another. Cut four pounds of veal into strips one inch thick and three
inches long, and peel and soak twelve potatoes cut into slices half an inch
thick. Then put a layer of pork at the bottom, and alternate layers of pota
toes and veal, with a layer of salt pork on the top. Put three tea-spoonfuls
of salt, half a one of pepper, four of sugar, and six tea-spoonfuls of flour,
with lumps rubbed out, into two quarts of water. Pour all upon the veal and
potatoes, and let them stew till the veal is very tender. Add twelve peeled
and sliced tomatoes, which will improve this.

32 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

A Favorite Turkish Stew, (called Pilaff.) Take some rich broth, sea
soned to the taste with pepper, salt, and tomato catsup. Add two tea-cups
of rice, and let it simmer till the rice absorbs as much as it will take up with
out losing its form say about fifteen minutes. Cut up a chicken, and sea
son it with salt and pepper, and fry it in sweet butter or cream. Then put
the chicken in the centre of the rice, and cover it entirely with rice. Then
pour on half a pound of melted butter, and let it stand where it is hot, and
yet will not fry, for fifteen minutes. To be served hot.

A Rice or Hominy Stew. Take four pounds of any kind of fresh meat,
cut into pieces two inches square, and put in the stew-pan with one pint of
hominy. Then put into two quarts of warm water five heaping tea-spoon
fuls of salt, four of sugar, half a one of pepper, and three of vinegar. Let
them simmer four or five hours, till the meat is very tender. A tea-cup of
rice may be used instead of hominy. A little salt pork improves this, as well
as all other stews.

A Favorite English Beef Stew. Simmer a shank or hock of beef in four
quarts of water, with four heaping table-spoonfuls of salt, until the beef is
soft and the water reduced to about two quarts. Then add peeled and soaked
potatoes cut into thick slices, two tea-spoonfuls of pepper, two of sweet mar
joram, and two of either thyme or summer savory. Stew till the potatoes
are soft, add bread-crumbs and more salt if needful. One or two onions cut
fine, and put in at first, improve it for most persons.

French Stew, or Pot au Feu. Put three pounds of fresh meat into three
quarts of cold water, with two tea-spoonfuls of salt. When it begins to sim
mer, add a gill of cold water, and skim thoroughly. Then add a quarter of a
pound of liver, a medium-sized carrot sliced, two small turnips, two middle-
sized leeks, half a head of celery, one sprig of parsley, a bay leaf, one onion
with two cloves stuck in it, and two cloves of garlic. Simmer five hours.
Strain the broth into a soup-dish, and serve the meat and vegetables on a
platter. If more water is needed, add that which is boiling.

When the dish is served all together, it is called Pot au Feu, and the vessel
in which it is cooked has the same name. It is the common dish of the
French peasantry.

The following is the receipe for the favorite Spanish dish.
A superior housekeeper tried it, and it was so much liked
that several of her family were harmed by eating too much :

Spanish Olla Podrida. Fry four ounces of salt pork in the pot, and, when
partly done, add two pounds of fresh beef and a quarter of a pound of ham.
Add two tea-spoonfuls of salt in cold water, and only enough just to cover
the meat. Skim carefully the first half-hour, and then add a gill of peas, (if
dried, soak them an hour first,) half ahead of cabbage, one carrot, one turnip,

STEWS AND SOUPS. 33

two leeks, three stalks of celery, three stalks of parsley, two stalks of thyme,
two cloves, two onions sliced, two cloves of garlic, ten pepper-corns, and a
pinch of powdered mace or nutmeg. Simmer steadily for five hours. When
the water is too low, add that which is hoiling. Put the meat on a platter,
and the vegetables around it. Strain the liquor on to toasted bread in a
soup-dish.

All these articles can be obtained at grocers' or markets in our large cities,
and of course can be procured in the country.

French Mutton Stew. Take a leg of mutton and remove the large bone,
leaving the bone at the small end as a handle ; cut off also the bone below the
knuckle, and fix it with skewers.

Put it in a stew-pan with a pinch of allspice, four onions, two cloves, two
carrots, each cut in four pieces, a small bunch of parsley, two bay leaves, three
sprigs of thyme, and salt and pepper to the taste. Add two ounces of bacon
cut in slices, a quarter of a pint of broth, and cold watej enough to cover it.
After one hour of simmering, add a wine-glass of French brandy.

Let them simmer five hours longer, and then dish it ; strain the sauce on
it, and serve.

The American housekeeper by experiments can modify
these foreign recipes to meet the taste of her family, and will
find them economical modes of cooking, as well as healthful
to most persons.

FRENCH MODES OF COOKING SOUPS AND STEWS.

The writer has examined the recipes of Gouffee, the chief
French cook of the Queen of England, set forth in the ex
pensive Royal Cook-Book ; also those of Soyer and Professor
Blot. She and her friends also have tested many of their
recipes.

The following are most of the flavors used by them in
cooking soups, stews, hashes, etc. Combination of these is
recommended by those authors in these proportions :

One fourth of an ounce of thyme.

One fourth of an ounce of bay leaf.

One eighth of an ounce of marjoram.

One eighth of an ounce of rosemary.

Dry the above when fresh, mix in a mortar, and keep them corked tight in

glass bottle.

Also the following in these proportions :

2*

34 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

Half an ounce of nutmeg.

Half an ounce of cloves.

One fourth of an ounce of black pepper.

One eighth of an ounce of Cayenne pepper.

Pound, mix, and keep corked tight in glass. In using these with salt, put
one ounce of the last recipe to four ounces of salt. In making force-meat
and hashes, use at the rate of one ounce of this spiced salt to three pounds
of meat.

Soup Powder. Two ounces of parsley.

Two ounces of winter savory. ,

Two ounces of sweet marjoram.

Two ounces of lemon-thyme.

One ounce of lemon-peel.

One ounce of sweet basil.

Dry, pound, sift, and keep in a tight-corked bottle.

Let the housekeeper add these flavors so that they will
not be strong r , but quite delicate, and then make a rule for
the cooJc.

The peculiar excellence of French cooking is the combina
tion of flavors, so that no one is predominant, and all are del
icate in force and quantity.

SOUPS. 35

CHAPTER IV.

SOUPS.

General Directions.

MOST of the preceding stews will serve also, fairly as soups,
by adding more water. Rub salt into meat for soups, but
not for stews, as the salt extracts the juices ; and in stews
the meat is to be eaten, while in soups properly so called it
is only the liquor that is served. Put meat into cold water
for soups, as slowly heating also extracts the juices. For this
same reason, meat that is boiled for eating should be put
into boiling water to keep the juices in it.

Always skim often, as soon as the water begins to simmer;
and do not add the salt and other seasoning till the scum
ceases to rise.

Do not boil after the juices are extracted, as too much
boiling injures the flavor.

Never cool soup in metal, as there may be poison in the
soldering or other parts.

If you flavor your soup by vegetables, do not boil them
in the soup, but in very little water, which is to be added to
the soup with them, as it contains much of their flavor.

When onion is used for flavor, slice and fry it, and dredge
on a little flour ; add the water in which the vegetables for
soup were boiled, or some meat broth, and then pour it into
the soup. If you flavor with wine, soy, or catsup, put them
into the tureen, and pour the soup upon them, as the flavor
is lessened by putting them into the soup-kettle. Bread
crumbs, toast, or crackers also must be put in the tureen.
Keep soup covered tight while boiling, to keep in flavors.
If water is added, it must be boiling. The rule to guide in
using salt and pepper is a heaping tea-spoonful of salt to a
quart of water, and one-sixth as much pepper. But as tastes
are different, and the salt and pepper vary in strength, the
housekeeper can, on trial, change the recipe with a pencil,

36 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

8&up stock is broth of any kind of meat prepared in large
quantity, to keep on hand for gravies and soups. Beef and
veal make the best stock. One hind shin of beef makes five
quarts of stock, and one hind shin of veal makes three quarts.
Wash and put into twice as much water as you wish to, to
have soup, and simmer five or six hours.

All kinds of bones should be mashed and boiled five or six
hours, to take out all the nutriment, the liquor then strained,
and kept in earthenware or stone, not in tin. Take off the
fat when cool.

Cool broth quickly, and it keeps longer.

Use a flat-bottom kettle, as less likely to scorch.

Soft water is best for soups; a little soda improves hard
water.

Stock will keep three or four days in cool weather ; not so
long in warm. Keep it in a cool place. When used, heat
to boiling point, and then take up and flavor.

Put in the salt and pepper when the meat is thoroughly
done.

Meat soups are best the second day, if warmed slowly and
taken up as soon as heated. If heated too long, they become
insipid.

Thin soups must be strained. If to be made very clear, stir
in one or two well beaten eggs, with the shells, and let it
boil half an hour.

Use the meat of the soup for a hash, warmed together with
a little fat, and well seasoned.

Be very careful, in using bones and cold meats for soups,
that none is tainted, for the soup may be ruined by a single
bit of tainted meat or bone.

Potato Soup. Take six large mealy potatoes, sliced and soaked an hour.
Add one onion, sliced and tied in a rag, a quart of milk, and a quarter of a
pound of salt pork cut in slices. Boil three quarters of an hour, and then
add a table-spoonful of melted butter and a well-beaten egg, mixed in a cup
of milk. This is a favorite soup with many, and easily made. Some omit
the pprk, and use salt and pepper to flavor it, and add one well beaten egg.

Green Corn Soup, This is yery nice made with sweet corn put into sea
soned soup stock.

SOUPS. 37

Plain Beef Soup. Put three pounds of beef and one chopped onion, tied
in a rag, to three quarts of cold water. Simmer till the meat is very soft
say four hours ; then add three tea-spoonfuls of salt, as much sugar, and
half a tea-spoonful of pepper. Any other flavors may be added to suit the
taste. Strain the soup, and save the meat for mince-meat or hash. Half a
dozen sliced tomatoes will much improve this. Some would thicken with
three or four tea-spoonfuls of potato-starch or flour.

Rich Beef Soup. The following is a specimen of soups that are most styl
ish, rich, and demand most care in preparation :

Simmer six pounds of beef for six hours in six quarts of water, using the
bones, broken in small pieces. Cool it, and take off the fat. Next day, an
hour before dinner, take out the meat to use for hash or mince-meat, heat the
liquor, throw in some salt to raise the scum, and skim it well. Then slice
small, and boil in very little water, these vegetables : two turnips, two car
rots, one head of celery, one quart of tomatoes, half a head of small white
cabbage, one pint of green corn or Shaker corn, soaked over night. Cook
the cabbage in two waters, throwing away the first. Boil the soup half an
hour after these are put in. Season with salt, pepper, mace, and wine to
suit the taste.

Green Pea Soup. Boil the pods an hour in a gallon of water. Strain the
liquor, and put into it four pounds of beef or mutton, and simmer one hour.
Then add half the peas contained in half a peck of pods, and boil half an
hour ; then thicken with two great spoonfuls of flour, and season with salt
and pepper. Three tomatoes, sliced, improve this.

Dried Bean Soup or Pea Soup. Soak the beans, if diy, over night, and
then boil till soft. Then strain them through a colander ; and to each quart
of liquor add a tea-spoonful of sugar, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a salt-spoon
ful of pepper. Add a beaten egg, a tea-cup of milk, and two spoonfuls of
butter. A sliced onion improves it for some, and not for others ; also, half
the juice of a lemon when taken up. Canned sweet-corn, or common corn
with sugar added, makes good succotash for winter.

Clam Soup. Wash and boil the clams till they come out of their shells easi
ly ; then chop them, and put them back into the liquor, which should first be
strained. Add a tea-cup of milk for each quart of soup ; thicken with a lit
tle flour, into which has been worked as much butter as it will hold, and sea
son with salt and pepper to suit the taste.

A Vegetable and Meat Soup for Summer. Take three quarts of stock that
is duly seasoned with sugar, salt, and pepper. Add two small onions, chop
ped fine, three small carrots, three small turnips, one stalk of celery, and a pint
of green peas all chopped fine. Let it simmer two hours, and then serve it.

Dried Pea Soup with Salt Pork, Soak a quart of split peas over night in

38 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

soft water. Next morning wash them and put them in four quarts of water,
with a tea-spoonful of sugar, two carrots, two small onions, and one stalk of
celery all cut in small pieces. Let them boil three hours. Boil a pound of
salt pork in another pot for one hour ; take off the skin, and put the pork in
the soup, and then boil one hour longer.

Dried Bean or Pea Soup with Meat Stock. Soak a pint of beans or split
peas over night in soft water. Then boil them in three quarts of soup-stock,
duly seasoned with salt and pepper, with one small onion, one turnip, one
stalk of celery, and six cloves all cut in small pieces. Let it boil four or
five hours. Strain through a colander.

Mutton Soup. Boil four pounds of mutton in four quarts of water, with
four heaping tea-spoonfuls of salt, one even tea-spoonful of pepper, two tea-
spoonfuls of sugar, one small onion, two carrots, and two turnips all cut fine
and one tea-cup of rice or broken macaroni. Boil the meat alone two
hours ; then add the rest, and boil one hour and a half longer.

French Vegetable Soup. Take a leg of lamb, of moderate size, and four
quarts of water. Of potatoes, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and turnips, take a
tea-cupful of each, chopped fine. Salt and black pepper at the rate of one
heaping tea-spoonful of salt to each quart of water, and one sixth as much
black pepper.

Wash the lamb, and put it into the four quarts of cold water. When the
scum rises, take it off carefully with a skimmer. After having pared and
chopped the vegetables, put them into the soup. Carrots require the most
boiling, and should be put in first. This soup requires about three hours to
boil.

Plain Calf's Head Soup. Boil the head and feet in just water enough to
cover them ; when tender, take out the bones, cut in small pieces, and sea
son with marjoram, thyme, cloves, salt, and pepper.

Put all into a pot, with the liquor, and four spoonfuls of butter ; stew gen
tly an hour ; then, just as you take it up, add two or three glasses of port-wine,
and the yelks of three eggs boiled hard.

An Excellent Simple Mutton Soup. Put a piece of the fore-quarter of
mutton into salted water, enough to more than cover it, and simmer it slow
ly two hours. Then peel a dozen turnips, and six tomatoes, and quarter
them, and boil them with the mutton till just tender enough to eat. Thicken
the soup with pearl barley. Some use, instead of tomatoes, the juice and
rind of a lemon. Use half a tea-cup of rice, if you have no pearl barley.

HASHES. 39

CHAPTER V.

HASHES.

THESE are the common ways of spoiling hashes : 1. by fry
ing, instead of merely heating them. Melted butter and oils
are good and healthful when only heated, but are unhealth-
ful when fried. 2. Dredging in flour, which, not being well
cooked, imparts a raw taste of dough. 3. Using too much
water, making them vapid j or too much fat or gravy, making
them gross. 4. Using too much or too little salt and other
seasoning. The following recipes will save from these mis
takes, if exactly followed. "When water is recommended in
these recipes, cold gravy will be better, in which case the
butter may be omitted :

A Seasoned Hash of any Fresh Meats. Chop, but not very fine, any kinds
of fresh meat, but be sure not to put in any that is tainted. To a common
tumblerful of chopped meat put three table-spoonfuls of water, a tea-spoonful
of sugar, a heaping tea-spoonful of salt, a salt-spoonful of pepper, and butter
the size of half an egg. Warm, but do not fry ; and when hot, break in
three eggs, and stir till they are hardened a little; then serve. Bread
crumbs may be added. This may be put on buttered toast or served alone.
This and all the following hashes may be varied in flavor, by adding, in deli
cate proportions, the mixed flavors on another page.

A Hash of Cold Fresh Meats and Potatoes. Take two tumblerfuls of meat
of any kind, chopped. Add as much cold potatoes, also chopped, two table-
spoonfuls of sweet butter in six table-spoonfuls of hot water, and two tea-
spoonfuls of salt. Sprinkle half a tea-spoonful of pepper over the meat, and
also a spoonful of sugar ; mix all, and warm about twenty minutes, but not
so as to boil or fry. Tom'atoes improve this.

Meat Hash with Eggs, (very nice.) To a tumblerful of fresh cold meat
cut in pieces about the size of peas, put three table-spoonfuls of hot water,
two spoonfuls of butter, a tea-spoonful of sugar, two tea-spoonfuls of salt,
and a salt-spoonful of pepper. Mix all, warm but not fry ; and when hot,
break in four eggs, and stir till they are hardened. Spread on buttered toast
or serve alone. "When eggs are used, the meat should not be chopped fine.

40 THE HOUSEKEEPEK AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

A Meat Hash with Tomatoes. Cut up a pint of tomatoes into a sauce
pan, and when boiling-hot, add the cold meat in thin slices, with a table-
spoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper, at the rate of a tea-spoonful of salt
and half a tea-spoonful of pepper to each tumblerful of meat.

A Nice Beef Hash. Make a gravy of melted butter, or take cold gravy ;
season with salt, pepper, and currant jelly or vinegar. Cut cold roast beef
or the remnants of cold steak into mouthfuls, and put into the gravy till
heated, but not to fry.

Or, season this gravy with the crushed juice of fresh tomatoes or tomato
catsup.

A Simple and Excellent Veal Hash. Chop cold veal very fine ; butter a
pudding-dish, and make alternate layers of veal and powdered crackers till
the dish is full, the first layer of meat being at the bottom. Then beat up
two eggs, and add a pint or less of milk, seasoned well with salt and pepper,
and two or three spoonfuls of melted butter. Pour this over the meat and
crackers ; cover with a plate, and bake about half an hour. Remove the
plate awhile, and let the top brown a little. This is the best way to cook
veal, and children are very fond of it.

Kice and Cold Meats. Chop remnants of fresh meats with salt pork, or
cold ham. Season with salt and pepper and a little sugar ; add two eggs
and a little butter. Then make alternate layers with this and slices of cold
boiled rice, and bake it half an hour.

Bread-Crumbs and Cold Meats. Take any remnants of cooked fresh
meats, and chop them fine with bits of ham or salt pork. Season with salt
and pepper ; add three eggs and a little milk, and then thicken with pounded
bread-crumbs. Bake it as a pudding, or warm it for a hash, or cook it in
flat cakes on a griddle.

A Meat Hash with Bread-Crumbs. One tea-spoonful of flour, (or potato
or corn-starch,) wet in four tea-spoonfuls of cold water. Stir it into a tea-
cupful of boiling water, and put in a salt-spoonful of pepper, two tea-spoonfuls
of salt, a tea-spoonful of sugar, and two table-spoonfuls of sweet butter. Use
cold gravy instead of butter, if you have it. Set this in a stew-pan where it
will be kept hot, but not fry. Chop the meat very fine, and mix with it
while chopping half as much dried bread-crumbs. Put this into the gravy,
and let it heat only ten minutes, and then serve it on buttered toast. Toma
toes, one or two, improve thi?.,

A Hash of Cold Beefsteak alone or with Potatoes and Turnips. Make a
paste with a heaping tea -spoonful of flour in two tea -spoonfuls of water.
Stir it into a tea-cup and a half of boiling water, with a salt-spoonful of black
pepper, a half tea-spoonful of sugar, and two tea-spoonfuls of salt. Let it
stand where it will be hot but not boil. Cut the beef into mouthfuls, and also

HASHES. 41

as much cold boiled potatoes and half as much boiled turnips. Mix all, and
then add two table-spoonfuls of butter, (or some cold gravy,) and a table-
spoonful of tomato catsup, or two sliced tomatoes. Warm, but do not fry,
for ten minutes.

When beef gravy is used, take less salt and pepper.

This is a good recipe for cold beef without vegetables.

A Hash of Cold Mutton (or Venison) and Vegetables. Prepare as in the
preceding recipe, but add one onion sliced fine, to hide the strong mutton
taste. If onion is left out, put in a wine-glass of grape or currant jelly. If
the vegetables are left out, put in a little less pepper and salt.

A Hash of Corned Beef. Chop the meat very fine, fat and lean together ;
add twice as much cold potatoes chopped fine. For each tumblerful of this
add butter half the size of a hen's egg melted in half a tea-cup of hot water,
a salt-spoonful of pepper and another of salt. Heat very hot, but do not let
it fry. Some would add parsley or other sweet herb.

A Hash of Cold Ham. Chop, not very fine, fat and lean together. Add
twice the quantity of bread-crumbs chopped, but not fine. Heat it hot, then
break in two eggs for every tumblerful of the hash. A tea-spoonful of sugar
improves it, and a salt-spoonful of pepper.

Meats warmed over. Veal is best made into hashes. If it is liked more
simply cooked, chop it fine, put in water just enough to moisten it, butter,
salt, pepper, and a little juice of a lemon. Some like a little lemon-rind
grated in. Heat it through, but do not let it fry. Put it on buttered toast,
and garnish it with slices of lemon.

Cold salted or fresh beef is good chopped fine with pepper, salt, and cat
sup, and water enough to moisten a little. Add some butter just before tak
ing it up, and do not let it fry, only heat it hot. It injures cooked meat to
cook it again. Cold fowls make a nice dish to have them cut up in mouth-
fuls ; add some of the gravy and giblet sauce, a little butter and pepper, and
then heat them through.

A nice Way of Cooking Cold Meats, Chop the meat fine, add salt, pepper,
a little onion, or else tomato catsup ; fill a tin bread-pan one third full, cover
it over with boiled potatoes salted and mashed with cream or milk, lay bits
of butter on the top, and set it into a Dutch or stove oven for fifteen or twen
ty minutes.

A Hash of Cold Meat for Dinner, (very good.) Peel six large tomatoes
and one onion, and slice them. Add a spoonful of sugar, salt and pepper,
and a bit of butter the size of a hen's egg, and half a pint of cold water.
Shave up the meat into small bits, as thin as thick pasteboard. Dredge
flour over it, say two tea-spoonfuls, or a little less. Simmer the meat with
all the rest for half an hour and then serve it, and it is very fine.

42 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

Dried tomatoes can be used. When you have no tomatoes, make a gravy
with water, pepper, salt, and butter, or cold gravy ; slice an onion in it, add
tomato catsup, (two or three spoonfuls,) and then prepare the meat as above,
and simmer it in this gravy half an hour.

Souse. Cleanse pigs' ears and feet and soak them a week in salt and wa
ter, changing the water every other day. Boil eight or ten hours till tender.
When cold, put on salt, and pour on hot spiced vinegar. Warm them in
lard or butter.

Tripe. Scrape and scour it thoroughly, soak it in salt and water a week,
changing it every other day. Boil it eight or ten hours, till tender; then
pour on spiced hot vinegar and broil it.

BOILED MEATS. 43

CHAPTER VI.

BOILED MEATS.

An Excellent Way to cook Tough Beef. To eight pounds of beef put four
quarts of water, two table-spoonfuls of salt, half a tea-spoonful of pepper, three
tea-spoonfuls of vinegar, and four tea-spoonfuls of sugar. Put it on at eight
in the morning, and let it simmer slowly till the water is more than half gone ;
then skim off the grease, and set it in the stove-oven till the water is all gone
but about a tea-cupful, which is for gravy, and may be thickened a little.
Add boiling water, if it goes too fast, (for in some kinds of weather it will
evaporate much faster than in other days). This dish should be very tender,
and is excellent cold, especially if it is pressed under a heavy weight. This
was a favorite soldier's dish ; and tough meat is as good as it is tender, when
thus cooked.

Boiled Ham. The best way to cook a ham is first to wash it ; then take
off the skin and bake it in a pan, with a little water in it, in a stove or brick
oven, till tender, which is found by a fork piercing easily. Allow twenty
minutes for each pound.

To boil a ham, soak it over night ; then wash in two waters, using a brush.
Boil slowly, and allow fifteen minutes for each pound. When cold, take off
the skin, and ornament with dots of pepper and fringed paper tied around
the shank.

A nice way to treat a cold boiled ham is, after removing the skin, to rub
it over with beaten egg, and then spread over powdered cracker, wet with
milk, and let it brown in the oven. Boiled ham is much improved by set
ting it in the oven half an hour, making it sweeter, while the fat that tries
out is useful for cooking.

Boiled Beef. Put it in salted water, (a tea-spoonful for each quart;) have
enough to cover it. Skim well just before it begins to boil, and as long as
the scum rises. Allow about fifteen minutes to each pound, or more for
beef. Drain well, and serve with vegetables boiled separately.

Boiled Fowls. Wash the inside carefully with soda water, to remove any
taint. Stuff with seasoned bread-crumbs, or cracker, wet up with eggs, and
sew up the openings. Put them in boiling water, enough to cover, and
let them simmer gently till tender. It is a good plan to wrap in a cloth
dredged with flour.

Fricasseed Fowls. Cut them up, and put in a pot, with cold water enough

44 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

to cover. Put some salt pork over, and let them simmer slowly till very ten
der and the water mostly gone. When done, stir in a cup of milk, mixed
with two well-beaten eggs, first mixing slowly some of the hot liquor with
the milk and eggs.

Some fry the pork first, thus increasing the flavor, and others leave it out.

To Boil a Leg or Shoulder of Veal, or Mutton, or Lamb. Mutton should
be cooked more rare than any other meat. Make a stuffing of chopped
bread, seasoned with pepper and salt, and mixed with one or two eggs.
Make deep gashes in the meat, (or, better, take out the bone ;) fill the open
ings with stuffing and sew them up. Wrap it tiglit in a cloth, and put it so
as to be covered with water, salted at the rate of a tea-spoonful to each quart.
Let it simmer slowly about two or three hours. Skim thoroughly just before
it comes to boiling heat. If needful, add boiling water. Save the water for
broth for next day. If you pour cold water on the cloth before removing it,
and let it stand two minutes, it improves the looks.

Calf's Feet. Wash and scrape till very clean. Boil three hours in four
quarts of water salted with four even tea-spoonfuls of salt. Take out the
bones, and put the rest into a saucepan, with three table-spoonfuls of butter,
two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, a great-spoonful of sugar, and a salt-spoonful
of pepper. Add three tea-cups of the liquor in which the feet were boiled ;
dredge in some flour, and simmer for fifteen minutes. Garnish with sliced
lemon. (Save the liquor to make calf s-foot jelly.)

Calf's Liver and Sweetbreads. These are best split open, boiled, and then
dressed with pepper, salt, and butter.

To cook Kidneys. Wash them clean, and split them. Heat them half an
hour in a saucepan, without water. Then wash them again, and cover them
with a pint of water, having in it a tea-spoonful of salt and a salt-spoonful of
pepper. Boil one hour, and then take off the skin. Cut them in mouthfuls ;
add two great-spoonfuls of butter, more salt and hot water, if needed, and let
them simmer fifteen minutes.

Pillau, a Favorite Dish in the South. Fricassee a chicken with slices
of salt pork, or with sweet butter or sweet cream. Put the chicken, when
cooked, in a bake-dish, and cover it with boiled rice, seasoned with salt,
pepper, and one dozen allspice. Pile the rice, pour on some melted butter,
smooth it, and cover with yelk of an egg. Bake half an hour.

To boil Smoked Tongues. Soak in cold water only two hours, as long
soaking lessens sweetness. Wash them, and boil four or five hours, accord
ing to the size. When done, take off the skin and garnish with parsley.
A table-spoonful of sugar for each tongue, put in the water, improves them.

To boil Corned Beef. Do not soak it, but wash it, and put it in hot water,

BOILED MEATS. 45

to keep in the juices ; allow a pint for each pound. Skim just before it begins
to boil. Let it simmer slowly, and allow twenty-five minutes for every pound.
Keep it covered with water, adding boiling hot water, if needed. It is much
improved for eating cold by pressing it with a board and heavy stone. It is
an excellent piece of economy to save the water to use for soup.

Some think it an improvement to put on a little sugar, and pour a little
vinegar on before boiling. Some like to boil turnips, potatoes, and cabbage
with it. In that case, they must be peeled, and the potatoes soaked two
hours.

To boil Partridges or Pigeons. Cleanse and rinse the insides with soda-
water, and then with pure water. Wrap them in a damp floured cloth ; put
them into boiling water which is salted at the rate of a heaping tea-spoonful
to a quart ; also, two tea-spoonfuls of sugar and a salt-spoonful of pepper.
Simmer them twenty minutes to half an hour. When done, make a sauce of
butter rubbed into flour and half a cup of milk ; put the birds into a dish and
pour on this sauce. Some would add cut parsley, or other flavors.

To boil Ducks. Let them lie in hot water two hours. Then wrap in a
cloth dredged with flour; put them in cold water, salted at the rate of half
a tea-spoonful for each pint. Add a tea-spoonful of sugar for each pint. Let
them simmer half an hour ; then take them up, and pour over them a sauce
made of melted butter rubbed into flour, and seasoned with lemon-juice, salt,
and pepper, and thinned with gravy or hot water.

Wild ducks must be soaked in salt and water the night previous, to remove
the fishy taste, and then in the morning put in fresh water, which should be
changed once or twice.

To boil a Turkey. Make a stuffing for the craw of chopped bread and but
ter, cream, oysters, and the yelks of eggs. Sew it in, and dredge flour over
the turkey, and put it in hot water to boil, with a spoonful of salt in it, and
enough water to cover it well. Let it simmer for "two hours and a half, or,
if small, less time. Skim it while boiling. It will look nicer if wrapped in
a cloth dredged with flour while cooking.

Serve it with drawn butter, in which are put some oysters.

46 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

CHAPTER VII.

BOAST AND BAKED MEATS.

THE beef of an ox is best, and the next best is that of a
heifer. The best pieces for roasting are the second cut of
the sirloin, the second cut of the ribs, and the back part of
the rump.

The art of roasting well consists in turning the meal often,
to prevent burning, and basting often, to make it juicy.

Never dredge flour into gravies, as it makes lumps. Strain
all gravies.

Brown Flour for Meat Gravies, This is used to thicken meat gravies, to
give a good color. It is prepared by putting flour on a tin plate in a hot oven,
stirring it often until well browned ; it must be kept, corked, in a jar, and
shaken occasionally.

Roast Beef. A piece of beef weighing ten pounds requires about two hours
to roast in a tin oven before a fire. Allow ten minutes for each pound over
or under this weight. Have the spit and oven clean and bright. They should
have been washed before they grew cold from the last roasting.

-Put the meat on the spit so that it will be evenly balanced ; set the bony
side toward the fire ; let it roast slowly at first, turning it often ; and when all
sides are partly cooked, move it nearer the fire. If allowed to scorch at first,
it will not cook in the middle without burning the outside.

Baste often with the drippings and with salted water, (about half a pint of
water with half a tea-spoonful of salt,) which has been put in the oven bottom.
Just before taking up, dredge on some flour, mixed with a little salt ; then
baste and set it near the fire, turning it so as to brown it all over alike. Half
an hour before it is done, pour off the gravy, season it with salt and pepper,
and thicken with corn or potato-starch, or flour.

To roast in a Cook Stove. Put the m'eat in an iron pan, with three or four
gills of water, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Turn it occasionally, that it may
cook evenly, and baste often. When done, dredge on some salted flour,
baste again, and set it back till browned.

Roast Pork. Cover a spare-rib with greased paper, till half done ; then
dredge with flour, and baste with the gravy. Just before taking it up, cover
the surface with cracker or bread-crumbs, wet up with pepper, salt, and pow-

BOAST AND BAKED MEATS. 47

dered sage ; let it cook ten minutes longer, and then baste again. Skim the
gravy, thicken it with brown flour, season with a little powdered sage and
lemon-juice, or vinegar; strain it, and pour over the meat. Pork must be
cooked slowly and very thoroughly, and served with apple-sauce. Tomato
catsup improves the gravy.

Roast Mutton. The leg of mutton may be boiled. The shoulder and loin
should always be roasted.

Put the meat in the oven or roaster, and then pour boiling hot water over
it, to keep in the juices. Baste often with salt and water at first and then
with the gravy. With a hot fire, allow ten minutes for each pound. If
there is danger of burning, cover the outside with oiled white paper. Skim
the gravy ; strain it and thicken with brown flour. Serve with acid jelly..
Lamb requires less time in roasting ; but mutton should be rare. Make a
brown gravy, and serve with currant jelly.

Eoast Veal. Follow the above directions for roasting mutton, except to
allow more time, as veal should be cooked more than mutton. Allow twenty
minutes to each pound, and baste often. Too much roasting and little bast
ing spoils veal. To be served with apple-sauce. It much improves roast
veal to cut slits in it, and insert bits of salt pork.

Roast Poultry. No fowl should be bought when the entrails are not drawn ;
and the insides should always be washed with soda-water a tea-spoonful of
soda to a pint of water. Rinse out with fair water. Stuff with seasoned
bread-crumbs, wet up with eggs. Sew and tie the stuffing in thoroughly.
Allow about ten minutes' cooking for each pound, more or less, according to
the fire and size of the fowl.

Put a grate in the bake-pan, with a tea-cup of salted water. Dredge the
fowl with flour at first, and baste often. Strain the gravy, and add the gib
lets, chopped fine. Many dislike the liver, and so leave it out. If fowls are
bought with the intestines in, or if they have been kept too long, the use of
soda-water, and then rinsing with pure water, will often prevent the tainted
taste ; so it is well to do this, except when it is certain that the fowl is just
killed. Put a tea-spoonful of soda to a pint, of water.

Pot-Pie, of Beef, Veal, or Chicken. The best way to make the crust is a8
follows : Peel, boil, and mash a dozen potatoes ; add a tea-spoonful of salt,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, and half a cup of milk, or cream. Then stiffen
it with flour, till you can roll it. Be sure to get all the lumps out of the po
tatoes. Some persons leave out the butter.

Some roll butter into the dough of bread ; others make a raised biscuit,
with but little shortening ; others make a plain soda pie-crust. But none
are so good and healthful as the potato crust ; so choose what is best for all.

To prepare the meat, first fry half a dozen slices of salt pork, and then cut
up the meat and pork, and boil them in just water enough to cover them, till
the meat is nearly cooked. Then peel a dozen potatoes, and slice them thin.

48 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

Roll the crust half an inch thick, and cut it into oblong pieces. Then put
alternate layers of crust, potatoes, and meat, till all is used. The top and
bottom layer must be crust. Divide the pork so as to have some in each
layer.

Lastly, pour on the liquor in which the meat was boiled, until it just covers
the whole, and let it simmer till the top crust is well cooked say half or three
quarters of an hour. Season the liquor with salt, at the rate of a tea-spoon
ful for each quart, and one sixth as much pepper. If you have occasion to
add more liquor, or water, it must be boiling hot, or the crust will be spoiled.

The excellence of this pie depends on having light crust, and therefore the
meat must first be nearly cooked before putting it in the pie ; and the crust
must be in only just long enough to cook, or it will be clammy and hard.

Mutton and Beef Pie. Line a dish with a crust made of potatoes, as di
rected in the Chicken Pot-Pie. Broil the meat ten minutes, after pounding
it till the fibres are broken. Cut the meat thin, and put it in layers, with thin
slices of broiled salt pork ; season with butter, the size of a hen's egg, salt,
pepper, (and either wine or catsup, if liked ;) put in water till it nearly covers
the meat, and dredge in considerable flour ; cover it with the paste, and bake
it an hour and a half, if quite thick. Cold meats are good cooked over in
this way. Cut a slit in the centre of the cover.

Chicken-Pie. Joint and boil two chickens in salted water, just enough to
cover them, and simmer slowly for half an hour. Line a dish with potato
crust, as directed in the recipe for pot-pie ; then, when cold, put the chicken
in layers, with thin slices of broiled pork, butter, the size of a goose egg, cut
in small pieces. Put in enough of liquor, in which the meat was boiled, to
reach the surface ; salt and pepper each layer ; dredge in a little flour, and
cover all with a light, thick crust. Ornament the top with the crust, and
bake about one hour in a hot oven. Make a small slit in the centre of the
crust. If it begins to scorch, lay a paper over a short time.

Rice Chicken-Pie. Line a pudding-dish with slices of broiled ham ; cut up
a boiled chicken, and nearly fill the dish, filling in with gravy or melted but
ter ; add minced onions, if you like, or a little curry powder.

Then pile boiled rice to fill all interstices, and cover the top quite thick.
Bake it for half or three quarters of an hour.

Potato-Pie. Take mashed potatoes, seasoned with salt, butter, and milk,
and line a baking-dish. Lay upon it slices of cold meats of any kind, with
salt, pepper, catsup, and butter or. gravy. Put on another layer of potatoes,
and then another of cold meat, as before. Lastly, on the top put a cover of
potatoes.

Bake it till it is thoroughly warmed through, and serve it in the dish in
which it is baked, setting it in or upon another.

Calf's Head. Take out the brains and boil the head, feet, and lights in

BOAST AND BAKED MEATS. 49

salted water, just enough to cover them, about two hours. When they have
boiled nearly an hour and a half, tie the brains in a cloth and put them in
to boil with the rest. They should be skinned, and soaked half an hour in
cold water. When the two hours have expired, take up the whole, mash
the brains fine, and season them with bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, and a glass
of port or claret, and use them for sauce. Let the liquor remain for a soup
the next day. It serves more handsomely to remove all the bones. Serve
with a gravy of drawn butter.

3

50 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

CHAPTER VIII.

BROILED AND FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES.

Broiled Mutton or Lamb Chops. Cut off the skinny part, which only turns
black and can not be eaten. Put a little pepper and salt on each one, and
broil by a quick fire. Mutton chops should be rare.

Broiled Beefsteak. Have the steak cut three quarters of an inch to an
inch in thickness. The sirloin and porter-house are the best. The art of
cooking steak will depend on a good fire and turning often after it begins to
drip. When done, lay it on a hot platter, season with butter, pepper, and
salt ; cover with another hot platter, and send to the table. Use beef-tongs,
as pricking lets out the juices. Slow cooking and-mwcA cooking spoils a steak.

Broiled Fresh Pork. Cut in thin slices, broil quickly and veiy thoroughly ;
then season with salt, pepper, and powdered sage.

Broiled Ham. Cut in thin slices, and soak fifteen minutes in hot water.
Pour off this and soak again as long. Wipe dry and broil over a quick fire,
and then pepper it. Ham that is already cooked rare is best for broiling.

Broiled Sweetbreads. The best way to <:ook sweetbreads is to broil them
thus : Parboil them, and then put them on a clean gridiron for broiling.
When delicately browned, take them off and roll in melted butter on a plate,
to prevent their being dry and hard. Some cook them on a griddle well
buttered, turning frequently ; and some put narrow strips of fat salt pork on
them while cooking.

Broiled Veal. Cut it thin, and put thin slices of salt pork on the top after
it is laid on the gridiron, and broil both together. When turning, put the
pork again on the top. When the veal is thoroughly cooked, brown the pork
a little by itself, while the veal stands on a hot dish.

A good Pork Relish. Broil thin slices of fresh pork, first pouring on boil
ing water to lessen saltness. Cut them in small mouthfuls, and add butter,
pepper, and salt.

FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES.

The most slovenly and uiihealthful mode of cooking is fry
ing, as it usually is done. If the fat is very hot, and the
articles are put in and taken out exactly at the right time, it

BKOILED AND FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES. 51

is well enough. But fried fat is hard to digest, and most
fried food is soaked with it, so that only a strong stomach
can digest it. Almost every thing that is fried might be
better cooked on a griddle slightly oiled. A griddle should
always be oiled only just enough to keep from sticking. It
is best to fry in lard not salted, and this is better than but
ter. Mutton and beef suet are good for frying. When the
lard seems hot, try it by throwing in a bit of bread. When
taking up fried articles, drain off the fat on a wire sieve.

A nice Way of Cooking Calf's or Pig's Liver. Cut in slices half an inch
thick, pour on boiling water, and then pour if off entirely ; then let the liver
brown in its own juices, turning it till it looks brown on both sides. Take it
up, and pour into the frying-pan enough cold water to make as much gravy
as you wish ; then sliver in a very little onion ; add a little salt and nutmeg,
and a bit of butter to season it ; let it boil up once, then put back the liver
for a minute longer.

Beef Liver. Cut it in slices half an inch thick, pour boiling water on it,
broil it with thin slices of pork dipped in flour, cut it in mouthfuls, and heat
it with butter, pepper, and salt for three or four minutes.

Egg Omelet. Beat the yelks of six eggs, and add a cup of milk, half a tea-
spoonful of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour into hot fat, and cook till just
stiffened. Turn it on to a platter brown side uppermost. Some add minced
cooked ham, or cold meat chopped and salted. Others put in chopped cauli
flower or asparagus cooked and cold.

Frizzled Beef. Sliver smoked beef, pour on boiling water to freshen it,
then pour off the water, and frizzle the beef in butter.

Veal Cheese. Prepare equal quantities of sliced boiled veal and boiled
smoked tongue, or ham sliced. Pound each separately in a mortar, moisten
ing with butter as you proceed. Then take a stone jar, or tin can, and mix
them in it, so that it will, when cut, look mottled and variegated. Press it
hard, and pour on melted butter. Keep it covered in a dry place. To be
used at tea in slices.

A Codfish Relish. Take thin slivers of codfish, lay them on hot coals, and
when done to a yellowish brown, set them on the table.

Another Way. Sliver the codfish fine, pour on boiling water, drain it off,
and add butter and a very little pepper, and heat them three or four minutes,
but do not let them fry.

Salt Herrings. Heat them on a gridiron, remove the skin, and then set
them on the table.

52 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

CHAPTER IX.

PICKLES.

Do not keep pickles in common earthenware, as the glaz
ing contains lead, and combines with the vinegar.

Vinegar for pickling should be sharp, but not the sharpest
kind, as it injures the pickles. Wine or cider vinegar is re
liable. Much manufactured vinegar is sold that ruins pickles
and is unhealthful. If you use copper, bell-metal, or brass
vessels for pickling, never allow the vinegar to cool in them,
as it then is poisonous. Add a table-spoonful of alum and
a tea-cup of salt to each three gallons of vinegar, and tie up a
bag with pepper, ginger-root, and spices of all sorts in it, and
you have vinegar prepared for any kind of common pickling,
and in many cases all that is needed is to throw the fruit in
and keep it in till wanted.

Keep pickles only in wood or stone ware.

Any thing that has held grease will spoil pickles.

Stir pickles occasionally, and if there are soft ones, take
them out, scald the vinegar, and pour it hot over the pickles.
Keep enough vinegar to cover them well. If it is weak, take
fresh vinegar, and pour on hot. Do not boil vinegar or spice
over five minutes.

Sweet Pickles, (a great favorite.) One pound of sugar, one quart of vine
gar, two pounds of fruit. Boil fifteen minutes, skim well, put in the fruit and
let it boil till half cooked. For peaches, flavor with cinnamon and mace ;
for plums and all dark fruit, use allspice and cloves.

To pickle Tomatoes. As you gather them, leave an inch or more of stem ;
throw them into cold vinegar. When you have enough, take them out, and
scald some spices, tied in a bag, in good vinegar; add a little sugar, and
pour it hot over them.

To pickle Peaches. Take ripe but hard peaches, wipe off the down, stick
a few cloves into them, and lay them in cold spiced vinegar. In three
months they will be sufficiently pickled, and also retain much of their nat
ural flavor.

PICKLES. 53

To pickle Peppers. Take green peppers, take the seeds out carefully so
as not to mangle them, soak them nine days in salt and water, changing it
every day, and keep them in a warm place. Stuff them with chopped cab
bage, seasoned with cloves, cinnamon, and mace ; put them in cold spiced
vinegar.

To pickle Nasturtions. Soak them three days in salt and water as you
collect them, changing it once in three days ; and when you have enough,
pour off the brine, and pour on scalding hot vinegar.

To pickle Onions. Peel, and boil in milk and water ten minutes, drain off
the milk and water, and pour scalding spiced vinegar on to them.

To pickle Gherkins. Keep them in strong brine till they are yellow, then
take them out and turn on hot spiced vinegar, and keep them in it, in a
warm place, till they turn green. Then turn off the vinegar, and add a fresh
supply of hot spiced vinegar.

To pickle Mushrooms. Stew them in salted water, just enough to keep
them from sticking. When tender, pour off the water, and pour on hot
spiced vinegar. Then cork them tight, if you wish to keep them long.
Poison ones will turn black if an onion is stewed with them, and then all
must be thrown away.

To pickle Cucumbers. Wash the cucumbers in cold water, being careful
not to bruise or break them. Make a brine of rock or blown salt (rock is
the best), strong enough to bear up an egg or potato, and of sufficient quan
tity to cover the cucumbers.

Put them into an oaken tub, or stone-ware jar, and pour the brine over
them. In twenty-four hours, they should be stirred up from the bottom
with the hand. The third day pour off the brine, scald it, and pour it over
the cucumbers. Let them stand in the brine nine days, scalding it every
third day, as described above. Then take the cucumbers into a tub, rinse
them in cold water, and if they are too salt, let them stand in it a few hours.
Drain them from the water, put them back into the tub or jar, which must
be washed clean from the brine. Scald vinegar sufficient to cover thtem,
and pour it upon them. Cover them tight, and in a week they will be ready
for use. If spice is wanted, it may be tied in a linen cloth and put into the
jar with the pickles, or scalded with the vinegar, and the bag thrown into
the pickle-jar. If a white scum rises, take it off and scald the vinegar, and
pour it back. A small lump of alum added to the vinegar improves the
hardness of the cucumbers.

Pickled Walnuts. Take a hundred nuts, an ounce of cloves, an ounce of
allspice, an ounce of nutmeg, an ounce of whole pepper, an ounce of race
ginger, an ounce of horse-radish, half pint of mustard-seed, and four cloves
of garlic, tied in a bag.

54 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

Wipe the nuts, prick with a pin, and put them in a pot, sprinkling the spice
as you lay them in ; then add two table-spoonfuls of salt ; boil sufficient vine
gar to fill the pot, and pour it over the nuts and spice. Cover the jar close,
and keep it for a year, when the pickles will be ready for use.

Butternuts may be made in the same manner, if they are taken when
green, and soft enough to be stuck through with the head of a pin. Put
them for a week or two in weak brine, changing it occasionally. Before
putting in the brine, rub them about with a broom in brine, to cleanse the
skins. Then proceed as for the walnuts.

The vinegar makes an excellent catsup.

Mangoes. Take the latest growth of young musk-melons, cut out a small
piece from one side and empty them. Scrape the outside smooth, and soak
them four days in strong salt and water. If you wish to green them, put
vine leaves over and under, with bits of alum, and steam them awhile. Then
powder cloves, pepper, and nutmeg in equal portions, and sprinkle on the in
side, and fill them with strips of horse-radish, small bits of calamus, bits of
cinnamon and mace, a clove or two, a very small onion, nasturtions, and
then American mustard-seed to fill the crevices. Put back the piece cut
out, and sew it on, and then sew the mango in cotton cloth. Lay all in a
stone jar, the cut side upward.

Boil sharp vinegar a few minutes with half a tea-cup of salt, and a table-
spoonful of alum to three gallons of vinegar, and turn it on to the melons.
Keep dried bnrberries for garnishes, and when you use them, turn a little of
the above vinegar of the mangoes heated boiling hot on to them, and let
them swell a few hours. Sliced and salted cabbage with this vinegar poured
on hot is veiy good.

Fine pickled Cabbage. Shred red and white cabbage, spread it in layers
in a stone jar, with salt over each layer. Put two spoonfuls of whole black
pepper, and the same quantity of allspice, cloves, and cinnamon, in a bag,
and scald them in two quarts of vinegar, and pour the vinegar over the cab
bage, and cover it tight. Use it in two days after.

An excellent Way of preparing Tomatoes to eat with Meat. Peel and
slice ripe tomatoes, sprinkling on a little salt as you proceed. Drain off the
juice, and pour on hot spiced vinegar.

To pickle Martinoes. Gather them when you can run a pin-head into
them, and after wiping them, keep them ten days in weak brine, changing it
every other day. Then wipe them, and pour over boiling spiced vinegar.
In four weeks they will be ready for use. It is a fine pickle.

A convenient Way to pickle Cucumbers. Put some spiced vinegar in a
jar, with a little salt in it. Every time you gather a mess, pour boiling vine
gar on them, with a little alum in it. Then put them in the spiced vinegar.
Keep the same vinegar for scalding all. When you have enough, take all

PICKLES. 55

from the spiced vinegar, and scald in the alum vinegar two or three minutes,
till green, and then put them back in the spiced vinegar.

Indiana Pickles. Take green tomatoes, and slice them. Put them in a
basket to drain in layers, with salt scattered over them, say a tea-cupful to
each gallon. Next day, slice one quarter the quantity of onions, and lay the
onions and tomatoes in alternate layers in a jar, with spice intervening.
Then fill the jar with cold vinegar. Tomatoes picked as they ripen, and just
thrown into cold spiced vinegar, are a fine pickle, and made with very little
trouble.

To pickle Cauliflower, or Broccoli. Keep them twenty- four hours in strong
brine, and then take them out and heat the brine, and pour it on scalding hot,
and let them stand till next day. Drain them, and throw them into spiced
vinegar.

56 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

CHAPTER X.

SAUCES AND SALADS.

SUCCESS in preparing savory meats and salads depends
greatly on the different sauces, and these demand extra care
in preparation and in flavoring. The following is a sauce
that is a great favorite, and serves for some meats, for fish,
for macaroni, and for some salads :

Milk and Egg Sauce, (excellent.) Take eight table-spoonfuls of butter and
mix it with a table-spoonful of flour, add a pint of milk and heat it, stirring
constantly till it thickens a little. Then beat the yelk of an egg in a table-
spoonful of water and mix it well with the sauce, taking care that it does not
boil, but only be very hot. For fish, add to the above a table-spoonful of
vinegar or lemon-juice and a little of the peel grated. Some add parsley
chopped ; and for boiled fowls, add chopped oysters. Fine bread-crumbs are
better than flour for thickening. For macaroni, make in the dish alternate
layers with that and grated cheese, and then pour on this sauce before bak
ing, and it is veiy fine. Some omit the cheese.

Drawn Butter. Take six table-spoonfuls of butter, half a tea-spoonful of
salt, two tea-spoonfuls of flour or of fine bread-crumbs worked into the butter,
and one tea-cup of hot water. Heat very hot, but do not let it boil. Two
hard-boiled and chopped eggs improve it much. For fish, add a table-spoon
ful of vinegar and chopped capers or green nasturtion seeds.

Mint Sauce for Roast Lamb. Chop three table-spoonfuls of green mint,
and add a heaping table-spoonful of sugar and half a coffee-cup of vinegar.
Stir them while heating, and cool before using.

Cranberry Sauce. Wash well and put a tea-cup of water to every quart
of cranberries. Let them stew about an hour and a half, then take up and
sweeten abundantly. Some strain them through a colander, then sweeten
largely and then put into moulds. To be eaten with fowls.

Apple Sauce. Core and slice the best apples you can get, cook till soft,
then add sugar and a little butter. Serve it with fresh pork and veal.

Walnut or Butternut Catsup. Gather the nuts when they can be pierced
with a pin. Beat them to a soft pulp and let them lie for two weeks in quite

SAUCES AND SALADS. 57

salt water, say a small handful of salt to every twenty, and water enough to
cover them. Drain off this liquor, and pour on a pint of boiling vinegar and
mix with the nuts, and then strain it out. To each quart of this liquor put
three table-spoonfuls of pepper, one of ginger, two spoonfuls of powdered
cloves, and three spoonfuls of grated nutmeg. Boil an hour, and bottle when
cold. See that the spice is equally mixed. Do not use mushroom catsup, as
the above is as good and not so dangerous.

Mock Capers. Dry the green but full-grown nasturtion seeds for a day in
the sun, then put them in jars and pour on spiced vinegar. These are good
for fish sauce, in drawn butter.

Salad Dressing. Mash fine two boiled potatoes, and add a tea-spoonful
of mustard, two of salt, four of sweet-oil, three of sharp vinegar, and the yelks
of two well-boiled eggs rubbed fine. Mix first the egg and potatoes, add the
mustard and salt, and gradually mix in the oil, stirring vigorously the while.
Stir in the vinegar last. Melted butter may be used in place of sweet-oil.
The more a salad dressing is stirred, the better it will be.

Turkey or Chicken Salad, also a lettuce Salad. Take one quarter chopped
meat (the white meat of the fowl is the best for this purpose) and three quar
ters chopped celery, well mixed, and pour over it a sauce containing the yelks
of two hard-boiled eggs chopped, a tea-spoonful of salt, half a salt-spoonful
of black pepper, half a tea-spoonful of mustard, three tea-spoonfuls of sugar,
half a tea-cupful of vinegar, and three tea-spoonfuls of sweet-oil or of melted
butter. Mix the salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard thoroughly, whip a raw
egg and add slowly, stir in the sweet-oil or melted butter, mixing it well and
very slowly, and lastly add the vinegar. Garnish with rings of whites of eggs
boiled hard. Chopped pickles may be added, and white cabbage in place of
the celery.

Tomato Catsup. Boil a peck of tomatoes, strain through a colander, and
then add four great-spoonfuls of salt, one of pounded mace, half a table-spoon
ful of black pepper, a table-spoonful of powdered cloves, two table-spoonfuls
of ground mustard, and a table-spoonful of celery seed tied in a muslin rag.
Mix all and boil five or six hours, stirring frequently and constantly the last
hour. Let it cool in a stone jar, take out the celery seed, add a pint of vine
gar, bottle it, and keep it in a dark, cool place.

3*

58 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

CHAPTER XL

FISH.

Stewed Oysters. Strain off all the oyster liquor, and then add half as
much water as you have oysters. Some of the best housekeepers say this is
better than using the liquor. Add a salt-spoonful of salt for each pint of
oysters, and half as much pepper ; and when they begin to simmer, add half
a small tea-cup of milk for each pint of oysters. When the edges begin to
"ruffle," add some butter, and do not let them stand, but serve immediately.
Oysters should not simmer more than five minutes in the whole. When
cooked too long, they become hard, dark, and tasteless.

Fried Oysters. Lay them on a cloth to absorb the liquor ; then dip first
in beaten egg, and afterward in powdered cracker, and fry in hot lard or but
ter to a light brown. If fresh lard is used, put in a little salt. Cook quickly
in very hot fat, or they will absorb too much grease.

Oyster Fritters. Drain off the liquor, and to each pint of oysters take a
pint of milk, a salt-spoonful of salt, half as much pepper, and flour enough
for a thin batter. Chop the oysters and stir in, and then fry in hot lard, a
little salted, or in butter. Drop in one spoonful at a time. Some make the
batter thicker, so as to put in one oyster at a time surrounded by the batter.

Scalloped Oysters. Make alternate layers of oysters and crushed crackers
wet with oyster liquor, and milk warmed. Sprinkle each layer with salt and
pepper, (some add a very little nutmeg or cloves ;) let the top and bottom
layer be crackers. Put bits of butter on the top, pour on some milk with a
beaten egg in it, and bake half an hour.

Broiled Oysters. Dip in fine cracker crumbs, broil very quick, and put a
small bit of butter on each when ready to serve.

Oyster Omelet, (very fine.) Take twelve large oysters chopped fine. Mix
the beaten yelks of six eggs into a tea-cupful of milk, and add the oysters.
Then put in a spoonful of melted butter, and lastly add the whites of the eggs
beaten to a stiff froth. Fry this in hot butter or salted lard^and do not stir
ft while cooking. Slip a knife around the edges while cooking, that the cen
tre may cook equally, an4 turn it out so that the brown side be uppermost.

Pickled Oysters. Take for fifty large oysters half a pint of vinegar, six
blades of mace, twelve black pepper-corns, and twelve whole cloves. Heat
the oysters with the liquor, but not to boil ; take out the oysters, and then

FISH. 59

put the vinegar and spices into the liquor, boil it, and when the oysters are
nearly cold, pour on the mixture scalding hot. Next day cork the oysters
tight in glass jars, and keep them in a dark and cool place. Vinegar is
sometimes made of sulphuric or pyroligneous acid, and this destroys the
pickles. Use cider or wine vinegar.

Roast Oysters. Put oysters in the shell, after washing them, upon the
coals so that the flat side is uppermost, to save the liquor ; and take them up
when they begin to gape a little.

Scallops. Dip them in beaten egg and cracker crumbs, and fry or stew
them like oysters.

Clams. Wash them and roast them ; or stew or fry them like oysters ; or
make omelets or fritters by the recipe for oysters.

Clam Chowder. Make alternate layers of crackers wet in milk, and clams
with their liquor, and thin slices of fried salt pork. Season with black pep
per and salt. Boil three quarters of an hour. Put this into a tureen, hav
ing drained off some liquor which is to be thickened with flour or pounded
crackers, seasoned with catsup and wine, and then poured into the tureen.
Serve with pickles.

Boiled Fish. Wrap in a cloth wet with vinegar, floured inside. Boil in
cold salted water till the bones will slip out easily ; drain and serve with egg
sauce, or drawn butter, or a sauce of milk, butter, and egg. Try boiling fish
with a fork, and if that goes in easily, it probably is done.

Broiled Fish. Split so that the backbone is in the middle; sprinkle with
salt ; lay the inside down at first till it begins to brown, then turn and broil
the other side. Dress with butter, pepper, and salt. It is best to take eut
the backbone.

Baked Fish. Wash and wipe, and rub with salt and pepper outside and
inside. Set it on a grate over a baking-pan, and baste with butter and the
drippings ; if it browns too fast, cover with white paper. Thicken the gravy,
and season to the taste, using lemon-juice or tomato catsup. Some put in
wine.

Pickle for cold Fish. To two quarts of vinegar add a pint of the liquor in
which the fish was boiled, a dozen black pepper-corns, a dozen cloves, three
sticks of cinnamon, and a tea-spoonful of mustard. Let them boil up, and
then skim so as not to take out the spice.

Cut the fish into inch squares, and when the liquor boils, put them into it
till just heated through. Pack tight in a glass jar, and* then pour on the
pickle ; cook it till air-tight. This will keep a long time. It is a great con
venience for a supper relish.

60 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEK.

CHAPTER XII.

VEGETABLES.

FRESH- GATHERED vegetables are much the best. Soak
ing in cold water improves all. Always boil in salted water,
a tea-spoonful for each quart of water. Do not let them
stop boiling, or they will thus become watery.

POTATOES.

The excellence of potatoes depends greatly on the species
and on the age. Much also depends on the cooking, and
here there are diversities of modes and opinions. Peeling
potatoes before cooking saves labor at the time of taking up
dinner, which is a matter of consequence. They should, af
ter peeling, soak an hour in cold water; then boil them in
salted water, putting them in when the water boils. Have
them equal in size, that all may be done alike. Try with a
fork, and when tender drain off the water, sprinkle on a lit
tle fine salt, and set them in the oven, or keep them hot in
the pot till wanted.

Some boil with skins on ; in this case, pare off a small ring,
or cut off a little at each end for the water within to escape,
as this makes them more mealy.

Some make a wire basket and put in the potatoes peeled
and of equal size ; and when done, take them up and set in
the oven a short time. This is the surest and easiest method.

Old potatoes should be boiled in salted water, then mash
ed with salt, pepper, and cream or butter.

New potatoes boil in salted water, and rub off the tender
skins with a coarse towel.

A good Way for old Potatoes. Peel and soak in cold water half an hour,
then slice them into salted water that is boiling ; when soft, pour off the wa
ter, add cream, or milk and butter, with salt and pepper, also dredge in a very
little flour.

Another way is to chop the cold boiled potatoes, and then mix in milk,
butter, salt, and pepper.

VEGETABLES. 61

Some cold potatoes are nice cooked on a gridirpn. A favorite relish for
supper is cold potatoes sliced and dressed with a salad dressing of boiled eggs,
salt, mustard, oil, and vinegar.

Cold Potato Puffs. Take cold mashed or chopped potatoes and stir in milk
and melted butter. Beat two eggs and mix, and then bake till browned. It
is very nice, and the children love it as well as their elders. This may be
baked in patties for a pretty variety.

To cook Sweet Potatoes. The best way is to parboil with the skins on,
and then bake in a stove oven.

Green Corn. Husk it ; boil in salted water, and eat from the cob ; or cut
off' the corn and season it with butter or cream and salt and pepper. If green
corn is to be roasted, open it and take off the silk, and then cook it with husks
on, buried in hot ashes ; or if before the fire, turn it often.

Succotash. Boil white beans by themselves. Cut the corn from the cob
and let the cobs boil ten minutes, then take them out and put in the corn.
Have only just water enough to cover the corn when cut. If there is more
than a tea-cupful when the corn is boiled about half an hour, lessen it to that
quantity, and add as much milk, and let the boiling continue till, on trial, the
corn is soft, and then stir in a table-spoonful of flour wet in cold water.
Then let it boil three or four minutes, take up the corn, and add the beans,
with butter, pepper, and salt. Have twice as much corn as beans. Some
use string-beans cut up.

If you have boiled corn left on the cob, cut it off for breakfast, and add
milk and eggs, salt and pepper, and bake it. Some say this is the best way
of all to cook sweet corn.

Salsify, or Oyster Plant. Scrape, cut into inch pieces, and throw into cold
water awhile ; put into salted boiling water, just enough to cover them, and
when tender turn off the water and add milk, butter, salt, and pepper, and
thicken with a very little flour ; then serve. Or, mash fine, and add a beaten
egg and a little flour ; make round, flat cakes, and cook on a griddle.

Egg Plant. Cut into slices an inch thick and peel. Lay these in salted
water an hour ; then dip into egg, and rub in bread or cracker-crumbs, and
cook on a griddle.

Carrots. Boil in salted water till tender, take off the skin, slice and butter
them. They are improved by cooking in broth. Some add chopped onion
and parsley.

Beets. Wash, but do not cut them before boiling ; boil till tender, take
off the skin, slice and season with salt, pepper, vinegar, and melted butter.
If any are left, slice them into vinegar, for a pickle.

62 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPEE.

Parsnips, Boil in salted water, take off the skins, cut in slices lengthwise,
and season with salt, pepper, and butter. When cold, chop fine, add salt,
pepper, egg, and flour, make small cakes, and cook on a griddle.

Pumpkin and Squash. Cut in slices, boil in salted water till tender, drain,
and season with salt, pepper, and butter. Baked pumpkin, cut in slices, is
very good.

Celery. Cut off the roots and green leaves, wash, and keep in cold water
till wajited.

Kadishes. Wash, cut off tops, and lay in cold water till wanted.

Onions. Many can not eat onions without consequent discomfort ; though
to most others they are a healthful and desirable vegetable. The disagreea
ble effect on the breath, it is said, may be prevented by afterward chewing
and swallowing thi-ee or four roasted coffee-beans. Those who indulge in
this vegetable should, as a matter of politeness and benevolence, try this pre
caution.

The best way to cook onions is to peel, cut off top and tail, put in cold wa
ter for awhile, and then into boiling salted water. When nearly done, pour
off the water, except a little, then add milk, butter, pepper, and salt. When
onions are old and strong, boil in two or three waters ; have each time boil
ing water.

Tomatoes. Pour on scalding water, then remove the skins, cut them up,
and boil about half an hour. Add salt, butter or cream, and sugar. Adding
green corn cut from the cob is a good variety. Some use pounded or grated
stale bread-crumbs to thicken. Some slice without peeling, broil on a gridi
ron, and then season with pepper, salt, and butter. Some peel, slice, and put
in layers, with seasoning and bread-crumbs between, and bake in an oven.
If eaten raw, the skins should be removed by a knife, as scalding lessens fla
vor and crispness. Ice improves them much. The acid is so sharp that
many are injured by eating too many.

Cucumbers. Peel and slice into cold water, and in half an hour drain and
season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Some slice them quarter of an inch
thick into boiling water, enough to cover them, and in fifteen minutes drain
through a colander, and season with butter, salt, pepper, and vinegar.

Cabbage and Cauliflower. Take off the outer leaves and look for any in
sects to be removed, and let it stand in cold water awhile. It should be cut
twice transversely through the hardest part, that all may cook alike. It is
more delicate if boiled awhile in one wafer, then changed to another boiling
-hot water, in the same or another vessel. If you are cooking corned beef, use
for the second water some of the meat liquor, and it improves the flavor.
Drain it through a colander. Some chop the cabbage before serving, and add

VEGETABLES. 63

butter, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Others omit the vinegar, and add two beat
en eggs and a little milk, then bake it like a pudding. This is the favorite
mode in some families. Cauliflower is to be treated like cabbage.

Asparagus. The best way to cook it is to cut it into inch pieces, leave out
the hardest parts, boil in salted water, drain with a colander, and add pepper,
salt, melted butter or cream, when taken up. Some beat up eggs and add to
this ; stir till hardened a little, and then serve.

Macaroni. Break into inch pieces and put into salted boiling water, and
stew till soft say twenty minutes. Drain it and put it in layers in a pud
ding-dish, with grated cheese between each layer. Add a little salted milk
or cream, and bake about half an hour. Many can not eat this with cheese.
In this case it is better to pour cold soup or gravy upon it, and bake without
cheese.

Various Ways of cooking Eggs. Put eggs into boiling water from three
to five minutes, according to taste. A hard-boiled egg is perfectly healthy if
well masticated. Another way is to put them in a bowl or an egg-boiler,
and pour on boiling water for two or three minutes, then pour off the water
and add boiling water, and in five or six minutes the eggs will be cooked
enough.

To make a plain omelet, beat the yelks of six eggs, add a cup of milk,
season with salt and pepper, and then stir in the whites cut to a stiff froth.
Cook in a frying-pan or griddle, with as little butter or fat as possible. Let
it cook about ten minutes, and then take up with a spad, or lay a hot dish
over and turn the omelet on to it. . This is improved by mixing in chopped
ham or fowl. Some put sugar in, but it is more apt to bum.

A bread omelet is made as above, with bread-crumbs added, and is very
good.

An apple omelet is made as above, with mashed apple-sauce added, and
this also is very good. Jelly may be used instead of apple.

64 THE HOUSEKEEPER AND HEALTHKEEPER.

CHAPTER XIII.

FAMILY BREAD.

THE most important article of food is good family bread,
and the most healthful kind of bread is that made of coarse
flour and raised with yeast. All that is written against the
healthfulness of yeast is owing to sheer ignorance, as the
most learned physicians and chemists will affirm.

Certain recent writers on hygiene are ultra and indiscrim-
inating in regard to the use of unbolted flour. The simple
facts about it are these : Every kernel of wheat contains
nutriment for different parts of the body, and in about the
right proportions. Thus, the outside part contains that which
nourishes the bones, teeth, hair, nails, and the muscles. The
germ, or eye, contains what nourishes the brain and nerves ;
and the central part (of which fine flour is chiefly made) con
sists of that which forms fat, and furnishes fuel to produce
animal heat, while in gentle combustion it unites with oxy
gen in the capillaries. When first ground, the flour con
tains all the ingredients as in the kernel. The first bolting
alters the proportions but very little, forming what is called
middlings. The second bolting increases the carbonaceous
proportion, making fine flour. The third bolting makes the
superfine flour, and removes nearly all except the carbona
ceous portion, which is fitte