NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 07897540
THE
COMPLETE COOK.
PLAIN AND PRACTICAL
DIRECTIONS
FOR
COOKING AND HOUSEKEEPING-;
WITH UPWARDS OF
SEVEN HUNDRED RECEIPTS:
.
CONSISTING OF
DIRECTIONS FOR THE CHOICE OF MEAT AND POULTRY
PREPARATIONS FOR COOK I N G, M AK I NG
OF BROTHS AND SOUPS;
BOILING, ROASTING, BAKING, AND FRYING
OF MEATS, FISH, &c.
SEASONINGS, COLOURINGS, COOKING VEGETABLES J
PREPARING SALADS, CLARIFYING;
MAKING OF PASTRY, PUDDINGS, GRUELS, GRAVIES, GARNISHES, &c.
AND, WITH
GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING WINES.
WITH ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS,
BY J. M. SANDERSON,
Of the Franklin House.
PHILADELPHIA:
LEA AND BL AN.CHARD..
I 18 It-,
s
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
798943 A
ASTOR, LENOX AND
FOUNDATIONS
1935 L
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by
LEA AND BLANCHARD,
in the clerk's office of the district court of the United States in and for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
J. PAGAN, STEREOTYFEK.
J, AND W. KITE, PRINTERS.
(2)
PREFACE
TO
THE ENGLISH EDITION.
THE following work has been written, not only with the view o*
furnishing a complete Cookery Book, but also for the purpose of in
structing, in a simple manner, inexperienced mistresses and servants,
in the elementary principles of the culinary science; not losing sight
of endeavouring to inculcate the relative duties of the employer and
the employed. Almost the only cookery book in our language, iu
which reavsons are given for the doctrine laid down, is " The Cook's
Oracle," by the late Dr. Kitchiner. The Doctor's work, though ex-
ceedingly valuable, is a book fitted more for the improvement of the
initiated, than for the instruction of those who possess no knowledge
of the subject. There are many other books of cookery to which
exceptions might be taken, but we have no wish to enhance our own
work by depreciating the labours of others. We have done our best
to produce a book, which all who can read may understand, and by
which all may be instructed. Dr. Kitchiner says, in his " Rudiments,"
and says truly, " I have taken much more pains than any of my pre-
decessors to teach the young cook how to perform, in the best manner,
the common business of her profession." In our "rudiments," we
have endeavoured to teach that which a woman should know before
she can be called a " young cook," as well as that which a young
cook has to learn.
To conclude; ours is a book intended for the use of persons who
keep servants, and those who keep none. If we give expensive re-
ceipts, we also show, that good, substantial dishes, and the most deli-
cate, may be prepared at as little, or even less, expense than the
ordinary, or common preparations of food. In our receipts, in particu-
lar, we have written, necessarily written, many things which have
been written before, but we feel assured that, taken as a whole, our
work will not be found devoid of originality.
For the art of baking, and all the little knick-knacks of fancy bread,
such as biscuits, sweet cakes, &c., and for confectionary, we refer our
readers to two little works, by the Editor of " The Cook," called
"The Baker," and "The Confectioner,"* which form part of the series
of " Industrial Guides."
* " The Baker" and " The Confectioner" will shortly be published by Lea &
Blanchard, at 25 cents, in one volume.
1* (3)
PREFACE
TO
THE AMERICAN EDITION.
IT is said that " Good wine needs no bush," and according
to the same rule a good book should require no apology, (as a
preface generally appears to be). In this instance, as we are
not the author, we intend to devote the small space allowed us,
to the praise of this our adopted work; for, of all the English
books on this subject, none, according to our ideas, possess
half the claims to public approval as this one does. The author,
whoever he is, is certainly a proficient in his business ; and,
although making no pretensions to a literary character, has
laid down his rules and precepts in a clear and concise manner.
Very few additions or alterations have been made in this
work ; in fact none, excepting where circumstances rendered it
necessary; it being considered best to send it forth to the Ame-
rican world with all its beauties untouched; at the same time
we wish it to be understood that we do so, not because the
subject is a barren one ; on the contrary, were we to condense
all the necessary information we have on this science, we should
swell our small book to the dignity of a three-volumed work ;
O w'
but, by so doing, we should place it beyond the reach of that
class to whom its precepts will prove most valuable. We hav
therefore concluded, after due reflection, to leave such labours
alone until we have more time and experience.
The American stomach has too long suffered from the vile
concoctions inflicted on it by untutored cooks, guided by sense-
less and impracticable cook-books ; and it is to be hoped, that
1** (5)
VI PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
as this subject is now becoming more important in these days
of dyspepsia, indigestion, &c., a really good book will be well
patronised, and not only read, but strictly followed ; and let it
not be said hereafter that " the American kitchen is the worst
in the world."
-.
As we have made but few alterations or improvements, we
do not consider it at all necessary to offer to the public any
apology for our seeming presumption in thus undertaking, at
our age, to edit a work which we think requires little improve-
ment, and consequently no great degree of talent on our part.
Should we ever undertake anything original, we shall then act
with more humility. All that we ask, in the present case, is
the wide and extended use of the " Complete Cook.'
5J
THE COMPLETE COOK
RELATIVE DUTIES OF MISTRESS AND MAID.
IN this our little work, we more particularly address ourselves to
Cook Maids in small families, where two maid servants only are kept,
and where, consequently, all the business of the kitchen falls upon
the cook, both as regards cleaning 1 and cooking 1 . In such families, it
is true, the mistress in the house will take a part in the business of
cooking upon herself; a most laudable custom, both as regards eco-
nomy, and the real interests of the cook maid. To such mistresses,
particularly the younger portion, it is hoped our little book will not
be unacceptable. Cooking is neither a mean, nor a simple art. To
make the best and the most of everything connected with the suste-
nance of a family, requires not only industry and experience, but also
considerable mental capacity, or, at any rate, an aptness to learn.
One of the principal, if not the principal, requisite, in a cook, is
order that faculty by which a person is enabled to keep all things in
their proper places. Without order there can be no cleanliness, an-
other indispensable requisite in a cook : to be always cleaning, is not
to be clean. There are some foolish, fussy women, who, with all the
disposition on earth to be clean, not having order, dirty one thing as
fast as they clean another. Nor is order an essential requisite, as
regards the cleanliness of a kitchen, and of kitchen utensils, only; in
dressing food, without order there can be no good cooking.
We have said, that the mistress will take a part in a small family
in the business of cooking. W T e, perhaps, should have rather said,
ought to take a part; for we are sorry to say, that there is too much
reason to believe, that good housewifery is much neglected in the
educating of young ladies now-a-days. If a mistress be really not
acquainted with the general principles of cooking, she ought to do
one of two things either to make herself acquainted with them as
an humble learner, or to keep out of the kitchen altogether; for her
ignorant interference with a good cook maid will do no good, but may
do a great deal of harm. And while on this subject we must give a
word of friendly advice to the unfortunate cook, who may happen to
fall in with an ignorant, irritable mistress. Let her take care to
refrain from going into a passion with her : if the mistress scolds, let
the maid be mild ; and above all, let her not scold again, or answer
in an angry or insulting manner. This is a hard thing to do, we are
aware, particularly where a servant feels herself injured ; but if she
can do it. she will not only gain the victory over her mistress, but she
(13)
14 THE COMPLETE COOK.
will also feel a consciousness, a happy consciousness, of having left
undone those things which she ought not to have done, and of having
done those things which she ought to have done. But if the tempers
and habits of the mistress and maid are incompatible to that good un-
derstanding which ought always to subsist between the employer and
the employed, the best course for the servant to do is, to give notice
and leave. Let not this, however, be done in anger: before giving
warning, let her consult her pillow.
It has been well observed, that it behoves every person to be ex-
tremely careful whom she takes into her service; to be very minute
in investigating the character she receives, and equally cautious and
scrupulously just in giving one to others. Were this attended to,
many bad people would be incapacitated for doing mischief, by abusing
the trust reposed in them. It may be fairly asserted, that the robbery,
or waste, which is but a milder epithet for the unfaithfulness of a
servant, will be laid to the charge of that master or mistress, who
knowing, or having well-founded suspicions, of such faults, is prevail-
ed upon by false pity, or entreaty, to slide him, or her, into another
place. There are, however, some who are unfortunately capricious,
and often refuse to give a character, because they are displeased that
a servant leaves their service; but this is unpardonable, and an abso-
lute robbery ; servants having no inheritance, and depending on their
fair name for employment. To refuse countenance to the evil, and
to encourage the good servant, are actions due to society at large;
and such as are honest, frugal and attentive to their duties, should be
liberally rewarded, which would encourage merit, and inspire ser-
vants with zeal to acquit themselves well.
Servants should always recollect, that everything is provided for
them, without care and anxiety on their part. They run no risks,
are subject to no losses, and under these circumstances, honesty, in-
dustry, civility, and perseverance, are in the end sure to meet with
their reward. Servants possessing these qualifications, by the bless-
ing of God, must succeed. Servants should be kind and obliging to
their fellow-servants; but if they are honest themselves, they will not
connive at dishonesty in others. They who see crimes committed and
do not discover them, are themselves legally and morally guilty. At
the same time, however, well recollect, that tittle-tattling and tale-
bearing, for the sake of getting in your mistress's good graces, at the
expense of your fellow-servants, is, to the last degree, detestable. A
sensible mistress will always discourage such practices.
We have known servants imagine, that because their employers
are kind to them, that because they do not command them to do this
or that, but rather solicit them, that, therefore, they cannot do with-
out them, and instead of repaying their good-nature'and humanity by
gratitude and extra attention, give themselves airs, and become idle
and neglectful. Such conduct cannot be too much condemned, and
those servants, who practise it, may depend upon it, that, sooner or
later, they will have cause to repent. Let it be remembered, that vice
as well as virtue has its reward, though of a very different character.
DUTIES OF MISTRESS AND MAID. 15
We shall conclude this our friendly advice to young cooks, by an
extract from the " Cook's Best Friend" by the late Dr. Kitchiner.
Nothing- can be done in perfection, which must be done in a hurry,
(except catching of fleas), " Therefore," says the Doctor, " if you
wish the dinner to be sent up to please your master and mistress, and
do credit to yourself, be punctual ; take care, that as soon as the
clock strikes the dinner bell rings. This shows the establishment is
orderly, is extremely gratifying to the master and his guests, and is
most praiseworthy in the attendants. But remember you cannot ob-
tain this desirable reputation without good management in every
respect; if you wish to ensure ease and independence in the latter
part of your life, you must not be unwilling to pay the price for which
only they can be obtained, and earn them by a diligent and faithful
performance of the duties of your station in your young days, in which
if you steadily persevere, you may depend upon ultimately receiving
the reward your services deserve."
All duties are reciprocal; and if you hope to receive favour, endea-
vour to deserve it by showing yourself fond of obliging, and grateful
when obliged. Such behaviour will win regard, and maintain it;
enforce what is right, and excuse what is wrong.
Quiet, steady perseverance, is the only spring which you can safely
depend upon infallibly to promote your progress on the road to inde-
pendence.
If your employers do not immediately appear to be sensible of your
endeavours to contribute your utmost to their comfort and interests,
be not easily discouraged ; persevere, and do all in your power to
MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL.
Endeavour to promote the comfort of every individual in the family;
let it be manifest that you are desirous to do rather more than is re-
quired of you, than less than your duty; they merit little who perform
nothing more than what would be exacted. If you are desired to help
in any business that may not strictly belong to your department, un-
dertake it cheerfully, patiently, and conscientiously.
The foregoing advice has been written with an honest desire to
augment the comfort of those in the kitchen, who will soon find, that
the ever-cheering reflection of having done their duty to the utmost
of their ability, is in itself, with a Christian spirit, a never-failing
source of comfort in all circumstances and situations, and that
" Virtue is its own reward. 1 '
Having thus briefly touched upon the relative duties of mistress
and maid, we shall now proceed to make some general remarks (and
though general, we think them most important) as respects the busi-
ness of Cooking as an art, or, more properly speaking, as a science.
16 THE COMPLETE COOK.
INTRODUCTORY GENERAL REMARKS ON COOKERY IM
PORTANCE OF GOOD COOKERY AS REGARDS HEALTH
AND TEMPERANCE.
IT is an old, and somewhat vulgar saying, though very expressive,
that " God sends meat, and the devil cooks." This adage shows, that
cooking has always been considered of some importance in this coun-
try, even among the lowest classes of society. A great deal too little
attention, however, is paid to the art of preparing food for the use of
those who eat ; and we think we may say, without much exaggera-
tion, that in many families, even to this day, one-half of their meat is
wasted, and the other half spoilt. But the mere waste arising from
this system of cooking, or rather want of system, is not the greatest
evil, though this is an enormous one; the diseases that badly dressed
food occasions to the stomach are even a greater evil than the one to
which we have first referred. A bad cook will turn that which was
intended by the Giver of all good for the nourishment of the body into
a sort of poi?on. The functions of the stomach, when loaded with
crude, undressed, or half-dressed meat, are unable to digest it. Hence
the stomach is not only injured, but a train of diseases is engendered,
sufficient to render one's life miserable. From the cause alluded to
arises acidity, or sourness of the stomach, which gives rise again to
heart-burns, hiccups, flatulencies, or wind ; which again creates pains
in the stomach and head, and, indeed, in other parts of the body.
Then again we have, from the same cause, the various descriptions
of nightmare, horrid dreams, and restless nights. Country people,
in agricultural districts in particular, think themselves, when so
afflicted, bewitched, or possessed by the devil, when, in fact, if pos-
sessed at all, they are possessed by bad cookery and indigestible diet.
Instead of resorting to charms, such persons ought to resort to a dose
of opening medicine, and take care to eat food which is not spoilt by
dressing. But the greatest of all ills by which we can be afflicted,
ill-dressed, indigestible food will bring about intellectual confusion
perhaps madness for be assured, that a deranged stomach is always,
more or less, accompanied with a deranged head.
In support of these opinions we might adduce many authorities of
the highest reputation, but we shall content ourselves with the fol-
lowing : " It cannot be doubted," says Dr. Cheyne, " that the clear,
ready, and pleasant exercise of the intellectual faculties, and their
easy and undisturbed application to any subject, is never to be obtain-
ed but by a free, regular performance of the natural functions, which
the lightest (most digestible) food can only procure." Again, Dr.
Cheyne says, " he that would have a clear head must have a clean
stomach. It is sufficiently manifest how much uncomfortable feelings
of the bowels affect the nervous system, and how immediately and
completely the general disorder is relieved by an alvine evacuation."
Then we have the testimony of Abernethy, who says, " we cannot
reasonably expect tranquillity of the nervous system, whilst there is
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 17
disorder of the digestive organs. As we can imbibe no permanent
source of strength but from the digestion of our food, it. becomes im*
portant on this account, that we should attend to its quantity, quality,
and the periods of taking it, with a view to ensure its proper diges-
tion." But what says Dr. Kitchiner, who was an able physician, and
the most learned and scientific writer upon the culinary art? "The
stomach," he asserts, "is the main-spring of our system ; if it be not
sufficiently wound up to warm and support the circulation, the whole
business of life will, in proportion, be ineffectually performed we can
neither think with precision walk with vigour sit down with com-
fort nor sleep with tranquillity. There would be no difficulty in
proving, that it influences (much more than people imagine) all our
actions."
" One of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, moral writers of our
age, Dr. Samuel Johnson, was a man," says Boswell, "of very nice
discrimination in the science of cookery." He often remarked, "that
some people have a foolish way of not minding, or pretending not to
mind, what they eat; for my part, I mind my belly very studiously and
very carefully, and I lock upon it. that he who does not mind his
belly, will hardly mind any thing else." To this, Kitchiner adds,
"the Doctor might have said, cannot mind any tiring else." The
energy of our brains is sadly dependent on the behaviour of our
bowels. Those who say, 'tis no matter what we eat, or what we
drink, may as well say, 'tis no matter whether we eat, c r whether we
drink.
Again, as to the relative importance of cooker}' a? a science. Mr.
Sylvester, in his Domestic Economy, says, that it is not difficult to
foresee, that this department of philosophy must become the most
popular of all others, because every class of human beings is inter-
ested in its result." Again, the same writer says, " if science can
really contribute to the happiness of mankind, it must be in this de-
partment. The real comfort of the majority of men in this country is
sought for at their own fire-sides: how desirable then it becomes to
give every inducement to be at home, by directing all the means of
philosophy to increase domestic happiness!"
Dr. Waterhouse, in his Lectures, thus speaks of the stomach :
"The faculty the stomach has of communicating the impressions made
by the various substances that are put into it is such, that it seems
more like a nervous expansion from the brain than a mere receptacle
for food."
From allusions in the great Milton's writings, it is quite evident,
that he appreciated the science of cookery highly. Speaking of phi-
losophy, he says,
" 'Tis a perpetual feast of nectar'J sweets,
Where no crude surfeit reigns."
Again,
" That which is not good is not delicious
To a well-govern'd and wise appetite."
But we have better evidence than these allusions, of Milton's at-
18 THE COMPLETE COOK,
tachment to nicely dressed dishes In his brother'*?, the judge's
testimony, in support of a cuncupative will, which it was alleged he
made before his death in favour of his third and last wife, a passage
occurs, to the effect, that, approving- of his dinner on a certain occasion,
he said, "this will do; get something nice for me to eat, for when I
am gone it will be ail your's." We quote from memory. The cele-
brated Dr. Parr, the great Grecian and theologian, was much attached
to good eating himself, and thought it very necessary, both for the
health of the body and the mind. A few weeks before his death, for
he was perfectly conscious that he had but a short time to live, he
made arrangements for his funeral ; and, amongst other things, he
prepared a bill of fare for his funeral dinner. The dishes were all
cold. He expressed his regret to a clerical friend of ours, that he
could not give them a hot dinner, "but that is impossible," he said,
"for there is not convenience in the house to cook for so large a
number. I am much afraid," he continued, "lest you parsons should
get a hot dinner for yourselves, and leave the poor laymen to the cold
meat; but I should be very angry if I could know it. I always liked
to take care of my own stomach, and of other people's. If that is
wrong, nothing can be right."
There are people who imagine, that it is beneath the dignity of a
philosopher to trouble himself about eating; such a one was that gay
fribble of a marquis, who, finding Descartes enjoying himself over a
good dinner, exclaimed, " Hey ! what, do you philosophers eat dain-
ties ]" "Do you think," replied Descartes, "that God made good
things only for fools 1"
There is a point with regard to the importance of good cookery,
upon which we have not touched, though one of first-rate consequence,
namely, temperance, from the neglect of which so many, and such
deadly, evils arise. Let a man load his stomach with crude, indi-
gestible food, that is, ill-dressed meats or other substances, and what
is the consequence 1 he feels ill in fact, he is ill his mind does not
possess its proper vigour and elasticity; in one word, the whole man,
mind and body, is disordered unhinged. He seeks relief in spirits,
and he obtains it, perhaps, temporarily. Hence is the beginning of
dram drinking, and all its concomitant evils; which it would fill a
volume to enumerate. The members of temperance societies, and
the promoters of temperance in general, would do well to turn their
attention to this point, and we think they will agree with us on the
importance of diffusing the art of cookery the art of preparing good
and wholsorne food as widely as possible among the people.
In this country we have the best of all descriptions of butcher's meat
in the world, and, with a few exceptions, the worst cooks. If the
poor, half-fed merits of France, were dressed as our cooks, for the most
part, dress our well-fed excellent meats, they would be absolutely
uneatable. In France, the cooks, both private and public, contrive to
make most excellent and easily digestible food, out of substances that
we should throw away, as perfectly incapable of being rendered fit to
eat, or at !e::-t palatable.
1JVTRODUCTORV REMARKS. 19
It has been proved by Dr. Prout, that sugar, butter, or oil, and
white of egg, or substances partaking of their nature, form the chief
alimentary food of man. The saccharine, or sugary principle, in its
extended sense, is mostly derived from vegetables. A proper know-
ledge of these principles forms the basis, or foundation, of French
cookery, or, indeed, every other good system of cookery. It does not
follow, however, that it is necessary that a cook should understand
these things philosophically, so as to be able to give a reason for them.
It is sufficient for him or her to take for granted the maxims or rules
that have been deduced from them, and act accordingly.
In France, most substances intended for food are exposed, by means
of oil or butter, or grease, in a frying-pan, to a heat of 600 Fahren-
heit, that is, nearly three times hotter than boiling water. This is
done by frying, or by some other method similar to frying. They are
then put into a macerating or stewing vessel, with a little water, and
kept for several hours at a temperature, or heat, below the boiling
point; that is to say, the liquid is never allowed to bubble up, nor yet
scarcely to simmer. By these united processes, it. has been clearly
proved, that the most hard and tough substances, whether vegetable
or animal, are, more or less, reduced to a state of pulp, fit for the
action of the stomach, and consequently for easy digestion.
In this country, the majority of cooks, particularly in small families,
toss the meat into a large quantity of water, make the water boil as
speedily as possible, and as fast as possible; and foolishly imagine,
that it will be sooner and better done. But what is the consequence"?
The outside of the meat is rendered so tough, that it will not admit
the heat to penetrate the inside, which remains undone, and the result
is, that both the outside and inside meat are spoilt, or at least greatly
damaged, both as respects flavour and wholesomeness. Here an
anecdote occurs to us, which, though it has been before related, will
serve to illustrate our subject. An Irishman was ordered by his
master to boil him an egg for his breakfast, and was particularly en-
joined to boil it soft. After waiting for more than ten minutes, the
master inquired after his egg, which, however, was not forthcoming ;
the servant was seeing about it. Another five minutes elapsed, when
the impatient master was coolly told his egg was not done " Yer
honour told me to bile it soft, and sure I've biled it a quarter of an hour,
and it is as hard as ever."
Our ignorant, and too often unteachable, cook maid, would laugh
at the simplicity of the Irishman not considering that the very means
she uses to make meat tender and palatable, that is, fast boiling, are
just as absurd as those taken by Paddy to boil an egg soft.
There is no rule, they say, without an exception ; but, generally
speaking, ill-dressed meats, or even solid food well-dressed, taken in
large quantities, are indigestible. It is a mistake to imagine, that
people who take violent exercise in the open air, are always free from
indigestion, and those numerous diseases to which it gives rise. That
they are not so liable as those confined to a house, or a workshop is
true; and there are some stomachs that appear to be able to digest
THE COMPLETE COOK.
any thing; but these are exceptions to the general rule they do not
affect the truth of the rule itself.
PHILOSOPHICAL COOKERY COUNT ROMFORD.
The first person, perhaps, with any pretensions to learning and
philosophy, who studied the dressing of meat, for food, as a science,
was a gentleman of the name of Thompson, who was afterwards
created Count Romford, by one of the German princes. This excel-
lent and ingenious individual lived in the last century. He demon-
strated, by experiments, the principles which in our foregoing remarks
we have merely asserted. We are about to give an abstract of some
of his observations and experiments on this subject, which are so
simply and clearly detailed, that they are perfectly intelligible to
every common intellect, and we are sure will be read with interest
and advantage, not only by cooks, but also by all classes of persons
interested in the health and welfare of society at large.
The process by which food is most commonly prepared for the table
BOILING is so* familiar to every one, and its effects are so uniform,
and apparently so simple, that few have taken the trouble to inquire
how, or in what manner, these effects are produced ; and whether any
and what improvements in that branch of cookery are possible. So
little has this matter been made an object of inquiry, that few, very
few indeed, it is believed, among the millions of persons who for so
many ages have been daily employed in this process, have ever given
themselves the trouble to bestow one serious thought on the subject.
The cook knows from experience, that if his joint of meat be kept
a certain time immersed in boiling water it will be done, as it is called
ir ,he language of the kitchen ; but if he be asked what is done to it]
or how, or by what agency, the change it has undergone has been
effected 1 if he understands the question, it is ten to one but he will
be embarrassed ; if he does not understand it, he will probably an-
swer, without hesitation, that"J/*e meat is made tender and eatable
by being boiled." Ask him if the boiling of the water be essential
to the success of the process? he will answer, "without doubt"
Push him a little farther, by asking him whether, were it possible to
keep the water equally hot without boiling, the meat would not be
cooked as soon and as well, as if the water were made to boil 1 Here
it is probable that he will make the first step towards acquiring- know-
ledge, by learning to doubt.
When you have brought him to see the matterjn its true light, and
to confess, that in this view of it, the subject is new to him, you may
venture to tell him (and to prove to him, if you happen to have a ther-
mometer at hand,) that water which just boils is as hot as it can pos-
sibly be made in an open vessel. That all the fuel which is used in
making it boil with violence is wasted, without adding in the smallest
degree to the heat of the water, or expediting or shortening the pro-
cess of cooking a single instant : that it is by theheat its intensity and
the lime of its duration, that the food is cooked ; and not by boiling
PHILOSOPHICAL COOKERY. 21
or ebullition or bubbling up of the water, which has no part whatever
in that operation.
Should any doubts still remain with respect to the inefficacy and
inutility of boiling, in culinary processes, where the same degree of
heat may be had, and be kept up without it, let a piece of meat be
cooked in a Papin's digester, which, as is well known, is a boiler
whose cover (which is fastened down with screws) shuts with so
much nicety that no steam can escape out of it. In such a closed
vessel, boiling (which is nothing else but the escape of steam in bub-
bles from the hot liquid) is absolutely impossible; yet, if the heat ap-
plied to the digester be such as would cause an equal quantity of water
in an open vessel to boil, the meat will not only be done, but it will
be found to be dressed in a shorter time, and to be much tenderer,
than if it had been boiled in an open boiler. By applying a still
greater degree of heat to the digester, the meat may be so much
done in a very few minutes as actually to fall to pieces, and even tho
very bones may be made soft.
Were it a question of mere idle curiosity, .vhether it be the boiling
of water, or simply the degree of heat that exists in boiling water by
which food is cooked, it would doubtless be folly to throw away time
in its investigation ; but this is far from being the case, for boiling
cannot be carried on without a very great expense of fuel ; but any
boiling hot liquid (by using proper means for confining the heat) may
be kept boiling hot for any length of time, without any expense of
fuel at all.
The waste of fuel in culinary processes, which arises from making
liquids boil unnecessarily, or when nothing more would be necessary
than to keep them boiling hot, is enormous ; there is not a doubt but
that much more than half the fuel used in all the kitchens, public and
private, in the whole world, is wasted precisely in this manner.
But the evil does not stop here. This unscientific and slovenly
manner of cooking renders the process much more laborious and trou-
blesome than otherwise it would be; and (what by many will be con-
eidered of more importance than either the waste of fuel, or the
increase of labour to tlie cook) the food is rendered less savoury, and
very probably less nourishing, and certainly less wholesome.
It is natural to suppose that many of the finer and more volatile
parts of food (those which are best calculated to act on the organs of
taste) must be carried off with the steam, when the boiling is violent :
but the fact does not rest on these reasonings: it is proved to a de-
monstration, not only by the agreeable fragrance of the steam that
rises from vessels in which meat is boiled, but also from the strong
flavour and superior quality of soups which are prepared by a long
process over a very slow, gentle fire. But the volatile parts of food
are not only delightful to the organs of taste the Editor has no doubt
that they are also stimulating and refreshing to the stomach.
In many countries where soups constitute the principal part of the
food of the inhabitants, the process of cooking lasts from one meal time
to another, and is performed almost without either trouble or expense.
2
22 THE COMPLETE COOK.
As soon as the soup is served up, the ingredients for the next meal
are put into the pot (which is never suffered to cool, and does not re-
quire scouring;) and this pot, which is of cast iron, or of earthenware,
being well closed with its thick wooden cover, is placed by the side
of the fire, where its contents are kept simmering for many hours,
but are seldom made to boil, and never but in the gentlest manner
possible.
Were the pot put in a close fire-place (which might easily be con-
structed, even with the rudest materials, with a few bricks or stone,
or even with sods, like a camp-kitchen,) no arrangement for cooking
could well be imagined more economical or more convenient.
Soups prepared in this way are uncommonly savoury, and there is
little doubt that the true reason why nourishing soups and broths are
not more in use among the common people in most countries, is
because they do not know how good they really are, nor how to
prepare them ; in short because they are not acquainted with them.
There is another important reason which the Editor must add the
common people for the most part cannot spare time from their labout
to stay at home and attend to them.
To form a just idea of the enormous waste of fuel that arises from
making water boil and evaporate unnecessarily in culinary processes,
we have only to consider how much heat is expended in the forma
tion of steam. Now it has been proved by the most decisive and un
exceptionable experiments that have ever been made by experimental
philosophers, that if it were possible that the heat which actually
combines with water, in forming steam (and which gives it wings to
fly up into the atmosphere,) could exist in the water, without changing
it from a dense liquid to a rare elastic vapour, this water would be
neated by it to the temperature of red-hot iron.
Many kinds of food are known to be most delicate and savoury when
cooked in a degree of heat considerably below that of boiling water;
and it is more than probable that there are others which would be im-
proved by being exposed to a heat greater than that of boiling water.
In many of the seaport towns of our New England States, it
has been a custom, time immemorial, among people of fashion, to
dine one day in the week (Saturday) on salt fish, and a long habit
of preparing the same dish has, as might have been expected, led to
very considerable improvements in the art of cooking it. We have
often heard foreigners who have partaken of these dinners, declare
that they never tasted salt fish dressed in such perfection. The se-
cret of this cooking is to keep the fish a great many hours in water,
which is just scalding hot, but which is never made actually to boil.
The Count being desirous of finding out whether it was possible to
roast meat with a much gentler heat than that usually employed, put
a shoulder of mutton in a machine contrived for drying potatoes : the
result, which we give in the Count's own words, was as follows :
" After trying the experiment for three hours, and finding it showed
no signs of being done, it was concluded that the heat was not suffi-
ciently intense, and, despairing of success, it was abandoned to tbc
cook ma id s.
PHILOSOPHICAL COOKERY. 23
"It being- late in the evening-, and the cookmaids thinking 1 , per-
haps, that the meat would be as safe in the drying machine as any
where else, left it there all night; when they came in the morning
to take it away, intending to cook it for their dinner, they were much
surprised to find it already conked, and not merely eatable, but per-
fectly done, and most singularly well tasted. This appeared to them,
the more miraculous, as the fire under the machine was quite gone
out before they left the kitchen in the evening to go to bed, and as
they had locked up the kitchen when they left it and taken the key.
This wonderful shoulder of mutton was immediately brought in tri-
umph, and though we were at no great loss to account for what had
happened, yet it certainly was unexpected : and when the meat was
tasted we were much surprised indeed to find it very different, both
in taste and flavour, from any we had ever tasted. It was perfectly
tender, but though it was so much done it did not appear to be in the
least sodden or insipid ; on the contrary, it was uncommonly savoury
and high-flavoured. It was neither boiled, nor roasted, nor baked.
Its taste seemed to indicate the manner in which it had been pre-
pared : that the gentle heat to which it had for so long a time been
exposed, had by degrees loosened the cohesion of its fibres, and con-
cocted its juices, without driving off their fine and more volatile parts,
and without washing away or burning and rendering rancid its oils."
Having given an abstract of Romford's opinions and experiments
on boiling water as a medium for the preparation of meat for the food
of man, we shall now take an opportunity of remarking, that the same
rule will not apply to the cooking of the greater part of vegetables,
which must be put into the water boiling hot, and which cannot be
boiled too quickly. This does not apply, however, to potatoes, which
cannot be boiled too slowly. These things, however, will be treated
of more particularly in the receipts, which we shall give for the
cookingof different kinds of vegetables.
Seasoning is a very important element in the art of cookery. Ex-
perience is absolutely necessary to acquire this art, which to be pro-
perly done, requires great judgment and delicacy of taste. All the
recommendations of Dr. Kitchiner and others to season by weight and
measure, as apothecaries serve out drugs, are in the nature of the
thing impracticable. "What's one man's meat is another man's
poison," is a homely proverb, but a true one. So in seasoning, what
one person likes, another may dislike. The writers we have alluded
to ridicule the idea of directing the cook to use a pinch of that, and a
dust of the other. M. Ude justly observes, " that where the quantities
are indefinite, it is impossible to adjust the exact proportions of spice,
or other condiments, which it will be necessary to add in order to
give the proper flavour." If these remarks are correct, and who can
doubt it, the general terms "handful, pinch, and dust," are the best
that can be applied as directions upon such a subject.
In the use of salt in cooking, considerable judgment is required.
The best rule is to employ as little as possible. It is easy to make
a dish too fresh, salt; but if made too salt, it cannot be made fresh
24 THE COMPLETE COOK.
again. Sugar may be applied with advantage in various dishes,
where it is not generally used in this country, and which will be
enumerated hereafter, but great care must be taken, that in such pre-
parations it should be employed to enrich, not to sweeten. The taste
of sugar should not predominate, or even be recognised. We allude
more particularly to soups and gravies, and in some cases in vegeta-
bles, such as green peas for instance. Meat intended to be broiled,
cr fried, should be well peppered, but never salted ; salt renders it
hard. The author of "Domestic Cookery" says, that "salt should
not be put into the water in which vegetables are boiled." We dis-
agree with this lady; indeed, she disagrees with herself; for in
another part of her book she directs salt to be put into the water in
which potatoes are to be boiled ; and we are quite sure it is very
necessary in boiling cabbage, savoys, and most other descriptions of
greens.
It ought to be well understood, that pepper and all descriptions of
spice require to be subjected to the action of heat to bring out their
genuine flavour. Thus it will be seen, that though it is very prac-
ticable to sweeten or salt things after they are dressed, it is not so as
respects flavouring them with spice. In the use of spices it is, how-
ever, very important to take care that the aroma (commonly called
smell), which they give forth, should not. be allowed to evaporate or
escape. Druggists and medical men always keep their essential oils,
tinctures, volatile spirits and volatile gums, in ground stopper bottles,
which are perfectly air-tight. This puts us in mind of a foolish cus-
tom, which cannot be too much deprecated, of exposing in the open
air aromatic herbs, such as marjoram, thyme, mint, and several
others, which are known by the general term of sweet herbs, and
which are extensively used in seasoning. These herbs ought always
to be kept as much as possible excluded from the air. This may be
partially effected by tying the dried herbs in paper bags, but it is
much better to reduce the leaves to a coarse powder, and confine it
in well-corked bottles.
RULES AND MAXIMS OF THE KITCHEN.
In our foregoing remarks we have endeavoured to explain the
leading principles upon which the art of cookery is founded princi-
ples with which the young cook should become thoroughly acquainted.
We now proceed to lay down a series of rules or maxims, relative to
the dressing of meat, and the general management of the kitchen.
These rules should be well studied, and the most important of them
committed to memory. By doing this a cook will save a great deal
of trouble and loss of time, and she will also, by her knowledge of the
general principles of the art, be enabled to vary, and probably im-
prove the receipts, which she may have occasion to consult. In short,
when she knows what must be always done, and what must never be
done, she is, in a great measure, mistress of her art, inasmuch as die
details will be easily acquired by practice.
RULES OF THE KITCHEN. 25
WHAT MUST ALWAYS BE DONE, AND WHAT MUST
NEVER BE DONE.
1. Keep yourself clean and tidy; let your hands, in particular, be
always clean whenever it is practicable. After a dirty job always
wash then). A cleanly cook must wash her hands many times in the
course of the day, and will require three or four aprons appropriated
to the work upon which she is employed. Your hair must never be
blowsy, nor your cap dirty.
2. Keep apart things that would injure each other, or destroy their
flavour.
3. Keep every cloth, saucepan and all other utensils to their pro-
per use, and when done with, put them in their proper places.
4. Keep every copper stewpan and saucepan bright without, and
perfectly clean within, and take care that they are always well
tinned. Keep all your dish-covers well dried, and polished; and to
effect this, it will be necessary to wash them in scalding water as
soon as removed from the table, and when these things are done let
them be hung up in their proper places.
5. The gridiron, trying-pan, spit, dripping-pan, &c., must be per-
fectly cleaned of grease and dried before they are put in their proper
places.
6. Attention should be paid to things that do not meet the sight in
the way that tins and copper vessels do. Let, for instance, the pud-
ding cloth, the dish-cloth, and the dish-tub, be always kept perfectly
clean. To these may be added, the sieve, the cullender, the jelly-
bag, &c^ which ought always to be washed as soon after they are
used as may be practicable.
7. Scour your rolling-pin and paste-board as soon after using as
possible, but without soap, or any gritty substance, such as sand or
brick-dust; put them away perfectly dry.
8. Scour your pickle auti preserve jars after they are emptied;
dry them and put them away in a dry place,
9. Wipe your bread and cheese-pan out daily with a dry cloth, and
scald them once a week. Scald your salt-pah when out of use, and
dry it thoroughly. Scour the lid well by which it is covered when,
in use.
10. iMind and put all things in their proper places, and then you
will easily find them when they are wanted.
11. You must not poke things out of sight instead of cleaning
Jiem, aixi such things as onions, earlick, &.C., must not be cut with
IMP. ss.me knife as is used in cutting meat, bread, butter, &c. Milk
must not be put in a vessel used for greasy purposes, nor must clear
liquids, such as water, &c., be put into vessels, which have been
used for milk, snd not washed ; in short, no vessel must be used for
any purpose for which it is not appropriated.
12. You must not suffer any kind of food to become cold in any
metal vessel, not even in well-tinned iron saucepans, &c., for they
will impart, a more or less unpleasant flavour to it. Above all things
2*
26 THECOMPLETECOOK.
you must not let liquid food, or indeed any other, remain in brass or
copper vessels after it is cooked. The rust of copper or brass ia
absolutely poisonous, and this will be always produced by moisture
and exposure to the air. The deaths of many persons have been
occasioned by the cook not attending to this rule.
13. You must not throw away the fat which, when cold, accumu-
lates on the top of liquors in which fresh or salt meat has been boiled ;
in short, you ought not to waste fat of any description, or any thing
else, that may be turned to account ; such as marrow-bones, or any
other clean bones from which food may be extracted in the way of
soup, broth, or stock, or in any other way: for if such food will not
suit your table, it will suit the table of the poor. Remember, "Wil-
ful waste makes woful want."
14. A very essential requisite in a cook is punctuality; therefore
rise early, and get your orders from your mistress as early as possible,
and make your arrangements accordingly. What can be prepared
before the business of roasting and boiling commences should always
be prepared.
15. Do not do your dirty work at a dresser set apart for cleanly
preparation?. Take care to have plenty of kitchen cloths, and mark
them so as a duster may not be mistaken for a pudding-cloth, or a
knife-cloth for a towel.
16. Keep your spit, if you use one, always free from rust and dust,
and your vertical jack clean. Never draw up your jack with a weight
upon it.
17. Never employ, even if permitted to do so, any knives, spoons,
dishes, cups, or any other articles in the kitchen, which are used in
the dining room. Spoons are sure to get scratched, and a knife used
for preparing an onion, takes up its flavour, which two or three
cleanings will not entirely take away.
18. Take great care to prevent al. preparations which are delicate
in their nature, such as custards, blancmange, dressed milks, &c., &c.,
from burning to which they are very liable. The surest way to ef-
fectually hinder this is to boil them as the carpenter heats his glue,
that is, by having an outside vessel filled with water.
19. You ought not to do any thing by halves. What you do, do well.
If you clean, clean thoroughly, having nothing to do with the " slut's
wipe," and the "lick and a promise."
20. And last, though not least, be teachable: be always desirous to
learn never be ashamed to ask for information, lest you should ap-
pear to be ignorant; for be assured, the most ignorant are too fre-
quently the most self-opinionated and most conceited ; while those
who are really well informed, think humbly of themselves, and regret
that they know so Jittle.
CHOICE AND PURCHASING OF BUTCHERS' MEAT.
Inferior joints of the best am'm?^ s snou W always be preferred to the
prime joints of the ill-fed or diseaspj beasts. Inferior joints of good
CHOICE OF B U T C H E R s' M E A T . 27
meat such as sticking.*, legs and shins of beef, shoulders of mutton
and veal, may, if well dressed, be made as nourishing and palatable
as the superior joints and may be bought much cheaper ; but no cooking,
however well executed, will ever make bad meat good. Ill-condi
tioned beasts, too, are for the most part unhealthy.
21. Beef. Ox beef is considered, truly, the best. Bull beef is
coarse, tough, and has a strong, disagreeable smell and taste. Next
to ox beef, that of a young heifer (if spayed the better) is preferred.
Some persons, indeed, think it is the best. It is the most delicate
and tender of all description of beef. Cow beef, particularly a young
cow that has not had more than two or three calves, is very good.
The grain is closer, and the fat whiter, than ox beef. Good beef has
a fine, smooth, open grain, interlarded with thin streaks of delicate
fat; and is of a deep healthy looking red colour. When the fat is of
a dirty yellow colour, the meat is not good : it indicates its having
been fed upon artificial food, such as oil cake. Grass-fed meat, or
that fed upon hay and corn meal, is the best. When beef is old, a
horny streak runs between the fat and lean ; the harder this is, the
older the meat. The flesh is not good flavoured, and eats tough.
22. Mutton. Good mutton is firm in the grain; of a bright red
colour; the lean delicately interlarded with thin streaks of fat; the
fat itself being of a brightish white, tinted with a delicate pink. The
fat of rotten mutton, in which the sheep was afflicted with a liver
disease, is always of a dead white, and the flesh is of a pale colour.
Such mutton is both unwholesome and unsavoury. The best way to
detect this kind of mutton, is to examine the liver before it is re-
moved from the sheep. If the liver be without bladders, or other
marks of disease, the mutton is sound. Ewe mutton is not so good aa
wether mutton; the flesh is generally paler, and the texture finer.
The best mutton is that which is fed upon the natural grasses. This
is the reason why the Welsh and mountain Scotch muttons are so
firm, short, and sweet. The sheep have liberty to choose their own
food. Mutton fed on rape and turnips does not eat so well, nor near
so well, as the grass-fed. Ram mutton has a strong, and, in some
seasons of the year, an exceedingly disagreeable flavour. It is said
that wether mutton, to be eaten in perfection, should be five years
old; but it is scarcely ever kept to that age. In wether mutton there
is a knob of fat on the part of the leg, where in the ewe you will find
a part of the udder.
23. Venison when young has the cleft of the haunch smooth and
close, and the fat is clear, bright and thick. In old venison, the cleft
is wide and tough. If, after running a long, narrow, sharp knife into
the lean of venison, it comes out without smelling, the venison is
sweet. Some persons like it a little gone, and others a good deal.
This state of putrescency is called by gourmands haul gout, high
tasted ; we should rather say at once, stinking. Venison requires
more keeping than any other sort of meat to make it tender, unless it
be dressed immediately it is killed, that is, before it is cold.
24. Veal. This meat, to be truly good, delicate, fine flavoured, and
THE COMPLETE COOK.
tender, ought not to be more than five or six weeks old, and, of
course, fed exclusively upon the milk of the mother. Writers on
cookery gravely tell u?, that the whiteness of veal is partly caused
by the calf licking chalk. This is nonsense. The chalk is given to
prevent calves from scouring, not to make their flesh white. However,
whiteness is no proof of veal being good and juicy; it is caused by
frequent bleeding. The flesh of the bull calf is said to be the firmest,
but not so white. The fillet of the cow calf is sometimes preferred
for the udder. The kidney of good veal is well covered with healthy
looking fat, thick and firm. The bloody vein in the shoulder should
look blue ; if it be of any other colour, the meat is stale. Fresh veal
is dry and white. When it is spotty and clammy it is stale. The
kidney is gone when the fat or suet upon it is not firm. The kidney
goes first.
25. Lamb that is fresh will have the veins bluish in the neck and
fore-quarter. If there be a faint smell under the kidney it is not
fresh. When the eyes are sunk in the head, it is a sure sign the lamb
has been killed too long. Grass lamb, which is the only lamb that is
in perfection, comes in in April, but it is better in May and June ; that
is to say, when men with hard hands can afford to eat it, and when
there are green peas to eat with it. House lamb, for those who can
afford to pay for it, and like to eat it, may be obtained all the year
round.
26. Pork. The quality of this kind of meat depends in a great
measure upon its feeding. If grossly fed, it is bad, for the pig will
eat any thing in the absence of delicate food. Dairy-fed pork we are
told is the best: it is good, but we think not the best. To our taste,
that is to be preferred in every respect which is fed not merely on
dairy food, but upon good wholesome corn meal, whether of barley,
oats, peas, or beans. Cookery writers tell us, that "if the rind is
tough, and cannot easily be impressed by the finger, the meat is old ;"
and they add, that a thin rind is a merit in all pork." These direc-
tions are no guide whatever to the choice of pork : the rind may be
made thin by dressing 1 , but there are those, and no bad judges either,
who prefer thick rinds. Moubray, on Poultry, &c., says, ** the west-
ern pigs from Berks, Oxford, and Bucks, possess a decided superiority
over the eastern of Essex, Sussex, and Norfolk ; not to forget another
qualification of the former, at which some readers may smile, a thick-
ness of the skin, whence the crackling of the roasted pig is a fine
gelatinous substance, which may be easily masticated, whilst the
crackling of the thin-skinned breeds is roasted into good block tin,
the reduction of which would almost require teeth of iron." So much
for thin rinds. When pork is fresh, the flesh will be smooth and dry;
when stale, clammy. What is called measly pork is to be avoided
as a poison. It may be known by the fat being full of kernels, and
by the general unwholesomeness of its appearance.
27. Bacon is good when the fat is almost transparent and of a de-
licate transparent pink tinge. The lean should adhere to the bone,
be of a good colour, and tender. Yellow streaks in bacon show it is
CHOICE OF POULTRY, EGGS, PISH, & C .
becoming rusty ; when all is yellow, all is rusty and unfit to eat.
Bacon and hams are frequently spoilt in the curing-. Taste a little
of the lean, and you will be able to judge whether it be too salt or
not.
28. Hams are the best part of the pig when properly cured, per-
fectly sweet, and not too salt. To ascertain whether a ham is tainted,
run a sharp knife under the bone, and if it comes out with a pleasant
smell, and clean, the ham is good.
Summary of Directions. Choose meat that has a clear red liver,
free from knots and bladders, with kidneys firm, close, and well sur-
rounded with firm, hard fat; the skirts which line the ribs should be
full and fat. Meat possessing these qualifications may be depended
on as of the first quality; but if the kidney or kernels of an animal
have spots resembling measles, as is too frequently the case with
pork, the meat is unwholesome.
We have said thus much on the choice of meats, but persons who
keep up what is called an establishment, will do best to trust to their
butcher, porkman, fishmonger, and poulterer, and not to choose at all,
excepting tradesmen, taking care to deal only with the most respect-
able in the neighbourhood.
CHOICE OF POULTRY, EGGS, AND FISH, AND SEASONS
OF FISH.
Poultry of all kinds are preferred of a short thick make, broad and
plump in the breast and thick in the rump and fat in the back. The
spurs should be short as indicating youth, and the comb red as indi-
cating health. The beak, bill, and claws, in a young bird will be
tender, and the skin of the legs comparatively smooth ; the contrary
are certain indications of an old bird. But the best test of a fowl, aa
respects its age, is to try the two bones which run by the side of the
belly to the vent; if these are gristly and easily broken at the end,
the fowl is young. To judge of the age of geese or ducks, little or
no dependence is to be placed upon the colour of the legs and bills
this varies according to complexion ; but if the bills and feet have
coarse red streaks, or a tinge of red in them, the bird is old. In young
geese and ducks the above marks are not to be seen, and the webs
will be smooth and thin.
29. Rabbits, young and in good condition, will be fat about the
kidneys, and by the side of the belly. The flesh should be white,
and if young, the legs will break easily.
30. Fowls are plentiful from August to January; chickens come
in about April, tame ducks in May, continue through the summer
months, and go out in October. Young geese may be dressed in the
latter end of May and through the summer, but a goose is not
thoroughly ripe till after stubbling, that i?, about Michaelmas^ Tur-
key poults are in season from May onwards, but turkeys are in high
season about Christmas.
31. Rabbits and Pigeons may be had the year round ; wild rab
80 THECOMPLETECOOK.
bits are best in the winter season ; young pigeons may be had in
February, and till September ; wood-pigeons in December and
January.
32. Game. Hares, partridges and pheasants from September
through the winter: the game season closes with February. All
kinds of water-fowl are most plentiful in keen, dry weather, especially
v cold weather, after snow ; also larks, wood-cocks, snipes, &c.
33. Eggs. New eggs have always a rourh fresh-looking shell,
but this appearance may be effected by artificial means, and the
purchaser be cheated with rotten ones, instead of getting fresh. A
new-laid egg will sink in water, bad ones are more or less buoyant;
but this is a tedious way of testing eggs. The best way is to form a
sort of tube with the left hand, holding with the right hand the egg,
close and opposite to this tube, in the light. If the egg is good the
meat will look clear, and partly transparent; if bad, it will look dark
with black spots in it.
34. Fish should be broad and thick of their kind, their eyes bright,
gills red, and the scales close and shining: fish should feel firm to
the touch and stiff. Stale fish have always a loose, limber feel,
especially about the vent; their eyes are sunk and dim, the scales
loose and flabby, and the whole has a dingy, disagreeable appearance.
Lobsters and crabs are to be judged by their weight; if they feel
light, they have wasted themselves by long keeping.
35. Seasons of Fish. There are some kinds of fish absolutely
poisonous eaten out of season; such are salmon, and skate. The
following will give some idea of the seasons of fish, but they vary
according to the weather. Cod comes in about October, and goes out
about February ; it is sometimes good for a short time about August.
Salmon comes in in February, is in high season during May, June,
and July, declines in August, and is quite out in September. Pickled
Balmon is good from May till September. Herrings are in season as
long as they are full of roe; when shotten, they are worthless.
Sprats are best in frosty weather. Lobsters and crabs are plentiful
in the spring and early part of the summer. Haddock, flounders,
muscles, come in in September or October, and are out about April
or May. Jacks or pikes, eels, perch, tench, carp, and other fresh
water fish, become plentiful about April or May, according to the
weather. Eels are never out of season, but in cold weather are
hardly to be procured. Hallibut is in season from the beginning of
May until the end of September.
PREPARATIONS FOR COOKING.
38. A great deal has to be done before the cook can commence the
operation of cooking. She has to truss her fowls and prepare her
fish, butcher's meat, and vegetables, with other things not necessary
to mention here. Never wash butcher's meat except for the purpose
of cleansing it of blood, which would otherwise disfigure it when
dressed. Few joints require this operation; heads, hearts and scrags
PREPARATIONS FOR COOKING. 31
always require to be well washed before they are cooked, but if they
or any thing else are intended for roasting or frying, they should
first be rendered perfectly dry, by rubbing with a coarse cloth, or
otherwise. Salt rubbed in with warm water will speedily remove
the blood and cleanse the meat. Hares must be always well washed
with salt and water, or milk and water.
37. Trussing is little required in butcher's meat; but loins, boned
and stufted, such as those of beef, mutton and pork, must of course
be trussed. This is done by spreading the stuffing and seasoning
over them, then rolling them up as tightly as possible, tying up with
a tape or string, and securing all by skewers. The long flap of the
fillet of veal must be filled with stuffing, and then secured as above
directed.
38. All kinds of poultry should be killed the first thing in the
morning, when their crops are empty. They should be plucked
while they are warm ; be sure take out all the flues, and let the hair
be singed off with white paper. It is recommended to crop fowls and
pigeons immediately you have them; but there is a difference of
opinion as to the time of drawing them ; some suy they should be
drawn as soon as killed, or at least as soon as bought, which prevents
the disagreeable flavour so often perceived in chickens; others say,
and indeed the generality of cooks are of this opinion, that they should
not be drawn till just before they are dressed, as it is apt to make
them dry : we are of opinion that poultry should be drawn soon after
they are killed ; we do not believe that this makes them dry, though
we are sure that to leave them undrawn will be apt to make them
stink.
39. In drawing poultry, or removing the entrails, a very small slit
may be made under the vent with a penknife, at which slip in the
fore-finger, and if there is any internal fat about the vent, draw it out,
as it is in the way of taking out the entrails, and, if left in, would be
very strong when roasted. Next get hold of the gizzard, which may
be known by its being the hardest part of the interior; draw it out
carefully; it will generally bring the whole of the mtestines with it,
but if the liver should be left, again slip in the finger and take hold
of the heart, which will bring out with it the liver, which you must
not touch for fear of bursting the gall-bladder. The heart is generally
left in by poulterers, but it is much better out, as it is apt to give a
bloody appearance to the interior of the fowl. Trim round the vent
with a pair of scissors.
40. Be careful to take away the gall-bladder from the liver with-
out breaking it, for if one drop of the gall escapes, the whole liver is
spoilt. The gizzard consists of two parts, with a stomach or bag in
the middle, containing gravel and undigested food ; one part of the
skin by which the two parts of the gizzard are united is rather nar-
rower than the other; slit this with a knife, and turning the gizzard
inside out, remove the stomach bag and trim round the gizzard, but
avoid cutting the skin by which it is joined in the middle.
41. In trussing poultry, cut off the neck about two joints from its
32 THE COMPLETE COOK.
commencement at the shoulders, but be sure to leave half an inch, or
more, of the skin longer than the part of the neck remaining-, for the
purpose of wrapping over on being tied.
42. The legs of fowls intended to be roasted should be taken off
about one inch below the first joint ; the feet and legs of young
chickens are generally left on, but they must be scalded in boiling
water, and the claws and outside scaly skin taken off. Thrust the
liver through a slit made in the skinny part of one pinion, and the
gizzard through the other; then turn the top of the pinion over the
back, lay the legs close to the sides ; with a wire skewer fix the
middle joint of the pinion outside of the knee joint of the leg, and so
through the body to the other knee and pinion ; with a short skewer
fix the lower joint to the lower part of the body ; then the feet, or
whatever part of them is left, may turn back over the belly. The
skewer for this purpose must go through the sidesmen, fixing the
stumps or feet between them. 'For a fowl that is to be boiled, a slit
is made on each side of the belly, and the leg-stump tucked in.
43. To remove the crop and windpipe of those whose heads are left
on, open the skin a little just in front of the throat; then pull each
separately gently, first from the beak or bill, then from the stomach.
Fowls whose heads are taken off may have the crop removed by
putting- the finger down the throat. The windpipe is easily removed
in the same way.
[Trussed Fowl for roasting.]
44. Before dressing, a little flour should be dusted over fowls.
Poulterers, to make the bird look plump, often break the breast bone;
this is a bad practice it lets the air into the fowl, and drys the meat ;
it often breaks the gall-bladder, and, of course, spoils the fowl, and it
always renders the bone troublesome. The head of capon, we ought
to observe, is often twisted under the wing in the same way as a
pheasant's.
45. Ducks have the feet always left on, but the wings must be
taken off at the middle joint; in doing this, leave more skin than be-
longs to the bone. The feet must be scalded, and the skin and claws
taken away ; they then must be turned over the back. In placing the
skewers, keep the thigh joints outside of the pinions, and run the
skewer through the leg, then through the bit of skin that hangs below
the pinion, then through the body, the other pinion, skin, and the
PREPARATIONS FOR COOKING.
33
other leg The short skewer must be inserted just above the joint,
which is twisted to turn back the feet. Tie the skin round the throat;
put in the seasoning at the vent and turn the rump through a small
slit in the apron.
: $$.
I I
1 1.
[Trussed Duck for roasting.]
46. Geese are trussed exactly in the same way as ducks, except
the feet are cut off, and dressed with the giblets. The liver is some-
times dressed separately, and considered by some persons a great
delicacy. A piece of greased white paper should be laid over the
breast, and secured with a string, not skewers, before a goose is put
down to roast.
47. Turkeys are trussed the same way as fowls, but the sinews of
the leg must be drawn out before trussing. The gizzard of a turkey
intended to be roasted should be scored, and both gizzard and liver
covered with the caul of veal or lamb; but buttered paper does as
well, and is more generally used : this is to prevent them becoming
dry. The breast should be secured in the same way, with a piece of
buttered paper. Nicely clean tb? head, and twist it under the wing.
48. Pigeons should be cleat.ed with great care. For roasting,
truss with the feet on ; tie the joints close down the rump, and turn the
feet over the front (see engraving). Most people season them. For
[Trussed Pigeon for roasting.]
[Trussed Pheasant.]
boiling or stewing, cut off the feet, and truss just as fowls for boiling.
For broiling, lay them open by cutting them down the back, and lav
3
34
THE COMPLETE COOK.
ing them flat. As pigeons have no gall, no extra care will be required
with the liver.
49. Pheasants, Partridges, and Guinea Fowls, are trussed with
the head tucked under the wing, and the feet on, which ,are twisted
and tied to the rump, and turned back over the breast. The liver
may be used in the stuffing.
50. Wild Ducks, and all other web-footed wild fowl, should have
the feet left on, and be cleaned and trussed in the same manner a
tame ducks.
51. Woodcocks, Plovers, &c., and all other birds that live by sue
tion, are not drawn; the feet are left on, the knees twisted round
[Trussed Woodcock.]
each other, and raised over the breast, by which means each foot
turns back and falls on the side of the rump.
52. Hare, trussed for roasting, has the legs turned back without
disjointing, so that the haunches are thrown up, much in the form
that a cat is often seen sitting the end bones of the fore and hind
legs meet each other, and lie side by side. Two skewers should be
inserted, one where the end of the leg meets the fleshy part of the
shoulder, and the other where the end of the shoulder meets tho
fleshy part of the leg ; the head is fixed back with a skewer thrust
[Trussed Hare.]
into the mouth, through the head, and into the back between the
shoulders. The belly should be slit no more than is necessary for
taking out the paunch. To secure its keeping in place, a string i
PREPARATIONS FOR COOKING. 35
employed for bracing it; the string is laid across the back, twisted
round the end of both skewers, and brought back across the back and
tied. In skinning hares and rabbits, particularly hares, the ears and
tails should be preserved entire, as they improve the appearance of
these dishes on the table, and are much esteemed.
53. Rabbits for boiling are opened all the way down the belly;
joint the legs at the rump so as to admit of their turning along the
sides; turn the shoulders back to meet them, so that the lower joints
of each lie straight along, side by side; the head should be skewered
down to the right shoulder. Rabbits for roasting are trussed like
hares.
[Trussed Rabbit for boiling.]
54. Fawns or Kids are generally trussed and dressed in the same
way as hares. As the flesh is of a dry nature, they should be covered
with a caul or buttered paper, which should be tied on, not skewered.
Fawns will not keep above a day or two at the furthest.
55. Sucking Pigs, the moment they are killed, should be put into
cold water for a few minutes. Some persons then rub them over
with powdered resin : others object to this on account of the flavour
of the resin, which the pig will retain, if not well washed. Put the
pig for half a minute into a pail or pan of boiling water, and take it
out and pull off the hair or bristles as quickly as possible. If any
should remain, put it again into hot water ; when quite free from hair,
wash it thoroughly with warm water, and then rinse it several times
in cold water, that no flavour of the resin may remain. The feet
should be taken off at the first joint: then make a slit down the belly
and remove the entrails; once more wash the pig inside and out in
cold water, and wrap it in a wet cloth till you are ready to dress it,
which should be done as soon as possible. Fill the belly with season-
ing, and sew it up; skewer back the legs, and the trussing is com-
pleted. The feet, heart, liver, lights, and melt, are to be dressed
separately, when well cleaned. This dish is called pig's pettitoes.
56. Fish, in cleaning, should have every particle of the entrails
very carefully removed. If the blood has settled down the back-bone,
or elsewhere, it should be carefully taken away, and care should be
taken not to break the gallbladder of the liver. Some fish must be
slit in order to clean thorn; others may have their entrails drawn out
at the gills, which should be always done when it is practicable.
Mackerel, perch, &c. are cleaned in this way. Flat fish may bo so
d6 THE COMPLETE COOK.
cleaned, but it is usual to make a s-lanting slit on one side, just below
the gill, in order to put in the finger and remove the clotted blood
from the back-bone. Fishes with scales should be scraped from the
tail to the head, till all the scales are removed ; others, such as soles
and eels, are skinned. The cook ought not to depend upon the clean-
ing of fish by the fishmonger, but carefully examine them before
dressing.
57. Eels are remarkably tenacious of life, and appear to suffer
after they an 1 cut into several pieces. In order to take the sense of
feeling entirely from this fish, it is only necessary, before it is skinned,
to pierce the spinal marrow, just at the back of the skull, right
through, when all feeling in the eel will instantly cease, though it
has the appearance of being alive. Then raise the skin, at the part
cut or pierced, draw it back over the mouth and head, secure the head
with a strong fork to a table, or dresser, and draw back the whole
skin. To prevent the eel from slipping through your hands, rub them
with salt, and you will then draw off the skin easily. Eels, except
very small ones, require to be slit all the way from the vent to the
gills, and the inside of the back-bone should be rubbed with salt. The
liver, roe or melt, are much esteemed, and should be therefore pre-
served.
58. Fish without Scales, tfc. Cod, mackerel, whiting, and some
other fish, being without scales, need nothing doing to them except
drawing them and washing or wiping. Sprats, for broiling, should
have a long bird-vskewer run through their eyes, or a common knitting-
needle. Neither sprats nor the silver-stringed herring, which is the
best, should ever be drawn. They should be wiped dry and clean.
Fish for fryinp;, should not be washed if it be possible to avoid it. If
they require washing, it should be done an hour or two before they
are fried, and wrapped up in a coarse cloth till they are thorough-
ly dry.
59. Turlot, Plaice, Flounders, <$-c., having been gutted and wiped,
?noukl be sprinkled with salt, and hung up for several hours before
dressing.
60. Cod, having been drawn and washed, will eat firmer if it be
sprinkled with salt some time before putting it into the fish-kettle,
with cold water, where it may remain an hour or two before boiling,
or it may be hung up like plaice, &c.
61. Oysters, if fresh from the sea, that is, uncleansed by the fish-
monger, should, as soon as received, be laid in a pan or tub, with the
fiat shell upwards, and the whole fish covered with spring water; t>
which put a pint of salt to every two gallons of water. In a fo\v
hours the fish will have cleansed themselves, and become fit for n^e.
If they are required to be kept longer, the water should be taken
away at night, and renewed in the morning; but they are nevor
better than after they have been in the water from six to ten hours.
There are persons who recommend that they should always be kept
under water, which they say should be renewed every twelve 'hours.
Such persons forget that oysters, in their natural state, are not under
PREPARATIONS FOR COOKING. 37
water when the tide is out. Some writers recommend fresh water,
but for what reason we know not, except to spoil the fish. Others
order them to he sprinkled with flour, or oatmeal, for the purpose
of making the fish white. "We believe it has no such effect
much less will it feed them. Clear fresh spring water with a little
salt, is the best ; in this they will soon scour themselves, and become
delicately white. Oysters should be opened very carefully be
turned round on the shell the lower shell preserves the liquor best,
and then served immediately; but they are better when eaten and
opened at table. Every moment the oyster is kept after it is opened,
injures it in quality and flavour. If served on the flat side of the
shell, the liquor should be preserved and used for flavouring. -N. B.
Oysters when taken fresh from the clean sea, that is, from beds de-
void of mud, require no cleansing; but, on the contrary, we are as-
sured on good authority, are much better without it. The process of
cleansing deprives the fish of its flavour to a certain extent, and very
much weakens the delicious liquor in the shell.
62. Vegetables, particularly green, in preparing for dressing, re-
quire great attention in point of cleanliness. If vegetables for boiling
can be gathered perfectly clean, immediately before being put in the
pot, they preserve their colour much better without washing. But
this will seldom be the case, particularly with those purchased of the
greengrocer. When they are a little stale, which is almost always
the case, if not gathered in your own garden, putting them in water
for a few hours will refresh them. Salt and water should be used for
the purpose of bringing out the slugs, or caterpillars, in which sum-
mer cauliflowers and cabbage very often abound. Every drop of cold
water, if possible, should be shaken out of them before boiling. Green
peas, broad beans and French beans, ought not to be washed. Tur-
nip greens, if quite clean and fresh, are better not washed ; but if
otherwise they must be washed through several waters.
63. Asparagus, Artichokes, Spinach, <$fc. Scrape the stalks of
asparagus clean, tie them up with tape, in bundles of twenty-five or
thirty each ; cut off' the ends of the stalks to an equal length. If quite
fresh they need not be washed. Artichokes require thorough wash-
ing, and should be soaked two hours or so in water before dressing.
Spinach should be picked leaf by leaf; washed in three or four
waters, and thoroughly drained. Celery should be well soaked.
64. Potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes should be well scrubbed
with a birch broom, besom, or scrubbing brush, and washed very clean
just before boiling; but they should never be the least wetted till they
are about to be dressed. Some persons like them best boiled in the
skins; they are best peeled before boiling when they are old or
Bpecky.
65. Carrots, Parsnips, Beetroots, and Turnips. Carrots and
parsnips should be well washed and scrubbed, but not scraped, as it is
apt to injure the flavour. After boiling, rub the skins with a coarse
cloth. For soups, &,c., they should be scraped. Beetroots should be
washed and scrubbed very clean, but if the red sort be scraped, or cut
3*
38 THE COMPLETE COOK.
with a knife, the colour will escape. When done, carefully rub with
a rough cloth. Wash and peel turnips.
Having given directions for the preparations for cooking, we now
proceed to Cooking itself; and shall begin with
SOUPS AND BROTHS, &c.
In our general directions we have given pretty full instructions on
the art of making broths, stews, &c., which instructions are of them-
selves sufficient to enable a young cook, possessed of diligence and
common sense, to prepare the different varieties of these dishes, with-
out the assistance of particular receipts. We give, however, the fol-
lowing.
66. Clear Gravy Soups. Cut half a pound of ham into slices, and
lay them at the bottom of a large stew-pan, or stock pot, with two or
three pounds of veal and the same weight of lean beef; break the
bones and lay them on the meat; pare two turnips and skin two large
onions; wash clean, and cut into pieces two large carrots, two heads
of celery; put in a large blade of mace, and three cloven; cover the
stew-pan close, and set it over a clear fire; when the meat begins to
stick at the bottom of the stew-pan, turn it, and when there is a nice
brown glaze at the bottom of the stew-pan cover the meat with hot
water; put in half a pint when it is coming to a boil ; take off the
scum, and put in half a pint more of cold water; then skim it again,
and continue to do so till no more scum rises: now set it on one side
of the fire to boil gently for four hours; strain through a clean tamis
(do not squeeze it, or the soup will be thick) into a clean stone pan ;
let it remain till it is cold, then remove all the fat; when you bottle
it, be careful not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the pan.
The broth should be of a fine amber colour, and very clear. If it is
not quite as bright as you wish it, put it into a stew-pan ; break two
whites and the shells of eggs, mix well together and put them into
the soup, set it on a quick fire, and stir it with a whisk till it boils,
then set it on one side till it settles; run it through a fine napkin;
then it is ready. If you skim your broth carefully as directed above,
it will be clear enough; clarifying it impairs the flavour. Observe.
This is the basis of almost all gravy soups, which are called by the
name of the vegetables that are put into them: carrots, turnips,
onions, celery, and a few leaves of chervil, make what is called spring
soup; to this a pint of green peas, or asparagus, or French beans cut
into pieces, or a cabbage lettuce, is an improvement. With rice,
Scotch barley, or vermicelli, maccaroni or celery, cut into lengths, it
will be the soup usually called by those names. Or turnips scooped,
round or young onions, will give you a clear turnip or onion soup.
The roots and vegetables used must be boiled first, or they will im-
pregnate the soup with too strong a flavour. Seasoning for those soups
is the same, viz. salt, and a very little cayenne pepper.
67. Ox Tail Soup. Take three or four ox tails; divide at the
joints; well wash, and soak them. Put them on the fire; to each
SOUPS AND BROTHS, &C. 39
tail allow a quart of water; when they boil, take off all the scum. If
four tails add four onions, and eight or ten corns of allspice and black
pepper to each tail. Simmer it slowly till the meat on the bones is
tender. Then take out the tails, scrape off all the meat and cut it
small; strain the soup through a sieve. To thicken it, take two
ounces of butter, and as much flour as it will take up; mix it well
with the whole, and let it simmer another half hour. If not perfectly
smooth, it must be strained again ; then put in the meat, with a glass
of wine, a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup, a little cayenne, and
salt to taste ; simmer it again a few minutes. Or instead of thicken-
ing the soup, the meat may be returned to the gravy and warmed
again, with or without the addition of carrots and turnips.
68. Hotch-potch. Take lamb or mutton chops, and stew them in
good gravy, with the addition of almost every kind of vegetable. A
summer hotch-potch is composed of young onions, carrots, asparagus,
green peas, lettuce, turnips, spinach, and parsley ; a winter one is com-
posed of full-grown turnips cut small, old carrots cut small or grated,
celery and onions sliced, dried peas the green or blue sort are the best
colours for this purpose. The peas will take much longer boiling than
either meat or green vegetables. Put them in the liquor boiling, and
let them boil an hour before the addition of meat, and the other vege-
tables. The proportion is four pounds of meat to a gallon of stock,
and two quarts of vegetables. Boil the meat and vegetables between
two and three hours, slow boiling, with the lid on. If you add green
peas or asparagus tops among the vegetables, keep out nearly all of
them till within half an hour of sending them to table ; then let them
soil fast till tender. Season with salt and pepper, and serve all to-
gether. Some people make it of brisket of beef, and add a bunch
of sweet herbs. The beef will require stewing longer. A leg of
beef, cut in pieces, and stewed six or seven hours, with carrots and
the other ingredients, makes very good soup. A little small beer is
in improvement to all brown soups.
69. Fish Broth. Thick-skinned fish, and those which have gluti-
nous, j^lly-like substances, are the best. The liquor which eels have
jeen boiled in is good enough of itself, as they require but little water.
The liquor in which turbot or cod has been boiled, boil again, with
the addition of the bones. If purposely made, small eels, or grigs,
or flat fish, as flounders, soles, plaice or dab?, or the finny parts of
cod, will do for the purpose. A pound offish to three pints of water;
add peppercorns, a large handful of parsley, and an onion ; and boil
till reduced to half. A spoonful of catsup, or vinegar, is an improve-
ment. This broth is very nourishing and easy of digestion ; but for a
sick person, leave out the catsup or vinegar.
70. Cock-a-leeky Soup. Take a small knuckle of veal, and a large
fowl, or a scrag of mutton instead of veal. An old fowl will do. Add
three or four large leeks, cut in pieces of half an inch long. Simmer
in three quarts of good broth for an hour. Then add as many more
leeks, and season with pepper and salt. Let it boil three-quarters
of an hour longer, and serve all together. The leeks which are put
40 THE COMPLETE COOK.
in first, is with the intention of thickening- the soup ; and those which
fare put in last, should retain their form and substance.
71. Scotch Brose, or Crowdy. Take half a pint of oatmeal ; put
it before the fire, and frequently turn it till it is perfectly dry and of a
light brown. Take a ladle-full of boiling water, in which fat meat
has been boiled, and stir it briskly to the oatmeal, still adding more
liquor till it is brought to the thickness desired, which is about that
of a stiff batter; a little salt and pepper may be added, if the liquor
with which it was made was not salt. Kale brose is the same thing,
but with the addition of greens, cut small, and boiled in the liquor.
72. Pease Soup.- -Put a quart of split peas to three quarts of
boiling water, not more (Dr. Kitchiner says cold water,) with half a
pound of bacon, not very fat, or roast beef bones, or four anchovies;
or, instead of water, the liquor in which beef, mutton, pork or poultry,
has been boiled ; it will be very much better, but taste the liquor, as it
must not be loo salt. Wash two heads of celery, cut small (half a
drachm of celery seed, pounded finp, and put into the soup, a quarter
of an hour before it is finished, will flavour three quarts,) two onions
peeled, and a sprig of savoury, or sweet marjoram, or lemon thyme.
Let it simmer very gently, stirring it every quarter of an hour, to
keep the peas from sticking to or burning at the bottom of the pot.
Simmer till the peas are tender, which will be in about three hours.
Some cooks now slice a head of celery and half an ounce of onions,
and fry them in a little batter, and put them into the soup, till it is
lightly browned ; then work the whole through a coarse hair sieve,
and then through a fine sieve, or through a tamis, with the back of a
wooden spoon; then put it into a clean stew-pan, with a tea-spoonful
of ground black pepper; let it boil again for ten minutes, and if any
fat arises skim it off. Send up on a plate some toasted bread, cut into
little pieces, an inch square; or cut a slice of bread (that has been
baked two days) into dice, not more than half an inch square; put
half a pound of quite clean dripping, or lard, into an iron frying-pan;
when it is hot fry the bread ; take care to turn the bread with a slice,
that it may be of a delicate brown on both sides; take it up with a
fish-slice, and lay it on a sheet of paper to drain the fat; be careful
that this is done nicely. Send them up in one side dish, and dried
and powdered mint, or savoury, in another. The most economical
method of making pease soup, is to save the bones of a joint of roast
beef, and put them into the liquor in which mutton, or beef, or pork, or
poultry, has been boiled, and proceed as in the first receipt. A hock
or shank bone of ham, a ham bone, the root of a tongue, or a red or
pickled herring, are favourite auditions with some people; others send
up rice or vermicelli with pease soup. Pease soup may be made sa-
voury and agreeable to the palate, without any meat, by putting two
ounces of fresh and nicely clarified beef, mutton, or pork dripping,
with two ounces of oatmeal, and mix this well into a gallon of soup
prepared with the peas and vegetables, according to the first receipt,
or in water alone.
73. Pease Soup and Pickled Pork. Take two pounds of pickled
SOUPS AND BROTHS, &C. 41
pork, which will make very good broth for pease soup; if the pork is
too salt, put it in watpr on the over-night. The pork should not be
in salt more than two day?. Put on the articles, mentioned in the
first receipt, in three quarts of water ; boil these gently for two hours;
then put in the pork, and boil gently for an hour and a half, or two
hours, according to the thickness of the pork; when done, wash the
pork clean in some hot water ; send it up in a dish, or cut it into little
pieces, and put them into the tureen, with the toasted bread, &c., or
as in the first receipt. The meat being boiled no longer than to be
done enough to eat, you can get excellent soup without the expense
of any other meat.
74. Plain Pease Soup. To a quart of split peas, and two heads of
celery, and a large onion, put three quarts of broth, or soft water; let
them simmer gently over a slow fire for three hours. Stir them up
every quarter of an hour, to prevent the peas sticking at the bottom
of the pot, and burning.
75. Spanish Soup. Take about three pounds of beef, off the leg
or shin, with or without the bone if with the bone, well crack it a
pound of knuckle of ham, or gammon. More than cover them with
water, and when it boils skim it, and add a tea-spoonful of pepper.
The ham will probably make it sufficiently salt if not, add a little.
Let this simmer by the side of the fire until it is three parts done,
which will take two hours and a half. And then well wash some
cabbage plants, or small summer cabbage; cut these into small pieces,
also onions cut small; a tea-cup full of rice, with a bit of eschalot;
put these in the saucepan, and let it simmer a quarter of an hour or
twenty minutes, until the rice is boiled enough. Then take it from
the fire; separate the meat, vegetables, and rice, from the soup, and
eat the soup before the meat. Separate the meat from the bones, and
mix it with the vegetables. If the plants are too strong, scald them
before putting them in the saucepan. In the summer, a few young
peas make a great improvement. Leeks are better than onions, as
you can have more in quantity of vegetables. The Spaniards use
garlic. This will dine a family of seven or eight people.
76. Chicken Broth. Chicken bones, and the heads and feet, mako
a basin of good broth, provided the fowls have been boiled, and the
liquor used instead of water. The heads and feet of four fowls may
be boiled in a quart of water, with the addition of an onion and a blade
of mace, a little pepper and salt. Chicken broth may be enriched
by the addition of a knuckle bone of veal, a bit of beef, or three or
four shank bones of mutton.
77. Mutton Broth. Scrags of mutton, or sheeps' heads, make a
very good family dinner. Two or three scrags of mutton, or two
sheeps' heads, may be put on in a two-gallon pot; when it boils, skim
it well, then add six ounces of Scotch or pearl barley, or rice ; let it
boil an hour or more; then add eight or ten turnips, three or four car-
rots, cut up, and four or five onions. Half an hour before serving, put
in a few small suet dumplings, a little parsley, and a few marigold
blossoms. This broth should boil two hours and a half, or three hours.
THE COMPLETE COOK.
The knuckle of a shoulder of mutton answers very well in this man-
ner. Serve the meat on a separate dish, and the broth, dumplings,
and vegetables, all tog-ether in a large tureen.
78. Mutton Chop Broth. Cut the chops from a neck or loin of
mutton; cut as much as is required into thin chops; put them in a
stew-pan, with an onion or two, a little salt, and cold water enough
to cover them. Skirn well when it boils, and let it stew slowly three-
quarters of an hour, or an hour. Turnips may be boiled in this liquor,
or boiled separately, and mashed. Serve the broth and meat to-
gether. In broth intended for invalids, the vegetables and spice
should be left out.
79. Soup and Bouilli. For the bouilli, roll five pounds of brisket
of beef tight with a tape, put it into a stew-pan; four pounds of the
leg of beef; about seven or eight quarts of water ; boil these up quick ;
scum it; add one large onion, six or seven cloves, some whole pep-
per, two or three carrots, a turnip or two, a leek, two heads of celery ;
stew them very gently, closely covered, for six or seven hours; about
an hour before dinner, strain the soup through a piece of flannel (put
the rough side upwards,) or a hair sieve; have ready boiled carrots
and turnips sliced, spinach, a little chervil, and sorrel, two heads of
endive, one or two of celery, cut in pieces. Put the soup into a tu-
reen. The carrots and turnips in separate dishes; add a little salt
and cayenne to the soup. Take the tape from the bouilli very care-
fully, and serve in a dish. A leg or shin of beef, with a piece of fat
beef, will answer the purpose.
80. A Cheap Soup. Two pounds of lean beef, six onions, six po-
tatoes (parboiled,) one carrot, one turnip, half a pint of split peas, four
quarts of water, some whole pepper, a head of celery, a red herring;
when boiled, rub through a coarse sieve, add spinach and celery
boiled, dried mint, and fried bread.
81. Veal Soup. Cut the meat off in thin slices; put the meat in a
large jug or jar ; put to it a bunch of sweet herbs, half an ounce of
almonds, blanched, and beat fine ; pour on it four quarts of boiling
water; cov-r it close, and let it stand all ni^ht by the fire; the next
day, put it into an earthen vessel; Jet it stew very slowly till it is re-
duced to two quarts; take off the scum as it ri.-es while boiling, and
let it stand to settle; then pour it clear off, and put it into a clean
saucepan ; mix with three ounces of either boiled rice or vermicelli.
82. Calf's Head Soup. Take a calf's head, wash if clean, stew
it with a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, mace,
pearl barley, and Jamaica pepper ; when it is very tender, put to it
some stewed celery ; season it with pepper ; and serve it with tha
head in the middle.
83. Giblct Soup. The most economical way is to take a pound or
two of beef skirts, or of knuckle of veal; cut it into pieces two or
three inches square; a set of goose giblets, or four sets of ducks', or
the head, neck, and feet, of a turkey or two, or of six or eight fowls;
all of these are good, either separate or together. Clean them well,
split the heads, cut the gizzards across, crack the pinions and feet
SOUPS AND BROTHS, & C. 43
bones. Put all together into a stew-pan, with an ounce of butter; the
red part of two or three carrots cut up, two or three onions sliced, and
a clove or two of eschalots. Shake it over a clear slow fire a few
minutes, to draw the gravy, then add water or broth enough to cover
the whole ; let it simmer two hours or more, then season with salt
and popper, and a large spoonful of catsup, and serve all together. It
may be thickened with rice or barley, which should be added as soon
as it boils. A more expensive way : Prepare the giblets as above
and set them on with good gravy, enough to cover them ; tie in a
muslin bag an onion or two, a small bundle of sweet herbs, a few
leaves of sweet basil, and twenty corns of allspice, the same of black
pepper. Let it simmer till the giblets are tender, then take them out
and cover up close while you thicken the gravy ; remove also the bag
of spice and herbs. Make some force meat balls as follows: when
the livers are done enough to chop fine, take them out or part of them,
pound tb^m fine with half their weight in butter, and the yolks of
three ha*d-boiled eggs; season with salt, cayenne, nutmeg, sage, and
onions, scalded and chopped very fine, and also a leaf or two of sweet
basil. Mix with half a tea-cup full of bread crumbs, wet with the
yolk of an egg, and make up into little balls with a little flour. Hav-
ing removed tht giblets, thicken the soup with butter and flour, and
when it boils add the balls ; let them simmer a quarter of an hour,
then add a glass tf wine, a large table-spoonful of catsup, and the
juice of half a Seville orange or lemon. Put in the giblets to warm
through, and it is ready.
84. Kitchiner's cheap Soup. Wash in cold water four ounces
of Scotch barley, and put into five qaarts of water, with four ounces
of sliced onions; boil gently one hour, and pour it into a pan; then
put into a saucepan from one to two ounces of fresh beef or mutton
dripping. Dripping for this purpose should be taken out of the pan
as fast as it drips from the meat ; if suffered to remain in the pan it
is apt to become rancid. If no dripping is at hand, melted suet will
do, or two or three ounces of fat bacon minced fine. When melted
in the saucepan, stir into it four ounces of oatmeal, and rub them
together until they become a soft paste. Then add, by degrees, a
spoonful at a time, the barley broth, stirring it well together till it
boils. For seasoning, put in a tea-cup or basin a drachm of celery or
cress seed, or half a drachm of each, and a quarter of a drachm of
cayenne, finely powdered, or a drachm and a half of black pepper
finely powdered, or half allspice ; mix them smooth with a little of
the soup; then stir it into the rest; simmer it gently another quarter
of an hour, season with salt, and it is ready. The flavour may be
varied by any variety of herbs, or thickening with garlic or eschalot
instead of celery ; a larger portion of onions, or carrots and turnips,
or rice, or paste, instead of oatmeal or barley.
85. Soup Maigre. Divide two or three heads of celery, two large
carrots, three or four moderate-sized turnips^ some onions, two young
lettuces, a handful of spinach leaves, and a little sorrel. Cut the
Worst half of the vegetables in small pieces, and put them into the
THE COMPLETE COOK.
stew-pan with three ounces of butter; let them fry till the vegetables
are brown and the butter absorbed ; put a gallon of boiling water into
the pan; when it boils fast, skim it well, stir in a little flour, and
add some stale crust of bread ; put. in two dozen of black peppers, and
the same of allspice, with two or three blades of mace ; let it simmer
for an hour and a half, then set it aside for a quarter of an hour, then
strain it off very gently, so as not to disturb the settlings at the bot-
tom of the stew-pan, which clean. When the soup has stood two
hours, pour it back again, avoiding to disturb any sediment, if any
should escape from the first draining. Cut up the remainder of the
vegetables and boil them in water five minutes, then drain them, and
when the soup again boils, add them to it, and let it simmer till they
are tender, which will be about three-quarters of an hour ; season
with salt, cayenne, and a table-spoonful of catsup. If green peas are
in season, the liquor in which they have been boiled, added to the
soup, is a great improvement.
86. Mock Turtle. Have the head and broth ready for the soup
the day before it is to be eaten; it will take eight hours to prepare it
properly. Get the calf's head with the skin on, the fresher the better,
take out the brains and wash the head several times in cold water,
let it soak in spring water for an hour, then lay it in the stew-pan,
cover it with cold water, and half a gallon over; as it becomes warm
a great deal of scum will rise, which must be immediately removed;
let it boil gently for one hour, then take it up. When almost cold
cut the head into pieces about an inch and a half long and an inch
and a quarter broad ; the tongue into mouthfuls, or rather make a
side dish of the tongue and brains. When the head is taken out, put
in about five pounds of knuckle of veal, and as much beef; add to the
stock all the trimmings and bones of the head ; skim it well, then
cover it close, let it boil five hours; reserve two quarts of this to
make gravy sauce, then strain it off Snd let it stand till the next
morning; then take off the fat, put a large stew-pan on the fire, with
half a pound of good fresh butter, twelve ounces of onions sliced, four
ounces of green sage chopped ; let these fry one hour; rub in half a
pound of flour by degrees, add your broth till it is the thickness of
cream ; season it with a quarter of an ounce of ground allspice and
half an ounce of black pppper, ground very fine, salt to your taste,
add the rind of one lem.^n peeled very thin ; let it simmer very gently
for one hour and a half, then strain it through a hair sieve, do not rub
your soup to get it through the sieve or it will make it grouty ; if it
do not run through easily, knock a wooden spoon against the side of
the sieve; put it into a clean stew-pan with the head, and season by
adding, to each gallon of soup, half a pint of wine, Madeira, or claret
if you wish it dark; two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, the same of
catsup, one of essence of anchovy, a tea-spoonful of curry powder, or
a quarter of a drachm of cayenne, the peel of a lemon pared very thin.
Let it simmer gently till the meat is tender; this may take from half
an hour to an hour ; take care that it is not over-done ; stir it fre-
quently to prevent the meat sticking to the bottom of the stew-pan ;
SOUPS AND BROTHS, &. C . 45
the meat is quite done, take out the lemon peel, and the soup
is ready. Serve with force meat stuffing-, or bails.
87. Carrot Soup. Wash and scrape six large carrots, peel off the
red outside (which is the only part used for this soup), put it into a
gallon stew-pan, with one head of celery, and an onion cut into thin
pieces; take two quarts of veal, beef, or mutton broth, put the broth
to the roots, cover the stew-pan close, and set it on a slow stove for
two hours and a half, when the carrots will be soft enough ; put in a
tea-cup full of bread crumbs, boil for two or three minutes, rub it
through a tamis, or hair sieve, with a wooden spoon, add broth, and
make it nearly as thick as pease soup; season it with a little salt, and
send it up with some toasted bread, cut into pieces half an inch
square. The celery and onions should be sliced and fried in butter,
or nicely clarified dripping-, and then put in the stew-pan and the
broth added to it. Or thus : Put some beef bones with four quarts of
liquor in which a leg of mutton or beef has been boiled, two large
onions, a turnip, pepper and salt, into a stew-pan, and stew for three
hours; have ready six large carrots scraped, and cut thin ; strain the
soup on them, stew them till soft enough to pulp through a hair sieve,
or a coarse cloth ; then boil the pulp with the soup, which is to be as
thick as pease soup. Make the soup the day before it is to be used;
add cayenne. Pulp only the red part of the carrot, and not the yel-
low. The soup is better made with a shin of beef.
88. Carry or Mulligatawny Soup. Cut four pounds of a breast
of veal into pieces about two inches long and one inch broad ; put the
trimmings into a stew-pan with two quarts of water, with twelve
corns of black pepper, and the same of allspice; when it boils skim it
clean, and let it boil an hour and a half; then strain it off; while it
is boiling, fry of a nice brown in butter the bits of veal, and four
onions; when they are done put the broth to them, put it on the fire;
when it boils skim it clean, let it simmer half an hour, then mix two
spoonfuls of curry, and the same of flour, with a little cold water, and
a tea-sooonful of salt; add these to the soup, and simmer it till the
veal i quite tender, and it is ready ; or bone a couple of fowls or rab-
bits, and stew them the same as veal, and you may put in a bruised
eschalot, and some mace and ginger, instead of black pepper and all-
spice. The fowls and rabbits should be cut into joints, and fried of a
nice brown in some batter.
89. Eel Soup. To make a tureen full, take two middling sized
onions, cut them in half, and cross your knife over them two or three
.imes; put two ounces of butter into a stew-pan; when it is melted,
put in the onions, stir them in the pan till they are of a light brown;
cut into pieces three pounds of un^kinned eels, put them into your
stew-pan, and shake them over the fire for five minutes; then add
three quarts of boiling water, and when they boil, take the scum off
very clean, and then put in a quarter of an ounce of the green leaves
(not dried) of winter savoury, the same of lemon-thyme, and twice
the quantity of parsley, two drachms of allspice, the same of black
pepper ; cover it close, and let it boil gently for two hours, skina it
4
46 THE COMPLETE COOK.
clean and strain it off. To thicken it, put three ounces of butter into
a clean stew-pan; when it is melted stir in as much flour as wnl
make it of a thick paste, then add the liquid by degrees, let it simmer
for ten minutes, and pass it through a sieve, then put your soup on in
a clean stew-pan, and have ready some little square pieces of fried
fish of nice light brown either eels, soles, plaice, or skate, win do,
the fried fish should be added about ten minutes before the soup ia
served up. Force meat balls are sometimes added. Excellent fish-
soup may be made of cod's head, or skate, or flounders, boiled in no
more water than will cover them, and the liquor thickened witn
oatmeal, &LC.
90. Gourd Soup should be made of full-grown gourds, but not
those that have hard skins ; slice three or four, and put them into a
stew-pan with two or three onions and a good bit of butter, set them
over a slow fire till quite tender, be careful not to let them burn;
then add two ounces of crust of bread, and two quarts of good con-
somme, season with salt and cayenne pepper; boil ten minutes or a
quarter of an hour, skim off all the fat, and pass it through a tamia
when quite hot. Serve up with fried bread.
91. Game Soup. In the game season it is easy to make very good
soup at a little expense, by taking all the meat off the breasts of any
cold birds that have been left on the preceding day, and pound it in a
mortar; beat to pieces the legs and bones, and boil in some broth for
an hour; boil six turnips, and mash them and strain them through a
tamis cloth, with the meat that has been pounded in a mortar; strain
your broth and put a little of it at a time into the tamis to help you
to strain all of it through. Put your soup kettle near the hre, but ao
not let it boil. When ready to dish your dinner, have six yolks or
eggs mixed with half a pint of cream, then strain it through a sieve;
put your soup on the fire, and as it is coming to boil, pat in the eggs,
and stir it well with a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil, or it will
curdle.
92. Turnip and Parsnip Soups are made the same as carrot soup.
93. Celery Soup Split six heads of celery into slips about two
inches long; wash them well, lay them on a hair sieve to drain, and
put them into three quarts of gravy soup in a gallon soup pot; set it
by the side of the fire to stew very gently till the celery is tender
this will take about an hour; if any scum rises, take it off. Season
it with a little salt. When celery cannot be procured, half a drachm
of the seed pounded fine may be considered as the essence of celery,
which may be had very cheap, and can be bought at any season ; put
this in about a quarter of an hour before the soup is done, and a little
sugar will give as much flavour to half a gallon of soup as two heads
of celery or add a little essence of celery.
94. Lamb Stew. Take a lamb's head and lights, and wash them ;
remove all the bones and skin from the nose, put them in the pot with
some beef stock made with three quarts of water and two pounds of
shin of beef, strained ; boil very slowly for an hour, wash and string
two or three good handfuls of spinach, put it in twenty minutes before
SOUPS AND BROTHS, &C. 47
serving, add one or two onions and a little parsley a short time before
it comes off the fire ; season with salt and pepper, and it is ready.
Serve all together in a tureen.
95. Hare, Rabbit, or Partridge Soup. When hares and rabbits
and other game are too tough to eat (in the ordinary way of cooking,)
they will make very good soup. Cut off the legs and shoulders of a
hare, divide the body crossways, and stew very gently in three quarts
of water, with one carrot, about one ounce of onions, two blades of
pounded mace, four cloves, twenty-four black pepper?, and a bundle
of sweet herbs; stew it till the hare is tender. Most cooks add to the
above two slices of ham or bacon, and a bay leaf, but the hare makes
sufficiently savoury soup without this addition. The time this will
take depends upon the age and time it has been kept before it is
dressed ; as a general rule, about three hours. Make a dozen and a
half of force meat balls, as big as nutmegs. When hare is tender,
take the meat off the back and upper joints of the legs; cut it into
mouthfuls, and put on one side ; cut the rest of the meat off the legs,
shoulders, &c., mince it and pound it in a mortar with an ounce of
butter, and two or three table-spoonfuls of flour moistened with a little
sonp ; rub this through a hair sieve, and put it into the soup to thicken
it; let it simmer for half an hour longer, skim it well, and put it
through the tamis in the pan again; put the meat in, a glass of port
or claret wine, with a table-spoonful of currant jelly to each quart of
soup. Season it with salt ; put in the force meat balls, and when all
is hot, the soup is ready.
96. Portable Soup. The fresher the meat is from which this
article is made the better. Shins or legs of beef answer very well,
and you may add trimmings of fresh meat, poultry, or game, and the
liquor in which a leg of mutton, or a knuckle of veal, has beenboiled.
No salt, on any account, must be used. If you have a digester, it
should be used for this article, in preference to a closely covered stew-
pan, but the latter will do. Just cover the meat with cold liquor, and
let an hour at least be occupied in coming to boil. Skim it, and
throw in cold water two or three times, for the purpose of throwing
up the scum, which must be carefully removed. When thoroughly
cleared of the scum, close the vessel, and let it boil for eight or ten
hours. Strain through a hair sieve into an earthenware pan, and let
the liquor cool. The meat will do for potting. Every particle of fat
must be removed from the top, and the gravy put into a well-tinned
copper stew-pan, taking care that the sediment is separated from it;
put in two drachms of whole black pepper, and let it boil briskly with
the lid off over a quick fire. The scum, if any, should of course be
removed. When it becomes very thick, and is reduced to about a
quart, put it into a smaller stew-pan, set it over a gentle fire, and let
it simmer till reduced to the consistence of very thick syrup. It must
now be watched every moment. Take out a few drops on a cold
gpoon or plate; if it soon sets into a stiff jelly, it is done enough. If
not, boil it a little longer till it does. Have ready some small pots
with lids, such as are used for potting meat : or it mav be poured cut
48 THE COMPLETE COOK.
on a large flat dish, so as to be a quarter of an inch deep; when cold,
turn it out, and, with a paste culler, divide into squares of half an ounce
or an ounce each. Or pour it into the round parts of basins or cups turned
upside down. Put them in a warm room, and turn them frequently
for eight or ten days, then they will be thoroughly dry and hardened
like glue. Put them in a tit, box, or a glass case, in a dry place, and
they will keep for years. If ai any time the surface appears mouldy,
wipe it off, or the taste will penetrate the mass. The chief use of
this article is in country place?, or at sea, where fresh meat cannot
be obtained. A basin of broth, soup or gravy of any strength, may be
had in five minutes, by dissolving one or more of these cakes in boil-
ing water; any flavouring ingredients may be added at pleasure. See
Flavouring.
97. Green Turtle Snvp. This recipe has been collated from the
best authorities, to which is added our own experience. The day be-
fore you wish to serve up the soup it will be necessary to cut off the
head of your turtle, and place it in a positio -i to allow all the blood to
be drained from it. The next morning open t' e turtle, being careful to
do so without breaking the gall. After cutting all around the upper
and lower shell, drain the water off, divide the meat in small pieces,
and wash clean and carefully. Then put the shells in a large pot of
boiling water, where you let them remain until you find they separate
from the flesh readily; but no longer, as the softer parts must be
boiled again. Keep the liquor and stew the bones thoroughly ; after
which it is to be used for moistening the broth. The flesh of the in-
o
terior parts, and the four legs and head, must be cooked in (he follow-
ing manner. Mask the bottom of a large stew-pan with slices of ham,
over which lay two or three knuckles of veal, according to the size
of the turtle; and over the veal place the inside flesh of the turtle, co-
vering the whole with the other parts of the turtle. Add to it about
a gallon of the liquor in which the bones were stewed, and place on
the fire until thoroughly done, which you must ascertain by sticking
your knife into the fleshy part of the meat; and if no blood issue
from it, add another gallon of the liquor. Then throw in a bunch of
the stalks of sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, bay leaves, savoury, com-
mon thyme, and sweet basil ; also a handful of parsley and green
onions, and a large onion stuck wilh cloves, and a few grains of pep-
per. Let the whole stew until thoroughly done, say from three to
four hours. The leaves of the herbs are to be used for making a sauce,
to be described hereafter. When the larger portions of the turtle are
done, place them aside to be used when wanted. When the flesh is
also thoroughly done, drain on a dish, and make a white thickening
very thin, and add to it through a tamis some portion of the liquor
of the bones, and place on the fire until it boils ; and, having arrived
at the proper consistency, neither too thick nor too thin, set the stew-
ian on the side of the stove, and skim off all the white scum and fat
that arises to the surface. Then cut the softer parts green fat and
white meat- into dice of about an inch square (without any waste,)
and add to the sauce, which must be allowed to simmer gently nnti
BROTHS OR STOCKS, GLAZE, & C . 49
sufficiently done, when it must be taken off, at the same time skim-
ming it carefully. Then take the leaves of the sweet basil, sweet
marjoram, lemon thyme, common thyme and winter savoury, together
with a handful ot partiey, some green onions, a large onion cut in
four pieces, with a few leaves of mace ; put the whole in a stew-pan
with a quarter of a pound of butter. Let this simmer on a slow lire
until meltecl, and add a bottle of Madeira and a small lump of sugar,
and boil gently tor an hour. Then rub it through a tamis, and add
to your sauce, which you must boil until no white scum arises; then
with a skimmer drain out all the bits of turtle, and put them into a
clean stew-pan, and pass the sauce through a tamis into the stew-
pan containing the turtle, and proceed as follows. Take out the fleshy
part of a leg of veal, say about one pound, scrape off all the meat
without leaving any of the fat or sinews in it, and soak in about the
same quantity (one pound) of crumbs of bread, which, when well
soaked, squeeze and put into a mortar with the veal, a small quantity
of calfs udder, a little butter, the yolks of four eggs hard boiled, a lit-
tle cayenne pepper, salt and spices, and pound the whole very fine.
Then thicken the mixture with two whole eggs, and the yolk of a
third ; and, to try its consistency, put it in boiling hot water; if you
find it too thin, add the yolk of another egg. When it is perfected,
take one half of it, and add some chopped parsley. Cook it and roll
into balls the size of the yolk of an egg ; poach them in boiling wa-
ter with a little salt. Tlv? other half must be made also into balls,
and place the whole on a sieve to drain. Before serving your soup,
equeeze the juice of two or three lemons, with a little cayenne pep-
per, and pour it into the soup. The fins maybe served as a side dish,
with a little turtle sauce. When lemon juice is used, be careful that
the lemons are good ; a musty lemon will spoil all the turtle, and
too much will destroy its flavour.
98. 7mA Stew. Take two pounds of potatoes; peel and slice, and
parboil, and throw away the water; rather more than two pounds of
mutton chops, either from the loin or neck; part of the fat should be
taken off; beef two pounds, six large onions sliced, a slice of ham, or
lean bacon, a spoonful of pepper, and two of salt. This stew may be
done in a stew-pan over the fire, or in a baker's oven, or in a close
covered earthen pot. First put a layer of potatoes, then a layer of
meat and onions, sprinkle the seasoning, then a layer of potatoes, and
again the meat and onions and seasoning; the top layer should be po-
tatoes, and the vessel should be quite full. Then put in half a pin
of good gravy, and a spoonful of mushroom catsup. Let the whol
stew for an hour and a half; be very careful it does not burn.
BROTHS OR STOCKS, GLAZE AND GRAVIES.
These articles are all nearly allied to each other, differing piinci-
pally in degrees of strength. In extensive establishments, a large
quantity of stock, both brown and white, is constantly kept. Stocks
are distinguished by the names of first stock, or long broth, in the
4*
50 THE COMPLETE COOK.
French kitchen, "Ze &rand bouillon" second stock, in French, "jus
de bceuf," and jelly stock, in French, ''consomme" In preparing a
regular dinner, they will all be found exceedingly useful. The ma-
terials for the making of stocks will not cost much, if the cook does
her duty. In such case, she will take great care of all the trimmings
of meat, and the necks, heads, gizzards, feet, &c., of game and poul-
try. Boiled and roast meat gravy not used ought to be carefully
collected and kept. The author of " The Housekeeper' 's Guide"
says, " We should recommend the cook when she sets away after the
dinner the meat on clean dishes, to collect in one basin every drop of
roast meat gravy; in another, every drop of boiled meat gravy ; and
in anotinT, every little bit of trimming of dressed meat, and pour over
It some hot liquor, in which meat has been boiled, or hot water. Next
morning, when she prepares meat for dressing, let her collect all the
little trimming bits, and boil them with the liquor and bits set by the
day before. This may be done before the fire is wanted tor other
pui poses. Thus she will always have gravy in store for every emer-
gency. Then if she have white sauce to prepare, such as celery or
oyster sauce, parsley and butter, or caper t^auce, the cold boiled meat
gravy (which she will most likely find a stiff jelly) will form an ex-
cellent basis for it, much more rich and relishing than water. If she
wants good brown gravy for roast meat, or fried, the cold roast meat
gravy will enrich and colour the stock or store gravy, with the addi-
tion of any flavouring that may be required. Good managers, who
attend to this every day, do not know what it is to be distressed for
gravy, or running to the butcher's for gravy beef." The cook, we
must add, should be careful to have her broth or stock clear, and
devoid of fat, which, eaten by itself, that is, unincorporated with
farinaceous or vegetable substances, is very indigestible, yielding
little or no nourishment, but when so incorporated, fat becomes very
nutritious and wholesome more so indeed, according to some writers,
than lean meat.
99. First Stock, or Beef Broth, c^c. Wash a leg or shin of beef
very clean ; let the butcher crack the bone in two or three places,
and take out the marrow; add meat trimmings, and heads, necks,
gizzards, feet, &c., of game and poultry ; cover them with cold water ;
watch and stir up well, and the moment the simmering commences
skim it very clear of all the scum. Then add some cold water, which
will make the remaining scum rise, and skim it again. No-fat should
enter into the composition of broth of this description, nor indeed of
any other, unless incorporated with meal by way of thickening.
Stock should be quite clear and limpid. When the surface of the
broth is quite clear, put in carrots, turnips, celery, and onions, accord-
ing to the quantity. Some persons direct one moderate sized carrot,
a head of celery, two turnips, and two onions. But this is a very
poor criterion as to the quantity which ought to be used of these
vegetables, which differ so much in size. No taste of sweet herbs,
spice, &c., should be given to the stock. After the vegetables are
added, cover it close, and set it by the side of the fire, and let it sim-
BROTHS OR STOCKS, GLAZE, &C. 51
mer very gently, not wasting- the broth, for four or five hours, or
more, according to the weight of the meat. Strain through a sieve
into a clean, dry stone pan, and put it in a cold place, for use. This
is the basis for all sorts of soup and sauce, whether brown or white.
The meat may be used for immediate food, or for making- potted beef
that is, if it be not overdone to rags.
100. The following method has been adopted in the kitchen of tho
reviser for several years past, and is inserted as being more concise
than the English plan : Put in a large boiler, of the capacity of six
or seven gallons, two large skins of beef; a small piece of the rump
of about five pounds; five gallons of water, and two handsf. 1 of salt;
place the pot on the fire, and before it commences to boil, and whilst
boiling, skim it carefully and frequently, adding a little cold water to
bring up the scum completely. When you find no more scum rising
to the top, add three large carrots, three turnips, and three onions
with six cloves stuck in them (that i?, two cloves in each onion), and
let it boil for four or five hours. Before usinsr it, skim all the fat off
the top, and strain it through a double sieve. If the beef is to be used,
let it be taken out of the pot. when cooked, and pour over it a little of
the top of the broth, to keep it moist until it may be wanted, when
you can serve it with such sauce as you may fancy. For a family it
will be necessary to make the broth about once a week, but great
care should be taken to keep a portion always on hand.
101. Second Stock may be made from the meat left after straining
the first stock oif, by covering it with water, and by letting it go on
boiling for four or five hours. This stock will produce good glaze, or
portable soup (see H16).
102. Glaze is a strong gravy boiled as quick as possible till it
/hickens, as directed in braising (see 316).
103. Beef Gravy, sometimes called second stock, or in French jus
de bceuf, is thus made : Take a slice of good lean ham, or lean bacon,
four or five pounds of gravy beef, cut into ei^ht or ten pieces, a car-
rot, an onion with two cloves stuck in it, and a head of celery. Cover
the bottom of a clean well-tinned stew-pan with these things, putting
in the ham first, and then put a pint of stock, or water; cover close;
set over a moderate fire till the water is so reduced as to just save
the ingredients from burning-, then turn it all about and let it brown
slightly and equally all over. You must put in three quarts of boiling
water just at the moment the meat has obtained its proper colour;
if it is suffered to burn, the gravy will have a bad taste, and if the
water is put in too soon the gravy will want flavour. When it boils
up, skim carefully and clean the sides of the stew-pan with a cloth.
The gravy ought to be delicately clean and clear. Set it by the side
of a fire, and stew gently for about four hours; strain through a tamis
sieve, skirn it carefully, and put it in a cold place. If well managed,
that is, not boiled too fast, it will yield two quarts of good gravy.
104. Gravy for Roast Meat. Take the trimmings off the joint
you are about to cook, which will make half a pint of plain gravy.
Colour by adding a few drop- of burnt sugar. If you do not wish to
52 THE COMPLETE COOK.
make gravy in this way, about half an hour before the meat is done
mix a salt-spoonful of salt with a full quarter of a pint of boiling
water : drop this by degrees on the brown parts of the meat, set a
dish under to catch it, and set it by ; the meat will soon brown again.
When the gravy you have made is cold take the fat from the surface,
and when the meat is done, warm up the gravy and put it in the dish.
Or you may make good browning for roast meat by saving the brown
bits of boiling or roast meat : cut them small, put them into a basin
and cover them with boiling water, and put them away ; next put
them into a saucepan and boil two or three minutes, then strain it
through a sieve, and put by for use. When you want gravy for use
put two table-spoonsful in a quarter of a pint of boiling water, with a
little salt. If for roasted veal, put three table-spoonsful into half a
pint of thin melted butter. The gravy which remains in the dish
after the family has dined should be put by to enrich hashes or little
made dishes.
105. Gravy for Boiled Meat is nothing more than a tea-cup full
of the liquor in which the meat has been boiled, carefully skimmed
and free from fat.
106. Gravy for Roast Veal. Make in the same way as for any
other roast meat, and make a tea-cup full of thick melted butter, or
melt the butter in the gravy. The same gravy for target or loin of
lamb.
107. Rich brown Gravy for Poultry, Ragout, or Game. If your
stock or store gravy is poor, to enrich it add one pound of meat to one
pint of your store gravy ; cut the meat clear from the bones, chop it
up as fine as mince meat, chop also one ounce of ham, or gammon,
unless you have by you the gravy that has settled in the dish from a
ham. Lay at the bottom of the stew-pan one ounce of butter, an
onion sliced, and the chopped meat ; cover it close, and set it on a
clear, slow fire ; move it about to prevent it sticking. When the
gravy draws, and the meat is rather brown, add by degrees the
liquor ; when it boils, put in the bones of the meat, chickens' head
and feet ; and when it boils again carefully skim it. Add a crust of
bread toasted brown, a sprig of winter savoury, or lemon thyme and
parsley, a dozen berries of allspice, a strip of lemon peel, and a dozen
black peppercorns; cover it close and keep it boiling gently till it is
reduced to half; when cold, take off all the fat and thicken it with
the following thickening: Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan ; take
out all the buttermilk that may be at the top, then sprinkle flour into
it, shaking it all the time : make it a thick paste, and stir this into
your gravy boiling.
SAUCES.
These are a very numerous class of condiments, particularly in
French cookery. Foreigners say that the English have only one sauce
(melted butter) for vegetables, fish, flesh, and all other eatables requir-
ing sauce and they add, with some truth, that they seldom make
SAUCES. 53
it good. It certainly is a very general sauce, botn in England and
the United States ; and, therefore, we shall begin our recipes with
108. Melted Butter cannot be made good with mere flour and
water. Dr. Kitchiner say?, that he has tried every way of making
this sauco, and gives it as his opinion that the following, if carefully
observed, will be always found to give satisfaction: Cut two ounces
of butter into little bits, put it into a clean stew-pan, with a large tea-
spoonful of flour, arrow-root, or potatoe starch, and add two table-
spoonsful of milk ; when thoroughly mixed, add six table-spoonsful of
water, hold it over the fire, and shake it round the same way every
minute, till it begins to simmer; then let it boil up. This is a good
recipe for melted butter where it is not intended to be used with acids
or wine, which will have the effect of curdling the milk. Pure water
is best when the melted butter is intended for fish and puddings, to
which any mixture of wine is intended. Clear stock or gravy, instead
of water, is preferable when it is intended to be eaten with roast meat,
or for vegetables to be eaten with roast meat. The old-fashioned
method of mixing is as good as the Doctor's. It is as follows : Break
up the butter on a trencher, and work the flour into it thoroughly,
then add it to the cold liquid in the saucepan ; or you may drop the
flour, a quarter of an hour before it is set on the fire, on the top of
the liquid, without stirring at all ; when the flour has all sunk to the
bottom, shake it round till the flour is well incorporated with the
liquid ; then add the butter, and melt over a clear brisk nre. Fresh,
rich cream is sometimes used instead of milk, water, or gravy. You
should take care that your saucepan for melted butter be always well
tinned, and kept delicately clean. Some recommend a silver sauce-
pan ; but this seems to us to be a stupid piece of extravagance. Dr.
Kitchiner, however, who talks a great deal about economy, gravely
tells us that a pint silver saucepan will not cost more than four or
five pounds ! Melted butter is frequently spoilt in the making ; for
ordinary purposes it should be of the thickness of good cream, but
when intended to be mixed with flavouring, it should be of the thick-
ness of light batter. If by any chance it become oiled, put a spoonful
of cold water to it, and stir it with a spoon, or pour it back and for-
wards till it is right again. By mixing such vegetables as parsley,
chervil, and others, generally eaten with melted butter, and sending
them to the table on a little plate, those who like their flavour may
mix for themselves. In the same way, all descriptions of flavouring
essences, such as catsup, anchovy, &c , &.C., may be mixed at table.
This plan will be found to be a great savinsf in butter.
109. Sauce for Fricassee of Fowls, Rabbits, while Meat, Fish, or
Vegetables. You have no occasion to buy meat for these sauces, as
their flavour is but small. The liquor that has boiled fowls, veal, or
rabbit, or a little broth that you may have by you, or the feet and
necks of chickens, or raw or dressed veal, will do very well. Stew
with a little water any of these, add to it an onion sliced, a bit of le-
mon peel, a little pounded mace or nutmeg, some white peppercorns,
and a bunch of sweet herbs, until the flavour is good ; then strain it,
54 THECOMPLETECOOK.
and add a little good cream, a piece of butter, and a little flour; salt
to your taste. A squeeze of lemon may be added after the sauce is
taken from the fire, shaking it well. Yolk of egg is frequently used
in fricassee, but if you have cream it is better, as the egg is apt to
curdle.
110. Sauce for cold Fowl, or Partridge. Boil two eggs hard, rub
them down in a mortar with an anchovy, two dessert spoonfuls of oil,
three of vinegar, an eschalot, cayenne (sometime?,) and a tea-spoon-
ful of mustard. All should be pounded before the oil is added ; then
strain it; eschalot vinegar instead of eschalots eats well; if so, omit
one spoonful of the common vinegar : salt to your taste.
111. A very rich Mushroom Sauce for Fowls or Rabbits. Pick,
rub and wash a pint of young mushrooms, and sprinkle with salt to
take off the skin. Put them into a saucepan with a little salt, a
blade of mace, a little nutmeg, a pint of cream, and a piece of butter
rolled in flour: boil them up and stir till done, then pour it into the
dish with the chickens; garnish with lemon. If you cannot get fresh
mushroom?, use pickled ones, done white, with a little mushroom pow-
der with the cream.
112. Sauce for boiled Carp, or Boiled Turkey. Make some melted
butter with a little water and a tea-spoonful of flour, and add a quarter
of a pint of. cream, half an anchovy not washed, chopped fine; set it
over the fire, and as it boils up, add a large spoonful of Indian soy:
if that does not give it a fine colour, put a little more; add a little
salt, and half a lemon ; stir it well to prevent it curdling.
113. Green Sauce for green Geese or Ducklings. A glass of
white wine, some scalded gooseberries, a pint of sorrel juice, some
white sugar, and a bit of butter. Boil them up, and serve in a boat.
114. Egg Sauce. Boil the eggs hard, chop them fine, then put
them into melted butter.
115. Onion Sauce. Take the skins off 1 ripe onions, remove the
rooty fibres and the tops, let them lie in salt and water an hour, then
put them into a saucepan of boiling water, and boil them till they are
tender. You should allow them plenty of water. When tender,
skin them, cut them exceedingly small, or rub them through a colan-
der ; season them with pepper and salt, and mix with an equal quan-
tity of thick melted butter. This sauce is usually eaten with shoulder
or leg of mutton. If you wish it very mild, use the large silvery
onions, and boil them in several waters. Onion sauce is also eaten
with rabbits, boiled ducks, tripe, and sometimes with a scrag of mut-
ton or veal.
116. Apple Sauce. Take four or five juicy apples, two table-spoon-
fuls of cold water or cider; instead of putting the lid on, place the
parings over the apples, and put them by a gentle fire. When they
s'r.k they are done; remove the saucepan from the fire, and beat up
the apples; take the parings from the top first, add a bit of butter* a
tea-spoonful of fine powdered sugar, and a dust of nutmeg.
117. Gooseberry Sauce. Scald half a pint of green gooseberries;
do them till they are tender, but not broken ; drain them on a sieve ;
SAUCES. 55
when the liquor is cold, take half a pint of it, and make a thick batter
of it, stir in the gooseberries with a little grated ginger and lemon
peel. This sauce is sometimes used for mackerel.
118. Wow wow Sauce, for stewed beef or bouilli. Quarter and
slice two or three pickled cucumbers or walnuts, or part of each, chop
fine a handful of parsley, make some melted butter in half a pint of
broth in which the beef is boiled, add a tea-spoonful of made mustard
and a tabl^-spoonful of vinegar, and the same of port wine and mush-
room catsup: let it simmer till thick, then stir in the parsley and
pickles to get warm ; pour the whole over the beef, or put in a sauce
tureen. The flavour may be varied by a tea-spoonful or two of any
kind of the vinegars.
119. Curry Sauce is made by putting a little powdered curry into
some melted butter, or curry vinegar.
120. Parsley and Butter. Wash and pick leaf by leaf some pars-
ley ; put a tea-spoonful of salt into half a pint of boiling water, boil
the parsley about ten minutes; drain it on a sieve, mince it quite fine,
and then bruise it to a pulp : put it into a sauce boat, and mix with it
by degrees about half a pint of melted butter. Never pour parsley
and butter over boiled things, but send up in a boat.
121. Fennel and Butter for Mackerel is prepared in the same way
as parsley and butter.
122. Plum Pudding Sauce. A glass of sherry, half a glass of
brandy, cherry bounce or Cura9oa, or essence of punch, and two tea-
spoonfuls of pounded lump sugar (a very little grated lemon peel is
sometimes added,) in a quarter of a pint of thick melted butter : grate
nutmeg on the top.
123. Anchovy Sauce. Pound three anchovies in a mortar with a
bit of butter; rub it through a double hair sieve with the back of a
wooden spoon, and stir it into about half a pint of melted butter, or stir
in a table-spoonful of essence of anchovy. Many cooks add cayenne
and lemon juice.
124. Caper Sauce. Take a table-spoonful of capers, and two tea-
spoonfuls of vinegar; mince one-third of them very fine, and divide the
others in half; put them in a quarter of a pint of melted butter, or
good thickened gravy ; stir the same way as you do melted butter, or
it will oil. Sometimes half a Seville orange or lemon or parsley,
chervil, or tarragon, are added.
125. Mock Caper Sauce. Take French beans, gherkins, green
peas, or nasturtiums, all pickled ; cut them into bits the size of capers ;
put them into half a pint of melted butter; add two tea-spoonfuls of
lernon juice or vinegar.
126. Shrimp Sauce. Shell a pint of shrimps, and stir into half a
pint of melted butter ; a little cream makes a delicate addition. It is
used with salmon, turbot, and soles.
127. Oyster Sauce. Two dozen oysters will make half a pint of
sauce, not more. Open the oysters, save all the liquor, perfectly free
from bits of shell, scald the oysters in the liquor till they look plump,
then take out the fish and add to the liquor two ounces of butter rolled
56 THE COMPLETE COOK.
in flour, and two table-spoonfuls of cream; boil it up. Take off the
beards or fringy part of the oysters; if they are large, cut them in
two; stir them in the butter, and set them by the fire for a minute or
two, but do not let them boil, as it hardens them.
128. Lobster Sa uce. Choose a hen lobster, pick out all the spawn
and red coral that runs down the back, pound it to a paste with a
lump of butter, pull the meat of the back and claws to pieces with
two fork?, stir the lobster into some boiling hot melted butter; keep
it on the fire till the lobster is warmed through, and well mixed.
You may add, if liked, catsup, lemon juice, cayenne, anchovy ; but the
simple flavour of the lobster is best. A little cream is an improve-
ment.
129. Liver Sauce. Sc^ld the liver, clear away all the fibres and
specky parts, pound it in a mortar, with a bit of butter, then boil it up
with melted butter ; season it with cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon
juice. You may add catsup or anchovy.
130. Bread Sauce is either made with gravy or milk. Stew the
heads, necks, and feet of the poultry for which it is intended, with an
onion, a little allspice, and a few peppercorns; when reduced to half
a pint, strain it and boil up again ; put in a small tea-cup full of bread
crumbs, let it boil till quite stiff, hold it over the fire and 'shake it till
it boils thoroughly, then put it on the hob till time to serve; stir in a
bit of salt, one ounce of butter, and two table-spoonfuls of cream.
131. Sauce for Tripe t Calf's-head, or Cow-heel. Garlic vinegar
according to taste, a table-spoonful of brown sugar, mustard and
black pepper a tea-spoonful of each, stirred into oiled melted butter.
(See 466.)
132. Celery Sauce. Take fresh celery ; take off all the outside
leaves, leave none but what are quite crisp, and which may be known
by their breaking short without any strings, cut up in pieces about an
inch long, take liquor that has boiled veal, chickens, or lamb, when
fast boiling.
133. Tarragon or Burnet makes rich pleasant sauce, chiefly used
for steaks; sent to table in a sauce tureen.
134. Sorrel Sauce for Lamb or Veal, and Sweet-breads. Two
quarts of sorrel leaves will not make more than a sauce tureen of
sauce; pick and wash them clean, put them into a stew-pan with one
ounce of butter, cover close and set over a slow fire for a quarter of
an hour ; then rub them through a coarse hair sieve, season them with
gait, pepper, nutmeg, and a small lump of sugar, squeeze in the juice
of a lemon, and make the whole thoroughly hot.
135. Poor Man^s Sauce. A handful of young parsley leaves,
chopped fine, a dozen of young green onions, chopped fine, put to
them salt and pepper, two table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and four of
vinegar; a little scraped horse-radish, pickled French beans, or gher-
kins, may be added. This sauce is taken with cold meats.
136. Truffle Sauce. Truffles are only good while in season, that
i.s, in a green state. Add two ounces of butter to eighteen truffles
sliced, simmer them together till they are tender ; then add as much
SAUCES. 57
good gravy, brown or white, as to bring it to a proper thickness, sea-
Bon it. with salt, and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
137. Sharp Sauce for Venison. Best white wine vinegar half a
pint, loaf sugar pounded a quarter of a pound ; simmer it gently ; skim,
and .strain it through a tamis.
133. Sweet Sauce for Venison. Currant jelly, either black or red,
moiled and served hot; others like it sent to table as jelly.
139. Wine Sauce for Venison, Hare, or Haunch of Mutton.
Take equal parts of rich mutton gravy, without any flavourings, and
port wine. Simmor them together to half a pint, add a table-spoonful
of currant jelly, let it just boil up.
140. Sauce for a Pig. Three quarters of a pint of good beef gravy,
six or eight leaves of sage, chopped very fine, a blade of mace, a tea-
cup full of bread crumby and eight white peppercorns; let them boil
six or eight minutes, then stir into the sauce the brains, gravy, and
whatever sticks about the dish on which you have split the pig, one
ounce of butter rolled in flour, two table-spoonfuls of cream, nnd one or
two of catsup, if liked; simmer a minute or two, and serve in a sauce
tureen.
141. Turtle Sauce. To a pint of rich beef gravy, thickened, put
a wine gla?s of Madeira, six leaves of basil, the juice nnd peel of half
a lemon, a few grains of cayenne or curry powder, an eschalot sliced,
a table spoonful of essence of anchovy; simmer together five minutes,
then strain, and add a dozen turtle force meat balls. This sauce is
used for calf's head, or hashed or slewed veal, or for any other rich
dish in imitation of turtle.
142. A Sauce for all sorts of Fish. Half a pint of port or claret,
half a pint of rich gravy, a little nutmeg, three anchovies, two table-
spoonfuls of catsup, and salt; simmer all together till the anchovies
are done, then add three ounces of butter thickened with flour, arrow-
root, or potatoe mucilage; when it boil?, add some scraped horse-
radish, a dozen or two of oysters, a lobster cut in bits, a few smai.
mushrooms, and half a pint of picked shrimps or crawfish. This
sauce is intended to pour over the fish boiled carp, tench, pike,
whiting, boiled cod, and haddock.
143. Pudding Sauce. Half a glass of brandy, one glass of white
wine, a little grated rind of lemon, half an ounce of grated loaf sugar,
and a little powdered cinnamon, mixed with melted butter. It is a
good way to keep a bottle of these ingredients to mix with melted
butter when wanted. In a bottle containing one pint of brandy and
two pints of sherry, steep the kernels of apricots, nectarines, and
peaches, with an ounce of shaved lemon rind, half an ounce of mace,
and a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar ; pour off clear to mix with but-
ter. Two table-spoonfuls will flavour a boat of sauce; the mace and
lemon peel may be steeped in half a pint of brandy, or a pint of sherry,
for fourteen days ; strain, and add a quarter of a pint of capillaire.
144. Custard Sauce. For rice or other plain puddings, or vyith
fruit pies, stir a pint of sweet cream in a double saucepan till it boils;
beat the yolks of two or three eggs, with a spoonful of cold cream.
58 T II E C O M P L E T E COOK.
and an ounce of powdered sugar ; pour the boiling cream to them, and
pour backwards and forwards two or three times to prevent cuMling-;
then set the inner saucepan over the boiling water, and stir it con-
tinually one way till it. thickens. Serve in a china hasin with grated
nutmeg, or pounded cinnamon strewed over the top.
145. Roe Sauce. Boil the soft roes of mackerel, clear away all
the skin, and bruise them with the back of a wooden spoon; beat up
the yolk of an egs: with a little salt and pepper, a little fennel and
parsley scalded and chopped fine, rub the whole together, and stir
into melted butter. Some people prefer a spoonful of catsup, essence
of anchovy, or walnut pickle.
BOILING.
As this is the most common mode of preparing food for human
sustenance, it is therefore the more necessary that its principles
should be well understood ; for though the operations of boiling may
appear to be very simple, yet a great deal of skill and judgment is
required to carry them into effect properly. We repeat, that the
young cook ought to read attentively our observations upon this sub-
ject, in the "Introductory Remarks." Instead of using the word
boiling, we ought rather to have said, the mode of preparing meats
for food by means of hot water; for we are quite convinced, that all
meats are more or less injured by being subjected to a boiling heat;
that is, a heat of 212 of Fahrenheit. We have dressed salt cod fish
in water never exceeding 145 of heat, and it was much more tender,
and better flavoured, than when dressed in boiling water: we ought
to add, that the fish is required to remain in this partially hot water
four or five hours, in which time it becomes divested of the salt, and
eats, comparatively speaking, quite fresh.
146. Take care that your vessel is large enough for the water to
cover the meat, and to surround it. Do not suffer the steam to escape ;
and to effect this, see that the lid of the vessel fits it as closely as
possible ; by this means the water may be kept at a proper heat, that
is to say, nearly simmering, but not bubbling, whereby fuel will be
saved, and the meat much better dressed. In short, one of the
greatest errors that can be committed in boiling meat, is to suffer the
water to boil violently. It has the effect of hardening the outside of
the joints, or, in other words, making it tough, while the inside will
be raw, or only partially done.
147. Always prefer soft water to hard, whenever the former is to
be procured. River, or clean rain water, should be used in preference
to hard spring water; but your water must always be as pure and as
bright as possible.
148. In making up a fire for cooking, regard must be had as to
whether it is intended for boiling or roasting, or for both. A moderate
fire is best for boiling, but a brisk and somewhat fierce fire is required
for roasting. If you are going to roast and boil at the same fire, you
must take care that your boiling vessels are sufficiently far removed
BOILING. 59
from it. With a good kitchen range, or steam cooking apparatus, all
this may be done without difficulty or trouble.
149. All fresh meats are directed by the generality of culinary
writers to be put into the pot, or saucepan, when the water is warm,
not hot; but salt meat, for the most part, should be put in when the
water is perfectly cold ; by this means the superfluous salt will be
extracted from it. The pot should not, with fresh meat, be allowed
to boil, or rather to arrive at the boiling point, under forty or fifty
minutes; more time should be taken with salt meat. The usual
direction is, as above, to put fresh meat into warm water but we
are convinced, that the better plan is always to use cold. Meat,
thoroughly cooked, will take twenty minutes boiling to each pound.
Salt, a little more.
150. When the scum rises, let it be carefully removed; and if the
heat of the water is checked with a small portion of cold water, it
will throw up an additional scum, which must, of course, be also care-
fully taken away. The scurn rises just as the water is beginning to
boil. The nice clear appearance of the meat, when done, in a great
measure depends upon attending to the above directions.
151- When the liquor in your vessel once boils, after all the scum
has been cleared away, let it continue to simmer till the meat is done.
From fifteen to twenty minutes is generally directed to be allowed
for each pound of meat, but twenty is better. Never stick your fork
into meat, whether boiling or roasting, upon any account; the effect
will be to let out the gravy. Bacon is an exception.
152. Meats of any description, just killed, and still warm, whether
to be roasted or boiled, will do as soon, and eat as tender, as meat
which has hung the usual time; but if once suffered to become cold
after slaughtering, it will require more dressing, and after all will
not eat so tenderly, unless hung a proper time.
153. Meat which has been frozen must be immersed in cold water
two or three hours, or till the frost is taken out of it, before it is
dressed, or it will never be well done. In cold weather meat requires
more dressing than in warm.
154. Salt meat will require more boiling than fresh, and thick
parts, whether salt or fresh, rather more than thin ones.
155. In boiling bacon, if very salt, it is a good plan to take away a
part or the whole of the water, when it is on the point of boiling, and
filling up the pot with cold water. This process renders it more
mild. Bacon or ham is done when the skin is easily removed, or the
fork leaves it readily.
156. Hams, beef, tongues, and even pork, which have been kept
long in pickle, should be soaked before they are boiled if hard, in
warm water. A ham weighing twenty pounds, or upward?, will take
from five to six hours to dress it well (the water should not boil);
and a large dry tong-ue should be boiled, or rather simmered, for four
hours or more. The following is a good plan to dress a ham : Put a
certain quantity of suet into the pan which is to be used for the cook-
ing of the ham; then put in the ham and cover it with paper, over
60 THE COMPLETE COOK,
which lay a cover of coarse paste, or the paper may be used without
the paste, or the paste without the paper ; place the pan in the oven,
where let it remain till the ham is done. The gravy corning from the
meat will be a jelly, which, mixed with fresh stock or broth for gravies,
&c. \\ill greatly improve it.
157. Meat boiled by steam requires no water unless soup is wanted.
IMeat boiled in the ordinary way should not be permitted to touch the
bottom of tho pot. This object may be effected by placing a fish-drain
in the pot, or by putting a plate upside down in it, or laying some
skewers across it a little way from the bottom.
158. There is a method of boiling meat without allowing it to
touch or corne in contact with the water. This plan, which is little
followed in America, has been strongly recommended. To effect this
object, fowls filled with oysters may be boiled in a bladder, or in a
close jar, by which means they are deliciously stewed, and the flavour
and animal juices are all preserved. Meat of any description may
be dressed in a similar manner, that is, by putting it into a close ja"r
and immersed in water, which is kept boiling till the meat is done.
The Scotch dress their haggis in this way, and the custom was fol-
lowed by the ancient Romans. Similar modes of dressing meat are
used by savages in different parts of the world.
159. Any tiling that is to be warmed and sent to the table a second
time, should be put into a basin or jar, placed in hot water, which is
not permitted to come to the boiling point. If allowed to boil, the
meat will harden, or the sauce will be reduced and become thick; by
avoiding these chances the flavour will be preserved, and the viands
may be warmed up more than once without injury. The steam ap-
paratus now employed in most kitchens, is admirably adapted to this
purpose, since the heat can be regulated by the required temperature.
160. The heads, brains, and so forth, of animals, every thing in
fact, which in the cleaning process requires soaking, should be soaked
in warm, not hot water, as the hot will fix the blood, and injure both
the appearance and flavour of the viand. All cooks must be particu-
lar in keeping their saucepans well skimmed; nothing will more
completely spoil a dish of any kind than the neglect of this essential
point. In order to take off the fat from the braise, or any other gravy,
plunge the basin containing it into cold water; the fat will immedi-
ately coagulate, and may be removed.
101. It is much better to dress meat immediately after it is killed,
that is, while it is warm, than to suffer it to get cold, and not let it
hang a proper length of time. Indeed, there is no doubt that meat
dressed while warm is as tender, or nearly as tender, as when it has
been hung for some days. If, therefore, you cannot procure well-
hung meat, and can get that which has been just killed, you ouo-ht to
prefer the latter.
L82. Bacon, ham, and salt beef, may be done, if you want to use
your fire for vegetables, half an hour before serving, as it will not sustain
any injury by remaining that time in the hot liquor; but all other
descriptions of meat would be injured by such a course of proceeding-
B O I L I N G. B IT T C II E R ' S MEAT, & C . 61
163. Potatoes must never be boiled with meat, or indeed with any
thing else, for the meat is injured by the potatoes and the potatoes by
the meat.
164. V ; may boil turnips, carrot?, parsnips, and pease pudding 1 ,
wiui salt, meat; by so doing these vegetables will be improved, and
the meat, not injured ; but the liquor will not keep so long, though it
will be rendered better for some kinds of soup.
165. Green vegetables, such as savoys, &c., should be always put
into boiling water with a handful of salt, particularly if they are
harsh and strong; they are generally kept boiling till they are done.
In warm countries, in Italy, for instance, they first boil them in a
large quantity of water for a considerable time; but as this will
neither make them sweet nor tender, they are frequently taken out
of the pot, and well washed in cold spring water ; they are then boiled
ag-ain till they are sweet and tender. Old tough meat may be simi-
larly treated with like effect.
166. Old potatoes mxist never be put into warm or hot water. On
the contrary, the water in which this useful vegetable is boiled should
be perfectly cold when the potatoes are first put in. New potatoes
are better put in boiling water.
BOILING BUTCHER'S MEAT AND POULTRY.
The general directions which we have given for boiling in the pre-
ceding pages, if they have been well studied by the young cook, as
we trust they have, render it useless for us to go into the question at
any length ; we shall, therefore, content ourselves with a few special
directions relative to the dressing of the different things designated
at the head of this section. It will not be necessary to g-ive a great
multiplicity of receipts; for if the general principles of boiling are
well understood, and we have spared neither time nor space to make
them so, the cook will find no difficulty in preparing any particular
dish without especial directions from us, or any other writer. The
receipts which follow are selected according to the best of our judg-
ment. We do not pretend to say that they are original ; upon such
a subject it is impossible to be original, with the exception, perhaps,
of a few instances. Dr. Kitchiner apologises in his " Cook's Oracle,"
for his " receipts differing a little from those in former cookery books."
Very different is this open and candid proceeding from that of a
voluminous writer of great pretensions, who claims the following
mode of dressing rice, which is as old as the intioduction of that
article into this country, as original! "Tie some rice in a cloth,
leaving pWity of room for it to swell ; boil it in water for an hour or
two, and eat it with butter and sugar, or milk."
167. Boiled Beef. Fresh boiled beef is called beefbnuilli by some,
but in the French kitchen the term means fresh beef dressed, without
absolutely boiling, it being suffered only to simmer till it is done.
d, it may be laid down as a general rule, that whether you are
es.-incr beef bouilli, or any other meat, it should never be suffered
~
62 THE COMPLETE TOOK.
to go into a boiling gallop, except for a minute or two, for the pur-
pose of throwing up the scum. After the scum is all cleared away,
let it simmer till it is done. But you must be careful not to let your
meat boil too quickly ; for this purpose it should be put over a mo-
derate fire, and the water made gradually hot, or the meat will be
hardened, and shrink up as if it were scorched ; but by keeping the
meat a certain time heating, without boiling, the fibres of the meat
dilate, and it not only yields the scum more freely, but the meat is
rendered more tender. The advantage of dressing fresh meat in the
way practised by the French with regard to fresh beef is twofold. In
the first place, meat dressed in this manner affords much more
nourishment than it does cooked in the common way, is easy of diges-
tion, and will yield soup of a most excellent quality. (See Soup and
Bouilli, and 99.)
168. Boiled Salt Beef. A piece of beef of fifteen pounds will take
three hours, or more, simmering after it has boiled, and it ought to be
full forty minutes on the fire before it does boil ; skim carefully ; put
a tea-cup full of the liquor, and garnish with sliced carrots. Vegeta-
bles, carrots, turnips, kale, pnrsnips; sauce, melted butter. Pease
pudding is sometimes boiled with salt beef, and the liquor, if not too
salt, will make good pease soup. An aitch, or H bone of beef, a
round, or ribs salted and rolled, and indeed all other beef, are boiled
in the same way. Briskets and other inferior joints require, perhaps,
more attention than superior ones; they should in fact rather be
stewed than boiled, and in a small quantity of water, by which means,
if good meat, they will be delicious eating.
169. Mutton. A leg will take from two to three hours boiling.
Accompaniments parsley and butter, caper sauce, eschalot, onion,
turnips, carrots, spinach, &c., and to boiled mutton in general.
170. Neck of Mutton, As the scrag end takes much longer to
boil, some peopl" cut it off and boil it half or three-quarters of an
hour before the rest, as it is apt to be bloody, however well washed ;
you had better skim it well. When it is time to put the best end in,
add cold water to check the heat, allowing an hour and a half or
three-quarters, after the second boiling up. Cut off" some of the fat
before dressing, or at least peel off the skin when taken up. For
accompaniments, see 169.
171. Shoulder, boiled. The whole is sometimes boiled, and some-
times cut in half, taking the knuckle part, and leaving the oyster for
roasting ; it will take not less than two hours slow boiling, though it
may not weigh above five pounds. Boil it either plain or in broth.
Accompaniment?, 169.
172. Breast, boiled, will require from two and a half, to three
hours. Accompaniments, 169.
173. Cheeps' Heads, plain boiled. Boil them two hours ; before boil-
ing, take out the brains, wash them clean and free from all skin ; chop
about a dozen .sage leaves very small, tie them in a small bag, and let
them boil half an hour, then bent them up with pepper and salt, and
BOILING. BUTCHERS' MEAT, & e . G3
half an ounce of butler ; pour it over the head, or serve in a boat or
tureen; skin the tongue before serving. Accompaniments, 169.
174. Leg of Lamb, boiled. From an hour and a quarter to an hour
and a halt: Accompaniments caper sauce, melted butter, turnips,
spinach, carrot?, &c.
175. Neck, boiled. One hour; if very large, an hour and a quar-
ter.
176. Lamb's Head and Pluck. Parboii the lights and a small bit
of the liver till it will chop fine, and boil the head in the same liquor ;
it will take nearly an hour to boil ; scald the brains, tied up in a small
bag, with five or six sage leaves, chopped very fine ; they will take
twenty minutes to do; warm the mince in a little of the liquor, sea-
soned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg ; thicken with flour, and half an
ounce of butter, and stir in the brains. Take up the head ; skin the
tongue; pour over the mince; sippets of toasted bread and slices of
lemon. The liver, heart, and sweetbread, to be fried, and laid round
the dish with slices of bacon ; or served in a separate dish, which is
preferable, as the liver requires a little brown gravy. Vegetables,
turnips, carrots, &c.
Browned. After boilino-, wash the head with the yolk of an egg ;
sprinkle with bread crumbs and chopped parsley, and brown it in a
dutch oven, the mince to be poured round it. Some people like the
flavour of catsup in the mince; others like a little sliced lemon peel,
and a spoonful or two of cream.
177. Boiled Veal. A knuckle, whether of leg or shoulder, will
take full two hours. A scrag of neck or breast, an hour and three-
quarters to two hours. Sauce, melted butter, parsley and butter,
celery, &c.
178. Calf's Head, boiled. Let it be cut in half by the butcher,
and all the inside bones removed ; take out the brains, wash the head
well in several waters, with a little salt, to draw out the blood ; boil
it slowly in plenty of water two hours or two hours and a quarter.
Sauce. Well clean the brains, and boil them in a cloth half an hour,
with about a dozen sage leaves chopped fine, or parsley, or part of
each; when done, beat them up in a small saucepan, with a little salt
and pepper, one ounce of butter, and a little lemon juice ; have them
ready quite hot to pour over the tongue, when skinned. Some peo-
ple mix the brains with parsley and butter, and pour over the whole
head. However it is dressed, it is usually garnished with sliced
lemon.
179. Tripe, when raw, will take four or five hours simmering. If
previously well boiled, twenty minutes to three-quarters of an hour.
It may be in milk, or milk and water, or equal parts of milk and its
own liquor. Boil with the tripe eight or ten large onions. To keep
the tripe warm, serve it in the liquor, and beat up the onions with
pepper, salt, and butter ; or the tripe may be served without liquor,
and the onion sauce poured over. If onions are not approved, serve
parsley and butter, or caper sauce. Tripe may be cut in pieces the
size of a hand, dipped in batter and fried, with rashers of bacon
64 THE COMPLETE COOK.
laid round the dish. N. B. Mustard is always an accompaniment of
tripe, and generally vinegar also.
In some of the English towns, particularly at Birmingham, famous
for tripe, the belly or paunch of the animal, after being well cleaned,
(in doing which thoroughly great attention and care mu.-t be observed,)
is sent to the oven in a deep earthenware pot, or jar, closely covered
over the top, and baked, or rather stewed, in just a sufficient quantity
of water, for four or five hours, or till it is well done. It is sold while
yet hot, in the public-houses or tripe shops, at so much a " large or
small CM/," with a proportionate quantity of "broth," that is, the liquor
in which it has been stewed ; nothing else is eaten with it, except
mustard and salt. In Birmingham it is usually eaten for supper, and
of course by candle-Iio-ht, and at no other meal ; a relation of ours,
however, was so fond of it, that he used to have the dining-room
darkened, and the candles lit, in order that he might partake of it for
his dinner, under the same apparent circumstances as at supper.
We have heard of whist devotees who could not play the g'ame with
any gusto by daylight, and who resorted to the same expedient to
imitate night as our tripe gourmand. Tripe cooked in the Birming-
ham fashion is delicious far, very far, superior to that gotten in
London; this may be partly accounted for by the fact that all meat is
greatly deteriorated by being twice subjected to heat.
180. Cow-heel in the hands of a skilful cook, will furnish several
good meals; when boiled tender, cut it into handsome pieces, egg and
bread-crumb them, and fry them a light brown; lay them round a
dish, and put in the middle of it sliced onions fried, or the accompani-
ments ordered for tripe.
181. Pig's Pettitoes consist of the feet and internal parts of a suck-
ing pig. Set on with a quantity of water, or broth ; a button onion or
two may be added, if approved also, four or five leaves of sage chop-
ped small. When the heart, liver, and lights, are tender, take them
out and chop fine ; let the feet simmer the while ; they will take from
half to three-quarters of an hour to do. Season the rnince with salt,
nutmeg, and a little pepper, half an ounce of butter, a table -spoonful
or two of thick cream, and a tea-spoonful of arrow- roof, flour, or pota-
toe starch; return it to the saucepan, in which the feet are; let it
boil up, shaking it one way. Split the feet, lay them round in the
mince. Serve with toasted sippets. Garnish. Mashed potatoes.
182. Salt Pork requires long boiling, never less thnn twenty
minutes to a pound, and a thick joint considerably more. A leg of ten
pounds will take four hours simmering, a spring two hours, a porker's
head the same. Be very careful that it dops not stick to the pot. No
sauce is required, except a quarter of a pint of the liquor in which it
was boiled, to draw the gravy, and plenty of good fresh mustard. A
chine is usually served quite dry. The vegetable accompaniments
are pease pudding, turnips, carrots, and parsnip?.
183. Pickle d Pork , which is usually bought pickled, requires to be
well washed before boiling, and must boil very slowly. It; is seldom
eaten alone, but as an accompaniment to fowls, or other white meat.
BOILING, BUTCHER'S MEAT, &c. 05
184. Bacon, Ham, Tongues. First, well wash and scrape clean.
If very salt, it may soak in cold water a few hours ; allow plenty of
water, fresh rain or river water is best ; put it in when the chill is
off, and let it be a good while coming to the boil, then keep it very
gently simmering. If time allows, throw away nearly or quite all the
liquor of bacon as soon as it boils up, and renew it with fresh cold
water ; reckon the time from the second boiling. A pound of streaky
bacon will require three-quarters of an hour to boil; a quarter of
an hour fi;r every additional pound. If good bacon it will swell in
boiling, and when done the rind will pull off easily. Take it up on
a common dish to remove the rind, and sprinkle it over with bread
raspings, sifted through a flour dredge, or grater. A ham of twelve
or fourteen pounds will require four or five hours simmering, or four
hours baking in a moderate oven. When done, remove the skin as
whole as possible, and preserve it to cover over the ham and keep it
moist. If to be served hot, strew raspings as above ; but if intended for
eating cold, omit the raspings. It will be much the more juicy for not
cutting hot. Set it on a baking stand, or some other contrivance, to
keep it from touching the dish ; this preserves it from swamping in
the fat that drips from it, keeps the fat nice and white for use, and
also makes the ham keep the longer from becoming mouldy, by the
outside being perfectly dry. Whether hot or cold, garnish with
parsley. A neat's tongue, according to its size, age, and freshness,
will require from two hours and a half to four hours slow boiling.
When done, it will stick tender, and the skin will peel off easily. A
dried chine, or hog's cheek, may be allowed the same boiling as bacon,
viz. four pounds an hour and a half, and a quarter of an hour for every
additional pound.
185. To poach Eggs. The best vessel for this purpose is a frying
pan ; but it must be kept for that purpose only, or the grease will ad-
here to the water, and spoil the delicate appearance of the eggs. A
wide-mouthed stew-pan will do as well. Both the vessel and water
must be delicately clean. Break the eggs into separate cups; when
the water boils, gently slip in the eggs, and set the vessel on the hob
for a minute or so, till the white has set, then set it over the fire ; let
it once boil up, and the eggs are done. The white should retain its
transparency, and the yellow appear brightly through it. Take up
very carefully with a slice; trim off any rough edges of white, and
serve on buttered toast, a piece tor each egg, a little larger than the
egg itself; or on a fish drainer. Garnish with sliced bacon or ham,
sausages, or spinach.
186. Turkeys, Capons, Chickens, <$*c., are all boiled exactly in the
same manner, only allowing time according to their size. A chicken
will take about twenty minutes a fowl, forty r * fino five-toed fowl
or a c^pon, about an hour a small turkey, an hour and a half a large
one, two hours or more. Chickens or fowls should be killed at least
one or two days before they are to be dressed.* Turkeys (espe-
*If they are dressed immediately after they are killed, before the flesh, is cold P!!
poultry eat equally tender.
6*
THE COMPLETE COOK.
cially large ones) should not be dressed till they have been killed
three or four days at least in cold weather, six or eight or they will
neither look white nor eat tender. Turkeys and large fowls should
have the strings or sinews of the thighs drawn out. Fowls for boiling
should be chosen as white as possible: those which have black legs
should be roasted. The best use of the liver is to make sauce. Poul-
try must he well washed in warm water ; if very dirty from the singe-
ing, &c., rub them with a little white soap, but thoroughly rinse it off
before you put them into the pot. Make a good and clear fire; set
on a clean pot, with pure and clean water, enough to cover the turkey,
&c. ; the slower it boils, the whiter and plumper it will be. When
there rises any scum, remove it; the common method of some (who
are more nice than wise) is to wrap them up in a cloth, to prevent
the scum attaching to them; which if it do by your neglecting to
skim the pot, there is no getting it off afterwards, and the poulterer
is blamed for the fault of the cook. If there be water enough, and it
is attentively skimmed, the fowl will both look and eat much better
this way than when it has been covered up in the cleanest cloth; and
the colour and flavour of your poultry will be preserved in the most
delicate perfection.
FISH.
187. Salmon to boil. The water should be blood- warm : allow
plenty to cover the fish, with a good handful of salt, and a quarter of
a pint of vinegar ; this makes the fish boil firm. Remove the scum
as fast as it rises. Keep it at a very gentle boil from half an hour to
an hour, according to the thickness of the fish. When the eyes start,
and the fins draw out easily, it is done. Lay the fish-drainer across
the kettle a minute or two before shifting the fish. Sauce, lobster,
shrimp, anchovy, or parsley and butter. Melted butter is the uni-
versal sauce for fish, whether boiled, fried, or baked. Whatever other
sauce is served, plain melted butter must never be omitted: we shall
therefore only refer to the number of other sauces suitable for parti-
cular kinds of fish. Observe, also, potatoes, either boiled or mashed,
are the only vegetables eaten with fish, excepting parsnips with salt
fish.
188. Broiled Salmon. This is a good method of dressing a small
quantity of salmon for one or two persons. It may he cut in slices
the whole round of the fish, each taking in two divisions of the hone ;
or the fish may be split, and the bone removed, and the sides of the
fish divided into cutlets of three or four inches each: the former
method is preferable, if done neatly with a sharp knife. Rub it
thoroughly dry with a clean rough cloth; then do each piece over
with salad oil or butter. Have a nice clean gridiron over a very clear
lire, and at some distance from it. When the bars are hot through
wipe them, and rub with lard or suet to prevent sticking; lay on the
salmon, and sprinkle with salt. When one side is brown, carefully
turn and brown the other. They do equally well or better in a tin,
FISH. 6?
or flat dish, in an oven, with a little bit of butter, or sweet oil; or
tuey may be done in buttered paper on the gridiron. Sauce, lobster
or shrimp.
189. Baked Salmon. If a email fish, turn the tail to the mouth,
and skewer it; force meat may be put in the beliy, or, if part of a
large fish is to be baked, cut it in slices, egg it over, and dip it in the
force meat. Stick bits of butter about the salmon (a few oysters laid
round are an improvement). It will require occasional basting- with
the butter. When one side bpcomes brown, let it be carefully turned,
and when the second side is brown, it is don^. Take it up carefully,
with all that lies about it in the baking dish. For sauce, melted
butter, with two table-spoonsful of port wine, one of catsup, and the
juice of a lemon, poured over the fish; or anchovy sauce in a boat.
190. Pickled Salmon. Do not scrape off the scales, but clean the
fish carefully, and cut into pieces about eight inches long. Make a
strong brine of salt and water; to two quarts, put two pounds of salt,
and a quarter of a pint of vinegar; in all, make just enough to cover
the fish ; boil it slowly, and barely as much as you would for eating
hot. Drain off all the liquor; and, when cold, luy the pieces in a kit
or small tub. Pack it as close as possible, and fill up with equal
parts of best vinegar and the liquor in which the fish was boiled. Let
it remain so a day or two, then again fill up. Serve with a garnish
of fresh fennel. The same method of pickling will apply to sturgeon,
mackerel, herrings, and sprats. The three latter are sometimes
baked in vinegar, flavoured with allspice and bay leaves, and eat
very well ; but will not keep more than a few days.
191. Turbot, Halibut, and Brill, boiled. Score the skin across
the thick part of the back, to prevent its breaking on the breast,
which it would be liable to do when the fish swells in boiling. Put
the fish in the kettle in cold water, with a large handful of salt; as
it comes to boil, skim it well, and set it aside to simmer as slowly as
possible for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. If it boil fast it
will break. It may be garnished with fried smelts or gudgeons, laid
all round like spokes of a wheel. Sauce, lobster or shrimp.
192. Soles and Dutch Plaice may be boiled exactly in the same
way as turbot, and with the same garnish and sauce, or with parsley,
fennel, or chervil sauce. If you have not a turbot kettle, these flat
fish boil very well in a large frying pan, provided it admits depth of
water to cover them.
193. Soles, fried. Having cleaned, wipe them thoroughly dry,
and keep them in a coarse cloth an hour or two before using. In
case any moisture should remain, flour them all over, and again wipe
it off. They may be fried either with or without bread crumbs or
oatmeal. If bread crumbs are to be used, beat up an egg very finely ;
wash over the fish with a paste-brush; then sprinkle over it bread
crumbs or oatmeal, so that every part may be covered, and one part
not be thicker than another. Lift up the fish by a fork stuck in the
head, and shake off any loose crumbs that may adhere. Have plenty
^of fat in your pan, over a brisk fire, and let it quite boil before you
68 THE COMPLETE COOK.
put the fish in. The fat may be salad oil, butter, lard or dripping.
If sweet and clean, the least expensive answers as well as the best,
but let there be enough to cover the fish. Give the fish a gentle
shove with a slice, that it may not stick to the pan. In about four or
five minutes one side will be brown ; turn it carefully, and do the
other; which, being already warm, will not take so long. The best
way to turn a large sole, is to stick a fork in the head, and raise the
tail with a slice, otherwise it is liable to be broken with its own
weight. If the soles are very large, it is a good way to cut them
across in four or five pieces, by which means the thick parts can havp
more time allowed them, without overdoing the thin. The very same
rules will apply to the frying of Dutch plaice, flounders, eels, jack
perch, roach, and other fresh-water fish. Jack and eels to be cut in
pieces three or four inches long. Sauce, anchovy, parsley and butter,
or melted butter flavoured with mushroom catsup. Garnish, sprigs
of parsley or lemon juice.
194. Soles or Eels, stewed. They may be first half fried, so as to
give them a little brownness ; then carefully drain them from fat;
season with pepper and salt, and set them on with as much good beef
gravy as will cover them. Let them simmer very gently for a quarter
of an hour or twenty minutes, according to their thickness, but be
very careful that they be not overdone. Take up the fish very gently
with a slice. Thicken the sauce with flour and butter; flavour with
mushroom catsup and port wine ; simmer a minute or two, then
strain it over the fish. Some people do not like the addition of wine,
and instead thereof mix the thickening" with a tea-cup full of good
cream, seasoned with cayenne and nutmeg, and with or without the
addition of a spoonful of catsup.
195. Cod. The head and shoulders, comprehending in weight two-
thirds or three-quarters of the fish, is much better dressed separately;
the tail being much thinner would be broken to pieces before the
thicker parts are done. The best way of dressing the tail, is to fry it.
For boiling cod, allow plenty of room and water, that the fish may be
perfectly covered. Put it in blood-warm water, with a large handful
of salt. Watch for its boiling, that it may be set a little aside. A
small cod will require twenty minutes after it boils; a large one, half
an hour. When the fins pull easily, and the eyes start, the fish is
done. Slip it very carefully on the fish plate, that it may not be
broken. Take out the roe and liver, which are much esteemed ;
they will serve to garnish the dish, together with horse-radish and
slices of lemon, or fried smelts, or oysters. Sance, oyster. The sound,
a fat jelly-like substance, along the inside of the backbone, is the great
delicacy of the fish. Cod is sometimes boiled in slices. Let them
be soaked half an hour in salt water; then set on with cold spring
water and salt, just enough to cover them. Let it boil up ; then
carefully skim and set aside for ten minutes. Serve with the same
sauce as above. Slices of cod are much better fried as soles. Slices
of crimped cod, for boiling, are put in boiling water, and when done
served on a napkin.
FISH. 69
196. Ling is a large fish, somewhat resembling cod, and may be
dressed in the same way, but is very inferior in quality.
197. Haddock is but a poor fish, make the best of it. It may be
boiled, and served with egg sauce, but it is better stuffed, and baked
or broiled, and served with good gravy, or melted butter, flavoured
with anchovy or mushroom catsup.
198. Whitings may be skinned or not. Fasten the tail to the
mouth ; dip the eggs and bread crumbs, or oatmeal, and fry as soles ;
or they may be cut in three or four pieces, and fried. They do not
take long to fry ; not more than five minutes; but several minutes
should be allowed to drain the fat from them, as the Beauty of them
is to be perfectly dry. Sauce, anchovy, or parsley and butter.
199. Sturgeon. If for boiling take off the skin, which is very rich
and oily; cut in slices; season with pepper and salt; broil over a
clear fire ; rub over each slice a bit of butter, and serve with no other
iccompanimerit than lemon ; or the slices may be dipped in season-
ing or force meat, twisted in buttered white paper, and so broiled.
For sauce, serve melted butter with catsup. Garnish with sliced
emon, as the juice is generally used with the fish.
200. Roast Sturgeon. A piece of sturgeon may be tied securely
#n a spit, and roasted. Keep it constantly basted with butter, and
when nearly done dredge with bread crumbs. When the flakes begin
to separate, it is done. It will take about half an hour before a brisk
fire. Serve with good gravy, thickened with butter and flour, and
enriched with an anchovy, a glass of sherry wine, and the juice of
half a Seville orange or lemon.
201. Stewed Sturgeon. Take enough gravy to cover the fish ;
set it on with a table-spoonful of salt, a few corns of black pepper, a
bunch of sweet herbs, an onion or two, scraped horse-radish, and a
glass of vinegar. Let this boil a few minutes; then set it aside to
become pretty cool ; then add the fish ; let it come gradually to boil ;
and then stew gently till the fish begins to break. Take it off im-
mediately ; keep the fish warm ; strain the gravy, and thicken with
a good piece of butter; add a glass of port or sherry wine, a grate of
nutmeg, and a little lemon juice. Simmer till it thickens, and then
pour over the fish. Sauce, anchovy.
202. Mackerel, boiled. Put them on with cold water and salt.
When the kettle boils, set it aside, but watch it closely, and take up
the moment the eyes begin to start, and the tail to split. Sauce,
parsley and butter (fennel), or roe sauce, or gooseberry sauce. Gar-
nish, fennel and slices of lemon.
203. Broiled Mackerel. Cut a slit in the back that they may be
thoroughly done. Lay them on a clean gridiron (having greased the
bars), over a clear, but rather slow, fire. Sprinkle pepper and salt
over them ; when thoroughly done on both sides, take them up on a
very hot dish without a fish plate. Rub a bit of butter over each fish,
and put inside each a little fennel and parsley, scalded and chopped,
seasoned with pepper and salt, and a bit of fresh butter. Fennel
sauce, parsley and butter.
76 THE COMPLETE COOK.
204. Baked or Pickled Mackerel Take off the heads ; open the
fish ; take out the roes, and clean them thoroughly ; rub the inside
with pepper, salt, and allspice, and replace the roes. Pack the fish
close in a deep baking pan; cover with equal parts of cold vinegar
and water, and two bay leaves. Tie over strong white paper doubled,
or still thicker. Let them bake an hour in a slow oven. They may
be eaten hot, but will keep ten days or a fortnight. Cold butter, and
fresh young fennel (unboiled), are eaten with them. Sprats or her-
rings may be done in the same way.
205. Skate and Thornback. These fish (like cod) are frequently
crimped, that is, slashed in slices, by which means the meat contracts,
and becomes more firm as the watery particles escape. Cut them in
pieces, and boil in salt and water; serve with anchovy sauce; or
they may be fried with egg and bread crumbs, as soles; or stewed as
soles.
206. Smelts, Gudgeons, Sprats, or other small Fish, fried.
Clean and dry them thoroughly in a cloth, fry them plain, or beat an
egg on a plate, dip them in it, and then in very fine bread crumbs,
that have been rubbed through a sieve : the smaller the fish, the finer
should be the bread crumbs biscuit powder is still better; fry them
in plenty of clean lard or dripping; as soon as the lard boils and is
still, put in the fish; when they are delicately browned, they are
done; this will hardly take two minutes. Drain them on a hair sieve,
placed before the fire, turning thorn till quite dry.
207. Trout is sometimes fried, and served \\ ;M crisp parsley and
plain melted butter. This answers best for small fish. They are
sometimes broiled, which must be done over a slow fire, or they will
break. While broiling, sprinkle salt and baste with butter ; serve
with anchovy sauce, to which may be added a few chopped capers
and a little of the vinegar. The sauce is generally 'poured over
the fish.
208. Stewed Trout. When the fish has been properly washed,
lay it in a stew-pan, with half a pint of claret or port wine, and a
quart of good gravy ; a large onion, a dozen berries of black pepper,
the same of allspice, and a few cloves, or a bit of mace; cover the
fish-kettle close, and let it stew gently for ten or twenty minutes,
according to the thickness of the fish ; take the fish up, lay it on a
hot dish, cover it up, and thicken the liquor it was stewed in with a
little flour; season it with a little pepper, salt, essence of anchovy,
mushroom catsup, and a little chili vinegar; when it has boiled ten
minutes, strain it through a tamis, and pour it over the fish ; if there
is more sauce than the dish will hold, send the rest up in a boat.
209. Red Mullets. These delicate fish are sometimes fried, and
served with anchovy sauce; but more frequently either stewed or
baked.
210. Eels, fried. Skin and gut them, and wash them in cold
water; cut them in pieces four inches long; season them with pep-
per and salt; beat an egg well on a plate, dip them in the egg, and
then in fine bread crumbs; fry them in fresh clean lard ; drain therr
FISH. 71
well from the fat; garnish with crisp parsley. Sauce, plain, and
melted butter sharpened with lemon juice, or parsley and butter.
211. Boiled Eels. Twist them round and round, and run a wire
skewer through them. Do them slowly in a small quantity of salt
and water, with a spoonful of vinegar, and a handful of parsley. They
may be put in cold water, and will take very few minutes after they
boii. Sauce, parsley, or fonnel, and butter.
21*2. Pike or Jack. For either baking or boiling, it is usual to
stuff them with pudding. To secure it, bind it round with narrow
tape. The fish may be dressed at full length, or turned with its tail
in its mouth. For boiling, use hard water with salt, and a tea-cup
full of vinegar ; put it in blood-warrn, and when it boils set it aside
that it may simmer slowly. It will take from ten minutes to half an
hour, according to its size. Sauce, oyster. Garnish, slices of lemon,
laid alternately with horse-radish. If baked, being stuffed, put it in
a deep dish, with a tea-cup full of gravy, and some bits of butter stuck
over it. Serve with rich thickened gravy, and anchovy sauce.
For frying, the fish is to be cut in pieces, and may be done with
egg and bread crumbs, as soles. The usual sauce is melted butter
and catsup, but anchovy or lobster sauce is sometimes used.
213. Carp, fried. The same as soles; make sauce of the roe, and
anchovy sauce with lemon juice.
214. Carp, stewed. With the addition of preserving the blood,
which is to be dropped into port or claret wine, well stirring the whole
time, carp may be stewed in the same manner as sturgeon, the wine
and blood to be added with the thickening, and the whole poured over
the fish. Sippet of bread toasted, sliced lemon and barberries. The
same process for lampreys.
215. Perch, boiled. Put them on in as much cold spring water as
will cover them, with a handful of salt. Let them boil up quickly;
then set aside to simmer slowly for eight, ten, or fifteen minutes, ac-
cording to their size. Sauce, parsley and butter, or fennel, or melted
butter with catsup.
216. Salt Fish. It should be soaked a considerable time in soft
water, changing the water two or three times. The length of time
required will be according to the hardness or softness of the fish. One
night will do for that which has been but a fortnight or three weeks
in salt ; but some require two or even three nights' soaking, and to
be laid through the intermediate days on a stone floor. Set it on in
cold or hike-warm water, and let it be a long time coming to boil. It
should be kept at a slow simmer from half an hour to an hour and a
half. When done enough, lay the tin fish-drainer across the kettle;
remove any straggling bones and skin; pour through a quart of boil-
ing water to rinse it. and serve with plenty of egg sauce, red beet-
root, parsnips, and mashed potatoes. Some of the parsnips and beet-
roots should be served whole, or in slices for garnish, together with
horse-radish, and a dish also of equal parts of red beet-root and pars-
nips, mashed together, with pepper, butter, and cream. Salt fish is
sometimes served with the vegetables. When boiled as above, it is
"72 THE COMPLETE COOK.
broken in flakes, and stewed a few minutes in good gravy, flavoured
with onions or eschalots, but not salted, and thickened with flour, but-
ter, and cream ; then beat up with it either potatoes, or parsnips and
beet-root, mashed with cream and butter. Sauce, egg. Salt fish,
whether cod, ling, haddock, or salmon, is often cut in slices, soaked
in beer, and broiled as red herrings for a breakfast relish.
217. Terrapins. This is a favourite dish for suppers and parties ;
and. when well cooked, they are certainly very delicious. Many
persons in Philadelphia have made themselves famous for cooking this
article alone. Mrs. Rubicam, who during her lifetime always stood first
in that way, prepared them as follows. Put the terrapins alive in a pot
of boiling water, where they must remain until they are quite dead.
Youthen divest them of their outer skin and toe-nails; and, after
washing them in warm water, boil them again until they become quite
tender, adding a handful of salt to the water. Having satisfied your-
self of their being perfectly tender, take off the shells and clean the
terrapins very carefully, removing the sand-bag and gall without
breaking them. Then cut the meat and entrails into small pieces,
and put into a saucepan, adding the juice which has been given out
in cutting them up, but no water, and season with salt, cayenne, and
black pepper, to your taste ; adding a quarter of a pound of good but-
ter to each terrapin, and a handful of flour for thickening. After stir-
ring a short time, add four or five table-spoonfuls of cream, and a half
pint of good Madeira to every four terrapins, and serve hot in a deep
dish. Our own cook has been in the habit of putting in a very little
mace, a large table-spoonful of mustard, and ten drops of the gall ;
and, just before serving, adding the yolks of four rnrd boiled eggs.
During the stewing, particular attention must be paid to stirring the
preparation frequently; and it must be borne in mind, that terrapins
cannot possibly be too hot.
218. Oysters au gratin. Take the best oysters you can find, and
dry them on a napkin; you then place them on a silver shell, made
expressly for the purpose, or fine, large, deep oyster shells, if handier,
which should be well cleaned, placing in them four or six oysters,
according to their size; season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley,
mushrooms hashed very fine, a small quantity of bread crumbs, with
which the surface of the oysters must be covered, placing on top of
all a small piece of the best butter. Then put them in a hot oven,
and let them remain until they acquire a golden colour. Serve
them hot.
219. Oysters, slewed. For this purpose the beard or fringe is
generally taken off. If this is done, set on the beards with the liquor
of the oysters, and a little white gravy, rich but unseasoned ; naving
boiled a few minutes, strain off the beards, put in the oysters, and
thicken the gravy with flour and butter (an ounce of butter to half a
pint of stew,) a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, or mace, a spoonful of
catsup, and three of cream ; some prefer a little essence of anchovy to
r.atsup, others the juice of a lemon, others a glass of white wine; the
flavour may be varied according to taste. Simmer till the stew is
ROASTING. 73
thick, and warmed through, but avoid letting them boil. Lay toasted
sippets at the bottom of the dish and round the edges.
220. A more simple, and, as we think, a better method is to put, say two
hundred oysters in a saucepan with nothing- but their own juice; place
them on a brisk fire, and lt;t them remain, stirring them occasionally,
until they begin to boil, then remove them, and pass the juice- through
a tin colander, leaving the oysters to drain. Then mix well together
three-quarters of a pound of good butter, and a handful of flour.
When this is done, strain the juice of the oysters through a sieve into
the saucepan containing the butter and flour, and put it on the fire
again, and add pepper and salt to your taste, stirring the *vh.ole fre-
quently and briskly. When it begins to boil again, add the oysters,
and the following articles, well beaten together, viz., the yolks of
three eggs, two table-spoonfuls of milk, and the juice of half a lemon;
whilst adding these, stir the whole briskly, and serve immediately.
221. Oysters, fried. Lar^e oysters are the best for this purpose.
Simmer for a minute or two in their own liquor; drain perfectly dry;
dip in yolks of eggs, and then in breadcrumbs, seasoned with nutmeg,
cayenne, and salt ; fry them of a light brown. They are chiefly used
as garnish for fish, or for rump steaks; but if intended to be eaten
alone, make a little thick melted butter, moistened with the liquor of
the oysters, and serve as sauce.
222. Broiled Oysters. The oysters should be the largest and finest
you can get. Prepare your gridiron, which should b' a double one
made of wire, by rubbing with butter, and having placed your oysters
so that they will all receive the heat equally, set \\ em over a brisk
fire, and broil both sides without burning them. Let them be served
hot, with a small lump of fresh butter, pepper and salt, added to them.
Some establishments serve them egged and breaded; either way,
however, they are good.
ROASTING.
223. Mind that your spit is clean, and take care that it passes
through the meat as little as possible. Before it is spitted, see that
the meat is jointed properly, particularly necks and loins. When on
the spit it must be evenly balanced, that its motion may be regular,
and all parts equally done; for this purpose, take care to be provided
with balancing skewers and cookholds; a cradle spit is the best.
224. The bottle or vertical jack is an excellent instrument for
roasting, better than spits for joints under forty pounds; but if you
have neither of these things, as is often the case in small families, a
woollen string twisted round a door key makes a good substitute. In
this case a strong skewer should be passed through each end of the
joint, in order that it may be conveniently turned bottom upwards,
which will insure an equality of roasting and an equal distribution of
the gravy. A Dutch oven is a convenient utensil for roasting small
joints; but by far the best and most economical thing of the kind is,
improperly, called the American oven, by which you may roast meat
before a sittincr-room fire, without any extra fuel, and without the
6*
*74 THE COMPLETE COOK.
slightest inconvenience to the persons occupying the apartment.
This contrivance will save, in the coarse of a year, all the expense,
and more, of its original cost, in bakings, with this additional consi-
deration, that meat so dressed will be equal to roasted meat. Meat
cooked in a common oven, to say nothing of the abstracting of the
dripping by the generality of bakers, is greatly inferior, both in flavour
and tenderness, to that dressed in the American oven, where the air
is not confined. It is not, however, meat alone that may be dressed
in the American oven. All sorts of cakes may be made in it, and
indeed, all the operations of baking and roasting may be performed
by it, on a limited scale, but sufficiently large tor a "small family in
contracted circumstances; in short, with the addition of the recent
improvement, a sort of oval iron covering, we have baked bread before
a parlour fire as perfectly as it could be produced by the regular pro-
cess of baking; in one word, no family, whether in poor or middling
circumstances, ought to be without the American oven, which may
be had for a few shillings.
225. The fire for roasting should be made up in time, but it is
better not to be very hot at first. The fire should, in point of size,
be suited to the dinner to be dressed, and a few inches longer at each
end than the article to be roasted, or the ends will not be done.
226. Never put meat down to a fierce fire, or one thoroughly
burnt up, if you can possibly avoid it; but if not, you must take care
and place it a considerable distance from the grate ; indeed, meat
should always be done slowly at first; it is impossible to roast a joint
of very considerable size well under some hours. It is said that
George III., who lived principally upon plain roasted and boiled joints,
employed cooks who occupied four, five, or even six hours in roasting
a single joint; but the result amply repaid the loss of labour and
time; the meat was full of gravy, perfectly tender, and of a delicious
flavour.
227. In placing paper over the fat to preserve it, never use pins or
skewers; they operate as so many taps, to carry off the gravy; be-
sides, the paper frequently starts from the skewers, and is, conse-
quently, liable to take fire, to the great injury of both the flavour and
appearance of the meat. For these reasons, always fasten on your
paper with tape, twine, or any other suitable string.
228. The fire should be proportioned to the quantity of the meat
intended to be roasted, as we have intimated above. For large joints
make up a good strong fire, equal in every part of the grate, and well
backed by cinders or small coals. Take care that the fire is bright
and clear in the front. The larger the joint to be roasted, the farther
it must be kept from the fire till nearly done mind that. When
you have to roast a thin and tender thing, let your fire be little and
brisk.
229. When your fire is moderately good, your meat, unless very
small, ought not to be put down nearer than from ten to fifteen inches
off the grate; in some instances a greater distance would be prefer-
able, but it is impossible to lay down any definite rule on this subject.
230. Slow roasting, like slow boiling, is the best, and the more
ROASTING, BROILING, &C. 75
slow, in reason, the better. The time usually directed to be allowed
for roasting meat, where the fire is good, the meat screen sufficiently
large, and the meat not fronted, is rather more than a quarter of an
hour to a pound, but we take this to bo too short a time; however,
the cook must judge for herself; much will depend upon the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere, &c., and more upon the degree of basting it
has undergone. The more the meat is basted the less time it will
take to do, for the meat is rendered soft and mellow outside, and con-
sequently, admits the heat to act upon the inside. On the contrary,
meat rendered hard on the outside by having too hot a fire, or neglect-
ing to baste, the fire is preventpd from operating upon the interior.
When the meat is half done the fire should be well stirred for brown-
ing, that is, it must be made to burn brightly and clearly. When
the steam begins to rise, depend upon it the meat is thoroughly done,
that is, well saturated with heat, and all that goes off from the meat
in evaporation is an absolute waste of its most savoury and nourish-
ing particles.
231. A good cook will be particular to place her dripping pan so
as to catch the dripping, but not the loose hot coals which may chance
to fall from the fire. Your dripping pan should be large, not less
than twenty-eight inches long and twenty inches broad, and should
have a well-covered well on the side from the fire, to collect the drip-
ping; "this," says Dr. Kitchiner, " will preserve it in the most deli-
cate state."
232. Roasting and boiling, as being the most common operations
in cooking, are generally considered the most easy ; this is a great
error: roasting, in particular, requires unremitting attention toper-
form it well, much more so than stewing, or the preparing many made
dishes. A celebrated French author, in the Almanack des Gour-
mands, says, that "the art of roasting victuals to the precise degree,
is one of the most difficult things in this world, and you may find half
a thousand good cooks sooner than one perfect roaster ; five minutes
on the spit, more or less, decide the goodness of this mode of
cookery."
ROASTING, BROILING, AND FRYING.
Before entering into any detail as to the best method of preparing
the different dishes under this head, we must recommend the young
cook to atrain carefully read our preliminary observations on roasting.
We may here too be allowed to er.ter our most decided protest against
baking meat, generally speaking whether in the common brick
oven, or in the iron ovens attached to kitchen ranges, particularly in
the latter, unless they have a draught of air through them, when they
will dress, or rather roast meat very well. Meat cannot be subjected
to the influence of fire without injury, unless it is open to the air, by
which the exhalations are carried off, and the natural flavour of the
meat is preserved. Under the idea of saving fuel, persons are induced
to use stoves in their kitchen instead of ranges. They should con-
76 THE COMPLETE COOK.
eider, however, that baking not only injures the meat, but absolutely
spoils the dripping, which from roasted meat is much more valuable
than the extra cost of coals. For a small family, we recommend the
bottle jack and for large establishments, a kitchen range, a smoke
jack, and the usual quantity of plating for stewing, or boiling. In
the following receipts we have generally indicated the time which a
joint will take roasting, but a good cook will never wholly depend
upon time, either in roasting or boiling; she ought to exercise her
own judgment, as to whether a thing is done or not. When roast
meat streams towards the fire, it is a sure sign that the meat is nearly
done. On no account, whatever, should gravy be poured over any
thing that is roasted. It makes the meat insipid, and washes off the
frothing, or dredging.
233. Sirloin of Beef, roasted. Sirloin or ribs, of about fifteen
pounds, will require to be before a large sound fire about three and
a half or four hours ; take care to spit it evenly, that it may not be
heavier on one side than the other; put a little clean dripping in the
dripping pan (tie a piece of paper over it to preserve the fat), baste it
well as soon as it is put down, and every quarter of an hour all the
time it is roasting, till the last half hour; then takeoff the paper, and
make some gravy for it; stir the fire and make it clear; to brown
and froth it, sprinkle a little salt over it, baste it with butter, and
dredge it with flour; let it go a few minutes longer, till the froth
rises; take it up. Garnish it with a hillock of horse-radish, scraped
as fine as possible with a very sharp knife. A Yorkshire pudding is
an excellent accompaniment. The inside of the sirloin should never
be cut hot, but reserved entire for the hash, or a mock hare.
234. Rump and Round. Rump and rounds of beef are sometimes
roasted ; they require thorough doing, and much basting to keep the
outside from being dry. It should be before the fire from three hours,
and upwards, according to size. Gravy and garnish as above.
235. Mock Hare. The inside lean of a sirloin of beef may be
dressed so as to resemble hare, and is by many people greatly pre-
ferred to it. Make a good stuffing. If possible, get the inside meat
of the whole length of sirloin, or even of two, lay the stuffing on half
the length, turn the other end over and sew up the two sides with a
strong twine, that will easily draw out when done ; roast it nicely,
taking care to baste it well, and serve with sauces and garnishes the
same as hare ; or, it may be partly roasted and then stewed, in rich
thickened gravy with force meat balls, and sauce.
236. Ribs of Beef, boned. Take out the ribs, &c. and roll it as
round as possible ; bind with tape ; roast with or without veal stuffing,
laid over before rolling. Thoroughly soak it, and brown it before a
quick fire. Roast beef accompaniments, and, if liked, wow-wow
sauce.
237. Roasting Mutton. A saddle of mutton of ten or twelve
pounds will take from two hours and a half to three hours roasting.
Mutton should be put before a brisk fire ; a saddle of mutton requires
to be protected from the heat by covering it with paper, which should
ROASTING, BROILING, &C. 77
be taken off about a quarter of an hour before it is done ; when of a
pale-brown colour, basto it; flour it lightly to froth. The leg of
mutton, the shoulder, the loin, the neck, the breast, and the haunch,
require the same treatment as the saddle, with the exception of
papering, which, however, may be sometimes required. The haunch
should be served with plain but rich mutton sauce, and with sweet
sauce ; of course separately.
238. Million, Venison fashion. Hang till fit for dressing- a good
neck of mutton ; two days before dressing it, rub it well twice each
day with powdered allspice, and black pepper ; roast it in paste, as
ordered tor the haunch of venison.
239. Roasting Veal. This meat requires particular care to roast
it a nice brown ; the fire should be the same as for beef; a sound
large fire for a large joint, and a brisker for a smaller: soak tho-
roughly, and then bring it nearer the fire to brown ; baste on first
putting down, and occasionally afterwards. When done and dished,
pour over it melted butter, with or without a little brown gravy.
Veal joints, not stuffed, may be served with force meat balls, or rolled
into sausages as garnish to the dish ; or fried pork sausages. Bacon
or ham, and greens, are generally eaten with veal.
240. Fillet of Veal of from twelve to sixteen pounds will require
from four or five hours at a good fire ; make some stuffing or force
meat, and put it under the flap, that there may be some left to eat
cold, or to season a hash ; brown it, and pour good melted butter over
it; garnish with thin slices of lemon and cakes or balls of stuffing.
A loin is the best part of the calf, and will take about three houra
roasting ; paper the kidney fat and back. A shoulder from three
hours to three hours and a half; stuff* it with the force meat ordered
for the fillet of veal, or balls made of 271. Neck, best end, will take
two hours ; same accompaniments as the fillet. The scrag part is
best in a pie or broth. Breast from an hour and a half to two hours.
Let the caul remain till it is almost done, then take it off 1 to brown it;
baste, flour and froth it.
241. Veal Sweetbread. Trim a fine sweetbread (it cannot be too
fresh), parboil it for five minutes, and throw it into a basin of cold
water. Roast it plain, or beat up the yolk of an egg, and prepare
some bread crumbs. When the sweetbread is cold, dry it thoroughly
in a cloth; run a lark-spit or a skewer through it, and tie it on the
ordinary spit; egg it with a paste-brush ; powder it well with bread
crumbs, and roast it. For sauce, fried bread crumbs round it, and
melted butter, with a little mushroom catsup, or serve them on but-
tered toast, garnished with egg sauce, or with gravy. Instead of
spitting them, you may put them into a tin dutch oven or fry them.
242. Roasting- Lamb. To the usual accompaniments of roasted
meat, lamb requires green mint sauce or salad, or both. Some cooks,
about five minutes before it is done, sprinkle it with a little fresh-
gathered and finely minced parsley, or crisped parsley. Lamb and
all young meats ought to be thoroughly done; therefore, do not take
eithe- lamb or veal off the spit till you see it drop white gravy,
8 THE COMPLETE COOK.
When green mint cannot be got, mint vinegar is an acceptable sub-
stitute for it, and crisp parsley, on a side plate, is an admirable
accompaniment. Hind-quarter of eight pounds will take from an
hour and three-quarters to two hours; baste, and froth it. A quarter
of a porkling is sometimes skinned, cut, and dressed lamb fashion, and
sent up as a substitute for it. The leg and the loin of lamb, when
little, should be roasted together, the former being lean, the latter fat,
and the gravy is better preserved. Fore-quarter often pounds, about
two hours. It is a pretty genera! custom, when you take off the
shoulder from the ribs, to squeeze a Seville orange, or lemon, over
them, and sprinkle them with a little pepper and salt; this may be
done by the cook before it comes to table. Some people are not
remarkably expert at dividing these joints nicely. Leg of five
pounds, from an hour to an hour and a half. Shoulder, with a quick
fire, an hour. Ribs, almost an hour to an hour and a quarter; joint
them nicely, crack the ribs across, and divide them from the brisket
after it is roasted. Loin, an hour and a quarter. Neck, an hour.
Breast three-quarters of an hour.
243. Roasting Pork. If this meat be not well done, thoroughly
well done, it is disgusting to the sight and poisonous to the stomach.
" In the gravy of pork, if there is the least tint of redness," says Dr.
Kitchiner, " it is enough to appal the sharpest appetite. Other meats
under-done are unpleasant, but pork is absolutely uneatable." A Leg
of eight pounds will require about three hours; score the skin across
in narrow stripes (some score it in diamonds) about a quarter of an
inch apart; stuff the knuckle with sage and onion minced fine, and a
little grated bread, seasoned with pepper, salt, and the yolk of an egg.
See 252 and 270. Do not put it too near the fire ; rub a little sweet
oil on the skin with a paste-brush, or a goose- feather ; this makes the
crackling crisper and browner than basting it with dripping, and it
will be a better colour than all the art of cookery can make it in any
other way ; and this is the best way of preventing the skin from
blistering, which is principally occasioned by its being put too near
the fire.
244. Leg of Pork roasted without the skin ; or Mock Goose.
Parboil a leg of pork, take off' the skin, and then put it down to roast ;
baste it with butter, and make a savoury powder of finely minced or
dried or powdered sage, ground black pepper, salt, and ^otne bread
crumbs rubbed together through a colander ; you may add to this a
little very finely minced onion; sprinkle it with this when it is almost
roasted ; put a half pint of made gravy into the dish, and goose stuffing
under the knuckle skin, or garnish the dish with balls of it, fried or
broiled.
245. Spare rib : when you put it down to roast, dust on some flour,
and baste it with a little butter ; dry a dozen sage leaves, rub them
through a hair sieve, put them into the top of a pepper box, and about
a quarter of an hour before the meat is done baste it with butter; dust
the pulverised sage, or savoury powder, in, or sprinkle it with duck
stuffing ; some people prefer it plain.
HO A STING.
246. Loin nfPork, of five pounds, must be kept at a good distance
from the fire, on account of the crackling, and will take about two
hours if very fat, half an hour longer: stuff it with duck stuffing
(252 and 270;) score the skin in stripes about a quarter of an inch
apart, and rub it with salad oil. You may sprinkle over it some of
the savoury powder recommended for the mock fjoose (244.)
247. Sucking Pig should be about three weeks old, and it ought to
be dressed as quickly as possible after it is killed; if not quite fresh,
the crackling can never be made crisp. It requires constant attention
arid great care in roasting. As the ends require more fire than the
middle, au instrument called the pig-iron has been contrived to hang
before the latter part. A common flat iron will answer the purpose,
or the fire may be kept fiercest at the ends. A good stuffing may be
made as follows: Take five or six ounces of the crumb of stale bread ;
crumble and rub through a colander; mince very fine a handful of
sage, and a large onion ; mix with an egg, pepper, salt, and a piece of
butter about the size of an egg ; fill the belly, and sew it up ; put it
to the fire, and baste it with butter tied up in a rag, by applying it to
the back of the pig. Kitchiner recommends basting it with olive oil
till it is done. It should never be left. It should be placed before a
clear brisk fire, at some distance; and great care should be taken
that the crackling should be nicely crisped, and delicately browned.
It will require from an hour and a half to two hours, according to the
size of the pig. When first put to the fire, it should be rubbed all
over with fresh butter, or salad oil ; ten minutes after this, and when
the skin looks dry, dredge it well with flour all over. Let this re-
main on an hour, and then rub it off with a soft cloth. A sucking pig
being very troublesome to roast, is frequently sent to the oven. A
clever baker will do it so as to be almost equal to roasted ; he will re-
quire a quarter of a pound of butter, and should be told to baste it well.
(See 284.) Before you take the pig from the fire, cut off the head,
and part that and the body down the middle ; chop the brains very fine
with some boiled sage leaves, and mix them with good veal or beef
gravy, or what runs from the pig when you cut the head off. Send
up a tureen full of gravy besides. Currant sauce is still a favourite
with some of the old school. Lay your pig back to back in the dish, with
one half of the head on each side, and the ears at each end, which you
must take care to make nice and crisp, or you will get scolded, and
deservedly. When you cut off the pettitoes, leave the skin long, round
the end of the legs.
248. Turkey, Turkey Poults, and other Poultry. A fowl and a
turkey require the same management at the fire, only the latter will
take longer time. Let them be carefully picked, break the breast-
bone (to make them look plump,) and thoroughly singe them with a
sheet of clean writing paper. Prepare a nice brisk fire for them.
Make stuffing according to 269; stuff them under the breast where
the craw was taken out ; and make some into balls, and boil or fry
them, and lay them round the dish; they are handy to help, and you
can reserve some of the inside stuffing to eat with the cold turkey, or
80 THECOMPLETECOOK.
to enrich a hash. Score the gizzard ; dip it in tho yolk of an egg-, or
melted butter, and sprinkle it with salt and a few grains of cayenne;
put it under one pinion, and the liver under the other ; cover the liver
with buttered paper, to prevent it getting hardened or burnt. When
you first put your turkey down to roast, dredge it with flour, then put
about an ounce of butter into a basting ladle, and as it melts baste the
bird. Keep it at a distance from the fire for the first half hour that it
may warm gradually, then put it nearer, and when it is plumped up,
and the steam draws towards the fire, it is nearly done enough ; then
dredge it lightly with flour, and put a bit of butter into your basting
ladle, and as it rnelts baste the turkey with it; this will raise a finer
froth than can be produced by using the fat out of the pan. A very
large turkey will require about three hours to roast it thoroughly; a
middling sized one, of eight or ten pounds, about two hours ; a small
one may be done in an hour and a half. Turkey poults are of various
sizes, and will take about an hour and a half. Fried pork sausages
are a very savoury accompaniment to either roasted or boiled turkey.
Sausage meat is sometimes used as a stuffing, instead of the ordinary
force meat. If you wish a turkey, especially a very large one, to be
tender, never dress it till at least four or five days (in cold weather,
eight or ten) after it has been killed, unless it be dressed immediately
after killing, before the flesh is cold ; be very careful not to let it
freeze. Hen turkeys are preferable to cocks for whiteness and
tenderness, and the small tender ones, with black legs, are most
esteemed. Send up with them oyster, egg, and plenty of gravy
sauce.
249. Capons or Fowls must be killed a couple of days in moderate,
and more in cold, weather, before they are dressed, unless dressed
immediately they are killed, or they will eat tough : a good criterion
of the ripeness of poultry for the spit, is the ease with which you can
pull out the leathers; when a fowl is plucked, leave a few to help you
to ascertain this. They are managed exactly in the same manner,
and sent up with the same sauces, as a turkey, only they require pro-
portionably less time at the fire a full-grown five-toed fowl about an
hour and a quarter; a moderate sized one, an hour; a chicken, from
thirty to forty minutes. Have also pork sausages fried, as they are in
general a favourite accompaniment, or turkey stuffing; see Force
meats, 278; put in plenty of it, so as to plump out the fowl, which
must be tied closely (both at the neck and rump,) to keep in the stuff-
ing; some cooks put the liver of the fowl into this force meat, and
others mince it and pound it, and rub up with flour and melted butter.
When the bird is stuffed and trussed, score the gizzard nicely ; dip it
into melted butter ; let it drain, and then season it with cayenne and
salt ; put it under one pinion, and the liver under the other; to pre-
vent their getting hardened or scorched, cover them with double pa-
per buttered. Take care that your roasted poultry be well browned ;
it is as indispensable that roasted poultry should have a rich brown
complexion, as that boiled poultry should have a delicate white one.
ROASTING. 81
For sauces, see 111; or liver and parsley, and those ordered in the
last receipt.
250. Goose. When a goose is well picked, singed and cleaned,
make the stuffing with about two ounces of onion, and half as much
green sage; chop them very fine, adding four ounces of stale bread
crumbs, a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, and a very little pep-
per and salt (to this some cooks add half the liver, parboiling it first,)
the yolk of an egg or two, and, incorporating the whole together, stuff
the goose; do not quite fill it, but leave a little room for the stuffing
to swell. From an hour and a half to an hour and three-quarters will
roast a fine full-grown goose. Send up gravy and apple sauce with it.
Geese are called green till they are about four months old.
251. Canvass Back Ducks, or Red Neck Ducks. Let your duck
be young and fat, if possible; having picked it well, draw it and singe
carefully, without washing it, so as to preserve the blood, and conse-
quently, all its flavour. You then truss it, leaving its head on for the
purpose of distinguishing it from common game, and place it on the
spit before a brisk fire, for at least fifteen minutes. Then serve it
hot, in its own gravy, w : hich is formed by the blood, &c., on a large
chafing dish. The best birds are found on the Potomac river; they
have the head purple, and the breast silver colour, and it is considered
superior in quality and flavour to any other species of wild duck.
The season is only during the cold weather.
252. Duck. Mind your duck is well cleaned, and wiped out with
a clean cloth ; for the stuTmg, take an ounce of onion and half an
ounce of green sage ; clup them very fine, and mix them \vith two
ounces of bread crumbs, a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, a
very little black pepper and salt, and the yolk of an egg to bind it;
mix these thoroughly together, and put into the duck. From half to
three-quarters of an hour will be enough to roast it, according to the
size ; contrive to have the feet delicately crisp, as some people are
very fond of them; to do this nicely, you must have a sharp fire.
Gravy sauce, and sage and onion sauce. To hash or stew ducks, the
same as goose. If you think the raw onion will make too strong an
impression upon the palate, parboil it. To insure ducks being ten-
der, in moderate weather kill them a few days before you dress them.
253. Haunch of Venison. To preserve the fat, make a paste of
flour and water, as much as will cover the haunch ; wipe it with a
dry cloth in every part ; rub a large sheet of paper all over with but-
ter, and cover the venison with it ; then roll out the paste about three-
quarters of an inch thick. Lay this all over the fat side, cover it with
three or four sheets of strong 'tthite paper, and tie it securely on with
packthread ; have a strong close fire, and baste your venison as soon
as you lay it down to roast (to prevent the paper and string fiom burn-
ing;) it must be well basted all the time. A buck haunch which ge-
nerally weighs from twenty to twenty-five pounds, will take about four
hours and a half roasting in warm, and longer in cold, weather. A
naunch of from twelve to eighteen pounds will be done in about three
nours, or three hours and a half. A quarter of an hour before it ia
done, the string must be cut, and the paste carefully taken ofF; now
82 THECOMPLETECOOK.
baste it with butter, dredge it lightly with flour, and when the froth
rises, and it has got a very light-brown colour, it is done. Garnish
the knuckle bone with a ruffle of cut writing paper, and send it up
with good strong (but unseasoned) gravy in one boat, and currant jelly
sauce in the other, or currant jelly in a side plate (not melted.) See
for Sauces, 137, 138, 139. Buck venison is in greatest perfection
from Midsummer to Michaelmas, and doe from November to January.
Neck and Shoulder of venison are to be treated the same way as the
haunch, but they will not take so much time, nor do they need the
paste covering.
254. A Fawn should be dressed as soon after it is killed as pos-
sible; when very young, it is dressed the same as a hare; but they
are better eating when the size of the house lamb, or when they are
large enough to be roasted in quarters. The hind-quarter is consid-
ered the be&t. Fawns require a very quick fire. They are so deli-
cate that they must be constantly basted, or be covered with sheets
of fat bacon; when nearly done, remove the bacon, baste it with
butter, and froth it. Serve with venison sauce.
255. A Kid is very good eating when a suckling, and when the
dam is in fine condition. Roast, and serve it like a fawn or hare.
256. Hare when young is easy of digestion, and very nourishing
when old, the contrary, unless rendered so by keeping and dressing.
When you receive a hare, take out the liver if it be sweet, parboil
it, and keep it for stuffing. Wipe the hare quite dry; rub the inside
with pepper, and hang it in a cool place till it is fit to be dressed, that
is to say, till it comes to the point of putrefaction, but not putrefied.
Then paunch and skin, wash and lay it in a large pan of cold water
four or five hours, changing the water two or three times ; lay it in
a clean cloth; dry it well, and truss. To make the stuffing, see 272.
Let it be stiff; put it in the belly, and sew it up tightly. The skin
must be cut to let the blood out of the neck. Some persons baste it
with skimmed milk, but we decidedly prefer dripping; it ought to be
constantly basted till it is nearly done; then put a little bit of butter
into your basting ladle; flour and froth nicely. Serve with good
gravy and currant jelly. Cold roast hare, chopped to pieces, and
stewed in water for a couple of hours, will make excellent soup.
257. Rabbit, Put it down to a sharp clear fire ; dredge it lightly
and carefully with flour; take care to have it frothy and of a fine
light brown; boil the liver with parsley while the rabbit is roasting;
when tender, chop them together; put half the mixture into melted
butter, use the other half for garnish, divided into little hillocks. Cut
off the head, divide it, and lay half on each side the dish. A fine
well-grown and well-hung warren rabbit, dressed as a hare, will eat
very much like it.
258. A Pheasant should have a smart fire, but not a fierce one ;
baste it, butter and froth it, and prepare sauce for it. Some persons,
the pheasant being a dry bird, put a piece of beef or rump steak into
the inside before roasting. It is said that a pheasant should be sus-
pended by one of the long tail feathers till it falls. It is then ripe
SEASONINGS. 83
and ready for the spit, and not before. If a fowl be well kept, and
dressed as a pheasant, and with a pheasant, few persons will discover
the pheasant from the fowl.
259. Guinea Fowls, Partridges, Pea Fowls, Blackcock, Grouse,
and Moorgamp, are dressed in the same way as pheasants. Par-
tridges are sent up with rice sauc^, or bread sauce, and good gravy.
Blackcock, moorgame, and grouse, are sent up with currant jelly and
fried bread crumbs.
260. Wild Ducks, Widgeon, and Teal, are dressed before a clear
fire, and on a hot spit. Wild ducks will require fifteen or twenty
minutes to do them in the fashionable way, but to do them well will
require a few minutes longer. Widgeon and teal, being smaller
birds, of course will require less time.
261. Woodcocks and Snipes are never drawn; they should be tied
on a small bird spit, and put to roast at a clear fire; a slice of bread
is put under each bird, to catch the trail, that is the excrements of the
intestines; they are considered delightful eating; baste with butter,
and froth with flour; lay the toast on a hot dish, and the birds on the
toast; pour some good gravy into the dish, and send some up in a
boat. They are generally roasted from twenty to thirty minutes
but some epicures say, that a woodcock should be just introduced to
the cook, for her to show it the fire, and then send it up to table. Gar-
nish with slices of lemon. Snipes are dressed in the same way, but
require less time.
262. Pigeons, when stuffed, require some green parsley to be
chopped very fine with the liver and a bit of butter, seasoned with a
little pepper and salt; or they may be stuffed with the same as a fillet
of veal. Fill the belly of each bird with either of these compositions.
They will roast in about twenty or thirty minutes. Serve with
parsley and butter, with a dish under them, with some in a boat.
Garnish with crisp parsley, fried bread crumbs, br*ead sauce, or gravy.
263. Small Birds. The most delicate of these are larks, which
are in high season in November and December. When cleaned and
prepared for roasting, brush them with the yolk of an egg, and roll
in bread crumbs; spit them on a lark-spit, and tie that, on a larger
spit; ten or fifteen minutes at a quick fire will do them ; baste them
with fresh butter, and sprinkle them with bread crumbs till they are
quite covered, while roasting. Sauce, grated bread fried in butter,
which set to drain before the fire that it may harden ; serve the
crumbs under the larks when you dish them, and garnish them with
el ices of lemon. IVheateurs are dressed in the same way.
264. Reed Birds. Having carefully picked your birds, which
should be very fat, draw them with the greatest care possible so as
not to rob them of any fat, and truss them on a skewer, which you
fasten to the spit, and cook them before a brisk fire ; a very few
minutes is requisite. In serving them, place them on buttered toast,
and pour a small portion of gravy over them. Let them be hot.
This is generally considered the best manner of serving reed birds,
although many persons prefer them breaded and fried, or barbacued.
84 Til ECO MPLETE COOK.
When they are very fat it is unnecessary to draw them. The season
for this delicious bird is from the middle of September to the first or
.second wnek in October.
SEASONINGS,
The art of making- seasonings, or stuffings, principally consists in
so proportioning the flavours as that none may predominate, or be
tasted more than another. In stuffing 1 , care must be taken to leave
room for swHJing ; if not, it is apt to be hard and heavy.
265. Seasoning for Roast Pork, Ducks, or Geese. Two-thirds
onion, one-third green sage, chopped fine, bread crumbs equal in
weight to the sage and onions; season with a little pepper and salt,
and incorporate it well with the yolk of an egg or two, and a bit of
butter. Some omit the bread crumbs, and some again do not like the
onions, while others add to them a clove of garlic.
266. Seasoning for a Sucking Pig. A large teacup full of
grated bread, two ounces of butter, season with nutmeg, salt, and
pepper; scald two small onions, chop fine, and about thirty leaves of
young sage, and egg beat fine, and mix altogether, and sew it in the
belly of the pig.
267. Seasoning for a Goose. Scald the liver, chop fine, crumb
twice its weight in bread, chop fine four small onions, or an equal
weight of chives, half the weight of green sage, half an ounce of
butter, the yolk of an egg, and a table spoonful of potato starch ;
season highly with salt and pepper; mix well.
268. Chesnut Seasoning for Goose. Fry or boil chesnuts till the
outer skin comes off very easily, and the inside will pound or grate ;
reduce them to powder, scald the liver of the goose, and an onion or
two, the juice of a lemon, season with pepper, cayenne, salt; mix
well together.
STUFFINGS AND FORCE MEATS.
269. Stuffing for Veal, Roast Turkey, Fowl, $c. Mince a
quarter of a pound of beef marrow (beef suet will do,) the same
weight of bread crumbs, two drachms of parsley leaves, a drachm
and a half of sweet marjoram (or lemon thyme,) and the same of
grated lemon peel, an onion, chopped very fine, a little salt and
popper, pound thoroughly together, with the yolk and white of two
eggs, and secure it in the veal with a skewer, or sew it in with a
needle and thread. Make some of it into balls or sausages; flour
rind fry or boil them, and send them up as a garnish, or in a side dish,
with roast poultry, veal, or cutlets, <fcc. This is sufficient quantity
for a turkey poult; a very large turkey will require twice as much ;
an ounce of dressed ham may be added to the above, or use equal
parts of the above stuffing and pork sausage meat.
270. Goose or Duck stuffing. Chop very fine about one ounce of
grern sago leaves, two ounces of onion also chopped fine (both nn-
STUFFINGS, &C. 85
boiled,) a bit of butter about the size of a walnut, four ounces of
bread crumbs, a little salt and pepper, the yolk and white of an egg;
some add to this a little apple.
271. Force meatballs for turtle, mock turtle, or made dishes : .
Pound some veal in a marble mortar, rub it through a sieve with aa
much of the udder as you have of veal, and about the third of the
quantity of butter ; put some bread crumbs in a stew-pan, moisten
with milk, add a little chopped eschalot, and a little parsley; rub
them well together in a mortar till they form a smooth paste; put it
through a sieve, and when cold, pound and mix all together, with the
yolk of three eggs boiled hard; season it with curry powder, or
cayenne pepper and salt; add the yolks of two unboiled eggs, rub it
well together, and make small balls; a few minutes before your soup
is ready, put them in.
272. Stuffing for Hare. Three ounces of fine bread crumbs, two
ounces of beef suet, chopped fine, eschalot half a drachm, one drachm
of parsley, a drachm of lemon thyme, marjoram, winter savoury, a
drachm of grated lemon peel, and the same of pepper and salt; mix
these with the white and yolk of an egg ; do not make it thin, for if
it is not stiff enough, it will be good for nothing ; put it in the hare
and sew it up. If the liver is quite sound, parboil it, mince it very
fine, and put to the stuffing.
273. Veal Force meat. Of undressed veal take two ounces, scrape
it quite fine, and free from skin and sinews, the same quantity of
beef or veal suet, and the same of bread crumbs; chop fine one
drachm of lemon peel, two drachms of parsley, the same quantity
of sweet herbs, and half a drachm of mace or allspice beaten to a
fine powder ; pound all together in a mortar, break into it the yolk
and white of an egg, rub it all well together, and season with pepper
and salt. This .may be made more savoury by adding cold pickled
tongue, eschalot, anchovy, cayenne, or curry powder.
274. Stuffing for Pike, Carp, or Haddock. A dozen oysters
bearded and chopped, two yolks of eggs, a small onion, or two cloves
of eschalot and a few sprigs of parsley chopped fine, season with
cayenne, mace, allspice, pppper, and salt; add their weight of bread
crumbs, or biscuit powder, then put two ounces of butter into a stew-
pan, and eimmer them till they have sucked up the butter ; as they
besrin to bind, sprinkle over them more bread crumbs or biscuit
powder, till the whole forms into a ball, with which stuff the fish.
Some people like the addition of ham or tongue scraped, and suet or
marrow instead of butter.
Another way. Beef suet, or marrow and fat baeon, and fresh
butter, two ounces of each ; pound them with the meat of a lobster,
ten or twelve oyster?, one or two anchovies; season with thyme,
parsley, knotted marjoram, savoury, chapped fine and scalded ; add
salt, cayenne, and nutmeg, a few drops of essence of eschalot ; add
the yolk of an egg, and bread crumbs. This pudding will be sufrL
ciently done in the belly of the fish, if you do not adij the eschalot in
substance.
7*
86 T II E C O M P 1 F, T F, r O O K .
275. Stuffing for Heart and many other purposes. Take half a
pound of grated bread; chop fine a quarter of a pound of beef or
lamb sueCoL- beef marrow; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; a
handful of parsley leaves, thyme about a quarter as much, six sprigs
of marjoram and vervain, winter savoury or knotted marjoram, and
the juice of a quarter of a lernon. Mix well with two eggs well
beaten. You may add a dozen of oysters, chopped, and the liquor,
or two ounces of dressed ham, chopped. This stuffing may be used
for a turkey, with an equal quantity of sausage meat parboiled ; rub
them well together, and keep out half a pound, to which add an egg,
to make up into balls and fry, and lay round the dish as a garnish.
Turkey is sometimes stuffed with chesnuts (see 267); take basil and
parsley instead of onions, and add a quarter of a pound of dressed
ham grated, and a little nutmeg.
276. A very rich stuffing for Veal, Poultry, and Game. Take
two pounds of beef suet, one pound of bread crumbs, a tea spoonful
of thyme, the same quantity of marjoram, a tea-cup full of chopped
parsley, chopped eschalot a table spoonful, half a lemon grated, half
a nutmeg, half an ounce each of salt and pepper, and five eggs, well
mixed.
277. Veal Cake. Boil six eggs hard, cut the yolks in two, butter
a mould ; lay tome of the pieces of egg at the bottom, sprinkle salt,
pepper, and chopped parsley ; then lay thin slices of veal and ham ;
sprinkle again with the seasoning, and then eggs, and so on till the
dish is filled. Then add gravy, till it covers the top of the meat;
spread one ounce of butter over the top, tie it over with paper, and
bake one hour ; then press it close together with a spoon, and let it
stand till cold. Another way is to pound the meat instead of slices,
two-thirds of lean veal and one-third of fat ham. When the cake is
wanted, set the mould in boiling water for a minute or two, and the
cake will turn out.
278. Force weal for Veal or Fowls. Take equal parts of cold
veal, beef suet, ham or gammon, a few parsley leaves, a small onion,
the rind of lemon a little; chop all together very fine; season with
pepper, salt, cayenne, mace, or nutmrg; pound the whole in a mortar,
with an equal quantity of bread crumbs, and add two eggs to bind it.
This is a good three meat for patties.
279. Light force meat balls. Cold veal or chicken a quarter of a
pound, chopped, half a pound of suet, chopped, crumbs of bread a tea-
cup full. Season with sweet herbs, and spice and eschalots, and three
or four eggs beat separately ; mix these articles with all the yolks and
as much of the whites as is necessary to bring it to a moist paste, roll
them in small balls, and fry them in butter, or lard, for garnish to
roast turkey, fowl, &c.
280. Egg balls. Boil four eggs for ten minutes and put them into
cold water; when they are cold beat the yolks in a mortar with the
yolk of a raw egg, some chopped parsley, a tea-spoonful of flour, a
pinch or two of salt, and a little black pepper, or cayenne; rub them
well foorpther, roll them into small balls, end boil them two minutes.
BAKING ME AT, & C . 87
281. Brain balls. Take a calf's brains, or two or throe lambs',
scald them for ten minutes, quite free from every bit of vein and
skin, beat up with seasoning the same as egg balls, adding a tea
spoonful of chopped sage ; rub a tea-cup full of bread crumbs, three
tea spoonfuls of flour, and a raw egg with them. Make them up into
balls, rub each ball with bread, fry them with butter or lard; serve
as a garnish to calf's head, or as a separate side dish.
282. Curry balls. Take bread crumbs, the yolk of an egg boiled
hard, and a bit of fresh butter; beat together in a mortar, and season
with curry powder ; make them into small balls, and boil or fry
them.
BAKING MEAT, &c.
283. As baking is the only means by which the poor inhabitants
of towns for the most part can enjoy a joint of meat at home,* we
shall say a word or two upon the subject, particularly with regard to
those joints which, when they are carefully baked, most resemble
roasted ones. Legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal,
&c., may be baked with advantage, if the meat be good and tolerably
fat. Besides the joints here enumerated, there are many others which
may be baked, providing the meat is not poor or lean. The follow-
ing are observations on baking meat by a well-experienced baker;
they are particularly deserving the attention of a careful house-
keeper.
284. "A pig when sent to the baker prepared for baking should
have its ears and tail covered with buttered paper, properly fastened
on, and a bit of butter tied up in linen to baste the back with, other-
wise it will be apt to blister. With a proper share of attention from
the baker, this way is thought to be equal to a roasted one.
285. "A goose prepared as for loasting, taking care to have it on
a stand, and when half done, to turn the other side upwards. A duck
should be treated in the same way.
286. " After a buttock of beef has been in salt about a week, well
wash it, and put it in a brown earthen pan with a pint of water, cover
the pan quite over and tightly with two or three thicknesses of cap
or foolscap paper (never use brown paper it contains tar, &.C.).
Bake for four or five hours in a moderate heated oven. A ham pro-
perly soaked may be baked in the same way,
287. "Bakers are in the hnbit of baking small cod fish, haddock,
and mackerel, with a dust of flour and some bits of butter put on
them. Eels, when large and stuffed. Herrings and sprats in a
brown pan, with a little vinegar and a little spice, and tied over with
paper. A hare, prepared the same as for roasting, with a few pieces
of butter and a little drop of milk put into the dish, and basted several
times, will be found nearly equal to roasting; or cut it up, season it
properly, put it into a jti or pan, and cover it over, and bake it in a
* We hope, however, in a few years, to see the American oven supersede the cua-
tom of <1resinjj meat in the public hake-house.
88 THE COMPLETE COOK.
moderate oven for about three hours. In the same manner legs and
shins of beef, ox cheeks, &,c., prepared with a seasoning 1 of onions,
turnips, &c., may be baked; they will take about four hours; let
them stand till cold to skim off the fat; then warm up altogether, or
part, as you may want it.
288. '* The time that each of the above articles should take, depends
much upon the state of the oven; they should be sent to the baker in
time, and he must be very neglectful if they are not ready at the time
they are ordered."
289. We may be here allowed to remark, that the process of dress-
ing meat in an oven in a covered pan is more analogous to stewing
than it is to baking. It is, however, an excellent mode of cooking.
The great objection to baking meat in an open pan, and among many
other different descriptions of dishes, is the bad flavour which is apt
to be imparted to it. There is, too, another objection to baked meat,
which arises from the exclusion of the external air, or for want of a
draught. The exhalations from the meat in baking, &c., not being
carried off, they have a tendency to sodden it.
290. Dr. Kitchiner, no mean authority, deprecates the machines
which the economical grate-makers call roasters, being in fact, as he
asserts, "in plain English ovens." The Doctor intimates, that these
things are all very well for saving fuel, but affirms that the rational
epicure, who has been accustomed to enjoy beef well roasted, will
soon discover the difference. Notwithstanding this high authority,
we have no hesitation in slating, that meat cooked in the roaster
attached to FlavelPs cooking apparatus, is as good as meat roasted
before the fire. But we ought to observe, that Mr. Flavell's roaster
has a current of air passing through it when so employed, but when
used as an oven the current of air is prevented by the introduction of
a damper. We can state from the experience of some years, that the
apparatus alluded to is a most excellent contrivance for cooking
generally.
291. " Nothing can be more preposterous," says Mr. Sylvester, in
his 'Philosophy of Domestic Economy,' "and inappropriate, than the
prevailing construction and management of a gentleman's kitchen.
Before the discovery of the stew hearths, all the culinary processes
were carried on with one immense open grate, burning as much fuel
in one day as might do the same work for ten. The cook and the
furniture of the kitchen get a proportion of this heat, the articles to
be dressed another portion, but by far the greatest quantity goes up
the chimney.
292. *'The introduction of the stew hearth has in some degree
reduced the magnitude of these grates; but they are yet disgraceful
to science and common sense. In the present state (1819) of culinary
improvement, a kitchen may be fitted up with apparatus, requiring
much less labour and attention, with much less consumption of fuel;
rendering the food more wholesome and agreeable, and also prevent-
ing that offensive smell which has made it so often necessary to
detach the kitchen from the rest of the house."
PRYING. 89
293. The stew hearth is a most useful addition to the ordinary
kitchen grate, but small families of limited means are seldom possessed
of one. A stew hearth, indeed, or a substitute for one, which may be
easily obtained, is indispensable in French, and indeed in good Eng-
lish cookery.
F R Y I N G .
294. Frying, as is properly observed by Dr. Kitchiner, is often a
convenient mode of cookery ; it may be performed by a firs which
will not do tor roasting 1 or boiling-, ami by the introduction of the pan
between the meat and the fire, things get more equally dressed.
295. Be very particular that your frying pan is perfectly clean be-
fore using it. Never use any oil, butter, lard, or drippings, which
are not perfectly free from salt, and p fectly sweet and fresh. As
frying is, in fact, boiling in oil fat, it is of the first importance that
your fat should be clean, or it will spoil the look as well as the
flavour, and salt will prevent the meat from browning.
296. Good oil is, perhaps, the best to fry in, but sweet fresh lard,
or clarified mutton or beef suet, will answer every purpose, nearly,
if not quite as well as the best oil or butter, and, what is -of greater
importance, at a much less expense. Nice clean dripping is almost
as good as any thing. After you have done frying preserve your fat,
which, if not burnt, will do for three or four fryings; but fat in which
fish has been fried will do for nothing else.
297. If your fat is not of a proper heat, your frying cannot be well
done ; this is, in short, the great secret in frying, which the young
cook ought and must acquire. The frying pan must be always set
over a sharp and clear fire, or otherwise the fat is too long before it
becomes ready. When the fat has done hissing, or bubbling, that is,
when it is still, you may be pretty sure that it is hot enough. It is a
good way to try the heat of your fat, by throwing a little bit of bread
into the pan ; if it fries crisp, the fat is of the right heat if it burns
the bread, it is too hot.
298. When your things are well done, take care and drain all the
fat from them most thoroughly, particularly those that have been
fried in bread crumbs, &c. ; if you do not, your cookery will be marred.
Fried fish ought to be quite dry. This depends in a great measure
upon the fat in which they are dressed being of a proper heat. If the
fish are well done, and are well drained of the fat, they will become
quite dry and crisp in a few minutes after they have been taken out
of the pan. If this, however, should not be the ease, and the fish on
the contrary should be damp and wet, lay them on a soft cloth before
the fire, turning them occasionally till they are dry. They will
sometimes take ten or fifteen minutes drying.
299. In preparing bread crumbs in a considerable quantity, in order
to save unbroken the crust, and preserving it fit for the table, cut
your loaf into three equal parts, that is, cut off the bottom and top
crusts, and use the middle part or the crumb for your frying. The
00 THECOMPLETECOOK.
bread should be at least two days old. A good and cheap substitute
for bread is oatmeal, which will cost, comparatively speaking,
nothing.
It is scarcely necessary to refer the cook to our general remarks
upon the above operation. Frying is preferred by many persons to
broiling; am! our own opinion is, that steaks, chops, &c., may be
dressed with much more certainty and regularity by the former, than
by the latter, method. But plenty of oil, butter, or sweet grease, must
always he ined, or the frying will be imperfect.
300. Sleaks. Cut them rather thinner than for broiling ; put some
butter, or, what is much cheaper and quite as good, some clarified
dripping or suet, into an iron frying-pan, and when it is quite hot put
in the steaks, ami keep turning them until they are done enough.
The sauce for steaks, chops, cutlets, &c., is made as follows: Take
the chops, steaks or cutlets, out of the frying pan; for a pound of meat,
keep a table-spoouful of the fat in the pan, or put in an ounce of but-
ter ; put to it as much flour as will make it a paste; rub it well toge-
ther over the fire till thpy are a little brown; then add as much boil-
ing water as will reduce it to the thickness of good cream, and a ta-
ble-spoonful of mushroom or walnut catsup, or pickle, or browning;
let it boil, together a few minutes, and pour it through a sieve to the
steaks, &c. To the above is sometimes added a sliced onion, or a
minced eschalot, with a table-spoonful of port wine, or a little escha-
lot wine. Garnish with scraped horse-radish, or pickled walnut, gher-
kins, &c. Some beef-eaters like chopped eschalots in one saucer, and
horse-radish grated in vinegar in another. Broiled mushrooms are fa-
vourite relishes to beef-steaks.
301. Beef-steaks and Onions. The steaks are fried as directed
above; the common method is to fry the onions cut small, but the best
plan perhips is to use onions prepared as directed in 115.
302. Sausages. Sausages are not good unless they are quite
fresh. Put a bit of butter or dripping into a frying-pan, before it gets
hot put in the sausages, shake the pan, and keep turning them (be
careful not to break or prick them in so doing) ; fry them over a very
slow fire till they are nicely browned on all sides; when they are
done, lay them on a hair sieve, place them before the fire for a couple
of minutes to drain the fat from them. The secret of "fry in y sausages
is, to let them get hot very gradually then they will not burst, if
they are not stale. You may froth them by rubbing them with cold
fresh butter, and lightly dredge them with flour, and put them in a
cheese-toaster for a minute. The common practice to prevent their
bursting is to prick I hem with a fork ; but this lets out the gravy.
303. Veal Cutlets should be about half an inch thick; trim and flat-
ten; fry in ph-nty of fresh butter, or good dripping; when the fire is
very fierce, you must turn them often but when not so, do them
brown on one side before you turn them. Make gravy of the trim-
mings, &c. ; you may add some browning, mushroom or walnut cat-
sup, or lemon, pickle, &c. Or you may dress them as follows: Cut
the veal into pieces about as big as a crown piece; beat them with a
FRYING. 91
cleaver, dip in egg, beat up with a little salt, and then in fine bread
crumbs; fry them a light brown in boiling lard; serve under them
pome good gravy or mushroom sauce, which may be made in five mi-
nutes. Garnish with slices of ham, or rashers of bacon, or pork sau-
sages. Many persons prefer frying veal cutlets with ham or bacon
rashers, which will afford sufficient fat- to fry them, but will be done
much sooner; remove the rashers, and keep them warm. When the
veal is done, take it out, pour ofFany fat that may remain, and put into
the pan a large tea-cup full or more of gravy or broth, and a piece of
butter rolled in flour. When it boils, add herbs and crumbs of bread,
pour over the veal, and lay the rashers round the edge of the dish.
Garnish, sliced lemon.
304. Sweetbreads should always be got fresh and parboiled imme-
diately. When cold cut them in pieces about three-quarters of an
inch thick, dip them in the yolk of an egg, then in fine bread crumbs
(some add spice, lemon peel, and sweet herbs;) put some clean drip-
ping into a frying-pan ; when it boils put in the sweetbreads, and fry
them a fine brown. For garnish, crisp parsley ; and for sauce, mush-
room catsup and melted butter, or anchovy sauce, or bacon, or ham.
This is called full dressing. They are dressed plain as follows : Par-
boil and slice them as before, dry them on a clean cloth, flour them,
and fry them a delicate brown; take care to drain the fat well from
them, and garnish them with slices of lemon and sprigs of chervil,
pars'yy, or crisp parsley. For sauce, mushroom catsup, or force meat
balls made as 278.
305. Lamb or Mutton Chops are dressed in the same way as veal
cutlets, and garnished with crisp parsley, and slices of lemon. If they
are bread-crumbed, and covered with buttered writing paper, and then
broiled, they are called " Maintenon cutlets"
306. Pork Chops. Take care that they are trimmed very neatly ;
they should be about half an inch thick; put a frying-pan on the fire,
with a bit of butter ; as soon as it is hot, put in your chops, turning
them often till brown all over, and done ; take one upon a plate and
try it; if done, season it with a little finely minced onion, powdered
sage, and pepper and salt. Sauce, sage and onions, or Robert sauce.
307. Fried Eggs. Well-cleansed dripping, or lard, or fresh but-
ter, is the best fat for frying eggs. Be sure the frying-pan is quite
clean ; when the fat is hot, break two or three eggs into it; do not
turn them, but, while they are frying, keep pouring some of the fat
over them with a spoon ; when the yolk just begins to look white,
which it will in about a couple of minutes, they are done enough; the
white must not lose its transparency, but the yolk be seen blushing
through it. If they are done nicely, they will look as white and de-
licate as if they had been poached ; take them up with a tin slice,
drain the fat from them, trim neatly, and send them up with toasted
bacon round them. For Frying Fish, see section Fish, p. 66, par.
193, <f-c.
THECOMPLETECOOK.
BROILING.
308. Let your gridiron be quite clean, particularly between the
bars, and keep it bright on the top. Before using it, you should be
careful to make the bars thoroughly hot, or otherwise that part of the
meat which is covered by the bars will not be equally done with the
other parts of the steak or chop.
309. Chops, sleaks, or slices for broiling, should be from half to
three quarters of an inch in thickness; if too thick, they will be done
outside before the inside and if too thin, they will be dry and
gravyless.
310. In broiling, a brisk and clear fire is indispensable, and to
obtain this you should prepare your fire in time, so that it may burn
clear. It is a good plan to lay over a pretty strong fire a layer of
cinders, or coke ; some use charcoal, but cinders or coke are equally
good. If your fire is not bright you cannot give the nice brown ap-
pearance to the meat, which is not only pleasing to the eye, but is
relishing to the taste.
311. The bars of the best gridirons are made concave, terminating
in a trough to catch the gravy, and keep the fat from falling into the
fire and making a smoke, which will spoil both the appearance and
taste of the broil. Before using the gridiron the bars should be
rubbed with clean mutton suet. The cook should watch the moment
when the broil is done. Send it to the table immediately on a hot
dish, from whence it should be transferred to the mouth all hot!
smoking hot! ! ! The upright gridiron, which is made of strong wire
and may be now bought in the streets for a few pence, is, as Dr.
Kitchiner avers, the best, as it can be used at any fire, without fear
of smoke, and the trough under it preserves all the gravy. The
Dutch oven, or bonnet, may be substituted for the gridiron, when the
fire is not clear.
312. Steaks and Chops. Meat to be broiled should be hung till it
is tender ; the inside of a sirloin of beef, cut into steaks, is greatly
preferred by most people. But steaks are generally cut from the
rump (the middle is the btjst), about six inches long, four inches wide,
and half an inch thick. Do not beat them, it makes them dry and
tasteless. Steaks should be done quickly; for this purpose, take care
to have a very clear brisk fire, throw a little salt on it, make the
gridiron hot, and set it slanting to prevent the fat from dropping into
the fire, and making a smoke. It requires more practice and care
than is generally supposed to do steaks to a nicety; and for want of
these little attentions, this very common dish, which every body is
supposed capable of dressing, seldom comes to table in perfection.
Some like it under, some thoroughly, done. It is usual to put a
table-spoonful of catsup, or a little minced eschalot, into a dish before
the fire, while you are broiling ; turn the steak with a pair of steak-
tongs; it will be done in about ten or fifteen minutes ; rub a bit of
butter over it, and send it up garnished with pickles and finely scraped
horse-radish. Serve with the usual sauces.
BRAISING, GLAZING, &C. 93
'313. Kidneys. Cut them through the long way, score them,
sprinkle a. little pepper and salt on them, and run a wire skewer
through them to keep them from curling on the gridiron, so that they
may be evenly broiled. Broil them over a very clear fire, turning
them often till they are done ; they will take about ten or twelve
minutes, if the fire is brisk : or, fry them in butter, and make gravy
from them in the pan (after you have taken out the kidneys), by put-
ting in a tea spoonful of flour; aa soon as it looks brown, put in as
much water as will make gravy; they will take five minutes more
to fry than to broil. Serve with the usual sauce. Some cooks chop
a few parsley leaves very fine, and mix them with a bit of fresh
butter and a little pepper and salt, and put a little of this mixture on
each kidney.
314. A Fowl or Rabbit. Pick and truss it the same as for boil-
ing, cut it open down the back, wipe the inside clean with a cloth,
season it with a little pepper and salt, have a clear fire and set the
gridiron at a good distance over it, lay the chickrcn on with the inside
towards the fire (you may egg it and strew some grated bread over
it), and broil it till it is a fine brown ; take care the fleshy side is not
burnt. Lay it on a hot dish, pickled mushrooms or mushroom sauce
thrown over it, or parsley and butter, or melted butter flavoured with
mushroom catsup. Garnish with slices of lemon, and the liver and
gizzard, slit and notched, seasoned with pepper and salt, and broiled
nicely brown.
315. Pigeons- Clean them well, and pepper and salt them ; broil
them over a clear slow fire; turn them often, and put a little butter
on them ; when they are done, pour over them either stewed or
pickled mushrooms, or catsup and melted butter. Garnish with fried
bread crumbs, or sippets. Or, when the pigeons are trussed for broil-
ing, flat them with a cleaver, taking care not to break the skin of the
backs or breast; season them with pepper and salt, a little bit of but-
ter, and a tea spoonful of water, and tie them close at both ends; so,
when they are brought to table, they bring their sauce with them
Egg and dredge them well with grated bread (mixed with spice and
sweet nerbs), lay them on the gridiron, and turn them frequently; if
your nre is not very clear, lay them on a sheet of paper well but
tered, to keep them from getting smoked. They are much better
broiled whole.
BRAISING, GLAZING, BLANCHING, LARDING, AND
BONING.
316. A braiser, or braising pan, is a sort of oblong camp kettle,
with a bordered lid, on which, and secured by the border, is put small
burning coal, charcoal, or wood ashes. The lid should fit the pan as
close as possible.
317. Braising. To braise your meat, put the meat into the braiser
(a good stew-pan will answer the purpose, but not so well) ; then
cover the meat with thick slices of fat bacon ; lay round it six or eight
8
94 THECOMPLETE COOK.
onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, some celery, and if it be to brown,
some thick slices of carrots ; meat trimming's, or fresh meat bones, a
pint and a half of water, or the same quantity of stock, which will
make it richer than water will; over the meat lay a sheet of white
paper, season and put the pan, with the lid well fastened down and
tight, over a moderately hot stove, rather slow. It will require two
or three hours, according- to its size or quality. The meat and gravy
are then put into a colander to drain, but be sure to keep it quite hot,
skim the gravy very carefully, and boil it as quick as you can till it
thickens ; then glaze the meat and if it has been larded, put it into
the oven for a few minutes.
318. Glazing consists in covering meat with a preparation called
glaze, which is strong gravy boiled as quick as possible till it thickens,
as directed in braising. The glaze is put on with a brush kept for
the purpose. Hams, tongues, and stewed beef, may be thus glazed,
if thought proper.
319. Blanching is performed by putting the article in cold water
over the fire, and when it boils up. take it out and plunge it into cold
water, and let it remain till quite cold. This will make it white and
plump. Tongues, palates, &c., are said to be blanched, when after
long boiling the skin cnn be easily peeled off.
320. Larding and Forcing. Possess yourself of larding piny of
different sizes; cut slices of bacon into bits of proper length, quite
smooth ; pierce the skin and a very little of the meat with the larding
pin, leaving the bacon in ; the two ends should be of equal length
outwards. Lard in rows the size you think proper. Forcing is
nothing more than stuffing fowls, &c., with force meat, which is
generally put in between the skin and the flesh.
321. Boning. To bone any bird, the cook should begin first to
take out the breast-bone; she will then have sufficient space to
remove the back with a sharp small knife, and then she must take
out the leg bones. The skin must be preserved whole, and the meat
of the leg be pushed inwards.
COLOURINGS, THICKENINGS, FLAVOURINGS, SEASON-
INGS, STOCKS, GRAVIES, SAUCES, STUFFING, FORCE-
MEAT, AND CLARIFYING.
Having laid down, as we trust, clearly and fully, under the pre-
ceding heads, all that is necessary to be known, generally speaking,
with regard to ordinary dishes, we shall now proceed to treat of those
preparations which are employed in the compounding of made dishes,
together with those articles which the prudent, care-taking cook wil.
always keep by her as stores, ready to be used when wanted. Bv
* made dishes' we mean not only those commonly so called, but also
those in the dressing of which other articles are sometimes, or al-
ways, used by way of stuffing, seasoning, &c. such, for instance, a?
geese, ducks, and roast pork. This done, we shall then give direc-
COLOURING, OR BROWNING. 95
tions for tho choice of meat, fish, and poultry, recipes for cooking
them, and the best mode of carving them, under separate heads.
Recipes for cooking all other dishes, will also, of course, be given.
COLOURING, OR BROWNING.
322. The greater part of the preparations for colouring are very
unwholesome, or, in otlier words, very indigestible. They are em-
ployed to give the appearance of richness, but they are worse than
useless, being used for the silly purpose of pleasing the eye only,
generally at the expense of the stomach and taste. Most of the pre-
parations for colouring are a medley of burnt butter, spices, catsup,
wine, flour, and other things not necessary to mention. A French
writer says, the generality of cooks calcine bones till they are as
black as a coal, and throw them hissing hot into the stew-pan, to give
a brown colour to their broths arid soups. These ingredients, under
the appearance of a nourishing gravy, envelop our food with stimulat-
ing acid and corrosive poison. Such things as essence of anchovy are
frequently adulterated with colouring matters containing red lead !
The following recipes for colouring are pretty harmless, and, except
for the purpose of pleasing the eye, as useless as they are innocent.
Some persons, instead of colouring or browning their soups after
they are made, brown the meat of which they are intended to be
made, by putting it into a stew-pan with a little butter, salt, and pep-
per, but without water; then covering it close, placing it over a clear
fire, all the time shaking it to keep it from sticking to the pan, till
the meat becomes of a light brown, when the liquor of which the soup
or gravy is to be made is added.
The best colouring is, perhaps, the following: Haifa pound of
powdered lump sugar and a table-spoonful of water, put into a clean
saucepan, or frying-pan, and set over a slow fire and stirred with a
wooden spoon till it is of a fine brown colour, and begins to smoke ;
then add an ounce of salt, and dilute by degrees with water, till it i3
of the thickness of soy ; boil, take off the scum, and put it into well-
corked bottles ; or you may, provided you do not wish to keep the
above by you, colour your gravies or soups by pounding a tea-spoonful
of lump sugar, and putting it into an iron spoon, which hold over a
quick fire till the mixture becomes of a dark-brown colour; mix with
the soup or gravy while it is hot. Some persons use butter in the
first mixture instead of water.
Toasted bread, quite hard and of a deep brown, not burnt, may be
put into the boiling gravy, without stirring, ar.d then carefully strain
off the gravy without any crumbs of bread in it. You may also
colour with flour browned on a flat-iron over the fire, /arious flavour
ing articles serve also the purpose of colouring.
THE COMPLETE COOK.
THICKENINGS.
323. Flour, or some other farinaceous article, is, or ought to be, the
basis of all thickenings; starch of potatoes, or indeed any other pure
starch, is a good substitute for flour. We do not recommend pre-
parations of Carraghan moss, ivory dust, or eggs; they are trouble-
some, and not at all necessary. A table-spoonful of potatoe or any
other starch, such as arrow-root, mixed in two table-spoonsful of cold
water, and stirrrd into soup, sauce, or gravy, &,c. and afterwards sim-
mered, just before serving, will thicken a pint. Flour will also
answer the same purpose. In large establishments, the following
thickening is generally kept ready prepared ; the French call it roux ;
it is thus made: Put some fresh butter, if clarified the better, (or
gome use the skimmings of the pots, clean and not impregnated with
vegetables,) into a stew-pan over a clear slow fire; when it is melted,
add fine flour sufficient to make it the thickness of paste; stir well
together when over the fire, for ten or fifteen minutes, till it is quite
smooth and of a fine "yellow-boy" colour. Do all this gradually and
patiently, or you will spoil your thickening by getting it burnt, or
giving to it a burnt flavour, which will spoil your gravy, &c. Pour
it into an earthen pan for use, it will keep for a fortnight ; and if,
when cold, it is thick enough to be cut with a knife, a large spoonful
will be enough to thicken a quart of gravy, &c. Most made dishes,
such as sauces, soups, and ragouts, are thus thickened. The broth
or soup, &c., to which the thickening is put, must be added by
degrees, so as to incorporate them well together. To cleanse or
finish a sauce, put into a pint two table-spoonsful of broth, or warm
water, and put it by the side of the fire to raise any fat, &c., which
must be carefully removed as it comes to the top.
We would strongly recommend mistresses of families, particularly
those residing in the country, where potatoes are cheap, to keep a
good stock of potatoe starch always by them. If kept dry and from
.he air, it will keep almost for any length of time. Damaged po-
tatoes will yield starch or mucilage, if raw. It may be made from
the old potatoes, when by germination in the spring they have be-
come unfit for the table, or from the refuse of a newly gathered crop
in the autumn. The starch will be found extremely useful, not only
in a thickening, but also for mixing with wheat flour in making
bread, &c. Starch may be made, and is made, from various vege-
table substances, and used as a substitute for corn flour. The follow-
ing is the mode uf making potatoe starch ; arrow-root starch and all
other starches are made by a similar process:
The potatoes must be carefully washed and peeled, and every
speck removed ; provide yourself with a number of deep dishes, ac-
cording to the quantity of starch you wish to make ; for every pound
of potatoes to be prepared in each dish, put a quart of clear water;
grate them into the water on a bread grater; stir it up well, and then
pour it through a hair sieve, and leave it ten minutes to settle, or
till the water is quite clear ; then pour off the water, and put to it a
fr L A v o u n i N G s . 97
quart of fresh water: stir it up, then let it settle, and repeat this till
the water is quite clear. You will at last find a fine white powder
at the bottom of the vessel ; lay this on a piece of paper in a hair
sieve to dry, either in the sun or before the fire ; when thoroughly
dry, it is ready for use. It is perfectly tasteless, and may be used to
thicken melted butter, instead of flour. A great deal of the arrow-
root sold in the shops is neither more nor less than potatoe starch.
Though we strongly recommend it as effectual and economical for
the above purpose, for an invalid it is very inferior in strength and
nutricious qualities to the Indian arrrow-rool starch.
324. White Thickening. Put half a pound of good butter into a
sauce-pan, and melt over a slow fire, then drain the butter and take
out the buttermilk, then add to the butter enough flour to make a
thin paste, and place it on the fire for fifteen minutes, taking care not
to let it colour. Pour it into a pan and let it stand until wanted.
FLAVOURINGS.
325. Judiciously prepared flavourings are of the first importance
in the higher branches of cookery, and indeed, they are indispensably
necessary in all descriptions of made dishes. The principal agents
employed for flavouring are mushrooms, onions, anchovy, lemon juice
and peel, vinegar, wine, especially claret, sweet herbs, and savoury
spices. A good housewife will always take care to have a stock of
the principal flavourings by her ready for use, as occasion may re-
quire. They are easily prepared for keeping, and the making of
essences and flavoured vinegars, &c., from the herbs, is a very agree-
able employment, and one highly becoming a good wife and mistress
of a family. We by no means wish to undervalue elegant accom-
plishments in ladies, but accomplishments after all are but ornaments,
whereas good housewifery is an essential ; so thought our ancestors
two hundred years ago, and so continue to think all those who set a
proper value on the comforts of domestic life. Markham, in his
English Housewife, 1637, says, " to speak then of the knowledge
which belongs to our British housewife, I hold the most principal to
be a perfect skill in cookery. She that is utterly ignorant therein,
may not, by the lawes of strict justice, challenge the freedom of mar-
riage, because, indeed, she can performe but half her vow ; she may
love and obey, but she cannot cherish and keepe her husband."
Having said enough, we trust, to induce young ladies, particularly in
the above quotation, to take our advice into their consideration, we
shall proceed to make a few observations on taste, as intimately con-
nected with this part of our subject.
A correct taste is a qualification which every cook ought to possess,
but few persons naturally do possess it, and therefore, the palate re-
quires to be cultivated as much in the culinary art, as the eye in the
art of drawing. But tastes differ in different persons, and therefore,
the cook, in providing a dinner, ought, if possible, to consult the tastes
of the parties who are to eat it, rather than her own. This subject,
8*
98 THE COMPLETE COOK.
however, if pursued, will run us out to a much greater extent than
our limits will allow, and, after all, we should not be able to lay down
any definite rules of taste. There is one direction which we shall
give, and which a cook will find it worth her while to attend to,
namely, whenever she finds the palate become dull by repeatedly
tasting, one of the best ways of refreshing it is to masticate an apple,
or to wash her mouth well with milk.
FLAVOURINGS, ESSENCES, POWDERS, &c.
326. To prepare sweet Herbs for keeping. It is highly desirable,
according to the taste and style of living of the family, that prepara-
tions of sweet herbs, either in powder, dried bunches (the powder is
best,) or in the form of essences and tinctures, be always kept at
hand, ready for use. The following is the best way of preparing
them: Gather your herbs, including thyme of the various sorts,
marjoram and savoury, sage, mint, and balm, hyssop and pennyroyal,
when they are come to full growth, just before they begin to flower;
when they must be gathered perfectly free from damp, dust, dirt, and
insects. Cut off the root?, and tie the herbs in small bundles. Dry
as quick as possible, either in the sun, in a dutch oven before the fire,
or in a dry room with a thorough draught. When quite dry, pick off
the leaves, and rub them till they are reduced to a fine powder, when
bottle close for use. Seeds of parsley, fennel, and celery, should be
kept for the purpose of flavouring, when the green herb cannot be
obtained.
327. Savoury Soup Powder is compounded of parsley, winter sa-
voury, sweet marjoram, and lemon thyme, of each two ounces ; sweet
basil, one ounce; verbinia leaves and knotted marjoram, of each half
an ounce ; celery seed and bay leaves (some leave out the bay leaves,)
of each two drachms. Dry in a Dutch oven, thoroughly, but not to
scorch ; then rub the leaves to a fine powder. The seeds will be best
ground, but pounding will do ; sift all through a hair sieve, and bottle
for use. This is an excellent compound.
328. Curry Powder may be made almost, if not altogether, as good
as the Indian, by taking three ounces of coriander seeds; turmeric
two or three ounces ; black pepper, mustard, and ginger, one ounce
of each ; allspice and lesser cardamons, half an ounce each, and cumin
seed, a quarter of an ounce. Put the ingredients in a cool oven for
the nig-ht; thoroughly pound and mix together, and close bottle for
use. Do not use cayenne in a curry powder.
329. Powder for Ragouts. A good powder for flavouring ragouts
is compounded of salt, one ounce; mustard, lemon peel, and black
pepper, ground, of each half an ounce; allspice and ginger, ground,
nutmeg, grated, and cayenne pepper, of each a quarter of an ounce.
Dry in a Dutch oven before a gentle fire; pound in a rnortar, and sift
through a hair sieve.
330. Powder for Brown made dishes. Black pepper and Jamaica,
ground, of each half an ounce; nutmeg, grated, half an ounce; cinna-
P L A V O U R I N Q S , & C . 99
mon, in powder, a quarter of an ounce ; clove?, one drachm ; dry ; finely
powder and bottle.
331. Powder for White made dishes. White pepper half an
ounce; nutmeg a quarter of an ounce; mace one drachm; dried le-
mon peel, grated, one drachm.
332. Preserved Orange and Lemon Peels. Shave the thin skin,
without a particle of white, off your su perfluous Seville orange and lemon
peel ; put in a mortar, with a small lump of dried sugar to each peel ;
beat them well till the rind and sugar be blended together in a kind
of marmalade ; let the mixture be pressed close in a bottle, with a
tea-spoonful of brandy at top, and secure from the air with a cork or
bladder. This will be found a better flavouring, and more handy than
grating dry rinds.
333. Essences, or Tinctures of Herbs, &c. Combine their essen-
tial oils with good tasteless spirits (which is better than brandy, and
much cheaper) in the proportion of one drachm of essential oil to two
ounces of spirits; or fill a wide-mouthed bottle with the leaves, seeds,
roots, or peel, perfectly dry, then pour over them spirits of wine, vine-
gar, or wine ; keep the mixture steeping in a warm place, not hot,
tor twelve or fourteen days, when strain and bottle close for use. Bot-
tles with glass stoppers are best. These essences are very handy, and
are to be had all the year round.
334. Essence of Anchovies. Purchase the best anchovies, that
have been in pickle about a year. Pound twelve of them in a mortar
to a pulp, then put them into a well-tinned saucepan, by the side of
the fire, with two table-spoonfuls of best vinegar sherry, or brandy, or
mushroom catsup; stir it very often till the fish are melted, then add
fifteen grains in weight of the best cayenne pepper ; stir it well, then
rub it through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon ; bottle and cork
very tight with the best cork. When the bottle is opened, cork it
well again with a new cork, as the least air spoils it. That which re-
mains in the sieve makes a pleasant relish for breakfast or lunch, with
bread and butter. If a large quantity is made, press it down in small
jars. Cover it with clarified butter, and keep it in a cool place.
335. Anchovy Powder. Pound the anchovies in a mortar, rub them
through a sieve, make them into a paste with the finest flour, dried,
roll it into thin cakes; dry them before a slow fire; when quite crisp,
pound or grate them to a fine powder, and put into a well-stopped
bottle. It will keep good for years, and is a savoury relish sprinkled
on bread and butter.
336. Oyster Powder. Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut
them, except in dividing the gristle from the shells ; put them into a
mortar ; add about two drachms of salt to a dozen oysters, pound them
and rub them through the back of a hair sieve, and put them into a
mortar again, with as much flour, thoroughly dried, as will make
them into a paste ; roll it out several times, and lastly, flour it and
roll it out the thickness of half a crown, and divide it into pieces
about an inch square ; lay them in a dutch oven before the fire, take
care they do not burn, turn them every half hour, and when they
798948 A
100 THE COMPLETE COOK.
begin to dry, crumble them ; they will take about four hours to dry ;
then pound them fine, sift them, and put them into bottles ; seal them
over.
337. Spirit of mixed Herbs. Take winter savoury, lemon thyme,
sweet basil, and lemon rind, celery seed one drachm, steep them in a
pint of spirits of wine. Then drain and bottle the liquor. The herbs,
after draining, will keep two or three weeks, and may be used for fla-
vouring.
338. Tincture of Lemon or Seville Orange Peel. Half fill a wide-
mouthed bottle with good spirits; shave the thin rind off the lemon,
and put it into the bottle until it is full : it may be either strained off*
into bottles, or suffered to remain on the rind.
339. Spirits of mixed Spice. Black pepper one ounce, allspice
half an ounce, both finely powdered ; nutmeg quarter of an ounce,
grated ; infuse in a pint of spirits of wine, strain, and bottle.
MADE DISHES.
There is little to be added to our general remarks on this subject,
under the heads 'of Stewing, Hashing, Thickening, Flavouring, &c.
Made dishes are almost innumerable. They are, however, nothing
more than meat, poultry, or fish, stewed very gently till they are ten-
der, with a thickening sauce of some kind or other poured over them.
Their difference consists in their flavour, which may be so modified
by an ingenious cook as to make them almost endless. Let our pre-
liminary remarks on these subjects be well studied. We subjoin a
few receipts.
340. Calfs Head. Take the half of one, with the skin on ; put it
into a large stew-pan, with as much water as will cover it, a knuckle
of ham, and the usual accompaniments of onions, herbs, &c., and let
it simmer till the flesh may be separated from the bone with a spoon ;
do so, and while still hot cut it into as large a sized square as a piece
will admit of; the trimming and half the liquor put by in a tureen ;
to the remaining half add a gill of white wine, and reduce the whole
of that, by quick boiling, till it is again half consumed, when it should
be poured over the large square piece, in an earthen vessel, sur-
rounded with mushrooms, white buttoned onion, small pieces of
pickled pork, half an inch in breadth, and one and a half in length, and
the tongue in slices, and simmered till the whole is fit to serve up;
csome brown force meat balls are a pretty addition. After this comes
from table, the remains should be cut up in small pieces, and mixed up
with the trimmings and liquor, which (with a little more wine,) pro-
perly thickened, will make a very good mock turtle soup for a future
occasion.
341. Hashed Meat. Cut the meat into slices about the thickness
of two shillings, trim off all the sinews, skin, and gristle, put nothing
in but what is to be eaten, lay them on a plate ready ; prepare your
sauce to warm in it, put in the meat, and let it simmer gently till it
MADE DISHES, 101
is thoroughly warm ; do not let it boil, as that will make the meat
tough and hard.
342. Unshed Beef or Mutton. One tea-spoonful of Harvey sauce,
one of Tom:ita sauce, the same quantity of any other sauce ; pepper,
salt, cayenne, half a wine glass of port wine, and a couple of capsi-
cums cut fine ; mix with the remains of the gravy of the preceding
day, of beet' or mutton ; if necessary to thicken, add one shake of the
flour dredger. This is a good hash.
343. Sandwiches are an elegant and convenient luncheon, if nicely
prepared ; the bread should be neatly cut with a sharp knife ; what-
ever is used must be carefully trimmed from every bit of skin, gristle,
&c., and nothing must be introduced but what you are absolutely cer-
tain will be acceptable to the mouth.
344. A good Scotch Haggis. Make the haggis-bag perfectly
clean ; parboil the draught, boil the liver very well, so as it will grate,
dry the meat before the fire, mince the draught and a pretty large
piece of beef very small; grate about half of the liver, mince plenty
of suet and some onions small ; mix all these materials very well to-
gether, with a handful or two of the dried meal ; spread them on the
table, and season them properly with salt and mixed spices; take any
of the scraps of beef that are left from mincing, and some of the wa-
ter that boiled the draught, and make about a quart of good stock of
it; then put all the haggis meat into the bag, and that broth in it;
then sew up the bag, but be sure to put out all the wind before you
sew it quite close. If you think the bag is thin, you may put it in
a cloth. If it is a large haggis, it will take at least two hours boiling.
345. Mr. Phillips' s Irish Stew. Take five thick mutton chops, or
two pounds oft' the neck or loin ; two pounds of potatoes, peel them,
and cut them in halves ; six onions, or half a pound of onions, peel
and slice them also. First, put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of
your stew-pan, then a couple of chops and some of the onions; then
again potatoes, and so on, till the pan is quite full ; a small spoonful
of white pepper, and about one and a half of salt, and three gills of
broth or gravy, and two tea-spoonfuls of mushroom catsup ; cover all
very close in, so as to prevent the steam from getting out, and let
them stew for an hour and a half on a very slow fire. A small slice
of ham is a great addition to this dish. Great care should be taken
not to let it burn.
346. Mutton Chops delicately stewed, and good Mutton Broth.
Put the chops into a stew-pan with cold water enough to cover them,
and an onion ; when it is coming to the boil, skim it, cover the pan
close, and set it over a very slow fire till the chops are tender ; if
they have been kept a proper time, they will take about three-quarters
of an hour very gentle simmering. Send up turnips with them they
may be boiled with the chops; skim well, and then send all up in a
deep dish, with the broth they were stewed in.
347. Minced Collops. Take beef, and chop and mince it very
small, to which add some salt and pepper ; put this, in its raw state,
into small jars, and pour on the top some clarified butter. When in-
102 THE COMPLETE COOK,
tended for use, put the clarified butter into a frying-pan, and slice
some onions into the pan, and fry them. Add a little water to it, and
then put in the minced meat. Stew it well, and in a few minutes it
will be fit to serve up.
348. Brisket of Beef \ stewed. This is prepared in exactly the
same way as "soup and bouilli."
349. Harricot of Beef. A stewed brisket cut in slices, and sent up
with the same sauce of roots, &c., as we have directed for harricot of
mutton, is a most excellent dish, of very moderate expense.
350. Salt Beef, baked. Let a buttock of beef, which has been in
salt about a week, be well washed and put into an earthen pan, with
a pint of water; cover the pan tight with two or three sheets of
foolscap paper; let it bake four or five hours in a moderately heated
oven.
351. Beef baked like red deer, to be eaten cold. Cut buttock of
beef longways, beat it well with a rolling pin, and broil it ; when it is
cold, lard if, and macerate it in wine vinegar, salt, pepper, cloves,
mace, and two or three bay leaves, for two or three days ; then bake
it in rye paste, let it stand till it is cold, and fill it up with butter; let
it stand for a fortnight before it is eaten.
352. Shin or Leg of Beef , stewed. Have the bone sawed in three
or four pieces, and the marrow either tnken out, or stopped with paste.
Cover with cold water, and having- skimmed it clean, add onions, car-
rot, celery, sweet herbs, and spice. Let the whole stew very gently
three hours and a half or four hours. Meanwhile, cut up the red part
of two or three carrots, two or three turnips, peel two dozen button
onions, boil them, and drain them dry; as the onions and turnips
should retain their shape, and the carrots require longer to boil, they
ought to be put in a quarter of an hour earlier. Do not let them be
over-done. When the meat is quite tender, take it out with a slice,
and strain the soup. Thicken the soup with a small tea-cup full of
flour, mixed either with a little butter, or the fat of the soup. Stir
this well in till it boils, and is perfectly smooth ; if not, it must be
strained through a tamis, and carefully skimmed, and then returned
to warm the vegetables. The meat may be served whole, or scraped
from the bones, and cut in pieces. Season the soup with pepper, salt,
and a wine glass each of port wine and mushroom catsup, and pour
over the meat ; or, if necessary, put the meat in a stew-pan to warm.
Serve all together. Curry may be added, if approved also, force
meat balls.
353. Hare. Instead of roasting a hare, stew it; if young, plain
if an old one, lard it. The shoulders and legs should be taken off, and
the back cut in three pieces; these, with a bay leaf, half a dozen es-
chalots, one onion pierced with four cloves, should be laid with as
much good vinegar as will cover them, tor twenty-four hours in a deep
dish. In the meantime, the head, the neck, rib?, liver, heart, &c., should
be browned in frothed butter, well seasoned; add half a pound of lean
bacon, cut in small pieces, a large bunch of herbs, a carrot, and a few
allspice. Simmer these in a quart of water till it is reduced to about
MADE 31 EATS. 103
half the quantity, when it should he strained, and those parts of the
hare which have been infused in the vinegar, should (with the whole
contents of the dish) be added to it, and stewed til! quite donp. Those
who like onions may brown half a doz-'n, ?tew them in part of the
gravy, and dish them round the hare. Every ragout should be dressed
the day before it is wanted, that any fat which has escaped the skim-
ming spoon may with ease be taken off when cold.
354. Judged Hare. Wash it very nicely, cut it up in pieces proper
to help at. table, and put them into a jugging pot, or into a stone jar,
just sufficiently large to hold it well ; put in some sweet herbs, a roll
or two of rind of a lemon, and a fine large onion with five cloves stuck
in it ; and if you wish to preserve the flavour of the hare, a quarter of a
pint of water ; if you are for a ragout, a quarter of a pint of claret or
port wine, and the juice of a lemon. Tie the jar down closely with a
bladder, so that no steam can escape; put a little hay in the bottom of
the saucepan, in which place the jar; let the water boil for about
three hours, according to the age and size of the hare (take care it is
not over-done, which is the general fault in all made dishes,) keep-
ing it boiling all the time, and fill up the pot as it boils away. When
quite tender, strain off gravy from fat, thicken it with flour, and give
it a boil up; lay the hare in a soup dish, and pour the gravy to it.
You may make a pudding the same as for roast hare, and boil it in a
cloth, and when you dish your hare, cut it in slices, or make force
meat balls of it for garnish. For sauce, currant jelly. Or a much
easier and quicker way of proceeding is the following : Prepare the
hare as for jugging ; put it into a stew-pan with a few sweet herbs,
half a dozen cloves, the same of allspice and black pepper, two large
onions, and a roll of lemon peel ; cover it with water ; when it boils,
skim it clean, and let it simmer gently till tender (about two hours ;)
then take it up with a slice, set it by a fire to keep hot while you
thicken the gravy ; take three ounces of butter and some flour, rub
together, put in the gravy, stir it well, and let it boil about ten mi-
nutes; strain it through a sieve over the hare, and it is ready.
355. Slewed Rump Steaks. The steaks must be a little thicker
.han for broiling ; let them all be the same thickness, or some will be
done too little, and others too much. Put an ounce of butter into a
stew-pan, with two onions; when the butter is melted, lay in the
rump steaks, let them stand over a slow fire for five minutes, then
turn them, and let the other side of them fry five minutes longer. Have
ready boiled a pint of button onions; they will take from half an hour
to an hour; put the liquor they were boiled in to the steaks; if there
is not enough of it to cover them, add broth or boiling water to make
up enough for that purpose, with a dozen corns of black pepper, and
a little salt, and let them simmer very gently for about an hour and
a half, and then strain off as much of the liquor (about a pint and a
half,) as you think will make the sauce. Put two ounces of butter in
a stew-pan ; when it is melted, stir in as much flour as will make it
into a stiff paste; some add thereto a table-spoonful of claret or port
wine, the same of mushroom catsup, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and
104 THE COMPLETE COOK.
a quarter of a tea-spoonful of ground black pepper; add the liquor by
degrees, let it boil up for fifteen minutes, skim it, and strain it; serve
up the steaks with the onions round the dish, and pour the gravy
over it.
356. Broiled Rump Steaks with Onion Gravy. Peel and slice
two large onions, put them into a quart stew-pan, with two table-
spoonfuls of water ; cover the stew-pan close, set it on a slow fire till
the water has boiled away, and the onions have got a little browned,
then add half a pint of good broth, and boil the onions till they aro
tender; strain the broth from them, and chop them very fine, and sea-
son with mushroom catsup, pepper, and salt; put the onion into it,
and let it boil gently for five minutes, pour it into the dish, and lay
it over a broiled rump steak. If instead of broth you use good beef
gravy, it will be superlative. Stewed cucumber is another agree-
able accompaniment, to rump steaks.
357. Bubble and Squeak. For this, as for a hash, select those parts
of the joint that have been least done; it is generally made with
slices of cold boiled salted beef, sprinkled with a little pepper, and
just lightly browned with a bit of butter, in a frying-pan ; if it is
fried too much, it will be hard. Boil a cabbage, squeeze it quite dry,
and chop it small ; take the beef out of the frying-pan, and lay the
cabbage in it; sprinkle a little pepper and salt over it; keep the pan
moving over the fire for a few minutes, lay the cabbage in the middle
of the dish, and the meat round it.
358. Hashed or minced Veal. To make a hash, cut the meat into
into slices : to prepare minced veal, mince it as fine as possible (do
not chop it) ; put it into a stew-pan with a few spoonfuls of veal or
mutton broth, or make some with the bones and trimmings, as ordered
for veal cutlets, a little lemon peel minced fine, a spoonful of milk or
cream ; thicken with butter and flour, and season it with salt, a table-
spoonful of lemon pickle or basil wine, or a pinch of cuiry powder.
If you have no cream, beat up the yolks of a couple of eggs with a
little milk ; line the dish with sippets of lightly toasted bread.
359. To make an excellent Ragout of cold Veal. Either a neck,
loin, or fillet of veal will furnish this excellent ragout with a very
little expense or trouble. Cut the veal into handsome cutlets; put a
piece of butter, or clean dripping, into a frying-pan; as soon as it is
hot, flour and fry the veal of a light brown; take it out, and if you
have no gravy ready, put a pint of boiling water into the frying-pan,
give it a boil up for a minute, and strain it in a basin while you make
some thickening in the following manner: Put about an ounce of
butter into a stew-pan ; as soon as it melts, mix it with as much flour
as will dry it up ; stir it over the fire for a few minutes, and gradually
add to it the gravy you made in the frying-pan ; let them simmer
together for ten minutes; season it with pepper, salt, a little mace,
and a wine-glassful of mushroom catsup or wine; strain it through a
tamis to the meat, and stew very gently till the meat is thorough!)
warmed. If you have any ready boiled bacon, cut it in slices, anc
put it to warm with the meat.
MADE MEATS. 105
366 Veal Olives. Cut half a dozen slices off a fillet of veal, half
an inch thick, and as long and square as you can; flat them with a
chopper, and rub them over with an egg that has been beat on a plate;
cut some fat bacon as thin as possible, the same size as the veal ; lay
it on the veal, and rub it with a little of the egg; make a little veal
force meat, and spread it very thin over the bacon; roll up the olives
tight; rub them wilh an egg, and then roll them in fine bread crumbs;
put them on a lark-spit, and roast them at a brisk fire ; they will take
three-quarters of an hour. Rump steaks are sometimes dressed this
way. Mushroom sauce, brown or beet gravy.
361. Knuckle of Veal to ragout. Cut the knuckle of veal into
slices of about half an inch th'.ck ; pepper, salt, and flour them ; fry
them a light brown ; put the trimmings in a stew-pan, with the bone,
broke in several places; an onion shred, a head of celery, a bunch of
sweet herbs, and two blades of bruised mace; pour in warm water
enough to cover them about an inch ; cover the pot close, and let it
stew very gently for a couple of hours; strain it, and then thicken it
with flour and butter; put in a spoonful of catsup, a glass of wine,
and juice of half a lemon; give it a boil up, and strain into a clean
stew-pan; put in the meat, make it hot, and serve up. If celery is
not to be had, use a carrot instead, or flavour it with celery seed.
362. Scotch Collops. The veal must be cut the same as for cut-
lets, in pieces about as big as a crown piece ; flour them well, and
fry them of a light brown, in fresh butter; lay them in a stew-pan;
dredge them over with flour, and then put in as much boiling water
as will cover the vea , pour this in by degrees, shaking the stew-pan,
and set it on the fire; when it comes to a boil, take off the scum, put
in an onion, a blade of mace, and let it simmer very gently for three-
quarters of an hour; lay them on a dish, and pour the gravy through
a sieve over them. Lemon juice and peel, wine, catsup, are some-
times added. Add curry powder, and you have curry collops.
363. Slices of Ham or Bacon. Ham or bacon may be fried, or
broiled on a gridiron over a clear fire, or toasted with a fork; take
care to slice it of the same thickness in every part. If you wish it
curled, cut it in slices about two inches long (if longer, the outside
will be done too much before the inside is done enough); roll it up,
and put a little wooden skewer through it; put it in a cheese-toaster,
or dutch oven, for eight or ten minutes, turning it as it gets crisp.
This is considered the handsomest way of dressing bacon ; but we
like it best uncurled, because it is crisper and more equally done.
Slices of harn or bacon should not be more than half a quarter of an
inch thick, and will eat much more mellow if soaked in hot water for
a quarter of an hour, and then dried in a cloth before they are broiled.
If you have any cold bacon, you may make a very nice dish of it, by
cutting it into slices of about a quarter of an inch thick ; grate some
crusts of bread, as directed for ham, and powder them well with it
on both sides; lay the rashers in a cheese-toaster they will be brown
on one side in about three minutes turn them, and do the other.
These are delicious accompaniaments to poached or fried eggs. The
9
106 THE COMPLETE COOK.
bacon having- been boiled first, is tender and mellow. They are an
excellent garnish round veal cutlets, or sweetbread, or calf's head
hash, or green peas, or beans, &c.
364. A Devil. The gizzard and rump, or legs, &c., of a dressed
turkey, capon, or goose, or mutton or veal kidney, scored, peppered,
salted, and broiled, sent up for a relish, being made very hot, has ob-
tained the name of a " Devil."
365. Marrow Bones. Saw the bones even, so that they will stand
steady; put a piece of paste into the ends; set them upright in a
saucepan, and boil till they are done enough ; a beef marrow bone
will require from an hour and a half to two hours; serve fresh toasted
bread with them.
366. Ragout of Duck, or any other kind of Poultry or Game.
Partly roast, then divide into joints, or pieces of a suitable size for
helping at table. Set it on in a stew-pan, with a pint and a half
of broth, or, if you have no broth, water, with any little trimmings
of meat to enrich it ; a large onion stuck with cloves, a dozen berries
each of allspice and black pepper, and the rind of half a lemon shavea
thin. When it boils skim it very clean, and then let it simmer gently,
with the lid close, for an hour and a half. Then strain off the liquor,
and take out the limbs, which keep hot in a basin or deep dish. Rinse
the stew-pan, or use a clean one, in which put two ounces of butter,
and as much flour or other thickening as will bring it to a stiff paste
add to it the gravy by degrees. Let it boil up, then add a glass of
port wine, a little lemon juice, and a tea-spoonful of salt; simmer a
few minutes. Put the meat in a deep dish, strain the gravy over, and
garnish with sippets of toasted bread. The flavour may be varied at
pleasure, by adding catsup, curry powder, or any of the flavouring
tinctures, or vinegar.
ARTIFICIAL PREPARATIONS OF MEAT, FISH. &c., FOR
DRESSING, SALTING, DRYING, &c.
By the phrase " artificial preparations of meat," we allude to thos
things which, before dressing, have to undergo the processes of salt
ing, drying, smoking, pickling, &c. Before these meats can be
cooked they must be prepared, and we, therefore, think it right (if
for nothing else but the sake of order), to deviate from the line of pro
ceeding of our predecessors, and to give directions for such prepara-
tions previous to the recipes for cooking them. It is impossible, fo
instance, to dress salt meat before it is salted.
SALTING.
367. There are many methods recommended for carrying this
operation into effect. The following in our opinion are the best :
Before salting, particularly in the summer, all the kernels, pipes, and
veins, should be taken out of the meat, or all your salting will be in
vain. The meat will not keep. The salt should be rubbed thoroughly
SALTING. 107
jnd equally into every part of the meat, and great care should be
taken to fill the holes with salt, where the kernels have been taken
out, and where the butcher's skewers have been stuck. It is also
necessary, directly meat comes into the house for salting, to wipe
away any slime or blood that may appear. In very hot weather meat
will not hang a single day without being liable to fly-blows; if once
tainted, it will not take the salt. In winter it is best to let it hang
for two or three days, but take care that it does not get frost-bitten.
The salt should be heated in very cold weather before it is applied to
the meat.
368. It is a good plan to slightly sprinkle meat with salt a day or
two before finally salting; this will draw out the blood. But the first
brine should be thrown away, as it is apt to injure butcher's meat,
and always has a tendency to make bacon rusty. The meat should
be wiped thoroughly clean after the preparatory salting.
369- Different quantities of salt are recommended ; a pound of salt
is sufficient for a middling sized joint; for a round of beef of twenty-
five pounds, a pound and a half should be rubbed in all at once, though
others rub in a little at a time for two or three days ; but at any rate
it requires to be turned and rubbed every day with the brine. The
less salt used the better, providing vou use enough to preserve the
meat. Too much salt extracts the juices of the meat and makes it
tough. Coarse sugar or treacle and bay salt are used by some in the
following proportions: Two ounces of bay salt, two ounces of sugar,
add three-quarters of a pound of common salt. A little saltpetre
rubbed in will make the meat red, but is apt to harden it.
370. Meat should not be kept in salt any longer than is necessary
to thoroughly cure it. In the course of four or five days it will be
ready for dressing; but if intended to be eaten cold, two or three days
more will make it keep longer and improve its flavour. Some people
let meat lie in salt for a fortnight, and perhaps this is necessary for
large hams and thick pieces of beef, but much depends upon the
quantity of brine. If this be sufficient to cover the one-half of the
meat, every time it is turned, less time will be required.
371. Hasty salting- is sometimes necessary. When this is the
case, rub half the quantity of salt to be used into the meat, which
put in a warm place till the time of dressing. Before putting it into
ihe pot, flour a coarse cloth and pack the meat in it; put it into the
water when boiling. After it has boiled half of the usual time, that
is, when it is half done, take it up, rub in the remainder of the salt
and again pack it in a floured cloth : it should boil a little longer
than when salted in the usual manner. Some persons simply boil it
in very srilt water, but the above plan is the best.
372. Flavoured salt meal may be made by pounding some sweet
herbs, onions, &c., with salt, and it may be rendered still more relish-
ing by the addition of a little zest, or savoury spice.
373. Pickling meat Is effected as follows: there are other plans,
but we prefer the method given in the Encyclopedia Britannica:
Six pounds of salt, one pound of sugar, and four ounces of saltpetre,
108 THE COMPLETE COOK.
boiled in four gallons of water, skimmed and allowed to cool, forms a
very strong pickle, which will preserve any meat completely im
mersed in if. To effect this complete immersion, which is essential,
either a flat stone or heavy board must be laid on the meat. The
same pickle may be lised repeatedly, provided it be boiled up occa-
sionally with additional salt to restore its strength, diminished by the
combination of part of the salt with the meat, and by the detection of
the pickle by the juices of the meat extracted. By boiling, the albu-
men (which would cause the pickle to spoil) is coagulated, and rises
in the form of scum, which must be carefully removed. Albumen is
so called because it resembles in appearance the white of an egg, and
of whose nature it also partakes. It is a constituent in all meat.
Pickled meat grains in weight; salted in the common way, that is, not
j i *
immersed or covered with brine, it loses about one and a half in six-
teen.
374. Jerked beef is made by cutting it into thin pieces, or slices, and
dipping them into sea or salt water, and then drying them quickly in
the sun. In the West Indies, where they can scarcely cure meat in
the ordinary way on account of the excessive heat, they adopt the
above method of preserving beef.
375. Curing bacon is effected by various methods : some use com-
mon salt only, which answers the purpose very well, but others con-
sider a mixture of salt and sugar or molasses to be preferable. The
proportions are, common salt, bay salt, and coarse sugar, or molasses,
two pounds oach, saltpetre six ounces. The quantity used must de-
pend upon the size of the hog to be cured. The blood should be tho-
roughly drawn out of the meat by common salt before finally dressed
for curing, and the dirty brine thrown away. Finely powder and dry
the salt, and let it be well rubbed in ; the heavier the hand employed,
the sooner the bacon will be cured. The flitches must be always
kept with the rind downwards. The top flitch must be put every day
for a month at the bottom thus changing them all round. Some use
bay salt only, others rub in a little saltpetre, for the purpose of red-
dening the lean of the bacon (see Drying, No. 381.)
376. Hams. The modes of curing hams are various in different
parts of the country, and by different people. We give the follow-
ing : For three hams about twenty pounds each, take common salt and
coarse sugar two pounds each, bay salt and saltpetre six ounces each,
black pepper four ounces, juniper berries two ounces; mix together,
and grind or pound, and dry before the fire ; rub this mixture, while
warm, into the hams, and then add as much common salt as will en-
tirely cover them. In two or three days pour over the hams a pound
of molasses; baste them with the pickle every day for a month, put-
ting each day the top ham to the bottom ; drain and smoke (see Dry-
ing and Smoking;) or, take two quarts of water, two pounds of salt,
four ounces of saltpetre, one pound of bay salt, two pounds of mo-
lasses ; boil all together, and when cold pour the mixture over the
ham, but do not rub them. To give a smoky flavour, some persons
recommend a pint of tar water to be poured into the brine! This
DRYING, SMOKING, & C . 109
pickle is sufficient for two moderately sized hams, they will require
to be about three weeks in pickle, when they must be drained, and
sewed up sepaiately in coarse hessens wrappers, and hung to dry
in a kitchen of moderate temperature, or laid upon a bacon rack.
377. Yorkshire hams are completely covered with the following
pickle, in quantities according to the meat to be cured : Common salt,
a peck ; bay salt, five pounds; saltpetre and sal prunel, of each two
ounces, all pounded together. Having thoroughly cleansed your
hands, rub thoroughly in this mixture, and lay the rest over them ;
after lying three days, take out the meat and boil the pickle in two
gallons of water; put in as much common salt as will make the
pickle bear an egg; skim and strain: when cold, pour it over the
meat, and let it lie a fortnight. Yorkshire hams are not smoked.
378. Tongues, chines, chops, tyc. The pickle fust given in 376
will answer tor tongues, &c. A neat's tongue will take a fortnight to
pickle, a calf's or hog's tongue eight or ten days, a small chine ten
days, or not more than a fortnight ; a large one, nearly three weeks.
379. Mutton hams. The following is a good pickle for mutton hams
and tongues of all kinds. Take equal parts of common salt, bay salt,
and coarse sugar ; to every pound of this mixture add of saltpetre and
sal prunel one ounce each, and of black pepper, allspice, juniper ber-
ries, and coriander seed, half an ounce each ; bruise or grind altoge-
ther, and dry before the fire; apply this mixture hot.
380. Hung or Dutch beef. Hang a fine tender round of beef, or
the silver part only, for three or four days, or as long as the weather
will allow; then rub it well with the coarsest sugar (about a pound
will do,) two or three times a day, for three or four days. The sugar
having thoroughly penetrated the meat, wipe it dry, and apply the
following mixture: Four ounces each of common salt and bay salt,
two ounces each of saltpetre and sal prunel, one ounce each of black
pepper and allspice. Rub them well in every day for a fortnight; then
roll up the beef tight, and bind or sew it in a coarse cloth, and smoke
it. (See 381, &c.) Boil a part as it may be wanted, press it with a
heavy weight till cold, when it may be grated for sandwiches. It
will keep a long time.
DRYING, SMOKING, &c.
381. Drying may be effected by simply draining your salted or
pickled meat, and hanging it within the warmth of a fire in a dry
kitchen, but smoked dried meat is preferred by most persons, and cer
tainly deserves the preference. The fuel employed for this purpose
must be wood ; sawdust (not deal or fir sawdust) is generally em-
ployed. Care must be taken not to melt or scorch the meat; if dried
in a common kitchen chimney, it must be hung high enough. The
fire must be kept in a smothering- state, which may be easily done
with sawdust, and in a place set opart for smoking; it is or ought to
be kept burning slowly night and day. The best way is to send your
meat to persons who make a business of smoking (not tobacco.) Do
9*
110 THE COMPLETE COOK.
not dry your meat in a bakehouse, or strew it. with bran when drained
for drying ; both will render the meat liable to be infested with those
voracious little wretches called weevils. Drying meat by a malthouse
kiln generally causes it to rust. After smokingr, the wrappers should
be removed and replaced with clean ones. It is not a bad plan to
whitewash hams two or three times, when they are required to keep
a long time.
382. Dried or kippered salmon is prepared by cleaning (without
washing-,) and scaling the fish ; split and remove the bone ; pickle for
two or three days with equal parts of salt and sugar, and a little black
pepper and saltpetre; keep it well pressed down; when cured,
stretch each fish with a piece of stick, and dry it either with smoke
or otherwise.
383. Herrings, <$fc. must be wiped clean ; salted as above ; in
twenty-four hours take them out of the salt, run a stick through the
eyes, and hang them in rows over an old cask half filled with dry saw-
dust, in the midst of which thrust a red-hot iron.
384. Haddock, cod, and ling, <$-c. are usually split down the mid-
dle for salting let them lie two or three days in equal parts of salt and
sugar ; then stretch on sticks, and dry in the sun or artificially.
CURING, &c. WITH PYROLIGNEOUS ACID.
385. Mr. Lnckett, according to Dr. Wilkinson, in the Philosophical
Magazine, 1821, was the first person who applied pyroligneous acid
in the curing of meat. Mr. S. ascertained, that if a ham had the re-
duced quantity of salt usually employed for smoke-dried hams, and
was then exposed, putrefaction soon took place where pyroligneous
acid was not used ; even one-half of this reduced portion of salt is
sufficient when it is used, being applied cold, and the ham is then
effectually cured without any loss of weight, and retaining more ani-
mal juices. In fact, pyroligneous acid, or acid of burnt wood, commu-
nicates the same quality to the meat as the process of smoking.
386. In using tins acid for curing hams, mix about two table-
spoonfuls in the pickle for a ham of ten or twelve pound?, and when
taken out of the pickle, previous to being hung up, paint the ham
over with the acid by means of a brush ; a little more acid is re-
quired for neats' tongues. Dried salmons brushed twice with the
acid, will be more effectually cured than by smoking them for two
months.
387. This acid will preserve meat for many weeks without salt.
Mr. Lockett kept some beef-steaks perfectly sweet above six weeks.
He covered the bottom of the plate with the acid, and turned the
steaks every day.
388. Hams and beef cured in this way, require no previous soak-
ing in water to bein-j boiled, and when boiled, they swell in size and
are extremely succulent; the flavour is increased, and the meat ren-
dered morn nutritious. Two table-spoonfuls of acid added to the
pickle for Westphalia ham is required, and when the ham is removed
FRESH MEAT. Ill
from the pickle, it must be well washed in cold spring- water and
dried, and then some of the acid applied over it by means of a brush,
and this repeated two or three times at about a week's interval.
389. To cure herrings, cod, haddock, and other fish, with pyrolig-
neous acid, salt them a little for a day or two not more less may
do; then dry them well with a coarse cloth, then dip them into the
acid, and dry in the air; when dry, repeat the process a few times,
suspending 1 them like the manufacturer of candles. The red colour
in dried salmons and herrings is generally attributed to nitre (salt-
petre;) very frequently tobacco dissolved in a fluid not very agreeable
(urine) is employed for the purpose of reddening, in Holland. Pyro-
ligneous acid will not answer for pickling, being too strong when
diluted with water it loses its virtue. The vinegar of the shops may
be advantageously improved by the addition of this acid.
KEEPING FRESH MEAT.
390. All kinds of meat should be hung till they are tender, but not
till they are putrescent ; or, at any rate, not a moment longer than
when you can perceive a slight degree of putrescency in them. Some
things, such as venison, hares, &c., require to be hung longer than
others, and some persons require meat to be high, or partly putrescent,
before it is dressed, and these we fear must have their palates pleased
whatever may be the consequence to their stomachs. Dr. Kitchiner
says, "Although we strongly recommend that animal food should be
hnng up in the open air, till its fibres have lost some degree of their
toughness, yet let us be clearly understood also to warn you, that if
kept till it loses its natural sweetness, it is as detrimental to health as
it is disagreeable to the smell and taste." Meat should be hung in a
draught of air, and in the shade, particularly in the summer months;
and it should be dried twice a day to keep it from being rendered
musty by the damp. The time meat should be hung to be tender
depends upon the dampness or dryness of the air, and the degree of
heat. In damp warm weather it is exceedingly liable to become
putrescent; in cold dry weather, not.
391. If you find that your meat will not keep till it is wanted, it is
a good plan to slightly roast it, or boil it, which will enable you to
keep it a day, or even two or three days longer; but we repeat it
must be very slightly roasted or boiled, or it will eat like meat done
a second time.
392. Boerhave says, that the best method of keeping flesh in sum-
mer, is to steep it in Rhenish wine, with a little sea salt, by which
means it may be preserved a whole season.
393. According to Dr. Franklin, as quoted by Dr. Kitchiner, game
or poultry killed by electricity becomes tender in the twinkling of an
eye; and if it be dressed, will be delicately tender. We have no
doubt, indeed it is an established fact, that if they are killed by the
operation of cold lead, the twisting of the neck, or any other of the
ordinary modes of destroying animal life, the same result will take
112 THE COMPLETE COOK.
place, provided they are dressed before they are cold, that is, before
the sinews and muscles have bpcome set; once set, they must be
suffered to relax by keeping, before the animal, whether game or
poultry, or any otlier creature, is fit tor dressing. Take a fowl, kill
it, put it into an oven, or amongst hot ashes, while it is still warm
with life, without picking 1 off the feathers or taking out the entrails,
and it will be delicateiy tender eating, and perfectly sweet. The
feathers will be burnt away, and the entrails are taken out in the
shape of a ball ; the gypsies understand this mode of cooking. A
military friend of ours partook of part of a calf roasted alive in the
burning of the buildings of a farm-yard, in an enemy's country; he
was not particularly hungry, but he says he never ate meat more deli-
cious and tender. We mention these things merely to illustrate a
principle, not as an example to be followed. In this country it is im-
practicable to dress butcher's meat while still warm with life; in hot
countries it is nearly always done.
394. For keeping 1 meat from becoming putrescent, recipes, of
which the following is the substance, were published some years ago,
and sold at the enormous price of seven shillings and sixpence: Take
a quart of the best vinegar, two ounces of lump sugar, two ounces of
salt ; boil these ingredients together for a few minutes, and when
cold, anoint with a brush the meal to be preserved. For fish, the
mixture is directed to be applied inside; for poultry, inside and out.
Of course both fish and poultry are to be cleansed.
395. Pyroligneous acid, either with or without the sugar and salt,
would be much more effectual ; besides, it possesses, to a certain ex-
tent, the property of not only preventing putrescency, but of curing
it when commenced.
ON THE USE OF ACIDS IN DRESSING FOOD.
On perusing our work previous to going to press, we do not think
that we have dealt sufficiently on the use of vinegar in dressing food.
Of pyrol igneous acid in the preservation and curing of meats, we
have treated pretty largely. In all stews, and most made dishes,
the flavour is much improved, and we think the food rendered more
digestible, by the moderate use or* vinegar: we recommend, how-
ever, none but the best vinegar, which ought to bp applied to the
meat previous to its being put in the stew-pan. We will give for
example the following receipt for
398. Brazilian Stew. Take shin or leg of beef; cut it into slices
or pieces of two or three ounces each ; dip it in good vinegar, and,
with or without onions, or any other flavouring or vegetable sub-
stances, put it in a stew-pan, and without water ; let it stand on a
stew-hearth, or by a slow fire, for two three, or four hours, when it
will be thoroughly done, will have yielded plenty of gravy, and be as
" tender as a chicken." Great care must be taken that the heat ia
sufficiently moderate. This is the usual mode of dressing all descrip-
tions of meat in the Brazil^. We have recommended leg or shin of
COOKING VEGETABLES. 113
beef, because it in fact makes the richest and most nutritious stew,
and may be had at a low price; but any other meat or fish may be so
dressed. The only objection to it is, that it is too rich ; but this may
be remedied by eating less of it, and a greater quantity of potatoes or
other vegetables. A pound and a half of leg of beef, without bone,
so dressed, and plenty of potatoes, will dine four people luxuriously.
397. Alumode Beef of the shop?, which, when well dressed, ia
very delicious, is made by thickening the gravy of beef that has been
very slowly stewed as above with vinegar, and flavoured A ? ith bay
leaves, allspice, &c., according to taste. The following process will
be found a good one: cut your beef, mouse buttock, or sticking pieces,
or legs (legs are the best), &c., into pieces of two or three <unces
each; put into a deep stew-pan some beef dripping, to keep the meat
from sticking to the bottom ; mince onions, which mix with the beef,
previously dipped in vinegar, and put the mixture into a deep stew-
pan. When quite hot, flour the meat with a dredger, and continue
to do so till you have stirred in enough to thicken it; then cover it
with boiling water, which should be put in by degrees, stirring it
together with a wooden spoon. Flavour with black pepper, allspice,
bay leaves, champignons, truffles, mushrooms, &c., according to taste ;
but allspice, black pepper, and salt, will answer every useful purpose.
Let it stew as slowly as possible for four or five hours. We can
testify from experience that our Brazilian stew and beef alarnode are
cheap and delicious dishes.
COOKING VEGETABLES.
This branch of cookery, though apparently very simple, requires
the utmost attention, and no little judgment.
398. You should always boil vegetables in soft water, if you can
procure it ; if not, put a tea-spoonful or more of carbonate of soda in it
to render it so.
399. Take care to wash and cleanse all vegetables from dust and
other impurities, before putting them into the pot or pan ; they should
be thoroughly cleansed; for which purpose it will be necessary to
open the leaves of greens, or otherwise you may send to the table
some fine, fat, overfed caterpillars, and thus spoil the whole dish.
400. Upon the whole, it is best to boil vegetables in a saucepan by
themselves. The quicker they boil, the greener they will be. When
they sink, they are generally done enough, if the water has been kept
constantly boiling. When done, take them up immediately, and tho-
roughly drain. If vegetables are a minute too long over the fire, they
lose all their beauty and flavour. If not thoroughly boiled tender, they
are tremendously indigestible ; and much more troublesome during
their residence in the stomach, than underdone meats.
401. Vegetables are in greatest perfection, when in greatest plenty,
and they are only in greatest plenty when in full season. All vege-
tables are best when they are so cheap as to enable the artisan to eat
them. Very early peas, or very early potatoes that is, peas or po-
t 14 THE COMPLETE COOK.
la toes raised by aitificial mean? may be valued as great rarities, but
for nothing else. We may assert, the same thing of nearly all other
vegetables. Sea kale and early rhubarb are, perhaps, exceptions.
All vegetables should be ripe; that is, ripe as vegetables; otherwise,
like fruits, they are bad tasted and unwholesome. To eat peas or
potatoes in perfection, you must eat them not much before Mid-
summer.
402. With regard to the quality of vegetables, the middle size are
to be preferred lo the v--ry large. Green vegetables, such as savoys,
cabbages, cauliflowers, &c., should be eaten fresh, before the life is
out of them. When once dead, they are good for nothing but the
dunghill. This description of vegetables will live a long lime after
they are cut, but the fresher they are the better. Any one may easily
see if they have been kept too long. There are two ways of sending
peas to market: the one is, by packing them in sacks, where they fre-
quently becucie heated, and, of course, in a great measure spoilt. The
other is, by sending them in sieves, which is by far the best way, but,
being somewhat more expensive, sieve peas fetch a higher price than
sack peas.
403. Greene, roots, salads, &c. &c., when they have lost their fresh-
ness by long keeping, rnay be refreshed a little by putting them in
cold spring water for an hour or two before they are dressed ; but this
process will not make them equal to those which are gathered just be-
fore they are boiled.
404. The following remarks, by a writer in the Edin. Encyclo. on
this subject, are very just, and well worth the perusal : "Most vege-
tables, being more or less succulent, require their full proportion of
fluids for retaining that state of crispness and plumpness which they
have when growing. On being cut or gathered, the exhalation from
their surface continues, while, from the open vessels of the cut sur-
face, there is often great exudation or evaporation, and thus their na-
tural moisture is diminished, the tender leaves become flaccid, and
the thicker masses, or roots, lose their plumpness. This is not only
less pleasant to the eye, but is a real injury to the nutritious powers
of the vegetable ; for in this flaccid and shrivelled state its fibres are
less divided in chewing 1 , and the water which exists in vegetable sub-
stances in the form of their respective natural juices, is directly
nutritious. The first care, tnerefore, in the preservation of succulent
vegetables is, to prevent them from losing their natural moisture."
405. To preserve colour, or give colour, in cookery, many good
dishes are spoilt. This is a great folly. Taste, nourishment, and
digestibility, ought to be the only considerations in the dressing of
food.
406. When vegetables are quite fresh gathered, they requirr much
less boiling than those that have been kept. According to Xitch-
iner, fresh vegetables are done in one-third less time than stal "
407. Strong-scented vegetables, we need scarcely say, ough' to be
kept apart. If onions, leeks, and celery, are laid amongst sue/ '
cate things as cauliflowers, they will spoil in a very short time
DRESSING VEGETABLES. 115
408 Succulent vegetables, such as cabbages, and all sorts of green?,
are best preserved in a cool, damp, and shady place. Potatoes, tur-
nips, carrots, and similar roots, intended to be stored up, should never,
on any account, be cleaned from t.he earth adhering to them, till
they are to be dressed. Never buy washed potatoes, &c. from your
shopkeeper; have them with the soil about them, and wash them
just before they are boiled.
409. As the action of frost destroys the life of vecretablps, and
causes them speedily to rot, and as the air also injures them, all roots
should be protected by laying them in heaps, burying them in sand or
earth, and covering them with straw or mats. There are, however,
some sorts of winter greens, such as savoys, &,c., which are made
much better and more tender by frost.
PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS FOR DRESSING VEGE-
TABLES.
410. Cauliflowers. Take off the outer leaves ; round such as are
young, leave just one leaf; put them with some salt into boiling wa-
ter; boil according to size, from fifteen to twenty minutes; try the
stalk with a fork ; when the stalk feels tender, and the fork is easily
withdrawn, the flower is done ; take up instantly, with a wire ladle.
Both brocoli and cauliflower, unless boiled till they are tender, are
neither pleasant to the taste, nor wholesome to the body; but over-
boiling will break and spoil them. Sauce, melted butter.
411. Brocoli. Choose close firm heads, nearly of a size. Put
them into boiling water with salt; allow them plenty of room in boil-
ing, or they will break ; and boil them fast, or they will lose their co-
lour. They will take from ten minutes to half an hour, according to
the size of the heads. When the stalks are tender, which you can
know by putting a fork up the middle of the stalk, they are done.
Take them up with a wire ladle, that the water may run off without
bruising the heads. Serve on a buttered toast. Sauce, melted
butter.
412. Cabbage. Large full-grown cabbage and savoys will take
half an hour or more in boiling. Strip all the outside leaves till you
come to the white quick grown ones; then shave the stocks of the
leaves that are left on, and score the stalk a little way up. Drain
them carefully when boiled, and serve them on a drainer.
413. Young Coleworts and Sprouts Do not be too saving in
trimming sprouts, as harsh or bad leaves will spoil a whole dish.
They will take from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour in boiling.
Be careful in draining, so as not to spoil the shape of the heads.
Cold cabbage may be fried and served with fried beef. It will r-
quire a little bit of butter, a little o-ood gravy, and a little pepper and
salt. Shake it about well, and let it remain no longer in the pan
than is necessary to make it hot through.
414. Red Cabbage. This is sometimes stewed, for eating with
bouilli beef. Take a small red firm cabbage; wash, pick, and cut it
116 THE COMPLETE COOK.
in slices half an inch thick; then pick it to pieces leaf by leaf. Make
half a pint of melted butter, in a saucepan large enough to contain
the whole. Shake the cabbage from the water that hangs about it,
and put it to the melted butter, with a tea-cup full of good gravy, an
onion, sliced, and pepper, salt, and cayenne. Let it stew half an hour
or more, keeping the saucepan close shut. When quite tender, add
a glass of vinegar; let it just boil up; then serve.
415. Spinach. Pick leaf by leaf, wash it in three waters, put a
little salt in the boiling water, boil it very quickly, and keep it under
the water; seven or eight minutes will be sufficient to boil it; strain
it on the back of a sieve, and press it as dry as possible between two
plates; spread it on a dish, and score it crossways, in squares of an
inch and a half, or two inches. Spinach is often served with poached
eggs and buttered toast, or slices of fried bread. It is sometimes
stewed in the following manner: When it has boiled five minutes,
strain and press it, and put it in a small stew-pan, the bottom just
covered with rich boiling gravy; add a bit of butter, a little pepper,
salt and nutmeg, and two table-spoonsful of crearn ; stew it five
minutes.
416. Vegetable Marrow or Gourd. Gather the fruit when the
size of an egg; put it into boiling water, with a little salt; boil it
until it is tender, which will be in about half an hour; cut it in slices
half an inch thick; lay it on buttered toast; sprinkle it with pepper
and salt; pour melted butter over it. If the fruit has seeds in it, the
seedy part must be scooped out, but they are not so good in this state.
The fruit may be cut in slices raw, and fried in butter, and served
with melted butter and vinegar.
o
417. Turnips. Put them into boiling water, with a little salt ;
when tender, take them up and drain the water from them ; they
will take from half an hour to an hour boiling. If for mashing, boil
them a little longer. If they are lumpy or stringy, rub them through
a colander, then put them into the saucepan, with an ounce of butter,
a spoonful of cream, a little pepper and salt ; stir them well till the
butter is melted, and the whole well mixed.
418. Green Peas. Peas do not require much water to boil them
in. Before you put the peas into the boiling water, throw in a lump
of sugar and a little salt; boil a few tops of mint with them. If they
are young and fresh, they will not take more than ten minutes to a
quarter of an hour; if not very young, they will require from twenty
minutes to half an hour. Chop up the mint to garnish ; stir a lump
of butter with them in the dish, and a little pepper and salt.
419. To stew Peas. Young peas are best for this purpose ; but
stewing is the best way of preparing old ones. To a quart of peas
allow a quart of gravy ; put them in when the gravy boils, with three
lumps of sugar, and a little pepper and salt; stew till the peas are
quite tender, then thicken with a piece of butter rolled in flour. They
may be stewed without gravy ; thus, to a quart of pt-as allow a let-
tuce, two or three tops of mint, and an onion, cut up and washed ; the
water that hangs round the lettuce will be sufficient; add pepper,
DRESSING VEGETABLES. 117
salt, and sugar, as above ; stew very gently for two hours; then beat
up an egg, and stir in with an ounce of butter.
420. Carrots. Wash them well before you put them into the pot.
They are best boiled with meat which they do not injure. If they
are young they will boil in twenty minutes or half an hour; large
old ones will take two hours to boii them tender; do not quarter car-
rots to boil it renders them tasteless. If they are young, leave on a
little of the top, and rub them with a coarse cloth; old ones are best
rubbed after they are boiled ; the skin comes from them more easily.
Never scrape carrots if they are rough, brush them. Sauce, melted
butter.
421. Windsor Beans. Young beans are best when the eyes are
of a green colour ; when the eyes are dark, they are old and eat
strong; young beans will boil from twenty minutes to half an hour.
Put them into plenty of boiling water, and a spoonful of salt; if you
boil them after they become tender, the skins will shrivel; boil a
large bunch of parsley with them ; chop some for parsley and butter.
Stir a lump of butter with them, and put a little parsley in the dish
for garnish.
422. French or Kidney Beans. The smooth or dwarf beans come
in earliest, but the scarlet runners are considered the best ; choose
them young and nearly of a size, top and tail them, slit them down
the middle and cut across. If they are old, take the skin from each
side; put them in boiling water with some salt; boil them fast from
ten minutes to a quarter of an hour; stir with them a lump of butter.
Sauce, melted butter.
423. Harricot Beans are the seeds of French beans, full grown;
they are sometimes called colly beans. Stew them in gravy, thickened
with flour and cream, or they may be fried in butter ; stir in a lump
of butter when in the dish, a little pepper, salt, and nutmeg, then put
in some gravy.
424. Jerusalem Artichokes. Scrub them clean, and put them into
the pot with cold water ; throw in a handful of salt, do not let them
be covered with water, and leave off the lid ; they take about the
same time boiling as potatoes. When they are tender they are done;
drain them and peel them. Keep them as hot as possible ; they may
be kept hot by putting them in a dish over another dish in which is
hot water. Sauce, melted butter and vinegfar, or good thick gravy.
425. Asparagus. Scrape the stalks clean; tie them in bundles
with bass, put them in boiling water with a little salt in it ; a tin
saucepan is best. If they are fresh, they will be done in ten or
.\velve minutes; if they are not freeh, they will take a little longer.
Take up the moment they are tender, otherwise the heads will be
broken, the flavour spoilt, and the colour spoilt; take them up very
carefully with a slice, cut the bass, just dip some toasted bread in the
liquor in which the asparagus has been boiled, put it on a drainer
with a little melted butter, and the heads of the asparagus should be
.aid inwards round the dish ; or they may be laid on a buttered toast.
426. Artichokes. Soak in cold water ; put them into plenty of
10
118 THE COMPLETE COOK.
boiling water, throw in a handful of salt. They require an hour and
a half or two hours in boiling. Try them by pulling a leaf; if it draw
out easily, they are done ; drain them on a sieve, or serve on a
vegetable drainer. Sauce, melted butter and vinegar.
427. Red Beet-root. Boil them whole, put them in boiling water;
they require from an hour and a half to three hours in boiling. If
for garnish, leave them whole till wanted for use, then scrape and cut
up into slices. If for salads, scrape and cut in slices hot, and pour
cold vinegar over them.
For stewing, boil them an hour or more, then skin and slice them ;
season them with pepper and salt, and stew till tender, with young
onions, in good gravy : when nearly done, stir in a bit of butter rolled
in flour and cream : this is a pleasant and nourishing dish. They
may be baked dry in the same manner as potatoes, and eaten with
cold butter, salt, and pepper.
428. White Beet-root. This useful and wholesome plant affords
two very pleasing varieties. The leaves stripped from their large
fibrous stalks resemble spinach. Put in boiling water and boil them
very fast; they take but a few minutes; drain, and press them very
dry. Sauce, melted butter. The stalks tie. in bundles, dress as
asparagus. Sauce, melted butter and vinegar.
429. Herbs to fry to eat with liver, or with rashers and eggs.
Clean and drain four handfuls of young spinach, and two of young
lettuce leaves, two handfuls of parsley and one of young onions
chopped small ; set them over the fire in a stew-pan; put one ounce
of butter and some pepper and salt ; close the pan up and shake it
well, and when it boils, set it on the hob or stove to simmer slowly
till the herbs are tender. Serve them on a dish with the liver, or
rashers and eggs; lay them on the herbs.
430. Kale, Sea and Scotch. This last kale is a favourite sort of
greens for winter and spring; the heads should not be gathered before
November. These will take a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes
fast boiling; put them into boiling water. The sprouts, which in
spring are very abundant, will boil in a few minutes. Sauce, melted
butter.
Sea Kale is boiled tied up in bunches, like asparagus. It is eaten
with rich gravy, or thick melted butter, and may be served on toasted
bread.
431. Celery makes an excellent addition to salads; it also gives an
agreeable flavour to soups and sauce, and is sometimes stewed as an
accompaniment to boiled or stewed meat. Wash six or eight heads,
and take off the outer leaves; cut the heads up in bits three or four
inches long. Stew them till tender in half a pint of veal broth, or
white gravy ; then add two spoonsful of cream and an ounce of butter
rolled in flour, season with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and simmer the
whole together. The leaves will do to flavour soup that is to be
i
strained.
432. Mushrooms. The large flap mushrooms are excellent broiled.
Have a very clear fire ; make the bars of the gridiron very clean, and
DRESSING VEGETABLES. 119
rub them with mutton suet to prevent them from sticking- ; a few
minutes will broil them. When they stearn out, sprinkle them with
pepper and salt; have rearly a very hot dish, and when they are taken
up, lay a bit or two of butter under and over each. To stew them,
put them in a small saucepan with pepper and salt, a bit of butter and
a spoonful or two of oravy of roast meat or cream ; shake them about,
and when they boil they are done.
433. Morels resemble mushrooms in their growth and many other
respects, and are usually dressed in the same manner. It is not
possible, however, to make catsup from them, which shows that they
do not possess the same qualities as mushrooms. For a stew or ragout
of morels, take off their stalks; split them, if large, into two or three
pieces ; wash them and put them into a basin of warm water, and
cleanse them from the sand, &c. ; then blanch, drain and put them
into a stew-pan, with a piece of butter and some lemon juice.
Moisten, after a few turns in the stew-pan, with either brown or
white sauce. There are various other modes of dressing them, but
as morels are not much eaten in this country, the above may suffice.
Morels are of a higher and finer flavour in Eastern countries than
here.
434. Truffles. These are a very curious description of vegetables;
chey grow under ground, no part of the plants ever being seen on the
surface. It is like the mushroom kind, a species of fungus, and is
propagated by seed which is nurtured by the decaying of the old
plant. They are found about ten inches below the surface of the
earth, dogs being trained to discover them by their scent. The truffle
has a very rich, tart, and high flavour when fresh and in season, but
loses it when dried, or out of season. They are not very common in
America, but they are found in great quantities in France and Italy.
A writer in Rees's Cyclopedia informs us, that " truffles are generally
in seed about August, when they are of a fine high flavour and agree-
able smell; continue good till the beginning of winter, and sometimes
as late as March ; but those gathered between March and July are
small, white, and of a poor flavour. The same authority, in the same
article, intimates that trufiies are tenderest and best in spring, though
easiest found in autumn; the wet swelling them and the thunder and
lightning disposing them to throw out their scents: hence by the
ancients they were called thunder-roots. Hogs are fond of them ;
hence the common people call them swine-bread." It is now, the
editor may observe, a well-established fact, that truffles are not good
after March, or before August. They require a great deal of wash-
ing and brushing, in several waters, before they can be applied to culi-
nary purposes. When fresh and fine they are very rich, and are a
very delicious addition to some dishes. They may be, and frequently
are, stewed like mushrooms, and prepared in other ways, and eaten
by themselves.
435. Cucumbers may be stewed in the same way as celery, with
the addition of some sliced onions; or the cucumbers and onions may
I k 20 THE COMPLETE COOK.
be first floured and fried in butter ; then add the gravy, and stew till
tender; skirn off the fat.
436. Parsnips. Clean nnd dress just the same as carrots, they
require boiling- from one hour to two, according to their size and
freshness; they should be drained well, and set on the hob in a dry
saucepan to steam; they are sometimes mashed with butter, pepper,
salt, and cream, or milk, the same as turnips; they are eaten alone,
or with salt beef or salt pork. Sauce, melted butter and vinegar.
POTATOES.
437. In our directions for dressing vegetables, we speak lastly of
potatoes not because the cooking of this every-day food is of the
least importance, but because, on the contrary, it is of the greatest.
There are few persons, simple as the process may appear to be, who
can cook potatoes well with certainty. Potatoes from the same
ground, and of the same kind, dressed by the same cook, may come
to table one day palatable and nutritious, and the next the very re-
verse of these qualities. How does this happen ? Tho cook acts
upon no principle. By accident the potatoes may be boiled well, and
by accident they may be boiled bad : in one woid, the boiling of
potatoes is, with the generality of cooks, all chance work. A friend
of ours, Mr. John Barker, the attorney, no mean judge in such mat-
ters, always averred, that a woman who could boil potatoes and melt
butter well, was a good cook ; he never requires any other proof of
the capabilities of a cook. The fact is, those who thoroughly under-
stand the elements of any art or science, find little or no difficulty in
what are called the higher branches. It is for this reason that we
have, in our little work, dwelt so much upon elementary principles,
in preference to filling it up with long receipts, which every body
may obtain, but which do not teach any principle of the art of cookery.
Dr. Kitchiner observes, that " the vegetable kingdom affords no food
more wholesome, more easily procured, easily prepared, and less ex-
pensive, than the potatoe." This is perfectly true, and yet how few
are there that can boil potatoes properly ! In Ireland, as every body
knows, potatoes constitute almost entirely the food of the great mass
of the people ; in Ireland, therefore, necessity must have taught the
people the best mode of cooking them. Their process is this: the
potatoes, unpeeled, that is with their jackets on, after being washed,
are put into a cnst-iron pot of cold water, which is placed on the fire.
When the water boils, a small quantity of cold water is put into the
pot to check the boiling; this is once or twice repeated. When the
potatoes are done, or nearly done, the water is poured away from the
potatoes, which are again subjected to the fire to let the steam evapo-
rate, and make the potatoes mealy. They are then served up in the
usual way, (we are speaking of the tables of the middling classes,)
and each person takes as many potatoes as he chooses; he peels them,
depositing the skins by the side of his plate. In the course of tho
POTATOES. 12]
dmner the potatoes on the table will become cold, when a fresh supply
is ordered, and when furnished, the host calls out to his guest, "a hot
potatoe, Sir." Before the dinner is finished, you will have two or
three supplies of hot potatoes, and the last, though all from the same
pot, are to our taste better than the first. They are all the time kept
on the fire; the action of the heat completely evaporates the moisture
from the potatoes, and those at the bottom of the iron pot become par*
tially roasted. Such is the Irish mode of dressing potatoes, and if we
could reconcile ourselves to the " bother" of peeling them, and to the
disagreeable appearance of a table-cloth nearly covered with potatoe
skins, there is no doubt that we should consider the Irish way of
dressing and serving potatoes the best. The generality of modern
cookery books recommend the dressing of potatoes with their skins
on, like the Irish, but direct that they should be peeled before sent to
the table; this mode spoils the potatoes by cooling them; when so
dressed, they should be eaten hot. We recommend that potatoes, ex-
cepting when young, for the table, should be always pared, carefully
pared, before they are boiled: that they should be put into cold water
with salt, and boiled quickly, till they are nearly done; that then the
water should be poured off, and the potatoes again subjected to the
fire, covered with a close lid, till they are quite done, when the lid
ought to be removed, and the moisture evaporated. They may be
then mashed, or served whole. The cook should take care to have
potatoes pretty much of an equal size, or, if this be not practicable,
she should divide the large ones. We ought, however, to add, with
regard to peeling potatoes, that most people very fond of this toot
insist upon it, that you do not get the true flavour if you do not dress
it with the skin on. Let it be always remembered, that potatoes differ
very much in quality, and that no cook can dress a bad potatoe into a
good one.
This brings us to the choice of potatoes. We can lay down no
rule, notwithstanding what former writers have said, for the choice
of potatoes. As it is with pudding, so it is with potatoes the proof
is in the eating. The dealers in nuts say, "Crack and try before you
buy," and we say as regards potatoes, Boil and try before you buy ;
the expenditure of one half-penny will enable you to do this. Dr.
Kitchiner says, that " reddish coloured potatoes are better than the
white, but the yellowish ones are the best." The colour of a potatoe
is no criterion of its goodness or badness; there are good of all
colours, and there are bad of all colours. You should never buy
washed potatoes; they should never be washed till they are to be
used, and as little as possible exposed to the open air. When frost-
bitten, they are good for nothing as regards culinary purposes. There
are various directions given by writers for dressing potatoes, some of
which we subjoin. Kitchiner says, that "most boiled things are
spoiled by having too little water ; but. potatoes are often spoiled by
too much." It is sufficient to just cover them with water. Potatoes
may be boiled well according to either of the subjoined methods; but
after trying all, we prefer our own.
10*
122 THE COMPLETE COOK.
438. Potatoes to boil. To boil, choose them all of a size, that they
may be all done together ; put them on with cold water, and a spoon-
ful of salt, in a saucepan larger than they require, without the lid,
and with not quite water enough to cover them. When they boil,
put in a little cold water; do this twice or three times as they come to
boil. When a fork will easily go into them, strain off, and put the
saucepan on the hob for two minutes, for the steam to evaporate. If
done too soon, fold a coarse cloth and cover them up immediately, to
keep them hot and mealy ; but they are best served immediately they
are done.
Another Method. The best method in the opinion of some, is to
wash the potatoes quite clean and put them in the saucepan with a
large table-spoonful of salt, and cover them with water ; but when
they boil up, pour three parts of the water away, put the lid on the
saucepan, and set them where they will boil, but not very fast. Ob-
serve if the skins are cracked; if not, carefully crack them with a
fork to let the watery matter contained in the potatoe out; this you
cannot do until they are nearly done. When they are boiled suffi-
ciently, drain all the water away; take off the lid, and hold them
over the fire for a minute, giving them a gentle shake. They are
best served immediately, while they are dry and hot. This method
is good in a small family, but where there are a great many to dine
it would be best to pare them, and take out all the eyes with the point
of your knife; wash them, put them in the saucepan with a large
table-spoonful of salt, cover them with water, and when they boil, pour
three parts of the water off', close the saucepan, and let them boil
gently ; when done, dry them over the fire. As potatoes should be
always served hot, by this method you lose no time in taking off the
skins.
439. Potatoes to steam. Let the potatoes be washed, and put into
the steamer, when the water boils in the saucepan beneath ; they
will take about three-quarters of an hour to steam, and should be
taken up as soon as done, or they become watery.
440. To roast. Wash and dry potatoes all of a size ; put them in
a dutch oven, or cheese toaster, or in the oven by the side of the fire;
take care that the heat is not too great, or they will burn before they
are baked through. They may be parboiled first; in that case they
will take less time in baking.
441. Potatoes mashed. When the potatoes are thoroughly boiled
or steamed, drain them dry, pick out every speck, and while hot rub
them through a colander into a clean saucepan, in which warm them,
stirring in half an ounce or an ounce of butter, and a table-spoonful
of milk, with a little pepper and salt; do not make them too wet;
then put them into the scallop shells, or pudding shells buttered, the
tops washed over with the yolk of an egg, and browned in an oven
by the side of the fire; but best in a dutch oven. Some people con-
sider a mixture of boiled onions an improvement.
442. Potatoes roasted under meat. Parboil large potatoes ; peel
them, and put them in an earthen dish, or small tin pan, under meat
SALADS. 1 23
that is roasting 1 . They will partake of the basting, salting, and flour-
ing, that are put on the meat; when one side is brown, turn and
brown the other. They may be baked in the same manner in an oven.
443. Potatoes fried or broiled. Cut cold potatoes into slices a
quaiter of an inch thick, and fry them brown in a clean dripping-pan.
Some people like them shaved in little thin pieces, sprinkled with salt
and pepper, and stirred about in the frying-pan till hot through. They
are very good fried whole ; first dip them in egg and roll them in
bread crumbs; they are likewise very good broiled on a gridiron, after
being partially boiled. Cold potatoes, which are generally thrown
away, are very good when broiled.
444. Potutoe Balls. Mix mashed potatoes with a beaten egg, roll
them in balls and fry them, either with or without crumbs.
445. Polatoe Snow. Wash very clean some potatoes of a white
mealy sort ; set thenT*on in cold water, and boil them according to
the first direction; when done, strain the water from them, crack the
skins, put them by the fire until they are quite dry and fall to pieces;
then rub them through a wire sieve on the dish they are to be served
on, and do not disturb them.
SALADS.
446. Among the principal salad herbs we may reckon lettuce, of
which the white cos in summer, and in winter the brown Dutch cos
and brown cos, are the best; endive, of which the curled leaf is pre-
ferred; corn-salad and water-ciess, both of which are preferred when
the leaves have a brownish cast ; mustard and cress, or small salad-
ing, of which a succession may be kept up through the spring months ;
celery, young, crisp, and well blanched. All or any of these may be
united in the composition of a salad. Cucumbers, either sliced by
themselves, or mixed with other articles. Radishes give a lively
appearance, by way of garnish, to a salad, but are not themselves
improved by dressing. Red-beet also is much in request for winter
salads, especially mixed with endive. Young onions or escalions are
liked by many people, but much disliked by others; therefore they
should not be mixed in the bowl, but sent up on a small dish by them-
selves. Sorrel gives a pleasing acid taste; and pimpernel, or burner,
gives a flavour resembling that of cucurnbnr. Dandelion, if well
grown and well blanched with a tile or slate (in the same manner as
endive), is equally good and wholesome.
Let the ingredients of the salad be well picked, and washed and
dried ; but do^not add the dressing till just before eating, as it is apt
to make the salad flabby. The most simple way of dressing a salad
is, perhaps, the best; certainly the most wholesome ; merely salt, oil,
and vinegar, to taste ; one table-spoonful of the best olive oil to three
of vinegar, is a good proportion. For those who do not like oil, or
when it is not at hand,' the following maybe used as a substitute :
The gravy that has dropped from roasted meat, good sweet thicK
cream, a bit of fresh butter rubbed up with fine moist sugai, or just
124 THE COMPLETE COOK.
melted, without either flour or water; great care must be taken in
thus melting the butter, or it will be apt to oil or curdle; it must be
shaken one way only, and kept near the fire no longer than is neces-
sary to dissolve the lumps on no account suffered to boil. Eggs
boiled for salads require ten or twelve minutes boiling, and should
immediately be plunged into cold water.
In the more complicated preparation of a salad, great care must be
taken that every additional ingredient is thoroughly well blended be-
fore proceeding to add another.
Prepare the dressings in the bowl, and add the herbs ; after stirring
them in, take care that all the various colours are displayed. The
coral of a lobster or a crab makes a beautiful variety with a lettuce,
onion, radish, beet, and white of egg. The following are the ordinary
proportions, but various tastes will suggest variety : The yolks of two
eggs rubbed very smooth with a very rich cream ; if perfectly rubbed
and quite cold, they will form a smooth paste without straining ; a
tea-spoonful each of thick mustard, salt, and powdered loaf-sugar, or
a little cayenne instead of mustard, less than half of the mustard ;
when these are well rubbed in, add two table-spoonfuls of oil (or
whichever of its substitutes is adopted), and then four spoonfuls of the
best white wine vinegar; then lay the herbs lightly on.
Cucumbers are only to be pared and sliced, with slices of onion,
which correct their crudity, and render them less unwholesome; the
pickle for them consists of pepper, salt, oil, and vinegar.
VINEGARS FLAVOURED.
Vinegar is employed in extracting flavours as well as spirits and
wine. But such extracts are principally used with salads, or as
relishes to cold meats, and in a few instances to flavour sauces and
soups ; but, in English cookery, flavours extracted by sherry wine are
preferred for soup.
447. Vinegar for Salads. Take three ounces each of tarragon,
chives, eschalots, savoury, a handful of the tops of balm and mint, all
dry and pounded ; put these into a wide-mouthed bottle, with a gallon
of the best vinegar, cork it close and set it in the sun, and in a fort-
night strain it off, and press the herbs to get out all the juice; let it
stand a day to settle, and then strain it through a filtering bag.
448. Basil Vinegar or Wine. Sweet basil is in perfection about
the middle of August; gather the fresh green leaves, quite free from
stalk, and before it flowers ; fill a wide-mouthed bottle with them, fill
it with vinegar or wine, and steep them ten days ; if you want a very
strong essence, strain the liquor, put it on some fresh leaves, and let
them steep fourteen days more ; strain it and bottle, cork it close ; it
is a very agreeable addition to cold meat, soups, sauces, and to the
mixture generally made for salads. A table-spoonful, when the soup
is ready, impregnates a tureen-full with the basil and acid flavours at
a very little expense, when fresh basil and lemons are very dear.
CATSUPS. 12f>
The flavour of other sweet or savoury herbs may be preserved in the
same manner, by infusing; them in wine or vinegar.
449. Burnet Vinegar is made exactly in the same way as the
above, and imparts the flavour of cucumbers so exactly, when steeped
in vinegnr, that the nicest palate could not distinguish it from the
fruit itseif. This is a nice relish to cold meat, salads, &c. Burnet is
best in season from Midsummer to Michaelmas.
450. Cress or Celery Vinegar. Pour over a quart of the best
vinegar to an ounce of celery or cress seeds, when dried and pounded ;
let them steep ten days, shake it every day, then strain and bottle in
small bottles.
451. Horse-radish Vinegar. Pour a quart of best vinegar on
three ounces of scraped horse-radish, one drachm of cayenne, and an
ounce of shred eschalot; let it stand a week. This is very cheap,
and you have an excellent relish for cold beef, salads, &c. Horse-
radish is in perfection in November.
452. Garlic, Onion, or Eschalot Vinegar. Put and chop two
ounces of the root, pour over them a quart of the best vinegar, in a
Dottle, shake it well every day for ten days; then pour off the clear
liquor into half-pint bottles. A few drops of the garlic will flavour a
pint of gravy, as it is very powerful.
453. Tarragon Vinegar. Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with fresh
gathered tarragon leaves. They should be gathered on a dry day,
just before it flowers, between Midsummer and Michaelmas. Pick
the leaves off the stalks, and dry them a little before the fire; cover
them with the best vinegar, and let them steep fourteen days; then
strain them through a flannel jelly-bag till it is fine, then pour it into
half-pint bottles, cork them tight, and keep them in a dry place.
454. Elder Flower Vinegar is prepared in the same manner as
above, and other herbs also.
455. Green Mint Vinegar is made exactly the same way, and the
same proportions, as basil vinegar. In housed lamb season, green mint
is sometimes not to be got, it is then a welcome substitute.
456. Camp Vinegar. Take four table-spoonfuls of soy, a quarter
of an ounce of cayenne pepper, six anchovies, bruised and chopped,
walnut pickle a quarter of a pint, a clove of garlic shred fine; steep
the whole for a month in a quart of the best vinegar, shake it four or
five times a week, strain it through a tamis, and put it in half-pint
bottles, close corked and sealed, or dipped in bottle cement.
457. Capsicum, Cayenne, or Chili Vinegar. Pound fifty fresh
red chilies, or capsicums, or a quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper;
steep in a pint of the best vinegar for a fortnight.
CATSUPS.
These rank high, and deservedly so, amongst the lists of flavour-
ings, particularlymushroom catsup, with the directions for the making
of which we have been at considerable pains. You cannot be certain
of having it good, unless you make it yourself, for no article is
126 THE COMPLETE COOK.
more adulterated and diluted than this most delicious and useful
flavourer.
458. Walnut Catsup. Take three half sieves of walnut shells,
put them into a tub, mix them up well with common salt, about a
pound and a half. Let them stand six days, frequently beating 1 and
washing them; by this time the shells become soft and pulpy; then
by banking them up on one side of the tub, raising the tub on the
same side, the liquor will run clear off to the other; then take that
liquor out. The mashing and banking 1 may be repeated as long as
any liquor runs. The quantity will be about three quarts. Simmer
it in an iron pot as long as any scum rises; then add two ounces of
allspice, two ounces of ginger, bruised, one ounce of long pepper, one
ounce of cloves, with the above articles; let it boil slowly for half an
hour; when bottled, take care that an equal quantity of spice goes
into each bottle; let the bottles be quite filled up, cork them tight,
and seal them over. Put them into a cool and dry place, for one year
before they are used.
459. Oyster Catsup. Take fine large fresh oysters, open them
carefully, and wash them in their own liquor, to take any particle of
shell that may remain, strain the liquor after. Pound the oysters in a
mortar, add the liquor, and to every pint put a pint of sherry, boil it
up and skim, then add two anchovies, pounded, an ounce of common
salt, two drachms of pounded mace, and one of cayenne. Let it boil
up, skim it, and rub it through a sieve. Bottle it when cold, and seal
it. What remains in the sieve will do for oyster sauce.
460. Cockle and Muscle Catsup. The same way as oyster catsup.
461. Mushroom Catsup. The juice of mushrooms approaches the
nature and flavour of gravy meat more than other vegetable juices.
Dr. Kitchiner sets a high value, and not without reason, upon good
mushroom catsup, "a couple of quarts of which," he says, " will save
some score pounds of meat, besides a vast deal of time and trouble."
The best method of extracting the essence of mushrooms, is that
which leaves behind the least quantity of water. In all essences, it
is quality, not quantity, to which we ou<rht to look. An excess of
aqueous fluid in essences renders them less capable of keeping; while
in flavouring sauces, &c. a small quantity is sufficient, so that by this
means you do not interfere with the thickness or consistency of the
thing flavoured. Mushrooms, that is, field mushrooms, boo-in to come
in about September. There are several varieties of these fungi, and
they differ very much, both in their wholesomeness and flavour. The
best and finest flavoured mushrooms are those which grow spontane-
ously upon rich, dry, old pasture land. The following is the mode of
making good mushroom catsup, or, as Dr. Kitchiner calls it, " double
catsup."
Take mushrooms of the right sort, fresh gathered and full grown,
but not maggoty or putrescent ; put a layer of these at the bottom of
a deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with salt; then put another
layer of nm-hrooms, sprinkle more salt on them, and so on alternately,
mushroon- and salt. Let them remain two or three hours, by which
CLARIFYING. 127
time the salt will have penetrated the mushrooms, and have made
them easy to break ; then pound them in a mortar, or break them well
with your hands; then let them remain in this state tor two days, not
more, mashing- them well once or twice a day ; then pour them into a
stone jar, and to each quart add an ounce and a half of whole black
pepper, and half an ounce of allspice; stop the jar very close, and set
it in a saucepan or stew-pan of boiling water, and keep it boiling for
two hours at least. Take out the jar, and pour the juice clear from
the settlings, through a hair sieve into a clean stew-pan. Let it boil
very gently for half an hour; but to make good or double catsup, it
should boil gently till the mushroom juice is reduced to half the quan-
tity, or, in other words, till the more aqueous part is evaporated ; then
skim it well, and pour it into a clean dry jar or jug; cover it close,
and let it stand in a cool place till next day, then pour it off as gently
as possible (so as not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the jug,)
through a tamis, or thick flannel bag, till it is perfectly clear; add a
table-spoonful of good unflavoured spirits (brandy is dear and not a
whit better than common spirits of wine of equal strength) to each
pint of catsup, and let it stand as before. A fresh sediment will be
deposited, from which the catsup is to be poured off gently, and bot-
tled in half pints, washed with spirit. Small bottles are best, as they
are sooner used, and the catsup, if uncorked often, is apt to spoil. The
cork of each bottle ought to be sealed or dipped in bottle cement.
Keep it in a dry cool place ; it will soon spoil if kept damp. If any
pellicle or skin should appear upon it when in the bottle, boil it up
again with a few peppercorns. It is a question with us, whether it
would not be best to dispense with the spice altogether, and give #n
addition of spirits. When a number of articles are added to the cat-
sup, such as different spices, garlic, eschalot, anchovy, &c. &c., the
flavour of the mushroom is overpowered, and it ceases to be, properly
speaking, mushroom catsup.
462. Mushroom Catsup without Spice is made thus : Sprinkle a
little salt over your mushrooms. Three hours after, mash them; next
day, strain off the liquor, and boil it till it is reduced to half. It will
not keep long, but an artificial mushroom bed will supply sufficient
for this, the very best of mushroom catsup, all the year round.
463. Mushroom Powder may be made of the refuse of the mush-
rooms, after they have been squeezed, by drying them well in a dutch
oven, or otherwise, and then reducing them to powder. If the mush-
rooms themselves are dried and pounded, the powder will be much
stronger. Tincture or essence of mushrooms, we apprehend, might
be made, by steeping dried mushrooms in spirits.
*
CLARIFYING.
464. Clarified Butter. Put the butter in a clean saucepan over a
very clear, slow fire, and when it is melted, carefully skim off the but-
ter-milk, which will swim on the top; let it stand for a minute or two
for the impurities to sink to the bottom, then pour the clear butter
128 THE COMPLETE COOK.
through a sieve into a basin, leaving the sediment at the bottom of the
pan.
465. Burnt Butter. Put two ounces of fresh butter into a frying-
pan ; when it becomes a dark brown colour, add a table-spoonful and
a half of good vinegar and a little salt and pepper. This is used for
sauce to boiled fish or poached eggs.
466. Oiled Butter. Put two ounces of fresh butter into a sauce-
pan, melt it gradually till it comes to an oil, and pour it off quietly
from the dregs. This will supply the place of olive oil.
467. To clarify Dripping. Be careful that no cinders or ashes
fall into the dripping-pan, and empty the well before the meat is salted
or floured, as the dripping will be more valuable. The Nottingham
ware are the best vessels for keeping dripping in ; where much drip-
ping is made, however, keep one general receiving pot : do not put in
seasoned dripping, or dripping of game and poultry ; this should be
kept by itself; it answers very well to baste similar articles again, or
it makes very good common crust for meat pies, or for frying; it is
not fit for delic'-ite pastry. The cook will find at the bottom of the re-
ceiving pot, after it has stood a few days, some gravy which may be
useful to make gravy, and if not removed will spoil the colour of the
dripping ; then put the dripping into a saucepan over a clear slow fire,
at a good distance ; when it is nearly boiling skim it well, then let it
boil, and immediately put it aside ; when cool, and a little settled,
pour it steadily through a sieve into the pan; this is very nice drip-
ping for pastry. What remains may be put into the receptacle of
seasoned dripping, or kept hy itself, and will do for basting meat.
In this manner the fat that settles on the top of stews and boils and
soups may be clarified and turned to use. Remove the fat before you
add the vegetables or seasoning. Nothing makes a lighter piecrust
than this sort of fat. It should be used soon, as the moisture hanging
about it will turn it sour.
46S. To clarify Suet and Fat. Take away whatever fat or suet
that is not likely to be used off a loin of mutton, loin of veal, or sirloin
of beef. An inch thickness of fat may be taken from a loin or neck
of mutton, and a good deal of fat from the kidney ; then shave it into
very thin slices, or chop it up as suet; pick out all veins and skin,
then put it into a stone j;ir or saucepan, and set it in a slow oven, or
over a stove till it is melted ; then strain it through a hair sieve into
jars or pots; when quite cold, tie over the jars. Be careful not to put
this or dripping into a warm place.
469. Hog^s Lard. The inside fat or leaf of a pig should be beaten
with a lard-beater, or rolling-pin; then put it into a jar or earthen
pot, in a large kettle of boiling water, fcili it is melted ; add a little
salt and a little rosemary the last may be left out if not preferred.
When melted, pour it into jars or bladders, nicely cleaned. The bits
of skins that are left are called crittens, and chopped up with apples
or currants to make fritters, or a pie. Lard is frequently melted in a
brass kettle over a slow fire. It is better to surround it with water.
470. Clarified Sugar is merely brought to a syrup in the following
PICKLES. 12\)
manner: Break up the sugar in large lumps, and allow a pint of
water to every two pounds of sugar: but whatever quantity is em-
ployed, keep out a quarter of a pint cold. Put the sugar and water
in the preserving pan, with the white of one egg well beaten, to every
two pounds of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, set it on the fire,
and when it boils fast, throw in the quarter of a pint of cold water;
this is intended to throw up the scum. When it boils again, take the
vessel from the fire and let it stand to settle; then remove all scum,
and place it in a hair sieve; what runs through may be returned to
the rest: give it another boil, and again settle and skim. It should
not be stirred after the sugar is dissolved and syrup begins to warm.
In this manner sugar is clarified for jelly which is to be put in glasses!
PICKLES.
Like Dr. Kitchiner, we are not fond of pickles. They are, indeed,
for the most part, mere vehicles for taking up vinegar and spice and
very unwholesome, indigestible vehicles they are. By pounding them,
as they do in India, they are rendered less indigestible. Those who
are fond of relishes, and who are wise enough not to gratify their
tastes at the expense of their stomachs, will find ihe various flavoured
vinegars, mixed to each individual's liking, an excellent substitute for
pickles.
471. There are three methods of pickling ; the most simple is,
merely to put the articles into cold vinegar. "The strongest pickling
vinegar of white wine should always be used for pickles; and for
such as are wanted for white pickles, use distilled vinegar, which is
as white as water. This method we recommend for all such vege-
tables as, being hot themselves, do not require the addition of spice,
and such as do not require to be softened by heat, such as capsicums,
chili, nasturtiums, button onions, radish-pods, horse-radish, garlic, and
eschalots. Half fill the jars with best vinegar, fill them up with the
vegetables, and tie down immediately with bladder and leather. One
advantage of this plan is, that those who grow nasturtiums, radish-
pod?, and so forth, in their own gardens, may gather them from day
to day when they are exactly of the proper growth. They are very
much better if pickled quite fresh, and all of a size, which can
scarcely be obtained if they be pickled all at one time. The onions
should be dropped in the vinegar as fast as peeled ; this secures their
colour. The horse-radish should be scraped a little outside, and cut
up in rounds half an inch deep. Barbaries for garnish ; Aether fine
full bunches before they are quite ripe ; pick away all bits of stalk
and leaf and injured berries, and drop them in cold vinegar ; they
may be kept in salt and water, changing the brine whenever it begins
to ferment : but the vinegar is best.
472. The second method of pickling is that of heating vinegar and
spice, and pouring them hot over the vegetables to be pickled, which
are previously prepared by sprinkling with salt, or immersing in brine.
It is better not to boil the vinegar, by which process its strength is
11
130 THE COMPLETE COOK.
evaporated. Put the vinegar and spice into a jar, bung it down
tightly, tie a bladder over, and let it stand on the hob, or on a trivet
by the side of the fire, for three or four days, well shaken three or four
times a day; this method may be applied to gherkins, French beans,
cabbage, brocoli, cauliflowers, onions, and so forth.
473. The third method of pickling is when the vegetables are in a
greater or less degree done over the fire. Walnuts, artichokes, arti-
choke bottoms, and beet-roots, are done thus, and sometimes onions
and cauliflowers.
474. Gherkins or young Cucumbers should be the size of a finger;
if smaller they have not attained their flavour, if much larger they
are apt to be seedy; put them in unglazed stone jars; cover them
with brine, composed of a quarter of a pound of salt dissolved in a
quart of boiling water, and left to become cold ; cover down the jars
and put them on the hearth before the fire for two or three days, till
they become yellow; then pour off the brine, drain the cucumbers,
scald and dry the jars, return the cucumbers and cover them with
vinegar : set them again before the fire and let them remain until
they become green, which will be in eight or ten days; then pour off'
the vinegar, and put to them a pickle of fresh vinegar (prepared for
gherkins, French beans, and so forth, as directed.) To each quart,
black pepper two ounces, ginger one ounce, salt one ounce, cayenne
half a drachm, mustard-seed one ounce.
The vinegar in which the cucumbers were greened should be bot-
tled: it will make good sauce for cold meat or salads. Cucumbers
are often steeped in vinegar on purpose to give it a flavour.
475. French Beans. The best sort for this purpose are white-
runners. They are very large long beans, but should be gathered
quite young, before they are half grown ; they may be done in the
same way as gherkins, but will not require so long a time, and the
first vinegar is not so nice as that from cucumbers.
476. Onions. Onions should be chosen about the size of marbles,
the silver-skinned sort are the best. Prepare a brine and put them
into it hot; let them remain one or two days, then drain them, and,
when quite dry, put them into clean dry jars, and cover them with
hot pickle, in every quart of which has been steeped one ounce each
of horse-radish sliced, black pepper, allspice, and salt, with or with-
out mustard-seed. In all pickles the vinegar should always be two
inches or more above the vegetables, as it is sure to shrink, and if the
vegetables are not thoroughly immersed in pickle they will not keep.
477. Red Cabbage. Choose fine firm cabbages : the largest are
not the best; trim off the outside leaves; quarter the cabbage, take
out the large stalk, slice the quarters into a colander, and sprinkle a
little salt between the layers; put but a little salt, too much will
spoil the colour; let it remain in the colander till next day, shake it
well that all the brine may run off; put it in jars, cover it with a hot
pickle composed of black pepper and allspice, of each an ounce;
ginger pounded, horse-radish sliced, and salt, of each half an ounce
PICKLES. 131
to every quart of vinegar (steeped as above directed) ; two capsicums
may be added to a quart, or one drachm of cayenne.
478- Garlic and Eschalots. Garlic and eschalots may be pickled
in ih* 1 same way as onions.
479. Melons, Mangoes, and long Cucumbers, may all be done in
the same manner. Melons should not be much more than half grown;
cucumbers full grown, but not overgrown. Cut off the top, but leave
it hanging by a bit of rind, which is to serve as a hinge to a box-lid ;
with a marrow-spoon scoop out all the seeds, and fill the fruit with
equal parts of mustard-seed, ground pepper, and ginger, or flour of
mustard instead <ff the seeds, and two or three cloves of garlic. The
lid which encloses the spice may be sewed down or tied, by running
a white thread through the cucumber, and through the lid, and then,
tying it together, cut off the ends. The pickle may be prepared with
the spices directed for cucumbers, or with the following, which bears
a nearer resemblance to India. To each quart of vinegar put salt,
flour of mustard, curry powder, bruised ginger, turmeric, half an
ounce of each, cayenne pepper one drachm, all rubbed together with
a large glassful of salad oil ; eschalots two ounces, and garlic half
an ounce, sliced ; steep the spice in the vinegar as before directed,
and put the vegetables into it hot.
480. Brocoli or Cauliflowers. Choose such as are firm, yet of
their full size; cut away all the leaves, and pare the stalk; pull away
the flowers by bunches, steep in brine two days, then drain them ;
wipe them dry and put them into hot pickle; or merely infuse for
three days three ounces of curry powder in every quart of vinegar.
481. Walnuts. Be particular in obtaining them exactly at the
proper season ; if they go beyond the middle of July, there is danger
of their becoming hard and woody. Steep them a week in brine. If
they are wanted to be soon ready for use, prick them with a pin, or
run a larding pin several times through them ; but if they are not
wanted in haste, this method had better be let alone. Put them into
a kettle of brine, and give them a gentle simmer, then drain them on
a sieve and lay them on fish drainers in an airy place, until they be-
come black, which may be two days; then add hot pickle of vinegar
in which has been steeped, in the proportion of a quart, black pepper
one ounce, ginsrer, eschalots, salt, and mustard-seed, one ounce each.
Most pickle vinegar, when the vegetables are used, may be turned to
use, walnut pickle in particular; boil it up, allowing to each quart
four or six anchovies chopped small, and a large table-spoonful of
eschalots, also chopped. Let it stand a few days, till it is quite clear,
then pour off and bottle. It is an excellent store sauce for hashes,
fish, and various other purposes.
48*2. Beet-roots. Boil or bake gently until they are nearly done;
according to the size of the roots they will require from an hour
and a half to two hours; drain them, and when they begin to cool
peel and cut in slices half an inch thick, then put them into a pickle
composed of black pepper and allspice, of each one ounce, gingor
pounded, horse-radish sliced, and salt, of each half an ounce to
i 32 THE COMPLETE COOK.
quart of vinegar, steeped. Two capsicums may be added to a quart,
or one drachm of cayenne.
483. Cauliflowers or Brocoli. Choose firm full-grown cauliflowers
and brocoli, cut away all the leaves and pare the stalk, and instead of
steeping in cold brine, set them over the fire in cold brine, and let it
heat gradually. Just before it comes to boil, take them up in a wire
ladle, and spread them on a cloth before the fire; when quite dry, put
them into glass or jars, and add cold pickle, according to the second
method of making pickle (472).
484. Artichokes. Gather young artichokes as soon as formed ;
throw them into boiling brine, and let them boil two minutes ; drain
them ; when cold and dry put them in jars, and cover with vinegar,
prepared as method the third, but the only spices employed should be
ginger, mace and nutmeg.
485. Artichoke Bottoms. Get full-grown artichokes and boil them,
but not so much as for eating, but just until the leaves can be pulled ;
remove them and the choke ; in taking off the stalk, be careful not to
break it off so as to bring away any of the bottom ; it would be better
to pare them with a silver knife, and leave half an inch of tender stalk
coming to a point ; when cold, add vinegar and spice, the same as for
artichokes.
486. Mushrooms. Choose small white mushrooms ; they should
be but one night's growth. Cut off the roots, and rub the mushrooms
clean with a bit of flannel and salt ; put them in a jar, allowing to
every quart of mushrooms one ounce each of salt and ginger, half an
ounce of whole pepper, eight blades of mace, a bay leaf, a strip of le-
mon rind, and a wine-glassful of sherry ; cover the jar close, and let it
stand on the hob or on a stove, so as to be thoroughly heated, and on
the point of boiling; so let it remain a day or two, till the liquor is ab-
sorbed by the mushrooms and spices; then cover them with hot vine-
gar, close them again, and stand till it just comes to a boil ; then take
them away from the fire. When they are quite cold divide the mush-
rooms and spice into wide-mouthed bottles, fill them up with the vine-
gar, and tie them over. In a week's time, if the vinegar has shrunk
so as not entirely to cover the mushrooms, add cold vinegar. At the
top of each bottle put a tea-spoonful of salad or almond oil ; cork close,
and dip in bottle resin.
487. Samphire. On the sea-coast this is merely preserved in wa-
ter, or equal parts of sea-water and vinegar ; but as it is sometimes
gent fresh as a present to inland parts, the best way of managing it
under such circumstances, is to steep it two days in brine, then drain
and put it in a stone jar covered with vinegar, and having a lid, over
which put thick paste of flour and water, and set it in a very cool oven
all night, or in a warmer oven till it nearly, but not quite boils. Then
let it stand on a warm hob for half an hour, and let it become quite cold
before the paste is removed ; then add cold vinegar, if any more is re-
quired, and secure as other pickles.
488. Indian Pickle. The vegetables to be employed for this fa-
vourite pickle, are small hard knots of white cabbage sliced, cauli-
PICKLES. 133
flowers or brocoli in flakes, long carrots not larger than a finger, or
large carrots sliced (the former are far preferable,) gherkins, French
beans, small bottom onions, white turnip radishes half grown, radish-
pods, eschalots, young hard apples, green peaches when the trees are
thinned before the stones begin to form, vegetable marrow not larger
than a hen's egg, small green melons, celery, shoots of green elder,
horse-radish, nasturtiums, capsicums, and garlic. As all these vege-
tables do not come in season together, the best method of doino- this
is to prepare a large jar of pickle at such time of the year as most of
the things may be obtained, and add the others as they come in sea-
son. Thus the pickle will be nearly a year in making, and ought to
stand another year before using, when, if properly managed, It will
be excellent, but will keep and continue to improve for years. For
preparing the several vegetables, the same directions may be observed
as for pickling them separately, only take this general rule that, if
possible, boiling is to be avoided, and soaking in brine to be preferred ;
be very particular that every ingredient is perfectly dry before put-
ting into the jar, and that the jar is very closely tied down every time
that it is opened for the addition of fresh vegetables. Neither mush-
rooms, walnuts, nor red cabbage, are to be admitted.
For the pickle. To a gallon of the best wine vinegar add salt
three ounces, flour of mustard half a pound, turmeric two ounces,
white ginger sliced three ounces, cloves one ounce, mace, black pep-
per, long pepper, white pepper, half an ounce each, cayenne two
drachms, eschalots peeled four ounces, garlic peeled two ounces;
steep the spice in vinegar on the hob or trivet for two or three days.
The mustard and turmeric must be rubbed smooth with a little cold
vinegar, and stirred into the rest when as near boiling as possible.
Such vegetables as are ready may be put in; when cayenne, nastur
tiums, or any other vegetables mentioned in the first method of pick-
ling, come in season, put them in the pickle as they are ; any in the
second method, a small quantity of hot vinegar without spice ; when
cold pour it off, and put the vegetables into the general jar. Tf the
vegetables are greened in vinegar, as French beans and gherkins,
this will not be so necessary, but will be an improvement to all.
Onions had better not be wet at all; but if it be desired not to have the
full flavour, both onions, eschalots, and garlic, may be sprinkled with
salt in a colander, to draw off all the strong juice ; let them lie two or
three hours.
The elder apples, peaches, and so forth, to be greened as gherkins.
See method the second (472.)
The root?, radishes, carrots, celery, are only soaked in brine and
dried. Haifa pint of salad oil, or of mustard oil, is sometimes added.
It should be rubbed with the flour of mustard and turmeric. It is not
essential to Indian pickle to have every variety of vegetable here men-
tioned ; but all these are admissible, and the greater variety the more
approved.
11*
134 THE COMPLETE COOK.
PASTRY. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
We are no friends to pastry, particularly what is called the rich
flaky pastry. It is decidedly indigestible, and consequently unwhole-
some. A crisp, short paste, however, we consider nutritious ; the but-
ter, lard, &c. being 1 thoroughly incorporated with the flour in the pro-
cess of making it. Oleaginous substances, such as lard, become not
only perfectly innocuous, when well mixed with farina, and well
baked or boiled, but very nourishing and wholesome; and this we
take to be the best way of preparing such things for human food.
In making pastry, the cook, as indeed she ought to be on all occa-
sions, should be particularly clean and neat. Her utensils should be
kept in " apple-pie order," and when they aie done with, they should
be carefully cleaned and put in their places. Her paste-board and
rolling-pin, let it be remembered, should, after using, be well scoured
with hot water alone. She should not use soap, sand, or stone dust
of any kind. A marble slab is preferable to a board for rolling paste.
Both are generally made too small to be convenient. Three feet long
by two feet wide is a good size. In making a paste, a good cook will
have no waste of any kind, and particularly she will not make more
at one time than she wants, under the idea that she can keep it in
flour till the next time of making ; for it is ten to one but that the old
paste will spoil the new. No flour except the very best can be used
for fine descriptions of pastry, and in damp weather it should be dried
before the fire, but not scorched. Clarified dripping, good lard, mar-
row, salt butter well washed, may be used for ordinary pastry ; indeed,
if they are pure and sweet they will form good pastry, with good flour
and good management. In wealthy families, however, where economy
is not an object, and every thing for the table is required to be of the
first quality, the safe=t plan is to use the best fresh butter. The fat
that settles on stew?, and on the broth in which meat has been boiled,
may bo used for pastry, that is, provided it is tasteless. Suet is some-
times used for meat pies, but though it makes a light crust, when hot,
it does not eat well when cold.
A most wholesome crust is made without butter or any other oily
matter. For this purpose take half a quartern of dough, work in an
egg, and cover your pie. This will be sufficient for a large one. A
great deal more butter, or fat of some kind or other, was formerly
directed to be used in making pastry than at present. For ordinary
purposes, half the weight of lard, or butter, is sufficient, but in the
richest crusts the quantity should never exceed the weight of flour.
Eggs may be added to enrich the crust; use no more water or other
liquid in making paste than is absolutely necessary, or, in other words,
take care not to " put out the miller's eye," that is, to make the paste
too moist. The great thing is to incorporate the flour well with the
fat, which you cannot do if you allow too much water or milk in the
first instance.
The under or side crust, which should be thin, should not be made
so rich as the top crust, as otherwise if will make the gravy or syrup
PASTRY. 135
greasy. All dishes in which pies are to be baked should be buttered
or greased round the edges to prevent the crust from sticking, and if
there be an under crust, all over the inside : the same must be
done with tins or saucers.
There is a number of other little things to be attended to in mak-
ing pastry, which we will enumerate in as few words as we can.
Fruit pies or large tarts should have a hole made in the middle of the
crust, and it is a good plan in a family pie to place a small tea-cup in
the middle of the pie; this will form a receptacle for the syrup, and
prevent its boiling over. For the same reason meat pies should have
holes round their edges, but they do not require a tea-cup. The
thickness of the crust must be regulated by the judgment of the cook
with reference to the nature of the pie, and the circumstances of the
party by whom it is to be eaten. Top crusts vary in thickness from
half an inch to an inch or more. Of course a meat pie will require a
longer time to bake than a fruit one, and some descriptions of fruit
again longer than others. The edges of pies are sometimes crimped
or jagged, and some persons further ornament them with leaves, or
stars cut out of paste, and laid on the top of the crust. Pigeon and
game pies, &c. are generally washed over with finely beaten yolk of
eggs, simply to give them a nice appearance, but they are just as
nice without it. We ought to add, that where the paste is wanted
to adhere, as in the upper and under crusts of a pie, it is a good plan
to touch the parts with the white of an egg; a little water will do,
but not so well.
489. Flaky and Short Crusts. In making a flaky crust a part of
the fat should be worked with the hand to a cr^arn, and then the
whole of the flour well rubbed into it before any water or milk is
added. The remaining fat must be stuck on the paste and be rolled
out. For crisp crust> by far the most wholesome, the whole of the
fat should be rubbed in and thoroughly incorporated with the flour.
Water or milk must be added when this is done, and the dough, or
rather paste, made up. The pie-board and rolling-pin should be well
dusted with flour, and the dough should be well beaten with the pin
to thoroughly mix it, and render it light. Mind, in rolling out paste
do not drive the pin backwards and forwards, but always keep rolling
from you. In making flaky crusts the paste must be rolled out thin,
and the fat or butter laid all over it; then roll it up and beat it till it
puffs up in little bladders : it should be then finally rolled out, and
put in the oven as quickly as possible.
490. Raised Crust. Put two pounds and a half of flour on the
paste-board, and put on the fire in a saucepan three-quarters of a pint
of water, and half a pound of good lard; when the water boils, make
a hole in the middle of the flour, pour in the water and lard by degrees,
gently mix it with a spoon, and when it is well mixed, then knead it
with your hands till it becomes stiff; dredge a little flour to prevent
it sticking to the board, or you cannot make it smooth ; then set it
aside for an hour, and keep it cool : do not roll it with your roPing-
pin, hut roll it with your hands, about the thickness of a quart pot;
136 THE COMPLETE COOK.
cut it into six pieces,, leaving a little for the covers; put the left hand,
clenched, in the middle of one of the pieces, and with the other on
the outside work it up against the back of the left to a round or oval
shape. It is now ready for the meat, which must be cut into small
pieces with some fat, and pressed into the pie ; then cover it with the
paste previously rolled out to a proper thickness, and of the size of
the pie; put this lid on the pie and press it together with your thumb
and finger, cut it all round with a pair of scissors, and bake for an
hour and a half. Our good old country housewives pride themselves
very much upon being able to raise a large and high pork pie. This
crust will answer for many meat and other pies baked in dishes
or tins.
491. Puff Paste. This paste is nearly the same as what we have
called (489) flaky crust, and, of course, made upon the same princi-
ples. If eggs are desired, allow three yolks to a pound of butter or
lard. Rub a fourth part of the fat to a cream, then mix the eggs
with it, and afterwards the flour. A very little water will suffice to
wet it. Beat it with the pin to make it flaky; roll it out thin three
times, putting in a portion of the fat each time, and roll it from you:
after each rolling, beat it well.
492. Sweet Paste. This is suitable to fruit tarts generally, apples
perhaps excepted, for which we recommend a puff paste. To three-
quarters of a pound of butter put a pound and a half of flour, three or
four ounces of sifted loaf-sugar, the yolks of two eggs, and half a pint
of new milk. Bake it in a moderate oven ; if required to be iced,
see 500.
493. Crust for Savoury Pies. To two pounds of flour, one and a
half of butter, or lard, and the yolks of three eggs; rub part of the
fat to a cream with the esfgs, then rub in the flour; wet with cold
water, and roll out with the remainder of the butter. This crust is
suitable for pigeon, rabbit, hare, and other savoury pies.
494. A rich Short Crust. Rub to a cream a quarter of a pound
of butter ; add one pound of well-dried and very fine flour, and two
ounces or more of pounded loaf-sugar; rub together till they are tho-
roughly incorporated; then add the yolks of two good-sized eggs, and
as much boiling hot cream as will bring it to a proper consistence.
Bake in a moderate oven.
495. Biscuit Paste. Take six yolks of eggs, a quarter of a pound
of loaf-sugar, a pound of flour, and a tea-cup full of milk. Rub these
ingredients into a stiff p;iste. This paste is only fit for light preserved
fruits that require scarcely any baking. It is sometimes cut out in
rounds, a bit of jam or jelly placed on each, and baked in tins.
496. Crust for Venison Pasty. Raised crust (490) will do, but if
a richer be required, increase the quantity of butter, and add eggs.
Let the top crust be substantial, and line the sides of the dish, but not
the bottom.
497. Stringing Paste m jst be made more tenacious than the other
descriptions. A quarter of a pound of flour to one ounce of butter,
PIES, TARTS, AND PUFFS.
with a very little water, will make paste which may be drawn out in
fine strings, and laid across the tartlets.
498. Pot atoe Paste. Boil your potatoes; rub through a colander,
and while quite hot add butter and an egg. Use plenty of flour on
the pie-board and rolling-pin; cover your pie, and put it into the oven
while quite warm.
499. Rice Paste. Simmer the rice in water or milk till quite soft
and pulpy ; drain it well off; stir in yolks of eg-gs, one to a quarter
of a pound of rice, and a little butter, if you like. Roll out the paste
with a dust of flour. Cover your pie and bake without suffering to
cool. This paste will do for either savoury or sweet pies.
500. Icing Pastry. When nearly baked enough, take the pastry
out of the oven and sift fine powdered sugar over it. Replace it in
the oven and hold over it, till the sugar is melted, a hot salamander
or shovel. The above method is preferred for pastry to be eaten hot:
for cold, beat up the white of two eggs well, wash over the tops of
the pies with a brush, and sift over this a good coating of sugar;
cause it to adhere to the egg and pie crust ; trundle over it a clean
brush dipped in water till the sugar is all moistened. Bake again for
about ten minutes.
PIES, TARTS, AND PUFFS.
501. Perigord Pie. Make a force meat chiefly of truffles, a small
quantity of basil, thyme, parsley, knotted marjoram, the liver of any
kind of game (if of woodcocks, that and the entrails, except the little
bag), a small quantity of fat bacon, a few crumbs, the flesh of wild or
tame fowls, pepper, and salt. Lard the breasts of pheasants, par-
tridges, woodcocks, moor-game, or whatever game you have, with
bacon of different sizes ; cut the legs and wings from the backs, and
divide the backs ; season them all with white pepper, a little Jamaica
pepper, mace, and salt; make a thick raised crust to receive the
above articles; it is thought better than a dish, but either will do.
Line it closely with slices of fine fat bacon, then cover it with stuff-
ing, and put the different parts of the game lightly on it, with whole
green truffles, and pieces of stuffing among and over it, observing not
to crowd the articles, so as to cause them to be underbaked. Over
the whole lay slices of fat bacon, and then a cover of thick common
crust. Bake it slowly, according to the size of the pie, which will
require a long time.
Some are made with a pheasant in the middle whole, and the other
game cut up and put round it.
502. Sole Pie. Split the soles from the bone, and cut the fins
close; season with a mixture of salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, and
pounded mace, and put them in layers with oysters. They eat ex-
cellently. A pair of middling sized ones will do, and half a hundred
of oysters; put in the dish the oyster liquor, two or three spoonfula
of broth, and some butter. When the pie is baked, pour in a cupful
of thick cream boiled up with a tea-spoonful of flour.
loS THE COMPLETE COOK.
503. Eel Pie.- -Cut the eels in lengths of two or three inches,
after skinning them ; season with pepper and salt, and place in the
dish with some bits of butter and a little water, and cover it with
paste. Middle-sized eels do best.
504. Oyster Pie. Open the oysters and strain the liquor from
then) ; parboil them after taking off the beards. Parboil sweetbreads,
cut them in slices, lay them and the oysters in layers, season them
Vrry lightly with salt, pepper, and mace, then put half a tea-cup full
of liquor, ami the same of gravy. Bake in a slow oven, and before
you serve, put a tea-cup full of cream, a little more of oyster liquor,
and a cup of white gravy, all warmed, but not boiled.
505. Pilchard Pie. Clean and skin the white part of large leeks ;
scald in milk and water, and put them in layers into a dish, and, be-
tween the layers, two or three salted pilchards which have been
soaked for two or three hours the day before. Cover the whole with
a good plain crust. When the pie is taken out of the oven, lift up
the side crust with a knife and empty out all the liquor; then pour
in half a pint of -scalded cream.
506. A remarkably fine Fish Pie. Boil two pounds of small eels;
having cut the fins quite close, pick the flesh off and throw the bones
into the liquor with a little mace, pepper, salt, and a slice of onion,
and boil till rich, and strain it; make force meat of the flesh, an
anchovy, parsley, lemon peel, salt, pepper, and crumbs, and four
ounces of butter warmed, and lay it at the bottom of the dish. Take
the flesh of soles, small cod, or dressed turbot, and lay it on the force
meat, having rubbed it with salt and pepper ; pour the gravy over,
and bake. Observe to take off the skins and fins, if cod or soles.
507. Beef-steak Pie. Take beef-steaks that have been well hung 1 ,
beat them gently with a circular steak-beater, season them with
pepper, salt, and a little eschalot minced very fine. Roll each steak
with a good piece of fat, and fill your dish. Put some crust on the
edge an inch below it, and a cup of water or broth in the dish. Cover
with rather a thick crust, and set in a moderate oven.
508. Beef-steak and Oyster Pie. Prepare the steaks as above,
without rolling, and put layers of them and of oysters. Stew the
liquor and beards of the latter, with a bit of lemon p^el, mace, and a
sprig of parsley. When the pie is baked, boil with above three
spoonfuls, and an ounce of butter rolled with flour. Strain it, and
put it into the dish.
509. Veal, Chicken and Parsley Pie. Cut some slices from the
neck or leg of veal ; if from the leg, about the knuckle; season them
with salt, scald some parsley that is picked from the stems and press
it dry; cut it a little and lay it at the bottom of the dish, then put the
meat, and so on, in layers. Fill the dish with milk, but not so high
as the crust: cover it with crust, and when baked, pour out a little of
the milk, and put in half a pint of good scalded cream. Chickens
may be cut up and cooked in the same way.
510. Veal Olive Pie. Make the olives in the following manner:
Cut long thin slices of veal, beat them, lay on them thin slices of fat
PIES, TARTS AND PUFFS. 139
bacon, and over them a layer offeree meat, seasoned high with shred
eschalot and cayenne. Roll them tight, about the size of two fingers,
but not more than two or three inches long; fasten them round with
a small skewer, rub egg over them. Put them round and round the
dish, making the middle highest; fill it up almost with water, and
cover it. Add gravy, cream, flour, and mushroom powder, when
baked.
511. Veal Pie. Take some of the middle or scrag of a small neck ;
season it with pepper and salt, and either put to it, or not, a few slices
of lean bacon or ham. If it is wanted of a high relish, add mace,
cayenne, and nutmeg, to the salt and pepper, and also force meat and
eggs, and if you choose add truffles, morels, mushrooms, sweetbreads
cut into small bits, and cocks'-combs blanched, if Jiked. Have a rich
gravy to pour in after baking ; it will be very good without any of the
latter additions.
512. A rich Veal Pie. Cut steaks from the neck or breast of veal;
season them with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and a very little clove in
powder. Slice two sweatbreads, and season them in the same man-
ner. Lay a pufT paste on the edge of the dish ; then put the meat,
yolks of hard eggs, the sweetbreads, and some oysters, up to the lop
of the dish. Lay over the whole some very thin slices of ham, and
fill up the dish with water; cover, and when it is taken out of the
oven pour in at the top, through a funnel, some veal gravy and rich
cream, warmed together. Lay a paper over the crust, that it may
not be too brown.
513. Ca//'s Head Pie. Stew a knuckle of veal till fit for eating,
with two onions, a few isinglass shavings, a bunch of sweet herbs, a
blade of mace, and a few peppercorns, in three pints of water. Keep
the broth for the pie. Take off a bit of the meat for the balls, and
let the other be eaten ; butter, simmer the bones in the broth till it is
very good. Half boil the head, and cut it into square bits; put a
layer of ham at the bottom of the dish, then some head, first fat, then
lean, with balls and hard eggs cut in half, and so on till the dish is
full ; and take care not to place the pieces close, or the pie will be too
solid, and there will be no space for the jelly. The meat must be
first pretty well seasoned with salt, pepper, and a scrape or two of
nutmeg. Put a little water and a little gravy into the dish, and cover
it with a tolerably thick crust ; bake it in a slow oven, and when done,
pour in as much gravy as it will hold, and do not cut it till perfectly
cold, in doing which observe to use a very sharp knife, and first cut
out a large piece, going down to the bottom of the dish, and when cut
thus, thinner slices can be cut. The different colours and the jelly
have a beautiful marble appearance. A small pie may be made to
eat hot, which, with high seasoning, oysters, mushroom?, truffles, and
morels, has a very good appearance. The cold pie will keep many
days; slices make a pretty side dish. Instead of isinglass, use a
calf's foot or a cow-heel, if the jelly is not likely to be stiff enough.
The pickled tongues of calves' heads may be cut instead of, or in ad-
' dition to, ham.
140 THE COMPLETE COOK.
514. Excellent Pork Pies to eat cold. Cut the trimmings off a
hog when cut up, and if yon hsv not sufficient, take the meat off f
sweet-bone. Beat it well with your rolling-pin; season with salt ana
keep the lean and fat separate. Raise common crust either in a
round or oval form ; put a layer of lean and then a layer of fat, or
mix your fat and lean, and so on till you have filled the pie to the
top ; lay on the lid, cut the edge smoothly round, and pinch it close.
Bake in a slow oven, as the meat is very solid. Do not put any
water or bone into pork pies. The outside pieces will be hard unless
they are cut small and pressed close. See raised crust, 490.
515. Lamb Pie. Make it of the breast, neck, or loin; it should
not be seasoned much with salt and pepper; the bone taken out, but
not the gristles ; a small quantity of jelly gravy should be put in hot;
put two spoonfuls of water before baking. This pie should not be
cut until cold. House lamb is one of the most delicate things that
can be eaten. Grass lamb makes an excellent pie, and may either
be boned or not, but not to bone it is perhaps the best. Season with
only pepper and salt; put two spoonfuls of water before baking, and
as much gravy when taken out of the oven. Meat pies being fat, it
is best to pour out the liquor on one side, take the fat off, and put it
in again and a little more to it (by means of a funnel), at the top.
516. Mutton Pie. Take steaks from the loin or neck of mutton
that has been kept some time hanging ; beat them and cut off some
of the fat; add pepper, salt, and a small onion; put a little water at
the bottom of the dish, and paste on the edge, put in the steaks, and
cover it over with rather a thick crust, tf you make raised small
pies, break the bones in two; season and cover them over, pinch the
edges. When baked, pour into each a little gravy made of mutton,
seasoned with pepper, salt, and a small bit of onion.
517. Chicken Pie. Take two young fowls, cut them up and season
them with salt, a little mace, nutmeg, and white pepper very finely
powdered ; add a small bit of cayenne. Put the chickens, force meat
balls, slices of ham or gammon, and hard eggs, in turn by layers. If
they are to be made into raised pies, add no water ; if in a dish, put
a little at the bottom. Make gravy of the scrag or a knuckle of veal,
with some shank bones of mutton, seasoned with mace, white pepper,
an onion, a small bunch of sweet herbs, and a little salt. Add morels,
truffles, mushrooms, and so forth, if eaten hot; but not, if eaten cold.
Should you make this pie in a dish, put as much gravy as it will hold;
but if in a raised crust the gravy must be strained, ami then put io
cold, as jelly. Make the jelly clear by boiling with it the whites of
two eggs well beaten; take away the meat previous to adding the
whites; strain it through a muslin sieve.
Young Rabbits are prepared in the same way ; their legs should
be cut short, and the breast-bones must not be put in ; they will help
to make the gravy.
519. Glhlet Pie. Nicely clean goose or duck giblets ; stew them
in a little water with a bunch of sweet herbs, black pepper, onion, a
little salt, till nearly done ; let them stand till cold. If you have not
PIES, TARTS, AND P U F, F S . 141
enough to fill the dish, put a veal or beef-steak, or two or three mut-
ton chops, at the bottom. Put the liquor that you have stewed your
giblets in into the dish ; put in the giblets, and when baked, pour into
it a tea-cup full of cream.
520- Green Goose Pie. Pluck and singe two young green geese
of a good size; bone them and wash; season them well with allspice,
mace, pepper, and salt. Put one inside the other and press them as
close as you can, drawing the legs inwards. Butter them well, and
bake either with or without crust. If made a pie of, the cover must
fit the dish close, to keep the steam in. It will keep many days.
Gravy-jelly may be put in when served.
521. Staffordshire Goose Pies. Bone, wash, and season the birds
with allspice, mace, pepper, and salt. Put rather a small turkey in-
side a goose, duck, fowl, and then less birds, tongue or force meat.
Force meat may fill up the spaces between the cru_-t and fowls, and
be omitted within. Ornament the crust, and put a knob or flower at
the top by which to lift it, as it must not be cut, but kept to cover the
pie. A less expensive and smaller pie may be made by omitting the
goose and turkey. All pies made of white meats or fowls are im-
proved by a layer of fine sausage meat.
522. Hare Pie to cut cold Cut up the hare ; season it; and bake
it with force meat and egg, in a raised crust or dish. When served,
cut off the lid, and cover it with jelly-gravy.
523. Partridge Pie. Pick and singe four partridges ; cut off the
legs at the knees; season them with chopped parsley, thyme, mush-
rooms, pepper, and salt. Put a slice of ham and a veal cutlet at the bot-
tom of the dish ; put the partridges in, and half a pint of good broth.
Put puff paste on the edge of the dish ; cover it ; brush it over with
eggs ; and bake an hour.
524. A French Pie. Lay a puff paste on the edge of a dish ; put
into it either chickens jointed, veal in slices, or rabbits, with force
meat balls, sweetbreads cut in pieces, a few truffles, and artichoke
bottoms.
525. Pigeon Pie. Rub the pigeons with salt and pepper, inside
and out ; put a bit of butter inside, and, if approved, some parsley chop-
ped fine, with the livers, salt, and pepper. Lay a beef-steak at the
bottom of the dish, and place the birds on it. Between every two a
hard egg. Lay a bit of ham on each pigeon ; put a cup of water at
the bottom of the dish. When ham is cut for pies or gravy, take the
under part rather than the prime. Season the gizzards and two joints
of the wings, and place them in the middle of the pie ; and over them,
in a hole made in the crust, three feet, nicely cleaned, to show what
pie it is.
526. Squab Pie. Cut apples, and lay them in rows, with mutton
chops, a little sugar, and an onion ; cut fine, and put among them.
527. Duck Pie. Bone a fowl and a full-grown duck ; wash them,
season with a small quantity of mace and allspice, in the finest pow-
der, with salt and pepper. Put the fowl within the duck. Put a
calf's tongue, pickled red, boiled very tender, and skinned, into the
12
1 42 THE COMPLETE COOK.
fowl; press the whole close. The skins of the legs should be drawn
inwards, that the body of the fowl may be quite smooth. The space
between the sides of the crust and fowl may be filled with a fine force
meat, if approved.
Bake it in a slow oven, either in a raised crust or dish, with a thick
crust ornamented.
523. Rabbit Pie. Cut up two young 1 rabbits ; take a pound of fat
pork, that has been in pickle a week ; cut it into small bits; season it
with salt and pepper, and put into a dish. Parboil the livers and
brains, and beat them in a mortar with a quarter of a pound of fat
bacon or ham ; add mace, salt, pepper and sweet herbs, chopped fine.
Make this into small balls, and distribute in the dish, with artichoke
bottoms, cut in dice. Grate half a small nutmeg over, and add half a
pint of port, and the same quantity of water. Cover with a tolerably
thick crust, and bake it an hour in a quick oven.
529. Vegetable Pie. Cut young carrots, artichoke bottoms, let-
tuces, mushrooms, turnips, broad beans, scalded and blanched, onions,
celery, parsley, and add peas. Or use any of them you may chance
to have. Make them into a stew, with some good veal gravy; sea-
son with salt and pepper. Bake a crust over a dish, with some paste
over the edge, and a cup turned bottom upwards, to prevent its sink-
ing when baked. Pour the stew into the dish, and lay the crust over
it. Winter vegetables may be used in the same way. A cup of cream
is a great improvement.
530. An Herb Pie. Take one handful of spinach, two handfuls of
parsley, from the sterns, some mustard and cress, two lettuces, a few
leaves of borage, and white beat leaves. Wash and boil them a little,
and then drain out all the water; cut them small; mix, and lay in a
dish ; sprinkle with some salt ; mix a batter with two eggs well beaten,
a pint of crearn, and half a pint of milk, as much flour as will bring it
to a paste not very thick, and pour it on the herbs; cover with a good
crust, and bake.
531. To prepare Venison for Pasty. Take the bones out; season
and beat the meat ; lay it in a stone jar in large pieces ; pour upon it
some plain drawn beef gravy, rather -weak. Put the bones on the
top ; then set the jar in a saucepan over the fire ; simmer between
three and four hours. Put it in a cold place until next day. Then
remove the cake of fat. Lay the meat in handsome pieces on a dish.
Put some of the gravy in, and keep the remainder for the time of
serving. Venison thus prepared will require less time in baking, and
a thinner crust.
532. Venison Pasty. A boned and skinned shoulder makes a good
pasty. It must be beaten and seasoned. Add the fat of a loin of
mutton, well hung, as the shoulder is lean. Steep twenty-four hours
in equal parts of vinegar and port. Rub the shoulder well with sugar
for two or three days, as it is sinewy. Wipe it clean from the sugar
and wine when it is used. Either in the shoulder or side the meat
must be cut in pieces, and laid with fat between, that it may be pro-
portioned to each person, without breaking up the pasty to find it.
PASTRY. 14r'J
Dust some salt and pepper at the bottom of the dish, put a bit of but
ter ; then the meat, nicely packed, so as not to be hollow. Bake be-
tween three and four hours in a slow oven. Take some fine old mutton,
and boil with the bones of the venison to make gravy : season it with
salt, pepper, and a little mace ; put half a pint of this gravy, cold, into
the dish; butter the venison; line the sides of the dish with a thick
paste ; lay a thick crust over the top. Put the remainder of the
gravy, hot (when it is baked,) into it, with a funnel, through the holo
at the top.
533. To make a Pasty of Beef or Mutton, to eat as well as Veni-
son. Bone a sirloin, or a small rump of beef, or a fat loin of mutton,
after hanging several days; beat it well with a rolling-pin; then rub
ten pounds of meat with four ounces of sugar ; then pour over it a
glass of vinegar, and a glass of port wine. Let it lie nve days and
then wash and wipe the meat very dry, and season it very hign with
salt, Jamaica pepper, nutmeg, &c. To ten pounds of meat, one pound,
or nearly, of butter ; spread it over the meat. Lay it in the dish. Put
a crust round the edges, rather thick, and cover. It must be baked in
a slow oven. Put the bones in a pan in the oven, with no more wa-
ter than will cover them, and one glass of port wine, a little salt and
pepper, in order that you may have a little rich gravy to add to the
pasty when baked. Put it in the pie, through a funnel, at the top of
the pasty. Sugar gives shortness and better flavour to meat than
salt (too great a quantity of salt hardens it,) and is quite as good a
preservative, except from flies.
534. Apple Pie. Wipe the outside of some apples, pare, and core
them ; boil the parings and cores in a little water till it tastes well ;
strain, and put a bit of bruised lemon, a little sugar and cinnamon,
and simmer again. Put a paste round the edge of the dish ; place the
apples in it; when one layer is made, sprinkle half the sugar, shred
lemon peel, and squeeze some juice, or a glass of cider. Put in the
liquor that you have boiled. Cover with paste. Add butter when cut,
if hot. To flavour the pie you may add quince, marmalade, orange
paste, or cloves, to flavour.
535. Cherry Pie should have a mixture of currants or raspberries,
or both.
536. Currant Pie. With or without raspberries.
537. Mince Pies. Of scraped beef or tongue, free from skin and
string, two pounds, four pounds of beef suet chopped fine, two pounds
of jar raisins stoned and chopped, six pounds of currants nicely
cleaned, perfectly dry, of chopped apples three pounds, the peel and
juice of two lemons, a pint of sweet wine, a quarter of a pint of brandy,
a nutmeg, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, the same of mace, the same
of pimento, in fine powders. Press the whole into a deep pan when
well mixed, and keep it covered in a cool place. Have orange, and
lemon peel, and citron, ready, and put some of each in the pies when
made. Half, or a quarter of the quantity may be made, unless for a
very large family.
538. Tarte de Moie. Put a light paste into a dish, then layers of
1 44 THE COMPLETE COOK.
all kinds of sweetmeats, biscuits, marrow, and butter. Add a mode-
rately rich custard, not very sweet, and seasoned with orange flower
water; give it a scald, and pour over the whole. It will take half
an hour to bake. Turn it out. It is good hot or cold.
539. Rhubarb Tart. Take the skin off the rhubarb, and cut the
stalks in lengths of four or five inches. Make a syrup for a quart
basin. Take a pound of common lump sugar; boil it in nearly half a
pint of water to a thin syrup; skim it, and put in the rhubarb, and as
it simmers shake the pan over the fire. It will turn yellow at first,
but keep it very o-ently simmering till it greens, and then take it off.
When cold, put in a tart dish, with as much syrup as will make it
very moist. Put a light crust over, and when that is done, the tart
will be sufficiently baked. Quarter the crust, and fill the dish with
custard or cream.
540. To prepare Cranberries for Tarts. Simmer them in moist
sugar, without breaking, twenty minutes; and let them become cold
before used ; a pint will require nearly three ounces of sugar. The
Russian and American sorts are larger and better flavoured than those
of England. The juice, when pressed from the baked fruit and
sweetened, makes a fine drink in fevers. Stewed with sugar, they
eat exceedingly nice with bread.
541. Lemon Tart. Take the rind of four lemons, pared rather
thick, boil it in water till tender, and beat fine. Add to it four ounces
of lump sugar, four ounces of blanched almonds cut thin, the juice of
the lemon, and a little grated peel. Simmer to a syrup ; when cold
turn it into a shallow tin, lined with a thin rich puff paste, and lay
bars of the same over. As soon as the paste is baked, take it out.
542. Orange Tartlets or Puffs. Line patty-pans ; when baked,
put in orange marmalade made with apple jelly;
543. Fried Patties. Mince a bit of cold veal and six oysters with
a few crumbs of bread, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and a small bit of lemon
peel; add the liquor of the oysters; warm all in the tosser, but do
not boil it; let it get cold. Make a good puff paste, roll thin, and
cut it in round or square bits ; put the meat between two of them,
pinch the edge to keep in the gravy, and fry them of a fine brown.
This is a very good thing and baked, is a fashionable dish. Wash
all patties over with egg before baking.
544. Oyster Patties. Put a fine puff paste into small patty-pans;
put a bit of bread in each, and cover with paste ; bake them; and in
'he mean time make ready the oysters. Take off the beards of the
>ysters ; cut the other parts in small bits, put them in a small tosser,
with a grate of nutmeg, a little white pepper and salt, a bit of lemon
chopped very fine, a little cream, and a little of the oyster liquor;
.ake the bread out of the patties, and fill them, after simmering them
i. few minutes. Observe to put a bit of bread into all the patties, to
ieep them hollow while baking.
545. Beef Patties. Cut very fine some underdone beef with a
ittle fat, season with pepper, salt, and a little onion or eschalot.
Make plain paste, thin, in an oval shape; fill it with mince, pinch
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES, &C. 145
the edges, and fry them of a fine brown. The paste should be mado
with a small quantity of butter, egg, and milk.
546. A good Mince for Patties. Two ounces of ham, four of
chicken or veal, one egg- boiled hard, a blade of mace, salt, and pep-
per, three cloves in powder. Just before you serve, warm it with
four spoonfuls of rich gravy, four spoonfuls of cream, and an ounce
of butter : fill as usual.
547. Apple Puffs. Pare and core the fruit, and either stew them
in a stone jar, or bake them. When cold, mix the pulp of the apple
with sugar and lemon peel shred fine, taking as little of the apple
juice as you can. Bake them in a thin paste, in a quick oven; a
quarter of an hour will do them, if small. Orange or quince mar-
malade is a great improvement; cinnamon pounded, or orange flower
water, in change.
548. Lemon Puffs. Beat and sift a pound and a quarter of double
refined sugar, grate the rind of two large lemons and mix it with the
eugar; then beat the whites of three new-laid eggs a long time, add
them to the sugar and peel, and beat them for an hour. Make it up
in any shape you please, and bake them on yaper ; put on tin plates,
in a moderate oven. Do not remove the paper till cold. Oiling the
paper will make it come off' with ease.
549. Excellent light Puffs. Mix two spoonfuls of flour, half a
spoonful of brandy, one egg, a little grated lemon peel, a little loaf-
sugar, some nutmeg; then fry, but not brown; beat it in a mortar
with five eggs ; put a quantity of lard in a frying-pan, and when quite
hot, drop a dessert spoonful of batter at a time ; turn as they brown
Serve them immediately with sw*eet sauce.
550. Cheese Puffs. Strain cheese curd from the whey, and beat
half a pint of it fine in a mortar, with three eggs, a spoonful and a
half of flour, only one white of the eggs, a quarter of a nutmeg, orange
flower water, and sugar to make it sweet. Put a little of this paste
in very small round cakes on a tin plate. A quarter of an hour will
bake them, if the oven is hot. Serve with pudding sauce.
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES, &c.
The first thing to be learnt, with regard to making puddings, is
the composition of the batter. Without good batter, you cannot have
good pudding; and without good eggs, flour, and milk, you cannot
have either. For all kinds of puddings and pastry, it is of great im-
portance that your flour should be of the very best quality. Your
milk too should be good. The goodness or badness of milk depends
much on the kind of food upon which the cow is fed; but cows fed
upon the same food do not yield milk of the same quality. A cow
that gives a large quantity of milk does not always produce a propor-
tionate quantity of cream, and of course poor milk will not make so
good a pudding as rich. Flour is not the better for being fresh
ground, as Dr. Kitchiner intimates, but on the contrary. It should,
however, be perfectly sweet. The goodness of well-manufactured
12*
146 THE COMPLETE COOK.
flour depends upon the quality of the wheat from which it is made.
Without good wheat you can have no good flour. In one word, to
ensure a good pudding, your eggs must be new laid, your butter
rich and fresh, your flour of the first quality, and all your ingredients
of the same character. In the making of a pudding a good pudding
the cook must observe the utmost cleanliness, both as respects her-
self and the utensils which she uses. The eggs directed to be used
in the following receipts are full-sized hen eggs; if pullet eggs are
used, two will be required for one hen egg. There is no substitute,
that we know of, for eggs in pudding making. We have heard male.
and female old women talk about using, as substitutes for eggs, snow
and small beer. Dr. Kitchiner says, truly, " that they will no more
answer this purpose than as substitutes for sugar or brandy." Batter
puddings in all their varieties are composed of milk, eggs, and flour.
As has been properly observed, " the proportions may vary, and other
articles may be added, by which the name is changed, but the great
matter is to know how to mix eggs, flour, and milk, and then you
may easily adopt any variety that is directed." In using eggs, you
should always break them, one by one, into separate cups, or at any
rate take care not to spoil all your eggs by the admission of one that
is bad into the mass. Let the eggs be well beaten, and then add the
flour, with a pinch of salt, and a little nutmeg, and mix the eggs and
flour thoroughly before any milk is added ; then by degrees put in as
much milk as will bring the batter to the consistency you wish. It
ought, indeed it must be, well stirred immediately before being put
into the basin or dish.
The vessel in which a batter pudding is to be dressed must be well
buttered. Dripping, or lard, will answer as well for a baked pud-
ding. The cloth tied over the basin must be buttered, or dipped in
boiling water, wrung out, and dredged with flour, but buttering
is best.
The pudding will break in boiling, if the batter do not exactly fill
the vessel. In baking, the pudding is sure to swell considerably, and
therefore the batter should not fill the vessel by about an inch. Be-
fore putting the pudding into the pot, take care that the water boils
rapidly, and afterwards make the water boil as soon as possible, which
must be kept up till the pudding is done. Just after putting the pud-
ding into the pot, it should be shook two or three times to prevent it
settling.
The length of time that a pudding requires to be boiled depends
upon its size, and, in some degree, upon the material of which it is
made. The less flour, the shorter time is required for boiling. A
one-egg pudding, not exceeding three parts of half a pint in quantity,
in a tea-cup, will require about twenty or twenty-five minutes boiling;
or with three eggs about half an hour; and so on in proportion. But
the best way of ascertaining when a pudding is done, is to run your
fork into the middle of it, and if the fork comes out clear, the pudding 1
is done.
551. To make Pudding Paste. Beat one egg, mix it with half a
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES , &C. 147
pound of suet, well chopped, add one pound of flour ; well mix, then
add as much cold water as is requisite to bring it to a stiff paste ;
flour the pie-board and rolling-pin, and beat the paste till it puffs up;
roll it out to the size desired, and put in the fruit. If boiled in a
basin, it should be well buttered, and the cloth well floured before
tying it over. This paste is used for all kind of fresh fruit. A very
small quantity of sugar should be put in with the fruit to draw the
juice, but not much, or it will become to juicy as to burst the crust.
A fruit pudding is lighter boiled in a cloth, but it should be well
secured to prevent the juice from escaping. An hour and a half will
boil a pudding of this size, if boiled in a cloth; if in a basin, allow
another quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. The same paste will
do for a roll pudding and meat puddings.
552. Plum Pudding. To make a rich plum pudding take a pound
of marrow, or suet, well chopped, a pound of fine flour dried, eight or
ten eggs beaten well ; half a nutmeg grated ; as much mace, cinnamon,
and ginger, all powdered very fine; a pinch of salt; mix these well
together, and beat up into a batter; then add one pound of currants, one
pound of raisins, stoned and chopped a little; the currants should be
rubbed in a cloth, and well picked, or well wash and dry them ; two
ounces of candied citron peel, or part lemon, and orange, cut small ; and
two ounces of sweet almonds, blanched and cut up in bits; two ounces
of loaf-sugar grated ; then add these to the batter, and put in a wine-
glass of brandy ; well mix them together. It may he boiled in a but-
tered basin or mould ; if the batter should be too stiff, put a glass of
white wine in it. It will take four or five hours boiling. Strew over
it powdered loaf-sugar; garnish with sliced lemon. Sauce, contain-
ing 1 half a glass of best brandy, a glass of white wine, a little rind of
lemon grated, and a little powdered cinnamon, half an ounce of grated
loaf-sugar, mixed with an e-qual quantity of very thick melted butter.
It is a good plan to make and keep by you a little of this sauce, and
then itis ready at any time. In a bottfe containing a pint of sherry,
and half a pint of best brandy, add two ounces of loaf-sugar, a quarter
of an ounce of mace, half an ounce of shaved lemon rind, with kernels
of apricots, peaches, and nectarines, and steep in a little white wine;
when steeped, pour it off clear, and put to the wine and brandy; and
add half a quarter of a pint of capillaire. Two table-spoonfuls of this
sauce will flavour a boat-full of thick melted butter.
553. A plain family Plum Pudding. Beat up three eggs, six
ounces of suet chopped, a pound of flour, a third part of a pound of
raisins, and the same weight of currants; one ounce of candied orange
or lemon peel, cut small, half a tea-spoonful of ground allspice, a little
salt, two ounces of brown sugar: make a stiff batter with water, and
mix the fruit and spice well in. If boiled in a basin, allow three hours
and a half; if in a cloth, three hours.
554. A common Plum or Currant Pudding is nothing more than
a suet pudding, with the addition of plums, or currants, and allspice.
555. Very^light Plum Puddmg.Mix grated bread, suet, and
stoned raisins, four ounces each, with two well-beaten egg? three or
148 THE COMPLETE COOK.
four spoonfuls of milk, and a little salt: boil four hours. Saucd, a
spoonful of brandy, sugar, and nutmeg, in melted butter.
556. National Plum Pudding. Mix suet, jar raisins, and cur-
rants, one pound each, four ounces of crumbs of bread, two table-
epoonfuls of sugar, one table-spoonful of grated lemon peel, half a
nutmeg, a small blade of mace, a tea-spoonful of ginger, and six well-
beaten eggs. Boil it five hours. N. B. If you want to keep plum
puddings good for a long time, say some months, hang them in a cold
place in the cloth in which they were boiled. When wanted to be
used, take them out of the cloth, cover them with a clean one, and
warm them through with hot water; they will then be fit for the
table.
557. Potatoe Pudding, Boil mealy potatoes in their skins, accord-
ing to the rule laid down, skin and mash them with a little milk, pep-
per, and salt : this will make a good pudding to bake under roast meat.
With the addition of a bit of butter, an egg, milk, pepper, and salt,
it makes an excellent batter for a meat pudding baked. Grease a
baking dish ; put a layer of potatoes, then a layer of meat cut in bits,
and seasoned with pepper, salt, a little allspice, either with or with-
out chopped onions; a little gravy of roast meat is a great improve-
ment: then put another layer of potatoes, then meat, and cover with
potatoes. Put a buttered paper over the top to prevent it from being
burnt, and bake it an hour or an hour and a half.
558. Cottage Potatoe Pudding. Two pounds of mashed potatoes
rubbed through a colander, two or three eggs well beaten, two ounces
of moist sugar, three-quarters of a pint of milk, a little nutmeg and
salt, three ounces of raisins, or currants. It is very good without the
fruit, and will take three-quarters of an hour to bake. Omitting the
milk and adding three ounces of butter, it makes a very nice cake.
559. For a rich sweet Potatoe Pudding. Rub a pound of potatoe
meal through a colander ; add half a pint of cream, nutmeg, cinna-
mon, and from two to four ounces of loaf-sugar, from two to four
ounces of fresh butter or marrow, from three to six eggs, two ounces
of sweet almonds, blanched and cut, one ounce of candied citron, cut
small, a few dried currants, a spoonful of ratafia or brandy: put a
crust round the edge of the dish and entirely line the dish : if baked,
put in the batter, bake, and when it is brown, it is done. Only
substituting potatoe for flour, a very good family plum pudding may
be made, but it should be baked.
560. Carrot Pudding. Grate a raw red carrot; mix with double
the weight of bread crumbs, or Naples biscuit, or part of each; to a
oound and a half put half a pint of new milk or cream.
561. A Black-cap Pudding. Rub three table-spoonfuls of flour
smooth by degrees into a pint of milk, strain it, and simmer it over
the fire until it thickens; stir in two ounces of butter ; when cold,
add the yolks of four eggs well beaten and strained, and half a pound
of currants rubbed and picked ; put the latter into a cloth well but-
tered, tie it tight, and plunge it into boiling water ; keep it in motion
for five minutes, that it may be well mixed.
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES,&C. 149
562. Sago Pudding. Boil a pint and a half of new milk with
four spoonfuls of sago nicely washed and picked, lemon peel, cinna
mon, nutmeg; sweeten to taste, then mix four eggs; put a pasta
round thp dish, and bake slowly.
563. A very good Pudding. Mix one pound and a half of suet,
cut small, and free from skin, with two pounds of flour, a pound of
currants picked and rubbed in a coarse cloth, six eggs well beaten, a
table-spoonful of infusion of saffron, a glass of brandy, a little grated
ginger, a pinch of salt, and a pint of milk ; put it into a basin that
will jnst hold it, tie a floured cloth tight over it, and put it into a pot
of boiling water. Boil it four hours.
564. Bread and Butter Pudding. Slice bread, and butter it, and
lay it in a dish with currants between each layer, and sliced citron,
orange, or lemon peel ; pour over an unboiled custard of milk, two or
three eggs beaten, a little grated nutmeg, a little ratafia ; two hours
at least before it is baked, to soak the bread.
565. Almond Pudding. Beat half a pound of sweet and a few
bitter almonds with a spoonful of water, then mix four eggs, four
ounces of butter, two spoonfuls of cream p.ut warm to the butter, one
spoonful of brandy, a little nutmeg and sugar to taste. Butter some
cups, half fill, and bake the puddings. Serve with pudding sauce.
Or, beat fine, four ounces of almonds, four or five bitter almonds, with
a little wine, yolks of six eggs beaten, peel of two lemons grated, six
ounces of melted butter, nearly a quart of cream, and juice of one
lemon. When well mixed, bake it half an hour, with paste round
the dish.
566. Kitchiner's Pudding. Beat up three eggs, strain them
through a sieve, and gradually add to them a quarter of a pint of new
milk; stir them well together; rub together in a mortar two ounces
of moist sugar, and as much nutmeg as will lie on a sixpence ; stir
these to the eggs and milk, then add four ounces of flour, and beat it
to a smooth batter (the only way of doing this is, by adding a little
of the milk, &c., and mixing that to a smooth paste, then gradually
thinning it). Stir to it by degrees seven ounces of suet chopped fine,
and three ounces of bread crumbs ; mix the whole half an hour or
more before boiling; well butter a mould or basin, tie over a pudding
cloth very tight, and boil it three hours. Half a pound of muscatel
raisins, cut in half, and a little grated lemon peel, will make the above
a good plum pudding: or without the plum?, by adding half a pint
more milk, it bakes well under meat as a Yorkshire pudding; or it
may be baked in saucers or tin patty-pans, and served with wine
eauce. An hour will bake it the size of a saucer. Or, simmer for
ten minutes half a pint of milk with a roll of lemon peel, and two
blades of mace,; strain it into a basin, and put it away to cool; beat
three eggs with three ounces of loaf-sugar, the third part of a nut-
meg, and three ounces of flour; mix well with the eggs, add the
milk by degrees; then three ounces of butter broken in bits, three
ounces of bread crumbs, three ounces of currants rubbed and picked,
three ounces of raisins stoned and chopped; mix all well together
150 THE COMPLETE COOK.
butter a mould, tie a cloth tightly over and boil it two hours and a
half. Serve with melted butter, two table-spoonfuls of brandy, and a
little loaf-sugar.
567. A Dutch Rice Pudding. Soak four ounces of rice in warm
water half an hour, then drain the water from it, and throw the rice
into a stew-pan, with half a pint of milk, half a stick of cinnamon,
and simmer till tender; when cold, put four whole eggs, well beaten,
two ounces of butter melted in a tea-cup full of crearn (or milk where
cream is scarce or dear), and put three ounces of sugar, a quarter of
a nutmeg, and a good piece of lemon peel. Put a light puff paste in
a mould or dish, or grated tops arid bottoms, and bake in a quick
oven.
568. Rice Puddings. It will be well to make a few observations
on rice before we enter upon rice puddings. Large long corn which
is quite white and clear is the best ; though this may cost a little
more money, it will be found the cheapest. Bad rice has a dingy red
and yellow appearance, and is dusty ; in this state it is almost sure
to turn the milk with which it is u^ed. The best rice takes less
sugar to sweeten it, and the flavour of it is much superior to the
inferior sort. Good rice will soon become tender and swell, and
when this is the case it is done. Inferior rice maybe used for broths
or stews, as thickeners, but it is not so wholesome as the best. Rice
should be kept in a vessel closely shut, and in a dry place. It does
not keep well after grinding ; it is almost sure to become sour. It
should be ground as it is wanted.
569. A Rice Pudding. Take two parts of a pound of rice, put it
in a cloth or bag that would hold three times the quantity ; put it into
boiling water, and let it boil an hour. Take it up, and beat two eggs
and add to it ; mix arid beat with the rice a little sugar, nutmeg, and
one ounce of suet, or butter, with or without currants ; flour a cloth
and tie it tight in it, and let it boil half an hour. Sauce, boiled milk
with a little sugar and nutmeg, or wine sauce.
570. A baked Rice Pudding. The above may be used, enriched
by slices of bread and butter laid at the top, with a little sugar and
nutmeg strewed over. Or, scald the rice in a small quantity of
water; when all the water is ab-o-rbed by the rice, add a quart of new
milk, and let it boil up, with a stick of cinnamon for flavour;* beat
three or four eggs with fine moist sugar, stir to them gradually the
boiling milk and rice ; add one ounce of beef suet or butter ; when it
is in the pan, or dish, which should be buttered before putting in,
grate nutmeg over the top; put it in the oven as soon as made, and
bake an hour.
571. Ground Rice Pudding. Put on the fire a quart of new
milk ; put into it five or six young laurel leaves, a stick of cinnamon,
a pinch of salt ; when it boils, stir into it a quarter of a pound of ground
rice, which has been previously wetted with a little cold water; stir
* Laurel leaves are usually directed ; but they are decidedly poisonous, and \V9
strongly disapprove of the use of them.
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAK ES , &C. 151
till it boils and thickens, As it is apt to burn, a double saucepan is
the best for this purpose. Take the flavourings out, and stir into it
three or four egffp, well beaten, with an ounce of sugar, and a little
grated nutmeg : three-quarters of an hour will bake it. This pudding
(if desired) can be very much enriched by adding one or two more
eg-o's, two ounces of fresh butter or marrow, a tea-cup full of cream,
and a large spoonful of brandy, ratafia, or noyeau.
572. Rice Snow Balls. Pick and wash half a pound of the best
rice, boil it in water for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, drain it
quite dry; there should be more water than the rice will take up:
after it is well drained through a sieve, divide it into six parcels ;
take apples as for dumplings, surround each with rice; tie them in a
cloth separately, and rather loosely; boil one hour. Sauce, sugar
and butter, or wine sauce.
573. Plain Rice Pudding. If you wish to boil it, take half a
pound of ground rice, put it into a bag that would hold three times as
much, put it into the saucepan containing boiling water ; let it boil
an hour and a quarter. For baking, take a third part of a pound of
rice, put it into a deep dish with two quarts of skim milk ; it will take
an hour and a half baking. Sauce, cold butter, and sugar and nut-
meg, or preserved fruit.
574. Rice Bignets. In a pint of new milk simmer three ounces
of rice till it becomes a stiff paste; add half a tea-cup full of thick
cream, the grated rind of half a lemon, two ounces of loaf-sugar, and
a little powdered cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg, and two eggs well
beaten ; grate a small tea-cup full of bread crumbs; when the rice is
cold, cut it into bits and roll it into small balls, dip each in the egg,
roll in the bread crumbs, and fry them quickly. Sauce, wine sauce.
575. Vermicelli, Sago, Tapioca, and Russian Seed Puddings.
These are all made in the same way as rice puddings. Arrow-root
pudding is made as ground rice pudding. It is generally baked in a
dish lined with paste, and turned out.
576. Yeast Dumplings. Procure half a quarter of dough from the
baker's. Keep it covered over by the fire till it is wanted. Should
it be wished to make the dough at home, set half a quarter, or rather
less, of the best flour, with a wine glass full of fresh yeast, stirred
into half a tea-cup full of milk, just warm. Let it rise, in a warm
place, for about an hour. Then make your dumplings, and boil. Each
dumpling should be about the size of an egg. Put them in a large
saucepan of boiling water, or in a steamer, which is much better;
they should boil or steam twenty minutes. Stick in a fork; if done,
the fork will come out clean. Take them up, and they should be
eaten directly, as they become hard in their own steam. Tear them
apart with your fork ; if cut with your knife it will make them close.
French baker's dough is always very light, and is much better for
dumplings. Sauce, cold butter and sugar, or wine sauce.
577. Suet Pudding. Shred a pound of suet; mix with a pound
and a quarter of Hour, two eggs beaten separately, a little salt, and
as little milk as will make it. Boil it four hours. It eats well the
152 THE COMPLETE COOK.
next day, cut in slices and broiled. The outward fat of loins and
necks of mutton, finely shred or chopped, makes a more delicate pud-
ding than suet; and both are far better for the purpose than butter,
which causes the pudding to be heavy or close.
578. Hunter s Pudding. Mix a pound of suet, a pound of flour, a
pound of currants, a pound of raisins, stoned and a little cut, the rind
of half a lemon, shred as fine as possible, six Jamaica peppers, in fine
powder, four eggs, a glass of brandy, a little salt, and as little milk-
as will make it of a proper consistence; boil it in a flannel cloth, or a
melon mould, eight or nine hours. Sweet sauce. Add sometimes a
spoonful of peach water, for change of flavour. This pudding will keep,
after it is boiled, six months, if tied up in the same cloth, and hung
up, folded in a sheet of cap paper, to preserve it from dust, being first
cold. When used, it must first be boiled a full hour.
579. Marlborough Pudding. Cover the dish with a thin puff
paste ; then take candied citiori, orange, and lemon peel, each one
ounce; slice these sweetmeats very thin, and lay them all over the
bottom of the dish; dissolve six ounces of butter, without water, and
six ounces of powdered sugar, and the yolks of four eggs, well beaten ;
stir them over the fire until the mixture boils, then pour it on the
sweetmeats, and bake the pudding three-quarters of an hour in a mo-
derate oven.
580. Custard Pudding-. Boil a quart of milk until it is reduced
to a pint; take from it a few spoonfuls, and let it cool, mixing with
it, very perfectly, one spoonful of Hour, which add to the boiling milk,
and stir until it is quite cool. Beat four yolks and two whites of
eggs, strain them, and stir them into the milk, two ounces of sifted
sugar, two or three spoonfuls of wine, and a little grated nutmeg.
Put it into a basin, tie a cloth over it, and boil it half an hour ; untie
tb.o cloth, cool the b;isin a little, lay a uish upon the top of it, and turn
it out.
581. Custard. Bail half a pint of new milk, with a piece of lernon
peel, and two peach leaves, and eight lumps of white sugar. Should
cream be used instead of milk, there will be no occasion to skim.it;
beat the yolks and whites of three eggs, strain the milk through
coarse muslin, or a hair sieve; then mix the eggs and milk very
gradually together, simmer it gently on the fire, and stir it till it
thickens.
582. Almond Custard. Boil in a pint of milk or cream two or
three bitter almonds, and cinnamon, and a piece of lemon peel, pared
thin, with eight or ten lumps of sugar; let it simmer to extract the
flavour, then strain it, and stir it till cool. Beat the yolks of six eggs,
mix them with the milk, and stir the whole over a slow fire, until of
a proper thickness, adding one ounce of sweet almonds, beaten fin
in rose water.
583. Rice Custard. Take a cup of whole Carolina rice, and seven
cups of milk ; boil it, by placing the pan in water, which must never
be allowed to go off the boil until it thickens; then sweeten it, and
add an ounce of sweet almonds pounded.
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES, &C. 153
584. Baked Vermicelli Pudding. Simmer four ounces of vermi-
celli in a pint of new milk ten minutes; then put into it Haifa pint,
of cream, a tea-spoonful of pounded cinnamon, four ounces of butter
warm, the same of white sugar, arid yolks of four eggs, well beaten.
Bake it in a dish without a lining.
585. Marrow Pudding. Four ounces of marrow, four of biscuits,
' or French biscuits, three of jar raisins, stoned, candied orange peel,
sugar and nutmeg to the taste. Place these articles in layers in a
dish surrounded by paste; then beat up four eggs, leave out the whites
of two, in half a pint of cream, or good milk, and pour it over the
other ingredients. It will take an hour and a half to bake.
o
586. The Conservative Pudding. Take four sponge biscuits, a
quarter of a pound of ratafia and macaroone cakes, mixed, the yolks
of eight eggs, a glass of brandy, half a pint of cream, well beaten
together, the cakes being soaked in the brandy and cream. Butter a
quart mould, place dried cherries or stoned raisins in a pattern over
it, pour in the mixture, and place the mould in a stew-pan, surrounded
by water, and let it simmer an hour and a half over charcoal.
587. Economical Pudding. In families where there are loose
pieces of bread, they can be made into a pudding instead of throwing
them on one side. Boil as much milk as the size of your dish will
require, put in a bit of lemon peel, and two or three of young laurel
leaves; cut up the bread crust too in thin slices. When the milk
boils, take out the flavourings, put in the bread, cover it up, and set
it by the fire to swell ; then beat it up fine, and stir to it two or three
eggs well beaten, with a little moist sugar and ground allspice, a bit
of butter or suet, chopped fine, or a bit of good beef dripping. A few
currants or not ; currants are apt to turn the milk wheyey. Three-
quarters of an hour will bake it. It is a very wholesome pudding for
children.
588. A delicate Bread Pudding. Take fine bread, grated fine,
and rich new milk. When the milk boils, put in the bread crumbs;
for every table-spoonful of bread, allow one egg, well beaten ;
sweeten it with loaf-sugar to your taste, and grate in a little nutmeg.
Put it into a buttered basin, and boil it from twenty minutes to fifty,
according to the size of the pudding. If baked, rather less time will
do it. It only requires to be a light brown.
589. Barley Pudding. Take a quarter of a pound of Scotch or
pearl barley. Wash, and simmer it in a small quantity of water ;
pour off the water, and add milk and flavourings as for rice puddings.
Beat up with sugar and nutmeg, and mix to the milk and barley in
the same way. It may be more or less rich of eggs ; and with or
without the addition of butter, cream, or marrow. Put it into a but-
tered deep dish, leaving room for six or eight ounces of currants, and
an ounce of candied peel, cut up fine, with a few apples cut in small
pieces. An hour will bake it.
590. Hard Dumplings. Mix flour and water, with a bit of salt, to
the consistency of dough. Make it into dumplings, and boil them half
an hour. Serve them with butter and salt. Skimmer cakes are made
13
154 THE COMPLETE COOK.
in the same way, and flatted to the thickness of half an inch, and
boiled on the skimmer, which should be previously buttered ; when
done, it will slip off the skimmer. They are eaten with sugar and
butter.
591. Newmarket Pudding. A pint of new milk, half a lemon
rind, a little cinnamon, and a bay leaf; simmer a few minutes, sweeten
with loaf-sugar, and strain by degrees to five well-beaten eggs (leav-
ing out two whites;) pour this over thin slices of bread and butter
strewed with currants. Bake half an hour.
592. A light Pudding Take a pint of new milk, eight eggs, and
half a pint of cream, to two spoonfuls of flour. Beat the yolks and
whites of the eggs separately ; beat up the batter without the whites,
but, just before putting it in the pot, or oven, stir in the whites, with
one ounce of fine loaf-sugar, a little powdered cinnamon, or nutmeg,
and half a glass of brandy or ratafia. Butter the basin or mould which
it will exactly rill. Put it into the water fast boiling, and keep it
shaking about several minutes, lest the eggs should settle on one side.
Half an hour will boil it. When turned out, grate over the top fine
sugar and nutmeg, with melted butter, or wine sauce, round it; or
stick bits of raspberry jam, or red currant jelly, at top. If baked, it
will not require more than twenty minutes. A rich puff paste, put
round the edge of any baked pudding, greatly improves the appear-
ance.
593. A Yorkshire Pudding. Beat up four eggs, and mix with
them, by degrees, four spoonfuls of flour; beat it to a smooth paste,
and add a pint of new milk and a pinch of salt. Put it into a shallow
square tin, under roast meat. It should not be put down until the
meat is warmed through, and begins to drip; or till the fire is become
clear and fierce, so that the batter shall soon boil. The tin should be
very hot when the pudding is put in, to keep the floury part from
settling.
594. A nice Suet Pudding. Take two or three eggs, well beaten,
with half a pound of suet, chopped fine, a pound of flour, a pinch of
salt, and some grated ginger and nutmeg. Beat these up very smooth
with cold water to rather a thick batter. A few currants may be
added. Two hours will boil it. White wine sauce.
595. Mother Eve's Pudding. Take equal weights of suet, plums,
currants, sugar, apples chopped up, bread crumbs, and flour, with an
egg to an ounce of the ingredient, candied peel, spice, and salt. Boil
six hours.
596. Newcastle Pudding. Butter half a melon mould, or quart
basin, and stick all round with dried cherries, or fine raisins, fill up
with bread and butter and steam it half an hour.
597. Hasty Pudding. Boil a quart of new milk, cinnamon or bay
leaves. While boiling, shake in from a flour dredger two table-
epoonftils of flour, and stir it until it thickens. Then pour it into a
deep dish, stir in an ounce of butter, the same of moist sugar, and
grate nutmeg over the top.
598. Arrow-root Pudding. Arrow-root pudding is made in the
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES, & C . 155
same way as hasty pudding 1 , with the exception of shaking the arrow-
root in, which should be stirred into a little cold milk, and then stirred
into the boiling milk.
599. A Friar's Omelet. Boil a dozen apples, as for sauce ; stir in
a quarter of a pound of butter, and the same of white sugar; when
cold, add four eggs, well beaten; put it into a baking dish thickly
strewed over with crumbs of bread, so as to stick to the bottom and
sides; then put in the apple-mixture; strew crumbs of bread over the
top ; when baked, turn it out, and grate loaf-sugar over it.
600. A Swiss Pudding. Put layers of crumbs of bread and sliced
apples, with sugar between, until the dish be as full as it will hold ;
let the crumbs be the uppermost layer ; then pour milk over it, and
bake.
601. Oxford Puddings. Take a quarter of a pound of grated bis-
cuit, the same quantity ofcurrants, the same of suet, finely chopped, a
spoonful of sugar, and a little nutmeg ; mix them well together.
Take the yolks of three eggs, and make up the puddings into balls.
Fry them a light colour in fresh butter, and serve with white wine
sauce.
602. Muffin or Cabinet Pudding. Cut three or four muffins in
two, pour over them boiling milk sufficient to cover them, cover them
up until they are tender. Make a rich custard with eight eggs (only
four whites,) a pint of cream, a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar, an
ounce of almond:?, blanched and cut, lemon peel and nutmeg grated,
and a glass of ratafia or brandy. Butter a tin mould for boiling for
baking, a dish. Put a layer of dried cherries, greengages, apricots,
or French plums; cover with custard, add more fruit, then custard,
until the mould or dish is quite full. Boil an hour and a half, and
serve with wine sauce. It should not float in the water, but stand in
a stew-pan, and only water enough to reach halfway up the mould.
If for baking, it will not take so long. Lay a puff paste round the
edges of the dish.
Stale muffins are very good boiled in milk and eaten with wine
sauce.
60)3. French and Italian Puddings. These puddings are com-
posed of sliced French rolls, eggs, and cream. Five or six eggs to a
pint of cream, and as much roll as will thicken it; sweeten it with
loaf-sugar ; a pound of suet, chopped fine, may be added or omitted.
Line the dish with puff paste ; lay at the bottom six or eight apples,
cut up, a pound of raisins stoned, a few dates sliced, or a few French
plums, some candied orange peel, sugar, and spice. Pour the pud-
diner over this, grate nutmeg at top, and bake of a fine pale brown.
604. A Cheese Pudding. Half a pound of cheese grated, butter
two ounces, four eggs, a little cayenne and nutmeg. Butter a dish,
and bake twenty minutes.
605. A very rich Pudding of prime ripe Fruit. This is made
sometimes by pressing- the fruit through a sieve, if apricots, green-
gages or peaches; sweet juicy apples, or rich mellow pears, may be
grated ; or the fruit may be scalded a few minutes in white wine ;
156 THE COMPLETE COOK.
then the skins and stones removed, and beaten in a mortar. W^et:
cold mix with rich custard, cream, eggs, and bread crumbs, or Na-
ples biscuit, with loaf-sugar to taste; the kernels blanched, and a glass
of brandy or Madeira wine. Then bake in a dish edged with puff
paste, and call it according to the fruit employed apricot pudding,
peach pudding, and so forth. If the cook is ordered to make such a
pudding, it i.s fit she should know how to do it; but it is a great pity
to spoil good things by such incongruous mixtures; the batter alone
would make a much better pudding; and the fruit and wine might be
saved for dessert. For these rich delicate pudding, >n tinctures are
preferable to the spice in substance.
606. Chesnut Pudding. Roast chesnuts, or boil them a quarter
of an hour; blanch, peel, and grate, or pound in a mortar, with a little
white wine. To a dozen chesnuts, add six eggs, well beaten, a pint
and a half of cream, and a quarter of a pound of butter ; mix it well
together; sweeten to taste; add a little salt and nutmeg; simmer
over the fire till it thickens, stirring it well. Then bake it in a dish,
edged and lined with puff paste.
607. Rusk Pudding is exactly the same thing as bread and butter
pudding, except that the butter is spread on rusks instead of bread.
The richness may be varied at pleasure. Let it steep two hours or
more before putting in the oven.
608. Portugal Pudding. Rub up four table-spoonfuls of ground
rice, or semilina, with three ounces of butter, and stir in it a pint of
cream ; stir it till it boils and is quite thick. Then stir in two whole
eggs, and the yolks of three more, well beaten, with a quarter of a
pound of loaf-sugar, a little salt and nutmeg. Butter a dish, and bake
it an hour. When it is done, have ready another dish of the same
size, or a very little deeper; on the bottom of this spread a layer of
raspberry jam, then the pudding, and then a layer of apricot jam.
This pudding is very delicate without the mixture of fruit, with wine
or lemon sauce instead.
609. Tansey Pudding. Make a rich batter with Naple-biscuits,
eggs, cream, and a little sugar ; chop up a very few tansey leaves,
and a few of spinach ; enough to give the whole a green colour. Set
it in a double saucepan, over boiling water, till it becomes quite thick;
then pour it into a buttered basin or mould ; tie it up securely ; and
let it boil three-quarters of an hour. Let it stand a few minutes after
taken up; then turn out, and serve with wine sauce.
610. To make Curd for Cheesecakes, and other purposes. Milk
is turned to curds and whey by means of rennet, which is the stomach
of a calf, taken out as soon as it is killed, well cleansed from its con-
tents, then scoured inside and out with salt, and when thoroughly
salted stretched on a stick to dry. A bit of this is to be soaked in
boiling water for several hours, and the liquor put in milk warm from
the cow, or made that warmth. Use alone can prescribe the exact
quantity. Never use more than enough to turn it, as it hardens the
curd. The gizzard skin of fowls and turkeys may be prepared in
PUDDINGS, CHEESECAKES, & C . 157
the same way, and answer the same purpose ; or the curd for cheese-
cakes may be bought of the regular dairy people.
611. Cheesecakes. The basis of cheesecakes is professedly the
curd of milk as turned for cheese ; but many are made entirely with-
out it. The following recipe is much approved: Take the curd of
eight quarts of new milk; rub the curd in a coarse cloth till quite free
from whey ; then work into it three-quarters of a pound of butter,
three biscuits, and an equal quantity of bread crumbs, a little salt,
and such spices as you choose, finely powdered. Beat ten eg-gs (half
the whites) with three-quarters of a pound of fine loaf-sugar^ a wine-
glass full of brandy or ratafia, and a pint of rich cream. Having well
mixed all these ingredients, rub them with the hand through a coarse
hair sieve; then add a pound of currants, rubbed in a coarse cloth,
end picked, and an ounce of candied citron, cut as small as possible.
Line tin patty-pans with rich puff paste, put in the mixture, and either
entirely cover with paste, or put on only bars or leaves. They will
take about twenty minutes to bake in rather a quick oven. By sub-
stituting half a pound of sweet almonds for currants, and half an
ounce of bitter, blanched, and beaten to a paste, almond cheesecakes
may be made ; or lemon orange cheesecakes, by substituting for the
currants two or three candied lemons or oranges, pounded in a
mortar.
612. Polatoe Cheesecakes. Take half a pound of mashed potatoes,
rubbed through a colander, or a quarter of a pound of mucilage, or
potatoe starch; mix with a quarter of a pound of butter, a tea-cup
full of cream, a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar, and two eggs, finely
beaten, a quarter of a pound of candied peel, either chopped fine or
beaten in a mortar, and a little nutmeg or cinnamon ; well mix these
ingredients. Put in patty-pans, or saucers, lined with paste. Do not
more than half fill, as the substance will swell. Sift over fine sugar,
and bake in a quick oven a quarter of an hour. Four or six ounces
of currants may be substituted for part or all of the candied peel, or
the grated rind and juice of a lemon or Seville orange may be added;
also a little brandy cr ratafia: but do not make the mixture too moist.
613. A plain Cheesecake. Turn three quarts of milk to curds;
break it, and drain the whey; when dry, break it in a pan, with two
ounces of butter, till perfectly smooth; put to it a pint and a half of
thin cream, or good milk, and add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and three
ounces of currants.
614. Bread Cheesecakes. Pour a pint of boiling cream on a penny
loaf; let it stand two hours; mix half a pound of butter, warm, with
eight eggs, and a grated nutmeg; beat the whole in a mortar; then
add half a pound of currants rubbed and picked, two ounces of sugar,
a spoonful of winp, and the same of brandy.
615. Common Pancakes. Make a light baiter of f'ggs, flour, and
milk; fry in a small pan, in hot dripping or lard; a little salt, nut-
meg, and ginger, may be added. Sugar and lemon should be served
10 eat with them. Or, when eggs are scarce, make the batter with
13*
158 THE COMPLETE COOK.
small beer, ginger, and so forth ; or water, with flour, and a very little
milk, will serve, but not nearly so well as eggs and all milk.
616. Pancakes of Rice. Boil half a pound of rice to a jelly, in a
small quantity of water; when cold, mix it with a pint of cream,
eight eggs, a bit of salt and nutmeg ; stir in eight ounces of butter,
just warmed, and add as much flour as will make the batter thick
enough. Fry in as little lard or dripping as possible.
617. Cream Pancakes. Mix the yolks of two eggs, well beaten,
with a pint of cream, two ounces of sifted sugar, a little nutmeg, cin-
namon, and mace. Rub the pan with a bit of butter, and fry the pan-
cakes thin.
618. Fritters. Make them of any of the batters directed for pan-
cakes, by dropping a small quantity into the pan ; or make the plainer
sort, and put pared apples, sliced and cored, into the batter, and fry
some of it in each slice. Currants, or sliced lemon as thin as paper,
make an agreeable change. Fritters for company should be served
on a folded napkin in the dish. Any sort of sweetmeat, or ripe fruit,
may be made into fritters.
6.19. Oyster Fritters. Make a batter of flour, milk, and eggs;
season a very little with nutmeg. Beard the oysters, and put as many
as you think proper in each fritter.
620. Potatoe Fritters. Boil two large potatoes, scrape them fine,
beat four yolks and three whites of eggs, and add to the above one
large spoonful of cream, another of sweet wine, a squeeze of lemon,
and a little nutmeg. Beat this batter well half an hour. It will be
extremely light. Put a good quantity of fine lard into a stew-pan,
and drop a spoonful at a time of the batter into it. Fry them; and
serve as a sauce, a glass of white wine, the juice of a lemon, one
dessert-spoonful of peach-leaf or almond water, and some white sugar,
warmed together ; not to be served in the dish.
BAKING.
621. Bread. Put a quartern of flour into a large basin, or small
pan, with two tea-spoonfuls of salt; make a hole in the middle, then
out in a basin four table-spoonfuls of good yeast, stir in a pint of milk
ukewarm; put it in the hole of the flour, stir just to make it of a thin
natter, and then strew a little flour over the top; then set it on one
side of the fire, cover it over with a cloth, let it stand till the next
morning; add half a pint more of warm milk, and make it into dough,
knead it for ten minutes, then set it in a warm place by the fire for
one hour and a half, then knead it again, and it is ready for either
loaves or bricks.
622. Sally Lunn Tea Cake. Take a quarter of a pint of thick
small-beer yeast, and one pint of warm milk, and put into a pan with
flour sufficient to make it of a thick batter; let it stand by the fire till
it has risen as high as it will, about two hours. Two ounces of
lump sugar, dissolved in a pint of new milk, a quarter of a pound of
Dutter rubbed in the flour very fine; then make your dough ; let it
COOKING INDIAN C O R N , & C . 159
stand half an hour, then make your cakes and put them on tins;
when they have stood to rise, put them in a quick oven. When eggs
are plentiful you may put four eggs instead of milk they will make
it much lighter.
French roils are made much in the same way ; instead of using all
milk put half water, and use only butter and a little salt.
623. A Plum Cake A quartern of dough, half a pound of moist
sugar, half a pound of butter, a tea-cup full of cn^m and two eggs, a
pound of currants (add raisins if you please) a ten-spoonful of allspice,
two ounces of candied orange peel cut small, and an ounce of carra-
way seeds. Roll the dough out several times, and spread over the
several ingredients; flour the pan well, and set it on one side the fire,
to rise; bake an hour and a half. A richer cake may be made by
adding more sweetmeats, butter, eggs, and almonds, and so forth.
The dough made as bread ; when risen, melt the butter in warm
milk and put to it with the other ingredients, and put to rise.
624. A plain Pound Cake. One pound each of butter, loaf-sugar,
and flour, and nine eggs; work the butter to a cream, pound the su-
gar, and add then the eggs; beat all together twenty minutes, then
lightly add the flour; mix, put in a tin or hoop lined with buttered
paper. Bake an hour in a moderate oven.*
AMERICAN MODE OF COOKING INDIAN CORN, PUMP-
KINS, &c.
Maize or Indian corn has never been extensively used in Great
Britain, and the editor has every reason to believe that this has arisen
from the almost total ignorance of the English people as to the mode
of preparing it for human food. It is, perhaps, the most productive
crop that can be grown, and its nutritious qualities, when properly
prepared, are equal to its productiveness. We are satisfied that it
may be grown in that country, or, at any rate, in the south and east-
ern parts of it, with great advantage ; indeed, the experiment has
been tried, and with decided success. The late Mr. Cobbett grew an
average crop of the dwarf kind on Barn Elms farm, Surrey, for three
or four years, as the editor can testify from his own personal inspec-
tion, and he himself has succeeded in rearing the large sort to perfec-
tion, the cobs or ears, when quite ripe, averaging eight or nine
inches; this, however, was effected upon a small scale, and in a gar-
den.
625. Indian Cake, or Bannock. This, as prepared in our own
country, is cheap and very nice food. Take one quart of Indian meal,
dressed or sifted, two table-spoonfuls of treacle or molasses, two tea-
spoonfuls of salt, a bit of "shortening" (butter or lard) half as big as
a hen's egg, stirred together ; make it pretty moist with scalding
water, put it into a well-greased pan, smooth over the surface with a
* Full directions for these and all other similar preparations are gives in "The
Baker," by the same Editor.
1BO THE COMPLETE COOK.
spoon, and bake it brown on both sides before a quick fire. A little
stewed pumpkin, scalded with the meal, improves the cake. Bannock
split and dipped in butter, makes very nice toast.
626. Green Indian Corn. This is a most delicious vegetable.
When u;?ed as a vegetable the cobs, or ears, are plucked about the
time that the corn has arrived at a milky state, or just before it as-
sumes a solid substance. A part of the leaves or filaments by which
the cob, or ear, is surrounded, is taken away, and the cobs boiled from
twenty to forty minutes, " according to its age." When it is done, it
is served with cold or melted butter, and eaten (after being stripped
of its remaining leaves) by taking the two ends of the cob in the
hands, and biting off the corn. The editor can bear testimony to its
delicious quality from having grown it in his own garden and par-
taken of it.
627. Indian Corn, or Maize Pudding, baked. Scald a quart of
milk (skimmed milk will do,) and stir in seven table-spoonfuls of sifted
Indian meal, a tea-spoonful of salt, a tea-cup full of molasses or trea-
cle, or coarse moist sugar, and a table-spoonful of powdered ginger or
sifted cinnamon ; bake three or four hours. If whey is wanted, pour
in a little cold milk after it is all mixed.
628. Boiled Maize Pudding. Stir Indian meal and warm milk
together " pretty stiff";" a little salt and two or three " great spoon,
fuls" of molasses added ; also a spoonful of ginger, or any other spice
that may be preferred. Boil it in a tight-covered pan, or in a very
thick cloth ; if the water gets in, it will ruin it. Leave plenty of room,
for Indian meal swells very much. The milk with which it is mixed
should be merely warmed; if it be scalding hot, the pudding will
break to pieces. Some chop suet very fine, and warm in the milk;
others warm thin slices of apple to be stirred into the pudding. Water
will answer instead of milk.
629. Pumpkin and Squash Pie. The usual way of dressing
pumpkins in England in a pie is to cut them into slices, mixed with
apples, and bake them with a top crust like ordinary pies. A quite
different process is pursued in America, and the editor can testify to
the immense superiority of the Yankee method. In England, the
pumpkin is grown for show rather than for use ; nevertheless, when
properly dressed, it is a very delicious vegetable, and a universal
favourite with our New England neighbours.
The following is the American method of making a pumpkin pie:
Take out the seeds, and pare the pumpkin or squash; but in taking
>ut the seeds do not scrape the inside of the pumpkin ; the part nearest
.he seed is the sweetest; then stew the pumpkin, and strain it through
a sieve or colander. To a quart of milk for a family pie, three eggs
are sufficient. Stir in the stewed pumpkin with your milk and
beaten-up eggs till it is as thick as you can stir round rapidly and
easily. If the pie is wanted richer make it thinner, and add another
egg or two; but even one egg to a quart of milk makes "very decent
pies," Sweeten with molasses or sugar; add two tea-spoonfuls of
salt, two table-spoonfuls of sifted cinnamon, and one of powdered
COOKING INDIA IV CORN, &C. 161
ginger ; but allspice may be used, or any other spice that may be pre-
ferred. The peel of a lemon Crated in gives it a pleasant flavour.
The more eorgs, says our American authority, the better the pie.
Some put one egg to a gill of milk. Bake about an hour in deep
plates, or shallow dishes, without an upper crust, in a warm oven.
There is another method of making this pie, which, we know from
experience, produces an excellent dish: Take out the seeds, and grate
the pumpkin till you come to the outside skin. Sweeten the pulp;
add a little ground allspice, lemon peel, and lemon juice; in short,
flavour it to your taste. Bake without an upper crust.
630. Carrot Pies. These pies are made like pumpkin pies. The
carrots should be boiled very tender, skinned, and sifted.
631. American Custard Puddings, sufficiently good for common
use, may be made by taking five eggs beaten up and mixed with a
quart of milk, sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon, all-
spice, or nutmeg. It is well to boil your milk first, and ]et it get
cold before using it. " Boiling milk enriches it so much, that boiled
skim milk is about as good as new." (We doubt this assertion ; at
any rate, it can only be improved by the evaporation of the water.)
Bake fifteen or twenty minutes.
632. American Plum Pudding. Pound six hard fine biscuits
(crackers), soak them for some hours in milk sufficient to cover the
mass ; add three pints of milk, beat up six eggs, and mix ; flavour
with lemon brandy, and a whole nutmeg grated ; add three-quarters
of a pound of stoned raisins, rubbed in flour. Bake not quite two
hours.
633. Rennet Pudding or Custard. A pudding may be made ot
this description in five minutes. Take a wine-glass full of wine, in
which a small portion of calf's rennet has been kept soaking ; put it
into a quart of cold new milk, and a sort of custard will be the result.
This sweetened with loaf-sugar and spiced with nutmeg is very good.
It should be eaten immediately, for in a few hours it begins to
curdle.
634. American Apple Puddings. Take your apples, and bore out
the core without cutting them in two. Fill up the holes with washed
rice. Tie up each apple very tight, and separately in the corners of
a pudding bag. Boil an hour, or an hour and a half.
635. Bird's Nest Pudding. If you wish to make what is called a
bird's nest pudding, prepare your custard ; take eight or ten pleasant
apples, prepare them and take out the core, but leave them whole;
set them in a pudding-dish, pour your custard over them, and bake
about thirty minutes.
636. American Souse. Take pigs' feet, ears, &c. well cleaned,
and boil or rather simmer them for four or five hours, until they are
too tender to be taken out with a fork. When taken from the boiling
water it should be put into cold water. After it is packed down tight,
boil the jelly-like liquor in which it was cooked with an equal quantity
of vinegar; salt as you think fit, and cloves, allspice, and cinnamon,
1 62 T II E C O M P L E T E COOK.
at the rate of a quarter of a pound to a hundred weight, must be mixed
with it when scalding hot.
037. American dry Bread. As far as possible, have bits of bread
eaten up before they become hard. Spread those that are not eaten,
and let them dry, to be pounded for puddings, or soaked for brewis.
Brewis is made of crusts and dry pieces of bread, soaked a good
while in hot milk, mashed up, and salted, and buttered like toast.
638. Another sort of Brewis. The author of Domestic Cookery
observes, that a vry good meal may be bestowed on poor people in a
thing called br< uis, which is thus made: Cut a very thick upper
crust of bread, and put it into the pot where salt beef is boiling, and
nearly ready ; it will attach some of the fat, and when swelled out,
will be no unpalatable dish to those who rarely taste meat.
639. Salt Fish. The New England mode of dressing salt fish is
an excellent one, and ought to be generally adopted. Keep the fish
many hours (at leat-t seven or eight) in scalding hot water, which
must never be suffered to boil.
640. To preserve Cheese. Cover the cheese carefully with paper,
fastened on with paste, so as totally to exclude the air. In this way
cheese may be kept for years.
641. American Mince Meat. Take the good bits of vegetables,
and the cold meat left after dinner. Mash your vegetables fine, and
chop your meat very fine. Warm it with what remains of gravy, or
roast meat dripping. Two or three apples, sliced and fried to mix
with it, are considered an improvement. Some like a little sifted
sage sprinkled in it. After it is warmed, lay it upon a large slice of
toasted bread. Potatoes should not be used in the preparation of
American rnince meat
GRUELS, CREAMS, SYLLABUBS, JELLIES, &c., &c.
642. Common Flummery is merely water gruel flavoured, and
eaten cold. Soak in cold water a pint of very fine white oatmeal;
when it has steeped a day and a night, pour off the water quite clear.
Then put upon the oatmeal three pints of fresh water, and let that
stand also a day and a night; then strain it through a hair sieve, and
boil it till it is as thick as hasty pudding, stirring it all the time;
sweeten it with loaf-sugar, and put a spoonful of ratafia or noyeau, or
a few drops of essence of lemon. Pour it into saucers or shallow
dishes. It is eaten with sugar and cream, or wine, or cider.
643. Rice Flummery is ground rice thickened with milk, the same
as for good rice pudding. In a pint of new milk, simmer three ounces
of ground rice till it is become a very thick pasie, sweeten it with
loaf-sugar, flavour with ratafia or peach water, put it in a bason or a
mould; when it is cold, turn it out. Sauce; half a pint of new
milk, a glass of white wine, a large tea-cup full of cream, the juice
of a small lemon, sweetened with loaf-sugar. Or you may pour
round it cream or custard.
644. French Flummery. Take two ounces of isinglass to a quart
GRUELS, CREAMS, &C.
of cream; simmer them a quarter of an hour; sweeten with loaf
sugar; flavour with rose water; strain it into a mould; when cold,
turn it out, and put round it baked or dried pears.
645. Dutch Flummery is composed of isinglass boiled in water,
enriched with lemon, eggs, and wine. Take two ounces of isinglass,
boil it half an hour in a pint and a half of water, and grate off with
loaf-sugar the yellow rind of two lemons ; sweeten with loaf-sugar,
a pint of white wine, and the juice of three lemons. Beat up seven
eggs, and strain the above to them, stirring all the time. Put it into
the saucepan a minute or two to scald by no means let it boil. Then
pour it into a basin, and stir it till nearly cold, and then let it stand a
few minutes to settle, and put it into a tin mould previously dipped in
cold water.
646. Blancmange. If for a sick person, boil an ounce of the best
isinglass, with a stick of cinnamon, in half a pint of water. The
isinglass will become a very thick jelly in half an hour's boiling.
Then mix to it a pint of new milk, and sugar to taste. Let it boH
up once, and strain through a tamis, or swan-skin jelly-bag, into a
bason. Pour it into a mould, or custard cups, when nearly cold;
pour it very steadily, and keep back any sediment. When turned
out, raise it all round the edges with a silver knife ; turn the mould
on a dish, shake it once or twice. If properly prepared, it will turn
out a beautiful white jelly, like marble; garnish with flowers or with
sweetmeats, or sliced lemon.
647. A richer Blancmange. Simmer an ounce or little more of fine
isinglass in a pint and a half of new milk; add the rind of half a
lemon, shred" very fine a blade or two of mace, a stick of cinnamon,
and sweeten with two ounces and a half of loaf-sugar. Blanch and
pound, with a spoonful of rose water, half an ounce of sweet almonds,
and eight or ten bitter; put to the milk, and mix. When the isin-
glass is quite dissolved, strain through a linen flannel, to half a pint
of rich cream, and stir together well. When it has stood an hour,
pour it off into another bason, leaving the sediments at the bottom,
and when nearly cold, pour it into moulds, jelly glasses, or custard
cups. Two table-spoonfuls of noyeau will answer the purpose of the
almonds. And the isinglass may be dissolved in a pint of water and
half a pint of milk.
648. Arrow-root Blancmange. Put two tea-cups full of arrow-
root to a quart of milk. Flavour it with an ounce of sweet almonds,
and fifteen or sixteen bitter, blanched and pounded ; or with noyeau.
Moisten the arrow-root with a little cold milk, and pour to it the boil-
ing milk, stirring all the time. Then put it in the saucepan, and boil
it a minute or two, still stirring. Dip the moulds in cold water. Turn
it out when cold.
649. Italian Cream. Rub on a lump of sugar the rind of a lemon,
and scrape it off with a knife into a deep dish or china bowl ; add two
: ounces and a half of sifted sugar, a gill of brandy, the juice of a
lemon, and a pint of double cream; then beat it up well with a whisk;
boil an ounce of isinglass in a gill of water till quite dissolved; strain
164 THE COMPLETE COOK.
it to the other ingredients; beat some time, and fill the mould; and
when cold and set well, turn it out on a dish. The above may be
flavoured with any kind of liquor; strawberry, raspberry, or any kind
of fruit ; coloured with prepared cochineal, and named to correspond
with the flavour given.
650. Clouted or Clotted Cream. The milk which is put into the
pan one morning stands till the next ; then set the pan on a hot
hearth, half full of water; put this over a stove from ten to twenty
minutes, according to the quantity of the milk; it will be done
enough when bladders rise on its surface ; this denotes that it is
nearly boiling, which it must by no means do, but must be instantly
removed from the fire, and placed in a cool place till the next morn-
ing, when the cream is thrown up, and is ready for the table, or for
butter, into which it may be converted by stirring it with the hand,
but not very readily. This is sometimes called Devonshire cream,
and it is imagined by those who do not know better, to be much richer
than the common cream. The artificial process employed in raising
this cream causes the milk to yield a greater quantity, but the quality
and flavour are inferior to cream raised naturally, and so is the butter
made from it.
651. Cream for Fruit Pies. There are many ways of preparing
cream. For fruit pies, simmer a pint of new milk, rind of Seville
orange or lemon, cinnamon, either, or all, as you may choose. Whisk
up the yolks of three eggs, with half a spoonful of flour, and one or
two of cream ; gradually add the boiling milk, set it over the fire,
and whisk till it is of the consistence of a thick cream. When it ia
removed from the fire, and rather cool, add a table-spoonful of rose or
orange water, or a tea-spoonful of syrup of clove gilly flowers.
When quite cold, take off the top of the pie and pour in the cream ;
return the cover, either whole or cut in quarters. If eggs are dear,
one whole egg will whisk up with a spoonful of rice flour or arrow-
root, and will answer for thickening. Richer cream may be prepared
with an equal quantity of cream and milk, flavoured with almond,
lemon, sack, ratafia, or brandy, and called by the name of the article
by which it is flavoured principally. Be careful not to let your creams
boil, or they will curdle. Creams may be prepared with ifresh or pre-
served fruits. Luscious fruits are improved by the addition of lemon
juice.
652. Birch's Receipt for Mock Cream. Mix half a spoonful of
flour with a pint of new milk; let it simmer five minutes to take off
the rawness of the flour; then beat up the yolk of one egg, stir it
into the milk while boiling, and run it through a fine sieve. A tea-
spoonful of arrow-root would do better than flour.
653. Trifle. Mix in a large bowl a quarter of a pound of sifted
sugar, a bit of lemon peel grated fine, and the juice of a whole
lemon, half a gill of Lisbon or sweet wine, the same of brandy, and
a pint and a half of good cream. Whisk the whole well, and take
off the froth as it rises with a skimmer, and put it on a sieve ; con-
tinue to whisk it till you have enough of the whip; set it in a cold
GRUELS, CREAMS, & C . 165
place to drain three or four hours. Then put in a dish six or eight
sponge biscuits, two ounces of almonds, blanched and split, a quarter
of a pound of ratafia, some grated nutmeg and lemon peel, currant
jelly and raspberry jam, half a pint of sweet wine, and a little
brandy ; when the cakes have absorbed the liquor, pour over about a
pint of custard, made rather thicker than for apple pie ; and, when
wanted, lay on plenty of the whip, and throw over a few nonpariel
comfits.
654. Whip Syllabub. Mako a whip as in the last receipt; mix
with a pint of cream half a pint of sweet wine, the juice of a lemon
a glass of brandy, six ounces of sifted loaf-sugar, grated nutmeg ;
nearly fill the custard cups with the mixture, and put on with a spoon
some of the whip.
655. Gooseberry or Apple Fool. Stew green gooseberries or
apples, peeled or cored ; add to them a little moist sugar, enough to
draw the juice, to two quarts of fruit a quarter of a pound of sugar.
When quite tender, pulp through a coarse sieve; add what more
sugar is necessary to your taste, and a quart of new milk warm from
the cow ; if not from the cow, warm it by the fire ; a tea-cup full of
cream; mix with it an egg, or two yolks, well beaten. Let it thicken
in the milk; be careful it does not boil. When cold, mix the fruit,
and stir all togeth ;r till well united. A little grated ginger is an im-
provement, nutmeg and lemon rind also, and half a glass of brandy.
655. Calves' Feet Jelly. Take our calves' feet, not from the tripe
shop, whi r ,h have been boiled till almost all the gelatine is extracted,
but buy them at the butcher's. Slit them in two, take away the fat
from between the claws, wash them well in lukewarm \vater, put
them in a large saucepan or stew-pan, cover them with water; when
the liquor boils, skim it well, and let them boil gently six or seven
hours, that it may be reduced to about two quarts. Then strain it
through a sieve, and put it by till next day. Then take off all the
oily part which is at the top, with pieces of kitchen paper applied to
it ; by so doing you may remove every particle of the oily substance,
without wasting any of the jelly. Put the jelly in the stew-pan to
melt; add a pound of lump sugar to it, the juice of lemons, the peel
of two, six whites and shells beat well together, and a bottle of Sherrji
or Madeira; whisk the whole together until it is on the boil; then put
it by the side of the stove, and let it simmer a quarter of an hour.
Then strain it through a jelly-bag; what is strained first must be put
into the bag, and repeated until it is quite bright and clear. Then
put the jelly in moulds till it is cold and firm. Put it in a cold place.
If you wish to have it very stiff, add half an ounce of isinglass, when
the wine is put in. It may be flavoured by the juice of various fruits
and spices, &,c., and coloured with cochineal, saffron, spinach juice, red
beet-root juice or claret. It is sometimes made with cherry brandy,
noyeau rouge, or essence of punch, instead of wine. Ten shank mut-
ton bones, which may be bought for a trifle, will give as much jelly aa
e calf s foot
656. Whey. Boil a pint of milk, put to it a glass or two of white
14
166 THE COMPLETE COOK.
wine ; put it on the fire till it boils again ; then pour it on one sido
till it has settled. Pour off the clear whey, and sweeten as you like.
Cider is often used instead of wine, or half the quantity. When there
is no fire in the sick room, it may be put hot into a bottle, and laid
between the bed and maitrass. It will keep warm several hours.
657. Arrow-root. A dessert spoonful will thicken half a pint. It
may be made with milk, and flavoured at pleasure, and according to
circumstances, if for the sick. The method of mixing is, to moisten
the arrow-root with a very little liquid, and stir it into a smooth paste;
then pour the rest of the milk to it in a boiling state, stirring it one
way all the time, and a minute or two afterwards. If it is not thick,
return it to the saucepan, but that wastes it. If you pour it carefully,
it will be thick by mixing the milk, and quite smooth.
658. Gruel is made of Scotch oatmeal, or cracked groats, or com-
mon oatmeal. The Embden, or cracked groats, or Scotch oatmeal,
is preferable to the common, both for flavour and nutriment, but can-
not be made so quickly. A block-tin saucepan, or a brass skillet, is
the best for preserving the colour of the gruel ; and a hair sieve to
strain. Set on the groats in cold water, half a pint to three quarts of
water. Let it boil three quarters of an hour. In that time it will be
reduced to two quarts. Then strain it. The groats may be boiled up
again, and will make another quart of gruel, but they must be boiled
longer than at first. Scotch oatmeal may be made a mess at a time.
To a pint of water two ounces of oatmeal ; mix it with a little cold
water, arid stir it into the rest while boiling. This may be strained
or not. Let it boil ten minutes.
659. Robinson s prepared Groats are prepared in the same way,
but do not require so much boiling; a large spoonful of this will make
a pint of gruel. A bit of butter and salt are generally stirred in gruel ;
or sugar and nutmeg, according to taste.
660. Rice Gruel. This is principally used for bowel complaints,
but is not so good as arrow-root. A table-spoonful of ground rice will
thicken a pint of milk or water. Mix it in the same manner as oat-
meal gruel ; boil in a bit of dried orange or lemon peel, and a bit of
cinnamon. Let it boil about ten minutes, sweeten with loaf-sugar,
and add two glasses of port, or one of brandy, as may be required.
661. Barley Gruel. This also is used to give to a person in a state
of great debility. Either Scotch or pearl barley may be used ; it re-
quires a great deal of washing. If time allows, it should be boiled in
a small quantity of cold water; when it boils up, pour off"; add fresh
boiling water for the gruel. To a quart of water put two ounces of
barley ; boil till reduced one half, then strain it off! Put to it half as
much port wine, and sugar to taste; simmer it together two or three
minutes. Rewarm it from time to time as wanted. The barley will
do to put in broth.
662. Thick Milk, or Flour Caudle, is used for the same purpose.
A large table-spoonful of flour will thicken a pint. It may be fla-
voured with cinnamon, or dried orange or lemon peel. Great care
GRUELS, CREAMS, &C. 167
must be taken that it does not burn. A double saucepan is best for
the purpose, or a brass kettle. Half water may be used.
663. Barley Water. Scotch or pearl barley may be used. Wash,
or boil up, as tor barley gruel ; to a quart of water, barley two ounces.
Simmer till of an agreeable thickness, and strain. Boil the barley
up again, and it will make a pint more. This is a very cooling drink.
It also is a pleasant thing to take medicine in. Lemon juice and peel,
raisins, figs, liquorice root, sugar, honey, and gum arabic, with these
additions it is often used either tor complaints of the chest, confined
bowels, or stranguary ; or powdered nitre a drachm to a quart, is
often found good for fever. (Merely for a drink, put sugar and lemon
peel.) Rub up the nitre with honey or sugar, mix it with a little
barley water, and then pour it on the whole quantity in a boiling state.
Stir it well together.
665. Beef Tea. Take a pound of fleshy beef, cut in slices (without
the least bit of fat;) boil it up in a quart of water, and skim it well ;
then put it on one side to simmer twenty minutes. Season if approved,
but generally only salt.
666. Shank Jelly. Soak twelve shanks of mutton some hours.
Brush and scour them well. Put them in a saucepan, put three quarts
of water to them, add a bunch of sweet herbs, thirty or forty black
peppers, twenty Jamaica, three blades of mace, an onion, and a crust
of bread toasted brown, and put them on a hot hearth, closely covered.
Let them simmer five hours very gently; then strain it off, and put it
in a cool place. It may have the addition of a pound of beef, if ap-
proved, for flavour. This is a very good thing for people who are
weakly.
667. Tapioca Jelly. Choose the largest sort. Pour cold water
on, and wash it two or three times ; then soak it in fresh water five
or six hours, and simmer it until it becomes quite clear. Add wine,
lemon juice, and sugar. Boil the peel of the lemon in it. It thickens
very much.
667. Posset. This is more potent than whey, and in which the
curd is not separated. Either ale or wine will turn it. Put on the
fire, in a kettle, a quart of new milk, with a stick of cinnamon; cut a
slice of bread ; as the milk boils, lay it at the top, and let it boil a mi-
nute or two ; then put it aside to soften. Put a pint of very strong
ale, with sugar and nutmeg, or white wine. Boil up the milk again,
take the bread out with a slice, and lay on the ale or wine ; then very
gently pour over the boiling milk, and let it stand until the head rises
like that of a syllabub. Then serve. A richer posset may be made
by substituting Naples biscuits for bread. A brandy posset is a quart
of rich custard poured over a glass and a half of brandy.
668. Orgeat. Boil a quart of new rnilk with a stick of cinnamon.
Put to it two ounces of loaf-sugar, and let it cool. Blanch and beat
to a paste, with a little rose water, three ounces of sweet almonds,
and two dozen bitter. Stir them to the milk; boil it up again, and
continue stirring till cold. Then add half a glass of brandy.
669. Orange Marmalade. Seville oranges are in perfection about
168 THE COMPLETE COOK.
the end of March and beginning of April, at which time marmalade*
should be made. Allow two pounds of sugar to each pound of Seville
oranges; grate the oranges lightly, and slice them down with a very
sharp knife, as thin as possible, and straight through. Nothing must
be kept out but the seeds. Clarify the sugar, put the fruit in, and
boil it slowly for at least an hour, until the chips are perfectly tender
and clear, and it will jelly ; a little of the grate may be put in, if
approved; the re?t is good seasoning for puddings.
670. Fruit Jelly. Put the fruit, carefully picked, into a stone jar;
cover close; srt it in a kettle of cold water, which reaches not more
than three parts the height of the jar. Let it boil half an hour (more
or less, according to the nature of the fruit; black currants are much
longer running to juico than either red currants or raspberries).
Strain through a jelly-bag or lawn strainer; or the juice may be
strained more quickly, by setting on the fruit in a preserving pan, and
carefully stirring round the sides as it begins to heat, that it may not
burn; strain through a jelly-bag or lawn strainer. To every pint of
juice allow a pound of loaf-sugar. Set on the juice over a clear fire;
when it boils, put in the sugar. When it has boiled some time, and
the scum thickens and gathers together, skim it on to a sieve, and
continue to do so while the scum rises ; what runs from it may be
returned to the rest. When it has boiled forty minutes, try a few
drops, by putting on a plate in a cool place. If this become stiff
almost immediately, the jelly is done enough. If not, it must be
boiled till it will. The jelly may then be strained through a hair
sieve, but if it have been properly skimmed this is not necessary, arid
it is a great waste. The best way is to pour it into a spouted jug that
will contain the whole, and then into small jelly pots or glasses. Be
very careful not to pour aside, or smear the edges, as an accident of
this sort, however carefully wiped away, renders the jelly apt to turn
mouldy. White currant jelly should be strained through a muslin or
lawn sieve.
PRESERVES.
671. Jams. In making jam of very ripe juicy fruit, a portion of
jelly may be taken from it which will improve the jam, taking care
to have sufficient syrup to jelly round the fruit. Each quart of fruit
and two pounds of sugar will admit the removal of half a pint of jelly
without injury.
Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants: put an
equal weight of loaf-sugar and fruit ; put the fruit in a preserving
pan ; bruise it a little and put it on the stove ; stir it carefully to keep
it from sticking to the bottom and sides of the pan. Let it boil before
adding the sugar, and if there is plenty of juice from the fruit, so that
there is no danger of it burning, let it boil a quarter of an hour before
adding the sugar; it must boil half an hour afterwards. Skim on to
a sieve, and add that which runs through to it. Try the stiffness of
the jelly by putting a little on a plate and setting it in a cool place ;
PRESERVES. 169
if it becomes stiff when quite cold, it has boiled sufficiently; if not
stiff, boil it until it is.
The scarlet or mulberry strawberries are the best for preserving;
they must be quite ripe and dry : to three pints of strawberries allow
half a pint of red currant jelly. For gooseberry jam, take the small
dark hairy sort named Crystal, or a large bright hairy sort called the
Warrington. Smooth gooseberries do not do well in preserving.
Lisbon sugar answers very well when the jam is wanted for im-
mediate use, and in large families where it is much used. Put six
pounds of Lisbon sugar to seven of fruit. Gooseberries and black
currants should be boiled an hour ; if not stiff in that time, boil it
longer.
672. Cherries. To preserve cherries without boiling, take fine
ripe Morello cherries; cut the stalks an inch from the fruit, and put
them into wide-mouthed bottles; when full, put powdered loaf-sugar
over the top, and pour in a little brandy. Cork and cement, or tie
over with leather and bladder. They will keep all the winter
through, and do very well for desserts.
673. To bottle Damsons or Gooseberries. Damsons should have
attained their dark colour, but not be ripe. Be careful not to bruise
them. Fill wide-mouthed bottles: shake them down so that you may
get as many in as possible. To each bottle put a wine glass of good
home-made wine, either ginger or raisin ; no other sort is good. Tie
them over with bladders, and put them to stand in a large pot with
cold water to reach the necks of the bottles; put a fire under the pot,
and let the water boil ; when the bladders begin to rise and puff, prick
them with a pin. As soon as the water boils remove the fire, and let
the bottles remain there until they are quite cold. Next day remove
the bladders, and put over the top a thick layer of powdered loaf-
sugar and a spoonful of brandy; then cork them tight, and seal or
cement them.
674. Gooseberries. The same rules do for gooseberries, but they
should be full grown, and gathered when green.
675. Currants. Currants full grown, but not turned, may be pre-
served in the same way ; cut the stalks off with scissors.
676. To keep Codlins several months. Gather codlins at Midsum-
mer of a middling size; put them into an earthen pan, pour boiling
water over, and cover the pan with cabbage leaves; keep them by
the fire till they would peel, but do not peel them ; then pour the
water off till both are quite cold. Place the codlins in a stone jar
with a smallish mouth, and pour on them the water that scalded them.
Cover the pot with bladder, and tie very close, and then cover it with
coarse paper again. It is best to keep them in small pots, such as
will be used at once when opened.
677. To preserve Apricots in jelly. Pare the fruit very thin and
stone it; weigh an equal quantity of sugar in fine powder and strew
over it. Next day boil very gently till they are clear; move them
into a bowl, and pour the liquor over. The following day pour the
liquor to a quart of codlin liquor made by boiling and straining, and a
14*
1 70 THE COMPLETE COOK.
pound of fine sugar; let it boil quickly till it will jelly ; put the fruit
into it, and give one boil ; skim well and put into small pots.
678. A very nice preserve of Apricots. Choose the finest apricots
when quite ripe; pare them as thin as possible, and weigh them; lay
them in halves on dishes, with the hollow parts upwards; have an
equal weight of good loaf-su^ar finely pounded, and strew it over
them; break the stones, and blanch the kernels; when the fruit has
lain twelve hours, put it with the sugar and juice, also the kernels,
into a preserving pan ; let it simmer very gently till clear, then take
out the pieces of apricots singly ; put them into small pots, and pour
the syrup and kernels over them. The scum must be taken off as it
rises. Cover with brandy paper.
Greengages and egg-plums may be preserved in the same way.
679. Dried Apricots. Proceed as above, but instead of pouring
the syrup over them after the last boil, drain them close, strew over
sifted sugar to cover them, and dry them on a wire sieve on a stove,
or in a slow oven ; they must be turned several times, but ought not
to be cold till quite dry.
680. Apricots or Peaches in brandy. Wipe and weigh the fruit,
and take a quarter of the weight of fine powdered sugar; put the fruit
into an ice-pot that shuts very close, throw the sugar over it, and
then cover the fruit with brandy. Between the top and cover of the
pot, put a piece of double cap-paper. Set the pot into a saucepan of
water till the brandy be as hot as you can possibly bear to put your
finger in, but it must not boil. Put the fruit into a jar, and pour the
brandy on it. When cold, put a bladder over, and tie it down tight.
631. Apricot Jam. Divide fine apricots that have become yellow,
but are not over ripe; lay the hollow part uppermost on china dishes,
and strew over twelve ounces of sifted sugar to every pound of fruit ;
let it lie until it becomes moist, then boil it twenty minutes, stirring
it well. Blanch the kernels, and boil with the jam.
682. To preserve Ginger. If your ginger can be had green, it is
best. Pare it nicely with a sharp knife, and throw it into cold water
as you pare it, to preserve the whiteness. If fresh ginger cannot be
procured, have the finest large white races of Jamaica ginger. Boil
it several times in water till tender, then pare and proceed as above;
set on the ginger in cold water and boil it. Pour off the liquor, and
put cold water; then boil it up again. Do this a third time, till the
ginger is tender, then throw it into cold water; when quite cold,
drain the ginger and put into a china bowl. Clarify sugar for pre-
serving it, in the proportion of eight pounds of sugar to seven of gin-
ger. Let the surar become cold, then pour over the ginger enough
to cover it. Let it stand two days, then strain the syrup from the
ginger and boil it with the remainder of the sugar; let them boil
together twenty minutes or half an hour. When cold, again pour it
over the ginger, and let it stand three or four days; by this time the
ginger will have finely swollen. Then strain the syrup, boil it up,
and pour it hot over the ginger. If the ginger is well swollen, and
the syrup quite rich, nothing more is necessary; but if not, boil it
DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING. 17i
again at the interval of three or four days. Wide-mouthed bottles
are best for keeping it. Divide the syrup to each; cork and seal, or
dip in bottle cement.
633. Cherries in brandy. Weigh the finest Morellos, having 1 cut
off half the stalk; prick them with a new needle, and drop them into
a jar or wide-mouthed bottle. Pound three-quarters of the weight of
suijar or white candy; strew, fill up with brandy, and tie a bladder
over them.
684. Damson Cheese. It is sometimes made with the whole skins
and pulp of the fruit, sometimes with the pulp only. In either case
the fruit is first to be baked or boiled in a stone jar till it is tender,
and the stones will separate. If the skins are to be used, merely take
out the stones with a spoon, then measure it into the preserving pan.
If the skins are objected to, rub it through a very coarse sieve, that
so they may be retained with the stones. Having measured the fruit,
set it over a clear brisk fire, and let it boil quick till the liquid has
evaporated and the fruit becomes quite dry; then add loaf-sugar
powdered, in the proportion of half a pound to a quart of fruit, and let
it go on boiling till the jam candies to the sides of the pan. The
stones should be cracked, and the kernels skinned and boiled in the
jam; this gives it a very pretty appearance, but some people object
to it. It should be put out in shallow vessels, such as potting jars,
saucers, and so forth, and turned out when brought to table.
DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING.
In preparing meat for the tabl* 5 , and in laying out the table, refer-
ence ought to be had to the carving department a very onerous one
to all, and to many a very disagreeable one. The carving knife of
course ought to be sharp, and if to be used by a lady, in particular,
lig-ht and handy; dexterity and address in the manner of using it
being more required than strength, either in the knife or the carver.
When a lady presides, a seat sufficiently high for her to have a com-
plete command over the joints should be provided, and the dish should
be sufficiently deep and capacious, so as not to endanger the splash-
ing of the gravy. It should also be placed as near to the carver as
possible, leaving room Cor his or her plate. A knife with a long
blade is required for a large fleshy joint; for ham or bacon a middling
sized, sharp-pointed one is prefer;! hie, and for poultry or game a short
knife and sharp-pointed is best. Some like this knife a little curved.
We do not presume to give any directions as respects the serving of
the guests; no one it is presumed would take the head of the table
not acquainted with the common rules of politeness, which principally
consist in endeavouring to please everybody.
685. Fish. As fish is the first thing to be carved, or served, we
shall first speak of it. In helping fish, take care not to break the flakes,
which in cod and fine fresh salmon, and some other sorts, are large.
A fish trowel is necessary, not to say indispensable, in serving many
kinds of fish, particularly the larger sort.
172 THE COMPLETE COOK.
686. Turbot, <$-c. The trowel is to be carried flatways from the
middle of the fish, and the carver should bring out as much meat as
will lie upon it. The thick part is the best, and of course most es-
teemed. When one side is cleared, the bones ought to be taken
away which done, serve the under part. The meat on the fins is
considered by some a great delicacy. Halibuts, plaice, and other
large fish, are served in a similar way.
687. A Cod's Head and Shoulders, perhaps, require more atten
tiou in serving than any other. It is, too, considered a handsome
dish. In carving, introduce the trowel along the back, and take off a
piece quite down to the bone, taking care not to break the flakes. Put
in a spoon and take out the sound, a jelly-like substance, which lies
inside the back-bone. A part of this should be served with every
slice offish. The bones and glutinous parts of a cod's head are much
liked by most people, and are very nourishing.
688. Salmon Cut slices along the back-bone, and also along the
flank. The flank or thin part is the best and richest, and is preferred
by all accomplished gourmands. The back is the most solid and thick.
The tail of salmon is not so fine as the other parts. The head is
seldom used. The liver, melt, and roe, are generally served, but
seldom eaten.
689. Soles are easily carved. You have only to cut through the
middle part of the fish, bone and all, and subdivide and serve accord-
ing to the size of fish. The thick parts are best ; the roes when well
done are very nice.
690. Mackerel. The trowel should be carried under the meat,
horizontally over the back-bone, so as to raise one side of the meat
from the bone. Remove the bone, and serve the other side of the fish.
When fresh, well cleaned, and well done, the upper end is considered
the best. The roes are much liked.
691. Eels, Whiting Jack, tyc., when intended to be fried, are pre-
viously cut in pieces of a suitable size for serving. When they are
boiled, cut through them in the same way as soles. Large jacks will
admit of slices being taken off with a trowel without the bones. Small
fish are served whole.
692. Aitch Bone of Beef. Cut a slice an inch thick all through.
Put this by, and serve in slices from the remainder. Some persons,
however, like outside, and others take off" a thinner slice before serv-
ing, for the sake of economy. The rich, delicious, soft fat, which re-
sembles marrow, lies at the back of the bone : the firm fat is cut in
horizontal slices at the edge of the meat. Some prefer one and some
the other. The skewer used to keep the meat together when boiling,
should be taken out before corning to the table, and, if necessary, be
replaced by a silver one.
693. A Round, or Buttock, and thick Flank of Beef, are carved
in horizontal slices, that is, in slices from the top. Pare and neatly
cut all round. Some prefer the silver side.
694. A Brishet of Beef is cut lengthways, right down to the bone.
DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING. 173
The soft mellow fat is found underneath. The upper part is firm, but
gristly; if well done, they are equally good to our taste.
695. Sirloin of Beef, the glory of the dinner-table, may be com-
menced carving, either by beginning at the end, and cutting slice?
along the bones, or across the middle ; but this latter mode wi
drain the gravy from the remainder. The inside is very juicy and
tender, but the outside is frequently preferred. The inside fat is rich
and marrowy, and is considered too much so by many. The inside
of a sirloin is frequently dressed (in various ways) separately.
696. Fillet of Veal is the corresponding part to the round in an ox,
and is cut in the same way. If the outside brown be not desired,
serve the next slice. Cut deep into the stuffing, and help a thin slice,
as likewise of fat. A fillet of veal should be cut very smooth and
thin.
697. Breast of Veal answers to the brisket of an ox. It should be
cracked lengthways, across the middle of the bones, to divide the
thick gristly part from the ribs. There is a great difference in these
parts ; and as some prefer the one, and some the other, the best way
is to ask to which the preference is to be given. The burr, or sweet-
meat, is much liked, and a part should be served with each slice.
698. Necks and Loins of all sorts of meat, if properly jointed by
the butcher, require only to be cut through ; but when the joints are
too thick for one, cut a slice between each, that is, cut one slice with-
out bone, and another with. Some prefer one, and some the other.
699. Calfs Head affords a great variety of excellent meat, differ-
ing in texture and flavour, and therefore requires a judicious and
skilful carver properly to divide it. Cut slices longways under the
eye, taking care that the knife goes close to the bone. The throat
sweetbread, or kernel, lies in the fleshy part, at the neck end, which
you should help a slice of with the other part. The eyes are con-
sidered great delicacies by some. They should be taken out with
the point of your knife, and each cut into two. A piece of the palate
(which lies under the head), a slice of the tongue, with a portion of
the brains, should be given to each guest. On drawing out the jaw-
bone, some delicious lean will be found. The heads of oxen, sheep,
lambs, &c., are cut in the same way as those of calves.
700. A Leg of Mutton, fyc. Begin to cut in the midway, between
the knuckle and farther end. The slices should be thin and deep. If
the outside is not fat enough, cut some from the fat on the broad end,
in slices. Many prefer the knuckle, or venison bit, to the middle
part; the latter is the most juicy the former, in good, well-done
mutton, is gelatinous and delicately tender. There is some good meat
on the back of the leg, or aitch bone ; this should be cut lengthways.
It is, however, seldom carved when hot. To cut out the cramp bone,
take hold of the shank in your left hand, and steadily cut down to the
thigh bone; then pass the knife under the cramp bone. Legs of
lamb and pork are cut in the same way.
701. A Saddle, or Collar of Mutton, sometimes called the chine,
should be cut lengthways, in long slices, beginning close to the back-
174 THE COMPLETE COOK.
bone, and thus leaving the ribs bare. The fat is taken from the outer
ends. The inside of the loin is very tender, and in the opinion of
some gourmands is preferred to the upper part. It is best, perhaps,
to cut the inside lengthways.
702. Shoulder of Mutton. To carve this joint (which when pro-
perly dressed is very fine eating) economically for a very small family,
the best way is to cut away the underneath part when hot, and if any
more is required, to take it from the knuckle. This plan leaves all
the gravy in the upper part, which is very nice when cold. The
usual way, however, of carving a shoulder of mutton, is to cut slices
deep to the bone, in the hollow part. The prime part of the fat lies
on the outer edge, and is to be cut in thin slices. Some good delicate
slices of lean may be taken from each side of the ridge of the blade-
bone. No slices can be cut across the edge of the blade-bone.
703. Haunch of Venison or Mutton. Cut down to the bone in
circular slices at the narrow end, to let out the gravy. You may
then turn the broad end of the haunch towards you ; insert the knife
in the middle of the cut, and cut thin deep slices lengthways to the
broad end of the haunch. The fat of venison is much esteemed ;
those who help should take care properly to apportion both the fat
and gravy.
704. Fore-quarter of Lamb. Separate the shoulder from the
scovel, or breast and ribs, by passing the knife under it (the shoulder).
The shoulder of grass lamb, which is generally pretty large, should
have a little lemon or Seville orange juice, squeezed over it, and be
sprinkled with a little pepper and salt, and then placed upon another
dish. If the lamb be small, it is usual to replace the shoulder. The
breast and ribs should be cracked across by the butcher, and be
divided. Help either from that, the ribs, or shoulder, according to
choice.
705. Ham. The most economical way of cutting a ham, which is
seldom or never eaten at one meal, is to begin to cut at the knuckle
end, and proceed onwards. The usual way, however, is to begin at
the middle, and cut in long slices through the thick fat. By this
means you come at once to the prime, but you let out the gravy.
Another plan is to cut a small hole on the top of the ham, and with
a very sharp knife enlarge the hole, by cutting thin circular slices.
In this latter way you preserve the gravy, and of course keep the
meat moist to be eaten when cold.
706. Tongue. This much-esteemed relish, which oft^n supplies
the place of ham, should be cut in thin slices across, beginning at the
thick middle part. Serve slices of fat and kernel from the root.
707. A Sucking Pig- is generally slit down the middle in the
kitchen, and the cook garnishes the dish with the jaws and ears.
Separate a shoulder from the carcase on one side, and then do the
same thing with the leg. Divide the ribs, which are frequently con-
sidered the most choice part, into two or three helpings, presenting
an ear or jaw with them as far as they will go, and plenty of sauce.
Some persons prefer the leg, because not so rich and luscious as the
DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING. 175
ribs. The neck end between the shoulders is also sometimes pre-
ferred. The joints may be divided into two each, or pieces may be
cut from them.
708. A Fowl. The legs of a boiled fowl are always bent inwards,
and tucked into the belly, but before it is put upon the table, the
skewers by which they are secured ought to be removed. The fowl
should be laid on the carver's plate, and the joints as they are cut off
placed on the dish. In taking off the wing, the joint only must be
divided with the knife, for, by lifting up the pinion of the wing with
the fork, and then drawing it towards the legs, the muscles will se-
parate in a much better form than you can effect by cutting with a
knife. Next place the knife between the leg and body, and cut to
the bone ; turn the leg back with the fork, and the joint will give way,
if the fowl be young and well done. The merrythought is taken
out when the legs and wings are all removed ; the neck-bones are
taken off by putting in the knife, and pressing it under the long broad
part of the bone, then lift the neck-bone up and break it off from the
part that sticks to the breast. The breast itself has now to be
divided from the carcase, by cutting through the tender ribs close
to the breast, quite down to the tail ; then lay the back upwards,
put your knife into the bone half-way from the neck to the rump,
and on raising the lower end it will readily separate. The last
tning to be done is to turn the rump from you, and neatly to take off
the two sidesmen. Each part should be neatly arranged on the dish,
but it is almost impossible to give effectual written descriptions for
carving fowls; the best plan is to observe carefully a good carver, and
tlr-fl, by a little practice, you will become perfect. The breast and
the wings are considered the best parts.
709. A Pheasant. Take out the skewers; fix your fork in the
centre of the breast, slice it down ; remove the leg by cutting in the
sideway direction, then take off the wing, taking care to miss the neck-
bone. When the legs and wings are all taken off, cut off slices of
the breast. The merrythought is separated by passing the knife
under it towards the neck; the other parts are cut as before directed
in a fowl. The breast, wings, and merrythought, are the favourites,
particularly the former, but the leg has a higher flavour.
710. Partridges and Pig-eons. Partridges are carved like fowls,
but the breast and wings are not often divided, the bird being small.
The wing is the prime bit, particularly the tip ; the other choice parts
are the breast and merrythought. Pigeons may be cut in two, either
from one end to the other of the bird, or across.
711. Goose or Duck. Cut off the apron of the goose and pour into
the body a large spoonful of gravy, which should be mixed with the
Bluffing. Some persons put, instead of the gravy, a glass of port wine,
in which a large tea-spoonful of mustard has been previously stirred.
Cut as many slices from the breast as possible, and serve with a por-
tion of the apron to each plate. When the breast is all served, and
not till then, cut off the joints ; but observe, the joints of water-fowl
are wider spread and go farther back than those of land-fowl.
176 THE COMPLETE COOK.
712. A Turkey should not be divided till the breast is disposed of;
but if it be thought proper to divide, the same process must be fol-
lowed as directed in a fowl. The following 1 is the best mode of serving
this delicious bird : Begin cutting close to the breast-bone, scooping
round so as to leave the mere pinions. Each slice should carry with
it a portion of the pudding-, or force meat, with which the craw is
stuffed.
713. Hare. Put the point of the knife under the shoulder, and cut
all the way down to the rump, on the side of the back-bone. By doing
the same on the other side, the hare will be divided into three parts.
The back should be cut into four parts: the shoulder must be taken
off in a circular line. The pieces as they are cut should be neatly
placed on the dish ; in helping, some pudding and gravy should be
given to each person. The above mode of carving is only applicable
to a young hare; when the hare is old, it is not practicable to divide
it down, but put the knife between the leg and back, and give it a lit-
tle turn inwards at the joints, which you must endeavour to hit, and
then cut, and with the fork turn it completely back. When both legs
are taken off, you will find a fine collop on each side of the back,
which back you may divide into as many pieces as are necessary.
Take off the shoulders, which some persons are very fond of, and
which are called the sportsman's pieces; but the legs and back
are considered the prime. When all the guests are served, it is usual
to take off the head, and by putting the knife between the upper and
lower jaw, you may divide them; then lay the upper flat upon your
plate, put the point of the knife into the centre, and cut the head into
two; you will thus get at the brains, which may be served with the
ears and tail to those who like them. Some persons direct the carver
to serve with slices, as much as possible, off the sides of the back-bone,
from the shoulder to the rump.
714. Rabbits are generally cut up in the same way as hares. The
back and legs are considered the best parts. The back should be cut
into two pieces.
GARNISHES.
Parsley is the most universal garnish to all kinds of cold meat,
poultry, fish, butter, cheese, and so forth. Horse-radish is the garnish
for roast beef, and for fish in general ; for the latter, slices of lemon
are sometimes laid alternately with heaps of horse-radish.
Slices of lemon for boiled fowl, turkey, and fish, and for roast veal
and calf's head.
Carrot in slices for boiled beef, hot or cold.
Barberries fresh or preserved for game.
Red beet-root sliced for cold meat, boiled beef, and salt fish.
Fried smelts as garnish for turbot.
Fried sausages or force meat balls round roast turkey, capon, or
fowl.
Lobster coral and parsley round boiled fish.
SETTING OUT A TABLE. 177
Fennel for mackerel and salmon, either fresh or pickled.
Currant jelly for game, also for custard or bread pudding.
Seville orange in slices for wild ducks, widgeons, teal and so forth.
Mint, either with or without parsley, for roast lamb, either hot or
cold.
Pickled gherkins, capers, or onions, for some k'uids of boiled meat
and stews.
SETTING OUT A TABLE.
A prudent housekeeper, in providing for a family, or for company,
will endeavour to secure variety, and avoid extravagance, taking care
not to have two dishes alike, or nearly alike, such as ducks and pork,
veal and fowls; and avoiding, when several sorts are required, to have
such things as cannot be eaten cold, or cannot be warmed or re-cooked.
There is a great waste occasioned if these principles are overlooked
in providing for a party. When a table is to be set out, it is usual
to place nearly the whole provisions at once ; but if comfort is the
f.bject, it is better to have each dish and its accompanying sauces and
vegetables sent in separately, hot from the kitchen.
For plain family dinners, soup or pudding is placed at the head of
the table, and meat at the lower end ; vegetables on each side of the
middle, and sauce boats in the middle. Boiled meat at the top; roast
meat at bottom ; soup in the middle; then the vegetables and sauce
boats at cross corners of the middle dish. Poultry or mutton at bot-
tom ; boiled poultry at top; roast poultry, or game, at bottom ; vege-
tables and sauces so disposed as to give the appearance of the whole
table being covered without being crowded.
When there are several courses, the first consists of soups, stews,
boiled fish, fricassees; poultry with ham, bacon, tongue, or chine;
and roast or boiled meat.
For second courses, birds and game of all sorts, fish fried, pickled,
or potted ; pigeon pies, patties, brawn, omelets, oysters stewed or
scolloped, and lobsters or crabs. Tarts, cheesecakes, and sweet dishes
of all kinds, are sometimes placed with the second course, but more
frequently form separate courses by themselves.
The dessert is usually served in another room, which is a great ac-
commodation both to the servants, who can prepare it at leisure, and
to the guests in quitting the smell of a hot dinner. A d'oyley, a
finger glass, two wine glasses, a china dessert plate, and silver knife
and fork, and spoon, to each person. Every variety of fruit, fresh and
preserved, is admissible ; and biscuits, and pound-cake, with an
epergne or stand of jellies in the middle. Varieties of wine are
generally placed at each end.
The modern practice of dining late has added importance to the
luncheon, and almost annihilated the supper meal. The following
are suitable for either: soups, sandwiches of ham, tongue, dried
sausage, or beef; anchovy, toast or husks; potted beef, lobster, or
cheese ; dried salmon, lobsters, crayfish or oysters, poached eggs ;
15
178 THE COMPLETE COOK.
patties; pigeon pies; sausages; toast with marrow (served on a
water plate), cheesecakes; puffs, mashed or scolloped potatoes, brocoli;
asparagus, sea-kale with toast, creams, jellies, preserved or dried
fruits, salad, radishes, &c. If a more substantial supper is required,
it may consist of fish, poultry, game ; slices of cold meat, pies of
chickens, pigeons, or game ; lamb or mutton chops, cold poultry,
broiled with high seasoning, or fricasseed; rations or toasted cheese.
MADE WINES, &c GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING
715. The best method of making these wines is to boil the ingre-
dients, and ferment with yeast. Boiling makes the wine more soft
and mellow. Some, however, mix the juice, or juice and fruit, with
sugar and water unboiled, and leave the ingredients to ferment spon-
taneously. Your fruit should always be prime, and gathered dry, and
picked clean from stalks, &c. The lees of wine are valuable for dis-
tillation, or making vinegar. When wine is put in the cask the fer-
mentation will be renewed. Clear away the yeast as it rises, and fill
up with wine, for which purpose a small quantity should be reserved.
If brandy is to be added, it must be when the fermentation has nearly
subsided, that is, when no more yeast is thrown up at the bung-hole,
and when the hissing noise within is not very perceptible: then mix a
quart of brandy with a pound of honey ; pour into the cask, and paste
stiff brown paper over the bung-hole. Allow no hole for a vent peg,
lest it should once be forgotten, and the whole cask of wine be spoiled.
If the wine wants vent, it will be sure to burst the paper; if not, the
paper will sufficiently exclude all air. Once a week or so, it must
be looked to; if the paper is burst renew it, and continue to do so till
it remains clear and dry. A great difference of opinion prevails as to
racking the wine, or suffering it to remain on the lees. Those who
adopt the former plan do it at the end of six months; draw off the
wine perfectly clear, and put it into a fresh cask, in which it is to re-
main six months, and then be bottled. If this plan is adopted, it may
be better, instead of putting the brandy and honey in the first cask,
to put it in that in which the wine is to be racked ; but on the whole
it is, perhaps, preferable to leave the wine a year in the first cask,
and then bottle it at once. All domestic wines improve more in the
cask than in the bottle. Have very nice clear and dry bottles; do
not fill them too high. Good soft corks, made supple by soaking in a
little of the wine ; press them in, but do not knock. Keep the bottles
lying in saw-dust. This plan will apply equally well to raspberries,
cherries, mulberries, and all kinds of ripe summer fruits.
716. Ginger Wine. To make eighteen gallons of wine twenty
gallons of water, fifty pounds of loaf-sugar, two and a half pounds of
bruised ginger, hops a quarter of a pound, the shaved rinds of eighteen
lemons or Seville oranges; let these boil together for two hours, care-
fully skimming. Pour it, without straining, on to seven pounds of
raisins: when cool put in the juice of the lemons or oranges; rinse
the pulp in a pint or two of the wine, and strain it to the rest. Fer
MADE WINES, & C . 179
rnent it with yeast; mix a quarter of a pint of solid yeast with a pint
or two of the wine, and with that work the rest; next day tun it,
raisins, hops, ginger and all together, and fill it up for a fortnight
either with wine or with good new beer; then dissolve three ounces
of isinglass in a little of the wine, and return it to the rest to fine it:
a few days afterwards bung it close. This wine will be in full per-
fection in six months. It may be bottled, but is apt to fly ; and if
made exactly by the above directions, and drawn from the cask, it
will sparkle like champaign.
717. Mead, Metheglin, or Honey Wine. Boil honey in water for
an hour: the proportion is from three to four j.ounds to each gallon :
half an ounce of hops will both refine and preserve it, but is not com-
monly added : skim carefully, draining the skimmings through a hair
sieve, and return what runs through. When a proper coolness, stir
in yeast; a tea-cup full of solid yeast will serve for nine gallons. Tun
it, and let it work over, filling it up till the fermentation subsides.
Paste over brown paper, and watch it (see No. 725). Rich mead
will keep seven years, and afford a brisk, nourishing, and pleasant
drink. Some people like to add the thinly shaved rind of a lemon to
each gallon while boiling, and put the fruit, free from pith, into the
tub. Others flavour it with spices and sweet herbs, and mix it with
new beer or sweet wort : it is then called Welsh Braggart.
718. Parsnip Wine. To make a kilderkin: Set on double the
quantity of water, and for every gallon of water allow four pounds of
parsnips cleaned and sliced. When the water boils, put in the par-
snips, and boil till they are perfectly tender ; drain through a sieve or
colander without pressing; immediately return it to the copper with
fifty-six pounds of loaf-sugar; it will soon boil, being already hot, and
what drips from the sieve may be added afterwards ; six ounces of
hops, and boil it two hours. Ferment with yeast ; let it stand four
days to work in a warm place; then tun and paste paper over. It is
most likely it will work up and burst the paper, which must be re-
newed. It may be cleared with isinglass, but will not require any
brandy.
719. Malt Wine, or English Sherry. For an eighteen-gallon
cask allow fifty-six pounds of good moist sugar, and sixteen gallons
of water; boil them together two hours, carefully skimming. When
the scum is all removed, and the liquor looks clear, add a quarter of a
pound of hops, which should boil a quarter of an hour or twenty
minutes. When the liquor is quite cool add to it five gallons of
strong beer in the height of working : cover up, and let it work forty-
eight hours; then skim and tun. If none remains for filling up, use
new beer for that purpose. This method may be adopted with all
boiled wines, and will be found to improve their strength, and promote
their keeping. In a fortnight or three weeks, when the head begins
to sink, add raisins (free from stalks) ten pounds, sugar-candy and
bitter almonds of each half a pound, and a pint of the best brandy:
brown paper as in former articles. It may be bottled in one year
180 THE COMPLETE COOK.
out if left three years in the wood, and then bottled, it will be found
equal in strength and flavour to foreign w.ine.
720. Orange or Lemon Wine, boiled. (For quantity of fruit, see
No. 726.) To make eighteen gallons, twenty gallons of water, fifty-
six pounds of loaf-sugar, the whites and shells of a dozen eggs, a
quarter of a pound of hops; boil together the sugar, water, and eggs;
when it has boiled an hour, and become quite clear, add the hops and
the thinly shaved rinds of two or three dozen of the fruit more or
less, according as the bitter flavour is desired. Let it boil, in all, two
hours: meanwhile, remove all the peel and white pith of the fruit,
and squeeze the juice. Pour a gallon or two of the hot liquor on the
pulp; stir it well about, and, when cool, strain to the rest, and add
the juice. (N. B. Some people strain off the hops, rind, and eggs ;
others prefer their remaining: it is by no means important which
mode is adopted.) Work it with yeast, as the foregoing article, and
refine with isinglass dissolved in a quart of brandy. This wine should
be one year in wood, and one in bottles, when it will be found ex-
cellent.
721. Grape Wine. The larger the proportion of juice, and the
less of water, the nearer it will approach to the strength and richness
of foreign wine. There ought not to be less than one-third of pure
juice. Squeeze the grapes in a hair sieve, bruising them with the
hand rather than any heavier press, as it is better not to crush the
stones. Soak the pulp in water until a sufficient quantity is obtained
to fill up the cask. As loaf-sugar is to be used for this wine, and it is
not easily dissolved in cold liquid, the best plan is to pour over the
sugar (three pounds in every gallon required) as much boiling water
as will dissolve it, and stir till it is dissolved. When cold put it in
the cask with the juice, fill up from water in which the pulp has been
steeped. To each gallon of wine put half an ounce of bitter almonds,
not blanched, but cut small. The fermentation will not be very great.
When it subsides, proceed with the brandy and papering as 726.
722. Raisin Wine. There are various modes of preparing this
wine, which is, perhaps, when well made, the best of our domestic
wines. The following receipts are considered good : For raisin
wine, without sugar, put to every gallon of soft water eight pounds
of fresh Smyrna or Malaga raisins: let them steep a month, stirring
every day; then drain the liquor and put it into the cask, filling up as
it works over: this it will do for two months. When the hissing has
in a grea? measure subsided, add brandy and honey, and paper as the
former articles. This wine should remain three years untouched ; it
may then be drunk from the cask, or bottled, and will be found excel-
lent. Raisin wine is sometimes made in large quantities, by merely
putting the raisins in the cask, and filling it up with water: the pro-
portion as above: carefully pick out all stalks. In six months rack
the wine into fresh casks, and put to each the proportion of brandy
and honey. In cider countries, and plentiful apple years, a most ex-
cellent raisin wine is made by employing cider instead of water, and
,
MADE WINES, &C. 181
sleeping in it the raisins. Proceed in every respect as in the last,
article.
723. Raisin Wine with Sugar. To every gallon of soft water
four pounds of fresh raisins; put them in a large tub; stir frequently,
and keep it covered with a sack or blanket. In about a fortnight the
fermentation will begin to subside: this may be known by the raisins
remaining still. Then press the fruit and strain the liquor. Have
ready a wine cask, perfectly dry and warm, allowing for each gallon
one pound or one pound and a half Lisbon sugar; put this into the
cask with the strained liquor: when half full, stir well the sugar and
liquor, and put in half a pint of thick yeast; then fill up with the
liquor, and continue to do so while the fermentation lasts, which will
be a month or more. Proceed with brandy, &c., as in the foregoing
articles.
724. Raisin Wine, in imitation of Frontignac. For every gallon
of wine required, allow two pounds of raisins; boil them one hour in
water; strain the boiling liquor on loaf-sugar, two pounds for every
gallon ; stir it well together : when cool put it in the cask with a
moderate quantity of yeast (as last article). When the fermentation
subsides, suspend in the cask a muslin bag containing elder flowers,
in the proportion of a quart to three gallons of wine. When per-
fectly clear, draw off the wine into bottles.
725. Currant or Gooseberry Wine without boiling. Suppose the
cask to be filled is a kilderkin, to make it rich you should have fifty
quarts of fruit, bruise it, and add to it half that quantity of water. Stir
it well together, and let it stand twelve hours; then strain it through a
coarse canvass bag or hair sieve to fifty-six pounds of good Lisbon su-
gar, and stir it well. Put the pulp of the fruit into a gallon more wa-
ter ; stir it about, and let it stand twelve hours. Then strain to the
above, again stirring it; cover the tub with a sack. In a day or two
the wine will begin to ferment. When the whole surface is covered
with a thick yeasty froth, begin to skim it on to a sieve. What runs
through may be returned to the wine. Do this from time to time for
several days, till no more yeast forms. Then put it into the cask.
726. Orange or Lemon Wine without boiling. For an eighteen-
gallon cask, half a chest of Seville oranges; they are most juicy in
March. Shave the rinds of a dozen or two (more or less according as
the bitter flavour is desired, or otherwise.) Pour over this a quart or
two of boiling water: cover up, and let it stand twelve hours, then
strain to the rest. Put into the cask fifty-six pounds of good Lisbon
sugar. Clear off all the peel and white pith from the oranges, and
squeeze through a hair -sieve. Put the juice into the cask to the
sugar. Wash the sieve and pulp with cold water, and let the pulp
soak in the water twenty-four hours. Strain, and add to the last, con-
tinually stirring it; add more water to the pulp, Jet it soak, then strain
and add. Continue to do so till the cask is full, often stirring it with
a stick until all the sugar is dissolved. Then leave it to ferment.
The fermentation will not be nearly so great as that of currant wine,
but the hissing noise will be heard for some weeks ; when this sub-
15*
182 TIIECOMPLETE COOK.
sides, add honey and brandy, and paste over with brown paper. This
wine should remain in Ihe cask a year before bottling.
727. Cowslip or Clary Wine. The best method of making these
wines is to put in the pips dry, when the fermentation of the wine
has subsided. This method is preferred for two reasons; first,
it may be performed at any time of the year when lemons are cheap-
est, and when other wine is making; secondly, all waste of the pips
is avoided; being light they are sure to work over if put in the cask
while the wine is in a state of fermentation. For a kilderkin boil fifty-
six pounds of good moist sugar, with twenty gallons of water, and a
quarter of a pound of hops ; shave thin the rinds of three dozen le-
mons or Seville oranges, or part of each ; they may be put in the boil
the last quarter of an hour, or the boiling liquor poured over them ;
squeeze the juice to be added when cool, and rinse the pulp in the
hot liquor. Work with yeast as in the foregoing articles. In two
days tun the liquor, and keep it filled up either with wine or new
beer, as long as it works over; then paste brown paper, and leave it
for four, six, or eight months. The quantity of flowers is one quart to
each gallon of wine. Let them be gathered on a fine dry day, and
carefully picked from every bit of stalk and green. Spread them
thinly on trays, sheets, or papers, and turn them often. When tho-
roughly dry, put them in paper bags until the wine is ready to receive
them. Put them in at the bung-hole ; stir them down two or three
times a day, till all the cowslips have sunk; at the same time add
isinglass. Then paste over again vvitli paper. In six months the
wine will be fit to bottle, but will be improved by keeping longer in
the cask; the pips shrink into a very small compass in drying; the
quantity allowed is of fresh-gathered flowers. Observe also, that
wine well boiled, and refined with hops and isinglass, is just as good
used from the cask, as if bottled, which is a great saving of time and
hazard. Wine made on the above principles has been often praised
by connoisseurs, and supposed to have been bottled at least a year,
which, in fact, had not been bottled half a day.
728. Birch Wine. The liquor of the birch tree is to be obtained
in the month of March, when the sap begins to ascend. One foot
from the ground bore a hole in each tree, large enough to admit a
faucet, and set a vessel under; the liquor will run for two or three
days without injuring the tree. Having obtained a sufficient quan-
tity, stop the holes with pegs. To each gallon of liquor add a quart
of honey, or two and a half pounds of sugar; boil together an hour,
stirring it well ; a few cloves may be added for flavour, or the rind of
a lemon or two; and, by all means, two ounces of hops to nine gal-
lons of wine. Work it with yeast; tun, and proceed as in former re-
cipes : refine with isinglass. Two months after making, it may be
drawn off and bottled ; and in two months more will be fit for use, but
will improve by keeping.
729. Elder Wine. The quantity of fruit required is one gallon of
Tipe elder-berries, and one quart of damsons or sloes, for every two
gallons of wine to be produced ; boil them in water till the damsons
M A D E \V I N E S , & C . 183
burst, frequently breaking them with a flat stick ; then strain and re-
turn the liquor to the copper. The quantity of liquor required for
eighteen gallons of wine, will be twenty gallons: whatever, there-
fore, the first liquor proves short of this, add water to the pulp; rub it
about and strain to the rest: boil two hours with fifty-six pounds of
coarse moist sugar; a pound and a half of ginger bruised, a pound of
allspice, and two ounces of cinnamon, loosely tied in a muslin bag,
and four or six ounces of hops. When quite cool work on the fore-
going plan, tun in two days, drop in the spice and suspend the bag by
a string not long enough to let it touch the bottom of the cask : fill it up
for a fortnight, then paste over stiff" brown paper: it will be fit to
tap in two months; will keep for years, but does not improve by age
like many other wines ; it is never better than in the first year of its
age.
730. Damson or Black Cherry Wine may be made in the same
manner, excepting the addition of spice, and that the sugar should be
finer. If kept in an open vessel four days, these wines will ferment
of themselves ; but it is better to forward the process by the use of a
little yeast, as in former recipes: they will be fit for use in about eight
months. As there is a flatness belonging to both these wines if bot-
tled, a tea-spoonful of rice, a lump or two of sugar, or four or five rai-
sins, will tend to enliven it.
731. Cherry Brandy. For this purpose use either morello cherries
or small black cherries; pick them from the stalks; fill the bottles
nearly up to the necks, then fill up with brandy (some people use
whiskey, gin, or spirit distilled from the lees of wine.) In three
weeks or a month strain off the spirit; to each quart add one pound
of loaf-sugar clarified, and flavour with tincture of cinnamon or
cloves.
732. Raspberry Brandy. Scald the fruit in a stone jar set in a
kettle of water, or on a hot hearth. When the juice will run freely,
strain it without pressing : to every quart of juice allow one pound of
loaf-sugar; boil it up and skim ; when quite clear pour out; and when
cold, add an equal quantity of brandy. Shake them well together and
bottle.
733. Sherbet. In a quart of water boil six or eight sticks of rhu-
barb ten minutes: strain the boiling liquor on the thin shaved rind
of a lemon. Two ounces of clarified sugar, with a wine-glassful
of brandy, stir to the above, and let it stand five or six hours before
using.
734. Raspberry Vinegar may be made either by boiling down the
juice with an equal weight of sugar, the same as for jelly, and then
mixing it with an equal quantity of distilled vinegar, to be bottled
with a glass of brandy in each bottle; or in a china bowl or stone jar
(free from metallic glaze) steep a quart of fresh-gathered raspber-
ries in two quarts of the best white wine vinegar. Next day strain
the liquor on an equal quantity of fresh fruit, and the next day do the
same. After the third steeping of fruit, dip a jelly bag in plain vine-
gar to prevent waste, and strain the flavoured vinegar through it into
184 THE COMPLETE COOK.
a stone jar. Allow to each pint of vinegar a pound of loaf-sugar pow-
dered. Stir in the sugar with a silver spoon, and, when dissolved,
cover up the jar and set it in a kettle of water. Keep it at boiling
heat one hour; remove the scum. When cold, add to each pint a
glass of brandy, and bottle it. This is a pleasant and useful drink in
hot weather, or in sickness : one pint of the vinegar to eight of cold
water.
735. Lemonade. For a quart of water six lemons, and two ounces
of loaf-sugar. Shave half the lemons, or rub the sugar over them.
Squeeze the juice of the lemons to the sugar, and pour the water
boiling hot. Well mix the whole, and run it through a jelly-bug pre-
viously wrung out of scalding water. Lemonade may be obtained,
when the fruit is not in season, by using the syrup of lemons; (sim-
mer each pint of juice with three-quarters of a pound of loaf-sugar;
strain and bottle :) or the citric acid two drachms of citric acid,
twenty drops of essence of lemon, a pint of clarified syrup or capil-
laire. This may be reduced at pleasure with boiling water.
736. Pop, or Ginger Beer. The principal difference between
ginger pop and ginger beer, is, that the former is bottled immediately,
the other is first put in a barrel for a few days. It is also usual to
boil the ingredients for ginger beer, which is not done for pop. Both
are to be bottled in stone bottles, and the corks tied or wired down.
If properly done, the corks and strings will serve many times in
uccession ; the moment the string is untied the cork will fly out
uninjured. The bottles as soon as empty should be soaked a few
hours in cold water, shaken about and turned down, and scalded
immediately before using. The corks also must be scalded. On
one pound of coarse loaf or fine moist sugar, two ounces of cream
of tartar, and one ounce of bruised ginger, pour a gallon of boiling
water: stir it well and cover up to cool, as the flavour of the
ginger is apt to evaporate. It is a good way to do thus for the
last thing at night; then it is just fit to set working the first thing
in the morning. Two large table-spoonfuls of yeast, stir to it a
tea-cup full of the liquor; let it stand a few minutes in a warmish
place, then pour it to the rest; stir it well, and cover up for eight
hours. Be particular as to time. If done earlier, the bottles are
apt to fly if later, the beer soon becomes vapid. Skim, strain, bot-
tle, cork, and tie down. The cork should not touch the beer. It
will be fit for use next day. Lemon rind and juice may be added, but
are not necessary.
737. Ginger Beer. The proportions of this may vary. Loaf-su-
gar is preferable to moist; some say a pound to a gallon, others a
pvmndand a half; some allow but half an ounce of ginger (sliced or
bruised) to a gallon, others an ounce; a lemon to a gallon is the usual
pvoportion, to which some add a quarter of an ounce or half an ounce
o/' cream of tartar; the white of an egg to each gallon is useful forclari-
fying, but not absolutely necessary. Some people put a quarter of'a pint
of brandy to four gallons of beer by way of keeping it : half an ounce
of hops boiled in it would answer the same purpose. Boil the sugar,
MADE WINES, &C. 185
water, and whites of eggs well beaten; skim carefully. Then add
the ginger, and shaved rind of lemons; let it boil half an hour; clear
the lemons of the white pith and put them in the wine. When cool,
stir in the yeast (two table-spoonfuls to a gallon,) put it in the bar-
rel without straining, and bung close. In a fortnight draw off and
bottle. It will be ready for use in another fortnight, and will keep
longer than ginger pop. If cream of tartar is used, pour ths boiling
liquor over it, but do not boil it.
INDEX
The figures at the beginning of the lines refer to the numbers of the para~
graphs ; those at the end, to the pages.
Advice to Cooks (Dr. Kitchi-
ner's) 15.
American mode of cooking In-
dian corn, pumpkins,&c.,159.
625 . . Indian cake, or bannock,
159.
334 Anchovy, essence of, 99.
335 . . powder of, 99.
123 . . sauce, 55.
677 Apricots, to preserve in jelly,
169.
678 . . a very nice preserve for,
170.
679 .. dried, 170.
680 . . or peaches in brandy, 170.
681 . . jam, 170.
657 Arrow-root, 166.
426 Artichokes, 117.
424 .. Jerusalem, 117.
Artificial preparation of meat,
fish, &c., for dressing, salt-
ing, drying, &c., 106.
425 Asparagus, 117.
784 Bacon, to boil, 65.
621 Baking, bread, 158.
622 . . Sally Lunn tea cake, 458.
623 . . plum cake, 159.
624 . . a plain pound cake, 159.
Baking meat, &,c., 87.
283 . . general remarks on, 87.
284 Baking a pig, 87
285 . . a goose, 87.
286 . . buttock of beef, 87.
287 . . fish, 87.
288 . . time for, 88.
289 . . objection to, 88.
290 . . Kitchiner (Dr.) on, 88.
663 Barley Water, 167.
448 Basil vinegar, or wine, 124.
421 Beans, Windsor, 117.
422 . . French, 117.
423 . . harricot, 117.
397 Beef alamode, 113.
167 . . boiled, 61.
168 .. boiled salt, 62.
342 hashed, 101.
349 . . harricot of, 102.
350 . . salt, baked, 102.
351 . . baked like red deer, to be
eaten cold, 102.
233 . . sirloin of, roasted, 76.
234 . . rump and round, roasted,
76.
236 . . ribs of, roasted, 76.
665 . . tea, 167.
736 Beer, ginger, 184.
427 Beer-root, red, 118.
428 . . white, 118.
259 Blackcock, roasted, 83.
319 Blanching, 94
646 Blancmange, 163.
647 . . a richer, 163.
648 .. arrow-root, 163.
628 Boiled maize pudding, 160.
Boiling, 20.
. . general directions for, 58.
146 . . vessels for, 58.
147 . . water for, 58.
148 .. fire for, 58.
149 . . directions for putting in the
pot, 59.
150 . . to scum, 59.
151 . . how long to do, 59.
152 . . meats just killed, 59.
153 . . frozen meat, 59.
154 . . salt meat, 59.
155 . . bacon, 59.
156 . . ham, beef, tongues, pork,
59.
157 . . by steam, 60.
158 . . without coming in contact
with water, 60.
159 . . warming up, 60.
160 . . soaking before, 60.
161 .. meat just killed, 60.
(187)
168
INDEX
162 Boiling : what meats may re-
main in the hot liquor, GO.
163 .. potatoes not to be boiled with
meat, 61.
164 . . what vegetables may be, 61.
165 .. vegetables, 61.
166 . . old potatoes, 61.
. . butcher's meat, poultry, and
general remarks on, 61.
321 Boning, 94.
281 Brain balls, 87.
316 Braising, glazing, blanching,
larding, and boning, general
remarks on, 93.
317 Braising, 93.
732 Brandy, cherry, 183.
731 . . raspberry, "l 83.
638 Brewis, American, 162.
191 Brill, to boil, 267.
411 Brocoli, 115.
356 Broiled rump steaks with onion
gravy, 104.
Broiling, 92.
308 . . gridiron for, 92.
309 . . thickness of chops for, 92.
310 .. fire for, 92.
311 . . when done, 92.
. . general remarks on, 75, 92.
312 . . steaks, 92.
312 . . chops, 92.
313 . . kidneys, 93.
314 .. fowl, 93.
314 .. rabbit, 93.
315 . . pigeons, 93.
Broth or stock, and gravies,
49.
99 Broth, beef or stock, 50.
69 . . fish, 39.
76 . . chicken, 41.
77 . . mutton, 41.
78 . . mutton chop, 42.
322 Browning, 95.
357 Bubble and squeak, 104.
108 Butter, melted, 53.
464 .. clarified, 127.
465 . . burnt, 128.
466 . . oiled, 128.
Cabbage, 115.
412 . . cold, 115.
414 . . red, 115.
178 Calf's head, boiled, 63.
340 Calf's head, to hash, 100.
249 Capons, to roast, 80.
186 . . to boil, 65.
213 Carp, fried, 71.
214 . . stewed, 71.
420 Carrots, 117.
Carving, directions for, 171.
686 . . fish, 171.
686 . . turbot, <fcc., 172.
687 . . cod's head and shoulders,
172.
688 . . salmon, 172.
689 . . soles, 172.
690 Carving mackerel, 172.
691 .. eels, whiting, jack, &c., 172.
692 . . aitch-bone of beef, 172.
693 . . round, and flank of beef,
172.
694 .. brisket of beef, 172.
695 . . sirloin of beef, 173.
696 .. fillet of veal, 173.
697 .. breast of veal, 173.
698 . . necks and loins, 173.
699 . . calf's head, 173.
700 . . leg of mutton, 173.
701 .. saddle of mutton, 173.
702 .. shoulder of mutton, 174.
703 . . haunch of venison, 174.
704 . . fore-quarter of lamb, 174.
705 . . ham, 174.
706 . . tongue, 174
707 . . sucking pig, 174.
708 . . fowl, 175. "
709 .. a pheasant, 175.
710 . . partridges and pigeons, 175
711 . . goose or duck, 175.
712 .. turkey, 176.
713 . . hare, 176.
714 .. rabbits, 176.
Catsups, 125.
458 . . walnut, 126.
459 . . oyster, 126.
460 . . cockle and muscle, 126.
461 . . mushroom, 126.
462 . . mushroom, without spioe,
127.
463 . . mushroom powder, 127.
410 Cauliflowers, 115.
431 Celery, 118.
640 Cheese, to preserve, 162.
684 . . damson, 171.
611 Cheesecakes, 157.
INDEX.
189
610 Cheesecakes, to make curd for,
15G.
612 . . potatoe, 157.
613 . . a plain, 157.
614 . . bread, 157.
672 . . Cherries, 169.
683 . . in brandy, 171.
186 Chickens to boil, 65.
Choice and purchasing of
butcher's meat, 26.
. . general remarks on, 26
27.
21 .. beef, 27.
22 . . mutton, 27.
23 . . venison, 27.
24 . . veal, 28.
25 .. lamb, 28.
26 .. pork, 28.
27 . . bacon. 28.
28 .. hams, 29.
. . summary of directions, 29.
Choice of poultry, eggs, and
fish, and seasons offish, 29
.. poultry of all kinds, 29.
29 . . rabbits, 29.
30 .. fowls, 29.
31 . . rabbits and pigeons, 30.
32 . . game, 30.
33 . . eggs, 30.
34 . . fish, 30.
35 . seasons of fish, 30.
Clarifying, 127.
195 Cod to broil, 68.
676 Codlins, to keep for several
months, 169.
413 Coleworts, young, 115.
347 Collops, minced, 101.
232 Colouring, 95.
Colourings, thickenings, fla-
vourings, seasonings, stocks,
gravies, sauces, stuffings,
force meats, and clarifying,
remarks on, 94.
Cookery, general remarks on,
16.
. . importance of good, as re-
gards health, &c., 16.
. . Johnson (Dr.), his observa-
tions on, 17.
. . Sylvester (Mr.) on, 17.
. . Waterhouse (Dr.) on, 17.
. Milton's writings on, 17.
16
Cookery, Parr (Dr.) on, 18.
. . Prout (Dr) on, 19.
. . Philosophical, Count
Romford, 20.
Cooking, preparations for, 29.
180 Cow-heel, 64.
649 Crearn, Italian, 163.
650 . . clouted or clotted, 164.
651 . . for fruit pies, 164.
652 . . Birch's receipt for mock,
164.
489 Crusts, flaky, short. 135.
490 . . raised, 135.
493 for savoury pies, 136.
494 . . a rich short, 136.
Cucumbers, 124.
435 . . stewed, 119.
Curing, &c., with pyroligneoua
acid, 110.
385 . . general remarks on, 110.
386 hams for, 110.
. . salmon for, 110.
387 . . time it will keep, 110.
388 . . hams and beef require no
previous soaking, 110.
389 . . herrings, cod, haddock, 111.
375 . . bacon, 108.
675 Currants, 169.
581 Custard, 152.
582 . . almond, 152.
583 .. rice, 152.
673 Damsons or gooseberries, to
bottle, 169.
364 Devil, 106.
382 Dried or kippered salmon, 110.
383 . . herrings, 110.
384 . . haddock, cod, ling, &e.,
110.
467 Dripping, to clarify, 128.
Drying, smoking, &c., 109.
. . general remarks on, 109
252 Duck, to roast, 81.
. . canvas back or red-neck
81.
576 Dumplings, yeast, 151 .
590 . . hard, 153.
192 Dutch plaice, to boil, 67.
Duties, relative, of mistress and
maid, 13.
194 Eels, stewed, 68,
190
INDEX.
210 Eels, fried, 70,
211 .. boiled, 71.
280 Egg balls, 86.
. . plums, to preserve, 170.
185 . . Eggs, to poach, 75.
253 Fawns to roast, 82.
216 Fish, salt, to boil, 71.
56 . . cleaning, 35.
57 . . eels, 36.
58 . . without scales, 37=
59 . . turbot, plaice, flounders, 37.
60 . . cod, 37.
61 . . oysters, 37.
639 Fish, salt, American mode of
dressing, 162.
372 Flavoured salt meat, to make,
107.
325 Flavourings, 97.
. . essences, powders, &c., 98.
642 Flummery, common, 162.
643 . . rice, 162.
644 . . French, 162.
645 .. Dutch, 163.
278 Force meat, for vej f or fowls,
86.
279 . . light, 86.
320 Forcing, 94.
278 Fowls, to roast, 86.
363 Fried slices of ham or bacon,
105.
618 Fritters, 158.
619 , . oyster, 158.
620 . . potatoe, 158.
Frying, 89.
294 . . Kitchiner (Dr.) on, 89.
295 . . what to use for, 89.
296 . . dripping for, 89.
297 .. the great secret in, 90.
298 . . to know when done, 90.
299 . . bread crumbs for, 90.
Frying, general remarks on,
75, 89.
300 . . steaks, 90.
301 .. beef steaks and onions, 90.
302 . . sausages, 90.
303 . . veal cutlets, 90.
304 . . sweetbreads, 91.
305 . . lanj.T? chops, 91.
305 . . mutton chops, 91.
306 , . pork chops, 91.
307 . . eggs, 91.
61 - . oysters, 36.
216 . . salt fish, to boil, 71.
Fuel, waste of, 21.
Garnishes, 176.
682 Ginger, to preserve, 170.
102 Glaze, 51.
318 Glazing, 94.
250 Goose, to roast, 81.
244 . . mock, 78.
674 Gooseberries, 169.
655 Gooseberry, or apple fool, 165.
103 Gravy beef, 51.
104 .. for roast meat, 51.
105 . . for boiled meat, 52.
106 . . for roast veal, 52.
107 . . rich brown for poultry, ra
gout, or game, 52.
97 Green turtle soup, 48.
Greengages, to preserve, 170,
659 Groats, Robinson's prepared,
166.
259 Grouse, to roast, 83.
Gruels, creams, syllabubs, jel-
lies, &,c., &,c., 62.
658 Gruel, 166.
660 . . rice, 166.
661 . . barley, 166.
206 Gudgeons, 70.
259 Guinea fowl, to roast, 83.
197 Haddock, to boil, 69.
344 Haggis, a good Scotch, 101
191 Halibut, to boil, 67.
376 Hams, curing, 108.
377 . . Yorkshire, 109.
379 . . mutton, 109.
184 . . to boil, 65.
235 Hare, mock, 76.
256 . . to roast, 82.
353 . . stewed, 102.
354 . . jugged, 103.
341 Hashed meat, remarks on, 100
326 Herbs, sweet, to prepare for
keeping, 98.
337 . . spirit of, mixed, 100.
333 . . essence, or tinctures of, 99.
429 . . to fry, 118.
68 Hotch-potch, 39.
380 Hung or Dutch beef, 109.
625 Indian cake, or bannock, 159
INDEX.
191
626 Indian corn, green, 160.
627 . . corn pudding, 160.
671 Jams, 168.
635 Jelly, calves' feet, 165.
666 . . shank, 167.
667 . . tapioca, 167.
670 .. fruit, 168.
374 Jerked beef, 108.
430 Kale, sea and Scotch, 118.
Keeping fresh meat, 111.
390 . general remarks on, 111.
391 . . slightly roasted for, 111.
392 . . best method for, 111.
393 .. Franklin (Dr.) on, 111.
393 .. to kill fbwlibr, 111.
394,395 recipes for, 112.
255 Kid, to roast, 82.
Kitchen, rules and maxims of,
24.
. . what must always be done,
and what must never be
done, 25.
290 .. grates, 88.
174 Lamb, a leg, boiled, 63.
175 . . neck of, boiled, 63.
242 . . roasting, 77.
176 Lamb's head and pluck, 63.
. . browned, 63.
469 Lard, hog's, to clarify, 128.
320 Larding, 94.
735 Lemonade, 184.
196 Ling, to boil, 69.
202 Mackerel, boiled, 69.
203 . . broiled, 69.
204 . . baked, or pickled, 70.
Made dishes, remarks on, 100.
365 Marrow bones, 106.
641 Mince meat, American, 162.
25') ?Ioor game, to roast, 83.
433 Morels, 119.
20J Mullets, red, 70.
4.3-2 Mushrooms, 118.
169 Mutton, a leg, boiled, 62.
170 . . neck of boiled, 62.
171 . . shoulder, boiled, 62.
172 . . breast, boiled, 62.
237 . . roasted, 76.
238 . . venison fashion, 77.
342 Mutton, hashed, 101.
346 . . chops delicately stewed,101
346 . . broth, good, 101.
599 Omelet, friar's, 155.
338 Orange or lemon peel tincture
of, 100.
332 . . preserved, 99,
669 . . marmalade, 167.
668 Orgeat, 167.
219 Oysters, stewed, 72,
221 .. fried, 73.
218 . . au gratin, 72.
222 . . broiled, 73.
615 Pancakes, common, 157.
616 . . rice, 158.
617 . . cream, 158.
120 Parsley and butter, 55,
436 Parsnips, 120.
259 Partridges, to roast, 83.
491 Paste, puff, 136.
492 . . sweet, 136.
495 . . biscuit, 136.
497 .. stringing, 136.
498 . . potatce, 137.
i499 .. rice, 137.
Pastry, general observations
on, 134.
500 . . icing, 137.
496 Pastry, crust for venison, 136.
531 . . to prepare venison for, 142.
533 . . of beef or mutton, to eat as
well as venison, 143.
543 Patties, fried, 144.
544 . . oyster, 144.
545 . . beef, 144.
5-16 . . a good mince for, 145.
259 Pea fowl, to roast, 83.
418 Peas, green, 116.
419 . . to stew, 116.
215 Perch, to boil, 71.
258 Pheasant, to roast, 82.
Pickles, general remarks on, 19.
471 Pickling, first method of, 129.
472 . . second method of, 129.
473 . . third method of, 130.
474 . . gherkins, 130.
475 . . French beans, 130.
476 onions, 130.
477 .. red cabbage, 130.
478 . . garlic and eschalots, 131.
192
DEX.
479 Pickling, melons, mangoes, and
long cucumbers, 131.
480 . . brocoli or cauliflowers, 131.
481 . . walnuts, 131.
482 . . beet-roots, 131.
483 . . cauliflowers and brocoli,
132.
484 . . artichokes, 132.
485 . . artichoke bottoms, 132.
486 . . mushrooms, 132.
487 . . samphire, 132.
488 . . Indian, 132.
373 Pickling meat, 107.
378 . . tongues, 109.
378 . . chines, 109.
378 . . chops, 109.
501 Pie, perigord, 137.
502 . . sole, 137.
503 . . eel, 138.
504 . . oyster, 138.
505 . . pilchard, 138.
506 . . a remarkable fine fish, 138.
507 . . beef-steak, 138.
508 . . beef-steak and oyster, 138. ;
509 . . veal, chicken, and parsley,
138.
510 . . veal olive, 138.
511 .. veal, 139.
512 .. a rich veal, 139.
513 . . calf's head, 139.
514 . . excellent pork to eat cold,
140.
515 .. lamb, 140.
516 Pie, mutton, 140.
517 . . chicken, 140.
. . young rabbits, 140.
519 . . giblet, 140.
520 . . green goose, 140.
521 . . Staffordshire goose, 141.
522 . . hare to eat cold, 141.
523 . . partridge, 141.
524 .. a French, 141.
525 . . pigeon, 141.
526 . . squab, 141.
527 .. duck, 141.
528 . . rabbit, 1 42.
529 . . vegetable, 142.
530 . . an herb, 142.
534 . . apple, 143.
535 . . cherry, 143.
536 . . currant, 143.
537 . . mince, 143.
629 Pie, pumpkin, 160.
630 . . carrot, 161.
Pies, tarts, and puffs, 137.
247 Pig, sucking, roasted, 79.
181 Pig's Pettitoes, boiled, 64.
262 Pigeons, to roast, 83.
212 Pike, 71.
736 Pop, 184.
243 Pork, roasting, 78.
244 . . leg of, roasted without the
skin, 78.
245 . . spare rib of, 78.
246 . . loin of, roasted, 79.
182 .. salt, boiled, 64.
183 . . pickled, boiled, 64.
667 Posset, 167.
437 Potatoes, 120.
438 . . to boil, 122.
439 . . to steam, 122.
440 . . to roast, 122.
441 . . mashed, 122.
442 . . roasted under meat, 122.
443 . . fried or broiled, 123.
444 . . balls, 123.
445 . . snow, 123.
248 Poultry to roast, 79.
38 . . time of killing, 31.
39 . . drawing, 31.
41-42 Poultry, trussing, 31.
45 . . ducks, 32.
46 . . geese, 33.
47 . . turkeys, 33.
48 . . pigeons, 33.
49 . . pheasants, partridges, and
guinea fowls, 34.
50 . . wild ducks, 34.
51 . . woodcocks, plovers, &c., 34.
52 .. hare, 34.
53 . . rabbits, 35.
54 . . fawns or kids, 35.
55 . . sucking pigs, 35.
327 Powder, savoury soup, 98.
328 . . curry, 98.
329 . . for ragouts, 98.
331 . for white-made dishes, 99.
330 . . for brown-made dishes, 98.
335 . . anchovy, 99.
336 . . oyster, 99.
461 . mushroom, 126.
Preserves, 168.
Puddings, cheesecakes, &c.,
145.
INDEX
193
551 Pudding, to make paste, 146.
552 . . plum, 147.
553 . . a plain family plum, 147.
554 . . a common plum, 147.
555 . . a very light plum, 147.
556 . . national plum, 148.
557 . . potatoe, 148.
558 . . cottage potatoe, 148.
559 . . rich sweet potatoe, 148.
560 . . carrot, 148.
561 . . black cap, 148.
562 . . sago, 149.
563 . . a very good, 149.
564 . . bread and butter, 149
565 . . almond, 149.
566 . . Kitchiner's, 149.
567 . . Dutch rice, 150.
568 . . rice, 150.
569 . . another rice, 150
570 . . baked rice, 150.
571 . . ground rice, 150.
572 . . rice snow balls, 151.
573 . . plain rice, 151.
575 . . vermicelli, 151.
575 . . tapioca, 151.
575 . . sago, 151.
575 . . Russian seed, 151.
577 . . suet, 151.
578 . . Hunter's, 152.
579 . . Marlborough, 152.
580 . . custard, 152.
584 . . baked vermicelli, 153.
585 . . marrow, 153.
586 . . conservative, 153.
587 . . economical, 153.
588 . . delicate bread, 153.
589 . . barley, 153.
591 .. Newmarket, 154.
592 .. a light, 154.
593 . . Yorkshire, 154.
594 . . a nice suet, 154.
595 . . mother Eve's, 154.
596 .. Newcastle, 154.
597 .. hasty, 154.
598 . . arrow-root, 154.
600 .. a Swiss, 155.
601 .. Oxford, 155.
602 . . muffin, or cabinet, 155
603 . . French and Italian, 155.
604 . . a cheese, 155.
605 . . a very rich, 155.
606 . . chesnut, 156.
16*
607 Pudding, rusk, 156.
608 . . Portugal, 156.
609 . . tansey, 156.
628 . . boiled maze, 160.
631 . . American custard, 161
632 . . American plum, 161.
633 . . rennet, 161.
634 .. American apple, 161.
635 . . bird's nest, 161.
636 . . American souse, 161.
637 . . American dry bread, 162.
547 Puffs, apple, 145.
548 . . lemon, 145.
549 . . excellent light, 145.
550 . . cheese, 145.
257 Rabbit, to roast, 82.
366 Ragout of duck, or any other
kind of poultry or game, 106.
264 Reed birds, 83.
574 Rice bignets, 151.
Roasting, 73.
223 . . spitting before, 73.
224 . . best kind of spits for, 73.
225 . . fire for, 74.
226 .. time for, 74.
227 . . to preserve the fat white,
74.
228 . . how to make a fire for, 74.
229 . . distance from fire for, 74.
230 . . slow, 75.
231 . . dripping-pan for, 75.
232 . . attention to, 75.
. . general remarks on, 75.
Salads, 123.
446 . . general remarks on, 123.
187 Salmon to boil, 66.
188 . . broiled, 66.
189 .. baked, 67.
190 .. pickled, 67.
Salting, 106.
367 . . general remarks on, 106.
363 . . meat, 107.
369 . . quantities for, 107.
370 . . time for, 107.
371 . . hasty, 107.
343 Sandwiches, 101.
Sauces, 52.
109 . . for fricassee of fowls, rab-
bits, white meat, fish, or ve-
getables, 53.
INDEX.
110 Sauces, for cold fowl or par- 268
tridge, 54.
111 . . very rich mushroom for fowls
or rabbits, 54.
112 .. for boiled car;), or boiled 733
turkey, o4. 205
113 . . green, for green geese, or 263
ducklings, 54. 206
114 .. egg, 54. 261
115 .. onion, 54. 192
116 .. apple, 54. 193
117 .. gooseberry, 54. 194
118 . wow-wow, 55.
119 .. curry, 55. 66
120 . . parsley and butter, 55. 67
121 . . fennel and butter for mack- 70
erel, 55. 72
122 . . plum pudding, 55. 73
123 . . anchovy, 55. 74
124 . . caper, 55. 75
125 . . mock caper, 55. 79
126 . . shrimp, 55. 80
127 .. oyster, 55. 81
128 . . lobster, 56. 82
129 . . liver, 56. 83
130 . . bread, 56. 84
131 .. for tripe, calf's head, or j 85
cow-heeL 56. 86
132 .. celery, 56. 87
133 . . tarragon, or burnet, 56. 88
134 . . sorrel, for lamb or veal, and 89
sweetbreads, 56. 90
J35 . . poor man's, 56 91
136 . . truffle, 56. 92
137 . . sharp for venison, 5J. 93
138 . . sweet for venison, 57. 95
139 . . wine for venison, hare, or
haunch of mutton, 57. 96
140 . . for a pig, 57. ' 339
141 . . turtle, 57. 415
142 . . for all sorts of fish, 57. 206
143 . . pudding, 57. 413
144 . . custard, 57. 629
145 . . roe, 58. 291
71 Scotch brosc, 40. 292
362 . . collopg, 105. J4
Seasonings, general observa- 98
tions on, 84. 345
265 . . roast pork, ducks, or geese, ' 348
84. 352
266 . . sucking pig, 84.
267 . . goose, 84. 355
Seasonings, chesnut for goose,
84.
Setting out a table, 177.
Sheep's heads, boiled, 62.
Sherbet, 183.
Skate, to boil, 70.
Small birds, to roast, 83.
Smelts, to fry, 70.
Snipes, to roast, 83.
Soles, to boil, 67.
. . fried, 67.
. . stewed, 68.
Soups, broths, &c., 38.
Soup, clear gravy, 38.
. . ox tail, 38.
. . cock-a-leeky, 39.
. . pease, 40.
. . pease and pickled pork, 40
. . plain pease, 41.
. . Spanish, 41.
. . and bouilli, 42.
. . a cheap, 42.
. . veal, 42.
. . calf's head, 42.
. . giblet, 42.
. . Kitchiner's cheap, 43.
. . maigre, 43.
. . mock turtle, 44.
. . carrot, 45.
. . mulligatawny, or curry, 45,
. . eel, 45.
. . gourd, 46.
. . game, 46.
. . turnip and parsley, 46.
. . celery, 46.
. . hare, rabbit, or partridge,
47.
. . portable, 47.
Spice, spirit of, mixed, 100
Spinach, 116.
Sprats, to fry, 70.
Sprouts, young, 115.
Squash pie, 160.
Stew, hearth, 88.
. . hearth, usefulness of, 89.
. . lamb, 46.
Irish, 49.
.. Mr. Philiips's Irish, 101.
. . brisket of beef, 102.
Stewed shin or leg of beef,
102.
. . rump steaks, 103.
\
INDEX
195
99 Stock, first, or beef brot.li, 50.
269 Stuffing and force meat, 84.
. . for veal, roast turkey, fowl,
fee., 84.
270 . . goose or duck, 84.
271 . for turtle, 85.
272 hare, 85.
273 .. veal, 85.
274 . . pike, carp, or haddock, 85.
275 . . heart, 86.
276 . . poultry and game, 86.
277 .. veal cake, 86.
199 Sturgeon to boil, 69.
200 . . to roast, 69.
201 . . stewed, 69.
468 Suet and fat, to clarify, 128.
470 Sugar, clarified, 128.
241 Sweetbread, veal, 77.
654 Syllabub, whip, 165.
538 Tarte de moie, 143.
539 Tart, rhubarb, 144.
540 . . to prepare cranberries for,
144.
541 . . lemon, 144.
542 Tartlets or puffs, orange, 144.
260 Teal, to roast, 83.
217 Terrapins, 72.
323 Thickenings, 96.
662 Thick milk, or flour caudle,
166.
205 Thornback, to boil, 70.
184 Tongues, to boil, 65.
653 Trifle, 164.
179 Tripe, 63.
207 Trout, to broil, 70.
208 . . stewed, 70.
434 Truffles, 119.
37 Trussing, 31.
191 Turbot, to boil, 67.
186 Turkey, to boil, 65.
248 . . to roast, 79.
248 . . poults, to roast, 79.
417 Turnips, 116.
97 Turtle soup, green, 48.
177 Veal, boiled, 63.
239 . . roasting, 77.
240 . . fillet of, roasting, 77.
358 . . hashed or minced, 104.
359 . . to make an excellent ragout
of cold, 104.
360 Veal, olives, 105.
361 . . knuckle of, to ragout, 105
Vegetables, 37.
62 . . preparing for dressing, 37.
G3 . . asparagus, artichokes, spi
riach, 37.
64 . . potatoes and Jerusalem ar-
tichokes, 37.
65 . . carrots, parsnips, beetroots,
and turnips, 37.
. . cooking, 113.
398 499 . general observations
on cooking, 113, 114, 115.
416 Vegetable marrow, 116.
253 Venison, haunch of, to roast
81.
Vinegars, flavoured, 124,
447 . . for salads, 124.
448 . . basil, 124.
449 . . burnct, 125.
450 . . cress or celery, 125.
451 . . horse-radish, 125.
452 . . garlic, onion, or eschalot,
125.
453 . . tarragon, 125.
454 . . elder flower, 125.
455 . . green mint, 125.
O *
456 . . camp, 125.
457 . . capsicum, cayenne, or chili,
125.
734 . . raspberry, 183.
656 Whey, 165.
324 White thickening, 97.
198 Whitings, to fry, 69.
260 Widgeon, to roast, 83.
260 Wild ducks, to roast, 83.
Wines, general directions for
making, 178.
716 .. ginger, 178.
717 .. mead, 179.
717 . . metheglin, 179.
717 . . honey, 179.
718 . . parsnip, 179.
719 . . malt, or English sherry, 179
720 .. orange, boiled, 180.
720 . . lemon, boiled, 180.
721 . . grape, 180.
722 . . raisin, 180.
723 . . raisin with sugar, 181.
724 . . raisin, in imitation of Fron
tignac, 181.
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by
LEA AND BLANCHARD,
in the clerk's office of the district court of the United States in and for
the eastern district of Pennsylvania.
J. Fagan, Stereotyper.
J. & W. Kite, Printers.
; .
PREFACE
TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
ALMOST every foreigner who visits this country re-
marks with astonishment the almost universal neglect
of that art upon which, more than any thing else, de-
pends the health and comfort of a people ; and by many
scientific men have most of the prevalent diseases of
this country, especially the dyspepsia, been ascribed to
the hurried, crude and unwholesome manner in which
our food is prepared ; of latter years, more attention has
been paid to cooking ; but the handmaiden of that pa-
rent art, confectionary, is still neglected and unknown,
yet it is of little less importance than the graver branch
referred to. Confectionary is the poetry of epicurism ;
it throws over the heavy enjoyments of the table the
relief of a milder indulgence, and dispenses the delights
of a lighter and more harmless gratification of the ap-
petite. The dessert, properly prepared, contributes
equally to health and comfort ; but " got up" as con-
fectionary too often is, it is not only distasteful to a
correct palate, but is deleterious and often actually poi-
sonous.
In introducing to the American public the modes by
which the table of hospitality may be enriched and
(3)
IV PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
adorned, we have consulted every authority, French or
English, within our reach ; but the basis of our little
work is to be found in Read's Confectioner, a late Lon-
don publication.
Having for many years been connected with the old-
est, most extensive and successful confectionary estab-
lishment in the country, we have been enabled to make
from our own experience many important modifications
and to introduce many additional receipts, particularly
in relation to the various articles of luxury which the
bounty of our soil and climate render almost exclusively
American.
The volume has thus been increased in size, and we
trust improved in value.
Trusting that our efforts to advance the popular
knowledge of the art which has for many years engaged
our attention, may meet with approbation, we present
the result of our labours to a candid and indulgent
public.
Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia,
Dae. 1843.
PREFACE
.
TO THE ENGLISH EDITION
MUCH as there has been written in Cookery Books on the art of
Confectionary, there are few, very few works on the subject now
extant which are practically written, and these are difficult to be
obtained, even at high prices; and, having been published some years
since, they do not contain any of the modern improvements, or arti-
cles which have been introduced within these few years. The object
of the present Treatise is to supply this deficiency, and to convey in-
struction in as plain and concise a manner as possible to the inexperi-
enced, or young apprentices, that they may be enabled to learn their bu-
siness more efficiently than many masters can or will instruct them in it.
The style and character of the present work will be found quite
different from anything which has preceded it. In the part relating
to Sugar-boiling I have endeavoured to show the causes of the effects
which take place at the different stages, with the uses to which each
of the processes is applied. The deficiency on Hard Confectionary
which occurs in all other works will be found amply supplied in this.
In the proportions for medicated lozenges I have preferred those
which are ordered by the different Colleges of Surgeons in their
pharmacopoeias to those used by the trade, as being more likely to
contain the true quantities of the different dru^s which should com-
pose them. It is from this source that they were originally derived,
as at one time they formed no inconsiderable part of pharmacy ; but
they are now only made by confectioners.
The Section on Ices I have endeavoured to render as plain and
intelligible as possible, and although I have given general as well as
definite rules for the mixture of each sort, yet the last cannot at all
times be implicitly followed, but must be modified or altered with
respect to the flavouring matter so as to suit the taste of the em-
ployer or the parties for whom they are intended ; this should always
be most scrupulously attended to, if it is wished to give satisfaction,
as no fixed rules can be given which will admit of their being made
to please all persons.
The business of confectionary is divided into several branches,
some of them being quite distinct and separate from each other.
The branch known as Hard Confectionary is literally the whole of
the business, according to the strict meaning of the word, which is
derived from the French words confitures cornfits, things crusted
1* (v)
VI PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.
over with dry sugar ; and confiturier confectioner, a maker or seller
of comfits or other sweetmeats. The other branches are the Orna-
mental and Soft Confectionary. The latter relates to everything
connected with the oven, or all sorts of cakes and soft biscuits, and
more particularly to the preservation of fruits; the other, as the
name implies, to every description of ornaments necessary for the
decoration of the table. Hard Confectionary still remains a distinct
branch or trade of itself; in fact, many persons' sole occupation is
the making of lozenges and comfits, termed pan-work. Some also
combine with these the different articles connected with sugar-boiling
and preserving. The latter are in general blended together, and
mostly practised by cooks and pastry-cooks; but the chief business
of a confectioner is alone connected with the ornamental department,
and everything necessary for the dessert.
I have thought it requisite to mention this specifically, so as to
prevent the occurrence of errors which parents and guardians of
families often fall into respecting the nature of the business, and also
with regard to the capacity of the child which they intend should be
brought up to it. I have heard many say, " Never mind ; he is a
stupid fool, and rnay do very well to make cakes." If making cakes
were the sole object he would have to accomplish, perhaps he might
do very well ; but even this requires more ingenuity than is generally
considered ; and if the welfare of the child is studied, so as to enable
him to obtain his livelihood in a respectable manner, they must find
some means of enabling him to acquire a considerable deal more
knowledge than is general with a common-place education, to enable
him to compete with the talent at present in the labour-market. The
person adapted for this business should be neat and cleanly in his
habits, of a lively and ingenious mind, have a quick conception of
design, a delicate taste, with a general knowledge of architecture,
mythology, and the fine arts ; for they are ae requisite in the con-
struction of a Piece Montee, or an allegorical subject to embellish
the table, as to an architect or sculptor in the construction of an ex-
pensive building or monument. 1 do not mean to infer that his in-
formation must be so extensive, or that he will be required to make
the tour of Italy, Rome, and Greece, to study the original masters ;
but let him take Nature for his guide ; and if he possess the rudi-
ments or principles of the art of design, he cannot fail, with a little
attention and perseverance, to become an adept in the higher or orna-
mental branches of his business.
CONTENTS.
THE CONFECTIONER.
SECT. I. Confectionary.
Clarification of Raw Sugar. .,
To clarify Loaf Sugar
Degrees of boiling Sugar
SYRUP
Small Thread
Large Thread
Little Pearl
Large Pearl
CHRVSTALLIZATION
To ascertain the degree of
the blow
The Feather
CANDY
The Ball
The Crack
Caramel .
.*...
SECT. II. Syrups.
General Rules and Observa-
tions
Iniusions
Decoctions
Raspberry Syrup
Pine-apple Syrup
Raspberry Vinegar Syrup ....
Strawberry Syrup
Currant Syrup
Moreilo Cherry Syrup
Mulberry Syrup
Gooseberry Syrup
Lemon Syrup
Orange Syrup
Orange-Flower Syrup
Sirop de Capillaire. Syrup of
Maidenhair
Syrup of Liquorice
Syrup of Violets
Syrup of Pinks
Syrup of Roses
Syrup of Wormwood
Syrup of Marshmallows
Syrup of Sarsaparilla
Svrup of Coltsfoot
13
14
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
Ifi
16
16
17
17
17
18
18
19
20
20
20
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
22
22
22
23
23
23
23
23
Syrup of Ginger 23
Syrup of Almonds 24
Sirop de Pistache 24
Syrup of Coffee 24
Syrup of Rum Punch 24
Brandy and Wine Syrups .... 24
SECTION III. Crystallized Su-
gar, and articles crystallized,
commonly called Candies.
Crystallized or Candied Sugar. . 25
Fruits to Crystallize 25
Crystallized Chocolate 26
Liqueur Rings, Drops and other
Devices 26
To form a Chain with Liqueur
Rings 27
SECT. IV. Candy Bonbon
Conserve.
Ginger Candy 27
Peppermint, Lemon and Rose
' Candy 27
Coltsfoot or Horehound Candy 27
Artificial Fruit, Eggs, &,c 27
Burnt Almonds 28
Burnt Almonds Red 28
Filberts and Pistachios 28
Common Burnt Almonds 28
Orange Prawlings 29
Lemon Prawlings 29
! SECT. V. Crack and Caramel.
! Barley Sugar 29
! Barley Sugar Drops 29
Barley Sugar Tablets or Kisses 29
! Acid Drops and Sticks 30
To extract the Acid from Can-
died Drops, ccc 30
: Raspberry Candy 31
Clove, Ginger, or Peppermint
Candy 31
Brandy Balls, -&c 31
I Nogat 32
j Almond Rock 32
i Almond Hardbake 32
(vii)
Vlll
CONTENTS.
ON SUGAR-SPINNING.
To make a Silver Web 33
To make a Gold Web 33
Chantilly Baskets 33
Grape, Orange, or Cherry Bas-
kets 34
Almond Baskets 34
Spanish Candy 34
Vases or Baskets, &c., in Span-
ish Candy 34
SECT. VI. Chocolate.
Cacao Nuts 35
Roasting- 35
The Making of Chocolate 36
Vanilla Chocolate 36
Cinnamon, Mace or Clove Cho-
colate 37
Stomachic Chocolate 37
Chocolate Harlequin Pistachios 37
Chocolate Drops, with Nonpa-
reils 37
SECT. VII. Lozenges.
Peppermint, No. 1 38
Peppermint, No. 2 38
Peppermint, Nos. 3 and 4 38
Transparent Mint, No. 5. ..... 38
Superfine Transparent MintLo.
zenges 39
Rose Lozenges 39
Cinnamon Lozenges 39
Clove Lozenges 39
Lavender Lozenges 39
Ginger Lozenges 39
Nutmeg Lozenges 39
Rhubarb Lozenges 39
Sulphur Lozenges 39
Tolu Lozenges 39
Ipecacuanha Lozenges 39
Saffron Lozenges 40
Yellow Pectoral Lozenges ... 40
Lozenges for the Heartburn ... 40
Steel Lozenges 40
Magnesia Lozenges 40
Nitre Lozenges 40
Marshmallow Lozenges 40
Vanilla Lozenges . -. 40
Catechu Lozenges 40
Catechu in 1' Ambergris 40
Catechu with Musk 40
Catechu with Orange-flowers.. 40
Catechu with Violets 40
Ching's Yellow Worm Lozenges 40
Ching's Brown Worm Lozenges 41
Bath Pipe 41
Peppermint or other Pipes .... 41
Brilliants 41
Refined Liquorice 41
SECTION VIII. Pastile Drops.
Chocolate Drops 42
Coffee Drops 42
Cinnamon Drops 43
Clove Drops 43
Vanilla Drops 43
Violet Drops 43
Catechu Drops 43
Ginger Drops 43
Lemon Drops 43
Rose Drops 43
Peppermint Drops 43
Orange-flower Drops 43
Orgeat Drops 43
Raspberry Drops 43
SECT. IX. Com/its.
Scotch Caraway Comfits 44
Bath Caraways 45
Common Caraways 45
Cinnamon Comfits 45
Coriander Comfits 46
Celery Comfits 46
Caraway Comfits, pearled 46
Almond Comfits 46
Cardamom Comfits 46
Barberry Comfits 46
Cherry Comfits 47
Comfits flavoured with Liqueurs 47
Orange Comfits 47
Lemon Peel or Angelica 47
Nonpareils 47
To colour Nonpareils or Comfits 47
COMFITS IN GUM PASTE.
Raspberry Comfits 47
Ginger Comfits 47
Clove Comfits 48
To colour Loaf-sugar Dust ... 48
SECT. X. Fruit Jellies.
Apple Jelly 48
Quince Jelly 43
Red Currant Jelly 48
White and Black Currant Jelly 49
CONTEXTS.
IX
Violet-coloured Currant Jell)' .
Cherry Jelly
Barberry Jelly
Raspberry Jelly
Gooseberry Jelly
Blackberry Jelly
49
49
49
49
49
49
SECT. XI. Marmalades or Jams.
Apple Marmalade 50
Quince Marmalade 50
Apricot Marmalade or Jam ... 50
Cherry Marmalade or Jam ... 50
Orange Marmalade 50
Grape Marmalade 50
SECT. XII. Of Fruit and other
Pastes.
Fruit Pastes and Cakes 51
Apple or Pippin Paste 51
Apple Cheese 51
Apricot Paste 51
Green Apricot Paste 52
Currant Paste 52
Black Currant Paste 52
Raspberry Paste 52
Cherry Paste 52
Peach Paste 52
Plum Paste 52
Damson Cheese 52
Quince Paste 53
Orange Paste 53
Lemon Paste 53
Raspberry Cakes 53
Clear Cakes, or Jelly Cakes . . 53
Marshmallow Paste 54
Arabic Paste 54
Date Paste 55
Jujube Paste 55
Senegal Paste 55
White Liquorice Paste 55
Black Liquorice Paste 55
Jujube Gum 55
Gomme des Dattes 56
Gum of Violets 56
Almond Paste Orgeat Paste. . 56
SECT. XIII. Fruits Preserved
with Sugar.
WET FRUITS 56
Green Apricots, wet 57
Green Apricots, pared wet .... 58
Ripe Apricots, wet 58
Ripe Peaches, whole, wet 58
Ripe Nectarines, wet 58
Figs, wet 58
Greengages, wet 58
Mogul Plums 59
Damsons, wet 59
Green Gooseberries, wet 59
Green Gooseberries in the form
of Hops, wet 59
Cucumbers or Gherkins, wet. . 59
Green Melons 60
Ripe Melons, \\ et 60
Lemons, whole, 'vet 60
Oranges, whole, wet 60
Whole Orange Peels 60
Orange or Lemon Peels, wet. . 60
Orange or Lemon Chips 61
Angelica, wet 61
Eringo Root 61
Pine Apple, whole, wet 61
Pine Apple Chips or Slices ... 61
Cherries, wet or dry 62
Whole Cherries 62
Grapes in Bunches 62
Currants in Bunches, wet .... 62
Barberries in Bunches, wet. . . 63
Raspberries, whole, wet 63
Pears, whole, wet 63
Pears, Red, wet 63
Quinces, Red or White, wet.. . 64
Ginger, wet 64
Candied Fruit 64
Dried Fruit 64
SECT. XIV. Compotes.
Green Apricot Compote 65
Ripe Apricot Compote 65
Compote of Apples, with Jelly. 65
Apple Compote 65
Grape Compote 65
Currant Compote 65
Raspberry Compote 66
Strawberry Compote 66
Macedoine of Fruits 66
Cherry Compote 66
SECT. XV. Brandy Fruits.. . . 66
SECT. XVI. On Bottled Fruits,
or Fruits Preserved without
Sugar 67
SECT. XVIL Of Cooling Drinks
for Balls and Routs.
Gooseberry, Currant, Raspberry
and Strawberry Waters .... 68
CONTENTS.
Cherry Water
Apricot arid Peach Water
Orgeat Water
Lemonade
Orangeade
SECT. XVIII. Ices.
To freeze Ices
Cream Ices
Raspberry, fresh fruit and Jam
Strawberry ...
Currant, fresh & preserved fruit
Barberry Ice
Apricot, fresh Fruit, and Jam..
Peach Ice
Pine Apple, fresh & preserved ft.
Ginger Ice
Brahma Ice
Orange Ice Cream
China Orange Ice Cream
Cherry Ice Cream
Harlequin Ice
Lemon Ice Cream
Mille Fruit Cream Ice
Custard Ices
Custard for Ices
Plornbiere Ice, or Swiss Pudding
The Sauce
Almond or Orgeat Ice Cream.
Pistachio Ice Cream .
Filbert Ice Cream
Chestnut Ico
Burnt Filbert Ice Crearn
Burnt Almond Ice Cream ....
Coffee Ice Cream
Chocolate Ice
Tea Ice
Vanilla Ice
Noyau Cream Ice
Maraschino Cream Ice
Water Ices
Currant Water Ice
Cherry Water Ice
Gooseberry Water Ice
Raspberry Water Ice
Apricot Water Ice
Peach Water Ice
Damson Ice
Pine-Apple Water Ice
Fresh Pine- Apple Water Ice. .
Apple-water Ice
Pear- Water Ice
69
69
69
69
69
70
72
72
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
74
74
74
74
74
74
74
74
f*'f
t.t
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
76
76
76
76
76
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
78
78
78
78
Orange-Water Ice
Lemon-Water Ice
Maraschino-Water Ice.
Punch-Water Ice
Roman Punch Ice
Mille Fruit Water Ice .
SECT. XIX. Jellies.
Calves' Feet Jellies
Coffee Jelly
Tea Jelly, Green or Black. . . .
FRUIT JELLIES.
Strawberry Jelly
Pine- Apple Jelly
Jelly of Apricots
Orange Jelly
Blanc Mange
SECT. XX. Essences.
Lemon, Orange, and Bergamot.
Essence de Cedrat
Allspice, Cloves, Cinnamon, or
Nutmegs, &c
Ginger, Peppermint, Vanilla,
and Almonds
SECT. XXI. Meringues* Icincr.
C" ' 1
Dry, in the form of Eggs ....
Kisses .
Italian Merinjmes.
o
Mushrooms ....
Icing for Wedding or Twelfth
Cakes, &c
On piping Cakes, Bon-bons, &,c.
SECT. XXII. Gvm Paste,
For Ornaments
For Gilding on
Papier Mache.e
To gild Gum Paste, &c
To Bronze Gum Paste
On the Construction of Assiettes
and Pieces Montecs
Of Pieces Montees
Biscuit Paste to imitate Marble
Rocks, &c
Confectioners' Paste
Assiettes Montes, or Dressed
Plates
On Modelling
Modelling Tools
Modelling Wax. .
7R
78
78
78
79
79
79
79
79
80
80
80
80
80
81
81
82
82
82
83
83
83
84
84
85
86
86
86
87
87
88
88
89
90
92
92
CONTENTS.
XI
SECT. XXIII. On Colours.
To Prepare Cochineal 92
Carmine, Yellow, Prussian Blue.
Sap Green, <i. Spinach Green 93
Vermiii'. u ;. ; nd Cinnabar 94
Bole Ammoniac, Umber, Bistre,
andBi ck 94
THE SHADES PRODUCED BY A MIX-
TURE OF COLOURS.
Purple, LiLc, Orange, Gold, Le-
mon, and Green 94
SECT. XXIV. Distillation.
ON ESSENTIAL OILS 95
DISTILLED WATERS.
Orange-Flower, & Rose Water 96
Cinnamon, Peppermint, Lemon-
Peel, & Black-Cherry Water 97
SPIRITS FOR LIQUEURS.
Distilled Spirituous Waters for
Liqueurs 98
Hungary Water 98
Maraschino de Zara 98
Kirchenwasser 99
Eau Divine 99
Eau de Cologne. 99
Curagao 99
Eau de Melisse des Cannes. . . 99
The English Method 99
Spirit of Coffee, and Almonds . 99
Spirit of Tea, and Usquebaugh. 100
LIQUEURS 100
RATAFIAS.
Ratafia de Cafe 100
Ratafia de Cacao 100
Ratafia des Noyaux 100
Ratafia of Cherries 101
Ratafia des Cassis 101
Ratafia of Raspberries 101
Ratafia des Fleurs des Oranges 101
Ratafia d'CEillets 101
Ratafia d'Angelique 101
Vespetro 101
Chreme de Barbade 101
Chreme d'Orange 101
Ratafia d'Anis 101
Ratafia de Brout des Noix .... 102
SECT. XXV. The Stove or Hot
Closet 102
THE PASTHY-COOK.
INTRODUCTION 103
BLANCHED ALMONDS, ICING, PRE-
PARED TREACLE, & RENNET.. 104
FANCY BISCUITS.
Abernethy, American, Brighton,
Buttered, Captains, Drop, Fil-
bert, Lemon, and Naples ... 105
Queens, Rout, Savoy, Seedy,
Wine, York, and Powder. . . 106
Drops, and Cracknels 107
SECT. I. The Oven.
Cakes 107
Savoy Cakes 108
Cold Mixtures 108
Almond Savoy Cakes and Al-
mond Hearts 109
VeniceCake 109
Savoy, to represent a Melon . . 109
Savoy, to imitate a Hedgehog.. 109
Bordeaux or Parisian Cakes . . 110
Italian Bread 110
Rice Pound Cake 110
Wafers 110
CAKES.
Almond Cakes 110
Almond Savoy Ill
Bride, Bath, and Banbury .... Ill
Breakfast 112
Cinnamon, Currant, Caraway,
Common Cheese, Curd Cheese,
and Almond Cheese 112
Lemon Cheese, Derby, Diet
Bread, Ginger, Lord Mayors,
and Lunch. 113
Moss, Macaroon, Plum, Pound,
and Prussian 114
Queens, Queen's Drops, Rout,
Raspberry, and Ratafias. ... 115
Savoy, Sponge, Seed, Shrews-
bury, Tea, Twelfth, and York-
shire 116
Xll
CONTENTS.
York Drops, Anne Page's, York
Cakes, Jumbles, Cinnamon
Biscuit, Hazlenut Kisses, and
Vanilla Biscuit 117
Trifle, Cocoanut, Sans Soucies,
Cocoa Biscuit, Lady Cake,
and Lady Fingers 118
Spoon Biscuit, Small Biscuits
with Almonds, Biscuits with
Cream, Biscuits glazed with
Chocolate 119
Biscuits glazed with Orange. 120
FANCY BREAD, GINGER-BREAD,
BUNS, ROLLS, MUFFINS, CRUM-
PETS, &c.
Almond Bread, Colchester, and
Diet 120
French Rolls, Short Bread,
Queen's Ginger-Bread, Spice
Ginger-Bread, Thick Ginger-
Bread, and Sweetmeat Nuts.. 121
Spice Nuts, Muffins, Wheat
Muffins, Rice Muffins, Rice
Cakes, and Buckwheat Cakes 122
Flannel Cakes, Indian Slappers,
Johnny-Cake, Corn Bread,
Crumpets, and Rusks 123
Sweet Rusks, Tops & Bottoms 124
OF PASTES IN GENERAL PRELI-
MINARY REMARKS 124
To MAKE PUFF PASTE.
Ingredients, &c 125
Puff, Short, and Tart Pastes . . 126
Apricot Tart , 126
Covered and Raspberry Tarts. 127
Mince Pirs, and Raised Pie. . . 127
THE BAKE R.
INTRODUCTION 128
GENERAL REMARKS ON BAKING.. 129
FAMILY LOAF-BREAD 132
Brown or Diet Bread 134
Bread not liable to become Bit-
ter 134
ARTIFICIAL YEASTS.
Yeast to Preserve 135
Potatoe Yeast 135
Dr. Lettsom's Method 1 35
Artificial Yeast 135
Patent Yeast 136
ALUM, POTATOES, &c 137
METHOD OF MAKING BAKERS'
BREAD.
The Old Method 141
Modern Method 142
SUBSTITUTE FOR WHEAT-FLOUR
BREAD.
Bread Corn 143
Rice 145
Potatoes 145
Bread made of Roots 147
Ragwort 147
Turnip Bread 147
Apple Bread 148
Meslin Bread 148
Salep Bread 148
Oat and Barley Bread 148
Dcbretzen Bread 148
Millet Bread 149
Maize Bread 149
! Homminy Cake 149
1 Bean Flour Bread 149
Buckwheat Bread 149
Acorn Bread 150
Oatmeal Cakes 150
Oatmeal and Pease Bread .... 150
Chestnut Bread 150
Potatoe Bread 150
1 Rye Bread Barley Bread 150
| The Bread Tree 151
Bread Fruit Bread 152
Sago Bread 152
Casava Bread 1 53
Plantain Bread 153
Banana Bread 153
Moss Bread i 54
Dried Fish Bread 1 54
Earth Bread J 54
THE CONFECTIONER.
SECTION I. CONFECTIONARY.
As SUGAR is the basis or ground-work of the confectioner's art, it is
essentially necessary that the practitioner should carefully study and
observe the difference in its qualities, the changes which it undergoes
or effects when combined with other articles in the process of manu-
facture, and also the different forms which it assumes by itself at va-
rious stages. Without this knowledge, a man will never become a
thorough and rfficient workman, and it can only be acquired by prac-
tice and experience.
The first process which it undergoes in the hands of the confec-
tioner, is that of clarification. It is conducted on the same principle
as the refining of sugar, although not carried out in every particular.
Clarification of Raw Sugar. For every six pounds of sugar re-
quired to be clarified, take one quart of water, the white of an egg,
and about half a teacupful of bullock's blood. Less than a pint will
be sufficient for 112 pounds; but if a very fine, transparent, and
colourless syrup is required, use either charcoal, finely powdered, or
ivory black, instead of the blood. Put the white of the egg in the
water and whisk it to a froth, then add either of the other articles
mentioned, and the sugar, place the pan containing the ingredients
on the stove-fire, and stir them well with a spatula, until the sugar is
dissolved, and is nearly boiling. When the ebullition commence?,
throw in a little cold water to check it; this causes the coarser parts
to separate more freely, by which means the whole of the impurities
attach themselves to the clarifying matter used ; continue this for
about five minutes, using about one pint of water to every six pounds
of sugar, or more, until you consider the whole of the dross is dis-
charged, and there remains a fine clear syrup. Then place it by the
side of the stove, and carefully remove with a skimmer the scum
which has formed on the top: it may also be taken off as it rises, but
I find the best method is to let it remain a short time aft^r it is clari
fied before it is removed, otherwise, if you take it off as it rises, part
of the syrup is also taken with it. When either charcoal or black is
used, it must be passed through a filtering-bag made of thick fhnnel,
in the shape of a cone, having a hoop fastened round the top to kee<>
it extended, and to which strings are sewn that it may be tied or sus-
pended in any convenient manner: what runs out at first will he
2 !-
14 THE CONFECTIONER.
quite black; return tins again into the bag, and continue doing so
until it runs fine and clear.
If a little iime, about a spoonful, or any other alkali is added to the
sugar with the water, &c., it will neutralize the acid which all raw
sugars contain, and they will be found to stand much better after they
have been manufactured, by not taking the damp so soon. This is
not generally done by the trade, but it will be found beneficial if
practised.
To clarify Loaf Sugar. This is clarified by mixing the whites ot
eggs with water, without any other assistance, for having been pre-
viously refined, it does not require those auxiliaries again to separate
the coarser parts, unless it is of an inferior quality, or an extra fine
syrup, as for bon-bons and other fancy articles, is required. When it
is necessary to have a very fine sparkling grain, in that case break
your lump into small pieces and put it in a preserving-pan, with a
sufficient quantity of water to dissolve it, in which has been mix* d
the white of an egg and powdered charcoal,* as for raw sugar, fol-
lowing those instructions already given. After the sugar has been
drained from the bag, pass some water through to take off any which
may be left in the charcoal, which you use for dissolving more sugar.
The scum should always be reserved, when charcoal or black is not
used, to mix with the articles of an inferior quality.
The best refined loaf sugar should be white, dry, fine, of a brilliant
sparkling appearance when broken, and as close in texture as pos-
sible. The best sort of brown has a bright, sparkling, and gravelly
look. East India sugars appear finer, but do not contain so much sac-
charine matter, yet they are much used for manufacturing the best
sort of common sweetmeats, when clarified, instead of loaf sugar.
Degrees of boiling Sugar. This is the principal point to which the
confectioner has to direct his attention; for if he is not expert in this
particular, all his other labour and knowledge will be useless: it, is
* Charcoal varies in its qualities, according- to the wood from which
it is prepared. That made from porous woods, such as the willow,
alder, &c., is the best for clarifying liquids ; animal charcoal, or bone
black, is also equally good, on account of its light and porous nature ;
that made from hard woods is only fit for fuel, as it does not possess the
clarifying and decolouring- properties like that made from the more soft
and porous woods. When newly prepared, or if it has been kept free from
air, it has the property of absorbing- all putrid gases ; " it is also capably
of destroying the smell and taste of a variety of animal and vegetal. le
substances, especially of mucilages, oils, and of matter in which extrac-
tive abounds ; and some articles are said to be even deprived of their
characteristic odour, by remaining in contact with it, as valerian, galba-
num, balsam of Peru, and musk. The use of charring- the interior of
water-casks, and of wrapping charcoal in cloths that have acquired a had
smell, depend upon this property. None of the fluid menstrua with which
we are acquainted have any action whatever, as solvents, upon carbon."
Parish Pharmacologist.
THE CONFECTIONER. 15
the foundation on which he must build to acquire success in his under*
taking.
There are seven essential points or degrees in boiling- sugar; some
authors 0'ive thirteen, but many of these are useless, and serve only
to show a critical precision in the art, without its being required in
practice; however, for exactness, we will admit of nine, viz :- -1.
Siufill thread. 2. Large thread. 3. Little pearl. 4. Lar.o-e pearl.
.", Tiu- biow. 6. The feather. 7. Ball. 8. Crack. 9. Caramel.
This lasr-i degree derives its name from "a Count Albufage Caramel,
i).' NisMi'v-, who discovered this method of boiling sugar." G'wn/a's
(Jiinfcctioner.
Jn describing the process, I shall proceed in a different manner to
other writers on the subject, by classing it under different heads, ac-
cording to the uses to which it is applied.
SYRUP.
Under this head are comprised the degrees from the small thread
to the large pearl ; for at these points the sugar is kept in a divided
state, and remains a fluid of on oily consistency. A bottle which
holds three ounces of water will contain four ounces of syrup. The
method of ascertaining those degrees, according to the usages of the
trade, is as follows:
Small Thread. Having placed the clarified syrup on the fire, let
it boil a littie, then dip the top of your finger in ihe boiling syrup,
and on taking it out apply it to the top of your thumb, when, if it has
attained the degree, on separating them a small ring will be drawn
out a little distance, about as fine as a hair, which will break and re-
solve itself into a drop on the thumb and finger.
Large Thread. Continue the boiling a little longer, repeat the
same operation as before, and a larger string will be drawn.
Little Pearl. To ascertain this degree, separate the finger from
the thumb as before, and a large string may be drawn, which will
extend to nearly the distance the fingers may be opened.
Large Pearl. The finger may now be separated from the thumb
to the greatest extent before the thread will break.
CRYSTALLIZATION.
This takes the degrees of the blow and feather. The particles of
the sugar being now brought together within the sphere of their
activity, the attraction of cohesion commences, whereby they attach
themselves together and form quadrilateral pyramids with oblong and
rectangular bases. This is generally, but improperly, termed candy,
thereby confounding it with the degrees at which it. grains, also
termed candy. This certainly seems "confusion worse confounded;"
but if things are called by their proper names, many of those seem-
ing difficulties and technicalities may be avoided which tend only to
confuse and embarrass the young practitioner, without gaining any
1H THE CONFECTIONER.
desired end or purpose. If it were generally classed into the degrees
of crystallization, the true meaning and use would at once be ex-
plnined and understood by the greatest novice.
The nature and principle of this operation are these. First, as in the
case of syrup (the first four degrees), when the water has absorbed as
much sugar as it is capable of containing in a cold state, by continu-
ing the boiling, a further portion of the solvent (water) is evaporated,
and sugar remains in excess, which, when exposed to a less degree
of heat, separates itself, and forms crystals on the surface and sides
of the vessel in which it is contained, and also on anything placed or
suspended in it. But if it is exposed too suddenly to the cold, or dis-
turbed in its action by being shaken, or if the boiling has been con-
tinued too long, the crystals will form irregularly by the particles
being brought in too close contact, and run too hastily together, form-
ing a mass or lump.
To obtain this part in perfection, the boiling should be gradual, and
continued no longer than till a few drops let fall on a cold surface
show a crystalline appearance, or after being removed from the fire
a thin skin will form on the surface. It should then be taken from
the fire and placed in a less hot but not cold place, and covered or
put into a stove or hot closet to prevent the access of cold air. A
few drops of spirits of wine, added when the sugar has attained the
proper degree, will conduce to a more perfect crystalline form, scarcely
attainable by any other means, as it has a great affinity with the water,
thereby causing the sugar to separate itself more freely. It must be
used with caution, as too much will cause it to grain.
To ascertain the Degree of the Blow. Continue the boiling of
the sugar, dip a skimmer in it and shake it over the pan, then blow
through the holes, and if small bubbles or air-bladders are seen on
the other side, it has acquired this degree.
The Feather. Dip the skimmer again into the sugar, and blow
through the holes as before, and the bubbles will appear larger and
stronger. Or if you give the skimmer a sudden jerk, so as to throw
the sugar from you, when it has acquired the degree, it will appear
hanging from the skimmer in fine long strings.
CANDY.
Sugar, after it has passed the degree of the feather, is of itself
naturally inclined to grain, that is to candy, and will form a powder
if agitated or stirred : for as the boiling is continued, so is the water
evaporated until there is nothing left to hold it in solution : therefore
that body being destroyed by heat, which first changed its original
form to those we have already enumerated, as this no longer exists
with it, it naturally returns to the same state as it was before the
solvent was added, which is that of minute crystals or grains* being
held together by the attraction of cohesion, unless, as before stated,
they are separated by stirring, &c.
THE CONFECTIONER. 1?
The sugar being evaporated by boiling from the last degree, leaves
a tnm crust of crystals round the sides of the pan, which shows it has
attained the candy height; and this crust must be carefully removed,
as it forms, with a damp cloth or sponge, or the whole mass will
candy if suffered to remain. To prevent this is the chief deside-
Mtum, ail further proceedings for which specific rules will be given
in their proper places.
The remaining degrees can be ascertained after the following man-
o o o
ner:
The Ball. Provide a jug of clean cold water, and a piece of
round stick. First dip in the water, then in the sugar, and again in
th water;* take off the sugar which has adhered to it, and endea-
vour to roll it into a ball between the finger and thumb in the water:
when this can be done, it has attained the desired degree. If it forms
a K-rge hard ball which will bite hard and adhere to the teeth when
eaten, it is then termed the large ball, el contra.
The Crack. Follow the directions given for the ball. Slip the
suij-ar off from the stick, still holding it in the water, then press it
between the finger and thumb; if it breaks short and crisp, with a
tlio-ht noise, it is at the crack.
Caramel. To obtain this degree it requires care and attention,
and also to be frequently tried, as it passes speedily from the crack to
the caramel. Try it as before directed, and let the water be quite
cold, or you will be deceived. If on taking it off the stick it snaps
like glass, with a loud noise, it has attained the proper degree; it will
also, when it arrives at this point, assume a beautiful yellow colour;
after this it will speedily burn, taking all the hues from a brown to a
black; therefore, to prevent this, dip the bottom of the pan into a
pail of cold water as soon as it comes to caramel, as the heat which
is contained in the pan and sugar is sufficient to advance it one de-
gree; also be careful that the flame of the fire does not ascend round
the sides of the pan, which will burn it.
In boiling sugar, keep the top of the pan partially covered from the
time it commences boiling until it has attained the ball or crack: the
steam which rises, bein/' again thrown on the sides, prevents the
formation of the crust or crystals.
To prevent its graining, add a little of any sort of acid when it is
at the crack a table-spoonful of common vinegar, four or five drops
of lemon-juice, or two or three drops of pyroligneous acid : any of
these will have the desired effect; this is termed greasing it: but
remember that too much acid will also grain it, neither can it be
boiled to caramel if there is too much. A little butter added when
ii first commences boiling will keep it from rising over the pan, and
also prevent its graining. About as much cream of tartar as may be
laid on a. sixpence, and added to seven pounds of sugar with the water,
or equal quantities of cream of tartar and alum in powder, added when
* Tliis should be performed as speedily as possible.
o *
18 THE CONFECTIONER.
it boils, will also keep it from candying. If sugar is poured on a
slab that is too hot it is very apt to grain ; this is frequently the case
after several casts have been worked off in rotation; therefore, when
you find it inclined to turn, remove it to a cooler spot, if possible, and
not handle it any more than is necessary.
Sugar that has been often boiled or warmed is soon acted upon by
the atmosphere, whereby it becomes clammy and soon runs, as it is
weakened by the action of the fire. Acid causes the same effect.
If it has passed the degree you intended to boil it at, add a little
water, and give it another boil.
SECTION II. SYRUPS.
THESE are either the juices of fruits, or a decoction or infusion of
the leaves, flowers, or roots of vegetables, impregnated with a suffi-
cient quantity of sugar for their preservation and retaining them in a
liquid state.
A great portion of this class comes more under the notice of the
apothecary than the confectioner; but it may now be considered, with
lozenges, as a branch of pharmacy in the hands of the latter, the
most agreeable of which are now manufactured by him to supply the
place of fresh fruits, &c., when out of season, for the making of cool-
ing drinks, ices, &c., for balls and routs.
General Rules and Observations. Two things are essentially
necessary to be observed, which are: the proper methods of making
decoctions and infusions. These require some knowledge of the
nature and properties of vegetable matter.
The virtues of most plants are extracted by infusion, and this is
generally the case with aromatic plants, and those whose proper-
ties depend on an essential oil; for, in boiling, the whole of the
aroma of the plant is dispersed, and the syrup loses that delicate
flavour for which it is prized.
Aromatic herbs, and the leaves of plants in general, yield their
virtues most perfectly when moderately dried. Cold water extracts
from these in a few hours, the lighter, more fragrant and agreeable
parts, and then begins to take up the more ungrateful and grosser.
By pouring the same liquor on fresh parcels of the herb, it becomes
stronger, richer, thicker, and balsamic.
Those only should be decocted whose principles consist of muci-
lage, gum, or resin, and require boiling to extract them.
The compact resinous woods, roots and barks, yield their virtues
most freely while fresh. Dry, they yield little to cold or moderately
warm water, and require it to be boiling. By this process the grosser.
more fixed saline and mucilaginous parts are dissolved, the resinous
melted out, and the volatile dissipated.
Infusions. " These are watery solutions of vegetable matter,
obtained by maceration, either in hot or cold water, with the assist-
THE CONFECTIONER. 19
ance of ebullition. In selecting and conducting the operation, the
following general rules should be observed:
"1st. Infusion should always be preferred before decoction, where
the virtues of the vegetable substance reside in volatile oil, or in
principles which are easily soluble ; whereas, if they depend upon
resino-mucilaginous particles, decoction is an indispensible operation.
14 2nd. The temperature employed must be varied according to the
circumstances of each case, and infusion made with cold is in general
more grateful but less active than one made with heat.
"3rd. The duration of the process must likewise be regulated by
the nature of the substances; for the infusion will differ according to
the time in which the water has been digested on the materials ; thus
the arorna of the plaut is first taken up, then in succession the colour-
ing, astringent, and gummy parts.
Decoctions. " These are solutions of the active principles of vege-
tables, obtained by boiling them in water.
" 1st. Those principles only should be decocted whose virtues re-
side in principles which are soluble in water.
" 2nd. If the active principle be volatile, decoction must be an in-
jurious process; and if it consists of extractive matter, long boiling,
by favouring its oxidizement, will render it insipid, insoluble, and
inert.
"3rd. The substances to be decocted should be previously bruised
or sliced, so as to expose an extended surface to the action of the
water.
" 4th. The substances should be completely covered with water,
and the vessel slightly closed, in order to prevent as much as possi-
ble the access of air; tho boiling should be continued without inter-
ruption, and gently.
"5th. In compound decoctions, it is sometimes convenient not to
put in all the ingredients from the beginning, but in succession, ac-
cording to their hardness, and the difficulty with which their virtues
are extracted ; and if any aromatic or other substances containing
volatile principles, or oxidizable matter, enter into the composition,
the boiling decoction should be simply poured upon them, and covered
up until cold.
" 6th. The relative proportions of different, vegetable substances
to the water must be regulated by their nature. The following
general rule may be admitted. Of roots, barks, or dried woods, from
two drachms to six to every pint of water: of herbs, or flowers, half
that quantity will suffice.
" 7th. The decoction ought to be filtered through linen while hot,
as important portions of the dissolved matter are frequently deposited
on cooling ; care must also be taken that the filter is not too fine, for
it frequently happens that the virtues of a decoction depend upon the
presence of particles in a miuutely divided state." Paris's Phar-
macologia.
All acid syrups ought to have their full quantity of sugar, so as to
20 THE COIVFEGTIOINER.
Dring them to a consistence without boiling", because the very action
of much heat destroys their acidity, and makes them liable to candy;
and this more particularly holds good where the infusion or juice, &c.,
has any fragrancy in flavour, because the volatile oil is dissipated by
boiling. The same observation is also applicable to those infusions
or flowers which give out their colour, and which is necessary to be
retained, such as violets, pinks, &c., as boiling injures them.
Those syrups which are made from decoction?, and do not take a
sufficient quantity of sugar to bring them to a due consistence with-
out boiling, require to be clarified so as to render them transparent ;
but this is often an injury, as the whites of eggs take off some of their
chief properties with the scum ; therefore, the decoction should first
be rendered clear by settling or filtering, and the sugar should be
clarified and boiled to the height of the feather or ball before the
drcoction is added, when it must be reduced to the proper degree.
The best and most general method of making syrups is to add a
sufficient quantity of the finest loaf-sugar, in powder, with the juice
or infusion, &c., stirring it well until a small portion settles at the
bottom, then place the pan in a larger one containing water ; this is
termed the bain-rnarie ; put it on the fire, and the heat of the water
as it boils will dissolve the sugar; when this has been thoroughly
effected, take it off and let it cool ; if more sugar is add^d than the
quantity above named, it will separate in crystals, and not leave suffi-
cient remaining in the syrup for its preservation. (Se^ observations
on Sugar-boiling). When cold, put it into small bottles, fill them,
cork closely, and keep in a dry cool place. Be particularly careful
that no tinned articles are used in the making of syrups from the juice
of red fruits, as it will act on the tin and change the colour to a dead
blue.
Raspberry Syrup. One pint of juice, two pounds of sugar.
Choose the fruit either red or white, mash it in a pan, and put it in a
warm place for two or three days, or until the fermentation has com-
menced. All mucilaginous fruits require this, or else it would jelly
after it is bottled. Filter the juice through a flannel bag, add the
sugar in powder, place in the bain-marie, and stir it until dissolved;
take it off, let it get cold, take off the scum, and bottle it.
[Pine-apple Syrup. Take one and a half pints of syrup boiled to
the ball, add to this, one pint of the juice of the best Havanna pine-
apples; let it then come to a boil, remove the scum, and bottle
when cool.]
Raspberry Vinegar Syrup. One pint of juice, two pint.s of apple
vinegar, four pounds and a half of sugar. Prepare the juice as before,
adding the vinegar with it, using white vinegar with white rasp-
berries; strain the juice and boil to the pearl.
Three pounds of raspberries, two pints of vinegar, three pounds of
sugar. Put the raspberries into the vinegar without mashing then;,
cover the pan close, and let it remain in a cellar for seven or eight
days ; then filter the infusion, add the sugar in powder, and finish in
THE COXFECTIOXEK. 21
the bain-marie. This is superior to the first, as the beautiful aroma
of the fruit is lost, in the boiling, as may be well known by its scenting
the place where it is done, or even the whole house ; the fruit may
also be aiierwards used with more for raspberry cakes.
[Strawberry Syrup. Make as pine-apple ; taking care to strain
carefully at least twice, through a tine flannel bag, so as to remove
entirely ail sediment, and the small seed of the fruit.]
Currant Syrup. One pint of juice, two pounds of sugar. Mix
together three pounds of currants, half white and half red, one pound
ot raspberries, and one pound of cherries, without the stones; mash
the fruit and let it stand in a warm place for three or four days,
keeping it covered with a coarse cloth, or piece of paper with holes
pricked in it to keep out any dust or dirt. Filter the juice, add the
sugar in powder, finish in the bain-marie, and skim it. When cold,
put it into bottles, fill them, and cork well.
Morello Cherry Syrup. Take the stones out of the cherries, mash
them, and press out the juice in an earthen pan ; let it stand in a cool
place for two days, then filter; add two pounds of sugar to one pint
of juice, finish in the bain-marie, or stir it well on the fire, and give
it one or two boils.
Mulberry Syrup. One pint of juice, one pound twelve ounces of
sugar. Press out the juice and finish as cherry syrup.
Gooseberry Syrup. One pint ot juice^ one pound twelve ounces
of sugar. To twelve pounds of ripe gooseberries add two pounds of
cherries without stones, squeeze out the juice, and finish as others.
Lemon Syrup. One pint and a quarter of juice, two pounds of
sugar. Let the juice stand in a cool place to settle. When a thin
skin is formed on the top, pour it off and filter, add the sugar, and
finish in the bain-marie. If the flavour of the peel is preferred with
it, grate off the yellow rind of the lemons and mix it with the juice
to infuse, or rub it off on part of the sugar and add it with the re-
mainder when you finish it.
Orange Syrup. As lemon syrup.
Orange-Flower Syrup. Picked orange flowers one pound, sugar
three pounds. Take one half of the sugar and make a syrup, which
boil to the large pearl, put the flowers in a basin or jar, and pour the
eyrup on them boiling hot, cover the jar or basin quite close and let
them infuse in it for five or six hours, then drain off the syrup, boil
the remaining portion of sugar, and pour over them as before ; when
cold, strain and bottle.
Sirop de CapiUaire. Syrup of Maidenhair. There are several
sorts of Maidenhair, but the best is that of Canada, which has a
pleasant smell joined to its pectoral qualities. The true Maiden-
hair Capillus Veneris is a native of Italy and of the southern
parts of France. It has an agreeable but very weak smell. Common
or English Maidenhair Trichomanes is usually substituted fur the
true, and occasionally for the Canadian. Its leaves consist of small
round divisions, growing as it were in pairs. It grows on rocks, old
THE
walls, and shady banks, and should be gathered in September.
Black Maidenhair Adianthum Nigruw. has smooth and shining
loaves, the middle rib being black, and the seeds are all spread on the
lirtck of {he leaf. It grows on shady banks, and on the roots of trees.
White Miiidenluiir Wall Rue Tent. Wort Ruta Murana Salvia
Yil(p.. The K-Mvt's of this are .shaped something like rue, and covered
nil over the hack with a small seed-like dust. Golden Maidenhair
Mv.sc'is Cfipillaris grows in moist places, and the pedicle arises
from th*' top of the stalk. I have given these particulars, because I
tii id thr-y are often substituted one for the other by persons who are
siot aware that there is any difference. Although all of them have
ii'-nrly the same qualities, only two have a volatile oil, but they aro
all snucilaofinous.
o
Canada capillaire two ounces, sugar two pounds. Chop the
capillaire into suuil! bits, and make as orange-flower syrup. By this
method the oil is not allowed to escape, which being exceedingly
odoriferous ami volatile, is soon dissipated if boiled ; or make a cold
infusion (See Infusions) of the plant by putting one quart of water to
lour ounces of capillaire, add four pounds of sugar, and finish in the
bain-marie, adding- one ounce of orange-flower water.* [This is a
fashionable and delicate syrup, but is rarely obtained genuine.]
Simple syrup, flavoured with orange-flower water, is usually sub-
stituted for it.
Syrup of'Liquoriee. Liquorice-root two ounces, white maidenhair
one ounce, hyssop half an ounce, boiling water three pints; slice the
root and cut the herbs small, infuse in the water for twenty-four
hours, strain and add sufficient sugar, or part sugar and honey, to
make a syrup; boil to the large pearl. An excellent pectoral.
Syrvp of Violets. One pound of violet flowers, one quart of water,
four pounds of sugar. Put the flowers cleared from their :-talks and
calx, into a glazed earthen pan ; pour on the water boiling hot, and
stop the pan quite close; let it remain in a warm plaee for a day,
then strain off the infusion through a thin cloth ; add the sugar, and
place in the bain-marie: stir it well and heat it until you can scarcely
bear your finger in it; then take it off, and when cold, bottle. A
laxative. This syrup is often adulterated by heincr made with the
flowers of hearts-ease, or columbine scented with orrice-root, and
coloured.
Syny) of Pinks. Clove pinks, one pound eij-ht ounces, water
two pints and a half, suofar, three pounds. Let the flowers he fresh
gathered, cut off the white points of the petals and weigh them.
Finish as syrup of violets. This syrup may be made with a cold in-
*~The pectoral quality of this syrup for it is often sold for such pur-
poses in shops would be much improved if made with the addition of
liquorice-root, as ordered by the Pharmacopoeias " Five ounces of ca-
pillaire, two ounces of liquorice-root, six pints of water ; white sugar a
sufficient quantity ; two ounces of orange-flower water."
THE CONFECTIONER. 23
fusion of tlio flower?, first pounding them with a liftle water in a
marble mortar. Finish as before. If the flowers of the clove pink
cannot be obtained, use other pinks, adding a few cloves to infuse
with them, SD as to give the flavour.
Syrup of Roses. The dried leaves of Provence roses eight
ounces, double rose leaves six ounces, water one quart, sugar four
pounds. Pour the water on the leaves when nearly boiling, into a
glazed earthen vessel, cover it quite close, and let it remain in a
warm place for a day ; then strain and finish as violets. The leaves
of the dama.-k rose are purgative.
Syrup of Wormwood. There are three sorts of wormwood most
generally known, the common, sea, and Roman. The first may bo
distinguished by its broad leaves which are divided into roundish
segments, of a dull green colour above, and whitish underneath; its
taste is an intense and disagreeable bitter. The sea wormwood Ims
smaller leaves und hoary both above and underneath; it grows in
salt marshes, and about the sea coasts; the smell and taste are not
so strong and disagreeable as the common. The Roman differs from
the others by the plant being smaller in all its parts ; the leaves are
divided into fine filaments and hoary all over, the stalk being either
entirely or in part of a purple colour. I is smell is pleasant, and the
bitterness not disagreeable: it is cultivated in gardens. The sea
wormwood is generally substituted for it.
The tops of Roman wormwood two ounces, water one pint, sugar
two pounds. Make an infusion of the leaves in warm water, strain,
add the sugar to the infusion, and boil to the pearl. If the common
wormwood only can be obtained, put the tops into three times !ho
nbove quantity of water, and boil it over a strong fire until reduced
to a pint. This will deprive it of part of its bitterness and disagree-
able smell.
Syrup of Marshmallows Sirop de Guimauve. Fresh mallow
roots eight ounces, water one quart, sugar three pounds. Cleanse
the roots, and slice them; make a decoction (See Decoctions), boiling
it a quarter of an hour, so as to obtain the mucilage of thf root;
strain, and finish as wormwood. One ounce of liquorice-root and one
ounce of white maidenhair, with a few stoned raisins, may be ridded.
[Syrup of Sarsaparilla. Haifa pound of bruised sarsaparilla rout,
two ounces of ground orange peel, one ounce liquorice-root, sassafras
bark bruised, two ounces, one gallon of water; boil to half a gallon,
pf.rain; to each pint of liquor add one pound of sugar; put on the fire
till it boils, and take off the scum which arises.]
Syrup of Coltsfoot. Fresh Coltsfoot flowers one pound eight
ounces, water one quart, sugar three pounds. Pick the flowers about
February, and make an infusion of them with hot water; strain, and
finish as wormwood syrup. Two or three handfuls of the leaves may
be pounded and infused instead of the flowers.
Syrup of Ginger. Ginger two ounces, water one pint, sugar two
pounds.
24 THE CONFECTIONER.
Slice the root if fresh, or bruise it if dried; pour the water on it
boiling-, and let it macerate in a warm place for a day, then strain,
and boil to the pearl.
[Another. A better flavoured and a richer ginger syrup is made
in the following manner. Take any quantity of scraped, white, Ja-
maica ginger and infuse for several days in good spirits of wine;
decant the clear liquor when sufficiently saturated with the ginger,
and add to the hot sugar, previously boiled to the ball or feather, a
sufficient quantity of the liquor to impart to the syrup the agreeable
aroma of the ginger root.
The spirit will be rapidly driven off' when it is poured into the
boiling syrup, and a bland and beautiful syrup will be the result ; let
it cool, and bottle immediately.]
Syrup of Almonds Sirop de Orgeat. One pound of sweet
almonds, four ounces of bitter ones, one pint and a half of water, sugar
three pounds, orange-flower water two ounces.
Blanch the almonds, and as they are blanched throw them into cold
water; when they are finished, take them out and pound them in a
marble mnrtar, sprinkling them with a little orange-flower water to
prevent their oiling, or use water with the juice of a lemon; add
sufficient in the pounding to reduce them to a paste, and when quite
fine add half a pint more water; mix, and strain through a tamia
cloth twisted tight by two persons: receive the milk which comes
from the almonds into a basin; what is left in the cloth must be
pounded again with some of the water, and strained. Continue this
until the whole of the milk is obtained, and the water, is consumed ;
then clarify, and boil the sugar to the crack; add the milk of
almonds, and reduce it to the pearl; then strain it again, add thn
orange-flower water, and stir it well until nearly cold ; when cold,
bottle; shake the bottles well for several succeeding days, if you see
it at all inclined to separate, which will prevent it.
Sirop de Pistache is made in the same manner, colouring it green
with a little spinach.
Syrup of Coffee. Fresh roasted Mocha coffee two pounds, watei
one quart, sugar three pounds eight ounces. Grind the coffee in
mill, and make a cold infusion with the water in a close vessel ; let
it stand for a day, then filter it through blotting paper; add the sugar,
and finish in the bain-marie.
Syrup of Rum Punch. Jamaica rum one quart, the juice of twelve
or fourteen lemons, sugar four pounds. Rub off the yellow rind of half
of the lemons on a piece of the sugar, and scrape it off with a knife-
into a basin as it imbibes the oil; clarify and boil the remaining por-
tion to the crack ; strain the juice into the rum, and add to it the
sugar with that on which the peels were rubbed ; mix together, and
give it one boil. The yellow rind of the peels may be cut off very
thin, and infused in the spirit for some days before the syrup is made
Brandy and Wine Syrups may be made in the same manner.
THE CONFECTIONER. 25
SECTION III. CRYSTALLIZED SUGAR, AND ARTICLES CRYSTAL-
LIZED, CO3IMONLY CALLED CANDIES.
Crystallized or Candied Sugar. Provide a round mould, smaller at
the bottom than the top, of any size you may think proper, made
either of tin or copper, with holes pierced round the sides about three
inches asunder, so as to fasten strings across in regular rows from the
top to the bottom, leaving sufficient room for the sugar to crystallize
on each string without touching, or it will form a complete mass;
pasto paper round the outside to prevent the syrup from running
through the holes. Have the mould prepared, and let it be clean and
dry ; take sufficient clarified syrup to fill the mould, and boil it to the
degree of crystallization or the feather, and add a little spirit of wine;
remove it from the fire, and let it rest until a thin skin is formed on
the surface, which you must carefully remove with a skimmer; then
pour it into the mould, and place it in the hot closet, where you let it
remain undisturbed for eight or nine days, at 90 degrees of heat, or
half that time at 100 ; then make a hole, and drain off the super-
fluous sugar into a pan placed below to receive it; let it drain quite
dry, which will take about twelve hours; then wash off the paper
from the mould with warm water, place it near the fire, and keep
turning it to warm it equally all round; then turn it up and strike
the mould rather hard upon the table, when the sugar will relieve
itself and come out: put it on a stand or sieve in the closet, raise the
heat to 120 degrees, and let it remain until perfectly dry; Particular
attention should be paid to the heat of the closet, which must be kept
regular and constant, and this can easily be accomplished at a small
expense with many of the patent stoves which are now in general
use, and also without causing any dust. A Fahrenheit's or Reaumui's
thermometer should be so placed that the heat may at all times bej
ascertained.
This may be coloured with prepared cochineal, or other liquid
colour, or by grinding any particular colour with the spirits of wine,
and adding it to the syrup before it comes to the feather.
Fruits to Crystallize. Have a square or round tin box, smaller at
the bottom than the top, with wire gratings made to fit at convenient
distances, and having a hole with a tube or pipe to admit a cork, and
drain off the syrup. Take any of the preserved fruits wet (which
see), drain from them the syrup, and dip them in lukewarm water to
take off any syrup which may adhere to them; dry them in th'_-
closet ; when dried, place them in layers on the gratings, side by
side, so as not to touch each other; continue in this manner with any
sort of fruit until the box is full ; then fix the whole with a weight,
to keep it steady. Boil a sufficiency of clarified sugar to fill the box
to the degree of crystallization or the blow, add a little spirit of wine.
and remove it from the fire. When a thin skin has formed on the top,
remove it carefully with a. skimmer, and pour the sugar info tli
3
26 THE CONFECTIONER.
mould ; place it in the closet at 90 degrees of heat, and let it remain
+br twelve hours, then drain off the syrup into a pan from the tube at
bottom, and let it remain in the closet until quite dry; then turn
them out by striking the box hard upon the table, separate them care-
fully, and put them in boxes with paper between each layer. When
different fruits, paste, knots, &c., are mixed together indiscriminately,
it is termed mille-fruit candy. Any sort of fruit or gum pastes, when
thoroughly dried, may be crystallized in the same manner. When
the syrup is drained off, if you find the size of the crystals is not large
enough, another lot of syrup may be prepared and poured over it ;
let it remain in the closet for seven or eight hours, then drain and
finish as before,
If small pieces of stick are pushed down at each corner, or in any
other vacancy, when you fill the mould, one of these may be with-
drawn at any time you may wish to ascertain the size of the crystals,
which will save the trouble of giving a second charge of sugar.
Crystallized Chocolate. Prepare some sugar, as in the preceding
articles, and pour it into the box. When a thin crust is formed on the
top, make a hole on one side, and push the articles previously shaped
xvith chocolate, as for drops, gently under with your finger ; put them
in the stove to crystallize, as other articles. After the syrup ia
drained off, and the articles dried, they must remain until quite cold
before being turned out, as the chocolate continues soft for some
time.
Liqueur Rings, Drops, and other Devices. These are all made
after the same manner. A square box is necessary, which you fill
with very dry starch powder. Sugar, powdered very fine and dried,
will answer the same purpose. The depth of the box should be
suited to the articles intended to be made. Shake the box, or pass a
knife repeatedly through the powder, that it may be solid ; smooth
the surface with a straight piece of wood; have a thin piece of flat
board, on which is fastened a number of little devices, about an inch
asunder, and to suit the width of the box; these may be made eithei
of lead, plaster, or wood, in the form of rings, diamonds, stars, bot-
tles, scissors, harps, shoes, or any other form your fancy may suggest;
make the impressions in the powder in regular rows, until the box is
full ; then prepare some sugar as for the preceding articles, boiling it
to the blow, and flavouring it with any sort of spirit or liqueur, such
as brandy, rum, noyau, Maraschino, cinnamon, rosolis, &c., colouring
the syrup accordingly. It should be prepared in a pan with a lip to
it. When a thin skin has formed on the top, place a cork in the lip
of the pan, but not to close it, allowing a space for the sugar to run
out, the cork being merely to keep back the skin ; then fill the im-
pressions you made in the powder and place them in the stove at 90
degrees ; let them remain a day, then take them out, and their sur-
faces will be found quite hard and solid ; brush the powder from them
with a light brush, when they may either be painted, crystallized, or
piped. Many of these bon-bons are beautifully piped and coloured to
THE CONFECTIONER. 27
represent dog?, horses, costumes, and theatrical characters ; the fur
on th^ robes is imitated with white or coloured sugar in coarse grains,
and lao'-work is done by means of a pin.
Liqueur drops are made with the impression of half a ball to any
require.! size, or other forms. If the flat parts of two are moistened,
put together, and dried in the stove, they will form drops perfectly
r< in rid.
Tnfnrtn a Chain ivith Liqueur Rings. Have some moulds to form
thf impressions in powder, as in the preceding, in the shape of the
links of a chain ; fill them with syrup at the blow, as before, and put
Ihern in the stove for a day ; when they are hard and fit to be taken
out, place them on their ends in the powder; have another mould of
a link in two halves, and with this form the impression between each
of the others bo as to make it complete; then fill them, and finish as
before.
SECTION IV. CANDY BONBON CONSERVE.
THE articles that come under this head are made by the sugar
being brought to the ball, when it is grained by rubbing it against the
sides of the pan. Prom this all fancy articles are made, such as fruit,,
eggs, cups, vases, &c.
Ginger Candy. Take clarified syrup and boil it to the ball; flavour
it either with the essence of ginger or the root in powder ; then with
a spoon or spatula rub some of it against the side of the pan until you
perceive it turn white ; pour it into small square tiny with edges, or
paper cases, which have been oiled or buttered, and put it in a warm
place, or on a hot stone, that it may become dappled. The syrup
should be coloured yellow, while boiling, with a little saffron.
Peppermint, Lemon and Rose Candy are made after the same
manner, colouring the lemon with saffron, and the rose with
cochineal.
Coltsfoot or Horehound Candy. Make a strong infusion of the
herbs, (See Infusions under the head of Syrups,) and use it for dis-
solving the sugar, instead of taking syrup; raw sugar is mostly used
for those candies. Boil it to the ball, grain it and finish as ginger
candy.
Artificial Fruit, Eggs, tyc. Prepare moulds with plaster of Paris
from the natural objects you wish to represent; make them in two,
three, or more pieces, so as to relieve freely, and have a hole at one
end into which the sugar may be poured ; let them be made so as
each part may be fitted together exactly ; and for this purpose make
two or three round or square indentions on the edge of one part, so
that the corresponding piece when cast, will form the counterpart,
which may at all times be fitted with precision. Let the object you
would take the cast from be placed in a frame made either of wood
or of stiff paper, embed a part of it in fine sand, soft pipe-clay, or
28 THE CONFECTIONER.
modelling wax, leaving as much of the mould exposed as you wish to
form at one time, and oil it with sweet oil ; mix some of the prepared
plaster with water, to the consistency of thick cream, and pour over
it; when this is set, proceed with the other portions in the same
manner until it is complete. Let them dry and harden for use.
T;ikf a sufficient quantity of syrup, (clarified with charcoal or
aniiiuil black) to fill the mould, and boil it to the small ball; rub
some of it against the side to grain it; when it turns white, pour it
into the moulds: take them out when set, and put them into the
?'ovo :\t. a moderate heat to dry. The moulds must be soaked for an
hour or two in cold water previously to their being used, which will
be found better than oiling them, as it keeps the sugar delicately
white, which oil does not. Colour your articles according to nature
with liquid colours (see Colours) and camel's-hair pencils, or the usual
pigments sold in boxes may be used. If a gloss is required, the
colours should be mixed with a strong solution of gum Arabic or
isinglass, to the desired tint. Eggs and fruit may be made as li^ht
and apparently as perfect as nature, by having moulds to open in two,
without any orifice for filling them. Fill one half with the grained
sugar, immediately close the mould, and turn it round briskly that it
may be covered all over equally. To accomplish this, it is necessary
lo have an assistant that it may be done as speedily as possible.
Burnt Almonds. Take some fine Valencia or Jordan almonds, and
sift all the dust from them ; put a pint of clarified syrup into the pan for
each pound of almonds, and place it with the almonds on the fire; boil to
the ball, then take it off and stir the mixture well with a spatula that
the sugar m;i y grain and become almost a powder, whilst each almond
has a coating. Put them into a coarse wire or cane sieve, and sift all the
loose sugar from them, and also separate those which stick together.
When cold, boil some more clarified syrup to the feather, put in the
almonds, give them two or three boils in it, take them from the fire, and
stir them with the spatula as before, until the sugar grains; sift and
separate them, and keep them in glasses or boxes. A third coat may be
given them in the same manner as the second, if they are required
large.
Burnt Jllmonds Red. The same as the last, using prepared cochi-
neal to colour the syrup whilst it is boiling.
Filberts and Pistachios. These are done the same as burnt almonds,
but they are usually denominated prawlings, the nuts being only put
into the sugar for two or three minutes before it is taken from the
fire, and stirred.
Common Burnt Jllmonds. These are made with raw sugar nnd
skimmings, if you have any. Put some water with the sugar to dis-
solve it; when it is near boiling, add the almonds, and let them boil
in it until it comes to the small ball ; or when the nlmonds crack, take
them from the fire, and stir them with a spatula until the sugar grains
and becomes nearly a powder ; put them into a sieve, and separate
the lumps.
THE CONFECTIONER. 29
Orange P raw lings. Take four or five Havanna oranges, and cut
off the peel in quarters, or small lengths; take off all the pith or
white part of the peel, leaving only the yellow rinds, and cut in small
pieces, about an inch long, and the size of pins. Have about a pint
of clarified sugar boiling on the fire; when it comes to the blow, put
in the pieces of peel, and let them boil until the sugar attains the
small bail ; take them off, and stir them with the spatula until the
sugar grains and hangs about them; sift off the loose sugar; when
cold, separate and keep them in a dry place,
Lemon Pro w lings. As orange.
SECTION V. CRACK AND CARAMEL.
THESE comprehend all articles in sugar-boiling which eat short and
crisp. They are used for all sorts of ornamental sugar-work. The
rules and observations already laid down under this head must be par-
ticularly noted, especially those for greasing the sugar so as to prevent
ils graining.
Barley Sugar. Boil some clarified loaf sugar to the crack or cara-
mel degree, using a little acid to prevent its graining: pour it out on
a marble slab, which has been previously oiled or buttered. Four
pieces of iron, or small square bars, are usually employed to form a
sort of bay to prevent the sugar running oft' the stone, which is neces-
sary in large casts. When the edges get set a little, remove the
bars, and turn them over into the centre. This is occasionally fla-
voured with lemons. When it is required, pour a few drops of the
essential oil of lemons in the centre, before the edges are folded over,
then cut it into narrow strips with a large pair of scissors or sheep-
shears. When nearly cold, twist them, put them into glasses or tin
boxes, and keep them closed to prevent the access of air. It is sel-
dom boiled higher than the crack, and saffron is used to make it the
colour of caramel.
This derives the name of barley sugar from its being originally
made with a decoction of barley, as a demulcent in coughs, for which
it is now most generally used.
Barley Sugar Drops. Boil some sugar as for the preceding. Spread
some finely powdered and sifted loaf sugar on a table or tea-tray,
with a piece of stick, round at the end similar to the half of a ball ;
make several holes, into which you run the sugar from a lipped pan,
or it may be dropped on an oiled marble slab with a funnel, letting
only one drop fall at a time; or from the lip pan, sepa rating each
drop with a small knife, or a straight piece of small wire; take them
off the stone with a knife, mix them with powdered loaf sugar, sift
them from it, and keep in glasses or tin boxes.
Barley Sugar Tablets ir Kisses. Spread some sugar, as for the
last; have a piece of wood about an inch and a half thick, with the
3*
30 THE CONFECTIONER.
surface divided into small squares, each being about an inch, and half
an inch in depth ; with this form the impressions in the sugar, and
fill them with sugar boiled as for drops, flavouring it with essence of
lemon ; or instead of this it may be poured out in a sheet on an oiled
marble slab, as for barley sugar, and when nearly cold divide it into
pieces with a tin frame, having small square divisions, when the whole
sheet may be divided at once by pressing hard on it so as to cut it
nearly through. When cold, separate them and mix them with
powdered sugar, take them out and fold them separately in fancy or
coloured papers, with a motto on each. They are also occasionally
made into balls thus: First cast the sugar in a sheet on an oiled
marble slab; when the edges are set, fold them in the middle, then
oil a small equare tin with edges to it, put the sugar in this, and
place it under the fire-place of the stove so as to keep warm ; cut off
a piece and roll it into a pipe, then cut it into small pieces with a pair
of shears, and let your assistant roll it into small balls under his hand
on a sand-stone; marble is too smooth for this purpose. Many lads
who are used to it can turn eight or ten under each hand at one time.
When they are finished, put them into powdered sugar, wrap them
in fancy papers, fringed at the ends, put a motto in each, and fasten
them with small bands of gold paper. Sometimes a cracker is folded
up in each, which is made with two narrow strips of stiff paper, a
small piece of sand or glass paper is pasted on the end of each, and
these are placed over each other with a little fulminating powder be-
tween, a pieco of thin paper is hound round it, and pasted to keep
them together; when these are pulled asunder, the two rough sur-
faces meeting cause the powder to explode, and out flies the ball of
sugar with the motto. This innocent amusement often causes much
mirth in a company.
Acid Drops and Sticks. Boil clarified sugar to the crack, and
pour it on an oiled marble stone: pound some tartaric or citric acid
to a fine powder, and strew over it about a half or three quarters
of an ounce of the former, according to its quality, and less of the
latter, to seven pounds of sugar ; turn the edges over into the mid-
dle, and mix the acid by folding it over, or by working it in a similar
manner as dough is moulded, but do not pull it ; put it in a tin rubbed
over with oil or butter, and place it under the stove to keep warm ;
then cut off a small piece at a time, and roll it into a round pipe ;
cut them off in small pieces the size of drops, with shears, and let
your assistant roll them round under his hand, and flatten them. Mix
them with powdered sugar, sift them from it, and keep them in boxes
or glasses.
When flavoured with lemon, they are called lemon-acid drops,
with otto of roses, rose-acid drops. The sticks are made in the
same manner as the drops, without being cut into small pieces.
To extract the Acid from Candied Drops, tfc. All the articles
which have acid mixed with them are extremely liable to grain, when
they are useless for any purpose whatever, except, to r=>pll for broken
THE CONFECTIONER. 3J
pieces, as they cannot be boiled again unless the acid is extracted
The method of doing this is at present not generally known in the
trade, and it is kept by many that are in possession of it as a great
secret. A sovereign is often paid for this recipe alone. However
great the secret may be considered, it is only returning to the first
principle in the manufacture of sugar. When the juice is expressed
from the canes, it contains a considerable quantity of oxalic acid,
which must be destroyed before it will granulate into sugar: for this
purpose lime is employed, which has the desired effect; so will it also
in this case, but chalk or whitening is most generally used. First
dissolve youracid sugar in water ; when this is thoroughly accomplish-
ed, mix in a sufficient quantity of either of these alkalies in powder
to cause a strong effervescence ; after it has subsided, pass it through
a flannel bag, according to the directions for clarifying sugar. The
filtered syrup will be fit to use for any purpose, and may be boiled
again to the crack or caramel degrees as well as if no acid had ever
been mixed with it. Let the pan it is dissolved in be capable of con-
taining as much again as there' is in it, or the effervescence will flow
over.
Raspberry Candy. This may either be made from raw or refined
sugar. Boil it to the crack, and colour it with cochineal ; pour it on
a stone rubbed over with a little oil or butter, cut off a small piece,
and keep it warm to stripe or case the other part, when finished; to
the remainder add a little tartaric acid (not so much as for drops),
and some raspberry-paste, sufficient to flavour it. The residue of
raspberries used for making vinegar, and preserved with an equal
quantity of sugar, or even less, as for raspberry cakes, does vrry well
tor this purpose. Fold the edges over into the centre, and attach it
to a hook fixed against the wall: pull it towards you, throwing it on
the hook each time after having pulled it out; continue doing this
until it gets rather white and shining, then make it into a compact
long roll, and either stripe it with the piece you cut off, or roll it out
in a sheet with a rolling-pin, and wrap it round it so as to form a ?ort
of case ; then pull it into long narrow sticks, and cut them the required
length.
Clove, Ginger, or Peppermint Candy. These are all made in the
same way as raspberry, using the essential oil of each for flavour.
For clove, the mixture, whilst boiling, is coloured with cochineal ;
ginger with saffron ; but the peppermint must be kept perfectly
white, except the stripes, which is done by cutting off as many pieces
from the bulk as you have colours, which should be in powder ; put a
sufficiency in each piece to give the desired tint, and keep them
warm. When the remaining portion of the sugar is pulled, lay them
over the surface in narrow stripes, double the roll together, and the
face each way will be alike. Pull them out into long sticks, and
twist them ; make them round by rolling them under the hand, or
they may be cut into small pieces with a pair of shears or scissors.
Brandy Balls, <Sfc. These are made from loaf ugar, boiled to .he
32 THE CONFECTIONER.
crack, and coloured either with cochineal or saffron, and finished in
the same way as acidulated drops, without being flattened.
Nogat. Two pounds of sweet almonds, one pound of sugar, one
pound of water. Blanch the almonds, and cut them in slices, dry
them at the mouth of a cool oven, and if slightly browned the better;
powder the sugar, and put it into a stewpan, with the water; place
it on the fire to melt, stirring it with a spatula until it becomes a fine
brown, then mix in the almonds, and let them be well covered with
the sugar; pour it out on an oiled marble stone. It may be made
into a thick or thin sheet, and cut with a knife into small pieces, such
as dice, diamonds, &c. The surface may be strewed with currants,
fillets of pistachios, or coarse sugar, and cut into different forms with
tin cutter?. It may also be formed into baskets, vases, &c. Oil the
interior of a mould, and spread the nogat over it, whilst warm, as
thin and even as possible. To save the fingers from being burnt, it
may be spread with a lemon. Detach it from the mould when warm,
and let it remain until cold that it may retain its shape perfectly, then
fasten the different parts together with caramel sugar. For baskets,
a handle of spun sugar may be placed over it, or ornamented with it
according to fancy. These may be filled with whipped or other
creams when required to be served.
Jllmond Rock. This is a similar production to nogat, and is made
with raw sugar, which is boiled to the crack. Pour it on an oiled
stone, and fill it with sweet almonds, either blanched or not; the
almonds are mixed with the sugar by working them into it with the
hands, in a similar manner as you would mix anything into a piece
of dough. If they were stirred into the sugar in the pan it would
grain, which is the reason why it is melted for nogat. Form the rock
into a ball or roll, and make it into a sheet, about two inches thick,
by rolling it with a rolling-pin. The top may be divided into diamonds
or squares by means of a long knife or piece of iron : when it is
nearly cold cut it into long' narrow pieces with a strong knife and
hammer.
.fllmond Hardbake. Oil a square or round tin with low edges;
split some almonds in half, put them in rows over the bottom, with
the split side downward, until the surface is covered ; boil some raw
sugar to the crack, and pour it over them so as to cover the whole
with a thin sheet of sugar. Cocoa nut, cut in thin slices, currant,
and other similar candies, are made as the hardbake, except that the
sugar is grained before it is poured over.
ON SUGAR-SPINNING.
To attain proficiency in this part, it requires much practice, and
also a good taste for design, and to be expert in the boiling of sugar,
taking particular care to avoid its graining. Baskets, temples, vases,
fountains, &c., are made by these means. It may almost be termed
the climax of the art. The moulds for this purpose may be made
TUB CONFECTIONER. '33
either of copper or tin, so as to deliver well. Let them be slightly
rubbed all over, on the part you intend to spin the sugar, with butter
or oil.
Boil clarified syrup to the degree of caramel, taking care to keep
the sides of the pad free from sugar. The moment it is at the crack,
add a little acid to grease it (see Sugar Boiling). When it has at-
tained the required degree, dip the bottom of the pan into cold water,
take it out, and let it cool a little; then take a common table-spoon,
dip it in the sugar, holding the mould in your left hand, and from the
spoon run the sugar over the mould, either inside or out, with the
threads which flow from it, which may be either fine or coarse, ac-
cording to the state of the sugar; if they are required very coarse,
pass the hand over them two or three times; for when it is hot it
flows in finer strings than it will when cooler; form it on the mould
into a sort of trellis-work; loosen it from the mould carefully, and let
it remain until quite cold before it is taken off, that it may retain its
shape. When the sugar gets too cold to flow from the spoon, plnce
it by the side of the stove or fire to melt. Young beginners had bet-
ter draw their designs for handles of baskets, &c., on a stone with a
pencil before it is oiled, and then spin the sugar over them.
To make a Silver Web. Boil clarified syrup to the crack, using the
same precautions as before observed, giving it a few boils after the
acid is added ; dip the bottom of the pan in water and let the sugar
cool a little; then take the handle of a spoon, or two forks tied to-
gether, dip it into the sugar, and form it either on the inside or out-
side of a mould, with very fine strings, by passing the hand quickly
backwards and forwards, taking care that it does not fall in drops,
which would spoil the appearance of the work. With this may be
represented the hair of a helmet, the water of a fountain, &c. Take
a fork, or an iron skewer, and hold it in your left hand as high as you
can, dip the spoon in the sugar, and with the right hand throw it over
the skewer, when it will hang from it in very fine threads of con-
siderable length.
To make, a Gold Web. Boil syrup to caramel height, colouring it
with saffron, and form it as directed for the last. It can be f olded up
to form bands or rings, &c. Fasten it to the other decorations with
caramel.
If any of the strings or threads of sugar should pass over those
parts where they are not required, so as to spoil the other decorations
in the making of baskets or other ornaments, it may be removed with
a hot knife without breaking or injuring the piece.
Chantilly Baskets. Prepare some ratafias, let them be rather small,
and as near of a size as possible; boil some sugar to the caramel de-
gree, rub over the inside of a mould slightly with oil, dip the edofe
of the ratafias in sugar, and stick them together, the face of the rata-
fias being towards the mould, except the last two rows on the top,
which should be reversed, remembering always to place their faces
THE CONFECTIONER.
to meet the eye when the sugar is cold ; take it out, and join the bot-
tom and top tog-ether with the same sugar; make a handle of spun
sugar, and place over it. Some sugar may be spun over the inside
of the basket, to strengthen it, as directed for webs. Line the inside
with pieces of Savoy or sponge cakes, and fill it with custard or whip-
ped cretim, or the sliced of cake may be spread with raspberry jam.
Half fill it with boiled custard, then put in a few Savoy or almond
cakes, soaked in wine, and cover the top with whipped cream; or it
may bo filled with fancy pastry, or meringues. All sorts of fancy
cakes mav be made into baskets or ratafias.
Grrtpe, Orange, or Cherry Baskets. These are made similar to the
last; tlm oranges nre carefully peeled and divided into small pieces,
taking off th" pith. Insert a small piece of stick or whisk in the end
of each, dip them in caramel, and form them on the inside of an oiled
mould. Cherries and grapes may be used either fresh, or preserved
wet, and dried. Dip them in caramel, and form them as oranges.
Each of these, or any other fruit, after being dipped in caramel, may
be laid on an oiled marble slab separately, and served on plates in a
pyramid, with fancy papers, flowers, &c. The baskets are finished
as Chantilly with spun sugar.
Mnvmd Baskets. Blanch some fine Jordan almonds, and cut them
into thin slices, and colour them in a small copper pan over the fire
with prepared liquid colour (see Colours). Put them into the pan,
and pour in colour sufficient to give the desired tint; rub them about
in the pan with your hand until they are quite dry: form them as for
a Chantilly basket, or else form them on an oiled marble slab, and
spin suerar over them on each side. Afterwards arrange them in
a mould, or build them to any design, first having a pattern cut out
in paper, and form them on the stone from it.
Spanish Candy. Oil a quart of clarified syrup to the crack. Have
some icinir previously prepared as for cakes, or mix some fine pow-
dered loaf sugar with the white of an egg to a thick consistency as
for icing-; take the sugar from the fire, and as soon as the boiling has
gone down stir in a spoonful of this or the icing, which must be done
very quickly, without stopping. Let it rise once and fall : the second
time it rises, pour it out in a mould or paper cas<--, and rover it with
the pan to prevent its falling. Some j>ersons pour it out the first time
it rises, and immediately cover it as before. It may be made good
both ways. If it is required coloured, add the colouring- to the syrup
whilst it is boiling, or with the icing, adding more suuar to give it the
same stiffness as before.
Vases or Baskets, <J-c., in Spanish Candy. Prepare some plaster
moulds, as for grained sugar; soak them in water before you use
them; prepare some sugar as for the last, and fill the mould?. When
finished they may be ornamented with gum-paste, piping, or gold-
paper borders. Fill them with flowers, meringues, fancy pastry,
caramel, fruits, &c. They may also be made in copper or tin moulds,
by first oiling them before they are filled.
THE CONFECTIONER. 35
SECTION VI. CHOCOLATE.
Cacao Nuts. The cocoa or cacao nut, of which chocolate is made,
is the seed of the fruit of a tree common in South America and the
West Indies. The seeds of the nuts, which are nearly of the shape
of an almond, are found to the number of from thirty to forty in a
pod. The pods are oval, resembling a cucumber in shape. The dif-
ferent sorts are distinguished by name, according to the places which
produce them, thus, the cacao of Cayenne, Caraccas, Berbice, and
the islands of St. Magdalen and Domingo. These all differ in the
size of their almonds or seed, quality and taste. The most esteemed
is the large Caraccas, the almond of which, though somewhat flat,
resembles the shape of a large bean. The next are those of St. Mag-
dalen and Berbice. The seeds of these are less flat than those of the
Caraccas kind, and the skin is covered with a fine ash-coloured dust.
The others are very crude and oily, and only fit to make the butter
of cacao. The kernels, when fresh, are bitter, and are deprived of
this by being buried in the ground for thirty or forty days. Good nuts
should have a thin brittle skin, of a dark black colour; and the ker-
nel, when the skin is taken off, should appear full and shining, of a
dusky colour, with a reddish shade. Choose the freshest, not worm-
eaten, or mouldy on the inside, which it is subject to be.
Equal parts of the cacao of Caraccas, St. Magdalen, and Berbice,
mixed together, make a chocolate of first-rate quality ; and these pro-
portions give to it that rich and oily taste which it ought to have.
That made from the cacao of Caraccas only is too dry, and that from
the islands too fat and crude.
Roasting. Take a sufficient quantity of nuts to cover the bottom
of an iron pot two or three inches deep, place them on the fire to
roast, stirring them constantly with the spatula that the hfat may be
imparted to them equally. A coffee-roasting machine would answer
for this purpose admirably, taking care not to torrefy them too much,
as the oil of the nut suffers thereby, and it becomes a dark brown or
black, grows bitter, and spoils the colour of the chocolate. Musty or
mouldy nuts must be roasted more than the others, so as to deprive
them of their bad taste and smell. It is only necessary to heat them
until the skin will separate from the kernel on being pressed between
the fingers. Remove them from the fire, and separate the skins. If
you have a large quantity, this may be accomplished by putting them
in a sieve which has the holes rather large, but not so much as to
allow the nuts to pass through; then squeeze or press them in your
hands, and the skins will pass through the meshes of the sieve ; or,
after being separated from the nuts, they may be got rid of by win-
nowing or fanning them in a similar manner to corn. When they
are separated, put them again in the fire, as before directed, stirring
them constantly until warmed through, without browning. You may
know when they are heated enough by the outside appearing shiny ;
30 THE CONFECTIONEE.
again winnow, to separate any burnt skin which may have escaped
the first time.
The Making of Chocolate. An iron pestle and mortar is requisite
for this purpose, also a stone of the closest grain and texture which
can be procured, and a rolling-pin made of the same material, or of
iron. The stone must be fixed in such a manner that it may be
heated from below with a pot of burning charcoal, or something
similar.
Warm the mortar and pestle by placing them on a stove, or by
means of charcoal, until they are so hot that you can scarcely bear
your hand against them. Wipe the mortar out clean, and put any
convenient quantity of your prepared nuts in it, which you pound
until they are reduced to an oily paste into which the pestle will sink
by its own weight. If it is required sweet, add about one-half, or
two-thirds of its weight of loaf sugar in powder; again pound it so
as to mix it well together, then put it in a pan, and place it in the
etove to keep warm. Take a portion of it and roll or grind it well on
the slab with the roller (both being previously heated like the mor-
tar) until it is reduced to a smooth impalpable paste, which will melt
in the mouth like butter. When this is accomplished, put it in another
pan, and keep it warm until the whole is similarly disposed of; then
place it again on the stone, which must not be quite so warm as pre-
viously, work it over again, and divide it into pieces of two, four,
eight, or sixteen ounces each, which you put in moulds. Give it a
shake, and the chocolate will become flat. When cold it will easily
turn out.
The moulds for chocolate may either be made of tin or copper, and
of different devices, such as men, animals, fish, culinary or other uten-
sils, &LC. ; also some square ones for half-pound cakes, having divi-
visions on the bottom which are relievoed. These cause the hollow
impressions on the cakes.
The Bayonne or Spanish chocolate is in general the most esteemed.
The reason of its superior quality is attributed by some to the hard-
ness of the Pyrenean stone which they employ in making it, which
does not absorb the oil from the nuts. They do not use any pestle
and mortar, but levigate their nuts on the stone, which is fixed on a
slope; and in the second pounding or rolling the paste is pressed
closely on the stone, so as to extract the oil, which runs into a pan
containing the quantity of sugar intended to be used, and is placed
underneath to receive it ; the oil of the cacao and sugar a re then well
mixed together with a spatula, again mixed with the paste on the
stone, and finished.
Vanilla Chocolate. Ten pounds of prepared nuts, ten pounds of
sugar, vanilla two ounces and a half, cinnamon one ounce, one drachm
of mace, and two drachms of cloves, or the vanilla may be used
solely.
Prepare your nuts according to the directions already given. Cut
THE CONFECTIONER. 37
the vanilla in small bits, pound it fine with part of the sugar, and
mix it with the paste; boil about one-half of the sugar to the blow
before you mix it to the chocolate, otherwise it will eat hard. Pro-
ceed as before, and either put it in small moulds or divide it in
tablets, which you wrap in tinfoil. This is in general termed eatable
chocolate.
Cinnamon, Mace or Clove. Chocolate. These are made in the same
manner as the last, using about an ounce and a half or two ounces
of either sort of spice, in powder, to that quantity, or add a suffi-
ciency of either of these essential oils to flavour.
Stomachic Chocolate. Four ounces of chocolate prepared without
sugar, vanilla one ounce, cinnamon in powder one ounce, ambergris
forty-eight grains, sugar three ounces; warm your paste by pounding
in the heated mortar, or on the stone, add your aromatics in powder
to the sugar, and mix it well with the paste; keep it close in tin
boxes. About a dozen grains of this is to be put into the chocolate
pot when it is made, which gives it an agreeable and delightful fla-
vour, and renders it highly stomachic. It may also be used for flavour-
ing the chocolate tablets.
Chocolate Harlequin Pistachios. Warm some sweet chocolate by
pounding it in a hot mortar; when it is reduced to a malleable pnstn,
take a little of it and wrap round a blanched pistachio nut, roll it in
the hand to form it as neat as you can, throw it in some nonpareils of
various colours; let it be covered all over. Dispose of the whole in
the same manner; fold tii^m in coloured or fancy papers, with mot-
toes; the ends should be cut like fringe. Almonds may be ^one the
tame way, using vanilla chocolate, if preferred.
Chocolate Drops, with Nonpareils. Have some warm chocolate, as
for pistachios; some add a little butter or oil to it to make it work
mure free ; make it into balls about the size of a small marble, by
rolling a little in the hand, or else put some of the paste on a flat
piece of >*uod, on which you form, and take them off with a knife.
Place them on sheets of white paper about an inch apart. When the
sheet is covered, take it by the corners and lift it up and down, let-
ting it touch the table each time, which will flatten them. Cover
the surface entirely with white nonpareils, and shake off the surplus
cues. When the drops are cold they can be taken off the paper
easily. The bottom of the drops should be about as broad ns a six-
pence. Some of them may be left quite plain.
Good chocolate should be of a clear red brown. As the colour is
paler or darker, so is the article the more or less good. The surface
should be smooth and shining. If this gloss comes off by touching,
it indicates an inferior quality, and is probably adulterated. When
broken, it ought to be compact and close, and not appear crumbly.
It should melt gently in the mouth when oaten, leaving no roughness
or astringency, but rather a cooling sensation on the tongue. The
latter is a certain sign of its being genuine.
4
J3 THE CONFECTIONER.
SECTION VII. JLOZENGES.
THESE are composed of loaf sugar in fine powder, and other sub-
stances, either liquid or in powder, which are mixed together and
made into a paste with dissolved gum, rolled out into thin sheets, and
formed with tin cutters into little cakes, either oval, square, or round,
and dried.
One ounce of gum tragacanth, and one pint of water. Let it
soak in a warm place twenty-four hours; put it in a coarse towel or
cloth, and let two persons continue twisting it until the whole of the
gum is squeezed through the interstices of the cloth. One ounce of
this dissolved gum is sufficient for four or five pounds of sugar; one
ounce of dissolved gum Arabic to twelve ounces of sugar.
Either of these gums may be used .separately, or in the proportion
of one ounce of gum dragon to three ounces of Arabic mixed to-
gether. These are generally used for medicated lozenges; but gum
Arabic alone is considered to make the best peppermint.
Peppermint Lozenges, No. 1. Take double-refined loaf sugar,
pound and sift it through a lawn sieve; make a bay with the sujjar
on a marble slab, into which pour some dissolved gum, and mix it
into a paste as you would dough, flavouring the mass with oil of
peppermint. One ounce of this is sufficient for forty pounds of loz-
enges. Some persons prefer mixing their gum and sugar together
at first in a mortar ; but as it is indifferent which way is pursued, that
may be followed which is most convenient. Roll out the paste on a
marble slab until it is about the eighth of an inch in thickness, using
starch powder to dust it with, to prevent its sticking to the slab and
pin. Before cutting them out, strew or dust over the surface with
powder mixed with lawned sugar, and rub it over with the heel of
your hand, which gives it a smooth face. This operation is termed
" facing up." Brush this off, and again dust the surface with starch
powder, cut them out, and place in wooden trays. Put them in the
hot closet to dry. Note- All lozenges are finished in the same
manner.
Peppermint Lozenges, No. 2. These are made as No. 1, adding a
little starch-powder or prepared plaster as for gum paste to the paste,
instead of using all sugar.
Peppermint Lozenges, Nos. 3 and 4. Proceed in the same manner
as for No. 2, using for each, more starch powder in proportion. Use
smaller cutters, and let the paste be rolled thicker.
Transparent Mint Lozenges, No. 5. These are made from loaf
sugar in coarse powder, the finest having been taken out by sifting it
through a lawn sieve. Mix it into a paste with dissolved gum Arabic
and a little lemon juice. Flavour with oil of peppermint. Finish a?
for No. 1.
THE CONFECTIONER.
Superfine Transparent Mint Lozenges. The sugar for these must
bo in coarser grains. Pass the sugar through a coarse hair sieve.
Separate the finest by sifting it through a moderately fine hair sieve.
Mix and flavour as the others.
Note. The coarser the grains of sugar, the more transparent the
lozenges. The finer particles of sugar being mixed with it, destroy
their transparency. The solution of gum should be thicker in pro-
portion as the sugar is coarse.
Rose Lozenges. Make your paste as No. 1, using the essential oil
or otto of roses to flavour them ; or the gum may be dissolved in rose
water, and a little essential oil may be added to give additional fla-
vour, if required. Colour the paste with carmine or rose pink.
Cinnamon Lozenges. Gum tragacanth, dissolved, two ounces,
lawned sugar eight pounds, cinnamon in powder one ounce, essential
oil ten drops.
Mix into a paste, and colour with bole ammoniac. A stomachic.
Clove Lozenges. Sugar eight pounds, cloves three ounces, gum
tragacanth two ounces.
Each lozenge should contain two grains of cloves. A restorative
and stomachic.
Lavender Lozenges. Make as rose lozenges, using the oil of laven-
der instead of rose.
Ginger Lozenges. Eight pounds of sugar and eight ounces of the
best ground ginger. Mix into a paste with dissolved gum. Essence
may be used instead of the powder, colouring it with saffron. A
stimulant and stomachic.
Nutmeg Lozenges. Sugar eight pounds, oil of nutmegs one ounce,
dissolved gum sufficient to mix into a paste. A stimulant and stoma-
chic.
Rhubarb Lozenges. Sugar four pounds, best Turkey rhubarb, in
powder, ten ounces.
Sulphur Lozenges. Four pounds of sugar, eight ounces of sub-
limed sulphur, gum sufficient to make a paste. For asthma and the
piles.
Tolu Lozenges. Sugar four pounds, balsam of tolu three drachms,
or the tincture of the balsam one fluid ounce, cream of tartar six
ounces, or tartaric acid one drachm, dissolved gum sufficient to make
a paste. These may also be flavoured by adding a quarter of an ounce
of vanilla, and sixty drops of the essence of amber. The articles
must be reduced to a fine powder with the sugar. A pectoral and
balsamic.
Ipecacuanha Lozenges. Sugar four pounds, ipecacuanha one ounce,
apothecaries' weight, dissolved gum sufficient to make a paste. Make
960 lozenges, each containing half a grain of ipecacuanha. An ex-
pectorant and stomachic, used in coughs.
40 THE CONFECTIONER.
Saffron Lozenges. Saffron dried and powdered, four ounces, suga
four pounds, dissolved gum sufficient. An anodyne, pectoral, em-
menagogue.
Yellow Pectoral Lozenges. Sugar one pound, Florence orris-root
powder twelve drachms, liquorice-root, six drachms, almonds one
ounce, saffron in powder four scruples, dissolved gum sufficient to
make a paste. Make a decoction of the liquorice to moisten the gum
with.
Lozenges for the Heartburn. Prepared chalk four ounces, crab's
eyes prepared two ounces, bole ammoniac one ounce, nutmeg one
scruple, or cinnamon half an ounce. Make into a paste with dis-
solved gum Arabic.
Steel Lozenges. Pure iron filings or rust of iron one pound, cinna-
mon in powder, four ounces, fine sugar seven pounds, dissolved gum
a sufficient quantity to make a paste. A stomachic and tonic.
Magnesia Lozenges. Calcined magnesia eight ounces, sugar four
ounces, ginger in powder two scruples, dissolved gum Arabic suffi-
cient to form a paste.
Magnesia two ounces, sugar eight ounces, sufficient gum Arabic
to make a paste, dissolved in orange-flower water.
Nitre Lozenges. Sugar four pounds, sal-nitre one pound, dissolved
gum tragacanth, sufficient to make a paste. A diuretic internally;
held in the mouth it removes incipient sore throats.
Marshmalloiv Lozenges. Marshmallow roots in powder one pound,
or slice the root and make a strong decoction, in which you dissolve
the gum, fine sugar four pounds. Mix into a paste. If six drops of
laudanum be added, with two ounces of liquorice, the pectoral quality
of these lozenges will be improved. Good for obstinate coughs.
Vanilla Lozenges. Sugar four pounds, vanilla in powder, six
ounces, or sufficient to give a strong flavour. Make into a paste
with dissolved gum.
Catechu Lozenges. Sugar four pounds, catechu twelve ounces.
Make into a paste with dissolved gum.
Catechu a l\flmbergris. To the paste for catechu lozenges add
sixteen grains of ambergris.
Catechu iviih Musk. The same as for catechu, adding sixteen
grains of musk.
Catechu with Orange-flowers. As before, adding twelve drops of
essence of neroli.
Catechu with Violets. As before, adding Florence orris-root in
powder, three drachms. These are all used to fasten the teeth, and
disguise an offensive breath.
Ching's Yellow Worm Lozenges. Fine sugar twenty-eight pounds,
calomel washed in spirits of wine one pound, saffron four drachms,
dissolved gum tragacanth sufficient to make a paste. Make a decoc-
THE CONFECTIONER. 41
tion of the saffron in one pint of water, strain, and mix with it.
Each lozenge should contain one grain of mercury.
China's Brown Worm Lozenges. -Calomel washed in spirits of
wine (termed white panacea of mercury}, seven ounces, resin of jalap
three pounds eight ounce?, fine sugar nine pounds, dissolved gurn
sufficient quantity to make a paste. Each lozenge should contain
half a grain of mercury.
Panacea, one ounce, resin of jalap two ounces, sugar two pounds.
Dissolve a sufficient quantity of gum in rose-water to make a paste.
Make 2520 lozenges, weighing eight grains each, and containing a
quarter of a grain of calomel and half a grain of jalap.
These lozenges should be kept very dry after they are finished, as
the damp* acting on the sugar and mercury, generates an acid in them.
Note. In mixing these, as well as all other medicated lozenges, the
different powders should be well mixed with the sugar, in order that
each lozenge may have its due portion. If this is not attended to,
the perfect distribution of the component parts cannot be depended on,
and one lozenge may contain double or treble the quantity of medi-
cuted matter it ought to have, whilst others contain comparatively
none ; therefore those that have the greatest portion may often prove
injurious by acting contrary to what was intended.
Bath Pipe. Eight pounds of sugar, twelve ounces of liquorice.
Warm the liquorice and cut it in thin slices, dissolve it in one quart
of boiling water, stir it well to assist the solution ; let it settle, when
dissolved, to allow any impurities or bits of copper which are often
found in it to fall down; pour it off free from the sediment; dissolve
the gum in the clear part, and mix into a paste as for lozenges. Roll
out a piece with your hand in a round form ; finish rolling it with a
long flat piece of wood, until it is about the size of the largest end of
the stem of a tobacco-pipe. Dry them in the stove as lozenges.
These may be also flavoured with anise-seed by adding a few drops
of the oil, or with catechu or violets by adding the powders of orris-
root or catechu.
Peppermint or other Pipes. Any of the pastes for lozenges may be
formed into pipes by rolling it out as directed for Bath pipes. They
are occasionally striped with blue green, and yellow, by making
strips with liquid colour on the paste and twisting before you roll it
out with the board.
Brilliants. Take either of the pastes for peppermint lozenges
from No. 1 to 4, and cut it into small fancy devices, such as hearts,
diamonds, spades, triangles, squares, &c.
Refined Liquorice. Four pounds of the best Spanish juice, and two
pounds of gum Arabic. Dissolve the gum in warm water, as for
Bath pipe. Strain and dissolve the gum in the solution of liquorice.
Place it over a gentle fire, in a broad pan, and let it boil gradually,
stirring it continually (or it will burn) until it is reduced to a paste.
Roll it into pipes or cylinders of convenient lengths, and polish by
4*
42 THE CONFECTIONER.
putting them in a box and rolling them together, or by rubbing them
with the hand, or a cloth. This is often adulterated by using glue
instead of gum, and by dipping the pipes in a thin solution, which
gives them a beautiful gloss when dry. In establishments where
this is manufactured on a large scale, the liquorice is dissolved in a
large bain-marie, and stirred with spatulas which are worked by a
steam-engine.
SECTION VIII. PASTILE DROPS.
CHOOSE the best treble-refined sugar with a good grain, pound it, and
pass it through a coarse hair sieve; sift again in a lawn sieve to take
out the finest part, as the sugar, when it is too fine, makes the drops
heavy and compact, and destroys their brilliancy and shining appear-
ance.
Put some of the coarse grains of sugar into a small drop pan (these
are made with a lip on the right side, so that when it is held in the
left hand the drops can be detached with the right), moisten it with
any aromatic spirit you intend to use, and a sufficient quantity of
water to make it of a consistence just to drop off the spoon or spatula
without sticking to it. Colour with prepared cochineal, or any other
colour, ground fine and moistened with a little water. Let the tint
which you give be as light and delicate as possible. Place the pan
on the stove fire, on a ring of the same size. Stir it occasionally
until it makes a noise, when it is near boiling, but do not let it boil ,
then take it from the fire, and stir it well with the spatula until it is
of the consistence that when dropped it will not spread too much,
but retain a round form on the surface. If it should be too thin, add
a little coarse sugar, which should be reserved for the purpose, and
make it of the thickness required. Have some very smooth and even
plates, made either of tin or copper; let them be quite clean, and
drop them on these, separating the sugar from the lip of the pan with
a piece of straight wire, as regularly as possible. About two hours
afterwards they may be taken off with a thin knife. If you have not
the convenience of tin or copper plates, they may be dropped on
smooth cartridge paper. Wet the back of the paper when you want
to take them off Cover the bottom of a sieve with pnper, lay them
on it, and put them in the stove for a few hours. If they remain
too long, it will destroy their fragrancy.
Chocolate Drops. One pound of sugar, one ounce of chocolate.
Scrape the chocolate to a powder, and mix it with the sugar in coarse
grains, moisten it with clean water, and proceed according to the
instructions already given, but do not mix more than can be dropped
out whilst warm at one time. If any remains in the pot, it will grease
the next which you mix, and will not attain the consistence required.
Coffee Drops. One ounce of coffee, one pound of sugar. Make a
THE CONFECTIONER. 43
strong and clear infusion of coffee, as directed for coffee ice, and use
it to moisten the sugar. Make the drops as above.
Cinnamon Drops. One ounce of cinnamon, one pound of sugar.
Pulverize the cinnamon, and sift it through a lawn sieve. Mix it
with the sugar, and add two -or three drops of the essential oil. If
the flavour is not strong enough, moisten it with the water and pro-
ceed as before. The flavour may be given with the essential oil only,
colouring them with bole ammoniac.
Clove Drops. Make as cinnamon.
Vanilla Drops* Make as cinnamon, using a little sugar to pound
the vanilla. Use sufficient to give a good flavour ; or it may be
moistened with the essence of vanilla; but this greases it as choco-
late.
Violet Drops. One pound of sugar, one ounce of orris-powder.
Moisten with water, and colour violet.
Catechu Drops. One pound of sugar, three ounces of catechu.
Make as violet. These may also have the addition of a little musk
or ambergris about fifteen grains.
Ginger Drops. Mix a sufficient quantity of the best powdered
ginger to give it the desired taste, or flavour it with the essence of
ginger, and colour it with saffron. Moisten with water, and make as
others.
Lemon Drops. Rub off the yellow rind of some lemons on a piece
of rough sugar, scrape it off, and mix it with the coarse sugar. Use
sufficient to give a good flavour, and colour with saffron a light yel-
low ; moisten with water, as others.
Rose Drops. Moisten the sugar with rose water, and colour it with
cochineal.
Peppermint Drops. Moisten the sugar with peppermint water, or
flavour it with the essence of peppermint, and moisten it with water.
Orange-flower Drops. Use orange-flower water to moisten the
susfar, or flavour it with the essence of neroli and moisten with
water.
Orgiat Drops Make milk of almonds, as directed under the head
of Orgeat Syrup, using a little orange-flower water; moisten the
with it.
Raspberry Drops. Press out the juice of some ripe raspberries
through a piece of flannel or cloth, and moisten the sugar with it.
All fruit drops are made in the same way, that is, with the expressed
juice. except pine-apple. When you first rub off the rind of the
fruit on sugar, pound the pulp of the fruit, and pass through a hair
sieve. Scrape off the sugar on which the rind was rubbed, and mix
it with a sufficient quantity of the pulp to give the desired flavour to
the coarse grains, and moisten it with water. The whole of these
44 THE CONFECTIONER.
grease the sugar, and require the same precautions as chocolate
drops.
SECTION IX. COMFITS.
A COPPER comfit-pan is requisite for this purpose. A bar, having
chains at each end, with a hook and swivel in the centre, is attached
to it, by which it is suspended from the ceiling or a beam, so as to
hang about as high as the breast over a stove or charcoal fire, that the
pan may be kept at a moderate heat and at such a distance as to
allow it to be swung backwards and forwards without touching the
fire or stove. A preserving-pan, containing clarified syrup, must be
placed by the side of the stove, or over another fire, that it may be
kept hot, but not boiling; also a ladle for throwing the syrup into the
pan, and a pearling cot. This last somewhat resembles a funnel,
without the pipe or tube, and having a small hole in the centre with
a pointed piece of stick or spigot fitted into it, which, being drawn
out a little, allows the syrup when placed in it to run out in a small
stream. A piece of string tied several times across the centre of the
top of the cot, and twisted with the spigot, allows it to be drawn out
and regulated at pleasure.
Scotch Caraway Comfits. Sift two pounds of seeds in a hair sieve
to free them from dust, put them into the comfit-pan, and rub them
well about the bottom with your hand until they are quite warm ; have
some clarified loaf sugar in syrup and boiled to the small thread ; give
them a charge by pouring over them about two table-spoonfuls to com-
inence with ; rub and shake them well about the pan, that they may
take the sugar equally, until they are quite dry. Be careful in not
making them too wet in the first charges by using too much syrup,
or they will lie of a lump and get doubled, and you will have diffi-
culty in parting them. It will prevent their sticking together if the
hand is passed through them between every swing of the pan, and
also add to their smoothness. Do not let the heat under the pan be
too strong, or it will spoil their whiteness. Give them four or five
charges, increasing the quantity of syrup a little each time, and Jet
each charge be well dried before another is given, dusting them at
the last charge with flour. Sift them in a hair sieve, and clean the
pan. Put them in again, and give them four or five charges more,
with a dust of flour at the last; then sift them and clean the pan.
Proceed in this manner until they are one-third of the required size.
Put them into the stove or sun to dry until the next day, then clarify
and boil some sugar to the large thread, keep it warm as before, divide
the comfits, and put part of them in the pan, so as not to have too
many at one time, for as they increase in size you must divide them
into convenient portions, so that you may be enabled to work them
properly without encumbering the pan. Give them four or five
charges of syrup, proceeding in the same manner as before, until they
THE CONFECTIONER, 45
are two-thirds or more of the required size, and stove them until the
next day. Continue in this manner with each portion alternately,
until they are all done. On the third day, boil the syrup to the small
pearl, and give eight or ten charges as before, without using flour, so
as to finish them, lessening the quantity of syrup each time. Swing
the pan gently, and dry each charge well. Put them in the stove
for half an hour or an hour after each charge, and proceed alternately
with each portion until they are finished, when they should be about
the size of peas. Put them in the stove for a day, then smooth them
with the whitest loaf sugar in syrup, boiled to the small thread ; add
two or three table-spoonfuls of dissolved gum Arabic with it to give
them a gloss. Give three or four charges with a very gentle heat,
the syrup being cold and the pan scarcely warm. Work and dry
each charge well before another is added : when finished, dry them
in a moderate heat. It is the best way, if possible, to dry comfits in
the sun, as it bleaches them. If the stove is at a greater heat than
the sun in a moderately warm day, which is from 70 to 80 degrees of
Fahrenheit, it will spoil their whiteness.
Bath Caraways* These are made in the same way, but only half
the size.
Common Caraways. Sift the seeds, and warm them in the pan, as
for Scotch caraways. Have some gum Arabic dissolved, throw in a
ladleful, and rub them well about the pan with the hand until dry,
dusting them with flour. Give them three or four coatings in this
manner, and then a charge of sugar, until they are about one half the
required size. Dry them for a day, give them two or three coatings
of gum and flour, finish them by giving three or four charges of sugar,
and dry them. These are made about the size of Bath caraways.
Colour parts of them different colours, leaving the greatest portion
white.
Cinnamon Comfits. Cinnamon is the bark of a tree, of which there
are two sorts. The inferior quality is that usually sold for cinnamon,
and is otherwise known as cassia, or cassia lignea. This breaks short,
and has a slimy mucilaginous taste, is thicker, and of a darker colour
than the cinnamon, which is the inner bark. This breaks shivery,
and has a warm aromatic taste, and is of a reddish colour.
Take one pound of cinnamon bark, and steep it in water for a few
hours to soften it; cut it into small pieces about half an inch long,
and the size of a large needle. Dry it in the stove. Put your pieces,
when dry, into the comfit-pan, and pour on them a little syrup, as for
Scotch caraways, proceeding in the same way until they are one-
third the required size. You must not use your hand for these as
you would for caraways, as they are liable to break in two. Dry
them in the stove, then suspend the pearling pot or cot from the bar
of the pan or ceiling, so as to hang over the centre of the pan ; boil
some clarified loaf sugar to the large pearl, and fill the cot; put some
of the prepared comfits in the pan, but not too many at a time, as it
46 THE CONFECTIONER.
is difficult to get them to pearl alike. Keep the syrup at the boiling
point: open the spigot of the cot so as to allow it to run in a very
small stream, or more like a continued dropping; swing the pan
backwards and forwards gently, and keep a stronger fire under the
pan than otherwise. Be careful that the syrup does not run too fast,
and wet them too much, but so that it dries as soon as dropped, which
causes them to appear rough. If one cot full of sugar is not enough,
put in more until they are the required size. When one lot is
finished put in sieves to dry, and proceed to another; but do not let
them lie in the pan after you have finished shaking them. They
will be whiter and better if partly pearled one day and finished the
next. Use the best clarified sugar to finish them.
Coriander Comfifs. Proceed with these as for Scotch caraways,
working them up to about the same size. The next day pearl them
to a good size, as for cinnamon.
Celery Comfits. Put one pound of celery seed into the pan, and
proceed as tor Scotch caraway comfits, working them up to the size
of a largo pin's head. Dry arid pearl them as cinnamon.
Caraway Comfits, pearled. When the comfits are about the size
of Bath caraways, dry and pearl them as cinnamon.
Almond Comfits. Sift some Valencia almonds in a cane or wicker
sieve, pick out any pieces of shell which may be amongst them, and
also any of the almonds which are either very small or very large,
using those which are as near of a size as possible; take about four
pounds, put them in the comfit-pan, and proceed in precisely the same
way as for Scotch caraways; or, they may first have a coating of
dissolved gum Arabic; rub them well about the pan with the hand,
and give them a dust of flour; then pour on a little syrup at the
small thread, work and dry them well, then give them three or four
more charges, and a charge of gum with a dust of flour. Proceed in
this way until they are one-third the required size, then dry them
for a day, and proceed and finish as for caraway comfits. For the
cheaper or more common comfits, more gum and flour are used in
making- them.
Cardamom Comfits. The seeds should be kept in their husks until
they are required to be used, as they lose much of their flavour and
virtues when deprived of them. They are often mixed with grains
of paradise, but these have not the aromatic taste of the cardamom,
and are more hot and spicy. Break the husks of the cardamoms by
rolling them with a pin ; separate the skins from the seeds, put two
pounds into the comfit-pan, and proceed as for Scotch caraways.
Make them a good size, and quite smooth.
Barberry Comfits. Pick the barberries from the stalks, and dry
them in a hot stove on sieves ; when dry, put about two pounds into
the comfit-pan, and proceed as for almond comfits, giving them first a
charge of gum and flour, and finish as others. Make them of a good
size and quite smooth ; finish with very white loaf sugar with syrup.
THE CONFECTIONER. 47
Cherry Comfits. These are made from preserved cherries, dried.
Roll them in your hand to make them quite round, dust them with
powdered loaf sugar, and dry them again; then proceed as for bar-
berry comfits. Any other preserved fruits may be made into comfits
after the same manner.
Com/its flavoured with Liqueurs. Blanch some bitter almonds, or
the kernels of apricots or peaches; let them soak in hot water for an
hour, then drain them, and put them into any sort of liqueur or spirit
you may desire. Lower the strength of the spirit water, that the ker-
nels may imbibe it the better, cork the jug or bottle close, and let
them infuse in it until the spirit has fully penetrated them, which will
be about fourteen or fifteen days ; then take them out, drain and dry
them in a moderate heat ; when dry, proceed as for almond comfits.
Orange Comfits. Take some preserved orange-peel, and cut it into
small thin strips; dry them in the stove, and make as cinnamon
comfits.
Lemon Peel or Angelica may be made into comfits after the same
manner. Let the strips of peel be about the size of the pieces of
cinnamon, and thoroughly dried before working them in the pan.
Nonpareils. Pound some loaf sugar, and sift it through a fine wire
sieve ; sift what has passed through again in a lawn sieve, to take
out the finest particles, so that you have only the fine grain of sugar
left without dust. Put about two pounds of this into the comfit-pan,
and proceed as for Scotch caraways, working them well with the
hand until they are about the size of pins' heads.
To colour Nonpareils or Comfits. Put some of your comfits or non-
pareils into the comfit-pan, shake or rub them about until warm, then
add a sufficient quantity of prepared liquid colour (see Colours) to
give the desired tint; be careful not to make them too wet, nor of
too dark a colour, but rather light than otherwise ; shake or rub them
well about, that they may be coloured equally; dry them a little over
the fire, then put them in sieves, and finish drying them in the stove.
Clean the pan for every separate colour.
COMFITS IN GUM PASTE.
Raspberry Comfits. Prepare some gum paste made with sugar, or
the scrapings of the comfit-pan pounded and sifted through a lawn
sieve. It may be flavoured with raspberry jam, by mixing some with
the paste. Colour it with prepared cochineal ; mould it into the
form of raspberries, and dry them in the stove ; when they are per-
*ectly dry and hard, pearl them as for cinnamon comfits, working
them until the size of natural raspberries. Colour them when dry
with cochineal, as comfits.
Ginger Comfits. Flavour gum paste with powdered ginger, make it
48 THE CONFECTIONER.
into small balls about the size of coriander seeds, or peas; dry, and
proceed as for Scotch caraways." Colour them yellow when finished.
Clove Comfits. Flavour sugar gum paste with the oil of cloves, and
mould it in the form of cloves. Dry and finish as others.
Any flavour may be given to this sort of comfits, and they are
moulded to form the article of which it bears the name, or cut into
any device with small cutters. Dried, and finished as other comfits.
To colour Loaf-Sugar Dust. Pound some sugar, and sift it through
a coarse hair sieve; sift this again through a lawn sieve, to take out
the finer portions. Put the coarse grains into a preserving pan, and
warm them over the stove fire, stirring it continually with the hand ;
pour in some liquid colour to give the desired tint, and continue to
work it about the pan until it is dry.
SECTION X. FRUIT JELLIES.
THESE are the juices of mucilaginous fruits, rendered clear by fil-
tering them through a flannel bag, and adding an equal weight of
sugar ; boil to the consistence of a jelly. If the boiling is continued
too long they will become ropy, or more like treacle.
Apple, Jelly. Take either russet pippins, or any good baking apples ;
pare and core them, cut them in slices into a preserving pan contain-
ing sufficient water to cover them ; then put them on the fire, and
boil them until they are reduced to a mash. Put it into a hair sieve,
that the water may drain off, which you receive in a basin or pan ;
then filter it through a flannel bag. To every pint of filtered juice
add one pound of loaf sugar, clarify, and boil it to the ball. Mix the
juice with it, and boil until it jellies; stir it with a spatula or wooden
spoon, from the bottom, to prevent burning. When it is boiled enough,
if you try it with your finger and thumb, as directed in sugar-boiling,
a string may be drawn similar to the small pearl : it may also be
known by its adhering to the spatula or spoon, or a little may be
dropped on a cold plate; if it soon sets, it is done. Take off the scum
which rises on the top. This is in general used for pouring over pre-
served wet fruits. This jelly may be coloured red with prepared
cochineal.
Quince Jelly. This is made as apple jelly. The seed of the quince
is very mucilaginous. An ounce of bruised seed will make three
pints of water as thick as the white of an egg.
Red Currant Jelly. Take three quarts of fine ripe red currants,
and four of white; put them into a jar, tie paper over the top, and
put them into a cool oven for three or four hours, or else into a pan
of boiling water; when they are done, pour them into a jelly bag;
what runs out at first put back again; do this until it runs fine and
clear. To each pint of filtered juice add one pound of loaf sugar
clarified and boiled to the ball: mix the filtered juice with it, and
THE COAFECTIONER. 49
reduce it to a jelly, stirring it well from the bottom with a gpatula.
What scum forms on the top take off with a skimmer, put it into pots
or glasses, and when cold cut some pieces of paper to the size of the
top.=, steep it in brandy, and put over it ; then wet some pieces of
bladder, put it over the top of the pot or glass, and tie it down.
White and Black Currant Jelly. These are made in the same way,
using part red currants with the black ones.
Violet-coloured Currant Jelly. This is made as red currant jelly,
mixing two pounds of black currants with ten of red.
Cherry Jelly. Pick off the stalks and take out the stones of some
fine ripe Morello cherries, and to every four pounds of cherries add
one pound of red currants; proceed as for currant jelly.
Barberry Jelly. Take some very ripe barberries, pick them from
their stalks, and weigh them. To every pound of fruit take three-
quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, add sufficient water to make it into
a syrup, put in the barberries, and boil them until the syrup comes to
the pearl, taking off any scum which may rise. Then throw them
into a fine hair or lawn sieve, and press the berries with a spoon to
extract as much juice as possible from them. Receive the syrup and
juice in a pan, put it again on the fire, and finish as apple jelly.
Any of these jellies may be made without fire on the same principle
as clear cakes. Get the fruit ripe and fresh gathered, obtain the juice
by expression, and filter it through a flannel bag; add an equal weight
of sugar to that of filtered juice, stir it well together until the sugar
is dissolved, and place it in a warm place or the sun for a few day?,
when it will be a fine jelly. Those made in this manner retain the
natural flavour of the fruit
Raspberry Jelly. Take one and a half gallons of ripe raspberries
and a half gallon of ripe currants, press out the juice and filter it; to
a pint of juice add one pound of loaf sugar, and finish as other jellies.
Gooseberry Jelly. Make as currant jelly; or it may be made of
green gooseberries, as apple jelly.
[Blackberry Jelly. Make as currant jelly using half a gallon of
raspberries to one gallon of black currants ; finish as usual.]
SECTION XI. MARMALADES OR JAMS.
MARMALADE is generally a term applied to a preserve made either
of oranges, lemons, apples, pears, quinces, or plums; but I know no
difference between marmalades and jams, as they are each of them
the pulp of fruits reduced to a consistence, with sugar, by being boiled.
If it contains too much sugar it will crystallize, or what is termed
candy. The top and sides of the vessel which contains it will be
covered with a thin coating of sugar; and if there is not enough in it,
or it is not sufficiently boiled, it will soon ferment. Keep them in a
cool dry place.
5
50 THE CONFECTIONER.
Apple Marmalade. Pare and core some good apples; cut them in
pieces into a preserving pan, with sufficient water to cover them ; put
them on the fire, and boil until they are reduced to a mash, then pasg
the whole through a colander; to each pound of pulp add twelve
ounces of eugar; put it on the fire, and boil it until it will jelly; try
it as directed for apple jelly; put it into pots when cold, and cove;
the top with paper dipped in brandy, or pour over it melted mutton
suet, and tie it over with paper or bladder.
Quince Marmalade. Make as apple, colouring it with prepared
cochineal, if required red; let the fruit be quite ripe.
Green Jlpricot Marmalade or Jam. Prepare the fruit by blanching
and greening (as for green apricots, wet). When they are ^reen,
pulp them by rubbing Ihem through a coarse hair sieve or colander;
for each pound of pulp clarify and boil to the blow one pound of loaf
sugar; mix it with the pulp and boil it until it will jelly ; take offany
scum which may arise with a skimmer. This jam is of an excellent
green colour, and is very useful for ornamenting and piping almond
bread, &c.
Cherry Marmalade or Jam. Take out the stones and stalks from
some fine cherries and pulp them through a cane sieve; to every three
pounds of pulp add half a pint of currant juice, and three-quarters of
a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit ; mix together and boil until it
will jelly. Put it into pots or glasses.
Currants, raspberries, plums, and gooseberries are all made in the
same manner. Pulp the fruit through a cane sieve, the meshes of
which are not large enough to admit a currant to pass through
whole. To each pound of pulp add one pound of loaf sugar, broken
small, and boil to the consistence of a jelly.
Orange Marmalade Take the same weight of sugar as of oranges ;
cut the oranges in half, squeeze out the juice, and strain it ; boil the
peel in water until they are quite tender, and a strong straw may be
passed through them; then drain them from the water, scoop out the
pulp, leaving the rind rather thin; cut it into thin fillets; boil the
juice of the oranges with the sugar, and skim it when it is nearly
done ; add the peels, and finish as others. Part of the peels may be
pounded and mixed with the marmalade, instead of the whole being
cut in fillets; but then it is not so clear, and is a practice which is
now almost abandoned, except by a few private persons. Lemon
marmalade is made in the same way.
[Grape Marmalade. Put green grapes into a preserving pan, with
sufficient water to cover them. Put them on the fire and boil until
reduced to a mash ; put the pulp through a sieve the meshes of which
are not sufficiently large to admit the seed to pass through ; to each
pound of pulp add two pounds of the best loaf sugar and boil to the
consistence of a jelly.]
THE CONFECTIONER. 51
SECTION XII. OF FRUIT AND OTHER PASTES.
Fruit Pastes and Cakes. These are the pulp of fruits, reduced by
heat to a kind of marmalade, with the addition of from half a pound
to a pound, and in some cases, double the weight of sugar to each
pound of pulp, which is evaporated to the required consistence. They
can be formed into rings, knots, &,c., and either crystallized or
candied.
Apple or Pippin Paste. Take any quantity of good dressing apples,
pare, core and put them into a preserving pan with a little water, or
just sufficient to cover them. Boil until they are reduced to a mar-
malade, starring them to prevent burning. To every pound of
reduced pulp add half or three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, clari-
fied and boiled to the blow ; pass the pulp through a hair sieve before
you mix the sugar with it ; put it on the fire and Jet it boil for three
or four minutes, keeping it constantly stirred from the bottom, when
it will be sufficiently evaporated. If it be required coloured, add
liquid colour sufficient to give the desired tint when you mix the
sugar. Spread the paste on small tin or pewter sheets (these should
be about a foot wide, by a foot and a-half long, and perfectly level)
with a thin knife, about the eighth of an inch in thickness; put them
in the stove for a day ; take them out, and cut the paste into long
narrow strips, about a quarter of an inch in width; if the paste is
dry enough, the strips can be easily pulled off; form them into rings
or knots, or cut. into diamonds to form leaves, or any other device your
fancy may suggest. Put them in boxes with a sheet of paper between
each layer. This paste is occasionaly flavoured with lemon, and is
principally used for ornamenting the tops of twelfth cakes.
Apple Cheese. Pare, quarter, and core your apples as for paste;
put them into a jar, and cover the top with the parings ; tie paper
over the top, and bake them in a moderate oven until they are quite
done; take off the parings, and pass the apples through a hair-sieve
into a preserving pan. To each pound of pulp add half a pound of
loaf sugar clarified and boiled to the blow ; place it over a slow fire,
stirring it constantly from the bottom until reduced to a stiff paste,
which will not stick to the hand ; put it into small moulds, hoops, or
glasses. Dry in a moderately warm stove for a few days; take them
out of the moulds, turn them, and place them again in the stove to
finish drying. Keep in boxes as paste-knots, or cover the glasses
with brandy papers.
Apricot Paste. Take ripe apricots, put them in a preserving pan
with as much water as will cover them; let them simmer on the fire
for two or three minutes, or scald until they are tender; drain the
water from them, and pass the pulp through a hair sieve ; to each
pound of pulp take three-quarters of a pound of sugar, which you
clarify and boil to the blow; put the apricots on the fire, and let
52 THE CONFECTIONER.
them simmer, stirring them constantly until reduced to a thick mar-
malade; then add the sugar; mix it well with the paste, and let it
boil a minute or two longer ; take it from the fire, and put into
moulds, pots, or crimped paper cases; or it may be spread on small
plates, as for apple paste, and formed into rings or knots. Place in
the stove until dry. If put in paper cases, the paper must be wetted
to get out the paste. Take it out of the moulds, turn it, and put it
again into the stove to finish drying.
Green Jipricut Paste. Take apricots before they are ripe, scald as
the last, and green them. (See Greening Fruit.) Pass the pulp
through a sieve, and reduce it; to each pound of reduced pulp add
one pound of loaf sugar clarified and boiled to the blow. Finish as
ripe apricot paste,
Currant Paste. Put any quantity of ripe currants, either red or
white, or a part of each mixed, into a hair sieve, press out their juice
into a preserving pan; put it on the fire, and keep it constantly stir-
red until evaporated to a thick consistence. To each pound of re-
luced pulp add three-quarters of a pound or a pound of loaf sugar
clarified and boiled to the blow. Let it boil a minute or two, and
finish as others.
Black Currant Paste is made the same as the last. These currants,
not being so juicy as the others, may be put into a jar, tied over, and
baked in a moderate oven, or put into a kettle of boiling water for a
few hours, to extract the juice from them.
Raspberry Paste. As currant paste.
Cherry Paste. Take ripe cherries, deprive them of their stalks
and stones, put them in a preserving pan, and boil them a little ; then
pass them through a hair sieve, reduce the pulp, and weigh it. To
each pound add a pound of loaf sugar; add it to the paste, and finish
as apricot.
Peach Paste. Choose some very fine and ripe peaches, take off the
skin, and cut them in small pieces into a preserving pan; put them
on the fire, and reduce to a thick consistence, stirring it continually.
For each pound of reduced pulp take half or three-quarters of a
pound of sugar; clarify and boil it to the blow ; add it to the pulp;
put it again on the fire, and let it boil a few minutes. Finish as
other pastes.
Plum Paste. Plums of any kind are preserved in the same man-
ner, whether green-gages, magnum-bonums, Orleans, damsons, &c.
Take out their stones, and boil the fruit in a little water, as for apri-
cot paste; pass them through a sieve, and for each pound of reduced
pulp take a pound of sugar; clarify and boil it to the blow; mix it
with the paste, and evaporate to the required consistence.
Damson Cheese. Pick the stalks from the damsons, put them in a
jar, tie it over, and bake in a cool oven ; when done, pass them
through a sieve into a preserving pan ; put it on the fire to reduce.
THE CONFECTIONER. 53
For each pound of pulp take half a pound of sugar, boiled to the
blow ; mix with the paste, and finish as for apple cheese. This, as
well as all the pastes, may be evaporated to the required consistence
by means of a water bath, which is done by placing- the pan in which
it is contained in another with water, which is kept boiling; this pre-
vents the possibility of its being burnt, but it occupies more time.
The kernels of the fruit may be blanched and added to it just before
it is taken from the fire. Put it into moulds or hoop_s; dry them in
the stove, first on one side and then on the other. All plums are
done in the same manner.
Quince Paste. Proceed as for apple paste.
Orange Paste. Squeeze the juice from Seville or sw-eet oranges,
ind boil the peels in three or four waters to take off part of their bit-
terness. In the first put a little salt. When they are quite tender
remove the white pith or pulp, and pound them quite fine in a mortar,
with part of the juice, using sufficient to make them into a paste;
then pass it and the remaining portion of the juice through a sieve
into a preserving pan ; put it on the fire, and reduce to a marmalade;
weigh it, and for each pound take three-quarters of a pound of loaf
sugar ; clarify and boil to the blow ; mix it with the paste, evaporate
over a gentle fire to a good consistence, and finish as apple. The
rinds of the oranges may be pared off before they are squeezed, which,
if boiled in one water, will be sufficient, as the pith of the peel is
extremely bitter and indigestible, and the flavour or essential oil is
contained only in the yellow porous part.
Lemon Paste, Make as orange paste, using part of the juice and
double the weight of sugar ; or it may be made by using only the
pounded peel with the same weight of sugar.
Raspberry Cakes. Take ripe raspberries, press the juice from half
of them, and put the pulp back with the others ; reduce them on the
fire. To each pound of pulp add two pounds of loaf sugar in pow-
der; put it again on the fire, stirring it constantly until it is evapo-
rated to a very thick paste. Have a tin ring, with a handle by the
side, about the size of an old penny piece, and twice the thickness;
wet the ring, and place it on your small pewter or tin plates, fill it
with the paste, smoothing over the top with a knife; then remove the
ring, and the cake will remain. Lay them off in rows, and make
three or four marks on the top with the handle of a table spoon ; put
them in the stove to dry, turn them with a thin knife, and put them
again in the stove to dry perfectly. Place them in boxes, with paper
between each layer.
The residue from the making of raspberry vinegar may be employ-
ed for this purpose, or they may be made by adding a pound of fine
powdered sugar to a pound of jam. Any of the fruit pastes may be
formed into cakes like these, or into drops, by forcing them out on
paper with a small pipe and bladder attached to it.
Clear Cakes, or Jelly Cakes. Take the filtered juice nf fruits, as
5*
5 , THE CONFECTIONER.
for jelly (see Jellies); to each pint of juice add one pound of loaf
sugar, dissolve it in the juice thoroughly, place it on the fire and heat
it, but it must not boil; put it into small pots, moulds, or glasses, so
as to form cakes about half an inch thick ; place them on the stove,
which must not be too hot, or they will melt instead of forming a
jelly; about seventy-five or eighty degrees Fahrenheit is quite hot
enough. When a crust has formed on the top, take out the cakes by
carefully turning the knife round the sides of the pot, place them on
small plates of tin or pewter, and dry on the other side. When dry
they can be cut into diamonds, squares, or any shape you please.
These are certainly some of the most delicate and beautiful of this
class which were ever invented, fit even to gratify the palate of the
most fastidious. The fruit from which they are made should be
gathered as fresh as it possibly can, except apples, as the mucilage
is injured by keeping, and if the fruit has fermented it is entirely
destroyed.
Pastes formed with Gum Pate de Guirnauve Marsh-Mallow
Paste. Gum Arabic three pounds, roots of fresh marsh-mallows
eight ounces, one dozen of rennet apples, loaf sugar three pounds.
Peel, core, and cut the apples in pieces. Cleanse the roots, and
slice them lengthways in an oblique direction; add this to seven
pints of water; soft or river water is the best when filtered; put it
on the fire and boil for a quarter of an hour, or until reduced to six
pints ; pound and sift the gum through a hair sieve ; strain the de-
coction into a pan with the gum ; put it on a moderate fire, or into a
bain-marie, stirring it until the gum is perfectly dissolved; then
strain it through a coarse towel or tamis cloth, the ends being twisted
by two persons ; add it to the sugar, which has been previously cla-
rified and boiled to the feather; dry it well over the fire, keeping it
constantly stirred from the bottom. When it has acquired a thick
consistence, take the whites of eighteen eggs, and whip them to a
strong froth ; add them to the paste, and dry until it does not stick to
the hand when it is applied to it ; add a little essence of neroli, or a
large glassful of double orange-flower water, and evaporate again lo
the same consistence. Pour it on a marble slab well dusted with
starch -powder, flatten it with the hand ; the next day cut it into strips,
powder each strip, and put them in boxes. Powder the bottom that
they may not stick.
Pate de Gomme Jirabique Arabic. Paste. Very white gum Avcbic
two pounds, sugar two pounds, orange-flower water four ounces, the
whites of twelve egg?. Pound and sift the gum, add it to the water,
dissolve and evaporate it over a slow fire, or in thp bain-marie, stir-
ring it constantly until it is reduced to the consistence of honey with
the sugar in syrup. Whip the whites to a strong snow ; add it to the
paste with the orange-flower water, gradually; stir and finish as
marsh-mallow paste, for which this is mostly substituted, and much
used for coughs. It should ho very white, light, nnd .spongy.
THE CONFF.OTIONFR. 55
Pdte des Dattes Date Paste' Dates one pound, gum Senegal
three pounds, loaf sugar in syrup two pounds and a half, orange-
flower water four ounces. Make as marsh-mallow paste, using rather
more water to dissolve the gum.
o
Pate des Jujubes Jujube Paste. Jujubes four ounces, currants
washed and picked four ounces, raisins stoned one pound, sugar two
pounds, very white gum Arabic two pounds and a half. Open the
jujubes, and boil them with the currants and raisins in two quarts of
water until reduced to three pints , strain the decoction through a
tamis cloth, twisted by two persons; add the sugar in syrup with the
gum, which has been previously pounded and dissolved in a sufficient
quantity of water; evaporate it by a moderate heat, as pate de gui-
mauve; pour it into tin moulds slightly oiled, having edges about a
quarter of an inch deep; dry in the stove, take it out of the tins, and
cut it with a pair of scissors into small diamonds.
Patede Gomme Senegal Senegal Paste. Gum Senegal two pounds,
sugar one pound. Dissolve the gum in orange-flower water and
common water; or dissolve it in common water, and flavour with
essence of neroli ; add the sugar, when clarified and boiled to the
blow ; evaporate, and finish as pAte de jujube. This is usually sold
for jujube paste, or else picked gum Arabic made into a paste as
Senegal, and coloured with prepared cochineal or saffron.
Pdte de blanche Reglissa White Liquorice Paste. This is made
the same as marsh-mallow paste, using liquorice-root instead of mal-
low. It may be made without the eggs, and finished as jujubes.
Pate de Reglisse noir Black Liquorice Paste. The best refined
liquorice one pound, gum Arabic four pounds, loaf sugar two pounds,
Florence orris-root one ounce. Dissolve the gum and liquorice in
seven pints of water, keeping it stirred over a slow fire ; add the
sugar in syrup with the orris-root, evaporate to a paste, and finish as
jujubes.
Gomme des Jujubes Jujube Gum. Jujubes one pound, very white
and picked gum Arabic two pounds, powdered sugar two ounces.
Pound the jujubes in a marble mortar with five pints of water, put
the whole into a pan and boil until reduced to three; strain the decoc-
tion through a cloth, beat up the white of an egg with a glass of
water, and mix part of it with the decoction as it boils; throw in a
little at a time of the remaining part, to check the ebullition. When
it is all used, take off the scum, put it again on the fire to evaporate
the water, adding at the same time the gum and sugar, powdered and
passed through a horse-hair sieve. Stir it with the spatula until dis-
solved. When it is of the consistence of honey, place it in the bain-
marie, and neither stir nor touch it, that it may be clear. When it
has acquired body enough, so as not to stick to the back of the hand
when applied to it, pour it into moulds previously oiled with good
olive oil, as for jujubes ; place in the stove to finish drying ; when
dry take it out, and cut in small pieces.
56 THE CONFECTIONER.
Pate de jujube and white liquorice may be done in the same man-
ner, using only half the quantity of sugar.
Gomme des Dattes. One pound of dates, two pounds of very white
picked gum Arabic, sugar two ounces. Make as jujubes.
Gum of Violet-s. Violet flowers one pound, picked gum two pounds,
sugar four ounces in syrup. Pour three pints of water at the boiling
point on the flowers in an earthen jar; stop it perfectly close, and keep
it in a warm place for ten or twelve hours; strain the infusion by ex-
pression into a flat pan or dish, place it on an inclination, and let it
rest for an hour that the faeces may subside; pour off the clear gntly
from the bottom or settling, and add to it six grains of turnsole
bruised, and six grains of carmine, as this clear infusion is not suffi-
ciently coloured to give it the beautiful tint of the violet. Mix in the
powdered gum and sugar, stir it over a moderate fire until dissolved,
pass it through a sieve, and finish in the bain-marie as jujubes.
Any of these gums, when dry, may be crystallized.
Jllmond Paste Orgeat Paste. One pound of sweet almonds, a
quarter of a pound of bitter almonds, two pounds of sugar. Blanch
the almonds, and throw them into clean cold water as they are done,
to preserve their whiteness; let them soak for a day, then dry them
in a cloth, and pound them quite fine in a mortar, sprinkling them
with orange-flower water or lemon juice to prevent their oiling;
then with a spatula rub them through a fine wire sieve; what will
not pass through, pound again until they are quite fine; clarify the
sugar and boil it to the ball ; mix the almonds with it, and stir it well
over the fire with the spatula until it comes together; then take it
from the fire, and put it into an earthen pan to cool ; when cold,
pound it ajjain, make it into sticks or tablets, dusting the board or
stone with powdered sugar; or put into pots, and tie bladder over it,
to be used as wanted.
SECTION XIII. FRUITS PRESERVED WITH SUGAR.
WET FRUITS. Most of the fruits are first prepared by being
blanched, that is, boiled in water; they are then drained and put into
boiling syrup, where they remain for a day. The syrup being now
weakened with the juice of the fruit, it is poured off, more sugar is
added, and it is reduced again to syrup by boiling, and poured hot
over the fruit: this is continued until it is fully saturated with suo-ar,
which may be known by the syrup being no longer weakened with
the juice of the fruit. Keep them in a dry but not warm place, as
too much heat will cause them to ferment, more especially if thoy
are not fully incorporated with sugar; nor in a damp place, or they
will become mouldy.
All green fruits require to be greened, so as to bring them to their
original colour, for in blanching they assume a yellowish cast: this is
probably occasioned by a portion of the alkali being extracted in the
THE CONFF.fTIONEK. 57
boiling. The green colour of fruits and leaves depends upon an
excess of alkali ; and in proportion as acid or alkali prevails in them,
so are they coloured from red to violet, blue, and green ; therefore if
alkali is added to the water, the colour is retained. This is exempli-
fied in the everyday domestic duties of the cook, who uses soda, pot-
ash, or muriate of soda (common salt), in boiling her greens or cab-
bages. I have here stated the principle on which their colour depends,
to show that there is no necessity for green fruits being kept for some
time in brass or copper pans, whereby they take up a portion of ver-
digris, which often proves injurious.
Prick your fruit several times with a fork or large needle, to allow
the sugar to penetrate the more freely. As you do them, throw them
into a pan of cold water, which prevents their turning black at the
places where they are pricked ; add a little soda or potash, and set the
pan by the side of the stove to heat gradually, but not to boil, or at
the most only to simmer; when the fruit swims, take it out with a
skimmer and put it into cold water; if they are not green enough,
drain them and put them again into the water they were first boiled
in, or else into a weak syrup; place them by the side of the stove to
heat gradually as before, stirring them occasionally. They may be
covered with vine leaves, or a handful of spinach ; if salt is used in
greening them, they will require to be soaked for a few hours in clean
cold water, to again extract that portion which they have absorbed,
or it will spoil their flavour. It is best to blanch fruits which are
very juicy in hard or pump water, or with the addition of a little alum
to river water.
Green Apricots, wet. Get the apricots before the stone is formed in
them, when they can be pierced through with a pin or needle; put
them into a bag with plenty of salt, and shake them about in it to take
off the down and silkiness of the skin ; take them out and put them in
cold water. Or this may be done by making a strong ley with wood
ashes; strain it through a cloth ; let it be quite clear; make it boiling
hot and throw in your apricots; let them remain about a minute, take
them out, and put them into cold water ; then take off the fur when
they are cool by either rubbing them with your hands in the water,
or drain, and rub them in a towel or coarse cloth. Put them into
another pan of cold water, and place them over a slow fire to heat
gradually and scald. When they are quite soft and can be crushed
between the finger and thumb, take them out and throw them into
cold water; drain them quite dry in sieves; make a thin syrup, that
is, at the small thread ; boil it in a flat preserving pan, put in the
apricots, give them a few boils, and take off any scum that rises;
have sufficient syrup in the pan that the fruit may float; pour them
with the syrup into an earthen pan, and keep them covered until the
next day ; then drain off the syrup, add more syrup or sugar to it, and
boil to the large thread ; put in the fruit, and let the syrup boil over
them four or five times: repeat these operations for five days, increas-
53 THE CONFECTIONER.
ing the syrup a degree each day until it has attained the large pearl,
taking off the scum each time : it must not exceed this, or it will
crystallize; put them in dry pans covered with syrup, for use ; or,
when cold, drain them from the syrup, and put them into small glasses
by themselves, or mixed with other fruits preserved in the same man-
ner; fill the vacancies with apple jelly, wet a piece of bladder and
tie it over the top.
Green Jlpricnts, pared wet. Pare off the skin with a small knife,
and throw them into cold water as you do them ; green, and finish as
the former.
Ripe Apricots, v>et. Have the fruit not too ripe, make an ; ncision
in the side to take out the stone, or they may be cut in halves, and
peeled or preserved with the skin on ; have a preserving pan on the
fire with water boiling, throw them in, and as they rise to the top
take them out and put them into cold water. If they are blanched
too much they will break, therefore it is better to have two pans of
cold water to throw them in, so as those may be separated which are
broken ; drain them from the water, and put them in a thin syrup
which is boiling on the fire; do not put in too many at a time; put
in the hardest first, and give them about a dozen boils; take them
out carefully and put them in an earthen pan ; give the soft ones only
two or three boils; cover them with the syrup and let them remain
until the next day; drain the syrup from them, add more sugar to it,
and boil and skim it until it has acquired the degree of the large
thread; give the apricots two or three boils in it; the soft ones only
require to have the syrup poured on them boiling hot ; repeat this for
four or five successive days, and on the last day boil the syrup to the
large pearl. If you find, after they are finished, that the syrup has
been boiled too high, mix a little powdered alum with a spoonful of
water, and add to it.
Ripe Peaches, whole, wet. Get the finest peaches, without any
green spots on the skin; prick them all over with a large needle to
the stone, throw them into cold water, blanch, and finish as ripe
apricots.
Ripe Nectarines, wet. Preserve as peaches.
Figs, u>et. Get the figs nearly ripe, prick them four or five times
with the point of a knife, throw them into cold water, put them on the
fire and boil until they are tender ; finish as ripe apricots.
Greengages, wet. Let the fruit be not quite ripe but sound, prick
them with a fork or needle, and throw them into cold water ; scald
and green them ; when they are of a fine green, increase the heat ;
take them out with a skimmer when they swim, and throw th^m into
cold water; drain them on sieves; put them in syrup that is boiling;
give them two or three boils in it ; pour them into an earthen pan ;
drain the syrup from them the next day, add more sugar and boil to
the thread, taking off any scum which may arise ; pour the syrup
THE CONFECTIONER. 59
over them boiling hot; repeat this for five or six days, and finish as
for green aprico's.
Mogul Plums. Take the largest Mogul plums, with clear skins,
not quite ripe, prick them all over with a fork and throw them into
cold spring water; scald them until tender, taking care not to have
too many in the pan at a time, nor blanch them too much, as they
will soon break in pieces; take them out and throw them into cold
water, drain, and put in just sufficient fruit to cover the bottom of the
pan ; cover with boiling syrup, and let them have a dozen boils in it;
finish as ripe apricots.
It would be a needless repetition, to give separate directions for
preserving every sort of plum, as the instructions already given will
enable any person of ordinary discernment to manage any other sort
not mentioned.
Damsons, wet. Prick the damsons and throw them into boiling
syrup, and let them boil in it until the skins burst, skimming it as
they boil; do not put in any more than will swim; let them remain
until the next day ; drain the syrup, and add more sugar to brinsr it
to the proper degree; give them a few boils in it, and repeat the same
on the next day ; finish as other plums.
Green Gooseberries, wet. Get some fine large gooseberries, prick
them three or four times with a large needle, and throw them into
cold water; put them on the fire to blanch; when they rise \nk*
them out and throw them into cold water, green them, and preserve
as green apricots.
Green Gooseberries in the form of Hops, wet. Take the finest green
gooseberries for this purpose, slit each gooseberry in four or six slits,
but so as not to come asunder, and take out the seeds. Take a needle
and white thread, make a knot at the end, and pass the needle through
the stalk end of the gooseberry that is split ; take another and do the
same, making the end of one go partly into the other; continue this
until you have six or eight on the thread, which will resemble a hop;
fasten the end of the thread, and dispose of all of them in the same
manner, throwing them into cold water as they are finished: blanch
them, and let them lie in the water they were blanched in all night;
the next day green them, and finish as for green gooseberries, wet.
Cucumbers or Gherkins, wet. Let them be clear, free from all
spots, and of a good green; prick them all over with a fork, throw
them into a pan of water mixed with a handful of salt, let them lie in
this for a day or two, then take them out, put them into fresh water
and blanch them until tender ; the next day drain and green them in
a weak syrup; increase the degree of the syrup each day, giving
them a few boils in it each time; if the cucumbers are large, you can
cut them in two and take out the seeds. After the second boiling in
the syrup, let them remain in it for two or three days before it is
boiled again : finish as green apricots ; a few pieces of ginger may be
added.
GO THE CONFECTIONER.
Green Melons. Proceed as for cucumbers. They may be preserved
either whole or in slices. When dried and candied, it imitates green
citron.
Ripe Melons, wet Cut the melons in slices, and pare off' the out-
side skin ; let them lie in salt and water for two or three days, take
them out, drain and blanch in fresh water until tender ; throw them
into cold water; when cold, drain them on sieves; give them a
boil in thin syrup the next day, increase the degree of the syrup, and
pour it boiling hot over them. A little lemon-juice, vinegar, or a
handful of bruised ginger may be added to the syrup, which will much
improve the flavour; boil the syrup, increasing it a degree for three
or four days, as for other fruits.
Lemons whole, wet. Choose some fine large lemons with clear
skins, carve the rind with a small penknife, into flowers, stars, diamonds,
or any design your fancy may suggest, taking care not to cut deeper
than the white pith of the peel ; throw them into a pan of cold water,
put them on the fire and let them boil gently until a strong straw or
the head of a pin will penetrate the rind ; throw them into cold water;
when cold, drain them dry, and put them into a thin syrup when boil-
ing ; give them five or six boils in it, and put them in an earthen pan;
the next day drain the syrup from them, and add more sugar or syrup
to increase it a degree ; boil it and when it boils, pour it over the
lemons: repeat this for two days; on the third day let the lemons boil
in the syrup for four or five minutes; the next day boil the syrup and
pour it over them ; when you find the syrup has penetrated the
lemons, and they look clear, drain the syrup from them, adding more
if necessary, so as to have sufficient to keep them well covered ; put
them in glasses, and pour the syrup over them. When cold, cut a
piece of bladder to the size of the glass, wet it, and tie it down.
Oranges whole, wet. These are preserved the same as lemons.
Whole Orange Peels. Choose your oranges of a fine clear skin ;
make a hole at the stalk end, large enough to admit the end of a
spoon, with which you take out the pulp; throw them in salt and
water, and let them remain for three or four days or a week ; drain
them from this, and put them into a pan of fresh water, and let them
boil until the end of a straw may be pushed through the peel ; throw
them into cold water; with the end of a spoon clear out any part of
the pulp which may have adhered to them ; drain off the water ; put
them in a tub or pan, and pour boiling syrup over them ; let them
remain in this for three or four days; take them from the syrup and
boil it again, adding more as the peels imbibe it, so as to keep them
well covered ; boil the syrup once every four or five days, and pour
it hot over them ; do this until it has fully penetrated them.
Orange or Lemon Peels, wet. Cut the fruit in half; express the
juice, and throw the peels into salt and water, as for whole orange
peels, preserving them in the same way. If you have any quantity,
put them one in the other, and pack them in ro<vs round the bottom
THE CONFECTIONER. 61
of a largo tub or cask ; proceed in this manner, putting them in lay-
ers until it is half or three parts full ; have a hole near the bottom,
with a cork fitted into it. When the syrup requires boiling, draw it
oft' at the hole.
Orange or Lemon Chips. Cut the thickest peels into long thin
pieces, turning them off so as to make but one or two chips from a
peel, in a similar manner as you would pare off the rind of an apple,
only, instead of holding the knife in an oblique direction, so as to
take off the surface, it is held more parallel, so as to cut the whole
substance of the peel. Let them be as near as possible of the same
thickness-, or the peel may be sliced across, so as to form rings; pre-
serve them as for whole orange peels. If they are wanted in a hur-
ry, they may be blanched without being put into salt and water. Boil
them until they can be crushed between the finger and thumb; drain
them from the water, and pour boiling syrup over them as for others.
.Zngelica, wet. Cut some stalks of fine tender angelica into pieces
about six inches long, or any other suitable length. Put them into a
pan of water on the fire until they are soft, then put them into cold
water; draw off the skin and strings with a knife, and put them into
cold water again ; next boil them until they look whitish ; let them
cool; drain them from the water, and put them in an earthen pan;
pour boiling syrup over them until they float. The next day drain it
off, without disturbing the angelica; boil with more sugar, if re-
quired, taking off any scum which may rise; pour it over the stalks
whilst it is hot; repeat this for seven or eight days, boiling the syrup
the last time to the large pearl.
Erin go Root. Choose your roots without knots; wash them clean,
and boil in water until they are tender; peel off the outside skin, slit
them, take out the pith, and throw them into cold water ; drain, put
them into a thin syrup, and give them a few boils; afterwards finish
as angelica.
Pine Jlpple whole, wet. Take off the top and stem of the pine ;
prick the apple with a pointed knife in six or eight places, or more, to
the centre ; put the pine in a pan with plenty of water, and boil it
until tender ; take it out and throw it into cold water ; when cold,
drain it quite dry, and pour over it, boiling hot, some syrup at the
small thread. In two days pour off the syrup and boil it to a degree
higher, adding more sugar if necessary; repeat this every third day,
until the pine is sufficiently impregnated with the sugar ; the last
time the sugar must be at the large pearl. The top of the pine is
greened and preserved as other green fruits, putting it in its proper
place when finished. Carefully skim the sugar each time, that the
pine may be quite clear.
Pine Jlpple Chips or Slices. Take off the top and stalk, and pare
the outside of the pine; cut it into slices half an inch thick; strew
over the bottom of a pan with powdered sugar ; cover it with slices
6
62 THE CONFECTIONER.
of pine-apple, then a layer of sugar, and again of pine, and so alter-
nately until the whole is disposed of, covering- the top with a layer
of sugar; place it in a warm place or stove for three or four days;
then boil it with the juice of two or three lemons for ten minutes or
a quarter of an hour, taking off any scum which rises. If the syrup
is too thick, add a little water; continue this boiling for three or four
days, when it will be fit for use.
Cherries, wet or dry. Take the best Kentish or May Duke cher-
ries; cut a quill as if you were going to make a pen, only, instead of
its being sharp, it must be round at the end ; hold the cherry in your
left hand, and with the other push the quill into it by the side of the
stalk, as far as the top of the stone ; then take hold of the stalk, and
with the aid of the quill pull the stone out with the stalk, without
breaking the fruit in pieces, which would be the case otherwise. Put
sufficient clarified sugar into a preserving pan for the cherries to
swim; boil it to the blow, and throw in the prepared fruit; let. them
boil in it for five or ten minutes, keeping them under the syrup by
pushing them down with a flat piece of wood having a handle at the
back. The next day drain off the syrup; reduce it by boiling; put
in the cherries and boil them again for five minutes; repeat this for
four days, giving the cherries a few boils in the syrup each day. If
they are required dry, drain the syrup from them, spread them on
sieves, and dry in the stove at a good heat, turning them every day.
Put only sufficient on the sieves so as just to cover the bottom. Keep
them in boxes prepared, or in glasses.
Whole Cherries. Shorten the stalks of pome fine cherries ; put
them into an earthen pan, with a layer of powdered sugar and a layer
of cherries, covering the top with sugar ; let them stand for two or
three days ; put them on the fire in a preserving pan, and let them
boil in the syrup for three or four minutes ; repeat this for four days.
Keep them in syrup, or dry, when they are wanted, as the preceding ;
they may also be tied together to form bunches, and preserved in the
same manner.
Grapes in Bunches. Get some bunches of fine grapes, before they
are perfectly ripe ; take out the stones with a large pin or needle ; put
them in a preserving pan, with plenty of water and a little salt ; let them
simmer on the fire about a quarter of an hour; cover the pan, and let
them stand in this water until the next day ; pour this off, and add
fresh ; in a few hours drain them dry, and put them into a thin syrup,
which must be boiling on the fire ; give them a few boils in it, or the
grapes may be put into the syrup when cold, and heat it gradually
until it boils; put them in an earthen pan ; the next day drain ofTthe
syrup, reduce it to the small pearl, adding more sugar if necessary,
and skimming it; pour it boiling over the grapes; repeat this four or
five times, finishing with syrup at the large pearl, and keep them
well covered in it.
Currants in Bunches, wet. Take the finest currants you can get,
THE CONFECTIONER. 63
either red or white; stone them with a pin or the nib of a pen, tak-
ing care not to cut them more than is necessary ; tie six or eight
bunches together with a piece of thread, or they may be tied to a
small piece of stick. Take as much clarified sugar as will allow the
currants lo float; or put one pound of sugar to each pound of cur
rants; clarify and boil it to the blow ; put in your fruit, and let them
have five or six boils ; take the scum off with paper ; repeat the boil-
ing next day when they are finished. If you boil them again, the
syrup will become a jelly, when you can put them in glasses.
Barberries in Bunches, wet. Proceed as for currants.
Raspberries, whole, wet. Take the finest and driest raspberries you
can get, but not over-ripe. Take the same quantity of sugar in
weight as you have of raspberries; clarify and boil it to the blow;
put in the fruit, and give them a dozen boils, taking off the scum
with paper; drain off the syrup, and put them into pots that are very
dry ; cover them with apple jelly, or make a jelly with the syrup the
raspberries were boiled in, with the addition of a little currant or
cherry juice when cold. Tie them over with brandy papers and
bladder.
Pears, whole, wet. Take some fine large pears, either eating or
baking, but those for eating must not be too ripe; they are fit for this
purpose when the pips are black. Throw them into a pan of water,
with two ounces of alum ; put them on the fire, and scald them until
tender; take them out, and throw them into cold water; pare off the
rind very thin and even ; prick them several times with a fork or pin
to the core, and scald them again until they are quite soft, or until
the head of a pin or straw will pass through them ; a little lemon
juice may be added to the water in the second boiling, or with the
syrup; when they are finished blanching, throw them into cold water;
when cold drain them from this, and put them into a thin syrup at
the small thread ; give them two or three boils in this; skim, and put
them in an earthen pan ; the next day drain off the syrup, and add
more sugar, and reduce it another degree ; boil your pears in it, as
before, and repeat the process for four days, finishing with the syrup
at the large pearl. Keep them in covered pans for use.
Pears, Red, wet. Take some good baking or other pears; pare
and cut them in half, and take out the cores with a little scoop for the
purpose; if they are first blanched a little, they can be pared easier
and better. Boil them in water, with sugar sufficient to make it only
just sweet, a little lemon juice, and a few allspice or cloves. Put a
piece of pewter, or a pewter spoon, in the bottom of the pan, and
boil them until they are quite tender and of a fine red ; or prepared
cochineal may be added instead, using sufficient to give the desired
tint; take out the fruit, and add enough sugar to the water they were
boiled in to make a syrup; boil to the large thread; put in the pears,
and give them two or three boils in it; skim, and put them in an
earthen pan; boil the syrup twice more, and pour it on them, raising
it to the degree of the large pearl. Keep them in dry pans for use.
01 THE CONFECTIONER.
Quinces, Red or White, wet. Preserve as pears.
For these preserves it is a good plan to have flat pieces of wood,
like covers, to put on the fruit, so as to keep it under the syrup.
Ginger, wet. This article is mostly imported from India and China,
in jars or pots. Divide the largest races or roots from the smaller
ones; lake largest for preserving, as the smaller ones will serve for
planting; clean and cut the roots into neat pieces, and throw them
into cold water as you do them. Boil them three times in fresh water,
throwing them into cold each time, or soak them in water for four or
five days; drain, and boil in fresh water till tender; take them out,
and throw them into cold water, in which has been mixed a little
lemon juice or vinegar; peel them, and throw them into the -.vater
again as they are done, to keep them white ; let the roots remain in
this a few hours, then drain them dry on sieves; put them in an
earthen pan; pour over them, when cold, a thin syrup, at the small
thread; let them be well covered with the syrup; in two or three
days drain off the syrup; add more sugar, and boil to the large thread ;
when cold pour it over the ginger. After three or four days boil the
sugar a degree higher, and pour it in hot; continue this until your
roots look clear and are fully impregnated with sugar ; finish with the
syrup at the large pearl.
Candied Fruit. Any fruit or peel which has been first preserved
in syrup may be candied.
Take the fruit out of the syrup and let it drain on sieves; then dip
the sieve with the fruit into lukewarm water, to wash off the syrup
from the surface ; take it out, let it drain, and dry it in the stove.
Boil some fresh syrup to the blow; put in the fruit and give it a boil
in it. The fruit when it is put in will reduce the sugar, it must there-
fore be boiled to the same degree again. With a spoon or spatula
rub the sugar against the side of the pan, to grain it; when it begins
to whiten put the fruit in the white part separately : with two forks
take it out and lay it on sieves or wire frames, for the sugar to drain
from it.
Dried Fruit. Any of those fruits which are preserved with syrup
may be dried: they are also better when fresh dried. Warm the
fruit in the syrup; take it out and drain ; spread it on sieves or wires ;
put them in the stove to dry, turning them frequently until perfectly
dried. When the fruit is drained from the syrup, it may be dusted
with loaf-sugar when you put it in the stove, and for two or three
times when you turn it. Too much heat will blacken the fruit,
therefore let the heat of the stove be about 100 or 110 of Fahren-
heit's thermometer.
SECTION XIV. COMPOTES.
THESE are prepared in the same way as wet fruits, and served in
compotiers, which are deep glass dishes belonging to the dessert
service.
THE CONFECTIONED 65
In summer, ripe fruits are simply blanched and boiled up in a thin
syrup, a little lemon-juice is added, and served; these are only for
present use. In winter, take those fruits which are preserved in
syrup, drain, dip them in luke-warm water, and serve in a thin syrup,
with the juice of a lemon.
Green Jipricot Compote. Prepare your fruit as for green apricots,
wet; throw them into syrup that is boiling; take them off the fire,
and let them remain for four or five hours; drain off' the syrup, and
boil to the thread ; pour it over the fruit; when cold, serve.
Ripe Jlpricot Compote. Cut the apricots in half, and peel them;
blanch them in water that is just sweetened; drain them from this;
add sugar to the water, and boil to the thread ; pour it over the apri-
cots ; let them remain in it for two or three hours; then drain and
boil the syrup again to the large thread ; pour it over the apricots;
add the juice of a lemon, with some of the kernels blanched ; when
cold, serve.
Peaches, nectarines, and green-gages are done as these.
Compote of Jlpples, with Jelly. Pare some fine pippins very neat-
ly ; core them with an apple corer; put them into syrup, and boil
gently ; put only just sufficient syrup to cover them, that it may be
reduced to a jelly ; if it has not body enough, cut a few in pieces and
put with it ; when the apples look clear and are tender, take them
out; add to the apples, while boiling, the juice and yellow rind of a
lemon, with a few cloves. Strain the syrup, and reduce it to a jelly ;
pour part into the compotier, and when cold dress the apples taste-
fully on it. The hole where the core was taken out may be filled
with any sort of marmalade or jelly. Cut the remaining part of the
jelly in pieces or croutons, and place round or over them ; orna-
ment them with red currant or other jelly, in any way that your
fancy may dictate.
Apple Compote. Take some fine apples; peel and cut them in
halves, quarters, or thick slices, and take out the cores; blanch them
in a very thin syrup until tender; take them out, and add more sugar
to that which they were boiled in, with the yellow peel and juice of a
lemon and a few cloves; reduce it to the small pearl; put in the
apples, and give them a few boils in it; let them remain until cold;
take off the scum, if any; strain the syrup, and serve.
Pears and quinces are done as these, or coloured as for pears wet,
which see,
Grape Compote. Pick and stone some fine ripe grapes; put them
in boiling syrup at the large pearl; give them three or four boils in
it; let them cool, take off the scum, and serve.
Currant Compote. Take the largest currants you can get, either
red or white; pick out the seeds, and throw them into boiling syrup
at the large pearl ; give them two or three boils, and let them stand
in the syrup; take off the scum, and serve when cold.
6*
THE CONFECTIONER.
Raspberry Compote. Choose some very fine and dry raspberries;
boil some syrup to the blow, take it from the fire, and throw in the
raspberries; lot them stand for four or five hours; stir them gently;
put them on the fire, and let the syrup just boil; take off the scum,
and when cold serve.
Strawberry Compote. Take off the stalks, and throw them into
syrup at the small thread ; when it is near boiling, take them off, let
them cool, and serve ; or they may be prepared by putting them in
the compotier, and covering them with white currant jelly warmed.
Macedoinc of Fruits. Put some of all sorts of fruits, prepared for
compotes, together, and serve in the same glass, With syrup and a
.little lemon-juice.
Cherry Compote. Cut off the stalks of some fine cherries about
half way ; wash them in cold water, and let them drain quite dry ;
boil some syrup to the large pearl; throw in the cherries, and let
them boil quickly for five or six boils ; take them off, and let them
remain until cold ; take off the scum, if any, and dress them in the
compotier, with their stalks upwards; pour in the syrup, and serve,
adding the juice of lemon.
Damsons, mulberries, Orlean plums, and barberries are done the
same way, taking out the stones of the plums and barberries; the
cherries may be also stoned.
SECTION XV. BRANDY FKUITS.
ALL fruits may be preserved with brandy; but only the best sort
of plums, such as apricots, magnum-bonums, peaches, green-gages,
mirabelles, &c., with cherries and pears, are those usually done.
The fruit should be gathered before it is perfectly ripe, when it ig
prepared by blanching, &c., precisely the same as if it were intended
for wet fruits; those preserved in this manner are often taken from
their syrup and put in brandy; when the fruits are blanched put them
for a day or two in a thin syrup, then take them out and arrange them
in glasses; cover them with white brandy, into which you have
mixed five ounces of powdered white sugar candy, and tie them over
with bladder. Cherries are an exception to this rule. Take some
fine Morello cherries, and cut off half the stalk ; put them into brandy,
and stop them close for a month ; drain off the brandy, and to each
quart add eight ounces of powdered loaf sugar or white sugar candy ;
dissolve and pour it over the cherries. Keep them well covered with
spirit.
THE CONFECTIONER. 67
SECTION XVI. ON BOTTLED FRUITS, OR FRUITS PRESERVED
WITHOUT SUGAR.
CHOOSE wide-mouthed bottles, which are made for this purpose;
let them be clean and perfectly dry ; gather the fruit during- dry
weather, and fill the bottles if possible on the same day; shake the
fruit well down by knocking the bottom edge of the bottle on the
table; prepare some corks or bungs (which are made for fruit bottles
by being cut the contrary way of the grain) ; pour \y iling water over
them, which will deprive them of any smell or di/t; repeat this a
second time, if necessary, letting them remain in the water each
lime until it is cold ; cork the bottles well, and tie them over with
wire or string. M. Appert recommends that they should be luted
with a mixture m;ide of fresh slaked lime and soft cheese; this is to
be spread on rags and tied over the mouth of the bottle; they are
then placed in a boiler and cold water as far as their mouths; a cover
is put on with a piece of linen round it to prevent evaporation, the
water is then heated to boiling, and is kept at this point uncil it ia
considered that the fruit is boiled in their own water or juice ; the
fire is then withdrawn, and they are suffered to remain in the water
for an hour, when it may be drawn off. The method which I in
general pursue is to raise the water to the boiling point, and keep it at
this heat for about an hour, according to the nature of the fruit; they
are then suffered to remain in the water until it is cold. I find this
way generally successful. When they are taken out, cover the
mouth of the bottle with melted rosin or bottle wax.
This method is much superior to that of preparing them with water,
which renders the fruit flat, dead, and insipid, the whole of the fla-
vour of the fruit being imparted to the water, except when bottled
very green, when it does not lose it so much.
A method I have tried with pretty good success, is to obtain the
fruit before it is ripe, bottle it, and fill the bottles with cold spring
water, in which are dissolved some oxymuriate of potass, cork them
close, and cover the mouths with rosin. Plums done in this way had
the natural bloom on them. I found these were better than those
done in a similar manner by heat. A few bottles of them fermented.
After the fermentation was over I corked them close, and in six
months I opened some, when they had a smell like wine, and were
not so flat as those which were well preserved by heat, and filled
with water ; these certainly look well to the eye, but they are only
fit to be used for large pies, when the water should be made into a
syrup with sugar, and put in with it.
The first method, which is the same as Appert's, or nearly so, ia
decidedly the best; it retains the natural flavour, and may be used
for any purpose it is required, it being as good as fresh fruit.
THE CONFECTIONER.
The pulp or juice of fruits may also be preserved in the same way ;
if the fruit is not ripe enough to pulp, put it into a jar, and stop it
close, place it in a kettle of cold water, heat it until it boils, and let
it continue at this point for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour; take
it. out and pass the pulp through a hair-sieve ; bottle, and finish as
before.
This method of M. Appert's is not altogether original, but was an-
ticipated by the experiments of Mr. Boyle. A system somewhat on
the same principle has been practised by many in the trade for years,
which is this. The fruit is bottled and carefully corked, the bottles
are then placed on the top of the oven, where they are suffered to
remain for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, according to the tempera-
ture, which is generally from 120 3 to 140 Fahrenheit's thermometer.
Atone place I ascertained the heat during the process, and it averaged
130. Another system practised is that of heating the bottles in a
cool oven.
The principle endeavoured to be accomplished is to destroy the
small portion of oxygen contained in the bottle after being corked, by
converting it into carbonic acid gas; but some other unknown agent
must be produced, as this may be done without heat, which the fer-
mentation of the fruit would cause by itself; for, according to the
experiments of Hildebrand, had the oxygen of the atmosphere
remained unaltered, it would have caused putrefaction ; for he found
that oxygen mixed with a small quantity of azote, promoted putrefac-
tion more than pure oxygen. He found that hydrogen gas was the
greatest preservative, nitrous next, and after this carbonic. These
experiments were tried on meat, but they may be equally applicable
in respect to fruit, when the auxiliary produced by heat is not
definitely known.
Fruit should always be bottled and boiled on the same day it is
gathered ; for the longer the fruit lies together the more it sweats ;
fermentation commences, which is accelerated in the bottles by heat,
and there is great danger of their bursting.
All decayed or bruised fruit should be carefully excluded, and that
should be preferred which is not quite ripe.
When finished, the bottle should be kept in a cool dry place.
SECTION XVII. OF COOLING DRINKS FOR BALLS AND ROUTS.
THESE may be made either with fresh fruit, jam, or syrups. The
last merely requires the addition of water and lemon-juice to make
them palatable.
Gooseberry, Currant, Raspberry, and Strawberry Waters. Mash
either of these fruits when ripe, and press out the juice through a
hair-sieve, add a little water to it, and give it a boil ; then filter it
through a flannel bag, some syrup, a little lemon-juice and water, to
make it palatable, but rich, although not too sweet, which is often the
fault with these and compotes ; ice them the same as wine, and serve.
THE CONFECTIONER. 69
rhfrry Water. Pound the cherries with the stones to obtain the
flavour of the kernel, and make as above.
Jlpricot and Peach Water as cherry water : or, if made from jam,
add a fnv bitter almonds pounded quite fine, using- a little water and
lemon-juice to pound them with; add them to the jam with water
and lemon-juice to palate; strain it through a lawn sieve, ice, and
serve.
Orgeat Water. Blanch half a pound of sweet almonds and one
ounce of bitter; pound them very fine in a mortar, using water to
prevent their oiling ; use one quart of water and a glass of orange-
flower water, and make as directed for orgeat syrup; add sugar to
palate, strain it through a lawn sieve, ice, and serve.
Lemonade. Rub off the yellow rinds of six lemons on sugar;
squeeze out their juice, and add to it a pint and a half of water, and
half a pint of syrup, the white of an egg, with the sugar which has
imbibed the oil from the rind ; mix them well together ; if not to
your palate, alter it ; strain through a flannel bag, ice, and serve.
Orangeade is made as lemonade, using China oranges instead of the
lemons.
SECTION XVIII. ICES.
[THERE is no article of the dessert kind that deserves a more ele-
vated position than well-made ices, as well for their intrinsic merit
as for the agreeable gout which they impart to a well-got-up enter-
tainment.
Philadelphia has for a long time enjoyed a pre-eminent reputation
in the manufacture of these delicious compounds ; the rage however
for cheap articles, without a due regard to their merits, has made sad
inroads into the business; and, in order to accommodate this spirit of
retrenchment, ignorant pretenders have consented to the base prac-
tice of making inferior articles, which they palm off on the unwary
under the specious guise of economy. With the?e persons it is a
custom to use three-fourths milk and only one-fourth of the legiti-
mate article, cream, and, in order to procure a sufficient body, to in-
termix boiled flour, arrowroot, or potatoe flour ; also to flavour with
tartaric acid instead of fresh lemons, tonquin bean instead of vanilla,
and inferior fruits when the best only should be used.
We mention these facts in order to caution young beginners against
any such fatal mistakes. The best ingredients should always be
used. Obtain your cream invariably fresh from a dairyman who is
tenacious of his reputation, and who is known to produce a pure rich
article ; it cannot be too good, and if not used immediately should be
kept in ice until wanted. Good cream cannot be had (even where
large quantities are used) for a less price than twenty cents per
quart. Use cream entirely, and on no account mingle the slightest
70 THE CONFECTIONER.
quantity of milk, which detracts materially from the richness and
smoothness of the ices. Always use the finest flavoured to he ob-
tained, and follow implicitly the following very copious directions,
and you will be certain to be rewarded by a fine article, of which
you may well be proud :]
Utensils requisite for making. 1st. Pewter pots of various sizes,
suitable to the quantity of mixture intended to be frozen. Tin or
zinc will not answer the purpose, as it congeals the mixture too
quickly without allowing it a sufficient time to become properly in-
corporated, and forms it in lumps like hailstones.
2d. Half pint, pint, pint and a half, and quart moulds, and some in
the form of fruits made to open in the centre with a hinge : these
also require to be made of the same material.
3d. Ice pails. These should be adapted to the size of the pots,
about the same depth, and eight or ten inches more in diameter; if
even greater, it is immaterial, the depth being the principal consider-
ation, for the deeper it is the greater caution is required to prevent
the salt from entering the mixture; for as the ice dissolves, the pot
descends, and the water runs under the cover, which, being salt,
spoils the contents; neither have you a sufficient basis whereon the
pot rests so as to mix your creams, &,c., with the spatula; conse-
quently, half your exertions are lost by its constant sinking when you
apply the least effort to scrape it from the sides. There should be a
hole near the bottom, with a cork fitted into it, so as to be drawn at
pleasure, that the water may be allowed to run off' when there is too
much.
4th. The spatula. This is an instrument somewhat resembling a
gardener's spade ; it should be made of stout copper and tinned, the
blade being about four inches long by three in width, round at the
end, and having a socket to receive a wooden handle; this is for
scraping the cream, &c., from the sides of the pot as it freezes, and
for mixing it.
5th. Either a large mortar and pestle, or a strong box and mallet
for pounding the ice.
6th. A spade wherewith to mix the ice and salt together, fixing
your pails, &c.
7th. A tin case or box, with a kind of drawer fitted to it so as to
be drawn out at pleasure, and having shelves or divisions ; this is for
keeping the ices in the form of fruits, after they are finished, until
required for the table.
To freeze Ices. This is accomplished through the medium of ice.
Of itself it does not contain sufficient frigorific power to congeal a
liquid body to the required consistence without an auxiliary; the
usual one employed is that of salt. As a general rule, take about
two pounds to every six pounds of ice, which I think will be nearly
the quantity required. I cannot state precisely, as it is the custom
to mix it by guess ; but note, the freezing quality depends on the
THE CONFECTIONER. 71
quantity of salt which is used, consequently, the more there is mixed
with the ice the quicker are the creams, &c., frozen.
Pound a sufficient quantity of ice small, and let some salt be well
mixed with it; place the pot containing the mixture in a pail, which
you fill (the latter) with pounded ice and salt as far as the lid ; strew
a handful of salt on the top of the ice, let it remain a few minutes until
you have similarly disposed of others, as three or four may be done at
a time if required, then whirl them round briskly by means of the
handles for five minutes, take off the lids one at a time, and with the
spatula stir or carry the unfrozen part well round the sides, turning
the pot also with the left hand ; continue this for two or three minutes,
which serves to soften what has already frozen, as well as helps to
freeze the remaining portion; then scrape it from the sides, put on
the lids, whirl round again briskly, as before directed, repeating the
same operations every four or five minutes. As it forms into con-
sistence, do not spare your labour in well working or mixing it
together when you scrape it down, so as to make it perfectly smooth
and free from lumps, for the smoothness of your ice depends on this
operation ; continue to freeze until the whole is well set. Ice when
well frozen should be about the consistence of butter, tough to the
feel, of a good colour, and without any lumps in it. Those which
contain too much syrup cannot be frozen to the degree required, and
those which have too little freeze hard, and feel short and crisp, like
compressed or frozen snow, which arises from having too many watery
particles in it, by the excess of either water or milk according to the
nature of your ice. In either case it may be ascertained when you
commence freezing, by the first coat which is formed round the sides.
It should then be altered by either adding more cream or water, with
juice, or pulp of fruit, or other flavouring matter in proportion, as the
case may be, if too rich, and vice versa, by the addition of more syrup,
&c., when poor; but at all times the necessity of altering them should
be avoided, as the component parts cannot be so perfectly blended
together, without considerable extra labour, as if they were properly
mixed at the commencement.
During the time of freezing, or after the creams, &c., are moulded
and set up, if there is too much water in the pail, the frigorific power
is lessened ; a little increases it, as at first it is only a solution of the
salt ; but as the ice dissolves and mixes with it, it decreases; there-
fore, when it comes to the top drain it off, and fill up with fresh salt
and ice.
When the ices are properly frozen, take out the pots, drain off the
water, empty the pail, again replace them and fill them with fresh
salt and ice, as before ; then spread the creams over the sides of the
pot, when they are ready for use, if they are intended to be served in
a shop or by glassfulls. Should it be required for moulds, line the
bottom with a piece of paper, before you put it on ; if there is no im-
pression or figure on the top, you may cover that also with paper ; in
filling them press it well in, so as to fill every part; leave a little pro-
72 THE CONFECTIONER.
jecting above the surface to form the top, which you put on ; pack
the moulds in a pail, and fill the vacancies with pounded ice well
mixed with plenty of salt, strew a handful also on the top.
Ices should be moulded from half an hour to an hour before they
are requited to be served.
When you want to turn them out, wash the mould well in cold
water that no salt may remain on it; take off the bottom and top, and
the ice will come out easily.
For fruit moulds, fill each with either cream or water ice of the
same kind as that which you would represent, and for the better re-
semblance to nature, preserve the stone with the stalk and leaves of
each, which put in their proper places, allowing the leaves to project
outside; close the mould, wrap it in paper, and place it in ice as
others; when you want to turn them out, wash the shape in luke-
warm water to take off the paper, and be careful that you do not
injure the leaves, as they will often be found frozen to it ; dip it again
in water, open it and take out the ice, which you colour to nature
with camel's-hair pencils and liquid colour (see Colours); the down
or bloom is represented by dusting it with dry colour in powder, tied
in a small thin muslin bag 1 , or by means of a dry camel's-hair pencil ;
line the shelves of the case with paper or vine leaves, and put in
the fruit as it is finished ; let the case be surrounded with pounded ice
and salt, as for moulds.
Ices may be divided into three classes, viz: cream, custard, and
water. These derive their names from the basis of which they are
composed, the flavouring matter mixed with it giving the other defi-
nition ; thus we say, raspberry cream and raspberry water; but cus-
tard ices are not so particularly defined as the others by the basis, and
Cither only receives the name of the flavour given to it, or as that of
cream.
Cream Ices. These are composed entirely of pure fresh cream,
with the juice or pulp of fruit either fresh or preserved, and syrup or
sugar so blended together as the taste of one may not predominate
over that of another ; but if either is in excess it should be that of
the fruit.
Raspberry of fresh fruit. One quart of raspberries, one quart of
cream, three-quarters of a pound or a pound of sugar, a few ripo
currants and gooseberries, or currants and ripe cherries may be added,
instead of all raspberries, which is much approved by some, and the
juice of two lemons; * mash the fruit, and pass it through a sieve to
take out the skins and seeds; mix it with the other articles; add a
little prepared cochineal to heighten the colour; pnt it in the pot and
freeze.
* The quantity of fruit required for these ices will depend, in a great
measure, on the quality of the fruit and the seasons in which it is pro-
duced ; a pint and a half will be found sufficient when it is good in fine
seasons ; the quantity stated in each weight is the greatest required.
THE CONFECTIONER. 73
Note. All ices made with red fruit require this addition of cochi-
neal.
Raspberry, from Jam. One pound of jam, one quart of cream,
about fix ounces of sugar or syrup, to palate, and the juice of two
lemons. Mix as before.
Strawberry. As raspberry.
Currant Ice from fresh Fruit. One pint and a half of ripe currants,
half a pint of raspberries, one quart of cream, the juice of two
lemons, and twelve ounces of sugar. Mix as raspberry.
Currant Ice. Preserved Fruit. The same proportions as raspberry,
using either jam or jelly.
Barberry Ice. Use the sameproportions as before. For fresh barber=
ties, first soften them by either boiling them in the syrup you intend
to use, or put them in a stew-pan, and stir them over the fire until
tender ; pass them through a sieve, mix, and freeze as raspberry. The
barberries, having much acid, do not require any lemon-juice to be
mixed with them.
Jpricot. Fresh Fruit. Twenty-four fine ripe apricots, one quart of
cream, twelve ounces of sugar, the juice of two lemons, with a few
of the kernels blanched ; mash the apricots, rub them through a sieve,
mix, and freeze.
rfpricof, from Jam. Twelve ounces of jam, one quart of cream,
the juice of two lemons, eight ounces of sugar, a few kernels or bit-
ter almonds blanched and pounded fine ; rub the whole through a
sieve, and freeze.
Peach Ice. The same proportions as apricot
Pine Apple. Fresh Fruit. One pound of fresh pine apple, half a
pint of syrup in which a pine has been preserved, two or three slices
of pine apple cut in small dice, and the juice of three lemons ; pound
or grate the apple, pass it through a sieve, mix, and freeze.
Pine Apple Preserved Fruit. Eight ounces of preserved pine, four
slices cut in small dice, one quart of cream, the juice of three lemons,
and sufficient syrup from the pine to sweeten it; pound the preserved
pine, mix lemons with the cream, &c., and freeze.
Ginger Ice. Six ounces of preserved ginger, one quart of cream,
half a pint of the syrup from the ginger, sugar sufficient to sweeten
it with, and the juice of two lemons; pound the ginger in a mortar,
add the cream, &c., and freeze.
[Brahma Ice. One quart of cream, the whites of ten eggs, one
and a half pounds of powdered sugar of the best quality ; mix the
whole in a hp saucepan ; put it on the fire, stirring constantly, until
it boils oncfr , then add two wine-glasses of Curacoa, half a glass of
orange-flower water ; put it into the pot, and freeze.]
Orange Ice Cream. Six oranges, three lemons, one quart of cream,
'
74 THE CONFECTIONER.
and twelve ounces of sugar or of syrup, to palate; rub off the yel-
low rind of two or three of the oranges on part of the sugar, scrape
it off with a knife, squeeze out the juice of the oranges and lemons,
and strain it; mix it with the cream and the sugar on which the rind
was rubbod, add the other part of the sugar, dissolve and freeze.
China Orange Ice Cream. Eight oranges, two lemons, one quart
of cream, twelve ounces of sugar ; rub off the rind of four or five of
the oranges and one lemon on sugar, squeeze, and strain the juice;
add the ciearn, fee., mix, and freeze.
Cherry Ice Cream. Two pounds of cherries, one quart of cream,
and twelve ounces of sugar or syrup; pound the cherries, wi f h the
stones, in a mortar, adding a few ripe gooseberries or currants if ap-
proved of; pass the pulp through a sieve, add the cream and sugar
with the juice of two lemons and a little cochineal, mix, and freeze.
With preserved fruit it is made the same way, adding a little
noyau, or a few bitter almonds pounded for the flavour of the kernel.
[Harlequin Ice. This is formed by putting a small quantity of each
kind of ice into the same mould, taking care to have as great a va-
riety of colours as possible placed so as to produce a contrast; cover
the mould with salt and ice as before directed, and let it remain half
an hour, when it will be fit to turn out. When the colours are tastily
disposed of, it produces a good effect for the table, but is not much ad-
mired on account of the jumble of flavours.]
Lemon Ice Cream, Six large lemons, one quart of cream, and
twelve ounces of sugar or half pint of syrup ; grate off the peels of
three of the lemons into a basin, squeeze the juice to it, let it stand
for two or three hours, strain, add the cream and syrup, and freeze or
mix as Seville orange ice.
Mllle Fruit Cream Ice. Make a lemon cream ice, and flavour it
with elder flowers, mix in some preserved dried fruits and peels cut
in small pieces. Before it is moulded, sprinkle it with prepared co-
chineal, and mix it a little, so as it may appear in veins or marbled.
Custard Ices. These are similarly composed to the cream ices,
with the addition of six eggs to each quart of cream. All kinds of
nuts, liqueurs, essences, infusions, or biscuits, are principally mixed
with it.
Custard for Ices. One quart of cream, six eggs, and twelve ounces
of powdered loaf sugar; break the eggs into a stew-pan, and whisk
them together ; add the cream and sugar ; when well mixed, place
it on the fire, and continue stirring it from the bottom with the whisk,
to prevent burning; until it gets thick; take it from the fire, con-
tinue to stir it for a few minutes, and pass it through a sieve. If the
custard be suffered to boil, it will curdle.
Plombiere Ice, or Swiss Pudding. Take one pint and a half of
cream and half a pint of milk, and make them into a custard will
seven yolks of eggs; flavour it either with Cura^oa, Maraschino, or
Till: CONFECTIONER. I &
rum ; freeze the custard, and add about a quarter of a pound of dried
cherries, orange, lemon, and citron peel, and currants; mix these in
the iced custard. The Cura^oa, or rum, &c., may be poured over the
fruit when you commence freezing, or before, which I consider pre-
ferable to flavouring the custard. Prepare the mould, which is round,
and something in the shape of a melon, made to open in the centre
u ;! ii a hinge. Strew over the inside with some clean currants, fill
the mould, and close it; immerse it in some fresh ice mixed with
sa!r. Before it is required to be turned out, prepare a dish as
follows :
The Sauce.. Make a little custard, and flavour it with brandy;
dissolve some isinglass in water or milk, and when it is nearly cold
ad<! sufficient to the custard to set it ; pour it into the dish you intend
to serve it on. As soon as it is set, turn out the pudding on it and
serve.
Jllmond or Orgeat Ice Cream. One quart of cream, eight ounces
of sweet almonds, two ounces of bitter almonds, twelve ounces of
sugar, and two ounces of orange-flower water ; blanch the almonds,
and pound them quite fine in a mortar, using the orange-flower water
in pounding, to prevent their oiling: rub them through a sieve, and
pound again the remaining portion which has not passed through,
until they are fine enough; then mix them with the cream, and make
it into a custard with eggs, as the preceding; strain, and when cold,
freeze.
Pistachio Ice Cream. One quart of cream, eight ounces of pis-
tachios, and twelve ounces of sugar; blanch and pound the pistachios
with a little of the cream ; mix and finish as orgeat ice, flavouring it
with a little essence of cedrat, or the rind of a fresh citron rubbed on
sugar ; or the custard may be flavoured by boiling in it a little cinna-
mon and mace and the rind of of a lemon.
Filbert Ice Cream. One quart of cream, one pound of nuts, and
twelve ounces of sugar or one pint of syrup; break the nuts, and roast
the kernels in the oven ; when done, pound them with a little cream,
make a custard, and finish as almond ice.
Chestnut Ice. As the preceding, taking off the husks and skin.
Burnt Filbert Ice Cream. Use the same proportions aa in filbert
ice; put the kernels into the syrup, and boil till it comes to the
blow ; stir the sugar with a spatula, that it may grain and adhere to
the nuts; when cold, pound them with the sujrar quite fine; make
a custard, and mix them with it, allowing for the sugar that is used
for the nuts; mix, and freeze as the others.
Burnt Jllmond Ice Cream. Make as burnt filbert ice.
Coffee Ice Cream. One quart of cream, five ounces of Mocha coffee,
and twelve ounces of sugar ; roast the coffee in a coarse iron or other
stew-pan, keeping it constantly stirred until it is a good brown colour;
"6 THE CONFECTIONER.
throw it into the custard cream whilst it is quite hot, and cover it
closely ; let it infuse for an hour or two, then strain and freeze.
The cream may be made with an infusion of coffee, thus: take the
quantity of coffee, fresh roasted and ground to a fine powder ; put this
into a common glass bottle or decanter, and pour on it sufficient cold
river water to moisten the powder and make an infusion; stop the
bottle close, and let it remain all night; the next day filter the infu-
sion by passing it through some fine lawn or blotting paper placed in
a glass funnel ; by this process a very strong and superior infusion is
obtained, which contains the whole of the aroma of the coffee. Dr.
Raticr observes, "I have tried this process with boiling and with
cold water; and I have assured myself, by comparison, that the pow-
der drained by the cold water, and treated then with boiling water,
gave nothing but a water slightly tinted with yellow, and devoid of
odour and flavour. It is, besides, proper to pass an equal quantity of
water to the first, over the grounds, in order that the second water
may serve for new powder." Use this for flavouring the custard,
and freeze.
Chocolate Ice. One quart of cream, six ounces of chocolate, and
ten ounces of sugar; dissolve the chocolate in a little water, or make
the sugar into a syrup, and dissolve it by putting it on the side of the
stove, or over the fire ; add the cream and eggs, and make it into a
custard as before ; when cold, freeze,
Tea Ice. One quart of cream, two ounces of the best green tea,
and twelve ounces of sugar ; put the tea into a cup, and pour on it a
little cold river water in which has been dissolved a small portion of
carbonate of soda, about as much as may be placed on a iburpenny
piece ; let it remain for an hour or two, then add a little boiling
water, sufficient in the whole to make a very strong infusion ; or the
boiling water may be dispensed with, adding more cold water in pro-
portion, and letting it soak longer, when a superior infusion will be
obtained; strain it, and add to the cream and eggs. Finish as the
others.
Vanilla Ice. One quart of cream, half an ounce of vanilla, twelve
ounces of sugar; cut the vanilla into small pieces, and pound it with
the sugar until it is quite fine, add it to the cream and eggs, make it
into a custard, strain, and when cold freeze, or it may be flavoured
with the essence of vanilla. (See Essences).
Noyau Cream Ice. Make a custard cream, and flavour it with
noyau ; finish as almond ice.
Maraschino Cream Ice. Make as noyau, flavouring it with Mara-
schino de Zara. All liqueur ices are made the same way, using the
different liqueurs with which each is named, or they may be made in
this way : Take a quart of cream, put it into the ice-pot with six
ounces of sugar, which you place in the ice; work or whisk it well
about the sides with a whisk for five minutes; add a glassful of
THE CONFECTIONER. 77
liqueur, work this well tog-ether, then whisk the whites of two eggs
to a strong froth, add two ounces of sugar to them, mix this well with
the cream, and freeze to the required consistence. This produces a
very beautiful, soft, and mellow cream.
Water Ices. These are the pulp or juice of fruits mixed with
syrup, lemon juice, and a little water, so as to bring them to a good
flavour and consistence when frozen.
Currant Water Ice. Two pounds of ripe currants, eight ounces of
raspberries and ripe cherries, one pint of syrup, and one pint of water.
Pick and mash the fruit, and strain it through a sieve, add the
syrup and water, put it in the ice-pot and freeze.
Cherry Water Ice. Cherries two pounds, either Kentish or May
Duke, ripe gooseberries four ounces, one pint of syrup, half a pint of
water, and the juice of two lemons; pound the cherries with the
stones in a mortar, pass the juice of the fruit through a sieve, mix
the syrup and water with it, and freeze ; if it should not freeze suffi-
ciently, add a little more water.
Gooseberry Water Ice. Ripe gooseberries two pounds, the red hairy
port is the best, one pound of cherries, one pint of syrup, one pint of
water, and the juice of two lemons; mash the fruit and pass it through
a sieve, mix it with the syrup and water, and freeze.
Raspberry Water Ice. One quart of ripe raspberries, four ounces
of ripe cherries and currants, half a pint of syrup, half a pint of water,
and the juice of two lemons. Mash the fruit and pass ihe juice
through a sieve, mix the syrup water and lemon with it, and freeze.
Raspberry Water Ice. Two pottles of the best scarlet pines, one
pint of syrup, half a pint of water, and the juice of two lemons.
Mix as currant. All red fruits require the addition of a little pre-
pared cochineal to heighten the colour.
Jlpricot Water Ice. Eighteen or twenty fine ripe apricots, accord-
ing to their size, half a pint of syrup, half a pint of water, the juice
of two lemons.
Mash the apricots and pass them through a sieve, mix the pulp
with the syrup water and lemon-juice, break the stone?, blanch the
kernels, and pound them fine with a little water, pass them through
a sieve, add it to the mixture, and freeze.
Peach Water Ice. One pound of the pulp of ripe peaches, half a
pint of syrup, half a pint of water, the juice of two lemon?. Mix as
apricot. If the fruit is not ripe enough to pulp, open them and take
out the stones, put them in a stew-pan with the syrup and water, boil
until tender, and pass them through a sieve; mix in the pounded
kernels; when cold, freeze.
Damson Ice. One quart of damsons, one pint of syrup, half a pint
of water. Mix as peach ice. Magnum-bonums, Orleans, green-
gages, or any other plum may be done in the same way,
78 THE CONFECTIONER.
Pine-apple Water Ice. Half a pint of pine syrup, one pint of water,
the juice of two lemons, and three or four slices of preserved pine
cut into small dice; mix and freeze.
Fresh Pine-apple Water Ice. One pound of pine-apple, one pint
of syrup, half a pint of water, and the juice of two lemons. Cut the
pine in pieces, and put it into a stew-pan witli the syrup and water,
and boil until tender ; pass it through a sieve, add the lemon-juice,
with two or three slices of the pine cut in small dice, mix and freeze
when cold. The pine may be pounded instead of being boiled, and
mixed with the syrup, &c.
The whole of these ices may be made with preserved fruit instead
of fresh.
One pound of jam or jelly, one pint of water, the juice of two lem-
ons, and syrup sufficient to make it palatable.
Apple-Water Ice. Pare and core some fine apples, cut them in
pieces into a preserving pan with sufficient water for them to float,
boil until they are reduced to a marmalade, then strain: to a pint of
apple-water add half a pint of syrup, the juice of a lemon, and a little
water ; when cold, freeze.
Pear- Water Ice. Prepare as apple ice.
Orange-Water Ice. One pint of China orange-juice, one pint of
syrup, half a pint of water, the juice of four large lemons.
Rub off the yellow rind of six oranges and two lemons on sugar,
BC rape it off and mix with the strained juice, syrup and water.
Lemon-Water Ice. Haifa pint of lemon juice, half a pint of water,
one pint of syrup, the peels of six lemons rubbed off on sugar, or the
yellow rind may be pared or grated off, and the juice squeezed to it
in a basin ; let it remain for an hour or two, then strain, mix, and
freeze; whip up the whites of three eggs to a strong froth, with a
little sugar, as for meringues; when the ice is beginning to set, work
this well in it, which will make it eat beautifully soft and delicious;
freeze to the required consistence ; if the ice is to be served in glasses,
the meringue may be added after it has been frozen. Orange- water
ice may be done the same.
Maraschino -Water Ice Make a lemon ice as the above, using less
water, and making up the deficiency with Maraschino; but be careful
the taste of the lemon does not prevail too much ; add more water and
syrup to correct it if it does. Noyau and all other Jiqueur ices are
made the same way, using that to flavour the lemon ice which it bears
the name of. Champagne and wine ices the same.
Punch-Water Ice. Make either a good lemon ice, or use some
orange-juice with the lemons, in the proportion of one orange to two
lemons; either rub off the yellow rind of the lemons on sugar, or pare
it very thin, and soak it in the spirit for a few hours; when the ice
is beginning to set, work in the whites of three eggs to each quart,
beaten To a strong froth, and mixed with aug'nr an for meringue, or
THE CONFECTIONER. 79
add the whites without whisking them ; when it is nearly frozen, take
out the pot from the ice, and mix well with it a glass each of rum
and brandy, or sufficient to make it a good flavour; some like the
taste of the rum to predominate, but in this case of course you will be
guided by the wish of your employer. In general the prevailing fla-
vour distinguishes it by name, as rum-punch or brandy-punch ice ;
after the spirit is well mixed, replace the pot and finish freezing. If
champagne, arrack, or tea is added, it is then termed champagne-
punch ice, arrack-punch ice, &c.
Punch a la Rumaine Roman Punch Ice. Make a quart of lemon
ice, and flavour it with a glass or two of each, of rum, brandy, cham-
pagne, and Maraschino; when it is frozen, to each quart take the
whites of rive eggs and whip them to a very strong froth ; boil half a
pound of sugar to the ball, and rub it with a spoon or spatula against
the sides to grain it ; when it turns white, mix it quickly with the
whites of eggs, stir it lightly together, and add it to the ice; when
cold, mix it well together, and serve it in glasses; less sugar must be
used in the ice, so as to allow for that which is used in making the
meringue.
Mille Fruit Water Ice. Make a good lemon ice, with a pint of
syrup, half a pint of water, and as much strained lemon-juice as will
give it the desired flavour, with some elder flowers infused in syrup;
when the ice is frozen, mix it in some preserved green fruits and
peels cut in small dice ; if any large fruits are used, such as apricots,
peaches, pine-apples, &c., they must be also cut in dice like the peels;
sprinkle it with prepared cochineal, and mix it a little so as it may
appear in veins.
SECTION XIX. JELLIES.
[Calves' Feet Jellies. Boil down one set of calves' feet in four
quarts of water till it is reduced to one half, then strain through a
sieve, in order to remove the bones; when settled and cold take off
the grease on the surface, then boil, with the following additions:
twelve eggs, three pints of good Madeira wine, and two pounds of
loaf sugar, the juice of four lemons; stir the mixture well with a
whisk or spatula, and filter through a fine flannel bag. Jellies of
Champagne and other wines are made in the same manner.
Cdffee Jelly is made the same as preceding, usinsf, instead of Ma-
deira wine, a decoction of coffee, prepared as follows: infuse half a
pound of roasted Mocha coffee, pulverised or ground, in one quart of
water, strain off the decoction, and add to it a little brandy.
Tea Jelly Green or Black. Treat in the same way, using an in-
fusion of half an ounce of tea to one quart of water.
80 THE CONFECTIONER.
FRUIT JELLIES.
Strawberry Jelly.- One pound of picked strawberries, press them
lightly, and put them in four ounces of clear syrup; cover the infu-
sion, and let them stand all night; strain through a bag on the fol-
lowing morning: in the mean time clarify half a pound of sugar ;
when nearly clarified add to it a few drops of prepared cochineal, to
give it a fine red colour; after which, strain it through a sieve, and
add to it an ounce of clarified isinglass, the juice of two sound lemons,
and afterwards the fruit; stir the jelly gently, and put it in a mould
placed in ice.
N. B. To clarify isinglass, take one ounce of the best Russia, cut
il in small pieces, wash it several times in clear warm water, put it on
the fire in a small pan with one pint of soft water, let it boil suffi-
ciently, taking care to skim it well; when it is reduced to one-half,
strain through a napkin into a clean vessel. The sugar and isinglass
should be only lukewarm when you mix them. These remarks apply
to all jellies of this kind.
Pine Apple Jelly. Take a fine ripe pine apple, cut it small, and
strain the juice through a hair sieve, then throw it into the boiling
syrup, let it boil up, and when nearly cold strain it through a silk
sieve, add a little caramel to give the jelly a fine yellow tinge ;
then the juice of two fine lemons, and an ounce of clarified isinglass.
Proceed as before.
Jelly of Apricots. Take the stones out of one dozen and a half of
fine ripe apricots and boil them in the syrup, which, in this case,
should be as light coloured as possible; when boiled sufficiently to
extract the flavour, strain through a napkin, add the necessary quan-
tity of isinglass, and finish as usual.
Orange Jelly. Squeeze the juice out of twelve Havanna oranges
and one lemon, strain through a fine linen cloth, then mix with the
syrup boiled to the ball ; add the clarified isinglass, filter through a
fine flannel bag, and finish as before.
The foregoing will suffice for all fruit jellies.
BLANC MANGE.
Take four ounces of sweet almonds blanched, half an ounce of
bitter almonds, pound them in a clean mortar, moisten them gra-
dually with orange-flower water, mix this with one quart of fresh
cream and one ounce of clarified isinglass, put into a saucepan, con-
stantly stirring till it boils, then pass through a fine sieve, and form
into a mould, and put on ice.
Blanc Mange may be flavoured with vanilla, Mocha coffee, maris-
chino, pistachios, and strawberries; in which case the bitter almonds
should be left out.]
THE CONFECTIONER. 81
SECTION XX. ON ESSENCES.
THE essences or essential oils sold for general use are or ought to
be obtained by distillation ; but for many purposes they may be ob-
tained equally as good, and, in some cases, superior, without. As
these are often adulterated with olive or nut oils, or with spirits of
wine, the fixed oils may be detected by pouring some of the suspected
essence on a piece of clean writing paper, and holding it before the
fire ; the quantity of fixed oil it contains will remain, leaving a greasy
mark, whereas the pure essential oil will evaporate without leaving
any appearance ; if spirits of wine be added, pour a little water or oil
of turpentine into the adulterated sample, and it will turn milky, as
the two will not unite without producing this effect. It is often
sophisticated with the oil of turpentine, which is the lightest of all
essential oils; in this case, rub a drop over the hand and hold it by
the fire, when it may be recognized by the smell, or if burnt it will
give out a dense black smoke.
Rectified spirits of wine dissolve the volatile oil and resin of vege-
tables (their taste and smell most frequently reside in these), whilst
water acts on the saline and mucilaginous parts. Proof spirit, which
is a mixture of both these, extracts all their virtues, and through this
we are enabled to obtain the essence or tincture of any vegetable, of
superior quality to that generally sold, and at considerably less ex-
pense. The essential oil of lemons or oranges is obtained by rubbing
off the yellow rind on the rough surface of a piece of loaf sugar, which
is much superior for flavour to that produced by any other means.
Scrape off the sugar after it has imbibed the oil, and dry it in a gentle
heat, put it into small glazed pots, and tie them over with bladder; it
will keep any length of time unimpaired. The same observation
holds good as regards all fruit whose flavour or essential oil resides in
its peel.
Essence of Lemon. Eight ounces of lemon peel, ten ounces of rec-
tified spirits of wine. Pare or grate off the yellow rind of the lemon
very thin and weigh it, put it into a bottle and pour the spirit on it,
stop it close, and let it steep for fourteen days, when it is fit for use.
Proof gin or white rum will serve equally well, but not such as is
generally sold at the gin-shops; this is excellent for ices, creams,
lemonade, &c. In many establishments, where quantities of peel are
thrown away, the cost of this would be comparatively trifling, com-
pared with the price of the inferior oil generally sold.
Essence of Orange. Make as lemon, using only four ounces of the
yellow rind.
Essence of Bergamot. From the peel of the bergamot lemon.
Essence de Cedrat. From the yellow part of the fresh citron peel ;
it may also be obtained by pressing the yellow part of the peel be-
tween two glass plates, and by the distillation of the flowers of the
citron-trer>.
&2 THE CONFECTIONER.
Allspice, Cloves, Cinnamon, or Nutmegs, $~c. Two ounces of spice,
one pint of proof spirit. Bruise the spice, put it into a bottle, stop it
close, let it remain fourteen days, and filter for use.
The oil from nutmegs is often extracted from them by decoction,
before they are brought to the market, and their orifices closed again
with powdered sassafras; this may be ascertained by the lightness of
the nut; if it is punctured with a pin, the oil will be pressed from it
when good. These oils may be obtained by expression or distillation ;
they hold resin in solution, and consequently sink in water. The
essences usually sold are made by adding half an ounce of the pure
oil to one pint of spirits of wine.
Essence of Ginger. The best Jamaica or China ginger two ourees,
proof spirit one pint. Powder the ginger, mix it with the spirit, stop
close, and let it steep for twelve or fourteen days.
This is the same as is sold for " Oxley's concentrated essence of
Jamaica ginger," a mere solution of ginger in rectified spirit
Parish Pharmacologia.
Essence of Peppermint. " A spirituous solution of the essential oil,
coloured green by spinach leaves." Ibid. This essential oil is ob-
tained by distillation. Four pounds of dried leaves yield one ounce.
Essence of Vanilla. Vanilla two ounces, water ten ounces, rectified
spirit three-quarters of an ounce. Cut the vanilJa in small pieces,
and pound it fine in a marble mortar, with loaf sugar (about a pound),
adding the white of an egg and the spirit. Put it into a glazed pot,
tie a piece of writing paper over it, and make a hole in it with a pin;
stand the pot in warm water, keeping it at that heat for twenty-four
hours, then strain for use.
One drachm of this is equal to an ounce of vanilla, and is excellent
for flavouring ices, creams, liqueurs, &c.
Essence of Bitter Almonds. This is obtained by distilling the cake
or residue of the almonds after the oil has been expressed from them.
It is a deadly poison, containing prussic acid, like all other nuts or
leaves, which possess the bitter principle. Flies drop dead when
passing over the still when it is in operation. The essence usually
sold is one ounce of oil to seven ounces of rectified spirit.
SECTION XXI. MERINGUES AND ICING.
Dry Meringues in the form of Eggs. Ten whites of eggs, twelve
ounces of sugar.
Obtain the newest laid eggs, and separate the white from the yolk
very carefully; put the whites into a pan, which must be quite free
from grease; whisk them to a very strong froth so as it will support
an egg, or even a greater weight; have the sugar pounded and sifted
through a lawn sieve, and mix it as lightly as possible; spread some
pieces of board about an inch thick, then with a table or dessert spoon
THE CONFECTIONER. 83
drop them on the paper about two inches asunder, dust them with fine
powdered loaf sugar, blow off all that does not adhere, and put them
into a co' oven to bake until they are a nice light brown ; if the oven
should be too warm, when the surface gets dry or hardened cover
them with paper ; as soon as they are done take them off with a knife,
press the inside or soft part down with the top or the back of a spoon,
place them on sieves, and put them into the stove to dry ; when they
are required to be served fill them with any kind of preserved fruit or
cream, if it is rather acid the better, and put two together.
The quality of the meringues will depend on the eggs being well
whipped to a very strong froth, and also on the quantity of sugar, for
if there is not enough they will eat tough.
[l&sses. Twelve ounces of sugar powdered very fine and passed
through a silk sieve, the whites of six eggs beaten to a strong froth;
mix and lay out on paper, as for dry meringues: when baked, place
two together. The size should be about that of a pigeon's egg.]
Italian Meringues. One pound of sugar, the whites of six eggs?.
Clarify the sugar and boil it to the blow ; in the mean time whip Tjp
the whites as for the last, take the sugar from the fire and rub it a
little against the sides of the pan to grain it ; as soon as it beo-ins to
turn white, mix in the whipped eggs, stirring the sugar well from
the bottom and sides of the pan with the whisk or spatula; lay them
off, and bake as dry meringues ; these may be coloured by adding the
liquid colour to the syrup so as to give the desired tint; and either
of them may be flavoured by rubbing off the peel of oranges, lemons,
or cedrats on sugar, and scraping if off as it imbibes th'e oil ; or it
may be flavoured with vanilla, by cutting it in small pieces and pound-
ing it with some sugar, or with any liqueur by adding a spoonful or
two when you mix the eggs or sugar. They may also be varied in
form, and baked on tin or iron plates instead of wood, that the bottoms
may be quite firm. The tops may be covered with almonds or pis-
tachios, blanched and cut small or in fillets, or with currants, or
coloured sugars; the whole depending on the taste and ingenuity of
the artist.
Mushrooms. To make these, take either of the pastes for merin-
gues or light icing, as for cakes ; put some into a bag in the shape of
a cone, with a tin pipe at the end, the same as used for Savoy bis-
cuits ; lay them off in drops the size you wish them to be, on iron
plates rubbed quite clean and dry, bake them as you would merin-
gues, make also a smaller drop to form the stalk ; when they are
baked, take them off the tin and scoop out a little with your finger
from the bottom near the edge, to form the hollow rough surface
underneath; then dry them in the stove ; scrape some chocolate and
dissolve it in a little warm water, and rub a little over the rough part
underneath ; then place the stalk in the centre, fixing it with a little
icing, and let the flat part which was on the tin be placed outermost
to represent where it was cut.
84 THE CIXNFECTIONEK.
Icing for Wedding or Twelfth Cakes, tyc. Pound, and sift some
treble-refined sugar through a lawn sieve, and put it into an earthen
pan, which must be quite free from grease ; to each pound of sifted
sugar add the whites of three eggs, or sufficient to make it into a
paste of a moderate consistence, then with a wooden spoon or
spatula beat it well, using a little lemon-juice occasionally, and more
white of egg if you find that it will bear it without making it too thin,
until you have a nice light icing, which will hang to the sides of the
pan and spoon ; or, if it is dropped from the spoon, it should remain
on the top without speedily losing the form it assumed. A pan of
icing, when well beat and finished, should contain as much again in
bulk as it was at the commencement: use sufficient lemon-juice to
give the icing a slight acid, or it will scale off the cake in large pieces
when it is cut. Many prefer the pyrol igneous acid to the lemon-
juice, but the flavour is not so del/cate, and it always retains a smell
of the acid; neither did I ever rind, as some assert, that it improves
the quality and appearance of the icing; the only advantage derived
from it is that of economy.
On piping Cakes. Bon-bons, $*c. This is a method of ornamenting
wedding, twelfth-cakes, and other articles with icing, by means of
small pipes or tubes; these are most generally made with writing-
paper folded in the form of a cone, in the same manner as a grocer
makes up his papers for small lots of sugar, tea, &c. The tube is
filled with icing, made as for cakes, the base of the cone, or the place
where it was filled, is turned down to prevent the sides opening, and
the escape of the icing; the point is then cut off with a sharp knife
or scissors, so as to make a hole sufficiently large to form the icing,
when squeezed or pressed out, in a thread of the required size, and
which will either be fine or coarse according to the length of the
point which is cut off. If the hole at the point of the cone is not per-
fectly straight when the icing is pressed out, it will form a spiral
thread, which is very inconvenient to work with. Stars, borders,
flowers, and different devices, are formed on cakes after they are iced,
the execution of which depends on the ability and ingenuity of the
artist. Baskets, Chinese and other temples, &c., are formed on moulds
by these means, first giving them a coating of white wax, which is
brushed over them after it is melted, and when cold, the icing is
formed on it like trellis-work; when finished, the mould is warmed,
and the icing easily comes off. Some of the pipes which are used
cannot be formed with paper, as the tape and star-pipe^, which are
made of tin, having a bag fastened to them in a similar manner to
that generally used for dropping out Savoy biscuits, macaroon?, &c.,
only much smaller, the point of the tin tube of the one being fluted to
form a star, and in the other it is flat, so that when the icing is forced
or squeezed through, it comes out in a broad thin sheet, like a piece
of tape. I employ a set of pipes made of tin, with small bags fastened
to them ; these are of different dimensions ; the orifice of the round
ones commences at the size of a common pin, and the tape pipes from
THE CONFECTIONER. 85
a quarter to half an inch in width. I find these much better than
paper ones, as the trouble and time which is lost in constantly making
new ones is amply repaid by the others, as they are not very expen-
sive and are always ready for use. These pipes should be in the
hands of the confectioner what the pencil or brush is to the painter,
capable of performing wonders with men of genius. Some of the
bon-bons, which may be seen in the shops, are proofs of what I assert;
and many things are so cleverly done, that many persons would be-
lieve that they were either formed in a mould or modelled. I have
not space to enlarge further on this subject, but much more might be
given in explanation; therefore the artist must be guided by his own
genius and fancy.*
SECTION XXII. GUM PASTE.
TAKE one ounce of picked gum-tragacanth ; wash it in water, to
take off any dust or dirt; put it into a clean pot, and pour on it rather
more than half a pint of water, or sufficient to cover the gum about
an inch; stir it frequently, to accelerate the solution; it will take
twenty-four hours to dissolve; then squeeze it out through a coarse
cloth, as directed for lozenges, taking care that everything employed
in the making is very clean, or it will spoil the colour; put it into a
mortar, adding gradually six or eight ounces of treble-refined sugar,
gifted through a lawn sieve; work it well with the pestle, until it is
incorporated and becomes a very white smooth paste; put it into a
glazed pot, cover the paste with a damp cloth, and turn the pot upside-
down on an even surface, to exclude the air. When it is wanted,
take a little of it and put it on a clean marble, and work some more
sugar into it (which has been sifted through a lawn sieve) with the
fingers, until it is a firm pastp, which will break when pulled ; if it is
not stiff enough, it will roll up under the knife when you cut it from
the impressions in your paste-boards; if it is too stiff, work in a little
of your prepared paste with it, to soften it. When your paste works
harsh and cracks, it has too much gum in it ; in tiiis case, use a little
water to work it down ; and if the gum is too thin it will crack, and
dry too soon from the excess of sugar, therefore add some more
strained gum that has not been mixed with su^ar. The same obser
vation also holds good with respect to lozenges. If it is required
coloured, add a little prepared cochineal, or any other colour in fine
powder; mix it on the stone. If they are to be flavoured with any
essence, add it at the same time. This paste is fit to be eaten, and is
the foundation of gum-paste comfits, dragees, &c.
Gum Paste for Ornaments. Take some of the prepared paste, as
* An excellent work for the use of the ornamental confectioner is Page's
u Acanthus," which may be obtained of any bookseller.
8
86 THE CONFECTIONER.
for the last, and work into it on the stone some very fine starch pow-
der, using equal quantities of starch and sugar. This may also be
made with rice flour, instead of starch. These are chiefly used for
pieces montees. It may be moulded or modelled into any form, or
cut out from figures or borders carved in wood, called gum-paste
boards, using a little starch-powder to prevent its sticking whilst
working it; a little tied up in a small muslin bag is the handiest for
use. When you want to get the paste from the impressions in the
boards, take a small piece of paste and press it at each end ; if it does
not corne out very readily, moisten the piece, and touch that in the
impression at three or four places, which, being damp, adheres to it
and draws it out.
Paste fur gilding on. Take some dissolved gum, as before, and
make it into a paste with a little starch-powder to finish it; or it may
be made with some of the prepared sugar gum-paste, finishing it with
starch-powder.
Papier Mdchee. Take the cuttings of either white or brown paper,
and boi! them in water until reduced to a paste; press the water
from it when cold enough, and pound it well in a mortar; put it into
a pan or glazed pipkin, with a little gum Arabic, Senegal, or com-
mon glue, made into rather a thick mucilage with water; this is to
give it tenacity; place it on the fire and stir it until well incorpo-
rated ; if it is not stiff enough when cold, flour may be added to make
it of the proper consistence ; it should be about the same substance as
gum paste. This may be used for forming the rocks of a piece mon-
tee, or for vases, cassolettes, &c. ; in fact anything you desire may be
made with it, as with gum paste; it is very durable, not being easily
broken, and is very light; it is now much used, instead of compo-
sition, for the decorations of rooms and articles of furniture. It is
fiom this that paper trays, snuffboxes, &c., are manufactured, and it
is much used in France for making various beautiful little ornaments
for containing bon-bons, &c. It may be moulded or modelled into any
form, or cut from impressions in wood or plaster, &c. When the
object is dry, give it a coating of composition, made with parchment
size, and whitening or lamp-black, mixed to the consistence of oil
paint, according to the colour it is required. Smooth it with glass
paper, and paint or gild as wood, or japan~it.*
To gild Gum Paste, $"c. Those articles which are gilt are seldom
intended to be eaten, therefore first give them a coating of parchment
size and whitening, as the papier machee, or paint them with oil
colour. When this is dry, brush over a coat of gold size, and let it
remain until nearly dry, or so as it will stick to the fingers a little :
then take a small dry brush, termed by gilders a tip, rub a little
* For farther particulars, and for the method of taking- the impressions
of moulds with composition, see the ' Guide to Trade The Carver and
Gilder,' Knight & Co., p. 53.
THE CONFECTIONER. 8?
grease over the back of your hand, and pass the brush over it gently ;
apply it to the gold leaf, which it will take up, and place it on the
part you intend to gild ; blow on it to make it smooth ; the gold leaf
may first be divided into small pieces with a knife on a leather pad or
cushion, to suit the size of your work ; rub it over gently with a piece
of wool, to make it appear glossy. Those parts which have not taken
the gold, just breathe on, then apply a small piece of the leaf, and rub
again with the wool. If your piece is intended to be eaten, let the
paste be perfectly dry and smooth; then prepare some mucilage of
gum Arabic, strain it, and grind it well with an equal portion of white
sugar candy ; lay it over the part you intend to gild with a stiff
brush ; when dry, breathe on it, so as to moisten it, and gild as
before.
To Bronze Gum Pasle. Prepare your object, if not to be eaten, as
for gilding, giving it a coat of invisible green, prepared with turpen-
tine, a little japan gold size, and a small portion of oil ; when it is
nearly dry, dip a fitch pencil in some bronze powder, shake off the
loose pieces which hang about the brush, and apply it to the parts you
wish to assume the appearance of copper, which are in general the
most prominent.
Another method. Smooth your finger with sand-paper, and give it
a coat of isinglass dissolved, or parchment size; when this is dry,
give it a coat of colour made as follows : Take a sufficient quantity
of prepared indigo, with verditer blue, and a little spruce ochre or
saffron, in such proportions as to make a deep green ; grind them to-
gether with white of egg and powdered sugar-candy, or with parch-
ment size; give it a coat of this, and when nearly dry apply the
bronze as before.
On Ihe Construction of rfssiettes and Pieces Montees. To be a profi-
cient in this part requires a general knowledge of the fine arts, par-
ticularly the principles of architecture ; for without this, however well
your piece may be finished with regard to workmanship, it still re-
mains a dull, heavy, unmeaning mass, having no proportion nor a
particle of true design in it. I have seen many pieces, and some in
the principal shops, with these defects, although otherwise well exe-
cuted. My limits will not allow me to enter into the details neces-
sary to illustrate this part, therefore the artist must refer to books on
the subject; but in the absence of these it is best to work from some
correct drawing, which, with the few notes I shall subjoin, may serve
for general purposes.
There are many prevailing styles or orders of architecture, as the
Egyptian, Grecian, Roman, Saxon, Norman, Gothic, &c. The Gothic
is the most beautiful, being pointed, and is generally used for cathe-
drals and churches. The Norrnan is plain and simple, with semi-
circular arches. The Saxon is after the same style, into which are
introduced some ornamental workings. The Egyptian is more flat
and square, embellished with hieroglyphics. In the Grecian and
S8 THE CONFECTIONER.
Roman architecture there are five orders, viz., Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian, and Composite ; and a building may be denominated Ionic,
Corinthian, &c., merely from its ornaments. The number of columns,
windows, &c., may be the same in either order, but varied in their pro-
portions. The height of the columns in each is, for the Tuscan,
seven times its diameter; Doric, eight; Ionic, nine; Corinthian, ten;
Composite, ten. The Tuscan is quite plain, without any ornament
whatever; the Doric is distinguished by the channels and projecting
intervals in the frieze, called tryglyphs; the Ionic by the ornaments
of its capital, which are spiral, and called volutes ; the Corinthian by
the superior height of its capital, and its being ornamented with
leaves, which support very small volutes; the Composite has also a
tall capital, with leaves, but is distinguished from the Corinthian by
having the large volutes of the Ionic capital. The Grecian and
Roman orders differ in some respects as to the style of each, but for
particulars refer to works on the subject. These orders are adopted
for buildings, with various modifications, in most parts of the world.
The Chinese have a peculiar kind of style, which needs no descrip-
tion, as it is generally represented in this country on our delft ware,
&c. The Swiss style, which is something of the Gothic, is very well
adapted for pieces montees, as well as the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
orders, they being more light and elegant.
Of Pieces Montees. These are in general made to represent build-
ings of all descriptions, fountains, trophies, vases, cups, helmets, the
last being generally mounted on pedestals and filled wiih flowers,
fruit, &c. ; also rocks, bridges, fortifications, &c. &c., the building, &c.,
being" generally made with gum-paste, confectioners' or almond pastes.
The bodies of rocks may be formed with pieces of rock sugar, cakes,
biscuits, &c., of all descriptions, being fixed together with caramel
sugar; those not intended to be eaten may be made with papier rn-
chee and common gum-paste ; the rocks or bottoms of these are often
formed with pieces of cork, flocks, and paper, the surface being
afterwards covered with a coating of very thin icing, which is applied
with a brush.
To construct your pieces with accuracy, first cut out your intended
design in stout paper, in suitable parts to be put together ; then roll
out the paste thin on a marble stone; lay your pattern on it, and cut
your paste to it with a small sharp-pointed knife; let it dry, and fix
it together with some dissolved gum, or a little gum-paste made rather
thin with water. Cut your ornaments or decorations from paste-
boards; let them dry a few minutes, and fix them in their proper
places. Water may be represented with a piece of looking-glass, and
falling water with silver web or spun glass.
Biscuit Paste to imitate Marble Rocks, <^"c, for Pieces Moniees. -
Prepare some paste as for Savoy cakes (see p. 94); take one-third
of the mixture, and add to it some dissolved chocolate; stir the whole
well together, and divide into two equal portions; to one part add
some more of the mixture, when you will have a light and dark
THE CONFECTIONER. 89
brown; mix together some prepared cochineal or carmine and infu
sion of saffron, to make a dark orange, and stir this into another por-
tion of paste; divide it, and add to one part some more of the paste,
which will give a light and dark orange ; butter or paper a square
tin, and put in a spoonful of each coloured paste in rotation, spread-
ing it with the spoon so as it may appear in layers, beginning with
the dark colours, and so alternately until the whole is used ; or one-
half of each may be put into another tin, and mixed all together, so
that it may appear in veins ; bake it in a moderate oven, and when
cold cut it into pieces as it is required, to represent pieces of rock,
marble, &c. For variety, the paste may be coloured with spinach
green, infusion of saffron, red, and blue, and either put in layers or
mixed together as before.
Pate d'Office, or Confectioners 1 Paste. Take one pound and a
quarter of fine flour, and ten ounces of loaf sugar sifted through a
fine sieve; make a bay, and put in it a sufficient quantity of the yolks
or whites of eggs, or whole eggs, to make it into a moderate stiff
paste; work it well, and make it quite smooth; let it remain covered
over for a short time, that it may get mellow. If this paste is re-
quired white and delicate, use the whites only of the eggs. This ia
used for the frame-work or building of the pieces montees, or for the
bottom or foundation on which you build your biscuits, sugar, &c.
Roll it out on an even board or marble slab until it is about one-sixth
of an inch in thickness, or more, according to the weight it has to
bear. Dust your sheet, and roll it on the pin ; then lay or roll it over
a baking-plate slightly buttered; press out any air-bladders which
may be underneath, and prick it with the point of a sharp-pointed
knife' in a few places ; lay on your patterns, cut it out to the desired
form, and bake in a moderate oven ; or it may be cut out when the
paste is half baked, and finish baking it afterwards ; or it may be
dried in the stove instead of being baked. If it should be blistered
when it is taken from the oven, put it immediately on an even board,
and place another on it ; remove it when it is cold, and it will be
quite straight.
This paste may be made with the addition of half an ounce of dis-
solved gum-dragon, pounding it well in a mortar, and using less eggs.
Each of these may be coloured to any desired tint, when it should be
dried in a stove instead of being baked. Fix the parts together, when
finished, with some of the same paste made thin with dissolved gum,
or with caramel sugar; ornament it with spun sugar, or with coloured
sugar-sands. (See Coloured Sugar).
From this paste, or almond paste, may be made cottages, temples,
fountains, pyramids, castles, bridges, hermits'-cells, vases, or any
other required forms, which are to be made in different pieces and put
together afterwards, or formed in moulds, and either baked or dried
in the stove.
JJsslettes Montees, or dressed plates. These are composed of pieces
8*
90 THE CONFECTIONER.
of wire of different sizes to suit the dimensions of the piece, which
is bound round with silver or tissue paper, and fastened with paste.
These wires, after they are fashioned to the desired figure, are fixed
with binding wire, and the whole is finished with stout Bristol-board
or card paper, ornamented gold borders and papers, and decorated
with gum paste. They are placed in the centre of the table, with
bon-bons, &c.
On Modelling. This art is most important to the confectioner. It
is not so difficult to accomplish as is generally supposed ; it only re-
quires patience and perseverance, with a close attention to the pro-
portions and orders of nature. A few modelling tools, and facility in
handling the paste, is all that is requisite to become an expert model-
ler. The form of the body must first be made with the fingers, the
more minute parts with the tools and a pair of scissors; the last is
very useful for dividing the fingers on the hands and the toes of a
human figure. The proportions necessary to form it are these: the
whole length of a human being is six times the length of his feet,
eight times of his head (that is, from the crown to the chin), ten
times of his face, or the distance from the crown to the mouth; the
thumb is as long as the nose or the biggest joint of the middle finger;
the fore finger is shorter than the third, and the little finger is shorter
than the third by one joint ; the width of the wrist is as long as the
thumb, end about a quarter; this varies; the ear is also the length
of the nose, its breadth half its length; the arm is three times the
length of the head, or four faces; the leg, from the knee-joint to the
bottom of the foot, measures two heads and a-half ; the foot, which is
one-sixth of the human stature, if divided into three parts, will con-
tain first the toes from the top of the large one to the lowest joint of
the little one ; next the middle of the foot, and lastly the heel and
instep. There is also a slight difference between the proportions of a
male and female. In infancy and very early youth the form is very
much alike in both sexes. The head is oval, very much extended
backwards, with the forehead and top of the head comparatively flat ;
the jaw-bones are short and have little depth ; the bones of the nose
are short and flat ; in the male subject, the elevation of the frontal
sinuses at the eyebrows, which characterizes the male head, is want-
ing ; and the neck is very small in proportion to the head. In old age
the cheeks and mouth fall in, because of the wasting of the teeth;
the nose and chin approach each other ; the fat is absorbed, and the
muscles shrink, which covers the surface with wrinkles ; and in time,
the bones too are wasted, and the figure bends beneath its own
weight. With these directions proceed to model the human figure,
referring to anatomical plates for the position of the muscles, &c.
When the figure is complete, proceed to dress it in any style or cos-
tume you may fancy, making it from the same paste, and colouring
it, giving the figure any attitude you may think proper, but always
prefer the graceful, avoiding the stiff' and awkward. The modelling
of animals and birds is on the same principle, the wings of the latter
THE CONFECTIONER.
91
being pushed or cut in moulds or pasteboards. Flowers are mostly
done with cutters in the form of the leaf of the flowers you would
wish to represent ; form the calyx in a mould, and fasten it on a piece
of wire ; fix the leaves on the calyx to imitate nature, and colour
them accordingly.
1.
2.
4.
92 THE CONFECTIONER.
Modelling Tools. No. 1 is termed the rose-stick, the thin flat end
being used for forming the leaves of roses out of modelling wax by
flattening a piece of it on a table until it is of the required form and
size ; the other end is used for fluting and making borders.
No. 2 is by some termed a foot tool, being used for forming the
edges and borders to wax baskets, the circular end being necessary
for working underneath any part, or circular mouldings, and also for
the paws of animals.
No. 3. The curved thin end is used as a cutting tool, and for the
formation of leaves ; and the opposite end for fluting.
No. 4 serves as a gouge, and is used in the formation of leaves for
flowers.
The curves of each tool are also requisite for different purposes in
modelling, and for forming the raised and depressed parts in the
human figure, animals, &c. They should be made of beech, as it
relieves better when used about fat or modelling wax. There are
many others, but these will be found quite sufficient for most purposes,
with the dotting or pointing tool, which a common skewer, or piece
of round pointed stick will supply its place. The tool usually made
for this purpose has a concave or semicircular hollow at the thick end,
for making beading, or else with a flat round end, similar to a tam-
bour needle; the last being used for working up the leaves of roses,
&c., in the hollow of the hand, when they are made of gum-paste.
Modelling Wax. This is made of white wax, which is melted and
mixed with lard to make it malleable. In working it, the tools and
the board or stone are moistened with water to prevent its adhering ;
it may be coloured to any desired tint with dry colour.
SECTION XXII. ON COLOURS.
MANY of the colours prepared for use in this art come more pro-
perly under the denomination of dyes, alum and cream of tartar
being used as a mordant ; and many of them are prepared in the
same manner as for dyeing. One of the principal colours requisite
for the confectioner's use is coccinella, or cochineal. The sorts gene-
rally sold are the black, silver, foxy, and the granille. The insect is
of two species, the fine and the wild cochineal; the fine differs from
the wild in size, and is also covered with a white mealy powder. The
best is of a deep mulberry colour, with a white powder between the
wrinkles, and a bright red within. A great deal of adulteration is
practised with this article, both at home and abroad ; it is on this
account that persons prefer the silver grain, because it cannot be so
well sophisticated. Good cochineal should be heavy, dry, and more
or less of a silvery colour, and without smell.
To prepare Cochineal Pound an ounce of cochineal quite fine,
and put it into a pint of river water with a lit.tle potash or soda, and
THE CONFECTIONER. 93
let it boil; then add about a quarter of an ounce powdered alum, the
same of cream of tartar, and boil for ten minutes; if it is required for
keeping, add two or three ounces of powdered loaf sugar.
Carmine. Reduce one ounce of cochineal to a fine powder, add to
it six quarts of clear rain or filtered water, as for cochineal. Put this
into a large tin saucepan, or a copper one tinned, and let it boil for
three minutes, then 'add twenty-five grains of alum, and let it boil
two minutes longer; take it off the fire to cool; when it is blood
warm pour off the clear liquor into shallow vessels, and put them by
to settle for two days, covering them with paper to keep out the dust.
In case the carmine has not separated properly, add a few drops of a
solution of tin, or a solution of green vitriol, which is tin dissolved in
muriatic acid, or the following may be substituted: one ounce and a
half of spirit of nitre, three scruples of sal-ammoniac, three scruples
of tin dissolved in a bottle, and use a few drops as required. When
the carmine has settled, decant off the clear which is liquid rouge.
The first sediment is Florence lake, which remove, and dry the
carmine for use. This preparation is by far superior to the first, for
in this the same colour is obtained as before, which is the liquid rouge,
the other and more expensive parts being invariably thrown away.
The carmine can be obtained by f .he first process, as can be seen if
the whole is poured into a cleai oottle and allowed to settle, when
the carmine will be deposited in a layer of bright red near the
bottom. It produces about half an ounce of carmine.
Yellow. Infuse saffron in warm water, and use it for colouring
any thing that is eatable. The English hay-saffron is the best ; it is
taken from the tops of the pistils of the crocus flower ; it is fre-
quently adulterated with the flowers of marygolds or safflower, which
is known as the bastard saffron, and is pressed into thin cakes with
oil. Good saffron has a strong agreeable odour, and an aromatic taste.
Gum paste and other articles which are not eaten may be coloured
with gamboge dissolved in warm water.
Prussian Blue may be used instead of indigo, if preferred, but must
be used sparingly.
Sap Green. This is prepared from the fruit of the buckthorn, and
is purgative.
Spinach Green. This is perfectly harmless and will answer most
purposes. Wash and drain a sufficient quantity of spinach, pound it
well in a mortar, and squeeze the pounded leaves in a coarse cloth to
extract all the juice; put it in a pan and set it on a good fire, and stir
it occasionally until it curdles, which will be when it is at the boiling
point; then take it off and strain off the water with a fine sieve; the
residue left is the green; dry it and rub it through a lawn sieve.
This is only fit for opaque bodies, such as ices, creams, or syrups.
Another green is made with a mixture of saffron or gamboge, and
prepared indigo; the lighter the green the more yellow must be used.
94 THE CONFECTIONER.
Vermilion and Cinnabar are preparations of mercury, and should
never be used ; they are of a lively red colour, but carmine will
answer most purposes instead.
Bole Ammoniac. There is also the French and German bole. These
earths are of a pale red, and possess alexipharmic qualities; they are
frequently used in confectionary for painting and gilding.
Umber. This is of a blackish brown colour; it is an earth found
near Cologne.
Bistre. This is an excellent light brown colour prepared from wood
soot.
These browns are harmless, but sugar may be substituted for them
to any shade required by continuing the boiling after it has passed the
degree of caramel until it is burnt, when it gives a black-brown, but
water may be mixed with it so as to lessen the shades. Dissolved
chocolate may also be substituted in some cases for the brown colours.
Black. Blue-black is powdered charcoal, or ivory black, which is
obtained from the smoke of burnt ivory; but bone black is generally
substituted instead ; either of these may be used, but are only required
for painting gum paste, when not intended to be eaten.
Obtain any of these colours in fine powder, and mix them with
some dissolved gum Arabic, a little water, and a pinch of powdered
sugar candy; mix them to the required consistence for painting. For
sugars they must be used in a liquid state, and be added before it has
attained the proper degree; it may also be used in the same manner
for ices, creams, &c., and for icings it can be used either way.
THE SHADES PRODUCED BY A MIXTURE OF COLOURS.
Purple. Mix carmine or cochineal, and a small portion of indigo.
Lilac. The same, making the blue predominate.
Orange. Yellow, with a portion of red.
Gold. The same, but the yellow must be more in excess.
Lemon. Use a solution of saffron.
Green. Blue and yellow.
SECTION XXIII. DISTILLATION.
THIS art is of great importance to a confectioner, as it enables him
to make his own oils, waters, and spirits for liqueurs and ratafias,
instead of purchasing at a high rate those vile adulterations which
are often sold.
The still or apparatus for distilling consists of a cucurbit, which is
a copper pot or boiler, and contains the wash, dregs, or infusions to
be distilled. A cover, with a large tapering neck or pipe in the cen
tre, is fixed on, and a continuation of small pipe, made either of tin
THE CONFECTIONER. 95
or pewter, of several feet in length, is bent into a spiral form, and
termed the worm. This is placed in a tub containing water, which
is fastened on to the end of the neck. The joints or crevices are
luted, to prevent evaporation, with a paste made of linseed meal, or
equal portions of slacked lime or whitening, flour and salt, moistened
with water, and spread on rags or pieces of bladder, when it is applied
to the joints and crevices. The water in the tub where the worm is
should be kept quite cold, except in distilling oil of anise-seeds ; and
for this purpose a tap or cock should be placed about half-way down
the tub, that the top of the water may be drawn off when it is warm.
Again fill it with cold water, and keep coarse cloths dipped in cold
water to put round the alembic or still in case it should boil too fast.
It is by these means that the steam or vapour which rises with the
heat is condensed, and runs out at the end of the pipe in a small stream.
If the operation is well conducted, it should never exceed this. When
the phlegm arises, which is a watery insipid liquor, the receiver must
be withdrawn, for if a drop of it should run in, it must be cohobated,
that is, re-distilled, as it will thicken the spirit and spoil the taste.
The still should not be rilled above three parts full, to prevent it
rising over the neck, should it happen to boil violently, as in this case
it would spoil what is already drawn, which must be re-distilled.
ON ESSENTIAL OILS.
To obtain these from plants or peels, the articles should be infused
for two or three days, or even longer, in a sufficient quantity of cold
water, until it has fully penetrated the pores of the materials. Foi
this purpose roots should be cut into thin slices, barks reduced to a
coarse powder, and seeds slightly bruised ; those of soft and loose
texture require to be infused two or three days, the harder and more
compact a week or two, whilst, some tender herbs and plants require
to be distilled directly. After the solvent has fully penetrated, distil
it with an open fire ; that is, a fire under the still like a common
washing copper, which immediately strikes the bottom. Regulate
the fire so as to make it boil as speedily as possible, and that the oil
may continue to distil freely during the whole process; for the longer
it is submitted to an unnecessary heat without boiling, a greater por-
tion of the oil is mixed with the water than there would otherwise be.
The oil comes over the water, and either sinks to the bottom or
swims on the top, according as it is lighter or heavier than that fluid.
What comes over at first is more fragrant than that towards the end,
which is thicker, and should be re-distilled by a gentle heat, when it
leaves a resinous matter behind.
All essential oils, after they are distilled, should be suffered to stand
some days in open bottles or vessels, loosely covered with paper to
keep out the dust, until they have lost their disagreeable fiery odour,
and become quite limpid : put them into small bottles, and keep them
90 THE COiSTFECTIOlNEK.
quite full in a cold place. The light oils pass over the swan neck of
the common still, but the heavier ones will not so readily, therefore a
large low head is preferable ; the heavier oils are those from cloves,
allspice, cinnamon, &e., or such as contain a portion of resin.
Some plants yield three times as much oil, if gathered when the
flowers begin to fall off, as lavender; others when young, before
they have sent forth any flowers, as sage ; and others when the
flowers begin to appear, as thyme.
All fragrant herbs yield a large portion of oil when produced in
dry soils ^snd warm summers. Herbs and flowers give out a larger
quantity of oil after they have been partly dried in a dry shady place.
Four pounds of the leaves of the dried mint yield one ounce of oil,
but six pounds of fresh leaves only three drachms and a-half. This
oil is more fine and bright when rectified that is, re-distilled.
After the distillation of one oil, the worm should be carefully
cleansed, by passing a little spirit of wine through it, before another
is proceeded with.
A great quantity of oil is wasted by confectioners when they pre-
serve their lemon and orange peels by boiling them in open vessels
instead of a still ; what is saved by this means alone would soon repay
the expense of the apparatus.
DISTILLED WATERS.
These are obtained in a similar manner to the oils, with a high
narrow-necked still, and differ from them by the oil being retained or
united with the water. Plants for this purpose should be gathered
fresh on a dry day, as the water drawn from them in this state is
more aromatic when they are dry ; for the oil is mixed with an aque-
ous fluid in the plant, which concretes and separates in drying.
Herbs should be bruised and steeped for a day in about three times
their quantity of water when green, but considerably more when dry ;
but at all times sufficient water should be added that some may be
left to prevent the herbs or flowers being burnt to the bottom of the
still. After all the water is drawn, the distillation should continue
so long as any taste or smell of the ingredients comes over ; and the
fire should be so regulated that the water may run in a small con-
tinued stream.
If a superior article is required, it must be re-distilled by a gentle
heat, with the addition of a little pure spirit (about one-twentieth
part) which has not got any bad smell.
Orange-Flower Water. The leaves of orange flowers three pounds,
water three pints.
Rose Water. As orange flower, using either the damask or pale
single rose. Neither the purgative quality of the damask, nor the
astringent quality of red roses, rises in distillation, but is contained in
the water left in the still.
THE CONFECTIONER. 97
Cinnamon Wai.tr. Cinnamon one pound, water two gallons.
Bruise or break the spice, and infuse it in water for two days. Some
consider it sufficient to simmer the spice in the still for half an hour,
putting back what comes over, and filtering the whole when cold
through a flannel bag or blotting paper.
Peppermint Water. Dried herb one pound and a half, or green
herb three pounds, to a gallon of water.
Lemon-Peel Water. Two pounds of fresh peel to the gallon.
Black-Cherry Water. Twelve pounds of ripe fruit to a gallon of
water. Bruise the fruit in a mortar so as to break the stones, that
the flavour of the kernel may be obtained.
Angelica, star, anise-seed, caraway, lavender, rosemary, myrtle,
vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, and all other waters, are made in the
same manner; the first half of the water which comes over is the best
and strongest.
SPIRITS FOR LIQUEURS.
Spirits and alcohol are obtained by the distillation of fermented
articles. The peculiar taste of each depends on the essential oil of
the article from which it is prepared being held in solution : there-
fore, by knowing the nature of its oil, alcohol may be made to imitate
any desired spirit. A few drops of nitric ether added to malt spirit
will impart to it the flavour of cognac brandy ; and two scruples of
benzoic acid, mixed with one quart of rum, will give it the taste of
arrack. Brandy is generally recommended for the use of the confec-
tioner in making spirits for liqueurs, but a superior article may be
made with less expense from rectified spirits of wine, or pure spirit
which has neither taste nor smell, as the spirit afterwards drawn will
only have the flavour of the articles with which it is required to be
impregnated. Rectified spirits may be obtained from the dregs of
beer, cider, ale or wine, suitable for any purpose, as well as from
brandy.
Spirits rise in the still with less heat than watery infusions, there-
fore it is best to distil by means of the bain-marie, that is, by the still
being placed in another vessel containing water. This method is
more safe, as it prevents accidents, and the articles from being burnt.
Common spirits may be deprived of their impurities by mixing them
with an equal quantity of water, and distilling them by a gentle heat,
or in a water-bath. Continue the operation until the phlegm arises,
which will appear milky and is of a nauseous taste. A great quan-
tity of the oil which it retained will remain in the water. If the
spirit was very impure, a second rectification may be necessary, as
before. A very pure and tasteless spirit may be obtained by mixing
with the spirit, after rectification, one-fourth of its weight of pure dry
salt of wormwood or tartar. Let it stand a little time in a gentle heat,
and distil in the bain-marie, A small portion of alum being added,
9
98 THE COTS T FECTIONEK.
prevents any of the salt being brought over with the spirit. The
result is pure alcohol. It may be reduced to proof spirit by mixing
twenty ounces of alcohol with seventeen of water, by weight.
Distilled Spirituous Waters for Liqueurs. Orange, rose, pink, jes-
samine, ami all other flowers, are made by adding eight pounds of
the leaves or petals of the flowers to a gallon of pure proof spirit.
Put them in a cold cellar or ice-house to infuse for a week. Distil in
the bain-marie to drynes?. If they are distilled on an open gentle
lire, water should be added to the articles when they are put on tht
fire, so as to prevent their being burnt.
Lavender, mint, rosemary, angelica, the yellow rind of lemon an(^
orange peels, and bergamot, lemon, vanilla, ginger, and orris-root for
violet, and other herbs, are made by adding two pounds of the plant,
&c., partly dried, to a gallon of pure proof spirit. Let it steep in a
jar close covered for twelve or fourteen days in a cool place, and dis-
til in the bain-marie. Myrtle and balm-we/ma?, one pound to the gal-
lon. If any of the waters appear rather turbid when they are first
drawn, they will become clear and bright by standing a few days.
Filter them through blotting paper-placed in a glass or earthenware
funnel over a bottle to receive them.
Strawberries, raspberries, &c., sixteen pounds to the gallon.
Cinnamon, coriander, caraways, cloves, &c., are made by adding
one pound of the bruised seed or spice to the gallon of proof spirit.
Cardamoms four ounces, nutmegs and mace three ounces to the gallon.
Hungary Water, or jlqua Reginse. Fresh gathered rosemary flow-
ers in full bloom, four pounds to the gallon of pure proof spirit. It
may also be made with the addition of one pound of each of marjo-
ram and lavender flowers, and two quarts more of spirit. Distil im-
mediately. Half a pound of sage leaves, and two ounces of ginger,
are recommended as an excellent addition by foreign writers.
Maraschino de Zara. Morello cherries nine pounds, black wild
cherries seven pounds, or sixteen pounds of Morello cherries,* one
pint and a-quarter of Kirchenwasser, spirit of roses one ounce and
a-half, spirit of orange flowers one ounce and a-half, of jessamine a
quarter of an ounce, peach or cherry leaves one pound and a-quarter ;
pick the stalks from the cherries and press out their juice, pound the
stones and skins with the leaves in a mortar, and steep all together
for a fortnight, some only filter the infusion, and add to it four
pounds and a-half of treble-refined sugar; dissolve and strain through
a jelly-bag ; but a superior spirit may be obtained by the addition of
four quarts of rectified proof spirit; distil with the bain-marie, and
rectify.
* Genuine Maraschino is the spirit of Morello cherries, as Kirchen-
wasser is of black cherries, Maraschino may also be made from goose-
berries. Ripe gooseberries 102 pounds; black cherry leaves bruised, 12
pounds ; ferment a? Kirehenwasser ; distil and rectify it.
THE CONFECTIONER. 'J9
Kirchenwa^er. Get some small black cherries and a few Morello
cherries quite ripe, take off their stalks and put them in a cask with
the head off, cover the top or surface of the cherries with mortar or
wood ashe;? mixed to a consistence with water, let them stand for six
week? or two months, during which time they will ferment, then
take off the covering and distil them.
Eau Divine. Essence of bergamont and lemon, of each one
drachm, rectified spirit one gallon, fresh balm leaves two ounces;
distil with the bain-marie; add orange-flower water five ounces. The
liquor is made by adding to this four pounds of treble refined sugar
dissolved in two gallons of water.
Eau de Cologne. Spirit of rosemary two quarts, essence of berga-
rnot four ounces, balm water two quarts, essence of cedrats and citrons
four ounces, neroli two drachms, rosemary two ounces, spirits of wine
ten quarts; draw fourteen quarts.
Balm water two pints and a-quarter, spirit of rosemary three pounds
and a-half, oil of rosemary one drachm, essence of lemon three
drachms, of cedrats two drachms, of neroli two drachms and a-half,
of bergarnot three druchms, rectified spirit twelve pounds, distil in
the bain-marie, and keep in a cool place for some time.
Curasao. This is a species of wild or bitter orange ; the dried
peel may be obtained from the chemists ; the yellow peel of Seville
oranges, dried and powdered, will answer as well; use one pound to
the gallon of rum or rectified spirit, and distil as the others.
Eau de Melisse des Carmes. Spirit of balm eight pints, spirit of
lemon and citron four pints; spirit of nutmegs, musk, and coriander,
of each two pints, spirit of thyme, cinnamon, anise-seed, marjoram,
hyssop, green-verdigris, or the vitriol of iron, sage, angelica-root, and
cloves, of each one pint; distil, and keep in an ice-house for twelve
months. Supposed to be the original recipe of the barefooted Car-
melites, now in possession of the Company of Apothecaries of Paris.
Tlte English Method. Fresh bairn leaves four ounces, fresh lemon-
peel two ounces (the yellow rind), coriander seeds and nutmegs, of
each one ounce, angelica-root, cinnamon, and cloves, of each half an
ounce, rectified spirit two pounds, brandy two pounds, powder the dry
ingredients, and steep the whole in a close vessel with the spirit for
four or five days. Two pints of rectified spirit and one pint of balm-
water may be used instead of the spirit and brandy; distil in the
bain-marie nearly to dryness; re-distil and keep it for some time in a
cold cellar or ice-house. This is an elegant and beautiful cordial.
Spirit if Coffee. One pound of the best Mocha coffee, fresh roasted
and ground, add to it one gallon of rectified proof spirit, let it infuse
for a week, and distil in the bain-marie.
Spirit of bitter Jttmonds. One pound of blanched almonds, one
gallon of proof spirit ; pound the almonds quite fine with a little
water, to prevent their oiling, add them to the spirit with an ounce
THE CONFECTIONER.
of bruised angelica-root, steep for a week, and distil in the bain-
marie.
Spirit of Tea. Four ounces of the best tea to a gallon of rectified
proof spirit, pour a little cold water on the tea and let it infuse for
three or four hours, add it to the spirit, and distil it in a week.
Escubac Usquebaugh. Saffron one ounce, catechu three ounces,
ambergris ha!f a grain, dates without their kernels, and raisins, each
three ounce?, jujubes six ounces, anise-seed, cloves, mace, and cori
ander seed one drachm, cinnamon two drachms, proof spirit six quarts,
pound the ingredients, infuse for a week and distil. The whole of
these spirituous distilled waters are for making 1 liquors and for fla-
vouring ices, liqueurs, bon-bons, drops, &c., or anything in which
liquors are introduced.
LIQUEURS.
These are made by mixing equal proportions of any of the spirits,
water, and sugar together, that is, one pint of spirit, one pint of
water, one pound of the treble-refined sugar; dissolve the sugar in
the water, add it to the spirit, and filter through blotting-paper ; being
perfectly clear and colourless when drawn, they require to be coloured
of the same tint as the articles from which they were extracted, and
for this purpose none but those which are perfectly harmless should
be employed, as prepared cochineal, infusion of saffron, burnt sugars
or indigo.
RATAFIAS.
These are liqueurs made by the infusion of the ingredients in spi-
rits, and are similarly composed to the spirituous wafers, but instead
of being distilled they are simply filtered, and sugar is added to them.
Ratafia- de Cafe. Fresh roasted Mocha coffee ground, one pound,
proof spirit one gallon, loaf sugar one pound and a. half; infuse for a
week, string it every other day, filter, bottle, and cork close.
Ratafia de Cacao. Cacao of Caracca one pound, West India cocoa
nuts eight ounces, proof spirit one gallon, roast the nuts and bruise
them, add them to the spirit and infuse for fourteen days, stirring
them occasionally, filter and add thirty drops of essence of vanilla
and two pounds of sugar.
Ratafia des Noyaux. Haifa pound of bitter almonds, half a pound
of sweet almonds, proof spirit one gallon, (peach or apricot kernels
may be used instead of the bitter almonds), three pounds of loaf sugar;
beat the almonds fine with part of the sugar, steep the whole together
for twelve or fourteen days, and filter; this liqueur will be much im-
proved if rectified spirit is reduced to proof with the juice of apricots
or peaches.
flit; CONFECTIONER. 1U1
Ratafia of Cherries. Moreilo cherries eight pounds, black cherries
eight pounds, raspberries and" red or white currants of each two
pounds, coriander-seeds three ounces, cinnamon half an ounce, mace
halt' an ounce, proof spirit one gallon ; press out the juice from the
fruit, take one-half of the stones of the cherries and pound them with
the spices, and add two pounds and a half of sugar, steep for a month
and filter.
Ratafia des Cassis. Ripe black currants six pounds, cloves half a
drachm, cinnamon one drachm, black currant leaves one pound and a
half, Moreilo cherries two pounds, sugar five pounds, proof spirit eight
quarts; bruise the spice, infuse a fortnight, filter, and bottle.
Ratafia of Raspberries. Raspberries quite ripe eight pounds, proof
spirit one gallon, quarter of an ounce of cinnamon and cloves, steep
for fourteen days, stirring it occasionally. Currants and strawberries
are made the same.
Ratafia des F/eurs des Oranges. Fresh orange-flowers two pounds,
proof spirit one gallon, sugar two pounds; infuse for eight or ten
hours.
Ratafia d'CEillets. The petals of clove pinks, with the white parts
pulled oft', four pounds, cinnamon and cloves twenty-five grains, proof
spirit one gallon, sugar three pounds. Infuse for a month, filter, and
bottle.
Ratafia tfJlngeliquK. Angelica seeds one ounce, angelica stalks
four ounces, bitter almonds four ounces, one drachm each of cinnamon
and cloves, proof spirit six quarts, loaf sugar four pounds Blanch
and pound the almonds with some of the sugar, or a little water;
pound the other ingredients a little, and bruise the stalks. Infuse for
a month, stirring it occasionally. Filter and bottle.
Vespetro. Coriander seed one ounce, angelica seed two ounces,
fennel and anise-seed of each two drachms, two lemons, two oranges,
the zest of two citrons, two quarts of rectified spirit and two pounds
of sugar, caraway seeds four grains. Bruise the ingredients, pare
off the yellow rind of the lemons and orange?, and squeeze the juice.
Dissolve the sugar in a pint of water. Infuse the whole together for
fourteen days. Strain, filter, and bottle.
Chreme de Barbade. The yellow rind of three oranges and three
lemons, cinnamon four ounces, mace two drachms, cloves one drachm,
rum nine quarts, fresh balm leaves six ounce?. Infuse and distil in
the bain-marie, or strain; add an equal quantity of sugar with water
Chreme cT Orange. Thirty-six sweet oranges, sliced, tincture 1 of
saffron one ounce and four drachms, orange-flower water four pints,
rectified spirits two gallons, water eighteen quarts, loaf t-ugar eigh-
teen pounds. Dissolve the sugar in the water: mix the other articles
and infuse for a fortnight. Filter and bottle.
Ratafia d'finis. Star anise-seed four ounce?, proof spirit one gal-
9*
102 THE CONFECTIONER.
Ion. Infuse for a fortnight ; add two pounds of sugar, or a pint and
a-half of syrup, and a little essence of vanilla.
Ratafia de Brout des Noix. Young walnuts, when the shells are
not formed, number eighty, mace, cinnamon, and cloves, of each half
a drachm, proof spirit one gallon. Pound the nuts in a mortar, add
them and the spice to the spirit, with two pounds of sugar. Infuse
for two months, stirring it occasionally ; press out the liquor through
a cloth. Filter and bottle.
SECTION XXV. THE STOVE OR HOT CLOSET.
THIS is a useful and indispensable appendage in confectionary; it
is generally constructed like a cupboard in the recess of a wall. The
walls or sides should be composed of bricks, or wood lined with tin
or sheet iron, to retain the heat, with pieces of wood nailed or fastened
in the sides, about four inches asunder, to form a groove for trays or
boards to rest on, which is necessary for the drying of lozenges, com-
fits, bon-bons, &c. ; there should also be a few strong shifting shelves
made either of small bars of round iron or wood, like a grating, on
which candy pots or sieves may be placed ; the grooves for these
should be so constructed as to be capable of inclination so as to drain
off the syrup from the candy pots without taking them from the
shelves ; the door should be made to shut close, with a small door at
the top to let out any excess of heat. I have before remarked that it
may be heated by means of many of the modern stoves. At places
where the oven is heated with wood, furze, &c., a common iron pot
or crock with three legs is filled with the live embers, or it may be
filled with burning charcoal and covered with wood ashes, which is
replenished night and morning, which gives the heat required.
THE PASTRY-COOK.
INTRODUCTION.
WE now come to a very important, because a very difficult, branch
of the art of baking, whether exercised as a profession, or by private
individuals, namely the manufacturing of what are technically called
"fancy goods" The reader scarcely need be informed, that this
term includes all those varieties of baked manufactured eatables, in
which such ingredients as sugar, eggs, spice, and butter, are used,
with many other not necessary to enumerate here.
It ought to be observed^ that the following directions for making
the kind of goods alluded to, have been all tested, and found to be so
exceedingly accurate as to proportions, that a deviation in a quantity
so small as an egg, or even half an egg, will deteriorate the quality
of the article. These directions are not generally known in the trade,
and out of the trade they are entirely, we believe, unknown. They
will be found, therefore, a valuable acquisition to those ladies who
manage their own domestic affairs, and who are in the habit of mak-
ing little knick-knacks for their children, or their dessert tables.
Previous to giving the directions in question, it will be necessary
for our readers to be made acquainted with the mode of preparing
certain articles, which are more or less employed in the manufactur-
ing fancy goods. We are aware that there are many private indi-
viduals who would object to use the preparation called " honey-wa=
ter," as well as that called " prepared treacle," on the ground of their
consisting chiefly of drugs. As regards, however, the use of carbo-
nate of ammonia (honey-water), it may be safely affirmed, that there
is, in small quantities, nothing unhealthy in it, but on the contrary.
The truth however is, the carbonate of ammonia used in biscuit?,
&c., is volatilized by the heat of baking, and of course it all escapes.
Tts operation is therefore mechanical, and the only effect it has upon
the biscuit is to make it light.
With regard to the article called prepared treacle, which consists
of treacle, alum, and pearlash, we have to observe, that alum taken
in considerable quantities is decidedly unwholesome, it being of a
powerfully astringent nature; but in the very small quantity here
103
104 THE PASTRY-COOK.
prescribed, and considering that treacle is an asperient, and will con-
sequently counteract the effects of the alum, we should say, that
there can be no harm in using it. Pearlash, being an alkali, we
should consider rather beneficial than otherwise, as it would prevent
the treacle of the ginger-bread turning acid on the stomach.
Having made these preliminary observations, we shall at once
proceed to give directions for making those preparations used in
pastry and fancy goods. The break alluded to in making fancy bis-
cuits, is an instrument similar to that used in manufacturing ship-
biscuits, but of course of much smaller dimensions.
BLANCHED ALMONDS, ICING, PREPARED TREACLE, AND
RENNET,
Blanched Jllmonds. Cover your almonds with water, in a stew-
pan ; set the pan on the fire, and strain them off as soon as the water
begins to boil, by which means the skins will peel off easily ; put
them under the oven for a night, in a sieve, and they will be dry and
fit for use.
Icing for a Cake. Take one pound of double-refined suo-ar,
pound it fine, and sift it through a lawn sieve; then beat the whites
of three eggs in a very clean pan, with a whisk, till they are a strong
froth, and hang round the pan, leaving -the bottom clear; then, with
a wooden spoon, beat in your sugar, a little at a time, with about a
tea-spoonful of lemon-juice beat it till it becomes a nice thick smooth
batter, and will hang round the pan to any thickness you may choose
to spread it. Then, when your cake is nearly cold, spread your
icing nicely over the top, and round the sides, with a pallet-knife; let
it stand in a warm place, where it will be safe from hurt, and it will
soon dry.
Prepared Treacle. Dissolve two ounces of alum in a quarter of a
pint of boiling water, and stir it into seven pounds of treacle; then
dissolve four ounces of American pearlash in a quarter of a pint of
cold water, and well incorporate it with the treacle by stirring.
Rennet. Milk is turned into curds and whey by means of rennet,
which is the stomach of a calf taken out as soon as it is killed, well
cleansed from its contents, then scoured inside and rubbed with salt ;
when thoroughly salted, it is stretched on a stick to dry. A bit of
this is to be soaked in boiling water for several hours, and the liquid
put. in milk-warm from the cow, or made of that warmth. Use alone
can prescribe the exact quantity : never use more than enough to turn
it, as it hardens the curd. The gizzard skin of fowls and turkey may
be prepared in the same way, and answer the same purpose,
THE PASTRY-COOK, 105
FANCY BISCUITS.
Merndhy Biscuits. (See Seed Biscuits.)
American. Rub half a pound of butter into four pounds of flour ,
add a full pint of milk, or water; well wet them up; break your
dough well, and bake them in a hot oven.
Brighton. Take one pound and a quarter of good moist sugar, and
roll it til! it is fine; then pass it through a sieve with two pounds and
a half of flour ; rub in two ounces of butter; make a hole in the mid-
dle; strew in a few caraway seeds; pour in half a pint of honey-
water, and a quarter 6f a pint of milk; beat it well with your hand
till about half the flour is incorporated; then mix it together; roll it
out in thin sheets; cut them out, and place them on your buttered
tins about two inches apart; wash with a little beer; and bake them
in a good steady heat.
Buttered, Rub one pound of butter into seven pounds of flour ; wet
up with one quart of warm water, and half a pint of good yeast; break
down smooth ; prove your dough well ; and bake in a strong heat.
Captains. Rub four ounces of butter into seven pounds of flour;
wet up with a quart of water; break your dough smooth ; and bake in
a good strong heat.
Drop. Warm your pan ; then put in one pound of powdered loaf
sugar and eight eggs ; beat it with a whisk till it becomes milk-warm ;
then beat it till it is cold ; stir in a pound of sugar, two ounces of fine
sifted flour, with about half an ounce of caraway seeds ; put your bat-
ter into the bladder, and drop it through the pipe, in quantities about
the size of a nutmeg, on wafer-paper ; sift sugar over the top, and
bake in a quick oven.
Filbert. Rub a pound of butter into three pounds and a half of
flour; make a hole, and put in ten ounces of powdered loaf sugar;
wet up with four table-spoonsful of honey water, one of orange-flower
water, and three-quarters of a pint of milk ; break your douo-h smooth ;
mould them as large as a nutmeg, and as round as you can ; cut th^m
twice across the top each way, about half through, with a sharp knife;
place them on your tin ; and bake them in a steady heat.
Lemon. Prepare your dough as for filbert biscuits, only leave out
the orange-flower water, and use about six drops of the essence of
lernon ; cut them out, and dock them with a lemon docker; bake them
in a good steady heat.
Naples. Take six ounces of good moist sugar, and six ounces of
loaf; a quarter of a pint of water; and proceed the same as for diet
cake, with six eggs, and three-quarters of a pound of flour ; have your
tins papered; fill them nearly full of the batter: sugar over the tops;
and bake them in rather a brisk oven. These biscuits are, in fact,
nothing more than diet-bread batter, fancifully dropped into tin,
1< 16 THE PASTRY-COOK.
papered with white paper, and baked in a warm oven, with a little
sugar sifted over the top.
Queens. Rub one pound of butter into two pounds of flour; mix
one pound of powdered sugar with it; then make a hole and pour in
a quarter of a pint of milk, to mix it up with; you may add a few
caraways, if you choose ; roll the paste in sheets of the thickness of a
halfpenny; cut them with an oval to about the size of an egg; place
them on clean tins, but see that they do not quite touch, prick them
with a fork, and bake them in a slow oven till they begin to change
colour; when they are cold, they will be crisp.
Rout. Powder one pound of loaf sugar, and soak it in three parts
of half a pint of milk; let it stand two hours; then add two table-
spoonsfui of honey water, and one egsr ; rub half a pound of butter into
two pounds of flour ; make a hole in it, and mix it up with your sugar
and milk. Or you may rub half a pound of butter into two pounds
of flour, make a hole and put one pound of powdered sugar in the
middle; then pour in three parts of half a pint of milk, and two table-
gpoonsful of honey water ; mix it up together; let it lie ten minutes;
cut it out, and place them in buttered tins, see they do not touch;
wash with milk, and bake auickly.
Savoy. Powder and sift one pound of loaf sugar; sift one pound
of flour; warm a pan, and put in the sugar; break one pound of egg
upon it; beat both together with a whisk till it becomes warm beat
till it is cold, and then stir in your flour; have a bladder and pipe
ready ; put your batter into the bladder, and force it through on sheets
of paper; sift sugar over them and bake in a quick oven; when cold
turn them up, and with a washing brush wet the bottom of the paper;
turn them back again, and in five minutes they will come off easily.
Seedy. Rub one pound of butter into seven pounds of flour; roll
one pound of moist sugar fine, and put into the middle with two
ounces of caraway seeds; wet up with one pint and a half of milk,
and one pint of honey water; bake in a hot oven.
Wine. Take two pounds of flour, two pounds of butter, and four
ounces of sifted loaf sugar ; rub the sugar and the butter into the flour,
and make it into a stiff paste with milk ; pound it in a mortar; roll it
out thin, and cut it into sizes and shapes to your fancy; lay them on
buttered paper, in a warm oven, or iron plates brushed with a little
milk. When done, you can give them a glaze by brushing them over
with a brush dipped in eggs. A few caraway seeds may be added
if thought proper.
York. Prepare your mixture as for filbert biscuits ; dock them with
the Duchess of York, or any other docker they are best baked in a
hot oven, and not washed over.
Powder. Dry your biscuits in a slow oven ; roll them and grind
them with a rolling-pin on a clean board till the powder is fine; sift
it through a fine hair-sieve, and it is fit for use.
THE PASTKY-OOOK. 107
Drops. Take half a tea-cup of water, six eggs, arid one pound of
sifted loaf sugar whisk them together till thick; then add a few
caraway seeds, and eighteen ounces of flour mix it lightly together,
and drop the mixture on wafer-paper, about the size of a small wal-
nut; sift sugar over them, and bake in a hot oven.
Cracknels. Rub six ounces of butter into three pounds and a half
of flour make a hole, and put in six ounces of powdered loaf sugar
wet up with eight eggs and a quarter of a pint of water break your
dough smooth make them and dock them like a captain's biscuit
form them on your reel ; drop them into a stew-pan of water boiling
over the fire when they swim take them out with a skimmer, and
put them into a pailful of cold water; let them remain full two hours
before you bake them you may drain them in a cloth or in a sieve
bake them on clean tins in a brisk oven, or on the bottom of the oven.
SECTION I. THE OVEN.
Cakes. Rich pound-cake; twelfth, or bride-cakes: butter two
pounds twelve ounces, sugar one pound twelve ounces, currants five
pounds, citron one pound and a-half, almonds six ounces, nutmegs,
mace, and cinnamon, of equal parts, in powder, two ounces; eggs
twenty, brandy half a pint these proportions allow for the cake
being iced. If more sugar is preferred, the quantity must be the
same- as the butter; but less is used in this instance, that the cake
may be light, and also to allow for the fruit, which would make it
too sweet. Double the quantity of almonds may be used if required,
as some persons prefer more.
Warm a smooth pan, large enough for the mixture; put in the
butter, and reduce it to a fine cream, by working it about the pan
with your hand. In summer the pan need not be warmed, as it can
be reduced to a cream without; but in the winter keep the mixture
as warm as possible, without oiling the butter. Add the sugar and
mix it well with the butter, until it becomes white and feels light in
the hand. Break in two or three eggs at a time, and work the mix-
ture well, before any more is added. Continue doing this until they
are all used and it becomes light ; then add the spirit, currants, peel,
spice, and almonds, some or most of these being previously cut in
thin slices, the peel having also been cut into small thin strips and
bits. When these are incorporated, mix in the flour lightly : put it
in a hoop with paper over the bottom and round the sides, and placed
on a baking-plate. Large cakes require three or four pieces of stiff
paper round the sides ; and if the cake is very large, a pipe or funnel,
made either of stiff paper or tin, and well buttered, should be put in
the centre, and the mixture placed round it ; this is to allow the mid-
dle of the cake to be well baked, otherwise the edge would be burnt
two or three inches deep before it could be properly done. Place the
tin plates containing the cake on another, the surface of which is
108 THF. PASTRY-COOK.
covered an inch or two thick with sawdust or fine ashes to protect
the bottom. Bake it in an oven at a moderate heat. Tbe time re-
quired to bake it will depend on the state of the oven and the size of
the cake. When the cake is cold, proceed to ice it. (See Icings for
Cakes.) Wedding-cakes have generally, first, a coating on the top
of almond icing ; when this is dry, the sides and top are covered
\\ith royal or white icing. Fix on any gum paste or other orna-
ments whilst it is wet ; and when dry, ornament it with piping,
orange-blossoms, ribbon, &c. ; the surface and sides are often covered
with small knobs of white sugar candy whilst the icing is wet.
Twelfth-cakes are iced with white or coloured icing, and deco-
rated with gum paste, plaster ornaments, piping-paste, rings, knots,
and fancy papers, &c., and piped.
Savoy Cakes (hot mixture). One pound of loaf sugar powdered,
one pint of good eggs, and fourteen ounces of flour. Warm a pan,
free from grease, with the sugar in it in the oven until you can
scarcely bear your hand against it; then take it out and pour in the
eggs: whisk the whole together with a birch or wire whisk until it
is quite light and cold, when it will be white and thick. If it should
not whisk up well, warm it again and beat it as before ; or it may be
beat over the stove fire until it is of the warmth of new milk. When
it is finished, sift the flour and stir it in lightly with a spoon, adding
a few drops of essence of lemon to flavour it. Butter some tin or
copper moulds regularly, so that there is not more on one place than
another, nor too thick either, with rather less on the top of the mould
than the sides. Dust it with loaf sugar sifted through a lawn sieve.
Knock out all that does not adhere, and again dust it with fine flour ;
turn it out, and knock the mould on the board as before. Tie or pin
a piece of buttered paper round the mould, so as to come two or three
inches above the bottom. Fix the mould in a stand and nearly fill it.
Bake in a moderate oven. When done, the top should be firm and
dry. Try it by pushing in a small piece of stick or whisk, and if it
comes out dry, it is done. The surface of the cake should be quite
smooth. There is as much art in buttering the mould properly as in
preparing the mixture, if not more.
Cold Mixtures. Separate the yolks from the whites when you
break the eggs. Put the yolks into a clean pan with the sugar, and
the whites in another by themselves. Let the pans be quite free
from grease. If they are rubbed round with a little flour, it will
take off any which may be left about them. Wipe them out with a
clean cloth. Beat up the yolks and sugar by themselves, with a
wooden spoon, and afterwards whip up the whites to a very strong
froth. If they should happen to be rather weak, a bit of powdered
alum may be added. When the whites are whisked up firm, stir in
the yolks and sugar. Sift the flour and mix it in lightly with the
spatula, adding a little essence of lemon to flavour it. Fill the
moulds and bake as before. When cakes are made in this way, the
THE PASTRY-COOK. 109
eggs should be quite fresh and good, otherwise the whites cannot be
whipped up. When weak, pickled eggs are used. I find a good
method is to beat the eggs first by themselves, over a fire, until they
are warm ; then add the sugar, and whip it over the fire until it is
again warm, or make as for hot mixtures, and heat it twice.
Almond S'tvoy Cakes and Almond Hearts. One pound of blanched
sweet almonds (four ounces of them may be bitter), two pounds of
sugar, one pint of the yolks of eggs, half a pint of whole eggs, one
pound of flour, and the whites of twelve eggs beat to a firm froth.
Pound the almonds with the sugar in a mortar, and sift them through
a wire sieve, or grind them in a mill, and mix them with the sugar
in the mortar. First mix the whole eggs well with the almonds and
sugar, then add the yolks by degrees, stirring the whole until quite
liglit ; then mix in the whites, and afterwards the flour, lightly ; pre-
pare some moulds as for Savoy cakes ; but some only butter them.
Fill the moulds three parts full and bake them in a moderate oven.
For almond hearts, butter some tins in the shape of a heart, but with-
out bottoms; cover a baking-plate with paper; place the tins on it,
and fill them nearly three parts full with the mixture : dust a little
sugar on the top, and bake them in a moderate oven.
Venice Cake. Take a Savoy cake and cut it in slices, half or
three-quarters of an inch thick, in a parallel direction from the bot-
tom to the top; spread over each slice with raspberry or apricot jam,
or some of each alternately, or any other sort of preserve. Replace
each piece in its original form; when completed, make an icing as
directed for cakes, with four whites of the eggs to a pound of sugar,
which will make it rather thin. It may be coloured with cochineal,
&c. ; spread it over the cake, which, being thin, will run into the
flutes and mouldings of the cake, when it will appear of the same
form as before. Let it dry in the mouth of the oven, but be careful
it does not get discoloured. When it is dry, ornament it with piping.
Savoy cakes are often done in the same manner, without being cut in
slices, to ornament them ; or they may be done without icing, and
either piped or ornamented with gum paste borders, &c., which are
fixed on with dissolved gum Arabic. Volutes or high and projecting
figures are supported with small wire.
Savoy Cake to represent a Melon. Bake a cake in a melon-mould ;
when cold, cover it with icing as for a Venice cake. Whilst it is
wet, stick on some pieces of loaf sugar, to imitate the surface of the
melon. Strew over it some yellow and green sugar-sands ; or paint
it when dry to imitate nature. Form the stalk, leaves, &c., out of
gum-paste, and fix them in the centre, on the top.
Savoy Cake to imitate a Hedgehog. Bake a cake in a mould of that
form ; blanch some Valentia or Jordan almonds; cut them into small
fillets and stick them over the surface, to form the quills or prickles
of the hog. Put in two currants for the eyes.
10
HO THE PASTRY-COOK.
Bordeaux or Parisian Cokes. Make a mixture as for pound-cake?,
leaving out the fruit, peel, spices, &c. ; bake it in a round or oval
hoop. When baked and cold, cut it into slices, half an inch thick;
spread each slice over with jam or marmalade. The outside of the
cake may be cut round, or fluted to iorm a star ; and the centre of
the cake is occasionally cut out to about an inch and a half from the
edge, leaving the bottom slice whole : this may be filled with pre-
served wet or dry fruits, creams, or a trifle. The top is ornamented
with piping, wet or dry fruits, and peels, or piped with jam and
icing.
Italian Bread. One pound of butter, one pound of powdered loaf
sugar, one pound two ounces of flour, twelve eggs, half a pound of
citron, and lemon-pepl. Mix as fur pound-cake. If the mixture
begins to curdle, which it is most likely to do from the quantity of
eggs, add a little of the flour. When the eggs are all used, and it is
light, stir in the remainder of the flour lightly. Bake it in long, nar-
row tins, either papered or buttered : first put in a layer of the mix-
ture, and cover it with the peel cut in large thin slices; proceed iu
this way until it is three parts full, and bake it in a moderate oven.
Rice Pound-Cake. One pound of butter, one pound of powdered
loaf sugar, twelve ounces of flour, half a pound of ground rice, and
twelve eggs. Mix as Italian bread, and bake it in a papered hoop.
If it is required with fruit, put two pounds of currants, three-quarters
of a pound of peel, one nutmeg, grated, and a little pounded mace.
Wafers. Four ounces of sugar, four ounces of butter, eight ounces
of flour, the yolk or white of one egg, and half a tea-cupful of milk or
water. Melt the butter in the water; mix the egg, sugar and flour
together, adding, by degrees, the melted butter and water; or, instead
of the butter, it may be made into a thin batter with cream, and a
little orange-flower water, or any other essence, to flavour it. The
mixture may be coloured. Make the wafer-tongs hot over the hole
of a stove or clear fire. Rub the inside surfaces with butter or oil,
put in a spoonful of the batter, and close the tongs immediately ; put
them on the fire, turning them occasionally until the wafer is clone,
which a little practice will soon enable you to ascertain ; roll the
wafers on a small round stick, stand them on their ends in a sieve,
and put them in the stove to dry ; serve them with ices.
CAKES.
Almond Cakes. Take one pound of sweet Valentia, or Province
almonds cover them with boiling water in a saucepan ; let them just
boil up, then strain them out of the water, and rub them out of their
skins; cut about two ounces of them into thin slices; put the rest into
a mortar, with one pound and a half of loaf sugar, the whites of six
eggs, and one table-spoonful of orange-flower water; pound it fine;
lay your wafer-paper on the tin, and drop your almond cakes 3n it
THE PASTRY-COOK. Ill
about the size of a walnut then drop a few of your cut almonds on
each of them, and bake them in a slow oven.
Almond Savoy. Take one ounce of bitter and three ounces of sweet
almonds; boil and skin them; put them into a mortar, with the yolks
of six eggs, and half a pound of loaf sugar, pounded very fine ; then
whisk up the whites of the eggs to a strong froth, and mix it as lightly
as you can with the rest; then stir in four ounces of flour as lightly
as you can ; bake it in a slow oven, if in a hoop you must paper it,
and sugar your cake over the top; but if in a shape, you must butter
the shape ; then shake fine sugar over into it before you put in the
batter.
Bride. Wash and pick one pound and a half of currants very
clean ; dry them in a cloth stone four ounces of Muscatel raisins
add a quarter of an ouncn of mace, and half as much cinnamon ; pound
it fine in a mortar; boil four ounces of Jordan almonds in a little
water ; strain the water off, skin them and pound them fine ; take
two ounces of citron, two ounces of candied orange, and two ounces
of candied lernon peel; cut them into thin slices; break eight good
new eggs into a basin ; take one pound and a quarter of fine flour, and
sift in one pound of loaf sugar powdered fine warm a pan, and beat
one pound of best butter with your hand, till it comes to a very fine
cream ; put in your sugar, and beat it together till it is fine and white
then put in a fifth part of your flour ; give it a stir, and put in
nearly half your eggs; continue to beat it; add a little more flour,
and the rest of your eggs; beat it again ; stir in the rest of your flour
and currants then add your almonds, raisins, candied peel, spice,
and half a gill of the best brandy mix all well together; paper your
hoop with double paper round the side and bottom; put in your cake,
and bgke in a very slow oven.
Bath. Take one pound and a quarter of good moist sugar; roll it
fine put in a pan with three-quarters of a pint of water; Jet it stand
all night; rub three ounces of butter into four pounds and a half of
flour; make a hole and pour in your sugar with half a pint of honey
water rub it out thin cut out, and place them on buttered tins
wash with water, and bake in a quick oven.
Banbury. Take one pound and a half of flour, and one pound of
butter; roll your butter and part of the flour out in sheets; wet up
the rest of your flour with one or two table-spoonsful of good yeast,
and about a quarter of a pint of water; roll out your paste in a large
sheet; double it up and roil it out again; do the same five times; cut
it up in square pieces, not more than one ounce and a half have a
few currants mixed with a little candied peel chopped fine, a little
moist sugar, and a little brandy put two tea-spoonsful on each piece;
bring the two corners together over the middle, and close them up in
an oval shape ; turn the closings downwards ; shake a little powdered
eugar over the tops put them on a cold tin; let them stand awhile
in the cold to prove them, and bake them in a steady oven,
112 THE PASTRY-COOK.
There is another method, which is as follows :
Take two pounds of currants, half an ounce each of ground allspice
and powdered cinnamon; four ounces each of candied orange and
lemon peel ; eight ounces of butter, one pound of moist sugar, and
twelve ounces of flour ; mix the whole well together; roll out a piece
of puff paste; cut it into oval shapes; put a small quantity of your
composition into each, and double them up in the shape of a puff; put
the whole on a board, flatten them down with a rolling-pin, and sift
powdered sugar over them do not put them too close together ; bake
them on iron plates in a hot oven.
Breakfast. Put a tea-spoonful of good yeast into two pounds of
flour ; mix the yeast and a little of your flour with a half pint of warm
milk, about the consistence of batter. When your paste has risen
well, take a little milk, melt three ounces of butter in it ; put a tea-
spoonful of salt, and the yolks of eight eggs into the flour and yeast,
and with the milk and butter mix it well into dough. Be careful that
neither your butter nor milk is so hot as to scald the flour or yeast,
and also that your dough is not too soft. Make your paste into cakes
about two inches thick ; pnt them into buttered hoops : lay the hoops
on iron plates, and when they are lightly risen, bake them in a warm
oven. When done, cut them into slices half an inch thick, and butter
each slice as you would a roll ; then cut them into pieces, and serve
up for breakfast or tea.
Cinnamon^ Currant, and Caraway. Rub one pound of butter into
three pounds and a half of flour; make a hole, and put in one pound
of powdered loaf sugar; then wet it up with half a pint of honey
water, and half a pint of milk. Divide your dough into three parts;
add to one part a little powdered cinnamon ; to another a few cur-
rants: to the other a few caraway seeds. Roll them in sheets to the
thickness of the currants; cut them about the size of a penny-piece;
wash with a little milk, and bake in a good steady heat
Common Cheese. Take four ounces of butter ; heat it with a wooden
spoon in a warm pan, till it comes to a fine cream. Then add four
ounces of powdered sugar; beat it well; add the yolk of one egg;
beat again then add one whole egg; beat all well together, and mix
in four ounces of clean currants. Lay your puff paste in the patties;
fill them half full ; shake a little sugar over, and bake them in a good
heat.
Curd Cheese. Warm one pint of new milk ; stir in a bit of rennet;
keep it warm till a nice curd appears ; break it to pieces, and strain
the whey through a hair-sieve. Then, having your mixture prepared
as for common cheese-cakes, but without any currants, put it into the
sieve with the curd, and rub it all through together. Then mix in
your currants ; fill them out, and bake them in a good heat.
Almond Cheese. Take three or four bitter, and one ounce of sweet
almonds ; boil and skin them ; put them into a mortar, with two ounces
of loaf sugar, and the yolks of two eggs; pound them fine. Then rub
THE PASTKY-COOK. 113
two ounces of butter to a cream, and mix all together. Put puff paste
in the patties; fill them three-parts full with the batter; lay a few cut
almonds over the top; sugar over, and bake them in a steady oven.
Lemon Cheese. Prepare your mixture as for common cheese-cakes,
and grate the rind of a nice fresh lemon, and mix with it. The cur-
rants may be left out or not.
Derby. Rub one pound of butter in two pounds and a half of flour;
make a hole, and put in one pound of powdered loaf sugar; beat two
eggs with three table-spoonsful of honey water, and as much milk as
will make up half a pint. Add half a pound of currants; mix all up
together; make them what size you please, and bake them in a steady
oven.
Diet Bread. Whisk the yolks of twelve and the whites of six eggs
together, so as just to break them. Put a quarter of a pint of water
into a saucepan, or small stew-pan ; add a pound of loaf sugar, and put
it on the fire. Take it off just before it boils ; put in the eggs, and
stir it well together till cold ; then stir in lightly one pound of flour,
and put your mixture into square tins prepared. Sift sugar over the
tops, and bake in a warm oven, till they are dry and firm on the tops.
A few currants or caraway seeds may be occasionally used to vary
them.
Ginger. Prepare your dough as for Bath cakes, but add as much
ground ginger as will give them a pleasant taste ; cut them about
the thickness of a shilling, and full as large as a penny-piece ; wash
them with water, and bake quick.
Lord Mayors. Put one pound of sifted loaf sugar and eight eggs
into an earthen pan ; whisk them well for about five minutes, until
quite thick. Then add a few caraway seeds, and a pound of flour ;
mix it all up lightly with a spoon, and drop them on paper, about the
size of a small tea-cup; place them on iron plates; sift sugar or car-
away seeds on the top, and bake in a hot oven. When done, take
them off the papers, and stick two together.
Lunch, or School. Rub half a pound of moist sugar into two
pounds of flour ; make a hole in the middle of it, and put in a table-
spoonful of good thick yeast (not bitter) ; warm half a pint of milk
rather more than blood-warm, but not hot enough to scald the yeast ;
mix it with the yeast and a little of the flour, about one-third part.
When it has risen, which will be in about three quarters of an hour,
if the yeast is good, melt half a pound of butter in a little mor^
milk ; be careful it is not hot enough to scald the yeast. Add on
pound and a-half of currants, a little candied peel, and grated rind
of lemon, and a tea-spoonful of powdered allspice, mix all together;
butter your hoop, or tin, put it in, and set it in a warm place to rise.
When it has risen, bake it in a warm oven. When you think it is
done, stick in a small twig of your whisk, and if it comes out dry it
is done; but if it is sticky, it is not sufficiently baked. The cake
10*
114 THE PASTRY-COOK.
should be mixed up rather softer than bread dough. A few yolks of
eggs mixed up with it will make it eat much better.
Rub a little rout cake paste through a fine sieve, and it wili
look like moss. Gently squeeze a little together, about the size of
half-a-crown, and bake them on wafer paper of a light colour. After
they are done, touch the tops with cochineal. If they are made up
round, the finger pressed in the middle, and two or three caraway
comfits put in, they will resemble birds' nests, with eggs in them ;
and to make the resemblance more complete, just touch the tops
with a green colour.
Macaroon. Prepare your mixture as for almond cakes (but do not
cut your almonds), and add two spoonfuls of orange-flower water ;
lay them out on the wafer-paper, in an oval shape; sift sugar over
them, and bake them in rather a brisk oven ; when lightly coloured
over, they are done.
Plum. Set a sponge with one pound of flour, half a pint of warm
milk, and about three table-spoonfuls of good yeast. Then take four
ounces of butter, four ounces of powdered sugar, two eggs, and four
ounces of flour. Proceed to beat it up the same as for pound cake ;
then put in your sponge, and beat all well together ; aftet which, add
one pound of currants, nicely cleaned. Paper your hoop to put it in ;
bake it without proving, and in a slow oven.
Pound. Take one pound of butter, beat it with your hand in a
warm pan till it comes to a fine cream ; put in one pound of powder-
ed loaf sugar beat it together to a nice cream. Previously, have
one pound and a quarter of flour, sifted ; put in a little, and give it a
stir ; put in four eggs, and well beat it ; then take a little more flour,
and four more eggs, as before, and beat it well again ; then stir in
the remainder of your flour. If you bake them in small cakes, but-
ter your tins; if in large cakes, paper your tins. Sugar over the top,
and bake them in a moderate heat. Some persons use this method :
Sift one pound of loaf sugar, and add to it one pound of fresh butter,
melted a little, and worked with the hand to the consistency of
cream ; beat them together, and while doing so, add ten eggs ; keep
beating the whole till well incorporated. Take four ounces of can-
died orange or lemon peel, shred or cut small, a few currants, and
one pound of flour; mix the whole well together, and put in a hoop ;
sift some sugar on the top, and then bake in a warm oven.
Prussian. Rub four ounces of butter into seven pounds of flour ;
wet up with one quart of milk, warm, one pint of warm water, four
yolks of eggs, and half a pint of good thick yeast; but if you are
obliged to take more yeast, leave out some of the water, or you will
make them too poor : let your dough lie about ten or twenty minutes ;
mould them up round, about half or three quarters of a pound each ;
place them on your tins, about two inches from each other, and
put them in a warm place, and prove them well. Bake in a good
THE PASTRY-COOK. 115
steady heat, and melt a little butter to wash them with when they
are done.
Queens. Melt one pound of butter a little, in a preserving pan,
and then work it with the hands to the thickness of cream ; put to it
one pound of fine loaf sugar, well sifted, and beat it up for a minute
or two; add eight egg? 3 , and two spoonfuls of water; beat it up for
two minutes, and add twenty ounces of flour, and a handful of cur-
rants ; mix it well together ; put them in small round tins, bake
them in a hot oven, and in about five minutes give the tins a smart
tap, and the cakes will fall out.
Queen's Drops. Prepare your mixture the same as for pound-
cakes, but add about two ounces more of flour, one pound and a-half
of currants ; drop them on whited-brown paper, in drops about the
size of a large nutmeg, about two inches from each other; put your
sheets on tins, and bake them in a steady oven.
Rout. Take one pound of sweet almonds, boil them and skin them ;
then take one pound of loaf sugar, pound both in a mortar, and get
as much as you can through a sieve ; put the rest into a mortar
again, with four yolks of eggs, and the rind of a nice lemon ; pound
it very fine, and put in what has passed through your sieve, and mix
it all together ; cut them in blocks, or make them in any shape you
please. Sprinkle them lightly with a little water ; sift sugar over
them, and put them an tins that have been rubbed with a bit of but-
ter. See that they have room, so as not to touch each other ; bake
them in a rather brisk oven till they are lightly coloured over. If
you see them coloured too deep at the bottom, put cold tins over
them.
Raspberry. To one pound of raepberry jam put one pound of loaf
sugar, powdered, and sifted fine ; mix it well together, and have a
ring made of tin, with a handle on the side of it, about the size of a
penny-piece ; place the ring on a sheet of paper ; fill it with the jam,
and move your ring, and the cake will remain ; do the same till the
whole is done. Make the tops smooth with your knife as you fill
them ; then put them in a warm place to dry, till they get a little
set ; then take the crooked end of the handle of a spoon, and make
five or six marks on the top of each cake. Set them to dry again,
till they are fit to be removed ; then take them off with the point of
a knife ; have a box prepared to put them in, and lay slips of paper
between every layer of cakes.
Ratafias. Take four ounces of bitter, and four ounces of sweet
almonds boil and skim them ; put them into a mortar, with one
pound of loaf sugar, and the whites of four egirs ; pound it together
very fine, and drop them out upon white-brown paper. See that they
are all about the size of a nutmeg, and full an inch apart; shake
sifted sugar over them, and bake them in tins, in a slow oven: when
they are all of a colour they are done ; when cold they will come off'
the paper.
116 THE PASTRY-COOK.
Savoy. Take care that the shape in which it is to be baked is
clean and dry ; butter it, and sift sugar into it, but turn out all the
sugar that does not stick to the butter ; then have half a pound of
sifted sugar, and six ounces of sifted flour; warm your pan, put in
your sugar, break in four whole eggs, and then one yolk; whisk it
till it is first warm, and then cold ; then stir in your flour, and turn
your butter into the shape, and bake it in a slow oven ; it will take
about one hour. When done, turn it out bottom uppermost : it will
look very handsome for the middle of the table.
Sponge. To three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, break
three-quarters of a pound of eggs into a warm pan whisk it till it is
cold, and stir in half a pound of flour have your tins ready buttered
p.nd sugared ; put about three parts of a table-spoonful into each of
them, sift sugar over them, and bake them in a brisk oven.
Seed. Proceed as directed for pound-cakes, but instead of currants
and candied lemon-peel, substitute a few caraway seeds omit the
sugar on the top.
Shrewsbury. Powder three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, and
mix it with one pound and a quarter of flour chop three-quarters of
butter into pieces amongst it, with the scraper then add'one white
and three yolks of eggs mix it together to a smooth paste; roll it
into thin sheets, and cut out your cakes about the size of half a crown
place them on clean tins not to touch bake them in a slow oven
till they begin to change colour.
Tea. Beat eight eggs into a pan with a whisk till they come to a
good head then add one pound of loaf sugar powdered beat both
together till it becomes thick and whitish then stir in one pound of
sifted flour, but do not beat it again take a spoon in your left hand
and a knife in your other lay a sheet of paper on your tin ; take up
a spoonful of batter, and with your knife strike as much out of the
spoon as will make a cake the size you like see that they are about
an inch apart, and make them as round as you can bake them in
a rather brisk oven till they are nicely coloured over; if they do not
come off the paper easily, when cold, damp the bottom as directed in
Savoy biscuits. You may vary these cakes by dropping caraway
seeds, sugar, or currants, on the top, before you bake them?
Twelfth. Prepare your mixture as for pound-cake, plum-cake, or
bride-cake, which you please if you prepare it for pound-cake, take
two pounds of currants, four ounces of candied orange and lemon peel,
to every pound of sugar make them of any size you please when
done, ice them over, as directed in page 104, and lay on your orna-
ments while the icing is wet. You may get the ornaments from the
wholesale confectioners.
Yorkshire. Rub four ounces of butter into seven pounds of flour,
wet up with one quart of warm milk, one pint of warm water, and
half or three-quarters of a pint of good yeast, let it prove about twenty
THE PASTRY-COOK. 117
minutes, make it into cakes and put them on warm tins see that they
have room so as not to touch when well proved, make a hole in the
middle, the size of a large thimble bake them in a hot oven when
done, wash them with a little melted butter.
York Drops. Bruise eight ounces of sweet almonds in a mortar,
having bleached and dried them as directed add the whites of three
eggs, and rub them with the pestle till quite fine then add the
whites of four more eggs, and one pound of sifted loaf sugar mix all
well together, and lay it out on paper the size of large peas; bake in
a warm oven, or on iron plates, and when done and cold, take them
off the paper.
\Jlnne. Page's. One pound of butter, two pounds of flour, one pound
of the best loaf su^ar, two ounces of caraway seed, half a pint of
good rose-water. Rub the sugar into the butter, and then mix care-
fully in the sifted flour and caraway seed with the rose-water. Roll
the mass thus formed into sheets to about the thickness of a dollar,
and shape with small tin cutter ; lay them on baking-dishes, and bake
in a moderate oven.
These are commonly called A. P.'s.
York Cakes. Rub into six ounces of butter one pound of sifted
flour ; then mix together half a pound of pulverized loaf sugar, four
ounces currants, well washed and dried, and half an ounce of pow-
dered cloves ; rub in with the butter and flour half a pint of warm
milk ; roll out the paste into thin sheets, and cut with a round cutter,
and bake at a moderate heat.
Jumbles. Half a pound of butter, half a pound of the best loaf
sugar, pulverized, half a pound of finely-sifted flour ; rub intimately
together with three eggs and half a wineglass of rose-water, add
half an ounce of ground cinnamon and one grated nutmeg ; bake in
a moderate heat on waxed tins.
Cinnamon Biscuit. Grind in a clean mortar a quarter of a pound
of sweet almonds, blanched; to which add, gradually, the whites of
three eggs, and then three-quarters of a pound of the best pulverized
loaf sugar, and two ounces of ground cinnamon ; form into a paste,
which should be laid out on greased tins, in diamond or other shapes;
ice with cold water, to produce a gloss, and bake.
Hazlenut Kisses. Beat one pound of pulverized white sugar with
the whites of eight eggs over a slow fire until they are light, then
add four ounces of blanched filberts, cut fine ; lay them out on paper,
and bake in a slow oven.
Vanilla Biscuit. Beat with a whisk the whites of ten eggs to a
very strong froth, add three-quarters of a pound of finely-pulverized
loaf sugar, ten ounces of sifted flour, three cloves of vanilla pulve-
rized with three ounces of loaf sugar. Stir all these ingredients to-
gether for one minute, and put the batter into paper bag or cornet ;
lay out on waxed tins, and bake in a moderate oven.
lly THE PASTRY-COOK.
Trifle. Place several alternate layers of Savoy biscuit and bitter
almond maccaroons in a handsome glass bowl, or dish, and saturate
them with the best Madeira wine ; cover the surface of the top layer
with any kind of jelly, jam, or marmalade (red currant jelly is gene-
rally preferred) ; then take the whites of four egg?, half a pound of
pulverized loaf sugar, the juice of one sound lemon, a little rose-wa-
ter, and one pint of cream ; whisk all to a froth, and put lightly into
the bowl, in the shape of a cone ; and ornament according to fancy,
with coloured sugars.
o
Cocoanut Cakes. One pound of blanched sweet almonds, the whites
of twelve eggs, three pounds of the best pulverized loaf sugar, three
large cocoanuts, finely grated.
Pound the almonds in a clean mortar, with the whites of the twelve
eggs, until the mixture is perfectly smooth, then add the pulverized
sugar and the grated cocoanut, and work the whole in the mortar into
a tolerably stiff paste; form the cakes about the size of a walnut, and
lay out on baking-plates previously well waxed.
Sans Sovcies. One pound of blanched sweet almonds, the whites
of three eggs, two pounds of pulverized loaf sugar.
Pound the almonds with the whites of the eggs until reduced to a
smooth paste, and then gradually mix in the sugar. Roll a portion
of the mass thus formed in powdered sugar, and cut them into pieces
about an inch long, and form them into the letter S, and bake on wax
plates.
Cocoa Biscuit. Three-quarters of a pound of blanched sweet
almonds, half an ounce of good Caracas cocoa, previously roasted,
two eggs, three pounds of pulverized loaf sugar.
Incorporate in a clean mortar the almonds, cocoa, and the eggs,
until the mass becomes perfectly smooth, then add the sugar, with a
small portion of vanilla, in powder. Form the biscuit with a tin cut-
ter of fancy shape ; lay on waxed plates, glaze the surface of the
cakes with cold water, and bake in a tolerably quick oven.
Lady Cake. Two pounds of powdered loaf sugar, half a pound of
fresh butter, seven ounces of blanched sweet almonds, and one
ounce of blanched bitter almonds.
Beat in a clean mortar the almonds till reduced to a smooth paste,
adding occasionally a little rose-water, to prevent them from oiling ;
add the sugar and butter ; then add the whites of thirty fresh eggs,
previously whisked to a very strong froth ; then mix in, very lightly,
two pounds of finely-sifted flour, and bake in tin pans about twelve
'nches long, eight broad, and two inches deep. This cake requires
a quick oven thirty to thirty-five minutes will be sufficient time.
When cool, ice as before directed, and score with a sharp knife.
Lady Fingers. Put the yolks of four eggs in a small basin with
four ounces of pounded sugar, on which you have grated the peel of
one good fresh lemon ; work this we'll with a spatula for five minutes ;
THE PASTRY-COOK. 119
after which, beat up the whites of the four eggs, and when they are
very stiff, pour a fourth part of them on the yolks, which you after-
wards mix with the remainder of the whites, with the addition of
two ounces of sifted flour, stirring continually, to make the whole
very smooth.
Then tbrrn your biscuits on half sheets of white paper, folded in
such a manner that they are only three inches in length, and no
larger than your finger. As soon as one sheet is full, cover your bis-
cuits with fine sugar, and place on a baking-plate, which you put in
the oven as soon as the surface of the biscuits become glossy by the
melting of the sugar. Bake in a moderate oven, and when they have
acquired a fine colour take them out ; when sufficiently cool, remove
from the paper by moistening the opposite side, or with the blade of
a very thin knife. Place them afterwards two and two, with their
backs to each other, in order not to injure the glossy sides.
Biscuit a la Cuilliere (Spoon Biscuit). Mix the yolks of three eggs
with four ounces of fine sugar and half a clove of vanilla, powdered
and passed through a silk sieve; after working these ingredients for
five minutes, add a whole egg, then work them again for five minutes;
after which add another whole egg, and continue to work them for
five minutes longer ; then beat up the whites of the first three eggs
to a very stiff froth, and mix them, together with two ounces of dried
and finely-sifted flour, to the former ingredients : when the batter is
quite sleek, lay out on paper, and bake as Lady-fingers.
Small Biscuits with Almonds. Prepare three yolks as usual ; work
them ten minutes with four ounces of sugar and an ounce of pounded
bitter almonds; add a whole egg, and work together full five minutes
longer; then beat up the whites very stiff, and mix them with the
yolks, together with one ounce and a half of wheat flour dried in the
oven and passed through a fine sieve : work this batter till it is quite
sleek, and then pour it in small copper moulds formed like small
melons, carefully buttered and covered twice with sugar. Mask the
biscuit with fine sugar, and bake in a moderate oven.
Biscuits luith Cream. After mixing the yolks of three eggs with
four ounces of fine sugar, (on which half the peel of a small lemon
has been grated), work the mixture for ten minutes; then beat up
the three whites as usual; mix them gradually with the yolks, toge-
ther with one ounce and a half of dried sifted flour, and four spoonsful
of whipped cream, well drained : the whole being lightly mixed toge-
ther and very sleek, put it in moulds or cases, covering the tops of
the biscuits with fine sugar ; when the sugar is melted, put the bis-
cuits in a gentle oven, and let them bake twenty or twenty-five
minutes. When taken out of the oven, be careful to put them on
their sides to prevent their sinking.
Biscuits glazed with Chocolate. Prepare the same ingredients as
th-e last, but flavour them with half a clove of vanilla pounded and
passed through a silk sieve; then put them in a case ten inches in
12Q THE PASTRV-OOOK.
length by seven in width, which you put in a gentle oven. In forty
or fifty minutes after, see if your biscuit feels tolerably firm ; if it does,
take it out of the oven, and as soon as it is quite cold, turn the case
and take out the biscuit, which you cut into small squares, lozenges,
&c. : then mix the white of an egg with an ounce of finely-powdered
white sugar and three ounces of chocolate, which, after being grated,
you have dissolved for a few minutes in the mouth of the oven: work
the whole with a silver spoon for five minutes, adding a little white
of egg to make it rather thick and glossy, and then cover the top of
the biscuit thickly with it, smoothing it with a spatula ; after which
put the biscuit for five or six minutes in the oven, and then let cool.
Biscuits glazed ivith Orange. Rub the peel of a fine orange on a
piece of sugar, then scrape off* all the coloured parts, and, after bruis-
ing them with a rolling-pin, mix them with three ounces of fine sugar
and tha white of an egg; beat the whole for five or six minutes, then
glaze the biscuit (prepared like the last, except you omit the vanilla)
with it. Flavour the biscuit with either the half of an orange peel,
lemon or citron, or with coffee. If you wish to glaze them a la rose,
colour the glazing with vegetable red, and add one drop of essence
of roses to it.]
FANCY BREAD, GINGER-BREAD, BUNS, ROLLS, MUFFINS,
CRUMPETS, &C.
jJlmond Bread. Having bleached and dried eight ounces of sweet,
and once ounce of bitter almonds, bruise them in a mortar; add one
egg, and with the pestle rub it all very fine. If you find it getting
oily before it becomes fine, increase the quantity of ego-. When fine,
grate into it the rind of one lemon; and add one pound two ounces of
sifted loaf sugar. Mix with yolks of eggs, until it becomes a soft
batter; now add to the rest two ounces of flour, and mix all well toge-
ther ; then pour your batter into square flat buttered tins, with the
sides and ends turned up about two inches high; bake in a warm
oven, and when cold, ice it over with the icing (see article to ice,
bride, and other cakes, p. 104), and sprinkle some nonpariel sugar-
plums on the top. You may cut it in any shape or form, and mix
it with your rout cakes.
Colchester. Prepare your dough as for Bath cakes; cut it with a
Colchester cutter to about the thickness of a penny-piece, wash it
with milk, bake it quick, wash it with egg and milk, while hot; when
baked and cold, cut them apart.
Diet. Put three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar into a saucepan,
with a quarter of a pint of water; put it over a steady fire and stir it
till it is dissolved; beat six eggs with a whisk in a pan; when the
sugar boils, pour it gently on the eggs, keeping it well beat till cold ;
then stir into it three-quarters of a pound of fine sifted flour; have
THE PASTRY-COOK.
your frames papered, fill them three parts full with the batter, sift
sugar over them, and bake them in a steady oven.
French Rolls. Set a sponge with a quart of warm water, and half
or three-quarters of a pint of good yeast ; let your sponge rise and
drop, then melt one ounce of butter in a pint of warm milk, and one
ounce of salt, to wet up with; it will take about seven pounds of flour
altogether; let it lie about half an hour, then put them on warm tins:
prove them well, and bake them in a quick oven.
Short Bread. Rub one pound of butter into three pounds of flour;
make a hole and put in one pound of powdered sugar; then wet up
with a quarter of a pint of honey water, a quarter of a pint of milk,
and two eggs; break them in round pieces about as big as a walnut;
roll them round or oval, to the size of a tea-saucer; pinch round the
edge; place them at the distance of one inch from each other on clean
tins, not buttered ; cut half a pound of candied orange or lemon peel
into pieces, and lay them on the top of your cakes; bake them in a
good steady oven.
Queen's Ginger-Bread. Take two pounds of honey, one pound and
three-quarters of the best moist sugar, three pounds of flour, half a
pound of sweet almonds blanched and cut thin, half a pound of candied
orange; peel the rinds of two lemons, grated, and an ounce of pow-
dered cinnamon, half an ounce of nutmeg, cloves, mace, and cardi-
moms, mixed and powdered, and a wine-glassful of water; put your
honey and water into a pan over the fire, and make it quite hot ; mix
the other ingredients into the flour, and pour in your honey, sugar,
and water, and mix all well together; let it stand till next day : make
it into cakes and bake it; rub a little clarified sugar until it will blow
in bubbles through a skimmer, and with a paste-brush rub over your
ginger-bread when baked.
Spice Ginger-Bread. Take three pounds of flour, one pound of
moist sugar, four ounces of candied lemon or orange peel, cut small,
one ounce of powdered ginger, two ounces of powdered allspice, half
an ounce of powdered cinnamon, a handful of caraway seeds, and
three pounds of treacle ; rub the butter with your hand into the flour;
then add the other ingredients, and mix it in the dough with the trea-
cle; make it into cakes or nuts, and bake them in a warm oven.
Thick Ginger-Bread. Prepare seven pounds of treacle, rub three-
quarters of a pound of butter into twelve pounds of flour; mix three
ounces of caraway, two ounces of ground coriander seeds, and two
ounces of ground allspice, with your flour and treacle; mould it well
together, make it into cakes, point them, butter the side.s, and place
them close together on buttered tins; put up-sets round them, wash
with milk, and bake in a steady heat; when they are done, wash with
egg and milk.
Sweetmeat Nuts. Prepare seven pounds of treacle ; mix four ounces
of ground ginger, six ounces of ground allspice, eight ounces of can-
11
THE PASTE!' -COOK.
died lemon and orange, cut small, with nine pounds of flour; wet it
up with your treacle, then beat into your dough four pounds of butter,
and five pounds of good rnoist sugar; lay them off on buttered tins,
about the size of walnuts, flat them down, wash them with water, and
bake them in a slow oven.
Spice Nuts. Prepare seven pounds of treacle; rub half a pound of
butter into nine pounds of flour; mix four ounces of ground allspice,
four ounces of ground ginger, two ounces each of caraway and cori-
ander seeds powdered with your butter, flour, and treacle ; roll half a
pound of moist sugar, and strew it over the top, so that you take a
little in every piece you cut from it ; roll them out in long rolls about
the size of your finger; cut them in pieces the size of a nutmeg;
place them on buttered tins, but not to touch ; wash with water or
small beer, and bake in a good steady oven.
Muffins. Muffins are baked on a hot iron plate, and not in an oven.
To a quarter of a peck of flour add three-quarters of a pint of yeast,
four ounces of salt, and as much water (or milk) slightly warmed, as
is sufficient to form a dough of rather a soft consistency. Small por-
tions of the dough are then put into holes, previously made in a layer
of flour about two inches thick, placed on a board, and the whole is
covered up in a blanket, and suffered to stand near a fire, to cause
the dough to rise ; when this is effected, they will each exhibit a
semi-globular shape; they are then placed on a heated iron plate, and
baked; when the bottoms of the muffins begin to acquire a brownish
colour, they are turned, and baked on the opposite side.
[Wheat Muffins. Melt a small piece of butter into a quart of milk,
and set it aside until cold beat four eggs very light, and make a
batter by adding alternately and very gradually a little milk and a
little flour, until the batter is of the proper consistence, which is quite
thin then add a large spoonful of yeast, if you do not use the pow-
ders as directed in the note on page 123. Bake them in muffin-rings
on a griddle, and butter them before serving, they must be lorn
asunder to butter, as cutting them open renders them heavy.
Hice Muffins. Rice muffins are made in the same manner exactly
as rice cakes, except that the batter of the former is thinner that is,
to a quart of milk and three eggs, you put less rice and less flour.
Rice Cakes. Boil half a pint of rice until quite soft, setting it aside
until perfectly cool ; beat three eggs very light and put them with a
pint of wheat flour to the rice, making it into a batter with a quart
of milk ; beat it well, and set it to rise with a spoonful of yeast, or use
the yeast powders as directed above. Bake on a griddle, and butter
them before sending them to table.
Buckwheat Cakes. To a quart of buckwheat meal put a little Indian
meal (say a table-spoonful) and a little salt; make them into a batter
with cold water, taking care to beat it very well, as the excellence
of buckwheat cakes depends very much on their being well beaten ;
THE PASTRY-COOK. 123
then put in a large spoonful of good yeast,* and set to rise; when
sufficiently risen, bake them a clear brown on a griddle. They are
usually buttered before being sent to table.
Flannel Cakes. Melt a table-spoonful of butter in a quart of milk,
and after stirring it well, set it away to cool ; then heat four eggs
very light, and stir them into the milk in turn with half a pound of
sifted flour ; put in a spoonful of yeast, and set it aside. These are
baked on a griddle like buckwheat cakes, and are always buttered
before being sent to table.
Indian Stoppers. To a pint of Indian meal, add a handful of wheat
flour and a little salt; beat three egrgsvery light and stir them, in turn
with the meal, into a quart of milk. These cakes require no yeast,
and should be baked as soon as mixed. They are baked on a griddle,
and buttered before serving.
Johnny-Cake, To a quart of sifted Indian meal (for this cake
coarse meal should always be used) add a pint of warm water, and a
tea-spoonful of salt ; mix the meal gradually into the water, and
when mixed beat it very haid, until quite light, then spread it out
smoothly and evenly upon a board. Let this board be then placed
before the fire, having something to support it behind ; when done,
cut it in squares, and send it to table, without butter.
Corn-Meal Bread. To a pint of sifted corn-meal (not too fine) add
a small piece of butter and two eggs, well beaten ; make it into a
batter with new milk, and put in a spoonful of yeast. It will require
an hour to rise. This bread is best baked, in small tin pans.]
Crumpets. Crumpets are made of batter composed of flour, water
(or milk), and a small quantity of yeast. To one pound of the best
wheaten flour you may add three table-spoonfuls of yeast. A portion
of the liquid paste, not too thin (after being suffered to rise), is
poured on the heated iron plate, and baked, like pancakes in a pan.
Rusks. Rub six ounces of butter into four pounds of flour ; set a
sponge with a pint and a-half of warm rnilk, and a half pint of yeast;
when the sponge rises, add four ounces of good moist sugar, mix it
up together, let it prove a little, then roll it out about the size of a
rolling-pin ; flat it down with your hand, and place the cakes at a
* Many persons now make use of the yeast powders, and give them a
decided preference. They certainly possess the advantage of requiring
less time, and thereby enabling you to make muffins, buckwheat cakes,
&c. which, set with yeast, require soaie hours in the preparation at
a quarter of an hour's notice. The ingredients are the super-carbo-
nate of soda and tartaric acid, to be used in the following manner :
A spoonful of soda, and a spoon two-thirds full of tartsric acid, are to be
dissolved separately in a little water. The soda is to be put into the bat-
ter when, it is partly beaten, taking care tiint it is perfectly dissolved; and
the acid is to be added when the cook is ready to begin baking, as they
must not be allowed to stand after the effervescence takes place.
124 THE PASTRY-COOK.
distance from each other, so as not t.o touch ; prove them well, and
bake them in a moderately heated oven ; when cold, cut them in
slices ; place them to touch on the tins, and brown them off in a
brisk oven.
Sweet Rusks. Cut a diet bread cake into thin long slices; lay
them on iron plates and brown them quickly, in a very hot oven ;
turn them when of a light-brown colour; and when of a similar
colour on the other side, they are done.
Tops and Bottoms. Prepare your mixture as for rusks, make it
into small balls about the size of a large walnut, place them on your
tins in straight rows just to touch; prove them well ; bake them in
a moderate heat : when cold, draw a sharp knife between every row ;
to cut your balls out square, turn them on their side, and cut them
through the middle one at a time : place them on the tin as close as
you can, with the cut part upwards ; put them in a brisk oven ;
watch them till they are nicely browned over ; then they are done.
OF PASTES IN GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
[The first grand object for our consideration is the proper method
of malting paste; for upon our skill in that important branch of
the pastry-cook's art, will the success of our future operations mainly
depend. Whenever the paste happens to be ill made, its bad ef-
fects will invariably appear in the baking; and if even by chance
the colour should turn out tolerably well, it will be still highly unsatis-
factory to competent judges ; in short, paste thus made will always be
heavy, have an unpleasant flavour, and, above all, be very indi-
gestible ; and, indeed, it is owing to the general ignorance that pre-
vails respecting its proper amalgamation, that good pastry is so rarely
made ; and that the number of good family pastry-cooks is so small.
It is much more easy to bake pastry than to make it. The oven
requires care, constant attention, and practice, it is true ; but the art
of making pastry is quite another thing an art that admits of no
mediocrity a good memory, taste practice, and dexterity, being ab-
solutely necessary in that branch of the business; for it is really
from the manner of mixing the various ingredients of which it is
composed that it acquires its good or bad quality.
An indispensable requisite is cleanliness in those who have to pre-
pare elegant viands, and the most scrupulous attention must be paid
to delicate management and order. In a pastry-cook these requi-
sitions are absolutely indispensable.
TO MAKE PUFF PASTE.
I shall now endeavour to give directions for the composition of this
delicate and elegant kind of paste.
-THE PASTRY-COOK. 125
Ingredients. Twelve ounces of fine-sifted flour, twelve ounces of
butter, two drachms of fine salt, and the yolks of two eggy.
Manner of Working. Having placed the twelve ounces of flour
on the board, make a small hole in the middle ; in which, put the
two drachms of salt, the yolks of two eggs, and nearly a glass of
water ; and with the ends of the fingers of your right-hand gradually
mix in the surrounding flour, adding a little water where necessary,
till the paste is of a proper consistence, rather firm than otherwise ;
then prove it by leaning your hand on the board, and working it for
some minutes, when the paste will become soft to the touch, and
glossy in appearance.
It is of importance to observe, that this paste should be neither too
stiff nor too soft, but of a proper medium -5 yet it will be better when
it is a little too soft than when too stiff.
The same process must be attended to in summer as in winter;
though many persons pretend that this kind of paste should be made
stiffer in summer than in winter, on account of the difference in the
two seasons. As far as regards the hardness of the butter, this mode
of reasoning has certainly some truth in it; for, inasmuch as the
winter is favourable to the work, so does the heat of summer render
our operations troublesome and difficult, and prevent them sometimes
from having the desired effect, particularly in the making of puff
paste.
The reason why summer paste should not be made softer than that
made in winter, is this: if, when the paste is soft, it be buttered,
and afterwards placed on ice, as is practised in summer, the butter,
which is a greasy substance, will become quickly congealed by the
coldness of the ice ; while the paste, which is only a moist body, will
scarcely be affected by it ; and, consequently, the butter being fro-
zen, and the paste soft, it will follow that, in working it, the butter
not being held by the paste sufficiently firm to unite with it, will
break into small pieces ; and after having received the two first turns,
will appear in small lumps, like large peas. On rolling it again, and
placing on the ice, the cold acts with greater force on the small par-
ticles of buttery which quickly become like so many icicles, and the
paste, in consequence, will be completely spoiled ; for, in baking,
these particles of butter melt, and, separating themselves from the
paste, render it incapable of uniting with them.
When the paste has been made as above, take three-quarters of a
pound of butter, in pieces, which for twenty minutes has been in a
pail of spring water, thoroughly imbued with a few pounds of pounded
ice previously well washed; then squeeze and work well in a napkin
in order to separate the water from it, and at the same time to render
it soft, and above all, of an equal consistence; then as quickly as pos-
-i ; >!e roll the paste on a marble slab, into a square, and placing the
flutter in the middle, cover with an equal thickness of paste, by rais-
in-r the paste o,ver it. After rolling it out two or three feet in length,
11*
126 THE PASTRY-COOK.
fold it into three parts by doubling one part over the other; after
which roll it out again, and fold it once more into three equal parts
now roll it to a greater length, envelope it with a clean linen cloth
which has been dusted with some sifted flour lay this on some finely
pounded ice, taking care to have several folds of cloth between the
paste and the ice, to prevent the moisture striking through place on
the top of the paste a dish containing some pounded ice this serves
to keep the surface of the paste cool, and also to prevent it becoming
soft by the action of the air. After three or four minutes, remove
the dish, and turn the paste upside down, instantly covering it as
before. This operation should be performed three times in the same
manner, and with the same precautions.
Lastly, roll it out two or three times according to what you intend
to make of it, and use it as expeditiously as possible, lest the heat of
the season should render it too soft to handle, or prevent its having
the desired effect in baking.
Thus, in less than half an hour, it is possible to make very fine puff
paste, having previously everything ready the ice pounded, the but-
ter frozen, and the oven quite hot, otherwise it cannot be done. This
is important, as it is sometimes an hour before the oven can be made
hot ; and therefore the paste should not be begun to be made till the
oven is half heated. The following is another method.]
Puff Fade. Take one pound of flour, and one pound of good firm
butter; cut your butter into slices; roll it in thin sheets on some of
your flour; wet up the rest with about a quarter of a pint of water;
eee that it is about as stiff as your batter ; roll it to a thin sheet; cover
it with your sheets of butter ; double it in a three double ; do the same
five times; then double it up; lay it in the cold to use when you want
it, keeping the air from it: you ought to make it before the sun rises,
unless you have a cold place to make it in. The following is another
method : Take one pound of flour, and eight ounces of butter; rub
the butter into the flour with your hand, and make it into a paste with
water, to the consistence of very thick batter; roll out your paste
thin; break eight ounces more butter into pieces of the size of a shil-
ling, and put them in all parts of your paste ; fold it up ; and after stand-
ing a short time, roll it out again ; when it has been rolled out three
times, it is fit for use.
Short Paste. Rub one pound of butter into one pound and a quar-
ter of flour; wet it up stiff with cold water; work it smooth, and it is
fit for use.
Tari Paste. Eight ounces of butter rubbbed into a pound of flour
with your hand, and made into a stiff paste with water, is an excel-
lent paste for tarts.
Jipricot Tari. Lay your puff paste in patties; put your jam in the
middle, and bake them in a brisk oven; or you may bake your puff
paste first with a bit of bread in the middle; then take out the bread
fill the ho|p with jam; it will look very handsome.
THE PASTRY-COOK. 127
Covered Tart. Take your short paste ; cut it into pieces to the size
of your patties; roll them out thin; lay in the bottoms; put your fruit
as high as you can; put a pinch of sugar on the top; close your tart;
sprinkle water over it; put a pinch of powdered loaf sugar on the
top; and bake them in a good steady heat.
Raspberry Tart. Take your short paste; cut it into pieces of
nearly the size of your patties; about the thickness of a penny-piece;
then with your thumb drive it thin in the middle; leave it thick at
the edge ; cut it round close to the patty, and notch it with the back
of your knife ; thin your raspberry-jam with a little water, and rill
the tart three parts full ; bake them in a brisk oven. Or you may
made them with puff' paste, in the same manner as apricot tarts, if
you choose.
Mince Pies. Stew three pounds of lean beef till it is tender; chop
it fine with one pound and a half of beef suet, one dozen of apples,
and one pound of stoned raisins; mix all together, with three pounds
of currants, washed and picked clean, half a pound of citron, half
an ounce, together, of cloves, cinnamon, and mace, pounded fine, a
little allspice, a pint of brandy, and three half pints of cider, and
one pound and a half of good moist sugar ; squeeze it close down
in a glazed pan, and it will be fit for use ; then roll your puff paste
in sheets, about the thickness of a penny-piece ; cut out the tops to
the size of your pies ; put your cuttings for bottoms; fill them to
your fancy ; cover and close them ; and bake them in a steady oven.
Raised Pie Take seven pounds of flour; then take one pound of
mutton suet, clarified down ; put it into a saucepan with one pint and
a half of water, and set it over the fire till it boils; make a hole in
the middle of your flour, and pour in your liquor boiling hot; then
mix in your flour with a spoon till you can bear to put your hand in ;
mix it till it becomes a nice smooth piece of dough ; cover it over
with a cloth; and raise your pies with as much of it as will make the
size you want ; when filled and nicely closed, wash with egg, and
lay on your ornament. Your oven must be brisk, if for small pies:
but if for large ones, a more steady heat will be best.
THE BAKER.
INTRODUCTION.
BAKING, or the art of making bread, is amongst the earliest modes
resorted to by the more advanced portions of mankind for the prepa-
ration of food. In the early ages, however, loaf or leavened bread
was unknown, as it is amongst uncivilized nations to this day. The
North American Indians contrive, by pounding their maize, or Indian
corn, to make a sort of cake, which they bake by means of hot cin-
ders. This serves them, and, indeed, occasionally the Anglo-Ameri-
cans, as a substitute for loaf or leavened bread, and may be called
unleavened bread. But in some parts of the world bread is not
known; in others it may be known, but is not used as amongst the
people inhabiting the vast Pampas on the Rio de la Plata, where
scarcely anything is eaten but beef.
Bread may be thus defined ; A nutritive substance made of corn,
generally wheat, or other farinaceous or mealy vegetables, ground or
reduced into flour or meal, that is, a powder more or less fine, and
kneaded or mixed with water, and baked in an oven, upon hot ashes
or other grise. This process makes unleavened bread, or, in other
words, untermented bread, or what is now called biscuits. To lea-
vened or fermented bread, that is, the bread generally used in our
houses, there must be an addition, yeast, or some other substance
which has the property of promoting fermentation.
The origin or etymology of the word bread is not without interest.
Home Tooke says, bread is brayed grain, from the verb to bray or
pound in a mortar, the ancient way in which flour was made. The
meaning of bread, therefore, is something brayed brayed wheat, or
wheat bread pease brayed, or bread oats brayed, or bread, &c.
The word bread was spelt differently in different ages; thus we have
brede, breed, &c. Dough, Home Tooke says, comes from the Anglo-
Saxon word deaw-ian, to wet, to moisten. Dough, or duw, means
wetted. The bread, that is, brayed corn or grain, by being wetted
becomes dough.
Loaf comes from the Anglo-Saxon word hlif-ian, to raise, to lift up.
THE BAKER. 129
Thus, after the bread or brayed corn has been wetted, by which it
becomes dough, then follows the leaven, by which it becomes loaf,
that is, raised. Leaven is derived from the French word lever, to
raise.
Bread, in some countries, is not made entirely of meal, much less
of wheaten flour. In many parts of Sweden, the bread is composed
partly of the bark of trees, particularly during winter.
la Westphalia, a kind of very coarse black bread is made, of which
the peasants bake one large loaf for the whole week. This is divided
for use with a saw. It is called pumpernickel, and is sometimes
exported. In many parts of Germany, bread is made of grain nearly
entire, or but just bruised, which is very coarse, and frequently forms
part of the food of horses.
The Romans, before they had acquired the art of baking, were
called, either by way of distinction or reproach, the pulse-eating peo-
ple. According to some authorities, indeed, the earlier nations knew
no other use of their meal than to make of it a kind of porridge.
Such was the food of the Roman soldiers for several centuries, or at
most their skill extended no farther than to knead unleavened dough
into cakes or biscuits. Even at present, as has been before intimated,
there are many countries where the luxury of bread is unknown.
Loaf-bread is seldom used in the northern parts of Europe and Asia,
except by the higher classes of inhabitants. You never see loaves in
Sweden, though in the towns rolls are common enough. Gottenburg
is a considerable town, containing between twenty and thirty thou-
sand inhabitants. In the year 1812 it was crowded with merchants
from all parts of Europe, being at that time the great connecting link
between Great Britain and the Continent. Towards the end of that
year only, the captain of an English packet ordered a Gottenburg
baker to bake for him a quantity of bread, amounting altogether to
the value of one pound sterling. The baker was astonished, and in
fact confounded, at so great an order, and refused to comply till the
captain gave him security that he would carry off and pay for the
loaves, declaring that he could never dispose of so great a quantity
of bread in Gottenburg, if it were left on his hands. In the country
parts of Sweden, nothing in the character of bread is to be met with,
excepting rye cakes, which are represented as nearly as hard as flint,
and which are only baked twice a year.
GENERAL REMARKS ON BAKING.
Baking, as a business or profession, was never confined to the baking
of common bread alone, that is to say, bread in every-day use. A
baker we take to mean a person who bakes and prepares any farina-
ceous substance intended for human food. If this definition be cor-
rect, then it will follow that not only loaf-bread baking, biscuit-baking,
fancy-bread baking, belong to the business of the baker, but also pas=
1 30 THE BAKER.
try making 1 and confectionery. We know, indeed, that all these
branches are frequently to a certain extent practised by the same
individual, and therefore, in a work of this kind, they ought all to be
treated of, which we intend to do under separate heads.
The ancients had a great variety of spice bread and sweetmeats,
and these, there is every reason to believe, were produced by the
persons called bakers ; pastry-cooks and confectioners being unknown
as separate professions. The Asiatics were exceedingly fond of
sweetmeats, and there can be little or no doubt that a similar taste
was introduced by them among the Romans, when they were carried
to Rome to practise their calling there. The Rhodians, we are told,
had a particular kind of bread sweetened with honey, so exquisitely
pleasant, that it was eaten with other delicacies after dinner by way
of dessert.
The French, who are excellent bakers, have a great variety of
breads, and these for the most part have been long introduced into
Great Britain. The common bread of that country, or bread for gen-
eral use, may be divided into three classes: wheaten bread, made
of the finest flour, sometimes called firsts; second, or household
bread, made of flour somewhat coarser, called seconds; and brown
bread, made of flour called thirds, and sometimes of flour of various
degrees coarser than thirds. The coarseness or fineness of flour
(supposing the wheat of the same quality) depends upon the dressing,
or the separating of the flour from the husks of the wheat, after it
has been reduced to a powder. The finest flour is entirely separated
from the bran or husks the other description not entirely so, but the
broad bran is removed from the coarsest flour. The writers in many
of our celebrated Encyclopedias say, that " our household bread is
made of the whole substance of the grain, without the separation of
either the finest flour or the coarsest bran." This is a mistake
altogether.
In making pure wheaten loaf bread, no other ingredients should
be employed but flour, water, yeast, or some other innocent ferment-
ing matter. Various other ingredients are used, principally by those
engaged in making bread for sale. The London bakers employ alum,
for the purpose of making the bread whiter, &c. Home-baked bread
is never so white, even when made from the same flour, as that pro-
duced by the public baker ; but of this we shall speak when we com^
to describe the methods of bread-making used by public bakers;
present we shall confine ourselves to bread as made in families for
daily use.
The goodness of bread, whether baked at home or abroad, will de-
pend, firstly, upon the quality of the flour employed; secondly, upon
the quality of the yeast; and, thirdly, upon the skill and care of the
baker. The process of baking, though simple enough, requires some
experience on the part of him or her who may undertake to perform
it. We need scarcely say, that experience is only to be acquired in
one way, and that way is too obvious to need pointing out. To judge
THE BAKEK. 131
of flour, experience is also necessary ; but any one may form a pretty
accurate idea whether it is good or bad, by attending to the follow-
ing directions : If flour is of a fine white colour, it may be pro-
nounced good, so far as colour is concerned ; but if it be brown, it
shows that either it was made from bad wheat, or that it has been
coarsely dressed that is, particles of bran, more or less fine, have
been left in it. Brown flour, however, may be of a good, sound qual-
ity, and fine white flour not so. To judge of flour, take a portion in
your hand and press it firmly between your thumb and fore-finger, at
the same time rubbing it gently, for the purpose of making a level
surface upon the flour. By this means you will be able to ascertain
the colour, by observing the pressed and smooth surface ; and the act
of pressing and smoothing it, will enable you to ascertain these facts.
If it feel loose and lively in the hand, it is of good quality ; if on the
contrary it feels dead or damp, or in other words clammy, it is de-
cidedly bad.
Flour ought to be a few weeks old before it is used; but it will
keep good much longer, if kept in a dry place covered over. But it
is, perhaps, better to trust to your miller or mealman, who, if you are
a good and constant customer, will take care to serve you with good
flour for his own sake ; for if he employs any tricks, he is sure to be
discovered when the bread comes out of the oven.
It has been found by analysis, that wheat flour consists of three
principal substances, namely, starch, gluten, and sugar, and a very
small portion of albumen ; of these, the starch is the most nourish-
ing as food. The gluten resembles animal glue in its tenacious qua-
lities ; and its smell, when subjected to a strong heat, is foetid, like
burning horn or feathers. It will not ferment in warm water and
yeast, but like a piece of flesh will become putrid. Mr. Edlin says,
that " this substance is totally different from vegetable matter, but
rather resembling animal." The gluten in wheat-flour is the cause
of its forming an adhesive paste with water, and of its rising in
leaven.
Starch forms the most considerable part of wheat-flour, and there
is reason to believe, from so many persons subsisting on potatoes,
which contain much starch and no gluten, that it is the most nutri-
tious ; but starch cannot be made into bread, because it wants the
mucilaginous gluten to give it tenacity, and the saccharine matter,
or sugar, to induce fermentation.
From experiments made by Mr. Edlin, it appears that a pound of
wheat contains three ounces of bran, ten ounces of starch, six drachms
of gluten, and two drachms of sugar ; which, with the loss of two
ounces in grinding and reducing the flour to starch, make one pound,
or sixteen ounces. From this it appears that he did not discover the
albumen, which M. Seguin considers the fermenting principle.
Mr. Edlin also ascertained by experiment, that starch, isinglass,
and sugar, mixed in proper quantities, and fermented with yeast, will
make a light and porous bread.
132 THE BAKER.
Flour-paste may be considered as merely a viscid and elastic tis-
sue, the interstices of which are filled with starch, albumen, and
sugar. We know that it is from the gluten that the dough derives
itsproperty of rising on the admixture of leaven ; the leaven acting
on the sweet principle of the wheat, gives rise in succession to the
vinous and acetous fermentation, and of consequence to alcohol,
acetic, and carbonic acids. The latter gas tends to fly off, but the
gluten resists its disengagement, expands like a membrane forms a
multitude of little cavities, which give lightness and sponginess to
the bread.
To judge of good yeast, no positive directions can be given. Yeast
ghould always be fresh, and if made from table ale it is better, because
less bitter than that made from very strong ale. If the yeast is sour,
the dough will not rise. Originally what is called leaven was uni-
formly employed, and it is now sometimes used as a substitute for
yeast. Those who use it, keep a pound or more dough from baking
to baking. It is kept in a wooden barrel, or bowl, covered with flour.
Before it is fit to use, it must be both stale and sour. Bread made in
this way is said to be more digestible, but it is not so pleasant to the
taste. Leaven is now only used at sea.
A good oven is necessary for the production of good bread. If the
oven be heated, as in country places, by dry wood, furze, or fern,
burnt in the oven itself, it ought to be built round, not long, as there
will be in the former case a greater equality of heat. The roof
should be from twenty inches to two feet high in the centre ; the
mouth no larger than will be sufficient to admit the bread. But many
people who make their own bread send it to be baked at the baker's.
We have seen good ovens attached to a stove, and heated by the
kitchen fire. These are not sufficiently capacious to contain loaves
enough for the consumption of a large family, but they answer the
purpose of a small family very well. To save room, it will be neces-
sary, in stove ovens, to bake in tins. Bread thus baked is much more
smooth and neat than when baked in the ordinary way; but the plea-
sant crispness of the crust is wanting.
The ovens used in London and some other large towns are, for the
most part, heated by a furnace placed on one side. The heat in these
ovens is very equable, and the baker is enabled to keep it up at all
times with very little trouble, and with less expense than by the old
method.
FAMILY LOAF-BREAD.
Under this head we shall give directions for making bread of wheat
flour only. The manufacturing of barley flour, rye flour, and a mix-
ture of different kinds of flours, with or without the addition of vari-
ous other nutritive substances, &c., into bread, will be treated oi
hereafter.
Family or Home-Baked Bread. An expeditious and simple method
THE BAKEK. 133
of making bread for a small family is as follows: Take Haifa bushel
of fiour; put all this flour excepting about four pounds into a tub or
pan, and in winter place it before the fire to warm. Mix six ounces
or half a pound of powdered salt with the flour but it would be bet-
ter to work the salt in with the dough. Then take a pint of good
fresh yeast, and well mix it with a sufficient quantity of blood-warm
water. Make a deep hole in the middle of the flour ; pour the water
and yeast gradually into the hole of the flour, mixing the water and
flour with your hands till both become well incorporated. Cover this
mixture up, and place it near the fire till it has well risen, that is to
say, fermented. Then work the other flour into it with your fist?,
till it becomes a nice, smooth, tough dough. Make this dough into
loaves, and bake in an oven properly heated: if too hot, your bread
will be burnt outside, and not done inside. It will take from an hour
and a half to two hours in baking, but the bread should always remain
in the oven half an hour after it has become brown; or, as it is tech-
nically called, it will not be soaked through. This is a method we
have known to be used with success in many families, though not
aware that it ever has been published before.
For large bakings, the following method is best :
The common way is to put the flour into a trough, tub, or pan, suf-
ficiently large to permit its swelling to three times the size it at pre-
sent occupies. Make a deep hole in the middle of the flour. For
half a bushel of flour take a pint of thick fresh yeast that is, yeast
not frothy mix it with about a pint of soft water made blood-warm.
The water must not be hot. Then gently mix with the yeast and
water as much flour as will bring it to the consistence of a thick or
stiff batter pour this mixture into the hole in the flour, and cover it
by sprinkling it over with flour lay over it a flannel or sack, and in
cold weather place it near, not too near, the fire. This is called lay-
ing the sponge. When the sponge or this mixture of water, yeast,
and flour has risen enough to crack the dry flour by which it was
covered, sprinkle over the top six ounces of salt (more or less to
suit the taste) : mind, the time when the salt is applied is of great
importance. We have seen directions in which we are told to mix
the salt with the water and yeast. The effect of this would be
to prevent fermentation, or, in other words, to prevent the sponge
from rising. Afb-r the salt is sprinkled over the sponge, work it
with the rest of ihe flour, and add from time to time warm water
(not hot) till the whole is sufficiently moistened ; that is, scarcely as
moist as pie-crust. The degree of moistness, however, which the
mixture ought to possess can only be taught by experience when
the water is mixed with the composition, then work it well by push-
ing your fists into it then rolling it out with your hands folding it
up again kneading it again with your fists, till it is completely
mixed, and formed into a stiff, tough, smooth substance, which is
called dough great care must be taken, that your dough be not too
moist on the one hand, and on the other that every particle of flour
12
134 THE BAKER.
be thoroughly incorporated. Form your dough into a lump like n
large dumpling, again cover it up, and keep it warm to rise or fer-
ment. After it has been rising about twenty minutes, or half an
hour, make the dough into loaves, first having shaken a little flour
over the board to prevent sticking. The loaves may be made up in
tin moulds, or if it be desired to make it into loaves to be baked with-
out the use of moulds, divide the dough into equal parts, according
to the size you wish to have your loaves make each part into the
form of a dumpling, and lay one dumpling, if we may so speak, upon
another then, the oven being properly heated, by means of an in-
strument called a peel, a sort of wooden shovel, put in your loaves,
and immediately shut the door as close as possible. A good deal of
nicety is required in properly placing the loaves in the oven they
must be put pretty closely together. The bread will take from an
hour and a-half to two hours to bake properly,
Brown nr Diet Bread is made of flour from which the coarsest flake
bran only is removed. This bread is made as in the preceding direc-
tions. By boiling a pound and a-quarter of bran in a gallon of the
water in which the bread is made, and then straining it, there will
be an increase of one-sixth more than if mixed with plain water.
Bread not liable 1o become bitier. This process is an invention of a
Mr. Stone. He took a tea-spoonful of yeast and mixed it with three
quarters of a pint of warm water. He then took a bushel or fifty-
six pounds of flour, and having put it into the kneading trough, and
made a hole in the middle of it large enough to contain two gallons
of water, he poured in his small quantity, and took a stick and stir-
red it until it was as thick as a batter pudding having covered this
sponge with a sprinkling of flour, it was left to ferment for an hour,
at the end of which time he took a quart more of warm water and
poured in, and repeated the operation of stirring it in with more flour,
and again sprinkling it with flour, when it was again left for two
hours, when it will be found to have risen and broken through the
flour then add three quarts or a gallon of water, and stir in flour to
the consistence of butter, and again cover it with dry flour and in
about three or four more he mixed up his dough ; which done, he
covered it up warm and let it stand to prove four or five hours more,
when he made up his loaves and baked them. The bread was as
light and as porous as if one pint of yeast had been made.
Having, as we trust, explained the process of baking as it is prac-
tised by those who adhere to its simple principles, and who employ
no other ingredients than those necessary to produce good bread, we
shall now proceed to describe the methods pursued by the public
baker; and, at the same time, give a description of a public bake-
house, and the duties of the persons employed therein.
THE BAKER. 135
ARTIFICIAL YEASTS.
Previous to entering upon the subject of public baking, by which
BO large a portion of the people are supplied with their daily bread, it
will be necessary to lay before our readers some of the various me-
thods by which yeast is compounded. Of brewers' yeast, or the yeast
of ale and beer, we have already spoken, and therefore it will ba
necessary again to revert to it. Several of the following directions
for the preparations of yeast have been long before the public, and
some of them the writer has not had an opportunity of testing by
experience, but there is no reason to doubt of their efficiency ; of the
patent yeast, however, now pretty generally used by the public
bakers, he can speak with confidence, having witnessed the whole
process of making it, and experienced its perfect applicability to the
manufacturing of bread. We shall first, however, treat of the mode
of preserving brewers' yeast.
Yeast to Preserve. Take a quantity and work it well with a whisk,
till it becomes thin; then procure a wooden dish or platter, clean and
dry, and with a soft brush lay a thin layer of yeast on the dish, and
turn the top downwards to keep out the dust, but not the air, which
is to dry it. When the first coat is dry, lay on another, and let that
dry, and so continue till the quantity is sufficient ; by this means, it
may soon be made two or three inches thick, when it may be pre-
served perfectly good, in dry tin canisters, for a long time. When
you use it for baking, cut a piece and lay it in warm water till it is
dissolved, when it is fit for use.
Potatoe Yeast is made of mealy potatoes boiled thoroughly soft
they are then skinned and mashed as smooth as possible, when as
much hot water should be put on them as will make a mash of the
consistency of good beer yeast. Add to every pound of potatoes two
ounces of treacle, and when just warm stir in for every pound of
potatoes two large spoonsful of yeast. Keep it warm till it has done
fermenting, and in twenty-four hours it will be fit for use. A pound
of potatoes will make nearly a quart of yeast, and it is said to be
equally as good as brewers' yeast.
The following are Dr. Lettsoni's directions for making another Pre-
pared Yeast. Thicken two quarts of water with four ounces of flour,
boil it for half an hour, then sweeten it with three of brown sugar ;
when almost cold, pour it along with four spoonfuls of bakers' yeast
into an earthen jug, deep enough for the fermentation to go on with-
out running over ; place it a day near the fire ; then pour off the thin
liquor from the top, shake the remainder, and close it up for use, first
straining it through a sieve. To preserve it sweet, set it in a cool
cellar, or hang it some depth in a well. Always keep some of this
yeast to make the next quantity that is wanted.
Artificial Yeast. Take two ounces of flour, boil it in a quart of
130 THE BAKER.
water, till it comes to the consistence of a thin jelly, pour it into a
machine for impregnating water with fixed air ; then put into the
lower vessel some coarse powdered marble, and pour on it some sul-
phuric acid diluted with water. The apparatus is now to be adjust-
ed, and the upper vessel put in its place, and nearly stopped. The
fixed air now passes through the valve, and ascends into the middle
and upper part of the machine, where the gas is absorbed by the
flour jelly in considerable quantity ; and in the course of a few hours
the matter will be found so strongly impregnated, as to be in a state
of fermentation. This artificial yeast may now be put into a bottle
for use. The great advantage of this yeast is, that it may be made
in situations where it is impossible to procure brewers' yeast. The
foregoing operation need not be performed but once by the same in-
dividual, as the process may be carried on by mixing this artificial
yeast, which was invented by the late Mr. Henry, with the preced-
ing preparation recommended by Dr. Lettsom, which it will cause to
ferment the same as brewers' yeast.
Another artificial yeast is made as follows : Take half a pound
of fine flour, the same qrantity of coarse brown sugar, and a quarter
of a peck of bruised malt ; boil these over the fire for a quarter of
an hour, in half a gallon of water, then strain the liquor through a
sieve into an upright jug, and when cooled to 80 degrees of heat, add
one pint of the artificial Seltzer water, or, if procurable, Seltzer wa-
ter itself, or water impregnated with fixed air the mixture will
soon begin to ferment : it should then be set before the fire, and
when ebullition ceases, the yeast will sink to the bottom. Pour off
the clear liquor, and the yeast will be fit for use.
Patent Yeast, which is extensively used by the London bakers, and
which is, perhaps, preferable to all other yeasts, is made as follows :
Take half a pound of hops and two pailfuls of water, mix and boil
in the oven till the liquid is reduced to one pailful ; strain the decoc-
tion into the seasoning tub, and when it is sufficiently cool put in half
a peck of malt. In the mean time, put the hops, strained off, again
into two pailfuls of water, and boil as before till they are reduced to
one ; strain the liquid while hot into the seasoning tub. The heat
will not injuriously affect malt, previously mixed with tepid water.
Boil the hops again as before, and strain off as before into the season-
ing tub. When the liquor has cooled down to about blood-heat, strain
off the rnalt, and add to the liquor two quarts of patent yeast set
apart from the previous making. It ought to be observed, that brew-
ers' yeast will not answer the purpose.* To the malt and hops some
add a little flour, but the patent yeast is quite as good without the
flour, which in summer is apt to make the yeast go sour. By the
* If this be the case, it may be fairly asked, by what means the first
patent yeast was generated? The answer is, by a chemical process si-
milar to that invented by Mr. Henry, and which wr nave given under
the head of ARTIFICIALYEAST.
THE BAKER. 137
above process five gallons of very good yeast may be made, which
will be ready for use the day after it is made. It occupies in manu
facturing from about seven o'clock in the morning till two or three in
the afternoon ; but it gives very little trouble to the baker.
ALUM, POTATOES, &C.
These ingredients are now considered indispensable by the London
Dakers in the manufacturing of second or household bread, that is,
the bread in daily use in the metropolis. The effects of alum upon
bread are not well understood: but it is generally said to bleach and
act as an astringent. Accum says, that " the theory of the bleaching
property of alum, as manifested in the panification (making into bread)
of an inferior kind of flour, is by no means well understood ; and
indeed it is really surprising, that the effect should be produced by so
small a quantity of that substance, two or three ounces of alum being
sufficient for a sack of flour. From experiments in which I have
been employed, with the assistance of skilful bakers, I am authorized
to state, that without the addition of alum, it does not appear possible
to make white, light, and porous bread, such as is used in this me-
tropolis, unless the flour be of the very best quality."
Mr. A. Booth, the lecturer on Chemistry, asserts, that "alum
bleaches from the attraction of alumina, one of its constituent parts,
to the colouring matter of the flour, and also acts as an astringent on
the bread."
If these opinions are to be relied upon, of course the question is
settled, as to the indispensability of alum in making London bread.
Accum asserts, that he, in conjunction with skilful bakers, has tested
the thing by experiments, which prove that alum cannot be dispensed
with. For our part, we are inclined to think, that the whiteness of
the London bread is owing, in some degree, to the process of baking,
a process widely differing from that followed by women in making
home-baked bread ; which, as we have elsewhere asserted, is never
so white or so porous, though made of the same flour, as bakers' bread.
Accurn, whatever talent he might possess as a chemist, was a fraudu-
lent writer, and therefore his assertions are not to be relied on, as to
the experiments which he alleges he had made. We agree with
him, however, in his observation, that "the theory of the bleaching
property of alum, &c., is by no means well understood."
The quantity of alum used in baking is much less than the public
generally imagine, even by the most fraudulent of cheap-bread bakers,
and indeed much smaller than many of the bakers themselves ima-
gine. This may appear a strange assertion, and it is probably one
never made before in print; but a little explanation will make the
point quite clear. It is well known that the bakers are liable to a
heavy fine if alum is found on their premise?. To avoid this liability
as much as possible, they have long been in the habit of buying the
12*
138 THE BAKER.
alum ready powdered at the drug-gists, under the appellation of stuff'.
The druggists keep this stuff, which the bakers imagine is unadul-
terated ground or powdered alum, but which is, in fact, a compound,
consisting of one part alum, and three parts of muriate of soda, that
is, common table salt. This compound is made by pounding the salt
with the alum in a mortar, and is kept by the druggists in pound
packages, which they sell at twopence each. For this statement we
have the authority of several druggists, and the evidence of our own
eyes. It may appear extraordinary that the bakers should suffer
themselves to be so cheated; but be this as it may, we believe it to be
the fact. It should be recollected, that few bakers are readers, par-
ticularly of scientific or medical works. In the fourth edition of
Gray's supplement to the Pharmacopoeia and Treatise on Pharma-
cology, under the head of stuff, this term is thus defined : " Alum, in
small crystals, one pound, common salt three pounds, to mix with
flour for baking" We have the evidence of our own senses for know-
o
ing, that the respectable bakers of home or household bread do not put
more than half a pound or eight ounces of stuff to a sack of flour; and
this stuff, as we have shown on the authority of Gray, only contains
one-fourth part, or two ounces, of alum, the remainder being common
salt. Some persons, however, will ask for powdered alum, but the
druggist, knowing from the quantity required and the appearance of
his customer that it is wanted for baking, uniformly serves him with
the before-described mixture of salt and alum. This we have fre-
quently seen done. The object of the druggist is profit. It would
be scarcely worth his while to sell powdered alum for twopence a
pound. Gray, in his book, puts it down at one shilling and sixpence
a pound. This is ridiculously too high to sell by the pound, but it is
generally charged a penny an ounce. The writer, giving this infor-
mation to his baker, he exclaimed, " You don't say soi the infamous
rogues why the rascally druggists cheat us before we can cheat our
customers ! !"
Such being the case, it seems almost inconceivable, that so small
a quantity as two ounces of alum in two hundred and eighty pounds
of flour, the weight of a sack, should have any effect in bleaching it;
especially when we consider that one hundred parts of alum contain
but a fraction more than ten parts of alumina, the only constituent in
alum, as we are informed, that possesses the property of bleaching.
Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that alum, though perhaps not
by itself, yet in conjunction with other ingredients, has the effect of
whitening the bread. A circumstance occurred, which we have from
indisputable authority, of a baker leaving out of his dough, by acci-
dent, his usual quantity of stuff, containing not more than two ounces
of alum. The consequence was a batch of brown bread, which he
was obliged to sell at half price.
Alum, it is true, is used in small quantities for the most part in
quantities too small to affect the health, perhaps, materially ; but still,
as it only whitens the bread, and makes it otherwise more pleasing
THE BAKER. 189
to the eyo, while it deteriorates its wholesomeness, and injures its
flavour, one would suppose that the great majority of people would
prefer home-baked bread, as it is called, or bread without alum.
This, however, they do not do ; and there is little probability that
they ever will. The Londoners in particular do not like home-baked
bread. There have been many instances of persons being 1 induced
for the sake of their health to eat it for a time, but they always re-
turn to the alumed bread ; and we question whether there is a single
baker in the metropolis who sells sufficient home-baked bread to sup-
port himself and his family.
Formerly every baker was his own mealman or miller. This is
.he case now in Glasgow, and in other parts of Scotland. The ba-
kers buy their own wheat, and manufacture it into flour at their own
mills, which are held by them as joint-stock proprietors.
It seems to be generally agreed, that alum in bread is detrimental
to the health of those who consume it. The fact, however, is, that
the bakers eat the same bread as their customers; and it appears
very improbable, that there should be a set of men who knowingly
poison themselves. The following is Dr. lire's opinion upon the ef-
fects of alum eaten in bread :
44 The habitual and daily introduction of a portion of alum into the
human stomach," says Dr. Ure, in his Dictionary of Chemistry,
" however small, must be prejudicial to the exercise of its functions,
and particularly to persons of a bilious and costive habit. And, be-
sides, as the best sweet flour never stands in need of alum, the pre-
sence of this salt indicates an inferior and highly acescent food, which
cannot fail to aggravate dyspepsia, and which may generate a calcu-
lus diathesis in the urinary organs."
To ascertain whether alum is present in bread, crumble a portion
when somewhat stale into cold distilled water; then squeeze the
mass through a piece of cloth, and pass the liquid through a paper
filter. A limpid infusion will thus be obtained. A dilute solution
of muriate of baryta, dropped into the filtered infusion, will indicate
by a white cloud, more or less heavy, the presence and quantity
of alum.
It is said, that to counteract the costive quality of alum, when
consumed in large quantities, the bakers frequently use jalap in the
composition of their bread. This we do not believe. Dr. Darwin
says, that when much alum is used, it may be distinguished by the
eye in the place where two loaves have stuck together in the oven :
they break from each other with a much smoother surface than those
which do not contain alum. We believe this to be correct ; indeed
the bakers say, that this is one of their reasons for using alum.
When the statute was enacted by king John for regulating the
price of bread, and during many of the subsequent statutes of assize,
the baker was his own manufacturer, purchasing his own corn, and
having it ground and separated into flour, pollard, and bran. Accord-
ing to Pownall's work on the assize of bread, which we have no
J40 THE BAKER.
doubt is correct, this flour, or the flour from which the bran and pol-
lard only are separated, was found, from an unvaried series of experi-
ments made from age to age, through the course of many hundred
years, to be three-fourths in weight of the whole grain of wheat,
taking all sorts of wheats together ; and the bread made from this
flour has always been decreed the standard of the food of bread corn.
But, by insensible degrees, the manufacture of bread became separated
into two distinct employments. To this cause Mr. Edlin attributes
the custom the pernicious custom, as he considers it of making
bread from other flour than that we have described, which many per-
sons assert is more wholesome and more nutritious than that made of
the finest flour. The miller not considering himself liable to the
assize laws, made different kinds of flour, some of which was ex-
tremely fine and white. The bread made of this flour was so very
white, and pleasing to the eye and palate, that in the course of a few
years it got into general use, and the people, particularly the Lon-
doners, refused to buy the bread made of the whole of the grain,
except the husks, or coarse and fine bran.
To this circumstance, perhaps, may be attributed the almost uni-
versal use of alum in bakers' bread not made of the finest flour; and
very little of it is so made, for it is impossible from a second flour,
which is the flour generally used, to make bread white without the
employment of the bleaching properties of this ingredient.
The assize of bread has been for some time abolished, and the baker
is entitled to sell his bread for as much as anybody is willing to give
for it. There is very properly still a heavy penalty attached to sell-
ing bread short of weight.
Potatoes, called by the bakers fruit, are used by them for the pur-
pose of aiding the fermentation, and, as they say, for the purpose of
improving the appearance of the bread, and not for saving flour.
Indeed, in the small quantities in which we have seen them used, not
more than seven or eight pounds to two hundred and eighty pounds
of flour, there can be little or nothing gained by them. Potatoes,
however, as well as damaged rice, are no doubt used in large quan-
tities by cheap, fraudulent bakers. We utterly disbelieve the stories
about bakers using ground bones to adulterate bread, for this reason
namely, that the expense of making them fit for such a purpose would
be much greater than the cost of flour itself.
There are instances on record of convictions having been obtained
against bakers for using gypsum, chalk, and pipe-clay, in the manu-
facture of bread.
Carbonate of ammonia, which is sometimes used by bakers in pro-
ducing light and porous bread from sour or damaged flour, does not
appear to be liable to the same objections as those urged against
alum; as the action of the former upon the bread is merely mechani-
cal, no part of this salt remaining in bread after it is baked. During
the operation of baking, it causes the dough to swell up into air bub-
bles, which carry before them stiff dough, and thus it renders the
THE BAKER. 141
dough porous; the salt itself is at the same time totally volatilized,
and not a particle remains in the bread. Caibonate of ammonia,
however, has not, like alum, the property of bleaching the bread.
It is said, that the carbonate of magnesia of the shops, when well
mixed with flour in the proportion of twenty to forty grains to a pound
of flour, materially improves it for the purpose of making bread. It
is recommended to be employed when the flour is new, or of a bad
quality. Mr. Davy, professor of Chemistry, says, that this substance
must be most intimately mixed with the flour, previous to laying the
sponge; and gives it as his decided opinion, that not the slightest
danger can be apprehended from the use of so innocent a substance,
in such small quantities as he recommends.
METHOD OF MAKING BAKERS' BREAD.
Having briefly described the utensils of a bakehouse, and having
descanted at some length (but not longer, it is hoped, than the im-
portance of the subject requires) upon the ingredients used by public
bakers in the manufacture of bread, we shall proceed at once to show
the methods they generally employ. We must observe, however,
that the first method described was witnessed by Mr. Edlin nearly
forty years ago; and the second, which is the mode now generally
followed, has been witnessed by the writer himself in all its details.
The Old Method. To make a sack of flour into bread, the baker
bakes that quantity of flour, and empties it into the kneading trough
it is then carefully sifted through a wire sieve, which makes it lie
lighter and reduces any lumps that may have been formed in it. The
next process is to dissolve two ounces of alum, technically stuff, or
some call it rocky, in a little water placed over the fire. This is
then poured into the seasoning tub, and four or five pounds of salt are
added to it, with a pailful of water pretty hot, but not too much so.
When this mixture, technically liquor, has cooled to the temperature
of about 84, from three to four pints of yeast are mixed in it, and the
whole having been strained through the seasoning sieve, is emptied
into a hole made in the mass of the flour, and mixed up with a portion
of it to the consistence of thick batter. Dry flour is then sprinkled
over the top. This is called the quarter sponge, and the operation is
denominated setting. The sponge must then be covered up with
sacks or woollen cloths to keep it warm, if the weather be cold.
In this situation it is left three or four hours, when it gradually
swells and breaks through the dry flour laid upon its surface.
Another pailful of water, impregnated with alum and salt, is now
added and well stirred in, and the mass sprinkled with flour and
covered up as before. This is called setting half sponge.
The whole is then well kneaded, with about two pailsful of more
water, for about an hour, when the dough is cut into pieces with a
knife; and to prevent it spreading, pinned or kept at one end of the
142 THE BAKER.
trough by a pin board. In this state it is left to prove, as the bakers
call it, for about four hours. After the proving process is over, the
dough is again well kneaded for about half an hour. It is then
removed from the inside of the trough to its lid, where it is cut into
pieces, and weighed into the quanties suitable for each loaf.
The operation of moulding the dough can be learnt only by prac-
tice. It consists in cutting the masses of weighed dough, each into
two equal parts. They are then kneaded either round or long, and
one placed in a hollow made in the other; and the union is completed
by a turn of the knuckles on the centre of the upper piece. The
loaves are left in the oven from one hour and a half to two hours.
They are then taken out, and, to prevent their splitting, are turned
their bottom side upwards. They are afterwards covered up with a
blanket to prevent as much as possible evaporation, by which weight
is lost, and the bread becomes dry and unpalatable.
Mr. Edlin has made one mistake in the above account; namely, as
regards the time when the salt and alum are incorporated with the
flour. These ingredients ought never to be put into the sponge. If
thc?,y were, the salt would retard the fermentation, and this Mr. Accurn
as a chemist ought to have known, and not, like many others, have
copied and adopted Mr. Edlin's error.
With the exception just alluded to, the foregoing mode of making
bread was pursued by the bakers some years ago, and is still practised
by some of them ; but the following is the process now pursued.
Modern Method. Take a peck of potatoes (about eight pounds) and
boil them with their skins on then mash them in the seasoning tub,
add two or three quarts of water, about the same quantity of patent
yeast (as directed to be prepared, page 136), and three or four pounds
of flour; stir together well, and cover the mixture up close with a
sack, and let it stand from six to twelve hours, when it will have
become what is called ferment. Then empty a sack of second flour
into the trough some sift it in and take a little less than one quar-
ter of the sack of flour, and pin or block it up to one end of the trough
with the pin-board. Then bring the seasoning tub with Ihe ferment
in it to the trough, pour in a sufficient quantity of warm water in
summer, cold stir up the mixture with the hands, and mash any
lumps of potatoes (fruit) that may be in next, strain it through a
sieve for the purpose of separating the skins of the potatoes; then
pour the mixture liquor into the flour which had been previously
pinned or blocked up at one end of the trough, ar.d mix it well into
the flour with the hands sprinkle a little flour over the top, and let
it stand five or six hours, during which time the sponge will have
risen twice. The first rising is suffered to break and go down. In
about an hour or so, according to the heat of the bakehouse, the sponge
rises a second time, and just as it is about again to break, or when
the air escapes by the bursting of the bubbles, a sufficient quantity
of water (about three pailsful) to make up the batch is poured into the
sponge from the seasoning tub, the water having dissolved in it pre-
THE BAKER. 143
viously about four pounds of salt and eight ounces of what is called
stuff (some use more than a pound or sixteen ounces of stuff).
The liquor ought to be well mixed with the sponge; which being
done, the pin-board is taken away, and the whole of the flour is well
worked up into one mass, which is blocked up by the pin-board to one
end, and left about an hour in summer, and two hours in winter, to
prove; the vacant part of the trough is then sprinkled with flour to
prevent the dough from sticking, the pin-board is knocked out, and
the dough is pitched out of the trough on to the lid of the opposite
trough, when it is cut into masses and weighed technically scaled
off. These masses are then moulded into shape and put aside in a
regular manner, to be finally moulded into loaves, taking care to
mould those first which were first scaled off. Previous to the mould-
ing, the oven must be well swabbed out, or cleaned with the swabber
or scuttle, and the up-sets chalked to prevent the bread sticking to
them. They are then placed at the back and on each side of the
oven by means of the peel ; the long loaves, or the quartern and half-
quartern bricks, are put into the oven, packed together as close as
possible the common round bread is also packed close but the cot-
tage bread must be placed separately, each loaf by itself, or it will
not be crusted all round. After placing the loaves in the oven, or, as
the bakers say, setting the batch, which requires a good hand to do
properly, an up-set is placed in front of it. The potatoes for the next
ferment are put into a tin or iron kettle, generally round, but some-
times in the form of a fish-kettle, and placed in the oven to boil.
When the potatoes are done, and while they are hot, the ferment for
the next batch must be mixed. Twenty-four hours elapse from the
mixing the ferment to the time when the bread is taken out of the
oven.
SUBSTITUTE FOR WHEAT-FLOUR BREAD.
Under this head we intend to treat of the various substitutes which
have been used at different times, and in different countries, for bread
made of wheat flour. We allude to bread made of rye, barley, oats,
peas, beans, buckwheat, maize, farinaceous roots, and of mixed sub-
stances, &c. This subject is not without interest, independent of
utility, and a work of this kind would scarcely be complete if it were
not introduced. We shall enter upon it with few general remarks.
Bread Corn properly so called, of which bread is made in this
country, and other civilized nations, comprehends the seeds of all
cerealia, or farinaceous grass-like plants, for they all contain a farina-
ceous or mealy substance of a like nature ; and which substance is
chiefly composed of starch. The seeds or grain in common use are,
first and principally, wheat; second, rye; and third, barley.
Wheat is the only grain from which really good, porous, or light
bread can be made; but rye and barley are occasionally used, as well
144 THE BAKEK.
as other grain. The bread, however, is of an inferior quality. A
sort of bread is also made from oats, maize, rice, millet, &LC.
Rice is said, and no doubt truly, to nourish more human beings
than all the other seeds together used as food ; and it is by many con-
sidered the most nutritive of all kinds of grain. Accum, in the Art
of making Bread, says, that " it has been ascertained, that one part
of rice contains as much food and useful nourishment as six of wheat ;"
an assertion by the way which we are much inclined to disbelieve.
But be this as it may, there is no doubt that rice makes a very nou-
rishing: and healthy food, notwithstanding the prejudices that prevailed
against it, on the unfounded allegation that it caused diseases in the
eye. Rice is the principal food of most of the eastern nations, a fact
which shows that it is not unhealthy. Rice is not, however, often
made into bread without the addition of flour, and when iris, it forms
a loaf of very inferior quality.
Maize is frequently employed as bread-corn in America, but it will
not by itself make good loaf-bread ; but unleavened cakes are made
of it, very nutritive and palatable.
Oatmeal is seldom used for making loaf-bread, but is extensively
used in the north of Great Britain in making unleavened bread, com-
monly called oat-cakes. It may be observed here, that the objection
to biscuits, oat-cakes, maize-cakes, and other unleavened bread, on
the ground of their being unhealthy, and of course not nutritive, ap-
pears to be without foundation. There can be no doubt, however,
that they are inferior as food to good wheaten loaf-bread.
The seeds of leguminous plants, such as pease and beans, are some-
times used as substitutes for bread-corn. They yield a great deal of
meal, which is of a sweetish taste, but it forms a coarse bread, and is
generally considered neither palatable nor digestible. Dr. Cullen
says, that "on certain farms in his country, upon which the legumi-
nous seeds are produced in great abundance, the labouring servants
are much fed upon this kind of grain ; but if such servants are removed
to a farm upon which the leguminous seeds are not in such plenty,
and they are, therefore, fed with the cerea/ia (wheat, barley, &c.),
they soon rind a decay of strength ; and it is common for servants, in
making such removals, to insist on their being provided daily, or
weekly, with a certain quantity of the leguminous meal.' 1 It does
not, however, follow, that pease or bean-flower bread would be found
generally so nutritive or digestible as wheat-flour bread. A great
deal may be attributed to habit, and the laborious employment of
farmers' servants in the open air.
All the vegetable substances from which bread is made, contain
more or less of starch, or what is otherwise called amylaceous fecuia,
and this is the most valuable and nutritive part of all such substances,
whether they consist of grain, or roots, &c.
We scarcely need observe, that the potatoe, amongst roots, is the
most extensively used as a substitute for bread. In many countries,
THE BAKER. 145
particularly Ireland, it is almost the exclusive food of the poor. The
potatoe contains a great deal of starch.
Rice, notwithstanding its rough and dry qualities, as a farinaceous
vegetable, is capable of being converted into bread, without the addi
lion of any other substance. The Americans, however, make bread
of rice by washing it in water till perfectly clean. They then, after
the rice has been sufficiently drained, put it into a mortar, and reduce
it while damp into a sort of powder ; it is then completely dried, and
passed through a hair-sieve. The flour thus obtained, it is said, is
then generally mixed with a little Indian corn-meal, and boiled into
a thickish consistence, which is sometimes mixed with boiled pota
toes, and fermented and baked in tins, or pans, in the usual manner.
The bread, we are told, made in this way, is light and wholesome
" pleasing to the eye, and agreeable to the taste."
But a sort of bread may be made from rice, without the addition of
any other kind of meal. Let a sufficient quantity of rice-flour be put
into a kneading trough, and at the same time let a due proportion of
flour be boiled, into which throw a few handsful of rice in the grain,
and boil it till it is broken. This compound will form a thick and
viscous substance, which is poured upon the flour, and the whole is
kneaded with a mixture of salt and yeast, or other fermenting matter.
The dough is then covered with flannel or other cloths to keep it
warm, and left to rise. This dough, though firm at first, in the course
of fermentation becomes as liquid as soup, and is quite incapable of
being worked into loaves, in the usual manner, by the hand. The
following is the mode by which this difficulty is surmounted : The
oven is heated while the dough is rising ; and it being sufficiently hot,
the dough is put into a tin pan, which is covered with a paper, or
large leaves. The tin is then placed in the oven, and immediately
reversed or turned upside down ; the heat prevents the dough from
spreading, and, in fact, fixes it in that shape given it by the stewpan
or box. This bread is said to be " both beautiful and good ;" but
when it gets stale, it becomes very much deteriorated as indeed
does all bread in which there is rice.
Potatoes, mixed in various proportions with meal, are frequently
employed in the making of bread. The London bakers all use them
in greater or less quantities not, as they say, to save flour, but to
assist fermentation. There are various ways in which potatoes may
be used with meal in the production of bread, potatoes alone will
not make good bread ; the potatoe is not of an adhesive quality, and
the bread is not only brown and heavy, but crumbles to pieces.
M. Parmentier, to render it more adhesive, mixed with the potatoe-
rneal a decoction of bran, and sometimes honey and water ; either of
which, he says, much improved it, by rendering it lighter, better
coloured, well tasted, and sufficiently consistent.
He obtained also, he adds, well-fermented bread, of a good colour
and taste, by mixing some potatoe pulp with meal of wheat, or pota-
13
THE BAKEK.
toe-meal, with the addition of yeast and salt. After repeated trials,
he recommends, in times of scarcity, a mixture of potatoes with the
meal of wheat, in preference to the meal of any other grain. Where
no flour or grain can be obtained, Parmentier recommends the use of
bread made from the amylaceous (partaking of starch) powder of
potatoes, potatoe pulp, mixed and fermented, with the addition of
honey. Potatoe-meal, when mixed with water, acquires a gluey
consistence, but bread made from this and the flour of wheat is never
of a good colour. That, however, which is made of a mixture of the
pulp with the flour of wheat, is much whiter. Parmentier, we are
informed, made bread very much resembling that of wheat, by mixing
four ounces of amylaceous powder of potatoes, one drachm of muci-
lage, extracted from barley, one drachm of the bran of rye, and one
drachm of glutinous matter, dried and pounded into powder.
A German writer upon country affairs, of the name of Khyogg,
who has obtained the name of the Rustic Socrates, recommends, that
potatoes well boiled and carefully peeled should be put into a knead-
ing-trough, covered with boiling water, and beaten or bruised till they
are converted into a kind of soup, throughout of one consistence.
This soup may be mixed with the flour of wheat in the proportion of
one-fourth, one-third, and even one-half; and if the flour be of good
quality, the bread will be found pleasant, nourishing, and wholesome.
This is the principal food of the peasantry in German Lorraine, and
the people of that country are remarkable for their healthy, robust,
and vigorous constitutions ; the young men are tall and handsome,
and the country is thickly populated.
In Vogstand and in Saxony, potatoes are prepared for bread by
peeling them, grating them very fine, and by putting the pulp into a
milk-pail, or some other suitable vessel. It is then mixed with cold
water, which is allowed to remain upon the pulp twenty-four hours.
The water is then drawn off, and other water added, and again drawn
till the water comes off quite pure. The potatoe pulp is then drained
through a clean cloth, and then spread upon a plate, or some other
surface, till dry. After this, it is reduced to a fine powder, mixed
with an equal portion of wheat flour, and made into bread by the
usual process.
We have thought it right to lay before our readers the various
ways in which it has been recommended to employ potatoes in mak-
ing bread in times of scarcity ; but after all, our own opinion is, that
the best and most economical mode of using potatoes is simply to boil
them as they do in Ireland, where, it is much to be regretted, they
stand instead of all other food to the mass of the population.
Many other substances have been employed in making bread other
than those of the flour of farinaceous vegetables, such as wheat, bar-
ley, rye, Indian-corn, oats, &c. The latter grain makes an excellent
unleavened bread, and is much eaten in Scotland, Lancashire, and
several of the northern English counties. It is called oat-cake, and
is preferred by many persons to wheaten bread.
THE BAKER. 147
Bread made of Moots. M. Parmentier, late chief Apothecary in the
Hotel des Invalides, whose authority we have before quoted, has pub-
lished numerous and very curious experiments on the vegetables,
which in times of scarcity might be used in the subsistence of ani-
mals, as substitutes for those usually employed for that purpose. The
result of these experiments in the mind of M. Parmentier was, that
starch is the nutritive part of farinaceous vegetables, and that the
farina of plants was identical with the starch of wheat. The plants
from which he extracted this farina are the bryony, the iris, gladiolus,
ranunculus, fumaria, arum, dracunculus, mandragora, colchicum, fili-
pendula, helleborus, and the roots of the gramen caninum arvense, or
dog grass of the fields.
The mode employed by M. Parmentier to extract the starch, or
farina, from these vegetables, was merely bruising and boiling. The
roots were cleansed and scraped, then reduced to a pulp, which being
soaked in a considerable quantity of water, a white sediment is de-
posited, which when properly washed and dried will be found to be
pure starch. M. Parmentier converted this starch into bread by
mingling it with an equal quantity of potatoes reduced to a pulp, and
employing the usual quantity of yeast or other leaven. The bread,
we are informed, had no bad taste, and was of excellent quality.
From these experiments of M. Parmentier, it appears, that it is
chiefly the amylaceous matter or starch of grain that is nutritious ;
and, that the nutritive quality of other vegetable substances depends
in a great measure on the quantity of that matter which they contain.
Starch formed into a jelly, and diffused in water, will keep a long
time without change.
Ragwort. Bread has been made in times of scarcity from the roots
of this plant. When ragwort root is first taken out of the ground, it
is soft and viscous, but becomes hard in a short time, and may be pre-
served in that state for years without being at all deteriorated, pro-
viding it be kept in a dry, airy place. When this root is ground and
reduced to flour, which it may easily be, it has an agreeable nut-like
taste. It is said to be easily digested when made into bread, and to
be more nutritive and "exhilarating," than wheaten bread. The
same properties and effects are attributed to radishes, but we appre-
hend not truly.
Turnip Bread is made of turnips mixed with equal quantities of
wheat flour. The turnips must be first washed clean, then pared and
boiled. Mash them and press the water out of them at least the
greater part. Mix with an equal quantity in weight of coarse meal
flour make the dough in the usual manner, and when risen, form it
into loaves, and bake it rather more than ordinary bread ; when taken
from the oven it will be light and sweet, with a little taste of the
turnip. " After it has been allowed to stand," says our authority,
" twelve hours, the taste of the turnips is scarcely perceptible, and
the smell is quite gone. After an interval of twenty-four hours, it
148 THE BAKER,
cannot be known that it has turnips in its composition, although it
has still a peculiar sweetish taste: it appears to be rather superior to
bread made only of wheat flour, is fresher and moister, and even after
a week continues very good." We are of opinion, however, that it
cannot be so good as wheat bread ; for, independent of other consi-
derations, turnips do not contain so much starch or nutritive matter
as wheat.
Jlpple Bread. A bread said to be very superior to potatoe bread
has been made from the use of common apples with meal. Boil one-
third of peeled apples ; while quite warm, bruise them into two-thirds
of flour, including the proper quantity of leaven, or yeast; knead
without water, the juice of the fruit being quite sufficient. When
this mixture has acquired the consistency of paste, put it into a ves-
sel to rise for about twelve hours. By this process may be obtained
a very sweet bread, full of eyes and extremely light.
Meslin Bread. A good bread is made in many parts of England
from what is called meslin, which is a mixture of rye and wheat.
This is raised on one and the same ground at the same time, and
passes through the processes of reaping, thrashing, grinding, and
dressing, in the mixed state.
Sahp Bread. Dr. Percival recommends the employment of orchis
root in powder, or, as it is called, salep. He says, that an ounce of
ealep, dissolved in a quart of water, and mixed with two pounds of
flour, two ounces of yeast, and eighty grains of salt, produced a
remarkably good loaf, weighing three pounds two ounces ; while a
loaf made of an equal quantity of the other ingredients, without the
ealep, or powdered orchis root, weighed but two pounds twelve ounces.
If the salep be in too large quantities, its peculiar taste will be dis-
tinguishable in the bread.
Oat and Barky Bread. The Norwegians, we are informed, make
bread of barley and oatmeal baked between two stones. This bread,
it is added, improves by age, and may be kept thirty or forty years ! !
At their great festivals, they use their oldest bread; and it is not
unusual, at the baptism of a child, to have bread that was baked at
the baptism of the grandfather.
Debretzen Bread. In some parts of Hungary, Debretzen for in-
stance, they have a peculiar mode of fermenting bread without yeast,
by means of a leaven made in the following manner. Two large
handsful of hops are boiled in four quarts of water ; this decoction is
poured upon as much wheaten bran as it will moisten, and to this are
added four or five pounds of leaven. When the mass is warm, the
ingredients are well worked together, so as to be thoroughly mixed.
It is then deposited in a warm place for twenty-four hours, and after-
wards divided into small pieces, about the size of hens' eggs, which
are dried by being placed upon a board and exposed to dry air, but
not to the sun ; when dry, they are laid up for use, and may be kept
for six months.
THE BAKER. 149
The following is given as the mode by which bread is made from
the above-described ferment. For baking six large loaves, six good
handsf'ul of these balls are dissolved in seven or eight quarts of warm
water this mixture is poured through a sieve atone end of the
bread-trough, and after it three quarts of warm water, the remaining
mass being well pressed out. The liquor is mixed up with flour suf-
ficient to form one large loaf; they then strew this mass over with
flour, the sieve with its contents is put upon it, and the whole is
covered up and kept warm and left to rise, or till the flour upon it
begins to crack. Fifteen quarts of warm water, in which six hands-
ful of salt have been dissolved, are then poured upon it through the
sieve; the necessary quantity of flour is added, and the whole is well
kneaded together. The dough is then covered up and kept warm for
half an hour. It is then formed into loaves which are kept for another
half hour in a warm room ; and after that they are put into an oven,
where they remain for two or three hours according to their size.
There is certainly an advantage in this kind of ferment which is,
its capability of keeping for a long time, and of being made in large
quantities. On this account it would be convenient on board of ships,
or in the camp of an army,
Millet Bread. Bread made of millet, if eaten when warm, is pretty
palatable, but when cold, it becomes dry and crumbly. Besides,
though nutritive when boiled, it is not so in bread, but becomes a
very powerful astringent. According to Pliny, however, it would
appear, that millet was in very general use as food in Italy among
the peasantry. " There is no grain," he says, " more heavy, or which
swells more in baking." Probably the Italians had some method for
counteracting its astringent properties. It is said to be an excellent
leaven, and has been recommended for malting,
Maize Bread is made of maize, or Indian-corn flour, which is in
common and extensive use in nearly all parts of North and South
America. Knead the flour with a little salt and water into a stiff
mass roll out into thin cakes, and bake on a hot iron. A hoe is
frequently used in America. Another kind of maize bread is called
Homminy Cake, To make this the Indian-corn, freed from the
husks, is boiled with a small portion of French beans, until the whole
becomes a pulp; this is made into cakes, and baked over hot embers,
or it may be eaten in the pulp, which is frequently the case.
Bean Flour Bread. Take a quarter of a peck of bean flour and one
ounce of salt; mix it into a thick batter with water pour a sufficient
quantity of this batter to make a cake in an iron kettle ; and bake
over the fire; it will require frequent turning.
Buckwheat Bread is thus directed to be made by the Board of
Agriculture : Take a gallon of water, set it over a fire, and when it
boils, let a peck of buckwheat flour be mixed with it, little by little,
and keep the mixture constantly stirred, to prevent any lumps being
13*
150 THE BAKER,
formed, till a thick batter is made. Then add two or three ounces
of salt, set it over the fire again, and allow it to boil an hour and a
half; pour the proper proportion for a cake into an iron kettle, and
bake it.
Jlcorn Bread is made of ripe acorns deprived of their husks or
skins, and beaten into a paste. To extract the astringent quality of
the acorns, put the paste into water for a night, and then press the
water from the paste. The mass when dried and powdered must be
kneaded up into a dough with water, and raked out into thin cakes,
which may be baked over embers. This bread is said not to be dis-
agreeable, and no doubt was considered a great luxury by our British
ancestors in the time of the oak- worshipping Druids.
Oatmeal Cakes are thus made : To a peck of oatmeal add a few
table-spoonsful of salt; knead into a stiff paste with warm water; roll
the paste into thin cakes, and bake it in an oven, over a hot iron plate,
or on embers. Sometimes oat-cake is fermented a little, which makes
the cakes light and porous.
Oatmeal and Pease Bread. To a peck of pease flour, and a like
quantity of oatmeal, previously well mixed, by passing the two flours
through a sieve, add three or four ounces of salt ; knead into a stiff
mass with warm water ; roll out into thin cakes ; and bake in an oven.
In some parts of Lancashire and Scotland, this kind of bread is made
into flattened rolls, and they are usually baked in an iron pot
Chestnut Bread is made from horse-chestnuts, which are seldom
or never used for food in this country, though their nutritious quali-
ties are well known to the people in the southern parts of Europe,
particularly in some districts of Italy, and in the island of Corsica,
where it is the chief and almost the whole of the food of the peasantry.
To make this bread, take a peck of horse-chestnuts ; peel the skins
off them ; let them be bruised into a paste ; dilute the mass with water,
which destroys their astnngency, and then strain them through a
sieve ; a milky liquor is thus separated, which on standing deposits a
fine white powder; this, on being dried and ground into flour, is found
to be without smell or flavour. It is then made up, sometimes by
itself, and not unfrequently with an equal portion of wheat flour, into
a paste, with warm milk and a little salt, and when baked makes a
very eatable bread.
Potatoe Bread. Boil the potatoes, and rub them through a cullen-
der or sieve, and, while hot, rub them in with the flour, which ought
to be previously dried. The potatoes should be in proportion to the
flour of one-third or one-half! Milk and water is sonetimes used for
making potatoe bread.
Rye Bread Barley Bread and bread made of equal parts of rye
flour and wheat flour, or of equal parts of barley flour, rye flour, and
wheat flour are made in the same way as already described. Milk,
or milk and water, is preferred, in making rye bread, to pure water.
THE BAKER. 151
The Bread Tree. Various substances have been employed in dif-
ferent parts of the world as substitutes for making bread, in the
absence of farinaceous or flour-yielding vegetables. The bread tree,
or rather the fruit of this tree, ranks first among the substances alluded
to. The bread tree is common in many parts of the east. It is very
abundant at Surinam, where extensive avenues may be seen of it,
loaded with luxuriant crops of fruit. As a brief account of this extra-
ordinary tree cannot fail to be interesting to our readers (previous to
giving a description of the mode of preparing the fruit for food), we
beg to lay before them the following remarks and extracts. *
All the species of the bread fruit tree, of which there are eight, are
natives of the South Sea islands. More than one hundred and fifty
years ago, this tree had excited great interest amongst Europeans,
and particularly amongst the people of Great Britain. Dampier, who
performed his voyage round the world in 1668, thus describes it:
"The bread fruit as we call it, grows on a large tree as big and
high as our largest apple trees; it hath a spreading head, full of
branches and dark leaves. Tne fruit grows on the boughs like
apples; it is as big as a penny loaf when wheat is at five shillings the
bushel ; it is of a round shape, and hath a thick tough rind. When
the fruit is ripe it is yellow and soft, and the taste is sweet and plea-
sant The natives of Guam use it for bread. They gather it when
it is full grown, while it is green and hard ; then they bake it in an
oven, which scorcheth the rind and maketh it black; but they scrape
off the black crust, and there remains a tender thin crust ; and the
inside is soft, tender, and white, like the crumb of a penny loaf.
There is neither core nor stone in the inside, but all is of a pure sub-
stance like bread. It must be eaten new, for if kept more than twen-
ty-four hours, it becomes hard and choaky ; but it is very pleasant
before it is too stale. This fruit lasts in season eight months in the
year; during which the natives eat no other sort of bread kind. I
did never see this fruit anywhere but fiere. The natives told us
there was plenty of this fruit growing on the rest of the Ladrone
islands; and I did never hear of it anywhere else."
So much for Dampier's account, which, however, does not appear
to be quite correct. The great circumnavigator, Cook, thus describes
the fruit in question: " It grows on a tree about the size of a mid-
dling oak. Its leaves are frequently a foot and a half long, of an
oblong shape, deeply sinuated like those of the fig-tree, which they
resemble in consistence and colour, and in the exuding- of a white
milky juice upon being broken. The fruit is about the size and shape
of a child's head, and the surface is reticulated, not much unlike a
truffle. It is covered with a thin skin, and hath a core about as big
as the handle of a small knife. The eatable part lies between the
skin and the core. It is as white as snow, and somewhat of the con-
sistence of new bread. It must be roasted before it is eaten ; being
divided into three or four parts. Its taste is insipid, with a slight
152 THE BAKEfc.
sourness, somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread,
mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke."
The above is the sober and satisfactory account of the bread tree
and its fruit, as given by the illustrious Cook. Dr. Hawkesworth's
description of its advantages is amusing, but extravagant. He says,
"if a man plants ten bread fruit trees in his lifetime, which he may
do in about an hour, he will as completely fulfil his duty to his own
and future generations, as the natives of our less temperate climate
can by ploughing in the cold winter, and reaping in the summer's
heat, as often as those seasons return. Even if, after he has procured
bread for his present household, he should convert the surplus into
money, and lay it up for his children."
The bread fruit tree has been planted in some of the West India
colonies, but with little success as to any advantages to be derived
from it. Indeed, its fruit appears to us to have been greatly exag-
gerated with respect to its beneficial application as food for the use
of man. It has been observed, however, that " even in those colonies
into which the bread fruit has not been generally introduced as an
article of food, it is used as a delicacy ; or whether employed as bread,
or in the form of pudding, it is considered as highly palatable by the
European inhabitants."
Bread Fruit Bread. To prepare the fruit for use instead of bread,
it must be roasted, either whole, or cut into three or four pieces. It
is also cooked in an oven, which renders it soft, and something like
a boiled potatoe ; not quite so mealy as a good one, but more so than
those of an inferior description. The Otaheitans make three dishes
of it, by putting either milk or the milk of cocoa-nut to it, then beat-
ing it to a paste with a stone pestle, and afterwards mixing it with
ripe plantains, bananas, or mahie.
This mahie is a preparation of the ripe bread fruit, for which it is
substituted during the season, just before gathering a fresh crop. It
js made thus: The fruit is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe,
and being laid in heaps, is closely covered with leaves; in this state
it undergoes a fermentation, and becomes disagreeably sweet. The
core is then taken out entire, by gently pulling the stalk, and the
fruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for that purpose, generally in
the houses, and neatly lined in the bottom and sides with grass; the
whole is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them.
In this state it undergoes a second fermentation, and becomes sour;
after which it undergoes no change for many months. It is taken out
of the hole as it is wanted for use, and being made into balls, it is
wrapped up in leaves, and roasted or baked. After it is baked, it will
keep five or six weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives
seldom make a meal without it. To Europeans, however, the taste
is said to be as disagreeable as that of a pickled olive generally is the
first time it is eaten.
Sago Bread is made from the wood of the sago tree, in the follow
THE BAKER. 153
ing manner: The natives of the islands of Banda and Amboyna saw
the body of the tree into small pieces, and, after bruising and beating
them in a mortar, pour water upon the fragments. This is left for
some hours undisturbed, to let the pithy farinaceous matter subside.
The water is then poured off, and the meal, being properly dried, IB
formed into cakes, or fermented and made into bread, which, it is
said, is nearly as palatable as wheaten bread. The Hottentots make
a kind of bread from another species of sago tree. The pith of this
tree is collected, and tied up in dressed calf, or sheep-skin, and then
buried in the ground for several weeks, which renders it mellow and
tender. It is then made into cakes, which are baked under hot em-
bers. Others roast the sago tree pith, and make it into a kind of
porridge.
The sago of commerce is made from the pith of this tree, but it is
granulated by passing it through a sieve. It acquires its brown
colour from drying it on hot stones.
Casava Bread is made in the Caribbee Islands, from a very poi-
sonous root called Jatropa Maniat, rendered wholesome by the extrac-
tion of its acrid juice, which the Indians use for poisoning their
arrows. So powerfully poisonous is this juice, that a tea-spoonful is
sufficient to take away the life of a man. The root of the maniat,
after being washed, scraped clean, and grated in a tub, is enclosed in
a sack made of rushes, of very loose texture. This sack is suspended
upon a stick placed upon two wooden forks. A heavy vessel is sus-
pended to the bottom of the sack, and is so contrived as to press the
juice out of the roots. When the juice is all taken from the roots,
.hey become a sort of starch, which is exposed to smoke in order to
dry it; when well dried, it is passed through a sieve: it is now called
casava. It is baked into cakes by laying it on hot plates of iron, or
on hot earth. The article called tapioca is the finest part of casava,
collected and formed into small tears, by straining the mass, while it
is still moist, so as to make it into small irregular lumps.
Plantain Bread is made from the fruit of the plantain tree. This
fruit is about a foot long, and from an inch and a half to two inches
in diameter, and has a tough skin, within which there is a soft pulp,
of a sweet flavour. The fruit is generally cut when green; the skin
is taken off, and the heart is roasted in a clear cold fire for a few
minutes: it is then scraped, and served up as bread. This tree is a
native of the East Indies, and other parts of the Asiatic continent, but
is cultivated on an extensive scale in Jamaica. It is said,- that with-
out this fruit the West India islands would be scarcely inhabitable, as
no species of provisions could supply its place. Wheaten bread flour
is not so agreeable to the negroes, and they greatly prefer it to the
fruit of the bread tree.
Banana Bread is made of the fruit of the banana tree. This fruit
is about four or five inches long, of the shape of a cucumber, and of a
highly grateful flavour. They grow in bunches that weigh twelve
154 THE BAKEK.
pounds and upwards. The pulp of the banana tree is softer than that
of the plantain tree, and of a more luscious taste. When ripe it is a
very pleasant food, either undressed, or fried in slices like fritters.
All classes of people in the West Indies are very fond of it. When
preparing for a voyage, they take the ripe fruit and squeeze it through
a sieve; then form the mass into loaves, which are dried in the sun,
or baked on hot ashes, having been previously wrapped up in leaves.
Moss Bread, or bread made of moss, is prepared from a species of
the tribe lichen, called rein-deer moss, which contains a considerable
quantity of starch. The Icelanders form the lichen islandicus into
bread, and it is said to be very nutritive. The moss is collected in
the summer, dried, and ground into powder of which bread gruel
and pottage are made. It is also boiled in milk or whey, till it cornea
to a jelly. It should be previously steeped some hours in warm water,
in order to extract the bitter matter with which it is impregnated,
which is not only disagreeable as to taste, but is also a purgative.
Dried Fish Bread. We have shown that a great variety of sub-
stances are used as substitutes for flour bread. We now come to
dried fish, which appears to be an odd thing to make bread of. In
Iceland, Lapland, Grim Tartary, and other parts of the north, a kind
of bread is made of dried fish, beaten first into powder, sometimes
with the inner bark of trees, and then made up into cakes,
Earih Bread. But the strangest substitute for corn bread that has
ever been employed, is a kind of white earth found in Upper Lusatia,
of which the poor in times of scarcity have frequently made bread.
This bread earth, if we may so designate it, is dug out of a hill where
salt-petre had formerly been worked. When heated by the sun it
cracks, and small globules proceed from it like meal, which ferment
when mixed with flour. It is said on good authority, that on this
earth, made into bread, many persons have subsisted for a considera-
ble time. An earth very similar is found in Catalonia.
THE END.
PARKINSON'S CONFECTIONARY
NO. ISO CHESTNUT STRUCT,
PHILADELPHIA.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BALLS, Pic-Nics, SOIREES
AND WEDDING ENTERTAINMENTS, supplied with every
delicacy ; an entirely new style of ORNAMENTAL
PYRAMIDS, COTTAGE, RATIFIE AND CHANTILLY BAS-
KETS, for TABLE DECORATION furnished at shortest
notice.
. THE SPACIOUS AND MAGNIFICENT SALOONS
attached to this establishment are open during
the day and evening for the reception of visitors,
COFFEE, TEA, CHOCOLATE, ICES, and every variety
of Refreshment served at a few moments' notice.
ORDERS
X
FROM ANY PART OF THE UNITED STATES,
for all kinds of PRESERVED FRUITS, JELLIES, JAMS,
FRENCH, ITALIAN AND MARTINIQUE LIQUEURS, SYRUPS
(prepared from the choicest fruits), BON-BONS,
CHRISTMAS GOODS, DRAGEES and every variety of
FANCY CONFECTIONARY, attended to with Prompt-
ness and Punctualitv.
152
ML 9 - 1956
