Full text of "The cook's oracle; and Housekeeper's manual. Containing receipts for cookery, and directions for carving ... with a complete system of cookery for Catholic families ... being the result of actual experiments instituted in the kitchen of William Kitchiner"

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Harpers Stereotype Edition.

THE

COOK'S ORACLE;

AND

HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

for (EooUerg,

DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING.

ALSO,

THE ART OF COMPOSir THE MOST SIMPLE AND MOST HIGHLIT FINISHED

BROTHS, GRAVIES, SOUPS, SAUCES, STORE SAUCES, AND FLAVOURIN3

ESSENCES J PASTRY, PRESERVES, PUDDINGS, PICKLES, &C.

WITH

1 COMPLETE SYSTEM OF COOKERY
FOR CATHOLIC FAMILIES.

THE QUANTITY OF EACH ARTICLE IS ACCURATELY STATED BY WEIGHT AND

MEASURE J BEING THE RESULT OF ACTUAL EXPERIMENTS

INSTITUTED IN THE KITCHEN OK

WILLIAM KITCHINER, M.D.
II

ADAPTED TO TITE AMERICAN PUBLIC
BY A MEDICAL GENTLEMAN.

*ROM THE L.VST LONDON EDITION'.

rRLVTEJ} BY J. b J. HARPER, 82 CLWF-ST.

SOLD BY COLLINS AND HANNAY, COLLINS AND CO., G. AND C. AND H. CARVILL,
WILLIAM B. GILLEY, E. BLISS, O. A. ROORBACK, WHITE, GALLAHER, AND WHITE,
.C. S. FRANCIS, WILLIAM BURGESS, JR., AND N. B. HOLMES ; PHILADELPHIA, E. L^
CAREY AND A. HART, AND JOHN GRIGG : ALBANY, 0. STEELE, AND W. <;. LITTLE.

1830.

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK, a.

XE IT REMEMBERED, That on the 20th day of November, A. D. 1829, in the fifty-fourth year of
t the independence of the United States of America, J. & J. HARPER, of the said district, have depo-
sited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words fol-
lowing, to wit :

" The Cook's Oracle, and Housekeeper's Manual. Containing Receipts for Cookery, and Directions for
Carving : also the Art of Composing the most simple and most highly finished Broths, Gravies, Soups,
Sauces. Store Sauces, and Flavouring Essences ; Pastry, Preserves, Puddings, Pickles, &c. With a Com-
plete System of Cookery for Catholic Families. The Quantity of each Article is accurately stated by
Weight and Measure ; being the Result of Actual Experiments instituted in the Kitchen of William
Kitchiner, M.D. Adapted to the American Public by a Medical Gentleman."

In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled " An Act for the encouragement of
Learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies,
during the time therein mentioned." And also to an Act, entitled " An Act, supplementary to an Act.
unfilled an Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books,
to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the
benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."

FREDERICK I. BETTS,
Clerk of the Southern District of Nav-York.

TX7/7
K

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE publishers have now the pleasure of presenting
to the American public, Dr. Kitchiner's justly cele-
brated work, entitled " The Cook's Oracle, and House-
keeper's Manual," with numerous and valuable im-
provements, by a medical gentleman of this city.

The work contains a store of valuable information*
which, it is confidently believed, will not only prove
highly advantageous to young and inexperienced house-
keepers, but also to more experienced matrons to all,
indeed, who are desirous of enjoying, in the highest
degree, the good things which Nature has so abun-
dantly bestowed upon us.

The " Cook's Oracle" has been adjudged, by con-
noisseurs in this country and in Great Britain, to con-
tain the best possible instructions on the subject of
serving up, beautifully and economically, the produc-
tions of the water, land, and air, in such a manner as
to render them most pleasant to the eye. and agreeable
to the palate.

Numerous notices, in commendation of the work,
might be selected from respectable European journals :
but the mere fact, that within twelve years, seventy
thousand copies of it have been purchased by the Eng-
lish public, is sufficient evidence of its reception and
merits.

NEW- YORK, December. 1829.

PREFACE

THE SEVENTH EDITION.

THE whole of this Work has, a seventh time t been care*
fully revised ; but this last time I have found little to add,
and little to alter.

I have bestowed as much attention on each of the 500
receipts as if the whole merit of the book was to be esti-
mated entirely by the accuracy of my detail of one par-
ticular process.

The increasing demand for " The Cook's Oracle,' ' amount-
ing in 1824 to the extraordinary number of upwards of
45,000, has been stimulus enough to excite any man to
submit to the most unremitting study ; and the Editor has
felt it as an imperative duty to exert himself to the utmost
to render " The Cook's Oracle" a faithful narrative of -all
that is known of the various subjects it professes to treat.

PREFACE.

AMONG the multitudes of causes which concur to impair
health and produce disease, the most general is the
improper quality of our food : this most frequently arises
from the injudicious manner in which it is prepared : yet
strange, " passing strange," this is the only one for which
a remedy has not been sought ; few persons bestow half so
much attention on the preservation of their own health, as
they daily devote to that of their dogs and horses.

The observations of the Guardians of Health respecting
regimen, &c. have formed no more than a catalogue of
those articles of food, which they have considered most
proper for particular constitutions.

Some medical writers have, " in good set terms," warned
us against the pernicious effects of improper diet ; but not
one has been so kind as to take the trouble to direct us how
to prepare food properly ; excepting only the contributions
of Count Rumford, who says, in pages 16 and 70 of his
tenth Essay, "however low and vulgar this subject has
hitherto generally been thought to be in what Art or
Science could improvements be made that would more pow-
erfully contribute to increase the comforts and enjoyments
of mankind? Would to God ! that I could fix the public-
attention to this subject!"

The Editor has endeavoured to write the following
AS

VI PREFACE.

receipts so plainly, that they may be as easily understood
in the kitchen as he trusts they will be relished in the
dining-room ; and has been more ambitious to present to
the Public a Work which will contribute to the daily com-
fort of all, than to seem elaborately scientific.

The practical part of the philosophy of the kitchen is cer-
tainly not the most agreeable ; gastrology has to contend
with its full share of those great impediments to all great
improvements in scientific pursuits ; the prejudices of the
ignorant, and the misrepresentations of the envious.

The sagacity to comprehend and estimate the import-
ance of any uncontemplated improvement, is confined to
the very few on whom nature has bestowed a sufficient
degree of perfection of the sense which is to measure it ;
the candour to make a fair report of it, is still more
uncommon ; and the kindness to encourage it cannot often
be expected from those whose most vital interest it is to
prevent the developement of that by which their own
importance, perhaps their only means of existence, may be
for ever eclipsed : so, as Pope says, how many are

" Condemn'd in business or in arts to drudge,
Without a rival, or without a judge :
All fear, none aid you, and few understand."

Improvements in Agriculture and the Breed of Cattle
iiave been encouraged by premiums. Those who have
obtained them, have been hailed as benefactors to society !
but the Art of making use of these means of ameliorating
Life and supporting a healthful Existence COOKERY has
been neglected ! !

While the cultivators of the raw materials are distin
guished and rewarded, the attempt to improve the pro-

PREFACE. VU

cesses, without which neither vegetable nor animal sub-
stances are fit for the food of man (astonishing to say), has
been ridiculed, as unworthy the attention of a rational
being ! !

The most useful* art which the Editor has chosen to
endeavour to illustrate, because nobody else has, and be-
cause he knew not how he could employ some leisure hours
more beneficially for mankind, than to teach them to com-
bine the "utile" with the " dulce" and to increase their
pleasures, without impairing their health, or impoverishing
their fortune, has been for many years his favourite
employment ; and " THE ART OF INVIGORATING AND PRO-
LONGING LIFE BY FOOD, &c. &c." and this Work, have
insensibly become repositories for whatever observations he
has made which he thought would make us " LIVE HAPPY,
AND LIVE LONG ! ! !"

The Editor has considered the ART of COOKERY, "not
merely as a mechanical operation, fit only for working
cooks, but as the Analeptic part of the Art of Physic.

" How best the fickle fabric to support
Of mortal man ; in healthful body how
A healthful mind the longest to maintain,"

(ARMSTRONG,)

is an occupation neither unbecoming nor unworthy philo-
sophers of the highest class : such only can comprehend its
importance ; which amounts to no less, than not only the
enjoyment of the present moment, but the more precious
advantage of improving and preserving health, and pro-
longing life, which depend on duly replenishing the daily

* "The only test of the utility of knowledge, is its promoting the happiness of
mankind." Dr. Stark on Diet, p. 90.

VIII PREFACE .

waste of the human frame with materials pregnant with
nutriment and easy of digestion.

If medicine be ranked among those arts which dignify
their professors, cookery may lay claim to an equal, if not
a superior, distinction ; to prevent diseases is surely a more
advantageous art to mankind than to cure them. " Phy-
sicians should be good cooks, at least in theory." DB.
MANDEVILLE on Hypochondriasis, p. 316.

The learned Dr. ARBTJTHNOT observes, in page 3 of the
preface to his Essay on Aliment, that "the choice and
measure of the materials of which our body is composed,
what we take daily by pounds, is at least of as much
importance as what we take seldom, and only by grains
and spoonfuls."

Those in whom the organ of taste is obtuse, or who have
been brought up in the happy habit of being content with
humble fare, whose health is so firm, that it needs no arti-
ficial adjustment ; who, with the appetite of a cormorant,
have the digestion of an ostrich, and eagerly devour what-
ever is set before them without asking any questions about
what it is, or how it has been prepared may perhaps
imagine that the Editor has sometimes been rather over-
much refining the business of the kitchen.

" Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise."

But as few are so fortunate as to be trained up to under-
stand how well it is worth their while to cultivate such
habits of Spartan forbearance, we cannot perform our duty
in registering wholesome precepts, in a higher degree, than
by disarming luxury of its sting, and making the refine-
ments of Modern Cookery minister not merely to sensual

PREFACE. IX

gratification, but at the same time support the substantial
excitement of " mens sana in corpore sano."

Delicate and nervous invalids, who have unfortunately
a sensitive palate, and have been accustomed to a luxurious
variety of savoury sauces, and highly seasoned viands ;
those who, from the infirmity of age, are become incapable
of correcting habits created by absurd indulgence in youth,
are entitled to some consideration ; and, for their sake, the
Elements of Opsology are explained in the most intelligent
manner ; and I have assisted the memory of young cooks,
by annexing to each dish the various sauces which usually
accompany it, referring to their numbers in the work.

Some idle idiots have remarked to the Author, that
" there were really so many references from one receipt to
another, that it is exceedingly troublesome indeed ; they
are directed sometimes to turn to half a dozen numbers :"
this is quite true. If the Author had not adopted this plan
of reference, his book, to be equally explicit, must have
been ten times as big ; his object has been to give as much
information as possible in as few pages, and for as few
pence, as possible.

By reducing culinary operations to something like a
certainty, invalids will no longer be entirely indebted to
chance, whether they shall recover and live long, and com-
fortably, or speedily die of starvation in the midst of plenty.

These rules and orders for the regulation of the business
of the kitchen have been extremely beneficial to the Edi-
tor's own health and comfort. He hopes they will be
equally so to others : they will help those who enjoy health
to preserve it ; teach those who have delicate and irritable
stomachs how to keep them in good temper ; and, with a

S. PREFACE.

little discretion, enable them to indulge occasionally, not
only with impunity, but with advantage, in all those alimen-
tary pleasures which a rational epicure can desire-
There is no question more frequently asked, or which a
medical man finds more difficulty in answering, to the
satisfaction of himself and his patient, than What do you
wish me to eat ?

The most judicious choice of aliment will avail nothing,
unless the culinary preparation of it be equally judicious.
How often is the skill of a pains-taking physician coun-
teracted by want of corresponding attention to the prepa-
ration of food ; and the poor patient, instead of deriving
nourishment, is distressed by indigestion !

PARMENTIER, in his Code Pharmaceutique, has given a
chapter on the preparation of food : some of the following
receipts are offered as an humble attempt to form a sort
of Appendix to the Pharmacopoeia, and like pharmaceutio
prescriptions, they are precisely adjusted by weight and
measure. The author of a cookery book, first published
in 1824, has claimed this act of industry of mine as his
own original invention ; the only notice I shall take of his
pretensions is to say, that the first edition of " The Cook's
Oracle' 1 '' appeared in 1817.

By ordering such receipts of the Cook's Oracle as
appear adapted to the case, the recovery of the patient and
the credit of the physician, as far as relates to the adminis
tration of aliment, need no longer depend on the discretion
of the cook. For instance: Mutton Broth, No. 490, or
No. 564 ; Toast and Water, No. 463 ; Water Gruel, No.
572 ; Beef Tea, No. 563 ; and Portable Soup, No. 252.
This concentrated Essence of Meat will be found a greai

PREFACE. XI

acquisition to the comfort of the army, the navy, the tra-
veller, and the invalid. By dissolving half an ounce of it
in half a pint of hot water, you have in a few minutes half
a pint of good Broth for three halfpence. The utility of
such accurate and precise directions for preparing food, is
to travellers incalculable ; for, by translating the receipt,
any person may prepare what is desired as perfectly as a
good English cook.

He has also circumstantially detailed the easiest, least
expensive, and most salubrious methods of preparing those
highly finished soups, sauces, ragouts, and piquante relishes,
which the most ingenious " officers of the mouth" have
invented for the amusement of thorough-bred "grands

It has been his aim to render food acceptable to the
palate, without being expensive to the purse, or offensive
to the stomach ; nourishing without being inflammatory,
and savoury without being surfeiting; constantly endea-
vouring to hold the balance equal, between the agreeable
and the wholesome, the epicure and the economist.

He has not presumed to recommend one receipt that has
not been previously and repeatedly proved in his own
kitchen, which has not been approved by the most accom-
plished cooks ; and has, moreover, been eaten with unani-
mous applause by a Committee of Taste, composed of some
of the most illustrious gastropholists of this luxurious
metropolis.

The Editor has been materially assisted by Mr. Henry
Osborne, the excellent cook to the late Sir Joseph Banks ;
that worthy President of the Royal Society was so sensible
of the importance of the subject the Editor was investi-

Xii PREFACE.

gating, that he sent his cook to assist him in his arduous
task ; and many of the receipts in this edition are much
improved by his suggestions and corrections. See No. 560.

This is the only English Cookery Book which has been
written from the real experiments of a housekeeper for the
benefit of housekeepers; which the reader will soon per-
ceive by the minute attention that has been employed to
elucidate and improve the Art of Plain Cookery; detailing
many particulars and precautions, which may at first appear
frivolous, but which experience will prove to be essential :
to teach a common cook how to provide, and to prepare,
common food so frugally, and so perfectly, that the plain
every-day family fare of the most economical housekeeper,
may, with scarcely additional expense, or any additional
trouble, be a satisfactory entertainment for an epicure or
an invalid.

By an attentive consideration of "the Rudiments of
Cookery," and the respective receipts, the most ignorant
novice in the business of the kitchen, may work with the
utmost facility and certainty of success, and soon become
a good cook.

Will all the other books of cookery that ever were
printed do this ? To give his readers an idea of the
immense labour attendant upon this Work, it may be only
necessary for the Author to state, that he has patiently
pioneered through more than two hundred cookery book*
before he set about recording these results of his own
experiments ! The table of the most economical family
may, by the help of this book, be entertained with as much
elegance as that of a sovereign prince.

LONDON, 1829.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE v

to Seventh Edition iv

INTRODUCTION . . . ; ; 15

Culinary Curiosities 32

Invitations to Dinner 36

Carving 43

Friendly Advice to Cooks 46

Table of Weights, &c. r . . 65

RUDIMENTS OP COOKERY.

CHAPTER 1. Boiling 66

Baking 72

2. Roasting 74

3. Frying ....... 80

4. Broiling 82

5. Vegetables 83

6. Fish 86

Fish Sauces 88

7. Broths and Soups ? . . 89

8. Gravies and Sauces j 100

9. Made Dishes . , T . 106

Receipts 108

Marketing Tables . . . . 355

APPENDIX.

Pastry, Confectionary, Preserves, &c -..-.. .360

Bread, &c . , . 390

Observations on Puddings and Pies ..;.... . . 392

Picklea 398

Various useful Family Receipts . . * 405

Observations on Carving 409

Ihdex .......... 421

INTRODUCTION.

THE following receipts are not a mere marrowless collec-
tion of shreds and patches, and cuttings and pastings, but a
bona fide register of practical facts, accumulated by a per-
severance not to be subdued or evaporated by the igniferous
terrors of a roasting fire in the dog-days, in defiance of the
odoriferous and calefacient repellents of roasting, boiling, fry-
ing, and broiling; moreover, the author has submitted to
a labour no preceding' cookery-book-maker, perhaps, ever
attempted to encounter, having eaten each receipt before
he set it down in his book.

They have all been heartily welcomed by a sufficiently
well-educated palate, and a rather fastidious stomacli : per-
haps this certificate of the reception of the respective prepa-
rations, will partly apologize for the book containing a smaller
number of them than preceding writers on this gratifying
subject have transcribed for the amusement of " every man's
master," the STOMACH.*

Numerous as are the receipts in former books, they vary
little from each other, except in the name given to them ; the
processes of cookery are very few : I have endeavoured to
describe each, in so plain and circumstantial a manner, as I
hope will be easily understood, even by the amateur, who i*
unacquainted with the practical part of culinary concerns.

OLD HOUSEKEEPERS may think I have been tedioush
minute on many points which may appear trifling : my pre-
decessors seem to have considered the RUDIMENTS of COOKERY
quite unworthy of attention. These little delicate distinc-
tions constitute all the difference between a common and an
elegant table, and are not trifles to the YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS
who must learn them either from the communication of others
or blunder on till their own slowly accumulating and dear-
bought experience teaches them.

*"The STOMACH is the grand organ of the human system, upon the state of
which all the powers and feelings of the individual depend." See HUNTER'S Ctt-
lina, p. 13.

" 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 of the brain, than a mere receptacle for food."~Dr. WA.TERHOUSE*
J^clure on Health, p. 4.

16 *t V .V

A- wish iq tetye- tim$, trouble; and money to inexperienced
housekeepers: and cool^and, to_ faring the enjoyments and
indulgences of the opulent within reach of the middle ranks
of society, were my motives for publishing this book. I
could accomplish it only by supposing the reader (when he
first opens it) to be as ignorant of cookery as I was, when
I first thought of writing on the subject.

I have done my best to contribute to the comfort of my
fellow-creatures: by a careful attention to the directions
herein given, the most ignorant may easily learn to prepare
food, not only in an agreeable and wholesome, but in an ele-
gant and economical manner.

This task seems to have been left for me ; and I have endea-
voured to collect and communicate, in the clearest and most
intelligible manner, the whole of the heretofore abstruse
mysteries of the culinary art, which are herein, I hope, so
plainly developed, that the most inexperienced student in the
occult art of cookery, may work from my receipts with the
utmost facility.

I was perfectly aware of the extreme difficulty of teaching
those who are entirely unacquainted with the subject, and of
explaining my ideas effectually, by mere receipts, to those
who never shook hands with a stewpan.

In my anxiety to be readily understood, I have been under
the necessity of occasionally repeating the same directions
in different parts of the book ; but I would rather be censured
for repetition than for obscurity, and hope not to be accused
of affectation, while my intention is perspicuity.

Our neighbours of France are so justly famous for their
skill in the affairs of the kitchen, that the adage says, " As
many Frenchmen as many cooks :" surrounded as they are
by a profusion of the most delicious wines, and seducing-
liqueurs offering every temptation to render drunkenness de-
lightful, yet a tippling Frenchman is a " rara avis."

They know how so easily to keep life in sufficient repair
by good eating, that they require little or no screwing up
with liquid stimuli. This accounts for that " toujours gaij*
and happy equilibrium of the animal spirits which they enjoy
with more regularity than any people : their elastic stomachs,
unimpaired by spirituous liquors, digest vigorously the food
they sagaciously prepare and render easily assimilable, by
cooking it sufficiently, wisely contriving to get half the
$*ork of the stomach done by fire and water, till

"The tender morsels on the palate melt,
And all the force of cookery is felt

INTRODUCTION. 17

See Nos. 5 and 238, &c.

The cardinal virtues of cookery, "CLEANLINESS, FRUGALITY,
NOURISHMENT, AND PALATEABLENESS," preside over each pre-
paration ; for I have not presumed to insert a single compo-
sition, without previously obtaining the " imprimatur 1 '' of an
enlightened and indefatigable " COMMITTEE OF TASTE," (com-
posed of thorough-bred GRANDS GOURMANDS of the first mag-
nitude,) whose cordial co-operation I cannot too highly
praise ; and here do I most gratefully record the unremitting
zeal they manifested during their arduous progress of proving
the respective recipes: they were so truly philosophically
and disinterestedly regardless of the wear and tear of teeth
and stomach, that their labour appeared a pleasure to them.
Their laudable perseverance has enabled me to give the in-
experienced amateur an unerring guide how to excite as
much pleasure as possible on the palate, and occasion as
little trouble as possible to the principal viscera, and has
hardly been exceeded by those determined spirits who lately
in the Polar expedition braved the other extreme of tempe-
rature, &c. in spite of whales, bears, icebergs, and starvation.

Every attention has been paid in directing the proportions
of the following compositions ; not merely to make them in-
viting to the appetite, but agreeable and useful to the stomach
nourishing without being inflammatory, and savoury with-
out being surfeiting.

I have written for those who make nourishment the chief
end of eating,* and do not desire to provoke appetite beyond

* I wish most heartily that the restorative process was performed by us poor mor-
tals in as easy and simple a manner as it is in " the cooking animals in the moon"
who "lose no time at their meals; but open their left side, and place the whole
quantity at once in their stomachs, then shut it, till the same day in the next month,
for they never indulge themselves with food more than twelve times in a year."
See BARON MUNCHAUSEN'S Travels, p. 188.

Pleasing the palate is the main end in most books of cookery, but it is my aim to
llend the toothsame with the wholesome ; but, after all, however the hale gourmand
may at first differ from me in opinion, the latter is the chief concern ; since if he be
even so entirely devoted to the pleasure of eating as to think of no other, still the
care of his health becomes part of that ; if he is sick he cannot relish his food.

"The term gourmand, or EPICURE, has been strangely perverted ; it has been con-
ceived synonymous with a glutton, ' ut pour la digestion,' who will eat as long a?
lie can sit, and drink longer than he can stand, nor leave his cup while he cari lift
it; or like the great eater of Kent whom FULLER places among his worthies, and
tells us that he did eat with ease thirty dozens of pigeons at one meal ; at another,
fourscore rabbits and eighteen yards of black pudding, London measure ! or a
fastidious appetite, only to be excited by fantastic dainties, as the brains of peacocks
or parrots, the tongues of thrushes or nightingales, or the teats of a lactiferous sous,

" In the acceptation which T give to the lerm EPICURE, it means only the person
who has good sense and good taste enough to wish to have his food cooked accord-
ing to scientific principles ; that is to say, so prepared that the palate be not offended
that it be rendered easy of solution in the stomach, and ultimately contribute tr>
health ; exciting him as an animal to the vigorous enjoyment of those recreations
and duties, physical and intellectual, which constitute the happiness and dignity ol

18 INTRODUCTION.

the powers and necessities of nature ; proceeding, however,
on the purest epicurean principles of indulging the palate as
far as it can be done without injury or offence to the stomach,
and forbidding* nothing but what is absolutely unfriendly to
health.

" That which is not good, is not delicious

To a well-govern'd and wise appetite." MILTON

This is by no means so difficult a task as some gloomy
philosophers (uninitiated in culinary science) have tried to
make the world believe ; who seem to have delighted in per-
suading you, that every thing that is nice must be noxious,
it every thing that is nasty is wholesome.

" How charming is divine philosophy !
Not harsh, and crabbed, as dull fools suppose,
But musical as is Apollo's lute,
And a perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets,
Where no crude surfeit reigns." MILTON.

Worthy William Shakspeare declared he never found a
philosopher who could endure the toothache patiently : the
Editor protests that he has not yet overtaken one who did
not love a feast.

Those cynical slaves who are so silly as to suppose it un-
becoming a wise man to indulge in the common comforts of
life, should be answered in the words of the French philoso-
pher. "Hey what, do you philosophers eat dainties?"

his nature." For this illustration I am indebted to my scientific friend Apicius
Gelius, Jun., with whose erudite observations several pages of this work are
enriched, to which I have affixed the signature A. C., Jun.

* "Although AIR is more immediately necessary to life than FOOD, the knowledge
of the latter seems of more importance ; it admits certainly of great variety, and a
choice is more frequently in our power. A very spare and simple diet has commonly
been recommended as most conducive to health; but it would be more beneficial to
mankind if we could show them that a pleasant and varied diet was equally con-
sistent with health, as the very strict regitnen of Arnard, or the miller of Essex.
These, and other abstemious people, who, having experienced the greatest extremi
ties of bad health, were driven to temperance as their last resource, may run out in
praises of a simple diet ; but the probability is, that nothing but the dread of former
sufferings could have given them the resolution to persevere in so strict a course oi'
abstinence, which persons who are in health and have no such apprehension could
not be induced to undertake, or, if they did, would not long continue.

" In all cases, great allowance must be made for the weakness of human nature :
the desires and appetites of mankind must, to a certain degree, be gratified ; and th^
man who wishes to be most useful will imitate the indulgent parent, who, while he
endeavours to promote the true interests of his children, allows them the full enjoy-
ment of all those innocent pleasures which they take delight in. If it could be:
pointed out to mankind that some articles used as food were hurtful, while others
were in their nature innocent, and that the latter were numerous, various, ami
pleasant, they might, perhaps, be induced to forego those which were hurtful, and
.onfine themselves to those which were innocent." See Dr. STARE'S Experiment?
en Diet, pp. 89 and 90,

INTRODUCTION. 19

said a gay Marquess. " Do you think," replied DESCARTES,
" that God made good things only for fools ?"

Every individual, who is not perfectly imbecile and void
of understanding, is an epicure in his own way. The epicures
in boiling of potatoes are innumerable. The perfection of all
enjoyment depends on the perfection of the faculties of the
mind and body ; therefore, the temperate man is the greatest
epicure, and the only true voluptuary.

THE PLEASURES OF THE TABLE have been highly appre-
ciated and carefully cultivated in all countries and in all
ages ;* and in spite of all the stoics, every one will allow
they are the first and the last we enjoy, and those we taste
the oftenest, above a thousand times in a year, every year
of our lives !

THE STOMACH is the mainspring of our system. If it be
not sufficiently wound up to warm the heart and support the
circulation, the whole business of life will, in proportion,
oe ineffectively performed : we can neither think with pre-
cision, walk with vigour, sit down with comfort, nor sleep with
tranquillity.

There would be no difficulty in proving that it influences
(much more than people in general imagine) all our actions :
the destiny of nations has often depended upon the more
or less laborious digestion of a prime minister.! See a very
curious anecdote in the memoirs of COUNT ZINZENDORFF
in Dodsley's Annual Register for 1762. 3d edition, p. 32.

The philosopher Pythagoras seems to have been extremely
nice in eating ; among his absolute injunctions to his dis-
ciples, he commands them to " abstain from beans."

This ancient sage has been imitated by the learned who
have discoursed on this subject since, who are liberal of
their negative, and niggardly of their positive precepts in
the ratio, that it is easier to tell you not to do this, than to
teach you how to do that.

Our great English moralist Dr. S. JOHNSON, his biographer
Boswell tells us, " was a man of very nice discernment in
the science of cookery," and talked of good eating with un-
common satisfaction. " Some people," said he, " 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 look upon it that he who does not mind
his belly, will hardly mind any thing else."

* See a curious account in COURS CASTRONOM.IQCE, p. 145, and in Anacharsis"
Travels, Robinson, 1796, vol. ii. p. 58, and Obs. and note under No. 493.

t See the 2d, 3d, and 4tn pages of Sir WM. TEMPLE'S Essay on the Cure of tht
Gout by Moxa,

20 INTRODUCTION.

The Dr. might have said, cannot mind any thing 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, or whether we drink.

The following anecdotes I copy from BoswelPs life of
Johnson.

Johnson. "I could write a better book. of cookery than
has ever yet been written ; it should be a book on philosophi-
cal principles. I would tell what is the best butcher's meat,
the proper seasons of different vegetables, and then, how to
roast, and boil, and to compound."

Ditty. "Mrs. Glasses cookery, which is the best, was
written by Dr. Hill."

Johnson. "Well, Sir this shows how much better the
subject of cookeryf may be treated by a philosopher ;J but

* " He that would have a clear head, must have a clean stomach." Da. CHBYNK
on Health, 8vo. 1724, p. 34.

" 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." p. 53.

" We cannot reasonably expect tranquillity of the nervous system, while there is
disorder of the digestive organs. As we can perceive no permanent source of
strength but from the digestion of pur food, it becomes important on this account
that we should attend to its quantity, quality, arid the periods of taking it, with a
view to ensure its proper digestion." ABERNETHY'S Sur. Obs. 8vo. 1817, p. 65.

f " If science can really contribute to the happiness of mankind, it must be in
this department ; the real comfort of the majority of men in this country is sought
for at their own fireside ; how desirable does it then become to give every induce-
ment to be at home, by directing all the means of philosophy to increase domestic
happiness !" SYLVESTER'S Philosophy of Domestic Economy, 4to. 1819, p. 17.

| The best books of cookery have been written by physicians. Sir KENELMK
DIGBY Sir THEODORE MAYERNE. See the last quarter of page 304 of vol. x. of
the Phil. Trans, for 1675. Professor BRADLEY Dr. HILL Dr. LE COINTE Dr.
HUNTER, &c.

" To understand the THEORY OF COOKERY, we must attend to the action of heat
upon the various constituents of alimentary substances as applied directly and
indirectly through the medium of some fluid, in the former way as exemplified."
In the processes of ROASTING and BOILING, the chief constituents of animal substances
undergo the following changes the fibrine is corrugated, the albumen coagulated,
the gelatine and osmazome rendered more soluble in water, the fat liquefied, and
the water evaporated.

" If the heat exceed a certain degree, the surface becomes first brown, and then
scorched. In consequence of these changes, the muscular fibre becomes opaque,
shorter, firmer, and drier ; the tendons less opaque, softer, and gluey; the fat is either
melted out, or rendered semi-transparent. Animal fluids become more transparent :
the albumen is coagulated and separated, and they dissolve gelatine and osmazome.

" Lastly, and what is the most, important change, and the immediate object of all
cookery, the meat loses the vapid nauseous smell and taste peculiar to its raw state,
and it becomes savoury and grateful.

" Heat applied through the intervention of boiling oil, or melted fat, as in FRYING.
produces nearly the same changes ; as the heat is sufficient to evaporate the water,
and to induce a degree of scorching.

" But when water is the medium through which heat is applied as in BOILING,
STEWING, and BAKING, the effects are somewhat different, as the h*at never exceeds
812, which is not sufficient to commence the process of browning or decomposition.
nd the soluble constituents are removed by being dissolved in the water, forming

INTRODUCTION. 21

you shall see what a book of cookery I shall make, and shall
agree with Mr. Dilly for the copyright."

Miss Seward." That would be Hercules with the distaff
indeed!"

Johnson. " No, madam ; women can spin very well, but
they cannot make a good book of cookery." See vol. iii. p. 3 1 1 .

Mr. B. adds, " I never knew a man who relished good-
eating more than he did : when at table, he was totally ab-
sorbed in the business of the moment : nor would he, unless
in very high company, say one word, or even pay the least
attention to what was said by others, until he had satisfied
his appetite."

The peculiarities of his constitution were as great as those
of his character: luxury and intemperance are relative
terms, depending on other circumstances than mere quantity
and quality. Nature gave him an excellent palate, and a
craving appetite, and his intense application rendered large
supplies of nourishment absolutely necessary to recruit his
exhausted spirits.

The fact is, this great man had found out that animal and
intellectual vigour,* are much more entirely dependent upon
each other than is commonly understood; especially in those
constitutions whose digestive and chylopoietic organs are
capricious and easily put out of tune, or absorb the "pabu-
lum vita" indolently and imperfectly : with such, it is only
now and then that the " sensorium commune" vibrates with
the full tone of accurately considerative, or creative energy.
" His favourite dainties were, a leg of pork boiled till it
dropped from the bone, a veal-pie, with plums and sugar, or
the outside cut of a salt buttock of beef. With regard to
drink, his liking was for the strongest, as it was not the
flavour, but the effect that he desired." Mr. Smale's Account
of Dr. Johnson's Journey into Wales, 1816, p. 174.

Thus does the HEALTH always, and very often the LIFE of
invalids, and those who have weak and infirm STOMACHS,
depend upon the care and skill of the COOK. Our forefathers
were so sensible of this, that in days of yore no man of
consequence thought of making a day's journey without
taking his " MAGISTER COQUORUM" with him.

soup or broth ; or, if the direct contact of the water be prevented, they are dissolved
in the juices of the meat, and separate in the form of gravy."

Vide Supplement to Encyclop. Brit. Edin. vol. iv. p. 344, the article " FOOD," to
which we refer our reader as the most scientific paper on the subject we have seen.

* " Health, beauty, strength, and spirits, and I might add all the faculties of the
mind, depend upon the organs of the body ; when these are in good order, the thinking
part is most alert and active, the contrary when they are disturbed or diseased."
Dr. CADOGAN on Nursing Children, 8vo. 1757, p. 5.

22 INTRODUCTION.

The rarity of this talent in a high degree is so well under-
stood, that besides very considerable pecuniary compensa-
tion, his majesty's first and second cooks* are now esquires
by their office. We have every reason to suppose they were
persons of equal dignity heretofore.

In Dr. Pegge's " Forme of Cury," 8vo. London, 1780, we
read, that when Cardinal Otto, the Pope's legate, was at
Oxford, A. D. 1248, his brother officiated as "MAGISTER

This important post has always been held as a situation of
high trust and confidence; and the "MAGNUS COQ,UUS," Ang-
lice, the Master Kitchener, has, time immemorial, been an
officer of considerable dignity in the palaces of princes.

The cook in PLAUTUS (pseudol) is called " Hominum ser-
vatorem" the preserver of mankind ; and by MERCIER " un
mddecin qui gvdrit radicalement deux maladies mortelles, la
faim et la soif."

The Norman conqueror WILLIAM bestowed several por-
tions of land on these highly-favoured domestics, the
" COQUORUM PRJEPOSITUS," and " COQUUS REGIUS ;" a manor
was bestowed on Robert Argyllon the " GRAND QUEUX," to
be held by the following service. See that venerable record.
the doomsday book.

" Robert Argyllon holdeth one carucate of land in Adding-
ton in the county of Surrey, by the service of making one
mess in an earthen pot in the kitchen of our Lord the KING,
on the day of his coronation, called De la Groute" i. e. a kind
of plum-porridge, or water-gruel with plums in it. This dish
is still served up at the royal table at coronations, by the
Lord of the said manor of Addington.

At the coronation of King George IV., Court of Claims.
July 12, 1820:

" The petition of the Archbishop of CANTERBURY, which
was presented by Sir G. Nayler, claiming to perform the
service of presenting a dish of De la Groute to the King at
the banquet, was considered by the Court, and decided to be
allowed."

A good dinner is one of the greatest enjoyments of human
life ; and as the practice of cookery is attended with so many
discouraging difficulties,! so many disgusting and disagree-

* " We have some good families in England of the name of Cook or Coke. 1
kno\v not what they may think ; but they may depend upon it, they all originally
sprang from real and professional cooks ; and they need not be ashamed of their
extraction, any more than the Parkers, Butlers, $<;." Dr. PKGSK'S Forme of Cury.
j>. 162.

t It is said, there are SEVEN chances against even the most simple disk being pre
sented to the mouth in absolute perfection ; for instance, A LEG OF MUTTON.

INTRODUCTION. 23

able circumstances, and even dangers, we ought to have some
regard for those who encounter them to procure us pleasure,
and to reward their attention by rendering their situation
every way as comfortable and agreeable as we can. He
who preaches integrity to those in the kitchen, (see " Advice
to Cooks") may be permitted to recommend liberality to those
in the parlour ; they are indeed the sources of each other.
Depend upon it, " True self-love and social are the same ;"
" Do as you would be done by :" give those you are obliged
to trust every inducement to be honest, and no temptation to
play tricks.

When you consider that a good servant eats* no more than
a bad one, how much waste is occasioned by provisions
being dressed in a slovenly and unskilful manner, and how
much a good cook (to whom the conduct of the kitchen is
confided) can save you by careful management, no house-
keeper will hardly deem it an unwise speculation (it is cer-
tainly an amiable experiment), to invite the honesty and in-
dustry of domestics, by setting them an example of liberality
~ at least, show them, that " According to their pains will
ne their gains."

Avoid all approaches to wards familiarity ; which, to a pro-
verb, is accompanied by contempt, and soon breaks the neck
of obedience.

A lady gave us the following account of the progress of a
favourite.

" The first year, she was an excellent servant ; the second,
a kind mistress ; the third, an intolerable tyrant ; at whose
dismissal, every creature about my house rejoiced heartily."

However, servants are more likely to be praised into good
conduct, than scolded out of bad. Always commend them
when they do right. To cherish the desire of pleasing in them,
you must show them that you are pleased :

1st. The mutton must be good. 2d. Must have been kept a good time. 3d.
Must be roasted at a good fire. 4th. By a good cook. 5th. Who must be in good
romper. 6th. With all this felicitous combination you must have good luck ; and,
7th. Good appetite. The meat, and the mouths which are to eat it, must be ready
tor action at the same moment.

* To guard against " la gourmandise" of the second table, " provide each of your
servants with a large pair of spectacles of the highest magnifying power, and never
permit them to sit down to any meal without wearing them ; they are as necessary,
and as useful in a kitchen as pots and kettles : they will make a lark look as largo
as a FOWL, a goose as big as a SWAN, a leg of mutton as large as a hind quarter of
beef; a twopenny loaf as large as a quartern ;" and as philosophers assure you that
pain even is only imaginary, we may justly believe the same of hunger ; and if a
servant who eats no more than one pound of food, imagines, by the aid of these
glasses, that he has eaten three pounds, his hunger will be as fully satisfied and
the addition to your optician's account, will soon be overpaid by the subtraction from
your butcher's and baker'a.

24 INTRODUCTION.

" Be to their faults a little blind,
And to their virtues very kind."

By such conduct, ordinary servants may be converted into
good ones : few are so hardened, as not to feel gratified when
they are kindly and liberally treated.

It is a good maxim to select servants not younger than
THIRTY: before that age, however comfortable you may
endeavour to make them, their want of experience, and the
hope of something still letter, prevents their being satisfied
with their present state ; after, they have had the benefit of
experience : if they are tolerably comfortable, they will
endeavour to deserve the smiles of even a moderately kind
master, for fear they may change for the worse.

Life may indeed be very fairly divided into the seasons of
HOPE and FEAR. In YOUTH, we hope every thing may be right :
in AGE, me fear every thing will be wrong.

Do not discharge a good servant for a slight offence :

" Bear and forbear, thus preached the stoic sages,
Arid in two words, include the sense of pages." POPE.

HUMAN NATURE is THE SAME IN ALL STATIONS : if you can
convince your servants that you have a generous and consi-
derate regard for their health and comfort, why should you
imagine that they will be insensible to the good they receive ?

Impose no commands but what are reasonable, nor re-
prove but with justice and temper : the best way to ensure
which is, never to lecture them till at least one day after
they have offended you.

If they have any particular hardship to endure in your
service, let them see that you are concerned for the neces-
sity of imposing it.

If they are sick, remember you are their patron as well as
their master : remit their labour, and give them all the assist-
ance of food, physic, and every comfort in your power.
Tender assiduity about an invalid is half a cure ; it is a bal-
sam to the mind, which has a most powerful effect on the
oody, soothes the sharpest pains, and strengthens beyond the
richest cordial.

Ye who think that to protect and encourage virtue is the
best preventive from vice, reward your female servants libe-
rally.

CHARITY SHOULD BEGIN AT HOME. Prevention is preferable
to cure but I have no objection to see your names orna-
menting the lists of subscribers to foundling hospitals and

INTRODUCTION. 25

female penitentiaries.* Gentle reader, for a definition of
the word " charity? let me refer you to the 13th Chapter of
St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians.

" To say nothing of the deleterious vapours and pestilen-
tial exhalations of the charcoal, which soon undermine the
health of the heartiest, the glare of a scorching fire, and the
smoke so baneful to the eyes and the complexion, are conti-
nual and inevitable dangers : and a cook must live in the
midst of them, as a soldier on the field of battle surrounded
by bullets, and bombs, and CONGREVE'S rockets ; with this
only difference, that for the first, every day is a fighting
day, that her warfare is almost always without glory,
and most praiseworthy achievements pass not only without
reward, but frequently without thanks : for the most con-
summate cook is, alas ! seldom noticed by the master, or
heard of by the guests ; who, while they are eagerly de-
vouring his turtle, and drinking his wine, care very little
who dressed the one, or sent the other." Almanack de&
Gourmands.

This observation applies especially to the SECOND COOK, or
first kitchen maid, in large families, who have by far the
hardest place in the house, and are worse paid, and truly
verify the old adage, "the more work, the less wages."
If there is any thing right, the cook has the praise when
there is any thing wrong, as surely the kitchen maid has
the blame. Be it known, then, to honest JOHN BULL,
that this humble domestic is expected by the cook to take
the entire management of all ROASTS, BOILS, FISH, and
VEGETABLES; i. e. the principal part of an Englishman's
dinner.

The master, who wishes to enjoy the rare luxury of a
table regularly well served in the best style, must treat his

* Much real reformation might be effected, and most grateful services obtained, if
families which consist wholly of females, would take servants recommended from
the MAGDALEN PENITENTIARY or GUARDIAN who seek to be restored tovirtuour
"ociety.

" Female servants who pursue an honest course, have to travel, in their peculiar
orbit, through a more powerfully resisting medium than perhaps any other class ol
people in civilized life ; they should be treated with something like Christian kind-
iiess : for want of this, a fault which might at the time have been easily amended>
has become the source of interminable sorrow."

" By the clemency and benevolent interference of two mistresses known to the
writer, two servants have become happy wives, who, had they been in some situa-
lions, would have been literally outcasts."

A most laudable SOCIETY for the ENCOURAGEMENT of FEMALE SERVANTS, by a
gratuitous registry, and by rewards, was instituted in 1813 ; plans of which may be
had gratis at the Society's House, No. 10, Hatton Garden. The above is an extract
from the REV. H. G. W ATKINS'S Hints to Heads of FrtnMtos. a work well deserving
Tlie attentive consideration of inexperienced housekeepers.

26 INTRODUCTION.

cook as his friend watch over her health* with the tendercsi
care, and especially be sure her taste does not suffer from
her stomach being deranged by bilious attacks.

Besides understanding the management of the spit, the
stewpan, and the rolling-pin, a COMPLETE COOK must know
how to go to market, write legibly, and keep accounts
accurately.

In well-regulated private families the most convenient
custom seems to be, that the cook keep a house-book, con-
taining an account of the miscellaneous articles she pur-
chases ; and the butcher's, baker's, butterman's, green-,
grocer's, fishmonger's, milkman's, and washing bills arc
brought in every Monday; these it is the duty of the cook
to examine, before she presents them to her employer every
Tuesday morning to be discharged.

* The greatest care should be taken by the man of fashion, that his cook's health
be preserved : one hundredth part of the attention usually bestowed on his dog, or
his horse, will suffice to regulate her animal system.

"Cleanliness, and a proper ventilation to carry off smoke and steam, should
be particularly attended to in the construction of a kitchen ; the grand scene of
action, the fire-place, should be placed where it may receive plenty of light; hitherto
the contrary has prevailed, and the poor cook is continually basted with her own
perspiration." ^9.C., Jun.

" The most experienced artists in cookery cannot be certain of their work without
tasting : they must be incessantly tasting. The spoon of a good cook is continually
passing from the stewpan to his tongue ; nothing but frequent tasting his sauces,
ragouts, &c. can discover to him what progress they have made, or enable him to
season a soup with any certainty of success ; his palate, therefore, must be in the
highest state of excitability, that the least fault may be perceived in an instant.

" But, alas ! the constant empyreumatic fumes of the stoves, the necessity of
frequent drinking, and often of bad beer, to moisten a parched throat ; in short,
every thing around him conspires quickly to vitiate the organs of taste ; the palate
becomes blunted ; its quickness of feeling and delicacy, on which the sensibility of
the organs of taste depends, grows daily more obtuse ; and in a short time the gus-
tatory nerve becomes quite unexcitable.

" IF YOU FIND YOUR COOK NEGLECT HIS BUSINESS that his rago&ts are too highly
spiced or salted, and his cookery has too much of the ' fiaut goutj you may be suro
that his index of taste wants regulating ; his palate has lost its sensibility, and it is
high time to call in the assistance of the apothecary.

" ' Purger souvent 1 is the grand maxim in all. kitchens where le Mattre d'H&tel
has any regard for the reputation of his table. Les Bans Hommes de Bouche
submit to the operation without a murmur; to bind others, it should be made the
first condition in hiring them. Those who refuse, prove they were not bom to
become masters of their art; and their indifference to fame will rank them, as they
deserve, among those slaves who pass their lives in as much obscurity as their own
stewpans."

To the preceding observations from the " Almanack des Gourmands," we may
add, that the Mouthician will have a still better chance of success, if he can prevail
on his master to observe the same regime which he orders for his cook ; or, instead of
endeavouring to awaken an idle appetite toy reading the index to a cookeiy book, or
an additional use of the pepper-box and salt-cellar, rather seek it. from abstinence
or exercise ; the philosophical gourmand will consider that the edge of our appetite
is generally keen, in proportion to the activity of our other habits; let him atten-
tively peruse our " PEPTIC PRKCKPTS," &c. which briefly explain the art of refreshing
the gustatory nerves, and of invigorating the whole system. See in the following
chapter on INVITATIONS TO DINNER A recipe to make FORTY PERISTALTIC PER

INTRODUCTION.

The advantage of paying such bills weekly is incalcula-
ble : among- others the constant check it affords against
any excess beyond the sum allotted for defraying them, and
the opportunity it gives of correcting increase of expense
in one week by a prudent retrenchment in the next. " If
you would live even with the world, calculate your expenses
at half your income if you would grow rich, at one-third"

It is an excellent plan to have a table of rules for regu-
lating the ordinary expenses of the family, in order to check
any innovation or excess which otherwise might be intro-
duced unawares, and derange the proposed distribution of
the annual revenue.

To understand the economy of household affairs is not
only essential to a woman's proper and pleasant performance
of the duties of a wife and a mother, but is indispensable to
the comfort, respectability, and general welfare of all familieSj
whatever be their circumstances.

The editor has employed some leisure hours in collecting
practical hints for instructing inexperienced housekeepers in
the useful

Art of providing comfortably for a family;
which is displayed so plainly and so particularly, that a
young lady may learn the delectable arcana of domestic
affairs, in as little time as is usually devoted to directing the
position of her hands on a piano-forte, or of her feet in a
quadrille this will enable her to make the cage of matri-
mony as comfortable as the net of courtship was charming.
For this purpose he has contrived a Housekeeper's Leger,
a plain and easy plan of keeping accurate accounts of the
expenses of housekeeping, which, with only one hour's atten-
tion in a week, will enable you to balance all such accounts
with the utmost exactness ; an acceptable acquisition to all
who admit that order and economy are the basis of comfort
and independence.

It is almost impossible for a cook in a large family, to
attend to the business of the kitchen with any certainty of
perfection, if employed in other household concerns. It is
a service of such importance, and so difficult to perform even
tolerably well, that it is sufficient to engross the entire atten-
tion of one person.

" If we take a review of the qualifications which are indis-
pensable in that highly estimable domestic, a GOOD COOK, we
shall find that very few deserve that name."*

* " She must be quick and strong of sight ; her hearing most acute, that she may
5>e sensible when the contents of her vessels bubble, although they be closely covered,
and that she may be alarmed before the pot boils over; her auditory nerve ough"

23 INTRODUCTION.

" The majority of those who set up for professors of this
art are of mean ability, selfish, and pilfering every thing
they can; others are indolent and insolent. Those who
really understand their business (which are by far the
smallest number), are too often either ridiculously saucy, or
insatiably thirsty ; in a word, a good subject of this class is
a rara avis indeed !"

"God sends meat," who sends cooks'?* the proverb has
long saved us the trouble of guessing. Vide Almanack des
Gourmands, p. 83.

Of what value then is not this book, which will render
every person of common sense a good cook in as little time
as it can be read through attentively !

If the masters and mistresses of families will sometimes
condescend to make an amusement of this art, they will
escape numberless disappointments, &c. which those who
xvill not, must occasionally inevitably suffer, to the detriment
of both their health and their fortune.

I did not presume to offer any observations of my own,
till I had read all that I could find written on the subject,
and submitted (with no small pains) to a patient and attentive
consideration of every preceding work, relating to culinary
concerns, that I could meet with.

These books vary very little from each other ; except in
the preface, they are

" Like in all else as one egg to another."

" Ab uno, disce ornnes" cutting and pasting have been
much oftener employed than the pen and ink : any one
who has occasion to refer to two or three of them, will
find the receipts almost always " verbatim et literatim ;"
equally unintelligible to those who are ignorant, and use-
less to those who are acquainted with the business of the
kitchen.

I have perused not fewer than 250 of these volumes.

During the Herculean labour of my tedious progress

to discriminate (when several saucepans are in operation at the same time) the sim-
mering of one, the ebullition of another, and the full-toned wabbling of a third.

" It is imperiously requisite that her organ of smell be highly susceptible of the
various effluvia, that her nose may distinguish the perfection of aromatic ingredients,
and that in animal substances it shall evince a suspicious accuracy between tender-
ness and putrefaction ; above all, her olfactories should be tremblingly alive to
mustiness and empyreuma.

" It is from the exquisite sensibility of her palate, that we admire and judge of the
cook; from the alliance between the olfactory and sapid organs, it will be seen that
their perfection is indispensable." Jl. C.,Jun.

* A facetious gourmand suggests that the old story of "lighting a candle to thp
devil," probably arose from this adage and was an offering presented to his? infernal
majesty by some epicure who was in want of a cook.

INTRODUCTION. 29

through these books, few of which afford the germ of a
single idea, I have often wished that the authors of them
had been satisfied with giving us the results of their own
practice and experience, instead of idly perpetuating the
errors, prejudices, and plagiarisms of their predecessors;
the strange, and unaccountable, and uselessly extravagant
farragoes and heterogeneous compositions which fill their
pages, are combinations no rational being would ever think
of either dressing or eating ; and without ascertaining the
practicability of preparing the receipts, and their fitness
for food when done, they should never have ventured to
recommend them to others : the reader of them will often
put the same qucere, as Jeremy, in Congreve's comedy oX
"Love for Love," when Valentine observes, " There's a page
doubled down in Epictetus that is a feast for an emperor.
Jer. Was Epictetus a real cook, or did he only write
receipts ?"

Half of the modern cookery books are made up with
pages cut out of obsolete works, such as the " Choice
Manual of Secrets," the " True Gentlewoman's Delight,"
&c. of as much use, in this age of refinement, as the fol-
lowing curious passage from "The Accomplished Lady's
Rich Closet of Rarities, or Ingenious Gentlewoman's De-
lightful Companion," 12mo. London, 1653, chapter 7, page
42 ; which I have inserted in a note,* to give the reader a
notion of the barbarous manners of the 16th century, with
the addition of the arts of the confectioner, the brewer, the
baker, the distiller, the gardener, the clear-starcher, and the
perfumer, and how to make pickles, puff paste, butter,
blacking, &c. together with my Lady BountifuPs sovereign
remedy for an inward bruise, and other ever-failing nostrums.
Dr. Killemquick^s wonder-working essence, and fallible
elixir, which cures all manner of incurable maladies directly
minute, Mrs. Notable's instructions how to make soft po-

* " A gentlewoman being at table, abroad or at home, must observe to keep her
body straight, and lean not by any means with her elbows, nor by ravenous gesture
discover a voracious appetite : talk not when you have meat in your mouth; and do
not smack like a pig, nor venture to eat spoonmeat so hot that the tears stand in
your eyes, which is as unseemly as the gentlewoman who pretended to have as litUe
a stomach, as she had a mouth, and therefore would not swallow her pease by
spoonfuls ; but took them one by one, and cut them in two before she would eat
them. It is very uncomely to drink so large a draught that your breath is almost
gone and are forced to blow strongly to recover yourself throwing down your
liquor as into a funnel is an action fitter for a juggler than a gentlewoman: thus
much for your observations in general ; if I am defective aa to particulars, your own
prudence, discretion, and curious observations will supply."

" In CARVING at your own table, distribute the best pieces first, and it will appear
very comely and decent to use a fork; so touch no piece of meat without it."

"Mem. The English are indebted to TOM CORYAT tor introducing THK FORK, for
Which they called him J>'ryfer." See his Cruditiea.voLi. p. 106. Edit. 177G,8vo.

30 IHTBODUCTION.

matum, that will soon make more hair grow upon thy
head, " than Dobbin, thy thill-horse, hath upon his tail,"
and many others equally invaluable ! ! ! the proper appella-
tion for which would be " a dangerous budget of vulgar
errors," concluding with a bundle of extracts from " the Gar-
dener's Calendar," and " the Publican's Daily Companion."

Thomas Carter, in the preface to his " City and Country
Cook," London, 1738, says, " What I have published is almost
the only book, one or two excepted, which of late years has
come into tlie world, that has been the result of the author's
own practice and experience ; for though very few eminent
practical cooks have ever cared to publish what they knew
of the art, yet they have been prevailed on, for a small pre-
mium from a bookseller, to lend their names to performances
in this art unworthy their owning."

Robert May, in the introduction to his "Accomplished
Cook," 1665, says, " To all honest and well-intending per-
sons of my profession, and others, this book cannot but be
acceptable, as it plainly and profitably discovers the mystery
of the whole art; for which, though I may be envied by
some, that only value their private interests above posterity
and the public good ; yet (he adds), God and my own con-
science would not permit me to bury these, my experiences,
with my silver hairs in the grave."

Those high and mighty masters and mistresses of the ali-
mentary art, who call themselves "profess" cooks, are said
to be very jealous and mysterious beings ; and that if, in a
long life of laborious stove-work, they have found out a few
useful secrets, they seldom impart to the public the fruits of
their experience ; but sooner than divulge their discoveries
for the benefit and comfort of their fellow-creatures, these
silly, selfish beings will rather run the risk of a reprimand
from their employers, and will sooner spoil a good dinner,
than suffer their fellow-servants to see how they dress it ! ! j

The silly selfishness of short-sighted mortals, is never
more extremely absurd than in their unprofitable parsimony
of what is of no use to them, but would be of actual value-
to others, who, in return, would willingly repay them ten-
fold. However, I hope I may be permitted to quote, in de-
fence of these culinary professors, a couple of lines of a
favourite old song :

" If you search the world round, each profession, you'll find,
Hath some snug little secrets, which the Mystery* they call."

* " Almost all arts and sciences are more or less encumbered with vulgar error?
and prejudices, which avarice and ignorance have unfortunately sufficient influence
ro preserve, by help (or hindrance) of mysteriouf , uirfefmable, and not seldom un-

INTRODUCTION. 31

My RECEIPTS are the results of experiments carefully made,
and accurately and circumstantially related ;

The TIME requisite for dressing being stated ;

The QUANTITIES of the various articles contained in each
composition being carefully set down in NUMBER, WEIGHT.
and MEASURE.

The WEIGHTS are avoirdupois ; the MEASURE, Lyne^s gra-
duated glass, i. e. a wine-pint divided into sixteen ounces,
and the ounce into eight drachms. By a wine-glass is to be
understood two ounces liquid measure ; by a large or table-
spoonful, half an ounce ; by a small or tea-spoonful, a drachm,
or half a quarter of an ounce, i. e. nearly equal to two drachms
avoirdupois.

At some glass warehouses, you may get measures divided
into tea and table-spoons. No cook should be without one,
who wishes to be regular in her business.

This precision has never before been attempted in cookery
books, but I found it indispensable from the impossibility of
guessing the quantities intended by such obscure expressions
as have been usually employed for this purpose in former
works :

" For instance : a bit of this a handful of that a pinch
of t' other do 'em over with an egg and a sprinkle of salt
a dust of flour a shake of pepper a squeeze of lemon,
or a dash of vinegar, &c. are the constant phrases. Season
it to your palate, (meaning the cook's,) is another form of
speech : now, if she has any, (it is very unlikely that it is
in unison with that of her employers,) by continually sip-
ping piquante relishes, it becomes blunted and insensible,
and loses the faculty of appreciating delicate flavours, so
that every thing is done at random.

These culinary technicals are so very differently under-
stood by thg learned who write themvand the unlearned who
read them, and their " rule of thumb" is so extremely indefi-

iutelligible, technical terms Anglicd, nicknames which, instead of enlightening
the subject it is professedly pretended they were invented to illuminate, serve but to
shroud it in almost impenetrable obscurity ; and, in general, so extravagantly fond
are the professors of an art of keeping up all the pomp, circumstance, and mystery
of it, and of preserving the accumulated prejudices of ages past undiminished, that
one might fairly suppose those who have had the courage and perseverance to over-
come these obstacles, and penetrate the veil of science, were delighted with placing
difficulties in the way of those who may attempt to follow them, on purpose to deter
them from the pursuit , and that they cannot bear others should climb the hill of
knowledge by a readier road than they themselves did : and such is V esprit du corps,
that as their predecessors supported themselves by serving it out gradatim et stil-
tatim, nnd retailing with a sparing hand the information they so hardly obtained.
they find it convenient to follow their example : and, willing to do as they have been
done by, leave and bequeath the inheritance undiminished to those who may succeed
riiem." See p. 10 of Dr. KITCUINER on Telcscopfs, ISmo. 1825, printed for Whit
faker Avc Maria Lane.

32 INTRODUCTION.

nite, that if the same dish be dressed by different persons, it
will generally be so different, that nobody would imagine
they had worked from the same directions, which will assist
a person who has not served a regular apprenticeship in the
kitchen, no more than reading "Robinson Crusoe" would
enable a sailor to steer safely from England to India.*

It is astonishing how cheap cookery books are held by prac-
tical cooks : when I applied to an experienced artist to recom-
mend me some books that would give me a notion of the
rudiments of cookery, he replied, with a smile, " You may
read Don Quixote, or Peregrine Pickle, they are both very
good books."

Careless expressions in cookery are the more surprising,
as the confectioner is regularly attentive, in the description
of his preparations, to give the exact quantities, though his
business, compared to cookery, is as unimportant as the
ornamental is inferior to the useful.

The maker of blanc-mange, custards, &c. and the endless
and useless collection of puerile playthings for the palate (of
first and second childhood, for the vigour of manhood seeketh
not to be sucking sugar, or sipping turtle), is scrupulously
exact, even to a grain, in his ingredients ; while cooks are
unintelligibly indefinite, although they are intrusted with the
administration of our FOOD, upon the proper quality and pre-
paration of which, all our powers of body and mind depend ;
their energy being invariably in the ratio of the performance
of the restorative process, i. e. the quantity, quality, and
perfect digestion of what we eat and drink.

Unless the stomach be in good humour, every part of the
machinery of life must vibrate with languor : can we then
be too attentive to its adjustment ? ! !

CULINARY CURIOSITIES..

The following specimen of the unaccountably whimsical harlequinade of foreigu
kitchens is from " La Chapelle" Nouveau Cuisinier, Paris, 1748.

" A turkey," in the shape of "football," or " a hedge-hog." A shoulder of mut
ton," in the shape of a " bee-hive."" Entree of pigeons," in the form of a " spider J'
or sun-fashion, or " in the form of a frog," or, in " the form of the moon." Or,

* " In the present language of cookery, there has been a woful departure from
the simplicity of our ancestors, such a farrago of unappropriate and unmeaning
terms, many corrupted from the French, others disguised from the Italian, some
misapplied from the German, while many are a disgrace to the English. What can
any person suppose to be the meaning of a shoulder of lamb in epigram, unless it
were a poor dish, for a pennyless poet 1 Aspect of fish, would appear calculates
for an astrologer; and shoulder of mutton surprised, designed for a sheep-stealer*
-~A. C, Jun.

INTRODUCTION. S3

'' to make a pig taste like a wild boar ;" take a living pig, and let him swallow the
following drink, viz. boil together in vinegar and water, some rosemary, thyme,
sweet basil, bay leaves, and sage ; when you have let him swallow this, immediately
whip him to death,, and roast him forthwith. How " to still a cocke for a weak
bodie that is consumed, take a red cocke that is not too olde, and beat him to
death." See THE BOOKE OF ;OOKRYE, very necessary for all such as delight therein.
Gathered by A. W., 1591, p. 12. How to ROAST a pound of BUTTER, curiously and
well ; and to farce (the culinary technical for to stuff) a boiled leg of lamb with red
herrings and garlic ; with many other receipts of as high a relish, and of as easy
digestion as the devil 1 s venison, i. e. a roasted tiger stuffed with ten penny nails, or
the " Bonne Bouche" the rareskin Rowskimowmowsky offered to Baron Mun-
Chausen, " a fricassee of pistols, with gunpowder and alcohol sauce." See the Ad-
ventures of Baron Munchausen, 12mo. 1792, p. 200 ; and the horrible but authentic
account of ARDESOIF, in MOUBRAY'S Treatise on Poultry, 8vo. 181G, p. 18.

But the most extraordinary of all the culinary receipts that have been under my
eye, is the following diabolically cruel directions of Mizald, " how to roast and cat a
goose alive." "Take a GOOSE or a DUCK, or some such lively creature, (but a goose
is best of all for this purpose,) pull off all her feathers, only the head and neck must
be spared : then make a fire round about her, not too close to ner, that the smoke do
not choke her, and that the fire may not burn her too soon ; nor too tar off, that she may
not escape free : within the circle of the fire let there be set small cups and pots full
of water, wherein salt and honey are mingled : and let there be set also chargers full
of sodden apples, cut into small pieces in the dish. The goose must be all larded, and
basted over with butter, to make her the more fit to be eaten, and may roast the
better: put then fire about her, but do not make too much haste, when as you see
her begin to roast; for by walking about, and flying here and there, being cooped in
by the fire that stops her way out, the unwearied goose is kepi in ; she will fall to
drink the water to quench her thirst and cool her heart, and all her body, and the
apple-sauce will make her dung, and cleanse and empty her. And when she roasteth,
and consumes inwardly, always wet her head and heart with a wet sponge ; and
when you see her giddy with running, and begin to stumble, hei heart wants moist-
ure, and she is roasted enough. Take her up, set her before your guests, and she
will cry as you cut off any part from her, and will be almost eaten up before she be
dead ; it is mighty pleasant to behold ! !" See WECKER'S Secrets of Nature, in folio.
London, 1660, p.' 148. 309.*

" We suppose ftlr. Mizald stole this receipt from the kitchen of his infernal
majesty : probably jt .might have been one of the dishes the devil ordered when he
invited Nero and Caligula to a feast-" A. C, Jun.

This is also related in BAPTISTA PORTA'S Natural Ma.<ricke, fol. 1658, p. 321.
This very curious (but not scarce) book contains, among other strange tricks and
fancies of "the Olden Time,'' directions, " how to ROAST and BOIL a fowl at the
same time, so that one-half shall be. ROASTED and the other BOILED ; and " if you
have a lacke of cooks, how to persuade a goose to roast himself e ! /" See a second act
of the above tragedy in page 80 of the Gentleman's Magazine for January, 1809.

Many articles were in vogue in the 14th century, which are now obsolete. We
add the following specimens of the CULINARY AFFAIRS OF DAYS OF YORE.

Sauce for a goose, Jl. D. 1381.

" Take a faire panne, and set hit under the goose whill she rostes ; and kepe clene
the grese that droppes thereof, and put thereto a godele (good deal) of Wyn, and a
litel vinegur, and verjus, and onyons mynced, or garlek ; then take the gottes (gut)
of the goose and slitte horn, and scrape horn clene in water and salt, and so wash
horn, and hack horn small, then do all this togedur in a piffenet (pipkin), and do
thereto raisinges of corance, and pouder of pepur and of ginger, and of canell and
hole clowes and maces, and let hit boyle and serve hit forthe."

"That unvvietdy marine animal the PORPUS wJis dressed in a variety of modes,
salted, roasted, stewed, &c. Our ancestors were not singular in their partiality to
it; I find, from an ingenious friend of mine, that it is even now, A. D. 1790, sold in
the markets of most towns in Portugal ; the flesh of it is intolerably hard and
rancid." WARNER'S Antiq. Cul. 4to. p. 15.

" The SWAN! was also a dish of state, and in high fashion when the elegance oi

* See note to No. 59 how to plump the liver of a goose.

t "It is a curious illustration of the dc gustibus van eat disputandum t that the

34 INTRODUCTION.

the feast was estimated by the magnitude of the articles of which it was composed
the number consumed at the Earl of Northumberland's table, A. D. 1512, amounted
to twenty." Northumberland Household-book, p. 108.

" The CRANK was a darling dainty in William the Conqueror's time, and so partial
was that monarch to it, that when his prime favourite, William Firz-Osborne, the
steward of the household, served him with a crane scarcely half roasted, the king
was so highly exasperated, that he lifted up his fist, and would have strucken him,
had not Eudo (appointed Dapifer immediately after) warded off the blow."
WARNER'S Antiq. Cul. p. 12.

SEALS, CURLEWS, HERONS, BITTERNS, and the PEACOCK, that noble bird, " the
food of lovers and the meat of lords," were also at this time in high fashion, when
the baronial entertainments were characterized by a grandeur and pompous cere-
monial, approaching nearly to the magnificence of royalty ; there was scarcely any-
royal or noble feast without PECOKKKS, which were stuffed with spices and sweet
nerbs, roasted and served up whole, and covered after dressing with the skin and
feathers ; the beak and comb gilt, and the tail spread, and some, instead of the
feathers, covered it with leaf gold ; it was a common dish on grand occasions, and
continued to adorn the English table till the beginning of the seventeenth century.

In Massinger'a play of " The City Madam," Holdfast, exclaiming against city
luxury, says, " three fat wethers bruised, to make sauce for a single peacock."

This bird is one of those luxuries which were often sought, because they wer<?
seldom found: its scarcity and external appearance are its only recommendation;
the meat of it is tough and tasteless.

Another favourite dish at the tables of our forefathers, was a PIE of stupendous
magnitude, out of which, on its being opened, a flock of living birds flew fortbj to
ilie no small surprise and amusement of the guests.

'' Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie ;
When the pie was open'd, the birds began to sing
Oh ! what a dainty dish 'tis fit for any king."

This was a common joke at an old English feast. These animated pies were often
introduced " to set on," as Hamlet says, " a quantity of barren spectators to laugh ;"
there is an instance of a dwarf undergoing such an incrustation. About the year
1630, king Charles and his queen were emerfained by the duke and dutchess of
Buckingham, at Burleigh on the Hill, on which occasion JEFFERY HUDSON, the
dwarf, was served up in a cold pie. See WALPOLE'S Anecdotes of Painting, vol.
ii. p. 14.

The BARON OF BEEF was another favourite and substantial support of old English
hospitality.

Among the most polished nations of the 15th and 16th centuries, the powdered
(salted) horse, seems to have been a dish in some esteem? Grimalkin herself could
not escape the undistinguishing fury of the cook. Don Anthony of Guevera, the
chronicler to Charles V., gives the following account of a feast at which he was
present. " I will tell you no lye, I sawe such kindes of meates eaten, as are wont
<o be sene, but not eaten as a HO*SE roasted a CAT in gely LYZARDS in hot
brothe, FROGGES fried," &c.

While we are thus considering the curious dishes of olden limes, we will cursorily
mention the singular diet of two or three nations of antiquity, noticed by Herodotus',
lib. iv. " The Androphagi (the cannibals of the ancient world) greedily devoured
the carcasses of their fellow-creatures ; while the inoffensive Cabri (a Scythian
tribe) found both food and drink in the agreeable nut of the Pontic tree. The Lo-
lophagi lived entirely on the fruit of the l^otus tree. The savage Troglodyte
esteemed a living serpent the most delicate of all morsels ; while the capricious*
palate of the Zijguntini preferred the ape to every thing." Vide WARNER'S Antiq
Cul. p. 135.

u The Romans, in the luxurious period of their empire, took five meals a day ; r;
breakfast (jentaculum ;) a dinner, which was a light meal without any formal pre-
paration (prandium) ; a kind of tea, as we should call it, between dinner and supper
(mercnda} ; a supper (c<r?ia), which was their great meal, and commonly consisted
of two courses ; the first of meats, the second, what we call a dessert ; and a posset,

;incients considered the swan as a high delicacy, and abstained from the flesh of thr
goose as impure and indigestible." MOUURAY on Poultry, p, 36.

INTRODUCTION. 35

or something delicious after supper (commissatio)." ADAM'S Rom.Antiq. 2d edi-
tion, 8vo. 1792, p. 434 and 447.

'The Romans usually began their entertainments with eggs, and ended with
fruits ; hence, AB ovo USQUE AD MALA, from the beginning to the end of supper,
Horat. Sat. i. 3. 6 ; Cic. Fam. ix. 20.

" The dishes (edulia) held in the highest estimation by the Romans, are enume-
rated, Oell. vii. 16, Macrob. Sat. ii. 9, Martial, v. 79, ix. 48, xi. 53, &c., a peacock
(PAVO), Horat. Sat. ii. 2. 23, Juvenal, i. 143, first used by Hortensius, the orator, at
a supper, which he gave when admitted into the college of priests, (aditiali cand
sacerdotii,') Plin'. x. 20, s. 23; a pheasant, (PHASIANA, ex Phasi, Colckidis fluvio,}
Martial, iii. 58, xiii. 72, Senec. ad Helv. 9, Petron. 79, Manil. v. 372 : a bird called
.Ittagen vel-eno, from Ionia or Phrygia, Horat. Epod. ii. 54, Martial, xiii. iii. 61, a
guinea-hen, (avis Jlfra, Horat. ib. Gallina JVumidica vel Jifricana, Juvenal, xi.
142, Martial, xiii. 73) ; a Melian crane ; an Ambracian kid ; nightingales, luscinie ,
thrushes, turdi; ducks, geese, &c. TOMACULUM, (d Tnvu),}.vel ISICIUM, (ab inseea;)
sausages or puddings, Juvenal, x. 355. Martial. 42. 9, Petron. 31." Vide ibid.
p. 447.

That the English reader may be enabled to form some idea of the heterogeneous
messes with which the Roman palate was delighted, I introduce the following
receipt from Jlpidus.

" THICK SAUCE FOR A BOILED CHICKEN. Put the following ingredients into a
mortar : aniseed, dried mint, and lazar-root (similar to assatcetida), cover them with
vinegar ; add dates ; pour in liquamen, oil, and a small quantity of mustard seeds ;
reduce all to a proper thickness with port wine warmed ; and then pour this same
over your chicken, which should previously be boiled in anise-seed water."

Liquamen and Garum were synonymous terms for the same thing ; the former
adopted in the room of the latter, about the age of Aurelian. It was a liquid, and
thus prepared : the guts of large fish, and a variety of small fish, were put into a
vessel and well salted, and exposed to the sun till they became putrid. A liquor was
produced in a short time, which being strained off, was the liquamen. Vide LISTER
in Apicium, p. 16, notes.

Essence of anchovy, as it is usually made for sale, when it has been opened about
ten days, is not much unlike the Roman liquamen. See No. 433. Some suppose it
was the same thing as the Russian Caviar, which is prepared from the roe of the
sturgeon.

The BLACK BROTH of Laccd(f.mon will long continue to excite the wonder of the
philosopher, and the disgust of the epicure. What the ingredients of this sable
composition were, we cannot exactly ascertain. Jul. Pollux says, the Lacedsemo-
nian black broth was blood, thickened in a certain way : Dr. LISTER (in Apicium)
supposes it to have been hog 1 s blood; if so, this celebrated Spartan dish bore no
very distant resemblance to the black-puddings of our days. It could not be a very
alluring mess, since a citizen of Sybaris having tasted it, declared it was no longer
a matter of astonishment with him, why the Spartans were so fearless of death,
since any one in his senses would much rather die, than exist on such execrable
food. Vide Athen&um, lib. iv. c. 3. When Dionysius the tyrant had tasted the
black broth, he exclaimed against it as miserable stuff; the cook replied" It wa
no wonder, for the sauce was wanting." "What sauce 7" says Dionysius. The
answer was, " Labour and exercise, hunger and thirst, these are the sauces ice
Lacedfemonians iiae" and they make the coarsest fare agreeable. CICERO, 3 TuscuL

INVITATIONS TO DINNER

IN " the affairs of the mouth" the strictest punctuality is
indispensable ; the GASTRONOMER ought to be as accurate aii
observer of time, as the ASTRONOMER. The least delay pro-
duces fatal and irreparable misfortunes.

Almost all other ceremonies and civil duties may be put
off for several hours without much inconvenience, and all
may be postponed without absolute danger. A little delay
may try the patience of those who are waiting ; but the act
itself will be equally perfect and equally valid. Procrasti-
nation sometimes is rather advantageous than prejudicial.
It gives time for reflection, and may prevent our taking a
step which would have made us miserable for life ; the delay
of a courier has prevented the conclusion of a convention,
the signing of which might have occasioned the ruin of a
nation.

If, from affairs the most important, we descend to our
pleasures and amusements, we shall find new arguments in
support of our assertions. The putting off of a rendezvous,
or a ball, &c. will make them the more delightful. To hope
is to enjoy.

" Man never is, but always to be blest."

The anticipation of pleasure warms our imagination, and
keeps those feelings alive, which possession too often extin-
guishes.

" 'T is expectation only makes us blest ;
Enjoyment disappoints us at the best."

1 Dr. Johnson has most sagaciously said ; " Such is the state
of life, that none are happy, but by the anticipation of
change : the change itself is nothing : when we have made
it, the next wish is, immediately to change again."

However singular our assertions may have at first ap-
peared to those who have not considered the subject, we
hope by this time we have made converts of our readers,
and convinced the " Amateurs de Bonne Chere" of the truth
and importance of our remarks ; and that they will remem-
ber, that DINNER is the only act of the day which cannot be
put off with impunity, for even FIVE MINUTES.

INVITATIONS TO DINNEB. *><

In a well-regulated family, all the clocks and watches
should agree ; on this depends the fate of the dinner ; what
would be agreeable to the stomach, and restorative to the
system, if served at FIVE o'clock, will be uneatable and in-
nutritive and indigestible at A QUARTER PAST.

The dining-room should be furnished with a good-going
clock ; the space over the kitchen fire-place with another,
vibrating in unison with the former, so placed, that the cook
may keep one eye on the clock, and the other on the spit,
&c. She will calculate to a minute the time required to
roast a large capon or a little lark, and is equally attentive
to the degree of heat of her stove, and the time her sauce
remains on it, when to withdraw the bakings from the oven,
the roast from the spit, and the stew from the pan.

With all our love of punctuality, the first consideration
must still be, that the dinner " be well done, when 't is done."

It is a common fault with cooks who are anxious about
time, to overdress every thing the guests had better wait
than the dinner a little delay will improve their appetite ;
but if the dinner waits for the guests, it will be deteriorated
every minute : the host who wishes to entertain his friends
with food perfectly well dressed, while he most earnestly
endeavours to impress on their minds the importance of
oeing punctual to the appointed hour, will still allow his cook
a quarter of an hour's grace.

The old adage that " the eye is often bigger than the
belly," is often verified by the ridiculous vanity of those
who wish to make an appearance above their fortune.
Nothing can be more ruinous to real comfort than the too
common custom of setting out a table, with a parade and a
profusion, unsuited not only to the circumstances of the
hosts, but to the number of the guests; or more fatal to
true hospitality, than the multiplicity of dishes which luxury
has made fashionable at the tables of the great, the wealthy,
and the ostentatious, who are, often, neither great nor
wealthy.

Such pompous preparation, instead of being a compliment
to our guests, is nothing better than an indirect offence ; it is
a tacit insinuation, that it is absolutely necessary to provide
such delicacies to bribe the depravity of their palates, when
we desire the pleasure of their company ; and that society
now, must be purchased, at the same price SWIFT told
POPE he was obliged to pay for it in Ireland. " I should
hardly prevail to find one visiter, if I were not able to hire
him with a bottle of wine." Vide Swift's letters to Pope,
July 10th, 1732.

38 INVITATIONS TO DINNER.

When t\vice as much cooking is undertaken as there are
servants, or conveniences in the kitchen to do it properly,
dishes must be dressed long before the dinner hour, and
stand by spoiling the poor cook loses her credit; and the
poor guests get indigestions. Why prepare for eight or ten
friends, more than sufficient for twenty or thirty visiters 1
" Enough is as good as a feast," and a prudent provider, who
sensibly takes measure of the stomachic, instead of the
SILLY ocular, appetite of his guests, may entertain his
friends, three times as often, and ten times as well.

It is your SENSELESS SECOND COURSES ridiculous variety
of WINES, LIQUEURS, ICES,* DESSERTS, &c. which are served
up merely to feed the eye, or pamper palled appetite, that
overcome the stomach and paralyze digestion, and seduce
" children of a larger growth" to sacrifice the health and
comfort of several days, for the baby-pleasure of tickling
their tongue for a few minutes, with trifles and custards ! ! !
&c. &c.

" INDIGESTION will sometimes overtake the most experi-
enced epicure; when the gustatory nerves are in good
humour, hunger and savoury viands will sometimes seduce
the tongue of a ' grand gourmand? to betray the interests of
his stomach in spite of his brains.

"On such an unfortunate occasion, when the stomach
sends forth eructantt signals of distress, the peristaltic per-
suaders are as agreeable and effectual assistance as can be
offered ; and for delicate constitutions, and those that are
impaired by age or intemperance, are a valuable panacea.

" They derive, and deserve this name, from the peculiar
mildness of their operation. One or two very gently in-
crease the action of the principal viscera, help them to do
their work a little faster, and enable the stomach to serve
with an ejectment whatever offends it, and move it into the
bowels.

'* Thus indigestion is easily and speedily removed, appe-
tite restored, the mouths of the absorbing vessels being
cleansed, nutrition is facilitated, and strength of body, and
energy of mind, are the happy results." See "PEPTIC
PRECEPTS," from which we extract the following prescrip-
tion

* Swilling cold soda water immediately after eating a hearty dinner, is another
very unwholesome custom take good ginger beer if you are thirsty, and don't lik>
Sir John Barleycorn's cordial.

t Strong peppermint or ginger lozenges are an excellent help for that flatulence
with which some aged and dyspeptic people are afflicted three or four hours after
dinner.

INVITATIONS TO DINNEH, 39

To make FORTY PERISTALTIC PERSUADERS,
Take

Turkey rhubarb, finely pulverized, two drachms,

Syrup (by weight), one drachm,

Oil of carraway, ten drops (minims),

Made into pills, each of which will'contain three grains of rhv&arb,

" The DOSE OF THE PERSUADERS must be adapted to tlie
constitutional peculiarity of the patient. When you wish to
accelerate or augment the alvine exoneration, take two,
three, or more, according to the effect you desire to produce.
Two pills will do as much for one person, as^e or six will
for another : they will generally very regularly perform what
you wish to-day, without interfering with what you hope
will happen to-morrow ; and are therefore as convenient an
argument against constipation as any we are acquainted
with.

" The most convenient opportunity to introduce them to
the stomach, is early in the morning, when it is unoccupied,
and has no particular business of digestion, &c. to attend
to i. e. at least half an hour before breakfast. Physic-
must never interrupt the stomach, when it is busy in digest-
ing food.

" From two to four persuaders will generally produce one
additional motion, within twelve hours. They may be taken
at any time by the most delicate females, whose constitutions
are so often distressed by constipation, and destroyed by the
drastic purgatives they take to relieve it."

The cloth* should be laid in the parlour, and all the para-
phernalia of the dinner-table completely arranged, at least
half an hour before dinner-time.

The cook's labour will be lost, if the parlour-table be not
ready for action, and the eaters ready for the eatables, which
the least delay will irreparably injure : therefore, the GOUR-
MAND will be punctual for the sake of gratifying his ruling-
passion ; the INVALID, to avoid the danger of encountering
an indigestion from eating ill-dressed food; and the RATIONAL
EPICURE, who happily attends the banquet with " mens sana
in corpore scmo," will keep the time not only for these strong
reasons, but that he may not lose the advantage of being

* Le Grand Somrbelier, or CHIEF BUTLER, in former times was expected to be
especially accomplished in the art of folding table linen, so as to lay his napkins iu
different forms every day : these transformations are particularly described in ROSE'S
Instructions for the Officers of the Mouth, 1682, p. Ill, &c. "To pleat a napkin in
the form of a cockle-shell double" " in the form of hen and chickens" " shape
of two capons in a pye"^or "like a dog with a collar about his neck" and many
ethers equally whimsical.

49 INVITATIONS TO DINNER,

introduced to the other guests. He considers not only what
is on the table, but who are around it : his principal induce-
ment to leave his own fireside, is the charm of agreeable
and instructive society, and the opportunity of making con-
nexions, which may augment the interest and enjoyment of
existence.

It is the most pleasing part of the duty of the master of
the feast (especially when the guests are not very numerous),
to take advantage of these moments to introduce them to
one another, naming them individually in an audible voice,
and adroitly laying hold of those ties of acquaintanceship or
profession which may exist between them.

This will much augment the pleasures of the festive board,
to which it is indeed as indispensable a prelude, as an over-
ture is to an opera: and the host will thus acquire an addi-
tional claim to the gratitude of his guests. We urge this
point more strongly, because, from want of attention to it,
we have seen more than once persons whom many kindred
ties would have drawn closely together, pass an entire
day without opening their lips to each other, because they
were mutually ignorant of each other's names, professions,
and pursuits.

To put an end at once to all ceremony as to the order in
which the guests are to sit, it will save much time and
trouble, if the mistress of the mansion adopts the simple
and elegant method of placing the name of each guest in
the plate which is intended for him. This proceeding will
be of course the result of consideration, and the host will
place those together whom he thinks will harmonize best.

Le Journal des Dames informs us, that in several fashionable
houses in Paris, a new arrangement has been introduced in
placing the company at a dinner-table.

" The ladies first take their places, leaving intervals for
the gentlemen ; after being seated, each is desired to call on
a gentleman to sit beside her ; and thus the lady of the house
is relieved from all embarrassment of etiquette as to rank
and pretensions," &c.

But, without doubt, says the Journalist, this method has
its inconveniences.

" It may happen that a bashful beauty dare not name the
object of her secret wishes ; and an acute observer may de-
termine, from a single glance, that the elected is not always
the chosen. 11

If the party is large, the founders of the feast may sit in
the middle of the table, instead of at each end, thus they
will enjoy the pleasure of attending equally to all their

INVITATIONS TO DINNER. 41

friends ; and being in some degree relieved from the occu-
pation of carving, will have an opportunity of administering
all those little attentions which contribute so much to the
comfort of their guests.

If the GUESTS have any respect for their HOST, or
prefer a well-dressed dinner to one that is spoiled, instead
of coming half an 'hour after, they will take care to make
their appearance a quarter of an hour before the time
appointed.

The operations of the cook are governed by the clock ; the
moment the roasts, &c. are ready, they must go to the table,
if they are to be eaten in perfection.

An invitation to come at FIVE o'clock seems to be gene-
rally understood to mean six ; FIVE PRECISELY, hay past five;
and NOT LATER THAN FIVE (so that dinner may be on the
table within five minutes after, allowing this for the variation
of watches), FIVE O'CLOCK EXACTLY.

Be it known to all loyal subjects of the empire of good-
living, that the COMMITTEE OF TASTE have unanimously
resolved, that " an invitation to ETA. BETA. PI. must be in
writing, and sent at least ten days before the banquet ; and
must be answered in writing (as soon as possible after it
is received), within twenty-four hours at least," espe-
cially if it be not accepted : then, in addition to the usual
complimentary expressions of thanks, &c. the best possible
reasons must be assigned for the non-acceptance, as a parti-
cular pre-engagement, or severe indisposition, &c. Before
the bearer of it delivers it, he should ascertain if the person
it is directed to is at home ; if he is not, when he will be ;
and if he is not in town, to bring the summons back.

Nothing can be more disobliging than a refusal which in
not grounded on some very strong and unavoidable cause,
except not coming at the appointed hour; " according to the
laws of conviviality, a certificate from a sheriff's officer, a
doctor, or an undertaker, are the only pleas which are admis-
sible. The duties which invitation imposes do not fall only
on the persons invited, but, like all other social duties, are
reciprocal.

" As he who has accepted an invitation cannot disengage
himself from it; the master of the feast cannot put off the
entertainment on any pretence whatever. Urgent business,
sickness, not even death itself, can dispense with the obliga-
tion which he is under of giving the entertainment for which
he has sent out invitations, which have been accepted ; for
in the extreme cases of compulsory absence, or death, his
place may be filled by his friend or executor." Vide le

42 MANNERS.

Manuel des Amphitryans, 8vo. Pans, 1808 ; and Cours Gastro-
nomique, 1809; to which the reader is referred for farther
instructions.

It is the least punishment that a blundering 1 , ill-bred boob}
can receive, who comes half an hour after the time he was
bidden, to find the soup removed, and the fish cold : more-
over, for such an offence, let him also be mulcted in a pecu-
niary penalty, to be applied to the FUND FOR THE BENEFIT 01
DECAYED COOKS. This is the least punishment that can bo
inflicted on one whose silence, or violation of an engagement,
tends to paralyze an entertainment, and to draw his friend
into useless expense.

BOILEAU, the French satirist, has a shrewd observation on
this subject. " I have always been punctual at the hour of
dinner," says the bard ; " for I knew, that all those whom I
kept waiting- at that provoking interval, would employ those
unpleasant moments to sum up all my faults. BOILEAU is:
indeed a man of genius, a very honest man ; but that dila-
tory and procrastinating way he has got into, would mar the
virtues of an angel."

There are some who seldom keep an appointment : we
can assure them they as seldom " 'scape without whipping,"
and exciting those murmurs which inevitably proceed from
the best-regulated stomachs, when they are empty, and im-
patient to be filled.

The most amiable animals when hungry become ill-tem-
pered : our best friends employ the time they are kept wait-
ing, in recollecting and repeating any real faults we have,
and attributing to us a thousand imaginary ones.

Ill-bred beings, who indulge their own caprice, regard-
less how they wound the feelings of others, if they possess
brilliant and useful talents, may occasionally be endured
as convenient tools ; but deceive themselves sadly, evert
though they possess all the wisdom, and all the wit in
the world, if they fancy they can ever be esteemed as
friends.

Wait for no one : as soon as the clock strikes, say grace,
and begin the business of the day,

" And good digestion wait on appetite,
And health on both."

MANNERS MAKE THE MAN.

Good manners have often made the fortune of many, who
have had nothing else to recommend them :

CARVING. 43

111 manners have as often marred the hope of those who
have had every thing else to advance them.

These regulations may appear a little rigorous to those
phlegmatic philosophers,

" Who, past all pleasures, damn the joys of sense,
With rev'rend dulness and grave impotence,"

and are incapable of comprehending the importance (espe-
cially when many are invited) of a truly hospitable entertain-
ment : but genuine connoisseurs in the science of good cheer
will vote us thanks for our endeavours to initiate well-dis-
posed amateurs.

CARVING.

Ceremony does not, in any thing, more commonly and
completely triumph over comfort, than in the administration
of " the honours of the table."

Those who serve out the loaves and fishes seldom seem
to understand that he is the best carver who fills the plates
of the greatest number of guests, in the least portion of
time.

To effect this, fill the plates and send them round, instead
of asking each individual if they choose soup, fish, &c. or
what particular part they prefer ; for, as they cannot all be
choosers, you will thus escape making any invidious dis-
tinctions.

A dexterous CARVER* (especially if he be possessed with
that determined enemy to ceremony and sauce, a keen appe-
tite,) will help half a dozen people in half the time one of
your would-be-thought polite folks wastes in making civil
faces, &c. to a single guest.

It would save a great deal of time, &c. if POULTRY, espe-
cially large turkeys and geese, were sent to table ready cut
up. (No. 530.|)

FISH that is fried should be previously divided into such
portions as are fit to help at table. (See No. 145.)

A prudent carver will cut fair,t observe an equitable

* In days of yore " Le Grand Ecuyer Tranchant," or the MASTER CARVER, was
the next officer of the mouth in rank to the " Maitre d'H6tel," and the technical
terms of his art were as singular as any of those which ornament " Grose's Classical
Slang Dictionary," or "The Gipsies' Gibberish:" the only one of these old phrases
now in common use is, " cut up the TURKEY :" we are no longer desired to " dis-
figure a PKACOCK" " unbrace a DUCK" "unlace a CONEY" "tame a CRAB"
11 tire an EGG" and "spoil the HKN," &c. See Instructions for the Officers of the
Mouth, by ROSE, 1682.

t Those in the parlour should recollect the importance of setting a good exampJ*
to their friends at the second table. If they cut bread, meat, cheese, &c. FAIRLY,, it,

44 CARVING,

distribution of the dainties he is serving out, and regulate
his helps, by the proportion which his dish bears to the num-
ber he has to divide it among, taking into this reckoning
the quantum of appetite the several guests are presumed to
possess.

" Study their genius, caprices, go&t
They, in return, may hapiy study you:
Some wish a pinion, some prefer a leg,
Some for a merry- thought, or sidesbone beg,
The wings of fowls, then slices of the round
The trail of woodcock, of codfish the sound.
Let strict impartiality preside,
Nor freak, nor favour, nor affection guide."

From the BANQUET.

The guest who wishes to ensure a hearty welcome, and
frequent invitation to the board of hospitality, may calcu-
late that the " easier he is pleased, the oftener he will be
invited." Instead of unblushingly demanding of the fair
hostess that the prime " tit-bit" of every dish be put on your
plate, receive (if not with pleasure, or even content) with
the liveliest expressions of thankfulness whatever is pre-
sented to you, and forget not to praise the cook, and the
same shall be reckoned unto you even as the praise of the
mistress.

The invalid or the epicure, when he dines out, to save
trouble to his friends, may carry with him a portable MAGA-
ZINE OP TASTE. (See No. 462.)

" If he does not like his fare, he may console himself with
the reflection, that he need not expose his mouth to the like
mortification again : mercy to the feelings of the mistress
of the mansion will forbid his then appearing otherwise than
absolutely delighted with it, notwithstanding it may be his
extreme antipathy."

" If he likes it ever so little, he will find occasion to con-
gratulate himself on the advantage his digestive organs will
derive from his making a moderate dinner, and consolation
from contemplating the double relish he is creating for the
following meal, and anticipating the (to him) rare and deli-
cious zest of (that best sauce) good appetite, and an un-
restrained indulgence of his gormandizing fancies at the
chop-house he frequents."

" Never intrust a cook-teaser with the important office of
CARVER, or place him within reach of a sauce-boat. These
chop-house cormorants, who

will go twice as far as if they hack and mangle it, as if they had not half so murli
consideration fur those in the kitchen as a good sportsman has for his dogs.

CARVING. 45

1 Critique your wine, and analyze your meat,
Yet on plain pudding deign at home to eat,'

are, generally, tremendously officious in serving out the
loaves and fishes of other people ; for, under the notion of
appearing exquisitely amiable, and killingly agreeable to the
guests, they are ever on the watch to distribute themselves
the dainties which it is the peculiar part of the master and
mistress to serve out, and is to them the most pleasant part
of the business of the banquet : the pleasure of helping their
friends is the gratification, which is their reward for the
trouble they have had in preparing the feast. Such gentry
are the terror of all good housewives: to obtain their
favourite cut they will so unmercifully mangle your joints,
that a dainty dog would hardly get a meal from them after ;
which, managed by the considerative hands of an old house-
keeper, would furnish a decent dinner for a large family.".
Vide " Almanack des Gourmands."

1 once heard a gentle hint on this subject, given to a 6/we-
mould fancier, who by looking too long at a Stilton cheese,
was at last completely overcome, by his eye exciting his
appetite, till it became quite ungovernable ; and unconscious
of every thing but the mity object of his contemplation, he
began to pick out, in no small portions, the primest parts his
eye could select from the centre of the cheese.

The good-natured founder of the feast, highly amused at
the ecstasies each morsel created in its passage over the
palate of the enraptured gourmand, thus encouraged the per-
severance of his guest " Cut away, my dear sir, cut away,
use no ceremony, I pray : I hope you will pick out all the
best of my cheese. Don't you think that THE RIND and the
ROTTEN will do very well for my wife and family ! .'" There
is another set of terribly free and easy folks, who are " fond
of taking possession of the throne of domestic comfort,"
and then, with all the impudence imaginable, simper out to
the ousted master of the family, " Dear me, I am afraid I
have taken your place !"

Half the trouble of WAITING AT TABLE may be saved by
giving each guest two plates, two knives and forks, two
pieces of bread, a spoon, a wine-glass, and a tumbler, and
placing the wines and sauces, and the MAGAZINE OF TASTE,
(No. 462,) &c. as a dormant, in the centre of the table ; one
neighbour may then help another.

Dinner-tables are seldom sufficiently lighted, or attended.
\n active waiter will have enough to do to attend upon
half a dozen active eaters. There should be about half as
many can-dies as there are guests, and their flame bo about

46 FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

eighteen inches above the table- Our foolish modern pom*
pous candelabras seem intended to illuminate the ceiling,
rather than to give light on the plates, &c.

Wax lights at dinner are much more elegant, and not so
troublesome and so uncertain as lamps, nor so expensive ;
for to purchase a handsome lamp will cost you more than
will furnish you with wax candles for several years.

FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS,*

AND OTHER

SERVANTS

ON your first coming into a family, lose no time in imme-
diately getting into the good graces of your fellow-servants,
that you may learn from them the customs of the kitchen,
and the various rules and orders of the house.

Take care to be on good terms with the servant who wait?
at table ; make use of him as your sentinel, to inform you
how your work has pleased in the parlour: by his report you
may be enabled in some measure to rectify any mistake ;
but request the favour of an early interview with your mas-
ter or mistress : depend as little as possible on second-hand
opinions. Judge of your employers from YOUR OWN ob-
servations, and THEIR behaviour to you, not from any idle
reports from the other servants, who, if your master or mis-
tress inadvertently drop a word in your praise, will immedi-
ately take alarm, and fearing your being more in favour than
themselves, will seldom stick at trifles to prevent it, by pre-
tending to take a prodigious liking to you, and poisoning
your mind in such a manner as to destroy all your confi-
dence, &c. in your employers ; and if they do not immediately
succeed in worrying you away, will take care you have no
comfort while you stay : be most cautious of those who pro-
fess most: not only beware of believing such honey-tongued

* A chapter of advice to cooks will, we hope, be found as useful as it is origin.il
all we have on this subject in the works of our predecessors, is the following ; " I
.shall strongly recommend to aH cooks of either sex, to keep their stomachs free from
strong liquors till after dinner, and their noses from snuff." Vide CLKRMONT'S Pro
fcsscd Cook, p. 30, 8vo. London, 1776.

. FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS. 47

folks, but beware as much of betraying your suspicions of
them, for that will set fire to the train at once, and of a
doubtful friend make a determined enemy.

If you are a good cook, and strictly do your duty, you will
soon become a favourite domestic ; but never boast of the
approbation of your employers ; for, in proportion as they
think you rise in their estimation, you will excite all the
tricks, that envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness
can suggest to your fellow-servants ; every one of whom, if
less sober, honest, or industrious, or less favoured than your-
self, will be your enemy.

While we warn you against making others your enemies,
take care that you do not yourself become your own and
greatest enemy. " Favourites are never in greater danger
of falling, than when in the greatest favour," which often
begets a careless inattention to the commands of their em-
ployers, and insolent overbearance to their equals, a gradual
neglect of duty, and a corresponding forfeiture of that regard
which can only be preserved by the means which created it,

"Those arts by which at first you gain it,
You still must practise to maintain it."

If your employers are so pleased with your conduct as to
treat you as a friend rather than a servant, do not let their
kindness excite your self-conceit, so as to make you for a
moment forget you are one. Condescension, even to a pro-
verb, produces contempt in inconsiderate minds ; and to such,
the very means which benevolence takes to cherish atten-
tion to duty, becomes the cause of the evil it is intended to
prevent.

To be an agreeable companion in the kitchen, without
compromising your duty to your patrons in the parlour, re-
quires no small portion of good sense and good nature : in a
word, you must " do as you would be done by."

ACT FOR, AND SPEAK OF, EVERY BODY AS IF THEY WERE
PRESENT.

We hope the culinary student who peruses these pages
will be above adopting the common, mean, and ever unsuc-
cessful way of " holding with the hare, and running with
the hounds," of currying favour with fellow-servants by
flattering them, and ridiculing the mistress when in the
kitchen, and then, prancing into the patlour and purring
about her, and making opportunities to display all the little
faults you can find (or invent) that will tell well agains.t
those in the kitchen ; assuring them, on your return, that they
were vraised, for whatever you heard them blamed, and so

18 FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

excite them to run more extremely into any little error which
you think will be most displeasing to their employers;
watching an opportunity to pour your poisonous lies into
their unsuspecting ears, when there is no third person to
bear witness of your iniquity ; making your victims believe,
it is all out of your sincere regard for them ; assuring them
(as Betty says in the man of the world,) " That indeed you
are no busybody that loves fending nor proving, but hate all
tittling and tattling, and gossiping and backbiting," &c. &c.
. Depend upon it, if you hear your fellow-servants speak
'disrespectfully of a master or a mistress with whom they
have lived some time, it is a sure sign that they have some
sinister scheme against yourself; if they have not been well
treated, why have they stayed 1

"There is nothing more detestable than defamation. I
have no scruple to rank a slanderer with a murderer or an
assassin. Those who assault the reputation of their bene-
factors, and ' rob you of that which nought enriches them,'
would destroy your life, if they could do it with equal im-
punity."

" If you hope to gain the respect and esteem of others,
and the approbation of your own heart, be respectful and
faithful to your superiors, obliging and good-natured to your
fellow-servants, and charitable to all." You cannot be too
careful to cultivate a meek and gentle disposition ; you will
find the benefit of it every day of your life : to promote peace
and harmony around you, will not only render you a general
favourite with your fellow-servants, but will make you happy
in yourself.

" Let your character be remarkable for industry and mode-
ration ; your manners and deportment, for modesty and
humility ; your dress distinguished for simplicity, frugality,
and neatness. A dressy servant is a disgrace to a house,
and renders her employers as ridiculous as she does herself.
If you outshine your companions in finery, you will inevi-
tably excite their envy, and make them your enemies.'
" Do every thing at the proper time."
" Keep every thing in its proper place."
" Use every thing for its proper purpose."

The importance of these three rules must be evident, to
all who will consider how much easier it is to return any
thing when done with to its proper place, than it is to find it
when mislaid ; and it is as easy to put things in one place as
in another.

Keep your kitchen and furniture as clean and neat as pos-
sible, which will then be an ornament to it. a comfort to

FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS 4i>

your fellow-servants, and a credit to yourself. Moreover,
good housewifery is the best recommendation to a good
husband, and engages men to honourable attachment to
you; she who is a tidy servant gives promise of being a
careful wife.

Giving away Victuals.

GIVING away any thing without consent or privity of your
master or mistress, is a liberty you must not take ; charity
and compassion for the wants of our fellow-creatures are
very amiable virtues, but they are not to be indulged at the
expense of your own honesty, and other people's property.

When you find that there is any thing to spare, and that
it is in danger of being spoiled by being kept too long, it is
very commendable in you to ask leave to dispose of it while
it is fit for Christians to eat : if such permission is refused,
the sin does not lie at your door. But you must on no ac-
count bestow the least morsel in contradiction to the will of
those to whom it belongs.

" Never think any part of your business too trifling to be
well done."

" Eagerly embrace every opportunity of learning any thing
which may be useful to yourself, or of doing any thing which
may benefit others."

Do not throw yourself out of a good place for a slight
affront. " Come when you are called, and do what you are
bid." Place yourself in your mistress's situation, and con-
sider what you would expect from her, if she were in yours ;
and serve, reverence, and obey her accordingly.

Although there may be "more places than parish-churches,"
it is not very easy to find many more good ones.
" A rolling stone never gathers moss."
" Honesty is the best policy."
" A still tongue makes a wise head."

Saucy answers are highly aggravating, and answer no good
purpose.

Let your master or mistress scold ever so much, or be
ever so unreasonable; as "a soft answer turneth away
wrath," " so will SILENCE be the best a servant can mafce." .

One rude answer, extorted perhaps by harsh words, or un*
merited censure, has cost many a servant the loss of a good
place, or the total forfeiture of a regard which had been
growing for years.

" If your employers are hasty, and have scolded without
reason, bear it patiently ; they will soon see their error, afid

50 FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

not be happy till they make you amends. Muttering on
leaving the room, or slamming the door after you, is as bad
as an impertinent reply; it is, in fact, showing that you
would be impertinent if you dared."

" A faithful servant will not only never speak disrespect,
fully to her employers, but will not hear disrespectful words
said of them."

Apply direct to your employers, and beg of them to explain
to you, as fully as possible, how they like their victuals
dressed, whether much or little done.*

Of what complexion they wish the ROASTS, of a gold colour,
or well browned, and if they like them frothed ?

Do they like SOUPS and SAUCES thick or thin, or white or
brown, clean or full in the mouth ] What accompaniments
they are partial to ?

What flavours they fancy ? especially of SPICE and HERBS :

" Namque coquus domini debet habere gulam." MARTIAL.

It is impossible that the most accomplished cook can please
their palates, till she has learned their particular taste : this,
it will hardly be expected, she can hit exactly the first time ;
however, the hints we have here given, and in the 7th and
8th chapters of the Rudiments of Cookery, will very much
facilitate the ascertainment of this main chance of getting
into their favour.

Be extremely cautious of seasoning high : leave it to the
eaters to add the piquante condiments, according to their
own palate and fancy : for this purpose, " THE MAGAZINE OF
TASTE," or " Sauce-box" (No. 462,) will be found an invalua-
ble acquisition; its contents will instantaneously produce
any flavour that may be desired.

" De gustibus non est disputandum."

Tastes are as different as faces; and without a most
attentive observation of the directions given by her employ-
ers, the most experienced cook will never be esteemed a pro-
found palatician.

It will not go far to pacify the rage of a ravenous gour-
mand, who likes his chops broiled brown, (and done enough,
so that they can appear at table decently, and not blush when
they are cut,) to be told that some of the customers at Dolly's
chop-house choose to have them only half-done, and that this
is the best way of eating them.

* Meat that is not to be cut till it is cold, must be thoroughly done, especially in
summer.

x-KtuxutMAY ADVICE TO COUAC. OJ

We all think that is the best way which we relish best,
and which agrees best with our stomach: in this, reason
and fashion, all-powerful as they are on most occasions,
yield to the imperative caprice of the palate.

Oiacun a son gout.

"Tai IRISHMAN loves Usquebaugh, the SCOT loves ale eall'd Blue-cap,

^The WKLCHMAN he loves toasted cheese, and makes his mouth like a mouse-trap. 1 '

Our ITALIAN neighbours regale themselves with macaroni
and parmesarij and eat some things which we call carrion.
Vide RAY'S Travels, p. 362 and 406.

While the ENGLISHMAN boasts of his roast beef, plum pud-
ding, and porter,

The FRENCHMAN feeds on his favourite frog and soupe-
maigre,

The TARTAR feasts on horse-flesh,

The CHINAMAN on dogs,

The GREENLANDER preys on garbage and train oil; and
each " blesses his stars, and thinks it luxury." What at one
time or place is considered as beautiful, fragrant, and sa-
voury, at another is regarded as deformed and disgustful.*

" Ask a toad what is beauty, the supremely beautiful, the
TO KAAON ! He will tell you it is my wife, with two large
eyes projecting out of her little head, a broad and flat neck,
yellow belly, and dark brown back. With a Guinea negro,
it is a greasy black skin, hollow eyes, and a flat nose. Put
the question to the devil, and he will tell you that BEAUTY is
a pair of horns, four claws, and a tail." VOLTAIRE'S Philos.
Diet. 8vo. p. 32.

"Asafcetida was called by the ancients 'FOOD FOR THE
GODS.' The Persians, Indians, and other Eastern people,
now eat it in sauces, and call it by that name : the Germans
call it deviVs dung" Vide POMET on Drugs.

Garlic and clove, or allspice, combined in certain propor-
tions, produce a flavour very similar to asafoetida.

The organ of taste is more rarely found in perfection, and
is sooner spoiled by the operations of time, excessive use,
&c. than either of our other senses.

There are as various degrees of sensibility of palate as
there are of gradations of perfection in the eyes and ears of
painters and musicians. After all the pains which the editor
has taken to explain the harmony of subtle relishes, unless
nature has given the organ of taste in a due degree, this book

* See chapter xv. " Chaqve Pays, chaque Coutwne."Cours Gastronomique, 8vo.

52 . FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

will, alas ! no more make an OSBORNE,* than it can a REY-
NOLDS, or an ARNE, or a SHIELD.

Where nature has been most bountiful of this faculty, its
sensibility is so easily blunted by a variety of unavoidable
circumstances, that the tongue is veiy seldom in the highest
condition for appreciating delicate flavours, or accurately
estimating the relative force of the various materials the
cook employs in the composition of an harmonious relish.
Cooks express this refinement of combination by saying, a
well-finished ragout "tastes of every thing, and tastes of
nothing :" (this is " kitchen gibberish" for a sauce in which
the component parts are well proportioned.)

However delicately sensitive nature may have formed the
organs of taste, it is only during those few happy moments
that they are perfectly awake, and in perfect good humour,
(alas ! how very seldom they are,) that the most accom-
plished and experienced cook has a chance of working with
any degree of certainty without the auxiliary tests of the
balance and the measure: by the help of these, when you
are once right, it is your own fault if you are ever otherwise.

The sense of taste depends much on the health of the indi-
vidual, and is hardly ever for a single hour in the same state :
such is the extremely intimate sympathy between the sto-
mach and the tongue, that in proportion as the former is
empty, the latter is acute and sensitive. This is the cause
that " good appetite is the best sauce," and that the dish we
find savoury at luncheon, is insipid at dinner, and at supper
quite tasteless.

To taste any thing in perfection, the tongue must be
moistened, or the substance applied to it contain moisture ;
the nervous papillae which constitute this sense are roused
to still more lively sensibility by salt, sugar, aroma-
tics, &c.

If the palate becomes dull by repeated tasting, one of the
best ways of refreshing it, is to masticate an apple, or to
wash your mouth well with milk.

The incessant exercise of tasting, which a cook is obliged
to submit to during the education of her tongue, frequently
impairs the very faculty she is trying to improve. " 'Tis
true 'tis pity and pity 'tis," (says a grand gourmand)
" 'tis true, her too anxious perseverance to penetrate the
mysteries of palatics may diminish the tact, exhaust the
power, and destroy the index, without which all her labour
is in vain."

* Cok to Sir JOSEPH BANKS, Bart,, late president of the Royal Society.

FKIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS. 53

Therefore, a sagacious cook, instead of idly and wantonly
wasting the excitability of her palate, on the sensibility of
which her reputation and fortune depends, when she has
ascertained the relative strength of the flavour of the various
ingredients she employs, will call in the balance and the
measure to do the ordinary business, and endeavour to pre-
serve her organ of taste with the utmost care, that it may
be a faithful oracle to refer to on grand occasions, and new
compositions.* Of these an ingenious cook may form as
endless a variety, as a musician with his seven notes, or a
painter with his colours : read chapters 7 and 8 of the Rudi-
ments of Cookery.

Receive as the highest testimonies of your employers'
regard whatever observations they may make on your work :
such admonitions are the most unequivocal proofs of their
desire to make you thoroughly understand their taste, and
their wish to retain you in their service, or they would not
take the trouble to teach you.

Enter into all their plans of economy,! and endeavour to
make the most of every thing, as well for your own honour
as your master's profit, and you will find that whatever care
you take for his profit will be for your own : take care that
the meat which is to make its appearance again in the parlour
is handsomely cut with a sharp knife, and put on a clean
dish : take care of the gravy (see No. 326) which is left, it
will save many pounds of meat in making sauce for hashes,
poultry, and many little dishes.

MANY THINGS MAY BE REDRESSED in a different form
from that in which they were first served, and improve
the appearance of the table without increasing the expense
of it.

COLD FISH, soles, cod, whitings, smelts, &c. may be
cut into bits, and put into escallop shells, with cold oys-
ter, lobster, or shrimp sauce, and bread crumbled, and put
into a Dutch oven, and browned like scalloped oysters.
(No. 182.)

* " The diversities of taste are so many and so considerable, that it seemetb
strange to see the matter treated of both by philosophers and physicians with so
much scantiness and defect: i or the subject is not barren, but yieldeth much and
pleasant variety, and doth also appear to be of great importance." From Dr.
CREW'S Jlntit. of Plants, fol. 1682, p. 286. The Dr. enumerates sixteen simple
tastes : however, it is difficult to define more than six. 1st. Bitter as wormwood.
2d. Sweet as sugar. 3d. Sour as vinegar. 4th. Salt as brine. 5th. Cold as ice. 6th.
Hot as brandy. " Compound tastes, innumerable, may be formed by the combination
of these simple tastes as words are of letters." See also Phil. Trans, vol. xv.
p. 1025..

t " I am persuaded that no servant ever saved her master sixpence, but she found
it in the end in her pocket." TRUSLER'S Domestic Management, p. ]1.

54 FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

The best way TO WARM COLD MEAT is to sprinkle the joint
over with a little salt, and put it in a DUTCH OVEN, at some
distance before a gentle fire, that it may warm gradually ;
watch it carefully, and keep turning it till it is quite hot and
brown : it will take from twenty minutes to three quarters
of an hoiir, according to its thickness ; serve it up with
gravy: this is much better than hashing it, and by doing
it nicely a cook will get great credit. POULTRY (No.
530*), FRIED FISH (see No. 145), &c. may be redressed in
this way.

Take care of the liquor you have boiled poultry or meat
in ; in five minutes you may make it into EXCELLENT SOUP.
See obs. to Nos. 555 and 229, No. 5, and the 7th chapter of the
Rudiments of Cookery.

No good housewife has any pretensions to rational economy
who boils animal food without converting the broth into some
sort of soup.

However highly the uninitiated in the mystery of soup-
making may elevate the external appendage of his olfactory
organ at the mention of " POT LIQUOR," if he tastes No. 5,
or 218, 555, &c. he will be as delighted with it as a French-
man is with "potage a la Camarani" of which it is said " a
single spoonful will lap the palate in Elysium ; and while one
drop of it remains on the tongue, each other sense is eclipsed
by the voluptuous thrilling of the lingual nerves ! !"

BROTH OF FRAGMENTS. When you dress a large dinner,
you may make good broth, or portable soup (No. 252),
at very small cost, by taking care of all the trimmings
and parings of the meat, game, and poultry, you are going to
use : wash them well, and put them into a stewpan, with as
much cold water as will cover them ; set your stewpan on a
hot fire ; when it boils, take off all the scum, and set it on
again to simmer gently ; put in two carrots, two turnips, a
large onion, three blades of pounded mace, and a head of
celery ; some mushroom parings will be a great addition.
Let it continue to simmer gently four or five hours ; strain it
through a sieve into a clean basin. This will save a great
deal of expense in buying gravy-meat.

Have the DUST, &c. removed regularly once in a fortnight,
and have your KITCHEN CHIMNEY swept once a month; many
good dinners have been spoiled, and many houses burned
down, by the soot falling : the best security against this, is
for the cook to have a long birch-broom, and every morning
brush down all the soot within reach of it. Give notice to
your employers when the contents of your COAL-CELLAR are
diminished to a chaldron.

FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS. 65

It will be to little purpose to procure good provisions,
unless you have proper utensils* to prepare them in: the
most expert artist cannot perform his work in a perfect
manner without proper instruments ; you cannot have neat
work without nice tools, nor can you dress victuals well
without an apparatus appropriate to the work required. See
1st page of chapter 7 of the Rudiments of Cookery.

In those houses where the cook enjoys the confidence of
her employer so much as to be intrusted with the care of the
store-room, which is not very common, she will keep an
exact account of every thing as it comes in, and insist upon
the weight and price being fixed to every article she pur-
chases, and occasionally will (and it may not be amiss to
jocosely drop a hint to those who supply them that she does)
reweigh them, for her own satisfaction, as well as that
of her employer, and will not trust the key of this room
to any one ; she will also keep an account of every thing
she takes from it, and manage with as much consideration
and frugality as if it was her own property she was using,
endeavouring to disprove the adage, that "PLENTY makes
waste" and remembering that "wilful waste makes woful
want."

The honesty of a cook must be above all suspicion : she
must obtain, and (in spite of the numberless temptations,
&c. that daily offer to bend her from it) preserve a charac-
ter of spotless integrity and useful industry,! remembering
that it is the fair price of INDEPENDENCE, which all wish for,
but none without it can hope for ; only a fool or a madman
will be so silly or so crazy as to expect to reap where he has
been too idle to sow.

Very few modern-built town-houses have a proper place

* " A surgeon may as well attempt to make an incision with a pair of shears, or
open a vein with an oyster-knife, as a cook pretend to dress a dinner without proper
tools. VERRALL'S Cookery, 8vo. 1759, p. 6.

t Many COOKS miss excellent opportunities of making themselves independent,
by their idleness, in refusing any place, however profitable, &c. if there is not a
kitchen maid kept to wait upon them.

Tflere are many invalids who require a good cook, and as (after reading this book
they will understand tiow much) their comfort and effective existence depends on
their food being properly prepared, will willingly pay handsome wages, (who would
not rather pay the cook than the doctor 1 ?) but have so little work in the kitchen that
one person may do it all with the utmost ease, without injury to her health ; which
is not the case in a large family, where the poor cook is roasting and stewing all
day, and is often deprived of her rest at night. No artists have greater need to
" make hay while the sun shines" and timely provide for the infirmities of age.
Who will hire a superannuated servant 1 If she has saved nothing to support her-
self, she must crawl to the workhouse.

It is melancholy to find, fhat, according to the authority of a certain great French
author, " cooks, half stewed and half roasted, when unable to work any longer,
aenerally retire to some unknown corner, and die in forlornnesg and want."
BLACKWOOD'S Edin. Mag. vol. vii. p. 668.

6 FHIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

to preserve provisions in. The best substitute is a HANGING
SAFE, which you may contrive to suspend in an airy situa
tion; and when you order meat, poultry, or fish, tell the
tradesman when you intend to dress it : he will then have it
in his power to serve you with provision that will do him
credit, which the finest meat, &c. in the world will never
do, unless it has been kept a proper time to be ripe and
tender.

If you have a well-ventilated larder in a shady, dry situa-
tion, you may make still surer, by ordering in your meat and
poultry such a time before you want it as will render it
tender, which the finest meat cannot be, unless hung a proper
time (see 3d chapter of the Rudiments of Cookery), accord-
ing to the season, and nature of the meat, &c. ; but always,
as " les bons homines de bouche de France" say, till it is " asses
mortifite"

Permitting this process to proceed to a certain degree
renders meat much more easy of solution in the stomach,
and for those whose digestive faculties are delicate, it is of
the utmost importance that it be attended to with the greatest
nicety, for the most consummate skill in the culinary pre-
paration of it will not compensate for the want of attention
to this. (Read obs. to No. 68.) Meat that is thoroughly
roasted, or boiled, eats much shorter and tenderer, and is in
proportion more digestible, than that which is under-done.

You will be enabled to manage much better if your em-
ployers will make out a BILL OF FARE FOR THE WEEK on the
Saturday before : for example, for a family of half a dozen-
Sunday Roast beef (No. 19), and my pudding (No. 554).

Monday. . . Fowl (Nos. 16. 58), what was left of my pudding fried, and warmed
in the Dutch oven.

Tuesday. .. Calf s head. (No. 10), apple-pie.

Wednesday Leg of mutton (No. 1), or (No. 33).

Thursday Do. broiled or hashed (No. 487), or (No. 484,) pancakes.

Friday.... Fish (No. 145), pudding (No. 554).

Saturday.. Fish, or eggs and bacon (No. 545).

Tt is an excellent plan to have certain things on certain
days. When your butcher or poulterer knows what you
will want, he has a better chance of doing his best for you ;
and never think of ordering BEEF FOR ROASTING except for
Sunday.

When the weather or season* is very unfavourable for

* w The season of the year has considerable influence on the quality of butcher-
meat ; depending upon the more or less plentiful supply of food, upon the periodical
change which takes place in the body of the aninfal, and upon temperature. Tire
flesh of most full-grown quadrupeds is in highest season during the first months oi
winter, after having enjoyed the advantage of the abundance of fresh summer fowl-

FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS. 67

keeping meat, &c. give him the choice of sending that which
is in the best order for dressing ; i. e. either ribs or sirloin of
beef, or leg, loin, or neck of mutton, &c.

Meat in which you can detect the slightest trace of pu-
trescency, has reached its highest degree of tenderness, and
should be dressed without delay; but before this period,
which in some kinds of meat is offensive, the due degree of
inteneration may be ascertained, by its yielding readily to
the pressure of the finger, and by its opposing little resist-
ance to an attempt to bind the joint.

Although we strongly recommend that animal food should
be hung up in the open air, till its fibres have lost some de-
gree of their toughness ; yet, let us be clearly understood
also to warn you, that if kept till it loses its natural sweet-
ness, it is as detrimental to health, as it is disagreeable to
the smell and taste.

IN VERY COLD WEATHER, bring your meat, poultry, &c.
into the kitchen, early in the morning, if you roast, boil, or
stew it ever so gently and ever so long ; if it be frozen, it
will continue tough and unchewable.

Without very watchful attention to this, the most skilful
cook in the world will get no credit, be she ever so careful
in the management of her spit or her stewpan.

The time meat should hang to be tender, depends on the
heat and humidity of the air. If it is not kept long enough,
it is hard and tough ; if too long, it loses its flavour. It
should be hung where it will have - a thorough air, and be
dried with a cloth, night and morning, to keep it from damp
and mustiness.

Before you dress it, wash it well ; if it is roasting beef, pare
off the outside.

If you fear meat,* &c. will not keep till the time it is
wanted, par-roast or par-boil it ; it will then keep a couple of
days longer, when it may be dressed in the usual way, only
it will be done in rather less time.

Its flavour then begins to be injured by the turnips, &c. given as winter food ; and
in spring, it gets lean from deficiency of food. Although beef and mutton are never
absolutely out of season, or not fit for the table, they are best in November, Decem-
ber, and January. Pork is absolutely bad, except during the winter." Supplement
to the Edin. Ency. Brit. p. 328.

* " LARDERS, PANTRIES, and SAFES must be sheltered from the sun, and other-
wise removed from the heat ; be dry, and, if possible, have a current of dry, cool air
continually passing through them.

" The freezing temperature, i. e. 32 degrees of Fahrenheit, is a perfect preservative
from putrefaction : warm, moist, muggy weather is the worst for keeping meat.
The south wind is especially unfavourable, and lightning is quickly destructive ;
but the greatest enemy you have to encounter is the flesh-fly, which becomes trou
falesome about the month of May, and continues so till towards Michaelmas." For
flmher Obs. on this subject see " The Experienced Butcher," page 160.

58 FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

" In Germany, the method of keeping flesh in summer i*
to steep it in Rhenish wine with a little sea-salt ; by which
means it may be preserved a whole season." BOERHAAVE'S
Academical Lectures, translated by J. Nathan, 8vo. 1763,
p. 241.

The cook and the butcher as often lose their credit by
meat being dressed too fresh, as the fishmonger does by fish
that has been kept too long.

Dr. Franklin in his philosophical experiments tells us, that
if game or poultry be killed by ELECTRICITY it will become
tender in the twinkling of an eye, and if it be dressed im-
mediately, will be delicately tender.

During the sultry SUMMER MONTHS, it is almost impossible
to procure meat that is not either tough, or tainted. The
former is as improper as the latter for the unbraced stomachs
of relaxed valetudinarians, for whom, at this season, poultry,
stews, &c., and vegetable soups, are the most suitable food,
when the digestive organs are debilitated by the extreme
heat, and profuse perspiration requires an increase of liquid
to restore equilibrium in the constitution.

I have taken much more pains than any of my prede-
cessors, to teach the young cook how to perform, in the best
manner, the common business of her profession. Being well
grounded in the RUDIMENTS of COOKERY, she will be able to
execute the orders that are given her, with ease to herself,
and satisfaction to her employers, and send up a delicious
dinner, with half the usual expense and trouble.

I have endeavoured to lessen the labour of those who wish
to be thoroughly acquainted with their profession ; and an
attentive perusal of the following pages will save them much
of the irksome drudgery attending an apprenticeship at the
stove : an ordeal so severe, that few pass it without irrepa-
rable injury to their health ;* and many lose their lives before
they learn their business.

To encourage the best performance of the machinery of
mastication, the cook must take care that her dinner is not
only well cooked, but that each dish be sent to table with
its proper accompaniments, in the neatest and most elegant
manner.

Remember, to excite the good opinion of the eye is the
iirst step towards awakening the appetite.

* " Buy it with health, strength, and resolution,
And pay for it, a robust constitution."

Preface to the Cook's Cookery, 1758.

See the preface to " The Cook's Cookery," p. 9. This work, which ts very scarce,
was, we believe, written to develope the mistakes in what he calls " The Thousand
Errors" i. e. " The Lady's Cookery? 1 i. e. Mrs. Glasse's, i. e. Sir John Hill's.

FRIENDLT ADVICE TO COOKS. 59

Decoration is much more rationally employed in render-
ing a wholesome, nutritious dish inviting, than in the elabo-
rate embellishments which are crowded about trifles and
custards.

Endeavour to avoid o^er-dressing roasts and boils, &c.
and orer-seasoning soups and sauces with salt, pepper, &c. ;
it is a fault which cannot be mended.

If your roasts, &c. are a little under-done, with the as-
sistance of the stewpan, the gridiron, or the Dutch oven,
you may soon rectify the mistake made with the spit or the pot.

If <tt>er-done, the best juices of the meat are evaporated ;
it will serve merely to distend the stomach, and if the
sensation of hunger be removed, it is at the price of an
indigestion.

The chief business of cookery is to render food easy of
digestion, and to facilitate nutrition. This is most com-
pletely accomplished by plain cookery in perfection; i. e.
neither over nor under-done.

With all your care, you will not get much credit by
cooking to perfection, if more than one dish goes to table at
a time.

To be eaten in perfection, the interval between meat being
taken out of the stewpan and its being put into the mouth,
must be as short as possible ; but ceremony, that most for-
midable enemy to good cheer, too often decrees it other-
wise, and the guests seldom get a bit of an " entremets' 1 '' till
it is half cold. (See No. 485.)

So much time is often lost in placing every thing in apple-
pie order, that long before dinner is announced, all becomes
lukewarm ; and to complete the mortification of the grand
gourmand, his meat is put on a sheet of ice in the shape of
a plate, which instantly converts the gravy into jelly, and
the fat into a something which puzzles his teeth and the roof
of his mouth as much as if he had birdlime to masticate.
A complete meat-screen will answer the purpose of a hot
closet, plate-warmer, &c. See Index.

It will save you infinite trouble and anxiety, if you can
prevail on your employers to use the " SAUCE-BOX," No. 462,
hereinafter described in the chapter of Sauces. With the
help of this " MAGAZINE OF TASTE," every one in company
may flavour their soup and sauce, and adjust the vibrations
of their palate, exactly to their own fancy ; but if the cook
give a decidedly predominant and piquante gout to a dish, to
tickle the tongues of two or three visiters, whose taste she
knows, she may thereby make the dinner disgusting to all.
the other guests.

FBIEHDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

Never undertake more work than you are quite certain
you can do well. If you are ordered to prepare a larger din-
ner than you think you can send up with ease and neatness,
or to dress any dish that you are not acquainted with, rather
than run any risk in spoiling any thing (by one fault you
may perhaps lose all your credit), request your employers
to let you have some help. They may acquit you for plead-
ing guilty of inability ; but if you make an attempt, and fail,
will vote it a capita] offence.

If your mistress professes to understand cookery, your
best way will be to follow her directions. If you wish to
please her, let her have the praise of all that is right, and
cheerfully bear the blame of any thing that is wrong ; only
advise that all NEW DISHES may be first tried when the family
dine alone. When there is company, never attempt to dress
any thing which you have not ascertained that you can do
perfectly well.

Do not trust any part of your work to others without care*
fully overlooking them : whatever faults they commit, you
will be censured for. If you have forgotten any article which
is indispensable for the day's dinner, request your employers
to send one of the other servants for it. The cook must
never quit her post till her work is entirely finished.

It requires the utmost skill and contrivance to have all
things done as they should be, and all done together, at that
critical moment when the dinner-bell sounds " to the ban-
quet."

"A feast must be without a fault ;
And if 't is not all right, 't is naught."

But

" Good nature will some failings overlook,
Forgive mischance, not errors of the cook ,
As, if no salt is thrown about the dish,
Or nice crisp'd parsley scatter'd on the fish,
Shall we in passion from our dinner fly,
And hopes of pardon to the cook deny,
For things which Mrs. GLA.SSK herself might overseej
And all mankind commit as well as she 1"

Vide KING'S Art, of Cookery.

Such is the endless variety of culinary preparations, that ir
,vould be as vain and fruitless a search as that for the philo-
sopher's stone, to expect to find a cook who is quite perfect
in all the operations of the spit, the stewpan, and the rolling-
pin: you will as soon find a watchmaker who can make,
put together, and regulate every part of a watch.

" The universe cannot produce a cook who knows how to

FBIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS. 6 1

Jo every branch of cookery well, be his genius as great as
possible."~-Vide the Cook's Cookery, 8vo. page 40.

THE BEST RULE FOR MARKETING IS tO pay READY MONEY

for every thing, and to deal with the most respectable trades-
men in your neighbourhood.

If you leave it to their integrity to supply you with a good
article, at the fair market price, you will be supplied with
better provisions, and at as reasonable a rate as those bar-
gain-hunters, who trot "around, around, around about" a
market, till they are trapped to buy some unchervable old
poultry, tough tup-mutton, stringy cow beef, or stale fish, at
a very little less than the price of prime and proper food.
With savings like these they toddle home in triumph, cackling
all the way, like a goose that has got ankle-deep into good
luck.

All the skill of the most accomplished cook will avail
nothing, unless she is furnished with PRIME PROVISIONS.
The best way to procure these is to deal with shops of esta-
blished character : you may appear to pay, perhaps, ten per
cent, more than you would, were you to deal with those who
pretend to sell cheap, but you would be much more than in
that proportion better served.

Every trade has its tricks and deceptions : those who fol-
low them can deceive you if they please ; and they are too
apt to do so, if you provoke the exercise of their over-reach-
ing talent.*

Challenge them to a game at " Catch who can," by entirely
relying on your own judgment ; and you will soon find that
nothing but very long experience can make you equal to
the combat of marketing to the utmost advantage.

Before you go to market, look over your larder, and con-
sider well what things are wanting, especially on a Satur-
day. No well-regulated family can suffer a disorderly ca-
terer to be jumping in and out to the chandler's shop on a
Sunday morning.

Give your directions to your assistants, and begin your
business early in the morning, or it will be impossible to
have the dinner ready at the time it is ordered.

* "He who will not be cheated a little, must be content to be abused a great
deal : the first lesson in the art of comfortable economy, Is to learn to submit cheer-
fully to be imposed upon in due proportion to your situation and circumstances: if
you do not, you will continually be in hot water.

4t If you think a tradesman has imposed upon you, never use a second word, it
the first will not do, nor drop the least hint of an imposition. The only method to
induce him to make an abatement is the hope of future favours. Pay the demand,
and deal with the gentleman no more : but do not let him see that you are dis-
pleased, or, as soon as you are out of sight, your reputation will suffer as much as
your pocket has." TKUSLSR'S Way to be fitcA, 8vo. 1776, p. 85.

62 FBIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

To be half an hour after the time is such a frequent fault,
that there is the more merit in being ready at the appointed
hour. This is a difficult task, and in the best-regulated
family you can only be sure of your time by proper arrange-
ments.

With all our love of punctuality, we must not forget that
the first consideration must still be, tlfat the dinner " be well
done when 't is done."

If any accident occurs to any part of the dinner, or if you
are likely to be prevented sending the soup, &c. to the table
at the moment it is expected, send up a message to your
employers, stating the circumstance, and bespeak their pa-
tience for as many minutes as you think it will take to be
ready. This is better than either keeping the company wait-
ing without an apology, or dishing your dinner before it is
done enough, or sending any thing to table which is disgust-
ing to the stomachs of the guests at the first appearance of it.

Those who desire regularity in the service of their table,
should have a DIAL, of about twelve inches diameter, placed
over the kitchen fireplace, carefully regulated to keep time
exactly with the clock in the hall or dining-parlour ; with a
frame on one side, containing A TASTE TABLE of the pecu-
liarities of the master's palate, and the particular rules and
orders of his kitchen ; and, on the other side, of the REWARDS
given to those who attend to them, and for long and faithful
service.

In small families, where a dinner is seldom given, a great
deal of preparation is required, and the preceding day must
be devoted to the business of the kitchen.

On these occasions a char-woman is often employed to do
the dirty work. Ignorant persons often hinder you more
than they help you. We advise a cook to be hired to assist
to dress the dinner : this would be very little more expense,
and the work got through with much more comfort in the
kitchen and credit to the parlour.

When you have a very large entertainment to prepare, get
your soups and sauces, forcemeats, &c. ready the day before,
and read the 7th chapter of our Rudiments of Cookery. Many
made dishes may also be prepared the day before they are
to go to table ; but do not dress them quite enough the first
day, that they may not be over-done by warming up again.

Prepare every thing you can the day before the dinner,
and order every thing else to be sent in early in the morning ;
if the tradesmen forget it, it will allow you time to send for it.

The pastry, jellies, &c. you may prepare while the broths
are doing: then truss your game and poultry, and shape

FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS. 63

your collops, cutlets, &c., and trim them neatly; cut away
all flaps and gristles, &c. Nothing should appear on table
but what has indisputable pretensions to be eaten !

Put your made dishes in plates, and arrange them upon
the dresser in regular order. Next, see that your roasts and
boils are all nicely trimmed, trussed, &c. and quite ready
for the spit or the pot.

Have your vegetables neatly cut, pared, picked, and clean
washed in the colander : provide a tin dish, with partitions,
to hold your fine herbs : onions and shallots, parsley, thyme,
tarragon, chervil, and burnet, minced -very fine ; and lemon-
peel grated, or cut thin, and chopped very small : pepper and
salt ready mixed, and your spice-box and salt-cellar always
ready for action : that every thing you may want may be at
hand for your stove-work, and not be scampering about the
kitchen in a whirlpool of confusion, hunting after these trifles
while the dinner is waiting.

In one drawer under your SPICE-BOX keep ready ground, in
well-stopped bottles, the several spices separate ; and also
that n ixture of them which is called " ragout powder" (No.
457 or No. 460) : in another, keep your dried and powdered
sweet, savoury, and soup herbs, &c. and a set of weights
and scales : you may have a third drawer, containing fla-
vouring essences, &c. an invaluable auxiliary in finishing
soups and sauces. (See the account of the " MAGAZINE OF

TASTE," Or " SAUCE-BOX," No. 462.)

Have also ready some THICKENING, made of the best
white flour sifted, mixed with soft water with a wooden
spoon till it is the consistence of thick batter, a bottle of
plain BROWNING (No. 322), some strained lemon-juice, and
.some good glaze, or PORTABLE soup (No. 252).

" Nothing can be done in perfection which must be done
in a hurry:"* therefore, 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
dock strikes, the dinner-bell rings : this shows the establish-
ment to be orderly, is extremely gratifying to the master and
his guests, and is most praiseworthy in the attendants.

But remember, you cannot obtain 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

* Says TOM THRIFTY, u except catching of fleas."' See T. T.'a Essay on Early
Rising.

64 FRIENDLY ADVICE TO COOKS.

faithful* performance of the duties of your station in your
young days, which, if you steadily persevere in, you may
depend upon ultimately receiving the reward your services
deserve.

All duties are reciprocal: and if you hope to receive
favour, endeavour 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 for infallibly promoting your progress
on the road to independence.

If your employers do not immediately appear to be
sensible of your endeavours to contribute your utmost to
their comfort and interest, 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 required of you, than less than your duty :
they merit little who perform merely what would be ex-
acted. If you are desired to help in any business which,
may not strictly belong to your department, undertake 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."

* N.B. "If you will take half the pains to deserve the regard of your master and
mistress by being a good and faithful servant, you take to be considered a good
fellow-servant, so many of you would not, in the decline of life, be left destitute 01
those comforts which age requires, nor have occasion to quote the saying that.
' Service is no inheritance,' unless your own misconduct makes it so.

" The idea of being called a tell-tale has occasioned many good servants to shut
their eyes against the frauds of fellow-servants.

" In the eye of the law, persons standing by and seeing a felony comrnitted-
ivhich they could have prevented, are held equally guilty with thoae committing it.' 1
Dr. Tnrsi-ER's Domestic Management, p, 12, and Instructions to Servants.

TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

To reduce our culinary operations to as exact a certainty
as the nature of the processes would admit of, we have,
wherever it was needful, given the quantities of each article.

The weights are avoirdupois.

The measure, the graduated glass of the apothecaries.
This appeared the most accurate and convenient ; the. pint
being divided into sixteen ounces, the ounce into eight drachms.
A middling-sized tea-spoon will contain about a drachm; four
such tea-spoons are equal to a middling-sized table-spoon,
or half an ounce ; four table-spoons to a common-sized
wine-glass.

The specific gravities of the various substances being so
extremely different, we cannot offer any auxiliary standards*
for the weights, which we earnestly recommend the cook to
employ, if she wishes to gain credit for accuracy and uni-
formity in her business : these she will find it necessary to
have as small as the quarter of a drachm avoirdupois, which
is equal to nearly seven grains troy.

Glass measures (divided into tea and table-spoons), con-
taining from half an ounce to half a pint, may be procured j
also, the double-headed pepper and spice boxes, with caps
over the gratings. The superiority of these, by preserving
the contents from the action of the air, must be sufficiently
obvious to every one : the fine aromatic flavour of pepper is
soon lost, from the bottles it is usually kept in not being well
stopped. Peppers are seldom ground or pounded sufficiently
fine. (See N.B. to 369.)

N.B. The trough nutmeg-graters are by far the best
we have seen, especially for those who wish to grate fine,
and fast.

* A large table-spoonftil of flour weighs about half an ounce
F 2

RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.

CHAPTER I.

BOILING.*

THIS most simple of culinary processes is not often per-
formed in perfection. It does not require quite so much
nicety and attendance as roasting ; to skim your pot well,
and keep it really boiling (the slower the better) all the
while, to know how long is required for doing the joint, &c.,
and to take it up at the critical moment when it is done
enough, comprehends almost the whole art arid mystery.
This, however, demands a patient and perpetual vigilance,
of which few persons are capable.

The cook must take especial care that the water really
boils all the while she is cooking, or she will be deceived in
the time ; and make up a sufficient fire (a frugal cook will
manage with much less fire for boiling than she uses for
roasting) at first, to last all the time, without much mending
or stirring.

When the pot is coming to a boil there will always, from

* "The process by which food is most commonly prepared for the table, BOILINO,
la so familiar to every one, and its effects are so uniform, and apparently so simple,
that few, I believe, have taken the trouble to inquire how or in what manner those
effects are produced ; and whether any, and what improvements in that branch of
cookery are possible. So little has this matter been an object of inquiry, that few,
very few indeed, I believe, among tAe 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.

" 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 almost 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; I have 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 troublesome than otherwise
it would be ; and, (what by many will be considered of more importance than
either the waste of fuel or the increase of labour to the cook) the food is rendered
less savoury, and very probably less nourishing and 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." Count RUMFORD'S 10th Essay.
pp. 3. 6.

BOILING. 67

the cleanest meat and clearest water, rise a scum to the top
of it, proceeding partly from the water ; this must be care-
fully taken off as soon as it rises.

On this depends the good appearance of all boiled things.

When you have skimmed well, put in some cold water,
which will throw up the rest of the scum.

The oftener it is skimmed, and the cleaner the top
of the water is kept, the sweeter and the cleaner will be
the meat.

If let alone, it soon boils down and sticks to the meat,*
which, instead of looking delicately white and nice, will
have that coarse and filthy appearance we have too often to
complain of, and the butcher and poulterer be blamed for the
carelessness of the cook in not skimming her pot.

Many put in milk, to make what they boil look white ; but
this does more harm than good: others wrap it up in a
cloth ; but these are needless precautions : if the scum be
attentively removed, meat will have a much more delicate
colour and finer flavour than it has when muffled up. This
may give rather more trouble, but those who wish to excel
in their art must only consider how the processes of it can
be most perfectly performed : a cook, who has a proper pride
and pleasure in her business, will make this her maxim on
all occasions.

It is desirable that meat for boiling be of an equal thick-
ness, or before thicker parts are done enough the thinner will
be done too much.

Put your meat into cold] water, in the proportion of about
a quart of water to a pound of meat : it should be covered
with water during the whole of the process of boiling, but
not drowned in it; the less water, provided the meat be
covered with it, the more savoury will be the meat, and the
better will be the broth.

The water should be heated gradually, according to the
thickness, &c. of the article boiled. For instance, a leg of
mutton of 10 pounds weight (No. 1,) should be placed over
a moderate fire, which will gradually make the water hot,
without causing it to boil for about forty minutes; if the
water boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened, and
shrink up as if it was scorched : by keeping the water a cer-
tain time heating without boiling, the fibres of the meat are

* If, unfortunately, this should happen, the cook must carefully take it off when
she dishes up, either with a clean sponge or a pasie-bruah.

t Cooks, however, as well as doctors, disagree ; for some say, that " all sorts of
fresh meat should be put in when the water boils." I prefer the above method for
the reason given ; gentle stewing renders meat, &c. tender, and still leaves it sapid
and nutritive.

68 BOILING.

dilated, and it yields a quantity of scum, which must be taken
off as soon as it rises.

" 104. If a vessel containing water be placed over a steady
fire, the water will grow continually hotter till it reaches the
limit of boiling, after which the regular accessions of heat
are wholly spent in converting it into steam.

" Water remains at the same pitch of temperature, how-
ever fiercely it boils. The only difference is, that with a
strong fire it sooner comes to boil, and more quickly boils
away, and is converted into steam." BUCHANAN on the Eco-
nomy of Fuel, 1810.

The editor placed a thermometer in water in that state
which cooks call gentle simmering; the heat was 212, i. e.
the same degree as the strongest boiling.

Two mutton chops were covered with cold water, and one
boiled a gallop, and the other simmered very gently for three
quarters of an hour : the chop which was slowly simmered
was decidedly superior to that which was boiled; it was
much tenderer, more juicy, and much higher flavoured. The
liquor which boiled fast was in like proportion mure savoury,
and when cold had much more fat on its surface. This ex-
plains why quick boiling renders meat hard, &c., because its
juices are extracted in a greater degree.

Reckon the time from its first coming to a boil.

The old rule of 15 minutes to a pound of meat, we think
rattier too little : the slower it boils, the tenderer, the plumper,
and whiter it will be.

For those who choose their food thoroughly cooked (which
all will who have any regard for their stomachs), twenty
minutes to a pound for fresh, and rather more for salted
meat, will not be found too much for gentle simmering by
the side of the fire, allowing more or less time, according
to the thickness of the joint, and the coldness of the weather :
to know the state of which, let a thermometer be placed in
the pantry ; and when it falls below 40, tell your cook to
give rather more time in both roasting and boiling, always
remembering, the slower it boils the better.

Without some practice it is difficult to teach any art ; and
cooks seem to suppose they must be right, if they put meat
into a pot, and set it over the fire for a certain time, making
no allowance whether it simmers without a bubble or boils
a gallop.

Fresh-killed meat will take much longer time boiling than
that which has been kept till it is what the butchers call ripe,
and longer in cold than in warm weather : if it be frozen, if
must be thawed before boiling as before roasting ; if it br

BOILING. 69

fresh-killed, it will be tough and hard, if you stew it ever so
long, and ever so gently. In cold weather, the night before
the day you dress it, bring it into a place of which the tem-
perature is not less than 45 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermo-
meter.

The size of the boiling-pots should be adapted to what
they are to contain : the larger the saucepan the more room
it takes upon the fire, and a larger quantity of water requires
a proportionate increase of fire to boil it.

A little pot
Is soon hot.

In small families we recommend block tin saucepans, &c.
as lightest and safest. If proper care is taken of them, and
they are well dried after they are cleaned, they are by far
the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being
little more than the expense of tinning a copper one.

Let the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to
prevent unnecessary evaporation of the water, but to prevent
the escape of the nutritive matter, which must then remain
either in the meat or in the broth ; and the smoke is pre-
vented from insinuating itself under the edge of the lid, and
so giving the meat a bad taste. See observations on Sauce-
pans, in chapter 7.

. If you let meat or poultry remain in the water after it is
done enough, it will become sodden, and lose its flavour.

Beef and mutton a little tmder-done (especially very large
joints, which will make the better hash or broil,) is not a
great fault ; by some people it is preferred : but lamb, pork,
and veal are uneatable if not thoroughly boiled ; but do not
oTer-do them.

A trivet or fish-drainer put on the bottom of the boiling-
pot, raising the contents about an inch and a half from the
bottom, will prevent that side of the meat which comes next
the bottom from being done too much, and the lower part
of the meat will be as delicately done as the other part ; and
this will enable you to take out the contents of the pot, with-
out sticking a fork, &c. into it. If you have not a trivet,
use four skewers, or a soup-plate laid the wrong side upwards.

Take care of the liquor you have boiled poultry or meat
in; in five minutes you may make it into excellent soup.
(See obs. to No. 555 and No. 229.)

The good housewife never boils a joint without converting
the broth into some sort of soup (read No. fc, and chapter 7).
Tf the liquor be too salt, only use half the quantity, and the

70 BOILING.

rest water. Wash salted meat well with cold water before
you put it into the boiler.

An estimation of the LOSS OF WEIGHT which takes place in
cooking animal food. From Mr. TILLOCH'S Philosophical
Magazine.

" It is well known, that in whatever way the flesh of ani-
mals is prepared for food, a considerable diminution takes
place in its weight. We do not recollect, however, to have
any where seen a statement of the loss which meat sustains
in the various culinary processes, although it is pretty ob-
vious that a series of experiments on the subject would not
be without their use in domestic economy.

" We shall here give the result of a series of experiments
which were actually made on this subject in a public esta-
blishment ; premising that, as they were not undertaken from
mere curiosity, but, on the contrary, to serve a purpose of
practical utility, absolute accuracy was not attended to.
Considering, however, the large quantities of provisions
which were actually examined, it is presumed that the results
may be safely depended upon for any practical purpose. It
would, no doubt, have been desirable to have known not only
the whole diminution of weight, but also the parts which
were separated from the meat in the form of aqueous vapour,
jelly, fat, &c. ; but the determination of these did not fall
within the scope of the inquiry.

Ibs. oz.

28 pieces of beef, weighing . . 280

Lost in boiling . 73 14

"Hence, the weight lost by beef in boiling was in this
case about 26lbs. in lOOlbs.

IbS. 02.

19 pieces of beef, weighing . . 190
Lost in roasting 61 2

"The weight lost by beef in roasting appears to be 32
per cent.

IbS. 02.

9 pieces of beef, weighing ... 90
Lost in baking 27

" Weight lost by beef in baking 30 per cent.

BOILING. 71

US. 02,

27 legs of mutton, weighing . . 260
Lost in boiling, and by having the
shank-bone taken off .... 62 4

" The shank-bones were estimated at 4 ounces each; there-
fore the loss by boiling was 55lbs. 8oz.

" The loss of weight in legs of mutton in boiling is 2H
per cent.

IbS. OZ.

35 shoulders of mutton, weighing . 350
Lost in roasting 109 10

" The loss of weight in shoulders of mutton by roasting,
is about 31 per cent.

Ibs. oz.

16 loins of mutton, weighing . . 141
Lost in roasting ....... 49 14

"Hence, loins of mutton lose by roasting about 35 J
per cent.

Us. oz.

10 necks of mutton, weighing . 100
Lost in roasting 32 6

" The loss in necks of mutton by roasting is about 32
per cent.

" We shall only draw two practical inferences from the
foregoing statement. 1st, In respect of economy, it is more
profitable to boil meat than to roast it. 2dly, Whether we
roast or boil meat, it loses by being cooked from one-fifth to
one-third of its whole weight."

The loss of roasting arises from the melting out of the fat,
and evaporating the water; but the nutritious matters remain
condensed in the cooked solid.

In boiling, the loss arises partly from the fat melted out,
but chiefly from gelatine and osmazome being extracted and
dissolved by the water in which the meat is boiled ; there is,
therefore, a real loss of nourishment, unless the broth
be used; when this mode of cooking becomes the most
economical.*

* The diminution of weight by boiling and roasting is not all lost, the FAT SKIM-
MINGS and the DRIPPINGS, nicely clarified, will well supply the place of lard and for
irying. See No. 83, and the receipt for CHEAP SOUP (No. 229).

Tf BAKING.

The sauces usually sent to table with boiled meat, fyc.

These are to be sent up in boats, and never poured over
the meat, &c.

Gravy for boiled meat (No. 327.)

Parsley and butter (No. 261.)

Chervil (No. 264.)

Caper (No. 274.)

Oyster (No. 278.)

Liver and parsley (No. 287.)

Celery ........ (No. 28J.)

Onion (No. 296, &c.}

Shallot . I (No. 295.)

Wow wow (No. 328.)

Curry (No. 348.)

BAKING.

THE following observations were written expressly for
this work by Mr. Turner, English and French bread and
biscuit baker.

"Baking is one of the cheapest and most convenient
ways of dressing a dinner in small families ; and, I may
say, that the oven is often the only kitchen a poor man
has, if he wishes to enjoy a joint of meat at home with his
family.

" I don't mean to deny the superior excellence of roast-
ing to baking; but some joints, when baked, so nearly
approach to the same when roasted, that 1 have known them
to be carried to the table, and eaten as such with great satis-
faction.

" Legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal,
and many other joints, will bake to great advantage, if the
meat be good ; I mean well-fed, rather inclined to be fat : if
the meat be poor, no baker can give satisfaction.

" When baking a poor joint of meat, before it has been
half baked I have seen it start from the bone, and shrivel up
scarcely to be believed.

" Besides those joints above mentioned, I shall enu-
merate a few baked dishes which I can particularly re-
commend.

"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 a piece of
linen to baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to
blister : with a proper share of attention from the baker, I
consider this way equal to a roasted one.

BAKING. 73

" A goose prepared the same as for roasting, taking care
to have it on a stand, and when half done to turn the other
side upwards. A duck the same.

"A buttock of beef the following way is particularly fine.
After it has been in salt about a week, to be well washed,
and put into a brown earthen pan with a pint of water;
cover the pan tight with two or three thicknesses of cap
or foolscap paper : never cover any thing that is to be baked
with brown paper, the pitch and tar that is ingrown paper
will give the meat a smoky, bad taste : give it four or five
hours in a moderately heated oven.

" A ham (if not too old) put in soak for an hour, taken out
and wiped, a crust made sufficient to cover it all over, and
baked in a moderately heated oven, cuts fuller of gravy, and
of a finer flavour, than a boiled one. I have been in the habit
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
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 jar or pan, and
cover it over and bake it in a moderate oven for about three
hours. In the same manner, I have been in the habit of
baking legs and shins of beef, ox cheeks, &c. prepared
with a seasoning of onions, turnips, &c. : they will take
about four hours : let them stand till cold, to skim off the
fat; then warm it up all together, or part, as you may
want it.

" All these I have been in the habit of baking for the first
families.

" The time each of the above articles should take depends
much upon the state of the oven, and I do consider the baker
a sufficient judge ; if they are sent to him in time, he must
be very neglectful if they are not ready at the time they arc
ordered."

For receipts for making bread, French rolls, muffins,
crumpets, Sally Limn, &c., see the Appendix.

74 ROASTING.

CHAPTER II.

ROASTING.

IN all studies, it is the best practice to begin with the
plainest and easiest parts ; and so on, by degrees, to such as
are more difficult : we, therefore, treated of plain boiling,
and we now proceed to roasting : we shall then gradually
unravel to our culinary students the art (and mystery, until
developed in this work) of making, with the least trouble
and expense, the most highly finished soups, sauces, and
made-dishes.

Let the young cook never forget that cleanliness is the
chief cardinal virtue of the kitchen ; the first preparation for
roasting is to take care that the spit be properly cleaned with
sand and water; nothing else. When it has been well
scoured with this, dry it with a clean cloth. If spits are
wiped clean as soon as the meat is drawn from them, and
while they are hot, a very little cleaning will be required.
The less the spit is passed through the meat the better ;*
and, before you spit it, joint it properly, especially necks and
loins, that the carver may separate them easily and neatly,
and take especial care it be evenly balanced on the spit, that
its motion may be regular, and the fire operate equally on
each part of it; therefore, be provided with balancing-
skewers and cookholds, and see it is properly jointed.

Roasting should be done by the radiant heat of a clear,
glowing fire, otherwise it is in fact baked : the machines the
economical grate-makers call ROASTERS, are, in plain Eng-
lish, ovens.

Count Rumford was certainly an exact economist of fuel,
when he contrived these things ; and those philosophers who
try all questions " according to Cocker" may vote for baked
victuals ; but the rational epicure, who has been accustomed
to enjoy beef well roasted, will soon be convinced that the

* SMALL families have not always the convenience of roasting with a spit ; a
remark upon ROASTING BY A STRING is necessary. Let the cook, before she puts
her meat down to the fire, pass a strong skewer through each end of the joint : by
this means, when it is about half-done, she can with ease turn the bottom upwards ;
the gravy will then flow to the part which has been uppermost, and the whole joint
be deliciouslygravyful.

A BOTTLE JACK, as it is termed by the furnishing ironmongers, is a valuable instrii-
mentfor roasting.

A DUTCH OVEN is another very convenient utensil for roasting light joints, or
warming .them tip.

ROASTING. 7S

poet who wrote our national ballad at the end of this chapter,
was not inspired by Sir Benjamin Thompson's cookery.

All your attention in roasting 1 will be thrown away, if you
do not take care that your meat, especially beef, has been
kept long enough to be tender. See " ADVICE TO COOKS,"
and obs. to No. 68.

Make up the fire in time ; let it be proportioned to the din-
ner to be dressed, and about three or four inches longer at
each end than the thing to be roasted, or the ends of the meat
cannot be done nice and brown.

A cook must be as particular to proportion her fire to the
business she has to do, as a chemist : the degree of heat
most desirable for dressing the different sorts of food ought
to be attended to with the utmost precision.

The fire that is but just sufficient to receive the noble sir-
loin (No. 19), will parch up a lighter joint.

From half an hour to an hour before you begin to roast,
prepare the fire by putting a few coals on, which will be
sufficiently lighted by the time you wish to make use of your
fire ; between the bars, and on the top, put small or large
coals, according to the bulk of the joint, and the time the fire
is required to be strong; after which, throw the cinders
(wetted) at the back.

Never put meat down to a burned-up fire, if you can pos-
sibly avoid it ; but should the fire become fierce, place the
spit at a considerable distance, and allow a little more time.

Preserve the fat,* by covering it with paper, for this pur-
pose called " kitchen-paper," and tie it on with fine twine ;
pins and skewers can by no means be allowed ; they are so
many taps to let out the gravy: besides, the paper often
starts from them and catches fire, to the great injury of the
meat.

If the thing to be roasted be thin and tender, the fire should
be little and brisk: when you have a large joint to roast,
make up a sound, strong fire, equally good in every part of
the grate, or your meat cannot be equally roasted, nor have
that uniform colour which constitutes the beauty of good
roasting.

Give the fire a good stirring before you lay the joint
down; examine it from time to time while the spit is
going round; keep it clear at the bottom, and take care
there are no smoky coals in the front, which will spoil the
look and taste of the meat, and hinder it from roasting evenly.

* If there is more TAT than you think will be eaten with the lean, trim it off; i;
will make an excellent PUDDINO(NO. 551, or 554) : or clarify it (No. 83).

76 ROASTING.

When the joint to be roasted is thicker at one end than the
other, place the spit slanting, with the thickest part nearest
the fire.

Do not put meat too near the fire at first ; the larger the
joint, the farther it must be kept from the fire : if once it gets
scorched, the outside will become hard, and acquire a dis-
agreeable, empyreumatie taste ; and the fire being prevented
from penetrating into it, the meat will appear done before it
is little more than half-done, besides losing the pale brown
colour, which it is the beauty of roasted meat to have.

From 14 to 10 inches is the usual distance at which meat
is put from the grate, when first put down. It is extremely
difficult to offer any thing like an accurate general rule for
this, it depends so much upon the size of the fire, and of that
of the thing to be roasted.

Till some culinary philosopher shall invent a thermometer
to ascertain the heat of the fire, and a graduated spit-rack to
regulate the distance from it, the process of roasting is at-
tended by so many ever-varying circumstances, that it must
remain among those which can only be performed well, by
frequent practice and attentive observation.

If you wish your jack to go well, keep it as clean as pos-
sible, oil it, and then wipe it : if the oil is not wiped off again
it will gather dust ; to prevent this, as soon as you have done
roasting, cover it up. Never leave the winders on while the
jack is going round, unless you do it, as Swift says, " that
it may fly off, and knock those troublesome servants on the
head who will be crowding round your kitchen fire."

Be very careful to place the dripping-pan at such a dis-
tance from the fire as just to catch the drippings : if it is too
near, the ashes will fall into it, and spoil the drippings* (which
we shall hereafter show will occasionally be found an excel-
lent substitute for butter or lard). To clarify drippings, see
(No. 83,) and pease and dripping soup (No. 229), savoury and
salubrious, for only a penny per quart. If it is too far from
the fire to catch them, you will not only lose your drippings,
but the meat will be blackened and spoiled by the foetid smoke,
which will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders.

A large dripping-pan is convenient for several purposes.
It should not be less than 28 inches long and 20 inches wide,
and have a covered well on the side from the fire, to collect
the drippings ; this will preserve them in the most delicate

* This the good housewife will take up occasionally, and pass through a sieve info
a stone pan ; by leaving it, all in the dripping-pan until the njeat is taken up, it not
only becomes very strong, but when the meat is rich, and yields much of it, it is apt
to be spilt in basting. To CLARIFY DRIPPINGS, see No. 83.

ROASTING. 77

state : in a pan of the above size you may set fried fish, and
various dishes, to keep hot.

This is one of Painter's and Hawke's contrivances, near
Norfolk-street, Strand.

The time meat will take roasting will vary according to
the time it has been kept, and the temperature of the
weather ; the same weight* will be twenty minutes or half
an hour longer in cold weather, f than it will be in warm ;
and if fresh killed, than if it has been kept till it is tender.

A good meat-screen is a great saver of fuel. It should
be on wheels, have a flat. top, and not be less than about
three feet and a half wide, and with shelves in it, about
one foot deep ; it will then answer all the purposes of a
large Dutch oven, plate-warmer, hot hearth, &c. Some are
made wtih a door behind : this is convenient, but the great
heat they are exposed to soon shrinks the materials, and the
currents of air through the cracks cannot be prevented, so they
are better without the door. We have seen one, which had
on the top of it a very convenient hot closet, which is a great ac-
quisition in kitchens, where the dinner waits after it is dressed.

Every body knows the advantage of slow boiling. Slow
roasting is equally important.

It is difficult to give any specific rule for time ; but if your
fire is made as before directed, your meat-screen sufficiently
large to guard what you are dressing from currents of air, and
the meat is not frosted, you cannot do better than follow
the old general rule of allowing rather more than a quarter
of an hour to the pound ; a little more or less, according to
the temperature of the weather, in proportion as the piece is
thick or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness of the
meat to it, and the frequency with which you baste it ; the
more it is basted the less time it will take, as it keeps the
meat soft and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts with
more force upon it.

Reckon the time, not to the hour when dinner is ordered,
but to the moment the roasts will be wanted. Supposing
there are a dozen people to sip soup and eat fish first, you may
allow them ten or fifteen minutes for the former, and about
as long for the latter, more or less, according to the tempta-
tions the " BON GOUT" of these preceding courses has to at-
tract their attention.

* Insist upon the butcher fixing- a TICKET of the weight to each joint.

T IF THE MEAT is FROZEN, the usual practice is to put it into cold water till it is
thawed, then dry and roast it as usual ; but we recommend you to bring it into the
kitchen the night before, or early in the morning of the day you want to roast it, and
vhc warm air will thaw it much better.

78 ROASTING.

When the joint is half done, remove the spit and dripping-
pan back, and stir up your fire thoroughly, that it may burn
clear and bright for the browning ; when the steam from the
meat draws towards the fire,* it is a sign of its being done
enough ; but you will be the best judge of that, from the time
it has been down, the strength of the fire you have used, and
the distance your spit has been from it.

Half an hour before your meat is done, make some gravy
(see Receipt, No. 326) ; and just before you take it up, put it
nearer the fire to brown it. If you wish to froth it, baste it,
and dredge it with flour carefully : you cannot do this deli-
cately nice without a very good light. The common fault
seems to be using too much flour. The meat should have a
fine light varnish of froth, not the appearance of being covered
with a paste. Those who are particular about the froth use
butter instead of drippings ; (see receipt to roast a turkey,
No. 57)

" And send up what you roast with relish-giving froth,"

says Dr. King, and present such an agreeable appearance to
the eye, that the palate may be prepossessed in its favour at
first sight ; therefore, have the whole course dished, before
roasts are taken from the fire.

A good cook is as anxiously attentive to the appearance
and colour of her roasts, as a court beauty is to her com-
plexion at a birthday ball. If your meat does not brown so
much, or so evenly as you wish, take two ounces of Glaze,
i. e. portable soup, put four table-spoonfuls of water, and let
it warm and dissolve gradually by the side of the fire. This
will be done in about a quarter of an hour; put it on the
meat equally all over with a paste-brush the last thing before
it goes to table.

Though roasting is one of the most common, and is gene-
rally considered one of the most easy and simple processes
of cookery, it requires more unremitting attention to perform
it perfectly well than it does to make most made-dishes.

That made-dishes are the most difficult preparations, de-
serves to be reckoned among the culinary vulgar errors ; in
plain roasting and boiling it is not easy to repair a mistake
once made ; and all the discretion and attention of a steady,
careful cook, must be unremittingly upon the alert.f

* When the steam begins to arise, it is a proof that the whole joint is thoroughly
saturated with heat ; any unnecessary evaporation is a waste of the best nourish-
ment of the meat.

f A celebrated French writer has given us the following observations on roasting:

" The art of roasting victuals to the precise degree, is one of the most difficult in

this world; and you may find half a thousand good cooks sooner than one perfect

EOASTIXG. 79

A diligent attention to time, the distance of the meat from,
and judicious management of, the fire, and frequent bastings,*
are all the general rules we can prescribe. We shall deliver
particular rules for particular things, as the several articles
occur, and do our utmost endeavours to instruct our reader
as completely as words can describe the process, and teach

"The management of common things so well,
That what was thought the meanest shall excel:
That cook 's to British palates most complete,
Whose sav'ry skill gives zest to common meat:
For what are soups, your ragoQts, and your sauce.
Compared to the fare of OLD ENGLAND,
And OLD ENGLISH ROAST BEEF !"

* TAKE NOTICE, that the TIME given in the following re-
ceipts is calculated for those who like meat thoroughly
roasted. (See N.B. preceding No. 19.)
Some good housewives order very large joints to be rather
under-done, as they then make a better hash or broil.
To make gravy for roast, see No. 326.
N.B. Roasts must not be put on, till the soup and^s/i are
taken off the table.

roaster. (See ' Jllmanach dcs Gourmands? vol. i. p. 37.) In the mansions of the
opulent, they have, besides the master kitchener, a roaster, (perfectly independent
of the former,) who is exclusively devoted to the spit.

" All erudite gourmands know that these two important functions cannot be per-
formed by one artist ; it is quite impossible at the same time to superintend the ope
rations of the spit and stewpan." Further on, the same author observes: "No
certain rules can be given for roasting, the perfection of it depending on many cir-
cumstances which are continually changing ; the age and size (especially the thick-
ness) of the pieces, the quality of the coals, the temperature of the atmosphere, the
currents of air in the kitchen, the more or less attention of the roaster ; and, lastly,
the time of serving. Supposing the dinner ordered to be on table at a certain time, il'
the fish and soup are much liked, and detained longer than the roaster has calcu-
lated ; or, on the contrary, if they are despatched sooner than is expected, the roasts
will in one case be burnt up, in the other not done enough two misfortunes equally
to be deplored. The first, however, is without a remedy ; five minutes on Vie spit,
more or less, decides the goodness of this mode of cookery. It is almost impossible
to seize the precise instant when it ought to be eaten ; which epicures in roasts
express by saying, ' It is done to a turn.' So that there is no exaggeration in saying,
the perfect roaster is even more rare than the professed cook.

" In small families, where the cook is also the roaster, it is almost impossible the
roasts should be well done: the spit claims exclusive attention, and is an imperious
mistress who demands the entire devotion of her slave. But how can this be, when
the cook is obliged, at the same time, to attend her fish and soup-kettles, and watch
lier stewpans and all their accompaniments ? it is morally and physically impos-
sible : if stie gives that delicate and constant attention to the roasts which is indis-
pensably requisite, the rest of the dinner must often be spoiled ; and most cooks
would rather lose their character as a roaster, than neglect the made-dishes and
' entremets,' &c., where they think they can display their culinary science, than
sacrifice these to the roasts, the perfection of which will only prove their steady
vigilance and patience."

* Our ancestors were very particular in their BASTINGS and DREDGINGS, as will
be seen by the following quotation from MAY'S " Accomplished Cook," London, 1665,
p. 136. " The rarest ways of dressing of all manner of roast meats, either flesh or
fowl, by sea or land, and divers ways~of breading or dredging meats to prevent the
gravy from too much evaporating."

30 PRYING.

DREDGING ,

1. Flour mixed with grated bread.

2. Sweet herbs dried and powdered, and mixed with grated bread.

3. Lemon-peel dried and pounded, or orange-peel, mixed with flour.

4. Sugar finely powdered, and mixed with pounded cinnamon, and flour or grated
bread.

5. Fennel-seeds, corianders, cinnamon, and sugar, finely beaten, and mixed with
grated bread or flour.

6. For young pigs, grated bread or flour, mixed with beaten nutmeg, ginger,
pepper, sugar, and yelks of eggs.

7. Sugar, bread, and salt, mixed.

BASTINGS.

; 1. Fresh butter.

2. Clarified suet.

3. Minced sweet herbs, butter, and claret, especially for mutton and lamb.

4. Water and salt.

5. Cream and melted butter, especially for a flayed pig.
^ Yelks of eggs, grated biscuit, and juice of oranges.

CHAPTER III.

FRYING.

FRYING is often a convenient mode of cookery; it maybe
performed by a fire which will not do for roasting or boiling;
and by the introduction of the pan between the meat and the
fire, things get more equally dressed.

The Dutch oven or bonnet is another very convenient
utensil for small things, and a very useful substitute for the
jack, the gridiron, or frying-pan.

A frying-pan should be about four inches deep, with a
perfectly flat and thick bottom, 12 inches long and 9
broad, with perpendicular sides, and must be half filled with
fat : good frying is, in fact, boiling in fat. To make sure that,
the pan is quite clean, rub a little fat over it, and then make
it warm, and wipe it out with a clean cloth. .

Be very particular in frying, never to use any oil, butter,
lard, or drippings, but what is quite clean, fresh, and
free from salt. Any thing dirty spoils the look ; any thing-
bad-tasted or stale, spoils the flavour ; and salt prevents its
browning.

Fine olive oil is the most delicate for frying ; but the best
oil is expensive, and bad oil spoils every thing that is dressed
with it.

For general purposes, and especially for fish, clean fresh

FRYING. 81

lard is not near so expensive as oil or clarified butter, and
does almost as well. Butter often burns before you are
aware of it; and what you fiy will get a dark and dirty
appearance.

Cooks in large kitchens, where there is a great deal of
frying, commonly use mutton or beef suet clarified (see No.
84) : if from the kidney, all the better.

Dripping, if nicely clean and fresh, is almost as good as
any thing ; if not clean, it may be easily clarified (see No.
83). Whatever fat you use, after you have done frying, let
it remain in the pan for a few minutes, and then pour it
through a sieve into a clean basin; it will do three or four
times as well as it did at first, i. e. if it has not burned: but,
Mem. the fat you have fried fish in must not be used for any
other purpose.

To know when the fat is of a proper heat, according to
what you are to fry, is the great secret in frying.

To fry fish, parsley, potatoes, or any thing that is watery,
your fire must be very clear, and the fat quite hot ; which you
may be pretty sure of, when it has done hissing, and is still.
We cannot insist too strongly on this point : if the fat is not
very hot, you cannot fry fish either to a good colour, or firm
and crisp.

To be quite certain, throw a little bit of bread into the pan ;
if it fries crisp, the fat is ready; if it burns the bread, it is
too hot.

The fire under the pan must be clear and sharp, otherwise
the fat is so long before it becomes ready, and demands such
attendance to prevent the accident of its catching fire,* thai
the patience of cooks is exhausted, and they frequently, from
ignorance or impatience, throw in what they are going to fry
before the fat is half hot enough. Whatever is so fried will
be pale and sodden, and offend the palate and stomach not
less than the eye.

Have a good light to fry by, that you may see when you
have got the right colour : a lamp fixed on a stem, with a
loaded foot, which has an arm that lengthens out, and slides
up and down like a reading candlestick, is a most useful
appendage to kitchen fireplaces, which are very seldom light
enough for the nicer operations of cookery.

After all, if you do not thoroughly drain the fat from what

* If this unfortunately happens, be not alarmed, but immediately wet a basket of
ashes and throw them down the chimney, and wet a blanket and hold it close all
round the fireplace ; as soon as the current of air is stopped, the fire will be exlin
guished : with a CHARCOAL STOVE there is no danger, as the diameter of the pan
exceeds that of the fire.

32 BROILING.

you hare fried, especially from those things that are fuli
dressed in bread crumbs,* or biscuit powder, &c., your cook-
ing- will do you no credit.

The dryness of fish depends much upon its having been
fried in fat of a due degree of heat ; it is then crisp and dry-
in a few minutes after it is taken out of the pan : when it is
not, lay it on a soft cloth before the fire, turning it occasion-
ally, till it is. This will sometimes take 15 minutes : therefore,
always fry fish as long as this before you want them, for fear
you may find this necessary.

To fry fish, see receipt to fry soles, (No. 145) which is the
only circumstantial account of the process that has yet been
printed. If the cook will study it with a little attention, she
must soon become an accomplished frier.

Frying, though one of the most common of culinary
operations, is one that is least commonly performed per-
fectly well.

CHAPTER IV.

BROILING.

And as now there is nought on the fire that is spoiling.

We '11 give you just two or three hints upon broiling ;

How oft you must turn a beefsteak, and how seldom

A good mutton chop, for to have 'em both well done ;

And for skill in such cookery your credit 't will fetch up,

If your broils are well-seasoned with good mushroom catchup."

CLEANLINESS is extremely essential in this mode of
cookery.

Keep your gridiron quite clean between the bars, and
bright on the top: when it is hot, wipe it well with a
linen cloth : just before you use it, rub the bars with clean
mutton-suet, to prevent the meat from being marked by the
gridiron.

Take care to prepare your fire in time, so that it may bum
quite clear : a brisk and clear fire is indispensable, or you
cannot give your meat that browning which constitutes the

* When you want a great many BREAD carwBS, divide your loaf (which should
be two days old) into three equal parts ; take the middle or crumb piece, the top and
bottom will do for table : in the usual way of cutting, the e.rust is wasted.

OATMEAL is a very satisfactory, and an extremely economical substitute for bread
8*6 No. 145.

VEGETABLES. 83

perfection of this mode of cookery, and gives a relish to food
it cannot receive any other way.

The chops or slices should be from half to three-quarters
of an inch in thickness ; if thicker, they will be done too
much on the outside before the inside is done enough.

Be diligently attentive to watch the moment that any thing
is done : never hasten any thing that is broiling, lest you
make smoke and spoil it.

Let the bars of the gridiron be all hot through, but yet not
burning hot upon the surface : this is the perfect and fine
condition of the gridiron.

As the bars keep away as much heat as their breadth
covers, it is absolutely necessary they should be thoroughly
hot before the thing to be cooked be laid on them.

The bars of gridirons should be made concave, and termi-
nate in a trough to catch the gravy and keep the fat from
dropping into the fire and making a smoke, which will spoil
the broil.

Upright gridirons are the best, as they can be used at any
fire without fear of smoke ; and the gravy is preserved in the
trough under them.

N.B. Broils must be brought to table as hot as possible ;
set a dish to heat when you put your chops on the gridiron,
from whence to the mouth their progress must be as quick
as possible.

When the fire is not clear, the business of the gridiron
may be done by the Dutch oven or bonnet.

CHAPTER V.

VEGETABLES.

THERE is nothing in which the difference between an
elegant and an ordinary table is more seen than in the dressing
of vegetables, more especially greens. They may be equally
as fine at first, at one place as at another ; but their look and
taste are afterward very different, entirely from the careless
way in which they have been cooked.

They are in greatest perfection when in greatest plenty,
i. e. when in full season.

By season, I do not mean those early days, that luxury in
the buyers, and avarice in the sellers, force the various vege-

^84 VEGETABLES.

tables ; but that time of the year in which by nature and
common culture, and the mere operation of the sun and cli-
mate, they are in most plenty and perfection.

Potatoes and pease are seldom worth eating before mids\im-
iner ; unripe vegetables are as insipid and unwholesome as
unripe fruits.

As to the quality of vegetables, the middle size are pre-
ferred to the largest or the smallest ; they are more tender,
juicy, and full of flavour, just before they are quite full-
grown. Freshness is their chief value and excellence, and 1
should as soon think of roasting an animal alive, as of boiling
a vegetable after it is dead.

The eye easily discovers if they have been kept too long;
they soon lose their beauty in all respects.

Roots, greens, salads, &c. and the various productions of
the garden, when first gathered, are plump and firm, and have
a fragrant freshness no art can give them again, when the}
have lost it by long keeping ; though it will refresh them a
little to put them into cold spring water for some time before
they are dressed.

To boil them in soft water will preserve the colour besk
of such as are green ; if you have only hard water, put to it
a tea-spoonful of carbonate of potash.*

Take care to wash and cleanse them thoroughly from dust,
dirt, and insects : this requires great attention. Pick off all
the outside leaves, trim them nicely, and, if not quite fresh
gathered and have become flaccid, it is absolutely necessary
to restore their crispness before cooking them, or they will
be tough and unpleasant : lay them in a pan of clean water,
with a handful of salt in it, for an hour before you dress them.

" Most vegetables being more or less succulent, their full
proportion of fluids is necessary for their 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 surface,
there is often great exudation or evaporation ; and thus their
natural 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 easily divided in chew-
ing, and the water which exists in vegetable substances, in
the form of their respective natural juices, is directly nutri-

* Pe&rlash is a sub-carbonate, and will answer the purpose. It is a commou.
artiste in the kitchen of the American housekeeper. A.

VEGETABLES. 36

tious. The first care in the preservation of succulent vege-
tables, therefore, is to prevent them from losing their natural
moisture." Suppl. to Edin. Encyclop. vol. iv. p. 335.

They should always be boiled in a sauce-pan by them-'
selves, and have plenty of water; if meat is boiled with
them in the same pot, they will. spoil the look and taste of
each other.

If you wish to have vegetables delicately clean, put on
your pot, make it boil, put a little salt in it, and skim it per-
iectly clean before you put in the greens, &c. ; which should
not be put in till the water boils briskly : the quicker they
boil, the greener they will be. When the vegetables sink,
they are generally done enough, if the water has been kept
constantly boiling. Take them up immediately, or they
will lose their colour and goodness. Drain the water from
them thoroughly before you send them to table.

This branch of cookery requires the most vigilant attention

If vegetables are a minute or two too long over the fire,
they lose all their beauty and flavour.

If not thoroughly boiled tender, they are tremendously in-
digestible, and much more troublesome during their residence
in the stomach, than under-done meats.*

To preserve or give colour in cookery, many good dishes
are spoiled; but the rational epicure who makes nourish-
ment the main end of eating, will be content to sacrifice the
shadow to enjoy the substance. Vide 06s. to No. 322.

Once for all, take care your vegetables are fresh : for as
ihe fishmonger often suffers for the sins of the cook, so the
cook often gets undeservedly blamed instead of the green-
grocer.

Vegetables, in this metropolis, are often kept so long, thai
no art can make them either look or eat well.

Strong-scented vegetables should be kept apart ; leeks, or
celery, laid among cauliflowers, &c. will quickly spoil them.

" Succulent vegetables are best preserved in a cool, shady,
and damp place.

" Potatoes, turnips, carrots, and similar roots, intended to
be stored up, should never be cleaned from the earth adhe-
ring to them, till they are to be dressed.

" They must be protected from the action of the air and

* " CAULIFLOWERS and other vegetables are often boiled only crisp to preserve
their beauty. For the look alone they had better not be boiled at all, and almost as
well for the use, as in this crude state they are scarcely digestible by the strongest
stomach. On the other hand, when over-boiled, they become vapid, and in a state
similar to decay, in which they afford no sweet purifying juices to the body, but load
it with a mass of mere feculent matter." Domestic Management, 12mo. 1813.

86 FISH.

frost, by laying them in heaps, burying them in sand or earth.
&c., or covering them with straw or mats.

" The action of frost destroys the life of the vegetable, and
it speedily rots." Suppl. to Edin. Encyclop. vol. iv. p. 335.

MEM. When vegetables are quite fresh gathered, they
will not require so much bo ; ling, by at least a third of the
time, as when they have been gathered the usual time those
are that are brought to public markets.

CHAPTER VL

FISH.

THIS department of the business of the kitchen requires
considerable experience, and depends more upon practice
than any other. A very few moments, more or less, will
thoroughly spoil fish ;* which, to be eaten in perfection, must
never be put on the table till the soup is taken off.

So many circumstances operate on this occasion, that it is
almost impossible to write general rules.

There are decidedly different opinions, whether fish should
be put into cold, tepid, or boiling water.

We believe, for some of the fame the Dutch cooks have
acquired, they are a little indebted to their situation affording
them a plentiful supply of fresh fish for little more than the
trouble of catching it ; and that the superior excellence of
the fish in Holland, is because none are used, unless they
are brought alive into the kitchen (mackerel excepted, which
die the moment they are taken out of the water). The
Dutch are as nice about this as Seneca says the Romans!
were ; who, complaining of the luxury of the times, says,

* When the cook has large dinners to prepare, and the time of serving uncertain,
she will get more credit by FRIED (see No. 145), or stewed (see No. 164), than by
BOILED fish. It is also cheaper, and much sooner carved (see No. 145).

Mr. Ude, page 338 of his cookery, advises, " If you are obliged to wait after the
fish is done, do not let it remain in the water, but keep the water boiling, and put
the fish over it, and cover it with a damp cloth ; when the dinner is called for, dip
the fish again in the water, and serve it up."

The only circumstantial instructions yet printed for FRYING FISH, the reader will
find in No. 145 ; if this be carefully and nicely attended to, you will have delicious
food.

t They had salt-water preserves for feeding different kinds of sea-fish ; those in
the ponds of Lucullus, at his death, sold for 25,000/. sterling. , The prolific power of
fish is wonderful : the following calculations are from Petit, Block, and Leuwen-
hneck:-

FISH. 8?

M They are come to that daintiness, that they will not eat a
fish, unless upon the same day that it is taken, that it may
taste of the sea, as they express it."

On the Dutch flat coast, the fish are taken with nets : on
our rocky coast, they are mostly caught by bait and hook,
which instantly kills them. Fish are brought alive by land
to the Dutch markets, in water casks with air-holes in the
top. Salmon, and other fish, are thus preserved in rivers, in
a well-hole in the fishing-boat.

All kinds of fish are best some time before they begin to
spawn ; and are unfit for food for some time after they have
spawned.

Fish, like animals, are fittest for the table when they are
just full grown ; and what has been said in Chapter V. re-
specting vegetables, applies equally well to fish.

The most convenient utensil to boil fish in, is a turbot-
kettle. This should be 24 inches long, 22 wide, and 9 deep.
It is an excellent vessel to boil a ham in, &c. &c.

The good folks of this metropolis are so often disappointed
by having fish which has been kept too long, that they are
apt to run into the other extreme, and suppose that fish will
not dress well unless it is absolutely alive. This is true of
lobsters, &c. (No. 176), and may be of fresh-water fish, but
certainly not of some sea-fish.

Several respectable fishmongers and experienced cooks
have assured the editor, that they are often in danger of
losing their credit by fish too fresh, and especially turbot and
cod, which, like meat, require a certain time before they are
in the best condition to be dressed. They recommend them
to be put into cold water, salted in proportion of about a
quarter of a pound of salt to a gallon of water. Sea-water
is best to boil sea-fish in. It not only saves the expense of
salt, but the flavour is better. Let them boil slowly till done :
the sign of which is, that the skin of the fish rises up, and
the eyes turn white.

It is the business of the fishmonger to clean them, &c. but
the careful cook will always wash them again.

Garnish with slices of lemon, finely scraped horseradish,
fried oysters (No. 183), smelts (No. 173), whitings (No. 153),
or strips of soles, as directed in No. 145.

A salmon of 20 pounds weight contained

A middling-sized pike 148,000

A mackerel 546.681

A cod 9,344,000

See Cours Gastronomiqucs, 18mo. 1806, p. 341,

88 FISH SAUCES.

The liver, roe, and chitterlings should be placed so that
the carver may observe them, and invite the guests to par-
take of them.

N.B. FISH, like meat, requires more cooking in cold than
in warm weather. If it becomes FROZEN,* it must be thawed
by the means we have directed for meat, in the 3d chapter
of the Rudiments of Cookery.

[Fish are plenty and good, and in great variety, in all the
towns and cities on the extensive coast of the United States.
Some of the interior towns are also supplied with fish pecu-
liar to the lakes and rivers of this country. A.]

FISH SAUCES.

The melted butter (No. 256) for fish, should be thick enough
to adhere to the fish, and, therefore, must be of the thickness
of light batter, as it is to be diluted with essence of anchovy
(No. 433), soy (No. 436), mushroom catchup (No. 439).
Cayenne (No. 404), or Chili vinegar (No. 405), lemons or
lemon-juice, or artificial lemon-juice, (see No. 407*), &c.
which are expected at all well-served tables.

Cooks, who are jealous of the reputation of their taste,
and housekeepers who value their health, will prepare these
articles at home : there are quite as many reasons why they
should, as there are for the preference usually given to home-
baked bread and home-brewed beer, &c.

N.B. The liver of the fish pounded and mixed with but-
ter, with a little lemon-juice, &c. is an elegant and inoffensive
relish to fish (see No. 288). Mushroom sauce extempore
(No. 307), or the soup of mock turtle (No. 247), will make
an excellent fish sauce.

On the comparatively nutritive qualities of fish, see N.R.
to No. 181.

* Fish are very frequently sent home frozen by the fishmonger, to whom an ice
Iiou.se is now as necessary an appendage (to preserve fish,) as it is to a confectioner

BROTHS AND SOUPS, 89

CHAPTER VII.

BROTHS AND SOUPS.

THE cook must pay continual attention to the condition of
her stew-pans* and soup-kettles, &c. which should be exa-
mined every time they are used. The prudent housewife
will carefully examine the condition of them herself at least
once a month. Their covers also must be kept perfectly
clean and well tinned, and the stew-pans not only on the
inside, but about a couple of inches on the outside : many
mischiefs arise from their getting out of repair; and if not
kept nicely tinned, all your good work will be in vain ; the
broths and soups will look green and dirty, taste bitter and
poisonous, and will be spoiled both for the eye and palate,
and your credit will be lost.

The health, and even life of the family, depends upon this,
and the cook may be sure her employers had rather pay the
tinman's bill than the doctor's ; therefore, attention to this
cannot fail to engage the regard of the mistress, between
whom and the cook it will be my utmost endeavour to pro-
mote perfect harmony.

If a servant has the misfortune to scorch or blister the tin-
ning of her pan,j which will happen sometimes to the most
careful cook, I advise her, by all means, immediately to" ac-
quaint her employers, who will thank her for candidly men-
tioning an accident ; and censure her deservedly if she con-
ceal it.

Take care to be properly provided with sieves and tammy
cloths, spoons and ladles. Make it a rule without an exception,
never to use them till they are well cleaned and thoroughly
dried, nor any stewpans, &c. without first washing them out
with boiling water, and rubbing them well with a dry cloth
and a little bran, to clean them from grease, sand, &c., or
any bad smell they may have got since they were last used :
never neglect this.

Though we do not suppose our cook to be such a naughty

* We prefer the form of a stew-pan to the soup-pot ; the former is more convenient
to skim : the most useful size is 12 i nches diameter by 6 inches deep : this we would
have of silver, or iron, or copper, lined (not plated) with silver.

t This may be always avoided by browning your meat in the frying-pan ; it is thfi
browning of the meat that destroys the stew-pan.

H 2

90 BROTHS AND SOUPS.

slut as to wilfully neglect her broth-pots, &c., yet we may
recommend her to wash them immediately, and take care
they are thoroughly dried at the fire, before they are put by,
and to keep them in a dry place, for damp will rust and de-
stroy them very soon : attend to this the first moment you
can spare after the dinner is sent up.

Never put by any soup, gravy, &c. in metal utensils ; in
which never keep any thing longer than is absolutely neces-
sary for the purposes of cookery ; the acid, vegetables, fat,
&c. employed in making soups, &c. are capable of dissolving
such utensils ; therefore stone or earthen vessels should be
used for this purpose.

Stew-pans, soup-pots, and preserving pans, with thick and
round bottoms (such as sauce-pans are made with), will wear
twice as long, and are cleaned with half the trouble, as those
whose sides are soldered to the bottom, of which sand and
grease get into the joined part, and cookeys say that it is
next to an impossibility to dislodge it, even if their nails are
as long as Nebuchadnezzar's. The Editor claims the credit
of having first suggested the importance of this construction
of these utensils.

Take care that the lids fit as close as possible, that the
broth, soup, and sauces, &c. may not waste by evaporation.
They are good for nothing, unless they fit tight enough to
keep the steam in and the smoke out.

Stew-pans and sauce-pans should be always bright on the
upper rim, where the fire does not burn them ; but to scour
them all over is not only giving the cook needless trouble,
but wearing out the vessels. See observations on sauce-
pans in Chapter I.

Cultivate habits of regularity and cleanliness, &c. in all
your business, which you will then get through easily and
comfortably. I do not mean the restless spirit of Molidusta*
" the Tidy One," who is anon, anon, Sir, frisking about in a
whirlpool of bustle and confusion, and is always dirty, under
pretence of being always cleaning.

Lean, juicy beef, mutton, or veal, form the basis of broth;
procure those pieces which afford the richest succulence, and
as fresh killed as possible.*

Stale meat will make broth grouty and bad tasted, and fat
meat is wasted. This only applies to those broths which are
required to be perfectly clear : we shall show hereafter (in

* In general, it has been considered the best economy to use the cheapest and most
inferior meats for soup, &c., and to boil it down till it is entirely destroyed, and
hardly worth putting into the hog- tub. This is a false frugality: buy good pieces ot ;
meat, and only stew them till they are done enough to be eaten.

BROTHS AND SOUPS. 91

No. 229), that fat and clarified drippings may be so combined
with vegetable mucilage, as to afford, at the small cost of one
penny per quart, a nourishing and palatable soup, fully ade-
quate to satisfy appetite and support strength : this will open
a new source to those benevolent housekeepers, who are
disposed to relieve the poor, will show the industrious classes
how much they have it in their power to assist themselves,
and rescue them from being objects of charity dependent on
the precarious bounty of others, by teaching them how they
may obtain a cheap, abundant, salubrious, and agreeable ali-
ment for themselves and families.

This soup has the advantage of being very easily and very
soon made, with no more fuel than is necessary to warm a
room. Those who have not tasted it, cannot imagine what
a salubrious, savoury, and satisfying meal is produced by the
judicious combination of cheap homely ingredients.

Scotch barley broth (No. 204) will furnish a good dinner
of soup and meat for fivepence per head, pease soup (No.
221) will cost only sixpence per quart, ox-tail soup (No. 240)
or the same portable soup (No. 252), for fivepence per quart,
and (No. 224) an excellent gravy soup for fourpence half-
penny per quart, duck-giblet soup (No. 244) for three-
pence per quart, and fowls' head soup in the same manner
for still less (No. 239), will give you a good and plentiful
dinner for six people for two shillings and twopence. See
also shin of beef stewed (No. 493), and a-la-mode beef (No.
502).

BROTH HERBS, SOUP ROOTS, AND SEASONINGS.

Scotch barley (No. 204),

Pearl barley.

Flour.

OATMEAL (No. 572).

Bread.

Raspings.

Pease (No. 218).

Beans.

Rice (No. 321*).

Vermicelli.

Macaroni (No. 513).

Isinglass.

Potato mucilage (No. 448).

Mushrooms* (No. 439).

Champignons.

Parsnips (No. 213).

Carrots (No. 212).

Beet-roots.

Turnips (No. 208).

Garlic.

Shallots, (No. 402.)

Onions.f

* MUSHROOM CATCHUP, made as No. 439, or No 440, will answer all the purposes
of mushrooms in soup or sauce, and no store-room should be without a stock of it.
t All cooks agree in this opinion,

JVo savoury dish, without an ONION.
Sliced onions frie^ (see No. 299. and note under No. 517), with some butter and

BROTHS AND SOUPS.

Leeks.

Cucumber.*

Celery (No. 214).

CELERY SEED.|

Cress-seed,f (No. 397).

Parsley,j (N.B. to No. 261.)

Common thyme.J

Lemon thyme. J

Orange thyme.|

Knotted marjorumj (No. 417)

Mint (No. 398).
Winter savoury, t
Sweet basil! (No. 397).
Bay leaves.
Tomata.

Tarragon (No. 396).
Chervil.

Burnet (No. 399).
ALLSPICE^ (No. 412).
Cinnamon^ (No. 416*)-
Ginger (No. 411).
Nutmeg. $
Clove (No. 414).
Mace.

Black pepper.

Lemon-peel (No. 407 & 408.)
White pepper.
Lemon-juice. ||
Seville orange-juice.])*
Essence of anchovy (No.
433).

flour, til! they are browned (and rubbed through a sieve), are excellent to heighten
the colour and flavour of brown soups and sauces, and form the basis of most of the
relishes furnished by the "Restaurateurs" as we guess from the odour which
ascends from their kitchens, and salutes our olfactory nerves " en passant.' 1 ''

The older and drier the onion, the stronger its flavour ; and the cook will regulate
the quantity she uses accordingly.

* Burnet has exactly the same flavour as cucumber. See Burnet vinegar
(No. 399).

f The concentration of flavour in CELKRV and CRESS SED is such, that half a
drachm of it (finely pounded), or double the quantity if not ground or pounded,
costing only one-third of a farthing, will impregnate half a gallon of soup with
almost as much relish as two or three heads of the fresh vegetable, weighing
seven ounces, and costing twopence. This valuable acquisition to the coup-pot
deserves to be universally known. See also No. 409, essence of CELERY. This is
the most frugal relish we have to introduce to the economist : but that our judg-
ment in palates may not be called in question by our fellow-mortals, who, as the
Craniologists say, happen to have the organ of taste stronger than the organ of ac-
cumulativeness, we must confess, that, with the flavour it does not impart the deli-
cate sweetness, &c. of the fresh vegetable ; and when used, a bit of sugar should
accompany it.

I See No. 419, No. 420, and No. 459. Fresh green BASIL is seldom to be procured.
When dried, much of its fine flavour is lost, which is fully extracted by pouring
wine on the fresh leaves (see No. 397).

To procure and preserve the flavour of SWEET AND SAVOURY HERBS, celery, &c.
these must be dried, &c. at home (see No. 417* and No. 461).

$ See No. 421 and No. 457. Sir Hans Sloane, in the Phil. Trans. Abr. vol. xi. p.
667, says, " Pimento, the spice of Jamaica, or ALLSPICE, so called, from having a
flavour composed as it were of cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs, and pepper, may de-
servedly be counted the best and most temperate, miid, and innocent of common
spices, almost all of which it far surpasses, by promoting the digestion of meat, and
moderately heating and strengthening the stomach, and doing those friendly offices
to the bowels, we generally expect from spices." We have always been of the
same opinion as Sir Hans, and believe the only reason why it is the least esteemed
spice is, because it is the cheapest. " What folks get easy they never enjoy."

II If you have not fresh oranse or lemon-juice, or Coxxvell's crystallized lemou
acid, the artificial lemon juice (No. 407) is a good substitute for it.

tT The juice of the SEVILLE ORANGE is to be preferred to that of the LKMON, the
flavour is finer, and the acid milder

BROTHS AND "SOUPS. 93

The above materials, wine, and mushroom catchup (No.
i39), combined in various proportions, will make an endless
variety* of excellent broths and soups, quite as pleasant to
the palate, and as useful and agreeable to the stomach, as
consuming pheasants and partridges, and the long list of
inflammatory, piquante, and rare and costly articles, recom-
mended by former cookery-book makers, whose elaborately
compounded soups are like their made dishes ; in which,
though variety is aimed at, every thing has the same taste,
and nothing its own.

The general fault of our soups seems to be the employ-
ment of an excess of spice, and too small a portion of roots
and herbs. |

Besides the ingredients I have enumerated, many culinary
scribes indiscriminately cram into almost every dish (in such
inordinate quantities, one would suppose they were working
for the asbestos palate of an Indian fire-eater) anchovies,
garlic, J bay-leaves, and that hot, fiery spice, Cayenne^ pepper;
this, which the French call (not undeservedly) piment enragi*
(No. 404), has, somehow or other, unaccountably acquired a
character for being very wholesome; while the milder
peppers and spices are cried down, as destroying the sensi-
bility of the palate and stomach, &c., and being the source
of a thousand miscjiiefs. We should just as soon recommend
alcohol as being" less intoxicating than wine.

The best thing that has been said in praise of peppers is,
" that with all kinds of vegetables, as also with soups (espe-
cially vegetable soups) and fish, either black or Cayenne
pepper may be taken freely : they are the most useful stimu-
lants to old stomachs, and often supersede the cravings for

* The erudite editor of the " Mmanach des Gourmands," vol. ii. p. 30, tells us,
that ten folio volumes would not contain the receipts of all the soups that have been
invented in that grand school of good eating, tlie Parisian kitchen.

t " Point de Ligum.es, -point de Cuisiniere,'' is a favourite culinary adage of the
French kitchen, and deserves to be so: a better soup may be made with a couple of
pounds of meat and plenty of vegetables, than our common cooks will make you
with four times that quantity of meat ; all for want of knowing the uses of soup
roots, and sweet and savoury herbs.

t Many a good dish is spoiled, by the cook not knowing the proper use of this,
which is to give a flavour, and not to be predominant over the other ingredients : a
morsel mashed with the point of a knife, and stirred in, is enough. See No. 402.

Foreigners have strange notions of English taste, on which one of their culinary
professors has made the following comment: " the organ of taste in these ISLANDERS
is very different from our delicate palates; and sauce that would excoriate the
palate of a Frenchman, would be hardly piquante enough to make any impression
on that of an Englishman ; thus they prefer port to claret," &c. As far as concerns
our drinking, we wish there was not quite so much truth in Monsieur's remarks
but the characteristic of the French and English kitchen is sauce without substance,
and substance without sauce.

To make CAYENNE of English chillies, of infinitely finer flavour than the Indian,
see No. 404.

94 BKOTHS AND SOUPS.

strong drinks ; or diminish the quantity otherwise required. tr
See Sir A. CARLISLE on Old Age, London, 1817. A certain
portion of condiment is occasionally serviceable to excite
and keep up the languid action of feeble and advanced life :
we must increase the stimulus of our aliment as the inirrita-
bility of our system increases. We leave those who love
these things to use them as they like ; their flavours can be
very extemporaneously produced by chilly-juice, or essence
of Cayenne (No. 405), eshallot wine (No. 402), and essence
of anchovy (No. 433).

There is no French dinner without soup, which is regarded
as an indispensable overture; it is commonly followed by
" le coup cFApres" a glass of pure wine, which they consider
so wholesome after soup, that their proverb says, the phy-
sician thereby loses a fee. Whether the glass of wine be so
much more advantageous for the patient than it is for his
doctor, we know not, but believe it an excellent plan to
begin the banquet with a basin of good soup, which, by
moderating the appetite for solid animal food, is certainly a
salutiferous custom. Between the roasts and the entremets
they introduce "le coup du Milieu" or a small glass of Ja-
maica rum, or essence of punch (see No. 471), or CURACAO
(No. 474).

The introduction of liqueurs is by no means a modern
custom : our ancestors were very fond of a highly spiced
stimulus of this sort, commonly called Ipocrasse, which
generally made a part of the last course, or was taken imme-
diately after dinner.

The crafte to make ypocras*

" Take a quarte of red wyne, an ounce of synamon, and
halfe an ounce of gynger ; a quarter of an ounce of greynes
(probably of paradise") and long pepper, and halfe a pounde
of sugar ; and brose (bruise) all this (not too small), and then
put them in a bage (bag) of wullen clothe, made, therefore,
with the wynee ; and lete it hange over a vessel, till
the wynee be run thorowe." An extract from Arnold's
Chronicle.

It is a custom which almost universally prevails in the
northern parts of Europe, to present a dram or glass of
liqueur, before sitting down to dinner: this answers the
double purpose of a whet to the appetite, and an announce-
ment that dinner is on the point of being served up. Along
with the dram, are presented on a waiter, little square pieces

BROTHS AND SOUPS. 95

of cheese, slices of cold tongue, dried tongue, and dried
toast, accompanied with fresh caviar.

We again caution the cook to avoid over-seasoning, espe-
cially with predominant flavours, which, however agreeable
they may be to some, are extremely disagreeable to others.
See page 50.

Zest (No. 255), soy (No. 436), cavice, coratch, anchovy
(No. 433), curry powder (No. 455), savoury ragofit powder
(No. 457), soup herb powder (No. 459 and 460), browning
(No. 322), catchups (No. 432), pickle liquor, beer, wine, and
sweet herbs, and savoury spice (No. 460), are very convenient
auxiliaries to finish soups, &c.

The proportion of wine (formerly sack, then claret, now
Madeira or port) should not exceed a large wine-glassful to
a quart of soup. This is as much as can be admitted, without
the vinous flavour becoming remarkably predominant ; though
not only much larger quantities of wine (of which claret is
incomparably the best, because it contains less spirit and
more flavour, and English palates are less acquainted with
it), but even veritable eau de vie is ordered in many books,
and used by many (especially tavern cooks). So much are
their soups overloaded with relish, that if you will eat enough
of them they will certainly make you drunk, if they don't
make you sick : all this frequently arises from an old cook
measuring the excitability of the eater's palates by his own,
which may be so blunted by incessant tasting, that to awaken
it, requires wine instead of water, and Cayenne and garlic
for black pepper and onion.

Old cooks are as fond of spice, as children are of sugar,
and season soup, which is intended to constitute a principal
part of a meal, as highly as sauce, of which only a spoonful
may be relish enough for a plate of insipid viands. (See
obs. to No. 355.) However, we fancy these large quantities
of wine, &c. are oftener ordered in cookery books than used
in the kitchen: practical cooks have the health of their
employers too much at heart, and love "sauce d la langue" too
well to overwine their soup, &c.

Truffles and morels* are also set down as a part of most
receipts. These, in their green state, have a very rich high
flavour, and are delicious additions to some dishes, or sent
up as a stew by themselves when they are fresh and fine ;
but in this state they are not served up half a dozen times
in a year at the first tables in the kingdom : when dried
they become mere " chips in pottage," and serve only to

* We tried to make catchup of these by treating them like mushrooms (No. 439) ,
but did not succeed.

96 BROTHS AND SOUPS.

soak up good gravy, from which they take more taste than
they give.

The art of composing a rich soup is so to proportion the
several ingredients one to another, that no particular taste
be stronger than the rest, but to produce such a fine harmo-
nious relish that the whole is delightful This requires that
judicious combination of the materials which constitutes the
" chef d'ceuvre" of culinary science.

In the first place, take care that the roots and herbs be
perfectly well cleaned ; proportion the water to the quantity
of meat and other ingredients, generally a pound of meat
to a quart of water for soups, and double that quantity
for gravies. If they stew gently, little more water need
be put in at first than is expected at the end ; for when the
pot is covered quite close, and the fire gentle, very little is
wasted.

Gentle stewing is incomparably the best ; the meat is more
tender, and the soup better flavoured.

It is of the first importance that the cover of a soup-kettle
should fit very close, or the broth will evaporate before you
are aware of it. The most essential parts are soon evapo-
rated by quick boiling, without any benefit, except to fatten
the fortunate cook who inhales them. An evident proof
that these exhalations* possess the most restorative qualities
is, that THE COOK, who is in general the least eater, is, as
generally, the fattest person in the family, from continually
being surrounded by the quintessence of all the food
she dresses; whereof she sends to HER MASTER only the
fibres and calcinations, who is consequently thin, gouty, and
the victim of diseases arising from insufficient nourishment.

It is not only the fibres of the meat which nourish us, but
the juices they contain, and these are not only extracted but
exhaled, if it be boiled fast in an open vessel. A succulent
soup can never be made but in a well-closed vessel, which
preserves the nutritive parts by preventing their dissipation.
This is a fact of which every intelligent person will soon
perceive the importance.

Place your soup-pot over a moderate fire, which will make

* A poor man, being very hungry, staid so long in a cook's shop, who was dishing
up meat, that his stomach was satisfied with only the smell thereof. The choleric
cook demanded of him to pay for his breakfast ; the poor man denied having had
any, and the controversy was referred to the deciding of the next man that should
pass by, who chanced to be the most notorious idiot in the whole city : he, on the
relation of the matter, determined that the poor man's money should be put between
two empty dishes, and the cook should be recompensed with the jingling of the poor
man's money, as he was satisfied with the smell of the cook's meat." This is
affirmed by credible writers as no fable, but an undoubted truth. FULLER'S Holy
State, lib. iii. c. 12, p. 20.

BROTHS A^J> SOUPS. 97

the water hot without causing it to boil for at least half an
hour ; if the water boils immediately, it will not penetrate
the meat, and cleanse it from the clotted blood, and other
matters which ought to go off in scum ; the meat will be
hardened all over by violent heat ; will shrink up as if it was
Scorched, and give hardly any gravy : on the contrary, by
keeping the water a certain time heating without boiling, the
meat swells, becomes tender, its fibres are dilated, and it
yields a quantity of scum, which must be taken off as soon
as it appears.

It is not till after a good half hour's hot infusion that we
may mend the fire, and make the pot boil : still continue to
remove the scum; and when no more appears, put in the
vegetables, &c. and a little salt. These will cause more
scum to rise, which must be taken off immediately ; then
cover the pot very closely, and place it at a proper distance
from the fire, where it will boil very gently, and equally, anO
by no means fast.

By quick and strong boiling the volatile and finest parts of
the ingredients are evaporated, and fly off with the steam.
and the coarser parts are rendered soluble ; so you lose the
good, and get the bad.

Soups will generally take from three to six hours.

Prepare your broths and soups the evening before you
\vant them. This will give you more time to attend to the
rest of your dinner the next day ; and when the soup is cold,
the fat may be much more easily and completely removed
from the surface of it. When you decant it, take care not to
disturb the settlings at the bottom of the vessel, which are so
fine that they will escape through a sieve, or even through a
TAMIS, which is the best strainer, the soups appear smoother
and finer, and it is much easier cleaned than any sieve. If
you strain it while it is hot, pass it through a clean tamis or
napkin, previously soaked in cold water; the coldness of
this will coagulate the fat, and only suffer the pure broth to
pass through.

The full flavour of the ingredients can only be extracted
by very long and slow simmering ; during which take cart
to prevent evaporation, by covering the pot as close as pos-
sible : the best stew T pot is a digester.

Clear soups must be perfectly transparent ; thickened
soups, about the consistence of rich cream ; and remember
that thickened soups require nearly double the quantity of
seasoning. The piquance of spice, &c. is as much blunted
by the flour and butter, as the spirit of rum is by the addition
of sugar and acid : so they are less salubrious, without beiup:

98 BROTHS AND SOUPS.

more savoury, from the additional quantity of spice, &c.
that is smuggled into the stomach.

To thicken and give body to soups and sauces, the follow-
ing materials are used : they must be gradually mixed with
the soup till thoroughly incorporated with it ; and it should
have at least half an hour's gentle simmering after : if it is
at all lumpy, pass it through a tamis or a fine sieve. Bread
raspings, bread, isinglass, potato mucilage (No. 448), flour,
or fat skimmings and flour (see No. 248), or flour and butter,
barley (see No. 204), rice, or oatmeal and water rubbed
well together, (see No. 257, in which this subject is fully
explained.)

To give that glutinous quality so much admired in mock
turtle, see No. 198, and note under No. 247, No. 252, and
N.B. to No. 481.

To their very rich gravies, &c. the French add the white
meat of partridges, pigeons, or fowls, pounded to a pulp,
and rubbed through a sieve. A piece of beef, which has been
boiled to make broth, pounded in the like manner with a bit
of butter and flour, see obs. to No. 485* and No. 503,
and gradually incorporated with the gravy or soup, will
be found a satisfactory substitute for these more expensive
articles.

Meat from which broth has been made (No. 185*, and No,
252), and all its juice has been extracted, is then excellently
well prepared for POTTING, (see No. 503), and is quite as
good, or better, than that which has been baked till it is dry;*
indeed, if it be pounded, and seasoned in the usual manner,
it will be an elegant and savoury luncheon, or supper, and
costs nothing but the trouble of preparing it, which is very
little, and a relish is procured for sandwiches, &c. (No. 504)
of what heretofore has been by the poorest housekeeper
considered the perquisite of the CAT.

Keep some spare broth lest your soup-liquor waste in boil-
ing, and get too thick, and for gravy for your made dishes,
various sauces, &c. ; for many of which it is a much better
basis than melted butter.

The soup of mock turtle, and the other thickened soups,
(No. 247), will supply you with a thick gravy sauce for
poultry, jfcsh, ragouts, &c. ; and by a little management of
this sort, you may generally contrive to have plenty of good

fravies and good sauces with very little trouble or expense,
ee also Portable Soup (No. 252).

* If the gravy be not completely drained from it, the article potted will very soon
turn sour.

BROTHS AND SOUP3.

If soup is too thin or too weak, take off the cover of your
soup-pot, and let it boil till some of the watery part of it has
evaporated, or else add some of the thickening materials we
have before mentioned ; and have at hand some plain brown-
ing : see No. 322, and the 065. thereon. This simple pre-
paration is much better than any of the compounds bearing
that name ; as it colours sauce or soup without much inter-
fering with its flavour, and is a much better way of colour-
ing them than burning the surface of the meat.

When soups and gravies are kept from day to day, in ho 1 ,
weather, they should be warmed up every day, and put into
fresh-scalded tureens or pans, and placed in a cool cellar ; in
temperate weather every other day may be enough.

We hope we have now put the common cook into posses-
sion of the whole arcana of soup-making, without much
trouble to herself, or expense to her employers. It need not
be said in future that an Englishman only knows how to make
soup in his stomach, by swilling down a ,large quantity of
ale or porter, to quench the thirst occasioned by the meat he
eats. JOHN BULL may now make his soup " secundum artem"
and save his principal viscera a great deal of trouble.

*** In the following receipts we have directed the spices*
and flavouring to be added at the usual time ; but it would
greatly diminish the expense, and improve the soups, if the
agents employed to give them a zest were not put in above
fifteen minutes before the finish, and half the quantity of
spice, &c. would do. A strong heat soon dissipates the
spirit of the wine, and evaporates the aroma and flavour of
the spices and herbs, which are volatile in the heat of boiling
water.

In ordering the proportions of meat, butter, wine, &c. the
proper quantity is set down, and less will not do : we have
earned economy quite as far as possible without " spoiling
the broth for a halfpenny worth of salt."

I conclude these remarks with observing, that some per-
sons imagine that soup tends to relax the stomach. So far
from being prejudicial, we consider the moderate use of such
liquid nourishment to be highly salutary. Does not our food,
and drink, even though cold, become in a few minutes a kind
of warm soup in the stomach 1 and therefore soup, if not
oaten too hot, or in too great a quantity, and of proper qua-
lity, is attended with great advantages, especially to those
who drink but little.

* Economists recommend these to be pounded ; they certainly go farther, as they
call it ; but we think they go too far, for they go through the sieve, and make the
<*nip grouty.

100 GRAVIES AND SAUCES.

Warm fluids, in the form of soup, unite with our juices
much sooner and better than those that are cold and raw :
on this account, RESTORATIVE SOUP is the best food for those
who are enfeebled by disease or dissipation, and for old
people, whose teeth and digestive organs are impaired.

" Half subtilized to chyle, the liquid food
Readiest obeys th' assimilating powers."

After catching cold, in nervous headaches, cholics, indi-
gestions, and different kinds of cramp and spasms in the
stomach, warm broth is of excellent service.

After intemperate feasting, to give the stomach a holy day
for a day or two by a diet on mutton broth (No. 564, or No.
572), or vegetable soup (No. 218), &c. is the best way to
restore its tone. " The stretching any power to its utmost
extent weakens it. If the stomach be every day obliged to
do as much as it can, it will every day be able to do less. A
wise traveller will never force his horse to perform as much
as he can in one day upon a long journey." Father FEYJOO'S
Rules, p. 85.

To WARM SOUPS, &c. (No. 485.)

N.B. With the PORTABLE SOUP (No. 252), a pint of broth
may be made in five minutes for threepence.

CHAPTER VIII.

GRAVIES AND SAUCES.

t: The spirit of each dish, and ZKST of all,
Is what ingenious cooks the relish call ;
For though the market sends in loads of food,
They are all tasteless, till that makes them good."

KING'S Art of Cookery.

"Exparvis componere inagna."

IT is of as much importance that the cook should know
liow to make a boat of good gravy for her poultry, &c. as
that it should be sent up of proper complexion, and nicely
frothed.

In this chapter, we shall endeavour to introduce to her all

CBAVIES, AND SAUCES. 101

the materials* which give^avoiit-m^sa'ttccj^vhieliis^lfe es-
sence of soup, and intended to contain more relish in a tea-
spoonful than the former does in a table-spoonfuL

We hope to deserve as much praise from the economist as
we do from the bon vivant ; as we have taken great pains to
introduce to him the methods of making substitutes for those
ingredients, which are always expensive, and often not to
be had at all. Many of these cheap articles are as savoury
and as salutary as the dearer ones, and those who have large
families and limited incomes, will, no doubt, be glad to avail
themselves of them.

The reader may rest assured, that whether he consults
this book to diminish the expense or increase the pleasures
of hospitality, he will find all the information that was to
be obtained up to 1826, communicated in the most unreserved
and intelligible manner.

A great deal of the elegance of cookery depends upon the
accompaniments to each dish being appropriate and well
adapted to it.

We can assure our readers, no attention has been wanting
on our part to render this department of the work worthy of
their perusal ; each receipt is the faithful narrative of actual
and repeated experiments, and has received the most deli-
berate consideration before it was here presented to them.
It is given in the most circumstantial manner, and not in the
technical and mysterious language former writers on these
subjects seem to have preferred ; by which their directions
are useless and unintelligible to all who have not regularly
served an apprenticeship at the stove.

Thus, instead of accurately enumerating the quantities,
and explaining the process of each composition, they order
a ladleful of stock,, a pint of consomm^ and a spoonful of
cullis; as if a private-family cook had always at hand a
soup-kettle full of stock, a store of consomm4, and the larder
of Albion house, and the spoons mid. pennyworths were the
same in all ages.

It will be to very little purpose that I have taken so much
pains to teach how to manage roasts and boils, if a cook
cannot or will not make the several sauces that are usually
sent up with them.

The most homely fare may be made relishing, and the
most excellent and independent improved by a well-made

* Sec, in pages 91, 92, A. CATALOSUB OF THE INGREDIENTS now used in soupr

.sauces, &c.

102 QBAYIES ANIX "SAUCES.

sauce V* a's" the "niost perfetjf picture may, by being well
varnished.

We have, therefore, endeavoured to give the plainest
directions how to produce, with the least trouble and ex-
pensef possible, all the various compositions the English
kitchen affords ; and hope to present such a wholesome and
palatable variety as will suit all tastes and all pockets, so
that a cook may give satisfaction in all families. The more
combinations of this sort she is acquainted with, the better
she will comprehend the management of every one of them.

We have rejected some outlandish farragoes, from a convic-
tion that they were by no means adapted to an English palate.
If they have been received into some English books, for the
sake of swelling the volume, we believe they will never be
received by an Englishman's stomach, unless for the reason
they were admitted into the cookery book, i. e. because he
has nothing else to put into it.

However " les pompeuses bagatelles de la Cuisine Masqute"
may tickle the fancy of demi-connoisseurs, who, leaving the
substance to pursue the shadow, prefer wonderful and
whimsical metamorphoses, and things extravagantly ex-
pensive to those which are intrinsically excellent ; in whose
mouth mutton can hardly hope for a welcome, unless accom-
panied by venison sauce ; or a rabbit, any chance for a race
down the red lane, without assuming the form of a frog or
a spider ; or pork, without being either "goosified" or " Iambi*

* "It is the duty of a good sauce," says the editor of the Almanack des Gour-
mands (vol. v. page 6), "to insinuate itself all round and about the maxillary gland?,
and imperceptibly awaken into activity each ramification of the organs of taste : it"
not sufficiently savoury, it cannot produce this effect, and if too piquante, it will
paralyze, instead of exciting, those delicious titillations of tongue andwibrations of
palate, that only the most accomplished philosophers of the mouth can produce on
the highly-educated palates of thrice happy grands gourmands."

f To save time and trouble is the most valuable frugality : and if the mistress ot'
a family will condescend to devote a little time to the profitable and pleasant em-
ployment of preparing some of the STORE SAUCES, especially Nos. 322. 402. 404.
413. 429. 433. 439. 454 ; these, both epicures and economists will avail themselves or
the advantage now given them, of preparing at home.

By the help of these, many dishes may be dressed in half the usual time, and with
lialf the trouble and expense, and flavoured and finished with much more certainty
than by the common methods.

A small portion of the time which young ladies sacrifice to torturing the strings
of their piano-forte, employed in obtaining domestic accomplishments, might not
make them worse wives, or less agreeable companions to their husbands. This was
the opinion 200 years ago.

" To speak, then, of the knowledge which belongs unto 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 marriage,
because indeede she can perform but half her vow : she may love and obey, but she
cannot cherish and keepe her husband." G. MARKHAM'S English Housewife* 4to
1637, p. 62.

We hope our fair readers will forgive us, for telling them that economy in a wife,
is the most certain charm to ensure the affection and industry of a husband,

GRAVIES AND SAUCES. 103

jfccZ" (see No. 51) ; and game and poultry in the shape of
crawfish or hedgehogs; these travesties rather show the
patience than the science of the cook, and the bad taste of
those who prefer such baby-tricks to nourishing and sub-
stantial plain cookery.

I could have made this the biggest book with half the trouble
it- has taken me to make it the best : concentration and per-
spicuity have been my aim.

As much pains have been taken in describing, in the most
intelligible manner, how to make, in the easiest, most agree-
able, and economical way, those common sauces that daily
contribute to the comfort of the middle ranks of society ; as
in directing the preparation of those extravagant and elabo-
rate double relishes, the most ingenious and accomplished
" officers of the mouth' 1 '' have invented for the amusement of
profound palaticians, and thorough-bred grands gourmands
of the first magnitude : these we have so reduced the
trouble and expense of making, as to bring them within the
reach of moderate fortunes ; still preserving all that is valua-
ble of their taste and qualities ; so ordering them, that they
may delight the palate, without disordering the stomach, by
leaving out those inflammatory ingredients which are only
fit for an " iron throat and adamantine bowels," and those
costly materials which no rational being would destroy, for
the wanton purpose of merely giving a fine name to the com-
positions they enter into, to whose excellence they contribute
nothing else. For instance, consuming two partridges to make
sauce for one: half a pint of game gravy (No. 329,) will be
infinitely more acceptable to the unsophisticated appetite oi
Englishmen, for whose proper and rational recreation we sat
down to compose these receipts; whose approbation we
have done our utmost to deserve, by devoting much time to
the business of the kitchen ; and by repeating the various pro-
cesses that we thought admitted of the smallest improvement.

We shall be fully gratified, if our book is not bought up
with quite so much avidity by those high-bred epicures, who
are unhappily so much more nice than wise, that they cannot
eat any thing dressed by an English cook ; and vote it bar-
barously unrefined and intolerably ungenteel, to endure the
sight of the best bill of fare that can be contrived, if written
in the vulgar tongue of old England.*

* Though some of these people seem at last to have found out, that an English-
man's head may be as full of gravy as a Frenchman's, and willing to give the pre-
ference to native talent, retain an Englishman or woman as prime minister of their
kitchen ; still they seem ashamed to confess it, and commonly insist as a " sine qua.
nan," that their English domestics should understand the "parlez vous ;" and not-

104 GRAVIES AND SAUCES.

Let your sauces each display a decided character ; send
up your plain sauces (oyster, lobster, &c.) as pure as pos-
sible : they should only taste of the materials from which
they take their name.

The imagination of most cooks is so incessantly on the
hunt for a relish, that they seem to think they cannot make
sauce sufficiently savoury without putting into it every thing
that ever was eaten; and supposing every addition must be
an improvement, they frequently overpower the natural
flavour of their PLAIN SAUCES, by overloading them with salt
and spices, &c. : but, remember, these will be deteriorated by
any addition, save only just salt enough to awaken the palate.
The lover of "piquance" and compound flavours, may have
recourse to '* the Magazine of Taste," No. 462.

On the contrary, of COMPOUND SAUCES ; the ingredients should
be so nicely proportioned, that no one be predominant ; so
that from the equal union of the combined flavours such a fine
mellow mixture is produced, whose veiy novelty cannot fail
of being acceptable to the persevering gourmand, if it has not
pretensions to a permanent place at his table.

An ingenious cook will form as endless a variety of these
compositions as a musician with his seven* notes, or a painter
with his colours ; no part of her business offers so lair and
frequent an opportunity to display her abilities: SPICES,
HERBS, &c. are often very absurdly and injudiciously jumbled
together.

Why have clove and allspice, or mace and nutmeg, in the
same sauce; or marjoram, thyme, and savoury; or onions,
leeks, eshalots, and garlic ? one will very well supply the
place of the other, and the frugal cook may save something
considerable by attending to this, to the advantage of her
employers, and her own time and trouble. You might as
well, to make soup, order one quart of water from the Thames.
another from the JY*eo> River, a third from Hampstead, and a
fourth from Chelsea, with a certain portion of spring and rain
water.

In many of our receipts we have fallen in with the fashion
of ordering a mixture of spices, &c., which the above him
will enable the culinary student to correct.

" PHARMACY is now much more simple ; COOKERY may be

withstanding they are perfectly initiated in all the minutiae of the philosophy of the
mouth, consider them uneligible, if they cannot scribble a bill of fare in pretty gooa
bad French,

* The principal agents now employed to flavour soups and sauces are, MUSH-
ROOMS (No. 439), ONIONS (No. 420), ANCHOVY (No. 433), LEMON-JUICE andpKEL, or
INEGAR, WINK, (especially good CLARETI, SWEET HERBS, and SAVOURY SPICKS. -
iS r os. 4% -422, and 457. 459, 460.

GBAVIES AKD SAUCES. 105

made so too. A prescription which is now compounded with
five ingredients, had formerly fifty in it : people begin to un-
derstand that the materia medica is little more than a collec-
tion of evacuants and stimuli." BoswelFs Life of Johnson.

The ragouts of the last century had infinitely more ingre-
dients than we use now ; the praise given to Will. Rabisha for
his Cookery, 12mo. 1673, is

11 To fry and fricassee, his way 's most neat,
For he compounds a thousand sorts of meat."

To become a perfect mistress of the art of cleverly ex-
tracting and combining flavours,* besides the gift of a good
taste, requires all the experience and skill of the most accom-
plished professor, and, especially, an intimate acquaintance
with the palate she is working for.

Send your sauces to table as hot as possible.

Nothing can be more unsightly than the surface of a sauce
in a frozen state, or garnished with grease on the top. The
best way to get rid of this, is to pass it through a tamis or
napkin previously soaked in cold water; the coldness of the
napkin will coagulate the fat, and only suffer the pure gravy
to pass through: if any particles of fat remain, take them off
by applying filtering paper, as blotting paper is applied to
writing.

Let your sauces boil up after you put in wine, anchovy, or
thickening, that their flavours may be well blended with the
other ingredients ;f and keep in mind that the " chef-d'oeuvre"
of COOKERY is, to entertain the mouth without offending the
stomach.

N.B. Although I have endeavoured to give the particular
quantity of each ingredient used in the following sauces, ag
they are generally made; still the cook's judgment must
direct her to lessen or increase either of the ingredients,
according to the taste of those she works for, and will always
be on the alert to ascertain. what are the favourite accompani-
ments desired with each dish. See Advice to Cooks, page 50.

When you open a bottle of catchup (No. 439), essence of
anchovy (No. 433), &c., throw away the old cork, and stop it
closely with a new cork that will fit it very tight. Use only
the best superfine velvet taper-corks.

* If your palate becomes dull by repeatedly tasting, the best way to refresh it is
to wash your mouth well with milk.

t Before you put eggs or cream into a sauce, have all your other ingredients well
joiled. and the sauce or soup of proper thickness ; because neither eggs nor cream
will contribute to thicken it. After you have put them in, do not set the stew-pan
on the stove again, but hold it over the fire, and shake it round one way fill the
sauce is ready.

106 MADE DISHES.

Economy in corks is extremely unwise : in order to save a
mere trifle in the price of the cork, you run the risk of losing
the valuable article it is intended to preserve.

It is a vulgar error that a bottle must be well stopped,
when the cork is forced down even with the mouth of it ; it
is rather a sign that the cork is too small, and it should be
redrawn and a larger one put in.

To make bottle-cement.

Half a pound of black resin, same quantity of red sealing-
wax, quarter oz. bees' wax, melted in an earthen or iron pot;
when it froths up, before all is melted and likely to boil over,
stir it with a tallow candle, which will settle the froth till all
is melted and fit for use. Red wax, Wd. per Ib. may be
bought at Mr. Dew's Blackmore-street, Clare-market.

N.B. This cement is of very great use in preserving
things that you wish to keep a long time, which without its
help would soon spoil, from the clumsy and ineffectual mari-
ner in which the bottles are corked.

CHAPTER IX.

MADE DISHES.

UNDER this general head we range our receipts for HASHES,.
STEWS, and RAGOUTS,* &c. Of these there are a great multi-
tude, affording the ingenious cook an inexhaustible store of
variety : in the French kitchen they count upwards of 600.
and are daily inventing new ones.

We have very few general observations to make, after
what we have already said in the two preceding chapters on
sauces, soups, &c., which apply to the present chapter, as they
form the principal part of the accompaniment of most of these
dishes. In fact, MADE DISHES are nothing mare than meat.,
poultry (No. 530), or fish (Nos. 146, 158, or 164), stewed very
gently till they are tender, with a thickened sauce poured
over them.

* Sauce for ragofits, &c., should be thickened till it is of the consistence of gooS
rich cream, that it may adhere to whatever it is poured over. When you have a
large dinner to dress, keep ready-mixed some fine-sifted flour and water well rubbeft
together till quite smooth, and about as thick as butter. See No. 257.

MADE DISHES. 107

Be careful to trim off all the skin, gristle, &c. that will not
be eaten ; and shape handsomely, and of even thickness, the
various articles which compose your made dishes : this is
sadly neglected by common cooks. Only stew them till they
are just tender, and do not stew them to rags; therefore,
what you prepare the day before it is to be eaten, do not dress
quite enough the first day.

We have given receipts for the most easy and simple way
to make HASHES, &c. Those who are well skilled in culinary
arts can dress up things in this way, so as to be as agreeable
as they were the first time they were cooked. But hashing
is a very bad mode of cookery: if meat has been done
enough the first time it is dressed, a second dressing will
divest it of all its nutritive juices ; and if it can be smuggled
into the stomach by bribing the palate with piquante sauce,
it is at the hazard of an indigestion, &c.

I promise those who do me the honour to put my receipts
into practice, that they will find that the most nutritious and
truly elegant dishes are neither the most difficult to dress,
the most expensive, nor the most indigestible. In these com-
positions experience will go far to diminish expense : meat
that is too old or too tough for roasting, &c., may by gentle
stewing be rendered savoury and tender. If some of our
receipts do differ a little from those in former cookery books.
let it be remembered we have advanced nothing in this work
that has not been tried, and experience has proved correct.

N.B. See No. 483, an ingenious and economical system
of FRENCH COOKERY, written at the request of the editor by
an accomplished ENGLISH LADY, which will teach you how
to supply your table with elegant little made dishes, &c. at
as little expense as plain cookery.

THfi

COOK'S ORACLE.

BOILING.

[Read the first chapter of the Rudiments of Cookery.]
Leg of Mutton. (No. 1.)

CUT off the shank bone, and trim the knuckle, put it into
lukewarm water for ten minutes, wash it clean, cover it with
cold water, and let it simmer very gently, and skim it care-
fully. A leg of nine pounds will take two and a half or
three hours, if you like it thoroughly done, especially in
very cold weather.

For the accompaniments, see the following receipt.

N.B. The tit-bits with an epicure are the " knuckle," the
Kernel, called the "pope's eye," and the "gentleman's," or
' cramp bone" or, as it is called in Kent, the " CAW CAW,'"
four of these and a bounder furnish the little masters and
mistresses of Kent with their most favourite set of play-
things.

A leg of mutton stewed very slowly, as we have directed
the beef to be (No. 493), will be as agreeable to an English
appetite as the famous "gigot*de sept heures" of the French
liitchen is to a Parisian palate.

When mutton is very large, you may divide it, and roasi
the fillet, i. e. the large end, and boil the knuckle end ; you may
also cut some fine cutlets off the thick end of the leg, and
so have two or three good hot dinners. See Mrs. MAKEITDO'*
receipt how to make a leg of mutton last a week, in
:; the housekeeper's leger" printed for Whittaker, Ave-Markt
Lane.

Tlie liquor the mutton is boiled in, you may convert into
good soup in five minutes, (see N.B. to No. 218,) and Scotch
barley broth (No. 204). Thus managed, a leg of mutton is
a most economical joint.

t The fiffot is the leg. with part of the loin.

BOILING. 109

Neck of Mutton. (No. 2.)

Put four or five pounds of the best end of a neck (that has
been kept a few days) into as much cold soft water as will
cover it, and about two inches over; let it simmer very
slowly for two hours : it will look most delicate if you do
not take off the skin till it has been boiled.

For sauce, that elegant and innocent relish, parsley and
butter (No. 261), or eshalot (No. 294 or 5), or caper sauce
(No. 274), mock caper sauce (No. 275), and onion sauce
(No. 298), turnips (No. 130), or spinage (No. 121), are the
usual accompaniments to boiled mutton.

Lamb. (No. 3.)

A leg of five pounds should simmer very gently for about
two hours, from the time it is put on, in cold water. After
the general rules for boiling, in the first chapter of the Rudi-
ments of Cookery, we have nothing to add, only to send up
with it spinage (No. 122), broccoli (No. 126), cauliflower
(No. 125), &c.. and for sauce, No. 261.

Pea*. (No. 4.)

This is expected to come to table looking delicately clean ;
and it is so easily discoloured, that you must be careful to
have clean water, a clean vessel, and constantly catch the
b-cum as soon and as long as it rises, and attend to the direc-
tions before given in the first chapter of the Rudiments of
Cookery. Send up bacon (No. 13), fried sausages (No. 87).
or pickled pork, greens, (No. 118 and following Nos.) and
parsley and butter (No. 261), onion sauce (No. 298).

N.B. For receipts to cook veal, see from No. 512 to No.
521.

Beefbouilli, (No. 5.)

In plain English, is understood to mean boiled beef; but
its culinary acceptation, in the French kitchen, is fresh beet'
dressed without boiling, and only very gently simmered by a
slow fire.

Cooks have seldom any notion, that good soup can be made
without destroying a great deal of meat; however, by a
judicious regulation of the fire, and a vigilant attendance oii
the soup-kettle, this may be accomplished. You shall hav&
a tureen of such soup as will satisfy the most fastidious
palate, and the meat make its appearance at table, at the

1 10 BOILING.

same time, in possession of a full portion of nutritious suc-
culence.

This requires nothing more than to stew the meat very
slowly (instead of keeping the pot boiling a gallop, as com-
mon cooks too commonly do), and to take it up as soon as
it is done enough. See "Soup and bouilli" (No. 238),
" Shin of beef stewed" (No. 493), " Scotch barley broth"
(No. 204).

Meat cooked in this manner affords much more nourish-
ment than it does dressed in the common way, is easy of
digestion in proportion as it is tender, and an invigorating,
substantial diet, especially valuable to the poor, whose labo-
rious employments require support.

If they could get good eating put within their reach, they
would often go to the butcher's shop, when they now run to
the public-house.

Among the variety of schemes that have been suggested
for bettering the condition of the poor, a more useful or ex-
tensive charity cannot be devised, than that of instructing
them in economical and comfortable cookery, except pro-
viding them with spectacles.

"The poor in Scotland, and on the Continent, manage
much better. Oatmeal porridge (Nos. 205 and 572) and
milk, constitute the breakfast and supper of those patterns
of industry, frugality, and temperance, the Scottish pea-
santry.

" When they can afford meat, they form with it a large
quantity of barley broth (No. 204), with a variety of vege-
tables, by boiling the whole a long time, enough to serve the
family for several days.

" When they cannot afford meat, they make broth of
barley and other vegetables, with a lump of butter (see No.
329), all of which they boil for many hours, and this with
oat cakes forms their dinner." COCHRANE'S Seaman's Guide,
p. 34.

The cheapest method of making a nourishing soup is least
known to those who have most need of it. (See No. 229.)

Our neighbours the French are so justly famous for their
skill in the affairs of the kitchen, that the adage says, " as
many Frenchmen as many cooks :" surrounded as they are
by a profusion of the most delicious wines and most seducing
liqueurs, offering every temptation and facility to render
drunkenness delightful : yet a tippling Frenchman is a " rara
avis ;" they know how so easily and completely to keep life
in repair by good eating, that they require little or no adjust-
ment from drinking.

BOILING. 1H

This accounts for that " toujours gai," and happy equilU
brium of spirits, which they enjoy with more regularity than
any people. Their stomach, being unimpaired by spirituous
liquors, embrace and digest vigorously the food they saga-
ciously prepare for it, and render easily assimilable by cook-
ing it sufficiently, wisely contriving to get the difficult part of
the work of the stomach done by fire and water.

To salt Meat. (No. 6.)

In the summer season, especially, meat is frequently spoiled
by the cook forgetting to take out the kernels ; one in the
udder of a round of beef, in the fat in the middle of the
round, those about the thick end of the flank, &c. : if these
are not taken out, all the salt in the world will not keep the
meat.

The art of salting meat is to rub in the salt thoroughly
and evenly into every part, and to fill all the holes full of salt
where the kernels were taken out, and where the butcher's
skewers were.

A round of beef of 25 pounds will take a pound and
a half of salt to be rubbed in all at first, and requires to
be turned and rubbed every day with the brine ; it will be
ready for dressing in four or five days,* if you do not wish
it very salt.

In summer, the sooner meat is salted after it is killed
the better ; and care must be taken to defend it from the flies.

In winter, it will eat the shorter and tenderer, if kept a few
days (according to the temperature of the weather) until its
fibre^ has become short and tender, as these changes do not
take' place after it has been acted upon by the salt.

In frosty weather, take care the meat is not frozen, and
warm the salt in a frying-pan. The extremes of heatf and
cold are equally unfavourable for the process of salting. In
the former, the meat changes before the salt can affect it :
in the latter, it is so hardened, and its juices are so congealed,
that the salt cannot penetrate it.

If you wish it red, rub it first with saltpetre, in the pro-
portion of half an ounce, and the like quantity of moist
sugar, to a pound of common salt. (See Savoury salt beef,
No. 496.)

* If not to be cut till coW, two days longer salting will not only improve its flavour,
'but the meat will keep better.

t In the West Indies they can scarcely cure beef with pickle, but easily preserve
it by cutting it iuto thin slices and dipping them in sea-water, and then drying then
quickly in the sun; to which they give the name of jerked free/. BROWNRIGO' in
Salt, 8vo. p. 762.

112 SOIUKG.

You may impregnate meat with a very agreeable vegetable
flavour, by pounding some sweet herbs (No. 459,) and an
onion with the salt. You may make it still more relishing
by adding a little ZEST (No. 255), or savoury spice (No. 457).

To pickle Meat.

" Six pounds of salt, one pound of sugar, and four ounces
of saltpetre, boiled with four gallons of water, skimmed, and
allowed to cool, forms a very strong pickle, which will pre-
serve any meat completely immersed in it. To effect this,
which is essential, either a heavy board or a flat stone must
be laid upon the meat. The same pickle may be used re-
peatedly, provided it be boiled up occasionally with additional
salt to restore its strength, diminished by the combination
of part of the salt with the meat, and by the dilution of the
pickle by the juices of the meat extracted. By boiling, the
albumen, which would cause the pickle to spoil, is coagu-
lated, and rises in the form of scum, which must be care-
fully removed." See Supplement to Encyclop. Britan. voL
iv. p. 340.

Meat kept immersed in pickle gains weight. In one expe-
riment by Messrs. Donkin and Gamble, there was a gam of
three per cent., and in another of two and a half; but in the
common way of salting, when the meat is not immersed in
pickle, there is a loss of about one pound, or one and a half,
in sixteen. See Dr. Wilkinson's account of the preserving
power of PYRO-LIGNEOUS ACID, &c. in the Philosophical Maga-
zine for 1821, No. 273, p. 12.

An H-bone of 10 or 12 pounds weight will require about
three-quarters of a pound of salt, and an ounce of moist
sugar, to be well rubbed into it. It will be ready in four or
five days, if turned and rubbed every day.

The time meat requires salting depends upon the weight
of it, and how much salt is used : and if it be rubbed in with
a heavy hand, it will be ready much sooner than if only
lightly rubbed.

N. B. Dry the salt, and rub it with the sugar in a mortar.

PORK requires a longer tune to cure (in proportion to its
weight) than beef. A leg of pork should be in salt eight or
ten days ; turn it and rub it eveiy day.

Salt meat should be well washed before it is boiled, espe-
cially if it has been in salt long, that the liquor in which the
meat is boiled, may not be too salt to make soup of. (No.
218, &c. and No. 555.)

If it lias been in salt a long time, and you fear that it will

BOILING. 113

be too salt, wash it well in cold water, and soak it in luke-
warm water for a couple of hours. If it is very salt, lay it
in water the night before you intend to dress it.

A Round of salted Beef. (No. 7.)

As this is too large for a moderate family, we shall write
directions for the dressing half a round. Get the tongue side.

Skewer it up tight and round, and tie a fillet of broad tape
round it, to keep the skewers in their places.

Put it into plenty of cold water, and carefully catch the
scum as soon as it rises : let it boil till all the scum is re-
moved, and then put the boiler on one side of the fire, to keep
simmering slowly till it is done.

Half a round of 15lbs. will take about three hours : if it
weighs more, give it more time.

When you take it up, if any stray scum, &c. sticks to it
that has escaped the vigilance of your skimmer, wash it off
with a paste-brush: garnish the dishes with carrots and
turnips. Send up carrots (No. 129), turnips (No. 130), and
parsnips, or greens (No. 118), &c. on separate dishes. Pease
pudding (No. 555), and MY PUDDING (No. 551), are all very
proper accompaniments.

N.B. The outside slices, which are generally too much
salted and too much boiled, will make a very good relish as
potted beef (No. 503). For using up the remains of a joint
of boiled beef, see also Bubble and Squeak (No. 505).

H-Bone of Beef, (No. 8.)

Is to be managed in exactly the same manner as the round,
but will be sooner boiled, as it is not so solid. An H-bone
of SOlbs. will be done enough in about four hours ; of lOlbs.
in three hours, more or less, as the weather is hotter or
colder. Be sure the boiler is big enough to allow it plenty
of water-room : let it be well covered with water : set the
pot on one side of the fire to boil gently : if it boils quick at
first, no art can make it tender after. The slower it boils,
the better it will look, and the tenderer it will be. The same
accompanying vegetables as in the preceding receipt. Dress
plenty of carrots, as cold carrots are a general favourite with
cold beef.

Mem. Epicures say, that the soft, fat-like marrow, which
lies on the back, is delicious when hot, and the hard fat about
the upper corner is best when cold.

To make PERFECTLY GOOD PEASE SOUP in ten minutes, of
K2

1 14 BOILING.

the liquor in which the beef has been boiled, see N.B. to*
No. 218.

Obs. In " Mrs. Mason's Ladies' Assistant," this joint is
called haunch-bone ; in " Henderson's Cookery," edge-bone ;
in " Domestic Management," aitch-bone ; in " Reynold's
Cookery," ische-bone; in "Mrs. Lydia Fisher's Prudent
Housewife," ach-bone ; in " Mrs. M'lver's Cookery," hook-
bone. We have also seen it spelled each-bone and ridge-
bone ; and we have also heard it called natch-bone.

N.B. Read the note under No. 7 ; and to make perfectly
good pease soup of the pot-liquor, in ten minutes, see Obs.
to No. 218, No. 229, and No. 555.

Ribs of Beef salted and rolled. (No. 9.)

Briskets, and the various other pieces, are dressed in the
same way. " Wow-wow" sauce (No. 328,) is an agreeable
companion.

Half a Calfs Head. (No. 10.)

Cut it in two, and take out the brains : wash the head well
in several waters, and soak it in warm water for a quarter
of an hour before you dress it. Put the head into a sauce-
pan, with plenty of cold water : when it is coming to a boil,
and the scum rises, carefully remove it.

Half a calf s head (without the skin) will take from an
hour and a half to two hours and a quarter, according to its
size ; with the skin on, about an hour longer. It must be
stewed very gently till it is tender : it is then extremely nutri-
tive, and easy of digestion.

Put eight or ten sage leaves (some cooks use parsley
instead, or equal parts of each) into a small sauce-pan : boil
them tender (about half an hour) ; then chop them very fine,
and set them ready on a plate.

Wash the brains well in two waters ; put them into a large
basin of cold water, with a little salt in it, and let them soak
for an hour ; then pour away the cold, and cover them with
hot water ; and when you have cleaned and skinned them,
put them into a stew-pan with plenty of cold water : when
it boils, take the scum off very carefully, and boil gently for
10 or 15 minutes : now chop them (not very fine) ; put them
into a sauce-pan with the sage leaves and a couple of table-
spoonsful of thin melted butter, and a little salt (to this some
cooks add a little lemon-juice), and stir them well together;
and as soon as they are well warmed (take care they don't

BOILING. 115

burn), skin the tongue,* trim off the roots, and put it in the
middle of a dish, and the brains round it : or, chop the
brains with an eschalot, a little parsley, and four hard-boiled
eggs, and put them into a quarter of a pint of bechamel, or
white sauce (No. 2 of 364). A calPs cheek is usually attended
by a pig's cheek, a knuckle of ham or bacon (No. 13, or No,
526), or pickled pork (No. 11), and greens, broccoli, cauli-
flowers, or pease ; and always by parsley and butter (see
No. 261, No. 311, or No. 343).

If you like it full dressed, score it superficially, beat up
the yelk of an egg, and rub it over the head with a feather ;
powder it with a seasoning of finely minced (or dried and
powdered) winter savoury or lemon-thyme (or sage), pars-
ley, pepper, and salt, and bread crumbs, and give it a brown
with a salamander, or in a tin Dutch oven : when it begins
to dry, sprinkle a little melted butter over it with a paste-
brush.

You may garnish the dish with broiled rashers of bacon
(No. 526 or 527).

O&s. Calf's head is one of the most delicate and favourite
dishes in the list of boiled meats; but nothing is more
insipid when cold, and nothing makes so nice a hash; there-
fore don't forget to save a quart of the liquor it was boiled
in to make sauce, &c. for the hash (see also No. 520).
Cut the head and tongue into slices, trim them neatly, and
leave out the gristles and fat ; and slice some of the bacon
that was dressed to eat with the head, and warm them in
the hash.

Take the bones and the trimmings of the head, a bundle
of sweet herbs, an onion, a roll of lemon-peel, and a blade
of bruised mace : put these into a sauce-pan with the quart
of liquor you have saved, and let it boil gently for an hour ;
pour it through a sieve into a basin, wash out your stew-pan,
add a table-spoonful of flour to the brains and parsley and
butter you have left, and pour it into the gravy you have made
with the bones and trimmings ; let it boil up for ten minutes,
and then strain it through a hair-sieve; season it with a
table-spoonful of white wine, or of catchup (No. 439), or
sauce superlative (No. 429) : give it a boil up, skim it, and
then put in the brains and the slices of head and bacon ; as
soon as they are thoroughly warm (it must not boil) the hash
is ready. Some cooks egg, bread-crumb, and fry the finest
pieces of the head, and lay them round the hash.
N.B. You may garnish the edges of the dish with slices

* This, salted, makes a very pretty supper-dish.

1 16 BOILING.

of bacon toasted in a Dutch oven (see Nos. 526 and
slices of lemon and fried bread.
To make gravy for hashes, &c. see No. 360.

Pickled Porfc,-(No. 11.)

Takes more time than any other meat. If you buy your
pork ready salted, ask how many days it has been in salt ;
f many, it will require to be soaked in water for six hours
before you dress it. When you cook it, wash and scrape it
as clean as possible ; when delicately dressed, it is a favourite
dish with almost every body. Take care it does not boil
fast ; if it does, the knuckle will break to pieces, before the
thick part of the meat is warm through ; a leg of seven
pounds takes three hours and a half very slow simmering.
Skim your pot very carefully, and when you take the meat
out of the boiler, scrape it clean.

Some sagacious cooks (who remember to how many more
nature has given eyes than she has given tongues and brains),
when pork is boiled, score it in diamonds, and take out every
other square ; and thus present a retainer to the eye to plead
for them to the palate; but this is pleasing the eye at the
expense of the palate. A leg of nice pork, nicely salted, and
nicely boiled, is as nice a cold relish as cold ham ; especially
if, instead of cutting into the middle when hot, and so letting
out its juices, you cut it at the knuckle : slices broiled, as
No. 487, are a good luncheon, or supper. To make pease
pudding, and pease soup extempore, see N.B. to Nos. 218
and 555.

MEM. Some persons who sell pork ready salted have a
silly trick of cutting the knuckle in two ; we suppose that
this is done to save their salt ; but it lets all the gravy out
of the leg; and unless you boil your pork merely for the
sake of the pot-liquor, which in this case receives all the
goodness and strength of the meat, friendly reader, your
oracle cautions you to buy no leg of pork which is slit at the
knuckle.

If pork is not done enough, nothing is more disagreeable ;
if too much, it not only loses its colour and flavour, but its
substance becomes soft like a jelly.

It must never appear at table without a good pease pudding
(see No. 555), and, if you please, parsnips (No. 128) ; they
are an excellent vegetable, and deserve to be much more
popular ; or carrots (No. 129), turnips, and greens, or mashed
potatoes, &c. (No. 106.)

Obs. Remember not to forget the mustard-pot (No. 369,
No. 370. and No. 427).

BOILING. 1 17

Pettitoes, or Sucking-Pig's Feet. (No. 12.)

Put a thin slice of bacon at the bottom of a stew-pan with
.some broth, a blade of mace, a few pepper-corns, and a bit
ef thyme ; boil the feet till they are quite tender ; this will
take full twenty minutes ; but the heart, liver, and lights will
be done enough in ten, when they are to be taken out, and
minced fine.

Put them all together into a stew-pan with some gravy;
thicken it with a little butter rolled in flour ; season it with a
little pepper and salt, and set it over a gentle fire to simmer
for five minutes, frequently shaking them about.

While this is doing, have a thin slice of bread toasted very
lightly ; divide it into sippets, and lay them round the dish :
pour the mince and sauce into the middle of it, and split the
feet, and lay them round it.

N.B. Pettitoes are sometimes boiled and dipped in batter,
nnd fried a light brown.

Obs. If you have no gravy, put into the water you
stew the pettitoes in an onion, a sprig of lemon thyme, or
sweet marjoram, with a blade of bruised mace, a few black
peppers, and a large tea-spoonful of mushroom catchup
(No. 439), and you will have a veiy tolerable substitute
Tor gravy. A bit of No. 252 will be a very great improve-
ment to it.

Bacon. (No. 13.)

Cover a pound of nice streaked bacon (as the Hampshire
housewives say, that " has been starved one day, and fed
Another") with cold water, let it boil gently for three-quarters
of an hour ; take it up, scrape the under-side well, and cut off
the rind : grate a crust of bread not only on the top, but all
Over it, as directed for the ham in the following receipt, and
put it before the fire for a few minutes : it must not be there
too long, or it will dry it and spoil it.

Two pounds will require about an hour and a half, accord-
itig to its thickness ; the hock or gammon being very thick,
will take more.

Obs. See Nos. 526 and 527 : when only a little bacon is
\vanted, these are the best ways of dressing it.

The boiling of bacon is a very simple subject to comment
upon; but our main object is to teach common cooks the
art of dressing common food in the best manner.

Bacon is sometimes as salt as salt can make it, therefore
before it is boiled it must be soaked in warm water for an

118 BOILING.

hour or two, changing the water once ; then pare off the
rusty and smoked part, trim it nicely on the under side, and
scrape the rind as clean as possible.

-MEM. Bacon is an extravagant article in housekeeping ;
there is often twice as much dressed as need be : when it is
sent to table as an accompaniment to boiled poultry or veal,
a pound and a half is plenty for a dozen people. A good
German sausage is a very economical substitute for bacon ;
or fried pork sausages (No. 87).

Ham, (No. 14.)

Though of the bacon kind, has been so altered and hardened
in the curing, that it requires still more care.

Ham is generally not half-soaked ; as salt as brine, and
hard as flint ; and it would puzzle the stomach of an ostrich
to digest it.

MEM. The salt, seasoning, and smoke, which preserve it
before it is eaten, prevent its solution after ; and unless it be
very long and very gently stewed, the strongest stomach
will have a tough job to extract any nourishment from it.
If it is a very dry Westphalia ham, it must be soaked, ac-
cording to its age and thickness, from 12 to 24 hours ; for a
green Yorkshire or Westmoreland ham, from four to eight
hours will be sufficient. Lukewarm water will soften it
much sooner than cold, when sufficiently soaked, trim it
nicely on the underside, and pare off all the rusty and smoked
parts till it looks delicately clean.

lb. oz.

A ham weighed before it was soaked 13 I

After 12 4

Boiled 13 4

Grimmed for table 10 12

Give it plenty of water-room, and put it in while the water
is colc[ ; let it heat very gradually, and let it be on the fire an
hour and a half before it comes to a boil ; let it be well
skimmed, and keep it simmering very gently : a middling-
sized ham of fifteen pounds will be done enough in about
four or five hours, according to its thickness.

If not to be cut till cold, it will cut the shorter and tenderer
for being boiled about half an hour longer. In a very small
family, where a ham will last a week or ten days, it is best
economy not to cut it till it is cold, it will be infinitely more
juicy.

Pull off the skin carefully, and preserve it as whole as pos-
sible ; it will form an excellent covering to keep the ham

BOILING. 119

moist ; when you have removed the skin, rub some bread
raspings through a hair-sieve, or grate a crust of bread ; put
it into the perforated cover of the dredging-box, and shake
it over it, or glaze it ; trim the knuckle with a fringe of cut
writing-paper. You may garnish with spinage or tur-
nips, &c.

Obs. To pot ham (No. 509), is a much more useful and
economical way of disposing of the remains of the joint,
than making essence of it (No. 352). To make soup of the
liquor it is boiled in, see N.B. to No. 555.

Tongue. (No. 15.)

A tongue is so hard, whether prepared by drying or pick-
ling, that it requires much more cooking than a ham ; nothing
of its weight takes so long to dress it properly.

A tongue that has been salted and dried should be put to
soak (if it is old and very hard, 24 hours before it is wanted)
in plenty of water; a green one fresh from the pickle re-
quires soaking only a few hours : put your tongue into plenty
of cold water ; let it be an hour gradually warming ; and
give it from three and a half to four hours' very slow sim-
mering, according to the size, &c.

Obs. When you choose a tongue, endeavour to learn how
long it has been dried or pickled, pick out the plumpest, and
that which has the smoothest skin, which denotes its being-
young and tender.

The roots, &c. make an excellent relish potted, like No.
509, or pease soup (No. 218).

N.B. Our correspondent, who wished us, in this edition,
to give a receipt to roast a tongue, will find an answer in
No. 82.

Turkeys, Capons, Fowls, Chickens, fyc. (No. 16.)

Are all boiled exactly in the same manner, only allowing
time, according to their size. For the stuffing, &c. (Nos.
374, 375, and 377), some of it made into balls, and boiled or
fried, make a nice garnish, and are handy to help ; and you
can then reserve some of the inside stuffing to eat with the
cold fowl, or enrich the hash (Nos. 530 and 533).

A chicken will take about 20 minutes.

A fowl 40

A fine five-toed fowl or a capon, about an hour.

A small turkey, an hour and a half.

A large one, two hours or more.

t BOILING.

Chickens or fowls should be killed at least one or two days
before they are to be dressed.

Turkeys (especially 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.

Truss them with the legs outward, they are much easier
carved.

Fowls for boiling should be chosen as white as possible ;
if their complexion is not so fair as you wish, veil them in
No. 2 of No. 361 ; those which have black legs should be
roasted. The best use of the liver is to make sauce (No.
387).

Poultry must be well washed in warm water ; if very
dirty from the singeing, &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 well 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 clotn, to prevent the scum attaching to them ; which, if
it does, by your neglecting to skim the pot, there is no get-
ting it off afterward, 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.

Obs. Turkey deserves to be accompanied by tongue (No.
15), or ham (No. 14) ; if these are not come-at-able, don't
forget pickled pork (No. 11), or bacon and greens (Nos. 83,
526, and 527), or pork sausages (No. 87), parsley and butter
f No. 261) ; don't pour it over, but send it up in a boat ; liver
; No. 287), egg (No. 267), or oyster sauce (No. 278). To
warm cold turkey, &c. see No. 533, and following.

To grill the gizzard and rump, No. 538. Save a quart of

* BAKER, in his Chronicle, tells us ihe turkey did not reach England till A. D. 1524,
about the 15th of Henry the 8th ; he says,

" Turkies, carps, hoppea, ptccarell, and beere.
Came into England all in one year/

BOILING. 121

the liquor the turkey was boiled in ; this, with the bones and
trimmings, &c. will make good gravy for a hash, &c.

Rabbits. (No. 17.)

Truss your rabbits short, lay them in a basin of warm
water for ten minutes, then put them into plenty of water,
and boil them about half an hour ; if large ones, three
quarters ; if very old, an hour : smother them with plenty of
white onion sauce (No. 298), mince the liver, and lay it
round the dish, or make liver sauce (No. 287), and send it
up in a boat.

Obs. Ask those you are going to make liver sauce for, if
they like plain liver sauce, or liver and parsley, or liver and
lemon sauce (Nos. 287 and 288).

N.B. It will save much trouble to the carver, if the rabbits
be cut up in the kitchen into pieces fit to help at table, and
the head divided, one-half laid at each end, and slices of
lemon and the liver, chopped very finely, laid on the sides of
the dish.

*At all events, cut off the head before you send it to table,
we hardly remember that the thing ever lived if we don't see
the head, while it may excite ugly ideas to see it cut up in
an attitude imitative of life ; besides, for the preservation of
the head, the poor animal sometimes suffers a slower death,

Tripe. (No. 18.)

Take care to have fresh tripe ; cleanse it well from the fat.
and cut it into pieces about two inches broad and four long ;
put it into a stew-pan, and cover it with milk and water, and
let it boil gently till it is tender.

If the tripe has been prepared as it usually is at the tripe
shops, it will be enough in about an hour, (this depends upon
hoAv long it has been previously boiled at the tripe shop) ; if
entirely undressed, it will require two or three hours, accord-
ing to the age and quality of it.

Make some onion sauce in the same manner as you do for
rabbits (No. 298), or boil (slowly by themselves) some Spa-
nish or the whitest common onions you can get ; peel them
before you boil them ; when they are tender, which a mid-
dling-sized onion will be in about three-quarters of an hour,
drain them in a hair-sieve, take off the top skins till they
look nice and white, and put them with the tripe into a tureen
or soup-dish, and take off the fat if any floats on the surface.

Obs. Rashers of bacon (Nos. 526 and 527), or fried sau-
sages (No. 87), are a very good accompaniment to boiled

122 ROASTING.

tripe, cow-heels (No. 198), or calf's feet, see Mr. Mich/
Kelly's sauce (No. 311*), or parsley and butter (No. 261),
or caper sauce (No. 274), with a little vinegar and mustard
added to them, or salad mixture (No. 372 or 453).

Tripe holds the same rank among solids, that water-
gruel does among soups, and the forme'r is desirable at
dinner, when the latter is welcome at supper. Read No.
572.

Cow-Heel, (No. 18.*)

In the hands of a skilful cook, will furnish several good
meals ; when boiled tender (No. 198), cut it into handsome
pieces, egg and bread-crumb tnem, and fry them a light brown ;
lay them round a dish, and put in the middle of it sliced
onions fried, or the accompaniments ordered for tripe. The
liquor they were boiled in will make soups (No. 229, 240*,
or No. 555).

N.B. We give no receipts to boil venison, geese, ducks,
pheasants, woodcocks, and peacocks, &c. as our aim has
been to make a useful book, not a big one (see No. 82).

ROASTING.

N.B. If the time we have allowed for roasting appears rather longer than what
is stated in former works, we can only say, we have written from actual experiments,
and that the difference may be accounted for, by common cooks generally being fond
of too fierce afire, and of putting things too near to it.

Our calculations are made for a temperature of about fifty degrees of Fahrenheit.

SLOW ROASTING is as advantageous to the tenderness and flavour of meat as slow
boiling, of which every body understands the importance. See the account of Count
Jlumford's shoulder of mutton.

The warmer the weather, and the staler killed the meat is, the less time it will re-<
quire to roa$t it.

Meat that is very fat, requires more time than we have stated.

BEEF is in proper season throughout the whole year.

Sirloin of Beef. (No. 19.)

THE noble sirloin* of about fifteen pounds (if much
thicker, the outside will be done 'too much before the inside
is enough), will require to be before the fire about three and
a half or four hours ; take care to spit it evenly, that it may

* This joint is said to owe its name to king Charles the Second, who, dining upon
a loin of beef, and being particularly pleased with it, asked the name of tlrc joint;
said for its merit it should be knighted, and henceforth called Sir-Loin.

BOASTING. 123

not be heavier on one side than the other ; put a little clean
dripping into the dripping-pan, (tie a sheet 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 take off the paper, and make some
gravy for it (No. 326) ; 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, put it on the dish, &c.

Garnish it with hillocks of horseradish, scraped as fine as
possible with a very sharp knife, (Nos. 458 and 399*). A
Yorkshire pudding is an excellent accompaniment (No. 595,
or No. 554).

Obs. The inside of the sirloin must never be cutf hot, but
reserved entire for the hash, or a mock hare (No. 67*). (For
various ways of dressing the inside of the sirloin, No. 483 ;
for the receipt to hash or broil beef, No. 484, and Nos. 486
and 487; and for other ways of employing the. remains of a
joint of cold beef, Nos. 503, 4, 5, 6).

Ribs of Beef. (No. 20).

The first three ribs, of fifteen or twenty pounds, will take
three hours, or three and a half : the fourth and fifth ribs will
lake as long, managed in the same way as the sirloin.

* " In the present fashion of FATTENING CATTLK, it is more desirable to roast
away the fat than to preserve it. If the honourable societies of agriculturists, at
the time they consulted a learned professor about the composition of manures, had
consulted some competent authority on the nature of animal substances, the public
might have escaped the overgrown corpulency of the animal flesh, which every
where fills'the markets." Domestic Management, I2mo. 1813, p. 182.

"Game, and other wild animals proper for food, are of very superior qualities "to
the tame, from the total contrast of the circumstances attending them. They have
a free range of exercise in the open air, and choose their own food, the good effects
of which are very evident in a short, delicate texture of flesh, found only in them.
Their juices and flavour are more pure, and their fat, when it is in any degree, as
iu venison, and some other instances, differs as much from that of our fatted
animals, as silver and gold from the grosser metals. The superiority of WELCH
.MUTTON and SCOTCH BEEF is owing to a similar cause." Ibid, p. 150.

If there is more FAT than you think will be eaten with the meat; cut it off; it will
make an excellent PUDDING (No. 554) ; or clarify it, (No. 84) and use it fat frying:
for those who like their meat done thoroughly, and use a moderate fire for roasting,
the fat need not be covered with paper.

If your beef is large, and your family small, cut off the thin end and salt it, and
ut out and dress the fillet (i. e. commonly called the inside) next day as MOCK HARE
uVo. 67*) : thus you get three good hot dinners. See also No. 483, on made dishes.
For SAUCE for cold beef, see No. 359, cucumber vinegar, No. 399, and horseradish
vinegar, Nos. 399* and 458.

f " This joint is often spoiled for the next day's use, by an injudicious mode of
carving. If you object to the outside, take the brown off, and help the next : by the
cutting it only on one side, you preserve the gravy in the meat, and the goodly ap-
pearance also ; by cutting it, on the contrary, down the middle of this joint, all the
gravy runs out, it becomes dry, and exhibits a most unseemly aspect when brought
to table a second time." From UDE'S Cookery, 8vo. 1818, p. 109.

]4 ROASTING.

Paper the fat, and the thin part, or it will be done too much,'
before the thick part is done enough.

N.B. A pig-iron placed before it on the bars of the grate
answers every purpose of keeping the thin part from being
loo much done.

Obs. Many persons prefer the ribs to the sirloin.

Ribs of Beef boned and rolled. (No. 21.)

When you have kept two or three ribs of beef till quite
lender, take out the bones, and skewer it as round as possible
(like a fillet of veal): before they roll it, some cooks egg it.
and sprinkle it with veal stuffing (No. 374). As the meat is
more in a solid mass, it will require more time at the fire than
in the preceding receipt ; a piece of ten or twelve pounds
weight will not be well and thoroughly roasted in less than
four and a half or five hours.

For the first half hour, it should not be less than twelve
inches from the fire, that it may get gradually warm to the
centre : the last half hour before it will be finished, sprinkle
a little salt over it ; and if you wish to froth it, flour it, &c.

MUTTON.* (No. 23.)

As beef requires a large, sound fire, mutton must have a
brisk and sharp one. If you wish to have mutton tender, it
should be hung almost as long as it will keep ;j and then

* DEAN SWIFT'S receipt to roast mutton.
To GBMINIANI'S beautiful air" Gently touch the warbling fyre."

" Gently stir and blow the fire,
Lay the mutton down to roast,

Dress it quickly, I desire,
In the dripping put a toast,

That I hunger may remove;

Mutton is the meat I love.

41 On the dresser see it lie ;

Oh ! the charming white and red !

Finer meat ne'er met the eye,
On the sweetest grass it fed ;

Let the jack go swiftly round,

Let me have it nicely brown'd,

u On the table spread the cloth,
Let the knives be sharp and clean,

Pickles get and salad both,
Let them each be fresh and green.

With small beer, good ale, and wine,

O, ye gods ! how I shall dine !"

t See the chapter of ADVICK TO COOKS

BOASTING. 125

**ood eight-tooth, i. e. four years old mutton, is as good eat-
ing as venison, if it is accompanied by Nos. 329 and 346.

The leg, haunch, and saddle will be the better for being
hung up in a cool airy place for four or five days at least ; in
temperate weather, a week ; in cold weather, ten days.

If you think your mutton will not be tender enough to do
honour to the spit, dress it as a "gigot de sept heures." See
N.B. to No. 1 and No. 493.

A Leg, (No. 24.)

Of eight pounds, will take about two hours : let it be well
basted, and frothed in the same manner as directed in No. 19.
To hash mutton, No. 484. To broil it, No. 487, &c.

~ : .' m A Chine or Saddle, (No. 26.)

(i. e. the two loins) of ten or eleven pounds, two hours and
a half: it is the business of the butcher to take off the skin
and skewer it on again, to defend the meat from extreme
heat, and preserve its succulence ; if this is neglected, tie a
sheet of paper over it (baste the strings you tie it on with
directly, or they will burn) : about a quarter of an hour before
you think it will be done, take off the skin or paper, that it
may get a pale brown colour, then baste it and flour it lightly
to froth it. We like No. 346 for sauce.

N.B. Desire the butcher to cut off the flaps and the tail
and chump end, and trim away every part that has not indis-
putable pretensions to be eaten. This will reduce a saddle:
of eleven pounds weight to about six or seven pounds.

A Shoulder, (No. 27.)

Of seven pounds, an hour and a half. Put the spit in close
to the shank-bone, and run it along the blade-bone.

N.B. The blade-bone is a favourite luncheon or supper
relish, scored, peppered and salted, and broiled, or. done in a
Dutch oven.

A Loin* (No. 28.)

Of mutton, from an hour and a half to an hour and three
quarters. The most elegant way of carving this, is to cut it
lengthwise, as you do a saddle : read No. 26.

* Common cooks very seldom brown the ends of necks and loins ; to have this
done nicely, let the fire be a few inches longer at each end than the joint that is
roasting, and occasionally place tiie spit slanting, so that each end may get sufficient
tire ; otherwise, after the meat is done, you must take it up, and put the ends before
ilK fire.

BOASTING.

N.B. Spit it on a skewer or lark, spit, and tie that on the
common spit, and do not spoil the meat by running the spit
through the prime part of it.

A JVeefc, (No. 29.)

About the same time as a loin. It must be carefully jointed,
or it is very difficult to carve. The neck and breast are, in
small families, commonly roasted together; the cook will
then crack the bones across the middle before they are put
down to roast: if this is not done carefully, they are very
troublesome to carve. Tell the cook, when she takes it from
the spit, to separate them before she sends them to table.

Obs. If there is more fat than you think will be eaten with
the lean, cut it off, and it will make an excellent suet pud-
ding (No. 551, or No. 554).

N.B. The best way to spit this is to run iron skewers
across it, and put the spit between them.

A Breast,-~(No. 30.)

An hour and a quarter

To grill a breast of mutton, see Obs. to No. 38.

A Haunch, (No. 31.)

(i. e. the leg and part of the loin) of mutton: send up two
sauce-boats with it ; one of rich mutton gravy, made without
spice or herbs (No. 347), and the other of sweet sauce (No.
346). It generally weighs about 15 pounds, and requires
about three hours and a half -to roast it.

Mutton, venison fashion. (No. 32.)

Take a neck of good four or five years old Southdown
wether mutton, cut long in the bones ; let it hang (in tempe-
rate weather) at least a week : two days before you dress it,
take allspice and black pepper, ground and pounded fine, a
quarter of an ounce each ; rub them together, and then rub
your mutton well with this mixture twice a day. When you
dress it, wash off the spice with warm water, and roast in
paste, as we have ordered the haunch of venison. (No. 63).

Obs. Persevering and ingenious epicures have invented
many methods to.give mutton the flavour of venison. Some
say that mutton, prepared as above, may be mistaken for
venison ; others, that it is full as good. The refined palate-
of a grand gourmand (in spite of the spice and wine the meat
has been fuddled and rubbed with) will perhaps still protest

ROASTING. 127

against " Welch venison ;" and indeed we do not understand
by what conjuration allspice and claret can communicate the
flavour of venison to mutton. We confess our fears that the
flavour of venison (especially of its fat) is inimitable; but
believe you may procure prime eight-toothed wether mutton,
keep it the proper time, and send it to table with the accom-
paniments (Nos. 346 and 347, &c.) usually given to venison,
and a rational epicure will eat it with as much satisfaction
as he would " feed on the king's fallow deer."

VEAL. (No. 33.)

VEAL requires particular care to roast it a nice brown.
Let the fire be the same as for beef; a sound large fire for a
large joint, and a brisker for a smaller ; put it at some distance
from the fire to soak thoroughly, and then draw it near to
finish it brown.

When first laid down, it is to be basted ; baste it again
occasionally. When the veal is on the dish, pour over it half
a pint of melted butter (No. 256) : if you have a little brown
gravy by you, add that to the butter (No. 326). With those
joints which are not stuffed, send up forcemeat (No. 374, or
No. 375) in balls, or rolled into sausages, as garnish to the
dish, or fried pork sausages (No. 87) ; bacon (No. 13, or No.
526, or No. 527), and greens, are also always expected with
veal.

Fillet of Veal, (No. 34.)

Of from twelve to sixteen pounds, will require from four
to five hours at a good fire ; make some stuffing or forcemeat
(No. 374 or 5), and put it in under the flap, that there may
be some left to eat cold, or to season a hash ;* brown it,
and pour good melted butter (No. 266) over it, as directed
in No. 33.

Garnish with thin" slices of lemon and cakes or balls of
stuffing, or No. 374, or No. 375, or duck stuffing (No. 61),
or fried pork sausages (No. 87), curry sauce (No. 348), bacon
(No. 13), and greens, &c.

N.B. Potted veal (No. 533).

Obs. A bit of the brown outside is a favourite with the
epicure in roasts. The kidney, cut out, sliced, and broiled
(No. 358), is a high relish, which some bom vivants are
fond of.

* To MINCE or HASH VEAL, see No. 511, or 511*, and to make a RAOOUT of cold
real, No. 512.

128 ROASTING.

A Lorn, (No. 35.)

Is the best part of the calf, and will take about three
hours roasting. Paper the kidney fat, and the back : some
cooks send it up on a toast, which is eaten with the kid-
ney and the fat of this part, which is as delicate as any
marrow. If there is more of it than you think will be
eaten with the veal, before you roast it cut it out ; it will
make an excellent suet pudding : take care to have your
fire long enough to brown the ends ; same accompaniments
as No. 34.

Jl Shoulder, (No. 36.)

From three hours to three hours and a half; stuff it with
the forcemeat ordered for the fillet of veal, in the under side,
or balls made of No. 374.

Neck, best end, (No. 37.)

Will take two hours ; same accompaniments as Not 34.
The scrag part is best made into a pie, or broth.

o. 38.)

From an hour and a half to two hours. Let the caul
remain till it is almost done, then take it off to brown it ;
baste, flour, and froth it.

06s. This makes a savoury relish for a luncheon or
supper : or, instead of roasting, boil it enough ; put it in a
cloth between two pewter dishes, Avith a weight on the upper
one, and let it remain so till cold ; then pare and trim, egg,
and crumb it, and broil, or warm it in a Dutch oven ; serve
with it capers (No. 274), or wow wow sauce (No. 328),
Breast of mutton may be dressed the same way.

Veal Sweetbread. (No. 39.)

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 yelk of an egg, and prepare some fine 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 catchup (No. 439), and lemon-

ROASTING. 129

juice (Nos. 307, 354, or 356), or serve them on buttered
toast, garnished with egg sauce (No. 267), or with gravy
(No. 329).

Obs. Instead of spitting them, you may put them into a
tin Dutch oven, or fry them (Nos. 88, 89, or 513).

LAMB, (No. 40.)

Is a delicate, and commonly considered tender meat ; but
those who talk of tender lamb, while they are thinking of
the age of the animal, forget that even a chicken must be
kept a proper time after it has been killed, or it will be tough
picking. ,

Woful experience has warned us to beware of accepting
an invitation to dinner on Easter Sunday, unless commanded
by a thorough-bred gourmand; ouTincisores,molares, and prin-
cipal viscera have protested against the imprudence of
encountering young, tough, stringy mutton, under the misno-
men of grass lamb. The proper name for " Easter grass
lamb" is " hay mutton."

To the usual accompaniments of roasted meat, green
mint sauce (No. 303), a salad (Nos. 372 and 138*), is
commonly added ; and ' some cooks, about five minutes
before it is done, sprinkle it with a little fresh gathered and
finely minced parsley, or No. 318: lamb, and all young
meats, ought to be thoroughly done; therefore do not
take either lamb or veal off the spit till you see it drop
white gravy.

Grass lamb is in season from Easter to Michaelmas.

House lamb from Christmas to Lady-day.

Sham lamb, see 06s. to following receipt.

N.B. When green mint cannot be got, mint vinegar (No.
398) is an acceptable substitute for it ; and crisp parsley
(No. 318), on a side plate, is an admirable accompaniment.

Hind-Quarter, (No. 41).

Of eight pounds, will take from an hour and three-quarters
to two hours : baste and froth it in the same way as-directed
in $k>. 19.

Obs. 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.

130 ROASTING.

Fore-Quarter, (No. 42.)

Of ten pounds, about two hours.

N.B. It is a pretty general custom, when you take off the
shoulder from the ribs, to squeeze a Seville orange over
Jhem, and sprinkle them with a little pepper and salt.

Obs. This may as well be done by the cook before it
comes to table ; some people are not remarkably expert at
dividing these joints nicely.

Leg, (No. 43.)
Of five pounds, from an hour to an hour and a half.

(No. 44.)', . "?

With a quick fire, an hour.
See Obs. to No. 27.

Ribs, (No. 45.)

About an hour to an hour and a quarter: joint it nicely,
crack the ribs across, and divide them from the brisket after
it is roasted.

w, (No. 46.)
An hour and a quarter.

JWcfc, (No. 47.)
An hour.

Breasi,(No. 48.)
Three-quarters of an hour.

PORK.~(No. 49.)

The prime season for pork is from Michaelmas to March.

Take particular care it be done enough: other meats
under-done are unpleasant, but pork is absolutely uneatable ;
the sight of it is enough to appal the sharpest appetite, if it*
gravy has the least tint of redness.

Be careful of the crackling; if this be not crisp, or if it br
burned, you will be scolded. '?

For sauces, No. 300, No. 304, and No. 342.

Obs. Pease pudding (No. 555) is as good an accompani-
ment to roasted, as it is to boiled pork ; and most palates are
pleased with the savoury powder set down in No. 51, or

ROASTING. 131

bread-crumbs, mixed with sage and onion, minced very fine,
or zest (No. 255) sprinkled over it.

N.B. " The t western 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 pork
is a fine gelatinous substance, which may be easily mas-
ticated; while the crackling of the thin-skinned breeds is
roasted into good block tin, the reduction of which would
almost require teeth of iron." MOUBRAY on Poultry, 1816,
page 242.

. 50.)

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, mineed fine, and a little grated bread, seasoned
with pepper, salt, and the yelk of an egg. See Duck Stuffing,
(No. 61.)

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 drip-
ping ; 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.

Leg of Pork roasted -without the Skin, commonly called
MOCK GOOSE.* (No. 51.)

Parboil it ; 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 and powdered sage, ground black pepper,
salt, and some 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
half a pint of made gravy into the dish, and goose stuffing
(No. 378) under the knuckle skin ; or garnish the dish with
balls of it fried or boiled.

* Priscilla Haslehurst, in her Housekeeper's Instructor, 8vo. Sheffield, 1819, p.
19, gives us a receipt " to'goosify a shoulder of lainb." " Un grand Cuisinier," in-
formed me that " to lambify" the leg of a porkling is a favourite metamorphosis ii>
die French kitchen, when house lamb is very dear.

132 ROASTING.

Th$ Gra&w., (No. 52.)

Of seven or eight pounds, may be dressed in the same
manner. It will take an hour and a half roasting-.

A Bacon Spare-Rib, (No. 53.)

Usually weighs about eight or nine pounds, and will take
from two to three hours to roast it thoroughly ; not exactly
according to its weight, but the thickness of the meat upon
it, which varies veiy much. Lay the thick end nearest to
ehe fire.

A proper bald spare-rib of eight pounds weight (so called
because almost all the meat is pared off), with a steady fire,
will be done in an hour and a quarter. There is so little
meat on a bald spare-rib, that if you have a large, fierce fire,
it will be burned before it is warm through. Joint it nicely,
and crack the ribs across as you do ribs of lamb.

When you put it down to roast, dust on some flour, and
baste it with a little butter ; dry a dozen sage leaves, and
rub them through a hair-sieve, and put them into the top ot
a pepper-box; and about a quarter of an hour before the
meat is done, baste it with butter ; dust the pulverized sage,
or the savoury powder in No. 51 ; or sprinkle with duels
stuffing (No. 61).

06s. Make it a general rule never to pour gravy over any
thing that is roasted ; by so doing, the dredging, &c. is washed
off, and it eats insipid.

Some people carve a spare-rib by cutting out in slices the
thick part at the bottom of the bones. When this meat is
cut away, the bones may be easily separated, and are es-
teemed very sweet picking.

Apple sauce (No. 304), mashed potatoes (No. 106), and
good mustard (No. 370,) are indispensable.

Lorn, (No. 54.)

Of five pounds, must be kept at a good distance from th^
are on account of the crackling, and will take about two.
hours ; if very fat, half an hour longer.

Stuff it with duck stuffing (No. 378). Score the skin in
stripes, about a quarter of an inch apart, and rub it with salad
oil, as directed in No. 50. You may sprinkle over it some
of the savoury powder recommended for the mock goost
(No. 51).

ROASTING. 133

A Chine. (No. 55.)

If parted down the back-bone so as to have but one side,
a good fire will roast it in two hours ; if not parted, three
hours.

N.B. Chines are generally salted and boiled.

j3 Sucking-Pig,*~(No. 56.)

Is in prime order for the spit when about three weeks old.

It loses part of its goodness every hour after it is killed ;
if not quite fresh, no art can make the crackling crisp.

To be in perfection, it should be killed in the morning to
be eaten at dinner: it requires very careful roasting. A
sucking-pig, like a young child, must not be left for an instant.

The ends must have much more fire than the middle : fov
this purpose is contrived an iron to hang before the middle
part, called a pig-iron. If you have not this, use a common
flat iron, or keep the fire fiercest at the two ends.

For the stuffing, take of the crumb of a stale loaf about
five ounces ; rub it through a colander ; mince fine a handful
of sage (t. e. about two ounces), and a large onion (about
an ounce and a halff). Mix these together with an egg
some pepper and salt, and a bit of butter as big as an egg.
Fill the belly of the pig with this, and sew it up : lay it to
the fire, and baste it with salad oil till it is quite done. Do
not leave it a moment : it requires the most vigilant attend-
ance.

Roast it at a clear, brisk fire at some distance. To gain
the praise of epicurean pig-eaters, the crackling must be
nicely crisped and delicately lightly browned, without being
either blistered or burnt.

A small, three weeks old pig will be done enoughj in about
an hour and a half.

Before you take it 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

* MONS. GRIMOD designates this " Jlnimal modestc, ennemi du faste t et le roides
animauz immondes" Maitland, in p. 758, of vol. ii. of lu'3 History of London*
reckons that the number of sucking-pigs consumed in the city of London in the
year 1725, amounted ro 52,000.

T Some delicately sensitive palates desire the cook to parboil the sage and onions
(before they are cut), to soften and takeoff the rawness of their flavour ; the older
and drier the onion, the stronger will be its flavour ; and the learned EVELYN order*
fliese to be edulcorated by gentle maceration.

t An ancient culinary sage says, " When you see a pig's eyes drop out, you may
&e satisfied he has had enough of the fire !" This is no criterion that the body or
the pig is done enough, but arise* merely from the briskness of the fire before th
head of it.

134 ROASTING.

veal gravy, made as directed in No. 193, or beef gravy (No
329), or what runs from the pig when you cut its head off.
Send up a tureenful of gravy (No. 329) 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 one at each end, which you
must take care to make nice and crisp; or you will get
scolded, and deservedly, a the silly fellow was who bought
his wife a pig with only one ear.

When you cut off the pettitoes, leave the skin long round
the ends of the legs. When you first lay the pig before' the
fire, rub it. all over with fresh butter or salad oil : ten minutes
after, and the skin looks dry ; dredge it well with flour all
over, let it remain on an hour, then rub it off with a soft cloth.

N. B. A pig is a very troublesome subject to roast ; most
persons have them baked. Send a quarter of a pound of
nutter, and beg the baker to baste it well.

Turkey, Turkey Poults, and other Poultry. (No. 57.)

A fowl and a turkey require the same management at the
iire, only the latter will take longer time.

Many a Christmas dinner has been spoiled by the turkey
having been hung up in a cold larder, and becoming
thoroughly frozen ; Jack Frost has ruined the reputation of
many a turkey-roaster: therefore, in very cold weather,
remember the note in the 5th page of the 2d chapter of the
Rudiments of Cookery.

Let them be carefully picked, &c. and break the breast-
bone (to make them look plump), twist up a sheet of clean
writing-paper, light it, and thoroughly singe the turkey all
over, turning it about over the flame.

Turkeys, fowls, and capons have a much better appearance,
if, instead of trussing them with the legs close together, and
the feet cut off, the legs are extended on each side of the bird,
and .the toes only cut off,, with a skewer through each foot,
to keep them at a proper distance.

Be careful, when you draw it, to preserve the liver, and not
to break the gall-bag, as no w r ashing will take off the bitter
taste it gives, where it once touches.

Prepare a nice, clear, brisk fire for it.

Make stuffing according to No. 374, or 376 ; stuff it 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 then reserve some of the
inside stuffing to eat with the cold turkey, or to enrich a
hash (No. 533).

ROASTING. 135

Score the gizzard, dip it into the yelk 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 from getting
hardened or burnt.

When you first put a 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 therewith.

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 in towards the fire, it is
nearly enough ; then dredge it lightly with flour, and put a
bit of butter into your basting-ladle, and as it melts, 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
(which is far nicer eating than the very large one), 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; they should be trussed, with their legs
twisted under like a duck, and the head under the wing like
a pheasant.

Fried pork sausages (No. 87) are a very savoury and fa-
vourite accompaniment to either roasted or boiled poultry*
A turkey thus garnished is called " an alderman in chains."

Sausage-meat is sometimes used as stuffing, instead of
the ordinary forcemeat. (No. 376, &c.)

MEM. 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. " No
man who understands good living will say, on such a day I
will eat that turkey ; but will hang it up by four of the large
tail-feathers, and when, on paying his morning visit to the
larder, he finds it lying upon a cloth prepared to receive it
when it falls, that day let it be cooked."

Hen turkeys are preferable to cocks for whiteness and
tenderness, and the small fleshy ones with black legs are
most esteemed.

Send up with them oyster (No. 278), egg (No. 267), bread
(No. 221), and plenty of gravy sauce (No. 329). To hash
turkey, No. 533.

MEM. Some epicures are very fond of the gizzard and
ramp, peppered and salted, and broiled. (See No. 538, " how
to dress a devil with veritable sauce tfenfer!!"}

9 BOASTING.

Capons or Foay/v- (No. 58.)

Must be killed a couple of days in moderate, and more in
cold weather, before they are dressed, or they will eat tough :
a good criterion of the ripeness of poultry for the spit, is
the ease with which you can then pull out- the feathers ;
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 t"he 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.

Here, also, pork sausages fried (No. 87) are in general a
favourite accompaniment, or turkey stuffing; see force-
meats (Nos. 374, 5, 6, and 7) ; 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 stuffing.

Some cooks put the liver of the fowl into this forcemeat,
and others mince it and pound it, and rub it up with flour and
melted butter (No. 287).

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 prevent their getting hardened or
scorched, cover them with double paper buttered.

Take care that your roasted poultry be well browned ; it
is as indispensable that roasted poultry should have a rich
brown complexion, as boiled poultry should have a delicate
white one.

Obs. "The art of fattening poultry for the market is a
considerable branch of rural economy in some convenient
situations, and consists in supplying them with plenty of
healthy food, and confining them; and ducks and geese
must be prevented from going into water, which prevents
them from becoming fat, and they also thereby acquire a
rancid, fishy taste. They are put into a dark place, and
crammed with a paste made of barley meal, mutton-suet,,
and some treacle or coarse sugar mixed with milk, and are
found to be completely ripe in a fortnight. If kept longer,
the fever that is induced by this continued state of repletion
renders them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them."
But exercise is as indispensable to the health of poultry as
other creatures ; without it, the fat will be all accumulated in
the cellular membrane, instead of being dispersed through

ROASTING. 137

its system. See MOUBRAY on breeding and fattening domestic
Poultry, 12mo. 1819.

Fowls which are fattened artificially are by some epicures
preferred to those called barn-door fowls ; whom we have
heard say, that they should as soon think of ordering a barn-
door for dinner as a barn-door fowl.

The age of poultry makes all the difference : nothing is
tenderer than a young chicken ; few things are tougher than
an old cock or hen, which is only fit to make broth. The
meridian of perfection of poultry is just before they have
come to their full growth, before they have begun to harden.

For sauces, see No. 305, or liver and parsley, No. 287,
and those ordered in the last receipt. To hash it, No. 533.

Goose. (No. 59.)

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,
i. e. about a large breakfast-cupful 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, f par-
boiling it first), the yelk of an egg or two, and incorporating
the whole well together, stuff the goose ; do not quite fill it,

* If you think the flavour of raw onions too strong, cut them in slices, and lay
them in cold water for a couple of hours, or add as much apple or potato as you
have of onion.

f Although the whole is rather too luscious for the lingual nerves of the good
folks of Great Britain, the livers of poultry are considered a very high relish by out
continental neighbours ; and the following directions how to procure them in per-
fection, we copy from the recipe of " un Yieil Amateur de Bonne Chire."

" The liver of a duck, or a goose, which has submitted to the rules and orders that
men of taste have invented for the amusement of his sebaceous glands, is a super-
lative exquisite to the palate of a Parisian epicure ; but, alas ! the poor goose, to
produce this darling dainty, must endure sad torments. He must be crammed with
meat, deprived of drink, and kept constantly before a hot fire : a miserable martyr
dom indeed ! and would be truly intolerable if his reflections on the consequences
of his sufferings did not afford him some consolation ; but the glorious prospect of
the delightful growth of his liver gives him couraee and support ; and when ht>
thinks how speedily it will become almost as big as his body, how high it will rank
on the list of double relishes, and with what ecstasies it will be eaten by the fanciers
:l des Foies grasS ' he submits to his destiny without a sigh. The famous Strasburg
pies are made with livers thus prepared, and sell for an enormous price."

However incredible tbis ordonnance for the obesitation of a goose's liver may ap-
pear at first sight, will it not seem equally so to after-ages, that in this enlightened
country, in 1821, we encouraged a folly as much greater, as its operation was more
universal ? Will it be believed, that it was then considered the acme of perfection
in beef and mutton, that it should be so over-fattened, that a poor man, to obtain one
pound of meat that he could eat, must purchase another which he could not, unless
converted into a suet pudding : moreover, that the highest premiums were annually
awarded to those who produced sheep and oxen in the moat extreme state of morbid,

tatty?//

" expensive plans

For deluging of dripping-pans."

138 ROASTIKG.

but leave a little room for the stuffing to swell ; spit it, tie
it on the spit at both ends, to prevent its swinging round, and
to keep the stuffing from coming out. 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 (see
Nos. 300, 304, 329, and 341). To hash it, see No. 530.

For another stuffing for geese, see No. 378.

Obs. " Goose-feeding in the vicinity of the metropolis is
so large a concern, that one person annually feeds for market
upwards of 5000." " A goose on a farm in Scotland, two
years since, of the clearly ascertained age of 89 years,
healthy and vigorous, was killed by a sow while sitting over
her eggs ; it was supposed she might have lived many years,
and her fecundity appeared to be permanent. Other geese-
have been proved to reach the age of 70 years." MOUBRAY
on Poultry, p. 40.

It appears in Dr. STARK'S Experiments on Diet, p. 110,
tljat " when he fed upon roasted goose, he was more vigor-
ous both in body and mind than with any other diet."

The goose at Michaelmas is as famous in the mouths of
the million, as the minced-pie at Christmas ; but for those
who eat with delicacy, it is by that time too full-grown.

The true period when the goose is in its highest perfec-
tion, is when it has just acquired its full growth, and not
begun to harden. If the March goose is insipid, the Michael-
mas goose is rank ; the fine time is between both, from the
second week in June to the first in September : the leg is
not the most tender part of a goose. See Mock Goose
(No. 51).

Green Goose. (No. 60.)

Geese are called green till they are about four months old.

The only difference between roasting these and a full-
grown goose, consists in seasoning it with pepper and salt
instead of sage and onion, and roasting it for forty or fifty
minutes only.

06s. This is one of the least desirable of those insipid
premature productions, which are esteemed dainties.

Duck. (No. 61.)

Mind your duck is well cleaned, and wiped out with a clean
cloth : for the stuffing, take an ounce of onion and half an
ounce of green sage ; chop them very fine, and mix them
with two ounces, i. e. about a breakfast-cupful, of bread-
crumbs, a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, a very little

BOASTING. 139

black pepper and salt, (some obtuse palates may require
warming with a little Cayenne, No. 404,) and the yelk of an
egg to bind it ; mix these thoroughly together, and put into
the duck. For another stuffing, see No. 378. From half to
three-quarters of an hour will be enough to roast it, accord-^
ing to the size : contrive to have the feet delicately crisp, as
some people ar& very fond of them ; to So this nicely you
must have a sharp fire. For sauce, green pease (No. 134),
bonne bouche (No. 341), gravy sauce (No. 329), and sage
and onion sauce (No. 300).

To hash or stew ducks, see No. 530.

N.B. If you think the raw- onion will make too strong
an impression upon the palate, parboil it. Read Obs. to
No. 59. i

To ensure ducks being tender, in moderate weather : kill
them a few days before you dress them.

Haunch of Venison. (No. 63.)

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 butter,
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,
and cover it well with three ' or four sheets of strong white
paper, arid 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 from burning) ; it
must be well basted all the time.

A buck haunch generally weighs from 20 to 25 pounds ; will
take about four hours and a half roasting in warm, and longer
in cold weather : a haunch of from 19 to 18 pounds will be
done in about three or three and a half.

A quarter of an hour before it is done, the string must be
cut, and the paste carefully taken off; now baste it with
butter, dredge it lightly with flour, and when the froth rises,
and it has got a very light brown colour, garnish the knuckle-
bone with a ruffle of cut writing-paper, and send it up, with
good, strong (but unseasoned) gravy (No. 347) in one boat,
and currant-jelly sauce in the other, or currant-jelly in a side
plate (not melted) : see for sauces, Nos. 344, 5, 6, and 7.
MEM. " the alderman's walk" is the favourite part.

Obs. Buck venison is in greatest perfection from midsum-
mer to Michaelmas, and doe from November to January.

140 BOASTING.

Neck and Shoulder of Venison, (No. 64.)

Are to be managed in the same way as the haunch ; only
they do not require the coat or paste, and will not take so
much time.

The best way to spit a neck is to put three skewers through
it, and put the spit'between the skewers and the bones.

A Fawn, (No. 65.)

Like a sucking-pig, should be dressed almost as soon as
killed. When very young, it is trussed, stuffed, and spitted
the same way as a hare : but' they are better eating when of
the size of a house lamb, and are then roasted in quarters ;
the hind-quarter is most esteemed.

They must be put down to a very quick fire, and either
basted all the time they are roasting, or be covered with
sheets of fat bacon ; when done, baste it with butter, and
dredge it with a little salt and flour, till you make a nice froth
on it.

N.B. We advise our friends to half roast a fawn as soon
as they receive it, and then make a hash of it like No. 528.

Send up venison sauce with it. See the preceding receipt,
or No. 344, &c.

A Kid. (No. 65*.)

A young sucking-kid is very good eating ; to have it in
prime* condition, the dam should be kept up, and well fed, &c.
Roast it like a fawn or hare.

Hare. (No. 66.)

" Inter quadrupedes gloria prima lepus." MARTIAL.

The first points of consideration are, how old is the hare ?
and how long has it been killed 1 When young, it is easy
of digestion, and very nourishing ; when old, the contrary in
every respect.

To ascertain the age, examine the first joint of the forefoot;
you will find a small knob, if it is a leveret, which disappears
as it grows older; then examine the ears, if they tear easily,
it will eat tender; if they are tough, so .will be the hare,
which we advise you to make into soup (No. 241), or stew or
jug it (No. 523).

When newly killed, the body is stiff; as it grows stale, it
becomes limp.

As soon as you receive a hare, take out the liver, parboil

BOASTING. 141

it, and keep it for the stuffing; some are very fond of it. Do
not use it if it be not quite fresh and good. Some mince it,
and send it up as a garnish in little hillocks round the dish,
Wipe the hare quite dry, rub the inside with pepper, and hang
it up in a dry, cool place.

Paunch and skin* your hare, wash it, 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, and dry it well, then
truss it.

To make the stuffing, see No. 379. .Do not make it too
thin ; it should be of cohesive consistence : if it is not suf-
ficiently stiff, it is good for nothing. Put this into the belly,
and sew it up tight.

Cut the neck-skin to let the blood out, or it will never
appear to be done enough ; spit it, and baste it with drip-
pings,! (or the juices of the back will be dried up before the
upper joints of the legs are half done,) till you think it is
nearly done, which a middling-sized hare will be in about an
hour and a quarter. When it is almost roasted enough, put
a little bit of butter into your basting-ladle, and baste it with
this, and flour it, and froth it nicely.

Serve it with good gravy (No. 329, or No. 347), and currant-
jelly. For another stuffing, see receipt No. 379. Some cooks
cut off the head and divide it, and lay one half on each side
the hare.

Cold roast hare will make excellent soup (No. 241).
chopped to pieces, and stewed in three quarts of water for a
couple of hours ; the stuffing will be a very agreeable substi-
tute for sweet herbs and seasoning. See receipt for hare
soup (No. 241), hashed hare (No. 529), and mock hare, next
receipt.

Mock Hare. (No. 66.*)

Cut out the fillet (i. e. the inside lean) of a sirloin of beef,
leaving the fat to roast with the joint. Prepare some nice
stuffing, as directed for a hare in .No. 66, or 379 ; put this on
the beef, and roll it up with tape, put a skewer through it.
and tie that on a spit.

* This, in culinary technicals, is called casing it, upon the same principle that
eating, drinking, and sleeping," are termed non-naturals.

t Mrs. Charlotte Mason, in her " Complete System of Cookery," page 283, says,
she has " tried all the different things recommended to baste a hare with, and never
found any thing so good as small beer;" others order milk; drippings we believe is
better than any thing. To roast a hare nicely, so as to preserve the meat on the
hack, &c. juicy and nutritive, requires as much attention as a sucking-pig.

Instead of washing, a " grand Cummer" says, it is much better to wipe a hare
with a thin, dry cloth, as so much washing, or indeed washing at air, takes- away
tfie flavour.

142 ROASTING.

Obs. If the beef is of prime quality, has been kept till tho-
roughly tender, and you serve with it the accompaniments
that usually attend roast hare (Nos. 329, 344, &c.), or stew it,
and serve it with a rich thickened sauce garnished with force-
meat balls (No. 379), the most fastidious palate will have no
reason to regret that the game season is over.

To make this into hare soup, see No. 241.

Rabbit. (No. 67.)

Tf your fire is clear and sharp, thirty minutes will roast a
young, and forty a full-grown rabbit.

When you lay it down, baste it with butter, and dredge it
lightly and carefully with flour, that you may have it frothy,
and of a fine light brown. While the rabbit is roasting, boil
its liver* with some parsley ; when tender, chop them toge-
ther, and put half the mixture into some melted butter,
reserving the other half for garnish, divided into little hillocks.
Cat off the head, and lay half on each side of the dish.

O65. A fine, well-grown (but young) warren rabbit, kept
some time after it has been killed, and roasted with a stuffing
in its belly, eats very like a hare, to the nature of which it
approaches. It is nice, nourishing food when young, but hard
and unwholesome when old. For sauces, Nos. 287, 298,
und 329.

Pheasant. (No. 68.)

Requires a smart fire, but not a fierce one. Thirty minutes
will roast a young bird, and forty or fifty a full-grown phea-
sant. Pick and draw it, cut a slit in the back of the neck,
and take out the craw, but don't cut the head off; wipe the
inside of the bird with a clean cloth, twist the legs close to
the body, leave the feet on, but cut the toes off; don't turn
the head under the wing, but truss it like a" fowl, it is much
easier to carve; baste it, butter .and froth it, and prepare
sauce for it (Nos. 321 and 329). See the instructions in
receipts to roast fowls and, turkeys, Nos. 57 and 58.

Obs. We believe the rarity of this bird is its best recom-
mendation; and the character given it by an ingenious French
author is just as good as it deserves. " Its flesh is naturally
tough, and owes all its tenderness and succulence to the long
time it is kept before it is cooked ;" until it is " bien mortifite,
it is uneatable. f Therefore, instead of " sus per col," suspend

* Liver sauce, Nos. 287 and 288.

T " They are only fit to be eaten when the blood runs from the bill, which is com*-
monly about 6 or 7 days after they have been killed, otherwise it will have no more
savour than a common fowl." Ude's Cookery, 8vo. 1819, page 210.

ROASTING. 143

it by one of the long tail-feathers,. and the pheasant's falling
from it is the criterion of its ripeness and readiness for the
spit.

Our president of the committee of taste (who is inde-
fatigable in his endeavours to improve the health, as well as
promote the enjoyment, of his fellow-students in the school
of good living, and to whom the epicure, the economist, and
the valetudinarian are equally indebted for his careful re-
vision of this work, and especially for introducing that salu-
tary maxim into the kitchen, that " the salubrious is ever a
superior consideration to the savoury," and indeed, the
rational epicure only relishes the latter when entirely subor-
dinate to the former), has suggested to us, that the detach-
ment of the feather cannot take place until the body of the
bird has advanced more than one degree beyond the state of
wholesome haut-gout, and become " trop mortifite ;" and that
to enjoy this game in perfection, you must have a brace of
birds killed the same day; these are to be put in suspense
as above directed, and when one of them drops, the hour is
come that the spit should be introduced to his companion :

" Ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum.*

Mock Pheasant. -(No. 69.)

If you have only one pheasant, and wish for a companion
for it, get a fine young fowl, of as near as may be the same
size as the bird to be matched, and make game of it by truss-
ing it like a pheasant, and dressing it according to the above
directions. Few persons will discover the pheasant from the
fowl, especially if the latter has been kept four or five days.

The peculiar flavour of the pheasant (like that of other
game) is principally acquired by long keeping.

Guinea and Pea Fowls, (No. 69*.) ,
Are dressed in the same way as pheasants.

Partridges, (No. 70.)

Are cleaned and trussed in the same manner as a pheasant
(but the ridiculous custom of tucking the legs into each

" Gastronomers, who have any sort of aversion to a peculiar taste in game, properly
fcept, had better abstain from this bird, since it is worse than a common fowl, if not
waited for till it acquires tlaefumet it ought to have. Whole republics of maggots
have often been found rioting under the wings of pheasants ; but being radically
dispersed, and the birds properly washed with vinegar, every thing went right, and
overy guest, unconscious of the culinary ablutions, enjoyed the excellent flavour of
UwPhasian birds." Tabella Cibaria^ p. 55.

144 ROASTING.

other makes them very troublesome to carve) ; the breast i*
so plump, it will require almost as much roasting ; send up
with them rich sauce (No. 321*), or bread sauce (No. 321),
and good gravy (No. 329).

\* If you wish to preserve them longer than you think
they will keep good undressed, half roast them, they will
then keep two or three days longer ; or make a pie of them.

Black Cock (No. 71), Moor Game (No. 72), and Grouse,
(No. 73.)

Are all to be dressed like partridges ; the black cock will
take as much as a pheasant, and moor game and grouse as
the partridge. .Send up with them currant-jelly and fried
bread-crumbs (No. 320).

Wild Ducks. (No. 74.)

For roasting a wild duck, you must have a clear, brisk fire,
and a hot spit ; it mus't be browned upon the outside, without
being sodden within. To have it well frothed and full of
gravy is the nicety. Prepare the fire by stirring and raking
it just before the bird is laid down, and fifteen or twenty-
minutes will do it in the fashionable way ; but if you like it
a little more done, allow it a few minutes longer ; if it is too
much, it will lose its flavour.

For the sauce, see No. 338 and No. 62.

Widgeons and Teal, (No. 75.)

Are dressed exactly as the wild duck ; only that less time
is requisite for a widgeon, and still less for a teal.

Woodcock. (No. 76.)

Woodcocks should not be drawn, as the trail is by the
lovers of " haut gout" considered a " bonne bouche ;" truss
their legs close to the body, and run an iron skewer through
each thigh, close to the body, and tie them on a small bird
spit ; put them to roast at a clear fire ; cut as many slices
of bread as you have birds, toast or fry them a delicate
brown, and lay them in the dripping-pan under the birds
to catch the trail;* baste them with butter, and froth

* " This bird has so insinuated itself into the favour of refined gourmands, that
they pay it the same honours as the grand Lama, making a ragofit of its excrements,
and 'devouring them with ecstasy." Vide Almanack des Gourmands, vol. i. p. 56,

That exercise produces strength and firmness of fibre is excellently well exempli-
fied in the woodcock and the partridge. The former flies anost the latter walks .

ROASTING. 146

them with flour ; lay the toast on a hot dish, and the birds
on the toast; pour some good beef gravy into the dish,
and send some up in a boat, see 06s. to No. 329 : twenty
or thirty minutes will roast them. Garnish with slices
of lemon.

Obs. Some epicures like this bird very much under-done,
and direct that a woodcock should be just introduced to
the cook, for her to show it the fire, and then send it up
to table.

Snipes, (No. 77.)

Differ little from woodcocks, unless in size ; they are to
be dressed in the same way, but require about five minutes
less time to roast them.

For sauce, see No. 338.

Pigeons. (No. 78.)

When the pigeons are ready for roasting, if you arc
desired to stuff them, chop some green parsley very fine, the
liver, and a bit of butter together, with a little pepper and
salt, or with the stuffing ordered for a fillet of veal (No. 374
or No. 375), and fill the belly of each bird with it. They
will be done enough in about twenty or thirty minutes ; send
up parsley and butter (No. 261,) in the dish under them, and
some in a boat, and garnish with crisp parsley (No. 318}, or
fried bread crumbs (No. 320), or bread sauce (No. 321), or
gravy (No. 329).

Obs. When pigeons are fresh they have their full relish;
but it goes entirely off with a very little keeping ; nor is it
in any way so well preserved as by roasting them : when they
are put into a pie they are generally baked to rags, and taste
more of pepper and salt than of any thing else.

A little melted butter may be put into the dish with them,
and the gravy that runs from them will mix with it into fine
sauce. Pigeons are in the greatest perfection from mid-
summer to Michaelmas ; there is then the most plentiful and
best food for them ; and their finest growth is just when they
are full feathered. When they are in the pen-feathers, they
are flabby; when they are full grown, and have flown some
time, they are tough. Game and poultry are best when they

the wing of the woodcock is always very tough, of the partridge very tender
tience the old doggerel distich,

>r " If the partridge had but the woodcock's thigh.

He 'd be the best bird that e'er doth fly."
Th breast of all birds is the most juicy and nutritious part.
N

146 FKYIXG.

have just done growing, i. e. as soon as nature has perfected
her work.

This was the secret of Solomon, the famous pigeon-feeder
of Turnham Green, who is celebrated by the poet Gay,
when he says,

" That Turnham Green, which dainty pigeons fed,
But feeds no more, for Solomon is dead."

Larks and other small Birds. (No. 80.)

These delicate little birds are in high season in November.
When they are picked, gutted, and cleaned, truss them;
brush them with the yelk of an egg, and then roll them in
bread-crumbs : spit them on a lark-spit, and tie that on to a
larger spit ; ten or fifteen minutes at a quick fire will do them
enough ; baste them with fresh butter while they are roasting,
and sprinkle them with bread-crumbs till they are well
covered with them.

For the sauce, fry some grated bread in clarified butter,
see No. 259, and set it to drain before the fire, that it may
harden : serve the crumbs under the larks when you dish
them, and garnish them with slices of lemon.

Wheatearsi (No. 81.)
Are dressed in the same way as larks.

Lobster. (No. 82.)

See receipt for boiling (No. 176).

We give no receipt for roasting lobster, tongue, &c. being
of opinion with Dr. King, who says,

" By roasting that which our forefathers boiled,
And boiling what they roasted, much is spoiled."

FRYING.

To clarify Drippings. (No. 83.)

PUT your dripping into a clean sauce-pan over a stove or
slow fire ; when it is just going to boil, skim it well, let it
boil, and then let it stand till it is a little cooled; then pour it
through a sieve into a pan.

FRYING. 147

. Obs. Well-cleansed drippings,* and the fat skimmingsf
of the broth-pot, when fresh and sweet, will baste every
thing as well as butter, except game and poultry, and should
supply the place of butter for common fries, &c. ; for which
they are equal to lard, especially if you repeat the clarifying
twice over.

N.B. If you keep it in a cool place, you may preserve it a
fortnight in summer, and longer in winter. When you have
done frying, let the dripping stand a few minutes to settle,
and then pour it through a sieve into a clean basin or stone
pan, and it will do a second and a third time as well as it
did the first ; only the fat you have fried fish in must not be
used for any other purpose.

To clarify Suet to fry with. (No. 84.)

Cut beef or mutton suet into thin slices, pick out all the
veins and skins, &c., put it into a thick and well-tinned
sauce-pan, and set it over a very slow stove, or in an oven,
till it is melted ; you must not hurry it ; if not done very
slowly it will acquire a burnt taste, which you cannot get
rid of; then strain it through a hair-sieve into a clean brown

* Mas. MELROE, in her Economical Cookery, page 7, tells us, she has ascertained
from actual experiments, that " the drippings of roast meat, combined with wheat
flour, oatmeal, barley, pease, or potato-starch, will make delicious soup, agreeable
and savoury to the palate, and nutritive and serviceable to the stomach ; and that
while a joint is roasting, good soup may be made from the drippings of the FAT,
which is the essence of meat, as seeds are of vegetables, and impregnates sour with
the identical taste of meat."

" Writers on cookery give strict directions to carefully tkim off the fat, and in the
next sentence order butter (a much more expensive article) to be added : instead of
this, when any fat appears at the top of your soup or stew, do not skim it off, but
unite it with the broth by means of the vegetable mucilages, flour, oatmeal, ground
barley, or potato-starch ; when suspended the soup is equally agreeable to the palate
nutritive to the stomach," &c.

" Cooks bestow a great deal of pains to make gravies ; they stew and boil lean
meat for hours, and, after all, their cookery tastes more of pepper and salt than any
thing else. If they would add the bulk of a chesnut of solid fat to a common-sized
sauce-boatful of gravy, it will give it more sapidity than twenty hours' stewing lean
meat would, unless a larger quantity was used than is warranted by the rules of
frugality." See Nos. 205 and 229.

" The experiments of Dr. Stark on the nourishing powers of different substances,

of the lean. Dr. Pages, the traveller, confirms this opinion : ' Being obliged,' says
lie, ' during the journey from North to South America by land, to live solely on
animal food, I experienced the truth of what is observed by hunters, who live solely
on animal food, viz. that besides their receiving little nourishment from the leaner
parts of it, it soon becomes offensive to the taste ; whereas the fat is both more nutri-
tive, and continues to be agreeable to the palate. To many stomachs fat is unplea-
sant and indigestible, especially when converted into oil by heat; this may be easily
prevented, by the simple process of combining the fat completely with water, by the
intervention of vegetable mucilage, as in melting butter, by means of 'flour, the
butter and water are united into a homogeneous fluid.' "From Practical Economy,
by a Physician. Callow, 1801.
' t See note at the foot of No. 201.

148 FRYING.

pan : when quite cold, tie a paper over it, and keep it for
use. Hog's lard is prepared in the same way.

Obs. The waste occasioned by the present absurd fashion
of over-feeding cattle till the fat is nearly equal to the lean,
may, by good management, be in some measure prevented,
by cutting off the superfluous part, and preparing it as above,
or by making it into puddings ; see Nos. 551 and 554, or
soup, No. 229.

Steaks. (No. 85.)

Cut the steaks rather thinner than for broiling. Put some
butter, or No. 83, into an iron frying-pan, and when it is
hot, lay in the steaks, and keep turning them till they are
done enough. For sauce, see No. 356, and for the accom-
paniments, No. 94.

O6. Unless the fire be prepared on purpose, we like this
way of cooking them ; the gravy is preserved, and the meat
is more equally dressed, and more evenly browned ; which
makes it more relishing, and invites the eye to encourage
the appetite.

Beef-steaks and Onions. (No. 86. See also No. 501.)

Fry the steaks according to the directions given in the
preceding receipt; and have ready for them some onions
prepared as directed in No. 299.

For stewed rump-steaks, see Nos. 500 and 501.

Sausages, (No. 87.)

Are best when quite fresh made. Put a bit of butter, or
dripping (No. 83), into a clean frying-pan ; as soon as it is
melted (before it gets hot) put in the sausages, and shake
the pan for a minute, 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, placed before the fire for
a couple of minutes to drain the fat from them. The secret
of frying sausages is, to let them get hot very gradually ;
they then will not burst, if they are not stale.

The common practice to prevent their bursting, is to prick
them with a fork ; but this lets the gravy out.

You may froth them by rubbing them with cold fresh but-
ter, and lightly dredge them with flour, and put them in a
cheese-toaster or Dutch oven for a minute.

Some over-economical cooks insist that no butter or lard.

FRYING. 1 49

&c. is required, their own fat being sufficient to fry them :
we have tried it ; the sausages were partially scorched, and
had that piebald appearance that all fried things have when
sufficient fat is not allowed.

Obs. Poached eggs (No. 548), pease-pudding (No. 555 )>
and mashed potatoes (No. 106) are agreeable accompani-
ments to sausages; and sausages are as welcome with
boiled or roasted poultry or veal, or boiled tripe (No. 18); so
are ready-dressed German sausages (see Mem. to No. 13);
and a convenient, easily digestible, and invigorating food for
the aged, and those whose teeth are defective ; as is also
No. 503. For sauce No. 356 ; to make mustard, Nos. 369
and 370.

N.B. Sausages, when finely chopped, are a delicate " bonne
bouche ;" and require very little assistance from the teeth to
render them quite ready for the stomach.

Sweetbreads full-dressed. (No. 88.)

Parboil them, and let them get cold ; then cut them in
pieces, about three-quarters of an inch thick ; dip them in
the yelk of an egg, then in fine bread-crumbs (some add
spice, lemon-peel, and sweet herbs) ; put some clean drip-
ping (No. 83) into a frying-pan : when it boils, put in the
sweetbreads, and fry them a fine brown. For garnish, crisp
parsley ; and for sauce, mushroom catchup and melted but-
ter, or anchovy sauce, or Nos. 356, 343, or 343*, or bacon or
ham, as Nos. 526 and 527.

Sweetbreads plain. (No. 89.)

Parboil 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 or parsley, or crisp parsley
(No. 318). For sauce, No. 356, or No. 307, and slices of
ham or bacon, as No. 526, or No. 527, or forcemeat balls
made as Nos. 375 and 378.

* # * Take care to have a fresh sweetbread ; it spoils sooner
than almost any thing, therefore should be parboiled as soon
as it comes in. This is called blanching, or setting it ; mut-
ton kidneys (No. 95) are sometimes broiled and sent up with
sweetbreads.

Veal Cutlets. (No. 90 and No. 521.)
Let your cutlets be about half an inch thick ; trim them.

J 50 FRYING.

and flatten them with a cleaver ; you may fry them in fresh
butfer, or good drippings (No. 83) ; when brown on one side,
turn them and do the other ; if the fire is very fierce, they
must change sides oftener. The time they will take depends
on the thickness of the cutlet and the heat of the fire ; half
an inch thick will take about fifteen minutes. Make some
gravy, by putting the trimmings into a stew-pan with a little
soft water, an onion, a roll of lemon-peel, a blade of mace,
a sprig of thyme and parsley, and a bay leaf ; stew over a
slow fire an hour, then strain it ; put an ounce of butter into
a stew-pan ; as soon as it is melted, mix with it as much
flour as will dry it up, stir it over the fire for a few minutes,
then add the gravy by degrees till it is all mixed, boil it for
five minutes, and strain it through a tamis sieve, and put it to
the cutlets ; you may add some browning (No. 322), mush-
room (No. 439), or walnut catchup, or lemon pickle, &c. :
see also sauces, Nos. 343 and 348. Or,

Cut the veal into pieces about as big as a crown-piece,
beat them with a cleaver, dip them in eggs beat up with a
little salt, and then in fine bread-crumbs ; fry them a light
brown in boiling lard ; serve under them some good gravy
or mushroom sauce (No. 307), which may be made in five
minutes. Garnish with slices of ham or rashers of bacon
(Nos. 526 and 527), or pork sausages (No. 87).

06s. Veal forcemeat or stuffing (Nos. 374, 375, and 378),
pork sausages (No. 87), rashers of bacon (Nos. 526 and
527), are very relishing accompaniments, fried and sent up
in the form of balls or cakes, and laid round as a garnish.

Lamb, or Mutton Chops, (No. 92.}

Are dressed in the same way, and garnished with crisp
parsley (No. 318) and slices of lemon.

If they are bread-crumbed and covered with buttered
writing-paper, and then broiled, they are called " maintenon
cutlets."

Pork Chops. (No. 93.)

Cut the chops about half an inch thick ; trim them neatly
(few cooks have any idea how much credit they get by this)*;
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, they will be done enough in about fifteen minutes;

BROILING. 151

lake one upon a plate and try it ; if done, season it with
a little finely-minced onion, powdered sage, and pepper and
salt. For gravy and sauce, see Nos. 300, 304, 341, and 356.

Obs. A little powdered sage, &c. strewed over them, will
give them a nice relish, or the savoury powder in No. 51, or
forcemeat sausages like No. 378.

Do not have them cut too thick, about three chops to an
inch and a quarter ; trim them neatly, beat them flat, have
ready some sweet herbs, or sage and onion chopped fine, put
them in a stew-pan with a bit of butter about as big as a
walnut, let them have one fry, beat two eggs on a plate with
a little salt, add to them the herbs, mix it all well together,
dip the chops in one at a time all over, and then with bread-
crumbs fry them in hot lard or drippings till they are a light
brown.

Obs. Veal, lamb, or mutton chops, are very good dressed
in like manner.

To fry fish, see No. 145.

N.B. To fry eggs and omelets, and other things, see No.
545, and the Index.

BROILING.

'Chops or Steaks.* (No. 94.)

To stew them, see No. 500, ditto with onions, No. 501.

Those who are nice about steaks, never attempt to have
them, except in weather which permits the meat to be hung
till it is tender, and give the butcher some days' notice of
their wish for them.

If, friendly reader, you wish to entertain your mouth with
a superlative beef-steak, you must have the inside of the
sirloin cut into steaks. The next best steaks are those cut

* The season for these is from the 29th of September to the 25th of March ; to
ensure their being tender when out of season, STKW THEM as in receipt No. 500.

TO WARM UP COLD R0MP-STSAKS.

Lay them in a stew-pan, with one large onion cut in quarters, six berries of all-
spice, the same of black pepper, cover the steaks with boiling water, let them stew
gently one hour, thicken the liquor with flour and butter nibbed together on a plate ;
if a pint of gravy, about one ounce of flour, and the like weight of butter, will do -,
put it into the stew-pan, shake it well over the fire for five minutes, and it is ready ;
lay the steaks and onions on a dish and pour the gravy through a sieve over them.

162 BROILING.

from the middle of a rump, that has been killed at least four
days in moderate weather, and much longer in cold weather,
when they can be cut about six inches long, four inches
wide, and half an inch thick : do not beat them, which vulgar
trick breaks the cells in which the gravy of the meat is
contained, ar?d it becomes dry and tasteless.

N.B. If your butcher sends steaks which are not tender,
we do not insist that you should object to let him be beaten.

Desire the butcher to cut them of even thickness ; if he
does not, divide the thicker from the thinner pieces, and give
them time accordingly.

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 atten-
tions, this very common dish, which every body is supposed
capable of dressing, seldom comes to table in perfection.

Ask those you cook for, if they like it under, or thoroughly
done ; and what accompaniments they like best ; it is usual
to put a table-spoonful of catchup (No. 439), or a little
minced eschalot, or No. 402, into a dish before the fire ;
while you are broiling, turn the steak, &c. 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. Nos. 135, 278, 299,
S55, 402, 423, 439, and 356, are the sauces usually composed
for chops and steaks.

N.B. Macbeth's receipt for beef-steaks is the best

" when ' is done, ' were well

If ' were done quickly."

Obs. " Le veritable BIFTECK, comme il se fait en Angleterre?
as Mons. Beauvilliers calls (in his VArt du Cwm'mer, torn. i.
8vo. Paris, 1814, p. 122) what he says we call "romesteck"
is as highly esteemed by our French neighbours, as their
** rago&ts" are by our countrymen, who

-" post to Paris go,

Merely to taste their soups, and mushrooms know."

KINO'S Art of Cookery, p. 79.

These lines were written before the establishment of Al-
bion house, Aldersgate Street, where every luxury that nature
and art produce is served of the primest quality, and in the
most scientific manner, in a style of princely magnificence
and perfect comfort ; the wines, liqueurs, &c. are superlative.

BROILING. 153

and eveiy department of the business of the banquet is con-
ducted in the most liberal manner.

The French author whom we have before so often quoted,
assures les amateurs de bonne chere on the other side of the
water, it is well worth their while to cross the channel to
taste this favourite English dish, which, when " mortifite a
son point" and well dressed, he says, is superior to most of
the subtle double relishes of the Parisian kitchen. Alma-
nack des Gourmands, vol. i. p. 27.

Beef is justly accounted the most nutritious animal food,
and is entitled to the same rank among solid, that brandy is
among liquid stimuli.

The celebrated TRAINER, Sir Thomas Parkyns, of Bunny
Park, Bart., in his book on Wrestling, 4to. 3d edit. 1727, p.
10, &c., greatly prefers beef-eaters to sheep-biters, as he
called those who ate mutton.

When Humphries the pugilist was trained by Ripsham,
the keeper of Ipswich jail, he was at first fed on beef, but
got so much flesh, it was changed for mutton, roasted or
broiled : when broiled, great part of the nutritive juices of
the meat is extracted.

The principles upon which training* is conducted, resolve
themselves into temperance without abstemiousness, and
exercise without fatigue.

Kidneys. (No. 95.)

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
for them in the pan (after you have taken out the kidneys),
by putting in a tea-spoonful of flour ; as 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. For sauce, Nos.
318, 355, and 356.

Obs. 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.

* See "THE ART OP INVIGORATING AND PROLONGING LIFB," by the editor of
" THE COOK'S ORACLE." Published by G. B. Whlttaker, No. 13, Ave-Maria Lane.

51 BROILING.

A Fowl or Rabbit, c. (No. 97.)

We can only recommend this method of dressing when
the fire is not good enough for roasting.

Pick and truss it the same as for boiling, 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 chicken 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 burned. Lay it on a hot dish ; pickled
mushrooms, or mushroom sauce (No. 305), thrown over it,
or parsley and butter (No. 261), or melted butter flavoured
with mushroom catchup (No. 307).

Garnish it with slices of lemon; and the liver and giz-
zard slit and notched, seasoned with pepper and salt, and
broiled nicely brown, with some slices of lemon. For grill
sauce, see No. 355.

N.B. " It was a great mode, and taken up by the court
party in Oliver Cromwell's time, to roast half capons, pre-
tending they had a more exquisite taste and nutriment than
when dressed whole." See JOAN CROMWELL'S Kitchen, Lon-
don, 1664, page 39.

Pigeons, (No. 98.)

To be worth the trouble of picking, must be well grown,
and well fed.

Clean them well, and pepper and salt them ; broil them
over a clear, slow fire ; turn them often, and put a little but-
ter on them : when they are done, pour over them, either
stewed (No. 305) or pickled mushrooms, or catchup and
melted butter (No. 307, or No. 348 or 355).

Garnish with fried bread-crumbs or sippets (No. 319) : or,
when the pigeons are trussed as for boiling, flat them with a
cleaver, taking care not to break the skin of the backs or
breasts. Season them with pepper and salt, a little bit of
butter, and a tea-spoonful of water, and tie them close at
both ends ; so that 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 herbs, if you
please) ; then lay them on the gridiron, and turn them fre-
quently : if your fire is not very clear, lay them on a sheet
of paper well buttered, to keep them from getting smoked.
They are much better broiled whole.

The same sauce as in the preceding receipt, or No. 343
or 348.

VEAL CUTLETS (No. 521 and No. 91 ). PORK CHOPS (No. 93).

VEGETABLES. 155

VEGETABLES.

Sixteen Ways of dressing Potatoes.* (No. 102.)

THE vegetable kingdom affords no food more wholesome,
more easily procured, easily prepared, or less expensive, than
the potato : yet, although this most useful vegetable is dressed
almpst every day, in almost every family, for one plate of
potatoes that comes to table as it should, ten are spoiled.

Be careful in your choice of potatoes : no vegetable varies
so much in colour, size, shape, consistence, and flavour.

The reddish-coloured are better than the white, but the
yellowish-looking ones are the best. Choose those of a
moderate size, free from blemishes, and fresh, and buy them
in the mould. They must not be wetted till they are cleaned
to be cooked. Protect them from the air and frost, by lay-
ing them in heaps in a cellar, covering them with mats, or
burying them in sand or in earth. The action of frost is
most destructive : if it be considerable, the life of the vege-
table is destroyed, and the potato speedily rots.

Wash them, but do not pare or cut them, unless they arc
very large. Fill a sauce-pan half full of potatoes of equal
sizef (or make them so by dividing the larger ones), put to
them as much cold water as will cover them about an inch :
they are sooner boiled, and more savoury, than when drowned
in water. Most boiled things are spoiled by having too
little water, but potatoes are often spoiled by too much : they
must merely be covered, and a little allowed for waste in
boiling, so that they may be just covered at the finish.

Set them on a moderate fire till they boil ; then take them
off, and put them by the side of the fire to simmer slowly till
they are soft enough to admit a fork (place no dependence
on the usual test of their skins' cracking, which, if they are
boiled fast, will happen to some potatoes when they are not
half done, and the insides quite hard). Then pour the water

* " Next to bread, there is no vegetable article, the preparation of which, as food,
deserves to be more attended to, than the potato." -Sir JOHN SINCLAIR'S Code of
Health, vol. i. p. 354.

" By the analysis of pQfato, it appears that 16 ounces contained 11 J ounces of
water, and the 4J ounces of solid parts remaining, afforded scarce a drachm of
earth."^PARMENTiER's Ohs. on Nutritive Vegetables, 8vo. 1783, p. 112.

t Or the small ones will be done to pieces before the large ones are boiled
enough.

166 VEGETABLES.

off (if you let the potatoes remain in the water a moment
after they are done enough, they will become waxy and wa-
tery), uncover the sauce-pan, and set it at such a distance
from the fire as will secure it from burning; their super-
fluous moisture will evaporate, and the potatoes will be per-
fectly dry and mealy.

You may afterward place a napkin, folded up to the size
of the sauce-pan's diameter, over the potatoes, to keep them
iiot and mealy till wanted.

Obs. This method of managing potatoes is in every re-
spect equal to steaming them ; and they are dressed in half
the time.

There is such an infinite variety of sorts and sizes of pota-
toes, that it is impossible to say how long they will take
doing : the best way is to try them with a fork. Moderate-
sized potatoes will generally be done enough in fifteen or
twenty minutes. See Obs. to No. 106.

Cold Potatoes fried. (No. 102*.)

Put a bit of clean dripping into a frying-pan : when it is
melted, slice in your potatoes with a little pepper and salt ;
put them on the fire ; keep stirring them : when they are quite-
hot, they are ready.

Obs. This is a veiy good way of re-dressing potatoes, or
see No. 106.

Potatoes boiled and broiled. (No. 103.)

Dress your potatoes as before directed, and put them ou
a gridiron over a very clear and brisk fire : turn them till they
are brown all over, and send them up dry, with melted butter
in a cup.

Potatoes fried in Slices or Shavings. (No. 104.)

Peel large potatoes ; slice them about a quarter of an inch
thick, or cut them in shavings round and round, as you would
peel a lemon ; dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them
in lard or dripping. Take care that your fat and frying-pan
are quite clean ; put it on a quick fire, watch it, and as soon
as the lard boils, and is still, put in the slices of potato, and
keep moving them till they are crisp. Take them up, and
lay them to drain on a sieve : send them up with a very little
salt sprinkled over them.

VEGETABLES. 157

Potatoes fried whole. (No. 105.)

When nearly boiled enough, as directed in No. 102, put
them into a stew-pan with a bit of butter, or some nice clean
beef-drippings ; shake them about often (for fear of burning
them), till they are brown and crisp ; drain them from the fat.

Obs. It will be an elegant improvement to the last three
receipts, previous to frying or broiling the potatoes, to flour
them and dip them in the yelk of an egg, and then roll them
in fine-sifted bread-crumbs; they will then deserve to be
called POTATOES FULL DRESSED.

Potatoes mashed. (No. 106. See also No. 112.)

When your potatoes are thoroughly boiled, drain them
quite dry, pick out every speck, &c., and while hot, rub them
through a colander into a clean stew-pan. To a pound of
potatoes put about half an ounce of butter, and a table-spoon-
ful of milk : do not make them too moist ; mix them well
together.

Obs. After Lady-day, when the potatoes are getting old
and specky, and in frosty weather, this is the best way of
dressing them. You may put them into shapes or small
tea-cups ; egg them with yelk of egg, and brown them very
slightly before a slow fire. See No. 108.

Potatoes mashed -with Onions. (No. 107.)

Prepare some boiled onions by putting them through a
sieve, and mix them with potatoes. In proportioning the
onions to the potatoes, you will be guided by your wish to
have more or less of their flavour.

Obs. See note under No. 555.

Potatoes escaloped. (No. 108.)

Mash potatoes as directed in No. 106 ; then butter some
nice clean scollop-shells, patty-pans, or tea-cups or saucers ;
put in your potatoes ; make them smooth at the top ; cross
a knife over them ; strew a few fine bread-crumbs on them ;
sprinkle them with a paste-brush with a few drops of melted
butter, and then set them in a Dutch oven ; when they are
browned on the top, take them carefully out of the shells
and brown* the other side.

Colcannon* (No. 108*.)

Boil potatoes and greens, or spinage, separately ; mash the
O

158 VEGETABLES.

potatoes; squeeze the greens dry; chop them quite fine,
and mix them with the potatoes, with a little butter, pepper,
and salt ; put it into a mould, buttering it well first ; let it
stand in a hot oven for ten minutes.

Potatoes roasted. (No. 109.)

Wash and dry your potatoes (all of a size), and put them
in a tin Dutch oven, or cheese-toaster : take care not to put
them too near the fire, or they will get burned on the outside
before they are warmed through.

Large potatoes will require two hours to roast them.

N.B. To save time and trouble, some cooks half boil
them first.

This is one of the best opportunities the BAKER has to
rival the cook.

Potatoes roasted under Meat. (No. 110.)

Half boil large potatoes, drain the water from them,
and put them into an earthen dish, or small tin pan, under
meat that is roasting, and baste them with some of the
dripping : when they are browned on one side, turn them
and brown the other ; send them up round the meat, or
in a small dish.

Potato Balls. (No. 111.)

Mix mashed potatoes with the yelk of an egg; roll
them into balls ; flour them, or egg and bread-crumb them ;
and fry them in clean drippings, or brown them in a
Dutch oven.

Potato Balls Ragout, (No. 112.)

Are made by adding to a pound of potatoes a quarter of a
pound of grated ham, or some sweet herbs, or chopped
parsley, an onion or eschalot, salt, pepper, and a little grated
nutmeg, 01 other spice, with the yelk of a couple of eggs :
they are then to be dressed as No. 111.

Ubs. An agreeable vegetable relish, and a good sup-
per-dish.

Potato Snow. -(No. 114.)

The potatoes must be free /rom spots, and the whitest
you can pick out ; put them on in cold water ; when they
begin to crack strain the water from them, and put them

VEGETABLES. 159

into a clean stew-pan by the side of the fire till they are
quite dry, and fall to pieces ; rub them through a wire sieve
on the dish they are to be sent up in, and do not disturb
them afterward.

Potato Pie. (No. 115.)

Peel and slice your potatoes very thin into a pie-dish;
between each layer of potatoes put a little chopped onion
(three-quarters of an ounce of onion is sufficient for a pound
of potatoes) ; between each layer sprinkle a little pepper
and salt ; put in a little water, and cut about two ounces of
fresh butter into little bits, and lay them on the top : cover
it close with puff paste. It will take about an hour and a
half to bake it.

N.B. The yelks of four eggs (boiled hard) maybe added;
and when baked, a table-spoonful of good mushroom catchup
poured in through a funnel.

Obs. Cauliflowers divided into mouthfuls, and button
onions, seasoned with curry powder, &c. make a favourite
vegetable pie.

JVeTBj Potatoes. (No. 116.)

The best way to clean new potatoes is to rub them with a
coarse cloth or flannel, a or scrubbing-brush, and proceed as
in No. 102.

N.B. New potatoes are poor, watery, and insipid, till they
are full two inches in diameter: they are not worth the
trouble of boiling before midsummer day.

Obs. Some cooks prepare sauces to pour over potatoes,
made with butter, salt, and pepper, or gravy, or melted butter
and catchup ; or stew the potatoes in ale, or water seasoned
with pepper and salt ; or bake them with herrings or sprats,
mixed with layers of potatoes, seasoned with pepper, salt,
sweet herbs, vinegar, and water; or cut mutton or beef
into slices, and lay them in a stew-pan, and on them pota-
toes and spices, then another layer of the meat alternately,
pouring in a little water, covering it up very close, and
slewing slowly.

Potato mucilage (a good substitute for arrow-root),
No. 448.*

* Sweet potatoes, otherwise called Carolina potatoes, are the roots of the Convol-
vulus batatas, a plant peculiar to and principally cultivated in America. It delights
in a warm climate, but is raised in Connecticut, New- York, and all the states of the
Union south of New- York. It is an excellent vegetable for the dinner-table, and is
brought on boiled. It has an advantage over common potatoes, as it may be eaten

160 VEGETABLES.

Jerusalem Artichokes, (No. 117.)

Are boiled and dressed in the various ways we have just
before directed for potatoes.

N.B. They should be covered with thick melted butter, or
a nice white or brown sauce.

Cabbage. (No. 118.)

Pick cabbages very clean, and wash them thoroughly;
then look them over carefully again ; quarter them if they
are very large. Put them into a sauce-pan with plenty of
boiling water; if any scum rises, take it off; put a large
spoonful of salt into the sauce-pan, and boil them till the
stalks feel tender. A young cabbage will take about twenty
minutes or half an hour ; when full grown, near an hour :
see that they are well covered with water all the time, and
that no smoke or dirt arises from stirring the fire. With
careful management, they will look as beautiful when dressed
as they did when growing.

Obs. Some cooks say, that it will much ameliorate the
flavour of strong old cabbages to boil them in two waters ;
i. e. when they are half done, to take them out, and
put them directly into another sauce-pan of boiling water,
instead of continuing them in the water into which they
were first put.

Boiled Cabbage fried. (No. 119.)
See receipt for Bubble and Squeak.

Savoys, (No. 120.)

Are boiled in the same manner ; quarter them when you
send them to table.

Sprouts and young Greens. (No. 121.)

The receipt we have written for cabbages will answer
as well for sprouts, only they will be boiled enough in fifteen
or twenty minutes.

Spinage. (No. 122.)

Spinage should be picked a leaf at a time, and washed in
three or four waters ; when perfectly clean, lay it on a sieve
or colander, to drain the water from it.

cold ; and it is sometimes cut into thin slices and brought to the tea-table, as a deli-
cate relish, owing to ita agreeable nutritious sweetness. A.

VEGETABLES. 161

Put a sauce-pan on the fire three parts filled with water,
and large enough for the spinage to float in it ; put a small
handful of salt in it ; let it boil ; skim it, and then put in the
spinage ; make it boil as quick as possible till quite tender,
pressing the spinage down frequently that it may be done
equally; it will be done enough in about ten minutes, if boiled
in plenty of water : if the spinage is a little old, give it a few
minutes longer. When done, strain it on the back of a sieve ;
squeeze it dry with a plate, or between two trenchers ; chop
it fine, and put it into a stew-pan with a bit of butter and a
little salt : a little cream is a great improvement, or instead
of either some rich gravy. Spread it in a dish, and score it
into squares of proper size to help at table.

Obs. Grated nutmeg, or mace, and a little lemon-juice,
is a favourite addition with some cooks, and is added
when you stir it up in the stew-pan with the butter gar-
nished. Spinage is frequently served with poached eggs
and fried bread.

Asparagus. (No. 123.)

Set a stew-pan with plenty of water in it on the fire;
sprinkle a handful of salt in it ; let it boil, and skim it ; then
put in your asparagus, prepared thus : scrape all the stalks
till they are perfectly clean ; throw them into a pan of cold
water as you scrape them ; when they are all done, tie them
up in little bundles, of about a quarter of a hundred each,
with bass, if you can get it, or tape (string cuts them to
pieces) ; cut off the stalks at the bottom that they may be all
of a length, leaving only just enough to serve as a handle
for the green part ; when they are tender at the stalk, which
will be in from twenty to thirty minutes, they are done
enough. Great care must be taken to watch the exact time
of their becoming tende. ; take them up just at that instant,
and they will have their true flavour and colour : a minute
or two more boiling destroys both.

While the asparagus is boiling, toast a round of a quartern
loaf, about half an inch thick ; brown it delicately on both
sides; dip it lightly in the liquor the asparagus was boiled
in, and lay it in the middle of a dish : melt some butter (No.
25(>) ; then lay in the asparagus upon the toast, which must
project beyond the asparagus,,that the company may see
there is a toast.

Pour no butter over them, but send some up in a boat, or
white sauce (No, 2 of No. 364).
02

162 VEGETABLES.

Sea Kale, (No. 124.)

Is tied up in bundles, and dressed in the same way as
asparagus.

Cauliflower. (No. 125.)

Choose those that are close and white, and of the middle
size ; trim off the outside leaves ; cut the stalk off flat at
the bottom ; let them lie in salt and water an hour before
you boil them.

Put them into boiling water with a handful of salt in it ;
skim it well, and let it boil slowly till done, which a small
one will be in fifteen, a large one in about twenty minutes ;
take it up the moment it is enough, a minute or two longer
boiling will spoil it.

N.B. Cold cauliflowers and French beans, carrots and
turnips, boiled so as to eat rather crisp, are sometimes
dressed as a salad (No. 372 or 453).

Broccoli. (No. 126.)

Set a pan of clean cold water on the table, and a sauce-
pan on the fire with plenty of water, and a handful of salt
in it.

Broccoli is prepared by stripping off all the side shoots,
leaving the top ; peel off the skin of the stalk with a knife ;
cut it close off at the bottom, and put it into the pan of
cold water.

When the water in the stew-pan boils, and the broccoli is
ready, put it in ; let it boil briskly till the stalks feel tender,
from ten to twenty minutes ; take it up with a slice, that
you may not break it ; let it drain, and serve up.

If some of the heads of broccoli are much bigger than
the others, put them on to boil first, so that they may get all
done together.

Obs. It makes a nice supper-dish served upon a toast,
like asparagus. It is a very delicate vegetable, and you
must take it up the moment it is done, and send it to
table hot.

Red Beet-roots, (No. 127.)

Are not so much used as they deserve ; they are dressed in
the same way as parsnips, only neither scraped nor cut till
after they are boiled ; they will take from an hour and a half
to three hours in boiling, according to their size : to be sent
to table with salt fish, boiled beef, &c. When young, large,

VEGETABLES. 163

and juicy, it is a very good variety, an excellent garnish, and
easily converted into a very cheap and pleasant pickle.

Parsnips, (No. 128.)

Are to be cooked just in the same manner as carrots. They
require more or less time according to their size ; therefore
match them in size : and you must try them by thrusting a
fork into them as they are in the water; when that goes
easily through, they are done enough. Boil them from an
hour to two hours, according to their size and freshness.

Obs. Parsnips are sometimes sent up mashed in the same
way as turnips, and some cooks quarter them before they
boil them.*

Carrots. (No. 129.)

Let them be well washed and brushed, not scraped. An
hour is enough for young spring carrots ; grown carrots must
be cut in half, and will take from an hour and a half to two
hours and a half. When done, rub off the peels with a clean
coarse cloth, and slice them in two or four, according to their
size. The best way to try if they are done enough, is to
pierce them with a fork.

Obs. Many people are fond of cold carrot with cold beef;
ask if you shall cook enough for some to be left to send up
with the cold meat.

Turnips. (No. 130.)

Peel off half an inch of the stringy outside. Full-grown
turnips will take about an hour and a half gentle boiling ; if
you slice them, which most people do, they will be done
sooner ; try them with a fork ; when tender, take them up, and
lay them on a sieve till the water is thoroughly drained from
them. Send them up whole ; do not slice them.

N.B. To very young turnips leave about two inches of the
green top. See No. 132.

To mash Turnips. (No. 131.)

When they are boiled quite tender, squeeze them as dry
as possible between two trenchers ; put them into a sauce-
pan ; mash them with a wooden spoon, and rub them through

* After parsnips are boiled, they should be put into the frying-pan and browned
a little. Some people do not admire this vegetable, on account of its sickish sweet-
ness. It is, however, a wholesome, cheap, and nourishing vegetable, best calculated
for the table in winter and spring. Its sweetness may be modified by mashing with
a few potatoes. A.

164 VEGETABLES.

a colander ; add a little bit of butter ; keep stirring them till
the butter is melted and well mixed with them, and they are
ready for table.

Turnip-tops, (No. 132.)

Are the shoots which grow out (in the spring) of the old
turnip-roots. Put them into cold water an hour before they
are to be dressed ; the more water they are boiled in, the
better they will look ; if boiled in a small quantity of water
they will taste bitter : when the water boils, put in a small
handful of salt, and then your vegetables ; if fresh and young,
they will be done in about twenty minutes ; drain them on
the back of a sieve.

French Beans. (No. 133.)

Cut off the stalk end first, and then turn to the point and
strip off the strings. If not quite fresh, have a bowl of spring-
water, with a little salt dissolved in it, standing before you,
and as the beans are cleaned and stringed, throw them in.
When all are done, put them on the fire in boiling water, with
some salt in it; after they have boiled fifteen or twenty
minutes, take one out and taste it ; as soon as they are ten- t
der take them up ; throw them into a colander or sieve to
drain.

To send up the beans whole is much the best method when
they are thus young, and their delicate flavour and colour are
much better preserved. When a little more grown, they
must be cut across in two after stringing ; and for common
tables they are split, and divided across; cut them all the
same length ; but those who are nice never have them at such
a growth as to require splitting.

When they are very large they look pretty cut into lozenges.

Obs. See N.B. to No. 125.

Green Pease.* (No. 134.)

Young green pease, well dressed, are among the most deli-
cious delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. They must be
young ; it is equally indispensable that they be fresh gathered,
and cooked as soon as they are shelled for they soon lose
both their colour and sweetness.

* These, and all other fruits and vegetables, &c., by Mr. APPERT'S plan, it is said,
may be preserved for twelve months. See APPERT'S Book, 12mo. 1812. We have
eaten of several specimens of preserved pease, which looked pretty enough, but
flavour they had none at all.

VEGETABLES. 166

If you wish to feast upon pease in perfection, you must
have them gathered the same day they are dressed, and put
on to boil within half an hour after they are shelled.

Pass them through a riddle, t. e. a coarse sieve, which is
made for the purpose of separating them. This precaution
is necessary, for large and small pease cannot be boiled
together, as the former will take more time than the latter.

For a peck of pease, set on a sauce-pan with a gallon of
water in it ; when it boils, put in your pease, with a table-
spoonful of salt ; skim it well, keep them boiling quick from
twenty to thirty minutes, according to their age and size.
The best way to judge of their being done enough, and indeed
the only way to make sure of cooking them to, and not
beyond, the point of perfection, or, as pea-eaters say, of
" boiling them to a bubble," is to take them out with a spoon
and taste them.

When they are done enough, drain them on a hair-sieve.
If you like them buttered, put them into a pie-dish, divide
some butter into small bits, and lay them on the pease ; put
another dish over them, and turn them over and over ; this
will melt the butter through them ; but as all people do not
like buttered pease, you had better send them to table plain,
as they come out of the sauce-pan, with melted butter (No.
256) in a sauce-tureen. It is usual to boil some mint with
the pease ; but if you wish to garnish the pease with mint,
boil a few sprigs in a sauce-pan by themselves. See Sage
and Onion Sauce (No. 300), and Pea Powder (No. 458) ; to
boil Bacon (No. 13), Slices of Ham and Bacon (No. 526), and
Relishing Rashers of Bacon (No. 527).

N.B. A peck of young pease will not yield more than
enough for a couple of hearty pea-eaters ; when the pods are
full, it may serve for three.

MEM. Never think of purchasing pease ready-shelled, for
the cogent reasons assigned in the first part of this receipt.

Cucumbers stewed. {No. 135.)

Peel and cut cucumbers in quarters, take out the seeds,
and lay them on a cloth to drain off the water : when they
are dry, flour and fry them in fresh butter ; let the butter be
quite hot before you put in the cucumbers ; fry them till they
are brown, then take them out with an egg-slice, and lay
them on a sieve to drain the fat from them (some cooks fry
sliced onions, or some small button onions, with them, till
they are a delicate light-brown colour, drain them from the
fat, and then put them into a stew-pan with as much gravy

166 VEGETABLES.

as will cover them) : stew slowly till they are tender ; take
out the cucumbers with a slice, thicken the gravy with flour
and butter, give it a boil up, season it with pepper and salt,
and put in the cucumbers ; as soon as they are warm, they
are ready.

The above, rubbed through a tamis, or fine sieve, will be
entitled to be called " cucumber sauce." See No. 399, Cu-
cumber Vinegar. This is a very favourite sauce with lamb i
or mutton-cutlets, stewed rump-steaks, &c. &c. : when made
for the latter, a third part of sliced onion is sometimes fried
"with the cucumber.*

Artichokes. (No. 136.)

Soak them in cold water, wash them well, then put them
into plenty of boiling water, with a handful of salt, and let
them boil gently till they are tender, which will take an hour
and a half, or two hours : the surest way to know when they
are done enough, is to draw out a leaf; trim them and drain
them on a sieve ; and send up melted butter with them, which
some put into small cups, so that each guest may have one.

Stewed Onions. (No. 137.)

The large Portugal onions are the best : take off the top-
coats of half a dozen of these (taking care not to cut off the
tops or tails too near, or the onions will go to pieces), and
put them into a stew-pan broad enough to hold them without
laying them atop of one another, and just cover them with
good broth.

Put them over a slow fire, and let them simmer about two
hours ; when you dish them, turn them upside down, and
pour the sauce over.

Young onions stewed, see No. 296.

Salads. (No. 138*, also No. 372).

Those who desire to see this subject elaborately illustrated,
we refer to " EVELYN'S Acetaria? a discourse of Sallets, a
12mo. of 240 pages. London, 1699.

* Cucumbers may be cut into quarters and boiled like asparagus, and served up
with toasted bread and melted butter. This is a most delicate way of preparing
cucumbers for the dinner-table, and they are a most luscious article, and so rich and
savoury that a small quantity will suffice.

The ordinary method of cutting cucumbers into slices with raw onions, served up
in vinegar, and seasoned with salt and pepper, is most vulgar and most unwhole-
some. In their season they are cheap and plenty ; and as they are crude and unripe
they require the stomach of an ostrich to digest them. They cause much sickness
in their season, creating choleras, cramps, and dysenteries. If stewed or boiled as
above directed, they would be more nutritious and wholesome. A.

FISH. 167

Mr. E. gives us " an account of seventy-two herbs proper
and fit to make sallet with ;" and a table of thirty-five, tell-
ing their seasons and proportions. " In the composure of a
sallet, every plant should come in to bear its part, like the
notes in music : thus the comical Master Cook introduced by
Damoxenus, when asked, * what harmony there was in
meats ?' * the very same,' says he, * as the 3d, 5th, and 8th
have to one another in music : the main skill lies in this, not
to mingle' (' sapores minime consentientes*). ' Tastes not well
joined, inelegant,' as our Paradisian bard directs Eve, when
dressing a sallet for her angelical guest, in MILTON'S Para-
dise Lost."

He gives the following receipt for the oxoleon :

" Take of clear and perfectly good oyl-olive three parts ;
of sharpest vinegar (sweetest of all condiments, for it incites
appetite, and causes hunger, which is the best sauce), limon,
or juice of orange, one part; and therein let steep some
slices of horseradish, with a little salt. Some, in a separate
vinegar, gently bruise a pod of Ginny pepper, and strain it
to the other ; then add as much mustard as will lie upon a
half-crown piece. Beat and mingle these well together with
the yelk of two new-laid eggs boiled hard, and pour it over
your sallet, stirring it well together. The super-curious
insist that the knife with which sallet herb is cut must be
of silver. Some who are husbands of their oyl, pour at first
the oyl alone, as more apt to communicate and diffuse its
slipperiness, than when it is mingled and beaten with the
acids, which they pour on last of all ; and it is incredible how
small a quantity of oyl thus applied is sufficient to imbue a
very plentiful assembly of sallet herbs."

Obs. Our own directions to prepare and dress salads will
be found under No. 372.

FISH.

See Obs. on Codfish after No. 149.
Turbot to 6oi7. (No. 140).

THIS excellent fish is in season the greatest part of the
summer ; when good, it is at once firm and tender, and abounds
with rich gelatinous nutriment.

168 FISH.

Being drawn, and washed clean, if it be quite fresh, by
rubbing it lightly with salt, and keeping it in a cold place,
you may in moderate weather preserve it for a couple of
days.*

An hour or two before you dress it, soak it in spring-
water with some salt in it, then score the skin across the
thickest part of the back, to prevent its breaking on the breast,
which will happen from the fish swelling, and cracking the
skin, if this precaution be not used. Put a large handful of
salt into a fish-kettle with cold water, lay your fish on a fish-
strainer, put it in, and when it is coming to a boil, skim it
well ; then set the kettle on the side of the fire, to boil as
gently as possible for about fifteen or twenty minutes (if it
boils fast, the fish will break to pieces) ; supposing it a mid-
dling-sized turbot, and to weigh eight or nine pounds.

Rub a little of the inside red coral spawn of the lobster
through a hair sieve, without butter ; and when the turbot
is dished, sprinkle the spawn over it. Garnish the dish
with sprigs of curled parsley, sliced lemon, and finely-scraped
horseradish.

If you like to send it to table in full dress, surround it
with nicely-fried smelts (No. 173), gudgeons are often used
for this purpose, and may be bought very cheap when smelts
are very dear ; lay the largest opposite the broadest part of
the turbot, so that they may form a well-proportioned fringe
for it; or oysters (No. 183*) ; or cut a sole in strips, cross-
ways, about the size of a smelt ; fry them as directed in No.
145, and lay them round. Send up lobster sauce (No. 284) ;
two boats of it, if it is for a large party.

N.B. Cold turbot, with No. 372 for sauce ; or take off the
fillets that are left as soon as the turbot returns from table,
and they will make a side dish for your next dinner, warmed
in No. 3642.

Obs. The thickest part is the favourite ; and the carver of

* "I have ascertained, by many years' observation, that a turbot kept two or three
days is much better eating than a very fresh one." UDE'S Cookery, p. 238.

" TURBOTS. The finest brought to the London market arc caught off the Dutch
coast, or German Ocean, and are brought in well-boats alive. The commencement
of the season is generally about March and April, and continues all the summer.
Turbots, like other fish, do not spawn all at the same time ; therefore, Ithere is always
good and bad nearly all the year round. For this year or two past, there has been
an immense quantity brought to London, from all parts, and of all qualities : a great
many from a new fishery off Hartlepool, which are very handsome-looking turbot,
but by no means equal to what are caught off the Dutch coast. Many excellent
turbots are caught off Dover and Dungeness; and a large quantity brought from
Scotland, packed in ice, which are of a very inferior quality, and are generally to
be bought for about one-fourth the price of good turbots.

" Brills are generally caught at the same place as turbots, and are generally of the
same uality as the turbot, from the different parts."

FISH. 1-69

this fish must remember to ask his friends if they are fin-
fanciers. It will save a troublesome job to the carver, if
the cook, when the fish is boiled, cuts the spine-bone across
the middle.

Ji Brill, (No. 143.)
Is dressed the same way as a turbot.

Soles to boil (No. 144.)

A fine, fresh, thick sole is almost as good eating as a
turbot.

Wash and clean it nicely ; put it into a fish-kettle with a
handful of salt, and as much cold water as will cover it ; set
it on the side of the fire, take off the scum as it rises, and
let it boil gently ; about five minutes (according to its size)
will be long enough, unless it be very large. Send it up on
a fish-drainer, garnished with slices of lemon and sprigs
of curled parsley, or nicely-fried smelts (No. 173), or oys-
ters (No. 183).

Obs. Slices of lemon are a universally acceptable garnish
with either fried or broiled fish: a few sprigs of crisp
parsley may be added, if you wish to make it look very
smart ; and parsley, or fennel and butter, are excellent
sauces (see Nos. 261 and 265), or chervil sauce (No. 264)?
anchovy (No. 270).

N.B. Boiled soles are very good warmed up like eels,
Wiggy's way (No. 164), or covered with white sauce (No,
a64 2 ; and see No. 158).

Soles, or other Fish, to fry. (No. 145.)

Soles are generally to be procured good from some part
of the coast, as some are going out of season, and some
coming in, both at the same time ; a great many are brought
in well-boats alive, that are caught off Dover and Folk-
stone, and some are brought from the same places by land-
carriage. The finest soles are caught off Plymouth, near
the Eddystone, and all the way up the channel, and to Tor-
bay ; and frequently weigh eight or ten pounds per pair :
they are generally brought by water to Portsmouth, and
thence by land; but the greatest quantity are caught off
Yarmouth and the Knole, and off the Forelands.

Be sure they are quite fresh, or the cleverest cook cannot
make them either look or eat well.

An hour before you intend to dress them, wash them
P

170 FISH.

thoroughly, and wrap them in a clean cloth, to make them
perfectly dry, or the bread-crumbs will not stick to them.

Prepare some bread-crumbs,* by rubbing- some stale bread
through a colander ; or, if you wish the fish to appear very
delicate and highly-finished, through a hair-sieve; or use
biscuit powder.

Beat the yelk and white of an egg well together, on a
plate, with a fork ; flour your fish, to absorb any moisture
that may remain, and wipe it off with a clean cloth ; dip
them in the egg on both sides all over, or, what is better,
egg them with a paste-brush ; put the egg on in an even
degree over the whole fish, or the bread-crumbs will not
stick to it even, and the uneven part will burn to the pan.
Strew the bread-crumbs all over the fish, so that they
cover every part, take up the fish by the head, and shake
off the loose crumbs. The fish is now ready for the fry-
ing-pan.

Put a quart or more of fresh sweet olive-oil, or clarified
butter (No. 259), dripping (No. 83), lard,f or clarified drip-
pings (No. 83) ; be sure they are quite sweet and perfectly
clean (the fat ought to cover the fish) : what we here order
is for soles about ten inches long ; if larger, cut them into
pieces the proper size to help at table ; this will save much
time and trouble to the carver: when you send them to
table, lay them in the same form they were before they were
cut, and you may strew a little curled parsley over them :
they are much easier managed in the frying-pan, and require
less fat : fry the thick part a few minutes before you put in
the thin, you can by this means only fry the \hick part
enough, without frying the thin too much. Very large
soles should be boiled (No. 144), or fried in fillets (No.
147). Soles cut in pieces, crossways, about the size of a
smelt, make a very pretty garnish for stewed fish and
boiled fish.

Set the frying-pan over a sharp and clear fire ; watch it,
skim it with an egg-slice, and when it boils,J i. e. when it
has done bubbling, and the smoke just begins to rise from
the surface, put in the fish: if the fat is not extremely
hot, it is impossible to fry fish of a good colour, or to keep

* A large pair of soles will take the fourth part of a quartern loaf, which now
costs twopence halfpenny. OATMEAL is a good substitute for bread crumbs, and
costs comparatively nothing ! !

t The FAT will do two or three times, if strained through a hair-sieve, and pnl
by; if you do not find it enough, put a little fresh to it. Read No. 83, and the 3d
chapter of the Rudiments of Cookery.

$ This requires a heat of upwards of 600 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer :
-TRYING is, in fact, boiling in fat.

FISH. 17 f

them firm and crisp. (Read the 3d chapter of the Rudi*
merits of Cookery.)

The best way to ascertain the heat of the fat, is to try it
with a bit of bread as big as a nut ; if it is quite hot enough,
the bread will brown immediately. Put in the fish, and it
will be crisp and brown on the side next the fire, in about
four or five minutes ; to turn it, stick a two-pronged fork near
the head, and support the tail with a fish-slice, and fry the
other side nearly the same length of time.

Fry one sole at a time, except the pan is very large, atld
you have plenty of fat.

When the fish are fried, lay them on a soft cloth (old table-
cloths are best), near enough the fire to keep them warm;
turn them every two or three minutes, till they are quite dry
on both sides ; this common cooks commonly neglect. It
will take ten or fifteen minutes,* if the fat you fried them in
was not hot enough ; when it is, they want very little drying.
When soles are fried, they will keep very good in a dry place
for three or four days ; warm them by hanging them on the
hooks in a Dutch oven, letting them heat very gradually, by-
putting it some distance from the fire for about twenty mi-
nutes, or in good gravy, as eels, Wiggy's way (Nos. 164, 299,
337, or 356).

Obs. There are several general rules in this receipt which
apply to all fried fish : we have been very particular and
minute in our directions; for, although a fried sole is so
frequent and favourite a dish, it is very seldom brought to
table in perfection.!

Soks to stew. (No. 146.)

These are half fried, and then done the same as eels,
Wiggy's way. See No. 164.

Fillets of Soles, brown or "white. (No. 147.)
Take off the fillets very nicely, trim them neatly, and

* If you are in haste, lay the sole on a clean, soft cloth, cover it with it, and gently
press it upou the fish, to suck up the fat from its surface.

f The very indifferent manner in which the operation of frying fish is usually
performed, we suppose, produced the following jeu d 1 esprit, which appeared in The
Morning Chronicle :

"The King's bench reports have cook'd up an odd dish,
An action for damages, fry versus fish.
But, sure, if for damages action could lie,
It certainly must have" been fish against fry."

The author of The Cook's Cookery, 8vo. page 116, does not seem to think this fisfc
can be too fresh ; for he commences his directions with, " Jf you can, get a cod i<
<ut of the sea," &c,

172 PISH.

press them dry between a soft cloth ; egg, crumb, and fry
them, &c. as directed in No. 145, or boil them, and serve
them with No. 3642.

N.B. This is one of the best ways of dressing very large
soles. See also No. 164.

Skate* (No. 148.)

Is very good when in good season, but no fish so bad when
it is otherwise : those persons that like it firm and dry, should
have it crimped ; but those that like it tender, should have
it plain, and eat it not earlier than the second day, and if
cold weather, three or four days old it is better : it cannot be
kept too long, if perfectly sweet. Young skate eats very
fine crimped and fried. See No. 154.

Cod boiled. (No. 1490

Wash and clean the fish, and rub a little salt in the inside
of it (if the weather is very cold, a large cod is the better
for being kept a day): put plenty of water in your fish-
kettle, so that the fish may be well covered ; put in a large
handful of salt ; and when it is dissolved, put in your fish ;
a very small fish will require from fifteen to twenty minutes
after the water boils, a large one about half an hour ; drain
it on the fish-plate ; dish it with a garnish of the roe, liver,
chitterlings, &c. or large native oysters, fried a light brown
(see No. 183*), or smelts (No. 173), whitings (No. 153), the
tailf of the cod cut in slices, or bits the size and shape of

* The skate comes to the New- York market in the spring, but is not esteemed,
as we have many better fish. The part about the flap or side-fin is best. A.

t The TAIL is so much thinner than the thick part of the body, that, if boiled to-
gether, the former will be boiled too much, before the latter is done enough ; there-
fore it should be dressed separate ; and the best way of cooking it is to fry it in slices
or fillets. See No. 151.

" Cod generally comes into good season in October, when, if the weather is cold,
it eats as fine as at any time in the year; towards the latter end of January and
February, and part of March, they are mostly poor; but the latter end of March,
April, and May, they are generally particularly fine ; having shot their spawn, they
:ome in fine order. The Dogger-bank cod are the most esteemed, as they gene-
rally cut in large, fine flakes; the north-country cod, which are caught off the
Orkney Isles, are generally very stringy, or what is commonly called woolly^ and
sell at a very inferior price, but are caught in much greater abundance than the
Dogger cod. The cod are all caught with hook, and brought alive in well- boats to
the London markets. The cod cured on the Dogger-bank is remarkably fine, and
seldom cured above two or three weeks before brought to market ; the barrel cod is
commonly cured on the coast of Scotland and Yorkshire. There is a great deal of
inferior cured salt-fish brought from Newfoundland and Iceland.

" The SKULL of a Dogger-bank cod is one of those concatenations of tit-bits
which some epicures are fond of, either baked or boiled : it is composed of lots of
pretty playthings or such finery, but will not do for those who want a good meal : it
may be bought for about 2s. : either boii it whole, or cut it into pieces, flour and dry
them, and then egg and crumb, and fry them, or stew it (No. 158).

FISH. 173

oysters, or split it, and fry it. Scolloped oysters (No. 182),
oyster sauce (No. 278), slices of cod cut about half an
inch thick, and fried as soles (NO. 145), are very nice.

MEM. The SOUNDS (the jelly parts about the jowl), the
palate, and the tongue are esteemed exquisites by pisci-
vorous epicures, whose longing eyes will keep a sharp
look-out for a share of their favourite " bonne louche :" the
carver's reputation depends much on his equitable distribu-
tion of them.*

Salt Fish boilea. (No. 150.)

Salt fish requires soaking, according to the time it has
been in salt ; trust not to those you buy it of, but taste a bit
of one of the flakes ; that which is hard and dry requires
two nights' soaking, changing the water two or three times ;
the intermediate day, lay it on a stone floor : for barrelled
cod less time will do ; and for the best Dogger-bank split
fish, which has not been more than a fortnight or three
weeks in salt, still less will be needful.

Put it into plenty of cold water, and let it simmer very
gently till it is enough ; if the water boils, the fish will be
tough and thready .f For egg sauce, see No. 267 ; and to
boil red beet-root, No. 127; parsnips, No. 128; Carrots,
No. 129. Garnish salt fish with the yelks of eggs cut into
quarters.

Obs. Our favourite vegetable accompaniment is a dish of
equal parts of red beet-root and parsnips.

N.B. Salted fish differs in quality quite as much as it
does in price.

" The TAIL of a cod cut in fillets or slices, and fried, makes a good dish, and is
generally to be bought at a very reasonable rate ; if boiled, it is soft and watery.
The skull and tail of a cod is a favourite and excellent Scotch dish, stewed, and
served up with anchovy or oyster sauce, with the liquor it is boiled in, in a tureen.

" Ling is brought to the London market in the same manner as cod, but is very
inferior to it, either fresh or salt."

* There are several species of codfish sold alive in the New York markets: of
these, the common cod is the best, and is in season from November till spring.
The price varies from three to six cents the pound, as the market is well or scantily
supplied. The head and shoulders of a large cod, boiled, is the best part to grace the
dinner-table. It is full of rich gelatinous matter, which is savoury and easy pt
digestion. Cod's sounds and tongues are found on the stalls of the fishmongers in
the winter season. They are rich and nourishing, and may be prepared to garnish
the dish, or served up separately boiled. A

t " In the sea-port towns of the New-England states in North America, 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 ot'
cooking it. I have often heard foreigners declare, that they never tasted salt fish
dressed in such perfection : the secret of cooking it, is to keep it for several hours
in water that is jus* scalding hot, but which is never made actually to boil."-
COUNT RUMFORD'S 10th. Essay, p. 18.

174 FISH.

Slices of Cod boiled. (No. 151.)

Half an hour before you dress them, put them into cold
spring-water with some salt in it.

Lay them at the bottom of a fish-kettle, with as much
cold spring-water as will cover them, and some salt ; set it
on a quick fire, and when it boils, skim it, and set it on one
side of the fire to boil very gently, for about ten minutes,
according to its size and thickness. Garnish with scraped
horseradish, slices of lemon, and a slice of the liver on one
side, and chitterling on the other. Oyster sauce (No. 278),
and plain butter.

Obs. Slices of cod (especially the tail, split) are very
good, fried like soles (No. 145), or stewed in gravy like eels
(No. 164, or No. 3642).*

Fresh Sturgeon. (No. 152.)

The best mode of dressing this, is to have it cut in thin
slices like veal cutlets, and broiled, and rubbed over with
a bit of butter and a little pepper, and served very hot, and
eaten with a squeeze of lemon-juice. Great care, however,
must be taken to cut off the skin before it is broiled, as the
oil in the skin, if burned, imparts a disgusting flavour to the
fish. The flesh is very fine, and comes nearer to veal, perhaps,
than even, turtle.

Sturgeon is frequently plentiful and reasonable in the
London shops. We prefer this mode of dressing it to the*
more savoury one of stewing it in rich gravy, like carp, &c.
which overpowers the peculiar flavour of the fish.f

Whitings fried. (No. 153.)

Skin;} them, preserve the liver (see No. 228), and fasten
their tails to their mouths ; dip them in egg, then in bread-
crumbs, and fry them in hot lard (read No. 145), or split
them, and fry them like fillets of soles (No. 147).

A three-quart stew-pan, half full of fat, is the best utensi)
to fry whitings. They will be done enough in about five

* That part of a cod which is near the tail, is considered, in America, as the
poorest part of the fish. A .

t Sturgeons, though sea-fish, ascend the fresh water rivers, and in the Hudson are
taken 80 miles above the salt water. They were formerly called Albany heel,
having been in plenty and cheap in the market of that city. They are not, how
aver, esteemed even there ; and since the running of the steamboats, and the quick
ness of their passages, all the valuable fish of the sea-coast are found in that inland
city. A.

i The French do not flay them, but split them, dip them in flour, and fry them iti
hot dripping.

FISH. 175

minutes ; but it will sometimes require a quarter of an hour
to drain the fat from them and dry them (if the fat you put
them into was not hot enough), turning them now and then
with a fish-slice.

Obs. When whitings are scarce, the fishmongers can
skin and truss young codlings, so that you can hardly tell
the difference, except that a codling wears a beard, and a
whiting does not: this distinguishing mark is sometimes
cut off; however, if you turn up his jowl, you may see the
mark where the beard was, and thus discover whether he be
a real whiting, or a shaved codling.

Skate fried. (No. 154.)

After you have cleaned the fish, divide it into fillets ; dry
them on a clean cloth ; beat the yelk and white of an egg
thoroughly together, dip the fish in this, and then in fine
bread-crumbs ; fry it in hot lard or drippings till it is of a
delicate brown colour; lay it on a hair-sieve to drain ; garnish
with crisp parsley (No. 318), and some like caper sauce,
with an anchovy in it.

Plaice or Flounders, fried or boiled. (No. 155.)

Flounders are perhaps the most difficult fish to fry very
nicely. Clean them well, flour them, and wipe them with a
dry cloth to absorb all the water from them ; flour or egg
and bread-crumb them, &c. as directed in No. 145.

To boil Flounders.

Wash and clean them well, cut the black side of them
the same as you do turbot, then put them into a fish-
kettle, with plenty of cold water and a handful of salt ;
when they come to a boil, skim them clean, and let them
stand by the side of the fire for five minutes, and they are
ready.

06s. Eaten with plain melted butter and a little salt, you
have the sweet delicate flavour of the flounder, which is
overpowered by any sauce.

Water Souchy* (No. 156.)
Is made with flounders, whitings, gudgeons, or eels. These

* One of my culinary counsellors says, the heading of this receipt should be,
- l How to dress a good dish of fish while Uie cloth is laying^ If the articles are
ready, twelve minutes will do it, with very little trouble or expense. For richer
slewed fish, see No. 164.J

176 FISH.

must be quite fresh, and very nicely cleaned ; for what they
are boiled in, is the sauce for them.

Wash, gut, and trim your fish, cut them into handsome
pieces, and put them into a stew-pan with just as much water
as will cover them, with some parsley, or parsley-roots
sliced, an onion minced fine, and a little pepper and salt
(to this some cooks add some scraped horseradish and a
bay leaf) ; skim it carefully when it boils ; when your fish
is done enough (which it will be in a few minutes), send it
up in a deep dish, lined with bread sippets, and some slices
of bread and butter on a plate.

Obs. Some cooks thicken the liquor the fish has been
stewing in with flour and butter, and flavour it with white
wine, lemon-juice, essence of anchovy, and catchup; and
boil down two or three flounders, &e. to make a fish broth
to boil the other fish in, observing, that the broth cannot bo
good unless the fish are boiled too much.

Haddock boiled. (No. 157.)

Wash it well, and put it on to boil, as directed in No. 149 ;
a haddock of three pounds will take about ten minutes after
the kettle boils.

Haddocks, salted a day or two, are eaten with egg sauce,
or cut in fillets, and fried. Or, if small, very well broiled,
or baked, with a pudding in their belly, and some good
gravy.

Obs. A piscivorous epicure protests that " Haddock is the
poorest fish that swims, and has neither the delicacy of the
whiting, nor the juicyness of the cod."*

Findhorn Haddocks. (No. 157*.)

Let the fish be well cleaned, and laid in salt for two
hours ; let the water drain from them, and then wet them
with the pyroligneous acid ; they may be split or not : they
are then to be hung in a dry situation for a day or two, or H
week or two, if you please ; when broiled, they have all the
flavour of the Findhorn haddock, and will keep sweet for a
long time.

The pyroligneous acid, applied in the same way to beef or
mutton, gives the fine smoke flavour, and may be kept for a
considerable length of time.

Scotch way of dressing haddocks. A haddock, is quite likr
a different fish in London and in Edinburgh, which arises

* Our experience goes to substantiate the svime point. A.

FISH. 177

chiefly from the manner in which they are treated : a haddock
should never appear at table with its head and skin on. For
boiling 1 , they are all the better for lying a night in salt ; of
course they do not take so long to boil without the skin, and
require to be well skimmed to preserve the colour. After
lying in salt for a night, if you hang them up for a day or
two, they are very good broiled and served with cold butter.
For frying, they should be split and boned very carefully,
and divided into convenient pieces, if too large to halve
merely ; egg and crumb them, and fry in a good deal of lard ;
they resemble soles when dressed in this manner. There is
another very delicate mode of dressing them ; you split the
fish, rub it well with butter, and do it before the fire in a
Dutch oven.

To stew Cod's Skull, Sole, Carp, Trout, Perch, Eel, or
Flounder. No. 158. (See also No. 164.)

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 (No. 329) ; 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,
and season it with pepper, salt, essence of anchovy, mush-
room catchup, 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.

The river trout comes into season in April, and continues
till July ; it is a delicious fish ; those caught near Uxbridge
come to town quite alive.

The eels and perch from the same water are very fm&*

Obs. These fish are very nice plain boiled, with No. 26I f
or No. 264, for sauce ; some cooks dredge them with flour,
and fry them a light brown before they put them on to
stew, and stuff them with No. 374, or some of the stuffings
following.

To dress them maigre.

Put the fish into a stew-pan, with a large onion, four
cloves, fifteen berries of allspice, and the same of black
pepper ; just cover them with boiling water, set it where
they will simmer gently for ten or twenty minutes, accord-

178 FISH.

ing to the size of the fish ; strain off the liquor in another
stew-pan, leaving the fish to keep warm till the sauce is
ready.

Rub together on a plate as much flour and butter as will
make the sauce as thick as a double cream. Each pint of
sauce season with a glass of wine, half as much mushroom
catchup, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy, and a few
grains of Cayenne ; let it boil a few minutes, put the fish on
a deep dish, strain the gravy over it ; garnish it with sippets
of bread toasted or fried (No. 319).

N.B. The editor has paid particular attention to the above
receipt, and also to No. 224, which Catholics, and those
whose religious tenets do not allow them to eat meat on
maigre days, will find a very satisfactory substitute for the
meat gravy soup (No. 200).

For sauce for maigre dishes, see Nos. 225, 305, and
3642.

Obs. Mushroom catchup (No. 439) and onions (No. 402)
supply the place of meat better than any thing; if you have
not these, wine, spice (No. 457), curry powder (No. 455).
aromatic roots and herbs, anchovy and soy, or oyster catchup
(No. 441), variously combined, and thickened with flour and
butter, are convenient substitutes.

Maigre Fish Pies.

Salt-fish pie. The thickest part must be chosen, and pur
in cold water to soak the night before wanted ; then boil it
well, take it up, take away the bones and skin, and if it i^
good fish it will be in fine layers ; set it on a fish-drainer to
get cold : in the mean time, boil four eggs hard, peel and slice
them very thin, the same quantity of onion sliced thin; line
the bottom of a pie-dish with fish forcemeat (No. 383), or a
layer of potatoes sliced thin, then a layer of onions, then o!
fish, and of eggs, and so on till the dish is full ; season each
layer with a little pepper, then mix a tea-spoonful of made
mustard, the same of essence of anchovy, a little mushroom
catchup, in a gill of water, put it in the dish, then put on the
top an ounce of fresh butter broke in bits ; cover it with puff
paste, and bake it one hour.

Fresh cod may be done in the same way, by adding a little
salt.

All fish for making pies, whether soles, flounders, herrings,
salmon, lobster, eels, trout, tench, &c. should be dressed
first; this is the most economical way for Catholic families.

FISH. 179

as what is boiled one day will make excellent pies or patties
the next.

If you intend it for pies, take the skin off, and the bones
out ; lay your salmon, soles, turbot, or codfish, in layers, and
season each layer with equal quantities of pepper, allspice,
mace, and salt, till the dish is full. Save a little of the
liquor that the fish was boiled in ; set it on the fire with the
bones and skin of the fish, boil it a quarter of an hour, then
strain it through a sieve, let it settle, and pour it in the dish ;
cover it with puff-paste ; bake it about an hour and a quarter.
Shrimps, prawns, or oysters added, will improve the above ;
if for patties, they must be cut in small pieces, and dressed
in a beshamell sauce (No. 364).

Cod-sounds for a pie should be soaked at least twenty-four
hours, then well washed, and put on a cloth to dry. Put in
a stew-pan two ounces of fresh butter, with four ounces of
sliced onions ; fry them of a nice brown, then put in a small
table-spoonful of flour, and add half a pint of boiling water;
when smooth, put in about ten cod-sounds, and season them
with a little pepper, a glass of white wine, a tea-spoonful of
essence of anchovy, the juice of half a lemon ; stir it well
together, put it in a pie-dish, cover it with paste, and bake it
one hour.

Perch, Roach, Dace, Gudgeons, fyc. fried. (No. 159.)

Wash the fish well, wipe them on a dry cloth, flour them
lightly all over, and fry them ten minutes (No. 145) in hot
lard or drippings ; lay them on a hair-sieve to drain ; send
them up on a hot dish, garnished with sprigs of green parsley.
Anchovy sauce, Nos. 270 and 433.

Perch boiled* (No. 160.)

Clean them carefully, and put them in a fish-kettle, with as
much cold spring-water as will cover them, with a handful
of salt ; set them on a quick fire till they boil ; when they
boil, set them on one side to boil gently for about ten minutes,
according to their size.

Salmon, Herrings, Sprats, Mackerel, <$>c. pickled. (No. 161.)

Cut the fish into proper pieces ; do not take off the scales ;
make a brine strong enough to bear an egg, in which boil the
fish ; it must be boiled in only just liquor enough to cover it ;

* The perch of New- York are a small fresh-water fish, and seldom boiled, being
better calculated for frying or broiling, as a relish at breakfast. A.

180 FISH.

do not overboil it. When the fish is boiled, lay it slantingly
to drain off all the liquor ; when cold, pack it close in the
kits, and fill them up with equal parts of the liquor the salmon
was boiled in (having first well skimmed it), and best vinegar
(No. 24) ; let them rest for a day ; fill up again, striking the
sides of the kit with a cooper's adze, until the kit will receive-
no more ; then head them down as close as possible.

Obs. This is in the finest condition when fresh. Salmon
is most plentiful about midsummer ; the season for it is from
February to September. Some sprigs of fresh-gathered
young fennel are the accompaniments.

N.B. The three indispensable marks of the goodness of
pickled salmon are, 1st, The brightness of the scales, and
their sticking fast to the skin ; 2dly, The firmness of the
flesh; and, 3dly, Its fine, pale-red rose colour. Without
these it is not fit to eat, and was either stale before it was
pickled, or has been kept too long after.

The above was given us as the actual practice of those
who pickle it for the London market.

N.B. Pickled salmon warmed by steam, or in its picklr-
liquor, is a favourite dish at Newcastle.

Salmon* boiled. (No. 162.)

Put on a fish-kettle, with spring-water enough to welt
cover the salmon you are going to dress, or the salmon will
neither look nor taste well: (boil the liver in a separate
saucepan.) When the water boils, put in a handful of salt ;

* SALMON. The earliest that comes in season to the London market is brought
from the Severn, and begins to come into season the beginning of November, bui
very few so early, perhaps not above one in fifty, as many of them will not shooi
their spawn till January, or after, and then continue in season till October, wliei.
they begin to get very thin and poor. The principal supply of salmon is from dil
ferent parts of Scotland, packed in ice, and brought by water : if the vessels havf
a fair wind, they will be in London in three days ; but it frequently happens thai
they are at sea perhaps a fortnight, when the greater part of the fish is perished,
and has, for a year or two past, sold as low as twopence per pound, and up to as
much as eighteen pence per pound at the same time, owing to its different degrees
of goodness. This accounts for the very low prices at which the itinerant fish
mongers cry their " delicate salmon," " dainty fresh salmon," and " live cod," " new
mackerel," &c. &c.

"Salmon gwilts, or salmon peel, are the small salmon which run from about fivr
or six pounds to ten pounds, are very good fish, and make handsome dishea of fi^Ii
sent to table crooked in the form of an S.

" Berwick trout are a distinct fish from the gwilts, and are caught in the river
Tweed, and dressed in the same manner as the gwilt.

" Calvered salmon is the salmon caught in the Thames, and cut into slices alive
and some few salmon are brought from Oxford to London alive, and cut. A fev\
slices make a handsome, genteel dish, but it is generally very expensive ; sonn
times 15s. per pound."

[Fresh salmon comes to the New- York market from the eastern states, and most! v
from Maine. Itis also occasionally brought from the lakes and rivers of the nortiK'rn
part of New- York in wintor. A.]

FISH. 18*

take off the scum as soon as it rises ; have the fish well
washed ; put it in, and if it is thick, let it boil very gently.
Salmon requires almost as much boiling as meat ; about a
quarter of an hour to a pound of fish : but practice only can
perfect the cook in dressing salmon. A quarter of a salmon
will take almost as long boiling as half a one : you must con-
sider the thickness, not the weight : ten pounds of fine full-
grown salmon will be done in an hour and a quarter. Lob-
ster Sauce, No. 284.

Obs. The thinnest part of the fish is the fattest ; and if you
have a " grand gourmand" at table, ask him if he is for thick
or thin.

The Thames salmon is preferred in the London market ;
and some epicures pretend to be able to distinguish by the
taste, in which reach of the river it was caught ! ! !

N.B. If you have any left, put it into a pie-dish, and cover
it with an equal portion of vinegar and pump- water, and a
little salt : it will be ready in three days.

Fresh Salmon broiled. (No. 163.)

Clean the salmon well, and cut it into slices about an inch
and a half thick ; dry it thoroughly in a clean cloth ; rub it
over with sweet oil, or thick melted butter, and sprinkle a
little salt over it : put your gridiron over a clear fire, at some
distance ; when it is hot wipe it clean ; rub it with sweet oil
or lard ; lay the salmon on, and when it is done on one side t
turn it gently and broil the other. Anchovy sauce, &c.

Obs. An oven does them best.

Soles or Eels,* fyc. &c. stewed Wiggy's way. (No. 164.)

Take two pounds of fine silver! eels : the best are those
that are rather more than a half-crown piece in circum-
ference, quite fresh, full of life, and " as brisk as an eel :"
such as have been kept out of water till they can scarce stir,
are good for nothing : gut them, rub them with salt till the
slime is cleaned from them, wash them in several different
waters, and divide them into pieces about four inches long.

Some cooks, after skinning them, dredge them with a little
flour, wipe them dry, and then egg and crumb them, and fry

* Small fish and fillets of whiting, turbots, brilla, &c. and slices of cod, or tlw
head or tail of it, are excellent dressed the same way.

t The yellow eels taste muddy ; the whiteness of the belly of the fish is not the
only mark to know the best ; the right colour of the back is a very bright coppery
ime : the olive-coloured are inferior ; and those tending to a green are worse.,

182 FISH.

them in drippings till they are brown, and lay them to dry on
a hair sieve.

Have ready a quart of good beef gravy (No. 329) ; it must
be cold when you put the eels into it : set them on a slow fire
to simmer very gently for about a quarter of an hour, accord-
ing to the size of the eels ; watch them, that they are not
done too much ; take them carefully out of the stew-pan with
a fish-slice, so as not to tear their coats, and lay them on a
dish about two inches deep.

Or, if for maigre days, when you have skinned your eels,
throw the skins into salt and water ; wash them well ; then
put them into a stew-pan with a quart of water, two onions,
with two cloves stuck in each, and one blade of mace ; let
it boil twenty minutes, and strain it through a sieve into a
basin.

Make the sauce about as thick as cream, by mixing a little
flour with it ; put in also two table- spoonfuls of port wine,
and one of mushroom catchup, or cavice : stir it into the
sauce by degrees, give it a boil, and strain it to the fish
through a sieve.

N.B. If mushroom sauce (Nos. 225, 305, or 333), or white
sauce (No. 364 2), be used instead of beef gravy, this will
be one of the most relishing maigre dishes we know.

Obs. To kill eels instantly, without the horrid torture of
cutting and skinning them alive, pierce the spinal marrow,
close to the back part of the skull, with a sharp-pointed
skewer : if this be done in the right place, all motion will
instantly cease. The humane executioner does certain cri-
minals the favour to hang them before he breaks them on
the wheel.

To fry Eck (No. 165.)

Skin and gut them, and wash them well in cold water, cut
them in pieces four inches long, season them vyith pepper 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 them well from the fat ; garnish with crisp parsley.
For sauce, plain and melted butter, sharpened with lemon-
juice, or parsley and butter.

Spitchocked Eels. (No. 166.)

This the French cooks call the English way of dressing
eels.

Take two middling-sized silver eels, leave the skin on,
scour them with salt, and wash them, cut off the heads, sli-t

FISH. 183

them on the belly side, and take out the bones and guts, and
wash and wipe them nicely ; then cut them into pieces about
three inches long, and wipe them quite dry; put two ounces
of butter into a stew-pan with a little minced parsley, thyme,
sage, pepper, and salt, and a very little chopped eschalot ;
set the stew-pan over the fire ; when the butter is melted, stir
the ingredients together, and take it off the fire, mix the yelks
of two eggs with them, and dip the eel in, a piece at a time,
and then roll them in bread-crumbs, making as much stick
to them as you can; then rub the gridiron with a bit of suet,
set it high over a very clear fire, and broil your eels of a fine
crisp brown. Dish them with crisp parsley, and send up
Avith plain butter in a boat, and anchovy and butter.

Obs. We like them better with the skin off; it is very apt
to offend delicate stomachs.

Mackerel boiled* (No. 67.)

This fish loses its life as soon as it leaves the sea, and the
fresher it is the better.

Wash and clean them thoroughly (the fishmongers seldom
do this sufficiently), put them into cold water with a handful
of salt in it ; let them rather simmer than boil ; a small
mackerel will be done enough in about a quarter of an hour ;
when the eye starts and the tail splits, they are done ; do not
let them stand in the water a moment after ; they are so
delicate that the heat of the water will break them.

This fish, in London, is rarely fresh enough to appear at
table in perfection ; and either the mackerel is boiled too
much, or the roef too little. The best way is to open a slit
opposite the middle of the roe, you can then clean it pro-
perly ; this will allow the water access, and the roe will then
be done as soon as the fish, which it seldom is otherwise ;
some sagacious gourmands insist upon it they must be taken
out and boiled separately. For sauce, see Nos. 263, 265,
and 266 ; and you may garnish them with pats of minced
fennel.

* There are several species of mackerel in their season in the New- York markef.
That which arrives in the spring is most esteemed, and in greatest plenty. Spring
mackerel is a migrating fish, and succeeds the shad, or commences its run along
the coast of New-Jersey and Long Island, just before the shad disappears. It doesi
not ascend the rivers, but continues its course north-eastward in immense shoals,
and is taken by the fishermen with the hook and line, while sailing in smacks along
the coast, from the mouth of the Delaware to Nova Scotia. These fish are kept hi
cars, and sold alive in the markets. They are mostly broiled, and brought to the
breakfast-table. The larger ones sometimes grace the dining-table. They may
be boiled, but are best when stuffed and baked in an oven. A.

t The roe of the male fish is soft, like the brains of a calf; that of the female is
full of small eggs, and called hard roe.

184 FISH.

N.B. The common notion is, that mackerel are in best
condition when fullest of roe ; however, the fish at that time
is only valuable for its roe, the meat of it has scarcely any
flavour.

Mackerel generally make their appearance off the Land's
End about the beginning of April ; and as the weather gets
warm they gradually come round the coast, and generally
arrive off Brighton about May, and continue for some
months, until they begin to shoot their spawn.

After they have let go their roes, they are called shotten
mackerel, and are not worth catching ; the roe, which was
all that was good of them, being gone.

It is in the early season, when they have least roe, that
the flesh of this fish is in highest perfection. There is also
an after-season, when a few fine large mackerel are taken,
(. e. during the herring season, about October,) which some
piscivorous epicures are very partial to ; these fish having
had time to fatten and recover their health, are full of high
flavour, and their flesh is firm and juicy : they are commonly
called silver mackerel, from their beautiful appearance, their
colour being almost as bright when boiled as it was the
moment they were caught.

MackereTbrmled.(No. 169.)

Clean a fine large mackerel, wipe it on a dry cloth, and
cut. a long slit down the back; lay it on a clean gridiron,
over a very clear, slow fire ; when it is done on one side,
turn it ; be careful that it does not burn ; send it up with
fennel sauce (No. 265) ; mix well together a little finely
minced fennel and parsley, seasoned with a little pepper and
salt, a bit of fresh butter, and when the mackerel are ready
for the table, put some of this into each fish.

Mackerel baked.*(No. 170.)

Cut off their heads, open them, and take out the roes and
clean them thoroughly ; rub them on the inside with a little
pepper and salt, put the roes in again, season them (with a
mixture of powdered allspice, black pepper, and salt, well
rubbed together), and lay them close in a baking-pan, cover
them with equal quantities of cold vinegar and water, tie
them down with strong white paper doubled, and bake

* Mackerel of large size may be 'stuffed like a fowl,, leaving the head on, and
baked in an oven. A.

FISH. 185

them for an hour in a slow oven. They will keep for a
fortnight.

Pickled Mackerel, Herrings, or Sprats. (No. 171.)

Procure them as fresh as possible, split them, take off the
heads, and trim off the thin part of the belly, put them into
salt and water for one hour, drain and wipe your fish, and
put them into jars or casks, with the following preparation,
which is enough for three dozen mackerel. Take salt and
bay-salt, one pound each, saltpetre and lump-sugar, two
ounces each ; grind and pound the salt, &c. well together,
put the fish into jars or casks, with a layer of the prepara-
tion at the bottom, then a layer of mackerel with the skin-
side downwards, so continue alternately till the cask or jar
is full ; press it down and cover it close. In about three
months they will be fit for use.

Sprats broiled. (No. 170* Fried, see No. 173.)

If you have not a sprat gridiron, get a piece of pointed
iron wire as thick as packthread, and as long as your grid-
iron is broad ; run this through the heads of your sprats,
sprinkle a little flour and salt over them, put your gridiron
over a clear, quick fire, turn them in about a couple of mi-
nutes ; when the other side is brown, draw out the wire, and
send up the fish with melted butter in a cup.

Obs. That sprats are young herrings, is evident by their
anatomy, in which there is no perceptible difference. They
appear veiy soon after the herrings are gone, and seem to
be the spawn just vivified.

f
Sprats stewed. (No. 170**.)

Wash and dry your sprats, and lay them as level as you
can in a stew-pan, and between every layer of sprats put
three peppercorns, and as many allspice, with a few grains
of salt ; barely cover them with vinegar, and stew them one
hour over a slow fire; they must not boil: a bay-leaf is
sometimes added. Herrings or mackerel may be stewed
the same way.

To fry sprats, see No. 173.

Herrings broiled. (No. 171*.)

Wash them well, then dry them with a cloth, dust them
with flour, and broil them over a slow fire till they are well
done. Send up melted butter in a boat.
Q2

1 8G FISH.

Obs. For a particular account of herrings, see SOLA
DODD'S Natural Hist, of Herrings, in 178 pages, 8vo. 1752.

Red Herrings, and other dried Fish, (No. 172.)

" Should be cooked in the same manner as now practised
by the poor in Scotland. They soak them in water until
they become pretty fresh ; they are then hung up in the sun
and wind, on a stick through their eyes, to dry; and then
boiled or broiled. In this way they eat almost as well as, if
they were new caught." See the Hon. JOHN COCHRANE'S
Seaman's Guide, 8vo. 1797, p. 34.

" Scotch haddocks should be soaked all night. You may
boil or broil them ; if you broil, split them in two.

" All the different sorts of dried fish, except stock fish, are
salted, dried in the sun in prepared kilns, or by the smoke of
wood fires, and require to be softened and freshened, in pro-
portion to their bulk, nature, or dryness ; the very dry sort,
as cod, whiting, &c. should be steeped in lukewarm water,
kept as near as possible to an equal degree of heat. The
larger fish should be steeped twelve hours, the smaller about
two ; after which they should be taken out and hung up by
the tails until they are dressed. The reason for hanging
them up is, that they soften equally as in the steeping, with-
out extracting too much of the relish, which would render
them insipid. When thus prepared, the small fish, as whiting,
tusks, &c. should be floured and laid on the gridiron ; and
when a little hardened on one side, must be turned and
basted with sweet oil upon a feather ; and when basted on
both sides, and well heated through, taken up. A clear
charcoal fire is the best for cooking them, and the fish should
be kept at a good distance, to broil gradually. When they
are done enough they will swell a little in the basting, and
you must not let them fall again. If boiled, as the larger
fish generally are, they should be kept just simmering over
an equal fire, in which way half an hour will do the largest
fish, and five minutes the smallest.

" Dried salmon, though a large fish, does not require more
steeping than a whiting ; and when laid on the gridiron should
be moderately peppered. To herring and to all kinds of
broiled salt fish, sweet oil is the best basting."

The above is from MACDONALD'S London Family Cook, 8vo.
1808, p. 139.

Obs. Dr. Harte, in his Essay on Diet, 1633, fol. p. 91, pro-
tests, " a red herring doth nourish little, and is hard of con-

FISH. 187

coction, but very good to make a cup of good drink relish
well, and may be well called ' the drunkard's delight.' "

Smelts, Gudgeons, Sprats, or other small Fish, fried. (No. 173.)

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
drippings ; 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 them till quite dry. 06s. Read
No. 145.

" Smelts are allowed to be caught in the Thames, on the
first of November, and continue till May. The Thames
smelts are the best and sweetest, for two reasons ; they are
fresher and richer than any other you can get : they catch
them much more plentiful and larger in Lancashire and Nor-
folk, but not so good : a great many are brought to town
from Norfolk, but barely come good, as they are a fish which
should always be eaten fresh ; indeed, all river fish should be
eaten fresh, except salmon, which, unless crimped, eats bet-
ter the second or third day : but all Thames fish, particularly,
should be eaten very fresh ; no fish eats so bad kept."

Potted Prawns, Shrimps, or Cray-fish. (No. 175.)

Boil them in water with plenty of salt in it. When you
have picked them, powder them with a little beaten mace,
or grated nutmeg, or allspice, and pepper and salt ; add a
little cold butter, and pound all well together in a marble
mortar till of the consistence of paste. Put it into pots co-
vered with clarified butter, and cover them over with wetted
bladder.

Lobster.* (No. 176.)

Buy these alive ; the lobster merchants sometimes keep
them till they are starved, before they boil them ; they are
then watery, have not half their flavour, and like other
persons that die of a consumption, have lost the calf of their
legs.

* Lobsters are in great plenty and perfection in the New- York markets. They
are taken in Long Island Sound, and along the rocky shores of Connecticut, Rhode
Island, and Massachusetts. A.

1 88 FISH.

Choose those that (as an old cook says, are " heavy ami
lively," and) are full of motion, which is the index of their
freshness.

Those of the middle size are the best. Never take them
when the shell is incrusted, which is a sign they are old.
The male lobster is preferred to eat, and the female (on
account of the eggs) to make sauce of. The hen lobster
is distinguished by having a broader tail than the male, and
less claws.

Set on a pot, with water salted in the proportion of a table-
spoonful of salt to a quart of water ; when the water boils,
put it in, and keep it boiling briskly from half an hour to an
hour, according to its size ; wipe all the scum off it, and rub
the shell with a very little butter or sweet oil ; break off the
great claws, crack them carefully in each joint, so that they
may not be shattered, and yet come to pieces easily ; cut
the tail down the middle, and send up the body whole. For
sauce, No. 285. To pot lobster, No. 178.

*#* These fish come in about April, and continue plentiful
till the oyster season returns ; after that time they begin to
spawn, and seldom open solid.

Crab. (No. 177. ]

The above observations apply to crabs, which shoald
neither be too small nor too large. The best size are those
which measure about eight inches across the shoulders.

* # * Crabs appear and disappear about the same time as
lobsters. The cromer crabs are most esteemed ; but num-
bers are brought from the Isle of Wight.

Potted Lobster or Crab.* (No. 178).

This must be made with fine hen lobsters, when full of
spawn: boil them thoroughly (No. 176); when cold, pick
out all the solid meat, and pound it in a mortar : it is usual
to add, by degrees, (a very little) finely-pounded mace, black
or Cayenne pepper, salt, and, while pounding, a little butter.
When the whole is well mixed, and beat to the consistence
of paste, press it down hard in a preserving-pot, pour clari-
fied butter over it, and cover it with wetted bladder.

Obs. Some put lobster without pounding it, and only cut
it or pull it into such pieces as if it was prepared for sauce,
and mince it with the spawn and soft parts and seasoning,

* Crabs are not esteemed as a delicacy by epicures unless they are soft, when
they are fried whole. In July and August they shed their coats, and in this state
may be cooked and eaten without being incommoded with their shells. A.

189

and press it together as close as possible ; in packing it,
place the coral and spawn, &c. in layers, so that it may look
regular and handsome when cut out. If you intend it as
store (see N.B. to No. 284, to make sauce with), this is the
best way to do it ; but if for sandwiches, &c. the first is the
best, and will keep much longer.

Dressed or buttered lobsters and crabs, are favourite orna*
mental dishes with those who deck their table merely to
please the eye. Our apology for not giving such receipts
will be found in Obs. to No. 322.

OYSTERS* (No. 181.)

The commonf Colchester and Feversham oysters are
brought to market on the 5th of August ; the Milton, or, as
they are commonly called, the melting natives,;}; do not come
in till the beginning of October, continue in season till the
12th of May, and approach the meridian of their perfection
about Christmas.

Some piscivorous gourmands think that oysters are not
best when quite fresh from their beds, and that their flavour
is too brackish and harsh, and is much ameliorated by giving
them a feed.

To FEED& oysters. Cover them with clean water, with a
pint of salt to about two gallons (nothing else, no oatmeal,
flour, nor any other trumpery) ; this will cleanse them from
the mud and sand, &c. of the bed ; after they have lain in it
twelve hours, change it for fresh salt and water, and in twelve
hours more they will be in prime order for the mouth, and
remain so two or three days : at the time of high water you
may see them open their shells, in expectation of receiving
their usual food. This process of feeding oysters is only
employed when a great many come up together.

The real Colchester, or Pyfleet barrelled oysters, that are
packed at the beds, are better Avithout being put in water :

* Oyster sauce, No. 278 ; preserved oysters, No. 280.

f Those are called common oysters, which are picked up on the French coast,
and laid in the Colchester beds.

These are never so fine and fat as the natives, and seldom recover the shock their
feelings receive from being transported from their native place : delicate little crea-
tures, they are as exquisite in their own taste as they are to the taste of others !

% Oysters are thus called, that are born, as well as bred and fed, in this country,
and are mostly spit in the Burnham and Mersey rivers : they do not come to their
finest condition till they are near four years old.

$ WILL RABISHA, in his receipt to "broil oysters," (see his Cookery, page 144,)
ilirects, that while they are undergoing this operation, they should be fed with white
wine and grated bread.

In BOYLE'S Works, 4to. 1772, vol. ii. p. 450, there is a very curious chapter on
ibe eating of oysters.

190 PISH.

they are carefully and tightly packed, and must not be dis-
turbed till wanted for table. These, in moderate weather,
will keep good for a week or ten days.

If an oyster opens his mouth in the barrel, he dies imme-
diately.

To preserve the lives of barrelled oysters, put a heavy
weight on the wooden top of the barrel, which is to be placed
on the surface of the oysters. This is to be effected by re-
moving the first hoop ; the staves will then spread and stand
erect, making a wide opening for the head of the barrel to
fall down closely on the remaining fish, keeping them close
together.

MEM. The oysters which are commonly sold as barrelled
oysters, are merely the smallest natives, selected from the
stock, and put into the tub when ordered; and, instead of
being of superior quality, are often very inferior. To im-
mature animals there is the same objection as to unripe
vegetables.

06s. Common people are indifferent about the manner of
opening oysters, and the time of eating them after they are
opened ; nothing, however, is more important in the enlight-
ened eyes of the experienced oyster-eater.

Those who wish to enjoy this delicious restorative in its
utmost perfection, must eat it the moment it is opened, with
its own gravy in the under shell ; if not eaten while abso-
lutely alive, its flavour and spirit are lost.
x The true lover of an oyster will have some regard for the
feelings of his little favourite, and will never abandon it to
the mercy of a bungling operator, but will open it himself,
and contrive to detach the fish from the shell so dexterously,
that the oyster is hardly conscious he has been ejected from
his lodging, till he feels the teeth of the piscivorous gour
mand tickling him to death.

N.B. Fish is less nutritious than flesh : as a proof, when
the trainer of Newmarket wishes to waste a jockey, he is
not allowed meat, nor even pudding, if fish can be had. The
white kinds of fish, turbots, soles, whiting, cod, haddock,
flounders, smelts, &c. are less nutritious than the oily, fat
fish, such as eels, salmon, herrings, sprats, &c. : the latter,
however, are more difficult to digest, and often disturb weak
stomachs, so that they are obliged to call in the assistance
of Cayenne, Cognac, &c.

Shell-fish have long held a high rank in the catalogue of
easily digestible and speedily restorative foods ; of these the
oyster certainly deserves the best character, but we think it
has acquired not a little more reputation for these qualities

FISH, 191

than it deserves ; a well-dressed chop* or steak, see No. 94,
will invigorate the heart in a much higher ratio ; to recruit-
the animal spirits, and support strength, there is nothing
equal to animal food ; when kept till properly tender, none
will give so little trouble to the digestive organs, and so
much substantial excitement to the constitution. See note
under No. 185*.

See Dr. WALLIS and Mr. TYSON'S Papers on men's feeding
on flesh, in Phil. Trans, vol. xxii. p. 769 to 774 ; and POR-
PHYRY on Abstinence from Animal Food, translated by
Thomas Taylor, 8vo. 1823.

We could easily say as much in praise of mutton as Mr.
Ritson has against it, in his "Essay on Abstinence from
Animal Food, as a Moral Duty," 8vo. London, 1802, p. 102.
He says, " The Pagan priests were the first eaters of animal
food ; it corrupted their taste, and so excited them to glut-
tony, that when they had eaten the same thing repeatedly,
their luxurious appetites called for variety. He who had
devoured the sheep, longed to masticate the shepherd ! ! !

" Nature seems to have provided other animals for the food
of man, from the astonishing increase of those which in-
stinct points out to him as peculiarly desirable for that pur-
pose. For instance ; so quick is the produce of pigeons,
lhat, in the space of four years, 14,760 may come from a
single pair; and in the like period, 1,274,840 from a couple
of rabbits, this is nothing to the millions of eggs in the milt
of a codfish."

Scolloped Oysters. (No. 182.) A good way to warm up any
cold fish.

Stew the oysters slowly in their own liquor for two or
iliree minutes, take them out with a spoon, beard them, and
skim the liquor, put a bit of butter into a stew-pan ; when it
is melted, add as much fine bread-crumbs as will dry it up,
then put to it the oyster liquor, and give it a boil up, put the
oysters into scollop-shells that you have buttered, and
strewed with bread-crumbs, then a layer of oysters, then of
bread-crumbs, and then some more oysters ; moisten it with
the oyster liquor, cover them with bread-crumbs, put about

* " Animal food being composed of the most nutritious parts of the food on which
the animal lived, and having already been digested by the proper organs of an
animal, requires only solution and mixture ; whereas vegetable food must be con-
verted into a substance of an animal nature, by the proper action of our own vis-
cera, and consequently requires more labour of the stomach, and other digestive
organs." BURTON on the Non-naturals, page 213.

1 92 FISH.

half a dozen little bits of butter on the top of each, and
brown them in a Butch oven.

Obs. Essence of anchovy, catchup, Cayenne, grated lemon*
peel, mace, and other spices, &c. are added by those who
prefer piquance to the genuine flavour of the oyster.

Cold fish may be re-dressed the same way.

N.B. Small scollop-shells, or saucers that hold about half
a dozen oysters, are the most convenient.

Stewed Oysters. (No. 182*.)

Large oysters will do for stewing, and by some are pre-
ferred ; but we love the plump, juicy natives. Stew a couple
of dozen of these in their own liquor; when they are coming
to a boil, skim well, take them up and beard them ; strain the
liquor through a tamis-sieve, and lay the oysters on a dish*
Put an ounce of butter into a stew-pan ; when it is melted,
put to it as much flour as will dry it up, the liquor of the
oysters, and three table-spoonfuls of milk or cream, and a
little white pepper and salt ; to this some cooks add a little
catchup, or finely-chopped parsley, grated lemon-peel, and
juice ; let it boil up for a couple of minutes, till it is smooth,
then take it off the fire, put in the oysters, and let them get
warm ^they must not themselves be boiled, or they will be-
come hard) ; line the bottom and sides of a hash-dish with
bread-sippets, and pour your oysters and sauce into it. See
065. to receipt No. 278.

Oysters fried* (No. 183.)

The largest and finest oysters are to be chosen for this
purpose ; simmer them in their own liquor for a couple of
minutes, take them out and lay them on a cloth to drain,
beard them and then flour them, egg and bread-crumb
them, put them into boiling fat, and fry them a delicate
brown.

Obs. An elegant garnish for made dishes, stewed rump-
steaks, boiled or fried fish, &c. ; but they are too hard and
dry to be eaten.

* New- York and other places on the sea-coast of the United States, afford oysters
in great plenty and perfection, and the various methods of preparing them are we!!
known. A.

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 195

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS.

Beef Broth.* (No. 185.)

WASH a leg or shin of beef very clean, crack the bone in
two or three places (this you should desire the butcher to do
for you), add thereto any trimmings you have of meat, game,
or poultry (i. e. heads, necks, gizzards, feet, &c.), and cover
them with cold water; watch and stir it up well from the
bottom, and the moment it begins to simmer, skim it care-
fully ; your broth must be perfectly clear and limpid, on this
depends the goodness of the soups, sauces, and gravies, of
which it is the basis : then add some cold water to make the
remaining scum rise, and skim it again ; when the scum is
done rising, and the surface of the broth is quite clear, put in
one moderate-sized carrot, a head of celery, two turnips, and
two onions, it should not have any taste of sweet herbs,
spice, or garlic, &c. ; either of these flavours can easily be
added immediately after, if desired, by Nos. 420, 421, 422,
&c. cover it close, set it by the side of the fire, and let it
simmer very gently (so as not to waste the broth) for four 01
five hours, or more, according to the weight of the meat ;
strain it through a sieve into a clean and dry stone pan, and
set it in the coldest place you have.

Obs. This is the foundation for all sorts of soups and
sauce, brown or white.

Stew no longer than the meat is thoroughly done to eat,
and you will obtain excellent broth, without 'depriving the
meat of its nutritious succulence : to boil it to rags, as is
the common practice, will not enrich your broths, but make
them thick and grouty.

The meat,f when gently stewed for only four or five hours

* In culinary technicals, is called FIRST STOCK, or long broth ; in the French
kitchen, " le grand bouillon. 1 "

t A dog was fed on the richest broth, yet could not be kept alive ; while another,
which had only the meat boiled to a chip (and water), throve very well. This
shows the folly of attempting to nourish men by concentrated soups, jellies, &c. -
SINCLAIR, Code of Health,, p. 356.

If this experiment be accurate, what becomes of the theoretic visions of those
who have written about nourishing broths, &c.? The best test of the restorative
quality of food, is a small quantity of it satisfying hunger, the strength of the pulsr;
after it. and the length of time which clapsea before appetite returns again. Ac-

194 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS.

till it is just tender, remains abundantly sapid and nourishing,
and will afford a relishing- and wholesome meal for half a
dozen people ; or make potted beef (No. 503) : or when you
have strained off the broth, cover the meat again with water,
and let it go on boiling for four hours longer, and make
what some cooks call " second stock ;" it will produce some
very good glaze, or portable soup; see No. 252, and the
Obs. thereon.

Beef Gravy.* (No. 186.)

Cover the bottom of a stew-pan that is well tinned and
quite clean, with a slice of good ham, or lean bacon, four or
five pounds of gravy beef cut into half-pound pieces, a car-
rot, an onion with two cloves stuck in it, and a head of
celery ; put a pint of broth or water to it, cover it close, and
set it over a moderate fire till the water is reduced to as little
as will just save the ingredients from burning ; then turn it
all about, and let it brown slightly and equally all over ; then
put in three quarts of boiling- water ;f when it boils up, skim
it carefully, and wipe off with a clean cloth what sticks
round the edge and inside of the stew-pan, that your gravy
may be delicately clean and clear. Set it by the side of a
fire, where it will stew gently (to keep it clear, and that it
may not be reduced too much) for about four hours : if it has
not boiled too fast, there should be two quarts of good gravy ;
strain through a silk, or tamis-sieve ; take very particular
care to skim it well, and set it in a cold place.

Strong savoury Gravy (No. 188), alias " Brown Sauce," alias
" GRAND ESPAGNOL."

Take a stew-pan that will hold four quarts, lay a slice or
two of ham or bacon (about a quarter of an inch thick) at
the bottom (undressed is the best), and two pounds of beef
or veal, a carrot, a large onion with four cloves stuck in it,
one head of celery, a bundle of parsley, lemon-thyme, and
savoury, about as big round as your little finger, when tied
close, a few leaves of sweet basil (one bay-leaf, and an es-

rording to this rule, we give our verdict in favour of No. 19 or 24. See N.B. to
\o. 181.

This subject is fully discussed in " The Art of Invigorating and Prolonvintr
Life, by Diet, &c. published by G. B. Whittaker, 13 Aye-Maria "lane.

* Called, in some cookery books, "SECOND STOCK ;" in the French kitchen, "jus
tie b(Euf."

t A great deal of care is to be taken to watch the time of putting in the water :
jf it is poured in too soon, the gravy will not have its true flavour and colour ; and
:fit be let alone till the meat sticks to the pan, it will get a burnt taste..

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 195

chalot, if you like it), a piece of lemon-peel, and a dozen
corns of allspice ;* pour on this half a pint of water, cover
it close, and let it simmer gently on a slow fire for half an
hour, in which time it will be almost dry ; watch it very care-
fully, and let it catch a nice brown colour ; turn the meat,
&c. let it brown on all sides ; add three pints of boiling
water,! and boil for a couple of hours. It is now rich
gravy. To convert it into

CM//W, or thickened Gravy. (No. 189.)

To a quart of gravy, put a table-spoonful of thickening
(No. 257), or from one to two table-spoonfuls of flour, ac-
cording to the thickness you wish the gravy to be, into a
basin, with a ladleful of the gravy ; stir it quick ; add tho
rest by degrees, till it is all well mixed ; then pour it back
into a stew-pan, and leave it by the side of the fire to sim-
mer for half an hour longer, that the thickening may tho-
roughly incorporate with the gravy, the stew-pan being only
half covered, stirring it every now and then ; a sort of scum
will gather on the top, which it is best not to take off till you
are ready to strain it through a tamis. J

Take care it is neither of too pale nor too dark a colour ;
if it is not thick enough, let it stew longer, till it is reduced
to the desired thickness ; or add a bit of glaze, or portable
soup to it, see No. 252 : if it is too thick, you can easily thin
it with a spoonful or two of warm broth, or water. When
your sauce is done, stir it in the basin you put it into once or
twice, while it is cooling.

real Broth. (No. 191.)

A knuckle of veal is best ; manage it as directed in the
receipt for beef broth (No. 185*), only take care not to let
it catch any colour, as this and the following and richer pre-
paration of veal, are chiefly used for white soups, sauces, &c.

To make white sauce, see No. 364*.

Feal Gravy. (No. 192.)
About three pounds of the nut of the leg of veal, cut into

* Truffles, morells, and mushrooms, catchups and wines, &c. are added by those
who are for the extreme of haul gout.

t The general rule is to put in about a pint of water to a pound of meat, if it only
mimers very gently.

% A tamis is a worsted cloth, sold at the oil shops, made on purpose for straining
auces : the best way for using it is for two people to twist it contrary ways. This
ia a better way of straining sauce than through a sieve, and refines it much more
completely.

196 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS,

half-pound slices, with a quarter of a pound of ham in small
dice ; proceed as directed for the beef gravy (No. 186), but
watch the time of putting in the water ; if this is poured in
too soon, the gravy will not have its true flavour, if it be let
alone till the meat sticks too much to the pan, it will catch
too brown a colour.

Knuckle of Veal, or Shin or Leg of Beef, Soup.(No. 193.) ]

A knuckle of veal of six pounds weight will make a large
tureen of excellent soup, and is thus easily prepared : cut
half a pound of bacon into slices about half an inch thick,
lay it at the bottom of a soup-kettle, or deep stew-pan, and
on this place the knuckle of veal, having first chopped the
bone in two or three places ; furnish it with two carrots, two
turnips, a head of celery, two large onions, with two or three
cloves stuck in one of them, a dozen corns of black, and the
same of Jamaica pepper, and a good bundle of lemon-thyme,
winter savoury, and parsley. Just cover the meat with cold
water, and set it over a quick fire till it boils ; having skimmed
it well, remove your soup-kettle to the side of the fire ; let it
stew very gently till it is quite tender, i. e. about four hours ;
then take out the bacon and veal, strain the soup, and set it
by in a cool place till you want it, when you must take off
the fat from the surface of your liquor, and decant it (keep-
ing back the settlings at the bottom) into a clean pan.

If you like a thickened soup, put three table-spoonfuls of
the fat you have taken off the soup into a small stew-pan,
and mix it with four table-spoonfuls of flour, pour a ladleful
of soup to it, and mix it with the rest by degrees, and boil it
up till it is smooth.

Cut the meat and gristle of the knuckle and the bacon
into mouthfuls, and put them into the soup, and let them
get warm.

Obs. You may make this more savoury by adding catchup
(No. 439), &c. Shin of beef may be dressed in the same
way ; see Knuckle of Veal stewed with Rice (No. 523).

Mutton Broth. (No. 194.)

Take two pounds of scrag of mutton ; to take the blood
out, put it into a stew-pan, and cover it with cold water ;
when the water becomes milk- warm, pour it off; then put it
in four or five pints of water, with a tea-spoonful of salt, a
table-spoonful of best grits, and an onion; set it on a slow
fire, and when you have taken all the scum off, put in two or

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 197

three turnips ; let it simmer very slowly for two hours, and
strain it through a clean sieve.

This usual method of making mutton broth with the
scrag, is by no means the most economical method of ob-
taining it ; for which see Nos. 490 and 564.

O6. You may thicken broth by boiling with it a little oat-
meal, rice, Scotch or pearl barley ; when you make it for a
sick person, read the Obs. on Broths, &c. in the last page of
the 7th chapter of the Rudiments of Cookery, and No. 564.

Mock Mutton Broth, without Meaty in five minutest (No. 195.)

Boil a few leaves of parsley with two tea-spoonfuls of
mushroom catchup, in three-quarters of a pint of very thin
gruel* (No. 572). Season with a little salt.

O6. This is improved by a few drops of eschalot wine
(No. 402), and the same of essence of sweet herbs (No. 419).
See also Portable Soup (No. 252).

The Queen's Morning "Bouillon de Santtf (No. 196.)

Sir Kenelm Digby, in his " Closet of Cookery," p. 149,
London, 1669, informs us, was made with " a brawny hen, or
young cock, a handful of parsley, one sprig of thyme, three
of spearmint, a little balm, half a great onion, a little pepper
and salt, and a clove, with as much water as will cover
them ; and this boiled to less than a pint for one good por-
ringerful."

Ox-heel Jelly. (No. 198.)

Slit them in two, and take away the fat between the claws.
The proportion of water to each heel is about a quart : let.it
simmer gently for eight hours (keeping it clean skimmed) ;
it will make a pint and a half of strong jelly, which is fre-
quently used to make calves' feet jelly (No. 481), or to add to
mock turtle and other soups. See No. 240*. This jelly
evaporated, as directed in No. S52, will give about three
ounces and a half of strong glaze. An unboiled heel costs
one shilling and threepence: so this glaze, which is very
inferior in flavour to No. 252, is quite as expensive as that is.

N.B. To dress the heels, see No. 18.

Obs. Get a heel that has only been scalded, not one of

* By this method, it is said, an ingenious cook long deceived a large family, who
were all fond of weak mutton broth. Mushroom gravy, or catchup (No. 439),
approaches the nature and flavour of meat gravy, more than any vegetable juice,
and is the best substitute for it in maigre soups and extempore sauces, that culinary
chemistry has yet produced.

198 BROTHS, OKAV1ES AND SOUPS.

those usually sold at the tripe-shops, which have been boiled
till almost all the gelatine is extracted.

Clear Gravy Soups. (No. 200.)

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 lean beef, and as much veal ; break the bones, and
[ay them on the meat ; take off the outer skin of two large
onions and two turnips ; wash, clean, and cut into pieces a
couple of large carrots, and two heads of celery; and put in
three cloves and a large blade of mace. Cover the stew-pan
close, and set it over a smart fire. When the meat begins to
stick to 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 : watch it, and when it is coming to
boil put in half a pint of cold water ; take off the scum ; then
put in half a pint more cold water, and 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 about four hours ; strain it
through a clean tamis or napkin (do not squeeze it, or the
soup will be thick) into a clean stone pan ; let it remain till
it is cold, and then remove all the fat. When you decant it,
be careful not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the pan.

The broth should be of a fine amber colour, and as clear as
rock water. If it is not quite so bright as you wish it, put it
into a stew-pan; break two whites and shells of eggs into a
basin; beat them well together; 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 of the fire to settle for ten minutes ; run it
through a fine napkin into a basin, and it is ready.

However, if your broth is carefully skimmed, &c. accord-
ing to the directions above given, it will be clear enough
without clarifying ; which process impairs the flavour of it in
a higher proportion than it improves its appearance.

Obs. 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 cher-
vil, make what is called spring soup, or soup sante; to
this a pint of green pease, or asparagus pease, or French
beans cut into pieces, or a cabbage lettuce, are an im-
provement.

With rice or Scotch barley, with macaroni or vermicelli,
or celery cut into lengths, it will be the soup usually called
by those names.

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 199

Or turnips scooped round, or young onions, will give you
a clear turnip or onion soup ; and all these vegetables mixed
together, soup GRESSI.

The gravy for all these soups may be produced extempore
with No. 252.

The roots and vegetables you use must be boiled first, or
they will impregnate the soup with too strong a flavour.

The seasoning' for all these soups is the same, viz. salt
and a very little Cayenne pepper.

N.B. To make excellent vegetable gravy soup for 4$d. a
quart, see No. 224.

Scotch Barley Broth ; a good and substantial dinner for
fivepence per head. (No. 204.)

Wash three-quarters of a pound of Scotch barley in a
little cold water ; put it in a soup-pot with a shin or leg of
beef, of about ten pounds weight, sawed into four pieces
(tell the butcher to do this for you) ; cover it well with cold
water ; set it on the fire : when it boils skim it very clean,
and put in two onions of about three ounces weight each ;
set it by the side of the fire to simmer very gently about two
hours ; then skim all the fat clean off, and put in two heads
of celery, and a large turnip cut into small squares ; season
it with salt, and let it boil an hour and a half longer, and it
is ready: take out the meat (carefully with a slice, and
cover it up, and set it by the fire to keep warm), and skim
the broth well before you put it in the tureen.

5. d.

Shin of beef of lOlbs 2

% pound of barley 4*

2 onions, of about 3 oz. weight each... 0|

Celery 1

Large turnip 1

2 7

Thus you get four quarts of good soup at 8c?. per quart,
besides another quart to make sauce for the meat, in the
following manner :

Put a quart of the soup into a basin; put about an
ounce of flour into a stew-pan, and pour the broth to it
by degrees, stirring it well together; set it on the fire, and
stir it till it boils; then (some put in a glass of port
wine, or mushroom catchup, No. 439) let it boil up, and it is
ready.

Put the meat in a ragout dish, and strain the sauce through

200 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS.

a sieve over the meat ; you may put to it some capers, or
minced gherkins or walnuts, c.

If the beef has been stewed with proper care in a very
gentle manner, and be taken up at " the critical moment when
it is just tender," you will obtain an excellent and savoury
meal for eight people for fivepence ; i. e. for only the cost of
the glass of port wine.

If you use veal, cover the meat with No. 364 2.

Obs. This is a most frugal, agreeable, and nutritive
meal ; it will neither lighten the purse, nor lie heavy on the
stomach, and will furnish a plentiful and pleasant soup and
meat for eight persons. So you may give a good dinner for
5d. per head ! ! ! See also Nos. 229 and 239.

N.B. If you will draw your purse-strings a little wider,
and allow Id. per mouth more, prepare a pint of young
onions as directed in No. 296, and garnish the dish with
them, or some carrots or turnips cut into squares ; and for
Gd. per head you will have as good a RAGOUT as " le Cuisinier
Imperial de France" can give you for as many shillings.
Read Obs. to No. 493.

Ycu may vary the flavour by adding a little curry powder
(No. 455), ragout (No. 457, &c.), or any of the store sauces
and flavouring essences between Nos. 396 and 463 ; you may
garnish the dish with split pickled mangoes, walnuts, gher-
kins, onions, &c. See Wow wow Sauce, No. 328.

If it is made the evening before the soup is wanted,
and suffered to stand till it is cold, much fat* may be
removed from the surface of the soup, which is, when
clarified (No. 83), useful for all the purposes that drippings
are applied to.

Scotch Soups. (No. 205.)

The three following receipts are the contribution of a
friend at Edinburgh.

Winter Hotch-potch,

Take the best end of a neck or loin of mutton ; cut it into
neat chops ; cut four carrots, and as many turnips into
slices ; put on four quarts of water, with half the carrots
and turnips, and a whole one of each, with a pound of dried
green pease, which must be put to soak the night before ;
let it boil two hours, then take out the whole carrot and tur-

* See "L'Jrt de Cnitmier," par A. Beauvillier, Paria, 1814, p. 68. "I have
learned by experience, that of all the fats that are used for frying, the pot top which
Js taken from the surface of the broth and stock-pot is by far the best."

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 201

nip ; bruise and return them ; put in the meat, and the rest
of the carrot and turnip, some pepper and salt, and boil
slowly three-quarters of an hour; a short time before servingy
add an onion cut small and a head of celery.

Cocky-leeky Soup*

Take a scrag of mutton, or shank of veal, three quarts of
water (or liquor in which meat has been boiled), and a good-
sized fowl, with two or three leeks cut in pieces about an
inch long, pepper and salt ; boil slowly about an hour : then
put in as many more leeks, and give it three-quarters of an
hour longer : this is very good, made of good beef-stock,
and leeks put in at twice.

Lamb Stove, or Lamb Stew.

Take a lamb's head and lights ; open the jaws of the head,
and wash them thoroughly ; put them in a 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 (or
spinage); put it in twenty minutes before serving; add a
little parsley, and one or two onions, a short time before it
comes off the fire ; season with pepper and salt, and serve
all together in a tureen.

Scotch Brose.(No. 205*,)

" This favourite Scotch dish is generally made with the
liquor meat has been boiled in.

" Put half a pint of oatmeal into a porringer with a little
salt, if there be not enough in the broth, of which add as
much as will mix it to the consistence of hasty-pudding, or
a little thicker ; lastly, take a little of the fat that swims on
ihe broth, and put it on the crowdie, and eat it in the same
way as hasty-pudding."

Obs. This Scotsman's dish is easily prepared at very little
expense, and is pleasant-tasted and nutritious. To dress a
haggies, see No. 488*, and Minced Collops, following it.

N.B. For various methods of making and flavouring" oat-
meal gruel, see No. 572.

Carrot Soup. (No. 212.)

Scrape and wash half a dozen 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

202 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AKD SOUPS.

onion, cut into thin pieces ; take two quarts of beef, veal, or
mutton broth, or if you have any cold roast-beef bones (or
liquor, in which mutton or beef has been boiled), you may
make very good broth for this soup : when you have 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 (some cooks put in a tea-cupful of bread-
crumbs) ; boil for two or three minutes ; rub it through a
tamis, or hair-sieve, with a wooden spoon, and add as much
broth as will make it a proper thickness, i. e. almost as thick
as pease soup : put it into a clean stew-pan ; make it hot ;
season it with a little salt, and send it up with some toasted
bread, cut into pieces half an inch square. Some put it into
the soup ; but the best way is to send it up on a plate, as a
side-dish.

Obs. This is neither expensive nor troublesome to pre-
pare. In the kitchens of some opulent epicures, to make this
soup make a little stronger impression on the gustatory
organs of " grands gourmands," the celery and onions are
sliced, and fried in butter of a light brown, the soup is poured
into the stew-pan to them, and all is boiled up together. But
this must be done very carefully with butter, or very nicely
clarified fat; and the "grand cuisinier" adds spices, &c,
" ad libitum."

Turnip and Parsnip Soups, (No. 213.)
Are made in the same manner as the carrot soup (No. 212.)

Celery Soup. (No. 214.)

Split half a dozen 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 No. 200 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 with a little salt.

Obs. When celery cannot be procured, half a drachm of
the seed, pounded fine, which may be considered as the
essence of celery (costs only one-third of a farthing, and can
be had at any season), put in 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 weighing seven
ounces, and costing 2r/. ; or add a little essence of celery,
No. 409.

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 203

Green Pease Soup. (No. 216.)

A peck of pease will make you a good tureen of soup. In
shelling them, put the old ones in one basin, and the young
ones in another, and keep out a pint of them, and boil them
separately to put into your soup when it is finished : put a
large saucepan on the fire half full of water ; when it boils,
put the pease in, with a handful of salt ; let them boil till
they are done enough, i. e. from twenty to thirty minutes,
according to their age and size ; then drain them in a colan-
der, and put them into a clean gallon stew-pan, and three
quarts of plain veal or mutton broth (drawn from meat with-
out any spices or herbs, &c. which would overpower the
flavour of the soup) ; cover the stew-pan close, and set it
over a slow fire to stew gently for an hour ; add a tea-cupful
of bread-crumbs, and then rub it through a tamis into another
stew-pan ; stir it with a wooden spoon, and if it is too thick,
add a little more broth : have ready boiled as for eating, a
pint of young pease, and put them into the soup ; season with
a little salt and sugar.

N.B. Some cooks, while this soup is going on, slice a
couple of cucumbers (as you would for eating) ; take out the
seeds ; lay them on a cloth to drain, and then flour them, and
fry them a light brown in a little butter ; put them into the
soup the last thing before it goes to table.

Obs. If the soup is not green enough, pound a handful of
pea-hulls or spinage$ and squeeze the juice through a cloth
into the soup : some leaves of mint may be added, if approved.

Plain green Pease Soup without Meat. (No. 217.)

Take a quart of green pease (keep out half a pint of the
youngest ; boil them separately, and put them in the soup
when it is finished) ; put them on in boiling water ; boil them
tender, and then pour off the water, and set it by to make the
soup with : put the pease into a mortar, and pound them to a
mash; then put them into two quarts of the water you boiled
the pease in ; stir all well together ; let it boil up for about
five minutes, and then rub it through a hair-sieve or tamis.
If the pease are good, it will be as thick and fine a vegetable
soup as need be sent to table.

Pease Soup. (No. 218.)
The common way of making pease soup* is to a quart

* To maie pease pottage, double the quantity. Those who often make pease
soup should have a mill, and grind the pease just before they dress them; a less
quantity will suffice, and the soup will be much sooner made.

04 BROTHS, GKAVIES, AND SOUPS.

of split pease put three quarts of cold soft water, not more,
(or it will be what " Jack Ros-bif " calls " soup maigre,")
notwithstanding Mother Glasse orders a gallon (and her
ladyship's directions have been copied by almost ever}'
cookery-book maker who has strung receipts together since),
with half a pound of bacon (not very fat), or roast-beef bones,
or four anchovies : or, instead of the water, three quarts of
the liquor in which beef, mutton, pork, or poultry has been
boiled, tasting it first, to make sure it is not too salt.*

Wash two heads of celery ;t cut it, and put it in, with two
onions peeled, and a sprig of savoury, or sweet marjoram, or
lemon-thyme; set it on the trivet, and let it simmer very
gently over a slow fire, stirring it every quarter of an hour
(to keep the pease from sticking to, and burning at, the bot-
tom of the soup-pot) till the pease 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 butter,
and put them into the soup till they are lightly browned ;
then work the whole through a coarse hair-sieve, and then
through a fine sieve, or (what is better) through a tamis, with
the back of a wooden spoon : put it into a clean stew-pan,
with half 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, toasted bread cut into little pieces a
quarter of 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 perfectly clean drippings or lard
into an iron frying-pan ; when it is hot, fry the bread ; take
care and turn it about with a slice, or by shaking of the pan
as it is frying, that it may be on each side of a delicate light
brown, (No. 319 ;) 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 these up in one side-dish, and dried and pow-
dered mint or savoury, or sweet marjoram, &c. in another.

Those who are for a double relish, and are true lovers of
" haut gout" may have some bacon cut into small squares
like the bread, and fried till it is crisp, or some little lumps
of boiled pickled pork ; or put cucumber fried into this soup.
as you have directions in No. 216.

* If the liquor is very salt, the pease will never boil tender. Therefore, when
you make pease soup with the liquor in which salted pork or beef has been boiled,
tie up the pease in a cloth, and boil them first for an hour in soft water.

f Haifa drachm of celery-seed, pounded tine, and put into the soup a quarter o?
an hour before it is finished, will flavour three quarts.

j Some put in dried mint rubbed to fine powder ; but as every body does not liko
mint, it is bst to send it up on a plate. See pease powder, No. 458, essence of
.H'lery, No. 409, anil Nos. 457 and 459.

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 2(K r >

Obs. 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 above receipt. A hock, or
shank-bone of ham, a ham-bone, the root of a tongue, or a
red or pickled herring, are favourite additions with some
cooks ; others send up rice or vermicelli with pease soup.*

N.B. To make pease soup extempore, see No. 555.

If you wish to make soup the same day you boil meat or
poultry, prepare the pease the same as for pease pudding
(No. 555), to which you may add an onion and a head of
celery, when you rub the pease through the sieve ; instead
of putting eggs and butter, add some of the liquor from the
pot to make it a proper thickness ; put it on to boil for five
minutes, and it is ready.

Obs. This latter is by far the easiest and the best way of
making pease soup.

Pease soup may be made savoury and agreeable to the
palate, without any meat, by incorporating two ounces of
fresh and nicely-clarified beef, mutton, or pork drippings (see
No. 83), with two ounces of oatmeal, and mixing this well
into the gallon of soup, made as above directed : see also
No. 229.

Pease Soup and pickled Porfc, (No. 220.)

A couple of pounds of the belly part of pickled pork will
make very good broth for pease soup, if the pork be not too
salt ; if it has been in salt more than two days, it must be laid
in water the night before it is used.

Put on the ingredients mentioned in No. 218, in three
quarts of water ; boil gently for two hours, then put in the
pork, and boil very gently till it is done enough to eat ; this
will take about an hour and a half, or two hours longer, ac-
cording to its thickness ; when done, wash the pork clean in
hot water, send it up in a dish, or cut it into mouthfuls, and
put it into the soup in the tureen, with the accompaniments
ordered in No. 218.

* My witty predecessor, Dr. HUNTER (see Culina, page 97), says, "Tf a proper
quantity of curry-powder (No. 455) be added to pease soup, a good soup might be
made, under the title of curry pease noun. Heliogabalus offered rewards for the
discovery of a new dish, and the British Parliament have given notoriety to inven-
tions of much less importance than ' curry pease soup.' "

N.B. Celery, or carrots, or turnips, shredded, or cut in squares (or Scotch barley,
in the latter case the soup must be rather thinner), or cut into bits about an inch
Ions, and boiled separately, and thrown into the tureen when the soup is going to
table, will give another agreeable variety, and may be called celery and pease soup.
Read Obs. to No. 214

206 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS.

Obs. The meat being boiled no longer than to be done
enough to be eaten, you get excellent soup, without any ex-
pense of meat destroyed.

" In Canada, the inhabitants live three-fourths of the year
on pease soup, prepared with salt pork, which is boiled till
the fat is entirely dissolved among the soup, giving it a rich
flavour." The Hon. J. COCHRANE'S Seaman's Guide, 8vo.
1797, p. JJ1.

Plain Pease Soup. (No. 221.)

To a quart of split pease, and two heads of celery, (and
most cooks would put a large onion,) put three quarts of
broth or soft water ; let them simmer gently on a trivet over
a slow fire for three hours, stirring up every quarter of an
hour to prevent the pease burning at the bottom of the soup-
kettle (if the water boils away, and the soup gets too thick,
add some boiling water to it) ; when they are well softened,
work them through a coarse sieve, and then through a fine
sieve or a tamis ; wash out your stew-pan, and then return
the soup into it, and give it a boil up ; take off any scum that
comes up, and it is ready. Prepare fried bread, and dried
mint, as directed in No. 218, and send them up with it on two
side dishes.

Obs. This is an excellent family soup, produced with very
little trouble or expense.

Most of the receipts for pease soup are crowded with in-
gredients which entirely overpower the flavour of the pease.
See No. 555.

Asparagus Soup. (No. 222.)

This is made with the points of asparagus, in the same
manner as the green pease soup (No. 216 or 17) is with
pease : let half the asparagus be rubbed through a sieve, and
the other cut in pieces about an inch long, and boiled till
done enough, and sent up in the soup : to make two quarts,
there must be a pint of heads to thicken it, and half a pint
cut in ; take care to preserve these green and a little crisp.
This soup is sometimes made by adding the asparagus heads
to common pease soup.

Obs. Some cooks fry half an ounce of onion in a little-
butter, and rub it through a sieve, and add it with the other
ingredients ; the kaut gout of the onion will entirely over-
come the delicate flavour of the asparagus, and we protest
against all such combinations.

BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 207

Maigre, or Vegetable Gravy Soup.* (No. 224.)

Put into a gallon stew-pan three ounces of butter ; set it
over a slow fire ; while it is melting, slice four ounces of
onion ; cut in small pieces one turnip, one carrot, and a head
of celery ; put them in the stewpan, cover it close, let it fry
till they are lightly browned ; this will take about twenty-
five minutes : have ready, in a sauce-pan, a pint of pease,
with four quarts of water ; when the roots in the stew-pan
are quite brown, and the pease come to a boil, put the pease
and water to them ; put it on the fire ; when it boils, skim it
clean, and put in a crust of bread about as big as the top of
a twopenny loaf, twenty-four berries of allspice, the same
of black pepper, and two blades of mace ; cover it close,
let it simmer gently for one hour and a half; then set it from
the fire for ten minutes ; then pour it off very gently (so as
not to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the stew-pan)
into a large basin ; let it stand (about two hours) till it is quite
clear : while this is doing, shred one large turnip, the red part
of a large carrot, three ounces of onion minced, and one
large head of celery cut into small bits ; put the turnips and
carrots on the fire in cold water, let them boil five minutes,
then drain them on a sieve, then pour off the soup clear into
a stew-pan, put in the roots, put the soup on the fire, let it
simmer gently till the herbs are tender (from thirty to forty
minutes), season it with salt and a little Cayenne, and it is
ready.

You may add a table-spoonful of mushroom catchup
(No. 439).

Obs. You will have three quarts of soup, as well coloured,
and almost as well flavoured, as if made with gravy meat.

N.B. To make this it requires nearly five hours. To fry
the herbs requires twenty-five minutes ; to boil all together,
one hour and a half ; to settle, at the least, two hours ; when
'lear, and put on the fire again, half an hour more.

FISH SOUPS.- (No. 225.)
Eel Soup.

To make a tureenful, take a couple of middling-sized
onions, cut them in half, and cross your knife over them two
or three times ; put two ounces of butter into a stew-pan

* The French call this "soup maigre;" the English acceptation of which is
^'poor and watery," and does not at all accord with the French, which is, soups, &t\
made without meat : thus, turtle, the richest dish that comes to an English table
(if ilressi-d without meat gravy,), is a maigre dish.

208 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS.

when it is melted, put in the onions, stir them about till they
are lightly browned ; cut into pieces three pounds of un-
skinned eels, put them into your stew-pan, and shake them
over the fire for five minutes ; then add three quarts of boil-
ing water, and when they come to a boil, take the scum off
very clean ; 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 ; then strain it off, and skim it
very clean. To thicken it, put three ounces of butter into
a clean stew-pan ; when it is melted, stir in as much flour as
\vill make it of a stiff paste, then add the liquor 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 fish fried of a nice light brown,
either eels, soles, plaice, or skate will do ; the fried fish
should be added about ten minutes before the soup is served
up. Forcemeat balls (Nos. 375, 378, &c.) are sometimes
added.

Obs. Excellent fish soups may be made with a cod's
skull, or skate, or flounders, &c. boiled in no more water
than will just cover them, and the liquor thickened with
oatmeal, &c.

Cheap Soups. (No. 229.)

Among the variety of schemes that have been suggested
for " bettering the condition of the poor," a more useful or
extensive charity cannot be devised, than that of instructing
them in economical cookery : it is one of the most important
objects to which the attention of any real well-wisher to the
public interest can possibly be directed.

The best and cheapest method of making a nourishing
soup, is least known to those who have most need of it ; it
will enable those who have small incomes and large families
to make the most of the little they possess, without pinching
their children of that wholesome nourishment which is ne-
cessary for the purpose of rearing them up to maturity in
health and strength.

The labouring classes seldom purchase what are called
the coarser pieces of meat, because they do not know how
to dress them, but lay out their money in pieces for roast-
ing, &c., of which the bones, &c. enhance the price of the
actual meat to nearly a shilling per pound, and the dimi-
nution of weight by roasting amounts to 32 per cent. This.

BHOTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS. 209

for the sake of saving time, trouble, and fire, is generally
sent to an oven to be baked ; the nourishing parts are evapo-
rated and dried up, its weight is diminished nearly one-third,
and all that a poor man can afford to purchase with his
week's earnings, perhaps does not half satisfy the appetites
of himself and family for a couple of days.

If a hard-working man cannot get a comfortable meal at
home, he soon finds his way to the public-house, the poor
wife contents herself with tea and bread and butter, and the
children are half starved.

DR. KITCHINER'S receipt to make a cheap, nutritive, and
palatable soup, fully adequate to satisfy appetite and support
strength, will open a new source to those benevolent house-
keepers who are disposed to relieve the poor ; will show the
industrious classes how much they have it in their power to
assist themselves ; and rescue them from being dependent on
the precarious bounty of others, by teaching them how they
may obtain an abundant, salubrious, and agreeable aliment
for themselves and families, for one penny per quart. See
page 210.

For various economical soups, see Nos. 204, 239, 240,
224, 221, and 06s. to Nos. 244 and 252, and Nos. 493 and
502.

Obs. Dripping intended for soup should be taken out of
the pan almost as soon as it has dropped from the meat ; if
it is not quite clean, clarify it. See receipt, No. 83.

Dripping thus prepared is a very different thing from that
which has remained in the dripping-pan all the time the
meat has been roasting, and perhaps live coals have dropped
into it.*

Distributing soup does not answer half so well as teaching
people how to make it, and improve their comfort at home :
the time lost in waiting at the soup-house is seldom less than
three hours ; in which time, by any industrious occupation,

* We copied the following receipt from The Morning Post, Jan. 1820.
WINTER Socp. (No 227.)

2lOlbs of beef, fore-quarters.
901bs. of legs of beef,
3 bushels of best split pease,
1 bushel of flour,

12 bundles of leeks,
6 bundles of celery.
12lbs. of salt,
lllbs. of black pepper.

These good ingredients will make 1000 quarts of nourishing and agreeable eoup,
at an expense (establishment avoided) of little less than 2Arf. per quart.

Of this, 2600 quarts a day have been delivered during the late inclement weather,
and the cessation of ordinary employment, at two stations in the parish of Ber-
mondsey, at one penny per quart, by which 600 families have been daily assisted,
and it thankfully received. Such a nourishment and comfort could not have been
provided by themselves separately for fourpence a quart, if at all, and reckoning
little for their fire, nothing for their time.

210 BROTHS, GRAVIES, AND SOUPS.

however poorly paid, they could earn more money than the
quart of soup is worth.

DR. KITGHINER'S Receipt to make a Gallon of Barley Broth for
a Groat. See also No. 204.

Put four ounces of Scotch barley (previously washed in
cold water), and four ounces of sliced onions, into five quarts
of water ; boil gently for one hour, and pour it into a pan ;
then put into the saucepan from one to two ounces of clean
beef or mutton drippings, or melted suet, (to clarify these,
see No. 83) or two or three ounces of fat bacon minced ;
when melted, stir into it four ounces of oatmeal ; rub these
together till you make a paste (if this be properly managed,
the whole of the fat will combine with the barley broth, and
not a particle appear on the surface to offend the most
delicate stomach) ; now add the barley broth, at first a
spoonful at a time, then the rest by degrees, stirring it well
together till it boils. To season it, put a drachm of finely-
pounded celery, or cress-seed, or half a drachm of