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Full text of "The new cyclopædia of domestic economy, and practical housekeeper. Adapted to all classes of society and comprising subjects connected with the interests of every family, and five thousand practical receipts and maxims. From the best English, French, German, and American sources"

THE LIBRARY 

OF 

THE UNIVERSITY 
OF CALIFORNIA 



*&. 



THE GASTRONOMY COLLECTION OF 
GEORGE HOLL 

AGRIC. 
LIBRARY 



'. 









*w -w 






THE 



NEW CYCLOPAEDIA 

OF 

DOMESTIC ECONOMY, 

AND 

PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 

ADAPTED TO ALL CLASSES OF SOCIETY, 

AND COMPRISING 

SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH THE INTERESTS OF EVERY FAMILY; 

SUCH AS 

DOMESTIC EDUCATION, HOUSES, FURNITURE, DUTIES OF MISTRESS, 

DUTIES OF DOMESTICS, THE STOREROOM, MARKETING, TABLE 

AND ATTENDANCE, CARE AND . TRAINING OF CHILDREN, 

CARE OF THE SICK, PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR 

CHILDREN AND INVALIDS, PRESERVATION OF 

HEALTH, DOMESTIC MEDICINE, THE ART 

OF COOKERY, PERFUMERY, THE 

TOILET, COSMETICS, 



FIVE THOUSAND PRACTICAL EECEIPTS AND IAIIMS. 

FROM THE BEST ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, AND AMERICAN SOURCES. 
ILLUSTRATED WITH 

OVER TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. 

* it 

EDITED BY IKS, E. F, ELLET, 

AUTHOR OF " THE WOMEN OF THE REVOLUTION," ETC., ETC. 

NORWICH, CONN.: 
PUBLISHED BY HENRY BILL. 

0. A. BROWNING, TOLEDO, O.; C. C. HASKELL, LEWISTON, ME.; IRA A. SMITH, MILFORD, 
MASS.; AND HUGH HERON, CHICAGO, ILL., GENERAL AGENTS. 

1872/ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, 

BY HENRY BILL, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



RAND, AVERY; & Co., PRINTERS, 
3 CORNHILL, BOSTON. 



PREFACE. 



THE importance of the subjects introduced, and their 
influence upon the happiness of the household, consti- 
tute a sufficient claim for a favorable reception of this 
volume; for, though many books have been written on 
domestic affairs, yet no treatise so complete in all its 
parts, within the limits of a convenient manual, has 
been given to the public before the appearance of this 
work. In many matters beside cookery does the inex- 
perienced housewife need instruction and guidance. It 
has been a study, in this volume, to reduce to practical 
rules the best theories concerning an extensive and varied 
range of household duties, and to furnish simple and 
useful directions in each branch of this most interesting of 
sciences, that the work might be safely consulted in all mat- 
ters relating to the manifold responsibilities of the house- 
keeper. 

The young housekeeper will appreciate the advantages 
of a compendium which embraces rules and advice pertaining 
to all the duties expected of her ; advice as to early house 
training, the taking and furnishing of a house ; the different 



PREFACE. 



departments filled by servants, and the superintendence of 
the mistress ; the laying in of stores and purchases in mar- 
ket; the art of making and arranging things used every 
day, and of setting out a table to advantage ; the care of 
children, and the best food for them ; the preparations most 
useful for invalids; the attendance at meals, and various 
matters in household management which no book before 
this has ever taught in detail, but which are commonly left 
to the slow teaching of individual experience. While en- 
deavoring to make this manual or cyclopedia so complete as 
to meet all the wants of those who lack knowledge, care 
has been taken to arrange the various departments with 
clearness and method. A carefully prepared and copious 
index will at once direct the reader to any thing wanted. 

In the department of Cookery, arranged under forty-five 
heads, an unusually large variety of recipes is given for the 
styles in every-day living soups, meats, sauces, <fec., because 
it was desirable to include the latest improvements, and 
because the want of variety in such preparations is usually 
complained of in American cookery. The French having 
so much the advantage of us, it is as well to learn something 
more of their boasted art, that those who choose may avail 
themselves of the knowledge. A number of choice recipes, 
therefore, from very recent French and English works, have 
been added to those contributed by American housekeepers 



PREFACE. 



of long experience and tried skill. Several valuable recipes, 
never before made public, have been furnished for this work 
by Delmonico, Taylor, Wagner, Sneckner, and other pro- 
prietors of celebrated establishments in New York. 

The Toilet Department, and Perfumery, Cosmetics, <fec., 
do not strictly belong to housekeeping; but every lady 
must desire some knowledge of them, and it is convenient 
to have a manual containing instructions as to the com- 
pounding of articles required for the hair and complexion. 
The fair reader will not object to the space and attention 
devoted to these matters. 

The Family Medical Guide is not designed to interfere 
with the province of the physician, but to furnish simple 
and approved recipes for use when medical advice cannot be 
procured, and palliatives to promote the comfort of the sick. 
All these recipes have been submitted to a prominent phy- 
sician, and approved by him. 

The section appropriated to the sick is unusually com- 
prehensive, containing many new recipes. The Miscella- 
neous Department is also enriched with several tried and 
excellent ones, never before published. The numerous 
illustrative cuts, which are found in no other volume, will 
help to explain the method and use of various housekeeping 
articles. E. F. E. 



CONTENTS. 



PARTL 
CHAPTER I. 

PA< 

Thoughts and Maxims on Housekeeping, 15 

CHAPTER II. 
The Dwelling House, &c., . . . .18 

CHAPTER III. 
Furnishing a House, 21 

CHAPTER IV. 
Plate, Cutlery, House-linen, Ac., . . 24 

CHAPTER V. 
Servants, 26 

CHAPTER VI. 
Duties of the Housewife. The Dinner, . 31 

CHAPTER VII. 
Duties of the Servants, . . . .41 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Care of Children, . . . .46 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Care of the Sick, . : . .50 

CHAPTER X. 
The Store-room and Marketing, . . 53 

CHAPTER XI. 
Domestic Manipulation, . . . . 59 

CHAPTER XII. 
Decanting, Straining and Filtering Liquids, 65 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The Manufacture and Use of Cements, . 69 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Powdering, Grinding, &c., . . .72 



CHAPTER XV. 

PA61 

Knots, Parcels, &c. 74 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Adulteration of Food and Purity of Water, 78 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Boiling, Stewing, &c., . .81 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Economy of Heat, 84 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Cleaning and Disinfecting, . . .88 

CHAPTER XX. 
Fermenting and Distilling, . . .. 91 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Laying out Tables and Folding Napkins, . 94 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Trussing and Carving, .... 103 
CHAPTER XXIII. 

Culinary Utensils, 116 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Cookery as an Art, 124 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Foreign Terms used in Cookery, . . 126 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Condiments, 129 

CHAPTER XXVH. 

Rudiments of Cookery, .... 186 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Hints and Maxims, 148 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Articles in Season for each Month, . . 149 



12 



CONTENTS. 



PART IL 



Receipts for Soups, . 

Meat Soups, 

Soups of Game, Poultry, Ac., 

Vegetables, 

Fish Soups, 

Fish, 

Shell Fish, . . . 
Sauces for Fish, . . 
Gravies, Sauces, Ac., 
Ketchups, .... 
Farces and Stuffings, 
Receipts for Dressing Beef, 
Receipts for Dressing Veal, 
Receipts for Dressing Mutton, 
Receipts for Dressing Lamb, 
Receipts for Dressing Pork, 
Sausages and Forcemeat, . 
Curing Meat, Potting and Collaring, 
Poultry and Game, 

Venison, 

Vegetables, * 

Salads, 

Pickles and Store Room Sauces, 
Paste, Meat, Game and Fish Pies, 
Fruit Pies, Puffs, Ac., 

Puddings, 

Sweet Puddings, . . . 
Italian Pastes, .... 

Rice 

Cheese, 

Pancakes, Fritters, . 

Various Modes of Cooking Eggs, 

To Make Bread, 

Biscuits and Warm Cakes, . 

Butter, 



. 155 
. 156 
. 171 
. 179 
. 185 
. 188 
. 204 
. 214 
. 218 
. 242 
. 243 
. 249 
. 276 
. 296 
. 811 
. 818 
. 337 
. 341 
. 356 
. 874 
. 376 
. 390 
. 393 
. 406 
. 425 
. 436 
. 439 
. 450 
. 452 
. 454 
. 457 
. 459 
. 464 
. 467 
. 472 



PAOH 

. 473 
. 486 
. 494 
. 498 
. 510 
. 514 
. 517 
. 526 
. 529 
Bills of Fare, 532 



Cakes, Ac., .... 
Custards, -Creams, Jellies, Ac., . 
Coffee, Tea and Chocolate, 
Preserves, &c., .... 
Beverages, .... 
Wines and Liqueurs, 
Cookery for the Sick, 
Food and Cookery for Children, 
Savory Dishes for Breakfast, 



PART HI 



537 
538 
542 
543 
545 



Perfumery, . 

Essences and Extracts, . . 

Compound Odors, or Bouquets, 

Spirituous Infusions, 

Oils for the Hair, 

Cosmetics, ....... 546 

Powders, 546 

Soaps, 547 

Cold Creams, 547 

Pommades, 548 

Salves and Balsams, 549 

Vinegars, 549 

Salts, . 551 

Cassolettes, 551 

Sachets, 552 

Hair Washes 553 

Fumigating Paper, 553 

Pastilles for Necklaces, Bracelets, Ac., . 554 

Hair Dyes, 554 

Depilatory, 555 

Shaving Pastes, ...... 555 

The Family Medical Guide, . . .556 
Miscellaneous Receipts, .... 567 

Index, 588 



PART FIRST. 
THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 



THE 



PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



PART I. 

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 



CHAPTER I. 

DR. STARK says, " The only test of the 
utility of knowledge is its promotion of 
the happiness of mankind." Viewed 
thus, the subject we are about to treat 
presents claims superior to most others, 
and is eminently worthy of study. The 
superintendence of a house, and the man- 
agement, forethought, domestic economy, 
and good sterling sense requisite for the 
discharge of this duty, demand applica- 
tion and perseverance, and ought to re- 
ceive as much, at least, as is bestowed 
on the acquisition of music, painting, or 
any of the ornamental accomplishments. 
Young ladies are educated to shine in 
society; would it not be well if they 
were also sedulously taught by a sys- 
tem of training to perform the homely 
duties which make home the abode of 
comfort ? 

It has been said that Americans in 
general have little attachment to home. 
Often, indeed, is the domestic comfort, 
so prized in England, absent from the 
abodes even of the wealthy, in our land. 
May not this undeniable fact, and the 
roving propensity of young people in this 
country, be attributable to the circum- 
stance that girls, whose condition exempts 
them from servitude, are brought up 
wholly without reference to home du- 
ties ? Even those who may depend on 



their own labor for a subsistence, are 
taught some trade, or superficially quali- 
fied as teachers, or instructed in various 
branches of needlework ; while they know 
little or nothing of household matters ; 
though such knowledge would enable 
them to command an independence. It 
is not alone the wife and mother who 
should be skilled in domestic affairs; 
every girl who has emerged from child- 
hood, is liable to be called on to take 
charge of a house. If the mother is 
bedridden, or deceased, why should the 
father of daughters sixteen or eighteen 
years old be compelled to look elsewhere 
for a housekeeper, and intrust the man- 
agement to the hands of a stranger ? 

The general cultivation of this valu- 
able knowledge, too, would make the oc- 
cupation of a " help," or servant, more 
acceptable to thousands who now prefer 
starvation in a garret, or the ruin of 
health in sedentary employments. The 
more attention is turned to this branch 
of learning, the more will its importance 
be recognized, and the higher place will 
it assume in the list of useful arts ; and 
a degree of respect being accorded to 
those who excel, more will be found 
ready to engage in it as a profession. 
What an improvement would be made, 
by such a result, in our social and do- 
mestic life ! 

We would not be understood to say 



16 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



that we would have a woman merely an 
upper servant in the house it is her 
province to guide, or that we undervalue 
intellectual attainments and elegant oc- 
cupations. But it will not detract from 
the charm of these, nor from the dignity 
of *the well-bred lady to be familiar 
with the routine of domestic duties, well 
acquainted with the minutiae of house- 
hold economy, and competent to direct, 
or if need be, teach her servants ; ay, 
even, to do things herself in cases of 
necessity. On the other hand, will it 
not enhance admiration and strengthen 
regard, to see that she possesses these 
acquirements, and is willing to exercise 
them to promote the comfort of others ? 
Who can tell that she may not. at some 
period of life, be thrown into circum- 
stances where the mere fine lady would 
be utterly helpless, or where intellectual 
refinement and distinguished position 
may prove less available than industry, 
ingenuity, and practical common sense ? 

What is a kingdom, a merchant's 
counting-house, or a mechanic's workshop 
without a head? We do not mean a 
mere master, but a presiding intellect to 
plan, contrive, direct, and guide. Not 
less absolute or important is the rule 
of & sensible woman in her own home. 
She has full scope for the exercise of 
good taste, prudence, and refinement. 
She is invested with an amount of respon- 
sibility she perhaps never dreamed of, 
for her influence over the temper, habits, 
actions, and dispositions of those about 
her is very great, and great in proportion 
should be her self-government for with 
self the command must begin, if it is to 
be worth having. 

There is much talk, nowadays, about 
the " rights " and " mission " of woman 
Without entering into the merits of the 
subject, we would only say, that if women 
from the highest to the lowest, were 
systematically educated to wield properly 
the great power they indubitably possess 



i power which can be made to move 
the secret springs of action and the 
machinery of business they would have 
little reason to complain of the want of 
influence; and were they so trained to 
enter actively and energetically into do- 
mestic employments and affairs, that none 
could deem it a pursuit unworthy of them, 
they would find ample scope for the 
exercise of their faculties, and the acqui- 
sition of means to live. 

There is a medium, however, in all 
things. A woman who worries all with- 
in her reach by her ultra-housewifery, 
who damps one down with soap and 
water, poisons one with furniture polish, 
takes away one's appetite by the trouble 
there is about cooking the simplest 
thing, and fidgets one by over-done tidi- 
ness and cleanliness, is almost as much 
to be avoided as a downright slut, or the 
veriest simpleton who ever took counsel 
with her stppid servant as to how long 
a potato ought to be boiled ; she exercises 
a pernicious influence on all, and is a 
misery to herself and others. 

Neither would we have domestic econ- 
omy and home duties vaunted, or made 
the constant theme of conversation ; 
they are the private employments of a 
woman ; she must study other things in 
order to entertain her, relatives and 
friends. Those who talk most of their 
duties are generally those who perform 
them most imperfectly. When a man 
returns to his home, or enters his sitting- 
room, fatigued and perhaps disappointed 
by the business of the day, he does not 
want to be annoyed by the detail of do- 
mestic accidents, the misdemeanors of 
servants, and the cheating of tradespeo- 
ple ; he has had his worries during the 
day, too, and, with that pride, or reserve, 
or want of confidence which is peculiar 
to most men, he perhaps keeps them to 
himself. Let his example be followed in 
'all cases where advice, or support, o* 
assistance is not absolutely necessary, 



FEMALE EDUCATION. 



17 



and pleasant, cheerful themes be chosen, 
or some amusement selected which shall 
render the evening and leisure hours 
those of relaxation and enjoyment, and 
t tend to give a charm and zest to home 
which no other place can possess. Men 
are free to come and go as they list, they 
have so much liberty of action, so many 
out-door resources if wearied with in- 
doors, that it is good policy, if nothing 
else, to make home attractive as well as 
comfortable. 

An education in household matters 
should be complete comprising the 
knowledge requisite for use in all de- 
partments. 

Many a girl can make good pastry, 
jellies, &c., for an evening party, and 
being much complimented for her labors 
by those who relish the produce, forth- 
with fancies herself a capital housewife, 
while, in all probability, she scarcely 
knows how vegetables are cooked, is 
profoundly ignorant of the prices of the 
commonest articles of daily consumption, 
and could not tell of what material a 
housecloth ought to be made. And 
how few there are who could, in case of 
need, make a cup of good gruel, or a glass 
of white-wine whey, or even a little 
broth or barley-water ! We do not say 
that they could not manage to produce 
something resembling these things, but 
the capricious appetite of the invalid 
tfould reject the tasteless messes. Many 
have suffered martyrdom from this one 
neglected branch of female education. 

Perhaps few branches of female educa- 
tion are more useful than great readi- 
ness in figures. Accounts should be 
regularly kept, and not the smallest 
article omitted to be entered. If balanc- 
ed every week or month, the income and 
outgoings will be ascertained with facil- 
ity, and their proportions to each oth- 
er duly observed. Some people fix on 
stated sums to be appropriated to each 
different article, as house, clothes, pocket, 



education of children, &c. "Whatever 
may be the amount of household expen- 
diture, a certain mode should be adopted 
and strictly adhered to. Besides the 
regular account-book, in which the receipt 
of money and every payment should be 
regularly entered, a common-place book 
should be always at hand for the entry 
of observations regarding agreements 
with servants, tradesmen, and various 
other subjects, so as to enable the lady 
at once to ascertain the exact state of 
the affairs under her immediate manage- 
ment. 

A minute account of the annual income 
and the times of payment should be 
taken in writing; likewise an estimate 
of the supposed amount of each article 
of expense ; and those who are early ac- 
customed to calculations on domestic 
articles will acquire so accurate a knowl- 
edge of what their establishment requires, 
as will enable them to keep the happy 
medium between prodigality and parsi- 
mony. 

Some aver that they have no capacity 
for this matter, no taste for that. But 
if the things referred to are duties, culti- 
vate a taste persevere in endeavoring 
to improve a capacity for them. This 
world is a beautiful one, spite of what 
grumblers say, and thousands would find 
it a much happier one if they studied 
more what they ought to do, and sought 
their pleasure or indulged their fancies 
less. Every human being exercises some 
influence on the character, happiness 
and destinies of others, and is account- 
able for opportunities wasted, and bless- 
ings neglected or transformed. This is 
especially true of women. Every sensi- 
ble, high-minded, right- hearted woman, 
be she peeress or peasant is, or may be, 
a blessing to many ; if not by great deeds 
or achievements the world calls heroic, 
by a simple, quiet, straightforward per- 
formance of the duties which lie before 
her, and are therefore given her to do. 



18 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



As it is the business of man to provide 
the means of living comfortably, so it is 
the province of woman to dispose judi- 
ciously of those means, and maintain 
order and harmony in all things. On 
her due performance of her part rest the 
comfort and social peace of home ; while 
misery and ruin follow her neglect. 
Some women, it is true, are placed in an 
unnatural position by having the burden 
of supporting the family thrown upon 
them. They have double duties, and a 
harder part to sustain; but their toils 
may be materially lightened by care and 
method in what they have to do. 

So much by way of exordium. We 
shall now proceed through the various 
matters appertaining to a house, en- 
deavoring to present a clear chart of the 
necessary business, pointing out hidden 
rocks, and showing how these may be 
avoided, and the vessel sent to float in 
calm waters. With much labor we have 
collected information on all subjects that 
fall within the proper scope of house- 
keeping ; and multifarious as these are, 
it is our belief that she who consults our 
index will be sure to find whatever she 
can wish to know. 



CHAPTER II. 

THAT sensible and oft-quoted old lady, 
Mrs. Glasse, begins one of her recipes 
thus : " First catch your hare." Follow- 
ing so good an example, we will first take 
a house and furnish it, before laying down 
axioms for its management. 

Before any steps are taken, the income 
or pecuniary means of the parties about 
to commence housekeeping, should be 
well considered. It is not well to rush 
into matrimony without due attention to 
such sublunary matters as dollars and 
cents ; for the notion that when once a 
couple is married, all will go right, is a 



foolish one. A young man with an in- 
come of four or five hundred dollars, 
every cent of which has been annually 
swallowed up by his own expenses, falls 
in love with a young lady who can sing 
and play well, speak French and produce 
marvels in the way of crochet or orna- 
mental work, who loves sentimental po- 
etry and romance, and can trim herself a 
neat bonnet j but knows little of the re- 
alities of life. Having never known what 
it is to want any thing she has no idea 
that any thing can be wanted. The 
young man feels certain in his own mind 
that a wife will be an actual saving to 
him j and makes an eloquent declaration 
of his aifection. The prospect for the fu- 
ture is but slender; for he ignores the 
fact that he has been accustomed to spend 
half his income on clothes and amuse- 
ments, which he does not think of doing 
without ; and she forgets how much she 
is in the habit of spending on gloves, rib- 
bons, perfumes, et cetera. When they are 
married the bridal dress and entertain- 
ment not being reckoned among their ex- 
penses they find themselves fettered by 
a thousand inconveniences, and obliged 
to deny themselves travelling and many 
other kinds of recreation; more than 
that, they discover that the etiquette of 
this enlightened age, imperiously demands 
reckless expenditure, when common sense 
would advise more than usual economy ; 
and without losing the social position 
they aim to preserve, they can do nothing 
but submit. What an eifect on the suc- 
cess of after-life must be such a begin- 
ning ! 

However, we do not consider it our 
mission to enter on Quixotic quarrels 
with the ways of the world. It is, as 
our young people soon find 

" A very good world to live in, 
To lend, to spend, or to give in; 
But to beg, or borrow, or get one's own, 
'Tis the very worst world that ever was known." 

In taking a house, the first matters to 



THE DWELLING-HOUSE. 



19 



be considered, are the rent we can afford 
to give, or the money that can be devoted 
to its purchase, and the locality that suits 
us best. 

A dwelling in town affords many op- 
portunities for social intercourse, amuse- 
ment, and the acquisition of general 
knowledge ; a suburban residence offers 
some advantages in healthiness of loca- 
tion and convenience. The remote coun- 
try has a distinct class of enjoyments, 
though want of society often makes time 
pass slowly. Where locality is not speci- 
fied, always choose one as open and airy 
as may be, and where the soil, or at any 
rate the subsoil, is not clay, where the 
drainage is good, and there is an ample 
supply of water, and no neighboring fac- 
tories giving out noxious gases and poi- 
sonous smoke and vapor. Too close a 
vicinity to a churchyard is likewise to be 
avoided. Of course, the house must be 
capable of accommodating the family who 
are to occupy it, and there should always 
be a spare room or two which can be 
used for bed-rooms, or other purposes in 
case of emergency. There should be 
closets, cellars, &c., and good ventilation 
front and back. A fee to a well-qualified 
surveyor is often well bestowed ; for he 
may detect serious faults in a house 
which, to an ordinary observer, seems 
well built and comfortable. 

The agreement with the landlord should 
be clearly understood, and all liabilities 
as to taxes, local rates, house repairs, 
with charges for fixtures, &c., inquired 
into, and definitely arranged, before the 
agreement is signed. 

It will be well for every house to have 
some shelter at its entrance ; a porch or 
portico, in a style regulated by that of 
the rest of the building, will be found 
useful. A hall, vestibule, or entry, is es 1 
sential, and the size and location of the 
staircases considerably affect the con- 
venience of the dwelling. The dining- 
room should be so placed that the way 



;o it from the kitchen is easy, and yet so 
;hat the noise or odors do not prove an- 
noying. The general style of the draw- 
ng-room should be light and cheerful; 
that of the library plain and quiet. The 
bed-chambers should be as lofty and 
spacious as possible, and so contrived 
that a thorough draught can be obtained, 
to change the air completely. Each 
should have a chimney fireplace. Small 
closets and recesses are to be avoided as 
sleeping apartments. The nursery should 
be near the chamber of the mistress. 

Dressing and bath-rooms should be as 
uniformly attached to bed-rooms as the 
size of the house and means of the owner 
will permit ; the bath is an indispensable 
convenience. Every house should be 
provided with two water-closets at least. 
In large establishments, a breakfast-room 
looking eastward and with glass doors 
opening on a garden or lawn, a billiard- 
room for exercise within doors, a room 
for hunting and fishing tackle, a gallery 
for music, paintings, or statuary, a lady's 
boudoir or sitting-room tastefully orna- 
mented, a school-room, and domestic 
laboratory, with a conservatory, are 
convenient additions. A number of 
rooms for domestic offices are connected 
with the house, and various cellars, as 
well as separate buildings, appropriated 
to many different purposes which we 
shall not describe particularly. The 
kitchen will be examined under another 
head. 

In contriving the mode of warming a 
house, attention should be paid not mere- 
ly to economy of fuel, but to the preser- 
vation of a salubrious atmosphere. A 
chimney fireplace or grate is preferable 
to a stove, which is apt to give the air a 
close or disagreeable smell, and produce 
headache and stupor. Count Rumford 
imagined that the hot iron roasted the 
dust that settled on it, which dust was 
composed of all sorts of animal and 
vegetable matters; others complain of 



20 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



the extreme dryness of the air. Stoves 
of brick or earthenware, used in various 
parts of Europe, are said to be better 
than iron ; but all close stoves are liable 
to the objection, that in using them it is 
difficult to change the air continually, or 
procure proper ventilation. The same 
difficulties prevail, to some extent, in 
warming a house by a furnace, and the 
dryness of the air is often productive of 
discomfort. Steam might afford an 
agreeable and convenient method of 
warming apartments. Of all the modes 
usually adopted, the advantage seems to 
lie with the open fire. The temperature 
should be steady and not too high : say 
60 or 62. Apartments in our cities 
are generally kept at a dangerous degree 
of heat. Bed-rooms should not be 
warmed, more than to have the " outside 
chill " taken off. 

Ventilation is a very important con- 
sideration. The atmospheric air in 
breathing loses the constituent that sus- 
tains life, and must be got rid of, and re- 
placed by air that is fresh and pure. 
This change of air should be continually 
going on in our apartments. Windows 
that open at the top are useful, the 
vitiated air ascending to the ceiling. 
The practice of sleeping in rooms not 
sufficiently ventilated, is utterly destruc- 
tive to health. It should be remem- 
bered also that the vital part of air is 
exhausted by a burning light. It would 
be well to have a ventilator in the cen- 
tre of the ceiling, which can be cpncealed 
by ornamental work in plaster ; and in 
the admission of fresh air, care should 
be taken that it does not come in a di- 
rect stream, so as to produce unpleasant 
draughts. 

It is often necessary to fumigate or 
disinfect the air contaminated by noxious 
effluvia. Muriatic acid and nitric acid 
fumes have been employed for this pur- 
pose, and chlorine, a most effectual agent 
in destroying noxious qualities in the air, 



generally employed. Chloride of lime 
and chloride of soda are used as the most 
convenient preparations. The latter is 
called Labarraque's Disinfecting Liquid. 
Vinegar is used in sick rooms, and quick 
lime, alone or mixed with ashes, in sinks, 
sewers, &c. 

Having taken our house, it generally 
wants a thorough cleaning and airing. 
In spring, autumn, and winter, fires 
should be kept for three or four days, 
according to the time the" house has been 
empty, and to the repairs it has under- 
gone during that interval ; for of course 
nobody ought to enter a house in the 
state of dirt and disrepair in which it is 
usually left by an out-going tenant, or if 
they do so under the notion that the 
landlord will set it all to rights after 
they are in, they will find out their mis- 
take, and repent their confidence. 

It sometimes happens that the chief 
rooms are not papered and painted until 
the house is let. In such case the in-com- 
ing tenant generally has the power of 
choosing the papers, or panellings, and 
paint. He will, of course, select such as 
will best harmonize with the color which 
the furniture and hangings should have. 

We will now suppose the house taken, 
cleaned thoroughly, and well aired, and 
will proceed to furnish it. But first we 
must pause to observe that young people 
will do well carefully to consider matters 
before they take upon themselves the 
troubles and responsibilities of house- 
keepers. Where their joint savings, or 
some sum especially bestowed for the 
purpose by friends or parents, will en- 
able them to make the necessary outlay 
for furniture, linen. &c., and yet have 
something left to put by for " a wet day," 
and the rent and taxes can be afforded 
by the income of the husband, it is all 
well and good. But if money must be 
borrowed, or debts incurred, begin life in 
the quietest way, rather than with these 
incumbrances. Take board or apartments 



FTJENISHING A HOUSE. 



21 



for a time, until you see your way clear. 
From $150 to $400 a year will pay for 
part of a house in a city, and much less 
in a village. Board can be obtained in 
respectable houses at four or five dollars 
a week and upwards in our largest towns. 
There are some disadvantages in this 
mode of living. It is customary to say 
that boarders are victimized ; one is 
sometimes brought into contact with 
disagreeable individuals, who become 
enemies if they find they are not re- 
ceived in a sociable or friendly manner j 
and on the whole, it is wiser to keep 
house with three or four rooms. There 
are always respectable families to be 
found, who will let a set of apartments.' 
Now to the business of furnishing a 
house. 



CHAPTER III. 

HERE again the unsentimental consider- 
ation of dollars and cents obtrudes itself. 
The limit to which we can go is depend- 
ent upon the funds in hand which may 
be expended without incurring debt or 
causing inconvenience. 

It would be curious to trace the his- 
tory of furniture in different ages* and 
countries. But we have no space for 
such a review. The taste has been re- 
vived of late years, for pieces of ancient 
furniture, and the skill of cabinetmakers 
has been brought into requisition to pro- 
duce imitations of the antique style, or 
tasteful restorations, by the putting to- 
gether of fragments, interesting from sin- 
gular or historical associations. 

Window curtains contribute much to 
the comfort and elegance of. apartments, 
tempering the light, an o* excluding the 
cold air. They may be of various pat- 
terns and materials. 

The hall, or entry, should be furnished 
with an umbrella Jand hat stand, and 



chairs or hall seats. If there is a closet 
for hanging up hats;, cloaks, &c., it should 
be near the door. Door scrapers should 
always be placed at the entrance. 

PICTURES ON THE WALL. 

Pictures, if well chosen, add much to 
the appearance of a room, and impart 
to it an air of completeness, and a 
home look, which many people know how 
to appreciate. To produce this effect, 
the subjects of the pictures must be such 
as we caii, truly sympathize with, some- 
thing to awaken our admiration, rever- 
ence, or love. All the feelings of our na- 
ture may be illustrated by pictures. 
There are some which we seem to make 
bosom companions of; others have a mo- 
ral effect, and at times prevent our going 
astray by their silent monitions. It is, 
therefore, worth while to take pains and 
choose good subjects, whether in engrav- 
ings or paintings, and to frame and hang 
them suitably when chosen. Gilt frames 
are most suitable for rather dark paint- 
ings, and on a deep colored wall ; while 
prints look well in a frame of composition, 
oak, rose-wood, or bird's-eye maple, fin- 
ished with a gilt moulding. Care should 
be taken to hang them in a proper light, 
so as best to bring out all the effects of 
the pictures, and to place them so that 
the light shall fall from the same side as 
represented by the painter. In picture 
galleries and great houses, brass rods are 
fixed all around the room close to the 
ceiling, from which the pictures are hung, 
but in small rooms it is often best not to 
show the lines or wires by which the pic- 
tures hang. This is done by nailing a 
strong cord across the back, about two 
inches below the top, and then suspend- 
ing it from two nails standing out but 
a little way from the wall. When there 
are several pictures in a room, the ordi- 
nary rule is, to have either the upper or 
lower edge of the framep in a line, on 
whichever side they may be hung. 



22 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



For bed-room furniture, mahogany, 
maple-wood, and oak, are the best and 
prettiest ; there are also very serviceable, 
well-polished, stained wood imitations of 
all these three ; and there are, too, very 
common and trumpery imitations, which 
turn shabby in a few months, and are 
generally badly put together, and do no 
service ; two good chairs are worth a do- 
zen of such rubbish. 

As a general rule we should advise 
avoidance of all cheap, showy furnishing 
establishments : likewise, unless you are 
wealthy, of all fashionable upholsterers. 
Patronize good, old-established houses of 
business. 

Never buy second-hand bedsteads, bed- 
ding, or hangings, unless you are well 
convinced that no more than you bargain 
for is included in the purchase. 

Iron and brass bedsteads, which can 
now be had of every size, form, and price, 
are far preferable, both as regards health, 
cleanliness, and lightness, to any others. 

It can scarcely be necessary to repeat 
how injurious to health are very small 
bed-rooms, and the same rule will apply 
to curtains which prevent the change of 
air, compelling us to breathe over again 
a portion of the air we have expired. 
The curtains should never enclose the 
bed. In low chambers, the bed should 
be near the floor, and the best place for 
it is at the middle of the side of the room, 
not touching the wall. 

Chintz or dimity are better for bed- 
furniture than damask, moreen, or any 
fabric containing wool ; they harbor less 
dust and are less liable to hide vermin. 

Three-ply carpets are best adapted for 
bed-rooms. Never place carpet under a 
bed, or you provide a resting-place for 
all the dust and flock which daily falls 
from the mattresses, and establish a nice 
hot-bed for fleas. Let the carpet be made 
in about three pieces, in order that it 
may be frequently taken up and beaten 
or shaken, and the floor scrubbed clean. 



Soft feather beds cause an undue 
warmth that weakens the action of the 
skin, and makes one susceptible to cold. 
A well stuffed feather bed, or a mattress, 
should be used. Good mattresses of 
wool, and wool and horsehair, iron bed- 
steads, and as little bed-furniture, cur- 
tains, &c., as may be, with a light quilt, 
are the best preventives against rising 
languid, inert, and unfit in the morning 
for the duties of the day. The covering 
should be light. A wide bed affords the 
luxury Franklin recommends, of moving 
from side to side, and a bed should have 
but one occupant. 

Bed-room and dressing-room chairs 
should be light. Couches, tables, dress- 
ing-glasses, wash-stands, &c., are necessa- 
ry articles, and the couches may be made 
of cheap materials, covered with chintz 
or brown holland. Bureaus and ward- 
robes will not be forgotten. Fireguards 
of painted wire are a security against 
accidents. Of the smaller articles in use 
a host might be enumerated j but every- 
day need will suggest them. 

Never crowd a bed-room with furni- 
ture ; have that which is really useful 
and requisite, and no more ; and in fitting 
it up, always remember that illness often 
comes when we least expect it, and take 
care that your room shall possess such 
articles as will then be needful for com- 
fort and ease. 

A dining-room requires little furniture, 
but that little should be good and hand- 
some, and of mahogany. 

About furnishing drawing-rooms we 
can give no directions, so much depends 
upon taste. We would only reiterate 
our warning to beware of showy, veneer- 
ed, vamped-up furniture, or, when the 
room has had a fire in it some dozen times, 
you will be startled occasionally by re- 
ports as if small cannon were discharged, 
and on rising to investigate such alarm- 
ing noises, you will find, perhaps a crack 
across one door of the beautiful rosewood 



KITCHEN FUKNITTTKE. 



23 



cabinet, or a gaping chasm in that lovely 
centre table, or a piece of carved work 
flown off the card table, showing only 
pine beneath ! 

Here, again, a little furniture tastefully 
arranged is far better than a crowd of 
articles ; besides, in one's course through 
life, furniture accumulates gradually, and 
if it is necessary to sell one thing in order 
to make way for another, that is a very 
losing business. 

We now come to the kitchens, where 
the wants are multifarious ; for here must 
be accumulated means of feeding, and 
cleaning, and keeping in order the whole 
house. Of course we can give no detailed 
account of what will be required, as all 
depends upon the extent and style of the 
household ; all we can do, therefore, is to 
make one or two general remarks on the 
durability of different wares. 

As few copper cooking utensils as pos- 
sible should be had, and those few should 
be most thoroughly tinned in the inside, 
and always carefully cleaned and dried be- 
fore being put away. We prefer block tin 
to anything else for saucepans, pots, and 
kettles generally. Iron does not so quick- 
ly or plainly tell any tale of dirt or neg- 
lect ; cast iron is very brittle, and cannot 
be repaired when broken ; and copper is 
likely to harbor verdigris. A good dou- 
ble block tin saucepan should always 
have the cover, the handle, and the back, 
kept bright as silver ; and the top, spout, 
front, and handle of the kettle, should 
also be kept bright ; for besides that a 
polished surface maintains heat better 
than an uneven, blackened one, it looks 
wonderfully better ; and if the smoke is 
never allowed to gather on these parts, 
it is easy to keep the utensils as bright 
as they were at first. 

For stewpans, iron tinned on the inside 
is most useful. 

The ancients seem to have used lamps 
of various forms ; an improvement on 
torches, certainly, but a more simple con- 



trivance than candles, which in the twelfth 
century and afterwards, came into use 
throughout Europe. Wax, spermaceti, 
and tallow, with different kinds of oil for 
lamps of an improved fashion, are still in 
use. Spirit gas and camphene are cleanly 
substitutes, but extremely dangerous. 
The lighting of apartments by inflamma- 
ble gas is one of the most useful results 
of the investigations of modern science. 
It is said that Murdoch, an engineer, was 
the first to make this discovery available 
on an extensive scale. He commenced 
his experiments in 1792. 

Candlesticks for common house or 
kitchen use should be of tin or brass, and 
large enough to save grease spots. There 
is no wear in japan. 

Wooden bowls for washing glass and 
china, and block tin or zinc hand bowls 
will be found most serviceable. 

All utensils for the conveyance of wa- 
ter about a house should be of metal, as 
water-cans of different sizes, hot-water 
ewers with covers, shaving mugs, &c., as 
thereby much breakage will be saved, and 
these, if bought good at first, will, with 
ordinary care, last a very long time. The 
same remark applies to foot-baths. Very 
pretty toilet sets for the wash-stand are 
also now made in zinc, and beautifully 
painted or japanned. 

Sarcophagus and other extraordinarily 
shaped coal-scuttles, are to be avoided as 
most troublesome and awkward affairs, 
out of which it is next to impossible to 
extract coal conveniently. 

Soyer gives the following list of kitchen 
articles for a family of six. 

Eight copper stewpans, two larger ones, 
holding one gallon and a half, and the 
next one gallon, the others smaller by 
degrees to one pint ; one oval fish-kettle, 
holding about one gallon and a half; one 
middle-sized braising-pan ; one preserv- 
ing-pan; one round bowl for beating 
whites of eggs ; two saute-pans ; one ome- 
lette-pan ; one frying-pan ; one bain- ma- 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



rie ; six saucepans for sauces ; one middle- 
sized tin pie-mould ; two tin jelly-moulds ; 
one tin flanc mould for fruit ; one freezing- 
pot, with every requisite; two baking- 
sheets ; one gridiron ; one small salaman- 
der; one colander-spoon ; one bottle-jack ; 
two spits ; one dripping-pan ; one screen ; 
one sugar-pan; two soup-ladles; eight 
copper spoons, two of them colanders ; 
two wire baskets ; one wire sieve ; two 
hair sieves; twenty-four tartlet-pans; 
two tammies; one jelly-bag; twelve 
wooden spoons ; two paste-brushes ; one 
pair of scissors; two kitchen knives; 
six larding-needles ; one packing-needle ; 
one box of vegetable-cutters ; one box of 
paste-cutters ; one meat-saw ; one cutlet 
chopper; one meat chopper; six meat- 
hooks, tinned; one rolling-pin ; eight 
kitchen basins ; six china pie-dishes ; six 
earthen bowls for soups and gravies ; four 
kitchen table-cloths; eighteen rubbers; 
twelve fish-napkins ; six pudding-cloths ; 
four round towels. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WITH regard to all those articles 
which fall under the general denomina- 
tion of "plate," we should advise that 
all imitations be avoided; let those 
who cannot afford silver be content to 
use simple metal, which does not pretend 
to be more than it really is. All the im- 
itations of silver will, even with the ut- 
most care, betray themselves in a very 
short time, and have a would-be-genteel- 
if-I-could sort of air, which is ten thou- 
sand times more ridiculous than the plain- 
est of all materials ; besides, the money 
they cost would purchase a few real arti- 
cles, which are always worth their weight 
in silver, whereas the imitations have 
only a nominal value, and lose even that 
as they become discolored and dull. 

Metal tea and coffee pots may be had 
very good, and in handsome patterns, 



and are far more durable than china, 
drawing better, and retaining heat longer. 
The following is a list of the usual arti- 
cles in silver required to furnish the 
table. 

Dishes and covers. Asparagus tongs. 

Table knives and forks. Cheese scoops. 

Dessert knives and forks. Knife rests. 

Table spoons. Nut crackers. 

Dessert spoons. Grape scissors. 

Gravy spoons. Tea urns. 

Soup ladles. Coffee urns. 

Sauce ladles. Tea pots. 

Salt spoons, with gilt Coffee filterers. 

bowls. Sugar basin. 

Fish slice. Cream ewers. ' 

Trays and waiters. Sugar tongs. 

Bread baskets. Tea spoons. 

Cake baskets. Toast racks. 

Decanter stands. Butter coolers. 

Dt canter labels. Snuffer trays. 

Liqueur and bottle stands. Snuffers. 

Cruet frames. Candlesticks. 
Egg frames. 

Cheap cutlery is mistaken economy. 
Good knives and forks will, with ordina- 
ry care, last for years ; common ones have 
no wear in them, and never can be made 
to cut well. 

Crockery, china, and glass, we need 
say little about, for they may be had at 
all prices and of all qualities. The mould 
ed or cast glass looks as well as cut glass, 
if not placed in contrast with it, and 
wears as long, and costs considerably less. 
For dishes, pitchers, butter-coolers, &c., 
we should always use it ; decanters, wine- 
glasses, and tumblers, do not look so well 
in it. 

As regards ornamental china, or glass, 
or what not, little can be said, these things 
being so much matters of taste ; but it is 
better to have but one, and that one real- 
ly handsome and good, than a crowd of 
cheap, showy trifles ; besides, these are 
things which gradually accumulate, and 
therefore it is always better to devote 
the money in hand to necessary articles, 
and leave the more ornamental ones for 
after consideration. A good clock for 
the kitchen, and a handsome one for the 
drawing-room, are useful and necessary 
things, especially the former. 

In household linen, again, it is false 



LINEN AND PLATE. 



25 



economy to buy common or cheap mate- 
rials. For sheets, linen, cotton, and 
Swiss twilled calico are used ; these sub- 
stances are now woven wide enough to 
render a seam unnecessary, and all we 
have to do is to measure the width of 
the beds and allow an extra half yard ; 
the ordinary length of a sheet is three 
yards and a half. The pillow cases must 
be of the same material as the sheets. 
Marseilles quilts are too heavy to be 
beneficial to health. Any industrious 
housewife may knit very serviceable and 
pretty counterpanes in squares or shell- 
shaped pieces, during those periods when 
she is chatting, or between the lights, or 
at hours when she would otherwise most 
probably be doing nothing. It is for 
such useful purposes as these we value 
knitting, crochet, &c., for they can be 
made the means of economy and useful- 
ness, instead of being, as they too often 
are, employed on useless expensive trifles. 

The most durable sort of linen for 
sheeting is the Russian, German, or Irish 
fabric, a good stock of which should be 
laid in to avoid the necessity of frequent 
or irregular washing. 

An inventory of furniture is given by 
Soyer as follows : 

Twelve pairs of sheets ; ten ditto pil- 
low-cases; three dozen napkins; two 
dozen and a half various-sized table- 
cloths, including breakfast, dinner, &c. ; 
six servants' table-cloths; three dozen 
towels; six round towels; three dozen 
kitchen rubbers ; two dozen napkins for 
fish, vegetables, and fruits ; six pudding- 
cloths ; two dozen damask d'oylies ; one 
dozen Berlin wool ditto. I also have 
occasionally in the wash the cover of 
the carpet, the anti-macassars, which I 
have knitted at my leisure, and the 
netted window curtains. Of glass and 
china, I have the following; they are 
counted every month, and the broken 
ones replaced : three dozen ^ ine-glass- 



es ; two dozen champagne ditto: two doz- 
en claret ditto ; three dozen goblets ; six 
water caraffes ; six decanters ; one liqueur- 
stand ; twelve liqueur-glasses ; two glass 
pitchers; one celery-glass; one trifle- 
bowl ; eight dessert-dishes. . China : one 
full dinner service ; one common set for 
kitchen ; one common tea service for 
kitchen ; one good tea service ; one break- 
fast service ; one good dessert service. 

The following is my list of plate: 
three dozen prongs; two ditto table- 
spoons; one and a half ditto dessert- 
spoons; one and a half ditto dessert- 
forks ; two ditto tea-spoons ; six salt- 
spoons; one cheese-knife; four butter- 
knives ; one asparagus-tongs ; two sugar- 
tongs ; two soup-ladles ; four sauce-la- 
dles; two gravy-spoons; two sugar-la- 
dles; two salvers; one bread-basket; 
four candlesticks ; one hot-water dish for 
haunch of mutton. 

Table-cloths, tray-cloths, and dinner 
napkins will of course come under the 
category of " linen," and can be obtained at 
very reasonable prices compared with what 
they were twenty years since. Towels, 
too, are included in this list. In the case 
of chamber towels, again, comes diversity 
of opinion ; some preferring a soft, others 
a hard, some a rough, and some a smooth 
towel ; damask and diaper are not soft 
enough for some delicate skins. For our 
own part we like towels which administer 
a certain amount of friction to the skin, 
and all medical men agree that this is re- 
quisite to health. For the kitchen, round 
towels, tea-cloths, and glass-cloths, will 
be required, as well as dusters, pudding- 
cloths, knife-cloths, house-cloths, and 
flannels for cleaning. These will have to 
be purchased at the same time by young 
housekeepers newly furnishing, who 
" have no rags poor things," and there- 
fore may as well be mentioned here. 
Old sheets make good glass cloths; old 
tabfe-cloths make nice soft towels; all 



26 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



dresses of cotton, or old dress-linings, will 
serve for dusters, and old blankets for 
house-flannels. 

There are also needed toilet-covers for 
chamber tables, and chests of drawers, 
&c., carpet qovers, muslin for chamber 
window-curtains, muslin for drapery for 
the toilet-table, coarse sheeting for dust- 
ing-sheets to cover the beds or drawing- 
room furniture when sweeping and clean- 
ing ; a yet coarser sheet to lay down in 
front of the stoves when they are being 
cleaned; chamois leathers for cleaning 
the plate, brass, steel, and windows ; and 
bags for the best brooms. 

Then we come to brushes, and their 
name is legion. Oh, this furnishing a 
house is a serious affair ! a carpet-broom. 
a short-handled one for the stair carpets, 
a hair-broom for the bed-rooms, and 
another for the passages and kitchens; 
feather-brushes, dusting-brushes, stove- 
brushes, hearth-brushes, shoe-brushes, 
plate-brushes, paste-brushes, clothes- 
brushes, a hat-brush, and a table-brush 
to remove the crumbs from the table- 
cloth, are all needed ; and these should 
be bought at a good warehouse, and of 
good quality, if we would have them do 
us service, and not fall to pieces, or lose 
their hair, as soon as they are fairly 
brought into use. 

There are many items yet unmention- 
ed, but it will not be requisite for us to 
waste our time, or that of our readers, by 
enumerating them all seriatim ; we will 
therefore proceed to other matters. 



CHAPTER V 

SUPPOSING now that we have our 
house, and it is furnished, the next 
thing to determine is how many ser- 
vants can be afforded. Must we be con- 
tent with one, a "general house-ser- 
vant;" or can we afford a cook and 



housemaid, or even aspire to the gen- 
tility of a man-servant or a butler ? 

The expenses must be determined by 
the sum which can, without incurring 
debts or living too closely up to one's in- 
come, be devoted to " housekeeping," un- 
der which head we include rent, taxes, 
wages, and every outlay appertaining to 
the house. Now, in reckoning the ex- 
penses of a servant, the question of wages 
is not the only one to be considered; 
there is the board and washing; and 
$100, exclusive of wages, is the lowest 
at which the keep of each servant can be 
estimated. 

In hiring servants always be particular 
in inquiring their character, and, if possi- 
ble, learn something of the people with 
whom they have lived; let all stipula- 
tions as to wages, extras, holidays, and 
such matters, be clearly specified and 
rightly understood. 

The greatest trouble in housekeeping 
is the difficulty of procuring and retaining 
good servants. In some parts of the 
world this difficulty is not realized; 
their servants having been trained for 
the labor allotted to them, and being 
contented and happy in their condition 
without aspirations after change. But 
in America, both in the city and 
country, the case is different ; too often 
men and women look upon service 
as degrading to them, and will prefer 
any hardship or privation to engaging 
in it as a business. Those who do so for 
a time, are usually tormented with jealous 
fears that their dignity will be infringed 
on, or are found neither qualified nor 
trustworthy. Housekeepers are mainly 
dependent on the Irish and German emi- 
grants, who as a rule are utterly ignorant 
of household service, and have to be 
taught every thing ; often receiving wages 
for months Itefore they begin to make 
themselves useful. By the time they 
can be trusted to do the work, they are 
corrupted by intercourse with other ser- 



SERVANTS. 



27 



vants, or persons who prompt them to 
make exactions on your time for visiting 
their numerous relatives from the old 
country, as well as to fill your kitchen 
with strangers, till the annoyance be- 
comes intolerable. A complaint on this 
score from the employers is followed by 
an outbreak of insolence, and the abrupt 
departure of the servant you have taken 
such pains to teach ; and so unusual is 
it to find one who knows any thing 
that she will readily get another place, 
perhaps with one of your neighbors who 
has envied you her possession. 

An English lady gave this account of 
the progress of a favorite " The first 
year she was a good servant ; the second 
an indulgent mistress j the third an in- 
tolerable tyrant." 

A good maxim is to select servants not 
younger than thirty ; they are, as a rule, 
less fond of change, and better satisfied 
when really comfortable. But change is 
the order of things in the United States. 
Kespecting servants, there are a few 
things which cannot be too strongly 
urged ; one is, never to retain a cook who 
is not fond of her occupation ; for unless 
she take pleasure in her art, she cannot 
be depended upon for accuracy in the 
preparation of dishes with which she is 
well acquainted, and will not easily be 
induced to acquire any thing new. She 
also must possess a natural regard for 
cleanliness, or all the pains in the world 
will never render her cleanly: where 
dirty habits are manifested, dismissal 
should follow, for in almost every in- 
stance they will be found incurable. 
Another point of main importance is her 
temper ; for if that be not good, she will 
be disinclined to receive instructions 
and, if found fault with, may, out of 
pique, spoil a dinner; whereas a good- 
humored, intelligent servant, when made 
acquainted with the habits of the house 
and equal to her common duties, will 
hardly fail of success when called upon 



by her mistress to try any of those re- 
ceipts which she has not already used. 

The low character of servants heard of 
,t common intelligence offices has caused 
such places to be held in small esteem ; 
br their recommendations can in no case 
je depended on. There are institutions 
in Great Britain which have for their 
object the security of housekeepers from 
the evils of disreputable and dishonest 
nmates. The officials are so minute in 
their inquiries into character, as to pre- 
clude the necessity of those who hire 
from their office taking any trouble 
themselves in the business. Servants 
whose characters will not bear the strict- 
est investigation will scarcely apply to 
such institutions. They are sorely need- 
ed in this country. 

It may be curious to see the list of ser- 
vants which form the household of a 
British nobleman of high rank, or a 
wealthy citizen, who keeps from twenty 
to thirty domestics. 

Women. 

Housekeeper. 

A lady's maid for each grown lady of the family. 

Cook. 
Upper housemaid. 

Laundry maid. 

Under housemaid. 

Under laundry maid. 

Still room maid. 

Kitchen maid. 

Scullion. 
(To this establishment that of the nursery is added.) 

Men. 

House steward. 

Groom of the chamber. 

Valet to each gentleman in the family. 

Man cook. 

Butler. 

Gentleman's footman. 

Lady's footman. 

Under butler. 

Gentleman's coachman. 

Lady's coachman. 

Couriers. Outriders. 

Grooms, in number according to the stud. 

Under servants. Errand boys. 

Steward's boy. 

In the United States so many servants 
are rarely kept in one family, even among 
millionnaires, or in the Southern States j 



28 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



where formerly it was customary for each 
member of the family to have a separate 
attendant. An extensive establishment 
would perhaps number a coachman, 
groom, porter, footman, gardener, butler, 
and perhaps a valet and French cook ; 
the female servants consisting of a house- 
keeper, cook, scullion, lady's maid, cham- 
bermaid, laundrymaid, nurse, and one or 
more maids-of-all-work. Indeed the 
most wealthy families keep less than 
half this number; and the average not 
more than three women and one man- 
servant. Those of slender income are 
content with .one for "general house- 
work." 

In all large estabh'shments in England 
the men and women servants, in the in- 
tervals of their employments, are never 
allowed to sit in the same room, but 
have their separate places of resort, as- 
sembling together only at dinner and 
supper. It is the duty of the steward 
and housekeeper to see this regulation 
observed. 

In servants generally we look for the 
essential qualities of integrity, sobriety, 
cleanliness, and general propriety in 
manner, with knowledge of their duties 
in the departments they profess to un- 
derstand. A glance at some reprehen- 
sible practices among them may be use- 
ful, as every instance of pilfering and 
trickery accumulates odium on the whole 
class. One of the chief anxieties of 
housekeeping is the apprehension of the 
dishonesty of those who are under our 
roof and receiving bread from our hands ; 
and suspicion, for which there is often 
just cause, injures both the employer 
and the employed. Cooks have been 
found to dispose of provisions in other 
ways than for the use of the family 
they serve. Presents are someti.-i.es 
demanded by servants from the trades- 
people dealt with by the master. The 
so-called " honor," which prevents a ser- 
vant from exposing the frauds and mis- 



conduct going on among others, is but 
another name for deception and dishon- 
esty. The servant who knows of frauds 
and is silent, becomes an accomplice. 

Though it is very disagreeable to sus-. 
pect any one's honesty, it is yet prudent 
to weigh meat, sugar, &c., when brought 
in, and to -compare the weight with the 
charge. Scales should be placed in the 
kitchen, near the door used by the 
tradespeople. The knowledge of such 
things as weights and scales being in 
use, will operate as a check to any petty 
fraud which might otherwise be contem- 
plated. 

In large establishments abroad the 
servants have sometimes an allowance of 
food, or are kept on board wages. The 
former system prevails on plantations at 
the South, among field laborers only; 
the servants in families, as in the North- 
ern States, taking their meals immediate- 
ly after, and on the remains of the family 
meals. 

The perquisites of servants are, in 
many cases, so many encroachments on 
the property of their employers, who ta- 
citly allow, while they in principle con- 
demn the practice. There is no doubt 
that perquisites tend to corrupt the 
morals of domestics, placing their own 
interests in opposition to those of others, 
and offering temptation against which 
their integrity is not always proof. 
Among these objectionable customs, one 
that particularly calls for attention as an 
odious kind of taxation, is the practice of 
servants receiving vails, or presents in 
money, from visitors. It is a species of 
bribery for services which ought to be 
performed without it, and tends to make 
servants less attentive to those who can- 
not give them great pecuniary rewards. 
This custom has grown into disuse in 
England, and most highly respectable 
families make it a condition in hiring 
their servants, that they shall accept no 
such gifts, but when they are offered 



PRESENTS TO SERVANTS. 



shall inform the visitor that it is con- 
trary to the rule of the house to take 
them. It was formerly so usual in ho- 
tels in the United States for the attend- 
ants to expect gifts from the guests, 
that one could not obtain any service 
without it. I knew a party of travellers 
visiting Niagara, to leave the dining- 
room, unable to obtain any thing to eat, 
the waiters not attending to them. One 
who had been longer in the house, in- 
formed them they would not be served 
unless each person gave fifty cents to 
one of the waiters who, in fact, were 
paid no wages, but allowed to extract all 
they could from travellers ! This is 
downright swindling on the part of hotel 
proprietors, and no respectable landlord 
now permits such impositions. In all 
the first-class hotels in our cities, per- 
sons should be particularly requested to 
give no fees to servants. The charges 
per day at hotels certainly ought to 
cover ordinary attendance ; extra ser- 
vices may be paid' for. But as the cus- 
tom still prevails more or less among 
many travellers to give gratuities to ser- 
vants, proprietors of public houses ought 
to be the more resolute in abolishing a 
practice tending to produce murmuring, 
discontent, and neglect of duties among 
their domestics. The caution should be 
inserted among the printed rules of the 
establishment, and the servant discharged 
who is known to receive any thing in 
this way. 

Still more onerous and odious is the 
custom that inflicts a tax upon visitors 
in private families, in violation of the 
sacred obligations of hospitality. Such 
a burden is this felt to be, that many 
are compelled to refuse invitations to the 
houses of their friends on account of it. 
A lady friend of ours informed us that 
the expense of a short visit to one of her 
neighbors was made, by this necessity, 
to exceed what she would have paid at 
the highest rate of hotel fare. We found 



this the case on spending a day or so in a 
very large establishment at the invitation 
of the owner ; each servant on the premi- 
ses expecting gratuities. They learn, of 
course, to estimate the worth or standing 
of a guest by the amount bestowed on 
them, and frequently to treat with inso- 
lence or contempt those who cannot give 
so much. A '-help" in New Jersey, 
was highly indignant at receiving a pres- 
ent of a mousseline de laine dress instead 
of a silk one, and declared she would not 
have it made up. We knew of another 
lady who efnptied her purse to give five 
dollars each to several flaunting girls in 
the house where she was staying ; though 
she was obliged to deny herself many 
things for want of the money. " If you 
do not give them something very elegant, 
they will make fun of you ; nothing sim- 
ple will please them ; " said another lady 
when consulted on the subject. What a 
motive for liberality ! 

There are very few who have moral 
courage enough to be independent in such 
things, even though their charities have 
to be stinted in consequence ; especially 
when it is known that the mistress fre 
quently asks her servants what they re- 
ceived from her guests, and even draws 
conclusions founded on their information ! 
So at the risk of inconvenience or impov- 
erishment, the tax must be paid ; though 
as a rule it is always paid with secret 
dissatisfaction. What an insult to the 
name of hospitality is this ! 

The prevailing motive for this kind of 
liberality is not the charity which delight- 
eth in giving but a selfish fear of being 
thought penurious by one's friends, or of 
being ridiculed by saucy servants. We 
do not remember a single instance in 
which the custom, considered imperative, 
when mentioned at all, has not been men- 
tioned with condemnation. It should be 
utterly and for ever abolished. The mis- 
tress, in hiring a domestic, should make 
known her invariable rule that such 



30 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



things are not to be allowed, and should 
let it be known among all her friends. 

We do not object to the largest kind 
of liberality in giving. The poor and 
needy have claims that meet us at every 
turn ; and the most rigid self-denial to 
satisfy their just demands, is commenda- 
ble. It is an excellent rule "My super- 
fluity must give way to my neighbor's 
convenience ; my convenience to his ne- 
cessity ; my necessity to his destitution." 
In instances where our regard is attract- 
ed by a kind and faithful domestic in a 
friend's family, or where circumstances 
would render a gift peculiarly acceptable, 
it is pleasant to give and right to receive. 
We object to the system which makes 
present- giving compulsory without re- 
gard to the feelings or means of the do- 
nor, or the necessities of the receiver. 
And what well-bred lady who invites her 
friends for the pleasure of their society, 
would willingly have them feel under the 
necessity of putting themselves to incon- 
venience to give large fees to her servants, 
already well paid for the trifling services 
they render ? 

The custom which we have understood 
is actually prevalent in some places, of 
visitors " making up in presents " the ex- 
pense incurred by their friends in hospi- 
tably entertaining them, is certainly 
" better honored in the breach than the 
observance." What hospitality can there 
be, when an equivalent is offered and re- 
ceived ? It would be more fair and open 
to make the bargain regularly in dollars 
and cents. The indirect exaction of com- 
pensation in this way, frequently beyond 
what could reasonably be charged, appears 
to us to be speculation without the s. 
Yet we occasionally hear of this as ex- 
pected from visitors. A lady in the States 
once said to her guest: "I know you 
will want to make me some nice present 
before you go away ; I will tell you what 
I would like: &c." A lady from the 
country who staid a fortnight with a 



city friend, left money when she went 
away to purchase " some sort of a present." 
All we have to say of this and every oth- 
er practice tending to make gifts (which 
should be free as the love that ought alone 
to prompt them) in the slightest degree 
compulsory, is, that it is wrong, and en- 
tirely subversive of true friendship. 

To return to our subject. It is in vain 
that societies are formed for the encour- 
agement of faithful domestics, by giving 
premiums and high testimonials to those 
who serve a reasonable time in the same 
family. These last are not valued, where 
a choice of places can be had without 
them, and the roving disposition is fos- 
tered by the notion of independence and 
the certainty of being well paid for doing 
as one pleases. 

The only protection to housekeepers 
from this endless source of discomfort, is 
to be found in correcting the mistaken 
notion among American girls that a place 
in domestic service is less honorable than 
the severer toils of seamstresses, binders, 
shopkeepers, or milliners' workwomen. 
If they could be persuaded, instead of 
wasting away their lives in health-de- 
stroying needlework, miserably paid for 
by speculators in female servitude, to 
engage in the active and varied duties of 
domestics, secure of a good home and 
abundant wages a new era would com- 
mence for American housewives. 

Something might be done towards this 
end by regulating the hours devoted to 
household employments, in such a way 
as to leave a portion of the day for the 
girl's own time, which she is at liberty 
to employ as she pleases; and by en- 
couraging her to use it in the acquire- 
ment of useful knowledge. " It requires 
a refined mind to dust properly ; " and 
the cultivation of intellect will not be 
thrown away in any department. Let 
the humiliation of servitude be thus 
taken away, and persons who have seen 
better days will engage in the occupa- 



DUTIES OF THE MISTRESS. 



31 



tion. We would recommend the estab- 
lishment of an Association in our la] 
cities to find suitable places for persons 
of a respectable class, stipulate for suit- 
able privileges, and persuade them to this 
easy mode of earning a livelihood. The 
gratitude of the community would be due 
to such an institution. 



CHAPTER VI. 

As a country cannot be governed with- 
out laws, neither can a household ; and 
the mistress should be as absolute in her 
own house as a sovereign in her do- 
minions. Order and regularity are the 
key-stones to comfort, and our housewife 
must carefully arrange and digest her 
scheme of government in the first place, 
and be always alive to any modifications 
which emergencies, or prudence, or cir- 
cumstances, may call for. And she must 
understand what she is about, or her 
scheme will be worthless ; she must be 
able to teach, nay, to demonstrate upon 
occasions; she must be regular in her 
own habits if she would have those about 
her regular, neat in all that concerns her- 
self, attentive to the details of housekeep- 
ing, economical, just, active, and consider- 
ate. She must neither hold the reins 
of government loosely and negligently, 
nor too sternly, but must quietly exercise 
a general and regular surveillance over 
every part of her house and household ; 
and this can be done without tyranny, 
without vexatious interference, or exhi- 
bitions of temper. Let the servants once 
feel that this is her habit, and they will 
act accordingly ; and if the place is good, 
conduct themselves so as to endeavor to 
please and keep it. And it is the inter- 
est, as well as duty, of every mistress, to" 
make her servants comfortable ; to see 
that they have a sufficiency of good food, 
that they are well lodged ; that they have 



time to mend and wash their own clothes, 
nay, that they know how to do so, and 
doit. 

" Do not send your clothes home to 
your mother to wash and mend," said a 
friend of ours to a new servant ; " you 
will have plenty of time to arrange them 
yourself." 

" Please, mum, I don't know how ! " 
replied the girl. 

"Well, Mary, you shall be taught, 
then, for it is time you did know how ! " 

"But please, mum, I don't want to 
learn!" said the girl; and learn she 
would not, for the foolish indulgence 
which leads mothers to spare their chil- 
dren all occupations they do not like, is 
as prevalent among the poorer as among 
other classes. 

To return : a mistress need never for- 
get herself, nor weaken her authority, 
nor show any false indulgence ; but in 
numerous ways she will have the op- 
portunity of endeavoring to guide, to 
advise, and to benefit those dependent 
upon her ; but she must be patient, if she 
would really do good. She must remem- 
ber what may have been the early edu- 
cation, the trials and temptations, the 
experiences of those girls, and must not 
expect too much from them. As we 
have before said, she must hold the reins 
of government with a firm hand; she 
must not overlook neglect of duties, ir- 
regularities of conduct, want of order or 
cleanliness, or inattention to her com- 
mands ; but she can notice these things 
quietly, without loss of temper, and 
when alone with the offender ; and she 
can also notice and praise neatness, at- 
tention, obedience, and such like, and not 
accept the good as mere matters of course, 
and only mark the evil. She should like- 
wise endeavor to induce her servant, by 
example and precept, to be regular in at- 
tendance on religious worship, and make 
Sunday to them in some degree a day of 
rest, instead of one of extra cooking and 



32 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



work, and should have a supply of those 
excellent little works to lend them, which 
are published by the religious societies 
While she inculcates economy in things 
relating to herself, she should try to in- 
duce them to save ; to put by regularly a 
certain portion of their wages, and not 
be extravagant in clothes, but make and 
mend their things properly. 

There is little saved by giving paltry 
wages ; a useful servant will not accept 
them, and those who do, cannot clothe 
themselves respectably, and will too often 
eke out their means by peculation. It is 
well to begin with moderate wages, and 
promise an annual increase, which pro- 
mise both induces a wish to , please, and 
takes away one great excuse for leaving, 
viz., a desire of "bettering herself." 
Even in the present "degenerate age," 
attached servants are to be found, and 
may be created. We are all more or less 
human, and human affections and home 
ties act upon us ; we learn to love those 
who are kind, courteous, and consider- 
ate ; we value the notice and regard of 
our superiors, and we take a certain 
pride in deserving their good opinion. 
The fault lies in that antagonism of 
classes, that want of understanding each 
other, that forgetfulness that all are fel- 
low-creatures, that tendency to regard 
each other as mutual enemies to be con- 
quered or circumvented. 

But we will pass to another topic. 
The amount of the yicome will deter- 
mine what sum can be allowed per an- 
num for housekeeping ; for besides, there 
will be clothing expenses to be provided 
for, sundries of Various kinds, expenses 
of illness, on which we must all reckon, 
and there ought to be a reserve fund 
regularly laid by to provide for any un- 
foreseen emergency, or form the "nest 
egg " of a provision for a rising family. 
Well, suppose the sum determined ! the 
next question is, how to apportion it so 
as to combine economy with comfort, and 



secure a regular and uniform style of 
living j not luxuries to-day and parsimony 
to-morrow. Now, how can our young 
housekeeper do this, if she knows little 
or nothing of the prices of provisions ; if 
she scarcely remembers when things are 
in season and may be purchased at a rea- 
sonable rate, and when they are actual 
extravagances ; if she has no idea what 
quantity of this or that ought to be con- 
sumed, by a family of a certain size, per 
week or per month; and, above all, if 
she has little aptitude for domestic man- 
agement, and considerable contempt for, 
all such vulgar details ? Few who have 
read that truthful sketch of Dickens, the 
" child-wife," will forget the pretty help- 
lessness of Dora; but, although this 
reads well in a novel, very few such girls, 
and there are many of them, will meet 
with husbands as indulgent; for men 
like to see their home well ordered, and 
to feel the comforts of good manage- 
ment.. Every girl, or almost every girl, 
looks upon marriage as the great aim 
and end of her existence ; but unfortu- 
nately, she regards it, as it is treated in 
novels, as the concluding chapter, the en- 
trance to that " and-lived-happily-ever- 
after " state of bliss which we read of in 
fairy tales. And certainly it is the en- 
trance to a new life, though not one so 
rose-colored as she dreamed; it takes 
her from the home where she has been 
nurtured, cared for, provided for, perhaps 
petted and indulged, and places her where 
she will have to be the presiding intelli- 
gence ; where all will look to her for 
guidance and instruction; where her 
happiness and comfort, and that of her 
husband, will depend upon how she is 
qualified to fulfil the duties she has un- 
dertaken. Mothers, wishing to have 
your daughters well married, how have 
you prepared them for the duties you 
well know they will have to perform? 
Perhaps you were domestically educated, 
for our grandmothers were more careful 



HOUSEKEEPING ACCOUNTS. 



33 



in their generation, and thought it no de- 
gradation to be good housewives ! Per- 
haps you have had to fight your way 
through a host of painful lessons, of an- 
noyances, losses, and domestic worries. 
Do you never look back upon that miser- 
able time, and feel anxious to spare your 
children a similar probation ? Life, even 
at its best, has enough of painful experi- 
ences, without our doubling them by 
neglecting to teach each individual, in 
proper time, the things she will be ex- 
pected to know when she readies woman's 
estate. 

Every housekeeper should keep a strict 
account of all her expenditures ; should 
see that each bill is receipted when paid ; 
should file all receipts, and keep them for a 
year at least we should rather say two 
or three. All housekeeping bills should 
be paid every week, for it is easier to pay 
small sums than large ones ; and besides, 
the correctness of the bills can then be 
ascertained. The mistress should look 
over each one herself, and thus she will 
detect, and can check, any inaccuracy on 
the part of the tradesmen, or extrava- 
gance on the part of her servants. Should 
she be her own housekeeper, let her deal 
regularly with respectable tradesmen, for 
they will rarely risk losing a good 
customer by sending bad goods. Bar- 
gain-hunting is always perilous, even to 
good judges. Cheap tea, coffee, sugar, 
&c., are all adulterate^; cheap vegeta- 
bles and fruit are generally stale ; cheap 
meat is that which has been sent ready 
killed to the market, and therefore is by 
no means as fresh as might be wished ; 
and cheap poultry and fish are to be re- 
garded with very great suspicion. 

Those who have store-closets will find 
their advantage in purchasing some things 
wholesale. Candles should be bought 
in the latter part of summer, when they 
are usually cheaper, and a store laid in, 
for they improve by keeping. So does 



soap. Coal, too, should be ordered in 
July or August, and if there is cellarage, 
a stock for the winter laid in. Many 
groceries may be purchased in quantities 
at considerable saving. The same remark 
applies to bacon, butter, and cheese ; but 
unless there are good dry storerooms, 
these latter cannot be k*ept. It is use- 
less to make pickles or preserves unless 
the house is dry in damp localities these 
things mildew and spoil ; nor are we sure 
that in small families it is economical to 
make them at all, they can be bought so 
reasonably. All stores should be kept 
by the mistress, and given out as re- 
quired. 

AH good homckeepers will provide 
themselves with weights and scales, and 
thus be prepared to check the quantities 
of stores sent them by their tradespeople, 
who are as liable to make errors in 
weighing as in casting their bills. We 
cannot too particularly impress this upon 
the attention of our readers, as an essen- 
tial means of protecting themselves against 
errors in weight, whether arising from 
accident or design. Many heads of fami- 
lies are exceedingly particular about the 
price of their purchases, who are utterly 
regardless whether or not they have the 
weight they paid for. Tradesmen are 
aware of this trust reposed in them, and 
too often take advantage of it. Unlike 
the symbol of Justice, who. as she holds 
the scales in her hands, is blind to all 
partialities, some tradesmen (some es- 
pecially amongst the class who are 
purveyors to the poor) are too open-eyed 
to see that they descend in their own 
favor. 

In the realm which our housewife is to 
govern, order, cleanliness, punctuality, 
and economy must be the fundamental 
principles which, by precept and practice, 
she endeavors to enforce. It matters 
little whether her subjects are limited to 
a single maid-of-all-work, or general 



34: 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 




Work Table. 

servant, as it is now the fashion to calf 
this domestic, or whether she reign 
over two, three, or more "helps," still 
the principle must be the same ; a cer- 
tain routine of daily and weekly duties 
must be laid down, and it lies with the 
mistress to see that not only these are 
performed properly, but that all inciden- 
tal matters are likewise attended to. 
However wealthy a family may be, they 
are not willing that their houses and fur- 
niture should be injured by neglect or 
mismanagement. Money can enable 
man to hire more domestics, but it cannot 
provide that these persons shall be clean 
ly, diligent, trustworthy, and painstak 
ing ; it cannot secure him from the conse- 
quences of their ignorance, their careless 
ness, their extravagance. Nothing bu 
the supervision of the mistress, or a goo( 
housekeeper, can do this. If, then, a rich 
man, who can pay the best wages, anc 
hire the most experienced servants, find 
still that he lacks something, how muc 



more will one of moderate income or 
f limited means suffer, should he not 
find in his wife a housewife ? 

What I am now about to say, some of 
ny readers may think perhaps out of 
lace; nevertheless I shall say it. A 
woman cannot really do her duty as a 
wife, mother, or mistress of a family, 
unless she is fully sensible of the impor- 
ance of health, and gives to all sanitary 
measures their due attention. ^Vith loss 
f health come diminished powers of 
usefulness. Languor and delicacy in a 
wife may call forth the sympathies, but 
do not increase the comforts or happiness 
of a professional or business man ; neither 
do they render a woman more inclined 
for, or equal to, the performance of her 
part in domestic life. And too many of 
our young girls render themselves languid, 
feeble, and delicate, by inattention to the 
commonest requirements of human nature. 
The crying evil of small towns is usually 
the want of baths attached to houses, and 
the small size of bed-rooms ; now these 
are in general accepted as things which 
must be endured, and little or no attempt 
is made to palliate them. All medical 
men, however, agree that plentiful ablu- 
tions of the body with cold or tepid 
water, and a good supply of fresh air in 
every sleeping and sitting-room, do more 
to preserve health than all the drugs in 
the pharmacopoeia. And next to these 
come early rising, avoidance of late hours 
and crowded assemblies, regular exercise 
in the open air, attention to diet, and 
abstinence from pernicious viands, as 
pastry, sweetmeats, rich gravies, unripe 
fruit, &c. Pork, veal, and various kinds 
of vegetables can only be eaten sparingly 
and occasionally by some persons. Spir- 
its should only be used medicinally, that 
is to say, at times when common sense 
tells us they might be of benefit. To 
take them habitually is equivalent to 
slow poison. 
Besides the benefit a woman derives in 



IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH. 



35 



her health and person from attention to 
all matters relative to personal care, she 
will gain another in the effect of her 
example upon her dependants ; for we are 
all, to a certain extent, creatures of imita- 
tion, and prone to follow example, be it 
good or bad. Servants who see before 
them one who consistently practises the 
virtues of economy, regularity, personal 
cleanliness, and general neatness, will 
never run diametrically counter to all 
this, but will in some degree shape their 
conduct accordingly, while all the pre- 
cepts in the world, without practice, will 
but go in at one ear and out at the other. 
Where only one or two servants are 
kept, the mistress will do well not to 
leave her chamber before she has opened 
her windows, and laid the bed-clothes 
ba^k over two chairs so as to insure the 
sheets and blankets, heated by contact 
with the body all night, being well aired 
and cooled. No bed should be made, or 
night-dress folded up, until it has been 
aired, and suffered thoroughly to cool for 
at least two hours. Nurseries should be 
aired while the children are at breakfast, 
and while they are taking their morning 
walk. Dining and drawing-rooms re- 
quire a current of fresh air passed through 
them at least once every day, to dislodge 
all the stale atmosphere tainted by the 
smell of food, flowers, &c., and by having 
been inhaled by those using the rooms. 
Many of our readers have doubtless been 
struck, on entering some houses, by the 
close, faint, unwholesome smell they, 
coming from the fresh air, at once per- 
ceive. Those who dwell in it habitually 
are not conscious of it. They dread the 
chill of fresh air, or the dust it will bring 
with it into their rooms ; and therefore 
shut it carefully out, and cherish in its 
stead a species of slow poison a heavy 
atmosphere loaded with all sorts of per- 
nicious gases. 

Light, too, is another forbidden lux- 
ury in some houses. Heavy Venetian 



blinds jealously protect the delicate hues 
of the curtains and carpets from its in- 
fluence, and the inmates consequently 
fade instead of their upholstery ; for a 
human being can no more do without 
light than can a flower, and we only 
need place this latter in a cellar for a few 
days, and we shall see how it will look. 
It must not, however, be supposed that 
we would recklessly suffer the noonday 
sun to shine on our damask curtains or 
tapestried carpets, or that we should 
open our windows when rain, hail, or 
snow beat full upon them ; all we wish 
to do is v to advise such a use of the 
choicest gifts of Providence, as health 
requires and common sense would dic- 
tate. 

Nor is it only with a view to exercis- 
ing a salutary influence upon her domes- 
tics and strengthening herself, that we 
would counsel our housewife to pay 
strict attention to all matters of sanitary 
importance. A female writer of some 
celebrity has said, " If. before marriage, 
a woman has been deluded into the no- 
tion that a multiplicity of small ailments 
invested her character with an interest- 
ing kind of delicacy, the sooner she be- 
comes well after marriage, the better for 
herself and all around her." 

Now we do not intend to assert that 
there are not many men who are un- 
wearied in their tenderness in time of 
illness ; but this we must say. that there 
are thousands more who " vote sickness 
a bore ; " who have little sympathy with, 
little tolerance for it ; who married to 
have a cheerful companion, not a droop- 
ing, languid invalid, to come home to ; 
and who soon begin to seek elsewhere 
that companionship and cheerfulness 
they have failed to find at home. And 
alas ! when a man's love has once been 
dimmed, or alienated from his wife, it 
never wholly recovers its lost lustre, but 
remains a mere mechanical matter of 
duty or honor, and too often not even 



36 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



that. Matrimony may bind a man to 
his wife legally, but herself only can re- 
tain her empire over his heart ; and to 
do this, she will need even more than 
her former charms and attractions and 
fascinations, besides a vast variety of 
other attributes which her new position 
will require of her. 

Women little dream what they peril 
when, after marriage, they neglect the 
accomplishments, the tasteful dress and 
adornment, the charming coqnetlerie of 
manner, which enthralled the lover. 
They not only risk their happiness, for 
it depends on him, but they neglect what 
ought to be their highest ambition, that 
of proving how much dearer is the wife 
than the mistress, and of rendering his 
home a refuge from cares, a scene of 
tranquil happiness, of social enjoyment, 
and of real comfort. Milton is not ut- 
tering a merely poetical exclamation, but 
a great truth, when he says 

" For nothing lovelier can be found 
In woman than to study household good, 
And good works in her husband to promote ; " 

for a woman who is true to herself will 
inevitably be the better angel of her hus- 
band. Contact with her true heart, her 
gentle pursuance of all her duties, and 
with her cheerful, rational, and earnest 
spirit, will restore the tone of his mind, 
defiled, saddened, rendered morbid, it 
may be, by contact with the outer world 
and all its chicanery, its worry and its 
debasing influences. Wisely are all 
things ordered, if we would hot, by our 
follies, our impatience and self-seeking, 
derange them. Beautiful is the mission 
of woman, if she would but see it in all 
its holiness and brightness. 

Those who have a home which they 
can make happy, will not sigh for con- 
tact with the outer world, to be per- 
mitted to wrestle and contend among its 
fierce trials and the fiercer spirits that 
struggle there for daily bread j or despise 



the peaceful path of domestic duty, 
which, although it has its trials, is yet 
in a great degree sheltered ; or reject the 
gentle ties of wife, mother, sister, to 
study some learned profession, and rush 
into those haunts and paths already too 
crowded with the sterner sex. Such 
must be the lot, nevertheless, of many 
women, whom necessitous circumstances 
have forced into an unnatural position. 

Our " model housewife " believes with 
us that we should endeavor a 

;t "Well ordered home, man's best delight, to make ; 
And by submissive wisdom, modest skill, 
With every gentle, care-eluding art, 
To raise the virtues, animate the bliss, 
And sweeten all the toils of human life ; 
This is true female dignity and praise." 

So turn we now again to more practical 
matters. 

There are few things more perplexing 
at first to young housewives than the 
momentous question of dinner. A social 
dinner party, and a quiet family dinner, 
require equal consideration. We once 
heard of an old bachelor who, to save 
himself the daily trouble of stating what 
he would have for dinner, drew up a 
programme of dinners for every day in 
the year, and handed it over to his 
housekeeper ; and a lady has lately pub- 
lished a pamphlet, entitled, " What shall 
we have for dinner, in order to save idle 
folks the trouble of thinking." 

Now, a good cookery book, a short 
walk round the region where the market- 
ing is done, and a knowledge of family 
likes and dislikes, will generally enable 
even a novice to arrange this important 
matter, at least so far as the ordering 
goes, the cooking being another consider- 
ation. Joints should always, when 
weather permits, be purchased fresh, and 
then hung as long as is deemed requisite 
to fit them for eating. A knowledge of 
the sauces and condiments appropriate to 
every dish, is a subject well worth atten- 
tion. The cooking of vegetables is an 



DIRECTION OF THE TABLE. 



37 



important point, and one in which we 
may derive much useful instruction from 
the French. Vegetables cannot be too 
fresh ; in large towns we can form no 
idea how little we know of the real fla- 
vor and delicacy of green vegetables, 
accustomed as we are to have them at 
least a day after they are cut. 

Fish should be chosen by touch and 
look. If it feels flabby, and looks pale 
about the gills, and dull about ^the eyes, 
it is to be avoided; firmness of body, 
brightness and fulness of eyes, and ruddi- 
ness of the gills, are signs of freshness. 
Orabs and lobsters must be selected by 
weight, not size, and the olfactory organs 
employed to test their sweetness. 

We have already spoken of the desira- 
bleness of dealing regularly with respect- 
able people, but no rule is without its 
exception ; and those who are pretty 
good judges of articles of provision, may 
often obtain some variety by looking 
about them. Practice and habitual at- 
tention and observation, and the whole- 
some annoyance of one or two blunders, 
will soon give experience. 

We would advise that our housewife 
should see occasionally that all the cook- 
ing utensils are kept clean ; that there is 
no waste or extravagance, that the ends 
of loaves, spare bits of cut brdkd, bones 
of meat, cold vegetables, &c., are not 
recklessly thrown about. There are in 
every neighborhood only too many poor 
to be found, who will most gratefully re- 
ceive the scraps from the richer man's 
table ; and a little inquiry will always 
find some family on whom such odds and 
ends may well be bestowed. The tea- 
leaves should be regularly put by in some 
vessel, to be used in sweeping. 

Perhaps there are few things in which 
the respectability of a man is more 
immediately felt, than the style of din- 
ner to which he may accidentally bring 
home a visitor. Every one ought to live 
according to his circumstances, and the 
3 



meal of the tradesman ought not to emu- 
ate the entertainments of the higher 
classes ; but if merely two or three dish- 
es be well served, with the proper accom- 
paniments, the table-linen, clean, the 
small sideboard neatly laid, and all that 
is necessary be at hand, the expectation 
of both the husband and friend will be 
gratified, because- no interruption of the 
domestic arrangements will disturb their 
social intercourse. 

Hence the direction of a table is no 
nconsiderable branch of a ladv's concern, 
as it involves judgment in expenditure, 
respectability of appearance, and the com- 
fort of her husband, as well as of those 
who partake of their hospitality. Inat- 
tention to it 'is always inexcusable, and 
should be avoided for the lady's own 
sake, as it occasions a disagreeable degree 
of bustle and evident annoyance to her- 
self, which is^never observable in a well- 
regulated establishment. In doing the 
honors of her table, the mode of carving 
is also of importance, and will be treated 
of in a future chapter. 

The mode of covering the table differs 
in taste. It is not the multiplicity of 
things, but the choice, the dressing, and 
the neat, pleasing look of the whole, 
which give respectability to her who pre- 
sides. The table should be furnished 
with more than the necessary quantity 
of plate, or plated ware, and glass, to 
afford a certain appearance of elegance ; 
and if accompanied by a clean cloth and 
a neatly dressed attendant, it will show 
that the habits of the family are those of 
gentility. For a small party, or a tite-a- 
tcte, a dumb waiter is a convenient con- 
trivance, as it partly saves the attendance 
of servants. The cruets should be look- 
ed to and filled every day an hour before 
dinner ; and much trouble and irregular- 
ity are saved when there is company, if 
servants are accustomed to prepare the 
table and sideboard in similar order daily. 
Too many or too few dishes are extremes 



38 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



not uncommon :. the former encumbering 
the dinner with a superfluity which par- 
takes of vulgarity, whilst the latter has 
the appearance of poverty or penurious- 




Servants should always be accustomed 
to lay the cloth and serve dinner as neat- 
ly when the family is alone as when com- 
pany is expected ; they should likewise 
be taught to bring up and place on the 
table or sideboard everything likely to 
be required during the meal, and not 
have to leave the room repeatedly on 
trifling errands. The mistress should 
glance around to see that all is there; 
and if she perceives omissions, mention 
them before dinner commences. Servants 
should also be taught to wait at table 
without bustle or noise ; to remove plates, 
&c., without rattling them ; to open and 
close the doors gently; to lift covers 
from dishes so as not to let the drops of 
condensed steam fail on the table or those 
seated at it. If these things are ordina- 
rily insisted upon, the mistress of the 
house will not. when she gives a dinner 
party, sit on thorns, trembling lest some 
gaucherie be committed. 

Those who would give dinner parties, 
must, generally speaking, if their menage 
is small, hire a professed cook. A small, 
well cooked, well chosen dinner, is far 
preferable to a table crowded with dishes. 
Symmetrical arrangement of the dinner 
table, too, is a powerful adjunct. The 
silver should be bright, the glass spark- 
ling, the table-linen pure and snowy, the 



room well lighted, of comfortable tem- 
perature, and well ventilated. The pleas- 
ure of eating a good dinner is greatly en- 
hanced when comfort is studied, and 
taste gratified. 




Vegetable Dish. 

The wines, if you give any, should be 
good ; it is better to give only one or two 
kinds, and let those be good, even though 
they be only old-fashioned port and sher- 




ry, than to aim at greater things, and set 
before the guest those " cheap and nasty " 
imitations of other vintages. 

Choose the company and arrange them 
as carefully as the dishes. Ill assorted 
guests are difficult to please, while per- 
sons who assimilate find additional zest 
hi their social enjoyment. 



THE DINNER TABLE. 



39 




Vegetable Warmer. 

The .dessert should be well selected, 
and more choice than plentiful. By choice, 




Plate Warmer. 

do not let us be understood to mean ex- 
travagant, consisting of fruits not yet in 




Cake Basket 

season nor having their proper flavor, or 
of preserved fruits, or fancy confectionery. 
All these are prejudicial to health, and 
we cannot understand why people who 
dine out should be tempted to eat indigest- 
ible things ; why what ought to be a 
means of social enjoyment, should be 



made a matter of form, ostentation, and 
discomfort. Let the dessert consist of 
fine specimens of the fruits hi season, 
backed in winter by a few dried fruits 
and biscuits. 




Fruit Dish. 

Soyer's housewife thus describes her 
dinner : The first thing to be looked to 
is the lights ; these ought to be so placed 
as not to intercept the view of any per- 
son at the table, but at the same tune they 
ought to be enough to show everything 
off to advantage. I prefer removing some 
of the lights from the table to the side- 
board when the cloth is removed, as the 
light after dinner ought to be more sub- 
dued. In laying the cloth, we place it 
over the baize and remove it after dinner, 
as Mr. B. says he likes to see the mahog- 
any ; for when he asks a city friend to 
come and put his feet under his mahoga- 
ny, it looks gather foolish if he never sees 
it. I have, as you know, my table rath- 
er wide, that is, six feet, and I generally 
place a vase of flowers in the centre, as I 
think their freshness and odor add great- 
ly to the appearance of the table, and ad- 
mit a flanc on each side. We prefer the 




Dish Cover. 

old English plan of taking the top and 
bottom of the table, instead of me and Mr. 
B. together at the side. 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



" The cloth being laid with its proper 
side uppermost, I order a napkin, two 
knives, two prongs, two tablespoons, and 
two wineglasses to be placed for each per- 
son, a saltcellar between every other; 
that being a condiment which every one 
uses, though often wrongly ; the cruet- 
frames and other requisites are kept on 
the sideboards. I then have the fish and 
soup served together ; the potatoes and 
sauce on the sideboard; I serving the 
soup, and Mr. B. the fish ; and often a lit- 
tle dish of fried fish, such as smelts, &c., 
to remove the soups. This gives me an 
opportunity of seeing that my guests are 
properly attended to, and also leisure to 
take wine with any gentleman who 
challenges me. During tjie time this 
course has been progressing, the cook 
has had time to dish up the removes nice 
and hot, and get all up close to the door, 
as I like as little time as possible to in- 
tervene in changing the dishes ; and 
these consist generally of variously 
dressed chickens, which I have before me, 
as this gives an opportunity for the gen- 
tleman on my right to display his gal- 
lantry ; Mr. B., who is a capital carver, 
either has a saddle or a haunch of mut- 
ton, or a quarter of lamb before him, the 
rest of the dishes consisting of a tongue 
and entrees. I select those most easy to 
carve, and also easy for the cook to pre- 
pare. Thi is u period of dinner where 
a great deal depends upon the attendants ; 
they should know almost by the look 
what this lady or that gentleman requires, 
and what kind of vegetables to hand 
them ; a first-rate butler should be able 
to judge by the physiognomy to whom 
he should offer mint sauce with the 
lamb, and who prefers cayenne ; on their 
attention and hot plates depends the suc- 
cess of the substantial part of the dinner. 
u As soon as I see that all are served, 
and words are few in consequence of the 
or^an which utters them being employed 
in another way, I give a look to the two 



Silver Skewer, 
servants which they understand, and im- 
mediately two reports are heard they 
are from two bottles of champagne, open- 
jd at the same time by the attendants, 
who have each a salver with six glasses 
on it; this takes but a short time to 
serve, and prepares the palate for the en- 
trees, which generally get praised; in- 
deed, my cook would think something 
was wrong if two of the dishes did not 
go down empty. By having the cham- 
pagne thus, I find it goes much further 
than if only one bottle was opened at the 
time, there being sufficient left in tho 
bottles for a gentleman to challenge a 
Lady to take champagne with him. If I 





have game I remove the top and bottom 
dishes with them, and make the sweets 
a separate course, taking care to have 
cold plates for the jelly, and having the 



EVENING PARTIES. 



liquors handed round when the sweeps 
are on the table ; one cheese I place op- 
posite Mr. B., and macaroni opposite my- 
self. In the dessert I generally introduce 
some new importation, such as bananas, 
sugar-cane, American lady apples, prickly 
pears, &c. ; these also give a subject for 
the gentlemen to talk about when the 
ladies have left, as free trade, colonial 
policy, &c. About half an hour after the 
dessert is on the table, and when I see 
that the conversation is becoming less 
general, I retire to the drawing-room; 
the servants then remove the used glass 
and plates, and Mr. B. introduces some 
of his choice claret or Burgundy in ice 
coolers." 




Wine Cooler. 

There are so many varieties of evening 
parties that no directions can be given 
respecting them. As a general rule, we 
would advise that they should be as sim- 
ple, unostentatious, and sociable, as pos- 
sible. Tt is the extravagance which has 
been introduced into these matters, the 
insane desire of outvying each other fell 
by individuals, which is the bar to real 
social enjoyment, and prevents us from 
being as lively a people as the French 
"Why cannot we meet to converse, hav< 
music, dance, or amuse ourselves in any 
rational way, and be content with light 
simple refreshments, and a sincere wel 
come ? Surely such reunions are more 
enjoyable than crowds, grand suppers 
superb toilettes which are scarcely seen 
in the crush, and suffocating heat or cur 
rents of cold air. Such assemblies upse 
the house of the party-giver for a week 



t least, weary and worry her. and are 
riticised most severely by all her " dear 
riends " who did not enjoy themselves, 
ior receive the attention they expected, 
n them all is most certainly " vanity and 
exation of spirit ; " there is no pleasant 
onverse, no comfort, no intellectual en- 
oyment; weariness, lassitude, headache, 
and expense, are the only concomitants 
f such parties. May our "model house- 
wife " have courage to reject them alto- 
gether. 




CHAPTER VII. 

FEW persons would believe what a 
waste of money and property arises sim- 
ply from want of care. We cannot, of 
course, expect this carefulness from ser 
vants, from those who are often thought- 
less, inexperienced girls, coming from a 
home where there was little worthy of 
care, perhaps from a place, where there 
was no time to bestow due attention 01 
the various duties. Few servants rtaj 
long enough in a situation to become a 
tached to, and, as it were, identified with 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



it and its belongings ; they are ever striv- 
ing to " better themselves," or, in other 
words, obtain higher wages. It matters 
not that they are comfortable, that they 
like their employers ; that they are well- 
treated, and not over-worked ; should 
some acquaintance or relative be receiv- 
ing higher wages than they are getting, 
they will sacrifice all to " go and do like- 
wise ; " and too often not in order that 
they may contribute more to lay up a 
fund in case of illness or misfortune, but 
to be able to dress more smartly, or in- 
dulge in some favorite pleasure. All this 
is much to be regretted, as it too often 
entails loss of health, comfort, and res- 
pectability on the young woman. But 
it is not this point from which we now 
have to regard it. It is the mistress, not 
the servant, whom we are addressing, and 
whom we would guard from the troubles 
which must befall her, if she, too, be care- 
less, if she does not know and see that 
her property is well managed and regu- 
larly and properly attended to. 

We have before said that no household 
knowledge can be deemed superfluous, or 
ought to come amiss to a woman, who is 
to be at the head of a house. Surely she 
is not the less a lady because she under- 
stands how her house should be managed 
and cleaned, and kept tidy ? because 
she can teach her servants when they are 
ignorant, put method into their proceed- 
ings when they are careless, and quietly 
but attentively look on and superintend 
when they are tolerably efficient ? We 
are all made of the same clay, though 
differently tempered by education and 
position; we are all subject to vicissi- 
tudes, and cannot tell what a day, or 
even an hour, may bring forth ; is it not, 
then, wiser to be armed at all points, pre- 
pared for all circumstances, equal to any 
emergency ? 

These preliminary remarks have been 
made to preface the directions we are 
a^out to give for the daily routine of a 



servant's duties, which else might have 
seemed out of place here, had it not been 
our opinion that, in order to manage ser- 
vants well, a mistress should fully under- 
stand what their actual duties are. 

Early rising is indispensable if a ser- 
vant would do her duty ; it is not possi- 
ble that the rooms can be dusted, the 
fires lit, tfre breakfast got ready, and all 
the little incidental jobs done, unless a 
servant is down stairs at least two hours 
before breakfast-time. We should fix six 
o'clock as the proper hour at which work 
should begin all the year round ; for in 
winter even more has to be done than in 
summer, and few things are more un- 
pleasant than to have servants pottering 
about their work all day, instead of get- 
ting through the chief and dirtiest part of 
it in the morning hours. If we make a 
call, which gives us the most favorable 
impression of the family, to see a tidy- 
looking, clean servant, answer the door ; 
or to have it opened by one who looks 
as if she had deemed it necessary when 
blacking the stoves to black her own per 
son also ? 

A servant should be trained to rise 
about half-past five, throw open her bed, 
and her window, too, when the weather 
permits j unclose the shutters of the 
staircase and dining-room, open the win- 
dows of this latter to air it ; pass into 
the kitchen, and open the shutters and 
windows there ; light the kitchen fire ; 
well rinse the kettle, and fill it with 
fresh water ; see that the boiler is well 
supplied with water, and then proceed to 
prepare the room required for breakfast. 

The rug must be folded up and removed, 
and the proper cloth laid down in front of 
the fire-place before the grate is touched 
(we are supposing that it is winter) ; the 
box containing the black-lead and brush- 
es for a black stove, or the emery paste, 
and leather, brushes, cloth, &c., for a 
polished stove, and the scuttle containing 
coal, wood, &c., must be brought up. 



DAILY WOEK. 



Once a week, at least, the soot should be 
gently swept down from the chimney 
into a shovel, as it otherwise gathers all 
round the lower ledges, and is very apt 
to take fire. The stove must be polished 
with a brush, or a cloth, according to its 
nature, every morning, and thoroughly 
cleaned at least once a week. The fire 
may then be laid and lighted, and in doing 
this there is some art. Where one girl 
will light and re-light the same fire three 
or four times over, consuming in each 
attempt a quantity of wood, and paper, 
another will, with less wood, kindle a 
brisk fire at once. The mystery lies in 
obtaining a perfect draught of air through 
the pile of materials, and placing those in 
juxtaposition which are most combusti- 
ble in nature. Where this is properly 
done there will be little smoke, and great 
saving of fuel ; but fire-lighting requires 
the use of one's senses and some skill, 
commonplace a matter as we may think 
it. 

This much having been done, the 
sweeping comes next. Now, it will not 
be requisite thoroughly to sweep the car- 
pet all over above >nce a week ; on the 
other six days those parts of the room 
chiefly used, alone require sweeping, and 
this may be done with a dust-pan and a 
soft hand-brush. Then comes the dust- 
ing, and in doing this a feather brush 
should be used for the frames and chair 
covers, and a duster for the furniture. 
On the cleaning day the carpet must be 
well swept with a carpet-broom and tea- 
leaves, the furniture well cleaned and 
rubbed, the mantel-piece and ledges wash- 
ed, the inside of the windows cleaned, 
and every ornament well dusted. 




Window Brush. 

The street-door steps should be clean- 



ed, the mats shaken, the passage swept, 
and the brasses polished before the fami- 
ly come down. 




Feather Duster. 

The breakfast is then to be prepared ; 
the cloth laid, the breakfast service pro- 
perly arranged, the ham or eggs, or what- 
ever it may be, cooked, the toast. made, 
the butter set in clear, fresh water, the 
coffee prepared and the milk boiled. 




Brushes for Cleaning. 

The servant next proceeds to the bed- 
rooms, opens the windows, lays the bed- 
clothes back to air, and turns up the mat- 
tresses or feather-beds in each room; then 
empties the slops, cleanses and rinses all 
basins, ewers, bottles, &c., wipes up all 
slops, and brings fre^h water to supply 
all wants in each room. The beds are 
then to be made, and the rooms dusted. 
On cleaning day, which should come for 
each room once a- week, the chamber 
utensils must all be well washed in warm 
water, the carpets taken up and shaken, 
the floor scrubbed, the curtains shaken, 
and* the furniture cleaned. During the 
summer the floor under the bed should 
be washed over three times a- week at 
least, to remove all dust and flue. 

Before all this can be finished, the 
breakfast will have had to be removed, 
and this should be methodically done; 
the china being gathered on a tray with- 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



out either fuss or rattle, the crumbs 
brushed from the cloth, and this latter 
doubled up in its original folds, and any 
crumbs which may have fallen on the 
floor swept up into a dust-pan. 

The servant will now get her own 
breakfast, and then wash up and put 
away all the breakfast things, having first 
set aside all the eatables, giving the scraps 
to the cat, and taking care that nothing 
is wasted. 

The up-stairs work having been done, 
the candlesticks and lamps should be 
cleaned and trimmed; and then the 
knives cleaned. Where only one servant 
is kept, she will ere this have had to 
think about dinner, and manage so as to 
make the earlier preparations for that 
important matter between whiles. A 
mistress should always inform her domes- 
tic charged with such duties, what she 
intends having for dinner, when the girl 
is removing the breakfast things, other- 
wise she cannot possibly arrange her dai- 
ly duties so as to attend to the cooking 
without neglecting them ; and the mis- 
tress should, as far as possible, endeavor 
to arrange her dinner so as to suit the 
household duties of the particular day 
for wUich she is catering. For each day 
should have its special duties ; as, Mon- 
day, the wash for towels, dusters, servants' 
clothes, &c., and looking up the clothes for 
the laundress ; Tuesday, cleaning the at- 
tics; Wednesday, the best bed-rooms; 
Thursday, the drawing-room ; Friday, the 
dining-room and plate ; and Saturday, the 
hall, staircase, and kitchen, covers, &c. 
Such regulations once laid down, the ser- 
vant will know what duties each day re- 
quires of her; and the mistress, being 
aware what has to be done, will be able 
to give her orders accordingly, for noth- 
ing can be done without good manage- 
ment in a small household. Both mis- 
tress and servant must exercise fore- 
thought, or the whole day will be one 
scene of hurry, scurry, and discomfort. 



The next thing, then, is dinner, and 
this meal having been served and removed, 
the servant must, if the family are in the 
habit of retiring |to the drawing-room, 
run up and see that all is right there ; 
the fires burning and curtains let down, 
if in winter, or any little customary 
summer arrangements made. Then comes 
washing up the dinner things, and pre- 
paring for tea, and serving that at the 
proper hour. 

While the family are at tea is the best 
time for the servant to go up to the bed- 
rooms, turn down the beds, close win- 
dows, light fires, or perform any other 
customary or necessary duty. 

The tray has to be removed, and cups 
used at that meal, washed and put away. 
The tea leaves should be squeezed tolera- 
bly dry. and put away in an old dish or 
3asin, for sweeping. All window shut- 
ters should be closed and doors bolted at 
dusk, both in winter and summer. If 
upper is taken, it is usually carried up 
on a tray covered with a cloth ; after that ' 
comes the putting out of all fires and 
amps, the fastening the hall door, and 
then to rest. 

Any one who takes^the trouble to re- 
lect upon the multifarious occupations of 
a female domestic, in a family where but 
one is kept, cannot but perceive the abso- 
ute necessity of a regular plan of pro- 
ceedings, and also of the need there is 
or consideration, patience, and kindness. 
With all the activity and good-will in the 
world, it is physically impossible that a 
j;irl can be in two places at once ; and 
yet she may be just performing soms 
nice operation in cookery while a visitor 
may be knocking at the door, and her 
mistress ringing impatiently to have some- 
hing done towards tidying herself or the 
ipartment. How is this to be managed ? 
t can only be settled quietly by the mis- 
ress bestirring herself, and aiding in 
moothing the difficulty. Where two or 
more servants are kept, one should always 



ORDER AND METHOD. 



be tidy and ready to answer the door, 
and the lady of the house and her apart- 
ments should always be mis a quatre 
epingleS) or, in other words, in such or- 
der that a visit from royalty itself would 
scarcely create any bustle. Indeed, the 
test of a well-arranged establishment is 
the absence of all fuss. The advent of 
relatives from the country bent on find- 
ing a home and a bed there, the arrival 
of unexpected guests to dinner, or any 
such unexpected events, will, of course, 
slightly derange the economy of a house- 
hold, especially if it be a small one ; but 
our housewife will not allow this to be 
visible. Quietly and without confusion 
she will take opportunities of giving the 
necessary orders ; and if her servants are 
regularly trained, they will comprehend 
and second her at once. In every house 
spare sheets, blankets, and bed-clothes 
should always be kept aired, in case of 
their being required on any sudden 
emergency, and this can be done by lay- 
ing them between the palliasse and mat- 
tress of any bed in regular use. We have 
before spoken of the advantage of always 
having the store- closet well supplied. It 
is a great mistake to fancy that anything 
is saved by purchasing articles that will 
keep, in small quantities, and certainly 
the loss of time incurred by having con- 
stantly to send out for trifles, is both a 
great waste and a great inconvenience. 
No servant can get through her work 
properly if she has repeatedly to run out 
on errands, or if she is called off frequent- 
ly on frivolous pretexts. A mistress is 
quite right in exacting from her servants 
a regular and proper fulfilment of all 
their duties ; but on her part she must 
give them time and opportunity to do 
this. If she sees they want method, she 
must try to teach them ; and through all 
must remember how defective their early 
education* has too often been, how little 
preparation they Lave received for the 



path of life they have to follow, and be 
patient with them. The great social 
evil of the present age is, that females are 
rarely trained with reference to their 
probable duties. This evil pervades all 
classes, from the lowest to the highest 
The daughter of the millionnaire is seldom 
taught to consider how great are the 
social responsibilities her wealth and po- 
sition impose upon her, to regard her- 
self as a steward of the Almighty, a 
medium through which His blessings may 
flow to those poor and unfortunate ones,- 
whose lot is cast so far apart from hers. 
If she learns at all that " to whom much 
is given, much will be required," she 
probably imagines that much to be in 
the way of style, dress, and accomplish- 
ments ; which, to a certain extent, is not 
far wrong, for the circulation of money 
is a commercial advantage, and those 
elevated in position should also be eleva- 
ted in mental and moral attributes ; but 
this is not all required of them. There 
is a duty to the poor, the duty of kind- 
ness, charity, and mercy. If all who 
have it in their power would but attend 
to this a little, how much good might be 
done! and what sits so gracefully on 
woman as such gentle deeds and holy 
virtues ? 

Then, as we have before said, the daugh- 
ters of the working class are hardly pre- 
pared for their position as wives, mothers, 
and housewives ; and the children of the 
poor have too often a still worse bringing 
up, being reared amid misery, poverty, 
dirt, and vice, if not in their own fami- 
lies, at least in many of those around 
them. 

Vast as has been the general spirit of 
progression in this age, it is marvellous 
that these every-day matters have been, 
practically speaking, so totally overlook- 
ed. There is much theory, but the greater 
part of it is speculative and Utopian. We 
are not advocates of systems, but would 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



recommend good common sense instead ; 
for systems can only be applied to cer- 
tain parties and in certain ways, whereas 
common sense will cull the best parts of 
many systems, and adapt them to suit 
the peculiar position or character it has 
to deal with, and thus give to that 
character a firmness and freedom from 
conventional prejudices which will, when 
strengthened by right principles, make it 
good and useful 



CHAPTER Vin. 

AMONG the many duties a woman is 
called upon to fulfil, surely none can be 
deemed of such paramount importance as 
those she owes to her children. Now it 
is by no means our intention to write a 
chapter of " advice to mothers," or enter 
upon the subject of the education and 
general management of little people ; all 
we have to do with the matter here is to 
notice it as forming a branch of our sub- 
ject; for the nursery is an important 
part of a house, and upon its good man- 
agement much of the comfort, as well as 
the health and well-being of every mem- 
ber of the family, will depend. 




Sitz Bath. 

If ever a woman has need of thought 
care, and patience, it is when she becomes 
a mother. Who can look upon that mos 
helpless of all created beings a new-born 
infant and not feel pity for it, interes 



n it ; and surely no mother can bestow 
her first kiss on the little unconscious 
nnocent without feeling some sense of 
he responsibilities which now rest upon 
ier f or it is not only a human being, 
Dut an immortal soul which is committed 
;o her charge. 

Wherever such an arrangement can be 
made, a good-sized airy room should be 
et apart for the nursery, and always 
Lept scrupulously clean, well ventilated, 
and of an even wholesome temperature. 
Warmth is highly necessary to the health 
of infants and young children but not 
the warmth of a close, over-heated room, 
for that oppresses their lungs, and makes 
them delicate and very susceptible of 
cold. Let the child be comfortably clad, 
and a natural temperature of body thus 
maintained. The health of very many 
infants is impaired by the foolish custom 
of exposing their little chests and arms 
by finely-worked low bodies and very 
short sleeves, tied up so as effectually to 
prevent their being of any use in the way 
of covering. Very young children have 
so little natural heat, that they absolute- 
ly require that the temperature of their 
bodies should be kept up, by means of 
clothing, to a proper standard. 

The furniture of the nursery ought to 
be very simple, and to consist of no more 
things than are absolutely necessary. The 
" bassinet," a wicker basket stuffed very 
soft and lined within, two and a-half or 
three feet long r and one and a-half wide, 
has been used in England for very young 
infants, and may be carried about. Cra- 
dles and swinging cots are condemned by 
medical men, and are now less used than 
cribs. Children's chairs of various sizes, 
a washstand, shower bath, a child's bath, 
or a large earthernware basin fixed in a 
stand of wood, various vessels of earthen- 
ware, a nursery lamp for warming liquids 
when there is no fire, sponges and linen 
baskets comprise the requisite articles 
of furniture. A wire guard for the fire, and 



THE NURSERY. 



bars for the windows should never I 

omitted. 




French Folding Fender. 
Next to warmth, in the category o 
matters indispensable to health is clean 
lines?. Morning and night, an infant or 
a child under three years of age, should 
be bathed in tepid water in winter, ani 
cold water in summer. This operation 




Can, Bath and Pail, 
should be performed both thoroughly and 
quickly, and then the whole body wiped 
quite dry with a soft towel, and the limbs 
and back gently rubbed with the hand. 
The skin of an infant is so delicate that a 
little dirt, a slight accumulation of pow- 
der, any dampness, any rough handling 




Infants' Bath. 

or friction with a coarse cloth, will break 
or crack it, and often produce a humor 
which is not easily got rid of. The 
clothes of an infant, and especially those 
in immediate contact with its body, 
should be soft and clean. Its bed-clothes 
must likewise be kept well aired, and 
free from damp and unpleasant smells. 
Very young children should be kept, 



as much as possible, in a recumbent pos- 
ture j the less a child is allowed to sit 
upright for the first six months the 
stronger will be its back afterwards. 
Too strong a light is prejudicial to youn~ 
children; neither within nor out cf doors 
should their eyes be exposed to anything 
like glare; they ought likewise to be 
shielded from high winds. Sleep is a 
great strengthener of children, when it is 




Leg Bath. 



Foot Bath. 



natural, and care should be taken that 

hey lie comfortably as regards position, 

are warm, and sheltered from all draughts 

and from light, though allowed sufficient 

air. In all things endeavor to establish 

regular habits from the very first ; regu- 

ar hours for feeding, sleeping, dressing, 

and undressing, should be observed. Few 

people can form an idea how much their 

wn comfort and the child's well-being 

will be promoted by this. Of course, 

very now and then illness, or some un- 

oreseen event, will interfere with this 

ystem, but it must be resumed again as 

oon as possible. We are aware that 

many people will deem this regularity 

unnecessary, but from the cradle to the 

rave, we are all more or less the creatures 

f habit ; and from the time a child first 

egins to notice anything, its habits may 

e said to commence. 

When a child is fed, it should be from 

proper bottle, and with light, thin food, 

ot given too hot or in large quantities. 

'arinaceous substances of various kinds 

re best adapted for children of tender age. 

or the first twelvemonth these may be 

iven in a fluid, and semi-fluid state, and 

afterwards in the shape of puddings either 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



baked or boiled. Many children will 
not take meat, and they do not appear to 
thrive less than others; nature at this 
early age is generally the best pilot, and 
we shall seldom err if we follow her lead. 

The period of teething is always one 
of anxiety, and requires additional care 
and watchfulness; but plenty of fresh 
air, good and sufficient, but not over-feed- 
ing, and an occasional warm bath or gen- 
tle aperient when there appears to be 
tendency to fever, will in most cases ward 
off serious evils. The less pfiysic a child 
takes the better in a general way not 
that we would advise mothers ever to 
slight any actual premonitory symptoms 
of illness; infantile diseases being fre- 
quently very rapid in their course. 

There is no occasion to teach children 
to walk ; when they are strong enough, 
they will invariably find out the proper 
use of their feet ; let them lie on the floor, 
and then sit, and then crawl ; and by-and- 
by they will stand up, and then walk 
along, holding by something ; and then, 
when they appear capable of doing yet 
more, encourage them to venture alone, 
but watch carefully that they do not fall, 
or they may be frightened, and thrown 
back some weeks. After a child is a 
year old, it must cease to be regarded as 
an irrational being by those about it ; a 
quick, lively baby is always taking no- 
tice; its intelligence is becoming daily 
and hourly developed ; in a word, the 
first rudiments of education are entering 
its little mind. This may sound extrav- 
agant and fanciful, but what says prover- 
bial philosophy? "With his mother's 
milk the child drinketh education ; " and 
let any one take three children of from a 
year-and-a-half to two years old, one of 
the three shall have been brought up by 
a quiet or. ignorant nurse, one by an 
affectionate and sensible mother, and the 
* other among a family of children ; the 
first, unless it be a prodigy, will be far 
behind the second in quickness, and the 



third will be as much before the second. 
We would punish any one who mispro- 
nounced words before babies, or taught 
them to call things or animals by ridicu- 
lous names ; and we would doubly pun- 
ish any one who instilled fear into the 
hearts of young children by threats of 
"bogies/ 5 "black men," and such like 
nursery monsters. Many a grown man 
and woman has found it difficult to over- 
come the dislike to darkness implanted 
in them when young children by some 
nursery bug-bears. Teach a child rather 
to believe that angels watch over it, in- 
duce it to be good from a fear of grieving 
its ^parents, but never destroy or sully 
that sweet confidence which is the most 
blessed part of childhood. Never tell a 
child a falsehood either ; if you promise 
a thing, do it ; if you say a thing, act up 
to it. Empty threats and vain promises 
made to quiet a child, teach it afterwards, 
in its turn, to disregard truth, and make 
it distrust those whom, next to God, it 
should love and honor ; whereas " exam- 
ple is a constant monitor." 

We are not advocates for " cramming " 
children too early with crude, dry learn- 
ing; but much may be taught without 
effort. "Line upon line" may be in- 
stilled by such simple stories, such plea- 
sant gossip as children love to listen to, 
such bright pictures as they delight to 
look upon and have explained to them. 
There is in the present age a royal road 
to all the fundamental instruction needed 
by children for the first eight or ten 
years of their lives ; 'the dull, uninterest- 
ing paths we had to tread are now decked 
with so many flowers that they have be- 
come attractive and pleasant. Even the 
very toys and games are made means of 
improvement; and history, arithmetic, 
and geography may now be learned as 
actual amusements. 

The physical wants of growing children 
are a sufficiency of good, plain food at 
regular hours, exercise in the open air, 



TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 



49 



well-ventilated rooms, clothing warm 
enough to promote health, and sufficient- 
ly easy in fit not to impede growth or a 
free use of the limbs : strong shoes or 
boots to protect the feet from damp, and 
a proper allowance of sleep taken at regu- 
lar hours, no child under six years of 
age being suffered to sit up after eight 
o'clock, and all under twelve being safe- 
ly in bed by nine. 

Late hours, hot, crowded places, as 
theatres, &c., and children's parties, are 
all very destructive of health ; irregulari- 
ties of all kinds are to be avoided, such 
as too long walks, any great excitement 
or over-fatigue ; for growing children 
require all their strength and energies for 
natural purposes; and being more ex- 
citable than grown persons, exhaust 
themselves the sooner. 

It may be thought by some that we 
are diverging from our subject, but " our 
housewife," if she be now single, may 
have younger sisters and brothers, and 
may probably one day have children of 
her own, when she will learn 

" How infinite the wealth of love and hope, 
Garnered in those same tiny treasure houses ! % 
And oh 1 what bankrupts in the world we feel, 
When death, like some remorseless creditor, 
Seizes on all we fondly thought our own." 

At all events, the care of children is 
one of woman's most solemn responsi- 
bilities one of the most sacred of all 
the trusts committed to her care; for 
has not a child an immortal soul ? 

Those who live much among children 
should carefully purify their every 
thought, word, and action, for the duc- 
tile and impressionable nature of a child, 
chameleon-like, takes its hue from that of 
the characters which surround it. " The 
seeds of first instructions are dropped 
into the deepest furrows;" therefore 
we cannot omit this chapter of our 
; Thoughts and Maxims." 

If we would cultivate a flower with 



success, we plant it in a fitting soil, we 
water it at proper times, we give to it its 
due proportion of air and sun ; shall we 
not equally study the constitution and 
physical requirements of a child, in order 
to bestow upon H the requisite nurture ? 
'or children, like flowers, require study 
all are not equally hardy, equally vigor- 
ous, equally beautiful. Some resemble 
tiot^house plants, and are frail and deli- 
cate; others, like the hardy evergreen, 
can bear and brave change of temperature 
and hardship. The system which would 
be suitable for one of "these natures would 
be injurious to the other hence, judg- 
ment is needful. 

Again, if we would train a vine so as 
to render it luxuriant and productive of 
fine fruit, we bestow much pains, on the 
arrangement of each branch ; we do not 
neglect the smallest shoot, or wantonly 
injure or twist the least branch; if we 
prune, we do so but to remove that 
which might militate against the health 
or produce of the teee. Shall we bestow 
less culture upon the moral education 
of a child? Shall we not, with equal 
care, endeavor to remove each evil pro- 
pensity, and foster each good disposition ? 
Is not the fruit of tenfold more import- 
ance ? Pure and innocent is the mind 
of a child ; let no care be spared to pre- 
serve it so. Those who would govern 
children by harshness greatly err; a 
child never loves the person it fears; 
besides, all fear is more or less slavish 
and degrading. Rather teach them to 
act rightly from a sense of what is right 
and what is wrong ; found their obedi- 
ence on affection; give tuem principles 
of action, and teach them to reason and , 
think, and, above all, make religion their 
guiding star. 

A child who fears God and honors hi? 
parents is armed for the world's warfare 
with a breast-plate, which, if not invul- 
nerable, at least will turn aside many an 



50 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



arrow. Our favorite Tupper quaintly 
but truly says: "When his reason 
yieldeth fruit, make thy child thy friend, 
for a filial friend is double gain, a diamond 
set in gold. As an infant thy mandate 
was enough ; as he grows in years, let 
him hear thy reasons." Believe me, we 
wantonly trifle not only with our own 
happiness, but with that of those little 
ones committed to our charge, when we 
neglect to watch over the treasures we 
ought so dearly to prize, when we trifle 
with the hearts, minds, and souls of our 
children, ignoring their value, our re- 
sponsibility, and the awful reckoning 
which will be required of us. We are 
all too apt to treat children as dolls, to 
dress and caress them one hour, and 
send them out of our way the next, 
not deeming that beneath the seeming 
thoughtless gaiety of those little ones 
there lurks a world of feeling and sensi- 
bility. Kindness is as necessary to 
them as daily food. We do not mean 
false indulgence, but considerate kind- 
ness. An unjust, a cold or harsh word 
or action, especially if undeserved, pene- 
trates the heart of a child with as keen a 
sting as it does ours ; and who shall say 
how many have grown up callous and 
reckless from having their first affections 
blunted, their feelings and wishes disre- 
garded ? Consistent practice is worth a 
whole world of precept, and example 
will influence while words or coercion 
are fruitless. 

Once more, then, we would beg " our 
housewife " to study what are her duties 
towards children. We would entreat 
mothers so to train their daughters that 
they may never have cause to blush and 
tremble for their grandchildren. It is 
no figure of speech to say that " the child 
is father to the man ; " study diligently, 
therefore, how best 

" to rear the tender thought, 
To tench the young idea how to eboot ; 
' To pour fresh instruction o'er the mind, 



To breathe the enlivening spirit, and to fix 
The generous purpose in the glorying breast." 

Nor let children, who should be oui 
blessings, become our torments 

" "While young our folly, and when old our fear." 

Lastly, but not of the least importance 
in the good training of children it should 
be rigidly observed by parents, never to 
show any difference of opinion in their 
treatment before them. Nothing can be 
more pernicious to their moral culture, 
engendering in them habits of disobedi- 
ence, for they cannot obey one parent 
without disobeying the other. We ear- 
nestly recommend attention to this ob- 
servance ; for, besides the evilof disobedi- 
ence that is almost sure to follow a dif- 
ference in opinion from those in authority 
over the child, the latter is sometimes 
prone to disregard the instructions and 
admonitions of both, and set up princi- 
ples of his own, more in accordance with 
his inclinations, however erroneous they 
may be. 

A chapter is devoted to cookery for 
children. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ANOTHER duty, of great importance, 
devolves on woman ; namely the care of 
the sick. From the highest to the low- 
est none are, properly speaking, exempt 
from this charge. 'Tis true that those 
who are rich can hire experienced nurses, 
but still the responsibility, the anxiety, 
rests with the mistress, for she cannot 
hire affection, thoughtful care, and all 
those little attentions which make the 
sole comfort of an invalid ; she can 
merely secure a species of human ma- 
chine which mechanically performs its 
duties, and between whiles eats, drinks, 
sleeps, and comforts itself. There are 
many excellent and kind-hearted profes- 



CARE OF THE SICK. 



51 



eional nurses, but there are also more 
who" become, as it were, petrified by the 
habitual contemplation of suffering, and 
who merely regard the patient with an 
eye to business. 

In a sick room the kindness and atten- 
tion of the nurse often work far greater 
marvels than the skill of the doctor, for she 
is there every hour, she sees every change, 
and can minister to many little wants. 
Those trifles which make up the events 
of an invalid, those minor details, so un- 
important to a person in health, those 
whims, and desires, and nervous suscep- 
tibilities which appear almost childish to 
lookers-on, will be studied by a good, 
conscientious nurse, and overlooked or 
disregarded by one who either does not 
feel interested in the patient, or has not 
sufficient sympathy to induce her to study 
these matters. In the former case, the 
invalid will be soothed and cheered ; in 
the latter, irritated and depressed. Sure- 
ly it is not difficult to conceive which 
influence must act most beneficially upon 
the system. 

Gentleness, watchfulness, firmness, 
judgment, some delicacy of feeling and 
savoir faire, and a truly Christian spirit, 
are the distinguishing characteristics 
which will best adapt a woman for fulfil- 
ling this phase of her duties. There are 
many who, from intense solicitude or 
romantic devotion, will give way to those 
impulses of feeling which lead them to 
devote themselves so entirely to the nurs- 
ing of some beloved relative, that all 
other duties, and even self, are wholly 
forgotten. What is the consequence of 
this error of judgment? Their own 
health succumbs, and they become not 
only useless, but render themselves 
sources of trouble and anxiety. How 
much better to have husbanded their 
strength so as to be able to remain use- 
ful! That despised article, common 
sense, would teach us all so much if we 
would but stop to listen ; if we would not 



mount, each one, our own peculiar hobby, 
and gallop off at a tremendous rate, heed- 
less of all sign-posts, and often regardless 
of even hedges and ditches. Affection ! 
feeling ! sentiment ! nerves ! how much 
has been done and left undone in these 
names ! while poor dear common sense 
has been decried as a most unfeeling per- 
son, and rudely ejected when she strove 
to make herself heard. 

Yet in few places is common sense a 
more valuable assistant than in the sick 
room ; aided by self-command and good 
feeling, she will transform the most un- 
initiated person into an excellent and effi- 
cient nurse. Let us hear a few of her 
fundamental principles. 

Speak in a low but perfectly distinct 
voice, both to the invalid and to any one 
who enters the room, in order that, al- 
though no unnecessary sound may be 
heard, the patient's ear may not be fa- 
tigued by striving to catch the words, 
or excited by mutterings or whispers ad- 
dressed to some one else. 

Let your countenance be calm and 
cheerful, your manners soothing and 
hopeful, and your words such as may 
cheer or comfort the mind. 

Avoid all fuss, all hasty movements, 
all noises that may startle or disturb ; let 
even your dress and shoes be chosen with 
reference to quiet. 

Keep everything in its place, so that in 
an instant you can put your hand on it 
when required; have hot water, clean 
cups, spoons, glasses, and well-aired body 
and bed linen always handy ; let the air 
of the room be changed frequently ; avoid 
all bad smells, or remove them as soon as 
possible ; pay strict attention to the tem- 
perature of the chamber, and keep it as 
even as may be ; and regulate the light 
with equal care. 

The furniture of a sick room should be 
adapted to the wants of the invalid. A 
reciining-chair will be found convenient : 
and a rocking-chair for exercise, with a 



52 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPEK. 



movable one for those who cannot walk. 
The bedstead should be contrived to af- 
ford ease by change of position. Dr. 
Arnott's hydrostatic bed has been men- 
tioned as particularly useful for invalids. 

All food offered to invalids should be 
daintily prepared, and presented in the 
most careful manner. How often, when 
one has been longing for food, has he 
turned from it with disgust, because he 
has seen the nurse cool it with her breath, 
or taste it, and then drt>p the spoon back 
into it, and present it. Nor is it well to 
inquire of invalids what shall be got for 
them. If they express a wish foi some 
particular thing, well and good, let it be 
got for them, if reasonable ; but a trifling 
delicacy unexpectedly brought will often 
tempt the appetite ; besides, a sick per- 
son, or even a convalescent, is often too 
languid to be at the trouble of thinking 
about eating, and would sooner go with- 
out ; or if he or she chooses something, 
it may be the very thing which would be 
improper or prejudicial, and then comes 
"disappointment, and a species of disgust 
for all else, for in illness the appetite is 
ever capricious. 

Nowhere is cleanliness of such para- 
mount importance as in the sick room. 
Do not let us be misunderstood here. 
We do not mean that an immensity of 
sweeping, scouring, and dusting is to be 
done, but simply that the chamber must 
be kept clean and ventilated, that the bed 
and body linen must be changed often 
enough to refresh without fatiguing the 
patient, and that the air must be purified 
by means of vinegar, or other disinfect- 
ants. 

As there are so many kinds of illness, 
no general rules can be 'laid down, and 
our friend, common sense, must be allow- 
ed to be the special adviser. In one case 
body and mind may be paralyzed by 
weakness or languor ; in another the body 
may be agonized, and yet the mind clear 



and active; while in a third the body 
may be sane, the mind insane. IRnce 
no one who is a mere machine, guided by 
certain rules, can be a good and efficient 
nurse j no one who does not study how 
to minister to the mind as well as the 
body, who will not endeavor, to a certain 
extent, to identify herself with the tastes, 
feelings, and even prejudices of the pa- 
tient, can be really useful. 

What we have hitherto said applies 
chiefly to adult patients ; to nurse a sick 
child may seem a far easier task, but is 
not so. What gentleness, firmness, play- 
fulness, and, above all, what patience is 
needed in the sick chamber of a child ! 
for in time of illness, a child is doubly a 
child, almost a baby again. 

Every housekeeper should always have 
a store of old linen, cambric, and calico 
rags, and old pieces of flannel ; these are 
easily obtained by saving worn-out linen, 
flannel, and other garments, or at least 
the useful portions of them, and treasur- 
ing old silk and cambric handkerchiefs. 
Such things are invaluable in time of 
sickness for poultices, fomentations, 
leeches, &c. Those who have them not 
will do well to visit a pawnshop, or the 
emporium of one of those purchasers of 
wardrobes ; and having there found one 
or two articles of no value but to be torn 
up, to buy these, bring^them home, have 
them thoroughly washed, and then put 
them away for use. 

It may seem to some that we dwell too 
long on a sad and painful subject, but it 
is good for us at times to be serious, to 
turn from the contemplation of life's 
pleasures and enjoyments, and look upon 
its darker pages ; for it has been beauti- 
fully said by an eminent writer, that 
" suffering is not a slender, dark thread, 
winding every now and then through a 
warp of dazzling brightness, but it is in- 
terwoven with the whole texture. It is 
not incidental, but designed for us; it 



CARE OF THE SICK. 



53 



enters into God's'-fmrposes ; it has a great 
work to do, and we know nothing of life 
until we comprehend its purposes." 
Again : " Suffering nourishes the tender- 
est sympathies of our nature ; it raises 
us to energy and a consciousness of our 
own powers, and at the same time in- 
fuses the meekest dependence on God; 
it stimulates us to cherish and prize the 
blessings of this world, and at the same 
time weans us from and lifts us above 
mere earthly things." 

There is no home into which sickness 
may not come at any hour ; and as it is 
to woman that the office of nurse is in- 
variably delegated, surely every woman 
ought to learn betimes all that will best 
qualify her to become the ministering 
angel, whose presence shall bless thejong 
hours of pain and confinement. False 
delicacy, foolish weakness, and all that 
can militate against usefulness, should be 
early overcome. We have seen a daugh- 
ter scream, and weep, and wring her 
hands, while her mother lay fainting be- 
fore her ; we have seen a mother shriek 
and fall on her knees, and utter words of 
agony, when some accident happened to 
her child. But how did all this unavail- 
ing grief benefit the sufferers? How 
much better she does, who, controlling 
her feelings, thinks only how she can ad- 
minister relief. Some might deem her 
callous, but others know what real feel- 
ing is concealed behind the pale face 
white compressed lips, and quivering eye- 
lids ; to utter it might weaken her, anc 
incapacitate her from rendering tha 
prompt assistance which may even be 
requisite to preserve life. It is our pri 
vate opinion, that every woman shoulc 
have a general knowledge of the anatorm 
of the human frame, and of the function 
of its various organs; also, that she 
should be acquainted with chemistry t 
a sufficient extent to prevent her from 
committing absurd errors in cookery, o 
in the making of perfumes, cosmetics 
4 



and pomades, or pickles and confection- 
iry ; and to this we would add, that she 
will find it useful to understand the qual- 
ties and action of the drugs and medica- 
ments in most common use, in order that 
he may not administer them to herself, 
>r any members of her family " promiscu- 
>usly," but with some slight notion of 
what she is about. We do not, however, 
mean to advise " our housewife " to prac- 
ise quackery on herself or those belong- 
ng to her ; for many a constitution has 
)een ruined by injudicious physicking; 
)ut there are cases in which some house- 
lold remedy, promptly applied, will often 
prevent a long illness, and then every 
one should know how to act. 

Women should understand the making 
and applying of poultices, leeches, fomen- 
tations, warm baths, and similar things ; 
but how few do ! They may fancy them- 
selves clever in such matters. We have 
known a young person who rushed head- 
long on in everything of the kind she un- 
dertook ; made a poultice in the kitchen, 
and wondered that it was cold as ice by 
the time she had carried it up to the 
second floor ; applied fomentations, and 
damped the bed and night-clothes, so that 
a chill, instead of heat, was produced. 

In another portion of our book is given 
a large list of articles of food for invalids, 
with directions for cooking ; and also a 
chapter containing remarks on diseases 
common in families. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE STORE-ROOM AND MARKETING. 

IT must be borne in mind that an in- 
ventory of furniture, linen, and china 
should be kept, and the things examined 
by it twice a year, or oftener if there be 
a change of servants ; the articles used 
by servants should be intrusted to their 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



care, with a list, as is done with plate 
In articles not in common use, such as 
spare bedding, tickets of parchment, num- 
bered and specifying to what they belong 
should be sewed on each; and minor 
artielco in ddly use, such as household 
cloths and kitchen requisites, should be 
occasionally looked to. The best means 
to preserve blankets from moths is to 
fold and lay them under the feather-beds 
that are in use, and shake them occasion- 
ally ; when soiled, they should be wash- 
ed, not scoured. 

A proper quantity of household arti- 
cles should always be allowed for daily 
use. Each should also be kept in its proper 
place, and applied io its proper use. Let 
all repairs be done as soon as wanted, 
remembering the old ada^e of " a stitch 
in time ; " and never if possible, defer any 
necessary household duty a moment 
beyond the time when it ought to be at- 
tended to. 




Refrigerator. 

A Store-room is essential for the cus- 
t3(ly of articles in constant use, as well 
as for others which are only occasionally 



called for. These should be at hand 
when wanted, each in separate drawers, 
or on shelves and pegs, all under the lock 
and key of the mistress, and never given 
out to the servants but under her inspec- 
tion. 

Pickles and preserves, prepared and 
purchased sauces, and all sorts of groce- 
ries, should be there stored ; the spices 
pounded and corked up in small bottles, 
sugar broken, and everything in readiness 
for use. Lemon-peel, thyme, parsley, 
and all sorts cf sweet herbs, should be 
dried and grated fcr use in seasons of 
plenty; the tcps of tongues saved, and 
dried for grating into omelets, &c. ; and 
care taken that nothing be wasted that 
can be turned to good account. 

Bread is so heavy an article of expense 
that all waste should be guarded against, 
and having it cut in the room will tend 
much to prevent it ; but, for company, * 
small rolls, placed in or on the napkin of 
each guest, are the most convenient, as 
well as the most elegant. Bread should 
kept in earthern pans with covers. 
Sugar being also an article of consider- 
able expense in all families, the purchase 
demands particular attention. The cheap- 
est does not go so far as that better re- 
ined, and there is a difference even in 
he degree of sweetness. The close, 
icavy, and shining white, or loaf-sugar, 
hould be chosen. The best sort of brown 
las a bright, crystalline appearance, as if 
mixed with salt, and if feeling coarse when 
rubbed between the fingers, is better than 
when more powdery. East India sugars 
ire finer for the price, but not so strong; 
onsequently, unfit for wines and sweet- 
meats, they do well for common purposes. 
To pound white sugar, rolling it with a 
)ottle, and sifting, wastes it less than a 
mortar. 

Both soap and tallow candles are im- 

roved by keeping, and are best when 

made in cool weather ; at which time it 

will be prudent to lay in a stock of both. 

They are, indeed, better for being kept 



THE STORE-ROOM. 



55 



eight or ten months, nor will they spoil 
for two years if kept in a cool place ; and 
there are few articles that better deserve 
care in buying, and allowing a regulated 
quantity of, according to the size of the 
family. 

Wax, spermaceti, and Composite can- 
dles ought to be always purchased in 
quantities of not less than a dozen pounds, 
on which an allowance is usually made. 

Soap should be cut in pieces that will 
make a long square, when first brought 
in ; and kept out of the air two or three 
weeks ; for, if it dries quickly, it will 
crack, and, when wet, break. Put it on 
a shelf, leaving a space between each 
piece, and let it grow hard gradually ; 
thus it will save a full third in the con- 
sumption ; but, for coarse washing, soft 
soap will go further than the hard. 

Soda, by softening the water, saves a 
great deal of soap. It shoul^ be melted 
in a large ewer of water, some of which 
pour into the tubs and boiler ; and when 
the latter becomes weak add more. 




Self-Heating Flat Iron. 

Many good laundresses advise soaping 
linen in warm water the night previous 
to washing, as facilitating the operation 
with less friction. This should always 
be done with fine muslins and laces. 

The ^rice of starch depends upon that 
of flour ; the best will keep good in a dry 
warm room for some years. 



Everything should be kept in the place 
best suited to it, as much waste may 
thereby be avoided. 

Great care should be taken of jelly- 
bags, tapes for collared things, &c., which, 
if not perfectly scalded and kept dry, give 
an unpleasant flavor when next used. 

Vegetables will keep best on a stone 
floor, if the air be excluded ; meat in a 
cold dry place, where the air is freely 
admitted ; sugar and sweetmeats require 
a dry place, so does salt ; candles, cold, 
but not damp ; dried meats, hams, bacon, 
and tongues, the same. All sorts of seed 
for puddings, such as rice, &c., should be 
covered close to preserve them from in- 
sects ; but if kept long that will not be 
sufficient, unless they be occasionally 
sifted. Apples and pears should be laid 
upon very clean and dry straw, to pre- 
vent a musty taste ; nor should they be 
exposed to either light or air. The 
floor of a dark garret is a good place in 
which to deposit them ; or, which is still 
better, shelves made by strips of wood 
about two inches wide, placed an inch 
and a half apart, and the apples laid be- 
tween them. They should be ranged 
singly in rows, without touching each 
other, and should be often inspected, both 
to wipe them, if damp, and to reject those 
which may appear to be getting rotten ; 
but the larger sort of pears should be tied 
up by the stalk. Apples may also be 
preserved in excellent condition for a long 
period by being packed in large barrels 
with dry sand, but require to be used 
immediately when they are taken out. 

Coarse nets suspended in the store- 
room are very useful in preserving the 
finer kinds of fruit, lemons, &c., which 
are spoiled if allowed to touch. When 
lemons and oranges are cheap, a proper 
quantity should be bought and prepared, 
both for preserving the juice, and keeping 
the peel for sweetmeats and grating; 
especially by those who live in the coun- 
try, where they cannot always be had. 



56 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



They are perpetually wanted in cook- 
ery. 

The best way of scalding fruits, or 
boiling vinegar, is in a stone jar, on a hot 
iron hearth, or by putting the vessel into 
a saucepan of boiling water, called a wa- 
ter-bath, after its having been closely 
corked, but not quite filled, as the heat 
may occasion the fruits to swell ; but if 
they diminish after this is done, the 
vessel must then be filled. 

Onions, shallots, and garlic should be 
hung up for winter use in ropes from the 
ceiling; as should dried parsley, basil, 
savory, and knotted-marjoram, or Lon- 
don-thyme, and tarragon, to be used 
when herbs are ordered, but with discre- 
tion, as they are very pungent. 

Hams should be well covered in paper 
bags, and put in a chest or barrel, with 
layers of charcoal or ashes between. 
When you take one out to cut for use, 
put it away in a dark place, well covered. 

Herbs should be kept from the air. 
Herb tea, to do any good, should be made 
very strong. Herbs must be gathered 
while in blossom. Those who have a 
little ground will do well to raise the 
most useful herbs; apothecaries make 
large profits on them. 

Suet and lard keep better in tin than 
earthen-ware. Suet keeps good a year, 
if chopped, packed in a stone jar, and 
covered, with molasses. Or, pick suet 
free from veins and skin, melt it in water 
before a moderate fire, let it cool till it 
forms a hard cake, then wipe it dry and 
put it in clean paper, in linen bags. 

MAEKETING. 

Although respectable butchers may, 
in most cases, be relied upon for the good- 
ness of the meat which they sell to regu- 
lar customers, yet many persons (both 
ladies and gentlemen) go to market and 
choose for themselves, when, if not com- 
petent judges, the inferior sorts generally 
fall to their lot. In country towns, also, 



there are frequently but one or two mar- 
ket-days in the week; and the meat 
being brought from a distance, it is an 
essential point of good housekeeping to 
be so well acquainted with the quality as 
not to be easily imposed upon. 

BEEF. Well-fed beef may be known 
by the texture and color ; the lean will 
exhibit an open grain of deep coral-red, 
and the fat will appear of a healthy, oily 
smoothness, rather inclining to white 
than yellow. The suet firm and white. 
Yellow fat is a test of meat of an inferior 
quality. Heifer beefMs but little inferior 
to ox beef; the lean is of a closer grain, the 
red paler, and the fat whiter. Cow beef may 
be detected by the same signs, save that 
the older the beast the texture of the 
meat will appear closer, and the flesh 
coarser to the sight, as well as harder to 
the touch. The grain of bull beef is 
coarser and closer still, the fat hard and 
skinny, the lean of a deep red, and it has 
a stronger scent. Ox beef is the richest 
and largest; but in small families, and 
to some tastes, heifer beef is preferred, 
if finely fed. In old meat, a streak of 
horn runs between the fat and lean of 
the sirloin and ribs ; the harder this is, 
the older, and the flesh is not finely fla- 
vored; that is to say, the horn has 
become so firm as to appear like bone; 
but oxen are always the better if kept 
until five or*ix years old. 

Ox TONGUE. To choose a neat's 
tongue, it should be of moderate size, 
plump, firm, and smooth to the touch ; 
for if the skin appears rough and shriv- 
elled, it will be found hard and flavor- 
less. 

VEAL. When you observe the kidney 
well surrounded with fat, you may be 
sure the meat is of good quality. The 
whitest is not the best ..veal; but the 
flesh of the bull-calf is of a brighter color 
than that of the cow-calf. The fillet of 
the latter is generally preferred on ac- 
count of the udder. There is a vein in 



MARKETING. 



57 



the shoulder very perceptible ; and its 
color indicates the freshness of the meat ; 
if a bright red or blue, it is recently kill- 
ed ; if any green or yellow spots are visi- 
ble, it is stale. The suet will be flabby, 
and the kidney will smell. The other 
parts should be dry and white ; if clam- 
my or spotted, the meat is stale and bad. 
If more than eight or ten weeks old, the 
flesh becomes coarse. You will, of course, 
get it somewhat cheaper, and it may, to 
some palates, be found equally good in 
flavor, but not so delicate in either the 
color or the texture of the flesh. 

MUTTON. The best is of a fine grain, 
a bright color, the fat firm and white. 
It is better for being full-grown. The 
ram mutton may be known by the red- 
ness of the flesh, and the sponginess of 
the fat. The flesh of the ewe is paler, 
and the texture finer, but neither the 
meat nor gravy so well flavored, though 
a " maiden ewe," when it can be got, is 
considered particularly fine. If you wish 
to have a good haunch, choose one of 
small size and moderately fat, looking at 
the same time to- the closeness of the 
grain and the whiteness of the fat ; but 
more particularly see that the flesh is 
dark-colored, that being a proof of age, 
and the older the better. In boiled mut- 
ton this is not of so much importance as 
in roasted. 

LAMB should be eaten very fresh. In 
the fore-quarter, the vein in the neck 
being any other color than blue betrays 
it to be stale. In the hind-quarter, try 
the kidney with your nose ; the faintness 
of its smell will prove it to be stale. It 
loses much of its nicety of flavor after it 
reaches four months old. It ought, there- 
fore, to be small and white in appear- 
ance, and well covered with fat; the 
younger the more delicate. 

PORK. The rind should be thin, the 
fat very firm, and the lean white; the 
principal point to be observed is the firm- 



ness of the fat. If the rind is tough, 
thick, and cannot easily be impressed by 
the finger, it is old. Pigs that are short 
in the legs and bodies, and have thick 
necks, and not long heads and ears, 
are always to be preferred. When fresh| 
the flesh will be smooth and dry; if 
clammy, it is tainted. What is called 
"measly pork" is very unwholesome, 
and may be known by the fat being full 
of kernels. Pork fed at still-houses does 
not answer for curing in any way, the 
fat being spongy. Dairy pork is the 
best. 

Porkers from three to four months 
old are the most delicate, and six months 
is the latest age at which they should be 
killed as such. 

BACON. If the rind be thin, the fat 
firm and of a reddish tinge, the lean ten- 
der, of a good color, and adhering to the 
bone, you may conclude it is good and 
not old. If there are yellow streaks in 
it, it is rusty. 

For hams, stick a sharp knife under 
the bone, and also up to the knuckle. If 
it comes out with a pleasant smell, the 
ham is good ; but do not buy it if the 
knife has a bad scent. Hams short in 
the hock are best; nor should long-legged 
pigs be chosen for any purpose. 

BRAWN. The horny part of the young 
brawn will feel moderately tender, and 
the flavor will be better than the old, the 
rind of which will be hard. 

VENISON. The fat should be clear, 
bright, and thick ; and if the cleft of the 
haunch be smooth and close, it is younr^ ; 
but if the cleft is close and tough, it is 
old. To judge of its sweetness, run a very 
sharp narrow knife into the shoulder or 
haunch, and you will know by the scent. 
Few people like it when it has much of 
the haut-gout ; but it bears keeping bet- 
ter than any sort of meat, and if eaten 
fresh killed it is not so good as mutton. 
Observe the neck of a fore-quarter ; if the 



58 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



vein be bluish, it is fresh ; if it have a 
green or yellow cast, it is stale. In the 
hind-quarter, if there is a faint smell un- 
der the kidney, and the knuckle is limp, 
the meat is stale. If the eyes be sunk, 
the head is not fresh. When you can 
learn where it has been reared, choose 
forest- venison, as that is the best; for 
some of the dealers stall-feed the cleer, 
and fatten them with oil-cake. It should 
be full five years old. 

In every sort of provisions the best 
of the kind goes furthest, cuts up to 
greatest advantage, and affords most 
nourishment. Round of beef, fillet of veal, 
and leg of mutton, are joints that bear a 
higher price ; but as they have more solid 
meat, they deserve the preference. It is 
worth notice, however, that those joints 
which are inferior may be dressed as pala- 
tably, and, being cheaper, they ought to 
be bought hi turn. 

In loins of meat, the long pipe that 
runs by the bone should be taken out, as 
it is apt to taint ; as also the kernels of 
beef. Rumps and aitchbones of beef are 
often bruised by the blows the drovers 
give the beasts, and the part that has 
been struck always taints ; therefore, do 
not purchase these joints if bruised. 

All meat should be carefully examined, 
and wiped with a dry cloth as soon as it 
comes in ; and if flies have blown upon 
it, the part must be cut off. This should 
be daily observed until it is dressed, as it 
not only tends to preserve the meat long 
in peifection, but prevents that musty 
flavor too often perceived in the outer 
slice when brought to table. 

In the country, where meat is often 
carried a great distance, it should be well 
covered up with a cloth, over which fresh 
cabbag-e-leaves would keep it cool. These 
cautions are more needful, as in some 
families great loss is sustained by the 
spoiling of meat. The fly may in some 
measure be prevented by dusting upon 
the parts most likely to be attacked, pep- 



per and ginger mixed, after wiping 
which should never be omitted; but a 
more easy and effectual* mode is to ex- 
clude the fly by using a wire meat-safe, 
or to cover the joints with a long loose 
gauze or thin cloth, and hang them up 
from the ceiling of an airy chamber. 

In summer meat should be wiped every 
day, or sprinkled with popper to keep off 
the flies ; and should it wear any appear- 
ance of becoming tainted, it should be 
brushed over with pyroligneous acid ; or 
even if already slightly infected, either 
the acid or roughly-pounded charcoal, if 
well rubbed into the meat, will restore 
it. The meat should also be brought in 
early in the morning, as, if mr.ch ex- 
posed to the sun, the heat will render it 
flabby. In frosty weather, meat is some- 
times in a congealed state, and should be 
thawed by soaking it in cold water before 
putting it to the fire. 

Meats become more tender, and conse- 
quently more digestible, as well as better 
flavored, by hanging ; but veal and lamb 
will not bear it so long as the flesh of 
older animals. In summer, two days is 
long enough for lamb and veal, and from 
three to four for beef and mutton ; in 
cold weather, these latter may be kept 
for more than double that time without 
risk of being tainted. 

POULTET AND GAME. 

Turkey. The cock bird when young 
has a smooth black leg with a short spur. 
The eyes bright and full, and moist sup- 
ple feet when fresh ; the absence of these 
signs denotes age and staleness ; the hen 
may be judged by the same rules. 

Fowls like a turkey ; the young cock 
has a smooth leg and a short spur ; when 
fresh the vent is close and dark. Hens 
when young have smooth legs and combs 5 
when old these will be rough. 

Geese. In young geese the feet and 
bills will be yellow and free from hair 



TO CHOOSE FISH. 



50 



When fresh the feet are pliable; they 
are stiff when stale. 

Ducks may be selected by the same 
rule. 

Pigeons, when fresh, have supple feet, 
and the vent will be firm ; if it be dis- 
colored and supple they are stale. 

Plovers, when fat, have hard vents; 
but, like almost all other birds, may be 
chosen by the -same rules. 

Other game birds may be chosen by 
the above rules. 

TO CHOOSE FISH. 

Pish. In every sort of fish, stiffness, 
redness of the gills, and brightness of the 
eyes, are invariable signs of freshness ; 
thickness of the flesh generally marks 
the good condition of all fifch, and its 
firmness is an essential requisite. Fish, 
when quite fresh, curl round, but are par- 
ticularly elastic, rising immediately upon 
the pressure of the fingers; and their 
staleness or freshness may be measured 
by the possibility of making an impres- 
sion. If stale, the impression will re- 
main ; but, if fresh, it will rise again on 
removal of the pressure. 

Salmon. The fish stiff, the scales very 
bright, the belly thick, the gills a bril- 
liant color, and the flesh when cut, a 
beautiful red, will prove it to be a fine 
fresh fish.. It cannot be too fresh. 

Cod. The best fish are thick at the 
neck, very red gills, firm white flesh 
bright and blood-shot eyes, and smal 
head. The liver should be of an opaqu< 
white ; the whiter, the better the fish 
when out oi season the liver becomes 
red. It is improved by being crimped 
as this increases its firmness, and then 
it requires keeping one day before using 
Whitings. A clear color and firm 
bodies, indicate a superior quality. 

Mackerel Bright eyes, thick bodies 
stripes black on the back, the prismati 
colors very predominant on the belly 



lenote freshness and goodness. The 
male is the best ; his stripes are straight ; 
hose of the female, wavy. 

Pike. Carp, I'erclt, Smelts, Gudgeons, 
re", may be judged by the above rules. 

Eels. The bright silver-hued belly 
.nd thickness of back, are the guides in 
heir selection. 

Lobsters. To be had in perfection 
ihould be boiled at horn*; choose the 
leaviest. When they are boiled the tail 
should have a good spring ; the cock lob- 
ster has a narrow tail in which the two 
uppermost fins are stiff and hard ; the 
len has a broad tail, and these fins are 
softer. The male has the best flavor; 
;he flesh is firmer ; and the color when 
soiled is brighter than the hen. 

Oysters. There are many sorts of 
oysters ; when the oyster is alive the 
shell will close upon the knife ; the com- 
mon oyster should be used for sauce, and 
the natives, of which there are several 
kinds, should be sent to table. 



CHAPTER XI. 

UNDER the head of Domestic Manipu- 
lation, we propose giving a series of arti- 
cles on the numerous and essential 
manual operations that are constantly 
required in every family, and which, 
whether they are well or ill done, must 
of necessity be performed. The term 
Domestic Manipulation, employed in the 
widest sense, would include all the man- 
ual operations required in a house, but 
we propose to limit it to such as partake 
in a slight degree of a scientISc charac- 
ter ; thus the operations of Filtering, De- 
canting, Weighing. Measuring, Bottling, 
Corking, Unstoppering. Pounding, Heat- 
ing, Boiling, Distilling. Cementing, &c 
&c. will be included; whilst Dusting. 
Washing, and Scrubbing, though no less 



60 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



in strictness, manipulations, will be 
passed over in silence. 

We propose treating of the manipula- 
tions connected with BOTTLES AND DE- 
CANTERS, &c., under the following heads : 
Cleaning, Drying, Corking. Tying down, 
Stoppering, and Unstoppering. 

Cleaning. Perhaps no more effectual 
and easy mode of cleaning wine and beer 
bottles can be recommended than that 
commonly adopted, viz., the use of small 
shot and water; in the case of old port 
wine bottles, however, it often occurs 
that the mechanical action of the shot 
does not remove the hardened crust from 
the interior ; a small quantity of pearl- 
ash or soda, or still better, washing 
liquids, added to the water, will soften 
the crust sufficiently to permit its easy 
removal. There is, however, one objec- 
tion to the use of shot for the purpose 
of cleaning bottles ; unless due care be 
taken, by the violence of the shaking it 
often happens that several become firmly 
wedged between the bottom and sides of 
the bottles, and are not removed by the 
subsequent rinsings of clean water, and 
if the bottles are used for acid wines or 
other liquids, (almost all home-made 
wines contain a considerable portion of 
free acid,) the shots are slowly dissolved ; 
and from the metallic arsenic which they 
contajn, as well as from the lead itself, 
the liquid is rendered poisonous. This 
effect may be readily guarded against by 
removing any shots which may have be- 
come fixed, by a stiff wire slightly 
hooked at the end. 

Decanters are formed of flint glass 
which is much softer and more readily 
scratched than the common kinds ; they 
require therefore a less rough treatment ; 
in general, warm (not boiling) water, 
with the addition of 1 a few pieces of coarse 
brown paper, and if requisite a little soda, 
will be found effectual ; should greater 
force be required, a small portion of tow 



wrapped round the notched end of a 
moderately stiff wire, and used with a 
little strong soda, will be found sufficient. 
Sand or ashes should never be employed 
in cleaning decanters, as they roughen 
and totally disfigure the brilliant surface 
of the glass. 

Drying. It is scarcely necessary to 
speak of the advantages of being able to 
dry thoroughly both decanters and com- 
mon bottles ; if the former, after having 
been cleaned, are put away wet, they be- 
come musty ; and many liquids are much 
injured by being put into wet bottles. 
Some of our readers have doubtless ex- 
perienced the inefficiency of the ordinary 
means of drying decanters, &c. j after 
draining for some days they still remain 
damp, and if placed near a fire the 
warmth merely drives the vapor to the 
colder part of the vessel ; they may, how- 
ever, be readily and quickly dried after 
draining, by making them slightly warm 
and blowing in fresh air with a pair 
f bellows, which rapidly carries out the 
damp vapor, and leaves the vessel per- 
"ectly dry. If bellows are not at h and, the 
damp air may be drawn out (not blown) 
with the mouth, assisted by a tube suffi- 
ciently long to reach nearly to the bot- 
tom of the decanter ; in the laboratory a 
piece of glass tube is usually taken, being 
always at hand, but for domestic use a 
Diece of paper may be rolled up so as to 
orm an extemporaneous and effectual 
substitute. 



M Little can be said with re- 
gard to the corking of bottles, beyond 
stating the fact that cheap bad corks are 
always dear; the best corks are soft, 
velvety, and free from large pores ; if 
squeezed they become more elastic and 
fit more closely. If good corks are used 
of sufficiently large size to be extracted 
without the corkscrew, they may be em- 
ployed many times in succession, especi- 
ally if they are soaked in boiling water 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



61 



afterwards, which restores them to their 
original shape, and renews their elas- 
ticity. 

Tying down. The operation of tying 
down corks merits a longer notice, as 
without it many effervescent liquids could 
not he preserved. The most common 
mode of fastening down corks, is with 
the ginger-beer knot, which is thus made : 
First the loop is formed as in Fig. 1 





Fig. 1. 

then that part of the string which passes 
across the loop is placed on the top of 
the cork, and the loop itself passed down 
around the neck of the bottle, and by 
pulling the ends of the 
cord is made tight beneath 
the rim ; the ends of the 
string are finally brought 
up, and tied either in a 
double knot, or in a bow on F . 2 
the top of the cork. When ginger-beer is 
made at home, it will be found most ad- 
vantageous to use the best corks, and to tie 
them down with a bow, when both corks 
and strings may be made use of re- 
peatedly. 

For effervescent wines, such as cham- 
pagne, gooseberry, &c., which require to 
be kept a longer time, and are more valu- 
able, a securer knot is desirable, which 
may be made thus : A loop as in Fig. 




Fig. 



2 is first formed, and the lower end is 
then turned upwards and carried behind 
the loop as shown at Fig. 3 ; it is then 
pulled through the loop as in Fiq. 4, and 
in this state is put over the neck of the 



bottle ; the part a being on one side, and 
the two parts of the loop on the other 




Fig. 4. 

on pulling the two ends the whole be- 
comes tight round the neck, and the ends, 
which should be quite opposite, are to 
be brought up over the cork, twice twist- 




Fig. 5. 

ed, as in Fig. 5, and then tied in a single 
knot. 

Stoppering. The stoppering of bottles 
is an operation usually performed by the 
makers ; it may, however, be useful to 
know that badly fitting stoppers may be 
readily fitted by regrinding ; this is done 
by dipping the stopper in a mixture of 
fine sand, or still better, emery and wa- 
ter, replacing it, and turning it backwards 
and forwards with a slight pressure; 
fresh sand must be applied from time to 
time. When the fitting is exact, so that 
the stopper turns freely without shaking, 
the whole may be finished off by using a 
little fine emery and oil. 

Unstoppering. This operation is much 
more likely to be required than the last 
one described, for the stoppers of decan- 
ters, smelling-bottles, &c., from various 
causes, frequently become fixed, and 
many are the fractures both of bottles 
and stoppers, caused by the misdirected 
efforts to remove them. In treating of 
the various means that may be employed 



62 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



we will mention them in the order in 
which they should be tried, beginning 
with the simpler and more easy. a:il pass- 
ing on to those which are more effectual, 
and at the same time, unfortunately, more 
dangerous. The first method, then, that 
should be tried, is to press the stopper 
upwards with the fore-finger and thumb 
of the left hand (the other fingers hold- 
ing the neck of the bottle), and at the 
same time giving the stopper a succession 
of short, sharp, light taps, with the wood- 
en handle of a chisel, knife, or small ham- 
mer ; care must be taken not to strike 
the stopper with suificient force to break 
it, and it should be borne in mind that 
it is not the force of the blo^r, but the 
vibration, or jar, which is effectual in 
loosening it; should this plan be found 
ineffectual after a short trial, it may 
probably be from the Stopper being 
cemented by some substance, such as the 
dried sugar of a sweet wine. In such 
cases we should endeavor to dissolve the 
cement by a suitable solvent, which 
should be placed in the groove between 
the stopper and the bottle ; thus if the 
stopper is cemented with sugar, gum. or 
salt, water may be used ; in many circum- 
stances, oil is advantageous, or spirit, or 
even strong acid may be used ; whatever 
liquid is employed it should be allowed 
to remain some days, being renewed if 
requisite, and the tapping, &c., should be 
aguin had recourse to. 

Should these methods fail, a piece of 
cloth may be dipped in very hot water 
an- 1 wrapped round the neck of the bot- 
tle, when the heat causes the expansion 
of the glass, and if the stopper be tapped 
or tvvisted before the heat has had Jtime 
to enlarge it, its removal may be effected ; 
tins operation must necessarily be a quick 
one. for if the stopper is heated and en- 
larged, as well as the bottle, it is obvious 
that no benefit will result. In the labo- 
ratory it is often 'customary to heat the 
bottle, not by a strip of cloth* dipped in 



hot water, but by turning it rapidly ovei 
the flame of a lamp ; in this way there is 
more danger of cracking the bottle, and 
the plan is not to be recommended in 
general, although employed with consid- 
erable success by those who, like opera- 
tive chemists, are constantly in the habit 
of applying heat to glass vessels. It will 
at once be seen that the plan is fraught 
with great danger if applied to bottles 
containing inflammable liquids, as spirits, 
&c. 

The most effectual mode of removing 
stoppers, especially those of small bottles, 
such as smelling-bottles, remains to be 
described. Take a piece of strong cord, 
about a yard or four feet in length, dou- 
ble it at the middle, and tie a knot (Fig. 
6, 5) so as to form a loop (a) of about 
I 



Fig. 6. 

four inches in length at the doubled end, 
bring the knot close to one side of the 
stopper, and tie the ends tightly together 
on the opposite side, as at Fig. 7, e, so as to 




Fig. T. 

fasten the string securely round the neck 
of the stopper ; now pass one of the ends 
through the loop (), and then tie it firm- 
ly .to the other end; tin doubled cord is 
then to be placed over a bar or other 
support,. then if the bottle is surrounded 
by a cloth to prevent accidents in case 
of fracture, arid pulled downwards with 
a jerk, the fores of which is gradually in- 
creased, it will be found that in a snort 
time the stopper is liberated. Two pre- 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



63 



cautions are requisite ; one is, that the 
strain on both sides of the stopper is 
equal ; the other, that care be taken that 
when the stopper is liberated, it is not 
dashed by the rebound against any hard 
substance, which would cause its fracture. 



CUTTING, GRINDING, AND WRITING ON 
GLASS. , 

We have described the most advanta- 
geous modes of extracting fixed stoppers 
from decanters, &c. It is possible that 
some of our readers may have followed 
our advice sufficiently well to have suc- 
ceeded, in cracking the necks of their 
decanters. In case any should have been 
so unfortunate, or rather we would say, 
if we were quite sure we were not ad- 
dressing ladies so clumsy, let them not 
despair ; dexterity in manipulation comes 
by practice ; and as no evil is without a 
remedy, we will next consider what can 
be done with the broken decanter. Un- 
less it is cracked down to the bottom, it 
may be cut off and converted into a hand- 
some sugar basin ; or if not high enough 
for that purpose, will serve for a pickle- 
dish, or a flower-stand, &c. ; and in the 
same way, a tumbler broken at the upper 
part will furnish an elegant salt-cellar, 
or serviceable soap-dish; and even com- 
mon bottles, if sufficiently stout, may be 
made into useful jars, instead of being 
consigned to the dust-heap. 

The operation of cutting glass, con- 
sists in leading a crack in the required 
direction ; this is readily done by a hot 
iron rod, a piece of pointed burning char- 
coal, or, what is still better, a burning 
pastile which is somewhat similar in 
its composition to those used for fumi- 
gation ; and which latter, although rather 
expensive, and inconvenient from their 
shape, may be applied for the purpose 
When the' operation of cutting up glass 
vessels into useful forms is much had re- 



ourse to, pastiles are prepared for the - 
mrpose, being superior to a heated iron 
od, as they continue to burn and retain 
heir heat, whilst the latter requires to be 
e- heated, if the crack has to be led any 
considerable distance. Pastiles are read- 
ly made t>y rubbing up half an ounce 
f powdered gum tragacanth with water, 
so as to form a mucilage about as thick 
as ordinary starch; this should be al- 
owed to remain a few hours, and then 
mixed with a quarter of an ounce of ben- 
zoin, previously dissolved in the smallest 
>ossible quantity of proof spirit ; after 
mixing them together in a mortar, as 
much powdered charcoal should be added 
as will form .a stifl' paste, and the whole 
well worked together, rolled into sticks 
;he size of a common black-lead pencil, 
and dried. As thus prepared, they 
should be free from cracks, and solid 
throughout ; and on being ignited at the 
nd, they will burn steadily away to a 
point. If an iron rod is used, it should 
be nearly as stout as the little finger, 
and taper at the end. for an inch and a 
half to a blunt point. Before commen- 
ing the line along which it is wished to 
divide the glass, it should be marked 
with a pen and ink, and allowed to dry, 
when the iron, heated to dull redness, 
on the lighted extremity of the pastile, 
should be brought to the end of a crack, 
being held in a slanting direction with 
regard to the glass, as shown in the cut, 
and slowly moved in an oblique direc- 
tion towards the line ; the crack will be 
found to follow the heated point, and 
may thus be led as required, even pass- 
ing over parts Varying very considerably 
in thickness, as in the case of the flut- 
ings on a cut decanter; but it cannot, 
with certainty, be made to pass suddenly 
from a very thin to a very stout part, or 
the reverse : thus it may be led around 
the sides of a tumbler, but could hardly 
be made to pass down one side, across 



64: 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



the bottom and up the other. The ra- 
pidity with which the operation is per- 
formed, depends upon the heat of the 
iron or pastile ; if the former is very hot, 
or the latter made to burn more viv- 
idly by blowing upon it, the operation is 
quickened, but it is not performed with 
so much certainty, as the crack may pass 
on further than is desirable : care should 
be taken not to lead the crack too near 




the edge of the vessel, or to another 
crack, as in that case it is apt to leave 
the proper course, and fly suddenly to 
the edge, to which an inexperienced op- 
erator should not attempt to go nearer 
than half an inch. 

It sometimes occurs that a piece is 
broken out of a glass, without leaving 
any crack to commence from; in this 
case, one must be made, by heating the 
edge (one formed by the fracture, if pos- 
sible) with the iron or pastile, and in- 
stantly applying the moistened finger. 
When a crack is formed, which may be 
used as described above, care must be 
taken not to cause an extensive fracture, 
which may run across the intended line 
( of division ; this may be avoided by com- 
n.encing the crack at some distance from 
the line, and by applying the heated point 
for a very short time, preferring to make 
two or three unsuccessful attempts rather 
than to hasten the operation, and risk 
the destruction of the glass. When a 
glass vessel has been thus divided, the 
edges are sufficiently sharp to cut the 
fingers in handling, and are usually 



wavy ; it is therefore necessary to make 
them smooth and even. The most ready 
way of doing this is, by grinding them 
down on a flat sandstone, or ordinary 
paving-stone, with a little sharp sand or 
emery, and water, taking care to move 
the glass in a circular direction, and not 
merely backwards and forwards; the 
smoothness of the whole will depend en- 
tirely on that of the stone, and on the 
fineness of the sand or emery employed. 
If, from any irregularity, there is much 
glass to grind away, it is preferable to 
commence with sand, and finish with 
emery on a smooth stone ; if the edges 
are not thus ground down, they should 
have the sharp angles, which are really 
dangerous, removed by a fine file, which 
should be moistened with oil of turpen- 
tine or camphene, as this liquid has an 
extraordinary effect in increasing the 
action of the file upon the glass, and at 
the same time protecting the steel instru- 
ment from wear. 

Advantageous as cracks are in glass 
vessels whenever we wish to separate 
them into two parts, they are by no 
means desirable under other circumstan- 
ces ; and it is as important to know how 
to stop their progress, as to lead them 
forward. This is readily done in stout 
glass, by drilling a hole about half an 
inch in advance of the crack, which 
gradually passes on into it, and then its 
farther progress is arrested. Holes may 
be drilled in glass with a common drill 
and bow, the place being first marked 
with a file or flint, and the drill point 
kept wet with oil of turpentine. It is 
hardly necessary to state, that a crack 
existing in the neck of a decanter, and 
liable to be forced apart with the stopper, 
could not be arrested in its progress by 
such means. If necessary, a little emery 
powder may be used with oil of tur- 
pentine ; and after the operation, the hole 
must be filled up with some cement ; it 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



65 



the vessel is to be used for holding liquids, 
a little fresh slacked lime, moistened 
with equal parts of white of egg and 
water, may be used for this purpose. 

The grinding of glass on a flat stone 
with sand or emery, and water, is often 
useful in making a bottle stand steadily ; 
and by its means a wineglass with a 
broken foot may be turned to good ac- 
count ; for if as much of the stem as pos- 
sible is knocked off, by striking it with 
the back of a knife, the remainder may 
be ground away so that the vessel will 
stand. 

One of the most important Domestic 
Manipulations, although one of the most 
simple and easy, is the labelling of glass 
vessels. It is not too much to affirm, 
that scores of lives might have been 
saved if this had been attended to. In 
cases of accidental poisoning, we usually 
find that the victim has drunk from some 
bottle which has been put away without 
a label ; and thus some corrosive liquid 
used for cleaning, or some poisonous 
lotion, has been inadvertently swallowed. 
One of the most ready modes of label- 
ting glass, and other objects, consists in 
having at 'hand a sheet of paper, which 
has had spread on one side some gum 
water, mixed with half its weight of 
coarse brown sugar, and allowed to dry ; 
this may be cut into labels, written on, 
and readily attached to glass by moisten- 
ing with the tongue ; the white margin 
of a sheet of postage stamps answers 
the purpose very well. If, however, acid 
liquids are used, or the vessel is placed 
in a damp situation, as a cellar, other 
means must be had recourse to. With 
a little practice, it is easy to write in a 
legible, though not very conspicuous man- 
ner, on glass, with a gun-flint, or with 
the sharp-edged fragments of common 
flint. In the laboratory what is called a 
writing diamond is used for this purpose ; 
this should not be confounded with a 



lazier's diamond, which is used for di- 
viding, and not scratching glass. We 
would here caution our readers against 
writing on glass with a diamond ring, 
&c., as the practice injures the jewel con- 
siderably ; in the glazier's diamond, the 
natural edges of the crystal are used, 
which are not liable to injury as are the 
cut angles of a brilliant. 

When glass vessels are exposed to 
damp, the best mode of writing on them 
is to prepare an ink for the purpose, by 
mixing the common cheap varnish, called 
Brunswick black, with half its weight of 
oil of turpentine, or what is the same 
thing, in a purer state, camphene ; this 
should be kept in a closely corked bottle, 
and used with a broad nibbed quill pen ; 
it soon dries, and though pale, is very 
distinct, and almost imperishable. If it 
is required much darker, about a quarter 
of an hour after it has been done, a little 
lampblack should be rubbed over it, 
with cotton or wadding, when it imme- 
diately becomes as black as common ink, 
and resists damp, and rubbing or wiping 
with either wet or dry cloths for a very 
long time. The same ink is equally 
advantageous for use with white earthen- 
ware ; and although we have never had 
occasion to use such a mixture, there is 
no doubt that a little whiting mixed thin 
with any common varnish, would furnish 
an equally useful ink for writing on black 
bottles. 

CHAPTER XII. 

DECANTING, STEAINING, AND FILTER- 
ING OF LIQUIDS. 

The decanting of liquids is, under or- 
dinary circumstances, an operation suffi- 
ciently simple to require no explanation j 
but the ease and certainty with which it 
can be performed, depend entirely upon 
the form of the vessel from which the 
liquid is poured; the adhesion , existing 
between liquids and solids giving rise to 



66 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



a tendency in the former to run down 
the outside of the vessel; and if the 
latter is nearly full, or very large in cir- 
cumference, or the sides approach the 
perpendicular direction, this accident 
almost always occurs. The difficulty of 
returning a glass of wine to the decanter, 
or of pouring from one full tumbler into 
another, are well known examples of this 
inconvenience. 

Advantage may, however, be taken of 
the adhesion of liquids to solids, and by 
it the former ma}' be led into the re- 
quired direction. This cannot be better 
illustrated than by a description of the 
means by which a glass of wine may be 
returned, without spilling, to the decan- 
ter. If a teaspoon is dipped into the 
wine, so as to become wetted with it, and 
then held perpendicularly with the bowl 
downwards, and the point over, but not 
touching, the entrance into the decanter, 
and the edge of the glass be made to 
touch the back of the spoon, it will be 
found, on inclining the former, that the 
wine, kaving a perpendicular solid body 
to adhere to and run down, v/ill do so in 
preference to trickling along the oblique 
outer surface of the wineglass ; and in 
this mode a liquid may be poured steadily 
out of any similar vessel with so little 
disturbance as not to agitate any sedi- 
ment that may exist in it. In the lab- 
oratory of the chemist, a piece of glass 
rod is usually employed for this purpose ; 
but a spoon, or pencil, or any similar sub- 
stance having a surface capable of being 
wetted/by the liquid, answers equally 
well/ 

1% however, the vessel out of which it 
is wished to decant is large, very full, or 
the sides, on pouring, are nearly perpen- 
dicular, the plan is not successful ; thus, 
it could not be employed in aiding the 
transfer of the liquid from one full tum- 
bler to another. Even this may be ac- 
complished without the aid of a funnel, 
or without spilling, by preventing the 



adhesion of the liquid to the edge or side 
of the vessel out of which it is poured, 
which may be readily done by greasing 
the rim, when it will be found, quite prac- 
ticable to pour out of a nearly full tum- 
bler without spilling. 

In many instances, the employment of 
a syphon in decanting will be found very 
advantageous, particularly when the con- 
taining vessel is large, and cannot be read- 
ily moved, or when there is any sediment 
which it is desirable not to disturb. The 
most simple form ofthis instrument con- 
sists of a tube, bent as in Fig. 1, with 
one leg shorter than the other ; this may 
be made of glass, pewter, or, in fact, of 
any kind of stiff tubing that will retain 
its form a piece of gutta percha pipe, 
carefully bent by a moderate warmth, 
whilst a piece of stout cord is in the in- 
terior to prevent the sides closing togeth- 
er, answers very well. Before use. the 
syphon must be filled with liquor; this 
is best accomplished Joy turning it upside 
down, with the opening to the short leg 
raised on a level with that of the long 
one, when the liquid should be poure^d 
into the former. When both legs are 
filled, they should be closed with the fin- 
gers ; the shorter leg introduced into the 
liquid it is wished to draw off; and the 
opening of the longer leg brought to a 
lower level than that of the shorter, and 




Fig. I. 

on removing the fingers the liquid will 
flow as in Fig. 1, until it is below the 
level of the short leg. If the syphon is 
made of small tubing, or is lessened at 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



67 



the opening so as not to exceed one quar- 
ter of an inch in diameter, there will be 
no occasion to close the end of more than 
one leg with the finger, as the liquid will 
not flow when it is brought to the proper 
position unless .both orifices are open ; 
and thus the necessity of plunging the 
finger into the liquid is obviated, and the 
syphon can also be used with a narrow- 
necked bottle, into which the hand could 
not be passed. 

To do away with 
the necessity of filling 
the syphon before use, 
the instrument is usu- 
ally made with a suck- 
ing tube, as in Fig. 2 ; 
in this case, all that is 
requisite is, to intro- 
duce the short leg, 
close the opening to 
the long one, and by 
the action of the mouth, draw up the 
liquid until both legs are full, when on 
removing the finger, the stream will flow. 
A very ingenious syphon of this kind is 
described by the German chemist Mohr ; 
it is thus constructed : Take a long Eau 
de Cologne bottle, and, with a file and 
turpentine, make a deep notch across, 
about an inch and a half from the bottom ; 
then, with a charcoal point or pastile, or 
hot iron, produce a crack, and cut off the 
bottom, grinding it smoothly ; then take 
a tube -bent at an angle of forty-five de- 
grees, and, by means of a good cork, per- 
forated with a rat-tail rasp, fit it tightly 
in the bottom of the bottle, and add also 




Fig. 2. 




Fig. 8. 



another piece of tubing for a suction tube ; 
the whole will then have the appearance 
represented in Fig. 3, and will form an 
exceedingly useful, and very convenient 
syphon. 

.In emptying large stone bottles or 
carboys, the following plan may be had 
recourse to: Perforate a sound cork 
with two openings by a rat-tail rasp, and 




Fig. 4. 

fit, air-tight, two tubes bent as in F><i. 4. 
On blowing .through the upper, the liquid 
will be forced to ascend and run over the 
bend of the other, which will then act as 
a syphon. This plan is exceedingly use- 
ful in emptying carboys of corrosive 
liquids, as oil of vitriol, &c. ; and if all the 
joints are as they should be air-tight, 
the flow may be arrested by closing the 
upper tube with the finger. In the fig- 
ure the outer leg of the syphon is short- 
ened to save space ; in practice it must 
be of sufficient length to be lower than 
the inner leg within the vessel. 

If a syphon is required frequently for 
decanting the same kind of liquid, it is 
found troublesome to be constantly filling 
it before each time of using ; this trouble 
is obviated by the use of an instrument 



68 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



formed with legs of equal length, which 
are turned up at the ends, as in Fig. 5 ; 
this having been filled, may be hung up 
in the erect position, and the liquid will 

A not escape, but on plung- 
ing one end into a liquid, 
it will be found immedi- 
ately to flow from the 
other, provided that the 
latter is below the level 
of the surface of the liquid. 
The operations of 
straining and filtering are frequently re- 
quired in domestic manipulations, and 
the apparatus employed usually consists 
of sieves and a jelly-bag. As, in many 
other instances, it will be found advanta- 
geous to import several contrivances from 
the laboratory to the kitchen, one of the 
most useful (because most simple) strain- 
ers consists of a square frame, formed of 
four pieces of wood nailed together at the 
corners, with a piece of calico, linen, or 
canvas, of suitable fineness, tacked to the 
four sides ; this strainer is particularly 
useful in separating any solid substance 
as the residue in making wines or if 
grated potatoes are put on one made of 
coarse cloth, the starch can be readily 
washed through, leaving the useless por- 
tion on the strainer; the cloth should 
not be tacked very loosely, as it bags 
down when any substance is put on it, 
and the liquid runs away below from the 
centre. This strainer is a most useful 
one ; it is readily made, of any degree of 
fineness, and of any size ; and it also pos- 
sesses the great advantage, that, if necessa- 
ry, the tacks fastening the cloth can easi- 
ly be withdrawn, when the substance 
remaining can be rolled up in the cloth, 
and tightly squeezed, to express the last 
portions of liquid. 

In cases where a finer filtration is re- 
quired than can be obtained by means of 
a cloth, as in cleaning turbid wine or 
spirit, the use of filtering-paper is recom- 



mended. This paper is merely a stouter 
kind of blotting-paper, thick varieties of 
which answer very well for domestic pur- 
poses ; it is most simply used by taking 
a square piece, folding it into half by 
bringing the two opposite edges together 
and then folding the oblong so obtain- 
ed across its length; by this means a 
small square is obtained, one quarter the 
original size, which may be opened into 
a hollow cup, having three thicknesses of 
paper on one side, and one on the other ; 
this is to be placed with the point down- 
wards, in a funnel, and the liquid poured 
in ; and as soon as the pores of the paper 
are expanded by the moisture, it will be 
found to flow through perfectly clear; 
care must be taken in making the filter, 
not to finger it much where the two fold- 
ings cross each other, as a hole is readily 
made at that part, and the filter spoiled. 
The objection to this simple contrivance 
is, that from its fiat sides applj'ing them- 
selves closely to those of the funnel, the 
flow of the liquid is impeded, and is, 
therefore, slow. This effect may be obvi- 
ated by the use of the plaited filter, the 
construction of which we will endeavor 
to describe. A square piece of filtering, 
or stout blotting-paper is to be doubled, 
and the oblong so obtained is to be again 
folded in half, when if the last fold is 
opened, it will have the appearance of 
Fig. 6. From the corners b &, folds are 
to be creased in the direction towards a, 
but not reaching it for half an inch ; these 
are indicated by the dotted lines, which 
& d 6 



c a c 

Fig. 6. 

divide the double paper into four trian- 
gles, each of which is to be again folded 
into eighths, and care must be taken that 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION". 



69 



all the folds are made the same way, that 
is, projecting to the same side of the pa- 
per. When complete, the doubled and 
creased paper will appear as Fig. T. Now 





Fig. 7. 

divide each eighth into half, by a fold in 
the opposite direction to those previously 
made, when it will be found that the 
whole will readily fold up like a paper 
fan ; the projecting loose ends which are 
formed by the corners 5, should be cut 
off, and the double sides separated for the 
first time by blowing them apart, when 
the whole may be readily opened out as 
in Fig. 8. In making 
this filter, which takes 
a much less time than 
to follow the descrip- 
tion, two precautions 
are requisite. The 
folds should be made 
at once with one firm 
pressure, and not with 
Fig. 8. a series of rubbings ; 

and all the creases should stop short of 
the middle, otherwise a hole will be made 
at that point, long before the filter is 
coiqtpleted. The advantages of this filter 
are that it exposes a large surface for the 
liquid to pass through ; and from its only 
being in contact with the funnel where 
the angles project, the current flows 
away readily. 

The best means for filtration of water, 
and the construction of water niters, will 
be treated of when we speak of the " do- 
mestic manipulation" connected with 
that liquid. 

CHAPTER Xin. 

THE MANUFACTURE AND USE OF CEMENTS. 

THE term cement, includes all those 
substances employed for the purpose of 



causing the adhesion of two or more 
bodies, whether originally separate, or 
divided by an accidental fracture. As 
the substances that are required to be 
connected together are exceedingly vari- 
ous, and differ very much in their proper- 
ties as to texture, &c., &c., and as the 
conditions under which they are placed, 
with regard to heat and moisture, are 
also exceedingly variable, a number of 
cements, possessed of very different 
properties, are required; for a cement 
that answers admirably under one set of 
circumstances, may be perfectly useless 
in others. A vast number of cements 
are known and used in the various arts ; 
but they may all be referred to a few 
classes, and our object in this paper will 
be to describe the manufacture and use 
of the best of each class, and also to state 
what are the general principles upon 
which the success or failure of cement- 
ing usually depends. 

The different parts of a solid are held 
together by an attraction between their 
several particles, which is termed the at- 
traction of cohesion, or cohesive attrac- 
tion. The amount of this varies with 
the substances ; thus, the cohesion of the 
particles of iron to one another is enor- 
mously great, whilst that between those 
of chalk is but smalk This attraction 
acts only when the particles are in the 
closest possible contact; even air must 
not be between them. The attraction 
of cohesion which takes place between 
the parts of the same substance, must 
not be confounded with that of adhesion, 
which is the attraction of different sub- 
stances to one another ; for example, the 
particles of a piece of wood are united by 
cohesive attraction, whilst the union of 
lue and wood to each other depends on 
adhesive attraction. And it is important 
;hat this distinction be borne in mind, 
for, in almost all cases, the cohesion be- 
tween the^particles of the cement is very 
much less than the adhesion of thn 



70 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



cement to other bodies; and if torn 
apart, the connected joint gives way 
not by the loosening of the adhesion 
but by the layer of cement splitting 
down the centre. Hence the important 
rule, that the less cement in a joint, the 
stronger it is. Domestic manipulators 
usually reverse this, by letting as much 
cement as possible remain in the joint, 
which is, therefore, necessarily a weak 
one. A thick, nearly solid cement, which 
cannot be pressed out of the joint, is al- 
ways inferior to a thinner one, of which 
merely a connecting film remains between 
the united surfaces. 

Having thus mentioned the general 
principles that ought always to be borne 
in mind, we will now proceed to describe 
the manufacture of some of the more use- 
ful cements, and their mode of use. 

Mouth Glue affords a very convenient 
means of uniting papers, and other small 
light objects; it is made by dissolving 
by the aid of heat, pure glue, or gelatine, 
with about one quarter or one-third of 
its weight of coarse brown sugar, in as 
small a quantity of boiling water as pos- 
sible ; this, when perfectly liquid, should 
be cast into thin cakes on a flat surface 
very slightly oiled, and as it cools cut up 
into pieces of a convenient size. When 
required for use one -end may be moist- 
ened by the moutn, and is then ready to 
be rubbed on any substances it may be 
wished to join ; a piece kept in the desk 
or work-box is very convenient. 

Paste is usually made by rubbing up 
flour with cold water and boiling ; if a lit- 
tle alum is mixed before boiling it is 
much improved, being less clammy, 
working more freely in the brush and 
thinner ; a less quantity is required, and 
it is therefore stronger. If required in 
large quantity, as for papering rooms, it 
may be made by mixing one quartern of 
flour, one quarter pound of alum and a 
little warm water ; when mixed, the re- 



quisite quantity of boiling water should 
be poured on whilst the mixture is 
being stirred. Paste is only adapted to 
cementing paper; when used it should 
be spread on one side of the paper, which 
should then be folded with the pasted 
side inwards, and allowed to remain a few 
minutes before being opened and used; 
this swells the paper, and permits its 
being more smoothly and securely at 
tached. Kept for a few days, paste be- 
comes mouldy, and after a short time 
putrid ; this inconvenience may be ob- 
viated by the use of 

Permanent Paste, made by adding to 
each half-pint of flour paste without 
alum, fifteen grains of corrosive sublimate, 
previously rubbed to powder in a mortar, 
the whole to be well mixed ; this, if pre- 
vented from drying, by being kept in a 
covered pot, remains good any length of 
time, and is therefore convenient; but 
unfortunately it is extremely poisonous, 
though its excessively nauseous taste 
would prevent its being swallowed ac- 
cidentally; it possesses the great ad- 
vantage of not being liable to the attacks 
of insects. 

Liquid Glue is made by dissolving 
shell-lac in water, by boiling it with 
borax, which possesses the peculiar 
property of causing the solution of the 
resinous lac. This preparation is con- 
venient for its cheapness and freedom 
from smell, but it gives way if exposed 
to long-continued damp, which that made 
with naphtha resists. 

Of the use of common glue, very little 
need be said ; it should also be prepared 
in a glue -pot or double vessel to prevent 
its being burned, which injures it very 
materially. The objection to the use of 
this contrivance is, that it renders it im- 
possible to heat the glue in the inner 
vessel to the boiling point ; this incon- 
venience can be obviated by employing 
in the outer vessel soirie liquid, which 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



71 



boils at a higher temperature t than pure 
water, such as saturated solution of salt. 
This boils at 224 Fahr., 12 above the 
heat of boiling water, and enables the 
glue in the inner vessel to be heated to 
a much higher temperature than when 
pure water is employed. If a saturated 
solution of nitre is used, the temperature 
rises still higher. 

Waterproof Cements are very numer- 
ous ; a very good one for uniting china 
and glass will .be found elsewhere. It 
should be stated, however, that the gum 
ammoniac should be alsx) dissolved in a 
small quantity of spirit. Mastic, used 
instead of ammoniac, makes a clearer 
cement. This mixture, under various 
fanciful titles, is usually sold at a most 
exorbitant rate. 

Lime and Egg Cement is frequently 
made by moistening the edges to be 
united, with white of egg, dusting on 
some lime from a piece of muslin, and 
bringing the edges into contact. A much 
better mode is to slake some freshly 
burned lime with a small quantity of 
loiling water ; this occasions it to fall 
into a very fine dry powder, if excess of 
water has not been added. The white 
of egg used should be intimately and 
thoroughly mixed, by beating, with an 
equal bulk of water, and the slaked 
lime added to the mixture, so as to form 
a thin paste which should be used 
speedily, as it soon sets. This is a valu- 
able cement, possessed of great strength, 
and capable of withstanding boiling 
water. Cements made with lime and 
blood, scraped cheese, or curd, may be 
regarded as inferior varieties of it. 
Cracked vessels, of earthenware and 
glass, may often be usefully, though not 
ornamentally repaired by white lead 
spread on strips of calico, and secured 
with bands of twine. But in point of 
strength, all ordinary cements yield .the 
palm to Jeffery's Patented Marine Glue, a 



compound of India-rubber, shell-lac, and 
coal-tar naphtha. When applied to china 
or glass, the substances should be cau- 
tiously made hot enough to melt the 
glue, which should then be rubbed on the 
edges so as to become fluid, and the parts 
brought into contact immediately. When 
well applied, the mended stem of a com- 
mon tobacco-pipe will breafc at any other 
part, in preference to the junction. The 
color of the glue unfortunately prevents 
its being used. 

The Red Cement^ which is employed 
by instrument- makers for cementing 
glass to metals, and which is very cheap, 
and exceedingly useful for a variety of 
purposes v is made by melting five parts 
of black resin, one part of yellow wax, 
and then stirring in, gradually, one part 
of red ochre or Venetian red, in fine 
powder, and previously well dried. This 
cement requires to be melted before use, 
and it adheres better if the objects to 
which it is applied are warmed. A soft 
cement, of a somewhat similar character, 
may be found useful for covering the 
corks of preserved fruit, and other bot- 
tles, and it is made by melting yellow 
wax with an equal quantity of resin, or of 
cojnmon turpentine, (not oil of turpen- 
tine, but the resin), using the latter for 
a very soft cement, and stirring in, as 
before, some dried Venetian red. Bear- 
ing in mind our introductory remarks, 
it will be seen that the uniting broken 
substances with a thick cement is disad- 
vantageous, the object being to bring the 
surfaces as closely together as possible. 
As an illustration of a right and a wrong 
way of mending, we will suppose a plaster 
of Paris figure broken ; the wrong way 
to mend it is by a thick paste of plaster, 
which makes, not a joint, but a botch. 
The right way to mend it, is by means of 
some well-made carpenter's glue, which, 
being absorbed into the porous plaster, 
leaves merely a film covering the two 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



surfaces. If well done, the figure 
stronger there than elsewhere. 

One useful substance is termed mastic 
cement, which is used for making a supe- 
rior coating to inside walls, and which 
must not be confounded with the resin 
mastic. It is made by mixing twenty 
parts of well-washed and sifted sharp 
sand, with two parts of litharge, and one 
of freshly burned and slaked quick-lime, 
in fine dry powder. This is made into a 
putty, by mixing with linseed oil ; it sets 
in a few hours, having the appearance of 
light stone ; and we mention it as it may 
be frequently employed with advantage 
in repairing broken stone-work (as stairs) 
by filling up the missing parts. fc The em- 
ployment of Roman cement, plaster, &c., 
for masonry work, hardly <comes within 
the limits of Domestic Manipulation. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

DIVIDING, POWDERING, GRINDING, ETC. 

THE operations of chopping, powder- 
ing, grinding, &c., are so frequently re- 
quired in cooking, and the other branches 
of domestic economy, as to render apy 
description of their utility wholly unne- 
cessary; and we may therefore confine 
ourselves to describing the best means 
of accomplishing the object desired. 
Powdering is usually performed by the 
aid of the pestle and mortar. Most of 
the works on Cookery recommend the 
use of a marble mortar ; this material 
is about one of the worst that could be 
selected for the purpose. In the first 
place, it is expensive ; secondly, it is ra- 
pidly corroded, even by the weak acids 
used for food; thirdly, it is readily 
stained by oily substances ; fourthly, it 
is absorptive of strong flavors, impart- 
ing them readily to the next substance 
pounded; and lastly, it is brittle, and 



even if not broken, is not calculated to 
withstand much wear. By far the best 
material for the purpose is the Wedge- 
wood ware; mortars made of it are 
cheaper, cleaner in use, and stronger than 
those of marble, and are not corroded by 
acids or alkalies their pre-eminence is 
so great, that they are invariably used 
by druggists. 

The act of powdering requires great 
tact and practice to perform it neatly and 
rapidly. After the object has been bro- 
ken into small pieces by blows from the 
pestle, a grinding action is required ; this 
should at first be given by striking the 
fragments, not in the centre of the mor- 
tar, but towards the side furthest from 
the operator ; the pestle, by this means, 
grinds over them in its descent to the 
centre, and much more rapidly accom- 
plishes their division than if mere blows 
are given. After the object has been di- 
vided to a certain extent, blows are en- 
tirely useless, and a grinding in circles 
becomes requisite; if the circle is con- 
fined to one part of the mortar, the same 
portions get rubbed over and over again, 
the others escaping ; this is avoided by 
constantly and regularly altering the 
size of the circles. If they are com- 
menced in the centre, they should grad- 
ually increase in size until the sides are 
reached, and then contract again, and so 
on. By this means the whole of the 
powder is brought un- 
der the action of the 
pestle, and the operation 

/ \i l iiir\ is much < i uicker than tf 

/ 1 1 1 111 \ performed at random. 
One great fault usually 
committed in powder- 
ing, is the endeavor to 
operate on too large a 
quantity of material at 
one time. The opera- 
Fig. 9. tion is much more ra- 

pidly conducted if small' portions are ta- 




DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



73 



ken ; and if the material, is tough, and 
contains much fibrous matter, the process 
may be very much shortened by remov- 
ing those parts which are sufficiently 
powdered, by sifting from time to time 
through a sieve. This may be objection- 
able, however, from the fine powder es- 
caping into the air ; in this case, the fol- 
lowing contrivance will be found useful : 
A cylindrical tea-canister of the requi- 
site size is taken, with a loosely fitting 
lid (or if tight, the lid may be enlarged 
by four slits being made partly up the 
sides ) ; a bag of lawn is dropped into 
the canister, the top being turned over 
the edge ; the powder to be sifted is put 
in a bag, the lid put on, and, by tapping 
and shaking, the finest portions pass into 
the canister without any escaping into 
the air a point of very considerable im- 
portance where the powder is irritating 
or expensive. 

All vegetable, and many mineral sub- 
stances, are much more readily pow- 
dered after having been thoroughly dried ; 
so far is this process carried, that many 
drugs are dried so as to lose fifteen per 
cent, of their weight before powdering. 
After drying, substances should not be 
exposed to the air, but, unless they are 
of such a nature as to be softened by 
heat, are better operated on whilst still 
warm. Flints are more readily powdered 
by being heated to redness and quenched 
in cold water ; charcoal, for tooth pow- 
der, whilst still warm from drying. 
Gum can only be powdered Vhilst per- 
fectly dry. Camphor, which is with 
great difficulty powdered alone, yields 
readily if a drop or two of spirit is 
poured on it. Substances which clog 
together and cake under the pestle, are 
not uncommon ; to these it is sometimes 
requisite to add sand, which may after- 
wards be separated this prevents the 
clogging ; but its use is often impractica- 
ble. Lime, if required in very fine pow- 



der, for dusting over plants to kill slugs, 
&c., is readily obtained by slaking it, 
when fresh burned, with 'boiling water ; 
when, if too much water is not used, it 
falls into an exceedingly fine powder. 

Sal-ammoniac, and some other saline 
bodies, are most readily powdered by dis- 
solving them in as small a quantity of 
boiling water as possible, and stirring the 
solution rapidly as the water is boiled 
away, or as the solution cools. Before 
dismissing the pestle and mortar, we may 
allude to its use in mixing powders to- 
gether, although a much more ready mode 
of doing this is with a sieve. Two or 
more" powders stirred together and passed 
two or three times through a sieve, are 
much more intimately mixed, than if 
rubbed for a long time in a mortar. 
Metals cannot be divided in the mortar ; 
the most convenient mode of proceeding, 
if they are fusible under a white heat, is 
to melt them, and pour them whilst 
liquid into a pail of water, which should 
be full to avoid any spluttering, and the 
hotter the metal, the more filmy the par- 
ticles. It is scarcely requisite to state, 
that the metal should be poured in a cir- 
cle, so as not to collect at one place. 

Chopping is usually performed in the 
kitchen, with a large common knife ; but 
is more speedily done by some of the 
improved contrivances similar to the fol- 
lowing : The chopping-board should be 





Fig. 10. Mff. 11. 

made of hard wood, with the grain at 
right angles to the surface of the board, 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



by which it is rendered much more dura- 
ble, than if they are parallel to it. The 
chopping-knives should be fixed at right 
angles to the handles, and may be either 
of the preceding patterns. If a large 
quantity of material has to be acted on, 
we would recommend a board as above, 
not less than three inches thick, and 
smooth on both sides, so that either may 
be used, of the requisite size say eigh- 
teen inches or two feet in diameter. On 
this should stand a loose bottomless tub, 
to confine the materials, and. the whole 
resting on the floor, should be used with 
a knife, sufficiently long in the handle to 
be employed by a person standing erect, 
and it should have a small cross-bar for 
the hands, as shown in Fig. 12. 

Small chopping-knives are sold, con- 
sisting of three blades riveted together ; 
and a very convenient one is made by 
fastening, at convenient distances, a num- 
ber of flat circular disks, sharpened at 
the edges, to a central axis with a han- 
dle at each end. 

Many substances, such as stale bread, 
dried herbs, &c., may be very conven- 
iently powdered by rubbing them through 




fig. 12. 

a wire sieve, of the requisite degree of 
fineness. Herbs intended for use in this 
way, should be dried as rapidly as possi- 
ble, without being scorched, in small 
heaps, before the fire ; parsley and others 
done in this way, may be powdered, re- 



taining their bright green color and fla- 
vor, both of which are preserved if they 
are corked tightly in bottles, and kept in 
a dry, dark cupboard. The use of waxed 
naper to preserve dried powders in, or for 
tying them down in jars, or generally as 
a very good substitute for bladder, will 
often be found convenient. It is readily 
made by laying a sheet of smooth stout 
paper on a warm iron plate, as the top of 
a kitchen oven ; on this place the thin 
tissue or other paper to be waxed ; put 
a piece of wax on it, and as it melts, rub 
it over, spreading it evenly. One end of 
a cork, covered with two thicknesses of 
linen, answers very well for a rubber. 
If a hot plate is not at hand, the sheet 
of paper may be held before the fire, and 
rubbed over, as it warms, with the cut 
edge of a cake of white wax ; but this 
requires the co-operation of two persons. 



CHAPTER XV. 

KNOTS, PACKAGES, PARCELS, ETC. 

THE poet Crabbe, speaking of the writ- 
ing of the rustics, signing his parish reg- 
isters, says 

" 'Tis strange that men 

Who guide the plough should fail to guide the pen ! 
For half, a mile the furrows even lie ; 
For half an inch the letters stand awry." 

A parallel remark might with equal 
justice be made on the gentler sex, who, 
after exercising a degree of tact, neat- 
ness, and tasteful invention, that the self- 
styled " lords of the creation " might in 
vain hope to rival, in the formation of a 
piece of needlework, knitting, netting, or 
crochet, are, for the most part, totally 
unable, when it is finished, to tie it up so 
as to make a decent parcel ; ladies' pack- 
ages are, in fact, the opprobrium of the 
sex the annoyance of all carriers, who 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



75 



have any thing to do with their convey- 
ance, and the torment of their owners ; 
the cords are certain to become loose, the 
knots are sure to slip, except when a 
slip-knot is requisite, and then it is a fix- 
ture ! It is in the hope that we may be 
instrumental in improving this state of 
things, that we are induced to devote this 
chapter to Knots, Packages, Parcels, &c., 
and we shall at once lay before our fair 
readers a method of tying a parcel neatly 
and securely, and at the same time afford- 
ing facilities for releasing the contents 
without destroying the string by cutting 
it away a too ordinary practice-, espe- 
cially where tune is an object. 

The most simpje purpose for which a 
knot is required, is the fastening togeth- 




Fig. 13. 

er of two pieces of string or cord : the 
knot selected for this purpose should pos- 
sess two important properties ; it should 
be secure from slipping, and of small size. 
Nothing is more common than to see two 
cords attached together in a manner sim- 
ilar to that shown in Fig. 13. It is 
scarcely possible to imagine a worse knot ; 
it is large and clumsy, and as the cords 
do not mutually press each other, it is 
certain to slip if pulled with any great 
force. In striking contrast to this the 
worst of all, we place one of the best ; 
namely, the knot usually employed by 
netters, and which is called by sailors 
" the sheet-bend." It is readily made 
by bending one of the pieces of cord into 
a loop (a 5, Fig. 14), which is to be 
held between the finger and thumb of the 
left hand; the other cord c is passed 
through the loop from the farther side 
then round behind the two legs of the 
loop, and lastly, under itself, the loose 
end coming out at d. In the smallness 



of its size, and the firmness with which 
the various parts grip together, this knot 
surpasses every other: it 
can, moreover, be tied read- 
ily when one of the pieces, 
J, is exceedingly 




viz. a 
short j 



hi 



common stout 
twine, less than an inch 
being sufficient to form the 
loop. The above method 
'of forming it is the sim- 
plest to describe, although 
not the most rapid in prac- 
tice ; as it may be made in 
much less time by crossing 
the two ends of cord (a 
5, Fig. 15) on the tip of 
\\ the fore-finger of the left 
Mff ' 14 hand, and holding them 
firmly by the left thumb, which covers 
the crossing ; then the part c is to be 
b 




Fig. 15. 

wound round the thumb in a loop as 
shown in the figure, and passed between 
the two ends, behind a and before 5 ; the 
knot is completed by turning the end 5 
downwards in front of d, passing it through 
the loop, securing it under the left thumb, 
and tightening the whole by pulling d. 
As formed in this mode, it is more rapidly 
made than almost any other knot ; and, 
as before stated, it excels all in security 



76 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



and compactness, so firmly do the various 
turns grip each other, that after having 
been tightly pulled, it is very difficult to 
untie ; this the only drawback to its use- 
fulness, and in this respect it is inferior 
to the reef-knot, Fig. 16, which is made 
in precisely the same manner that a shoe- 
string is tied, only pulling out the ends 
instead of leaving them as 
bows. The only precaution 
necessary in making* a reef- 
knot is, to observe that the 
two parts of each string are 
on the same side of the loop ; 
if they are not, the ends (and 
the bows if any are formed) 
are at right angles to the 
cords; the knot is less se- 
cure, and is termed by sailors 
a granny-knot. Other knots 
are occasionally used to con- /, 
nect two cords, but it is un- A 
necessary to describe them,| 
as every useful purpose may I 
be answered by those above- 
mentioned. Pig, 16. 

The binding knot (Figs. 17 and 18) is 






Fig. 17. 



exceedingly useful in connecting broken 
sticks, rods, &c., but - some difficulty is 
often experienced in fastening it at the 
finish ; if, however, the string is placed 
over the part to be united, as shown in 
Fig. 17, and the long end 5, used to bind 
around the rod, and finally passed 
through the loop , as shown in Fig. 18, 
it is readily secured by pulling d, when 
the loop is drawn in, and fastens the end 
of the cord. 

For fastening a cord to any cylindrical 
object, one of the most useful knots is 
the clove hitch, which, although exceed- 
ingly simple and most easily made, is one 
of the most puzzling knots to the unin- 
itiated. There are several modes of form- 
ing it, the most simple being perhaps as 
follows : make two loops, precisely simi- 




Fig. 19. 

lar in every respect as a and 5, Fig. 19, 
then bring b in front of a, so as to make 
both loops correspond, and pass them 
over the object to be tied, tightening the 
ends ; if this is properly done, the knot 
will not slip, although surrounding a tol- 
erably smooth cylindrical object, as a pil- 
lar, pole, &c. This knot is employed by 
surgeons in reducing dislocations of the 
last joint of the thumb, and by sailors in 
?reat part of the standing rigging. The 
loop which is formed when a cable is 
passed around a post or tree to secure a 
vessel near shore, is fastened by what 
sailors term two half hitches, which is 
simply a clove hitch made by the end of 
the rope which is passed around the post 
or tree, and then made to describe the 
clove hitch around that part of itself 
which is tightly strained. 

From the tying of knots we may pass 
on to the tying over of bottles, preserves, 
jars, &c.j the object with which this 



DOMESTIC MANIPULATION. 



77 



operation is performed is either to pre- 
vent the excess of air or the, escape or 
entrance of moisture ; the act itself is so 
very simple as to require no explanation ; 
but a few words may be said on the 
choice of material, which should be varied 
so as to suit the exigencies of each particu- 
lar case. When a vessel of spirit is to 
be tied over, leather is frequently select- 
ed a very erroneous practice, as the va- 
por of spirit passes readily through that 
substance, but cannot penetrate bladder, 
which should be invariably used for the 
purpose. So effectually is spirit con- 
fined by bladder, that when weak spirits 
are put into bladders or into vessels tied 
over with bladder, and allowed to remain 
some time, they are strengthened, as the 
vapor of the water passes away, that of 
the spirit being retained. 

Bladder or other animal membranes of 
the same nature, in a moist and flaccid 
state, are usually selected for tying over 
preserves and jams, for which they are 
well adapted. Many persons place a thin 
piece of brandied paper in the jar resting 
on the jam, in addition to tying it down ; 
this assists in excluding air and prevent- 
ing mouldiness, but we have found a piece 
of very thin paper moistened with white 
of egg much more efficacious. The thin 
sheet-lead used for lining the interior of 
tea-chests, or stout tin-foil, is very advan- 
tageously used in tying down vessels con- 
taining specimens of natural history pre- 
served in spirits, as they effectually pre- 
vent the escape of the latter for a long 
series of years. The plan usually pursued 
is to tie the cork over first with a single 
bladder, then with the metal, and finally 
with a second piece of bladder, which is 
afterwards covered with a coat of black 
paint. 

The tying up of parcels in paper is an 
operation which is seldom neatly per- 
formed by persons whose occupations 
have not given them great facilities for 
constant practice. Whether the paper be 



wrapped round the objects, as is the case 
usually when it is much larger than suffi- 
cient to enclose them, or merely folded 
over itself, as is done by druggists, who 
cut the paper to the required size, it is im- 
portant that the breadth of the paper 
should be no longer than sufficient to 
enable it to be folded over the ends of 
the object enclosed, without passing over 
the opposite side; it is impossible to 
make a neat or close parcel with paper 
which is too broad ; excess in length may 
be readily disposed of by wrapping it 
round ; but excess of breadth should be 
cut away. With regard to turning in the 
ends the mode adopted by grocers is the 
best. The most common cause of failure 
in parcels is their being badly corded ; 
we will, therefore, (however unnecessary 
the description of so simple a perform- 
ance may appear to those already ac- 
quainted with it), describe the most 
readily acquired mode of cording. 

Let a single knot be made in the end 
of the cord, which is then passed round 
the box or parcel. This knotted end is 
now tied by a single hitch round the mid- 
dle of the cord (Fig. 20), and the whole 
pulled tight. The cord itself is then car- 
ried at right angles round the end of the 
parcel, and where it crosses the transverse 
cord on the bottom of the box (Fig. 21), 
it should (if the parcel is heavy, and re- 
j quilts to be firmly secured) be passed 
over the cross cord, then back underneath 
it, and pulled tightly, then over itself; 
lastly, under the cross cord, and on 
around the other end of the box. When 




Fiff. 20. 

it reaches the top it musi be secured by 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



passing it under at that part of the cord 
which runs lengthways (a, Fig. 20), pull- 
ing it very tight, and fastening it by two 
half hitches round itself The great cause 




Fig. 21. 

of parcels becoming loose is the fact of 
the cord being often fastened to one of 
the transverse parts (as 5, Fig. 20), in- 
stead of the piece running lengthways, 
and in this case it invariably becomes 
loose. The description may perhaps be 
rendered clearer by the aid of the figures, 
which exhibit the top and bottom of a 
box corded as described. The cords, how- 
ever, are shown in a loose state to allow 
their arrangements to be perceived more 
easily. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

IN spite of our receipts and our phi- 
losophy, the briskness of the fire, the 
skill of our cook, the excellence of the 
oven, the bright array of pots, kettles, 
pans, moulds, griddles and gridirons, and 
the presiding genius of even a half For- 
tunatus sort of a purse, or the most 
rigid scale and measure of economy, one 
grand puzzle besets alike all kitchens 
the difficulty of really getting the ingredi- 
ents on which the mystery of food manu- 
facture is to be exercised. 

The very water we have to cook with 
is crowded with millions of monsters 
things with two heads and no heads, 
with countless legs and no legs, with 
jaws and pincers and claws, and most 



wonderful springy tails ; in some water 
well nigh^nough of them to make a sort 
of soup, to say nothing of the chalk, 
lime, iron, and a host of other impuri 
ties. 

The sugar, if it be brown, without tak- 
ing note of such items as a little lead, a 
good deal of sand, some clay and flour, 
is pretty nearly as thick as it can hold 
of chips of cane and swarms of mites. 

Our tea, if green, is painted and pol- 
ished with Prussian blue, turmeric pow- 
der, and China clay, and is a mixture of 
all the leaves that the wonderful industry 
and ingenuity of the Chinese, can accom- 
plish ; we have old tea-leaves dried and 
twisted up, and colored and glazed, and 
sold for black and green ; we have even 
gunpowder made up of dust and sand, 
and gum, faced as they call it with plum- 
bago. 

Coffee, fragrant, and refreshing, has 
almost become a myth; we may have 
pneumatic coffee-pots that will not let 
the finest dust pass through their strain- 
ers, French coffee-pots, German coffee- 
pots, and all kinds of traditional direc- 
tions for the manufacture : but not one 
of them can -help us to make coffee, un- 
less as good old Mrs. Glass would say, 
" we have first got our coffee ; " and what 
with foreign roguery and home roguery 
the chances are twenty to one against 
us, that the brown powder we are at so 
much pains with, once flourished at the 
end of a blue flower, on a long stalk 
under our own hedges, being known 
where it grew under the name of wild 
endive, christened in trade chicory, and 
being in reality a tall and aristocratic 
sort of dandelion, possessing too the me- 
dicinal properties of dandelion, and none 
whatever of the properties of coffee. 
But even if people be taken with a liking 
for this dandelion tea instead of coffee, 
they cannot have it pure. The chicory 
itself is far top costly to content the 
avaricious roguery of a number of deal- 



WHAT WE EAT. 



ers, and so it is adulterated with roasted 
corn, parsnips, manglewurzel, beans, 
Egyptian lupin seed, biscuit powder, 
burnt sugar, roasted carrots., oak bark, 
tan, acorns, mahogany sawdust, and no 
little sand, the result of the original dirt 
judiciously left as a make-weight upon 
the root of the chicory itself. 

Mustard can scarcely be said to have 
even the color of mustard, for it is colored 
with turmeric, and what passes for mus- 
tard is in many a case little more than 
mere husks and flour. 

Pepper is messed up with wheat flour, 
mustard-seed husks, sago-meal, pea -flour, 
and ware-house sweepings ; nor does it 
fare better with food for invalids, oat- 
meal being mingled with far less diges- 
tive barley-meal at half the price. Ar- 
row-root (which it should be understood 
is the produce of under-ground branches 
or bulbs of the maranta plant, growing 
in the West and East Indies, having 
gained its name of arrow-root from the 
belief that it was a remedy against poi- 
soned arrows,) is to the utmost econo- 
mized ; and though its purity is often of 
great importance to the invalid, there is 
for the most part sold instead, sago-flour, 
tapioca-flour, and most commonjy of all, 
potato-starch. 

Milk and bread are not so much adul- 
terated. But the milk, partly by the 
kind of keep of the cows, partly by a 
little careful skimming, and in a multi- 
tude of cases by the liberal aid of the 
pump, is duly thinned. Flour and breacfcj* 
of old mixed with plaster of Paris, 
ground bones, and potato-starch thanks 
to the cheapening of pure materials, has 
come to content itself with alum only. 
But this running account of roguery, 
except for its curiousness, would be of 
little use without a few hints, as to par- 
tial detection and prevention. 

As to tea, it is best to be content with 
black tea alone. 

For sugar, the best advice is if you 



like to pay for dirt, and to mix it with 
your preserves, puddings, and pastry, and 
choose to believe that sugar which' mois- 
tens even the thick paper they place it in, 
and which looks dark, smells strong, and 
sticks to your fingers, is richer in sweet- 
ening than clear sparkling white sugar, 
out of which notfe of the sweetening but 
all of the dirt has been washed then 
buy brown sugar. 

" Please tell the people over the way," 
said a gentleman, " that I would take it 
as a particular favor, if in future they 
will send me the cow's hairs on one 
plate, and the butter on another, and I 
can mix them myself as I want them." 
Such is our advice as to coffee. It seems 
beyond the reach of average human hon- 
esty to sell it pure. The chicory is so 
fra*grant so wholesome such an im- 
provement on the flavor of the Arabian 
berry, and withal so much cheaper, that 
mixed it must be. We say, therefore, 
Buy your coffee in the berry, raw ; your 
chances are at all events fifty to one bet- 
ter of having cofiee only. Roast and 
grind it for yourselves, and, if you like 
chicory or dandelion, endive, or any other 
weed with it, why, buy the roots, scorch 
them anjjl grate them, and, like the man 
with the hairs in his butter, mix them 
to your taste. But do not, unless you 
choose to cheat your stomachs, buy 
ground coffee. A mill will soon pay for 
itself; and at all events never purchase 
canisiered or bottled coffee, for in ninety- 
nine cases out of a hundred an additional 
dose of dust is made to. pay for the tin 
or glass.* 

* It may not be amiss to show how tea is made 
in China, and coffee amongst the Turks. 

The art of making tea consists in pouring the 
water on and off immediately, so as to get the 
flavor. 

Coffee-making is a more intricate affair, and can- 
not be fully conveyed in a receipt. The coffee must 
be slowly roasted, not burnt, and brought only to 
an amber brown ; it must be roasted day by day, and 
reduced by pounding to an impalpable powder. In 
making it, two opposite and apparently incompati- 



80 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



As to water every one knows that 
plumbers make the bottoms of the cis- 
terns thicker than the sides, because the 
water eats the lead away; hard water 
does so more than soft, and water from 
the sante source more at some times 
than others. Lead, as the phrase is, ac- 
cumulates in the system, so that ev.er so 
little, taken day by day, at length sums 
up to a poisonous dose sufficient to mar 
the health. The remedy for this mis- 
chief is simply to have the pipes made 
of gutta percha. Many spring waters, 
though of course free from the animal 
impurities, abound still more in the 
medicinal. To render such waters fit for 
healthful use, some process of purifica- 
tion is absolutely essential, and such 
purification very perceptively improves 
both their cooking and washing proper- 
ties. 

Ordinary filters certainly free water 
from a considerable quantity of dirt, but 
not from the medicinal ingredients, nor 
even from all the animalculae, some of 
which, though quite visible as monsters 
with a microscope, nevertheless find 
their way through the filter. One of the 
simplest processes of purification, if peo- 
ple will only take the trouble t$ perform 
it and it is surely worth it for the in- 
crease of comfort and the advantage to 
health is for every forty gallons that 
the cistern holds to pour in one gallon of 
lime-water j this has the effect of throw- 

ble ends are to be secured strength and flavor. To 
obtain the first, it must be boiled ; by boiling, the 
second is lost. The difficulty is surmounted by a 
double process, one thorough cooking, one slight 
one ; by the first a strong infusion is obtained, by 
the second that infusion is flavored. Thus a large 
pot with coffee-lees stands simmering by the fire ; 
this is the sherbet. When a cup is wanted, the 
pounded coffee is put in the little tin or copper pan, 
and placed on the embers ; it fumes for a moment, 
then the sherbet is poured on ; in a few seconds the 
Troth (cairnah) rises; presently an indication that 
It is about to boil is made manifest, when the coffee 
Is instantly taken from the fire, carried into the 
apartment, turned into the cup, and drunk." Ur- 
Qufu/rfs Pillars of Hercvle*. 



ing down from the water a large propor- 
tion of the chemical ingredients, and no 
small multitude of. the animalculae. 
Another method of purification is by 
long slow boiling, then allowing the 
water to cool, and filtering it. Some 
trouble no doubt there is in any such 
course ; but pure water, like pure air, is 
essential to a life of health, and those 
who will not be at the trouble, must 
make up their minds to some degree of 
infirmity and unhappiness. 

The subject of the Water-supply to 
large towns is one of the highest impor- 
tance to the well-being of the commu- 
nity. > 

The quality of water for domestic pur- 
poses depends mainly upon its degree of 
hardness or softness ; and this in its turn 
depends almost entirely upon the quan- 
tity of lime dissolved in some form or 
other in the water. It is found, upon 
experiment, that one gallon (weighing 
70,000 grains) of pure water will not 
dissolve more than two grains of chalk, 
and so acquire two degrees of hardness ; 
and that whenever more is contained in 
water, the excess is always owing to the 
presence of carbonic acid gas, which ena- 
bles it to dissolve a much larger quantity. 
The practical part of our subject depends 
on this fact ; for if by any means we can 
get rid of the carbonic acid, the dissolved 
chalk is necessarily precipitated, and the 
hard water, unfit for culinary and domes- 
tic purposes, becomes soft, and well 
adapted to both these uses. Carbonic 
acid is in part expelled from water by 
heating it to the boiling point: a still 
larger quantity is got rid of after boiling 
for some few minutes, and nearly every 
trace disappears at the end of half an 
hour ; and just in proportion as the car- 
bonic acid gas is expelled, so does the 
chalk fall, rendering the water in the first 
instance turbid, and becoming deposit- 
ed .on the interior surface of kettles, 



PURITY OF WATER. 



51 



where it forms the well-known rock of 
fur. 

It has been found that water of 14 de- 
grees of hardness lost two degrees when 
merely made to boil; boiling for five 
minutes reduced the hardness to 6 de- 
grees ; and for a quarter of an hour, to 
little more than 4 degrees. The practi- 
cal application of this knowledge needs 
scarcely to be pointed out. Whenever a 
soft water is required, boil for several 
minutes before using. In making tea, for 
instance, the economy and general supe- 
riority of a soft water is well known. 
How many a young gentleman, with a 
smattering of science just enough to in- 
form him that water gets no hotter how- 
ever long or violently it is boiled, has 
laughed at his grandmother's antiquated 
notions, because she requested that the 
water might be made to boil thoroughly 
before the te.a was made : the old lady 
could give no very satisfactory explana- 
tion of her prejudice, yet it was not the 
less a correct one. 

Before going further in this matter, it 
may be stated that there are some waters 
in wtiich the lime is dissolved in the form 
of gypsum (sulphate of lime) : in these, 
the hardness is of a permanent character, 
and cannot be lessened by boiling. Tea 
made under such circumstances may be 
improved, either by the addition of a 
very small quantity of carbonate of soda 
or the tea should be kept soaking for half 
an hour, under such circumstances as 
will retain the heat. 

In washing, the use of hard water is 
as is well known, extremely prejudicial 
The explanation is exceedingly simple 
every degree of hardness in a gallon o 
water destroys 10 grains of soap. 

There is one practical matter of grea 
importance, to which we wish to draw 
the attention of all concerned : it is th 
effect of boiling linen in hard water. I 
clothes are put into cold water, and the 
boiled the precipitation of chalk take 



lace on the clothes, and whatever color- 
ng matter exists in the water goes down 
rith the chalk, and also becomes attached 
) tlte linen, rendering it of that disa- 
reeable and unremovable dirty hue 
vhich is so characteristic of certain laun- 
ries. If boiling is absolutely requisite 
or white fabrics, it should be done in 
water which has been boiled half an hour, 
llowed to stand, and then poured off 
rom the sediment ; otherwise, from the 
mmediate precipitation of the chalk, the 
irt is boiled in and thoroughly fixed to 
he fabric. A moment's consideration 
ill convince any one, that a deposit 
imilar to the fur in a tea-kettle cannot 
>e expected to improve the appearance 
)f white linen. Where clean rain water 
can be obtained, there is no objection to 
he boiling of clothes in it ; as, being ab- 
solutely free from lime, no precipitation 
:an take place. The use of soda in soft- 
jning water employed in washing, is well 
inown ; but the remedy is not without 
ts own evil : it weakens the fibre of the 
;loth, and unless it is much more thor- 
oughly removed by rinsing than is 
usually the case, it occasions a very per- 
manent yellow tinge when the cloth is 
heated. 



CHAPTER XVH. 

BOILING, STEWING, ETC. 

FROM considering the properties of 
hard and soft water, we pass by a natural 
transition to the employment of that 
liquid in culinary operations. In prac- 
tice, nothing can at first sight appear 
more simple than the operation, of boil- 
ing, whether it be confined to the .mere 
heating of a liquid, or extended to the 
preparation of an article of food ; yet it 
is one which involves chemical principles 
of a very high order, and which is by nc 



82 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



means so simple a matter as it may be 
regarded at a cursory glance. 

To trace the steps of the process from 
its commencement, let us imagine 4 ves- 
sel of water placed over the fire, and re- 
ceiving constantly a supply of heat from 
that source ; the effect is, that its tem- 
perature gradually rises from about 50 
or 60, the usual warmth of ordinary 
water, to 212, the point at which boiling 
takes place; but before it reaches that 
height, a number of bubbles may be ob- 
served foaming on the sides of the ves- 
sel ; these gradually increase in size, and 
when they become sufficiently buoyant, 
quit their position, rise to the surface, 
and escape; they consist of air previ- 
ously dissolved in thewater, and which 
is expelled by the increased heat. Water 
which has been boiled and allowed to 
become cold, without much exposure to 
the air, fails to reabsorb the quantity it 
previously contained, and consequently 
hr.s its character somewhat altered. 
Thus, it freezes more readily than water 
which has not been boiled, in consequence 
of the air not having to be expelled in 
the act of solidifying, as is usually the 
case : hence, the ice from boiled water is 
free from those numerous air bubbles 
which are always to be observed in com- 
mon ice. It possesses also a mawkish, 
unpleasant taste, and is totally unable to 
preserve the life of any aquatic animal. 
The presence of this minute quantity of 
air in ordinary water, is very essential to 
its utility. Faraday found that water, 
totally destitute of air, does not boil in 
the usual mode, but when heated to the 
boiling point, it at once, with an instan- 
taneous and violent explosion, passes into 
the form of steam. This strange fact, ' 
which shows upon what small, and. ap- ! 
parently* trivial circumstances, the com- 
fortnay, we may truly say the exist- 
ence of man depends, is strikingly shown 
by a very ingenious experiment, devised ' 
by that celebrated chemist. He took a i 



piece of Wenham Lake ice, (which, from 
peculiar local causes, such as being formed 
from spring water, is totally destitute of 
air,) and melted it under a covering of 
sweet oil ; this prevented the absorption 
of any air during the liquefaction; on 
continuing the heat, the water rose in 
temperature, and on reaching the boiling 
point, suddenly burst into steam, with 
an explosive power sufficiently great to 
scatter the glass vessel in which the ex- 
periment was made into fragments ; and 
had it not been for a protecting covering 
of wire gauze, very serious effects might 
have ensued. 

From the precipitation of the dissolved 
chalk present in most kinds of water^ a 
cloudiness or slight turbidity is always 
to be observed in boiled water. 

After the escape of the air, bubbles of 
steam, at first very small in size, - are 
formed at the bottom of the vessel, those 
formed at first are at once cooled from 
the whole water not being of an equal 
temperature, and are condensed before 
they reach the surface : this very rapid 
and successive condensation of numerous 
small bubbles gives rise to that peculiar 
vibration which occasions what is termed 
the singing of the teakettle, and which, as 
is well known, is indicative of its approach 
to the boiling point ; when the whole 
water is uniformly heated, this effect no 
longer occurs, but the bubbles of stean? 
rise to the surface and escape. After hav- 
ing been heated to 212, the temperature 
of water no longer rises ; it is not possible, 
under ordinary circumstances, to increase 
the temperature in the slightest degree ; 
for all the extra heat that is given to 
boiling water merely produces increased 
quantity of steam, by which it is carried 
off, without affecting the heat of the re- 
maining' water. This is a matter of con- 
siderable practical importance in cookery; 
and it should be always borne in mind, 
that the most gentle simmer is as effica- 
cious in cooking as the most violent boil- 



BOILING. THE BAIN MARIE. 



83 



ing ; for the degree of heat in both cases 
is precisely the same, so that after hav- 
ing once raised the water to the boiling 
point, the most moderate fire is sufficient 
in ordinary cases to keep it there; by 
attention to this point, a mo*st enormous 
saving may often be effected in the con- 
sumption of fuel, although this is a con- 
sideration that will be more fully entered 
into in a subsequent chapter. 

Thick liquids, which do not readily 
permit the escape of steam or the rapid 
motion between the particles of fluid, 
may, however, be readily heated at the 
part exposed to the fire to a much higher 
degree, while those portions not imme- 
diately in contact with the heat are much 
colder ; from this cause they are very apt 
to be charred, and if articles of food, 
they are totally spoiled. To avoid this 
effect, recourse may be had to the "bain 
marie, which is simply the same contri- 
vance that may be observed in a carpen- 
ter's glue-pot, applied to the preparation 
of articles of food, being merely an inner 
vessel to contain the substance to be 
heated; this is placed in an outer one, 
the space between the two containing 
water. O.n placing this contrivance on 
the fire, it is obvious that the substance 
in the inner vessel being heated solely 
by the boiling water, cannot possibly be- 
come burnt. This most useful contrivance 
is adopted in all first-class kitchens, and 
is equally indispensable in the chemist's 
laboratory ; by its aid, soups, gravies, &c., 
can be kept hot any length of time with- 
out; risk, preserves made without burning, 
&c. The chief precautions required in its 
use are, that the inner vessel should be 
thin and formed of metal, so as to allow 
the rapid transmission of heat from boil- 
ing water, and care should be taken that 
the outer vessel does not boil dry. One 
serious disadvantage attends its use as or- 
dinarily employed : it is, that it is impos- 
sible to heat substances in it to the boil- 
ing point, for the water itself is only at 



that temperature : and the substance in 
the inner vessel is always a few degrees 
below. This evil, however, may be en- 
tirely obviated, by using a solution in the 
outer vessel, which boils at a higher tem- 
perature than 212, and which will there- 
fore raise the inner vessel and its con- 
tents to that point ; thus, if the water be 
made to dissolve as much common salt 
as it is capable of doing, it will not boil 
until it is heated to 224 ; or if it is satu- 
rated with sal-ammoniac or nitre, the 
heat will rise 12 or 14 higher. We 
need scarcely say that the first of these 
substances will be found a very useful 
and economical addition to the bain 
mane. When chemists require a still 
higher temperature, they have recourse 
to a bath of olive oil, which is capable of 
bearing a degree of heat as high as 500 ; 
but its extreme danger over an open fire 
entirely precludes its use in any culinary 
operation. 

The mode of conducting the operation 
of boiling should not be uniform, but 
vary with the different purposes required. 
Thus, in the case of meat, a temperature 
of 212 hardens, instead of softening, 
two of the substances which it contains ; 
namely, the fibrine, or material forming 
the chief part of the muscular fibre, and 
the albumen, or portion which is analo- 
gous to white of egg ; if, on the contrary, 
meat is cooked by means of water at a 
lower temperature, the most nutritious 
parts are dissolved out, and the solid 
food left comparatively innutritions. The 
celebrated German chemist, Liebig, pro- 
poses the following plan : he recom- 
mends that a piece of meat of considera- 
ble size should be taken and plunged into 
perfectly boiling water, over a good fire ; 
that the water should be kept boiling for 
a few minutes, and then a portion of cold 
water, eqjial in quantity to about one-half 
of the boiling water, should be thrown 
in : this will reduce the temperature to 
about 160, at which point the meat 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



should be kept until thoroughly done ; 
which, however, takes a mueh longer 
time than the ordinary mode. 

The object of this mode of proceeding 
is, in the first instance, to harden the ex- 
terior of the meat, converting it into a 
sort of crust, which prevents the escape 
of the nutritious juices into the water, 
while the long continuance of the gentle 
heat afterwards cooks the interior with- 
out hardening either the albumen or the 
fibrine. Of course, where the object of 
boiling is to make soup, the opposite plan 
must be had recourse to; the meat 
should be in small instead of large pieces, 
put on in cold water and very slowly 
heated, so that all the soluble parts may 
be dissolved before the fibre is hardened 
by the action of boiling water. 

In boiling eggs, the effect of heat in 
hardening the albumen is well known ; 
by being suddenly plunged into boiling 
water, the outside is hardened to the 
greatest degree of which it is capable, 
and is thereby rendered exceedingly dif- 
ficult of digestion, while the inside is 
barely warmed ; if, on the contrary, they 
are placed in cold water, which is then 
raised to the boiling point, removed from 
the fire, and allowed* to stand about a 
minute (or two, if required to be well 
done,) it will be found that, instead of 
having an almost leathery consistence, 
the white will be uniformly partially 
hardened, and will furnish a much more 
pleasant and digestible article of diet; 
the improvement, in fact, is so great, that 
common eggs cooked in this manner very 
nearly approach new laid ones in quality. 
If the operation of boiling has to be 
performed on any substance containing 
starchy matters as potatoes, rice, flour, 
&c., then the heat must, on the contrary, 
be raised to a sufficient degree to burst 
the little grains of which the starch con- 
sists, and liberate the interior nutritious 
portions, before it can become fit food 



for man; uncooked starch not being 
readily or easily digested. And even in 
the case of those 'Vegetable-fee ding ani- 
mals whose power of digesting such sub- 
stances surpasses that of man, there is 
the greatest advantage to be derived from 
the use of cooked,food, as the most intelli- 
gent and scientific farmers at the present 
day well know ; and we would strongly 
urge on those of our readers who keep 
pigs to try the experiment of baking the 
potatoes they give them ; for this process, 
like boiling, has the effect of bursting the 
starch grains; they will find the effect 
to be, that the food will go much further, 
all of it being digested, and that the 
quality of the flesh will be very materi- 
ally improved. 



CHAPTER XVm. 

ECONOMY OF HEAT. 

PERHAPS few of our readers are aware 
of the extraordinary wastefulness of our 
usual processes for obtaining artificial 
heat ; at the most moderate computation, 
seven-eighths of the warmth produced 
by an open fire, pass up the chimney, 
and are entirely useless ; and according 
to other estimates, which we regard as 
being nearer the truth, fourteen parts out 
of every fifteen are uselessly wasted. 
It may be asked what are the defects of 
a common fireplace that render it so 
wasteful, and in what way is the heat 
carried off? In reply it may be stated, 
that one half the heat produced passes 
away with the smoke ajnd heated air 
arising from the fire, a quarter is carried 
up by the draught of cold air from the 
room, which, flowing around the fire and 
between it and the mantel-piece, rises 
with the smoke. Again, the soot which 
passes away is unburned fuel, and is 
therefore useless ; and a large portion of 



ECONOMY OF HEAT. 



85 



heat is thrown downwards upon the ash- 
es and is wasted ; while the iron of 
which the ranges are generally made, 
conveys away a considerable quantity. 
On the continent of Europe t;he produc- 
tion of heat is more economically man- 
aged stoves of very admirable construc- 
tion being constantly had recourse to, 
both for the purpose of producing warmth 
and for cookery. It is to the latter ap- 
plication of heat that we must mainly 
confine ourselves, having been at some 
considerable pains in examining the 
various stoves and ranges now to be ob- 
tained. 

The cooking-stove common in Europe, 
consists of an enclosed fire-pan, with a 
grating below and a lid at the top for the 
supply of fuel ; this is enclosed in an 
oven, supported on the floor of the room 
by feet, and which is heated by the 
warmth thrown out by the sides of the 
fire-pan, and also by a flue spreading over 
the top, which is thus heated; while the 
upper surface of the flue forms a hot 
plate, on which many saucepans, &c., can 
be kept boiling, and any vessel can also 
be placed over the fire by the removal ol 
the lid. As the draught is under perfed 
control, the fuel is slowly consumed, anc 
the stove affords means of baking, boiling, 
frying, and stewing, at a very small ex- 
pense. 

Those of our readers who visited Prince 
Albert's Model Cottages opposite the Ex 
hibition in London, may have noticed a 
stove looking very much like a long ob- 
long box, standing on four legs, having 
two doors in the front, one opening intc 
a large sized oven, the other disclosing 
the fire-grate, which was fed by the re 
moval of a lid at the top ; the draugh 
from the fire passed over the oven, heat 
ing it, and the hot plate above. Thi 
stove combines all the advantages of th 
continental cooking- stove, with the cheer 
ful appearance of an open fire; at th 
same time, by closing up the fire-plac 
6 



oor, it is converted into a close stovei 
with an excessively small consumption 
f fuel. It bakes admirably, either large 
oints, or bread, at the same time it boils 
saucepan and steamer over the fire-hole, 
nd also four large, or six smaller sauce- 
ans on the top of the hot plate. It fries 
well, and broilw before the fire, and this 
with less than one half the fuel that was 
mployed to do a portion of the work in 
he range. The Bain Marie, which is so 
xcellentameans of keeping soups, gravies, 
auces, &c., hot without burning or dry- 
ng them up, is readily used with it ; and 
he saute pan. or deep frying-pan, which 
s employed as a preliminary operation in 
most French made dishes, is conveniently 
used ; this contrivance derives its name 
rom the verb sauter, to jump the meat 
3eing rapidly turned over and browned 
previous to stewing. 

An apparatus may be connected with 
this or any other stove by which many of 
the articles for the table or sick-room 
may be kept fresh and warm. The fol- 
lowing cut represents a Patent Adjusta- 
ble Shelf for this purpose, manufactured 
by Gorton Brothers, New London, Conn. 




Stove Pipe Shelf. 

Those who object to a stove, preferring 
a range, even at a greater sacrifice of 
economy, should still be somewhat guidec 
by correct principles in their selection; 



86 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



a range surrounded by iron is an absurdi- 
ty, as the metal conducts away the heat 
rapidly ; it should be backed and lined 
with fire-brick, or Welsh lumps, which 
throw out the heat with great power. 
In an open fire-place, the active combus- 
tion is wanted in front for roasting, and 
there only should air enter the fire ; in 
most ranges the air enters below, causing 
the greatest heat to be thrown upon the 
ashes. It may be thought that closing 
up the bottom would produce the same 
effect as allowing it to be choked up with 
ashes in a common grate, deadening the 
fire ; this is not the case with a properly 
constructed range. Backed with a slant- 
ing back of fire clay, the ashes can be read- 
ily removed at the bottom, and all the 
draught being in front, there is a bright 
fire at the place where it is required. 

In situations where gas is to be ob- 
tained, it forms a ready, and for some 
purposes, very economical means of ob- 
taining heat ; its economy does not arise 
from its cheapness com- 
pared with other means, 
but from the fact that it 
need not be lighted till 
the instant it is required, 
and can be as quickly ex- 
tinguished when it has 
done its required duty; 
Fig. 2. for heating any vessels 
containing liquids, especially if the heat 
is required to be only of short continu- 
ance, gas will be found extremely advan- 
tageous. A ring burner, constructed as 
shown in Fig. 2, less than three inches 
in diameter, will quickly boil a gallon of 
water in a metallic vessel; burners of 
this description are usually used in the 
laboratory, surrounded by a case made 
of sheet iron or tinned plate, as in Fig. 3 ; 
this serves to support the vessel to be 
heated, to steady the jets of flame, and to 
conduct every portion of hot air against 
the bottom ; the door also gives a ready 
access to the burner for the purposes of 
jghting the gas. 




For the domestic use of gas in heating 
we believe there is no contrivance so use- 
ful as the following: A circular hole, 
from two to four or more inches in diame- 
ter, is cut in the dresser, through which 
is passed a sheet-iron tube, supported by 
three little elbows ; this tube projects a 
few inches above the table, and about a 
foot and a half below ; its lower end is 
open, and into it projects a gas-pipe, fur- 
nished with a stop -cock ; the upper ex- 
tremity is covered with a sheet of wire 
gauze, similar to that used for blinds, on 
which, as shown in Fig. 4, may be placed 
some pieces of pumice-stone, surrounded 




Fig. 8. 

and kept together by a broad ring ; nei- 
ther the pumice-stone nor the ring, how- 
ever, are essential parts of the contriv- 
ance. The action of this arrangement is 
as follows : When the gas is turned on 




Fig. 4 

it escapes from the pipe, rising through 
the tube, and mixing with the air contain- 
ed within it ; this mixture then escapes 
through the wire gauze, and may be 
lighted on its upper side, without pass- 



ECONOMY OF HEAT. 



8T 



ing through it to the gas below; the 
flame should be perfectly free from 
smoke, which indicates too much gas 
should be pale, colorless, and not soil any 
bright metal placed in it ; if the flame is 
in the slightest degree yellow it will do 
this, and then the gas should be partly 
turned off on the contrary, if there is 
not enough gas, the flame will be extin- 
guished. When lighted, the pumice be- 
comes red-hot, and throws out a great 
heak; when used in boiling, the vessel 
should be supported a short distance 
over the flame by a trivet ; if it is made 
to rest on the top of the ring, and is suf- 
ficiently large to close it entirely, the 
current is stopped and the flame extin- 
guished, whilst the unburned gas still 
escapes below. This contrivance is most 
useful ; it is lighted in an instant, is per- 
fectly free from smoke, no unburned gas 
escapes, it throws out great heat, and 
may be employed to heat bright tools 
with much more convenience than a char- 
coal fire. The objections to its use are, 
that in burning it produces, as all gas 
does, a quantity of carbonic acid gas, de- 
teriorating the air, and that the flame can- 
not be very much enlarged or diminished, 
so that if fires of different power are re- 
quired, two or more of the contrivances 
must be put in order. Otherwise, the 
instantaneous action, small cost, great 
heating power, and cleanliness of the 
plan, strongly recommend it. In sum- 
mer weather, in many small families, it 
can be made to dispense altogether with 
the use of a fire. By a little variation, 
the whole contrivance may be made to 
stand on the table, like Fig. 2 ; in this 
and other cases, vulcanized India-rubber 
will be found to form by far the best 
kind of flexible tube, being quite imper- 
vious, very durable, and excessively pli- 
ant. Those who wish to try the experi- 
ment of heating on this plan, may readily 
do so by covering the top of the glass 



chimney of any common burner with a 
piece of wire gauze, folding it over the 
sides ; the gas may then be turned on, 
and lighted above the gauze, after it has 
mingled with the air in the chimney : a 
small burner, however, does not afford 
sufficient gas for the purpose, and there 
is consequently too much air, and the 
flame is weak and liable to go out. 

We cannot conclude this chapter with- 
out entering our most earnest protest 
against all those injurious contrivances 
for burning charcoal without a flue. The 
use of charcoal-braziers in a large kitchen 
is not to be recommended, but a char- 
coal stove in a dwelling-room is most ob- 
jectionable. Charcoal, in burning, pro- 
duces carbonic acid gas, an invisible and 
therefore insidious poison, which is so 
deadly in its effects, that if the air of a 
room contains but one-tenth of its bulk, 
the breathing of it for any time is fatal. 
Every pound of charcoal, in burning, pro- 
duces more than three pounds and a half 
of this deadly gas. 

In Paris, in the years 1834 and 1835, 
there were 360 cases resulting from the 
fumes of charcoal, of which more than 
260 were fatal. In order to test the 
effects of these stoves, Mr. Coathupe, of 
Wraxall, shut himself up in a close room 
containing eighty cubic yards of air, with 
one of them in action. In four hours he 
was seized with giddiness, which, in an 
hour's time, became most intense ; he 
then had the desire to vomit, but not the 
power; this was followed by an utter 
loss of strength, throbbing at the tem- 
ples, and agonizing headache, but no 
sense of suffocation ; finding that the ex- 
periment was becoming dangerous, he 
essayed to open the window, but had the 
greatest difiiculty in so doing ; and when 
his wife came in ! o the room, he was found 
in a speechless state, in which he re- 
mained for some time. 

In a fatal case, which happened in St. 



88 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



John's Wood, where two girls were 
killed by the use of these stoves, it was 
found, that the quantity of carbonic acid 
produced was capable of rendering poi- 
sonous the air of a room ten times the 
size of -the one in which it was used. 
Men who, knowing the poisonous effects 
of these stoves, still sell them, recom- 
mending them as wholesome, with the 
deliberate assertion that their prepared 
fuel, which is merely charcoal disguised, 
is not deleterious, evince a much more 
lively interest in the state of their own 
pockets, than in the lives of their cus- 
tomers. 

Let it not be imagined that the case of 
Mr. Coathupe is but a solitary one ; the 
action of burning charcoal is of the same 
deleterious nature on all persons. In 
January 1836, seventy people suffered 
the same symptoms, though in a milder 
degree, in the church at Downham, hi 
Norfolk, England, where two of these 
dangerous contrivances had been intro- 
duced: and in the Annales cPHygeine, 
torn, xi., will be found an account of the 
suicides hi the department of the Seine 
in ten years ; these were 4595 in num- 
ber, of whict 1426 deaths were produced 
by burning charcoal. We would again 
recommend our readers undejr no circum- 
stances, however much they may be re- 
commended by false assertions, to admit 
stoves without flues into their houses. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CLEANING AND DISINFECTING. 

WE have elsewhere given directions as 
to the best mode of cleaning various arti- 
cles, such as bottles, glass, &c. What 
remains, therefore, under this head, is to 
furnish hints for cleaning miscellaneous 
articles, which have not been included 



under previous accounts ; and the very 
important process of disinfecting, which 
may be regarded as a medical cleaning, 
fulls, naturally, into the same chapter. 
As the substances to be submitted to the 
process of cleaning vary greatly from one 
another, we shall find it more convenient 
to throw our remarks into the form of 
miscellaneous hints, than to arrange them 
in a chapter for 'consecutive reading. 

Iron-work which is exposed to wet, 
rusts rapidly ; it is usually preserved 
from the action of moisture either by 
covering it with two pr three coatings of 
paint, as is customary in large out-door 
works, or by brushing it over with a 
varnish termed Brunswick black; this 
plan is usually followed in the case of 
smaller substances used iu-doors. A 
very superior plan for protecting small 
iron goods from the injurious action of 
wet, is to heat them a little below red- 
ness, and whilst hot to brush them over 
with common linseed oil, which is de- 
composed by the heat, and forms a thin, 
very firm coating of varnish, which is 
quite impervious to water, and unlike 
paint or Japan-black, does not chip off. 
It is evident that this plan can only be 
adopted in few cases, but where it is 
available we very strongly recommend it. 

Floor Hoarding and other wood work 
is exceedingly apt to be stained by vari- 
ous substances spilt upon it. Ink stains, 
for instance, are extremely obstinate; 
they withstand washing many times, and 
at last turn to a rusty iron color, from 
the application of the alkali of the soap. 
But the black stain of recent ink and the 
rusty iron-mould may be removed by the 
action of oxalic or muriatic acid. As 
wood is not likely to be injured like cloth 
or linen, the latter may be used, being 
the cheaper, and it should be diluted 
with two or three times its bulk of 
water, and applied until the stain is re- 
moved. Grease which has been trodden 



CLEANING AND DISINFECTING. 



89 



in, or has remained a long time, should 
be first softened by the application of a 
little turpentine, and then it will be 
found to yield much more readily than it 
otherwise would to the action of fuller's 
earth and pearlash or soda. Fruit stains 
are quickly removed by the action of a 
little chloride of lime, mixed with water, 
and applied until the desired effect is 
produced. It should be borne in mind 
that all vegetable colors are utterly de- 
stroyed beyond any restoration, by the 
energetic action of this agent. 

Paint, when soiled, is readily cleaned 
by soap and water ; soda and pearlash 
are frequently employed, but they act by 
removing a portion of the paint, and if 
not thoroughly washed off with clean 
water afterwards, they will be found to 
soften the whole. Caustic alkalies, such 
as the solution for washing on the new 
plan, will rapidly dissolve paint, and are 
therefore inapplicable for cleaning; they 
may, however, be usefully employed in 
removing paint from wood, where such 
an operation is requisite. 

late may be cleaned by rouge, or if 
this is not readily obtained, by washed 
whiting ; this is readily made by stirring 
some whiting up with water, then allow- 
ing the larger particles and the grit to 
subside, and pouring off the water charged 
with the finer powder, which is allowed 
to settle, and dried for use. When plate 
is very much stained, it may be cleaned 
with putty powder, but this preparation 
would soon wear away the silver if used 
frequently or unnecessarily. It may be 
mentioned, that this substance is not 
made from putty, as its name might seem 
to imply, but is a rust or oxide of tin, 
obtained by heating the metal. 

Japanned Goods, such as tea-boards, 
should not have boiling water poured 
upon them, but should be washed with 
warm water, and polished with a piece 
of wash-leather and fine flour. 

Knives. The common wooden knife- 



board wears out the knives very rapidly, 
it is therefore much better to employ a 
piece of buff-leather to cover the board ; 
for very superior cutlery emery powder 
should be used instead of Bath-brick. 
Whatever, the material of the board, it 
will be rapidly spoiled by cleaning the 
backs of knives upon the edge of the 
board ; to prevent this evil, a small piece 
of leather should be fixed on one end to 
clean the backs upon. 

Steel Forks are readily cleaned by 
having a pot of damp moss or hay, with 
some sand intermixed, into which they 
may be repeatedly thrust. If knives or 
forks get an unpleasant taint which can- 
not be removed readily, they may be 
plunged into the mould of the garden, 
which has much absorptive power, and 
rapidly removes such odors. 

Bedsteads may be freed from vermin 
by brushing them over in the cracks with 
a mixture formed of one ounce of corro- 
sive sublimate, dissolved in half a pint of 
oil of turpentine, and the same quantity 
of any spirit, such as strong gin or 
whiskey ; this effectually prevents their 
harboring. But when first applied, it 
has a disagreeable odor from the tur- 
pentine, and great care must be taken 
with it, as it is excessively poisonous. It 
has been found that the presence of the 
odor of creosote has effectually driven 
away these enemies to our nocturnal 
peace. On the whole, constant and un- 
remitting cleanliness, and the employ- 
ment of iron bedsteads, which are now 
manufactured of the most elegant forms, 
are the best means of getting rid of these 
pests. 

We pass on to the important opera- 
tions of disinfecting. Various means 
have been proposed of lessening or utter* 
ly destroying the infectious emanations 
that proceed from persons in certain 
diseases, and which frequently have the 
power of attaching themselves with great- 
er or less tenacity to articles of wearing 



90 



THE PKACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



apparel, furniture, &c. Generally speak- 
ing, a good system of ventilation is suffi- 
cient to prevent infection. When rooms 
are properly aired, a disease can seldom 
be caught more than a few feet from the 
patient ; or even in the case, of those 
most infectious disorders, scarlet-fever, 
and small-pox, it seldom spreads more 
than a few yards; but if the air of a 
room is confined, the infection is concen- 
trated, and becomes much more certain in 
its action. 

Downy and fibrous materials readily 
receive infection ; it may, in fact, in many 
instances, be folded up in them, and so 
retained almost any length of time ; but if 
they are thoroughly exposed to a free cur- 
rent of air, it is dissipated in a short time. 
It should be mentioned, that infectious dis- 
eases are more readily received in certain 
states of the body ; thus,, fear, timidity, 
mental anxiety, and such states of mind, 
by lowering the general tone of the sys- 
tem, render it much more liable to con- 
tract infectious or contagious diseases; 
a state of exhaustion from bodily fatigue, 
or from hunger, has the same tendency. 
Infection is also more readily received 
through the lungs than through the skin ; 
therefore, it is important never to re- 
ceive the breath of a patient, and, as a 
sailor would say, always to keep to the 
windward side of him. Amongst the do- 
mestic disinfectants, vinegar has a great 
reputation, but undeservedly so ; its only 
action is to overpower, by its odor, the 
smell of a sick room as a destroyer of 
the peculiar influences that engender dis- 
ease, it has no power. Burning substances 
act hi the same manner. Burnt brown 
paper, fumigating pastiles, tobacco, only 
act by substituting one smell for another. 
The ridiculous practice of carrying about 
a piece of camphor is very common, and 
is perfectly inefficacious. If it has any 
action at all, it must be an injurious one ; 
for camphor is a stimulant, and its con- 
stant inhalation must tend to lower the 



system, and so produce the very evil it is 
supposed to remedy. 

The best means of preventing infection^ 
are ventilation and cleanliness in every 
particular. The best means of destroy- 
ing it are those powerful chemical agents 
which have the power of uniting with 
the hydrogen which is supposed to form 
part of the infectious substances. 

The most powerful, easily controlled, 
and in every sense the best disinfectant, 
is chlorine gas. This agent at once des- 
troys every trace of infection in all sub- 
stances submitted to its action. Its for- 
mation is perfectly under control, and 
goes on in a gentle manner for da} T s to- 
gether, without requiring care or attend- 
ance. We consider that the slow libera- 
tion of chlorine is far superior to the 
employment of chloride of lime, which 
gives forth the gas in a modified form. 

In one case of a school where scarlet- 
fever had returned after several attempts 
at purification, chlorine effected the com- 
plete removal of every trace of the dis- 
ease. Various modes of liberating chlo- 
rine are known to chemists ; but, for such 
purposes as the present, where a slow, 
uniform, and constant action is required, 
there are none equal to the following 
plan : One pound of common table-salt 
is to be intimately mixed by stirring 
with an equal weight of a substance call- 
ed manganese, which may be readily ob- 
tained from any good chemist. Small 
portions of this mixture should be placed 
in shallow pans (the saucers of common 
flower-pots answer the purpose) ; and 
upon them should be poured a mixture 
of oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid) and wa- 
ter, the quantity required for the above 
weights, viz., for one pound of each in- 
gredient, being two pounds of oil of vitriol 
and one of water, both by weight. These 
should have been previously mixed in a 
wooden vessel, being stirred by a wooden 
lath, and allowed to become cool before 
being poured on the salt and manganese. 



DISINFECTING. FERMENTING. 



91 



as*he mixing of the acid and water gen- 
erates great heat. Too much care can- 
not be taken with the acid, as it is ex- 
cessively corrosive in its nature, and 
destroys most substances with which it 
comes in contact. When these materials 
are all mixed, chlorine is slowly evolved 
for a period of three or four days, and in 
so gentle a manner, that not the slightest 
irritating or unpleasant effect is produced. 
If it is wished to cause the more rapid 
production of gas, the saucer may be 
placed over a basin of boiling water, or 
upon a hot brick ; but the slow genera- 
tion for a considerable length of time is 
what should be more especially aimed at. 
It is needless to say, that all substances 
supposed to have been contaminated, 
should be spread out so as to receive the 
influence of the gas ; the bed-linen, and 
all woollen garments, being exposed by 
being spread out on chairs, lines, &c. ; 
the drawers and cupboards opened ; and 
while the disinfecting is in actual opera- 
tion, the windows and doors should be 
kept shut, to prevent the dissipation of 
the chlorine. It is found that two ounces 
of manganese, with a proportionate quan- 
tity of the other materials, is sufficient for 
a room twenty feet wide, forty feet long, 
and twelve feet high, which contains 20 
X40xl2=9600 cubic feet. 

It may be mentioned, that breathing 
chlorine in this highly diluted state, is 
not injurious to the general health ; al- 
though, in a concentrated form, or unless 
very much diluted with air, it is irrita- 
ting in the highest degree. In the very 
dilute state, it is occasionally prescribed 
for the inhalation of consumptive patients. 

For the satisfaction of those who rely 
on the authority of a great name, it may 
be stated, that chlorine used in the man- 
ner here recommended, was employed by 
one of the most illustrious of English 
chemists, in the case of the Penitentiary, 
when a violent and fatal disease broke 



out there, and with complete success. 
The operator in this case was FARADAY. 
It may occasionally be found more 
convenient to use another mixture for 
the liberation of chlorine gas, in which 

case the following may be employed : 

One part of manganese is to be drenched 
with four parts by weight of muriatic 
acid (spirits of salts), mixed with one 
part of water. The gas is evolved slowly 
in the cold, and rapidly if assisted by a 
gentle heat. This process is rather more 
expensive, and possesses no advantage 
over the one previously described. 



CHAPTER XX. 

FERMENTING AND DISTILLING. 

IN ordinary language, the term fermen- 
tation is employed to signify the peculiar 
changes which take place when a solu- 
tion of sugar, or any vegetable substance 
containing saccharine matter, is converted 
into spirit this, however, is only one of 
many of such kinds of action, which are 
well known to chemists. The most im- 
portant fermentations are the saccharine 
fermentation, when sugar is formed by a 
change taking place in starch ; the vinous, 
when spirit is formed from sugar; and 
the acetous, in which vinegar or acetic 
acid is formed from spirit. 

The saccharine fermentation, or the 
formation of sugar from starch, is inter- 
esting, though it does not influence such 
operations as are included in our Domes- 
tic Manipulations. If starch is dissolved 
in water, a little wheat flour added, and 
the whole exposed to a moderately warm 
temperature, it will be found that after a 
few days, varying in number with the 
degree of warmth, the starch has disap- 
peared, and the liquid has become sweet 
from the formation of sugar. The same 
change takes place with much greater 



92 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



rapidity if starch is boiled with a solution 
of malt, which contains an active princi 
pie called diastase, capable of bringing 
about this fermentation in a short time 
The formation of sugar from starch is an 
operation which constantly occurs in al 
growing seeds, the effect being to change 
' an insoluble substance, such as starch 
into one which is capable of being dis- 
solved in the juices of the young plant 
and nourishing it during the early stages of 
its growth. In the operation of malting 
barley, the change is induced artificially, 
for the purpose of producing sugar in the 
malt, which is afterwards made to 
dergo the second kind of fermentation, 
namely, the vinous, or that in which 
spirit is produced. 

When sugar, either that which natu- 
rally exists, in many plants, or as formed 
from starch as just mentioned, is dis- 
solved in water, so as to form a moder- 
ately weak solution, and the * whole ex- 
posed to a degree of warmth varying 
from seventy to eighty degrees, it rapidly 
undergoes a remarkable change, provided 
a small quantity of any vegetable fer- 
ment is present such as yeast, or the 
juice of the grape, or of many other fruits. 
The sugar wholly disappears, and is re- 
solved into two substances one a gas, 
termed carbonic acid," which escapes, giv- 
ing rise to a slow effervescence ; and the 
other, a portion of spirit, which remains 
in the liquid. This kind of fermentation 
is much more difficult to prevent than to 
establish ; in making syrups, it is found 
especially annoying ; for if the quantity 
of sugar used is too small, the syrup is 
certain to ferment and spoil ; and if too 
much is "added, it crystallizes cut hi the 
solid form ; as a general rule, however, 
it is found that two parts, by weight, of 
sugar, to one part, by weight, of water, 
or other liquid such as the juice of 
fruits, made into a syrup by boiling for a 
short time neither ferments nor crys- 
tallizes. 



In the act of fermentation the spirit 
produced by the process last described is 
changed into acetic acid, or vinegar. 
Here, also, the presence of some sub- 
stance capable of commencing the fer- 
mentation is requisite, for pure spirit and 
water will not undergo the change. The 
ferment employed may be the vinegar- 
plant or it may be a little vinegar, 
which may have been previously formed. 

For the rapid progress of the acetous 
fermentation, a high temperature is re- 
quisite even as great as about eighty- 
six degrees and free exposure to air is 
essential. The best vinegar is that made 
from weak wine, at Orleans; the plan 
followed is to introduce a portion of vine- 
gar into the vessels, adding the wine at 
intervals, and never quite emptying them. 
In this country, a weak beer is brewed, 
without hops, for the purpose of making 
vinegar, and a small quantity of dilute 
oil of vitriol is added, after the vinegar is 
formed, to destroy the mouldiness that 
is otherwise apt to be present. Vinegar 
may be formed from any weak spirituous 
iquid \ but it should be borne in mind 
that two circumstances are essential to 
success namely, a high summer tem- 
Derature, either natural or artificial, and 
ree exposure to air. 

The process of distillation is one which 
s used for separating liquids from each 
other that boil at different degrees of 
heat. In domestic economy, it is most 
requently employed to obtain spirit, 
more or less flavored, or scented, with 
:ome volatile essential oil. The appara- 
,us commonly used is the Still, for boil- 
ng the liquid to generate the vapor, and 
a long spirally twisted tube termed the 
worm, which is placed in a tub of cold 
vater, and through which the steam 
)asses to be condensed. The worm is 
he most objectionable part of the mod- 
rn still ; its great evil is the difficulty 
with which it is cleaned, so as to prevent 
ne strong-flavored substance spoiling 



DISTILLATION. 



93 



those which are distilled afterwards. I 
the coils of the worm are not very nu 
merous, a bullet, with a string attached 
may be passed through it, and a sponge or 
small bottle-brush, fastened to the string 
may be worked backwards and forwards 
but if there are several coils, it will be 
found impossible to do this, from the re- 
sistance caused by friction. In this case 
the only plan is to close one end of the 




Fig. 1. 

worm with a cork, and fill it with a solu- 
tion of caustic alkali, allowing it to re- 
main for some hours, and repeating the 
application with fresh liquid, if it be re- 
quired. 

In Germany, the worm is being super- 
seded by an excellent condenser, which 
is. so superior that we are induced to 
give a sketch of it, hoping that it may 
lead to its adoption in this country. The 
vapors from the still pass into the tube 
A (Fig 1), by which they are conducted 
into B, a hollow globe, made to unscrew 
at its centre. The vapors, passing along 
the tubes 0. -are condensed, and the dis- 
tilled liquid drops from D. The pipe E 
should convey a constant stream of cold 
water to the bottom of the tub, and this, 
rising as it is warmed by abstracting heat 
from the tubes and globe, should escape by 
F. All the tubes being straight, it is 
obvious that they can be readily cleaned 
from their ends. 

In the laboratory, distilling is most 
frequently performed with vessels term- 



ed retorts, or even from flasks; but as 
these are not very applicable to domes- 
tic purposes, we pass them over. 

In cloirestic practice, the still is usual- 
ly employed to" obtain son e water or 
spirit flavored with essential oil, or the 
oil itself, and the process should be 
slight'y modified so as to suit each case. 
The vegetable substance should not be 
placed on the bottom of the still itself, as 
in that case it might become burnt, and 
so give an unpleasant flavor to the 
whole; but a bottom of wicker-work 
should be placed in the still in the first 
instance for it to rest upon, or a perfora- 
ted board. The substance to be distilled 
should be placed in the still, covered with 
water, for some hours before the fire is 
lighted ; no more water being added than 
ufficient to cover it, if the preparation of 
oil is the object. 

Herbs, for distilling, should be collect- 
ed on a dry day, andunless the oil re- 
sides in the seeds, as in the case of cara- 
way, anise, &c., or in the flowers, as in 
the rose, lavender, &c. just before the 
flowers have opened, as at that period 
there is the greatest quantity of essential 
oil in the plant. All plants cultivated 
for distillation, should be grown in a 
situation where they can receive a full 
amount of sun-light, as shade or darkness 
very much tends to prevent the formation 
of essential oil. 

The liquid which comes out of the 
worm, is a mixture of water highly fla- 
vored with the substance, and some un- 
dissolved oil this latter is sometimes 
heavier and sometimes lighter 
M than water, either sinking or 
[.fj floating ; in the latter c"ase the 
oil may be readily separated by 
filling a bottle with the mix- 
ture, and when the oil has col- 
lected at the top. carrying it 
1 off by a few threads of cotton 
Fig - 2 - placed as in the figure (fig. 2) 



THE PRACTICAL HOTJSEKEEPEK. 



taking care that they are moistened with 
oil before arranging them; the cotton 
acts as a syphon, and removes the whole 
of the oil. If the object of the operation 
is to obtain the oil and not the distilled 
water, the latter should be preserved, 
and used again and again with fresh 
herbs, because having in the first opera- 
tion dissolved as much oil as it is capa- 
ble of doing, it causes no loss in the sub- 
sequent distillations. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

LAYING OUT TABLES AND FOLDING 

NAPKINS. 

THE art of laying out a table, whether 
for breakfast, luncheon, dinner, tea or 
supper, consists in arranging the various 
dishes, plate, glass, &c., methodically, and 
adhering to the rules we are about to 
make known. 

Much trouble, irregularity, and con- 
fusion will be avoided in a house when 
there is company, if servants are instruct- 
ed to prepare the table, sideboard, or 
dinner-wagon, in a similar manner and 
order daily. 

All tables are usually laid out accord- 
ing to the following rules, yet there are 
local peculiarities which will necessarily 
present themselves, and should be adopt- 
ed or rejected, as may appear proper to 
the good housewife : 

BREAKFASTS. The table should be 
covered with a clean white cloth; the 
cups and saucers arranged at one end, on 
a tray if desirable ; or the coffee-cups 
and saucers may be arranged at the 
right-hand side of one end of the table, 
and the tea-cups and saucers at the left : 
the tea-pot and coffee-pot occupying the 
space between in front, and the urn that 
at the back. Some persons substitute 



cocoa or chocolate for coffee, in which 
case they are to be placed the same. The 
slop-basin and milk-pitcher should be 
placed to the left ; and the cream, and 
hot milk-pitchers, with the sugar basin, 
to the right. 

The remainder of the table should be 
occupied in the centre by the various 
dishes to be partaken of ; while at the 
sides must be ranged a large plate for 
meat, eggs, &c., and a small one for toast, 
rolls, &c., with a small knife and fork for 
each person ; the carving knife and fork 
being placed point to handle ; the butter 
and bread knives to the right of their 
respective dishes, which occupy the cen- 
tre part, and spoons in front of the hot 
dishes with gravy. Salt-cellars should 
occupy the four corners, and, if required, 
the cruets should be placed in the centre 
of the table. 

Dry toast should never be prepared 
longer than five minutes before serving, 
as it becomes tough, and the buttered, 
soppy and greasy, if too long prepared. 
Hot rolls should be brought to table 
covered with a napkin. 

Every dish should be garnished appro- 
priately, either with sippets, ornamental 
butter, water-cresses, parsley, or some 
one of the garnishes we shall point out 
in a future page. 

The dishes usually set upon the table 
are selected from hot, cold, and cured 
meats ; hot, cold, cured, and potted fish ; 
game; poultry, cold or devilled; fruit, 
ripe, preserved, or candied ; dressed and 
undressed vegetables ; meat-pies and 
patties, cold ; eggs ; honey-comb ; and 
savory morsels as grilled kidneys, 
aam-toast, devils, &c. 

Dejeuners a la fourcJiette are laid the 
same as suppers, except that tea and 
coffee are introduced; but in sporting 
circles not until the solids are removed. 

When laid for a marriage or christen- 
ng breakfast, a bride's or christening cake 



LAYING THE TABLE. NAPKINS. 



should occupy the centre instead of the 
epergne or plateau. 

LUNCHEONS, OR KOONINGS. The lun- 
cheon is laid in two ways ; one waj r is to 
bring in a butler's tray with let-down 
sides, on which it is previously arranged 
upon a tray cloth, and letting down the 
sides and spreading the cloth upon the 
dining table, to distribute the things as 
required. The other is to lay the cloth 
as for dinner, with the pickle-stand and 
cruets opposite each other ; and, if in 
season, a small vase of flowers in the cen- 
tre ; if not, a water-pitcher and tumblers, 
which may be placed on a side-table at 
other times. The sides of the table are 
occupied by the requisites for each guest, 
viz., two plates, a large and small fork 
and knives, and dessert-spoon. A folded 
napkin, and the bread under, is placed 
upon the plate of each guest. 

Carafes, with the tumblers belonging 
to and placed over them, are laid at 
the four corners, with the salt-cellars in 
front of them, between two table-spoons 
laid bowl to handle. 

If French or light wines are served, 
they may be placed in the original bot- 
tles in ornamental wine vases, between 
the top and bottom dishes and the vase 
of flowers, with the corks drawn and 
partially replaced. 

The dishes generally served for lun- 
cheons are the remains of cold meat 
neatly trimmed and garnished : cold game 
hashed or plain ; hashes of all de- 
scriptions ; curries ; minced meats ; cold 
pies, savory, fruit, or plain ; plainly 
cooked cutlets, steaks, and chops; ome- 
lettes ; bacon ; eggs ; devils and grilled 
bones ; potatoes ; sweetmeats ; butter ; 
cheese ; salad and pickles. In fact al- 
most anything does for lunch, whether 
of fish, flesh, fowl, pastry, vegetables, or 
fruit. 

Ale and porter are generally served, 
but occasionally sherry, marsalla. port, 



or home-made wines, are introduced, 
with biscuit and ripe fruit. 

A good housewife should always have 
something in the house ready to convert 
into a neat little luncheon, in case a few 
friends drop in, and it is astonishing 
how a really nice looking affair may be 
made out of the remains of the dinner 
served the day before: some glass, a 
sprinkle of plate, a few flowers, some 
good ale, or a little wine, and above all, 
a hearty welcome. 

NAPKINS. Dinner napkins should be 
about twenty-eight inches broad, and 
thirty inches long. They may be folded 
in a variety of wa}s, which impart a 
style to a table, without adding much to 
the expense, and may be readily accom- 
plished with a little practice and atten- 
tion to the following directions and dia- 
grams. 

1. THE MITRE. {Fig. ].) 

Fold the napkin into three parts 
longways, then turn down the right-hand 
corner, and turn up the left-hand one. as 
in Fig. 2, A and B. Turn back the 
point A towards the right, so that it 
shall lie behind C ; and B to the left, 
so as to be behind D. Double the nap- 
kin back at the line E, then turn up F 
from before and G from behind, when 
they will appear as in Fig 3. Bend the 
corner H towards the right, and tuck it 
behind I, and turn back the corner K to- 
wards the left, at the dotted line, and 
tuck it into a corresponding part at the 
back. The bread is placed under the 
mitre, or in the centre at the top. 

2. THE EXQUISITE. (Fig. 4.) 
Fold the napkin into three parts long- 
ways, then fold down two-fifths of the 
length from each side, as in Fig. 5, at A ; 
roll up the part B towards the back, re- 
peat on the other side, then turn up the 
corner towards the corner A. and it will 
appear as D. The centre part E is now 



96 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



to be turned up at the bottom, and down 
at the top, and the two rolls brought 
under the centre piece, as in Fig. 4. The 
bread is placed under the centre band, K, 
Fig. 4. 

3. THE COLLEGIAN. (Fig. 6.) 

Fold the napkin into three parts long- 
ways, then turn down the two sides to- 
wards you. so that they shall appear as 
in Fig. 7 .; then roll up the part A under- 
neath until it looks like B, Fig. 8. Now 
take the corner B and turn it up towards 
C, so that the edge of the rolled part 
shall be even with the central line ; re- 
peat the same on the other side, and turn 
the whole over, when it will appear as 
in Fig. 6. The bread is placed under- 
neath the part K. 

4. THE CINDERELLA. (Fig. 9.) 

Fold the napkin into three parts long- 
ways, then turn down the two sides as 
in Fig. 7 ; turn the napkin over, and roll 
up the lower part as in Fig. 10, A, B. 
Now turn the corner B upwards towards 
C, so that it shall appear as in D ; re- 
peat on the other side, and then bring 
the two parts E together so that they 
shall bend at the dotted line j and the 
appearance will now be as Fig. 9. The 
bread is placed under the apron part, K, 

Fig. 9. 

i 

5. THE FLIRT. (Fig. 11.) 

Fold the napkin into three parts long- 
ways, then fold across the breadth, com- 
mencing at one extremity, and continu- 
ing to fold from and to yourself in folds 
about two inches broad, until the whole 
is done ; then place in a tumbler, and it 
will appear as in the illustration. 

C. THE NEAPOLITAN. (Fig. 12.) 

Fold the napkin into three parts long- 
ways, then fold one of the upper parts 
upon itself from you ; turn over the cloth 
with the part having four folds from you, 



and fold down the two sides so as to ap- 
pear as in Fig. 7 ; then roll up the part 
A underneath, until it appears as in the 
dotted lines in Fig. 13, at B. Now turn 
up the corner B towards C, so that the 
edge of the rolled part shall be even 
with the central line: repeat the same 
upon the opposite side, and turn the 
whole over, when it will appear as in 
Fig..l2: the bread being placed under- 
neath the part K, as represented in the 
illustration. 

7. THE " FAVORITE^' OR OUR OWN. 

(Fig. 14.) 

Fold the napkin into three parts long- 
ways, then turn down the two edges as 
in Fig. 7, and roll up the part A on both 
sides, until as represented on the right- 
hand side in Fig. 14; then turn it back- 
wards (as A B) on both sides ; now fold 
down the point C towards you, turn over 
the napkin, and fold the two other parts 
from you so that they shall appear as in 
Fig. 15. Turn the napkin over, thus 
folded, and raising the .centre part with 
the two thumbs, draw the two ends (A 
and B) together, and pull out the parts 
(C and D) until they appear as in Fig. 
14. The bread is to be placed as repre- 
sented in K 3 Fig. 14. 

DINNERS. 

Dinners. The appearance a dinner- 
table presents does not depend so much 
upon a profuseness of viands, as upon 
the neatness, cleanliness, and well-studied 
arrangement of the whole. Taste, if 
well directed, may produce a handsome 
dinner ; whereas three times the amount 
of money rr.ay be expended upon another, 
and yet not make even a respectable ap- 
pearance. 

We cannot too strongly urge the ne- 
cessity of having things done in the same 
manner every day as when there is. com- 
pany. The servants become accustomed 



FOLDING NAPKINS. 



97 




Jiff. 




Jig.*, 
o 




Jig. IB. 




98 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



to waiting properly, things are always 
at hand, and they do not appear awk- 
ward when visitors drop in ; then every 
thing is regular, and goes on smoothly. 




To Lay the Cloth. The table should 
he well polished, and then covered with 
a cloth, over which a fine white damask 
one should be spread. If the white cloth 
is to be kept on after dinner, it is cus- 
tomary to spread a small cloth at either 
end of the table where the large dishes 
are placed, to protect the long cloth from 
accidental spots arising from gravy, &c. ; 
these slips are removed after dinner, and 
the cloth cleaned with crumVbrushes. 
In some houses an entire upper cloth is 
placed upon the table instead of slips, 
and this being removed after dinner, does 
not require the tedious process of brush- 
Ing the table-cloth. 

When the cloth has been spread, place 
carafes, with the tumblers belonging to 
and placed over them, between every 
four persons, a salt-cellar between every 
third person, and a large and small knife, 
fork, and spoon, to each guest, with two 
wine-glasses, a champagne-glass, and a 
tumbler, to the right of each, and the 
bread placed in or under folded napkins 
between the knives, forks, and spoons ; 
and at large entertainments or public 
dinners, the name of each guest neatly 



written on a card in front of the napkin, so 
as to prevent confusion. The centre or- 
nament, usually a candelabrum, plateau, 
an epergne, or a vase of artificial flowers, 
must now be set on, and the mats for the 
various dishes arranged ; then the wine- 
coolers or ornamental vases placed be- 
tween the centre piece and the top and 
bottom dishes, with the wines in the 
original bottles, loosely corked ; the 
spoons for helping the various dishes, 
asparagus tongs, fish knife and fork or 
slice, and carving knives and forks, are 
placed in front of the respective dishes 
to which they belong; and knife-rests 
opposite to those who have to carve ; 
with a bill of fare, and a pile of soup- 
plates before those that have to help 
the soup. 

In arranging or laying out a table, 
several things require particular atten- 
tion, and especially the following : 

Plate should be well cleaned, and have 
a bright polish ; few things look worse 
than to see a greasy -looking epergne and 
streaky spoons. Glass should be well 
rubbed with a wash-leather, dipped in a 
solution of fine whiting and stone-blue, 
and then dried ; afterwards it should be 
polished with an old silk handkerchief. 
Plates and dishes should be hot, other- 
wise the guests will be disgusted by see- 
ing flakes of fat floating about in the 
gravy. Bread should be cut in pieces 
about an inch thick, and each round of a 
loaf into six parts, or if for a dinner 
party, dinner rolls should be ordered. 
The bread is placed under the napkins, 
or on the left of each guest, if dinner 
napkins are not used ; some of the bread 
being placed in a bread-tray covered with 
a crochet cloth upon the sideboard. 
Lights, either at or after the dinner, 
should be subdued, and above the guests, 
if possible, so as to be shed upon the 
table, without intercepting the view, 
Sauces, either bottle, sweet, or boat 
vegetables, and sliced cucumber, or glazed 



THE DINNER. 



99 



onions for stubble goose, should be placed 
upon the sideboard; a plate basket for 
removing the soiled plates is usually 
placed under the sideboard, or some other 
convenient part of the room ; and two 
knife-trays^ covered with napkins, are 
placed upon a butler's tray; these are 
used for removing soiled carvers and 
forks, and the soiled silver. Ifc is useful 
to have a large-sized brad-awl, a cork- 
screw, and funnel, with strainer; the 
former to break the wire of the cham- 
pagne bottles, and the latter to strain 
port wine, if required to be opened dur- 
ing dinner. 

To lay out thp sideboard or tray. Lit- 
tle requires to be done, except to arrange 



the silver, knives, 



cruets, and various 



dishes to be placed there. The silver 
should be arranged on one end of the 
sideboard, as m Figs. 1 and 2, the gravy 
spoons being placed bowl to handle, and 
the cheese-scoop, marrow-spoon, and salad 
spoons or scissors, where most conven- 
ient. The knives are placed as in Fig. 3, 
for the convenience of removal, because 
by this means a single knife can be ab- 




Figs. l <fe 2. 
Ktracted without disturbing the others ; 




Figs. 3 <fe 4 
carving knives and forks should be placed 



above the others, point to handle. The 
wine-glasses, tumblers, and finger-glasses, 
for dessert, are placed where most con- 
venient, but usually in the centre of the 
back, with ice-plates near to them, and 
the wine-glasses placed in the finger- 
glasses, as in Fig. 4= ; but when only one 
glass is used, that is placed in the centre, 
mouth downwards. At very large or 
fashionable dinners, the finger-glasses 
are sometimes placed on the dinner-table 
with the plain and colored wine-glasses 
in them, and the same, refilled, are placed 
on again at dessert. The cruets, sauces, 
&c., are placed at one end, and the vege- 
tables, &c., in the centre front of the side- 
board. 

To place the dishes on the table. Each 
servant should be provided, at large din- 
ders, with a bill of fare, and instructed at 
small ones, where the dishes are to be 
placed. No two dishes resembling each 
other should be near the same part of 
the table. Soups or broth should always 
be placed at the head of the table ; if 
there are two, top and bottom; if four, 
top, bottom, and two sides, opposite each 
other, or alternately with fish. Fish 
should be placed at the head of the table ; 
if there are two sorts, have fried at the 
bottom and boiled at the top ; if four, 
arrange the same as the soup. We may 
observe, that a white and a brown, or a 
mild and a high- seasoned soup, should 
occupy either side of the centre piece, 
and that it looks handsomer to have fried 
and boiled fish opposite each other, but 
they should never be placed upon the 
same dish. Fish is generally served up- 
on a napkin, the corners of which are 
either turned in or thrown over the fish, 
or upon a piece of simple netting, which 
is turned in all round ; but we recommend 
our readers to use the elegant serviette, 
as being more stylish. 

The first course generally consists of 
soups and fish, which are removed by the 
roasts, stews, &c., of the second course. 



100 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



The second course, when there are three, 
consists of roasts and stews for the top 
and bottom ; turkey or fowls, ham gar- 
nished, tongue, or fricandeau, for the 
sides ; with small made dishes for corners, 
served in covered dishes, as curries, ra- 
gouts, fricassees, stews, &c. 

When there are two roasts, one should 
be white, and the other brown. Removes 
are generally placed upon large dishes, 
for, as they supply the place of the fish 
and soups, they constitute the princi- 
pal part of the dinner. What are termed 
flancs are not so large as the removes, 
nor so small as the entrees, or made dish- 
es, and are generally served in a different- 
ly formed dish. They are seldom used 
except when there are eighteen or twen- 
ty persons. 

Entrees, or made dishes, require great 
care in placing them upon the table, other- 
wise the gravy slops over and soils the 
dish ; they are, therefore, usually served 
with a wall of mashed potatoes, rice, or 
other vegetables, to keep them in their 
proper place. They should also be served 
as hot as possible. 

When there is but one principal dish, 
it should be placed at the head of the ta- 
ble. If three dishes, the principal to the 
head, and the others opposite each other, 
near the bottom ; if four, the largest to 
the head, the next size to the foot, and 
the other two at the sides ; if five, place 
the same as for four, with the smallest in 
the centre ; if six^ place the same as for 
four, with two small dishes on each side ; 
if seven, put three dishes down the cen- 
tre of the table, and two on each side ; if 
eight, four dishes down the middle, and 
two on each side, at equal distances ; if 
nine, place them in three equal lines, but 
with the proper dishes at the top and 
bottom'of the table ; if ten, put four down 
the centre, one at each corner, and one 
on each side, opposite the vacancy be- 
tween the two central dishes; or four 
down the middle and three on each side, 



opposite the vacancies of the centre dish- 
es ; if twelve, place them in three rows 
of four each, or six down the middle, and 
three at equal distances on each side. If 
more than twelve, they must be arranged 
dn the same principles, but varying ac- 
cording to number. 

Oval or circular dining-tables require 
to have the dishes arranged in a shape 
corresponding to the table. 

The third course consists of game, deli- 
cate vegetables, dressed in the French 
style, then puddings, creams, jellies, &c. 

When there are only two courses, the 
first generally consists of soups and 
fish, removed by boiled poultry, ham, 
tongue, stews, roasts, ragouts, curries, or 
made dishes generally, with vegetables. 
The second consists of roasted poultry or 
game at the top and bottom, with dressed 
vegetables, maccaroni, &c., succeeded by 
jellies, creams, preserved fruit, pastry and 
general confectionery. It is generalty con- 
trived to give as great a variety as possi- 
ble in these dinners: thus a jelly, a 
cream, a comp6te, an ornamental cake; a 
dish of preserved fruit, fritters, a blanc- 
mange, a pudding, &c. 

Salads and celery are usually served 
before the puddings and pastry are in- 
troduced. In Great Britain, after the 
third course, cheese, ornamented butter, 
salad, radishes, celery in a glass bowl or 
on a dish, sliced cucumber (and at small 
parties, marrow-bones), are served. A 
marrow-spoon, cheese-scoop, and butter- 
knife, being required upon the table, are 
to be placed near the dishes, a knife 
and fork near the celery, and a pair of 
salad-scissors or a fork and spoon in the 
bowl with the salad. 

The cheese may be served in a glass 
bowl, and handed round from right to 
left; or surrounded with the elegant 
serviette, and placed upon the cheese- 
cloth. The bread may be served as 
usual, piled up on a crochet cloth in a 
plated bread-basket placed in the centre. 



ATTENDANCE AT TABLE. 



101 



Waiting at Table. Much confusion is 
avoided by having an attendant upon 
each side of the table ; or, if the party is 
large, more than one, according to the 
number. The usual number required 
for parties is given below ; and if the in- 
come admit of it, the scale may be in- 
creased according to the second column, 
which will materially add to the comfort 
of the guests. 



Guests. 



12 
15 
20 
30 
40 



Servants. 
. 1 2 



2 3 

3 4 

4 6 
6 8 
9 12 



50 12 20 &c. 

Every attendant should be neatly attired, 
have a white neckcloth and white gloves 
on, should know where all the articles 
reqired are, where the cashes are to be 
placed, and, in fact, be acquainted with 
the whole routine of 'the party; and 
therefore it is better to provide each one 
with a bill of fare. 

When every guest is seated, a servant 
appointed for that purpose should stand 
by the side of each dish, with the right 
hand upon the cover; and as soon as 
grace is said, the cover is to be removed, 
and placed in some convenient part of the 
room. The plates for soup should then 
be taken singly from the pile opposite 
the person serving it, and carried to those 
guests who desire that particular soup, 
observing that ladies are to be attended 
to before gentlemen, and that these 
should commence from the head of the 
table, continuing until both sides are 
helped. 

Soon after the soup has been served, 
the servants may pass down each side of 
the table, and ask each guest what they 
will take, helping them to the dish de- 
sired as soon as it can be procured. 
When champagne is given, it is handed 
7 



round upon a waiter or salver at small 
parties, commencing at the right-hand 
side of the table from the top and bottom 
simultaneously, without any distinction 
as regards ladies or gentlemen. In large 
parties and we prefer the arrangement 
ourselves even in small ones the bottle 
being enveloped as far as the neck with 
a clean dinner-napkin, the wine is helped 
in the same order as before; but in- 
stead of being handed round on a salver, 
the servants pour the wine into the glass, 
at the right-hand side of each guest. By 
these means there is less danger of the 
glasses being broken by any awkward 
collision. The champagne is generally 
iced in summer, and cool in winter, and 
is served as soon as the soup is finished, 
or just after the guests have been helped 
to the second course of removes. 

Liqueurs are handed round when sweets 
are on the table. Sauces are handed 
round in the sauce-boat, and when served 
placed on the side-board or dinner 



J 



wagon ; if only a family party, they are 



102 



THE PRACTICAL HOTTSEKEEPEK. 



returned to the table. Sweet sauces are 
handed round in glass dishes, and bottle 
sauces in a stand or basket made for that 
purpose. 

In removing the dinner things, one 
servant goes round the table with a 
butler's tray, and the other removes and 
places the things upon it. The cloth is 
then brushed with a crumb-brush; or 
the two sides are turned in, and then the 
cloth dexterously jerked off the table, 
the lights replaced, and the dessert set 
on. 

When knives, forks, and spoons are re- 
moved from dishes or plates, they should 
be placed in proper trays covered with 
napkins ; one being used for the silver, the 
other for the steel articles. 

When plates or dishes are removed from 
the table, great care is to be observed 
with respect to holding them horizontally, 
otherwise the gravy, syrup, or liquid, 
may injure the dresses of the guests. 

In some circles, the fashion prevails of 
placing finger-glasses on table imme- 
diately preceding dessert ; but in others, 
cut-glass bowls, partially filled with rose 
or orange flower water, iced in summer 
and lukewarm in winter, are handed down 
each side of the table, upon salvers ; into 
these the guest dips the corner of the 
dinner napkin, and just touches the lips 
and the tips of the fingers. 

DESSERTS, TEAS, AND SUPPERS. 

THE DESSERT. The dessert may con- 
sist of merely two dishes of fruit for the 
top and bottom; dried fruits, biscuits, 
filberts, &c., for the sides and corners ; 
and & cake for the centre. 

When the party is large, and ices are 
served, the ice- plates are placed round 
the table, the ice-pails at both ends of 
the table, and dishes with wafer-biscuits, 
at the sides. Some persons have the ices 
served in glass dishes, which, together with 
the wafer biscuits, are handed round be 1 
fore the usual dessert. 



When there is preserved ginger, it 
follows the ices, as it serves to stimulate 
the palate, so that the delicious coolness 
of the wines may be better appreciated. 

The side and corner dishes usually put 
on for dessert, consist of : Competes 
in glass dishes ; frosted fruit served on 
lace-paper, in small glass dishes ; pre- 
served and dried fruits, in glass dishes ; 
biscuits, plain and fancy; fresh fruit, 
served in dishes surrounded with leaves 
or moss ; olives, wafer biscuits, brandy- 
scrolls, &c. 

The centre dish may consist either 
of a savoy or an ornamental cake, on an 
elevated stand a group of waxen fruit, 
surrounded with moss a melon a pine 
apple grapes or a vase of flowers. 

Each plate should contain a knife, fork, 
and spoon, with two wine-glasses, ar- 
ranged upon a d'oyley, as in Fig. 5. 
These are to be placed before each guest, 
and a finger-glass, with cold water in 




Fig. 5. 



summer, andluke-warm water in "winter, 
on the right of each plate ; with grape- 
scissors, and melon knife and fork, before 
their respective dishes. Glass bowls 
containing sifted sugar, with pierced 
ladles, or others filled with cream, are to 
be placed near the centre dish, if they 
are required. A cut glass pitcher with 
tumbler on either side should be 



SUPPERS. TRUSSING. 



103 



placed in a convenient part of the centre 
of the table. 

The wine, either cooled or not, should 
be placed at both ends of the table, or at 
the bottom, if only a small party, the 
decanters being placed in castors, 
though this fashion is now nearly abol- 
ished. 

Zests are put down after the dessert is 
removed, and consist chiefly of anchovy 
toasts, devilled poultry and game, and 
biscuits, gravy toast, grills, &c. 

Coffee is the last thing served, and is 
generally handed round upon a salver ; 
after this, the gentlemen withdraw to the 
drawing-r&om. 

Tea. After a dinner party, the tea is 
generally handed round by two servants, 
the one having tea and coffee, with hot 
milk, cream, and sugar upon one tray; 
the other having thinly cut and rolled 
bread and butter, biscuits and cake, upon 
another tray. . 

If served at an evening party or dance, 
a servant helps the guests to tea or cof- 
fee, which is arranged upon a side-table 
in a small room. The tea and coffee oc- 
cupy the two ends of the table, on either 
side of the urn, which is placed in the 
centre and back. In front of the urn 
are ranged the sugar-candy for coffee, 
sugar, hot milk, cream, bread and butter, 
cake, and biscuits. 

Tea, when only for a small party, may 
be brought in upon a tray, the tea and 
coffee-pots occupying the centre of the 
tray; the cups and saucers the front; 
and the hot milk, cream, slop-basin, and 
sugar, the ends. The urn is placed at 
the back of the tray ; and the bread and 
butter, cut or not, with cake, biscuits, 
muffins, crumpets, or toast, at the sides. 

Suppers. The great secret of laying 
out a supper consists in arranging the 
china, glass, silver, linen, lights, confec- 
tionery, substantials, trifles, flowers, and 
other articles, with a due regard to form, 
color, size, and material. 



A supper table should neither be too 
much crowded, nor too scanty, nor scat- 
tered and broken up with small dishes. 
Two dishes of the same description 
should not be placed near each other: 
dishes should not be heaped up as if for 
a ploughman's repast, but contain suffi- 
cient to make them look well, without 
being over or under-done as regards 
quantity. 

Hot suppers are now seldom served ; 
for people dine later than they did for- 
merly ; and besides being more expen- 
sive than cold ones, they also give more 
trouble. 

The centre of the table is generally oc- 
cupied by an 6pergne, vase of flowers, 
globe of fish upon an elevated stand, a 
plateau, or small fountain ; around which 
are arranged : Dried, preserved, frosted, 
or candied fruits ; custards, jellies, and 
trifles, in glasses ; and small biscuits. 
The top and bottom of the table are fur- 
nished with game, fowls, or meat; the 
sides have dishes of ham sliced ; tongue ; 
collared, potted, hung, and grated beef; 
brawn, mock or real ; savory pies ; lob- 
sters ; oysters ; dressed crab or cray-fish ; 
prawn pyramids ; sandwiches of ham, 
beef, tongue, anchovy, or other savory 
morsels ; tarts, tartlets ; cake, biscuits ; 
whipped and other creams ; jellies, blanc- 
mange ; caramel baskets j patties, &c. 



CHAPTER 

TRUSSING AND OAEVING. 

Poultry. The feathers must be pluck- 
ed as soon as possible after killing and 
the down singed off with lighted paper, 
the crop emptied by a slit cut in the back 
of the neck, the vent opened to clean out 
the entrails, the gall-bag carefully remov- 
ed, and the liver and gizzard cleansed in 
cold water. The necks are to be cut off 
close to the body, the skin being pushed 



104 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



up above the part where it is cut, and 
afterwards drawn down and wrapped 
over the end of the neck. Before fasten- 
ing it down, pour cold water through the 
body of the fowl. The back-bone and 
two bones leading to the pinions may be 
broken, and then the bird is to be trussed. 

Carving. The carving-knife for poul- 
try and game is smaller and lighter than 
that for meat ; the point is more peaked, 
and the handle longer. 

In cutting up wild-fowl, duck, goose, 
or turkey, more prime pieces may be ob- 
tained by carving slices from pinion to 
pinion without making wings, which is 
a material advantage in distributing the 
bird when the party is large. 

To Truss a Goose. Pick and stub it 
clean, cut the feet off at the joint, and 
the pinion off at the first joint. Then 
cut off the neck close to the back, leav- 
ing the skin of the neck long enough to 
turn over the back. Pull out the throat, 
and tie a knot at the end. Loosen the 
liver and other matters at the breast end 
with the middle finger, and cut it open 
between the vent and the rump. Draw 
out the entrails, wipe the body out clean 
with a cloth, beat the breast-bone flat 
with a rolling pin, put a skewer into the 
wing, and draw the legs up close ; put 
the skewer through the middle of the 
leg, and through the body, and the same 
on the other side. Put another skewer 
in the small of the leg, tuck it close 
down to the sidesman, run it through, 
and do the same on the other side. Cut 
off the end of the vent, and make a hole 
large enough for the passage of the rump, 
as by that means it will keep in the sea- 
soning much better. The best parts are 
the breast slices ; the fleshy part of the 
wing, which may be divided from the 
pinion; the thigh-bone, which may be 
easily divided in the joint from the leg- 
bone ; the pinion ; and next, the side- 
bones. The rump is a nice piece to those 



who like it ; and the carcass is preferred 
by some to other parts. 

To Truss a Turley. When the bird is 
picked carefully, break the leg bone close 
to the foot, hang on a hook, and draw out 
the strings from the thigh ; cut the neck 
close off to the back, taking care to leave 
the crop-skin long enough to turn over 
the back. Remove the crop, and loosen 
the liver and gut at the throat end with 
the middle finger. Cut off the vent, re- 
move the gut, pull out the gizzard with 
a crooked wire, and the liver will soon 
follow ; but be careful not to break the 
gall. Wipe the inside perfectly clean 
with a wet cloth, then cut the breast-bone 
through on each side close to the back, 
and draw the legs close to the crop, then 
put a cloth on the breast, and beat the 
thigh bone down with a rolling-pin till it 
lies flat. 

If the turkey is to be- trussed for foil- 
ing , cut the first joint of the legs off; 
pass the middle finger into the in- 
side, raise the skin of the legs and put 
them under the apron of the bird. Put 
a skewer into the joint of the wing and 
the middle joint of the leg, and run it 
through the body and the other leg and 
wing. The liver and gizzard must be 
put in the pinions, care being taken to 
open and previously remove the contents 
of the latter ; the gall bladder must also 
be detached from the liver. Then turn 
the small end of the pinion on the back, 
and tie a packthread over the ends of the 
legs to keep them in their places. 

If the turkey is to be roasted, leave 
the legs on, put a skewer in the joint of 
the wing, tuck the legs close up, and put 
the skewer through the middle of the 
legs and body ; on the other side put an- 
other skewer in at the small part of the 
I6g. Put it close on the outside of the 
sidesman, and push the skewer through, 
and the same on the other side. Put the 
liver and gizzard between the pinions, 



TRUSSING. 



105 



and turn the point of the pinion on the 
back. Then put, close above the pinions, 
another skewer through the body of the 
bird. 

To Truss Fowls. Fowls must be picked 
very clean, and the neck cut off close to 
the back. Take out the crop, and, with the 
middle finger, loosen the liver and other 
parts. Cut off the vent, draw it clean, 
and beat the breast-bone flat with a roll- 
ing pin. 

If the fowl is to be lolled, cut off the 
nails of the feet, and tuck them down 
close to the legs. Put your finger into 
the inside, and raise the skin of the legs; 
then cut a hole in the top of the skin, 
and put the legs under. Put a skewer 
\n the first joint of the pinion, and bring 
the middle of the leg close to it ; put a 
skewer through the middle of the leg, 
and through the body, and then do the 
same on the other side. Open the giz- 
zard, remove the contents, and wash it 
well ; remove the gall-bladder from the 
liver. Put the gizzard and the liver in 
the, pinions, turn the points on the back, 
and tie a string over the tops of the legs 
to keep them in their proper places. 

If the fowl is to be roasted, put a 
skewer in the first joint of the pinion 
and bring the middle of the leg close tc 
it. Put the skewer through the middle 
of the leg, and through the body, and do 
the same on the other side. Put another 
skewer in the small of the leg, and 
through the sidesman ; do the same on 
the other side, and then put another 
through the skin of the feet, which 
should have the nails cut off. 

The prime parts of a fowl, whethe 
roasted or boiled, are the wings, breas 
and merry-thought ; and next to these 
the' neck-bones and side-bones; the leg 
are rather coarse of a boiled fowl, how 
ever, the legs are rather more tender tha 
a roasted one ; of the leg of a fowl th 
thigh is the better part, and therefor 



hen given to any one should be sepa- 
ated from the drum-stick, which is done 
y passing the knife underneath, in the 

ollow, and turning the thigh-bone back 

om the leg-bone. 

To Truss ChicJcens.'Pick and draw them 
n the same manner as you would fowls ; 
ut, as their skins are very tender, plunge 
hem into scalding water, and remove, 
when the feathers will come off readily. 

If they are to be boiled, cut off the nails, 
otch the sinews on each side of the joint } 
ut the feet in at the vent, and then peel 
he rump. Draw the skin tight over 
le legs, put a skewer in the first joint 
f the pinion, and bring the middle of 
he legs close. Put the skewer through 
he middle of the legs, and through the 
X)dy; and do the same on the other 
ide. Clean the gizzard, and remove the 
gall from the liver ; put them into the 
linions, and turn the points on the back. 

If for roasting, cut off the feet, put a 
skewer in the first joint of the pinions, 
and bring the middle of the legs close. 
Run the skewer through the middle of $ie 
legs and body, and do the same on the 

ther side. Put another skewer into the 
sidesman, put the legs between the apron 
and the sidesman, and run the skewer 
through. Having cleaned the liver and 
^izzardj put them under the pinions, turn 
the points on the back, and pull the breast- 
skin over the neck. 

To Truss Pheasants. Pick them clean, 
cut a slit at the back of the neck, take 
out the crop, loosen the liver, and gut the 
breast with the fore-finger; then cut off the 
vent, and draw them. Cut off the pinion 
at the first joint, and wipe out the in- 
side with the pinion. Beat the breast- 
bone flat with a rolling-pin, put a skewer 
in the pinion, and bring the middle of 
the legs close. Then run the skewer 
through the legs, body, and the other 
pinion, twist the head, and put it on the 



106 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



end of the skewer, with the bill fronting 
the breast. Put another skewer into 
the sidesman, and put the legs close on 
each side of the apron, and then run the 
skewer through all. If you wish the 
cock-pheasant to look well, leave the beau- 
tiful feathers on the head, and cover with 
paper to protect them from the fire. 
Save the long feathers from the tail; 
and when cooked, stick them into the 
rump before sending to table. 

If the pheasants are for lolling, put 
the legs in the same manner as in truss- 
ing a fowl. 

To Truss Pigeons. Pick clean, take off 
the neck close to the back ; then remove 
the crop, cut off the vent, and draw out the 
entrails and gizzard, but leave the liver, 
as a pigeon has no gall-bladder. 

If for roasting, cut off the toes, cut a 
slit hi one of the legs, and put the other 
through it. Draw the leg tight to the 
pinion, put a skewer through the pinion, 
legs, and body, and with the handle of 
the knife break the breast flat. Clean 
the gizzard, and put it under one of the 
pinions, and turn the points on the back. 

If for boiling or stewing, cut the feet 
off at the joint, turn the legs, and stick 
them in the sides, close to the pinions. 
If for a pie, they must be done in the 
same manner. 

To Truss Wild Fowl Pick clean, cut 
off the neck close to the back, and, with 
the middle finger, loosen the liver and 
other parts. Cut off the pinions at the 
first joint ; then cut a slit between the 
vent and the rump, and draw them clean. 
Clean them properly with the long feath- 
ers on the wing, cut off the nails, and turn 
the feet close to the legs. Put a skewer 
in the pinion, pull the legs close to the 
breast, and run the* skewer through the 
legs, body, and the other pinion. Cut off 
the end of the vent, and put the rump 
through it. 




All kinds of wild-fowl are to be truss- 
ed thus : 

To Truss Woodcock, Plover and Snipe. 
If these birds are not very fresh, great 
care must be taken in picking them, as 
they are very tender to pick at any time ; 
for even the heat of the hand will some- 
times take off the skin, which will de- 
stroy the beauty of the bird. When 
picked clean, cut the pinions in the first 
joint, and with the handle 
of a knife beat the breast- 
bone flat. Turn the legs 
close to the thighs, and tie them together 
at the joints. Put the thighs close to 
the pinions, put a skewer into the pin- 
ions, and run it through the thighs, body, 
and other pinions. Skin the head, turn 
it, take out the eyes, and put the head on 
the point of the skewer, with the bill 
close to the breast. These birds must 
never be drawn. 

To Truss small Birds. Pick well, cut 
off their heads, and the pinions of the 
first joint. Beat the breast-bone flat, and 
turn the feet close to the legs, and put 
one into the other. Draw out the gizzard, 
and run a skewer through the middle of 
the bodies. Tie the skewer fast to the 
spit when you put them down to roast. 

To Truss Hare or Rabbit. A hare or 
rabbit should be pauncTied, or cleaned, as 
soon as it is killed. The inside should be 
kept dry and peppered. "When trussed, 
the sinews of the hind-legs must be cut, 
and the legs turned towards the head and 
fastened to the sides. The fore-legs must 
be turned to meet the hind-legs, and fas- 
tened, with slight skewers to the body. 
The head is thrown back and kept in 
place by a skewer passed through it. 
The stuffing is put in, and the skin sew- 
ed up. A string fastens all compactly 
together. The ears of a rabbit are to be 
cut off when roasted or boiled. 



CARVING. 



107 



CAKVINGk 

Ladies ought especially to make carv- 
ing a study ; at their own houses, they 
grace the table, and should be enabled to 
perform the task allotted to them with 
sufficient skill to prevent remark or the 
calling forth of eager proffers of assist 1 
ance from good-natured visitors near, 
who probably would not present any bet- 
ter claim to a neat performance. 

Carving presents no difficulties ; it re- 
quires simply knowledge. All display 
of exertion or violence are in very bad 
taste; for, if not an evidence of the 
want of ability on the part of the car- 
ver, they present a very strong testi- 
mony of the toughness of a joint or the 
more than full age of a bird : in both 
cases they should be avoided. A good 
knife of moderate size, sufficient length 
of handle, and very sharp, is requisite ; 
for a lady it should be light, and smaller 
than that used by gentlemen. Fowls are 
very easily carved, and joints, such as 
loins, breasts, fore-quarters, &c. The 
butcher should have strict injunctions to 
separate the joints well. 

The dish upon which the article to be 
carved is placed should be conveniently 
near to the carver, so that he has ful 
control over it ; for if far off, nothing 
can prevent an ungraceful appearance 
nor a difficulty in performing that which 
in its proper place could be achieved wit! 



In serving fish, some nicety and car* 
must be exercised ; here lightness of ham 
and dexterity of management is neces 
sary, and can only be acquired by prac 
tice. ^The flakes which, in such fish a 
salmon and cod are large, should not b 
broken in serving, for the beauty of th 
fish is then destroyed, and the appetit 
for it injured. In addition to '.he skil 
* in the use of the knife, there is also re 
quired another description of knowledge 
and that is an acquaintance with the bes 
parts of the joint, fowl, or fish bein 



arved. Thus, in a haunch of venison, 
le fat, which is a favorite, must be serv- 
d with each slice ; hi the shoulder of 
.utton there are some delicate cuts in 

e under part. The breast and wings 
re the best parts of a fowl, the trail of ' 

woodcock on a toast is the choicest 
art of the bird. In fish a part of the 
oe, melt, or liver should accompany the 
iece of fish served ; the list, however, 
3 too numerous to mention here ; and, 
ndeed, the knowledge can only be ac- 
uired by experience. In large establish- 
ments the gross dishes are carved at the 
>uffet by the butler, but in general they 
ire placed upon the table. 

Fish is served with a fish-slice, or the 
new fish-knife and fork, and requires 

ery little carving, care being required, 
lowever, not to break the flakes, which, 
from their size, add much to the beauty 
of cod and salmon. Serve part of the 
roe, melt, or liver, to each person. The 
heads of carp, part of those of ctfd and 
salmon, sounds of cod, and fins of turbot, 
are likewise considered delicacies. 




Mackerel 

Should be deprived of the head and tail 
by passing the slice across in the direc- 
tion of lines 1 and 2 ; they should then 
be divided down the back, so as to assist 
each person to a slice ; but if less is re- 
quired, the thicker end should be given, 
as it is more esteemed. If the roe is 
asked for, it will be found between 1 and 

2. 

' Barbel, Carp, Haddock, Herring, Perch, 
Whiting, &c., should be helped the same 



108 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



as Mackerel ; remembering that the head 
of the Carp is esteemed a delicacy. 




Cod's Head and Shoulders. 

Pass the fish-slice or knife from 1 to 6 
down to the bone ; then help pieces from 
between 1 2, and 3 4, and with each 
slice give a piece of the sojmd, which 
lies under the back-bone, and is procured 
by passing the knife in the direction 4 
5. There are many delicate parts about 
the head, particularly the oyster, which 
is the cheek, below the eye ; and a great 
deal of the jelly kind, which lies about 
the jaws. The tongue aud palate are 
considered delicacies, and are obtained 
by passing the slice or a spoon into the 
mouth. 




Salmon. 

Give a portion of the back and belly 
to each person, or as desired. If a whole 
salmon is served, remember that the 
choice parts are next the head, the thin 
part is the next best, and the tail the 
least esteemed. Make an incision along 
the back, 9 to 10, and another from 1 to 
2, and 3 to 4; cut the thickest part, bc- 
tween 56. 102, for the lean j and 
78 for the fat. When the fish is very 
thick, do not help too near the bone, as 
the flavor and color are not so good. . 

Although carving with ease and ele- 
gance is a very necessary accomplish- 
ment, yet most people are lamentably 



deficient not only in the art of dissecting 
winged game and poultry, but also in 
the important point of knowing the parts 
most generally esteemed. Practice only 
can make good carvers ; but the direc- 
tions here given, with accompanying 
plates, will enable any one to disjoint a 
fowl, and avoid the awkwardness of dis- 
figuring a joint. 

In the first place, whatever is to be 
carved should be set in a dish sufficiently 
large for turning it if necessary ; but the 
dish itself should not be moved from its 
position, which should be so close before 
the carver as only to leave room for the 
plates. The carving-knife should be 
light, sharp, well-tempered, and of a size 
proportioned to the joint, strength being 
less required than address in the manner 
of using it. Large solid joints, such as 
ham, fillet of veal, and salt beef, cannot 
be cut too thin ; but mutton, roast pork, 
and the other joints of veal, should never 
DC served in very slender slices. 

A Sound (buttock) or Aitch-bone of 
Beef. Pare off from the upper part, of 




Aitch-bone of Beet 

ither, a slice from the whole surface, of 
about half an inch thick, and put it aside ; 

;hen cut thin slices of both lean and fat, 

n the direction from a to 5. Tne soft 

f at, which resembles marrow, lies at the 
back of the aitch-bone, below c, but the 
firm fat must be cut in slender horizon- 

al slices at #, and is much better than 

he soft when eaten cold. 
Ribs of Beef. Cut along the whole 

length of the bone, from end to end, a to 



CARVING. 



109 



Z>, either commencing in the centre or at 
one side, having the thin end towards 
you ; but if cut from the bone and form- 
ed into a round, with the fat end doubled 
into the centre, it must then be cut in 
the same manner as the round of beef. 




Brisket of Beef. 

Brisket of Beef must be carved in the 
direction 1 and 2, quite down to the bone, 
after cutting off the outside, which should 
be about three-quarters of an inch thick. 

Sirloin of Beef . Cut in the same man- 




Sirloin of Beef. 

ner as the ribs, commencing either at the 
centre or the side, as from a to 5. The 
under part should be cut across the bone, 
as at c for the lean, and d for the rich fat ; 
many persons prefer the under to the 
upper part, the meat being more tender. 
Fillet of Veal. Carve it in the same 




Fillet of Veal. 

manner as the round of beef; but the up- 



per slice should be cut somewhat thinner, 
as most persons like a little of the brown, 
and a portion of it should be served along 
with each slice, together with a slice of 
the fat and stuffing, which is skewered 
within the flap. 

Neck of Veal. Cut across the ribs, as 




Neck of Teal 
at a to & : the small bones, as at c to d, 
being cut off, divided, and served separate- 
ly, for it is not only a tedious, but a vul- 
gar operation to attempt to disjoint the 
ribs. 

Loin of Veal. The joint is placed in 
the dish in the same manner as a sirloin 
of beef, but should be turnsd up, and the 
whole of the kidney and fat cut out ; the 
fat being usually put upon a dry toast 
and served as marrow. The loin is then 
returned to its former position, and the 
meat should be cut across the ribs as in 
the neck, serving it with a slice of kid- 
ney. 




Knuckle of VeaL 

Knuckle of Veal is to be carved in the 
direction 12. The most delicate fat 
lies about the part 4, and if cut* in the 
line 34, the two bones, between which 
the marrowy fat lies, will be divided. 

Breast of Veal, being very gristly, is 



110 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



not easily divided into pieces. In order, 
therefore, to avoid this difficulty, put 
your knife at a about four inches from 




Breast of VeaL 

the edge of the thickest part (which is 
called " the brisket"), and cut through 
it to 5, to separate it from the long ribs : 
cut the short bones across, as at d, d, d, 
and the long ones as at c, c, c ; ask which is 
chosen, and help accordingly. The re- 
maining scrag part is seldom served at 
table, but forms an excellent stew when 
dressed in the French mode. 

Shoulder of Veal Cut in the same 
manner as a shoulder of mutton, begin- 
ning on the under side. 

Calf s Head. Cut slices from a to I in 




Calf s Head. 

the figure, which describes only half 
the head, letting the knife go close to the 
bono. Many like the eye at c, which 
you roust cut out with the point of your 
knife, and divide hi two, along with some 
of the glutinous bits which surround it. 
If the jaw-bone be taken off, there will 
be found some fine lean, and under the 
head is the palate, which is reckoned a 
delicacy. 

The tongue and brains are dished sep- 
arately, but served in small portions 
along with the head. 



Leg of Mutton. The best part of a leg 
:f 




d < 
Leg of Mutton. 

of mutton, whether boiled or roasted, is 
midway between the knuckle and the 
broad end. Begin to help there from the 
roundest and thickest part, by cutting 
slices, not too thin, from 5 down to c. 
This part is the most juicy ; but many 
prefer the knuckle, which, in fine mutton, 
will be very tender, though dry. There 
are very fine slices in the back of the leg ; 
therefore, if the party be large, turn it up 
and cut the broad end ; not across in the 
direction you did the other side, ~but long- 
wise, from the thick end to the knuckle- 
bone. To cut out the cramp-bone, which 
some persons look upon as a delicacy, 
pass your knife under in the direction of 
e, and it will be found between that and d. 

Shoulder of Mutton, though commonly 
looked upon as a very homely joint, is 
by many preferred to the leg, as there is 
much variety of flavor, as well as texture, 
in both the upper and under parts. 

The figure represents it laid in the dish 
as always served, with its lack upper- 
most. Cut through it from a down to 




Shoulder of Mutton. 

the blade-bone at & ; afterwards slice it 
along each side of the blade-bone from c 



CAKV1NG. 



Ill 



c 5. The prime part of the fat lies on 
the outer edge, and is to be cut in thin 
slices in the direction of d. 
The under part, as here represented, 




contains many favorite pieces of different 
sorts, as, crosswise, in slices, near the 
shank-bone at &; and, lengthwise, in 
broad pieces, at the further end a; as 
well as in the middle and sides in the 
manner designated at c and d. 

Should it be intended to reserve a por- 
tion of the joint to be eaten cold, all this 
undermost part should be first cut away 
and served separately, both as it eats bet- 
ter hot than cold, and as the upper re- 
maining part will appear more sightly in 
the table. 

Loin of Mutton. Cut the joints into 
chops and serve them separately ; or cut 
slices the whole length of the loin ; or 
run the knife along the chine-bone, and 
then slice it, the fat and lean together, 
as shown in the cut of the saddle, hi 
the next column. 

Neck of Mutton. It should be prepar- 
ed for table as follows: Cut off the 
scrag; have the chine-bone carefully 
sawn off, and also the top of the long 
bones (about an inch and a half,) and th< 
thin part turned under ; carve in the di 
rection of the bones. 

The scrag of mutton, when roasted, i 
very frequently separated from the ribi 
of the neck, and in that case the mea 
and bones may be helped together. 

Saddle of Mutton. Gut in long anc 
rather thin slices from the tail to th 
end, beginning at each side close to th 



back-bone, from a to &, with slices of fat 




Saddle of Mutton. 

Tom c to d; or along the bone which 
divides the two loins, so as to loosen 
from it the whole of the meat from that 
side which you then cut crosswise, thus 
giving with each slice both fat and lean. 
The tail end is usually divided and partly 
turned up. Some butchers also skewer 
the kidneys across the incision, but it is 
not usual at genteel tables, and the inci 
sion is better omitted. 




Fore-Quarter of Lamb. Haunch of Venison, 



112 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



Haunch of Mutton. A haunch is the 
leg and part of the loin, and is cut in the 
same manner as a haunch of venison. 

Fore-Quarter of Lamb. Pass the 
knife under the shoulder in the direction 
of /z, c, 5, d, so as to separate it from the 
ribs without cutting the meat too much 
off the bones. A Seville orange or 
lemon should then be divided, the halves 
sprinkled with salt and pepper, and the 
juice squeezed over the under part. A 
little cold or melted butter is then put 
between both parts, after which the 
shoulder is placed in a separate dish to 
be helped by some other person. Divide 
the ribs from d to e : and then serve the 
neck/, and breast g-, as may be chosen. 

Haunch of Venison. Have the joint 
lengthwise before you, the knuckle being 
the farthest point. Cut from a to &, but 
be careful not to let out the gravy ; then 
cut along the whole length from a down 
to d. The knife should slope in making 
the first cut, and then the whole of the 
gravy will be received in the well. The 
greater part of the fat, which is the fa- 
vorite portion, will be found at the left 
side, and care must be taken to serve 
some with each slice. 

Neck of Venison. Cut across the ribs 
diagonally ; or it may be cut in slices 
the whole length of the neck. The first 
method is equally good, and much more 
economical. 




Leg of Pork. 

A leg of Por\ whether boiled or roast- 
ed, is carved the same. Commence about 
midway, between the knuckle and the 
thick end, and cut thin deep slices from 
cither side of the line 1 to 2. 



PorJc. In helping the roast loin and 
leg, your knife must follow the direction 
of the scores cut by the oook upon the 
skin which forms the crackling, as it is 
too crisp for being conveniently divided, 
and cannot therefore be cut across the 
bones of the ribs, as in loin of mutton. 
The scores upon the roasted leg are, how- 
ever, always marked too broadly for 
single cuts ; the crackling must therefore 
be lifted up from the back to allow of 
thin slices being cut from the meat ; the 
seasoning is under the skin at the larger 
end. 




Ham. 

Ham. Serve it with the back upwards, 
sometime^ ornamented, and generally 
having, as in France, the shank-bone 
covered with cut paper. Begin in the 
middle by cutting long and very thin 
slices from a to 5, continuing down to 
the thick fat at the broad end. The first 
slice should be wedge-shaped, that all the 
others may be cut slanting, which gives 
a handsome appearance to them. Many 
persons, however, prefer the hock at d 
as having more flavor ; it is then carved 
lengthwise from c to d. 




A Tongue. 

A Tongue should be cut across, nearly 



CARVING. 



113 



through the middle, at the line 1, and thin 
slices taken from each side ; a portion of 
the fat, which is situated at the root of the 
tongue, being helped with each. 




Boast Pig. 

Sucking-pig. The cook usually divides 
the body before it is sent to table as 
thus and garnishes the dish with the 
jaws and ears. 

Separate a shoulder from one side, and 
then the leg, according to the direction 
given by the line along the carcass. The 
ribs are then to be divided ; and an ear 
or jaw presented with them, and plenty 
of sauce and stuffing. The joints may 
either be divided into two each, or pieces 
may be cut from them. The ribs are 
reckoned the finest part ; but some peo- 
ple prefer the neck end, between the 
shoulders. 




,nd back, and give it a little turn in- 
wards at the joint, which you must en- 
deavor to hit, and not to break by force. 
The shoulders may be removed by a 
ircular cut around them. The back is 
he most delicate part, and next to that 
he thighs. A portion of the stuffing 
should be served with each slice. The 
brains and ears of sucking-pig and rabbit 
ire also considered epicurean titbits, 
which must not be neglected ; wherefore, 
when every one is helped, cut off' the 
lead, put your knife between the upper 
and lower jaw and divide them, which 
will enable you to lay the upper fiat on 
your plate ; then put the point of the 
inife into the centre, and cut the head 
nto two. 



Babbit. 

Rabbits Put the point of the knife 
under the shoulder at 6, and so cut all 
the way down to the rump, along the 
sides of the backbone, in the limb &, a 
cutting it in moderately thick slices ; or 
after removing the shoulders and legs 
cut the back crosswise in four or five 
pieces; but this can only be done when 
the rabbit is very young, or when it is 
boned. To separate the' legs, and 
shoulders, put the knife between the leg 




Boiled Babbit 

Boiled Rabbits. The legs and shoul- 
ders should be first taken oft^ and then 
the back cut across into two parts, 
which is easily done by a bend of the 
knife in the joint underneath, about the 
middle of the back. The back is the 
best, and some of the liver should al- 
ways accompany it. 

The carving of both WINGED GAME 
and POULTRY requires more delicacy of 
hand and nicety in hitting the joints 
than the cutting of large pieces of meat, 
and, to be neatly done, requires consider- 
able practice. 




Koast Turkey. 
Roast Turkey. Cut long slices from 



114 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPEB. 



each side of the breast down to the ribs, 
beginning at a I from the wing to the 
breastbone. Then turn the turkey upon 
the side nearest you, and cut off the leg 
and wing ; when the knife is passed be- 
tween the limbs and the body, and press- 
ed outward, the joint will be easily per- 
ceived. Then turn the turkey on the 
other side, and cut off the leg and wing. 
Separate the drumsticks from the leg 
bones, and the pinions from the wings ; 
it is hardly possible to mistake the joint. 
Cut the stuffing in thin slices, length- 
wise. Take off the neck-bones, which 
are two triangular bones on each side of 
the breast ; this % is done by passing the 
knife from the back under the blade part 
of each neck-bone, until it reaches the 
end: by raising the knife the other 
branch will easily crack off. Separate 
the carcass from the back by passing the 
knife lengthwise from the neck down- 
ward. Turn the back upwards and lay 
the edge of the knife across the back- 
bone about midway between the legs 
and wings ; at the same moment, place 
the fork within the lower part of the 
turkey, and lift it up ; this will make the 
back-bone crack at the knife. The croup, 
or lower part of the back, being cut off, 
put it on the plate with the rump from 
you, and split off the side-bones by forc- 
ing the knife through from the rump to 
the other end. 

The choicest parts of a turkey are the 
side-bones, the breast and the thigh-bones. 
The breast and wings are called light 
meat; the thigh-bones and side-bones 
dark meat. When a person declines ex- 
pressing a preference, it is polite to help 
to both kinds. 




Boiled Turkey. 



Soiled Turkey is carved in the same 
way as the roast, the only difference 
being in the trussing; the legs in the 
boiled being, as here shown, drawn into 
the body, and in the roast skewered. 

Roa%t Fowl. Slip the knife between 
the leg and body, and cut to the bone ; 
then with the fork turn the leg back, and 
the joint will give way if the bird is not 
old. Take the wing off in the direction 
of a to 5, only dividing the joint with 
your knife. When the four quarters are 
thus removed, take off the merry-thought 
from c, and the neck bones ; these last, 
by putting in the knife at d, and press- 
ing it, will break off from the part that 
sticks to the breast. The next thing is 
to divide the breast from the carcass, by 




Eoast FowL 

cutting through the tender ribs close to 
the breast, quite down to the tail. Then 



Boiled Fowl, breast. Boiled Fowl, back. 




ay the back upwards, put your knife into 
the bone half way from the neck to the 



CARVING. 



115 



rump, and on raising the lower end tt I neck, and cut all the other parts as in a 
will separate readily. Turn the rump fowl. The breast, wings, and merry- 
from you, take off the two sidesmen, and thought are the most esteemed: but the 
the whole will be done. To separate the! thigh has a high flavor. 



thigh from the drumstick of the leg in- 
sert the knife into the joint as above. It 
requires practice to hit the joint at the 
first trial. The breast and wings are 
considered the best parts. 

If the bird be a capon, or large, and 
roasted, the breast may be cut into slices 
in the same way as a pheasant. 



Partridge. It may be cut up in the 
same manner as a fowl ; 
but the bird being small, 
it is unusual to divide it 
into more than three 
portions the leg and 
wing being left togeth- 
Partridge. e r, and the breast help- 





The difference in the carving of boiled 1 e( j entire ; the back, being only served 
and roast fowls consists only in the along with some of the other parts. If 
breast of the latter being always served | the birds are very young, and the party 

not over large, the whole body is not un- 
frequently only separated into two 
pieces, by one cut of the knife from head 
to tail. 

Quails. Generally helped whole. 
Grouse, Snipe, and Woodcock. Pro- 
ceed as for partridge, except that the trail 
Eoast Goose. I Qr entra j lg of the two latter i s gcrve d U p 

whole, and the thigh-bone being generally on toastt ^ s re gards these different 
preferred to the wing. sor t s of game, the thigh of the pheasant 

.. Cut thin slices from the breast an( j t he woo dcock is the best, and the 
at a to & ; the wing is generally separated ^ reas t an d wing of the partridge and 
as in turkeys, but the leg is almost con- g rouse ; but the most epicurean morsel 
stantly reserved for broiling. Serve a of all j s t he tra il O f the woodcock serv- 
little of the seasoning from the inside by ed up on toast. Smaller birds should 
cutting a circular slice in the apron at c. a i wa y g be helped as they are roasted, 
Pheasant. Slip the knife between the | w hole. 

Wild-Duck, Widgeon, and most sorts 
of water-fowl. Make two or three in- 
cisions, as long slices, into the breast, on 
which a glass of hot port-wine is poured ; 
have ready a lemon cut in half, on one 
, side covered with salt, and on the other 






Pheasant. 

leg and the breast : cut off a wing small 

from a to I ; then slice the breast, and , Pige0 n, breast, 

you will have two or three handsome Aether 

cuts Cut off the merry-thought by with cayenne P ep F r Put both together 
passmg the knife under il towards the | theu squeeze the juice over the breast, 



116 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



after which the slices and limbs may "D< 
served round. 

Pigeons. Cut them in half, through 
both back and breast ; the lower part is 
generally thought the best. 

Fish requires very little carving; it 
should be carefully helped with a fish- 
slice, which, not being sharp, prevents 
the flakes from being broken, and in sal- 
mon and cod these are large and add 
much to their beauty. 



NAMES OF THE VARIOUS JOINTS IN 
ANIMALS. 



I. Beef. 




mnd Quarter. 
1. Sirloin. 
2. Rump. 
8. Aitch-Bone. 
4. Buttock. 
5. Mouse-Buttock. 
6. Veiny Piece. 
7. Thick Flank. 
8. Thin Flank. 
9. Leg. 
10. Fore-ribs; 5 ribs. 


Fore Quarter. 
11. Middle-rib ; 4 ribs. 
12. Chuck ; 8 ribs. 
18. Shoulder, or Leg of 
Mutton Piece. 
14. Brisket 
15. Clod. 
16. Neck or Sticking 
Piece. 
IT. Shin. 
18. Cheek. 



2. Mutton or Lamb. 



1. Les. 

2. Li in, best end. 

8. Loin, chump end. 

4. Neck, best end. 

5. Neck, scrag end. 




6. Shoulder. 

7. Breast. 

8. Head. 

A Chine is two Neckjs. 
A Saddle is two Loins. 



3. Porlc. 




1. The Spare-rib. 

2. The Hand. 

3. The Belly or Spring. 

4. Fore-loin. 



5. Hind-loin. 

6. Leg. 

7. Head. 



4. Veal. 




1. Loin, best -end. 

2. Loin, chump end. 
8, Fillet. 

4. Hind-knuckle. 
). Fore-knuckle. 
6. Neck, best end. 



7. Neck, scrag end. 

8. Blade-bone. 

9. Breast, best end. 

10. Breast, Brisket end. 

11. Head. 



5. Venison. 



. Haunch. 
Neck. 




8. Shoulder. 
4. Breast. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CULrNAEY UTENSILS.* 

THE various utensils used for the pre 
>aration and keeping of food are made 

* For the cuts in this chapter, and for the engrav- 
ngs of house-keeping utensils throughout the book 



CULINAKY UTENSILS. 



nr 



either of metal, glass, pottery ware, or 
wood ; each of which is better suited to 
some particular purposes than the others. 
Metallic utensils are quite unfit for many 
uses, and the knowledge of this is neces- 
sary to the preservation of health in 
general, and sometimes to the prevention 
of immediate dangerous consequences. 




"Waffle Iron to revolve over hole In Eange or Stove. 

The metals commonly used in the 
construction of these vessels are silver, 
copper, brass, tin, iron, and lead. Silver 
is preferable to all others, because it can- 
not be dissolved by any of the substan- 
ces used as food. Brimstone unites with 
silver, and forms a thin brittle crust over 
it that gives it the appearance of being 
tarnished. The discoloring of silver 
spoons used with eggs arises from th 
brimstone contained in eggs. Nitre or 
saltpetre has also a slight effect upon 




Egg Trier or Fancy Cake Baker. 

silver, but nitre and silver seldom remai 

the Publisher is indebted to the courtesy of sev 

eral dealers in New York, whose kind approval 

of the work has greatly encouraged its issue 

8 



ong enough together in domestic uses to 
equire any particular caution. 

Copper and brass are both liable to be 
issolved by vinegar, acid fruits, and 
>earlash. Such solutions are highly poi- 
onous. and great caution should be used 
o prevent accidents of the kind. Ves- 
els made of these metals are generally 
inned, that is, lined with a thin coating 
f a mixed metal, containing both tin 
nd lead. Neither acids, nor any thing 
ontaining pearlash, should ever be suf- 
ered to remain above an hour in vessels 
)f this kind, as the tinning is dissolvable 
y acids, and the coating is seldom per- 
ect over the surface of the copper or 
rass. 




Muffin Baker. 

The utensils made of what is called 
Dlock tin are constructed of iron plates 
coated with tin. This is as liable to be 
dissolved as the tinning of copper or brass 
vessels, but iron is not an unwholesome 
substance, if even a portion of it should 
be dissolved and mixed in the food. Iron 
is therefore one of the safest metals for 
the construction of culinary utensils ; 
and the objection to its more extensive 
use only rests upon its liability to rust, 
so that it requires more cleaning and 
soon decays. Some articles of food, such 
as quinces, orange-peel, artichokes, &c., 
are blackened by remaining hi iron ves- 
sels, which therefore must not be used 
for them. 

Leaden vessels are very unwholesome, 
and should never be used for milk and 
cream if it be ever likely to stand till it 
become sour. They are unsafe also for 
the purpose of keeping salted meats. 

The best kind of pottery ware is ori- 
ental china, because the glazing is a per- 



118 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



feet glass, which cannot be dissolved, and 
the whole substance is so compact that 
liquid cannot penetrate it. Many of the 
English pottery wares are badly glazed,, 
and as the glazing is made principally 
of lead, it is necessary to avoid putting- 
vinegar and other acids into them. Acids 
and greasy substances penetrate into un- 
glazed wares, excepting the strong stone 
ware ; or into those of which the glaz- 
ing is cracked, and hence give a bad fla- 
vor to any thing they are used for after- 
wards. They are quite unfit, therefore, 
for keeping pickles or salted meats. 
Glass vessels are infinitely preferable to 
any pottery ware but oriental china, and 
should be used whenever the occasion 
admits of it. 

Wooden vessels are very proper for 
keeping many articles of food, and should 
always be preferred to those lined with 
lead. If any substance has fermented 
or become putrid in a wooden cask or 
tub, it is sure to taint the vessel so as to 
produce a similar effect upon any thing 
that may be put into it in future. It is 
useful to char the msides of these wood- 
en vessels before they are used, by burn- 
ing wooden shavings, so as to coat the 
insides with a crust of charcoal. 

As whatever contaminates food in any 
way must be sure, from the repetition of 
its baneful effects, to injure the health, a 
due precaution with respect to all culi- 
nary vessels is necessary for its more 
certain preservation. There is a kind 
of hollow iron ware lined with enamel, 
which is superior to every other utensil 
for sauces or preserves ; indeed it is pre- 
ferable for every purpose. 

A kitchen should always be well fur- 
nished ; there is no necessity that it should 
be profusely so, but there should be a suffi- 
ciency of every thing which can aid in 
producing the dishes preparing, with the 
success which is so essential to the grati- 
fication of the palate. A good workman 
cannot work well with bad tools, neither 



can good cooks do justice to their profi- 
ciency, if they possess not the necessary 
utensils suitable to the various modes of 
cooking. And when this important 
point has been realized, cleanliness in 
every article used should be scrupulously 
observed ; no utensil should be suffered 
to be put away dirty ; it not only injures 
the article itself materially, to say nothing 
of the impropriety of the habit, but pre- 
vents its readiness for use on any sudden 
occasion. No good cook or servant 
would be guilty of such an act ; those 
who are. do so either from laziness or 
want of system, or a nature naturally 
dirty; if a very strong hint will not 
suffice, it is of little use speaking out. 
A servant who is inherently dirty or 
slovenly, should never be retained ; it is 
better and easier to change frequently 
until the mistress is suited, however un- 
pleasant frequent changes may prove, 
than Quixotically attempt to cure a per- 
son of this description. Cleanliness is 
the most essential ingredient in the art 
of cooking, and at any personal sacrifice 
should be maintained in the kitchen. 

The fixtures or fittings of a kitchen de- 
pend upon the builder, and in modern 
houses sufficient attention is paid to the 
situations of the range, dresser, larder, 
&c., to embody convenience. 




In furnishing a kitchen, there should 
be every thing likely to be required, but 
not one article more than is wanted. 
Unnecessary profusion creates a litter j 



CTTLINAUY UTENSILS. 



119 



and a deficiency too often sacrifices the 
perfection of a dish. The following arti- 
cles, of which we give engravings, are 
requisite. 



gets hot or cold gradually, retains the 
eat longer, cooks better, and smokes less 
mn ordinary griddles. 




The Nursery Milk Wanner. 

This is a very useful apparatus, on the 
principle of the Bam Marie, or Water 
Bath. 

It consists of a block-tin saucepan to 
hold water, and a smaller one, with cover 
of the same material to fit within, but 
not to reach to the bottom of the exter- 
nal saucepan. This effectually prevents 
the common accident of burning what is 
intended to be boiled; for the reason 
that the heat cannot be increased beyonc 
boiling or 212 ; a represents the inner 
. and & the external saucepan ; the cover 
seen at the top will fit both saucepans. 
A Double Floored Griddle, the bes 




Double Floored Griddlo. 

fron Griddle in use. Very thick j therefor 




Beefeteak Maul. 

A Beefsteak Pounder for making beef- 
teak tender. 




Beefsteak Pounder. 

Wooden Moulds for moulding butter. 




Butter Moulds. 



For working butter into form, similar 
to Butter Hands, the 




Butter Board and Knife. 



120 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 




Biscuit Mould or Block. 

The pastry is rolled into this and forms 
half the biscuit j others are made and fas- 
tened together, either before or after 
being baked. 




Tea Bread Knife. 

Tor cutting bread; it can be regula- 
ted by screws at the ends to cut any thick- 




Butter Pats. 

A mould and stamp for butter by 
which you can have the full size of the 
stamp, and the butter any thickness. 




Apple Boaster. 

Tin Apple Roasters are often made with 
a shelf, making two divisions, roasting 
double the quantity. 




Potato Masher 




Knife Washer. 



To wash Ivory, Pearl, or other han- 
dled knives thoroughly, without allowing 
the greasy water to come in contact with 
and thereby soil or stain the handles. 



CULINARY UTENSILS. 



121 




Cheese Toaster. 




Preserve Pan Enamelled. 




Etna. 

It will boil a pint of water in three 
minutes. 




#1 
fi'l 

oi 

Biscuit, Cake aud Tartlet Cutters. 






Cake and Vegetable Cutters. 



Sponge Cake Pans. 




Queen Cake, or Pound Cake Pans. 




Jelly and Vegetable Moulds. 




Oblong and Bound Jelly Moulds. 




Jelly and Cake Moulds with Cylinder. 




Sardine Opener. 



122 



THE PRACTICAL HOTTSEKEEPEK. 




Smoked Beef and Cabbage Cutter, 



Champalgne Opener. 




Enamelled Porringer. 




Enamelled Saucepan. 




Bain Marie. 




Enamelled Preserving Kettle. 



Oyster Knife, for Opening Boasted Oysters. 




Oyster Broiler, or Toast Gridiron. 




Corkscrews. 



CULINARY UTENSILS. 



123 




Cucumber and Vegetable Slicer. 

Saucepan Digester. The great impor- 
tance of the digester, not only to poor 
families, but to the public in general, in 
producing a larger quantity of wholesome 
and nourishing food, by a much cheaper 
method than has ever been hitherto ob- 
tained, is a matter of such serious and 
interesting consideration, that it cannot 
be too earnestly recommended to those 
who make economy in the support of 
their families an object of their attention. 
The chief, and indeed the only thing 
necessary to be done, is to direct a proper 
mode of using it to advantage ; and this 
mode is both simple and easy. Care 
must be taken in filling the digester, to 
leave room enough for the steam to pass 
off through the valve at the top of the 
cover. This may be done by filling the 
digester only three parts full of water 
and bruised bones or meat, which it is 
to be noticed are all to be put in to- 
gether. It must then be placed near a 
slow fire, so as only to simmer, and this 
it must do for the space of eight or ten 
hours. After this has been done, the 
soup is to be strained through a hair 
sieve or cullender, in order to separate 
any bits of bones. The soup is then to 
be put into the digester again, and after 
whatever vegetables, spices, &c., are 
thought necessary are added, the whole 
is to be well boiled together for an hour 
or two, and it will then be filt for imme- 
diate use. 

Any thing that is to be warmed and 
sent to table a second time should be put 
into a basin or jar, placed in hot water, 
which is not permitted to come to the 
boiling point. If allowed to boil, the 
meat will harden, or the sauce will be 



reduced and become thick : by avoiding 
these chances the flavor will be preserved, 
and the viands may be warmed up more* 
than once without injury. The steam- 
apparatus now employed in most kitchens 
is admirably adapted to this purpose, 
since the heat can be regulated to the 
required temperature. 

A spacious movable screen, large 
enough to completely cover the fire^ lined 
throughout with* tin, and having shelves 
for the warming of plates and dishes, 
should also be an appendage ; and there 
should be an abundance of kitchen uten- 
sils of the best kind, kept in their pro- 
per places and strictly clean. Cleanli- 
ness is, indeed, of the first importance, 
and no kitchen-maid should ever put 
away a metal saucepan which has been 
used for any other purpose than merely 
boiling pure water, without scalding it 
thoroughly and then drying it. 

Every kitchen should be provided with 
a clock to keep the cook to her time ; 
also with a large and a small marble mor- 
tar for the pounding of meat, with chop- 
per, meat-saw, various-sized scoops for 
vegetables, .when required for haricos 
&c., paste-cutters, steak-tongs, &c., and 
those insignificant, though useful little 
articles, minute-glasses, to regulate the 
boiling of an egg ; nor should a epice- 
box, containing whole pepper, mace, nut- 
megs, and cinnamon, be forgotten; to- 
gether with various dried sweet herbs. 
Scales, with weights from i oz. to 2 Ibs., 
should be placed on the dresser, and the 
weights carefully kept in regular order. 
A set of tin measures with small spouts 
or lips, and with the contents distinctly 
marked upon them, from a gallon down 
to half a gill, will also be found very con- 
venient. It is likewise well to have a 
set of wooden measures, from a bushel 
to a quarter of a peck. 

Let it be remembered, that, of liquid 



measure 



124: 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



Two gills are half a pint. 
Two pints are one quart. 
Four quarts are one gallon. 



Of dry measure 

Half a gallon Is a quarter of a peck. 
One gallon is half a peck. 
Two gallons are one peek. 
Four gallons are half a bushel. 
Eight gallons are one bushel. 

About twenty-five drops of any thin liquid will fill 
a common-sized teaspoon. 

A common tumbler holds half a pint. 

Four tablespoonfuls, or hall' a gill, will fill a com- 
mon wine-glass. * 

Four wine-glasses will fill a half-pint or common 
tumbler, or a large coffee-cup. 

A quart black bottle holds in reality about a pint 
and a half. 

Of flour, butter, sugar, and most articles used in 
cakes and pastry, a quart is generally about equal 
in quantity to a pound avoirdupois (sixteen 
'ounces). Avoirdupois is the weight designated 
throughout this book. 

Ten eggs generally weigh one pound before they 
are broken. 

A tablespoonful of salt or brown sugar is generally 
about one ounce.* 

Sieves, of various descriptions, are 
very essential. Every utensil for cook- 
ery should be of various sizes, so as to 
suit the quantity of which the dishes 
may be composed ; -and each should be 
kept in a fixed place, as well as washed 
nnd dried immediately after using. The 
cook should also be charged to take care 
of jelly-bags, tapes for the collared 

* Mrs. Hale gives the 'following table, by which 
persons not having scales and weights at hand may 
readily measure the articles wanted to form any re- 
ceipt, without the trouble of ^weighing. Allowance 
to be made for an extraordinary dryncss or moisture 
of the article weighed or measured. 



WEIGHT AND MEASURE. 

"Wheat flour .... 1 pound is 

Indian meal .... 1 pound, 2 oz., 

Butter, when soft . . 1 pound is . 

Loaf sugar broken . . 1 pound is 

"White sugar, powdered 1 pound, 1 oz., 

Best brown sugar . . 1 pound, 2 oz.. i 

E?ga 10 eggs are . 

Flour ...... 8 quarts are . 

Flourl ...... 4 pecks are . , 



. 1 quart. 
js 1 quart. 
. 1 quart. 

. 1 quart, 
is 1 quart, 
s 1 quart. 
. 1 pound 

. Ipeck. 
. 1 bushel. 



things, &c., which, if not perfectly scald- 
ed and kept dry, give an unpleasant fla- 
vor when next used. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

LIEBIG, in his work on ' : The Chemistry 
of Food," says: "Among all the arts 
known to man, there is none that enjoys 
a juster appreciation, and the products 
of which are more universally admired, 
than that concerned in the preparation 
of our food. Led by an instinct which 
has almost reached the dignity of con- 
scious knowledge, and by the sense of 
taste which protects the health, the ex- 
perienced cook, with respect to the 
choice, admixture, and preparation of 
food, has made acquisitions surpassing all 
that chemical and physiological science 
has done in regard to the doctrine or 
theory of nutrition." 

" I do not yet despair," says another 
writer, "of seeing the day when the 
culinary science, like others, will have 
its qualified professors." **"The art of 
cookery," another observes, " is the 
analeptic part of the art of physic." Dr. 
Mandeville says, " Physicians should be 
good cooks, at least in theory." 

Dr. Arbuthnot says " The choice 
and measure of the materials of which 
our body is composed of what we take 
daily by pounds, is, at least, of as much 
mportance as what we take seldom aftd 
only by grains' and spoonfuls. Count 
Rumford remarks : " In what 'art or 
cience coiHd improvements be made 
that would more powerfully contribute 
:o increase the comforts and enjoyments 
of mankind ? 

A quaint writer says truly : " The 
stomach is every man's master ; " and 
Armstrong attributes to the good cook 
the useful knowledge : 



COOKERY. 



125 



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

To prevent diseases is surely better 
than to cure them. The French enjoy a 
happy equilibrium of spirits more con- 
stantly than any other nation ; Dr. 
Kitchiner says, it is because " their elas- 
tic stomachs, unimpaired by spirituous 
liquors, digest vigorously the food they 
render easily assimilable by cooking it 
sufficiently; doing half the work of 
digestion by fire and water, till 

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

The cardinal virtues of cookery are 
cleanliness, frugality, nourishment, and 
palatableness. 

The term " gourmand " or " epicure," 
says a distinguished writer on the sub- 
ject, is not synonymous with " glutton," 
who eats as long as he can sit, like the 
great eater of Kent, whom Fuller places 
among his worthies ; telling us " he ate 
thirty dozen pigeons at one meal ; at an- 
other, four score rabbits, and eighteen 
yards of black pudding, London meas- 
ure :" nor does the term epicure suit a 
fastidious appetite only excited by dain- 
ties, such as the brains of peacocks or 
parrots, the tongues of thrushes or 
nightingales, &c. It mean's one who 
has good sense and good taste enough to 
relish food cooked according to scientific 
principles ; so prepared that the palate 
be not offended, and that it be rendered 
easy of digestion. Thus the temperate 
man is the greatest epicure ; for the per- 
fection of enjoyment depends on the per- 
fection of the faculties of mind and body. 

The philosopher, Descartes, when a 
cavilling Marquis said : " What, do you 
philosophers eat dainties ?" replied, " Do 
you think Providence made good things 
only for fools !" Boswell says, Dr. John- 
son had nice discernment in the science 
of cookery, and talked of good eating 
with uncommon satisfaction. 



Boileau says, the Norman conqueror 
William, bestowed portions of land on 
lis favorite chief cook. The Doomsday 
Book records a grant to Kobert Argyl- 
.on. for the service of {t making in an 
earthen pot, in the kitchen of our lord 
the king, a mess called ' De la groute,' " 

i kind of plum-porriclge on the day 
of the coronation. This dish was served 
to king George IV., at his coronation. 

The luxury of different ages has fur- 
nished many curiosities in cookery. 
Among the ancients, a porpus and wild 
boar were highly esteemed, and the swan 
was a dish of state ; the crane was a 
dainty in William the Conqueror's time ; 
and seals, curlews, herons, bitterns, and 
the peacock this last, 4 ' the food of lovers 
and the meat of lords " were fashionable 
at baronial entertainments. The peacock 
was stuffed with spices and sweet herbs, 
roasted and served whole ; after it was 
dressed, being covered with the skin and 
feathers, the tail spread, and the beak 
and comb gilt. Some were covered with 
leaf-gold. These birds adorned English 
tables till the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century. 

The pie, full of living birds, was a fa- 
vorite dish, and a common joke at old 
English feasts. The dwarf, Jeffrey Hud- 
son, was served up in a cold pie about 
1630. before King Charles, at the Duke 
of Buckingham's table. The baron of 
beef was a favorite of old English hos- 
pitality. Don Anthony, of Guevara, 
chronicler to Charles V., says, he saw at 
a feast, " a horse roasted, a cat in jelly, 
lyzard in hot broth, and frogges fried, &c." 

The Roman sauces described by Coelus 
Apicius, a celebrated Roman . epicure, 
who wrote a curious cookery book in 
Latin, and invented a soup made of the 
livers of a peculiar fish which sometimes 
sold at the rate of sixty dollars the 
pound would be hardly more palatable 
to us than the black broth of the Spar- 
tans which caused the citizens of Sybaris 



126 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



to wonder no longer why the Spartans 
were so fearless of death. Yet one of 
the receipts of Apicius required the death 
of three or four dozen animals. The Es- 
quimaux eat raw fish, and melted fat is 
a delicacy among Arctic natives. Many 
of the northern Indians *eat the intes- 
tines and blood. Tartars feed on dogs, 
and some of the natives of Australia, 
New Holland, and other countries, were 
wont to regale themselves upon ants and 
worms, while mice were an African deli- 
cacy. Norwegians mixed the powdered 
bark of trees with meal to bake in cakes. 

La Chapelle's Nouveau Cuisinier, pub- 
lished in 1748, mentions the cooking of 
a turkey in the shape of a football or a 
hedgehog ; a shoulder of mutton in that 
of a beehive ; an entree of pigeons in the 
form of a spider or a frog. Such whim- 
sical harlequinade has now become old- 
fashioned, though the taste for decora- 
tion remains. 

By a strange misconception, cookery 
has in all ages been intrusted to ignorant 
persons, who practise it without refer- 
ence to those general principles which 
connect it with chemistry as much as- 
other arts are allied to that science. Yet 
in the days of the patriarchs, the prov- 
ince of the cook, it seems, was not a ser- 
vile one. A princess would not disdain to 
dress the lamb her lord had killed and 
brought from the flock. In Homer's 
time kings and princes killed their own 
cattle and cooked the flesh. 

Perhaps the march of improvement 
may induce professors of gastronomy to 
elevate their calling by connecting its 
practice with the principles of science. 
The brewers and distillers of the present 
day are philosophical chemists, under- 
standing the principles on which they 
act, and their processes are more certain, 
economical, and manageable than for- 
merly ; why may not cooks be philoso- 
phers ? Why may not equal advantages 
be derived from the application of sci- 



ence to those arts which relate to the 
management of solid sustenance ? 

It has been said that the best books 
on cookery have been written by medi- 
cal men. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

A GL08SAET OF FOREIGN TERMS USED 
IN COOKERY. 

FRENCH cookery is of so diverse a na- 
ture that many volumes have already 
been written upon the subject ; and new 
modes of dressing the same things are so 
constantly being invented, that we must 
content ourselves with merely giving a 
few explanations of the terms adopted by 
most of our professed cooks. 

Atelets. Small silver skewers. 

Baba. A French sweet yeast cake. 

Bain Marie. A flat vessel containing 
boiling water, intended to hold also other 
saucepans for the purpose either of cook- 
ing or keeping their contents hot. The 
Bain Marie is called in the English kitch- 
en Beau Mere Pan. This term is old, 
having its origin with the alchymists, 
who, finding that sea- water boiled at a 
high temperature, and did not evaporate so 
quickly, used a pan containing sea-water ; 
hence the term : Bain Marie ; or, Sea- 
Water Bath. 

Bard. A slice of thin bacon fat, used 
for covering the breasts of birds, the 
back of a hare, or any substance that re- 
quires the assistance of fat where larding 
is not preferred. 

Beignet) or Fritter. Anything that 
is enveloped in a casing of batter or 
egg, and fried. Thus we have fritters of 
fruit, vegetables, cream, &c. 

Blanc. A white broth used to im- 
prove the color of chickens, lamb, &c. 

Blanch. To set anything on the fire in 



FOREIGN TERMS. 



127 



cold water, and when it boils strain it 
off and plunge it into cold water. 

Blanquettes. A kind of fricassee, 
made of slices of white meat cut thin, 
and warmed in white sauce thickened 
with the yolk of eggs. 

Bouilli. Beef very much boiled and 
served with sauce. 

Bouillon. The common soup of 
France. 

Bouquet. A bunch of parsley and 
scallions tied up to put in soups, &c. 

Bouquet garni, or Assaisonne. The 
same, with the addition of cloves or aro- 
matic herbs. 

Bourguignote. A ragout of truffles. 
Braise. This is a method of dress- 
ing meat, poultry. &c., without evapora- 
tion. It is done by lining a braising pan 
with thin slices of bacon, beef, or veal ; 
upon which place whatever you may in 
tend to braise; and also add carrots, 
onions, lemons, bay leaf, herbs, pepper, 
and salt. 

Brioche. A French yeast cake. 
Buisson (en). A fanciful mode of 
dressing up pastry, &c. 

Callipanh. The glutinous meat of the 
upper shell of a turtle. 

Callipee. The glutinous meat of th< 
under shell of a turtle. 

Caramel. Sugar boiled down untl 
the water is evaporated, and then formed 
in ornamental devices for decorating 
gateaux-baskets, &c. ' It is also used fo 
coloring gravies when reduced almost t( 
the burning point, and then dissolved in 
water. Its use is not much to the credi 
of the cook. 

Capilotade. A hash of poultry. 
Civet. A hash of game or wild fowl. 
Compeigne. A French sweet yeas 
cake, with fruit, &c. 

Compotier. A dish in the dessert ser 
vice purposely for the compote. 

Couronne (en). To serve any pre- 
scribed articles on a dish in the form of 
crown. 



Court or short, to stew. The reduction 
f a sauce until it becomes very thick. 

Croutons. Bread cut in various shapes 
nd fried lightly in butter or oil. 

Casserole. A rice-crust moulded in 
he form of a pie; when baked, filled 
with a mince or puree of game, or witt 
llanquette of white meat. Also a 
tewpan. 

Compote. Stewed fruits served with 
yrup. There are also compotes of 
igeons and other small birds. 

Consomme is a strong clear gravy, 
Irawn from the long stewing of any 
tind of meat, to be either used as broth, 
>r made into soups and sauces. 

Coulis, or cullis, is a rich brown gravy *. 
commonly used for the purpose of color- 
ng as well as thickening and flavoring 
many sorts of soups and sauces. It is 
made 'in various ways, chiefly upon a 
bundation of ham and veal, slices of 
which are put into* a closely covered 
stewpan, with only a small quantity of 
water, and boiled over a brisk fire until 
the whole becomes brown and thick. See 
Sauces. 

Croquettes. A mince of either fish, 
meat, or poultry, made very savory, with 

small quantity of sauce, formed into 
shapes of any kind, rolled in egg and 
bread-crumbs, and fried crisp. 

Croustades, or Dresden patties, made 
of paste or bread baked in small moulds, 
and filled with mince of any kind. 

Dorez.To wash pastry, &c., with 
yolk of egg well beaten. 

Dorure. Yolks of eggs well beaten. 

u En papillate. " White paper is 
greased with oil or butter, and then 
folded over a cutlet or small fish, fasten- 
ing it by screwing the paper at the 



Entremets. Small ornamental dishes 
served in the second and third courses. 

Entree. A corner dish for the first 
course. In large dinners the side dishes 
are called Jlancs. 



128 



THE PRACTICAL .HOUSEKEEPER. 



. An expensive, highly 
flavored, mixed ragout. 

Flan. A French custard. 

Farce. Forcemeat. 

Faggot. A small bunch of parsley 
and thyme and a bay-leaf tied up. 

Fricandeaux may be made of any 
boned piece of veal, in pieces of not more 
than two or three Ibs. weight, chiefly cut 
from that portion of the fillet which 
we have described as the thick part. 
It is a frequent dish as an entree at 
good tables, and requires great care to 
serve in perfection. 

Gateau. A cake or pudding. 

Glaze (to). To reduce sauces to a 
jelly, that they will adhere to the meal. 

Glace or Glaze. Stock boiled down 
to a consistency, and used to improve 
the appearance of all braised dishes ; it 
should be warmed hi the bain-marie, and 
applied with a brush. 

Glaze, Glace Ice, is composed of white 
of egg beaten with powdered sugar. 

Godiveau. A common veal forcemeat. 

Gras (an), means that the article 
is dressed with meat gravy. 

Gratin. A layer of any article in- 
tended for this purpose is spread over a 
dish that will bear the fire, and is placed 
on a stove or hot ashes until it burns. 

Hors d'auvre. A small dish served 
during the first course. 
s Lard (to). To stick bacon, or what- 
ever meat may be named, into poultry, 
meat, &c. It is accomplished with a lard- 
ing pin, one end of which is square and. 
one hollow. The lardon is put into this 
hollow, the point is then inserted in the 
meat, and on being drawn through leaves 
the bacon or lardon standing in its pro- 
per place. 'It requires practice to do 
this well. 

Lardon. The pieces into which bacon 
or other meats are cut for the purpose 
of lardir.g. 

Liaison. A finish with yolks of eggs 
and cream for ragouts and sauces. 



Madeleines. Cakes made of the samo 
composition as pound cakes. 

Maigre (au). Soups, &c., dressed 
without meat. 

Mask. To cover completely. 

Marinade. A liquor prepared foi 
boiling or stewing fish or meat in : it ia 
sometimes used cold. 

Meringue. A very light preparation, 
made of sugar and whites of eggs beaten 
to snow. 

Matelote. A rich stew of fish with 
wine. 

Miroton consists of small slices of meat 
cut thin, and not larger than a crown- 
piece, and made into various sorts of 
ragouts ; and dished up in a circular form. 

Nouilles. An Italian paste resembling 
macaroni, but flat instead of being in pipes. 

Panada. Bread soaked in milk, used 
principally for quenelles and fine farces. 

Passer. To fry lightly. 

Pate. A raised crust pie. 

Poelee. A light braise for white meats ; 
the difference between this and the braise 
is that in the former, the meat, or what- 
ever it may be, need not be so much dona 
as the latter. 

Potane. A term for soup. 

The Pot-au-feu is truly the foundation 
of all good cookery, and of that we shall 
treat rather largely in our chapters on 
soups and sauces. 

Puree. A culinary operation which 
should be carefully attended to, and 
which, although known for preparing 
potted meats and fish, is seldom employ- 
ed by common cooks in any thing but 
pea-soup. It consists in either pounding 
the meat or fish in a mortar until it be- 
comes a paste, or in stewing roots or 
pulse in boiling water until they are 
softened into a thick pulp, when they 
are passed, first through a colander, or 
through a puree presser, and afterwards 
through a wire or hair sieve, and 
being thinned with broth, may be form- 
ed into soups of various sorts. 



FOREIGN TERMS. CONDIMENTS. 



129 



Quenelles and Godiveaux are different 
sorts of forcemeat, composed of meat or 
fish, with bread and yolk of egg, and fat 
of some kind ; seasoned in various ways, 
and either spread upon rolled meat, or 
formed into balls and fried as garnish to 
entrees, or served separately as entrees. 

To make Quenelles. When the force- 
meat is made, take two tablespoons, fill 
one with the meat, dip a knife in hot water, 
with which smooth it over ; then dip the 
other spoon into boiling water, and with 
it remove the meat from the first spoon, 
and slip it into a buttered stewpan ; so 
on until you have the number you want : 
then cover them with stock, and boil 
them about ten minutes, or until firm, 
and they are fit for use. For small 
quenelles use teaspoons. 

Rissole. A mince of meat or fish, en- 
closed in paste, or made up into shapes 
or balls in the manner of minced collops, 
and used either as side-dishes, or as a 
garnish for stews or hashes, now more 
elegantly termed fricassees and ragouts. 

Roux. A thickening for white soups 
or gravy, made of flour and butter. 

Salmis. A hash made of game, which 
is cut up when only half roasted ; where- 
as a hash is made from dressed game. 
Sauter. To fry very lightly. 
Sabotiere or Saubetiire. A pewter or 
tin vessel in which are placed the moulds 
containing whatever is intended to be 
frozen. 

Tourner or turn. To stir a sauce 
also to pare and cut roots, vegetables 
and fruits very neatly. 

Tamfa, or u tammy," a strainer of thin 
woollen canvas, or silk, used for straining 
soups and sauces. 

Tourte.K kind of tart baked in a 
shallow tin. 

Vanner. To take up sauce or am 
other liquid in a spoon and turn it ove: 
very quickly. 

Veloute. For heightening the flavor 
of soups, made dishes, &c. 



Vol-au-vent. An extremely light puff 
raste, in which are enclosed minces of 
weetbread, poultry, game, &c. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

CONDIMENTS. 

THERE is one class of materials in con- 
tant use in the kitchen: the condi- 
ments ; without these, soups, sauces, and 
,11 made dishes, would be insipid ; and 
the judicious application of them is es- 
sential. 

If all kinds of condiments were of the 
same quality that is, if all salt, pepper, 
and mustard, &c., were alike, receipts 
might be given as in a Pharmacopoeia, 
with distinct measures for each ; but as 
nothing differs so much as these simple 
ondiments, everything must be left to 
the palate of the cook, and on him or 
her alone depends the flavor of the ali- 
mentary substances partaken of. 

Of all condiments, that in most gene- 
ral use is SALT ; the health of every indi- 
vidual depends upon it, and it is as much 
required as food or drink. Even on 
those continents far away from the 
shores washed by the briny ocean, we 
find it in springs, and in crystal globules 
encrusting the earth. 

It is chemically known as chloride of 
sodium, being a combination of chlorine 
and sodium. Its use as an antiseptic, 
and as a condiment, is too well known to 
be repeated here. 

Bock Salt is the unpurified salt, as dug 
from the mines. This is purified by boil- 
ing, &c., and crystallized by heat. 

Bay Salt is the coarse large crystal 
salt, taking its name from the salt that 
formerly was made in pits by the over- 
flow or letting in of the sea at the head 
of Bays, and which was evaporated by 
the heat of the sun. Almost all the fish 



130 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



cured in France at the present day is done 
by this kind of salt, the duty upon foreign 
salt being so high. 

PEPPER, so extensively used at pres- 
ent in Europe, may be said to be a mod- 
ern invention. Before the introduction 
of pepper, many plants, such as saffron, 
&c., were used, until this West Indian 
fruit became more general and easy 
to obtain.* The plant is a climbing one 
(piper nigrum,} and exceedingly pretty 
when in fruit. The berry is gathered 
with the skin or pulp around the stone, 
and that which is intended for black pep- 
per is allowed to remain thus, while for 
white pepper it is blanched and rubbed 
until the skin comes off. In all dark 
sauces use the black pepper. 

LONG PEPPER, the fruit of the piper 
longum, is a plant very similar to the for<- 
mer, and, if possible, it has a more aro- 
matic flavor than the black pepper. 

I doubt if pepper was known to the 
Romans. If so, it would have been 
known in Egypt, where we find no trace 
of it, although some authors have consid- 
ered it as the ammonium of the an- 
cients. 

ALLSPICE, or, as it was formerly called, 
Pimenta, is another of those productions 
of the climes near the Equator, which 
has come much into use by Europeans. 
It is the fruit of the pimento, vulgar is. 
That which is the freshest is the best ; 
as the aromatic oil which it contains is 
not dissipated by keeping. The essential 
oil it contains can be used in very small 
quantities in cookery, but should not be 
subjected to long boiling, or it loses its 
flavor. 

* It is a singular circumstance, that this very 
email fruit should be the cause of England's possess- 
ing one of the largest portions of her dominions. 
In the reign of Elizabeth, and during the war with 
Spain, pepper, which had then become an article of 
necessity, rose to an extravagant price, and to ob- 
tain it cheaper, the Queen granted Letters Patent 
to certain merchants to trade to the East Indies, 
which was tho origin of the present East India 
Company. 



GINGER is the root of a plant, a na- 
tive of the East Indies and Brazils, and 
also naturalized in the "West India 
[slands % The plant grows in moist places, 
and is of a reed-like form, bearing a yel- 
ow flower. The root, when fresh, should 
DC of a light green, solid and heavy. A 
spongy or woolly root should be avoided. 
The virtues of ginger chiefly consist in a 
volatile oil which it possesses. This is 
best obtained by bruising the root, and 
making an infusion in spirits of wine or 
boiling water in a closed bottle ; or, if 
thinly sliced and infused in vinegar, it is 
pleasant in a salad. It is usually em- 
ployed in cookery by having the root 
desiccated by the heat of the sun until 
perfectly dry and hard, and then pow- 
dered till its aromatic oil is lost. It 
should be more frequently used in cook- 
ry, and as a condiment as well as for 
dessert. ^ 

CLOVES are the buds of a flower, not 
arrived at maturity, of an East Indian 
tree, called caryophillus aromaticus. 
This, in common with many other buds 
of flowers of various kinds, contains a 
large quantity of essential oil. It has a 
very pungent, aromatic smell. Its na- 
ture is stimulating. It should not be 
boiled too long, or its flavor is lost in 
evaporation. 

NUTMEG is the interior of a fruit be- 
longing to a tree, a native of the Islands 
of the Eastern Archipelago, called Banda, 
and known in botany as the myristica 
moscTiata. It is strongly aromatic, and 
very volatile, and considered agreeable. 
It is used in powder, and not subjected to 
much heat, which would cause it to lose 
its qualities. 

MACE. This is the skin which covers 
the shell containing the nutmeg. It is 
cut into small pieces and dried. This is 
more frequently used in cookery than 
the nutmeg, as its essential oil and aro- 
matic flavor are not so soon evaporated. 

CAYENNE is the dried pod of a well- 



CONDIMENTS. 



131 



known plant, the capsicum, now so often 
reared in hot-houses. It is a native of 
the East and West Indies, and South 
America. It is of a very pungent nature, 
and a strongly acrid flavor. The best is 
of an orange color. There are several 
kinds of capsicums ; the capsicum annuum 
or annual capsicum ; the capsicum gros- 
sum, or hell pepper; and the capsicum 
cerasiforme, or cherry pepper. The pods 
of these are frequently pickled. The es- 
sence of cayenne, by infusing in alcohol, 
is a very excellent seasoning. - 

C INNAMON is the under-bark of a tree, 
the laurus cinnamomum : a species of bay, 
with leaves like laurel, found in many 
East India Islands, but chiefly in Ceylon. 
It possesses a very fine aromatic flavor 
and smell. The essential oil, when ex- 
tracted, is better to use than the bark 
itself. 

This tree bears a fruit similar in shape 
to the acorn, but smaller. It has neither 
smell nor taste ; but, boiled in water, 
yields an oil which, on becoming cold, is 
as hard as tallow : it is used as an oint- 
ment, and also to burn. The outside of 
the root of this tree yields camphor and 
oil of camphor. 

C ASS i A is also a bark of a similar kind 
of tree to the cinnamon ; the laurus cas- 
sia. It does not contain so much flavor 
as cinnamon ; but the aromatic qualities 
are very similar. Its oil is often sold for 
that of cinnamon. 

CASSIA BUDS are the pods of the seed 
of the cinnamon tree. They contain an 
oil equal in flavor and pungency to the 
cinnamon. They are not often used in 
cookery, their value not being generally 
known. 

MUSTARD is the powder of the seed of 
the plant, the sinapis nigra. It grows 
wild in many places, and can be cultivat 
ed in almost any soil. It is of a strong 
pungent nature, and is difficult to concen 
trate. It should be mixed with cold 
water and salt. It derives its name from 



tie French moutarde, who derive it from 
he Latin of multum ardet, which be- 
ame corrupted into moult arde. In 
ranee they prepare it in a variety of 
ways. Mustard is a condiment easily 
dulterated; and particular care should 
>e used in its selection. 

IOXS, a bulbous root, so much used 
n cookery, is a native of this country. 
5y some it is eaten in the raw state ; and 
f partaken of freely, its effects pervade 
,he whole system, and the person who 
uses them may be known at some dis- 
ance, from the peculiar odor which be- 
ongs to the root Its moderate use is 
wholesome. It is also good against 
many diseases of the skin; but should 
never be eaten too freely by weak stom- 
achs. There are several sorts. The com- 
mon, called the allium cepa; the GAR- 
LIO, allium stamum ; the SHALOT, allium 
iscalonicum ; the LEEK, the allium por- 
um; the ROCAMBOLE, the allium scordo- 
prasum; the CHIVE, the allium chosno- 
prasum. The manner of using them is 
described briefly in the various receipts. 

Onions have been used in cookery from 
a very early period; and in Spain and 
Portugal form the principal food of the 
lower classes being, from the nature of 
the climate, much milder than in this 
country. 

The next articles among the condi- 
ments are the herbs; among these, 
MAEJOEAM is that most in use ; it is an 
herb which contains a large quantity of 
what may be called essential oil, which is 
extracted in cooking, and imparts its 
flavor to the viands in which it may be 
used. There are several kinds of mar- 
joram hi use, but that known as the pot 
marjoram, origanum onites, when well 
cultivated, is the best for general use; 
there is the sweet marjoram, origanum 
marjorana ; the winter sweet marjoram, 
origanum heracloticum ; and the com- 
mon marjoram, origanum vulgare. The 
essence of this herb may be used in 



132 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER 



cookery; the more common plan is to 
dry it for use, but it should be used fresh 
when it can be procured. 

SAVOEY. There are two kinds, the 
winter and summer ; the latter contains 
the most flavor it can be easily dried 
and bottled for keeping. 

BASIL is also an herb in great use ; it 
grows to great perfection if well cultivat- 
ed. Its aromatic smell is very similar 
to cloves : there are two kinds, the sweet 
basil, ocymum ~basilicum; and the least 
basil, ocymum minimum. The first has 
the best flavor and smell. 

THYME. There are two, the lemon, 
tJiymus citriodorus, and the common 
thyme, thymus vulgar is ; the first is the 
best to use in all dishes wherever this 
herb is required. 

PENNYBOYAL is not much in use in 
cookery, but can be used where mint can- 
not be had. 

MINT Spearmint or common mint is 
that most in use ; it should never be 
used in large quantities. Some of it in- 
fused in vinegar, and the vinegar after- 
wards used with a salad, gives a fine flavor 
and a novelty to that dish, and it is used 
in vinegar with lamb. 

SAGE is an important herb, and by 
many considered an agreeable condiment ; 
there are several kinds; that whose 
leaves have a purple tinge is considered 
best for culinary use. 

PARSLEY, although at present so prom- 
inent in use in our kitchens, was un- 
known to our forefathers; it is only 
within a century that it has become so 
general : it was introduced into England 
from Italy. There are three varieties, 
the common or plain-leaved, the curled 
or double-leaved, and the broad-leaved ; 
the curled is the best-looking, but has 
not so much flavor as the common ; the 
broad-leaved is used for its root, which 
is excellent cut up thinly in soup. &c. It 
may be obtained all the year. To keep 



it well, it should be dried and cut up, 
and placed in well corked bottles, but 
should only be used when fresh cannot 
be procured. 

TABEAGON is not so much used as it 
ought to be ; if used more in soup, in- 
stead of the stronger herbs, it would be 
liked ; but great care must be observed, 
as its aromatic qualities are quickly dis- 
sipated by heat. It is a native of the 
north of Europe, and known in botany 
as the artemisia dracuriculus. 

CLARY* is a plant of the sage kind ; its 
leaves are sometimes used to flavor 
soups, and it is liked by a few. 

FENNEL may be used often with ad- 
vantage ; it is, however, rarely used but 
with fish. 

CELERY, now grown to such perfection, 
is the cultivated wild plant known as 
smallage. Celery is a great deal used in 
cookery^ but it should not be subjected 
to too long boiling ; if its flavor is re- 
quired, and no root to be obtained, the 
seed of the smallage can be used instead. 
It is geneiwlly supposed that the roots 
and leaves of smallage are poisonous; 
we would not recommend them to be 
used, as the seed can always be obtained, 
and the flavor is finer. The salts of 
celery is a modern improvement, and a 
great addition to our culinary condi- 
ments. 

BORAGE is not much used in cookery ; 
its flavor is slightly bitter, and it is some- 
times used to flavor ale, cider, &c., for a 
summer drink. 

HORSE-RADISH is the root of a plant ; 
the aroma which it contains is quickly 
dissipated by heat it is therefore used 
in a raw state by being grated ; an es- 
sence may be obtained by infusion with 
spirits of wine, which, added to mustard 
after it is made, gives it an agreeable 
ffcivor. 

CHERVIL is getting more into use 
every day ; its flavor is exceedingly pleas- 



CONDIMENTS. 



133 



ant, and can be employed in soups and 
salads, especially in made dishes, with 
the greatest advantage. 

CAPERS are the buds of a small trail- 
ing shrub, a native of the south of Eu- 
rope ; those grown on the Rock of Gib- 
raltar are considered the finest in the 
world. They are very excellent with 
almost all boiled meats, fish, and salads. 

BROOM BUDS, when pickled, sometimes 
replace capers. 

NASTURTIUMS are sometimes used in 
the place of capers, being pickled in the 
same way, but they have not the least 
resemblance; they may be used for 
salads. The flower of the nasturtium is 
a very pretty decoration for boiled fish 
and salads. 

BAE BERRIES are the fruit of a plant ; 
some centuries since, they appear to have 
been often used, but more modern im- 
portations have superseded them; they 
have a very acid flavor, and, if pickled, 
could enter into the composition of many 
dishes, and also make a good preserve. 

GHERKINS are the young cucumber, or 
often the fruit of the uncultivated plant ; 
they are almost always pickled, and are 
an elegant addition to all salads and 
many entrees. 

BEET-ROOT is a root of a plant which 
of late years has been extensively culti- 
vated for the purpose of feeding cattle ; 
the color which it possesses is easily ex- 
tracted, for the purpose of tinting vari- 
ous articles employed in cookery. When 
boiled, it is a beautiful addition to every 
salad. 

MUSHROOMS are greatly used in domes- 
tic cookery, and are a general favorite ; 
their liquor, when extracted with salt, 
becomes a condiment known under the 
name of Ketchup, very extensively em- 
ployed in cookery ; this may be consider- 
ed wholesome, as it is known to facilitate 
the digestion. The largest are the best 
to produce the ketchup, and the small 
button ones to use in dishes ; they should 
9 



be nicely trimmed, and put into a jar 
with lemon-juice to blanch them ; should 
)e submitted to very little heat or their 
delicacy will be lost, and nothing but a 
tough substance left to eat. 

TRUFFLE is, without doubt, a modern 
ntroduction. So late as the year 1720, 
m the regency of Louis XV., we first 
near of its being used,, when Dubois, the 
minister, introduced it at his dinners, 
the Duke of Orleans gave it to his mis- 
resses, and the gallants of the day 
brought it into notice in their nocturnal 
repasts. 

It was at this period that the science 
of cookery made such rapid improve- 
ment in France, and when extravagance 
n the preparation of the repasts was 
carried to the highest point ; this was a 
period when l "non ex pane solo vivit 
homo." Many of the sauces first discov- 
d at that period have descended to the 
present day such as Soubise and Bech- 
amel, named after the noblemen who first 
partook of them. Then it was that the 
celebrated ' Dinde aux Truffes" (turkey 
with truffles) first made its appearance. 
Since this period, the truffle has been 
considered the <; to kalon " of condiments, 
and as the indispensable ornament of all 
banquets; or, as Brillat Savarin says, 
" La truffe est le diamant de la cuisine." 

Within the last half century, the place 
(Perigord) which produces the finest of 
these roots, produced the first of diplo- 
matists namely, Talleyrand, who was at 
the same time a great gourmet. The lo- 
cality may have nad its influence ; cer- 
tain it is he would never give a decision 
upon any momentous question until after 
dinner, and having partaken of his favor- 
ite dish, Truife aux Vin de Champagne. 
They are a species of fungus, tube, or 
root, generally found within a few inches 
of the surface of the earth, and under 
oak trees ; known also as the subterra- 
nean "puff-ball," tula nibarium. The 
best are supposed to come from " Peri- 



134: 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



gord,' the next from Angoulme these 
are black ; the white come from Pied- 
mont, and the Carolinas ; they ought to 
be eaten fresh. On the European conti- 
nent, they are found by means of dogs 
and pigs, trained on purpose. 

They should not be subjected to too 
long boiling, as the aroma is very vola- 
tile. 

BAY is the leaf of a species of laurel, 
but in using it care must be taken that 
the leaf of the bay-laurel, or cherry- 
laurel, (prunus laurocerasus,) is not used 
for it, as it contains prussic acid. This is a 
common evergreen in the southern States. 
The bay or sweet bay, (laurus nobilis,) 
an evergreen of the South of Europe, may 
be used to great advantage in cookery, 
as it imparts an agreeable and aromatic 
flavor, differing very widely from any 
spices that can be used for the same pur- 
poses. It is cultivated extensively in 
gardens, and should be used according to 
the directions given in the receipts. 

SAFFRON was formerly that is, in the 
fourteenth century much used in cook- 
ery in Europe. It has bulbous roots, like 
the onion and flowers ; the fibres grow 
from the botton of the bulb, having roots 
with coats or skin one over the other, 
and bears naked flowers without stem. 
At present it is only used in the kitchen 
for the purpose of coloring. In Portu- 
gal, Spain, and Turkey, it is used at the 
present day to a great extent. 

ANGELICA, a condiment much used in 
the confectionery department of the kitch- 



a climbing plant like ivy, having a large 
leaf and black flower, which leaves a 
pod containing black peas ; the form of 
the pod is like a scimitar, from which it 
takes its name, being in Spanish var- 
garila. * 

When covered with tin-foil, and kept 
in a moist place, it will become covered 
with flakes of silver. It denotes the 
best quality, and is fit for use ; it will do 
to be infused several times. 

SUGAR is the concentrated juice of a 
plant which grows in hot cli ma.es, and 
is also to be obtained from other trees 
and vegetables, especially from beet-root. 
It is used very extensively in cookery, 
imparting a mellow flavor to all di.shes ; 
it is of an antiseptic nature, and ought to 
be employed more abundantly in preserv- 
ing animal substances than it is. This 
condiment was unknown to the ancients, 
who employed honey in place of it. 

ORANGE is the fruit of a tree originally 
a native of China, but now grown exten- 
sively in all warm climates. The juice 
of this fruit is a sweet acid, differing 
greatly in flavor from the lemon ; its peel 
is of use in cookery. The Seville and 
Malta oranges are a variety of this 
fruit. 

ORANGE-FLOWER, a distillation from 
the flower, is used a great deal in cookery. 

VERJUICE is the juice of a grape of that 
name, and on the European continent 



was used to a great extent, until the in- 
troduction of the lemon. The grape is 
gathered unripe, pressed, allowed to fer- 
en. is the stalk of a plant like celery, ment, and then put into large vats to 
which grows in gardens, and is also found ! mature ; the older it is, the better the 
wild. When gathered, it is dried, pre- ' flavor. It enters into the composition 
served, and candied. Rouen, in France, 



is very celebrated for it. 



of several of the sauces in use at the pres- 
ent day ; if pure, it m&y be preferable 
VANILLA is used chiefly to impart fla- for several dishes to vinegar. 
Vor to various articles in confectionery; it | OLIVE is a fruit not much used in 
h^s also a very agreeable smell, which ! cookery ; it grows on a low tree with 
has caused it to be used in scenting dif- I long narrow leaves, rough underneath ; 
ferent perfumes, and thus diminished its j the fruit contains a long and small ker- 
use in the kitchen. It is the produce of [ nel j the fruit, when pressed, yields the 



CONDIMENTS. 



135 



oil known as olive oil. This is a most 

valuable article in cookery ; it ought to 

be tasteless and inodorous, but when long 

exposed to the air becomes rank and un- 
fit for use. 

ARROW-ROOT is the powder of the root 

of a tree growing in very warm and 

moist climates, of about two to three 

feet in height, known in botany as the 

maranta arundinarea. In some coun- 
tries, the flour of this root is mixed with 

that of Indian corn, and makes excellent 

bread. It is produced in the same way 

as the starch from potatoes. 

TAPIOCA is also a starch, produced 

from the roots of a Brazilian plant called 

Cassava, a very elegant but poisonous 

plant, with beautiful white and pink 

flowers. It is now in general use, as it 

is found, when mixed with a little wine 

or spirits, to be an excellent stimulant to 

an invalid, without possessing any heat- 
ing qualities. It should be well washed 

in water, and boiled until it becomes 

transparent, when it should be well 

stirred, and whatever is required to be 

mixed with it should be added. It will, 

when mixed with other flour, make very 

good bread. 

SALSOP is another root of a plant called 

orchis morio, a native of the East, where 

it is used as an article of food to a greal 

extent; it is reduced to powder, anc 

readily dissolves in boiling water. It is 
a light, pleasant drink, and, to persons 
of a feverish constitution, is exceedingly 
wholesome. 

SAGO is another of these starches 
similar to Tapioca, made from the pith 
of the palm-tree, a native of the Indies 
It is prepared precisely in the same 
as Tapioca. 

SOY is obtained from the seed or frui 

of an Indian plant, called doliclios soja, \ antiseptic liquor can be produced from 
or soya; it is made like ketchup; it I all herbs, plants, vegetables, and iTts, 
enters greatly into use in the variety of [ which produce sugar, and even t 
sauces that are made for the table, being ; gular production of nature kno* 
of a very strong, sweet-bitter taste ; it | honey, and of which the juices will go 



hould be used in moderation in cook- 
- 

CHETNEY is a production of the East 
ndies, which, of late years, has come 
onsiderably into use; it is made by 
mixing together a variety of fruits, and 
llowing them to ferment until they be- 
ome acid : some spices are then mixgd 
with them and it is bottled for use ; the 
Ider it is, the better it becomes. That 
made in the Vale of Cashmere is con- 
sidered the best. 

CURRY-POWDER is another of those 
ndian condiments which have latterly 
come much into use, and it is only to be 
regretted that it is not cheaper, to allow 
t to be more generally used, as it is one 
of those stimulating condiments which 
would be invaluable to the poor ; its use 
would prevent the habit of taking other 
stimulants which produce intoxication. 

LEMON is the fruit of a tree, a native 
of the South of Europe and the Indies j 
it is a most valuable production, not only 
for cookery, but for the health of the 
human race. Its juice, when diluted 
with water, and sweetened, makes a 
most refreshing and wholesome drink. 
The peel contains an essential oil. which 
imparts a strong pungent flavor to those 
dishes to which it is added. The true 
flavor of this fruit can only be had when 
fresh and ripe. In the time of Henry 
VIII., this fruit was a great rarity, and 
was partaken of at dessert with a quan- 
tity of sugar mixed with it. 

The LIME is a species of lemon, the 
juice of which is more acid. 

The CITRON is also another species ; 
the juice is sweeter. 

VINEGAR derives its name from the 
French tin aigre, or sour wine, and is 
known in chemistry as acetic acid. This 



136 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



into fermentation. These juices, when 
first expressed, are called wine, or syrup ; 
they undergo a fermentation known as 
the vinous, after which, when exposed to 
a certain degree of heat, they enter into 
the acetous fermentation, and produce 
that acid pungent liquor known as vine- 
gar. Of late years, it has also been pro- 
duced by the distillation of wood, more 
particularly oak, and known aspyrcligne- 
ous acid, which is intensely acid, and 
highly stimulating. When employed in 
cookery, it should be used judiciously, 
and with great care. The best vinegar 
is that which contains the least vegetable 
matter, such as coloring, &c., and which 
has the strongest acid taste, without 
being hot. 

The different flavored vinegars may be 
made by infusion, without the aid of 
heat, of the different substances from 
which the flavor is required. 



CHAPTER XXVH. 

RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY. 

A FEW simple general directions, on a 
subject of so much importance to family 
and individual comfort as cooking, will 
be found useful, even though there be 
some repetition in subsequent instruc- 
tions. 

The kitchen should be furnished with 
long and round tables; a dresser with 
shelves serving as a plate rack ; closets 
or cupboards, common chairs, benches, 
wooden stools and sinks. Towel rollers, 
plate warmers, a weighing machine, speak- 
ing tubes a dumb waiter, a refrigerator, 
hot water dishes, and dish covers of wire 
gauze, are also among the indispensables. 
The fireplace should have 'plenty of light. 
The chief object of cookery is to make 
the meat tender and easy of digestion, 
without depriving it of its juices. Solid 
food, especially plain roast or boiled meat, 



requires to be well adapted to the diges- 
tive powers ; for it is trying to many con- 
stitutions, and health is often injured by 
dining upon improperly cooked u plain 
joints." Butchers meat, when brought 
from market, should be examined, trim- 
med, and wiped clean ; sprinkled in sum- 
mer with a little salt and pepper, and hung 
up. Mutton and veal must be taken 
down and wiped each day. Venison is 
hung some time before cooking, and 
should be wiped dry and dredged with 
ginger or pepper, to prevent the fly from 
settling on it ; the dredging wiped off be- 
fore cooking. We will take up the sim- 
ple culinary processes in turn. 

Boiling. This is seldom done proper- 
ly ; the error most common among Ameri- 
can cooks is that of boiling meat fast over 
a strong fire, which renders it hard and 
nearly tasteless ; whereas, a gentle sim- 
mering for nearly double the time, with 
half the quantity of fuel and water, will 
better accomplish the purpose. 

For instance : the most common, and al- 
most universal dish throughout France, is 
a large piece of plainly boiled fresh beef, 
from which the soup or " pot age" as it is 
there called has been partly made, and 
which is separately served up as " bouilli" 
accompanied by strong gravy and minced 
vegetables, or stewed cabbage. Now this, 
as constantly dressed in the French mode, 
is ever delicate both in libre and flavor ; 
while, in the English manner of boiling 
it, it is always hard and insipid. The 
reason of which, as explained by that 
celebrated cook, Careme. who superin- 
tended the kitchen of His Majesty George 
IV.. is this : ' The meat, instead of being 
put down to boil, as in the English meth- 
od, is in France put in the pot with the 
usual quantity of cold water, and placed 
at the corner of the fireplace, where, slow- 
ly becoming hot, the heat gradually 
swells the muscular fibres of the beef, 
dissolving the gelatinous substances there- 
in contained, and disengaging that portioc 



RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY. 



137 



which chemists term 'osmazome,' and 
which imparts savor to the flesh thus 
both rendering the meat tender and pala- 
table, and the broth relishing and nutri- 
tive ; while, on the contrary, if the pot 
be inconsiderately put upon too quick a 
fire, the boiling is precipitated, the fibre 
coagulates and hardens, the osmazome is 
hindered from disengaging itself, and 
thus nothing is obtained but a piece of 
tough meat, and a broth without taste or 
succulence." 

Meat, salted or fresh, should be put 
first into cold water just sufficient to 
cover it ; to be warmed gradually and re- 
newed, as it wastes away, with hot wa- 
ter. The scum must be skimmed off as 
fast as it rises. As soon as the water 
boils, the kettle should be taken off the 
fire, but placed near enough to keep it 
simmering, which it will do with little 
heat. The allowance of time in the sum- 
mer is eighteen or twenty minutes to 
each pound ; in winter rather more. The 
time of reckoning must begin when the 
water boils. Salt meats require very 
slow simmering, and must have more time. 
Allowance must also be made for age. 

The nice look of every thing boiled de- 
pends on skimming the pot well. If let 
alone, the scum boils down and sticks to 
the meat, giving it a coarse and uncleanly 
appearance. A little cold water and salt 
thrown in will help to bring up the scum. 
It is not necessary to wrap the meat in a 
cloth. Less heat is required to keep 
liquids boiling in copper and iron, than 
in tin saucepans. 

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

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

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



Remember to heat the water contain- 
ing the meat, very slowly; a joint often 
pounds' weight should not boil in less 
than forty minutes. The more slowly it 
simmers afterwards, the tenderer, plump- 
er, and whiter it will be. 

An experienced cook placed a thermom- 
eter in water in that state which cooks 
call gently simmering ; the heat was 212 
viz., equal to the strongest boiling. Two 
mutton chops were covered with cold 
water ; one was boiled on a gallop, the 
other simmering gently for three-quarters 
of an hour ; the flavor of the simmered 
chop was decidedly superior ; the liquor 
was more savory, and when cold had more 
fat on its surface. The chop boiled quick- 
ly was hard and insipid. 

Take care that the covers of your boil- 
ing pots fit closely, and only remove them 
for skimming. If exposed to the smoke 
the meat will have a bad taste. 

The less water the better, so that the 
joint is covered ; a quart of water is gen- 
erally allowed to a pound. As the wa- 
ter is diminished by evaporation, fresh 
boiling water may be poured into tho 
saucepan. 

Beef and mutton may be a little under, 
done ; but lamb, pork, and veal, are un- 
eatable unless thoroughly boiled. 

A fishdrainer, four skewers, or a soup 
plate, wrong side upwards, laid on the 
bottom of the boiling pot, will prevent 
the lower side of the meat from being 
overdone, or burnt by sticking. 

The broth of every joint may be made 
into savory soup. 

Meat loses in cooking from one-fifth 
to one-third of its weight. Boiling is the 
more economical way of cooking, if the 
broth be used. One pound a day for each 
person in the family is a liberal allow- 
ance for dinner. 

The sauces sent to table with boiled 
meat must be served in boats, not poured 
! over it. 

Eoasting. The first preparation must 



138 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



be to see. that the spit is cleaned with 
sand and water. It should be wiped 
while hot, as soon as meat is drawn from 
it. and scoured always before use. Joint 
the meat properly for the convenience of 
the carver, and balance it evenly on the 
spit, that its motion may be regular and 
the fire operate equally on each part of 
it. Use balance skewers, if necessary 
and do not run the spit through the 
prime part of the joint. Take care that 
the meat has been kept long enough to 
be tender. A leg of mutton should never 
be spitted, as the spit lets out the gravy, 
and leaves an unsightly perforation just 
as you are cutting into the pope's eye. 

Roast meat by the radiant heat of a 
clear, glowing fire, otherwise it is baked. 
The "old English roast beef" was not 
done hi an oven. 

The Paschal lamb among the Jews, 
was roasted whole; among eastern na- 
tions sheep are thus brought to table; 
but it is not done among us, except when 
pigs, with apples in their mouths, grace 
the board at country taverns, at some 
Fourth of July celebration. 

Put the joint to roast when the fire is 
newly made up. that the heat may in- 
crease by degrees ; proportion the fire to 
the size of the joint, making it a few 
inches longer. What would roast a sirloin 
will burn up a smaller ' piece. Clear the 
fire of smoky coals before the joint is 
put down. The distance from the fire is 
mentioned by Webster as from nine to 
thirteen inches ; by Kitchiner. from ten 
to fourteen. It should be put at the fur- 
thest point at first. The fat parts should 
have paper skewered or tied over them, 
or be covered with a coarse paste of flour 
and water, fastened on by paper and a 
string, and taken off in time to brown 
and froth the meat. Fat meat requires 
more roasting than lean. In roasting by 
a string, pass a skewer through each end 
of the joint, and turn it bottom upwards, 
that the gravy may flow to each part. 



If the joint is thicker at one end than 
the other, place the spit slanting, the thick- 
est part nearest the fire. Be careful not 
to put meat too near the fire at first ; 
and the larger the joint the farther off 
it must be kept ; if once scorched, the 
outside will become hard, and the fire 
will not penetrate the interior. 

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

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

Large joints should be put at a moder- 
ate distance from the fire, and gradually 
brought nearer; else the meat will be 
overdone half way through the joint, and 
be nearly raw at the bone. 

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

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

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

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

Kitchiner says: u Slow roasting is equal- 
ly important with slow boiling." There 
should be a meat-screen to guard it from 
currents of air. Reckon' the time to the 
moment the roast will be eaten allow- 
ing for the previous courses. If a joint 
stands after roasting, it will not be " done 
to a turn." Its size and age, the weather, 
the fire, the degree of attention, and 
many other circumstances, have to be 



RUDIMENTS OF COOKEKY. 



139 



considered, and make this process very 
difficult to perform in perfection. 

When the joint is half done, stir up 
the fire thoroughly. When it is satura- 
ted with heat, steam will begin to rise. 

To Baste roast meat, is to moisten it 
while before the fire, to prevent the sur- 
face from being scorched. Meat should 
be basted at first every ten minutes, and 
afterwards more frequently. Beef and 
mutton may be basted with their own 
dripping. Veal and poultry require an 
addition of butter, suet, or dripping. 
Some meats are basted with flavored 
material: claret, sweet-herbs and but- 
ter being used for mutton and lamb. For 
a pig, cream and melted butter are re- 
commended. For veal and other white 
meats, a basting is made of the yolk 
of eggs, grated biscuits, and the juice of 
an orange. Butter, clarified suet and 
drippings, are used commonly for roast 
meat. 

To Brown Meat. Make the fire brisk- 
er when the joint is half done, or add 
a glaze to improve the appearance. 

To Froth it. Dredge the whole joint 
lightly with flour, when sufficiently 
roasted, and immediately baste.it with 
butter or dripping. Stir the fire, and in 
three minutes take down and dish the 
meat. Use butter to froth poultry or 
lamb. The process plumps up the skin, 
and improves its appearance. Do not 
use too much flour ; the meat should 
have a light varnish of froth, not a cover- 
ing of paste. 

Dredgings are of flour simply, or flour 
and grated bread ; or sweet herbs dried, 
powdered and mixed with flour ; or pow- 
dered sugar mixed with pounded cinna- 
mon and grated breaJ; or dried and 
pounded lemon peel mixed with flour ; 
or fennel, or coriander seed, cinnamon 
and sugar, powdered and mixed with 
grated bread. 

Dripping is the fat which drops from 
roasting meat, and is used in frying, 



basting, or making plain pastry. When 
a joint of beef is roasted, pour the melt- 
ed fat into a basin of cold, clean water ; 
the heavy particles sink to the bottom ; 
the melted fat floats, and when cold, 
forms a clear cake of fat, fit for use 
several days in cool weather. Drip- 
ping that has been used for frying (un- 
less fish or pork has been fried in it) 
may be clarified in this way, for use 
a second time. Beef suet should be slow- 
ly melted, and passed through a sieve 
into cold water ; when caked it may be 
put into a jar, and kept in a cool place. 

The Skimmings of Soups and Gravies 
called " top-pot" is used by French 
cooks with flour, to thicken gravies and 
soups, and by some for frying. 

French Cooking. French cooks sub- 
ject their meats to a gradual long con- 
tinued action of heat, making the fibre 
perfectly tender. The English and Amer- 
icans cook them too fast; the French 
would pronounce such food only fit for 
barbarians. Another peculiarity of French 
cooking is the variety of flavors impart- 
ed to meat. A great number of dishes 
are prepared from a few original sub- 
stances, and the addition of a particular 
sauce gives a name to the dish. In our 
cooking, the flavor peculiar to each meat 
is preserved, and no condiment is suffer- 
ed to overpower it. French dishes are 
more sightly ; light and elegant dishes, 
not ponderous masses, tempt the appe- 
tite. The French cooking is also more 
economical. Nothing is wasted ; and 
many ingredients are brought into use 
which we would cast aside as useless. 

Braising is an important part of the 
art of cooking, and, like the saute, be- 
longs entirely to the French school from 
which it takes its name, braise being the 
remains of wood burnt in the oven, or 
live charcoal : this plan of cookery re- 
quires the action of the fire under and 
over the braising pan, which is air-tight, 
in order that the aromatic flavor arising 



140 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



from its contents may be imbibed by the 
meat or poultry, and give it that succu- 
lence so much esteemed by epicures. Its 
origin is stated to be owing to a gastro- 
nomic society which was formerly in 
existence in Paris, whose object was to 
benefit and improve the art of cookery, 
and who offered a reward of a silver 
gridiron to any culinary artist who 
would discover a new mode of dressing 
a turkey. Although a gridiron was, no 
doubt, intended to be used, yet a young 
artist named La Gacque, warmed by the 
offer, directed his imagination to quite 
a different mode, and used the pan instead 
of the gridiron, and thus composed the 
braise, which was unanimously approved 
of by that scientific, gastronomic, and 
epicurean body, who awarded him the 
prize. The chief art in braising is to do 
it slowly, taking care that the ingredients 
are well proportioned. Put the meat 
you would braise into a stewpan. and 
cover it with thick slices of fat bacon ; 
then lay round it six or eight onions, a 
fagot of sweet herbs, some celery, and, 
if to be brown, some thick slices of 
carrots, and trimmings of any fresh meat- 
bones you have, with a pint and a half of 
water, or the same quantity of stock, 
according to what the meat is, and add 
seasoning. Lay on a sheet of paper, 
cover the pan close, and set it over a 
slow stove ; it will require two or three 
hours, as its size and quality may direct. 
Then strain the gravy; keep the meat 
quite hot ; take the fat off by plunging 
the basin into cold water, which will 
cause the fat to coagulate ; and boil it as 
quickly as you can till it thickens. If, 
however, you wish the gravy to adhere 
to the meat, it must be still further 
thickened ; then with a brush kept for 
the purpose do over the meat, and if 
that has been larded, put it into the oven 
for a few minutes. This is called " glaz- 
ing," and is much in use for made- 
dishes. 



A Braising Pan is a sort of oblong 
kettle, with a bordered lid on which 
coals or ashes may be put. The lid 
should closely fit the pan. 

Glazing is strong gravy, boiled quickly 
till thick ; and it is put on meat with a 
brush. Hams, tongues, and stewed beef 
may be glazed. 

Jerked Beef is made by cutting it into 
thin slices, dipping them into salt or sea 
water, and drying them in the sun. This 
is done in the West Indies. 

Broiling. The gridiron must be kept 
perfectly clean and bright ; always wiped 
when hot after use, and rubbed just be- 
fore the meat is laid on it. with clean fat 
or suet. The bars^ must be thoroughly 
hot, but not so as to burn. They should 
be concave, and terminate in a trough to 
catch the gravy. The fire must be clear 
and glowing, especiall} 7 " for a beefsteak, 
for which the passage in Macbeth is a 
good direction. " When 'tis done, then 
'twere well it were done quickly." Mut- 
ton chops do not require quite so brisk 
a fire. If the article to be broiled is 
thick, it must be warmed through more 
gradually. The broiling must be done as 
quickly as possible, to avoid drying up 
the juices and hardening the fibre of 
meat. Beef and mutton require a hotter 
fire than pork or veal, poultry, or fish. 
Let the steak be uniformly thick ; beef- 
steaks not more than half an inch thick; 
mutton a little thicker. 

Do not sprinkle the steak with salt 
before, or while broiling. It draws out 
the gravy. Pepper may be used. Do 
not turn the steaks with a fork, but with 
a small tongs. 

A charcoal fire is convenient for broil- 
ing. When the chops are placed on the 
gridiron, set the dish to heat in which 
they are to be f-erved, and send to table 
as hot as possible. 

Soyer says: "As regards the thick- 
ness of the meat to be broiled, that de- 
pends in a great measure on the intensity 



RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY. 



141 



of the fire, but the quicker the better, 
and also the sooner it is eaten after taken 
from the fire the better it will be. I 
have latterly, in broiling rump-steaks, 
added that which, by a great many, is con- 
sidered an improvement ; it is, on turn- 
ing them the last time, to dredge them out 
of a dredger with fine holes, in which have 
been placed four table-spoonfuls of fine 
biscuit or rusk-powder, one -tablospoon- 
ful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper, a 
saltspooriful of either eschalot powder or 
mushroom-powder, or finely pulverized 
salts of celer}*-, well mixed together, and 
the steak to be placed in a very hot dish, 
with a little mushroom-catsup, and a small 
piece of butter, and served immediately." 

Frying. Though a convenient mode 
of cooking, this is seldom done well. It 
is to roast quickly, or scorch meat, &c., 
in fat in an iron pan. If little fat is used, 
it is called sauteing. The pan should 
be flat and thick-bottomed, with perpen- 
dicular sides. Dripping, oil, butter, 
fresh lard, or clarified suet perfectly 
clean, fresh and sweet, must, when melt- 
ed, cover the bottom of the pan ; when 
this is heated sufficiently, the meat or fish 
must be put in and turned frequently, 
from one side to the other. When near- 
ly done, they may be browned by being 
pressed firmly against the bottom of the 
pan. 

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

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

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

To prepare crumbs for frying, dry thor- 
oughly in a warm oven, or before the 
fire, any waste pieces of bread; then 
pound them in a mortar and sift them, j 



and put them away till wanted. This is 
much better than grating bread as it is 
needed, or using oatmeal, &c. 

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

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

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

To make batter for frying : melt two 
ounces of butter in a little warm water, 
and pour it upon half-a-pound of flour ; 
stir it and add water enough to form a 
batter, thick enough to adhere to what- 
ever is put into it ; but it should run 
freely: add some salt and the beaten 
whites of two eggs. 

A small shallow frying-pan, or sauie- 
pan, as it is called, is very useful to fry 
articles to be stewed : this method dif- 
fers from common frying, as it only re- 
quires butter enough to keep the article 
from sticking to the pan and burning.' 

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

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

The great secret in frying is to know 
when the fat* is of a proper heat. Put 
nothing in till it has done hissing, and is 
still. Or throw a small bit of bread into 
the pan ; if it fries crisp, the fat is ready ; 
if it burns, too hot. Whatever is tried 
in fat not heated enough, will be pale and 
sodden. Fish should be crisp and dry 
in a few minutes after it is out of the 
pan ; when it is not so, dry it on a cloth 
before the fire. 

Baking. Baking is a very common 
and convenient mode of dressing a dinner 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



in small families, and much used in these 
United States. The southern cook will 
often stand in the midst of a circle of 
portable ovens, placed on the brick floor 
of the kitchen, which is usually at some 
distance from the dwelling-house. 

Legs of mutton and pork, fillets of 
veal, and many other joints, will bake 
nicely if inclined to ba fat ; if lean, they 
will not taste well, but will shrivel up 
and lo-e much in weight. 

A pig, geese and ducks, a buttock, leg 
or shin of beef, a ham, oxcheek, and va- 
rious kinds of fidh, make very nice baked 
dishes. The oven in preparing all kinds 
of bread and farinaceous food, is indis- 
pensable. 

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

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

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

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

Ee careful not to fry in a stewpan ; or 
if so, with great care, and sufficient but- 
ter to save the tinning from melting. 

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

Poeling. Put into a stewpan with 
two pounds of veal, a pound of beef suet, 
one of butter, one of very fat bacon, all 
cut up ; fry them till the veal becomes 



white; put in three pints of boiling 

water, a handful of salt, a few sprigs of 

thyme, a bay leaf, an onion stuck with 

' cloves, and a bundle of parsley and green 

onions. Boil the whole gently till the 

I onion is done, strain it through a sieve, 

j and set it by for use. i cele will keep 

for a week, and will give relish and 

whiteness to everything boiled in it. Do 

not boil any lean of bacon ; it will give 

a red color from the saltpetre. Meat in 

poe ling must be under-done. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danger from Copper Saucepans. The 
precise danger from the use of copper 
saucepans, or stewpans, imperfectly tin- 



HINTS AND MAXIMS. 



143 



ned. is hardly understood. It appears 
that the acid contained in stews and 
other made dishes, as lemon-juice, though 
it does not dissolve copper by being 
merely boiled in it a few minutes, never- 
theless, if allowed to cool and stand in 
it for some time, will acquire poisonous 
matter, as verdigris, in the form of a 
green band, or- crust, inside the vessel. 
It has likewise been proved that wealc 
solutions of common salt, such as are 
daily made by adding a little salt to boil- 
ing vegetables, fish, or meat, act power- 
fully on copper vessels, although strong 
solutions or brine would not affect them. 

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

The kettles in which the soups are 
made should be well tinned, and kept 
particularly clean, by being washed in 
hot water and rubbed dry before they 
are put away. If they are not kept well 
tinned, the taste as well as the color of 
the soup will be liable to be affected by 
the iron ; and if the soup-kettfe be made 
of copper, and the tinning not quite per- 
fect, everything cooked in it will be more 
or less poisonous, as everything which is 
sweet, salt, or sour, extracts verdigris 
from copper. 

Boning, besides its other advantages, 
is particularly recommended, on account 
of its econcnr/ : the bones of turkeys, 
fowls, hares, &c., assisting to make gravy, 
while they are nearly useless when left 
in the bodies of the animals a boned 
fowl also, rendered solid by stuffing, will 
go much further than when dressed in 
the common way. Hares should always 
be boned, for the sake of the improve- 
ment in their appearance, and being so 
much more easily carved. In the hiring 
of a cook b} 7 persons resident in the 
country, it is therefore essential to ascer- 1 



tain whether she is mistress of that art ; 
for as to teaching her by printed direc-' 
tions, it would be tiroie "thrown away 
and she can only acquire it by practice ; 
but it may be learned by a few lessons 
from the poulterer. 




Napkin Rings. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

H:NTS AND MAXIMS. 

IF you chance to occupy the important 
position of a cook, remember that clean- 
liness is the first, second and third requi- 
site in point of importance, to be ob- 
served. 

Keep your flour-box, sugar, salt, and 
spices always covered, that dust and in- 
sects may not get in. 

Never put onions or cheese on the 
same dish with anything else, and never 
cut anything else with the knife you use 
for them. Keep a particular pitcher for 
beer or, buttermilk, or you may chance 
to put milk or water into the remains. 

Empty into some outside drain the 
saucepan in which you have boiled vege- 
tables, as soon as you have done with it ; 
and never put by anything eatable in a 
saucepan. This is a fearfully common 
practice with southern cooks. Keep your 
tin and copper vessels as sweet and clean 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



as glass or china. The saucepans are of 
far more consequence than tumblers or 
teacups. If glaf ses be dirty, those who 
drink from them are disgusted ; but if 
saucepans be foul, they may chance to be 
poisoned. Many have died from this 
cause. The sort of rust which forms in 
copper vessels not kept clean is a deadly 
poison. If a housekeeper is careful, she 
will look into all her saucepans at least 
once a week, to see if they are well clean- 
ed, or want tinning. 

Let the dinner be served quite hot, 
and have the plates as hot as you can 
handle them, Cold plates spoil the fin- 
est joint of meat; and it is very easy to 
have plates hot. At breakfast and tea 
carry in the water quite boiling, and then 
it will not be your fault if the tea is not 
good. It is a very common fault in cooks, 
as soon as the teakettle boils, to set it on 
one side where the water coo ! s a little, so 
that it is not quite boiling when poured 
on the tea. 

-The true economy of housekeeping is 
simply the art of gathering up all the 
fragments, so that nothing be lost. I 
mean fragments of time, as well as ma- 
terials. Nothing should be thrown away 
so long as it is possible to make any use 
of it, however trifling that use may be ; 
and whatever be the size of a family, 
every member should be employed either 
in earning or in saving money. 

In early childhood, you lay the founda- 
tion of poverty or riches in the habits 
you give your children. Teach them to 
save everything ; not for their own use 
for that would make them selfish but 
for some use. Teach them to share even-- 
thing with their playmates; but never 
allow them to destroy anything. 

As far as possible, have bits of bread 
eaten before they become hard. Spread 
the rest out to dry to be pounded for 
puddings, or soaked for " brewis." This 
is made of dry crusts and bits of bread 



soaked in hot milk, mashed, salted and 
buttered like toast. 

An ox's gall will set any color in silk, 
cotton or woollen. The colors of calico 
which would fade in one washing will be 
fixed by it. It is worth while to buy 
cheap fading goods, and set them in this 
way. Get out all the liquid from the gall, 
and cork it up in a large phial. One large 
spoonful in a gallon of warm water is 
sufficient. It is also excellent for taking 
out spots from bombazine and stiff goods, 
which, washed in it, look as well as new. 
It must be stirred into the water. After 
washing cloth in this water, you must 
wash it if you wish to clear it, in warm 
suds, not putting soap upon it. 

Lamps will have a less disagreeable 
smell if you dip the wick yarn in strong 
hot vinegar and dry it. 

Do not let coffee and tea stand in tin. 
Keep tinware dry, and scald wooden- 
ware often. 

Eggs will keep almost any length of 
time in lime water properly prepared. 
One pint of coarse salt, and one pint of 
nnslacked lime, to a common pailful of 
water. If there be too much lime it will 
eat the eggs from the shells ; and if a sin- 
gle egg be cracked it will spoil the whole. 
They should be covered with lime water, 
and kept in a cold place. It is a good 
plan to lay down eggs in the spring and 
September for the winter. 

Few know how to keep the flavor of 
sweet marjoram, the best of all herbs for 
broth and stuffing. It should be gathered 
in bud or blossom and dried in a tin kitch- 
en at a moderate distance from the fire ; 
when dry it should be rubbed, sifted, and 
corked up in a bottle. 

Bones from which roasting pieces have 
been cut may be bought in market for a 
trifle, and a very rich soup made of them, 
besides skimming the fat for shortening. 
Bones from the rump are full of marrow, 
and will yield a pint of good shortening 



HINTS AND MAXIMS. 



145 



without impairing the richness of the 
soup. The best pieces of beef for soup 
are the leg and shin ; if boiled very long. 
the sinews add to the richness of the 
soup. 

The shoulder of veal is the most 
economical for roasting or boiling ; two 
dinners may be made from it the shoul- 
der roasted, and the knuckle cut off to be 
boiled with pork and greens, or made 
into soup. 

Keep an old blanket and sheet for iron-- 
ing, and on no account suffer any other 
to be used. Have plenty of holders, and 
do not put towels to such service. 




Scrubbing Brush. 



Keep a coarbe broom for the cellar 
stairs, wood shed, yard, &c. Never use 
a carpet broom for such places. 

Never drop knives into hot dishwater 
Have a large tin basin to wash them in 
just high enough to wash the blades with- 
out icetting the handles. Keep your cas 
tors covered with blotting paper ana 
green flannel. Keep your salt spoons ou 
of the salt, and clean them often. 

Do not wrap knives and forks in wool 
lens, but in strong paper. Steel is in 
jured by lying in woollens. It is a good 
plan to rub the blades with nice grease, 
and wrap them up separately, to prevent 
rust. 

Herbs should be kept from the air. 
Herb tea, to do any good, should be 
made very strong. Herbs must be gath- 
ered while in blossom. Those who have 



little ground will do well to raise the 
most useful herbs ; apothecaries make 
arge profits on them. 

The same pickle used for bacon is good 
or neats' tongues. Pigs' tongues are nice, 
n-epaved in the same way. They are 
old in England for reindeers' tongues, 

a great luxury. 

Buffaloes' tongues should soak a day 
md a night, and boil six hours. 

Molasses used in cooking should be 
irst boiled and skimmed. One or two 
gallons may be thus prepared at a time. 
;t is a prodigious improvement. 

Always have a heavy stone on the top 
of your pork in pickle. You may keep 
a bit of fresh meat on this stone, in sum- 
mer, when you fear it may spoil. 

Have plenty of towels in the kitchen, 
or Biddy will use your white napkins. 

Soap dirty clothes, and soak them hi 
water over night. Use hard soap for 
clothes, and soft for washing floors. 

Cut lemon and orange peel, when fresh, 
into a bottle kept full of brandy. This 
brandy gives a delicious flavor to pies, 
cakes, &c. Roseleaves may be preserv- 
ed in brandy. Peach leaves steeped in 
it make* an excellent seasoning for cus- 
tards and puddings. 

Grate horseradish when the root is in 
perfection, put it in bottles, fill it with 
strong vinegar, and keep it corked tight, 
for winter use. 

Keep a bag for odd pieces of tape and 
strings, and a bag or box for old buttons. 
A little salt sprinkled in starch, while 
boiling, prevents its sticking : it is also 
good to stir it with a clean sperm 
candle. 

To separate wax from honeycomb, tie 
up the comb in a linen or woollen bag ; 
place it in a kettle of cold water, - 
hang it over the fire. 



and 
The wax melts 



and rises to the surface, while all the 
impurities remain in the bag. A few 



146 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



pebbles in the bag will prevent its float 
ing. 

Honey may be separated from the 
comb by placing it in the hot sun ,or 
before the fire, with two or three col- 
anders or sieves under it each .finer 
than the other. 

Potatoes boiled and mashed hot, are 
good in shortcakes and puddings; they 
save flour ad shortening. 

To corn meat simply rub in plenty 
of salt, and set it in the cellar for a day 
or two. In summer it is good to corn 
meat, which will not keep more than a 
day and a half. If you want to keep it 
longer, rub in more salt, and secure it 
from the flies. A little saltpetre rubbed 
in before you apply the common salt, 
makes the meat tender; but it is not 
best to use it in summer. 

Legs of mutton are good, aired in the 
same way as hams six pounds salt, 
eight ounces saltpetre, five pints molasses, 
will make pickle enough for one hundred 
pounds. Small legs should be kept in 
pickle twelve or fifteen days j large, four 
or five weeks ; and they should be hung 
up a day or two before being smoked. 
Lay them in the oven on crossed sticks, 
and make a fire at the entrance with 
cobs or walnut bark, or chips, which im- 
part a sweet taste. Smoke the smallest 
pieces forty-eight hours ; the large legs 
four or five days. If hung till thorough- 
ly dry, the mutton mny be eaten in thin 
slices, like hung beef. When legs of 
meat are put in pickle, the thickest part 
should be uppermost, as the creature 
stood while living ; also when hung to 
dry; thus the juices of the meat are kept 
in. Meat should be turned over once or 
twice while smoking. 

Hams should be well covered in paper 
bags, and put in a chest or barrel, with 
layers of charcoal or ashes between. 
When you take one out to cut for use, 
put it away in a dark place, well covered! 



Let there be a place for every article, 
and when not in use let every article be 
hi its place. 

Keep every utensil ready for immediate 
use. 

The stock pot should never be suffered 
to be empty, as almost any meats (save 
salt meats) or fowls make stock; the 
remnants should never be thrown any- 
where but into the stock pot, and should 
too much stock be already in your pos- 
session, boil it down to a glaze: waste 
is thus avoided. 

Keep your meat in a cool, dry place ; 
your fish on ice. and your vegetables on 
a stone floor free from air. 

Cut your soap when it comes in, and 
let it dry slowly. 

Keep your sweet herbs in paper bags, 
each bag containing only one description 
of herb. They should be dried in the 
wind and not in the sun, and when order- 
ed in a receipt should be cautiously used, 
a preponderance in any seasoning 
spoils it. 

When oranges or lemons are used for 
juice, chop down the peel, put them in 
small pots and^tie them down for use. 

APPLES. In choosing apples, be guided 




Apple Peeler, 
by the weight ; the heaviest are the best. 



HINTS AND MAXIMS. 



147 



and those should always be selected 
which, on being pressed by the thumb 
yield with a slight crackling noise. Pre 
fer large apples to small, for waste i 
saved in peeling and coring. 

Apples should be kept on dry straw 
in a dry place, and pears hung up by the 
stalk. 

BATTER for fish, meat, fritters, &c. 
Prepare it with fine flour, salt, a little oil 
beer, fvinegar, or white wine, and the 
whites of eggs beaten up ; when of a pro- 
per thickness, about the size of a nutmeg 
it will drop out of the spoon at once 
Fry in oil or hog's lard. 

CABROTS, if young, need only be wiped 
when boiled if old, they must be scraped 
before boiling. Slice them into a dish, 
and pour over them melted butter. 

CAULIFLOWEKS. Cut off the stalks, 
but leave a little of the green on ; boil in 
spring water with a little salt in it : they 
must not boil too fast. 

CELERY. Very little is sufficient for 
soups, as the flavor is very predominating. 
It should be particularly cleanly washed 
arid curled when sent to table. To curl 
celery, wash well, and take off the out- 
eide stalks, cut it to a ^proper length, 
split each stalk into three or four divi- 
sions with a large needle, then place the 
head of celery in spring water with the 
root uppermost, and let it remain for 
four or five hours it may then be taste- 
fully arranged on the dish. 

GAME may often be made fit for eating 
when it seems spoiled, b}' cleaning it and 
washing with vinegar and water. Birds 
that are not likely to keep, should be 
drawn, cropped, and picked, then washed 
in two or three waters, and rubbed 
with salt; have in readiness a large 
saucepan of boiling water, and plunge 
them into it one by one, drawing them 
up and down by the legs, so that the wa- 
ter may pass through them. Let them 
stay for five or six minutes, then hang 
them up in a cold place ; when they are 



completely drained, well salt and pepper 
the insides, and thoroughly wash them 
before roasting. 

GRAVIES The skirts of beef and the 
kidney will make quite as good gravy as 
any other meat, if prepared in the same 
manner. The kidney of an ox. or the 
milt, makes excellent gravy, cut to pieces 
and prepared as other meat, and so with 
the shank end of mutton that has been 
dressed, if much gravy is not required. 
The shank bones of mutton add greatly 
to the richness of gravies, but they should 
be first well soaked and scoured clean. 
The taste of gravies is improved by tar- 
ragon, but it should be sparingly used 
immediately before serving. 

LARD should be carefully melted in a 
jar put in a kettle of water and boiled, 
and run into bladders that have been 
strictly cleaned ; the bladders should not 
be too lar-e, as the lard will become rank 
if the air gets to it. While melting it, 
put in a sprig of rosemary. 

MUSTARD mixed smooth with new 
milk, and a little cream added, will keep; 
it is very soft, and by no means bitter. 

SAGO should soak for an hour in wa- 
ter previous to using, to take oft' the 
earthy taste. 

SUF.T ma}' be kept for a twelvemonth, 
thus: choose the firmest and most free 
from skin or veins, remove all traces of 
these, put the suet in a saucepan at some 
distance from the lire, and let it melt 
gradually ; when melted, pour it into a 
>an of cold spring water; when hard, 
vipe it dry, fold it in white paper, put it 
nto a linen bag, and keep it in a dry, 
300! place ; when used, it must be scrap 
ed, and will make an excellent crust, 
ither with or without butter. 

TONGUE, which has been dried, should 
>e soaked in water throe or four hours. 
)ne that has not been dried will re- 
uire but little soaking; put it in cold 
vater, and boil gently till tender. 



148 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



Raisin wine may be substituted for 
sherry, for sweets generally. 

Copper vessels, when the tinning is 
worn off, must never be used, or the 
poisoning of those who partake of what- 
ever may have been cooked in them is 
inevitable. They should be sent to be 
re-tinned immediately they require it. 

Keep tapes and jelly bags clean, or 
when again used they will impart an un- 
pleasant flavor. 

All soups should be moderately thin 
and bright. 

Meats, such as beef, mutton, and veni- 
son, must rather be underdone than over- 
done, excepting veal and pork, which re- 
quire to be well done. 

Fish should be quite done, but not 
overdone. 

Pastry must be carefully baked; it 
should be sent to table a pale gold color. 
Onions should be kept on ropes in a 
dry place a specked one should be re- 
moved or it will contaminate the others. 
Cold water cracks hot iron infallibly. 
Pudding towels should be carefully 
washed, and kept clean in a dry place. 
Put a clean round towel on the roller 
quite as often as necessary. 

Be very particular in not letting your 
stocks and sauces pass over two days 
without boiling them up, and be careful 
to stir the thick soups and sauces all the 
time they are on the fire, and change all 
your cold meats into fresh clean dishes 
every morning, wiping down the dressers 
and shelves, and if allowed larding cloths 
see that they are clenn. Keep your lard- 
er door shut, free from dust and damp 
do not have your baked paste in the 
larder, but in your kitchen cupboard 
and then see to your game, wiping, and 
peppering and gingering your venison 
arranging the game which requires to be 
dressed first, and see that all the blood 
which may have dropped from the game 



or venison is cleaned from the dresserp 
and flooring. Then see to the vegetables, 
removing all stale and what is not want- 
ed, giving it to the poor, either dressed 
n some way or uncooked ; do not be over- 
stocked, but always keep a little reserve. 
Be sure to look well, every morning to 
your pickled pork and hams, keep and 
rub them well, and turn them, marking 
;hose to be used first. Your fish must be 
ooked to and well cleaned and washed, 
and if intended for that day's dinner, 
kept in water until required; if not, 
Keep it on the marble or stones ; your 
doors should always be shut. 

Clean hands, always clean hands. 

A dirty kitchen is a disgrace to every 
one connected with it. 

With these few hints we wind up our 
remarks, merely adding that many of the 
receipts given, which are on too large a 
scale for a small famil} 7 , may have their 
proportions equally reduced, and an ex- 
cellent dish will be the result. In some 
instances also, the more expensive ingre- 
dients may be left out without destroy- 
ing the integrity of the receipt, discre- 
tion and judgment being alone required 
in these cases. 

In conclusion, the mistress of the 
household will understand that the well- 
being of her establishment depends upon 
her surveillance; and though her too fre- 
quent presence in the kitchen would be 




unnecessary and annoying to the cook 



FOOD FOK THE MONTHS. 



yet she should not be deterred from vis 
iting it by any false delicacy, or defer 
ence to an absurd custom which make 
it vulgar for a lady to visit her cook 
in her own domains. If the cook 
thrifty and clean, she will be glad to re 
ceive the praise to which she is fairl 
entitled ; if dirty and careless, it is very 
essential that the lady should be ac 
quainted with the fact in order to remedy 
it by a change. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



AETICLES IN SEASON FOE EACH MONTH. 



JANUARY. 

Fish, Eels, flounders, haddocks, lam- 
preys, oysters, whitings, clams, muscles, 
striped bass, salt mackerel, smoked sal- 
mon, sardines, anchovies, fish pickled 
and soused. 

Meats. Beef, mutton, fish, pork, ham, 
venison, veal, sausages, &c. 

Poultry and game. Capons, fowls, 
ducks, geese. Scotch grouse, prairie fowls, 
young rabbits, partridges, pheasants } pi- 
geons, wild birds, turkeys, woodcock, 
snipe, quails, ducks canvas back, red- 
head, broad bill, teal bear's meat, jugged 
hare. 

Vegetables. Winter spinach, turnips, 
potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, celery, 
cabbage, parsnips, carrots, dried white 
beans, beets, dried herbs, garlic, onions, 
shalots, leeks, mint, mustard, parsley, 
sage, rosemary, salsify, thyme, &c. 

Fruits. Apples, oranges, dried figs, 
imported grapes, almonds, raisins, dates, 
filberts, prunes, hard nuts, Brazil and 
Madeira-nuts, black-walnuts, hickory- 
nuts, peccan-nuts. butternuts, chestnuts. 



FEBRUARY. 



Fish. Codfish. 



eels, 
10 



flounders, had- 



docks, lamiyeys, oysters, smelts, whiting* 
clams, muscles, striped bass, smoked sal- 
mon, salt mackerel, sardines, anchovies 
pickled and soused fish. 

Meats. Beet mutton, fresh pork, sau 
sages, venison, ham. 

Poultry and Game. Yowls, capons, 
ducks, geese : Scotch grouse, prairie fowls, 
partridges, rabbits, pheasants, pigeons, 
turkeys, woodcock, reed birds, quails, 
snipe, ducks canvas back, red head, 
teal, broad bill, hare, bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Turnips, potatoes, sweet 
potatoes, winter spinach, rice, celery, 
cabbage, parsnips, carrots, white beans,' 
beets, garlic, onions, shalots, mint, leeks, 
mustard, parsley, sage, salsify, thyme, 
dried herbs. 

fruits. Apples, oranges, figs, import- 
ed grapes, almonds, raisins, filberts, dates, 
prunes, hazel-nuts, Brazil and Madeira- 
nuts, black walnuts, hickory nuts, pec- 
can-nuts, butternuts, chestnuts. 



MARCH. 

Fish. Codfish, eels, haddocks, flound- 
ers, oysters, clams, whitings, striped bass 
perch, smelts, lampreys, salt mackerel, 
smoked salmon, sardines, anchovies, 
pickled and soused fish. 

Meats. Bee^ mutton, pork, ham. 

Poultry and Game. Fowls, capons, 
ame ducks, geese, Scotch grouse, prairie 
hens, rabbits, partridges, pheasants, pi- 
geons, turkeys, reed birds, woodcock, 
nipe, quails, hare, bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Spinach lettuces, cresses, 
urnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, 
adishes, celery, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, 
white beans, beets, garlic, onions, shalots, 
eeks, salsify, parsley, sage, thyme, dried 
erbs. 

Fruits. Apples, oranges, figs, almonds, 
aisins, filberts, prunes, hazel-nuts, Brazil 
nd Madeira-nuts, hickory-nuts, peccan- 
uts, chestnuts, dates. 



150 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



APBIL. 

Fish. Brook trout, codfish, halibut, 
shad, striped bass, eels, lobsters, oysters, 
perch, roach, smelts, clams, shrimps, 
cray, small fish. 

Meats. Beef, mutton, veal, ham. 

Poultry and Game. Spring chickens, 
fowls, capon, turkeys, ducks, Scotch 
grouse, prairie hens, partridges, pheasants, 
pigeons, quails, woodcock, snipe, bear's 
meat. 

Vegetables. Lettuces, spinach, turnips, 
cresses, potatoes, rice, radishes, parsnips, 
carrots, white beans, beets, garlic, onions, 
shalots, leeks, mint, mustard, 'parsley, 
sage, salsify, thyme, dried herbs, Jerusa- 
lem artichokes. 

Fruits. Apples, oranges, figs, almonds, 
raisins, prunes, dates, &c. 

MAY. 

Fish. Terrapin, fresh salmon, turtle, 
trout, codfish, halibut, perch, shad, carp, 
striped bass, eels, English soles, soft 
crabs, lobsters, salmon, roach, smelts, 
shrimps, cray fish, prunes, salt and 
smoked fish. 

Meats. Beef, mutton, veal, ham. 

Poultry and Game. Spring chickens, 
fowls, capons, Scotch grouse, prairie hens, 
bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Asparagus, lettuces, cress- 
es, mushrooms, spinach, turnips, pota- 
toes, radishes, rice, parsnips, carrots, 
white beans, onions, mint, mustard, pars- 
ley, sage, thyme, salsify, Jerusalem arti- 
chokes, dry herbs. 

Fruits. Apples, oranges, figs, almonds, 
raisins, prunes, dates. 

JUNE. 

Fish. Terrapin, fresh salmon, turtle, 
trout, codfish, halibut, perch, pickerel, 
fresh mackerel, shad, carp, sea-bass, 
striped bass, eels, fresh herring, king 
fish, English soles, soft crabs, lobsters, 
salmon-trout, sturgeon. 



Meat. Beef, mutton, lamb, veal, ham 
salt pork. 

Poultry and Game. Spring chickens, 
fowls, capons, bear's meat, grouse, prairie 
fowl. 

Vegetables. Asparagus, green peas, 
Lima beans, white beans, mushrooms, 
lettuces, cresses, spinach, celery, potatoes, 
radishes, rice, carrots, onions, garlic, 
mint, mustard, parsley, sage, thyme, sal- 
shy, Jerusalem artichokes, dry herbs. 

Fruits. Strawberries, cherries, cur- 
rants, oranges, figs, almonds, raisins, 
prunes, dates. 

JULY. 

Fish. Terrapin, turtle, carp, cod, cray 
fish, eels, flounders, fresh salmon, herring, 
lobsters, fresh mackerel, perch, pickerel, 
salmon-trout, trout, sea-bass, striped 
bass, halibut, English soles, blue fish, 
king fish, soft crabs, sturgeon. 

Meats. Beef, lamb, mutton, salt pork. 

Poultry and Game. Chickens, fowls, 
green geese, pigeons, plovers. 

Vegetables. Artichokes, asparagus, 
string beans, Lima and white beans, peas 
of some kinds, carrots, celery, chervil, 
cucumbers, endive, herbs of all kinds, 
lettuces, mint, mushrooms, potatoes, 
purslane, cresses, radishes, salads of all 
sorts, salsify, spinach, turnips, green 
corn, tomatoes, succory, squashes, egg- 
plant, cold-slaw. 

Fruits. Apricots, currants, straw- 
berries, raspberries, blackberries, goose- 
berries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, hot- 
house grapes, melons of various kinds, 
oranges, almonds, raisins, prunes, figs, 
fresh figs, pine apples, damsons, plums. 

AUGUST. 

Fish. Terrapin, turtle, perch, codfish, 
pickerel, carp, eels, fresh salmon, salmon- 
trout, brook-trout, lobster, fresh .mack- 
erel, striped bass, sea-bass, English soles, 
soft crabs, halibut, cray-fish, blue-fish, 



FOOD FOR THE MONTHS. 



151 



king-fish, sturgeon, smelts, roach, black- 
bas>s. 



Meats. Beef, mutton, lamb, veal, salt 
pork, ham. 

Poultry and Game. Chickens, fowls, 
ducks, green geese, plovers, bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Artichokes, string- beans, 
lima and white beans, carrots, celery, 
chervil, cucumbers, endive, herbs of all 
kinds, lettuces, mint, potatoes, purslane, 
radishes, cresses, salads, oyster-plant, 
spinach, turnips, green corn, tomatoes, 
succory, squashes, cold slaw, egg plant. 

Fruits. Raspberries, blackberries, 
peaches, nectarines, green grapes, plums, 
gooseberries, apricots, harvest apples, 
mulberries, melons of various kinds, hot- 
house grapes, pears of different sorts, 
summer pippins, green gages. 

SEPTEMBER. 

Fish. Terrapin, turtle, perch, cod, 
pickerel, eels, fresh salmon, salmon-trout, 
trout, lobster, striped bass, sea-bass, 
black bass, English soles, soft crabs, hali- 
but, cray-fish, blue-fish, king-fish, smelts, 
sturgeon, roach. 

Meats ~Beef, mutton, lamb, veal, ham, 
salt beef and pork. 

Poultry and Game. Chickens, fowls, 
ducks, green geese, meadow-larks, bear's 
meat. 

Vegetables. Artichokes, white and 
lima beans, carrots, celery, chervil, cu- 
cumbers, herbs of all kinds, lettuces, 
mint, potatoes, purslane, radishes, salads 
oyster plant, spinach, turnips, beets 
green corn, tomatoes, succory 
cold slaw, egg plant. 

Fruits. Green grapes, magnum bo- 
num plum, Palmer and Columbia grapes 
egg plums, gooseberries, 
peaches, apples, grapes of different varie- 
ties, pears of all kinds. 

OCTOBER. 
Fish. Terrapin, salmon, striped bass, 



sea-bass, blue-fish, salmon-trout, lobsters, 
codfish, halibut, black-fish, pickerel, carp, 
eels, soft crabs, perch, trout, oysters. 

Meats. Beef, mutton, pork, veal, veni- 
son, lamb. 

Poultry and Game. Meadow-larks, 
chickens, capons, ducks, turkeys, par- 
tridges, wild pigeon, English snipe, grouse 
or prairie-hens, pheasants, quails, wild 
ducks, hares, rabbits, bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Artichokes, cauliflower, 
>roccoli, succory, carrots, celery, leeks, 
mions, parsnips, potatoes, spinach, tur- 
iips, egg-plant, lettuce, tomatoes, car- 
ots, cabbage, rice, cauliflower, artichokes, 
iclery, leeks, onions, parsnips, sweet po- 
tatoes, potatoes, radishes, salads, savoys, 
winter spinach, tomatoes, turnips, suc- 
jory, beets, oyster-plant, egg-plant, dry 
icrbs. 

Fruits. Late peaches, apples, filberts, 
almonds, hazel-nuts, grapes, quinces, wal- 
nuts, hickory-nuts, chestnuts, chincopins, 
peccan-nuts. 



NOVEMBER. 

Fish* Eels, oysters, clams, codfish, 
haddock, lampreys, whitings, muscles, 
striped bass, salt mackerel, smoked sal- 
mon, sardines, anchovies, &c. 

Meats. Beef, mutton, lamb, pork, 
venison. 

Poultry and Game. Chickens, fowls, 
capons, ducks, geese, Scotch grouse, 
prairie-hens, hares, rabbits, partridges, 
pheasants, pigeons, turkeys, reed-birds, 
woodcock, snipe, quails, canvas-back, 
red-head, broadbill, teal-ducks, meadow- 
larks, bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Celery, cauliflower, cab- 
radishes, winter-spinach, turnips, 



potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, parsnips, 
carrots, dry white beans, beets, dried 
herbs, garlic, onions, shalots, leeks, mint, 
mustard, parsley, sage, thyme, salsify. 
fruits. Lute peaches, apples, oranges, 



152 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



almonds, raisins, filberts, prunes, figs, 
hazelnuts, Brazil and Madeira nuts, dates, 
walnuts, hickory-nuts and chestnuts. 

DECEMBER. 

Pith. Oysters, clams, eels, haddock, 
lampreys, whitings, muscles, striped- 
bass, salt mackerel, smoked salmon, sar- 
dines, anchovies, &c. 

Meats. Beef, mutton, pork, veal, 
venison. 

Poultry and Game. Fowls, turkeys, 
capons, ducks, geese, Scotch grouse, prai- 



rie-hens, hares, rabbits, partridges, 
pheasants, pigeons, reed-birds, woodcock 
snipe, quails, ducks, canvas back, red- 
head, broadbill, teal, bear's meat. 

Vegetables. Cauliflower, celery, cab- 
bage, winter spinach, turnips, potatoes, 
sweet potatoes, rice, parsnips, carrots, 
dry beans, beets, dried herbs, garlic, 
onions, shalots, leeks, mint, mustard, 
parsley, sage, thyme, salsify. 

Fruits. Apples, oranges, bananas, al- 
monds, raisins, filberts, prunes, figs, 
hazelnuts, Brazil and Madeira nuts, dates, 
walnuts, hickory-nuts, chestnuts. 



PAKT SECOND. 



RECEIPTS 



RECEIPTS. 



SOUPS. 



THERE is no dish, perhaps, that comes 
to table which gives such general satis- 
faction as well prepared soup ; let the 
appetite be vigorous or delicate, an ex- 
cellent soup will always prove grateful 
to it ; and as this is beyond contradic- 
tion, it should be the province of the 
cook to be always in a position to pro- 
duce it at a short notice. 

There should always be plenty of dried 
herbs in the store closet , these may be 
purchased chiefly in quantities at the be- 
ginning of the autumn, of any market- 
gardener. Herbs may be very well kept, 
as indeed they are usually, in paper bags ; 
they should he all labelled. When time 
is an important object, the necessity for 
this is obvious they are always to be 
had when wanted, and the bag should be 
immediately replaced after using. 

There should be a saucepan, or a kettle 
of iron well tinned, kept for soup only ; 
the lid should fit tightly; one will be 
found to answer all purposes, being es- 
pecially useful as a " stock-pot." The 
inexperienced reader will understand by 
the term " stock-pot," that soups being 
of two kinds, brown and white, have dif- 
ferent foundations, that of brown being 
always beef, and that of white, veal; 
there are many ingredients in each, and 
it is the various articles which, when put 
together, are called " stock," hence the 



soup utensil is technically termed the 
stock-pot. 

When fat remains on any soup, a tea- 
cupful of flour and water mixed quite 
smooth, and boiled in it, will make it 
rise as scum, when it may be taken off. 

If richness or greater consistency be 
wanted, a good lump of butter mixed 
with flour, and boiled in the soup, 'will 
give either of these qualities. 

Long boiling is necessary to give the 
full flavor of the ingredients, therefore 
time should be allowed for soups and 
gravies. Skim frequently and simmer 
slowly; but do not let the broth cool 
until it is completely made. 

Be sparing in the use of pepper, salt, 
and spices. 

If onions are too strong, boil a turnip 
with them, and it will render them 
mild. 

Do not keep either soups or gravies in 
any vessel of tin or copper ; and in stir- 
ring soup, do it always with a wooden 
spoon. 

Arrow-root, or the mere farina or 
flour of the potato, is far better for the 
thickening of soups than wheaten flour. 

The basis of all well-made soups, is 
composed of what English cooks call 
" Stoclc," or broth, made from all sorts 
of meat, bones and the remains of poul- 
try or game ; all of which may be put to- 



156 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



gether and stewed down in the " Stock- 
pot ; " the contents of which are, by the 
French, termed Consomme. This is chiefly 
used for the preparation of brown or gravy 
soups : that intended for white soups being 
rather differently compounded, though 
made in nearly the same manner. 

To the medley of ingredients, add 
carrots cut in thin slices, herbs, onions, 
pepper, and salt ; when it has stewed 
slowly for a short time, pour in the boil- 
ing water in proportion to the quantity 
of meat and soup required ; then stew it 
until it is of a rich consistency, take 
it from the fire, let it cool, remove the 
pot. 

If required the following day, care 
should be taken that the deposit or sedi- 
ment is removed, as also the fat previous 
to warming ; if kept long the pans must 
be changed ; there is as much danger in 
red glazed earthenware as in metal pans ; 
the latter should never be employed to 
keep gravies in, if possible. Wherever 
greater richness is. required, it may be 
obtained by the addition of the jelly of 
cow-heel, or a lump of butter and flour. 

Remember, soup is richer and better 
for being made the previous day, or even 
two or three days previously to its being 
required, if it be warmed each day ; to 
be really good it must be well stewed. 

Seasonings for Soups. Spices should 
be put whole into soups ; allspice is one 
of the best, though it is not so highly 
esteemed as it deserves. Seville orange- 
juice has a finer and milder acid than le- 
mon-juice ; but both should be used with 
caution. Sweet herls, for soups and 
broths, consist of knotted marjoram, 
thyme, and parsley, a sprig of each tied 
together. The older and drier onions 
are, the stronger their flavor; in dry 
seasons, also, they are very strong : the 
quantity should be proportioned accord- 
ingly. Although celery may be gener- 
ally obtained for soup throughout the 
year, it may be useful to know, that 



dried celery-seed is an excellent substi- 
tute. It is so strongly flavored, that a 
drachm of whole seed will enrich half a 
gallon of soup as much as two heads of 
celery. Mushrooms are much used, and 
when they cannot be obtained, fresh 
mushroom ketchup will answer the pur- 
pose, but it should be used very sparing- 
ly, as nothing is more difficult to remove 
than the over- flavoring of ketchup. A 
piece of butter, in proportion to the 
liquid, mixed with flour, and added to 
the soup, when boiling, will enrich and 
thicken it. The finer flavoring articles, 
as ketchup, spices, wines, juice, &c., 
should not be added till the soup is near- 
ly done. A good proportion of wine is a 
gill to three pints of soup ; this is as 
much as can be used without the vinous 
flavor predominating, which is never the 
case in well made soups. Wine should 
be added late in the making, as it evapo- 
rates very quickly in boiling. Be cau- 
tious of over-seasoning soups with pep- 
per, salt, spices, or herbs, for it is a fault 
that can seldom be remedied ; any provi- 
sion over-salted is spoiled. A teaspoon- 
ful of sugar is a good addition in flavor- 
ing soups. Vermicelli is added to soups 
in the proportion of a quarter of a pound 
for a tureen of soup for eight persons ; 
it should be broken, then blanched in 
cold water, and is better if stewed in 
broth before it is put into the soup. 

MEAT SOUPS. 

1. STOCK FOR WHITE SOUPS. 

This is a soup, the foundation of which 
is veal, the knuckle, the scrag, or calf's 
head being the best meat for the purpose, 
an old fowl, a little ham, or bacon, mut- 
ton, sheep's head, &c., nearly the same 
ingredients as for brown soups, save that 
there must not be much beef, and the 
proportion of ham and bacon smaller in 
the latter than former, and when made 
for white sauce, care must be taken to 
leave out the pepper. 



MEAT SOUPS. 



157 



2. BROWN STOCK. 

Put ten pounds of shin of beef, six 
pounds of knuckle of veal, and some 
sheep's-trotters or a cow-heel, in a close- 
ly covered stewpan, with very little 
water to draw out the gravy very gently 5 
and allow it nearly to dry in until it be- 
comes brown. Then pour in sufficient 
boiling water to entirely cover the meat, 
and let it boil slowly, skimming it fre- 
quently ; Reasoning; it with whole peppers 
and salt, roots, herbs, and vegetables of 
any kind. That being done, let it boil 
gently five or six hours, pour the broth 
from off the meat, and let it stand dur- 
ing the night to cool. The following 
morning take off the scum and fat, and 
put it away in a stone jar for use*, 

Or: Put into a stewpan a piece of 
beef, a piece of veal, an old fowl, some 
slices of ham or bacon, and all the trim- 
mings of meat that can be obtained ; add 
to these materials, where such things are 
abundant, partridge, grouse, or other 
game, which may not be sufficiently 
young and tender for the spit. Put a 
little water to it, just enough to cover 
half the meat, and stew very gently over 
a slow fire or steam apparatus. When 
the top piece is done through, 6over the 
meat with boiling water or broth; sea- 
son with spices and vegetables ; stew all 
together for eight or ten hours in an un- 
covered stewpan ; skim off the fat, and 
strain the liquor through a fine sieve. 

Brown stock may be made from an ox- 
cheek, ox-tail, brisket, flank, or shin of 
beef; which wfll, either together or sepa- 
rately, make a strong jelly if stewed 
down with a piece of ham or lean bacon, 
in the proportion of one-half pound to 
every seven pounds of meat; but the 
shin of beef alone will afford a stronger 
and better flavor. 

This stock may also be reduced to a 
glaze by boiling the skimmed liquor as 
fast as possible in a newly tinned stew- 



pan, until it becomes of the desired con- 
sistence and of a good brown color ; tak- 
"ng care at the same time to prevent it 
from burning. 

3. BROWN GRAVY SOUP. 

The meat used for making this soup 
should be quite fresh, and of the common 
gravy beef; if the shin be used, break 
the bones, as the marrow will add to its 
richness. 

Take seven to eight pounds of the 
meat, cut a small portion of it into thick 
pieces and put it with three or four large 
sliced onions into a close stewpan, with a 
little butter, until fried to a fine brown. 
That done, add a shank of ham, just 
cover the meat with cold water say a 
couple of quarts and let it simmer by 
the fire for at least three hours ; during 
which time it should not be allowed to 
boil, but, when coming to that point, 
check it with cold water, and skim it. 
As the pores of the meat will then be 
opened, and the gravy drawn, throw hi 
three quarts of warm water, along with 
a handful or one quarter ounce each of 
black pepper, allspice, and salt, as well as 
a bundle of sweet herbs, a few cloves, a 
couple of shalots, two or three middling- 
sized carrots and turnips (the latter an 
hour afterwards), together with a couple 
of heads of celery, and allow the whole 
to boil slowly until the meat is done to 
rags, and the vegetables become tender. 
Then strain it off, and let it stand during 
the night. Remove the fat on the fol- 
lowing day, set any portion of it on the 
fire an hour before dinner, and, when 
thoroughly heated, season it with mush- 
room or walnut ketchup, and send it up 
with a plate of toasted bread, cut into 
small square pieces, without crust. 

You will thus form a gallon to five or 
six quarts of strong soup, according to 
the quality of the meat ; but as it is a 
winter soup, it will bear keeping, and, 
if served more than once, the flavor 



158 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



may be varied by the addition of differ- 
ent sorts of ingredients, as for instance 
first, plain gravy ; secondly, gravy and 
vegetables ; and thirdly, vermicelli : or 
if only one-half or a third part of the 
quantity be wanted, it maj 7 be prepared 
in the same manner by proportionally 
reducing the materials. It may be also 
flavored with red wine. 

4. SOYER'S STOCK FOR ALL KINDS OF 
SOUP. 

Procure a knuckle of veal about six 
pounds in weight, which cut into pieces 
about the size of an egg, as also half a 
pound of lean ham or bacon ; then rub a 
quarter of a pound of butter upon the 
bottom of the stewpan (capable of hold- 
ing about two gallons), into which put 
the meat and bacon, with half a pint of 
water, two ounces of salt, three middle- 
sized onions, with two cloves in each, 
one turnip, a carrot, half a leek, and half 
a head of celery : put the cover upon 
the stewpan, which place over a sharp 
fire, occasionally stirring round its con- 
tents with a wooden spoon, until the 
bottom of the stewpan is covered with a 
white thickish glaze, which will lightly 
adhere to the spoon ; fill up the stewpan 
with cold water, and when upon the point 
of boiling, draw it to the corner of the 
fire, where it must gently simmer for 
three hours, carefully skimming off 
every particle of grease and scum ; pass 
your stock through a fine hair sieve, and 
it is ready for use when required. 

The above will make a delicious broth 
for all kinds of clear soups, and of course 
for thick soups or purees ; by boiling it 
rather faster about five minutes before 
passing, you will be better enabled to 
take off every particle of grease . from 
the surface. In making a stock of beef 
proceed as above, but allow double the 
time to simmer ; mutton or lamb', if any 
trimmings, might also be used ; if beef, 
use seven pounds ; if mutton, eight ; or 



lamb, seven ; of course bones are all in- 
cluded ; with care, this broth would be 
quite clear. To give a little color, as 
required for all clear soups, use a little 
brown gravy or browning, but never at- 
tempt to brown it by letting it color at 
the bottom of the stewpan, for in that 
case you would destroy the greater part 
of the osmazome. 

5. ANOTHER WAY, MORE ECONOMICAL. 

Instead of cutting up the knuckle of 
veal so small, cut it in four or five pieces 
only, and leave the bacon in one piece ; 
then, when the broth is passed, take out 
the veal, which is very excellent served 
with a little of the broth for gravy, and 
the bacon with a few greens upon another 
dish. This is as I always eat it myself ; 
but> some persons may probably prefer a 
little parsley and butter sauce or piquant 
sauce, served with it. Should any of the 
veal be left until cold, it might be cut 
into thin slices, and gradually warmed 
in either of the before-mentioned sauces. 
Should you make your stock from the 
leg or shin of beef, stew it double the 
time, preserve the vegetables boiled in 
the stock, and serve with beef, or serve 
the beef with some nice sharp sauce 
over i the remainder, if cold, may also 
be hashed in the ordinary way. If of 
mutton, and you have used the scrags of 
the neck, the breast, head, or the chump 
of the loin, keep them in as large pieces 
as possible ; and, when done, serve with 
a few mashed turnips, and caper sauce, 
separately ; if any remaining until cold, 
mince it. Lamb would be seldom used 
for stock, being much too expensive ; but 
in case of an abundance, which may 
sometimes happen in the country, pro- 
ceed the same as for mutton. 

6. SOYER'S BROWN GRAVIES. 
Rub an ounce of butter over the bot- 
tom of a stewpan capable of holding 
about three quarts ; have ready peeled 



MEAT SOUPS. 



159 



four onions, cut them into thick slices, 
with which cover the bottom of the 
stewpan; over these lay about three 
pounds of beef from the leg or shin, 
cut into thin slices, with the bone chop- 
ped very small ; add a small carrot, a 
turnip cut in slices, and a couple of 
cloves; set the stewpan upon a gentle 
fire for ten minutes, shaking it round 
occasionally to prevent burning; after 
which let it go upon a slow fire for up- 
wards of an hour, until the bottom is 
covered with a blackish glaze, but not 
burnt ; when properly done, and ready 
for filling up, you will perceive the fat 
that runs from the meat quite clear ; fill 
up the stewpan with cold water, add a 
teaspoonful of salt ; and when upon the 
point of boiling, set it on a corner of the 
fire, where let it simmer gently about an 
hour, skimming off all the fat and scum 
which may rise to the surface; when 
done pass it through a fine sieve into a 
basin, and put by to use for the follow- 
ing purposes : For every kind of roast 
meat, poultry, or game especially ; also, 
to give a good color to soups and sauces. 
This gravy will keep several days, by 
boiling it every other day. Although 
beef is the most proper meat for the 
above purpose, it may be made of veal, 
mutton, lamb, or even with fresh pork, 
rabbits, or poultry. 

7. SOYEE'S GLAZE 

Is an almost indispensable article in a 
cuisine ~bourgeoise, and should be kept by 
all persons in the middle classes of life, 
the advantage being that it will keep for 
months together, is very simple to make, 
and is always useful in cookery, however 
humble ; in fact, with it you can dress 
a very good dinner with very little 
trouble. 

Make a stock omitting the salt, which, 
when done, pass through a cloth into a 
basin ; then fill the stewpan up a second 
time with hot water, and let it boil four 



lours longer to obtain all the succulence 
from the meat, then pass it through u 
cloth the same as the first ; then pour 
)oth stocks in a large stewpan together, 
set it over the fire, and let it boil as fast 
as possible, leaving a large spoon in, to 
stir occasionally and prevent its boiling 
over ; reduced to about three pints, pour 
t into a smaller stewpan, set again to 
boil at the corner, skimming well if re- 
quired ; when reduced to a quart, place 
t quite over the fire, well stirring with 
a wooden spoon until forming a thickish 
glaze (which will adhere to the spoon) 
of a fine yellowish-brown color : pour it 
into a basin, or, if for keeping any time, 
into a long bladder, from which cut a 
slice and use where directed. 

8.-BEOWNING FOE SOUPS. 

Take two ounces of coarse brown 
sugar, and pour upon it some thyme 
water ; place it on the fire till it becomes 
burnt. Or, take two ounces of powdered 
lump-sugar, and half an ounce of fresh 
butter ; put them together in a frying- 
pan, and keep on the fire till the mixture 
becomes a chocolate brown, then add 
three table -spoonfuls of port wine, and 
two wine-glassfuls of elder wine, six 
shalots. half a dram of mace, a dram of 
allspice, a dram of black pepper, half an 
ounce of salt, two ounces of ketchup, 
and an ounce of fresh lemon juice. Boil 
all together, let the liquor stand to set- 
tle, pour off the clear liquor, bottle, and 
cork tight. Or, take some sugar, white 
or brown, place it in an iron spoon, heat 
until liquid, and then drop into half a 
pint of water; repeat until sufficiently 
brown. 

9. PORTABLE SOUP. 

There are many advantages connected 
with this soup, which will present them- 
selves to the lady housekeeper, its con- 
stant readiness for use, its forming an 
excellent stock for gravies, sauces, or 



160 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



soups ; a few minutes will suffice to make' 
a basin of soup from it. 

. Take three pounds of beef, a shin of 
beef, the bones of which break, a cow- 
heel and two small knuckles of veal, put 
them in a stewpan and add as much 
water as will barely cover them, put in 
three onions and seasoning to taste, stew 
the meat to ribbons, strain and then put 
it in the coldest place you can command, 
when thoroughly cold take off the fat 
and boil it fast in a stewpan without the 
lid on a quick fire, let it boil and keep it 
stirred for at least eight hours, pour it 
into a pan and let it stand twenty-four 
hours, then take your largest lip-basin 
and turn the soup into it, boil sufficient 
water in the stewpan to reach as high 
outside the basin which is placed in it as 
the soup is inside, but do not let any 
bubble into the basin, keep the water 
boiling until the water is reduced to a 
good consistency ; it will be then done ; 
it should then be poured into small jelly 
pots, or in saucers, so as to form cakes 
when cold, and is best preserved in tin 
canisters put in dry cool places. 

This soup may receive various flavors 
of herbs or any thing else, by boiling 
the herbs or other ingredients, and strain- 
ing the simples noted through water, 
making it boil and then melting the soup 



in it. 



10. WHITE STOCK. 



Take scrag or knuckle of veal, ox-heel, 
or calf's head, together with an old fowl 
and the trimmings of any white poultry 
or game which can be had, and lean ham 
in the proportion of one pound to eve^ 
fourteen pounds of meat. Cut it all into 
pieces (add three or four large -wwroasted 
onions and heads of celery, with a few 
blades of mace; but neither carrots, pepper, 
nor spice of any kind but mace) ; put it 
into a stock-pot with just water enough to 
cover it : let it boil, and add three onions 



and a few blades of mace ; let it boil for 
five hours, and it is then fit for use. 

11. WHITE POKTABLE SOUP. 

Procure as fine a leg of veal as can be 
obtained, bone it, remove the whole of 
the skin and fat, chop hi pieces two 
dozen fowls' feet, wash them well, put 
them into a large iron kettle with three 
gallons of water, stew until the meat is 
tender enough to separate, cover down 
close and stew for eight hours, take a 
tea-cup and fill it with the soup ; set it 
where it can quickly cool. If when cold it 
is hard enough to cut with a knife, strain 
through a sieve and remove all the fat, 
pour into cups the clear jelly, put them 
into a stewpan with boiling water until 
they are like glue ; let them cool, and 
when nearly cold run a ring round them 
and turn them on to a piece of new flan- 
nel ; it will draw all the moisture out of 
them ; turn them in seven hours and con- 
tinue until they are quite hard. Put 
them in tin canisters in a dry place. 

When any is required, cut a piece 
about the size of a walnut, pour a pint 
of boiling water upon it, stir until the 
soup is dissolved, season with salt, it will 
make a basin of strong broth ; if for soup 
steep some vermicelli in water ; boil it ; 
then to one cake of the soup pour one 
pint of water. If two quarts or four pints 
of soup are required, take four cakes of 
the soup, and when melted set it over the 
fire and simmer, pour it into a soup 
tureen, add thin slices of bread very 
lightly toasted, and upon them the ver- 
micelli ; season to palate. 

12. TEANSPAEENT SOUP. 

Cut the meat from a leg of veal in slices 
as thin as possible, break the bone as 
small as possible, put the meat into a very 
large jar and the bones at the top, with 
a bunch of sweet herbs, a quarter of an 
ounce of mace, four ounces of blanched 
garden almonds beat fine j pour upon it a 



MEAT SOUPS. 



161 



gallon of boiling water, let it simmer 
over a slow fire twelve hours, all night 
is best ; turn it into a double-bottomed 
tin saucepan, simmer until reduced to 
two quarts, remove the scum as it rises, 
strain it and let it stand two hours, pour 
into a saucepan, taking care not to let 
any of the sediment accompany it. 

Steep two ounces of vermicelli in water, 
boil it and put it in the soup before serv- 
ing up. 

13. SOUP ITALIENNE. 
Cut the meat from a knuckle of veal, 
break up the bones and make a broth of 
them, cut half a pound of ham in slices 
and lay them at the bottom of a stewpan ; 
upon them the meat from the knuckle of 
veal, with the slices of four carrots, four 
turnips, a dozen peppercorns, two blades 
of mace, a large onion, and a head of 
celery; cover down close; stew till the 
gravy is drawn out and the roots are 
quite tender, pour over them the broth 
made from the bone of the knuckle until 
they are covered, add six spoonfuls of 
rice, stew four hours, work the soup 
through a sieve, add vermicelli before 
serving. 

14. POT-AU-FEU. 

This is by far the most wholesome of 
all soups. Take three pounds of good 
rump of beef, of any part free from bone 
and not too fat ; put it into an earthen 
fire-proof pot, with three quarts of water 
one large carrot, two turnips, two leeks 
a head of celery, and one burnt onion 
season, and let the soup boil slowly 
skimming it from time to time, for a 
least five hours ; then strain it through 
a fine sieve, and pour it over thin slice 
of bread to serve. The meat and vege 
tables make a dish which is afterward 
served. Thus cooked, the beef become 
tender and juicy, and is excellent cold. 



15- OCHRA SOUP. 

Put on six pounds of fresh beef al- 
owing a little less than a quart of water 
o each pound ; after it has boiled an 
our add two quarts of ochras minced 
ne as possible. Afterwards a dozen of 
ipe tomatoes pared and cut up, wi^h two 
urnips, a few Lima beans, herbs, and 
ther seasoning. The ochras should be 
issolved. Strain and serve it with 
oasted bread cut into slices, put in after 
t comes out of the pot. 

The soup may be made in winter of 
ried ochras. 

16.-PEPPEB POT. 

Put four cow's feet and four pounds 
f tripe to boil with water to cover them 
and a. little salt. When simmered to 
)ieces, take them out 5 and skim and 
strain the liquor. Out up the tripe, put 
t in the pot, and pour the liquor over 
t. Add sliced onions and potatoes and 
lerbs, also small dumplings made with 
flour and butter, and season with pepper 
and salt. A little tmtter rolled in flour 
is an improvement. When done, serve 
in a tureen. 

ITWHITE SOUP. 

Take a knuckle of veal, separated into 
three or four pieces, a slice of ham as 
lean as possible, a few onions, thyme, 
cloves, and mace, stew twelve or four- 
teen hours; an old fowl will make it 
much richer if added. This soup must 
be made the day before it is required ; 
when removed from the fire, after being 
sufficiently stewed, let it cool ; and then 
remove the fat ; add to it four ounces of 
pounded blanched almonds, let it boil 
slowly, thicken it with half a pint of 
cream and an egg; it should boil slowly 
for half an hour, and then be served. 

18.-GEAVT SOUP. 

Take a leg of beef and well wash and 
soak it. break the bone and put it into a 



162 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



saucepan with a gallon of water, a large 
bunch of sweet herbs, two large onions 
sliced and fried to a nice brown, taking 
great care they are not burnt, two blades 
of mace, three cloves, twenty berries of 
allspice, and forty of black pepper, stew 
till the soup is as rich as you wish it to 
be, tHen take out the meat. When it is 
cold take off the fat, heat the soup with 
vermicelli, and the nicest part of a head 
of celery boiled and cut to pieces, cay- 
enne, and a little salt ; carrot may be 
added with turnip cut into small pieces 
and boiled with spinach and endive, or 
the herbs without the vermicelli, or ver- 
micelli only ; add also a large spoonful of 
soy and one of mushroom ketchup ; a 
French roll should be made hot and put 
into the soup. 

19. JENNY LINE'S SOUP. 

Soyer says : This is the soup invented 
and often partaken of by the celebrated 
cantatrice of the name it bears, who par- 
took of it every day when on a visit to 
the talented authoress, Mrs. Anna Ma- 
ria Hall, who was kind enough to for- 
ward it to me for this edition. 

Make about three quarts of stock, 
which strain through a fine sieve into 
a middle-size stewpan; set it to boil; 
add to it three ounces of sago; boil 
gently twenty minutes ; skim ; just pre- 
vious to serving break four fresh eggs, 
and place the yolk, entirely free from 
the white, into a basin, beat them well 
with a spoon; add to it a gill of 
cream ; take the pan from the fire, pour 
in the yolks, stir quickly for one minute, 
serve immediately ; do not let it boil, or 
it will curdle, and would not be fit to be 
partaken of. The stock being previously 
seasoned, it only requires the addition 
of half a teaspoonful of sugar, a little 
more salt, pepper, nutmeg ; also thyme, 
parsley, and bay-leaf will agreeably vary 
the flavor without interfering with the 
quality. 



20. HAEICO SOUP. 

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

21. FEENCH POT-AU : FEU. 

Out of this earthen pot comes the fa- 
vorite soup and bouilli, which has been 
everlastingly famed as having been the 
support of several generations of all 
classes of society in France ; from the 
opulent to the poorest individuals, all 
pay tribute to its excellence and worth. 
In fact, this soup and bouilli is to the 
French what the roast beef and plum- 
pudding are on a Sunday to the English. 
No dinner in France is served without 
soup, and no good soup is supposed to be 
made without the pot-au-feu. The fol- 
lowing is the receipt : 

Put in the pot-au-feu six pounds of 
beef, four quarts of water, set near the 
fire, skim ; when nearly boiling, add a 
spoonful and a half of salt, half a pound 
of liver, two carrots, four turnips, eight 
young or two old leeks, one head of 
celery, two onions and one burnt, with a 
clove in each, and a piece of parsnip ; 
skim again, and let simmer four or five 
hours, adding a little cold water now and 
then ; take off part of the fat ; put slices 
of bread into the tureen, lay half the 
vegetables over, and half the broth, and 
serve the meat separately with the veg- 
etables around. The remainder of the 



MEAT SOUPS. 



163 



broth from the pot-au-feu may be used 
for any kind of soup instead of the stock. 
The best part of the beef for the pot- 
au-feu is the mouse-buttock, tops of the 
ribs, clod and stickings. 

22. WHITE SOUP. 

Take a large scrag or a knuckle of 
veal, and one-half pound of lean ham ; 
some blades of mace and a piece of un- 
grated nutmeg, sliced onions, and heads 
f celery, with a little salt and an equal 
quantity of loaf-sugar. Break the bones, 
and stew all gently with one gallon to 
six quarts of water according to the 
weight of the meat until it is done to 
rags and the soup becomes sufficiently 
strong : skim it, and strain it through a 
hair sieve ; or, if allowed to stand dur- 
ing the night, pour it into an earthen 
vessel, and next morning take off the 
fat. When preparing it for table, add to 
the liquor from one-quarter to one-half 
pound of sweet almonds, blanched and 
finely pounded ; boil a short time and 
strain again ; then put in one-half pint 
to a pint of good thick cream, and the 
yolk of an egg ; but when the cream and 
egg are put in, be careful not to let the 
soup boil, or it will curdle. The safest 
way to avoid this is to mix the cream 
and egg in the tureen and pour the soup 
upon it. This in French cookery is 
called " Liaison" 

23 EICE AND MEAT SOUP. 

Put a pound of rice and a little pepper 
and broth herbs into two quarts of water ; 
cover them close, and simmer very soft- 
ly ; put in a little cinnamon, two pounds 
of good ox-cheek, and boil the whole till 
the juices are incorporated into the 
liquor. 

24 OX-TAIL SOUP. 

Two ox-tails, if properly stewed, with 
a couple of pounds of gravy beef and a 
bone of ham, will make an excellent 



soup. Cut the tails into joints, and boil 
very gently for several hours in a suffi- 
cient quantity of water, with the beef 
and ham, carrots, turnips, and celery, 
;wo or three onions, a piece of crust of 
bread, a bunch of sweet herbs, a clove or 
two, and some peppercorns. Take out 
he tails when tender, and let the beef, 
&c., boil four hours longer, then "strain 
the liquor, and remove the fat in the 
same manner as for clear gravy soup, 
[f made without ham bones, or other 
flavoring ingredients, it will require the 
addition of a little ketchup, or some 
of the prepared sauces, and a glass of 
wine, with a moderate quantity of cay- 
enne. Add the tails and some pieces of 
carrot and turnip cut into fancy shapes. 

When thickened ox-tail soup is pre- 
ferred, proceed in the same manner as 
above, and thicken the broth with brown 
roux. 

25. SOUP A LA FRANOAISE. 

Place in the stcwpan six pounds of 
beef, add a few small veal bones, or one 
about a pound weight, add a couple of 
fowls' heads, and a small piece of calf's 
liver ; iover with four quarts of water ; 
when it boils remove the scum, add three 
or four leeks, a couple of turnips, a head of 
celery, a burnt onion, a large carrot, salt, 
and simmer slowly seven hours; let every 
particle of scum be removed, serve with 
sippets of bread in the soup. 

26. TO MAKE FAMILY SOUP. 
Take a shin or leg of beef, that has 
been newly killed ; the fore-leg is best, 
as there is the most meat on it. Have 
it cut into three pieces, and wash it 
well. To each pound allow somewhat 
less than a quart of water ; to ten pounds 
of the leg, two gallons of water. Put it 
into a large pot, and add half a table- 
spoonful of salt. Hang it over a good 
fire, full eight hours before you dine. 
When it has come to a hard boil, and the 



164 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



scum has risen (which it will do as soon 
as it has boiled), skim it well ; then set 
it on hot coals in the corner, and keep it 
simmering steadily, so as to continue a 
regular heat. 

About three hours afterwards, put in 
a couple of heads of celery*, four carrots 
cut small, and as many onions sliced and 
fried, with either a very small head of 
cabbage cut into little pieces, or a large 
one whole, if to be eaten with the meat, 
or, if you have any objection to cabbage, 
substitute a larger proportion of the 
other vegetables, or else tomatDes instead. 
Put also in a bunch of herbs, tied up in 
a thin muslin rag to prevent its floating 
on the surface. It will require at least 
eight hours' cooking; remembering to 
put in the vegetables three hours after 
the meat, and the turnips only half an 
hpur before it is done. If you wish to 
send any portion of the meat to table, 
take the best part of it out of the soup 
about two hours before dinner ; let the 
remainder be left in the pot till you send 
up the soup, as by that time it will be 
boiled to rags, and have transferred all 
its flavor to the liquid, and must be 
strained. 

Next day, take what is left of the 
soup ; put it into a pot, and simmer it 
over hot coals for half an hour ; a longer 
time will weaken the taste. If it has 
been well made, and kept in a cool place, 
it will be found better the second day 
than the first. 

If your family is very small, and the 
leg of beef large, it may furnish soup for 
several successive days. Half the leg 
may therefore be sufficient, previously 
breaking to pieces all the bones with a 
mallet or kitchen cleaver, which, by 
causing them to give out their marrow 
will greatly enrich the soup. 

Or : When a large quantity of any 
butcher's meat is brought in for the use 
of the family, the joints will require 
tri uming: take all the parings, adding 



a slice or two of bacon, beef or mutton 
)ones, with an old fowl, or a rabbit, if 
ou have one. turnip, and all sorts of ve- 
getables, onions, herbs, a few slices of 
sarrot, ketchup, pepper, salt, &c. ; put a 
>iece of butter at the bottom of the pan. 
over it closely, and put it over a slow 
ire for a few minutes, shaking the sauce- 
pan occasionally. Then pour in boiling 
vater, and let it stew until it is rich ; 
apportioning the water to the quantity 
f meat. If there be any solid portion of 
)eef, of which the soup is made, let it be 
;aken out previous to the meat being 
! done to rags," and sent up along with 
he roots in some of the liquor, thickened 
and flavored with any piquant sauce : it 
will form an excellent ^tew. 

These receipts also, are for the standing 
lousehold dish so well known in France 
as the pot-au-feu. 

Cheap and wholesome potages, in 
common use among the middling classes 
n various parts of Europe, are also made 
in different modes, a few of which are 
these : 

27. COTTAGE SOUP. 

Take two pounds of lean beef, cut into 
small pieces, with one-fourth of a pound of 
bacon, two pounds of meally potatoes, 
three ounces of rice, carrots, turnips, and 
onions sliced, or leeks and cabbage. Fry 
the meat, cabbage, and onions in butter 
or dripping, the latter being the most 
savory ; and put them into a gallon of 
water, to stew gently over a slow fire for 
three hours, putting in the carrots at the 
same time, but the turnips and rice only 
time enough to allow of their being well 
done ; and mashing the potatoes, which 
should be then passed through a colander : 
season only with pepper and salt : keep 
the vessel closely covered. It will make 
five pints of excellent soup at the cost of 
about one shilling and eight pence. 

28. SCOTCH KAIL 

Is chiefly made of mutton, either fresh 



MEAT SOUPS. 



165 



or salted ; beef is only used when mutton 
cannot conveniently be had. Three or 
four pounds of meat should be put into a 
gallon of cold water, along with a moder- 
ate quantity of pearl-barley, with leeks 
or onions, and allowed to stew until ten- 
der ; if salted, put the meat into water 
over night, changing- it once before boil- 
ing. Then have ready the hearts of two 
cabbages cut small, or greens, if cabbages 
are not in season; put them into the 
broth, which must be allowed to boil up 
uncovered until reduced to two quarts. 
It should only be seasoned with pepper 
and salt; but will be much improved by 
the addition of a couple of onions fried in 
butter ; indeed, both carrots and turnips 
are also sometimes used, but their addi- 
tion deprives the soup of the title of 
" Kail," whieh is derived from the greens 
which are usually employed. 

The meat is served with the soup, and, 
in like manner as the olla of the Span- 
iards, or the pot aufeu of the French, is 
the standing household dish among the 
middle classes of Scotland. 

29. COCK-A-LEEKIE 
Or as in Scotland called " cocky-leeky" 
is there also a very ancient dish, and 
is recorded to have been a special favorite 
of James I. It is made thus : 

Stew a large fowl, a marrow-bone, and 
two or three pounds of beef, with two or 
three Scotch pints (four to six quwrts) 
of water, and the white ends of two or 
three dozen of leeks, cut in pieces. Just 
before serving, add half a pound of prunes, 
which dish with the soup and the fowl ; 
but not the meat or marrow-bone, which, 
when put to boil, must be divided, and 
left uncovered. 

Or : Put seven pounds of the upper 
end of a leg of beef, and an old fowl, in a 
pot, with water enough to cover it, the 
white parts of two or three dozen of 
leeks, half-boiled and sliced, and one 
pound of prunes. Stew till the meat be 
11 



.tender, skimming it well, and, if you 
choose, the fowl may be disjointed and 
sent up in the soup. The leeks should 
be blanched, and as many used as to 
thicken the soup ; but no other season- 
ing is usually employed than salt and 
allspice, with a small quantity of mace. 

80. SAGO SOUP. 

Take three pounds of lean beef, a slice 
of lean ham, and lay them in a stewpan 
with a lump of butter, draw the gravy 
gently, add two quarts of water, and a 
sliced onion which has been browned by 
frying in fresh butter, add a bunch of 
sweet herbs, six cloves, a blade of mace, 
a teaspoonful of allspice, and one of black 
pepper whole, stew until the soup is rich 
and brown, then remove the meat and 
strain the soup clear, put it into a clean 
stewpan, thicken it to a good consistency 
with sago. 

81. SHEEP'S HEAD SOUP. 

Have the head carefully cleaned, put 
it into a stewpan with a little water, and 
when it is heated through fill up the pot. 
When it is sufficiently tender, take it up, 
remove the meat from the bones, and 
return the bones into the broth, adding 
onion, sweet herbs, &c., as before direct- 
ed The head and trotters may also be 
put with some vegetables into an earthen 
jug, containing half a gallon of water ; 
cover it close up, and bake it ; either cut 
the meat from the bones, when sufficient- 
ly tender, and put it in small pieces into 
the soup, or serve up the head and trot- 
ters separately, either whole or with the 
meat cut off and made into a stew. 

In Scotland, the head is usually singed 
with a red-hot iron to remove the wool, 
but without burning or otherwise injur- 
ing the skin. The head is then soaked 
during the night, washed, scraped, and 
split ; the brains taken out, and either 
fried or made into forcemeat balls, and 
the head stewed hi the broth till tender. 



166 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



82. SOYER'S MULLIGATAWNY SOUP. 

Cut up a small knuckle of veal, which 
put into a stewpan, with a piece of butter, 
half a pound of lean ham, a carrot, a tur- 
nip, three onions, and six apples, add half 
a pint of water ; set the stewpan over a 
sharp fire, moving the meat round occa- 
sionally, let it remain until the bottom 
of the stewpan is covered with a brown- 
ish glaze, then add three tablespoonsful 
of curry powder, one of curry paste, and 
hah a pound of flour j stir well in, and fill 
the stewpan with a gallon of water ; add 
a spoonful of salt, the half of one of su- 
gar ; when boiling, place it at the corner 
of the fire, and let it simmer two hours 
and a half, skimming off all the fat as it 
rises, then pass it through a tammy into 
a tureen; trim some of the pieces of veal, 
and put it back in the stewpan to boil, 
and serve with plain boiled rice sepa- 
rate. Ox-tails or pieces of rabbits, chick- 
ens, &c., left from a previous dinner, may 
be served in it instead of the veal. The 
veal is exceedingly good to eat. Taste, 
before serving, if quite palatable. 

88.-SCOTCH BROTH. 

Set on the fire four ounces of pearl- 
barley, with three Scotch pints (or six 
quarts) of salt water ; when it boils skim 
it, and add what quantity of salt beef or 
fresh brisket you choose, and a marrow- 
bone or a fowl, with a couple of pounds 
of either lean beef or mutton, and a good 
quantity of leeks, cabbages, or savoys ; 
or you may use turnips, onions, and gra- 
ted carrots. Keep it boiling for at least 
four or five hours ; but if a fowl be used, 
let it not be put in till just time enough 
to bring it to table when well done, for 
it must be served up separately. 

Or : Take the chops from a neck of 
mutton ; cut the remainder up in small 
pieces, and let it stew the whole day. 
Take also a breakfast cup of Scotch bar- 
ley, and boil it in water till it gets dry j 



then chop fine two large onions and tur- 
nips, which put with the barley and chops 
into a close stewpan. strain the stock into 
it, let it boil one and a half hours and 
skim it well, seasoning it only with salt 
and black pepper. This will make a 
large tureen of broth, besides preserving 
the chops for the table. 

84. HOTCH POTCH. 

Take any quantity of lamb chops, pare 
off the skin and greater part of the fat, 
trim the bones, cut the smaller end of the 
chops into pieces, and lay them along with 
the chops put in whole in a stewpan in 
this manner : A layer of chops at the 
bottom, covered with every kind of vege- 
table cut into small pieces onions, celery, 
lettuce, carrots, turnips, and green peas ; 
then put on a layer of chops, and so on 
with the vegetables until the whole are 
added ; cover the ingredients with water, 
and let it stew several hours very gently, 
until both the meat and vegetables be- 
come tender, and the soup thick. 

Scotch Hotch PotcJi is made in the same 
manner, only that both beef and mutton 
are indiscriminately used, and minced in- 
stead of being left in chops. 

35. PEPPER-POT HOTCH POTCH. 

To three quarts of water put vegeta- 
bles according to. the season. In summer, 
peas. French beans, cauliflowers, lettuce, 
and spinach ; in winter, beet-root and en- 
dive,* carrots, turnips, celery, and onions 
in both, all cut small ; and stew with' 
two pounds of neck of mutton, or a fowl 
and one pound of pickled pork, in three 
quarts of water, till quite tender. 

On first boiling, skim. Half an hour 
before serving, add a lobster or crab 
cleared from the bones. Season with 
salt and cayenne. A small quantity of 
rice should be put in with the meat. 

* If endive be used, it should, however, be boiled 
in two or three waters to take off its bitterness. 



MEAT SOUPS. 



167 



Some people choose very small suet 
dumplings boiled with it. Should any 
fat rise, skim nicely, and put one-half a 
cup of water with a little flour. 

It may be made of various things, 
using a due proportion of fish, flesh, fowl, 
vegetables and pulse. In the West In- 
dies it is the universal dish of the colored 
people; but seasoned so highly with 
green capsicums and peppers, that it is 
there called " pepper-pot." 

86. SOUP A LA SAP. 
Divide a pound of beef into thin slices, 
grate half a pound of potatoes and put 
them in three quarts of water, add an 
onion, a pint of grey peas and three ounces 
of rice ; reduce it by boiling to five pints ; 
cut two heads ^of celery and put them 
into the stewpan, pour upon them the 
five pints of soup and pulp the boiled 
peas into it through a fine tammy or 
cparse cloth. Stew until it is quite tender, 
season with pepper and salt and serve up 
with fried bread cut in dice. 

87. HESSIAN SOUP. 

Cut into slices three pounds of shin of 
beef, lay it in a stewpan, put in three 
onions, five carrots, eight potatoes, a pint 
and a quarter of split peas, three heads of 
celery, some whole pepper, salt ; pour in 
by degrees seven quarts of water, stew 
until reduced to half. If the soup alone 
be required strain off the vegetables, if 
not, serve as cooked. 

88. SOUP A LA KEINE VICTOKIA 
Take a pound and a half of lean veal, 
place it in a stewpan with a slice of bacon, 
which must not be fat, an onion with one 
clove, a blade of mace, a head of celery 
a handful of sweet herbs, four ounces of 
fresh butter, and some whole white pep- 
per ; set It over a clear fire, move it fre- 
quently to prevent burning, or the flavor 
is ruirfcd. Have some white gravy ready, 



;hicken it, add two quarts to the above 
ngredients with a few strips of mush- 
rooms ; let it boil, and when it reaches 
hat point remove it ; skim it clean of all 
scum or fat. Have ready some vermicelli 
which has been soaked five minutes in 
jold water and subsequently stewed in a 
trong broth ; strain on it the soup and 
serve with blanched chervil leaves in it. 



). MULLIGATAWNEY SOUP. (ENGLISH.) 

A calf's head divided, well cleaned, 
place with a cow-heel in a well tinned 
saucepan ; boil them till tender,' let them 
cool, cut the meat from the bones in 
slices, and fry them in butter ; stew the 
bones of the head and heel for some hours ; 
when well stewed, strain, let it get cold 
and remove the fat. When this is accom- 
plished cut four onions in slices, flour 
them, fry them in butter until brown, 
add a tablespoonful and a half of best 
curry powder obtainable, cayenne pepper, 
one teaspoonful with a little salt ; turme- 
ric powder sufficient to fill a dessert 
spoon is sometimes added, but the im- 
provement is not manifest to a refined 
English palate, the curry powder being 
deemed all that is necessary ; add these 
last ingredients to the soup, boil gently 
for about an hour and a half, add two 
dessert spoonfuls of Harvey's sauce j 
serve. 

40. SPRING SOUP 

May be made of a knuckle of veal- 
allowing a quart of water to each pound 
with four calves feet, a little cold ham, 
or salt and cayenne, simmered slowly for 
several hours. Add then, two quarts 
young green peas and a pint of asparagus 
tops, previously boiled with the juice of 
spinach and other green herbs or vegeta- 
bles, and- a quarter of a pound of butter 
rolled in flour. Boil up together, and 
serve. 



168 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



41. SUMMER SOUP. 

Made of mutton neck or shoulder, sim- 
mered as above, in the same proportion 
of water, with sliced turnips, carrots and 
onions, a quart of Lima beans, and pars- 
ley, sweet marjoram and other herbs; 
green corn is an excellent addition late 
in summer, or cauliflower.' and a few pick- 
led nasturtions; also small dumplings, 
mixed with egg and butter ; simmer the 
vegetables till done. 

42. AUTUMN SOUP. 

Take six pounds of lean, cut up, a quart 
of water to a gallon, add the hock of a 
ham, boil and skim it, and put in two 
quarts ochras, cut in small slices, an onion 
sliced, two quarts ripe tomatoes, cut up, 
one quart Lima beans ; simmer four hours 
slowly, add the green corn grated off 
eight ears, season the soup, and boil till 
the meat is in rags and the soup thorough- 
ly done. Dried ochras may be used in 
winter. 

48. WINTER SOUP. 

Take a shin or leg of beef, cut in pieces, 
salt and let it stand all night ; next morn- 
ing put it on with water, a quart to a 
pound, season with salt, pepper and mace ; 
simmer and skim well. When boiling, 
put in a head of cabbage cut fine, twelve 
carrots sliced; a bunch of sweet herbs 
and parsley; add six turnips and three 
potatoes, and an onion, all sliced ; skim 
off the fat and simmer slowly till dinner 
time. 

44 HOTCH POTCH. (English.) 

Put a pint of peas into a quart of wa- 
ter, boil them until they are so tender as 
easily to be pulped through a sieve. Take 
of the leanest end of a loin of mutton 
three pounds, cut it into chops, put it 
into a saucepan with a gallon of water, 
four carrots, four turnips cut in small 
pieces ; season with pepper and salt. Boil 
until all the vegetables are quite tender, 
put in the pulped peas, a head of celery, 



and an onion sliced, boil fifteen minutes 
and serve. 

45. MUTTON SOUP. 

Cut a neck of mutton into four pieces? 
put it aside, take a slice of the gammon 
of bacon and put it in a saucepan with a 
quart of peas, with enough water to boil 
them, let the peas boil to a pulp and 
strain them through a cloth, put them 
aside, add enough water to that in which 
is the bacon to boil the mutton, slice 
three turnips, as many carrots, and boil 
for an hour slowly; add sweet herbs, 
onions, cabf>age, and lettuce chopped 
small, stew a quarter of an hour longer, 
sufficient to cook the mutton, then take 
it out, take some fresh green peas, add 
them with some chopped parsley and the 
peas first boiled, to the- soup, put in a 
lump of butter rolled in flour, and stew 
till the green peas are done. 

461. LAMB SOUP 

May be cooked as above, save that beef 
should be substituted for the bacon. 

47. LEG OF BEEF BEOTH. 

Take a leg of beef, break the bone in 
several places, place it in a pan with a 
gallon of water, remove the scum as it 
rises and add three blades of mace, a 
crust of bread, and a small bunch of pars- 
ley ; boil till the beef is tender ; toast 
some bread, cut it in diamonds, lay it in 
the bottom of the tureen, put the meat 
on it, and pour the broth over all. 

48. VEAL BROTH. 

Stew a knuckle of veal ; draw gravy 
as for stock, add four quarts of water, 
with celery, parsley, and an onion ; sim- 
mer till reduced to half, add two or three 
ounces of rice, but not until the soup is 
nearly cooked, so that when served the 
rice may be no more than ddne. Ver- 
micelli may be used in preference, or foi 
a change. 



MEAT SOUPS. 



169 



49. MUTTON BEOTH 

Three pounds of the scrag of mutton, 
put into two quarts of cold water ; adc 
onion and turnips, pepper and salt, a 
few sweet herbs, and a little pearl bar- 
ley ; skim well, and boil four hours. 

These ingredients chiefly depend upon 
whether this dish is made for an invalid , 
if so, the omission of any of the ingre- 
dients will be regulated according to the 
advice of the medical attendant. 



50. BAKED SOUPS. 

Take a pound of any lean meat and cut 
it into dice, place in an earthen jar, or 
pot, that will hold five quarts of liquid. 
Slice, and add to it, two onions, two car- 
rots, two ounces of rice washed and pre- 
viously soaked, a pint of whole or split 
peas, and some pepper and salt to taste ; 
cover all with a gallon of water, tie a 
cloth over the top of the jar, or close 
the lid of the pot down very close, and 
bake. 

This is a cheap and useful soup for 
poor people, and may be much improved 
by using the liquor that salt beef, of in- 
deed, any meat has been boiled in, in- 
stead of water. 

Cheap for the poor. Soak a quart of 
split peas for a day in cold water, and 
then put them into a boiler with two gal- 
lons and a half of water, and two pounds 
of cold boiled potatoes, well bruised, a 
faggot of herbs, salt, pepper, and two 
onions sliced. Cover it very close, and 
boil very gently for five hours, or until 
only two gallons of soup remain. 

Another. Take two pounds of shin 
of beef, a quarter of a pound of barley, 
a half-penny worth of parsley, two on- 
ions sliced, salt and pepper to taste, and 
having cut the meat into dice, and bro- 
ken the bone, place in a gallon pot and 
fill up with water ; boil very gently for 
five hours. Potatoes, celery tops, cab- 



bage, or any vegetable left from the day 
before may be added. 

61. SCOTCH BARLEY BEOTH. 
^ Throw three-quarters of a pound ol 
Scotch barley into some clean water 
when thoroughly cleansed place it with 
a knuckle of veal in a stewpan, cover it 
with cold water, let it slowly reach a 
boil, keep it skimmed, add seven onions, 
and simmer for two hours ; ekim again 
and add two heads of celery and two tur- 
nips cut in slices, or any shape it pleases 
the cook ; add as much salt as required 
to make it palatable, let it stew for an 
hour and a half; it must be well skimmed 
before the broth is dished; the meat 
must be previously removed and the 
broth alone sent to table. If it is intend- 
ed to send the veal to the table with it, 
dress it as follows : take two pints of the 
broth and put it into a stewpan over a 
clear fire, add two table-spoonfuls of 
flour to the broth, and keep the broth 
stirring as you shake it hi until it boils ; 
add a little cayenne pepper, two table- 
spoonfuls of port, boil for two minutes, 
strain it over the veal and send to table. 

52. GIBLET SOUP. 

Scald and clean thoroughly two sets of 
goose giblets or twice the number of 
duck giblets, cut them in pieces, put 

;hem in three quarts of stock ; if water 

s used instead of stock add a pound of 
gravy beef, a bunch of sweet herbs, a 
couple of onions, half a table-spoonful 

>f whole white pepper, as much salt, and 

he peel of* half a lemon ; cover all with 
water, stew, and when the gizzarfe are 

,ender, strain the soup. 
Now put into a stewpan a paste made 

)f an ounce of butter and a spoonful -of 
flour, stir it over the fire until brown, 

>our in the soup, let it boil, stirring it 
tvell all the while ; in ten minutes skim 

,nd strain it, add a glass of Madeira, a 



170 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



salt-spoonful of cayenne, a dessert-spoon- 
ful of mushroom ketchup, squeeze in 
the juice of half a lemon, serve up with 
the giblets in the soup. It should be sent 
to table as hot as possible. 

53 POTAGE 1 .LA EEINE 

Is so called from its having been said 
to be a favorite soup at the table of Her 
Majesty. 

Stew two or three young fowls for 
about an hour in good fresh-made veal 
broth : then take them out, skin them, 
and pound the breast, or only the white 
meat, in a mortar until it becomes quite 
smooth. That done, mash the yolks of 
three or four hard-boiled eggs with the 
crumb of a French roll soaked either in 
the broth or in milk, and mix this with 
the pounded meat to form a paste, which 
must be afterwards passed through a 
sieve. During this operation the bones 
and skin have been left stewing in the 
broth, which must then be strained, and 
; the paste put gradually into it : tnen 
let it boil briskly for a short time, stir- 
ring it all the while to ensure its thor- 
ough mixture. When that is done take 
it from the fire ; warm a pint or more of 
cream, and pour it gently into the soup. 

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

64 RICE SOUP. 

Take white stock, season it, and either 
whole rice boiled till very tender, or the 
flour fpf rice may be used ; one-half 
pound will be sufficient for two quarts 
of broth. 



65. YEAL POTTAGE. 

Take off a knuckle of veal all the meat 
that can be made into cutlets, &c., and 



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

56. VEAL BROTH. 

Stew a knuckle of veal of four or five 
pounds in three quarts of water, with 
two blades of mace, an onion, a head of 
celery, and a little parsley, pepper, and 
salt ; let the whole simmer very gently 
until the liquor is reduced to two quarts ; 
then take out the meat, when the mu- 
cilaginous parts are done, and serve it up 
with parsley and butter. Add to the 
broth either two ounces of rice sepa- 
rately boiled, or of vermicelli, put in only 
long enough to be stewed tender. Dish 
the knuckle separately, and serve it with 
parsley and butter. 

57. MULLAGATAWNEE. 

Slice some onions and a few shalots, 
put them in a mortar with half a pound 
of fresh butter, beat them well, add 
three or four dessert- spoonfuls of curry- 
powder, a little, cayenne pepper and salt ; 
cut up some India pickle, which pound 



GAME SOUPS. 



171 



well with the other ingredients ; add flour 
sufficient to thicken the soup, and a little 
cold stock to work the whole into a stiff 
paste. When beaten moisten it occa- 
sionally with broth made from fresh beef 
free from fat ; when fine enough pass it 
through a sieve, add to it the gravy that 
the heart was stewed in, and as much 
of the beef broth as will make the quan- 
tity of soup required. Boil it up, and 
add more seasoning of cayenne and salt. 
If not thick enough, add flour and butter, 
until it becomes of the consistency of 
good cream. A spoonful of sugar and a 
little port wine are improvements. 

SOUPS OP GAME, POULTRY, &C. 

58. VENISON SOUP. (English.) 

Take four pounds of freshly killed 
venison cut off from the bones, and one 
pound of ham in small slices. Add an 
onion minced, and black pepper to ycmr 
taste. Put only as much water as will 
cover it, and stew it gently for an hour, 
keeping the pot closely covered. Then 
skim it well, and pour in a quart of boil- 
ing water. Add a head of celery cut into 
small pieces, and three blades of mace. 
Boil it gently two and a half hours ; then 
put in one fourth of a pound of butter, divi- 
ded into small pieces, and rolled in flour, 
and add half a pint of port or Madeira 
wine. Let it boil a quarter of an hour lon- 
ger, and send it to table with the meat in it. 

Or : Take a breast of venison, cut it 
in small pieces, and stew it gently in 
brown gravy soup. Serve it with roots 
cut in dice and French beans in diamonds, 
adding two glasses of port wine when 
first put on. 

The head of the deer chopped in pieces, 
and the flesh stewed to a jelly, is also an 
excellent addition to the soup. 

59. VENISON SOUP. 
Cut all the meat off a forequarter and 



shoulder of venison, put it into a pot 
with two gallons of water, a large onion, 
a head of celery, and some salt. Simmer 
it very slowly for forty-eight hours. 
Break all the bones and put them in an 
earthen pot just covered with water ; add 
a little salt, cloves, mace, and red pepper. 
Place the pot in the oven, set in a larger 
vessel of water, and let them stew as 
long as the soup. 

Strain the soup clear, and add the 
juice of the bones. Color the soup with 
a little flour and a lump of butter as 
large as a walnut, browned in the frying- 
pan. Boil it up quickly, and throw in 
half a pint of port wine. 

60. TUKTLE SOUP.* 

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

Cut off the fore fins; separate the 
callipash (upper shell) from the callipee 
(under shell), beginning at the hind fins. 
Cut off the fat which will be found ad- 
hering to the callipash and to the lean 
meat of the callipee. Then cut off the 
hind fins. Take off the lean meat from 
the callipee and from the fins, and cut it 
into pieces two inches square and put 
into a stewpan. The callipash, callipee, 
and fins, must be held in scalding (not 
boiling) water for a few minutes, which 
will cause the shell to detach easily. 

Cut the callipash and callipee into 
pieces six inches square, which put into 
a stock-pot with some light veal stock. 
Let it boil until the meat is tender, and 
then take it out into cold water ; free 
the meat from the bones, and cut it into 
pieces an inch square. Return the bones 
into the stock and let it boil gently for 
two hours, strain it off, and it is then fit 
for use. 

Cut the fins across into pieces about 

* This receipt Is a most excellent one, and is in con- 
stant use by the party who favored us with it ; and 
we may add, that some thousands of pounds weight 
of turtle pass through his hands every year. 



172 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



an inch wide, boil them in stock with an 
onion, two or three cloves, a fagot of pars- 
ley and thyme, a sprig of sweet basil and 
marjoram. When tender take them out 
and add this stock to the other. 

Take the lean meat, put into a stew- 
pan with a pint of Madeira, four table- 
spoonfuls of chopped green shalots, two 
lemons sliced, a bunch of thyme, marjo- 
ram, and savory (about two tablespoon- 
fuls each when chopped), one and a half 
tablespoonfuls of sweet basil (chopped), 
and four tablespoonfuls of parsley. Pound 
together a nutmeg, one dozen allspice, 
one blade of mace, five or six cloves, one 
tablespoonful of pepper and of salt. Mix 
the whole together with as much curry- 
powder as will lie on a shilling. Put 
about two-thirds of this to the lean meat, 
with half a pound of fresh butter and one 
quart stock. Let the whole be gently 
sweated until the meat is done. 

Take a large knuckle of ham, cut it into 
very small dice, put into a stewpan with 
four large onions sliced, six bay-leaves, 
three blades of mace, one dozen allspice, 
three-quarters of a pound of butter ; let 
it sweat until the onions are melted. 
Shred a small bunch of basil, a larger 
one of thyme, savory, and marjoram; throw 
these into the onions, and keep them as 
green as possible: when sweated suffi- 
ciently, add flour according lo your judg- 
ment sufficient to thicken the soup. Add 
by degrees the stock in which the calli- 
pash and callipee were boiled, -and the 
seasoning stock from the lean meat. Boil 
for an hour ; run through a tammy, and 
add salt, cayenne, and lemon juice to 
palate. Then put in the meat ; let it all 
boil gently about half an hour ; and if 
more wine be required, it must be boiled 
before being added to the soup. This is 
for a turtle of from forty to fifty pounds. 
It should, however, be recollected that 
the animal is of various weight from a 
chicken-turtle of forty pounds to some 
hundreds and the condiments must be 



apportioned accordingly. It should in 
variably be made the day before it is 
wanted. 

61. MOCK TUETLE. 

Half a calf's head will be quite suffi- 
cient, even if it be small, to provide soup 
enough for a moderate party, as it will 
fill a tureen of two quarts ; but it must 
be fresh and unstripped of the skin, 
which is the most gelatinous part. 

Take out the brains ; clean the head 
carefully in hot water, by squeezing it 
with the hand to press out the blood, 
and leave it afterwards for an hour in 
cold water. Then put it into five or six 
quarts of warm water along with two 
pounds of veal, two pounds of delicate 
pickled pork, chiefly fat, a roasted onion 
or two stuck full of cloves, and the thinly 
pared rind of a lemon, together with a 
large bundle of savory pot-herbs, two 
slices carrots, and a head of celery. Let 
this boil for two hours ; then take up 
the head and the pork. The head must 
be stripped of its skin, and the brain, 
tongue, and eye taken out ; let the bones 
of the head be broken and returned to 
the soup, and boil two hours longer the 
brains being made into forcemeat balls, 
the tongue skinned and sliced ; the black 
part of the eye should also be taken out, 
and the remainder minced; the skin 
being cut into pieces of little more than 
an inch square. While the stock is boil- 
ing, put into a saucepan a small quan- 
tity of fresh butter, with some onions 
sliced thin, a little basil, marjoram, and 
parsley, a very small quantity of thyme, 
three bay-leaves, two blades of mace, a 
few allspice; sweat all these well over 
the fire ; when done, add sufficient flour 
to thicken the soup. Stir in the boiling 
stock By degrees to avoid its being lumpy 
let it boil gently for an hour, then rub it 
through a tammy, set it over the fire ; 
when it boils add the meat. About ten 
minutes before you serve, season the soup 



GAME SOUPS. 



173 



to your taste with salt, a small quantity 
of cayenne pepper, a couple of spoonfuls 
of soy, a good squeeze of lemon-juice, to- 
gether with nearly a pint of either Madei- 
ra or Sherry. Serve with two lemons 
upon a plate, cut in half, as some people 
like the soup to be somewhat acid. Mush- 
rooms are sometimes added. 

The soup will take at least seven or 
eight hours in preparation; A calf's head 
requires half its own weight of meat to 
make the broth of proper quality. 

62. NEAT'S FEET SOUP. 

Take two neat's feet, cut them as you 
d^ a calf's head : take five pints of any 
sort of broth, the juice and rind of one 
lemon, some parsley and herbs chopped 
fine ; send these to the oven ; when it 
comes from the oven, put in a pint of 
strong gravy and a cup of white wine, 
some hard eggs and forcemeat balls ; 
season with cayenne pepper and salt, 

To these an excellent addition will be 
found in one pound of the belly part of 
very delicate pickled pork; for it will 
improve the flavor of the soup, and, if 
cut neatly into bits, will taste nearly as 
rich, and quite as savory, as the fat of the 
head, or the gelatinous parts of the feet. 
Any of these receipts for mock turtl 
may be also made from pig's face and 
pettitoes; and in most country-houses 
as well as at sea where pigs are gener- 
ally kept for fresh meat the head is 
commonly made into soup in imitation o' 
turtle. 

It has become unfashionable among 
first-rate cooks to put those egg-balls 
formerly so common, into mock-turtle 
but as they are still used by those of the 
old school, we here add their mode of 
preparation : 

Take out the yolks of some hard-boile( 
eggs, and beat them in a mortar wit! 
a very little salt and cayenne, and mak 
them into a paste with the white of 
raw egg. Roll the paste into balls no 



arger than marbles, put them into the 
oup, and .boil for ten minutes. 

68. LA TORTUE-- TURTLE SOUP. 
(Ude's Receipt, most carefully revised.)* 

This soup will be made with less diffi- 
ulfy if you cut off the head of the tur- . 
le the preceding day. 

In the morning open the turtle : which 

s done by leaning heavily with your knife 

n the shell of the animal's back, whilst 

ou cut it off all round. Turn it upright 

n its end, that all the water, &c., may 

run out. Then cut the flesh off along 

he spine, with your knife sloped towards 

;he bones, for fear of touching the gall, 

which sometimes escapes the eye. TV hen 

you have obtained all the flesh which is 

about the members, wash it clean and 

t et it drain. 

Have ready a large vessel full of boil- 
ing water on the fire, put in the shells, 
and when you perceive that they come 
off easily, take them out of the water, 
and prick all the shells of the back, 
belly, fins, head, &c. Boil the back and 
belly till you can take off the bones, 
without, however, allowing the softer 
parts to be sufficiently done, as they 
must boil again in 'the sauce. When 
these latter come off easily, lay them on 
earthen dishes singly, for fear they 
should stick together, and put them to 
cool. Keep the liquor in which you 
have blanched the softer parts, and let 
the bones stew thoroughly in it, as this 
liquor must be used to moisten the broth. 
All the flesh of the interior parts, the 
four legs and head, must be sweated in 
the following manner: 

Lay a few slices of ham on the bottom 

* In perfecting the above receipt for turtle soup, 
which the author can without vanity assert, is 1 
lest if not the only authentic and practical . 
in print, the author has bestowed his utmost care 
and attention. When in manuscript he obtained a 
very high price for it. 



174 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



of a very large stewpan. Lay over the 
ham two or three knuckles of veal, ac- 
cording to the size of the turtle, and over 
the veal the inside flesh of the turtle, 
and the members over the whole. Then 
partly moisten it with the water in which 
you have boiled the shell, and sweat it 
thoroughly. You can ascertain if the 
meat be thoroughly done, by thrusting 
your knife into the fleshy part of the 
meat. If no blood issue, moisten it 
again with the liquor in which the bones, 
&c., have been boiling: put in a large 
bunch of all such sweet herbs as are 
used in the cpoking of a turtle: sweet 
ba c il sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, 
winter savory, two or three bay-leaves, 
common thyme, a handful of parsley and 
green onions, and a large onion stucK 
with six cloves. Let the whole be thor- 
oughly done. Observe that you must 
only put in the bunch of parsley and the 
stalks of the herbs, as you must keep the 
tender part of the leaves to make a puree 
of herbs, to introduce in the sauce when 
finished. 

With respect to the members, probe 
them, to see whether they are done, and 
when done, drain and send them to the 
larder, as they are to make their appear- 
ance only when the sauce is absolutely 
completed. 

When the flesh is also completely done, 
drain it on the dish, and make a white 
thickening, very thin, for turtle soup 
must not be much thickened ; when the 
flour is sufficiently done on a slow fire, 
and has a good color, moisten it with the 
liquor drained through a silk sieve, and 
turn the sauce over the fire till it boils. 

Ascertain that the sauce is neither too 
thick nor too thin, and then put the 
etewpan on the side of the stove, to skim 
off all the white scum, and all the fat and 
oil, that rise on the surface of the sauce. 
By this time all the softer parts will be 
cold enough ; cut them about an inch or 



two square, without waste, throw the 
whole into the sauce, which must sim- 
mer gently. Then try them again ; for 
if done enough, they are not to be kept 
on the fire any longer. Skim oif all the 
fat and froth. Take all the leaves of the 
herbs from the stalks, sweet basil, sweet 
marjoram, lemon thyme, winter savory, 
common thy in e. a handful of parsley and 

en onions, and a large onion cut in 
four pieces, with a few leaves of mace ; 
put them in a stewpan, with about a 
quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Let 
this simmer on a slow fire, till they are 
quits melted, then pour in one bottle of 
good Madeira wine, adding a small bit of 
sugar, and let this boil gently for one 
hour. When done, rub this through a 
tammy, and put it into the sauce. Let 
this boil till no white scum rises : then 
take, with a skimmer, all the bits of tur- 
tle out of the sauce, and put them in a 
clean stewpan ; when you have all out, 
pour the sauce over the bits of turtle, 
through a tammy, and proceed as fol- 
lows : 

Make some quenelles a tortue (turtle 
quenelles), which being substitutes for 
eggs do not require to be very delicate. 
They are made in the following manner : 
Take out the fleshy part of a leg of veal, 
about one pound, scrape off all the meat, 
without leaving any sinews or fat, and 
soak in milk about the same quantity of 
crumbs of bread. When the bread is 
well soaked, squeeze it, and put it into a 
mortar with the veal, a small quantity 
of calf s udder, a little butter, the yolks 
of four eggs boiled hard, a little cayenne 
pepper, salt, and spices, and pound the 
whole very fine. Then thicken the mix- 
ture with two whole eggs, and the yolk 
of another. 

Next try this farce or stuffing in boil- 
ing hot water, to ascertain its consisten- 
cy ; if you find it too thin, add the yolk 
of an egg. Wheii the stuffing is perfect- 



GAME SOUPS. 



175 



ed 3 take half of it, and put into it some 
chopped parsley. Let the whole cool, in 
order to roll it of the size of the yolk of 
an egg or smaller: poach it in salt and 
boiling water, and when very hard drain 
on a sieve, and put it into the turtle. 
You must make two sorts of quenelles, 
white and green, those with parsley 
green, and the other half white. 

Before you send up. squeeze the juice 
of two or three lemons, with a little cay- 
enne pepper, and pour it into the soup. 
The fins may be served as a plat d'en- 
tree, or side dish, with a little turtle 
sauce ; if not, on the following day you 
may warm the turtle in the hot-water 
bath, and serve the members entire with 
a matelotte sauce, garnished with mush- 
rooms, cocks'-combs, quenelles, &c. 
When either lemon-juice or cayenne pep- 
per have been introduced,' no boiling 
must take place. It is necessary to ob- 
serve, that the turtle prepared a day be- 
fore it is used is generally preferred, the 
flavor being more uniform. When lem- 
on juice is used be very cautious that the 
lemons are good ; a musty lemon wil] 
spoil all the turtle, and too much will 
destroy the flavor. 

Be particular, when you dress a very 
large turtle, to preserve the green fat in 
a separate stewpan, and likewise, when 
the turtle is entirely done, to have 
many tureens as you mean to serve each 
time. You cannot put the whole in a 
large vessel, for many reasons : first, i 
will be long in cooling ; secondly, when 
you take some out, it will break all th 
rest into rags. If you warm in a hot 
water bath, the turtle will always retain 
the same taste, but if you boil it often 
it becomes strong and loses the delicac) 
of its flavor. 

It is not the fashion to serve eggs with 
turtle, but it may be necessary to inquire 
whether they are preferred. 

Some people require besides, frican- 
deaux, fricassees, &c., all of which are 



repared in the same manner as veal, but 
made with those parts of flesh that are 
o be found in the turtle, four in number, 
wo in the legs and two in the shoulders j 
rou may likewise make blanquette, &c. 

64 MOCK TURTLE, ENGLISH FASHION. 

Take a calf's head very white and very 
resh, bone the nose part of it ; put the 
lead into some warm water to discharge 
;he blood ; squeeze the flesh with your 
land, to ascertain that it is all out. 
Mind, the water should never be too hot 
br you to bear your hand in it ; as long 
as you can bear it the blood will come 
out, but if you suffer it to be too hot it 
will turn the head black. This method 
of disgorging the blood is to give the 
same heat to the blood as when the ani- 
mal was alive, and if your hand will bear 
the heat it shows that the blood may cir- 
culate in the veins, but if the water be 
too hot the blood will curdle, as it does 
in black pudding. When well disgorged, 
blanch the head in boiling water ; when 
firm, put it into cold water, and make a 
blanc to boil the head, as follows : Cut 
half a pound of fat bacon, a pound of 
beef suet, an onion stuck with a clove, 
and two slices of lemon ; add to these 
slices of carrot, a bunch of parsley, green 
onions, thyme, bay-leaves, sweet basil, 
salt and pepper ; put all these into a ves- 
sel, with water enough to contain the 
head ; tie the head tightly in a clean 
towel, put it in the blanc, and boil two 
hours and a half; ojbserve that it be not 
overdone ; let it cool in the liquor, then 
make the sauce in tbe following man- 
ner : 

Put into a stewpan a pound of ham 
cut in slices, put over the ham two 
knuckles of veal, a large onion, and two 
carrots ; moisten with some of the broth 
in which you have boiled the head, to 
half the depth of the meat only : cover 
the stewpan, and put it over the fire to 
sweat through ; let the broth reduce to 



176 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



a very good color, turn up the meat for 
fear of burning. When you have a very 
good color, and you find that the glaze is 
very brown, moisten with the whole of 
the broth from the head, season with a 
large bundle of sweet herbs, viz., sweet 
basil, sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, 
common thyme, two cloves, a bay-leaf, 
a few allspice, parsley, green onions, and 
a few mushrooms ; let this boil together 
for one hour, then drain it. 

Put into a stewpan a quarter of a 
pound of very fresh butter, let it melt 
over a slow fire ; put to this butter as 
much flour as it can receive; let it go 
gently over a slow fire, till the flour has 
acquired a very good brown color ; 
moisten this gradually with the broth, 
which you put through a silk sieve, till 
you have employed it all ; add half a bot- 
tle of Madeira ; let the sauce boil, that 
the flour may be well done ; take off all 
the scum and fat, and drain the sauce 
into a clean stewpan large enough to 
contain the calf s head ; boil the whole 
till done, cut the calf s head into square 
pieces of about an inch each ; put them 
to boil in the sauce ; season with salt 
and a little cayenne pepper. The bits of 
calf s head should always have the skin 
on one side, but you should leave none 
of the meat on, which does not adhere to 
the skin, otherwise the meat will break 
in the soup, and look unseemly. It is 
out of fashion now to use eggs ; but on 
this head the taste of the master should 
be consulted, and you may make quen- 
elles instead. 

Observe, that you must not have the 
quenellgs too delicate, for they would 
break in the soup and ^spoil the look of 
it ; the calf's head must not be too much 
done; thrust your knife into tfee skin, 
and' if the knife enters and detaches it- 
self easily, the meat is done enough. 

Some persons will have their mock 
turtle green ; in which case you must do 
as follows : Put into a stewpan a quar- 



ter of a pound of fresh butter, mince one 
or two onions, add a handful of each of 
the herbs described above, and some 
parsley, and sweat it all gently over a 
slow fire. "When the herbs are well 
done, moisten with some of the sauce, 
and rub it through a tammy. Mix this 
with the sauce, and the turtle will be 
green, without any alteration in the fla- 
vor. Cayenne and lemon are always 
added when you serve up the soup. 

65. THE GAEBUEE, WITH BEOWN BEEAD. 
Take a knuckle of ham, perfectly sweet ? 
a knuckle of veal, and about six pounds 
of flank of beef, which put into a pan, 
with an onion stuck with two cloves, a 
few carrots, &c. ; pour over the above 
two ladles of broth, and let the whole 
sweat over a slow fire. When the meat 
is done through the middle, cover it en- 
tirely with boiling broth, and let the 
whole stew for three hours. Then take 
one or more cabbages, which are to be 
washed clean and blanched. Braise 
them between layers of bacon, and moist- 
en them with the liquor in which the 
sweating has ben made, strained through 
a silk sieve. You must observe that, if 
the cabbages are not made rich and mellow, 
they are good for nothing. Add to the 
above, either sausages, bacon, or stewed 
legs of geese : mind above all things that 
the cabbage be not too briny, for the soup 
then would not be eatable. When the 
cabbage and broth are stewed enough, 
cut very thin slices of rye-bread : drain 
the cabbage in a cloth, so that there be 
no fat left, then take a large deep silver 
dish, lay a bed of bread, and over that 
one of cabbage, and moisten them with a 
little broth ; let them stew on a slow 
fire. When the cabbage and bread are 
sufficiently moistened, lay on six or 
eight beds more of each, and let it sim- 
mer on the stove till the bottom of the 
dish is gratined, as what sticks to the 
bottom of the dish is most tasty and pal- 



1 



GAME SOUPS. 



177 



atable. Send up with the ham on the 
middle ; the bacon, the legs of geese, and 
sausages on the borders, and some broth 
separately.* 

66.-POTAGE 1 LA REINE (Queen Soup.) 
(Ude's New Eeceipt.)t 

For twelve people take three fat chick- 
ens or pullets, which are generally cheap- 
er and better than fowls : skin them, take 
out the lungs, wash them clean, and put 
them in a pah with a bunch of parsley 
only; moisten the whole with good 
boiling broth : let it stew for an hour, 
then take out the chickens: soak the 
crumb of two penny loaves hi the broth ; 
take off the flesh of the chickens, and 
pound it with the yolks of three or four 
eggs boiled hard, and the crumb of bread 
which has been sufficiently soaked in the 
broth. Rub the whole through a tammy ; 
then put a quart of cream on the fire, 
and keep stirring it continually till it 
boils. Pour it into the soup. It is not 
so liable to curdle as when the other 
method is used, and it tastes more of the 
chickens. If you think proper to add 
either barley, rice, or vermicelli, let it be 
stewed in broth beforehand, and pour it 
into the soup only when quite done. 
When you have a great dinner, and fowls 
are very dear, use the fillets for the first- 
course dishes, and make the soup with 
the legs only ; the soup is as good, but 
not quite so white, as when mad 3 with 
the fillets. 

67.-RICE CEEAM. (Tide.) 
This is flour of rice, which you make 
yourself in the following manner. Take 
a pound of rice, well washed in different 
waters, and drained and wiped with a 
clean towel. Let it get quite dry, then 



* This soup is never sen in this country ; it 
requires a very deep and very large dish. 

t Formerly I used roasted chicken to make this 
potage, but I have found this new method cheaper, 
and not so subject to curdle as the other method. 



pound and shake it through a sieve. Take 
one or two spoonfuls of this flour, and 
dilute it with broth, rather cold than 
hot. All this time have some broth on 
the fire; throw the flour of rice thus 
diluted into the broth, and keep stirring 
till you find the soup is not too thick and 
may boil without the rice burning. This 
same kind of rice-flour may serve for 
souffles, or puffs, of the second course. 

68. MOCK TURTLE SOUP. 

This soup, if well made, gives general 
satisfaction. Take a calf 's head, thorough- 
ly scraped and cleane^, the .skin remain- 
ing on ; place it in a soup pot ; to this 
add that part of the hand of pickled pork 
which is free from bones, the fattest end, 
observing that it is proper to soak it well 
in water previous to using ; put in sweet 
herbs, a couple of onions 3 a head of celery, 
if large, a few truffles and morels, two if 
small, pounded mace and pepper; add 
plenty of water, without quite filling the 
saucepan ; boil slowly, until the meat has 
become tender, then remove it, and cut 
the meat from the bone into square 
pieces ; break the bones and put them 
again into the soup ; let it simmer for 
four or five hours, then place it where it 
can quickly cool, remove the fat and 
strain the soup ; thicken with flour and 
butter ; add three table-spoonfuls of Har- 
vey's sauce, four or five glasses of Sherry 
or Madeira, and squeeze a whole lemon 
into it ; add the meat of the head and 
the pork cut into well shaped pieces; 
conclude with egg balls, or force-meat, 
or both, warm it and serve ; it will be 
found a delicious soup. 

69. MOCK TURTLE SOUP. 
Blanch half a calf 's head sufficiently to 
draw out the bones ; cut off the ear and 
the tongue ; take off the skin of the 
tongue, lay all separate until cold, and 
strain off the liquor, and add it to your 
veal or second stock ; cut the meat into 



178 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



large square dice, put it into a stewpan 
with your already prepared stock, and 
stew it until tender, strain off some of the 
stock ; get another stewpan, cut about one 
pound of lean York or Westphalia ham, 
one pound of lean veal, a good fagot of 
basil and knotted-marjoram, two or three 
blades of mace, six or seven cloves, two 
bay -leaves, four onions, the parings of a 
few mushrooms, half a pound of butter ; 
fry them for some time a nice light brown, 
dry all up with flour, then add your stock 
you have previously strained from the cut 
pieces ; if too thick add more stock ; let all 
boil for some timekeeping it stirred with 
a wooden spoon ; when boiled sufficient, 
strain it through a tammy or tammy- 
sieve into the stewpan that has the cut 
pieces of the head ; boil all together ; sea- 
son with sugar, cayenne pepper, and salt, 
juice of lemon and white wine ; if you 
wish to preserve the old fashion, by hav- 
ing forcemeat balls, egg, &c., refer for 
them to the previous receipt ; add them 
to it when they are blanched. I only 
put hard-boiled eggs, and, if I have any, 
a few quenelles. 

70. HARE SOUP. 

An old hare is fitted only for soup or 
jugging. To render it into soup let it be 
cleaned, cut into pieces, add a pound and 
a half or two pounds of beefj to which 
there is little or no fat ; place it at the 
bottom of the pan ; add two or three 
slices of ham or bacon, or a little of both, 
a couple of onions, and some sweet herbs ; 
add four quarts of boiling water, let it 
stew to shreds, strain off the soup and 
take away the fat ; reboil it, add a spoon- 
ful of soy or Harvey's sauce, send to the 
table with a few force-meat balls. 

71. HAEE SOUP, OK WILD DUCK SOUP. 

Take a brace of Canadian hares or of 
wild ducks, and cut them up. Cook one 
moderately in an earthen pot with as 
much water as will cover it ; some cloves, 
salt and black pepper ; the pot being 



set in a large vessel full of water, in a 
close oven. 

Simmer the other till it is done com- 
pletely to rags in a gallon of water, and 
season it with cloves, salt, and black 
pepper. 

Strain the soup clear and make force- 
meat balls of the residue, with the yolk 
of an egg, some fine herbs, grated lemon 
peel, and a Jittle stale bread. 

The hare or duck cooked in the earth- 
en pot must be cut in pieces two inches 
square. Color the soup with browning, 
throw in the forcemeat balls and cut 
meat ; boil it up quick, and add half a 
pint of port wine. 

72. YELOUTE. 

Take the cuttings and remains of any 
joints of fowls and veal you may happen 
to have, weigh four pounds, aud put into 
a large stewpan. with some onions, 
carrots, parsley, scallions, three bay 
leaves, three cloves, and a ladleful of 
stock ; put your stewpan upon a brisk 
fire, skim well, and be careful the meat 
does not stick; when enough reduced 
add as much stock as will nearly fill the 
stewpan, salt it well, give it a boil, skim, 
and then put it on the side of the fire to 
simmer for two hours, after which strain 
it through a tammy ; make a white roux ; 
stir into it for ten minutes a few cham- 
pignons, then pour on it, a little at a 
time, the above liquor, let it boil up 
once, skim, and set it again by the side 
of the fire for an hour and a half, remove 
all fat, strain again and then put by for 
use. The veloute should be colorless, 
the whiter it is the better. 

73. PIGEON SOUP. 

Take half a dozen of the fattest pigeons 
you can get, roast them only sufficient to 
warm them through ; cut the meat from 
the bones; flour the latter well, and 
pound them in a mortar ; stew them in 



GAME AND VEGETABLE SOUPS. 



179 



a pint and a half of good gravy, add. a 
piece of butter rolled in flour, a bunch of 
tarragon, chervil, a few onions, shalots, 
parsley, and basil, a few turnips, and 
carrots sliced ; season with cayenne and 
one blade of mace. Boil slowry two 
hours, pour, and pass through a cullen- 
der. Pulp through a tammy, and then 
with the flesh of the pigeons put them 
into a saucepan. Let it simmer one hour 
and serve. 

74 SNAPPING TUETLE SOUP. 

Clean and dissect your snapping turtle ; 
add water according to size, taking care 
not to put in enough to thin the soup. 
Stew six or eight hours. Add a teacup- 
ful of browned flour, four ounces of 
butter, six eggs, one ounce of cloves, one 
ounce of mace, one ounce of allspice, half 
a pint of sherry wine; boil up and 
serve. 

Soup may be made in the same way of 
the " couter " of the South. Forcemeat 
balls made of veal are usually added, 
with the eggs found in the couter. 

75. SAVOET JELLY. 

Take half a pig-'s head, boil it for one 
hour, then cut the meat into small pieces, 
put it again into the saucepan with half 
the liquor it was boiled in, add a little 
seasoning of pepper, salt, and mace, boil 
another hour ; turn it into a mould to 
get cold. The above is excellent made 
from calf's head, which in many country- 
places can be bought for a trifle ; but the 
mould should then be 'lined with hard 
boiled eggs, cut into slices, and a little 
parsley added to the seasoning. This is 
. an economical Breakfast or supper dish. 

76 PAETEIDGE SOUP. 

When you have a brace of partridges 
which prove to be remarkably old. con- 
vert them into soup. Skin and cut them 



up, cut a handsome slice of ham as lean 
as possible and divide it in four, or cut as 
many thin slices, put them in the pan, 
add the partridges with an oniori sliced, 
some celery, and four ounces of butter ; 
brown nicely without burning, put them 
into the stewpan with one quart and a 
pint of water, throw in a few white pep- 
pers whole, a shank of mutton, salt it to 
palate, strain, add stewed celery, fried 
bread, and previous to its boiling skim 
very clean and serve up. 

77. VEGETABLE SOUPS. 

Although many of the following soups 
are made purely of vegetables, yet some 
and those generally the best are 
made on a foundation of some sort of 
meat-broth in which the roots are stewed. 

The broth is therefore the real stock 
on which these soaps are made, though 
each bears the name of the vegetable 
which gives it flavor ; but when made 
solely from herbs, roots, and vegetables, 
and used as the basis. for the formation of 
soupes-maigresj* the stock is then com- 
posed of every sort in season which can, 
by long stewing, be reduced to a pulp, 
in which every species of savory herbs 
such as chervil, tarragon, and marjoram 
are mixed, together with a few chilis, 
shalots, and a head of garlic, seasoned 
with mace, whole peppers, salt, and 
mushroom ketchup; to which may be 
added a little curry-powder. The pulp 
is then strained ; and, being thus rather 
highly seasoned, inay be kept for a few 
days, and used in aid of any other soup. 
It must be left to simmer during several 
hours; and should it need browning, 
some sliced onions, fried in butter, will 
be all that is necessary. 

Thus all the roots and most of such 
vegetables as can be easily made into 
purees, and combined with any sort of 
broth, will, in this manner, make excel- 
lent soup of different denominations, 



180 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



though all founded upon the same meat- 
stock. The gravy of beef is always pre- 
ferred for savory soups, and that of veal 
or fowls for the more delicate white 
soups: to which from half a pint to a 
pint of cream, or, if that cannot be had, 
the same quantity of milk and the yolks 
of a couple of raw eggs should be added 
for every two quarts of soup ; remember- 
ing, however, that the latter will not im- 
part the richness of cream. 

Collect whatever vegetables are in 
season, take equal quantities, turnips, 
carrots-, cabbage, spinach, celery, parsley, 
onions, a little mint, &c., add plenty of 
herbs, cut them fine, put them into the 
stewpan, in which has previously been 
placed some oil ; stew gently until the 
vegetables become tender, then add two 
quarts of boiling water j stew a quarter 
of an hour and serve. 

Some cooks advocate the introduction 
of peas, green or white, to this soup: 
where they are used, they must be boil- 
ed until tender hi very little water, then 
mashed into a very loose paste; the 
vegetables having been scalded are then 
added, and two nours will suffice for 
stewing ; season it with salt an J pepper. 

Be careful that it does not burn while 
cooking, or the whole is spoiled. 

78.-TOMATO SOUP. 

Stew half a ^eck of tomatoes slowly 
an hour and a half in a pint of water ; 
pass them through a tamis ; add half 
a gallon of veal or mutton broth. Pass 
through a tamis enough stale bread 
to thicken the soup. Fry twelve onions 
brown, and strain them the same way. 
Add them to the soup with a bunch of 
fine herbs, and seasoning to taste. Boil 
up well, and serve. 

79.-BEAN SOUP. 

Soak two quarts of dried white beans 
all night and put on the soup early. To 



five pounds of beef allow one of bacon 
cut small. Boil and skim it and put 
in the beans, drained, and a head of celery 
cut small. Boil slowly till the beans are 
melted and the soup is done ; strain it, 
and serve with toasted bread. 

80. ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH GREEN 
PEAS. 

Make a soup of roots, and when strain- 
ed, boil a pint of green peas in the liquor. 
Choose some middling-sized asparagus, 
cut them in pieces about three inches 
long, blanch them in boiling water, and 
then throw them into cold water ; drain 
them and tie them in small bunches, split 
the tops and boil them with the peas. 
When done make a puree of them and 
mix it with the root soup, and garnish 
with the asparagus. Good meat-broth 
may be used instead of the root soup. 

81. SOUP DE L'ASPEKGE. 
Cut into thin slices half a pound of 
bacon, lay them in the bottom of the 
stewpan, cut into lumps six pounds of 
lean beef and roll it well in flour, cover 
the pan close, shake occasionally until 
the gravy is all drawn, then add half a 
pint of old ale and two quarts of water ; 
throw in some whole peppers and a 
spoonful of salt, stew gently for an hour, 
skim the fat. and when an hour has 
elapsed strain off the soup, then put in it 
some spinach, two cabbage lettuces, the 
leaves of white beet, a little mint, pow- 
dered sweet aroma and sorrel, boil them, 
then put in the tops of asparagus cut 
small ; when they are tender the soup is 
done ; serve up hot with a French roll hi 
the middle. 

82. POTAGE A LA JULIENNE (Julien Soup.) 
Take some carrots and turnips, and 
turn them ribbon like, a few heads of celery, 
some leeks and onions, and cut them all 
into fillets, thus . Then take 



VEGETABLE SOUPS. 



181 



about two ounces of butter and lay it at 
the bottom of the stewpan, with the roots 
over the butter. Fry them on a slow 
fire, and keep stirring gently ; moisten 
them with broth and gravy of veal, and 
let them boil on the corner of the stove ; 
skim all the fat off, and put in a little 
sugar to take off the bitter taste of the 
vegetables : you may in summer-time add 
green peas, asparagus-tops, French beans, 
some lettuce, or sorrel. In winter-time, 
the taste of the vegetables being too 
strong, you must blanch them, and im- 
mediately after stew them in the broth : 
if they were fried in butter "their taste 
would also be too strong. Add bread, 
as above, in the tureen. 

83. THE JULIENNE WITH CONSOMME 
(or Broth of Fowl.) 

The same as above, only you moisten 
it with consomm of fowl, and put in 
the back of a roasted chicken, from the 
preceding day, which stew with the 
roots ; when boiled for one hour, take it 
out of the broth, and send up with the 
bread, as above. 

84. JULIENNE, OE VEGETABLE BKOTH. 

Cut various kinds of vegetables in 
pieces, celery, carrots, turnips, onions, &c., 
and having put two ounces of butter in the 
bottom of a stewpan, put the vegetables 
on the top of the butter, together with 
any others that may be in season ; stew or 
fry them over a slow fire, keeping them 
stirred, and adding a little of the stock 
occasionally ; soak small pieces of crust 
of bread in the remainder of the broth 
or stock, and when the vegetables are 
nearly stewed, add them, and warm the 
whole up together 

85-SOYEE'S JULIENNE SOUP. 
This soup is entirely the hereditary 
property of France, and is supposed to be 
so called from the months of June and 
12 



July, when all vegetables are in full 
'eason; and to make it in reality as 
originally made, a small quantity of 
every description of vegetables should 
)e used, including lettuce, sorrel, and 
tarragon; however, some few sorts of 
vegetables, mixed together, make a most 
estimable soup. Weigh half a pound of 
;he vegetables in fair proportions to each 
other, that is. carrots, turnips, onions, 
celery, and leeks, which cut into small 
fillets an inch in length, and of the thick- 
ness of a trussing-needle j when done, 
wash dry, and pass them in butter and 
ugar as before, add two quarts of clear 
soup, adding, just before it is done, a 
little sorrel, cabbage-lettuce, and chervil 
or peas, if handy, but it will be excellent 
without either. 



86. A SPRING SOUP. 
The following is recommended for puri- 
fying the blood, and consequently clear- 
ing the complexion : Take a handful of 
fresh sorrel and a handful of water-cress- 
es ; cut them up fine, but do not chop 
them ; put them into about two quarts 
of boiling water, adding a carrot cut up 
in small pieces, three or four potatoes, 
cut in quarters, two slices of bread (if 
of a sixpenny loaf), also cut up; pepper 
and salt to taste. Boil well till the soup 
assumes a consistency, which it will do 
as the vegetables and bread dissolve in 
it. Stir it frequently, and it will prove 
a very palatable soup. With a moderate 
fire it may be prepared in about two 
hours. The liquor from any boiled meat 
may be used instead of plain water. 

87.-MACAEONI, WITH CONSOMM6, OE 
STOCK-BROTH. 

Take a quarter of a pound of Naples 
macaroni, and boil it in water, till it is 
nearly done. Strain well, and put it 
into a rich consomme to boil. Let it be 



182 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



well done ; grate some Parmesan cheese, 
which send up separately in a plate. 

88.-CABBAGE SOUP. 

Take four or six pounds of beef, boil 
with it some black pepper whole for 
three hours, cut three or four cabbages 
in quarters, boil them until they are 
quite tender, turn them into a dish, and 
serve all together. 

89.-MACAEONI SOUP. 

Take a quart of gravy soup: break 
two ounces of Naples macaroni into 
pieces of little more than an inch long, 
putting them, by degrees, into a small 
portion of the boiling soup, to prevent 
them from sticking together, and let 
them boil until quite tender, but not soft 
or pulpy from fifteen to twenty minutes 
if quite fresh, but nearly half an hour if 
at all stale. Vermicelli is used in the 
same manner. They will improve the 
consistence of the soup if the quantity 
above stated be added : but it is useless 
and does not look well to see, as at some 
tables, only a few strings of it floating 
in the tureen. The flavor will also be 
much improved if a small quantity of 
Parmesan cheese be either melted in it, 
or grated and served up separately. 

90. SOUP 1 LA CKECI, OE CAEEOT SOUP. 
Cut half a pound of lean ham in dice, 
three onions, four turnips, twelve carrots, 
the outer side red only, a head of celery, a 
fagot of sweet herbs, two blades of mace, 
six cloves, a bay-lea^ and half a pound of 
salt butter ; fry all well down in a stew- 
pan until they get a little brown, then 
add some second stock, and stew until 
all the roots are quite tender, then rub it 
through a tammy sieve or tammy cloth 
with two long spoons ; if very thick, add 
more stock. Season with cayenne and 
black pepper, and salt, and a good bit of 
sugar j send up on a napkin some nice 



fried bread cut in small dice, and not 
greasy. 

91. GEEEJT PEA POEEIDGE. 

(A most delicious potage.) 

Green peas three pints, milk three 
pints, butter one-quarter of a pound, flour 
enough for thickening. 

Boil the peas in just water enough to 
cook them until they are tender; then 
pour in the milk ; when it boils, add the 
butter and flour rubbed well together; 
let it boil long enough to cook the flour ; 
season with pepper and salt, and serve 
hot. 

92. GEEEN PEA SOUP. 
Put two quarts of green peas into a 
stewpan with a quarter of a pound of 
butter, a quarter of a pound of lean ham, 
cut into small dice, two onions in slices, 
and a few sprigs of parsley ;' add a quart 
of cold water, and with the hands rub all 
well together ; then pour off the water, 
cover the stewpan close, and stand it over 
a sharp fire, stirring the contents round 
occasionally ; when very tender, add two 
tablespoonfuls of flour, which mix well 
in mashing the peas with your spoon 
against the sides of the stewpan ; add 
two quarts of stock, or broth from the 
Pot-au-feu, a table-spoonful of sugar, and 
a little pepper and salt, if required ; boil 
all well together five minutes, when rub 
it through a tammy or hair sieve ; then 
put it into another stewpan, with a pint 
of boiling milk ; boil five minutes, skim 
well, and pour it into your tureen. It 
must not be too thick j serve with crou-* 
tons of bread. 

93. WINTEB PEA SOUP. 

Wash a quart of split peas, which put 

into a stewpan with half a pound of 

streaked bacon, two onions in slices, two 

pounds of veal or beef, cut into small 



VEGETABLE SOUPS. 



183 



pieces, and a little parsley, thyme, and 
bay-leaf; add a gallon of water, with a 
little salt and sugar ; place it upon the 
fire, and when boiling, stand it at the side 
until the peas are boiled to a puree, and 
the water has reduced to half; then take 
out the meat, which put upon a dish, to 
be eaten with the bacon, keeping it hot ; 
rub the soup through a hair sieve or tam- 
my, $ut it into another stewpan, and 
when boiling, serve. The meat may also 
be served in the tureen if approved of. 
Maigre pea soup may also be made by 
omitting the meat, adding half a pound 
of butter, one quart of milk, and omitting 
a quart of water. 

94.- LEEK, OR ONION SOUP. 

The liquor in which a leg of mutton 
has been boiled will do very well for this 
broth. Mix a spoonful or two of oat- 
meal, according to the quantity of broth, 
in cold water, very smooth, the same as 
if for grjiel ; add a little of the broth, by 
degrees, until the whole is incorporated ; 
then boil the liquor with any quantity of 
leeks or onions both or either until it 
becomes of the consistence of cream. Or ? 
omit the oatmeal, and substitute flour, 
stirring the soup very hard for five min- 
utes ; and when you are about taking it 
from the fire, stir in the yolks of two raw 
eggs beat up with a little more broth, 
and serve it immediately. 

Onions, peeled, pared, and cut into 
pieces, then shred into a pan and fried in 
either oil or butter, without any broth 
but simply having boiling water poured 
over them, and some toasted bread, sea- 
soned merely with pepper and salt, are 
considered very refreshing when thus 
made into a soup, and much used by 
ladies throughout Europe after the fa- 
tigues of a ball. 

95. POTATO SOUP MAIGEE. 

Take some large mealy potatoes ; pee! 



and cut them into small slices with an 
onion ; boil them in three pints of water 
till tender, and then pulp them through a 
colander ; add a small piece of butter, a 
ittle cayenne pepper and salt, and, just be- 
bre the soup is served, two spoonfuls of 
good cream. The soup must not be al- 
owed to boil after the cream, has been 
put into it. 

96. TOMATO SOUP. 

Wash, scrape, and cut small the red 
part of three large carrots, three heads of 
celery, four large onions, and two large 
turnips ; put them into a saucepan with 
a table-spoonful of butter, and half a 
pound of lean new ham ; let them stew 
very gently for an hour, then add 'three 
quarts of brown gravy soup, and some 
whole black pepper, with eight or ten 
ripe tomatoes ; let it boil an hour and a 
half, and pulp it through a sieve ; serve 
it with fried bread cut hi dice. 

97.-SOUP SOEEEL A SUMMEE SOUP. 

Take a good quantity of sorrel and mix 
with it the top leaves of beet-root ; boil 
them thoroughly; press them enough to 
extract all the water, and chop them un- 
til they are almost a paste ; when they 
are quite cold, add the coldest spring wa- 
ter attainable, and mix until rather thick- 
er than cream ; cut in thin slices two 
cucumbers steeped in a mixture of vine- 
gar and a little cayenne ; boil three eggs 
hard, and cut them in very small pieces ; 
now, having chopped the green ends of 
young onions small, and added to the 
paste, pour over cream to your taste, and 
then add the sliced cucumber and boiled 
egg ; serve up garnished with clean pieces 
of ice. 

98. TOMATO SOUP. 

Slice two onions and fry them in but- 
ter until brown; remove them and fry 
two dozen tomatoes just sufficient to heat 



184 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



them through, then put them into a stew- 
pan with their gravy and the onions, add 
a head of celery and a carrot sliced ; ste\jr 
gently for half an hour, add three pints 
of grayy, stew an hour and a half, pulp 
the whole of the vegetables through a 
sieve, season with white pepper, salt, and 
cayenne, serve with sippets of toasted 
bread cut in shapes. 

99. PEPPEB POT. (English.) 
Put in a stewpan three quarts of wa- 
ter ; to this add celery, turnips, carrots, 
lettuces, cut small; add the bones of 
cold roast meat of any description ; half 
a pound of bacon, the same weight of 
salted pork ; stew gently until the meat 
is tender, taking care to skim when it 
first boils. 

Boil half a peck of spinach and rub it 
through a colander ; take the bones out 
of the soup and add the spinach ; with it 
the meat of a lobster or crab minced ; 
season with plenty of cayenne pepper, 
and salt to taste. 

Suet dumplings may be boiled with it, 
or a fowl, but this is matter of taste. 
Mutton or beef may be substituted for 
bacon or pork ; this will be obvious when 
it is understood that a pepper pot is pre- 
sumed to consist of an equal proportion 
of flesh, fish, fowl and vegetables. 

100. PUEEE OE TUENIP SOUP. 
Get a bunch of turnips, pare them and 
cut them in thin slices ; one head of white 
celery, one onion ; fill up your stewpan 
with good second white stock, boil them 
until quite tender, then pass it all through 
a tammy by rubbing it with wooden 
spoons, or a tammy sieve ; season with 
sugar, cayenne and salt. Send up fried 
bread, as for former soups ; add half a 
pint of cream the last thing. 

101.-SAUT3 SOUP. 
Cut carrots, and turnips, and onions 



and celery, as straws, about one inch 
long, quite thin; the carrots you will 
trim, using only the red part, the yellow 
that is left use for your stock pot ; cut 
your onions in quarters, then cut them 
the size endways, blanch them for two 
or three minutes, strain them on the back 
of a hair sieve to drain ; then add them 
to the quantity of soup required, allowing 
half a pint to each person ; therefore, as 
you must reduce it to have the flavor 
of your vegetables, allow a pint more, re- 
ducing it to the quantity you require; 
season it with lump sugar, cayenne pep- 
per and salt ; be sure and not go to the 
extreme. 

102. SPEING SOUP. 

As saute ; the same roots cut different- 
ly, and add, if to be had, spinach, cab- 
bage-lettuce, a very little sorrel, as it 
turns acid on the stomach, all cut rather 
small, tarragon, chervil, green asparagus, 
young peas, cucumbers ; cut the asparagus 
about one inch long, cut the tarrHgon and 
chervil a little, and a few French beans 
cut ; use your consomme stock as before, 
boiling all your green parts particularly 
green in water a few minutes, leaving 
them to be sufficiently done in your 
stock ; if you have a cauliflower boiled, 
pick a few small pieces and put in the 
soup-tureen ; the boiling soup when pour- 
ed in will make it hot ; season as before. 

103. WINTEB VEGETABLE SOUPS. 

Take carrots, turnips, and the heart of 
a head of celery, cut into dice, with a 
dozen button onions ; half boil them in 
salt and water, with a little sugar in it ; 
then throw them into the broth ; and, 
when tender, serve up the soup : or use 
rice, dried peas and lentils, and pulp 
them into the soup to thicken it. 

With many of these soups, small suet 
dumplings, very lightly made, and not 
larger than an egg, are boiled either in 
broth or water, and put into the tureen 



FISH SOUPS. 



185 



lust before serving, and are by most per- 
sons thought an improvement, but are 
more usually put into plain gravy-soup 
than any other, and should be made light 
enough to swim in it. 

Such are the chief soups made of veg- 
etables on a foundation of meat; both 
those made solely of vegetables, without 
any intermixture of meat broth, may be 
made into very palatable soups by using 
the vegetable stock. 

HSH SOUPS. 

Notwithstanding the quantity of ex- 
cellent fish, this nutritious and economi- 
cal viand is not often introduced at table 
in the form of soup. Nothing could be 
more easy than to multiply receipts for 
an almost endless variety: those that 
follow will, however, show how much 
may be done with many kinds of fish 
which are not in very high estimation. 

"When not wanted as soupe-maigre, the 
foundation, or stock, though called " fish- 
soup," is always better if made of meat, 
and veal is generally preferred. We. 
therefore, here add a receipt for its com- 
position, as it may be applied to any kind 
of fish ; though, in those which we shall 
hereafter specify, it is not mentioned, as 
they are all intended to be maigre. 

104 STOCK FOB FISH SOUP. 
Take a dozen flounders, or any small 
flat fish, and the same number of perch ; 
gut and clean them carefully ; put them 
into a stewpan with two quarts of strong 
veal-broth ; add a few slices of lean ham, 
two or three carrots, celery, and onions 
cut in slices, some sweet herbs and salt, 
with a little cayenne ; stew till the fish 
will pass through a coarse sieve ; then 
return it into the stewpan, with a good 
lump of butter and some flour to thicken 
it ; add a couple of large glasses of white 
wine, and a large spoonful of garlic vine- 
gar. The gravy from potted herrings, 



anchovies, or a little Oude sauce, will 
also improve the flavor. 

This stock, if once reboiled. will, in 
cold weather, keep well for a month ; or. 
if served as soup, the quantity may of 
course be reduced according to the num- 
ber of the party intended to partake of 
it, and it will be found excellent. In- 
deed, tiny species of fish may be made 
into soup in the same manner. If meant 
to be browned, the onions should be fried, 
and a good spoonful of mushroom ketch- 
up or India soy be added ; and red wine 
will be better than either sherry or Ma- 
deira. But if left white, cream should 
be substituted for ketchup and soy; a 
glassful of ginger wine will answer the 
purpose of red wine. 

105. LOBSTER SOUP. 
If prepared fish-stock be not used, the 
stock of this soup may be made of any 
fish not of sufficient consequence to be 
dressed in any other way. Clean and 
cut them in pieces, take the meat out of 
one or two lobsters, cut it into small 
pieces, and lay it aside ; break the shell 
and add it to the fish for the stock, 
which should be boiled gently for several 
hours; take the coral of the lobster, 
pound it in a mortar, with a small piece 
of the stock, partly pounded, and make 
it up into forcemeat-balls, with a little 
chopped parsley, bread-crumbs, and an 
egg. When the stock is sufficiently 
done, strain it, thicken it with butter and 
flour, or cream : warm the lobster in it, 
and send it up, cut small, with the force- 
meat-balls. Season it also delicately, 
but yet sufficiently to give it flavor, 
which can be imparted by any of the 
compound sauces so commonly adver- 
tised. 

106. LOBSTER SOUP. 
To one large hen lobster scalded and 
cleaned, take two quarts of strong calf s 



186 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



feet broth ; pound the shells, small claws, 
eggs, fat and coral in a mortar, and sim- 
mer three hours in the soup. Cut the 
tails into square pieces, and fry them 
brown. Make the claws into forcemeat* 
balls with the yolks of two eggs, grated 
lemon-peel, parsley, thyme, a very little 
olives, and grated biscuit, and fry them 
brown. Boil them up in the soup quick- 
ly in five minutes ; add half a pint of 
port wine, and lemon to taste ; with salt, 
pepper, and a little mace. (This is the 
best soup on record.) 

107. LOBSTEE SOUP. (English.) 
Extract the meat from the shells of 
four hen lobsters, which have been boil- 
ed : put the spawn aside, beat the fins 
and small claws in a mortar ; then place 
both in a saucepan, with two quarts of 
water, until the whole goodness of the 
fish has been drawn; then strain the 
liquor. Beat in a mortar the spawn, a 
lump of.flour and butter ; rub it through 
a sieve into the soup previously strained ; 
simmer without boiling, that the color 
may be preserved, ten minutes ; squeeze 
in a piece of a lemon, with a little of 
the essence of anchovies. 

When this dish is sent to table as a 
feature, forcemeat-balls are served with 
it; they are made of minced lobster, 
spawn, crumb of French roll, egg, and 
mace pounded ; roll it in flour, and serve 
in the soup. 

108. PUREE OF LOBSTER SOUP. 
Get two large hen lobsters, take out 
all the meat, chop and pound it fine, six 
anchovies boned, put the shells in some 
second stock to boil for some time, strain 
off the liquor into your pounded lob- 
sters, boil all until tender, rub all through 
a tammy, add one pint of cream ; season 
with cayenne pepper, a little sugar, and 
salt, and lemon-juice. 

109. CLAM SOUP. 
To the liquor of fifty clams, allow 



three quarts of water, and put it on 
with a knuckle of veal, the bone chop- 
ped. Simmer three hours, put in a 
bunch of sweet herbs, nutmeg, mace, a 
table-spoonful of whole pepper, and stew 
an hour longer. Then strain and add 
four ounces of butter rubbed in flour, and 
the clams chopped in pieces. Boil a 
quarter of an hour and serve. 

110. OTSTEK SOUP. 

Beard four dozen oysters, preserve the 
liquor hi opening them, which must be 
placed with the beards of the oysters in 
a stewpan ; slice any fish, small fresh- 
water fish will serve excellently well, 
and adding them, stew for five or six 
hours; strain and thicken it, add two 
spoonfuls of soy or any fish sauce, or 
omit it, to taste. Add the oysters, and 
when they are warm through, serve* 

ill. OYSTER SOUP. 

Get four flounders, or similar portions 
of any fish, four dozen of large oysters, 
blanch them slightly, take off the beards 
and gristle, put the beards and fish into 
some of your best white stock, boil all 
together for several hours, add four an- 
chovies washed, strain all off and thicken 
it with flour and butter, add one pint of 
cream, put in your oysters you had tak- 
en care of, the last thing, just boiling 
them up in the soup ; having passed it 
through a tammy, season it with cayenne 
pepper, salt, and a small piece of sugar. 

112. OYSTER SOUP. 

Take fifty oysters, tyancji them, but 
do not let them boil; strain them 
through a sieve, and save the liquor. 
Put one-quarter pound of butter into 
a stewpan; when it is melted, add six 
ounces of flour ; stir it over the fire for 
a few minutes ; add the liquor from the 
oysters, two quarts of veal stock, one 
quart of new milk; season with salt, 
peppercorns, a little cayenne pepper, a 
blade of mace, Harvey sauce and essence 



FISH SOUPS. 



187 



of anchovies, a tablespoonful each ; strain 
it through a tammy ; let it boil ten min- 
utes ; put the oysters into the tureen 
with a gill of cream, and pour the boil- 
ing soup upon them. 

118.-EEL SOUP. 

Take any number of pounds of eels, 
according to the quantity required ; add 
two-thirds water. If about three or four 
pounds of eels, add one onion, a small 
quantity of mace, a little pepper whole, 
sweet herbs, a crust of the top side of 
bread ; cover down close ; stew till 'the 
fish separates, strain. Toast slices of 
bread deep brown, but not to burn ; cut 
into triangular pieces or squares, a piece 
of carrot two inches long, cut into four 
slices lengthwise, put into a tureen with 
the toast, pour the soup on; boiling 
cream may be added thickened with a 
little flour, but it should be rich enough 
without it. 

114. NEW ENGLAND CHOWDEB. 
Have a good haddock, cod, or any other 
solid fish, cut it in pieces three inches 
square, put a pound of fat salt pork in 
strips into the pot. set it on hot coals, 
and fry out the oil. Take out the pork, 
and put in a layer of fish, over that a 
layer of onions in slices, then a layer of 
fish with strips of fat salt pork, then 
another layer of onions, and so on alter- 
nately until your fish is consumed. Mix 
some flour with as much water as will 
fill the pot; season with black pepper 
and salt to your taste, and boil it for hal: 
an hour. Have ready some crackers 
soaked in water till they are a little soft 
ened; throw them* into your chowde 
five minutes before you take them up 
Serve in a tureen. 



115. NEW ENGLAND CHOWDEB. 

Cover the bottom of a pot with slice 

of boiled salt pork, with a little onions 

on this place a layer of fish in larg 



ieces, season with pepper, and cover it 
with a layer of biscuit soaked in milk, 
md a layer of sliced potatoes. Put above 

his another layer of pork, as before, 
with fish, &c., the biscuit being on the top 
)f all. Pour In a pint and a half of 
water, cover, and boil it slowly an 
iour ; then skim and turn it into a deep 
dish. Thicken the gravy with butter 
rolled in flour, and parsley. 

116 .CLAM SOUP. 

Boil a knuckle of veal in as much 
water as will cover it well. When it has 
soiled about half or a quarter of an hour, 
open hah a peck of clams by placing 
the.m over the fire, in a very small quan- 
tity of water. Pour the juice of the 
clams into the pot which contains the 
knuckle of veal. Boil the soup three or 
four hours, seasoning it with a table- 
spoonful of pepper. Add no salt, as the 
clam juice will have made it salt enough. 
When the veal is quite tender, cut up 
the clams in small pieces (that is to say, 
each clam in three or more pieces), and 
throw them into the soup, with a quar- 
ter of a pound of butter chopped into 
bits. Some persons roll the butter in 
flour, which they think makes it mix 
with the clam juice ; others use no flour, 
as they dislike to detect the taste of the 
flour. 

117. CLAM SOUP, 
(Prepared by a Dublin Lady.) 
Put forty or fifty clams, in the shells, 
with as little water as possible. When 
the liquor has run out from the opened 
shells, take the clams out and chop them 
fine, with an onion, a bunch of minced 
celery, and some mace and pepper. Put 
all in the soup, and thicken it with two 
tablespoonfuls of butter rolled in flour, 
and if you choose, add a little milk. 
Simmer twenty minutes; stir in the 
beaten yolks of five eggs ; put bits of 
toasted bread into the tureen and serve. 



188 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



118. LAKE AND POND FISH SOUP. 
For every person take a pound each of 
any fresh-water fish that can be obtain- 
ed ; wash them in salt and water, and 
stew them with a tomato, carrots, leeks, 
fried onions, and sweet herbs, in as much 
water as will cover them ; and let them 
stew until the whole is reduced to a 
pulp ; then strain the liquor, and boil it 
for another hour until it becomes quite 
smooth. Then have ready some roots 
of any sort that may be in season, which 
have been chopped small, and boiled 
either in milk or water : add them to the 
soup, and let it simmer for one-quarter of 
an hour ; season it, if milk has been 
used, with mace and celery, with a little 
cayenne ; but if made solely with water, 
then use Chili vinegar, soy, mushroom 
ketchup, or any of the savory sauces. 



FISH. 

Fish should be well washed, scaled, 
and cleaned, by .drawing the entrails 
through a slit in the under side. The 
roe and liver should be separated, wash- 
ed, and cooked with the fish. The roe 
proves the fish in season. Slimy fish 
may be scalded in salt and water, but 
must be dried before cooking. 

Fresh fish, when boiled, should be 
placed in cold, and shell-fish in boiling 
water. 

To keep oysters after washing them, 
lay them in a tub in a cool cellar, with 
the deep part of the shell undermost. 
Sprinkle them with salt and Indian meal, 
then fill the tub with cold water. Change 
the water every day. and the oysters 
will keep fresh a fortnight. 

Fish should be garnished with horse- 
radish or parsley. The only vegetable 
served with fish is potatoes. 

119. SALT AND FBESH- WATER FISH. 

When boiling fish put a little salt and 



a little vinegar into the water to give the 
fish firmness. Be careful to let fish be 
well done, but not to let it break. When 
very fresh, cod and whiting are very 
much improved by keeping a day, and 
rubbing a little salt down the back-bone. 
Fresh-water fish often have a muddy 
smell and taste, which is easily got rid 
of by soaking it. After it has been 
thoroughly cleansed in strong salt and 
water, if the fish is not too large, scald 
it in the same, then dry and dress it. 

Fish that is to be boiled must be put on 
the fire in cold hard water ; when it boils, 
skim with the greatest care ; throw in a 
little cup of cold water to check the ex- 
treme of heat, then keep it simmering 
only, lest the outside break before the 
thick and inner part be done; but 
"crimped fish" should be put into boil- 
ing water, and simmered a few minutes. 

When it boils up, some cold water 
should be put into it to check it, and 
keep it simmering. The cover should be 
kept on the kettle to prevent soot falling 
in and discoloring the fish. Fish should 
be boiled with a handful of salt, and half 
a teacupful of vinegar. All fish should 
be taken out of the water the instant it 
is done, or it will become woolly. To as- 
certain when it is done, the fish-plate 
may be drawn up, and, if done, the meat 
will leave the bone. To keep it hot. and 
to prevent it losing its color, the fish-plate 
should be placed across the fish-kettle, and 
a clean cloth put over the fish. If left in 
the water after it is ready, fish loses its 
firmness. Serve fish on a napkin. 

It is impossible to dress fish too fresh. 
Some kinds will bear keeping better than 
others, but none ar< improved by it. 

Families who purchase a whole salmon, 
and like it quite fresh, should parboil the 
portion not required for the day's con- 
sumption, and lay it aside in the liquor, 
boiling up the whole together when 
wanted. By this means the curd will 
set, and the fish be equally good on thf 



FISH. 



189 



following day. The custom of serving 
up rich sauces, such as lobster, is unknown 
in salmon countries; a little lemon peel 
or white vinegar being quite sufficient, 
added to melted butter. Salmon should 
be garnished with parsley and scraped 
horseradish. 

Small fish may be nicely fried plain, or 
done with egg and bread crumbs, and then 
fried. Upon the dish on which the fish 
is to be served should be placed a damask 
napkin, folded, and upon this put the 
fish, with the roe and liver ; then garnish 
the dish with horseradish, parsley, and 
lemon. 

To boil or fry fish nicely, after it is 
well washed, it should be put in a cloth, 
and when dry, wetted with egg and bread 
crumbs. It will be much improved by 
being wetted with egg and crumbs a 
second time. Then have your pan with 
plenty of boiling dripping or lard, put 
your fish into it, and let it fry rather 
quickly till it is of a nice brown and ap- 
pears done. If it is done before being 
nicely browned, it should be taken from the 
pan, and placed on a sieve before the fire 
to drain and brown. If wanted very nice, 
put a sheet of cap paper to receive the 
fish. Should you fry 3 our fish in oil, it 
obtains a much finer color than when 
done in lard or dripping. Never use 
butter, as it makes the fish a bad color 
Garnish your dish with green or fried 
parsley. 

In broiling fish, be careful that you 
gridiron is clean ; place it on the fire 
and when hot, rub it over with suet t< 
hinder the fish from sticking. The fish 
must be floured and seasoned before broil 
ing. It must be broiled over a clear fire 
only, and great care must be taken tha 
it does not bum or become smoky. 

Broiled fish for breakfast should al 

ways be skinned, buttered, and pepperec 

Fish are broiled, fried, boiled, baked 

stewed, in fact cooked in every imaginabl 



ashion ; thdse named are the chief 
methods. In every kind, the greatest 
ttention and cleanliness ^nust be exer- 
ised. A broken, disfigured, or ill-cook- 
d dish of fish presented at table, is 
juite sufficient to destroy the taste for 
t for ever; on the contrary, when neatly 
done it heightens the relish which every 
possesses more or less, and imparts 
an appetite where one may be wanting, 
while the cook is held hi grateful reniein- 
jrance. 

120. MAKINADE 

Is commonly used in France for the 
purpose of boiling fish, which imbibes 
rom it a more pleasant flavor than it 
naturally possesses, and has been so 
generally adopted by professed cooks 
that we here insert the receipt: Cut 
up two carrots, three onions, half a dozen 
shalots, a single clove of garlic, and put 
them into a stewpan with a piece of but- 
ter, a bunch of parsley, and a bundle of 
sweet herbs; fry the whole for a few 
minutes, then add, very gradually, two 
bottles of any light wine or of cider. 
Put in a handful of salt, two dozen of 
peppercorns, the same quantity of all- 
spice, and a couple of cloves. Simmer 
the whole together for one and a half 
hours, strain the liquor, and put it by for 
use. 

This marinade,- if carefully strained af- 
ter the fish has been taken out, will serve 
several times for the same purpose, add- 
ing a little water each time. Fish dress- 
ed in it should simmer very gently, or 
rather stew than boil, as it affords to 
mackerel, fresh herrings, perch, roach, 
and any of the small river fish, the ad- 
vantage of dissolving, or so thoroughly 
softening their bones as to render them 
more agreeable in eating. For large fish, 
they should be cut into steaks before 
being marinaded. Instead of the wine 
or cider, a quart of table-beer, a glass of 



190 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



BO j, one of essence of anchovies, and one 
of ketchup, may be used ; or a pint of 
vinegar and hese sauces, fennel, chives, 
thyme, and bay-leaves, may be added 
with the wine, cider, &c. Or, choose a 
kettle that will suit the size of the fish, 
into which put two parts water, one of 
light (not sweet) white wine, a good 
piece of butter, some stewed onions and 
carrots, pepper, salt, two or three cloves, 
and a good bunch of sweet herbs ; sim- 
mer one-quarter of an hour, let it be- 
come cold, then boil the fish therein. 
Serve with anchovy-sauce and a squeeze 
of lemon. 

121. COD FISH. 

Fresh cod is good boiled, fried, or 
made into a chowder. It is too dry a 
fish to broil. Salt cod should be soaked 
in lukewarm water till the skin will 
come off easily then take up the fish, 
scrape off the skin, and put it in fresh 
water, and set it on a very moderate fire, 
where it will keep warm without boil- 
ing, as it hardens by boiling. It takes 
between three and four hours to cook it 
soft serve it up with drawn butter. 

122. TO BOIL COD FISH. 

Crimped cod is preferable to the plain ; 
it is' likewise better cut in slices than 
cooked whole ; to boil it well, have the 
water ready boiling with one pound of salt 
to every six quarts ; put in your fish, draw 
your fish-kettle to the corner of the fire, 
where let it simmer slowly from twenty 
minutes to half an hour; when done, 
the bone in the centre will draw out 
easily ; if boiled too much, it would eat 
tough and stringy ; should the fish not 
be crimped, add more salt to the water, 
it will cause the fish to eat firmer. 

128. COD FISH WITH OYSTEE SAUCE. 

Boil three slices of the fish as above, 
drain and dress them upon a dish with- 
out a napkin, blanch three dozen oys- 
ters, by putting them into a stewpan, 



with their juice, upon the fire, move 
them round occasionally, do not let them 
boil; as soon as they become a lit- 
tle firm, place a, sieve over a basin, 
pour in the oysters, beard them, put the 
liquor again into the stewpan ; when 
boiling, add two cloves, half a blade of 
mace, six peppercorns, and two ounces of 
butter, to which you have added a table- 
spoonful of flour, breaking it into small 
pieces, stir well together, when boiling, 
season with a little salt, cayenne pepper, 
and essence of anchovies ; finish with a 
gill of cream or' milk, add the oysters, 
and sauce over. The remains of the fish 
may be taken from the bone and placed 
upon a dish, with a little of the above 
sauce (to which you have added the 
yolks of two eggs), then sprinkle over 
with bread-crumbs, and place it twenty 
minutes in a hot oven till the bread- 
crumbs become brown. 

124 COD SOUNDS. EAGOUT. 

The sounds should not be much soaked, 
but thoroughly cleaned. Simmer them 
for a short time, broil them, having first 
floured them ; when they are just tender, 
stew them in white gravy which has 
been well seasoned, add a little cream, a 
bit of butter, a spoonful of flour, give it 

boil, flavor with nutmeg^a small piece 
of lemon-peel, and a dash of pounded 
mace; serve. 

125.-SLICES OF COD. 
Three slices make a small dish ; put 
them in a baking-dish, cover them over 
with some go'od second stock, a little es- 
sence of anchovies ; when done thicken 
the stock, and pass it through a ttlmmy, 
pour it over your fish, season with cay- 
enne pepper, and salt, and lemon juice ; 
if for capers add them, if for maitre 
d'hotel, add cream and parsley chopped 
fine. 

126. CODFISH AU GEATIN. 

This is the best mode of using the re 



FISH. 



191 



mains of a ' dressed codfish. Put some 
cold oyster-sauce at the bottom of a pie- 
dish, then a layer of the codfish (season- 
ed with pepper, salt, and an atom of 
nutmeg), with any of the liver and 
sound that remains ; then repeat the lay- 
ers of sauce and fish until the dish is full ; 
cover it with bread-crumbs, sprinkle a 
little butter over, and bake for about 
half an hour. 

127. COD OMELETTE. 

Break into small pieces the thickest 
parts of a dressed cod, season it with a 
little grated nutmeg and a little pounded 
mace, beat up. six eggs well and mix with 
it, forming it into a paste, fry it as an 
omelette, and serve as hot as possible. 

128. FISH CAKE. 

Take the meat from the bones of any 
kind of cold fish, which latjer put with 
the head and fins into* a stewpan with a 
pint of water, a little salt, pepper, an on- 
ion, and a fagot of sweet herbs to stew 
for gravy. Mince the meat, and mix it 
well with crumbs of bread and cold po- 
tatoes (equal parts), a little parsley and 
seasoning. Make into a cake, with the 
white of an egg, or a little butter or 
milk ; egg it over and cover with bread- 
crumbs, then fry a little brown. Pour 
the gravy over, and stew gently fifteen 
minutes, stirring it carefully twice or 
thrice. Serve hot, and garnish with 
slices of lemon, or parsley. 



129. TO COOK SHEEPSHEAD. 

Rub it with salt and lemon before put- 




Fried Whiting. 
ting it into the water. To every six 



quarts of water add one pound of salt 
Boil a twenty pound fish twenty min- 
utes. Serve on a napkin ; garnish with 
parsley, and eat it with shrirtp or lob- 
ster sauce. 

130. WHITING AND GEATIN. 

Skin the whitings, and turn their tails 
into their mouths ; put them into a but- 
tered saut6pan, with a table-spoonful of 
chopped onions and four of brofvn sauce 
over each; sprinkle over them bread- 
crumbs and butter, and bake in a mode- 
rate oven half an hour. Dress them on 
a dish without a napkin. Put twelve 
table-spoonfuls more brown sauce into 
the pan. with a tea-spoonful of chopped 
mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, one 
of essence of anchovy ; pepper, salt, and 
sugar a little ; pour round the dish, and 
brown it with a salamander. 

131. HALIBUT. 

Halibut should be cut into slices of 
four pounds each, and may be baked or 
fried. The skin on the back must be 
scored. When baked, use a sufficient 
quantity of butter to keep it moist. If 
boiled, lay it in the kettle on a strainer, 
cover it with salted water ; boil it slowly 
half or three-quarters of an hour and skim 
it well. Garnish it with horseradish, 
serve it with melted butter. To fry hal- 
ibut, cut it in slices less than an inch 
thick ; and with this, as with all other 
fish, take care to have plenty of butter, 
lard, or oil in the pan, and that it be hot 
before the fish is put in. 

182. HALIBUT STEWED. 

Put into a stewpan half a pint of fjsh 
broth, a table-spoonful of vinegar, and 
one of mushroom ketchup ; add an ancho- 
vy, two good-sized onions cut in quarters, 
a bunch of sweet herbs, and one clove of 
garlic ; add a pint and a half of water, 
let it stew an hour and a Quarter, strain 



192 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



it off clear, put into it the head and 
shoulders of a fine halibut and stew un- 
til tender ; thicken with butter and flour, 
and serve* 

133. TO COLLOP HALIBUT. 

Cut the fish into nice cutlets of about 
an inch thick and fry them ; then put 
them into a broth made of the bones, 
four onions, a stick of celery, and a bun- 
dle of sweet herbs boiled together for 
half an hour. Strain this broth, thicken 
it, and stew the fish for half an hour, 
adding salt, pepper, a grating of nutmeg 
and pounded mace, a spoonful of soy or 
fish-sauce, and half that quantity of lem- 
on juice with a little shred lemon peel. 

134. HALIBUT A LA CEEME. 

Bub the halibut with salt and lemon ; 
put it to boil in a kettle, allowing one 
ounce of salt to every six quarts of wa- 
ter ; simmer oven, a moderate fire. A 
halibut of eight pounds should simmer 
twenty minutes or more. When it be- 
gins to crack slightly, lift it with a drain- 
er, and dish it without a napkin, having 
it first carefully drained, and absorbing 
the water that runs from the fish with a 
napkin. Put one pint of cream on the 
fire in a stewpan, and when near simmer- 
ing add half a pound of fresh butter ; stir 
it quickly till the butter is melted, but do 
not let the cream. boil ; add three yolks 
of eggs, season with salt, pepper and lem- 
on juice ; pour as much over the halibut 
as will cover it, and serve the remainder 
in a boat. Or, if preferred, dish the fish 
on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and 
serve the sauce in a boat. This sauce 
must not be made until the moment it is 
panted. 

185. TO DEY HADDOCK. 
Choose the finest you can obtain; 
clean them, remove the eyes, the entrails, 
and the gills ; clear away also all the 



blood from the backbone. Wipe them 
as dry as you can with a clean soft cloth, 
and fill in with salt the spaces which con- 
tained the eyes ; also rub in a quantity 
in the inside of the fish ; lay them in a 
cool place on a dry flag -stone, or a piece 
of board for eighteen or twenty hours, 
then hang them in a dry place. Foiir 
days will be found quite sufficient to pre- 
pare them for eating. 

136. TO DEES8 DEIED HADDOCK. 

They should be skinned, rubbed with 
egg, and rolled in new bread-crumbs ; lay 
them in a dish before the fire to brown, 
baste with butter, and when well brown- 
ed serve with egg sauce. 

137. TO DEESS HADDOCK. 

Clean them very thoroughly, and take 
off the heads and the skin ; put them 
into boiling, water, throw in two moder- 
ate-sized handfuls of salt ; let them boil 
as fast as possible, and when they rise to 
the surface (which they will do, if they 
have sufficient room), they are done 
enough. They are sent to table with 
plain butter for sauce. 

138. BAKED HADDOCK (Soycr's.) 

Fill the interior of the fish with veal 
stuffing; sew it up with packthread, and 
truss it with the tail in its mouth, rub a 
piece of butter over the back, or egg and 
bread-crumb it over; set it on a baking- 
dish, which put in a moderate oven to 
bake ; a common haddock would require 
but half an hour. The better plan is to 
run the point of a knife down to the back- 
bone, from which if the flesh parts easily, 
it is done ; dress it upon a dish without 
a napkin, and serve a sauce round. 

189. TO BAKE HADDOCK. 

Cut off the heads, trim and bone them, 

season with pepper and salt ; chop very 

fine a small quantity of mushroom, onion 

and parsley ; spread it over the fish, la;y 



FISH. 



193 



on them small pieces of butter, arid place 
them in a dish with crumbs of bread ; 
bake them from fifty minutes to an hour ; 
gkim the gravy, and serve up in the same 
dish as that in which it was cooked. 

140. HEEEINGS. 

Herrings are dressed in a variety of 
fashions ; they are fried, boiled, broiled, 
dried, potted, baked, smoked pickled. 

There are three sorts of herrings, fresh, 
salted, and red herrings ; they are cleaned 
like any other sort of fish ; when fresh 
they are boiled and served with melted 
butter, white sauce, &c. ; the salted her- 
ring should be soaked in cold water be- 
fore it is cooked ; this is broiled. Some- 
times it is cut in pieces and eaten raw ; 
the red herring is split down the back, 
the head and tail taken off, and the fish 
broiled like the others ; they may be also 
dressed in the following manner : when 
they have lain in cold water some time, 
soak them in milk for two hours ; then 
split them down the back; have ready 
some melted butter in which have been 
mixed basil and bay leaf minced small ; 
the yolks of two eggs, pepper and nut- 
meg; rub the herrings well with this 
bread, then broil them over a gentle fire, 
serve with lemon juice ; the best red her- 
rings are full of roe, are firm and large, 
* and have a yellow cast ; of the fresh her- 
rings the scales are bright ; if good, the 



eye is full and 
should be stiff. 



the gill red; the fish 



141. FEESH HEEEINGS BAKED. 
"Wash the herrings in clear spring wa- 
ter ; when they are thoroughly clean drain 
them, and then, without wiping them, lay 
them in a dish or baking pan ; pepper 
and salt them ; chop finely two or three 
onions, some parsley, thyme, and strew 



They should be kept in the pickle, and 
make a pleasant dish when cold. 

142.-TO POT HEEEINGS. 

Take from one to two dozen herrings, 
according to the number you purpose 
potting ; choose them as large, fine, and 
fresh as you can. Take two ounces of 
salt, one of saltpetre, two of allspice ; re- 
duce them to an impalpable powder, and 
rub them well into the herrings ; let 
them remain with the spice upon them 
eight hours to drain ; wipe off the spice 
clean, and lay them in a pan on which 
butter has been rubbed; season with 
nutmeg, mace, white pepper, salt, and one 
clove in powder, one ounce each, save the 
last ; lay in two or three bay leaves, cov- 

r with butter, and bake gently three 
hours. 

When cool, drain off the liquor, pack 
the fish in the pots intended for their use, 
cover to the depth of half an inch with 

larified butter, sufficiently melted just 

;o run, but do not permit it to be hot ; 
they will be ready for eating in two days. 

143. POTTED HEEEING. 

Take off the heads and tails ; clean the 
fish and shake salt on them to draw out 
the blood ; leave them one night, then 
rub them with black pepper and allspice. 
Pack them in a tin pan ; put slices of 
onions and bay leaves between the layers, 
and pour on vinegar enough to cover 
them. Lay over them a sheet of butter- 
ed paper, or a crust of oatmeal bread; 
bake them till the bones are dissolved 
A little mace, whole pepper, and butter 
improve them. 

144. TO STEW MACKEEEL (Now "Way.) 

Take off the heads, the fins, the tails. 



over them ; cover them with equal propor- 
tions of vinegar and small beer ; tie them 
over, and let them bake one hour in a 
slow oven. 



and, having opened the fish, and taken 
out all the hard roes, dry them with a 
cloth, and dredge them lightly with 
flour ; place three or four of them in a 



194 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



stewpan, with a lump of butter the size 
of a walnut, to each fish;. put into a 
small basin a teacupful of water, a table- 
spoonful of finely chopped onions, the 
same of chopped parsley, a blade or two 
of mace, a little pepper and salt, a table- 
spoonful of anchovy essence, and a small 
teacupful of ale or porter (if not bitter). 
Add a tablespoonful of grated bread-crust, 
not burnt, but a light brown : pour all 
these ingredients over the fish, and let 
them stew gently for twenty minutes ; 
have ready the yolks of three eggs, well 
beaten, and when the fish is sufficiently 
done, take some of the gravy and mix 
gradually with the eggs, and, pouring 
them on the fish, shake the stewpan a 
little over the fire to thicken the whole, 
but not to curdle the eggs ; the soft roes 
added are an improvement : have ready 
more grated crust, and having placed the 
fish whole in the dish, shake a little of 
the grated crust over the whole, so as to 
make it of a handsome brown. The re- 
ceipt requires to be carefully followed. 
If the gravy is too thick, more water 
may be added ; also a glass of sherry, if 
liked. 

146. MACKEEEL 

Are generally served up plain boiled ; 
put them in a kettle containing enough 
boiling water according to the number, 
well salted ; let simmer nearly half an 
hour, take them up, drain, and dish them 
upon a napkin ; serve melted butter in a 
boat, with which you have mixed a table- 
spoonful of chopped fennel, boiling it a 
few minutes. 

146. MACKEREL. 

Cleanse the fish thoroughly inside and 
out, remove the roe carefully, steep it in 
vinegar and water, and replace it ; place 
the fish in water from which the chill 
has been taken, and boil very slowly, 
from fifteen to twenty minutes ; the best 
criterion is to be found in the starting of 



the eyes and splitting of the tail, when 
that takes place the fish is done ; take it 
out of the water instantly, or you will 
not preserve it whole. Garnish with 
fennel or parsley, and serve up as sauce, 
either, chopped fine in melted butter. 
Gooseberry sauce is occasionally sent to 
table, but it does not suit every palate. 

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

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

To Broil. Split them down the back, 
rub the inside with a little vinegar 
sprinkled with pepper and salt, flour 
them, broil on a quick fire, and serve 
them up with melted butter, parsley, 
fennel, or lemon sauce. Or, if intended 
for breakfast, send up the fish plainly 
Iroiled without condiments or sauce, and 
merely rubbed, when done, with a bit of 
butter. 



147. TO EOAST SHAD (Sea-shore Eeceipt.) 
Split your fish down the back after he 
is cleansed and washed ; nail the halves 
on shingles or shortboard ; stick them 
erect in the sand round a large fire ; as 
soon as they are well browned, serve on 
whatever you have ; eat with cold butter, 
black pepper, salt, and a good appetite. 
(This is a delicious way of cooking this 
fish.) 



FISH. 



195 



148. FOE PEESEEVING SHAD. 
l 

Place the shad, cleaned and washed, 
on a layer of salt in the bottom of the 
vessel, alternating the layers of shad and 
salt ; the salt covering the top ones. 
Leave them twenty-four hours; then 
take them out and wipe them dry. For 
fifty shad, make a pickle of quarter of a 
pound of saltpetre and a pound of brown 
sugar mixed with salt enough to cure the 
fish ; put the shad in alternate layers 
with this dry preparation ; and put them 
away. When a shad is taken out to 
cook, it should be soaked a few hours 
before broiling. 

149. TO BEOIL A SHAD. 

Shad should be well washed and dried. 
It may be cut in half and broiled, or you 
may split it open and lay a small quan- 
tity of salt over it, and lay it upon a grid- 
iron well buttered. It will broil in 
about twenty minutes, and should be 
thoroughly done. Melted butter may 
be served in a sauce-boat with it. Shad 
is even more palatable when baked than 
broiled. To lake Shad it should be stuff- 
ed with mashed potatoes and chopped 
parsley. Lay it in the oven on a pan 
which is well covered with butter 
chopped in pieces ; baste the fish with 
the butter and add fresh quantities as 
fast as it is absorbed. Half or three- 
quarters of a pound of butter should be 
used for large-sized shad. 

150. TO EOAST PIKE (Soycr.) 
This fish, in France, is found daily on 
.the tables of the fish epicures. It is 
usually baked, when dressed plain. 
Having cleaned the fish, stuff it, and sew 
the belly up; butter -a saucepan, (a shal- 
low frying-pan,) put the fish into it, and 
place it in the oven for an?' hour or more, 
according to the size ; when done, dish 
it without a napkin, and pour anchovy 
sauce round it. The fish, before baking, 



should be trussed with its tail in its 
mouth, and have four incisions cut in 
each side, and well buttered over. 

151. FISH CAKES. 

Cold boiled fresh fish, or salt codfish 
is nice minced fine, with potatoes, moist> 
ened with a little water, and a little 
butter put in, done up into cakes of the 
size of common biscuit, and fried brown 

in pork-fat or butter. 



152. TO COOK CAEP. 

Scour a fresh caught carp, and rub 
clean with salt and water ; but scale him 
not; open him, and put him. with his 
blood and liver into a small pot; take a 
handful of sweet marjoram, thyme, or 
parsley, a sprig of rosemary and another 
of savory. Bind them in small bundles, 
and add them to the carp, with four or 
five whole onions, twenty pickled oysters, 
and three anchovies. Pour on claret 
wine enough to cover the carp, seasoned 
with salt, cloves, mace and lemon-peel. 
Cover the pot, and set it on a quick fire. 
When done, take out the carp, lay it 
with the broth into a dish. Pour over 
it a quarter of a pound of butter, melted 
and beaten with six spoonfuls of the 
broth, the yolks of two or three eggs, 
and some of the herbs shred ; garnish 
the dish with lemons, and serve up, and 
much good to you. 

153. TO COOK TEOUT. 
(Frank Forrester's Method.) 

This is the method of the woods, and 
in the woods I learned it: The trout 
must be cooked in the open air, by a 
wood fire on the ground, or a charcoal 
fire in a small Boston furnace. 

Clean and scale your fish ; open, clean 
and wash the inside ; for a pound fish 
take two small -skewers of red cedar 
wood ; upon each thread a piece of fat 
salt pork half an inch square; with 



196 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



these fasten the belly of the fish asun- 
der, annex him by the tail to a twig of 
pliant wood, which suffer to bend over 
the fire so as to bring the fish opposite 
to the blaze ; place a large biscuit, or 
a thin slice of dry toast, under the drip 
of the gravy ; cook quickly. For a two 
pound fish ten minutes will suffice j dish 
with the biscuit under him, and eat with 
salt and lemon-juice, or with shrimp or 
lobster sauce ; or a dash of Worcester- 
shire or Harvey sauce ; though I think 
these bad taste. 

154. TO DEESS PICKEEEL (Nobbs.) 

Open and rub the fish within with salt 
and claret wine ; save the milt and a little 
of the bloody fat ; cut him in two or three 
pieces, and put him into boiling water, 
with sweet marjoram, savory, thyme, or 
fennel, and a good handful of salt. Boil 
nearly half an hour. For the sauce, take 
butter, anchovies, horseradish, claret 
wine, a little of the blood, shalot, or gar- 
lic, and lemcn sliced ; beat all together, 
and serve. 

155. STEWED CAEP. 

Three carps will make a dish; put 
them in a baking-dish, cut up in thin 
pieces a carrot, turnip, onion, celery, a 
fagot of sweet herbs, a bay-leaf, a little 
mace, six cloves, whole pepper, some 
good second stock, six anchovies, half a 
pint of port wine ; boil all this together, 
pour it over the carp while hot, put but- 
tered paper over them, do them in the 
oven ; when done, strain off the stock 
from the fish and thicken it, strain it 
through a tammy, add a glass more port 
wine, season it with sugar, lemon-juice, 
cayenne pepper, and salt. 

156. SOLES, FEIED. 

Have about four pounds of lard or 
clean fat in a small fish-kettle, which 
place over a moderate fire ; cut off the 
fins of the sole, and dip it into flour, 



skake part of the flour off, have an egg 
well beaten upon a plate, with which 
brush the fish all over, and cover it with 
fine bread-crumbs ; ascertain if the lard 
is hot, by throwing in a few bread- 
crumbs ; it will hiss if sufficiently hot ; 
put in the fish, which will require nearly 
ten minutes' cooking, and ought to be 
perfectly crisp ; drain it on a cloth, dish 
upon a napkin, garnish with parsley, and 
serve with shrimp sauce in a boat. 

The above quantity of lard or fat, if 
carefully used and not burnt, would do 
for several occasions, by straining it off 
each time after using. All kinds of fish, 
such as eels, smelts, whitings, flounders, 
perch, gudgeons, &c., are fried precisely 
in the same manner. Regulate the time 
according to the size of your fish. 

157. PIKE. 

Clean and stuff the interior as directed 
for haddocks, only adding some fillets of 
anchovies, if handy, and chopped lemon- 
peel with it ; curl round and put in a 
baking-dish, spread a little butter all 
over, put in a moderate oven; when 
about half done egg over with a paste- 
brush, and sprinkle bread-crumbs upon 
it ; a middling-sized pike will take about 
an hour, but that according to the size 
and the heat of the oven ; when done, 
dress upon a dish without a napkin, and 
sauce round as directed for baked had- 
dock. 

158. TO FEY SMELTS. 

Dry them slightly in a cloth, and dip 
them in flour; then have half an ounce 
of butter or clear fat melted in a basin, 
into which break the yolk of two eggs, 
with which rub the smelts over with a 
brush, dip them in bread-crumbs, fry in 
very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, 
garnish with parsley, and serve with 
shrimp sauce^n a boat. 

159. BEOILED SMELTS. 

When cleansed and wiped dry with a 



FISH. 



197 



cloth, dip them lightly into flour, and 
put them upon a gridiron over a slow 
fire, for five or six minutes, turning them 
carefully when half done ; serve plain, 
or with 3 little sauce. They are*much 
relished by sick persons. I can highly 
recommend any kind of white fish cook- 
ed in this manner ; and it is well known 
that nothing in the way of food is more 
digestible than fish. 

Wate souchet of flounders, soles, and 
slips may also be served to invalids, by 
proceeding the same as above. 

160. STUEGEON CUTLETS. 

Cut in slices one-quarter inch thick; 
dry, flour, and egg them; dip them in 
crumbs, seasoned with pepper, salt, pars- 
ley, and thyme; fry them, and serve 
with Indian pickle, tomato, or piquant 
sauce. 



161. TO STEW STUEGEON. 
Cut the fish in slices one and a half 
inch thick, dip them in vinegar, dry them 
well, flour, and broil the slices; then 
flour and lay th$m in a stewpan with 
some good broth, and let them stew 
gently until perfectly tender; thicken 
the gravy with butter or cream, add a 
spoonful of Harvey's sauce, one-half a 
glass of wine, and serve it up with ca- 
pers strewed over the top, and garnished 
with slices of lemon. 



162. ECONOMICAL MODE OP COOKING 
STUEGEON. 

Take a piece of sturgeon about two 
pounds' weight, and on sending a piece of 
meat to the baker's to be baked on a 
stand in a dish, put the sturgeon under 
it, with a little water, salt, pepper, &c., 
and a little chopped eschalot may be 
used ; you can also put potatoes round 
it. Peas, if in season, are a good accom- 
paniment, with melted butter. 
13 



163.-SHEIMP TOAST-CEOUTE AUX CEE- 
VELLE3-(French.) 

Boil five pints of shrimps, and as soon 
as they are cold shell them ; take the 
heads and bruise them in a mortar, put 
them into barely a quart of water, and 
let them boil an hour, strain them very 
clear, and add three parts to half the 
quantity of good veal stock. Put into 
a stewpan a lump of butter the size of 
an egg, and when it has commenced to 
bubble, stir in one teaspoonful of flour, 
a little grated nutmeg, a sprinkling of 
cayenne, and a small quantity of mace, 
the fourth of a teaspoonful ; when this 
browns, pour in the stock gradually, add- 
ing a glass of vin fie Bordeaux, and let 
it boil, then add the shrimps, cut oif the 
bottom crust of a French loaf, hollow 
out the crumb, and fry the crust in fresh 
butter until a golden brown ; as soon as 
the shrimps are thoroughly heated, which 
will be in about three or four minutes, 

pour them into the hollowed toast. 

I 

164 SMELTS.-{English). 

This is a very delicate fish, requires 
delicate handling, and is quickly cooked ; 
draw through the gills and wipe with a 
soft cloth, but do not wash them ; dip 
them into the yolk of an egg beaten very 
smooth, and sprinkle them with bread- 
crumbs as finely as they can be powder- 
ed, a little flour may be mixed with the 
bread-crumbs ; fry them a clear light 
brown ; four minutes will suffice to cook 
them. 

The French method of serving is to 
skewer six through the gills with a sil- 
ver skewer, and serve them in sixes. If 
dished, lay them head and tail alternate- 
ly, serve with melted butter and garnish 
with parsley. 

165. TO BAKE SMELTS. 
Prepare as above, and instead of 
strewin'* forcemeat over them, employ 



198 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



only bread crumbs, and moisten with 
clarified butter ; mix in addition to the 
gravy a glass of Madeira, with a dash 
of anchovies; this must be added be- 
fore the smelts are laid in. They will 
be done in ten minutes. 

166. TROUT. 

Scale, gut, clean, dry, and flour, fry 
them in butter until they are a rich clear 
brown, fry some green parsley crisp, and 
make some plain melted butter, put in 
one teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, 
and one glass of white wine ; garnish 
when the trout are dished with the crisp- 
ed parsley and lemon cut in slices ; the 
butter may be poured over the fish, but 
it is most advisable to send it in a but- 
ter tureen. 

167. TO FEY TEOUT. 

Scale, gut, and clean them ; take out 
the gills ; egg and crumb them ; then fry 
in lard or oil until of a light brown. 
Serve with anchovy-sauce and sliced 
lemon. 

188. IN THE FOREIGN MODE. 

Cover the bottom of a small oval pa- 
per form with a few very thin slices of 
fat bacon ; cut down the back some nice- 
ly-washed small trout, and, having re- 
moved the bones, lay the fish open, flat 
upon the- bacon ; sprinkle with chopped 
parsley, pepper, salt, a little mace, and 
two cloves finely pounded. Bake one- 
half hour in a quick oven, and serve in 
paper. 

169 TRUITE A LA GENEVOISE. 

Clean the fish as above, lay them in a 
Btewpan with two glasses of champagne, 
two glasses of sherry, a fagot of parsley, 
an onion stuck with cloves, thyme, pep- 
per, and salt, and a piece of the well 
baked crust of French bread ; stew on a 



quick fire, take out the bread when the 
fish is done, brown it, mix in butter roll- 
ed in flour, and boil up to thicken the 
sauce ; the fish having been taken out 
when done, pour over them the thicken- 
ed sauce, serve with lemon sliced and 
fried bread. 



170. TllUITE 1 LA PEINCESSE EOYALE. 

Take equal parts of Madeira and 
water, and let them come to a boil, having 
emptied, cleansed, washed, and wiped per- 
fectly dry the trout ; lay them in ; they 
should only be just covered with the li- 
quor, and will be done in twenty minutes 
if not boiled too fast ; take out the fish 
and thicken with a piece of butter rolled in 
flour ; add two well beaten eggs with one 
teaspoonful of cream to the sauce, pour- 
ing them from one vessel to another un- 
til they" are of a creamy consistency ; 
season with salt, pour the sauce upon 
the fish, and serve. 



171. TEOUT 1 LA TWICKENHAM. 

When you have cleaned your trout, 
put them into a kettle of boiling water, 
to which you have added a good handful 
of salt, and a wine-glassful of vinegar; 
boil gently abojit twenty minutes, or ac- 
cording to their size ; dress upon a nap- 
kin, and serve melted butter, into which 
you have put a table-spoonful of chopped 
gherkins, two sprigs of chopped parsley, 
salt and pepper, in a boat. 

The remains of trout, salmon, or mack- 
erel, are excellent pickled: put three 
onions in slices in a stewpan, with two 
ounces of butter, one turnip, a bouquet 
of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, pass 
them five minutes over the fire, add a 
pint of water and a pint of vinegar, two 
teaspoonfuls of salt and one of pepper; 
boil until the onions are tender, then 
strain it through a sieve over the fish ; 
it will keep some time if required, and 



FISH. 



199 



then do to pickle more fish by boiling 
aver again. 

1T2. -TROUT STEWED. 

This is a pleasing and delicate fish 
when nicely stewed. It is dressed very 
much in the fashion of other small fish 
stewed, only that it requires perhaps 
more care in the different processes. 

First wash and clean the fish, wipe it 
perfectly dry; put into a stewpan two 
ounces of butter, dredge in as it melts, 
flour, and add grated nutmeg, a little 
mace, and a little cayenne. Stew well, 
and when fluid and thoroughly mixed, 
lay in the fish, which, having suffered to 
slightly brown, cover with a pint of veal 
gravy; throw in a little salt, a small 
fagot of parsley, a few rings of lemon- 
peel ; stew slowly forty minutes ; take 
out the fish, strain the gravy clear and 
pour it over the fish ; it may be strained 
over it ; before however, it is poured over ; 
a glass of bucellas may be added to the 
gravy. 

173. TUEBOT. 

Place the turbot, previously to cook- 
ing, to soak in salt and water in which a 
little vinegar has been poured; lay it 
upon its back in the fish-kettle, fill the 
latter three parts full with cold water, 
throw in a handful of salt, a gill of vine- 
gar, let it boil very gradually, and when 
it boils, add cold water to check ; thirty 
minutes are sufficient to cook it ; serve it 
upon a cloth as boiled with its back to 
the dish ; garnish tastefully with sprigs 
of parsley, and horseradish scraped into 
curls, or with fried smelts, or barberries 
and parsley. Lobster sauce. 

174.-TUEBOT A LA CREME 

Is made from the remains of a turbol 
left from a previous dinner : pick all the 
flesh from the bones, which warm in salt 
and water, and have ready the following 
sauce : put one ounce of flour into a stew- 



pan, to which add by degrees a quart of 
milk, mixing it very smoothly; then 
add two peeled eschalots, a bouquet of 
parsley, a bay-leaf and a sprig of thyme 
tied together ; add a little grated nutmeg, 
a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter ditto 
of pepper ; place it over the fire, stirring 
until it forms a thickish sauce; then 
take it from the fire, stir in a quarter of 
a pound of fresh butter, and pass it 
through a tammy; lay a little of it upon 
the bottom of a convenient-sized dish, 
then a layer of the fish ; season lightly 
with a little white pepper and salt, then 
another layer of sauce, proceeding thus 
until the fish is all used, finishing with 
sauce ; sprinkle a few bread-crumbs over, 
and put it into a warm oven half an hour ; 
brown with the salamander, and serve 
upon the dish it is baked on. Any re- 
mains of boiled fish may be dressed the 
same way. 

175. CRIMPED SALMON 1 LA CREME. 
The salmon, like cod, must be quite 
fresh or it will not crimp. Cut the body 
into slices about two inches thick ; have 
ready some salt and water in the propor- 
tion of three ounces of salt to a quart of 
water, with the smallest knob of salt- 
petre about the size of a nut ; dip the sal- 
mon slices into this as they are cut, hold 
them for half a minute, and then rinse 
them in clear cold spring water, and lay 
them upon a dish ; put a lump of butter 
well rubbed in flour into a stewpan ; while 
the butter is melting sprinkle in a little 
salt and cayenne, and when the butter is 
on the simmer stir in half a pint of cream, 
keep stirring, and as it boils squeeze in 
the juice of a quarter of a lemon, and stir 
in a large teaspoonful of essence of an- 
chovies ; add a little more salt to taste. 

Having boiled the crimped salmon slices 
in quick boiling water ten minutes, take 
them out and let them drain one minute, 
put them in a clean stewpan, and pour 



200 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



over the prepared cream and let it sim- 
mer ten minutes ; it should not if possible 
be suffered to boil. 

The lemon juice is sometimes deferred 
until the fish is removed from the cream, 
a minute's simmer is allowed, and it is 
then all poured over the salmon and sent 
very hot to table. 

176. TO BOIL SALMON. 

(Frank Forrester's own receipt.) 

If you are ever so lucky as to catch a 
salmon, where incontinently you can pro- 
ceed to cook him that is to say, in the 
wilderness, within ten yards of the door 
of your own shantee, with the fire burn- 
ing and the pot boiling good. 

Stun him by a heavy blow on the head ; 
crimp him by a succession of cuts on each 
side, through the muscle, quite down to 
the back-bone, with a very sharp knife, 
in slashes parallel to the gill cover. 
Then place him for ten minutes in a cold 
spring, or under the jet of a waterfall. 
Meanwhile, keep your pot boiling, nay, 
screeching with intense heat, filled with 
brine strong enough to bear an egg. 
Therein immerse him, having cujt out the 
gills, open the belly, and wash the inside ; 
boil him at the rate of seven minutes and 
a half to the pound ; dish him, and serv- 
ing him with no sauce, save a tureenful 
of the water in which he has been boiled, 
proceed to eat him. with no other condi- 
ments than a little salt and the slightest 
squeeze of a lemon. I do not object to 
cucumber sliced very fine, with a dressing 
of oil, three tablespoonfuls to one of vine- 
gar, salt and black pepper to taste ; but 
I regard green peas, or any vegetable, 
with this grand fish, as a Cockney abomi- 
nation. 

ITT.-SOYEK'S KECEIPT-SALMON AU 
NATUEEL. 

Clean and prepare as before ; but if he 
be not fresh enough to crimp, scale him 
and proceed as follows : 



Put your fish in cold water, using a 
pound of salt to every six quarts ; let it 
be well covered, and set it over a moder- 
ate fire; when it begins to simmer, set it 
on one side the fire. If the fish weigh 
four pounds, let it simmer half an hour ; 
if eight, three-quarters, and so on in pro- 
portion ; dish it on a napkin, and serve 
lobster or shrimp sauce in a bowl. 

178. TO BOIL SALMON. 
Salmon is dressed in various ways, but 
chiefly boiled in large pieces of a few 
pounds' weight. The middle piece is 
considered, if not the richest, yet the 
most sightly; then that adjoining the 
jowl; the tail part, though nearly as 
good, being usually kept for steaks. It 
requires great attention, and the boiling 
must be checked more than once ; a piece 
of four to five pounds, will take nearly 
an hour, but if double that weight will 
not require more than twenty minutes 
beyond that time, and if crimped, still 
less will be sufficient : let it, however, 
boil slowly, in the hardest water, on a 
strainer placed in a large fish-kettle, and 
be thoroughly done, for nothing is more 
disgusting than fish that is under- cooked ; 
skim it well, or the color will be bad ; 
the moment it is ready, lift up the strain- 
er and rest it across the kettle, that the 
fish may drain ; cover it with a thick 
cloth. 

179. TO BAKE SALMON. 
Scale it, and take out the bone from 
the part to be dressed, but fill up the 
cavity with forcemeat, and bind the 
piece with tape. Then fiour it, ub it with 
yolk of egg, and put it into a deep baking- 
dish, covering it very thickly with crumbs 
of bread, chopped parsley, and sweet herbs, 
together with shrimps, if they can be got, 
and put into the covering a few small 
bits of fresh butter; place it in a Dutch 
oven, or, if already boiled and thus re- 



FISH. 



201 



dressed, heat it only before the fire until 
browned. 

180. SALMON, PLAIN BOILED (Soyer.) 
I prefer always dressing this fish in 
slices from an inch to two inches in thick- 
ness, boiling it in plenty of salt and water 
about twenty minutes; the whole fish 
may be boiled, or the head and shoulders 
of a large fish, but they require longer 
boiling. Salmon eats firmer by not 
being put into the water until boiling. 
Dress the fish upon a napkin, and serve 
with lobster sauce, shrimp ditto, or 
plain melted butter in a boat with 
fresh sprigs of parsley boiled a few 
minutes in it. A salmon weighing about 
ten pounds will require an hour's gentle 
boiling ; a head and shoulders weighing 
six pounds, half an hour ; the remains 
may be dressed a la cre'me, as directed 
for turbot. 

181. SALMON TO BOIL. 
This fish cannot be too soon cooked 
after being caught ; it should be put into 
a kettle with plenty of cold water, and a 
handful of salt ; the addition of a small 
quantity of vinegar will add to the firm- 
ness of the fish; let it boil gently; if 
four pounds of salmon, fifty minutes will 
suffice; if thick, a few minutes more 
may be allowed. The best criterion for 
ascertaining whether it be done, is to 
pass a knife between the bone and the 
fish ; if it separates readily, it is done ; 
this should be tried in the thickest part ; 
when cooked lay it on the fish strainer 
transversely across the kettle, so that 
the fish while draining may be kept hot. 
Place a fish plate upon the dish on which 
the salmon is to be served ; fold a clean 
white napkin, lay it upon the fish plate, 
and place the salmon upon the napkin. 
Garnish with parsley. 

Sp 

182. BEOILED SALMON. 
Dip each piece in flour, put it on a grid- 
iron, turn occasionally; fifteen minutes 



will give it a nice pale yellow color ; it 
should be served with Dutch, or caper 
sauce. 

188.-SALMON BEOILED. 

Cut the fish in slices from the best 
part, each slice should be an inch thick ; 
season well with pepper and salt ; wrap 
each slice in white paper, which has been 
buttered wih fresh butter ; fasten each 
end by twisting or tying ; broil over a 
very clear fire eight minutes. A coke 
fire, if kept clear and bright is best. Serve 
with butter, anchovy, or tomato sauce. 

184. DRIED SALMON BEOILED. 

Cut and cook as above, save that when 
it is warmed through, it is enough. Serve 
plain for breakfast, or with egg sauce if 
for dinner. 

185. TO DET SALMON. 
Cut the fish down, take out the inside 
and roe, rub the whole with common salt 
after scaling it ; let it hang twenty-four 
hours to drain. Pound three or four 
ounces of saltpetre, according to the size 
of the fish, two ounces of bay salt, and 
two ounces of coarse sugar ; rub these, 
when mixed well, into the salmon, and 
lay it in a large dish or tray two days ; 
then rub it well with common salt, and 
in twenty-four hours more it will be fit 
to dry; wipe it well after draining. Hang 
it either in a wood chimney or in a dry 
place, keeping it open with two small 
sticks. Dried salmon is eaten broiled in 
paper, and only just warmed through, 
egg-sauce and mashed potatoes with it ; 
or it may be boiled, especially the part 
next the head. 

186. TO PICKLE SALMON. -The Newcastle 
Method. 

Put any quantity of salmon into an 
earthen jar ; cover it with equal parts of 
good vinegar and water; add cayenne 
pepper and salt in proportion to the fish, 
and bake if in a moderate oven. This 



202 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



pickle will keep a long time, with the ad- 
dition of a little fresh vinegar ; and if 
mace or oloves be added, with a few bay- 
leaves laid in the mouth of the jar, it will 
be found an improvement. Trout may 
be preserved the same way. Fish thus 
pickled, must not be washed previously, 
but rubbed with a dry cloth. 

Though generally eaten cold, yet in 
Newcastle it is not unfrequently warmed 
up in its pickle-liquor. 

18T.-SALMON TO PICKLE UNDKESSED. 

Scale the fish, rub well with a cloth, 
and scrape away all the blood about the 
backbone, but do not wash it ; cut off the 
head, and divide the fish into pieces about 
six inches long ; then boil the pieces in a 
pickle made of equal parts of vinegar and 
water, with a few cloves and two or 
three blades of mace until done. Skim 
carefully all the time the fish is boiling, 
and when done remove the fish and pour 
the liquor into a jar or tub. so that both 
may become cold; when cold, put the 
fish into the liquor, with one-third more 
vinegar, and some whole pepper. 

188. SALMON POTTED. 

Cut a handsome piece from the middle 
of the salmon; remove the scales, and 
wipe it with a clean cloth. Rub into it 
some common salt thoroughly. 

Beat up some mace, cloves, and whole 
pepper ; season the salmon with it ; place 
it in a pan with a few bay leaves ; cover 
it with butter, and bake it until thorough- 
ly done ; remove it from the gravy, let- 
ting it drain thoroughly, then place it in 
the pots. Clarify sufficient butter to 
cover all the pots after the salmon has 
been put into them ; put it to cool. 

189.-TO PICKLE SALMON. 

Scale, clean, split, and divide into hand- 
some pieces the salmon ; place them in 



the bottom of a stewpan, with just suffi- 
cient water to cover them. 

Put into three quarts of water one pint 
of vinegar, a dozen bay leaves, half that 
quantity of mace, a handful of salt, and 
a fourth part of an ounce of black pepper. 

When the salmon is sufficiently boiled 
remove it, drain it, place it upon a cloth. 
Put in the kettle another layer of salmon ;> 
pour over it the liquor which you have 
prepared, and keep it until the salmon is 
done. Then remove the fish, place it in 
a deep dish or pan, cover it with the pic- 
kle, which, if not sufficiently acid, may 
receive more vinegar and salt, and be 
boiled forty minutes. Let the air be 
kept from the fish, and, if kept for any 
length of time it will be found necessary 
to occasionally drain the liquor from the 
fish ; skim, and boil it. 

190. COLLAKED SALMON. 
Cut off the head and shoulders, and 
the thinnest part of the tail, thus leaving 
the primest part of the salmon to be col- 
lared. Split it, and having washed and 
wiped it well, make a compound of cay- 
enne pepper, white pepper, a little salt, 
and some pounded mace. Rub the fish 
well with this mixture inside and out ; 
roll and bandage with broad tape ; lay 
it in a saucepan ; cover it with water and 
vinegar, one part of the latter to two of 
the former ; add a table-spoonful of pep- 
per, black and white whole, two bay 
leaves, and some salt. Keep the lid 
closed down. Simmer until enough, 
strain off the liquor ; let it cool ; pour 
over the fish when cold, garnish with 
fennel. 

191.-COLLAEED EELS. 

The eels destined to be dressed as 
above should be the finest which can be 
selected : the sjdn must not be removed, 
but the bone must be carefully and cle- 
verly extracted. Spread out the fish, 



FISH. 



203 



and with some finely chopped sage, pars- 
ley, and mixed spices, rub the fish well 
over ; then take some broad white tape, 
bind up the fish tightly ; throw a good 
handful of salt into the water in which 
it is to be boiled, and a couple of bay 
leaves. Boil three-quarters of an hour, 
and if the fish be taken out and hung to 
dry for twelve hours, it will be the better 
for it when served. Add to the water 
in which the fish has been boiled a pint 
of vinegar, a little whole pepper, some 
knotted marjoram or thyme. This pickle 
also should, after boiling about twelve 
minutes, be suffered to stand as long as 
the eels are recommended to be hung ; 
previous to serving, the fish must be un- 
rolled so as to abrase the skin as little as 
possible, and put them into the pickle. 
Send up in slices or whole, according to 
taste ; garnish with parsley. 

192. EELS BEEAD CEUMBED. 

Cut into pieces same length as above, 
cleaned nicely and well dried ; let them 
be coated with yolk of egg, powdered 
with bread crumbs ; fry them brown ; 
serve with parsley and butter. Garnish 
with handsome sprigs of parsley. 

193. SPITCHCOCKED EELS. 
There are several ways to spitchcock 
eels. They are either broiled or stewed. 
To broil them, see that the gridiron is 
cleansed and rubbed with suet, to prevent 
the adhesion of the skin of the fish, 
which must be suffered to remain on; 
cut the eels, which should be large, into 
lengths of six or seven inches, not less, 
and coat them well with yolk of egg. 
Pound in a mortar, parsley, nutmeg, mace, 
cloves, and pepper ; this should be rubbed 
over the fish, and they should be broiled 
a clear brown ; serve with melted butter, 
fish sauce, according to palate. 

194 EELS FKIED. 

Cut your eels into pieces three inches 



long, trim them, dip the pieces into flour, 
egg over with a paste-brush, and throw 
them into some bread-crumbs ; fry in 
hot lard as directed for fried soles. 

195. EELS 1 LA TAETAEE. 

Fry as directed above, and serve on 
some Tartare sauce ; or partly stew first, 
and, when cold, egg, bread-crumb, and 
broil gently. This last I much prefer. 

196. STEWED EELS. 

Procure as large eels as possible, which 
cut into pieces three inches long, and put 
them into a stewpan, with an onion, a 
bouquet of two bay-leaves, a sprig of 
thyme and parsley, six cloves, a blade of 
mace, a glass of sherry, and two of water ; 
place the stewpan over a moderate fire, 
and let simmer about twenty minutes, 
or according to the size of the eels ; when 
done, drain upon a cloth, dress them in 
pyramid upon a dish without a napkin, 
with a matelote sauce over, made as 
directed for salmon sauce matelote, but 
using the stock your eels have been cook- 
ed in to make the sauce, having previous- 
ly well boiled it to extract all the fat 

197. EEL PIE. 

Take six skinned eels, remove tho 
heads, and cut them into pieces four 
inches lojig ; add two dozen oysters, boil 
them together in a very little water ; 
take out the oysters, and bone the eels 
by passing them through a sieve. 

Take six hard boiled eggs, parsley, 
fried herbs, lemon-peel, black pepper, 
salt, mace, nutmeg, and allspice; the 
whole ground very fine; add these to 
the eels and oysters with the broth and a 
bit of fresh butter. ^ 

Take a large, deep dish, of yellow 
earthen ware ; put the mass into it, and 
cover the dish with a fine pastry crust 
Bake it in a very hot oven from half an 
hour to three-quarters according to the 
heat. 



204: 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



198. SHELL FISH. 

Although crabs and lobsters may be 
bought the whole year round, they are 
yet only in high season, from the month 
of July till the close of October. They 
should be always purchased alive. 

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

199. TO BOIL LOBSTERS. 

Put them alive, with their claws tied 
together, into the water when boiling 
hot, and keep it so un.til the fisli' is done, 
which, if of a pound weight, will take 
about a quarter of an hour, and if larger 
will require not quite the same propor- 
tion of time, for if boiled too long the 
meat will be stringy. Many people are 
shocked at the apparent cruelty of thus 
killing them, but death takes place im- 
mediately, and life cannot be taken away 
without pain. * 

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



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




Lobster as served. 
200. TO STEW LOBSTERS. 

Pick the meat out of the shell, put it 
into a stewpan with half a pint of good 
gravy and a glass of claret ; add an onion 
minced fine, some sweet herbs, and pep- 
per and salt, stew till tender ; add a large 
spoonful of mushroom ketchup 3 one of 
essence of anchovy, and a lump of butter 
rolled in flour. Serve hot, and garnish 
with bread sippets. If brought on cold 
as a supper dish, serve in a shape cover- 
ed with clear jelly. 

201. BOILING* LOBSTERS. 

Put the lobsters into boiling water, 
with a little salt, and boil them till they 
are cooked through ; the color of the 
shell is of importance, and is made bright 
by rubbing the shell with sweet oil after 
it is wiped. Split the body and tail 
through, and crack the claws. It is then 
fit to go to the table, where it must be 
cut up fine before eating. A dressing, 
made of salt, mustard, oil, cayenne pep- 
per and vinegar, mixed with the yolk of 
an egg, is usually prepared for it. The 
white of an egg (boiled hard, of course,) 
may be minced fine and strewn over it. 



SHELL-FISH. 



205 



202. LOBSTER CURRIED. 

Take the meat of a fine lobster, or 
two, if they should be small, place in a 
stewpan two dessert-spoonfuls of curry 
powder, add of butter two ounces, an 
onion cut in very fine strips, and three 
large spoonfuls of fish stock. When 
they are stewed well, add the lobster, 
simmer gently for an hour, squeeze in 
half a lemon, season with a little salt. 
In the 'eastern method the expressed 
luice of spinach is usually added. This 
is obtained by simply putting spinach, 
without any water, into a saucepan, and 
when done enough, press out the juice, 
and add it with butter, cayenne, and salt, 
to the gravy. Prawns may be dressed 
in this fashionf 



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



204. GRATIN OF LOBSTER. 

Take out all the meat from a large lob- 
ster, then wash the body, tail, and shells 
if the lobster is first cut in halves down 
the back ; then dry and butter them, and 
sprinkle them with bread crumbs, chop 
up the meat fine, with a little parsley 
and shalot, a few drops of essence of an- 
chovies, a spoonful of vinegar, cayenne 
pepper and salt, a little bechamel sauce, 
and boil all well together ; then add a 
yolk of egg, put it to cool, then fill your 
shells or paper cases, cover it with bread 
crumbs and some pieces of butter, brown 
them in the oven, and dish on a napkin. 



205. LOBSTER SALAD. 

Extract the fish from the shell, place 
it in the centre of the dish in which it is 
to be served, in the form of a pyramid ; 
arrange the salad round tastefully, and 
add salad mixture. This dish is not in- 
frequently garnished with the smallest 
claws of the fish. This is a matter of 
fancy or it may be formed into a heap, 
ornamented with the claws of several 
lobsters. The first row is formed of cut 
cucumbers, the second of eggs boiled 
hard, and each egg split into four pieces, 
and the points laid round the salad ; the 
third and bottom row is composed of 
slices of beet-root and lobster. 

206. LOBSTERS, IN AN ITALIAN SALAD. 

Take two lobsters, cut them into pieces 
by taking off the claws and tail, each of 
which split in two ; the spawn rub 
through a dry sieve to garnish the salad, 
made in the following manner : wash two 
or three cabbage lettuces, cut them in 
large shreds, slice a beet-root and cucum- 
ber, wash, pick, and cut into long shreds 
four anchovies, chop some tan-agon and 
chervil, two boiled eggs, the yolks and 
whites chopped separately ; if you have 
any cauliflowers or French beans, boil 
and put them with the other things to 
garnish. Having every thing prepared, 
place the lettuce in the centre of the 
dish in a heap, and place the lobsters and 
other things according to your taste, and 
just before you serve garnish with Ital- 
ian salad sauce. 

207. -LOBSTER SALAD.-<Soyer's.) 

Dress a border of hard-boiled eggs, as 
directed in salad of game, fill the centre 
with some nice fresh salad, then take the 
flesh from a middling- sized lobster, which 
cut into as large slices as possible, which 
put into a basin, and season with a little 
pepper, salt, oil, and vinegar, after which 
dress them pyramidically upon the salad 



206 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



and have ready the following sauce : put 
the yolks of two fresh eggs in a basin, 
with the yolk of a hard-boiled one rub- 
bed through a sieve ; add half a saltspoou- 
ful of salt, and half that quantity of 
white pepper, and commence stirring 
round with a wooden spoon with the 
right hand, holding a bottle of salad oil 
in the left, dropping it in by degrees 
and continually stirring ; when becoming 
thickish add a couple of spoonfuls of 
common vinegar by degrees, still keep- 
ing it stirred, then more oil, proceeding 
thus until you have used three parts of 
a pint of oil, and a corresponding quan- 
tity of vinegar ; by continually working 
it will form a stiffish cream-looking sauce 
perfectly smooth ; add a little more sea- 
soning if required, and a teaspoonful of 
chopped parsley, with half that quantity 
of chopped eschalots ; pour over the lob- 
ster and serve. Should the sauce curdle 
in making, the operation must be again 
performed, putting a yolk of an egg into 
another basin, working it with a little 
oil until forming a stiffish paste, then 
stir in the curdled sauce by degrees un- 
til the whole becomes smooth ; always 
choose a cool place to make it in. This 
requires a little practice. 



208. ANCHOVIES, ESSENCE OF. 
A pound of the best anchovies, two 
quarts of water, two bay-leaves, some 
whole pepper, a little scraped horse- 
radish, a little thyme, two blades of 
mace, six shalots chopped small, a gill of 
port wine, half the rind of a lemon, a 
gill of ketchup ; boil them together for 
twenty minutes, then rub them through 
a tammy with a wooden spoon ; when 
cold put it into pint bottles, cork them 
close, and keep them in a dry place. 

209. TOAST OF ANCHOVIES. 

Prepare toast; fillet some anchovies, 



pound them in a mortar, add a little but- 
ter well pomnded into it, a little cayenne 
pepper, a few drops of lemon-juice ; take 
it out and spread it on the toast. 

210. ANCHOVIES WITH FEIED BEEAD. 

Cut some bread thin, then cut out with 
a plain paste cutter the quantity you 
require, as you will put one on the other ; 
fry them in lard a very nice brown, then 
fillet and pound anchovies as before ; 
add a little parsley, and a grain of shalot, 
rub all through a fine wire or hair sieve, 
spread one of your toasts rather thick, 
place another piece of bread on the top ; 
have ready some more filleted ancho- 
vies, and garnish each toast, using 
pickles likewise, or parsley. 



211. TO KNOW GOOD ANCHOVIES. 

The best look red and mellow, and the 
bones moist and oily, the flesh high fla- 
vored, and a fine smell ; if the liquor and 
fish become dry, add to it a little beef 
brine. 

212. CHOWDEE-A SAILOE'S DISH. 
Cut salmon, halibut, or any rich 
fish, into steaks an inch thick ; season 
them highly with pepper, salt, and cay- 
enne; put a layer of sliced potatoes 
(raw) in the bottom of the stewpan ; 
then a layer of broken cabin-biscuit; 
next the fish ; then a layer of thin sliced 
ham. Fill the stewpan in this manner ; 
finish with a large piece of butter. Add 
water enough to moisten the whole; 
stew slowly two hours, never stirring, 
but occasionally shaking the pan to pre- 
vent it burning to the bottom. If it 
gets too dry, add a little more water. 

213.-CEAB, 

Though not so well-known as the lob- 
ster, is looked upon by many as being 
a better-flavored fish, and perhaps rather 



SHELL-FISH. 



20T 



more digestible. The female is consider- 
ed inferior to the male, and maj be known 
by the claws being smaller, and the tail 
much wider. The heaviest are usually 
thought to be the best, but those of a 
middling size are the sweetest. If light, 
they are watery ; when in perfection, the 
joints of the legs are stiff, and the 
body has a very agreeable smell. The 
eyes look dead and loose when stale, or 
when the fish have died a natural death. 
They are boiled in the same manner as 
lobster, but require rather longer time, 
and are most usually eaten cold with oil 
and vinegar, as thus : Pick out all the 
fish from the shell, divide it into small 
pieces, mixing the rich part well with the 
rest ; moisten it with salad dressing, and 
return it to the shell with an edge all 
round with sliced lemon. 

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

214 TO BOIL CEABS. 

Having boiled them twenty minutes, 
wipe them, crack the claws, rub the shells 
with oil, and dish them as lobster. To 
cook soft crabs, take away the claws, cut 
them open, and remove the sand bag and 
spongy part ; then put some butter into a 
frying-pan, and do them brown on both 
sides. 

215. TO STEW CEABS. 

Pick the meat carefully out of a large 
crab and its claws ; cut into small pieces, 
mix it with about a fourth part of bread- 
crumbs, and a very small quantity of 
finely shred parsley. Season it well, and 



return it to the shell with some small 
bits of butter here and there, enough, 
when warmed, to keep it moist. Squeeze 
the juice of a lemon over it, or a spoonful 
of lemon-pickle or acid sauce. Put a 
thick layer of crumbs of bread upon the 
top with small bits of butter laid all over 
it, and bake it in the shell before the fire, 
or in the oven. The shell of one crab 
will contain the meat of two. 

Or : Boil them, take the meat out of 
the bodies and the large claws, put it into 
a stewpan with half a pint of claret, a 
spoonful of eschalot-vinegar, a little cay- 
enne, some salt, and a piece of butter : 
let them stew for an hdur over a gentle 
fire, until they are almost dry. Then 
add a small quantity of fish-stock or 
gravy, a table-spoonful of essence of an- 
chovy, and a small piece of butter rolled 
in flour. Serve with sippets of fried 
bread round the dish. 

Another way is to put the meat into a 
stewpan with half a pint of white wine, 
a spoonful of eschalot or garlic vinegar, a 
little parsley and thyme minced fine, the 
yolks of three eggs boiled hard and 
minced small, and some salt and cayenne 
pepper. Let it stew gently till quite 
tender and almost dry ; then add a 
piece of butter, stir it about for a few 
minutes over the fire, wash the shells, 
butter them, put the stewed meat into 
them, and serve on a napkin. 

216. SMALL CEABS AND CEATFISH 
Are made sometimes into soup, but 
more commonly plain, boiled for about a 
quarter of an hour and eaten cold. In 
the lower parts of Germany they are 
eaten hot, with rye-bread and butter, 
and are there a favorite supper dish in 
the heat of summer. 

21T.-TO STEW CEAYFISH. 
Boil them in salt and water, pick the 
meat out of the tails and claws, put them 



208 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



into a stewpan with a little butter, some 
mushrooms, and truffles; moisten them 
with a little fish-stock, and simmer a 
short time over a gentle fire. When 
nearly done, beat the yolks of two or 
three eggs with a teacupful of cream and 
a little chopped parsley ; let all stew to- 
gether for a few minutes, stirring it all 
the time, and serve up in a deep dish. 

218.-SOFT SHELLED CEABS. 

Fry the crabs in lard, having taken off 
the spongy substance, and the sand bag. 
Crisp parsley in the fat after they come 
out, and add pepper and salt and rich 
milk, for the gravy. 

219. TEEEAPINS. 

Put them in boiling water to kill 
them ; then skin them and take off the 
nails, wash and put them on again to 
boil, adding a teaspoon 'of salt to every 
two. "When tender, remove the shells, 
sand bags, and gall, carefully ; cut up the 
meat, season it with pepper, mace, and 
nutmeg, and put it in a stewpan with 
the juice that has come out, and for 
every two terrapins, four ounces of 
butter in flour, a glass of white wine and 
the yolks of two eggs beaten. The wine 
and eggs to be added after the whole is 
stewed perfectly tender. 

220. CEABS MINCED. 

Remove the meat, mince small and 
place in a saucepan with a wineglassful 
of white wine, pepper and salt, nutmeg, 
cayenne pepper, and two table-spoonfuls 
of vinegar. Let it stew for ten minutes ; 
melt a piece of butter the size of a hen's 
egg, with an anchovy and the yolks of 
two eggs ; beat up and mix well, stir in 
with the crab, and add sufficient stale 
bread-crumbs to thicken. Garnish with 
thin toast cut with a pastry leaf-cutter, or 
with the claws, and parsley. Lobster 
may be dressed in the same manner. 



221. CEAYFISH BUTTEE. 

Take tfce shells of twenty-four cray- 
fish, clean them well from skin and 
fibre, put them into an oven to dry, with- 
out burning or browning, until they can 
be beaten to a fine powder; mix the 
powder very well with three ounces of 
fresh butter, then put it into a stewpan 
with a spoonful of hot water, mixing it 
well together; then squeeze the whola 
through a tamis over a stewpan of boil- 
ing water ; skim and butter off into a 
basin of cold water, that it may set; 
when cold press it in a napkin. 

It forms a beautiful coloring addition 
to many kinds of dishes, fish especially, 
and, when mixed with the meat pounded 
after being taken from the shells, makes 
fine sauce". 

222. OTSTEES 

Depend very much for goodness upon 
the beds from which they have been 
taken. There are several kinds. 

They all come into season, according 
to an old saying, " so long as there is an 
R in the month." They are, however, 
not perfectly good until the beginning of 
October, and should go out at the end of 
March. 

When the fish is alive and strong, the 
shell closes on the knife. They should 
be eaten as opened, the flavor becoming 
poor if long exposed to the air. 

223.-TO SCALLOP OYSTEES. 

Take twelve of the smaller sort, beard 
them, cut out the hard part which ad- 
heres to their shells, and leave them in 
their liquor ; have ready a quantity of 
crumbs of fresh bread, not too finely 
grated, and mixed with a little pepper 
and salt; then grease a scallop-shell, 
strew upon it some of the crumbs with 
bits of butter, and lay upon them a layer 
of the oysters ; then crumbs, bits of 
butter, and oysters, layer upon layer, 



SHELL-FIEH. 



209 



until the shell is filled up ; cover it with 
a thick coating of the crumbs well but- 
tered, and brown it in a Dutch oven. A 
dozen oysters, with a proper quantity of 
crumbs, will fill up the largest scallop- 
shell, and take an hour to be thoroughly 
done. 

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

224. TO SCALLOP OYSTEES. 

For one hundred oysters, take four 
eggs, boiled hard, and chopped very fine ; 
mix them with a sixpenny loaf crumbled 
or grated, and add pepper and salt to 
taste. Put some of the mixture in the 
bottom of a pie dish, and lay on it light- 
ly a layer of oysters, previously rinsed 
and drained j add a few bits of butter, 
then cover the oysters with a layer of 
bread-crumbs and eggs; another layer 
of oysters, and so on ; covering the top 
with bread-crumbs. Bake it three-quar- 
ters of an hour. 

225. TO MAKE OYSTEE FEITTEES. 
Make a batter with milk, flour, and 
eggs, beaten light. Have some lard quite 
hot ; dip out a tablespoonful of the bat- 
ter, put an oyster into it, and let it down 
into the boiling lard carefully and fry it 
on both sides*. This is a better plan than 
mixing the oysters and batter together. 

226. TO BEOIL OYSTEES. 

Take them from the shells, bearc 
them, and put them with their liquor 
into tin shapes made to imitate scallops, 
six in a shell (not more), with a little 
pepper and butter. Put the shells upon 
a gridiron over a good fire, and serve 
them when plump and quite hgt. They 
are delicious this way ; but to be eaten 
in perfection should be cooked in the 



room where they are eaten. Squeeze a 
ittle lemon-juice over them when they 

come from the fire. 

Or : They may be put singly in their 

under shells along with their own liq^pr, a 
ittle minced parsley and spice, and a bit 

of butter, and thus put upon the gridiron, 

to be taken off when thoroughly heated. 

22T. WITH WHITE SAUCE. 

Beard the oysters, wash them in their 
own liquor, then strain it, thicken it with 
melted butter, or white sauce made of 
cream, not milk, and flour ; season it with 
a blade of mace and a few whole pepper- 
corns tied in a muslin bag. Simmer the 
oysters very gently, and serve up with 
sippets of bread : they will require only 
a few minutes, and if allowed to boil will 
become hard. 

223. WITH BROWN SAUCE. 

Wash the oysters in their liquor, and 
then strain it, add a glass of wine, two 
spoonfuls of beef-gravy, some whole pep- 
per, a little salt, a piece of butter, and a 
spoonful of lemon-juice ; boil the whole, 
stirring it until it is smooth, then put in 
the oysters, and warm or plump them up 
without boiling. 

229. OYSTEE EOLLS. 
Take about a quart of the largest and 
finest oysters you can procure, stew 
them in their own liquor with some pep- 
per, a very little mace, and some green 
onion chopped fine, thicken them with a 
little butter and a dust of flour when 
nearly done enough. Take two French 
rolls of the square sort baked in tins, 
cut a piece off the top, and scoop out the 
greater part of the crumb, fill your roll 
with the oysters and the liquor, and set 
them near the fire on a chafing-dish fill- 
ed with hot coals ; as the liquor soaks in 
fill them with more, or if you have not 
any left, add a little good gravy boiling- 
hot. 



210 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



Or :Let them first soak ; then fasten 
in the top, cover the entire of the roll in 
batter, and bake it in the Dutch oven till 
well browned. 

Or .-Mince the oysters, season them 
only with mace and nutmeg, and fill the 
rolls up with cream or rich white sauce, 
and bake them as above: even one large 
roll will make a nice little dish, and is 
better than the smaller sort. 

280.-OYSTEE SAUSAGES 

May also be made of the larger kind, 
bearded and minced small, together with 
a moderate quantity of beef suet and 
bread-crumbs, to which should be added 
a forcemeat of pounded pork or veal, 
seasoned with spice and put into the 
usual skins. If well seasoned, they will 
keep good for a full week : one pound of 
beef suet shred fine, and the same quan- 
tity of forcemeat, with bread-crumbs, 
should be put to each pint of oysters. 

Or : Take one-half pound of lean 
beef or mutton, three-quarters pound 
of beef suet, two score of oysters beard- 
ed and scalded in their own liquor, then 
dried and all chopped together, adding 
bread-crumbs and yolks of eggs to bind 
the materials. Season well with salt, 
white pepper, mace, and a grate of nut- 
meg ; or if you wish to make it very 
savory, leave out the mace and nutmeg, 
but add a little cayenne, with a minced 
shalot and a spoonful of garlic-vinegar. 
They may be either made as sausages, or 
fried into shapes in the usual way. 

281. OYSTERS A I/IMPERIALS. 

Procure, quite fresh, a barrel of oys- 
ters, packed as for transmission to 
the country. Put into a vessel large 
enough to contain the barrel sufficient 
water, that when the barrel is in, it may 
be covered. Heat the water to a boil ; 
when it is boiling, put in the barrel of 
oysters just as you have received it from 



the oysterseller ; let it boil twelve min- 
utes ; take it out, knock off the head, 
and serve immediately. The flavor of 
the hot oyster will be found delicious. 

282. OYSTER CURRY. 

Blanch and beard six. dozen oys- 
ters, leaving them in their own liquor ; 
then cut two middling-sized onions 
into small dice, and saute them in a 
stewpan, with an ounce of butter ; when 
done, mix in two teaspoonfuls of curry 
powder and one of curry paste, and pass 
all through a tammy it ought to be 
thick ; then add the oysters with their 
liquor, and keep stirring over the fire 
until the oysters become enveloped in a 
thick sauce, which they should be in two 
minutes, when turn them out upon your 
dish, and serve with rice separately. 

283. ROAST OYSTERS. 

Large oysters not opened, a few min- 
utes before they are wanted, put on a 
gridiron over a moderate fire. When 
Hone they will open; do not lose the 
liquor that is in the shell with the oys- 
ter ; send them hot upon a napkin. 

234 AN OYSTER PIE, WITH SWEET- 
BREADS. 

Blanch them and take off the beards, 
separate them from the liquor, blanch 
some throat sweetbread.8, and when cold 
cut them in slices, then lay them and the 
oysters in layers in your -dish, season 
with salt, pepper, a few grains of mace 
and nutmeg; add some thick sauce, a 
little cream, and the oyster liquor, and 
some good veal stock ; bake in a slow 
oven. 

235. BREADED OYSTERS. 

Scoop out the crumb' from a small loaf, 
or some small rolls of bread, and put 
into the cavity oysters stewed with but- 
ter and mace, and a little of their liquor, 
with two or three spoonfuls of rich milk 



SHELL-FISH. 



added as they are done. Put on the top 
of the rolls, the pieces sliced off; set 
them in the oven a few minutes, and 
serve on a dish, hot. 




Stewpan. 



236. STEWED OYSTEES. 

The oysters should be bearded and 
rinsed in their own liquor, which should 
then be strained and thickened with 
flour and butter, and placed with the 
oysters in a stewpan ; add mace, lemon- 
peel cut into threads, some white pepper 
whole ; these ingredients had better be 
confined in a piece of muslin. The stew 
must simmer only ; if it is suffered to 
boil, the oysters will become hard ; serve 
with sippets of bread. This may be 
varied by adding, a glass of wine to the 
liquor, before the oysters are put in and 
warmed. 

23T. SCALLOPED OYSTEES. 

Beard the oysters, wash in their own 
liquor, steep bread-crumbs in the latter, 
put them with the oysters into scallop 
shells, with a bit of butter and season- 
ing of salt, pepper, and a little grated 
nutmeg ; make a paste of bread-crumbs 
and butter; cover, and roast them be- 
fore the fire, or in an oven. 



238. PICKLED OYSTEES IN THE FEENCH 
WAY. (A supper dish.) 

Take four dozen oysters, strain the 
liquor, add six blades of mace, twelve 
peppercorns, a little grated lemon-peel 
and two or three bay-leaves. Put the 
liquor to boil ; when boiling, add the 
oysters for two minutes. (Some per- 
sons put half vinegar, half liquor.] 



When cold, strain off the liquor. Place 
he oysters in a small dish, and garnish 
vith parsley. 

289. PICKLED OYSTEES. 
(By a Lady of New York.) 

Scald the oysters in their liquor, or in 
water with a little salt ; take them out 
with a skimmer, and throw them into 
cold water. Take whole allspice, black 
)epper and mace, and boil it up in the 
iquor in which the oysters were boiled ; 
when it tastes enough of the spices take 
t off. Let the oysters drain on a sieve. 
When the liquor is cold add vinegar to 
taste, and then put in the oysters. 

240. TO DEESS COLD FISH. 

Dip a flat dish in hot water, to prevent 
cracking; smear it with butter, and 
sprinkle white pepper on it ; then a 
thick layer of stale bread, grated fine ; 
a layer of the fish, picked from bones, 
and broken small ; a little melted butter 
prepared without milk poured over 
another layer of bread then of fish, 
with butter as before ; repeated as often 
as required for quantity of fish, and size 
of dish. Smooth the surface with a 
spoon, and sprinkle slightly fine bread, 
mixed with white pepper on the top. 
Place it for twenty or thirty minutes, 
according to thickness, before a brisk 
fire, with a tin shade at back of dish, 
to reflect the heat. Cold washed mut- 
ton may be redressed the same way ; 
first wiping the meat, quite free from 
gravy, in a napkin. 




Is 



Fish Scissors, to trim pan-fish for frying. 
241. CASSEEOLE OF FISH 

a title given, among others, 



by 



212 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



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

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

Or: Take some fish which has been 
dressed, and rub it througn a sieve ; to 
half a pound of fish allow a quarter of a 
pound of bread-crumbs, two eggs well 
beaten, one tablespoonful of essence of an- 
chovies, one of Harvey sauce, and a little 
salt and cayenne pepper ; mix all well to- 
gether, and put it into a mould ; let it boil 
half an hour, and serve it with a good 
fish- sauce in the dish. 

Or : Take half a pint of good gravy, 
with a couple of glasses of wine, two 
tablespoonfuls of anchovy liquor, and 
two of vinegar, seasoned high with cay- 
enne, mustard, salt, and shalot; mince 
the fish, but do not put it in the mortar, 
and either warm it as a fricassee, and 
bring it up in a dish with sippets j or, 
put it into a form, piled up high in the 
centre, cover it with bread-crumbs and 
bits of butter, and brown it with a sala- 
mander. 



242. FISH TURTLE. (English.) 

For this imitation, sturgeon is the 
best material, but, if not in season, cut 
some ling into handsome pieces, and fry 
it ; then boil an equal quantity of skate, 
also cut in pieces j and having cleaned 



and soaked two or three cod-sounds, 
stew them until green, with a little 
spinach, and cut them into pieces ; then 
have a sufficient quantity of good gravy, 
into which the liquor of two or three 
dozen of oysters has been strained ; thick- 
en it with cream or butter ; put it into 
a stewpan with the fish already named, a 
lobster cut in pieces, a spoonful of es- 
sence of anchovies, and a glass of Madeira. 
Warm the whole together, and send it to 
table with a lemon garnish. The sauce 
to this dish must be very rich, and of a 
fine dark color. 



243. FISH 

This is a pretty mode of enclosing a 
fricassee of fish with a potato wall with- 
out a crust of pastry. Mash in a mortar 
as many potatoes as you may want, with 
a good piece of butter ; then, with the 
bowls of two silver spoons, raise a wall 
of it two and a half inches high within the 
rim of the dish to be used. Let the 
upper part be a little thinner than the 
lower; smooth it; and, after brushing 
it all over with egg, put it into the oven 
to become hot, and a little colored. Be- 
fore egging it, the outside may be orna- 
mented with flowers, leaves, &c., by the 
small tin shapes used to cut' paste. 

Beat the whole of a crab picked clean 
from the shell in a marble mortar, with 
white pepper and salt, nutmeg, and a 
very few crumbs of bread ; warm it with 
a little gravy thickened with cream or 
butter and a spoonful of wine, and, when 
thoroughly warmed, add a little lemon- 
juice. Pour it into potato walls pre- 
viously baked, but not covered like a 
pie, and serve it up hot, either browning 
it with the salamander, or covering the 
top with fancifully arranged small claws. 

244 FISH CAKE. 

Cut the meat from the bones, put 



DKESSED FISH. 



213 



them, the head and fins, over the fire to 
stew for gravy, with a pint of water, an 
onion, herbs, popper, and salt. Mince 
the meat, put to it one-third part of 
crumbs of bread, a little minced onion, 
parsley, pepper, salt, and a very small bit 
of mace ; mix well, and make it into a 
cake with white of egg and a little melt- 
ed butter ; cover it with raspings, and fry 
it a pale brown, keeping a plate on the 
top while doing. Then lay it in a stew- 
pan, with the fish gravy, and stew it 
gently a quarter of an hour ; turn it twice, 
but with great care not to break it : cover 
it closely while stewing. 

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



245. FISH-CUTLETS. 

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

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



246. KEDGEREE FOE BEEAKFAST. 

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

247. FEICANDELLES OF FISH. 

Take any quantity that, may be con- 
venient of either dressed or undressed 
fish of firm quality ; skin and bone it ; 
mince it of the size of dice, with a few 
anchovies, say two to each pound, sea- 
soned with mace, cayenne, and a grating 
of nutmeg ; soak the crumb of a French 
roll, one to each pound, in milk, and 
beat it up with the yolks of two eggs to 
each roll, so as to make it into a puree, 
and put the fish into it ; warm the whole 
gently, and add to it a moderate quan- 
tity of cream. 

Put the fish thus prepared into a but- 
tered mould, cover it thickly with bread- 
crumbs, and either bake it in a Dutch 
oven, or warm it before the fire, and 
brown it with the salamander. 

A few o}*sters are an excellent addi- 
tion ; and if wine be employed instead of 
milk, the dish may be dressed in the same 
manner, but rather more highly sea- 
soned. 

248. A MATELOTE OF FISH. (English.) 
Take carp or tench, or both, together 
with an eel and any small fish ; cut them 
into pieces, and put them along with a 
quantity of button-onions into a stewpan 
containing just wine or gravy enough of 
any sort to cover them, and let them 
stew very gently until nearly done ; then 
have ready a couple of minced truffles 
and a good handful of shrimps to mix 
into the sauce, which may be made of 
either white or red wine ; the red may 
be made the more savory, but the white 
wine will be found the most delicate : it 
should be thickened with yolk of egg ? 



214 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



and the dish garnished with sippets of 
fried bread. 

249. KAGOUT OF FISH. 

Take carp, perch, pike, and eels ; clean 
and scale them well, and cut them into 
pieces for serving; put in your stew- 
pan a good-sized piece of butter, let it 
fry to a pale brown, fry some flour in it, 
and add a quart or two of good bouillon 
with a glass or two of red wine, and a 
few cloves and onions. When boiling 
put your ragout into it, let it well boil, 
and add some lemon-juice before serving 
it up. 

250. A VOL-AU-VENT 

Of fish, of any sort, is an elegant side- 
dish when prepared either with meat 
gravy or made up maigre. 

Muscles also make an excellent wl~ 
au-vent. 



251. STEWED FISH, HEBREW FASHION. 

Take three or four parsley-roots, cut 
them into long thin slices, and two or 
three onions also sliced, boil them to- 
gether in a quart of water until quite 
tender ; then flavor it with ground white 
pepper, nutmeg, mace, and a little saffron, 
the juice of two lemons, and a spoonful 
of vinegar. Put in the fish, and let it 
stew for twenty, or thirty minutes ; then 
take it out, strain the gravy, thicken it 
with a little flour and butter, have balls 
made of chopped fish, bread-crumbs, 
spices, and the yolk of one or two eggs 
mixed up together, and drop them into 
the liquor. Let them boil, then put in 
the fish, and serve it up with the balls 
%nd parsley-roots. 



252.-SAUCES FOR FISH. 
The stock for fish sauces should be 
made of the water in which fish has been 
boiled, adding the bones ; fins, &c.,-all well 



stewed down ; when fish is filleted, the 
bones should always be employed in this 
way : Stew them with an onion and a 
little white pepper; strain the broth, 
which will be very rich, thicken it with 
cream, butter, and flour, or roux. and add 
whatever the sauce is to be made of. The 
following may be generally used, accord- 
ing to fancy, for nearly every species of 
fish: 

253. HOESEEADISH SAUCE. 

Stew an onion in a little fish-stock un- 
til it will pulp ; add a teaspoonful of 
grated horseradish, and one or two spoon- 
fuls of essence of anchovies. Beat all to- 
gether over a fire, thicken it with a little 
butter, and finish with a spoonful of lem- 
on pickle or lemon. juice. Vinegar may 
be substituted, in which case it must be 
mixed with the horseradish, and boiled 
with it ; while the lemon, or lemon pic- 
kle, being of a more delicate flavor, should 
only be warmed. 

Or : Scrape the horseradish thin and 
chop it small, or grate it. which is better ; 
warm it in melted butter, adding a spoon- 
ful of mushroom ketchup, and one of wal- 
nut, or the vinegar from walnut-pickle. 

254. FOE ALL SOETS OF FISH. 
t 

Take a spoonful of vinegar, one of In- 
dian soy, the same of mushroom ketchup 
aud Harvey's sauce, with a little cayenne. 
Add three large spoonfuls of melted but- 
ter; stir all well, and heat it over the 
fire. 

Or: Put equal quantities of water 
and vinegar into a saucepan, and thicken 
it with the yolk of an egg to every four 
spoonfuls of the water and vinegar. Make 
it quite hot, but do not boil it ; stir it or 
shake the pan all the time ; season it to 
your liking, and add a spoonful of the 
liquid to every three of melted butter. 

255. WHITE SAUCE. 

Haifa pint of cream } two tablespoonfuls 



SAUCES FOR FISH. 



215 



of mushroom ketchup ; one of essence of 
anchovy, with a little cayenne pepper, 
and an ounce or two of butter rolled in 
flour ; boil all together for five minutes. 

256. BEOWN SAUCE. 
Fry an onion in butter and flour until 
it becomes brown ; then simmer it in a 
glass of port wine, with a tablespoonful 
of soy and walnut ketchup, seasoned with 
salt and cayene ; strain it, and thicken it 
with the necessary quantity of melted 
butter. 

257. ANCHOVY SAUCE. 
To about half a pint of melted butter 
put two tablespoonfuls of good essence of 
anchovies, with the juice of half a lemon. 
Serve very hot. 

258. FENNEL SAUCE. 
This is a sauce principally used for 
boiled mackerel. Make the same quan- 
tity of melted butter as in the last, to 
which add a good tablespoonful of 
chopped fennel ; it is usually served in a 
boat. 

259. BUTTER OF ANCHOVIES. 
To make this butter you must have 
young anchovies. Take them out of the 
pickle and wash them well. Take off the 
bones and head, and then pound them in 
a mortar with fresh butter, till very fine J 
rub this through a hair sieve. Put this 
butter when made, into a pot well cover- 
ed, to use when wanted; observe, how- 
ever, that it soon becomes rank. 

260. EGG SAUCE 
Is generally served with salt fish or 
haddock. Boil six eggs ten minutes ; let 
them get cold ; then cut them in pieces 
about the size of dice ; put them into a 
stewpan with three parts of a pint of 
melted or drawn butter; add an ounce 
more fresh butter, with a little pepper anc 



salt ; keep the stewpan moving round over* 
foe fire until the whole is very hot, and 
serve in a boat. 

261.-CAPEE SAUCE FOE FISH. 
Take some melted butter, into which 
throw a small bit of glaze, and when the 
sauce is in a state of readiness throw into 
t some choice capers, salt and pepper, 
and a spoonful of essence of anchovies. 

262. NEW LOBSTEE SAUCE. 

If you use the 'Solid flesh for salad, 
pound the soft part and shell together (in 
a mortar) very fine, which put into a 
stewpan, covered with a pint of boiling 
water ; place it over the fire to simmer 
for ten minutes, then pass the liquor 
through a hair sieve into a basin; put 
three ounces of butter into a stewpan. 
into which rub (cold) a good tablespoon- 
ful of flour, add the liquor from the lob- 
ster, place it upon the fire, stirring until 
the point of boiling ; season with a little 
cayenne, and add a piece of anchovy but- 
ter, the size of a walnut ; or, if any red 
spawn is in the lobster, mix it with butter, 
as in the last, and add it, with the juice 
of hah " a lemon, just before serving. An 
anchovy pounded with the lobster-shells 
would be an improvement, and part of 
the flesh of the lobster might be served 
in the sauce. 

263. LOBSTEE SAUCE 1 LA CEEME. 

Cut a small lobster into slices the size 
of half-crown pieces, which put into a 
stewpan ; pound the soft and white parts 
with an ounce of butter, and rub it 
through a sieve ; pour ten spoonfuls of 
melted butter, and two of cream, over 
the slices in the stewpan, add half a 
blade of mace, a saltspoonful of salt, a 
quarter ditto of pepper, and a little cay- 
enne ; warm gently, and when upon the 
point of boiling, add the butter and two 
tablespoonfuls of thick cream; shake 



216 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



round over the fire until quite hot, when 
it is ready to serve. 

264 LOBSTER SAUCE SIMPLIFIED. 
Put the slices of lobster into a stew- 
pan, with ten tablespoonfuls of milk; 
add a little pepper, salt, cayenne, two 
cloves, and half a blade of mace ; set it 
upon the fire, and when on the point of 
boiling, add a piece of butter the size of 
two walnuts, with which you have mix- 
ed a little flour ; shake round over the 
fire, and when getting rather thick, add 
two spoonfuls of cream, if at hand, and 
serve very hot. 

265.-LOBSTEE SAUCE.- (French receipt.) 
A hen lobster is indispensable for this 
sauce. Put some of the spawn of the 
fish into a mortar, to be pounded very 
fine ; add to it a small bit of butter. 
"When very fine, rub it through a hair 
sieve, and cover till wanted. Break the 
lobster with great care, cut all the flesh 
into dice, not too small ; dilute some of 
the red spawn in melted butter, with 
two spoonfuls of essence of anchovies, 
a little salt and cayenne pepper, two 
spoonfuls of thick cream, and mix all 
well before the meat is added, as that 
must retain its dice-like form. Do not 
let this sauce boil. It must be very red. 
Add to it a teaspoonful of cavice, and 
observe that the cavice should be very 
old ; two or three years' age renders it 
excellent. 

266. SOYER'S LOBSTER AND SHRIMP 
SAUCE FOR SALMON. 

Lobster. Put twelve spoonfuls of 
melted butter into a stewpan; cut a 
middle-sized hen lobster into dice, make 
one-quarter pound of lobster butter 
with the spawn by pounding it well in a 
mortar, adding one-quarter pound fresh 
butter, and rubbing the mixture through 
a hair sieve ; add this to the melted but- 
ter when just boiling ; stir it over the 



fire till the butter is melted ; season with 
a little essence of anchovy, the juice ol 
half a lemon, and a -quarter of a tea- 
spoonful of cayenne ; pass it through a 
tamis (a coarse flannel) into another 
stewpan ; then add the flesh of the lob- 
ster. Serve it hot. This sauce must be 
red ; if not red hi the lobster, use live 
spawn. 

Shrimp. Make the melted butter as 
above, but finish with essence of shrimps, 
and serve half a pint of pickled shrimps 
in the boat with it; or the anchovy 
sauce may be served with shrimps in it 
as a substitute, if there is no essence of 
shrimps. 

267. SHRIMP SAUCE 
Is also very good as follows : Pound 
half a pint of shrimps, skins and all, in a 
mortar, and boil them ten minutes in 
half a pint of water ; pass the liquor 
through a hair sieve into a stewpan, and 
add a piece of butter the size of two" 
walnuts, with which you have mixed a 
good teaspoonful of flour, stir it round 
over the fire until upon the point of 
boiling ; if too thick, add a little more 
water ; season with a little cayenne and 
a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies ; 
serve very hot ; a few picked shrimps 
might also be served in it. 

268. LOBSTER SAUCE. 

Put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted 
butter in a stewpan, cut up a small-sized 
lobster into dice ; make a quarter of a 
pound of lobster butter with the spawn, 
as directed ; when the melted butter is 
upon the point of boiling, add the lobster 
butter, stir the sauce round over the fire 
until the butter is melted, season with a 
little essence of anchovies, the juice of 
half a lemon, and a quarter of a salt- 
spoonful of cayenne pepper; pass it 
through a tammy into another stewpan, 
and add the flesh of the lobster. This 
sauce must be red. 



SAUCES FOR FISH. 



217 



269. MATELOTE SAUCE. 

For about a pound slice of salmon 
make the following quantity of sauce > 
Peel thirty button onions, and put 
half a teaspoonful of sugar in a quart- 
sized stcwpan, place it over a sharp fire, 
and when melted and getting brown, add 
a piece of butter (the size of two wal- 
nuts) and the onions, toss them over 
now and then until rather brown, then 
add a glass of sherry ; let it boil ; then 
add half a pint of brown sauce and a 
gill of broth ; simmer at the corner of 
the fire until the onions are quite tender ; 
skim it well, and add a few mushrooms, 
if at hand ; season with a little salt and 
sugar, and sauce over any kind of fish 
where described. The addition of a tea- 
spoonful of essence of anchovies is an 
improvement. Use where directed. 

2TO. MATELOTE SAUCE SIMPLIFIED. 

Proceed as above respecting the on- 
ions, only add a fourth more butter, and 
fry them a little browner ; then add a 
glass of sherry and two teaspoonfuls of 
flour, which stir round gently with a 
small wooden spoon ; add to it about a 
pint of water, stir now and then till boil- 
ing, add three saltspoonfuls of salt, two 
of sugar, one of pepper, and a bouquet 
garni ; simmer and skim, add a few drops 
of coloring to give it a nice brown color ; 
when ready to serve, add a good table- 
spoonful of anchovy essence ; it ought to 
adhere lightly to the back of the spoon, 
but not be too thick ; sauce over or un- 
.der, as directed ; small pieces of glaze, 
if thickened with the eggs (great care 
must be exercised, for if it should be- 
come too hot the eggs would curdle, and 
render the sauce useless ;) then add half 
a pint of melted butter ; stir all together 
over the fire 4 . 

271. OYSTEE 8AUQE. 

Blanch three dozen oysters 5 which again 



put into the stewpan, with their liquor 
(after having detached the beards) ; add 
six peppercorns and half a blade of mace ; 
place them over the fire, and when be- 
ginning to simmer, add a piece of butter 
the size of a walnut, with which you 
have mixed sufficient flour to form a 
paste, break it in four or five pieces j 
shake the stewpan round over the fire, 
and when upon the point of boiling, and 
becoming thick, add half a gill of milk, or 
more if required; season with a little 
cayenne, salt, pepper, and a few drops of 
essence of anchovies : serve very hot. 

272. MUSSEL SAUCE. 
Proceed exactly the same as for oyster 
sauce, using only the liquor of the mus- 
sels (not the beards) instead of the 
oysters, and serving the mussels in the 
sauce ; about four dozen would be suffi- 
cient. 

278.-*COD SAUCE. 

Take a bunch of parsley, chervil, two 
shalots, two cloves, a bay-leaf, some 
mushrooms, and a bit of butter, soak all 
together on the fire, adding a small 
spoonful of flour, and milk or cream 
sufficient to boil to the consistence of a 
sauce, and add to it some chopped pars- 
ley first scalded. 

.,* 274 EEL SAUCE. 

Cut the eels into large pieces and put 
them into a stewpan with a few slices of 
bacon, ham, veal, two onions, with all 
sorts of roots; soak it till it catches, 
then add a glass of white wine and good 
broth, a little cullis, three or four tarra- 
gon leaves, chervil, a clove of garlic, two 
of spices, and a bay-leaf; simmer for an 
hour, skim it very well, and sift it in a 
sieve for use. 

275.-SAUCE FOE FISH. 

Twenty-four anchovies chopped; ten 



218 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



eschalots ; two ounces of horseradish, 
scraped ; four blades of mace ; one lemon 
sliced; twelve cloves; quarter of an 
ounce of black pepper, whole ; one gill 
of the anchovy liquor ; one quart of best 
vinegar; one quart of water. Let the 
whole simmer on the fire until reduced to 
one quart, in a covered saucepan ; strain 
and bottle for use. If required for long 
keeping, add a quarter of an ounce of cay- 
enne pepper. 



276. LOBSTER SAUCE. 
Pick the meat from a lobster and cut 
it into small pieces. Break the shell, 
and stew it with the legs, &c., in a pint 
and a half of water, until reduced to the 
quantity required ; then strain ; add 
flour and water to thicken it. Pound 
some of the live spawn from the tail, add- 
ing a little water to it ; when well pound- 
ed pour it by degrees into the sauce ; let 
it boil up ; add fresh butter to it in the 
proportion of three-fourths of a pound 
of butter to a quart of sauce ; throw in 
the lobster : season with a little anchovy, 
cayenne, salt, and a small quantity of 
lemon-juice. It should be thick rather 
than thin. 

Or : Take a cold boiled hen lobster ; 
split the tail, and pound the coral, which 
is found in the tail and in the body, in a 
mortar, adding a little sweet oil. Then 
chop the meat of the body into very small 
pieces, and rub it, along with the soft 
parts and coral, through a sieve. That 
done, cut up the flesh of the claws and 
tail into dice, and stir the entire mixture 
gradually into the proper quantity of 
melted butter, without suffering it to 
boil ; as, if too much heated, the flavor 
and color of the sauce will be injured. 
The seasoning should only be a moderate 
quantity of mace and cayenne, with half 
a glass of white wine, or a cup of cream, 
to a pint tureen of sauce. 



Crab Sauce is made in the same man- 
ner ; but crabs, being without coral, and 
.the flesh less firm than that of lobster, 
form a rather inferior sauce. 

27T. SHEIMP SAUCE. 

Pick the heads and skins from some 
fresh shrimps and stew these offals for 
half an hour in a small quantity of 
boiling water to extract their flavor ; 
then strain the liquor and make use of it 
in melting the butter in which the shell- 
ed shrimps are to be dressed ; these are 
then to be put into the butter and liquor 
to simmer gently for about twenty min- 
utes, in which time they will be suffi- 
ciently done, and their flavor is so deli- 
cate that neither anchovy sauce, mace, 
cayenne pepper, nor any other condiment 
than salt, should be put to them ; add a 
little cream. * 

A pint of unshelled shrimps will make 
a tureen of sauce large enough for four 
or five persons. 



GEAYY, SAUCES, ETC. 

THERE is nothing that requires more 
attention on the part of the cook than the 
sauces which are wanted to all made 
dishes. Where a calf's head or a breast 
of veal is stewed, nothing more will be 
required, as both will yield an abundant 
supply, and it will only be necessary to 
give it the proper flavor with ham, or 
beef-bone, and ketchup. 

GEAYY 

May be made quite as good of the 
skirts of beef, kidney, or of the liver of a 
fat ox, as of any other kind of meat, if 
cut in pieces, fried with onions, and sea- 
soned with herbs and spices, as other 
gravies. - A clever servant will contrive 
to supply at a trifling expense, as much 
gravy as is wanted for the use of a small 



GRAVIES. 



219 



family by stewing down the trimmings 
of meat and bones. It may even be made 
of the shank-bones of legs and shoulders 
of mutton ; they should be thrown into 
water, and, after a good soaking and 
brushing, be long boiled. The water in 
which they are done will add greatly to 
the richness of gravy, as does the jelly of 
cow-heels. The latter must lie all night 
in water, which causes the jelly to be of 
a good color. When boiled three hours, 
and become cold, let the fat be carefully 
taken off; and when apparently quite 
clear, lay some white paper upon it, rub- 
bing it close with a spoon, which will re- 
move every particle of grease, and it will 
be as pure as the jelly of a calf's foot. 

In preparing meat to stew for gravy, 
beat it with a mallet or rolling-pin, and 
score it across in various places, as this 
will make it give out its juices ; season 
it with pepper and salt, and put it into 
a stewpan with butter, only, heating it 
gradually until it becomes brown, but 
shaking the pan frequently to see that it 
does not burn or stick to the bottom. It 
will generally be browned sufficiently in 
half an hour. If kept in a very cool 
place and covered closely in a stone jar, 
it will keep good for two or three days in 
summer, and more than a week in winter, 
but should not be thickened until it is 
meant to be used. 

Tarragon and knotted marjoram, by 
some called " London thyme," are a great 
improvement to gravies, as also all those 
condiments enumerated in the chapter on 
soups, but should be added only a short 
time before serving. 

Truffles and morels also thicken anc 
improve the flavor of gravies and soups 
half an ounce being carefully washed 
of each, simmer them in a pint of water 
and add the whole. 

In the preparation of large dinners for 
company, it is indispensable to procure 
strong gravy to color ami impart flavor 
to sauces and ragouts, and this can be 



lone by using coarse pieces of the lean of 
>eef or veal, and the giblets or trimmings 
f poultry and game, with a small portion 
)f a knuckle of ham ; but for this purpose 
t must be stewed for a long time, skim- 
med, strained, thickened, and afterwards 
lavored with whatever condiments are 
most suited to the dish it is to accompany. 

2T8. STOCK FOE GRAVY. 

A good mode of making stock for gra- 
ies is to cut lean beef thin, put it into a 
jjravy pot without any butter or fat, and 
set it on a fire covered, but take care it 
does not burn ; let it stay till all the gra- 
vy that comes out of the meat is dried up 
into it again, often shaking it; put as 
much water as will cover the meat, and 
let that stew away. Then put to the 
meat a small quantity of water, herbs, 
onions, spice, and a bit of lean ham ; sim- 
mer till it is rich, and keep it in a closet 
refrigerator. Do not take off the fat till 
going to be used. 




Closet Refrigerator. 

Or, an excellent stock may be made in 
this manner : Put into a casserole three 
ounces of butter, four large carrots, six 
middling-sized onions, three roots of pars- 
ley sliced ; a small sprig of thyme ; three 
cloves; three bay-leaves ; two pounds of 
small fresh fish cut fine, with salt, pep- 
per, and one-half a bottle of white (but 
not' sweet) wine, and nearly as much 
broth. Cover close, and simmer until the 



220 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



whole be mashed; strain it through a 
fine sieve. In another casserole stew a 
pint of mushrooms, a little parsley and 
herbs, in half a pint of water, till the 
flavor of all be obtained ; strain both li- 
quors, and heat them together. - 

279 BEEF GRAYT. 

Cut a piece of the cheek or neck into 
pieces ; strew some fiour over it ; mix it 
well with the meat, and put it into the 
saucepan with as much water as will cov- 
er it ; an onion, a little allspice, a little 
pepper, and some salt ; cover it close, and 
when it boils skim it ; then throw in a 
small crust of bread, or raspings, and stew 
it till the gravy is rich and good ; strain 
it off, and pour it into a sauce boat. 

280. GEAYY FOR A HAUNCH OF YENISON. 
Cut off the fat from two or three pounds 
of a loin of old mutton, and set it in 
steaks on a gridiron for a few minutes, 
just to brown one side ; put them into 
a saucepan with a quart of water ; cover 
quite close for an hour, and simmer it 
gently ; then uncover it, and stew till the 
gravy is reduced to a pint ; season with 
salt only. 

231. YEAL GRAVY. 

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



2S2. GRAYY TO MAKE MUTTON EAT 
LIKE YENISON. 

Pick a very stale woodcock or snipe ; 
cut it in pieces (but first take out the 
bag from the entrails), and simmer with 
as much unseasoned meat-gravy as you 
vill want. Strain it and serve in the dish ; 
but if the mutton be not long kept, it 
will not acquire the venison flavor. 

288. YELOUTE. 

Take one pound of veal, with the re- 
mains of a fowl and a dozen full-grown 
mushrooms, or a smaller number of green 
truffles ; heat these in melted butter, or 
beef fat, without browning ; season with 
salt, pepper, nutmeg, or mixed spices, to 
which may be added a couple of carrots 
and onions, with a table-spoonful or two 
of flour. When boiled, skim off the fat, 
and let it simmer for one and a half hours, 
after which strain it, and keep it closely 
stopped for furtker use. 

284. BEEF GRAYY. (French Receipt.) 
Trim with layers of fat bacon the bot- 
tom of a thick stewpan ; cut four large 
onions in halves, and lay the flat part 
over the bacon ; take a few pieces of beef, 
put them in the same manner as in the veal 
gravy ; moisten with the first broth only. 
Let this sweat, to get all tjie gravy out of 
the beefj and when the broth is reduced, 
thrust a knife into the meat ; let it stew 
gently on a slow fire till the gravy is a 
light brown color. Next moisten with 
some broth ; thro^v in a large bunch of 
parsley and of green onions ; a little salt, 
and a peppercorn. Let the whole boil 
for an hour ; take the fat off, and drain 
it through a silken sieve, to use when 
wanted. 

285. GRAYY CLEAR. 

Slice some beef thinly, broil a part of 
it over a very clear, quick fire, just 
enough to give color to the gravy, but 



GRAVIES. 



221 



not to dress it ; put that with the raw 
into a tinned stewpan with a couple of 
onions, one or two cloves, whole black 
pepper, berries of allspice, and a bunch 
of sweet herbs ; cover it with hot water, 
give it one boil, and skim it two or three 
times, then cover it, and let it simmer 
till quite strong. 

286. CUEEY POWDERS. 

One ounce of ginger, the same of cori- 
ander-seed, one-half ounce of cayenne 
pepper, and two ounces of fine pale tur- 
meric ; these ingredients to be pounded 
separately to a fine powder, and then 
warmed by the fire, and mixed together. 
Put the powder into a wide-mouthed 
bottle, cork it well down, and put it into 
a dry place. 

Or : One tablespoonful of coriander- 
seed, one teaspoonml of cumin-seed, the 
same of turmeric and of cayenne pepper, 
anjl one table-spoonful of common flour. 
When to be used mix all these ingredi- 
ents in their several proportions, with 
two table-spoonfuls of lemon-pickle and 
four of cream, adding this mixture to the 
fried onions and butter, &c. 

Or : One and a half ounces of mus- 
tard-seed scorched and finely powdered, 
four ounces of coriander seed powdered, 
four and a half ounces of turmeric, three 
ounces of black pepper, one and a quar- 
ter ounces of cayenne pepper, one ounce 
of the lesser cardamoms, one-half ounce 
of ginger, and one .of cumin-seed, all 
finely powdered. The flavor may be 
varied by the addition of all or any of 
the following ingredients : cinnamon, in 
powder, one ounce ; cloves, ditto, one- 
half ounce ; mace, ditto, one-half ounce. 

28T. CUEEY POWDEE. 
(Kitchiner's tried Eeceipt) 

Dry and reduce to a fine powder the 
following spices : 
Coriander-seed, three ounces, 



Turmeric, three ounces, 

Black pepper, one ounce, 
Mustard, one ounce, . . 

Ginger, one ounce, 

Lesser cardamoms half an ounce, 
Cayenne pepper, a quarter of an ounce, 
Cumin-seed, a quarter of an ounce. 
Thoroughly pound and mix, and keep 
them in a closely stopped bottle. Three 
ounces of the powder steeped ten days 
in a quart of vinegar or white wine, will 
impregnate it with the flavor. 

288. DELHI CUEEY POWDEE. 
Twenty teaspoonfuls of turmeric, 
eight of pounded chilis or cayenne pep- 
per, and twelve each ^of cumin, corian- 
der-seed, and dried cassia-leaves. 

289. A PLAIN CUEEY. 

Put into a fryingpan a piece of butter, 
a small onion cut into pieces, and two 
cloves of garlic ; fry these until brown, 
put the meat to the above, and add the 
curry powder, and sufficient cold water 
to cover the meat, and boil the whole 
gently until the meat is cooked ; then 
add the juice of a lemon, and a little 
salt. 

290. THE ASPIC, A JELLY. 

Take a handful of aromatic herbs, 
such as burnet, chervil, and tarragon. 
Boil them in white vinegar ; when the 
vinegar is well scented, pour into the 
stewpan some consomme of fowl reduc- 
ed; season well before you clarify. 
When the aspic is highly seasoned, break 
the whites of four eggs into an earthen 
pan, and beat them with an osier rod ; 
throw the aspic into the whites of eggs, 
and put the whole on the fire in a stew- 
pan; keep beating or stirring till the 
jelly gets white ; it is then very near boil- 
ing. Put it on the corner of the stove, 
with a cover over it, and a little fire on 
the top of it. When quite clear and 
bright, strain it through a bag, or sieve, 
or napkin, to be used when wanted. 



222 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



N. B. If this is wanted for a mayon- 
aise, or as a jelly in moulds, make sure 
of its. being stiff enough. Then put a 
knuckle of veal in a small stock-pot, a 
small part of a knuckle of ham, and two 
calves' feet, some trimming of fowl or 
game. Season this with onions, carrots, 
and a bunch of herbs well seasoned ; 
pour into it half a bottle of white wine, 
and moisten with good broth ; let it boil 
gently for four hours, then skim away 
all the fat, and drain it through a silken 
sieve ; put that in a stewpan, with two 
spoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, and four 
whites of eggs, salt, and pepper, to 
clarify ; and keep stirring it on the fire 
till the whole becomes very white, then 
put this on the side with a little fire 
over the cover ; when you find it clear, 
drain it in a cloth or jelly-bag, and use 
it for aspic ; if not, do not put in any 
vinegar : jelly for pie or galantine does 
not require acid. 

291. EPICUREAN SAUCE. 
Indian soy, two ounces ; walnut and 
mushroom ketchup, of each eight ounces ; 
port wine, two ounces; white pepper, 
bru^ed, half an ounce; shalots, three 
ounces ; cayenne, a quarter of an ounce ; 
cloves, half an ounce. Macerate for four- 
teen days in a warm place ; strain, and 
add sufficient white wine vinegar to make 
exactly one pint. The above forms a 
piquant sauce for chops, steaks, &c. For 
fish, a little essence of anchovy, and an 
additional quantity of vinegar, should be 
added. 

292. CARRACK OR INDIAN SAUCE FOR 
COLD MEAT. 

Two heads of garlic sliced, five spoon- 
fuls of soy, five spoonfuls of mushroom 
ketchup, eight spoonfuls of walnut pickle, 
fifteen anchovies, or five spoonfuls of es- 
sence of anchovies, three spoonfuls of 
mango pickle, one quart of vinegar mix 



in a bottle and set it in the chimney corner;' 
shake daily for a month. It is excellent 
without the mango. [This is an excel- 
lent sauce, and without the mango would 
be mild.] 

293 -HOT SPICE A DELICIOUS ADJUNCT 
TO CHOPS, STEAKS, GRAVIES, SOUPS, &c. 

Three drachms each of ginger, black 
pepper, and cinnamon ; seven cloves ; 
mace half an ounce ; cayenne one quarter 
of an ounce ; nutmegs one ounce ; white 
pepper, one ounce and a half; mix. The 
quantity of cayenne may be increased, 
should the above not be enough to suit 
the palate. 

294. A RICH GRAYY. 

Cut beef into thin slices, according to 
the quantity wanted ; slice onions thin, 
and flour both ; fry them of a light pale 
brown, but do not on any account suifer 
them to get black : put them into a stew- 
pan, pour boiling water on the browning 
in the frying-pan, boil it up, and pour on 
the meat. Put to it a bunch of parsley, 
thyme, and savory, a small bit of knotted 
marjoram, the same of tarragon, some 
mace, berries of allspice, whole black 
pepper, a clove or two, and a bit of ham, 
or gammon of bacon. Simmer till you 
have extracted all the juices of the meat, 
and be sure to skim the moment it boils, 
and often after. If for a hare, or stewed 
fish, anchovy should be added. 



295. MELTED BUTTER. 

Although it may be presumed that 
every cook who understands her business 
knows how to melt butter, it is yet con- 
stantly brought to table either too thick 
or too thin, and not unfrequently filled 
with lumps of flour or in a state of oil, 
and requires more care in the manage- 
ment than is generally thought neces- 
sary. 



SAUCES. 



223 



The excellence of melted butter greatly 
depends upon the pains taken to blend it 
with the flour before it is put upon the 
fire, the best plan of doing which is to 
rub them together with a knife on a 
wooden trencher. When well mixed, 
add two table-spoonfuls of hot water, or 
the same quantity of milk ; put it into a 
small pipkin, shaking it one way until it 
boils, and not leaving it an instant ; it 
must boil a minute to take off the raw- 
ness, and if made of fresh Gutter add a 
little salt. Remember that if you set 
it on the hot coals, or over the fire, it 
will be oily ; if the butter and flour be 
not well mixed, it will be lumpy ; and 
if you put too much water, it will be thin 
and poor. By attending to these direc- 
tions, and only using sufficient flour to 
prevent the butter from oiling, it will 
be rich and smooth. 

Or: Mix together by degrees two 
spoonfuls of flour in cold water ; make it 
smooth and thin ; then put on a pint of 
water, let it boil, stir in the flour and 
water to make the required thickness, 
cut half a pound of fresh butter in smal 
pieces, put it into the flour and water 
let it boil well ; it is then fit for use; a 
pinch of salt may be required. 

When thin melted, butter is required t< 
pour over puddings, roast veal, &c., mak< 
it the same way, adding a larger propor 
tion of water or milk, the latter render 
ing it rather whiter than the water ; an 
if meant to be more rich than common 
use cream instead of milk. Indeed th 
French frequently enrich melted butte 
by adding the yolk of a raw egg. 

296. MAlTKE D'H6TEL BUTTEE. 

Put one-fourth of a pound of fresh butte 
upon a plate, the juice of two lemons, an 
two large table-spoonfuls of chopped pars 
ley, half a teaspoonful of salt, and hal 
that quantity of white pepper ; mix a 
well together, and keep in a cool place fo 
use. 



297. TO BEOWN MELTED BUTTEE. 
Put a lump of butter into a frying-pan, 
nd toss it round over the fire until it 
ecomes brown ; then dredge some flour 
ver it, which has been also browned by 
utting it either in the oven or before the 
fire, and stir it round with a spoon until 
tie butter boils. 

By adding some of the flavored vine- 
ars and compound sauces to melted but- 
er thus prepared, most of the fish-sauces 
an be made, and many of those in com- 
non use are composed in this simple 
manner. 

298. PAESLEY AND BUTTEE. 

Scald a large handful of parsley in 
boiling water that has some salt in it ; 
when tender chop it fine, and stir it into 
some rather thick melted butter. There 
should be sufficient parsley to make the 
auce green, and the parsley should not 
be put to the melted butter until about 
to be served, otherwise it will burn 
brown. 

299. FENNEL SAUCE. 

Proceed as for parsley and butter. 

The first is used for the various pur- 
poses of fish, poultry, and fresh boiled 
meats ; fennel mostly for mackerel. 

300. CAPEE SAUCE, WHITE. 
Put whole capers into melted butter, 
adding a little of the vinegar they are 
pickled in, a pinch of salt, and sufficient 
cream to make it white. This is used 
principally for boiled mutton. 

801.CAPEE SAUCE, BEOWN. 

Take some thick brown sauce, adding 
the vinegar the capers are pickled in; 
season it highly with cayenne and salt. 
Put capers to the sauce just before serv- 
ing ; and they must be used liberally. 

Nasturtium buds or seeds are some- 
times used as a substitute. 



224 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



802. EGG SAUCE. 

Boil the eggs hard, cut them in small 
dice, and put the pieces into melted but- 
ter. The yolk may however be crushed 
to a powder, and used to thicken the 
butter. Or, if a more savory sauce is re- 
quired, boil two eggs hard, mince them 
very fine, add a third portion of grated 
ham or tongue, a very little white pepper, 
and the juice of a lemon ; warm it up in 
melted butter. It is chiefly used for 
roast fowl and salt codfish ; and if the 
butter fee sound, the salted will be found 
quite as good for all these purposes as 
the fresh. 

803.-SAUCES FOE EOAST BEEF OK 
MUTTON. 

Grate horseradish on a bread-grater 
into a basin, then add two table-spoonfuls 
of cream with a little mustard and salt ; 
mix them well together ; then add four 
table-spoonfuls of the best vinegar, and 
mix the whole thoroughly. The vinegar 
and cream are both to be cold. This is 
a very fine sauce ; it may be served in a 
small tureen. 

Or : Scrape the horseradish thin and 
chop it small, or grate it, which is better ; 
warm it in melted butter, adding a spoon- 
ful of mushroom ketchup, and one of 
walnut, or the vinegar from walnut 
pickle. 

Or: Scrape very fine or grate the 
horseradish ; add a little made mustard, 
and two spoonfuls o*f pounded white 
sugar to four of vinegar : mix the whole 
well together, and place it under the 
meat, when nearly done, to catch the 
gravy which drops from it while roast- 
ing. This sauce should be very thick. 

804 HOKSEEADISn SAUCE, 
Two teaspoonfuls of mustard, two of 
white sugar, half a one of salt, and a 
little more than a wineglass of vinegar 



mixed and poured over a stock of grated 
horseradish. This sauce is good for 
beef. 

805.- QUEEN MAST'S SAUCE. 
Take a shoulder of mutton that has 
hung till it is tender. When three parts 
roasted, put a soup-plate under it, with 
three spoonfuls of hot water, the same 
of port wine, a shalot, an anchovy 
chopped fine, and a little pepper ; baste 
the meat with this and the gravy that 
drops from it. When the mutton is 
taken up, turn the inside upwards, score 
it various ways, pour the gravy over, 
and cover it with a quantity of fried 
crumbs of bread. 

806. MANDEAM, 

Is a sauce commonly used in the West 
Indies with roast beef and mutton. It 
is made with a sliced cucumber, a chop- 
ped shalot, and a minced green capsicum, 
mixed up in a couple of table-spoonfuls 
of Madeira wine and vinegar; and as 
capsicums can be had green during great 
part of the autumn, it can be also made 
elsewhere ; but neither chilis nor capsi- 
cums, if dried, will impart the same 
flavor. 

807. MINT SAUCE, FOE EOAST LAMB. 

Pick the leaves off the stalks ; wash 
and dry them carefully ; chop them with 
a sharp knife very quickly to preserve 
their green color ; put it into a boat ; add 
sufficient vinegar to make it liquid, and 
powdered sugar to take off the acidity 
of the vinegar. 

808. MUSHEOOM SAUCE. 

White. Put the mushrooms into a 
stewpan with one ounce of butter, some 
pepper and salt, and squeeze over them 
the juice of half a lemon ; set them over 
the fire ; when they have given out their 
liquor, thicken it with flour and butter, 



SAUCES. 



225 



and add sufficient cream to whiten the 
sauce. This is a very excellent sauce 
for fowls, rabbits, and all sorts of white 
fricassees. 

Or : Wash and pick a pint of young 
mushrooms, and rub them with salt, to 
take off the tender skin ; put them into 
a saucepan with a little salt, some nut- 
meg, a blade of mace, a pint of cream, 
and a good piece of butter rubbed in 
flour. Boil them up, and stir them till 
done ; then pour it round the chickens, 
&c. Garnish with lemon. If you can- 
not get fresh mushrooms, use pickled 
ones, done white, with a little mushroom- 
powder with the cream. 

Brown. It may also be made brown 
by either putting the buttons into a pip- 
kin, and frying them with a little butter 
until they become of a delicate brown, 
and then stewing them in strong gravy 
of either beef or veal ; or by making it 
of old mushrooms chopped small, fried 
and stewed in the same manner, and 
then seasoned according to taste. It is 
much used for cutlets and many sorts of 
ragouts. 

809. CELEET SAUCE. 

Strip the outer parts of the stem, and, 
after carefully washing the remaining 
portion, cut it into small pieces ; put to 
it a blade of mace, without any other 
spice, and stew it in good veal broth 
until very tender ; it will take a good 
deal of time, more particularly the thick 
hard end of the root. After this thicken 
it with melted butter, and flavor it with 
a small quantity of white wine ; or it 
may be thickened with boiled cream 
without wine. It is usually served with 
boiled turkey, but is very delicate with 
any kind of white poultry or veal. 

810. ONION SAUCE. 

The onions must be peeled, and then 
boiled till they are tender, then squeeze 



the water from them, chop them, and 
add butter that has been melted, rich 
and smooth, with a little good milk in- 
stead of water ; give it one boil, serve it 
with boiled rabbits, partridges, scrag or 
knuckle of veal, or roast mutton ; a 
turnip boiled with the onions draws out 
the strength. * 

811.-ONION SAUCE, BEOWN. 

Peel and dice the onions ; some put 
an equal quantity of cucumber and of 
celery, into a quart stewpan, with an 
ounce of butter ; set it over a slow fire, 
and turn the onion about till it is slight- 
ly browned, then gradually stir in half 
an ounce of flour, add a little broth, 
and a little pepper and salt, boil up for 
a few minutes ; add a table-spoonful of 
claret, or port wine, and mushroom- 
ketchup ; 'you may add, if you think 
proper, lemon-juice or vinegar, and rub 
it through a tammy or fine sieve. 

312.-OTSTEE SAUCE. 

In opening the oysters, savo. the liquor, 
and boil it with the beards, a bit of mace, 
and lemon-peel ; in the mean time throw 
the oysters into cold water, and drain it 
off; strain the liquor, and put it into a 
saucepan with the oysters just drained 
from the cold water, with sufficient quan- 
tity of butter, mixed with as much milk 
as will make enough sauce, but first rub 
a little flour with it ; set them over the 
fire, and stir all the while, and when the 
butter has boiled a few times, take them 
off, and keep them close to the fire, but 
not upon it, for if too much done, the 
oysters will bscorae hard ; add a squeeze 
of lemon-juice, and serve ; a little is a 
great improvement. 

813. SAUCE, HAEEVT. 
Chop twelve anchovies, bone and all, 
very small, with one ounce of cayenne 
pepper, six spoonfuls of soy, six ditto of 



226 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



good walnut pickle, three heads of garlic 
chopped not very small, a quarter of an 
ounce of cochineal, two heads of shalots 
chopped rather large, one gallon of vine- 
gar ; let it stand fourteen days, stir it 
well twice or thrice every day, then pass 
it through a jelly bag, and repeat this till 
it is quite clear ; then bottle it, and tie a 
bidder over the cork. 

814. SAUCE (Italian) FOE SALADS. 

Mix together three table-spoonfuls of 
sauce tournee, one of mustard, some tar- 
ragon and chervil shred small, with three 
table-spoonfuls of Florence oil ; putting 
in, however, a little at a time ; when per- 
fectly smooth, add also, by degrees, a glass 
of tarragon vinegar, and a little salt. 
This sauce cannot be too much mixed. 

815. TARRAGON SAUCE. 

Put two table-spoonfuls of tarragon 
vinegar into a saucepan, and .reduce it to 
half the quantity, then put to it six 
spoonfuls of good butter sauce and mix 
all well together, and if not sufficiently 
strong put to it a little bit of glaze, and 
a very little more tarragon vinegar. 

816. -TOMATO SAUCE. 

Fresh tomatoes ; take out stalk, press 
them all tightly down in a stewpan, 
cover them, put them on the fire, strain 
off the liquor that is drawn from them, 
add to the tomatoes a slice of raw ham. 
two shalots, a few spoonfuls of good 
stock ; let it stew for an hour, then rub it 
through a tammy sieve. Have in an- 
other stewpan a little good brown sauce, 
put your tomato into it, boil all together, 
season with cayenne, salt, sugar, and 
lemon-juice. 

817. ORANGE GRAVY SAUCE. 

Put half a pint of veal gravy into a 
saucepan, add to it half a dozen basil 
leaves, a small onion, a roll of orange or 
lemon-peel, and let it boil for a few min- 



utes, and strain it off; put to the clear gra- 
vy, the juice of a Seville orange or lemon, 
half a teaspoonful of salt, the same quan- 
tity of pepper, and a glass of red wine, 
serve it hot ; shalot and .cayenne may be 
added. 

818. SAUCE 1 LA TARTARE. 

Take the yolk of an egg, and drop 
into it very slowly a table-spoonful of 
sweet oil, beating it up by degrees until 
perfectly mixed ; add a table-spoonful of 
vinegar, a little chopped parsley, a table- 
spoonful of French mustard, pepper and 
salt ; beat up the whole together : make 
and keep the sauce in a cold place ; put 
it into a dish, and lay the boiled fowl 
upon it. This sauce should be beaten 
till it resembles cream. 

819.-MINT SAUCE. 

Make mint vinegar by adding a very 
little co!d vinegar to the chopped leaves, 
with powdered sugar. 

820. FENNEL SAUCE. 
Take as many branches of green fennel 
as you may require ; pick and wash it in 
the same manner as parsley ; chop it very 
small, scald and then lay it on a sieve to 
cool ; put two spoonfuls of veloute, and 
the same of butter sauce into a saucepan, 
make them quite hot, take care to stir it 
well, that they may be properly mixed ; 
rub the fennel in a little butter, and 
then throw it into the sauce ; mix it in 
thoroughly, and season it with salt, pep- 
per, and nutmeg. 

821. FRESH PORK SAUCE. 
Cut two or three good-siz^l onions 
into slices, and fry them .ghtly, then 
add two spoonfuls of cullis, a little 
broth, a few mushrooms chopped, a clove 
of garlic, vinegar, and spice ; let it boil 
half an hour, reduce to a proper consist- 
ence, skim and strain it. 



SAUCES. 



227 



822. GLAZE. (A French Eeceipt.) 
Glaze is very seldom made on purpose, 
except on particular occasions. Lay on 
the fire a stock-pot, with plenty of veal, 
and a small quantity of beef and ham ; 
moisten with broth ; when stewed for a 
proper time, skim it well. The glaze of 
sweated broth is not so bright. Season 
the broth with carrots and onions, a large 
bunch of parsley, and green onions } but 
no turnips or celery, for they give a 
bitter taste. If you should have a grand 
dinner, and wish to glaze of a nice co- 
lor, put more veal into your Espagnole 
(Spanish sauce.) The moment it comes 
to a glaze, put part of it into a small 
stewpan for the purpose of glazing only. 
The most common glaze is made of rem- 
nants of broth, the liquor of braize, or 
fricandeaux, &c., which are to be reduced 
on a brisk fire. If you keep your re- 
duction too long, it will become black 
and bitter. Always warm your glaze in 
the hot water bath, that it may not get 
too brown when you have a grand 
dinner. 



323. SAUCE KOBEKT. (French Eeceipt.) 
Cut some onions into small dice, fry 
them of a fine brown, dust them with 
flour, and moisten them with some Span- 
ish sauce. Skim it, that the sauce may 
look bright ; put in a little pepper and salt 
and just before you send up mix a spoon- 
ful of mustard. 



824. SAUCE KOBEKT. 
Cut a few onions into dice, which pu 
into a frying-pan with a bit of butter 
and fry them lightly ; when nicety 
browned, add a dessert spoonful of flour 
a ladleful of stock, the same of vinegar 
.some salt, and pepper ; reduce it to a 
proper thickness, and when ready fo: 
table stir in two dessert-spoonfuls of 
mustard. 



825. PUREE OF ONION, OR SOUBISE 
SAUCE. 

Take a dozen white onions. After 
laving peeled and washed them, cut them 
nto halves, take off the tops and bottoms, 
mince them as fine as possible, and blanch 
hem to make them taste sweeter, and 
:ake off the green color. Then let them 
nelt on a small stove, with a little butter. 
Vhen they are thoroughly done, and no 
dnd of moisture is left, mix four spoon- 
uls of bechaxel. Season them well, 
rub the puree through a tammy, and 
seep the sauce hot, but without boiling. 
You must also put a small lump of sugar 
with the sauce if necessary. When you 
lave the oven hot, put the onions herme- 
tically closed in a small stewpan, and let 
them simmer for one hour, with a small 
bit of ham. This method gives a better 
flavor. 

826. BECHAMEL SAUCE. 

Take about half a quarter of a pound 
of butter, about three pounds of veal cut 
into small slices, a quarter of a pound of 
ham, some trimmings of mushrooms, two 
small white onions, a bunch of parsley 
and green onions ; put the whole into a 
stewpan, and lay it on the fire till the 
meat be made firm Then put three 
spoonfuls of flour; moisten with some 
boiling-hot thin cream and a ladle of 
consomme* Keep this sauce rather .thin, 
so that whilst you reduce it the ingre- 
dients may have time to be stewed 
thoroughly. Season it with a little salt, 
and strain it through a tammy. This 
sauce should retain no taste of flour, and 
be very palatable. 

827. DUTCH SAUCE. (French Receipt) 
Put into a stewpan a teaspoonful of 
flour, four spoonfuls of elder vinegar, a 
quarter of a pound of fresh butter, the 
yolks of five eggs, and a little salt. Put 
it on the fire and keep continually stir- 
ring it. When it has acquired thickness 



228 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



enough, work it well, that you may re- 
fine it. If it should not be curdled, you 
have no occasion to strain it through a 
tammy; season well and serve it up. 
Some people do not like elder vinegar ; 
in that case use tarragon or plain vine- 
gar. But odorous vinegar is far prefera- 
ble. 

82S. SAUCE BLANCHE (Or French Melted 
Butter.) 

Put into a stewpan, a quarter of a 
pound of fresh butter, a spoonful of flour, 
a little salt, half a gill or glass of water, 
half a spoonful of white vinegar, and a 
little grated nutmeg. Put it on the fire : 
let it thicken, but do not allow it to boil, 
for fear it should taste of the flour. 
Serve hot. 



329. -WHITE EOUX * (WHITE THICKEN- 
ING.) (A French Receipt.) 

Put a good lump of butter into a stew- 
pan, let it melt over a slow fire, and, 
when melted, drain the butter and take 
out the buttermilk ; then put in the but- 
ter two or three spoonfuls of good flour, 
enough to make a thin paste : keep it on 
the fire for a quarter of an hour, and 
take care not to let it color ; pour it into 
an earthen pan to use when wanted. 



880. BEOWN THICKENING. 
(A French Eeceipt) 

Put into a stewpan a piece of butter 
proportionate to the quantity of thick- 
ening intended to be prepared. Melt it 
gently ; take out the buttermilk, then 
put flour enough to make a paste. Fry 
it on a slow fire, and then put it again 
over very red ashes, till it be of a nice 

* This is an indispensable article in cookery, and 
servos to thicken sauces ; the brown is for sauces of 
the same color ; and the color must be obtained by 
slow degrees, otherwise the flour will burn and 
give a bitter taste, and' the sauces become spotted 
with black. 



color. Observe, this is only to be ob- 
tained by slow degrees. When of a light 
brown pour it into an earthen pan and 
keep it for use. It will keep a long 
time. 

881. LEMON SAUCE, WHITE, FOE BOILED 
FOWLS. 

Put the peel of a small lemon, cut 
very thin, into a pint of sweet, rich 
cream, with a sprig of lemon, thyme, and 
ten white peppercorns. Simmer it gen- 
tly till it tastes well of tlje lemon, then 
strain it and thicken it with a quarter of 
a pound of butter rubbed in a dessert- 
spoonful of flour ; boil it up ; then pour 
the juice of the lemon strained into it, 
stirring well ; dish the fowls, and then 
mix a little white gravy, quite hot, with 
the cream, but do not boil them together ; 
add salt according to taste. 

832. LEMON SAUCE FOE BOILED FOWLS. 

Cut small slices of lemon into very 
small dice, and put them into melted 
butter, give it one boil, and pour it over 
boiled fowls. 

888.-BEEAD SAUCE. 

Cut in slices the crumb of a 
French roll, to which add a few pepper- 
corns, one whole onion, a little salt, and 
boiling milk enough to cover it ; let it 
simmer gently by the side of the fire till 
the bread soaks up the milk, add a little 
thick cream, take out the onion, and rub 
the whole through a sieve ; make it very 
hot, and serve with game or fowls. 

834 BECHAMEL SAUCE. 

Take some veal and ham, cut them 
into dices ; some carrots, cloves, onions, 
laurel leaves, shalots, parsley, and seal- 
lions, all chopped fine; pepper, grated 
nutmeg, a little salt and butter, a little 
veloute and consomme, reduce it to half, 
and then put in some cream ; mix it well 
with your sauce, boil it all together over 



SAUCES. 



229 



a quick fire, shaking it constantly for an 
hour ; if thick enough, strain it through 
a sieve. 

885. LIVER SAUCE. 

Take the livers of poultry or game, 
chop them very small with parsley, seal- 
lions, tarragon leaves, and shalots ; soak 
them in a little butter over the fire, and 
then pound them ; add cullis stock, pep- 
per and salt. Give the whole a boil with 
two glasses of red wine, coriander, cin- 
namon, and sugar ; reduce and strain it, 
thicken with a bit of butter rolled in 
flour ; serve it in a sauce-boat. 

336. LIVEE SAUCE FOE BOILED 
CHICKENS. 

Boil the livers till you can bruise them 
with the back of a spoon ; mix them in 
a little of the liquor they were boiled in, 
melt some butter very smooth and put 
to them ;" add a little grated lemon-peel, 
and boil up altogether. 

337. TEUFFLE SAUCE. 
Take a pound of truffles ; brush and 
wash them carefully ; put them in a 
stewpan with some good gravy, two wine- 
glasses of white wine, a small onion, a 
faggot of parsley and thyme, and an ounce 
of bacon fat. Let them stew gently un- 
til quite tender; take them out, strain 
and skim the gravy, thicken it with roux 
or a lump of flour and butter ; peel the 
truffles, cut them in slices as thick as a 
penny-piece, warm them in the sauce, and 
serve. 

338. CHESTNUT SAUCE. 
Scald a score of chestnuts in hot water 
for ten minutes ; skin them ; let them 
stew gently for about half an hour in 
some good ^gravy seasoned with a glass 
of white wine, a little white pepper, salt, 
and mace or nutmeg; and when quite 
soft, serve them in the dish. 
15 



Or /Pulp them through a colander 
to thicken the gravy, making it either 
Irown or white, by using in the formei 
leef-gravy, and in the latter veal-brot^ 
with pounded almonds, and without 
pepper. 

Either of these is equally fit for sauce 
to guinea-bird or turkey, as well as for 
stuffing the body of the bird. 

1 839. SAUCES FOE WHITE POULTEY. 
BOILED. 

Liver-sauce. Take the livers of as many 
fowls as may be required for the intend- 
ed quantity of sauce, or, that of a rabbit 
being much larger, take one liver, boil it 
with some sprigs of thyme and parsley ? 
dissolve in the water, after taking it out, 
two anchovies, boned; boil two eggs 
hard, leave out one white, and shred the 
rest with the liver, herbs, and anchovies ; 
pound them together in a mortar, adding 
a saltspoonful of grated lemon-peel and a 
little pepper and salt. Put it into the 
saucepan, squeeze upon it the juice of 
half a lemon, thicken the liquor with 
butter and a little flour, add to it the 
pounded ingredients, and stir it until fin- 
ished. 

Or: If gravy be used instead of 
water, and butter be omitted, the above 
may be properly employed as an excel- 
lent sauce for roasted rabbit, or for fall- 
grown poultry. 

340.-WHITE SAUCE. 

Boil a large blade of mace, a few cloves 
and peppercorns, in half a pint of soft 
water, until the flavor be obtained; 
strain it off, pat it into a saucepan with 
four anchovies chopped fine, a quarter of 
a pound of butter rolled in flour, and 
half a pint of cream: boil and stir it 
well two minutes. Put some in a tu- 
reen, and the remainder in the dish. 

841.-FOE CHICKENS. 

Take the legs and necks, with a small 



230 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



bit of the scrag of veal or mutton ; put 
them into a saucepan with two blades of 
mace, a few white peppercorns, an an- 
chovy, a head of celery sliced, a bunch of 
sweet herbs, and a small bit of lemon- 
peel ; boil these in a quart of water to 
half a pint ; strain, and thicken it with 
a quarter of a pound of butter and some 
flour ; boil it five minutes, then put in two 
spoonfuls of mushrooms, and, having beat- 
en up the yolks of two eggs with a teacup- 
ful of cream, put it into the sauce, and 
keep shaking it one way over the fire till 
it is nearly boiling ; then put it into a 
sauce-tureen. 

842. VEGETABLE MABEOW SAUCE. 

Few sauces are more delicate as an ac- 
companiment for young chickens, whether 
roast or boiled, than vegetable marrow 
when deprived of its seeds, if stewed to 
a pulp and passed through a fine sieve, 
so as to form it into a puree, which may 
be then thinned either with fowl-broth 
seasoned with mace, or with cream and 
nutmeg. 

848. SAUCES FOE EOAST FOWLS. 

Stew any moderate quantity of ham, 
veal, and mushrooms, with sweet herbs, 
a shalot, a little allspice, and a piece of 
butter, until all become brown ; then 
let the whole simmer gently for a long 
time in either weak broth or water, until 
they form a strong gravy ; strain it. and 
season it with any additional flavor 
that may be given by some of the made 
sauces. Serve hot in a sauce-tureen. 

Or: Put into a small stewpan two 
slices of ham, a clove of garlic, a laurel- 
leaf, and sliced onion : add a little good 
gravy, a sprig of knotted marjoram, and 
a spoonful of tarragon vinegar ; simmer 
slowly an hour, strain off, and put into 
the dish or a boat. 

Or: Boil some veal-gravy, pepper, 
salt, the juice of a Seville orange and a 
lemon, and one-quarter as much of port 



wine as of gravy j and pour it into the 
dish or a boat. 

Or : If wanted in a hurry, cut a few 
slices of calf's liver, or any kind of brown 
meat ; fry them with a little lean bacon 
and an onion, and, when browned, pour 
upon them boiling water to what 
strength you please, and strain it. 

844 WHITE SAUCE. 

It is seldom necessary to buy meat for 
this favorite sauce, as the proportion of 
that flavor is but small. The water that 
has boiled fowls, veal, or rabbit, or a 
little broth that may be in the house, or 
the feet and necks of chickens, or raw 
or dressed veal, will suffice. Stew any 
of these with a little water, a bit of 
lemon-peel, some sliced onion, a few 
white peppercorns, a little pounded mace 
or nutmeg, and a bunch of sweet herbs, 
until the flavor be good ; then^ strain it, 
add a little good cream, a piece of butter, 
and a little flour : salt to your taste. A 
squeeze of lemon may be added after the 
sauce is taken off the fire, shaking it 
well. Yolk of egg is often used in fric- 
assee ; but if you have any cream it is 
better, as the former is apt to curdle. 

Or: Boil a stick of celery and a 
bunch of parsley in a pint of milk, add- 
ing white pepper and a little salt ; then 
put two ounces of butter into a sauce- 
pan, let it melt, add to it an onion sliced 
thin, dredge in flour until it is a paste, 
but do not allow it to become brown. 
Strain the milk, and add it by degrees to 
the butter and flour, stirring it very' 
well ; then boil the whole together, stir- 
ring all the time, and boiling it until it 
is quite thick and smooth; pass it 
through a fine sieve or tammy. If want- 
ed to be very rich, let it cool a little, and 
then add an egg previously beaten, and 
mix very gradually ; warm it over the 
fire, stirring it well, but do not let it 
boil, or it will curdle. 



SAUCES. 



231 



Or : Mix a teaspoonful of flour with 
one-quarter pound of butter, a little salt, 
and ground white pepper ; let them be 
well blended together with a wooden 
spoon, then add a spoonful of vinegar, 
and one or two of water ; mix the whole 
together, stirring it one way over the 
fire. 

845. CULLIS. 

Lay over the bottom of a stewpan as 
much lean veal as will cover it an inch 
thick : cover the veal with thin slices of 
undressed gammon, two or three onions, 
two or three bay-leaves, some sweet 
herbs, two blades of mace, and a few 
cloves. *Cover the stewpan, and set it 
over a slow fire; but when the juices 
come out, let the fire be a little quicker. 
When the meat is of a fine brown, fill 
the pan with good beef broth, boil and 
skim it, then simmer an hour; add a 
little water, mixed with as much flour as 
will make it properly thick ; boil it half 
an hour, and strain it. This will keep a 
week. 

846. EOUX, 

White. Put two ounces of butter into 
a stewpan over a slow fire, allow it to 
melt, then drain off the buttermilk: 
make it into a paste by dredging flour 
over it, and keep it on the fire for a quar- 
ter of an hour, taking care that it does 
not lose its color. 

Brown is made in the same manner 
only allowed to fry of a dark color. 
French cooks use no other kind of 
browning. 

847.-LIAISON. 

To thicken or enrich White or Fish 
Soups, use the following : Pour the soup, 
boiling hot, on the beaten yolks of two 
or three fresh eggs, from which the smal 
tough substance found in it, and callec 
"the tread," should be removed, nor 
should the soup be suffered to boil after 



the eggs are added, as it is then apt to 
curdle. 

Or : Break the yolk of an egg with 
three spoonfuls of cream, beat them up 
n the tureen and pour the boiling soup 
upon it. This may be made in the same 
proportion, and kept in a basin for other 
dishes. 

848. SAUCE FOE FEICANDEAU, OE EOAST 
VEAL. 

Boil an unwashed anchovy cut small, 
with a cup of gravy, a glass of port wine, 
a shalot minced, and the juice of half 
a small lemon ; strain, and mix in the 
dish with the -gravy of the meat. Or 
use sorrel sauce. 

849. SAUCE A LA MAlTBE D'H6TEL. 

Put eight table-spoonfuls of white 
sauce in a stewpan with four of milk ; 
boil it five minutes, then stir in three 
ounces of mattre d'hotel butter ; stir it 
quickly over the fire till the butter is 
melted, but do not let it boil. This 
sauce should be made at r the time of 
serving. 

850. SAUCES FOE GEESE. 

For a Green Goose. Take half a pint 
of sorrel-juice, two glasses of white wine, 
a nutmeg quartered, a cupful of fried 
crumbs, and two lumps of sugar ; let all 
boil together, then beat it smooth, add- 
ing a piece of fresh butter, and serve it 
very hot in a tureen, or in the dish with 
the goose. It should not be made too 
thick with the bread-crumbs; and if 
much acid should not be approved, the 
wine must be equal in quantity to the 
sorrel-juice. 

851. GOOSEBEEEY SAUCE. 

Wash some sorrel, put it into a cloth 
and press out the juice ; melt a piece of 
butter with flour, using this juice instead 
of water; let it be very thick. Scald 
green gooseberries until very tender, and 



232 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



add them to the sauce. This is a fine 
acid sauce if not spoiled with sugar. If 
not sweetened add a little cayenne pep- 
peiv 

852. APPLE SAUCE. 

Pare, core, and slice some apples ; and 
put them in a stone jar, into a saucepan 
of water, or on a hot hearth. If on a 
hearth, let a spoonful or two of water be 
put in to hinder them from burning. 
When they are done, bruise them to a 
mash, and put to them a piece of butter 
the size of a nutmeg, and a little brown 
sugar if required; but it destroys the 
slight acid flavor of the apples, and its 
corrective to goose and pork. 

858. SAVOEY APPLE SAUCE. 

Pulp the apples, and, if wanted of a 
good color, add to them a little juice of 
beet-root or cochineal : season with cay- 
enne pepper, and a glass of vinegar or 
lemon-pickle, taking care not to make it 
too acid. This will prove a substitute 
for^tomato qr sorrel sauce, when neither 
can be obtained ; if for the latter, a little 
spinach-juice will give it a color. 

854. SAUCE FOE DUCKLINGS. 

Take young green onions or chives ; 
chop them very small, then put them 
into some thick melted butter, with pep- 
per, salt, and a spoonful of lemon-pickle ; 
stir it well together, and, when very hot, 
put it into the dish with the ducks upon 
it. Should the flavor of the onions be 
thought too strong, they may be scalded 
previously. 

Or : Mix one-quarter pint of sorrel- 
juice, a glass of white wine, some scalded 
gooseberries, some white sugar, and a 
bit of butter. Boil them up and- serve 
in a boat. 

t 

855. SAUCE FOE SUCKING-PIG. 

Take the inside of a French roll and 
boil it to a pulp, along with an onion and 



a little salt ; chop the brains and put 
them into a teacupful of the gravy that 
runs from the pig ; then take as much 
butter as will be sufficient for the sauce, 
and put into it a goo 4 d squeeze of lemon, 
with half a glass of white wine. 

Some cooks make a stuffing for the 
pig in nearly the same manner, only 
making it with less butter and more 
bread, besides sometimes seasoning it 
with sage. 

856. CUEEANT SAUCE. 

Clean an ounce of currants, and boil 
them in one-half pint of water for a few 
minutes, pour the whole over a teacup- 
ful of bread-crumbs; let it soak, and 
then add a piece of butter rolled in flour, 
four or six cloves, and a glass of port 
wine ; beat it a little, and stir it over the 
fire until it is quite smooth.- 

85T. SAUCES FOE WILD-FOWL. (English.) 

A teaspoonful of made mustard, the 
same of essence of anchovies and red 
pepper ; a tablespoonful of ketchup, and 
a glass of claret. This receipt is from 
the Palace, and comes highly recom- 
mended. 

Or : Simmer a teacupful of port wine, 
the same quantity of good meat gravy, 
a little shalot, a little pepper, salt, a grate 
of nutmeg, and a bit of mace, for ten, 
minutes : put in a bit of butter and flour, 
give it all one boil, and pour it through 
the birds. In general they are not stuff- 
ed, but may be done so if liked. 

Or: Mince some shalots very fine, 
put them into a small saucepan with 
some peppercorns, two tablespoon fuls of 
strong, clear gravy, and the same quan- 
tity of vinegar ; when sufficiently boiled 
add a little salt, and strain it through a 
sieve. It may be served either hot or 
cold. 

858. WHITE SAUCE. (Soyer's.) 

Cut and chop a knuckle of veal weigh- 



SAUCES. 



233 



ing about four pounds, into large dice; 
also half a pound of lean bacon; butter 
the bottom of a large stewpan with a 
quarter of a pound of butter ; add two 
onions, a small carrot, a turnip, three 
cloves, half a blade of mace, a bouquet of 
a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, and six of 
parsley ; add a gill of water ; place over 
a sharp fire, stirring round occasionally, 
until the bottom of the stewpan is cover- 
ed with whitish glaze ; then fill up with 
three quarts of water ; add a good tea- 
spoonful of salt, and let it simmer at the 
corner of the fire an hour and a half, 
keeping it well skimmed ; pass it through 
a hair sieve into a basin. In another 
stewpan put a quarter of a pound of but- 
ter, with which mix six ounces of flour, 
stirring over the fire about three minutes ; 
take oif, keep stirring until partly cold, 
when add the stock all at once, contin- 
ually stirring and boiling for a quar- 
ter of an hour ; add half a pint of boil- 
ing milk ; stir a few minutes longer, add 
a few chopped mushrooms ; if handy, pass 
through a hair sieve into a basin, until re- 
quired for use, stirring it round occasion- 
ally until cold. The above being a sim- 
plified white sauce, will be referred to 
very often in receipts. 

859. BEOWN SAUCE. (Soyer's.) 
Put two ounces of butter into a stew- 
pan ; rub it over the bottom ; peel two 
or three large onions ; cut them in thick 
slices ; lay them on the bottom ; cut in- 
to small pieces about two pounds of 
knuckle of veal,* all meat, or three 
pounds if with bone; a quarter of a 
pound of lean bacon, cut small, two cloves, 
a few peppercorns, a table-spoonful of 
salt, two bay-leaves, a gill of water ; set 
it on a brisk fire ; let it remain ten min- 
utes, when stir it well round, subdue the 
fire, let it remain twenty minutes longer, 

* Half veal and beef can be used; or if no veal, 
all beef. 



and stir now and then until it has a nice 
brown color; fill your pan with three 
quarts of water ; when boiling, set it on 
the corner of the stove, with the lid three 
parts on the saucepan; when boiling, 
skim fat and all ; after one hour, or one 
hour and a half simmering, pass it through 
a sieve into a basin. To make the thick- 
ening or Eoitxfor it, proceed as follows : 
Roux. Put two ounces of butter into 
a pan, which melt on a slow fire, then 
add three ounces of flour, stir it with a 
wooden spoon until getting a thin deep 
yellow color ; this in France is called Roux, 
being very useful in cookery, and will be 
often referred to in these receipts. This 
process will take ten minutes, when re- 
move from the fire for two minutes to 
cool ; then add at once three pints and a 
quarter of the above stock ; very quickly 
set it on the fire to boil ; remove it to the 
corner to simmer, and skim. It ought to 
be entirely free from grease, and of a light 
chestnut color. 

860. DEMI-GLAZE THIN BEOWN SAUCE 
FOE MADE DISHES. 

When I have a small dinner-party, I 
always, as I told you before, make small 
quantities of white and brown sauce as 
above, but this is a nice way of clarifying 
a brown sauce without much trouble, and 
makes it a beautiful transparent brown 
color ; but although I have made it quite 
a study that each entree, or made dish 
for daily use, should make its own sauce, 
yet I must impress upon you that this 
sauce is the real key to cooking a good 
and ceremonious dinner. Put a pint of 
brown sauce, in a middle-sized stewpan ; 
add to it half a pint of broth or consom- 
me, put it on the stove, stir with wooden 
spoon, let it boil as fast as possible, take 
the scum oflf which will rise to the sur- 
face ; reduce it until it adheres lightly to 
the spoon, pass it through a sieve or tarn- 
my into a basin ; stir now and then until 
cold, to prevent a skin forming on the top ; 



234 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



put it by until wanted for use. It will 
keep for a. week in winter, by adding half 
a gUl of white broth every other day, and 
giving it a boil ; the addition of a table- 
spoonful of tomato sauce gives it a beau- 
tiful color ; use where indicated. 

861. THIN BKOWN SAUCE OP MUSH- 
BOOMS. 

Put twelve table-spoonfuls of thin 
brown sauce in a small stewpan to boil, 
then have six or eight small mushrooms, 
well cleaned and washed, chop them fine, 
and place in sauce, and boil for five min- 
utes; taste if it is to your liking; the 
addition of a little sugar is an improve- 
ment ; a little cayenne, if liked, may be 
introduced. The sauce is good for cutlets, 
broiled fowl, and game, &c. 

862. ESCHALOT SAUCE. 

Chop fine about a good table-spoonful 
of eschalot, place it in the corner of a 
napkin, and pour water over ; press un- 
til dry, and put in a small stewpan with 
two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one clove, 
a little mace ; boil two minutes, add ten 
table-spoonfuls of demi-glaze, boil a little 
longer, add a little sugar, and serve. 

863. PIQUANT OB SHARP SAUCE. 
Put two table-spoonfuls of chopped 
onions, or eschalots, cleaned as above, into 
a stewpan ; put also four table-spoonfuls 
of vinegar, and a bay-leaf, and boil ; then 
add ten table-spoonfuls of brown sauce, 
half a one of chopped parsley, ditto of 
green gherkins ; boil five minutes ; skim, 
add a little sugar, taste if well seasoned, 
take out bay-leaf and serve. 

864. TAEEAGON SAUCE. (Soyer's.) 
Put eight table-spoonfuls of demi-glaze, 
and four of broth, into a stewpan ; boil 
for a few minutes ; add a table-spoonful 
of vinegar; have ready picked twenty 
leaves of fresh tarragon ; put in to sim- 



mer two minutes, and serve with any 
kind of poultry, but especially spring 
chickens. 

365. BKOWN CUCUMBEE SAUCE. 

* Peel a small fresh cucumber ; cut it in 
neat pieces ; put in a stewpan with a lit- 
tle sugar ; add half an ounce of butter ; 
set it on a slow fire ; stir it now and 
then ; add twelve table-spoonfuls of brown 
sauce, and eight of broth ; let it simmer 
till tender ; skim the butter off; remove 
the cucumber into another stewpan ; pass 
the sauce, reduce it a little, taste it, pour 
over, and serve. 

866. MINCE HEEB SAUCE. 
Put two table-spoonfuls of finely chop- 
ped onions in a stewpan, and a table- 
spoonful of oil ; place it on the fire ; stir 
a few minutes, add ten table-spoonfuls of 
demi-glaze, and four of broth or water ; 
boil, skim; if too thick, and the scum 
should not rise, add half a gill of broth 
or water ; boil, and reduce to a proper 
thickness, and add a table-spoonful of 
chopped parsley ; if at hand, one of mush- 
rooms, and season with a little cayenne ; 
the juice of a quarter of a lemon ; serve. 
I often introduce a little garlic in this. 

867. EOBEKT SAUCE. (Soyer's.) 
Peel and cut up two good-sized onions ; 
put them in a stewpan with an ounce of 
butter, till they are a nice yellow color ; 
then add eight table-spoonfuls of demi- 
glaze, and two of water or broth ; skim, 
boil quickly ; when of a proper thickness 
add a good table-spoonful of French mus- 
tard ; season rather high ; if no French 
mustard, use English, but it completely 
changes the flavor, though still very pal- 
atable. 

868.-EAVIGOTE SAUCE. 

Put in a stewpan one middle-sized 
onion sliced, with a little carrot, a little 



SAUCES. 



235 



thyme, bay-leaf, one clove, a little mace, 
a little scraped horseradish, a little but- 
ter ; fry a few minutes, then add three 
teaspoonfuls of vinegar, ten table-Spoon- 
fuls of brown sauce, four of broth ; when 
boiling, skim, add a table-spoonful of cur- 
rant jelly ; when melted, pass all through 
a tammy, and serve with any kind of 
meat or poultry; with hare or venison 
it is excellent. 

869. BEOWN MUSHEOOM SAUCE. 
Clean and cut twelve small mushrooms 
in slices ; place them in a stewpan with 
a little butter, salt, pepper, the juice of a 
quarter of a lemon ; set it on a slow fire 
for a few minutes, then add ten spoonfuls 
of demi-glaze ; boil till they arc tender, and 
serve. & little mushroom ketchup may 
be introduced. 

370. OEANGE SAUCE FOE GAME. 
Peel half an orange, removing all the 
pith ; cut it into slices, and then in fillets ; 
put them in a gill of water to boil for 
two minutes ; drain them on a sieve, 
throwing the water away ; place in the 
stewpan two spoonfuls of demi-glaze, or 
ten of broth ; and, when boiling, add the 
orange, a little sugar ; simmer ten min- 
utes, skim, and serve. The juice of half 
an orange is an improvement. This is 
served with ducklings and water fowl: 
those that like may add cayenne and 
mustard. 

871. GAELIC SAUCE. 
Though many dislike the flavor of this 
root, yet those that like it ought not tc 
be deprived of it. Put in a stewpan ten 
table-spoonfuls of demi-glaze, a little 
tomato sauce, if handy ; boil it a few min- 
utes, scrape half a clove of garlic, put it 
in with a little sugar, and serve. 

8T2. MINT SAUCE. FOE LAMB. 

Take three table-spoonfuls of choppec 
leaves of green mint, three table-spoon- 



uls of brown sugar, and put into a basin, 
with half a pint of brown vinegar ; stir 

t well up, add one salt-spoonful of salt, 
and serve. 

873. LIAISON OF EGGS. 
Break the yolks of two eggs in a ba- 
in, with which mix six spoonfuls of milk, 
or eight of cream ; pass it through a fine 
sieve, and use when directed. 

874. ANCHOVY BUTTEE SAUCE. 

Put into a stewpan eight spoonfuls of 
demi-glaze, or three of broth ; when boil- 
ing, add one ounce of anchovy butter ; stir 
continually till melted ; serve where di- 
rected. 

875.-SOYEE'S SAUCE. 

Put six spoonfuls of demi-glaze into a 
stewpan ; when hot, add four spoonfuls 
of Soyer's Brown Sauce ; let boil, and 
serve with either chop, steak, cutlet, poul- 
try, or game. 

876. PAPILLOTTE SAUCE. 

Scrape half an ounce of fat bacon, put 
it in a pan with four table-spoonfuls of 
chopped onions ; stir over the fire for a few 
minutes, then add ten table-spoonfuls of 
brown sauce and boil ; then add a table- 
spoonful of mushrooms chopped, one ditto 
of parsley, a little nutmeg, a little pepper 
and sugar, a quarter of a. clove of scraped 
garlic; reduce till rather thickish; put 
on dish till cold, and use it for any thing 
you may put up " en Papillotte." 

877. TOMATO SAUCE. (Soyer's.) 
if fresh, put six in a stewpan; having 
removed the stalk, and squeezed them hi 
the hand to remove pips, &c., add half an 
onion, sliced, a sprig <of thyme, a bay- 
leaf, half an ounce of celery, one ounce 
of ham or bacon, same of" butter, teaspoon- 
ful of sugar, same of salt, a quarter one 
of pepper, set on fire to stew gently j 



236 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



when all tender, add a table-spoonful of 
flour, moisten with half a pint of broth, 
boil five minutes ; add a little cayenne, 
taste if highly seasoned, pass it through 
sieve or tammy, put it back in stewpan, 
until it adheres rather thick to the back 
of the spoon, and use it for any kind of 
meat or poultry. If preserved tomato, 
proceed as for poivrade sauce, respecting 
the vegetables, omitting the vinegar, and 
adding the tomato, instead of the brown 
sauce, with a table-spoonful of flour and 
broth to bring it to a proper thickness ; 
pass it through a sieve, and serve as 
above. 

878.- CURRY SAUCE. (Soyer's.) 

Put into a pan four good-sized onions, 
sliced, and two peeled apples, with a 
quarter of a pound of butter, the same of 
lean, ham, a blade of mace, four pepper- 
corns, two bay-leaves, two sprigs of 
thyme ; stir them over a moderate fire 
until the onions become brown and ten- 
der, then add two table-spoonfuls of the 
best curry powder, one of vinegar, two 
of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, one of su- 
gar ; moisten it with a quart of broth or 
milk, or even water, with the addition of 
a little glaze ; boil till in a pulp, and ad- 
hering rather thickly to the back of the 
spoon ; pass all through -a fine sieve or 
tammy j give it another boil for a few 
minutes, put it in a basin, and use when 
required. Any kind of meat, poultry, 
and fish, or parts of game, are excellent 
warmed in this sauce, and served with 
well boiled and dry rice. I have kept 
this sauce in a cool place in the winter 
for a month, boiling it now and then. 
The quantity of powder may be omitted, 
and a spoonful of curry paste used, or 
some mangoes. 

879. A VEEY GOOD AND USEFUL WHITE 
SAUCE (quite new.) 

Put a quart of white sauce in a stew- 
pan of a proper size on a fire ; stir con- 



tinually until reduced to one-third ; put 
two yolks of eggs in a basin, stir them 
well up, add your sauce gradually, keep 
stirring, put back in stewpan, set it to 
boil for a few minutes longer, then add 
one pint of boiling milk, which will 
bring it to its proper thickness ; that is, 
when it adheres transparently to the 
back of a spoon ; pass through a tammy 
into a basin, stir now and then till cold. 
If not immediately required, and I have 
any stock left, I use half of it with half 
of milk. I also try this way, which is 
very convenient ; when the yolks are m, 
and well boiled, I put it in a large galli- 
pot, and when cold, cover with pieces of 
paper j it will keep good in winter for 
two or three weeks, and above a week in 
summer: when I want to use a. little of 
it, I only take a spoonful or two and 
warm it on the fire, and add enough 
milk or white broth to bring it to a 
proper thickness, and use when required. 
This sauce is very smooth, and never 
turns greasy j it lies beautifully on fowl, 
or any white made dish j the addition of 
a drop of cream gives it a very fine white 
appearance. 

880. ONION PUREE SAUCE. 
Peel and cut six onions in slices ; put 
in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound 
of butter, a teaspoonful of salt; one of 
sugar, a half one of pepper ; place on a 
slow fire to simmer till in a pulp, stir- 
ring them now and then to prevent them 
getting brown, then add one tablespoon- 
ful of flour, a pint of milk, and boil till 
a proper thickness, which should be a 
little thicker than melted butter ; pass 
through a tammy, warm again, and serve 
with mutton cutlets, chops, boiled rab- 
bits, or fowl 3 by not passing it, it will 
do for roast mutton and boiled rabbit as 
onion sauce. 

331. PUREE OF CAULIFLOWER SAUCE. 

Boil a cauliflower well in three pints 



SAUCES. 



237 



of water, in which you have previously 
put one ounce of butter, one tablespoon- 
ful of salt ; when done, chop it up, hav- 
ing prepared and slowly cooked in a 
stewpan an onion sliced, a little celery, 
half a turnip, one ounce of ham, two of 
butter, a little bay-leaf, mace, add then 
the cauliflower, stir round, add a table- 
spoonful of flour, moisten as above for 
onions, pass, and finish the same way. 
It may be made of Jerusalem artichoke 
or turnip. 

3S2. BEOWN SHAEP SAUCE, OE POI- 
VEADE. (French Eeceipt.) 

Put a small bit of butter, a small car- 
rot cut into dice, a few shalots cut in the 
same way, some parsley roots, six green 
onions, some parsley, a few slices of ham, 
a clove, a little thyme, the half of a bay- 
leaf, a few grains of peppercorn and all- 
spice, with a little mace, in a small stew- 
pan. Let the stewpan be put on a slow 
fire, till it begins to be of a fine brown 
all round; then keep stirring with a 
wooden spoon ; pour into the stewpan 
four spoonfuls of white vinegar and a 
small bit of sugar. Let this reduce 
nearly to a glaze; then moisten with 
some Spanish sauce and a little consom- 
me, that you may be enabled to take the 
fat off from 'the sauce ; season with cay- 
enne and a little salt. Taste whether it 
be salt enough, but observe that it 
should not be too acid ; skim off the fat, 
and strain the sauce through a tammy, 
and serve up. When this sauce is well 
made, not too thick, and of good color, 
it is good with the following entrees : 
Cotelettes Maintenon, broiled chicken, 
broiled pigeon, fried chicken, marinades 
of all sorts, such as calf s feet, lamb's 
ears, trotters, calf's head, and generally 
with every thing requiring tart sauces 
You may add to it a little preserved to- 
matoes, to give a good color and sharp 
taste. 



383. WHITE CUCUMBEE PUEEE. 

Peel two, or one large one, cut in slices, 
put in the stewpan with the same veg- 
tables, &c. as for the cauliflower; when 
tender, add a' table-spoonful of flour, four 
gills of milk or broth, boil, finishing as 
the cauliflower. 

884.-SOEEEL SAUCE, OE PUEEE. 

Wash well six handfuls of sorrel, put 
it nearly dry into a middle-sized stewpan 
with a little butter ; let it melt, add a ta- 
ble-spoonful of flour, at easpoonful of salt, 
half one of pepper ; moisten to a thick 
puree, with milk, or broth, or cream; 
pass it through a sieve, put it back in a 
stewpan, warm again, add two whole 
eggs, two ounces of butter, and stir well, 
and serve where directed. 

885. SPINAGE PUEEE. 

Endive puree is often used in France, 




Spice Box. 

and called chicoree. This puree may be 
made like the cauliflower, or only plain 
boiled, plainly chopped, put into a pan 
with two ounces of butter, a gill of white 
sauce, a little grated nutmeg, and a little 
salt, pepper, and sugar. 

886. INDIA-PICKLE SAUCE. 

Take some gravy, thicken with flour 
and butter ; cut in small dice some In- 
dia-pickle, add a little of the vinegar, 
let it boil up, throw in the dice^ and 
serve hot. This is for salmon cutlets j 



238 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



it is also good for broiled mackerel or 
for grilled chicken. 

88T.-SAUCE PIQUANTE. 

Put into a stewpan the muscles of a 
knuckle of veal, some slices of ham or 
bacon, a cupful of gravy, a spoonful or 
two of strong vinegar, a bay -leaf, a clove 
of garlic, a little thyme, one clove, and a 
littlo salt; skim it, and, when it has 
stewed a quarter of an hour, pass it 
through a sieve : then add sorrel, parsley, 
and mushrooms, all chopped fine, and 
whole capers ; heat it again, and serve it 
in the dish. 

Or : Put one or two ounces of but- 
ter, with two shred onions, a carrot, a 
parsnip, a little thyme, laurel, basil, two 
cloves, two shalots, a clove of garlic, and 
some parsley, into a stewpan ; turn the 
whole over the fire till it becomes brown, 
then shake in some flour, and moisten it 
with some broth and a spoonful of vine- 
gar. Let it boil over a slow fire ; skim 
and strain it ; then add pepper and salt ; 
and serve with any dish of which you 
would wish to have the flavor heightened. 

388. A L'ESPAGNOLE-{or Spanish Sauce.) 

Besides a few slices of ham and veal, 
put into a stewpan any remains which 
you may have of poultry and game, and 
let them boil for one hour in water more 
than sufficient to cover them; after 
which skim off the fat from the gravy, 
add fried onions, sweet herbs, a bay-leaf, 
spice, mace, and mushrooms, with minced 
carrots, celery, shalots, and a small 
clove of garlic, and leave the whole to 
stew until quite mashed: it will take 
full two hours. Then strain it, and if 
the gravy be not strong enough add suf- 
ficient coulis or glaze to make it so. If 
it wants flavor, add soy, and if mush- 
rooms have not been one of the ingredi- 
ents, put in ketchup : if not thick enough, 
a little arrowroot, or common flour, with 



a piece of butter, will have the effect J 
but if the gravy be truly rich, it will not 
require the addition. 

Such is the foundation of the sauce ; 
but in most cases white wine is added, 
for the purpose of stewing game : it is 
needless to say that Madeira and sherry 
are best, but Cape or ginger wine will 
be found good substitutes. 

889. SAUCE, 1 LA PKOVENQALE. 

Put into a casserole two spoonfuls of 
sweet oil, a shalot, a clove of garlic, and 
some mushrooms, all minced, and placed 
upon the fire in any sort of good strong 
broth, seasoned with pepper and salt, to- 
gether with pot-herbs ; leave it there for 
half an hour ; then skim it so far as to 
remove much of the appearance of the 
oil ; strain ifr, and add some white wine 
to suit the taste. 

890.-SAUCE MAIGEE. 

Fry a large quantity of onions and put 
them along with the above into the casse- 
role, with white wine, until well brown- 
ed ; then strain it ; add a table-spoonful 
of salad-oil with a little flour, and mix 
it gently, but continually, for a few min- 
utes, until completely mingled. 

891. A L' HOLLAND AISE, 

For meat, fowl, or fish. Put six 
spoonfuls of water and two of _ tarragon 
vinegar, With one ounce of butter, into 
a stewpan ; warm and thicken it with 
the yolks of two eggs. Make it quite 
hot, but do not boil it ; stir it all the 
time; squeeze in the juice of half a 
lemon, and strain it through a sieve. 
Season with salt and cayenne. It should 
be quite thick. 

.892. SPINACH SAUCE. 

Pick off the stalks of the spinach ; 
wash and drain it ; then, without water, 
stew till it will beat to a mash. Put in 



SAUCES. 



239 



a good piece of butter and . some milk ; 
simmer, and stir over a slow fire till the 
sauce be of the consistence of thick melt- 
ed butter. Add a little pepper and salt 
while dressing. 

893. PUEEE OF CUCUMBEES. 

Slice thin some middling-sized cucum- 
bers, drain the liquor from them, and 
put them, with four onions, into a stew- 
pan, with a piece of butter ; when suffi- 
ciently stewed to pulp through a col- 
ander, add a large teacupful of cream, a 
little flour and pepper. Boil twenty 
minutes and, when going to serve^ put 
in salt. 

894. SAUCE 1 LA SAINTE MENEHOULD. 

Put some butter into a stewpan, shake 
over it a little flour; add a cupful of 
cream, parsley, young onions, one-half a 
bay-leaf, and a shalot. Put it on the 
fire, keeping it stirred. Then pass it 
through a sieve : put it on the fire again 
with some chopped parsley, a little pep- 
per, and minced mushrooms. Serve it 
over beiled fowls. 

895. LA MAGNONNAISE. 

Perhaps the most esteemed mode of 
making sauce for any sort of cold meats 
or fish is that known in France by this 
title. 

Put into a round-bottomed basin the 
yolk oF an egg and a pinch 6f salt ; stir 
in very quickly, drop by drop, two table- 
spoonfuls of sweet oil, working the spoon 
very rapidly round, to work in the oil ; 
when it is thick add a few drops of tar- 
ragon vinegar, then more oil, until there 
is sufficient sauce ; thin it with a little 
more vinegar. It should be quite thick, 
and rather acid. 

896. CAEACHI. 

Take one head of garlic and cut each 
clove into two pieces j two teaspoonfuls 



of cayenne pepper, three tablespoonfula 
of soy, three of mushroom ketchup, 
three of walnut pickle, six anchovies dis- 
solved, two or three spoonfuls of man- 
goe or India pickle liquor, and a pint of 
the best vinegar, with sufficient cochi- 
neal to color. 

Both the above are thus sauces mai- 
gres, but when not intended for fast-days, 
may be much improved by being made 
into a puree with an admixture of melt- 
ed calf's-foot jelly. 

897. SAUCE EOYALE 

Is made by cutting a slice of white 
bread, and stewing it in white broth 
until it is quite thick ; then take it off 
the fire ; pound in a mortar the yolks of 
two hard-boiled eggs, and half a dozen 
almonds reduced to paste, with the breast 
of a cold roast fowl ; mix this with the 
eggs and bread, and pound them all to- 
gether with a little pepper and salt; 
add a sufficient quantity of cream to 
make it of a proper consistence, and sim- 
mer the whole over the fire, stirring it 
all the time without letting it boil. 

898.-SAUCE 1 LA EEINE 

Is nearly the same. Bruise the breast 
of a chicken to a paste, and moisten it 
with a consomme of veal or fowl broth ; 
let it stew gently over a slow fire, and 
then pas* it through the tamis and mix 
with it some bechamel sauce. Then 
have ready the yolks of two eggs beaten 
up with a large spoonful of thick cream, 
and stir the mixture into the sauce a 
minute or two before serving it up. 

Both the above are served at the most 
fashionable tables, and may be used with 
turkey-poults and guinea-birds. 

899. THE OEIGINAL OUDE SAUCE 
Is made with two ounces of butter 
put into a stewpan; when melted add 
six onions shred; as soon as they begin 



240 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



to take color, put in one and a half dozen 
of chilis chopped fine ; stir it well to- 
gether for four minutes, then put in a 
small quantity of dried salt fish, not ex- 
ceeding two square inches, chopped very 
fine; keep stirring, and, as the butter 
dries, add a large cupful of the pulp of 
fresh tomatoes, a teaspoonful of salt, the 
juice of a lemon, and a little water ; mix 
the whole very well together, and let it 
be of the consistence of a paste, though 
not too dry. It is eaten with cold meat, 
but will not keep. 

400. CHETNEY AND QTJIHI SAUCtf..- 

Take eight ounces of sharp apples 
pared and cored, eight ounces of toma- 
toes, eight ounces of salt, eight ounces of 
brown sugar, eight ounces of raisins, 
four ounces of red chilis, four ounces of 
ginger powdered, two ounces of garlic, 
and two ounces of shalots. Pound all 
these ingredients separately in a mortar, 
using cayenn3 pepper if chilis are not to 
be had. Mix the whole together, and 
add three quarts of vinegar and one 
quart of lemon-juice. Place the jar con- 
taining this composition on a stove, or 
by the side of a fire in a heat not less 
than one hundred and thirty degrees 
Fahrenheit, and stir it twice a-day for a 
month ; then strain, but do not squeeze 
it dry. Bottle the liquor, which is an 
excellent sauce for any kind of fish or 
meat, hot or cold. A teaspodbful 1 will 
impart a fine flavor to any ragout, or be 
sufficient for a pint of broth. The resi- 
due, which is the chetney, should be 
put into pots or jars. It may also be 
used in sauces and gravies, or eaten like 
mustard, with cold meat, or spread upon 
grills, being an excellent ingredient for 
devils, wet or dry. 

401. YEAL GEAVY, OR BLOND OF 
VEAL. (Ude.) 

Put a few slices of Westmoreland ham 
(the lean only) into a, pretty thick stew- 



pan, and lay over them some fleshy pieces 
of veal. The rump may be used. Pour 
into the stewpan a sufficient quantity of 
stock-broth to cover about half the thick- 
ness of the meat. Let it sweat on a stove 
over a brisk fire. Watch the stewpan 
and the contents for fear of burning. 
When the broth is reduced, thrust a 
knife into the meat, that all the gravy 
may run out ; then stew the glaze more 
gently. When the whole is absolutely 
glazed, of a good color, let it stew till 
brown, but take care it does not burn, to 
prevent which, put it on red-hot ashes. 
Keep stirring the stewpan over the firer- 
that the glaze may be all of the same 
color, and turn the meat upside down, 
that it may not stick, When the glaze 
is of a dark-red color, moisten with some 
hot broth, and let the glaze detach before 
the stewpan is put on the fire, for it might 
still burn. Season with mushroomg and 
a bunch of parsley and green onions. 
When the gravy has boiled for two hours, 
it will be done. Take off the fat, and 
strain it through a silken sieve. ..^ 

402. THE CULLIS (a Brown Jelly.) 

Make the cullis in the same manner as 
veal gravy, with slices of ham and slices ' 
of veal, &c. When the glaze is of a nice 
color, moisten it, and let it stew entirely. 
Season it with a bunch of parsley and 
green onions, mushrooms, &c. Then mix 
some brown thickening with Tie veal 
gravy, but do not make it too thick, as 
the fat could not be got out of the sauce ; 
and a sauce with fat has neither a pleas- 
ing appearance nor a good flavor. Let it 
boil for an hour on the corner of the 
stove; skim off the fat, and strain it 
through a tammy, &c. 

403. SAUCE TOURNEE.* 

Take some white thickening, dilute it 

* Sauce tournee is the sauce that the moder* 
cooks call velout6 ; but veloute, properly so called 
will be found hereafter. 



SAUCES. 



241 



with some consomme or broth of fowl ; 
neither too thin nor too thick. A sauce 
when too thick will never admit of the 
fat being removed. Let it boil on the 
corner of the stove. Throw in a few 
mushrooms, with a bunch of parsley and 
green onions. Skim it well, and when 
there is no grease left, strain it through 
a tammy, to use when wanted. 

404. SAUCE 1 L' ALLEMANDE. (German 
Sauce.) 

This is the same as the last sauce, with 
the addition of a thickening* of eggs well 
seasoned. This sauce is always used for 
the following sauces or ragouts, viz., 
""blan.quettes, or white fricassees, of all des-t 
criptions, of veal, of fowl, of game, or pal- 
ates, ragout, loin of veal, with bechamel, 
&c., &c. 

405. THE VELOUTE. 

* Take about the same quantity of stock- 
broth, arid sauce tournee, and boil them 
down over a large fire. When this sauce 
ilvery thick, have some thick cream boil- 
ing and reduced, which pour into the 
' sauce, and give it a couple of boilings ; 
season with a little salt, and strain through 
a tammy. If the ham should be too salt, 
put in a little sugar. Observe, that this 
sauce is net to be so thick as the becha- 
mel. 

406. VELOUTE, OE BECHAMEL, A NEW 
METHOD. (Ude.) 

Put into a stewpan a knuckle of veal, 
some slices of ham, four or five pounds 
of beef, the legs and loin of a fowl ; all 
the trimmings of meat or game that you 
have, and moisten with boiled water suffi- 
cient to cover half the meat; make il 
sweat gently on a slow fire, till the meat 
' is done through ; this you may ascertain 
by thrusting your knife into it ; if no 

* This thickening is what is called in French, lia 
Ison ; the yolks of two or four eggs. 



)lood follows, it is time to moisten with 
soiling water sufficient to cover all the 
meat. Then season with a bundle of 
Darsley and green onions, a clove, half a 
my -leaf, thyme, a little salt, and trim- 
mings of mushrooms. When the sauce 
las boiled long enough to let the knuckle 
:>e well done, skim off all the fat, strain 
t through a silken sieve, and boil down 
this consomme till it is nearly a glaze ; 
next take four spoonfuls of very fine flour, 
dilute it with three pints of very good 
cream, in a stewpan big enough to con- 
tain the cream, consomme, flour, &c. j 
boil the flour and cream on a slow fire. 
When it boils, pour in the consomme, 
and continue to boil it on a slow fire if 
the sauce be thick, but on the contrary, 
if the sauce be thin, on a quick fire, in 
order to thicken it. Season with salt, 
but put no pepper. No white sauce ad- 
mits pepper, except when you introduce 
into it something chopped fine. Pepper 
appears like dust, and should therefore 
be avoided. This sauce should be very 
thick. Put it into a white basin through 
a tammy, and keep it in the larder out of 
the dust. 

This sauce is the foundation, if I may 
so speak, of all sorts of little sauces, 
where white sauces are preferred. It 
should always be kept very thick, as you 
can thin it whenever you please, either 
with stock-broth or with cream. If too 
thin, it could not be used for so many 
purposes. 

40T. CAPEK SAUCE 1 LA FRANQAISE. 

Take some capers, cut them small, put 
some essence of ham into a small sauce- 
pan with some pepper ; let it boil ; then 
put in the capers ; let them boil two or 
three times, and they are ready to serve. 

40S.-CAPER SAUCE, TO IMITATE. 

Boil some parsley very slowly to let 
it become of a bad color ; then cut it up, 



242 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



but do not chop it fine ; put it into melt- 
ed butter, with a teaspoonful of salt, 
and a dessert-spoonful of vinegar; boil 
up, and then serve. 

409. CAPEE SAUCE FOE MEAT. 

Take some capers, chop half of them 
very fine, and put the rest in whole ; 
then chop some parsley with a little 
grated bread, and put to it some salt ; 
put them into butter melted very smooth, 
let them boil up, and then pour them 
into a sauce-boat. 

410. TOMATO SAUCE FEANgAISE. 

Cut ten tomatoes into quarters and 
put them into a saucepan with four on- 
ions sliced, a little parsley, thyme, one 
clove, and a quarter of a pound of but- 
ter ; set the saucepan on the fire, stirring 
occasionally, for three-quarters of an 
hour ; strain the sauce through a horse- 
hair sieve, and serve with the directed 
articles. 

411.-TOMATOES, GAENITUEE OF. 

Take thirty tomatoes, all as near of a 
size as possible, and of a good form, cut 
them in halves, press out the juice, seeds, 
and pieces by the side of the stalk, but 
do it with great care, lest the skins 
should be injured ; make a farce as fol- 
lows : take a little ham, garlic, parsley, 
shalots, champignons shred, the yolks of 
two hard boiled eggs, crumb of bread, 
an anchovy, butter, salt, nutmeg, and all- 
spice ; give all these a boil, then pound 
them well, adding at times a little oil, 
strain it through a quenelle sieve; fill 
the tomatoes with this farce, place them 
on a baking tin, cover them with grated 
bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, 
moisten them with a little oil, and bake 
them in a hot oven ; serve the tomatoes 
as a garnish to a rump of beef, or any 
other joint you may think proper. 



412. TOMATO SAUCE 1 L'lTALlENNE. 

Take five or six onions, slice, and put 
them into a saucepan with a little thyme, 
bay-leaf, twelve tomatoes, a bit of but- 
ter, salt, half a dozen allspice, a little 
Indian saffron, and a glass of stock ; set 
them on the fire, taking care to stir it 
frequently, as it is apt to stick ; when 
you perceive the sauce is thick strain it 
Like a puree. 



KETCHUPS. 

413. MUSHEOOM KETCHUP. 

Take the full grown flaps of mush- 
rooms, wipe them clean, crnsh them with 
the hands, throw in a handful of salt with 
every peck of mushrooms, and let them 
stand all night; then put them into 
stewpans, and set them in a quick oven 
for twelve hours ; strain them through a 
hair sieve and press out all the juice. 
To every gallon of liquor put of cloves, 
Jamaica and black pepper, and of ginger, 
one ounce each, and half a pound of 
common salt. Set it on a slow fire and 
let it boil until half the liquor is wasted, 
then put it into a clean china vessel, and 
when cold bottle it. 

Another mode of making mushroom 
ketchup, is to take a stewpan full of the 
large flap mushrooms that are not worm 
eaten, and the skins and fringe of those 
you have pickled ; throw a handful of 
salt among them, and set them by a slow 
fire. They will produce a great deal of 
liquor, which you must strain, and put 
to it four ounces of shalots, two cloves 
of garlic, an ounce of pepper, a table- 
spoonful of ginger, mace, and cloves; 
boil the liquor slowly and skim it well. 
When cold, bottle and cork it close. In 
two months boil it again with a little 
additional spice, and a stick of horse- 
radish, it will then keep a year ; which 
mushroom ketchup rarely does, if not 
boiled a second time. 



KETCHUPS. 



243 



414.-WALNUT KETCHUP. 

Take six half-sieves of green walnut- 
shells, put them into a tub, mix them up 
well with common salt, (from two to 
three pounds,) let them stand for six 
days, frequently beating and mashing 
them ; by this time the shells become 
soft and pulpy. Then by banking it up 
on one side of the tub, and at the same 
time by raising the tub on that side, the 
liquor will drain clear off to the other ; 
then take that liquor out ; the mashing 
and banking up may be repeated as often 
as liquor is found. The quantity will be 
about six quarts. When done let it be 
simmered in an iron boiler as long as any 
scum, arises ; then bruise a quarter of a 
pound of ginger, a quarter of a pound of 
allspice, two ounces of long pepper, two 
ounces of cloves, with the above ingredi- 
ents ; let it .slowly boil for half an hour. 
When boiled, let an equal quantity of 
the spice go into each bottle ; when cork- 
ed, let the bottle be filled quite up ; cork 
them tight, seal them over, and put them 
into a cool and dry place for one year 
before they are used. 

415. TOMATO KETCHUP. 

Take six pounds of tomatoes, sprinkle 
them with salt and let them remain for 
a day or two, then boil them until the 
skins will separate easily; pour them 
into a colander or coarse sieve, and press 
them through, leaving the skins behind ; 
put into the liquor a pint of Chili vinegar, 
half a pint of wine, pepper, cloves, ginger 
and allspice ; boil them together until a 
third part has wasted bottle them tight. 
The ketchup must be shaken before it is 
used. If it is boiled down to one-third, 
and the corks sealed, it will be much 
richer, and keep for years. 

416. SAUCE FOE CHOPS AND STEAKS. 

Pound together in a mortar one ounce 
of black pepper, half an ounce of allspice, 
one ounce of salt, half an ounce of horse- 



radish scraped, half an ounce of eschalots. 
Pour on this half a pint of mushroom ket- 
chup, and half a pint of walnut pickle. 
Infuse for a fortnight, and strain for use. 

41T.-NASTUETIAN SAUCE 

Is eaten with boiled mutton. It is 
made with the green seeds of nasturtians, 
pickled simply in cold vinegar. Cut about 
six ounces of butter into small bits, and 
put them into a small saucepan. Mix 
with a wine-glass of water sufficient flour 
to make a thick batter, pour it on the 
butter, and hold the saucepan over hot 
coals, shaking it quickly round, till the 
butter is melted. Let it just boil up, and 
then take it from the fire. Thicken it 
with the pickled nasturtians, and send it 
to table in a boat. 

418.-CEANBEEEY SAUCE. 

This sauce is very simply made. A 
quart of cranberries is washed and stew- 
ed with sufficient water to cover them ; 
when they burst mix with them a pound 
of brown sugar, and stir them well. Be- 
fore you remove them from the fire, all 
the berries should have burst. When 
cold they will be jellied, and if thrown into 
a form while warm, will turn out whole. 

419.-CELEET SAUCE. 

Wash and pare a bunch of celery, cut 
it into pieces, and boil it gently until it 
is tender ; add half a pint of cream, and 
a small piece of butter rolled in flour; 
now boil it gently. This is a good sauce 
for fowls of all kinds, either roasted or 
boiled. 



FAECES AM) STUFFINGS. 

420. -PANADA. 

Put into a small stewpan one ounce of 
fresh butter, a table-spoonful of chopped 
mushrooms, a little chopped thyme and 



244: 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



parsley, half a blade of mace, pepper and 
salt ; stew the whole over the fire for a few 
minutes, then add to it a spoonful of white 
broth, the crumb of two Drench rolls 
previously soaked in milk and squeezed 
thoroughly dry ; stir over the fire until 
it no longer adheres to the stewpan; 
take it off, add the yolks of two eggs, 
turn it out and leave it to cool j it is then 
ready for use. 

421.-UDDER. 

Boil a calf s udder in broth or water ; 
when cold trim off the outside : pound 
and rub through a sieve. 

422.-QUENELLE. 

This is one of the most delicate prepa- 
rations of forcemeat that we have, and 
requires practice, care and attention to 
make it in perfection. It is called accord- 
ing to the meat of which it is composed ; 
quenelles of rabbit, chicken, fish, or game. 

Take the meat of two rabbits, pound it 
and rub it through a sieve ; take the same 
quantity of panada, and also of udder or 
very sweet fresh butter, pound these in- 
gredients for a quarter of an hour, add a 
table-spoonful of white sauce, two eggs, 
and two yolks ; take a small piece, roll 
it in a ball, and throw it in boiling water ; 
when done it should cut firm and consist- 
ent, yet light and delicate ; if more sea- 
soning is required it should be added be- 
fore H is taken out of the mortar. 

To mould them : have two table-spoons, 
fill one with the farce, shape with a knife, 
dipping it in boiling water to make it 
perfectly smooth ; dip the other spoon in 
hot water, with which take out the que- 
nelle and lay it in a buttered stewpan ; 
they should be egg-shaped, and perfectly 
smooth, and boiled for a quarter of an 
hour. 



428. PANADA FOE FISH QUENELLE, OE 
FOECEMEAT. 

Put two-thirds of half a pint of water 



into a stewpan holding a quart, with 
nearly one ounce of butter ; when boiling, 
stir in a quarter of a pound of flour ; keep 
it moving over the fire until it forms a 
smooth and tough paste. Take it off the 
fire, add the yolks of three eggs. When 
cold, use it where directed. 

424. FOECEMEAT. 

Take equal quantities of cold chicken, 
veal, and beef, shred very small, and 
mixed together ; season, at the same time, 
with a moderate quantity of pepper, salt, 
sweet herbs, and grated nutmeg that is 
to say, if intended for white meat, or for 
any thing delicately flavored ; but if meant 
for a savory dish, add a little mpced 
ham, and an atom of garlic or a shalot. 
Put the whole in a stone mortar, and 
pound it until quite fine, then make it 
into a paste with a raw egg, some butter, 
marrow, or fat of some kind. When 
used, it may either be rolled into round 
balls and fried for any made dish, or put 
into any joint of meat or poultry as stuf- 
fing ; and if kept in a cool place, and well 
seasoned, it will keep goocl for several 



Indeed, ~by mixing with any potted meat 
or game an equal proportion of panada, 
which will always be lighter than bread- 
crumbs, the cook will have at once a very 
fine species of farce, to be employed in 
stuffing olives, fillets of fowl, &c. 

The " farce " is sometimes a delicious 
preparation of sausage-meat, and is served 
up alone ; but it enters into the composi- 
tion of numerous other dishes. 



425. ANOTHEE FOECEMEAT. 

Take a pound and a half of lean veal, 
pound it, and pass it through a sieve ; 
one pound of chopped bsef suet, and six 
ounces of panada, pounded well together ; 
add the veal, season with pepper, salt, 
and a little nutmeg ; mix well ; then add 
the yolks of six eggs and the whites of 



FARCES AND STUFFINGS. 



245 



three ; when these are thoroughly mixed, 
whisk the other three whites of eggs to a 
very stiff froth, and add it to the force- 
meat ; when all is well mixed together, it 
is fit for use. 

426. FAKCE CUITE. 

Cut in small pieces some undressed 
fowl ; put them into a stewpan with a piece 
of butter, a little salt, pepper, and a little 
nutmeg ; shake them over the- fire for ten 
minutes, drain, and let them cool. Put 
an equal portion of crumbs of bread in 
the same stewpan with some broth, and 
a little parsley chopped fine ; stir it with 
a wooden spoon till it becomes quite soft. 
Let it get cold, then pound the fowl until 
it will pass through a tamis ; pound the 
bread also, and put it through the sieve ; 
then put equal parts of the meat, butter, 
and bread together, and pound them with 
yolks of eggs sufficient to make it into a 
proper consistence, and keep it in a jar 
for use. 

427. FAECE OF HAM AND VEAL. 

Mince equal quantities of ham and veal. 
a bunch of parsley, and some pepper; 
put it on the fire with a little broth ; let 
it stew very gently, then pound it in a 
mortfir; add to it an equal portion of 
bread soaked in milk and pounded ; pound 
the whole together with some butter, and 
mix it with the yolks of eggs. 

Bacon and veal which have been used 
in braising, or any thing highly impreg- 
nated with the flavor of herbs and onions, 
and very rich, may be employed after- 
wards as a farce, pounded and mixed 
with panada.* 

428. STUFFING. 

Take equal quantities of beef suet and 
crumbs of bread; chop the suet very 
finely; chop together marjoram, thyme, 
and parsley, having as much parsley as 

* Farce for pies. 

16 



there is thyme and marjoram together ; 
add to them a salt-spoonfui of grated 
lemon peel, pepper, salt, and a little 
grated nutmeg; add eggs sufficient to 
bind it together. 

429. SEASONING FOE STUFFING. 
One pound of salt dried and sifted, half 
an ounce of ground white pepper, two 
ounces of dried thyme, one ounce of dried 
marjoram, and one ounce of nutmeg. 
When this seasoning is used, parsley 
only is required to be chopped in suffi- 
cient quantity to make the stuffing green. 
The proportions are half a pound of 
bread-crumbs, three eggs, a quarter of a 
pound of suet, half an ounce of season- 
ing, and peel of half a lemon grated. 

480. FOECEMEAT. 

Shred a little ham or gammon, some 
cold veal or fowl, some beef suet, a small 
quantity of onion, some parsley, very 
little lemon-peel, salt, nutmeg, or pounded 
mace, and either white pepper or cayenne, 
and bread crumbs. Pound it in a mor- 
tar, and bind it with one or two eggs, 
beaten or strained. Fo*r forcemeat pat- 
ties, the mixture as above. 

431.-FOE HAEE, OE ANY THING IN IMI- 
TATION OF IT. 

The scalded liver, an anchovy, some 
fat bacon, a little suet, some parsley, 
thyme, knotted marjoram, a little shalot, 
and either onion or chives, all chopped 
fine ; crumbs of bread, pepper, and nut- 
meg, beat in a mortar with an egg. 

432. FISH FOECEMEAT. 

Chop, and afterwards pound in a mor- 
tar, any kind of fish, adding an anchovy 
or two, or a tea-spoonful of the essence 
of anchovies, but do not allow the taste 
to prevail, and the yolk of a hard-boiled 
egg. If for maigre^ pound butter with 
it ; but otherwise, the fat of bacon pound- 
ed separately, and then mixed. Add a 



246 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



third portion of bread, prepared by soak- 
ing and pounding previously, and mix 
the whole up with raw eggs. For mack- 
erel, pike, haddock, and soles, take the 
veal forcemeat, add a little anchovy es- 
sence, and use rather less herbs. 

438. OYSTER FOECEMEAT. 
Take a dozen oysters, strain them from 
the liquor, mince them, and add a quarter 
of a pound of finely grated bread-crumbs, 
one ounce and a half of butter broken 
very small, a dessert-spoonful of parsley, 
the grated rind of half a lemon ; season 
with a little mace, cayenne, and salt; 
mix well; then bind together with the 
yolk of an egg unbeaten, and a little of 
the oyster liquor. Care must be taken 
that the oyster flavor predominates. 

484 FOKCEMEAT BALLS FOE SOUP 
MAIGEE. 

Forcemeat balls for maigre soups of 
any description should be always used to 
compensate for the savor of which they 
are deprived by the want of meat-broth ; 
and may be made of fish and sweet herbs, 
or only of herbsand crumbs of bread, in 
the following manner : 

Pound in a mortar the soft parts of a 
crawfish, or a few shrimps, with an an- 
chovy, and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, 
beaten up with crumbs of stale bread, 
pounded mace, cayenne pepper, salt, and 
a very little finely minced garlic. Then 
work it up into a paste with a raw egg to 
bind it into dough ; roll it out, cut it into 
small balls of the size of marbles, and 
fry them of a fine brown. ' 

Or: Leave out the fish, and make 
them entirely of bread and savory chop- 
ped herbs chervil, tarragon, marjoram, 
and thyme, with a little garlic and a 
shalot and bind them up as above, with 
egg, butter, and crumbs of bread. 

Or : Chop, and afterwards pound in a 
mortar, any kind of fish, adding an an- 
chovy or two, or a tea-spoonful of the es- 



sence of anchovies, but do not allow the 
taste to prevail, and the yolk of a hard- 
boiled egg : pound butter with it ; add a 
third portion of bread, prepared by soak- 
ing and pounding previously, and mix the 
whole up with raw eggs. 

Or : Beat the flesh and soft parts of a 
middling-sized lobster, half an anchovy, 
a large piece of boiled celery, the yolk of 
a hard egg, a little cayenne, mace, salt, 
and white pepper, with two table-spoon- 
fuls of bread-crumbs, one ditto of- oyster 
liquor, two ounces of butter warmed, and 
two eggs long beaten: make into balls, 
and fry of a fine brown in butter. 

Or : Take a few shrimps, stripped of 
their shells, an anchovy, and the yolk of 
a hard-boiled egg, with bread-crumbs and 
seasoning as above, but adding some 
finely minced sweet herbs, and omitting 
the oyster liquor : make all this into a 
paste with a little butter and a raw egg, 
made up in balls and fried as before. 

Or : Instead of making the balls of 
fish and frying them, it is a more simple 
way to make them merely of bread- 
crumbs, hard-boiled egg, and sweet herbs 
seasoned with raw egg: drop the balls, 
one by one, into the boiling soup a few 
minutes before serving. Two eggs and a 
quarter of a pound of bread should make 
twelve or fifteen balls. 

Or : Pound in a mortar, into a smooth 
substance, an anchovy, the yolk of a 
hard-boiled egg, a head of boiled celery, 
and some sweet herbs, with a couple of 
table-spoonfuls of bread-crumbs, seasoned 
with mace, a grating of nutmeg, cayenne, 
and salt ; then add two ounces of butter 
melted, and work it into a paste with a 
little flour and the yolk of a raw egg ; 
make it into balls the size of marbles, 
and fry them quite brown. 

485. FOECEMEAT FOE TUETLE. (As at the 
Bush, Bristol.) 

One pound of fine fresh suet, one pound 



FARCES AND SEASONING. 



247 



of ready-dressed veal or chicken chopped 
fine, crumbs of bread, a little shalot or 
onion, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, mace, 
pennyroyal, parsley, and lemon-thyme 
finely shred; beat as many fresh eggs, 
yolks and whites separately, as will make 
the above ingredients into a moist paste ; 
roll into small balls, and boil them in 
fresh lard, putting them in just as it boils 
up. When of a light brown, take them 
out, and drain them before the fire. If 
the suet be moist or stale, a great many 
more eggs will be necessary. 

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

486. EISSOLES OF ALL KINDS. 
Chop some dressed chicken or veal 
very fine, fry a little chopped parsley, 
shalot, and mushrooms, very fine, and a 
little slice of tongue or ham or not, fry 
them in one ounce of butter a few min- 
utes, stirring it with a wooden spoon all 
the time ; dry the butter up with flour, 
then add a few small spoonfuls of good 
veal stock, a gill of cream, -three spoon- 
fuls of bechamel sauce; now put in all 
your chopped meat, add a little sugar, a 
few drops of lemon juice, cayenne pepper 
and salt, and the yolks of three eggs, boil 
all well until quite stiff, take it out of 
your stewpan on to a dish to get cold ; 
when cold form them into a shape, either 
as pears or long balls, using bread-crumbs 
to form them ; put them to get cold ; in 
the mean time break two eggs in a basin 
and then egg the forms once or twice, and 
bread-crumb them ; fyave your fat quite 
hot to fry them, dish them on a napkin 
with fried parsley. 



437. EGGS FOR TURTLE. 

Beat three hard yolks of eggs in a mor- 
;ar, and make into a paste with the yolk 
)f a raw one ; roll it into small balls, and 
;hrow them into boiling water for two 
minutes to harden. Though formerly 
much used, they have latterly gone out 
of fashion. 



488. PASSOVER BALLS FOR SOUP. 
Chop an onion and half a pound of 
suet very finely; stew them together 
until the suet is melted, then pour it hot 
upon eight spoonfuls of biscuit-flour ; 
mix it well together ; add a little salt, a 
little grated nutmeg, lemon-peel, and gin- 
ger, and six eggs. Put the balls into the 
soup when it boils, and boil them for a 
quarter of an hour. The quantity of 
eggs and flour may appear disproportion- 
ed, but the flour employed is of a peculiar 
kind, used for the purpose in Jewish fami- 
lies. Nothing can exceed the excellence 
of the balls made after this receipt: they 
are applicable to any kind of soups. 



439. FARCE OF VEAL OR FOWL. 
Cut up a fowl, or some veal, form the 
fillet into small dice, cut in the same 
quantity of good fat ham cut small, and 
a few truffles, a little parsley, shalots, and 
a little of all kinds of fine sweet herbs, 
and a few chopped mushrooms, and one 
blade of mace, three cloves, put it all in a 
stewpan to draw down, with half a pound 
of butter for one hour; season it, add 
bread-crumbs to dry up the fat. then put 
it into your mortar and pound it very 
fine, then rub it through a wire sieve, re- 
turn it back into the mortar, and work in 
three or four eggs, leaving out one or two 
whites ; mix it well up together, and put 
it into the larder until required. If you 
want any green, color some with prepared 
spinach juice; this will do for all cold 



248 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



pies, or game, or filling turkeys, or boned 
fowls, or galantine. 

You may make this farce with dressed 
meat, then you must not place it to draw 
down on the fire ; all the rest the same, 
only truffles, and mushrooms as well as 
the rest must be first dressed. 

440 SEASONING FOR EOAST POEK, 
DUCKS, OE GEESE. 

Two-thirds onion, one-third green sage, 
chopped fine, bread crumbs equal to 
weight of both ; season with pepper and 
salt, and mix with a bit of butter and the 
yolk of an egg. 

441. FOE A SUCKING PIG. 

A teacupful of grated bread, two ounces 
of butter seasoned with salt, pepper and 
nutmeg ; scald and chop fine two small 
onions and thirty leaves of young sage ; 
mix with a beaten egg, and sew it in the 
Pig- 

442. FOE A GOOSE. 

Scald and chop fine the liver, crumb 
twice its weight in bread, chop fine four 
small onions, half their weight of green 
sage, with half an ounce of butter, the 
yolk of an egg, and a table-spoonful of 
potato starch ; season highly with salt 
and pepper. 

448. GAENISHES. 

Parsley is the most universal garnish 
to all kinds of cold meat, poultry, fish, 
butter, cheese, etc. Horseradish is the 
garnish for roast beef, and fish in general ; 
sometimes, for the latter, it is alternated 
with slices of lemon. Slices of lemon gar- 
nish boiled fowl, turkey, fish, roast veal, 

and calf's head. 

t 

444. FAECES AND STUFFINGS. 

A veal stuffing. Chop some suet fine, 
a little parsley, a small piece of shalot, 
rub through a dry sieve a small quantity 
of basil, knotted marjoram, thyme, add 



these to your suet, a grating of half a 
lemon, a few grains of nutmeg, a few 
bread-crumbs, and one or two eggs, mix 
all well up together, season with pepper 
and salt. 

If for game, scrape the raw livers into 
the stuffing, prepared as above, only in 
addition pound it all fine. 

445. FOECEMEAT INGEEDIENTS. 

Forcemeat should be made to cut with 
a knife, but not dry or heavy, no one 
flavor should predominate ; according to 
what it is wanted for, a choice may be made 
from the following list ; be careful to use 
the least of those articles that are most 
pungent; cold fowl, or veal, or ham, 
scraped fat bacon, beef suet, crumbs of 
bread, parsley, white pepper, salt, nut- 
meg, yolks and whites of eggs beaten to 
bind the mixture. Any of the following 
articles may be used to alter the taste ; 
oysters, anchovies, tarragon, savory, 
pennyroyal, marjoram, thyme, basil, 
yolks of hard eggs, caj^enne, garlic, sha- 
lots, endives, Jamaica pepper in powder, 
or two or three cloves. 

446. FOECEMEATS, ETC. 

Cold fowl, veal, or mutton. 

Scraped ham, or gammon. 

Fat bacon, or fat ham. 

Beef suet. 

Veal suet. 

Butter. 

Marrow. 

Soaked bread, and crumbs of bread. 

Parsley and white pepper. 

Salt and nutmeg. 

Cold soles. 

Oysters. 

Anchovies. 

Lobster, tarragon. 

Savoy, pennyroyal. 

Knotted marjoram. 

Thyme and lemon thyme. 

Basil and sage. 

Lemon peel. 



BEEF. 



249 



Yolks of hard eggs. 

Whites and yolks of eggs. 

Mace and cloves. 

Cayenne and garlic. 

Shalot and onion. 

Chives and chervil. 

Ground pepper and two or three cloves. 

447. BROWN COLOEING FOE MADE 
DISHES. 

Take four ounces of sugar, beat it fine, 
put it into an iron fryingpan or earthen 
pipkin, set it over a clear fire, and when 
the sugar is melted it will be frothy ; put 
it higher from the fire until it is a fine 
brown, keep it stirring all the time ; fill 
the pan up with red wine, take care that 
it does not boil over, add a little salt and 
lemon, put a little cloves and mace, a 
shalot or two, boil it gently for ten 
minutes, pour it in a basin till it is cold, 
then bottle it for use. 



BEEF. 

BEEF is dressed in various ways all 
the year round; but, for roasting, the 
best season is from November to the 
end of March. For joints, the only 
really good roasting pieces are-the sir- 
loin and the long ribs ; the short ribs, 
which are cut near the neck, never roast 
well, and should not be used for this 
purpose ; the middle ribs are the best. 
The under part, or fillet, of the sirloin, 
if cut out, may be made into a delicious 
stew; or, if cut crosswise into steaks, 
tliy will be found more tender than 
those of the rump. 

Beef requires to be hung a long time, 
in order to insure its being tender. 
When however the weather is not favor- 
able for keeping, it will b.e much improv- 
ed by being laid for a few hours, previ- 
ous to roasting, in a marinade of this 



kind three parts water to one of vine- 
gar, some salt, with a few peppercorns. 
Each joint must be carefully examined 
before it is spitted, and any portions that 
may have been injured cut away. 

The round is, in large families, one of 
the most profitable parts : it is usually 
boiled, and, like most of the boiling parts 
of beef, is generally sold at less than the 
roasting joints. 

The brisket is also less in price than 
the roasting parts ; it is not so economi- 
cal a part as the round, having more 
bone to be weighed with it, and more fat. 
Where there are children, very fat joints 
are not desirable, being often disagreea- 
ble to them, and sometimes prejudicial, 
especially if they have a dislike to it. 
This joint also requires more cooking 
than many others ; that is to say, it re- 
quires a double allowance of time to be 
given for boiling it : it will, when served, 
be hard and scarcely digestible if no 
more time be allowed to boil it than that 
which is sufficient for other joints and 
meats. When stewed it is excellent; 
and when cooked fresh, (i. e. unsalted,) 
an excellent stock for soup may be ex- 
tracted from it, and yet the meat will 
serve as well for dinner. 

The edgebone, or aitchbone, is not con- 
sidered to be a very economical joint, 
the bone being large in proportion to the 
meat ; but the greater part of it, at least, 
is as good as that of any prime part. 

The rump is the part of which the 
butcher makes profit, by selling it in the 
form of steaks. In the country, as there 
is not an equal demand for steaks, the 
whole of it may be purchased as a joint, 
and at the price of other prime parts. 
It may be turned to good account in pro- 
ducing many excellent dishes. If salt- 
ed, it is simply boiled ; if used unsalted, 
it is usually stewed. 

The veiny piece is sold at a low price 
per pound ; but if hung for a day or two, 
it is very good and very profitable. 



250 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



Where there are a number of servants 
and children to have an early dinner, 
this part of beef will be found desira- 
ble. 

From the leg and shin excellent stock 
for soup may be drawn ; and if not re- 
duced too much, the meat taken from 
the bones may be served as a stew with 
vegetables ; ' or it may be seasoned, 
pounded with butter, and potted; or 
chopped very fine, and seasoned with 
herbs, and bound together by egg and 
bread-crumbs ; it may be fried in balls, 
or in the form of large eggs, and served 
with a gravy made with a few spoonfuls 
of the soup. 

Of half an ox-qheek excellent soup 
may be made : the meat, when taken 
from the bones, may be served as a stew. 

When one or two ribs are purchased 
by a small family, it is a good plan to 
have the bones taken out, and the meat 
rolled round in the shape of a fillet ; a 
considerable saving is eifected by this 
plan, as, when not so prepared, the thin 
part of the extremity of the bone is fre- 
quently wasted. The bone cut out when 
the meat is raw will assist in making 
soap, and is much preferable to a cold 
beef-bone. They are sometimes cut off 
short, and salted or stewed, but rolled is 
the better plan; and in this manner a 
single rib can be skewered into a hand- 
som3 fillet ; the fat and lean being mar- 
bled, and the appearance of the whole 
improved. 

448. TO COLLAE EIBS OF BEEF. 

Take two or three ribs of beef; cut it 
from the bones; rub it well with salt, 
brown sugar, and saltpetre ; let it remain 
a fortnight, turning it every day ; then 
season it with pepper, mace, cloves, all- 
spice, and a clove of garlic chopped very 
fine ; cover it well with parsley, thyme, 
and sweet marjoram ; roll it up very 
tight, and bind it round with tape ; put 
it into a pot with some water, cover it 



close up, and send it to the oven to be 
baked very slowly three or four hours ; 
then take it out, and press it between 
two boards with weights. This is an 
excellent dish for luncheon or break- 
fast. 

449. A MAEINADE TO BASTE EOAST 
MEATS. 

Chop up some fat bacon with a clove 
of garlic and a sprig of parsley ; add salt, 
pepper, a spoonful of vinegar, and four 
spoonfuls of oil ; beat it up well, and 
baste the meat with it. 

450. SIELOIN OF BEEF fiOASTED. 

Break the upper part of the chine 
bones, cut them out, and cut through 
the strong gristle on the top about an 
inch apart, and skewer it in its place, 
which will prevent its drawing up or 
looking unsightly. Run the spit just 
under the bark at the thin end, and 
bring it out between the joints. By 
spitting it thus you avoid showing where 
the spit has gone through. Cover the 
fat with a sheet of buttered paper, and 
roast gently for three or four hcurs, ac- 
cording to the size of the joint. The 
under part is sometimes stuffed with 
forcemeat, in the following manner : 

Carefully lift up the fat from the in- 
side of the sirloin with a sharp knife ; 
take out all the meat close to the bone, 
and mince it small ; take one-half pound 
of suet, and chop it fine ; mix with it some 
grated bread-crumbs, a little lemon-peel, 
thyme, eschalot minced very fine ; mix 
all together with a glass of port wine ; 
put it back again into the same place, 
and cover it with the skin and fat ; 
skewer it down neatly with small wooden 
skewers, and cover it with paper. The 
meat should be spitted before you take 
out the inside ; and when done do not 
take off the paper until the joint is put 
into the dish : then serve it up garnished 
with scraped horseradish. 



BEEF. 



251 



The method of taking the meat from 
the bone, and rolling it so as to have the 
forcemeat in the middle, is easier, but 
adds its flavor to the whole joint ; while 
this way keeps the upper and the under 
part separate. 

451. TO DEESS THE INSIDE OF A 8IELOIN. 

Cut it out in one piece, if not used^at 
table ; stew it with good broth or gravy, 
a little spice, and a table-spoonful of 
walnut ketchup. Serve with chopped 
pickles. 

452. TO DEESS THE INSIDE OF A COLD 

SIELOIN. 



Cut out all the meat, and a little fat, 
into pieces as thick as your finger, and 
four inches long ; dredge them with flour, 
and fry in butter of a nice brown : drain 
the butter from the meat, and toss it up 
in a rich gravy, seasoned with pepper, 
salt, anchovy, and shalot. Do not let it 
boil on any account. Before you serve, 
add two spoonfuls of vinegar and a glass 
of port wine. Garnish with crimped 
parsley. 

Or: Cut the meat in slices about 
four inches long, and one-half an inch 
thick, the fat with the lean ; season them 
with pepper and salt, and fry them in 
good fresh butter ; have ready some 
good brown gravy, and stew them gently 
for half an hour ; add a little mush- 
room ketchup, and a table-spoonful of 
eschalot vinegar, with a wine, glass of 
port, and just before serving put in a 
small piece of butter rolled in flour. 
Serve hot in a covered dish. This part 
is called the "fillet," and, when raw, 
may be either stewed whole or in the 
above manner. 

453. ANOTHEE WAY. 

Cut the inside of the sirloin into pieces, 
dredge it with flour, put it into a frying- 
pan in which some butter is boiling; 



when it is browned, put it into a stew- 
pan with some brown gravy, highly sea- 
soned, squeeze in half a lemon, and 
serve. 

454. ANOTHEE WAY. 

Cut it in strips, as for collops, flatten 
it, flour, and fry in butter; lay in the 
centre of a hot dish a mound of spinach, 
with poached eggs on the top : lay the 
beef round the spinach. 

455. FILLET OF BEEF, EOASTED. 

If unaccustomed to the use of the 
knife, the butcher's aid may be obtained 
to cut the fillet, which comes from the 
inside of the sirloin ; it may be larded 
or roasted plain ; for high dinners it is 
larded; baste- with fresh butter. It 
must be a large fillet which takes longer 
than an hour and twenty minutes ; serve 
with tomato sauce, garnish with horse- 
radish, unless served with currant jelly, 
then serve as with venison or hare, on 
warmed dishes and plates. 

456.-FILLET OF BEEF. 

To dress the inside of a Sirloin of Beef 
to taste like Hare. Take the inside of 
a large sirloin that has hung until ten- 
der ; soak it twenty-four hours in a few 
glasses of port wine and vinegar. Have 
ready a good stuffing as for hare; do 
not spread, but put it into the middle 
of the beef, and roll it up tight. Roast 
it on a hanging spit, and baste it with 
a glass of the wine and vinegar, mixed 
with a teaspoonful of Jamaica pepper, 
and a clove or two, in the finest .powder, 
until it is all dried up ; then baste with 
butter. Serve with a rich gravy in the 
dish, and currant-jelly sauce in a tureen. 

457. EUMP OF BEEF. 
If of a well-fed ox, and hung till ten- 
der, this is one of the most juicy and best 
flavored of all the joints of beef, but is 



252 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



more frequently stewed than roasted. It 
is generally sold in the country undivided 
from the aitch-bone ; or cut across, and 
not lengthwise, which makes it too large 
for one dressing, and neither fit for boil- 
ing nor roastin'g. 

At family dinners, a Yorkshire pudding 
is a usual accompaniment, but now sel- 
dom served at genteel tables. 

458. -TO STEW BEEF. 

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

By this time the meat will probably be 
tender enough ; when take out the whole 
onions, mince them, and fry them in but- 
ter, to be mixed in the gravy made by the 
meat, which season with salt and cayenne, 
or Chili-vinegar, to which add some mush- 
room or walnut ketchup. Thicken the 
gravy with a little flour, and brown it, 
if necessary, with a spoonful of sugar 
burnt soft ; which, besides imparting its 
color, adds an agreeable flavor. Such is 
the most simple mode; but the sauce 
may be much improved by a glass or two 
of port wine and a spoonful of curry pow- 




Stewed Beet 
der ; if the odor of garlic be not objected 



to, a clove boiled in the stew will be found 
to give it a fine flavor. Garnish with 
vegetables. 

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



459.-EUMP OF BEEF STEW. 

Half roast it ; then put it into a pot 
with three pints of water, a pound of 
sliced bacon, a bunch of sweet herbs, two 
wine-glasses of vinegar, and a bottle of 
cider or small wine ; stick cloves into a 
couple of large onions, add a few sage- 
leaves, and cover the beef closely, adding 
more water should there npt be sufficient 
gravy from the meat. Let it simmer for 
three hours ; then strain the gravy. Boil 
or bake some button onions, and lay 
them round the beef; cover it also with 
forcemeat balls, fried ornaments of paste, 
and mushrooms, if in season ; add to the 
gravy a glass of port wine, a spoonful of 
soy and Oude sauce ; boil down a part to 
a glaze, and put it on the beef: thicken 
the remainder if necessary, and pour it 
round, garnishing the dish with pickles. 

Or: Season it high with cayenne, 
salt, allspice, cloves, and a blade of mace, 
all in fine powder. Bin J it up tight, and 
lay it into a pot that will just hold it : 
resting it on two or three twigs, to pre- 
vent the megt from sticking. Fry three 
large onions sliced, and put them to it. 
with carrots, turnips, a shalot, a blade of 
mace, and some celery. Cover the meat 
with good beef-broth, and simmer it as 
gently as possible for several hours until 
quite tender. Clear off the fat ; and add 
to the gravy half a pint of port wine, a 
small glass of Chili vinegar, and a large 
spoonful of ketchup ; simmer half an 
hour, and serve in a deep dish. The 
herbs to be used should be burnet, tarra- 



BEEF. 



253 



gon, parsley, thyme, basil, marjoram, and 
all or any of the most savory sort. 

Or : Prepare the beef as directed in the 
foregoing receipts, and glaze it twice ; 
stew some white haricot beans in good 
brown gravy, with an onion sliced, a car- 
rot, some parsley, and a bunch of sweet 
herbs, a clove of garlic, a bay-leaf, and a 
slice of lean ham ; let all simmer gently 
together till the beans are sufficiently 
tender ; then separa f e them from the other 
Toge tables, and put them in a sieve to 
drain; pass the sauce and vegetables 
through a tammy, add a table-spoonful 
of vinegar, and if not thick enough, a 
bit of butter rolled in flour ; put in the 
haricot beans, make all boiling-hot, and 
pour the sauce into the dish round the 
beef. 

460. BEISKET OF BEEF STEWED. 

Stew it in sufficient water to cover the 
meat ; when quite tender, take out the 
bones, and skim off the fat ; add to the 
gravy, when strained, a glass of wine and 
a little spice tied up in a muslin bag. 
Have ready either mushrooms, truffles, 
or vegetables boiled, and cut into shapes. 
Lay them on and round the beef; reduce 
part of the gravy to a glaze ; lay it on 
the top, and pour the remainder into the 
dish. 

It is a good piece to be stewed, as it 
may be cut from the bone, and of any 
size. 

461. LEG OF BEEF STEWED. 

Salt six pounds of the half-leg, or stiff 
marrow-bone of beef for three or four 
days. Make holes in it about one and a 
half inches deep, and press in, very hard, 
forcemeat made in the following manner : 
one and a half pounds of suet sliced very 
fine ; pepper, salt, and a few cloves, some 
winter savory, and sweet marjoram, mix 
ed well together. The beef must be 
baked in a deep pan, with water reaching 
about three-quarters of the way up, and 
forcemeat spread over the top, which, 



when the meat is baked, is taken off, cut 
into shapes, and laid round the dish. 

462. BOUILLON 

Is the common soup of France, and is 
in use in almost every French family. 
Put into an earthen stock-pot in the pro- 
portion of one pound of beef to one quart 
of cold water. Place it on the side of the 
fire, and let it become slowly hot. By so 
doing the fibre of the meat is enlarged, 
the gelatine is dissolved, and the savor- 
ous parts of the meat are diffused through 
the broth. "When the object is simply to 
make a good, pure-flavored beef broth, 
part of the shin or leg will answer, the 
purpose, adding some vegetables, and let- 
ting it stew four or five hours ; but if the 
meat is to be eaten, the rump or leg-of- 
mutton piece should be used 

463. BOUILLI. 

The rump of beef is best for this pur- 
pose, as the meat is to be served up in a 
separate dish, and will make a finely fla- 
vored sort of soup. Take as much of it 
as may be thought necessary ; but for a 
small party, say from four to six pounds, 
along with two or three large roasted 
onions, in one of which some cloves may 
be stuck, and a moderate quantity of 
whole pepper, with a bunch of sweet 
herbs ; to which an anchovy may be add- 
ed; put it in a stewpan. covered with 
rather more than a pint of cold water to 
every pound of meat ; and let it simmer 
by the side of the fire for four or five 
hours, or until it has become quite ten- 
der ; then take out the herbs and onions, 
and add carrots, turnips, and celery, 
either cut into small squares or sliced, and 
let the whole boil until sufficiently stew- 
ed, and ready for the table. 

The soup should then be strained off 
and served separately, leaving only so 
much as may be necessary for making 
sauce for the vegetables. The sauce 
should be a little thickened, and seasoned 



254 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



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

464-TO KESTOEE TAINTED MEAT. 

Pour a few drops of hydrochloric acid 
in water till of a slight sour taste, and 
immerse the tainted meat in it for an 
hour or so, and it will become quite sweet 
again. 

465. BKOILING. 

The cook must prepare her fire in due 
time. When ready, it should be clear 
and bright, so clear from black coal and 
smoke that the chop or steak may come 
from the gridiron without blemish or 
taint of sulphur or smoke. The best 
fuel for a broil is composed of charcoal 
and coke, as little smoke is emitted from 
either, even on commencing the fire, and 
when well ignited, it is entirely free from 
it ; coke, added to a brisk coal fire, also 
burns bright, and is well suited for the 
operation, though with care a proper fire 
may be made of good hard coal. There is 
this amongst other disadvantages, in cut- 
ting too thick a steak, the outside is 
likely to be scorched to horny hardness 
before the interior is half cooked ; hence, 
to say nothing of the misery of those 
who have not large mouths, the disap- 



pointed epicure must either wait until it 
is put again on the gridiron, or instead 
of eating it rare, be constrained to eat it 
raw. N0 gridiron should be used but 
those with fluted bars, which, forming 
channels, the greater part of the fat 
which otherwise falls into the fire, and 
scorches the steak, is drawn off into a 
gutter at the bottom ; the gridiron 
should be thoroughly heated, and the 
bars rubbed with beef or mutton suet 
previously to putting on the steak, to 
prevent its being marked by, or adhering 
to, the bars. A close eye should be 
kept on the steak to watch the moment 
for .turning it. which is repeatedly done 
during the process; broiling tongs of 
convenient size should be used, with 
which, by a little practice, the steak may 
be turned with ease and despatch ; the 
cook must have her dish thoroughly 
heated to receive the broil when done, 
and the cover hot to place on it instant- 
ly. Even when she has accomplished 
her task, if the servant who is to take it 
to table loiters on the way, the steak 
will have lost its zest. A steak or chop 
should be briskly cooked, speedily con- 
veyed to table, and served with despatch. 



466. BEEF STEAKS, BKOILED. 

Be particular that the fire is clear ; it 
is of no use to attempt to broil a steak 
over a dull, smoky, or flaring fire ; see 
that the gridiron is clean, and the bars 
rubbed with suet preparatory to laying 
on the steak ; when they are browned 
turn them ; do not be afraid of doing 
this often, as this is the best plan to pre- 
serve the gravy. When they are done 
rub them over with a piece of fresh but- 
ter, pepper and salt them, sprinkle the 
shalot or onion cut very small, and send 
them to table with oyster .sauce, a dish 
of nicely cooked greens, and well boiled 
potatoes : they are frequently and pleas- 



BEEF. 



255 



antly garnished with scraped horse- 
radish. 

467. THE ENGLISH DISH OF BEEF STEAK 
AND ONIONS. 

Pound the steak, season, and fry it in a 
saute or frying-pan; then dredge flour 
over it, and add, by degrees, a cup of 
boiling water with more seasoning. 
Drain the onions, which must have been 
boiled, cut them up. and put them into 
the pan, having taken out the steak ; 
add a lump of butter and a little more 
flour; stir them to prevent scorching; 
and when the onions are well browned, 
put in the steak, and place the whole over 
the fire till heated thoroughly. In serv- 
ing, heap the onions upon the steak. 

468. BEEF STEAKS EOLLED AND 
BOASTED. 

Cut handsome steaks from the rump, 
and if not sufficiently tender let them be 
well beaten ; make a rich stuffing of equal 
parts of ham and veal well peppered ; 
stew it for a short time, and pound it in 
a mortar with bread steeped in milk, a 
lump of butter, and the yolk of two or 
three eggs; spread this forcemeat over 
the steaks, roll them up and tie them 
tightly, roast them before a clear fire. 
They will occupy an hour and twenty 
minutes to an hour and a half roasting ; 
baste well with butter while roasting, 
and serve with brown gravy. 

469. STEWED BEEF STEAKS. 

Stew the steaks in three parts of a 
pint of water, to which has been added a 
bunch of s\veet herbs, two blades of 
mace, an onion stuck with cloves say 
three, an anchovy, and a lump of butter 
soaked in flour ; pour over a glass of 
sherry or Madeira. Stew with the pan 
covered down, until the steaks are ten- 
der, but not too much so ; then place 
them in a fryingpan- with enough of fresh 



butter, hissing hot, to cover them, fry 
them brown, pour off the fat, and in ita 
place pour into the pan the gravy in 
which the steaks were stewed ; when 
the gravy is thoroughly heated, and is of 
a rich consistency, place the steaks in a 
hot dish, pour the sauce over them. 
The steaks should be large, the finest 
from the rump, and have a due propor- 
tion of fat with them. 

470. BEEF STEAKS, 1 LA FRANQAISE. 

Take a fine steak and dip it into cold 
spring water, let it drain a few minutes, 
lay it in a dish and pour over it sufficient 
clarified butter hot, and cover it ; let it 
remain twelve hoijrs, then remove the 
butter, and roll the steak with the roll- 
ing-pin a dozen times rather hardly, let 
it lie in front of a clear fire ten minutes, 
turning it once or twice, put it into a 
fryingpan. with water half an inch in 
depth, and let it fry until it browns. 

Mince some parsley very fine, chop an 
eschalot as fine as can be, and season 
them with cayenne, salt, and a little 
white pepper ; work them with a lump 
of fresh butter, and when the steak is 
brown take it from the pan, rub it well 
with the mixture on both sides, and re- 
turn it to the pan until done enough ; dish 
it, thicken the gravy in the pan with a 
little butter rolled in flour if it requires 
it, and pour it over the steak and serve. 

471. BEEF STEAKS A LA PAKISIENNE. 

Cut thin steaks from the finest and 
tendcrest part of the rump, sprinkle 
pounded salt, a little cayenne and white 
pepper combined, over them ; lay them in 
a pan with an ounce of fresh butter, cut 
in pieces ; work half a teaspoonful of 
flour with three ounces of fresh butter, 
as much parsley minced exceedingly fine 
as would lie on a shilling, roll it, and cut 
in large dice, lay it in a dish, squeeze the 
half of a lemon over the butter, and 



256 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



when the steaks are done lay them upon 
the butter; have ready a quantity of 
raw peeled potatoes, cut in thin slices, 
and washed in milk and water ready, fry 
them in the butter and gravy left by the 
steak, and lay them round the dish ; they 
will be done when they are a rich 
brown. 

472. PALATES OF BEEF. 

Four white skinned palates; if for a 
white dish lay them all night in salt and 
water, wash them well, put them on to 
scald, take off all the skin, then put them 
into your stock pot, let them boil several 
hours until so tender that you can pass 
a straw through them, then take them 
up and lay them flat on a large dish 
separate, placing another on the top of 
them with a weight to keep them flat : 
if to be dressed whole turn the sides 
smooth, spread each with quenelle or 
forcemeat, roll them up and tie them ; 
it will take six for this dish; steam 
them for a quarter of an hour, take them 
up and glaze them well, and take off the 
string ; if for a turban or timbales, cut 
them out with a plain round cutter, 
either using two small moulds or one 
large ; proceed with those two as you 
would for the timbale of macaroni, leav- 
ing out the cheese and any other layer ; 
introduce slices of truffles all round, and 
then palates, then mushrooms until your 
mould is full, put a layer of quenelle on 
the top, paper it on the top with but- 
tered paper, steam as other timbales; 
haricot roots, truffles, mushrooms, to- 
mato, piquant, any of these will do for 
sauces, or Italienne ; glaze the tops when 
turned out. 



478. BEEF PALATES. 

Take as many as required, let them 
simmer until they peel, put them in a 
rich gravy, stew until very tender, sea- 



son with cayenne, salt, two* teaspoonfuls 
of mushroom ketchup serve. 



474 BEEF COLLOPS. 

Any part of beef which is tender will 
serve to make col lops ; cut the beef into 
pieces about three inches long, beat them 
flat, dredge them with flour, fry them in 
butter, lay them in a stewpan, cover 
them with brown gravy, put in half an 
eschalot minced fine, a lump of butter 
rolled in flour to thicken, with a little 
pepper and salt ; stew without suffering 
it to boil ; serve with pickles, or squeeze 
in half a lemou, according to taste ; 
serve in a tureen, and serve hot. 

475. A BEEF STEW. 

Take two or three pounds of the rump 
of beef, cut away all the fat and skin, and 
cut it into pieces about two or three 
inches square, put it into a stewpan, and 
pour upon it a quart of broth, let it boil, 
sprinkle in a little salt and pepper to 
taste ; when it has boiled very gently, or 
simmered two hours, shred finely a large 
lemon, add it to the gravy, and in twenty 
minutes pour in a flavoring composed of 
two table-spoonfuls of Harvey's sauce, 
the juice of the lemon the rind of which 
has been sliced into the gravy, a spoonful 
of flour, and a little ketchup; add at 
pleasure two glasses of Madeira, or one 
of sherry, or port, a quarter of an hour 
after the flavoring, and serve. 

476. BEEF HASHED. 

Take the bones of the joint to be hash- 
ed, and break them small, stew them in 
very little water, with a bunch of sweet 
herbs, and a few onions ; roll a lump of 
butter in flour, brown it in a stewpan, 
pour the gravy to it, and add the meat to 
be hashed, cut two small onions in thin 
slices, a carrot also, and a little parsley 
shred" finely ; stew gently until the meat 
is hot through, and serve. 



BEEF. 



257 



477. HASH BALLS. 

Mince cold roast meat very fine, mix 
it with cold boiled potatoes chopped ; 
season with pepper and salt, and a little 
of the gravy ; make it into cakes as large 
as a biscuit, cover each with beaten egg 
and then with bread crumbs, and fry the 
cakes a light brown in butter, lard, or 
dripping. 

478. BEEF TONGUE TO CUKE. 

Throw a handful of salt over the 
tongue, seeing that it is sprinkled on both 
sides, let it remain to drain until the fol- 
lowing day, make a pickle of a table- 
spoonful of common salt, half that quan- 
tity of saltpetre, and the same quantity 
of coarse sugar as of salt ; rub this mix- 
ture well into the tongue, do so every 
day for a week; it will then be found 
necessary to add more salt, a table-spoon- 
ful will suffice ; in four more days the 
tongue will be cured sufficiently. 

Some persons do not rub the pickle 
into the tongue, but let it absorb it, 
merely turning it daily ; this method will 
be found to occupy a month or five weeks 
before it will be cured. When the tongue 
is to be dried affix a paper to it with 
a date ; smoke over a wood fire four days 
unless wrapped in paper, and then as 
many weeks will be required. 

479. TO DEESS BEEF TONGUES. 

To dress them, boil the tongue tender, 
it will take five hours; always dress 
them as they come out of the pickle, un- 
less they have been very long there, then 
they may be soaked three or four hours 
in cold water, or if they have been smok- 
ed, and hung long, they should be soften- 
ed by lying in water five or six hours. 
They should be brought to a boil gently, 
and then simmer until tender; when 
they have been on the fire about two 
hours, and the scum removed as it rises, 
throw in a bunch of sweet herbs of a 



;olerable size ; it will improve the flavor 
of the tongue. 

480. A FAMILY STEW OF BEEF. 

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

481. TONGUE LAEDED. 

This when well cooked is especially 
pleasant to some palates. Take a tongue 
which has been pickled, a small one 
is the best, cut off the root, and put it 
into a pan ; cover it with water, and let 
it boil tive-and-twenty or thirty minutes. 
Take it out, and then dip it in scalding 
water to blanch, and remove the skin. 

Take a piece of fat bacon, cut it into 
strips for larding. Make a seasoning of 
pounded sweet herbs, eschalot, mace, and 
a little cayenne pepper mixed with white 
pepper and salt; sprinkle the bacon 
strips with it, and leaving a line for divi- 
sion down the centre of the tongue. Lard 
it all over. Braise the tongue, and then 
glaze ; separate it in the space left, but 
leave it attached at either end, so that 
when laid ojoen on the dish it is not en- 
tirely divided in two. Have ready some 
brown sauce, flavored with minced capers, 
sliced pickled gherkins, the juice of half 
a lemon, ana half a small tea-spoonful of 



258 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



cayenne pepper. Pour it when ready 
into a dish ; lay the tongue upon it, and 
serve as hot as possible. 

482. BEEP OLIVES. 

Cut some handsome steaks, flatten 
them well with a roller, dredge them 
well with a small quantity of white pep- 
per and salt, have some forcemeat, made 
with the fat and lean of veal mixed to- 
gether, a small bit of lean ham or bacon, 
parsley, and sweet herbs, with a few 
bread crumbs, all beaten in a mortar, and 
mixed with an egg ; lay a little over each 
steak, and roll them up tightly, fastening 
with a skewer ; dip them in the yolk of 
an egg, then in crumbs of bread, and fry 
them of a pale brown; rolling up each 
separate steak, and binding it together 
with thread; dish them with brown sauce, 
in which put a glass of white wine, with 
some strong gravy, seasoned with cayenne. 

483. B(EUF TEEMBLANT. 

Cut a handsome piece of beef from the 
rump, either a fillet or square ; hang it 
up for four daj'.s, then put it all night to 
soak in a pickle of salt and vinegar; put 
it into a stewpan, and let it be covered 
with water; add a seasoning of whole 
pepper and salt, a bundle of swe^t herbs, 
and an onion. Let it simmer very slowly 
as long as it will hang together, taking 
care to skim it well. Strain the gravy, 
and add to it carrots previously boiled, 
and cut into pieces an inch long ; add also 
a few capers and a mushroom, with a 
glass of wine and the juice of a lemon. 
"When the beef has been sufficiently 
stewed take it up, and set it for a short 
time in a Dutch oven, and glaze it, or 
brown it with a salamander. 

484. SPICED BEEF. 

d 

A joint from the round, rump, or flank, 
from ten to fourteen pounds, is the usual 
weight of the piece intended to be thus 
dressed. Make a mixture of the follow- 



ing ingredients, and let them be well 
amalgamated ; pound finely as much mace 
as will quite fill a teaspoon, grind a nnt- 
meg to powder, and add it, also two spoon- 
fuls of cloves, one-fourth of that quantity 
of cayenne pepper, and half a pound of 
coarse brown sugar; rub the beef well 
with this mixture for three days, turning 
it each day once ; add three-quarters of a 
pound of salt, and then continue rubbing 
well each day, for ten days more ; at the 
expiration of that time dip it into some 
cold clear spring water, twice or thrice, 
secure it into a handsome shape, put it 
into a stewpan with a quart of good beef 
broth, let it come to a boil, skim as the 
scum rises, and as soon as it boils put in 
three carrots cut in slices, a bundle of 
sweet herbs, a little parsley, and an onion ; 
stew gently four hours. 

If it is intended to serve this dish cold, 
let it remain until it is cool in the liquor 
in which it was boiled, but take the pre- 
caution to put the meat into a clean pan, 
and pour the liquor over it. 

485. A PICKLE FOE BEEF. 

To one gallon of water put two pounds 
and a half of common salt, one ounce of 
saltpetre, half a pound of coarse sugar, 
boil it for a quarter of an hour, and be 
particular white boiling to remove every 
particle of scum while rising, that it may 
be as clear as possible, let it be cold when 
poured upon the beef. If it is desired to 
make the pickle last for a very long time, 
add a gallon of spring water to the above 
quantity, which should, if for keeping, be 
also spring water, add three ounces of 
saltpetre, two pounds of bay salt, and a 
pound and a half of coarse brown sugar. 
\Vhatever joints are put into this pickle, 
they should be kept closely covered down. 
Prepare thus the beef for pickling, keep 
it as long as you can without taint, spread 
over it coarse sugar, and let it remain for 
two days to drain. Rub the beef thor- 
oughly with the pickle, and let it remain 



BEEF. 



259 



in it eight, ten, twelve, or fourteen days, 
according to its size and quantity ; a con- 
siderable quantity of beef may be pickled 
together, indeed the closer it is packed 
the better, so that it is covered with the 
pickle and kept tightly down ; when they 
are taken out of the pickle, lay some sticks 
across the pan and lot them drip into it, 
when as much has fallen from them as 
will, wipe them dry, and they may either 
be cooked at once or dried ; if the latter 
be determined upon, after having well 
dried them, smoke eight hours over burnt 
sawdust and damp straw, or sew them in 
a cloth and send them to the baker, and let 
them hang seven or eight days. Do not, 
as in the other receipt boil the pickle 
before using the first time, but after it 
has been once used, and every succeeding 
time, observing that it must be kept 
skimmed, and each time of boiling add a 
quart of water and a couple of pounds of 
salt. This pickle will answer equally 
well for hams or tongues. 

486. HUNG BEEF 

Take twelve to fourteen pounds of 'the 
flank of beef, throw over it a handful of 
salt ; let it drain twenty-four hours. 
Make a brine of one pound of salt, one 
ounce of saltpetre ; let them be quite dry, 
and pound them to a fine powder before 
using, a quarter of a pound of bay salt 
and two ounces of coarse sugar. If it is 
intended to make the beef red, add three 
grains of cochineal ; rub the beef with 
this brine for a week, and then turn it ; 
let it remain two days, and then rub it 
again for seven or eight days ; then let 
it drain from the pickle. Send it to the 
baker's to be smoked. Yv r hen wanted for 
dressing, put it into cold water more than 
enough to cover it, boil gradually until 
enough, and put it under a heavy weight 
while hot. It may be served with car- 
rots and greens, or, if for grating, choose 
a lean piece, put it in boiling water ; keep 



it boiling rapidly ; four pounds will take 
an hour. 

487. BEEF HUNG. 

The best piece is the navel piece, it 
must be hung up in a cellar until it is a 
little damp, but not long enough to change, 
take it down and wash it well in brown 
sugar and water, dry it with a cloth, cut 
it in two or three pieces, take half a nound 
of brown sugar, two pounds of bay salt 
dried and pounded smal', six ounces of 
saltpetre dried and beat fine, rub it well 
into the beef, then rub common salt over 
it as much as will make it salt enough ; 
let it lie together ten days, changing the 
pieces from the bottom to the top ; hang 
it where it may have the warmth of the 
fire, but not too near ; when it is dressed 
boil it in hay and water until tender; 
it will keep two or three months ; when 
mouldy dip it in water. 

488. DUTCH HUNG BEEF. 

Rub a lean piece of beef about twelve 
pounds with molasses, and turn it fre- 
quently, in three days wipe it dry, salt it 
with a pound of salt and an ounce of salt- 
petre in fine powder, rub well in, turning 
every day for fourteen days, roll it as 
tightly as you can in a coarse cloth, lay 
a heavy weight upon it, hang it to dry in 
the smoke from wood, reversing it every 
day, boil in spring water, press it while 
hot and grate or rice it to fancy. 

489.-EUMP STEAK STEWED. 

Cut a steak about an inch thick with a 
good bit of fat, fry it over a brisk fire, 
place it in a stewpan with the gravy, a 
little good stock, a little port wine, and 
some chopped mushrooms, stew gently ; 
when tender put into it some good brown 
sauce, shake it gently about ; dish it, and 
put scraped or grated horseradish on the 
top ; if for oysters or mushrooms, see 
those sauces ; season with salt, cayenne 
pepper, and sugar. 



260 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



490. RUMP STEAK PLAUS BROILED. 

Cut your steak not so thick as for the 
former; have ready a good clear fire, 
put your gridiron to get quite hot, then 
put on the steak at full length, frequently 
stirring it with your steak tongs, a few 
minutes according to taste will do it, 
place it on your dish, put a good slice of 
butter rubbed all over it, and now pepper 
and salt it. Horseradish on the top of 
it, and frequently sauces. 

491. BAKED BEEP. 

A Rump of twenty to twenty-five 
pounds weight. Take two ounces each 
of pepper and allspice; one ounce of 
pounded cloves, and the same quantity 
of mace ; rub this all over the joint^ 
which should be hung up for a fortnight 
or three weeks, according to the weather 
taking care to keep it dry, and to occa- 
sionally renew the seasoning. When 
ready for baking, wash off the spice with 
port wine, and lard the rump throughout 
not in the common mode used by poul- 
terers, but by inserting large lardoons in 
different parts of the meat. Then put a 
large quantity of suet, shred fine, both 
under and over it, and cover it with 
coarse flour and water paste, between 
which and the suet you may put a few 
bay-leaves or some sweet herbs. If eaten 
hot, the dough, bay-leaves, and suet must 
all be taken off; the joint basted, sprin- 
kled with a little salt and flour, over 




Self-Basting Dutch Oven. 

which a salamander should be passed; 
and served up with strong gravy or brown 



sauce. If cold, leave on the dough till 
wanted. 

It should be baked in a moderately- 
heated oven, and will take, according to 
the size, from six to eight hours' bak- 
ing. 

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

492. BEEF BRAINS FRIED. 

Let your brains be properly marina- 
ded, then leave them to drain ; make a 
preparation with warm water, a little 
butter, and salt some flour, and a spoon- 
ful of oil, and the whites of eggs whipped 
to snow, mix all together till like batter; 
dip your brains into this batter, and then 
fry them a nice brown color ; when fried 
let them drain on a dry cloth, garnish 
with fried parsley. 

493. BEEF BRAINS A LA SAUCE 
PIQUANTE. 

Cook your brains in a marinade ; drain 
them, put them on a dish, and pour a 
sauce piquante all over them. 



494 BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. 

Sprinkle some slices of cold boiled beef 
with pepper; fry them with a bit of but- 
ter of a light brown ; boil a cabbage , 
squeeze it quite dry and chop it small ; 
take the beef out of the frying-pan and 
lay the cabbage in it ; sprinkle a little 
salt and pepper over it; keep the pan 
moving over the fire for a few minutes ; 
lay the cabbage in the middle of the dish 
and the beef around it. 



BEEF. 



261 



495. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK 

Cut slices from a cold boiled round or 
rump of beef; let them be fried quickly 
until brown, and put them into a dish to 
be kept hot. Clean the pan from the fat ; 
put into it greens and carrots previously 
boiled and chopped small, or, instead of 
these, large onions sliced thin and fried, 
though both the latter are sometimes 
omitted. Add a little butter, pepper, 
and salt ; make them very hot, and put 
them round the beef with a little gravy. 

Cold pork boiled is thought by some 
to be a better material for bubble and 
squeak than beef, which is sometimes 
hard. In either case the slices should be 
very thin, and lightly fried. 

496. OX-TAILS. 

Cut the tails in pieces ; lay them in a 
stewpan, with butter and a large onion ; 
set them over a smart fire to make them 
brown ; peel and boil a couple of dozen 
of button onions in about three pints of 
water, for fifteen or twenty minutes ; set 
them by and pour the liquor they were 
boiled in upon the tails, adding sufficient 
boiling water to cover them ; put in six 
ounces of carrots, and eight of turnips, 
cut into slices, or balls the size of nut- 
megs ; put in the carrots twenty minutes 
before the turnips. Be careful that they 
are not stewed too fast or too much. 
When they are tender, pass the gravy 
through a sieve ; skim off the fat, and pay 
great attention in doing so, as the fat 
rises while the tails are stewing. Keep 
the meat and vegetables hot. Thicken 
the gravy by putting an ounce of butter 
into a stewpan ; when melted, stir in as 
much flour as will stiffen it. Pour the 
gravy in by degrees, stirring it till it boils ; 
s'train it through a sieve into a stewpan, 
and let it simmer gently till the meat and 
vegetables are dished. Lay the tails 
round the dish, and the vegetables in the 
middle ; pour the gravy over ; minced 
17 



gherkins or capers may be added. POUT 
boiling water over the onions to warm 
them, and put them round the dish the 
last thing. 

Or :- Divide them at the joints, blanch, 
and parboil them ; put them into a stew- 
pan with just water or weak broth 
enough to cover them ; let them simmer 
over a gentle fire, and remove the scum 
carefully as it rises ; then put in an onion, 
a blade of mace, and a little pepper and 
salt ; put them on again to simmer, and 
when sufficiently done add a spoonful of 
essence of anchovy and some flour rolled 
in butter. This is an excellent and nour- 
ishing dish. 

497.-TEIPE. 

Tripe may be dressed in several ways, 
but whatever mode may be employed, it 
will always be found an improvement to 
soak it for a whole night in milk. Some 
say, seven or eight days in salt and wa- 
ter. If left in the milk until that gets 
sour, the acidity thus imparted to it will 
render it still better. 

Take two pounds of fresh tripe, cleaned 
and dressed by the tripe-dresser; cut 
away the coarsest fat, and boil it in equal 
parts of milk and water ; twenty minutes 
to half an hour will be long enough. Boil 
in the same water which boils the tripe, 
four large onions ; the onions should be 
put on the fire at least half an hour be- 
fore the tripe is put in the stewpan, and 
then made into a rich onion sauce, which 
serve with the tripe. 

Tripe is cleaned, dried, cut into pieces, 
and fried in batter, and served with melt- 
ed butter. 

Tripe is cut into slices ; three eggs are 
beaten up with minced parsley, sweet 
herbs, onions chopped exceedingly fine, 
parsley, and mushrooms. The tripe is 
dipped into this mixture, and fried in 
boiling lard. 

Tripe may be cut into collops. covered 
with a mixture of parsley, onions, and 



262 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



mushrooms, minced exceedingly fine, and 
fried in clarified or fresh butter. Serve 
mushroom sauce with it. 

Tripe can be stewed in gravy in which 
put parsley, onions, and mushrooms, or 
in lieu of the latter, mushroom ketchup. 
Thicken* the gravy with flour and butter. 
When the tripe is tender, it will be done. 
A lemon may be sent to table with it. 

498. TO STEW OX-CHEEK. 

Clean the head nicely, then soak it for 
some hours in cold water ; put it into a 
stewpan, and let it simmer gently till it is 
quite tender ; then take out the bones, and 
tie the meat up in a cloth ; put a weight 
upon it, and let it stand till the next day ; 
make a forcemeat' of any white meat, and 
boil six eggs hard; cut the cheek in 
slices ; put some at the bottom of a dish, 
then a layer of forcemeat, then one of the 
sliced eggs, another of meat, and so on 
till the dish is full ; season with pepper 
and salt, and pour in as much of the 
gravy as the dish will hold ; either stew 
it in the usual way, or cover it with a 
coarse paste and send it to the oven to be 
baked slowly. The paste to be removed 
before brought to table. 

499. BEEF TONGUE. 

If it has been dried and smolced, before 
it is dressed it should be soaked over- 
night; but tf-jnty pickled, a few hours 
will be sufficient. Put it into a pot of 
cold water, and set it over a slow fire for 




Tongue Garnished. 

an hour or two before it comes to a boil 



;hen put it aside, and keep it simmering 
or three and a half to four hours, ac- 
cording to its size: you can ascertain 
when it is done by probing it with a 
skewer. Peel it, trim the root, glaze it, 
and before serving surround the root 
with a paper frill, and stick a flower or 
two on the top. 

Its appearance, and its flavor, also, 
may be improved by rubbing it over, 
when skinned, with yolk of egg, on 
which crumbs of bread and finely minced 
sweet herbs may be strewed ; then 
slightly basting it with butter, and 
arowning it with a salamander. 

500. TO STEW TONGUE. 

Salt a tongue with saltpetre and com- 
mon salt for a week, turning it every 
day ; boil it tender enough to peel ; when 
done, stew it with a moderately strong 
gravy ; season with soy, mushroom- 
ketchup, cayenne pepper, pounded cloves, 
and salt, if necessary. Serve with 
truffles, morels, and mushrooms, stewed 
in gravy. 

501 AN EXCELLENT WAT OF PKEPAE- 
ING TONGUES TO EAT COLD. 

Season with common salt and salt- 
petre, brown sugar, a little bay-salt, 
Pfipper, cloves, mace, and allspice, in fine 
powder, for* a fortnight; then take away 
the pickle, put the tongue into a small 
pan, and lay some butter on it ; cover it 
with brown crust, and bake it slowly till 
so tender that a straw will go through 
it ; put it into a tin mould, and press it 
well, laying in as much fat as possible. 

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

502. TO EOAST A BEEF TONGUE. 
Take a fine large fresh tongue, scald it, 
and take off the skin ; cut it off at the 
root and trim it neatly; stick a few 



BEEF ENTREES. 



263 



cloves here and there in it, and put it in 
a cradle-spit; sprinkle it with salt, and 
baste it well with butter. Serve it with 
a good sauce in a sauceboat, made as 
follows : Put into a stewpan half a pint 
of port wine, with about half the quan- 
tity of well seasoned gravy ; reduce it to 
one-half; then stir in a good piece of 
butter and a table-spoonful of flour ; add 
a squeeze of lemon ; when the butter is 
melted and the sauce done, place the 
tongue in a dish, and serve hot with the 
sauce poured round. In Spain, the sauce 
is strongly impregnated with saffron. 

503. FEESH BEEF TONGUE. 

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

504 A FEESH NEAT'S TONGUE AND 
UDDEE 

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

505. BEISKET OF BEEF, STEWED. 

Take any quantity of brisket of beef 
required, say eight or ten pounds, cover 
it with water, stew it tender, bone the 
beef and skim off the fat, strain the 
gravy, add a glass of port wine, flavor 



with spice tied in a bag. Have boiled 
vegetables ready ; cut them into squares, 
and garnish the beef from the gravy 
round it, and serve. 

606. ENTBtfES 

Are, in common terms, what are call- 
ed made-dishes ; of course, these are the 
dishes upon which, in the high class of 
cookery, the talent of the cook is dis- 
played. Great care should be observed 
in dishing them up, for the eye is a great 
assistance to the palate : it often happens 
that the carelessness of the servant de- 
stroys the labors of the cook, by the 
manner in which the dish is taken from 
the kitchen to the dining-room. In some 
measure to avoid that, Soyer directs a 
small thin border of mashed potatoes, 
about half an inch wide and a quarter of 
an inch deep, to be placed on the bottom 
of the dish, which keeps each object in 
its place ; they should always be served 
exceedingly hot. 

. . 507. COW-HEELS. 

Ox-feet, or Cow-heels, are not highly 
esteemed, but they contain much nutri- 
ment, and may be dressed in the various 
ways already stated for tripe, with which 
they are commonly boiled. They are 
frequently eaten cold, with mustard and 
vinegar. 

Soak them well ; boil, and serve in a 
napkin, with thick melted butter, a large 
spoonful of vinegar, and a little mustard 
and salt. Or boil, and then stew them 
in a brown gravy. Or cut the heel hi 
four parts, dip each in egg, flour, and fry 
them in butter. Or fry, and serve with 
onions fried and put round them : sauce 
as above. 

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



264 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



tional richness, likewise, to soups and 
gravies. 

508.-TO FEY OX-FEET, OE COW-HEEL. 

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

509. TO POT OX-FEET, OE COW-HEEL. 

Boil them in fresh water till the bones 
can be easily removed ; cut them into 
small pieces, add a little of the liquor, 
just enough to moisten it, and mix with 
it a spoonful of vinegar, some pepper and 
salt, and a little pounded mace ; put it 
into a mould and turn it out when cold. 
It is eaten with vinegar and mustard. 

510 MAEEOW-BONES. 

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

511. B(EUF A-LA-MODE. 

Cut out the bone from the beef; then 
stuff the orifice with rich forcemeat, 
made with veal and oysters, and the crumb 
of a roll steeped in milk. Half roast it, 
and before it is put into the stewpan in- 
sert in the top dried and pickled mush- 
rooms, adding mushroom-powder in the 
orifices ; then put in two quarts of 
gravy made from the bones and trim- 
mings, a large onion stuck with cloves, 



and two carrots cut in slices. When the 
beef has stewed till it is quite tender, 
strain and thicken the sauce ; add to it 
a glass of wine, mushrooms and oysters, 
and sippets of fried paste ; either the 
mushrooms or oysters may be omitted, 
if the pure flavor should be more de- 
sirable: warm a few pickles with the 
garnish and send it up very hot. 

512.-BEEF A-LA-MODE. (a Philadelphia 
Eeceipt.) 

Cut the bone out of a round of fresh 
beef, and put into several incisions a 
dressing made of bread-crumbs, sweet 
herbs, and two small onions, chopped 
fine, with seasoning of salt, pepper, mace, 
and butter. Lard the beef, and fasten 
up the slits, and tie it firmly with tape. 

Put into a kettle a pint and a half of 
water, with a few slices of pork ; and. 
put in the beef, stuck with a few cloves ; 
cover closely, and bake it several hours. 
When it is cooked through, dish it and 
pour over the gravy, which may be in- 
creased in quantity by the addition of a 
little boiling water, and flour to thicken 
it, with a spoonful of brown sugar, and 
a glass of wine. Serve this gravy in a 
tureen, moistening the meat with it, and 
garnishing with sliced carrots and beets, 
and parsley or celery. 

513. THE BATH EECEIPT. 

Take three pounds of the rump, or any 
part of the beef which will stew well ; 
trim it nicely, and cut off all the fat. 
Chop all sorts of sweet herbs together 
very finely, with a little shalot and a 
great deal of spice, and put them into a 
saucer that has been rubbed with gar- 
lic, and cover them with vinegar. Cut 
fat bacon into long slips, dip it into the 
herbs and vinegar, and let the herbs be 
very thick upon the bacon; lard the 
beef regularly on both sides, if neces- 
sary, in order that it should be thorough- 



BEEF. 



265 



ly flavored. Rub the beef over with the 
remainder of the herbs and spice. Flour 
the meat, add a piece of butter, the size 
of a walnut, rolled in flour, and a pint of 
water. Bake the beef in an oven, strain 
the gravy, which will scarcely require 
either thickening or browning, and serve 
it up with pickles on the top. It is 
most excellent when cold, but should be 
served up hot at first. The gravy may 
be boiled to a glaze if necessary. It 
will require a good deal of spice, a tea- 
spoonful of cayenne pepper, one of white 
pepper, a salt-spoonful of allspice, half 
the quantity of pounded cloves, and a 
blade of mace pounded. 

514. FILLETS OF BEEF. 

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

515. FILLET OF BEEF BEAISED. 

Take the inside of a sirloin of beef, 
stuffed or plain, but rolled together s as 
to bring the fat into the centre. Then 
strew the bottom of the stewpan with a 
few slices of ham, in which a small quan- 
tity of gravy has been put, just to pre- 
vent the bottom of the pan from burning ; 
and on this place the meat, covering it 
with chopped carrots, celery, button 
onions, and a pickled chili, together with 
a sliced gherkin, sweet herbs, salt, mace, 
and a little allspice, and simmer until 
tender, then brown it before the fire or 
with a salamander, skim and season the 
sauce, and send the meat, sauce, and veg- 
etables up in the same dish. 

516.-BEEF8TEAK 1 LA FRANCAISE 

Must be cut either from the sirloin or 
some other prime part of the beef, as 
rump steaks are not known in France. 
Pour over it two large spoonfuls of the 



best Lucca oil, and let it remain all night ; 
then put it and the oil into a frying-pan, 
with some finely-chopped parsley, pep- 
per, and salt ; fry it until the gravy dries 
up and it becomes rather brown. Pour 
the contents of the pan over the steak as 
sauce. The steaks are usually garnished 
with slices of fried potatoes. As butter 
is not known in the southern states of 
Europe, oil is there constantly used in 
lieu of it, and this Parisian practice is 
borrowed from those countries. 



517. BEEF IN A MARINADE. 

Cut the inside of a sirloin in slices, put 
them into a marinade made as follows : 
Take equal quantities of vinegar and 
water, slice some carrots and onions, add 
some salt and a few pepper-corns with a 
clove of garlic. Let all stew together 
till the goodness be extracted from the 
vegetables, then strain it. and let it stand 
till cold. Let the meat lie in this pickle 
for twenty -four hours before it is dressed ; 
then let it stew gently in a little good 
gravy till quite tender. Add a wine- 
glassful of port wine, a table-spoonful of 
mushroom ketchup, a teaspoonfnl of 
shalot vinegar, and some butter rolled in 
flour ; place the meat neatly in the dish, 
and pour the sauce over it. 



518. BEEF A LA POLONAISE. 

Take a few pounds of the best beef, 
without bones, and, after having beaten 
it for some time with, a rolling-pin, make 
in it deep incisions, but without cutting 
the meat asunder. Mince some onions, 
mix them with bread-crumbs, butter, 
pepper, and salt; fill the incisions with 
this forcemeat and skewer up the meat. 
Put it with some butter into a stewpan, 
and stew it upon a moderate fire. It 
should be served with brown sauce made 
from the gravy which is drawn from the 
meat. 



266 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



619, 1 LA HOUSSAED. 

Take any piece of fresh beef, prepared 
as nearly as possible in the same manner ; 
but instead of forcemeat, fill the incisions 
with pledgets of fat ham or bacon : sea- 
son with pepper, salt, and onion ; lay it 
in an iron stewpan that has a cover to fit 
quite close, and set it by the side of the 
fire without water. Take care it does 
not burn, but it must have a strong heat ; 
in two or three hours it will be quite 
tender, and then serve with its own gravy. 

520. BEEF A LA MODE. 

There are several methods of making 
this dish; the hash erroneously termed 
alamode beef, sold at eating-houses, is a 
very different dish to the true beef a la 
mode. The following is called the " old 
Bath " receipt. 

Take a quantity of the buttock, or the 
leg-of-mutton piece, the clod, or where ex- 
pense is not an object, the rump of beef 
as lean as possible ; cut away the fat if 
there is any, make a mixed powder of 
cloves- about twenty or thirty, the same 
quantity of mace, with half an ounce of 
allspice, savory, parsley, a handful of 
thyme, knotted marjoram, and all other 
sweet herbs chopped very fine ; mix them 
in a glass of vinegar. Take some fat 
bacon, cut it into slices as long as the 
beef is thick, and about a quarter of an 
inch in thickness, roll it well in the pow- 
dered spice and herbs, make incisions of 
the requisite depth, and insert the bacon 
in the beef, which may be rubbed well 
over with what remains of the powdered 
spice, &c., in the vinegar; then dredge 
flour over the beef, place it in a baking 
dish with a lump of butter rolled in flour, 
with a pint of water ; bake it in the oven, 
strain the gravy, and serve with pickles 
on the top ; if after being larded it should, 
instead of being baked, be put into the 
stewpan, add to it as much water as will 
cover it, four onions chopped fine, half a 
dozen cloves of garlic, as many bay leaves. 



a few champignons, half a pint of ale, as 
much port wine ; add white pepper, cay- 
enne pepper, and salt, a teaspoonful of 
pyroligneous acid ; strew three parts of a 
pint of fine bread raspings over it, cover 
down close and stew six or eight hours, 
according to the size of the beef ; when it 
has stewed sufficiently, take out the beef, 
keep it hot over boiling water, strain the 
gravy, remove the fat, champignons. &c. ; 
boil up again, season to palate, pour the 
gravy over the beef and send to table. 

This is sometimes preferred cold, in 
which case serve it cut in slices, with the 
gravy, which will be a jelly. 

521. BEEF A LA MODE. (Soyer's.) 
Have ready six pounds of rump of 
beef, cut into pieces two inches square, 
each of which lard through with two or 
three strips of bacon; have also two 
pounds of streaked bacon, which clear 
from the' rind, and cut into squares half 
the size of the beef, put the whole into an 
earthen pan, with two calf's feet, (cut up 
small,) half a pint of sherry, two bay- 
leaves, a sprig of thyme, a bunch of pars- 
ley, four onions, with a clove stuck in 
each, a blade of mace, and half a pint of 
water, cover the pan as in the last, and 
put it in a moderate oven for three hours ; 
when done, do not remove the lid until 
three parts cold, then take out the meat, 
lay some of the beef at the bottom of a 
stewpan, (not too large.) then a little 
bacon, then more beef, and so on alter- 
nately, press them lightly together, pass 
the gravy through a hair sieve over, and 
leave it until quite cold and set, when dip 
the stewpan into hot water, and turn it 
out upon a dish to serve. The calf's feet 
may be made hot in a little of the stock, 
to which add two pats of butter, with 
which you have mixed a teaspoonful of 
flour, season with a little chopped parsley 
and half a spoonful of vinegar, and serve 
as an entree. The above is excellent 
either hot or cold. 



BEEF. 



267 



522. ALAMODE BEEF. (Kitchiner's Eeceipt.) 

Take about eleven pounds of the mouse 
buttock, clod, or blade-bone of beef, or 
like weight of veal ; cut it into pieces of 
three or four ounces each ; -put two or 
three ounces of beef drippings, and a 
couple of large onions, into a large deep 
stewpan ; as soon as it is hot, flour the 
meat and put it into the stewpan, stirring 
it constantly with a wooden spoon ; when 
it has been on about ten minutes, dredge 
it with flour and keep doing so till you 
have stirred in enough to thicken it ; then 
cover it with boiling water, added by 
degrees, and stirring all together, (it will 
take about a gallon,) skim it when it 
boils, and then put in one drachm of 
ground black pepper, two of allspice, and 
four bay-leaves ; set the pan by the side of 
the fire, and let it stew very slowly about 
three hours; when the meat is tender, 
put it into a tureen, and it is ready for 
the table. A nice salad may be served 
with it. 

523. A FKICANDEAU OF BEEF. 

Take a nice piece of lean beef; lard it 
with bacon very closely ; put it into a 
stewpan with a pint of broth, a glass of 
white wine, a bundle of parsley, all sorts 
of sweet herbs, a clove of garlic, a shalot 
or two, four cloves, pepper and salt. 
When the meat is become tender, cover 
it close ; skim the sauce well, and strain 
it ; set it on the fire, and let it boil till 
it is reduced to a glaze. Glaze the lard- 
ed side with this, and serve the meat on 
sorrel sauce. 

524. POTTED BEEF. 

,To a pound of common salt, put a 
quarter of an ounce of saltpetre, and two 
ounces of coarse sugar. Rub three 
pounds of lean beef with this, and let it 
remain in the brine fifty hours. Drain 
and dry it, pepper it well with black 
pepper, put it into a pan; cut half a 



pound of butter in slices, and lay round 
it ; lay a paste crust over ft, and bake it 
very slowly for four hours and a half. 
Let it get cold, and then cut off the meat, 
being careful to separate the stringy 
pieces from it: pound it in a mortar, 
working up with it four ounces of fresh 
butter, and some of the gravy from the 
meat when baked, seasoned with ground 
allspice, a little mace, and pepper. When 
the meat has been combined with the 
butter and gravy, until it is worked into 
an even paste, put it into jars, and cover 
with clarified butter. 

If it is purposed to keep it long, cover 
it with bladder skin. The beef may be 
potted without in the first instance being 
salted, but if it is done it should have 
salt worked up with it, and be soon eaten 
after potting. Some persons make their 
potted beef of meat that has been previ- 
ously cooked, but the above will be found 
to be the best receipt. 

525. COW-HEEL. 

Having been thoroughly washed, scald- 
ed, and cleaned, cut them into pieces 
about two inches long, and one wide ; 
dip them into yolk of egg, cover them 
with fine bread-crumbs mixed with pars- 
ley minced, cayenne pepper, and salt, 
and fry them in boiling butter. 

526. ANOTHER WAT. 

Having cleaned the feet, bone them, 
boil them, and stew them in a rich brown 
gravy; serve them with Indian pickle,. 
Or, if plainly cooked, boil until enough j 
then serve them on a napkin, with melt- 
ed butter, flavored with a spoonful of 
vinegar, and one of made mustard. Lem- 
on pickle may be served with them. 

627. BEEF SAUSAGES. 

To three pounds of beef, very lean, put 
one* pound and a half of suet, and chop 
very finely ; season with sage in powder, 



268 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



allspice, pepper, and salt; have skins 
thoroughly cleaned, and force the meat 
into them. 

528. BEEP HEART. 

Wash it very carefully, stuff it the 
same as you would a hare ; roast or bake 
it, and serve with a rich gravy and cur- 
rant jelly sauce, hash with the same and 
port wine. 

529. BEEF HEART ROASTED. 

Wash thoroughly, stuff with force- 
meat, send it to table as hot as it is pos- 
sible with currant jelly sauce; it will 
take about forty minutes roasting, but 
this depends upon the fire. 

580. BEEF HEART. 

Let it be thoroughly well cooked, and 
the skin removed. Wipe it dry with a 
clean cloth ; stuff it with veal stuffing ; 
roast two hours and a quarter. Make a 
brown gravy, as for hare; and serve 
with the gravy and currant jelly. 

The most pleasant way to the palate 
of dressing this dish, is to roast the 
heart for rather less than two hours, let 
it get cold, cut it in pieces, and jug it the 
same as hare. 

581. STEWED RUMP OF BEEF. 

Half roast the beef; then place it in 
the stewpan, add three pints or two 
quarts of water, according to the weight 
of the joint, two wine glasses of vine- 
gar, three of red wine, more if expense 
be not considered, a bottle not being too 
much ; cider is sometimes used, Jbut the 
meat may be stewed without it; add 
three spoonfuls of walnut ketchup, two 
or three blades of mace, a shalot, a des- 
sert-spoonful of lemon pickle, cayenne 
pepper, and salt, cover the stewpan close 
down, stew gently for two hours, or 
three if the rump of beef be large, take 
it up and place it in the dish in which it 



is to be served, keeping it hot in the 
manner previously prescribed ; remove 
the scum from the gravy in which it has 
been stewed, and strain it; add half a 
pint of mushrooms, three table-spoon- 
fuls of port wine, a spoonful of Harvey's 
sauce, thicken with flour and butter, 
pour over the beef, garnish with pickles, 
forcemeat balls, and horseradish. 

582. HUNTER'S BEEF. 

Hang for three days a round of beef 
of twenty pounds ; at the expiration of 
that time rub it with brine composed of 
three ounces of saltpetre, twelve ounces 
of salt, a spoonful of allspice, one of 
black pepper, an ounce of coarse brown 
sugar ; before it is rubbed with this mix- 
ture it must be boned, and it must be 
rubbed well every day, turning for a 
fortnight. When it is to be dressed put 
it into a stewpan, pour in a pint of water, 
shred a quantity of mutton suet, cover 
the meat with it, lay over it a thick crust, 
attaching it round the edge of the pan, 
tie over securely with paper, and bake 
for six hours in an oven moderately heat- 
ed ; take away the paper and crust, chop 
some parsley very fine, sprinkle it over 
the beef, and serve it cold. 

It will keep some time ; the gravy will 
make a good flavoring for soups. 

583. MINCED BEEF WITH CUCUMBERS. 

Take a fine rump-steak undressed, and 
with a sharp knife shred it very fine. 
Put it into a stewpan with a little clari- 
fied butter and some salt ; stir it over a 
quick fire for a few minutes, then add 
half a pint of good beef gravy ; let it boil 
gently till it becomes of a proper thick- 
ness. Cut two fine cucumbers in slices 
the thickness of a crown -piece, and put 
them with an onion sliced in a stewpan 
with some clarified butter, a little vinegar, 
a lump of sugar, and fry them of a fine 
brown color; put them into a stewpan 



SOYER 8 BEEF RECEIPTS. 



with some plain sauce ; let it simmer 
gently till sufficiently done ; then lay the 
mince in the dish, and pour the cucum- 
bers over it ; thicken the sauce with a 
li'tle flour and butter; add the squeeze 
of a lemon just before serving. 

534 BEEF COLLOPS. 

Cut the inside of a sirloin, or any other 
convenient piece, into circular shapes, the 
size and thickness of a half-crown, flour 
and fry them ; sprinkle with pepper, salt, 
chopped parsley, and shalot ; make a lit- 
tle gravy in the pan ; send to table with 
gherkin or tomato sauce. 



SOYER'S RECEIPTS. 

585. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. 

I am certain you must know, as well 
as myself, our hereditary dish called bub- 
ble and squeak; but, like the prepara- 
tion of other things, there is a good way 
and a bad ; and, as you prefer the former 
to the latter, proceed as follows : Boil a 
few greens, or a savOy cabbage (which 
has been previously well washed), in 
plain water until tender, which then 
drain quite dry in a colander or sieve, 
put it upon a trencher, and chop it rather 
fine with a knife ; then for a pound of 
salt beef you have in slices, put nearly a 
quarter of a pound of butter into a fry- 
ing-pan, in -which saute the beef gently 
but not too dry ; when done, keep it hot, 
put the cabbage in the frying-pan, season 
with a little salt and pepper, and when 
hot through, dress it upon a dish, lay the 
beef over, and serve. Endive or large 
cabbage-lettuces may be used instead of 
cabbage, but care must be taken to drain 
off all the water. 

686. BROILED BONES. 

Divide them, rub with mustard, pep- 
per, and salt, and broil over a clear fire ; 



serve with fried potatoes; and a little 
gravy may be added. 

537. TE1PE, LYONS FASHION. 

When there is any remaining from a 
previous day, dry it on a clean cloth ; 
cut them into pieces an inch square ; put 
into an omelette or saute pan one or two 
ounces of butter, according to the quan- 
tity ; slice thin a large onion, which fry 
in the pan; then add the tripe, saute 
them for five minutes, season with salt, 
pepper, and a spoonful of vinegar ; serve 
very hot. 

538. OX TAILS A LA JAEDINIEEE. 

Cut and cook two ox tails as directed 
for soup, but just before they are done, 
skim well, and take out the pieces of 
tails, which put upon a dish ; then in 
another stewpan put two ounces of but- 
ter, to- which, when melted, add three 
ounces of flour, stirring it over the fire 
until forming a brownish roux (thicken- 
ing), then mix by degrees two quarts of 
the stock the tails were boiled in, and 
boil all together ten minutes ; then put 
in the tails, with one carrot and two tur- 
nips (cut into small dice, or any other 
shape, with a vegetable cutter), and about 
thirty button onions ; let the whole sim- 
mer 'very gently upon the corner of the 
fire, keeping it well skimmed, until the 
vegetables are tender, and the sauce suffi- 
ciently thick to adhere to the back of the 
spoon ; dress the meat upon a dish, re- 
duce the sauce, which pour over and 
serve. 

539. OX TAILS AU GKATIN. 

Cook two ox tails as before, and when 
cold, dry them upon a cloth, season with 
pepper and salt, have a couple of eggs 
well beaten upon a plate, into which dip 
each piece singly, afterwards throwing 
them into a dish of bread-crumbs, to cov- 



270 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



er every part, then beat them lightly 
with a knife, and again egg and bread- 
crumb them, broil them upon a gridiron, 
or place them in a very hot oven until 
of a brownish color, when serve with any 
sauce you may fancy, or a little plain 
gravy. 

540 OX HEAET. 

This dish, although not very recherche, 
is a good family one, and remarkable for 
its cheapness. Put it into lukewarm wa- 
ter, one hour to disgorge ; then wipe it 
well with a cloth, and stuff the interior 
with a highly seasoned veal stuffing ; tie 
it up hi paper, and pass a small spit 
through the sides ; set it before a good 
fire for about two hours to roast, keep- 
ing it well basted being almost deprived 
of fat, basting is thus required; when 
done, take off the paper, and serve with 
any sharp sauce, or a little plain gravy. 
Two hours will be sufficient to roast a 
large heart ; but if smaller of course less 
time in proportion would be required. 
I have also stuffed a heart with sage and 
onion, and even ventured the apple sauce ; 
both succeeded admirably, and it can be 
baked as well as roasted. 

I remember, when in business, upon 
one occasion, having a few friends pop in 
unexpectedly about luncheon-time upon 
a Saturday (which is a day I always" con- 
trive to keep my larder as short as possi- 
ble). an,d having nothing but a heart as 
a meal to give them, I immediately gave 
orders to the cook to cut it into slices 
half an inch thick ; dip each piece in flour, 
and afterwards egg and bread-crumb 
them ; then to put four spoonfuls of oil 
in the frying-pan, lay part of the pieces 
in, and saute of a nice color, then to keep 
them hot in a dish, and saute the remain- 
der ; and when all done, to pour off part 
of the oil ; put a teaspoonful of flour in 
the pan, mixing it with the remaining oil 
and gravy, then pouring in a gill of wa- 



ter, season with a little pepper and salt, 
four spoonfuls of the vinegar from picca- 
lilly, and a little of the pickle finely chop- 
ped ; boil the whole a minute ; pour over 
the heart, and serve very hot. It pleased 
very much, and they made a hearty meal 
from it ; and I have since had some with 
a little plain gravy, and broiled bacon : 
in both instances it was very good. 

541. POTATO SANDWICHES. 

Saute the slices of beef as directed for 
bubble and squeak, cover one side of each 
piece with mashed potatoes a quarter of 
an inch in thickness, egg and bread-crumb 
over, then proceed the same with the 
other sides ; fry in hot fat of a light brown 
color, as you would a sole, and serve. 
Any kind of fresh meat may be used the 
same way. 

542. FILLET OF BEEF SAUTE. 

After having cut the fillet in slices, 
put two ounces of butter into a clean 
frying-pan, which set upon the fire, and 
when melted, lay in the meat, seasoned 
with a salt-spoonful of salt, and half that 
quantity of pepper to each piece ; turn 
them over three or four times whilst cook- 
ing, and, when done, dress upon your 
dish, with either anchovy or maitre d'h6- 
tel butter. 

543. ANOTHEB METHOD. 

When the fillets are dished up, put a 
table-spoonful of chopped onions into 
the pan they were cooked in, which 
cook for about a minute, but not letting 
them burn, then pour off part of the fat, 
if too much, and add two teaspoonfuls 
of flour ; stir with a wooden spoon until 
becoming brownish, then add nearly a 
pint of water, a table-spoonful of vinegar, 
and a few drops of browning ; let it boil 
a few minutes, seasoning with a little 
pepper, salt, and sugar ; when of the con- 
sistency of a thin sauce, pour over the 
fillets and serve. A few chopped pickles 



8OTEK 8 BEEF RECEIPTS. 



271 



of any description (but not too hot) 
might be introduced, but then half the 
quantity of vinegar would be- sufficient. 
A spoonful of Harvey's sauce may be 
added, and a little glaze improves it. 

Mutton, lamb, or pork-chops, or veal- 
cutlets, may be dressed in a similar man- 
ner. 

544. MINCED BEEF. 

Cut a pound and a half of lean cooked 
beef into very small dice, which put 
upon a plate; in a stewpan put a good 
teaspoonful of finely chopped onions, 
with a piece of butter of fhe size of a 
walnut, which stir over the fire until the 
onions become lightly browned, when 
stir in half a table- spoonful of flour, 
with which mix by degrees half a pint 
of broth (or water) to which you have 
added a few drops of browning and a tea- 
spoonful of vinegar ; let it boil five min- 
utes, stirring it the whole time, then 
throw in the meat, season rather highly 
with a little pepper and salt, and, when 
hot, pour it into a deep dish, and serve 
with sippets of toasted bread round, or 
poached eggs on it. 

545.-CKOQUETTES OF BEEF. 

Proceed precisely as in the last, but 
omitting the vinegar ; when done, stir in 
two yolks of eggs quickly, stir another 
minute over the fire, then pour it upon 
a dish until cold ; have a couple of eggs 
well beaten upon a plate, also some 
bread-crumbs in a separate dish, then 
divide the preparation into about a 
dozen pieces, which roll up into round 
balls, or any other shape, and throw 
them into the bread-crumbs, move them 
over until well covered, then roll them 
into the egg, then the bread-crumbs 
again, from which take them gently, 
patting the surface lightly with a knife, 
put them into very hot lard or fat to fry 
of a yellowish-brown color, being careful 
not to break them whilst frying ; when 



done, drain them upon a cloth, and serve 
either upon a napkin, or with fried par- 
sley. 



546. A FAMILY FEENCH SALAD FOE THE 
SUMMEE. 

Cut up a pound of cold beef into thin 
slices, which put into a salad-bowl, with 
about half a pound of white fresh lettuce, 
cut into pieces similar to the beef, season 
over with a good teaspoonful of salt, half 
that quantity of pepper, two spoonfuls 
of vinegar, and five of good salad oil, 
stir all together lightly with a fork and 
spoon, and when well mixed it is ready 
to serve. 

For a change, cabbage-lettuce may be 
used, or, if in season, a little endive (well 
washed), or a little celery, or a few gher- 
kins ; also, to vary the seasoning, a little 
chopped tarragon and chervil, chopped 
eschalots, or a little scraped garlic, if ap- 
proved of, but all in proportion, and used 
wi^h moderation.- White haricot beans 
are also excellent with it. Remains of 
cold veal, mutton, or lamb may be dress- 
ed the same way. 



547. POTATOES AND MEAT SALAD. 

* 

Proceed as in the last, but omitting 
the lettuce ; if any cold potatoes remain 
from a previous dinner, peel and cut 
them in halves if small, but m quarters 
if large, and then into pieces the size of a 
shilling, but four times the thickness; 
put them intq, a salad-bowl with the 
meat, seasoning as before, but using more 
oil and vinegar, and adding a teaspoonful 
of chopped parsley. A small quantity 
of any description of pickles might be 
added to this salad, as also some ancho- 
vies or olives. The remains of any fowls 
or turkey may be mixed in salads, but 
according to our habits, many persons 
would fancy they were not nutritious ; of 
that I can assure them to the contrary. 

The quantity of the meat and vege- 



272 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



table should pretty equally balance with 
each other ; after such a meal, a man's 
appetite is perfectly satisfied, and he is 
ready for an afternoon's work if required. 
It also does not require the aid of any 
fire, which we so ungratefully abhor in 
hot weather. Mr. B. very much ap- 
proves of this dish once a week in sum- 
mer 

548. OX KIDNEYS. 

Cut a nice fresh ox-kidney into slices, 
each being about the size of a half crown 
piece, but double the thickness (avoiding 
the white part, or root, which is tough 
and indigestible), then put a quarter of a 
pound of butter into a stewpan upon the 
fire, and when very hot but not black.' 
put in the pieces of kidney, stirring them 
round with a wooden spoon three min- 
utes over a brisk fire ; then add for each 
pound weight of kidney, half a table- 
spoonful of flour, half a teaspoonful of 
salt, half that quantity of pepper, and a 
little sugar, moisten with a gill of water 
and half a glass of sherry, add a little 
browning, if handy, and let simmer 
gently for five minutes, stirring them 
round occasionally; if too thick, add a 
few drops more water, the same should 
be sufficiently thick to adhere to the 
back of the spoon, pour them out upon 
your dish, and serve very hot. Broth 
might be used instead of water if conve- 
nient, but then the seasoning should be a 
little diminished, a little chopped escha- 
lot, parsley, or a few mushrooms, would 
be an improvement. 

By cutting an ox-kidney lengthwise in 
three slices, it might be broiled or sau- 
teed; if for gentlemen season rather 
highly, but if ladies are to be the par- 
takers, season more moderately ; a little 
gravy may be served with it, to which 
you have added at little ketchup; the 
root of the kidney must not be cut away 
in this case, although not eatable. Ox- 



kidneys are also an excellent addition to 
beef- steak puddings and pies. 

549. OX-FEET OB COW-HEELS 
Are very nutritious, especially when 
well boiled : they may be served in either 
of the methods directed for tripe, or with a 
plain parsley-and-butter sauce, to which, 
for a change, the juice of a lemon or a 
drop of vinegar may be added. Should 
any be left from the first day's dinner it 
may be served a la Lyonnaise, as directed 
for cold tripe. 

550.-KEMAINS OF OX-TONGUE. 

The remains of a tongue from a- pre- 
vious dinner may be again served thus : 
Cut it into thin slices, put a small piece 
of butter into a frying-pan, lay the pieces 
of tongue over, which warm a few min- 
utes in a saute-pan, and serve with veal 
or fowl if any; when at home alone, I 
frequently have it with mashed potatoes 
under it ; it makes a very good dish for 
luncheon. The pieces of tongue might 
also be egged and bread-crumbed pre- 
vious to cooking as above, and served 
with a plain gravy, or any sharp sauce. 
(See SAUCES.) Or should you have any 
tongue, and veal, and beef remaining, 
sprinkle a little chopped shalots at the 
bottom of a pie-dish, lay a layer of meat 
over, season with a little salt, pepper, 
and chopped parsley, then a layer of the 
tongue; have some yellowish crusts of 
bread grated, a teaspoonful of which 
sprinkle over the tongue, then again a 
layer of the meat, proceeding thus until 
the dish is nearly full, when sprinkle 
more of the brown bread-crumbs over 
the top, placing a small piece of butter 
here and there ; pour in two wine-glass- 
fuls of water, set it in a warm oven half 
an hour, and serve very hot. Or instead 
of bread-crumbs, make a little good 
mashed potato, which spread over it 
smoothly with a spoon or knife, bake 
half an hour in a warm oven, and serve. 



SOYEK S BEEF RECEIPTS. 



273 



Should the remains of a tongue be but 
small, and if well pickled and boiled, the 
root and all would be excellent in any 
kind of beef, lamb, mutton, veal, or pork, 
hashed, or in pies or puddings made from 
these meats. 

551. REMAINS OF SALT BEEF. 

The -remains of salt beef are very ex- 
cellent served in the few following ways, 
no matter from what joint, or from what 
part of the joint : Cut as large and thin 
slices as possible, dip each slice into some 
vinegar from mixed pickles, previously 
poured upon a plate in small quantities ; 
lay about a pound of the meat thus pre- 
pared upon a flat dish, pour a wine-glass- 
ful of water over, warm it through in the 
oven, or before a slow fire, and serve. 
Another way is, after having dipped the 
beef in the vinegar, roll them in flour, 
and proceed as above, adding double the 
quantity of water. Another way is to 
saute the slices with a little butter in a 
frying-pan, have ready some nice mashed 
potatoes very hot, lay the beef over, and 



552.-COLD BEEF. 

If any be left from a previous dinner, 
put it in a dish, placing the meat in the 
centre, rather higher, cover over with 
some delicate mashed potatoes, about 
two inches in thickness, to form a dome, 
rub some egg over with a paste-brush, 
and sprinkle crumbs of bread (either 
grated or otherwise) upon the top, and 
set it in the* oven until well browned, 
when serve. 

553.-BEEF BROTH. 

Take a leg of beef, wash it clean, crack 
the bone in two or three parts, put i1 
into a pot with a gallon of water, skim i1 
well, then put two or three blades of 
mace in a little bundle of parsley, and a 
crust of bread, let it boil till the beef is 
quite tender, toast some bread, cut it into 



Ice. put them into a tureen, lay in the 
meat, and pour the soup over it. 

554. MARROW BONES. 

They must be sawn into convenient 

izes ; cover the ends with a little dough 

made of flour and water, and tie them in 

a floured cloth, boil them an hour and a 

lalf, serve on a napkin with dry toast. 

555. BAKED MARROW BONES. 

The bones should be prepared as above 
,nd laid in a deep dish, then put into an 
3ven and bake gently for two hours. 
They are sometimes cooked in batter, 
but if so, the marrow should be cleared 
rom the bones and put in buttered cases 
made of clean foolscap paper ; let them 
ie in the batter and serve with them in 
t ; when the batter is baked the marrow 
will be also done. 

556.-CURRIED BEEF, MADRAS WAY. 

Take about two ounces of butter, and 
place it in a saucepan, with two small 
onions cut up into slices, and let them 
fry until they are of a light brown ; then 
add a table-spoonful and a half of curry 
powder, and mix it up well. Now put 
in the beef cut into pieces about an inch 
square ; pour in from a quarter to a third 
of a pint of milk, and let it simmer for 
thirty minutes; then take it off. and 
place in a dish, with a little lemon juice. 
Whilst cooking stir constantly, to prevent 
it burning. Send to table with a wall of 
mashed potatoes or boiled rice round it. 

It greatly improves any curry to add 
with the milk a quarter of a cocoa-nut, 
scraped very small, and squeezed through 
muslin with a little water; this softens 
the taste of the curry, and, indeed, no 
curry should be made without it. 

557. BEEF PALATES. 

Simmer them in water several hours, 
till they will peel ; then cut the palates 
into slices, or leave them whole, as you 



274: 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



choose, and stew them in a rich gravy 
till quite tender. Before you serve, sea- 
son them with cayenne, salt, and ketchup. 
If the gravy was drawn clear, give it a 
boil with some butter and flour. 

If to be served white, boil them in milk, 
and stew them in fricassee-sauce ; adding 
cream, butter, flour, and mushroom pow- 
der, and a little pounded mace. 

553. PEESSED BEEF. 

Procure a piece of brisket of beef, cut 
off the bones, and salt it. adding a little 
sal prunella to the brine and a little 
spice ; let the beef remain in pickle rather 
better than a week ; when ready to cook, 
roll it round, tie it in a cloth, and let it 
simmer gently in plenty of water about 
seven hours if a whole one, but four 
hours if only the thin end ; whe.n done 
take it up, remove the string, and tie the 
cloth at each end, put it upon a dish with 
another dish over, upon which place half 
a hundred weight, leaving it until quite 
cold, then take the meat from the cloth, 
trim and glaze it lightly, and serve gar- 
nished with a few sprigs of fresh parsley. 

559. PICKLE FOE BEEF 1 LA GAEEICK. 

Take twenty pounds of salt, three- 
quarters of a pound of saltpetre, four 
cakes of sal prunella, two pounds of moist 
sugar, two cloves of garlic, with which 
rub the meat well, and leave it rather 
more than a week, rubbing and turning 
it over every day. 

This pickle is adapted for any thing 
that is required red. 

560.-SPICED BEEF. 

Procure a piece of thin flank of beef 
about ten pounds in weight, which salt 
as the last for about a week ; when ready 
split it open with a knife and lay it out 
flat upon a dresser, having previously 
prepared six onions chopped very fine, 
with about ten sprigs of parsley, and the 



leaves of ten sprigs of thyme, the same of 
marjoram, two ounces of mixed spice, 
(without cinnamon,) and half'an ounce 
of black pepper, mix all together, spread 
half upon the beef as it lays before you, 
then fold it over to its original shape, lay 
on the remainder of the preparation, roll 
it up tightly in a cloth, boil, press, and 
serve as directed in the last article. 

561. TO FEICASSEE COLD EOAST BEEF. 

Cut the beef into slices, which should 
be very thin, put it with some strong 
broth into a stewpan, add parsley chopped 
small, an onion scored, and a piece of 
butter, simmer fifteen minutes, add a 
glass of port wine, a teaspoonful of pyro- 
ligneous acid, and the yolk of a couple of 
eggs; mix well, stew quickly, pot the 
dish, rub it with a shalot, pour fricassee 
into it, and serve. 

562. BEEF FEICANDEAU. 

Take a piece of beef as lean as you can 
obtain it, lard it well over on one side 
with pieces of bacon. Place in a stewpan 
an eschalot, a bunch of sweet herbs, a 
faggot of parsley, a little cloves, three 
parts of a quart of good broth, one glass 
of sherry, and pepper and salt to palate. 
'A clove of garlic may be added to the 
eschalot if it is not found of sufficient 
strength to flavor it without. Put on 
the meat, and stew until tencler, take out 
the gravy, keep the meat covered down 
close, skim and strain the sauce, boil it 
until reduced to a glaze. Glaze the beef 
with it on the side larded, and serve with 
sauce piquante, or sauce sorrel. 

56a STEASBUEG POTTED MEAT. 

Take a pound and a half of the rump 
of beef, cut into dice, and put into an 
earthen jar, with a quarter of a pound 
of butter at the bottom, tie the jar close 
up with paper, and set over a pot to boil ; 
when nearly done, add cloves, mace, all- 



BEEF. 



275 



spice, nutmeg, salt, and cayenne pepper 
to taste ; then boil till tender, and let it 
get cold. Pound the meat, with four 
anchovies washed and boned, add a quar- 
ter of a pound of oiled butter, work it 
well together with the gravy, warm a 
little, and add cochineal to color. Then 
press into small pots, and pour melted 
mutton suet over the top of each. 

564. A CULLIS. 

You must take meat according to the 
number of guests ; if ten or twelve, a leg' 
of veal and a ham will be necessary, with 
all the fat, skin, afid outside cut off; cut 
the leg of veal into pieces about three 
or four inches thick each way, place them 
in a stewpan, and then the slices of ham,, 
two carrots, and an onion cut in two, 
cover it close, let it stew gently at first, 
and as it begins to brown, take off the 
cover and turn it to color on all sides the 
same, but take care not to burn the meat ; 
when it has a pretty brown color, moisten 
your cullis with broth made of beef or 
other meat, season the cullis with a little 
sweet basil, some cloves, and a little gar- 
lic ; pare a lemon, cut it in slices and put 
it into the cullis with some mushrooms. 
Put into a stewpan a good lump of but- 
ter, and set it over a slow fire ; put into 
it two or three handfuls of flour, stir it 
with a wooden *ladle, and let it take a 
color ;. if the cullis be pretty brown you 
must put in some flour, the flour being 
brown with the cullis, pour it gently into 
the cullis, keeping it stirring with a 
wooden ladle, then let the cullis stew 
softly and skim off all the fat ; put in two 
glasses of champagne or other white 
wine, but take care to keep the cullis 
very thin, so that you may take the fat 
well off and clarify it ; you must clarify it 
by putting it into a stove that draws 
well, cover it close and let it boil without 
uncovering until it boils over, then un- 
cover and take off the fat that is round 
the stewpan, then wipe it off the cover 



also and cover it again ; when the cullis 
is done take out the meat and strain the 
cullis through a silken strainer ; this cul 
Us is for all sorts of ragouts, fowls, pies, 
and tureens. 

565. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. (New Eeceipt.) 

Cut into pieces, convenient for frying, 
cold, roast or boiled beef; pepper, salt, 
and fry them ; when done, lay them on a 
hot drainer, and while* the meat is drain- 
ing from the fat used in frying them, have 
in readiness a cabbage already boiled in 
two waters ; chop it small, and put it in 
the frying-pan with some butter, add a 
little pepper and salt, keep stirring it, 
that all of it may be equally done. When 
taken from the fire, sprinkle over the 
cabbage a very little vinegar, only enough 
to give it a slight acid taste. Place the 
cabbage in the centre of the dish ; and 
arrange the slices of meat neatly around 
it. 

566. LOBSCOUS. 

Mince, not too finely, some cold roast 
beef or mutton. Chop the bones, and 
put them in a saucepan with six potatoes 
peeled and sliced, one onion, also sliced, 
some pepper and salt ; of these make a 
gravy. When the potatoes are completely 
incorporated with the gravy, take out the 
bones, and put in the meat ; stew the 
whole together for an hour before it is to 
be served. 



567. BEEF EISSOLES. 

Mince and season cold beef, and flavor 
it with mushroom or walnut ketchup. 
Make of beef dripping a very thin paste, 
roll it out in thin pieces about four inches 
square ; enclose in each piece some of the 
mince, in the same way as for puffs, cut- 
ting each neatly all round ;"fry them in 
dripping of a very light brown. The 
paste can scarcely be rolled out too thin. 



276 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



SEA COOKERY. 

568. FIE8T WATCH STEW. 

Cut pieces of salt beef, and pork into 
dice, put them into a stewpan with six 
whole peppercorns, two blades of mace, 
a few cloves, a teaspoonful of celery 
seeds, and a faggot of dried sweet herbs ; 
cover with water, and stew gently for an 
hour, then add fragments of carrots, tur- 
nips, parsley, or any other vegetables at 
hand, with two sliced onions, and some 
vinegar to flavor ; thicken with flour, or 
rice, remove the herbs and pour into the 
dish with toasted bread, or freshly baked 
biscuit broken small, and serve hot. 
When they can be procured, a few pota- 
toes improve it very much. 

569. SEA PIE. 

Make a thick pudding crust, line a dish 
with it, or what is better, a cake tin, put 
a layer of sliced onions, then a layer of 
salt beef cut in slices, a layer of sliced 
potatoes, a layer of pork, and another of 
onions ; strew pepper over all, cover with 
a crust, and tie down tightly with a cloth 
previously dipped in boiling water and 
floured. Boil for two hours, and serve 
hot in a dish. 



YEAL. 

THE failing of this meat is its tendency 
to turn;. should it show any symptoms 
of doing this, put it into scalding water 
and let it boil-for seven or eight minutes, 
with some pieces of charcoal affixed ; 
plunge it into cold water immediately 
after taking it out of the hot, and put it 
into the coolest place you have at com- 
mand ; the skirt from the breast, and 
the pipe from the loin should always be 
removed in hot weather. 

Veal of about two or three months old 
is the best ; the flesh ought to be white, 
approaching to pink, and the fat firm ; 



it is cut up the same as mutton, except 
that, in the hind-quarter, the loin is cut 
straight, leaving the aitch-bone on it, 
which may be either dressed on the loin 
or separate. The fore-quarter consists 
of the shoulder, neck, and breast. The 
hind-quarter, of the knuckle, leg, fillet, and 
the loin. The head and pluck consist of 
the heart, liver, nuts, skirts, melt, and 
the heart, throat, and sweetbread. 

The bull-calf is the best ; the flesh is 
firmer grained or redder, and the fat 
more curdled than the cow-calf, which 
latter is in general preferred, being more 
delicate and better adapted for made 
dishes, as having the udder. To keep 
veal, we have to observe the first part 
that turns bad of a leg of veal is where 
the udder is skewered back. The skewer 
should be taken out, and both that and 
the whole of the meat wiped every day ; 
by which means it will keep good three 
or four days in hot weather, if the larder 
be a good one. Take care to cut out 
the pipe that runs along the chine of a 
loin, as you do of beef, to hinder it from 
tainting. The skirt of the breast is 
likewise to be taken off. and the inside 
wiped and scraped, and sprinkled with a 
little salt. 

If veal is in danger of not keeping, 
wash it thoroughly, and boil the joint 
ten minutes, putting it into the pot when 
the water is boiling hot; then put it 
into a very cool larder, or plunge it into 
cold water till cool, and then wipe and 
put it by. If in the least tainted, it can- 
not be recovered, as brown meats are, 
by the use of charcoal or pyroligneous 
acid. 



570. VEAL THE FILLET. 

The fillet derives much of its pleasant 
flavor from being stuffed. Veal in it- 
sel being nearly tasteless, the stuffing 
should be placed in the hollow place 
from whence the bone is extracted, and 



VEAL. 



277 



the joint should be roasted a beautiful 
brown; it should be roasted gradually, 
as the meat being solid will require to 
be thoroughly done through without 
burning the outside ; like pork, it is 
sufficiently indigestible without being 
sent to table and eaten half cooked; a 
dish of boiled bacon or ham should ac- 
company it to table, a lemon also. 
% In roasting veal, care must be taken 
that it is not at first placed too near the 
fire ; the fat of a loin, one of 'the most 
delicate joints of veal, should be covered 
with greased paper ; a fillet also, should 
have on the caul until nearly done 
enough : the shoulder should be thorough- 
ly boiled ; when nearly done dredge with 
flour, and produce a fine froth. 

571. -FILLET OF VEAL, BOILED. 

Bind it round with tape, put it in a 
floured cloth and in cold water, boil very 
gently two hours and a half, or if sim- 
mered, which is perhaps the better way, 
four hours will be taken ; it may be sent 
to table in bechamel or with oyster 
Bauce. 

Care should be taken to keep it as 
white as possible. 

572. FILLET OF VEAL BOASTED. 

Take out the bone, fill the space with 
a fine stuffing, and let the fat be skewer- 
ed quite round ; stuff it also well under 
the skin with bread, sage, chopped onions 
and parsley, as much depends on the quan- 
tity and flavor of the stuffing, and send 
the large side uppermost. Put a paper 
over the fat ; and take care to allow a 
sufficient time for roasting ; put it a good 
distance from the fire, as the meat is 
very solid, and must be so thoroughly 
done as not to leave the least appearance 
of red gravy ; serve it with melted butter 
poured over, and gravy round. Ham or 
bacon should be served with it, and fresh 
cucumbers if in season. 
18 



Although considered very indigestible, 
it is a favorite joint and generally roast- 
ed, although it may be easily divided 
into three parts and each dressed sepa- 
rately ; that piece known in a " round of 
beef" as the " silver side," being roasted, 
and the remaining two stewed in differ- 
ent ways. 

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

678. TO EOA8T 

A fillet of veal, it should* be stuffed 
with the following ingredients: thyme, 
marjoram, parsley, savory, finely minced 
lemon-peel, mace, pepper, nutmeg, with 
bread-crumbs ; to which add two eggs, 
and four ounces of marrow-suet: lay 
this stuffing in the udder, and, if any 
remain, in such holes as you think proper 
made in the fleshy part. Serve with, 
melted butter, ,and garnish with the lem- 
on-peel sliced. 

574. FILLET OF VEAL BOILED. (English.) 

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

575. LOIN OF VEAL BOASTED. 

Take a loin of veal ; run a lark-spit 
along the chine-bones ; then tie the ends 
of the lark-spit on the usual spit, draw- 
ing down the flap over the kidney. Cover 
it well with buttered paper, and tie it up 



278 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



carefully; let it roast gently for three 
hours. When about to serve, remove 
the paper, sprinkle well with salt, dredge 
it with flour, and finish basting with a 
small piece of fresh butter. 

This joint is frequently divided ; the 
kidney end and the chump. The kidney 
end sent up with a toast under the fat ; 
the chump end should be stuffed like the 
fillet, or sent up with balls of stuffing in 
the dish; pour melted butter over the 
joint, and gravy round. It also forms an 
excellent stew if served up in winter 
with rice, and in summer with green 
peas. 

576.-BREAST OF VEAL. 

Cover it with the caul, and if you re- 
tain the sweetbread, skewer it to the 
back, but take off the caul when the 
meat is nearly done ; it will take two 
and a half to three hours roasting. 

Or : Remove the tendons, and insert 
in their place a stuffing ; then roast as 
before. 

Or : Raise the skin, and force in as 
much stuffing as possible ; skewer it up ; 
this will give a very good flavor to the 
joint. 




A Breast of Veal Boasted. 
57T. TO STEW. 

Cut a breast, or a portion, in pieces ; 
fry them with a little butter, an onion 
and a cabbage-lettuce shred small ; when 
browned, add a little flour, shake it well 
together; then add a small quantity of 
broth or water ; let it stew gently ; when 



nearly done, throw in green peas suffi- 
cient for the dish; when the peas are 
done, add a little pounded sugar, pepper, 
and salt. It may require a little more 
thickening, in which case knead a little 
flour and butter together. 

578. LOIN OF VEAL BOILED. 

Take a loin about eight pounds, skewer 
down the flap without disturbing the 
kidney, put the loin into a kettle with 
enough cold water to cover it, let it come 
gradually to a boil (it cannot boil too 
slowly), continue for two hours and a 
quarter, but it must boil; remove the 
scum as it rises, send it to table in 
bechamel, or with parsley and melted 
butter. 

579. KNUCKLE OF VEAL. 

Get a knuckle of a leg of veal, saw it 
in three parts, but not to separate it, 
scald it, and put it for a few minutes in 
cold water, then place it in a stewpan 
with some good second stock, an onion 
or two, a faggot of herbs, a few sprigs of 
parsley, a carrot, a turnip, and a head of 
celery, a blade of mace, a slice of raw 
ham, fat and lean; stew it for several 
hours, until the gristle is soft, take out 
the veal, cover it over to keep it white ; 
strain the liquor, wash a pound of rice 
and boil it in this liquor, add half a pint 
of cream or milk, when the rice is done 
put your veal again into it, to make hot ; 
dish your veal carefully, and season the 
rice with pepper and salt, and pour over 
the veal ; if with parsley and butter in- 
stead of water, use the stock from it, and 
chop fine some boiled parsley and mix 
into it. 

580. KNUCKLE OF VEAL, BOILED. 

Put sufficient water over it to cover it. 
let it boil gently, and when it reaches a 
boil as much salt as would fill a dessert- 
spoon may be thrown in, keep it well 
skimmed, and boil until tender, serve 



VEAL. 



279 



with parsley and butter, and a salted 
cheek. 

Allow twenty minutes to each pound. 

Three quarters of a pound of rice may 
be boiled with it, or green peas, or cu- 
cumbers ; turnips and small spring onions 
may be put in, allowing them so much 
time from the cooking of the veal as they 
will require. 

581. KNUCKLE OF VEAL STEWED. 
Place your knuckle of veal in a stew- 
pan, if the knuckle is a very large one it 
may be divided into two or three pieces 
for the sake of convenience, put in the 
pan with it a few blades of mace, a little 
thyme, an onion, some whole pepper, a 
burnt crust of bread, and cover with from 
three to four pints of water, cover down 
close, and boil ; when it has boiled place 
it by the side of the fire and let it sim- 
mer for at least two hours, take it up, 
keep it hot while you strain its liquor, 
then pour the gravy over it, and send it 
to table with a lemon garnish. 

582.-NECK OP VEAL WITH PEAS. 

Add to the meat, half an hour previous 
to its being done, one quart of peas, 
twelve button onions, and a little more 
sugar ; remove the fat, and serve as be- 
fore. 

583.-NECK OF VEAL WITH NEW POTA- 
TOES. 

As before, using new potatoes in place 
of the peas. Any other vegetable, as 
French beans, broad beans, &c., mav be 
served with it in the same way. 




Neck of veal 
584 NECK OF VEAL 

May be boiled or roasted the latter 



only if it be the best end, and sent to table 
garnished as in the above engraving it 
may be broiled in chops, but is best in a 
pie ; it may be, however, larded and stew- 
ed as follows : 

585. NECK OF VEAL STEWED. 

Lard it with square pieces of ham or 
bacon which have been previously rubbed 
in a preparation of shalots, spices, pep- 
per, and salt; place it in the stewpan 
with about three pints of white stock, 
add a bay or laurel leaf, and a couple of 
onions ; add a dessert-spoonful of brandy 
or whiskey, the latter if brandy is not at 
hand, stew till tender, dish the meat, 
strain the gravy, pour over the joint, and 
serve. 

586. BBEAST OF VEAL FORCED. 

After taking out the tendons and all 
the rib bones, trim the veal, spread it all 
over with forcemeat, sprinkle over, if 
you have got it, a little chopped truffle or 
mushrooms, sprinkle a little pepper and 
salt over it, then roll it tightly up and 
tie it, then put it into a cloth and stew 
it for several hours, take it up, and take 
off the cloth and strings ; dry it and glaze 
it, have some good sauce. 

58T. SHOULDER OF VEAL 

Remove the knuckle and roast what 
remains, as the fillet ; it may or may not 
be stuffed at pleasure; if not stuffed, 
serve with oyster or mushroom sauce j 
if stuffed, with melted butter. 

588. NECK OF VEAL BRAISED. 

This is done much in the same manner 
as the neck of veal stewed ; it is larded 
with bacon rolled in chopped parsley, 
pepper, salt, and nutmeg, placed with the 
scrag in a tosser, in which place lean 
bacon, celery, carrots, one onion, a glass 
of sherry or Madeira, with sufficient 
water to cover it all, stew over a quick 
fire until it is sufficiently tender, remove 
the veal and strain the gravy, place the 



280 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



veal in a stewpan in which some butter 
and flour has been browned, let the 
bones be uppermost, when the veal is 
nicely colored it is enough ; boil as much 
of the liquor as may be required, skim 
it clean, squeeze a lemon into it, pour it 
over the meat, and serve. 

689. VEAL CUTLETS. 
The cutlets should be cut as hand- 
somely as possible, and about three 
quarters of an inch in thickness, they 
should ^before cooking be well beaten 
with the blade of a chopper, if a proper 
beater be not at hand, they should then 
be fried a light brown and sent up to 
table, garnished with parsley and rolls 
of thin sliced, nicely fried bacon ; they 
are with advantage coated previously to 
cooking with the yolk of an egg, and 
dredged with bread-crumbs. 

590. VEAL CUTLETS. 
A very nice way to cook cutlets is to 
make a batter with half a pint of milk, 
an egg beaten to a froth, and flour enough 
to render it thick. When the veal is 
fried brown, dip it into the batter, then 
put it back into the fat, and fry it until 
brown again. If you have any batter 
left, it is nice dropped by the large spoon- 
ful into the fat, and fried till brown, then 
laid over the veal. Thicken the gravy 
and turn it over the whole. 

591. ANOTHER WAT. 

Procure your cutlets cut as above, coat 
them with the yolk of eggs well beaten, 
strew over them bread-crumbs powdered, 
sweet herbs, and grated lemon-peel and 
nutmeg, put some fresh butter in the pan, 
and when boiling put in your cutlets; 
now make some good gravy ; when the 
cutlets are cooked take them out and 
keep them before the fire to keep hot, 
dredge into the pan a little flour, put in a 
piece of butter, pour a little white stock, 
squeeze in juice of lemon to taste, sea- 



son with pepper and salt, add mushroom- 
ketchup, boil quickly until a light brown, 
pour it over the cutlets, and serve, the 
cutlets being laid in a circle round the 
dish, and the gravy in the centre. 

592. VEAL CUTLETS CUEKIED. 

The cutlets may be prepared as for 
collops by cutting them into shape, dip- 
ping them into the yolk of eggs, and 
seasoning them with fine bread-crumbs 
about four table-spoonfuls, two spoonfuls 
of curry-powder, and one of salt; fry 
them in fresh butter ; serve with curry 
sauce, which may be made with equal 
parts of curry-powder, flour, and butter, 
worked well together into a paste ; put 
it into the pan from which the cutlets 
have been removed, moisten with a cup- 
ful of water in which cayenne and salt 
have been stirred; let it thicken and 
serve very hot. 

593. VEAL CUTLETS CEUMBED OB 
PLAIN. 

If you have not got the leg of veal or 
the cutlet piece, get a thick slice of veal 
and cut fourteen good sized cutlets, not 
too thin, flatten each, and trim them 
a good shape, wet your beater in cold 
water to keep the veal from sticking, 
if for plain cutlets flour them well 
and dry them, then again have ready 
your saute-pan or fryingpan quite hot, 
with a good bit of lard or butter, 
then put in your cutlets, and fry a nice 
light brown ; pepper and salt them ; if 
to be bread-crumbed, trim them as be- 
fore ; have ready a little clarified butter, 
some chopped parsley, and shalot, pepper, 
and salt, all mixed together with a yolk 
or two of eggs well mixed; have ready 
some bread-crumbs, put a spoonful of 
flour amongst them well mixed ; dip each 
cutlet into this omelet, and thin bread- 
crumb them, patting each cutlet with 
your knife to keep it in the proper shape, 
making the bread-crumbs stick to the- 



YEAL. 



281 



cutlet ; melt some lard in your saute-pan, 
and place your cutlets in it ready to fry 
a nice brown. 

594. VEAL CUTLETS 1 LA MAINTENON. 

Half fry your cutlets, dip them in a 
seasoning of bread-crumbs, parsley, sha- 
lots, pepper and salt, and the yolk of an 
egg ; enclose them in clean writing paper, 
and broil them. 

595. COLLOPS OF VEAL. 

The piece of veal as before named, or 
if you have it, a leg of veal ; if not, get a 
cutlet and cut it into thin pieces, and 
beat very thin, saut them off, and when 
all done trim them round the size of a 
crown piece ; pepper and salt them, place 
in a stewpan with some brown sauce if 
for brown, and if for white bechamel 
sauce ; add some forcemeat balls, some 
stewed mushrooms, and some whole 
dressed truffles ; season with pepper, salt, 
sugar, and lemon ; dish the collops round 
as you would cutlets 3 putting the mush- 
rooms, and balls, and truffles in the mid- 
dle. 

596.^-TENDONS OF VEAL. 

This is from a breast of veal. Turn 
up the breast and with a sharp knife cut 
off the chine-bone all along^ taking care 
you do not take any of the gristle with 
the bone ; when you have cut off this 
bone, place your knife under the gristle 
and follow it all along until you have 
raised it up ; then cut off the tendons by 
keeping close to the rib bones; when 
you have got it out cut twelve or four- 
teen tendons endwise, keeping your knife 
slanting, as each may be the size of a 
small pattie round, but not too thin; 
then put them on in cold water to scald, 
then put them in cold again ; prepare a 
stewpan lined with fat bacon or ham, 
trim each tendon round, throw the tur- 
aip in your braise, cover them with 



second stock, and some of the skim- 
mings ; let them stew gently for six or 
seven hours ; be careful in taking them 
up, and place them separately upon a 
drying sieve ; glaze them two or three 
times; dish them on a border; they 
should be so tender that you might suck 
them through a quill. 



597. GALANTINE VEAL. 

Take a large breast of veal ; take off 
the chine-bone, then take out the gristle 
called tendons, then take out all the rib 
bones ; flatten it well, have ready some 
good forcemeat or sausage meat ; spread 
it all over with your forcemeat, then 
make a line of green gherkins, then a 
line of red capsicums, then a line of fat 
ham or bacon, then some hard boiled 
yolks of eggs, then a line of truffles ; if 
you have any boiled calves' feet left from 
jelly stock, sprinkle it in with pieces of 
breast of fowl ; sprinkle pepper and salt 
all over it, then roll it up tightly, and 
likewise do so in a cloth ; tie it up lightly ; 
stew it for two hours or more ; take it 
up and press it flat ; let it lie until quite 
cold ; take off the cloth. It will make 
excellent cold dishes. 



598 OLIVES OF VEAL-E6TL 

Cut some cutlets a moderate thickness 
from the chump end of the loin of veal, 
beat them and trim them, eight or a 
dozen, according to dish ; get some slices 
of ham or bacon, cover the veal with 
forcemeat and with the fat, sprinkle be- 
tween a little chopped mushrooms, pep- 
per and salt, roll each up, and tie and 
skewer each, then egg and bread-crumb 
them, bake them hi the oven with but- 
tered paper over them, cut the string 
when done, and before you send them to 
table, draw the skewer, put asparagus 
sauce, tomato, or mushroom in the dish. 



282 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



599. POTTED VEAL. 

This may be potted as beef, or thus : 
pound cold veal in a mortar, work up 
with it in powder mace, pepper, and salt, 
shred the leanest part of tongue very 
finely, or ham is sometimes used ; place 
in a jar or pot a layer of the pounded 
veal, and upon that a layer of the tongue, 
and continue alternately until the pot is 
full, seeing that every layer is well press- 
ed down; pour over the top melted 
clarified butter. If it is desired, and 
which is frequently done, to marble the 
veal, cut the tongue or ham in square 
dice instead of shredding it, but care 
must be taken that they do not touch 
each other or the effect is destroyed. 

600. LOIN OF VEAL BRAISED. 

This joint generally weighs from 
twelve to fourteen pounds, when off a 
good calf. Have the rib bones carefully 
divided with a saw, so as not to hurt the 
fillet, prepare the braising-pan, and pro- 
ceed with the addition of one pint of 
water, but take care not to cover the 
meat, which might happen if your stew- 
pan was too deep, (this would be boil- 
ing instead of braising;) it will take 
about three hours : be careful to remove 
the fat, as this joint produces a great 
deal. Taste the sauce before serving, 
in case more seasoning is required, 
which might be the case, depending on 
the nature of the veal. A good cook 
should taste all sauces before serving. 



601.-CALFS-HEAD BAGOUT. 

Parboil the head, and cut off the meat 
into thin broad pieces, return the bones 
to the water in which it was boiled, with 
a beef-bone or a piece of gravy beef, and 
ham or bacon bones ; add herbs, and, 
making two quarts of good gravy, strain 
it, and put in the meat. When it has 
stewed three-quarters of an hour, add an 



anchovy, a little beaten mace, cayenne 
pepper, two spoonfuls of lemon pickle, 
half an ounce of truffles and morels, a 
slice or two of lemon, and a glass of 
wine : thicken the gravy with butter and 
flour, adding forcemeat balls fried, paste 
fried, and brain-cakes as a garnish. 

m 602.-BOILED CALF'S HEAD. 

Boil the head gently until the bone 
will leave the meat easily ; take some fine 
forcemeat, made with ham, egg-balls, and 
small pieces of very nice pickled pork 
previously boiled ; lay them evenly over 
the inside of one half of the head, and 
roll it up ; tie it lightly in a cloth ; put 
it into a stewpan to braise : cut the other 
portion of the head into small pieces ; 
thicken and flavor the stock in which it 
was boiled, and warm it up in it, adding 
forcemeat and egg-balls, brain cekes, and 
fried paste. Place the rolled head in the 
centre of the dish, with the hash round, 
and the brain cakes, fried paste, and 
slices of lemon as garnish. Truffles may 
be aJded with advantage to any dish com- 
posed of calf's head. 



603. HASHED VEAL. 

If to J)e hashed, from any joint not over- 
done, cut thin slices, remove the skin 
and gristle, put some sliced onions and a 
shalot over the fire with a piece of but- 
ter and some flour ; fry and shake them. 
Put in some veal gravy and a bunch of 
sweet herbs ; simmer ten minutes ; strain 
off the gravy, and put it to the veal, with 
some parsley chopped small, and a little 
grated lemon peel and nutmeg; let it 
simmer one minute. 

If to le stewed, then add the yolk of 
two eggs, beaten up with two spoonfuls 
of cream and a very little pepper, and stir 
over the fire one way until it becomes 
thick and smooth ; squeeze a little lemon 
juice in, and serve. 



VEAL. 



283 



604 SCOTCH COLLOP8. 

If lrown, cut the collops thin, beat 
them a little, fiy ; them in butter for 
about two minutes, after having seasoned 
them with a little beaten mace; place 
them in a deep dish as they are fried, 
and cover them with gravy. Put some 
butter into the frying-pan, and allow it 
just to change color. Then strain the 
collops through a colander from the 
gravy, and fry them quickly ; pour the 
burnt butter from the pan, and put in 
the gravy, adding a little lemon-juice. 
The gravy may be made of the trimmings 
of the veal ; serve it up with forcemeat 
balls. 

If white, cut the collops the size of a 
crown piece, and not much thicker ; but- 
ter the bottom of the stewpan and lay 
the meat piece by piece upon it, having 
shaken a little flour upon the butter; 
add two blades of mace and a little nut- 
meg. Set the stewpan on the fire, and 
toss it together until the meat is very 
white; then add half a pint of strong 
veal broth and one quarter of a pint of 
cream ; toss the whole, and when sim- 
mered enough, let them just boil ; add a 
little lemon juice, some forcemeat balls, 
and either oysters or mushrooms, which 
must both be very white; if necessary, 
thicken the sauce with the yolk of eggs, 
but do not let it boil afterwards. 

605. TO DBESS COLLOPS QUICKLY. 

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



put them into a hot dish before the fire ; 
then strain and thicken the gravy. 

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



sauce. 



606. CALF'S HEAD CUBBY 



Is usually made with the remains left 
from a previous dinner; if about two 
pounds of meat remaining upon the bone, 
cut it whilst cold into thin slices, then 
cut two onions and two apples into small 
dice, which put into a stewpan with an 
ounce of butter and half a clove of garlic 
cut in slices, stir with a wooden spoon 
over the fire until sauteed nice and 
brown, when add a table-spoonful of 
curry powder, half one of flour, mix well, 
then pour in a pint of broth, add a little 
salt, and boil twenty minutes, keeping it 
well stirred ; then put in the calf s head, 
and let it remain upon the fire until quite 
hot through; add the juice of half a 
lemon, which stir in very gently without 
breaking the meat, dress it upon a dish, 
and serve with rice separately. Curry 
sauce may be passed through a sieve pre- 
viously to putting the head in. 

607. VEAL CUTLETS EN PAPILLOTE. 

Prepare, half-fry. and put them in a 
pie-dish and pour the sauce over, and let 
them remain until cold ; then cut a sheet 
of foolscap paper hi the shape of a heart 
and oil or butter it ; lay one of the cutlets 
with a little of the sauce on one half of 
the paper, turn the other half over, then 
turn and plait the edges of the paper 
over, beginning at the top of the heart 
and finishing with an extra twist at the 



284 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



bottom, which will cause the sauce to 
remain in it ; broil slowly on a gridiron 
for twenty minutes on a very slow fire, 
or place it in the oven for that time, and 
serve. 

608. CUTLETS AND EICE. 

Boil a cupful of rice in milk until quite 
soft, then pound it in a mortar with a 
little salt and some white pepper ; pound 
also separately equal parts of cold veal 
or chicken : mix them together with yolk 
of egg, form them into cutlets, brush 
over with yolk of egg, and fry- them ; 
send them up with a very piquant sauce, 
made of good stock, thickened and flavor- 
ed with lemon juice, lemon pickle, or 
Harvey's sauce. The cutlets may be sent 
to table covered with the small pickled 
mushrooms. 

609. CUTLETS AND CELEET. 

i 

The cutlets may be cut from the best 
part of the neck, taking care in removing 
the meat from the bones to cut it in a 
good shape ; make gravy of the bones ; 
stewing them with three or four heads 
of celery cut and iscalded, a little salt, 
P e PP er ? an d stewed onion j strain the 
gravy, returning the celery into it ; thick- 
en it with butter and flour, and pour it 
boiling hot upon the cutlets. Stew them 
till they are quite tender, and garnish 
with lemon and small forcemeat balls 
fried. 

610. A L'lTALIENNE. 

Chop a quantity of sweet herbs, pars- 
ley being predominant; melt a little 
butter on the fire and then warm the 
herbs in it ; cut the cutlets into handsome 
shapes, brush them with the yolk of an 
egg, then lay on the butter and herbs 
with a knife, and cover them well with 
bread-crumbs ; this process should be re- 
peated ; fry them of a fine brown ; if 
glazed, they must be put between papers 



to press all the grease out, then brush 
them over with the glaze, and send them 
to table. Serve with Italian sauce. 

611. A LA HOLLANDAISE. 

Cut some large cutlets from a fillet of 
veal, beat them with a rolling-pin, then 
dip them into batter made very rich with 
egg. Make a fine forcemeat with pound- 
ed ham, chopped oysters, &c., lay it upon 
the cutlets, roll them up> dip them again 
in egg-batter, roll them in bread-crumbs, 
and tie them up ; roast them upon skew- 
ers or in a Dutch oven ; chop and pound 
the trimmings of the veal, add them to 
the oysters and ham forcemeat with two 
raw eggs, make it into balls and fry 
them ; have some stock ready and stew 
it with an anchovy, a shalot, some white 
pepper and salt ; strain, and thicken it with 
butter, add the juice of -one-half a lemon 
and a glass of white wine ; give it one 
boil and pour it into the dish, with the 
rolled cutlets in the centre and the balls 
round them. 

612.-A LA HOLLANDAISE, WITH WHITE 
SAUCE. 

Out thin slices of undressed veal, hack 
them with the back of a knife each way, 
dip them in eggs and bread-crumbs, with 
a little chopped parsley ; fry them in but- 
ter, lay them on a sieve as they are done, 
and serve them withavhite sauce as for 
fricassee. 

618. FAKCIES OP VEAL. 

Chop off the thick bone of a small neck 
of veal to the end of the fifth rib ; divide 
the cutlets, and with a broad knife beat 
the meat of each flat, and cover it with 
forcemeat of lean veal, beef suet, parsley, 
a small bit of garlic, a little salt, mace, 
and pepper. Then roll the meat round 
the bone, the end of which leave out at 
one extremity, put over a thin slice of fat 
bacon, and, having stuffed in the remain- 



YEAL. 



285 



der of the forcemeat at the ends of the 
roll, bind up with twine. At the bottom 
of a small stewpan lay slices of turnip, 
onion, three inches of celery, and two 
large carrots cut lengthways, and the 
steaks over: add as much water, or beef 
broth, as shall half cover them ; set the 
pan on a moderate stove, and some wood 
embers on the lid; simmer slowly for 
two hours, then remove the twine, and 
placing the bones upwards, leaning on 
each other, strain the gravy over them. 

Or : Take cutlets from the chump 
end of a loin of veal ; beat them well ; 
cover them with slices of bacon, then 
with a fine forcemeat ; roll them round : 
tie them into shape ; then dip them in the 
yolks of eggs and the raspings of bread ; 
roast them, basting well with butter ; 
then put them into a sauce thickened 
with mushrooms; squeeze lemon juice 
over them ; let them stew till very tender, 
and serve them up. 

614. KOLLED VEAL. 

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

Or: Put the breast into a stewpan 
with just water enough .to cover it, an 
onion, a stick of celery, and a bundle of 
sweet herbs ; let it stew very gently, 
adding more water as it stews, until it is 
tender ; then take out the bones, and re- 
move the skin ; return the bones into 
the liquor, which will be a fine jelly, and 
serve as the sauce for several dishes. 
Cover the veal with a fine forcemeat, 



season it well, add egg-balls, and roll it 
up, securing it with tape. Put it into a 
stewpan with the fat procured from pork 
chops, a slice or two of fat bacon or a 
lump of butter, and a teacupful of the 
liquor it was stewed in ; shake the stew- 
pan about until the fat has melted, and 
turn the veal in it, that it may be all 
equally done, adding an onion and an- 
other bunch of herbs ; let it braise one 
and a half or two hours, then strain the 
gravy, and thicken it ; garnish with 
forcemeat-balls, egg-balls, and fried paste 
cut in shapes. Peeled mushrooms may 
be given by way of variety. When 
well done, this is an excellent dish. 

615. CALF'S LIVER. (English way.) 

Cut the liver into thin slices, dip them 
in flour, and put it in a saute or frying- 
pan in which some slices ot bacon have 
been previously cooked, with sufficient 
fat left in it ; saute the liver until quite 
brown and rather crisp, when take out 
and place it upon a dish with the bacon, 
then dredge a spoonful of flour in the 
pan, or enough to absorb all the fat in it, 
then add a little broth or water so as to 
make it a thinnish sauce, season it, and 
add two spoonfuls of Harvey's 'sauce or 
mushroom ketchup. If the above is nice- 
ly done, and the pieces cut the size of 
cutlets, it will make a nice entree for an 
ordinary dinner. It should be served 
immediately, and very hot. 

616. -STEWED CALF'S LIVER. (Soyer's.) 

Choose a nice fat one, rather white in 
color, lard it through with bacon, put 
one-quarter of a pound of butter in a 
pan ; when melted, add a table-spoonful 
of flour, keep stirring until a nice yellow 
color, then put in the whole of the liver ; 
turn round now and then until it is a 
little firm, then add a pint of broth or 
water, and a glass of any kind of wine, 
a bouquet of parsley, thyme, bay-leaves. 



286 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



a little salt, pepper, and sugar, thirty 
button onions ; simmer one hour ; take 
the fat off and the bouquet out, dish the 
liver with the onions around it, reduce 
the sauce, so that it adheres lightly to 
the back of the spoon, sauce over and 
serve. Any vegetables may be used, as 
carrots, turnips, peas, haricots ; and if a 
little gelatine or isinglass is added to the 
sauce, and the liver with the sauce only 
put into a round basin and pressed down 
and left until cold, it will make a nice 
dish for supper, lunch or breakfast. If 
required to be rewanned, cut into slices, 
put it in the pan with a drop of water 
added to the gravy. 

617. CALF'S LIVER FEIED. 

Cut in slices, and fry it in good beef- 
dripping or butter ; let the pan be half 
full, and put the liver in when it boils, 
which is when it has done hissing; 
have some rashers of toasted bacon, and 
lay round it, with some parsley crisped 
before the fire ; always lay the bacon 
in boiling water before it is either broil- 
ed, fried, or toasted, as it takes out the 
salt, and makes it tender. Sauce plain 
melted butter, a little poured over the 
liver, the rest in the sauce-boat. 

618. CALF'S HEAD CHEESE. 

Boil the head until the bones will come 
out, then put the head, tongue, and 
brains, into a mould with spices and 
parsley chopped fine until the mould is 
quite full ; put a plate and a weight over 
it, and when cold turn out. Serve with 
parsley, and slices of rolled ham, placed 
round the dish. 

619. FRICANDEATJ OF VEAL. 

In France the fricandeau is not unfre- 
quently larded in the interior as well as 
the outside, by having pieces of the size 
of a little finger cut off the meat with 
an instrument something like a cheese- 



taster, and then refilled with pledgets of 
bacon, or " lardons. " The meat is alsc 
very generally served upon spinach, 
dressed with cream or sorrel. 

The meat, being cut into a handsome 
shape, should be larded, and put into a 
stewpan of small size, with just suffi- 
cient water, or veal broth, to cover it, 
and there allowed to simmer gently over 
a slow fire for about three hours: or 
until it has become so tender as to be cut 
with a fish-slice. The gravy is then sea- 
soned at pleasure, but most generally 
made into white sauce. 

Or :Cut a nice piece from the fillet, 
lard it all over as thickly as possible ; 
put it into a stewpan with a few slices of 
fat bacon, some trimmings of veal, a car- 
rot, turnip, and a head of celery, a few 
allspice, two blades of mace, and four 
bay-leaves ; let it stew very gently, until 
thoroughly done, boil the gravy down to 
a glaze, cover the veal with it, and 
serve it upon a puree of sorrel. Grena- 
dines of veal are cooked in the same 
way, only made' of smaller pieces, four 
for a dish. 

620. FRICANDELS. 

Take three pounds of the best end of 
a loin of veal, chop the fat and lean to- 
gether very fine; then soak a French 
roll in some milk ; beat three eggs ; add 
pepper, salt, nutmeg, and mace. Make 
the mixture up about the size, and some- 
what in the shape, of a chicken ; rub it 
over with egg and bread-crumbs, fry 
until it is brown, pour off the fat, boil 
water in the pan, and stew the fricandels 
in this gravy; two will make a hand- 
some dish. Thicken the gravy before it 
is sent to table. 

621. MIROTON OF VEAL. 

Chop very fine some cold dressed veal 
and ham or bacon ; mix it with a slice 
of crumb of bread soaked in milk, two 



VEAL. 



287 



onions chopped and browned, a little salt, 
pepper, and a little cream. Put all these 
ingredients into a stewpan until they are 
hot, and are well mixed together ; then 
add one or two eggs according to the 
quantity, butter a mould, put in the 
whole, and bake it in an oven until it is 
brown ; turn out of the mould, and serve 
with fresh gravy. 

622. A GALANTINE. 

Take out the long bones from a breast 
of veal, and beat the veal for four min- 
utes with the flat part of a hand-chopper, 
in order that it may roll easily. Spread 
it on the table, and brush it over thickly 
with the yolk of an egg, and then sprin- 
kle it with chopped herbs ; season with 
pepper, salt, and pounded mace ; make 
two omelettes, one of the yolk and one 
of the white of egg ; cut them in strips ; 
lay them upon the veal, with layers of 
pounded ham or farce Tjetween ; cut some 
pickled cucumbers or mushrooms into 
small pieces, with some sweet herbs well 
seasoned ; strew them over the surface, 
then roll up the veal very tightly, tie it 
in a cloth, and let it stew gently for six 
hours ; then put a heavy weight upon it, 
and let it stand two days before it is cut. 
Serve it in slices, with savory jelly ; any 
kind of boned game or fowl may be add- 
ed. It requires to be highly seasoned. 

623. VEAL OLIVES. 

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



624. HAEICOT OF VEAL. 

Take the best end of a small neck; 
cut the bones short, but leave it whole ; 
then put it into a stewpan just covered 
with brown gravy ; and when it is nearly 
done, have ready a pint of boiled peas, 
four cucumbers pared and sliced, two 
cabbage-lettuces cut into quarters, and 
half a pint of carrots and turnips cut in 
shapes, all stewed in a little good broth ; 
put them to the veal, and let them sim- 
mer ten minutes. When the veal is in 
the dish, pour the sauce and vegetables 
over it, and lay the lettuce with force- 
meat-balls round it. 

625. VEAL CUBBY. 

Cut up about two pounds of lean veal 
into small square pieces, half the size of 
walnuts ; then put a large onion cut into 
small dice, in a stewpan, with a clove or 
garlic and one apple cut into slices, and 
one ounce of butter ; keep them s'tirred 
over a moderate fire, until lightly brown- 
ed, when stir in a good table-spoonful of 
mild curry powder, half a one of flour, 
mix well, then add a pint of water, let it 
just boil up, put in the veal, which stir 
round two or three times, to mix with 
the curry, and put the stewpan over a 
slow fire, or in a warm oven for an hour 
and a-half ; when done (which you may 
ascertain by pressing a piece between the 
finger and thumb, if done it would be 
quite tender and separate,) add the juice 
of a lemon and a little salt, stir the whole 
round three or fou"r times very gently, 
to mix, and turn it out upon your dish j 
serve with rice separately. 

Should you require a veal curry made 
in less time, the better plan would be to 
saut6 the veal in butter previously, then 
putting it with its own gravy to the cur- 
ry, and boiling the whole gently a quar- 
ter of an hour. 

To make a veal curry with curry paste, 
saute the veal hi butter ; when becoming 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



slightly browned, add a good table-spoon- 
ful of the paste, with half a pint of wa- 
ter ; leave it to stew about half an hour, 
when it will be ready to serve. 

Beef, mutton, lamb, and pork curries 
are made precisely the same as directed 
for veal curries. 

626. CALFS HEART BAKED. 

Clean and stuff as for roasted beef heart* 
then bake instead of roasting, and after- 
wards serve with rich gravy or liver 
sauce. 

62T.-CALVES' FEET. 

Stewed. When properly cleaned, rub 
the feet over with pepper, a very little 
salt, a little ground ginger, and mace; 
cut the feet into moderately sized pieces, 
and put them into a stewpan with a lit- 
tle shalot, and a beefsteak also cut into 
pieces. Cover all with cold water, and 
let ttfem simmer together for three hours. 
When quite tender, take them off the fire ; 
strain the gravy through a sieve. The 
next day when cold, take off all the fat ; 
boil a small quantity of saffron in cream, 
and a little cayenne pepper ; mix it with 
the gravy, and warm the whole without 
boiling ; one foot and one pound of steak 
will make a dish. 

Fricasseed. Boil the feet in water un- 
til the bones will come out, with an onion 
and a bunch of sweet herbs; take the 
bones out, and when the meat is cold stuff 
it nicely with a very fine farce, or force- 
meat ; make the pieced up into handsome 
shapes of an equal size ; then take some 
of the stock in which the feet were boil- 
ed, removing the fat, and straining it 
when melted ; make this into thick white 
sauce with cream and roux; warm up 
the calves' feet in it, and send it to table 
either plain or with a quantity of aspara- 
gus tops, previously boiled, and cut into 
small pieces. 

Or /Boil tender two feet in a shallow 



pan. observing not to break them ; throw 
them into cold water for an hour ; divide 
and lay them in a little weak veal broth, 
and simmer them half an hour, with a 
blade of mace and a bit of lemon peel, 
which take out when you add half a tea- 
cupful of cream, and a bit of flour and 
butter. 

Fried. Take calves' feet which have 
been boiled until very tender ; remove 
the bones ; let them- get cold ; cut them 
into well-shaped pieces ; seasen them 
with white pepper and salt; dip them 
into butter, fry them, and serve them up 
with a sharp sauce or garnish of pickles. 

Calves' feet may also be plainly boiled, 
and served with parsley and butter, or 
eaten cold with oil and vinegar. 

628. QUEUES DE VEAU. 

Having nicely cleaned and soaked four 
calves' tails, cut off the small ends, and 
blanch them ; dry, flour, and fry them a 
fine brown in butter ; drain the fat from 
them, and having ready a pint of weak 
broth, with a bunch of sweet herbs, chi- 
bols, two bay-leaves, half a pint of mush- 
rooms, pepper and salt, boiled up and 
skimmed ; wipe the sides of the casserole, 
put the tails in, and simmer very slowly 
until they are quite tender ; keep them 
hot while the gravy is strained, and boil- 
ed to a glaze, to cover them. If you 
have no mushrooms, mix a little of the 
powder into gravy just before serving ; 
have ready small onions, and peel to one 
size to send up in the dish. 

629. CALVES' EARS STUFFED. 

The hair being scalded off the ears, 
after they have been cut quite close to 
the head, scald and clean them as well as 
possible ; boil them quite tender, and 
blanch them in cold water. Observe that 
the gristle next the head be cut so 
smooth as to allow the ears to stand up- 
right ; they may be boiled in white gravy 



VEAL. 



289 



instead of water, which will make them 
richer. When become cold, fill up the 
cavity with a fine stuffing of calf's liver, 
fat bacon, grated ham, bread soaked in 
cream or gravy, herbs, an unbeaten egg, 
a little salt, and a small piece of mace ; 
rub egg over the ears and stuffing, dip in 
bread-crumbs, and fry of a beautiful 
light brown. Serve in brown or white 
gravy, or tomato-sauce. If the ear be 
large, one will be sufficient for a corner 
dish. 

Or: When prepared as above, boil 
them quite tender in gravy, and serve 
them in chervil-sauce ; or else boil cher- 
vil to a mash, put to it melted butter, 
pass it through a sieve, and add to it 
white sauce, or use the latter solely, in 
which case put a little mushroom-pow- 
der into it ; the same forcemeat may be 
used, or the ears may be served without. 
They likewise eat well, cut into slices, 
served in white or brown gravy. In the 
latter case, fry them before stewing in 
gravy. 



630. CALVES' BRAINS. 
Remove all the large fibres and skin ; 
soak them in warm water for four hours ; 
blanch them for ten minutes in boiling 
water, with a little salt and vinegar in it ; 
then soak them three hours in lemon- 
juice in which a bit of chervil has been 
steeped ; dry them well, dip them in bat- 
ter, and fry them. Make hot a ladleful 
of glaze, some extremely small onions 
browned in butter, artichoke bottoms 
divided in half, and some mushroom- 
buttons, and serve round the brains ; or, 
after preparing as above, serve in a rich 
white acidulated sauce, with lemon-juice 
or tomato-sauce. 

Or: Blanch the brains, and beat 
them up with an egg, pepper, and salt, a 
small quantity of chopped parsley, and a 
piece of butter. Make them into small 



cakes, put them into a small frying-pan, 
and fry them. 

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

681. CROQUETTES OF BRAINS. 
Take calf s brains, blanch, and beat 
them up with one or two chopped sage- 
leaves, a little pepper and salt, a few 
bread-crumbs soaked in milk, and an egg 
beaten; roll them into balls, and fry 
them. 

632. CEKVELLES DE VEATJ AF MARI- 
NADE. 

Cut a carrot, a turnip, and an onion 
into pieces; let them stew in a little 
butter ; then add a bundle of sweet herbs, 
and pour over them a pint of vinegar 
and water in equal parts ; then strain the 
liquor, and pour it over calves' brains 
cleaned and blanched ; let them stew in 
it till they are firm, then fry them in 
butter, and serve up with crisped parsley. 

633. CERVELLES DE VEATJ FRICASSEES. 

Having cleaned and blanched the 
brains, render them white and firm by 
squeezing lemon-juice over them; then 
put them into a stewpan with a piece of 
butter ; stew slowly, that they may not 
brown; dredge in a small quantity of 
flour ; add a bunch of parsley, and one of 
chives; moisten with clear veal broth; let 
the brains stew until they are firm ; then 
send them up in the sauce, thickened 
with a little cream and flour and butter. 

634. FRIED LIVER AND BACON, ETC. 

Cut the liver rather thin, say about 
half an inch thick, but first soak it ia 
warm water about one hour; chop a 
quantity of parsley, season it with pep- 
per, and lay it thick upon the liver; cut 



290 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



slices of bacon, and fry both together, 
but put the bacon first into the pan; add 
a little lemon-pickle to the gravy made 
by pouring the fat out of the pan, flour- 
ing, and adding boiling water. 

Or : Cut the liver in handsome pieces, 
lard them very nicely, and chop some 
parsley and spread it over the surface 
with a little pepper and salt ; put a small 
piece of butter well mixed with flour in 
the bottom of a stewpan, and put in the 
liver, and allow it to stew gently in its 
own juices until it is done enough. 

685. TO DRESS LIVER AND LIGHTS. 

Half boil an equal quantity of each ; 
then cut them- into a middling-size mince ; 
put to it a spoonful or two of the water 
they were boiled in, a bit of butter, flour, 
salt, and pepper; simmer ten minutes, 
and serve hot. 

686. TO DRESS CALF'S HEART. 

Stuff and roast the same as beef heart ; 
or, being sliced and seasoned, make it 
into a pudding as directed for steak or 
kidney pudding. It may be either roast- 
ed or baked, but in either way should be 
well basted, stuffed with forcemeat as 
for veal, but made rather more savory, 
and served up in the same manner as 
beef heartj 

When the kidney is cut from the loin 
and dressed separately, chop the kidney, 
with some of the fat ; likewise a little 
leek or onion, pepper, and salt. Veal 
forcemeat may also be used, but it rather 
weakens the pungency of the seasoning. 
Roll it up with an egg into balls, and 
fry them. 

63T. SWEETBREADS. 

*For every mode of dressing, sweet- 
breads should be prepared by blanching, 
or rather parboiling them. 

They may be larded and braised ; and, 



being of themselves rather insipid, they 
will be improved by a relishing sauce, 
and by a large quantity of herbs in the 
braise. Slices of lemon put upon the 
sweetbreads while braising, will heighten 
the flavor and keep them white, which 
is very desirable when sent to table with 
white sauce. Stuffed with oysters, they 
make a very good vol-au-vent. 

688. SWEETBREADS A LA DAUBE. 

Blanch two or three of the largest 
sweetbreads ; lard them ; put them into 
a stewpan. with some good veal gravy, 
a little browning, and the juice of half 
a lemon ; stew them till quite tender, 
and just before serving thicken with 
flour and butter-; glaze them; serve 
with their gravy, with bunches of boiled 
celery round the dish. 

689. SWEETBREADS STEWED. 

After blanching, stuff them with a 
forcemeat of fowl, fat and lean bacon, an 
anchovy, nutmeg, lemon-peel, parsley, 
and a very little cayenne and thyme; 
when well mixed, add the yolks of two 
eggs, and fill the sweetbreads. Fasten 
them together with splinter-skewers, and 
lay them in a pan, with slices of veal 
over, and bacon under them; season 
with pepper and salt, mace, cloves, herbs, 
and sliced onion; cover close over the 
fire ten minutes, then add a quart of 
broth, and stew gently two hours ; take 
out the sweetbreads, strain and skim the 
broth, and boil it to half a pint ; warm 
the sweetbreads in it, and serve with 
lemon round. 

640. -FRIED. 

Cut them in slices about three-quar- 
ters of an inch thick, dry and flour, egg 
them, and dip them in fine bread-crumbs ; 
fry them of a light brown ; serve on 
spinach, endive, or sorrel ; or cut some 



VEAL. 



291 



toasted bread, dish them on it, and serve 
them with a sauce piquante. 

For an invalid, boil them well, cover 
them with bread-crumbs, a little pepper 
and salt, with a small bit of butter ; 
brown them lightly with a salamander. 

641. ROASTED. 

Blanch, dry, egg and bread-crumb 
them ; pass a small skewer through each ; 
tie on a spit ; roast gently ; baste with 
fresh butter ; serve nicely frothed, and a 
mushroom sauce under them. 

642. SWEETBREADS FKICASSEED WHITE. 

Blanch and slice them; thicken some 
veal gravy with flour and butter mixed ; 
a little cream ; a little mushroom pow- 
der, and add white pepper, nutmeg, and 
grated lemon-peel; stew these ingredi- 
ents together a little, then simmer the 
sweetbreads twenfy minutes. When 
taken off the fire, add a little salt and 
lemon-peel ; stir well, and serve. 

648. IF FRICASSEED BROWN, 

Cut them about the size of a walnut, 
flour, and fry them of a fine brown ; 
pour to them a good beef gravy, season- 
ed with salt, pepper, cayenne, and all- 
spice ; simmer till tender ; thicken with 
flour and butter. Morels, truffles, and 
mushrooms may be added, and mush- 
room ketchup. 

644. CROQUETTES. 

Take two sweetbreads or half a pound 
of roast veal, one onion chopped fine, 
mixed with a small piece of butter, one 
egg, and a little cream; season with 
white pepper, cayenne, and salt. This 
will make eight or nine croquettes. Roll 
them in egg and then in bread-crumbs ; 
fry them in lard a nice brown color; 
strew them in a circle round the dish, and 
serve fried parsley hi the centre. 



Cold veal chopped, and stewed in a 
little gravy, and when cold made up as 
above, makes excellent rissoles. 

645. TO ROAST SWEETBREADS. 

Sweetbreads should be soaked in warm 
water, and then blanched by being 
thrown into boiling water, boiled for a 
few minutes, and then put into cold 
water. They may then be larded and 
roasted or fried, and afterwards stewed 
in butter with crumbs of bread. Sweet- 
breads may also be larded and braised, 
and being of themselves rather insipid, 
they will be improved by a relishing 
sauce and by a large quantity of herbs 
in the braise. Skins of lemon put upon 
the sweetbreads while braising will 
heighten the flavor, and keep them white ; 
which is very desirable when sent to 
table with white sauce. The usual sauce 
with which they are served is butter and 
mushroom ketchup. They may be roast- 
ed in a Dutch oven. 

646. CERVELLE DE VEAU A LA MAlTRE 
D' HOTEL. 

Let them be prepared. Cut some bread 
into the shape of cocks'-combs, which 
fry in butter till of a fine color. Dish 
them between each half of the brains, 
which you have divided, and cover the 
brains over with a maitre d' h6tel sauce, 
two spoonfuls of bechamel, a small bit of 
fresh butter, some parsley chopped fine, 
the juice of half a lemon, and let it be 
well seasoned. 



647. TONGUE, ETC. 

Neat's tongue should be boiled full 
three hours. If it has been in salt long, 
it is well to soak it over night in cold 
water. Put it to boil when the water is 
cold. If you boil it in a small pot, it is 
well to change the water, when it has 
boiled an hour and a half; the fresh 
water should boil before the half-cooked 



292 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



tongue is put in again. It is nicer for 
being kept in a cool place a day or two 
after being boiled. Nearly the same 
rules apply to salt beef. A six pound 
piece of corned beef should boil full three 
hours ; and salt beef should be boiled 
four hours. 

648. CROQUETS OF SWEETBREAD. 
(French Receipt.) 

Take such sweetbreads as have already 
been served, cut them into as small dice 
as possible. Have some good veloute 
boiled down ready. Throw the dice of 
sweetbreads into the veloute, and give 
them a boil, that they may taste of the 
sauce. Then lay them on a plate to 
cool. When cold, roll them into any 
shape you like, round, oval, or long. Of 
all things avoid giving them the shape of 
pears, as some persons do, for in that 
case they must be more handled, without 
at all improving the quality. Serve up 
with parsley, fried green, in the middle. 
If you have some mushrooms left in the 
larder, cut some likewise in dice, and 
mix them with the croquets. 



649. ESCALOPES DE RIS DE VEAU AUX 
POIS, OR SCOLLOPS OF SWEETBREADS 
WITH GREEN PEAS. 

Take four fine sweetbreads, let them 
disgorge, and blanch them thoroughly. 
Next, cut them into scollops, as large as 
possible. Mark them in a saut-pan, or 
fryingpan, with melted butter and a little 
salt. A quarter of an hour before you 
send up, fry them lightly over a stove, 
with a clear fire ; turn them round, and 
when done, drain the butter, and put a 
little glaze into the pan. Keep stirring 
the sweetbreads in the glaze ; dish them 
miroton way, and send up the peas in 
the middle. 

When you have sweetbreads left at 
table, cut them into scollops, make them 
hot in a little light glaze, and after hav- 



ing dished them miroton way, mask them 
with the peas. Scollops of sweetbreads 
are easier to dress when you put them 
between a slice of fried bread cut round, 
and the green peas in the middle ; with- 
out the fried bread they do not keep 
the shape in which, you dish them. 

650.-FOIE DE VEAU 1 LA POELE, OR SCOL- 
LQPS OF CALF'S LIVER WITH FINE 
HERBS. 

Take a nice calf s liver as white as 
possible, cut it into slices of a good 
and equal shape. Dip them in the 
flour, and fry them in a black fryingpan, 
of a nice color, with a little butter. 
When they are done, put them in a dish, 
and take some fine herbs which you have 
previously chopped fine, such as pars- 
ley, shalots, mushrooms, &c. Stew them 
slowly on the fire with a little butter, 
and when the herbs are sufficiently done 
add a teaspoonful of flour, and moisten 
with gravy, if you have any, or with 
water, and add a small bit of glaze. 
When done, put the liver in the sauce, 
which warm, but do not allow it to boil ; 
add a little salt, pepper, lemon, and serve 
very hot. 

This is again a common dish, yet it is 
very palatable. You may put the liver 
in the sauce ; but mind that it does not 
boil. It is a dish for a breakfast a la 
fourchette. 

651.-CALF'S HEAD. 

Let the head be thoroughly cleaned, the 
brains and tongue be taken out, boil it in 
a cloth to keep it white, (it is as well to 
soak the head for two or three hours pre- 
viously to boiling, it helps to improve 
the color,) wash, soak, and blanch the 
brains, then boil them, scald some sage, 
chop it fine, add pepper, salt, and a little 
milk, mix it with the brains ; the tongue, 
which should be soaked in salt and 
water for twenty-four hours, should be 



VEAL. 



293 



boiled, peeled, and served on a separate 
dish. The head should boil until tender, 
and if intended to be sent to table plainly, 
should be served as taken up. with melt- 
ed butter and parsley ; if otherwise, when 
the head is boiled sufficiently tender, 
take it up, spread over a coat of the yolk 
of egg well beaten up, powder with bread- 
crumbs, and brown before the fire in a 
Dutch or American oven. * 

652 CALF'S HEAD BAKED. 

Butter the head, and powder it with a 
seasoning composed of bread-crumbs, very 
fine, a few sweet herbs and sage, chopped 
very fine, cayenne, white pepper, and salt. 
Divide the brains into several pieces, not 
too small, sprinkle them with bread- 
crumbs, and lay them in the dish with 
the head. Stick a quantity of small 
pieces of butter over the head and in the 
eyes, throw crumbs over all, pour in 
three parts of the dish full of water, and 
bake in a fast oven two hours. 

658. CHITTEELINGS, 

Or calf's tripe, stewed tender and serv- 
ed on toast with a sauce of onions boiled 
and mashed in milk, with butter added, 
form a nice dish. They are eaten with 
pepper and vinegar. 

654.-HASHED CALF'S HEAD. 

Put into a stewpan one table-spoonful 
of chopped onions, and three of vinegar, 
take the remains of the head which cut 
into slices, place them on a dish, add a 
table-spoonful of flour to them, a tea- 
spoonful of salt, a quarter of one of 
pepper, put the stewpan on the fire to 
boil for one minute, add the pieces of 
head, and moisten with half a pint of broth, 
water, or milk; let it simmer for ten 
minutes and serve on toast or plain, or 
with sippets round. The addition of a 
few gherkins sliced or any mixed pickle 
is an improvement. A little thyme or 
bay -leaf, if at hand, may" be added. If 
19 



with water or gravy a little Coloring will 
improve the appearance. This receipt is 
for one pound of meat. It may also be 
warmed in curry-sauce, and is excellent 

655. CALF'S HEAD A LA TOKTUE. 

Bone a calf s head whole ; after being 
well scalded and cleaned cut off the ears, 
take out the tongue, cut the gristle and 
bones from the tongue ; prepare a good 
forcemeat, add some chopped truffles into 
it, and some mushrooms ; lay the head on 
a clean cloth on the dresser, spread it 
thickly over with the forcemeat, blanch 
and take off the skin of the tongue ; cut 
each ear in half longways, place them in 
different parts on the forcemeat and the 
tongue in the middle, lap it over keeping 
it high in the middle, tie the ends, and 
brace it all over tightly with some loose 
string, as by doing so it will leave all the 
marks appearing when glazed like the 
back shell of turtle, then tie it up in a 
cloth; it will take some hours to boil; 
when done, which will be in your second 
stock', take it up and take off the cloth, 
put it upon the dish, dry it and glaze it 
several times ; have ready cut from the 
crumb of bread the form of a turtle's 
head and the four fins, fry them a nice 
light brown, and glaze them with the 
head, placing them to the head on the 
dish, as to look like a turtle crawling, for 
the eyes use whites of hard boiled eggs j 
a sauce you will find among the sauces. 

656. CALF'S HEAD. 

Choose one thick and fat, but not too 
large ; soak for ten minutes in lukewarm 
water, then well powder with rosin, have 
plenty of scalding water ready, dip in 
the head, holding it by the ear, scrape 
the hair off with the back of a knife, 
which will come off easily if properly 
scraped, without scratching the cheek ; 
when perfectly clean, take the eyes out, 
saw it in two lengthwise, through the 
skull, without spoiling the brain, which 



294 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



take carefully out, and put to disgorge for 
a few hours in lukewarm water ; pull the 
tongue out, break the jaw-bone, and re- 
move the part which contains the teeth, 
put the head into plenty of water to dis- 
gorge for one hour ; make the following 
stock and boil for about two hours and a 
half, and it will be ready to serve. 

The stock is made by putting into a 
braising-pan two carrots, three onions, a 
quarter of a pound of butter, six cloves, 
a bouquet of parsley, thyme, and bay- 
leaves ; set it on the fire for about twenty 
minutes, keep stirring it round, then add 
a pint of water, and when warm mix a 
quarter of a pound of flour, add a gallon 
of water, one lemon in slices, and a quar- 
ter of a pound of salt, then lay the head 
in ; take care it is well covered, or the 
part exposed will turn dark; simmer 
gently till tender. 

657. BIS DE VEAU EN CAISSES. 

Blanch three sweetbreads, and simmer 
m a strong, well flavored gravy till quite 
done. Have ready three found pieces of 
white paper oiled, and lay them thereon ; 
having left them lightly wetted with 
gravy, sprinkle over them the finest 
crumbs or raspings of bread, pepper, salt, 
and a very little nutmeg ; do them slowly 
on a gridiron, and serve in the cases. 
Any of the vegetable sauces may be 
served with them. 

658. GAKNITUEE EN KAGOUT. 

Having prepared and blanched sweet- 
breads of veal or lamb (house-lamb is the 
best), liver of lamb and rabbits, truffles 
and mushrooms, simmer gently half an 
hour in rich veal broth ; then divide the 
several articles into fit bits for helping, 
and stew the whole until very tender. 
If, when finished, the gravy wants con- 
sistence, boil up in it a good piece of 
butter rolled in flour. Season it fifteen 
minutes before serving, with white pep- 



per, salt, and nutmeg only. Have ready 
and hot, forcemeat balls, in which finely 
scraped ham, beef suet, the breast of a 
fowl, or cold veal, are the principal ingre- 
dients. 

It may be served in a tureen as soup, 
or in an ornamented crust previously 
baked. If to be white, beat as many 
yolks of eggs as the quantity may re- 
quire, ancj, simmer in the ragout two 
minutes : it must not boil. Sometimes 
one or two whole pigeons, nicely pre- 
pared, form a part of this much admired 
dish, which in one way or other is rarely 
omitted on weM. covered tables. 

659. YEAL CAKE. 

Bone a breast of veal, and cut it in 
slices ; cut also slices of ham or lean ba- 
con, and boil six eggs hard ; butter a 
deep pan, and place the whole in layers 
one over the other, cutting the eggs in 
slices, and seasoning with chopped herbs 
and cayenne pepper, and wetting the 
herbs with anchovy or other highly-fla- 
vored sauce. Cover up the whole, let it 
bake for four hours, and when taken 
from the oven, lay a weight upon it to 
press it well together. When cold, turn 
it out. 

$r 

* 660. ANOTHER. 

Boil six or eight eggs hard ; cut the 
yolks in two, and lay some of the pieces 
in the bottom of the pan ; shake in a lit- 
tle chopped parsley, some slices of veal 
and ham, and then eggs again, shaking in 
after each some chopped parsley, with 
pepper and salt, till the pan is full. Then 
put in water enough to cover it, and lay 
on it about an ounce of butter ; tie it 
down with a double paper, and bake it 
about an hour. Then press it close to- 
gether with a spoon, and let it stand till 
cold. It may be put into a small mould, 
and then it will turn out beautifully for 
a supper or side dish. 



VEAL. 



295 



661. ANOTHER. 

Chop very finely cold dressed veal and 
ham or bacon ; mix it with a slice of 
bread-crumb soaked in milk, two onions 
chopped and browned, a little salt, pep- 
per, and an egg beaten. Put all these 
ingredients into a stewpan until they are 
hot and are well mixed ; then oil or but- 
ter a mould, put in the whole, and bake 
it in an oven until it is brown ; then take 
ijt out, and send it to table with fresh 
gravy. 

662. VEAL BOLLS 

Are cut from any cold joint, or pre- 
pared in the same manner from the raw 
meat. Cut thin slices, and spread on 
them a fine seasoning of a very few 
crumbs, a little chopped or scraped bacon, 
parsley and shalot, some fresh mush- 
rooms stewed and minced, pepper, salt, 
and a small piece of pounded mace. This 
stuffing may either fill* up the roll like a 
sausage, or be rolled, with the meat. In 
either case, tie it up very tight, and stew 
very slowly in a gravy and a glass of 
sherry. Serve it when tender, after 
skimming it nicely. 

663. BLANQUETTES. 

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



few shakes over the fire. It must not 
boil, or it will curdle. 

Or : Cut rabbits, fowl, veal, or lobster 
in pieces, steep them (except the veal and 
fish) in water for half an hour, changing 
the water. Put some butter in a stewpan 
to melt, but do not let it fry ; put in the 
meat with a very little flour, and keep 
shaking it well ; pour in by degrees some 
broth made of white meat, add a bunch 
of parsley, an onion, salt, mace, and white 
pepper. Stew it well a quarter of an 
hour before it is dished; take out the 
parsley and onion, and add some raw 
parsley chopped, and the yolk of an egg 
and cream beaten together. You must 
never cease shaking the pan until the 
blanquette is put over the dish. 

664. VEAL 1 LA CHARTREUSE. 
Line a copper mould with fat bacon, 
lay sliced carrots and turnips round the 
edges, then cover with a forcemeat, and 
put in a fricassee of veal or fowl. Cover 
the top of the mould with a paste, steam 
it an hour, and serve it turned out upon a 
dish. 

665. TO MARBLE VEAL. 

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

666. SCALLOPS OF COLD VEAL. 

Mince the meat extremely small, and 
set it over the fire, with a scrape of nut- 
meg, a little pepper and salt, and a little 



296 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



cream, for a few minutes ; then put it 
into the scallop-shells, and fill them with 
crumbs of bread, over which put some 
bits of butter, and brown them before 
the fire. 

Either veal or chicken looks and eats 
well prepared in this way, and lightly 
covered with crumbs of bread fried ; or 
these may be put on in little heaps. 

667. TO MINCE VEAL. 

f 

Cut cold veal as fine as possible, but do 
not chop it ; put to it a very little lemon- 
peel shred, two grates of nutmeg, some 
salt, and four or five spoonfuls of either 
broth, milk, or water; simmer these 
gently with the meat, but take care not 
to let it boil, and add a bit of butter 
rubbed in flour. Put sippets of thin 
toasted bread, cut into a three-cornered 
shape, round the dish. Fried crumbs of 
bread lightly strewed over, or served in 
little heaps on the meat, are an improve- 
ment to the look and flavor. A little 
shred of shalot may occasionally be added. 

Or : Stew a few small mushrooms in 
their own liquor and a bit of butter a 
quarter of an hour ; mince them very 
small, and add them (with their liquor) 
to minced veal, with also a little pepper 
and salt, some cream, and a bit of butter 
rubbed in less than half a teaspoonful of 
flour. Simmer three or four minutes, and 
serve on thin sippets of bread. 

668. THE TUEKISH MODE 

Take equal quantities of cold dressed 
veal, minced very fine, fat, and crumbs of 
bread, and season it well ; add chopped 
oni ons, parsley, salt, and cayenne pepper ; 
wet it with one or two eggs, according to 
the quantity, adding, if necessary, a little 
cold melted butter; make the mixture 
into balls or egg-shapes, and roll them in 
as much boiled rice as they will take 
round them. Stew them for an hour and 
a half in good gravy, well seasoned, and 
serve them up in it. 



In all these modes, the addition may 
be made of sauce aux truffes, or any of 
the approved sauces ; and a squeeze of 
lemon will in all cases be found to give a 
pleasing zest to their flavor. 

669. CUEKY OP VEAL. 
Cut part of a breast of veal in moderate 
sized pieces, put it in a stewpan with an 
onion and a shalot sliced fine, a slice of 
lemon, one ounce of butter, a little pars- 
ley and thyme, and a table-spoonful of 
curry-powder mixed with the same quan- 
tity of flour; add sufficient broth or 
water for the sauce ; let it boil gently 
till the veal is done; strain the sauce 
through a sieve, pour it over the veal 
quite hot, and serve with rice in a sepa- 
rate dish. 

670. A BOAST BEEF OF LAMB* 

Take the saddle and the two legs of a 
lamb, cut on the middle of each leg a 
small rosette, which is to be larded, as 
also the fillets. Roast the whole, and 
glaze the larded parts of a good color. 
In France it is served up with maitre 
d'hdtel sauce, but in England with gravy 
under it, and mint-sauce in a boat. 



MUTTOK 

THIS is a delicate and a favorite meat. 
It is susceptible of many modes of cook- 
ing, and should always be served very 
hot and with very^hot plates, except of 
course in cases where it may be sent to 
table as a cold dish. It is a meat which 

*The appellation of "roast beef of lamb" must 
sound very extraordinary to an American ear, but the 
singularity of the name is as nothing when com- 
pared with the importance and necessity of the dish. 
At a very great dinner, it is essential to have some 
dish of magnitude. This has a very good appearance, 
and is truly excellent. I beg to recommend the 
trial of a maitre d'hotel sauce under, as the butter 
parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon-juice, agree weL 
with the gravy of the meat. UDE. 



MUTTON. 



297 



requires care in the cooking, which it will 
amply repay. The roasting parts are the 
better for hanging some time, especially 
the haunch or saddle, but not for boiling, 
as the color is apt to be injured. One of 
the most favorite dishes is the 



671. HAUNCH OF MUTTON. 

The haunch should be hung as long as 
possible without being tainted ; it should 
be washed with vinegar every day while 
hanging, and dried thoroughly after each 
washing ; if the weather be muggy rub- 
bing with sugar will prevent its turning 
sour; if warm weather, pepper and ground 
ginger rubbed over it will keep off the 
flies. 

When ready for roasting, paper the fat, 
commence roasting some distance from 
the fire, baste with milk and water first, 
and then when the fat begins dripping, 
change the dish and baste with its own 
dripping; half an hour previous to its 
being done remove the paper from the 
fat, place it closer to the fire, baste well, 
serve with currant jelly. 



6T2. TO STUFF A LEG OF MUTTON. 

Take a leg of mutton, cut off all the 
fat, take the bone carefully out and pre- 
serve the skin whole ; take out the meat 
and mince it fine, and mix and mince with 
it about one pound of fat bacon and 
some parsley ; season the whole well with 
pepper and salt, and a small quantity of 
eschalot or chives chopped fine ; then put 
the meat into the skin and sew it up 
neatly on the under side ; tie it up in a 
cloth and put it into a stewpan with two 
or three slices of veal, some sliced carrots 
and onions, a bunch of parsley, and a 
few slices of fat bacon ; let it stew for 
three or four hours, and drain the liquor 
through a fine sieve ; when reduced to a 
glaze, glaze the mutton with it and serve 
in stewed French beans. 



673. TO DBESS A LEG OF MUTTON WITH 
OYSTEE8. 

Parboil some fine well-fed oysters, take 
off the beards and horny parts ; put to 
them some parsley, minced onion, and 
sweet herbs, boiled and chopped fine, and 
the yolks of two or three hard boiled 
eggs. Mix all together, and cut five or 
six holes in the fleshy part of a leg o 
mutton, and put in the mixture; and 
dress it in either of the following ways : 
Tie it up in a cloth and let it boil 
gently two and a half or three hours, ac- 
cording to the size. 

Or : Braise it } and serve with a pun- 
gent brown sauce. 

674. SADDLE OF MUTTON. 

This joint, like the haunch, gains much 
of its flavor from hanging for some pe- 
riod. The skin should be taken off, but 
skewered on again until within rather 
more than a quarter of an hour of its 
being done; then let it be taken off, 
dredge the saddle with flour, baste well. 
The kidneys may be removed or remain 
at pleasure, but the fat which is found 
within the saddle should be removed 
previous to cooking. 

675. LEG OF MUTTON BOASTED, 
Like the haunch and saddle, should be 
hung before cooking, should be slowly 
roasted and served with onion sauce or 
currant jelly. 

676. EOAST LEG OF MUTTON. ANOTHEE 
EECEIPT. 

Put the leg into an iron saucepan with 
enough cold water to cover it, let it come 
to a boil gently, parboil it by simmering 
only ; have the spit or jack ready, and 
take it from the hot water and put it to 
the fire instantly; it will take from an 
hour to an hour and a half if large, and 
less time if small. 

677 EOAST LEG OF MUTTON BONED AND 
STUFFED. 

The principal skill required in accom- 



298 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



plishing this dish is the boning ; this must 
be done with a very sharp knife. Com- 
mence on the underside of the joint, 
passing the knife under the skin until 
exactly over the bone, then cut down to 
it, pass the knife round close to the bone 
right up to the socket, then remove the 
large bone of the thickest end of the leg, 
seeing the meat is clear of the bone ; you 
may then draw out the remaining bones 
easily. Put in the orifice a highly sea- 
soned forcemeat, fasten the knuckle end 
tightly over, replace the bone at the 
base of the joint, and sew it in ; roast it 
in a cradle spit or on a jack ; if the latter 
let the knuckle end be downwards as it 
is less likely to suffer the forcemeat to 
drop out. It must be well basted, and 
should be sent to table with a good 
gravy. * 

678. LEG OF MUTTON BOILED, 
Should be first soaked for an hour and 
a half in salt and water, care being taken 
that the water be not too salt, then 
wiped and boiled in a floured cloth ; the 
time necessary for boiling will depend 
upon the weight; two hours or two 
hours and a half should be about the 
time ; it should be served with turnips 
mashed, potatoes, greens, and caper- 
sauce, or brown cucumber, or oyster 
sauce. 

679.-LEG OF MUTTON BEAISED. 

Procure a leg of mutton of choice fla- 
vor, take off the knuckle neatly, divide it 
into two or three pieces, trim the leg of 
all the superfluous edges, and then half 
roast it ; place it with the broken knuckle 
in a stewpan, add the trimmings with 
half a dozen slices of rich fat bacon, 
thjftne, knotted marjoram, and other 
sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, 
and about half an ounce of butter rolled 
in flour; stew the whole gently, shaking 
it occasionally and turn it while stewing; 
when it is tender take it up, skim the 



gravy, strain, boil it fast until reduced to 
a glaze, make a puree or soup of vege- 
tables and place the mutton upon it. cover 
the mutton with the glaze, and serve. 

680. TO SEND A LEG OF MUTTON NEATLY 
TO TABLE WHICH HAS BEEN CUT FOE 
A PEEVIOUS MEAL. 

Too much must not have been cut from 
the joint or it will not answer the pnr- 
pose. Bone it, cut the meat as a fillet, 
lay forcemeat inside, roll it, and lay it in 
a stewpan with sufficient water to cover 
it ; add various kinds of vegetables, onions, 
turnips, carrots, parsley, &c., in small 
quantities ; stew two hours, thicken the 
gravy, serve the fillets with the vegetables 
round it. 

681. SADDLE OF MUTTON, A LA POLO- 
NAISE. (Soyer's.) 

This is my economical dish, par excel- 
lence, and very much it is liked every 
time I use it. Take the remains of a 
saddle of mutton, of the previous day, cut 
out all the meat close to the bone, leav- 
ing about one inch wide on the outside, 
cut it with a portion of the fat, into small 
dice ; then put a spoonful of chopped 
onions in a stewpan, with a little butter ; 
fry one minute, add the meat, with a 
table-spoonful of flour, season rather high 
with salt, pepper, and a little grated nut- 
meg ; stir round, and moisten with a gill 
or a little more of broth, add a bay-leaf, 
put it on the stove for ten minutes, add 
two yolks of eggs, stir till rather thick, 
make about two pounds of mashed pota- ' 
toes firm enough to roll, put the saddle- 
bone in the middle of the dish, and with 
the potatoes form an edging round the 
saddle, so as to give the shape of one, 
leaving the middle empty ; fill it with your 
mince meat, which ought to be enough to 
do so; if you should not have enough 
with the remains of the saddle, the re- 
mains of any other joint of mutton may 
be used ; egg all over, sprinkle bread- 



MUTTON. 



299 



crumbs around, put in rather a hot oven, 
to get a nice yellow color, poach six eggs, 
and place on the top, and serve brown 
gravy round ; white or brown sauce, if 
at hand, is an improvement. You may 
easily fancy the economy of this well- 
looking and good dish ; the remains of a 
leg, shoulder, loin, neck of mutton, and 
lamb, may be dressed the same way, keep- 
ing their shape of course. 

682. SOYER'S NEW MUTTON CHOP. 

Trim a middling-sized saddle of mut- 
ton, which cut into chops half an inch in 
thickness with a saw, without at all 
making use of a knife (the sawing them 
off jagging the meat and causing them to 
eat more tender,) then trim them into 
shape ; season well with salt and pep- 
per, place them upon a gridiron over 
a sharp fire, turning them three or four 
times ; they would require ten min- 
utes' booking; when done dress them 
upon a hot dish, spread a small piece 
of butter over each, (if approved of.) 
and serve ; by adding half a table-spoonful 
of good sauce to each chop when serving, 
and turning it over two or three times, 
an excellent entree is produced : the bone 
keeping the gravy in whilst cooking, it is 
a very great advantage to have chops cut 
after this method. At home, when I 
have a saddle of mutton, I usually cut two 
or three such chops, which I broil, rub 
maitre-d'hdtel butter over, and serve with 
fried potatoes round, using the remainder 
of the saddle the next day for a joint. 
The above are also very excellent, well 
seasoned and dipped into egg and bread- 
crumbs previous to broiling. Lamb chops 
may be cut precisely the same, but re- 
quire a few minutes' less broiling. 

You must remark that, by this plan, 
the fat and lean are better divided, and 
you can enjoy both ; whilst the other is 
a lump of meat near the bone and fat at 
the other end, which partly melts in 



cooking, and is often burnt by the flame 
it makes ; the new one not being divided 
at the bone, keeps the gravy in admirably. 
If well sawed it should not weigh more 
than the ordinary one, being about half 
the thickness. Do try them, and let me 
know your opinion. 

688. NECK OF MUTTON 

Is particularly useful, as many dishes 
may be made of it. The best end of the 
neck may be boiled for one hour and a 
half, and served with turnips ; or roast- 
ed; dressed in steaks; in pies; a-la- 
Turc ; or en haricot. 

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

684.-SHOULDEB OF MUTTON 

Must be well roasted and sent to table 
with skin a nice brown; it is served 
with onion sauce. This is the plainest 
fashion, and for small families the best. 

685. A SHOULDER OF MUTTON WITH 
EICE. 

Take a sHoulder of mutton and half 
boil it, then put it into a stewpan, with 
two quarts of mutton gravy, a quarter 
of a pound of rice, a teaspoonful of musl^- 
room powder, with a little beaten mace, 
and stew it till the rice is tender ; then 
take up the mutton and keep it hot ; put 
to the rice half a pint of cream, .and a 
piece of butter rolled in flour ; stir it 
well round the pan, and let it boil a few 
minutes; lay the mutton in the dish, 
and pour the rice over it. 

686. LOIN OF MUTTON STEWED. 

Remove the skin, bone it, and then 
roll it ; put it in a stewpan with a pint 
and a half of water, two dessert-spoon- 



300 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



fuls of pyroligneous acid, a piece of but- 
ter, sweet herbs, and an onion or two; 
when it has stewed nearly four hours, 
strain the gravy, add two spoonfuls of 
red wine, take up and serve with jelly 
sauce. 

687. BEEAST OF MUTTON 

May be stewed in gravy until tender, 
bone it, score it, season well with cay- 
enne, black pepper, and salt ; boil it, and 
while cooking skim the fat from the 
gravy in which it has been stewed, slice 
a few gherkins, and add with a dessert- 
spoonful of mushroom ketchup ; boil it, 
and pour over the mutton when dished. 

688. BEEAST OF MUTTON CEUMBED OE 
GEATIN. 

If one breast of mutton,- cut oif the 
chine-bone down to the gristle ; if you 
have a stock pot on, put the breast of 
mutton into it, let it boil until tender, 
then take it up to cool ; have ready as 
for the crumbed cutlets, adding in the 
butter and egg a little chopped mush- 
room ; put it all over the breast with a 
paste brush, then put it on a dish and 
'in the oven to brown ; the sauce will be 
under it when dished. 

689. NECK OF MUTTON. 

This dish is most useful for broth, but 
may be made a pleasant dish by judi : 
cious cooking. To send it to table merely 
boiled or baked is to disgust the partaker 
of it. When it is cooked as a single 
dish, first boil it slowly until nearly 
done, then having moistened a quantity 
of bread-crumbs and sweet herbs, chop- 
ped very fine, with the yolk of an egg, 
let the mutton be covered with it, and 
placed in a Dutch or American oven be- 
fore the fire, and served when nicely 
browned. The breast may be cooked in 
the same manner. 



690. STEAKS FKOM A LOIN OF MUTTON 
Are done in the same way, only trim- 
ming some of the fat oft'. Cut thick and 
stew instead of frying them. 

691. MUTTON STEAKS. 

The steaks are cut from the thick or 
fifiet end of a leg of mutton, and dressed 
as rump steaks. 

692. MUTTON CHOPS BEOILED. 

Cut from the best end of the loin, trim 
them nicely, removing fat or skin, leav- 
ing only enough of the former to make 
them palatable ; let the fire be very clear 
before' placing the chops on the gridiron, 
turn them frequently, taking care that 
the fork is not put into the lean part of 
the chop ; season them with pepper and 
salt, spread a little fresh butter over each 
chop when nearly done, and send them 
to table upon very hot plates. 

693. MUTTON CHOPS FEIED. 

The fat in which the chops are to be 
fried should be boiling when the chops 
are put into it. They should be pared of 
fat and well trimmed before cooking; 
they should be turned frequently, and 
when nicely browned they will be done ; 
of course if they are very thick judg- 
ment must be .exercised respecting the 
length of time they will occupy in cook- 
ing. 




Mutton Chop. 

I 
694.-CHOPS AS BEEFSTEAKS. 

Cut thick from a leg of mutton, and 
rub each steak with a shalot ; boil over 
a qu ck fire; rub your dish with shalot ; 
when on the dish pepper and salt it ; 
send it up quite hot. 



MUTTON. 



301 



695. MUTTON CUTLETS. 

Loin chops make the best cutlets. 
Take off the vertebraa or thickest end of 
each bone and about an inch off the top 
of the bone ; put the chops into a stew- 
pan in which has been previously melt- 
ed a little butter seasoned with salt ; 
stew for a short time, but not until they 
are brown, as that appearance is accom- 
plished in another manner. Chop some 
parsley very fine, add a little thyme, 
mix it with sufficient yolk of egg to 
coat the chops, which will have been 
suffered to cool before this addition to 
them; then powder them with bread- 
crumbs over which a pinch of cayenne 
pepper has been sprinkled; broil them 
upon a gridiron over a clear but not a 
brisk fire ; when they are brown dish 
them ; lemon-juice may be squeezed over 
them, or the dish in which they are serv- 
ed may be garnished with thin slices of 
lemon in halves and quarters. 



696. MUTTON CUTLETS ANOTHER WAY. 

Not a very fat neck, take off the scrag 
and the breast bones, leaving the re- 
mainder the length you intend the cut- 
lets, then ta&e the chine bone clean off. 
then the skin and some of the fat ; you 
will now have the mutton free from 
bones to cut your cutlets ; you will find 
you can cut fourteen 'good cutlets from 
this trimmed neck without any hacking ; 
beat each cutlet with your beater, trim 
them neatly ; be sure to cut out the pac- 
wax, and leave a little fat to each cutlet. 
If for gratin or bread crumbed, prepare 
some chopped parsley and shalot, and 
bread-crumbs ; put some butter to melt | 
in a stewpan, a little of the parsley and ; 
shalot and some yolk of egg, mix it well ; 
up together ; put your bread-crumbs on 
a sheet of paper, add to it a, little salt 
and pepper , dip each cutlet into melted j 
butter, put down the bread-crumbs with ! 



your knife, lay them on a buttered saute- 
pan until wanted to fry. 

697.-CUTLETS SAUT& 

Cut your neck of mutton precisely as 
for the crumbed cutlets; have ready a 
piece of butter melted in your saute-pan ; 
dip each cutlet both sides in the butter ; 
when required fry them a very light 
color, pepper and salt them ; when done 
take them up to drain from the fat, have 
some good glaze melted, and glaze each 
cutlet both sides ; dish them round with 
or without a rim of mashed potato. 

693. MUTTON CUTLETS MAINTENON. 

Trim the cutlets as for former cutlets ; 
half fry them, then cover them with fine 
herbs and bread-crumbs, and season with 
pepper and salt. Lay all to cool ; have 
some fresh parsley to add to the already 
fried herbs and shalot. When cool, 
spread the butter and herbs thick upon 
each cutlet; sprinkle them with bread- 
crumbs ; wrap them in buttered foolscap 
paper, and broil them over a slow fire 
until done. 

699. BEAISED CUTLETS. 

Trim your mutton from the bones as 
before ; then put it whole into a good 
braise ; let it stew gently until tender ; 
put it aside to get cold ; when so, cut 
your cutlets as thick as the former ; trim 
them neatly, make them hot and glaze 
them. 

TOO. FILLET OF MUTTON. 

Choose a very large leg ; cut from four 
to five inches in thickness from the large 
end of the leg ; take out the bone, and in 
its place put a highly savory forcemeat ; 
flour and roast it for two hours. When 
doije, it may be sent to table with the 
same accompaniments as a fillet of veal, 



302 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



with melted butter poured over it, or a 
rich brown gravy and red currant jelly. 

701. FILLET OF MUTTON STEWED. 

Cut and prepare stuff as above, flour 
and brown in a little butter, and put it 
into a stewpan with a pint and a half of 
gravy ; with it a small bundle of sweet 
herbs, two or three small onions, or eight 
or ten small button onions peeled, a tea- 
spoonful of whole black pepper; stew 
slowly three hours and a half. The fillet 
may be salted, and being half roasted may 
be stewed with its trimmings. 

702. FILLETS IN MAKINADE. 

Cut from the loins of mutton ; pre- 
pare some carrots, turnips, onions, and 
celery, thyme, mace, cloves, and whole pep- 
per ; cut up in thin slices ; boil a little vin- 
egar and water, put your fillets in a deep 
dish, pour the vinegar over the roots and 
mutton when cold ; let it lie all night ; 
next day trim neatly and braise them ; 
take them out, and when required glaze 
them, sauce under them. 

708.-BLANQUETTE DE MOUTON 

Is generally made from a former day's 
saddle of mutton ; cutting out the fillets, 
trimming it neatly, you will be able to 
cut clearly pieces the size of a shilling, 
which you will put into some good 
sauce, you may then put two or three 
gherkins into it ; this is dished better in 
a tin. 

704-HAKICOT OF MUTTON. 

Cut a neck or loin of mutton into thin 
chops ; flour and fry them brown in a 
small quantity of butter ; drain them on 
a sieve ; then put them into a stewpan 
and cover them with gravy ; add a carrot, 
two leeks, a faggot of parsley and thyme ; 
two or three blades of mace, some all- 
spice, a whole onion, and two turnips ; 
stew them until the meat is tender j then 



takfc out the chops, strain the gravy, and 
skim off all the fat ; put a little butter 
mixed with flour into the stewpan ; stir 
it until melted and made quite smooth, 
adding the gravy by degrees, stirring all 
the time ; then put in the chops, with 
some carrots and turnips ready blanched 
and cut into pretty shapes, with a dozen 
silver onions whole, and also half boiled 
season slightl}' with pepper and salt, a 
very little soy, and a teaspoonful of Tar- 
ragon vinegar; stew the whole gently 
for a quarter of an hour, and serve them 
while quite hot. 

705. MUTTON HAKICOT. 

Take a loin of mutton, cut it into small 
chops, season it with ground pepper, all- 
spice and salt ; let it stand a night, and 
then fry it. Have good gravy well sea- 
soned with flour, butter, ketchup, and 
pepper if necessary. Boil turnips and 
carrots, cut them small,, and add to the 
mutton, stewed in the gravy, with the 
yolks of hard boiled eggs and forcemeat 
balls. Some green pickles will be an im- 
provement. 

706. HAEICOT MUTTON ANOTHEE WAT. 

Cut into chops the bes| end of the 
neck of mutton ; fry them a light brown 
in fat made boiling-hot before the chops 
are put into it ; some pieces cut from the 
neck will be the best, dredge them with 
flour; sprinkle them with pepper and 
salt, put in a stewpan three parts of a 
pint of water, an onion stuck with cloves, 
parsley, a few spring onions, and a bay- 
leaf; stew gently till the meat is nearly 
done, then add turnips and carrots cut 
small; fry a large onion cut in slices 
brown ; add it to the gravy, which when 
just done must be thickened ; take out 
the sweet herbs when the whole has 
stewed an hour, and serve. 

707. MUTTON KEBOBBED. 

Take all the fat out of a loin of mut 



MUTTON. 



303 



ton, and that on the outside also if very 
fat, and remove the skin ; cut it into 
steaks ; mix a small nutmeg grated with 
a little salt and pepper, crumbs, and 
herbs ; dip the steaks into the yolks of 
three eggs, and sprinkle the above mix- 
ture all over them ; then place the steaks 
together as they were before they were 
cut asunder, tie them, and fasten them 
on a small spit ; roast them at a quick 
fire; set a dish under, and baste them 
with a good piece of butter and the 
liquor that comes* from the meat, but 
throw some more of the above seasoning 
over. When done enough, take it up, 
and lay it in a dish ; have half a pint of 
good gravy ready besides that in the dish, 
and put into it two spoonfuls of ketchup, 
and rub down a teaspoonful of flour with 
it ; give this a boil, and pour it over the 
mutton, but first skim off the fat. Mind 
to keep the meat hot, till the gravy is 
quite ready. 



708. HASHED MUTTON. 

This is a favorite method of disposing 
of the cold shoulder, especially if it should 
happen to be underdone ; cut' it into 
slices, take the bones (if of a shoulder or 
leg break them), and put them in a stew- 
pan with the trimmings ; cover them 
with water, put in a faggot of thyme, pars- 
ley, whole pepper, allspice, &c., cover 
down and simmer for three-quarters of an 
hour ; while the bones, &c., are stewing, 
fry an onion brown in a little butter and 
flour ; put it into the stewpan with the 
gravy, stew gently twenty minutes, strain 
it, lay in the slices of mutton in the stew- 
pan, pour over them the strained gravy ; 
pour in a spoonful of walnut ketchup, or 
any suitable preferred sauce, season it, 
simmer until the meat is hot through, 
dish and serve. 

A spoonful of curry powder is some- 
times added, and is always a palatable 
addition. 



709. IEISH STEW. 

Cut a neck of mutton as for the hari- 
cot ; blanch the chops in water ; take and 
put them into another stewpan with four 
onions cut in slices ; put to it a little of 
your second stock, let it boil a quarter 
of an hour; have ready some potatoes 
pared ; put them into the stewpan with 
the mutton, with salt and pepper; as 
some like the potatoes whole and some 
mashed as to thicken the stew, you must 
boil them accordingly ; dish the meat 
round and the vegetables in the middle. 

710. CHINA CHILO. 

Mince a pint basin of undressed neck 
of mutton or leg, and some of the fat ; 
put two onions, a lettuce, a pint of green 
peas, a teaspoonful of pepper, four spoon- 
fuls of water, and two or three ounces of 
clarified butter into a stewpan closely 
covered ; simmer two hours, and serve in 
the middle of a dish of boiled rice; if 
cayenne is approved, add a*little. 

711.-CHINA CHILO ANOTHEE WAY. 

Chop very fine two small young let- 
tuces, two onions, a pint of green peas, 
and a couple of young cucumbers, or the 
fourth of a pint of mushrooms ; season 
with a teaspoonful of salt and half a tea- 
spoonful of pepper ; mince the meat of a 
neck of mutton uncooked, and mix it with 
the vegetables in a stewpan; add four 
table-spoonfuls of water and two ounces 
of butter, clarified will be proved the 
best ; let them well amalgamate over a 
slow fire ; keep them stirred for fifteen 
minutes, then cover down close and sim- 
mer very slowly for two hours ; serve it 
in the centre of boiled rice. 

712.-MINCED MUTTON. 

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



304 



THE PBACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



Or : Mince cold leg of mutton freed 
from the skin and fat, warm it with stew- 
ed cucumbers, taking care that it does 
not burn after the meat is put in. 

713. AU GEATIN, OE AS SCALLOPS. 
Mince dressed mutton with a very little 
fat, season lightly with pepper and salt, 
and put into scallop-shells about half full. 
Then put potatoes mashed with a little 
milk, and a very small bit of butter; 
smooth with a spoon, and brown in a 
Dutch oven. 

714 AS EISSOLES. 

Enclose the minced meat in a paste or 
browning of egg and crumbs of bread, but 
season it as if for forcemeat. 

715. MUTTON LIKE VENISON. 

A haunch or leg will be the most ap- 
propriate. The joint should be hung as 
long as it can be with safety, and dressed 
exactly like a haunch of venison, and 
served with the same sauces, but to make 
the taste more perfectly resemble that of 
venison it should, after having been hung 
to the turn, be skinned, and laid in a 
pan with vinegar and water ; two parts 
of the former to one of the latter, not 
enough to cover it; put in a fagot of 
herbs, a clove of garlic, one or two bay- 
leaves, a spoonful of whole pepper, and a 
couple of onions cut in slices ; let it soak 
three days, dry it well, hang it for a day 
and roast as venison. It may also be put 
into a stewpan w ith half a pint of gravy, 
and simmered four hours; serve with 
venison sauce. 

716. TO MAKE A SCOTCH HAGGIS. 

Take the stomach of a sheep. The 
washing and cleaning is of more conse- 
quence than all, as it will be of a bad color 
and a bad taste if not well cleansed; 
when clean, turn it inside out, then let it 
lie for a day or two in salt and water. 
Blanch the liver, lights, and heart of the 



sheep, lay them in cold water, chop all 
very fine ; the liver you had better grate, 
chop a pound of the suet very fine, dry 
in the oven a pound of oatmeal ; mix all 
this well together, season with pepper and 
salt, a little chopped parsley, and a little 
chopped onion; then sew up the bag; 
before you finish sewing it, add a few 
spoonfuls of good white stock ; put it in 
a stewpan with a drainer; boil it in 
water, keeping it well covered all the 
time, prick it all over with a small lard- 
ing pin to keep it from bursting ; it will 
take several hours to boil ; be careful hi 
taking it up, and let your dish be large 
enough. 

717. EOGNON DE MOUTON A LA FEAN- 



Take half a dozen fine mutton kidneys, 
clear them of fat and skin, and cut them 
into thin slices ; powder them immedi- 
ately with sweet herbs in fine powder, 
parsley which has been chopped, dried, 
and powdered, cayenne, and salt: put 
into a stewpan two ounces of clarified 
butter or fresh if the former is not in 
reach, *put in the slices of kidney, fry 
them ; they will brown very quickly, they 
must be done on both sides ; dredge flour 
over them, moistpn with lemon juice ; in 
five minutes the kidneys will be done ; 
lift them out into a very hot dish around 
which are laid sippets fried ; pour into 
the gravy two glasses of champagne, give 
it a boil, pour it over the kidneys, and 
serve. 

It may here be stated that the French 
cooks vary constantly the herbs which 
they employ, according to any known 
preference for the palate of those for 
whom they cook. Various kinds of 
wines and sauces may be used for flavor- 
ing, and this is constantly done as much 
for variety and the ability of giving a new 
name to a dish, which is varied only in 
some Fuch small feature. 



MUTTON. 



.305 



718. LOIN OF MUTTON LIKE VENISON. 
(French Eeceipt.) 

Remove the skin from the joint and 
bone it^and do it neatly ; lay it in a stew- 
pan with about a pint of weak broth, an 
onion stuck with cloves, two glasses of 
red wine, and a teaspoonful of p} r rolig- 
neous acid ; let it boil, put in a bundle of 
sweet herbs ; stew, turning frequently ; 
add as ^it progresses a little gravy ; some 
very good may be made from the bones ; 
it will take from two hours and a half to 
three hours. 

719. TO DEESS MUTTON HAMS. 

Soak the ham for five or six hours in 
cold spring water, unless it has only re- 
cently been cured, then one hour will 
suffice ; put it into cold water, boil gently ; 
it will be done in two hours and a half. 
It is eaten cold. 

720. MUTTON KIDNEYS BEOILED. 

Skin and spit without parting asunder, 
skewer them through the outer edge and 
keep them flat, lay the opened sides first 
to the fire, which should be clear and 
brisk, in four minutes turn them, sprinkle 
with salt and cayenne, and when done, 
which will be in three minutes afterwards, 
' take them from the fire, put a piece of 
butter inside them, squeeze some lemon 
juice over them, and serve as hot as pos- 
sible. 

r 

721. SHEEP'S TONGUES STEWED. 

Put them into cold water and let them 
boil ; when they are sufficiently tender to 
remove the skin easily, take them out, 
split them, and lay them in a stewpan 
with enough good gravy to cover them. 
Chop parsley, and mushroom, with a lit- 
tle eschalot finely, work a lump of but- 
ter with it, add pepper and salt to flavor ; 
stew them in the gravy untifthe tongues 
are tender, lay them in a dish, strain the 



gravy and pour it hot over the tongues, 
and serve. 

722 C6TELETTES 1 LA MAINTENON. 
(Ude's Eeceipt.) 

Pare the chops neatly. Chop fine 
some sweet herbs, such as parsley, sha-. 
lots, and mushrooms, which fry in a little 
butter. When they are done, fry the 
chops a little in that seasoning till nearly 
done, let them cool in the herbs ; then 
have some strong foolscap paper cut in 
the form of the cutlet, put some of the 
herbs and ham chopped very fine, if you 
have it ready in the larder ; put the cut- 
lets in and a little of the herbs over 
them ; wrap them in the paper, and broil 
them on a very clean gridiron and very 
equal fire till of a good color ; serve them 
very hot, and a little Italian sauce sepa- 
rate. Mind to wipe the grease with a 
clean towel before serving them. 

728. MUTTON CUTLETS WITH SOUBISE, 
OE ONION SAUCE. 

Take a neck of mutton, and cut the 
chops one by one without flattening 
them ; cut off some of the flat bone at the 
extremity of the chops. Put them into 
a stewpan with all the parings, together 
with the parings of the onions to make 
the soubise. Season the whole well with 
carrots, a bunch of parsley, and green 
onions, salt, and a very small quantity 
of spice, &c. ; throw in four or five spoon- 
fuls of good broth to braize them. When 
done, drain them, and let them cool. 
Strain the liquor through a silk sieve. 
Then reduce it to a glaze. Next pare the 
chops nicely, and put them with the 
glaze. This being completed, dish them 
miroton way, and pour the soubise or 
onion sauce into the middle. 

Some persons take two necks of mut- 
t6n, cut two bones to each chop, lard 
them with bacon, and braize them as 
above ; but mutton, being in general fat, 
is better without being larded. With 



306 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



regard to the two bones, you must take 
care not to let them be too thick ; if they 
are too thick you cannot dish them well. 

724. ANOTHER, AND A MUCH BETTER 
METHOD OF PREPARING CUTLETS A LA 
80UBISE. 

Cut the mutton chops a little thicker 
than when you wish to broil them. Pare 
them nicely, and put them into a stew- 
pan, where the)' may all lie flat. Put an 
onion or two, a few carrots, a little salt, 
a bundle of parsley and green onions sea- 
soned, four or five spoonfuls of good con- 
somme, and sweat the whole till it is en- 
tirely done. Then take out the roots, 
put in a little glaze, and reduce over a 
large fire. When entirely boiled down 
to a glaze, take them off the fire for a few 
minutes, let the cutlets settle in the" 
glaze, take out the trimmings and vege- 
tables, turn over the cutlets in the glaze, 
and take out the grease or fat, lay them 
on a cover to drain the fat, and serve up 
before they can get dry. This method is 
preferable to the other. You must not 
in either case lard your chops with bacon. 
These cutlets may be served up with all 
sorts of puree of vegetables. 

725. FOR C6TELETTES DE MOUTON EN 
RAGOUT. 

Take off all the fat from the cutlets, 
dredge the meat with flour, and put them 
into a stewpan with the fat melted, a bun- 
dle of sweet herbs, and two shalots minced ; 
let them brown, then strain the gravy, 
add a glass of wine, and one of good 
sauce ; thicken, if necessary, with a little 
roux, and let the whole stew until very 
tender. 

726. TO DRESS C6TELETTES DE MOUTON 
A LA POLONAISE. 

Remove all the fat, put the meat into 
a covered stewpan, with a carrot and a 
turnip sliced, two onions, a bundle of 
sweet herbs, a little pepper and salt; and 



enough broth to moisten the whole ; let 
it stew very gently until the meat is per- 
fectly done, then take it out, strain the 
gravy, put it over a brisk fire, and Deduce 
it to a glaze ; then cover the cutlets with 
the glaze, and serve them up with tomato- 
sauce, or a vegetable puree of any kind. 




Mutton Cutlets. 

72T. FOR COTELETTES 1 LA MAINTENON. 

Cut and trim cutlets from a neck or 
loin of mutton ; chop very finely a quan- 
tity of parsley, a little thyme, and a sha- 
lot ; put them with butter into a stew- 
pan, and fry the chops a little ; then take 
out the chops ; allow them to cool ; add to 
the herbs some fresh parsley chopped and 
a few crumbs of bread, and seasoning : 
spread this over the cutlets with a knife, 
wrap them in buttered paper, and broil 
them over a slow fire. Serve a sauce 
piquant in a boat. 

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

728. -COTELETTES AUX HARICOTS VERTS. 

Having dressed French beans as usual, 
drain the water from them, and simmer 
them with pepper and salt in a good piece 
of butter. A few minutes before serving 
add the beaten yolk of an egg, and shake 
the pan over the fire ; but they must not 



MUTTON. 



307 



boil. In the mean time have ready three 
mutton cutlets, neatly trimmed, seasoned 
with pepper, salt, and a few crumbs, and 
nicely fried ; and serve them on the 
French beans. 

729. SCEAGS OF MUTTON 1 LA 8AINTE 
MENEHOULD. 

Order the narrow part ot a neck of 
small mutton to be cut off before the 
sheep be divided ; which leaves the two 
scrags united. Soak in warm water, then 
hang it two days ; lay it in a stewpot, 
with slices of fat bacon over and under, 
two pounds of scrag of veal, three large 
carrots, three onions, a large bunch of 
sweet herbs, two bay-leaves, and a table- 
spoonful of whole white pepper ; cover the 
whole with beef broth, and simmer four 
hours. Drain the gravy from the meat, 
which cover on all sides with crumbs of 
bread mixed with pepper and salt, and 
brown it with a salamander. In the 
mean time boil the gravy, uncovered, 
very quickly, having strained it first, and 
serve in the dish ; add salt. Serve in the 
dish endive, tomato sauce, or stewed 
spinach. 

780. MUTTON KIDNEYS. 

Split, pepper, and broil them, broiling 
the cut side first, which will make a cup 
for the gravy when the outer part is 
turned to the fire. Chop some parsley 
very fine, mix it well with a little fresh 
butter, the juice of a lemon, pepper and 
salt, and put a little on each. A sheep's 
heart may be split open, and broiled in 
the same way. 

With a very sharp knife cut mutton 
kidneys in the thinnest possible slices ; 
flour, and fry quickly till they are quite 
crisp. While frying, add pepper and 
salt. Serve them in a good gravy, to 
which a bit of garlic has given a very 
slight flavor. 

r31. ROGNONS, AU VIN DE CHAMPAGNE. 

Slice or mince them, and fry them with 



a little chopped parsley and eschalot until 
they become of a light brown, seasoning 
them with pepper and salt; then dust 
them with flour, moisten them with a 
little strong gravy and a glass of Cham- 
pagne, and let them stew for a few mo- 
ments. 

782. SHEEP'S TAILS AND KIDNEYS. 

Cut the tails, boil them for fifteen 
minutes, then put them into a stewpan 
with half a pint of gravy, an onion stuck 
with cloves, a little salt, and cayenne 
pepper. Stew till tender, strain the 
gravy, thicken it with flour and butter, 
and add the juice of half a lemon. Boil 
until the whole is very smooth, broil 
half a dozen kidneys, and place them in 
the middle of a dish with the tails and 
sauce round. 

These are the most tasty modes, but 
kidneys, when meant for breakfast, are 
usually broiled upon the gridiron, with- 
out parsley or lemon; being only split 
open, well peppered, and a bit of butter 
put upon them when broiled. They 
must not be much done, and may be 
brought to the table in less than ten 
minutes. If not quite hot, they are not 
worth eating. 

783. MUTTON EUMPS AND KIDNEYS. 

Stew six rumps in some good mutton- 
gravy half an hour ; then take them up, 
and let them stand to cool. Clear the 
gravy from the fat ; and put into it four 
ounces of boiled rice, an onion stuck 
with cloves, and a blade of mace; boil 
them till the rice is thick. Wash the 
rumps with yolks of eggs well beaten ; 
and strew over them crumbs of bread, a 
little pepper and salt, chopped parsley 
and thyme, and grated lemon-peel. Fry 
in butter of a fine brown. While the 
rumps are stewing lard the kidneys, and 
put them to roast in a Dutch oven. 
When the rumps are fried, the grease 
must be drained before they are put on 



308 



THE PEACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



the dish, and the pan being cleared like- 
wise from the fat, warm the rice in it. 
Lay the latter on the dish ; the rumps 
put round on the rice, the narrow ends 
towards the middle, and the kidneys be- 
tween. Garnish with hard eggs cut in 
half, the white being left on; or with 
different-colored pickles. 

784 SHEEP'S HEAD. (English.) 
Though this may be seen in every part 
of London inhabited by the working 
classes, and may be procured ready 
cooked, I prefer always to prepare it at 
home, and very good it is. Choose a 
fine one. as fat as possible, and put it 
into a gallon of water to disgorge for two 
hours ; wash it well, saw it in two from 
the top, take out the brain, cut away 
part of the uncovered part of the skull, 
and also the ends of the jaws ; wash it 
well, put into the stewpan, with two 
onions, one carrot, two turnips cut in 
slices, a little celery, four cloves, a bou- 
quet of four sprigs of thyme, a bay-leaf, 
one ounce of salt, a quarter of an ounce 
of pepper, three quarts of water ; set on 
the fire ; when near boiling, add half a 
teacupful of pearl or Scotch barley ; let 
it simmer for three hours, or till tender, 
which try with a fork ; take out vege- 
tables, cut in dice, remove bouquet, skim 
off the fat, and pour all into tureen. 
Or, lay the head on a dish, and serve 
with either onion sauce over, parsley and 
butter, or any sharp sauce ; or egg and 
bread-crumb it over, put it in an oven for 
half an hour till getting a nice yellow 
color, and serve with sharp sauce under. 
Or, with the brain, thus : having boiled 
the brain for ten minutes in a little vine- 
gar, salt, and water, cut it in pieces, warm 
it in parsley and butter, season it a lit- 
tle, and put it under the head and serve. 

735. SHEEP'S HEADS, HEAETS, TAILS, 
AND TONGUES. 

A great variety of excellent dishes 
may be made from a sheep's h$ad, which 



in India, where veal is not so easily pro- 
curable, answers all the purposes for 
mock turtle, rolled head, rich hash, or 
ragout : the bones make excellent jelly, 
either savory or sweet. Parboil the 
head; cut the meat from the bone; stew 
the former in a little of the liquor until 
quite tender ; send it to table with a glass 
of wine in the sauce, forcemeat-balls and 
brain-cakes for garnish ; or roll up the 
pieces seasoned in the inside with a thick 
covering of chopped herbs well seasoned ; 
brush the outside with yolk of egg; 
dredge it with bread-crumbs ; fry it ; 
and send to table with a rich gravy made 
of the bones and pickles warmed up in it. 
Take a sheep's heart and stuff it 
throughout, using a considerable quan- 
tity of chopped bacon in the stuffing ; 
half boil it, and when cooled a little rub 
it over with pepper and salt, and wrap it 
in paste in the shape of a cone. Rub the 
paste over with the yolk of an egg, and 
strew vermicelli loosely over it. Set it 
with the broad end downwards, and 
bake it in the oven. When baked, send 
it to table with gravy sauce. 

786. SHEEP'S TAILS AND TONGUES. 

Take three tails and three tongues, cut 
the tails in half and split the tongues. 
Stew them gently for three hours in as 
much water as will cover them, adding 
three spoonfuls of vinegar, three onions, 
a teaspoonful of mixed spices, and one of 
salt : these ingredients to be put in after 
the pot has been skimmed. When the 
tails, &c., are very tender, take them out, 
score them, dip them in drawn butter, 
roll them in grated bread-crumbs, and let 
them lie for a few minutes, then put on 
more butter with a knife, and additional 
bread-crumbs, which latter should be 
slightly seasoned ; brown them before the 
fire. Strain the gravy, enrich it with 
butter, squeeze lemon juice over the 
tongues and tails, and serve them in the 
gravy. 



MUTTON. 



309 



737. SHEEFS TEOTTEES. 

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

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

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

788. SHEEP'S TEOTTEES.-(Soyer.) 

I get a dozen of them from the tripe- 
butcher, all cleaned and ready, and beg 
of him to extract the long bone from 
them. I put a quarter of a pound of 
beef or mutton-suet in a stewpan, with 
two onions and one carrot sliced, two 
bay-leaves, two sprigs of thyme, one 
ounce of salt, a quarter of an ounce of 
pepper; put on the fire, and cook five 
minutes ; add two tablespoonfuls of flour, 
and stir it round ; add two quarts and a 
half of water, then put in the feet, stir 
till boiling ; simmer for nearly three 
hours, or until the feet are perfectly 
tender ; when done, take them out, and 
lay on a sieve ; take a quarter of a pound 
of fresh butter, a teaspoonful of salt, 
the same of flour, a quarter of one of 
pepper, a little grated nutmeg, the juice 
of a lemon; mix all these well together 
20 



on a plate with the back of a spoon ; put 
the feet with a gill of milk in a stewpao 
on the fire ; when very hot, put in the 
butter, stir continually till melted, hav- 
ing previously well mixed two yolks of 
eggs with five table-spoonfuls of milk, 
which put in the stewpan ; keep moving 
the pan round over the fire continually 
for one minute, serve in a very hot dish 
with croutons of fried bread cut in tri- 
angular pieces round the dish. The 
stock may be used for any puree or thick 
soup. 

T89. FEENCH EAGOUT OP MUTTON. 

Take about two pounds of the scrag 
of the neck, breast, chump, or any other 
part, with as little fat as possible, cut it 
into pieces of about two inches square, 
put into a pan two ounces of butter, or 
good fat ; when melted, add two table- 
spoonfuls of flour, stir with a wooden 
spoon till forming a brownish roux, add 
the meat, and stir it round for twenty 
minutes ; add a little water, but not 
enough to cover the meat; one salt- 
spoonful of pepper, four ditto of salt, and 
four ditto of sugar, a bouquet of six 
sprigs of parsley, stir till boiling, set it 
to simmer. Having previously peeled a 
few turnips, cut in large dice one inch 
square, about thirty pieces, put some fat 
in the fryingpan, and fry the turnips 
until rather brown, take them out, and 
put them in a stewpan with the meat 
when it is done, which will be in about 
one hour from the time it was put on ; 
when ready to serve, take out the meat 
and turnips, squeeze the bouquet, which 
throw away, skim off the fat ; if too 
thick, add a little broth or water ; or, if 
too thin, boil it a little more, dish it up 
by placing the pieces in a circle and the 
turnips in the centre, sauce over, and 
serve very hot (if not, it is spoiled.) 
| For those who like it, a small piece of 
| scraped garlic may be added. Onions, 



310 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



carrots, peas, &c., may be used in place 
of the turnips. 

This is a very favorite dish in France ; 
I learnt it from an old French emigre, 
who used to visit us about ten years 
since. When I have company, I use the 
chops of the neck, dress them in a crown, 
placing the vegetables in the centre ; I 
find them very much liked. I have at 
some houses partaken of harico-mutton 
which has been tolerably good, but 
nothing in flavor to this plan. If there 
is any left, it is good warmed again, or 
even cold. 

740. IRISH STEW. 

Cut up about two pounds of the neck 
of the mutton into small cutlets, which 
put into a proper sized stewpan with 
some of the fat of the mutton ; season it 
with half a table-spoonful of salt, a 
quarter of an ounce of pepper, the same 
of sugar, six middle-sized onions, a quart 
of water ; set them to boil and simmer 
for half an hour, then add six middling- 
sized potatoes, cut them in halves or 
quarters, stir' it together, and let it stew 
gently for about one hour longer ; if too 
fast, remove it from the top, but if well 
done the potatoes will absorb all of it, 
and eat very delicate ; any other part of 
the mutton may be served in the same 
way. 

741. TURESICUS. 

Mince very fine part of a cold boiled 
leg of mutton, and mix it with rice, sea- 
son it very high with black pepper, add 
salt, and make it into balls the size of a 
cabbage-leaf. 

Tie each ball separately in a cabbage- 
leaf; boil it about half an hour, and 
Berve immediately, very hot. 

742. A SCOTCH HAGGIS, 

Take the stomach of a sheep ; wash it 
with cold water until perfectly clean; 



then turn it inside out, scald it, scrape it 
with a knife quickly, and then put it into 
cold salt and water till wanted. Take 
the liver, lights, and heart, and parboil 
them ; grate the liver, and mince the 
other parts quite fine ; mince also half a 
pound of suet, three or four onions, 
toast half a pound of round oatmeal 
cakes before the fire, and pound them 
into powder, which is to be thickly sprin- 
kled over the mince; mix all well to- 
gether; season with pepper and salt; 
then fill the bag, and before sewing it up 
put in a large teacupful of any kind of 
strong broth or gravy. Put the bag, 
neatly sewed up, in a pan with enough 
of boiling water to cover it, anok a small 
plate under it ; prick over with a needle 
to prevent it bursting, and let it boil four 
or five hours, keeping the haggis con- 
stantly covered with boiling water. 

743. THE ENGLISH MODE IS 

To mince the heart, the tongue, the 
kidneys, and a part of the liver of the 
sheep, with a third of its weight in fat 
bacon, two anchovies chopped small, and 
the crumb of a penny-roll grated, a salt- 
spoonful of grated lemon/peel, pepper, 
salt, two eggs beaten, and a glass of wine ; 
mix all well together ; butter and mould ; 
put in the mixture, and let it boil for 
two hours : or it may be boiled in a veal 
caul. 

744. A CAMP DISH. 



Take any joint of mutton, put it into 
a pot with a good many onions cut small, 
and as many vegetables as can be obtain- 
ed to add to it ; two table-spoonfuls of 
vinegar, five of port wine ; season it with 
bla^k and red pepper ; add a spoonful of 
flour, and, if at hand, four dessert-spoon- 
fuls of Harvey's sauce and essence of 
anchovies. Cover the meat with water, 
and let it stew one and a half hour ; it 
! should be stirred frequently to prevent 



MUTTON. 



311 



it from burning, as there should be only 
water sufficient to cook it. Should there 
be a steam apparatus do not add the 
water. This is an excellent dish in camp, 
and it also suits a family where there 
are many persons to be fed from one 
ioint. A fowl may be added to or sub- 
stituted for the mutton. 

745. SHEEP'S TONGUES WITH TURNIPS. 

Take eight tongues of an equal sizej 
let them disgorge in a little water and 
flour, and next blanch them. When 
thoroughly blanched, put them in a stew- 
pan, to braise them. In case you should 
have a braise of beef, or of mutton, or any 
others, they will all equally answer the 
purpose for sheep's tongues ; when they 
are done, peel them and cut them in two. 
Dish them miroton way, and cover them 
with the sauce of the haricot, the turnips 
of course being put in the middle. It is 
customary in French cookery to call any 
thing made with turnips haricot. 

746. THE SAME WITH CABBAGE LETTUCES. 

The tongues are to be braised as above, 
the same as those you wish to cook in any 
way whatever. Take a dozen and a half 
of good cabbage-lettuces, wash them very 
clean and blanch them. When they are 
cold and you have squeezed all the water 
out of them, open them in two, take off 
the stalks, powder a little salt and pep- 
per over them ; then shut them and give 
them a good form ; mark them in a stew- 
pan, surrounded with layers of bacon; 
moisten them with a little braise, or any 
thing to give them a good taste ; other- 
wise take the pot-top, with a little broth 
and salt. When the lettuces are quite 
done, drain them, and squeeze them in a 
cloth to extract the grease. Dish them 
in rosettes, a tongue, a lettuce, and so on 
successively. Put a large tongue in the 
middle, to improve the look of the rosette. 
Another time cut the tongues in two, and 
dish them miroton way, that is, one half 



of a tongue, and lettuce, alternately. In 
this case, put a jardiniere in the middle, 
and cover both the tongues and the let- 
tuce with the Espagnole (Spanish sauce.) 
This is likewise a common dish in a first 
course. 

747. MUSETTE OP MUTTON WITH ENDIVE. 
(MUTTON BAGPIPE WITH ENDIVE.) 

Take a shoulder of mutton that has 
been kept for some while ; bone it with- 
out taking off the thin skin that is found 
near the joint ; powder it over with a lit- 
tle pepper and salt. Then pass a piece 
of packthread round, as tailors do round 
a button, fasten the packthread, and 
mould the shoulder of mutton quite 
round. You must preserve the knuckle 
so that it may resemble a bagpipe. 
Braise it, and season it well. After 
having drained and glazed it, send it up 
with either endive or sorrel. 

N. B. It may also be stuffed and lard- 
ed, and a floweret larded in the top part, 
and sent up with white beans a la Lyon- 
naise. This is also a common dish. 




Meat Safe, of wood and wjre 

LAMB. 

74a-FORE-QUARTER OF LAMB. 

This is the favorite and indeed the best 
joint. Do not put it too near the fire at 
first, when it gets heated baste it well; 
the fire should be quick, clear, but not 



312 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



fierce ; the usual weight of a fore-quarter 
is between nine and eleven pounds, it 
will take two hours ; when it is done, 
separate the shoulder from the ribs, but 
before it is quite taken off lay under a 
large lump of butter, squeeze a lemon, 
and season with pepper and salt ; let it 
remain long enough to quite melt the 
butter, then remove the shoulder and 
lay it on another dish. 




Fore-Quarter of Lamb. 

T49. SADDLE OF LAMB. 

Roast it quickly, but be very careful 
neither to scorch it nor to take it from 
the fire until it is done ; baste with the 
fat and gravy which fall from it, and in 
an hour and three-quarters it will be 
done, unless larger than common, and 
then it will take two feours ; serve with 
mint and cucumber sauce. 

750. TO ROAST A LEG OF LAMB. 

The rules laid down for roasting mut- 
ton must be scrupulously observed with 
respect to lamb j let it roast gradually, 
and commence a distance from the fire ; a 
leg of five pounds will take an hour and 
a quarter, one of six pounds will take an 
hour and a half. 

751. -TO BOIL A LEG OF LAMB. 

Put it in sufficient clear cold soft wa- 
ter to cover it. let it remain half an hour, 
a table-spoonful of vinegar or half a hand- 
ful of salt may be thrown in ; put it into 
a thin white cloth which ha^ been floured, 
and boil it in enough water to cover it. A 
good-sized bundle of sweet herbs may be 



thrown into the saucepan ; if six pounds 
it will be done in an hour and a half; serva 
with spinach or French beans ; if sent to 
table cold lay handsome sprigs of parsley 
about it tastefully ; it may, while hot, be 
garnished with parsley, with thin slices 
of lemon laid round the dish. 

752. A SHOULDER OF LAMB 

Will be found best cooked when done 
with the fore-quarter, but if roasted sin- 
gly will take an hour. 

758. SHOULDER OF LAMB LARDED. 
Cut your lardons small, of fine white 
fat bacon, cover them with pounded mixed 
spices, cayenne pepper, and salt ; bone 
the shoulder of lamb, lard the under side, 
roll the joint, and bind it with narrow 
white tape ; braise it, and when done 
glaze it. Serve it on mushroom sauce ; 
any sauce applicable to lamb will serve 
except mint sauce, which should not b 
eaten with this dish. 

754 TO GRILL A LOIN OF LAMB. 

Boil half an hour, take it out and score 
it like pork, brush it all over with well 
beaten yolk of eggs, and powder over it 
bread-crumbs mixed with minced parsley, 
put it into an American oven and roast 
it until brown ; serve with melted butter 
and lemon pickle, or tomato sauce, the 
last especially, if cold. A shoulder and 
breast may be dressed in the same man- 
ner. 

755. SHOULDER OF LAMB FORCED AND 
BRAISED. 

Take out the bone from the shoulder ; 
you must be very particular and careful 
in removing the blade bone that you do 
not cut a hole through the skin ; when 
you have done it fill up the vacancy with 
some good veal forcemeat, cover it with 
fat bacon or ham ; then put it into a good 
braise and let it boil gentl} r for about an 
hour, when required glaze it well j you 



LAMB. 



313 



can make it after you have put in the 
forcemeat and sewed up the cut part, 
either as a shoulder of lamb, or form it into 
a swan by adding the shank bone for a 
neck, and form the beak or bill with 
paste ; if plain, put a paper ruffle or orna- 
mented silver skewer ; the sauce as may 
be approved of, as peas, or spinach, or 
puree, turnips, or French beans, or truf- 
fles, or mushrooms. 

756.-STEWED LOIN OP LAMB. 

The loin may be stewed whole or in 
steaks ; in the former the flap being se- 
cured by a skewer, is put into a stewpan, 
with a quarter of a pound of butter, and 
covered down close ; let it simmer one 
hour, then turn it, let it simmer again for 
an hour and a quarter, and then have 
ready some rich brown gravy hot, lift out 
the meat, pour the gravy over it, and 
send it to table with mint sauce, a lettuce, 
and a few radishes and spring onions. 

757. NECK OF LAMB A LA JAEDINIEEE. 

Plain roast the neck, as you would that 
of mutton ; and whilst it is roasting, cut 
one middle-sized carrot in small dice, the 
same quantity of turnip, and thirty but- 
ton onions ; wash all in cold water, put 
them in a small stewpan, with one ounce 
of butter and half a teaspoonful of sugar, 
place on the fire till no liquid remains in 
the stewpan ; add to it a gill of brown 
sauce, half a one of broth, add a small 
bouquet of parsley and bay-leaf; after 
once boiling, set it to simmer on the cor- 
ner of the stove, skim off all the fat; 
when ready, taste if very palatable ; it 
must be a nice brown color, and the 
sauce lightly adhere to the back of the 
spoon ; serve on the dish, place the neck 
over; white sauce maybe used instead of 
brown, only add a spoonful of liaison 
when ready to serve. The sauce is 
equally good with almost any kind of 
meat, game, and poultry ; it will often be 



referred to, therefore be particular in 
making it ; you can shape the vegetables 
ia twenty different ways, by using either 
green peas, French beans, or Brussels 
sprouts; sprue-grass may be added, 
when in season, but should be boiled 
separately, and added just previous to 
serving. 

758. SADDLE OF LAMB, EUSSIAN FASH- 
ION. 

Roast a small saddle of lamb, keeping 
it pale; having had it covered with 
paper, take ten good-sized boiled pota- 
toes, mash them with about two ounces 
of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter 
ditto of pepper, a table-spoonful of chopped 
parsley, and a little grated nutmeg ; mix 
all well together with a fork, adding half 
a gill of milk and one egg ; when cold, 
roll them into a long shape the size of 
plover's eggs, egg and bread-crumb twice, 
and fry light colored ; dress the saddle, 
surround it with the potatoes, make a 
sauce of melted butter and maitre d'hdtel 
butter, put in it, and pour it round, and 
serve. All joints of lamb can be dressed 
thus. 

759. LEG OE SHOULDEE OF LAMB WITH 
PEAS. 

These must be plain roasted; when 
done, serve with peas in the bottom of 
the dish. 

760. LEG OE SHOULDEE WITH FEENCH 
BEANS. 

Plain roast as before ; prepare beans as 
directed. 

761. BOILED LEG OF LAMB WITH 
SPINACH. 

Procure a very small leg, and cut the 
end of the knuckle-bone, tie it up in a 
cloth and place it in cold water, with two 
ounces of salt; boil it gently according to 
size ; when done, remove the cloth, and 
dish it up with spinach under it, pre- 
pared as directed. (See VEGETABLES.) 



314 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



762. SHOULDER OF LAMB BRAISED. 

Take the blade bone from a shoulder of 
lamb, and have ready ten long strips of 
fat bacon, which season rather highly 
with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of 
chopped parsley ; place the pieces, one 
after the other, in your larding needle, 
which draw quickly through the fleshy 
part of the shoulder, leaving the bacon in 
the meat ; after having used all the 
bacon, roll the meat round, and tie it up 
with a piece of string ; then put it into a 
stewpan containing a quarter of a pound 
of butter, over a slow fire, stirring it oc- 
casionally until of a light golden color, 
pour in a quart of water or broth, and 
add forty button onions and a bunch of 
parsley ; let simmer very slowly until the 
onions are quite tender, then take up the 
meat, pull off the string, and dress it 
upon a dish with the onions round ; take 
the parsley out of the liquor, carefully 
skim off all the fat, and reduce it until 
forming a thinnish glaze, when pour it 
over the meat and serve. Mushrooms 
may be added ten minutes before sending 
to table. 

768. BREAST OF LAMB BRAISED, BROILED. 

Saw off the breast from the ribs of 
lamb, leaving the neck of sufficient size 
to roast, or for cutlets; then put two 
onions, half a carrot, and the same of 
turnip, cut into thin slices, in a stewpan 
with two bay-leaves, a few sprigs of pars- 
ley and thyme, half an ounce of salt, and 
three pints of water ; lay in the breast, 
which let simmer until tender, and the 
bones leave with facility; take it from 
the stewpan, pull out all the bones, and 
press it between two dishes ; when cold, 
season with a little salt and pepper, egg 
and bread-crumb it lightly over, and 
broil gently (over a moderate fire) of a 
nice yellowish color, turning it very care- 
fully; when sufficiently browned upon 
one side, serve with plain gravy in the 
dish, and mint sauce separately, or with 



stewed peas or any other vegetable sauce j 
tomato sauce is likewise very good serv- 
ed with it. 

764. LAMB'S HEAD. 

Parboil the head, rub it over with yolk 
of eggs, cover it thickly with chopped 
herbs, crumbs of bread, and clarified but- 
ter, and put it into a Dutch oven before 
the fire. Mince the heart and the liver 
very finely, and stew them in a little 
good gravy, adding a spoonful of lemon- 
pickle ; make some forcemeat-balls- and 
brain-cakes, and fry them; place the 
mince in the dish with the head upon it, 
and garnish with the balls, brain-cakes, 
and lemon sliced, or pickles. 

765.-LAMB'S FRY. 

Take about a pound and boil for ten 
minutes in half a gallon of water, take it 
out and dry on a cloth ; have some fresh 
crumbs, mix with them half a spoonful 
of chopped parsley, salt, pepper; egg 
the fry lightly with a paste-brush, dip it 
in the crumbs, fry for five minutt s, serve 
very hot on a clean napkin in a dish, with 
fried parsley over. 

766. LAMB'S HEAD WITH HOLLANDAISE. 

If you want it very white, make stock 
as for sheep's feet, put it to stew, when 
done lay on dish with about twelve new 
potatoes (boiled) round it, pour over 
some cream-sauce, and serve. 

767. LAMB'S HEAD WITH BRAIN OR 
LIVER. 

Blanch the brain or liver, and mince 
them as for sheep's head, introducing 
only the yolk of an egg; mix with a 
little milk, stir in quickly, add a table- 
spoonful of chopped parsley, the juice ot 
half a lemon, lay it on the dish with the 
head over, and serve. 

768. TO BONE A QUARTER OF LAMB. 

Take the fore quarter, remove the 
shoulder and take out the bone ; stuff it 



LAMB. 



315 



with fine forcemeat, and skewer it in a 
handsome shape. Braise it with two 
ounces of butter, add a teacupful of 
water, stirring the braise until the gravy 
is drawn. Then cut the brisket into 
pieces, and stew them in white gravy ; 
thicken it with cream and eggs so that it 
shall be very white ; cut the long bones 
into chops and fry them ; thicken the 
gravy of the braise, add to it haricots, 
minced truffles, or any thing else of vege- 
table in season. Place the shoulder in 
the centre of a dish with its own sauce, 
lay the brisket covered with white sauce 
round it, and place the fried chops at the 



769. LAMB A L'ESPAGNOLE. 

An entire lamb is frequently roasted in 
the Peninsula, without any other prepa- 
ration than merely skinning it, taking out 
the fry, and cutting off the feet. It is 
then, however, extremely young not 
more than perhaps six weeks or two 
months old; the bones eat like gristle, 
and the meat is singularly delicate. It is 
sometimes, but only rarely, stuffed with 
bread and sweet herbs, and served with 
bread-sauce ; but more frequently eaten 
with lemon-juice. 

7TO. AU PASCAL. 

May be a little older, and is also roast- 
ed whole, but boned from the neck up to 
the shoulders, and the legs fixed into the 
body, which is then covered with slices 
of bacon, kept on with small skewers, or 
tied with twine ; all, however, being re- 
moved when the meat is nearly done. 
Both should be placed in a cradle-spit, 
and will take about two hours in roasting. 

T71.-TO FBICASSEE LAMB-STONES WITH- 
OUT ANY ADDITION. 

Skin, wash, and parboil, and then cut 
them in half, dry and flour them ; fry of 
a beautiful brown in hog's lard. Serve 
with the following sauce : thicken some 
veal gravy with a bit of flour and butter, 



and then add to it a slice of lemon, a 
large spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a 
teaspoonful of lemon-pickle, a grate of 
nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg beaten 
well hi two large spoonfuls of thick 
cream. Put this over the fire, and stir it 
well till it is hot and looks white : do not 
let it. boil, or it will curdle. Then put hi 
the fry, and shake it about for a minute 
or two. Serve hi a very hot dish. 

772. TO STEW A BBEAST OP LAMB. 

Cut it into pieces, pepper and salt well, 
stew in sufficient gravy to cover the 
meat until tender, then thicken the sauce, 
pour in a glass of sherry, serve on a dish 
of stewed mushrooms. 

778. CHEVAUX-DE-FBISE LAMB. 

Get two necks of lamb of the same 
size, take off the chine -bone, not leaving 
a particle of bone adhering to the ribs, 
or it cannot be carved clean down be- 
tween the bones when at table ; blanch 
them a few minutes, put them to cool, 
then scrape about one inch down from 
the ends of the ribs between each bone, 
the skin, and fat ; then put the bones to 
meet regularly, and put one between the 
other, which will form a chevaux-de-frise ; 
braise them the same as the former ; 
when done, glaze the fat and meat but 
not the white rib bones : any of the sauces 
named or cucumbers. 

774. CHEVAUX-DE-FBISE WITH LAMB 
SWEETBBEADS. 

Do the same as before ; when it is done 
and glazed, have ready some good lamb 
sweetbreads, about six larded ones and 
glazed, put them on the top between the 
bones, when the two necks are put to- 
gether. 

775. BLANQUETTE D'AGNEAU A LA PBO- 
VENCALE. 

Of the best end of the brisket take 



316 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



two or three pounds, cut it into dice of 
four inches, rinse them in clear water, 
wipe them with a cloth, and flour them ; 
take two ounces of the fat of boiled 
bacon, five of fresh butter, chop some 
parsley, and boil ten minutes ; put in the 
lamb dice, cut up an onion small, squeeze 
in the juice of half a lemon, and season 
with pepper and salt; let it simmer 
gradually for two hours ; beat up the 
yolk of three eggs, and add them to the 
gravy ; keep the pan moving about the 
fire for three minutes : dish and serve. 



776. LAMB CHOPS. 

Lamb chops and lamb cutlets are cook- 
ed in the same manner as mutton chops 
and cutlets, but require more care in the 
cooking ; they are sent to table with va- 
rious garnishes, and arranged in many 
forms, frequently accompanied with a 
puree of vegetables, or ranged round a 
pyramid of mashed potatoes ; the most 
simple manner is* to garnish with crisped 
parsley. 

777. ANOTHER. 

Take a loin of lamb, cut chops from it 
half an inch thick, retaining the kidney 
in its place ; dip them into egg and bread- 
crumbs, fry and serve with fried parsley. 

When chops are made from a breast of 
lamb, the red bone at the edge of the 
breast should be cut off, and the breast 
parboiled in water or broth, with a sliced 
carrot and two or three onions, before it 
is divided into cutlets, which is done by 
cutting between every second or third 
bone, and preparing them, in every re- 
spect, as the last. 

If brown, season them with pepper, 
salt, nutmeg, grated lemon-peel, and 
chopped parsley ; but dip them first into 
egg j fry them quickly. Thicken some 
gravy with a little flour and butter, and 
add to it a spoonful of port wine. 



778. SWEETBEEADS. 

Two good throat sweetbreads or three 
will make an entree ; blanch them until 
fit to eat, take them up and lay them in 
cold water; when cold dry them well, 
egg and bread-crumb them with or 
without herbs ; put them on a dish and 
brown them in the oven; mushroom 
sauce, or endives, or sorrel, or spinach, 
or tomato will do if approved of. 



7T9. SWEETBREADS FRICASSEED, WHITE. 

Blanch, and cut them in slices. To a 
pint of veal gravy put a thickening of 
flour and butter, a table-spoonful of 
cream, half a teaspoonful of mushroom 
powder, grated lemon-peel and nutmeg, 
and white pepper, to flavor. Stew ten 
minutes, add the sweetbreads, let them 
simmer twenty minutes. Dish, add salt, 
thin pieces of lemon-peel ; mix up, and 
serve. 



780. SWEETBREADS FRICASSEED, BROWN. 

Cut them in small pieces, flour, and 
fry them. When a good brown, pour 
over them a pint of good beef gravy, 
highly seasoned ; stew gently until the 
sweetbreads are tender. Add a little 
flour and butter to thicken ; add truffles 
and mushroom ketchup to flavor ; morels 
or mushrooms may be substituted, or all 
may be cooked with the sweetbreads. 



781. TO STEW SWEETBREADS RIS DE 
VEAU. 

Make .a forcemeat of the tenderest 
parts of boiled or roast fowl, some bacon, 
a little parsley chopped, a little thyme, 
lemon-peel, the yolks of two eggs, cay- 
enne pepper, and nutmeg. Lay the 
sweetbreads in a pan, upon a layer of 
slices of veal, cover them with slices of 
bacon, put in a bunch of sweet herbs, an 
onion sliced, a little mace, and pepper 



LAMB. 



317 



and salt. Pour in a quart of good broth, 
and stew for two hours ; remove them, 
and reduce by boiling the broth to a 
fourth : heat the sweetbreads in it, gar- 
nish with lemon in slices. 

782.-SWEETBEEADS LAEDED-1 LA 
DAUBE. 

Blanch and lard them with bacon, put 
them into a stewpan with a pint of veal 
broth ; add a little browning, with the 
juice of half a lemon. Stew until ten- 
der ; thicken the gravy with a little flour 
and butter. Lay bunches of boiled cel- 
ery round the dish when you serve. 

783. PIEDS D' AGNEAU. 

Have six lambs' feet scalded, take out 
the shank-bone very carefully, so as not 
to cut or break the skin ; soak for three 
hours in cold water ; put them in a stew- 
pan with cold water and the juice of two 
lemons ; let it boil for ten minutes, take 
out the feet, throw them into cold water, 
cut. off the bones of the cleft part of the 
foot, and remove the curl of hair that 
lies in the cleft. Boil very gently for 
three or more hours in some poclee 
(which see), to keep them very white. 
Serve with asparagus, peas, and mush- 
room, or white cucumber sauce. 

781 HEAET SWEETBEEADS LAEDED 
WITH BACON OE TBUFFLES. 

The same quantity, either one larded 
and two plain, or two if fine larded with 
bacon ; when blanched for two or three 
minutes, put them in a small dish or 
stewpan, with a little stock ; cover them 
over, and boil them either in the oven or 
over the fire for about twenty minutes ; 
take them up and glaze them several 
times, keeping them hot; lamb sweet- 
breads will take eight for a dish, and re- 
quire to be neatly trimmed, cutting away 
the pipe and dish them on a rim of force- 
meat or mashed potatoes, or spinach. 



785. SWEETBEEADS AS CUTLETS. 

If you cannot get heart sweetbreads, 
you must use the throat. Blanch them 
for about ten minutes, then put them to 
cool into cold water ; take them out and 
dry them in a cloth, then cut longways, 
twelve or fourteen pieces for cutlets, 
making them a nice shape ; if you wish 
them to be white saute cutlets, you 
must put some butter or lard in your 
cutlet-pan, a juice of lemon, a little white 
pepper, and salt ; do not color them, take 
them up and lay them upon white paper 
to soak up the grease from them ; dish 
them round upon a tureen, pouring the 
sauce in the middle. 

786. EOAST SWEETBEEAD. 

Boil sweetbreads, either heart or 
throat, trim them and dry them, then 
egg and bread-crumb them, brown them 
before the fire or in the oven ; put good 
clear gravy under them, and water- 
cresses, as a garnish. 

787. SWEETBEEAD CUTLETS CEUMBED 
AU GEATIN. 

Cut the sweetbreads as before, a nice 
thickness, but not too thick ; dry them, 
then egg and bread-crumb them as you 
would veal or other cutlets; use any 
sauce that may be preferred. 

788. LAMB'S HEAD AND EMINCEES. 

Wash well a lamb's head and pluck, 
take out the brains, blanch them by 
themselves, boil the head and pluck for 
about a quarter of an hour, take it up to 
cool, take out the tongue, trim the two 
halves of the head neatly, then score it, 
then egg and bread-crumb them as you 
would cutlets, and brown them in the 
oven or before the fire. Cut up in small 
dice in equal quantities, the tongue, liver, 
heart, and lights; fry in a stewpan a 
little chopped parsley, shalot, and mush- 
room if you have it, to a nice light 



318 



THE PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER. 



brown, dry up the butter with flour, use 
some good second stock or brown sauce ; 
season with lemon, cayenne pepper, salt, 
and a dust of sugar ; put the emincees 
under the head, the brains, egg, and 
bread-crumb in four pieces and put 
round. 

789. SHEEP OK LAMBS' TEOTTEES. 

Get a dozen or two of trotters, stew 
them for several hours, until all the 
bones will come from them ; save this 
liquor ; do not break the skin ; stuff them 
with good quenelles or forcemeat; re- 
turn them again into the same stock, 
boil them about fifteen minutes, glaze 
them ; soubise sauce or tomato sauce is 
good with them, or you may fry them 
with butter. 



PORK. 

The proportion of persons who are fond 
of pork to those who dislike it, are as a 
hundred to one, and yet it is falsely con- 
'sidered a vulgar taste. The passion for 
it possessed by the Chinese has been il- 
lustrated by many tales, and when in 
season, the frequency of its appearance 
upon a homely English table is.no small 
proof of the estimation in which it is 
held. It should be thoroughly' cooked to 
place its digestibility beyond a doubt. 
In roasting, or in boiling, ample time 
should be allowed for the joint. Pork is 
always salted for boiling, and is much 
liked in this form. When sent to table 
roasted, apple sauce should in every case 
accompany it. 

It is universally used in every family, 
and little used for company. 

The griskin and the sparerib are cer- 
tainly improved by being powdered with 
chopped sage, but this is all a matter of 



taste. The skin of the leg and loin must 
be scored previous to roasting ; but take 
care to preserve the skin, or crackling, 
of a fine brown, as many persons look 
upon it to be the best part of th