845. ANY REMARKS MADE ON THE CALF OR THE LAMB must naturally be in a measure supplementary to the more copious observations made on the parent stock of either. As the calf, at least as far as it is identified with veal, is destined to die young,—to be, indeed, cut off in its comparative infancy,—it may, at first sight, appear of little or no consequence to inquire to what particular variety, or breed of the general stock, his sire or dam may belong. The great art, however, in the modern science of husbandry has been to obtain an animal that shall not only have the utmost beauty of form of which the species is capable, but, at the same time, a constitution free from all taint, a frame that shall rapidly attain bulk and stature, and a disposition so kindly that every quantum of food it takes shall, without drawback or procrastination, be eliminated into fat and muscle. The breed, then, is of very considerable consequence in determining, not only the quality of the meat to the consumer, but its commercial value to the breeder and butcher.
846. UNDER THE ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM adopted in the rearing of domestic cattle, and stock in general, to gratify the arbitrary mandates of luxury and fashion, we can have veal, like lamb, at all seasons in the market, though the usual time in the metropolis for veal to make its appearance is about the beginning of February.
847. THE COW GOES WITH YOUNG FOR NINE MONTHS, and the affection and solicitude she evinces for her offspring is more human in its tenderness mid intensity than is displayed by any other animal; and her distress when she hears its bleating, and is not allowed to reach it with her distended udders, is often painful to witness, and when the calf has died, or been accidentally killed, her grief frequently makes her refuse to give down her milk. At such times, the breeder has adopted the expedient of flaying the dead carcase, and, distending the skin with hay, lays the effigy before her, and then taking advantage of her solicitude, milks her while she is caressing the skin with her tongue.
848. IN A STATE OF NATURE, the cow, like the deer, hides her young in the tall ferns and brakes, and the most secret places; and only at stated times, twice or thrice a day, quits the herd, and, hastening to the secret cover, gives suck to her calf, and with the same, circumspection returns to the community.
849. IN SOME COUNTRIES, to please the epicurean taste of vitiated appetites, it is the custom to kill the calf for food almost immediately after birth, and any accident that forestalls that event, is considered to enhance its value. We are happy to say, however, that in this country, as far as England and Scotland are concerned, the taste for very young veal has entirely gone out, and "Staggering Bob," as the poor little animal was called in the language of the shambles, is no longer to be met with in such a place.
850. THE WEANING OF CALVES is a process that requires a great amount of care and judgment; for though they are in reality not weaned till between the eighth and the twelfth week, the process of rearing them by hand commences in fact from the birth, the calf never being allowed to suck its dam. As the rearing of calves for the market is a very important and lucrative business, the breeder generally arranges his stock so that ten or a dozen of his cows shall calve about the same time; and then, by setting aside one or two, to find food for the entire family, gets the remaining eight or ten with their full fountains of milk, to carry on the operations of his dairy. Some people have an idea that skimmed milk, if given in sufficient quantity, is good enough for the weaning period of calf-feeding; but this is a very serious mistake, for the cream, of which it has been deprived, contained nearly all the oleaginous principles, and the azote or nitrogen, on which the vivifying properties of that fluid depends. Indeed, so remarkably correct has this fact proved to be, that a calf reared on one part of new milk mixed with five of water, will thrive and look well; while another, treated with unlimited skimmed milk, will be poor, thin, and miserable.
851. IT IS SOMETIMES A MATTER OF CONSIDERABLE TROUBLE to induce the blundering calf—whose instinct only teaches him to suck, and that he will do at anything and with anything—acquire the knowledge of imbibition, that for the first few days it is often necessary to fill a bottle with milk, and, opening his mouth, pour the contents down his throat. The manner, however, by which he is finally educated into the mystery of suction, is by putting his allowance of milk into a large wooden bowl; the nurse then puts her hand into the milk, and, by bending her fingers upwards, makes a rude teat for the calf to grasp in his lips, when the vacuum caused by his suction of the fingers, causes the milk to rise along them into his mouth. In this manner one by one the whole family are to be fed three times a day; care being taken, that new-born calves are not, at first, fed on milk from a cow who has some days calved.
852. AS THE CALF PROGRESSES TOWARDS HIS TENTH WEEK, his diet requires to be increased in quantity and quality; for these objects, his milk can be thickened with flour or meal, and small pieces of softened oil-cake are to be slipped into his mouth after sucking, that they may dissolve there, till he grows familiar with, and to like the taste, when it may be softened and scraped down into his milk-and-water. After a time, sliced turnips softened by steam are to be given to him in tolerable quantities; then succulent grasses; and finally, hay may be added to the others. Some farmers, desirous of rendering their calves fat for the butcher in as short a time as possible, forget both the natural weakness of the digestive powers, and the contracted volume of the stomach, and allow the animals either to suck ad libitum, or give them, if brought up at the pail or by hand, a larger quantity of milk than they can digest. The idea of overloading the stomach never suggests itself to their minds. They suppose that the more food the young creature consumes, the sooner it will be fat, and they allow it no exercise whatever, for fear it should denude its very bones of their flesh. Under such circumstances, the stomach soon becomes deranged; its functions are no longer capable of acting; the milk, subjected to the acid of the stomach, coagulates, and forms a hardened mass of curd, when the muscles become affected with spasms, and death frequently ensues.
853. THERE WAS NO SPECIES OF SLAUGHTERING practised in this country so inhuman and disgraceful as that, till very lately, employed in killing this poor animal; when, under the plea of making the flesh white, the calf was bled day by day, till, when the final hour came, the animal was unable to stand. This inhumanity is, we believe, now everywhere abolished, and the calf is at once killed, and with the least amount of pain; a sharp-pointed knife is run through the neck, severing all the large veins and arteries up to the vertebrae. The skin is then taken off to the knee, which is disjointed, and to the head, which is removed; it is then reflected backwards, and the carcase having been opened and dressed, is kept apart by stretchers, and the thin membrane, the caul, extended over the organs left in the carcase, as the kidneys and sweet-bread; some melted fat is then scattered suddenly over the whole interior, giving that white and frosted appearance to the meat, that is thought to add to its beauty; the whole is then hung up to cool and harden.
854. THE MANNER OF CUTTING UP VEAL for the English market is to divide the carcase into four quarters, with eleven ribs to each fore quarter; which are again subdivided into joints as exemplified on the cut.
[Illustration: SIDE OF A CALF, SHOWING THE SEVERAL JOINTS.]
Hind quarter:—
1. The loin. 2. The chump, consisting of the rump and hock-bone. 3. The fillet. 4. The hock, or hind knuckle.
Fore quarter:—
5. The shoulder. 6. The neck. 7. The breast. 8. The fore knuckle.
855. THE SEVERAL PARTS OF A MODERATELY-SIZED WELL-FED CALF, about eight weeks old, are nearly of the following weights:—loin and chump 18 lbs., fillet 12-1/2 lbs., hind knuckle 5-1/2 lbs., shoulder 11 lbs, neck 11 lbs., breast 9 lbs., and fore knuckle 5 lbs.; making a total of 144 lbs. weight. The London mode of cutting the carcase is considered better than that pursued in Edinburgh, as giving three roasting joints, and one boiling, in each quarter; besides the pieces being more equally divided, as regards flesh, and from the handsomer appearance they make on the table.
the apricots.
Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable in August, September, and October.
Note.—In winter-time, when fresh apricots are not obtainable, a little jam may be substituted for them.
FLANC OF APRICOTS, or Compote of Apricots in a Raised Crust.
(Sweet Entremets.)
1406. INGREDIENTS.—3/4 lb. of short crust No. 1212, from 9 to 12 good-sized apricots, 3/4 pint of water, 1/2 lb. of sugar.
Mode.—Make a short crust by recipe No. 1212, and line a mould with it as directed in recipe No. 1391. Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; halve the apricots, take out the stones, and simmer them in the syrup until tender; watch them carefully, and take them up the moment they are done, for fear they break. Arrange them neatly in the flanc or case; boil the syrup until reduced to a jelly, pour it over the fruit, and serve either hot or cold. Greengages, plums of all kinds, peaches, &c., may be done in the same manner, as also currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, &c.; but with the last-named fruits, a little currant-juice added to them will be found an improvement.
Time.—Altogether, 1 hour to bake the flanc, about 10 minutes to simmer the apricots.
Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 entremets or side-dish.
Seasonable in July, August, and September.
ARROWROOT BLANC-MANGE.
(An inexpensive Supper Dish.)
1407. INGREDIENTS.—4 heaped tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, 1-1/2 pint of milk, 3 laurel-leaves or the rind of 1/2 lemon, sugar to taste.
Mode.—Mix to a smooth batter the arrowroot with 1/2 pint of the milk; put the other pint on the fire, with laurel-leaves or lemon-peel, whichever may be preferred, and let the milk steep until it is well flavoured. Then strain the milk, and add it, boiling, to the mixed arrowroot; sweeten it with sifted sugar, and let it boil, stirring it all the time, till it thickens sufficiently to come from the saucepan. Grease a mould with pure salad-oil, pour in the blanc-mange, and when quite set, turn it out on a dish, and pour round it a compÔte of any kind of fruit, or garnish it with jam. A tablespoonful of brandy, stirred in just before the blanc-mange is moulded, very much improves the flavour of this sweet dish.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour.
Average cost, 6d. without the garnishing.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
BLANC-MANGE.
(A Supper Dish.)
1408. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of new milk, 1-1/4 oz. of isinglass, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 1/4 lb. of loaf sugar, 10 bitter almonds, 1/2 oz. of sweet almonds, 1 pint of cream.
[Illustration: BLANC-MANGE MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan, with the isinglass, lemon-rind, and sugar, and let these ingredients stand by the side of the fire until the milk is well flavoured; add the almonds, which should be blanched and pounded in a mortar to a paste, and let the milk just boil up; strain it through a fine sieve or muslin into a jug, add the cream, and stir the mixture occasionally until nearly cold. Let it stand for a few minutes, then pour it into the mould, which should be previously oiled with the purest salad-oil, or dipped in cold water. There will be a sediment at the bottom of the jug, which must not be poured into the mould, as, when turned out, it would very much disfigure the appearance of the blanc-mange. This blanc-mange may be made very much richer by using 1-1/2 pint of cream, and melting the isinglass in 1/2 pint of boiling water. The flavour may also be very much varied by adding bay-leaves, laurel-leaves, or essence of vanilla, instead of the lemon-rind and almonds. Noyeau, Maraschino, CuraÇoa, or any favourite liqueur, added in small proportions, very much enhances the flavour of this always favourite dish. In turning it out, just loosen the edges of the blanc-mange from the mould, place a dish on it, and turn it quickly over; it should come out easily, and the blanc-mange have a smooth glossy appearance when the mould is oiled, which it frequently has not when it is only dipped in water. It may be garnished as fancy dictates.
Time.—About 1-1/2 hour to steep the lemon-rind and almonds in the milk.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 3s. 3d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
CHEAP BLANC-MANGE.
1409. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of sugar, 1 quart of milk, 1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 4 laurel-leaves.
[Illustration: BLANC-MANGE.]
Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a lined saucepan, and boil gently until the isinglass is dissolved; taste it occasionally, to ascertain when it is sufficiently flavoured with the laurel-leaves; then take them out, and keep stirring the mixture over the fire for about 10 minutes. Strain it through a fine sieve into a jug, and, when nearly cold, pour it into a well-oiled mould, omitting the sediment at the bottom. Turn it out carefully on a dish, and garnish with preserves, bright jelly, or a compote of fruit.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour. Average cost, 8d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
BREAD-AND-BUTTER FRITTERS.
1410. INGREDIENTS.—Batter, 8 slices of bread and butter, 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of jam.
Mode.—Make a batter, the same as for apple fritters No. 1393; cut some slices of bread and butter, not very thick; spread half of them with any jam that may he preferred, and cover with the other slices; slightly press them together, and cut them out in square, long, or round pieces. Dip them in the batter, and fry in boiling lard for about 10 minutes; drain them before the fire on a piece of blotting-paper or cloth. Dish them, sprinkle over sifted sugar, and serve.
Time.—About 10 minutes.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE THE STOCK FOR JELLY, AND TO CLARIFY IT.
1411. INGREDIENTS.—2 calf's feet, 6 pints of water.
[Illustration: JELLY-MOULD.]
[Illustration: JELLY-BAG.]
Mode.—The stock for jellies should always be made the day before it is required for use, as the liquor has time to cool, and the fat can be so much more easily and effectually removed when thoroughly set. Procure from the butcher's 2 nice calf's feet: scald them, to take off the hair; slit them in two, remove the fat from between the claws, and wash the feet well in warm water; put them into a stewpan, with the above proportion of cold water, bring it gradually to boil, and remove every particle of scum as it rises. When it is well skimmed, boil it very gently for 6 or 7 hours, or until the liquor is reduced rather more than half; then strain it through a sieve into a basin, and put it in a cool place to set. As the liquor is strained, measure it, to ascertain the proportion for the jelly, allowing something for the sediment and fat at the top. To clarify it, carefully remove all the fat from the top, pour over a little warm water, to wash away any that may remain, and wipe the jelly with a clean cloth; remove the jelly from the sediment, put it into a saucepan, and, supposing the quantity to be a quart, add to it 6 oz. of loaf sugar, the shells and well-whisked whites of 5 eggs, and stir these ingredients together cold; set the saucepan on the fire, but do not stir the jelly after it begins to warm. Let it boil about 10 minutes after it rises to a head, then throw in a teacupful of cold water; let it boil 5 minutes longer, then take the saucepan off, cover it closely, and let it remain 1/2 hour near the fire. Dip the jelly-bag into hot water, wring it out quite dry, and fasten it on to a stand or the back of a chair, which must be placed near the fire, to prevent the jelly from setting before it has run through the bag. Place a basin underneath to receive the jelly; then pour it into the bag, and should it not be clear the first time, run it through the bag again. This stock is the foundation of all really good jellies, which may be varied in innumerable ways, by colouring and flavouring with liqueurs, and by moulding it with fresh and preserved fruits. To insure the jelly being firm when turned out, 1/2 oz. of isinglass clarified might be added to the above proportion of stock. Substitutes for calf's feet are now frequently used in making jellies, which lessen the expense and trouble in preparing this favourite dish; isinglass and gelatine being two of the principal materials employed; but, although they may look as nicely as jellies made from good stock, they are never so delicate, having very often an unpleasant flavour, somewhat resembling glue, particularly when made with gelatine.
Time.—About 6 hours to boil the feet for the stock; to clarify it,—1/4 hour to boil, 1/2 hour to stand in the saucepan covered.
Average cost.—Calf's feet may be purchased for 6d. each when veal is in full season, but more expensive when it is scarce.
Sufficient.—2 calf's feet should make 1 quart of stock.
Seasonable from March to October, but may be had all the year.
HOW TO MAKE A JELLY-BAG.—The very stout flannel called double-mill, used for ironing-blankets, is the best material for a jelly-bag: those of home manufacture are the only ones to be relied on for thoroughly clearing the jelly. Care should be taken that the seam of the bag be stitched twice, to secure it against unequal filtration. The most convenient mode of using the big is to tie it upon a hoop the exact size of the outside of its mouth; and, to do this, strings should be sewn round it at equal distances. The jelly-bag may, of coarse, be made any size; but one of twelve or fourteen inches deep, and seven or eight across the mouth, will be sufficient for ordinary use. The form of a jelly-bag is the fool's cap.
COW-HEEL STOCK FOR JELLIES.
(More Economical than Calf's Feet.)
1412. INGREDIENTS.—2 cow-heels, 3 quarts of water.
Mode.—Procure 2 heels that have only been scalded, and not boiled; split them in two, and remove the fat between the claws; wash them well in warm water, and put them into a saucepan with the above proportion of cold water; bring it gradually to boil, remove all the scum as it rises, and simmer the heels gently from 7 to 8 hours, or until the liquor is reduced one-half; then strain it into a basin, measuring the quantity, and put it in a cool place. Clarify it in the same manner as calf's-feet stock No. 1411, using, with the other ingredients, about 1/2 oz. of isinglass to each quart. This stock should be made the day before it is required for use. Two dozen shank-bones of mutton, boiled for 6 or 7 hours, yield a quart of strong firm stock. They should be put on in 2 quarts of water, which should be reduced one-half. Make this also the day before it is required.
Time.—7 to 8 hours to boil the cow-heels, 6 to 7 hours to boil the shank-bones.
Average cost, from 4d. to 6d. each.
Sufficient.—2 cow-heels should make 3 pints of stock.
Seasonable at any time.
ISINGLASS OR GELATINE JELLY.
(Substitutes for Calf's Feet.)
1413. INGREDIENTS.—3 oz. of isinglass or gelatine, 2 quarts of water.
Mode.—Put the isinglass or gelatine into a saucepan with the above proportion of cold water; bring it quickly to boil, and let it boil very fast, until the liquor is reduced one-half. Carefully remove the scum as it rises, then strain it through a jelly-bag, and it will be ready for use. If not required very clear, it may be merely strained through a fine sieve, instead of being run through a bag. Rather more than 1/2 oz. of isinglass is about the proper quantity to use for a quart of strong calf's-feet stock, and rather more than 2 oz. for the same quantity of fruit juice. As isinglass varies so much in quality and strength, it is difficult to give the exact proportions. The larger the mould, the stiffer should be the jelly; and where there is no ice, more isinglass must be used than if the mixture were frozen. This forms a stock for all kinds of jellies, which may be flavoured in many ways.
Time.—1-1/2 hour.
Sufficient, with wine, syrup, fruit, &c., to fill two moderate-sized moulds.
Seasonable at any time.
Note.—The above, when boiled, should be perfectly clear, and may be mixed warm with wine, flavourings, fruits, &c., and then run through the bag.
ISINGLASS.—The best isinglass is brought from Russia; some of an inferior kind is brought from North and South America and the East Indies: the several varieties may be had from the wholesale dealers in isinglass in London. In choosing isinglass for domestic use, select that which is whitest, has no unpleasant odour, and which dissolves most readily in water. The inferior kinds are used for fining beer, and similar purposes. Isinglass is much adulterated: to test its purity, take a few threads of the substance, drop some into boiling water, some into cold water, and some into vinegar. In the boiling water the isinglass will dissolve, in cold water it will become white and "cloudy," and in vinegar it will swell and become jelly-like. If the isinglass is adulterated with gelatine (that is to say, the commoner sorts of gelatine,—for isinglass is classed amongst gelatines, of all which varieties it is the very purest and best), in boiling water the gelatine will not so completely dissolve as the isinglass; in cold water it becomes clear and jelly-like; and in vinegar it will harden.
HOW TO MOULD BOTTLED JELLIES.
1414. Uncork the bottle; place it in a saucepan of hot water until the jelly is reduced to a liquid state; taste it, to ascertain whether it is sufficiently flavoured, and if not, add a little wine. Pour the jelly into moulds which have been soaked in water; let it set, and turn it out by placing the mould in hot water for a minute; then wipe the outside, put a dish on the top, and turn it over quickly. The jelly should then slip easily away from the mould, and be quite firm. It may be garnished as taste dictates.
TO CLARIFY SYRUP FOR JELLIES.
1415. INGREDIENTS.—To every quart of water allow 2 lbs. of loaf sugar; the white of 1 egg.
Mode.—Put the sugar and water into a stewpan; set it on the fire, and, when the sugar is dissolved, add the white of the egg, whipped up with a little water. Whisk the whole well together, and simmer very gently until it has thrown up all the scum. Take this off as it rises, strain the syrup through a fine sieve or cloth into a basin, and keep it for use.
CALF'S-FEET JELLY.
1416. INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of calf's-feet stock No. 1411, 1/2 lb. of sugar, 1/2 pint of sherry, 1 glass of brandy, the shells and whites of 5 eggs, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, 1/2 oz. of isinglass.
Mode.—Prepare the stock as directed in recipe No. 1411, taking care to leave the sediment, and to remove all the fat from the surface. Put it into a saucepan, cold, without clarifying it; add the remaining ingredients, and stir them well together before the saucepan is placed on the fire. Then simmer the mixture gently for 1/4 hour, but do not stir it after it begins to warm. Throw in a teacupful of cold water, boil for another 5 minutes, and keep the saucepan covered by the side of the fire for about 1/2 hour, but do not let it boil again. In simmering, the head or scum may be carefully removed as it rises; but particular attention must be given to the jelly, that it be not stirred in the slightest degree after it is heated. The isinglass should be added when the jelly begins to boil: this assists to clear it, and makes it firmer for turning out. Wring out a jelly-bag in hot water; fasten it on to a stand, or the back of a chair; place it near the fire with a basin underneath it, and run the jelly through it. Should it not be perfectly clear the first time, repeat the process until the desired brilliancy is obtained. Soak the moulds in water, drain them for half a second, pour in the jelly, and put it in a cool place to set. If ice is at hand, surround the moulds with it, and the jelly will set sooner, and be firmer when turned out. In summer it is necessary to have ice in which to put the moulds, or the cook will be, very likely, disappointed, by her jellies being in too liquid a state to turn out properly, unless a great deal of isinglass is used. When wanted for table, dip the moulds in hot water for a minute, wipe the outside with a cloth, lay a dish on the top of the mould, turn it quickly over, and the jelly should slip out easily. It is sometimes served broken into square lumps, and piled high in glasses. Earthenware moulds are preferable to those of pewter or tin, for red jellies, the colour and transparency of the composition being often spoiled by using the latter.
[Illustration: JELLY-MOULD.]
To make this jelly more economically, raisin wine may be substituted for the sherry and brandy, and the stock made from cow-heels, instead of calf's feet.
Time.—20 minutes to simmer the jelly, 1/2 hour to stand covered.
Average cost, reckoning the feet at 6d. each, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill two 1-1/2-pint moulds. Seasonable at any time.
Note.—As lemon-juice, unless carefully strained, is liable to make the jelly muddy, see that it is clear before it is added to the other ingredients. Omit the brandy when the flavour is objected to.
SHERRY.—There are several kinds of sherry, as pale and brown, and there are various degrees of each. Sherry is, in general, of an amber-colour, and, when good, has a fine aromatic odour, with something of the agreeable bitterness of the peach kernel. When new, it is harsh and fiery, and requires to be mellowed in the wood for four or five years. Sherry has of late got much into fashion in England, from the idea that it is more free from acid than other wines; but some careful experiments on wines do not fully confirm this opinion.
CANNELONS, or FRIED PUFFS.
(Sweet Entremets.)
1417. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of puff-paste No. 1205; apricot, or any kind of preserve that may be preferred; hot lard.
Mode.—Cannelons which are made of puff-paste rolled very thin, with jam inclosed, and cut out in long narrow rolls or puffs, make a very pretty and elegant dish. Make some good puff-paste, by recipe No. 1205; roll it out very thin, and cut it into pieces of an equal size, about 2 inches wide and 8 inches long; place upon each piece a spoonful of jam, wet the edges with the white of egg, and fold the paste over twice; slightly press the edges together, that the jam may not escape in the frying; and when all are prepared, fry them in boiling lard until of a nice brown, letting them remain by the side of the fire after they are coloured, that the paste may be thoroughly done. Drain them before the fire, dish on a d'oyley, sprinkle over them sifted sugar, and serve. These cannelons are very delicious made with fresh instead of preserved fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, or currants: it should be laid in the paste, plenty of pounded sugar sprinkled over, and folded and fried in the same manner as stated above.
Time.—About 10 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient,—1/2 lb. of paste for a moderate-sized dish of cannelons.
Seasonable, with jam, at any time.
CHARLOTTE-AUX-POMMES.
1418. INGREDIENTS.—A few slices of rather stale bread 1/2 inch thick, clarified butter, apple marmalade made by recipe No. 1395, with about 2 dozen apples, 1/2 glass of sherry.
[Illustration: CHARLOTTE-AUX-POMMES.]
Mode.—Cut a slice of bread the same shape as the bottom of a plain round mould, which has been well buttered, and a few strips the height of the mould, and about 1-1/2 inch wide; dip the bread in clarified butter (or spread it with cold butter, if not wanted quite so rich); place the round piece at the bottom of the mould, and set the narrow strips up the sides of it, overlapping each other a little, that no juice from the apples may escape, and that they may hold firmly to the mould. Brush the interior over with white of egg (this will assist to make the case firmer); fill it with apple marmalade made by recipe No. 1395, with the addition of a little sherry, and cover them with a round piece of bread, also brushed over with egg, the same as the bottom; slightly press the bread down, to make it adhere to the other pieces; put a plate on the top, and bake the charlotte in a brisk oven, of a light colour. Turn it out on the dish, strew sifted sugar over the top, and pour round it a little melted apricot jam.
Time.—40 to 50 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from July to March.
AN EASY METHOD OF MAKING A CHARLOTTE-AUX-POMMES.
1419. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of flour, 1/4 lb. of butter, 1/4 lb. of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoonful of baking-powder, 1 egg, milk, 1 glass of raisin-wine, apple marmalade No. 1395, 1/4 pint of cream, 2 dessertspoonfuls of pounded sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.
Mode.—Make a cake with the flour, butter, sugar, and baking-powder; moisten with the egg and sufficient milk to make it the proper consistency, and bake it in a round tin. When cold, scoop out the middle, leaving a good thickness all round the sides, to prevent them breaking; take some of the scooped-out pieces, which should be trimmed into neat slices; lay them in the cake, and pour over sufficient raisin-wine, with the addition of a little brandy, if approved, to soak them well. Have ready some apple marmalade, made by recipe No. 1395; place a layer of this over the soaked cake, then a layer of cake and a layer of apples; whip the cream to a froth, mixing with it the sugar and lemon-juice; pile it on the top of the charlotte, and garnish it with pieces of clear apple jelly. This dish is served cold, but may be eaten hot, by omitting the cream, and merely garnishing the top with bright jelly just before it is sent to table.
Time.—1 hour to bake the cake. Average cost, 2s.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from July to March.
A VERY SIMPLE APPLE CHARLOTTE.
1420. INGREDIENTS.—9 slices of bread and butter, about 6 good-sized apples, 1 tablespoonful of minced lemon-peel, 2 tablespoonfuls of juice, moist sugar to taste.
Mode.—Butter a pie-dish; place a layer of bread and butter, without the crust, at the bottom; then a layer of apples, pared, cored, and cut into thin slices; sprinkle over these a portion of the lemon-peel and juice, and sweeten with moist sugar. Place another layer of bread and butter, and then one of apples, proceeding in this manner until the dish is full; then cover it up with the peel of the apples, to preserve the top from browning or burning; bake in a brisk oven for rather more than 3/4 hour; torn the charlotte on a dish, sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve.
Time.—3/4 hour. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from July to March.
CHARLOTTE RUSSE.
(An Elegant Sweet Entremets.)
1421. INGREDIENTS.—About 18 Savoy biscuits, 3/4 pint of cream, flavouring of vanilla, liqueurs, or wine, 1 tablespoonful of pounded sugar, 1/2 oz. of isinglass.
Mode.—Procure about 18 Savoy biscuits, or ladies'-fingers, as they are sometimes called; brush the edges of them with the white of an egg, and line the bottom of a plain round mould, placing them like a star or rosette. Stand them upright all round the edge; carefully put them so closely together that the white of the egg connects them firmly, and place this case in the oven for about 5 minutes, just to dry the egg. Whisk the cream to a stiff froth, with the sugar, flavouring, and melted isinglass; fill the charlotte with it, cover with a slice of sponge-cake cut in the shape of the mould; place it in ice, where let it remain till ready for table; then turn it on a dish, remove the mould, and serve. 1 tablespoonful of liqueur of any kind, or 4 tablespoonfuls of wine, would nicely flavour the above proportion of cream. For arranging the biscuits in the mould, cut them to the shape required, so that they fit in nicely, and level them with the mould at the top, that, when turned out, there may be something firm to rest upon. Great care and attention is required in the turning out of this dish, that the cream does not burst the case; and the edges of the biscuits must have the smallest quantity of egg brushed over them, or it would stick to the mould, and so prevent the charlotte from coming away properly.
Time.—5 minutes in the oven.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 2s.
Sufficient for 1 charlotte. Seasonable at any time.
CREAM A LA VALOIS.
1422. INGREDIENTS.—4 sponge-cakes, jam, 3/4 pint of cream, sugar to taste, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/4 glass of sherry, 1-1/4 oz. of isinglass.
Mode.—Cut the sponge-cakes into thin slices; place two together, with preserve between them, and pour over them a small quantity of sherry mixed with a little brandy. Sweeten and flavour the cream with the lemon-juice and sherry; add the isinglass, which should be dissolved in a little water, and beat up the cream well. Place a little in an oiled mould; arrange the pieces of cake in the cream; then fill the mould with the remainder; let it cool, and turn it out on a dish. By oiling the mould, the cream will have a much smoother appearance, and will turn out more easily than when merely dipped in cold water.
Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a 1-1/2 pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
BOILED CUSTARDS.
1423. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, 3 oz. of loaf sugar, 3 laurel-leaves, or the rind of 4 lemon, or a few drops of essence of vanilla, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.
[Illustration: CUSTARDS IN GLASSES.]
Mode.—Put the milk into a lined saucepan, with the sugar, and whichever of the above flavourings may be preferred (the lemon-rind flavours custards most deliciously), and let the milk steep by the side of the fire until it is well flavoured. Bring it to the point of boiling, then strain it into a basin; whisk the eggs well, and, when the milk has cooled a little, stir in the eggs, and strain this mixture into a jug. Place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire; keep stirring the custard one way until it thickens; but on no account allow it to reach the boiling-point, as it will instantly curdle and be full of lumps. Take it off the fire, stir in the brandy, and, when this is well mixed with the custard, pour it into glasses, which should be rather more than three-parts full; grate a little nutmeg over the top, and the dish is ready for table. To make custards look and eat better, ducks' eggs should be used, when obtainable; they add very much to the flavour and richness, and so many are not required as of the ordinary eggs, 4 ducks' eggs to the pint of milk making a delicious custard. When desired extremely rich and good, cream should be substituted for the milk, and double the quantity of eggs used, to those mentioned, omitting the whites.
Time. 1/2 hour to infuse the lemon-rind, about 10 minutes to stir the custard. Average cost, 8d.
Sufficient to fill 8 custard-glasses. Seasonable at any time.
GINGER APPLES.
(A pretty Supper or Dessert Dish.)
1424. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 oz. of whole ginger, 1/4 pint of whiskey, 3 lbs. of apples, 2 lbs. of white sugar, the juice of 2 lemons.
Mode.—Bruise the ginger, put it into a small jar, pour over sufficient whiskey to cover it, and let it remain for 3 days; then cut the apples into thin slices, after paring and coring them; add the sugar and the lemon-juice, which should he strained; and simmer all together very gently until the apples are transparent, but not broken. Serve cold, and garnish the dish with slices of candied lemon-peel or preserved ginger.
Time.—3 days to soak the ginger; about 3/4 hour to simmer the apples very gently.
Average cost, 2s, 6d.
Sufficient for 3 dishes. Seasonable from July to March.
FRENCH PANCAKES.
1425. INGREDIENTS.—2 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, 2 oz. of flour, 1/2 pint of new milk.
Mode.—Beat the eggs thoroughly, and put them into a basin with the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; stir in the sugar and flour, and when these ingredients are well mixed, add the milk; keep stirring and beating the mixture for a few minutes; put it on buttered plates, and bake in a quick oven for 20 minutes. Serve with a cut lemon and sifted sugar, or pile the pancakes high on a dish, with a layer of preserve or marmalade between each.
Time.—20 minutes. Average cost, 7d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
DUTCH FLUMMERY.
1426. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1 pint of water, 4 eggs, 1 pint of sherry, Madeira, or raisin-wine; sifted sugar to taste.
Mode.—Put the water, isinglass, and lemon-rind into a lined saucepan, and simmer gently until the isinglass is dissolved; strain this into a basin, stir in the eggs, which should be well beaten, the lemon-juice, which should be strained, and the wine; sweeten to taste with pounded sugar, mix all well together, pour it into a jug, set this jug in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire, and keep stirring it one way until it thickens; but take care that it does not boil. Strain it into a mould that has been oiled or laid in water for a short time, and put it in a cool place to set. A tablespoonful of brandy stirred in just before it is poured into the mould, improves the flavour of this dish: it is better if made the day before it is required for table.
Time.—1/4 hour to simmer the isinglass; about 1/4 hour to stir the mixture over the fire.
Average cost, 4s. 6d., if made with sherry; less with raisin-wine.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
PALE SHERRIES are made from the same grapes as brown. The latter are coloured by an addition of some cheap must, or wine which has been boiled till it has acquired a deep-brown tint. Pale sherries were, some time ago, preferred in England, being supposed most pure; but the brown are preferred by many people. The inferior sherries exported to England are often mixed with a cheap and light wine called Moguer, and are strengthened in the making by brandy; but too frequently they are adulterated by the London dealers.
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE.
1427. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 3 oz. of the best chocolate.
Mode.—Break the eggs, separating the whites from the yolks, and put them into different basins; add to the yolks the sugar, flour, and chocolate, which should be very finely grated, and stir these ingredients for 5 minutes. Then well whisk the whites of the eggs in the other basin, until they are stiff, and, when firm, mix lightly with the yolks, till the whole forms a smooth and light substance; butter a round cake-tin, put in the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven from 15 to 20 minutes. Pin a white napkin round the tin, strew sifted sugar over the top of the soufflÉ, and send it immediately to table. The proper appearance of this dish depends entirely on the expedition with which it is served, and some cooks, to preserve its lightness, hold a salamander over the soufflÉ until it is placed on the table. If allowed to stand after it comes from the oven, it will be entirely spoiled, as it falls almost immediately.
Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for a moderate-sized soufflÉ. Seasonable at any time.
DARIOLES A LA VANILLE.
(Sweet Entremets.)
1428. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of milk, 1/2 pint of cream, 2 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 6 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, puff-paste, flavouring of essence of vanilla.
Mode.—Mix the flour to a smooth batter, with the milk; stir in the cream, sugar, the eggs, which should be well whisked, and the butter, which should be beaten to a cream. Put in some essence of vanilla, drop by drop, until the mixture is well flavoured; line some dariole-moulds with puff-paste, three-parts fill them with the batter, and bake in a good oven from 25 to 35 minutes. Turn them out of the moulds on a dish, without breaking them; strew over sifted sugar, and serve. The flavouring of the darioles may be varied by substituting lemon, cinnamon, or almonds, for the vanilla.
Time.—25 to 35 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 8d.
Sufficient to fill 6 or 7 dariole-moulds. Seasonable at any time.
CURRANT FRITTERS.
1429. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 4 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of boiled rice, 3 tablespoonfuls of currants, sugar to taste, a very little grated nutmeg, hot lard or clarified dripping.
Mode.—Put the milk into a basin with the flour, which should previously be rubbed to a smooth batter with a little cold milk; stir these ingredients together; add the well-whisked eggs, the rice, currants, sugar, and nutmeg. Beat the mixture for a few minutes, and, if not sufficiently thick, add a little more boiled rice; drop it, in small quantities, into a pan of boiling lard or clarified dripping; fry the fritters a nice brown, and, when done, drain them on a piece of blotting-paper, before the fire. Pile them on a white d'oyley, strew over sifted sugar, and serve them very hot. Send a cut lemon to table with them.
Time.—From 8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
CHOCOLATE CREAM.
1430. INGREDIENTS.—3 oz. of grated chocolate, 1/4 lb. of sugar, 1-1/2 pint of cream, 1/2 oz. of clarified isinglass, the yolks of 6 eggs.
[Illustration: CREAM-MOULD.]
Mode.—Beat the yolks of the eggs well; put them into a basin with the grated chocolate, the sugar, and 1 pint of the cream; stir these ingredients well together, pour them into a jug, and set this jug in a saucepan of boiling water; stir it one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Strain the cream through a sieve into a basin; stir in the isinglass and the other 1/2 pint of cream, which should be well whipped; mix all well together, and pour it into a mould which has been previously oiled with the purest salad-oil, and, if at hand, set it in ice until wanted for table.
Time.—About 10 minutes to stir the mixture over the fire.
Average cost, 4s. 6d, with cream at 1s. per pint.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
GENEVA WAFERS.
1431. INGREDIENTS.—2 eggs, 3 oz. of butter, 3 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of pounded sugar.
Mode.—Well whisk the eggs; put them into a basin, and stir to them the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; add the flour and sifted sugar gradually, and then mix all well together. Butter a baking-sheet, and drop on it a teaspoonful of the mixture at a time, leaving a space between each. Bake in a cool oven; watch the pieces of paste, and, when half done, roll them up like wafers, and put in a small wedge of bread or piece of wood, to keep them in shape. Return them to the oven until crisp. Before serving, remove the bread, put a spoonful of preserve in the widest end, and fill up with whipped cream. This is a very pretty and ornamental dish for the supper-table, and is very nice and very easily made.
Time.—Altogether 20 to 25 minutes.
Average cost, exclusive of the preserve and cream, 7d.
Sufficient for a nice-sized dish. Seasonable at any time.
GINGER CREAM.
1432. INGREDIENTS.—The yolks of 4 eggs, 1 pint of cream, 3 oz. of preserved ginger, 2 dessertspoonfuls of syrup, sifted sugar to taste, 1 oz. of isinglass.
Mode.—Slice the ginger finely; put it into a basin with the syrup, the well-beaten yolks of eggs, and the cream; mix these ingredients well together, and stir them over the fire for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens; then take it off the fire, whisk till nearly cold, sweeten to taste, add the isinglass, which should be melted and strained, and serve the cream in a glass dish. It may be garnished with slices of preserved ginger or candied citron.
Time.—About 10 minutes to stir the cream over the fire.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient for a good-sized dish. Seasonable at any time.
PRESERVED GINGER comes to us from the West Indies. It is made by scalding the roots when they are green and full of sap, then peeling them in cold water, and putting them into jars, with a rich syrup; in which state we receive them. It should be chosen of a bright-yellow colour, with a little transparency: what is dark-coloured, fibrous, and stringy, is not good. Ginger roots, fit for preserving, and in size equal to West Indian, have been produced in the Royal Agricultural Garden in Edinburgh.
TO MAKE GOOSEBERRY FOOL.
1433. INGREDIENTS.—Green gooseberries; to every pint of pulp add 1 pint of milk, or 1/2 pint of cream and 1/2 pint of milk; sugar to taste.
Mode.—Cut the tops and tails off the gooseberries; put them into a jar, with 2 tablespoonfuls of water and a little good moist sugar; set this jar in a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil until the fruit is soft enough to mash. When done enough, beat it to a pulp, work this pulp through a colander, and stir to every pint the above proportion of milk, or equal quantities of milk and cream. Ascertain if the mixture is sweet enough, and put in plenty of sugar, or it will not be eatable; and in mixing the milk and gooseberries, add the former very gradually to these: serve in a glass dish, or in small glasses. This, although a very old-fashioned and homely dish, is, when well made, very delicious, and, if properly sweetened, a very suitable preparation for children.
Time.—From 3/4 to 1 hour. Average cost, 6d. per pint, with milk.
Sufficient.—A pint of milk and a pint of gooseberry pulp for 5 or 6 children.
Seasonable in May and June.
GOOSEBERRY TRIFLE.
1434. INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of gooseberries, sugar to taste, 1 pint of custard No. 1423, a plateful of whipped cream.
Mode.—Put the gooseberries into a jar, with sufficient moist sugar to sweeten them, and boil them until reduced to a pulp. Put this pulp at the bottom of a trifle-dish; pour over it a pint of custard made by recipe No. 1423, and, when cold, cover with whipped cream. The cream should be whipped the day before it is wanted for table, as it will then be so much firmer and more solid. The dish may be garnished as fancy dictates.
Time.—About 3/4 hour to boil the gooseberries.
Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 trifle. Seasonable in May and June.
INDIAN FRITTERS.
1435. INGREDIENTS.—3 tablespoonfuls of flour, boiling water, the yolks of 4 eggs, the whites of 2, hot lard or clarified dripping, jam.
Mode.—Put the flour into a basin, and pour over it sufficient boiling water to make it into a stiff paste, taking care to stir and beat it well, to prevent it getting lumpy. Leave it a little time to cool, and then break into it (without beating them at first) the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 2, and stir and beat all well together. Have ready some boiling lard or butter; drop a dessertspoonful of batter in at a time, and fry the fritters of a light brown. They should rise so much as to be almost like balls. Serve on a dish, with a spoonful of preserve or marmalade dropped in between each fritter. This is an excellent dish for a hasty addition to dinner, if a guest unexpectedly arrives, it being so easily and quickly made, and it is always a great favourite.
Time.—From 5 to 8 minutes to fry the fritters.
Average cost, exclusive of the jam, 5d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
INDIAN TRIFLE.
1436. INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of milk, the rind of 1/2 large lemon, sugar to taste, 5 heaped tablespoonfuls of rice-flour, 1 oz. of sweet almonds, 1/2 pint of custard.
Mode.—Boil the milk and lemon-rind together until the former is well flavoured; take out the lemon-rind and stir in the rice-flour, which should first be moistened with cold milk, and add sufficient loaf sugar to sweeten it nicely. Boil gently for about 5 minutes, and keep the mixture stirred; take it off the fire, let it cool a little, and pour it into a glass dish. When cold, cut the rice out in the form of a star, or any other shape that may be preferred; take out the spare rice, and fill the space with boiled custard. Blanch and cut the almonds into strips; stick them over the trifle, and garnish it with pieces of brightly-coloured jelly, or preserved fruits, or candied citron.
Time.—1/4 hour to simmer the milk, 5 minutes after the rice is added.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 1 trifle.
Seasonable at any time.
[Illustration: THE CITRON.]
THE CITRON.—The citron belongs to the same species as the lemon, being considered only as a variety, the distinction between them not being very great. It is larger, and is less succulent, but more acid: with a little artificial heat, the citron comes to as great perfection in England as in Spain and Italy. The fruit is oblong and about five or six inches in length. The tree is thorny. The juice forms an excellent lemonade with sugar and water; its uses in punch, negus, and in medicine, are well known. The rind is very thick, and, when candied with sugar, forms an excellent sweetmeat. There are several varieties cultivated in England, one of which is termed the Forbidden Fruit.
ITALIAN CREAM.
1437. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of milk, 4 pint of cream, sugar to taste, 1 oz. of isinglass, 1 lemon, the yolks of 4 eggs.
Mode.—Put the cream and milk into a saucepan, with sugar to sweeten, and the lemon-rind. Boil until the milk is well flavoured then strain it into a basin, and add the beaten yolks of eggs. Put this mixture into a jug; place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire, and stir the contents until they thicken, but do not allow them to boil. Take the cream off the fire, stir in the lemon-juice and isinglass, which should be melted, and whip well; fill a mould, place it in ice if at hand, and, when set, turn it out on a dish, and garnish as taste may dictate. The mixture may be whipped and drained, and then put into small glasses, when this mode of serving is preferred.
Time.—From 5 to 8 minutes to stir the mixture in the jug.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill 1-1/2-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
THE HIDDEN MOUNTAIN.
(A pretty Supper Dish.)
1438. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, a few slices of citron, sugar to taste, 1/4 pint of cream, a layer of any kind of jam.
Mode.—Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately; then mix them and beat well again, adding a few thin slices of citron, the cream, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten it nicely. When the mixture is well beaten, put it into a buttered pan, and fry the same as a pancake; but it should be three times the thickness of an ordinary pancake. Cover it with jam, and garnish with slices of citron and holly-leaves. This dish is served cold.
Time.—About 10 minutes to fry the mixture.
Average cost, with the jam, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
JAUNEMANGE.
1439. INGREDIENTS.—1 oz. of isinglass, 1 pint of water, 1/2 pint of white wine, the rind and juice of 1 large lemon, sugar to taste, the yolks of 6 eggs.
Mode.—Put the isinglass, water, and lemon-rind into a saucepan, and boil gently until the former is dissolved; then add the strained lemon-juice, the wine, and sufficient white sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Boil for 2 or 3 minutes, strain the mixture into a jug, and add the yolks of the eggs, which should be well beaten; place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water; keep stirring the mixture one way until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil; then take it off the fire, and keep stirring until nearly cold. Pour it into a mould, omitting the sediment at the bottom of the jug, and let it remain until quite firm.
Time.—1/4 hour to boil the isinglass and water; about 10 minutes to stir the mixture in the jug.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 2s. 9d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
JELLY MOULDED WITH FRESH FRUIT, or MACEDOINE DE FRUITS.
1440. INGREDIENTS.—Rather more than 1-1/2 pint of jelly, a few nice strawberries, or red or white currants, or raspberries, or any fresh fruit that may be in season.
Mode.—Have ready the above proportion of jelly, which must be very clear and rather sweet, the raw fruit requiring an additional quantity of sugar. Select ripe, nice-looking fruit; pick off the stalks, unless currants are used, when they are laid in the jelly as they come from the tree. Begin by putting a little jelly at the bottom of the mould, which must harden; then arrange the fruit round the sides of the mould, recollecting; that it will be reversed when turned out; then pour in some more jelly to make the fruit adhere, and, when that layer is set, put another row of fruit and jelly until the mould is full. If convenient, put it in ice until required for table, then wring a cloth in boiling water, wrap it round the mould for a minute, and turn the jelly carefully out. Peaches, apricots, plums, apples, &c., are better for being boiled in a little clear syrup before they are laid in the jelly; strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, and currants are put in raw. In winter, when fresh fruits are not obtainable, a very pretty jelly may be made with preserved fruits or brandy cherries: these, in a bright and clear jelly, have a very pretty effect; of course, unless the jelly be very clear, the beauty of the dish will be spoiled. It may be garnished with the same fruit as is laid in the jelly; for instance, an open jelly with strawberries might have, piled in the centre, a few of the same fruit prettily arranged, or a little whipped cream might be substituted for the fruit.
[Illustration: JELLY MOULDED WITH CHERRIES.]
Time.—One layer of jelly should remain 2 hours in a very cool place, before another layer is added. Average cost, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient, with fruit, to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable, with fresh fruit, from June to October; with dried, at any time.
JELLY OF TWO COLOURS.
1441. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of calf's-feet jelly No. 1416, a few drops of prepared cochineal.
[Illustration: JELLY OF TWO COLOURS.]
Mode.—Make 1-1/2 pint of jelly by recipe No. 1416, or, if wished more economical, of clarified syrup and gelatine, flavouring it in any way that may be preferred. Colour one-half of the jelly with a few drops of prepared cochineal, and the other half leave as pale as possible. Have ready a mould well wetted in every part; pour in a small quantity of the red jelly, and let this set; when quite firm, pour on it the same quantity of the pale jelly, and let this set; then proceed in this manner until the mould is full, always taking care to let one jelly set before the other is poured in, or the colours would run one into the other. When turned out, the jelly should have a striped appearance. For variety, half the mould may be filled at once with one of the jellies, and, when firm, filled up with the other: this, also, has a very pretty effect, and is more expeditiously prepared than when the jelly is poured in small quantities into the mould. Blancmange and red jelly, or blancmange and raspberry cream, moulded in the above manner, look very well. The layers of blancmange and jelly should be about an inch in depth, and each layer should be perfectly hardened before another is added. Half a mould of blancmange and half a mould of jelly are frequently served in the same manner. A few pretty dishes may be made, in this way, of jellies or blancmanges left from the preceding day, by melting them separately in a jug placed in a saucepan of boiling water, and then moulding them by the foregoing directions. (See coloured plate S1.)
Time.—3/4 hour to make the jelly.
Average cost, with calf's-feet jelly, 2s.; with gelatine and syrup, more economical.
Sufficient to fill 1-1/2 pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
Note.—In making the jelly, use for flavouring a very pale sherry, or the colour will be too dark to contrast nicely with the red jelly.
LEMON BLANCMANGE.
1442. INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of milk, the yolks of 4 eggs, 3 oz. of ground rice, 6 oz. of pounded sugar, 1-1/2 oz. of fresh butter, the rind of 1 lemon, the juice of 2, 1/2 oz. of gelatine.
[Illustration: BLANCMANGE MOULD.]
Mode.—Make a custard with the yolks of the eggs and 1/2 pint of the milk, and, when done, put it into a basin: put half the remainder of the milk into a saucepan with the ground rice, fresh butter, lemon-rind, and 3 oz. of the sugar, and let these ingredients boil until the mixture is stiff, stirring them continually; when done, pour it into the bowl where the custard is, mixing both well together. Put the gelatine with the rest of the milk into a saucepan, and let it stand by the side of the fire to dissolve; boil for a minute or two, stir carefully into the basin, adding 3 oz. more of pounded sugar. When cold, stir in the lemon-juice, which should be carefully strained, and pour the mixture into a well-oiled mould, leaving out the lemon-peel, and set the mould in a pan of cold water until wanted for table. Use eggs that have rich-looking yolks; and, should the weather be very warm, rather a larger proportion of gelatine must be allowed.
Time.—Altogether, 1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill 2 small moulds. Seasonable at any time.
LEMON CREAM.
1443. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of cream, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1/4 lb. of white sugar, 1 large lemon, 1 oz. of isinglass.
[Illustration: LEMON-CREAM MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the cream into a lined saucepan with the sugar, lemon-peel, and isinglass, and simmer these over a gentle fire for about 10 minutes, stirring them all the time. Strain the cream into a jug, add the yolks of eggs, which should be well beaten, and put the jug into a saucepan of boiling water; stir the mixture one way until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil; take it off the fire, and keep stirring it until nearly cold. Strain the lemon-juice into a basin, gradually pour on it the cream, and stir it well until the juice is well mixed with it. Have ready a well-oiled mould, pour the cream into it, and let it remain until perfectly set. When required for table, loosen the edges with a small blunt knife, put a dish on the top of the mould, turn it over quickly, and the cream should easily slip away.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the cream; about 10 minutes to stir it over the fire in the jug.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, and the best isinglass, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill 1-1/2-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
ECONOMICAL LEMON CREAM.
1444. INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of milk, 8 bitter almonds, 2 oz. of gelatine, 2 large lemons, 3/4 lb. of lump sugar, the yolks of 6 eggs.
Mode.—Put the milk into a lined saucepan with the almonds, which should be well pounded in a mortar, the gelatine, lemon-rind, and lump sugar, and boil these ingredients for about 5 minutes. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, strain the milk into a jug, add the eggs, and pour the mixture backwards and forwards a few times, until nearly cold; then stir briskly to it the lemon-juice, which should be strained, and keep stirring until the cream is almost cold: put it into an oiled mould, and let it remain until perfectly set. The lemon-juice must not be added to the cream when it is warm, and should be well stirred after it is put in.
Time.—5 minutes to boil the milk. Average cost, 2s. 5d.
Sufficient to fill two 1-1/2-pint moulds. Seasonable at any time.
LEMON CREAMS.
(Very good.)
1445. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of cream, 2 dozen sweet almonds, 3 glasses of sherry, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, sugar to taste.
Mode.—Blanch and chop the almonds, and put them into a jug with the cream; in another jug put the sherry, lemon-rind, strained juice, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Pour rapidly from one jug to the other till the mixture is well frothed; then, pour it into jelly-glasses, omitting the lemon-rind. This is a very cool and delicious sweet for summer, and may be made less rich by omitting the almonds and substituting orange or raisin wine for the sherry.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 3s.
Sufficient to fill 12 glasses. Seasonable at any time.
LEMON CREAMS OF CUSTARDS.
1446. INGREDIENTS.—5 oz. of loaf sugar, 2 pints of boiling water, the rind of 1 lemon and the juice of 3, the yolks of 8 eggs.
Mode.—Make a quart of lemonade in the following manner:—Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, having previously, with part of the sugar, rubbed off the lemon-rind, and add the strained juice. Strain the lemonade into a saucepan, and add the yolks of the eggs, which should be well beaten; stir this one way over the fire until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, and serve in custard-glasses, or on a glass dish. After the boiling water is poured on the sugar and lemon, it should stand covered for about 1/2 hour before the eggs are added to it, that the flavour of the rind may be extracted.
Time.—1/2 hour to make the lemonade; about 10 minutes to stir the custard over the fire.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient to fill 12 to 14 custard-glasses. Seasonable at any time.
LEMON JELLY.
1447. INGREDIENTS.—6 lemons, 3/4 lb. of lump sugar, 1 pint of water, 1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, 1/4 pint of sherry.
Mode.—Peel 3 of the lemons, pour 1/2 pint of boiling water on the rind, and let it infuse for 1/2 hour; put the sugar, isinglass, and 1/2 pint of water into a lined saucepan, and boil these ingredients for 20 minutes; then put in the strained lemon-juice, the strained infusion of the rind, and bring the whole to the point of boiling; skim well, add the wine, and run the jelly through a bag; pour it into a mould that has been wetted or soaked in water; put it in ice, if convenient, where let it remain until required for table. Previously to adding the lemon-juice to the other ingredients, ascertain that it is very nicely strained, as, if this is not properly attended to, it is liable to make the jelly thick and muddy. As this jelly is very pale, and almost colourless, it answers very well for moulding with a jelly of any bright hue; for instance, half a jelly bright red, and the other half made of the above, would have a very good effect. Lemon jelly may also be made with calf's-feet stock, allowing the juice of 3 lemons to every pint of stock.
Time.—Altogether, 1 hour.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 2s. 9d.
Sufficient to fill 1-1/2-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
LEMON SPONGE.
1448. INGREDIENTS.—2 oz. of isinglass, 1-3/4 pint of water, 3/4 lb. of pounded sugar, the juice of 5 lemons, the rind of 1, the whites of 3 eggs.
Mode.—Dissolve the isinglass in the water, strain it into a saucepan, and add the sugar, lemon-rind, and juice. Boil the whole from 10 to 15 minutes; strain it again, and let it stand till it is cold and begins to stiffen. Beat the whites of the eggs, put them to it, and whisk the mixture till it is quite white; put it into a mould which has been previously wetted, and let it remain until perfectly set; then turn it out, and garnish it according to taste.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
LIQUEUR JELLY.
1449. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of lump sugar, 2 oz. of isinglass, 1-1/2 pint of water, the juice of 2 lemons, 1/4 pint of liqueur.
[Illustration: OVAL JELLY-MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the sugar, with 1 pint of the water, into a stewpan, and boil them gently by the side of the fire until there is no scum remaining, which must be carefully removed as fast as it rises. Boil the isinglass with the other 1/2 pint of water, and skim it carefully in the same manner. Strain the lemon-juice, and add it, with the clarified isinglass, to the syrup; put in the liqueur, and bring the whole to the boiling-point. Let the saucepan remain covered by the side of the fire for a few minutes; then pour the jelly through a bag, put it into a mould, and set the mould in ice until required for table. Dip the mould in hot water, wipe the outside, loosen the jelly by passing a knife round the edges, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Noyeau, Maraschino, CuraÇoa, brandy, or any kind of liqueur, answers for this jelly; and, when made with isinglass, liqueur jellies are usually prepared as directed above.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar and water.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
A SWEET DISH OF MACARONI.
1450. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of macaroni, 1-1/2 pint of milk, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 3 oz. of lump sugar, 3/4 pint of custard No. 1423.
Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan, with the lemon-peel and sugar; bring it to the boiling-point, drop in the macaroni, and let it gradually swell over a gentle fire, but do not allow the pipes to break. The form should be entirely preserved; and, though tender, should be firm, and not soft, with no part beginning to melt. Should the milk dry away before the macaroni is sufficiently swelled, add a little more. Make a custard by recipe No. 1423; place the macaroni on a dish, and pour the custard over the hot macaroni; grate over it a little nutmeg, and, when cold, garnish the dish with slices of candied citron.
Time.—From 40 to 50 minutes to swell the macaroni.
Average cost, with the custard, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
MERINGUES.
1451. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of pounded sugar, the whites of 4 eggs.
[Illustration: MERINGUES.]
Mode.—Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and, with a wooden spoon, stir in quickly the pounded sugar; and have some boards thick enough to put in the oven to prevent the bottom of the meringues from acquiring too much colour. Cut some strips of paper about 2 inches wide; place this paper on the board, and drop a tablespoonful at a time of the mixture on the paper, taking care to let all the meringues be the same size. In dropping it from the spoon, give the mixture the form of an egg, and keep the meringues about 2 inches apart from each other on the paper. Strew over them some sifted sugar, and bake in a moderate oven for 1/2 hour. As soon as they begin to colour, remove them from the oven; take each slip of paper by the two ends, and turn it gently on the table, and, with a small spoon, take out the soft part of each meringue. Spread some clean paper on the board, turn the meringues upside down, and put them into the oven to harden and brown on the other side. When required for table, fill them with whipped cream, flavoured with liqueur or vanilla, and sweetened with pounded sugar. Join two of the meringues together, and pile them high in the dish, as shown in the annexed drawing. To vary their appearance, finely-chopped almonds or currants may be strewn over them before the sugar is sprinkled over; and they may be garnished with any bright-coloured preserve. Great expedition is necessary in making this sweet dish; as, if the meringues are not put into the oven as soon as the sugar and eggs are mixed, the former melts, and the mixture would run on the paper, instead of keeping its egg-shape. The sweeter the meringues are made, the crisper will they be; but, if there is not sufficient sugar mixed with them, they will most likely be tough. They are sometimes coloured with cochineal; and, if kept well covered in a dry place, will remain good for a month or six weeks.
Time.—Altogether, about 1/2 hour.
Average cost, with the cream and flavouring, 1s.
Sufficient to make 2 dozen meringues. Seasonable at any time.
NOYEAU CREAM.
1452. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, the juice of 2 lemons, noyeau and pounded sugar to taste, 1-1/2 pint of cream.
Mode.—Dissolve the isinglass in a little boiling water, add the lemon-juice, and strain this to the cream, putting in sufficient noyeau and sugar to flavour and sweeten the mixture nicely; whisk the cream well, put it into an oiled mould, and set the mould in ice or in a cool place; turn it out, and garnish the dish to taste.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint and the best isinglass, 4s.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
OPEN JELLY WITH WHIPPED CREAM.
(A very pretty dish.)
1453. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of jelly, 1/2 pint of cream, 1 glass of sherry, sugar to taste.
[Illustration: OPEN JELLY WITH WHIPPED CREAM.]
Mode.—Make the above proportion of calf's-feet or isinglass jelly, colouring and flavouring it in any way that may be preferred; soak a mould, open in the centre, for about 1/2 hour in cold water; fill it with the jelly, and let it remain in a cool place until perfectly set; then turn it out on a dish; fill the centre with whipped cream, flavoured with sherry and sweetened with pounded sugar; pile this cream high in the centre, and serve. The jelly should be made of rather a dark colour, to contrast nicely with the cream.
Time.—3/4 hour. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill 1-1/2-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
ORANGE JELLY.
1454. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of water, 1-1/2 to 2 oz. of isinglass, 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, 1 Seville orange, 1 lemon, about 9 China oranges.
[Illustration: OPEN MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the water into a saucepan, with the isinglass, sugar, and the rind of 1 orange, and the same of 1/2 lemon, and stir these over the fire until the isinglass is dissolved, and remove the scum; then add to this the juice of the Seville orange, the juice of the lemon, and sufficient juice of China oranges to make in all 1 pint; from 8 to 10 oranges will yield the desired quantity. Stir all together over the fire until it is just on the point of boiling; skim well; then strain the jelly through a very fine sieve or jelly-bag, and when nearly cold, put it into a mould previously wetted, and, when quite set, turn it out on a dish, and garnish it to taste. To insure this jelly being clear, the orange-and lemon-juice should be well strained, and the isinglass clarified, before they are added to the other ingredients, and, to heighten the colour, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added.
Time.—5 minutes to boil without the juice; 1 minute after it is added.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable from November to May.
ORANGE JELLY MOULDED WITH SLICES OF ORANGE.
1455. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of orange jelly No. 1454, 4 oranges, 1 pint of clarified syrup.
Mode.—Boil 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar with 1/2 pint of water until there is no scum left (which must be carefully removed as fast as it rises), and carefully peel the oranges; divide them into thin slices, without breaking the thin skin, and put these pieces of orange into the syrup, where let them remain for about 5 minutes; then take them out, and use the syrup for the jelly, which should be made by recipe No. 1454. When the oranges are well drained, and the jelly is nearly cold, pour a little of the latter into the bottom of the mould; then lay in a few pieces of orange; over these pour a little jelly, and when this is set, place another layer of oranges, proceeding in this manner until the mould is full. Put it in ice, or in a cool place, and, before turning it out, wrap a cloth round the mould for a minute or two, which has been wrung out in boiling water.
Time.—5 minutes to simmer the oranges. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient, with the slices of orange, to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable from November to May.
TO MAKE A PLAIN OMELET.
1456. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1/3 saltspoonful of pepper, 1/4 lb. of butter.
[Illustration: OMELET.]
Mode.—Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3, and beat them up with the salt and pepper until extremely light; then add 2 oz. of the butter broken into small pieces, and stir this into the mixture. Put the other 2 oz. of butter into a frying-pan, make it quite hot, and, as soon as it begins to bubble, whisk the eggs, &c. very briskly for a minute or two, and pour them into the pan; stir the omelet with a spoon one way until the mixture thickens and becomes firm, and when the whole is set, fold the edges over, so that the omelet assumes an oval form; and when it is nicely brown on one side, and quite firm, it is done. To take off the rawness on the upper side, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two, and brown it with a salamander or hot shovel. Serve very expeditiously on a very hot dish, and never cook it until it is just wanted. The flavour of this omelet may be very much enhanced by adding minced parsley, minced onion or eschalot, or grated cheese, allowing 1 tablespoonful of the former, and half the quantity of the latter, to the above proportion of eggs. Shrimps or oysters may also be added: the latter should be scalded in their liquor, and then bearded and cut into small pieces. In making an omelet, be particularly careful that it is not too thin, and, to avoid this, do not make it in too large a frying-pan, as the mixture would then spread too much, and taste of the outside. It should also not be greasy, burnt, or too much done, and should be cooked over a gentle fire, that the whole of the substance may be heated without drying up the outside. Omelets are sometimes served with gravy; but this should never be poured over them, but served in a tureen, as the liquid causes the omelet to become heavy and flat, instead of eating light and soft. In making the gravy, the flavour should not overpower that of the omelet, and should be thickened with arrowroot or rice flour.
Time.—With 6 eggs, in a frying-pan 18 or 20 inches round, 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
HAM OMELET (A delicious Breakfast Dish.)
1457. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced ham.
Mode.—Mince the ham very finely, without any fat, and fry it for 2 minutes in a little butter; then make the batter for the omelet, stir in the ham, and proceed as directed in recipe No. 1456. Do not add any salt to the batter, as the ham is usually sufficiently salt to impart a flavour to the omelet. Good lean bacon, or tongue, answers equally well for this dish; but they must also be slightly cooked previously to mixing them with the batter. Serve very hot and quickly, without gravy.
Time.—From 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
KIDNEY OMELET (A favourite French dish.)
1458. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper, 2 sheep's kidneys, or 2 tablespoonfuls of minced veal kidney, 5 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Skin the kidneys, cut them into small dice, and toss them in a frying-pan, in 1 oz. of butter, over the fire for 2 or 3 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the omelet the same as in recipe No. 1456, and when the eggs are well whisked, stir in the pieces of kidney. Make the butter hot in the frying-pan, and when it bubbles, pour in the omelet, and fry it over a gentle fire from 4 to 6 minutes. When the eggs are set, fold the edges over, so that the omelet assumes an oval form, and be careful that it is not too much done: to brown the top, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two, or use a salamander until the desired colour is obtained, but never turn an omelet in the pan. Slip it carefully on to a very hot dish, or, what is a much safer method, put a dish on the omelet, and turn the pan quickly over. It should be served the instant it comes from the fire.
Time.—4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A PLAIN SWEET OMELET.
1459. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sifted sugar.
Mode.—Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3; whisk them well, adding the sugar and 2 oz. of the butter, which should be broken into small pieces, and stir all these ingredients well together. Make the remainder of the butter quite hot in a small frying-pan, and when it commences to bubble, pour in the eggs, &c. Keep stirring them until they begin to set; then turn the edges of the omelet over, to make it an oval shape, and finish cooking it. To brown the top, hold the pan before the fire, or use a salamander, and turn it carefully on to a very hot dish: sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve.
Time.—From 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
OMELETTE AUX CONFITURES, or JAM OMELET.
1460. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of apricot, strawberry, or any jam that may be preferred.
Mode.—Make the omelet by recipe No. 1459, only instead of doubling it over, leave it flat in the pan. When quite firm, and nicely brown on one side, turn it carefully on to a hot dish, spread over the middle of it the jam, and fold the omelet over on each side; sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve very quickly. A pretty dish of small omelets may be made by dividing the batter into 3 or 4 portions, and frying them separately; they should then be spread each one with a different kind of preserve, and the omelets rolled over. Always sprinkle sweet omelets with sifted sugar before being sent to table.
Time.—4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 2d.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
OMELETTE SOUFFLÉ.
1461. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 5 oz. of pounded sugar, flavouring of vanilla, orange-flower water, or lemon-rind, 3 oz. of butter, 1 dessert-spoonful of rice-flour.
Mode.—Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, add to the former the sugar, the rice-flour, and either of the above flavourings that may be preferred, and stir these ingredients well together. Whip the whites of the eggs, mix them lightly with the batter, and put the butter into a small frying-pan. As soon as it begins to bubble, pour the batter into it, and set the pan over a bright but gentle fire; and when the omelet is set, turn the edges over to make it an oval shape, and slip it on to a silver dish, which has been previously well buttered. Put it in the oven, and bake from 12 to 15 minutes; sprinkle finely-powdered sugar over the soufflÉ, and serve it immediately.
Time.—About 4 minutes in the pan; to bake, from 12 to 15 minutes.
Average cost. 1s.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BACHELOR'S OMELET.
1462. INGREDIENTS.—2 or 3 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 1/2 teacupful of milk.
Mode.—Make a thin cream of the flour and milk; then beat up the eggs, mix all together, and add a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne. Melt the butter in a small frying-pan, and, when very hot, pour in the batter. Let the pan remain for a few minutes over a clear fire; then sprinkle upon the omelet some chopped herbs and a few shreds of onion; double the omelet dexterously, and shake it out of the pan on to a hot dish. A simple sweet omelet can be made by the same process, substituting sugar or preserve for the chopped herbs.
Time.—2 minutes.
Average cost, 6d.
Sufficient for 2 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
ORANGE CREAM.
1463. INGREDIENTS.—1 oz. of isinglass, 6 large oranges, 1 lemon, sugar to taste, water, 1/2 pint of good cream.
[Illustration: OPEN MOULD.]
Mode.—Squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemon; strain it, and put it into a saucepan with the isinglass, and sufficient water to make in all 1-1/2 pint. Rub the sugar on the orange and lemon-rind, add it to the other ingredients, and boil all together for about 10 minutes. Strain through a muslin bag, and, when cold, beat up with it 1/2 pint of thick cream. Wet a mould, or soak it in cold water; pour in the cream, and put it in a cool place to set. If the weather is very cold, 1 oz. of isinglass will be found sufficient for the above proportion of ingredients.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the juice and water.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable from November to May.
ORANGE CREAMS.
1464. INGREDIENTS.—1 Seville orange, 1 tablespoonful of brandy, 1/4 lb. of loaf sugar, the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 pint of cream.
Mode.—Boil the rind of the Seville orange until tender, and beat it in a mortar to a pulp; add to it the brandy, the strained juice of the orange, and the sugar, and beat all together for about 10 minutes, adding the well-beaten yolks of eggs. Bring the cream to the boiling-point, and pour it very gradually to the other ingredients, and beat the mixture till nearly cold; put it into custard-cups, place the cups in a deep dish of boiling water, where let them remain till quite cold. Take the cups out of the water, wipe them, and garnish the tops of the creams with candied orange-peel or preserved chips.
Time.—Altogether, 3/4 hour.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 1s. 7d.
Sufficient to make 7 or 8 creams.
Seasonable from November to May.
Note.—To render this dish more economical, substitute milk for the cream, but add a small pinch of isinglass to make the creams firm.
SEVILLE ORANGE (Citrus vulgaris).—This variety, called also bitter orange, is of the same species as the sweet orange, and grows in great abundance on the banks of the Guadalquiver, in Andalusia, whence this fruit is chiefly obtained. In that part of Spain there are very extensive orchards of these oranges, which form the chief wealth of the monasteries. The pulp of the bitter orange is not eaten raw. In the yellow rind, separated from the white spongy substance immediately below it, is contained an essential oil, which is an agreeable warm aromatic, much superior for many purposes to that of the common orange. The best marmalade and the richest wine are made from this orange; and from its flowers the best orange-flower water is distilled. Seville oranges are also preserved whole as a sweetmeat.
ORANGE FRITTERS.
1465. INGREDIENTS.—For the batter, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk, oranges, hot lard or clarified dripping.
Mode.—Make a nice light batter with the above proportion of flour, butter, salt, eggs, and sufficient milk to make it the proper consistency; peel the oranges, remove as much of the white skin as possible, and divide each orange into eight pieces, without breaking the thin skin, unless it be to remove the pips; dip each piece of orange in the batter. Have ready a pan of boiling lard or clarified dripping; drop in the oranges, and fry them a delicate brown from 8 to 10 minutes. When done, lay them on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire, to drain away the greasy moisture, and dish them on a white d'oyley; sprinkle over them plenty of pounded sugar, and serve quickly.
Time.—8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters; 5 minutes to drain them.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from November to May.
A PRETTY DISH OF ORANGES.
1466. INGREDIENTS.—6 large oranges, 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, 1/4 pint of water, 1/2 pint of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of any kind of liqueur, sugar to taste.
Mode.—Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and boil them until the sugar becomes brittle, which may be ascertained by taking up a small quantity in a spoon, and dipping it in cold water; if the sugar is sufficiently boiled, it will easily snap. Peel the oranges, remove as much of the white pith as possible, and divide them into nice-sized slices, without breaking the thin white skin which surrounds the juicy pulp. Place the pieces of orange on small skewers, dip them into the hot sugar, and arrange them in layers round a plain mould, which should be well oiled with the purest salad-oil. The sides of the mould only should be lined with the oranges, and the centre left open for the cream. Let the sugar become firm by cooling; turn the oranges carefully out on a dish, and fill the centre with whipped cream, flavoured with any kind of liqueur, and sweetened with pounded sugar. This is an exceedingly ornamental and nice dish for the supper-table.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar. Average cost, 1s. 8d.
Sufficient for 1 mould. Seasonable from November to May.
TO MAKE PANCAKES.
1467. INGREDIENTS.—Eggs, flour, milk; to every egg allow 1 oz. of flour, about 1 gill of milk, 1/8 saltspoonful of salt.
[Illustration: PANCAKES.]
Mode.—Ascertain that the eggs are fresh; break each one separately in a cup; whisk them well, put them into a basin, with the flour, salt, and a few drops of milk, and beat the whole to a perfectly smooth batter; then add by degrees the remainder of the milk. The proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the size of the eggs, &c. &c.; but the batter, when ready for frying, should be of the consistency of thick cream. Place a small frying-pan on the fire to get hot; let it be delicately clean, or the pancakes will stick, and, when quite hot, put into it a small piece of butter, allowing about 1/2 oz. to each pancake. When it is melted, pour in the batter, about 1/2 teacupful to a pan 5 inches in diameter, and fry it for about 4 minutes, or until it is nicely brown on one side. By only pouring in a small quantity of batter, and so making the pancakes thin, the necessity of turning them (an operation rather difficult to unskilful cooks) is obviated. When the pancake is done, sprinkle over it some pounded sugar, roll it up in the pan, and take it out with a large slice, and place it on a dish before the fire. Proceed in this manner until sufficient are cooked for a dish; then send them quickly to table, and continue to send in a further quantity, as pancakes are never good unless eaten almost immediately they come from the frying-pan. The batter may be flavoured with a little grated lemon-rind, or the pancakes may have preserve rolled in them instead of sugar. Send sifted sugar and a cut lemon to table with them. To render the pancakes very light, the yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and the whites added the last thing to the batter before frying.
Time.—from 4 to 6 minutes for a pancake that does not require turning; from 6 to 8 minutes for a thicker one.
Average cost, for 3 persons, 6d.
Sufficient.—Allow 3 eggs, with the other ingredients in proportion, for 3 persons.
Seasonable at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.
RICHER PANCAKES.
1468. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 1 pint of cream, 1/4 lb. of loaf sugar, 1 glass of sherry, 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, flour.
Mode.—Ascertain that the eggs are extremely fresh, beat them well, strain and mix with them the cream, pounded sugar, wine, nutmeg, and as much flour as will make the batter nearly as thick as that for ordinary pancakes. Make the frying-pan hot, wipe it with a clean cloth, pour in sufficient batter to make a thin pancake, and fry it for about 5 minutes. Dish the pancakes piled one above the other, strew sifted sugar between each, and serve.
Time.—About 5 minutes.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 2s. 3d.
Sufficient to make 8 pancakes.
Seasonable at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.
PEACH FRITTERS.
1469. INGREDIENTS.—For the batter: 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk;—peaches, hot lard or clarified dripping.
Mode.—Make a nice smooth, batter in the same manner as directed in recipe No. 1393, and skin, halve, and stone the peaches, which should be quite ripe; dip them in the batter, and fry the pieces in hot lard or clarified dripping, which should be brought to the boiling-point before the peaches are put in. From 8 to 10 minutes will be required to fry them, and, when done, drain them before the fire, and dish them on a white d'oyley. Strew over plenty of pounded sugar, and serve.
Time.—From 8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters, 6 minutes to drain them.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable in July, August, and September.
[Illustration: PEACH.]
PEACH.—The peach and nectarine are amongst the most delicious of our fruits, and are considered as varieties of the same species produced by cultivation. The former is characterized by a very delicate down, while the latter is smooth; but, as a proof of their identity as to species, trees have borne peaches in one part and nectarines in another; and even a single fruit has had down on one side and the other smooth. The trees are almost exactly alike, as well as the blossoms. Pliny states that the peach was originally brought from Persia, where it grows naturally, from which the name of Persica was bestowed upon it by the Romans; and some modern botanists apply this as the generic name, separating them from Amygdalus, or Almond, to which Linnaeus had united them. Although they are not tropical, they require a great deal of warmth to bring them to perfection: hence they seldom ripen in this country, in ordinary seasons, without the use of walls or glass; consequently, they bear a high price. In a good peach, the flesh is firm, the skin thin, of a deep bright colour next the sun and of a yellowish green next to the wall; the pulp is yellowish, full of highly-flavoured juice, the fleshy part thick, and the stone small. Too much down is a sign of inferior quality. This fruit is much used at the dessert, and makes a delicious preserve.
PEARS A L'ALLEMANDE.
1470. INGREDIENTS.—6 to 8 pears, water, sugar, 2 oz. of butter, the yolk of an egg, 1/2 oz. of gelatine.
Mode.—Peel and cut the pears into any form that may be preferred, and steep them in cold water to prevent them turning black; put them into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover them, and boil them with the butter and enough sugar to sweeten them nicely, until tender; then brush the pears over with the yolk of an egg, sprinkle them with sifted sugar, and arrange them on a dish. Add the gelatine to the syrup, boil it up quickly for about 5 minutes, strain it over the pears, and let it remain until set. The syrup may be coloured with a little prepared cochineal, which would very much improve the appearance of the dish.
Time.—From 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to stew the pears; 5 minutes to boil the syrup.
Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for a large dish.
Seasonable from August to February.
MOULDED PEARS.
1471. INGREDIENTS.—4 large pears or 6 small ones, 8 cloves, sugar to taste, water, a small piece of cinnamon, 1/4 pint of raisin wine, a strip of lemon-peel, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 oz. of gelatine.
Mode.—Peel and cut the pears into quarters; put them into a jar with 3/4 pint of water, cloves, cinnamon, and sufficient sugar to sweeten the whole nicely; cover down the top of the jar, and bake the pears in a gentle oven until perfectly tender, but do not allow them to break. When done, lay the pears in a plain mould, which should be well wetted, and boil 1/2 pint of the liquor the pears were baked in with the wine, lemon-peel, strained juice, and gelatine. Let these ingredients boil quickly for 5 minutes, then strain the liquid warm over the pears; put the mould in a cool place, and when the jelly is firm, turn it out on a glass dish.
Time.—2 hours to bake the pears in a cool oven.
Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for a quart mould.
Seasonable from August to February
PINEAPPLE FRITTERS.
(An elegant Dish.)
1472. INGREDIENTS.—A small pineapple, a small wineglassful of brandy or liqueur, 2 oz. of sifted sugar; batter as for apple fritters No. 1393.
Mode.—This elegant dish, although it may appear extravagant, is really not so if made when pineapples are plentiful. We receive them now in such large quantities from the West Indies, that at times they may be purchased at an exceedingly low rate: it would not, of course, be economical to use the pines which are grown in our English pineries for the purposes of fritters. Pare the pine with as little waste as possible, cut it into rather thin slices, and soak these slices in the above proportion of brandy or liqueur and pounded sugar for 4 hours; then make a batter the same as for apple fritters, substituting cream for the milk, and using a smaller quantity of flour; and, when this is ready, dip in the pieces of pine, and fry them in boiling lard from 5 to 8 minutes; turn them when sufficiently brown on one side, and, when done, drain them from the lard before the fire, dish them on a white d'oyley, strew over them sifted sugar, and serve quickly.
Time.—5 to 8 minutes.
Average cost, when cheap and plentiful, 1s. 6d. for the pine.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable in July and August.
PINEAPPLE.—The pineapple has not been known in Europe above two hundred years, and has not been cultivated in England much above a century. It is stated that the first pineapples raised in Europe were by M. La Cour, of Leyden, about the middle of the 17th century; and it is said to have been first cultivated in England by Sir Matthew Decker, of Richmond. In Kensington Palace, there is a picture in which Charles II. is represented as receiving a pineapple from his gardener Rose, who is presenting it on his knees.
PLAIN FRITTERS.
1473. INGREDIENTS.—3 oz. of flour, 3 eggs, 1/3 pint of milk.
[Illustration: STAR FRITTER-MOULD.]
Mode.—Mix the flour to a smooth batter with a small quantity of the milk; stir in the eggs, which should be well whisked, and then the remainder of the milk; boat the whole to a perfectly smooth batter, and should it be found not quite thin enough, add two or three tablespoonfuls more milk. Have ready a frying-pan, with plenty of boiling lard in it; drop in rather more than a tablespoonful at a time of the batter, and fry the fritters a nice brown, turning them when sufficiently cooked on one side. Drain them well from the greasy moisture by placing them upon a piece of blotting-paper before the fire; dish them on a white d'oyley, sprinkle over them sifted sugar, and send to table with them a cut lemon and plenty of pounded sugar.
Time.—From 6 to 8 minutes.
Average cost, 4d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
POTATO FRITTERS.
1474. INGREDIENTS.—2 large potatoes, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 ditto of raisin or sweet wine, 1 dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, 4 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, hot lard.
[Illustration: SCROLL FRITTER-MOULD.]
Mode.—Boil the potatoes, and beat them up lightly with a fork, but do not use a spoon, as that would make them heavy. Beat the eggs well, leaving out one of the whites; add the other ingredients, and beat all together for at least 20 minutes, or until the batter is extremely light. Put plenty of good lard into a frying-pan, and drop a tablespoonful of the batter at a time into it, and fry the fritters a nice brown. Serve them with the following sauce:—A glass of sherry mixed with the strained juice of a lemon, and sufficient white sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Warm these ingredients, and serve the sauce separately in a tureen. The fritters should be neatly dished on a white d'oyley, and pounded sugar sprinkled over them; and they should be well drained on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire previously to being dished.
Time.—From 6 to 8 minutes.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
RASPBERRY CREAM.
1475. INGREDIENTS.—3/4 pint of milk, 3/4 pint of cream, 1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, raspberry jelly, sugar to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy.
[Illustration: RASPBERRY CREAM MOULD.]
Mode.—Boil the milk, cream, and isinglass together for 1/4 hour, or until the latter is melted, and strain it through a hair sieve into a basin. Let it cool a little; then add to it sufficient raspberry jelly, which, when melted, would make 1/3 pint, and stir well till the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. If not sufficiently sweet, add a little pounded sugar with the brandy; whisk the mixture well until nearly cold, put it into a well-oiled mould, and set it in a cool place till perfectly set. Raspberry jam may be substituted for the jelly, but must be melted, and rubbed through a sieve, to free it from seeds: in summer, the juice of the fresh fruit may be used, by slightly mashing it with a wooden spoon, and sprinkling sugar over it; the juice that flows from the fruit should then be used for mixing with the cream. If the colour should not be very good, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added to improve its appearance. (See coloured plate T1.)
Time.—1/4 hour to boil the cream and isinglass.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, and the best isinglass, 3s.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable, with jelly, at any time.
Note.—Strawberry cream may be made in precisely the same manner, substituting strawberry jam or jelly for the raspberry.
RICE BLANCMANGE.
1476. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of ground rice, 3 oz. of loaf sugar, 1 oz. of fresh butter, 1 quart of milk, flavouring of lemon-peel, essence of almonds or vanilla, or laurel-leaves.
Mode.—Mix the rice to a smooth batter with about 1/2 pint of the milk, and the remainder put into a saucepan, with the sugar, butter, and whichever of the above flavourings may be preferred; bring the milk to the boiling-point, quickly stir in the rice, and let it boil for about 10 minutes, or until it comes easily away from the saucepan, keeping it well stirred the whole time. Grease a mould with pure salad-oil; pour in the rice, and let it get perfectly set, when it should turn out quite easily; garnish it with jam, or pour round a compÔte of any kind of fruit, just before it is sent to table. This blancmange is better for being made the day before it is wanted, as it then has time to become firm. If laurel-leaves are used for flavouring, steep 3 of them in the milk, and take them out before the rice is added: about 8 drops of essence of almonds, or from 12 to 16 drops of essence of vanilla, would be required to flavour the above proportion of milk.
Time.—From 10 to 15 minutes to boil the rice.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE CROQUETTES.
1477. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of rice, 1 quart of milk, 6 oz. of pounded sugar, flavouring of vanilla, lemon-peel, or bitter almonds, egg and bread crumbs, hot lard.
Mode.—Put the rice, milk, and sugar into a saucepan, and let the former gradually swell over a gentle fire until all the milk is dried up; and just before the rice is done, stir in a few drops of essence of any of the above flavourings. Let the rice get cold; then form it into small round balls, dip them into yolk of egg, sprinkle them with bread crumbs, and fry them in boiling lard for about 10 minutes, turning them about, that they may get equally browned. Drain the greasy moisture from them, by placing them on a cloth in front of the fire for a minute or two; pile them on a white d'oyley, and send them quickly to table. A small piece of jam is sometimes introduced into the middle of each croquette, which adds very much to the flavour of this favourite dish.
Time.—From 3/4 to 1 hour to swell the rice; about 10 minutes to fry the croquettes.
Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient to make 7 or 8 croquettes.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE FRITTERS.
1478. INGREDIENTS.—6 oz. of rice, 1 quart of milk, 3 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of fresh butter 6 oz. of orange marmalade, 4 eggs.
Mode.—Swell the rice in the milk, with the sugar and butter, over a slow fire until it is perfectly tender, which will be in about 3/4 hour. When the rice is done, strain away the milk, should there be any left, and mix with it the marmalade and well-beaten eggs; stir the whole over the fire until the eggs are set; then spread the mixture on a dish to the thickness of about 1/2 inch, or rather thicker. When it is perfectly cold, cut it into long strips, dip them in a batter the same as for apple fritters, and fry them a nice brown. Dish them on a white d'oyley, strew sifted sugar over, and serve quickly.
Time.—About 3/4 hour to swell the rice; from 7 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters.
Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient to make 7 or 8 fritters.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE SNOWBALLS. (A pretty dish for Juvenile Suppers.)
1479. INGREDIENTS.—6 oz. of rice, 1 quart of milk, flavouring of essence of almonds, sugar to taste, 1 pint of custard made by recipe No. 1423.
Mode.—Boil the rice in the milk, with sugar and a flavouring of essence of almonds, until the former is tender, adding, if necessary, a little more milk, should it dry away too much. When the rice is quite soft, put it into teacups, or small round jars, and let it remain until cold; then turn the rice out on a deep glass dish, pour over a custard made by recipe No. 1423, and, on the top of each ball place a small piece of bright-coloured preserve or jelly. Lemon-peel or vanilla may be boiled with the rice instead of the essence of almonds, when either of these is preferred; but the flavouring of the custard must correspond with that of the rice.
Time.—About 3/4 hour to swell the rice in the milk.
Average cost, with the custard, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 children.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE SOUFFLE.
1480. INGREDIENTS.—3 tablespoonfuls of ground rice, 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, pounded sugar to taste, flavouring of lemon-rind, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, or anything that may be preferred, a piece of butter the size of a walnut.
Mode.—Mix the ground rice with 6 tablespoonfuls of the milk quite smoothly, and put it into a saucepan with the remainder of the milk and butter, and keep stirring it over the fire for about 1/4 hour, or until the mixture thickens. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, beat the former in a basin, and stir to them the rice and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the soufflÉ; but add this latter ingredient as sparingly as possible, as, the less sugar there is used, the lighter will be the soufflÉ. Now whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth or snow; mix them with the other preparation, and pour the whole into a soufflÉ-dish, and put it instantly into the oven; bake it about 1/2 hour in a moderate oven; take it out, hold a salamander or hot shovel over the top, sprinkle sifted sugar over it, and send the soufflÉ to table in the dish it was baked in, either with a napkin pinned round, or inclosed in a more ornamental dish. The excellence of this fashionable dish entirely depends on the proper whisking of the whites of the eggs, the manner of baking, and the expedition with which it is sent to table. SoufflÉs should be served instantly from the oven, or they will sink, and be nothing more than an ordinary pudding.
Time.—About 1/2 hour.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A SOUFFLE.
1481. INGREDIENTS.—3 heaped tablespoonfuls of potato-flour, rice-flour, arrowroot, or tapioca, 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, sifted sugar to taste, 1/4 saltspoonful of salt flavouring.
Mode.—Mix the potato-flour, or whichever one of the above ingredients is used, with a little of the milk; put it into a saucepan, with the remainder of the milk, the butter, salt, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Stir these ingredients over the fire until the mixture thickens; then take it off the fire, and let it cool a little. Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, beat the latter, and stir them into the soufflÉ batter. Now whisk the whites of the eggs to the firmest possible froth, for on this depends the excellence of the dish; stir them to the other ingredients, and add a few drops of essence of any flavouring that may be preferred; such as vanilla, lemon, orange, ginger, &c. &c. Pour the batter into a soufflÉ-dish, put it immediately into the oven, and bake for about 1/2 hour; then take it out, put the dish into another more ornamental one, such as is made for the purpose; hold a salamander or hot shovel over the soufflÉ, strew it with sifted sugar, and send it instantly to table. The secret of making a soufflÉ well, is to have the eggs well whisked, but particularly the whites, the oven not too hot, and to send it to table the moment it comes from the oven. If the soufflÉ be ever so well made, and it is allowed to stand before being sent to table, its appearance and goodness will be entirely spoiled. SoufflÉs may be flavoured in various ways, but must be named accordingly. Vanilla is one of the most delicate and recherchÉ flavourings that can be used for this very fashionable dish.
Time.—About 1/2 hour in the oven; 2 or 3 minutes to hold the salamander over.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
SNOW EGGS, or OEUFS A LA NEIGE.
(A very pretty Supper Dish.)
1482. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 3/4 pint of milk, pounded sugar to taste, flavouring of vanilla, lemon-rind, or orange-flower water.
Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan with sufficient sugar to sweeten it nicely, and the rind of 1/2 lemon. Let this steep by the side of the fire for 1/2 hour, when take out the peel; separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, and whisk the former to a perfectly stiff froth, or until there is no liquid remaining; bring the milk to the boiling-point, and drop in the snow a tablespoonful at a time, and keep turning the eggs until sufficiently cooked. Then place them on a glass dish, beat up the yolks of the eggs, stir to them the milk, add a little more sugar, and strain this mixture into a jug; place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water, and stir it one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Pour this custard over the eggs, when they should rise to the surface. They make an exceedingly pretty addition to a supper, and should be put in a cold place after being made. When they are flavoured with vanilla or orange-flower water, it is not necessary to steep the milk. A few drops of the essence of either may be poured in the milk just before the whites are poached. In making the custard, a little more flavouring and sugar should always be added.
Time.—About 2 minutes to poach the whites; 8 minutes to stir the custard.
Average cost, 8d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
STONE CREAM OF TOUS LES MOIS.
1483. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of preserve, 1 pint of milk, 2 oz. of lump sugar, 1 heaped tablespoonful of tous les mois, 3 drops of essence of cloves, 3 drops of almond-flavouring.
Mode.—Place the preserve at the bottom of a glass dish; put the milk into a lined saucepan, with the sugar, and make it boil. Mix to a smooth batter the tous les mois, with a very little cold milk; stir it briskly into the boiling milk, add the flavouring, and simmer for 2 minutes. When rather cool, but before turning solid, pour the cream over the jam, and ornament it with strips of red-currant jelly or preserved fruit.
Time.—2 minutes. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
STRAWBERRY JELLY.
1484. INGREDIENTS.—Strawberries, pounded sugar; to every pint of juice allow 1-1/4 oz. of isinglass.
Mode.—Pick the strawberries, put them into a pan, squeeze them well with a wooden spoon, add sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten them nicely, and let them remain for 1 hour, that the juice may be extracted; then add 1/2 pint of water to every pint of juice. Strain the strawberry-juice and water through a bag; measure it, and to every pint allow 1-1/4 oz. of isinglass, melted and clarified in 1/4 pint of water. Mix this with the juice; put the jelly into a mould, and set the mould in ice. A little lemon-juice added to the strawberry-juice improves the flavour of the jelly, if the fruit is very ripe; but it must be well strained before it is put to the other ingredients, or it will make the jelly muddy.
Time.—1 hour to draw the juice.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s.
Sufficient.—Allow 1-1/2 pint of jelly for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable in June, July, and August.
SWISS CREAM.
1485. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of macaroons or 6 small sponge-cakes, sherry, 1 pint of cream, 5 oz. of lump sugar, 2 large tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, the rind of 1 lemon, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 tablespoonfuls of milk.
Mode.—Lay the macaroons or sponge-cakes in a glass dish, and pour over them as much sherry as will cover them, or sufficient to soak them well. Put the cream into a lined saucepan, with the sugar and lemon-rind, and let it remain by the side of the fire until the cream is well flavoured, when take out the lemon-rind. Mix the arrowroot smoothly with the cold milk; add this to the cream, and let it boil gently for about 3 minutes, keeping it well stirred. Take it off the fire, stir till nearly cold, when add the lemon-juice, and pour the whole over the cakes. Garnish the cream with strips of angelica, or candied citron cut thin, or bright-coloured jelly or preserve. This cream is exceedingly delicious, flavoured with vanilla instead of lemon: when this flavouring is used, the sherry may be omitted, and the mixture poured over the dry cakes.
Time.—About 1/2 hour to infuse the lemon-rind; 5 minutes to boil the cream.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 3s.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE SYLLABUB.
1486. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of sherry or white wine, 1/2 grated nutmeg, sugar to taste, 1-1/2 pint of milk.
Mode.—Put the wine into a bowl, with the grated nutmeg and plenty of pounded sugar, and milk into it the above proportion of milk frothed up. Clouted cream may be laid on the top, with pounded cinnamon or nutmeg and sugar; and a little brandy may be added to the wine before the milk is put in. In some counties, cider is substituted for the wine: when this is used, brandy must always be added. Warm milk may be poured on from a spouted jug or teapot; but it must be held very high.
Average cost, 2s.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TIPSY CAKE.
1487. INGREDIENTS.—1 moulded sponge-or Savoy-cake, sufficient sweet wine or sherry to soak it, 6 tablespoonfuls of brandy, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, 1 pint of rich custard.
[Illustration: TIPSY CAKE.]
Mode.—Procure a cake that is three or four days old,—either sponge, Savoy, or rice answering for the purpose of a tipsy cake. Cut the bottom of the cake level, to make it stand firm in the dish; make a small hole in the centre, and pour in and over the cake sufficient sweet wine or sherry, mixed with the above proportion of brandy, to soak it nicely. When the cake is well soaked, blanch and cut the almonds into strips, stick them all over the cake, and pour round it a good custard, made by recipe No. 1423, allowing 8 eggs instead of 5 to the pint of milk. The cakes are sometimes crumbled and soaked, and a whipped cream heaped over them, the same as for trifles.
Time.—About 2 hours to soak the cake. Average cost, 4s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 dish. Seasonable at any time.
ALMOND.—The almond-tree is a native of warmer climates than Britain, and is indigenous to the northern parts of Africa and Asia; but it is now commonly cultivated in Italy, Spain, and the south of France. It is not usually grown in Britain, and the fruit seldom ripens in this country: it is much admired for the beauty of its blossoms. In the form of its leaves and blossoms it strongly resembles the peach-tree, and is included in the same genus by botanists; but the fruit, instead of presenting a delicious pulp like the peach, shrivels up as it ripens, and becomes only a tough coriaceous covering to the stone inclosing the eatable kernel, which is surrounded by a thin bitter skin. It flowers early in the spring, and produces fruit in August. There are two sorts of almonds,—sweet and bitter; but they are considered to be only varieties of the species; and though the qualities of the kernels are very different, they are not distinguishable by their appearance.
AN EASY WAY OF MAKING A TIPSY CAKE.
1488. INGREDIENTS.—12 stale small sponge-cakes, raisin wine, 1/2 lb. of jam, 1 pint of custard No. 1423.
Mode.—Soak the sponge-cakes, which should be stale (on this account they should be cheaper), in a little raisin wine; arrange them on a deep glass dish in four layers, putting a layer of jam between each, and pour round them a pint of custard, made by recipe No. 1423, decorating the top with cut preserved fruit.
Time.—2 hours to soak the cakes. Average cost, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 dish. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A TRIFLE.
1489. INGREDIENTS.—For the whip, 1 pint of cream, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, the whites of 2 eggs, a small glass of sherry or raisin wine. For the trifle, 1 pint of custard, made with 8 eggs to a pint of milk; 6 small sponge-cakes, or 6 slices of sponge-cake; 12 macaroons, 2 dozen ratafias, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, the grated rind of 1 lemon, a layer of raspberry or strawberry jam, 1/2 pint of sherry or sweet wine, 6 tablespoonfuls of brandy.
[Illustration: TRIFLE.]
Mode.—The whip to lay over the top of the trifle should be made the day before it is required for table, as the flavour is better, and it is much more solid than when prepared the same day. Put into a large bowl the pounded sugar, the whites of the eggs, which should be beaten to a stiff froth, a glass of sherry or sweet wine, and the cream. Whisk these ingredients well in a cool place, and take off the froth with a skimmer as fast as it rises, and put it on a sieve to drain; continue the whisking till there is sufficient of the whip, which must be put away in a cool place to drain. The next day, place the sponge-cakes, macaroons, and ratafias at the bottom of a trifle-dish; pour over them 1/2 pint of sherry or sweet wine, mixed with 6 tablespoonfuls of brandy, and, should this proportion of wine not be found quite sufficient, add a little more, as the cakes should be well soaked. Over the cakes put the grated lemon-rind, the sweet almonds, blanched and cut into strips, and a layer of raspberry or strawberry jam. Make a good custard by recipe No. 1423, using 8 instead of 5 eggs to the pint of milk, and let this cool a little; then pour it over the cakes, &c. The whip being made the day previously, and the trifle prepared, there remains nothing to do now but heap the whip lightly over the top: this should stand as high as possible, and it may be garnished with strips of bright currant jelly, crystallized sweetmeats, or flowers; the small coloured comfits are sometimes used for the purpose of garnishing a trifle, but they are now considered rather old-fashioned. (See coloured plate, V1.)
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 5s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 trifle. Seasonable at any time.
VANILLA CREAM.
1490. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of milk, the yolks of 8 eggs, 6 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of isinglass, flavouring to taste of essence of vanilla.
[Illustration: VANILLA-CREAM MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the milk and sugar into a saucepan, and let it get hot over a slow fire; beat up the yolks of the eggs, to which add gradually the sweetened milk; flavour the whole with essence of vanilla, put the mixture into a jug, and place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water. Stir the contents with a wooden spoon one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will be full of lumps. Take it off the fire; stir in the isinglass, which should be previously dissolved in about 1/4 pint of water, and boiled for 2 or 3 minutes; pour the cream into an oiled mould, put it in a cool place to set, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Instead of using the essence of vanilla, a pod may be boiled in the milk instead, until the flavour is well extracted. A pod, or a pod and a half, will be found sufficient for the above proportion of ingredients.
Time.—About 10 minutes to stir the mixture.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
VANILLE or VANILLA, is the fruit of the vanillier, a parasitical herbaceous plant, which flourishes in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. The fruit is a long capsule, thick and fleshy. Certain species of this fruit contain a pulp with a delicious perfume and flavour. Vanilla is principally imported from Mexico. The capsules for export are always picked at perfect maturity. The essence is the form in which it is used generally and most conveniently. Its properties are stimulating and exciting. It is in daily use for ices, chocolates, and flavouring confections generally.
VICTORIA SANDWICHES.
1491. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs; their weight in pounded sugar, butter, and flour; 1/4 saltspoonful of salt, a layer of any kind of jam or marmalade.
Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour and pounded sugar; stir these ingredients well together, and add the eggs, which should be previously thoroughly whisked. When the mixture has been well beaten for about 10 minutes, butter a Yorkshire-pudding tin, pour in the batter, and bake it in a moderate oven for 20 minutes. Let it cool, spread one half of the cake with a layer of nice preserve, place over it the other half of the cake, press the pieces slightly together, and then cut it into long finger-pieces; pile them in crossbars on a glass dish, and serve.
Time.—20 minutes.
Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
WHIPPED CREAM, for putting on Trifles, serving in Glasses, &c.
1492. INGREDIENTS.—To every pint of cream allow 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 1 glass of sherry or any kind of sweet white wine, the rind of 1/2 lemon, the white of 1 egg.
[Illustration: PASTRY LEAF.]
Mode.—Rub the sugar on the lemon-rind, and pound it in a mortar until quite fine, and beat up the white of the egg until quite stiff; put the cream into a large bowl, with the sugar, wine, and beaten egg, and whip it to a froth; as fast as the froth rises, take it off with a skimmer, and put it on a sieve to drain, in a cool place. This should be made the day before it is wanted, as the whip is then so much firmer. The cream should be whipped in a cool place, and in summer, over ice, if it is obtainable. A plain whipped cream may be served on a glass dish, and garnished with strips of angelica, or pastry leaves, or pieces of bright-coloured jelly: it makes a very pretty addition to the supper-table.
Time.—About 1 hour to whip the cream.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 1s. 9d.
Sufficient for 1 dish or 1 trifle.
Seasonable at any time.
WHIPPED SYLLABUBS.
1493. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of cream, 1/4 pint of sherry, half that quantity of brandy, the juice of 1/2 lemon, a little grated nutmeg, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, whipped cream the same as for trifle No. 1489.
Mode.—Mix all the ingredients together, put the syllabub into glasses, and over the top of them heap a little whipped cream, made in the same manner as for trifle No. 1489. Solid syllabub is made by whisking or milling the mixture to a stiff froth, and putting it in the glasses, without the whipped cream at the top.
Average cost, 1s. 8d.
Sufficient to fill 8 or 9 glasses.
Seasonable at any time.
THE CURE'S OMELET.
"Every one knows," says Brillat Savarin, in his "Physiology of Taste," "that for twenty years Madame RÉcamier was the most beautiful woman in Paris. It is also well known that she was exceedingly charitable, and took a great interest in every benevolent work. Wishing to consult the CurÉ of —— respecting the working of an institution, she went to his house at five o'clock in the afternoon, and was much astonished at finding him already at his dinner-table.
"Madame RÉcamier wished to retire, but the CurÉ would not hear of it. A neat white cloth covered the table; some good old wine sparkled in a crystal decanter; the porcelain was of the best; the plates had heaters of boiling water beneath them; a neatly-costumed maid-servant was in attendance. The repast was a compromise between frugality and luxury. The crawfish-soup had just been removed, and there was on the table a salmon-trout, an omelet, and a salad.
"'My dinner will tell you,' said the worthy CurÉ, with a smile, 'that it is fast-day, according to our Church's regulations.' Madame RÉcamier and her host attacked the trout, the sauce served with which betrayed a skilful hand, the countenance of the CurÉ the while showing satisfaction.
"And now they fell upon the omelet, which was round, sufficiently thick, and cooked, so to speak, to a hair's-breadth.
"As the spoon entered the omelet, a thick rich juice issued from it, pleasant to the eye as well as to the smell; the dish became full of it; and our fair friend owns that, between the perfume and the sight, it made her mouth water.
"'It is an omelette au thon' (that is to say, a tunny omelet), said the CurÉ, noticing, with the greatest delight, the emotion of Madame RÉcamier, 'and few people taste it without lavishing praises on it.'
"'It surprises me not at all,' returned the beauty; 'never has so enticing an omelet met my gaze at any of our lay tables.'
"'My cook understands them well, I think.'
"'Yes,' added Madame, 'I never ate anything so delightful.'"
Then came the salad, which Savarin recommends to all who place confidence in him. It refreshes without exciting; and he has a theory that it makes people younger.
Amidst pleasant converse the dessert arrived. It consisted of three apples, cheese, and a plate of preserves; and then upon a little round table was served the Mocha coffee, for which France has been, and is, so justly famous.
"'I never,' said the CurÉ, 'take spirits; I always offer liqueurs to my guests but reserve the use of them, myself, to my old age, if it should please Providence to grant me that.'
"Finally, the charming Madame RÉcamier took her leave, and told all her friends of the delicious omelet which she had seen and partaken of."
And Brillat Savarin, in his capacity as the Layard of the concealed treasures of Gastronomia, has succeeded in withdrawing from obscurity the details of the preparation of which so much had been said, and which he imagines to be as wholesome as it was agreeable.
Here follows the recipe:—
OMELETTE AU THON.
1494. Take, for 6 persons, the roes of 2 carp; [Footnote: An American writer says he has followed this recipe, substituting pike, shad, &c., in the place of carp, and can recommend all these also, with a quiet conscience. Any fish, indeed, may be used with success.] bleach them, by putting them, for 5 minutes, in boiling water slightly salted. Take a piece of fresh tunny about the size of a hen's egg, to which add a small shalot already chopped; hash up together the roe and the tunny, so as to mix them well, and throw the whole into a saucepan, with a sufficient quantity of very good butter: whip it up until the butter is melted! This constitutes the specialty of the omelet. Take a second piece of butter, À discrÉtion, mix it with parsley and herbs, place it in a long-shaped dish destined to receive the omelet; squeeze the juice of a lemon over it, and place it on hot embers. Beat up 12 eggs (the fresher the better); throw up the sautÉ of roe and tunny, stirring it so as to mix all well together; then make your omelet in the usual manner, endeavouring to turn it out long, thick, and soft. Spread it carefully on the dish prepared for it, and serve at once. This dish ought to be reserved for recherchÉ dÉjeÛners, or for assemblies where amateurs meet who know how to eat well; washed down with a good old wine, it will work wonders.
Note.—The roe and the tunny must be beaten up (sautÉ) without allowing them to boil, to prevent their hardening, which would prevent them mixing well with the eggs. Your dish should be hollowed towards the centre, to allow the gravy to concentrate, that it may be helped with a spoon. The dish ought to be slightly heated, otherwise the cold china will extract all the heat from the omelet.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXX.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON PRESERVES, CONFECTIONARY, ICES, AND DESSERT DISHES.
PRESERVES.
1495. From the nature of vegetable substances, and chiefly from their not passing so rapidly into the putrescent state as animal bodies, the mode of preserving them is somewhat different, although the general principles are the same. All the means of preservation are put in practice occasionally for fruits and the various parts of vegetables, according to the nature of the species, the climate, the uses to which they are applied, &c. Some are dried, as nuts, raisins, sweet herbs, &c.; others are preserved by means of sugar, such as many fruits whose delicate juices would be lost by drying; some are preserved by means of vinegar, and chiefly used as condiments or pickles; a few also by salting, as French beans; while others are preserved in spirits. We have, however, in this place to treat of the best methods of preserving fruits. Fruit is a most important item in the economy of health; the epicurean can scarcely be said to have any luxuries without it; therefore, as it is so invaluable, when we cannot have it fresh, we must have it preserved. It has long been a desideratum to preserve fruits by some cheap method, yet by such as would keep them fit for the various culinary purposes, as making tarts and other similar dishes. The expense of preserving them with sugar is a serious objection; for, except the sugar is used in considerable quantities, the success is very uncertain. Sugar also overpowers and destroys the sub-acid taste so desirable in many fruits: these which are preserved in this manner are chiefly intended for the dessert. Fruits intended for preservation should be gathered in the morning, in dry weather, with the morning sun upon them, if possible; they will then have their fullest flavour, and keep in good condition longer than when gathered at any other time. Until fruit can be used, it should be placed in the dairy, an ice-house, or a refrigerator. In an icehouse it will remain fresh and plump for several days. Fruit gathered in wet or foggy weather will soon be mildewed, and be of no service for preserves.
1496. Having secured the first and most important contribution to the manufacture of preserves,—the fruit, the next consideration is the preparation of the syrup in which the fruit is to be suspended; and this requires much care. In the confectioner's art there is a great nicety in proportioning the degree of concentration of the syrup very exactly to each particular case; and they know this by signs, and express it by certain technical terms. But to distinguish these properly requires very great attention and considerable experience. The principal thing to be acquainted with is the fact, that, in proportion as the syrup is longer boiled, its water will become evaporated, and its consistency will be thicker. Great care must be taken in the management of the fire, that the syrup does not boil over, and that the boiling is not carried to such an extent as to burn the sugar.
1497. The first degree of consistency is called the thread, which is subdivided into the little and great thread. If you dip the finger into the syrup and apply it to the thumb, the tenacity of the syrup will, on separating the finger and thumb, afford a thread, which shortly breaks: this is the little thread. If the thread, from the greater tenacity, and, consequently, greater strength of the syrup, admits of a greater extension of the finger and thumb, it is called the great thread. There are half a dozen other terms and experiments for testing the various thickness of the boiling sugar towards the consistency called caramel; but that degree of sugar-boiling belongs to the confectioner. A solution of sugar prepared by dissolving two parts of double-refined sugar (the best sugar is the most economical for preserves) in one of water, and boiling this a little, affords a syrup of the right degree of strength, and which neither ferments nor crystallizes. This appears to be the degree called smooth by the confectioners, and is proper to be used for the purposes of preserves. The syrup employed should sometimes be clarified, which is done in the following manner:—Dissolve 2 lbs. of loaf sugar in a pint of water; add to this solution the white of an egg, and beat it well. Put the preserving-pan upon the fire with the solution; stir it with a wooden spatula, and, when it begins to swell and boil up, throw in some cold water or a little oil, to damp the boiling; for, as it rises suddenly, if it should boil over, it would take fire, being of a very inflammable nature. Let it boil up again; then take it off, and remove carefully the scum that has risen. Boil the solution again, throw in a little more cold water, remove the scum, and so on for three or four times successively; then strain it. It is considered to be sufficiently boiled when some taken up in a spoon pours out like oil.
1498. Although sugar passes so easily into the state of fermentation, and is, in fact, the only substance capable of undergoing the vinous stage of that process, yet it will not ferment at all if the quantity be sufficient to constitute a very strong syrup: hence, syrups are used to preserve fruits and other vegetable substances from the changes they would undergo if left to themselves. Before sugar was in use, honey was employed to preserve many vegetable productions, though this substance has now given way to the juice of the sugar-cane.
1499. The fruits that are the most fit for preservation in syrup are, apricots, peaches, nectarines, apples, greengages, plums of all kinds, and pears. As an example, take some apricots not too ripe, make a small slit at the stem end, and push out the stone; simmer them in water till they are softened and about half done, and afterwards throw them into cold water. When they have cooled, take them out and drain them. Put the apricots into the pie-serving-pan with sufficient syrup to cover them; let them boil up three or four times, and then skim them; remove them from the fire, pour them into an earthen pan, and let them cool till next day. Boil them up three days successively, skimming each time, and they will then be finished and in a state fit to be put into pots for use. After each bailing, it is proper to examine into the state of the syrup when cold; if too thin, it will bear additional boiling; if too thick, it may be lowered with more syrup of the usual standard. The reason why the fruit is emptied out of the preserving-pan into an earthen pan is, that the acid of the fruit acts upon the copper, of which the preserving-pans are usually made. From this example the process of preserving fruits by syrup will be easily comprehended. The first object is to soften the fruit by blanching or boiling it in water, in order that the syrup by which it is preserved may penetrate through its substance.
1500. Many fruits, when preserved by boiling, lose much of their peculiar and delicate flavour, as, for instance, pine-apples; and this inconvenience may, in some instances, be remedied by preserving them without heat. Cut the fruit in slices about one fifth of an inch thick, strew powdered loaf sugar an eighth of an inch thick on the bottom of a jar, and put the slices on it. Put more sugar on this, and then another layer of the slices, and so on till the jar is full. Place the jar with the fruit up to the neck in boiling water, and keep it there till the sugar is completely dissolved, which may take half an hour, removing the scum as it rises. Lastly, tie a wet bladder over the mouth of the jar, or cork and wax it.
1501. Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be converted into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup, and then drying them in a stove or very moderate oven, adding to them a quantity of powdered loaf sugar, which will gradually penetrate the fruit, while the fluid parts of the syrup gently evaporate. They should be dried in the stove or oven on a sieve, and turned every six or eight hours, fresh powdered sugar being sifted over them every time they are turned. Afterwards, they are to be kept in a dry situation, in drawers or boxes. Currants and cherries preserved whole in this manner, in bunches, are extremely elegant, and have a fine flavour. In this way it is, also, that orange and lemon chips are preserved.
1502. Marmalades, jams, and fruit pastes are of the same nature, and are now in very general request. They are prepared without difficulty, by attending to a very few directions; they are somewhat expensive, but may be kept without spoiling for a considerable time. Marmalades and jams differ little from each other: they are preserves of a half-liquid consistency, made by boiling the pulp of fruits, and sometimes part of the rinds, with sugar. The appellation of marmalade is applied to those confitures which are composed of the firmer fruits, as pineapples or the rinds of oranges; whereas jams are made of the more juicy berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, currants, mulberries, &c. Fruit pastes are a kind of marmalades, consisting of the pulp of fruits, first evaporated to a proper consistency, and afterwards boiled with sugar. The mixture is then poured into a mould, or spread on sheets of tin, and subsequently dried in the oven or stove till it has acquired the state of a paste. From a sheet of this paste, strips may be cut and formed into any shape that may be desired, as knots, rings, &c. Jams require the same care and attention in the boiling as marmalade; the slightest degree of burning communicates a disagreeable empyreumatic taste, and if they are not boiled sufficiently, they will not keep. That they may keep, it is necessary not to be sparing of sugar.
1503. In all the operations for preserve-making, when the preserving-pan is used, it should not be placed on the fire, but on a trivet, unless the jam is made on a hot plate, when this is not necessary. If the pan is placed close on to the fire, the preserve is very liable to burn, and the colour and flavour be consequently spoiled.
1504. Fruit jellies are compounds of the juices of fruits combined with sugar, concentrated, by boiling, to such a consistency that the liquid, upon cooling, assumes the form of a tremulous jelly.
1505. Before fruits are candied, they must first be boiled in syrup, after which they are taken out and dried on a stove, or before the fire; the syrup is then to be concentrated, or boiled to a candy height, and the fruit dipped in it, and again laid on the stove to dry and candy: they are then to be put into boxes, and kept dry.
1506. Conserves consist of fresh vegetable matters beat into a uniform mass with refined sugar, and they are intended to preserve the virtues and properties of recent flowers, leaves, roots, peels, or fruits, unaltered, and as near as possible to what they were when fresh gathered, and to give them an agreeable taste.
1507. The last-mentioned, but not the least-important preparation of fruit, is the compÔte, a confiture made at the moment of need, and with much less sugar than would be ordinarily put to preserves. They are most wholesome things, suitable to most stomachs which cannot accommodate themselves to raw fruit or a large portion of sugar: they are the happy medium, and far better than ordinary stewed fruit.
CONFECTIONARY.
1508. In speaking of confectionary, it should be remarked that all the various preparations above named come, strictly speaking, under that head; for the various fruits, flowers, herbs, roots, and juices, which, when boiled with sugar, were formerly employed in pharmacy as well as for sweetmeats, were called confections, from the Latin word conficere, 'to make up;' but the term confectionary embraces a very large class indeed of sweet food, many kinds of which should not be attempted in the ordinary cuisine. The thousand and one ornamental dishes that adorn the tables of the wealthy should be purchased from the confectioner: they cannot profitably be made at home. Apart from these, cakes, biscuits, and tarts, &c., the class of sweetmeats called confections may be thus classified:—1. Liquid confects, or fruits either whole or in pieces, preserved by being immersed in a fluid transparent syrup; as the liquid confects of apricots, green citrons, and many foreign fruits. 2. Dry confects are those which, after having been boiled in the syrup, are taken out and put to dry in an oven, as citron and orange-peel, &c. 3. Marmalade, jams, and pastes, a kind of soft compounds made of the pulp of fruits or other vegetable substances, beat up with sugar or honey; such as oranges, apricots, pears, &c. 4. Jellies are the juices of fruits boiled with sugar to a pretty thick consistency, so as, upon cooling, to form a trembling jelly; as currant, gooseberry, apple jelly, &c. 5. Conserves are a kind of dry confects, made by beating up flowers, fruits, &c., with sugar, not dissolved. 6. Candies are fruits candied over with sugar after having been boiled in the syrup.
DESSERT DISHES.
1509. With moderns the dessert is not so profuse, nor does it hold the same relationship to the dinner that it held with the ancients,—the Romans more especially. On ivory tables they would spread hundreds of different kinds of raw, cooked, and preserved fruits, tarts and cakes, as substitutes for the more substantial comestibles with which the guests were satiated. However, as late as the reigns of our two last Georges, fabulous sums were often expended upon fanciful desserts. The dessert certainly repays, in its general effect, the expenditure upon it of much pains; and it may be said, that if there be any poetry at all in meals, or the process of feeding, there is poetry in the dessert, the materials for which should be selected with taste, and, of course, must depend, in a great measure, upon the season. Pines, melons, grapes, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, apples, pears, oranges, almonds, raisins, figs, walnuts, filberts, medlars, cherries, &c. &c., all kinds of dried fruits, and choice and delicately-flavoured cakes and biscuits, make up the dessert, together with the most costly and recherchÉ wines. The shape of the dishes varies at different periods, the prevailing fashion at present being oval and circular dishes on stems. The patterns and colours are also subject to changes of fashion; some persons selecting china, chaste in pattern and colour; others, elegantly-shaped glass dishes on stems, with gilt edges. The beauty of the dessert services at the tables of the wealthy tends to enhance the splendour of the plate. The general mode of putting a dessert on table, now the elegant tazzas are fashionable, is, to place them down the middle of the table, a tall and short dish alternately; the fresh fruits being arranged on the tall dishes, and dried fruits, bon-bons, &c., on small round or oval glass plates. The garnishing needs especial attention, as the contrast of the brilliant-coloured fruits with nicely-arranged foliage is very charming. The garnish par excellence for dessert is the ice-plant; its crystallized dewdrops producing a marvellous effect in the height of summer, giving a most inviting sense of coolness to the fruit it encircles. The double-edged mallow, strawberry, and vine leaves have a pleasing effect; and for winter desserts, the bay, cuba, and laurel are sometimes used. In town, the expense and difficulty of obtaining natural foliage is great, but paper and composite leaves are to be purchased at an almost nominal price. Mixed fruits of the larger sort are now frequently served on one dish. This mode admits of the display of much taste in the arrangement of the fruit: for instance, a pine in the centre of the dish, surrounded with large plums of various sorts and colours, mixed with pears, rosy-cheeked apples, all arranged with a due regard to colour, have a very good effect. Again, apples and pears look well mingled with plums and grapes, hanging from the border of the dish in a nÉgligÉ sort of manner, with a large bunch of the same fruit lying on the top of the apples. A dessert would not now be considered complete without candied and preserved fruits and confections. The candied fruits may be purchased at a less cost than they can be manufactured at home. They are preserved abroad in most ornamental and elegant forms. And since, from the facilities of travel, we have become so familiar with the tables of the French, chocolate in different forms is indispensable to our desserts.
ICES.
510. Ices are composed, it is scarcely necessary to say, of congealed cream or water, combined sometimes with liqueurs or other flavouring ingredients, or more generally with the juices of fruits. At desserts, or at some evening parties, ices are scarcely to be dispensed with. The principal utensils required for making ice-creams are ice-tubs, freezing-pots, spaddles, and a cellaret. The tub must be large enough to contain about a bushel of ice, pounded small, when brought out of the ice-house, and mixed very carefully with either salt, nitre, or soda. The freezing-pot is best made of pewter. If it be of tin, as is sometimes the case, the congelation goes on too rapidly in it for the thorough intermingling of its contents, on which the excellence of the ice greatly depends. The spaddle is generally made of copper, kept bright and clean. The cellaret is a tin vessel, in which ices are kept for a short time from dissolving. The method to be pursued in the freezing process must be attended to. When the ice-tub is prepared with fresh-pounded ice and salt, the freezing-pot is put into it up to its cover. The articles to be congealed are then poured into it and covered over; but to prevent the ingredients from separating and the heaviest of them from falling to the bottom of the mould, it is requisite to turn the freezing-pot round and round by the handle, so as to keep its contents moving until the congelation commences. As soon as this is perceived (the cover of the pot being occasionally taken off for the purpose of noticing when freezing takes place), the cover is immediately closed over it, ice is put upon it, and it is left in this state till it is served. The use of the spaddle is to stir up and remove from the sides of the freezing pot the cream, which in the shaking may have washed against it, and by stirring it in with the rest, to prevent waste of it occurring. Any negligence in stirring the contents of the freezing-pot before congelation takes place, will destroy the whole: either the sugar sinks to the bottom and leaves the ice insufficiently sweetened, or lumps are formed, which disfigure and discolour it.
1511. The aged, the delicate, and children should abstain from ices or iced beverages; even the strong and healthy should partake of them in moderation. They should be taken immediately after the repast, or some hours after, because the taking these substances during the process of digestion is apt to provoke indisposition. It is necessary, then, that this function should have scarcely commenced, or that it should be completely finished, before partaking of ices. It is also necessary to abstain from them when persons are very warm, or immediately after taking violent exercise, as in some cases they have produced illnesses which have ended fatally.
[Do ladies know to whom they are indebted for the introduction of ices, which all the fair sex are passionately fond of?—To Catherine de' Medici. Will not this fact cover a multitude of sins committed by the instigator of St. Bartholomew ?]
at butter is extracted from cream, or from unskimmed milk, by the churn. Of course it partakes of the qualities of the milk, and winter butter is said not to be so good as spring butter.
A word of caution is necessary about rancid butter. Nobody eats it on bread, but it is sometimes used in cooking, in forms in which the acidity can be more or less disguised. So much the worse; it is almost poisonous, disguise it as you may. Never, under any exigency whatever, be tempted into allowing butter with even a soupÇon of "turning" to enter into the composition of any dish that appears on your table. And, in general, the more you can do without the employment of butter that has been subjected to the influence of heat, the better. The woman of modern times is not a "leech;" but she might often keep the "leech" from the door, if she would give herself the trouble to invent innocent sauces.
BUTTER-MOULDS, for Moulding Fresh Butter.
[Illustration: DISH OF ROLLED BUTTER.]
1634. Butter-moulds, or wooden stamps for moulding fresh butter, are much used, and are made in a variety of forms and shapes. In using them, let them be kept scrupulously clean, and before the butter is pressed in, the interior should be well wetted with cold water; the butter must then be pressed in, the mould opened, and the perfect shape taken out. The butter may be then dished, and garnished with a wreath of parsley, if for a cheese course; if for breakfast, put it into an ornamental butter-dish, with a little water at the bottom, should the weather be very warm.
CURLED BUTTER.
1635. Tie a strong cloth by two of the corners to an iron hook in the wall; make a knot with the other two ends, so that a stick might pass through. Put the butter into the cloth; twist it tightly over a dish, into which the butter will fall through the knot, so forming small and pretty little strings. The butter may then be garnished with parsley, if to serve with a cheese course; or it may be sent to table plain for breakfast, in an ornamental dish. Squirted butter for garnishing hams, salads, eggs, &c., is made by forming a piece of stiff paper in the shape of a cornet, and squeezing the butter in fine strings from the hole at the bottom. Scooped butter is made by dipping a teaspoon or scooper in warm water, and then scooping the butter quickly and thin. In warm weather, it would not be necessary to heat the spoon.
BUTTER may be kept fresh for ten or twelve days by a very simple process. Knead it well in cold water till the buttermilk is extracted; then put it in a glazed jar, which invert in another, putting into the latter a sufficient quantity of water to exclude the air. Renew the water every day.
FAIRY BUTTER.
1636. INGREDIENTS.—The yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 tablespoonful of orange-flower water, 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, 1/4 lb. of good fresh butter.
Mode.—Beat the yolks of the eggs smoothly in a mortar, with the orange-flower water and the sugar, until the whole is reduced to a fine paste; add the butter, and force all through an old but clean cloth by wringing the cloth and squeezing the butter very hard. The butter will then drop on the plate in large and small pieces, according to the holes in the cloth. Plain butter may be done in the same manner, and is very quickly prepared, besides having a very good effect.
BUTTER.—White-coloured butter is said not to be so good as the yellow; but the yellow colour is often artificially produced, by the introduction of colouring matter into the churn.
ANCHOVY BUTTER.
1637. INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of butter allow 6 anchovies, 1 small bunch of parsley.
Mode.—Wash, bone, and pound the anchovies well in a mortar; scald the parsley, chop it, and rub through a sieve; then pound all the ingredients together, mix well, and make the butter into pats immediately. This makes a pretty dish, if fancifully moulded, for breakfast or supper, and should be garnished with parsley.
Average cost, 1s. 8d.
Sufficient to make 2 dishes, with 4 pats each.
Seasonable at any time.
CHEESE.
1638. In families where much cheese is consumed, and it is bought in large quantities, a piece from the whole cheese should be cut, the larger quantity spread with a thickly-buttered sheet of white paper, and the outside occasionally wiped. To keep cheeses moist that are in daily use, when they come from table a damp cloth should be wrapped round them, and the cheese put into a pan with a cover to it, in a cool but not very dry place. To ripen cheeses, and bring them forward, put them into a damp cellar; and, to check too large a production of mites, spirits may be poured into the parts affected. Pieces of cheese which are too near the rind, or too dry to put on table, may be made into Welsh rare-bits, or grated down and mixed with macaroni. Cheeses may be preserved in a perfect state for years, by covering them with parchment made pliable by soaking in water, or by rubbing them over with a coating of melted fat. The cheeses selected should be free from cracks or bruises of any kind.
CHEESE.—It is well known that some persons like cheese in a state of decay, and even "alive." There is no accounting for tastes, and it maybe hard to show why mould, which is vegetation, should not be eaten as well as salad, or maggots as well as eels. But, generally speaking, decomposing bodies are not wholesome eating, and the line must be drawn somewhere.
STILTON CHEESE.
[Illustration: STILTON CHEESE.]
1639. Stilton cheese, or British Parmesan, as it is sometimes called, is generally preferred to all other cheeses by those whose authority few will dispute. Those made in May or June are usually served at Christmas; or, to be in prime order, should be kept from 10 to 12 months, or even longer. An artificial ripeness in Stilton cheese is sometimes produced by inserting a small piece of decayed Cheshire into an aperture at the top. From 3 weeks to a month is sufficient time to ripen the cheese. An additional flavour may also be obtained by scooping out a piece from the top, and pouring therein port, sherry, Madeira, or old ale, and letting the cheese absorb these for 2 or 3 weeks. But that cheese is the finest which is ripened without any artificial aid, is the opinion of those who are judges in these matters. In serving a Stilton cheese, the top of it should be cut off to form a lid, and a napkin or piece of white paper, with a frill at the top, pinned round. When the cheese goes from table, the lid should be replaced.
MODE OF SERVING CHEESE.
[Illustration: CHEESE-GLASS.]
1640. The usual mode of serving cheese at good tables is to cut a small quantity of it into neat square pieces, and to put them into a glass cheese-dish, this dish being handed round. Should the cheese crumble much, of course this method is rather wasteful, and it may then be put on the table in the piece, and the host may cut from it. When served thus, the cheese must always be carefully scraped, and laid on a white d'oyley or napkin, neatly folded. Cream cheese is often served in a cheese course, and, sometimes, grated Parmesan: the latter should he put into a covered glass dish. Rusks, cheese-biscuits, pats or slices of butter, and salad, cucumber, or water-cresses, should always form part of a cheese course.
SMOKING CHEESES.—The Romans smoked their cheeses, to give them a sharp taste. They possessed public places expressly for this use, and subject to police regulations which no one could evade.
A celebrated gourmand remarked that a dinner without cheese is like a woman with one eye.
CHEESE SANDWICHES.
1641. INGREDIENTS.—Slices of brown bread-and-butter, thin slices of cheese.
Mode.—Cut from a nice fat Cheshire, or any good rich cheese, some slices about 1/2 inch thick, and place them between some slices of brown bread-and-butter, like sandwiches. Place them on a plate in the oven, and, when the bread is toasted, serve on a napkin very hot and very quickly.
Time.—10 minutes in a brisk oven.
Average cost, 1-1/2d. each sandwich.
Sufficient.—Allow a sandwich for each person.
Seasonable at any time.
CHEESE.—One of the most important products of coagulated milk is cheese. Unfermented, or cream-cheese, when quite fresh, is good for subjects with whom milk does not disagree; but cheese, in its commonest shape, is only fit for sedentary people as an after-dinner stimulant, and in very small quantity. Bread and cheese, as a meal, is only fit for soldiers on march or labourers in the open air, who like it because it "holds the stomach a long time."
CAYENNE CHEESES.
1642. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of grated cheese, 1/3 teaspoonful of cayenne, 1/3 teaspoonful of salt; water.
Mode.—Rub the butter in the flour; add the grated cheese, cayenne. and salt; and mix these ingredients well together. Moisten with sufficient water to make the whole into a paste; roll out, and cut into fingers about 4 inches in length. Bake them in a moderate oven a very light colour, and serve very hot.
Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A FONDUE.
1643. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, the weight of 2 in Parmesan or good Cheshire cheese, the weight of 2 in butter; pepper and salt to taste.
Mode.—Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs; beat the former in a basin, and grate the cheese, or cut it into very thin flakes. Parmesan or Cheshire cheese may be used, whichever is the most convenient, although the former is considered more suitable for this dish; or an equal quantity of each may be used. Break the butter into small pieces, add it to the other ingredients, with sufficient pepper and salt to season nicely, and beat the mixture thoroughly. Well whisk the whites of the eggs, stir them lightly in, and either bake the fondue in a soufflÉ-dish or small round cake-tin. Fill the dish only half full, as the fondue should rise very much. Pin a napkin round the tin or dish, and serve very hot and very quickly. If allowed to stand after it is withdrawn from the oven, the beauty and lightness of this preparation will be entirely spoiled.
Time.—From 15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BRILLAT SAVARIN'S FONDUE.
(An excellent Recipe.)
1644. INGREDIENTS.—Eggs, cheese, butter, pepper and salt.
Mode.—Take the same number of eggs as there are guests; weigh the eggs in the shell, allow a third of their weight in GruyÈre cheese, and a piece of butter one-sixth of the weight of the cheese. Break the eggs into a basin, beat them well; add the cheese, which should be grated, and the butter, which should be broken into small pieces. Stir these ingredients together with a wooden spoon; put the mixture into a lined saucepan, place it over the fire, and stir until the substance is thick and soft. Put in a little salt, according to the age of the cheese, and a good sprinkling of pepper, and serve the fondue on a very hot silver or metal plate. Do not allow the fondue to remain on the fire after the mixture is set, as, if it boils, it will be entirely spoiled. Brillat Savarin recommends that some choice Burgundy should he handed round with this dish. We have given this recipe exactly as he recommends it to be made; but we have tried it with good Cheshire cheese, and found it answer remarkably well.
Time.—About 4 minutes to set the mixture.
Average cost for 4 persons, 10d.
Sufficient.—Allow 1 egg, with the other ingredients in proportion, for one person.
Seasonable at any time.
MACARONI, as usually served with the CHEESE COURSE.
I.
1645. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of pipe macaroni, 1/4 lb. of butter, 6 oz. of Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of milk, 2 pints of water, bread crumbs.
Mode.—Put the milk and water into a saucepan with sufficient salt to flavour it; place it on the fire, and, when it boils quickly, drop in the macaroni. Keep the water boiling until it is quite tender; drain the macaroni, and put it into a deep dish. Have ready the grated cheese, either Parmesan or Cheshire; sprinkle it amongst the macaroni and some of the butter cut into small pieces, reserving some of the cheese for the top layer. Season with a little pepper, and cover the top layer of cheese with some very fine bread crumbs. Warm, without oiling, the remainder of the butter, and pour it gently over the bread crumbs. Place the dish before a bright fire to brown the crumbs; turn it once or twice, that it may be equally coloured, and serve very hot. The top of the macaroni may be browned with a salamander, which is even better than placing it before the fire, as the process is more expeditious; but it should never be browned in the oven, as the butter would oil, and so impart a very disagreeable flavour to the dish. In boiling the macaroni, let it be perfectly tender but firm, no part beginning to melt, and the form entirely preserved. It may be boiled in plain water, with a little salt instead of using milk, but should then have a small piece of butter mixed with it.
Time.—1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to brown it before the fire.
Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.
Note.—Riband macaroni may be dressed in the same manner, but does not require boiling so long a time.
II.
1646. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of pipe or riband macaroni, 1/2 pint of milk, 1/2 pint of veal or beef gravy, the yolks of 2 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, 3 oz. of grated Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, 1 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Wash the macaroni, and boil it in the gravy and milk until quite tender, without being broken. Drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Beat the yolks of the eggs with the cream and 2 tablespoonfuls of the liquor the macaroni was boiled in; make this sufficiently hot to thicken, but do not allow it to boil; pour it over the macaroni, over which sprinkle the grated cheese and the butter broken into small pieces; brown with a salamander, or before the fire, and serve.
Time.—1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to thicken the eggs and cream, 5 minutes to brown.
Average cost, 1s. 2d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
III.
1647. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of pipe macaroni, 1/2 pint of brown gravy No. 436, 6 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese.
Mode.—Wash the macaroni, and boil it in salt and water until quite tender; drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Have ready a pint of good brown gravy, pour it hot over the macaroni, and send it to table with grated Parmesan served on a separate dish. When the flavour is liked, a little pounded mace may be added to the water in which the macaroni is boiled; but this must always be sparingly added, as it will impart a very strong flavour.
Time.—1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour to boil the macaroni.
Average cost, with the gravy and cheese, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
POUNDED CHEESE.
1648. INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of cheese allow 3 oz. of fresh butter.
Mode.—To pound cheese is an economical way of using it, if it has become dry; it is exceedingly good spread on bread, and is the best way of eating it for those whose digestion is weak. Cut up the cheese into small pieces, and pound it smoothly in a mortar, adding butter in the above proportion. Press it down into a jar, cover with clarified butter, and it will keep for several days. The flavour may be very much increased by adding mixed mustard (about a teaspoonful to every lb.), or cayenne, or pounded mace. Curry-powder is also not unfrequently mixed with it.
RAMAKINS, to serve with the CHEESE COURSE.
1649. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of Cheshire cheese, 1/4 lb. of Parmesan cheese, 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 4 eggs, the crumb of a small roll; pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste.
Mode.—Boil the crumb of the roll in milk for 5 minutes; strain, and put it into a mortar; add the cheese, which should be finely scraped, the butter, the yolks of the eggs, and seasoning, and pound these ingredients well together. Whisk the whites of the eggs, mix them with the paste, and put it into small pans or saucers, which should not be more than half filled. Bake them from 10 to 12 minutes, and serve them very hot and very quickly. This batter answers equally well for macaroni after it is boiled tender.
Time—10 to 12 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.
PASTRY RAMAKINS, to serve with the CHEESE COURSE.
1650. INGREDIENTS.—Any pieces of very good light puff-paste Cheshire, Parmesan, or Stilton cheese.
Mode.—The remains or odd pieces of paste left from large tarts, &c. answer for making these little dishes. Gather up the pieces of paste, roll it out evenly, and sprinkle it with grated cheese of a nice flavour. Fold the paste in three, roll it out again, and sprinkle more cheese over; fold the paste, roll it out, and with a paste-cutter shape it in any way that may be desired. Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven from 10 to 15 minutes, dish them on a hot napkin, and serve quickly. The appearance of this dish may be very much improved by brushing the ramakins over with yolk of egg before they are placed in the oven. Where expense is not objected to, Parmesan is the best kind of cheese to use for making this dish.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes. Average cost, with 1/2 lb. of paste, 10d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TOASTED CHEESE, or SCOTCH RARE-BIT.
1651. INGREDIENTS.—A few slices of rich cheese, toast, mustard, and pepper.
[Illustration: HOT-WATER CHEESE-DISH.]
Mode.—Cut some nice rich sound cheese into rather thin slices; melt it in a cheese-toaster on a hot plate, or over steam, and, when melted, add a small quantity of mixed mustard and a seasoning of pepper; stir the cheese until it is completely dissolved, then brown it before the fire, or with a salamander. Fill the bottom of the cheese-toaster with hot water, and serve with dry or buttered toasts, whichever may be preferred. Our engraving illustrates a cheese-toaster with hot-water reservoir: the cheese is melted in the upper tin, which is placed in another vessel of boiling water, so keeping the preparation beautifully hot. A small quantity of porter, or port wine, is sometimes mixed with the cheese; and, if it be not very rich, a few pieces of butter may be mixed with it to great advantage. Sometimes the melted cheese is spread on the toasts, and then laid in the cheese-dish at the top of the hot water. Whichever way it is served, it is highly necessary that the mixture be very hot, and very quickly sent to table, or it will be worthless.
Time.—About 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Average cost, 1-1/2d. per slice.
Sufficient.—Allow a slice to each person. Seasonable at any time.
TOASTED CHEESE, or WELSH RARE-BIT.
1652. INGREDIENTS.—Slices of bread, butter, Cheshire or Gloucester cheese, mustard, and pepper.
Mode.—Cut the bread into slices about 1/2 inch in thickness; pare off the crust, toast the bread slightly without hardening or burning it, and spread it with butter. Cut some slices, not quite so large as the bread, from a good rich fat cheese; lay them on the toasted bread in a cheese-toaster; be careful that the cheese does not burn, and let it be equally melted. Spread over the top a little made mustard and a seasoning of pepper, and serve very hot, with very hot plates. To facilitate the melting of the cheese, it may be cut into thin flakes or toasted on one side before it is laid on the bread. As it is so essential to send this dish hot to table, it is a good plan to melt the cheese in small round silver or metal pans, and to send these pans to table, allowing one for each guest. Slices of dry or buttered toast should always accompany them, with mustard, pepper, and salt.
Time.—About 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Average cost, 1-1/2d. each slice.
Sufficient.—Allow a slice to each person. Seasonable at any time.
Note.—Should the cheese be dry, a little butter mixed with it will be an improvement.
"COW CHEESE."—It was only fifty years after Aristotle—the fourth century before Christ—that butter began to be noticed as an aliment. The Greeks, in imitation of the Parthians and Scythians, who used to send it to them, had it served upon their tables, and called it at first "oil of milk," and later, bouturos, "cow cheese."
SCOTCH WOODCOCK.
1653. INGREDIENTS.—A few slices of hot buttered toast; allow 1 anchovy to each slice. For the sauce,—1/4 pint of cream, the yolks of 3 eggs.
Mode.—Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs; beat the former, stir to them the cream, and bring the sauce to the boiling-point, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Have ready some hot buttered toast, spread with anchovies pounded to a paste; pour a little of the hot sauce on the top, and serve very hot and very quickly.
Time.—5 minutes to make the sauce hot.
Sufficient.—Allow 1/2 slice to each person. Seasonable at any time.
TO CHOOSE EGGS.
1654. In choosing eggs, apply the tongue to the large end of the egg, and, if it feels warm, it is new, and may be relied on as a fresh egg. Another mode of ascertaining their freshness is to hold them before a lighted candle, or to the light, and if the egg looks clear, it will be tolerably good; if thick, it is stale; and if there is a black spot attached to the shell, it is worthless. No egg should be used for culinary purposes with the slightest taint in it, as it will render perfectly useless those with which it has been mixed. Eggs that are purchased, and that cannot be relied on, should always be broken in a cup, and then put into a basin: by this means stale or bad eggs may be easily rejected, without wasting the others.
EGGS contain, for their volume, a greater quantity of nutriment than any other article of food. But it does not follow that they are always good for weak stomachs; quite the contrary; for it is often a great object to give the stomach a large surface to work upon, a considerable volume of ingesta, over which the nutritive matter is diffused, and so exposed to the action of the gastric juice at many points. There are many persons who cannot digest eggs, however cooked. It is said, however, that their digestibility decreases in proportion to the degree in which they are hardened by boiling.
TO KEEP EGGS FRESH FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.
1655. Have ready a large saucepan, capable of holding 3 or 4 quarts, full of boiling water. Put the eggs into a cabbage-net, say 20 at a time, and hold them in the water (which must be kept boiling) for 20 seconds. Proceed in this manner till you have done as many eggs as you wish to preserve; then pack them away in sawdust. We have tried this method of preserving eggs, and can vouch for its excellence: they will be found, at the end of 2 or 3 months, quite good enough for culinary purposes; and although the white may be a little tougher than that of a new-laid egg, the yolk will be nearly the same. Many persons keep eggs for a long time by smearing the shells with butter or sweet oil: they should then be packed in plenty of bran or sawdust, and the eggs not allowed to touch each other. Eggs for storing should be collected in fine weather, and should not be more than 24 hours old when they are packed away, or their flavour, when used, cannot be relied on. Another simple way of preserving eggs is to immerse them in lime-water soon after they have been laid, and then to put the vessel containing the lime-water in a cellar or cool outhouse.
Seasonable.—The best time for preserving eggs is from July to September.
EGGS.—The quality of eggs is said to be very much affected by the food of the fowls who lay them. Herbs and grain together make a better food than grain only. When the hens eat too many insects, the eggs have a disagreeable flavour.
TO BOIL EGGS FOR BREAKFAST, SALADS, &c.
[Illustration: EGG-STAND FOR THE BREAKFAST-TABLE.]
1656. Eggs for boiling cannot be too fresh, or boiled too soon after they are laid; but rather a longer time should be allowed for boiling a new-laid egg than for one that is three or four days old. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water; put the eggs into it gently with a spoon, letting the spoon touch the bottom of the saucepan before it is withdrawn, that the egg may not fall, and consequently crack. For those who like eggs lightly boiled, 3 minutes will be found sufficient; 3-3/4 to 4 minutes will be ample time to set the white nicely; and, if liked hard, 6 to 7 minutes will not be found too long. Should the eggs be unusually large, as those of black Spanish fowls sometimes are, allow an extra 1/2 minute for them. Eggs for salads should be boiled from 10 minutes to 1/4 hour, and should be placed in a basin of cold water for a few minutes; they should then be rolled on the table with the hand, and the shell will peel off easily.
Time.—To boil eggs lightly, for invalids or children, 3 minutes; to boil eggs to suit the generality of tastes, 3-3/4 to 4 minutes; to boil eggs hard, 6 to 7 minutes; for salads, 10 to 15 minutes.
Note.—Silver or plated egg-dishes, like that shown in our engraving, are now very much used. The price of the one illustrated is £2. 2s., and may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J. Slack, 336, Strand.
EGGS.—When fresh eggs are dropped into a vessel full of boiling water, they crack, because the eggs being well filled, the shells give way to the efforts of the interior fluids, dilated by heat. If the volume of hot water be small, the shells do not crack, because its temperature is reduced by the eggs before the interior dilation can take place. Stale eggs, again, do not crack, because the air inside is easily compressed.
BUTTERED EGGS.
1657. INGREDIENTS.—4 new-laid eggs, 2 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Procure the eggs new-laid if possible; break them into a basin, and beat them well; put the butter into another basin, which place in boiling water, and stir till the butter is melted. Pour that and the eggs into a lined saucepan; hold it over a gentle fire, and, as the mixture begins to warm, pour it two or three times into the basin, and back again, that the two ingredients may be well incorporated. Keep stirring the eggs and butter one way until they are hot, without boiling, and serve on hot buttered toast. If the mixture is allowed to boil, it will curdle, and so be entirely spoiled.
Time.—About 5 minutes to make the eggs hot. Average cost, 7d.
Sufficient.—Allow a slice to each person. Seasonable at any time.
DUCKS' EGGS.
1658. Ducks' eggs are usually so strongly flavoured that, plainly boiled, they are not good for eating; they answer, however, very well for various culinary preparations where eggs are required; such as custards, &c. &c. Being so large and highly-flavoured, 1 duck's egg will go as far as 2 small hen's eggs; besides making whatever they are mixed with exceedingly rich. They also are admirable when used in puddings.
PRIMITIVE METHOD OF COOKING EGGS.—The shepherds of Egypt had a singular manner of cooking eggs without the aid of fire. They placed them in a sling, which they turned so rapidly that the friction of the air heated them to the exact point required for use.
FRIED EGGS.
1659. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 1/4 lb. of lard, butter or clarified dripping.
[Illustration: FRIED EGGS ON BACON.]
Mode.—Place a delicately-clean frying-pan over a gentle fire; put in the fat, and allow it to come to the boiling-point. Break the eggs into cups, slip them into the boiling fat, and let them remain until the whites are delicately set; and, whilst they are frying, ladle a little of the fat over them. Take them up with a slice, drain them for a minute from their greasy moisture, trim them neatly, and serve on slices of fried bacon or ham; or the eggs may be placed in the middle of the dish, with the bacon put round as a garnish.
Time.—2 to 3 minutes. Average cost, 1d. each; 2d. when scarce.
Sufficient for 2 persons. Seasonable at any time.
VENERATION FOR EGGS.—Many of the most learned philosophers held eggs in a kind of respect, approaching to veneration, because they saw in them the emblem of the world and the four elements. The shell, they said, represented the earth; the white, water; the yolk, fire; and air was found under the shell at one end of the egg.
EGGS A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL.
1660. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1/2 pint of milk, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 eggs.
Mode.—Put the flour and half the butter into a stewpan; stir them over the fire until the mixture thickens; pour in the milk, which should be boiling; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and simmer the whole for 5 minutes. Put the remainder of the butter into the sauce, and add the minced parsley; then boil the eggs hard, strip off the shells, cut the eggs into quarters, and put them on a dish. Bring the sauce to the boiling-point, add the lemon-juice, pour over the eggs, and serve.
Time.—5 minutes to boil the sauce; the eggs, 10 to 15 minutes.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
OEUFS AU PLAT, or AU MIROIR, served on the Dish in which they are Cooked.
1661. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste.
Mode.—Butter a dish rather thickly with good fresh butter; melt it, break the eggs into it the same as for poaching, sprinkle them with white pepper and fine salt, and put the remainder of the butter, cut into very small pieces, on the top of them. Put the dish on a hot plate, or in the oven, or before the fire, and let it remain until the whites become set, but not hard, when serve immediately, placing the dish they were cooked in on another. To hasten the cooking of the eggs, a salamander may be held over them for a minute; but great care must be taken that they are not too much done. This is an exceedingly nice dish, and one very easily prepared for breakfast.
Time.—3 minutes. Average cost, 5d.
Sufficient for 2 persons. Seasonable at any time.
PLOVERS' EGGS.
1662. Plovers' eggs are usually served boiled hard, and sent to table in a napkin, either hot or cold. They may also be shelled, and served the same as eggs À la Tripe, with a good BÉchamel sauce, or brown gravy, poured over them. They are also used for decorating salads, the beautiful colour of the white being generally so much admired.
POACHED EGGS.
[Illustration: EGGS POACHED ON TOAST.]
[Illustration: TIN EGG-POACHER.]
1663. INGREDIENTS.—Eggs, water. To every pint of water allow 1 tablespoonful of vinegar.
Mode.—Eggs for poaching should be perfectly fresh, but not quite new-laid; those that are about 36 hours old are the best for the purpose. If quite new-laid, the white is so milky it is almost impossible to set it; and, on the other hand, if the egg be at all stale, it is equally difficult to poach it nicely. Strain some boiling water into a deep clean frying-pan; break the egg into a cup without damaging the yolk, and, when the water boils, remove the pan to the side of the fire, and gently slip the egg into it. Place the pan over a gentle fire, and keep the water simmering until the white looks nicely set, when the egg is ready. Take it up gently with a slice, cut away the ragged edges of the white, and serve either on toasted bread or on slices of ham or bacon, or on spinach, &c. A poached egg should not be overdone, as its appearance and taste will be quite spoiled if the yolk be allowed to harden. When the egg is slipped into the water, the white should be gathered together, to keep it a little in form, or the cup should be turned over it for 1 minute. To poach an egg to perfection is rather a difficult operation; so, for inexperienced cooks, a tin egg-poacher may be purchased, which greatly facilitates this manner of dressing ecgs. Our illustration clearly shows what it is: it consists of a tin plate with a handle, with a space for three perforated cups. An egg should be broken into each cup, and the machine then placed in a stewpan of boiling water, which has been previously strained. When the whites of the eggs appear set, they are done, and should then be carefully slipped on to the toast or spinach, or with whatever they are served. In poaching eggs in a frying-pan, never do more than four at a time; and, when a little vinegar is liked mixed with the water in which the eggs are done, use the above proportion.
Time.—2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes, according to the size of the egg.
Sufficient.—Allow 2 eggs to each person.
Seasonable at any time, but less plentiful in winter.
POACHED EGGS, WITH CREAM.
1664. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 4 teaspoonfuls of vinegar, 4 fresh eggs, 1/2 gill of cream, salt, pepper, and pounded sugar to taste, 1 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Put the water, vinegar, and salt into a frying-pan, and break each egg into a separate cup; bring the water, &c. to boil, and slip the eggs gently into it without breaking the yolks. Simmer them from 3 to 4 minutes, but not longer, and, with a slice, lift them out on to a hot dish, and trim the edges. Empty the pan of its contents, put in the cream, add a seasoning to taste of pepper, salt, and pounded sugar; bring the whole to the boiling-point; then add the butter, broken into small pieces; toss the pan round and round till the butter is melted; pour it over the eggs, and serve. To insure the eggs not being spoiled whilst the cream, &c., is preparing, it is a good plan to warm the cream with the butter, &c., before the eggs are poached, so that it may be poured over them immediately after they are dished.
Time.—3 to 4 minutes to poach the eggs, 5 minutes to warm the cream.
1666. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 6 tablespoonfuls of forcemeat No. 417, hot lard, 1/2 pint of good brown gravy.
Mode.—Boil the eggs for 10 minutes; strip them from the shells, and cover them with forcemeat made by recipe No. 417; or substitute pounded anchovies for the ham. Fry the eggs a nice brown in boiling lard, drain them before the fire from their greasy moisture, dish them, and pour round from 1/4 to 1/2 pint of good brown gravy. To enhance the appearance of the eggs, they may be rolled in beaten egg and sprinkled with bread crumbs; but this is scarcely necessary if they are carefully fried. The flavour of the ham or anchovy in the forcemeat must preponderate, as it should be very relishing.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the eggs, 5 to 7 minutes to fry them.
Average cost, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
EGGS A LA TRIPE.
1667. INGREDIENTS.—8 eggs, 3/4 pint of BÉchamel sauce No. 368, dessertspoonful of finely-minced parsley.
Mode.—Boil the eggs hard; put them into cold water, peel them, take out the yolks whole, and shred the whites. Make 3/4 pint of BÉchamel sauce by recipe No. 368; add the parsley, and, when the sauce is quite hot, put the yolks of the eggs into the middle of the dish, and the shred whites round them; pour over the sauce, and garnish with leaves of puff-paste or fried croÛtons. There is no necessity for putting the eggs into the saucepan with the BÉchamel; the sauce, being quite hot, will warm the eggs sufficiently.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the eggs.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXXIV.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON BREAD, BISCUITS, AND CAKES.
BREAD AND BREAD-MAKING.
1668. AMONG the numerous vegetable products yielding articles of food for man, the Cereals hold the first place. By means of skilful cultivation, mankind have transformed the original forms of these growths, poor and ill-flavoured as they perhaps were, into various fruitful and agreeable species, which yield an abundant and pleasant supply. Classified according to their respective richness in alimentary elements, the Cereals stand thus:—Wheat, and its varieties, Rye, Barley, Oats, Rice, Indian Corn. Everybody knows it is wheat flour which yields the best bread. Rye-bread is viscous, hard, less easily soluble by the gastric juice, and not so rich in nutritive power. Flour produced from barley, Indian corn, or rice, is not so readily made into bread; and the article, when made, is heavy and indigestible.
1669. On examining a grain of corn from any of the numerous cereals [Footnote: Cereal, a corn-producing plant; from Ceres, the goddess of agriculture.] used in the preparation of flour, such as wheat, maize, rye, barley, &c., it will be found to consist of two parts,—the husk, or exterior covering, which is generally of a dark colour, and the inner, or albuminous part, which is more or less white. In grinding, these two portions are separated, and the husk being blown away in the process of winnowing, the flour remains in the form of a light brown powder, consisting principally of starch and gluten. In order to render it white, it undergoes a process called "bolting." It is passed through a series of fine sieves, which separate the coarser parts, leaving behind fine white flour,—the "fine firsts" of the corn-dealer. The process of bolting, as just described, tends to deprive flour of its gluten, the coarser and darker portion containing much of that substance; while the lighter part is peculiarly rich in starch. Bran contains a large proportion of gluten; hence it will be seen why brown broad is so much more nutritious than white; in fact, we may lay it down as a general rule, that the whiter the bread the less nourishment it contains. Majendie proved this by feeding a dog for forty days with white wheaten bread, at the end of which time he died; while another dog, fed on brown bread made with flour mixed with bran, lived without any disturbance of his health. The "bolting" process, then, is rather injurious than beneficial in its result; and is one of the numerous instances where fashion has chosen a wrong standard to go by. In ancient times, down to the Emperors, no bolted flour was known. In many parts of Germany the entire meal is used; and in no part of the world are the digestive organs of the people in a better condition. In years of famine, when corn is scarce, the use of bolted flour is most culpable, for from 18 to 20 per cent, is lost in bran. Brown bread has, of late years, become very popular; and many physicians have recommended it to invalids with weak digestions with great success. This rage for white bread has introduced adulterations of a very serious character, affecting the health of the whole community. Potatoes are added for this purpose; but this is a comparatively harmless cheat, only reducing the nutritive property of the bread; but bone-dust and alum are also put in, which are far from harmless.
1670. Bread-making is a very ancient art indeed. The Assyrians, Egyptians, and Greeks, used to make bread, in which oil, with aniseed and other spices, was an element; but this was unleavened. Every family used to prepare the bread for its own consumption, the trade of baking not having yet taken shape. It is said, that somewhere about the beginning of the thirtieth Olympiad, the slave of an archon, at Athens, made leavened bread by accident. He had left some wheaten dough in an earthen pan, and forgotten it; some days afterwards, he lighted upon it again, and found it turning sour. His first thought was to throw it away; but, his master coming up, he mixed this now acescent dough with some fresh dough, which he was working at. The bread thus produced, by the introduction of dough in which alcoholic fermentation had begun, was found delicious by the archon and his friends; and the slave, being summoned and catechised, told the secret. It spread all over Athens; and everybody wanting leavened bread at once, certain persons set up as bread-makers, or bakers. In a short time bread-baking became quite an art, and "Athenian bread" was quoted all over Greece as the best bread, just as the honey of Hyamettus was celebrated as the best honey.
1671. In our own times, and among civilized peoples, bread has become an article of food of the first necessity; and properly so, for it constitutes of itself a complete life-sustainer, the gluten, starch, and sugar, which it contains, representing azotized and hydro-carbonated nutrients, and combining the sustaining powers of the animal and vegetable kingdoms in one product.
1672. WHEATEN BREAD.—The finest, wholesomest, and most savoury bread is made from wheaten flour. There are, of wheat, three leading qualities,— the soft, the medium, and the hard wheat; the last of which yields a kind of bread that is not so white as that made from soft wheat, but is richer in gluten, and, consequently, more nutritive.
1673. RYE BREAD.—This comes next to wheaten bread: it is not so rich in gluten, but is said to keep fresh longer, and to have some laxative qualities.
1674. BARLEY BREAD, INDIAN-CORN BREAD, &c.—Bread made from barley, maize, oats, rice, potatoes, &c. "rises" badly, because the grains in question contain but little gluten, which makes the bread heavy, close in texture, and difficult of digestion; in fact, corn-flour has to be added before panification can take place. In countries where wheat is scarce and maize abundant, the people make the latter a chief article of sustenance, when prepared in different forms.
BREAD-MAKING.
1675. PANIFICATION, or bread-making, consists of the following processes, in the case of Wheaten Flour. Fifty or sixty per cent. of water is added to the flour, with the addition of some leavening matter, and, preferably, of yeast from malt and hops. All kinds of leavening matter have, however, been, and are still used in different parts of the world: in the East Indies, "toddy," which is a liquor that flows from the wounded cocoa-nut tree; and, in the West Indies, "dunder," or the refuse of the distillation of rum. The dough then undergoes the well-known process called kneading. The yeast produces fermentation, a process which may be thus described:—The dough reacting upon the leavening matter introduced, the starch of the flour is transformed into saccharine matter, the saccharine matter being afterwards changed into alcohol and carbonic acid. The dough must be well "bound," and yet allow the escape of the little bubbles of carbonic acid which accompany the fermentation, and which, in their passage, cause the numerous little holes which are seen in light bread.
1676. The yeast must be good and fresh, if the bread is to be digestible and nice. Stale yeast produces, instead of vinous fermentation, an acetous fermentation, which flavours the bread and makes it disagreeable. A poor thin yeast produces an imperfect fermentation, the result being a heavy unwholesome loaf.
1677. When the dough is well kneaded, it is left to stand for some time, and then, as soon as it begins to swell, it is divided into loaves; after which it is again left to stand, when it once more swells up, and manifests, for the last time, the symptoms of fermentation. It is then put into the oven, where the water contained in the dough is partly evaporated, and the loaves swell up again, while a yellow crust begins to form upon the surface. When the bread is sufficiently baked, the bottom crust is hard and resonant if struck with the finger, while the crumb is elastic, and rises again after being pressed down with the finger. The bread is, in all probability, baked sufficiently if, on opening the door of the oven, you are met by a cloud of steam which quickly passes away.
1678. One word as to the unwholesomeness of new bread and hot rolls. When bread is taken out of the oven, it is full of moisture; the starch is held together in masses, and the bread, instead of being crusted so as to expose each grain of starch to the saliva, actually prevents their digestion by being formed by the teeth into leathery poreless masses, which lie on the stomach like so many bullets. Bread should always be at least a day old before it is eaten; and, if properly made, and kept in a cool dry place, ought to be perfectly soft and palatable at the end of three or four days. Hot rolls, swimming in melted butter, and new bread, ought to be carefully shunned by everybody who has the slightest respect for that much-injured individual—the Stomach.
1679. AERATED BREAD.—It is not unknown to some of our readers that Dr. Dauglish, of Malvern, has recently patented a process for making bread "light" without the use of leaven. The ordinary process of bread-making by fermentation is tedious, and much labour of human hands is requisite in the kneading, in order that the dough may be thoroughly interpenetrated with the leaven. The new process impregnates the bread, by the application of machinery, with carbonic acid gas, or fixed air. Different opinions are expressed about the bread; but it is curious to note, that, as corn is now reaped by machinery, and dough is baked by machinery, the whole process of bread-making is probably in course of undergoing changes which will emancipate both the housewife and the professional baker from a large amount of labour.
1680. In the production of AËrated Bread, wheaten flour, water, salt, and carbonic acid gas (generated by proper machinery), are the only materials employed. We need not inform our readers that carbonic acid gas is the source of the effervescence, whether in common water coming from a depth, or in lemonade, or any aËrated drink. Its action, in the new bread, takes the place of fermentation in the old.
1681. In the patent process, the dough is mixed in a great iron ball, inside which is a system of paddles, perpetually turning, and doing the kneading part of the business. Into this globe the flour is dropped till it is full, and then the common atmospheric air is pumped out, and the pure gas turned on. The gas is followed by the water, which has been aËrated for the purpose, and then begins the churning or kneading part of the business.
1682. Of course, it is not long before we have the dough, and very "light" and nice it looks. This is caught in tins, and passed on to the floor of the oven, which is an endless floor, moving slowly through the fire. Done to a turn, the loaves emerge at the other end of the apartment,—and the AËrated Bread is made.
1683. It may be added, that it is a good plan to change one's baker from time to time, and so secure a change in the quality of the bread that is eaten.
1684. MIXED BREADS.—Rye bread is hard of digestion, and requires longer and slower baking than wheaten bread. It is better when made with leaven of wheaten flour rather than yeast, and turns out lighter. It should not be eaten till two days old. It will keep a long time.
1685. A good bread may be made by mixing rye-flour, wheat-flour, and rice-paste in equal proportions; also by mixing rye, wheat, and barley. In Norway, it is said that they only bake their barley broad once a year, such is its "keeping" quality.
1686. Indian-corn flour mixed with wheat-flour (half with half) makes a nice bread; but it is not considered very digestible, though it keeps well.
1687. Rice cannot be made into bread, nor can potatoes; but one-third potato flour to three-fourths wheaten flour makes a tolerably good loaf.
1688. A very good bread, better than the ordinary sort, and of a delicious flavour, is said to be produced by adopting the following recipe:—Take ten parts of wheat-flour, five parts of potato-flour, one part of rice-paste; knead together, add the yeast, and bake as usual. This is, of course, cheaper than wheaten bread.
1689. Flour, when freshly ground, is too glutinous to make good bread, and should therefore not be used immediately, but should be kept dry for a few weeks, and stirred occasionally, until it becomes dry, and crumbles easily between the fingers.
1690. Flour should be perfectly dry before being used for bread or cakes; if at all damp, the preparation is sure to be heavy. Before mixing it with the other ingredients, it is a good plan to place it for an hour or two before the fire, until it feels warm and dry.
1691. Yeast from home-brewed beer is generally preferred to any other: it is very bitter, and, on that account, should be well washed, and put away until the thick mass settles. If it still continues bitter, the process should be repeated; and, before being used, all the water floating at the top must be poured off. German yeast is now very much used, and should be moistened, and thoroughly mixed with the milk or water with which the bread is to be made.
1692. The following observations are extracted from a valuable work on Bread-making, [Footnote: "The English Bread-Book." By Eliza Acton. London: Longman.] and will be found very useful to our readers:—
1693. The first thing required for making wholesome bread is the utmost cleanliness; the next is the soundness and sweetness of all the ingredients used for it; and, in addition to these, there must be attention and care through the whole process.
1694. An almost certain way of spoiling dough is to leave it half-made, and to allow it to become cold before it is finished. The other most common causes of failure are using yeast which is no longer sweet, or which has been frozen, or has had hot liquid poured over it.
1695. Too small a proportion of yeast, or insufficient time allowed for the dough to rise, will cause the bread to be heavy.
1696. Heavy bread will also most likely be the result of making the dough very hard, and letting it become quite, cold, particularly in winter.
1697. If either the sponge or the dough be permitted to overwork itself, that is to say, if the mixing and kneading be neglected when it has reached the proper point for either, sour bread will probably be the consequence in warm weather, and bad bread in any. The goodness will also be endangered by placing it so near a fire as to make any part of it hot, instead of maintaining the gentle and equal degree of heat required for its due fermentation.
1698. MILK OR BUTTER.—Milk which is not perfectly sweet will not only injure the flavour of the bread, but, in sultry weather, will often cause it to be quite uneatable; yet either of them, if fresh and good, will materially improve its quality.
1699. To keep bread sweet and fresh, as soon as it is cold it should be put into a clean earthen pan, with a cover to it: this pan should be placed at a little distance from the ground, to allow a current of air to pass underneath. Some persons prefer keeping bread on clean wooden shelves, without being covered, that the crust may not soften. Stale bread may be freshened by warming it through in a gentle oven. Stale pastry, cakes, &c., may also be improved by this method.
1700. The utensils required for making bread, on a moderate scale, are a kneading-trough or pan, sufficiently large that the dough may be kneaded freely without throwing the flour over the edges, and also to allow for its rising; a hair sieve for straining yeast, and one or two strong spoons.
1701. Yeast must always be good of its kind, and in a fitting state to produce ready and proper fermentation. Yeast of strong beer or ale produces more effect than that of milder kinds; and the fresher the yeast, the smaller the quantity will be required to raise the dough.
1702. As a general rule, the oven for baking bread should be rather quick, and the heat so regulated as to penetrate the dough without hardening the outside. The oven door should not be opened after the bread is put in until the dough is set, or has become firm, as the cool air admitted will have an unfavourable effect on it.
1703. Brick ovens are generally considered the best adapted for baking bread: these should be heated with wood faggots, and then swept and mopped out, to cleanse them for the reception of the bread. Iron ovens are more difficult to manage, being apt to burn the surface of the bread before the middle is baked. To remedy this, a few clean bricks should be set at the bottom of the oven, close together, to receive the tins of bread. In many modern stoves the ovens are so much improved that they bake admirably; and they can always be brought to the required temperature, when it is higher than is needed, by leaving the door open for a time.
A FEW HINTS respecting the Making and Baking of CAKES.
1704. Eggs should always be broken into a cup, the whites and yolks separated, and they should always be strained. Breaking the eggs thus, the bad ones may be easily rejected without spoiling the others, and so cause no waste. As eggs are used instead of yeast, they should be very thoroughly whisked; they are generally sufficiently beaten when thick enough to carry the drop that falls from the whisk.
1705. Loaf Sugar should be well pounded, and then sifted through a fine sieve.
1706. Currants should be nicely washed, picked, dried in a cloth, and then carefully examined, that no pieces of grit or stone may be left amongst them. They should then be laid on a dish before the fire, to become thoroughly dry; as, if added damp to the other ingredients, cakes will be liable to be heavy.
1707. Good Butter should always be used in the manufacture of cakes; and if beaten to a cream, it saves much time and labour to warm, but not melt, it before beating.
1708. Less butter and eggs are required for cakes when yeast is mixed with the other ingredients.
1709. The heat of the oven is of great importance, especially for large cakes. If the heat be not tolerably fierce, the batter will not rise. If the oven is too quick, and there is any danger of the cake burning or catching, put a sheet of clean paper over the top. Newspaper, or paper that has been printed on, should never be used for this purpose.
1710. To know when a cake is sufficiently baked, plunge a clean knife into the middle of it; draw it quickly out, and if it looks in the least sticky, put the cake back, and close the oven door until the cake is done.
1711. Cakes should be kept in closed tin canisters or jars, and in a dry place. Those made with yeast do not keep so long as those made without it.
BISCUITS.
1712. Since the establishment of the large modern biscuit manufactories, biscuits have been produced both cheap and wholesome, in, comparatively speaking, endless variety. Their actual component parts are, perhaps, known only to the various makers; but there are several kinds of biscuits which have long been in use, that may here be advantageously described.
1713. Biscuits belong to the class of unfermented bread, and are, perhaps, the most wholesome of that class. In cases where fermented bread does not agree with the human stomach, they may be recommended: in many instances they are considered lighter, and less liable to create acidity and flatulence. The name is derived from the French bis cuit, "twice-baked," because, originally, that was the mode of entirely depriving them of all moisture, to insure their keeping; but, although that process is no longer employed, the name is retained. The use of this kind of bread on land is pretty general, and some varieties are luxuries; but, at sea, biscuits are articles of the first necessity.
1714. SEA, or SHIP BISCUITS, are made of wheat-flour from which only the coarsest bran has been separated. The dough is made up as stiff as it can be worked, and is then formed into shapes, and baked in an oven; after which, the biscuits are exposed in lofts over the oven until perfectly dry, to prevent them from becoming mouldy when stored.
1715. CAPTAINS' BISCUITS are made in a similar manner, only of fine flour.
1-1/2-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
LEMON SPONGE.
1448. INGREDIENTS.—2 oz. of isinglass, 1-3/4 pint of water, 3/4 lb. of pounded sugar, the juice of 5 lemons, the rind of 1, the whites of 3 eggs.
Mode.—Dissolve the isinglass in the water, strain it into a saucepan, and add the sugar, lemon-rind, and juice. Boil the whole from 10 to 15 minutes; strain it again, and let it stand till it is cold and begins to stiffen. Beat the whites of the eggs, put them to it, and whisk the mixture till it is quite white; put it into a mould which has been previously wetted, and let it remain until perfectly set; then turn it out, and garnish it according to taste.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
LIQUEUR JELLY.
1449. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of lump sugar, 2 oz. of isinglass, 1-1/2 pint of water, the juice of 2 lemons, 1/4 pint of liqueur.
[Illustration: OVAL JELLY-MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the sugar, with 1 pint of the water, into a stewpan, and boil them gently by the side of the fire until there is no scum remaining, which must be carefully removed as fast as it rises. Boil the isinglass with the other 1/2 pint of water, and skim it carefully in the same manner. Strain the lemon-juice, and add it, with the clarified isinglass, to the syrup; put in the liqueur, and bring the whole to the boiling-point. Let the saucepan remain covered by the side of the fire for a few minutes; then pour the jelly through a bag, put it into a mould, and set the mould in ice until required for table. Dip the mould in hot water, wipe the outside, loosen the jelly by passing a knife round the edges, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Noyeau, Maraschino, CuraÇoa, brandy, or any kind of liqueur, answers for this jelly; and, when made with isinglass, liqueur jellies are usually prepared as directed above.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar and water.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
A SWEET DISH OF MACARONI.
1450. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of macaroni, 1-1/2 pint of milk, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 3 oz. of lump sugar, 3/4 pint of custard No. 1423.
Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan, with the lemon-peel and sugar; bring it to the boiling-point, drop in the macaroni, and let it gradually swell over a gentle fire, but do not allow the pipes to break. The form should be entirely preserved; and, though tender, should be firm, and not soft, with no part beginning to melt. Should the milk dry away before the macaroni is sufficiently swelled, add a little more. Make a custard by recipe No. 1423; place the macaroni on a dish, and pour the custard over the hot macaroni; grate over it a little nutmeg, and, when cold, garnish the dish with slices of candied citron.
Time.—From 40 to 50 minutes to swell the macaroni.
Average cost, with the custard, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
MERINGUES.
1451. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of pounded sugar, the whites of 4 eggs.
[Illustration: MERINGUES.]
Mode.—Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and, with a wooden spoon, stir in quickly the pounded sugar; and have some boards thick enough to put in the oven to prevent the bottom of the meringues from acquiring too much colour. Cut some strips of paper about 2 inches wide; place this paper on the board, and drop a tablespoonful at a time of the mixture on the paper, taking care to let all the meringues be the same size. In dropping it from the spoon, give the mixture the form of an egg, and keep the meringues about 2 inches apart from each other on the paper. Strew over them some sifted sugar, and bake in a moderate oven for 1/2 hour. As soon as they begin to colour, remove them from the oven; take each slip of paper by the two ends, and turn it gently on the table, and, with a small spoon, take out the soft part of each meringue. Spread some clean paper on the board, turn the meringues upside down, and put them into the oven to harden and brown on the other side. When required for table, fill them with whipped cream, flavoured with liqueur or vanilla, and sweetened with pounded sugar. Join two of the meringues together, and pile them high in the dish, as shown in the annexed drawing. To vary their appearance, finely-chopped almonds or currants may be strewn over them before the sugar is sprinkled over; and they may be garnished with any bright-coloured preserve. Great expedition is necessary in making this sweet dish; as, if the meringues are not put into the oven as soon as the sugar and eggs are mixed, the former melts, and the mixture would run on the paper, instead of keeping its egg-shape. The sweeter the meringues are made, the crisper will they be; but, if there is not sufficient sugar mixed with them, they will most likely be tough. They are sometimes coloured with cochineal; and, if kept well covered in a dry place, will remain good for a month or six weeks.
Time.—Altogether, about 1/2 hour.
Average cost, with the cream and flavouring, 1s.
Sufficient to make 2 dozen meringues. Seasonable at any time.
NOYEAU CREAM.
1452. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, the juice of 2 lemons, noyeau and pounded sugar to taste, 1-1/2 pint of cream.
Mode.—Dissolve the isinglass in a little boiling water, add the lemon-juice, and strain this to the cream, putting in sufficient noyeau and sugar to flavour and sweeten the mixture nicely; whisk the cream well, put it into an oiled mould, and set the mould in ice or in a cool place; turn it out, and garnish the dish to taste.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint and the best isinglass, 4s.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
OPEN JELLY WITH WHIPPED CREAM.
(A very pretty dish.)
1453. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of jelly, 1/2 pint of cream, 1 glass of sherry, sugar to taste.
[Illustration: OPEN JELLY WITH WHIPPED CREAM.]
Mode.—Make the above proportion of calf's-feet or isinglass jelly, colouring and flavouring it in any way that may be preferred; soak a mould, open in the centre, for about 1/2 hour in cold water; fill it with the jelly, and let it remain in a cool place until perfectly set; then turn it out on a dish; fill the centre with whipped cream, flavoured with sherry and sweetened with pounded sugar; pile this cream high in the centre, and serve. The jelly should be made of rather a dark colour, to contrast nicely with the cream.
Time.—3/4 hour. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill 1-1/2-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.
ORANGE JELLY.
1454. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of water, 1-1/2 to 2 oz. of isinglass, 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, 1 Seville orange, 1 lemon, about 9 China oranges.
[Illustration: OPEN MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the water into a saucepan, with the isinglass, sugar, and the rind of 1 orange, and the same of 1/2 lemon, and stir these over the fire until the isinglass is dissolved, and remove the scum; then add to this the juice of the Seville orange, the juice of the lemon, and sufficient juice of China oranges to make in all 1 pint; from 8 to 10 oranges will yield the desired quantity. Stir all together over the fire until it is just on the point of boiling; skim well; then strain the jelly through a very fine sieve or jelly-bag, and when nearly cold, put it into a mould previously wetted, and, when quite set, turn it out on a dish, and garnish it to taste. To insure this jelly being clear, the orange-and lemon-juice should be well strained, and the isinglass clarified, before they are added to the other ingredients, and, to heighten the colour, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added.
Time.—5 minutes to boil without the juice; 1 minute after it is added.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable from November to May.
ORANGE JELLY MOULDED WITH SLICES OF ORANGE.
1455. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of orange jelly No. 1454, 4 oranges, 1 pint of clarified syrup.
Mode.—Boil 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar with 1/2 pint of water until there is no scum left (which must be carefully removed as fast as it rises), and carefully peel the oranges; divide them into thin slices, without breaking the thin skin, and put these pieces of orange into the syrup, where let them remain for about 5 minutes; then take them out, and use the syrup for the jelly, which should be made by recipe No. 1454. When the oranges are well drained, and the jelly is nearly cold, pour a little of the latter into the bottom of the mould; then lay in a few pieces of orange; over these pour a little jelly, and when this is set, place another layer of oranges, proceeding in this manner until the mould is full. Put it in ice, or in a cool place, and, before turning it out, wrap a cloth round the mould for a minute or two, which has been wrung out in boiling water.
Time.—5 minutes to simmer the oranges. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient, with the slices of orange, to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable from November to May.
TO MAKE A PLAIN OMELET.
1456. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1/3 saltspoonful of pepper, 1/4 lb. of butter.
[Illustration: OMELET.]
Mode.—Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3, and beat them up with the salt and pepper until extremely light; then add 2 oz. of the butter broken into small pieces, and stir this into the mixture. Put the other 2 oz. of butter into a frying-pan, make it quite hot, and, as soon as it begins to bubble, whisk the eggs, &c. very briskly for a minute or two, and pour them into the pan; stir the omelet with a spoon one way until the mixture thickens and becomes firm, and when the whole is set, fold the edges over, so that the omelet assumes an oval form; and when it is nicely brown on one side, and quite firm, it is done. To take off the rawness on the upper side, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two, and brown it with a salamander or hot shovel. Serve very expeditiously on a very hot dish, and never cook it until it is just wanted. The flavour of this omelet may be very much enhanced by adding minced parsley, minced onion or eschalot, or grated cheese, allowing 1 tablespoonful of the former, and half the quantity of the latter, to the above proportion of eggs. Shrimps or oysters may also be added: the latter should be scalded in their liquor, and then bearded and cut into small pieces. In making an omelet, be particularly careful that it is not too thin, and, to avoid this, do not make it in too large a frying-pan, as the mixture would then spread too much, and taste of the outside. It should also not be greasy, burnt, or too much done, and should be cooked over a gentle fire, that the whole of the substance may be heated without drying up the outside. Omelets are sometimes served with gravy; but this should never be poured over them, but served in a tureen, as the liquid causes the omelet to become heavy and flat, instead of eating light and soft. In making the gravy, the flavour should not overpower that of the omelet, and should be thickened with arrowroot or rice flour.
Time.—With 6 eggs, in a frying-pan 18 or 20 inches round, 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
HAM OMELET (A delicious Breakfast Dish.)
1457. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced ham.
Mode.—Mince the ham very finely, without any fat, and fry it for 2 minutes in a little butter; then make the batter for the omelet, stir in the ham, and proceed as directed in recipe No. 1456. Do not add any salt to the batter, as the ham is usually sufficiently salt to impart a flavour to the omelet. Good lean bacon, or tongue, answers equally well for this dish; but they must also be slightly cooked previously to mixing them with the batter. Serve very hot and quickly, without gravy.
Time.—From 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
KIDNEY OMELET (A favourite French dish.)
1458. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper, 2 sheep's kidneys, or 2 tablespoonfuls of minced veal kidney, 5 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Skin the kidneys, cut them into small dice, and toss them in a frying-pan, in 1 oz. of butter, over the fire for 2 or 3 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the omelet the same as in recipe No. 1456, and when the eggs are well whisked, stir in the pieces of kidney. Make the butter hot in the frying-pan, and when it bubbles, pour in the omelet, and fry it over a gentle fire from 4 to 6 minutes. When the eggs are set, fold the edges over, so that the omelet assumes an oval form, and be careful that it is not too much done: to brown the top, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two, or use a salamander until the desired colour is obtained, but never turn an omelet in the pan. Slip it carefully on to a very hot dish, or, what is a much safer method, put a dish on the omelet, and turn the pan quickly over. It should be served the instant it comes from the fire.
Time.—4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A PLAIN SWEET OMELET.
1459. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sifted sugar.
Mode.—Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3; whisk them well, adding the sugar and 2 oz. of the butter, which should be broken into small pieces, and stir all these ingredients well together. Make the remainder of the butter quite hot in a small frying-pan, and when it commences to bubble, pour in the eggs, &c. Keep stirring them until they begin to set; then turn the edges of the omelet over, to make it an oval shape, and finish cooking it. To brown the top, hold the pan before the fire, or use a salamander, and turn it carefully on to a very hot dish: sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve.
Time.—From 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
OMELETTE AUX CONFITURES, or JAM OMELET.
1460. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of apricot, strawberry, or any jam that may be preferred.
Mode.—Make the omelet by recipe No. 1459, only instead of doubling it over, leave it flat in the pan. When quite firm, and nicely brown on one side, turn it carefully on to a hot dish, spread over the middle of it the jam, and fold the omelet over on each side; sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve very quickly. A pretty dish of small omelets may be made by dividing the batter into 3 or 4 portions, and frying them separately; they should then be spread each one with a different kind of preserve, and the omelets rolled over. Always sprinkle sweet omelets with sifted sugar before being sent to table.
Time.—4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 2d.
Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
OMELETTE SOUFFLÉ.
1461. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 5 oz. of pounded sugar, flavouring of vanilla, orange-flower water, or lemon-rind, 3 oz. of butter, 1 dessert-spoonful of rice-flour.
Mode.—Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, add to the former the sugar, the rice-flour, and either of the above flavourings that may be preferred, and stir these ingredients well together. Whip the whites of the eggs, mix them lightly with the batter, and put the butter into a small frying-pan. As soon as it begins to bubble, pour the batter into it, and set the pan over a bright but gentle fire; and when the omelet is set, turn the edges over to make it an oval shape, and slip it on to a silver dish, which has been previously well buttered. Put it in the oven, and bake from 12 to 15 minutes; sprinkle finely-powdered sugar over the soufflÉ, and serve it immediately.
Time.—About 4 minutes in the pan; to bake, from 12 to 15 minutes.
Average cost. 1s.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BACHELOR'S OMELET.
1462. INGREDIENTS.—2 or 3 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 1/2 teacupful of milk.
Mode.—Make a thin cream of the flour and milk; then beat up the eggs, mix all together, and add a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne. Melt the butter in a small frying-pan, and, when very hot, pour in the batter. Let the pan remain for a few minutes over a clear fire; then sprinkle upon the omelet some chopped herbs and a few shreds of onion; double the omelet dexterously, and shake it out of the pan on to a hot dish. A simple sweet omelet can be made by the same process, substituting sugar or preserve for the chopped herbs.
Time.—2 minutes.
Average cost, 6d.
Sufficient for 2 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
ORANGE CREAM.
1463. INGREDIENTS.—1 oz. of isinglass, 6 large oranges, 1 lemon, sugar to taste, water, 1/2 pint of good cream.
[Illustration: OPEN MOULD.]
Mode.—Squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemon; strain it, and put it into a saucepan with the isinglass, and sufficient water to make in all 1-1/2 pint. Rub the sugar on the orange and lemon-rind, add it to the other ingredients, and boil all together for about 10 minutes. Strain through a muslin bag, and, when cold, beat up with it 1/2 pint of thick cream. Wet a mould, or soak it in cold water; pour in the cream, and put it in a cool place to set. If the weather is very cold, 1 oz. of isinglass will be found sufficient for the above proportion of ingredients.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the juice and water.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable from November to May.
ORANGE CREAMS.
1464. INGREDIENTS.—1 Seville orange, 1 tablespoonful of brandy, 1/4 lb. of loaf sugar, the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 pint of cream.
Mode.—Boil the rind of the Seville orange until tender, and beat it in a mortar to a pulp; add to it the brandy, the strained juice of the orange, and the sugar, and beat all together for about 10 minutes, adding the well-beaten yolks of eggs. Bring the cream to the boiling-point, and pour it very gradually to the other ingredients, and beat the mixture till nearly cold; put it into custard-cups, place the cups in a deep dish of boiling water, where let them remain till quite cold. Take the cups out of the water, wipe them, and garnish the tops of the creams with candied orange-peel or preserved chips.
Time.—Altogether, 3/4 hour.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 1s. 7d.
Sufficient to make 7 or 8 creams.
Seasonable from November to May.
Note.—To render this dish more economical, substitute milk for the cream, but add a small pinch of isinglass to make the creams firm.
SEVILLE ORANGE (Citrus vulgaris).—This variety, called also bitter orange, is of the same species as the sweet orange, and grows in great abundance on the banks of the Guadalquiver, in Andalusia, whence this fruit is chiefly obtained. In that part of Spain there are very extensive orchards of these oranges, which form the chief wealth of the monasteries. The pulp of the bitter orange is not eaten raw. In the yellow rind, separated from the white spongy substance immediately below it, is contained an essential oil, which is an agreeable warm aromatic, much superior for many purposes to that of the common orange. The best marmalade and the richest wine are made from this orange; and from its flowers the best orange-flower water is distilled. Seville oranges are also preserved whole as a sweetmeat.
ORANGE FRITTERS.
1465. INGREDIENTS.—For the batter, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk, oranges, hot lard or clarified dripping.
Mode.—Make a nice light batter with the above proportion of flour, butter, salt, eggs, and sufficient milk to make it the proper consistency; peel the oranges, remove as much of the white skin as possible, and divide each orange into eight pieces, without breaking the thin skin, unless it be to remove the pips; dip each piece of orange in the batter. Have ready a pan of boiling lard or clarified dripping; drop in the oranges, and fry them a delicate brown from 8 to 10 minutes. When done, lay them on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire, to drain away the greasy moisture, and dish them on a white d'oyley; sprinkle over them plenty of pounded sugar, and serve quickly.
Time.—8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters; 5 minutes to drain them.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from November to May.
A PRETTY DISH OF ORANGES.
1466. INGREDIENTS.—6 large oranges, 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, 1/4 pint of water, 1/2 pint of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of any kind of liqueur, sugar to taste.
Mode.—Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and boil them until the sugar becomes brittle, which may be ascertained by taking up a small quantity in a spoon, and dipping it in cold water; if the sugar is sufficiently boiled, it will easily snap. Peel the oranges, remove as much of the white pith as possible, and divide them into nice-sized slices, without breaking the thin white skin which surrounds the juicy pulp. Place the pieces of orange on small skewers, dip them into the hot sugar, and arrange them in layers round a plain mould, which should be well oiled with the purest salad-oil. The sides of the mould only should be lined with the oranges, and the centre left open for the cream. Let the sugar become firm by cooling; turn the oranges carefully out on a dish, and fill the centre with whipped cream, flavoured with any kind of liqueur, and sweetened with pounded sugar. This is an exceedingly ornamental and nice dish for the supper-table.
Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar. Average cost, 1s. 8d.
Sufficient for 1 mould. Seasonable from November to May.
TO MAKE PANCAKES.
1467. INGREDIENTS.—Eggs, flour, milk; to every egg allow 1 oz. of flour, about 1 gill of milk, 1/8 saltspoonful of salt.
[Illustration: PANCAKES.]
Mode.—Ascertain that the eggs are fresh; break each one separately in a cup; whisk them well, put them into a basin, with the flour, salt, and a few drops of milk, and beat the whole to a perfectly smooth batter; then add by degrees the remainder of the milk. The proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the size of the eggs, &c. &c.; but the batter, when ready for frying, should be of the consistency of thick cream. Place a small frying-pan on the fire to get hot; let it be delicately clean, or the pancakes will stick, and, when quite hot, put into it a small piece of butter, allowing about 1/2 oz. to each pancake. When it is melted, pour in the batter, about 1/2 teacupful to a pan 5 inches in diameter, and fry it for about 4 minutes, or until it is nicely brown on one side. By only pouring in a small quantity of batter, and so making the pancakes thin, the necessity of turning them (an operation rather difficult to unskilful cooks) is obviated. When the pancake is done, sprinkle over it some pounded sugar, roll it up in the pan, and take it out with a large slice, and place it on a dish before the fire. Proceed in this manner until sufficient are cooked for a dish; then send them quickly to table, and continue to send in a further quantity, as pancakes are never good unless eaten almost immediately they come from the frying-pan. The batter may be flavoured with a little grated lemon-rind, or the pancakes may have preserve rolled in them instead of sugar. Send sifted sugar and a cut lemon to table with them. To render the pancakes very light, the yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and the whites added the last thing to the batter before frying.
Time.—from 4 to 6 minutes for a pancake that does not require turning; from 6 to 8 minutes for a thicker one.
Average cost, for 3 persons, 6d.
Sufficient.—Allow 3 eggs, with the other ingredients in proportion, for 3 persons.
Seasonable at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.
RICHER PANCAKES.
1468. INGREDIENTS.—6 eggs, 1 pint of cream, 1/4 lb. of loaf sugar, 1 glass of sherry, 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, flour.
Mode.—Ascertain that the eggs are extremely fresh, beat them well, strain and mix with them the cream, pounded sugar, wine, nutmeg, and as much flour as will make the batter nearly as thick as that for ordinary pancakes. Make the frying-pan hot, wipe it with a clean cloth, pour in sufficient batter to make a thin pancake, and fry it for about 5 minutes. Dish the pancakes piled one above the other, strew sifted sugar between each, and serve.
Time.—About 5 minutes.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 2s. 3d.
Sufficient to make 8 pancakes.
Seasonable at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.
PEACH FRITTERS.
1469. INGREDIENTS.—For the batter: 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk;—peaches, hot lard or clarified dripping.
Mode.—Make a nice smooth, batter in the same manner as directed in recipe No. 1393, and skin, halve, and stone the peaches, which should be quite ripe; dip them in the batter, and fry the pieces in hot lard or clarified dripping, which should be brought to the boiling-point before the peaches are put in. From 8 to 10 minutes will be required to fry them, and, when done, drain them before the fire, and dish them on a white d'oyley. Strew over plenty of pounded sugar, and serve.
Time.—From 8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters, 6 minutes to drain them.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable in July, August, and September.
[Illustration: PEACH.]
PEACH.—The peach and nectarine are amongst the most delicious of our fruits, and are considered as varieties of the same species produced by cultivation. The former is characterized by a very delicate down, while the latter is smooth; but, as a proof of their identity as to species, trees have borne peaches in one part and nectarines in another; and even a single fruit has had down on one side and the other smooth. The trees are almost exactly alike, as well as the blossoms. Pliny states that the peach was originally brought from Persia, where it grows naturally, from which the name of Persica was bestowed upon it by the Romans; and some modern botanists apply this as the generic name, separating them from Amygdalus, or Almond, to which Linnaeus had united them. Although they are not tropical, they require a great deal of warmth to bring them to perfection: hence they seldom ripen in this country, in ordinary seasons, without the use of walls or glass; consequently, they bear a high price. In a good peach, the flesh is firm, the skin thin, of a deep bright colour next the sun and of a yellowish green next to the wall; the pulp is yellowish, full of highly-flavoured juice, the fleshy part thick, and the stone small. Too much down is a sign of inferior quality. This fruit is much used at the dessert, and makes a delicious preserve.
PEARS A L'ALLEMANDE.
1470. INGREDIENTS.—6 to 8 pears, water, sugar, 2 oz. of butter, the yolk of an egg, 1/2 oz. of gelatine.
Mode.—Peel and cut the pears into any form that may be preferred, and steep them in cold water to prevent them turning black; put them into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover them, and boil them with the butter and enough sugar to sweeten them nicely, until tender; then brush the pears over with the yolk of an egg, sprinkle them with sifted sugar, and arrange them on a dish. Add the gelatine to the syrup, boil it up quickly for about 5 minutes, strain it over the pears, and let it remain until set. The syrup may be coloured with a little prepared cochineal, which would very much improve the appearance of the dish.
Time.—From 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to stew the pears; 5 minutes to boil the syrup.
Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for a large dish.
Seasonable from August to February.
MOULDED PEARS.
1471. INGREDIENTS.—4 large pears or 6 small ones, 8 cloves, sugar to taste, water, a small piece of cinnamon, 1/4 pint of raisin wine, a strip of lemon-peel, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 oz. of gelatine.
Mode.—Peel and cut the pears into quarters; put them into a jar with 3/4 pint of water, cloves, cinnamon, and sufficient sugar to sweeten the whole nicely; cover down the top of the jar, and bake the pears in a gentle oven until perfectly tender, but do not allow them to break. When done, lay the pears in a plain mould, which should be well wetted, and boil 1/2 pint of the liquor the pears were baked in with the wine, lemon-peel, strained juice, and gelatine. Let these ingredients boil quickly for 5 minutes, then strain the liquid warm over the pears; put the mould in a cool place, and when the jelly is firm, turn it out on a glass dish.
Time.—2 hours to bake the pears in a cool oven.
Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for a quart mould.
Seasonable from August to February
PINEAPPLE FRITTERS.
(An elegant Dish.)
1472. INGREDIENTS.—A small pineapple, a small wineglassful of brandy or liqueur, 2 oz. of sifted sugar; batter as for apple fritters No. 1393.
Mode.—This elegant dish, although it may appear extravagant, is really not so if made when pineapples are plentiful. We receive them now in such large quantities from the West Indies, that at times they may be purchased at an exceedingly low rate: it would not, of course, be economical to use the pines which are grown in our English pineries for the purposes of fritters. Pare the pine with as little waste as possible, cut it into rather thin slices, and soak these slices in the above proportion of brandy or liqueur and pounded sugar for 4 hours; then make a batter the same as for apple fritters, substituting cream for the milk, and using a smaller quantity of flour; and, when this is ready, dip in the pieces of pine, and fry them in boiling lard from 5 to 8 minutes; turn them when sufficiently brown on one side, and, when done, drain them from the lard before the fire, dish them on a white d'oyley, strew over them sifted sugar, and serve quickly.
Time.—5 to 8 minutes.
Average cost, when cheap and plentiful, 1s. 6d. for the pine.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable in July and August.
PINEAPPLE.—The pineapple has not been known in Europe above two hundred years, and has not been cultivated in England much above a century. It is stated that the first pineapples raised in Europe were by M. La Cour, of Leyden, about the middle of the 17th century; and it is said to have been first cultivated in England by Sir Matthew Decker, of Richmond. In Kensington Palace, there is a picture in which Charles II. is represented as receiving a pineapple from his gardener Rose, who is presenting it on his knees.
PLAIN FRITTERS.
1473. INGREDIENTS.—3 oz. of flour, 3 eggs, 1/3 pint of milk.
[Illustration: STAR FRITTER-MOULD.]
Mode.—Mix the flour to a smooth batter with a small quantity of the milk; stir in the eggs, which should be well whisked, and then the remainder of the milk; boat the whole to a perfectly smooth batter, and should it be found not quite thin enough, add two or three tablespoonfuls more milk. Have ready a frying-pan, with plenty of boiling lard in it; drop in rather more than a tablespoonful at a time of the batter, and fry the fritters a nice brown, turning them when sufficiently cooked on one side. Drain them well from the greasy moisture by placing them upon a piece of blotting-paper before the fire; dish them on a white d'oyley, sprinkle over them sifted sugar, and send to table with them a cut lemon and plenty of pounded sugar.
Time.—From 6 to 8 minutes.
Average cost, 4d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
POTATO FRITTERS.
1474. INGREDIENTS.—2 large potatoes, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 ditto of raisin or sweet wine, 1 dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, 4 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, hot lard.
[Illustration: SCROLL FRITTER-MOULD.]
Mode.—Boil the potatoes, and beat them up lightly with a fork, but do not use a spoon, as that would make them heavy. Beat the eggs well, leaving out one of the whites; add the other ingredients, and beat all together for at least 20 minutes, or until the batter is extremely light. Put plenty of good lard into a frying-pan, and drop a tablespoonful of the batter at a time into it, and fry the fritters a nice brown. Serve them with the following sauce:—A glass of sherry mixed with the strained juice of a lemon, and sufficient white sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Warm these ingredients, and serve the sauce separately in a tureen. The fritters should be neatly dished on a white d'oyley, and pounded sugar sprinkled over them; and they should be well drained on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire previously to being dished.
Time.—From 6 to 8 minutes.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
RASPBERRY CREAM.
1475. INGREDIENTS.—3/4 pint of milk, 3/4 pint of cream, 1-1/2 oz. of isinglass, raspberry jelly, sugar to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy.
[Illustration: RASPBERRY CREAM MOULD.]
Mode.—Boil the milk, cream, and isinglass together for 1/4 hour, or until the latter is melted, and strain it through a hair sieve into a basin. Let it cool a little; then add to it sufficient raspberry jelly, which, when melted, would make 1/3 pint, and stir well till the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. If not sufficiently sweet, add a little pounded sugar with the brandy; whisk the mixture well until nearly cold, put it into a well-oiled mould, and set it in a cool place till perfectly set. Raspberry jam may be substituted for the jelly, but must be melted, and rubbed through a sieve, to free it from seeds: in summer, the juice of the fresh fruit may be used, by slightly mashing it with a wooden spoon, and sprinkling sugar over it; the juice that flows from the fruit should then be used for mixing with the cream. If the colour should not be very good, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added to improve its appearance. (See coloured plate T1.)
Time.—1/4 hour to boil the cream and isinglass.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, and the best isinglass, 3s.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable, with jelly, at any time.
Note.—Strawberry cream may be made in precisely the same manner, substituting strawberry jam or jelly for the raspberry.
RICE BLANCMANGE.
1476. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of ground rice, 3 oz. of loaf sugar, 1 oz. of fresh butter, 1 quart of milk, flavouring of lemon-peel, essence of almonds or vanilla, or laurel-leaves.
Mode.—Mix the rice to a smooth batter with about 1/2 pint of the milk, and the remainder put into a saucepan, with the sugar, butter, and whichever of the above flavourings may be preferred; bring the milk to the boiling-point, quickly stir in the rice, and let it boil for about 10 minutes, or until it comes easily away from the saucepan, keeping it well stirred the whole time. Grease a mould with pure salad-oil; pour in the rice, and let it get perfectly set, when it should turn out quite easily; garnish it with jam, or pour round a compÔte of any kind of fruit, just before it is sent to table. This blancmange is better for being made the day before it is wanted, as it then has time to become firm. If laurel-leaves are used for flavouring, steep 3 of them in the milk, and take them out before the rice is added: about 8 drops of essence of almonds, or from 12 to 16 drops of essence of vanilla, would be required to flavour the above proportion of milk.
Time.—From 10 to 15 minutes to boil the rice.
Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE CROQUETTES.
1477. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of rice, 1 quart of milk, 6 oz. of pounded sugar, flavouring of vanilla, lemon-peel, or bitter almonds, egg and bread crumbs, hot lard.
Mode.—Put the rice, milk, and sugar into a saucepan, and let the former gradually swell over a gentle fire until all the milk is dried up; and just before the rice is done, stir in a few drops of essence of any of the above flavourings. Let the rice get cold; then form it into small round balls, dip them into yolk of egg, sprinkle them with bread crumbs, and fry them in boiling lard for about 10 minutes, turning them about, that they may get equally browned. Drain the greasy moisture from them, by placing them on a cloth in front of the fire for a minute or two; pile them on a white d'oyley, and send them quickly to table. A small piece of jam is sometimes introduced into the middle of each croquette, which adds very much to the flavour of this favourite dish.
Time.—From 3/4 to 1 hour to swell the rice; about 10 minutes to fry the croquettes.
Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient to make 7 or 8 croquettes.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE FRITTERS.
1478. INGREDIENTS.—6 oz. of rice, 1 quart of milk, 3 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of fresh butter 6 oz. of orange marmalade, 4 eggs.
Mode.—Swell the rice in the milk, with the sugar and butter, over a slow fire until it is perfectly tender, which will be in about 3/4 hour. When the rice is done, strain away the milk, should there be any left, and mix with it the marmalade and well-beaten eggs; stir the whole over the fire until the eggs are set; then spread the mixture on a dish to the thickness of about 1/2 inch, or rather thicker. When it is perfectly cold, cut it into long strips, dip them in a batter the same as for apple fritters, and fry them a nice brown. Dish them on a white d'oyley, strew sifted sugar over, and serve quickly.
Time.—About 3/4 hour to swell the rice; from 7 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters.
Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient to make 7 or 8 fritters.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE SNOWBALLS. (A pretty dish for Juvenile Suppers.)
1479. INGREDIENTS.—6 oz. of rice, 1 quart of milk, flavouring of essence of almonds, sugar to taste, 1 pint of custard made by recipe No. 1423.
Mode.—Boil the rice in the milk, with sugar and a flavouring of essence of almonds, until the former is tender, adding, if necessary, a little more milk, should it dry away too much. When the rice is quite soft, put it into teacups, or small round jars, and let it remain until cold; then turn the rice out on a deep glass dish, pour over a custard made by recipe No. 1423, and, on the top of each ball place a small piece of bright-coloured preserve or jelly. Lemon-peel or vanilla may be boiled with the rice instead of the essence of almonds, when either of these is preferred; but the flavouring of the custard must correspond with that of the rice.
Time.—About 3/4 hour to swell the rice in the milk.
Average cost, with the custard, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 children.
Seasonable at any time.
RICE SOUFFLE.
1480. INGREDIENTS.—3 tablespoonfuls of ground rice, 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, pounded sugar to taste, flavouring of lemon-rind, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, or anything that may be preferred, a piece of butter the size of a walnut.
Mode.—Mix the ground rice with 6 tablespoonfuls of the milk quite smoothly, and put it into a saucepan with the remainder of the milk and butter, and keep stirring it over the fire for about 1/4 hour, or until the mixture thickens. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, beat the former in a basin, and stir to them the rice and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the soufflÉ; but add this latter ingredient as sparingly as possible, as, the less sugar there is used, the lighter will be the soufflÉ. Now whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth or snow; mix them with the other preparation, and pour the whole into a soufflÉ-dish, and put it instantly into the oven; bake it about 1/2 hour in a moderate oven; take it out, hold a salamander or hot shovel over the top, sprinkle sifted sugar over it, and send the soufflÉ to table in the dish it was baked in, either with a napkin pinned round, or inclosed in a more ornamental dish. The excellence of this fashionable dish entirely depends on the proper whisking of the whites of the eggs, the manner of baking, and the expedition with which it is sent to table. SoufflÉs should be served instantly from the oven, or they will sink, and be nothing more than an ordinary pudding.
Time.—About 1/2 hour.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A SOUFFLE.
1481. INGREDIENTS.—3 heaped tablespoonfuls of potato-flour, rice-flour, arrowroot, or tapioca, 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, sifted sugar to taste, 1/4 saltspoonful of salt flavouring.
Mode.—Mix the potato-flour, or whichever one of the above ingredients is used, with a little of the milk; put it into a saucepan, with the remainder of the milk, the butter, salt, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Stir these ingredients over the fire until the mixture thickens; then take it off the fire, and let it cool a little. Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, beat the latter, and stir them into the soufflÉ batter. Now whisk the whites of the eggs to the firmest possible froth, for on this depends the excellence of the dish; stir them to the other ingredients, and add a few drops of essence of any flavouring that may be preferred; such as vanilla, lemon, orange, ginger, &c. &c. Pour the batter into a soufflÉ-dish, put it immediately into the oven, and bake for about 1/2 hour; then take it out, put the dish into another more ornamental one, such as is made for the purpose; hold a salamander or hot shovel over the soufflÉ, strew it with sifted sugar, and send it instantly to table. The secret of making a soufflÉ well, is to have the eggs well whisked, but particularly the whites, the oven not too hot, and to send it to table the moment it comes from the oven. If the soufflÉ be ever so well made, and it is allowed to stand before being sent to table, its appearance and goodness will be entirely spoiled. SoufflÉs may be flavoured in various ways, but must be named accordingly. Vanilla is one of the most delicate and recherchÉ flavourings that can be used for this very fashionable dish.
Time.—About 1/2 hour in the oven; 2 or 3 minutes to hold the salamander over.
Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
SNOW EGGS, or OEUFS A LA NEIGE.
(A very pretty Supper Dish.)
1482. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 3/4 pint of milk, pounded sugar to taste, flavouring of vanilla, lemon-rind, or orange-flower water.
Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan with sufficient sugar to sweeten it nicely, and the rind of 1/2 lemon. Let this steep by the side of the fire for 1/2 hour, when take out the peel; separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, and whisk the former to a perfectly stiff froth, or until there is no liquid remaining; bring the milk to the boiling-point, and drop in the snow a tablespoonful at a time, and keep turning the eggs until sufficiently cooked. Then place them on a glass dish, beat up the yolks of the eggs, stir to them the milk, add a little more sugar, and strain this mixture into a jug; place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water, and stir it one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Pour this custard over the eggs, when they should rise to the surface. They make an exceedingly pretty addition to a supper, and should be put in a cold place after being made. When they are flavoured with vanilla or orange-flower water, it is not necessary to steep the milk. A few drops of the essence of either may be poured in the milk just before the whites are poached. In making the custard, a little more flavouring and sugar should always be added.
Time.—About 2 minutes to poach the whites; 8 minutes to stir the custard.
Average cost, 8d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
STONE CREAM OF TOUS LES MOIS.
1483. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of preserve, 1 pint of milk, 2 oz. of lump sugar, 1 heaped tablespoonful of tous les mois, 3 drops of essence of cloves, 3 drops of almond-flavouring.
Mode.—Place the preserve at the bottom of a glass dish; put the milk into a lined saucepan, with the sugar, and make it boil. Mix to a smooth batter the tous les mois, with a very little cold milk; stir it briskly into the boiling milk, add the flavouring, and simmer for 2 minutes. When rather cool, but before turning solid, pour the cream over the jam, and ornament it with strips of red-currant jelly or preserved fruit.
Time.—2 minutes. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
STRAWBERRY JELLY.
1484. INGREDIENTS.—Strawberries, pounded sugar; to every pint of juice allow 1-1/4 oz. of isinglass.
Mode.—Pick the strawberries, put them into a pan, squeeze them well with a wooden spoon, add sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten them nicely, and let them remain for 1 hour, that the juice may be extracted; then add 1/2 pint of water to every pint of juice. Strain the strawberry-juice and water through a bag; measure it, and to every pint allow 1-1/4 oz. of isinglass, melted and clarified in 1/4 pint of water. Mix this with the juice; put the jelly into a mould, and set the mould in ice. A little lemon-juice added to the strawberry-juice improves the flavour of the jelly, if the fruit is very ripe; but it must be well strained before it is put to the other ingredients, or it will make the jelly muddy.
Time.—1 hour to draw the juice.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s.
Sufficient.—Allow 1-1/2 pint of jelly for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable in June, July, and August.
SWISS CREAM.
1485. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of macaroons or 6 small sponge-cakes, sherry, 1 pint of cream, 5 oz. of lump sugar, 2 large tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, the rind of 1 lemon, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 tablespoonfuls of milk.
Mode.—Lay the macaroons or sponge-cakes in a glass dish, and pour over them as much sherry as will cover them, or sufficient to soak them well. Put the cream into a lined saucepan, with the sugar and lemon-rind, and let it remain by the side of the fire until the cream is well flavoured, when take out the lemon-rind. Mix the arrowroot smoothly with the cold milk; add this to the cream, and let it boil gently for about 3 minutes, keeping it well stirred. Take it off the fire, stir till nearly cold, when add the lemon-juice, and pour the whole over the cakes. Garnish the cream with strips of angelica, or candied citron cut thin, or bright-coloured jelly or preserve. This cream is exceedingly delicious, flavoured with vanilla instead of lemon: when this flavouring is used, the sherry may be omitted, and the mixture poured over the dry cakes.
Time.—About 1/2 hour to infuse the lemon-rind; 5 minutes to boil the cream.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 3s.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE SYLLABUB.
1486. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of sherry or white wine, 1/2 grated nutmeg, sugar to taste, 1-1/2 pint of milk.
Mode.—Put the wine into a bowl, with the grated nutmeg and plenty of pounded sugar, and milk into it the above proportion of milk frothed up. Clouted cream may be laid on the top, with pounded cinnamon or nutmeg and sugar; and a little brandy may be added to the wine before the milk is put in. In some counties, cider is substituted for the wine: when this is used, brandy must always be added. Warm milk may be poured on from a spouted jug or teapot; but it must be held very high.
Average cost, 2s.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
TIPSY CAKE.
1487. INGREDIENTS.—1 moulded sponge-or Savoy-cake, sufficient sweet wine or sherry to soak it, 6 tablespoonfuls of brandy, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, 1 pint of rich custard.
[Illustration: TIPSY CAKE.]
Mode.—Procure a cake that is three or four days old,—either sponge, Savoy, or rice answering for the purpose of a tipsy cake. Cut the bottom of the cake level, to make it stand firm in the dish; make a small hole in the centre, and pour in and over the cake sufficient sweet wine or sherry, mixed with the above proportion of brandy, to soak it nicely. When the cake is well soaked, blanch and cut the almonds into strips, stick them all over the cake, and pour round it a good custard, made by recipe No. 1423, allowing 8 eggs instead of 5 to the pint of milk. The cakes are sometimes crumbled and soaked, and a whipped cream heaped over them, the same as for trifles.
Time.—About 2 hours to soak the cake. Average cost, 4s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 dish. Seasonable at any time.
ALMOND.—The almond-tree is a native of warmer climates than Britain, and is indigenous to the northern parts of Africa and Asia; but it is now commonly cultivated in Italy, Spain, and the south of France. It is not usually grown in Britain, and the fruit seldom ripens in this country: it is much admired for the beauty of its blossoms. In the form of its leaves and blossoms it strongly resembles the peach-tree, and is included in the same genus by botanists; but the fruit, instead of presenting a delicious pulp like the peach, shrivels up as it ripens, and becomes only a tough coriaceous covering to the stone inclosing the eatable kernel, which is surrounded by a thin bitter skin. It flowers early in the spring, and produces fruit in August. There are two sorts of almonds,—sweet and bitter; but they are considered to be only varieties of the species; and though the qualities of the kernels are very different, they are not distinguishable by their appearance.
AN EASY WAY OF MAKING A TIPSY CAKE.
1488. INGREDIENTS.—12 stale small sponge-cakes, raisin wine, 1/2 lb. of jam, 1 pint of custard No. 1423.
Mode.—Soak the sponge-cakes, which should be stale (on this account they should be cheaper), in a little raisin wine; arrange them on a deep glass dish in four layers, putting a layer of jam between each, and pour round them a pint of custard, made by recipe No. 1423, decorating the top with cut preserved fruit.
Time.—2 hours to soak the cakes. Average cost, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 dish. Seasonable at any time.
TO MAKE A TRIFLE.
1489. INGREDIENTS.—For the whip, 1 pint of cream, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, the whites of 2 eggs, a small glass of sherry or raisin wine. For the trifle, 1 pint of custard, made with 8 eggs to a pint of milk; 6 small sponge-cakes, or 6 slices of sponge-cake; 12 macaroons, 2 dozen ratafias, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, the grated rind of 1 lemon, a layer of raspberry or strawberry jam, 1/2 pint of sherry or sweet wine, 6 tablespoonfuls of brandy.
[Illustration: TRIFLE.]
Mode.—The whip to lay over the top of the trifle should be made the day before it is required for table, as the flavour is better, and it is much more solid than when prepared the same day. Put into a large bowl the pounded sugar, the whites of the eggs, which should be beaten to a stiff froth, a glass of sherry or sweet wine, and the cream. Whisk these ingredients well in a cool place, and take off the froth with a skimmer as fast as it rises, and put it on a sieve to drain; continue the whisking till there is sufficient of the whip, which must be put away in a cool place to drain. The next day, place the sponge-cakes, macaroons, and ratafias at the bottom of a trifle-dish; pour over them 1/2 pint of sherry or sweet wine, mixed with 6 tablespoonfuls of brandy, and, should this proportion of wine not be found quite sufficient, add a little more, as the cakes should be well soaked. Over the cakes put the grated lemon-rind, the sweet almonds, blanched and cut into strips, and a layer of raspberry or strawberry jam. Make a good custard by recipe No. 1423, using 8 instead of 5 eggs to the pint of milk, and let this cool a little; then pour it over the cakes, &c. The whip being made the day previously, and the trifle prepared, there remains nothing to do now but heap the whip lightly over the top: this should stand as high as possible, and it may be garnished with strips of bright currant jelly, crystallized sweetmeats, or flowers; the small coloured comfits are sometimes used for the purpose of garnishing a trifle, but they are now considered rather old-fashioned. (See coloured plate, V1.)
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 5s. 6d.
Sufficient for 1 trifle. Seasonable at any time.
VANILLA CREAM.
1490. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of milk, the yolks of 8 eggs, 6 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of isinglass, flavouring to taste of essence of vanilla.
[Illustration: VANILLA-CREAM MOULD.]
Mode.—Put the milk and sugar into a saucepan, and let it get hot over a slow fire; beat up the yolks of the eggs, to which add gradually the sweetened milk; flavour the whole with essence of vanilla, put the mixture into a jug, and place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water. Stir the contents with a wooden spoon one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will be full of lumps. Take it off the fire; stir in the isinglass, which should be previously dissolved in about 1/4 pint of water, and boiled for 2 or 3 minutes; pour the cream into an oiled mould, put it in a cool place to set, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Instead of using the essence of vanilla, a pod may be boiled in the milk instead, until the flavour is well extracted. A pod, or a pod and a half, will be found sufficient for the above proportion of ingredients.
Time.—About 10 minutes to stir the mixture.
Average cost, with the best isinglass, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.
VANILLE or VANILLA, is the fruit of the vanillier, a parasitical herbaceous plant, which flourishes in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. The fruit is a long capsule, thick and fleshy. Certain species of this fruit contain a pulp with a delicious perfume and flavour. Vanilla is principally imported from Mexico. The capsules for export are always picked at perfect maturity. The essence is the form in which it is used generally and most conveniently. Its properties are stimulating and exciting. It is in daily use for ices, chocolates, and flavouring confections generally.
VICTORIA SANDWICHES.
1491. INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs; their weight in pounded sugar, butter, and flour; 1/4 saltspoonful of salt, a layer of any kind of jam or marmalade.
Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour and pounded sugar; stir these ingredients well together, and add the eggs, which should be previously thoroughly whisked. When the mixture has been well beaten for about 10 minutes, butter a Yorkshire-pudding tin, pour in the batter, and bake it in a moderate oven for 20 minutes. Let it cool, spread one half of the cake with a layer of nice preserve, place over it the other half of the cake, press the pieces slightly together, and then cut it into long finger-pieces; pile them in crossbars on a glass dish, and serve.
Time.—20 minutes.
Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
WHIPPED CREAM, for putting on Trifles, serving in Glasses, &c.
1492. INGREDIENTS.—To every pint of cream allow 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 1 glass of sherry or any kind of sweet white wine, the rind of 1/2 lemon, the white of 1 egg.
[Illustration: PASTRY LEAF.]
Mode.—Rub the sugar on the lemon-rind, and pound it in a mortar until quite fine, and beat up the white of the egg until quite stiff; put the cream into a large bowl, with the sugar, wine, and beaten egg, and whip it to a froth; as fast as the froth rises, take it off with a skimmer, and put it on a sieve to drain, in a cool place. This should be made the day before it is wanted, as the whip is then so much firmer. The cream should be whipped in a cool place, and in summer, over ice, if it is obtainable. A plain whipped cream may be served on a glass dish, and garnished with strips of angelica, or pastry leaves, or pieces of bright-coloured jelly: it makes a very pretty addition to the supper-table.
Time.—About 1 hour to whip the cream.
Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 1s. 9d.
Sufficient for 1 dish or 1 trifle.
Seasonable at any time.
WHIPPED SYLLABUBS.
1493. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of cream, 1/4 pint of sherry, half that quantity of brandy, the juice of 1/2 lemon, a little grated nutmeg, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, whipped cream the same as for trifle No. 1489.
Mode.—Mix all the ingredients together, put the syllabub into glasses, and over the top of them heap a little whipped cream, made in the same manner as for trifle No. 1489. Solid syllabub is made by whisking or milling the mixture to a stiff froth, and putting it in the glasses, without the whipped cream at the top.
Average cost, 1s. 8d.
Sufficient to fill 8 or 9 glasses.
Seasonable at any time.
THE CURE'S OMELET.
"Every one knows," says Brillat Savarin, in his "Physiology of Taste," "that for twenty years Madame RÉcamier was the most beautiful woman in Paris. It is also well known that she was exceedingly charitable, and took a great interest in every benevolent work. Wishing to consult the CurÉ of —— respecting the working of an institution, she went to his house at five o'clock in the afternoon, and was much astonished at finding him already at his dinner-table.
"Madame RÉcamier wished to retire, but the CurÉ would not hear of it. A neat white cloth covered the table; some good old wine sparkled in a crystal decanter; the porcelain was of the best; the plates had heaters of boiling water beneath them; a neatly-costumed maid-servant was in attendance. The repast was a compromise between frugality and luxury. The crawfish-soup had just been removed, and there was on the table a salmon-trout, an omelet, and a salad.
"'My dinner will tell you,' said the worthy CurÉ, with a smile, 'that it is fast-day, according to our Church's regulations.' Madame RÉcamier and her host attacked the trout, the sauce served with which betrayed a skilful hand, the countenance of the CurÉ the while showing satisfaction.
"And now they fell upon the omelet, which was round, sufficiently thick, and cooked, so to speak, to a hair's-breadth.
"As the spoon entered the omelet, a thick rich juice issued from it, pleasant to the eye as well as to the smell; the dish became full of it; and our fair friend owns that, between the perfume and the sight, it made her mouth water.
"'It is an omelette au thon' (that is to say, a tunny omelet), said the CurÉ, noticing, with the greatest delight, the emotion of Madame RÉcamier, 'and few people taste it without lavishing praises on it.'
"'It surprises me not at all,' returned the beauty; 'never has so enticing an omelet met my gaze at any of our lay tables.'
"'My cook understands them well, I think.'
"'Yes,' added Madame, 'I never ate anything so delightful.'"
Then came the salad, which Savarin recommends to all who place confidence in him. It refreshes without exciting; and he has a theory that it makes people younger.
Amidst pleasant converse the dessert arrived. It consisted of three apples, cheese, and a plate of preserves; and then upon a little round table was served the Mocha coffee, for which France has been, and is, so justly famous.
"'I never,' said the CurÉ, 'take spirits; I always offer liqueurs to my guests but reserve the use of them, myself, to my old age, if it should please Providence to grant me that.'
"Finally, the charming Madame RÉcamier took her leave, and told all her friends of the delicious omelet which she had seen and partaken of."
And Brillat Savarin, in his capacity as the Layard of the concealed treasures of Gastronomia, has succeeded in withdrawing from obscurity the details of the preparation of which so much had been said, and which he imagines to be as wholesome as it was agreeable.
Here follows the recipe:—
OMELETTE AU THON.
1494. Take, for 6 persons, the roes of 2 carp; [Footnote: An American writer says he has followed this recipe, substituting pike, shad, &c., in the place of carp, and can recommend all these also, with a quiet conscience. Any fish, indeed, may be used with success.] bleach them, by putting them, for 5 minutes, in boiling water slightly salted. Take a piece of fresh tunny about the size of a hen's egg, to which add a small shalot already chopped; hash up together the roe and the tunny, so as to mix them well, and throw the whole into a saucepan, with a sufficient quantity of very good butter: whip it up until the butter is melted! This constitutes the specialty of the omelet. Take a second piece of butter, À discrÉtion, mix it with parsley and herbs, place it in a long-shaped dish destined to receive the omelet; squeeze the juice of a lemon over it, and place it on hot embers. Beat up 12 eggs (the fresher the better); throw up the sautÉ of roe and tunny, stirring it so as to mix all well together; then make your omelet in the usual manner, endeavouring to turn it out long, thick, and soft. Spread it carefully on the dish prepared for it, and serve at once. This dish ought to be reserved for recherchÉ dÉjeÛners, or for assemblies where amateurs meet who know how to eat well; washed down with a good old wine, it will work wonders.
Note.—The roe and the tunny must be beaten up (sautÉ) without allowing them to boil, to prevent their hardening, which would prevent them mixing well with the eggs. Your dish should be hollowed towards the centre, to allow the gravy to concentrate, that it may be helped with a spoon. The dish ought to be slightly heated, otherwise the cold china will extract all the heat from the omelet.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXX.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON PRESERVES, CONFECTIONARY, ICES, AND DESSERT DISHES.
PRESERVES.
1495. From the nature of vegetable substances, and chiefly from their not passing so rapidly into the putrescent state as animal bodies, the mode of preserving them is somewhat different, although the general principles are the same. All the means of preservation are put in practice occasionally for fruits and the various parts of vegetables, according to the nature of the species, the climate, the uses to which they are applied, &c. Some are dried
