There are several good filters, but the great majority or the people find them too complicated for daily use.

The bottom of the filter should be of silvered brass-gauze instead of perforated tin, as it is generally.

Gauze-holes being much smaller than those of perforated tin, the coffee can be ground much finer, and therefore, all the strength and aroma can be had; while if ground coarse, it is utterly impossible.

Good coffee cannot be made in a utensil often but wrongly called a coffee-pot, which is nothing but a pot, and something like a tea-pot.

With such a utensil, the grounds must be boiled; and as no liquor can be boiled without allowing the steam to escape (the steam made by boiling coffee being its aroma), therefore the best part of the coffee is evaporated before it is served.

Never grind your coffee until ready to make it.

No matter how air-tight you keep it, the aroma evaporates or is absorbed.

Coffee can be ground and made as soon as cool; but it is better to let it stand for about twenty-four hours after being roasted.

If kept as air-tight as possible in a tin-box, it will keep very well for about a week.

Never buy ground coffee except when you cannot help it.

By taking a pinch of ground coffee and rolling it between wetted fingers, it will remain in grains, if pure; and will form in a ball if foreign matters are mixed with it.

TO ROAST.

In roasting, good coffee swells about thirty-three per cent., and loses about sixteen per cent. in weight.

Roast once a week or oftener.

Put coffee in the apparatus (cylinder, or drum, or roaster), the quantity to be according to the size of the roaster, or according to how much is needed. Have a rather slow fire at first; when the coffee has swollen, augment the fire, turning, shaking, tossing the roaster, sometimes fast, sometimes slowly, and take from the fire a little before it is roasted enough; the roasting will be finished before the coffee gets cold and before taking it from the roaster, which you continue turning and shaking as if it were yet on the fire.

A charcoal fire is the handiest, and more easily regulated.

It is well roasted when it evaporates a pleasing odor and when of a brownish color.

Then take it from the roaster, spread it on a matting or on a piece of cloth, and put it in a tin-box as soon as cold.

It is exceedingly difficult, if not utterly impossible, to roast coffee properly by machinery, and for two reasons: in the first place, there is too much of it in the cylinder to roast evenly, some berries are burned, others not roasted enough; the other is, that being turned by machinery, the cylinder is turned regularly and is neither shaken nor tossed; and even if there were not too much coffee in it, some berries would be much more roasted than others.

TO MAKE.

Set a kettle of cold water on the fire. Place the ground coffee in the filter, and as soon as the water begins to boil, pour just enough of it over the coffee to wet it. Put the kettle back on the fire, and again, at the first boiling, pour it over the coffee rather slowly, and till you have poured enough water to furnish the quantity of coffee required.

If the water does not pass through fast enough, just stop pouring for a few seconds, that is, long enough to put the kettle back on the fire and start the boiling again. As soon as the water has passed through, the coffee is made. The quantity of coffee must be according to the strength you wish it, and the quantity wanted, or according to age and constitution.

Four teaspoonfuls make a quart of very good coffee for breakfast. It would be rather strong for children, but can be diluted to a proper state with milk.

No matter what quantity of coffee is put in the filter, the liquor must be clear; the more is used, the blacker the substance is, but it must never be muddy. If muddy at all, be sure you have not used good coffee.

One pound of good coffee to a quart of water, should make black but clear coffee.

CAFÉ AU LAIT.

This is coffee and milk for breakfast. The milk is set on the fire in a tin saucepan, and taken off when it rises; then mixed with the coffee, either in the cup or any kind of vessel. The proportions are pint for pint.

CAFÉ NOIR.

CafÉ noir is the name given to the coffee taken after dinner. It is generally made rather strong. Gentlemen sometimes put liquor in it—a glass of brandy, or rum, or kirschwasser; and ladies, a little cold milk.

Taken fifteen or twenty minutes after dinner, it helps digestion. It excites the faculties of the mind, and gives what physiologists call "agreeable sensations."

Coffee is nutritious, and to a certain extent prevents waste of the system.

CHOCOLATE.

The quantity of chocolate for a certain quantity of milk is according to taste. Two ounces of chocolate make a good cup of it, and rather thick.

Break the chocolate in pieces, put it in a tin saucepan with a tablespoonful of water to an ounce of chocolate, and set it on a rather slow fire. Stir now and then till thoroughly melted.

While the chocolate is melting, set the quantity of milk desired in another tin saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it rises and when the chocolate is melted, as directed above, turn the milk into the chocolate, little by little, beating well at the same time with an egg-beater. Keep beating and boiling after being mixed, for three or four minutes; take off and serve.

If both chocolate and milk are good, it will be frothy; and no better or more nutritious drink can be had.

CHOCA.

Choca is nothing more nor less than one cup of coffee and milk mixed with a cup of chocolate, and for breakfast.

COCOA.

Put in a tea or coffee cup one or two tablespoonfuls of ground cocoa, pour boiling water or boiling milk on it, little by little, stirring with a spoon the while; sweeten it to taste. A few drops of essence of vanilla may be added, according to taste.

ESSENCE OF SPINACH, OR GREEN ESSENCE.

Put two handfuls of very green and fresh spinach in a mortar and pound it well. Then put it in a saucepan, set on a rather slow fire, and when on the point of boiling take it off, pass it through a sieve and use. It may be kept for some time with a little sugar.

ESSENCE OF BEEF.

The essence of beef of commerce is well known.

To make essence of beef used in cooking and called glace in French, set three or four quarts of broth on a slow fire, in a saucepan and reduce it to jelly. Keep it simmering all the time; it may take twenty hours to reduce. When properly reduced, it is of a very dark-brown color and has a very pleasant odor.

When cold, it must be rather hard.

When essence of beef tastes like glue and has an unpleasant odor, it is not made properly, or with good beef.

If properly made, it will keep any length of time.

It is used to thicken sauces, to decorate boned birds, etc.; when in a hurry, it may be used to make soup, but, like every thing preserved, is of course inferior to fresh broth.

ICING.

Put about three tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar in a bowl with the white of a small egg; and then mix and work well for at least five minutes with a piece of wood. When done it is perfectly white and rather thick.

Make a kind of funnel with thick, white paper; put the mixture in it, and by squeezing it out, you make decorations according to fancy, on cakes, charlotte russe, etc. You make the decorations of the size you please, by cutting the smaller end of the paper-funnel of the size you wish.

The mixture may also be spread on cakes with a knife, according to what kind of decoration is desired.

A charlotte russe may be decorated in the same way, with the same cream as that used to fill it.

MEAT JELLIES.

Put in a saucepan two ounces of gelatine with three eggs and shells, a tablespoonful of salt, the rind of half a lemon, a liquor-glass of rum or brandy, or a wine-glass of sherry, port, or madeira wine; mix well the whole. Add one quart of broth, twelve pepper-corns; beat the whole well with an egg-beater and set on a good fire; stir gently till it comes to a boil; then move it on a rather slow fire; boil slowly for about eight minutes and turn into the jelly-bag. Have two bowls at hand to be used alternately; have one under the bag before turning the jelly into it; and when it has passed through the bag once, turn it into the bag again, putting the other bowl under; repeat this three or four times, and it will be perfectly clear. Just before turning into the bag the first time, a few drops of burnt sugar are added to give the jelly an amber color. Use the jelly immediately if wanted in liquid form, as to fill a meat-pie, etc., or put it on ice to congeal.

Boned-turkey Jelly.—As soon as the water in which you have boiled a boned turkey is cold, skim off the fat and strain it. Then proceed exactly as for meat jelly, except that you take one quart of the above instead of one quart of beef broth.

Boned-chicken Jelly.—Prepare the water in which the boned chicken has been cooked, the same as above; take a quart of it and proceed as for meat jelly for the rest.

For jelly to decorate any boned bird, the water in which it has been cooked may be used, as described above.

Calves'-feet Jelly.—Scald well four calves' feet, and split each in two lengthwise. Put them in a saucepan with about three pints of water, two onions, two cloves, two cloves of garlic, six sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a stalk of celery if handy, salt, and half a dozen pepper-corns. Set on the fire, boil gently till well cooked. Serve the feet with a poulette or vinaigrette.

Strain the liquor; put in it two eggs with their shells, salt, rum or wine, as in meat jelly; beat the whole well with an egg-beater; set on a good fire, and finish like meat jelly.

Calf's-head Jelly.—Proceed as for the above in every particular, except that you use four eggs, having about twice as much liquor, therefore making twice as much jelly. A little gelatine may be added, if not found firm enough.

MEAT GRAVY.

When you are short of gravy, cut a little piece of veal, say half a pound of the breast or neck piece, or trimmings of veal-cutlets; set on the fire with about an ounce of butter, and half of a rather small carrot cut in slices; stir, and when the meat is turning rather brown, add two or three onions in slices also; stir again till the onions are nearly fried; when covered with broth or water, add salt, a dozen whole peppers, a bay-leaf, and two stalks of thyme; boil gently for two or three hours, and strain.

If it is boiling away, add water to fill up.

Trimmings of mutton, lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey, may be added to the veal.

In case of hurry, it may be done quickly and by boiling rather fast, but it is not as good, and there is less of it with the same quantity of meat.

For a grand dinner, the gravy may be made one or two and even three days in advance; then simmer it for five or six hours.

MELONS.

Musk-melons are always served as a hors-d'oeuvre, but must be eaten immediately after soup, or the first thing of all if no soup is served.

It is a great mistake to serve melons as a dessert.

Water-melons, though eaten abundantly, are considered very unwholesome by the great majority of doctors, chemists, and physiologists.

Musk-melons are served in slices with sugar, or with salt and pepper, according to taste.

MEUNIÈRE.

Mix well together in a cup one teaspoonful of flour with a tablespoonful of cold water.

It is used to thicken sauces and different dishes.

MINT.

Put four sprigs of mint into a quart of brandy, cork well, or cover air-tight if in a pot, and leave thus forty-eight hours; then strain through a cloth. Put half a pound of loaf sugar in a stewpan with a pint of water, set it on the fire, and, at the first boiling, pour it into the quart of brandy; cover with a cloth, let it cool, and again strain the whole through a fine cloth. Bottle and cork carefully, and use when wanted.

A small liquor-glass of it is very good for stomach-ache; it is also useful after having eaten any thing difficult of digestion.

PANADE.

Break in pieces the soft part of a small stale loaf of bread; put it in a tin saucepan, cover it with cold water, and leave thus about an hour; then mash it well, set it on the fire, add salt, butter, and sugar, to taste; simmer about an hour, then add again two yolks of eggs beaten with two tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; mix the whole well together, and serve.

It makes an excellent food for infants.

PAP.

Put an ounce of butter in a tin saucepan, set it on the fire, and when melted, turn into it two tablespoonfuls of flour, thoroughly mixed with half a pint of milk; stir with a wooden spoon, boil gently for about twelve minutes, stirring the while; take off, turn into a bowl, add salt and sugar to taste, and use.

If wanted richer, an egg may be mixed with the flour and milk, or a yolk of egg may be added as soon as taken from the fire.

RAISINS.

When the stems of raisins or of currants are removed, put them in a bowl, dust them well with flour, move them round a little, then turn them into a sieve and shake them well. This process will remove the sand as well as washing them, and will not take away the sweetness.

SANDWICHES.

These are too well known to require any direction.

SAUSAGE-MEAT.

Butchers generally, with an eye to economy, make sausage-meat of bad or tainted pork.

We recommend our readers, as far as possible, never to buy sausage-meat ready made, but to make it themselves, or have it made according to their directions.

A chopping-machine costs very little, and saves a great deal of work, besides chopping much better than can be done by hand.

The proportions are: one pound of lean pork and one pound of lean veal, chopped very fine, well mixed, and both very fresh. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and clove grated, and with cinnamon, if liked.

A yolk of egg may be added to a pound of meat.

It may also be made with one pound of veal and half a pound or less of pork, or with veal only or pork only, according to taste.

SOUSE.

Put three ounces of butter in a saucepan, and set it on the fire; when melted, add two carrots and two onions sliced, stir now and then till they begin to turn brown; then add about three pints of warm water, half a pint of vinegar, one clove of garlic, four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a clove, a bay-leaf, six pepper-corns, a little grated nutmeg, and salt. Simmer about an hour, strain, and it is ready for use.

Another.—Put two quarts of vinegar and about ten quarts of water in a stone or crockery vessel, with four cloves of garlic, a handful of parsley, six cloves, four stalks of thyme, four bay-leaves, half a nutmeg grated, three or four carrots, and three or four onions sliced, a little salt, and two dozen pepper-corns. Stir and mix the whole well, and it is ready for use.

Pieces of mutton, beef, pork, venison, and bear-meat, may be soaked in one of the above preparations from four to six days before cooking them. A piece of tough meat will be more tender and juicy after being soaked.

More or less may be made, according to the size of the piece of meat.

TEA.

There are many ways of making tea; we might say that every one makes it in his own way; but, after many experiments and much information, we have found the following to be the best:

Warm the teapot either by pouring boiling water in it and emptying it, or by placing it on a corner of the range.

Then put good tea in it (the quantity to be according to the strength and also to the quantity you want), and pour boiling water on the leaves, just enough to wet them; leave thus about one minute, then pour on all the water you want.

Let it steep no longer than about six minutes, and not less than four minutes, before drawing it.

If allowed to steep longer than six minutes, all the astringency of the tea is extracted, and it acts and has a bad effect on the nervous system, besides losing most of its aroma.

Chemists and physiologists generally recommend black tea, as not affecting the nervous system as much as green tea.

Tea being naturally very astringent, should never be served at breakfast.

Taken after dinner, instead of cafÉ noir, it has the same effect, and brandy may be mixed with it as in coffee.

Tea is excellent in damp climates and marshy countries, but it must be taken after a substantial meal.

Drinking warm tea while eating causes the food to pass through the system without nourishing it, or supplying its waste.

TOAST.

Cut several slices of bread of even size, and spread some anchovy-butter on them; cut anchovies in small strips, lengthwise, lay them on the bread also, and then spread over some hard-boiled egg chopped fine, and on it some parsley also chopped fine, finish with capers here and there.

Place the toast or slices of bread on a dish, tastefully arranged all around, a few sprigs of parsley in the middle, and you have a fine hors-d'oeuvre.

Sardines, Dutch herrings, or red herrings may be used the same as anchovies.

WELSH RAREBIT.

This dish is not generally understood. It is thought by many to be Welsh rabbit, that is, a rabbit prepared Welsh fashion.

It is not a rabbit, but Welsh cheese (a certain kind only, and prepared for that purpose), melted to a certain degree, and then spread on toast of Welsh bread.

Grate some Gloucester or GruyÈre cheese and pepper it with Cayenne pepper. Fry some slices of bread with a little butter, but on one side only, until perfectly yellow, then spread a thick coat of grated cheese on the fried side of the bread, place the slices in a baking-pan, put them in a pretty warm oven, take off when it begins to melt, and serve warm.

Then you have as good a Welsh rarebit as can be made here. The receipt was given to us by an English lady.