I


MRS. H AL E'S
NEW COOK BOOK.
A, PRACTICAL SYSTEM FOR PRIVATE FAMILIES IN TOWN AND COUNTRY;
CARVING, AND ARRANGING TUB TABLE FOR PARTIES, ETC
PREPARATIONS OF FOOD FOR INVALIDS AND FOR CHILDREN
BY MRS. SARAH J. HALE.
Illustrated with Numerous Engravings.
Who would suppose, from Adam's simple courses,
That Cookery could have called forth such resources
As form a Science and a nomenclature, -1 , . J „ ^
From out the commonest demands of &ature,.-*-'BfKox»
JJ1) i l a b e l p l) t o:
T. B. PETERSON AND BROTHERS,
306 CHESTNUT STREET.


.:': .EV,' YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
247967
ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATION!
isoa
Entered according to Act of Congress. In the year 1847. by SARAH J. HALE,
fa ike Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United Stater, in and for the
Eastern District of PenjujrlmalA.


PREFACE.
Cookery, as an Art, ranks in the highest department of useful
knowledge, connected, as it is, with the welfare of every human
being.
When understood in all its bearings and conducted on scien-
tific principles, it promotes health and happiness, moral and social
improvement, and adds the charm of contentment to every-day
lie.
Is not the Table, when wisely ordered with economy, skill, and taste, the central attraction of Home? And the lady who, with kind-
ness, thoughtfulness, and dignity presides, does she not receive
homage from the master of the house when he places at her dis-
posal the wealth for which he toils?
The husband earns, the wife dispenses: are not her duties as im-
portant as his?
If these truths were acknowledged and acted cpon, by giving to
the Science of Domestic Economy a prominent place in the educa-
tion of young ladies, we should soon see great improvement in
household management.
There are encouraging signs of reform. Some of the most es-
teemed among our lady writers have devoted their talents to the
illustration of these home duties: the cookery books of Mrs. Child,
Miss Leslie, Miss Beecher, and others, have done much for the
cause of Domestic Economy. Still it appeared to me that a
"new book" on this science, combining features not hitherto in-
cluded in any work of the kind, was needed. Some of these new
features are the following:—
(sis)


I
IX PREFACE. In this work the true relations of food to health are set forth,
and the importance of good cookery to the latter clearly explained.
See " Introductory," commencing at page 37, and also " Rudiments
of Cookery," pp, 112,113, etc.
"Preparations of Food for the Sick" have been carefully at-
tended to, and many new and excellent receipts introduced.
"Cookery for Children" is an entirely new feature in a work of
this kind, and of much importance.
A greater variety of receipts, for preparing Fish, Vegetables, and
Soups, is given here, than can be found in any other book of the
kind; these preparations, having reference to the large and increas-
ing class of persons in our country who abstain from flesh meats
during Lent, will be found excellent; and useful also to all families
during the hot season.
As our Republic is made up from the people of all lands, so I
have gathered the best receipts from the Domestic Economy of the
different nations of the Old World. Emigrants from each country
will, in this " New Cook Book," find the method of preparing their
favorite dishes.
The prominent features are, however, American. My own expe-
rience and studies gave some peculiar advantages in understand-
ing " household good;" and then I have been favored by ladies,
famed for their excellent housekeeping, with large collections of
original receipts, which these ladies have tested in their own fami-
lies. I feel, therefore, confident that this " New Cook Book" will
be approved.
It has been my aim to give all directions in B concise, straight-
forward manner, and so vary the receipts and modes, that every
American household may model its management, to advantage,
from the instructions.
A glance at the "Contents" and the "Index" will give some
idea of the variety of information the volume contains.
S. J. H.
Philadelphia, June1st, 1867.


CONTENTS.
Prepack xix |
Introductory—The Philoso-
phy of Cookery, . . xxxvii
Table op Weights and Mea-
sures, .... llvi
CHAPTER I.
general directions for soup and
stock.
Cleanliness, . . • . 47
Proper meats, ... 47
Water, 48
Time, .... 48
Ingredients, 48
Seasoning, ... 49
Coloring, . . . .60
Clarifying, .... 50
Stock, 51
llrown stock, . . - 51
White stock, . . . .52
Veal gravy, ... 52
Savory, or Aspic jclley, . .52
Cow-heel jelley, ... 53
Brown coloring for soup, . . 53
To restore soups or gravy, . 5.'1
Mulligatawny, . . . 53
Curry powder, ... tn. CHAPTER II.
SOUPS AND BROTHS, Utensils for, .... 54
White, .... 54
Veal, 54
Currie, ... 55
Veal potage, . 55
Potage a la Reine, • . 55
Harrieo, . . . . .56
Invalid, soup for ... 56
Chicken, 66
Shin of beef, ... 66
Cottage, 57
Pepper-pot, ... 57
Portable, .... 57
Glaze, .... 58
Clear gravy, ... 58
Macaroni, .... 58
Sago, 59
Vermicelli, .... 59
Potato .59
Asparagus, .... 60
Tomato, *0
Green peas, ... 60
Dried green peas, ... 60
Old peas, .... 61
Vegetable, . . . .61
Ochra, 61
Gumbo. 01
Ocbra gumbo, ... 62
Rice, 62
Onion, .... 62
Hotch potch, .... 62
Carrot, .... 63
Parsnip, .... 63
Venison, .... 63
Clear hare, .... 63
French hare, ... 61
Chicken mulligatawny, . • 64
Madras mulligatawny, . 64
Friar's chicken, ... 65
Pigeon, .... 65
Soup maigre, .... 65
Turtle, .... 66
Forcemeat for, ... 67
Mock turtle, ... 68
Lobster, 69
Clam, 69
Oyster to Chowder, .... 70
'xxi)


zxil
CONTENTS. Eel,
Lake and pond fish.
Stock for fish,
Fish, .
Broths—Mutton, ,
Veal, .
Barley,
Beef brose, .
Chicken, . .
Berlin milk, .
CHAPTER ILL
ma.
Choosing, . . . .74
Cleaning, .... 76
Cooking, general directions for, 77
Marinade, .... 77
Fresh-water fish, ... 78
To preserve fresh, . . 79
Fish-kettles, .... 79
Serving, .... 79
Melted Butter, ... 79
Caper Sauce, ... 79
CHAPTER IV.
PISH.
Cod Fish, to toil,
To fry cod, .
Cod sounds, .
To stew cod,
To bake, . .
Crimped, • •
Salt,
Salmon, to boil, .
To broil, .
To broil dried,
To bake, . .
To fry,
To pickle,
To pot,
To stew,
To dry,
Mackerel, to ohoos«:
To boil,
To broil,
To bake, .
To pickle,
To souse,
Shad, to bake,
To broil,
Touraine fashion,
To fry,
80
81
81
81
82
82
82
83
8a
84
84
84
85
85
8a
85
86
86
87
87
88
88
88
88
89 i
80 I
To bake a shad, rock
-fish, or
bass,
81
To boil rock-fish, black-
fish, and
bass,
89
To souse rock-fish, .
DO
Black-fish and bass,
80
Haddock, to boil, .
90
To fry,
90
To broil,
#
01
To bake,
91
Whitings, to boil, .
91
To bake,
92
Sturgeon, to boil, .
. a
93
To stew,
93
To roast, . .
93
Sturgeon cutlets,
93
Halibut, . .
93
To boil,
93
Fillets of halibut, black-fish,
bass, Ac, . ,
To collop halibut, .
94
94
To stow the head,
95
Trout,
95
To fry,
95
To bake,
#
95
To boil,
96
Perch, to boil,
96
To fry perch or tench,
97
Small fish, .
97
Fish cutlets,
97
Kidgeree, .
97
Fillets of fish,
97
To scollop fish, .
98
Fish cake, . . ,
98
Casserole of fish,
98
Croquettes of fish, .
99
Red herrings, .
99
Eels,
100
To boil, .
100
To fry,
100
To broil,
100
To stew, . . .
Anchovy butter,
100
101
Anchovy sandwiches, .
10]
Anchovy toast, .
HI
Caviare, ...
101
Hobrew stewed fish,
101
Caledonian fish, .
101
CHAPTER V.
shell pish.
Lobsters,
To boil,
To stew, .
102
103
103


C0MTENT8.
xxifl
and
To fricassee.
To roast,
To p«t lobsters, crabs,
shrimps,
To curry,
Croquettes of,
Lobster salad,
Crab, .
To stew, .
Terrapins,
Oysters, to feed,
To fry, .
To scollop,
To broil,
To stew,
To pickle,
Oyster pie, . • •
Oyster patties, • •
Clams, to boil hard-shell,
To fry, ....
To stew, ...
Clam fritters, . . •
Clams, to boil soft-shell,
To stew, ....
To fry,
Mussels, to stew, . •
Scollops, to stew,
CHAPTER VI.
RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY. Plain Hying not the most whole-
some, .....
Diet and digestion, . .
Stewing meat, ....
French mode of stewing,
Skewers •
Suet, .....
Taint, to remove, ...
Frozen meat, • • •
To hang meat, ...
Larder, ....
Boiling, .
Roasting,
Broiling,
Frying,
Stewing,
Baking,
Larding,
Daubing,
Braising,
Glazing,
Boning, .
Blanching,
103
103
103
104
104
104
105
105
108
107
107
107
108
108
108
108
109
109
109
109
110
110
110
110
110
111
Copper saucepans, .
Never eat the blood,
. IB
122
CHAPTER VII.
BEEF.
112
113
113
114
114
114
115
115
115
115
115
117
118
119
120
120
121
121
121
122
122
122
To choose, ....
To keep, ....
To roast a sirloin, .
Ribs of, . . . .
Rump of, ....
Gravy sauce for roast beef, •
To roast a fillet of, .
To roast beef-heart,
To dress the inside of a cold sir-
loin, ....
Baked beef, . . .;
Round of, . • . .
Brisket, ....
Potted, ...»
To stew, ....
To stew a rump, . . •
Beef and sauer-kraut, • •
Fricandeau of, . . .
Family stew of, ...
A la daube, ...
A la mode, ....
Olives of, • • . .
Fillet of, ....
Fillet braised, . . .
Kidney,
To mince, ....
Savory minced collops, . .
Breslaw of, . • • .
Bouilli, .....
To collar, ....
To boil a rump, . .
Boiled scarlet beef, • •
Sauce piquante for, .
Beef steaks, ...
Spanish steak,
Stewed beef steaks, . .
Beef-steak pie,
Beef-steak and oyster pie, .
Beef tongue, ....
Fresh beef tongue,
Fresh Neat's tongue and wider, To boil ox cheek,
To stew ox cheek, . . •
Kidneys and skirts,
Palates and sweetbreads, . •
Trips, to clean, . . .
To boil, .....
To fry, ....
Sauce for tripe, cow-heel, Ac, .
123
124
124
125
125
125
128
126
128
-. 128
127
. 127
127
. 128
128
, 129
129
129
129
130
130
138
ISO
131
131
131
132
132
133
134
134
134
134
135
138
137
138
138
139
139
139
140
149
140
140
141
141
141


CONTENTS.
Cow-heeis, .... 141
Ox-feet, to fry, . . .142
Marrow bones, . . • 142
Bubble and squeak, . . 142
Sandwich, .... 142
CHAPTER VIIL
VEAL.
To choose 143
Loin, to roast, . . . 144
To boil, 144
To stew, .... 145
Fillet, to stew, . . . 145
To roast, . . . . 146
To boil 146
Knuckle of, en ragout, . 146
To boil, 147
With rice or green peas, . 147
Shoulder of, ... 148
Gohote, .... 148
Blanquettes, . . . .148
A la chartreuse, . . . 149
To marble, . . . .149
Fricandeaa of, . . 149
Boiled, 150
Potted, .... 150
Minced, . . . .150
Minced with oysters, . . 150
Cutlets, . . . .151
Maintenon cutlets, . . 151
Collops, to dress quickly, . 151
Olives of, ... 152
Olives and collops, . .152
Neck of, . . . . 152
Breast of, ragout, . . . 153
Stewed veal and peas, . 153
To collar a breast of, • .153
Sweetbreads, . . . 154
Sweetbread cutlets, . . 154
Sweetbreads, to broil, . 154
Veal croquettes, . . .155
Croquettes of sweetbread, . 155
To take the hair from a calf's
head, 155
Cale's Head, to boil, . 156
To bake, . . . .156
To roast, .... 156
To stew, .... 157
Calf's brains, . • . 157
Croquettes of brains, . . 158
CalPs feet and ears, . . 158
Calf's feet fricasseed, . . 158
Calf s kidney, . . . 158
Calf's liver and lights, . . 158
Calf's liver and bacon, . 159
Forcemeat, • • • • 159
Egg-balls, ... 159
Picklo for beef, . . .159
CHAPTER IX.
MUTTON.
To choose, . 160
Haunch, roasted, . . 161
Like venison, • • .162
Saddle, to roast, . . 162
Loin, to roast, . . • 162
Loin, to dress like venison, 163
Shoulder, to roast, . . . 163
Leo, to roast, superior receipt, 163
To braise, . . . .163
Fillet, to roast, . . . 164
Breast, 164
To collar, . . . .165
Leo, to boil, . . . 165
To stuff, . . . .165
To dress with oysters, • 166
Minced mutton, . . .166
Shoulder to stew, . . 166
To stew mutton, • . . 166
Camp dish, . • . 167
China chilo, . . . .167
Cutlets 167
With potato puree, . .168
En ragout, ... 168
A la Polonaise, . . . 168
A la Maintenon, • • 168
To broil, . . . .169
To stow in their own gravy, 169
Mutton chops, . . . 169
Rolled mutton, . . . 170
Shoulder, salted and boiled, . 170
Neck, .... 171
To harrico, . . . .171
Irish stew, .... 172
Hotch potch, . . . .172
Sheep's tongues, • . 172
Sheep's heart, . i . 172
Sheep's kidneys, . . . 172
Sheep's trotters, . . . 173
Minced mutton and cucumbers, 173
CHAPTER X.
LAMB.
To choose and cook, • .174
To roast, . .175
Fore-quarter, . . . .17*
Leg, ..... 17*


CONTEXTS.
XXT
Ribs, 175
Loin, neck, and breast, . 176
Garnish and vegetables for roast
lamb, .... 176
To bone a quarter, ... 176
To stew 176
To stew a breast, . . .177
To grill a shoulder, . . 177
To boil a leg 177
To boil a neck or breast, . 177
Lamb's head, .... 178
Lamb chops, . . . 178
Hlanquette d'Agneau, . . 179
Lamb dressed with rice, • 179
Lamb's sweetbreads, . . 179
Lamb's fry, .... 179
CHAPTER XL
VENISON.
To choose, . . . .180
Haunch, to roast, . . 181
Neck and shoulder, . . .182
Steaks 182
To stew cold venison, . . 182
CHAPTER XII.
FORK.
To choose,
. 183
To cut, ....
184
To melt lard, . . .
. 184
To preserve nnmelted lard, .
185
Sage and onion sauce, .
185
Fore-loin or spring,
1S6
Loin and neck,
. 186
Porker's head, to roast, .
187
Belly, ....
. 187
Shoulders and breasts,
187
Chine, . • • .
. 187
Spare-rib, ....
187
Cutlets, to broil or fry,
. 187
Cutlets and tomato sauce,
188
Blade-bone,
. 188
Steaks, ....
188
Italian pork cheese,
. 188
Pork and beans, .
188
Pork checks,
189
Sucking pigs, to scald, .
. 1^9
Pig, roast, ....
189
Stuffing for a sucking pig,
. 190
Brain sauce,
191
Sucking pig, to bake, 191
Ham, to choose and boil, . 191
Good flavoring for gravies, Ac, 193
Ham, to bake, . . . 19S
Ham relish 193
Ham, broiled, . . • 193
Ham and eggs, fried, • • 194
Sausages, . . . . 194
Oxford sausages, • . .195
To fry sausages, . . . 195
Bologna sausages, • • . 195
Pigs'feet and ears, . . 195
To stew pigs'feet, . . . 195
Pigs' harslet, ... 195
Souse, American, . . . 196
Pickle for hams, Ac, . . 196
To salt fat pork, . . . 196
CHAPTER XIII.
CURING MEATS, POTTING, AND
COLLARING.
General directions, . . . 197
Pickle for beef, pork, Ac, . 198
Pickle for beef, . . .198
To salt beef red, . . 199
Dutch way to salt beef, . . 199
To salt beef for immediate use
and for soup, . . . 199
Pickle for hams, tongues, Ac,
excellent, . . . .200
To salt fat pork, ... 200
Beef tongues, .... 200
keeping meat in snow, . 201
French method of smoking hams, 201
Hung beef, ... 202
Welsh beef, . . . .202
To dress beef tongues, . 202
Curing pork, .... 203
Bacon, marines, . . . 203
Westphalia Hams, . . • 203
Hams superior to Westphalia, 204
To cure pigs' cheeks, . . 206
Pork cheese, .... 205
Hog's lard, . . . .206
Potting and collaring, . 2(.6
Potted beef, . . . .206
To pot beef in imitation of veni-
son 207
Potted chicken or partridge, 207
To pot boned pigeons, . . 207
Potted lobster, ... 208
To collar beef, ... 209
To collar a pig, . . . 209
Marinade for collared meats, . 209


xxvi CONTENTS.
Brawn 209
To cure mutton hams, . . 210
Turkish method of making meat
tender, . . . .210
CHAPTER XIV.
POULTBT.
To choose, . . . .211
Trussing fowls, . . . 212
Poelee to boil fowls in, . . 21S
Turkey, to boil, . . 213
To roast, . . . .214
To devil, 214
Stuffmg for turkeys, fowls, and
veal 215
To bone a turkey or fowl, . 215
To bone poultry or game, . 216
To bone fowls for fricassees, Ac, 216
Goose, to roast, . . . 216
Sauce for, .... 217
To stew, .... 217
Sucks, to roast, . . . 217
To boil, .... 218
To stew, 213
To hash a duck or goose, . 218
Salmi 218
Boiled fowls, ... 219
Boiled fowls with oysters, . 219
To roast fowls or capons, . 220
To broil a fowl, . . .220
Sauce for a fowl, ... 220
Chickess, to fry, . . . 220
To fry cold chicken, . . 220
To stew chickens in haste, . 220
To stew a fowl with onions, 221
Chicken baked in rice, . . 221
To warm dressed poultry, . 221
Ragouts of poultry, game, etc, 221
Pillau, to make, ... 222
Croquettes, to make, . . 222
Brown fricassee, . . 222
White fricassee, . . .223
Fricasseed chicken with corn, 223
Turkey or fowl in jelley, . 223
Curry of chicken, . . .223
Dnmpokt, .... 224
Chicken pot-pie, . . . 225
Egyptian method of dressing
poultry, .... 225
Pis eons, .... 225
To stew, 225
To ronst, .... 226
A la mode, .... 226
Pigeon pie, .... 22«
Dry devil, . . . .226
CHAPTER XV.
GAWK AND SMALL BIRDS.
General observations, .
. 227
Time to cook,
227
To remove the fishy taste,
. 228
Woodcocks or snipes, to roa
it, 228
Salmi of woodcocks, .
. 229
Woodcocks with truffle,
229
Canvass-back ducks,
. 229
Wild ducks,
229
Widgeon and teal, . ,
. 230
Sauce for wild fowl, .
230
Partridges to roast,
. 230
Partridges, broiled, •
230
Wild pigeons, to roast,
. 231
Reed birds, . .
231
Small birds, • . ,
. 231
Rabbits, . , a
232
Rabbit with herbs, . .
. 232
Rabbit, to roast,
232
Rabbit, to stew,
. 232
CHAPTER XVI.
GRAVIES.
General directions, . . 233
Gravy, to draw, . . .' 234
Pint of rich gravy, • • 234
Cheap veal gravy, . • 235
Rich gravy, .... 235
Gravy for fowls without meat, 235
Gravy in a few minutes, • • 235
Gravy, to keep, . . . 235
Velout6, 236
Essence of ham, . . . 236
Thickening for gravy, Ac, . 236
CHAPTER XVII.
SAUCES.
Introductory remarks, . . 237
Melted butter, . . . 238
To brown melted butter, . . 238
Sauces for roast beef, mutton,
etc 239
Egg sauce, .... 239
Mustard sauce, ... 240
Sauce Robert, . ' . . 240
Christopher North's sauce, . 240
B6uhamel, .... 240


CONTENTS.
xxvii
Asparagus sauce, . . . 241
Parsley and butter, . . 241
Fennel sauce, . . . 241
Celerey sauce, • . . 242
Mint sauce, .... 242
Onion sauce, . . . 242
English white sauce, . . 242
Maitre d'Hotel sauce, . . 243
Bread sauce, .... 243
Bread sauce with onions, . 244
White mushroom sauce, . . 244
Brown mushroom sauce, . 245
Tomato sauce, . . . 245
Caper sauce, ... 245
Shalot sauce, . . .246
Tarragon sauce, . • • 246
Sauce for ducklings, . . 246
Green sauce, . . 246
White sauce for boiled chickens, 246
Sauce for fowls, . . . 246
Chestnut suuce, . . . 247
Sauce for wild fowl, . . 247
Liver sauce, ... 247
Sauces for roast fowl, . , 247
Oyster sauce, good, . . 247
Lobster sauce, » . • 24S
Crab sauce, . . • 248
Sauce piquarite, . . . 248
Egg bulls, .... 249
Sauces for fish, . . . 24U
Horseradish sauce . . 249
For frosh-wator fish, • . 249
For all sorts of fish, . . 249
Dutch fish sauce, rich, . . 250
Brown sauce, . . . 250
Anchovy sauce, . . . 250
Apple sauce, boiled, . . 250
Apple sauce, baked, . . .251
Apple sauce, stewed, . . 251
Gooseberry sauce, . . . 251
Cranberry sauce, . . 252
Cranberries, to stew, . . 252
Sweet pudding sauce, . . 252
Common pudding sauce, . . 252
German pudding sauce, . 252
French pudding sauce, . . 253
CHAPTER XVIII.
TDE STORE CLOSET.
fiances, 254
Universal sauces, . . 254
Catsup, tomato, • • . 255
Mushroom, . • • 2-55
Walnut, 255
Lemon ptckie sauce, . . 256
Quin's sauce, .... 258
Mustard, to prepare, . . 256
Mushroom powder, . . 256
Powder of fine herbs, . . 257
Horseradish powder, . . 257
Mixed spices and seasonings, 2 >7
Seasonings for white sauce, .kc. 257
Pickles, rules for, . . 257
Cucumbers, .... 258
Gherkins, or small cucumbers, 258
Poke-Melia, .... 259
Man goo?, .... 259
Walnuts, . . . .259
Beets, 260
Onions, 260
Tomatoes, .... 261
Mushrooms, .... 261
Red and white cabbage, . 261
Nasturtions, . . . . 261
Green peppers, . . . 261
Lemon pickle, . . . 262
Vinkgau making, remarks on, 262
Cider vinegar, .... 262
Sugar vinegar, . . . 263
Pyroligneous acid, . . . 263
To strengthen vinegar, . 263
Horseradish vinegar, . . 263
Basil vmegar, q . 264
Tarragon vinegar, . . . 264
Pepper vinegar, ... 264
Flavored vinegar, . . . 264
Condiments, their use . 264
CHAPTER XIX.
VKGKTABI.ES.
Preliminary remarks, . . 265
Potatos, to boil, . . . 266
New potatos, to boil, . . 267
New potatoes in butter, . 268
Potatos, to boil by Kater's receipt, 268
Potatos, to roast or bake, . 268
Scooped potatos, . . . 269
Fried potatos, . . . 269
Cold potatos, . . . .269
Mashed, .... 269
A la maitre d'hotel, . . 279
Puree of potatos, • . 270
Potato omelette, . . . 270
Potato balls, . .271
Ragout of potatos, • . .271
To brown potatoes, . 271
Cold boiled potaoa, . . .271
Potato flour, . . 27J


xxTiii CONTENTS.
271
2S7
Potato wall, • .
2T1
To stew, • • ,
2-7
To keep potatos, •
272
To bake or roast, , . ,
287
Sweet potatos, . •
272
2?8
Turnips, to boil,
273
2S8
To mash,
273
Artichokes, .
2sS
In white sauce, .
273
Artichokes stewed, .
28*
Slewed in butter, •
273
Artichoke bottoms, ,
L'l-8
In gravy, . . •
274
A la poivrade, . ,
2-9
Turnip tops, •
274
Jerusalem artichokes, . ,
2-9
Beets, to boil, .
274
Tomatos, to stew,
2-9
Tn bake,
275
m
Tu stew, .
27a
2'.<ll
Carrots, to boil, •
275
Portuguese way, .
290
Parsnips, to boil, •
2711
Eggs and tomatos, .
290
Parsnip fritters,
a
276
Ochra and tomatos, or gumbo,
290
Salsify, or oyster plant,
276
A spanisb dish,
290
Peas, greeu, to boil,
a
276
To keep tomatos a year,
2'.i0
277
Asparagus, to boil, . .
291
Old peas, to stew,
a
277
Asparagus, dressed like green
Split-peas padding,
277
291
To preserve peas for wmter use,
277
MuiH ROOMS,
291
Beans, to boil Windsor,
278
292
To stew.
a
278
292
String beans, to boil,
278
Fricasseed,
279
A la Francaise,
279
CHAPTER XX.
To dress dried French beans.
279
To stew red beans, .
279
SALADS, MACARONI, ETC.
Lima beans,
280
General remarks,
. 293
Egg-plant, to dress,
380
Salad dressing,
294
To fry,
281
French salad dressing,
. 295
Summer squash, or cymbelms, .
281
Summer salad,
295
Winter squash,
281
Winter salad, .
. 285
Rice, to boil, .
281
Vegetable salads,
298
Casserole de Bis aux (Eufs, .
282
French salad, .
. 296
Green corn,
282
Italian salad, ...
29R
Succatasb,
282
Spanish salad, ...
. 29ft
Corn pudding,
283
Vinaigrette,
2'.ifi
Hominy
283
Chicken salad, .
. 297
Cabbages and greens, to boil, .
283
Tomatos en salade,
297
Saner kraut, to" make, .
a
283
Tomatos for winter usi, .
. 297
Sauer kraut, to dress,
284
coldslaw, ....
297
Cabbage, to stew,
284
Roil cabbage, to stew,
Cauliflowers, to boil,
284
Cucumbers, dressed,
293
a
284
Macaroni, to dress,
. 29S
Cauliflowers in white sauce,
285
Milanese,
29S
Brocoli, to boil,
a
285
A l'ltalienne, ...
. 293
285
Pate de macaroni,
2'JU
Effgs and spinach, .
.
286
Cold macaroni, . .
. 299
Celery, to stew,
286
Vermicelli
29y
CucumberR, to stew,
286
Lemolina, . •
- 29S
Boiled cucumbers,
286
Chkkse, stewed, . . .
30C
Onions, to preserve.
•
287
To roast, .
- 30(


C0N1HNT8.
xxix Toast, .
Welsh rabbit, •
Periled biscuits,
300
800
300
CHAPTER XXI.
EGGS AND OMELETTES.
To choose eggs, . . . 301
To keep for winter use, . 301
Eggs, to boil, .... 302
Poached, .... 302
Cupped, 302
Scrambled, .... 303
(Eats Brouilles, . . .303
Souffle Frau?aise, . . . 303
Omelettes, general directions for, 304
Common omellette, . . 305
Omelette souffle, . . . 305
Savory, or ragout eggs, . 305
CHAPTER XXII.
PASTBT.
General direction for pastry, . 308
Baking pies, . . . 308
To glaze or ice pastry, . . 308
Fine French puff paste, . 309
Puff paste, . . . .310
Light paste, . . . 310
For tarts and cheese cakes, . 310
Family pie paste, • . 311
Beef dripping paste, • • 311
Suet paste, . . . . 311
Potato paste, .... 311
Common dumpling paste, . 311
Raised crust, .... 311
Paste for raised pies, . . 311
Seasoning for raised pies, . 312
Jelly for raised pies, . . 312
Rasied pies, .... 313
Modern potato pastry, . 313
Beef steak pie, . . .314
Beef steak and oyster pie, . 314
Veal pie, .... 315
Mutton pie 315
Raised pork pie, . . .315
Raised bam pie, . . . 316
Sea pic, ... .316
Meat pie with potato crust, . 316
Potato pie, .... 317
Chicken pie, ... 317
Giblet pie, .... 317
Partridge pie, . . . 317
Venison pasty, . . .318
Ccid pics, • .318
Cold beef steak pie, .
Vol-au-vent, .
Oyster patties. •
Chicken patties, •
Mince pie meat,
Mince pies, . . ,
Fruit pies and tarts.
To prepare apples for pastry,
To preparo cranberries, .
Icing for pies and tans,
Cranberry tarts,
Apple tarts, .
Barberry tarts,
Tourte meringuee,
Frangipane tart, •
Custard tart, .
Tartlets, .
Pies, apple, . .
Rhubarb, .' • •
Pumpkin, •
Carrot, ...
Squash, •
Custard, • • •
Potato, . .
Peach, . . .
Cocoa-nut, . •
Cocoa-nut cheesecakes,
Lemon,
Orange, . •
Puffs, apple, .
Preserve, . .
Orange and lemon,
Spiced, .
Fried, ...
Gauffrcs, . .
319
819
319
320
320
320
322
322
322
32J
322
323
324
324
324
824
325
225
326
326
326
326
327
827
327
327
323
328
328
328
323
328
329
329
CHAPTER XXIIL
PUDDINGS.
General directions, . . . 330
To clean currants, . . 331
To mix batter, .... 331
Boiling, .... 332
Baking 333
Puddings without egg, . 833
Plum 334
Cottage, Christmas, . . 334
Small light plum, ... 335
Another plum, . . . 335
Suot, 335
Spongecake, . . • 335
Almond, 336
Vermicelli, .... 337
Whole rice in a shape, . . 337
Rice pudding, baked or boiled, 337


XXX
CONTENTS.
Easter, . .
Plain rice, . .
Rice snow balls,
Bice Hour pudding,
Rice flummery,
Puddings, bread,
Plain bread,
Bread and butter, Penny, . .
Batter . • •
Batter, fruit, .
Baked batter, .
Indian meal, •
Boiled maize, .
Hasty, . .
Arrow roots . .
Sago, . •
Tapioca, • •
Potato, . •
Sweet potato,
Baked apple, or custard.
Apple, .
Apple charlotte,
Marlborough, •
Apple meringuos,
Eve's, . . .
Virginian cherry,
Blackberry,
Apricot, peach, or nectarine,
Quince, . •
Lemon, . • . •
Orange, . .
Cocoa-nut, • •
Transparent, .
Bird's nest, . •
Custard, . •
Cream, . . • •
Apple dumplings,
Norfolk dumplings,
Potato apple dumpling!
CHAPTER XXIV.
PANCAKES, FRITTERS, ETC.
Observations, •
Pancakes, .
Apple, .
New England,
French, . •
Bice, . . .
Fritters, plain,
Apple, . .
Potato, . .
Venetian, • •
Spanish, . •
338
839
839
889
339
840
840
340
340
841
342
842
342
242
843
343
343
84*
344
344
344
345
346
346
346
346
346
346
846
847
347
347
848
348
348
848
848
349
849
349
350
359
351
351
351
352
852
352
852
353
353
Corn, . . . . ,
Fish, ....
Oyster,
Souffles,
Snow-balls boiled in butter,
|> Croquettes of rice, .
Puffs, . . . .
German puffs, . .
Ibi
353
154
854
354
S54
355
355
CHAPTER XXV.
DSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC
MANGE.
Custards,
cream, • •
Cheap, .
Rich, Rice, • •
Orange,
-Lemon,
Almond, • •
Chocolate,
Rice without cream,
Plain,
Baked,
A pplo or gooseberry souffle,
Gooseberry fool,
Apple fool,
French flummery,
Creams, fruit,
Burnt, • •
Lemon, . •
Raspberry, •
Strawberry,
Pineapple, .
Raspberry and currant,
Cretne meringu6e,
Italian, . .
Almond, . •
A la Vanillo, .
Au Marasquin,
Charlotte Russe,
Cream, hasty,
Cream au naturel,
Cream, to keep, •
Curds and cream,
Naples curd,
Kerry butter-milk,
Devonshire junket,
Whip syllabub,
Snowball's, .
Floating island,
To whip cream,
Trifle,
Cake trifle,
356
867
357
857
857
358
358
358
359
359
851)
359
360
360
300
360
3(10
361
, 361
361
. 361
301
. 361
362
. 361
362
. 362
363
. 3«3
364
. 364
3G1
. 364
365
. 365
365
. 865
36J
86!
S6(
. 361
S6i


OOKTENTS.
Q ooseberry or apple trifle, .
.
366
Chestnuts, boiled, . .
383
Ices, ice cream, vanilla,
Strawberry, ...
367
Chestnuts, coasted, . .
383
Pine-apple, . . .
.
368
To preserve a melon whole,
384
368
Water melon rind and citron,
384
Currant, .
368
Pumpkins, ....
385
Brown bread,
368
Cantelope rind, ...
Jams, raspberry, . . .
385
368
385
Cochineal coloring, . .
368
Strawberry, ...
385
Water ices, . .
•
808
Black currant, ...
385
Orange water, . . .
369
White or red currant, .
385
General, • •
369
386
Currant, '• , .
369
Cherry, ....
386
Red currant, ...
a
3(>9
386
White currant, . . .
369
Blackberry, • , •
385
369
Pine-apple, ....
3S6
Roman punch, . . .
369
Marmalades, apricot, .
387
Jellies, calf's feet, .
Orange calf's feet, ifco.
570
387
870
Quince, ....
387
To clarify isinglass,
371
387
Strawberry isinglass, .
372
Greengage, . . .
388
Orange and leuion,
•
393
Orange,
388
Wine, ....
873
Damson, ....
388
Compotes of fruit, spring fruit
Calf's feet blano mange, .
374
or rhubarb, . . .
SS»
Juuuiange,
•
374
Green currants,
389
Green gooseberries, . .
388
CHAPTER XXVI.
Green apricots, . . .
390
FRE8ERVE3, PBDIT, JELLIES,
LADE.
MABUA-
lied currants, ...
Cherries, ....
Morrella cherries, . .
390
390
390
General directions, . .
a
375
Damsons, ....
390
To clarify sugar, •
376
Magnum bonum plums, .
390
To preserve strawberries, Ac. for
Peaches, nectarines, itc,
3110
creams without boiling,
377
Jellies, currant, . .
391
Preserve, strawberry, .
377
White currant, . . .
391
Raspberries, whole, . .
378
Grape, ....
391
Damsons, . . .
•
378
393
Magnum boaum plums, .
378
Strawberry, . . .
392
378
3113
Gooseberries, . . .
379
Quince, ....
393
Al macks,
.
379
Bottled fruit, ....
394
Economical way to preserve
To preserve fruit for tarts, .
894
peaches whole,
a
379
395
380
Candied orange or lemon peel,
895
Brandy peaches,
a
380
395
Pine-apples, . .
380
Lemon drops, ...
3a 5
381
Barley-sugar drops, . .
398
Green ginger, • • •
381
Barley sugar, . . .
396
Apples whole, . .
a
381
898
Apples, .
382
Everton tome* • • .
398
382
Tome
397
Pears, . . . .
382
Coloring for jellies, ices, to.
397
Pears, to bake,
a
382
Icing, . . .
an
tears, to stew, t
383


xxxii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVIL
CAKES.
Preliminary remarks and ctirec-
t iolIS, .
Baking, How to keep cakes,
To prepare butter,
To whisk eggs,
Icing, .
To blanch almonds,
To pound almonds,
Cake, lady,
Good common, .
Delicate, .
Washington, •
French,
Derby, or shorts .
Shrewsbury,
Banbury, • •
Scotch, . •
Irish, • •
Dutch, . .
Fruit,
Plum or wedding,
Small plum, .
Plain plum, .
Bride, • •
Pound, .
Plain, . .
Queen, . •
Cookies, . .
Sugar, . •
Honey,
Savoy, or sponge,
Almond sponge, .
Sponge, .
Jelly, • .
Kice,
Rice cakes with butter,
Cup,
Cinnamon or lemon,
Cream,
Cocoa-nut jumbles,
Common jumbles
Diet bread, •
Almond bread,
Seed Cakes, Small rout cakes,
Macaroons,
Meringues,
Almond cakes,
Ratafia cakes,
Kisses, sugar drops,
399
400
400
400
400
400
401
401
401
401
401
402
402
402
402
403
403
403
403
404
404
404
404
405
405
405
406
406
406
407
407
407
408
408
408
408
409
409
410
410
410
410
411
411
412
412
412
413
413
413
Wafers, ... . 4 1
Isle of Wight cracknels, . .41
Kringles. . . . . 41
Buns, •'•'•*■ .41
Bath bnns, ... . 41
Spanish buns, . . . .41.
Soft gingerbread, • • 41J
Cup gingerbread, . • • 41i
Ginger pound cake . . 41(
Hard gingerbead, . ■ • Alt Gingerbread nuts, • • 416
Cake, soda, . . . .416
Cider, 417
Hopkinton springs, . . 417
Family bread, ... 417
Tea 417
Carraway, . . . . 417
Crullers, 418
Dough-nuts, ... 4X8
Spanish pairs, ... 418
Nun's, .... 419
CHAPTER XXVIIL
BREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES, ETC.
Flour, 420
Making bread, ... 421
Of the oven, .... 422
Bread, milk, ... 423
Light potato, .... 423
For flatulent stomachs, . 424
Household, .... 425
Rye and Indian, . . • 425
Brown or dyspepsia, . . 425
Yeast, .... 426
To preserve, .... 426
To assist, .... 427
To extract bitter from, . . 427
Milk, .... 427
Hard, 427
Rolls, French, ... 428
English, 428
Hot short, . . . '. 429
Light, 429
Fresh, .... 429
Milk toast 429
Milk biscuit, . 429
Biscuits, 430
Soda biscuit, . 430
Galette, . . . 430
Tea cakes, .... 438
Breakfast cakes, . . .431
Cream short cakes, . . 431
Belvidere cakes, • . .431
Laplands, .... 431


CONTENTS.
xxxiii 1
Pally Lunn, . . . .431
Nun's mills, . . . 431
Rusks, 432
Flannel cakes, • . . 432
Muffins, 432
Rice muffins, ... 432
h .- cukes, i . . • 432
Crumpets, . , . . 433
Uatter cakes, • . . 433
Buckwheat cakes, • . 433
Indian slnpjitck$, • . . 433
Raised flour wattles, . . 433
Quick wattles, .... 334
Rice wattles, . . . 434
Indian meal bread, . , 435
Indian meal mutlias, . . 435
Indian meal cake, . . . 435
Bannock, . 435
Johnny cake, .... 43H
Indian shippers, . • 436
Hue cake, . . . • 436
Egg bread 436
Rice omelettes, . . . 436
CHAPTER XXIX.
COFFEE, TEA, CHOCOLATE.
Coffee, to roast, . , . 437
Made in a French filter, . 437
Coffee milk, . . . .438
To make coffee with hot water, 438
To make with cold water, . 438
French method of making, . 438
Tea 439
Making, .... 439
Boiling water, ... 440
Chocolate, .... 440
Cocoa, . . . .441
Cocoa shells, . . . 441
Broma, 441
CHAPTER XXX.
LIQUEURS AND SUMMER BEVERAGES.
Observations, .... 442
Cheap water filter, . . 442
Soda water, .... 4W2
Seidlitz powders, • . 443
Small beer, cheap, • • . 443
Common beer, . • • 443
Spruce beer, .... 443
Ginger beer, . • . 443
Eau Sucre. .... 444
Mead, . . . . 4-14
Syrup for Iiquours, ... 444
Nectar, . ,
441
Syrup of currants,
• •
. 415
Raspberry vinegar,
445
Orangeade, • a
•
4-15
Orange water, .
Orgeat, . ,
• •
. 445
4-1..
Lemon syrup, .
Portable lemonade,
. 446
440
Curacoa, . ,
• ,
440
Ratafia, » •
. 44C
Noyeau, . .
Mintjulop,
• a
. 447
447
Turkish sherbets,
447
Almond and nut beverages,
. 448
Punch,
448
Milk lemonade,
449
To mull cider, .
• •
449
Mulled wine,
. 450
Home-made wines,
450
Wine, ripe grape,
• •
. 451
Unripe grape, .
451
French blackberry,
453
Rich and pleasant,
454
Raspberry,
•
. 451
CHAPTER XXXL
PREPARATIONS OF FOOD FOR INVALIDS.
General observations,
455
Gruel, , . .
„
458
Indian meal,
. .
45«
Barley, . . .
a
450
Caudle, flour,
450
White,
457
Rice, . • -
457
Arrow-root, • •
457
Tapioca, •
457
Sago, . . . .
a
457
Sago milk, . .
457
Ground rice milk, .
453
Restorative milk,
458
Suet milk, . . ,
458
Imitation of asses' milk,
458
Barley milk, .;
a
458
Baked milk, .
458
Calves' feet and milk,
488
Sheep's trotters,
458
Isinglass, . . •
t
451
Jelly, Gloucester,
• •
451


XXX1T
Bread, . . . . 459
Hice, 459
Strengthening. ... 459
Hemp seed, .... 459
Tapioca, .... 459
Panada in five minutes, , . 4tiU
Chicken panada, . . 460
Sippets, 460
Broths, beef, mutton, or veal, 460
Quick made, I . . .461
Calf's feet, .... 461
Chicken, .... 461
Beef tea, .... 461
To drink cold, ... 461
Eggs, . . . . . 462
Stew for persons in weak health, 462
Stewed partridges, . . 462
Puddings for invalids, • . 462
Brown bread, . • . 463
Whey, wine, .... 463
Plain, .... 463
Tamarind, .... 463
Irish, or two milk, . . 463
Vinegar and lemon, . . 463
Luncheon, .... 463
Butter milk, . . . .463
Baked and dried fruits, . 464
Drinks, refreshing in a fever, . 464
Toast and water, . • 464
Barley water, . . . 465
Barley water with honey, . 465
Barley water with isinglass. . 465
Soda water, ... 465
Cream of tartar, ... 465
Apple water, • • . 466
Refreshing, .... 466
Cooling, • * . . 466
Balm, mint, and other teas, . 466
Wholesome beverage, • . 466
CHAPTER XXXII.
COOKERY FOR CHILDREN.
General directions, . . 467
Food for a young infan^ • 469
Thickened milk, . . .469
Broth, .... 469
Milk, i .... 469
Child's luncheon, . . 470
Milk porridge, ... 470
Meats for children, . . 470
Vegetables for children . . 470
Potatoes and peas, . . 471
Puddings and pancakes, . 471
Rice pudding with fruit, . 471
Hasty pudding,
To prepare fruit,
Rice and apples,
Apple cake,
Fruits, . .
Blackberry jam,
Ml
471
471
471
473
473
To make senna and manna palat-
able, .... 473
Dr. Meigs' receipt, . . . 473
CHAPTER XXXIII.
TUB DAIRY.
General remarks, • • • 474
Care of milk, ... 475
Devonshire method of scalding
milk, .... 476
To make butter, . . . 476
To salt butter, ... 477
To make up butter, . . 477
Butter in hot weather, . 47S
Butter in winter, . • • 478
To cure butter, . . . 478
To freshen butter, ... 478
To improve rancid butter, .. 473
Pickle for butter, . . .479
Work out the butter-milk, . 479
to make cheese.
Cheese, .... 479
Cheshire, .... 480
Stilton, .... 480
New, • • • • • 481
To keep, . . . • 481
To soften, • • • • 481
Good rules, ... 482
To preserve cheese sound, . 482
CHAPTER XXXIV.
HINTS FOR A HOUSEHOLD.
The mistress, . . . . 483
Domestics, a word to, • 486
Domestic economy, • » 490
To purify water, . . • 4111
Flannels, . . . .491
CUored dresses, . . 491
Mildew stains, ... 491
Ink and iron mould, • . 49'.
Fruit and wine stains, . . 49:
To wash carpets, . . 4y
To sweep carpets, ... 4'.'
To clean paint, . . • 49
To clean paper walls, . . 4H
To polish mahogany, . . 4.i


CONTENTS.
To take ink out of mahogany, .
493
Fillet of veal, .
502
To clean pictures,
493
Breast of veal, .
5H2
To clean mirrors,
483
Loin of veal, . .
5112
To clean straw carpets, .
493
Shoulder of veal,
503
To clean marble,
493
Calf's head,
503
Ti> clean freestone, . .
To black a brick hearth, .
493
Log of mutton, .
503
493
Leg of lamb, . •
503
To clean brass,
493
Mutton, shoulder of,
5113
To prevent the smoking of a lamp, 491
Saddle, .
5IU
Glasses, ....
491
Haunch, . . .
5IU
Ironing,
494
Loin, . . .
5» I
Isinglass
494
Neck,
504
Bed linen, ....
494
Scrag,
504
Hair or straw mattresess,
494
Fore-quarter of lamb, .
504
Bed curtains, ....
494
Haunch of venison,
50.i
Bread, .....
494
Pork, ....
a
505
495
Boiled tongue, .
505
Old bread, ....
495
Ham
50«
How to keep various things,
495
Sucking pig, . .
Roast turkey, • •
•
5»0
609
CHAPTER XXXV.
Boiled turkey, •
507
DINNER PARTIES AND CARVING.
Turkey poults, •
Goose, ...
5»7
507
Management of a dinner,
496
Duck, . . •
Roust fowl, . . .
508
Carving, ....
499
508
Fish
500
Partridge, . .
609
Sirloin of beef,
501
Pigeons, • • •
•
509
Kibs of beef, ....
501
Tea table, . .
To fold napkina, .
•
til
Round of beef, . . .
501
.
111





INTRODUCTORY.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF COOKERY.
Miss Sidgwick has asserted, in some of her useful books, that " lh«
more intelligent a woman becomes, other things being equal, the more
judiciously she will manage her domestic concerns." And we add,
that the more knowledge a woman possesses of the great principles
of morals, philosophy and human happiness, the more importance she
will attach to her station, and to the name of it "good housekeeper." It is only the frivolous, and those who have been superficially educat-
ed, or only instructed in showy accomplishments, who despise and
neglect the ordinary duties of life as beneath their notice. Such per-
sons have not sufficient clearness of reason to see that "Domestic
Economy" includes every thing which is calculated to make people
love home and feel happy there.
One of the first duties of woman in domestic life is to understand
the quality of provisions and the preparation of wholesome food.
The powers of the mind, as well as those of the body, are greatly
dependent on what we eat and drink. The stomach must be in health,
or the brain cannot act with its utmost vigor and clearness, nor can
it ere be strength of muscle to perform the purposes of the will.
But further, woman, to be qualified for the duty which Nature has
assigned her, that of promoting the health, happiness and improvement of her species, must understand the natural laws of the human
constitution, and the causes wWi often render the efforts she makes
to please the appetite of thoseWhc loves, the greatest injury which
could be inflicted upon them. Often has the affectionate wife caused
her husband a sleepless night and severe distress, which, had an ene-
my inflicted, she would scarcely have forgiven—because she has pre
uared for him food which did not agree with his constitution or habits.
* The term Tinvxekepprr. in this book, is used in its American signification,
the same as " Mistress of the iunrl}," ur " Lady of the house."
xxxvii


INTRODUCTORY:
And many a tender mother has, by pampering and inciting the ap
petites of her young sons, laid the foundation of their future course ot selfishness and profligacy.
If the true principles of preparing food were understood, thes
errors would not be committed, for the housekeeper would then feel sure that the best food was that which best nourished and kept the whol
system in healthy action: and that such food would be best relishec
because, whenever the health is injured, the appetite is impaired c
vitiated. She would no longer allow those kinds of food, which rea
son and experience show are bad for the constitution, to appear at he
table.
We have, therefore, sought to embody, from reliable sources,* th
philosophy of Cookery, and here give to those who consult our" Nei
Book" such prominent facts as will help them in their researches after the true way of living well and being well while we live.
Modern discovery has proved that the stomach can create nothing
that it can no more furnish us with flesh out of food, in which, whe
swallowed, the elements of flesh are wanting, than the cook can sen
us up roast beef without the beef to roast. There was no doubt a
to the cook and the beef, but the puzzle about the stomach came o
our not knowing what matters various sorts of food really did contain
from our not observing the effects of particular kinds of food whe
eaten without anything else for some time, and from our not knowin
- the entire uses of food. But within the last few years measures an
scales have told us these things with just the same certainty as the
set out the suet and raisins, currants, flour, spices, and sugar, of
plum-pudding, and in a quite popular explanation it may be said th;:
we need food that as we breathe it may warm us, and to renew ou
bodies as they are wasted by labor. Each purpose needs a differer
kind of food. The best for the renewal of our strength is slow t
furnish heat; the best to give us heat will produce no strength. Bu
this does not tell the whole need for the two kinds of food. Ou
frames are wasted by labor and exercise; at every move some pm tion of our bodies is dissipated in the form either of gas or water; a
every breath a portion of our blood is swallowed, it may be said, b
ine of the elements of the air, oxygen: and of strength-giving foo tlone it is scarce possible to eat enough to feed at once the waste u
our bodies, and this hungry oxygen. With this oxygen our life is ii
some sort a continual battle; we muat^ither supply it with esoecia
food, or it will prey upon ourselves j^^body wasted bv starvation i
simply eaten up by oxygen, it likes fat best, so the fat goes first
then the lean, then the brain; and if from so much waste, death dii
not result, the sinews and very bones would be lost in oxygen.
The more oxygen we breathe the more need we have to eat
• I have followed chiefly the system of Dr. Andrew Combo on "Diet and Health," corroborated by the authority of Barou Ijjibeg in his "Familiar Letters" and "Animal Chemistry."


THE PHILOSOPHY OF COOKERf.
xxxix
Every one knows that cold air gives a keen appetite. Those who in
town must tickle their palates with spices and pickles to get up some
faint liking for a meal, by the sea, or on a hill-side, are hungry every
hour of the day, and the languid appetite of summer and crowded
rooms, springs into vigor with the piercing cold and open air of win-
ter. The reason of this hungriness of frosty air is simply that our lungs hold more of it than they do of hot air, and so we get more
oxygen, a fact that any one can prove, by holding a little balloon half
filled with air near the fire, it will soon swell up, showing that hot
air needs more room than cold.
But the oxygen does not use up our food and frames without doing us good service ; as it devours it warms us. The fire in the grate is
oxygen devouring carbon, and wherever oxygen seizes upon carbon,
whether in the shape of coals in a stove or fat in our bodies, the re-
sult of the struggle (if we may be allowed the phrase) is heat.
In all parts of the world, at the Equator and the Poles, amidst eter-
nal ice and under a perpendicular sun, in the parched desert and on
the fresh moist fields of temperate zones, the human blood is at the
same heat; it neither boils nor freezes, and yet the body in cold air
parts with its heat, and just as we can keep an earthenware bottle
filled with boiling water, hot, by wrapping it in flannel, can we keep
our bodies warm by covering them closely up in clothes. Furs, shawls,
and horse-cloths have no warmth in themselves, they but keep in the
natural warmth of the body. Every traveler knows that starting
without breakfast, or neglecting to dine on the road, he feels more
than usually chilly; the effect is very much the same as if he sat to
his meals on the same cold day in a room without a fire; the internal
fuel, the food, which is the oil to feed life's warming lamp, is want-
iug. On this account, a starving man is far sooner frozen to death
than one with food in his wallet. The unfed body rapidly cools down
to the temperature of the atmosphere, just as the grate cools when
the fire has gone out. Bodily heat is not produced in any one portion
nf the body, but in every atom of it. In a single minute about twen-
ty-five pounds of blood are sent flowing through the lungs, there the
whole mass meets the air, sucks in its oxygen, and speeding on car-
ries to every portion of the frame the power which may be said to
light up every atom of flesh, nerve, and bone, and to keep the flame
throughout the body ever burning with the fresh warmth of life.
In accordance with these facts we find men all over the world act-
ing instinctively. In a cold^kumte, either by necessity or choice,
we exert ourselves, quicken tMelood's speed, breathe rapidly, take in
oxygen largely; in short, fan the flame which quick-returning hunger
makes us feed. Even the least civilized follow correctly the natural
law; the fruit so largely eaten by the native inhabitants of the tropica
eontiins in every 100 ozs. not more than Vi of direct heat-produein;.,
elements, whilst the blubber and oil of the Esquimaux have in every
100 ozs. somewhere about 80 ozs. of such elements. Nor is it pos-
sible without injurious effects to live in opposition to this instinct.


INTRODUCTORY!
which science has shown to be in strict accordance with the intention
of nat-ire.
So far therefore we have evidence that good may come of method
in cookery." Plum-pudding is no dish for the dog-days, but its suet
blunts the keen tooth of winter. Nor is it a mere sentimental svm
pathy that makes the wish to give the poor a good Christmas dinner
Scant fare makes cold more bitter. Those who, poorly clad, must face
the wintry wind unfed, shiver doubly in the blast. The internal fire
sinks for want of fuel, and the external air drinks up the little warmth
the slow consuming system gives.
Milk, when a little rennet is poured into it, becomes curd and whey.
The curd, chemists call animal casein.
When the water in which the meal of peas, beans, or lentils has
been steeped for some time, is warmed, and a little acid is poured into
it, it also gives a curd, called vegetable casein, which is precisely thn
same as the curd of the milk, and contains, like it, all the ingredients
of the blood.
There is, then, no difficulty in understanding how one may hre on
peas, beans, &C., just as on milk or meat.
When the white of egg is poured into boiling water, it becomes
firm; the substance so formed is called animal albumen, and is identi-
cal with the albumen of the blood.
When vegetables are pounded in a mortar, the fresh juice express-
ed, lets fall a sediment which grass gives out largely, and which is
also to be had from all kinds of grain. This deposit is the same as
the fibrin or lean of flesh. When the remaining clear piece is boiled,
a thick jelly-like substance is formed. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage,
and asparagus are especially rich in this coagulating substance, which
is the same thing as white of egg or animal albumen. It is called,
therefore, vegetable albumen, and is, in common with the white of egg,
identical with the albumen of blood, which with the fibrin, whether
animal or vegetable, is the source of every portion of the human body.
We see, therefore, that the cattle have in peas and beans as casein,
in corn and grass as fibrin, in sundry vegetables as albumen, the very
materials of their flesh; and that, whether we live upon grain or pulse,
beef or mutton, milk or eggs, we are in fact eating flesh ; in meat, diet
ready made; in the case of the others, diet containing the fit ingre-
dients of preparation. Nor are we left in the least shadow of doubt
that albumen, of whatever kind, is sufficient to produce flesh, for not
only do we find every ingredient of itch contained in it, but we can
turn the flesh and fibrin of the bloorfVck to albumen.*
* "The intelligent and experienced mother or nurse chooses for the child."
»rys 1/cibig, " with attention to the laws of nature ; she gives him chiefly mils and farinaceous food, always adding traits to the latter; she prefers the flesh
o'' :.dult animals, which are rich in bone earth, to that of young animals, and
I1 nays accompanies it with garden vegetables; she gives the child especially
b:: ncs to arnuw, and ctclndes from its diet veal, fish, and potatoes; *o the ex-
hibit child of weak d:£,*j*t;ve powers, she gives, in its farinaceous food, iul'u-


THE PHILOSOPHY OP COOKERY. X!i
Bat besides the flesh-making ingredients, namely, the albumen and
fibrin, we have shown that it is needful the blood should have food
for oxygen: this also is contained in milk, grains, pulses, vegetables
and meat. In the meat as fat, which more or less the juices of the
meat and even the lean contain, in the pulse, grain, potatoes, as starch,
in the vegetables, as sugar of various kinds, and in milk, as sugar of
milk.
At first sight, few things seem less alike than starch and sugar, but
modern discovery had proved that our saliva—the natural moisture of
the mouth (which in its froth, as it is swallowed with every mouthful
of food, always contains air) has power, when mixed with moisteneu
starch at the heat of the stomach, to turn the starch into sugar; and
again we find that butter and fat contain the same ingredients as
starch and sugar, but with this difference, that ten ounces of fat will
feed as much oxygen as twenty-four ounces of starch. Grains, vege-
tables, milk, and meats differ from each other, and amongst them-
selves in their quantities of flesh-producing and oxygen-feeding sub-
stances; but whether the oxygen feeders be in the form of sugar or
fat, we can tell exactly how much starch they amount to, and the
following list taken from Baron Leibig's Familiar Letters on Chemis-
try, in this way shows the relative value of the several kinds of food is flesh-producing, and oxygen-feeding, or warmth-giving ingredients.
Flesh Warmth
producing. giving.
Human milk has for every ten flesh-producing
parts 10 40
Cows' milk 10 30
Lentils 10 21
Horse beans 1 10 22
Peas 10 23
Fat mutton 10 27
Fat pork 10 30
•Beef. 10 17
Hare 10 2
Veal 10 1
Wheat flour 10 . 46
Oatmeal 10 50
Rye flour 10 57
Barley 10 57
White potatoes ^ 10 86
Black ditto W to 115
Rice 10 123
Buckwheat flour 10 130
Here, then, we have proof of the value of variety ;n food, all lion of malt and uses milk sngnr, the respiratory matter prepared by nature
herself for the inspiratory process, in preference to cane sugar; and r he ul-
*ms Uta the unlimited use of i alt."


xlii
INTRODUCTORY?
come upon what may be called the philosophy of Cookery.'' In only food the proportions of human milk are the best we can aim at; n
his enough of flesh-producing ingredients to restore our daily waste
and enough of warmth-giving to feed the oxygen we breathe. To begin with the earliest making of dishes, we find that cows' milk has
less of oxygen-feeding ingredients in a given measure than human
milk; a child would, therefore, grow thin upon it unless a little sugar
were added; wheat flour has, on the other hand, so much an excess
of oxygen feeding-power as would fatten a child unhealthily, and it
should therefore have cows'milk added to reduce the fattening power.
The same sort of procedure applies in greater or less degree to all
dishes. Veal and hare stand lowest in the list for their oxygen-feed-
ing qualities, and, on this account, should be eaten with potatoes or
rice, which stand highest, and with bacon and jelly which furnish in
their fat and sugar the carbon wanting in the flesh. With the above
table before us, and keening in mind the facts already detailed, it is
clear that cookery should supply us with a mixed diet of animal and
vegetable food, and should aim so to mix as to give us for every ounce
of the flesh-making ingredients in our food, four ounces of oxygen-
feeding ingredients. It is clear, also, that the most nourishing or
strength-giving of all foods are fresh red meats, they are flesh ready
made, and contain, besides, the iron which gives its red color to the
blood, being short of which the blood lacks vitality, and wanting
which it dies.
To preserve in dressing the full nourishment of meats, and their
properties of digestiveness, forms a most important part of the art
of cooking; for these ends the object to be kept in mind is to retain
as much as possible the juices of the meat, whether roast or boiled.
This, in the case of boiling meat is best done by placing it at once
in briskly boiling water; the albumen on the surface and to some
depth, is immediately coagulated, and thus forms a kind of covering
which neither allows the water to get into the meat, nor the meat juice
into the water. The water should then be kept just under boiling
until the meat be thoroughly done, which it will be when every part
has been heated to about 165 degrees, the temperature at which the
coloring matter of the blood coagulates or fixes; at 133 degrees the
albumen sets, but the blood does not, and therefore the meat is red
and raw.
The same rules apply to roasting: the meat should first be brought near enough a bright fire to brown outside, and then should be
allowed to roast slowly.
Belonging to this question of waste and nourishment it is to be
noted, that the almost every whei e-agreed-upon notion that soup, which
»ets inio strong jelly, must be the most nutritious, is altogether a mit-
• " Among all the arts known to man," says Leibi?, "there is none Thiol
eclovR a juster appreciation, and the products of which are more universally
admired, than, that which is concerned in the preparation of our food, 


THE PHILOSOPHY OF COOKERY. xliii
take. The soup sets because it contains the gelatine or glue of the
sinews, flesh, and bones: but on this imagined richness alone it has,
by recent experiments, been proved that no animal can live. The
jelly of bones boiled into soup, can furnish only jelly for our bones;
the jelly of sinew or calf's feet can form only sinew; neither flesh
nor its juices set into a jelly. It is only by long boiling we obtain a
soup that sets, but in a much less time we get all the nourishing pro-
perties that meat yields in soups which are no doubt useful in cases of
recovery from illness when the portions of the system in which it
occurs have been wasted, but in other cases, though easily enough
digested, jelly is unwholesome, for it loads the blood with not only
useless but disturbing products. Nor does jelly stand alone. Neither
can we live on meat which has been cleared of fat, long boiled, and
has had all the juice pressed out of it; a dog so fed, lost in forty-three
days a fourth of his weight; in fifty-five days he bore all the appear-
ance of starvation, and yet such meat has all the muscular fibre in it
In the same way, animals fed on pure casein, albumen, fibrin of ve-
getables, starch, sugar, or fat, died, with every appearance of death
by hunger.
Further experiment showed that these worse than useless foods
were entirely without certain matters which are always to be found in
the blood, namely, phosphoric acid, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, oxide
of iron," and common salt (in certain of these we may mention, by
way of parenthesis, that veal is especially deficient, and hence its
difficulty of digestion and poor nutrient properties.) These salts of
the blood, as they are termed in chemistry, are to be found in the se-
veral wheys and juices of meat, milk, pulse, and grain. Here then
was the proof complete, that such food, to support life, must contain
the several ingredients of the blood, and that the stomach cannot
make, nor the body do without the least of them.
It is an established truth in physiology, that man is omnivorous—
that is, constituted to eat almost every kind of food which, separately,
nourishes other animals. His teeth are formed to masticate and his
stomach to digest flesh, fish, and all farinaceous and vegetable sub-
stances—he can eat and digest these even in a raw state; but it is
necessary to perfect them for his nourishment in the most healthy
manner, that they be prepared by cooking—that is, softened by the action of fire and water.
In strict accordance with this philosophy, which makes a portion of
animal food necessary to develojy^nd sustain the human constitution,
* Some determined advocates of the vegetable system maintain, that th«
teeth and stomach of the monkey correspond, in structure, very olosely with
tbst of :can, yet it lives on fruits—therefore, if man followed nature, he
would live on fruits and vegetables. But though the anatomical likeness be tween man and monkeys is striking, yet it is not complete; the difference may
be and doubtless is precisel y that which makes a difference of diet necessary
to nourish and deve'ope their dissimilar natures. Those who should live an
the monkeys do would most closely resemble them.


INTRODUCTORY:
in its most perfect state of physical, intellectual and moral strength and
beauty, we know that now in every country, where a mixed diet ia
habitually used, as in the temperate climates, there the greatest im-
provement of the race is to be found, and the greatest energy of cha-
racter. It is that portion of the human family, who have the means
of obtaining this food at least once a day, who now hold dominion over
the earth. Forty thousand of the beef-fed British govern and control
ninety millions of the rice-eating natives of India.
Jn every nation on earth the rulers, the men of power, whether
princes or priests, almost invariably use a portion of animal food.
The people are often compelled, either from poverty or policy, to ab-
stain.—Whenever the time shall arrive that every peasant in Europe
is able to " put his pullet in the pot, of a Sunday," a great improvement
will have taken place in his character and condition; when he can
have a portion of animal food, properly cooked, once each day, he will
soon become a man.
In our own country, the beneficial effects of a generous diet, in
developing and sustaining the energies of a whole nation, are clearly
evident. The severe and unremitting labors of every kind, which
were requisite to subdue and obtain dominion of a wilderness world,
could not have been done by a half-starved, suffering people. . A larger
quantity and better quality of food are necessary here than would
have supplied men in the old countries, where less action of body and
mind are permitted.
Still, there is great danger of excess in all indulgences of the ap
petite; even when a present benefit may be obtained, this danger
should never be forgotten. The tendency in our country has been to
excess in animal food. The advocates of the vegetable diet system
had good cause for denouncing this excess, and the indiscriminate use
nf flesh. It was, and now is, frequently given to young children—in-
fants before they have teeth,—a sin against nature, which often costs
the life of the poor little sufferer; it is eaten too freely by the seden-
tary and delicate; and to make it worse still, it is eaten, often in a
half-cooked state, and swallowed without sufficient chewing. All
these things are wrong, and ought to be reformed.
I hope this " New Book of Cookery" will have some effect in en-
lightening public opinion on the proper kinds of food, and on the best
manner of preparing it.
It is generally admitted that the French excel in the economy nf
their cooking. By studying the appropriate flavors for every dish,
they contrive to dress all the broken pieces of meats, and make a
variety of dishes from vegetables at a small expense.
Next to the knowledge of the differences in the human constitution,
tend the nature of the food proper for man, this study of flavors and
art of re-cooking to advantage is to be prized by the good housekeeper.
Every family whe has a garden spot should cultivate those vegetables
ir.i herbs which are requisite for seasoning—ho^e-radish, onions, 


THE PHILOSOPHY OF COOKERY. celery, mustard, capsicum, (red-pepper,) sage, summer savory, mint,
&c. Sic. are easily raised. These, if rightly prepared, will be suffi-
cient for all common culinary purposes, and a little care and study
will enable the housekeeper to flavor her meats, gravies, and vegeta-
bles in the best manner.
Bear in mind that in preparing food, three things are to he united,
the promotion of health, the study of economy, and the gratification
of taste.
Times of taking Food.—Nature has fixed no particular hours for
eating. When the mode of life is uniform, it is of great importance
to adopt fixed hours; when it is irregular, we ought to be guided by
the real wants of the system as dictated by appetite.
A strong laboring man, engaged in hard work, will require food
oftener and in larger quantities than an indolent or sedentary man.
As a general rule, about five hours should elapse between one meal
and another—longer, if the mode of life be indolent; shorter, if it be
very active.
When dinner is delayed seven or eight hours after breakfast, some
slight refreshment should be taken between.
Young persons when growing fast, require more food and at shorter
intervals than those do who have attained maturity.
Children under seven years of age, usually need food every three
hours: a piece of bread will be a healthy lunch, and a child seldom
eats bread to excess.
Those persons who eat a late supper should not take breakfast till
one or two hours after rising. Those who dine late, and eat nothing
afterwards, require breakfast soon after rising.
Proper quantity of Food.—As a general fact, those who can ob-
tain sufficient food, eat much more than is required for their sus-
tenance.
Children should never be fed or tempted to eat when appetite is
satisfied ; and grown persons should also be careful of eating beyond
that point. The indigestion so much complained of, and which causes so many
disorders and sufferings in the human system, is a wise provision of
nature, to prevent the repletion which would otherwise ensue, when too much food is taken.
The power of digestion is limited to the amount of gastric juice the
stomach is capable of providing: exercise in the open air, promotes
the secretion of the gastric juice.
It is a good and safe rule to proportion our meals to the amount of
exercise we have taken; if that exercise has been in the open air,
there is less danger of excess. The delicate lady, who scarcely
walks abroad, should live very sparingly, or she will be troubled wit!
ueivnusness, headache, aud all the horrors of indigestion.


TABLE, OT TVKIUHTS AMD MEASURES.
By which persons not having scales and weights at hand may readily
measure the articles wanted to form any receipt, without the trouble
of weighing. Allowance to be made for extraordinary dryness
or moisture of the article weighed or measured.
WEIGHT AND MEASURE.
Wheat flour one pound is one quart.
Indian meal . one pound, two ounces, is one quart.
Butter, when soft, one pound is one quart.
Loaf sugar, broken one pound is one quart.
While sugar, powdered one pound, one ounce, is one quart
Best brown sugar one pound, two ounces, is one quart
Eggs . ...ten eggs are one pound
Flour . .. eight quarts are one peck.
Flour four pecks are one bushel
LIQUIDS.
Sixteen large table-spoonfuls are half a pint
Eight large table-spoonfuls are one gill.
Four large table-spoonfuls are half a gill
Two gills are half a pint
Two pints are one quart.
Four quarts are one gallon.
A common-sized tumbler holds — half a pint.
A common-sized wine-glass half a gill. T wenty-five drops are equal to one tea-spoonful.
xlvi


MRS. HALE'S
N EW
COOK BOOK.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR SOUPS AND STOCK.
ijleanliness Essential—Proper Meats—Water—Time—Tnffte-
dien ts — To Clarify — Seasoning — Stock — Brown — White— Veal Gravy — Jellies — Coloring.
The perfection of soup is, that it should have no particular
favor: this can only be secured by careful proportion of the
several ingredients.
The kettles in which the soups are made should be well
tinned, and kept particularly clean, by being washed in hot
water and rubbed dry before they are put away; otherwise
they will have a musty smell, which will give a disagreeable
taste to all things afterwards cooked in them. If they are not
kept well tinned also, the taste as well as the color of the soup
will be liable to be affected by the iron; and if the soup-kettle
be made of copper and the tinning not quite perfect, every
thing cooked in it will be in a greater or less degree poisonous
as every thing which is sweet, salt, or sour, extracts vejdigris
from copper.
Soup must never be suffered to stand in any vessel of tin,
or copper, or iron, to get cold; but always must be poured off,
while hot, into a shallow, well-glazed earthenware pan, and be
stirred about, every five minutes, till it is nearly cold, other-
wise, the liquor will become sour.
Lean, juicy, fresh-killed meat, is best for soup: stale meat
will make it ill-flavored; and fat meat is very wasteful. An
economical cook will save, as ingredients for soup, the liquor
47


48
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
in which meat has been boiled; for example, leg of pork liquor
may be easily made into peas'soup; and calf's head liquor,
and knuckle, be made the base or stock of white soup. The
trimmings ciundressed meat and game will be useful to enrich
soups; and the banes of dressed or undressed meat assist to
make a good stock. Ham gives fine flavor, as well as the
bone of a dresscd ham, taking care to allow for its saltness.
Sufi water should always be used for making soup, unless it
be of green peas, in which case hard water better preserves its
color; and it is a good general rule to apportion a quart of
water to a ; ound of meat, that is to say, flesh without bone;
but rich soups may have a smaller quantity of water.
Meat for .soup should never be drowned at first in water, but
put into the kettle with a very small quantity and a piece of
butter, merely to keep the meat from burning until the juices
are extracted; by which means of stewing the gravy will be
drawn from it before the remainder of the water is added. A
single pour*'' will thus afford better and richer soup than treble
the quantity saturated with cold water.
The water - in the soup-kettle, when first put on, should not
be allowed to boil for at least half an hour; else the water
will not p°! etrate, but harden the meat, and keep in the im-
purities which, in slow heating, will rise as scum. Long and
slow boiling, for at least four or six hours, is necessary to ex
tract the strength from meat; but the pot should never be off the boil from the time it commences. The fat should be taken
off as it rises. If, however, as is generally thought desirable,
the soup snould be prepared the day before it is wanted, the
fat can be removed when cold, in a cake; and the soup attains
more consistence without losing the flavor; but it need not be
seasoned til' wanted, and then slowly heated till boiling.
When put away to cool, the soup should be poured into a
freshly sea)red, and thoroughly dried earthen pan; and, when
to be kept for some days, occasionally simmered for a few
minutes over the fire, to prevent its becoming mouldy; in re-
warming soup be careful not to pour in the sediment.
All vegetables, bread-raspings, or barley, for plain common
soups, when merely intended to thicken and flavor the soup,
should be put in as soon as the pot is skimmed; but if the
vegetables are to be served in the soup, none, with the excep-
tion of onions, should be put down to stew at the same time
as the meat, and the different sorts should be put down at dif-


GENERAL DIRECTIONS SEASONINGS.
49
feront times. Onions, whether whole, or sliced and fried, at
once; pot-herbs, carrots, and celery, three hours afterwards,
and turnips and others of a delicate kind, only about an hour
before the soup is ready.
Spices should be put whole into soups; allspice is one of
the best, though it is not so highly esteemed as it deserves.
Seville orange-juice has a finer and milder acid than lemon-
juice; but both should be used with caution.
Sweet herbs, for soups or broths, consist of knotted marjo-
ram, thyme, and parsley,—a sprig of each tied together. Tar-
ragon is also used in soups.
The older and drier onions are, the stronger their flavor; in
dry seasons, also, they are very strong: the quantity should
be proportioned accordingly.
Although celery may generally be obtained for soup through out the year, it may be useful to know, that dried celery-seed
is an excellent substitute. It is so strongly flavored, that a
dram of whole seed will enrich half a gallon of soup as much
as will two heads of celery.
Mushrooms are much used, and when they cannot be obtain-
ed fresh, mushroom ketchup will answer the purpose, but it
should be used very sparingly, as nothing is more difficult to
remove than the over-flavoring of ketchup.
A piece of butter, in proportion to the liquid, mixed witti
flour, and added to the soup, when boiling, will enrich and
thicken it. Arrow-root, or the farina or flour of potato, is far better for the thickening of soups than wheaten flour.
The finer flavoring articles, as ketchup, spices, wines, juic*»,
&c, should not be added till the soup is nearly done.
A good proportion of wine is, a gill to three pints of soup,
this is as much as can be used without the vinous flavor pre-
dominating, which is never the case in well made soups. Wir.'s
should be added late in the making, as it evaporates very
quickly in boiling.
Be cautious of over-seasoning soups, with pepper, salt, spices,
or herbs; for it is a fault that can seldom be remedied: any
pr ovision over-salted is spoiled. A tea-spoonful of sugar is a
good addition in flavoring soups.
Vermicelli is added to soups in the proportion of a quarter
of a pound for a tureen of soup for eight persons: it should be
broken, then blanched in cold water, and is better if stewed in
otcth before it is put into the soup
3


MRS. HALE'g NEW COOK BOOK.
If soups are too weak do not cover them in boiling, that the
watery particles may evaporate; but if strong, cover the soup-
kettle close. If they want flavor, most of the prepared sauces
will give it to meat-soups, and anchovy with walnut ketchup
and soy, will add to those of fish, but must be used sparingly.
If coloring be wanted, a piece of bread toasted as brown as
possible—but not blackened—and put into soup to simmer for a short time before its going to be served, will generally be
found sufficient. Burnt onions will materially assist in giving
a fine brown color to soup, and also improve the flavor, or burnt sugar, the usual browning may be used.
To clarify soup, put into it, when first set on, the whites of
1 or 2 eggs beaten to a stiff froth; skim the pot constantly,
and the liquor will be clear when strained. Soak the napkin
in cold water before you strain hot soup through it, as the cold
will harden the fat and only allow the clear soup to pass
through. Clarifying destroys somewhat of the savor of the
soup, which ought, therefore, to be more highly seasoned.
It is very usual to put force-meat balls, of various sorts, into
many different soups, for the purpose of improving their flavor and appearance.
There is sometimes great prejudice against the use of par
ticular sorts of seasoning and spices. Garlic is amongst these ,
and many a dish is deprived of its finest flavor for want of a
moderate use of it.
Tomatoes would also be found a great improvement in many
kinds of soup. If onions are too strong, boil a turnip with
them, and it will render them mild.
In stirring soup, do it always with a wooden spoon.
By a tureen of soup is generally meant 3 quarts.
Soup-Herb Powder, or Vegetable Relish, is an excellent article
to keep on hand; it may always be used when fresh herbs
cannot be had. Make it in the following manner. Take dried
parsley—winter savory—sweet marjoram—lemon-thyme of each
two ounces; lemon peel, cut very thin and dried—and sweet
basil,one ounce each. Dry these ingredients in a warm (not
hot) oven, or by the fire, till you can pound them fine in a
mortar, and pass the powder through a hair-sieve. Put this
powder in a clean dry bottle, and keep it closely corked. The
fragrance will be retained many months. It is an econundowi
and delicious flavoring.


GENERAL DIRECTIONS STOCKS.
51
STOCK.
The basis of all well-made soups is composed of what
English cooks call "Stock."
or broth, made from all sorts of meat, bones, and the r«-
mains of poultry or game;
all of which may be put to-
gether and stewed down in
the "Stock-pot;" the con-
tents of which are, by the
French, termed Consomme.
This is chiefly used for the
preparation of brown or gravy
soups: that intended for whitesoups being rather differently
compounded, though made in nearly the same manner.
Brown Stock.—Put 10 lbs. of shin of beef, 6 lbs. of knuckle
of veal, and some sheep's trotters or a cow-heel, in a closely
covered stew-pan, to draw out the gravy very gently and
allow it nearly to dry in until it becomes brown. Then pour
in sufficient boiling water to entirely cover the meat, and let it
boil up, skimming it frequently; seasoning it with wholo pep-
rs and salt, roots, herbs, and vegetables of any kind. That
ing done, let it boil gently 5 or 6 hours, pour the broth from
off the meat, and let it stand during the night to cool. The
following morning take off the scum and fat, and put it away
in a stone jar for further use.
Or:—Put into a stew-pan a piece of beef, a piece of veal,
an old fowl, some slices of ham or bacon, and all the trimmings
of meat that can be obtained; add to these materials, where
such things are abundant, partridge, grouse, or other game,
which may not be sufficiently young and tender for the spit.
Pct a little water to it, just enough to cover half the meat, and
stew very gently over a slow fire or steam apparatus. W hen the top piece is done through, cover the meat with boiling
water or broth; season with spices and vegetables; stew all
together for 8 or 10 hours in an uncovered stew-pan; skim oft
the fat, and strain the liquor through a fine sieve, or woollei
tamin, known by cooks as a "Tammy." Brown stock may be made from an ox-cheek, ox-tail, brisket 


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Banc, or shin of beef; which will, either together or separately,
make a strong jelly if stewed down with a piece of ham or
lean bacon, in the proportion of J lb. to every 7 lbs. of meat;
but the shin of beef alone will afford a stronger and better
flavor.
This stock may also be reduced to a glaze by boiling the
skimmed liquor as fast as possible in a newly-tinned stew-pan,
until it becomes of the desired consistence and of a good brown
color; taking care at the same time to prevent it from burning.
White Stock.—Take scrag or knuckle of veal, ox-heel, or
'calf's-head, together with an old fowl and the trimmings of any
white poultry or game which can be had, and lean ham in the
proportion of 1 lb. to every 14 lbs. of meat. Cut it all into
pieces (add 3 or 4 large unroasted onions and heads of celery,
with a few blades of mace; but neither carrots, pepper, nor
spice of any kind but mace); put into the stock-pot with just
water enough to cover it: let it boil, and add 3 onions and a
few blades of mace; let it boil for 5 hours, and it is then fit
for use.
Veal Gravy.—When all the meat has been taken from a
knuckle of veal, divide the bones, and lay them in a stew-
pot, with a pound of the scrag of a neck, an ounce of lean
bacon, a bunch of parsley, a little thyme, a bit of lemon-peel,
and a dessert-spoonful of pepper: add as much water as will
cover them. Boil and skim it; stop the pot down close, and
let it simmer, as slowly as possible, 3 hours. Strain off, and
let it stand till cold; then skim it, and take the jelly from the
sediment. Pound some mace fine, and boil it with 2 spoonsful
of water, and add to the gravy. If cream is to be put to it,
do not add the salt until the gravy comes off the fire.
Savoury, or Aspic Jelly.—Bone 4 calves' feet, clean them, boil, and skim till the water is quite clear; simmer till the feet
are done, add £ lb. of lean ham, and strain, remove the fat, add
the juice of two lemons, a tea-spoonful of whole pepper, a
blade of mace, some salt, a sprig of knotted majoram, thyme,
and parsley, and 2 onions; whisk in the whites of 10 eggs, and
boil till they a~e curdled; then pass the whole through a jelly
bag till clear. 2 table-spoonsful of tarragon vinegar will
heighten the flavor.


SKNKHAL DIRECT10SS JELLIES,
53
This jelly may be put into meat pies, when warm, or upon
the tops of cold pies: cold meats, and fish, are l'kewise gar-
nished with it; for which purposes it is sometimes colored pink
with cochineal, or green with spinach-juice.
Cow-heel Jelly—Is useful to thicken and improve weak soups.
It may be made as follows:—soak the heels 12 nours; boil
them 3 hours, and when cold, take off the fat; when nearly
elear, lay white paper on the jelly, and rub it wila a spoon to
remove any grease that may remain.
Brown Coloring for Soup or Made Dishes.—Put in a small
stew-pan 4 oz. of lump sugar, and h oz. of the finest butter,
and set it over a gentle fire. Stir it with a wooden spoon till
of a bright brown. Add 1pint of water; boil, skim, and
when cold, bottle and cork it close. Add to the soup or gravy
as much of this as will give a proper color.
To restore Soups or Gravy.—Should brown gravy or mock
turtle soup be spoiling, fresh-made charcoal rougb'y pounded,
tied in a little bag and boiled with either, will absorb the bad
flavor and leave it sweet and good. The charcoal may be
made by simply putting a bit of wood into the fire, and pound
ing the burnt part in a mortar.
Mullagatawny means, simply, pepper-water. The following
is the receipt to make it. Slice and fry 1 or 2 Page onions,
add 1 table-spoonful of Chili vinegar, and a spoonful of curry
powder; mix it well with a pint of water, or moro, according
to taste, and salt. Let it boil for an hour, well covered, over
a slow fire. This is excellent in flatulencies and bilious com
plaints, and may be used to flavor the broth for invalids.
Curry Powder.—Put the following ingredients in a cool
oven all night, and the next morning pound them in a marble
mortar, and rub them through a fine sieve:—Coriander seed, 2
oz.; turmeric, 3 ounces; black pepper, mustard, ginger, 1 oz,
each; allspice and less cardamons, j oz. each; cummin seed, J
oz.; thoroughly pound and mix together, and keep the powdei
in a well-stopped bottle.


CHAPTER H.
SOUPS.
Utensilsfor cooking Soup — White — Veal—Cvrrie—Portage—
Harrieo—Chicken — Cottage —Pepper-pot—Portable— Glaze
—Clear Gravy — Maccaroni—Sago— Vermicelli —Potato—
Asparagus — Tomato — Peas — Ochra — Gumbo — Rice —
Onion — Carrot— Venison—Hare—Mullagatawny—Pigeon
—Maigre — Turtle—Lobster—Clam—Oyster — Chowder —
Eel—Fish — BrothsA common camp-kettle will he found an
excellent utensil for making soup, as the lid
is heavy and will keep in the steam. An
earthen pipkin or jar of this form, if of a long
and narrow make, widening a little in the cen-
tre, is perhaps one of the best vessels for
soups, and universally used by foreign cooks,
who insist "that it renders the gravy more
clear and limpid, and extracts more savor from
the meat, than when made in tin or copper."
White Soup.—Take a good knuckle of veal, or 2 or 3 short
shanks; boil it in 4 quarts of water about 4 hours, with some
whole white pepper, a little mace, salt, 2 onions, and a small
piece of lean ham; strain it, and when cold take off all the fat and sediment; beat up 6 yolks of eggs, and mix them with a
pint of cream; then pour the boiling soup upon it. Boil the
cream before putting it in the soup.
Veal Soup.—Skin 4 lbs. of a knuckle of veal; break it and
cut it small; put it into a stew-pan with 2 gallons of water;
when it boils skim it, and let it simmer till reduced to 2quarts;

54


GENERAL DIRECTIONS SOUPS.
55
strain and season it with white pepper, salt, a little mace, a
dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, and thicken it with a large
table-spoonful of flour, kneaded with an ounce of butter.
Currie Soup.—Season 2 quarts of strong veal broth with
2 onions, a bunch of parsley, salt, and pepper; strain it, and
have ready a chicken, cut in joints, and skinned; put it in the
broth with a table-spoonful of curry powder; boil the chicken
till quite tender. A little before serving, add the juice of a
lemon, and a tea-cupful of boiling cream. Serve boiled rice to
eat with this soup.
Ar. B. Always boil cream before putting it in soup or gravy.
Veal Potage.—Take off a knuckle of veal all the meat that
can be made into cutlets, &C., and set the remainder on to stew,
with an onion, a bunch of herbs, a blade of mace, some whole
pepper, and 5 pints of water: cover it close; and let it do on
a slow fire, 4 or 5 hours at least. Strain it, and set it by till
next day; then take the fat and sediment from the jelly, and
simmer it with either turnips, celery, sea-kale, and Jerusalem
artichokes, or some of each, cut into small dice, till tender,
seasoning it with salt and pepper. Before serving, rub down
half a spoonful of flour, with half a pint of good cream, and
butter the size of a walnut, and boil a few minutes. Let a
small roll simmer in the soup, and serve this with it. It
should be as thick as middling cream, and, if thus made of the
vegetables above mentioned, will make a very delicate white
potage. The potage may also be thickened with rice and pearl-
barley; or the veal may be minced, and served up in the
tureen.
Potage a la Reine.—Is so called from its having been said to
be a favorite soup at the table of Queen Victoria.
Stew 2 or 3 young' fowls for about an hour in good fresh-
made veal broth: then take them out, skin them and pound
the breast, or only the white meat, in a mortar until it becomos
quite smooth. That done, mash the yolks of 3 or 4 hard-
boiled eggs with the crumb of a French roll, soaked either in
broth or in milk, and mix this with the pounded meat to form
* paste, which must be afterwards passed through a sieve.
I>uring this operation the bones and skin have been left stew-
ing in the broth, which must then be strained, and the paste


56
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
put gradually into it: then, let it boil briskly for a short time,
stirring it all the while to ensure its thorough mixture. When
that is done, take it from the fire; warm a pint or more of cream, and pour it gently into the soup.
This being a delicate white soup, the broth should only be
seasoned with salt and mace, nor should there be any other
vegetable used than celery; but the cream may be flavored
with almonds.
JTurrico Soup.—Cut some mutton cutlets from the neck;
trim and fry them of a light brown; stew in brown gravy soup
till tender. Have ready some carrots, turnips, celery, and
onions; fry them in butter for some time, and clear the soup
from the fat; then add the vegetables, color it, and thicken it
with butter and flour; season, and add to it a little port wine
and ketchup. If the gravy be ready, the soup will require no
more time to prepare than may be necessary to render the
chops and vegetables tender, and is an excellent family dish.
If wished to be made more highly flavored, put in a little curry
powder.
Soup for an Invalid.—Cut in small pieces, 1 lb. of beef or
mutton, or part of both; boil it gently in 2 quarts of water;
take off the scum, and when reduced to a pint, strain it. Sea-
son with a little salt, and take a tea-cupful at a time.
Chicken Soup.—Cut up a large fowl, and boil it well in milk
and water; thicken with cream, butter, and flour. Add vege-
tables of different kinds cut in small pieces, such as potatoes,
turnips, the heart of cabbage, one or two onions, celery, &C., with thyme, parsley, cayenne or black pepper, and mace. Boil
all together: and just before you dish it, add wine, or a little
lemon juice, and salt to your taste.
Shin of Beef Soup.—Put on the shin at 7 o'clock in the
morning to boil—at 9 o'clock add the vegetables; take a large
head of cabbage cut fine, 12 carrots cut small, 5 or 6 turnips.
2 or 3 potatoes, 2 onions roasted in hot ashes, and, if tomatoes
are in season, add 2 or 3. Put in thyme, parsley, black pep-
per, salt, allspice, and a little mace.
When you serve, take out the meat first, and with a skim


mer take from the bottom the thick part of the vegetables;
mash them to a pulp, and pour on them the more liquid part.
Serve the meat separately in a dish. This soup is excellent
the second day, if kept quite sweet. Some people add mush-
rooms, parsnips, &c.
Cottr.ge Soups.—Take 2 lbs. of lean beef, cut into small
pi sees, with \ lb. of bacon, 2 lbs. of mealy potatoes. 3 oz. vl
rice, carrots, turnips, and onions sliced, and cabbage. Fry
the meat, cabbage, and onions, in butter or dripping, the latter being the most savory; and put them into a gallon of water,
to stew gently over a slow fire for 3 hours, putting is the car-
rots at the same time, but the turnips and rice only time
enough to allow of their being well done; and mashing the
potatoes, which should be then passed through a cullender:
season only with pepper and salt: keep the vessel closely cov
ered. It will make 5 pints of excellent soup.
Or:—To any quantity or kind of broth, add whatever vege-
tables may be in season, and stew them gently till quite tender.
Then strain the soup; thicken it with flour and water, to be
mixed gradually while simmering; and, when that is done,
and seasoned to your taste, return the vegetables to the soup,
and simmer for an hour.
Pepper Pot.—Stew gently in 4 quarts of water, till reduced
to 3, 3 lbs. of beef, J lb. of lean ham, a bunch of dried thyme,
2 onions, 2 large potatoes pared and sliced; then strain it
through a cullender, and add a large fowl, cut into joints and
skinned, J lb. of pickled pork sliced, the meat of 1 lobster
minced, and some small suet dumplings, the size of a walnut.
When the fowl is well boiled, add £ a peck of spinach that has
been boiled and rubbed through a cullender; season with salt
and cayenne. It is very good without the lean ham and fowl.
Portable Soup.—Put on, in 4 gallons of water, 10 lbs. of a
shin of beef, free from fat and skin, 6 lbs. of a knuckle of veal,
and 2 fowls, break the bones and cut the meat into small pieces,
season with 1 oz. of whole black pepper, {. oz. of Jamaica pep
per, and the same of mace, cover the pot very closely, and let
it simmer for 12 or 14 hours, and then strain it. The follow
ing day, take off this, fat, and clear the jelly from any sediment
adhering to it; boil it gently Uj.on a stove without cove' iuj


53
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOS.
the sauce-pan, and stir it frequently till it thickens to a strong
glue. Pour it into broad tin pans, and put it in a cool oven.
When it will take the impression of a knife, score it in equal
squares, and hang it in a south window, or near a stove. When
dry, break it at the scores. Wrap it in paper, and put it
closely up in boxes. There should always be a large supply
of this soup, as with it and ketchup, no one will ever be at a
loss for dressed dishes and soups.
Glaze.—Glaze is made like portable soup; a small portion
will flavor a pint of water, and, with an onion, parsley, sweet
herbs, allspice, and seasoning of salt and Cayenne pepper, will
make a fine soup in a very short time. Sauces and gravies for
game or poultry, are likewise quickly made with glaze.
Clear Gravy Soup.—Take solid lean beef in the proportion
of 1 lb. of meat and 2 oz. of ham to 1 pint of water; cover
the meat with cold water, and let it simmer by the fire for at
least 3 hours; during which time it should not be allowed to
boil, but, when coming to that point, check it with cold water,
and skim it. As the gravy will then be drawn, throw in 3
quarts of warm water, along with {' oz. each of black pepper,
allspice, and salt, as well as a bundle of sweet herbs, a few
cloves, 2 onions, 2 or 3 carrots and turnips, (the latter an hour
afterwards,) together with 2 heads of celery; allow the whole
to boil slowly, skimming it carefully, until the meat is done to
rags, and the vegetables become tender. Then strain it through
a napkin, without squeezing it. Boil the vegetables to be
served in the soup separately, a few hours before dinner, in a
portion of the broth, and add them to the soup. When soup
is sufficiently boiled on the first day, all that it requires on the
second is, to be made thoroughly hot.
This soup should be of a clear amber color, without any
artificial browning; but if wanted of a deep color, a burnt
onion will suffice.
This soup is, in fact, the foundation of all gravy soups, which
are called after the names of the ingredients put in them; that
w, vermicelli, macaroni, rice, barley &c.
Macaroni Soups.—Take a quart of gravy soup; break 2 oz.
of Naples macaroni int) pieces of little more than an inch long,


SOUPS. 59
putting them, by degrees, into a small portion of the boiling
soup, to prevent them from sticking together, and let them
boil until quite tender, but not soft or pulpy—from 15 to 20
minutes, if quite fresh, but nearly J| an hour, if at all stale.
Vermicelli is used in the same manner. They will improve
the consistence of the soup if the quantity above stated be
added ; but it is useless, and does not look well, to see as at
some tables, only a few strings of it floating in the tureen
Sago Soup.—Take gravy soup, quite clear and brown; ad
M it a sufficient quantity of sago to thicken it to the consis-
tence of pea-soup, and season it with soy and ketchup; to
which may be added a small glass of red wine, or a little lemon
juice. It may also be made, as a white soup, of beef, by leav-
ing out the soy and ketchup, and using white wine, adding a
little cream and mace.
Vermicelli Soup.—Put into a stew-pan, 1$ lbs. of lean veal,
a small slice of lean ham, a bunch of sweet herbs, a head of
celery, an onion, some whole white pepper, a blade of mace,
and I-,lb. of butter; set the pan over a clear fire, taking care
the articles do not burn; then thicken 2 quarts of white gravy
and pour it into the pan, adding a few mushroom trimmings:
when it boils, set it aside, remove the scum and fat, and strain
the soup upon some vermicelli, which has been soaked a few
minutes in cold water, and stewed in strong broth. This soup
is sometimes served with a few blanched chervil leaves in it.
Potato Smtp (Scotch).—Rasp off the skin of as many pota
toes as will make the quantity required; throw them into
tepid water to cleanse; have water, with a little clarified drip-
ping, butter, the stock of roast beef bones, or any other stock;
put in the potatoes, and fry some onions and add them, and let
it simmer till it has thickened, and the potatoes are all dissolv
ed. A salt or red herring is an excellent relish for this soup,
or a little cneese. It is astonishing, that Rumford's economi
cal plans have made so very little progress amongst us.
This is an excellent family soup, as well as for the pool
Hasped carrots, celery, and sweet herbs, are great improve-
ments; turnips and carrots may be cut down and served in it.
Should the potatoes fall to the bottom, mix in a little rice flour
or fried crumbs. It may also be made with a mixture of peas


60
UBS. HALE'6 NEW COOK BOOK.
Asparagus Soup.—Cut off the heads of asparagus about u
inch long, blanch and set aside in cold water a £ pint of them {
put the remainder of the heads in a stew-pan, with the rest of
the asparagus, broken off as low as tender, and stew them in
white stock till they can be pulped through a sieve; boil them
with the soup, and add the Jj pint of whole heads previously
dried. Add 2 or 3 lumps of sugar. To make 2 quarts of this
soup will require 300 heads of asparagus.
Tomato Soup.—Put in 5 quarts of water a chicken or a piece
of any fresh meat, and 6 thin slices of bacon; let them boil
for some time, skimming carefully, then throw in 5 or 6 dozen
tomatoes peeled, and let the water boil away to about 1 quart,
take out the tomatoes, mash and strain them through a sieve;
mix a piece of butter, as large as a hen's egg, with a table-
spoonful of flour, and add it to the tomatoes; season with salt
and pepper; an onion or two is an improvement. Take the
meat from the kettle, if it is done, and put back the tomatoes.
Let them boil I,an hour. Lay slices of toasted bread in the
tureen, and pour on the soup.
Green Peas Soup.—May be made with or without meat.
For the former, boil 3 pints of peas, with mint, in spring water;
rub them through a sieve, put to them 3 quarts of brown gravy
soup, and boil together; then add about £ pint of whole boiled
peas; season, and if not green enough, add spinach-juice. Or,
if the gravy be not made, boil with the first peas a ham bone,
or veal, or beef bones, and trimmings, to make the stock.
To make this soup without meat, put the peas, with some
butter, 2 onions, seasoning, and a pint of water, into a stew-
pan. Stew till the peas can be passed through a sieve, which
being done, add to the liquor and pulp more water, J pint of
young peas, a few fine lettuce-leaves, and some mint, shred
finely"s stew all together till soft. Thicken with butter and
flour, if requisite.
In either of the above cases, the pea-shells, if very ycung>
may be boiled and pulped with the first parcel of peas.
Dried Green Peas Soup.—Simmer in soft water a an art of
split green peas, with a small piece of butter, until they can be pumped through a cullender; then add to them a lettuce, boil


60UP8.
lug water to make the soup, and some spinach-juice to color it
Simmer till ready, thicken with butter and flour, boil a few
minutes, and season with pepper and salt, and sugar. The
lettuce may be taken out, and asparagus-tops, or a few young
peas substituted.
O.'d Peas Soup.—Put 1£ lbs. of split peas on in 4 quarts of
water, with roast beef or mutton bones, and a ham bone, 2 heads of celery, and 4 onions, let them boil till the peas are
sufficiently soft to pulp through a sieve, strain it, put it into
the pot with pepper and salt, and boil it nearly 1 hour. 2 or 3
handsful of spinach, well washed and cut a little, added when
the soup is strained, is a great improvement; and in the sum-
mer, young green peas in the place of the spinach; a tea-spoon-
ful of celery seed, or essence of celery, if celery is not to be
had.
Vegetable Soup.—To \ lb. of fresh butter, boiling hot, add
onions chopped very fine. When they are quite soft, throw
In spinach, celery, carrots, kidney beans, &C., also chopped fine,
with green peas, and any other vegetables that you can collect.
Stir them well in the onions and butter till they begin to dry.
Have ready a tea-kettle of boiling water, and pour about a
pint at a time over your vegetables, till you have as much as
you want. Serve up with bread or toast in the bottom of the
dish. Pepper and salt to your taste.
Ochra Soup.—Boil a leg of veal with about 4 dozen ochras,
an hour; then add 6 tomatoes, 6 small onions, 1 green pepper,
a bunch of thyme and parsley, and let it boil till dinner-time.
Season it with salt, and red pepper to your taste, and if agree-
able, add a piece of salt pork which has been previously boiled.
The soup should boil 7 or 8 hours.
Gumbo Soup.—Cut up a chicken or any fowl as if to fry,
and break the bones; lay it in a pot with just enough butter
U brown it a little; when browned, pour as much water to it
as will make soup for four or five persons; add a thin slice of
lean bacon, an onion cut fine, and some parsley. Stew it gently
5 or 6 hours; about 20 minutes before it is to be served make
a thickening by mixing a heaping table-spoonful of sassafras
"eaves, pounded fine, in some of the soup, and adding it to the


<>2
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
rest of the soup; a little rice is an improvement. If
chickens are small, 2 will be required, but 1 large pulle
sufficient.
Oehra Gumbo.—Heat a large table-spoonful of hog's lard
butter. Stir into it, while hot, £ table-spoonful of flour. A
a small bunch of parsley, a large onion, with plenty of och
all chopped up very fine. Let it fry till it is quite bros Then add a common-sized fowl cut up in small pieces, and
all fry together until quite cooked. Then pour in about 3 qua
of hot water, and boil till reduced to one-halt
Rice Soup.—Take white stock, season it, and either whi
rice boiled till very tender, or the flour of rice may be use
1lb. will be sufficient for 2 quarts of broth.
Onion Soup \Plain\.—Simmer turnips and carrots for
hours, in weak mutton broth; strain it, and add 6 onioi
sliced and fried; simmer 3 hours, skim, and serve.
Rich Onion Soup.—Put into a stew-pan 12 onions, 1 turni
and a head of celery, sliced, -J- lb. of butter, and a quart i
white gravy; stew till tender; add another quart of grav
pulp the vegetables, and boil with the soup, strained, for £1 hour, stirring it constantly; and, just before serving, stir in
pint of boiling cream, and about 18 button onions nicely pe<
ed, and boiled soft in milk and water. Season with sal
Spanish onions only are sometimes used; and the soup may be thickened, if requisite, with rice flour, worked with butter
Hotch Potch.—Boil for 2 hours or more if not perfectly tei
der, 1 lb. of peas with £ ounce of butter, or a little fat; pul
them through a sieve; put on, in a separate sauce-pan, a gall of water, 3 lbs. of mutton chops, some salt and pepper, 1^ lb
of carrots, the same of turnips, cut small; boil till the veg
tables become tender, which may be in about 2 hours, add tt
strained peas to it, and let it boil \ of an hour.
Carrot Soup.—Take 6 or 8 full-grown carrots, of the re sort, scrape them clean, and rasp only the outer rind, or so
red part, and if you have a single ripe tomato, add it, sliced, t
the raspings, but use no other vegetable except onions. Whi!


BOCPS.
63
this is doing, the broth of any kind of fresh meat which has
been got ready should be heated and seasoned with a couple
of onions fried in butter, but without pepper, or any other kind
of seasoning, except a small quantity of mace and a little salt.When all is ready, put the raspings into 2 quarts of the skim
med broth, cover the stew-pan close, and let it simmer by the
side of the fire for 2 or 3 hours, by which time the raspings
will have become soft enough to be pulped through a fine sieve: after which the soup should be boiled until it is as
smooth as jelly, for any curdy appearance will spoil it.
Thus all the roots, and most of such vegetables as can be
easily made into purees, and combined with any sort of broth,
will, in this manner, make excellent soup of different denomi-
nations, though all founded upon the same meat-stock. The
gravy of beef is always preferred for savory soups, and that
of veal or fowls for the more delicate white soups: to which
from J pint to 1 pint of cream, or, if that cannot be had, the
same quantity of milk, and the yolks of 2 raw eggs, should be
added for every 2 quarts of soup; remembering, however, that
the latter will not impart the richness of cream.
Parsnip Soup—is made in the same way as that of carrots;
only that the whole of the root is used, and it requires either
another tomato or a spoonful of Chili vinegar to check its
rather mawkish sweetness.
Venison Soup.—Take 4 lbs. of freshly-killed venison cut off from the bones, and 1 lb. of ham in small slices. Add an
onion minced, and black pepper to your taste. Put only M
much water as will cover it, and stew it gently for an hour,
keeping the pot closely covered. Skim it well, and pour in a
quart of boiling water. Add a head of celery cut small, and
3 blades of mace. Boil it gently 2-J hours; then put in 1lb.
of butter, cut small and rolled in flour, and ^ pint of Port, la
Madeira. Let it boil J of an hour longer, and send it to the
table with the meat in it.
Clear Hare Soup.—Cut a large hare into pieces, and put it,
together with a scrag or knuckle of veal, and a cow-heel, into
a kettle, with 5 or 6 quarts of water, herbs, onions, &C., and a
little mace; stew it over a slow fire for 2 hours, or until the
gravy is good; then take out the back and legs, cut the meat


BO UPS.
cms. If eaten &c soup and Luuilli, boiled rice snould be mixed
with it.
The currie-powder above directed is made as follows: mix
oz. of turmeric, 1 oz. of Cayenne, lj oz. of coriander seed,
oz. of powdered cassia, and about a dram of ground black
pepper.
Friar's Chicken.—Take 3 quarts of water, and put into it 3
or 4 lbs. of knuckle of veal; stew gently till all the goodness
is out of the meat; skim the fat off, and strain the broth
through a sieve. Then take a chicken, or a full-grown young
fowl, dissect it into pieces, and put it into the broth, which
should be made hot, and seasoned only with salt and parsley.
Let it simmer for nearly another hour; beat the whites and
yolks of 3 or 4 eggs thoroughly, and mix them effectually with
the soup, just before serving; taking care to stir them all one
way. Rabbits may be substituted for fowls.
Pigeon Soup.—Make a strong beef stock, highly seasoned
as if for brown soup, take 6 or 8 pigeons according to their
size, wash them clean, cut off the necks, pinions, livers, and
gizzards, and put them into the stock; quarter the pigeons and
brown them nicely; after having strained the stock, put in the
pigeons; let them boil till nearly ready, which will be in about
I an hour, then thicken it with a little flour, rubbed down in a
tea-cupful of the soup, season it with ^ a grated nutmeg, a
table-spoonful of lemon-juice or of vinegar, and one of mush-
room catsup; let it boil a few minutes after all these ingre-
dients are put in, and serve it with the pigeons in the tureen;
a better thickening than flour is to boil quite tender 2 of the
pigeons, take off all the meat and pound it in a mortar, rub it
through a sieve, and put it, with the cut pigeons, into the
Hi rained soup.
To make partridge soup, partridge may be substituted for
oigeons, when only 4 birds will be required; pound the breast
if one.
Rich Soup Maigre [Scotch].—Take a handful, or sufficient
nuantity, of 2 or 3 different vegetables; blanch and fry them
witn a large proportion of onion, in butter or dripping; dredge
ftilh flour, and put them into a sauce-pan with fish stock: let it
simmer till the vegetables dissolve. Have ready bread oi
4


Mrs. Bale's new cook book. i
vegetable, &c, to put into the soup. Observe, if dripping i*
used, it is not then maigre. The French use the juice of dry
peas for making maigre soups.
Onion Soup Maigre,—Slice 12 large onions with 2 turnips
and 2 heads of celery. Fry them in ^ lb. of butter till quite
brown, but not allowing them to burn. When of a nice color,
put them in a gallon of boiling water, with either B soft-roed
red herring, or 2 or 3 anchovies, or 1 table-spoonful of ancho-
vy sauce, seasoned with a few blades of pounded mace, and
some grains of allspice, pepper, and salt, and let the whole
stew until it is tender enough to pulp. When ready, have the
crumb of a loaf of bread boiled in milk, and pass it, with the
vegetables, through the cullender. Put it again over a fire to
stew for a few minutes; if not thick enough, add the yolks of
raw '-ggs, to be beaten up into the soup when just going tc
be put on the table.
Potato Soup Maigre.—Take some large mealy potatoes;
peel and cut them into small slices, with an onion; boil them
in 3 pints of water till tender, and then pulp them through a
cullender; add a small piece of butter, a little Cayenne pepper
and salt, and, just before the soup is served, 2 spoonsful of
good cream. The soup must not be allowed to boil after the
cream has been put into it.
N. B. This will be found a most excellent soup, and, being
easily and quickly made, is useful upon an emergency, when
such an addition is suddenly required to the dinner.
Turtle Soup.—Hang up the turtle by the hind fins, cut off
the head, and allow it to drain.
Cut off the fore fins; separate the callipash (upper shell)
from the calipee (under shell), beginning at the hind fins. Cut
off the fat which adheres to the calipash, and to the lean meat
of the callipee. Then cut off the hind fins. Take off the lean
meat from tho callipee and from the fins, and cut it into pieces
2 inches square and put it into a stew-pan. The callipash, cal-
ipee, and fins, must be held in scalding (but not boiling) water
a few minutes, which will cause the shell to part easily.
Cut the callipash and calipee into pieces about 6 inches
square, which put into a stock-pot with some light veal stock.
Let it boil until the meat is tender, and then take it out into


67
cold water; free the meat from the bones, and cut it into pieces* an inch square. Return the bones into the stock and let it boil
gently for 2 hours, strain it off, and it is then fit for use.
Cut the fins across into pieces about an inch wide, boil them
in stock with an onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a faggot of parsley, and
thyme, a sprig of sweet basil and marjoram. When tender,
take them out, and add this stock to the other.
Take the lean meat, put into a stew-pan with a pint of
Madeira, 4 table-spoonsful of chopped green shalot, 2 lemons, sliced, a bunch of thyme, marjoram, and savory (about 2 table-
spoonsful each when chopped), lj table-spoonsful of sweet
basil (chopped), and 4 table-spoonsful of parsley. Pound to-
gether a nutmeg, 1 dozen allspice, 1 blade of mace, 5 or 6
cloves, 1 table-spoonful of pepper and of salt. Mix the whole
together with as much curry powder as will lie on a shilling.
Put about jj of this to the lean meat, with ^ lb. of fresh butter
and 1 quart stock. Let the whole be gently sweated until the
meat is done.
Take a large knuckle of ham, cut it into very small dice,
put into a stew-pan with 4 large onions sliced, ii bay-leaves,
3 blades of mace, 1 dozen allspice, f lb. of butter; let it
sweat until the onions are melted. Shred a small bunch of
basil, a large one of thyme, savory, and marjoram; throw
these into the onions, and keep them as green as possible:
when sweated sufficiently, add flour according to your judg-
ment sufficient to thicken the soup. Add, by degrees, the
stock in which the callipash and calipee were boiled, and the
seasoning stock from the lean meat. Boil for an hour; rub
through a tammy, and add salt. Cayenne, and lemon juice to
palate. Then put in the meat; let it all boil gently about J
an hour; and if more wine be required, it must be boiled
before being added to the soup. This is for a turtle of from
40 to 50 lbs. It should, however, be recollected that the
animal is of various weight—from a chicken-turtle of 40 lbs.
to some cwts.—and the condiments must be apportioned
accordingly. It should invariably be made the day before it
is wanted.
Forcemeat for Turtle.—1 lb. of fine fresh suet, 1 lb. of ready
dressed veal or chicken chopped fine, crumbs of bread, a little
thalot or onion, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, mace, pennyroyal,
parsley, and lemon-thyme finely shred ; beat as many fresh


68
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
eggs, yolks and whites separately, as will make the above
gradients into a moist paste; roll into small balls, and 1
chem in fresh lard, putting them in just as it boils up. WI
of a light brown, take them out, and drain them before
fire. If the suet be moist or stale, a great many more ej
will be necessary.
Balls made this way are remarkably light; but be;
greasy, some people prefer them with less suet and eg
They may therefore be made thus:—Chop up the materi
with a little white pepper and salt, a sage leaf or two scale
and finely chopped, and the yolk of an egg; make them ii
small cakes or fritters, and fry them.
Another Turtle Soup.—When the turtle is ready for dre
ing, cut off all the meat that is good for baking, and put
aside for that purpose. Then take the bones, fins, entrai
heart, and liver; and put them on with a piece of fresh be
and a little salt to stew. When about half done, season wi
black pepper, Cayenne, mace, cloves, nutmeg, thyme, parsle
and onions, chopped very fine. Thicken with drop dumpling made by beating together a thick batter of cream, salt, and t
yolks of eggs.
Mock Turtle Soup.—Scald and clean thoroughly a call
head with the skin on; boil it gently an hour in 4 quarts i
water, skimming it well. Take out the head, and when almo
cold, cut the meat off and divide it into bits about an im
square.
Slice and fry, of a light brown in butter, 2 lbs. of the I<
of beef, and 2 lbs. of veal, and 5 onions cut small, and 2 o
of green sage. Add these to the liquor in which the head Wt boiled, also the bones of the head and trimmings, 2 who
onions, a handful of parsley, 1 tea-spoonful of ground allspic
and 2 tea-spoonsful of black pepper, salt to your taste, and the rind of a lemon; let it simmer and stew gently for 5 hours-
then strain it, and when cold take off the fat. Put the liquc
into a clean stew-pan, add the meat cut from the head, and ti
a gallon of soup add £ pint of Madeira wine, or claret, or tn
juice of a lemon made thick with pounded loaf sugar; mix
spoonful of flour and a cup of butter with a little of the brotl
and stir it in. Let it stew very gently till the meat is tender, which will be about an hour.


GENERAL DIRECTIONS S0UH8.
69
About 20 minutes before it is to be served, add a small tea
«poonful of Cayenne, the yolks of 8 or 10 hard-boiled eggs,
and a dozen forcemeat balls; some add the juice of a lemon.
When the meat is tender the soup is done.
To make the meat balls, boil the brains for 10 minutes, then
put them in cold water; when cool, chop and mix them with
5 spoonsful of grated bread, a little grated nutmeg, pepper,
salt, and thyme, and 2 eggs; roll the balls as large as the yolk
of an egg, and fry them of a light brown in butter or good
dripping.
Very good soup, in imitation of turtle, is also made from
calves' feet;—4 of these boiled in 2 quarts of water, till very
tender—the meat taken from the bones, the liquor strained—a pint of good beef gravy and 2 glasses of wine added, seasoned
as the calves' head soup—with hard eggs, balls, &c.
Lobster Soup.—Cut small a dozen common-sized onions, put
them into a stew-pan with a small bit of butter, a slice or two
of lean ham, and a slice of lean beef; when the onions are
quite soft, mix gradually with them some rich stock; let it boil, and strain it through a fine hair sieve, pressing the pulp
of the onions with a wooden spoon; then boil it well, skim
ming it all the time. Beat the meat of a boiled haddock, the
ipawu and body of a large lobster, or of two small ones, in &
marble mortar; add gradually to it the soup, stirring it till it is as smooth as cream; let it boil again and scum it. Cut the tail and the claws of the lobster into pieces, and add them to the soup before serving it, and also some pepper, cayenne,
m hite pepper, and a glass of white wine.
Forcemeat balls may be added to oyster soup and lobster
'buy, made as directed under the article "Forcemeat for Fish."
Clam Soup.—Take 50 large or 100 small clams, and wash
the shells perfectly clean. Throw them into a kettle of boil-
ing water; use only water enough to keep the clams from
burning; as soon as the shells open and the liquor runs out,
<ake out the clams and strain the liquor into the soup-kettle.
Cut the clams small and put them in the kettle, adding a quart
of milk and water each. Add also an onion cut small, some
blades of mace, and 12 whole pepper corns. Let it boil 15
minutes, skimming it well; then add 1lb. of sweet butter
rolled in flour, cover the kettle a few minutes, and serve it hot.


To MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Oyster Soup.—Take 2 quarts of oysters and drain them wi
a fork from their liquor; wash them in one water to free the
from grit; cut in small pieces 2 slices of lean bacon; stra
the oyster liquor and put in it the bacon, oysters, some pai
ley, thyme, and onions tied in a bunch as thick as the thuml
season with pepper and salt, if necessary; let it boil slowl
and when almost done, add a lump of butter as large as a hen's egg, rolled in flour, and a gill of good cream. It will tal
from 20 to 30 minutes to cook it.
Chowder.—Fry some slices cut from the fat part of pork, in
deep stew-pan, mix sliced onions with a variety of sweet herb
and lay them on the pork; bone and cut a fresh cod into thk
slides, and place them on the pork, then .put a layer of slice of pork, on that a layer of hard biscuit or crackers, then alte
nately, the pork, fish, and crackers, with the onions and hei l
scattered through them till the pan is nearly full; season wit
pepper and salt, put in about 2 quarts of water, cover the ste\
pan close, and let it stand with fire above and below it for
Lours; then skim it well and serve it.
Eel Soup.—Take 3 lbs. of small eels, and skin them; nor
1 or 2; cut them in very small pieces; fry them very light)
in a stew-pan with a bit of butter and a sprig of parsley. Pi
to the remainder 3 quarts of water, a crust of bread, 3 bladt
of mace, some whole pepper, an onion, and a bunch of swe<
herbs; cover them close, and stew till the fish breaks from tl;
bones; then strain it off; pound it to a paste, and pass
through a sieve. Toast some bread, cut it into dice, and poi
the soup on it boiling. Add the scallops of eel, and servi
The soup will be as rich as if made of meat. \ pint of cream or milk, with a tea-spoonful of flour rubbed smooth in it, is
great improvement.
To every pound of eels add a quart of water, and let thy whole boil till \ of the liquor is wasted. The soup of congt
eels is also said to be good, but the fish has not the richness of the fresh water eel, and can only be recommended by its cheal
Less.
Lake and Pond Fish Soup.—For every person take a pound each of pike, perch, roach, dace, gudgeon, carp and tench, eel
or any fresh water fish that can be obtained; wash them in sa


GENERAL DIRECTIONS SOUPS.
Tl
tnd water, and stew them with a tomato, carrots, leeks, fried
onions, and sweet herbs, in as much water as will cover them;
and let them stew until the whole is reduced to a pulp; then
strain the liquor, and boil it for another hour until it becomes
quite smooth. Then have ready some roots of any sort that
may be in season, which have been chopped small, and boiled
either in milk or water: add them to the soup, and let it sim
mer for 15 minutes; season it, if milk has been used, with
mace and celery, with a little Cayenne; but if made solely
with water, then use Chili vinegar, soy, mushroon ketchup, or
any of the savory sauces.
Stock for Fish Soup.—Take a dozen of any small fish, and
the same number of perch; gut and clean them carefully; put
them into a stew-pan with 2 quarts of strong veal-broth; add
ll few slices of lean ham, 2 or 3 carrots, celery and onions cut
in slices, some sweet herbs and salt, with a little Cayenne;
stew till the fish will pass through a coarse sieve; then return
it into the stew-pan, with a good lump of butter and some flour
to thicken it; add a couple of large glasses of white wine, and
a large spoonful of garlic vinegar. The gravy from potted
herrings, anchovies, or a little Oude sauce, will also improve
the flavor.
This stock, if once re-boiled, will, in cold weather, keep well
for a month; or, if served as soup, the quantity may of course
be reduced according to the number of the party intended to
partake of it, and it will be found excellent. Indeed, any spe-
cies of fish may be made into soup in the same manner. If
meant to be browned, the onions should be fried, and a good
spoonful of mushroom ketchup, or India soy be added; and
red wine will be better than either Sherry or Madeira. But
if left white, cream should be substituted for ketchup and
soy; a glassful of ginger wine will answer the purpose of red
wine.
In making this stock it should also be observed, that tho
bones of the fish are what constitute its best part; for if stewed
down in a digester, (hey will become B jelly of a very rich
nature, which may De applied to many sorts of soups and
sauces. The bones of large fish—salmon, cod, soles, and tur-
bot—are never taken from the dish on which they are served;
and therefore, should always be returned to the stock-pot; or
any remains and trimmings of the fish may be used. Add to


UBS. bale's new cook book.
this a carrot and an onion or two, and let the whole stew it dissolved.
To thicken or enrich white or fish soups, it is a good w ay
pour them, boiling hot, on the beaten yolks of 2 or 3 fr
eggs.
Fish Soups.—Good soups may be made by simmering
cod's head, or any fish, in water enough to cover the fish; a
ing pepper and salt, mace, an onion, celery, parsley, and sw
herbs. When done, strain, and thicken the soup with oatmeal or flour If for brown soup, first fry the fish.
BROTHS.
Mutton Broth.—The best part of the mutton from which
make good broth is the chump end of the loin, but it may
excellently made from the scrag end of the neck only, whi
should be stewed gently for a long time—full 3 hours,
longer if it be large—until it becomes tender; but not boil
to rags, as it usually is. A few grains of whole pepper, wi
a couple of fried onions and some turnips, should be put alo
with the meat an hour or two before sending up the broi
which should be strained from the vegetables, and chopp
parsley and thyme mixed in it. The turnips should be mashc
and served in a separate dish, to be eaten with the mutton, wi
parsley and butter, or caper-sauce.
If meant for persons in health, it ought to be strong, or
will be insipid. The cooks usually skim it frequently; but
given as a remedy for a severe cold, it is much better not
remove the fat, as it is very healing to the chest.
Another way—-for an Invalid.—Boil 3 lbs. of the scrag er
of a neck of mutton, cut into pieces, in 3 quarts of water, wi
2 turnips and a table-spoonful of pearl barley or rice. Let
boil gently for 3 hours, keeping it cleanly skimmed.
Veal Broth.—Stew a knuckle of veal of 4 or 5 lbs. in
quarts of water, with 2 blades of mace, an onion, a head (
celery, and a little parsley, pepper, and salt; let the who
simmer very gently until the liquor is reduced to 2 quarts
then take out the meat, when the mucilaginous y arts are don


GENERAL DIRECTIONS SOUPS.
«nd servo up with parsley and butter. Add to the broth either
2 oz. of rice separately boiled, or of vermicelli, put in only
long enough to be stewed tender. Dish the knuckle separately,
and serve it with parsley and butter.
Barley Broth.—Take a breakfast-cupful of pearl barley, boil
it in a gallon of water gently for 30 minutes, then take 3 lbs.
of meat—lamb or mutton chops, with the fat cut off, or lean
beef —put them into a separate stew-pan, dress them with a
small quantity of water, add to them any kind of vegetables—
carrots and turnips, with small onions, celery, and green peas,
if in season—salt, pepper, and, with the water and the barley,
let the whole boil gently for 2 hours or longer, and serve it up
all together.
Or:—Take 3 quarts of good broth, cut into a stew-pan2 carrots, 3 or 4 turnips, 2 heads of celery, a lettuce, a little
parsley, and some small onions, and a little butter and gravy.
Stew until the vegetables become quite tender; add to this a
few spoonsful of rice, boiled separately; put the whole to-
gether, and boil for 15 minutes.
Beef Brose.—Skim off the fat of water in which beef has
been boiled: boil it, and stir in oatmeal to thicken it.
Chicken Broth.—Cut a chicken into joints, wash them, and
put them into 3 pints of water, with 2 oz. of rice, some pepper,
salt, and a blade or two of mace. Boil and skim carefully,
and then simmer for 2 hours. Serve with vermicelli, or chopped
parsley, boil 5 minutes in the scup.
Berlin Milk-soup or Broth.—Put six table--spoonful3 of
fine flour into a frying-pan upon a slow fire, stirring it about
that it may not get lumpy. Boil three pints of milk, with a
little lemon peel; three small lumps of sugar, (sny half an
ounce); and a stick of cinnamon. Strain it, and mix the
flour with the milk, adding one pint of water; boil the whole
together for ten or twelve minutes, then serve it up with bread
cut in various shapes and fried. The bread should be placed
fried and hot, in the tureen, and the soup poured over it.



CHAPTER III.
FISH.



Viltctiont for choosing Fish—Cooking in different ways—j
iiuide—Preserving— Utensils, etc.
The cook should be
acquainted with the s
of freshness and good
ditioii in fish, as man;
them are most unwl
some articles of food w
stale, or out of sea
The eyes should be bri
the gills of a fine clear
the body stiff, the I
firm, yet elastic to
touch, and the smell
marks are reversed, and
eyes are sunken, the gills very dark in hue, the flesh it
flabby and of offensive odor, it is bad,
should be avoided. The chloride of s
will, it is true, restore it to a toler;
eatable state,' if it be not very much t
kept, but it will never resemble in qui
fish that is fresh from the water.
A good turbot is thick, and full files and the under side is of a pale cream c
or yellowish white; when this is of a bl
tint, and the fish is thin and soft, it in be rejected.
Copper Fish or Ham Kettle.
Jisagreeable. When all these

Snail Fish Kettle, called a
Mackerel Kettle.
"We have known this applied very successfully to salmon, which
eonie hours keeping in sultry weather, had Required a slight degreo of
of which no trace 1 miuined after it was dressed.
71


GENERAL DIRECTIONS FISH.
T5
The best salmon a .d codfish are known by a small head,
very thick shoulders, and a small tail; the scales of the former
should be bl ight, and its flesh of a fine red color: to be eaten
in perfection, it should be dressed as soon as it is caught, before
the curd (or white substance which lies between the flakes of
flesh) has melted and rendered the fish oily. In that state it is
really crimp, but continues so only for a very few hours. The flesh of cod fish should be white and clear before it is
boiled, whiter still after it is boiled, and firm though tender,
sweet and mild in flavor, and separated easily into large flakes.
Many persons consider it rather improved than otherwise by
Laving a little salt rubbed along the inside of the back bone,
wid letting it lie from 24 to 48 hours before it is dressed. It is
sometimes served crimp like salmon, and must then be sliced
«s soon as it is dead, or within the shortest possible time after-
wards.
Herrings, mackerel, and whitings, lose their freshness so
>apidly, that unless newly caught they are quite uneatable.
The herring may, it is said, be deprived of the strong rank
smell which it emits when broiled or fried, by stripping off the
skin, under which lies the oil that causes the disagreeable odor.
The whiting is a peculiarly pure flavored and delicate fish, and
acceptable generally to invalids from being very light of diges-
tion.
Eels should be alive and brisk in movement when they are
purchased, but the "horrid barbarity," as it is truly designated,
of skinning and dividing them while they are so, is without ex-
cuse, as they are easily destroyed "by piercing the spinal
marrow close to the back part of the skull with a sharp point-
ed knife or skewer. If this be done in the right place all
motion will instantly cease." We quote Dr. Kitchener's asser-
tion on this subject; but we know that the mode of destruction
which he recommends is commonly practised by the London fishmongers. Boiling water also will immediately.cause vital-
ity to cease, and is perhaps the most humane and ready method
uf destroying the fish.
Lobsters, pawns, and shrimps, are very stiff when freshly
boiled, and the tails turn strongly inwards; when these relax,
.mid the fish are soft and watery, they are stale; and the smell
will detect their being so instantly even if no other symptoms
of it be remarked. If bought alive, lobsters should be chosen
by their weight and "liveliness." The hen lobster is preferred


76 MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOC
Ijr sauce and soups, on account of the coral; but the flesh of
the male is generally considered of finer flavor for eating. The
vivacity of their leaps will show when prawns and shrimps are fresh from the sea.
Oysters should close forcibly on the knife when they are
opened; if the shells are apart ever so little they are losing
their condition, and when they remain far open the fish are
dead, and fit only to be thrown away. Small plump natives
are very preferable to the larger and coarser kinds.
Preparatory to the dressing, the fish should be carefully gutted,
and afterwards cleaned thoroughly by the cook, from all appear-
ances of blood, particularly scraping the blood that lodges about
the back bone, and cutting the fish open for some distance below
the vent. If, however, the fishmonger does not clean it, fish is sel-
dom very nicely done, for common cooks are apt not to slit the
fish low enough, by which, and not thoroughly washing the blood,
&C., from the bone, a very disgusting mass is left within, and
mistaken for liver; but fishmongers generally wash it beyond
what is necessary for cleaning, and by perpetual watering
diminish the flavor. It should, in fact, be handled as little as
possible, and never left in the water a moment after it is
washed. In washing it, the best way is to hold the fish firmly
by the head with your left hand, and scrape off the scales, or
slime; wash it once in clean cold water, and either dry it with
a towel or hang it up and leave it to drain.
Some kinds, as whiting, bass, cod, and haddock, eat firmer
if salt be put into their gills, and they be hung up a few hours
before dressing.
Fish are either boiled, fried, or broiled. Salt may be added
to the water in which all kinds of fish are boiled; and the
(lav>,. «,/ sea-fish is much improved by boiling it in sea-watcr.
Fish should boil gently, or rather simmer after it has once
boiled up, and the water should be constantly skimmed.
Instead of dissolving salt in the water in which fish are to be
boiled, some cooks prefer to steep the fish in salt and water
from 5 to 10 minutes, before putting it in the kettle to cook:
the necessity of using salt in boiling fish is thus avoided; less
scum rises, so that the lid has not to be taken off so often to
skim it, and the fish comes to table not only nicer, but with a
better appearance.
Almost all cookery books direct that fish should be pi»t wto
as much or more water as will cover them, this is also a very


GENERAL DIRECTIONS COOKING FISH. 71
bad way: if the fish be a little more than half covered with
water, and gradually brought to boil, then well covered down
with your sauce-pan lid, and boiled gently till done, it will ca
much richer, have a finer flavor, and be more firm than if cook-
ed the old way, or rather drowned in water, which only soddens
fish, and takes away the fine firmness so much prized.
To render boiled fish firm, put a small bit of saltpetre with
the salt in.the water in which it is boiled; 1 oz. will be suili
cient for a gallon.
To determine when fish is sufficiently boiled, draw it up
upon the fish-plate, and if the thickest part of the fish can be
easily divided from the bone with a knife, the fish will be done,
and should be at once taken from the water, or it will lose its
flavor and firmness.
By most cooks it is considered better to put all fish on in
boiling than cold water.
An oval pan is best adapted to frying fish. Olive oil is best
to fry in, but dripping or lard is commonly used. It should
boil before the fish is put in it, and be kept gently boiling until
the fish is of a yellowish brown color, when it should be taken
out and drained.
To broil fish, have a clear but not fierce fire. Dry the fish
in a cloth, season it with pepper and salt, and flour it; then
put it on a gridiron, having first rubbed the heated bars with
suet, otherwise the fish will stick to them and be broken: it
should be often turned in broiling.
In the dressing of flat fish as cutlets, the fillets should be lift
ed from the bones, and the spine which runs through the centre
of the round sorts should be extracted.
The stewing of fish, and dressing it in fillets and cutlets, re-
quires considerably more care in the cookery, as well as cost
in the ingredients, than either of the previous modes; and as
a preliminary to the operation, a gravy should be got ready,
to be made in the following manner :—Take out all the bones,
tut off the heads and tails, and, if this should not be sufficient,
nid an eel, or any small common fish; stew them with an onion,
pepper, salt, and sweet herbs; strain it, and thicken it to the
insistence of cream, flavoring with a slight addition of wine
jr any other sauce. The French employ the commonest sorts
•f their wine as a marinade, or sauce, both for the boiling and
tewing of fish.
Marinade—is commonly used in France for the purpose of


7b
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
boiling fish, which imbibes from it a more pleasant rlav(-\ iha»
it naturally possesses, and has been so generally adopted byEnglish professed cooks that we here insert the receipt:—Cut
up 2 carrots, 3 onions, 6 shalots, a single clove of garlic, and
put them into a stew-pan with a piece of butter, a bunch of
parsley, and a bundle of sweet herbs; fry the whole for a fem minutes, then add, very gradually, 2 bottles of any light wine
or of cider. Put in a handful of salt, 2 dozen of peppercorns,
the same quantity of allspice, and a couple of cloves. Sim-
mer the whole together for 1£ hour, strain the liquor, and put it by for use.
This marinade, if carefully strained after the fish has been
taken out, will serve several times for the same purpose, adding
a little water each time. Fish dressed in it should simmer very gently, or rather stew than boil, as it affords to mackerel,
fresh herrings, perch, roach, and any of the small river fish,
the advantage of dissolving, or so thoroughly softening their
bones, as to render them more agreeable in eating. For large
fish, they should be cut into steaks before being marinaded.
Instead of the wine or cider, a quart of table-beer, a glass of
soy, 1 of essence of anchovies, and 1 of ketchup, may be used;
or a pint of vinegar and these sauces, fennel, chives, thyme, and
bay-leaves, may be added with the wine, cider, &c. Or, choose
a kettle that will suit the size of the fish, into which put two
parts water, 1 of light (not sweet) white wine, a good piece of
butter, some stewed onions and carrots, pepper, salt, 2 or 3
cloves, and a good bunch of sweet herbs; simmer 15 minutes,
let it become cold, then boil the fish therein. Serve with
anchovy-sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
Fresh-water Fish, are equally nutritious with those of the
sea; they are much lighter as food, and therefore easier of
digestion; they are, however, more watery, and it is requisite
to use salt, in order to extract the watery particles. Every
sort of fresh-water fish, ought, therefore, as soon as killed and
cleaned, to have salt well rubbed inside and outside, and should
be allowed so to remain for some time before it is cooked,
when it should be well washed out with pure spring water, and
wiped thoroughly dry with a clean cloth.
If bred in ponds, it often acquires a muddy smell and taste;
to take off which, soaking in strong salt and water, or, if of a
size to bear it, scalding in the same, will have the proper
effect.


GENERAL DIRECTIONS PRESERVING FISH. 1 9To Preserve Fish Fresh.—Boil 3 quarts of water and a pint
of vinegar, in which, when boiling, put the fish, and scald it
for 2 minutes. Then hang up the fish in a cool place, and it will keep for 2 ;<r 3 days, and dress as well as if fresh caught.
If the fish should happen to freeze they should be placed in
cold water without salt, for an hour or so, to thaw them.
Fish is usually garnished with horse-radish, sliced lemon, or fried parsley; and the roe, melt, and liver. When served c.p
it should not be covered.
Fish-kettles (See cuts at the head of this chapter,] have
always a perforated false bottom, with handles affixed, called a
fish-strainer, so that it is very easy to take up fish when done,
without breaking it; when dished up, it must be slid off this
strainer on to a fish-plate, which fits the dish you serve it up in,
on which fish-plate a nice clean white napkin is sometimes put
to lay the fish on, to absorb all the moisture.
Some people do not approve of a napkin to lay fish on; in
which case, of course, you must only slide the fish off' the
strainer on to the fish-plate, which you put into a dish that it fits, and serve it up.
Should it so happen, that the fish is done before it is wanted,
or that the family is not ready to sit down, the best way will
b.e to wrap a wet napkin round the fish, and placing it very
carefully on the tin strainer, suspend it in the fish-kettle, over
so much of the boiling water as will keep it hot, but not touch
it. It will thus be kept ready to serve up when wanted; but
it will not be near so nice as if it had been sent up to table
the moment it 9 as cooked.
Melted butter to be served with the fish, should be made
thicker than when intended for any other purpose, as it is
usually thinned at table by one or other of the sauces takso
with fish.
Curry Sauce.—Mix curry powder with melted butter, and
if wanted of a high flavor, add a little vinegar.


CHAPTER IV.
FISH.
ITow to cook Cod-fish—Salmon—Mackerel—Shad—Rock-fish—
Bass—Black-fish —Haddock — White fish—Sturgeon—Hali-
but—Trout—Perch—Small Fish—Fish Cutlets—Kedgerees-
Fillets of Fish—To Scollop Fish—Fish Cake—Casserole of
Fish—Croquettes of Fish—Herrings—Anchovy Butter-
Sandwiches—Toast— Caviare.
COD-FISH.
In highest season from October to the beginning of February; in perfection
about Christmas.
To boil Codfish.'—When this fish is large, the head and
shoulders are sufficient for a handsome dish, and they contain
all the choicer portion of it. though not so much substantial
eating, as the middle of the body, which, in consequence, is
generally preferred to them by the frugal housekeeper. Wash
the fish, and cleanse the inside, and the back bone in particular,
with the most scrupulous care; lay it into the fish-kettle and
cover it well with cold water mixed with 5 oz. of salt to the
gallon, and about loz. of saltpetre to the whole. Place it
over a moderate fire, clear off the scum perfectly, and let the
fish boil gently until it is done. Drain it well,* and dish it
carefully upon a very hot napkin, with the liver and the role as
a garnish. To these are usually added tufts of lightly scraped
horse-radish round the edge. Serve well made oyster sauce
and plain melted butter with it; or anchovy sauce when oys-
ters cannot be procured. Moderate size, from 20 to 30 min-
utes; large, from 30 to 45 minutes to boil.
* This should be done by sotting the fish-plate across the kettle for a min-
ute or two.
80


FISH.
81
Slices of Cod-fish fried.—Cut the middle or tail of the fish
mto slices nearly an inch thick, season them with salt and
white pepper or Cayenne, flour them well, and fry them of a
clear equal brown on both sides; drain them on a sieve before
the fire, and serve them on a well-heated napkin, with plenty
of crisped parsley round them. Or, dip them into beaten egg,
and then into fine crumbs mixed with a seasoning of salt and
pepper (some cooks add one of minced herbs also,) before
they are fried. Send melted butter and anchovy sauce to table
with them. From 8 to 12 minutes to fry.
Obs.—This is a much better way of dressing the thin part
of the fish than boiling it, and as it is generally cheap, it makes
thus an economical, as well as a very good dish: if the slices
are lifted from the frying-pan into a good curried gravy, and
left in it by the side of the fire for a few minutes before they
are sent to table, they will be found excellent—would be quite
spoiled, if they are boiled with the fish. Garnish the dish with
slices of hard boiled eggs, and serve with egg-sauce.
Cod Sounds—are the soft parts about the jowl of the fish,
which are taken out, salted, and barrelled. For boiling, they
should be soaked in warm water for about 30 minutes, and
then scraped and cleaned. Boil them in milk and water till
tender, when they should be served with egg sauce.
For broiling cod sounds, scald, and clean them; simmer
them till tender, then take them out, flour, and broil them.
While this is doing, make a sauce for them with a little brown
gravy, seasoned with pepper, salt, a little mustard, and a tea-
spoonful of soy, with flour and butter; boil together, and pour
over the sounds.
To stew Cod-fish.—Cut 4 lbs. of cod in slices, season them
with pepper and salt, put them into a stew-pan with h pint of
* iter, some good gravy, \ pint of wine, the juice of \ a lemon,
a dozen or two of oysters with their liquor, a piece of butter
rolled in flour, and 2 or 3 blades of mace. When the fish is
sufficiently stewed, which will be in 15 minutes, serve it up
, with the sauce. Any kind of fish-sauce may be substituted for
the wine, and a variety given by employing anchovies instead
of oysters.


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
To hake Hod-fish.—Butter a pan, lay the fish in it with
■ bundle of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with 6 cloves, a spoon-
ful of black and white pepper, salt, and a quart of water: flour the fish, stick it over with pieces of butter, and add to it rasp-
ings of bread. When sufficiently baked, take out the fish
carefully, strain the gravy, thicken it, and add to it a pint of
shrimps, J pint of oysters, a spoonful of essence of anchovies,
and a glass of Harvey or Reading sauce; warm all together,
and pour it round the fish; garnish with lemon, crisped pars-
ley, and fried bread or paste.
Codlings are very good dressed in this manner.
To bake Cod or Haddock.—Choose the middle part of the
fish, and carefully take off the skin; then make a stuffing with
a little of the roe par-boiled, the hard-boiled yolks of 2 eggs,
some grated lemon peel, bread crumbs, a little butter, pepper,
and salt, binding the whole with the white of an egg, with
which stuff the fish, and sew it up. Bake it for an hour in a
tin dish, in a Dutch oven; turning it often, and basting it with
butter. Serve with oyster sauce, shrimp sauce, or plain butter.
Crimped Cod.—Cut a fresh cod into slices, lay them for 3
hours in salt and water, to which add a glass of vinegar; when
it may be boiled, fried, or broiled.
To dress Salt Fish.—Soak it in cold water, according to us
saltness; the only method of ascertaining which, is to taste one
of the flakes of the fish. That fish which is hard and dry will
require 24 hours' soaking, in 2 or 3 waters, to the last of which
add a wine-glassful of vinegar. But less time will'suffice for a
barrelled cod, and still less for the split fish. Put the fish on
in cold water, and let it simmer, but not actually boil, else it
will be tough and thready. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs, the
yolks cut in quarters, and serve with egg-sauce, parsnips, or
beet-root.
Or:—Lay the piece you mean to dress all night in water, with a glass of vinegar; boil it enough, then break it into
flakes on the dish; warm it up with cream and a large piece
of butter rubbed with a bit of flour, and serve it as above
with egg-sauce.


FISH.
83
Fricaseed.—Salt fish that has been boiled and left until cold is
an excellent dish when warmed; break it into flakes, and put
it into a pan withsauce thus made: beat boiled parsnips in a
mortar, then add to it a cup of cream, a good piece of butter
rolled in flour, a little white pepper, and ^ a tea-spoonful of
mustard, all simmered together; keep the fish no longer on
the fire than to become hot, but not boil.
Or:—Shred the fish into very small pieces, break up pota-
toes which have been already boiled, and put them along with
the fish under the rolling-pin, so as to reduce the whole nearly
to a paste. Then mix with it some hard-boiled eggs, minced
fine; put the whole into a stew-pan to warm with a good piece
of butter, and send it up with egg-sauce. Should you prefer
not to mix them, build a wall of mashed potatoes, put the fish
in the centre, and heat in a Dutch oven; if you have a parsnip,
mash it, and add it to the mass.
SALMON, To boil Salmon.—Put on a kettle with plenty of spring
water, and when it boils, add a handful of salt, and take off
the scum as it rises; then put in the fish, and boil very gently.
Allow 15 minutes to each pound of fish, for it requires nearly
as much boiling as meat. But in some cases the thickness,
not the weight, must be considered; so that a quarter of a
salmon may take nearly as long boiling as half a salmon.
The best method, therefore, of boiling salmon, is to split the
fish from head to tail: if you neglect this, but boil it whole,
cut crosswise through the middle, it is scarcely possible to cook
it evenly, the thickness of the back and shoulders being such,
that if the outside be properly done, the inside will be imper
fectly so. On the Tweed, and in other salmon districts, a sal
mon is never boiled whole, or cut across. Serve with shrimp,
anchovy, lobster, or fennel sauce.
About 10 lbs. of a full-grown salmon make a fine dish
Salmon peel, or small salmon, are dished crooked, in the form
of an S; they are mostly good fish, but neither so rich nor full
flavored as the large salmon. A few slices of culvered salmon
make an elegant but very expensive dish.
Tc broil fresh Salmon.—Cut slices from the thickest part of
the fish, an inch thick, dry them, season them with pepper and


84
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
salt, and rub them with butter or salad oil; put the gridiron
over a clear slow fire, wipe it clean, and rub the bars with oil
or lard: lay on the salmon, and broil it carefully 10 or 12
minutes. Or, the pieces of salmon may be put in oiled paper,
thus broiled, and served in the paper. To turn the salmon on
the gridiron, lay a stew-pan cover on the fish, turn the gridiron,
over, and the salmon will be on the cover.
Broiled salmon may be served with anchovy butter, or to-
mato, or caper sauce.
Salmon is, however, better baked than broiled.
To broil dried Salmon.—Cut in pieces, as above, and broil
with or without paper; but it should only be warmed through.
It is a relishing addition to breakfast; and is likewise a dinner
dish, with egg-sauce and mashed potatoes.
To bake Salmon.—Scale it, and take out the bone from the
part to be dressed, but fill up the cavity with forcemeat, and
bind the piece with tape. Then flour it, rub it with yolk of
egg, and put it into a deep baking-dish, covering it very thickly
with crumbs of bread, chopped parsley, and sweet herbs, to-
gether with shrimps, if they can be got, and put into the cov-
ering a few small bits of fresh butter; place it in a Dutch oven,
or, if already boiled and thus re dressed, heat it only before the
fire until browned.
To fry Salmon.—Salmon cutlets should be cut from a piece
of a split salmon; cut them without bone about £ an inch
thick, and rub them over with egg well beaten; season with
pepper and salt, dip them in chopped herbs and bread crumbs,
fry them as you would a veal cutlet; serve with Indian-pickle
sauce.
Ot :—Cut pieces \ an inch thick; season them, and put them
in paper, and broil until hot through: serve with lemon only.
This is usually eaten at breakfast.
Or:—As in the Hebrew fashion, slice the salmon, and cover
it with salt for 2 hours; then dry it, and brush it over with
yolk of eggs. Fry it in oil, and serve it cold with salad.
Any small pieces of salmon may be dressed with salad, or
with salad-sauce.


FISH.
8b
To pickle boiled Salmmi.—Lay it in a deep dish, and cover
it with vinegar and pump water, in equal proportions, with a
little salt.
Or:—Add to some of the water in which the salmon was
boiled, \ part of vinegar, 2 or 3 bay-leaves, some salt, and
whole black pepper; boil this liquor 30 minutes, and when
cold, pour it over the salmon, which will be ready in 4 or 5
days.
To pickle Salmon.—Split and clean the fish, and cut it into
pieces; boil it for a few minutes in a brine strong enough to
bear an egg; then take out the salmon, and lay it on a sloping
board to drain off the liquor. Next, boil and skim the liquor in the kettle, mix it with an equal quantity of vinegar, and
pour it over the salmon, with a handful of salt, 6 bay-leaves, 6
blades of mace, and -J oz. of whole black pepper. Omitting
the spice, this is said to be the Newcastle method of pickling
salmon for the London market.
Sturgeon, herrings, sprats, and mackerel, may be pickled in
the above manner.
To pot Salmon.—Bone, skin, and clean, but do not wash the
salmon, salt it, and when the salt is dissolved and drained off,
season it with ground mace, a few cloves, and whole pepper,
lay it in a pan, with a few bay-leaves, cover it with butter, and
bake it 2 or 3 hours; then drain off the gravy, press the sal-
mon into pots, and pour over it clarified butter.
To stew Salmon.—Scrape the fish, and stew slices of it in t
rich white gravy; to which add, just before serving, a table-
spoonful of essence of anchovies, a little salt, and some pars-
ley chopped fine.
To dry Salmon.—Cut the fish down, take out the inside and
roe, rub the whole with common salt, after scaling it; let it
hang 24 hours to drain. Pound 3 or 4 oz. of saltpetre, accord-
ing to the size of the fish, 2 oz. of bay salt, and 2 oz. of coarse
sugar; rub these, when mixed well, into the salmon, and lay
it in a large dish or tray 2 days; then rub it well with common
salt, and in 24 hours more it will be fit to dry; wipe it well
after draining. Hang it either in a wood chimney or in a drir


Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
place, keeping it open with 2 small sticks. Dried salmon is
eaten broiled in paper, and only just warmed through, egg-
sauce and mashed potatoes with it; or, it may be boiled, espe-
cially the bit next the head.
MACKEREL
Are so well known, and in such general use as an osteemed
fish, that any description is unnecessary. Their season is the
months of May, June, and July, after which time they spawn
and lose condition; but some have an after season, about Octo-
ber, when they recover their flesh and flavor. They are so
tender that they keep worse than any other kind of fish; if
not dressed within 45 hours after being caught they become
putrid. Their freshness may be ascertained not only by the
signs common to all fish, of fulness in the eye and glossiness
of the skin, but also by the appearance of the bars on the
back, which should be distinctly marked black, those of the
male being nearly straight, whilst those of the female are
waving; an observation worth attending to, as the flesh of the
male is better than that of the female. Their condition should
also be looked to, for, if the body be not full and deep from
the shoulder downwards, it is a proof that the fish has been
diseased, or lost its roe as "shotten mackerel," which is always
ill-tasted. They are delicate, though not rich in flavor.
They may be dressed in various ways, but plainly boiled is
the most usual, and considered by many good judges as the
best mode of preserving their flavor.
To boil Mackerel.—They should be carefully cleaned both
inside and out: then washed in vinegar and water, and left to
hang a little to dry before being put into the fish-kettle. A
handful of salt should be put into the water, which should be
at first cold, and only allowed to boil gently from 15 to 20
minutes, though some prefer having the water boiling hot.
The fish should be watched about that time, as "when fhe eye
starts, and the tail splits, they are done, and should be imme-
diately taken up; if left in the water they will break."
The most customary sauce is that of fennel, which has partly
superseded the gooseberry, but parsley and butter is still in
use. 


S8
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
into a deep dish, with a little mace, one or two bay leaves, and
some whole black pepper; then pour over them equal quanti-
ties of cold vinegar and water, tie the dish over with strong
paper, (not brown,) and bake por an hour in a slow oven. Or,
the mackerel may be seasoned as before, buttered and baked
in a dish with butter, without the vinegar and water, and eaten with fennel or parsley and butter.
Pickled Mackerel, or Caveach.—Clean 6 large mackerel,
cut them, split or whole, into 4 or 5 pieces, leaving out the
heads and tails. Then mix an ounce of pepper, 2 nutmegs, a
little mace, (both finely powdered) and a handful of salt; rub
the pieces of fish with this powder, and fry them brown in oil;
when cold, put them into a jar, and fill it up with vinegar.
Mackerel may thus be kept good for several months, especially
if oil be poured upon the vinegar.
To souse Mackerel.—If kept until cold, to be eaten on the
following day, they should be soused in equal proportions of
vinegar and water, sufficient to cover them, and containing some
whole black pepper, mace, and a few bay-leaves.
To bake a Shad.—Empty and wash the fish with care, but
do not open it more than is necessary, and keep on the head
and fins. Then stuff it with forcemeat. Sew it up, or fasten
it with fine skewers, and rub the fish over with the yolk of egg
and a little of the stuffing.
Put into the pan in which the fish is to be baked, about a
gill of wine, or the same quantity of water mixed with a table-
spoonful of Cayenne vinegar, or common vinegar will do.
SHAD.
In season in April, May, and the early part of June.

size.
To broil Shad.—This delicate and delicious fish is excellent
broiled. Clean, wash, and split the shad, wipe it dry and
sprinkle it with pepper and salt—broil it like mackerel.


fish.
89
Shad, Touraine Fashion.—Empty and wash the fish with
care, but do not open it more than is needful; fill it with force-
meat and its own roe; then sew it up, or fasten it securely
with very fine skewers, wrap it in a thickly-buttered paper, and
broil it gently for an hour over a charcoal fire. Serve it with
caper sauce, or with Cayenne vinegar and melted butter.
We are indebted for this receipt to a friend who has been
long resident in Touraine, at whose table the fish is constantly
served, thus dressed, and is considered excellent. It is like-
wise often gently stewed in the light white wine of the coun-
try, and served covered with a rich bechamel. The charcoal
fire is not indispensable: any that is entirely free from smoke
will answer. We would suggest as an improvement, that
oyster-forcemeat should be substituted for that which we have
indicated, until the oyster season ends. Broiled gently, 1 hour,
more or less, according to its size.
To fry Shad.—Clean the fish, cut off the head, and split it
down the back; save the roe and eggs when taking out the entrails. Cut the fish in pieces about 3 inches wide, rinse each
in cold water, and dry on a cloth; use wheat flour to rub each
piece. Have ready hot salted lard and lay in the fish, inside
down, and fry till of a fine brown, then turn and fry the other
side. Fry the roe and egg with the fish.
To bake a Shad, Rock-fish, or Bass.—Clean the fish carefully,
sprinkle it lightly with salt and let it lie a few minutes; then
wash it, season it slightly with Cayenne pepper and salt, and
fry it gently a light brown. Prepare a seasoning of bread
crumbs, pounded mace and cloves, majoram, parsley, Cayenne
pepper and salt; strew it over and in the fish; let it stand an
hour. Put it in a deep dish, and set it in the oven to bake; to
a large fish, put in the dish ^ pint of water, 1 pint of wine,
Port and Madeira mixed, or the juice of a lemon made thick
with loaf sugar, 1 tea-cupful of mushroon or tomato ketchup;
to a small one allow in proportion the same ingredients; baste
frequently, and garnish with sliced lemon.
To boilRock-Jish, Black-fish, and Sea Bats.—Clean the fish
with scrupulous care, particularly the back bone, then lay the
fish into the fish kettle and cover it with cold water, strewing
lr a handful of salt, (and a small pinch of saltpetre, if j ou


90
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
move it,) and place it over a moderate fire. Clean off the
scum carefully, and let it boil very gently till it is done; then
drain it, as directed for cod-fish, and dish it nicely—garnished
with hard boiled eggs, cut in halves. Celery sauce, or anchovy
sauce., is the proper kind for these fish, or plain melted butter.
Tc sonse RocTc-f.sk.—Boil the fish with a little salt in the
water until it is thoroughly cooked. Reserve part of the water
in which it was boiled, to which add whole pepper, salt, vine-
gar, cloves allspice, and mace, to your taste; boil it up to
extract the strength from the spice; and add the vinegar after
it is boiled. Cut off the head and tail of the fish, and divide
the rest in several portions. Put it in a stone jar, and when the fish is quite cold, pour the liquor over it. It will De fit to
use in a day or two, and will keep in a cold place two or three
weeks.
Black-fish and Bass.—These fish are cooked in » manner
similar to Rock-fish and Shad.
HADDOCK.
To boil Haddock.—They are in season from June till Janu-
ary, and their condition may be tested in the same manner as
Cod; but they should be immediately gutted, much below the
vent, and carefully cleaned, to prevent the rancidity which
would otherwise be occasioned to their flavor by the oiliness
of the liver, if it be allowed to remain in the body. The frills and eyes should also be taken out, and a very little salt put
into the body, which should be hung up for a short time to dry.
Their average weight rarely exceeds 4 to 5 lbs., but the larger they are the better they will generally be found, their firmness
being the greatest merit in their quality, and depending much
upon their size. The fish is *-ery delicate in flavor, and is most
usually left unskinned; plainly boiled, very fast, for about 1 5
minutes, or 20 minutes if it be large. It may be served with
parsley and butter, or oyster sauce.
To fry Haddock.—If of a very small size, they may be
turned round with their tails run through their jaws; but this 


FISH.
91
cannot be done when they are large; they are in that case
either cut in slices or filleted, and fried with crumbs of bread
and egg.
Tr broil Haddock, dec.—The fish is either scored or skinned,
»nd split up, brushed over with a feather dipped n oil, pep-
pered and salted, and laid whole upon the gridiron, without
either crumbs of bread or egg, and eaten, if it be fresh, with
only a squeeze of lemon, or some anchovy sauce; if dried and
tailed, as the Findhorn, or, as they are commonly called "Fin-
nan haddock," they are merely used as a breakfast relish, with
out any sauce or condiment but a spoonful of mustard.
To bake Haddock, etc.—The scales should be scraped off, but
the tail and head must not be removed, though the spinal bone
should be taken out, and the body stuffed with any approved
forcemeat.
The Scottish mode of Baking is:—Take 2 good-sized had-
docks, clean, and wipe them well in a cloth, but do not wash
them; keep the breasts as whole as possible. Strew salt over
them, and lay them on a board for several hours; then wipe
the salt from them, cut off the heads and fins, cut the skin
through down the back, and take it off neatly, being careful to
keep the fish whole. Beat up the yolks of 3 eggs, dip each in
the egg, have ready some bread crumbs, mixed with pepper,
salt, and chopped parsley; roll the fish in the crumbs, and
stuff the heads and breasts with oysters chopped, but not too
small, and bread crumbs blended with an egg. Butter a dish,
lay the fish upon it, stick pieces of butter upon each, and bake
them. For sauce, take a pint of veal gravy, the same quanti-
ty of cream, mix 2 table-spoonsful of flour in a little of tho
cream, cold, and boil till smooth; add ft blade of mace, a little
nutmeg, salt, and an onion. When about to dish, take out the
onion, add a wine-glassful of wine with the yolk of an egg
well beaten. Lay the heads of the fish at each end, and gar-
nish with lemou.
WHITINGS.
To boil Whitings [French Receipt].—Having scraped, clean-
ed, and wiped- them, lay them on a fish-plate, and put them
into water at the point of boiling; throw in a handful of salt,


92
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
2 bay-leaves, and plenty of parsley, well washed, and tie
gether; let the fish just simmer from 5 to 10 minutes
watch them closely that they may not be over-done.'
parsley and butter with them, and use in making it the 1
in which the whitings have been boiled. Just simmered
5 to 10 minutes.
Baked Whitings, a la Francaise.—Proceed with these e
ly as with baked Soles, or, pour a little clarified butter i
deep dish, and strew it rather thickly with finely-minced n
rooms, mixed with a tea-spoonful of parsley, and (whe:
flavor is liked, and considered appropriate) with an eschal
two, or the white part of a few green onions, also cho
very small. On these place the fish, after they have
scaled, emptied, thoroughly washed, and wiped dry: se
them well with salt, and white pepper, or Cayenne; spr
more of the herbs upon them; pour gently from 1 to 2 gl
of light white wine into the dish, cover the whitings w
thick layer of fine crumbs of bread, sprinkle these plenti
with clarified butter, and bake the fish from 15 to 20 min
Send a cut lemon only to table with them. When the wi
not liked, a few spoonsful of pale veal gravy can be use
stead; or a larger quantity of clarified butter, with a t
spoonful of water, a tea-spoonful of lemon-pickle and of n
room catsup, and a few drops of soy. 15 to 20 minutes.
STURGEON.
To boil Sturgeon.—Having cleaned a sturgeon well, bi
in as much liquor as will just cover it; add 2 or 3 bi
lemon-peel, some whole pepper, a stick of horse-radish, s
pint of vinegar, to every half-gallon of water.
When done, garnish the dish with fried oysters, sliced le
and horse-radish, and serve it up with melted butter,
caviar dissolved in it; or with anchovy sauce; and witl
body of a crab in the butter, and a little lemon-juice.
To roast sturgeon, place it on a lark spit, which fasten
large spit; baste it continually with butter, and serve w
good gravy and some lemon-juice.
To stew Sturgeon.—Cut the fish in slices ] 1 inch thick
them in vinegar, dry them well, flour, and broil the si


fish. 93
then flour and lay them in a stew pan with some good broth,
and Jet them stew gently until perfectly tender; thicken the
Sravy with butter or cream, add a spoonful of Harvey's sauce,
a glass of wine, and serve it up with capers strewed over the
top, and garnished with slices of lemon.
To roast Sturgeon.—Put a good-sized piece in a large cradle-
spit (5 or 6 lbs. will make a handsome dish for the head of the
table); stuff it with forcemeat; keep it at the fire for 2 or 3
hours, but remove the skin; cover it with crumbs of bread,
and brown it with the salamander; baste it constantly with
butter, and serve with a good brown gravy, an anchovy, a
squeeze of Seville orange or lemon, and a glass of sherry
boiled up, and poured into the dish.
Sturgeon Cutlets.—Cut in slices -l-inch thick; dry, flour, and
egg them; dip them in crumbs, seasoned with pepper, salt,
parsley, and thyme; fry them, and serve with Indian pickle,
tomato, or piquant sauce.
HALIBUT, OR, HOLIBUT,
Partakes somewhat of the flavor of the turbot, and grows to an enormous size, being sometimes caught weighing more
than a cwt.; the best size is, however, from 20 to 40 lbs., as,
if much larger, it is coarse. The most esteemed parts are the
flakes over the fins, and the pickings about the head; but on
account of its great bulk, it is commonly cut up and sold in
collops, or in pieces of a few pounds weight, at a very reasona-
ble rate. A small one cut in thin slices and crimped, is very
good eating.
To boil Halibut.—Take a small halibut, or what you require
from a large fish. Put it into the fish-kettle, with the back of
the fish undermost, cover it with cold water, in which a handful
of salt, and a bit of saltpetre the size of a hazel nut, have been
dissolved. When it begins to boil, skim it carefully, and then
let it just simmer till it is done. 4 lbs. of fish will "require nearly 30 minutes, to boil it. Drain it, garnish with horse-
radish or parsley—egg sauce or plain melted butter, are served
with it.


94 MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Fillets of Halibut, Black-fish, Bass, t&c.—The word fillet,
whether applied to fish, poultry, game, or butcher's meat,
means simply the flesh of either (or of certain portions of it),
raised clear from the bones in a handsome form, and divided
or not, as the manner in which it is to be served may require.
It is an elegant mode of dressing various kinds of fish, and
even those which are not the most highly esteemed, afford an
excellent dish when thus prepared. The fish, to be filleted
with advantage, should be large; the flesh may then be divid-
ed down the middle of the back, next, separated from the fins,
and with a very sharp knife raised clean from the bones.' When thus prepared, the fillets may be divided, trimmed into
a good form, egged, covered with fine crumbs, fried in the usual
way, and served with the same sauces as the whole fish; or
each fillet may be rolled up, in its entire length, if very small,
or after being once divided, if large, and fastened with a slight
twine, or a short thin skewer; then egged, crumbed, and fried
in plenty of boiling lard; or merely well floured, and fried
from 8 to 10 minutes. When the fish are not very large, they
are sometimes boned without being parted in the middle, and
each side is rolled from the tail to the bend, after being first
spread with butter, a few bread crumbs, and a high seasoning
of mace and Cayenne; or with pounded lobster mixed with a
large portion of the coral, and the same seasoning, and propor-
tion of butter; then laid into a dish, well covered with crumbs
of bread and clarified butter, and baked from VI to 16 minutes,
or until the crumbs are colored to a fine brow a in a moderate
oven.
The fillets may likewise be cut into small strips or squares
of uniform size, lightly dredged with pepper or cayenne, salt,
and flour, and fried in butter over a brisk fire: then well drain,
ed, and sauced with a good bechamel, flavored with a tea-spoon-
ful of minced parsley.
To collop Halibut—Cut the fish into nice outlets, of about
an inch thick, and fry them; then put them into a broth made
of the bones, 4 onions, a stick of celery, and a bundle of sweet
herbs, boiled together for l-an hour. Strain, this broth, thicken
* A celebrated French cook gives the following instructions for *ni l'rg these
fillets:—li Take them up by running your knite first between too bin i cud the flesh, then between the skin una the fillet; by leunnig p-'itv) iikia .y* H*
table they will come off very neatly."


risn.
05
it, and stew the fish for 1an hour, adding salt, pepper, a grating
of nutmeg, and pounded mace, a spoonful of soy 3T fish sauce,
and half that quantity of lemon juice, with a little shred lemon-
peel.
Or:—The collops may be fried in batter, or with beaten
eggs and crumbs of bread; or, if made into cutlets, cut quite
thin, and fried in sweet oil, without egg and bread crumbs, are
very good if eaten with sauce a la Tartare.
To stew the Head of Halibut.—Put a pint of beer, or aty
kind of wine, a fev' anchovies, an onion stuck with cloves, a
bunch of sweet hf rbs, and some pepper, into a stew-pan; fill
it nearly with water, though ale, without water, is used by
many good cooks, and stew it for an hour: then strain it, and
put in the head of a halibut, stew it till tender; when done
enough, thicken the gravy with butter and flour, add a little
fish-sauce, and serve it up with forcemeat-balls made of a part
of the fish, pounded, and rolled up with crumbs of bread,
thyme, marjoram, and nutmeg, bound together with the yolk
of an egg. If the fish has been stewed in plain water, a glass
of wine should then be added to the sauce.
TROUT
Are, by many people, thought to be a small kind of salmon,
but, though much resembling it in outward appearance and
delicacy of taste, they are of a distinct species, only inhabiting
rivulets of running water, and never bred, as the salmon is, in
the sea. They are very small, seldom exceeding 2 to 3 lbs.,
and more frequently not reaching more than a'-lb. in weight.
To fry Trout.—Clean and dry them thoroughly in a cloth
fry them plain in hot butter; or beat the white of egg on a
plate, dip the trout in the egg and then in very fine bread
crumbs, which have been rubbed through a sieve—biscuit-
powder is better. Fry them till of a delicate brown; it takes but a few minutes, if the trout be small—serve with crisp
parsley and plain melted butter.
To bake Trout [in the Foreign Mode].—Cover the bottom of
» small oval paper form with a few very thin slices of fat bacon, 


9G
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
out down the hack some nicely-washed small trout, and, hav
ing removed the bones, lay the fish open, flat upon the bacon;
sprinkle with chopped parsley, pepper, salt, a little mace, and
2 cloves finely pounded. Bake 30 minutes in a quick oven,
and serve in paper.
Another Mode.—Baking, if you have an oven, is decidedly
the best mode of dressing all the larger sort of fresh-water
fish, and also the simplest. . Dry the fish, lay them in a
baking-dish, season with pepper and salt, and put a little butter
Dii them; bake them according to the size; add the juice that nomes from the fish to some rather thick melted butter.
To boil Trout.—They should be wiped dry with a coarse
towel, rubbed from head to tail, and boiled whole, putting
them into cold water mixed with the small quantity of vinegar,
into which should be also put some scraped horse-radish; let
them boil gradually for about '20 to 30 minutes, according to
size, and take care not to break the skin; serve with plain
melted butter.
PERCH.
To boil Perch.—First wipe or wash off the slime, then
scrape off the scales, which adheres rather tenaciously to this
fish; empty and clean the insides perfectly, take out the gills,
cut off the fins, and lay the perch into equal parts of cold and
of boiling water, salted as for mackerel: from 8 to 10 minutes
will boil them unless they are very large. Dish them on the napkin, garnish them with curled parsley, and serve melted
butter with them, or Maitre d'Hotel sauce maiyre.
Very good French cooks put them at once into boiling water,
and keep them over a brisk fire for about 15 minutes. They
dress them also without taking off the scales or fins until they
are ready to serve, when they strip the whole of the skin off
carefully, and stick the red fins into the middle of the bncks:
the fish are then covered with the Steward's sauce, thickened
with eggs. In warm water, 8 to 10 minutes; in boiling, 12
to 15.


VI8H.
To fry Perch or Tench.—Scale and clean them perfectly;
dry them well, flour and fry them in boiling lard. Serve
plenty of fried parsley round them.
SMALL FISH.
Roach, smelts, gudgeons, minnows, or other small fish, must
be well cleaned and dried, and shaken in a floured cloth, and
may then be fried either with a little butter, or in boiling fat.
Or they may be first dipped in egg, and sprinkled with fine
bread crumbs.
They will scarcely take more than two minutes to make
them of a nice brown color, when they are done. Let them
be drained on a hair sieve, before the fire, till they are pretty
free from fat.
Fish Cutlets.—Chop a considerable quantity of herbs with a
small piece of shalot, season it with pepper and salt; and put
it into a stew-pan with 2 oz. of butter; as the butter is melt-
ing, add a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies. Do not allow
the butter to more than melt, and mix the whole well together;
then cut any kind of white fish, dressed or raw, into handsome
cutlets, and, when the herb seasoning is nearly cold, spread it
on the fish thickly with a knife; dredge the fish with bread
crumbs, and cook them on butter-pans in an oven, or before
the fire. Stew a few silver button-onions, or a chopped onion,
with any green vegetables in season, cut it into dice in a little
broth, add nasturtiums, and a little of the pickle; keep them
in the middle of a dish, and lay the cutlets round.
Or:—Take any fish previously dressed, pull it in pieces, and
mix it with a little good stock, and any fish sauce which may
have been left from table; spread it on a flat dish, brush it
with egg, and sprinkle thick with bread crumbs, cut it out in cutlets and fry brown.
Kedgeree for Breakfast.—Boil 2 table-spoonsful cf rice, add
any fish previously cooked, (salmon or turbot is preferable) and
nicely picked; beat up an egg well, and stir it in just before
6ei ving. The egg must not boil.
Fillets of Fish.—Take any white fish, bone, split, and cut
them into handsome fillets, and squeeze the juice of a lemon


S3
MRS. IULE'3 NEW COOK BOOK.
over them, make a fine forcemeat with lobsters or shrimps, lay
it thickly on the fillets, roll them up, and tie or skewer them.
Put them into a fish gravy, and bake them in an oven: wheu
done, thicken the gravy and serve up the fish in it.
To scollop Fish—Is in some measure to make it into a pie,
au the usual mode is to bake it in scollops or shapes resem-
bling the shells; as thus :—
Flake the fish, and imbed it in bread crumbs moistened with
thin melted butter or cream, flavored with any approved sauce;
cover the top thickly with bread crumbs, lay bits of butter
over, and bake it either before the fire or in a Dutch oven; or
lay the fish in the bottom of the dish, with a rich white sauce
of cream, and cover the top only with bread crumbs.
Fish Cake.'—Cut the meat from the bones, put them, the
head and fins, over the fire to stew for gravy, with a pint of
water, and onion, herbs, pepper, and salt. Mince the meat,
put to it \ part of crumbs of bread, a little minced onion,
parsley, pepper, salt, and a very small bit of mace: mix well,
and make it into a cake with white of egg and a little melted
butter; cover it with raspings, and fry it a pale brown, keep-
ing a plate on the top while doing. Then lay it in a stew-pan,
with the fish gravy, and stew it gently 15 minutes; turn it
twice, but with great care not to break it: cover it closely
while stewing.
Cake of dressed meat, done in the same way, is remarkably
good.
Casserole of Fish—is a title given, among others, by French
cooks, to "poisson rechauffe" o>- fish which has been left after
being dressed, and is meant to be re-heated. There are almost
as many modes of doing this, as of originally dressing the
various sorts; but we here only retain a few of the most
ehnple.—
Take any kind of cold fish, and divide it into large flakes;
boil 2 or 3 eggs hard, and cut them into slices; have also some mat hed potatoes; butter a mould, and put in the fish, eggs,
and potatoes, with a little delicate seasoning of white pepper;
fcioisten the whole with cream, or thin melted butter, and a
sp lonful of essence of anchovies; boil the mould and turn it
out.


FISH.
99
Or:—Take some fish which has been dressed, and nth it
through a sieve; to \ lb. of fish allow £ lb. of bread-dumbs,
2 eggs well beaten, 1 tablespoonful of essence of anchovies, 1
of Harvey sauce, and a little salt and cayenne pepper; mix
all well together, and put it intc a mould; let it boil \ an
hour, and serve it with a good fish-sauce in the dish.
Croquettes of Fish.—Take dressed fish of any kind, separate
it from the bones, mince it with a little seasoning, an egg
beaten with a teaspoonful of flour, and one of milk; roll it
into balls; brush the outside with egg, and dredge it well with
bread-crumbs, fry them of a nice color: the bones, heads,
tails, with an onion, an anchovy, and a pint of water, stewed
together, will make the gravy. Lobsters make delicate cro-
quettes; in which case the shell should be broken, and boiled
down for the gravy.
RED HERRINGS.
Red herrings are dried when salted, but those cured in
Ireland, Scotland, and Holland are packed and left in the pickle for exportation. Dutch herrings have acquired the high
est reputation in consequence of their superior delicacy. They
are brought to London in small casks, containing only a dozen
each, and in Holland are always eaten raw, though English
prejudice spoils them by broiling. They are so highly cured
as to make the fish quite transparent; are generally steeped
for an hour or two in cold milk, scored across, and form an
excellent relish.
Choose those that are large and moist; cut them open and
pour some boiling water over them to soak -J an hour; drain
them dry, and make them just hot through before the fire;
then rub some cold butter over them, and serve. Instead of
butter, a little salad oil will add to the richness; but it must
be dropped on while before the fire, and in the smallest quan-
tity. A very usual mode is, however, to split them open
without any soaking, and hang them separately on the hooks
of a cheese-toaster, by which means the soft roe will be
browned. Some of them will have hard roes, in which case
the belly should be carefully opened, and a little butter
inserted between the lobes, but again close up the belly to
more readily melt the butter.'


100
MRS HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
EELS.
Eels are in season the whole year, excepting in April and
May, and when in high condition have a bright, glossy appear-
ance on the back, and a brilliant white on the belly. Unless
eels weigh at least half a pound in weight, they are hardly
worth purchasing, except for the purpose of enriching fish. »tews, or making small eel-patties.
Preparatory to most modes of dressing, they should be well
cleaned, gutted, and skinned; the heads and tails cut off, and
the rest of the fish cut into short pieces of 3 to 4 inches in length, and left for an hour or two in salt water.
To boil Eels.—They should be of a good size, prepared as
above, dried, floured, and boiled in salt and water, with a good
deal of parsley, for about 30 minutes, or until tender; then
served with parsley and butter, of which a portion may be
thrown over them, and they may be garnished with scraped
horseradish.
To fry Eels.—They should be rolled in yolk of eggs and
bread-crumbs, or a thick coating of sweet herbs, and fried a
pale brown. They may be served with any savory or acid
sauce that may be preferred.
To broil.—The same process may be adopted by merely
changing the frying-pan for the gridiron, and wrapping the eels
in buttered paper; but, if thought proper, the bread-crumbs
and herbs may be omitted, as well as the envelope of paper,
and the eel merely brushed over with the yolk of egg. Turn
them frequently, and take them up when quite brown.
Eels stewed in the French way.—Skin the eels, and skewer
them round; put them into an earthen pan with all sorts of
roots cut small, a few peppercorns, cloves, and a little salt,
about a pint of vinegar and ketchup, with as much broth:
bake them 1 hour in the oven uncovered with pie-crust, and in
the meanwhile thicken the stock with some good cream
flavored with a grate of nutmeg. The other modes are more in the difference of sauce than the methods of dressing, though
put under various names.


RHL
101
ANCHOVY.
Anchovy Butter.—Pick and wipe, but do not wash, sis
tnchovies, and beat them with two or three ounces of fresh
butter; rub the paste through a fine hair-sieve; cut it into
ornamental forms with warm cutters, and serve at breakfast,
or as garnish for salads.
Anchovy Sandwiches.—Wash fine anchovies, split them, and
carefully remove the bones; then lay the fish between slices
of bread and butter, neatly cut; or spread thinly upon bread
anchovy butter.
Anchovy Toast.—Cut the crust off bread, toast it evenly,
spread plain butter on the under side, and anchovy butter on
the top: serve cut into square pieces. If the butter be not
strong enough, lay on the toast also split and quartered an
chovies.
Caviare.—Caviar is the roe of the sturgeon; it is served
on toasted bread; and is eaten with roast meat, or with
cheese.
Stewed Fish, Hebrew Fashion.—Take three or four pars-
ley roots; cut them into long, thin slices, and two or three
onions also sliced ; boil them together in a quart of water until
quite tender; then flavor it with ground white pepper, nutmeg,
mace, and a little saffron, the juice of two lemons, and a
spoonful of vinegar. Put in the fish, and let it stew for
twenty minutes or half an hour; then take it out, strain the
gravy, thicken it with a little flour and butter, have balls made
uf chopped fish, bread-crumbs, spices, and the yolks of one or t wo
eggs mixed up together, and drop them into the liquor. Let
them boil; then put in the fish, and serve it up with the bulls
and parsley roots.
Caledonian Receipt for Dressing Fish.—Boil the livers
of the fish, and make them into forcemeat balls, with oatmeal,
onions, pepper, and salt. Put the water on with some cold
butter and who le onions, and when the onions are sufficiently
boiled, put in the fish, and stew them with their heads on,
•easoning with salt and Cayenne pepper; add the balls also.


'CHAPTER V.
SHELL FISH.
Although crabs and lobsters may be seen at the fish-
mongers' the whole year round, they are yet only in high
season and plentiful from the month of April till the close of
October.
If lobsters have not been long taken, the claws will have a
strong motion when you put your finger on the eyes and press
them. The heaviest, if of good size, are the best, but the
largest are not the best. When you buy them ready boiled,
try whether their tails are stiff, and pull up with a spring; if
otherwise, they are either watery or not fresh. The "cock
lobster" as the male is called, is known by the narrow bac«
part of his tail, and the two uppermost fins within it are stiff
and hard; but those of the hen are soft, and the tail broader.
The male, though generally smaller, has the highest flavor;
the flesh is firmer, and the color, when boiled, is a deeper red;
but the female has that fine coral so highly prized by cooks
for the improvement of their sauces, which appears with the
rudiments of the spawn.
To boil Lobsters.—Put them alive, with their claws tied
together, into the water when boiling hot, and keep it so until
the fish is done, which, if of a pound weight, will take about
fifteen minutes, and if larger will require not quite the same
proportion of time, for if boiled too long the meat will be
stringy. Many people are shocked at the apparent cruelty of thus killing them, but death takes place immediately, and life
cannot be taken away without pain.
When sent to table to be eaten cold, the tail and body
should be split from end to end, the claws cracked, but not
unshelled, and the meat may be made into salad, or mixed in
such manner as each person pleases, and many persons add a102


SHELL FISH.
103
teaspoonful of white powdered sugar, thinking that it gives a
mellowness to the whole. It is scarcely necessary to mention
that the head of a lobster, and what are called the "lady-
fingers," are not to be eaten.
To stew Lobsters.—Take the meat out of the shells of 1 or
2 boiled lobsters. Put the shells into a pint of water with
some whole pepper, salt, and a little mace. Let it boil till all
the goodness is extracted from the shells; then strain it. Mix
with a little cream, or thin melted butter, the rich portion of
the lobster, and the coral: add a small quantity of lemon-
juice and 2 tablespoonsful of wine, mix it with the gravy, and
warm the lobster in it; a few minutes will suffice.
Or:—Cut the meat of a boiled lobster into pieces, and put
them into a covered metal dish with a bit of butter, 2 large
spoonsful of any sort of gravy, 1 of soy or walnut-ketchup, a
little salt and cayenne, with a glass of port wine, and warm it.
If there be a lamp under the dish, you may do it at your own
table within a few minutes.
Another mode of stewing lobsters is:—Take the meat of 2
lobsters, mince it small, and put it into a pint of beef-soup.
Let it stew a little; thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in
flour; add a glass of white wine, with a little pepper; add
salt and nutmeg, a spoonful of ketchup, 1 of anchovy, and 1
of lemon-juice. Let the whole stew together, and serve up,
garnishing the dish with the small claws.
To fricassee Lobster.—Parboil it, extract the meat from the
shell, and cut it into small pieces; season it with white pep-
per, salt, and nutmeg, and put it into the stewpan, with as
much cream or richly-made white sauce as will cover it. Keep
the lid close, set the pan on hot coals, and stew it slowly for
about as long a time as it was previously boiled.
To roast Lobsters.—When half boiled, take them out of the
kettle, butter the shells, lay the fish before the fire, and baste
them with butter, till it froths. Serve with high-seasoned
melted butter.
Potted Lobsters, Crabs, Shrimps, or Prawns.—Choose fine
hen lobsters, full of spawn; boil them, pick out the tail and
claws, season with salt, pepper (Mark or cayenne), ard mw


lot
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
»i d cover them withlinelted butter; bake them one hour, and
strain off the butter; then pound the lobster with the spawn
into a paste, put it into pots, clarify the butter and pour upon
it, and tie over. Lobsters may also be potted in pieces, with
out beating.
Crab, shrimps, and prawns, may also be potted as abovei and all, when cut out, make fine sandwiches.
Curried Lobsters.—Lay the meat in a pan, with two or three
blades of mace, and equal quantities of veal gravy and cream;
then rub with butter, two teaspoonsful of currie-powder, and
half the quantity of flour; which put into the pan, and simmer
the whole an hour, adding salt, and the juice of half a lemon.
Croquettes of Lobster.—Take the meat from the shell, chop
it finely, mix it with a little salt, pepper, and pounded mace's take one quarter part of fine bread-crumbs, make it up into
balls with melted butter, brush the balls with yolk of egg,
and dredge them with bread crumbs, and fry them, serving
with or without gravy: if dry, they must be sent up with
crisped parsley.
Lobster Salad.—Take one or two heads of white heart let-
tuce; they should be as fresh, as possible; if they are net
"morning gathered," lay them in spring water for an hour or
two; then carefully wash them, and trim off all the withered
or cankered leaves; let them drain awhile, and dry them
lightly in a clean napkin.
To make the dressing; boil 2 eggs for 12 minutes, and put
them in a basin of cold water for a few minutes, till the yolks
become thoroughly cold and hard. Rub the yolks through a
sieve with a wooden spoon, and mix them with a tablespoonful
of water; then add 2 table-spoonsful of oil or melted butter ;
when these are well mixed, add by degrees a tea-spoonful of
salt, and the same of made mustard; when these are smoothly
united, add very gradually 3 table-spoonsful of vinegar.
Take out the finest parts of a lobster and mince them small.
Just before it is to be served, mince the lettuce; mix it with
the lobster and the dressing. Cut up the white of the egg
and garnish the salad with it.
Hen lobsters are preferred for salad on account of thei:
coral.


BHKLL FISH.
Lobster salads are also made in moulds, when ornaments of
the whites of eggs boiled hard, some cut gherkins, or beet-
root, are placed in the moulds with jelly, lobster, &c.; the
whole is set in ice, and when frozen, is turned out of the
mould, and served with salad sauce. This is an elegant sup-
per-dish, but should be attempted only by a skilful hand.
CRAB.
Though not so well known as the lobster, is looked upon by
many as being a better-flavored fish, and perhaps rather more
digestible. The female is considered inferior to the male, and
may be known by the claws being smaller, and the tail much
wider. The heaviest are usually thought to be the best, but
those of a middling size are the sweetest. If light, they are
watery; when in perfection, the joints of the legs are stiff;
the shell, whether alive or dead, should be of a bright red;
and the body has a very agreeable smell. The eyes look dead
and loose when stale, or when the fish have died a natural
death. They are boiled in the same manner as lobster, but
require rather longer time, and are most usually eaten cold
with oil and vinegar, as thus:—Pick out all the fish from the
shell, divide it into small pieces, mixing the rich part well
with the rest; moisten it with salad dressing, and return it to
the shell with an edge all round of sliced lemon.
If hot, pick the fish out as above; then put the meat, with a little nutmeg, salt, pepper, bits of butter, crumbs of bread,
and 3 spoonsful of vinegar, into the shell again, and set it
before the fire. You may brown it with a salamander, but it
should be always served in the shell. Dry toast should be served to eat with it. Observe to remove "the lady," as it
is called.
To stew Crals.—Pick the meat carefully out of a large crab
and its claws; cut into small pieces, mix it with about a
fourth part of bread-crumbs, and a very small quantity of
finely shred parsley. Season it well, and return it to the
shell with some small bits of butter here and there, enough,
when warmed, to keep it moist. Squeeze the juice of a lemon
over it, or a spoonful of lemon-pickle or acid sauce. Put a


106
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
thick layer of crumbs of bread upon the top with small bit*
of butter laid all over it, and bake it in the shell before the
fire or in the oven. The shell of one crab will contain the
meat of two.
TERRAPINS.
This is a favorite dish for suppers and parties; and, when
well cooked, they are certainly very delicious. Many per-
sons in Philadelphia have made themselves famous for cooking
this article alone. Mrs. Rubicam, who during her lifetime
always stood first in that way, prepared them as follows:—
Put the terrapins alive in a pot of boiling water, where they
must remain until they are quite dead. You then divest them
of their outer skin and toe-nails; and, after washing them in
warm water, boil them again until they become quite tender,
adding a handful of salt to the water. Having satisfied your-
self of their being perfectly tender, take off the shells and
clean the terrapins very carefully, removing the sand-bag and
gall without breaking them. Then cut the meat and entrails
into small pieces, and put into a sauce-pan, adding the juice
which has been given out in cutting them up, but no water,
and season with salt, cayenne, and black pepper, to your
taste; adding a quarter of a pound of good butter to each
terrapin, and a handful of flour for thickening. After stirring
a short time, add four or five table-spoonsful of cream, and a
half pint of good Madeira to every four terrapins, and serve
hot in a deep dish. Our own cook has been in the habit of
putting in a very little mace, a large table-spoonful of mus
tard, and ten drops of the gull; and, just before serving,
adding the yolks of four hard boiled eggs. During the stew-
ing, particular attention must be paid to stirring the prepara-
tion frequently; and it must be borne in mind, that terrapins
cannot possibly be too hot.—Sanderson.
OYSTERS.
To feed Oysters.—Wash them clean, lay them bottom down-
wards in a tub or pan, and cover them with water, to 2 gallons
u' which aid a pound of salt. In J2 hours change the salt


SHELL FISH.
107
and -water. Colchester barrelled oysters, if tightly packed,
will be better without water. Barrelled oysters may be kept
alive by removing the top hoop of the barrel, and placing a
heavy weight upon the head or top, so as to keep the oysters
close.
To FryOysters.—They should be large for this purpose.
Simmer them for a couple of minutes in their own liquor
beard and dry them in a cloth, dredge them lightly with flour,
dip them in egg and fine bread crumbs, and fry them a delicate
brown in boiling lard.
Another way to fry Oysters.—Take a score or two of the
largest oysters you can find. The yolks of 4 or 5 eggs well
beaten up, with a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and a table-
spoonful of fine flour. Dip in the oysters, and fry them in
butter a light brown.
To scollop Oysters.—Take 12 of the smaller sort, beard
them, cut out the hard part which adheres to their shells, and
leave them in their liquor; have ready a quantity of crumbs
of fresh bread, not too finely grated, and mixed with a little
pepper and salt; then grease a scollop shell, strew upon it
some of the crumbs with bits of butter, and lay upon them a
layer of the oysters; then crumbs, bits of butter, and oysters,
layer upon layer, until the shell is filled up; cover it with a
thick coating of the crumbs well buttered, and brown it in a
Dutch oven. A dozen oysters, with the proper quantity of
crumbs, will fill up the largest scollop shell, and take an hour
to be thoroughly done.
Some cooks scald the oysters for 5 minutes in their own
liquor, and mix with them minced shalot, or chives, and pot
herbs; but these although they may please an epicurean palate,
will destroy the natural flavor of the oyster.
Or:—Keep the oysters in their liquor, put a bit of butter
in a stew-pan, with minced parsley, shalot, and a little pepper;
brown them with a fried onion; then add the oyster liquor,
strained, and a little good gravy, work them until they are of
the consistence of sauce, but do not add flour to thicken it, as
it spoils the taste of the oyster liquor, and gives them a sod
dencd appearance; then toss and put in the oysters, add lemon
juice and fill the scallop shells, which may be put before the


l08
MRS. BALK'8 NEW COOK BOOK.
fire to be kept hot, but without bread crumbs or artificial
browning of any sort: they are an admirable addition to a
rump-steak.
To broil Oysters.—Take them from the shells, beard them,
and put them with their liquor into tin shapes made to imitate
scollops, C in a shell (not more), with a little pepper and butter.
Put the shells upon a gridiron over a good fire, and serve them
when plump and quite hot. They are delicious this way; but
to be eaten in perfection should be cooked in the room where
they are eaten. Squeeze a little lemon juice over them when
they come from the fire.
Or:-—They may be put singly in their under shells along
with their own liquor, a little minced parsley and spice, and a
bit of butter, and thus put upon the gridiron, to be taken off
when thoroughly heated.
To steio Oysters.—Take a pint of oysters. Set them over
the fire in their liquor, with a glass of white wine, a piece of
butter, some salt, a little black pepper, and some blades of
mace. Let them stew gently about half an hour: then put in
another piece of butter; toss all around together till the butter
is melted; and turn out the oysters and liquor upon thin slices
of bread.
To pickle Oysters.—Open as many oysters as will fill a gal
Ion, together with the liquor—wash them well in their owr
liquor, carefully clearing away the particles of shell—then pu'
them into an iron pot, and pour the liquor gently over them,
adding 2 table-spoonsful of salt, or a little more if they are
fresh; set them on the fire till they are ready to boil, and the
fins much shrivelled; if the oysters are large, they may boil
o minute or two; then take them out and lay them on a table
to cool; take the liquor, putting some mace and whole pepper
into it, and let it boil for some time, carefully skimming it as
long as any scum remains; then pour it into a pan. When
perfectly cold, add a pint of white wine, and half a pint of
strong vinegar. Place the oysters gently in a jar; pour the
liquor ou them so as to cover them.
OysterPie.—Butter a deep dish; line it with puff-paste
rolled to about half an inch in thickness. Lay a clean napkin


SHEW. FISH.
109
over the top of the dish, ani put cn the towel a cover for the
pie, of paste. Bake it well. Meanwhile, take oysters enough
to fill the pie and put them in a stew-pan with just enough of their liquor to prevent them from burning; season them with
pepper, mace, and some grated nutmeg; add a large portion
of butter cut small and rolled in a very little flour. Let the
oysters simmer, but not boil, for a few minutes. Then beat
the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, according to the size of the pie, and
stir them in the oysters. Let it simmer a few minutes. Pour
the oysters while hot into the pie, carefully taking off and re-
placing the cover. Oyster pies may be eaten warm or cold.
Oysters prepared in the same way but without the egg, may
be put into the pie before it is baked, and cooked with it.
For Oyster Patties.—Make some rich puff-paste, and bake it
m very small tin patty-pans. When cool, turn them out upon
a large dish. Stew some large fresh oysters with a few cloves,
a little mace and nutmeg, some yolk of egg boiled hard and
grated, a little butter, and as much of the oyster liquor as will
cover them. When they have stewed a little while, take them
out of the pan, and set them away to cool. When quite cool,
lay 2 or 3 oysters in each shell of puff-paste.
Or:—The oysters may be put into the shells when hot, and
served immediately.
To boil Hard-shell Clams.—Wash the shells, and put them
in a kettle with about a pint or more of water. The less water, the stronger will be the flavor of the clams. Lay them with
their edges downwards; let them boil constantly, and when
their shells open wide take them off, as they are done. Then
take them from the shells; lay in a dish some slices of toasted
bread buttered; pour the clams with some of their juice upon
them; season it with pepper, and if you choose add a little
butter. Sand clams are preferable for every purpose.
To fry Hard-shell Clams.—Take the large sand clams; wash
diem in their own liquor; beat well the yolks of 4 eggs with
a little pepper and a table-spoonful of fine flour. Dip in the
clams and fry them a, butter a light brown.
To stew Hard-shell Clams.—Take the clams from their shells-


110
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
and put them in a stew-pan with enough of their own liquor mixed with an equal quantity of water to cover them; let
them simmer from 30 to 40 minutes, skimming them carefully;
mix a table-spoonful of flour with 3 table-spoonsful of butter
and stir it in; season it with pepper, but no salt; cover the 8tew-pan and let them simmer from 15 to 20 minutes.
Sand clams are to be preferred.
Clam Fritters.—Take 12 large, or 25 small clams from their shells; if the clams are large, divide them. Mix 2 gills of
wheat flour, with 1 gill of milk, half as much of the clam
liquor, and 1 egg well beaten. Make the batter smooth, and
then stir in the clams. Drop the batter by table-spoonsful ip
boiling lard; le*. diem fry gently, turning them when doneon
one side.
To boil Soft-shell Clams.—When the shells are washed clean,
put the clams in a pot with the edges downwards; pour a
quart of boiling water over them to open the shells; set them
over the fire for nearly an hour. When they are done the
shells will be wide open; then take them out of the shells,
trim off the black skin that covers the hard part; put them in
a stew-pan with some of their own liquor, to which add butter,
pepper, and salt. Let them boil a few minutes.
To stew Soft-shell Clams.—Take the clams from their shells,
and free them from their black skin; wash them, and put
them with a little water in a stew-pan; cover it and let them
simmer gently for 30 minutes; then thicken the juice with
butter and flour rolled together; season with salt and pepper;
let them stew for 10 minutes.
To fry Soft-shell Clams.—Proceed as with hard-shelled
clams.
To stew Muscles.—Open them, put them into a pan with
their own liquor, to which add a large onion and some parsley,
with 2 table-spoonsful of vinegar; roll a piece of butter in
flour, beat an egg, and add it to the gravy, warming the whole
up very gradually.
In France, muscles are skewered upon a small skewer and
roasted, or dipped into a thick batter and fried.


FISH.
11)
In preparing muscles for table, care should be taken to des-
troy the beards, as well also as a small species of crab which
is sometimes found in their shells. They are not in season
during the summer.
To stew Scollops.—Boil them very well in salt and water,
then take them out and stew them in a little of their liquor,
a glass of white wine, and a little vinegar; add some grated
bread crumbs, and the yolks of 2 or 3 hard eggs minced
small. Stew all together till they are sufficiently done, then
add a large spoonful of essence of anchovy and a good piece
of butter rolled in flour; or stew very gradually in a rich white
sauce. with thick cream, until quite hot, but without being
allowed to boil, and serve with sippets.
Crayfish, prawns, and shrimps may all be done in the same
manner.
Polled Shad.—Cut the shad in half, lengthwise; then cut
each half in three pieces. Take a stoneware jar with a mouth
not very wide. Rub each piece of fish with salt and red pep-
per; put in the jar a layer of fish, then a layer of onions,
sprinkling in a little close, mace, and allspice, then a layer of
fish, and so on until the jar is full. Fill the jar with vinegar;
tie up the jar with a piece of muslin; cover the muslin }ver
tightly with a plaster of dough to keep in the fumes of the
vinegar; set it in a moderate oven, and let it bake slowly
several hours. When cold, it is fit to be eaten when tlw
bones will be found dissolved


CHAPTER VI.
RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.
Plain living not the most wholesome—Diet and Digestion—-Ac*
vantage of Variety in Food—French mode of Cookery—
Hints on Boiling — Roasting— Broiling — Frying — dtc~v
ing—Baking — Larding — Glazing—Braising—Blanching—
Boxing—Danger from Co'pper Saucepans.
The commonly received idea, that what goes under the de
nomination of "good plain living"—that is, joints of meat,
roast or boiled—is best suited to all constitutions, has been
proved to be a fallacy. Many persons can bear testimony
to the truth of Dr. Kitchener's remark, that "elaborate culi-
nary processes are frequently necessary in order to prepare
food for the digestive organs." It may be truly said that many
persons ruin their health by over-indulgence in food rendered
indigestible by being badly cooked.
It is our intention to endeavor to correct the prejudice in
favor of a family joint—by showing, that it is not only very
often improperly cooked, but that the same quantity of meat,
if dressed in different ways, still retaining a certain degree of
simplicity, will be more pleasant to the palate, more healthful,
and quite as economical, if brought to the table, as two or three
dishes instead of one.
In French cookery, those substances which are not intended
to be broiled or roasted, are usually stewed for several hours
at a temperature below the boiling-point; by which means the
most refractory articles, whether of animal or vegetable origin.
are more or less reduced to a state of pulp, and admirably adapted for the further action of the stomach. In the common
cookery of this country, on the contrary, articles are usually put at once into a large quantity of water, ar.d submitted,
112


RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.
113
without care or attention, to the boiling temperature: the
consequence of which is, that most animal substances, when
taken out, are harder and more indigestible than in the natu-
ral state.
Diet and Digestion.—From Dr. Beaumont's Tables it ap
pears that the following articles are converted into chyle, t. e.
digested, in the times indicated :—
KM.
tjfjt tailed sort — 1 0
Appss. sweet and ripe I 30
?-«. boiled 1 45
7ip,oca. Barley, stale Bread. Cabbage
with Vinegar, raw, boiled Milk and
Bread and Milk, cold 2 0
Ptltilnes, roasted, and Parsnips, boiled.2 30
Baked Custard 2 45
Apple Dumpling 3 0
Bread Corn, baked, and Carrots, boiled.3 15
Potatoes and Turnips, boiled; Butter and Cheese 3 30
a. a
Tripe and Pigs'Feet 1 *
Venison 1 35
Oysters, undressed, and Eggs, raw 2 3
Turkey and Goose 2 31?
Eggs, soft boiled; Beef and Mutton,
roasted or boiled 3 0
Boiled Pork, stewed Oysters, Eggs, hard
boiled or fried 3 30
Domestic Fowls 4 0
Wild Fowls; Pork, salted and boiled;
fuel 4 30
Veal, roasted; Pork, and salted Beef. .5 30
When the powers of the stomach are weak, a hard and crude
diet is sure to produce discomfort by promoting acidity;
while the very same articles when divided, and well cooked
upon French principles, or rather the principles of common
sense, can be taken with impunity, and easily digested.
There are only a few persons—with the exception perhaps
of those who take violent exercise, or work hard in the open
air—who can dine heartily upon solid food without suffering
from its effects; yet in order to escape indigestion, plain roast
or boiled meat should be very sparingly consumed.
The foundation of all good cookery consists in preparing the
meat so as to render it tender in substance, without extracting
from it those juices which constitute its true flavor; in doing
which, the main point in the art of making those soups, sauces,
and made dishes of every sort, which should form so large a por-
tion of every well-ordered dinner, as well, also, as in cooking
roar.y of the plain family joints—is boiling, or rather stewing,
which ought always to be performed over a slow fire. There
is, in fact, no error so common among all English and Ameri-
can cooks as that of boiling meat over a strong fire, which ren-
ders large joints hard and partly tasteless; while, if simmered
during nearly double the time, with less than half the quantity
of fuel and water, and never allowed to "boil up," the meat,
without being too much done, will be found both pliant to the ^wth and savory to the palate.
7


114
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
For instance. The most common and almost universal dish
throughout France, is a large piece of plainly-boiled fresh beef
from which the soup—or "potage" as it is there called—has
been partly made, and which is separately served up as "bou
illi," accompanied by strong gravy, and minced vegetables, or
stewed cabbage. Now this, as constantly dressed in the
French mode, is ever delicate both in fibre and flavor; while,
in the American manner of boiling it, it is almost always hard
and insipid. The reason of which, as explained by that cele-
brated cook, Careme, who superintended the kitchen of His
Majesty George W., is this :—" The meat, instead of being put
down to boil, as in the English method, is in France put in
the pot with the usual quantity of cold water, and placed at
the corner of the fireplace, where, slowly becoming hot, the
heat gradually swells the muscular fibres of the beef, dissolv-
ing the gelatinous substances therein contained, and disengaging
that portion which chemists term 'osmazome,' and which im-
parts savor to the flesh—thus both rendering the meat tender
and palatable, and the broth relishing and nutritive; whilst,
on the contrary, if the pot be inconsiderately put upon too
quick a fire, the boiling is precipitated, the fibre coagulates and
hardens, the ozmazome is hindered from disengaging itself,
and thus nothing is obtained but a piece of tough meat, and
B broth without taste or succulence."
Meat loses by cooking, from one-fifth to one-third of its
whole weight. More is lost by roasting than by boiling meat.
In calculating for a family, one pound per day for each indi-
vidual is a general allowance for dinner.
Meat that is not to be cut till cold must be well done, par-
ticularly in summer.
The use of skewers in joints should be avoided as much as
possible, as they let out the gravy; twine will answer better,
often.
In every branch of cookery much must be left to the discre-
tion of the cook, and knowledge of the family's taste; particu-
lai ly in force-meats and seasonings.
Suet.—When sirloins of beef, or loins of veal or mutton,
are brought in, part of the suet may be cut off for puddings,
01 to clarify. Chopped fine and mixed with flour, if tied down
in ajar, it will keep 10 days or a fortnight. If there be more
suet than will be used while fresh, throw it into pickle, made
in the proportion of one-quarter pound of salt to a quart of cold


RUDIMENTS OF C00K3RY.
115
water, and it will be as good afterwards for any use, when
soaked a little.
To remove the taint of meat, wash it several times in cold
water; then put it into plenty of cold water, into which threw
several pieces of red-hot charcoal. If you fear meat will not
keep till the time it is wanted, par-roast or par-boil it, that is,
partly cook it; it will then keep two days longer, when it may
be dressed as usual, but in rather less time.
When meat is frozen, it should be brought into the kitchen
and laid at some distance from the fire, early in the morning;
or soak the meat in cold water two or three hours before, it is
used: putting it near the fire, or into warm water, till thawed,
should be avoided.
Meats become tenderer and more digestible, as well as bet-
ter flavored, by hanging. In summer, two days is enough
for lamb and veal and from three to four for beef and mut-
ton. In cold weather, the latter may be kept for double that
time.
Legs and shoulders should be hung knuckle downwards.
An effectual way of excluding the fly is by using a wire
meat-safe, or by covering the joints with a long loose gauze or
some thin cloth, and hanging them from the ceiling of an airy
room. Pepper and ginger should be sprinkled on the parts
likely tc be attacked by the fly, but should be washed off be-
fore the joint is put to the fire.
A larder should always be placed on the north side of the
house; the window may be closed with canvass, but wire is
preferable. There should be a thorough draft of air through
the room.
Articles that are likely to spoil should not be kept in or laid
upon wood.
Warm, moist weather is the worst for keeping meat; the
south wind is very unfavorable, and lightning very destructive;
to that after their occurrence, meat should be especially ex-
amined.
Boiling.—This is the most simple of all processes of cook-
ing. Regularity and attention to time are the main secrets.
Much less heat is requisite to keep liquids boiling in copper
and iron saucepans than in those made of tin.
There is frequently a great waste of fuel in cooking, which
arises from making liquids boil fast, when they only require
to be kept slowly boiling. Count Rumford, (the inventor of


116
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
the Rumford stove,) states, that more than half the fuel used in
kitchens is wasted in the above manner.
It is a sad waste to put fuel under a boiling pot. There us a degree of heat in water called the boiling-point; and all the
coals or wood in the world cannot make water hotter in ap
open vessel; it can but boil. By this waste, the cook not only loses time, but spoils the cookery.
The average time for boiling fresh meat is from eighteen to
twenty minutes for every pound: thus, a joint weighing six
pounds will require from one hour and three quarters to two
flours boiling. Salted meat requires rather more boiling and
water; fresh-killed meat longer time: and all meats longer
in cold than warm weather. It is, however, better to be
guided, for time, by the thickness of the joint, than by its
weight.
Dried or salted fish and meats require soaking in cold water
before boiling.
Meat and poultry will lose their flavor and firmness, if left
in the water after they are done; as will also fish, which will
break to pieces.
The water in which fish, meat, or poultry has been boiled
should be saved: this pot-liquor, as it is called, may be made
into soup.
Slow boiling is very important for all meats, to ensure their
tenderness; fast boiling always makes them hard and tough,
less plump, and of darker color, than when they are boiled
gradually.
Skimming the pot will alone ensure the good color and
sweetness of the meat; a little cold water and salt will aid in
throwing up the scum: milk put into the pot does good in few
cases only; and wrapping in a cloth is unnecessary, if the
scum be carefully removed.
The lid of the saucepan should only be removed for skim-
ming; and, before taking off the lid, be careful to blow from
it any dust or blacks from the fire or chimney.
The joint should always be covered with water; above this
quantity, the less water, the more savory will be the meat.
In some few instances, however, it may be necessary to boil
the articles in a much larger quantity of water: a quart of water
is mostly a good proportion to a pound of meat.
If meat be put into cold water, it should be heated gradually,
so as not to cause it to boil in less than 40 minutes; if it boil


RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY. 117
much sooner , the meat will shrink and be hardened, and not an
freely throw up the scum.
Four skewers, or a plate, inside downwards, should be Inid
on the bottom of the sauce-pan, especially for large joints and
puddings; so that they be equally done, and escape burning,
or adhering to the sauce-pan.
When a pot boils, remove it nearly off the fire, but let the lid remain on; a very little heat will then keep up the
boiling.
The time of boiling should be reckoned from the time bub-
bles begin to rise on the surface of the liquid; as the boiling
continues, the water will evaporate, and in some cases it may
be requisite to fill up the sauce-pan with boiling water.
Vegetables and meat are sometimes steamed: that is, they
are put into vessels resembling cullenders, and being placed
over boiling water, the steam from it rises through the holes
of the vessel, and then through the vegetables and meat, which
are thus as effectually boiled as if they were put into the boil-
ing water.
Roasting.—The success of every branch of cookery depends
upon the good management of the kitchen fire: roasting, espe-
cially, requires a brisk, clear, and steady fire; if made up
close to the bars of the grate.
The spit being wiped clean, the joint to be roasted should be
carefully spitted even, and tied tight; and if it will not turn
round well, balance skewers, with leaden heads, should be used;
for, if the meat be not evenly spitted, it will probably be
burned on one side, and not done on the other. Avoid run-
ning the spit through the prime parts of joints. Cradle spits
answer best.
A leg of mutton should never be spitted, as the spit lets out
the gravy, and leaves an unsightly perforation just as you are
cutting into the pope's eye.
Make up the roasting-fire three or four inches longer than
the joint, else the ends of the meat will not be done.
In stirring the fire, be careful to remove the dripping-pan,
olse dust and ashes may fall in. On no account let the fire get
dull and low, as a strong heat is requisite to brown the meat.
A thin joint requires a brisk fire; a large joint, a strong,
sound, and even fire. When steam rises from the meat it is
done.
Large joints should be pu at a moderate distance from tna


118
Mrs. Bale's new cook book.
fire, and gradually brought nearer; else the meat will be over
done half way through the joint, and be nearly raw at the bone.
Such meat as is not very fat should have paper placed over
it to prevent it from being scorched.
Do not sprinkle the meat with salt when first put down, as
the salt draws out the gravy.
Old meats require more cooking than young. The longer
the meat has been killed, the less time it requires to roast it
V ery fat meat requires more time than usual.
The general rule is to allow 15 minutes to a pound for roast
ing with a good fire, and 10 or 20 minutes over, as the family
like it well done or not.
Baste the meat first with fresh dripping, and then with its
own fat or dripping: and within the last hour of roasting, tak
off' the paper, and sprinkle the meat with salt and flour, tt
brown and froth it; but some cooks dredge the meat with flour
earlier, so that it may imbibe the gravy, a practice which
should be specially avoided.
The spit should be wiped dry immediately after it is drawn
from the meat, and washed and scoured every time it is used.
Perfection in roasting is very difficult, and no certain rules
can be given for it, as success depends on many circumstances
which are continually changing: the age and size (especially
the thickness) of the pieces, the quality of the coals, the
weather, the currents of air in the kitchen, the more or less
attention of the cook, and the time of serving, are all to be
considered. Hence, epicures say of a well-roasted joint, "It
's done to a turn."
Roast meats should be sent to table the moment they are
ready, if they are to be eaten in perfection.
Broiling.—Broiling requires a brisk and clear fire, propor
lioned to the article to be broiled; for example, mutton chops
require a clear rather than a brisk fire, else the fat will be
m asted before the lean is warmed through; but for a beef
steak, the fire can neither be too brisk nor clear, if the gridiron
ae placed at the proper distance. Fish requires a steady fire;
us also does under-done meat.
Much, however, depends on the substance of the article to
be broiled: if it be thick, it must be placed at a greater dis-
tance, at first, to warm it through; if thin, the fire must to brisk, elso the meat will not be of a good color.


RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY. 119
The gridiron should be wiped clean after it has been used bo that the bars may be kept bright on top; they should be
allowed to get hot before the article is laid on them, but not
too hot, else they will burn the meat or fish: the latter, espe-
cially. To prevent this, the bars should be rubbed with fat.
A charcoal fire is best for broiling.
To prevent the fat dripping into the fire set the gridiron
aslant.
For turning the broiling article, use tongs, as a fork will let
out the gravy. When the article is done, it will feel firm if
touched with the tongs: by no means cut the meat to asoer
tain if it be done, as that will let out the gravy.
Frying—is "to scorch something solid in fat, or oil," or
butter. Lard, clarified suet, or dripping, is well adapted for
fish, eggs, potatoes, and meat generally. Olive oil is much
used for fish; and the same oil will serve for more than one
frying. Butter is used, but it is not as well adapted for frying
as either of the other articles.
Be careful that the fat or oil is fresh, clean, and free from
salt, else what you fry in it will be of bad color and flavor;
salt will prevent it from browning.
Fat or oil, to be used again, should be strained through a
sieve before it is set aside.
Fat becomes richer from having meat fried into it, and may
be used repeatedly; but the fat that has been used for fish
cannot be used again for meat.
The fat must have left off bubbling and be quite still before
you put in the articles.
To prepare crumbs for frying, dry thoroughly in a warm
even, or before the fire, any waste pieces of bread; then
pound them in a mortar and sift them, and put them away till
wanted. This is much better thai, grating broad as it is need-
ed, or using oatmeal, &c.
When you wish fried things to look as well as possible, do
them twice over with egg and crumbs.
If eggs be very dear, a little flour and water may be substi-
tuted for them in preparing fish to fry.
In frying use a slice to lift the article's in and out of the pan,
and drain them.
To make batter for frying: melt two ounces of butter in a
little warm water, and pour it upon half a pound of flour;
stir it and add water enough to form a batter, thick enough to


120
haije's new cook book.
adhere to whatever is put into it; but it should run freely:
add some salt and the beaten whites of two eggs.
A small shallow frying-pan, or saute pan, as it is called, is
very useful to fry articles to be stewed: this method differs
from common frying, as it only requires butter enough to keep
the 3 article from sticking to the pan and burning.
The fire for frying should be free from smoky coals, sharp
and even. Charcoal makes the best frying fire.
The fat should be carefully drained from all fried articles;
indeed, they should be so dry as scarcely to soil a cloth. Fish
is best drained by wrapping it in soft whited-brown paper, by
which it will so dry as not to soil the napkin upon which it is
served.
Stewing.—All articles to be stewed should first be boiled
gently, then skimmed and set aside in an even heat: on this
account, charcoal makes the best fire for stewing.
All stews, or meat dressed a second time, should be only
simmered, as the meat should only be made hot through.
A stew-pan is the most advantageous vessel in which stews,
hashes, soups, or gravies, can be made ; indeed, for all purposes
of boiling, a stew-pan is preferable to a deep saucepan, as. in
the former, the articles are exposed to more even heat than
when they are placed one upon another in the sauce-pan, and
are likely to be broken in stirring.
The best stew-pans are made of copper or iron ; they should
be kept covered as much as possible, unless you wish to reduce
the gravy.
Be careful not to fry in a stew-pan; or, if so, with great
care, and sufficient butter to save the tinning from melting.
Most of the directions for making soups and gravies, apply
also to this branch of cookery.
Baking.—Baking is the least advantageous mode of cook cry; for by it meat loses about one-third of its weight.
Iron ovens are ill adapted for baking meat or meat-pies;
fruit-pies, pastry, and puddings, may, however, be baked in
thom.
A salamander, which is a flat iron with a long handle, is

A Salamander


RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.
121
Larding Needle.
The same, with Lardoon inserted.
heated and placed over some articles, to brown tnem after they
are dished. The kitchen fire-shovel, if made red hot, will
answer the same purpose.
Larding.—Have ready larding-pvis of different sizes, accord
ing to the article to be
done; cut slices of bacon £wn»i7ilii^. .1
into bits of a proper
length, quite smooth, and
hit into a larding-needle
to suit it, with which pierce
the skin and a very little
of the meat, leaving the bacon in, and the two ends of equal
length outwards. Lard in rows the size you think fit.
The same effect with regard to flavor, may be produced by
raising the skin and laying a slice of fat bacon beneath it.
Daubing consists in passing bacon through meat, while lard-
ing is on the surface only.
Braising.—Put the meat you would braise into a stew-pan,
and cover it with thick slices of fat bacon; then lay round it
6 or 8 onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, some celery, and, if to
be brown, some thick slices of carrots, and trimmings of any
fresh meat-bones you have, with a pint and a half of water, or
the same quantity of stock, (which
you will find directed under the head
of Soupsand Gravies,) according to
what the meat is, and add seasoning.
Cover the pan close, and set it over a
slow stove; it will require 2 or 3
hours, as its size and quality may
direct. Then strain the gravy ; keep
the meat quite hot; take the fat off
by plunging the basin into cold water,
which will cause the fat to coagulate;
and boil it as quickly as you can till
it thickens. If, however you wish
the gravy to adhere to the meat, it must be still further thick
ened; then with a brush kept for
the purpose do over the meat, and
if that has been larded, put it into
the oven for a few minutes. This
is called "glazing," and is r. uch
in use for made-dishes. Glazing nru«h.

Braising Pot.


122 MRS. hale's new cook book.
Glazing is done by brushing melted glaze or jelly over the
article, and letting it cool; in some cases it is requisite to
cover the articles with two or three coats of glaze, allowing
each to cool as it is laid on. The glaze should be of a clear
yellow brown, and as thick as good treacle.
If \ ou have not the glaze ready, sift a little sugar over the
article to be glazed, and finish in the oven, with a salamander,
or red hot shovel.
Boning.—In disengaging the flesh from the bones, work the
knife always close to the bone, and take care not to pierce the
outer skin. Minute directions are given in other parts of the
work for boning fowls, &c.
Blanching makes the article plump and white, and consists
in putting it into cold water over the fire, allowing it to boil. up. and then plunging it into cold water, where the article
should remain until cold.
Danger from Copper Sauce-pans.—The precise danger from
the use of copper sauce-pans, or stew-pans, imperfectly tinned,
is far from rightly understood. It appears that the acid con-
tained in stews and other made dishes, as lemon-juice, though
It does not dissolve copper by being merely boiled in it a few
minutes, nevertheless, if allowed to cool and stand in it for
some time, will acquire poisonous matter, as verdigris, in the
form of a green band, or crust, inside the vessel. It has like-
wise been proved that weak solutions of common salt, such as
are daily made by adding a little salt to boiling vegetables,
fish, or meat, act powerfully on copper vessels, although strong
solutions, or brine would not affect them.
It is, however, in vain to hope that cooks will attend to the
nice distinctions b
 which copper stew-pans may be rendered
safe; the general advice given by prudent physicians is, there-
fore, against their use at all.
Never Hat the Blood.—Always bear in mind that to eat the
blood of animals is positively forbidden in the Bible. See Genesis, 9th chap. 4th ver. In this view, the Scotch black
puddings, made of hog's blood! are an abomination, which it
is strange a Christian can partake.


CHAPTER VII
BEEF.
Bow to choose and cook Beef—Sirloin—Rih—Rump—Fillet-
Heart—Baked Beef—Polled—Slew—A la Dauhe—Al-a-
mode — Braised—Minced— Collops—Boullie—To Collar—
Steaks—Tongue—Tripe, etc. dec.

No.
1 Sirloin.
8. Run>1j.
3. F.ili!.' lone. 4. Buttock, or Round,
5. Mouse Ruttock.
Veiny Piece
7. Thic k Flunk
8. Thin Flank. » Leg.
No.
10. Fore Rih. (Five RIM.) 11. Mi*l.lie Kitj. (Four Rom.) IS. Chuck Rib. ( Three Ribs.)
Kl. Shouli1er,orLegofMuttonPleea.
H. Brisket.
15. CUnd.
IB. Neclc
17. Shin.
18. Cheek.
To Choose Beef.—If young and freshly killed, the lean of
ox-beef will be smoothly grained, and of a fine, healthy, carna-
tion-red, the fat rather white than yellow, and the suet white and firm. Heifer-beef is more closely grained, and rather less
bright of color, the bones are considerably smaller, and the fat
of a purer white.
In choice and well-fed beef, the lean will be found inter-
grained with fat: very lean meat is always of an inferior
quality.
123


124
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
The ribs, the sirloin, and the rump, are the proper joints for roasting. The round, or buttock, the edge-bone, the second
round, or mouse-buttock, the shin, the brisket, the shoulder, or
leg of mutton piece, and the clod may be boiled or stewed.
The neck is generally used for soup or gravy; and the thin
flank for collaring. The best steaks »re cut from the middle
of the rump; the next best from the veiny piece, or from the
chuck-rib. The inside of the sirloin, commonly used for the
purpose in France, makes by far the most delicate steaks: but
though exceedingly tender, they are considered by epicures to
be wanting in flu vol.
The finest part of the sirloin is the chump-end, which con-
tains the larger portion of the fillet: of the ribs, the middle
ones are those generally preferred by experienced house-
keepers.
Keeping Meat.—As soon as the meat is brought in, it should
be wiped dry and examined, and the fly-blown parts, if any,
should be cut off This should be attended to daily, else,
when depressed, the outer slices are liable to have a musty
flavor.
Sirloin of Beef, to Roast.—The sirloin is usually hung a few
days, to make it eat short and tender, therefore, before you
dress it, you should wash the meat in cold water, wipe it with
a clean cloth; when you have made it nice and clean, hang it
carefully down to the fire, so that it may turn round evenly; a
piece of writing-paper, well buttered, must be tied on with a
string, or skewered on with very small skewers, over the fat side,
till the meat is about three parts done, to prevent the fat from
burning. A good durable fire having been made up, the meat
should be so hung down, that the thickest part of the joint will
get the strongest part of the fire, but not too near at first, or it
will get scorched on the outside, before it is warmed through.
Put into the dripping-pan a pint of water, or clean dripping,
and begin to baste the meat immediately it is warmed, and
continue to baste it every quarter of an hour, till about half an
hour before it is done. Then take the meat back from the
fire; clean out all grit that has fallen into the dripping-pan;
take off the paper that covered the fat, stir the fire, if necessary,
that it may burn fierce and clear, baste the meat well; sprin


BEEF.
kle a little salt all over the joint, and dredge it well with flour.
Put it to the fire again, and let it roast till it is done, and the
outside is nicely browned and frothed; observing not to baste
it for a full quarter of an hour after flouring it.
A sirloin weighing ten pounds, that has been kept a proper
time, will take two hours and a half to roast it. Rather more
time must be allowed in cold than in hot weather. About
twenty minutes to the pound, is a safe rule.
Ribs of Beef.—Ribs of Beef should also be kept hanging a
few days to become short and tender, therefore wipe and make
it nice and clean before you hang it to the fire, as directed for
the sirloin; there are sometimes two and sometimes three ribs
to a joint; and it must be cooked the same way as the sirloin;
only they are be; i> done, and eat nicest, if they are hung to
roast the thick part upwards, at first, till they are full half
done, or rather longer; but take care to hang it so that the
thick part gets the most of the fire; and be sure to tie well
buttered paper over the fat part, as directed for the sirloin.
Less time, however, will be required for roasting the ribs than
the sirloin, because the joint is thinner. From three hours to
three hours and a half, may be allowed for ribs of beef weigh-
ing fifteen or sixteen pounds; giving a little more time if a
thick joint, and a little less if a thin one. When the joint is a
little more than half done, you must hang it the other way up
wards, baste it, sprinkle it with salt, and dredge it very slightly
with flour; but sprinkle it with salt, and dredge it well again
with flour, about half an hour before you take it up, first
taking off the paper which covers the fat, as directed for the
sirloin.
Rump of Beef.—This is one of the most juicy of all the
joints of beef, but is more frequently stewed than rc asted. As
it is too large to serve whole, generally, cut as much from the
chump end to roast as will make a handsome dish. Manage
it as the sirloin. When boned and rolled into the form of a
fillet of veal, it requires more time.
Gravy Sauce for Roast Beef.—When beef is of a good qual
ity, and roasted with care, the gravy which flows from it is the
best sauce for the meat. Clear it of the fat and sediment, add


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
a little salt, and if too thin, a dust of browned flour, and boil U
up. To the gravy of veal, a little butter may be added.
Pickles or grated horseradish should always be served with
roast beef—with catsup and mustard in the castor. The vege-
tables most in favor are potatoes, plain boiled or mashed—
tu.uips, beets, and boiled spinach.
To Roast a fillet of Beef.—Raise the fillet from the inside
of the sirloin, or from part of it, with a sharp knife; leave the
fat on, trim off the skin, lard it through, or all over, or roast it
quite plain; baste it with butter, and send it very hot to table,
with tomato sauce, or sauce piquante, or eschalot sauce, in a
tureen. It is sometimes served with brown gravy or currant
jelly: it should then be garnished with forcemeat-balls. If
not very large, an hour and a quarter will roast it well with a
brisk fire.
Obs. The remainder of the joint may be boned, rolled, and
roasted or braised; or made into meat cakes; or served as a
miniature round of beef.
To Roast Beef Heart.—Wash it well, and clean all the blood
carefully from the pipes; parboil it ten or fifteen minutes in
boiling water; drip the water from it; put in a stuffing which
has been made of bread crumbs, minced suet or butter, sweet
marjorum, lemon thyme, and parsley, seasoned with salt, pep-
per, and nutmeg. Put it down to roast while hot, baste it well
with butter, froth it up, and serve it with melted butter and
vinegar ; or with gravy in the dish, and currant jelly in a sauce
tureen. To roast, allow 20 minutes to a pound.
To dress the Inside of a Cold Sirloin of Beef.—Cut off the
meat, with a little of the fat, into strips 3 inches long and half
an inch thick; season with pepper and salt, dredge them with
flour, and fry them brown in butter; then simmer them in a
rich brown gravy; add of mushroom catsup, onion, and shalot
vinegar a table-spoonful each. Garnished with fried parsley.
Baked Beef.—A rump of 20 to 25 lbs. weight. Take 2 oz.each of pepper and allspice, 1 oz. of pounded cloves, and the
game quantity of mace; rub this all over the joint, which
should be hung up for a fortnight or 3 weeks, according to the
* eather—taking care to keep it dry, and to occasionally renew


BEEF.
127
the seasoning. When ready for baking, wash off the spice
with port wine or warm vinegar and water, and lard the rump
throughout, by inserting large lardoons in different parts ot'the
meat. Then put a large quantity of suet, shred fine, both un-
der and over it, and cover it with coarse flour and water paste,
between which and the suet you may put a few bay-leaves or
some sweet-herbs. If eaten hot, the dough, bay-leaves, and
fuet must all be taken off; the joint basted, sprinkled with a
little salt and flour, over which a salamander should be passed;
and served up with strong gravy or brown sauce. If cold,
leave on the dough till wanted.
It should be baked in a moderately-heated oven, and will
take according to the size, from 6 to 8 hours' baking
A Round ofBeef'may be dressed in the same manner; but
the bone should in that case be taken out, and the hole filled
up with forcemeat. The flap should be filled in like manner,
skewered, and tightly bound round with linen or strong tape,
in which case the dough and the larding may be omitted,
though the latter will be found an improvement. It should be
always left until cold.
Brisket.—Take all the bones out of 8 lbs of brisket of beef,
make holes in it about an inch asunder, and fill one with fat
bacon, a second with parsley, a third with oysters, and so on,
each being chopped and seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg,
and cloves. When completely stuffed, lay it in a pan, dredge
it well with flour, pour upon it a half pint of water, and the
same of broth. Bake it 3 hours, and then skim off the fat;
put the meat into a dish, strain the gravy over, and garnish
with pickles.
Any piece of fresh beef, even of the coarsest pieces, may
be dressed in this manner, or baked before the fire in a
Dutch oven with button onions, the meat being previously
rubbed over with oil. It is a common mode in Portugal and
Spain.
Potted Beef.—Rub two pounds of lean beef with salt and
saltpetre, and let it lie for two days; then dry the meat, season
it with black pepper, and put it into a small pan with half a
pound of butter: cover it with paste, and bake slowly for


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
about four hours. When cold, pick out the stringy pieijes
cut up the lean, and beat it in a mortar with a quarter of a
pound of fresh butter just warmed, and a little of the gravy,
seasoning with pounded mace, allspice, and pepper, to taste:
when beaten to a very smooth paste, put the beef closely into
small pots, and pour on it clarified butter. If to be kept a
long time, tie it over with bladder, and set it in a dry place.
Or, the beef may be baked without being previously salted,
in which case, salt should be added in beating it.
Or, beat in a mortar with butter, pepper, salt, and nutmeg,
beef that has been dressed, either boiled or roasted.
To Stew Beef.—It should be put down in a pot with just
sufficient cold water to cover the meat, and closely covered.
After boiling 3 or 4 hours, according to the size of the piece,
cut in small pieces, not larger than dice, 2 or 3 carrots and
heads of celery, with a little sweet herbs, and put them into
the pot along with peppercorns, mace, and a couple of large
onions stuck full of cloves, and let it then simmer by the side
of the fire for 2 or 3 hours, taking care to skim off any grease
that may appear on the top.
By this time the meat will probably be tender enough;
when take out the whole onions, mince them, and fry them in
butter, to be mixed in the gravy made by the meat, which
season with salt and cayenne, or chili vinegar, to which add
some mushroom or walnut ketchup. Thicken the gravy with
a little flour, and brown it, if necessary, with a spoonful of
sugar burnt soft; which, besides imparting its color, adds an
agreeable flavor. Such is the most simple mode; but the
sauce may be much improved by a glass or two of port wine
and a spoonful of curry powder: if the odor of garlic be not
objected to, a clove boiled in the stew will be found to give it
a fine flavor. Garnish with vegetables.
A small piece of beef—say of 4 lbs.—will take the time
mentioned; but the large joints will require full double that
time; and should be put to stew overnight, adding the vege-
tables in the morning.
To stew a Rumpof Beef.—Wash it with care, and season it
well with pepper, salt, ground allspice, mace, and cloves;
then tie it up, and put it into a pot, upon twigs or wooden
skewers, to prevent the meat from sticking; add to it three


129
Urgo onions sliced, two turnips, three carrots, a shalot, som .1
celery, and a handful of sweet herbs. Cover the meat with
boiling water, add beef or mutton shankbones, and simmer the
whole till tender, or about four hours. Then strain the gravy,
take off the fat, and add from half a pint to a pint of port wine
or sherry, or the juice of a fresh lemon, and a table-spoonful
of mushroom ketchup; thicken it, simmer for half an hour,
and then pour it over the beef. Garnish with carrots and
turnips.
Beef and Sauer kraut.—Boil about six pounds of beef for
Yve minutes; then put it into a stewpan, cover it with sauer
Kraut, and add a pint of weak gravy; stew gently for four
hours, and serve in a deep dish.

Fricandeau of Beef.—Lard a piece of lean beef, with bacon
seasoned with pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice. Put it into
a stewpan, with a pint of broth, or beef gravy, a glass of
sherry, a bundle of parsley, and of sweet herbs, a clove of gar
lie, and a shallot or two. When the meat is tender, cover it
closely; skim the sauce, strain it, and boil till it is reduced to
a glaze; then glaze the larded side, and serve the fricandeau
on tomata sauce to make which, see Sauces.
A Family Stew of Beef.—Take any piece of beef good fat stewing, cut it into small pieces, slice 2 or 3 large onions, and
put them into the stewpan with 2 ounces of butter or good
beef-dripping. When melted, dredge in some flour, add the
meat also dredged with flour, and enough water to keep it from
burning. When the gravy has drawn, fill up with boiling
water, let it come to a boil gently, skim the pot well, then add
1 spoonful of mixed spices, and a bay-leaf or two; set the pan
t>y the side of the fire to stew slowly for a couple of hours,
6 lbs. of meat will take 3 hours. This dish may be thick-
ened like Irish stew, with potatoes, or it may be served with
the addition of chopped vegetables of all kinds, previously
fried.
Beef a la Daube.—Lard well a round of beef and put it in
> stew-pan; take the meat from a shin of beef, or any other
fresh meat, and cut it in small slices; cut also a few slices of
bacon, and place them around and over the beef with slices of


13C
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
narrot. and onion; season with pepper, salt, and thyme. Cover
the whole with water, and let it stew very slowly from 4 to 6
hours till perfectly done; then take out the round and let it
coo..
To make the jelly, take all the meat from the stew-pan, and
strain the broth through a sieve: skim the fat from the top
very carefully. Put it over the fire, with a few grains of pep-
per, and let it simmer slowly; beat the whites of 4 eggs in a cup
of water and stir them in; let it remain on the fire simmering
slowly for about 15 or 20 minutes: strain the jelly, and when
it is cool garnish the beef with it.
This dish should be prepared the day before it is wanted.
The stew-pan should not be too large.
Beef a la Mode.—Take a round of fresh beef and cut deep
slits in it; grate a loaf of stale bread, mix with it thyme,
sweet marjoram, one onion chopped fine, cayenne pepper, salt,
cloves, mace to your taste—an egg boiled hard and chopped
fine, and one-quarter of a pound of butter: stuff the beef, and
brown it with a sufficient quantity of butter. When brown,
add water enough to stew it. When nearly done, add 1 glass
of wine, or the >uice of a sweet orange. It will take 4 or 5
hours to stew.
Beef Olives.—Cut cold under-done beef, in slices half an
inch thick, and 4 inches square: cover them with crumbs of
bread, a little fat, finely shred shalot, pepper, and salt. Roll
the slices up, and fasten them with a small skewer; then put
them into a stew-pan, with the gravy of the joint, and a little
water, and stew them till tender. Serve with beef gravy.
Fillet of Beef.—Cut the inside of a sirloin or rump in slices
half an inch thick; trim them neatly; melt a little butter in a
frying pan; season the fillets; fry them lightly; serve with
tomato sauce, sorrel, anchovy butter, or gherkin sauce.
Fillet of Beef Braised.—Take the inside of a sirloin of beef,
stuffed or plain, but rolled together so as to bring the fat into
the centre. Then strew the bottom of the stew-pan with a few
slices of ham, in which a small quantity of gravy has been
put, just to prevent the bottom of the pan from burning; and on
this place the meat, covering it with chopped carrots, celery, but 


BEEF.
-3.
ton onit ns, and a picmed chili, together with a sliced gherkin,
sweet herbs, salt, mace, and a little allspice, and simmer until
tender, then browser it before the fire or with a salamander, skim
and season the sauce, and send the meat, sauce, and vegetables,
dp in the same dish.
Beef Kidney,—Trim, and cut the kidney into slices; season
them with salt and pepper, and dredge them well with flour;
fry them on both sides, and when they are done through, lift
them out, empty the pan, and make a gravy for them with a
small slice of butter, a dessert-spoonful of flour, pepper and
salt, and a cup of boiling water; shake these round, and give
them a minute's simmering: add a little mushroom catsup,
lemon juice, eschalot vinegar, or any store sauce that will give
a good flavor. Minced herbs are to many tastes an improve-
ment to this dish, to which a small quantity of onion shred
fine can be added when it is liked. 6 to 9 minutes.
To Mince Beef.—Shred the under-done part fine, with some
of the fat; put into a small stew-pan some onion or shalot (a
very little will do), a little water, pepper, and salt; boil it till
the onion is quite soft; then put some of the gravy of the
meat to it, and the mince. A few minutes will dress it, but
do not let it boil. Have a small hot dish with sippets (small
pieces) of bread ready, and pour the mince into it, but first
mix a large spoonful of vinegar with it. If shalot vinegar is
used, there will be no need of the onion nor the raw shalot.
Savory Minced Collops.—Make a little brown thickening
with about an ounce and a half of butter, and a dessert-spoon
fal of flour; when it begins to be colored, shake lightly into
it a large teaspoonful of finely shred parsley or mixed savory
herbs, two-thirds as much of salt, and half the quantity of
pepper. Keep these stirred over a gentle fire until the thick-
ening is of a deep yellow brown; then add a pound of rump
steak, finely minced, and keep it well separated with a fork
until it is quite hot; next pour to it gradually half a cupful
of boiling water, and stew the collops very gently for ti-u
minutes. Before they are served, stir to them a little catsup,
Chili vinegar, or lemon juice: a small quantity of minced
onion, eschalot, or a particle of garlic, may be added at first
to the thickening when the flavor is not objected to.


150
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK, Breslaw of Beef; (good.)— Trim the brown edges from
half a pound of under-dressed roast beef, shred it small, and
mix it with 4 oz. of fine bread crumbs, a teaspoonful of minced
parsley, and two-thirds as much of thyme, 2 oz. of butter, broken small, half a cupful of gravy or cream, a high season-
ing of pepper and cayenne, and mace, or nutmeg, a small tea-
spoonful of salt, and 3 large eggs, well beaten. Melt a little
butter in a pie dish, pour in the beef, and bake it half an hour;
turn it out, and send it to table with brown gravy in a tureen.
When cream or gravy is not at hand, an additional egg or two,
and rather more butter, must be used. We think that grated
lemon-rind improves the breslaw.
Bouilli.—The rump of beef is best for this purpose, as the
meat is to be served up in a separate dish, and will make a
iinely-flavored sort of soup. Take as much of it as may be
thought necessary; but for a small party, say from 4 to 6 lbs.,
along with 2 or 3 large roasted onions, in one of which some
cloves may be stuck, and a moderate quantity of whole pepper,
with a bunch of sweet herbs; to which an anchovy may be
added: put it in a stewpan, covered with rather more than a
pint of cold water to every pound of meat; and let it simmer
by the side of the fire for 4 or 5 hours, or until it has become
quite tender; then take out the herbs and onions, and add
carrots, turnips, and celery, either cut into small squares or
sliced, and let the whole boil until sufficiently stewed, and
ready for the table.
The soup should then be strained off, and served separately,
leaving only so much as may be necessary for making sauce
for the vegetables. The sauce should be a little thickened,
and seasoned to the palate; if a clove of garlic, or a tea-
spoonful of garlic and chili vinegar, be added, it will improve
the flavor. In Ireland it is not uncommon to send up the
bouilli smothered in onion-sauce, the other vegetables being
either not used, or brought up in the soup; in France it is
very usual to dress cabbage and sausages as an accompani-
ment to the bouilli; but, in England, it is more customary to
serve it up with the vegetable-sauce as above stated. Cucum-
bers cut into dice and stewed, with a spoonful of chili vinegar
added, are served at most of the German hotels. The meat,
if gently stewed until quite tender, without being boiled to
rags, will be found excellent, and the whole an admirable dish.


133
Another Bcndli.—Tase a handsome piece of brisket of 10
lbs. weight; put it over the fire with a small quantity of water
until the gravy is out; add a very large bunch of parsley, pep-
per, salt, and an onion. When the gravy is drawn, add 2 gal-
lons of boiling water, and let it stew until perfectly tender;
chop the parsley, and lay it on the top of the meat, thicken the
gravy with vegetables, and serve it up.
Or:—Take about 9 lbs. of the beef, tie it tightly with »
tape, and put it into a stewpan with just sufficient water to
cover it: add onions, celery, a little parsley, and spice: allow
it to boil gently, and, when about half done, add a large an-
chovy. Cut a small quantity of carrots, greens, and capers
very fine, mix them with a part of the soup; let them stew
till tender, and then serve them with the beef, laying part on
the top and the rest round; or, served up separately, and stuff- thered in onion sauce. a
The tops of the long ribs make good bouilli, simmered in a small quantity of water, and served on a bed of red cabbage,
stewed separately, and flavored with a glass of vinegar. It
also eats excellently, if, when simply boiled, it is served up
smothered with onion sauce.
Ribsof beef, though rarely dressed en bouilli, are yet most
excellent when so prepared. Take the middle of the flat ribs
of beef, stew it until the meat is tender and the bones will
come out, employing as small a quantity of water as will cover
the meat, and a bundle of sweet herbs. Let it stand until it
is cold, remove the fat, add to the gravy, carrots, turnips, and
celery, cut in dice, and a dozen or two of small silver onions;
warm up the beef in it, and send it to table.
Bouilli with Tomatoes.—Take a rump of beef, and have the
bone taken out by the butcher: put it in water just enough to
cover it; and let it boil slowly until it is tender. Then season
it to your taste with salt, pepper, mace, and cloves, pounded
fine. Dress tomatoes as a vegetable, strain them, pour them
over the beef after it is dished, and let them mix with the
gravy. It is important tc boil the beef a long time and slowly.
T« collar Beer--.Salt the thin end of the flank daily for a
week with salt and saltpetre; then take out all bone, gristic.
tad inside skin, and cover it with this seasoning, cut finely: a


]34
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOT.
handful of sage, the same of parsley, some thy mo, marjoram,
and pennyroyal, pepper, and allspice. Roll up the meat in a
cloth, tie it very tight, and boil it gently for about eight hours.
Then take it up, do not untie it, but put on it a heavy weight
to make the collar oval. A piece of the breast of veal, rolled
in with the beef, is an improvement.
To boil a Rumpof Beef.—Mix some common salt, a little
saltpetre, some parsley, thyme, marjoram, green onions, and
pepper; rub all well into the meat, and let it lie 3 or 4 days;
then put it into a pot, and cover it with water; add some
celery with 2 or 3 sliced carrots, and some small whole onions.
Let it simmer gently 3 or 4 hours, according to the size,
skimming it carefully, and serve with vegetables.
The other joints that are usually salted and boiled are the
round, the aitch-bone and the brisket.
Boiled Scarlet Beef.—Take a brisket or thin flank of beef,
and rub it well all over with equal quantities of common and
bay salt, and an ounce of saltpetre; let it remain for 4 or 5
days in an earthen pan, when it will become red; it should be
turned once every day. Boil it gently for 4 hours, and serve
it hot, with savoys or any kind of greens; or leave it to get
cold, and press it with a heavy weight.
SaucePiquante for Boiled Beef.—Brown in a pan a little
butter and flour, add to it half pint of the soup from the beef,
1 carrot, 2 onions, and 1 clove of garlic chopped fine. Let it
stew for about 15 minutes. Then add a pickled cucumber
chopped fine, and a table-spoonful of vinegar. Let the whole
stew for a few minutes, and pour it over the beef when served.
To broil Beef Steaks.—The steaks should be from half to
three-quarters of an inch thick, equally sliced, and freshly cut
from the middle of a well kept, finely grained, and tender
rump of beef. They should be neatly trimmed, and once or
twice divided, if very large. The fire must be strong ard
clear. The bars of the gridiron should be thin, and not very
close together. When they are thoroughly heated, without
being sufficiently burning to scorch the meat, wipe and rub
them with fresh mutton suet; next pepper the steaks slightly,
jut never season them with salt before they are dressed; lay


135
them on the gridiron, and when done on one side, turn them
on the other, being careful to catch, in the dish in which the,
are to be sent to table, any gravy which may threaten to drain
from them when they are moved. Let them be served the
instant they are taken from the fire; and have ready at the
moment, dish, cover, and plates, as hot as they can be. From
8 to 10 minutes will be sufficient to broil steaks for the gene-
rality of eaters, and more than enough for those who like them
but partially done.
Genuine amateurs seldom take prepared sauce or gravy with
their steaks, as they consider the natural juices of the meat
sufficient. When any accompaniment to them is desired, a
small quantity of choice mushroom catsup may be warmed in
the dish that is heated to receive them; and which, when the
not very refined flavor of a raw eschalot is liked, as it is by
some eaters, may previously be rubbed with one, of which the
large end has been cut off. A thin slice or two of fresh butter
is sometimes laid under the steaks, where it soon melts and
mingles with the gravy which flows from them. The appro-
priate tureen sauces for broiled beef steaks are onion, tomato,
oyster, eschalot, hot horse-radish, and brown cucumber, or
mushroom sauce.
Obs. 1.—We have departed a little in this receipt from our
previous instructions for broiling, by recommending that the
steaks should be turned but once, instead of "often," as all
great authorities on the subject direct. By trying each method,
our readers will be able to decide for themselves upon the pre-
ferable one: we can only say, that we have never eaten steaks
so excellent as those which have been dressed exactly in accord-
ance with the receipt we have just given, and we have taken
infinite pains to ascertain the really best mode of preparing
this very favorite dish, which so constantly makes its appear-
ance both carelessly cooked and ill served, especially at private
tables.
Obs. 2.—It is a good plan to throw a few bits of charcoal on
the fire some minutes before the steaks are laid down, as they
give forth a strong heat without any smoke.
A Spanish Steak.—Take the tenderloin of beef. Have
onions cut fine and put into a frying-pan with some boiling
butter. When quite soft, draw them to the back part of the


]36 MRS- hale's new cook book.
pan; and, having seasoned well the beef with pepper and salt,
put it in the pan, and rather broil than fry it. When done,
put the onions over it, and just as much boiling water as will
make a gravy. Let it stew a few minutes.
Another Beef Steak, a la Francaise.—Must be cut either
from the sirloin or some other prime part of the beef, as rump
steaks are not known in France. Pour over it 2 large spoons-
ful of the best Lucca oil, and let it remain all night; then put
it and the oil into a frying-pan, with some finely chopped pars-
ley, pepper and salt; fry it until the gravy dries up, and it
becomes rather brown. Pour the contents of the pan over the
steak as sauce. The steaks are usually garnished with slices
of fried potatoes. As butter is not known in the southern
states of Europe, oil is there constantly used in lieu of it, and
this Parisian practice is borrowed from those countries.
Stewed Beef Steaks.—Put the steak into a stew-pan, with a
lump of butter, over a slow fire, and turn it until the butter
has become a fine white gravy, then pour it into a basin, and
put more butter to the steak. When the steak is nicely done,
take it out, return all the gravy into the stew-pan, and fry the
steak; then add it to the gravy in the stew-pan, with a table-
spoonful of wine or of catsup, and a shalot finely sliced; stew
it for 10 minutes, and serve it up. Or, fry the steak merely
at first, then put it into half a pint of water, an onion sliced, a
spoonful of walnut catsup, pepper and salt, cover it close,
thicken it with flour and butter, and serve it up very hot.
With Vegetables.—Cut the steak about two and a half inches
thick; dredge it with flour, and fry it in butter, of a fine
brown. Lay it in a stew-pan, and pour water into the frying-
pan; let it boil, and add it to the steak, which is rendered
richer by this process; slice in turnips, carrots, celery, and
onions, adding pepper, salt, and a little mace. It should be
highly seasoned, and sent to table with the surface ornamented
with forcemeat balls, carrots and turnips cut into shapes, and
sometimes with onion fritters, the vegetables to be put round it.
With Oysters.—Cut the steak rather thick; brown it in a
frying pan with butter. Add half a pint of water, an onion
sliced, pepper and salt, cover the pan closely, and let it stew


BEEF.
very slowly for 1 hour; then add a glass of port wine, a Uttln
floui, and a dozen or two of oysters, their liquor having been
previously strained and put into the stew-pan.
Beef Steak Stewed in its own gravy; (good and wholesome )
—Trim all the fat and skin from a rump steak of nearly an
inch thick, and divide it once or twice; just dip it into cold
water, let it drain for an instant, sprinkle it on both sides with
pepper, and then flour it rather thickly; lay it quite flat into a
well-tinned iron saucepan or stew-pan, which has been rinsed
with cold water, of which a tablespoonful should be left in it.
Place it over (not upon) a very gentle fire, and keep it just
simmering from an hour and a half to an hour and three
quarters, when, if the meat be good, it will have become
perfectly tender. Add salt to it when it first begins to boil,
and turn it when rather more than half done. A couple of
spoonsful of gravy, half as much catsup, and a slight season-
ing of spice, would, to many tastes, improve this dish, of which,
however, the great recommendation is its wholesome simplicity,
which renders it suitable to the most delicate stomach. A
thick mutton cutlet from the middle of the leg is excellent
dressed thus. 1^ to If hour.
Beef Steak Pie.—Boil water with a little fine lard, and an
equal quantity of fresh dripping, or of butter, but not much
of either. While hot, mix this with as much flour as you will
want, making the paste as stiff as you can to be smooth, which
you will make it by good kneading, and beating it with the
rolling-pin. When quite smooth, put a lump into a cloth, or
under a pan, to soak till nearly cold.
In raising paste it should be brought to a firm consistence,
and of sufficient thickness to hold the meat together; it should
therefore not-be too rich, and it is easier to be worked if mod
erately warm than cold. The proper way to raise the crust is
by placing the left hand on the lump of paste, and with the
right keep working it up the back of the hand, till all be of
the proper shape and thickness. When worked into the de-
sired form the meat is then put into the pie, and, when quite
full, the lid is put on and fixed to the wall or side; the top
being ornamented with some device, also made of paste. Be-
fore putting it in the oven glaze it all over with white of egg.


138
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Those who are not a good hand at raising crust, may roll
the paste of a proper thickness, and cut out the top of the pie,
then a long piece for the sides, then cement the bottom to the
sides with egg, bringing the former rather farther out, and
pinching both together: put egg between the edges of the
paste to make it adhere at the sides. Fill the pie, put on the
cover, and pinch it and the side crust together. The same
mode of uniting the paste is to be observed if the sides are
pressed into a tin form, in which the paste must be baked,
after it shall be filled and covered: the tin should be buttered,
and carefully taken off when done enough; and as the form
usually makes the sides of a lighter color than is proper, the
pie should be put into the oven again for quarter of an hour.
Take rump-steaks that have been well hung: beat them
gently with a rolling-pin: season with pepper, salt, and a little
shallot minced very fine; put the slices in layers with a good
piece of fat and a sliced mutton kidney; fill the dish; put
some crust on the edge, and about an inch below it, and a cup
of wnteror broth in the dish. Cover with rather a thick crust,
and set in a moderate oven. Cut a slit in the paste.
Mutton Pies may be made in the same way.
BedSteak and Oyster Pie.—Prepare the steaks as above,
and put them in the pie in alternate layers with oysters. Stew
the liquor and beards of the oysters with a blade of mace and
a teaspoonful of walnut catsup. Strain it and pour it in the
pie, when it is baked. A small pie may be baked in 2 hours.
Veal may be used instead of beef.
Beef Tongue.—If it has been dried and smoked before it is
dressed, it should be soaked over night, but if only pickled, a
few hours will be sufficient. Put it in a pot of cold water
over a slow fire for an hour or two, before it comes to a boil.
Then let it simmer gently for from 3J to 4 hours, according to
its size; ascertain when it is done by probing it with a skewer.
Take the skin off, and before serving surround the root with a
paper frill.
An excellent way of preparing Tongues to eat cold.—Season
with common salt and saltpetre, brown sugar, a little bay salt,
pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice, in fine powder, for a fort-
night; then take away the pickle, put the tongue into a small


BEEF.
139
pan, and lay some butter cn it; cover it with brown crust, and
Lake it slowly till so tender that a straw will go through it,
put it into a tin mould, and press it well, laying in as much fat
as possible.
The thin part of tongues, if hung up to dry, grates like hung
beef, and also makes a fine addition to the flavor of omelets.
To roast a Beef Tongue.—Take a fine large fresh tongue,
Bcald it, and take off the skin; cut it off at the root and trim
it neatly; stick a few cloves here and there in it, and put it in
a cradle-spit; sprinkle it with salt, and baste it well with butter.
Serve it with a good sauce in a sauce-boat, made as follows:—
Put into a stew-pan half a pint of port wine, with about half
the quantity of well-seasoned gravy; reduce it to one-half;
then stir in a good piece of butter and a table-spoonful of flour;
add a squeeze of lemon; when the butter is melted and the
sauce done, place the tongue in a dish, and serve hot with the
sauce poured round. In Spain, the sauce is strongly impreg-
nated with saffron.
Fresh Beef Tongue.—Take a green tongue, stick it with
cloves, and boil it gently for 3 hours: then brush it over with
the yolk of an egg, dredge it well with bread crumbs, and
roast it, basting it well with butter. When dished, serve it
with a little brown gravy flavored with a glass of wine, and
lay slices of currant jelly round it. A pickled tongue, well
washed, may be dressed in the same way, and beef-udders
also.
A fresn Neats Tongue and Udder may be roasted together
in the manner thus described; but when ready to be dished,
instead of currant jelly, put half a pint of gravy into a sauce-
pan, with the juice of a Seville orange, 2 lumps of sugar, a
glass of claret, and a piece of butter: toss the whole over the
fire, and serve it up with the tongue and udder, garnishing the
dish with slices of lemon. The udder should be stuck with
cloves, and both should be continually basted.
To boil Ox Cheek.—Wash very clean, half a head; let it lie
in cold water all night; break the bone in two, taking care not
to break the flesh. Put it on in a pot of boiling water, and
let it boil from 2 to 3 hours; take out the bone. Serve it


140
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
with boiled carrots and turnips, or savoys. The liquor the head
has been boiled in may be strained and made into Scots baric*-
broth or Scots kale.
To stew Ox Cheek.—Clean the head, as before directed, and
parboil it; take out the bone; stew it in part of the liouor in
which it was boiled, thickened with a piece of butter mixed
with flour, and browned. Cut into dice, or into any fancy
shape, carrots and turnips, as much, when cut, as will fill a pint
basin. Mince 2 or 3 onions, add the vegetables, and season
with salt and pepper. Cover the pan closely, and stew it 2
hours. A little before serving, add a glass of port wine or ale.
Many excellent and economical dishes are made of ar. ox
check, and it is particularly useful in large families.
To dress Kidneys and Skirts—Wash the kidneys, cut them
into slices; take the skin off the skirts, and cut them into
small pieces; dust them with flour, and fry them brown in
butter. Simmer them an hour in a pint of gravy, with an
onion finely minced, some salt and pepper. A little before
serving, add a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup. They may
be broiled and eaten like a beef steak.
To dress Palates and Sweetbreads.—Boil the palates till the
black skin can be easily peeled off; parboil the sweetbreads
with them; skin and cut the palates into pieces, and if the
sweetbreads are large, cut them in two the long way; dust
them with flour, and fry them of a light brown, in butter; then
stew them in rather more than a pint of the liquor in which
they were boiled. Brown a piece of butter with flour; add it,
with a little Cayenne, salt, pepper, grated lemon peel, and nut-
meg, and a glass of white wine. A little before serving, stir
'n a spoonful of vinegar, or the squeeze of a lemon.
To clean and boil Tripe.—Wash it thoroughly in cold water;
then sprinkle fine lime over it, lay it in a tub and cover it with
warm water; let it remain about 4 hours, then scrape it with
a knife till it is perfectly clean. Wash it in cold water, and
lay it in weak salt and water for 4 or 5 days, changing the
water every day; then cut it in pieces.
Tripe may be dressed in several ways, but, whatever mode 


BEEF.
141
may be employed, it will always be found an improvement to
soak it for a whole night in milk. Indeed, if left in the milk
until that becomes sour, the acidity thus imparted to it will
render it still better.
To boil Tripe.—Put it into hot milk and water, an equal
quantity of each; milk may be entirely omitted, or that used
in which it may have been soaked; let it boil until quite ten-
der, for 2 or 3 hours. Boil several large onions in 2 waters,
so as to diminish their flavor; if Spanish onions can be got,
they should be preferred. When quite tender, slice the onions
into small flakes, but leave them in that state, and do not mash
them into smooth sauce; put the onions into a casserole with
milk and butter, so as to make a delicate white sauce, and sea-
son it only with a little salt, or a slight grating of nutmeg;
then put the tripe, hot from the pot, into a deep dish, and
smother it entirely with the sauce. It is usually eaten with
pepper and mustard, at the discretion of the guests. Oyster
sauce is sometimes used, and much approved.
To fry Tripe.—Cut it into bits 3 or 4 inches square; make
a batter thicker than for pancakes, of 3 eggs beaten up with
flour and milk, a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg; dip in the
tripe, and fry it in butter, or fresh dripping, of a light brown
color. Serve it garnished with parsley. Sauce—melted butter
with lemon pickle in it.
Sauce for Tripe, Cow-heel, &c.—Stir into half a pint of oiled
butter, (that is, butter melted and strained,) a table-spoonful
of garlic-vinegar, and a tea-spoonful each of made mustard,
ground black pepper, and brown sugar.
Cow-heels.—Ox-feet, or Cow-heels, are rarely eaten by Amer-
icans, but in Europe, and particularly in Great Britain they
sre always cooked. They contain much nutriment, and may
be dressed in the various ways already stated for tripe, with
which they are commonly boiled. They are frequently eaten
cold, with mustard and vinegar.
Soak them well; boil, and serve in a napkin, with thick
melted butter, a large spoonful of vinegar, and a little mustard
and salt. Or boil, and then stew them in a brown gravy. Or


142
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
cut the heel in 4 parts, dip each in egg, flour and fry them in
butter. Or fry, and serve with onions fried and put round
them: sauce as above.
The water in which they are boiled will make equally good
jellies, either relishing or sweet, with that of calves' feet, if
duly prepared; and at a far less expense. This jelly gives
great additional richness likewise to soups and gravies.
To fry Ox-feet, or Cow-heel.—After preparing them as above,
Bit them into small pieces; have ready some bread finely
crumbled, dip the pieces into the yolk of an egg beaten up,
and roll them in the bread crumbs mixed with chopped pars-
ley, pepper, and salt; fry them in butter or fresh lard, of a fine
brown color.
Marrow Bones.—If too long to serve undivided, saw them
in two; cover the open end with a lump of paste and a cloth
floured and tied close; the paste must be removed before sent
to table. Boil l£ or 2 hours, according to the size; put a ruffle
of paper round each, and serve in a napkin, with very hot
toast. The marrow is spread upon the toast, and seasoned
with pepper and salt.
Bubble and Squeak.—Slice under-done cold roast or boiled
beef, with fat to fry it a nice light brown; take care that it is
not done hard. Mince some cooked cabbage, and fry it with
pepper and salt, without burning; lay some in the dish, and
lay in the meat, and cover it nicely with the rest, garnishing
with fried beet-root, eggs or apples. This is an excellent dish
y well made, but very bad if ill done.
Under-done roasted meat may be cut into steaks, and hard-
ened upon the gridiron or in the frying-pan, and served under
an oyster, mushroom, onion, or any other ragout.
An Excellent Sandwich.—A thin, tender beefsteak, boiled,
and well seasoned with pepper and salt; put quite hot be-
tween two slices of bread and butter, and eaten when cold.


CHAPTER VIII.
VEAL.
To Choose and Cook Veal—Roast Loin—Boiled and Steur#p—
fillet, Knuckle—Shoulder — Gohote—Blanquettes — Fricait-
deau—Rolled Veal—Potted — Minced— Cutlets— Collops —
Veal Olives—Neck to Braise—Ragout—Stewed Veal and
Peas — Sweetbread— Croquettes — Coifs Head— Dressed
many ways—Brains—Feet—Kidney, dec.— Veal Forcemeats.

No.
1. Loin, Best End.
2. Loin, Chump End.
3 Fillot.
4, Hind Knuckle.
5. Fore Knuckle.
No.
6. Neck, Best find.
7. Neck, Scrag End.
8. Blade Bone.
9. Breast. Best End.
10. Breast, Brisket End.
To Choose Veal.—Veal should be fat, finely grained, white,
firm, and not overgrown: for when very large it is apt to be
coarse and tough. It is more difficult to keep than any other
meat except pork, and should never be allowed to acquire the
slightest taint before it is dressed, as any approach to putridity
renders it equally unwholesome and offensive to the taste.
The fillet, the loin, the shoulder, and the best end of the neck,
are the parts generally selected for roasting; the breast and
• knuckle are more usually stewed or boiled. The udder, or
firm white f<it of the fillet, is much used by French cooks in-
'143


144
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
stead of butter, especially in the composition of their force-
meats: for these, it is first well boiled, then left until quite
cold, and afterwards thoroughly pounded before it is mixed
with the other ingredients. The head and feet of the calf are
valuable articles of food, both for the nutriment which the
gelatinous parts of them afford, and for the great variety of
modes in which they may be dressed. The kidneys, with the
rich fat that surrounds them, and the sweetbreads especially,
are well known delicacies; the liver and the heart also are
very good eating; and no meat is so generally useful for rich
soups and gravies as veal.
Veal, more than any other meat, requires to be wiped with
a clean cloth every morning. The kernel should i>e taken out
of the thick fat of the leg, and the udder slightly sprinkled
with salt. Cut out the pipe from along the chine-bone of the
loin, remove the kernel from under the inside fat, and sprinkle
the chine-bone with salt. The pipe and chine-bone should be
cut out from the neck, and the inside of the ribs rubbed with
salt. From the breast, cut off the loose inside fat. and piece
of skirt. The shoulder is rarely kept above a day or two.
Roast Loin of Veal.—It is not usual to stuff a loin of veal,
but we greatly recommend the practice, as an infinite improve-
ment to the joint. Make the same forcemeat as for the fillet;
and insert it between the skin and the flesh just over the ends
of the bones. Skewer down the flap, place the joint at a mo-
derate distance from a sound fire, keep it constantly basted,
and be especially careful not to allow the kidney fat to burn •.
to prevent this, and to ensure the good appearance of the joint
a buttered paper is often fastened round the loin, and removed
about half an hour before it is taken from the fire. It is the
fashion in some counties to serve egg-sauce and brown gravy with roast loin, or breast of veal.
The cook will scarcely need to be told that she must sepa-
rate the skin from the flank, with a sharp knife, quite from the
end, to the place where the forcemeat is to be put, and then
skewer the whole very securely. When the veal is not
papered, dredge it well with flour soon after it is laid to the fire.
2 to 2\ hours.
Boiled Loin of Veal.—If dressed with care and served with
good sauces, this, when the meat is small and white, is an ex


VEAL.
115
wllent dish, an J often more acceptable to persons of delicate
habit than roast veal. Take from eight to ten pounds of the
best end of the loin, leave the kidney in with all its fat, skewer
or bind down the flap, lay the meat into cold water, and boil
it as gently as possible from two hours and a quarter to two
and a half, clearing off the scum perfectly, as in dressing the
fillet. Send it to table with well-made oyster sauce, or be-
chamel, or with white sauce well flavored with lemon-juice,
and wi ,h parsley, boiled, pressed dry, and finely chopped.
2\ to2\ hours.
StewedLoin of Veal.—Take part of a loin of veal, the chump
end will do; put into a large, thick, well-tinned iron saucepan,
or into a stewpan, about a couple of ounces of butter, and
shake it over a moderate fire until it begins to brown; flour
the veal well all over, lay it into the saucepan, and when it is
of a fine, equal light-brown, pour gradually in veal broth,
gravy, or boiling water to nearly half its depth; add a little
salt, one or two sliced carrots, a small onion, or more when
the flavor is much liked, and a bunch of parsley; stew the
veal very softly for an hour or rather more; then turn it, and
let it stew for nearly or quite another hour, or longer should
it not appear perfectly done. As none of our receipts have
been tried with large, coarse veal, the cooking must be re-
gulated by that circumstance, and longer time allowed should
the meat be of more than middling size. Dish the joint; skim
all the fat from the gravy, and strain it over the meat; or keep
the joint hot while it is rapidly reduced to a richer consistency.
This is merely a plain family stew.
Fillet of Veal Stewed.—Take a fillet of veal, and with a sharp
knife make deep incisions in the upper and lower surfaces.
Make a rich stuffing of grated bread, sweet herbs, pepper and
salt, mixed with the yolk of eggs, and put it into the holes
which you have made. Then rub the stuffing thickly all over
the meat, with the addition of some ham or bacon cut into very
thin slices. Put it into a pot and add enough butter or lard to
Bt« w and brown it. It will take about 3 hours to cook. Some
persons add the ham, for the stuffing, others leave it out en U;rly, and do not use the stuffing on the outside. If the ham or bacon is used, it should be very fat and cut very thin.


146
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
Fillet of Veal Roasted.—Take out the bone, and fill the space
with a fine stuffing of bread crumbs, seasoned with parsley, rather less of marjoram, a little pepper and salt, mixed tho-
roughly with the yolk and white of an egg or two, according
to quantity. A small onion, finely chopped, may be added,
and let the fat be skewered quite round; stuff it.also well un
der the skin—as much depends on the quantity and flavor of the
stuffing—and send the large side uppermost. Put a paper
ever the fat; and take care to allow a sufficient time for roast-
ing; put it a good distance from the fire, as the meat is very
sold, and must be so thoroughly done as not to leave the least
appearance of red gravy; serve it with melted butter poured
over, and gravy round. Ham or bacon should be served with
it, and fresh cucumbers if in season.
Although considered very indigestible, it is a favorite joint,
and easily divided into 3 parts and each dressed separately;
that piece known in a "round of beef" as the "silver side1'
being roasted, and the remaining two stewed in different ways.
In Paris, a longe de veau is cut somowhat in the shape of a
haunch of mutton, with the fillet and part of the loin joined
together.
Fillet of Veal Boiled.—Choose a small delicate fillet for this
purpose; prepare as for roasting, or stuff it with an oyster
forcemeat; bind it round with a tape; after having washed it
thoroughly, cover it with milk and water in equal quantities,
and let it boil very gently three and a half or four hours, keep-
ing it carefully skimmed. Send it to table with a rich white
sauce, or, if stuffed with oysters, a tureen of oyster-sauce;
garnish with stewed celery and slices of bacon. A boiled
tongue should be served with it.
Knuckle of Veal; (en Ragout.)—Cut in small thick slices
the flesh of a knuckle of veal, season it with a little fine salt
and white pepper, flour it lightly, and fry it in butter to a pale
brown, lay it into a very clean stewpan or saucepan, and just
cover it with boiling water; skim it clean, and add to it a fag-
got of thyme and parsley, the white part of a head of celery, a
small quantity of cayenne, and a blade or two of mace. Stew
it very softly .from an hour and three-quarters, to two hours
and a half. Thicken and enrich the gravy, if needful, with


VEAL.
H7
rice-flour and mushroom catsup or Harvey's sauce, or with a
large teaspoonful of flour, mixed with a slice of butter, a little
good store-sauce and a glass of sherry or Madeira. Fried
forcemeat balls may be added at pleasure. With an additional
quantity of water, or of broth (made with the bones of (ha
join'), a pint and a half of young green peas stewed with the
vea for an hour, will give an agreeable variety of this dish.
Boiled Knuckle of Veal.—After the joint has been trimmed
and well washed, put it into a vessel well adapted to it in size,
for if it be very large, so much water will be required that the
veal will be deprived of its flavor; it should be well covered
with it, and very gently boiled until it is perfectly tender it. every part, but not so much done as to separate from the bone.
Clear off the scum with scrupulous care when the simmering
first commences, and throw in a small portion of salt; as this,
if sparingly used, will not redden the meat, and will otherwise
much improve it. Parsley and butter is usually both poured
over, and sent to table with a knuckle of veal, and boiled bacon
also should accompany it. From the sinewy nature of this
joint, it requires more than the usual time of cooking, a quar-
ter of an hour to the pound not being sufficient for it.
Veal, 6 to 7 lbs: 2 hours or more.
Knuckle of Veal with Rice or Green Peas.—Pour over a
small knuckle of veal rather more than sufficient water to cover
it; bring it slowly to a boil; take off all the scum with great
care, throw in a tea-spoonful of salt, and when the joint has
simmered for about half an hour, throw in from eight to twelve
ounces of well-washed rice, and stew the veal gently for an
hour and a half longer, or until both the meat and rice are per-
fectly tender. A seasoning of cayenne and mace in fine pow-
der with more salt, should it be required, must be added 20 or
30 minutes before they are served. For a superior stew, good
veal broth may be substituted for the water.
Veal, 6 lbs.; water, 3 to 4 pints; salt, 1 teaspoonful; 30to
40 minutes. Rice, 8 to 12 ozs.: an hour and a half. Seasoning
of cayenne, mace, and more salt if needed. A quart or even
more of full-grown green peas added to the veal as soon as the
srara has been cleared off will make a most excellent stew.
It should be well seasoned with white pepper, and the mace
should be omitted.


148
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Shoulderof Veal.—Cut off the knuckle for a stew or gravy.
Roast the other part with a stuffing; you may lard it. Sen e
with melted butter.
The blade-bone, with a good deal of meat left on, eats ex-
tremely well, when grilled, with mushroom or oyster sauce, or
mushroom catsup in butter.
Being a large joint of what is considered rather coarse meat,
it is rarely served to any but plain family parties; but, if
braised, it makes an excellent dish.
Oohote: (a very nice dish.)—Take all the fillet of veal that
will chop, and mince it fine. Season it with salt, pepper, a
little parsley, and an onion, chopped fine. Add about half a
teacup of bread crumbs, a little fat of ham or pork, if not the
latter some butter, and 2 eggs. Mix it well with the hands,
and make it into one large ball: sprinkle it with bread crumbs,
and put several pieces of butter about it. Bake it in 2 hours.
Make a good gravy with the scraps and bone, and serve
with it.
This may be made of veal that has been once cooked,
baking it a shorter time.
Blanquettes.—Melt a piece of butter the size of a walnut in
a stew-pan; then put in a little thyme, parsley, or any herbs
you like the flavor of, and a little onion, all chopped fine, with
a pinch of flour. Brown the herbs; add pepper and salt, with
a clove or two. Then put in cold or undressed veal, cut in
thin slices the size of half a crown; add gravy or broth half
a pint, or according to the quantity of meat you want to dress.
It should not be too large a dish. Let it stew very gently over a stove; if of dressed meat, 1 hour will be sufficient:
add half a teacupful of cream, and stir it well together for a
few minutes; then take it up, and before you turn it out have
2 yolks of eggs well beaten, and add to your dish. Give it a
few shakes over the fire. It must not boil, or it will curdle.
Or: Cut rabbits, fowl, veal, or lobster, in pieces, steep them
(except the veal or fish) in water for half an hour, changing
the water. Put some butter in a stew-pan to melt, but do not
let it fry; put in the meat with a very little flour, and keep
shaking it well; pour in by degrees some broth made of white
meat; add a bunch of parsley, an onion, salt, mace, and white


VEAL.
14!)
pepper. Stew it well a quarter of an hour before it is dished;
take out the parsley and onion, and add some raw parsley
chopped, and the yolk of an egg and cream beaten together.
You must never cease shaking the pan until the blanquette is
put over the dish.
Veal a la Chartreuse.—Line a copper mould with fat bacon,
lay sliced carrots and turnips round the edges, then cover with
a forcemeat, and put in a fricassee of veal or fowl. Cover the
top of the mould with a paste, steam it an hour, and serve it
turned out upon a dish.
To Marble Veal.—Boil tender, skin, and cut a dried neat's
tongue in thin slices, and beat it as fine as possible, with half
a pound of butter and some mace pounded. Have ready some
roasted fillet of veal, beaten with butter, and seasoned with
white pepper and salt; of this put a thick layer in a large
potting-pot, then put in the tongue, in rough, irregular lumps,
not to touch each other; fill up the pot with veal, and press it
down quite close. Pour clarified butter thick over; keep in
it dry, cool place, and serve in thin slices, taking off the butter.
Garnish with parsley.
Fricandeau of Veal.—Cut a piece about two inches thick
from a fillet of veal; shape it like the back of a turtle, high
and round in the middle, and thin at the edges, and lard the
top and sides very thickly with fat bacon; then put into a
Btew-pan 4 onions, B carrot, sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs,
some allspice, salt, and whole pepper, three blades of mace,
and a small piece of lean ham: cover these with slices of fat
bacon, and place upon them the veal, which also cover with
bacon. Next cover the whole with veal broth, or boiling
water, put on the lid, and stew very gently, until the veal is
so tender as to be divided with a spoon; then take it up, and
quickly boil the gravy, uncovered, to a glaze, which strain, and
brush over the fricandeau; to be served upon spinach or en-
dive, tomato, or mushroom-sauce, or upon the remainder of
the glaze. A moderately-sized fricandeau will require about
three hours and a half stewing.
The lean part rf a neck of veal, stewed with the meat of


150
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
two or three bones in water, will make a plain fricandeau
Sweet-breads, larded and prepared as veal, make fine fricao
deaux, being served in a rich gravy.
Rolled Veal.—The breast is the best for this purpose. Bona
a piece of the breast, and lay a forcemeat over it of herbs,
bread, an anchovy, a spoonful or two of scraped ham, a very
little mace, white pepper, and chopped chives; then roll, bind
it up tight, and stew it in water or weak broth with the bones,
some carrots, onions, turnips, and a bay-leaf. Let the color
be preserved, and serve it in veal gravy, or fricassee sauce.
Potted Veal.—Pound some cold veal, and season it with
pepper, salt, and a little mace, in powder; then pound or
shred the lean of ham or tongue; put layers of veal and ham,
or tongue, alternately into a pot, press them down, put on the
top liquid butter, and tie over. This may be cut in slices, or
served whole.
Or, the ham or tongue may be put in rough lumps, not to
touch each other, so as to marble the veal.
Minced Veal.—Cut, without chopping, cold veal, very finely;
grate over it a little lemon peel and nutmeg, and season with
pepper and salt; cover the veal with broth, water, or milk,
and simmer gently; thicken with flour rubbed in butter, and
serve in a deep dish, with sippets of toast bread. A spoonful
or two of cream, and a little lemon pickle, are fine additions.
Minced Veal and Oysters.—The most elegant mode of pre-
paring this dish is to mince about a pound of the whitest part
of the inside of a cold roast fillet or loin of veal, to heat it
without allowing it to boil, in a pint of rich white sauce, or
bechamel, and to mix with it at the moment of serving three
dozen of small oysters ready bearded, and plumped in their
own strained liquor, which is also to be added to the mince;
the requisite quantity of salt, cayenne, and mace, should be
sprinkled over the veal before it is put into the sauce. Gar
nish the dish with pale fried sippets of bread, or with fieurons
of brioche, or of puff-paste. Nearly half a pint of mushrooms
minced, and stewed white in a little butter, maybe mixed with
the veal instead of the oysters; or, should they be very small,


VEAL.
151
they may be added to it whole: from ten to twenty minutes
will be sufficient to make them tender. Balls of delicately
fried oyster-forcemeat laid round the dish will give another
good variety of it.
Veal minced, 1 lb.; white sauce, 1 pint; oysters, 3 dozens,
with their liquor; or mushrooms, half pint, stewed in butter
10 to 12 minutes.
Veal Cutlets.—Cutlets should be cut from the fillet, but
chipsare taken from the loin. Some persons have deprecated
the practice of beating meat, but it is essentially necessary in
veal cutlets, which otherwise, especially if merely fried, are
very indigestible. They should be cut about one-quarter or
half an inch in thickness, and well beaten; they will then,
when fried, taste like sweetbreads, be quite as tender, and
nearly as rich. Egg them over, dip in bread crumbs and
savoury herbs, fry, and serve with mushroom sauce and fried
bacon.
Or :—Prepare as above, and fry them; lay them in a dish,
and keep them hot: dredge a little flour, and put a bit of but-
ter into the pan; brown it, then pour a little boiling water into
it, and boil quickly; season with pepper, salt, and catsup, and
pour it over them.
Maintenon Cutlets.—Prepare the cutlets with egg and sea
soning, as above, fold them in buttered writing-paper, and
broil or fry them. Serve in the paper, and with them, in a
bo»t. sauce as above, sauce piquante, or cucumber sauce.
Lamb and mutton cutlets may be dressed as above.
To dress Collnvs quickly.—Cut them as thin as paper with a
very sharp knife, and in small bits. Throw the skin and any
odd bits of the veal, into a little water, with a dust of pepper
and salt; set them on the fire while you beat the collops; and
dip them in a seasoning of herbs, bread, pepper, salt, and a
scrape of nutmeg, but first wet them in egg. Then put »
bit of butter into a frying-pan. and give the collops a very
quick fry; for as they are so thin, 2 minutes will do them on
both sides: put them into a hot dish before the fire; then
strain and thicken the gravy.
Or:—Cut the collops thin; flatten them with a beater: have •


152
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
a large dish, dredge it with flour, and sprinkle a little black
pepper over it: as the collops are flattened, lay them in the
dish; put a piece of butter in a frying-pan, and, when it is melted and hot, lay in the collops; do them quickly; whe»
lightly browned, dish them up, and serve with a mushroom
sauce.
Veal Olives.—Cut long thin slices, beat them, lay them on
thin slices of fat bacon, and over these a layer of forcemeat,
seasoned high with some shred shalot and Cayenne. Roll
them tight, about the size of 2 fingers, but not more than 2 or
3 inches long; fasten them round with a small skewer, rub egg
over them, and fry them of a light brown. Serve with brown
gravy, in which boil some mushrooms, pickled or fresh. Gar-
nish with balls fried.
Veal Olives and Collops.—Lay over each other thin slices of
veal and fat bacon, and upon them a layer of highly-seasoned
forcemeat, with finely shred shalot; roll and skewer them up
tightly, egg and crumb them, and fry them brown. Serve
them with brown gravy, with pickled or fresh mushrooms;
that is, brown mushroom sauce.
Neck of Veal.—Take the best end of a neck of veal, cut off
the ends of the bones, and turn the flap over; saw off the chine
bone, or joint it thoroughly; paper it, and baste it well all the
time it is roasting. Larding the fillet or thick part is a great
improvement. Or, stew it with rice, small onions, and pepper-
corns.
Or:—Take the best end of a small neck; cut the bones
short, but leave it whole; then put it into a stew-pan just cov-
ered with brown gravy; and when it is nearly done, have
ready a pint of boiled peas, 3 or 4 cucumbers, and 2 cabbage-
It ttuccs cut into quarters, all stewed in a little good broth;
put them to the veal, and let them simmer for 10 minutes.
When the veal is in the dish, pour the sauce and vegetables
over it, and lay the lettuce round it. This is an excellent
summer stew.
Neck of Veal a la Braise.—Cut off the ends of the long
bones', and saw off the chine-bones: raise the skin of the fillet,
•»rd it rcry close, and tie it up neatly. Put the scrag end, a


VEAL.
153
little lean bacon or ham, an onion, 2 carrots, 2 heads of celery,
and about a glass of Madeira wine, into a stew-pan. Lay on
them the neck, add a little water, and stew it 2 hours, or till it
is tender, but not too much. Strain off the liquor; mix a little
flour and butter in a stew-pan, till brown; stir some of the
liquor in, and boil it up; skim it nicely, and squeeze orange
or lemon juice into it, and serve with the meat. The bacon
should be browued with a salamander and glazed. It may be
also served with spinach.
Breast of Veal rago&t.— Cut the breast in two, lengthwise, and
divide it into moderately-sized pieces; fry them in butter of a
light brown, and put them into a stew-pan with veal broth or
boiling water to cover the meat, a sprig of marjoram, thyme,
and parsley, tied together, a tea-spoonful of allspice, 2 blades
of mace, 2 onions, the peel of a lemon, and salt and pepper to
season; cover the whole closely, and stew from 1^ to 2 hours;
then strain the gravy, take off the fat, and cover up the veal.
Next put a little butter into a small stew-pan, dredge in flour,
and gradually add the gravy; boil and skim it; add a glass of
white wine, the same of mushroom catsup, and the juice of
half a lemon, or, instead of the two latter, a wine-glass of
lemon pickle: boil it up and serve in a deep dish with the
veal.
Stewed Veal and Peas.—Cut into pieces a breast or a neck of
veal, and stew it 2 hours, with 2 onions, pepper and salt, and
broth or water to cover it; then add 2 quarts of green peas,
and a sprig of mint, and stew half an hour longer: thicken, if
required, with butter and flour. Dish up the peas, and heap
peas in the centre.
Or:—The peas may be stewed separately, thus :—Put a
pint and a half into a stew-pan, with a quarter of a pound of
butter, B few green onions, and sprigs of parsley; cover them with water, and warm; let them stand a few minutes, then
pour off the water, add about an ounce of lean ham; when
done, work in a small piece of butter kneaded with flour; keep
the peas in motion over the fire until done; season with a tea-
spoonful of pounded sugar, and pepper and salt.
To collar a Breast of Veal.—Remove the bones, thick skin,
and gristle, and season the meat with chopped herbs, mace, salt


154
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
and pepper; then lay between the veal, slices of ham, vario
gated with hard yolks of eggs, beet-root, and chopped parsley;
roll the whole up tightly in a cloth, and tie it. Simmer for
some hours, or till tender, in a vpry little water: when done,
lay it on a board with a weight upon it till cold. Then take
off the cloth, and pour the liquor over the veal.
Sweetbreads (Simply dressed). — In whatever way sweet-
breads are dressed, they should first be well soaked in luke-
warm water, then thrown into boiling water to blanch them,
as it is called, and to render them firm. If lifted out after
they have boiled from five to ten minutes, according to their
size, and laid immediately into fresh spring water to cool,
their color will be the better preserved. They may then be
gently stewed for three quarters of an hour in veal gravy,
which, with the usual additions of cream, lemon, and egg-yolks,
may be converted into a fricassee sauce for them when they
are done; or they may be lifted from it, glazed, and served
with good Spanish gravy; or, the glazing being omitted, they
may be sauced with sharp sauce. They may also be simply
floured, and roasted in a Dutch oven, being often basted with
butter, and frequently turned. A full sized sweetbread, after
having been blanched, will require quite three quarters of an
hour to dress it.
Blanched 5 to 10 minutes. Stewed \ hour or more.
Sweetbread Cutlets.—Boil the sweetbreads for half an hour
in water, or veal broth, and when they are perfectly cold, cut
them into slices of equal thickness, brush them with yolks of
egg, and dip them into very fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with
salt, cayenne, grated lemon-rind, and mace; fry them in but
ter of a fine light brown, arrange them in a dish, placing them
high in the centre, and pour underthem a gravy made in the
pan', thickened with mushroom powder, and flavored with
lemon-juice; or, in lieu of thin, sauce them with some rich
brown gravy, to which a glass of sherry or Madeira has been
added.
To Broil a Sweetbread.—Parboil it, rub it w ith butter, and
broil it over a slow fire, turn it frequently, and baste it now
and then, by putting it upon a plate kept warm by the fire
with butter in it.


VEAL.
155
Veal Croquettes- -Pound, in a marble mortar, cold veal and
fowl, with a little suet, some chopped lemon peel, lemon
thyme, chives, and parsley. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and
salt; mix all well together, and add the yolk of an egg well
beaten; roll it into balls, and dip them into an egg beaten up,
then sift bread crumbs over them, and fry them in butter.
French Croquettes of Sweetbread.—Brown in a little butter
and lard 6 sweetbreads; chop them up with a cold tongue
that has been parboiled; mix them well and season with a
little parsley, an onion, pepper and salt if required. Take the
gravy in which the sweetbreads were browned, and when it is
cold, break into it 3 eggs; use this to moisten the mince-
meat; if not enough add a little other gravy. Take 3 more
eggs to roll the croquettes in, with bread crumbs, into the pro-
per shape. Fry them in lard, like fritters; take them up with
a ladle with holes in it.
To take the Hair from a Calf's Head with the skin on.—It is
better to do this before the head is divided; but if only the
half of one with the skin on can be procured, it must be man-
aged in the same way. Put it into plenty of water which is
on the point of simmering, but which does not positively boil,
and let it remain in until it does so, and for five or six minutes
afterwards, but at the first full bubble draw it from the fire
and let it merely scald; then lift it out, and with a knife
that is not sharp scrape off the hair as closely and as quickly as
possible. The butchers have an instrument on purpose for the
operation; but we have had the head look quite as well when
done in the manner we have just described, as when it has been
Bent in ready prepared by them. After the hair is off, the
head should be well washed, and if it cannot be cooked the
same day, it must be wiped extremely dry before it is hung
up; and when it has not been divided, it should be left whole
until the time approaches for dressing it. The brain must then
be taken out, and both that and the head well soaked and
washed with the greatest nicety. When the half head only is
scalded, the brain should first be removed. Calves' feet are
freed from the hair easily in the same manner.


156
MRS. U ALU'S KKW COOK BOOK.
Boiled Calf'sHead.—When the head is dressed with the
skin on, which many persons prefer, the ear must be cut off
quite close to it; it will require three-quarters of an hour or
upwards of additional boiling, and should be served covered
with fried crumbs. In either case, first remove the brain,
wash the head delicately clean, and soak it for a quarter of an
hour; cover it plentifully with cold water, remove the scum as
it rises with great care, throw in a little salt, and boil the head
gently until it is perfectly tender. In the mean time, wash and
soak the brains first in cold and then in warm water, remove
the skin or film, boil them in a small saucepan from fourteen
to sixteen minutes, according to their size, and when they are
done, chop and mix them with eight or ten sage leaves boiled
tender, and finely minced, or, if preferred, with parsley boiled
instead; warm them in a spoonful or two of melted butter, or
white sauce; skin the tongue, trim off the root, and serve it in
a small dish with the brains laid round it. Send the head to
table very hot, with parsley and butter poured over it, and
some more in a tureen. A check of bacon, or very delicate
pickled pork, and greens, are the usual accompaniments to
boiled calf's head.
We have given here the common mode of serving this dish,
by sonic epicures considered the best, and by others, as exceed-
ingly insipid. Tomato sauce sometimes takes the place of the
parsley and butter; and rich oyster or Dutch sauce are varie-
ties often substituted for it.
With the skin on, from two and a quarter to two and three
quarter hours; without the skin, from 1 hour and a quarter to
1 and three quarters, to boil.
To Bake Golfs Head.—Mix pepper, salt, bread-crumbs, and
chopped sage together; rub the head over with butter and put
the seasoning upon it; cut the brains in 4 pieces, and rub them
also in the crumbs, and lay the head in a deep dish with the
brains; put a piece of butter into each eye, with plenty of the
crumbs also, fill the dish nearly full of water, and let it bake
2 hours in a quick oven.
To Roast a Calf's Head.—Wash and clean it well, parboil
it, take out the bones, brains, and tongue ; make forcemeat suf-
ficient for the head, and some balls with bread-crumbs, minced
»uet, parsley, grated ham, and a little pounded veal, or cold


VEAL.
157
fowl; season with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and lemon
peel; bind it with an egg, beaten up, fill the head with it,
which must then be sewed up, or fastened with skewers and
tied. While roasting, baste it well with butter; beat up the
brains with a little cream, the yolk of an egg, some minced
parsley, a little pepper and salt; blanch the tongue,cut it into
slices, and fry it with the brains, forcemeat balls, and thin
slices of bacon. Serve the head with white or brown thickened
gravy, and place the tongue, forcemeat balls, and brains round
it. Garnish with cut lemon. It will require an hour and a
half to roast.
Coifs Head Slew.—Parboil the head the day before you
want it, and keep the water in which it was boiled for gravy.
Cut the meat off the bones the next day in thin slices; fry
these in butter >r lard, seasoning them with cloves, pepper,
salt, sweet marjoram, &C., to your taste. After the slices are
fried brown, take them out, and add to the gravy about 1 pint
of the liquor in which the head was boiled; thicken with a
little brown flour, and put back the slices to stew gently till
dinner-time.
Meanwhile have the brains mashed with seasoning as above,
add the yolks of 2 eggs beaten, thicken in some flour, and
drop them in little pats in the frying pan. Fry them brown
and add them to the dish when you serve it. A glass of wine
added to the stew just before it is done is to some a great im-
provement; or a little lemon juice and catsup.
If your family is small, the residue of the head and the
liquor in which it was boiled will make soup enough for dinner.
For the soup use a small onion, the seasoning above mention-
ed and allspice. Make dumplings the size of marbles, and cut
in quarters 3 or 4 potatoes to boil in it. Calf's head soup
should look black from the seasoning and only semi-transpa-
rent. The tongue may be used for the stew, or the soup.
Calves Brains.—Remove all the large fibres and skin; soak
them in warm water for 4 hours; blanch them for 10 minutes
in boiling water, with a little salt and vinegar in it; then soak
them 3 hours in lemon juice in which a bit of chervil has been
steeped ; dry them well, dip them in batter, and fry them.
Make hot a ladleful of glaze, some extremely small onions
browned in butter, artichoke bottoms divided in half, and some 


158
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
mushroom-buttons, and serve round the brains ', or, after pre
paring as above, serve in a rich white acidulated sauce, with lemon juice or tomato sauce.
Or:—Blanch the brains, and beat them up with an egg,
pepper, and salt, a small quantity of chopped parsley, and a
piece of butter. Make them into small cakes, put them into
a small frying-pan, and fry them.
Or :—Prepare them as above; wet with egg, and sprinkle crumbs, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, and finish dressing
in a Dutch oven. Serve with melted butter, with or without
a little mushroom catsup.
Croquettes of Brains.—Take calf's brains, blanch, and beat
them up with 1 or 2 chopped sage leaves, a little pepper and
salt, a few bread crumbs soaked in milk, and an egg beaten;
roll them into balls, and fry them.
Calf'sFeet and Ears.—Boil them tender, 3 hours will do,
and serve with parsley and butter. Or, having boiled a foot,
split it, roll it in bread crumbs, fry it in butter, and serve in
brown gravy. Calves' ears may also be dressed as above.
Calves' Feet Fricasseed.—Having boiled and split them, as
above, simmer them three-quarters of an hour in veal broth,
with a blade of mace and lemon peel; and thicken the sauce
with flour and butter.
Or:—Soak the feet 3 or 4 hours, and simmer them in milk
and water, until the meat can be taken from the bone in hand-
some pieces; season them with pepper and salt, dip them in
yolk of egg, roll in bread crumbs, fry them light brown, and
Serve in white sauce.
Calf's Kidney.—Chop the kidney, and some of the fat, sea-
son it with pepper and salt, and make it, with egg and bread
crumbs, into balls, which fry in lard or butter; drain upon a
sieve, and serve with fried parsley. Or, the lean of cold veal
may be substituted for the kidney.
Calf'sLiver and Lights.—Half boil them, then mince them,
and add a little of the water in which thev were boiled, with


CHAPTER IX.
MUTTM.
Tc chooseand cookMutton—Roasted Haunch—Saddle—Loin—
Venison Fashion — Shoulder—Leg Braised—Fillet—Breast
— To Collar—Boiled Leg—With Oysters—Minced Mutton—
Stewed—China Chile—Cutlets—A la Maintenon—To broil
—Rolled Boiled Shoulder-—Neck—Horn's Irish Stew—HotcK.
Pntch—Heart—Kidneys, &c.
5. Neck, Scrag End. I
%
To choose Mutton.—The best mutton is small-boned, plump,
finely grained, and short-legged; the lean of a dark, rather
than of a bright hue, and the fat white and clear: when this
is yellow, the meat is rank, and of bad quality. Mutton is
not considered by experienced judges to be in perfection until
it is nearly or quite five years old; but to avoid the additional
expense of feeding the animal so long, it is commonly brought
into the market at three years old. The leg and the loin are
the superior joints; and the preference would probably be
given more frequently to the latter, but for the superabundance
of its fat, which renders it a not very economical dish. The

Bo.
1. Leg.
2. Best End of I,oln.
3. Chump End of Loin.
4. Neck, Best End.
No.
6. Shoulder
7. Brenst.
A Smirile Is the two Lolas.
A Chine, the two Necks. 160


MUTTON.
161
Branch consists of the leg and the part of the loin, adjoining
it; the saddle, of the two loins together, or of the undivided
back of the sheep: these last are always roasted, and are
served usually at good tables, or for company-dinners, instead
of the smaller joints. The shoulder, dressed in the ordinary
way, is not very highly esteemed, but when boned, rolled, and
filled with forcemeat, it is of more presentable appearance,
and, to many tastes, far better eating; though some persons
Iirefer it in its natural form, accompanied by stewed onions,
t is occasionally boiled or stewed, and covered with rich onion
sauce. The neck is sometimes roasted, but it is more gen-
erally boiled; the scrag, or that part of it which joins the
head, is seldom used for any other purpose than making broth,
and should be taken off before the joint is dressed. Cutlets
from the thick end of the loin are commonly preferred to any
others, but they are frequently taken likewise from the best
end of the neck (sometimes called the batk-ribs) and from the
middle of the leg. Mutton kidneys are dressed in various
ways, and are excellent in many. The trotters and the head
of a sheep may be converted into very good dishes, but they
are scarcely worth the trouble which is required to render them
palatable. The loin and the leg are occasionally cured and
smoked like hams or bacon.
The leg spoils sooner than any other joint of mutton; to
prevent which, take out the kernel from the fat, and fill up its
place with salt. The neck will keep well, if the pipe be cut
out from along the chine-bone. Take out the kernel from the
shoulder. Cut the skirt out of the breast. Lamb should be
managed as mutton. Veal and lamb, it may here be observed,
spoil sooner than other meat.
ITaunch of Mutton Roasted.—It will require to be kept for
some time, and must therefore be well washed with vinegar,
wiped every day, and, if necessary, rubbed with pounded pep
per and ginger.
Cut off the knuckle rather close to the joint of the leg; nick
the eranip-bone, and that will allow the cushion or thick part
of the leg to draw up and be more plump; trim off the thick
skin at the Bank, and round off the corner of the fat, so as to
make the joint appear neat. Cover the fat with oiled paper,
which should be taken off quarter of an hour before you think
it will be done; then dredge the meat very lightly with flour,
10


162
MRS. TALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
and sprinkle it freely with salt: serve it up with currant jelly
and a sauce of port wine, spice, and gravy; a piece of fringed
paper being tied neatly around the shank-bone. To roast a
haunch of 14 or 16 lbs. will take from 3 to 3J hours; or even
a little more if the weather be very cold, or 3' required to fit "very well done."
To make it taste like Venison.—Let the haunch hang nearly
the usual time; then take the skin carefully off, and rub the
meat with olive oil, then put it into a pan with a quantity of whole pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, a bundle of sweet herbs,
consisting of parsley, thyme, sweet marjoram, and 2 bay-
leaves. Pour upon the meat a pint of good vinegar and 3 or
4 tablespoonfuls of olive oil. Cover the upper surface of the
meat with slices of raw onion, and turn the mutton every day,
always taking care to put the slices of onion on the top surface.
At the expiration of 4 days, take the meat out, wipe it with
a napkin, and hang it up in a cool place till the next day, when
it is fit for roasting.
A more simple method is to rub it every day, and let it
hang until it is tender. A clove or two of garlic in the knuckle
will, however, give it a much higher flavor, if put into the
knuckle when the haunch is hung up.
To roast a Saddle of Mutton.—A saddle, i. e. the two loins,
being broad, requires a high and strong fire; and, if weighing
11 or 12 pounds, two hours and a half roasting. The skin
should be taken off, and loosely skewered on again; or, if this
be not done, the fat should be covered with paper, tied on with
buttered string. Twenty minutes before the joint is done, take
off the skin or paper, baste, flour, and froth it. Serve with
gravy and jelly, as haunch of mutton.
A saddle of mutton is an elegant joint, when well trimmed
by cutting off the flaps, tail, and chump-end, which will re
.duce a saddle of 11 pounds to 7 pounds' weight.
To Roast a Loin of Mutton.—The flesh of the loin of mut-
ton is superior to that of the leg, when roasted; but to the frugal housekeeper this consideration is usually overbalanced
by the great weight of fat attached to it; this, however, when
economy is more considered than appearance, may be pared
off and melted down for various kitchen uses or finely chopped,


mutton;
163
and substituted for suet in making hot pie or pudding crust.
When thus reduced in size, the mutton will be soon roasted.
If it is to be dressed in the usual way, the butcher should be
desired to take off the skin; care should be taken to preserve
the fat from being ever so slightly burned; it should be
managed, indeed, in the same manner as t' e saddle, in every
respect, and carved also in the same way, that is to say, the
meat should be cut out in slices the whole length of the back-
bone, and close to it.
Without the fat, 1 to 1^ hour; with, 1\ to 1| hour.
To Dress a Loin of Mutton like Venison.—Skin and bone a
loin of mutton, and lay it into a stewpan, or with a pint of
water, a large onion stuck with a dozen cloves, half a pint of
port wine and a spoonful of vinegar; add, when it boils, a
small faggot of thyme and parsley, and some pepper and salt:
let it stew three hours, and turn it often. Make some gravy
of the bones, and add it at intervals to the mutton when re-
quired.
This receipt comes to us so strongly recommended by per-
sons who have partaken frequently of the dish, that we have
not thought it needful to prove it ourselves. 3 hours.
To Roast a Shoulder of Mutton.—Flour it well, and baste it
constantly with its own dripping; do not place it close enough
to the fire for the fat to be in the slightest degree burned, or
even too deeply browned. An hour and a half will roast it,
if it be of moderate size. Stewed onions are often sent to table
with it. A shoulder of mutton is sometimes boiled, and
smothered with onion sauce.
Superior Receipt for Roast Leg of Mutton.—Cover the joint
well with cold water, bring it gradually to boil, and let it sim-
mer gently for half an hour; then lift it out, put it imme-
diately on to the spit, and roast it from an hour and a quartet
to ar. hour and a half, according to its weight. This mode of
dressing the joint renders it remarkably juicy and tender; but
there must be no delay in putting it on the spit after it is
lifted from the water; it may be garnished with roast tomatoes.
Boiled, half an hour; roast, \ to 1^ hcur.
Leg of Mutton Braised.—Take a very small leg of muttoa


164
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
cut off the knuckle, and trim it nicely; half roast it; then put
't into a stewpan with the knuckle-bone broken, the trimmings,
a few slices of fat bacon or 2 oz. of butter, an onion stuck with
cloves, and a bundle of sweet herbs. Shake the stewpan over
the fire until there is gravy enough from the meat and the
trimmings to stew he mutton, and take care to turn it in the
braise. When very tender, take it up, remove the fat from
the gravy, strain it, and boil it quickly until it is reduced to a
glaze; pour it over the mutton, and serve it up with a puree of vegetables beneath.
Fillet of Mutton Roasted.—Cut some inches from either end
of a large leg of mutton, and leave the fillet shaped like one
of veal. Remove the bone, and fill the cavity with forcemeat
made of two cups of bread crumbs and one of butter or minced
suet, a little parsley finely shred, the quarter of a nutmeg
grated, a tea-spoonful of powdered lemon peel, allspice and
salt. Work the whole together with two or three yolks of
eggs, well beaten. It may be flavored with a little minced
onion, if it is liked: more forcemeat may be added by de-
taching the skin on the flap side to admit it. Then the fillet
may be floured and roasted, served with currant-jelly and
brown gravy, or with only melted butter; poured over it; or
it may be stewed gently for nearly or quite four hours, in a
pint of gravy or water, after having been floured and browned
all over in a couple of ounces of butter; it must then be turned
every hour, that it may be equally done. Two or three small
onions, a faggot of herbs, a couple of carrots sliced, four or
five cloves, and twenty whole peppercorns can be added at will.
Boosted 2 hours, or stewed 4 hours.
Breast of Mutton.—The brisket changes first in the breast:
and if it is to be kept, it is best to rub it with a little salt,
should the weather be ht»t.
Cut off the superfluous fat, joint it well, and roast; or to
eat cold, sprinkle it well with chopped parsley while roasting.
Or:—Bone it, take off a good deal of the fat, and cover it
with bread-crumbs, herbs, and seasoning; then roll and boil
till tender: serve with tomato sauce.
Or:—Cut off the fat, and parboil1 it; take out the bones,


MUTTON. 165
and beat the breast flat; season it with pepper and salt;
brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and strew over it
minced parsley and onions mixed with bread crumbs; baste it well with fresh butter, and broil it. Serve with Sauce Robert.
To Collar a Breast of Mutton.—Take out the bone and gristle; then make a forcemeat with bread crumbs, parsley,
and sweet herbs, chopped fine, and seasoned with salt and pep-
per; rub the mutton with yolk of egg, and spread the force-
meat over it, roll it up and tie it tight; and boil 2 hours. If
it be eaten hot, make a gravy of the bones, 2 onions, herbs
and seasoning, strain, thicken it with butter and flour, and add
vinegar and mushroom catsup to flavor; and pour over the
mutton. If to be eaten cold, do not remove the tape till the
mutton is wanted.
Leg of Mutton Boiled.—Let the joint be kept until it is ten-
der, but not so long as for roasting, as mutton for boiling will
not look of a good color if it has hung long.
To prepare a leg of mutton for boiling, trim it as for roast-
ing; soak it for a couple of hours in cold water; then put
>nly water enough to cover it, and let it boil gently for 3 hours
if of the largest size, and, if smaller, according to its weight.
Some cooks boil it in a cloth; but if the water be afterwards
wanted for soup, that should not be done, as it would be no
longer fit for that purpose: some salt and an onion put into it
is far better. When nearly ready, take it from the fire, and,
keeping the pot well covered, let it remain in the steam for 10
or 15 minutes. It is sent to table with caper sauce and mash-
ed turnips.
To stuff a Leg of Mutton.—Take a leg of mutton, cut off all the fat, take the bone carefully out and preserve the skin
whole; take out the meat and mince it fine, and mix and
mince with it about 1 lb. of fat bacon and some parsley; sea-
son the whole well with pepper and salt, and a small quantity
of eschalot or chives chopped fine; then put the meat into the
skin and sew it up neatly on the under side; tie it up in a
cloth and put it into a stew-pan with 2 or 3 slices of veal,
some sliced carrots and onions, a bunch of parsley, and a few


166
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
slices of fat bacon: let it stew for 3 or 4 hours, and drain the
liquor through a fine sieve; when reduced to a glaze, glaze the
mutton with it and serve in stewed French beans.
To dress a Leg of Mutton with Oysters.—Parboil some fine
well-fed oysters, take off the beards and horny parts; put to
them some parsley, minced onion, and sweet herbs, boiled and
chopped fine, and the yolks of 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs. Mix
all together, and cut 5 or 6 holes in the fleshy part of a leg of
mutton, and put in the mixture; and dress it in either of the
following ways :—Tie it up in a cloth and let it boil gently for
two and a half or three hours, according to the size.
Or:—Braise it, and serve with a pungent brown sauce.
Minced Mutton.—Minced dressed meat very.finely, season
it, make a very good gravy, warm the meat up in it, and serve
with fried bread round the dish, or with poached eggs.
To Stew a Shoulder of Mutton.—Bone a shoulder of mutton
with a sharp knife, and fill the space with the following stuff:ing :—grated bread, minced suet, parsley, pepper, salt, and
nutmeg; bind with the yolks of 2 eggs well beaten. Sew or
fasten it with small skewers; brown it in a frying-pan with a
bit of butter. Break the bone, put it into a sauce-pan, with
some water, an onion, pepper, salt, and a bunch of parsley;
let it stew till the strength be extracted; strain, and thicken
it with butter rolled in flour; put it, with the mutton, and a
glass of port wine, into the sauce-pan; cover it closely, and
let ,t stew gently for two hours. Before serving, add two
tablsspoonfuls of mushroom catsup. Garnish with pickles.
Or with Oysters.—Hang it some days, then salt it well for
two days; bone it, and sprinkle it with pepper and a bit of
mace pounded; lay some oysters over it, and roll the meat
up tight and tie it; stew it in a small quantity of water, with
an onion and a few peppercorns, till quite tender.
Have ready a little good gravy, and some oysters stewed in it, thickened with flour and butter. Take off the tape: pour the gravy over the mutton.
To Stew Mutton.—Cut some slices rather thick out of any
part of mutton; put them into a stew-pan with some pepper 


ii arrow.
167
and salt, an onion or two, a sliced carrot, and a little eschalot;
cover the steaks with broth, and let them stew from twenty
minutes to half an hour, but no longer, or they will become hard; cover the stew-pan close, and when the steaks are about
half done, turn them. Before serving, add a little butter
rolled in flour, add a spoonful or two of mushroom catsup.
Or:—Cut some slices from an underdone leg of mutton,
and put them into a sauce-pan to simmer with half a pint of
good gravy, a teaspoonful of white sugar pounded, a small
quantity of onion minced, a teacupful of port wine, some pep-
per and salt, and two or three cloves. This dish should not
be allowed to simmer more than five or six minutes.
A Camp Dish.—Take any joint of mutton, put it into a pot
with a good many onions cut small, and as many vegetables
as can be obtained to add to it; 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 5
of port wine; season it with black and red pepper; add a
spoonful of flour, and, if at hand, 4 dessert-spoonfuls of Har-
vey's sauce and essence of anchovies. Cover the meat with
water, and let it stew one hour and a half; it should be stirred
frequently to prevent it from burning, as there should be only
water sufficient to cook it.
China Chilo.—Mince a pound of an undressed loin or leg
of mutton, with or without a portion of its fat, mix with it
two or three young lettuces shred small, a pint of young peas,
a teaspoonful of salt, half as much pepper, four tablespoonsfu!
of water, from two to three ounces of good butter, and, if the
flavor be liked, a few green onions minced. Keep the wholo
well stirred with a fork, over a clear and gentle fire until it
Is quite hot, then place it closely covered by the side of the
stove, or on a high trevet, that it may stew as softly as possi-
ble for a couple of hours. One or even two half-grown <>»-
cumbers, cut small by scoring the ends deeply as they are
sliced, or a quarter-pint of minced mushrooms may be added
with good effect; or a dessert-spoonful of currie-powder and
a large chopped onion. A dish of boiled rice should be sent
to table with it.
Mutton Cutlets—Cut the best end of a neck of mutton into
cutlets half an inch thick, and chop each bone short; flutU'U


MUTIOJf.
1C9
pan, and fry the chops a little; then take out the chops; allow
them to cool : add to the herbs some fresh parsley chopped and a few crumbs of bread, and seasoning; spread this over
the cutlets with a knife, wrap them in buttered paper, and
broil them over a slow fire. Serve a sauce piquant in a boat.
Or:—Cut them handsomely from the loin or back end of
the neck; half fry them, and then cover them with herbs,
crumbs of bread, and seasoning; lay this on very thickly and
put them into a stewpan with a little gravy; stew until ten-
der, then wrap them in writing-paper, and finish them on the
gridiron.
To broil Mutton Cutlets {Entree).—These may be taken from
the loin, or the best end of the neck, but the former are gene-
rally preferred. Trim off a portion of the fat, or the whole of
it, unless it be liked; pepper the outlets, heat the gridiron, rub
it with a bit of the mutton suet, broil them over a brisk fire,
and turn them often until they are done: this, for the generality
of eaters, will be in about 8 minutes if they are not more than
half an inch thick, which they should not be. French cooks
season them with pepper and salt, and give them a light coat-
ing of dissolved butter or of oil, before they are laid to the
fire, and we have found the cutlets so managed extremely
good.
Lightly broiled, seven or eight minutes. Well done, ten
minutes.
Ohs.—A cold Maitre d'Hotel sauce may be laid under the
cutlets when they are dished; or they may be served quite
dry, or with brown gravy; or when none is at hand, with good
melted butter seasoned with mushroom catsup, Cayenne, and
Chili vinegar, or lemon juice.
Mutton Cutlets stexoed in their own Gravy.—Trim the fat entirely from some cutlets taken from the loin; just dip them
into cold water, dredge them moderately with pepper, and
plentifully on both sides with flour; rinse a thick iron sauce
pan with spring-water, and leave a couple of table-spoonsful in
it; arrange the cutlets in one flat layer, if it can be done con
veniently, and place them over a very gentle fire; throw in a
little salt when they begin to stew, and let them simmer as
ptftly as pwible, but without ceasing, from an hour and a quar


176
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
ter to an hour and a half. If dressed with great care, which
they require, they will be equally tender, easy of digestion,
and nutritious; and being at the same time free from every
thing which can disagree with the most delicate stomach, the
receipt will be found a valuable one for invalids. The mutton
should be of good quality, but the excellence of the dish
mainly depends on its being most gently stewed; for if allowed
to boil quickly all the gravy will be dried up, and the meat
will be unfit for table. The cutlets must be turned when they
are half done: a couple of spoonsful of water or gravy may
be added to them should they not yield sufficient moisture, but
this is rarely needful. From one hour and a quarter to one
hour and three-quarters.
Mutton Chops.—Cut the chops off a loin or the best end of
a neck of mutton; pare off the fat, dip them in a beaten egg
and strew over them grated bread, seasoned with salt and
finely-minced parsley; then fry them in a little butter, and
make a gravy, or broil them over coals, and butter them in a
hot dish. Garnish them with fried parsley. Rolled Mutton.—Bone a shoulder of mutton carefully, so as
not to injure the skin, cut all the meat from the skin, mince it
small, and season it highly with pepper, nutmeg, and a clove,
some parsley, lemon thyme, sweet marjoram chopped, and a
pounded onion, all well mixed, together with a well-beaten
yolk of an egg; roll it up very tightly in the skin, tie it round,
and bake it in an oven two or three hours, according to the
size of the mutton. Make a gravy of the bones and parings,
season with an onion, pepper and salt, strain and thicken it
with flour and butter; add of vinegar, mushroom catsup, soy,
and lemon pickle, a table-spoonful of each, and a tea-cupful
of poi t wine; garnish with forcemeat balls, made of grated
bi ead, and part of the mince.
Shoulder of Mutton, Salted and Boiled.—Bone a shoulder of
mutton. if large take 4 oz. of common salt, the same quantity
of coarse sugar, mixed with a dessert-spoonful of pounded
cloves, half that quantity of pepper, a little pounded mace and
ginger; rub them well into the mutton, turning it every day for a week; then roll it up tight, and boil it gently for 3 or 4
hours in a quart of water, with a carrot, turnip, onion, and a


MUTTOH.
in
bunch of sweet herbs Serve it with some of its own gravy,
thickened and highly flavored, or with any piquant sauce; ....
served up smothered with onions. This is very convenient to
families who kill their own mutton. Captains of ships are re-
commended, when they have fresh mutton, to tow it over
board for some hours, and then lay it up in the shrouds. It
will then be coated with briny particles which will effectually
keep in all the juices.
Neck of Mutton.—Is particularly useful, as many dishes may
be made of it. The best end of the neck may be boiled for \
hour, and served with turnips; or roasted; dressed in steaks;
in pies; a-la-Turc; or en haricot.
The scrag may be stewed into broth; or with a small quan
tity of water, some small onions, a few peppercorns, and a
little rice, and served together.
When a neck is to be boiled to look particularly nice, saw
down the chine-bone, strip the ribs half-way down, chop off
the ends of the bones about 4 inches, and turn the flap under.
The skin should not be taken off till boiled, and then the fat
will remain white. The neck is very commonly divided, the
"scrag" being boiled for broth, and the remaining part either
roasted or cut into chops; but, if boiled together, the scrag
will require rather more stewing than the other part to make
it tender. If only slightly salted, for 2 or 3 days, the fat will
be so much improved as to become firm and appear clarified;
and the mode which we recommend for dressing the joint is
thus:—
Boil the neck very gently until it is nearly done enough;
then, 1 an hour or 20 minutes before serving, cover it thickly
with bread-crumbs and sweet herbs chopped, with a little
drawn butter or the yolk of an egg, and put it into a Dutch
oven before the fire. By this process the meat will taste much
better than if merely roasted or boiled; the dryness attendant
upon roasting will be removed, and the disagreeable greasi-
ness which boiled meat—mutton especially—exhibits, will
utterly disappear. Too much cannot be said in favor of this
method of dressing the neck and breast of mutton, for the
liquor they have been boiled in, if stewed with peas, will make
a very good soup.
To Ifarrico a Neck of Mutton.—Roast it till nearly done,


172
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
then cut it into cutlets, and stew it in a well-seasoned gravy,
adding, cut like straws an inch long, the red part of two or
three carrots and some turnips.
Irish Stew.—Take two pounds of neck or loin chops; peel
and slice two pounds of potatoes, and half a pound of large
onions; first put into a stewpan a layer of potatoes, then chops
and onions, and so on, till full, sprinkling pepper and salt upon
each layer; then pour in cold water or broth, cover the pan,
and stew over a very slow fire for an hour and a half, or until
the meat be done. Before serving, add two table-spoonsful of
mushroom catsup.
Hotchpotch.—Stew peas, onions and carrots, in a very little
water, with a beef or ham bone. In the meantime, fry mutton
or lamb chops, lean, of a nice brown; then stew them with
the vegetables for about half an hour. Serve all together in a
tureen.
Hotch-potch may also be made with any two sorts of meat,
stewed with vegetables, as above; to which may be added
rice, and thickening of butter and flour.
Sheep's Tongues.—Boil them till the skin can be taken off;
split them, and put them into a stewpan, with some gravy,
parsley, mushrooms, and a minced shalot, and some butter,
pepper, and salt; stew till tender, and strain the gravy over
them: or they may be glazed, and served with the gravy
under them.
Sheep's tongues may also be skinned, larded, braised, and
glazed: and served with onion sauce.
Sheep's Heart.—Take a Sheep's Heart and stuff it through-
out, using a considerable quantity of chopped bacon in the
stuffing; half boil it, and when cooled a little rub it over with
pepper and salt, and wrap it in paste in the shape of a cone.
Rub the paste over with the yolk of an egg, and strew vermi-
celli loosely over it. Set it with the broad end downwards
and bake it in the oven. When baked, send it to table with
gravy sauce.
Sheep's Kidneys Broiled.—Wash and dry some nice kidneys,
cut them in half, and with a small skewer keep them open in


MUTTON.
r,3
imitation of two shells, season them with salt and pepper, and
dip them into a little fresh melted butter. Broil first the side
that is cut, and be careful not to let the gravy drop in taking
them off the gridiron. Serve them in a hot dish, with finely chopped parsley mixed with melted butter, the juice of a lemon,
pepper and salt, putting a little upon each kidney.
This is an excellent breakfast for a sportsman.
Sheep's Trotters.—Boil the trotters, or rather stew them
gently, for several hours, until the bones will come out. The
liquor they are boiled in will make excellent stock or jelly.
Take out the bones without injury to the skin, stuff them with
fine forcemeat; stew them for half an hour in some of the
stock, which must be well flavored with onion, seasoning, and
a little sauce; take out the trotters, strain the sauce, reduce it
to a glaze, and brush it over the feet. Serve with any stewed
vegetable.
Or:—Prepare them in the same way, and dip them in a
batter and fry them. The paste, or batter, for frying, is best
made thus: mix 4 spoonsful of flour with 1 of olive-oil, and a
sufficient quantity of beer to make it of the proper thickness;
then add the whites of 2 eggs well beaten and a little salt.
Serve with tomato-sauce.
Or:—Simply boil them, and eat I hem cold with oil and
vinegar.
To send a Leg of Mutton neatly to Table which has been cut
for a previous Meal.—Too much must not have been cut
from the joint, or it will not answer the purpose. Bone it,
cut the meat as a fillet, lay forcemeat inside, roll it, and lay
it in a stew-pan with sufficient water to cover it; add various
kinds of vegetables, onions, turnips, carrots, parsley, &C., in
small quantities; stew two hours; thicken the gravy; serve the
fillets with the vegetables round it


CHAPTER X.
LAMB.
To choose and cook Lamb—Saddle, Roasted—To bone Lamb—
To stew—Breast, Loin, Shoulder grilled—To boil a Leg,
Neck, or Breast—Lamb s Head—Lamb Chops—Blanquette
d' Agneau—Sweetbread—Fry.

Lamb is a delicate and tender meat; but it requires to be
kept a few days, when the weather will permit—and should
be thoroughly cooked to be healthful. Never take lamb c
veal from the spit till the gravy that drops is white.
The fore-quarter of lamb consists of the shoulder, the neck,
and the breast together; the hind-quarter is the leg and loin.
There are also the head and pluck, the fry, sweetbreads, skirts,
and liver.
In choosing the fore-quarter, the vein in the neck should be
ruddy, or of a bluish color. In the hind-quarter, the knuckle
should feel stiff, the kidney small, and perfectly fresh. To


LAMB.
175
Keep it, the joints should be carefully wiped every day, and in
warm weather, sprinkled with a little salt.
The fore quarter is the prime joint, and, if weighing 10 lbs.,
will require about two hours roasting. In serving, remove the shoulder from the ribs, put between them a lump of butter,
sprinkle with pepper and salt, lemon or Seville orange juice;
and when the butter is melted, take off the shoulder, and put
it into another dish. A hind-quarter, of 8 lbs., will require
fr om one hour and three-quarters to two hours roasting.
A leg of lamb, of 6 lbs., will require an hour and a half
roasting.
A shoulder of lamb, an hour.
Ribs, from an hour to an hour and a quarter.
Loin, of 4 lbs., an hour.
Neok, of 3 lbs, three-quarters of an hour.
Breast, three-quarters of an hour.
The gravy for lamb is made as for beef and mutton: it is
served with mint sauce; and a joint, to be eaten cold, should
be sprinkled with chopped parsley when taken up.
To Roast Lamb.—The hind quarter of lamb usually weighs
from 7 to 10 pounds: this size will take about two hours to
roast it. Have a brisk fire.
It must be very frequently basted while roasting, and
sprinkled with a little salt, and dredged all over with flour,
about half an hour before it is done.
Fore Quarter of Lamb.—A fore quarter of lamb is cooked
the same way, but takes rather less time, if the same weight,
than the hind quarter; because it is a thinner joint: one of
nine pounds ought to be allowed two hours.
Leg of Lamb.—A leg of lamb of four pounds' weight will
take about an hour and a quarter; if five pounds, nearly on«
hour and a half; a shoulder of four pounds, will be roasted in
an hour, or a very few minutes over.
Ribs of Lamb.—Eibs of lamb are thin, and require great
care to do gently at first, and brisker as it is finishing;
sprinkle it with a little salt, and dredge it slightly with flour,
about twenty minutes before it is done. It will take an hour 


MRS. HALM'S NEW COOK BOOK.
or longer, according to thickness. Gravy for this and other
joints of roast lamb, is made as directed elsewhere.
Loin, Kcck, and Breast of Lamb.—A loin of lamb will be
roasted in about an hour and a quarter; a nuck in an hour;
and a breast in three quarters of an hour. Do not forget to
salt and flour these joints about twenty minutes before they
are done.
Garnish and Vegetables for Roast Lamb.—All joints of roast
lamb may be garnished with double parsley, and served up
with either asparagus and new potatoes, spring spinach and
new potatoes, green peas and new potatoes, or with cauli-
flowers or French beans and potatoes: and never forget to
send up mint sauce.
Obs.—The following will be found an excellent receipt for
mint sauce- With 3 heaped tablespoonsful of finely-chopped
young mint, mix 2 of pounded and sifted sugar, and 6 of the
best vinegar: stir it until the sugar is dissolved.
To bone a quarter of Lamb.—Take the fore quarter, remove
the shoulder, and take out the bone; stuff it with fine force-
meat, and skewer it in a handsome shape. Braise it with 2
oz. of butter, add a teacupful of water, stirring the braise until
the gravy is drawn. Then cut the brisket into pieces, and
stew them in white gravy; thicken it with cream and eggs so
that it shall be very white; cut the long bones into chops and
fry them; thicken the gravy of the braise, add to it haricots,
minced truffles, or anything else of vegetable in season. Place
the shoulder in the centre of a dish with its own sauce, lay the
brisket covered with white sauce round it, and place the fried
chops at the edge.
To Stew Lamb.—A quarter of lamb may be stewed by putting
tt into a stew-pan with a little oil, parsley, chives, and mush-
rooms, together with some slices of bacon. Let it stew gently
in any kind of broth, and when thoroughly done take it out,
strain the gravy, and serve the joint along with the mush-
rooms only To be well done it will require 4 hours in stewing


LAMB.
m
For a Breast of Lamb.—Cut off the thin ends, half boil, then
strew with crumbs of bread, pepper and salt, and serve in a
dish of stewed mushrooms.
Cut a Loin of Lamb into steaks, pare off the skin and part
of the fat, fry it in butter a pale brown, pour away the fat, and
put in boiling water enough to cover the meat, a little pepper
and salt, a little nutmeg, half a pint of green peas, cover it
down, and let it stew gently for half an hour.
To stewa Breast of Lamb.—Cut it into pieces, season them
with pepper and salt, and stew them in weak gravy: when
tender, thicken the sauce, and add a glass of white wine.
Cucumbers, sliced and stewed in gravy, may be served with
the lamb, the same being poured over it. Or, the lamb may
be served in a dish of stewed mushrooms.
To Grill a Shoulder of Lamb.—Half-boil it, score it, and
cover it with egg, crumbs, and parsley, seasoned as for cutlets.
Broil it over a very clear, slow fire, or put it in a Dutch oven
to brown it: serve with any sauce that is liked. A breast of
lamb is often grilled in the same way.
To boil a Leg of Lamb.—This is considered a delicate joint
in the very first families. It should be put into a pot with
cold water just enough to cover it, and very carefully skimmed
so long as the least appearance of scum rises.
This joint should not be suffered to boil fast, for on its being
gently boiled depends all its goodness, and the delicate white
appearance it should have when served up.
A leg of four or five pounds weight, will take about one
hour and a half, reckoning from the time it comes to a boil.
A boiled leg of lamb may be served up with either green
peas, or cauliflower, or young French beans, asparagus, or spinach, and potatoes, which for lamb should always be of a
•wall size.
Parsley and butter for the joint, and plain melted butter for
the vegetables, are the proper sauces for boiled lamb.
To boil a Neck or Breast of Lamb.—Those are small delicate
joints, and therefore suited only for a very small family. Tim
neck must be washed in warm water, and all the blood came fully cleaned away.


178
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Either of these joints, should be put into cold water, well
skimmed, and very gently boiled till done. Half an hour
will be about sufficient for either of them, reckoning from the
time they come to a boil.
To dress LamVs Head.—Take care that the butcher chops
it well through, and cuts out all the nostril bones: when you
cook it, take out the brains, lay them into a basin of cold
water, and well clean the head in water just milk warm.
When thus cleaned, tie the head up in a sweet clean cloth,
and put it into a pot with just enough cold water to cover it.
Let it come to a boil very gradually, and take care to remove
all the scum as fast as it rises.
It will take about one hour very gentle boiling.
A quarter of an hour before the head is done, pick off the
thin black skin from among the brains, wash them clean, tie
them up with one or two clean sage leaves in a piece of mus-
lin rag, and let them boil ten minutes.
Then take up the head, just cut out the tongue, skin it, and
return it to the head, keeping both warm in the hot cloth and
hot water they were boiled in. .
Next take up the brains, throw away the sage leaves, and
chop up the brains, mixing among them one tablespoonful of
parsley and butter, and a small pinch of salt; just give them
a gentle warm up in the butter sauce-pan, taking great care, they do not boil; lay them round the tongue in a small warm
dish, and the head in another dish larger and warm.
A sheep's head may be dressed in the same way.
Lamb-chops.—Take a loin of lamb, cut chops from it half an
inch thick, retaining the kidney in its place; dip them into egg
and bread-crumbs, fry and serve with fried parsley.
When chops are made from a breast of lamb, the red bone at the edge of the breast should be cut off, and the breast par-
boiled in water or broth, with a sliced carrot and 2 or 3
onions, before it is divided into cutlets, which is done by
cutting between every second or third bone, and preparing
them, in every respect, as the last.
If Jwuse-lamb steaks are to be done white—stew them in milk
and water till very tender, with a bit of lemon-peel, a little
salt, some pepper and mace. Have ready some veal-gravy,
and put the steaks into it; mix some mushroom-powder, a cup


LAMB.
119
of cream, and the least bit of flour; shake the steaks in this
liquor, stir it, and let it get quite hot, but not boil. Just be-
fore you take it up, put in a few white mushrooms.
If brown—season them with pepper, salt, . nutmeg, grated
lemon-peel, and chopped parsley; but dip them first into egg:
fry them quickly. Thicken some gravy with a bit of flour
tad butter, and add to it a spoonful of port wine.
Blanquette d'Agneau. White Fricassee of Lamb.—Cut the
best part of the breast of small lamb into square pieces of 2
inches each: wash, dry, and flour them. Having boiled 4 oz.
of butter, 1 of fat bacon, and some parsley, 10 minutes, put
the meat to it: add the juice of half a lemon, an onion cut
small, pepper and salt. Simmer it 2 hours; then add the
yolks of 2 eggs, shake the pan over the fire 2 minutes, and serve.
Lamb Dressed with Rice.—Half roast a small fore quarter,
cut it into steaks; season them with a little salt and pepper;
lay them into a dish, and pour in a little water. Boil a pound
of rice with a blade or two of mace; strain it, and stir in a
good piece of fresh butter, and a little salt, add also the greater
part of the yolk of four eggs beaten; cover the lamb with the
rice, and with a feather put over it the remainder of the beaten
eggs. Bake it in an oven till it has acquired a light brown color.
Lamb's Sweetbreads.—Blanch them, and put them into cold
water. Then put them into a stewpan, with a ladleful of broth,
some pepper and salt, a small bunch of button onions, and a
blade of mace: stir in a bit of butter and flour, and stew
half an hour. Have ready the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs well beaten
in cream, with a little minced parsley and a few grates of nut-
meg. Put in some boiled asparagus-tops to the other things.
Do not let it boil after the cream is in; but make it hot, and
stir it well all the time. Take great care it does not curdle.
I'leneh beans or peas may bo added, but they should be very
young.
Lamb's Fry.—This is the sweetbreads, skirts, and a portion
of the liver. Flour, and season it, and fry plain; or, dip the
fry in egg, and strew crumbs over it before frying: serve fried
parsley with it. and either of the sauces directed for cutlets.
Pork and venison fries are similarly dressed.


CHAPTER XI.
VENISON.
To Choose arM Cook—Haunch of Venison Roasted—Neck and
Shoulder—Venison Steaks—To Stew Venison.
Buck and Doe Venison are cut up nearly like mutton. The
joints are,—

The fat should be clear, bright, and thick; and if the cleft
of the haunch be smooth and close, it is young; but if the


VENISON.
181
cleft is close and tough, it is old. To judge of its sweetness,
run a very sharp narrow knife into the shoulder or haunch, and you will know by the scent. Few people like it when it has
much of the haut-gout; but it bears keeping better than any
sort of meat, and if eaten fresh killed it is not so good as mut-
ton. Observe the neck of a fore-quarter; if the vein be bluish,
it is fresh; if it have a green or yellow cast, it is stale. In the
hind-quarter, if there is a faint smell under the kidney, and the
knuckle is limp, the meat is stale. If the eyes be sunk, the
head is not fresh. The haunch is the finest joint. The kernel
in the fat, as in the leg of mutton, should be taken out; the
part should then be wiped dry, and ground pepper and ginger
rubbed on the inside, to keep the flies from it. The neck is
the next best joint, and merely requires wiping dry with a
clean cloth. The shoulder and breast are mostly used in two
or three days for pasties; but sometimes the shoulder is
roasted as the haunch.
To Roast a Haunch of Venison.—Cut off the knuckle, trim
the flap, and remove the thick skin on the flank; nick the joint
at the cramp-bone. Spit it, rub it over with butter, sprinkle
well with salt, cover it with a sheet of very thin paper, then
with a paste of flour and water, and again with paper; tie it up
well with a stout string laced across it; baste it all the time it
is roasting. Let it cook about 4 or 5 hours. A quarter of an
hour before serving it, remove the paste, throw a handful of
salt on it, dredge it with flour and baste with a little fresh
butter.
The gravy should be made as follows: cut two or three
pounds of the scrag, or the lean of a loin of old mutton, brown
it on a gridiron, and put it into a saucepan with a quart of wa-
ter; cover it closely, and simmer for an hour; then uncover
it, and stew the gravy to a pint; season only with salt, and
color brown, and strain.
Another, but much more expensive gravy, is made with a pint of port wine, a pint of strong mutton gravy, as above, and
a table-spoonful of currant jelly; let these merely boil up. Or
much less wine and more jelly may be used. Seasoned beef
gravy is sometimes preferred to mutton gravy.
If the plain gravy only is chosen, cold currant jelly should
be served in a side dish, or boat. Vegetables—French beans
and potatoes.


1S2
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Venison should be served in a metal dish, with a lamp be-
neath it, else it will soon grow cold.
Neck and Shoulder of Venison.—Roast, as the haunch, but
with the paste laid on thinner, from two to three hours; and
serve as the haunch. A neck is best spitted by putting three
skewers through it, and then passing the spit between the
skewers and the bones: the top of the ribs should be cut
out, and the flap doubled under, as in a neck of mutton for
boiling.
Breast of venison may be dressed as above, or baked with
mutton gravy, and, when cold, cut up and made into pasty.
Venison, like all wild meats, requires less cooking than
tame.
Venison Steaks.—Cut them from the neck; season them with
pepper and salt. Heat the gridiron well over a bed of brigh*
coals, and grease the bars; lay the steaks on it; broil them
well, turning them once, and save as much of the gravy as
possible. Serve them with some currant jelly laid on each
steak.
To Stew cold Venison.—Cut the meat in small slices, and
put the trimmings and bones into a saucepan, with barely
enough water to cover them. Let them stew 2 hours. Strain
the liquor in a stew-pan; add to it some bits of butter rolled
in flour, and whatever gravy was left of the venison. Stir in
some currant jelly, and let it boil half an hour. Then put in
the meat, and keep it over the fire long enough to heat it
tb roughj but do not let it boil.
A Wet Devil.—Take any part of a turkey, goose, or fowl;
cover it with mustard, Chetney, diavolo paste, or any other
combustible; put a dessert-spoonful of Cayenne pepper, one
of pounded white sugar, the juice of a lemon, a glass of wine,
and a glass of ketchup, to a tea-cupful of gravy. Heat them
together with the deviled fowl, and send up very hot.
N. B. A little cold fresh b:	terwill cool the mouth, should
the devil prove too powerful.


CHAPTER XII.
PORK.
General Directions—Lard—To roast Pork—Sauce for the Roast
—Loin—Head —Shoulder— Chine—Spare-rib—Pork Cut-
lets—Steaks—Pork Cheese—Pork and Beans—To boil Pork
—To cook Pig—Hams—Bacon—Sausages, dec.

1. The Spare Rib, I 4. Fore Loin,
9. Hnnd, 5. Hind Loin,
3. Belly, or Spring, I 6. Leg.
To choose Pork.—This meat is so proverbially, and we be-
lieve even dangerously unwholesome when ill fed, or in any
degree diseased, that its quality should be closely examined
before it is purchased. When not home-fatted, it should be
bought, if possible, of some respectable farmer, or miller, un-
less the butcher who supplies it can be perfectly relied on.
Both the fat and lean should be very white, and the latter finely
grained; the rind should be thin, smooth, and cool to the
touch; if it be clammy, the pork is stale, and should be at
once rejected; it ought also to be scrupulously avoided when
the fat, instead of being quite clear of all blemish, is full of
small kernels, which are indicative of disease.
The manner of cutting up the pork varies in different coun-
ties, and also according to the purposes for which it is in-
tended. The legs are either made into hams, or slightly salted
183


184
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
for a few days and boiled; they are also sometimes roasted
when the pork is not large nor coarse, with a savory forcemeat
inserted between the skin and flesh of the knuckle.
The part of the shoulder called the hand, is also occasion-
ally pickled in the same way as hams and bacon, or it may
be salted and boiled, but it is too sinewy for roasting. After
these and the head have been taken off, the remainder, without
further division than being split down the back, may be con-
verted into whole sides or Jlilches, as they are usually called,
of bacon; but when the meat is large, and required in part for
various other purposes, a chine may be taken out, and the fat
pared off the bones of the ribs and loins for bacon; the thin
part of the body converted into pickled pork, and the ribs and
other bones roasted, or made into pies or sausages. The feet,
which are generally salted down for immediate use, are excel-
lent if laid for two or three weeks into the same pickle as the
hams, then well covered with cold water, and slowly boiled
until tender.
The loins of young and delicate pork are roasted with
the skin on; and this is scored in regular stripes of about a
quarter of an inch wide with the point of a sharp knife, before
the joints are laid to the fire. The skin of the leg also is just
cut through in the same manner. This is done to prevent its blistering, and to render it more easy to carve, as the skin (or
crackling) becomes so crisp and hard in the cooking, that it is
otherwise sometimes difficult to divide it.
To be at any time fit for table, pork must be perfectly sweet,
and thoroughly cooked; great attention also should be given
to it when it is in pickle, for if any part of it be long exposed
to the air, without being turned into, or well and frequently
basted with the brine, it will often become tainted during the
process of curing it.
To Melt lard.—Strip the skin from the inside fat of a freshly
killed and well-fed pig; slice it small and thin; put it into a
new or well-scalded jar, set it into a pan of boiling water, and
let it simmer over a clear fire. As it dissolves, strain it into
small stone jars, or deep earthen pans, and when perfectly cold,
tie over it the skin that was cleared from the lard, or bladders
which have been thoroughly washed and wiped very dry. Lard,
thus prepared is extremely pure in flavor, and keeps perfectly well, if stored in a cool place; it mav be used with advantage


186
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
well mixed pour to them a quarter of a pint of thin melted
butter, or is much gravy, and let the sauce simmer a few
minutes, stirring it all the time, and serve it up hot in a sauce
tureen.
To make Applesauce.—Pare, quarter, and core five or six
large apples into a saucepan, with three table-spoonsful of
water, cover the saucepan close, and place it over a slow fire
two hours before you want the sauce. When the apples are
done quite soft, pour off the water, and beat them up with a
piece of butter the size of a nutmeg, and a dessert-spoonful of
powdered lump-sugar. The apples must be tried while they
are stewing, to know when they are quite soft; for some kinds
of apples will take a longer time than others. Some persons
use moist sugar.
The Spring, or Fore-loin of Pork.—Cut out the bone, and,
in its place, put a stuffing of sage and onion, made as directed
for roast pork. Skewer it in the joint; nang it down to a
moderate fire, and allow it about twenty minutes to a pound;
but you must give a little more or less time, according to its
thickness, more than to its weight: only do it slowly till rather
more than half done; and finish it off with a brisker fire.
Serve it up with potatoes and apple sauce; same as the leg.
Loin and Neck of Fork.—Simmer the best end of either of
the joints till nearly fit for the table, strip off the skin, put it
into a cradle-spit, wet it all over with yolks of eggs, and cover
it thickly with crumbs of bread, sweet herbs and chives chopped
fine for stuffing, and seasoned with pepper and salt. It will
get a good brown in about half an hour.
Either of them may also be rolled.—Bone it: put a force-
meat of chopped sage, a very few crumbs of bread, salt, pep-
per, and two or three berries of allspice, over the inside; then
•-oil the meat as tight as you can, and roast it slowly, and at a
good distance at first from the fire.
To parboil it before the herbs are put on will be an improve-
ment.
A hand of pork may likewise be boned, stuffed, rolled, and
roasted, as ab< ve.


PORK.
187
To roast 2Porker's Head.—Clean it, and take out the eyes
and snout; stuff it with sage and bread crumbs, seasoned, sew
it up firmly, and roast it before a quick fire, or bake it.
Pig's head may be stuffed as above, or with onions, and
baked.
Belly of Pork.—Livers of pork are very fond of having the belly part of a porker, either fresh or salted, strewed thickly
over the inside with sage, sweet herbs, and minced eschalots,
then rolled, tied tightly together, and either baked or roasted.
Shoulders and Breasts of Pork.—Put them into pickle, or
salt the shoulder as a ham; cut accordingly. When very nice,
they may be roasted.
Chine of Pork.—The chine is more usually salted, and served
as an accompaniment to roast turkey. Salt the chine for three
days, roast it, and serve it up with sauce made thus: Fry in
oil or butter two or three sliced onions until they take color;
then pour off the oil, and add some gravy-sauce, chopped mush-
rooms, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, with one teaspoon-
ful of made mustard. Give the whole a boil, and serve it up
in the dish.
To roast a Spare-rib of Pork.—A spare-rib of 8 or 9 lbs.
weight will require from 2 to 3 hours roasting; though the
time depends more upon the thickness than the weight: if it
be very thin, it will be done in half the above time. On put-
ting it down, baste it with a little butter; and, about 20 min-
utes before it is done, dry a few sage leaves, rub them to pow-
der, mix salt and pepper with them, and sprinkle over the
pork.
The griskin may be roasted as above: if of 7 or 8 lbs. weight,
it will require an hour and a half.
To broil or fry Pork Cutlets.—Cut them about half an inch
thick from a delicate loin of pork, trim them into neat form,
and take off part of the fat, or the whole of it when it is not
liked; dredge a little pepper or Cayenne upon them, and broil
them over a clear and moderate fire from 15 to 18 minutes,
sprinkle a little fine salt upon them just before they are dished.
They may be dipped into egg and then into bread crumbs


188
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
mixed with minced sage, then finished in the usual way. When
frie J, flour them well, and season them with salt and pepper first.
Serve them with gravy made in the pan, or with sauce Robert
Pork Cutlets and Tomato Sauce.—Cut the bone out of pork
chops, and trim off part of the fat, fry them delicately, and
drain them; then simmer them a few minutes in a stew-pan
with tomato sauce, made as follows :—Chop a shalot very fine;
put it into a small stew-pan, with a little vinegar, simmer, and
add some tomato sauce, with brown gravy, to taste: dish the
chops with the sauce in the middle, and round them. Or, the
cutlets may be fried with bread crumbs, and served upon
tomato sauce.
Blade-bone of Pork.—Broil it, and when done, pepper and
salt it; rub over it a piece of butter, and serve very hot.
Pork Steaks.—Cut them off a neck or loin; trim them neatly,
and pepper them; broil them over a clear fire, turning them
frequently; they will take 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt
when put in the plate, and add a small piece of butter.
Italian Pork Cheese.—Chop, not very fine, 1 lb. of lean pork
with 2 lbs. of the inside fat; strew over and mix thoroughly
with them 3 tea-spoonsful of salt, nearly half as much pep-
per, a half-tea-spoonful of mixed parsley, thyme, and sage (and
sweet basil, if it can be procured), all minced extremely small.
Press the meat closely and evenly into a shallow tin, and bake
it in a very gentle oven from an hour to an hour and a half: it
is served cold, in slices. Should the proportion of fat be con-
sidcred too much, it can be diminished on a second trial.
Pork and Beans is an economical dish, but it does not agree
with weak stomachs. Put a quart of beans into two quarts
of cold water, and let them stand all night near the fire. In
the morning, pour off the water, rinse them well with two or
three waters poured over them in a colander. Take a pound
of rather lean pork, salted, score the rind, then place the beana
just covered with water in the kettle, and keep them hot an
hour or two; then drain off the water, sprinkle a little pepper
and a teaspoonful of salt over the beans: place them in a well
glazed earthen pot, not very wide at the top, put the pork down


PORK.
189
in the beans, till the rind only appears; fill the pot with water till it just reaches the top of the beans; put it in a brisk oven
and bake three or four hours.
Stewed beans and pork are prepared the same way, only
they are kept over the fire for three or four hours instead of ij
the oven.
To Boil a Leg of Pork.—Pickled pork takes more time to
buil than other meat. If you buy your pork ready salted,
ask how many days it has been in salt; if many, it will re
quire to be soaked in water before you dress it. When you
cook it, wash and scrape it as clean as possible; when deli-
cately dressed, it is a favorite dish with almost every body.
Take care it does not boil fast; if it does, the knuckle will
.reak to pieces, before the thick part of the meat is warm
inrough; a leg of seven pounds takes three hours and a half
ry slow simmering. Skim your pot very carefully, and do
not allow any scum to settle on the meat. The proper vege-
tables are parsnips, potatoes, turnips, or carrots. Some like
cabbage; but it is a strong, rank vegetable, and does not agree
with a delicate stomach. It should not be given to children.
Pork Cheeks.—Divide the head, clean it, and take away the
snout, eyes, and brains. Salt it with common salt and salt-
petre for eight or ten days, when it will be fit to boil for two
hours. Or, the cheek may be salted only three or four days,
and then washed, and simmered with peas till tender.
Sucking-Pigs: to Scald a Sucking-Pig.—The moment the
pig is killed, put it into cold water for a few minutes; then rub
it over with a little resin, beaten extremely small, and put it
into a pail of scalding water half a minute; take it out, lay it
on a table, and pull off the hair as quickly as possible: if any
part does not come off, put it on again. When quite clean,
wash it with warm water, and then in two or three cold waters,
that no flavor of the resin may remain. Take off the feet at
the first joint; make a slit down the belly and take out the
entrails: put the liver, heart, and lights, to the feet. Wash
the pig well in cold water, dry it thoroughly, and fold it in a
wet cloth to keep it from the air.
Roast Pig.—A sucking rig is nicest when about three weeiu


190
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
old; and should, if possible, be dressed the same day it ii
killed; one of this age will take about two hours to roast.
The most particular thing in dressing a sucking pig is care-
fully to cleanse thoroughly; to do which you must take the
wax out of the ears, and the dirt from the nostrils, by using a
small skewer covered with a bit of thin rag, which you must
wipe off upon a clean dish-cloth; then take out the eyes with
a fork or a sharp-pointed knife, clean the tongue, gums, and
lips, by scraping them with a clean knife, and wiping them,
being careful not to cut them, and with your hand up the in-
side of the throat, take out all the clotted blood and loose
pieces you will find there; and lastly, you must cleanse the
other end of the pig also most carefully, by putting a thick
skewer covered with a piece of rag through from the inside, so
as to push every thing out at the tail, which generally comes out with a small portion of the pipe with it, wiping the inside
of the pig clean with a damp cloth; and unless all this is done
by the cook, a sucking pig cannot be very nice; and for want
of knowing how to do it, they are frequently brought to table
not far from offensive: for butchers and porkmen never do clean
them properly, whatever they may tell you, or promise you.
When all this is done, and the stuffing sewed into the belly,
(to make which, see the two following receipts,) wipe the out-
side of the pig, and rub it well all over with a table-spoonful
of salad oil or fresh butter, (but oil is the best,) cover the loins
with a piece of greased writing-paper, and hang it down to a pretty
good fire, giving most of the heat to the rump and shoulders,
as they require more doing than the loin part; therefore, when
the loin is done enough, pu* the ends to the fire to finish them.
While it is roasting, you must ba> .> it well, very frequently,
with nice sweet dripping, to keep the skin from blistering, till
within about 20 minutes of its being done, when you must
take the paper off, and baste it with a little butter.
When you serve up the pig, the two sides must be laid back
to back in the dish, with half the head on each side, and one
ear at each end, all with the crackling side upwards. Garnish
the dish with slices of lemon; and serve it up with rich gravy
in one sauce-tureen, and with brain sauce, or bread sauce, ia
another.
To make Stuffing for a Sucking-Pig.—Chop fine or crumble
two dozen good-sized clean sage leaves, four ounces of stale


POUK.
101
crumb of bread grated, and one ounce of butter, broken into
small pieces; mix them well together with a tea-spoonful of
pepper, and half as much salt; put all into the belly of the
pig, and sew it up.
Another way to make Stuffing for a Pig.—Chop line or
erumble two dozen good sized clean sage leaves, and mix them
with half a small salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper, half a tea spoonful of pepper, and half a tea-spoonful of salt; then cut
four s. ices of crumb of bread and butter, about four inches
long, two wide, and a quarter of an inch thick; roll the bread
and butter in the herbs and seasoning, and put them into the
pig, and sew it up.
To make Brain Sauce.—Before the pig is served up, put it
into a dish, cut off the head, and cut the pig down the middle
into two parts; then cut off the ears, and cut the head in two,
take out the brains, chop them very fine with about a table
spoonful of the stuffing taken from the inside of the pig, and
all the gravy which runs from the pig when it is cut; put it all
into a saucepan, with a large table-spoonful of melted butter,
give it a warm up, stirring it all the time, and send it up in a
sauce tureen.
To Bake a Sucking-Pig.—A sucking-pig is one of the few
things which is rather nicer baked than roasted. You must
clean and stuff it, and prepare it exactly the same as for
roasting, except that you must mix the yolk of a raw egg with
the table-spoonful of salad-oil, and rub it well all over the pig;
cover the ears with well buttered paper; allow two or three
ounces of butter, to baste it with. For a baked pig, you must
make gravy, and sauce, and send it to table in every thing the
tame as directed for roast pig.
It takes about two hours to bake.
To Choose and Boil Ham.—Stick a sharp knife under the
bone, and also up to the knuckle. If it comes out with a
pleasant smell, the ham is good; but do not buy it if the knife
has a bad scent. Hams short in the hock are best; nor should
long-legged pigs be chosen for any purpose.
If the rind be thin, the fat firm and of a reddish tinge, the
lean tender, of a good color, and adhering to the bone, you


192 MRS HALE'S new cook book.
may conclude it is good and not old. If there are yellow
streaks in it, it is rusty.
All hams require soaking and scraping before they are
dressed, to make them clean and tender. An old dry ham
should be laid to steep in cold water about twenty-four hours;
though half that time may be enough for a small ham, or One that is not very dry. When the ham has steeped long enough,
take it out of the water, cut off all the ragged, rusty, or de-
cayed parts, from the sides and under part, and make it per-
fectly clean all over, by a nice and careful scraping. Put it
into a pot with enough cold water completely to cover it about
two inches, but not more, and let it be heated slowly, so that
it may be an hour and a half to two hours before it begins to
boil. It must be well skimmed so long as any scum will arise,
and then covered close down and kept simmering very gently
till it is done. From four to five hours gently boiling will in
general be enough for a ham that weighs fifteen or sixteen
pounds, reckoning from the time it comes to a boil, but allow-
ances must be made for the thickness or thinness of the ham,
and for the time it has been kept. If the ham is thin, you must
allow rather less time.
When the ham is done, the skin should be carefully peeled
off, without breaking, if possible, as it will serve to cover the
ham, and keep it moist, when it is put by. As soon as you
have pulled off the skin, coat the top of the ham over with
brown raspings, by rasping over it a little of the crust from the
bottom side of a loaf. Then trim and wipe the knuckle, and
wrap round it a piece of writing paper, fringed, to hold it by
in carving.
The dish may be garnished with either thin slices of turnips
or carrots, 3r slices of lemon.
If the ham is not to be cut till it is cold, it should be allow
ed to boil gently half an hour longer than if it is intended to
be cut while hot.
Another Way.—W^ have seen the following manner of boil
ing a ham recommended, but we have not tried it:—"Put into
the water in which it is to be boiled, a quart of old cider and
a pint of vinegar, a large bunch of sweet herbs, and a bay-leaf.
When it is two-thirds done, skin, cover it with raspings, and
set it in an oven until it is done enough: it will prove income parably superior to a ham boiled in the usual way."


PORK.
193
A good Flavoring for graviesand soups.—The gravj which
runs out of ham when it is cut, is called essence of ham, and
should be very carefully saved to flavor soups or gravies.
French Receipt for Boiling a Ham—After having soaked,
thoroughly cleaned, and trimmed the ham, put over it a little
very sweet clean hay, and tie it up in a thin cloth; place it in
a ham kettle, a braising pan, or any other vessel as nearly of its
size as can be, and cover it with two parts of cold ^ater, and
one of light white wine (we think the reader will perhaps find
rider, a good substitute for this); add, when it boils and has
been skimmed, four or five carrots, two or three onions, a large
bunch of savory herbs, and the smallest bit of garlic. Let the
whole simmer gently from four to five hours, or longer should
the ham be very large. When perfectly tender, lift it out,
take off the rind, and sprinkle over it some fine crumbs, or
some raspings of bread mixed with a little finely minced
parsley.
To Bake a Ham.—Unless when too salt, from not being suf- I
ficiently soaked, a ham (particularly a young and fresh one)
eats much better baked than boiled, and remains longer good.
The safer plan is to lay it into plenty of cold water over night.
The following day soak it for an hour or more in warm water,
wash it delicately clean, trim smoothly off all rusty parts, and
lay it with the rind downwards into a coarse paste rolled to
about an inch thick; moisten the edges, draw, pinch them to-
gether, and fold them over on the upper side of the ham, tuning
care to close them so that no gravy can escape. Send it to a
well-heated, but not a fierce oven. A very small ham will
require three hours baking, and a large one five. The crust
and the skin must be removed while it is hot. When part
only of a ham is dressed, this mode is better far than boil-
ing it.
Ham Relish.—Cut a slice of dressed ham, season it highly
with Cayenne-pepper, and broil it brown; then spread mustard
over it, squeeze on it a little lemon juice, and serve quickly.
Broiled Ham.—Cut ham into thin slices, and broil on a grid-
iron. If the ham is too salt, soak the slices before broiling, in
12


194
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
cold water; if you are obliged to do this, dry them well with
a cloth before broiling.
Fry what eggs you want in butter, and when dished lay an
egg on each slice of ham, and serve.
Fried Ham and Eggs.—Broil thin slices of ham; fry eggs in
the gravy of the ham or in butter, and serve one on each slice
of ham. Or, the eggs may be poached.
Sausages.—Common farmhouse sausages are made with
nearly equal parts of fat and lean pork, coarsely chopped, and
seasoned with salt and pepper only. They are put into
skins (which have previously been turned inside out, scraped
very thin, washed with exceeding nicety, and wiped very dry)
then twisted into links, and should be hung in a cool airy larder,
when they will remain good for some length of time. Odd
scraps and trimmings of pork are usually taken for sausage-
meat when the pig is killed and cut up at home; but the chine
and blade-bone are preferred in general for the purpose. The
pork rinds will make a strong and almost flavorless jelly,
which may be used with excellent effect for stock, and which,
with the addition of some pork-bones, plenty of vegetables,
and some dried peas, will made a very nutritious soup for
those who do not object to the pork-flavor which the bones will
give. Half an ounce of salt, and nearly or quite a quarter of
an ounce of pepper will sufficiently season each pound of the
sausage-meat.
Excellent Sausages.—Chop, first separately, and then together,
one pound and a quarter of veal, perfectly free from fat, skin,
and sinew, an equal weight of lean pork, and of the inside fat
of the pig. Mix well, and strew over the meat an ounce and
a quarter of salt, half an ounce of pepper, one nutmeg grated,
and a large tea-spoonful of pounded mace. Turn, and chop
the sausages until they are equally seasoned throughout, and
tolerably fine; press them into a clean pan, and keep them in
a very cool place. Form them, when wanted for table, into
cakes something less than an inch thick, flour and fry them for
about 10 minutes in a little butter.
Lean of veal and pork, of each, 1 lb. 4oz.; fat of pork, 1 lb,
4 oz.; salt, 1\ oz.; pepper, -j oz.; 1 nutmeg; 1 large tea
spoonful of mace.


PORK.
195
Oxford Sausages.—Chop a pound and a half of lean pork very finely, and mix with it half the quantity of minced beef, suet; add 2 or 3 table-spoonsful of bread crumbs, the yolks
of 2 eggs, beaten, and season with dried sage, black pepper,
and salt; beat the whole well together in a marble mortar,
put it into a jar, and tie over. For use, make it into rolls,
dust them with flour, and fry 'n lard, or fresh beef-dripping.
To fry Sausages.—Put lard or dripping, into a clean frying
pan, and as soon as it is melted, put in the sausages, fry them
gradually over a moderate fire, shaking the pan and turning
them frequently. When done, put them before the fire on a
sieve, to drain off the fat, and serve hot.
Bologna Sausages.—Mince 6 lbs. of rump of beef very fine,
and 2 lbs. of bacon; pound them; mix well with 6 or 8 cloves
of garlic; season it high with spices; fill it into very large
hog-puddings, and tie them in 9 inch lengths; hang them in a
dry, warm place, or in the smoke: they are eaten raw or
boiled.
To dress Pig's Feet and Ears.—Boil them, fresh or salted,
3 hours, or till tender, when take out the large bones; glaze
them, and cover them with fried bread crumbs, and serve upon
tomato sauce: or, melted butter thinned with mustard and
vinegar.
To stew Pig's Feet.—Clean and split them, and boil them
tender; then put them into a stew-pan, with a little gravy or
water, a shred onion, sage leaves, salt, some whole black pep
per, and allspice: stew for half an hour: then strain the gravy
thicken it with butter and flour, add a table-spoonful of lemon pickle, or vinegar, and serve with the feet.
Pig's Harslet.—Clean the liver and sweetbreads, and put to
them fat and lean bits of pork, with which mix pepper, salt, sage, and onions shred fine: put all into a caul, tie up, and
roast on a hanging-jack; or put into a dish and bake.
Or:—Slice the liver and sweetbreads, and fry them with
pieces of bacon; garnish with fried parsley.


196
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Am ~rican Souse.—Take pig's feet and ears, &c.; clear, them
well, and simmer them for 4 or 5 hours, until they are too
tender to be taken out with a fork. Then lay them in cold
water till they are cool. Pack them down tight in jars. Boil
the jelly-like liquor in which they were cooked, with an equal quantity of vinegar, and salt to your taste: add cloves, all spice and cinnamon, and pour it over the feet.
PRIZE RECEIPTS FOR CURING HAMS.
How to Cure Hams.—The committee on bacon hams, of
the second annual exhibition of the Frederick (Maryland)
County Agricultural Society, awarded the first premium to
Mrs. George M. Potts, and the second to W. H. Lease, Esq.;
and observed "that the hams were remarkable, for their ex-
cellent flavor, and were at the same time juicy and tender."
We publish the receipts for the information of our readers :—
Mrs. PoWs Receipt. — To each green ham of eighteen
pounds, one dessert-spoonful of saltpetre; one-fourth pound
of brown sugar applied to the fleshy side of the ham and
about the hock. Cover the fleshy side with fine salt, half
an inch thick, and pack away in tubs; to remain from three
to six weeks, according to size. Before smoking, rub off any
salt that may remain on the ham, and cover well with ground
black pepper, particularly about the bone and shock. Hang up and drain for two days; smoke with green wood
for eight weeks, or until the rind assumes a light chestnut
color. The pepper is an effectual preventive of the fly. I
never bag hams. First premium.
Mr. Leases' Receipt.—When the hams were cool, I salted
them down in a tight cask, putting a bushel of salt, well
mixed with six ounces of saltpetre, to about 1000 pounds
of pork; after it had been salted four or five days, I made a
strong brine, sufficient to float an egg, and cured the meat
with it, and let it remain five weeks longer; then hung it up,
dusting the flesh sides with black pepper; then smoked with
green wood. Second premium.


CHAPTER XIII.
CURING MEATS, POTTING AND COLLARING.
General Directions—Pickle for Beef, Pork, dec.—Dutch way to
Suit Beef—Tongues—French method— Welsh Beef—Hunter?
— Curing Pork—Bacon—Hams—Lard—Pork Cheese—Pot-
ting— Collaring—A Marinade Brawn—Mutton Ham, dfce.
Meat intended for salting should hang a few days, till its
fibres become short and tender, instead of being salted as soon
as it comes from the market; though, in very hot weather, it
may be requisite to salt as soon as possible; beginning by
wiping dry, taking out the kernels and pipes, and filling the
holes with salt.
Beef and pork, after being examined and wiped, should be
sprinkled with water and hung to drain a few hours after, be-
fore they are rubbed with salt: this cleanses the meat from
blood, and improves its delicacy. The salt should be rubbed
in evenly; first, half the quantity of salt, and, after a day or
two, the remainder. The meat should be turned every day,
kept covered with the pickle, and rubbed daily, if wanted soon.
The brine will serve for more than one parcel of meat, if it be
boiled up, skimmed, and used cold.
In salting beef, the brisket and flat ribs should be jointed,
so as to let in the salt, which should also be rubbed well into
each piece; the meat should then be put down tightly in the
salt-bin, the prime pieces at the bottom, and covered with salt;
the coarse pieces being at the top, to be used first.
Bay-salt gives a sweeter flavor than any other kind. Sugar
makes the meat mellow and rich, and is sometimes used to
rub meat before salting. Saltpetre hardens meat, so that it is
rarely used but to make it red. In frosty weather, warm tho
wit. to ensure its penetrating the meat.
Remember, that unless meat be quite fresh, it cannot be
J97


]93
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
kept by salting. Neither will salt recover stale meat; for, if
it be in the least tainted before it is put into the pickle, it will
be entirely spoiled in one hot day.
Ir. frosty weather, take care the meat is not frozen, and warm
the salt in a frying-pan. The extremes of heat and cold are
equally unfavorable for the process of salting. In the former,
the meat changes before the salt can affect it: in the latter, it
is so hardened, and its juices are so congealed, that the salt
cannot penetrate it.
If ycu wish it red, rub it first with saltpetre, in the propor-
tion of half an ounce, and the like quantity of moist sugar, to
A pound of common salt.
In summer, canvas covers should be placed over salting-tubs
to admit air and exclude flies, which are more destructive to
<alt than fresh meat.
As our book is designed for country as well as city families,
we snail give several receipts for curing meats, making brine,
tee., hies are chiefly important to the former.
Pickle for Beef,Pork, dec.—To four gallons of pump-water
Hid eight pounds and a half of muscovado sugar, or treacle,
*two ounces of saltpetre, and six pounds of bay or common
salt. Boil the whole, and remove all the scum that rises; then
take off the liquor, and, when cold, pour it over the meat, so
as to cover it. This pickle is fine for curing hams, tongues,
and beef, for drying ; which, upon being taken out of the pickle,
cleaned, and dried, should be put into paper bags, and hung up
in a warm place.
Another pickle is, six ounces salt, and four ounces sugar to
a quart of water, and one-quarter of an ounce of saltpetre; to
be boiled and skimmed.
A round of beef, of twenty-five pounds, will take a pound
Bi»l a half of salt to be rubbed in at once, and requires to be
rubbed and turned daily: it will be ready, but not very salt,
in four or five days; if to be eaten cold, it will be finer fla-
vored, and keep better, for being a week in the brine.
An aitch-bone, of a dozen pounds' weight, will require three-
quarters of a pound of salt, mixed with one ounce of coarse
sugar, to be well rubbed into it for four or five days
Pickle for Beef.—Allow to four gallons of water two pounds
of brown sugar, six pounds of salt, and four ounces ol salt-


CURING MEATS, POTTING AND COLLARING. 199
[ietre; boil it about twenty minutes, taking off the scum as it
rises; the following day pour it over the meat which has been
packed into the pickling-tub. Pour off this brine, boil and
skim it every two months, adding three ounces of brown sugar
and half a pound of common salt. By this means it will keep
good a year. The meat must be sprinkled with salt, and the
next day wiped dry, before pouring the pickle over it, with
which it should always be completely covered.
To salt Beef red.—Choose a piece of beef with as little bone
as you can (the flank is the best), sprinkle it, and let it drain
d day; then rub it with common salt, a small proportion of
.saltpetre, bay-salt, and a little coarse sugar; you may add a
few grains of cochineal, all in fine powder, Rub the pickle
every day into the meat for a week, then only turn it.
It will be excellent in 8 days. In 10, drain it from the
pickle; and let it be smoked at the oven's mouth when heated
with wood, or send it to a smoke-house. A few days will
smoke it. It is extremely good eaten fresh from the pickle,
boiled tender with greens or carrots. If to be grated, then cut
a lean "bit, boil it till extremely tender, and while hot put it
under a press. When cold, fold it in a sheet of paper, and it
will keep in a dry place 2 or 3 months, ready for serving on
bread and butter
The Dutch way to salt Beef.—Take a lean piece of beef, rub
't well with treacle or brown sugar, and turn it often. In 3
days wipe it, and salt it with common salt and saltpetre beaten
fine; rub these well in, and turn it every day for a fortnight,
Roll it tight in a coarse cloth, and press it under a heavy
weight; hang to dry in wood-smoke, but turn it upside down
every day. Boil it in pump-water, and press it: it will grate
or cut into shivers, and makes a good breakfast dish.
To 12 lbs. of beef the proportion of common salt is 1 lb.
To salt Beef for immediate use, and to make into Soup.—Take
the thin flank or brisket, cut it into pieces of the size you wish
for your family—from 3 to 7 lbs. Rub the pieces thoroughly
with dry salt; then lay them in a tub, and cover it close.
Turn the pieces every day, and in a week it will be excellent


200
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
boiled with vegetables, or made into plain peas soup. It will 'ast six weeks in this way.
Mutton may be salted in the same manner.
An excellent Pickle for Hams, Tongue, dec.—Take one gallon
of water, one pound and a half of salt, one pound of brown
sugar or molasses, one ounce of allspice, and one ounce of salt-
petre; scald, skim, and let it cool. Rub the meat with salt,
and let it lie two days; then pour the pickle over it. Let the
hams remain from a fortnight to a month in this pickle, ac
cording to their size, turning them every day.
Care must be taken to secure bacon and hams from the fly.
The best method is, to put them in coarse calico or canvass
bags; paper is apt to break in damp weather. Always keep
smoked meat in a dark place.
To salt Fat Pork.—Pack it down tightly in the barrel, each
layer of pork covered with clean coarse salt; then make a
strong brine with two gallons of water and as much coarse s»lt
is will dissolve in it; boil and skim; let it stand till it is per-
fectly cold, and then pour it to the meat till that is covered.
Pork is best without sugar or saltpetre, provided it be always
kept covered with this strong brine.
Beef Tongues.—These may be cured by any of the receipts
which we have already given for pickling beef, or for hams and
bacon. Some persons prefer them cured with salt and salt-
petre only, and dried naturally in a cool and airy room. For such of our readers as like them highly and richly flavored we
give our own method of having them prepared, which is this:
—Rub over the tongue a handful of fine salt, and let it drain
until the following day; then should it weigh from seven to
eight pounds, mix thoroughly 1 oz. of saltpetre, 2 oz. of the
coarsest sugar, and half an ounce of black pepper; when the
tongue has been well rubbed with these, add 3 oz. of bruised
'juniper berries; and when it has lain 2 days, 8 oz. of bay salt
dried and pounded; at the end of 3 days more, pour on it half
u pound of treacle, and let it remain in the pickle a fortnight
after this; then hang it to drain, fold it in brown paper, and
send it to be smoked over a wood fire for 2 or 3 weeks. Should
the peculiar flavor of the juniper berries prevail too much, or be disapproved, they may be in part, or altogether, omitted


CURING MEATS, POTTING, AND COLLARING.
201
and 6 oz. of sugar may be rubbed into the tongue in the first
instance when it is liked better than treacle.
Tongue 7 to 8 lbs.; saltpetre, 1 oz.; black pepper, half an
oz.; sugar, 2 oz.; juniper berries, 3 oz.: 2 days. Bay salt, 8
oz.; 3 days. Treacle, half a pound: 14 days.
Obs.—Before the tongue is salted, the gullet, which has an
unsightly appearance, should be trimmed away: it is indeed
usual to take the root off entirely, but some families prefer it
left on for the sake of the fat.
Beef Tongues (a Suffolk Receipt). — For each very large
tongue, mix with half a pound of salt, two ounces of saltpetre,
and three-quarters of a pound of the coarsest sugar; rub the
tongues daily, and turn them in the pickle for five weeks, when
they will be fit to be dressed, or to be smoked.
1 large tongue; salt half a pound: sugar, three-quarters of
a pound; saltpetre, 2 ounces: 5 weeks.
Keeping Meat in Snow.—An excellent way to keep fresh
meat during the winter, is practised by the farmers in the
country, which they term "salting in the snow." Take a large
clean tub, cover the bottom 3 or 4 inches thick with clean
snow ; then lay in pieces of fresh meat, spare-ribs, fowls, or
whatever you wish to keep, and cover each layer with 2 or 3
inches of snow, taking particular care to fill snow into every
crevice between the pieces, and around the edges of the tub.
Fowls must be filled inside with the snow. The last layer in
the tub must be snow, pressed down tight; then cover the tub
and keep in a cold place—the colder the better. The meat
will not freeze; and, unless the weather should be very warm,
the snow will not thaw, but the meat will remain as fresh and juicy as when it was killed.
French Method of Smoking Hams.—Stop up all the crevices
of an old cask, as a sugar hogshead, and cut a hole in the
bottom of it, large enough to introduce a small stove or pan,
to be filled with saw-dust, wood, or other fuel, which produces
much smoke. The articles to be smoked must then be hung
upon a cross stick, fixed near the,top of the cask, and the head
must be covered with a cloth. It is stated, that half a do>..;p
hams may be completely cured in this way in 48 hours.
Tongues, fsh, and beef, may be smoked in the same way.


202
MEa. hai.e's new cook book.
llitng Beef (theDerrynane Recipe).—Rub the beef well with
salt and saltpetre, in the proportion of 2 oz. of saltpetre and 7
lbs. of salt to 50 lbs. of beef. Put the beef into a cask or tub,
place a board over it, and weights upon that; leave it so for
about a fortnight, then take it out and hang it in the kitchen to
dry, which will generally take about 3 weeks. Some persons
leave it for a longer time in the tub, which they merely cover
without the weight; but the above is the better way.
Cheap Hung Beef.—Take the fleshy part of a leg of beef,
salt it three days; then put itinto a clean pan, and rub it with
this mixture daily for a week,—four ounces of coarse sugar,
one ounce of ground allspice, and one ounce of powdered salt-
pet/e; next drain the beef, wrap it in brown paper, hang it in
a chimney to dry; and in a month it will be fit to dress.
Welsh Beef.—Rub 2 oz. of saltpetre into a round of beef, let
it remain an hour, then season it with pepper, salt, and a fourth
portion of allspice; allow the beef to stand in the brine for 15
days, turning it frequently. Work it well with pickle; put it
into an earthen vessel, with a quantity of beef suet over and
under it, cover it with a coarse paste and bake it, allowing it
to remain in the oven for 6 or 8 hours. Pour off the gravy,
and let the beef stand till cold. It will keep for 2 months in
winter, and will be found useful amid the Christmas fare in the
country.
To Dress Beef Tongues.—When taken fresh from the pickle
they require no soaking unless they should have remained in
it much beyond the usual time, or have been cured with a more
than common proportion of salt; but when they have been
smoked and hung for some time, they should be laid for two
or three hours in cold, and as much longer in tepid water, be-
fore they are dressed: if extremely dry, ten or twelve hours
must be allowed to soften them, and they should always be
brought very slowly to boil. Two or three carrots and a large
bunch of savory herbs, added after the scum is cleared off, will
improve them. They should be simmered until they are ex-
tremely tender, when the skin will peel from them easily. A
highly dried tongue will usually require from three and a
half to four hours' boiling; an unsmoked one, about an hour 


CURING MEATS, POTTING, AND COLLAUING. 203
less; and for one which has not been salted at all, a shorter time will suffice.
Curing Pork.—The pork being killed, several points require
attention —first, the chitterlings must be cleaned, and all the
fat taken off; they are then to be soaked for two or three days
in four or six waters, and the fat may be melted for softening
shoes, &c.; the inside fat, or flare, of pork must be melted for
lard as soon as possible, without salt, if for pastry. The souse
should be salted for two or three days, and then boiled till ten-
der; or fried, or broiled, after being boiled. The sides for ba-
con must be wiped, rubbed at the bone, and sprinkled with
salt, to extract the blood: the chines, cheeks, and spare-ribs,
should be similarly salted. On the third day after pork is
killed, it may be regularly salted, tubs or pans being placed to
receive the brine, which is useful for chines and tongues. De-
cember and January are the best months for preparing bacon,
as the frost is not then too severe.
The hog is made into bacon, or pickled.
Bacon—( The method of curing Malines Bacon, so much ad
mired forits fine flavor).—Cut off the hams and head of a pig,
if a large one; take out the chine and leave in the spare-rib, as
they will keep in the gravy and prevent the bacon from rust-
ing. Salt it first with common salt, and let it lie for a day on
a table that the blood may run from it; then make a brine
with a pint of bay-salt, one-quarter peck of common salt, about
one-quarter pound of juniper-berries, and some bay-leaves,
with as much water as will, when the brine is made, cover the
bacon; when the salt is dissolved, and when quite cold, if a
new-laid egg will swim in it, the brine may be put on the ba-
con, which after a week must be rubbed with the following
mixture :—Half pound of saltpetre, 2 oz. of sal-prunella, and 1
pound of coarse sugar; after remaining 4 weeks, it may be
hung up in a chimney where wood is burned; shavings, with
sawdust and a small quantity of turf, may be added to the fire
at times.
WestpJuilia Hams—Are prepared in November and March.
The Germans place them in deep tubs, which they cover with
«yeru of salt and saltpetre, and a few laurel-leaves. They ur«


204
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
left four or five days in this state, and then are completely
covered with strong brine. At the end of three weeks, they
are taken out, and soaked twelve hours in clear spring water •
they are then hung for three weeks in smoke, produced from
the branches of juniper-plants.
Another method is to rub the leg intended for a ham with
half a pound of coarse sugar, and to lay it aside for a night.
In the morning, it is rubbed with an ounce of saltpetre, and an
ounce of common salt, mixed. It is then turned daily for three
weeks, and afterwards dried in wood and turf-smoke. When
boiled, a pint of oak saw-dust is directed to be put into the
pot or boiler.
Obs.—Dried meats, hams, &c., should be kept in a cold but
not damp place.
Smoked provisions keep better than those which are dried,
on account of the pyroligneous acid which the former receive
from the smoke.
Hams superior to Westphalia.—Take the hams as soon as
the pork is sufficiently cold to be cut up, rub them well with
common salt, and leave them for three days to drain; throw
away the brine, and for a couple of hams of from fifteen to
eighteen pounds' weight, mix together two ounces of saltpetre,
a pound of coarse sugar, and a pound of common salt; rub
the hams in every part with these, lay them into deep pickling-
pans with the rind downwards, and keep them for three days
well covered with the salt and sugar; then pour over them a
bottle of good vinegar, and turn them in the brine, and baste
them with it daily for a month; drain them well, rub them
with bran, and let them be hung for a month high in a chim-
ney over a wood-fire to be smoked.
Hams, of from 15 to 18 lbs. each, 2; to drain, 3 days.
Common salt and coarse sugar, each 1 lb.; saltpetre, 2 ozs.: 3
days. Vinegar, 1 bottle: 1 month. To be smoked 1 month.
Obs.—Such of our readers as shall make trial of this ad-
mirable receipt, will acknowledge, we doubt not, that the hams
thus cured are in reality superior to those of Westphalia. It
was originally given to the public by the celebrated French
cook, Monsieur Ude, to whom, after having proved it, we are
happy to acknowledge <rcr obligation for it. He directs that
the hams when smoked should be hung as high as possible


CURING MEATS, POTTING, AND COLLARING. 205
from the fire, that the fat may not be melted ;—a very neces-
sary precaution, as the mode of their being cured renders ft
peculiarly liable to do so. This, indeed, is somewhat percepti-
ble in the cooking, which ought, therefore, to be conducted with
especial care. The hams should be very softly simmered, and
itot <wer-done. They should be large, and of finely-fed pork,
or the receipt will not answer. We give the result of our
first trial of it, which was perfectly successful.
Leg of farm-house pork, 14 to 15 lbs.; saltpetre, 1^ oz.'
strong coarse salt, 6 ozs.; coarse sugar, 8 ozs.: 3 days. Fine
white-wine vinegar, 1 pint. In pickle, turned daily, 1 month.
Smoked over wood, 1 month.
Obs.—When two hams are pickled together, a smaller pro-
portion of the ingredients is required for each than for one
which is cured by itself.
To cure Pig's Cheeks.—Cut out the snout, remove the brains,
split the head, and take off the upper bone. Rub the cheek
well with salt; next day pour off the brine, and salt it again
the following day. Then rub over the cheeks half an ounce of
saltpetre, two ounces of bay-salt, a little common salt, and
four ounces of coarse sugar. Turn the cheeks often, and in
ten days smoke them as bacon.
Pork Cheese..—Choose the head of a small pig which may
weigh about twelve pounds the quarter. Sprinkle over it and
the tongues of four pigs, a little common salt and a very little
saltpetre. Let them lie four days, wash them, and tie them in
a clean cloth; boil them until the bones will come easily out
of the head, take off the skin as whole as possible, place a
bowl in hot water and put in the head, cutting it into small" pieces. In the bottom of a round tin, shaped like a small
cheese, lay two strips of cloth across each other; they must
be long enough to fold over the top when the shape is full;
place the skin round the tin, and nearly half fill it with the
meat, which has been highly seasoned with pepper, cayenne,
and salt; put in some tongue cut into slices, then the rest of
the meat, and the remainder of the tongue, draw the cloth
tightly across the top; put on it a board or a plate that w ill
fit into the shape, and place on it a heavy weight, which must
not be taken off till it be quite cold. It is eaten with vinegar
and mustard, and served for luncheon or supper.


J1ES. HALES NEW COOK BOOK.
Hog's Lard.—Melt it with great care in a jar, put into a
kettle of water, set on the fire to boil, adding to the lard &
Bpiig of rosemary, while melting; then run it into small cleats
bladders.
Suet and lard keep better in tin than in earthen vessels:
sunt may be kept for a year, if chopped, packed in tin, ani
covered with treacle.
Potting and Collaring.—To pot and collar are only different
modes of preserving fish and meat for a longer time than they
could be kept fresh; chiefly, in the instance of potting, by
pounding the materials with seasoning, when dressed, and then
putting small portions in closely covered jars or pots; while
collaring is done by slicing portions of the meat or fish, and,
when well seasoned, rolling it in round pieces, to be eaten cold
as savory dishes at breakfast and luncheon.
In potting, take care to wait until the meat is cold; press
the meat firmly into the pots; but, before putting it there,
drain the gravy thoroughly from the meat,- or the gravy will
turn it sour; then cover well with clarified butter, and tie over
it oil-skin, or oiled paper, to exclude the air.
To clarify Butter for Potting.—Put the butter into a basin,
or boat, and set it in a stewpan with water in it, over the fire.
As the butter melts, the milky parts will sink to the bottom,
and the clear should be poured off upon the articles to be
potted. After being used it will still serve for basting or for
meat-pie paste.
Potted Beef.—Rub a piece of lean fleshy beef, about three
^pounds in weight, with an ounce of saltpetre powdered, and
afterwards with two ounces of salt; put it in a pan or salting-
tray, and let it lie two days, basting it with the brine, and
rubbing it into st each day. Then put the meat into an earth-
enware jar, just i^.'ge enough to hold it, together with all the
skin and gristle of the joint, first trimmed from it: add about
a pint of water, put some stiff paste over the top of the jar,
and place it in a slow oven to bake for four hours. When it
is done, pour off the gravy, f which save to use for enriching
sauces or gravies,) take out the gristle and the skin; then cut
the meat small, and beat it in a mortar, adding occasionally a
little of the gravy, a little fresh butter, and finely powdered
allspice, cloves, and pepper, enough to season it. The more


CURING MEATS, POTTING, AND COLLARING. 207
you boat and rub the meat, the better, as it will require so
much less butter or gravy, which will assist it to keep the
longer; but when potted beef is wanted for present use, the
addition of gravy and butter will improve its taste and ap-
pearance. When it is intended for keeping, put it into small
earthenware pots or into tin cans, press it down hard, pour on
the top clarified butter to the thickness of a quarter of an inch,
and tie over it a piece of damp bladder.
To make potted meat more savory, you may beat up with
it the flesh of an anchovy or two, or a little minced tongue, or
minced ham or bacon; or mushroom powder, curry powder, a
few shalots, or sweet herbs of any kind, the flavor of which-
ever may be most agreeable.
Meat that has been stewed to make gravy, may be used to
make potted beef; only adding the salt, seasoning, and flavor-
ing in pounding it.
Potted ham, veal, or ox-tongue is made in the same manner,
only varying the seasonings to suit the taste of the meat.
To pot Beef in imitation of Venison.—Put 8 or 10 lbs. of
lean beef into a deep dish; pour over it a pint of red wine, and
let it lie in it for 2 days, seasoning it well with mace, pepper,
salt, and a clove of garlic; then put it into a closely covered
pot along with the wine, and another glassful if it be not suffi-
cient, and bake it for 3 hours in a quick oven; when cold,
pound it to a paste, and pot it as above.
Potted Chicken or Partridge.—Roast the birds as for table,
but let them be thoroughly done, for if the gravy be left in,
the meat will not keep half so well. Raise the flesh of the
breast, wings, and merrythought quite clear from the bones,
take off the skin, mince, and then pound it very smoothly with
about one-third of its weight of fresh butter, or something less,
if the meat should appear of a proper consistence without tho
fall quantity; season it with salt, mace, and Cayenne only,
and add these in small portions until the meat is rather highly
flavored with both the last: proceed with it as with other pot-
ted meats.
To potBoned Pigeons whole.—Bone, truss, and pack them
into a deep pan, with pepper, salt, and a little fine powder of
thyme, or any sweet herb that may be agreeable, and a clove


CUKUSG MEATS, POTTING, AND COLLARING. 20!)
tape, and fasten the roll with small skewers. If you wish tc
improve its appearance, you may also either glaze it, or rub it
with yolk of egg, and brown it with a salamander.
An economical way.—Take the best part of a shin of beef,
of which soup has been made (for it must be stewed until very
tender), and an ox-tail, also well stewed; cut them into small
pieces, season them well, add a glass of wine, and a glass of
cal 3up, and put it into a stew pan covered with a part of the
Ifq uor in which the ox-tail has been boiled; stew it for about
20 minutes, and then put it into a mould. It must be very
cold before it is turned out. This is a good way of employing
the beef and heel when soup or jelly is made; a few chopped
sweet herbs may be added, and hard eggs cut into slices, or
pickles, such as sliced cucumbers, intermingled. The flavor
may be varied in many ways.
To collar a Pig.—Take a fine fat pig of a month or five
weeks old, prepared for the table; cut off the head and split
the pig down the back, and bone it; chop a handful of sage
very small, mix it with 2 nutmegs and 3 or 4 blades of mace
beaten fine; add to it a large handful of salt, and season the
pig all over; roll it hard, tie it with tape, sew it in a clean
linen cloth, and boil it in water with a little oatmeal and a good
seasoning of salt; boil till very tender, which will take several
hours. Keep it in the cloth in which it was boiled until quite
cold. Then take the cloth from the pig, and let it lay for eight
days in a marinade. Eat it with mustard, sugar and vinegar.
A Marinade for Collared Meats.—Make thin water-gruel of
oatmeal; season it well with salt; add half a pint of white
wine and half a tea-spoonful of white pepper; boil it all to-
gether for half an hour; allow it to become cold before the
collar is put into it.
Brawn.—Split and nicely clean a hog's head, take out the
brains, cut off the ears, and rub a good deal of salt into the
head; let it drain 24 hours; then lay upon it 2 oz. of salt-
petre, and the same of common salt, for 3 days; lay the head
and salt into a pan, with just water to cover it for 2 days more.
Wash it well, and boil until the bones will come out; re-
move them, and chop the meat as quickly as possible in pieces


210
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK
of 1 inch long; but first take the skin carefully off the head
•nd the tongue, the latter also cut in bits. Season with pepper
and salt. Put the skin of one side of the head into a small
long pan, press the chopped head and tongue into it, and lay
the skin of the other side of the head over, and press it down.
When cold it will turn out. The head may probably be too
fat, in which case prepare a few bits of lean pork with the
head. Boil 2 oz. of salt, a pint of vinegar, and a quart of the
liquor, and, when cold, pour it over the head. The ears are to
be boiled longer than the head, cut in thin strips, and divided
about it, the hair being nicely removed. Ke-boil the pickle
often.
To cure Mutton Ham.—Cut a hind-quarter of good mutton
into the shape of a ham, pound 1 oz. of saltpetre, with 1 lb. of
coarse salt, and 4 oz. of brown sugar, rub the ham well with
this mixture, taking care to stuff the whole of the shank well
with salt and sugar, and let it lie a fortnight, rubbing it well
with the pickle every 2 or 3 days; then take it out and press
it with a weight for 1 day; smoke it with saw-dust for 10 or
15 days, or hang it to dry in the kitchen. If the ham is to be
boiled soon after it has been smoked, soak it 1 hour, and if it
has been smoked any length of time, it will require to be soak-
ed several hours. Put it on in cold water, and boil it gently
2 hours. It is eaten cold at breakfast, luncheon, or supper. A
mutton ham is sometimes cured with the above quantity of
salt and sugar, with the addition of half an ounce of pepper, a
quarter of an ounce of cloves, and 1 nutmeg.
Turkish Method of making new-killed Meat tender.—Slash it
from 3 to 5 slashes. To give a proper idea of the distance, a
leg of mutton will take 5 slashes. Bruise some cloves of gar-
lic, and put a clove of it with a little bit of bay salt into each elash; bind up the meat,that the slashes may go together; and
w rap it up tight. It may be used in 12 hours after This might be tried with new-killed venison.


CHAPTER XIV
POULTRY.
General Directions — Poelee — Turkey boiled — Roasted — To
''devil" a Turkey—Stuffing—Boxing—Roast Goose—Sauce
—To boil Ducks—Stewed—Salmi—Fowls boiled—Roasted—
Broiled —Fried—Stewed —Ragouts —Pillau—Croquettes—
—Fricassee Jelly—Curry of Chicken—Dumpokht—Minced
Fowls—Giblets—Chicken Pot Pie—Egyptian mode of cook
ing Poultry—Pigeons, in various ways.

Boiled Fowl.
To choose Poultry.—Young, plump, well-fed, but not over
fatted, poultry is the best. The skin of fowls and turkeys
should be clear, white, and finely grained, the breasts broad
and full-fleshed, the legs smooth, the toes pliable and easily
broken when bent back; the birds should also be heavy in
proportion to their size. This applies equally to geese and
ducks, of which the breasts likewise should be very plump,
and the feet yellow and flexible : when these are red and hard,
the bills of the same color, and the skin full of hairs, and ex-
tremely coarse, the birds are old.
White-legged fowls and chickens should be chosen for boil
ing, because their appearance is the most delicate when dressed •
211


212
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
but the dark-legged ones often prove more juicy and of better
flavor when roasted, and their color then is immaterial.
Every precaution should be taken to prevent poultry from
becoming ever so slightly tainted before it is cooked, but unless the weather be exceedingly sultry, it should not be quite freshly killed :* pigeons only are the better for being so, and are
thought to lose their flavor by hanging even a day or two.
Turkeys, as we have stated in our receipts for them, are very
tough and poor eating if not sufficiently long kept. A goose
also, in winter, should hang some days before it is dressed,
and fowls, likewise, will be improved by it.
All kinds of poultry should be thoroughly cooked, though
without being over-done, for nothing in general can more ef-
fectually destroy the appetite than the taste and appearance of
their flesh when brought to table half roasted or boiled.
Trussing Fowls.—Remove immediately the crops of fowls
and pigeons, but do not draw and truss them till wanted for
dressing, else they are apt to dry.
Having picked poultry, remove the crop and windpipe of
all birds, by opening the skin in front of the throat, and pull-
ing each separately; first, from the beak or bill, and then from
the stomach. For drawing poultry, make a slit with a sharp
knife, at which slip in the fingers; get fast hold of the gizzard,
and draw it carefully forward, with the intestines; but, if the
liver remains, again slip in the finger, and take out the heart,
which will bring the liver with it. Be careful not to break the
gall-bladder, else it will cause a bitterness, which no washing
can remove.
Having thus cleared the inside of a fowl, select such of the
internal parts as are to be used. Remove the gall-bladder
from the liver, slit the narrow side of the gizzard, and, turning
it inside out, remove the hard bag, and trim round the gizzard;
but do not cut the skin by which it is joined in the middle.
The throat should be cut off about two joints from its com-
mencement, leaving skin enough to turn over the back. Make
a slit in the apron or skin of the belly, and tuck the rump
through it.
* If from accidental circumstances it should become apparently unfit for
table, it may be restored to an eatable state by the same means as fish; it
should not, however, be purchased, at any time, when it exhibits a greenish
int on any part of the skin, as this indicates its being already stale.


POULTRY.
213
Fowls for roasting are trussed as follows: Extend the legs
on each side of the bird; only cut off the toes, and run a
skewer through each foot, to keep them at a proper distance •
in some cases, the feet should be scalded, and the outside scaly
skin taken off. Make a small slit in the skinny part of each
pinion; through one thrust the liver, and through the other the
gizzard; turn the top of the pinion over the back, and run a
skewer through the first joint of one wing, through the body
to the other wing. For boiling, the under part of the thigh
must be cut off, and the stump tucked into a slit made on each
side of the belly.
Before dressing, singe off the hairs of the fowl with a piece
of white paper, and dredge it lightly with flour. The head of
fl capon is sometimes twisted under the wing.
The French adopt the following method to make old poultry
eat tender: Let the bird soak in cold water for 24 hours, with
a handful or two of wood-ashes; pick off the feathers, and let
it hang for another 24 hours; truss it, and let it boil for quarter
of an hour in a little veal-broth; take it out, lard, and roast it;
when nearly done, baste it with very hot butter. By observing
these directions, you will impart to an old bird all the delicate
flavor of a young chicken.
foelee to boil Fowls in.—Cut into large dice two pounds of
lean veal, and two pounds of fat bacon, cured without salt-
petre, two large carrots, and two onions; to these add half a
pound of fresh butter, put the whole into a stewpan, and stir it
with a wooden spoon over a gentle fire, until the veal is very
white, and the bacon is partially melted; then pour to them
three pints of clear boiling broth or water, throw in four cloves,
a small bunch or two of thyme and parsley, a bay-leaf, and a
few corns of white pepper; boil these gently for an hour and
a half, then strain the poelee through a fine sieve, and set it by
in a cool place. Use it instead of water for boiling the
various kinds of poultry; it will answer for several in suc-
cession, and will remain good for many days. Some cooks
order a pound of butter in addition to the bacon, and others substitute beef suet in part for this last.
To bo!1 a Turkey.—Make a stuffing as for veal; or if you
wish a plain stuffing, pound a cracker, or some bread-crumb


214
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
very fine, chop raw salt pork very fine, sift some sage and any
other sweet herbs that are liked, season with pepper, and
mould them together with the yolk of an egg; put this under the breast and tie it closely. Set on the turkey in boiling
water, enough to cover it; boil very slowly, and take off the
scum as it rises. A large turkey will require more than two
hours' boiling; a small one, an hour and a half. Garnish with
fried forcemeat, and serve with oyster or celery sauce; for
which, see Sauces.
Or:—Fill the body with oysters, and let it boil by steam
without any water. When sufficiently done, take it up, strain
the gravy that will be found in the pan, and which, when cold,
will be a fine jelly; thicken it with a little flour and butter,
add the liquor of the oysters intended for sauce, also stewed,
and warm the oysters up in it; whiten it with a little boiled
cream, and pour it over the turkey.
To roast a Turkey.—Prepare a stuffing of pork sausage
meat, one beaten egg, and a few crumbs of bread; or, if sausages are to be served with the turkey, stuffing as for fillet
of veal: in either, a little shred shalot is an improvement.
Stuff the bird under the breast; dredge it with flour, and put
it down to a clear brisk fire; at a moderate distance the first
half-hour, but afterwards nearer. Baste with butter; and
when the turkey is plumped up, and the steam draws towards
the fire, it will be nearly done; then dredge it lightly with
flour, and baste it with a little more butter, first melted in the
basting-ladle. Serve with gravy in the dish, and bread sauce
in a tureen. It may be garnished with sausages, or with fried
forcemeat, if veal-stuffing be used. Sometimes the gizzard
and liver are dipped into the yolk of an egg, sprinkled with
salt and cayenne, and then put under the pinions, before the
b.id '.s put to the fire. Chestnuts, stewed in gravy, are like-
n ise eaten with turkey.
A very large turkey will require three hours' roasting; one
of eight or ten pounds, two hours; and a small one, an hour
and a half.
Roasted chestnuts, grated or sliced, and green truffles, sliced,
»re « xcellcnt additions to the stuffing for turkeys.
To "devil" Turkey.—Mix a little salt, black pepper, and


. POULTRY. 215
Cayenne, and sprinkle the mixture over the gizzard, rump, and
drumstick, of a dressed turkey; broil them, and serve very
hot with this sauce: mix with some of the gravy out of the
dish, a little made mustard, some butter and flour, a spoonful
of lemon juice, and the same of soy: boil up the whole.
Stuffing for Turkeys, Fowls, and Veal.—Chop, finely, half a
pound of suet; and with it mix the same quantity of bread-
crumbs, a large spoonful of chopped parsley, nearly a tea-
spoonful of thyme and marjoram, mixed, one-eighth of a nut-
meg, some grated lemon-peel, salt, and pepper; and bind tho
whole with two eggs. A tea-spoonful of finely-shred shalot, or
onion, may be added at pleasure.
To Bone a Turkey or Fowl.—Cut through the skin down the
centre of the back, and raise the flesh carefully on either side
with the point of a sharp knife, until the sockets of the wings
and thighs are reached. With the point of the knife detach the
joints, and, till a little practice has been gained, it will perhaps
be better to bone these joints, by passing the knife carefully
between the bone and flesh, and pulling out the bone, before
proceeding further; but after they are once detached from it,
the whole of the body may be easily separated from the flesh
and taken out entire: only the neck-bones and merry-thought
will then remain to be removed, and they can be easily cut
away. It is usual to leave the pinions un boned, in order to
give more easily its natural form to the fowl when it is dressed.
The bird thus prepared, may be restored to its original form,
by filling the legs and wings with forcemeat, and the body
with the livers of two or three fowls, if they can be procured,
mixed with alternate layers of parboiled tongue, freed from the
rind, fine sausage-meat, or veal forcemeat, or thin slices of the
nicest bacon, or aught else of good flavor, which will give a
marbled appearance to the fowl when it is carved; and then
be sewn up and trussed as usual; or the legs and wings may
be drawn inside the body, and the bird being first flattened on
a table may be covered with sausage meat, and the various
other ingredients we have named, so placed that it shall be of
equal thickness in every part; then tightly rolled, bound firmly
together with a fillet of oroad tape, wrapped in a thin pudding-
cloth, closely tied at both ends, and dressed as follows: —Put
it into a braising-pan, scew-pan, or thick iron saucepan, bright


216
MBS. bale's new cook book.
in the inside, and fitted as nearly as may be to its size; add
all the chicken-bones, a bunch of sweet herbs, two carrots, two
bay-leaves, a large blade of mace, twenty-four white pepper-
corns, and any trimmings or bones of undressed veal, which
may be at hand; cover the whole with good veal-broth, add
salt, if needed, and stew very softly, from an hour and a quar-
ter to an hour and a half; let it cool in the liquor in which it
was stewed; and after it is lifted out, boil down the gravy to
a jelly and strain it; let it become cold, clear off the fat, and
serve it cut into large dice or roughed, and laid round the fowl,
which is to be served cold. If restored to its form, instead of
being rolled, it must be stewed gently for an hour, and may
then be sent to table hot, covered with mushroom, or any
other good sauce that may be preferred; or it may be left un-
til the following day, and served garnished with the jelly,
which should be firm, and very clear and well-flavored; the
liquor in which the calf's foot has been boiled down, added to
the broth, will give it the necessary degree of consistency.
French cooks add three or four onions to these preparations of
poultry (the last of which is called a galantine); but these
our taste would lead us to reject.
Rolled, one and a quarter to one hour and a half; galantine,
one hour.
Obs.—A couple of fowls, boned and rolled make an excel
lent pie.
To Bone Poultry and Game.—First, take out the breast-
bone; then remove the back with a sharp knife, and next the
leg-bones: keep the skin unbroken, and push within it the
•neat of the legs
To Bone Fowls for Fricassees, Curries, and Pies.—First carve
them entirely into joints, then remove the bones, beginning
with the legs and wings, at the head of the largest bone; hold
this with the fingers, and work the knife as directed in the re-
ceipt above. The remainder of the birds is too easily done to
require any instructions.
To Roast a Goose.—Geese seem to bear the same relation
to poultry that pork does to the flesh of other domestic quad
rupeds; that is, the flesh of goose is not suitable for, or agree 


POULTRY.
217
able to, the very delicate in constitution. One reason doubt-
less is, that it is the fashion to bring it to table very rare
done; a detestable mode!
Take a young Goose, pick, singe, and clean well. Make the
stuffing with two ounces of onions, (about four common sized,)
and one ounce of green sage, chopped very fine; then add a
large coffee cup of stale bread crumbs, and the same of mashed
Dotatoes; a little pepper and salt, a bit of butter as big as a
valnut, the yolk of an egg or two; mix these well together,
and stuff the goose; do not fill it entirely—the stuffing requires
room to swell. Spit it, tie the spit at both ends, to prevent
its swinging round, and to keep the stuffing from coming out.
The fire must be brisk. Baste it with salt and water at first—
then with its own dripping. It will take two hours or more
to roast it thoroughly.
A Green Goose, that is, one under four months old, is sea-
soned with pepper and salt, instead of sage and onions. It will
roast in an hour.
Sauce for a Roasted Goose—Put into a saucepan a table-
spoonful of made mustard, half a tea-spoonful of Cayenne pep.
per, a glass of port wine, and a gill of gravy; mix, and warm,
and pour it through a slit in the apron into the body of the
goose, just before serving.
To stew a Goose.—Truss the goose as for boiling, cover it
with bacon, and tie it up; cover the sauce-pan with bacon; put
in a sprinkle of sweet herbs: a carrot cut in dice, and two bay
leaves; lay in the goose and giblets; cover with bacon; mois-
ten with as much stock as will cover the goose; let it boil,
cover with buttered paper and a close cover, and set it on a hot
hearth, with fire over it: give it an hour and a half. Serve it
with onion or apple sauce.
Obs.—Both geese and ducks, if old, are better to be parboil-
ed before they are roasted. Put them on in just sufficient
water to boil them; keep the vessel close covered; let a tough
goose simmer two hours, then dry and wipe it clean: stuff and
roast, pasting it at first with a little bacon fat or butter.
Ducks.—Ducks may be roasted as soon as killed. Keep a
clear bright fire. Let them be done of a light brown. but if


218
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
wild they should not be much roasted or the flavor will be
spoiled. They take about an hour to roast, and should be well
basted. The livers and gizzards are parboiled, chopped fine,
and thrown into the gravy.
Canvas back ducks are roasted in half an hour; they should
always be served with currant jelly. For tame ducks apple
sauce is more appropriate.
A duckling will require proportionally more roasting.
To boil Bucks.—Salt them two days, and boil in a cloth for
an hour. Serve with onion sauce made with milk. Or, ducka
may be boiled fresh, stuffed with sage and onion, and served
with gravy.
To stew a Duck.—Stuff and half roast a duck; then put
into a stew-pan, with a shred onion, some black pepper and
salt, a little mint, sage, winter savory, and marjoram, chopped
small, and about a pint of beef gravy. Simmer about twenty
minutes, and then skim it, and take out the herbs. Add a
quart of green peas, lightly boiled, and simmer half an hour longer. Thicken with a little butter and flour, if requisite, and
serve the duck and peas in one dish. A glass or two of port
wine, or the juice of half a lemon with a little sugar, will much
improve this dish.
Cabbage, boiled, well drained, shred, and fried in butter,
may also be stewed with ducks, instead of the peas, as above.
To hash a Duck or Goose.—Fry a chopped onion in a stew-
pan, with a little butter; add to it gravy, or boiling water, and
thicken it with flour; then put the duck or goose, cut up, into
the sauce to warm; season it with pepper, salt, a little soy, or
catsup, and the juice of half a lemon. Serve in a deep dish,
with toasted sippets of bread.
Salmi, or Hot Duck Salad.—Cut off the fillets of roasted
ducks into proper pieces; sprinkle allspice and salt over, add
a gill of olive oil, a glass of claret, or the juice of two Seville
oranges; shake it well over the fire and serve it.
A green Goose may be dressed in the same way.


POULrRY.
219

Boiled Fowls.—While-legged
f^'lvV*! 1\) I ^T' Pou'try should always be so-
Mv'''fc\ L ml I M lected for boiling, as they are
of better color when dressed
than any others. Truss them
firmly and neatly, with the legs drawn into the bodies, and the
towls Trussed fur Boillnl. . . . . , ', ,
wings twisted over the backs;
let them be well covered with water, which should be hot, but
not boiling when they are put in. A full-sized fowl will re-
quire about three-quarters of an hour from the time of its begin-
ning to simmer; but young chickens not more than from
twenty to twenty-five minutes; they thould be very gently
boiled, and the scum should be removed with great care as it
gathers on the surface of the water. Either of the following
sauces may be sent to table with them: parsley and butter,
bechamel, English white sauce, oyster, celery, or white mush-
room sauce. The fowls are often dished with small tufts of
delicately-boiled cauliflower placed round them; or with young
vegetable marrow, scarcely larger than an egg, merely pared
and halved after it is dressed; white sauce must be served
with both of these. The livers and gizzards are not, at the pre-
sent day, usually served in the wings of boiled fowls. When
they are not so, the livers may be simmered for four or five
minutes, then pressed to a smooth paste with a wooden spoon,
and mixed very gradually with the sauce, which should not boil
after they are added.
Full-sized fowl, three-quarters of an hour: young chickens,
20 to 25 minutes.
Boiled Fowls with Oysters.—Take a young fowl, fill the inside
with oysters, put it into a jar, and plunge the jar in a kettle or
saucepan of water. Boil it for one hour and a half. There
will be a quantity of gravy from the juices of the fowl and
oysters in the jar; make it into a white sauce, with the addi.
tion of egg, cream, or a little flour and butter; add oysters to
it, or serve it up plain with the fowl. The gravy that comes from a fowl dressed in this manner will be a stiff jelly the next
day; the fowl will be very white and tender, and of an ex-
ceedingly tine flavor—advantages not attainable in ordinary
boiling—while the dish loses nothing of its delicacy and sun
•1 is*'<t y.


220
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
To roast Fowls or Capons.—Fowl, capons, and chickens, are
roasted and served as turkeys, with the addition of egg-sauce;
but they require proportionally less time at the fire, and are
seldom stuffed. A full grown fowl will require about three-
quarters of an hour; a capon, an hour and a quarter; and a
chicken, from 30 to 40 minutes. A large fowl may be stuffed
as a turkey.
To broil a Foul—Split the fowl down the back; season it
very well with pepper, and put it on the gridiron with the
inner part next the fire, which must be very clear. Hold the
gridiron at a considerable distance from the fire, and allow the
fowl to remain until it is nearly half done; then turn it,«taking
great care that it does not burn. Broil it of a fine brown, and
serve it up with stewed mushrooms or a sauce with pickled
mushrooms. A duck may be broiled in the same way. If the
fowl is very large, half roast it, then cut it into four quarters
and finish it on the gridiron. It will take from half an hour to
three-quarters of an hour to cook.
Sauce for a Fowl.—Stew the neck and gizzard, with a small
piece of lemon peel, in about a cupful of water; then bruise
the liver of the fowl with some of the liquor; melt a little
good butter, and mix the liver with the gravy from the neck
and gizzard with it; let it boil a minute or two, and pour it
into the sauce tureen.
To FryChickens.—Cut up the chickens, anc season them
with salt and Cayenne pepper; roll them in flour, and fry
them in hot lard; when the whole are fried, pour off the lard
and put in \ lb. of butter, 1 teacupful of cream, a little flour,
and some scalded parsley chopped fine for the sauce.
To fry cold Chicken.—Cut up the chicken, and take off the skin, rub it with egg, cover it with seasoned bread-crumbs and
chopped parsley, and fry in butter: serve with brown gravy,
thickened with flour and butter, and seasoned with cayenne, mushroom catsup, and lemon pickle. Or, the chicken may
*e seasoned, and fried in plain butter.
To stew Chickens in haste.—Take fresh-killed chickens, clea't,
r.'t thn,m in pieces and scald them in hot water, without giving 


POULTKY.
221
them time to cool: fry them in butter w ith sweet herbs
chopped, white pepper, and salt, then add some boiling water
and flour; stew them until the sauce is reduced: strain, and
add to the sauce a tablespoonful of cream, the yolk of an egg
beaten, squeeze a little lemon-juice over the chicken, and serve
them up. This dish will be useful when it is requisite to add
to the dinner at a short notice ; and if the chickens do not grow
cool, they will be tender.
To stew a Fowl with Onions.—Wash it clean, dry and truss
It as for boiling, put a little pepper and salt into it, rub it with
a bit of butter, as also the sauce-pan; put in with the fowl a
pint of. veal stock or water, a little pepper and salt, turn it
now and then, and when it becomes quite tender, add twelve
or sixteen small onions, and let them stew for half an hour; a
young fowl will take one hour, and an old one three hours to
stew.
Chicken baked in Rice.—Cut a chicken into joints as for a
fricassee, season it well with pepper and salt, lay it into a
pudding-dish lined with slices of ham or bacon, add a pint of
veal gravy, and an onion finely minced; fill up the dish with
boiled rice well pressed and piled as high as the dish will hold,
cover it with a paste of flour and water, and bake one hour in
a slow oven. If you have no veal gravy, use water instead,
adding a little more ham and seasoning.
To warm dressed Poultry.—Beat up an egg or two, and add
to it chopped parsley, bread-crumbs, and seasoning; with which
cover the pieces of poultry; fry them in dripping of a light
brown color, or put them into a Dutch oven before a clear fire.
Thicken some gravy, add to it a little mushroom catsup,
warm it, and pour it over the fry in B deep dish. Garnish
with sippets and lemon.
Ragouts of Poultry, Game, Pigeons, Rabbits, etc.—Half roast
it, then divide it into joints and pieces proper to help at table,
and put it into a stew-pan, with one pint and a half of broth,
or as much water, with any trimmings of meat you have, one
large onion with cloves stuck in it, twelve berries of allspice,
the barrier of black pepper, and a roll of lemon-peel; -t hee it


MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
boils, skim it very clean; let ;.t simmer very gently for about
an hour and a quarter, if a duck or fowl—longer if a larger
bird; then strain off the liquor, and leave the ducks by the
fire to keep hot; skim the fat off; put into a clean stew-pan
two ounces of butter; when it is hot stir in as much flour as
will make it of a stiff paste; add the liquor by degrees; let it
boil up; put in a glass of port wine, and a little lemon-juice,
and simmer it ten minutes; put the ducks, &C., into the dish,
and strain the sauce through a fine sieve over them.
Garnish with sippets of toasted or fried bread.
Obs.—If the poultry is only half roasted, and stewed only
till just nicely tender, this will be an acceptable bonne bouche
to those who are fond of made dishes. The flavor may be
varied by adding catsup, curry powder, or any of the flavored
vinegars.
This is an easily prepared side dish, especially when you
have a large dinner to dress; and coming to table ready carved
saves a deal of time and trouble; it is therefore an excellent
way of serving poultry, &C., for a large party.
To make a Pillau.—Boil one pint of rice in as much water
as will cover it: when half boiled, put in a chicken with one
onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper and salt. When
it is boiled sufficiently, put the fowl in a dish, and pour the
rice in it. A small piece of salt pork or bacon boiled in the
rice, and then taken out, adds to the flavor.
To make Croquettes.—Take cold fowl, or fresh meat of any kind, with slices of ham, fat and lean; chop them together
very fine, and add half as much stale bread grated, some salt,
pepper, nutmeg, a teaspoonful of made mustard, tablespoor<ui
cf catsup, and a lump of butter: knead all well together till it
resembles sausage meat; make it up in cakes or little balls
the size of a walnut, dip them in the yolks of eggs beaten,
cover them thickly with grated bread, and fry them a light brown.
A brown Fricassee.—Cut the chicken in small pieces and par
boil it. Take onions, parsley, butter, pepper, and salt, put
them into a pot well floured, and stew them. Add the chicken,
and stew until quite brown, having put in some of the water


POULTRY. 223
in which the chicken was boiled. Fifteen or twenty minutes
will be sufficient to cook it.
A white Fricassee.—Cut in pieces two chickens, and lay them
in warm water to drain out the blood ; then lay them in a clean
cloth to dry, put them in a stew-pan with milk and water;
stew them till they are tender; take them out and strain the
liquor; put them over the fire again with half a pint of the
liquor, half a pint of cream or milk, the yolks of two eggs,
half a nutmeg, a glass of white wine, and a piece of butter
rolled in flour: stir all together in one way for fifteen or twenty
minutes, till they are thoroughly cooked.
Fricasseed Chicken with Green Corn.—Cut the green corn
from the cob; put it in the pot with water enough to cover it;
let it stew till the corn is nearly done. Then cut up the chicken,
put it with the corn, and let them stew together about half an
hour. Put in a few whole grains of pepper with a tea-cupful
of cream or milk. Thicken with two table-spoonsful of flour stirred in a lump of butter. Add salt the last thing.
Turkey, or Fowl, in Jelly.—Bone the bird, and fill it with
forcemeat, in which are mushrooms; lard it with fat bacon,
and tie it up; stew it in strong gravy, till a skewer may be
passed through it easily: when cold, take off the fat, and serve
with a savory jelly round it.
Curry of Chicken (a Receipt brought from Bengal).—To
make a dish of curry for six or seven persons, take one large
or two small fowls, and cut them into pieces. Put them in salt
and water until the other ingredients are ready; take 2 table-
spoonsful of powdered ginger, 1 table-spoonful of fresh tur-
meric, a few cloves, some mace, cardamom seeds, Cayenne
pepper, and a dessert-spoonful of black pepper; salt to your
taste. Put these ingredients into a mortar; add 8 large onions.
Diuise the spices and onions together until they form a paste;
then brown the chicken in butter. Put 3 pints of water in a
sauce-pan, and when it boils throw in the paste; when this is
dissolved, put in the chicken and boil it. When the meat is
done, the curry is ready for the table.
Rice must be served in a separate dish. Curry may be made of lamb, veal, eggs, oysters, lobsters, or any sweet
poultry.


MRS. IIALF.'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Another Method—is, to pour over the chicken's a pint ofcream, and the juice of a lemon, and to let them remain an
hour. Meanwhile, fry sliced onions and two spoonsful of cur-
ry powder in butter; then put all into a stew-pan, with a little
gravy, and stew till done. Season with salt and Cayenno
pepper, and serve with rice as above.
Or:—A readier method is to cover each piece of poultry, or
game, in a mixture of flour and curry-powder; then fry them
with sliced onions in butter, till brown: put all into a stew-pan,
with boiling water to cover, and simmer about two hours.
A fourth method is, to put the poultry, or game, into a stew-
pan, with about 3 oz. of butter, 3 spoonsful of curry-powder,
4 or 6 table-spoonsful of cold water, and a tea-spoonful of salt;
stew slowly, stirring all the time, or about 20 minutes; then
serve hot in a deep dish. About a table-spoonful and a half
of curry is a good proportion for every pound weight of poul
try or game.
Obs.—Curry is also made with sweetbreads, breast of veal,
veal cutlets, lamb, mutton, or pork chops, lobster, eels, and
oysters.
Dumpokht*—Clean and truss a fowl,-or rabbit, as for roast-
ing; then stuff it with sultana raisins, pistachio-nuts, and boil-
ed rice in equal parts. Rub fine 1 oz. of coriander-seed, freed
from the husks, 4 onions, a dozen peppercorns, 6 cloves, and a
tea-spoonful of pounded ginger. Set 12 oz. of butter in a stew-
pan over the fire, rub the pounded ingredients over the fowl or
rabbit, and let it fry until perfectly well browned and tender.
Have boiled in a quart of white broth 12 oz. of rice, 2 oz. of
sultana raisins, 2 oz. of pistachio nuts, and 2 of almonds, the
two latter blanched, and cut into thin slices. When the rice
is nearly tender, strain off the broth, and add the rice to the
fried fcwl; stir the whole well, that the butter may completely
saturate the rice, and keep it near the fire to swell till wanted.
In serving surround the fowl with the rice.
Observe, that in pounding the onions, the juice only is used
with the spices, or they must be rubbed and pounded so finely
as not to be perceptible. Chestnuts may be substituted for
pistachio-nuts.
* The dish mentioned in the Arabian Nights as the kid stuffed with pist*


POULTRY.
225
Chicken Pot Pie.—Cut a chicken in pieces; if it is not a
young chicken parboil it in water enough to cover it, with half
a pound of salt pork cut in slices, or a tea-spoonful of salt in
it. Skim it carefully. Make a paste with half a pound of
sweet lard rubbed into one pound of flour and a tea-spoonful
of salt; add enough water to work it to a smooth paste; roll
the crust about half an inch thick, and line with it the sides of
n stew-pan nearly to the bottom. Lay the chicken in the crust,
and add a piece of butter the size of an egg rolled in flour;
put in the water the chicken was parboiled in, and if necessary
add more hot water till the stew-pan is nearly full. Cut part
of the paste in small diamonds, and put them in the pie. Put
on the top crust, first laying skewers across the top of the stew
pan. Cut a slit in the centre. Put on the lid of the stew-pan,
and let it boil slowly three-quarters of an hour, or more, if
necessary. When the crust is well done the dish can be
served.
An Egyptian Method of dressing Meats and Poultry.—Prepare
a proper soup, or properly seasoned water; cut the fowl in quar
ters, or the meat into steaks, and let it simmer till sufficiently done
upon a hot hearth; then take out the meat, and put in as much
rice as will thicken the liquor into a pillau; in the meantime,
fry some onions and the meat; dish the rice, strew over the
onions, and lay meat over it.
Pigeons—are dry and easily digested food, but not quite so
delicate as partridges. For the sick the latter are very appro-
priate, and may be eaten, if good, (they are sometimes almost
poisonous, in the early spring, supposed to be caused by feed-
ing on a certain berry,) when other meats would be injurious.
Pigeons may be dressed in various ways. The good flavor
of them depends much upon their being cropped and drawn as
soon as killed. No other bird requires so much washing.
To stew Pigeons.—To make a good stew of them, see that
they are fresh, carefully cleansed and cropped; soak them for
half in hour. In the meantime, cut a hard white cabbage in
slices (as if for pickling) into water; drain it and lay some of
it at the bottom of a stew-pan. Put the pigeons upon it, sea-
soning them well with pepper and salt; cover them with the
remainder of the cabbage ; add a little broth and stew them
14


226
MItS. HALE'i NEW COOK BOOK.
gently till the pigeons are tender; then add two or three table spoonfuls of cream, and a little butter and flour for thickening;
let them boil a minute or two, and serve the birds with the
cabbage placed around them.
Another way of Stewing Pigeons.—Wash and clean six
pigeons, cut them into quarters, and put all their giblets with
them into a stew-pan, a piece of butter, a little water, a bit of
lemon-peel, two blades of mace, some chopped parsley, salt,
and pepper; cover the pan closely, and stew them till they are
tender; thicken the sauce with the yolk of an egg beaten up
with three table-spoonsful of cream and a bit of butter dusted
with flour; let them stew ten minutes longer before serving.
This is an excellent and economical way of cooking them.
To Roast Pigeons.—Scald some parsley, chop it with the
livers, mix them with a piece of fresh butter, season with pep-
per and salt; put a portion inside each pigeon; cover the
breast with a slice of bacon-fat; roast them; serve with pars-
ley, and butter in the dish. •
Pigeons A-la-mode (an excellent way).—After they are tho
roughly picked and cleaned, put a small slice of salt pork, and
a little ball of stuffing, into the body of every pigeon. The
stuffing should be made of one egg to one cracker, an equal
quantity of suet or butter seasoned with sweet marjoram, or
sage, if marjoram cannot be procured. Flour the pigeons
well, lay them close together in the bottom of the pot, just co-
ver them with water, throw in a bit of butter, and let them
stew an hour and a quarter, if young; an hour and three-
quarters, if old. Some people turn off the liquor just before
they are done, and brown the pigeons on the bottom of tho
pot; but this is very troublesome, as they are apt to break
to pieces.
Pigeon Pie.—In making a pigeon-pie, put inside of every
bird a piece of butter and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg.
A Dry Devil.—Take the liver, gizzard, and drumstick of a
turkey; score them; lay on made mustard very thickly, and
add a quantity of Cayenne pepper, and broil them.


CHAPTER XV.
GAME AND SMALL BIRDS.
General Observations—To Roast Woodcocks — Canvuss-Baei
Ducks—Wild Ducks—Wigeonand Teal—Sauce for Wild
Fowl—Pheasant*—Partridges, Roasted, Boiled, &c.—Reed
Birds—Small Birds—Larks-—Rabbits—Hare.
When game seems to be spoiled, it may often be made fit
for eating by nicely cleaning it, and washing with vinegar and
water. If there is danger of birds not keeping, draw, crop,
and pick them; then wash them in 2 or 3 waters, and rub
them with salt; plunge them, one by one, into a saucepan of
boiling water, drawing them up and down by the legs, that
the water may pass through them. Let them stay in 5 or 6
minutes; then hang them up in a cool place. When drained,
pepper and salt the inside well. By this method the most
delicate birds may be preserved. Before roasting, wash them
well. But, as a rule, no game should be washed, for one-half
the game that is sent to table is spoiled by being saturated in
water.
In dressing game be careful to keep a clear fire. Let it be
done of a bright brown, but not much roasted, or the tine
flavor will be destroyed. It requires to he continually basted,
and to be sent up beautifully frothed. Wild-fowl take a much
shorter time than domestic poultry.
The following will give, pretty nearly, the time required for
roasting the several birds:—Wild-ducks quarter of an hour,
widgeons the same, pheasants half an hour, grouse quarter of
an hour, quails 10 minutes, woodcocks 20 minutes, partridges
from 20 to 25 minutes. A hare or rabbit will take an hour;
the hind part requires most heat, and that should be attended
227


GAME AND til. «XL EIRDR.
parsley, shallots, seallions, pepper, kid salt; stuff the womb cocks, sew them up, cover with slices of bacon, and finish a*
directed in the last receipt: serve bread-sance in a aauee-boat.
Attention is to be paid to pick out the g»H. which is at-
tached to the liver, as well as the gizzard, which is full of small
pebbles and other calcareous matter.
Salmi of Woodcocks.—Cook the intestines, taking out the gall and gizzard. (See Table Salmi.)
Woodcocks with Truffle, or a la Pereg ueux.—Open the wood-
cocks by the back; have truffle ready cooked in rasped lard;
let it cool a little; mince the intestines, and mix them with
the truffle; stuff the woodcocks, truss and lard; either roast or
braise them. Use truffle-powder, if there is no fresh truffle.
To roast Canvass-back Bucks.—Let the duck be young and
fat; pick it well; draw and singe it carefully, but do not wash
it. Truss it, leaving its head on to distinguish it from com-
mon game, and place it on the spit before a brisk fire, for at
least fifteen minutes: serve it hot in its own gravy. The best
are found on the Potomac River. They have the head purple,
and the breast silver-color. The season is only during cold
weather.
Wild Ducks.—You must pluck, draw, singe, and clean the
inside of these, the same as directed for poultry. To roast
them properly, you must hang them down to a brisk, clear,
bright fire, and baste them with butter, as the outside must be
nicely browned and frothed, and yet the flesh be juicy and full
of gravy. They will take about twenty to thirty-five minutes
to roast, according as the family like them more or less done,
which you must inquire. Serve up with sauce made thus:
half a teacupful of port wine, the same of good meat gravy, a
small onion sliced, a little cayenne pepper and salt, a grate cf
nutmeg, and a bit of mace: simmer them for ten minutes;
then put in a little bit of butter and flour, give it all one boil,
strain it, and pour it through the birds.
Or you may serve them up without making gravy, by only
mixing the gravy which drops from them with half a teacupful
of boiling water, and a little pepper and salt, and straining it
into the dish.


230
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Widgeon and Teal.—Widgeon and teal are to be dressed
and served up in the same manner as wild duck; but twenty
to twenty-five minutes will be long enough to roast a widgeon;
and fifteen to twenty minutes, a teal.
Sauce for Wild Fowl.—Put into a saucepan half a pint of
gravy, a few leaves of basil, a small onion or shalot, and a
small piece of lemon peel; boil a few minutes, and strain off;
then add the juice of half a lemon, or Seville orange, or a glass
of port wine; and season with salt and Cayenne, or black pep
per. This is a fine sauce for all kinds of wild fowl.
An onion, or shalot, chopped fine, and warmed in plain
brown gravy, is a readier sauce than the above.
To roast Partridges.—Let the birds hang as long as they
can possibly be kept without becoming
offensive; pick them carefully, draw, and
singe them; wipe the insides thoroughly
with a clean cloth; truss them with the
head turned under the wing and the legs drawn close together or crossed. Flour
them when first laid to the fire, and baste
A Partridge Trussed for them plentifully with butter. Serve them
Boasting. w	h bread sauce, and good brown gravy.
A little of this last should be poured over them.
In preparing them for the spit, remove the crop through a
slit cut in the back of the neck; clip the claws close; hold the
legs in boiling water for a minute that they may be easily
skinned.
Another wag.—Cover the breasts with slices of lemon, and
then with bacon, and fix the paper tightly over, and when
ready, unpaper and froth them: serve with clear juice, all-
spice, and a little Seville orange-juice.
Broiled Partridge: (French receipt.)—After having prepared
the bird with great nicety, divided and flattened it, season it
with salt, and pepper, or cayenne, dip it into clarified butter,
and then into very fine bread crumbs, and take care that every
part shall be equally covered: if wanted of particularly good
appearance, dip it a second time into the butter and crumbs.


GAME AND SMALL BIRDS. 231
l
Place it over a very clear fire, and broil it gently from twenty
to thirty minutes. Send it to table with brown mushroom
sauce, or some Espagnole.
To roast wild Pigeons —Pigeons, when stuffed, require some
green parsley to be chopped very fine with the liver and a bit
of butter, seasoned with a little pepper and salt; or they may be stuffed with the same as a fillet of veal. Fill the belly of
each bird with either of these compositions. They will roast
in about twenty or thirty minutes. Serve with parsley and
butter, in a dish under them, with some in a boat. Garnish
with crisp parsley, fried bread crumbs, bread sauce or gravy.
Wild Pigeons may be stewed, &c, by the receipts for
Pigeons.
Reed Birds.—Having carefully picked your birds, which
should be very fat, draw them with the greatest care possible
so as not to rob them of any fat, and truss them on a skewer,
which you fasten to the spit, and cook them before a brisk fire;
a very few minutes is requisite. In serving them, place them on
buttered toast, and pour a small portion of gravy over them.
Let them be hot. This is generally considered the best manner
of serving reed birds, although many persons prefer them
breaded and fried, or barbecued. When they are very fat it is
unnecessary to draw them. The season for this delicious bird
is from the middle of September to 6he first or second week in
October.
Small Birds.—Sparrows, larks, and other small birds, must
be carefully picked, gutted, and cleaned ; then rub them over
thinly with the yolk of an egg, and sprinkle them with bread
crumbs; hang them down, and baste with butter while they
are roasting. They will take 10 to 15 minutes, with a brisk
fire.
Obs.—Larks are not found in America, but robins, we are
sorry to say, are sometimes killed for the table. We fully
agree in sentiment with the English lady, whose remarks we
subjoin, on the barbarity of killing, for amusement, singing
birds and inoffensive little animals:
"I cannot here lay down my pen without calling upon my
countrywomen to stamp on the barbarous practice of hunting 


232
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
or murdering for diversion the indelible stigma of their abhor
rence. It argues, indeed, a degraded state of morality and of
science, when men can be found, without the plea of necessity
be weak in head, and strong in heart, as to have recourse to
such practices for amusement and for occupation.
"Nor less does it argue in their matrons of England and '.heir
daughters the absence of that delicacy and gentleness, for
which we are so willing to take credit to the female character.
The desire of the sexes to be mutually agreeable to each othei
is so constant and intense, that unless where women have no
will of their own, anything much disliked by the one cannot
long be continued by the other. If women are unable to de-
mand from their husbands, instead of the brush, or the leading
the field, superiority of intellect and refinement of manners,
they certainly can require them from lovers, and instil them
into the minds of their children."
Rabbits.—Rabbits being rather dry meat, are much improv-
ed by larding. Should the process be deemed too troublesome
upon common occasions, a good effect may be produced by
lining the inside of the rabbit with slices of fat bacon pre-
viously to putting in the stuffing. This is a very easy method
of improvement, and ought never to be neglected.
A boned rabbit, larded, stuffed, and braised, or stewed
affords a cheap and elegant side-dish for a dinner party.
Leveret, or Rabbit, with Herbs.—Cut either of the two into
pieces, put it into a stew-pan with butter, salt, pepper, parsley,
sorrel, and young onions chopped. When sufficiently done,
add the juice of a lemon. The legs may be broiled and laid
on the top.
To roast a Rabbit.—Put veal-stuffing into it, and the back
may be larded; roast three-quarters of an hour, and serve with
rich brown gravy.
To boil a Rabbit.—Put into boiling water, with a piece of
crumb of bread, a little mutton-suet, and a slice of peeled
lemon; boil three-quarters of an hour and serve witk onion
sauce, or parsley and butter.


CHAPTER XVI
GRAVIES.
Introductory Remarks—Gravy—To Draw—Rich Gravy forRoast Fowl—Cheap Veal Gravy—Gravy for Fowls—Tokeep—Without meat—Veloute—Thickening for Gravies.
Gravies are not often re- /<T^—T^Vs
quired either in great variety, ^^Z^
or in abundant quantities, when IS frt^"
only a moderate table is kept, ^'v'
and a clever cook will manage ^8a» —
to supply, at a trifling cost, all Gravy Kettle-
that is generally needed for plain family dinners; while an
unskilful or extravagant one will render them sources of un
jounded expense.'' But however small the proportions in
which they are made, their quality should be particularly at
tended to, and they should be well adapted in flavor to the
dishes they are to accompany. For some, a high degree of
savor is desirable; but for fricassees, and other preparations
of delicate white meats, this should be avoided, and a soft,
smooth sauce of refined flavor should be used in preference to
any of more piquant relish.
Gravy may be made quite as good of the skirts of beef, kid
Bey, or milt, or of the liver of a fat ox, as of any other kind of
meat, if cut in pieces, fried with onions, and seasoned with
herbs and spices, as other gravies. A clever servant will con-
trive to supply, at a trifling expense, as much gravy as is
wanted for the use of a small family by stewing down the
* We know of an instance of a oook who stewed down twoor three pound*
of beef tc Diakc gravy Fr a single hrace of partridges; and who complained
of the m<k*nme*s of her employers (who were by no menu* aftlnentj hecau&o
inia was objected to.
233


234
MPS. hai.e's new cook book.
trimmings of meat and bones. It may even be made of the
shank-bones of legs and shoulders of mutton: they should L>6
thrown into water, and, after a good soaking and brushing, be
long boiled. The water in w hich they are done will add greatly
to the richness of gravy, as does the jelly of cow-heels. The
latter must lie all night in water, which causes the jelly to be
of a good color. When boiled three hours, and become cold,
let the fat be carefully taken off; and when apparently quite
clear, lay some white paper upon it, rubbing it close with a
spoon, which will remove every particle of grease, and it will
be as pure as the jelly of a calf's foot.
In preparing meat to stew for gravy, beat it with a mallet 01
rolling-pin, and score it across in various places, as this will
make it give out its juices; season it with pepper and salt
and put it into a stew-pan with butter only, heating it gradu-
ally until it becomes brown, but shaking the pan frequently to
see that it does not burn or stick to the bottom. It will gen-
erally be browned sufficiently in half an hour. If kept in a
very cool place and covered closely in a stone jar, it will keep
good for 2 or 3 days in summer, and more than B week in
winter, but should not be thickened until it is meant to be
used.
To drawGravy.—Cut gravy beef into small pieces, and put
it, with some whole black pepper, into a jar, -which tie over
with a bladder; set the jar in a saucepan of cold water, and
boil it gently for 6 or 7 hours, filling up the saucepan with hot
water as the water boils away. The gravy thus mado may
be reduced and flavored for use.
A Pint of Rich Gravy for Roast Fowl.—Cut small 1 lb. of
gravy beef, sliced 2 onions, and put them in a stew-pan with a
quart of water, some whole black pepper, a small carrot, and
a bunch of sweet herbs; simmer till reduced to one pint;
strain the gravy and pour it into another stew-pan, upon A lb.
of butter browned with 2 table-spoonsful of flour; stir and
boil up.
Cheap Veal Gravy.—Put in a stew-pan the bones and trim-
mings of a knuckle of veal, a bit of lean bacon, lemon-peel.


GRAVIES.
235
sweet herbs, some whole black pepper, some salt, and a blade
of mace. Cover with water, boil and skim; simmer about 3
hours, and strain.
Rich Gravy.—Slice 1 pound of lean beef and 2 large onions;
flour and fry them only brown in a little butter; then put them
into a stew-pan, pour half a pint of boiling water on the meat
and onions; add a small bunch of sweet herbs, one blade of
mace, a table-spoonful of whole black pepper and allspice,
mixed, and a bit of lean bacon. Simmer for three hours; skim
as soon as it boils, and frequently after—shaking it round, tc
prevent its burning. Strain, and take off the fat; and it will
be ready to serve without thickening or browning, if properly
made.
Slice beef and onions, flour them, and fry them a light
brown, in very little butter; put them into a stew-pan with a
hunch of sweet herbs, some whole pepper and allspice, three
cloves, and two blades of mace; simmer till the meat is almost
tasteless, skim carefully and strain. A dessert-spoonful of es-
sence of anchovies or soy will be a great improvement.
When ham is wanted for gravy, cut the under part rather
than the prime, and be careful in using salt.
Garlic or shalot vinegar, used with caution, say a few drops
to a pint of gravy, is one of the finest flavors in cookery.
Gravy for Fowls without Meat.—Clean the feet and gizzard,
and cut them and the neck into small pieces; put them into a
sauce-pan with two small onions, a few sprigs of sweet herbs,
a tea-spoonful of whole pepper, and some salt, and the liver,
to which add a pint of water; simmer an hour; then mix the
liver into paste with a little flour and butter; strain the gravy
to it, stir well and boil up. A tea-spoonful of soy will enrich
it, and a little coloring may be added, as a knob of sugar burnt
in an iron spoon.
Gravy, in a few minutes.—Put a table-spoonful of glaze, or
portable soup, into half a pint of warm water, with an onion;
boil five minutes, add salt and some coloring, and strain. This
will serve for any roast poultry or game.
Gravy, to keep.—Lay in fl stew-pan lean beef, cover it with
water and let it stew gently; then add more water, a small


236
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
slice of lean ham, sweet herbs, onion, and seasoning, and sim-
mer till it is rich. Set it by to cool, but do not remove
the fat till the gravy is wanted, as that serves to keep the
air from it.
Or, lay the meat in the pan, set it on the fire to draw out
the gravy, and when that is done, add the water, &C., as above.
Be careful not to let the meat burn.
The sediments of cold gravies should not be used.
Veloute.—Take 1 pound of veal, with the remains of a fowl
and a dozen of full-grown mushrooms, or a smaller number of
green truffles; heat these in melted butter, or beef fat, without
browning; season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, or mixed spices,
to which may be added a couple of carrots and onions, with a
table-spoonful or two of flour. When boiled, skim off the fat,
and let it simmer for one hour and a half, after which strain it,
and keep it closely stopped for further use.
Essence of Ham, for improving the flavor of sauces, is also
made in nearly the same manner—the meat being stripped
from the bone, and put into a sauce-pan with the bone broken
in small pieces, then stewed in a small quantity of water for
several hours until the liquor becomes thick; after which it is
strained, and again stewed with about the same quantity of
very strong and well spiced veal-gravy. If carefully bottled
and corked, it will remain good for a long time, and a spoonful
or two will frequently be found a useful addition.
Thickening for Sauces and Gravies.—For white thickening,
put four ounces of fresh butter into a stew-pan, over a clear
fire; when it is melted, stir in gradually, with a wooden spoon,
eight table-spoonsful of flour till quite smooth; then put it into
an earthen pan, and tie over, to keep. It should not be darker
than cream.
For brown thickening, only six table-spoonsful of flour should
be used with four ounces of fresh butter; it should be made
over a stronger fire, and gradually browned lightly. If it burn,
or have dark specks, it will make sauce bitter.
The usual proportion of thickening for gravy is a table- spoonful to a quart.


CHAPTER XVII.
SAUCES.
Intioductory Remarks—Melted Butter—Sauce fur Roast Beef —
Egg Sauce — Mustard Sauce — Sauce Robert—Christopher
North's Sauce — Bechamel — Asparagus Sauce—Parsley and
Butter—Onion Sauce — Oyster—White — French Maitre
IPHotel—Bread Sauce—Mushrooms—Tomato— Caper—
Shalot—Sauces for Poultry—For Fish — Apple Sauce—
Gooseberry—Cranberry—Sauces for Pudding.
The difference between good and bad cookery can scarcely
be more strikingly shown than in the manner in which sauces
are prepared and served.
If well made, appropriate
to the dishes they accom-
pany, and sent to table
with them as hot as possi-
ble, they not only give a
heightened relish to a din-
ner, but they prove that Bern Murie, or Water Bath.
both skill and taste have
been exerted in its arrangements. When coarsely and care
/«3sly prepared, on the contrary, as they too often are, they
greatly discredit the cook, and are anything but acceptable to
the eaters. Melted butter, the most common of all—the "one
sauce" of England and America, which excites the raillery of
foreigners—is frequently found to be such an intolerable com.
pound, either oiled or lumpy, or composed principally of flour
and water, that it says but little for the state of cookery
amongst us. We trust that the receipts in the present chapter
are so clearly given, that if strictly followed they will mate-
rially assist the learner in preparing tolorably palatable sauces
at the least. The cut at the commencement of the chapter

237


MRS. llALK'a NEW COOK BOOK.
exhibits the vessel called a "bain marie," in which sauce-pans
are placed when it is necessary to keep their contents hot with-
out allowing them to boil: it is extremely useful when dinners
are delayed after they are ready to serve.
Melted Butter.—Although it may be presumed that every
cook who understands her business, knows how to melt butter,
it is yet constantly brought to table either too thick or too
thin, and not unfrequently filled with lumps of flour or in a
state of oil, and requires more care in the management than is
generally thought necessary.
The excellence of melted butter greatly depends upon the
pains taken to blend it with the flour before it is put upon the
fire, the best plan of doing which is to rub them together with
a knife on a wooden trencher. When well mixed, add two
table-spoonsful of hot water, or the same quantity of milk;
put it into a small pipkin, shaking it one way until it boils,
and not leaving it an instant; it must boil a minute to take off
the rawness, and if made of fresh butter, add a little salt. Re-
member that if you set it on the hot coals, or over the fire, it
will be oily; if the butter and flour be not well mixed, it will
be lumpy; and if you put too much water, it will be thin and
poor. By attending to these directions, and only using suffi-
cient flour to prevent the butter from oiling, it will be rich and
smooth.
Or :—Mix together by degrees two spoonsful of flour in cold
water; make it smooth and thin; then put on a pint of water,
let it boil, stir in the flour and water to make it the required
thickness, cut half a pound of fresh butter in small pieces, put
it into the flour and water, let it boil well; it is then fit for
use; a pinch of salt may be required.
When thin melted butter is required to pour over puddings,
roast veal, &C., make it the same way, adding a larger propor-
tion of water or milk, the latter rendering it rather whiter than
the water; and if meant to be more rich than common, use
cream instead of milk. Indeed, the French frequently enrich
melted butter by adding the yolk of a raw egg.
To brown Melted Butter.—Put a lump of butter into a fry
mg-pan, and toss it round over the fire until it becomes brown;
then dredge some flour over it, which has been also browr»d


BAUCES.
by putting it either in the oven or before the fire, and stir it
round with a spoon until the butter boils.
By adding some of the flavored vinegars and compound
sauces to melted butter thus prepared, most of the fish sauces
can be made, and many of those in common use are composed
in this simple manner.
Sauces for Roast Beef or Mutton.—Grate horseradish on a
bread-grater into a basin, then add 2 table-spoonsful of cream,
with a little mustard and salt; mix them well together; then
add 4 table-spoonsful of the best vinegar, and mix the whole
thoroughly. The vinegar and cream are both to be cold. This
is a very fine sauce; it may be served in a small tureen.
Or:—Scrape the horseradish thin and chop it small, or grate
it, which is better; warm it in melted butter, adding a spoon-
ful of mushroom catsup and one of walnut, or the vinegar
from walnut pickle.
Or:—Scrape very fine or grate the horseradish; add a little
made mustard, and 2 spoonsful of pounded white sugar to
4 of vinegar: mix the whole well together, and place it un-
der the meat, when nearly done, to catch the gravy which
drops from it while roasting. This sauce should be very
thick.
Very good Egg Sauce.—Boil four fresh eggs for quite fifteen
minutes, then lay them into plenty of fresh water, and let them
remain until they are perfectly cold. Break the shells by roll-
ing them on a table, take them off, separate the whites from
the yolks, and divide all of the latter into quarter-inch dice;
mince two of the whites only, tolerably small, mix them lightly,
and stir them into the third of a pint of rich melted butter, or
of white sauce; serve the whole as hot as possible.
Eggs, 4—boiled 15 minutes, left till cold. The yolks of all,
whites of 2; third of pint of good melted butter or white
mtuce. Salt as needed.
Common Egg Sauce.—Boil a couple of eggs hard, and when
they are quite dold out the whites and yolks separately; mix
them well, put them into a very hot tureen, and pour boiling
to them a quarter-pint of melted butter: stir, and serve the
Banco immediately.
Whole
egnsi 2; melted butter, one quarter of a pint. 


240
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
Mustard Sauce.—Stir made mustard into melted butter, ir
the proportion of two table-spoonsful of the former to a quar
ter of a pint of the latter. This is a useful sauce for boiled
tripe, herrings, and hot lobsters.
Same Robert.—Put a piece of butter, the size of an egg, into
a sauce-pan; set it over the fire, and when browning throw in
a handful of onions cut in small dice; fry them brown, but do
do not let them burn; add half a spoonful of flour, shake the
onions in it, and give it another fry; then put 4 spoonsful of
gravy, and some pepper and salt, and boil it gently 10 minutes;
okim it. When ready to serve, add a tea-spoonful of made
mustard, a spoonful of vinegar, and the juice of half a lemon,
and pour it round the steaks or chops. They should be of a
fine yellow brown, and garnished with fried parsley and lemon.
The sauce must not boil after the mustard is put in, otherwise
it will curdle.
This is an excellent sauce for rump of beef, roast pork, or
goose, as well as steaks and chops.
Christopher North's Sauce.—To a glass of port wine add a
tablespoonful of lemon juice, two of Harvey's sauce, a dessert-
spoonful of mushroom catsup, the same of pounded loaf sugar,
a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, and a small quantity of salt.
Mix these well together, and set it to heat, but it should not
boil. It is excellent either with game or meat.
Bechamel.—This is a fine French white sauce, now very
much served at good tables. It may be made in various ways,
and more or less expensively; but it should always be thick,
smooth, and rich, though delicate in flavor. The most ready
mode of preparing it, is to take an equal proportion of very
strong pale veal gravy, and of good cream, (a pint of each, for
example), arid then by rapid boiling over a very clear fire, to
reduce the gravy nearly half; next, to mix with part of the
cream a tallcapoonful of fine dry flour, to pour it to the re-
mainder, when it boils, and to keep the whole stirred for five
minutes or more over a slow fire, for if placed upon a fierce
o ae, it would be liable to burn; then to add the gravy, to stir
and mix the sauce perfectly, and to simmer it for a few min-
utes longer. All the flavor should be given by the gravy, in
which French cooks boil a handful of mushrooms, a few green


SAUCES.
241
onions, and some branches of parsley before it is reduced:
out a good bechamel may be made without them, with a strong
consommee.
Strong pale veal gravy (flavored with mushrooms or not),
1 pint: reduced half. Rich cream, 1 pint; flour, x table-
spoonful: 5 minutes. With gravy, 4 or 5 minutes.
Obs. — Veloute, which is a rather thinner sauce or gravy, is
made by simply well reducing the cream and stock separately,
and then mixing them together without any thickening.
Common Bechamel.—Cut half a pound of veal, and a slice
of lean ham into small dice, and stew them in butter, with
vegetables, as directed in the foregoing receipt: stir in the
same proportion of flour, then add the milk, and let the sauce
boil very gently for an hour. It should not be allowed to
thicken too much before it is strained.
Obs.—Common bechamel, with the addition of a spoonful of
made mustard, is an excellent sauce for boiled mutton.
Asparagus Sauce for Lamb Chops.—Cut the green tender
points of some young asparagus into half-inch lengths, wash
them well, drain and throw them into plenty of boiling salt
and water. When they are quite tender, which may be in
from ten to fifteen minutes, turn them into a hot strainer and
drain the water thoroughly from them; put them, at the in stunt of serving, into half a pint of thickened veal gravy,
mixed with the yolks of a couple of eggs, and well seasoned
with salt and cayenne, or white pepper; or, into an equal
quantity of good melted butter: add to this last a squeeze of
lemon juice. The asparagus will become yellow if reboiled,
or if left long in the sauce before it is served.
Asparagus points, half pint: boiled 10 to 15 minutes—
longer if not quite tender. Thickened veal gravy, half pint;
yolks of eggs, 2.
Parsley and Butter.—Pick and wash clean a large bunch of
parsley, tie it up, and boil it for a few minutes in water; drain
and chop it very finely, add to it some melted butter, and
make it quite hot. It is better to be made thick with parsley.
Ftrmel Sauce.—Proceed as for parsley and butter.


242
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
The first is used for the various purposes of fish, poultry, and
fresh boiled meats; fennel mostly for mackerel.
Celery Sauce.—Wash and pare a bunch of celery, cut it into
pieces, and boil it gently until it is tender; add half a pint of
cream, and a small piece of butter rolled in flour: now boil it
gently. This is a good sauce for fowls of all kinds, either
roasted or boiled.
Mint Sauce.—Soak a bunch of young mint until all the
gravel is removed from it, strip the stalks and chop up the
leaves, then mix them with vinegar and powdered white su-
gar. The sugar should be well melted before the sauce is
served. It is generally eaten with roast lamb, and imparts to
it a delicious flavor.
The usual proportions of this sauce are: 3 heaped table-
spoonfuls of young mint minced ; 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded
sugar; 6 tablespoonfuls of vinegar. The proportions can be
altered, to suit the taste: it is generally served too liquid and
not sweet enough. It is eaten with roast lamb.
Onion Sauce for Steaks.—Slice and fry brown, in very little
butter, two onions; put them into a gill of brown sauce, and
season with Cayenne pepper, salt, and lemon-juice.
Young Onion Sauce.—Peel thirty button onions, all of a
size, and boil them till tender; then put them into half a pint
of melted butter, made with milk instead of water, and season
with salt.
Onion Sauce.—Peel and slice six middle-sized onions; boil
them till very soft, when rub them through a sieve; put them
into a sauce-pan with three ounces of butter, simmer five
minutes, add it table-spoonful of flour, half a tea-spoonful of
salt, and half a pint of cream or good milk, and stir till it boils.
This sauce may be made milder, by first scalding the onions,
and then putting them into cold water; or by toiling the
onions in two waters.
English White Sauce.—Boil softly in half a pint of well-
flavored pale veal gravy a few very thin strips of fresh lemon


SAUCES.
243
rind, for just sufficient time to give their flavor to it; stir in a
thickening of arrow-root, or of flour and butter; add salt if
needed, and mix with the gravy a quarter-pint of boiling cream.
Good pale veal gravy, half pint; third of rind of 1 lemon;
15 to 20 minutes. Freshly pounded mace, third of saltspoon-
ful; butter, 1 to 2 ozs.; flour, 1 teaspoonful (or arrow root an
equal quantity); cream, quarter of a pint.
Ohm—For the best kind of white sauce, see bechamel.
French Maitre d'Hotel, or Steward's Sauce.—Add to half a
pint of rich, pale veal gravy, well thickened with the white
roiiz, a good seasoning of pepper, salt, minced parsley, and
lemon-juice; or make the thickening with a small tablespoon-
ful of flour, and a couple of ounces of butter; keep these stirred
constantly over a very gentle fire from 10 to 15 minutes, then
pour to them the gravy, boiling, in small portions, mixing the
whole well as it is added, and letting it boil up between each,
for unless this be done, the butter will be likely to float upon
the surface. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes, and skim it
well, then add salt should it be needed, a tolerable seasoning
of pepper or of Cayenne, in fine powder, from two to three
teaspoonsful of minced parsley, and the strained juice of a small
lemon. For some dishes, this sauce is thickened with the yolks
of eggs, about four to the pint. The French work into their
sauces generally a small bit of fresh butter, just before they are
taken from the fire, to give them mellowness: this is done
usually for the Maitre d'Hotel.
Bread Sauce.—Pour quite boiling on half a pint of the finest
bread-crumbs, an equal measure of new milk; cover them
closely with a plate, and let the sauce remain for 20 or 30
minutes; put it then into a delicately clean saucepan, with a
small saltspoonful of salt, half as much pounded mace, a little
Cayenne, and about an ounce of fresh butter; keep it stirred
constantly over a clear fire for a few minutes, then mix with it
a couple of spoonsful of good cream, give it a boil, and serve
it immediately. When cream is not to be had, an additional
'spoonful or two of milk must be used; and as the sauce ought
to be perfectly smooth, it is better to shake the crumbs through
a cullender before the milk is poured to them ; they should ba
of stale bread, and very lightly grated. As some will absorb
more liquid than others, the cook must increase a little the


24 i
MkS. flALES NEW COOK BOOK.
above proportion, should it be needed. Equal parts of milk
and of thin cream make an excellent bread sauce: more butter
can be used to enrich it when it is liked.
Bread-crumbs and new milk, each half a pint (or any other
measure); soaked 20 to 30 minutes, or more. Salt, small
saltspoonful; mace, half as much; little Cayenne; butter, 1
oz.: boiled 4 to 5 minutes. 2 to 4 spoonsful of good cream
(or milk): 1 minute.
Or:—Bread-crumbs, half a pint; milk and cream, each
quarter of a pint; and from 2 to 4 spoonsful of either in
addition.
Obs.—Very pale, strong veal gravy is sometimes poured on
the bread-crumbs, instead of milk.
Bread Sauce with Onions.—Boil a large onion, cut into 4,
with some whole black pepper, in milk, till the onion is quite
a pap. Pour the milk strained on grated white stale bread,
and cover it. In an hour put it into a saucepan, with a good
piece of fresh butter; boil the whole up together, and serve;
add a little salt.
Or:—Take a large onion, slice it down very thin, put it into
some bi oth or water, let it boil until tender; add a sufficient
quantity of bread-crumbs to thicken it, 2 ounces of butter,
pepper, and salt, and a little good cream; boil it until it is
thick and very smooth, but do not allow it to be too thick to
pour into the sauce-tureen.
Or :—Grate a teaspoonful of fresh onion and put it to the
bread-crumbs before the boiling milk is poured over it. Season
it, and add a few grains of Cayenne pepper.
White Mushroom Sauce.—Cut off the stems closely from half
a pint of small button mushrooms; clean them with a little
salt and a bit of flannel, and throw them into cold water,
slightly salted, as they are done; drain them well, or dry them
in a soft cloth, and throw them into half a pint of boiling be-
chamel, or of white sauce made with very fresh milk, or thin
cream, thickened with a tablespoonful of flour, and two ounces
of butter. Simmer the mushrooms from 10 to 20 minutes, or
until they are quite tender, and dish the sauce, which should
be properly seasoned with salt, mace, and Cayenne.
Mushrooms, half a pint; white sauce, half a pint; season
'trig of salt, mace, and Cayenne: 10 minutes.


BAUCES.
245
Brown Mushroom Sauce.—Very small flaps, peeled and
freed end.ely from the fur, will answer for this sauce. Leave
them whole, or quarter them, and stew them tender in some rich brown gravy ; give a full seasoning of mace and Cayenne,
add thickening, and salt if needed, and a tabluspoonful of good
mushroom catsup.
Common Tomato Sauce.—Tomatoes are so juicy when ripe,
that they require but little liquid to reduce them to a proper
consistency for sauce; and they vary so exceedingly in size
and quality that it is difficult to give precise directions for the
exact quantity which is needed for them. Take off the stalks,
halve the tomatoes, and gently squeeze out the seeds and wa-
tery pulp; then stew them softly with a few spoonsful of gravy
or of strong broth until they are quite melted. Press the
whole through a hair-sieve, and heat it afresh with a little ad-
ditional gravy should it be too thick, and some Cayenne, and
salt. Serve it very hot.
fine ripe tomatoes, 6 or 8; gravy or strong broth, 4 table-
spoonsful; half to three quarters of an hour, or longer if
needed. Salt and Cayenne sufficient to season the sauce, and
two or three spoonsful more of gravy if required.
Obs.—For a large tureen of this sauce, increase the propor
tions; and should it be at first too liquid, reduce it by quick
boiling. When neither gravy nor broth is at hand, the tomatoes
may be stewed perfectly tender, but very gently, in a couple
of ounces of butter, with some Cayenne and salt only, or with
the addition of a very little finely minced onion; then rubbed
through a sieve, and heated, and served without any addition,
or with only that of a teaspoonful of vinegar.
French Tomato Sauce.—Simmer the tomatoes in weak gravy
until you can pulp them through a sieve; add to the pulp
to little rich gravy, pepper and salt, and a small piece of butter;
simmer, and serve. This is an excellent sauce for pork,
mutton, lamb, or veal cutlets, and calves'-feet, and should be
served with them in the dish.
Caper Sauce.—Stir into one-third of a pint of good melted
butter from three to seven dessert-spoonfuls of capers; add a
little of the vinegar, and dish the sauce as soon as it boils.
Keep it stirred after the capers are added. Part of them may


246
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK. be minced, and a little Chili vinegar substituted for their own.
Pickled nasturtiums make a very good sauce. For a large
joint increase the quantity of butter to half a pint. To be
served with boiled mutton.
ShallotSauce.—Put a few chopped shalots into a little gravy,
boiled clear, and nearly half as much vinegar; season with
pepper and salt; boil half an hour.
Tarragon Sauce.—Put two or three tablespoonfuls of tarra-
gon vinegar into a stew-pan, with a small piece of lean ham,
and a sliced shalot; set it over a slow fire, and in a few
minutes add half a pint of white gravy; simmer, skim, and
pass through a fine sieve; and, just before serving, put in a
little chopped tarragon and chervil: add lemon juice, and
season with cayenne pepper.
Sauce for Ducklings.—Take young green onions or chives;
chop them very small, then put them into some thick melted
butter, with pepper, salt, and a spoonful of lemon pickle; stir
it well together, and, when very hot, put it into the dish with
the ducks upon it. Should the flavor of the onions be thought
too strong, they may be scalded previously.
Green Sauce.—To half a teacupful of sorrel or spinach juice,
add the beaten yolk of an egg, the juice of half a lemon, a
teaspoonful of sugar, and a bit of butter; simmer together,
and set" 'swith ducklings or a young goose.
White Sauce for boiled Chickens.—Put into a stew-pan the
trimmings of the chickens, with a small piece of the scrag of
veal, two blades of mace, some whole white pepper, a bunch
of sweet herbs, some lemon-peel, and a pint and a half of
water; simmer to three-quarters: strain, and thicken with
butter and flour, and boil up; then add a teacupful of cream,
simmer, but do not boil: season with salt, and add a little
lemon juice.
Savce for Fowls.—Put into a stew-pan a slice of lean ham,
half a shalot, and a sliced onion; add half a pint of white or
brown gravy, the juice of half a lemon, and some pepper,


SAUCES.
247
simmer about an hour, strain, and serve in the dish or a tureen.
A glass of port wine will be a great improvement.
Chestnut Sauce for roast Turkey.—Scald a pound of ripe
chestnuts, peel them, and stew them slowly about two hours
in white gravy; then thicken with butter and flour, and serve the sauce poured over the turkey. Pork sausages, cut up and
fried, are sometimes put into this sauce.
Sauce for WildFoiol.—To a quarter of a pint of good gravy
add a minced shalot and some cayenne pepper and salt; sim-
mer ten minutes; add a teaspoonful of butter and flour, and
two glasses of port wine, boil up, and serve over the birds, or
in a tureen.
Liver Sauce.—Boil the liver of a rabbit or fowl, mince it, ot
rub it through a sieve; then chop parsley, mix it with the
fiver, put it into a quarter of a pint of melted butter, and boil
up: season with pepper and salt.
Sauces for roast Fowls.—Stew any moderate quantity of
ham, veal, and mushrooms, with sweet herbs, a shalot, a little
allspice, and a piece of butter, until all become brown; then
let the whole simmer gently for a long time in either weak
broth or water, until they form a strong gravy; strain it, and
season it with any additional flavor that maybe given by some
of the made sauces. Serve hot in a sauce-tureen.
Or :—Put into a small stew-pan two slices of ham, a clove
of garlic, a laurel-leaf, and sliced onions; add a little good
gravy, a sprig of knotted marjoram, and a spoonful of tarra-
gon vinegar; simmer slowly an hour, strain off, and put into
the dish or a boat.
Or:—Boil some veal gravy, pepper, salt, the juice of a
Seville orange and a lemon, and quarter as much of port wine
as of gravy; and pour it into the dish or a boat.
Good Oyster Sauce.—At the moment they are wanted for
use, open three dozen of fine plump oysters; save carefully and
strain their liquor, rinse them separately in it, put them into a
very clean sauce-pan, strain the liquor again, and pour it to
them; heat them slowly, and keep them from one to two min.


248
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
utes at the simmering point, without allowing them to boil, as
that will render them hard. Lift them out and beard them
neatly; add to the liquor three ounces of butter, smoothly
mixed with a large dessert-spoonful of flour; stir these without
ceasing until they boil, and are perfectly mixed; then add to
them gradually a quarter of a pint, or rather more, of new
milk, or of thin cream, (or equal parts of both,) and continue
the stirring until the sauce boils again; add a little salt, should
it be needed, and a small quantity of Cayenne in the finest
powder; put in the oysters, and keep the sauce-pan by the side
of the fire, until the whole is thoroughly hot, and begins to
simmer, then turn the sauce into a well-heated tureen, and send
it immediately to table.
Small plump oysters, 3 dozens ; butter, 3 oz.; flour, 1 large
dessert-spoonful; the oyster liquor; milk or cream, full quar-
ter of a pint; little salt and Cayenne.
Lobster Sauce.—Pick the meat from a lobster and cut it into
small pieces. Break the shell, and stew it with the legs, &C., in a pint and a half of water, until reduced to the quantity
required; then strain; add flour and water to thicken it.
Pound some of the live spawn from the tail, adding a little
water to it; when well pounded pour it by degrees into the
sauce; let it boil up; add fresh butter to it in the proportion
of three-quarters of a pound of butter to a quart of sauce;
throw in the lobster; season with a little anchovy, Cayenne,
salt, and a small quantity of lemon juice. It should be thick
rather than thin.
Crab Sauce is made in the same manner; but crabs, beins;
without coral, and the flesh less firm than that of lobster, form
a rather inferior sauce.
Sauce Piquante.—Brown lightly, in an ounce and a half of
butter, a table-spoonful of minced eschalots, or three of onions;
add a tea-spoonful of flour when they are partially done; pour
to them half a pint of gravy, or of good broth, and when it
boils, add three chilies, a bay leaf, and a very small bunch of
thyme. Let these simmer for 20 minutes; take out the thyme
and bay leaf, add a high seasoning of black pepper, and half s
wine-glassful of the best vinegar. A quarter of a tea-spoonful
of Cayenne may be substituted for the chilies.


SAUCES.
249
Eschalots. 1 table-spoonful, or 3 of onions; flour, 1 tea
spoonful; butter 1 j oz.: 10 to 15 it mutes. Gravy or broth,
half a pint; chilies, 3; bay leaf; thyme, small bunch: 20
minutes. Pepper, plenty; vinegar, half a wine-glassful.
Egg Balls.—Pound the yolks of as many hard eggs as will
be wanting in a marble mortar, with a little flour and salt; add
as much raw yolk of egg as will make this up into balls, and
boil them before they are put into soups, or any other prepa-
ration.
Sauces for Fish. —The stock for fish sauces should be made
of the water in which fish has been boiled, adding the bones,
fins, &c., all well stewed down; when fish is filleted, the bones
should always be employed in this way: stew them with an
onion and a little white pepper, strain the broth, which will be
very rich, thicken it with cream, butter, and flour, or roux; and
add whatever the sauce is to be made of. The following may
be generally used, according to fancy, for nearly every species
of fish.
Horseradish Sauce.—Stew an onion in a little fish stock until
it will pulp; add a tea-spoonful of grated horseradish, and one
or two spoonsful of essence of anchovies. Beat all together
over a fire, thicken it with a little butter, and finish with a
spoonful of lemon pickle, or lemon juice. Vinegar may be
substituted, in which case it must be mixed with the horse-
radish, and boiled with it; while the lemon or lemon pickle,
being of a more delicate flavor, should only be warmed.
Or:—Scrape the horseradish thin and chop it small, or grate
it, which is better; warm it in melted butter, adding a spoon
ful of mushroom catsup, and ono of walnut, or the vinegar
from walnut pickle.
For Fresh-water Fish.—Take 2 large anchovies, half of an
onion, finely chopped, 1 spoonful of vinegar, and 4 of sherry
or ginger wine: boil it together, thicken it with flour, and add
4 spoonsful of cream or melted butter, in which latter case, the
flour may be emitted.
For all sorts of Fish.—Take a spoonful of vinegar, one of
Indian soy, the same of n ishroom catsup and Harvey's sauce 


sauces.
251
Apples, half a pound; water, 1 table-spoonful; stewed very
softly: 30 to 60 minutes.
Obs.—These propor*;ons are sufficient only for a small tu
reen of the sauce, and should be doubled for a large one.
Baked Apple Sauce; (good).—Put a table-spoonful of watci
into a quart basin, and fill it with good bciling apples, pared,
quartered, and carefully cored; put a plate over, and set them
into a moderate oven for about an hour, or until they are re-
duced quite to a pulp; beat them smooth with a clean wooden
spoon, adding to them a little sugar, and a morsel of fresh
butter, when these are liked, though they will scarcely be
required.
The sauce made thus is far superior to that which is boiled.
When no other oven is at hand, a Dutch or an American one
would answer for it.
Good boiling apples, 1 quart; baked, 1 hour, (more or less,
according to the quality of the fruit, and temperature of the
oven); sugar, 1 oz; butter, half an ounce.
Stewed Apple Sauce.—Pare and core apples, put them into
a preserve-pot, cover up, and sei it on a hot hearth, or in a
sauce-pan of water, to boil; when the apples are soft, mix them
to a pulp with a small piece of butter, and sweeten with brown
sugar. This is a much better method than the common one of
boiling the apples with water. A little grated lemon-peel is sometimes added.
Gooseberry Sauce.—Cut the stalks and tops from half to a
whole pint of ouite young gooseberries, wash them well, just
cover them with cold water and boil them very gently indeed
until they are tender; drain them well, and mix with them a
small quantity of melted butter made with rather less flour
than usual. Some eaters prefer the mashed gooseberries with
out any addition; others like that of a little ginger. The best
way of making this sauce is to turn the gooseberries into a hair-
sieve to drain. then to press them through it with a wooden
spoon, and to stir them in a clean stew-pan or saucepan over
the fire with from half to a whole tea-spoonful of sugar, just to
softrn their extreme acidity, and a bit of fresh butter about the
size of a walnut. When the fruit is not passed through the
sieve it an improvement to seed it.


252
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Cranberry Sauce.—This sauce is very simply made. A
quart of cranberries are washed and stewed with sufficient va-
ter to cover them; when they burst mix with them a pound
of brown sugar and stir them well. Before you remove them
from the fire, all the berries should have burst. When cold
they will be jellied, and if thrown into a form while warm, will
turn out whole.
To Stew Cranberries.—To a pound of Cranberries allow a
pound of sugar; dissolve the sugar in a very little water, boil
it for ten minutes, and skim it well. Have the cranberries
well washed, put them with the sugar and boil them slowly
till they are quite soft, and of a fine color.
Sweet Pudding Sauce.—Boil together for 15 minutes, the
thin rind of half a small lemon, an ounce and a half of fine
sugar, and a wine-glassful of water; then take out the lemon
peel, and mix very smoothly an ounce of butter with rather
more than a half tea-spoonful of flour, stir them round in the
sauce until it has boiled one minute; next add a wine-glassful-
and-a-half of sherry or Madeira, or two-thirds of that quantity
and a quarter of a glass of brandy: when quite hot, serve the
sauce.
Port wine sauce is made in the same way, with the addition
of a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, some grated nutmeg, and
a little more sugar: orange rind and juice may be used to give
it flavor when preferred to lemon.
Rind half a lemon; sugar, 1^ oz.; water, 1 wine-glassful:
15 minutes. Butter, 1 oz.; flour, large half tea-spoonful: 1
minute. Wine, 1$ wine-glassful; or, 1 of wine, and a quar
ter of a glass of brandy.
Common Pudding Sauce.—Sweeten a quarter of a pint of
good melted butter with an ounce and a half of sugar, and add
to it gradually a couple of glasses of wine; stir it until it is *t the point of boiling, and serve it immediately. Lemon
grate, or nutmeg, can be added at pleasure.
A delicious German Pudding Sauce.—Dissolve in half a pint
of sherry, or of Madeira, from 3 to 4 ounces of fine sugar, but
do not allow the wine to boil; stir it hot to the well beaten
yolks of six fresh eggs, and mill the sauce over a gentle fire 


SAUCES.
253
until it is well thickened and highly frothed; pour it over a plum, or any
other kind of sweet boiled pudding, of
which it much improves the appear ance. Half the quantity will be suffi-
cient for one of moderate size. A
small machine, resembling a chocolate
mill, is used in Germany for frothing
this sauce; but a couple of silver-forks,
fastened together at the handles, will
serve for the purpose, on an emergen-
Pot for Milling Sauce. cy. We recommend the addition of
a dessert-spoonful of strained lemon
juice to the sherry or Madeira wine.
For large pudding, sherry or Madeira, half a pint; fine
sugar, 3 to 4 oz.; yolks of eggs, 6; lemon juice, (if added), 1
dessert-spoonful.
Obs.—In the above receipts, the wine and brandy may be
omitted, and more sugar and lemon juice added, if the strict
temperance principle is considered to extend to food.
French Sauce for Puddings.—Beat half a pound of butter
to a cream, and stir in half a pound of brown sugar; add the
yolk of an egg, and one gill of wine; place it over the fire,'
stirring it all the time till it simmers. Grate nutmeg over it
before it is sent to the table.
To make Soy.—One pound of salt, two pounds of common
Mjgar, fried for half an hour over a slow fire; add to this
three pints of boiling water, of essence of anchovies about
half a pint, a few cloves, and a bunch of sweet herbs; boil
all together till the salt is dissolved; when cold, bottle it for
use.


CHAPTER XVIII.
THE STORE CLOSET.
Store Sauces of many kinds—Pickles of various sorts—Vinegar
—Making of various sorts.
Sauces.—A well-selected stock of these will always prove
a convenient resource for giving color and flavor to soups,
gravies, and made dishes; but unless the consumption be
considerable, they should not be over-abundantly provided,
as few of them are improved by age, and many are altogether
spoiled by long keeping, especially if they be not perfectly
secured from the air by sound working, or if stored where there
is the slightest degree of damp. To prevent loss, they should
be examined at short intervals, and at the first appearance of
mould or fermentation, such as will bear the process should be
reboiled, and put, when again quite cold, into clean bottles;
a precaution often especially needful for mushroom catsup
when it has been made in a wet season. This, with walnut
catsup, Harvey's sauce, cavice, lemon-pickle, Chili, cucumbers and eschalot vinegar, will be all that is commonly needed for
family use, but there is at the present day an extensive choice
of these stores on sale.
Universal Sauces.—Any of the following will be found good .
— I. Half an ounce each of black pepper and pounded allspice
1 ounce of salt, half an ounce of minced shalot, 1 pint of
mushroom catsup, a tablespoonful of port wine, and a tea-
spoonful of Chili vinegar. Set the bottle for 24 hours in a
heat of about 90° of Fahrenheit; let it stand for a week, then
strain it off and bottle it. A spoonful mixed with gravy is
excellent for cutlets.
^54


THE STORE CLOSET. 255
2. A wineglass each of mushroom and walnut catsup, port
wine, lemon-pickle, and Chili vinegar, with half a glass of es-
sence of anchovy. Put all together into a bottle, and shake it
well; it will be ready for immediate use, and greatly improve
any sauce that needs pungency.
3. Instead of anchovy, put the same quantity of soy, either
with or without shalot or garlic vinegar in lieu of lemon-pickle.
4. Mix two spoonsful of Indian soy with half a pint of vine-
gar, half quarter ounce of Cayenne pepper, and a small Quan-
tity of garlic. Let the whole stand for some time in bottle.
It will be found an excellent relish for fish or cold meat.
Tomato Catsup (Excellent).—Boil one bushel of tomatoes
until they are soft; squeeze them through a fine wire sieve,
and add, half a gallon of vinegar; 1^ pint of salt; 2 ounces of
cloves; -J lb. of allspice; 3 ounces of Cayenne pepper; Stable-
spoonsful of black pepper; 5 heads of garlic, skinned and
separated.
Mix these together and boil about 3 hours, or until reduced
one half. Then bottle without straining.
If you want half the quantity, take half of the above.
Mushroom Catsup.—Take the large flaps of mushrooms
gathered dry, and bruise them; put some at the bottom of an
earthen pan; strew salt over them, then put on another layer
of mushrooms, then salt, and so on till you have done. Let
them stand a day or two, stirring them every day. Strain the
liquor through a flannel bag, and to every gallon of liquor add
1 quart of red wine, and half an ounce of mace, half an ounce
of cloves, half an ounce of allspice, with a race or two of cut
ginger; if not salt enough add it little more; boil it till 1
quart is wasted; strain it into a pan, and let it get cold. Pour
it from the settlings, bottle it, and cork it tight.
Walnut Catsup.—Take 100 walnuts when a pin may be
thrust through them; beat them in a mortar and pass them
through a flannel bag; add to the juice 3 tablespoonsful of salt
and as much vinegar as will give them a sharpness. Boil it in
a bell-metal pan; skim it well ; put quarter of an ounce of
mace, cloves and nutmegs each and a little whole pepper all
beat together. When it is of the color of claret, it is done
enough When cold, bottle it, and it will last for years.


256 MRS. halb's kew cook book.
Lemon Pickle.—Peel, very thinly, six lemons, take off the
white, and cut the pulp into slices, taking out the seeds. Put
the peel and pulp into a jar, sprinkling between them two
ounces of bay-salt; cover the jar, and let it stand three days;
then boil in a quart of vinegar six cloves, three blades of mace
two or three shalots. and two ounces of bruised mustard-seed
pour it, boiling, over the lemons in the jar, and, when cold, tie over: in a month, strain, and bottle the liquor, and the lemons
may be eaten as pickle. The above is a useful sauce, espe
cially for veal cutlets and minced veal.
Quin's Sauce.—Mix a quarter of a pint of walnut catsup
with half a pint of water, half a glass of soy, and a quarter
of a pint of port or raisin wine; add six anchovies, beaten to
a paste, or a gill of essence, six sliced shalots, and a quarter
of an ounce of ohilies; simmer all slowly for half an hour,
then let the mixture stand a few days, when it may be strained
and bottled for use.
This, and other store sauces, can only be fined by passing
them through a flannel or felt bag.
To prepare Mustard for the dinner-table.—Mix an ounce of
the best flour of mustard with a teaspoonful of salt; when
they are well blended together, add eight teaspoonsful of cold
water, a little at a time, and stir and rub it well together with
a wooden spoon, till it is quite smooth; the more pains taken
in stirring and rubbing, the better the mustard will be. Mus-
tard is best if made only an hour before it is wanted; and it
will get dry and spoil in a few hours, if left uncovered.
Scraped horse-radish may be boiled in the water used to
mix mustard; and cayenne pepper, and other pungent addi-
tions, are sometimes made to mustard. Milk is used by some,
and vinegar by others, instead of water, and sugar instead of
salt, in mixing mustard; but we think these by no means im-
provements.
Mushroom Powder.—Peel large, fleshy, button mushrooms,
and cut off the stems; spread them on plates, and dry them
in a slow oven. When thoroughly dry, pound them with a
little cayenne and mace; bottle and keep the powder in a dry
place. A teaspoonful of this powder will give the mushroom
flavor to a tureen of soup, or to sauce for poultry, hashes, &c,


Tl
257
STOKE CLOSET.

Powder of fine herbs

'.voring Soups and Sauces, when
fresh herbs cannot be obtained.—Take dried parsley two ounces;
of lemon-thyme, summer-savory, sweet marjoram and basil,
one ounce each; dried lemon peel, one ounce: these must be
dried thoroughly, pounded fine, the powder mixed, sifted, and
bottled. You can add celery seeds if liked.
Horseradish Powder.—In the beginning of winter, slice horse radish, and dry it slowly before the fire. When dry, pound
and bottle.
Mixed Spices and Seasonings.—-Dry and pound fine one ounce
of black pepper; of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon half an
ounce each, and a dozen cloves. Mix the whole together, and
bottle tightly: use for flavoring forcemeats and gravies.
Seasonings for White Sauce, Fricassees, and Ragouts.—White
pepper, nutmeg, mace, and lemon peel — equal quantities
Rules to be observed with Pickles.—Avoid as much as pos
sible the use of metal vessels in preparing them. Acids dis
solve the lead that is in the tinning of saucepans, and corrode
copper and brass; consequently, if kept in such for any length
of time, they become highly poisonous. When it is necessary
to boil vinegar, do it in a stone jar on a stove.
Use also wooden spoons and forks.
See that the pickles are always completely covered with
vinegar; and if any symptoms appear of their becoming
mouldy, boil the vinegar again, adding a little more spice. It
is a good rule to have two-thirds of the jar filled with pickles
and one-third with vinegar; keep them also close stopped, as
exposure to the air makes the pickle soft.
In greening pickles, keep them closely covered, so that none
of the steam of the vinegar in which they are boiled be al-
lowed to evaporate; and boil them only for> a few minutes, or
it will take away their strength.
pounded together.
PICKLES.


258
BOOK.
MRS. HALE'S NEW
A very small quantity of al
crisp, but too much will spoil tl
The following is a good gen

proportion of spice:—To
make hem fi-m and
each quart of vinegar put half an ounce of whole black pepper,
the same of ginger and allspice,' and one ounce of mustard-
seed; with four slots, and two cloves of garlic.
Home pickles are not required to keep so long as those for
sale, consequently, the vinegar need not be so often boiled; it
should, however, be almost invariably poured through a sieve
upon the articles to be pickled. The jar should be covered for
a time, say with a plate or board, but not tied over, so as to
confine the steam.
The principal season for pickling is July and August.
Cucumbers.—If full-grown, the small long sort are the best
for pickling. Let them be fresh-gathered; pull off the blos-
soms, but do not rub them; pour over them a strong brine of
salt and water boiling hot, cover them close, and let them stand
all night. The next day stir them gently to take off the sand,
drain them on a sieve, and dry them on a cloth; make a pickle with the best cider vinegar, ginger, pepper (long and round),
and a little garlic. When the pickle boils throw in the cu-
cumbers, cover them, and make them boil as quickly as pos-
sible for 3 or 4 minutes; put them into a jar with the vinegar,
and cover them closely; when cold, put in a sprig of dill, the
seed downward. They will be exceedingly crisp and green
done in this manner; but if they do not appear to be of a fine
color, boil up the-pickle the next day, and pour it boiling on
the cucumbers.
To pickle Gherkins or Small Cucumbers.—Choose nice young
ones, spread them on dishes, salt them, and let lie a week,
with a small bit of alum; then drain them, and, putting them
in a jar, pour boiling vinegar over them. Set them near the
fire, covered with plenty of vine-leaves; if they do not be-
come a tolerably good green, pour the vinegar into another
iar, set it over the hot hearth, and when it becomes too hot to
bear your hand, but still not to boil, pour it over them again,
covering with fresh leaves; and thus do till they are of as
good a color as you wish. As an additional reason for pre-
paring them at home, it is indeed well known that the very
fine green pickles are made so by the dealers using brass or 


STORE CLOSED. 259

en vinegar is put into them, i?e
bell-metal vessels, whij
come highly poisonous."
If spices be not mixedTW(Bg the pickle, put into the kettle
in a thin muslin bag allspice, mace, and mustard-seed, to every
quart of vinegar in the proportion of rather less than half an
ounce each of the former to one ounce of the seed.
To make the celebrated pickle called Poke-Melia.—Put a
layer of white-oak leaves and black currant leaves, at the bot-
tom of an oak-cask; then put a layer of cucumbers; strew
some horseradish, garlic, race-ginger, whole pepper, allspice,
and cloves, then a layer of leaves, cucumbers, spice, &C. &c.,
and so on until the cask is full. Add half a gallon of good
cider-vinegar; and fill the cask up with salt and water strong
enough to bear an egg.
Mangoes.—Although any melon may be used before it is
quite ripe, yet there is a particular sort for this purpose, which
the gardeners know, and should be mangoed soon after they
are gathered d. Cut a small piece out of one end, through that
take out the seeds, and mix with them mustard-seed and shi ed
garlic; stuff the melon as full as the space will allow, and re-
place the cut piece. Bind it up with pack-thread. To allow
for wasting, boil a good quantity of vinegar, with pepper, salt,
ginger, and any of the sweet spices; then pour it boiling hot
over the mangoes during four successive days; and on the last,
put flour of mustard and scraped horseradish into the vinegar,
just as it boils up. Stop close. Observe that there be plenty
of vinegar, as pickles are spoiled if not well covered. Large
cucumbers, called "green turley," prepared in the same way,
ar_ excellent, and are sooner fit to be eaten.
Another Way.—Musk melons should be picked for mangoes,
when they are green and hard. They should be cut open after
they have been in salt water 10 days, the inside scraped out
clean, and filled with mustard-seed, allspice, horseradish, small
onions, &c, and sewed up again. Scalding vinegar poured
upon them.
To pickle Walnuts.—The walnuts for this pickle must be
gathered while a pin can pierce them easily, for when once the
shell can be felt, they have ceased to be in a proper state fo/


lejib Well, with 0 oz. of salt

Rum, which will rise to
Wr in the walnuts, and stir
.e brine every 3 days, and
if they are wanted for immediate eating, leave them in it for 12 days; otherwise, drain them from it in 9 days, spread them
on dishes, and let them remain exposed to the air until they
become black; this will be in 12 hours or less. Makeapicklt
for them with something more than half a gallon of vinegar to
the hundred, a tea-spoonful of salt, 2 oz. of black pepper, 3 oz.
of bruised ginger, a drachm of mace, and from a quarter to
half an ounce of cloves (of which some may be stuck into 3 or * small onions), and 4 oz. of mustard-seed. Boil the whole
of these together for about five minutes; have the walnuts
ready in a stone jar, or jars, and pour it on them as it is taken
from the fire. When the pickle is quite cold, cover the jar
securely, and store it in a dry place. Keep the walnuts always
well covered with the vinegar, and boil that which is added to
them.
Walnuts, 100; in brine made with 12 oz. of salt to 2 qts.
of water, and charged twice or more, 9 or 12 days. Vinegar,
full half-gallon; salt, 1 teaspoonful ; whole black pepper, 2 oz.;
ginger, 3 oz.; mace, 1 drachm; cloves, quarter to half an oz.;
small onions, 4 to 6; mustard-seed, 4 oz.: 5 minutes.
To pickle Beets.—Wash it, but do not cut off any of the root
lets; boil or bake it tender, peel it, or rub off the outside with
a coarse cloth, cut it into slices, put them into a jar, with cold
boiled vinegar, black pepper and ginger. This is one of the
most ornamental pickles brought to table.
To pickle Onions.—Choose all of fl size, peel them, and pour
on them boiling salt and water; cover them up, and when cold,
drain the onions, and put them into jars and bottles; for white.
>r silver, fill up with hot distilled vinegar; for brown, white
wine vinegar; in either case, adding ginger, two or three blades
of mace, and whole pepper.
The onions are sometimes put into milk and water immedi-
ately after they are peeled, to preserve their color.
Another method, by which crispness is ensured, is tc s>ak
the onions in brine for three or four days, then drain them, and
pour on them cold boiled vinegar with spice.


STORE CLOSET. 261

To pickle Tomatoes.—'Wash the tomatoes; puncture them
slightly with a pointed stick about the size of a strat.*. Then
fill ajar with alternate layHprf tomatoes and salt; let them
stand for eight or ten days. Then to each gallon of tomatoes
add 2 bottles of powdered mustard; 4 oz. of ground ginger;
4 oz. of pepper slightly bruised; i oz. of cloves; and 12 onions
sliced. Put these ingredients in layers through the tomatoes
Then cover the whole with strong vinegar.
To pickle Mushrooms.—Select the smallest buttons, rub
them with flannel and salt, removing any red inside, and re-
jecting such as are black underneath. As they are cleaned^
throw them into cold water, to keep their color; then put them
into a stew-pan, with some salt, over a slow fire, until they are
dry, when cover them with distilled vinegar, and warm: put
them into wide-mouthed bottles, with a blade or two of mace
in each, and, when quite cold, cork, and cement.
To pickle Red and White Cabbage.—Choose the purple red
cabbage, take off the outside leaves, quarter them, cut out the
stalk, shred the cabbage into a cullender or small basket, and
sprinkle it with common salt: let the cabbage remain a day or
two, when drain it, put it into jars, and fill up with boiling vin
egar, the usual quantity of ginger and black pepper, and a few
grains of cochineal, powdered, or a few slices of beet-root.
Or:—If the boiled vinegar be poored over the cabbage, it
will better insure its crispness; though the cabbage will not
keep so long as when pickled with boiling vinegar.
White Cabbage may also be pickled as above, with the addi-
tion of a little turmeric powder.
To pickle Nasturtiums.—Choose them young, and soak them
12 hours in brine; drain, and pour on them boiling vinegar,
with whole black pepper and allspice. They are sometimes
used as economical substitutes for capers; and the flowers and
young seeds are used in salads.
To pickle Green Peppers.—The peppers must be pickled
when half ripe, and the smallest ones chosen. Make a small
hole at the top and another at the bottom of the pepper, and
extract the core and seeds. A pjnknife should be used in pel1


MRS. HALE'S NEW


forming this operation. Simmer i^Hpeppers for a whole day
in salt; .and water over a very moderate fire—stir them every
once and awhile that those at thfJiRom may not burn. Leave
them over night to cool, and thenext morning lay them gently
into ajar, sprinkle a small quantity of mustard over them, and
fill up the jar with cold vinegar.
Lemon Pickle.—Peel six large lemons; cut them in quar-
ters, lay them on a dish, and strew over them half a pound of
salt, turning them every day for a week. Then put them into
a stone jar; add 6 large cloves of garlic, 2 oz. of horseradish
shred very thin; of cloves, mace, nutmeg, and Cayenne, each
quarter of an oz.; 2 oz. of mustard-seeds, bruised and tied up
in a bit of thin muslin, and 2 quarts of the best vinegar. Cover
the jar and set it in a pan of boiling water; let it boil 10 min-
utes, then set it in the oven, or anywhere that it may simmer
gently, for 2 hours. Keep the jar closely covered, stirring it
every day for ft we«ks, and when settled, strain it and bottle
for use. Another quart of vinegar may be added to the ingre-
dients, and boiled up, which will make a very good pickle for
common purposes, or the lemons may be added to any mixed
pickles.
VINEGAR-MAKING.
It will be economical to make vinegar at home, as it is an
article of great profit, and the ingredients are very cheap; or,
in some cases, would be thrown away, if not so employed.
Such are the fruits from which wine has been made.
Vinegar-making requires great attention, especially to the
casks used for it; they should not remain empty to grow
musty; and a cask that has not before contained vinegar,
should have boiling vinegar poured into it, and be allowed to
stand some hours.
Ropiness in vinegar should not discourage the maker: it is
not a defect in the domestic process only, but is incidental to
all vinegar made by fermentation; though less likely to occur
in wine-vinegar, which is the purest kind.
Cider Vinegar.—Fill nearly a cask with cider, set it in
b warm situation, with the bung-hole loosely covered o\oi


STORK CLOSET.
263


the cider will then begin to sour, and in six months will become
vinegar. It should then be racked off, and kept either in bot-
tles or casks, taking care to decant it when it gets thick or
mothery. Should the vinegar prove weak, it may be strength-
ened by the addition of small quantities of sugar. Cider that
has not kept well and has soured, will be the most economical
and convenient for conversion into vinegar; the change will
also be effected in a shorter space of time.
Sugar Vinegar.—To every gallon of water put 2 lbs. of
coarse brown sugar. Boil and skim this. Put it to cool in a
clean tub; when about lukewarm, add a slice of bread soaked
in fresh yeast. Barrel it in a week, and set it in the sun in
summer, or by the fire in winter, for six months, without stop-
ping the bung-hole; but cover it with thin canvass or an in-
verted bottle to keep out the flies.
Obs. —If vinegar of extra quality is wanted, use common
loaf sugar.
Pyroligneous Acid.—This acid is applicable to all the pur-
poses for which vinegar is employed, and, if diluted with water,
will form vinegar of any strength. One pint of theacid, and six
pints and a half of water, will form the strongest pickling vine-
gar. One pint of the acid, and nine pints of water, are equal
to the excellent pickling vinegar, which is proper for pickling
most kinds of vegetables, for salads, table, or culinary and
family uses. In diluting the acid with water, it is only neces-
sary to stir both well together.
pletely remove must, taint, or incipient putrefaction. It is used
in the same manner as brine for immersing raw or cooked
meats.
To strengthen Vinegar.—Expose a vessel of vinegar to the
cold of a very frosty night; next morning, ice will be found in
it, which, if thawed, will become pure water. The vinegar
being freed from so much water, will consequently, be more
acid than before; and the vinegar may thus be frozen again
and again, until it becomes of the desired strength.
Horseradish Vinegar.—On 4 oz. of young and freshly-scrap-
ed horseradish pour a quart of boiling vinegar, and cover it

meat, fish, or game, will com-


264 HRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
down closely: it will be ready for use in 3 or 4 days, but may
remain for weeks, or months, before the vinegar is poured off
An ounce of minced eschalot may be substituted for one of
the horseradish, if the flavor be liked.
Basil Vinegar.—Half fill a bottle with the green leaves of
sweet basil, fill it up with vinegar, cork it, and let it stand for
a fortnight; then strain it, and bottle it for use.
Tarragon Vinegar is made by infusing the leaves of tarra-
gon, in the same manner as directed for basil vinegar.
Pepper Vinegar.—Take 6 large red peppers, slit them up,
and boil them in 3 pints of strong vinegar. Boil them down
to 1 quart. Strain, and bottle it for use. It will keep for
years.
Flavored Vinegars.—These are a cheap and agreeable addi-
tion to sauces, hashes, &c. Infuse 100 red chilies, fresh gath.
ered, into a qmvrt of good vinegar; let them stand 10 days,
shaking the bottle every day. A half ounce of Cayenne will
answer the same purpose. This is good in melted butter for
fish sunoe, &c.
Condiments, their Use.—In the warm climates of the East,
pepper and other spices are produced, and, no doubt, re-
quired, where the diet is chiefly vegetable, or meats newly
killed, and the stomach and system are relaxed by the heat.
It is the nature of all kinds of spices, and high-seasoned food,
to irritate, in a degree, the lining or inner membrane of the
stomach; and they prove hurtful or healthful in proportion
as this stimulus is needed or not.
In our own climate, the season of the year, as well as the
age and constitution of the individual, must be taken into the
calculation. During the cold weather, more fat meats and
richer gravies may be eaten, but few or no condiments, except
a little salt, is needed.


CHAPTER XIX.
VEGETABLES.
Preliminary Remarks—Potatoes —Boiled—Roasted—Baked-—
Fried—Potato Balls—Ragout—Puree—Omelette—To Brown
—Potato Flour—Jelly— Wall—To keep—Sweet Potatoes—
Turnips—To Boil—Mash, &c.—Beets—To Boil—Bake—
Stew, ttr. — Carrots—To Boil—Parsnips— Oyster Plant—
Green Peas—French Beans— Windsor Beans—String Beans,
&c.—To dress Egg Plant—Squashes—Rice—Green Corn—
Succatash — Hominy — Cabbage — Cauliflowers —Spinach—
Celery— Onions—Leeks—Artichokes— Tomatoes—Asparagus—Mushrooms.
To dress Vegetables.—Vegetables should be fresh gathered,
and washed quite clean; when not recently gathered, they
should be put into cold spring-water sometime before they are
dressed. When fresh gathered, they will not require so much
boiling, by a third of the time, as when they have been gath-
ered the usual time those in our markets have.
Shake the vegetables carefully to get out the insects; and
take off the outside leaves.
To restore frost-bitten vegetables, lay them in cold water an
hour before boiling, and put a piece of saltpetre in the sauce-
pan when set on the fire.
Soft water is best for boiling vegetables; but if only hard
water can be obtained, a very small bit of soda, or carbonate
of ammonia, will soften it, and improve the appearance of the
vegetables. Pearlash should never be used, as it imparts an
unpleasant flavor, as will also soda if not cautiously used.
All vegetables (except carrots) should be boiled by them-
selves, and in plenty of water. Salt should be used with
205


2CG MRS. itai.k's new cook book.
grren vegetables; and the water should be skimmed before
they' re put in. Fast boiling, in an uncovered sauce-pan, will
preserve their color. When they sink they are done, and
should be taken out and drained, else they will lose their color,
crispness, and flavor.
Green vegetables, generally, will require from twenty min-
utes to half an hour, fast boiling; but their age, freshness, and
the season in which they are grown, require some variation of
time. They should, almost invariably, be put on in boiling
water.
Vegetables are very nutritious and wholesome, when tho-
roughly boiled; but are very indigestible when not sufficiently
dressed. The principal points in cooking them are, to boil
them so soft as to be easy of digestion, and sufficiently to get
rid of any rankness, without losing their grateful flavor.
POTATOES.
Potatoes require no attention for the preservation of their
color, but their flavor will be spoiled if their dressing be not
attended to, which, although of the most simple nature, is fre-
quently ill performed. The best mode of doing it is to sort
the potatoes, and choose them of an equal size; wash them
with a scrubbing-brush, and put them into cold water sufficient
to cover them and no more. About ten minutes after the
water has come to a boil, take out the half of it, and replace
with cold water, to check it; the reason assigned for which is,
that the cold water sends the heat from the surface to the
heart, and makes tne potatoes mealy." Then throw in a large
handful of salt, leave the pot uncovered, and let it remain upon
the, fire to simmer until the potatoes are done; this is the mo-
mat to be watched, for, if overboiled, they will become waxy.
Ilie cook should, therefore, occasionally try them, by piercing
them to the heart with a fork, and, when they are tender, the
pot should be instantly taken off the fire, and the potatoes
passea through a cullender to drain; which being done, and
the water thrown out, they should then be replaced upon a
fclded naimel, in the same pot, which should be left by the
side of the fire to keep hot and to cause the evaporation of the
steam. When served they should be wrapped in a warmed
cotton napkin. If of moderate size they will take about half


VEGETABLES.
267
an hour boiling, to which 15 minutes must be added for evapo-
ration ere they can be sent to table. An iron pot is the best
vessel for boiling potatoes in, since, after the water has been
poured off, it retains sufficient heat to dry them thoroughly.
A good and economical mode of dressing potatoes, when
soup, meat, or other eatables are to be boiled, is to have a tin
strainer fitted to the mouth of the sauce-pan, so as to allow the
steam to ascend from the —.
Another way to Boil Potatoes.—Pare, wash, and throw them
into a pan of cold water; then put them on to boil in a clean
pot, with cold water sufficient to cover them, and sprinkle over
a little salt; let them boil slowly uncovered till you can pass a
fork through them; pour off the water, and set them where they will keep hot till wanted. When done in this way they are
very mealy and dry.
Potatoes, either boiled or roasted, should never be covered to
keep them hot.
To Boil New Potatoes.—These are never good unless freshly
dug. Take them of equal size, and rub off the skins with a
brush, or a very coarse cloth, wash them clean, and put them,
without salt, into boiling, or at least, quite hot water; boil
softly, and when they are tender enough to serve, pour off the
water entirely, strew some fine salt over the potatoes, give
them a shake, and let them stand by the fire in the sauce-pan
tor a minute, then dish and serve them immediately. Some
cooks throw in a small slice of fresh butter, with the salt, and
boiler. By which sim-
ple contrivance a will
boil the soup; 6, when
fixed in the pot, will
steam the potatoes; and
c, being the lid, will
cover the whole, having
a couple of small holes
left in it to allow the
steam to escape, in order
to prevent it from fall-
ing down upon the pota-
toes.
a

Iron Pot, with Potato Strainer.


2G8
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
toss them gently in it after it is dissolved. This is a good
mode, but the more usual one is to send melted butter to table
with them, or to pour white sauce over them when they are
very young, and served early in the season, as a side <r cor-
ner dish.
Very small, 10 to 15 minutes' moderate sized, 15 to 20
minutes.
New Potatoes in Butter.—Rub off the skins, wash the pota-
toes well, and wipe them dry; put them with three ounces of
good butter, for a small dish, and with four ounces, or more,
for a large one, into a well-tinned stew-pan or sauce-pan, and
simmer them over a gentle fire for about half an hour. Keep
them well shaken or tossed, that they may be equally done,
and throw in some salt when they begin to stew. This is a
good mode of dressing them when they are very young and
watery.
To Boil Potatoes; (Captain. Eater'sReceipt.')—Wash, wipe,
and pare the potatoes, cover them with cold water, and boil
them gently until they are done; pour off the water, and sprin-
kle a little fine salt over them; then take each potato separately
with a spoon, and lay it into a clean warm cloth, twist this so
as to press all the moisture from the vegetable, and render it
quite round; turn it carefully into 'a dish placed before the fire,
throw a cloth over, and'when all are done, send them to table
quickly. Potatoes dressed in this way are mashed without the
slightest trouble; it is also by far the best method of preparing
them for puddings or for cakes.
To Roast or Bake Potatoes.—Scrub, and wash exceedingly
clean, some potatoes nearly assorted in size; wipe them very
dry, and roast them in a Dutch oven before the fire, placing
them at a distance from it, and keeping them often turned; or,
arrange them in a coarse dish, and bake them in a moderate
oven. Dish them neatly in a napkin, and send them very hot
to table; serve cold butter with them.
One and three-quarters to upwards of two hours.
Another loay to Roast Potatoes.—Parboil, rub off the skin,
»nd put them into the Dutch-oven, or, if there are embers,
-'


210
hrs. hale's new cook book.
quickly, take out every speck, and while they are still Ik ., pro «
the potatoes through an earthen cullender, or bruise them to a
smooth mash, with a strong wooden fork or spoon, but never
pound them in a mortar, as that will reduce them to a close
heavy paste. Let them be entirely free from lumps, for nothing
can be more indicative of carelessness or want of skill on the
part of the cook, than mashed potatoes sent to the table full of
lumps. Melt in a clean sauce-pan a slice of good butter with
a few spoonsful of milk, or, better still, of cream; put in the
potatoes after having sprinkled some fine salt upon them, and
stir the whole over a gentle fire, with a wooden spoon, until the
ingredients are well mixed, and the whole is very hot. It may
then be served directly; or heaped high in a dish, left rough
on the surface, and browned before the fire; or it may be
pressed into a well-buttered mould of handsome form, which
has been strewed with the finest bread-crumbs, and shaken free of the loose ones, then turned out, and browned in an oven.
Obs.—More or less liquid will be required for potatoes of
different kinds. For 2 pounds of potatoes add 1 tea-spoonful
of salt, 1 ounce of butter and one-quarter pint of milk or sweet
cream.
Potatoes a-la Maitre D'Hotel.—Cold potatoes that have been
boiled should be used for this purpose. Lay them in a frying-
pan with sufficient milk (or cream) to cover them, add a little
butter, salt, and chopped parsley, and fry them until the milk
thickens. They will be sufficiently cooked in a quarter of an
hour, and make an excellent dish for breakfast.
Puree of Potatoes.—Mash the potatoes, and mix them while
quite hot with some fine white gravy drawn from veal, together
with butter and cream. The puree should be rather thin, and
seasoned with salt, a very little pepper, ari an atom of
nutmeg.
Potato Omelette.—It may be made with a mashed potato or
2 ounces of potato-flour and 4 eggs, and seasoned with pepper,
salt, and a little nutmeg. It should be made thick, and, being rather substantial, a squeeze of lemon will imprc re it. Fry a
light brown.


VEGETABLES.
Potato Balls.—Make mashed potatoes into balls with egg
yolk, flour them, fry them in dripping, and drain them; 01
brown before the fire.
Ragout of Potatoes.—Fry potato-balls, as above, drain them
dry, and serve them covered with brown sauce.
To Brown Potatoes.—"While the meat is roasting, ar.d an
hour before it is served, boil the potatoes and take off the skins ;
flour them well, and put them under the meat, taking care to
dry them before they are sent to table. The kidney potatoes
are best dressed in this way. The flouring is very essential.
Boiled Potatoes.—If waxy, or to be eaten with cold meat, they
should be peeled and put whole upon the gridiron until nicely
browned.
Potato Flour.—Rasp the potatoes into a tub of cold water,
and change it repeatedly until the raspings fall to the bottom
like paste; then dry it in the air, pound it in a mortar and
pass it through a hair sieve. It is nearly as nutritive, and
much lighter than wheaten flour; it is, therefore, preferable
for making puddings and pastry for infants and invalids; a
portion of it also improves the appearance of household bread,
and dealers constantly pass it off as arrowroot. If kept dry,
it will remain good for years.
Potato Jelly.—Is made from the flour, only boiling water
must be poured upon it, but care must be taken that it be ab
dolutely boiling, or the complete change into jelly will not
take place. It does not take many minutes to thus change a
raw potato into this substance, which is not only highly nutri
tive, but extremely agreeable to the palate when flavored with
a little sugar, nutmeg, and white wine.
Potato- Wall, or edging, to serve round fricassees, forms also
a pretty addition to a corner dish.—Mash in a mortar as
many boiled potatoes as you may want, with a good piece
of butter; then, with the bowls of two silver spoons, raise a
wall of it 2£ inches high within the rim of the dish to be used.
Let the upper part be a hule thinner than the lower; smooth


MRS. HALE S NEW COOK BOOK.
It; and, after brushing it all over with egg, put it into the
oven to become hot and a little colored. Before egging it, the
outside may be ornamented with bits of paste cut into shapes.
To KeepPotatoes.—Buy them as dug from the ground,
without taking off the earth that adheres to them, and never
wash them till they are wanted to be dressed. Place them in a
dry cellar, upon straw, and cover them in winter with straw
ci mats, to guard them from the frost.
Obs.—Potatoes should always be boiled a little before being
put into stews, &C., as the first water in which they are boiled
is of a poisonous quality.
Sweet Potatoes.—These are better roasted or baked, than
boiled.
To bake them, wash them clean, and wipe them dry; then
place them in a quick oven. They will take from half an
hour to an hour, according to their size.
To roast them; prepare them as for baking, and either cook
them in the hot ashes of a wood fire, or in a Dutch oven
They will take from half to three-quarters of an hour.
To boil them; wash them carefully, put them in a pot with
just water enough to cover them; let them boil from one-half
to three-quarters of an hour; try them with a fork to see if
they are done.
TURNIPS.
To boil Turnips.—Pare entirely from them the stringy rind,
and either split the turnips once or leave them whole; throw
them into boiling water slightly salted, and keep them closely
covered from smoke and dust till they are tender. When
small and young they will be done in from 15 to 20 minutes;
at their full growth they will require from three-quarters to a
full hour, or more, of gentle boiling. After they become old
»nd woolly, they are not worth dressing in any way. When
boiled in their skins and pared afterwards, they are said to be
of better flavor and much less watery than when cooked in the
usual way.
Young turnips, 15 to 20 minutes: full grown, three quarters
to one hour, or more.


VEGETABLES. 273
To mash Turnips.—Split them once or even twice, should
they be large; after they are pared, boil them very tender,
and press the water thoroughly from them with a couple of
trenchers, or with the back of a large plate and one trencher.
To ensure their being free from lumps, it is better to pass
them through a cullender or coarse hair-sieve, with a wooden
spoon; though, when quite young, they may be worked suffi-
ciently smooth without this. Put them into a clean sauce-pan,
end stir them constantly for some minutes over a gentle fire,
that they may be very dry; then add some salt, a bit of fresh
butter, and a little cream, or in lieu of this new milk (we
would also recommend a seasoning of white pepper or Ca-
yenne, when appearance and fashion are not particularly re-
garded), and continue to simmer and to stir them for five or
six minutes longer, or until they have quite absorbed all the
liquid which has been poured to them. Serve them always as
hot as possible. This is an excellent receipt.
Turnips, weighed after they are pared, 3 lbs.: dried 5 to 8
minutes. Salt, 1 tea-spoonful; butter, 1 oz. to 1J oz.; cream
or milk, nearly half pint: 5 or 6 minutes.
Turnips in White Sauce. (Entremets.)—When no scoop
for the purpose is at hand, cut some small finely-grained tur-
nips into quarters, and pare them into balls, or into the shape
of plums or pears of equal size; arrange them evenly in a
broad stew-pan or saucepan, and cover them nearly with good
veal broth, throw in a little salt, and a morsel of sugar, and
boil them rather quickly until they are quite tender, but un-
broken; lift them out, draining them well from the broth;
dish, and pour over them some thick white sauce. As an
economy, a cup of cream, and a tea-spoonful of arrowroot may
be added to the broth in which the turnips have stewed, to
make the sauce; and when it boils, a small slice of butter
may be stirred and well worked into it should it not be suffi-
ciently rich without.
Turnips stewed in Butter. (Good.)—This is an excellent
way of dressing the vegetable when it is mild and finely
grained; but its flavor otherwise is too strong to be agreeable.
After they have been washed, wiped quite dry, and pared,
slice the turnips nearly half an inch thick, and divide them
IT


274
MRS.bale's new cook book.
'uto dice. Just dissolve an ounce of butter for each half-pound
of the turnips, put them in as flat as they can be, and stew
them very gently indeed, from three-quarters of an hour to a
full hour. Add a seasoning of salt and white pepper when
they are half done. When thus prepared, they may be dished
over fried or nicely broiled mutton cutlets, or served by them-
selves.
For a small dish: turnips, lb.; butter, 3 oz.; seasoning
of white pepper; salt, half tea-spoonful, or more: three-quar-
ters to one hour. Large dish, turnips, 2 lbs.; butter, 4 ozs.
Turnips in Gravy.—To a pound of turnips sliced and cut
into dice, pour a quarter-pint of boiling veal gravy, add a small
lump of sugar, some salt and Cayenne, or white pepper, and
boil them quickly 50 to 60 minutes. Serve them very hot.
Turnip-Tops.—Should be nicely picked, (as the full leaves
are coarse and strong,) and thrown into cold water an hour
before boiling; put them on in plenty of boiling water, with
salt, and they will be done in about 20 minutes; when press
them dry.
BEETS.
To boil Beets.—Wash the roots delicately clean, but neither
scrape nor cut them, as not a fibre even should be trimmed
away, until after they are dressed. Throw them into boiling
water, and according to their size boil them from one hour and
a half to two hours and a half. Pare and serve them whole,
or thickly sliced, and send melted butter to table with them.
Beet-root is often mixed with winter salads; and it makes a
pickle of beautiful color; but one of the most usual modes of serving it at the present day is, with the cheese, cold and mere ly pared and sliced, after having been boiled or baked.
Boiled, H to 2J hours; baked, 2$ to 3£ hours.
06*.—This root must not be probed with a fork like other vegetables, to ascertain if it be done or not; but the cook
must endeavor, by attention, to learn the time required for it.
After it is lifted out, the thickest part may be pressed with the
fingers, to which it will yield, if it be sufficiently boiled.


VEGETABLES. 275
To bake Beets.—Beet-root, if slowly and carefully baked
until it is tender quite through, is very rich and sweet in flavor,
although less bright in color than when it is boiled: it is also,
we believe, remarkably nutritious and wholesome. Wash and
wipe it very dry, but neither cut nor break any part of it: then, lay it into a coarse dish, and bake it in a gentle oven for 4 or £
hours: it will sometimes require even a longer time than this.
Pare it quickly, if to be served hot; but leave it to cool first,
when it is to be sent to table cold.
The white beet-root is dressed exactly like the red: the
leaves of it are boiled and served like asparagus.
Bake in slow oven from 4 to 6 hours.
Stewed Beet.—Bake or boil it tolerably tender, and let it
remain until it is cold, then pare and cut it into slices; heat
and stew it for a short time in some good pale veal gravy (or
in strong veal broth for ordinary occasions), thicken this with
a tea-spoonful of arrow-root, and half a cupful or more of good cream, and stir in, as it is taken from the fire, from a tea-spoon
to a table-spoonful of vinegar. The beet may be served like-
wise in thick white sauce, to which, just before it is dished,
mild eschalots may be added.
CARROTS.
To boil Carrots.—Wash the mould from them, and scrape the skin off lightly with the edge of a sharp knife, or, should
this be objected to, pare them as thin and as equally as possi
ble; in either case free them from all blemishes, and should
they be very large, split them across the tops a few inches
down; rinse them well, and throw them into plenty of boiling
water with some salt in it. The skin of very young carrots
may be rubbed off like that of new potatoes, and from 20 to80 minutes will then be sufficient to boil them; but at their
full growth they will require from 1\ to 2 hours. It was for-
merly the custom to tie them in a cloth, and to wipe the skin
from them with it after they were dressed; and old-fashioned
cooks still use one to remove it; but all vegetables should be
served with the least possible delay. Melted butter should
accompany boiled carrots.


218
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
in strong jars, or open-mouthed bottles, and shake them to make them sit closely together. Cork the jars tightly; place
them in any iron pot large enough to contain them, with hay
between them to prevent breakage; fill the pot with cold water
up to the neck of the jars, and allow it to boil 11 hour if in
cool moist weather, but for 2 hours if it be hot and dry. Do
not take the jars out of the pot till the water is cold.
Obs.—French beans and asparagus may be preserved in the
same manner; they retain their color, but lose much of their
flavor, and require a little sugar to improve it.
BEANS.
To boil Windsor Beans.—When young, freshly gathered, and
well dressed, these beans, even with many persons accustomed
to a luxurious table, are a favorite accompaniment to a dish of
streaked bacon, or delicate pickled pork. Shell them only
just before they are wanted, then wash, drain, and throw them
into boiling water, salted as for peas. When they are quite
tender, pour them into a hot cullender, drain them thoroughly,
and send them to table quickly, with a tureen of parsley and
butter, or with plain melted butter, when it is preferred. A
boiled cheek of bacon, trimmed free of any blackened parts,
may be dished over the beans, upon occasion.
From 20 to 30 minutes; less when very young.
Obs.—When the skin of the beans appear wrinkled, they
will generally be found sufficiently tender to serve, but they
should be tasted to ascertain that they are so.
To stew.—Take them when too old to dress any other way,
boil them, and remove the tough outer skin by peeling it oir
after the beans are boiled; thicken some white broth with a
little cream or flour and butter, add the beans to it, and stew
them all together over the fire for a few minutes. Add pep-
per and salt to palate.
To boil French, or StringBeans.—When early and young,
they should be clipped and cut finely, or almost shred, and thrown into cold water; then put them on in boiling water
with some salt, and boil till tender.


VEGETABLES.
When the beans are older, cue off the ends, strip off the
Wrings, and cut each bean into 4 or 8 pieces; and boil as
above.
To preserve the fine green color of beans, cover them as
booh as done with melted butter.
String Beans fricasseed.—When nearly boiled tender, strain
.he beans, and put them into a stew-pan with a tea-cupful of
white gravy; add 2 table-spoonsful of cream, a little butter
and flour, simmer a few minutes, season, and serve.
String Beans a la Fran pais {an excellent Receipt).—Prepare
as many young and freshly gathered beans as will serve for a
large dish, boil them tender, and drain the water well from
them. Melt a couple of ounces of fresh butter, in a clean
sauce-pan and stir smoothly to it a small dessert-spoonful of
flour; keep these well shaken and gently simmered until they
are lightly browned, add salt and pepper, and pour to them by
degrees a small cupful of good veal gravy, (or, in lieu of this,
of sweet rich cream,) toss the beans in the sauce until they are
as hot as possible; stir quickly in, as they are taken from the
fire, the beaten yolks of 2 fresh eggs, and a little lemon juice,
and serve them without delay. The eggs and lemon are some-
times omitted, and a table-spoonful of minced parsley is added
to the butter and flour; but this, we think, is scarcely an im
provement.
Beans, 1 to 2 quarts: boiled 15 to 20 minutes. Butter, 2
oz.; flour, 1 dessert-spoonful; salt and pepper; veal gravy, a
small cupful; yolks of egg, 2; lemon juice, a dessert-spoonful.
To dress Dried French Beans.—Boil for more than 2 hours,
in 2 quarts of water, a pound of the seeds or beans of scarlet
runners; fill a pint basin with onions peeled or sliced, brown
them in a sauce-pan, with rather more than a quarter of a
pound of fresh butter; stir them constantly; strain the water
from the beans, and mix them with the onions; add a tea-
spoonful of pepper, some salt, and a little gravy. Let them
stew for 10 minutes, and stir in the beaten yolks of 2 eggs,
and a table-spoonful of vinegar. Serve them hot.
To stew Red Beam.—Put 1 pint of red beans in 2 quarts of
water, and let them soak over night. Drain off the water


280
MRS. hale's new cook book.
early tne next mornirg and place them over the fire in 2 quarts
of fresh water. When they are perfectly soft break them a
little without throwing off the water; add 2 table-spoonsful of
butter; season with pepper, salt, parsley, thyme, and add an
onicn. When the beans are soft and mashed, let them sim-
mer slowly till dinner.
Lima Beans.—Wash in cold water 1 quart of Lima beans
shelled; then put them in a stew-pan with just enough boiling
water to cover them. Let them boil, with the stew-pan
closely covered for half an hour; then try them to see if they
are tender; turn off almost all the water, and add a tea-cup
nearly full of butter, salt and pepper to your taste. Stir them
well together. Heat them for a few minutes longer and serve.
EGG-PLANT.
To dress Egg-Plant.—Parboil the egg-plants till they be-
come soft, then cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the
inside, leaving the skin whole; take half of a small onion to
about seven egg-plants, with half pound of butter, and put
them over the fire in a pot for a few moments; then mix with
it half a good-sized loaf of bread which has been soaked in
milk; mix it all well together; put in salt, black and red
pepper, and a little parsley, and let it stew an hour. Then
take some grated toast and strew over it, and put it for half
an hour over the coals on a gridiron, then return the mixture
to the shells, and serve them.
A very fine way to dress Egg-Plant.—Take as many egg-
plants as the size of your family requires—pare, quarter and
boil them till soft enough to mash like turnips. Mash them,
add a little bread crumbs soaked in milk, butter, chopped pars
ley, an onion boiled and mashed, some butter, pepper, and
salt. Mix these well together, and pour it into a baking dish;
cover the top with grated bread, and bake it for half an hour.
Ancther way to dress Egg Plant.—Split the egg-plant in aalf •
parboil it until soft enough to scrape out the inside, leaving
the shell whole. Take an onion cut up, pepper, salt, parsley,
and one egg. Sprinkle in a little flour; stew all together with


VEGETABLES.
281
a lump of butter, in a sauce-pan, until thoroughly cooked.
Then put them in the shells, sprinkle them with crumbs of
bread, and bake them till brown.
To FryEgg-Phnt.—Cut the egg-plant into slices quarter of
an inch thick; let it lie for several hours in salted water to re-
move the bitter taste. Heat a small quantity of butter ; when
very hot, put in the slices; turn them when one side is d^ne.
Let them cook thoroughly.
Summer Squashes or Cymbelins.—When these vegetables
are fresh, the rind will be crisp when cut by the nail. If very
young and tender, they may be boiled whole; if not, pare
them. Extract the seeds and strings, cut them small, put
them in a stew-pan with water enough just to cover them;
add one tea-spoonful of salt to each common sized squash;
boil them till the pieces break; half an hour is generally
enough, and then press them through a calender with a skim
mer. Mix them with butter to your taste, and a little salt if
necessary.
Winter Squash.—This requires rather more boiling than the
summer kind. Pare it, cut it in pieces, take out the seeds and
strings; boil it in a very little water till it is quite soft. Then
press out the water, mash it, and add butter, salt, and pepper
to your taste.
From half to three-quarters of an hour will generally suffice
to cook it.
EICE.
To Boil Rice.—Wash the rice perfectly clean, and put on
one pound in two quarts of cold water; stir it up from the bot-
tom of the kettle once or twice, till it boils; let it boil twenty
minutes, strain it through a sieve, and put it before the fire;
shake it up with a fork every now and then, to separate the
grains, and make it quite dry. Serve it hot.
To Boil Rice Carolina Fashion.—Wash and pick the rice in
cold water, which, when you are ready for the rice, pour off'. Put it in a pot of boiling water, already salted. Boil it hard


282
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
for 20 minutes; then take it off the fire, and pour off the water
Set the pot in the chimney corner with the lid off, while dishing
the dinner, to allow the rice to dry. Each grain will then be
separate and free from moisture.
Casserole de Riz mix CEufs.—Clean and wash 6 ounces of
rice, put it into a stew-pan with cold water, and, after it has boiled for about a minute, strain it; then add twice the quan-
tity of broth, and let it stew gently until the rice will break
easily with a spoon. Should the liquor dry too much before
the rice is soft enough, add a little more broth. Work it well
with stock and an egg beaten, as the rice should be firm and
well blended; then make it into a wall, lining the inside of a
mould of the requisite height; bake the casserole. Take the
white portion of cold fowl, cold veal, or sweetbreads; mince
them finely, add some thick white sauce and mushrooms, fill
the casserole, and cover the top with poached eggs; cover them
with glaze, and serve it up very hot.
GREEN CORN.
Sweet or sugar corn is best for boiling. Trim off the husks,
excepting the inside leaves; throw the corn into boiling water
with a little salt in it, and let it boil from one-half to three-
quarters of an hour, according to its size. Then take off the
remaining husks, and serve the corn, laid in a dish on a nap-
kin; let the corners of the napkin be thrown over the corn, to
keep it hot. It is eaten with salt and butter.
Or:—Cut the corn from the cob and put it in a stew-pan,
with a tea-cupful of water to each quart of corn; cover it closely,
and let it stew gently for nearly one hour; then add half a
tea-cupful of butter, and pepper and salt to your taste.
Common white corn may be improved by the addition of a
little white sugar. To roast it, take off the husks, and lay it
over the coals on a gridiron, turning it occasionally.
Succatash.—Take 12 ears of sweet corn, and cut the kernels
fiom the cob; string 1 quart of green beans, and cut them in
'small pieces; wash them, and put them with the corn in a
stew-pan with half a pint of boiling water; milk may be ased


VEGETABLES.
283
if preferred. Let them boil three-quarters of an hour, closely
covered; then add a piece of butter the size of a large egg, a
tea-spoonful of salt, and a little pepper; stir them well together;
cover them for ten minutes, and serve them.
Half a pound of salt fat pork cut in slices may be substituted
for the butter.
Lima beans and corn make a still finer succatash than string
beans.
Corn Pudding—to be eaten as a vegetable.—Grate ears of
green corn; add to a quart of it a tea-cupful- of cream or milk,
a lump of butter about the size of an egg, and a tea-spoonful
of salt. Mix all well together; put it in your dish and bake
it an hour and a half. To be eaten as a vegetable, with butter,
pepper and salt.
Hominy.—There are three sizes of hominy. Large hominy
requires to be boiled from 4 to 5 hours over a gentle fire. It
should be washed clean, and put in the stew-pan with just
enough water to cover it. It is eaten as a vegetable. To cook
the smaller hominy, wash it in two waters; then, to one tea-
cupful of hominy, add a quart of water and a tea-spoonful of
salt, and place the dish that contains it in a kettle of boiling
water, to prevent it from getting burnt, or else over a very
gentle fire. Let it boil for an hour, stirring it well with a
spoon. It is generally eaten for breakfast. It is excellent,
sliced and fried, after it has become cold.
CABBAGES.
To boil Cabbage and Greens.—A full-grown cabbage, quar-
tered, will require an hour's boiling; a young one, half that
time. Greens will require about 20 minutes quick boiling,
hi both cases, salt should be put into the water.
Savoys should be boiled whole, and quartered before serving.
It has been recommended to boil cabbages in two waters;
that is, when they are half done to pour off the water, and add
fresh boiling water.
Be careful to press the greens as dry as possible.
Saner K'aul.—Shred very finely 6 white cabbages, having


284
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
cut out the stalks; mix with them half a pound of salt, and press
them as closely as possible into a cask; put over a cloth, then a wooden cover, and upon that a heavy weight: let it stand in
a warm cellar 2 months, keeping the liquor that rises on it, and it will be fit for use: it should then be removed to a cooie.
place. In Germany, half an ounce of juniper berries, anniseeu,
or caraway seeds, would be added to the above; but this in not recommended for American taste.
To dress Sauer Kraut.—Put a quart into a stew-pan with a
little butter, and half a pint of weak gravy; stew gently until
tender, aud serve under boiled pork or beef, or sausages, boiled
or fried. The Bavarian method of dressing sauer kraut is, after
it has been boiled, to mix it with butter and red wine.
To stew Cabbage.—Parboil in milk and water, and drain it,
then shred it, put it into a stew-pan, with a small piece of but-
ter, a small tea-cupful of cream, and seasoning, and stew tei>-
der. Or, it may be stewed in white or brown gravy.
To stew Red Cabbage.—Shred finely half a cabbage, and put
it into a stew-pan, with a tea-cupful of gravy, and 2 oz. of
butter; stew slowly till tender, season with salt and serve.
To heighten the color of the cabbage, a slice or two of beet-
root may be added, but should be taken out before serving.
Another Way (Flemish Receipt).—Strip the outer leaves
from a fine and fresh red cabbage; wash it well, and cut it into
the thinnest possible slices, beginning at the top; put it into a
thick sauce-pan in which two or three ounces of good butter
4ave been just dissolved; add some pepper and salt, and stew
it very slowly indeed for 3 or 4 hours in its own juice, keeping
it often stirred, and well pressed down. When it is perfectly
tender add a table-spoonful of vinegar; mix the whole up tho-
roughly, heap the cabbage in a hot dish, and serve broiled sausa-
ges round it; or omit these last, and substitute lemon juice,
cayenne pepper, and half a cupful of good gravy.
The stalk of the cabbage should be split in quarters, and
taken entirely out in the first instance.
To boil Cauliflowers.—Choose those that are close and white,
cut off the green leaves, and look carefully that there are no


VEGETABLES.
285
caterpillars about the stalk; soak an hour in cold water, with
a handful of salt in it; then boil them in milk and water, and
take care to skim the sauce-pan, that not the least foulness may
fall on the flower. It must be served very white, and rather crimp.
In White Sauce.—Take off the whole of the leaves of •
cauliflower, and half boil it; then cut it into handsome pieces
and lay them in a stew-pan with a little broth, a bit of mace,
a little salt, and a dust of white pepper; simmer half an hour,
but let the stalk be put down quarter of an hour before tho
flower; then put a little cream, butter, and flour; shake, and
simmer a few minutes, and serve.
To boil Brocoli.—Peel the stalks, and boil them 15 minutes
with a little salt in the water; tie the shoots into bunches, and
boil half the above time; serve with melted butter or toast.
SPINACH.
Spinach, (Entremets,} French receipt.—Pick the spinach leaf
by leaf from the stems, and wash it in abundance of spring
water, changing it several times; then shake it in a dry closet! held by the four corners, or drain it on a large sieve. Throw
it into sufficient well-salted boiling water to allow it to float
freely, and keep it pressed down with a skimmer that it may
be equally done. When quite young it will be tender in from eight to ten minutes, but to ascertain if it be so, take a leaf
and squeeze it between the fingers. If to be dressed in the
French mode, drain, and then throw it directly into plenty of
fresh water, and when it is cool form it into balls and press
the moisture thoroughly from it with the hands. Next, chop
it extremely fine upon a clean trencher; put two ounces (for a
large dish) of butter into a stew-pan or bright thick sauce-pan,
lay the spinach on it, and keep it stirred over agentle fire for tec
minutes, or until it appears dry ; dredge in a spoonful of flour,
and turn the spinach as it is added; pour to it gradually a few
spoonsful of very rich veal gravy, or, if preferred, of good
boiling cream, (with the last of these a dessert-spoonful or
more of pounded sugar may be added for a second-course dish,
when the true French mode of dressing the vegetable is liked.)
Stew the whole briskly until the whole is well absorbed ; dish.


286
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
and serve the spinach very hot, with small, pale fried sippets
round it, or with leaves of puff paste fresh from the oven, or
well dried after having been fried. For ornament, the sippetf
may be fancifully shaped with a tin cutter. A proper season-
ing of salt must not be omitted in this or any other prepara-
tion of the spinach.
Spinach, (common English mode.)—Boil the spinach very-
green in plenty of water, drain, and then press the moisture
from it between two trenchers; chop it small, put it into a
clean sauce-pan, with a slice of fresh butter, and stir the whole
until well mixed and very hot. Smooth it in the dish, mark it
in dice, and send it quickly to table.
Eggs and Spinach.—Boil and mince the spinach, and serve
upon it the eggs, poached; or, stew spinach, or sorrel, and
place the poached eggs round the dish, with pieces of fried
bread between them.
To stew Celery.—Wash the heads, and strip off their outer
leaves; either halve or leave them whole, according to their
size, and cut them into lengths of 4 inches. Put them into a
stew-pan with a cup of broth or weak white gravy; stew till
tender; then add 2 spoonsful of cream, a little flour and but-
ter, seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a little pounded
white sugar; and simmer all together.
Or:—Parboil it, cut it into quarters, fry it, and serve it on
a napkin, or with beef gravy.
Celery is a great improvement to all soups and gravies, and
much used as a white sauce, either alone or with oysters.
CUCUMBERS.
To stew Cucumbers.—Pare eight or ten large cucumbers, and
O il them into thick slices, flour them well, and fry them in
butter; then put them into a sauce-pan with a tea-cupful of
gravy; season it with Cayenne, salt and catsup. Let them
stew for an hour, and serve them hot.
Boiled Cucumbers. Dr. Kitchiner's receipt. — Cucumbers
May be cut into quarters and boiled like asparagus, and ser-
ved up with toasted bread and melted butter. This is a most


VEGETABLES.
28'.
delicate way of preparing cucumbers for the dinner <-«e, and
they are a most luscious and savory dish.
ONIONS.
ToPreserveOnions.—Onions should be pulled up as soon
as their tops are nearly dead, or they will push out fresh roots
after rain, which will greatly injure their bulbs, and prevent
their keeping sound.
Being gathered in September, they should be spread thin on
the ground, in the full sun; turn them over once or twice daily,
until they are thoroughly dried, and then store them in a well-
aired loft; lay them thinly, string them up by the tails, or
hang them in nets. The outer husks should be taken off before
housing, as should also the tails, if the onions are not to be
strung. String them thus:—tie three or four onions by the
tails, with matting, or packthread; then place on two or three
more onions and bind the thread once or twice round their
tails; place and bind more onions, and so on. In this manner
is made a string or rope of onions, which will keep, if hung up
in a dry, well aired place, free from frost. If onions begin to
sprout, sear the roots with a hot iron, which will check the
vegetation.
To Boil Onions Plain.—Peel them and soak them an hour
in cold water; put them into boiling milk and water, boil them
till tender, and serve with melted butter. Or, boil the onions
in two waters.
To Stew Onions.—Peel them, flour, and fry them in a little
butter, a light brown; then put them into weak gravy, season,
and stew slowly two hours. Dish them up-side down, with
the sauce over them. In peeling, be careful not to cut the top
or bottom too closely, else the onion will not keep whole.
Baked or Roasted Onions. F"ut them, as taken from the
store-room, into a tin, and bake in a moderate oven; or, roast
in a Dutch oven. Serve with cold butter in a small plate.
The outer peel should not be removed until the onions are
to be eaten.


MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Jiago&l of Onions.—Boil button onions, peeled, until they
are tender; put them into brown sauce, and add salt.
Or: having peeled the onions, brown them in a Dutch oven,
and put them into a stew-pan with any meat bones, a slice of
lean bacon, a little water, and some pepper; stew them till
tender, when take out the bone and bacon, and thicken the
gravy.
The onions should be spread in one layer in the stew-pan.
Leeks—Are generally looked upon as a species of onion,
and, as such, commonly employed in the same manner, though
rather milder in flavor. If boiled in separate waters, changing
it 3 or 4 times, until stewed quite tender, then served in white
sauce, or quartered and placed upon toast like asparagus, they
will eat nearly, if not quite, as delicate.
ARTICHOKE& Soiled.—Cut the stalk even, trim off a few of the out-
side leaves and the points of the others. If young, half an
hour will boil them. Serve them with melted butter in as
many small cups as there are artichokes, to help with each.
Or: Cut the artichokes in 4, remove the choke, trim the
pieces neatly, boil them quickly in salt water, dish them, lay-
ing the leaves outwards, and pour melted butter or white sauce
over the bottoms.
Stewed.—Strip off the leaves, remove the choke, ana soak
them in warm water for two or three hours, changing the water
every hour; then put them into a stew-pan with a piece of but-
ter tolled in Cayenne pepper and flour; a tea-cupful of gravy,
and a spoonful or two of catsup or other sauce; add a spoon-
ful of vinegar, or one of lemon-juice, before serving; let all
stew till the artichokes are quite tender, and, if necessary,
thicker the sauce with a little more butter.
Artichoke Bottoms.—If dried, must be soaked, then stewed
in weak gravy, or baked and served with or without forcemea*
in each. Or they may be boiled in milk, and served with
cream-sauce; or added to ragouts, French pies, &c.


VEGETABLES.
289
They may also be dipped in batter and fried, then served
with a sauce made of fine herbs, a spoonful of oil, and the juice
of lemon.
A-la Poivrade.—Take very small artichokes, cut them in
quarters from the bottom, and remove the choke. Serve them in a little cold water, like radishes; make a sauce with oil,
vinegar, pepper, and salt: they have the flavor of nuts.
Jerusalem Artichokes—Should be boiled, putting them at
first into cold water, and must be taken up the moment they
are done, or they will be too soft.
They may be boiled plain, or served with white fricassee sauce. When boiled, if rubbed through a sieve with a little
fresh butter and cream, they form an excellent puree as a
sauce for cutlets, or as a thickening for some sorts of white
soup; or they may be sliced and fried.
TOMATOES.
To slew Tomatoes.—Take 10 large tomatoes —pat them into
a pan, and pour scalding water over them to remove the skins
easily; peel them and cut out all the hard or unripe portion;
then cut them through and take out the seeds. Boil an onion
and mash it fine, add it to the tomatoes with pepper and salt
to your taste, and a piece of butter as large as a hen's egg.
Put them on to stew in an earthen pipkin, and let them sim-
mer 2 hours. A quarter of an hour before dinner is ready,
add 4 or 5 table-spoonsful of grated bread, and let it all stew
till ready to serve.
The onion may be put in raw if cut fine, provided the toma-
toes are stewed longer, which is desirable, and instead of bread,
2 table-spoonsful of flour might be mixed with a piece of but-
ter as large as a turkey's egg, and stirred in half an hour be-
fore dinner.
Another way to stew Tomatoes.—Slice the tomatoes into a
well-tinned stew-pan, seasoning them with pepper and salt;
place bits of butter over the top. Put on the lid close, and
stew gently for about 20 minutes. After this stir them fre-
quently, letting them stew until they are well done. A spoon-


290
JIBS, dale's new cook book.
fill or two of vinegar will be considered an improvement by
many. Excellent with roast beef or mutton.
To bake.—Slice them into a baking-dish; season, put butter
over in bits, and strew bread-crumbs on the top. Bake them
for about three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven.
To stuff.—Cut them in halves and hollow out the centre;
Iftke whatever cold meat may be at hand, either chicken, par-
tridge, or hare, with ham, &C., onions, fine herbs, crumbs of
bread, and form a forcemeat ball, with beaten eggs; fill up
the centres of the tomatoes, and let them stew gently in any
gravy ; before serving up, pass them over with a salamander or
hot iron. Portuguese way.—A favorite mode of dressing them in Por
tugal, where they are largely grown, is, to stew them along with
rice and onions in strong brown gravy; the rice forming the
greater portion of the dish. There are also various other ways
employed throughout the C >ntinent, but garlic should never
be added, as it destroys the delicacy of the tomato.
Eggs and Tomatoes.—Peel the skins from 12 large toma-
toes; put 4 oz. of butter in a frying pan; add .some salt, pep-
per, and a little chopped onion; fry it a few minutes—add the
tomatoes and chop them while frying; when nearly done,
break in 6 eggs, stir them quickly, and serve them up.
Ochra and Tomatoes, or Gumbo.—Take an equal quantity of
each; let the ochras be young; slice them and skin the toma
toes; put them into a pan without water, adding a lump of
butter, an onion chopped fine, some pepper and salt, and stew
them one hour.
A Spanish Dish.—Peel the skins from ripe tomatoes; put
them in a pan with a table-spoonful of melted butter, some
pepper, salt, and an onion chopped fine. Shred cold meat or
fowl; add it to the tomatoes, and fry it sufficiently.
To keep Tomatoes a year.—Take half a bushel, skin and boil
them well, then add a tea-cupful of salt, a table-spoonful of
black pepper, one table-spoonful of Cayenne, an ounce of


VEGETABLES.
291
doves, an ounce of mace. Mix well, and put them in jars, and
run mutton suet over them, and tie them up with strong paper
or buckskin, and they will keep well, free from mould and
acidity.
ASPARAGUS.
To boil Asparagus—Scrape clean the stalks, and throw them
Into cold water; tie them in bundles of about 20 each, with
tape, and cut the stalks even. Put them into boiling water,
with a handful of salt, and boil half an hour, or until they are
tender at the stalk. Having toasted a round of bread, dip it
into the water in which the asparagus were boiled, lay them
upon the toast, the white ends outwards each way; and serve
with melted butter.
Asparagus dressed like Green Peas.—This is a convenient
mode of dressing asparagus, when it is too small and green to
make a good appearance plainly boiled. Cut the points so far
only as they are perfectly tender, in bits of equal size, not
more than the third of an inch in length; wash them very
clean, and throw them into plenty of boiling water, with the
usual quantity of salt and a morsel of soda. When they are
tolerably tender, which will be in from 10 to 12 minutes, drain
them well, and spread them on a clean cloth; fold it over
them, wipe them gently, and when they are quite dry put them
into a clean stew-pan with a good slice of butter, which should
be just dissolved before the asparagus is added; stew them in
this over a brisk fire, shaking them often, for 8 or 10 minutes;
dredge in about a small tea-spoonful of flour, and add half that
quantity of white sugar; then pour in boiling water to nearly
cover the asparagus, and boil it rapidly until but little liquid
remains; stir in the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, heap the aspara-
gus high in a dish and serve it very hot. The sauce should
adhere entirely tc the vegetable.
MUSHROOMS.
Cooks should be perfectly acquainted with the different sorts
of things called by this name by ignorant people, as the death


MM. BALK'S NEW COOK BOOK.
of many persons has been occasioned by carelessly using the
poisonous kinds.' The eatable mushrooms at first appear very small and of a
•ouud form on a little stalk. They grow very fast, and the
upper part and stalk are white. , As the size increases, the
under part gradually opens, and shows a fringed fur of a very
fine salmon color, which continues more or less till the mush-
100m has gained some size, and then turns to a dark brown.
These marks should be attended to, and likewise whether the
skin can be easily parted from the edges and middle. Those
that have a white or yellow fur should be carefully avoided,
though many of them have the same smell, but not so strong,
as the right sort.
To stew Mushrooms.—The large buttons are best for this
purpose, and the small flaps while the fur is still red. Rub
the buttons with salt and a bit of flannel; cut out the fur, and
take off the skin from the others; put them into a stew-pan
with a little lemon juice, pepper, salt, and a small piece of
fresh butter, and let the whole simmer slowly till done; then
put a small bit a butter and flour, with 2 spoonsful of cream;
give them one boil, and serve with sippets of bread.
To stew Mushrooms—an easy way.—Cut off that part of the
stem that grows under ground, wash them carefully, and take
the skin from the top. Put them into a stew-pan with some
salt but no water; stew them till tender, and thicken with a
table-spoonful of butter, mixed with one of browned flour.
To broil Mushrooms.—The largest are the best. Have a
6)ear cinder fire; make the gridiron hot, and rub the bars with
suet to prevent the mushrooms from sticking; place them also
on the gridiron with their stalks upwards; sprinkle them
slightly with salt, and a good shake of pepper, and serve them
on a hot dish, with a little cold butter under and over them.
When they begin to steam they are sufficiently done.
* We do not believe that mushrooms are nutritive; every one knows they
are often dangerously indigestible; therefore the rutional epicure will be con-
tent with extracting the flavor from them, which is obtained ill the utmubt
perfection in good mushroom catsup.—Dr. Kitchiner.


CHAPTER XX.
SALADS, MACARONI, ETC.
Differentkinds of Salads—Salad dressing—Summer Salad—
Winter Salad — Vegetable Salads — French — Italian —
Spanish— Vinaigrette — Chicken — Tomatoes en Salade —
C'oldslaic—Radishes—Cucumbers — To dress Macaroni —
Milanese —a Eitalienne Rati de Macaroni — Vermicelli—
Stewed Cheese—Roast Cheese— Welsh Rabbit.
Salad.—The herbs and vegetables for a salad cannot be too
freshly gathered; they should be carefully cleared from insects
and washed with scrupulous nicety; they are better when not
prepared until near the time of sending them to table, and
should not be sauced until the instant before they are served.
Tender lettuces, of which the outer leaves should be stripped
away, mustard and cress, young radishes, and occasionally
chives or small green onions (when the taste of a party is in
favor of these last) are the usual ingredients of summer salads.
Half grown cucumbers sliced thin, and mixed with them, are a
favorite addition with many persons. In England it is cus-
tomary to cut the lettuces extremely fine; the French, who
object to the flavor of the knife, which they fancy this mode
imparts, break them small instead. Young celery alone, sliced
and dressed with a rich salad mixture is excellent: it is still in
some families served thus always with roast fowls.
beetroot, baked or boiled, blanched endive, small salad-
herbs which are easily raised at any time of the year, celery,
and hardy lettuces, with any ready-dressed vegetable, will sup-
ply salads through the winter. Cucumber vinegar is an agree able addition to these.
In summer salads the mixture must not be poured upon tna
lettuce o' vegetables ased in the salad, but be left at the bofr
•203


294
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
tom, to be stirred up when wanted, as thus preserving the crispness of the lettuce.
in winter salads, however, the reverse of this proceeding
must be adopted, as thus: the salad of endive, celery, beet, and other roots being cut ready for dressing, then pour the
mixture upon the ingredients, and stir them well up, so that
every portion may receive its benefit.
In doing this, it should likewise be recollected that the spoon
and fork should always be of wood, and of sufficient size to stir up the vegetables in large quantities.'' Salad dressing.—For a salad of moderate size pound very
smoothly the yolks of two hard boiled eggs with a small tea-
spoonful of unmade mustard, half as much sugar in fine powder,
and a salt-spoonful of salt. Mix gradually with these a small
cup of cream, or the same quantity of very pure oil, and two
table-spoonsful of vinegar. More salt and acid can be added
at pleasure; but the latter usually predominates too much in
English salads. A few drops of Cayenne vinegar will improve
this receipt.
Hard yolks of eggs, 2; unmade mustard, 1 small teaspoon ful; sugar, half as much; salt, 1 salt-spoonful; cream or oil,
Small cupful; vinegar, 2 table-spoonsful.
Ols. 1.—To some tastes a tea-spoonful or more of eschalot
vinegar would be an acceptable addition to this sauce, which
may be otherwise varied in numberless ways. Cucumber-
vinegar may be substituted for other, and small quantities of
used to flavor the compound. The salad bowl too may be
rubl cd with a cut clove of garlic, to give the whole composi-
tion a vei y slight flavor of it. The eggs should be boiled for
fifteen minutes, and allowed to become quite cold always before
they are pounded, or the mixture will not be smooth: if it
should curdle, which it will sometimes do, if not carefully made,
add to it the yolk of a very fresh unboiled egg.
Obs. 2.—As we have before had occasion to remark, garlic,
when very sparingly and judiciously used, imparts a remark-
ably fine savor to a sauce or gravy, and neither a strong nor a
Boy, cavice, essence of anchovies,

* There is a Spanish proverb which says, "To make a good salad, that persons are wanted,—a spendthrift for oil, a tuber for viue^ar, a counscUov
for salt, and a madman to stir it all up."


SALADS, MACARONI, ETC.
295
coarse one, as it does when used in larger quantities. The veriest morsel (or, as the French call it, a mere soupcon) ot
the root is sufficient to give this agreeable piquancy, but unless
the proportion be extremely small, the effect will be quite d if ferent. The Italians dress their salads upon a round of deli-
cately toasted bread, which is rubbed with garlic, saturated
with oil, and sprinkled with Cayenne, before it is laid into the
bowl: they also eat the bread thus prepared, but with less of
oil, and untoasted often before their meals, as a digester.
French Salad dressing.—Stir a saltspoonful of salt and half
as much pepper into a large spoonful of oil, and when the salt
is dissolved, mix with them four additional spoonsful of oil,
and pour the whole over the salad; let it be well turned, and
then add a couple of spoonsful of vinegar; mix the whole
thoroughly and serve it without delay. The salad should not
be dressed in this way until the instant before it is wanted for
table: the proportions of salt and pepper can be increased at
pleasure, and common, or cucumber-vinegar may be substi-
tuted for the tarragon, which, however is more frequently used
in France than any other.
Another Salad dressing.—Boil two eggs ten minutes, and put
them into cold water, to harden and cool; then take out the
yolks, and rub them through a coarse sieve into a basin; add
two table-spoonsful of olive oil, a tea-spoonful of salt, the same
quantity of mustard, half the quantity of ground black pepper, a
tea-spoonful of soy or essence of anchovies, and two table-spoons-
ful of vinegar: incorporate the whole, and pour this sauce dow»
the side of the salad-bowl, or keep it in an incorporator. Th*
whites of the eggs will serve to garnish the salad.
Summer Salad.—Wash very clean one or two heads of fine
lettuce, divide it, let it lie some time in cold water; drain and
dry it in a napkin, and cut it small before serving. Mustard
and cresses, sorrel and young onions, may be added.
Winter Salad.—Wash very clean one or two heads of en-
dive, some heads of celery, some mustard and cresses; cut
them all small, add a little shredded red cabbage, some slices


996
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
of boiled beet-root, an onion, if the flavor is not disliked; mut
them together with salad sauce. In spring, add radishes, and
also garnish the dish with them.
Vegetable Salads made of roots which have been boiled, also
make good winter salads, amongst which potato and beetrootsalad'sare perhaps the best. Cut the roots into thin slices,
season them with pepper and salt, and pour over them the
salad mixture, to which may be added, if the flavor be not dis-
approved, a few slices of raw onion.
French Salad.—Chop 3 anchovies, a shalot, and some pars-
ley small, put them into a bowl with 2 table-spoonsful of vin-
egar, 1 of oil, a little mustard, and salt. When well mixed,
add by degrees some cold roast or boiled meat in very thin
slices; put in a few at a time, not exceeding 2 or 3 inches long.
Shake them in the seasoning, and then put more; cover the
bowl close, and let the salad be prepared 3 hours before it is
to be eaten.
Italian Salad is made by picking the white portion of a
cold fowl from the bones in small flakes, piling it in the centre
of a dish, and pouring a salad mixture over, enriched with
cream; make a wall around with salad of any kind, laying the
whites of eggs, cut into rings, on the top in a chain.
Spanish Salad.—Take whatever salad can be got, wash it in
many waters, rinse it in a small net, or in napkins, till nearly
dry, chop up onions and tarragon, take a bowl, put in equal
quantities of vinegar and water, a tea-spoonful of pepper and
salt, and four times as much oil as vinegar and water; mix
the same well together; take care never to put the lettuce into
the sauce till the moment the salad is wanted, or it loses all its
Tispness and becomes sodden.
For Vinaigrette.—Take any kind of cold meat, chop it fine-
ly, and lay it in a dish; chop the whites of the eggs employed
for the salad very finely with small onions; add any kind of
herb, and pickled cucumbers, all chopped finely; make a gar
nish round the meat, serve it with salad mixture, but do not
stir it together, as it would spoil the appearance of the dish,
which looks very pretty with the eggs and herbs in a rii ^


SALADS, MACARONI, ETC.
297
Chicken Salad.—Boil a chicken that weighs not more than a
pound and a half. When very tender, take it up, cut it in
small strips; then take 6 or 7 fine white heads of celery, scrape and wash it; cut the white part small, in pieces about three-
quarters of an inch long, mix it with the meat of the fowl, and
just before the salad is sent in, pour a dressing made in the fol-
lowing way,'over it.
Boil 4 eggs hard; rub their yolks to a smooth paste with 2
table-spoonsful of olive oil; 2 tea-spoonsful of made mustard;
1 tea-spoonful of salt, and 1 tea-cupful of strong vinegar.
Place the delicate leaves of the celery around the edges of
the dish.
White-heart lettuce may be used instead of celery.
Any other salad dressing may be used, if preferred.
Tomatoes en Salade.—These are now often served merely
sliced, and dressed like cucumbers, with salt, pepper, oil, and
vinegar.
For Winter use.—Late in the season take tomatoes not too
ripe, cut them into thick slices, salt them lightly in a flat dish,
sprinkling the salt over them as you cut them. Pour off the
water; put them in ajar, strewing black and Cayenne pepper
through them and a few slices of onion, 2 wineglassfuls of
sweet oil, a few blades of mace, and vinegar enough to cover
them up tight to exclude the air.
Coldslaw.—Shave as fine as possible a hard head of white
cabbage, put it in a salad bowl, and pour over it the usual
salad dressing.
Another way is, to cut the cabbage head in two, shave it
finely, put it in a stew-pan with half a tea-cupful of butter, a
teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonsful of vinegar, and a salt-
spoonful of pepper; cover the stew-pan, and set over a gentle
fire for five minutes, shaking it occasionally. When thoroughly
heated, serve it as a salad.
Radishes.—Radishes should always be freshly gathered; let
them lie in cold water one hour before serving, then cut off all
their leaves and almost all the stalk, serve them in glasses half
filled vith water, or on a plate.


Mrs. Bale's new cook book.
Shalomor Green Onions are sometimes served and eaten
in the same way.
Dressed Cucumljers.—Pare and slice them very thin, strew
a little fine salt over them, and when they have stood a few
minutes drain off the water, by raising one side of the dish, and
letting it flow to the other; pour it away, strew more salt, and
a moderate seasoning of pepper on them, add two or three
table-spoonsful of the purest salad-oil, and turn the cucumbers
well, that the whole may receive a portion of it; then pour
over them from one to three dessertspoonsful of Chili vinegar,
and a little common, should it be needed; turn them into a
clean dish and serve them.
To dress Macaroni.—Wash and drain as much macaroni
as you desire for dinner; put it on to boil in tepid water.
When it is soft enough to pass a fork through, take it off, drain it through a cullender, wipe out the skillet, and return
it immediately back again. Then add milk enough to half
cover it, salt and red pepper to your taste, a piece of butter as
large as a turkey's egg, and grated cheese as plentifully as
you please; stew it all together, while stirring it for 5 or 10
minutes; then throw it out into a dish, cover the top with
grated bread crumbs and set it in the oven for a few minutes
to brown on the top. If left long in the oven it will dry up
and become tough and unpalatable.
Macaroni Milanese.—Throw the maccaroni in boiling water
with some salt in it. Let it have plenty of room and be well
covered with water. Let it boil 25 minutes. Drain it in a
cullender; then put it in a deep dish in alternate layers of
macaroni and grated cheese; lay on the top slices of fresh
butter; pour over it milk and cream enough to cover the whole,
and place the dish in an oven where it can cook at the top and
bottom equally. In 15 or 20 minutes it will be done. Serve it up immediately. Too much fire will make it dry.
Macaroni a L'Italienne.—Take one quarter of a pound of
macaroni, boil it in water till tender; thicken half a pint of
milk with flour and a small bit of butter; add 2 table-spoons,
ful of cream, half a tea-spoonful of mustard, a little white pep-
per, salt, and cayenne. Stir into this half a pound of grated


SALADS, MACARONI, ETC.
299
cheese; boil all together a few minutes; add the macaroni;
make all quite hot, and serve. This is the mode adopted at
the best tables in Florence.
Pate de Macaroni.—Stew some macaroni in butter and wa
ter, or broth, strain it, cut it into pieces, and lay it at the bottom
of the dish, adding ham balls, made of ham pounded in a mor-
tar, and blended with butter; then have ready any kind of
game, boned and filleted, sweetbread cut into dice, and mush,
rooms, all stewed in good rich sauce; place a layer upon the
macaroni, then another layer of meat, and until the pie is
filled, add to it equal quantities of cream and gravy, cover it
with a paste, and bake it, or omit the paste, and stew it before
the fire in a Dutch oven. The macaroni may be mixed with
grated Parmesan or rich old cheese.
Another mode.—Swell 4 oz. of pipe macaroni in milk, with
a large onion. Put a layer at the bottom of a pie-dish, with
some bits of butter and scraped cheese sprinkled lightly over.
Cover the whole with a well-seasoned beef-steak, cut small and
thin, then some more macaroni, and then another layer of beef
steak; cover the whole with macaroni, pieces of butter, and
grated cheese, instead of crust. Bake in a slow oven.
Cold Mamroni.—If already dressed, may be warmed in any
kind of broth, letting it simmer gently upon a slow fire, with
the yolks of 2 eggs to thicken; after which it should be put
into the oven in a mould covered with crumbs of bread: or, if
undressed, it may be made by leaving it over night in broth,
and then proceeding with it as above.
Vermicelli—Is of the same substance as macaroni, but made
much smaller, and frequently put into meat soups, as giving
them additional richness; but it is, in our country, too spa-
ringly used. To be well made the soup should be thickened
with it, and for that purpose it is preferable to macaroni.
Semolina—Is of the same material, but made into small
grains, which more easily thicken the soup into which it is
mixed: it can also be made into an excellent pudding with
eggs and milk, using it instead of flour.
:t should be observed, as a general rule, that in using an*


300
ME«. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
of the Italian pastes—unless they should be sweetened—old,
or Parmesan cheese should always form part of the dish, in the
proportion of one-half the quantity to that of the paste.
CHEESE.
Stewed Cheese.—Slice thinly or grate 2 ounces of fat cheese
into a sauce-pan; add a little ale or porter, and set before a
clear fire, occasionally stirring them until the cheese is entirely
melted. If the cheese be not very fat, butter may be added.
Or: grate cheese into a sauce-pan, melt it, and stir in a
little cream and a well-beaten egg; and, if necessary, a little
butter.
To Roast Cheese.—Mix two ounces grated cheese with the
yolk of an egg, two ounces of grated bread, and about an
ounce of butter; beat them in a mortar, with mustard, pepper,
and salt, to a paste, which spread thickly on toast, and warm
and lightly brown it in a Dutch oven.
Cheese Toast.—Grate thickly over well-buttered toast, good
Cheshire cheese, and lightly brown it before the fire.
Welsh Rabbit.—Cut bread half an inch thick, toast it on both
sides, very lightly, and cut off the crust; then cut a slices of fat cheese without rind, not quite so large as the toast, upon
which lay the cheese in a toaster before a clear fire: watch it
lest it burn or get hard, and when the cheese is thoroughly
melted, remove from the fire, and season with mustard, pep per, and salt. Some persons prefer the bread toasted on one
side only
Devilled Biscuits.—Butter captain's biscuits on both sides,
and pepper them well; make a slice of cheese into a paste with
made mustard, and lay it on upon one side; sprinkle Cay-
enne pepper on the top, and send them to be grilled. This
may be varied by the addition of chopped anchovies, or the
essence, diavolo paste, or Chetney.


CHAPTER XXI. EGGS AND OMELETTES.
Jflggs—To Keep for Winter—To Boil—Poach—
'vppv<x—/Scrambled—QSufs Brouillies—Souffle—Omelette*—
Savory, or Ragout Eggs.
To ChooseEggs.—In choosing eggs hold them to the light:
if they are clear, they are fresh; if they are thick, they are
stale; if they have a black spot attached to the shell, they
are worthless. Eggs should be new, or not more than 24 hours
old, when they are stored, else their flavor cannot be relied on.
The safest mode of choosing them is by holding them to the
light of a candle.
Unless an egg is perfectly fresh it is unfit for any purpose.'' You may try the freshness of eggs by putting them in a pan
of cold water. Those that sink the soonest are the freshest.
Eggs may be preserved a short time by putting them in a jar
of salt or lime water, with the small ends downwards. The
salt should not afterwards be used. They may be preserved
several months by greasing them all over with melted mutton
suet, and wedging them close together in a box of bran. The
small ends always downwards.
To Keep Eggs for Winter Use.—Pour a full gallon of boil-
mg water on two quarts of quick lime and half a pound of salt;
when cold, mix it into an ounce of cream of tartar. The day
following put in the eggs. After the lime has been stirred
well into the boiling water, a large part of it will settle at the
* Bought eggs ought always to be suspected; therefore, let an earthen pan
be kept with oharoonl or lime-water in the pantry to put them in. The longer they are kept in it, the better they will be, as these waters destroy must, and even corruption.
301


802
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
bottom of the vessel, on which the eggs will remain. Keep
them covered with the liquor, and they will keep for 2 years.
T) Boil Eggs to eat in the Shells, or for Salads—The fresher
laid, the better: put them into boiling water; if you like the
white just set, about 2 minutes boiling is enough; a new-laid
egg will take a little more; if you wish the yolk to be set, it will take 3, and to boil it hard for a salad, 10 minutes.
Obs.—A new-laid egg will require boiling longer than a
stale one, by half a minute.
Tin machines for boiling eggs on the breakfast table are sold
by the iron-mongers, which perform the process very regularly:
in 4 minutes the white is just set.
Poached Eggs.—The beauty of a poached egg is for the yolk
to be seen blushing through the white, which should only be
just sufficiently hardened, to form a transparent veil for the
egg-
Have some boiling water in a tea-kettle; pass as much of
it through a clean cloth as will half fill a stew-pan; break the
egg into a cup, and when the water boils, remove the stew-pan
from the stove, and gently slip the egg into it; it must stand
till the white is set; then put it over a very moderate fire, and
as soon as the water boils, the egg is ready; take it up with a
slice, and neatly round off the ragged edges of the white; send
them up on bread toasted on one side only, with or without
butter.
To PoachEggs in the Frying-pan.—Put very little butter,
oil, or top-pot into the frying-pan: break the eggs gently into
a deep cup, of the size the egg is to be of, sometimes smaller,
sometimes larger; with a quick slight turn of the hand, turn
the cup over with the egg into the pan, and leave the cup upon
it, and continue to turn over the cups till all the eggs are put
in; the fire must be very slow: when the first egg has taken,
raise the cup a little to ascertain it: they must be done very
slowly, otherwise the under part will be over-done : dress them
over parsley, spinach, or on toasted bread.
Cupped Eggs.—Put a spoonful of very nice high-seasoned
Drown gravy into each cup; set the cups in a sauce-pan of boil


EGGS AND OMELETTE.
803
ing water; when the gravy heats, drop a fresh egg into each
cup; take off the sauce-pan, and cover it close till the eggs are
nicely and tenderly cooked; dredge them with very fine mace or nutmeg and salt; serve them in a hot-water plate, covered
with a napkin.
Scrambled Eggs.—Beat seven or eight eggs quite light, and
throw them into a clean frying-pan with a small quantity of
butter and a little salt. Stir them carefully until they are well
thickened, and turn them out on a hot dish, without permitting
any portion of them to adhere to the frying-pan. This dish is
excellent with a trimming of stewed tomatoes.
CEufs BrouilUs.—Break 4 or 6 eggs; beat them and put
them into a sauce-pan with a piece of butter, a little salt, and
a spoonful of sauce or gravy, which makes the eggs softer;
stir them over the fire until sufficiently thick ; serve on a plate
garnished with toasted bread. To eggs dressed this way, ham,
mushrooms, &C., minced, may be added. The difference be-
tween this and an omelette is, that an omelette is compact and
turns out smooth, whereas ceufi brouilles are less done, and are
therefore broken.
In Ireland, where it is in general use, it is usually served
upon hot buttered toast, and is there called "buttered eggs."
It is also very common in France, where it is usually served
for breakfast.
Or:—Butter a dish well, sprinkle it with salt, then break
the eggs very carefully so as not to disturb the yolk; add a
little more salt and some white pepper; melt a small quantity
of butter, pour it gr*itly over, with 1 or 2 spoonsful of cream.
Put the dish over a slow fire, and finish the eggs by covering
them with a red-hot shovel.
Souffle Franpaiet.—Put into a stew-pan 1 oz. of butter;
when melted, add 2 table-spoonsful of flour; stir them well
over the fire, so that the flour be thoroughly cooked, but not
colored; add by degrees a wineglass of boiling cream, and
four times that quantity of boiling milk; work it quite smooth,
take it off the fire, add 4 yolks of eggs, sugar to palate, a grain
of salt, and a table-spoonful of orange-flower water; whip up
strongly the whites of 8 eggs, mix them lightly in the batter
put the whole into a souflle-dish, and bake for an hour.


304
MBS. UALK'S NEW COOK BOOK.
The flavor of this souffle may be varied according to fancy,
omitting the orauge-flower water, and substituting either va-
nilla, curacoa, noyeau, maraschino, chocolate, coffee, &c.
OMELETTE.
Omelettes.—Eggs* may be dressed in a multiplicity of ways
cut are seldom, in any form, more relished than in a well-
made and expeditiously served omelette. This may be plain, or
seasoned with minced herbs, and a very little eschalot, when
the last is liked, and is then called an "Omelette aux fines
herbes y" or it may be mixed with minced ham, or grated
cheese; in any case, it should be light, thick, lull-tasted, and
fried only on one side; if turned in the pan, as it frequently is,
it will at once be flattened and rendered tough. Should the
slight rawness which is sometimes found in the middle of the
inside, when the omelette is made in the French way, be objected
to, a heated shovel, or a salamander, may be held over it for
an instant, before it is folded on the dish. The pan for frying
it should be quite small; for, if it be composed of 4 or 5 eggs
only, and then put into a large one, it will necessarily spread
over it and be thin, which would render it more like a pancake
than an omelette; the only partial remedy for this, when a pan
of proper size cannot be had, is to raise the handle of it high,
and to keep the opposite side close down to the fire, which will
confine the eggs into a smaller space. No gravy should ever be
poured into the dish with it, and indeed, if properly made, it
will require none. Lard must not be used for omelettes.
Four eggs will make a very pretty sized omelette, but the
number of eggs must of course depend on the size required.
If sweet herbs be put in, a good deal of parsley should form
part; tarragon gives a high flavor, and chives or shalots are
not unfrequently used, but care should be taken that the flavor
should not supersede that of the other ingredients.
Omelettes are judiciously varied by mixing minced bam or
tongue with them, when served at supper or as a side-dish at
dinner; but when intended for the breakfast table, it is more
delicate to make them of eggs alone.
* They reckon 685 nays of dressing eggs in the French kitchen; we trust >ur more limited number will be sufficient ibr AtneriOHna. A goodegg, cook-
ad, iu almost any way, or uncuvked, is good and nutritious food.


EGOS AND OMELETTE.
305
A Common Omelette.—From 4 to 8 very fresh eggs may be
used for this, according to the sized dish required. Half a
dozen will generally be sufficient. Break them singly and
carefully; clear them, or when they are sufficiently whisked
pour them through a sieve, and resume the beating until they
are very light. Add to them from half to a whole tea-spoon-
ful of salt, and a seasoning of pepper. Dissolve in a small
fry ing-pan a couple of ounces of butter, pour in the eggs, and
as soon as the omeletto is well risen and firm throughout,
slide it on to a hot dish, fold it together like a turnover, and
serve it immediately. From 5 to 7 minutes will fry it.
An Omelette Souffl.ee.—Separate as they are broken, the
whites from the yolks of 6 fine fresh eggs; beat these last
thoroughly, first by themselves and then with 4 table-spoonsful
of dry white-sifted sugar, and the rind of half a lemon grated
on a fine grater. Whisk the whites to a solid froth, and just
before the omelette is poured into the pan, mix them well, but
lightly, with the yolks. Put 4 oz. of fresh butter into a very
small delicately clean omelette, or frying-pan, and as soon as
it is all dissolved, add the eggs and stir them round, that they
may absorb it entirely. When the under side is just set, turn
the omelette into a well-buttered dish, and send it to a tolera-
bly brisk oven. From 5 to 10 minutes will bake it; and it
must be served the instant it is taken out; carried, indeed, as
quickly as possible to table from the oven. It will have risen
to a great height, but will sink and become heavy in a very
short space of time: if sugar be sifted over it, let it be done
with the utmost expedition.
Eggs, 6; sugar, 4 table-spoonsful; rind, half a lemon; but
ter, 4 oz.: omelette baked, 5 to 10 minutes.
Savory, or Ragout Eggs.—Boil the eggs hard, as for salad,
put them into cold water, remove the shells, cut them into
halves, and take out the yolks, keeping the white halves un
broken; then beat up the yolks in a mortar, with forcemeat,
with lean ham in it; fill the halves with this mixture, fry
them lightly, and serve with good brown gravy over them,
either with or without slices of ham or bacon. Or, beat up
the yolks with anchovy paste, or shred ham, fill the whites,
and serve cold as a supper-dish.
19


'
CHAPTER XXII. PASTRY.
Directions for making Paste—Baking Pies—Glazing Pastry—
French Puff Paste—Good Puff Paste—Light Paste—Suet
Paste—Seasoning for Raised Pies—Meat Pies—Modern Po-
tato Pastry—Beefsteak Pie— Veal—Mutton—Pork—Han—
Sea-Pie— Chicken— Giblet—Partridge— Venison— Cold Pies
— Vol au Vent—Oyster Patties—Chicken Patties—Mine*
Pies—Fruit Pies—Parts—Apple Pie—Pumpkin—Squash—
Custard—Potato—Peach— Cocoa-nut— Cheese Cakes—Puffs.
The art of making paste requires a good memory, practice,
and dexterity; for, it is principally from the method of mixing
the various ingredients of which it is composed, that paste ao
quires its good or bad qualities.
Before making paste, wash the hands in hot water; touch
the paste as little as possible, and roll it but little; the less
the better. If paste be much wetted it will be tough.
A marble slab is better than a board to make paste on;
both, together with the rolling-pin, cutters, and tins, should be
kept very clean; as the least dust or hard paste left on either
will spoil the whole.
The coolest part of the house and of the day should be
chosen for the process during warm weather.
Flour for the finest paste should be dried and sifted, as should
pounded white sugar.
Butter should be added to paste in very small pieces, unless
( therwise directed.
If fresh butter be not used, break salt butter into pieces,
wash it well in spring water, to cleanse it from salt, squeeze it
carefully, and dry it upon a soft cloth. Fresh butter shr jld
also be well worked to get out the buttermilk.
306


PASTBT.
307
After the butter has been pressed and worked well with a
jrooden knife on the paste-board, press it very lightly with a
clean, soft cloth, to absorb the moisture. If good fresh butter is used, it will require very little if any working.
Lard is sometimes used instead of butter, but the saving is
of very trifling importance, when it is considered that although
lard will make paste light, it will neither be of so good color
or flavor as when made with butter.
Dripping, especially from beef, when very sweet and clean,
is often used for kitchen pies: and is, in this instance, a good
substitute for butter, lard, &c.
In hot weather the butter should be broken into pieces, and
put into spring water, or into ice; but, on no account, put the
paste into ice, else the butter in it will harden, and in baking,
melt, and separate from the paste.
The same thing happens in winter, when the butter has not
been sufficiently worked, and the paste is rather soft; for,
though the season be favorable to the making of paste, care
must be taken to work the butter sufficiently.
In winter, paste should be made very firm, because the but-
ter is then so; in summer, the paste should be made soft, as
the butter is then the same.
It is important to work up paste lightly and gradually into
an uniform body—no strength nor pressure being used.
It is necessary to lightly flour both sides of paste when you
roll it, in order to prevent its turning grey in baking; but, if
much flour be sprinkled on it, the paste will not be clear.
Attention to the rolling out is most important to make light
puff-paste; if it be too light, it may be rolled out once or
twice, more than directed; as the folding mainly causes it to
rise high and even.
Be sure, invariably, to roll puff-paste from you. Those who
are not practiced in making puff-paste, should work the butter in, by breaking it into small pieces, and covering the paste
rolled out; dredge it lightly with flour, fold over the sides and
ends, roll it out very thin, add the remainder of the butter, and
fold and roll as before.
To ensure lightness, paste should be set in the oven as soon
»fter it is made as possible; on this account, the paste should
not be begun to be made till the oven is half heated, which
sometimes occupies an hour. If paste be left 20 minutes 01
more before it is baked, it will become dull and heavy.


308
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Paste should be light, without being greasy; and oafked of
a fine color, without being burnt; therefore, to ensure good
baking, requires attention.
Puff-paste requires a brisk oven; a moderate one will best
bake pies and tarts, puddings and biscuits. Regulation ot
heat, according to circumstances, is the main point in baking.
If the oven be too hot, the paste, besides being burned, will
not rise well; and if it be too slack, the paste will be sad dened, not rise, and want color. Raised pies require the
quickest oven.
When fruit pies are baked in iron ovens, the syrup is apt to
boil out of them; to prevent this, set a few thin bricks on the
bottom of the oven before it is heated; but this will not be
requisite, if the oven have a stone bottom.
Tart-tins, cake-moulds, and dishes, should be well buttered
before baking; articles to be baked on sheets should be placed
on buttered paper.
Directions for Baking Pies.—Before you put any thing to
bake, be sure the oven is quite clean, f >r if the juice or gravy
of any thing which is baking should boil over into the oven,
or anything dirty has been in the oven, it will give a disagree-
able taste to whatever is baked in it. A cook should there-
fore be careful to sweep and clean her oven carefully out with
a damp cloth, before she lights her fire, or before it is too hot
to do so, and let it dry before she closes the door tight. All
pies must be attended to while cooking, to see that the juice
does not boil over, for if it does, it will make a steam in the
oven, which will spoil your crust, by making it heavy, and
make the pie appear to be done, before it is well warmed.
After it has been in the oven about half an hour, at furthest,
>t must be looked to, and turned, or it may be spoiled, by
burning at one part and not cooking at another.
If you should find the juice of a p;e run over, you must take
out your pie, raise the crust at one end, and pour out some of
the juice, which save, and pour again into the pie when it is
done, if there is room, and if not, send it up with the pie in a
boat, or sauce-tureen.
To Glazeor Ice Pastry.—The fine yellow glaze appropriate
to meat pies is given with beaten yolk of egg, which should be


PASTRY.
309
laid on with a paste brush, or a small bunch of feathers: if a
lighter color be wished for, whisk the whole of the egg together
or mix a little milk with the yolk.
The best mode of icing fruit-tarts before they are sent to the
oven is, to moisten the paste with cold water, to sift sugar
thickly upon it, and to press it lightly on with the hand; but
when a whiter icing is preferred, the pastry must be drawn
from the oven when nearly baked, and brushed with white of
egg, whisked to a froth; then well covered with the sifted
sugar, and sprinkled with a few drops of water before it is put
in again: this glazing answers also very well, though it takes
a slight color, if used before the pastry is baked.
Feuilletage, or Fine French Puff Paste.—This, when made
by a good French cook, is the perfection of rich light crust,
and will rise in the oven from one to six inches in height; but
some practice is, without doubt, necessary to accomplish this.
In summer it is a great advantage to have ice at hand, and to
harden the butter over it before it is used; the paste also in
the intervals of rolling is improved by being laid on an oven-
leaf over a vessel containing it. Take an equal weight of good
butter free from the coarse salt which is found in some, and
which is disadvantageous for this paste, and of fine dry, sifted
flour; to each pound of these allow the yolks of a couple of
eggs, and a small tea-spoonful of salt. Break a few small bits
of the butter very lightly into the flour, put the salt into the
centre, and pour on it sufficient water to dissolve it (we do
not quite understand why the doing this should be better than
mixing it with the flour, as in other pastes, but such is the method always pursued for it); add a little more water to the
eggs, moisten the flour gradually, and make it into a very
smooth paste, rather lithe in summer, and never exceedingly
stiff', though the opposite fault, in an extreme, would render
the crust unmanageable. Press, in a soft thin cloth, all the
moisture from the remainder of the butter, and form it into a
ball, but in doing this be careful not to soften it too much.
Should it be in an unfit state for pastry, from the heat of the
weather, put it into a basin, and set the basin in a pan of
water mixed with plenty of salt and saltpetre, and let it re main in a cool place for an hour if possible, before it is used.
When it is ready (and the paste should never be commenced


310
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
until it be so), roll the crust out square,* and of sufficient size
to enclose the butter, flatten this a little upon it in the centre,
and then fold the crust well over it, and roll it out thin as
lightly as possible, after having dredged the board and paste,
roller with a little flour: this is called giving it one turn.
Then fold it in three, give it another turn, and set it aside,
where it will be very cool, for a few minutes; give it two
more turns in the same way, rolling it each time very lightly,
but of equal thickness, and to the full length that it will reach,
taking always especial care that the butter shall not break through the paste. Let it again be set aside to become cold;
and after it has been twice more rolled and folded in three,
give it a half-turn, by folding it once only, and it will be ready
for use.
Equal we'ght of the finest flour and good butter; to each
pound of these, the yolks of two eggs, and a small salt-spoon-
ful of salt: six and half turns to be given to the paste.
Good Puff Paste.—Take 1 lb. of flour, sift it; 1 lb. of but-
ter, and divide it into 4 equal parts; weigh \ lb. of flour to
dust with. Rub one of the quarters of butter into the pound
of flour, and mix up with a very little very cold water; roll
out 3 times, adding each time a quarter of butter, and dusting
each time with flour. When you cut off from the large roll
of dough a piece for one pie, roll out the piece you cut off
very thin, and dust it with flour, double it in folds and roll it
the thickness of your crust.
Very Light Paste.—Mix the flour and water together, roll
the paste out, and lay bits of butter upon it. Then beat up
the white of an egg, and brush it all over the paste before it is
folded; repeat this when rolling out, and adding the butter
each time till the whole of the white of egg is used. It will
make the paste very flaky.
For Partsand Cheesecakes.—Beat the white of an egg to a
strong froth; then mix it with as much water as will make
three-quarters of a pound of fine flour into a very stiff paste:
roll it very thin, then lay the third part of half a pound of
butter upon it in little bits; dredge it with some flour left out
* The learner will perhaps find it easier to fold the paste securely round it
in the form of a dumpling, until it little experience has been acquired.


PASTRY.
311
it first, and iai it up tight. Roll it out again, and put the
game proportii i> 01 butter; and so proceed till all be worked up.
Family Pie Paste.—Kno half a pound of butter into a pound
of flour, and add water enough to knead it thoroughly.
Another common proportion is half a pound of butter to a
pound and a half* of hour.
Beef Dripping Paste.—Rub half a pound of clarified drip
ping into one pound of flour, work it into a stiff paste with water, and roll it twice or thrice. This crust is best eaten hot.
Suet Paste.—Rub well with half a pound of fresh beef suet,
chopped as finely as possible, three-quarters of a pound of
dour, and half a tea-spoonful of salt; make it into a stiff paste
with cold water, work it well, beat it with the rolling-pin, and
roll it out two or three times. This paste answers for any
xind of boiled fruit pudding.
Potato Paste.—Mash 16 ounces of boiled potatoes, while
they are warm, then rub them between the hands, together
with 12 ounces of flour; when it is well mixed, and all looks
like flour, add half a tea-spoonful of salt, and, with a little cold
water, make it into a stiff paste; beat and roll it out three or four times, making it very thin the last time. Lay over it
black currant jam, raspberries, or any sort of preserve, rub
the edges with water, roll it up like a bolster pudding, and
boil it in a buttered and floured cloth for three or four hours.
Serve it with a sweet sauce.
Paste for a Common Dumpling.—Rub into a pound of flour
six ounces of butter, then work it into a paste with two well-
beaten eggs and a little water. This paste may be baked, a
large table-spoonful of pounded loaf sugar being added.
Raited Crust.—Melt, in one pint of water, one pound of
fresh lard; weigh four pounds of flour, put it into a basin, and
when the water and lard is hot, with a wooden spoon stir it by
degrees amongst the flour. When well mixed, work it with
the hands till it is a stiff paste, when it is fit for use.
Paste for Raised Pies.- Put two ounces of butter into a pint


312
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
of boiling water, which mix, while hot, with three pounds of
flour, into a strong but smooth paste; put it into a cloth to
soak till near cold; then knead it, and raise it into the required
shape.
To raise a pie well requires considerable practice; it is best
done by putting one hand in the middle of the crust, and keep-
ing the other close on the outside till you have worked it into
the round or oval shape required: the lid is then to be rolled
out. An unpracticed hand will, however, do better to roll the
paste of a good thickness, and cut out a long piece for the cir-
cle of the pie, to be joined with egg as a hoop; then cut two
pieces for the top and bottom: these are to be cemented with
egg, the bottom being brought out and pinched over: fill the
pie, and pinch on the lid: or, if the crust be for a standing
pie, line it with paper, fill it with bran, and bake it and the
Jid separately. The paste should be similarly joined with egg,
if the pie be baked in a tin shape, when it should be put into
the oven a few minutes after it is taken from the shape. Iu
either case, wash the pie over with egg, and put on the orna-
ments before it is baked.
To make the ornaments, mix one ounce of sifted loaf sugar
with half a pound of the above crust roll, and cut out.
Seasoning for Raised Pies.—Three pounds of salt dried and
pounded, 3 oz. of white pepper, half oz. of Cayenne pepper, 2
oz. of cloves, 2 oz. of allspice, 1 oz. of basil, 1 oz. of marjoram,
1 oz. of thyme, 1 oz. of bay-leaf, 1 oz. of nutmeg, one and half
oz. of mace.
Pound the spices and herbs by themselves, and sift through
a fine sieve; then mix with the salt, and put away in a stop-
pered bottle: three-quarters of an ounce is sufficient for 1 lit.
of' fame, and half an ounce for 1 lb. of boned game.
Jetty for Meat or Raised Pies.—Take a quart of veal gravy
dissolve 2 oz. of isinglass in a little of it; add the remainder
with one-quarter pint of tarragon vinegar; boil all together
for one-quarter of an hour. Clarify it with the whites ot six
eggs, then pass it through a bag.
Meat Pies, Patties do.—There are few articles of cookery
more generally liked than relishing pies, if properly made;
and they may be formed of a great variety of things.


314
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
pastry in a moderate oven from three-quarters of an hour to an
hour aud a quarter, according to its size and its contents. Pin
a folded napkin neatly round the mould, before it is served,
and have ready a hot dish to receive the cover, which must
not be lifted off until after the pasty is on the table.
Chicken. or veal and oysters; delicate pork chops with a
seasoning of sage and a little parboiled onion, or an eschalot
or two finely minced; partridges or rabbits neatly carved,
mixed with small mushrooms, and moistened with a little good
stock, will all give excellent varieties of this dish, which may
be made likewise with highly seasoned slices of salmon freed
from the skin, sprinkled with fine herbs or intermixed with
shrimps; clarified butter, rich veal stock, or good white wine,
may be poured to them to form the gravy. To thicken this,
a little flour should be dredged upon the fish before it is laid
into the mould. Other kinds, such as cod, mackerel in fillets,
salt fish (previously kept at the point of boiling until three
parts done, then pulled into flakes, and put into the mould
with hard eggs sliced, a little cream, flour, butter, Cayenne,
and anchovy-essence, and baked with mashed parsneps on the
top), will all answer well for this pasty. Veal, when used for
it, should be well beaten first: sweetbreads, sliced, may be laid
in with it.
For a pasty of moderate size, two pounds, or two and a half
of meat, and from three to four of potatoes will be sufficient:
a quarter-pint of milk or cream, two small tea-spoonsful of
salt, and from one to two ounces of butter must be mixed up
with these last.
Beef Steak Pie.—Choose steak that has been long hung, cut
it inU moderately-sized pieces, and trim off all skin or sinews;
season them with pepper, salt, and minced shalot or onion, and
lay them in the dish: put crust on the ledge and an inch be-
low, cover with thick crust, and bake it about two hours. A
tea-<;upful of gravy or water may be put into the dish before
the pie is baked, or some good gravy poured into it after it is
taken from the oven.
A table-spoonful or two of mushroom catsup, or a flap mush
room, added to the steak, will greatly enrich this pie.
Beef Steak and Oyster Pie.—Prepare the steaks as above,
and put layers of them and of oysters. Stew the liquor and


PASTE Y. 315
beards of the latter with a bit of lemon-peel, mace, and a table- spoonful of walnut catsup. When the pie is baked, boil with
the above 8 spoonsful of cream and 1 oz. of butter rubbed in
flour; to which, however, many people object as injuring the
savoriness of the pie; in which case, should any addition be
required, a few spoonsful of beef gravy and port wine will
answer the purpose. Strain it, and pour it into the dish: for
a small pie a dozen of oysters will be sufficient, and the pi
may be baked in a couple of hours Veal Pie.—Cut into steaks a iOin or breast of veai, season
them highly with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, mace, and a
little lemon-peel mixed; lay them into the bottom of a dish,
and then a few slices of sweetbreads seasoned with the spices;
add some oysters, forcemeat balls, and hard-boiled yolks of
eggs, half a pint of white stock, and a table-spoonful of lemon
pickle; put puff paste on the edge of the dish, and cover with
the same; bake it for one hour.
Mutton Pie.—Cut the mutton into small slices, without bone;
season it very well, and stew it with the fat also cut in pieces,
putting in no water. When tender allow it to remain until
cold; remove all the grease and fat very carefully; have some
gravy made from the bones, add to it the strained gravy from
the mutton, and a glass of port wine, but the wine may be
omitted if the gravy be strong and highly seasoned. A
minced shalot and button onions are good additions, and if the
latter be pickled, their acidity will be an improvement. Put
it into a dish, or into small pattypans, and bake it; if in patty-
pans, use puff paste. Mutton pies are better hot than cold.
The underdone part of a leg of mutton may be thus dressed;
but the loin and kidneys are better suited for the purpose.
Raised Pork Pie.—Make a raised crust from 3 to 4 inches
high; pare off the rind, and remove the bone from a loin of
pork, cut it into chops, flatten them, and season them with
chopped or powdered sage, black pepper, and salt, and pack them closely into the crust; then put on the top, and pinch the
edge; brush the crust with yolk of egg, and bake 2 hours in a
slow oven; when done, remove the lid, pour off the fat, and
add some seasoned gravy.


316
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Or:—The pork may be put into a dish, covered with crust,
and baked.
Or:—The pork may be cut into dice and seasoned.
When a log is killed, this pie may be made of the term- mings; but there should be no bone, as the meat must be oacked closely, fat and lean alternately.
RaisedHam Pie.—Choose a small ham, soak it, boil it an
hour, cut off the knuckle, then remove the rind, trim the ham,
and put it into a stew-pan with a quart of veal gravy to cover
it: simmer till nearly done, when take it out and let it cool;
then make a raised crust, spread on it some veal forcemeat,
put in the ham, and fill round it with forcemeat; cover with
crust, and bake slowly about an hour; when done, remove the
cover, glaze the top of the ham, and pour round it the stock
the ham was stewed in, having strained and thickened it, and
seasoned it with Cayenne pepper. A ham thus dressed will
be an excellent cold supper dish.
Sea Pie.—Skin and cut into joints a large fowl; wash and
lay it into cold water for an hour; cut some salt beef into thin
slices, and if it is very salt, soak it a short time in water;
make a paste of flour and butter in the proportion of half a
pound of butter to 1 pound of flour, cut it into round pieces
according to the size of the bottom of the pot in which the
pie is to be stewed; rub with butter the bottom of a rouna
iron pot, and lay in a layer of the beef, seasoned with pepper,
and finely-minced Onion; then put a layer of the paste, and
then the fowl, highly seasoned with pepper, onion, and a little
salt; add another layer of paste, and pour in 3 pints of cold
water; cover the pet closely, and let it stew gently for nearly
4 hours, taking care it does not burn, which, if neglected, it ia
apt to do. It is served in a pudding dish, and answers well for a family dinner.
Meat Pie with Potato Crust.—Cut beef or mutton into large pieces, and season them with pepper, salt, and a finely shred onion; boil and mash potatoes with milk, so as to form 'hemust, with which line a buttered dish; then put in the meat, with a tea-cupful of water, lay the crust thickly over the. meat,
and bake t bout an hourand a half.


PASTRY.
317
Potato Pie.—Peel and slice potatoes, and put them in layers
between cutlets of veal, mutton, or beef steaks; add a little
water, cover with crust, and bake.
Chicken Pie.—Wash and cut the chicken (it should be young
and tender,) in pieces, and put it in a dish; then season it to
your taste with salt, pepper, a blade or two cf mace, and some
nutmeg. When your paste is ready for the chicken, put it in,
and fill it about two-thirds with water; add several lumps of
good sweet butter, and put on the top crust. A pie with one
chicken will require from one hour to three-quarters of an hour
to bake.
Obs.—If the chickens are old, or at all tough, it is best to
parboil the pieces in just sufficient water to cover them; then
strain this water and add it to the pie, no other moistening will
be required.
Giblet Pie.—Take two sets of goose giblets, clean them well
and let them stew over a slow fire in a pint and a half of water,
till they are half done; then divide the necks, wings, legs, and
gizzards, into pieces, and let them lay in the liquor till the gib-
lets get cold. When they are quite cold, season them well
with a large tea-spoonful of pepper, a small one of salt, and
half a salt-spoonful of .Cayenne; then put them into a pie-dish,
with a cupful of the liquor they were stewed in; cover it with
paste for meat pies, and let the pie bake from one hour to an
hour and a half.
Skim off the fat from the rest of the liquor in which the
giblets were stewed, put it in a butter-sauce pan, thicken it
with flour and butter, add pepper and salt to your taste; give
it a boil up, and it is ready. Before the pie is served up, raise
the jrust on one side, and pour in the gravy.
Partridge Pie a la Fran$oise.—Take 6 partridges, trussed as
for boiled chickens, and season them with the above seasoning.
Take also 2 lbs. of veal and 1 lb. of fat bacon; cut these into
small bits, and put them into a stew-pan with half a pound of
butter, together with some shalots, parsley, and thyme, stew-
ing them until quite tender. Strain and pound the meat in a
mortar till made perfectly smooth.
The pie-crust being raised, put in the partridges with the


318
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
above-mentioned forcemeat over them, and over that lay some
thin slices of bacon. Cover the pie with a thick lid, and be
sure to close it well, to prevent any portion of the gravy from
oozing out.
This sized pie will require 3 hours' baking, but care must be
taken not to put it into the oven till the fierce heat be gone off.
Partridge Pie in the ordinary way.—Lay a veal cutlet in the
bottom of the dish; line the inside of the birds with fat bacon,
season them well and place them with the breast downwards;
fill the dish with good gravy, and add forcemeat balls, with a
few button mushrooms freshly gathered.
Pies of this sort may be made nearly in the same manner
of every species of game; but the mixture of the brown and
white meats is not desirable, as the former have a peculiar
flavor which ought to be maintained, and is weakened by the
admixture of the latter: also hare and venison, though each
forming admirable pasties separately, yet spoil each other
when put together.
Venison Pasty.—Cut a neck or breast into small steaks, rub
them over with a seasoning of sweet herbs, grated nutmeg,
pepper, and salt; fry them slightly in butter; line the sides
and edges of a dish with puff paste, lay in the steaks, and add
half a pint of rich gravy made with the trimmings of the veni-
son; add a glass of port wine, and the juice of half a lemon,
or a tea-spoonful of vinegar; cover the dish with puff paste,
and bake it nearly 2 hours; some more gravy may be poured
into the pie before serving it.
Cold Pies.—When meat pies are prepared to be eaten cold
suet should not be put into the forcemeat that is to be used
with them. If the pie is made of meat that will take more
dressing, to make it extremely tender, than the baking of the crust will allow, prepare it in the following way:—
Take 3 lbs. of the veiny piece of beef that has fat and lean;
wash it, and season it with salt, pepper, mace, and allspice, in
fine powder, rubbing them well in. Set it by the side of a
slow fire, in a stew-pot that will just hold it; put to it a piece
of butter of about the weight of 2 oz., and cover it quite close;
let it just simmer in its own steam till it begins to shrink.


PA8TRT.
319
When it is cold, add more seasoning, forcemeat, and eggs: if
it is made in a dish, put some gravy to it before baking; but
if it is only in crust, do not put the gravy to it till after it is
cold and in jelly. Forcemeat may be put both under and over
the meat, if preferred to balls.
Obs.—Both veal and chicken pies are generally eaten cold,
and as they are always seasoned highly, will keep good for several days in the hottest weather.
Cold Beef Steak Pie.—Cover a shallow dish with paste, and
spread on it the steak in one layer, well seasoned; cover with
paste, glaze, and bake. This pie is mostly eaten cold, for
luncheon, or supper, the steak and the crust being cut together,
sandwich fashion.
Vol-ait-vent.—Is a large kind of patty. Roll out puff paste
from an inch to an inch and a half thick; cut it to suit the
shape of the dish it is to be served on; in cutting it make the
knife hot in water. Cut another piece not quite so large for
the cover; mark the cover an inch from the edge, and brush it
over with the yolk of egg; bake it in a quick oven. When
it appears sufficiently browned, take off the top, clean out the
soft paste, return it to the oven for a few minutes to dry;
dish it on a napkin.
Care must be taken in taking out the soft part not to break
the outside.
It may be filled with ragout of sweetbread, fricassee of
chicken, lobster, or oysters, but is never made of a large size.
Oyster Patties, (entree). Line some small patty-pans with
fine puff paste, rolled thin and to preserve their form when
baked, put a bit of bread into each; lay on the covers, pinch
and trim the edges, and send the patties to a brisk oven.
Plump and beard from two to three dozens of small oysters; mix very smoothly a tea-spoonful of flour with an ounce of
butter, put them into a clean sauce-pan, shake them round over
a gentle fire, and let them simmer for two or three minutes;
throw in a little salt, pounded mace, and cayenne, then add,
by slow degrees, two or three spoonsful of rich cream, give
these a boil, and pour in the strained liquor of the oysters;
next, lay in the fish, and keep at the point of boiling for a
couple of minutes. Raise the covers from the parties, take


320
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
out the bread, fill them with the oysters and their sauce, and
replace the covers. We have found it an improvement to
stew the beards of the fish with a strip or two of lemon-peel,
in a little good veal stock for a quarter of an hour, then to
strain and add it to the sauce. The oysters, unless very sir all, should be once or twice divided.
Good Chicken Patties, (entree).— Raise the white flesh en-
tirely from a young undressed fowl, divide it once or twice,
and lay it into a small clean sauce pan, in which about an
ounce of butter has been dissolved, and just begins to simmer;
strew in a slight seasoning of salt, mace, and cayenne, and stew
the chicken very softly indeed for about ten minutes, taking
every precaution against its browning: turn it into a dish with
the butter, and its own gravy, and let it become cold. Mince
it with a sharp knife; heat it, without allowing it to boil, in a
little good white sauce (which may be made of some of the
bones of the fowl), and fill ready-baked patty-crusts, or small
voUau-vents with it, just before they are sent to table; or stew
the flesh only just sufficiently to render it firm, mix it after it
is minced and seasoned with a spoonful or two of strong gravy,
fill the patties, and bake them from fifteen to eighteen minutes.
It is a great improvement to stew and mince a few mushrooms
with the chicken.
The breasts of cold turkeys, fowls, partridges, or pheasants,
or the white part of cold veal, minced, heated in a bechamel
sauce, will serve at once for patties: they may also be made
of cold game, heated in a good brown gravy.
Obs.—A spoonful or two of jellied stock or gravy, or of
good white sauce, converts these into admirable patties: the
same ingredients make also very superior rolls.
Mince Pie Meat.—Mix carefully 3 lbs. of suet, shred and
chopped fine; 4 lbs. of raisins, stoned and chopped fine ; 4 lbs.
of currants, washed, picked, and dried; 50 pippins chopped
fine. Cloves, mace and nutmeg, £ oz. each; 1^ lbs. of sugar;
1 pint of brandy, 1 pint of white wine, the juice of an orange
and lemon, and 4 oz. of citron. Bake in rich puff paste.
Family Mince Pies.—Boil 3 lbs. of lean beef till tender, and
when cold, chop it fine. Chop 2 lbs. of clear beef suet and
mix the meat, sprinkling in a table-spoonful of salt.


PASTKY.
321
Pare, core, and chop fine, 6 lbs. of good apples; stone 4 lbs.
of raisins and chop them; wash and dry 2 lbs. of currants;
and mix them all well with the meat. Season with powdered
cinnamon, 1 spoonful, a powdered nutmeg, a little mace, and i.
few cloves pounded, and 1 lb. of brown sugar. Add a quart
of Madeira wine, and 8 oz. of citron, cut into small bits
This mixture, put down in a stone jar and closely covered, will
keep several weeks. It makes a rich pie for Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
Plain Mince Pies.—Take 2 lbs. of lean beef boiled, and 1 lb.
of suet, chopped fine; 3 lbs. of apples, 2 lbs. of raisins or cur-
rants, 1 lb. of sugar, a little salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves,
and 1 nutmeg; moisten with new cider or sweet cream. Make
a good paste, and bake about an hour.
The currants must be washed and dried at the fire; raisins
stoned and chopped.
Rich Mince Meat.—Cut the root off a neat's tongue, rub the
tongue well with salt, let it lie 4 days, wash it perfectly clean,
and boil it till it becomes tender; skin, and when cold chop it
very finely. Mince as small as possible 2 lbs. of fresh beef
suet from the sirloin, stone and cut small 2 lbs. of bloom
raisins, clean nicely 2 lbs. of currants, pound and sift half an
ounce of mace, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves, grate a
large nutmeg; mix all these ingredients thoroughly, together
with 1J lbs. of good brown sugar. Pack it in jars.
When it is to be used, allow, for the quantity sufficient to
make 12 small mince pies, 5 finely minced apples, the grated
rind and juice of a large lemon, add a wine-glass and a half of
wine; put into each a few bits of citron and preserved lemon
peel. Three or four whole green lemons, preserved in brown
sugar, and cut into thin slices, may be added.
Lemon Mince Pies.—Weigh 1 lb. of fine large lemons, cut
them in half, squeeze out the juice, and pick the pulp from the
skins; boil them in water till tender, and pound them in a
mortar; add 8 oz. of pounded loaf sugar, the same of nicely
cleaned currants, and of fresh beef suet minced, a little grated
nutmeg, and citron cut small. Mix all these ingredients well,
and fill the pattypans with rather more of the mince than is
usually put.
'20


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
FRUIT PIES AND TARTS.
Observations.—Gooseberries, currants, cherries, raspberries
plums of many kinds, cranberries, and damsons, are used for making large pies. Cherries are mixed with currants or rasp-
berries, or both; and currants with raspberries. The usual
proportion of sugar is one pound to a quart of fruit, or not
quite so much to very ripe fruit. Lay the fruit in the dish,
highest in the middle, with the sugar between it, add a little
water; wet the edge of the dish with water, cover with paste
about half an inch thick; close it, pare it, make a hole in the
middle, and bake in a moderate oven.
Some fruits, as quinces, require stewing before they are put
into a pie.
To prepare Apples for Pastry.—Take 10 eggs, leaving out
the whites of 5; beat them very light; add 1 pint of apples
stewed and strained through a sieve. While hot stir in 4 oz.
of butter, the grated peel of 2 large lemons, and the juice of 1.
Add sugar to your taste. If you have no lemons, mace and
nutmeg will do very well. Bake it in a crust.
To prepare Cranberries for Tarts.—Simmer them in moist
sugar, without breaking, 20 minutes: and let them become
cold before being used. A pint will require nearly 3 oz. of
sugar.
Iceing for Pies and Tarts.—Just before you put them into
the oven, beat up the white of an egg till it comes to a stirF
froth; wash over the tops of the tarts with it, using a quill
feather, or your paste brush, and sift white sugar over the
Or:—Use only plain water, and sift pounded white sugar
over it.
Or:—Warm a piece of butter about the size of a walnut,
and beat into it the yolk of 1 egg, and wash Dver the tops
with a little of this mixture, with a qui'J feather, or your paste brush, sifting pounded sugar over it.
CranberryTart.—To every pint of cranberries, allow a tea-
spoonful of lemon-juice, and three ounces of good moist sugar.


PASTRY. 323
First, pour all the juice of your cranberries into a basin; then
well wash the cranberries in a pan, with plenty of water, pick
out all the bad ones, and put the cranberries into a dish; add
to them the sugar and lemon-juice, pour the juice out of the
basin gently to them, so as to leave behind the dirt and sedi-
ment which will settle at the bottom; mix all together, and
let it lie while you are making your pie,—thus: line the bot-
tom of your dish with puft-paste not quite a quarter of an inch
thick, put your cranberries upon it, without any juice, and
cover with the same paste not quite half an inch thick; close
the edges as usual, ice it, and bake it from three-quarters of an
hour to an hour, according to size. Simmer the juice a few
minutes, which serve up with your tart in a small sauce tureen
A pint of cranberries makes a pretty sized tart.
A Good Apple Tart.—A pound and a quarter of apples,
weighed after they are pared and cored, will be sufficient for a
small tart, and four ounces more for om, of moderate size.
Lay a border of puff-paste, or of cream-crust round the dish,
just dip the apples into water, arrange them very compactly
in it, higher in the centre than at the sides, and strew amongst
them from three to four ounces of pounded sugar, or more,
should they be very acid: the grated rind, and the strained
juice of half a lemon will much improve their flavor. Lay on
the cover rolled thin, and ice it or not at pleasure. Send the
tart to a moderately brisk oven for about half an hour. This
may be converted into the old-fashioned creamed apple tart, by
cutting out the cover while it is still quite hot, leaving only
about an inch-wide border of paste round the edge, and pour-
ing over the apples when they have become cold, from half to
three-quarters of a pint of rich boiled custard. The cover
divided into triangular sippets, was formerly stuck round the
inside of the tart, but ornamental leaves of pale puff paste have
a better effect. Well-drained whipped cream may be substi-
tuted for the custard, and piled high, and lightly over the fruit.
Barberry Tart.—Barberries, with half their weight of fine
brown sugar, when they are thoroughly ripe, and with two
ounces more when they are not quite so, make an admirable
tart. For one of moderate size, put into a dish bordered with
paste three-quarters of a pound of barberries stripped from
their stalks, and six ounces of sugar in alternate layers; pour


824
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
over them three table-spoonsful of water, put on the cover, and
bake the tart for half an hour. Another way of making it is, to line a shallow tin pan with very thin crust, to mix the fruit
and sugar well together with a spoon, before they are laid in,
and to put bars of paste across instead of a cover; or it may
be baked without either.
Tourte Meringuee, or Tart with Royal Icing.—Lay a band of
fine paste round the rim of a tart-dish, fill it with any kind of
fruit mixed with a moderate proportion of sugar, roll out the
cover very evenly, moisten the edges of the paste, press them
together carefully, and trim them off close to the dish; spread
equally over the top, to within rather more than an inch of the
edge all round, the whites of three fresh eggs beaten to a quite
solid froth, and mixed quickly at the moment of using them,
with three table-spoonsful of dry sifted sugar.
Frangipane Tart.—Sheet a tart-tin with puff-paste, pour into
it some of the following cream :—beat well four eggs, add to
them a pint of cream, four spoonsful of flour, and some loaf
sugar; put them into a stew-pan, and rasp in, with a lump of
sugar, the peel of a lemon; simmer the whole, constantly stir-
ring it, on a slow fire, for about twenty minutes; then stir in
two dozen sweet and bitter almonds, previously beaten to a
paste, with a few drops of water. Having filled the tart with
this cream, bake it, and sift over it fine loaf sugar.
Custard Tart.—Line a deep plate with puff-paste; have
ready six or eight middling-sized apples, pared and the cores
taken out. They should be mellow and pleasant. Put into each apple any kind of preserve you have, or a bit of sugar
flavored. Now fill the dish with rich custard and bake it about
half an hour. Make in the same manner without crust—it
is then called custard pudding.
Tartlets.—Are always so called when made of a small size and uncovered with a crust; nor should preserved fruit of any
kind be put under crust. The paste is made stiff enough to
support the contents, being cut thin, put into pattypans, and
crimped at the edges. The fruit is then frequently ornamented
with small strips of paste laid over it crosswise, which art, made thus :—Mix quarter of pound of flour 1 oz. of fresh but-


PASTRY.
325
ter, and a little cold water; rub it well between the board and
your hand till it begins to string; cut it into small pieces, roll
it out, and draw it into fine strings , then lay them in any way
you please across your tartlets, and bake immediately.
The jam of raspberries, currants, or any other fruits, as well
as the marmalade of apricot, quince, and apple, may be made
into tartlets; and when baked in a quick oven may be filled up
with raw custard or whipped cream.
Apple Pie (American).—Apples of a pleasant sour, and fully
ripe, make the best pies. Pare, core, and slice them, line a
deep buttered dish with paste, lay in the apples, strewing in
sugar to the taste, and a little grated lemon peel or cinnamon;
cover them with the paste, and bake them in a moderate oven
about 40 minutes.
When apples are green, stew them with a very little water
before making your pie. Green fruit requires double the
quantity of sugar.
Gooseberries and green currants are made in the same
manner.
Apple Pie [English).—Pare, core, and cut into quarters, 8
or 10 russet or other good baking apples; and lay them as
close together as you can, in a pie-dish, sprinkling among the
apples, 4 cloves, 4 oz. of moist sugar, half the peel of a fresh
lemon grated, with a squeeze of the lemon juice, and a little
nutmeg. Add a table-spoonful of ale, or water; cover it with
puff paste, and put it in the oven. It will take about an hour
and a quarter to bake it; but you must see to it, that it does
not burn, and keep your oven of a moderate heat.
Rhubarb Pies.—Take the tender stalks of the rhubarb, strip
oil' the skin, and cut the stalks into thin slices. Line deep
plates with pie crust, then put in the rhubarb, with a thick
layer of sugar to each layer of rhubarb—a little grated lemon
peel improves the pie. Cover the pies with a crust; press it
down tight round the edge of the plate, and prick the crust
with a fork, so that the crust will net burst while baking, and
iet out the juices of the pie. Rhubarb pies should be baked
about an hour, in a slow oven; it will not do to bake them
quick. Some conks stew the rhubarb before making it into
pies, but it is not so good as when used without stewing.


320
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Pumpkin Pie (American).—Take out the seeds, and pare
the pumpkin or squash; but in taking out the seeds do not
scrape the inside of the pumpkin; the part nearest the seed is
the sweetest; then stew the pumpkin, and strain it through a
sieve or cullender. To a quart of milk, for a family pie, 3
eggs are sufficient. Stir in the stewed pumpkin with your
milk and beaten-up eggs, till it is as thick as you can stir round
rapidly and easily. If the pie is wanted richer make it thinner,
and add sweet cream or another egg or two; but even 1 egg
to a quart of milk makes "very decent pies." Sweeten with
molasses or sugar; add 2 tea-spoonsful of salt, 2 tablespoons ful of sifted cinnamon, and 1 of powdered ginger; but allspice
may be used, or any other spice that may be preferred. The
peel of a lemon grated in gives it a pleasant flavor. The more
eggs, says an American authority, the better the pie. Some
put 1 egg to a gill of milk. Bake about an hour in deep
plates, or shallow dishes, without an upper crust, in a hot oven.
Pumpkin Pie (English).—Take out the seeds, and grate the
pumpkin till you come to the outside skin. Sweeten the pulp;
add a little ground allspice, lemon peel and lemon juice; in
short, flavor it to the taste. Bake without an upper crust.
Carrot Pies.—These pies are made like pumpkin pies. The
carrots should be boiled very tender, skinned, and sifted.
Squash Pie.—Pare, take out the seeds, and stew the squash
till very soft and dry. Strain or rub it through a sieve or cul-
lender. Mix this with good milk till it is thick as batter:
sweeten it with sugar. Allow 3 eggs to a quart of milk, beat
the eggs well, add them to the squash, and season with rose
water, cinnamon, nutmeg, or whatever spices you like. Line
a pie plate with crust, fill and bake about an hour.
Ousted Pie.—Beat 7 eggs, sweeten a quart of rich milk,
that has been boiled and cooled; a stick of cinnamon, or a bit
of lemon peel should be boiled in it. Sprinkle in a salt-spoon
of salt, add the eggs, and a grated nutmeg, stirring the whole
together.
Line 2 deep plates with good paste, set them in the oven 3
minutes to harden the crust; then pour in the custard and bake
20 minutes.


PASTRY.
327
Obs.—For these pies roll the paste rather thicker than for
fruit pies, as there is only one crust. If the pie is large and
deep, it will require to bake an hour in a brisk oven.
Potato Pie.—Boil Carolina or mealy Irish potatoes until they
»re quite soft. When peeled, mash and strain them. To a
quarter of a pound of potatoes, puta quart of milk, three table-
spoonsful of melted butter, four beaten eggs, a wine-glass of
wine —add sugar and nutmeg to the taste.
Peach Pie.—Take mellow juicy peaches—wash, slice, and
put them in a deep pie plate, lined with pie crust. Sprinkle a
thick layer of sugar on each layer of peaches, put in about a
table-spoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour over the top
—cover it with a thick crust, and bake from fifty to sixty
minutes.
Cocoanut Pie.—Cut off the brown part of the eocoanut, grate
the white part, and mix it with milk, and set it on the fire and
let it boil slowly eight or ten minutes. To a pound of the
grated cocoanut allow a quart of milk, eight eggs, four table-
spoonsful of sifted white sugar, a glass of wine, a small cracker,
pounded fine, two spoonsful of melted butter, and half a nut-
meg. The eggs and sugar should be beaten together to a froth,
then the wine stirred in. Put them into the milk and cocoa-
nut, which should be first allowed to get quite cool—add the
cracker and nutmeg—turn the whole into deep pie plates, with
a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake them as soon as turned
into the plates.
Cocoanut Cheese Cakes—[Jamaica Recipe).—Break carefully
the shell of the nut, that the liquid it contains may not escape.*
Take out the kernel, wash it in cold water, pare thinly off the
dark skin, and grate the nut on a delicately clean bread-grater;
put it, w ith its weight of pounded sugar, and its o^k milk, if
not soui, or if it be, a couple of spoonsful or rather more of
water, into a silver or block-tin sauce-pan, or a very small cop-
per stew-pan perfectly tinned, and keep it gently stirred over a
quite clear fire until it is tender: it will sometimes require ao
hour's stewing to make it so. When a little cooled, add to
* This is best secured by boring the shell before it is broken


328
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
the nut, and beat well with it, some eggs properly whisked and strained, and the grated rind of half a lemon. Line some pat
typans with fine paste, put in the mixture, and bake the cheese
cakes from thirteen to fifteen minutes.
Grated coconut 6 ounces; sugar 6 ounces; the milk of the
nut, or of water, 2 large table-spoonsful: half to one hour
Eggs, 5; lemon-rind, half of one; 13 to 15 minutes.
Obs.-s.. We have found the cheese-cakes made with these pro-
portions very excellent indeed, but should the mixture be con-
sidered too sweet, another egg or two can be added, and a lit-
tle brandy also.
Lemon Cheese-Cakes— (Christ-Church-College Recipe).—Rasp
the rind of a large lemon with four ounces of fine sugar, then crush and mix it with the yolks of three eggs, and half the
quantity of whites, well whisked; beat these together tho-
roughly; add to them four table-spoonsful of cream, a quarter
of a pound of oiled butter, the strained juice of the lemon,
which must be stirred quickly in by degrees, and a little orange-
flower brandy. Line some pattypans with thin puff-paste, half
fill them with the mixture, and bake them thirty minutes in a
moderate oven.
Sugar, 4 ounces; rind and juice 1 large lemon; butter, 4
ounces; cream, 4 table-spoonsful; orange-flower brandy, 1
table-spoonful; bake half an hour.
Orange Cheese-Cakes—Are made as in the last recipe, except
that oranges are substituted for the lemons. A few thin slices
of candied lemon or orange peel may be laid on the cheese-
cakes before baking.
Apple Puffs.—Peel and core apples, and simmer them with
a little water and sugar until they make a kind of marmalade;
put this, when cold, into puff taste, ice it, and bake quickly.
Preserve^Puffs.—Roll out puff paste very thinly, cut it into
round pieces, and lay jam on each; fold over the paste, wet
the edges with egg, and close them; lay them on a baking sheet, ice them, and bake about a quarter of an hour.
Orange and Lemon Puffs.—Zest 4 large oranges or lemons,
add 2 Ids. of sifted sugar, pound it with the zest, and make it


PASTRY.
329
into a stiff paste, with a strong infusion of gum-dragon; beat
it again, roll it out, cut it into any shape, and bake it in a cool oven.
Spiced Puffs.—Beat up any quantity of whites of eggs, add
ing white sifted sugar with any spices; the puffs are to be
flavored with a mace, cinnamon, or cloves, and drop them from
the point of a knife, in a little high towering form, upon damp
wafer sheets, and put them into a very slow oven.
Ptiffs to Fry.—Blanch and beat a handful of almonds with 2
table-spoonsful of orange-flower water; beat up 5 yolks and 3
A hites, and put in 2 table-spoonsful of dried flour, a pint of
cream, and sweeten; drop them into hot clarified butter.
Gavffres.—Take 4 or 5 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of pounded sugar,
2 gills of whipped cream, 4 or 5 eggs, a small stick of pound-
ed vanilla, a grating of nutmeg, and a little salt, with a glass
of euracoa, or ratifia.
Place the flour, sugar and salt in a basin, then add the yolk
of eggs, the vanilla, and the spirit, mixing them well together,
and gradually adding the whipped cream. Just before using
the batter, add the whites of eggs, whipped to a froth, and mix
them in lightly, so as to thoroughly incorporate them with it.
Bake these gauffies in tongs made for the purpose, observ-
ing, however, that the iron be very carefully heated, and the
superfluous heat allowed to go off previously to filling them
with batter; rub the tongs with fresh butter; fill the bottom part with batter, and fasten on the top, then turn it, and, when
a fine brown on both sides, shake some pounded spice and sugar over them, and send them to table.
They may be spread with any kind of preserve or jelly.
Flummery Rice.—One quart of milk; sweeten it with a tea-
cupful of sugar; add a little cinnamon and rosewater ; boil
the whole; then add a tea-cupful of ground rice mixed in a lit-
tle of the milk, while the other is boiling, stirring the mixture
all the while. Have ready a mould, wet with water, and when
the Flummery has boiled a few minutes, take it from the fire,
and pour it caref dly Sato the mould or bowl.


CHAPTER XXIII.
PUDDINGS.
Stneral Directions—To Clean Currants—Mix Batter—Roilinti
Puddings — Baking — Plum Pudding — Cottage — Suet —
Sponge — Almond—Vermicelli — like in Shape—Rice Pud-
ding—Snow Balls—Flour—Flummery—Bread Puddings—
Batter—IndianMeal—Arroxoroot—Sago— Tapioca—Potato
—Apple — Charlotte —Eve's Pudding— Ch erry—Blackberry
—Apricot—Quince —Lemon—Orange — Cocoanut — Bird's
Nest— Custard Pudding—Dumplings.
General Directions for making puddings.—Many of the
directions for making pastry apply also to the preparation of
puddings.
The freshness of all ingredients of puddings is of much im-
portance; as fresh-ground flour, pure milk, new-laid or sweet
eggs, fresh suet, and fresh butter, or washed salt butter.
Suet makes light pudding crust: beef suet is best, next
mutton, and then veal. Beef marrow is sometimes substituted
for suet in puddings, which it much enriches. Dripping may
also be us« d for common crust; but neither dripping nor butter will make crust so light as suet.
Dried fruits for puddings should be carefully picked, and
sometimes washed. Currants may be plumped out by pour-
ing boiling water upon them; they should be dried on a sieve
or cloth before the fire. It is a good plan to pick them, in
large quantities, upon a tinned sheet, as, in rubbing them on it,
any stone or pit may be detected by its noise.
Raisins should be stoned with clean hands; if done with a
knife-point, much of the pulp is liable to be removed with the
stones. The best raisins for puddings are the large, rich kinds;
the sultana kind, free from stones, is neither so well-flavored
330


PUDDINGS.
331
nor luscious. Raisins should generally be once cut, not chop-
ped small, for puddings.
Candied peels, as citron, lemon, and orange, should be out
small, but not minced.
Fresh fruits should be picked free from stalks, and wiped, if
required.
Rice, sago, tapioca, &C., should be soaked half an hour, and
well washed and picked, before they are mixed into puddings;
and mustiness should be guarded against.
To Clean Currants for Puddings or Cakes.—Put them into
a cullender, strew a handful of flour over them, and rub them
with the hands to separate the lumps,and to detach the stalks;
work them round in the cullender, and shake it well, when the
small stalks and stones will fall through it. Next pour plenty
of cold water over the currants, drain, and spread them on a
«soft cloth, press it over them to absorb the moisture, and then
Pay them on a very clean oven-tin, or a large dish, and dry
them very gradually (or they will become hard), either in a
cool oven, or before the fire, taking care in the latter case that
they are not placed sufficiently near it for the ashes to fall
amongst them. When they are perfectly dry, clear them
entirely from the remaining stalks, and from every stone that
may be amongst them. The best mode of detecting these, is
to lay the fruit at the far end of a large white dish, or sheet of
paper, and to pass it lightly, and in very small portions, with
the fingers, towards oneself, examining it closely as this is
done.
To Mix Batter for Puddings.—Put the flour and salt into a
bowl, and stir them together; whisk the eggs thoroughly,
strain them through a fine hair sieve, and add them very gradu-
ally to the flour; for if too much liquid be poured to it at once
it will be full of lumps, and it is easy, with care, to keep the
batter perfectly smooth. Beat it well and lightly, with the
back of a strong wooden spoon, and after the eggs are added,
thin it with milk to a proper consistency. The whites of the
eggs beaten separately to a solid froth, and stirred gently into
the mixture the instant before it is tied up for boiling, or before
it is put into the oven to be baked, will render it remarkably
light. When fruit is added to the batter, it must be made
thicker than when it is served plain, or it will sink to the


PASTRY.
333
Liquid puddings are best boiled by placing the mould or
basin in a stew-pan, with hot water enough to boil the pud-
ding without boiling over.
As a general rule, however, puddings are lighter when boiled
in a cloth only: in some cases, as rice, or bread pudding, the
cloth should be tied loosely; if of flour-crust, tightly.
Puddings should be put into plenty of boiling water, which should be kept filled up, if requisite: if the fire be very fierce
the pudding may stick to the bottom of the sauce-pan and
burn; to prevent which, before putting in the water, place a
plate or dish, hollow downwards, in the sauce-pan.
Upon taking out a pudding boiled in a cloth, dip it into cold
water before you untie it, when it will not stick to the cloth
or mould.
Of Baking Puddings.—All of the custard kind, whether
made of eggs and milk only, or of sago, arrow-root, rice,
ground or in grain, vermicelli, &C., require a very gentle oven,
and are spoiled by fast-baking. Those made of better, on the
contrary, should be put into one sufficiently brisk to raise
them quickly, but without scorching them. Such as contain
suet and raisins must have a well-heated, but not a fierce oven;
for as they must remain long in it to be thoroughly done, un-
less carefully managed, they will either be much too highly
colored, or too dry.
By whisking to a solid froth the whites of the eggs used for
any pudding, and stirring them softly into it at the instant of
placing it in the oven, it will be rendered exceedingly light,
and will rise very high in the dish; but as it will partake then
of the nature of a souffle, it must be despatched with great ex-
pedition to table from the oven, or it will become flat before it
is served.
When a pudding is sufficiently browned on the surface (that
h to say, of a fine equal amber-color) before it is baked through,
a sheet of writing paper should be laid over it, but not before
it is set: when quite firm in the centre, it will be done.
Potato, batter, plum, and every other kind of pudding in
deed, which is sufficiently solid to allow of it, should be t\. mod
reversed on tn a clean hot dish from the one in which 't is
baked, and strewed with sifted sugar, before it is sent to table.
Puddings without Eggs.--Very good puddings mfty bemsi«


334
JIKK. BALES NEW COOK BOOK.
without eggs: but they should have very little liquid added tc
them, and must boil longer than puddings with eggs. A spoon ful of yeast will serve instead of 2 eggs, and a pinch of soda
will make it still lighter. Two large spoonsful of snow will
supply the place of 1 egg, and make a pudding equally good.
This is a useful piece of information, as snow generally falls in
the season when eggs are dear. The sooner it is used after it
falls the better; but it may be taken up from a clean spot,
and kept in B cool place some hours, without losing its good
qualities.
OA*.—to avoid repetition, let it be observed that, when
pudding-sauce is ordered, wine, sugar, and very thick melted
butter, boiled up together, is the sauce intended. Or, instead
of the wine, add more sugar, and a little vinegar or lemon-
juice.
Plum Pudding.—Suet, chopped fine, six ounces; Malaga
raisins, stoned, six ounces; currants, nicely washed and picked,
eight ounces; bread-crumbs, three ounces; flour, three ounces;
eggs, three; sixth of a nutmeg ; small blade of mace; same
quantity of cinnamon, pounded as fine as possible; half a tea-
spoonful of salt; half a pint of milk, or rather less; sugar, four
ounces; to which may be added, candied lemon, one ounce;
citron, half an ounce. Beat the eggs and spice well together;
mix the milk with them by degrees, then the rest of the ingre-
dients; dip a fine close linen cloth into boiling water, and put
it in a hair sieve; flour it a little, pour in the mixture, and tie
it up close; put it into a sauce-pan containing six quarts of
boiling water; keep a kettle of boiling water along side of it,
and fill up your pot as it wastes; be sure to keep it boiling six
hours at least.
Cottage Christmas Pudding.—A pound and a quarter of
flimr, fourteen ounces of suet, a pound and a quarter of stoned
raisins, four ounces of currants, five of sugar, a quarter-pound
of potatoes smoothly ^mashed, half a nutmeg, a quaiter-tca-
spoonful of ginger, the same of salt, and of cloves in powder;
mix these ingredients thoroughly, add four well-beaten eggs
with a quarter-pint of milk, tie the pudding in a well-floured
cloth, and boil it for four hours.
Flour, CUM? pound and the quarter; suet, 14 ounces; raising 


PUDDINGS. 335
stoned, 20 ounces; currants, 4 ounces; sugar, 5 ounces, pota-
toes, quarter of a pound; half a nutmeg; ginger, salt, cloves,
quarter of a teaspoonful each; eggs, 4; milk, half a pint :—
4 hours.
Small Light Plum Pudding.—Put half a pint of fine bread
crumbs into a basin, and pour on them a quarter-pint of boil-
ing milk; put a plate over, and let them soak for half an
hour; then mix with them half a pint of suet chopped ex-
tremely small, rather more of stoned raisins, three tea-spoons-
ful of sugar, one of flour, three eggs, a tiny pinch of salt, and sufficient grated lemon-peel or nutmeg to flavor it lightly. Tie
the pudding in a well-floured cloth, and boil it for 2 hours.
Bread-crumbs, half a pint; milk, quarter of a pint; suet,
half a pint; raisins, nearly three-quarters of a pint; sugar, 3
tea-spoonsful, and 1 of flour; eggs, 3; little salt and nutmeg:—
2 hours.
Another Pudding, light and wholesome.—With three ounces
of the crumbs of a stale loaf finely grated and soaked in a quar-
ter pint of boiling milk, mix six ounces of suet minced very
small, one ounce of dry bread-crumbs, ten ounces of stoned
raisins, a little salt, the grated rind of a china-orange, and three
eggs, leaving out one white. Boil the pudding for two hours,
and serve it with very sweet sauce; put no sugar in it.
Suet Pudding.—Suet, quarter of a lb; flour, 3 table-spoons
ful; 2 eggs; a little grated ginger, and half a pint of milk.
Mince the suet as fine as possible, roll it with the rolling-pin,
so as to mix it well with the flour; beat up the eggs, mix them
with the milk, and then mix all together; wet your cloth well
in boiling water, flour it, tie it loose, put it into boiling water,
and boil it an hour and a quarter.
Mrs. Glasse has it, "when you have made your water boil,
then put your pudding into your pot."
Sponge Cake Pudding.—Melt some butter and rub with it
the mould in which the pudding is to be made; rub it very
evenly with a feather or brush. Sift on the butter some
pounded sugar, and take care that all parts of the mould are
equally covered with it so as to look white. Stone some
raisins and currants, and put them according to fancy in the


336
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
carvings of the mould. Take some sponge cake, the staler
the better, cut it up in small pieces, and fill the mould lightly
with it, mixing through it currants and raisins rubbed in flour.
Beat separately the whites and yolks of four eggs, mixing with
the yolks four table-spoonsful of sugar; pour on them one and
a half pint of cold milk, and pour this over the sponge cake,
it should fill the mould entirely; grate the peel of one lemon
m the custard. Set the mould in a sauce-pan of cold water i let the water cover one-third of the mould, and place it over the fire; when the water begins to boil, set it on one side the
fire so that the custard will cook slowly, or it will turn.
When nearly done put it again over the fire, but do not let it
brown. It will bake in a quarter of an hour.
To make a sauce for it, beat the yolks of two eggs in half
pint of new milk, and sugar to your taste; strain it through a
cloth or sieve, and flavor it with rose-water, bitter almonds, or
any thing that is preferred. Turn the pudding into fl dish, and
pour the sauce around it.
Sponge Cake Pudding, No. 2.—Beat three eggs very light,
leaving out the whites of two ; add three table-spoonsful of sifted
flour; three table-spoonsful of pounded white sugar; gradually
stir one and a half pint of new milk. Boil it over a slow fire,
stirring it constantly to prevent it from burning. Pour part
of the mixture in a deep dish. Dip slices of sponge cake into
wine, and lay them over the mixture. Pour in the rest of the
mixture. Sprinkle over the top powdered cinnamon or nutmeg.
Flavor with vanilla or lemon. It is eaten cold.
Almond Pudding.—Blanch three-quarters of a pound ofswee'
and 3 oz. bitter almonds, and beat them to a fine paste, mixing
them well, and adding by degrees a tea-cupful or more of rose-
water. Boil in a pint cf rich milk a few sticks of cinnamon broken
up, anda few blades of mace. When the milk has come to a
boil, take it off the fire; strain it into a pan, and soak in it five
slale rusks cut into slices. They mustsoak till quite dissolved.
Stir to a cream three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter mixed
with the same quantity of powdered loaf-sugar. Beat ten eggs
%very light, yolks and whites, and then stir alternately into the
butter and sugar the rusk, eggs, and almonds. Set it on a
stove, and stir the whole together till very smooth and thick.
Put it into a buttered dish, and bake it three-quarters ofan hour.


PUDDINGS.
337
• Half the quantity of materials will be sufficient for an ele
gant table.
Or:—Take two and half ounces of white bread-crumbs, and
steep them in a pint of cream; then pound half a pint of
blanched almonds to a paste with some water. Beat the yolks of six eggs and the whites of three; mix all together, and add
three ounces of sugar and one ounce of beaten butter; put all
over the fire; stir it until it thickens, and then bake it in a
pufl'-paste.
Vermicelli Pudding.—Wash three ounces of vermicelli; boil it fcr fifteen minutes in a pint of milk, with a bit of cinnamon
and lemon-peel. When nearly cold, pick out the cinnamon
and peel, sweeten it, and add the well-beaten yolks of six, and
the whites of two eggs. Mix it well, and bake it in a buttered
dish for half an hour.
It may be boiled for one hour and the half, and served with a
sweet sauce.
Whole Rice in a Shape.—Wash a large tea-cupful of rice in
several waters; put it into a
stew-pan with cold water to
cover it; when it boils add 2
cupful of rich milk or thin
cream, boil it till the rice is
soft; put it into a mould and
press it down tight: when
cold turn it out and serve
with sweetmeat or jelly
round it. If put into a cylindrical mould, the centre should
be filled with fruit or sweetmeat.
Rice Pudding, Baked or Boiled.—Wash in cold water and
pick very clean 6 oz. of rice; boil it in 1 quart of milk, with
a bit of cinnamon, very gently, till it is quite tender; it will take about an hour; be careful and stir it often. Take it from
the fire, pick out the cinnamon, and stir in a tea-cupful of sugar, half a cup of butter, 3 eggs well beaten, a little powdered
nutmeg—stir it till it is quite smooth. You can line a pie-dish
with puff paste, or bake it in a buttered dish, which is better. About three-auarters of an hour will bake it.

21


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
If you wish it more like custard, add another egg and half ft
pint of milk.
If you boil it, you can add whatever fruit you like; 3 oz. of
currants, or raisins, or apples minced fine; it will take an hour
to boil it. Serve with wine sauce, or butter and sugar.
A Good Boiled Rice Pudding.—Swell gradually, and boil
until quite soft and thick, 4j oz. of whole rice, in 1^ pin', of
new milk; sweeten them with from 3 to 4 oz. of sugar, broken
small, and stir to them, while they are still quite hot, the
grated rind of half a large lemon, 4 or 5 bitter almonds, pound-
ed to a paste, and 4 large well-whisked eggs; let the mixture
cool, and then pour it into a thickly-buttered basin, or mould,
which should be quite full; tie a buttered paper and a floured
cloth over it, and boil the pudding exactly an hour; let it stand
for 2 or 3 minutes before it is turned out, and serve it with
sweet sauce, fruit syrup, or a compote of fresh fruit. An ounce
and a half of candied orange rind will improve it much, and a
couple of ounces of butter may be added to enrich it, when
the receipt without is considered too simple.
Whole rice, 4£ oz.; new milk, 1 \ pint; sugar, 3 or 4 oz.;
salt, a few grains; bitter almonds, 4 to 6; rind of half a lemon j
"'gg3.' 4: boiled 1 hour.
An Easter Pudding.—To 4 oz. of fresh rice flour, add by
slow degrees half a pint of cold new milk, being careful to
keep the mixture free from lumps. Pour it into a pint of boil-
ing milk, and stir it without intermission over a very clear and
gentle fire for 3 or 4 minutes; then throw in 2 oz. of fresh
butter, and 2 of pounded sugar, and continue the boiling for 8
or 10 minutes longer. Let the rice cool down, and give it an
occasional stir, to prevent the surface from hardening. When
it has stood for 15 or 20 minutes, pour to it a gill of cold milk,
and stir well into it a few grains of salt, the grated rind of a
large sound lemon, 5 full-sized, or 6 small eggs, properly cleared
and well whisked, first by themselves and then with 2 additional
ounces of pounded sugar. Beat up these ingredients thorough-
ly together, pour them into a deep dish which has been rubbed
with butter, and in which about ft table-spoonful should be left
liquified, that it may rise to the surface of the pudding; strew
lightly upon it 4 oz. of clean, dry currants, and bake it gently
from three-quarters to a full hour.


310
MRS. HALE'S HEW COOK BOOK.
whole richly, a very excellent pudding will be obtained; can-
died orange-peel also has a good effect when sliced thinly into
it; and half a pound of currants is generally considered a fur-
ther improvement.
New milk, 1 pint; sugar, 3 ounces; salt, few grains: bread-
crumbs, half a pound; eggs, 4 (5, if very small); nutmeg or
lemon-rind at pleasure: 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Or: Milk, 1 pint; bread-crumbs, 6 ounces; butter, 2 to 3
ounces; sugar, 4 ounces; eggs, 5; brandy, small-glassful;
rind, 1 lemon. Further additions at choice: candied peel, 1
ounce and a half; currants, half a pound.
Brown Bread Pudding.—To half a pound of stale bro wn
bread, finely and lightly grated, add an equal weight of suet, chopped small, and of currants cleaned and dried, with half a
salt-spoonful of salt, three ounces of sugar, the third of a small
nutmeg grated, two ounces of candied peel, five well-beaten
eggs, and a glass of brandy. Mix these ingredients thoroughly,
and boil the pudding in a cloth for three hours and a half.
Send wine sauce to table with it. The grated rind of a large
lemon may be added with good effect.
Brown bread, suet, and currants, each 8 ounces; sugar, 3
ounces; candied peel, 2 ounces; salt, third of a salt-spoonful;
half of a small nutmeg; eggs, 5; brandy, 1 wine-glassful: 3
hours and a half.
Plain Bread Pudding.—Pour a quart of boiling milk over 4
ounces of bread crumbs, cover it till cold, and mix with 3 well-
beaten eggs, a tea-cup of sugar, and half the peel of a grated
lemon, or a little pounded cinnamon; bake it in a buttered
dish, and serve with sweet sauce.
Bread-and-Butter Pudding.—Butter a quart dish, and lay in
it slices of thin bread-and-butter, strewing in a few currants;
then beat 4 eggs in a basin, add 4 ounces of sugar, half a nut-
meg, grated, and stir in a pint of milk; fill up the dish, and
bake three-quarters of an hour. A stale French roll, cut in
slices and buttered, is superior to household bread-and-butter
for this pudding.
The Penny Pudding.—Take a penny roll with the crust
lapped, one egg, half a pint of milk, and rather less than two


Pl'DDINGS.
341
ounces of loaf sugar Put the roll and sugar into a basin, pour
upon them the cold drink, and let it soak an hour; then beat
ap the egg with the roll, sugar, and milk; put it into either a
half-pint shape, or a cloth; and boil it twenty-five minutes if
in a shape, or twenty minutes if in a cloth. Serve it up with
sweet white wine sauce.
It may be made double the size, by using twice the quantity
of everything; and it will only take five minutes longer to
boil it.
Common Batter Pudding.—Beat four eggs thoroughly, mix
with them half a pint of milk, and pass them through a sieve,
add them by degrees to half a pound of flour, and when the
batter is perfectly smooth, thin it with another half pint of milk.
Shake out a wet pudding-cloth, flour it well, pour the batter in,
leave it room to swell, tie it securely, and put it immediately
into plenty of fast-boiling water. An hour and ten minutes
will boil it. Send it to table the instant it is dished, with wine
sauce, a hot compote of fruit, or raspberry vinegar: this last
makes a delicious pudding sauce. Unless the liquid be added
very gradually to the flour, and the mixture be well stirred
and beaten as each portion is poured to it, the batter will not
be smooth: to render it very light, a portion of the whites of
the eggs, or the whole of them, should be whisked to a froth
and stirred into it just before it is put into the cloth.
Flour, half pound; eggs, four; salt, three-quarters teaspoonful; milk, one pint: one hour and ten minutes.
Obs.—Modern taste is in favor of puddings boiled in moulds,
but, as we have already stated, they are seldom or ever so
light as those which are tied in cloths only. Where appearance
is the first consideration, we would recommend the use of the
moulds, of course.
Another Batter Pudding.—Mix the yolks of three eggs
smoothly with three heaped table-spoonsful of flour, thin the
batter with new milk until it is of the consistency of cream,
whisk the whites of eggs apart, stir them into the batter, and
boil the pudding in a floured cloth or buttered basin for an
hour. Before it is served, cut the top quickly into large dice,
half through the pudding, pour over it a small jarful of fine
currant, raspberry, or strawberry jelly, and send it to table
without delay.


342
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Flour, three table-spoonsful; eggs, three; salt, half tea-
spoonful; milk, from half to a whole pint: one hour.
Obs.—For a very large pudding, double the quantity of in-
gredients and the time of boiling will be required.
Batter Fruit Pudding.—Butter thickly a basin which holds a
pint and a half, and fill it nearly to the brim with good boiling
apples pared, cored, and quartered; pour over them a batter
made with four table-spoonsful of flour, two large or three
small eggs, and half a pint of milk. Tie a buttered and floured
cloth over the basin, which ought to be quite full, and boil the
pudding for an hour and a quarter. Turn it into a hot dish
when done, and strew sugar thickly over it: this, if added to
the batter at first, renders it heavy. Morella cherries make the very superior pudding of this kind; and green gooseberries,
damsons, and various other fruits, answer for it extremely well:
the time of boiling it must be varied according to their quality
and its size.
BakedBatter Pudding.—Beat separately yolks and whites
of three eggs; mix three table-spoonsful of flour with half pint
of milk, a small piece of butter and some salt; stir in the eggs.
Bake in a quick oven, and eat with any sweet sauce.
Indian Meal Pudding, baked.—Scald a quart of milk (skim
med milk will do), and stir in seven table-spoonsful of sifted
Indian meal, a tea-spoonful of salt, a tea-cupful of molasses or
treacle, or coarse moist sugar, and a table-spoonful of powdered
ginger or sifted cinnamon: bake three or four hours. If whey
is wanted, pour in a little cold milk after it is all mixed.
Boiled Maize Pudding.—Stir Indian meal and warm milk
together "pretty stiff;" a little salt and two or three "great
spoonful of molasses added; also a spoonful of ginger, or
any other spice that may be preferred. Boil it in a tight-
covered pan, or in a very thick cloth; if the water gets in, it
will ruin it. Leave plenty of room, for Indian meal swells
very much. The milk with which it is mixed should be merely
warmed ; if it be scalding hot, the pudding will break to pieces.
Some chop suet very fine, and warm in the milk ; others warm
thin slices of apple to be stirred into the pudding. Water will
answer instead of milk.


PUDDINGS.
343
Hasty Pudding.—Boil water, a quart, 3 pints, or 2 quarts,
according to the size of your family; sift your meal, stir
5 or 6 spoonsful of it thoroughly into a bowl of water;
when the water in the kettle boils, pour into it the contents of
the bowl ; stir it well, and let it boil up thick; put in salt to
suit your own taste, then stand over the kettle, and sprinkle in
meal, handful after handful, stirring it very thoroughly all the time, and letting it boil between whiles. When it is so thick
that you stir it with great difficulty, it is about right. It takes
half an hour's cooking. Eat it with milk or molasses. Either
Indian meal or rye meal may be used. If the system is in a
restricted state, nothing can be better than rye hasty pudding
and West India molasses. This diet would save many a one
the horrors of dyspepsia.
Obs.—When cold it is nice for breakfast, cut off in slices
and browned in a frying pan, with a little butter or fresh
sweet lard or dripping.
Arrow Root Pudding.—Dissolve 4 teacupful of arrow-root
in a quart of fresh milk. Boil it with a few bitter almonds
pounded up, or peach-leaves, to give it a flavor. Stir it well
while it is boiling or until it becomes a smooth batter. When
it is quite cool, add 6 eggs well beaten, to the batter, then mix
with it a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar—if
brown is used it spoils the color. Grate some lemon-peel into
the mixture and add a little of the juice. The pudding should
be baked an hour and sent to the table cold. Quince, rasp-
berry or strawberry preserves, may be served with it; and to
add to the appearance, ornament the top with slices of pre-
serves.
Another Arrow Root Pudding.-^From a quart of new milk
take a small tea-cupful, and mix it with 2 large spoonsful of
arrow-root. Boil the remainder of the milk, and stir it amongst
the arrow-root; add when nearly cold, 4 well-beaten eggs, with
2 ounces of pounded loaf sugar, and the same of fresh butter
broken into small bits; season with grated nutmeg. Mix it
veil together, and bake it in a buttered dish 15 or 20 minutes.
Sago Pudding.—Boil 5 table-spoonsful of sago, well picked
and washed, in 1 quart of milk till quite soft, with » stink of


344 MRS. bale's new cook book.
cinnamon. Then stir in 1 tea-cup of butter and 2 of powdered
loaf sugar. When it is cold, add 4 eggs well beaten, and a lit-
tle grated nutmeg. Mix all well together, and bake it in a
buttered dish about three-quarters of an hour. Brown sugar,
if dried, will answer very well to sweeten it.
TapiocaPudding.—Soak in warm water 1 tea-cupful of tapi
oca; beat 4 eggs with 3 table-spoonsful of sugar; melt in hull
a pint of milk 1 table-spoonful of butter. Stir all together .
flavor to your taste, and bake in a quick oven.
Potato Pudding.—A pound of potatoes, peeled and boiled;
one-third of a pound of fresh butter mashed with the potatoes;
add the juice of a sour orange or of a lemon, and the peel of
1 grated, a quarter of a pound of sugar, 8 eggs, (half the whites
left out) a grated nutmeg, and a gill of wine. Beat them well
together, and bake in a thin crust. Add a little salt to the in-
gredients.
Another Potato Pudding.—Boil 3 large mealy potatoes,
mash them very smoothly, with 1 ounce of butter, and 2 or 3
table-spoonsful of thick cream ; add 3 woll-beaten eggs, a little
salt, grated nutmeg, and a table-spoonful of brown sugar. Beat
all well together, and bake it in a buttered dish, for half or
three-quarters of an hour in a Dutch oven. A few currants
may be added to the pudding.
Sweet Potato Pudding.—Beat to a cream 1 pound of sugar,
and 1 pound of butter; boil and pound fine 2 pounds of pota-
toes; beat the potato by degrees into the butter and sugar;
add 5 eggs beaten light, 1 wine-glass of wine, 1 of brandy, and
1 of rose-water; 2 tea-spoonsful of spice, and half a pint cf
cream.
Bake it in a crust. This will fill 7 puddings.
Baked Apple Pudding, or Custard.—Weigh 1 lb. of good
boiling apples after they are pared and cored, and stew them
to a perfectly smooth marmalade, with 6 oz. of sugar, and a
spoonful or two of water; stir them often that they may not
stick to the pan. Mix with them while they are still quite hot,
51 oz. of butter, the grated rind and the strained juice of a lemon,


PUD1IIK08.
345
and lastly, stir in by degrees the well-beaten yolks of 5 eggs,
and a dessert-spoonful of flour, or in lieu of the last, 3 or 4
Naples' biscuits, or macaroons crushed small. Bake the pud-
ding for a full half hour in a moderate oven, or longer should
it not be quite firm in the middle. A little clarified butter
poured on the top, with sugar sifted over, improves all baked
puddings.
Apples, 1 lb ; sugar, 6 oz.; water, 1 cupful; butter, 3 oz.;
juice and rind, 1 lemon; 5 eggs: half an hour or more.
Obs.—Many cooks press the apples through a sieve after
they are boiled, but this is not needful when they are of a good
kind, and stewed, and beaten smooth.
A Common Baked Apple Pudding.—Boil a pound and a
quarter of apples with half a small cupful of water and 6 oz.
of brown sugar; when they are reduced to a smooth pulp, stir to them 2 oz. of butter, a table-Bpoonful of flour, or a handful
of fine bread crumbs, and 5 well-beaten eggs; grate in half a
nutmeg, or flavor the pudding with pounded cinnamon, and
bake it nearly three-quarters of an hour. More or less of
sugar will be required for these puddings, according to the time
of year, as the fruit is much more acid when first gathered than
when it has been some months stored.
Apples, 1-J lb.; water, half small cupful; sugar, 6 oz.; but-
ter, 2 oz.; flour, 1 table-spoonful, or bread crumbs, 1 handful;
half a nutmeg; eggs, 5: three-quarters of an hour.
Nice Apple Pudding.—Pare and core 12 large apples, put
them into a sauce-pan with water sufficient to cover them, stew
them till soft, and then beat them smooth, and mix in three-
quarters of a pound of pounded loaf sugar, a quarter of a
pound of fresh butter, the juice and grated peel of 2 lemons,
and the well-beaten yolks of 8 eggs; line a dish with puff
paste, put in the pudding, and bake it for nearly three-quarters
of an hour; before serving grate loaf sugar over the top till it
looks white.
An Apple Charlotte.—Pare and slice a quantity of apples;
cut off the crust of a loaf, and cut slices of bread and butter.
Butter the inside of a pie dish, and place bread and butter all
round; then put in a layer of apples sprinkled with lemon


346
MRS. HALK's NEW COOK BOOK.
peel chopped very fine, and a considerable quantity of good
brown sugar. Then put on a layer of bread and butter, and
another of apples, lemon peel, and sugar, until the dish is full, squeezing over the juice of lemons, so that every part shall be
equally flavored. Cover up the dish with the crusts of bread
and the peels of the apples, to prevent it from browning m
burning; bake it an hour and a quarter ; then take off the peels
and the crust, and turn it out of the dish.
Marlborough Pudding.—Grate enough apples to make 8 oz.;
add to this 8. oz. of fine white sugar, 8 oz. of butter, 6 eggs
well beaten, the juice of 2 lemons, with the grated peel of 1.
Line a pie dish with fine puff paste, put the pudding in it, and
bake in a quick oven.
Apple Meringues.—Fill a small pudding-dish half full of
stewed or preserved apples, or any other acid fruit. Beat the
whites of 6 eggs to a very stiff froth, and mix in 1 table-spoon-
ful of sugar to each egg. Pile the egg on the fruit, and bake
it in a slow oven from 1 to 2 hours. It can be eaten cold or
hot.
Eve's Pudding.—Take 6 large, fair, juicy apples; pare, core,
and chop them fine; 6 oz. of bread crumbs; 6 oz. of currants;
6 eggs, and 3 oz. of sugar. Mix them well, and boil in a
mould, or closely-covered pan, for 3 hours; serve with sweet
sauce.
Virginia Cherry Pudding.—Beat 6 eggs light: add 2 gills
of milk, 6 oz. of flour, 8 oz. of grated bread, 6 oz. of suet,
chopped very fine, and half a table-spoonful of salt. Stir all
well together, and add 10 oz. of dried cherries with a little
mace. Boil it 4 or 5 hours. It may be baked instead of
boiled.
Blackberry Pudding.—Make a batter of 1 quart of flour, 3
pints of milk, and 5 eggs. Stew 3 pints of blackberries sweet-
ened to your taste, and stir them in the batter. Bake it, and
eat it with any sweet sauce.
Apricot, Peach, or Nectarine Pudding.—Scald the fruit; peel,
beat, and sweeten it; beat 0 yolks and 2 whites; mix all to-


PUDDINQS.
347
gether, with a pint of cream; put it into a dish sheeted witn
cream paste: as the pudding stuff requires a moderate oven,
puff paste would not answer. A cook ought to attend to this,
W either the paste or pudding will be spoiled unless she does.
Quince Pudding.—Pare 6 large quinces, cut out the cores and blemishes, chop them as fine as possible, and boil them
2 hours with as little water as possible, stirring them fre-
quently that they may not burn. Drain off the water and
mix them, when cold, with a pint of cream and half a pound
of powdered sugar. Beat the yolks of 7 eggs, using the
whites of 2, and stir them gradually into the mixture, to
which add a glass of rose-water. Stir the whole together for
some time and bake it in a buttered dish an hour, or if the
oven is not very hot, an hour and a half. Serve it cold.
Lemon Pudding.—Melt six ounces of butter, and pour it
over the same quantity of powdered loaf sugar, stirring it well
till cold. Then grate the rind of a large lemon, and add it
with 8 eggs well beaten, and the juice of 2 lemons; stir the
whole till it is completely mixed together, and bake the pud-
ding with a paste round the dish.
Or:—Take one pound and a half of bread-crumbs, quarter
of a pound of finely-chopped suet, the rind of 2 lemons grated,
and the juice of 1; 2 eggs well beaten; mix the whole with
quarter of pound of sugar sifted, and boil it three-quarters of
au hour.
Or:—Pare 6 lemons finely, and boil the peel till it is ten
der; then pound it in a mortar, add the juice of 3 lemons, and
quarter of pound of butter melted into a little cream, a sponge
or ratafia cakes, the yolks of 6 eggs and the whites of 3; mix
all up well together, with sugar to the taste, adding a little
nutmeg and brandy.
Orange Pudding.—Beat separately, till perfectly light, 8
yolks and 4 whites of eggs; with the yolks, beat 4 ounces of
grated loaf sugar; pound one ounce and a half of sugar biscuit,
and with 2 table-spoonsful of orange marmalade, mix all well
together; beat before the fire 4 ounces of butter; line a dish
with puff-paste, and just before putting the pudding into the
well, stir in the butter. Bake it for 15 or 20 minutes.


PUDDINGS.
349
Apple Dumplings—Pare and scoop out the core of 6 large
baking apples, put part of a clove, and a little grated lemon
peel, inside of each, and enclose them in pieces of puff paste;
boil them in nets for the purpose, or bits of linen, for an hour.
Before serving, cut off a small bit from the top of each, and
put in a tea-spoonful of sugar, and a bit of fresh butter; replace
the bit of paste, and strew over them pounded loaf sugar.
Fashionable Apple Dumplings.—They are boiled in small
knitted or closely-netted cloths (the former have, we think, the
prettiest effect) which give quite an ornamental appearance to
an otherwise homely dish. Take out the cores without divid-
ing the apples, which should be large, and of a good boiling
port, and fill the cavity with orange or lemon marmalade, en-
close them in a good crust rolled thin, draw the cloths round
them, tie them closely and boil them for three-quarters of an
hour. Lemon dumplings may be boiled in the same way.
Three-quarters to one hour, if the apples be not of the best
boiling kind.
Norfolk Dumplings.—Make a stiff pancake batter; drop this
batter by small spoonsful into quick boiling water; let them
boil from 2 to 3 minutes, when they will be enough done:
drain, and lay a piece of fresh butter over each.
Potato Apple Dumplings.—Boil 12 (or more) white pota-
toes, pare them, put them hot upon your paste-board, and
mash them with a rolling-pin; add a little salt. When they
are sufficiently mashed, dredge in from your dredging-bux
enough flour to make it of the consistency of dough made of
flour, and then roll it out and make ud your dumplings.
Hagerstown Pudding.—In a tea-cupful of molasses put %
little butter, and let it boil. Cut stale bread in slices, and let
it soak in the molasses until well saturated. Serve it hot.


CHAPTER XXIV.
PANCAKES, FRITTERS, ETC.
Ooservations—Pancakes—Apple—New England — French —.
Rice Fritters—Apple — Potato— Venetian—Spanish—Fit.S
—Oyster—Snow-Balls—Croquettes of Rice—Puffs.
PANCAKES.
Orservations.—Although egg forms the chief foundation
of all pancakes, they are yet made in various ways according
to different tastes and countries.
The common sort are composed of a light batter, made of
eggs, flour, and milk, fried in hot dripping or lard, only half
the whites of the eggs being generally used; but salt, or nut-
meg, and ginger, may be added, and sugar and lemon should
be served to eat with them. Or, when eggs are scarce, make
the batter with flour and small beer, ginger, &C. ; or clean
snow, with flour, and a very little milk, will serve as well as
eggs.
Pancakes—a good receipt.—Take 1 lb. of flour; mix it with
6 eggs, a table-spoonful of brandy, a good pinch of salt, '2
table-spoonsful of orange flower water, and the same quantity
of mik and water, or as much as will give the batter a proper
consistency; melt a piece of butter or lard in a frying-pan,
pour in as much batter as will cover the pan; when brt own on
»ne side, with a knife loosen the edges of the pancake all round,
and turn and brown it on the other side; roll each pancake up,
and send them to table very hot, powdered with sugar.
Hand round sugar, either raw or pounded, together with
lemon and Seville orange.
350


352
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK grated peel and juice of 1 lemon, and 2 table-spoonsful of rose
water; add the beaten whites the last thing. Allow three table-spoonsful to each pancake.
Rice Pancakes.—Add to 3 well-beaten eggs a pint of new
milk, 3 table-spoonsful of boiled rice, some sugar, and a little
pounded cinnamon; mix it all well together, and fry it in
butter; brown the upper side for a minute before the fire ;
*serve it, cut into 4, with pounded sugar strewed over it.
FRITTERS.
Plain Common Fritters.—Mix with three well-beaten eggs a
quarter-pint of milk, and strain them through a fine sieve : add
them gradually to 3 large table-spoonsful of flour, and thin the
batter with as much more milk as will bring it to the con-
sistency of cream; beat it up thoroughly at the moment of
using it, that the fritters may be light. Drop it in small por-
tions from a spouted jug or basin into boiling lard; when
lightly colored on one side, turn them, drain them well from
the lard as they are lifted out, and serve them very quickly.
They are eaten generally with fine sugar, and orange or lemon
juice: the first of these may be sifted thickly over them after
they are dished, the oranges or lemons cut in two, and sent to
table with them. The lard used for frying them should be
fresh and pure-flavored: it renders them more crisp and light
than butter, and is, therefore, better suited to the purpose.
Eggs, 3; flour, 3 table-spoonsful; milk, quarter to half pint.
Apple Fritters.—Make a batter with 3 eggs, 5 ounces of
flour, a little salt and nutmeg grated; beat the batter smooth,
then add, by degrees, as much milk as will make it like stiff
cream—peel your apples, and cut them in thick slices; take
out the core, dip them in the batter, and fry them in hot lard;
put them on a sieve to drain; dish them neatly, and grate
some loaf sugar oven them.
Potato Fritters.—Peel, and pound in a mortar. 6 mealy po-
tatoes, with a little salt, a glass of white wine, some pounded
sugar, cinnamon, and 1 ounce of butter; roll it out with a
little flour, cut them the size of a wine glass, and fry them in
boiling clarified dripping. Serve them with sifted loaf sugw
o 'er them.


PANCAKES, FRITTERS, ETC. 853
Venetian Fritters, (very good.)—Pick, wash, and drain 3
ounces of whole rice, put it into a full pint of cold milk, and
bring it very slowly to boil; stir it often, and let it simmer
gently until quite thick and dry. When about three parts
done, add to it 2 ounces of pounded sugar, and 1 of fresh but-
ter, a grain of salt, and the grated rind of half a small lemon.
Let it cool in the sauce-pan, and when only just warm mix
with it thoroughly 3 ounces of currants, 4 apples, chopped fine,
a tea-spoonful of flour, and 3 well-beaten eggs. Drop the mix
ture in small fritters, fry them in butter from 5 to 7 minutes,
and let them become quite firm on one side before they are
turned: do this with a slice. Drain them as they are taken
up, and sift white sugar over them after they are dished.
Whole rice, 3 ozs.; milk, 1 pint; sugar, 2 ozs.; butter, 1
oz.; grated rind of half a lemon; currants, 3 ozs.; minced ap-
ples, 4 ozs.; flour, 1 teaspoonful ; a little salt; eggs, 3; 5 to
7 minutes.
Spanish Fritters.—Cut into lengths about the size and thick
ness of your finger the crumb of a French roll, you may please
your fancy as to the shape; soak it in a compound of cream,
nutmeg, sugar, pounded cinnamon, and an egg; when tho-
roughly soaked, fry it a nice brown; serve with butter, wine,
and sugar sauce.
Corn Fritters: American.—Take 12 small ears of corn, free
from all silk; out the grains down the centre, and scrape all
the corn and milk off the cob; add about 2 table-spoonsful of
flour, 2 eggs well beaten, pepper and salt to your taste, and
mix the whole well together. Put a table-spoonful of this
mixture at a time in a frying-pan with hot lard or butter;
when brown, turn them, and serve them hot. If the corn is
large it will require 3 eggs, if very milky, a little extra flour.
It should be thicker than pancake batter; a hot fire will cook
them in 5 minutes. They are excellent for breakfast, and may
be mixed the night before. For dessert put in sugar instead
ofsalt and pepper, and eat them with your favorite sauce.
Fish Fritters.—Make a light forcemeat with any kind of'
fish, put a small quantity into pieces of puff-paste the size of a
common puff, fry in boiling lard and drain dry; serve with
bechamel sauce round them.
2 2


354
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Oyster Fritters.—Blanch some oysters in their own liquor then place them for some time in vinegar and water, with salt,
bred parsley, and small white onions sliced; then dry them
well; dip each in batter and fry them.
Fritters Souffles.—Mix the yolks of 4 eggs, half a table-
spoonful of olive oil or butter, and a little salt, with half a
pound of flour; whip the whites of the eggs to a froth, and add
to the rest; when the paste is equal to a thick batter, take 1
table-spoonful of it and roll it in flour, make each ball about
the size of an English walnut, fry them in boiling lard or olive
oil, sprinkle with white sugar, and serve hot.
Snoio-Balls boiled in Butter.—Mix with 6 well-beaten eggs
one pint and a half of sour cream, and add by degrees as much
flour as will make the batter thick enough for the spoon to
stand in it; sweeten it with brown sugar, and put in a few
cardamoms; stir into this mixture half a pint of beer, beat it
all well together, and drop it with a dessert-spoon into some
boiling lard, or butter. Drain them upon a towel before the
fire, and serve them in a napkin, with sugar sifted over them.
Croquettes of Rice. {Entremets.)—Wipe very clean, in a
dry cloth, 7 ounces of rice, put it into a clean stew-pan, and
pour on it a quart of new milk ; let it swell gently by the side
of the fire, and stir it often that it may not stick to the pan,
nor burn; when it is about half done, stir to it 5 ounces of
pounded sugar, and 6 bitter almonds beaten extremely fine:
the thin rind of half a fresh lemon may be added in the first
instance. The rice must be simmered until it is soft, and very
thick and dry; it should then be spread on a dish, and left,
until cold, when it is to be rolled into small balls, which must
be dipped into beaten egg, and then covered in every part
with the finest bread-crumbs. When all are ready, fry them a
light brown in fresh butter, and dry them well before the fire,
upon a sieve reversed and covered with a very soft cloth, or
with a sheet of white blotting-paper. Pile them in a h >t dish,
and send them to table quickly.
Rice, 7 ozs.; milk, 1 quart; rind of lemon: three-quarter*
of an hour. Sugar, 5 ozs.; bitter almonds, 6: 40 to GO iu'
nutes, or more. Fried, 5 to 7 minutes.


PANCAKES, FRITTERS, ETC.
355
Finer Croquettes of Rice. {.Entremets.)—Swell the rice in
thin cream, or in new milk strongly flavored with cocoanut;
then add the same ingredients as in the foregoing receipt, and
when the rice is cold, form it into balls, and with the thumb
of the right hand hollow them sufficiently to admit in the centre
a small portion of peach jam, or of apricot marmalade; close
the rice well over it; egg, crumb, and fry the croquettes as
usual. As, from the difference of quality, the same propor-
tions of rice and milk will not always produce the same effect,
the cook must use her discretion in adding, should it b<j
needed, sufficient liquid to soften the rice perfectly: but she
must bear in mind that if not boiled extremely thick and dry,
it will be difficult to make it into croquettes.
ruffs.—Put into a sauce-pan a pint of milk, boil slowly, and
stir in flour till it be very thick, like paste; when cold, mix
with it 6 well-beaten eggs, a table-spoonful of sugar, half a nut-
meg, and the peel of a small lemon grated, and a table-spoon-
ful of brandy; beat it well together for 15 minutes, and when
quite light, drop it from a dessert-spoon into a pan of boiling
clarified suet or lard. Serve with pounded loaf sugar strewed
over them.
German Puffs.—1 pint of milk; 4 eggs; 5 spoonfuls of
flour. Bake in cups 15 or 20 minutes.
Rub the butter and sugar till these are light, and you will
have a nice sauce for the puffs.
A Pretty Dessert.—Take the yolks of four eggs, and beat
till light, adding four spoons of sugar; boil one quart of
milk and season with rose or lemon brandy. Pour this mix-
ture on stale sponge cake; then beat the whites of the eggs
very light and rub in some currant jelly; with this cover the
top of the cake, and you will have a nice dessert.


CHAPTER XXV.
CUSTARDS. CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC
MANGE.
Of Custards— Cream — Rice— Chocolate — Plain — Baked—
Souffle — Apple— Fool — Flummery — Creams — Fruit —
Italian — Almond — Vanilla — Charlotte Russe — Cream
Hasty—Curds and Cream—Junket—Snow-Balls—Floating
Island—Trifle—Ices—Ice-Cream—Currant, Ginger, Wale*
Ices—Jellies—Isinglass to clarify Blanc Mange.
CUSTARDS.
Custard i.i always eaten cold, and either poured over fruit
tarts, or served up separately in custard-cups, in each of which
a macaroon steeped in wine, and laid at the bottom, will be
found a good addition.
The flavoring may likewise be altered, according to taste,
by using a different kind of essence, the name of which it then
acquires; as of lemon, orange, maraschino, vanilla, &o. It
is almost needless to say that cream or a portion of it will
make it richer than mere milk.
It should be recollected that in custard, when made as cream,
and eaten as usually called "raw," the whites of the eggs are
never all used; but they may be devoted to many other pur-
poses.
The French mode of making it is, to measure the number of
cups which are to be filled, and use nearly that quantity of
milk or cream, simmering it upon the fire until beginning to
boil, then adding about half an ounce of powdered sugar to
each cup, with lemon-peel, bay-leaves, or almond-powder;
356


CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE. 357
then take the yolk of an egg to each small cup, beat them up
with the milk, fill the cups, place in a bain-marie or vase of
boiling water until the custard become firm.
Custard Cream.—Boil half pint of new milk with a piece of
lemon-peel, 2 peach-leaves, a stick of cinnamon, and S lumps
of white sugar. Should cream be employed instead of milk,
there will be no occasion to strain it. Beat the yolks, say of
4 eggs; strain the milk through coarse muslin, or a hair sieve;
then mix the eggs and milk very gradually together, and sim-
mer it gently on the fire, stirring it until it thickens, but re-
moving it the moment it begins to boil, or it will curdle.
A cheap and excellent sort is made by boiling 3 pints of new
milk with a bit of lemon-peel, a bit of cinnamon, 2 or 3 bay-
leaves, and sweetening it. Meanwhile, rub down smooth a
large spoonful of rice-flour into a cup of cold milk, and mix
with it 4 yolks of eggs well beaten. Take a basin of the boil-
ing milk, mix it with the cold, and pour that to the boiling,
stirring it one way till it begins to thicken, and is just going
to boil up; then pour it into a pan, stir it some time, add a
large spoonful of peach-water, 2 tea-spoonsful of brandy, or a
little ratafia.*
For Rich Custard.—Boil a pint of milk with lemon peel and
cinnamon; mix a pint of cream and the yolks of 8 eggs, well-
beaten; when the milk tastes of the seasoning, strain it, and
sweeten it enough for the whole; pour it into the cream, stir-
ring it well; then give the custard a simmer till of a proper
thickness. Do not let it boil; stir the whole time one way.
Or :—Boil a pint of cream with some mace, cinnamon, and
alittle lemon-peel: strain it, and when cold add to it the
yolks of 4 and whites of 2 eggs, a little orange-flower water,
and sugar to your taste. A little nutmeg and 2 spoonsful of
sweet wine may be added, if approved. Mix well, and bake
Ji cups.
Rice Custards.—Sweeten a pint of milk with loaf-sugar, boil
it with a stick of cinnamon, stir in sifted ground rice till quite
* Marbles, boiled in custard, or anything likely tc burn, will, if shaken in the saucepan, j-rwent it from catching.


358
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
thick. Take it off the fire; add the whites of 3 eggs well
beaten; stir it again over the fire for 2 or 3 minutes, then put
it into cups that have lain in cold water; do not wipe them
When cold, turn them out, and put them into the dish in
which they are to be served; pour round them a custard made
of th) yolks of the eggs and little more than half a pint of
milk. Put on the top a little red currant jelly, or raspberry
jam. A pretty supper dish.
Orange Custard.—Boil very tender the rind of half a Seville
orange; beat it in a mortar to a paste; put to it a spoonful
of the best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, 4 ounces of
lump-sugar, and the yolks of 4 eggs. Beat all together 10
minutes, and pour in by degrees a pint of boiling cream. Keep
beating until the mixture is cold; then put into custard-cups,
and set them in a soup-dish of boiling water; let them stand
until thick, then put preserved orange-peel, in slices, upon the
custard. Serve either hot or cold.
Or:—Take the juice of 12 oranges, strain it and sweeten
it well with pounded loaf-sugar, stir it over a slow fire till the
sugar is dissolved, taking off the scum as it rises; when nearly
cold add the yolks of 12 eggs well beaten, and a pint of cream;
stir it again over the fire till it thickens. Serve it in a glass
dish or in custard-cups.
Lemon Custard—May be made in the same manner, or as
follows:—Strain 3 wine-glassfuls of lemon-juice through a sieve;
beat 9 eggs, yolks and whites, strain them also, and add them
to the lemon-juice, with one-quarter pound of powdered loaf-
sugar, a glass of white wine, and half a wine-glass of water,
with a little grated lemon-peel. Mix all together, and put the ingredients into a sauce-pan on the fire, stirring it until it be comes thick and of a proper consistence.
Almond Custard.—Boil in a pint of milk, or cream, 2 or 3
bitter almonds, a stick of cinnamon, and a piece of lemon-peei
pared thin, with 8 or 10 lumps of sugar; let it simmer to ex-
tract the flavor, then strain it and stir it till cold. Beat the
yolks of 6 eggs, mix it with the milk, and stir the whole over
a slow fire until of a proper thickness, adding 1 oz. of sweet
almonds, beaten fine in rose-water.


CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE. 359
Chocolate Custards.—Dissolve gently by the side of the fire
an ounce and a half of the best chocolate in rather more than a
wine-glassful of water, and then boil it until it is perfectly
smooth; mix with it a pint of milk well flavored with lemon-
peel or vanilla, and two ounces of fine sugar, and when the
whole boils, stir it to five well-beaten eggs that have been
■tiAined. Put the custard into jar or jug, set it into a pan
of boiling water, and stir it without ceasing until it is thick.
Da not put it into glasses or a dish till nearly or quite cold.
These, as well as all other custards, are infinitely finer when
made with the yolks only of the eggs.
Rice Custards without Cream.—Take 1 tea-spoonful of rice
flour, a pint of new milk, the yolks of 3 eggs, sugar to your
liking; mix the rice very smooth, and stir it, with the eggs,
into the boiling milk. An excellent dish for children.
Plain Custard.—To 1 quart of cream or new milk, add a
stick of cinnamon, 4 bay leaves, and some mace; boil them
all together a few minutes; then beat well 12 eggs, sweeten
them, and when the milk is cold stir in the eggs, and bake
or boil it till of a proper consistency, and perfectly smooth.
The spice can be omitted, and 4 or 5 bitter almonds used in
its place.
Common Baked Custard.—Mix a quart of new milk with 8
well-beaten eggs, strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and
sweeten it with from 5 to 8 ounces of sugar, according to the
taste; add a small pinch of salt, and pour the custard into a
deep dish, with or without a lining or rim of paste; grate nut
meg or lemon rind over the top, and bake it in a very slow
oven from twenty to thirty minutes, or longer, should it not
be firm in the centre. A custard, if well made, and properly
baked, will be quite smooth when cut, without the honey
coir.bed appearance which a hot oven gives; and there will be
Bo whey in the dish.
New milk, 1 quart; eggs, 8; sugar, 5 to 8 ozs.; salt, one-
quarter salt-spoonful; nutmeg or lemon-grate: baked, slow
oven, 20 to 30 minutes, or more.
A Finer Baked Custard.—Boil together gently, for 5 min
ates a pint and a half >f new milk, a few grains of salt, the


360
MRS. KALI'S NEW COOK BOOK
very thin rind of a lemon, and 6 ounces of loaf sugar stir these boiling, but very gradually to the well-beaten yol» of
10 fresh eggs, and the whites of 4; strain the mixture, am add
to it half a pint of good cream ; let it cool, and then flavor it
with a few spoonsful of brandy, or a little ratafia; finish and
bake it by the directions given for the common custard above:
or pour it into small well-buttered cups, and bake it very
ilowly from 10 to 12 minutes.
Apple or Gooseberry Souffle.—Scald and sweeten the fruit,
beat it through a sieve, and put it into a tart-dish. When
cold pour a rich custard over it, about 2 inches deep; whip the
whites of the eggs, of which the custard was made, to a snow,
and lay it in small rough pieces on the custard; sift fine sugar
over, and put it into a slack oven for a short time. It will
make an exceedingly pretty dish.
Gooseberry-Fool.—Put the fruit into a stone jar, with some
good Lisbon sugar; set the jar on a stove, or in a sauce-pan
of water over the fire; if the former, a large spoonful of water
should be added to the fruit. When it is done enough to pulp,
press it through a cullender; have ready a tea-cupful of new
milk and the same quantity of raw cream boiled together, and
left to be cold; then sweeten pretty well with fine Lisbon
sugar, and mix the pulp by degrees with it.
Or:—Mix equal proportions of gooseberry pulp and custard.
Apple-Fool—May be made as gooseberry, except that when
stewed they should be peeled and pulped.
French Flummery.—Boil 1 ounce and a half of isinglass in
» pint and a half of cream for 10 minutes, stirring it well;
sweeten it with loaf-sugar, flavor with 2 table-spoonsful of
orange-flower water, strain it into a deep dish.
CREAMS
Fruit Creams.—Take half an ounce of isinglass, dissolved in
B little water, then put 1 pint of good cream, sweetened to the
taste; boil it; when nearly cold lay some apricot or raspberry
jam on the bottom of a glass dish, and pour it over. This ia
most excellent.


CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE. 3(51
Burnt Cream.—Set over the fire in a pan 8 ounces of sifted
sugar, stir it, and when it browns, add a quart of cream, and 2
ounces of isinglass; boil and stir till the latter is dissolved, when
sweeten it, and strain it into moulds.
Or, this cream may be made by boiling it without sugar,
adding the yolks of 4 eggs, sweetening and sifting over it in a
dish loaf suga1-. to be browned with a salamander.
Lemon Cream.—Take a pint of cream, add the zest of a lemon
rubbed on sugar; whip it well; add sugar and lemon-juice to
palate. Have half an ounce of isinglass dissolved and cool;
when the cream is thick, which it will be when the lemon-juice
is added, pour in the isinglass, and immediately mould it. A
smaller quantity of isinglass may suffice, but that depends on
the thickness of the cream.
Other flavors may be used, as orange, almond, maraschino.
Or :—Take a pint of thick cream, and put to it the yolks of
2 eggs well beaten, 4 oz. of fine sugar, and the thin rind of a
lemon; boil it up, then stir it till almost cold ; put the juice of
a lemon in a dish or bowl, and pour the cream upon it, stirring
it till quite cold.
Raspberry Cream.—Put 6 ounces of raspberry jam to a
quart of cream, pulp it through a lawn sieve, mix it with the
juice of a lemon and a little sugar, and whisk it till thick.
Serve it in a dish or glasses.
Strawberry Cream.—Pulp 6 ounces of strawberry jam with
a pint of cream through a sieve, add to it the juice of a lemon,
whisk it fast at the edge of,a dish, lay the froth on a sieve, add
a little more juice of lemon, and when no more froth will rise
put the cream into a dish, or into glasses, and place the froth
upon it. well drained.
Pine Apple Cream.—Have some pine apple prepared in
syrup, and cut into small dice, putting it in your cream with a
little of the syrup, the other process as before.
Raspberry and Currant Cream.—Use a pottle of raspberries,
and the juice of a handful of currants, passed through the sieve
with the raspberries', then proceed the same as before, precisely


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Crane Meringuie.—Infuse in a pint of new milk the very thin rind of a lemon, with 4 or 5 hitter almonds bruised. As the quantity should not be reduced, it should be kept by the
side of the fire until strongly flavored, and not be allowed to
boil for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Sweeten it with 3 ounces
of fine sugar in lumps, and when this is dissolved, strain, and mix the milk with half a pint of cream; then stir the whole
gradually to the well-beaten yolks of 6 fresh eggs, and thicken
it like boiled custard. Put it, whenoold, into a deep dish, beat
to a solid froth the whites of 6 eggs, mi: them with 5 table-
spoonsful of pounded and sifted sugar, and spread them evenly
over the custard, which should he set immediately into a mo-
derate oven, baked half an hour, and served directly it is taken
out.
New milk, 1 pint; rind of 1 lemon; bitter almonds, 5;
sugar, 3 ozs.; cream, half pint; yolks of eggs, 6; frothed
whites of eggs, G; sifted sugar, 5 table-spoonsful: baked, half
an hour.
Italian Cream.—Mix 1 pint of rich cream with half pint of
milk; sweeten it to your taste; add 2 gills of Madeira wine;
1 gill of rose water; beat these ingredients thoroughly; dis-
solve in boiling water oz. of isinglass; strain it through a
napkin or sieve, and stir it into the cream; fill the moulds,
and when firm turn out.
Almond Cream.—Boil 1 quart of cream with a grated nut-
meg, a blade or two of mace, a bit of lemon-peel, and sugar
to your taste; then* blanch one-quarter of pound of almonds,
and beat them very fine with a table-spoonful of rose water or
orange flower water; beat well the-whites of 9 eggs and strain
them to the almonds; beat them together and rub them well
through a coarse hair-sieve; mix it with the cream; set it on
thefire, and stir it all one way until it almost boils; pour it
into a bowl and stir it till cold. Put it into cups or glasses
and send it to table.
Crime a La Vanille- -Boil 1 oz. of isinglass in a pint of
milk A>r 10 minutes, taking care it does not stick to the bob
* T» JUanch Almonds, or other Kernels.—Put your almonds into a basin,
and pour vome madding hot water over them, let them lie in it a minute, l.ioa
ruh thou. between a clean cloth, and the brown skins will easily come ou*.


364
KISS, hale's new cook book.
it begins to thicken like custard, but do not let it boil; then
add half pint of very stiff ealve's foot jelly. Strain it through
a napkin ; put in a pan placed on ice, a pint of very rich cream,
flavored or not as you like, and whip it until it looks like
float—pour the cream into another dish, and put the custard
in the pan on the ice; stir it on the ice, with a paddle, until it
becomes thick like jelly; then add the cream very lightly.
The mixture should look like light sponge-cake before it is
baked. A round tin pan must be prepared with sponge cake,
called Ladies' fingers, placed around and at the bottom very
evenly and closely ; pour the charlotte in it, and place it on the
ice till wanted. When wanted put a round dish or plate on it,
and turn it out. The bottom will then be at the top—and no
cake at the bottom.
Cream Hasty.—Take a gallon of milk from the cow, set it
on the fire, and when it begins to rise take it off the fire, skim
off all the cream and put it on a plate, then set the skillet on
the fire again and repeat the skimming till your plate is full
of cream, put to it some orange flower and sugar, and serve it.
Cream au Naturel.—Take some thin cream, mind and let it
be fresh, and put it in a bowl on ice to cool, add to it pow-
dered sugar, and serve it.
Cream, to Keep.—Cream already skimmed may be kept 24
hours if scalded without sugar, and by adding to it as much
powdered lump sugar as will make it sweet, it will keep good
two days in a cool place.
Curds and Cream.—With about half a table-spoonful of
rennet, turn 2 quarts of milk just from the cow; drain off the
whey, and fill a mould with the curd; when it has stood an
hour or two, turn it out. Strew colored comfits over it,
sweeten some cream, mix grated nutmeg with it, and pour it
round the curd.
Curdt and Cream, as in Scotland.—Put 2 quarts of new
milk into the dish in which it is to be served, and turn it with
a tea-spoonful of rennet; when the curd has come, serve it with
cream in a separate dish.


CUSTARDS, CREAM, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE. 3G5
Naples Curd.—Put into a quart of new milk a stick of cin-
Damon, boil it a few minutes, take out the cinnamon, and stir
in eight well-beaten eggs, and a table-spoonful of white wine;
when it boils again, strain it through a sieve; beat the curd in
a basin, together with about half an ounce of butter, 2 tables ■poonsful of orange-flower water, and pounded sugar sufficient
to sweeten it. Put it into a mould for 2 hours before it is
cut to table.
White wine, sugar, and cream, may be mixed together, and
poured round the curd; or, it may be served in a sauce
tureen.
Kerry Butter-Milk.—Put 6 quarts of buttermilk into a
cheese cloth, hang it in a cool place, and let the whey drip
from it for two or three days; when it is rather thick, put it
into a basin, sweeten it with pounded loaf sugar, and add a
glass of brandy, or of sweet wine, and as much raspberry jam,
or syrup, as will color and give it an agreeable flavor. Whisk
it well together, and serve it in a glass dish.
Devonshire Junket.—Put warm milk into a bowl; turn it
with rennet; then put some scalded cream, sugar and nutmeg
on the top without breaking the curd.
Whip Syllabub.—Whip cream, as directed above; mix a
glass of brandy and half a pint of white wine with a pint of the
cream, which sweeten with sifted loaf sugar, and grate in lemon-
peel and nutmeg: serve in glasses, and set some of the whip
on each. Show Balls.—Beat the whites of 6 eggs to a froth; sweeten
them to your taste and flavor them with rose-water. Drop
Iheiu into a pot of boiling water in table-spoonsful for a minute
or me, to harden them. Make a cream of milk, eggs, and
Sugar, to float them in.
A Floating Island.—Take a pint of thick cream, sweeten
whhjine sugar, grate in the peel of one lemon, and add a gill
of sweet white wine; whisk it well till you have raised a good
froth; then pour a pint of thick cream into a china dish, take
one French roll, slice it thin, and lay it over the cream as
Ljhtly as possible; then a layer of clear calves' feet jelly, or 


BOG
MRS. HALES NEW COOK BOOK.
currant jelly; then whip up your cream, and lay on the froth
as high as you can, and what remains pour into the bottom of
the dish. Garnish the rim with sweetmeats.
Floating Island—another way.—Beat together the whites of
three eggs, and as many table-spoonsful of raspberry jam or
red currant jelly; when the whole will stand in rocky forms,
pile it upon apple jelly, or cream, beaten up with wine; sugar,
and a little grated lemon-peel.
To Whip Cream.—Sweeten a bowl of cream with loaf-
sugar, and flavor it with orange-flower water, any juicy fruit,
or lemon or orange, by rubbing sugar on the peel: set another
bowl near the above, with a sieve over it; then whip the
cream with a whisk, and, as it rises in a froth, take it off with
a skimmer, and put it into the sieve to drain; whip also the cream which drains off, and, when done, ornament with lemon-
raspings. This cream may be used before it is set upon cus-
tard, trifle, or syllabub.
A Trifle.—Whip cream, as directed above, adding a little
brandy and sweet wine; then lay in a glass dish sponge cakes,
ratafia cakes, and macaroons, and pour upon them as much
brandy and sweet wine as they will soak up; next, a rich cus-
tard about 2 inches deep, with a little grated nutmeg and
lemon-peel; then a layer of red currant jelly or raspberry
jam, and upon the whole a very high whip. A trifle is best
made the day before it is wanted.
Cake Trifle.—Cut out a rice or diet-bread cake about 2
inches from the edge; fill it with a rich custard, with a few
blanched and split almonds, and pieces of raspberry jam, and
put on the whole a high whip.
Gooseberry or Apple Trifle.—Scald a sufficient quantity of
fruit, and pulp it through a sieve, add sugar agreeable to your
taste, make a thick layer of this at the bottom of your dish;
mix a pint of milk, a pint of cream, and the yolks of 2 eggs,
scald it over the fire, observing to stir it; add a small quan-
tity of sugar, and let it get cold. Then lay it over the applet


CUSTARDS, CREAM, JELLIES, BLANC MiNOE. 367
or gooseberries with a spoon, and put on the whole a whip
made the day before.
If you use apples, add the rind of a lemon grated.
ICES.
Vanilla Ice Cream.—Take 2 quarts of rich cream, and 1
quart of rich milk; put the milk on the fire; cut up a vanilla bean in small pieces, and throw it into the milk, letting it boil
half an hour. Beat up a table-spoonful of flour or powdered
arrow-root in some cold milk, and stir it gradually into the
boiling milk. Beat up 3 eggs well, adding a little cold milk
to them, and pour them into the boiling milk; boil it all
together a few minutes, stirring it all the time. Take it off
the fire and strain it through a fine sieve. Add the 2 quarts
of cream, and 3 lbs. of sugar; stir it till the sugar is dissolved.
When cold put it in the freezer, which should be made of
pewter, though block-tin is often used; place the freezer in a
deep pail, which is partly filled with pounded ice, and sur-
round it with coarse salt and ice in alternate layers. Shake
the freezer by turning the handle all the time. Every ten
minutes open the freezer and cut down the cream as it con-
geals around the sides, beating the cream well each time, also
digging it out from the bottom. A little iron or tin spade
with a strong handle is the best for the purpose.
If the ice is to be kept after it is frozen, the water must be
let off from the bottom of the pail by a hole that is stopped
with a cork, and a woollen cloth put on the top of the freezer
to exclude the air. When the freezer is opened the edges
should be carefully wiped with a towel to prevent the salt
from getting in. When the frozen cream is to be turned out,
apply a cloth wrung out of boiling water to the bottom and
sides of the freezer. When it is well frozen, transfer it to a
mould; surround it with fresh salt and ice, and then freeze it
over again. If you wish to flavor it with lemon instead of
vanilla, take a large lump of sugar before you powder it, and
rub it on the outside of a large lemon till the yellow is all
rubbed off upon the sugar. Then, when the sugar is all pow-
dered, mix with it the juice. Do the same for orange.
For strawberry ice cream, mix with the powdered sugar t.ha
luice of a quart of ripe strawberries squeezed through a linen bag.


368
MRS HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Strawberry Ice-Cream, {excellent).—Pass a pint of picked
strawberries through a sieve with a wooden spoon, add 4 ozs -
of powdered sugar, and a pint of cream, and freeze.
Pine Apple Ice Cream.—Pare a ripe juicy pine apple, chop
it up fine, and pound it to extract the juice. Cover it with
sugar and let it lie a while in a china bowl. When the sugar
has entirely melted, strain the juice into a quart of good cream,
and add a little less than a pound of loaf sugar. Beat up the
cream and freeze it in the same manner as common ice cream.
Currant Ice Cream.—Put one large spoonful and a half of
currant jelly into a basin with half a gill of syrup, squeeze in
one lemon and a half, add a pint of cream and a little cochineal,
then pass it through a sieve and finish in the general way.
Brown Bread Ice.—One pint of cream, sweeten with thick
syrup, a little grating of nutmeg, a glass of jelly, have ready
some very fine bread crumbs made from brown bread four
days old, to be sprinkled by degrees into the cream when
about half frozen, add jelly if you have it.
Ginger Cream Ice.—Make half a pint of good custard, boil-
ing an ounce of the best ground ginger, sweeten it, add half a
pint of cream, a little lemon juice, put into it when half frozen
two ounce* of preserved ginger cut in small dice; go on as for
former ices.
Fine Cochineal Coloring.—Pound 1 ounce of cochineal, put
it in 1 pint of water, with 1 ounce of roach alum, 1 ounce of
cream of tartar,—when all are boiled, add 1 ounce of salts of
wormwood, and the juice of 3 lemons, and 3 gills of spirits of
wire. Bottle it closely.
Water I-es—Are made with the juice of the orange, lemon,
raspberry, c r any other sort of fruit, sweetened and mixed with
water. To make orange-water ice, mix with 1 pint of water
the strained juice of 3 fine oranges, and that of 1 lemon. Rub
some fine sugar on the peel of the orange, to give it the flavor.
Make it very sweet and freeze it. Lemon ice is made in the same manner.


CUSTARDS, CREAMS. JELLIES, 3LANC MAN3E.
369
Orange- Water Ice.—Take as many oranges as will be neces-
sary, cut them in half, press the juice from them; take the
ulp carefully from the rind, and put it in a bowl, pour a little
oiling water on it, stir it well and strain it through a sieve;
mix this with the orange-juice, and stir in as much sugar as
will make a rich syrup. If the oranges are fine, rub some of
the sugar on the peel to extract the essence. Freeze it like
(Re-cream.
Water Ices, generally.—If made from jams, you must rub
them through a sieve, adding thick boiled syrup, and lemon-
juice, and some jelly, and coloring if for pink, and the white of
an egg whipt up before you add it to the best half of a pint of
spring water; if of jam, you must have a good pint of mix-
ture in all to make a quart mould; if from fruits with syrup
you will not require water
Currant Fresh Water Ice.—Pass through a sieve a pint of
currants, then add to them four ounces of powdered sugar and
one pint of water, strain it and freeze it rich.
Red Currant Water Ice.—Use either the syrup from cur-
rants, or currant jelly dissolved, and half a pint of barley
water, always cold, use a little lemon juice, the rest as for
former ices.
White Currant Water Ice.—Press half a pint of juice from
the white currants, strain them, add sufficient thick syrup to
sweeten it, and a cup of barley water, or spring water, beat up
the white of an egg, and put into it a glass of jelly if you ha
it, a little boiled isinglass, and freeze as before; these ices will,
both pink and white, look well together.
Lemon Water Ice.—Rub on sugar the clean rinds of lemons,
squeeze the juice of twelve lemons, strain them, boil the sugar into a strong thick syrup, add to the juice half a pint of water,
or good barley water, sweeten it with your syrup, add the
white of an egg and jelly.
Roman Punch.—To make 1 gallon, take 1 pint and a half
of the best brandy, 1 pint and a half of the best rum, 3 gills of
good Madeira or sherry, 1 pound of loaf sugar, and G lemons;
•23


370
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
nib 4 of the lemons on the sugar, and then mix as YOU would
for punch, with 2 and a half quarts of water; freeze it as ice-
cream is frozen.
JELLIES.
It is a complaint amongst even experienced house-keeper*
that they cannot feel a certainty of having jelly clear; but by
strictly attending to the following method for making calf's-
foot jelly, they can scarcely fail to have it beautifully bright.
Feet for all jellies are boiled so long by the people who sell
them that they are less nutritious: they should be procured
from the butcher and only scalded to take off the hair. The
liquor will require greater care in removing the fat; but the
jelly will be far stronger. A little isinglass, half an ounce to
a quart of stock, may be used to secure the firmness, particu-
larly in summer. In peeling lemons, care should be taken not
to cut below the color, as by so doing a great deal of the fla-
vor of the essential oil is lost, and the white part gives a dis-
agreeable flavor. The stock should be measured when set to
get cold, as the exact quantity cannot be measured when it is set.
Jelly is equally good made of cow-heels nicely cleaned.
Calfs-feet Jelly.—Take 1 set of calfs-feet nicely cleaned,
and boil them in 3 quarts of water, until the meat drops from
the bones. Strain it and set it away to cool. When per-
fectly cold, skim off the fat carefully, then put it into a kettle,
which must be entirely free from grease, and add 1 pint of
white wine, half pound of loaf sugar, the juice of 2 lemons, and
the whites of 5 eggs beaten light. Boil it over a brisk fire;
examine it with a spoon, and when the particles begin to se-
parate and look clear, take it off; pass it through a sieve into
a flannel-bag, and let it drip till it clears. If it does not clear
on straining it, boil it up again. The feet after having been
boiled first should stand all night for the fat to congeal; it is
then more effectually removed. This is essential, for if the
least fat remains it will not clear.
Orange Calfs-feet Jelly.—To a pint and a half of firm calf' s-
feet jelly, put a pint of strained orange-juice, mixed with that of 1 or 2 lemons; add to these 6 ounces of sugar, broken 


CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE.
371
small, the very thm rinds of 3 oranges and of 1 lemon, and the
whites of 6 eggs with half the shells crushed small. Stir these
gently over a clear fire until the head of scum begins to form,
but not at all afterwards. Simmer the jelly for 10 minutea
from the first full boil; take it from the fire, let it stand a
little, then pour it through a jelly-bag until perfectly clear.
This is an original, and entirely new receipt, which we can re-
commend to the reader, the jelly being very pale, beautifully
transparent, and delicate in flavor: it would, we think, be pe-
culiarly acceptable to such invalids as are forbidden to take
wine in any form.
The proportions both of sugar and of lemon-juice must be
somewhat varied according to the season in which the oranges
are used.
Strong calPs-feet jelly pint; strained orange-juice, mixed
with a small portion of lemon-juice, 1 pint; sugar, 6 ozs.;
rinds of oranges, 3; of lemon, 1: 10 minutes.
Obs.—A small pinch of isinglass thrown into the jelly when
it begins to boil will much assist to clear it. When the flavor
of Seville oranges is liked, 2 or 3 can be used with the sweet
ones.' Obs.—Lemon, strawberry, raspberry and other calfs-feet
jellies are made like the orange—only requiring more or less
sugar, according to the fruit used.
To Clarify Isinglass.—Take 2 ounces of isinglass, pour on it
a pint of spring water'which has been mixed with a tea-spoon
fui of beaten white of egg and a table-spoonful of lemon-juice.
Stir them thoroughly together, and let them heat slowly,
taking care the isinglass does not stick to the bottom of the pan; simmer a few minutes, clear off the scum till no more
appears; strain it through muslin, and set it by for use: it
will be transparent, and may be warmed and mixed with the
clear juice of any kind of fruit already sweetened, or with syrup in jellies flavored with liqueur. As a portion of the
isinglass is taken up by the white of egg, a quarter to each oz.
should be allowed for this. The finest sort of isinglass, which
should be white and without any smell, does not require to be
clarified, excepting for clear jellies; for all other purposes it
is enough to dissolve and skim it, and to pass it through a
strainer. A great variety of excellent jellies may be made


MRS. HALB'B NEW COOK BOOK.
with clarified isinglass and the juice or syrup of almost any
kind of fresh fruit, the color of which is best preserved by
mashing it lightly and strewing pounded sugar over it, letting
it stand 3 or 4 hours for the juice to drain off; pour a little water
over, and use the juice without boiling. This can only be done
when fruit is plentiful, as it requires double the quantity. It is
also a great improvement to these jellies to put the moulds
into ice 3 or 4 hours before serving them.
Strawbei -y Isinglass Jelly.—A great variety of equally ele-
gant and excellent jellies for the table may be made with clari-
fied isinglass, clear syrup, and the juice of almost any kind of
fresh fruit; but as the process of making them is nearly the
same for all, we shall limit our receipts to one or two, which
will serve to direct the makers for the rest. Boil together
quickly for 15 minutes 1 pint of water and three-quarters of a
pound of very good sugar; measure a quart of ripe richly-fla-
vored strawberries without their stalks; the scarlet answer
best from the color which they give; on these pour the boiling
* syrup, and let them stand all night. The next day clarify 2
ounces and a half of isinglass in a pint of water, as directed at
the beginning of this chapter; drain the syrup from the straw-
berries very closely, add to it 2 or 3 table-spoonsful of red
currant juice, and the clear juice of 1 large or of 2 small lemons;
and when the isinglass is nearly cold mix the whole, and put
it into moulds. The French, who excel in these fruit-jellies,
always mix the separate ingredients when they are almost cold;
and they also place them over ice for an, hour or so after they
are moulded, which is a great advantage, as they then require
less isinglass, and are in consequence much more delicate.
When the fruit abounds, instead of throwing it into the syrup,
bruise lightly from 3 to 4 pints, throw 2 table-spoonsful of su-
gar over it, and let the juice flow from it for an hour or 2;
then pour a little water over, and use the juice without boiling,
which will give a jelly of finer favor than the other.
Water, 1 pint; sugar, three-fourths of a pound: 15 minutes.
Strawberries, 1 quart; isinglass, 2 ounces and a half; water,
1 pint (white of an egg 1 to 2 tea-spoonsful); juice, 1 large or
2 small lemons.
Obs.—The juice of any fruit mixed with sufficient sugar to
sweeten, and of isinglass to stiffen it, with as much lemon-juice
»s will take off the insipidity of the flavor, will serve for thin


CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, BLANC MANGE. 3
kind of jelly. Pineapples, peaches, and such other fruits as do
not yield much juice, must be infused in a larger quantity of
syrup, which must then be used in lieu of it.
Orangeand Lemon Jellies.—Simmer in a pint of water, 1
ounce and a half of isinglass, the rind of an orange and a lemon,
cut thin, and 4 ounces of loaf sugar, till the isinglass is dis-
solved; add to it the juice of 2 sour oranges, 1 lemon, and of
sweet oranges enough to make a pint of mixture, simmer a few
minutes longer, and strain it through a lawn sieve; let it stand
half an hour in a cold place, and then pour it into the mould.
Or :—Put into a stew-pan 1 quart of good stock, 1 ounce of
isinglass, the thinly-pared rinds of two sour oranges, 2 sweet
oranges, and 2 lemons; the juice of 3 of each, and half a pound
of loaf sugar; boil the whole 20 minutes, run it through a jelly-
bag, and pour into moulds.
Lemon jelly is made as above.
These jellies are served, garnished with very thin slices of
oranges or lemons.
Wine. Je.llv.—Take 1 ounce and a half of isinglass, and soak
\* for 5 minutes in cold water; pour off the water; dissolve
the isinglass in 2 quarts of boiling water; let it cool a little,
>>nd add 1 pound of sugar, a little cinnamon, the juice of 3
lemons, the peel of 2 lemons, 1 quart of wine, and the whites
of 3 eggs. Stir all well together; boil it 1 minute; strain it
while hot through a jelly-bag.
Blanc Mange.—Boil 1 ounce of isinglass, 3 ounces of sweet
and 6 bitter almonds, well pounded in a quart of milk; let it
boil until the isinglass is dissolved; then sweeten it, stir it
until nearly cold, and put it into the mould.
Or:—To a pint of new milk and as much cream, add 1 oz.
and a half of the best isinglass, a large handful of sweet and
bitter almonds pounded in 'a mortar and moistened with water,
3 oz. of fine sugar, and 2 bay or peach leaves. Boil the whole
until the isinglass is dissolved, then strain it into a basin, let it
stand until it is cold, turn it out and take off the sediment,
*arm it up again, flavor it with a little orange-flower wa-
ter, stir it until it is nearly cold, and ther put it into the
mould.


374 x&a. hale's new cook book.
Observe, to wash the isinglass in cold water before it !s put
to the milk, and soak the moulds in cold water some hours
before they are used.
Blanc Mange—another way.—To 1 ounce of isinglass, put
a pint of "rater, boil it till the isinglass is melted, with a bit of
cinnamor I put to it three-quarters of a pint of cream, 2 ounces
of sweet Almonds, 6 bitter ones, blanched and beaten, a bit cf lemon p d, sweeten it, stir it over the fire, let it boil, strain
and let *-. cool, squeeze in the juice of a lemon, and put into
moulds; garnish to your fancy.
Calf's Feet Blanc Mange.—Boil 1 set of calf' s feet in 4
or 5 quarts of water, without any salt. When the liquor is reduced to 1 quart, strain and mix it with 1 quart of milk,
several sticks of cinnamon, or a vanilla bean. Boil the whole
15 minutes, sweeten it to the taste with white sugar, strain it,
and fill your moulds with it.
American Blanc Mange.—Mix 2 oz. of arrow-root in half a
pint of cold water; let it settle for a quarter of an hour; pour
off the water and add a table-spoonful of orange or rose water;
sweeten 1 quart of new milk; boil it with a bit of cinnamon,
half the peel of a lemon, and 4 laurel or bay leaves; pour the
boiling milk upon the arrow-root, stirring it all the time: put
it into the mould and turn it out the following day.
Jaumange, or Jaunt Manger.—Pour on the very thin rind of
a large lemon, and half a pound of sugar broken small, a pint
of water, and keep them stirred over a gentle fire until they
have simmered for 3 or 4 minutes, then leave the sauce-pan by
the side of the stove, that the syrup may taste well of the
lemon. In 10 or 15 minutes afterwards add 2 ounces of isin-
glass, and stir the mixture often until this is dissolved, then
throw in the strained juice of 4 sound, moderate-sized lemons,
and a pint of sherry; mix the whole briskly with the beaten yolks of 8 fresh eggs, and then pass it through a delicately
clean hair-sieve: next thicken it in a jar or jug placed in a pan
of boiling water, turn it into a bowl, and when it has become
cool, and been allowed to settle for a minute or two, pour it
into moulds which have been laid in water.
Rind of 1 lemon; sugar, 8 oz.; water, 1 pint: 3 or 4 minutes.
Isinglass, 2 oz.; juice, 4 lemons; yolks of 8 eggs; wire, 1 pint.


CHAPTER XXVI.
PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES, MARMALADE.
General Directions—To Clarify Sugar—To Preserve Straw-
berries—Raspberries—Damsons—Plums—Gooseberries—Al-
viuck's Preserve — Peaches — Pines —Quinces —Ginger —
A pples—Pears— Chestnuts—Melons — Pumpkin — Arms—
Raspberry— Currant— Grape, tic.—Marmalades — Plum
Cheese—Compotes Currant Jelly—Orange or Bottled Fruit
—frosted—Candied Lemon Drops—Nongat, Toffie Color-
ing, dec.
A FEW GENERAL RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING.
1. Let every thing used for the purpose be delicately clean
and dry; bottles especially so.
2. Never place a preserving-pan flat upon the fire, as this
will render the preserve liable to burn to, as it is called; that
is to say, to adhere closely to the metal, and then to burn; it
should rest always on a trevet, or on the lowered bar of the kitchen range.
3. After the sugar is added to them, stir the preserves
gently at first, and more quickly towards the end, without
quitting them until they are done; this precaution will always
prevent the chance of their being spoiled.
4. All preserves should be perfectly cleared from the scum
as it rises.
5. Fruit which is to be preserved in syrup must first be
blanched or boiled gently, until it is sufficiently softened to
absorb the sugar; and a thin syrup must be poured on it at
tirst, or it will shrivel instead of remaining plump, and becom-
ing clear. Thus, if its weight of sugar is to be allowed, and
375


376
MRS. HALS'3 NEW COOK BOOK.
boiled to a syrup with a pint of water to the pound, only half
the weight must be taken at first, and this must not be boiled
with the water more than 15 or 20 minutes at the commence-
ment of the process; apart of the remaining sugar must be
added every time the syrup is reboiled, unless ;t should be
otherwise directed in the receipt.
6. To preserve both the true flavor and the color of fruit in
jams and jellies, boil them rapidly until they are well reduced,
before the sugar is added, and quickly afterwards, but do not
allow them to become so much thickened that the sugar will
not dissolve in them easily, and throw up its scum. In some
seasons, the juice is so much richer than in others, that this
effect takes place almost before one is aware of it; but the
drop which adheres to the skimmer, when it is held up, will
show the state it has reached.
7. Never use tin, iron, or pewter spoons, or skimmers for
preserves, as they will convert the color of red fruit into a
dingy purple, and impart, besides, a very unpleasant flavor.
8. When cheap jams or jellies are required, make them at
once with loaf sugar, but use that which is well refined always,
for preserves in general; it is a false economy to purchase an
inferior kind, as there is great waste from it in the quantity of
scum which it throws up.
9. Pans of copper or bell-metal are the proper utensils for
preserving fruit: when used, they must be scoured bright with
sand. Tinned pans turn and destroy the color of the fruit that
is put into them. There is now a new sort of stew-pan made
of iron coated with earthenware, which is very nice for pre-
serving.
To Clarify Sugar.—Take the finest kind, break it into large
lumps, and put it into a preserving-pan. If for syrup, add a
pint of cold water to each pound; if for candying, a couple of
wineglassfuls to the pound will be sufficient. Beat the white
of an egg, add it to the water, mix it well, and pour it over
the sugar; 1 egg is enough for 12 lbs. of sugar, if it is fine, or
2 if it is coarse. When the sugar is nearly melted, stir it well,
and put it over a gentle fire; do not stir it after the scum be-
gins to rise; let it boil 5 minutes, then take it off the fire, let
it stand a minute or two, then take the scum carefully off; put
the pan again on the fire, and when the syrup begins to boil
throw in a little cold water, which should be kept back fcr the


378
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
summer in a cold dry cellar. The jars must be heated before the hot fruit is poured in, otherwise they will break.
To Preserve Raspberries whole.—Take 5 quarts of raspber
ries, and cull from them about 3 pints of the largest and
firmest, at i set them aside ; put the remainder in the preserv-
ing-pin, and put them on the fire to extract the juice. When
they are boiled enough, let them cool, and then strain them
through a cloth. While they are cooling, boil up the sugar i.i
the proportion of 1 lb. to 1 quart of the fruit, and when you
have removed the scum, and it is a good syrup, throw in your
whole raspberries: let them boil rapidly a few minutes, but
be careful they do not fall to pieces or become ragged. Take
them out with a skimmer full of holes, and spread them over
a large dish to cool; then throw into the syrup the juice of
those you have previously boiled, and let it boil till it is nearly
a jelly; throw in again the whole fruit, and give it a smart
boil: then put it in your jars hot, and do not cover them till
cold.
To Preserve Damsons.—To every pound of damsons allow
three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar; put into jars or
well-glazed earthen pots, alternately a layer of damsons, and
one of sugar; tie strong paper or cloth over the pots, and set
them in the oven after the bread is drawn, and let them stand
till the oven is cold. The next day strain oif the syrup, and
boil it till thick; when it is cold, put the damsons into small
jars or glasses, pour over the syrup, which should cover them,
and tie a wet bladder or strong cloth over them.
Magnum Bonum Plums.—Gather the plums with stalks;
scald them in boiling water, and take off the skins, leaving on the
stalks. If not quite ripe, they will require to be simmered a
few minutes over a stove; to every pound of fruit, allow one
of fine loaf sugar; clarify it, and when nearly boiled, candy
high, put in the plums, and boil them nearly fifteen minutes ,
with a spoon carefully put them into a basin, and let them
stand a day or two; then boil them ten minutes, or till per-
fectly transparent; put them into the jars; strain the syrup
through a sieve, and pour it equally over them.
To Preserve Greengages.—Pick and prick all the plums;


PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES, MARMALADE. 379
put them into a preserving-pan with cold water enough to
cover them. Let them remain on the fire until the water sim
mers well ; then take off, and allow them to stand until half
cold, putting the plums to drain. To every lb. of plums allow
1 lb. of sugar, which must be boiled in the water from which
the plums have been taken ; let it boil very fast until the syrup
drops short from the spoon, skimming carefully all the time.
When the sugar is sufficiently boiled put in the plums, and
allow them to boil until the sugar covers the pan with large bubbles. Then pour the whole into a pan, and let them remain
until the following day. Drain the syrup from the plums as
dry as possible, boil it up quickly,and pour it over the plums:
then set them by; do this a third and a fourth time. On the
fifth day, when the syrup is boiled, put the plums into it, and
let them boil for a few minutes; then put them into jars.
Should the greengages be over ripe, it will be better to make
jam of them, using three-fourths of a lb. of sugar to 1 lb. of
fruit. Warm the jars before putting the sweetmeats in, and be
careful not to boil the sugar to a candy.
To Preserve Gooseberries.—Take the rough-skinned fruit
when quite dry, with rather more than their weight of sugar pounded fine ; lay a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar till all
are in the pan; add a tea-spoonful of water, and bcil the fruit
quickly until it is clear; take it out and put it into jars; boil
up the syrup until it is thick, then pour it over the fruit.—
When cold, cover it closely.
Almack's Preserve.—Take different kinds of fruit, stone the
plums and slice the apples and pears; put them in alternate
layers in a jar ; set them in the oven until they are quite soft;
then pass the pulp through a coarse sieve, and to every lb. of
fruit put a lb. of moist sugar, set it over a slow fire and stir it
till very thick, then put it into a wide shallow pot, and cut it
in slices for use. Windfalls may be employed for this sort of
sweetmeats.
An Economical way of Preserving Peaches whale.—To 15 lbs.
of cling-st->ne peaches take 1\ lbs. of loaf sugar; put 2 or A
quarts of water in the kettle with 1 tea-spoonful of pearl-ash
to destroy the skins of the fruit. When the water is hot,
throw in a few peaches, and let them remain a few minutes;


380
MRS. HALE' S NEW COOK BOOK.
take them out and wipe off the skins with a coarse towel, and
then throw them into cold water. Take half the sugar with as
little water as possible to dissolve it; then put in a layer of
peaches, and let them boil from 20 to 30 minutes. Take
them out on a flat dish to cool. After 2 or 3 layers have been
boiled in this way the syrup will increase; by degrees add
the rest of the sugar. When all are done, boil the syrup until it becomes a little thick, then add while in the kettle
half a pint of alcohol, which will cool and thicken it sufficiently
to put on the peaches, which should be ready in your jars; do
not cover them until the next day. They will not have the
least taste of the alcohol, and are a very fine preserve.
To Preserve Peaches.—The clear-stone yellow peaches, white
at the stone, are the best. Weigh the fruit after it is pared.
To each pound of fruit allow a pound of loaf sugar. Put a
layer of sugar at the bottom of the preserving kettle, and then
a layer of fruit and so on until the fruit is all in. Stand it
over hot ashes until the sugar is entirely dissolved; then boil
them until they are clear; take them out piece by piece, and
spread them on a dish free from syrup. Boil the syrup in the
pan until it jellies; when the peaches are cold, fill the jars half
full with them, and fill up with the boiling syrup. Let them
stand a short time covered with a thin cloth, then put on brandy
paper, and cover them close with corks, skin, or paper. From
20 to 30 minutes will generally be sufficient to preserve them.
BrandyPeaches.—(American Recipe.) —Take 4 lbs. of ripepeaches, 2 lbs. powdered loaf sugar. Put the fruit over the
fire in cold water—simmer, but not boil, till the skins will rub
off easily. Stone them, if liked. Put the sugar and fruit in
alternate layers in the jars, t:!l filled; then pour in white
brandy, and cover the whole. Cork tightly.
Brandy Peaches.—To 6 lbs. of the fruit peeled put 3 lbs. of
loaf sugar and 3 pints of white French brandy. Put them iu
a jar tightly corked, and boil till soft in a kettle of hot water.
The water should reach to the top, but not over the top of
the jar.
To Preserve Pine-Apples.—Slice the pine-apples rather
thinner to preserve than to eat—and take i lb. o»" loaf sugar


PRESERVES, JELLIES, FRUIT, MARMALADE. 3S1
to 1 lb. of fruit; powder the sugar, and place in the kettlo
alternately a layer of pine-apple and a layer of fruit. To
each pound of fruit put 3 table-spoonsful of water. Let it re-
main over a slow fire until the sugar is all melted; then boil
it slowly until the fruit looks clear; take out the fruit piece
by piece, and lay them on a dish, until the syrup is boiled
nearly to a jelly. Put the fruit in jars, and pour on the
syrup hot. After putting on brandy papers, cover the jars
with paper and paste it on, which secures their keeping, and
preserves the flavor of the pine-apple.
To Preserve Quinces.—Peel the quinces and clear the cores
out well, saving all the seeds. Wash the peelings well and
put them on to boil; let them boil until the water partakes
strongly of the flavor of the quinces; put the seeds in a linen
bag and boil them with the parings. Put the quinces in a
separate pan, and let them boil until almost tender. Strain all
the quince water, put 1 pint of the water to each pound of
fruit and sugar; boil the quinces until they are quite clear;
then put them on dishes cleared from the syrup. Boil the
syrup till it jellies with the bag of seeds, from which the sub-
stance should be pressed in the jelly.
It is well to add 2 or 3 pints of quince water, and 2 or 3
lbs. of sugar more than is required for the fruit, for floating
islands, &c.
To Preserve Green Ginger.—For two weeks put the ginger
every night and morning in fresh boiling water, 'fake off the
outside skin with a sharp knife; boil it in water till it is quite
tender; slice it thin; prepare a syrup of 1 lb. of sugar to half
pint of water; clarify it, and then put the ginger in to it. Boil
it until it is clear.
Apples Preserved Whole.—Make a syrup of loaf sugar—al-
owing a pound of pleasant sour apples to a pound of sugar.
Be very particular in skimming it until it is quite clear. The apples should be pared very nicely and their corps extracted,
with an instrument made for the purpose, before they are
weighed. Boil the apples in as much water as will cover them
until they become soft, but take cure that they do not com-
mence to break. Those that cook first should be removed on
ft strainer until they are all tender. Squeeze tbe juice of ]


382
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
large lemon for every pound of loaf sugar. Pare off the lemon
peel if possible without breaking it—boil the juice and the peei
in the same water that has boiled the apples. Pour in the
syrup as soon as the lemon-peel is tender, and boil it 10
minutes, or till it is a strong syrup. The apples which have
been cooling on a dish should then be gently put in jars and
the hot syrup poured on them. Tie up the jars and do not
open them for a fortnight.
Preserved Apples—another way.—Weigh equal quantities
of good brown sugar and of apples; peel, core, and mince
them small. Boil the sugar, allowing to every 3 pounds a
pint of water; skim it well, and boil it pretty thick; then add
the apples, the grated peel of one or two lemons, and two or
three pieces of white ginger; boil till the apples fall, and look,
clear and yellow.
Obs.—If a very nice preserve is wanted, use loaf-sugar, then
the apples will look delicately white.
Crab Apples.—Make a syrup, allowing the same weight of
sugar as apples. Let it cool, then put in the apples, a few at
once, so that they will not crowd, and break to pieces. Boil
them till they begin to break, then take them out of the kettle.
Boil the syrup in the course of 3 or 4 days, and turn it while
hot on to the apples. This continue to do at intervals of 2 or
3 days, till the apples appear to be thoroughly preserved.
To Preserve Pears.—Pare them very thin, and simmer in a
thin syrup; let them lie a day or two. Make the syrup richer,
and simmer again, and repeat this till they are clear; then
drain and dry them in the sun or a cool oven a very little
time. They may be kept in syrup, and dried as wanted, which
I lakes them more moist and rich.
To Bake Pears.— Wipe some large sound iron pears, arrange
them on a dish with the stalk end upwards, put them into the
oven after the bread is drawn, and let them remain all night.
If well baked they will be excellent, very sweet, and juicy, and
much finer in flavor than those which are stewed or baked with
sugar. The bon chretien pear also is delicious baked thus.


PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES, MARMALADE. 383
To Stew Pears.—Pare and halve or quarter large pears,
according ti their size; throw them into water, as the skin i»
taken off, before they are divided, to prevent their turning
black. Pack them round a block-tin stew-pan, and sprinkle
a3 much sugar over as will make them pretty sweet, and add
lemon-peel, a clove or two, and some allspice cracked; just
cover them with water, and add a little red wine. Cover them
close and stew 3 or 4 hours; when tender, take them out, and
strain the liquor over them.
Boiled Chestnuts.—Make a slight incision in the outer skin
only of each chestnut, to prevent its bursting, and when all are
done, throw them into plenty of boiling water, with about a
dessert-spoonful of salt to the half gallon. Some chestnuts
will require to be boiled nearly or quite an hour, others little
more than half the time; the cook should try them occasion ally, and as soon as they are soft through, drain them, wipe
them in a coarse cloth, and send them to table quickly in a
hot napkin.
Roasted Chestnuts.—The best mode of preparing these is to
roast them, as in Spain, in a coffee-roaster, after having first
boiled them from 5 to 7 minutes, and wiped them dry. They
should not be allowed to coo', and will require but from 10 to
15 minutes roasting. They may, when more convenient, be
finished over the fire as usual, or in a Dutch or common oven,
but in all cases the previous boiling will be found an improve-
ment.
Never omit to cut the rind of each nut slightly before it is
cooked. Serve the chestnuts very hot in a napkin, and send
salt to table with them.
To Preserve a Melon Whole.—Scrape off the thin outside
skin, make B hole in the top, take out the seeds; then throw
the melon into water, and after it has remained 12 hours take
it out and put it into a preserving-pan with a large piece of
loaf-sugar and as much water as will cover it; then cover the
pan closely, and let it remain for an hour on a very slow fire.
Repeat this process 3 times, on 3 successive days, taking care
not to allow it to boil; make a thin syrup, drain the melon
carefully out of the liquor, and put it into the syrup, set it over
a slow fire, closely covered for half an hour every day for 3 ens a-


384
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
ing days, on the last day boiling the syrup until it is very rich,
with the rind of one, and the juice of two lemons. To improve
the flavor of a melon, take it when nearly ripe, cut out so much
of the large end as to permit the scooping out of the seeds;
then fill up the hollow with water and sugar, or white wire ;
close the top, put the melon in a net exposed to the sun for as
many days as it remains good. A water-melon will thus
acquire a fine flavor; but a musk-melon requires no improve-
ment.
Or:—Take a melon, cut it into pieces as for eating, trim
off the outer rind, freely dust it over with fine sugar, and 12
hours after put it in a preserving-pan with sufficient syrup to
cover it; boil it gently until tender, repeat the boiling for 3 suc-
cessive days, when the syrup should be thick.
To Preserve Water Melon Rind and Citrons.—Pare off the
green skin, cut the water melon rind into pieces. Weigh the
pieces, and allow to each pound a pound and a half of loaf
sugar. Line your kettle with green vine leaves, and put in
the pieces without the sugar. A layer of vine leaves must
cover each layer of melon rind. Pour in water to cover the
whole, and place a thick cloth over the kettle. Simmer the
fruit for 2 hours after scattering a few bits of alum amongst it.
Spread the melon rind on a dish to cool. Melt the sugar,
using a pint of water to a pound and a half of sugar, and mix
with it some beaten white of egg, Boil and skim the sugar.
When quite clear, put in the rind, and let it boil 2 hours;
take out the rind, boil up the syrup again and pour it over the
rind, and let it remain all night. The next morning boil the
syrup with lemon juice, allowing one lemon to a quart of
syrup. When it is thick enough to hang in a drop from the
point of a spoon, it is done. Put the rind in jars, and pc jr
over it the syrup. It is not fit for use immediately.
Citrons may be preserved in the same manner, first paring
oft* the outer skin, and cutting them into quarters. Also green
limes.
To Preserve Pumpkins."—Choose a thick yellow pumpkin
which is sweet; pare, take out the seeds, and cut the thick
part into any form you choose—round, square, egg-shaped,
stars, wheels, &c.; weigh it; put it into a stone jar or deep
dish, and place it in a pot of water to boil, till the pumpkin is so 


PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES. MARMALADE. ggj
MARMALADES.
Apricot.—Gather the fruit before it is too ripe, stone and
blanch the kernels. To every pound of fruit take three-quar-
ters of pound of fine loaf sugar; break the sugar into lumps,
dip the lumps in water, allow them to dissolve, put it over a
clear fire, and let it boil to a candy; then pound and sift it;
pare the fruit, cut it into thin slices, put them with the sugar
over a slow fire, let it simmer till clear, but do not boil it;
add the kernels, and then put the marmalade into jars.
Or:—Boil ripe apricots in syrup until they will mash; beat
them in a mortar; take half their weight in loaf sugar, and
sufficient water to dissolve it; boil all together, and skim until
it is clear, and the syrup thick like fine jelly.
Apple.—Pare and core some green pippins, and boil in
water till quite soft; break them gently with the back of a
spoon; strain the water through a jelly-bag till quite clear;
then to every pint of the fruit put 1 lb. of double-refined sugar,
the peel and juice of a lemon, and boil to a strong syrup.
Drain off the syrup from the fruit, and pour the apple-jelly
over it, and simmer the whole until it becomes thick. Cover
with paper.
Common moist sugar is sometimes employed for family use.
Quince.—Pare and quarter the fruit, put it in layers in a
stone jar with sugar sprinkled between each; add a tea-cupful
of water, and bake it in a cool oven. Have a quantity of
sugar equal in weight to the fruit; allow 1 quart of water to
every 4 lbs.; boil the sugar and water together, skimming it
well. When the quinces are soft add them, with a quart of
the juice which will be found in the jar: boil them in the
syrup, beating it with a spoon until the marmalade is quite
smooth.
Peach Marmalade.—The fruit for this preserve, which is a
very delicious one, should be finely flavored, and quite ripe,
though perfectly sound. Pare, stone, weigh, and boil it quickly
for three-quarters of an hour, and do not fail to stir it often
during the time; draw it from the fire, and mix with it 10
ounces of well-refined sugar, rolled or beaten to powder, for 


388
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
each pound of the peaches; clear it carefully from scum, and
boil it briskly for 5 minutes; throw in the strained juice of 1 or 2 good lemons; continue the boiling for 3 minutes only, and
pour out the marmalade. Two minutes after the sugar is
stirred to the fruit, add the blanched kernels of part of the
peaches.
Peaches, stoned and pared, 4 lbs.: three-quarters of an hour.
Sugar, 2i lbs.; 2 minutes. Blanched peach-kernels; 3 mi.
nates. Juice of 2 small lemons; 3 minutes.
Obs.—This jam, like most others, is improved by pressing
the fruit through a sieve after it has been partially boiled.
Nothing can be finer than its flavor, which would be injured
by adding the sugar at first; and a larger proportion renders
it cloyingly sweet. Nectarines and peaches mixed, make au
admirable preserve.
Greengage Marmalade.—When the plums are thoroughly
ripe, take off the skins, weigh, and boil them quickly without
sugar for 50 minutes, keeping them well stirred ; then to every
4 lbs. add 3 of good sugar reduced quite to powder, boil the
preserve from 5 to 8 minutes longer, and clear off the scum
perfectly before it is poured into the jars. When the flesh of
the fruit will not separate easily from the stones, weigh and
throw the plums whole into the preserving-pan, boil them to a
pulp, pass them through a sieve, and deduct the weight of the
stones from them when apportioning the sugar to the jam.
The Orleans plum may be substituted for greengages, in this
receipt.
Greengages, stoned and skinned, 6 lbs.; 50 minutes. Sugar,
4J lbs.; 5 to 8 minutes.
Orange Marmalade. — Scottish method.—Weigh an equal
quantity of Seville oranges and loaf sugar; cut the oranges
into halves, take out the pulp, and put the rinds into cold
water; boil them till tender, changing the water once or twice,
and when cold, remove the white from the peel; mash the
orange pulp, and squeeze it through a cloth, adding a little
'enter the second time of squeezing; then shred the peel finely,
ti *& the juice and sugar, and boil 20 minutes over a slow fire.
J? -mson or Plum Cheese.—Bake the fruit in a stone jar, with


f 90 MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Compote of Green Apricots.—Wipe the down from a pound
of quite young apricots, and stew them very gently fcr nearly
20 minutes in syrup made with 8 ounces of sugar and three
quarters of a pint of water, boiled together the usual time.
Compote of Red Currants.—A quarter-pint of water and 5
ounces of sugar: 10 minutes. 1 pint of ready picked c jriants
to be just simmered in the syrup from 5 to 6 minutes. This
recipe will serve equally for raspberries, or for a compote of
the two fruits mixed together. Either of them will be found
an admirable accompaniment to batter, custard, bread, ground
rice, and various other kinds of puddings, as well as to whole
rice plainly boiled.
Compote of Cherries.—Simmer 5 ounces of sugar with half
a pint of water for 10 minutes; throw into the syrup a pound
of cherries weighed after they are stalked, and let them stew
gently for 20 minutes; it is a great improvement to stone the
fruit, but a larger quantity will then be required for a dish.
Compote of Morella Cherries.—Boil together for 15 minutes,
5 ounces of sugar with half a pint of water; add a pound and
a quarter of ripe Morella cherries, and simmer them very
softly from 5 to 7 minutes; this is a delicious compote.
Compote of Damsons.—4 ounces of sugar and half a pint of
water, to be boiled for 10 minutes; one pound of damsons to
be added, and simmered gently from 10 to 12 minutes.
Compote of the Magnum Bonum, or other large Plums.—Boil
0 ounces of sugar with half a pint of water the usual time;
take the stalks from a pound of plums, and simmer them very
softly for 20 minutes. Increase the proportion of sugar if
needed, and regulate the time as may be necessary for the dif
ferent varieties of fruit.
Compote of Peaches.—Pare half a dozen ripe peaches, and
stew them very softly from 18 to 20 minutes, keeping them
often turned in a light syrup, made with 5 ounces of sugar, and
half a pint of water boiled together for 10 minutes. Dish 'he
fruit; reduce the syrup by quick boiling, pour it over the
peaches, and serve them hot for a second-course dish, or cold


PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES, MARMALADE. 391
for dessert. They should be quite ripe, and will be found
delicious dressed thus. A little lemon-juice may be added to
the syrup, and the blanched kernels of 2 or 3 peach or apricot
stones. Sugar, 5 ozs; water, half pint: 10 minutes. Peaches, 6: 18
to 20 minutes.
Obs.—Nectarines, without being pared, may be dressed in
the same manner.
Currant Jelly.—Mash and strain tne currants. Boil the
juice and skim it. To each pint of juice allow 1 lb. of loaf
sugar. Measure the juice when it is boiled, and then throw
the sugar into a pan, and make a syrup of it with a little
water. Then add to it the juice, and let it boil rapidly till
done.
Jellies should always be made quickly. Those who are
very particular, use only the juice which first flows through
the straining bag, as the thicker particles which come through
when the bag is squeezed prevent its being so brilliantly clear.
Jelly should always be boiled sufficiently at first, as it cannot
be reboiled like preserves. If boiled a second time it will not
be jelly, but only of the consistency of syrup.
Very fine White Currant Jelly.—The fruit for this jelly should
be very white, perfectly free from dust, and picked carefully
from the stalks. To every pound add eighteen ounces of double refined sifted sugar, and boil them together quickly for 6 mi-
nutes; throw in the strained juice of a sound fresh lemon, or
of 2, should the quantity of preserve be large; boil it 2 minutes
longer; pour it into a delicately clean sieve, and finish it by
the directions given for the Norman red currant jelly.
White currants, 6 lbs.; highly refined sugar, fi| lbs.; (5
minutes. Juice of 2 moderate-sized lemons; 2 minutes.
Grape Jelly.—Strip from their stalks some fine ripe blacx.
cluster grapes, and stir them with a wooden spoon over a
gentle fire until all have burst, and the juice flows freely from
tnem; strain it off without pressure, and pass it through a
jelly-bag, or through a twice-folded muslin; weigh and then
boil it rapidly for 20 minutes; draw it from the fire, stir in it
till dissolved, 14 ounces of good sugar, roughly powdered, tc


PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLIES, MARMALADE. 303
lbs.; 20 minutes. Sugar, 3 lbs.; 20 minutes. Or, juice of
strawberries, 4 lbs.; 5 minutes. Sugar, boiled to tandy-height,
4 lbs.; 10 to 20 minutes.
Another very fine Strawberry Jelly.—Express the juice* from
the fruit through a cloth, strain it clear, weigh, and stir to it an
equal proportion of the finest sugar, dried and reduced to
powder; when this is dissolved, place the preserving-pan over a very clear fire, and stir the jelly often until it boils; clear it
carefully from scum, and boil it quickly from 15 to 25 minutes.
Equal weight of strawberryjuice and sugar; 15 to 25 minutes.
Obs.—This receipt is for a moderate quantity of the pre-
serve: a very small portion will require much less time.
Apple Jelly.—Pare, core, and cut small, any good baking
apples, say 9 pounds in weight, put them into a stew-pan with
3 pints of water, boil them gently, stirring them till the liquid
can be passed through a jelly-bag; then to each pint add three-
quarters of a pound of powdered loaf sugar, set it on the fire,
boil it 15 minutes, skimming it, when it will jelly; but if it
be overboiled, it will resemble treacle.
Apple Jelly in Moulds.—Peel and core juiey apples, and
boil 2 pounds of them with half a pint of water to a pulp;
pass it through a sieve; add three-quarters of a pound of loaf
sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 ounce of isinglass, dissolved
in very little water; mix together, strain, and pour into moulds.
Quince Jelly.—Pare, quarter, core, and weigh some ripe but
quite sound quinces, as quickly as possible, and throw them as
they are done into part of the water in which they are to be
boiled; allow 1 pint of this to each pound of the fruit, and
simmer it gently until it is a little broken, but not so long as
to redden the juice, which ought to be very pale. Turn the
whole into a jelly-bag, or strain the liquid through a fine cloth,
and let it drain very closely from it, but without the slightest
pressure. Weigh the juice, put it into a delicately clean pre-
serving-pan, and boil it quickly for 20 minutes; take it from
the fire and stir into it, until it is entirely dissolved, 12 ozs.
of sugar for each pound of juice, or 14 ozs. if the fruit should
be very acid, which it will be in the earlier part of the season;
«eep it constantly stirred and thoroughly cleared from sciuo


394
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
from 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until it jellies strongly it
falling from the skimmer; then pour it directly into glasses or
moulds. If properly made, it will be sufficiently firm to turn
out of the latter, and it will be beautifully transparent, and
rich in flavor. It may be made with an equal weight of juice
and sugar mixed together in the first instance, and boiled from
20 to 30 minutes. It is difficult to state the time precisely,
because from different causes it will vary very much. It
should be reduced rapidly to the proper point, as long boiling
injures the color: this is always more perfectly preserved by
boiling the juice without the sugar first.
To each pound pared and cored quinces, 1 pint water; three-
quarters to l£ hour. Juice, boiled 20 minutes. To each
pound, 12 ozs. sugar; 10 to 20 minutes. Or, juice and sugar equal weight; 20 to 30 minutes.
Bottled Fruit.—The best way of preserving all fruit for
tarts, is by bottling; and if the following directions be exactly
observed, it will be found to answer admirably :—Gather any
kind of fruit on a dry day—currants, gooseberries, plums, &C., put it into wide-mouthed bottles; it should not be fully ripe.
Mix currants and raspberries in the same bottle, and put 2 ozs.
of sugar into each; then have bladders cut so large, that v hen
they are tied over the bottles they will hang an inch all round
below the string. Let the bladders be wet, and tied tightly;
,hen put the bottles up to their necks into a copper of cold
water, with some straw between. Light a fire under the cop-
per, and, when the fruit has sunk into the juice, let the fire go
out, and leave the bottles in the water until it is cold; turn the
bottles upside down, and keep them in a cool place. If they
leak they must be used at once. Fruit thus preserved will
keep for any number of years, retaining all its original fresh-
ness. They will require more sugar when put into tarts or puddings. The contents of a bottle when opened must be ased
at once, for the air getting in will spoil them.
To Preserve Fruit for Tarts.—Cherries, plums of all sorts,
and American apples, gather when ripe, and lay them in small
jars that will hold a pound; strew over each jar 6 ozs. of good
loaf sugar pounded; cover with 2 bladders each, separately
tied down; then set the jars in a large stew-pan of water up to


PRESERVES, FRUIT, JELLrES, MARMALADE. 395
the neck, and let it boil 3 hours gently. Keep these and all
other sorts of fruit free from damp.
Frosted Fruit.—Pick out the finest cherries, plums, apri
cots, grapes, or small pears—leave on their stalks. Beat the
whites of 3 eggs to a stiff froth—drain them, and beat the part
that drips off again. Lay the fruit in the beaten egg with the
stalks upward—select them out one by one and dip them into
a cup of finely powdered sugar. Cover a pan with a sheet of
fine paper, place the fruit inside of it, and set it in an oven that
is cooling. When the icing on the fruit boumes firm, pile them
on a dish and set them in a cool place.
Candied Orange or Lemon Peel.—Take the fruit, cut it
lengthwise, remove all the pulp and interior skin, then put the
peel into strong salt and water for 6 days; then boil them in spring
water until they are soft, and place them in a sieve to drain;
make a thin syrup with 1 lb. of sugar-candy to 1 quart of wa-
ter, boil them in it for half an hour, or till they look clear;
make a thick syrup with sugar and as much water as will
melt it; put in the peel, and boil them over a slow fire until
the syrup candies in the pan; then take them out—ponder
pounded sugar over them, and dry them before the fire in a
cool oven.
Black Butter.—This is a very nice preserve to spread on
bread for children, and much healthier in the winter than salt
butter. Take any kind of berries, currants, or cherries—(the
latter must be stoned)—to every pound of fruit allow half a
pound of sugar, and boil it till it is reduced one-fourth.
Lemon Drops.—Squeeze and strain the juice of 6 good-sized
lemons; mix with it pounded and sifted loaf-sugar till so thick
that it is stirred with difficulty; put it into a preserving-pan
and with a wooden spoon stir it constantly, and let it boil 5 or
6 minutes; then drop it from the point of a knife upon writing
paper, in drops as large as a shilling. When cold, they will
readily come off.
Barley Sugar Drops.—Clarify and boil the sugar to that
degree, that upon dipping in a wooden stick and plunging it
•nto cold water, the sugar becomes crisp, and will snap; boil


396
MRS. UALEs NEW COOK BOOK.
with it the thinly-pared rind of one or two lemons; drop the
sugar upon a stone or marble slab in round drops; when quite cold, roll them in sifted loaf-sugar, and lay them between lay
ers of white paper, or fold them in little bits of square paper
and twist it at the end.
Barley Sugar.—Boil the sugar as for the drops, and flavor it
with lemon-juice or oil of lemons; rub a little fresh butter over a stone or marble slab, and pour the sugar along it in narrow
strips; twist it while warm, and when cold, with a knife marl it across, and it will break into any lengths.
Nonaat.—Blanch three-quarters of pound of shelled almonds,
and quarter of pound of bitter shelled almonds; throw them
into cold water, take them out and wipe them; cut them into
small pieces, but do not pound them; mix them well together;
break small 1 lb. of loaf sugar, and add to it half pint of cold
water, and 1 oz. of isinglass dissolved in a very little boiling
water; boil and skim the sugar well; when it is quite clear,
squeeze over the almonds the juice of 2 lemons, and throw
them into the sugar. Stir the almonds so as to mix them well
with the syrup, and then take the kettle off the fire; have
ready a mould or square tin-pan well buttered, and put the
mixture into it a little at a time, making only a thin coat of it
around the mould or pan. Take care that the almonds are
equally dispersed through the sugar before it cools; but if it
becomes cold before the almonds are well mixed, set it over
the fire again to melt. Turn it frequently in the mould to
prevent it from sticking. When it has become a hard cake,
set the mould for a moment in warm water, and turn it out.
When turned out it is in a hollow cake. In stirring it, a
wooden spoon had better be used.
Everton Toffie.—Put into a brass skillet, or preserving pan 3
ounces of very fresh butter, and as soon as it is just melted add a
pound of brown sugar of moderate quality; keep these stirred
gently over a very clear fire for about 15 minutes, or until a
tittle of the mixture, dropped into a basin of cold water, breaks
clean between the teeth without sticking to them: when it is
boiled to this point, it must be poured out immediately, or it
will burn. The gr t>ted rind of a lemon, added when the toflie
is half done, improves it much; or a small tea-spoonful of


CHAPTER XXVII.
CAKES.
Preliminary Remarks—Lady Cakes—Common—Delicate—
Washington — French—English — Scotch — Irish — Dutch—
Fruit—Bride—Pound— Queen — Cookies—Savoy — Almond—
Sponge— Vienna — Rice— Cup— Cinnamon— Cream—Jumblet
—Diet Bread—Seed Cakes—Macaroons—Meringues—Kisses—
Wafers—Cracknels—Buns—Gingerbread—Cakes, fried, etc.Preliminary Remarks.—In making cakes, it is indispensably
necessary that all the ingredients should be heated before they
are mixed; for this purpose every thing should be prepared an
hour before the time it is wanted, and placed near the fire, or
upon a stove—the flour thoroughly dried and warmed; the
currants, sugar, carraway-seed, and anything else required,
heated in the same way; butter and eggs should be beaten in
basins fitted into kettles or pans of warm water, which will
give them the requisite degree of temperature. Without these
precautions, cakes will be heavy; and the best materials, with
the greatest pains, will fail to produce the desired results.
The following observations should also be strictly attended
to:—
Currants should be very nicely washed, dried in a cloth, and
then set before the fire. If damp, they will make cakes or pud-
dings heavy. Before they are to be used, a dust of dry flour
should be thrown among them, and a shake given to them,
which causes the cakes to be lighter.
Eggs should be very long beaten, whites and yolks apart,
and always strained.
Sugar should be pounded in a mortar, or rubbed to a pow-
der on a clean board, and sifted through a very fine hair of lawn sieve.
398


CAKES.
399
Lemon-peel should be pared very thin, and. with a little
sugar, beaten in a marble mortar to a paste; and then mixed
with a little wine or cream, so as to divide easily among the
other ingredients. The pans should be of earthenware; nor
should eggs or batter and sugar be beaten in tins, as the cold-
ness of the metal will prevent them from becoming light.
Use no flour but the best superfine; for if the flour be of
inferior quality, the cakes will be heavy, ill-colored, and unfit
to eat; but if a little potato-flour be added, it will improve
their lightness. Cakes are frequently rendered hard, heavy and
uneatable, by misplaced economy in eggs and butter, or for
want of a due seasoning in spice and sugar.
After all the articles are put into the pan, they should be
thoroughly and long beaten, as the lightness of the cake de-
pends much on their being well incorporated.
Unless you are provided with proper utensils as well as
materials, the difficulty of making cakes will be so great as in
most instances to be a failure. Accuracy in proportioning the
ingredients is also indispensable; and therefore scales, weights,
and measures, down to the smallest quantity, are of the utmost
importance.
When yeast is used, a cake should stand for some time to
rise, before it is put in the oven.
All stiff cakes should be beaten with the hand; but pound
and similar cakes should be beaten with a whisk or spoon.
Of Baking Cake.—The goodness of a cake depends almost
wholly on careful baking. The oven for large cakes should be
pretty quick, or the batter will not rise; paper should be put
over the top to prevent their scorching. To judge whether a
cake be ready, plunge into the middle a clean knife; draw it
out instantly, when, if the blade be sticky, the cake is not done,
and should be returned to the oven; if the blade be clean, the
cake is ready.
Great attention should be paid to the different degrees of
the heat of the oven for baking cakes: it should be, at first, of
a sound heat, when, after it has been well cleaned out, such
articles may be baked as require a hot oven ; then, such as are
directed to be baked in a moderately heated oven; and lastly,
those in a slack or cooling oven W ith a little care, the above
degrees of heat may soon be known.


400
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
How to Keep Cakes.—Rich cakes keep good for a longer
period than plain ones; as water is not used in making the
former, and sugar, of which they contain much, will not fer-
ment unless it be dissolved in water.
Cakes are best kept in earthen pans, or in tin ; but they soon become dry in drawers or wooden boxes.
Cakes wetted with milk eat best when new, but do not keep
so well as others.
m How to Prepare Butter.—To cream it, drain the water well
from it, after it is cut—soften it a little before the fire, should
it be very hard, and then with the back of a large strong wooden
spoon beat it until it resembles thick cream. When prepared
tiius, the sugar is added to it first, and then the other ingre-
dients in succession.
To Whisk Eggs for light rich Cakes.—Break them one by
one, and separate the yolks from the whites: this is done easily
by pouring the yolk from one half of the shell to the other,
and letting the white drop from it into a basin beneath. With
a small three-pronged fork take out the specks from each egg
as it is broken, that none may accidentally escape notice.
Whisk the yolks until they appear light, and the whites until
they are a quite solid froth; w hile any liquid remains at the
bottom of the bowl they are not sufficiently beaten; when a
portion of them, taken up with the whisk, and dropped from it,
remains standing in points, they are in the proper state for
use, and should be mixed into the cake directly.
Icing for Cake.—Beat the white of 1 egg perfectly light—
then add 8 tea-spoonsful of loaf sugar, pounded fine and sifted,
very gradually, beating it well; after every spoonful, add one
drop of the essence of lemon or rose-water to flavor it. If you
wish to color it pink, stir in a few grains of cochineal powder
or rose-pink; if you wish it blue, add a little of what is called
powder-blue. Lay the frosting on the cake with a knife, soon
after it is taken from the oven—smooth it over, and let it re-
main in a cool place till hard. To frost a common-siied loaf
of cake, allow the white of 1 egg and half of another.
To Blanch Almonds.—Put them in a sauce-pan with plenty
of cc1' »ater, and heat it slowly • when it is just scalding,


CAKES.
401
wirn the almonds into a basin, peel, and throw them in cold
water as they are done; dry them well in a soft cloth before
they are used. If the water be too hot, it will turn them
yellow.
To- Pound Almonds.—After they are blanched, it is better
to have them thoroughly dried in a gentle heat; left, for ex-
ample, in a warm room for 2 or 3 days, lightly spread on a
large dish. During the heating, sprinkle them with a few
drops either of cold water, rosemary, white of egg, or lemon
juice, and pound them in a mortar to a smooth paste.
Lady Cake.—Beat to a stiff froth the whites of 8 eggs, then
add 1 spoonful at a time, 1 lb. of powdered loaf sugar; beat
to a cream quarter of pound of good butter, and add to it 1
tea-cupful of sweet milk with 1 tea-spoonful of saleratus dis-
solved in it. Stir the eggs in the milk and butter, and sift in
enough flour to make a batter as thick as pound cake. Blanch
and pound finely quarter of pound of sweet almonds, and add
them to the mixture; flavor with essence of lemon or orange-
water; beat the whole together till very light; then take it in
a tin pan lined with buttered paper. It will require half an
hour to bake it in a quick oven. When nearly cold, ice it on
the under side, and when the icing becomes almost firm, mark
it in small squares.
Good Common, Cake.—Take 2 cups of light bread dough; 2
eggs; 1 cup of sugar; 1 cup of raisins; half cup of butter ; 1
nutmeg; 1 tea-spoonful of saleratus; mix them thoroughly;
and, add a little flour. Let it stand half an hour before baking.
Delicate Cake.—Beat to a cream 7 ozs. of sweet butter;
beat to a stiff froth the whites of 8 eggs, and mix gradually
with it 1 lb. of fine white sugar, stir in the eggs 1 lb. of flour
together with the butter, half a nutmeg grated, and some es
Beiue of lemon or bitter almonds, or rose-water. Bake in a pan lined with buttered paper. Almonds blanched and pounded
may be substituted for the butter.
Washington Cake.—Beat together lb. of sugar, and three
quarters of pound of butter; add 4 eggs well beaten, half pint
"f sour milk, and 1 tea-spoonful of saleratus, dissolved in a
25


402
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
little hot water. Stir in gradually If lb. of flour, 1 wine glass-
ful of wine or brandy, and 1 nutmeg grated. Beat all well
together.
This will make two round cakes. It should be baked in a quick oven, and will take from 15 to 30 minutes, according to
the thickness of the cakes.
French Cake.—Bolas d'Amor.—1J lb. of flour, 1small tea
cupful of yeast, half pint of milk warmed, 1 lb. of butter, and
4 eggs. Make a hole in the flour, and pour into it the milk,
eggs, and yeast; mix them all well together; beat the dough,
adding the butter by degrees. Let it stand for 1 hour to rise:
then take half pound of sifted sugar, and mix it well in with
the dough ; butter the cups or pans, put in the dough, and orna-
ment the top with candied orange or lemon peel.
Derby, or Short Cakes.—Rub 1 pound of butter into 2 pounds
of sifted flour, add 1 pound of currants, 1 pound of good moist
sugar, and 2 beaten eggs mixed with half a pint of milk ; work
the whole into a paste, roll it out thinly, cut it into cakes, and
bake them about 5 minutes in a moderate oven.
Shrewsbury Cakes.—Make a stiff paste of a 1^ lb. of flour,
three-quarters of a pound of sifted loaf sugar, a tea-spoonful of
pounded cinnamon, half a pound of warmed butter, and 1 egg,
with a little milk; roll it out thin, cut round, and bake on a
tin, in a slack oven.
Banbury Cakes.—First, mix well together a pound of cur-
rants, cleaned with great nicety and dried, a quarter-pound of
beef-suet, finely minced, 3 ounces each of candied orange and
lemon-rind, shred small, a few grains of salt, a full quarter
ounce of pounded cinnamon and nutmeg mixed, and 4 ounces
macaroOnft or ratafias rolled to powder. Next, make a light
paste with 14 ounces of butter to the pound of flour; give it
an extra turn or two to prevent its rising too much in the oven,
roll out one-half in a very thin square, and spread the mixed
fruit and spice equally upon it; moisten the edges, lay on the
remaining half of the paste, rolled equally thin, press the edges
securely together, mark the whole with the back of a knife in
regular divisions of 2 inches wide and 3 in length; bake the
pastry in a well-heated oven from 25 to 30 minutes, and


CAKES.
403
divide it into cakes while it is still warm. They may be
served as a second-course dish either hot or cold, and may be
glazed at pleasure.
Currants, 1 lb.; beef-suet, 4 ozs.; candied orange and lemon
rind each, 3 ozs.; salt, small pinch; mixed spices, quarter ot
an ounce ; macaroons or ratafias, 4 ozs.: baked 25 to 30 minutes.
Scotch Cake.—Stir to a cream a pound of sugar, and three-
quarters of a pound of butter—put in the juice and grated rind
of a lemon, and a wine glass of brandy. Separate the whites
and yolks of 9 eggs, beat them to a froth, and stir them into
the cake—then add a pound of sifted flour, and just before it is
put in the cake pans, a pound of seeded raisins.
Irish Cake.—Take 1 lb. of butter beaten to a cream, three-
quarters of a pound of sugar sifted and dried, 9 eggs, the yolks
and whites beaten separately, quarter of pound of almonds
blanched and sliced, 1-J lb. of currants picked and dried, the
same weight of flour also dried. When the butter has been
worked with the hand to a cream, sift in the sugar, which
should be quite hot; when mixed pour in the yolks of eggs,
then add the whites; work it half an hour, then add the flour by degrees; when thoroughly mixed, add a very small te»'
cupful of brandy. The currants and almonds, with quarter ot
pound of lemon or citron peel, should be added just before the
cakes are placed in the oven, which should be hot. The cake
should be beaten an hour; the hand should be kept moving
the same way, and not taken out.
Butch Cake.—Mix 5J lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of butter, 1| lb. of
sugar, li lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 5 eggs, 1 nutmeg, 36
cloves, 1 oz. of cinnamon, a table-spoonful of allspice, 2 glasses
of brandy, 1$ glass of rose-water, 3 pints of milk, a little salt,
and yeast enough to raise it.
F-vil Cake.—Take 1 lb. of butter and 1 lb. of sugar, and
beat them together with the yolks of 8 eggs; beat the whites
separately; mix with these 1\ lb. of flour, 1 tea-cupful of
cream, 1 wine-glassful of brandy and 1 of wine, 1 nutmeg, 1
teaspoonful of mace, 1 teaspoonful of cloves, 2 tea-spoonsful
of cinnamon, 1 salt-spoonful of salt, three-quarters of a pound
of raisins stoned, three-quarters of a pound of currants, half a


MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
pound of citron ; mix with tho flour 2 tea-spoonsful of Babbitt) yeast powder.
Plum Cake, or Wedding Cake.—1 lb. of dry flour, 1 !b. of
sweet butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 12 eggs, 2 lbs. of raisins, stoned;
2 lbs. of currants, well washed, dried, and floured; as much
space as you please; a glass of wine, one of brandy, and a
pound of citron. Mix the butter and sugar as for pound cake.
Sift the spice, and beat the eggs very light. Put in the fruit
last, stirring it in gradually; it should be well floured; if ne-
cessary, add more flour after the fruit is in; butter sheets of
paper, and line the inside of 1 large pan or 2 smaller ones; lay
in some slices of citron, then a layer of the mixture, then of
the citron—and so on till the pan is full. This cake requires
a tolerably hot and steady oven, and will need baking 4 or 5
hours, according to its thickness. It will be better to let it
cool gradually in the oven: ice it when thoroughly cold.
Small Plum Cakes.—Mix 6 ozs. of powdered loaf sugar with
1 lb. of flour, to which add 6 ozs. of butter beaten to a cream,
3 well beaten eggs, and half a pound of currants; beat all to a
stiff paste, which drop on floured tin plates, and bake in a brisk
oven.
Plain Plum Cake.—Beat 6 ozs. of butter to a cream, to
which add 6 well-beaten eggs; work in 1 lb. of flour and half
a pound of sifted loaf sugar, half a pound of currants, and 2 ozs.
of candied peels; mix well together, put it into a buttered tin,
and bake in a quick oven.
Bride-Cake.—Wash 2^ lbs. of fresh butter in plainwater
first, and then in rose-water; beat the butter to a cream; boat
20 eggs, yolks and whites separately, half an hour each. Have
ready 2J lbs. of the finest flour, well dried and kept hot, like-
wise \ lb. of sugar pounded and sifted, 1 oz. of spice in fine
powder, 3 lbs. of currants nicely cleaned and dry, half a pound
of almonds blanched, and three-fourths of a pound of sweet-
meats cut, not too thin. Let all be kept by the fire, mix all
the ingredients, pour the eggs strained to the butter, but beat
uhe whites of the eggs to a strong froth; mix half a pint of
sweet wine with the same quantity of brandy, pour it to the butter and eggs, mix well, then have all the dry things put in


CAKES.
405
by degrees; beat them very thoroughly—you can hardly do
it too much. Having half a pound of stoned jar-raisim
chopped as fine as possible, mix them carefully so that there
should be no lump, and add a tea-cnpful of orange-flower wa-
ter; beat the ingredients together a full hour at least. Have
a hoop well-buttered; take a white paper, doubled and but-
tered, and put in the pan round the edge; do not fill it more
than three parts with batter, as space should be allowed for rising. Bake in a quick oven. It will require full 3 hours.—
In making cakes of a larger size, put at the rate of 8 eggs
to every pound of flour, and other ingredients in the same
proportion.
The cake must be covered with an icing.
Pound Cakes.—Beat to cream 1 pound of butter, and work
it smoothly with 1 pound of sifted loaf sugar; and 9 well
beaten eggs, and mix in lightly, 1 pound of flour, half a nut-
meg grated, and a little pounded cinnamon or mace; beat
together half an hour and bake about 1 hour in a brisk oven.
Candied lemon peel cut thin, and blanched and chopped
sweet almonds, are sometimes added; and half fl pound of
currants will make the cake much richer.
Half the above proportions will make a moderately sized
cake.
Family Pound Cake Beat to a cream half a pound of butter,
add one pound of dried flour, half a pound of powdered loaf
sugar, half a pound of dried currants, or carraway-seeds, 4 well
beaten eggs, and half a pint of milk; beat well together, and
bake with care.
A plain Cake.—Mix together three-quarters of a pound of
flour, the same of moist sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter,
one egg well beaten, and two table-spoonsful of milk; bake
moderately.
WeenCuke.—Mix 1 lb. of dried flour, the same of sifted
sugar and of washed currants. Wash 1 lb. of butter in rose-
water; beat it well, then mix with it 8 eggs, yolks and whites
beaten separately, and put in the dry ingredients by degrees;
heat the whole an hour; butter little tins, tea-cups, or saucers.


406
Mrs. Bale's new cook book.
filling them only half full. Sift a little fine sugar over just as
you put them into the oven.
Or :—Beat 8 ozs. of butter, and mix with 2 well beaten eggs
strained; mix 8 ozs. of dried flour, and the same of lump-sugar,
and the grated rind of a lemon; then add the whole together,
and beat full half an hour with a silver spoon. Butter small
pans, half fill, and bake 20 minutes in a quick oven.
e same materials made into a paste, then rolled out into
small round cakes, and baked, make very nice tea-cakes.
Cookies.—One pound of butter, half pound of sugar, 2 tea-
spoonsful (or 3 drachms) of saleratus,3 lbs. of flour, and about
a pint of buttermilk, or milk that that is slightly sour may be
used instead; flavor the whole with ground coriander-seed ac-
cording to taste. Cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg, may be sub-
stituted for the coriander if desired. Warm the buttermilk,
and dissolve the saleratus in it by stirring. The sugar may be
boiled in half pint of water, and allowed to cool before using,
when less buttermilk must be used, and the butter must be
rubbed small with the flour; or beat the butter and sugar to-
gether in a pan to a nice cream; add the other ingredients, and
make into a paste. Make into rolls half an inch thick, and cut
into what shape you please; or roll out the paste to the same
thickness, and cut _it into any desired form. Bake from 20
minutes to half an hour in a moderately cool oven. The same
preparation, with only half the quantity of butter and sugar,
and half pint more milk or water, makes a most excellent cako
(superior to soda) for tea, or for children, to which carraway-
seeds or currants may be added.
Sugar Cakes.—Take half a pound of dried flour, a quarter
ol a pound of fresh butter, a quarter of a pound of sifted loaf
sugar; then mix together the flour and the sugar; rub in the
butter, and add the yolk of an egg beaten with a table-spoon-
ful of cream; make it into a paste, roll, and cut it into small
round cakes, which bake upon a floured tin.
Honey Cake.—One pound and a half of dried and sifted
flour, three-quarters of a pound of honey, half a pound of finely
pounded loaf sugar, a quarter of a pound of citron, and half an
ounce of orange-peel cut small, of pounded ginger and cinna


CAKES.
407
mon three-quarters of an o^tiee. Melt the sugar with the
honey, and mix in the other ingredients; roll out the paste,
and cut it into small cakes of any form.
Savoy Cakes.—Break 10 very fresh eggs into a pan, with 1
lb. of sifted loaf sugar; set the pan in warm water, and whisk
very briskly for a quarter of an hour, or until the batter is
quite thick and warm; take it out of the water and whisk
until cold; stir in as lightly as possible, to mix it thoroughly,
1 lb of flour: flavor with essence of lemon, or the rind of a
lemon rubbed on sugar; pour it into a mould, and bake.
Prepare the mould as follows :—Melt a little fresh butter—.
take off tjie scum, and pour it off the dregs; let it cool, and
with B brush rub it well, so that it looks creamy, into all
points of the mould, and dust it with sugar and flour, mixed in
equal quantities, sufficient to adhere to the batter.
The same preparation is used for sponge-cakes, when baked
in a mould.

Cake Moulds.
Almond Sponge Cake.—Pound 8 ozs. of blanched almonds
very finely, adding a little water to prevent their oiling; add
to them half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, some grated lemon
peel, and mix all with the well-beaten yolks of seven eggs-
beat them together, and add the whites of 5 eggs, whisked,
with 2 ozs. of sifted flour; prepare the mould as for a Savoy
cake, and bake it in the same manner.
Sponge Cake.—Beat separately the whites and yolks of 10
eggs very light; add to the yolks 1 lb. of sugar and the juice
sud pee! grated of 1 lemon; then stir in the whites, together
with half a pound of flour. Bake as quickly as possible.


408
urs. hale's new cook book.
Jelly,or Vienna Cake.—1 lb. of flour, the same quantity of
butter and of sifted loaf sugar, and the yolks of 14 eggs—the
whole to be beaten together for three-quarters of an hour;—
then beat the whites of the egg to a froth; mix the greater
part by degrees to the paste, and keep beating till the whole is
soft and light. Cut pieces of paper the size and shape of the
dish to be used, spread the paste upon them not quite 1 inch
thick, put it into the oven, and let it bake, but not enough to
be brown; then spread each with jam made of fruit, and a
little jelly, and pile one upon the other. Let it remain until
quite cold, and, some hours afterwards, add a fresh quantity of
sugar to the whites of eggs; pour it over the top, and ornament
. it with preserved orange and lemon chips, colored sugar-plums,
&C., and let it stand in a cool oven to dry.
Or:—Take 4. layers of fine sponge-cake, not quite 1 inch
thick; or the sponge-mixing may be baked at once in a round
shape, about 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and afterwards divided
into siices. Put between each layer of cake, one of preserves,
each of a different sort, with strawberries at the top; and
cover the whole cake, top and sides, with a thick icing of
sugar, similar to that used in bride-cake, tinted red, and
flavored with essence of lemon, rose, or vanilla. The icing
must be dried; but the cake must not be again put into the
oven. *
Rice Cakes—Take 8 yolks and 4 whites of eggs, and beat
to a foam, add 6 ozs. of powdered sugar, and the peel of one
lemon grated; then stir in half a pound of ground rice, and
beat all together for half an hour. Put it into a buttered tin,
and bake 20 minutes. This cake is recommended as very easy
of digestion.
Rice Cakes with Butter.—Beat, till extremely light, the
j'olks of 9 eggs; add half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, and the
same quantity cf sifted rice flour; melt half a pound of fresh
butter, and mix it with the eggs, sugar, and flour, along with a
few pounded bitter almonds; half fill small buttered tii a, and
bake in a quick oven.
Cup Cakes.—Mix 3 tea-cups of sugar with 1£ of butter;
when white, beat 3 eggs, and stir them into the butter and
sugar, together with 3 teacupful of sifted flour, and rose water


CAKES.
409
or essence of lemon to the taste. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of
saleratus in a tea-cup of milk, strain it into the cake, then add
3 more tea cups of ».fted flour. Bake the cake immediately,
either in cups or pans.
Cinnamon, or Lemon Cakes.—Rub 6 ozs. of good butter
into a pound of fine dry flour, and work it lightly into crumbs,
then add three-quarters of a pound of sifted sugar, a dessert-
spoonful of pounded cinnamon, (or half as much when only a
slight flavor is liked,) and make these ingredients into a firm
paste with 3 eggs, or 4, if needed. Roll it, not very thin, and
cut out the cakes with a tin shape. Bake them in a very gentle
oven from 15 to 20 minutes, or longer, should they not be done quite through. As soon as they are cold, put them into a clean
and dry tin canister, a precaution which should be observed
with all small sugar-cakes, which ought also to be loosened
from the oven-tins while they are still warm.
Flour, 1 lb.; butter, 6 ozs.; sugar, three-quarters of a pound;
cinnamon, 1 dessert-spoonful (more or less, to the taste ;) eggs,
3 to 4.
Obs.—Lemon cakes can be made by this receipt, by substi
tuting for the cinnamon the rasped or grated rinds of 2 lemons,
and the strained juice of 1, when its acidity is not objected to.
More butter, and more or less sugar, can be used at will, both
for these and for the cinnamon cakes.
Cream Cakes.—Take a quart of milk, from which take out
3 table-spoonsful to moisten 4 heaping table-spoonsful of flour,
and put the remainder on to boil. Beat up 4 eggs, yolks and
whites together to a froth, with 5 heaping table-spoonsful of
sugar. When the milk is boiling stir in the eggs with the
moistened flour, and let it boil a few minutes. Add the grated
peel and juice of 1 lemon, and set it away to cool.
Then make the paste by putting in a pint of water, quarter
of a pound of butter, and placing it on the fire till the butter is melted. Then stir in three-quarters of a pound of flour, and
let it boil or scald thoroughly. Then let it get cold. Beat all the lumps out—beat separately 12 eggs and stir them in.
Butter 24 small round tins, and fill them not quite hall'bill.
Bake the cakes thoroughly, and when cold open them a little
with a knife, and put in the cream. Do them over with cjyj
to make them look like confectioners.


410
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Cocoanut Jumbles.—Cut the meat of a large cocoanut in
slices and grate them. Beat up the white of 5 eggs, and the
yolks of o, and mix with them a few drops of the essence of
lemon. Mix the grated cocoanut with a small portion of
flour, roll it lightly on a floured paste board, cut it into rings
with a 'jinbler, the edge of which is floured. Butter the pans
into Wkiich the cakes are to be laid, and after sifting a little
loaf sugar over the cakes, bake them in a quick oven. What they begin to brown they are done.
Common Jumbles.—Stir together, till of a light color, a
pound of sugar and half the weight of butter—then add 8 eggs,
beaten to a froth, essence of lemon, or rose-water, to the taste,
and flour to make them sufficiently stiff to roll out. Roll them
out in powdered sugar, about half an inch thick, cut it into
strips about half an inch wide, and 4 inches long, join the ends
together, so as to form rings, lay them on flat tins that have
been buttered, and bake them in a quick oven.
Diet Bread.—To half pound of sifted sugar put 4 eggs; beat
them together for an hour; then add quarter of pound of flour
dried and sifted, with the juice of half a lemon and the grated
rind of a whole one. Bake in B slow oven.
Or:—Boil 1 lb. of loaf sugar in half pint of water; whisk it
with 8 eggs until cold ; then stir in 1 lb. of fine flour, and keep
beating until it is put into the oven, which, if it be quick, will
bake it in an hour.
Or :—Beat up separately the yolks and whites of 4 eggs tor
quarter of an hour; then sift into both quarter of pound of
grated sugar; beat it well up with the eggs, and stir the whole
gradually but effectually into as much flour as will make it of
a proper thickness; season it slightly with cinnamon, and bake
it in a quick oven.
Almond Bread.—Blanch, and pound in a mortar, half a
pound of shelled sweet almonds till they are a smooth paste,
adding rose-water as you pound them. They should be done
the day before they are wanted. Prepare a pound of loaf
sugar finely powdered, a tea-spoonful of mixed spice, mace,
nutmeg and cinnamon, and three-quarters of a pound of sifted
flour. Take l 4 eggs, and separate the whites from the y oiks


412
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
ft few dried currants or carraway-seeds into one-half; roll out
the paste, cut it into small round cakes, and bake them upon
buttered tins.
Macaroon*.—Pound well in a mortar with the white of ai»
egg half a pound of sweet almonds blanched, with a few bitter ones also blanched. Beat to a froth the whites of 4 eggs, ana
mix with them 2 lbs. of sugar. Mix all together, and drop
them on paper placed on a tin. A half an hour in a gentle
oven bakes them.
Obs.—Cocoa Macaroons may be made by substituting grated
cocoa-nut for pounded almond.
Meringues.—Beat to a very solid froth the whites of 6 fresh
eggs, and have ready to mix with them half a pound of the
best sugar, well dried and sifted. Lay some squares or long
strips of writing-paper closely upon a board, which ought to
be an inch thick to prevent the meringues from receiving any
color from the bottom of the oven. When all is ready for
them, stir the sugar to the beaten eggs, and with a table or
dessert-spoon lay the mixture on the paper in the form of a
half egg; sift sugar quickly over, blow off all that does not
adhere, and set the meringues immediately into a moderate
oven: the process must be expeditious, or the sugar melting
will cause the meringues to spread, instead of retaining their
shape. When they are colored a light brown, and are firm tc
the touch, draw them out, raise them from the paper, and press
back the insides with a tea-spoon, or scoop them out, so as tc
leave space enough to admit some whipped cream or preserve,
with which they are to be filled, when cold, before they are
.served. Put them again into the oven to dry gently, and when
they are ready for table fasten them together in the shape of a
whole egg, and pile them lightly on a napkin.
Whites of fresh eggs, 6; sifted sugar, half a pound.
Obs.—4 ounces of pounded almonds may be mixed with the
eggs and sugar for these cakes, and any flavor added to them
at pleasure. If well made, they are remarkably good and ele-
gant in appearance. They must be fastened together with a
little white of egg.
Almond Cakes.—Beat 1 lb. of almonds very fine with rose-
water, mix in half a pound of sifted sugar, make them into


CAKES.
413
shapes, put them before the fire to dry on one, side, then turn
them. When dry on both sides, take some sifted sugar and as
much white of egg as will just wet it; beat it with a spoon; as
it grows white put in a little more egg, till it is thin enough to
ice the cakes; then ice one side, dry it before the fire, and be
sure it is quite dry before icing the other side. The flavor of
the almond is often given to pastry by bay-lea res and the es-
sence of fruit-kernels, but pounded bitter almonds are safer and
better for the purpose
Ratafia Cakes—Are made in the same manner, but substi
tute ratafia-brandy for rose-water, and use a q"«.rter pound of
bitter instead of the same quantity of sweet almonds; make
them rather smaller.
Kisses.—Beat the whites of 4 eggs till they stand alone.
Then beat in, gradually, a pound of finely-powdered sugar, a
teaspoonful at a time. Add 8 drops of the essence of lemon,
and beat the whole very hard.
Lay a wet sheet of paper on the bottom of a square tin pan.
Drop on it at equal distance, small tea-spoonfuls of stiff currant
jelly. Put a little of the beaten egg, and sugar it first, under
the currant jelly. With a large spoon, pile some of the beaten
white of egg and sugar, on each lump of jelly, so as to cover it
entirely.• Drop on the mixture as evenly as possible, so as to
make the kisses of a round, smooth shape.
Set them in a cool oven, and as soon as they are colored,
they are done. Then take them out, and place the two bot-
toms together. Lay them lightly on a sieve, and dry them in
a cool oven, till the two bottoms stick fast together, so as to
form one ball or oval.
Sugar Drops.—Beat the whites and yolks of 4 eggs sepa-
rately to a light foam; dilute the yolks with 2 tea-spoonsful
of water, and turn them with the whites, and beat them some
time; then add by degrees a pound of sugar in fine powder,
and then 4 ounces of superfine flour, beating the mixture con-
stantly. Drop the mixture on white paper placed in a tin
plate, in any shape you please, ice them over with sugar in
powder, to prevent running, and bake about 10 minutes ji a
moderate oven.


CAKES.
41ft
ounce of allspice and cinnamon mixed; add an ounce of co-
riander-seeds, ground very finely. Buns made with these ad-
ditions, are eaten on Good Friday.
Seed, or Currant Buns.—Make 2 lbs. of dough as for plain
buns, adding two or three well-beaten eggs, spice as above,
and 1 oz. of carraway-seeds; ice them with white of egg and
sifted sugar, and bake as plain buns.
For currant buns, add half a pound of currants instead of
the carraway-seeds, with 2 ozs. of candied orange peel; and
bake as above.
Rich Bath Buns—Work half a pound of butter into a
pound of flour, to which add 5 well-beaten eggs, with a
table-spoonful of yeast; mix them with a little warm milk,
cover the dough, and put it in a warm place to rise for an
hour; then mix in 4 ozs. of loaf sugar, and 3 ozs. of carraway-
comfits, and strew a few on the top of each bun; bake in a
brisk oven, and when done, brush them over with milk and
sugar.
Spanish Buns.—Take 1 lb. of fine flour, rub into it half
pound of butter; add half pound of sugar, the same of cur.
rants, a little nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon; mix it with 5
eggs well beaten; make this up into small buns, and bake
them on tins 20 minutes; when half done, brush them over
with a little hot milk.
Soft Gingerbread.—Take 3 cups of flour; beat together 1
cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar; then add 1 cup of molasses and 1 cup of sour cream with a little of the flour. Take 4
eggs, and beat the whites and yolks separately; put in the
yolks, adding more flour; then 1 table-spoonful of ground gin-
ger; I table-spoonful of cinnamon; 1 tea-spoonful of ground
cloves; 2 cups or more of fruit; 1 teaspoonful of soda; then
the whites of the eggs, and lastly the remainder of the flour.
Another Recipe for Gingerbread.—Into 3 lbs. of flour cut 1
lb. of butter; add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; 2 ounces
of ginger; 8 dozen of cloves; 10 dozen of allspice; half ounce
of cinnamon, all pounded fine, and 1 quart of molasses. It


416
MBS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
will require half a pound of flour to make it up with. When
mixed, knead it well in small quantities; afterwards knead it
all well together.
Cup Gingerbread,—Mix together 6 cups of flour; 1 cup of
butter; 1 cup of sugar; 1 cup of molasses; 1 cup of milk; 4
eggs well beaten; 1 nutmeg, grated; 3 table-spoorsful of gin-
ger; some grated orange-peel; 1 dessert spoonful of pearl-ash.
Bake it quickly.
Ginger Pound Cake.—2 cups of butter, 2 of sugar, 2 of mo-
lasses; 2 table-spoonsful of powdered ginger, 2 of dissolved
Saieratus, 1 of pounded cinnamon, 1 nutmeg grated fine, 1 tea-
spoonful of essence of lemon, 6 eggs, 6 cups of flour. The
butter and sugar must be beaten to a cream: the whites and
the yolks of the eggs beaten separately. Add together all the
ingredients, and beat for a few minutes.
Hard Gingerbread.—Rub half a pound of butter into 1 lb.
of flour; then rub in half a pound of sugar, 2 tablespoons) of ginger, and 1 table-spoonful of rose-water; work it well;
roll out, and bake in flat pans in a moderate oven. It will
take about half an hour to bake. This gingerbread can be
kept some time.
Gingerbread Nuts.—Put into an earthen vessel 1 lb. of mo-
lasses, 1 lb. of coarse brown sugar, and 1 lb. of butter; place
the vessel over the fire in a saucepan of boiling water, and let
it remain until the butter and sugar are dissolved. In the
mean time mix together \oz. of allspice pounded fine; 2 ozs.
of ginger, and 2 lbs. of flour; stir this into the butter, sugar
and molasses; make into small cakes and bake them about a
quarter of an hour.
Soda Cake.—1 lb of flour, 1 drachm of soda, half pound of
sugar, half pound of currants, and quarter of a pound of but-
ter. Mix the soda with the flour, then rub in the butter, after
which add the sugar and currants, and then a pint of milk.
Put it into the oven immediately. A variety may be given
by substituting a quarter pound of lemon, orange, and citron,
can died, and 1 oz. of pounded sweet almonds, for the currants ;
but in that ease the cake will require rather more soda.


418
MRS. HALE'S NEW C<>'<{ BOOK.
Common Crullers or Twist Cakes.—Mix well together half a
pint of sour milk, or buttermilk, 2 tea-cupsful of sugar. 1 tea-
cupful of butter, and 3 eggs, well-beaten: add to this a tea-
spoonful of saleratus dissolved in hot water, a tea-spoonful of
salt, half a nutmeg grated, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cin-
namon; sift in flour enough to make a smooth dough; roll it
out not quite a quarter of an inch thick; cut in small oblong
pieces; divide one end in three or four parts like fingers, and
twist or plait them over each other. Fry them in boiling
lard.
These cakes may be cut in strips, and the ends joined, to
make a ring, or in any other shape.
Rirher Crullers.—Beat to a cream a quarter of a pound of
fresh butter, and mix with it the same quantity of pounded and
sifted loaf sugar, and 4 well-beaten eggs; add flour till thick
enough to roll out; cut the paste into oblong pieces about 4
or 5 inches in length; with a paste-cutter divide the centre into
3 or 4 strips; wet the edges, and plait one bar over the other,
so as to meet in the centre; throw them into boiling lard, or
clarified suet; when fried of a light brown, drain them before
the fire, and serve them in a napkin, with or without grated
loaf sugar strewed over them.
Dough-nuts.—Take 3 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of butter, 1 \ lb. of
sugar ; cut the butter fine into the flour; beat 6 eggs light, and
put them in; add 2 wine-glasses of yeast, 1 pint of milk, some
cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg; make it up into a light dough,
and put it to rise. When it is light enough, roll out the paste,
cut it in small pieces, and boil them in lard.
Soft Dovgh-nuts.—Take 3 pints of milk, 4 eggs, beaten sepa-
rately, 2J lbs. of sugar, half a pound of butter, some ground
orange-peel, and a pint of yeast; add flour enough to make a
thick batter. When sufficiently raised, dip out with a spoon,
and drop into boiling lard. A few currants added to the batter
improve them.
Spanish, Pvffs.—Put into a sauce-pan, half a pint of water
and a quarter of a pound of butter; stir it till it boils, and mix
in 4 table-spoonsful of flour; stir it well together, and add 6
yolks and 4 whites of eggs—two at a time; let it cool, and.


CAKES.
*19
with a dessert-spoon, drop it into boiling clarified dripping or
lard.
To make ginger-pufifs, a tea-spoonful of pounded ginger may
be added.
Nuns. —Roll puff paste about a quarter of an inch thick, cut
it into rounds, or any other shape; lay upon one bit a small
tea-spoonful of any sort of preserved fruit, wet the edges, and
put over it another bit of paste; fry them in boiling clarified
beef suet, or fresh lard; drain them upon the back of a sieve.
Serve them in a napkin, and strew pounded loaf sugar over them.

Kagant Design for a pair of Salt CeUnm.


CHAPTER XXVIII.
BREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES, ETC.
Flour—Making Bread—Milk Bread—Potato — Household. —
Dyspepsia—Indian— Yeast — Rolls—French — Toast—Bis
cuit— Tea Cakes — Breakfast—Short—Behidere—Laplandt
—Sally Lunn—Nuns—Flannel— Crumpets—Batter—Buck-
wheat Waffles—Indian meal bread of various kinds.
Flour.—The first requisite for good bread is that the flour 01
meal be good. Wheat is always better for being washed; if
it be at all injured by smut, it is not fit for food unless it be
thoroughly washed. In the country this is easily done.
Put the grain in a clean tub, a bushel at a time; fill the tub
with water, and stir the whole up from the bottom, briskly,
with your hand, or a stick. Pour off the water and fill it with
clean till the water ceases to be colored or dirty. Two or
three waters usually are sufficient. Finish the washing quickly
as possible, so as not to soak the grain; then spread it thinly
on a large, strong sheet, (it is best to keep a coarse unbleached
sheet solely for this purpose, if you wash your grain,) laid on
clean boards in the sun, or where the sun and air can be freely
admitted. Stir the grain with your hand every two or three
hours; it will dry in a day, if the weather be fair.
Fresh-ground flour makes the best and sweetest bread. If
you live in the vicinity of a mill,never have more than one or
two bushels ground into flour at a time.
A bushel of good, clear wheat will make 56 pounds of flour,
beside the bran and middlings.
If you purchase flour by the barrel or sack, be careful to as-
certain that it is good and pure. In Europe, flour is often
adulterated, that is, mixed with other substances, to swell its
420


BREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES, ETC.
421
bulk and weight. Whiting, ground stones, and bones, and
plaster of Paris, are the ingredients chiefly used. To be sure,
none of these things are absolutely poisonous; but they are
injurious, and no one wants them in bread. In our country we
think such deceptions are seldom attempted, still it may be
well to know how to detect the least bad matter in flour.
T > discover whiting, dip the ends of the fore-finger and
thumb into sweet oil, and take up a small quantity of flour be-
tween them. If it be pure, you may freely rub the fingers together for any length of time, it will not become sticky, and
the substance will turn nearly black; if whiting be mixed with
the flour, a few times rubbing turns it into putty, but its color
is very little changed.
To detect stone dust or plaster of Paris—drop the juice of
lemon or a little sharp vinegar on a small quantity of flour;
if adulterated, an immediate effervescence takes place; if pure,
it will remain at rest. Another quick, and pretty sure method
of trial is to squeeze tightly for a minute a handful of the flour
—if it be pure, when the hand is opened, the flour will remain
in a lump, and the grains or wrinkles of the skin of the hand
will be visible; but if it contain foreign substance, it will
crumble almost immediately.
Making Bread.—To make the proper quantity for a small
family, take 10 quarts of flour, put it into a kneading trough,
or well-glazed earthen pan, large enough to hold double the quantity of flour. Make a deep round hole in the centre of
the flour, and pour into it half a pint of brewer's yeast, or the
thick sediment from home-brewed beer—the last, if good, is
to be preferred. In either case the yeast must be mixed with'
a pint of milk-warm water, and well stirred before it is poured
in. Then with a spoon stir into this liquid, gradually, so
much of the surrounding flour as will make it like thin batter;
sprinkle this over with dry flour, till it is covered entirely.
Then cover the trough or pan with a warm cloth, and set it
by the fire in winter, and where the sun is shining in summer.
This process is called " setting the sponge." The object is to
give strength and character to the ferment by communicating
the quality of leaven to a small portion of the flour, which
will then be easily extended to the whole. Setting sponge is
a measure of wise precaution—for if the yeast does not rise
and ferment in the middle of the flour, it shows that the yeast


422
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
is not good; the batter can then be removed, without wasting much of the flour, and another sponge set with better yeast.
Let the sponge stand till the batter has swelled and risen so
as to form cracks in the covering of flour; then scatter over it
a table-spoonful of fine salt, and begin to form the mass into
dough, by pouring in, by degrees, as much warm water as is
necessary to mix with the flour. Ten quarts of flour will ro
quire about two quarts of water. It will be well to prepare
rather more; soft water is much the best; it should in sum
mer be warm as new milk; during winter, it ought to be somewhat warmer, as flour is a cold, heavy substance.
Add the water by degrees to the flour, mix them with your
hand, till the whole mass is incorporated; it must then be
worked most thoroughly, moulded over and over, and kneaded
with your clenched hands, till it becomes so perfectly smooth
and light, as well as stiff, that not a particle will adhere to
your hands. Remember that you cannot have good bread,
light and white, unless you give the dough a thorough knead-
ing. Then make the dough into a lump in the middle of the
trough or pan, and dust it over with flour to prevent its ad-
hering to the vessel. Cover it with a warm cloth, and in the
winter the vessel should be placed near the fire. It now un-
dergoes a further fermentation, which is shown by its swell-
ing and rising; this, if the ferment was well formed, will be
at its height in an hour—somewhat less in very warm weather.
It ought to be taken at its height, before it begins to fall.
Divide the dough into four equal portions; mould on your
paste-board, and form them into loaves; put these on well-
floured tin or earthen plates, and place them immediately in
*the oven.
Of the Oven.—A. brick oven, heated with wood, is far supe-
rior to any other for baking bread, as well as for most other
purposes, being much more easy to regulate, as well as more
economical, than an iron one.
If the brick oven be a good one, it will heat sufficiently in
>n hour. Kindle the fire with some quick burning material;
then fill it up with hard wood, split fine and dried; let the
wood burn down, stir the coals evenly over the bottom of the
oven, and let them lie till they are like embers. When the
oven is sufficiently hot, the bricks at the arch and sides will
be clear from any color of smoke. Sweep out the oven;


BREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES, ETC.
423
throw in a little flour on the bottom; if it turns black at
once, do not put in the bread, but let it stand a few moments
and cool.
It is a good rule to put the fire in the oven when the dough
is made up—the latter will rise, and the former heat in about
the same time.
When the bread is in the oven it must be kept closed, ex-
cept it is opened for a moment to see how the bread appears.
If the oven is properly heated, loaves of the size named, will
be done 1J or 2 hours. They will weigh 3^ lbs. neariy, per loaf.
When loaves are done, place them on a clean shelf in a cool
pantry. Jf the crust should be scorched, or the bread too
much baked, the loaves, when taken from the oven, may be
wrapped in a clean coarse towel, which has been slightly
damped. Keep a light cloth over all the loaves. When one
has been cut, it should be kept in a tight box to prevent its
drying.
Obs.— Three things must be exactly right in order to have
good bread—the quality of the yeast; the lightness or fermen-
tation of the dough; and the heat of the oven. No precise
rules can be given to ascertain these points. It requires obser-
vation, reflection, and a quick, nice judgment, to decide when
all are right.
Milk Bread.—To 14 pounds of flour use a pint of yeast, 4
eggs, and milk of the warmth it comes from the cow; make it
into a dough, the thickness of hasty-pudding; leave it 2 hours
to rise; sift over it a sufficient quantity of fine salt; work it
with flour to a proper consistence. It takes a quick oven:
always try a little bit before the bread is made up, as it will
show the state of the bread as well as the oven.' A very light Potato Bread.—Dry 2 pounds of fine flour, and
rub into it a pound of warm mealy potatoes; add warm milk
and water, with a sufficient quantity of yeast and salt, at the proper time; leave it 2 hours to rise in a warm corner, in
winter; bake it in tin shapes, otherwise it will spread, as the
* If the ove'j ir cold, it will Bodden j if too hot, it will burn; if the bread has not been enough worked, it will rise in holes. The proof of well-made
bread is the fine, close, yet light texture. Some flour takes n.uch mora work-
ing than others, and some, more water.


424
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK. dough will rise very light. It makes nice hot tolls for butter.
An excellent tea or bun bread is made of it, by adding sugar,
eggs, and currants.*
Bread for flatulent Stomachs.—Add to a pound of well-dried
sifted flour 8 eggs; sift in a pound of sugar; beat all together
for an hour and a half; form it into cakes, and bake them in a
quick oven.f
Excellent Household Bread— Take 4 quarts of the best flour,
a tea-spoonful of salt, three table-spoonsful of yeast, a pint and
a half of warm water.
Another Excellent Bread.—Sift half a peck of the finest flour
into a kneading-trough; make a hole in the middle, and put in
half a pint of warm milk, and half a pint of good yeast; work
it with a little of the flour; cover it well up in a warm place
an hour to rise; add 1^ pint of milk and half a pint of water,
of a proper warmth, with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
and 2 spoonsful of sugar; knead it well, and set it again before
the fire; put in a little fine pounded salt; knead it well; form
it, and put it again before the fire to rise; bake in a quick oven.
Obs.—Where families bake but once a week—often the case
in the country during winter—they will find simple additions
very economical, as the bread goes much farther, and, if well
made, keeps longer sound and good. In families, two kinds
of bread are generally made; and this management holds
equally good with both. When the large batch is made, a
certain quantity may be taken off, into which a little butter or
top-pot, eggs, carraway-seeds, currants, ginger, &C., may be
added; also, sugar may be worked in. Two or three different
cakes may be thus prepared for breakfast, tea, or the children.
Such cake-bread is more nourishing than rich cakes, and less
likely to injure children.
* When broad gets stale, particularly at pea, where it is very apt to get
mouldy, dip it in water, wipe, and dry it in a middling hot oven. It may also
be cut in pieces, and dried as hard as rusks. Sugur and eggs should always be put into bread for sea store, as it keeps longer.
t W hen bread sours upon flatulent stomachs, instead of having recourse to
diet bread, it is better to soak good light bread in a quantity of hot or cold
water ; this takes outthc gelatine, which may be donein more or less quantity,
according to the degree necessary to the stomach, for which it is prepared.


BREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES. ETC.
425
Brown, vr Dyspepsia Bread.—This breud, made of unbolted
wheaten flour, is an excellent article of diet for the dyspeptic,
and would be beneficial for most persons of sedentary habits.
The most difficult point in making this bread is to obtain good
pure meal. To make it, take 6 quarts of meal, 1 tea-cupful of
good yeast, and half a tea-cupful of molasses; mix these with
a pint of milk-warm water, and a tea-spoonful of pearl-ash or
saieratus: make a hole in the flour, and stir in this mixture in
the middle of the meal till it is 'ke batter. Proceed as with
fine flour bread. When sufficiently light, make the dough into
4 loaves, which will weigh 2 lbs. per loaf, when baked, h
requires a hotter oven than fine flour bread, and must bake about an hour and a half.
Rye and Indian Bread.—There are many different propor
tions of mixing it—some put one-third Indian meal with two
of rye; others like one-third rye and two of Indian; others
prefer it half and half.
If you use the largest proportion of rye meal, make your
dough stiff, so that it will mould into loaves; when it is two-
thirds Indian, it should be softer, and baked in deep earthen or
tin pans, after the following rule:
Take 2 quarts cf sifted Indian meal; put it into a glazed
earthen pan, sprinkle over it a table-spoonful of fine salt; pour
over it about a quart of boiling water, stir and work it till
every part of the meal is thoroughly wet; Indian meal absorbs
a greater quantity of water. When it is about milk-warm,
work in 1 quart of rye meal and a tea-cupful of lively yeast,
mixed with half a pint of warm water; add more warm water,
if needed. Work the mixture well with your hands: it should
be stiff, but not firm as flour dough. Have ready a large,
deep, well-buttered pan; put in the dough, and smooth the top
by putting your hand in warm water, and then patting down
he loaf. Set this to rise in a warm place in the winter; in
he summer it should not be put by the fire. When it begins
to crack on the top, which will usually be in about an hour or
an hour and a half, put it into a well-heated oven, and bake it
nearly 3 hours. It is better to let it stand in the oven all
night, unless the weather is warm. Indian meal requires ic
be well cooked. The loaf will weigh about 4 lbs. Pan bread
Keeps best in large loaves, 


426
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
Indian bread is economical, and, when wheat is scarce, is a
pretty good substitute for dyspepsia bread.
Obs.—Many use milk in mixing bread. In the country,
where milk is plentiful, it is a good practice, as bread is cer-
tainly richer wet with sweet milk than with water; but it will not keep so long in warm weather.
Baking can very well be done in a stove ; during the winter, this is an economical way of cooking; but the stove must be
carefully watched, or there is danger of scorching the bread.
Yeast.—It is impossible to have good light bread, unless
you have lively, sweet yeast. When common family beer is
well brewed and kept in a clean cask, the settlings are the best
of yeast. If you do not keep beer, then make common yeast
by the following method :—
Take 2 quarts of water, 1 handful of hops, 2 of wheat bran;
boil these together 20 minutes; strain off the water, and while
it is boiling hot, stir in either wheat or rye flour, till it becomes
a thick batter; let it stand till it is about blood-warm; then
add a half pint of good smart yeast and a large spoonful of
molasses, if you have it, and stir the whole well. Set it in a
cool place in summer, and a warm one in winter. When it
becomes perfectly light, it is fit for use. If not needed imme-
diately, it should, when it becomes cold, be put in a clean jug
or bottle; do not fill the vessel, and the cork must be left loose
till the next morning, when the yeast will have done working.
Then cork it tightly, and set in a cool place in the cellar. It
will keep 10 or 12 days.
Obs.—Never keep yeast in a tin vessel. If you find the old
yeast sour, and have not time to prepare new, put in salcratus,
a tea-spoonful to a pint of yeast, when ready to use it. If ii
foams up lively, it will raise the bread; if it does not, never
use it.
To Preserve Yeast.—Lay the yeast with a brush on a board
or tub, and as it dries, lay on more, and continue to do so till
it cracks and falls off; put it into clean bottles, and cork it
well. This is excellent for taking to sea, where sugar-beer
with little trouble might be made in any quantity, and always fresh.


428
MRS. bale's new cook book.
ROLLS.
French Rolls are usually made by the bakers, but in country
houses, where families bake their own bread, they may be
done in either of the following ways :—
Sift 1 lb. of flour, and rub into it 2 ozs. of butter; mix in
the whites only of 3 eggs beaten to a froth, and a table-spoon-
ful of strong yeasty to which add enough of milk, with a little
salt, to make a stiff dough, and set it, covered, before the fire
to rise—which will take about an hour; and, if cut into small
rolls, and put into a quick oven, will be done in little more
than 10 minutes.
Or:—Take quarter of peck of the very finest flour, 1 oz. of
butter melted in milk and water: mix with it 2 or 3 spoonsful
of yeast, according to its strength, and strain it through a hair
sieve; whisk the white of an egg and work it into a light paste,
add salt, and leave it all night. Then work it up well again
and make it into rolls.
English Rolls.—Sift 1 lb. of flour into a pan, and mix with
it a small tea-spoonful of salt. Warm a gill of milk and
water; make a hole in the middle of the flour and put into it
a gill of brewer's yeast, making it all into a thin batter, which
must be stirred until quite free from lumps: then strew a
handful of flour over it; set it in a warm place, and leave it ta
rise, which will take 2 hours or more; let it, however, remain
until it has cracked on the top, and then make it into a dough
with more milk and water. Knead it well for 10 minutes,
cover it, and set it again to rise for 20 minutes longer. Then
form the dough into small rolls, bake them, and send them to
table hot.
Or:—To 2 lbs. of flour well dried, and 1 pint of water milk-
warm, put 3 spoonsful of yeast: then knead in 2 ozs. of fresh
butter and a little salt, and work all well together. The oven
must be very quick, and quarter of an hour will bake them;
the dough should make 12 rolls.
Or:—One pound and a half of flour, a pint of milk. 1 egg,
»nd 2 spoonsful of yeast, well mixed and set before the nre to
rise, will make still nicer rolls, and 20 minutes will bale* them.
They should be served hot, cut in 3, buttered, put together
again, and covered when brought to table.


430
MRS. IliLLK'S KEW COOK BOOK.
put in a wine-glassful of yeast, half a pint of milk, and \
little salt. Roll the dough into small balls, and set them to
rise. When risen sufficiently, bake them in a quick oven.
Biscuits.—A pound and a half of flour, made wet with equal
quantities of milk and water, moderately warm, made stiff'
and rolled out very thin; cut them to any size you please,
piick them, and bake them in a moderate oven on a tin. No
float to be put on the tins or biscuits.
Soda Biscuit.—Take 1 lb. of flour, and mix it with milk
enough to make a stiff dough; dissolve in a little milk 1 tea spoonful of carbonate of soda; add this to the paste, with a
tea-spoonful of salt. Work it well together, and roll it out
thin; cut it into round biscuits, and bake them in a moderate
oven. The yolk of an egg is sometimes added.
A Oalette.—The galette is a favorite cake in France, and
may be made rich, and comparatively delicate, or quite com-
mon, by using more or less butter for it, and by augmenting
or diminishing the size. Work lightly three-quarters of a
pound of good butter into 1 lb. of flour, add a large salt-
spoonful of salt, and make these into a paste with the yolks oi
a couple of eggs mixed with a small cup of good cream,
should it be at hand; if not, with water; roll this into a com-
plete round, three-quarters of an inch thick; score it in small
diamonds, brush yolk of egg over the top, and bake the galette
for about half an hour in a tolerably brisk oven; it is usually
eaten hot, but is served cold also. 1 oz. of sifted sugar is
sometimes added to it.
A good galette:—flour, 1 lb.; butter, three-quarters of a
pound; salt, 1 salt-spoonful; yolks of eggs, 2; cream,
small cupful: baked half an hour. Common galette: flour,
2 lbs.; butter, three-quarters to 1 lb.; no eggs.
Tea Cakes—Rub into 1 lb. of flour 2 ozs. of butter, a
beaten egg, and half a tea-spoonful of salt; wet it with
warmed milk; make the paste rather stiff, and let it remain
before the fire, where it will be kept warm for an hour or two;
then roll it thin, and cut it with the top of a tumbler; bake it quick.


DREAD, BREAKFAST CAKES, ETC. 431
Breakfast Cake.—Put into a quart of flour four ounces of
butter, and, if you use new milk, put in three large spoonfuls
of yeast; make it into biscuits, and prick them with a fork.
If you have sour milk, omit the yeast, and put a tea-spoon-
ful of pearlash in the sour milk; pour it while effervescing
into the flour. These biscuits are less likely to injure th*
Health than if raised with yeast.
Cream Short Cakes—In the country, where cream is plenty,
this is a favorite cake at the tea table. Hub into a quart of
flour a bit of butter as large as an egg, sprinkle over a tea
spoonful of salt; take half a pint of thick cream,a little sour,
half a tea-spoonful of pearlash dissolved in water, poured into
the cream, and milk added sufficient to wet the flour. Some
use all cream, and tha' sweet. Then there needs no pearlash.
It is expensive food.
Belvidere Cakes, for Breakfast or Tea.—Take 1 quart of
flour, 4 eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, i, piece of
lard the same size; mix the butter and lard well in the flour;
beat the eggs light in a pint bowl, and fill it up with cold milk:
then pour it gradually into the flour; add a tea-spoonful of
salt; work it for 8 or 10 minutes only; cut the dough with i.
knife the size you wish it; roll them into cakes about the size of a breakfast-plate, and bake in a quick oven.
Laplands, for Breakfast or Tea.—Beat separately the whites
and yolks of 5 eggs; add 1 pint of rich cream, and 1 pint of
flour, or perhaps a little more—enough to make it the consist-
ency of pound-cake. Bake it in small round tins, in a quick
oven.
Sally Limn Tea Cakes.—To 1 quart of milk, add a quarter
of a pound of butter, 3 eggs, (yolks and whites beaten sepa-
rately.) 1 tea-spoonful of salt, 1 gill of yeast; beat it very
light. Let it rise an hour, and bake it in a quick oven.
Nuvls Puffs.—Boil for a few minutes 1 pint of milk with
half a pound of butter; then stir the milk and butter into three-
quarters of a pound of flour; sti • it until it does not stick to
the sides of the pot; let it cool; add the yolks of 9 eggs ;


432
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
beat the whites to a stiff froth and stir them in last. Butter
small round tins, and fill them half full.
Rusks.—Beat 7 eggs well, and mix with half a pint of new
milk, in which have been melted 4 ozs. of butter; add to it a
quarter of a pint of yeast and 3 ozs. of sugar, and put them by
degrees into as much flour as will make a very light paste,
rather like a batter, and let it rise before the fire half an hour;
then add some more flour to make it a little stiffer, but not
Btiff. Work it well, and divide it into small loaves or cakes,
about 5 or 6 inches wide, and flatten them. When baked,
and cold, slice them the thickness of rusks, and put them in
the oven to brown a little. The cakes, when first baked, eat
deliciously, if buttered for tea; or, made with carraways, to
eat cold.
Flannel Cakes.—Beat the yolks of 3 eggs, and put them into
1 quart of milk; stir in flour till it is about the thickness of
buckwheat or pan-cake batter; then add 2 table-spoonsful of
yeast—if the yeast be good, 1-J will do; and lastly, the whites
of the 3 eggs, beaten light. Let it rise about 3 hours, and
bake it on a griddle as you would buckwheat cakes.
Or:—Stir into 2 pints of flour as much milk as will make a
light batter. Melt a large lump of butter, and add with it a
little salt. Beat together 5 eggs, and stir them into the batter.
These cakes are to be baked on a griddle. Serve them with
powdered sugar.
Muffins.—Take 1 pint of new milk, 1 pint of hot water, 4
lumps of sugar, 1 egg, half a pint of good brisk yeast, and
flour enough to make the mixture quite as thick as pound-
cake. Let it rise well; bake in hoops on a griddle.
Rice Muffins.—Rice muffins are made in the same manner
exactly as rice cakes, except that the batter of the former is
thinner—that is, to a quart of milk and 3 egg", you put less
rice and less flour.
Rice Cakes.—Boil a cupful of rice until it becomes a jelly;
while it is warm, mix a large lump of butter with it and a lit-
tle salt. Add as much milk to a small teacupful of flour as
will make a tolerable stiff batter—stir it until it is quite 


434
Mrs. Hale's new cook book, stirred in gradually, so as to have it free from lumps. Put in
b table-spoonful of melted butter, a couple of beaten eggs, a
tea-spoonful of salt, and half a tea-cup of yeast. When risen,
fill your waffle-irons with the batter, bake them on a bed of
coals. When they have been on the fire between 2 and 3
minutes, turn the waffle-irons over—when brown on both sides,
they are sufficiently baked. The waffle-irons should be well
greased with lard, and very hot, before each one is put in.
The waffles should be buttered as soon as cooked. Serve them
up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon.
Quick Waffles.—Mix flour and cold milk together, to make
a thick batter. To a quart of the flour put 6 beaten eggs, a
table-spoonful of melted butter, and a tea-spoonful of salt
Some cooks add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and half a nut-
meg. Bake them immediately.
RiceWaffles.—Take a tea-cup and a half of boiled rice—
warm it with a pint of milk, mix it smooth, then take it from
the fire, stir in a pint of cold milk, and a tea-spoonful of salt.
Beat 4 eggs, and stir them in, together with sufficient flour to
make a thick batter.
Wafer Cakes.—Wafer cakes are an excellent tea-cake, and
they do not take long to make, although a little practice is ne-
cessary before they can be successfully made.
Beat 3 eggs quite light. Wash a little less than a quarter
of a pound of butter, to extract the salt from it, and mix it
with a quarter of a pound of sifted sugar—add the beaten eggs,
a tea-spoon of rose-water, and as much flour (that has been
carefully passed through a sieve) as will make a stiff batter.
Stir the batter with a wooden spoon until it is perfectly smooth
and so tight as to break when it falls against the sides of the
vessel. Your wafer-iron should be heated, but not too hot, or
the butter will burn. Grease the iron with butter tied up in
i linen rag, twice doubled. Fill the iron with the batter and
close it. Place it in the fire in such a manner that both sides
will heat at once; if this cannot be done, turn the iron fre-
quently. The batter should be cooked in about 2 minutes.
Take out the wafer, split it open with a knife, and butter it,
or sprinkle it with pounded sugar and roll it over a smooth
stick made for the purpose. »
Grease the iron every time you put in the batter.


436
MBS SALE S NEW COOK BOOK.
Johnny Cake.—Take a quart of sifted Indian meal, sprinkle a little salt over it, and mix it with scalding water, stirring it
well; bake it on a board before the fire, or on a tin in a stove.
It is healthy food for children, eaten warm (not hot) with mo-
lasses or milk.
Indian cake made with buttermilk, or sour milk, with a lit-
tle cream or butter rubbed into the meal, and a tea-spoonful
of pearl-ash in the milk, is very light and nutritious.
Indian Shippers.—Take 1 quart of Indian meal, 2 quarts of
milk, and 4 eggs; beat the eggs and put them into the milk,
and then stir in the meal with a little salt. They require
no rising and may be made 5 minutes before they are to
be baked. Bake them on a griddle, as you would buckwheat
cakes.
Hoe Cakes.—Scald 1 quart of Indian meal with just water
enough to make a thick batter. Stir in 2 tea spoonsful of salt
and 2 table-spoonsful of butter. Put it in a buttered tin pan,
and bake it half an hour.
Egg-bread {for Breakfast.)—Cut stale bread in slices;
dip it in cold water; let it soak until thoroughly moist; beat
one or more eggs, according to the quantity of bread, and
put in a little salt. Dip the bread in the eggs so that both
sides will be covered with it, and then fry it in lard. This
is a good way to use stale bread.
Rice Omelets {for Breakfast or Tea.)—Take 1 pint of
cold boiled rice. Mix with 2 eggs well beaten, a little salt,
1 pint of milk, and flour enough to make a batter not very
stiff. Put in a frying-pan a little butter, and fry the batter
in it. This quantity should make three cakes as large as a
dessert-plate, and about half an inch thick.


COFFEE, TEA, CHOCOLATE.
489
»Uow it a quarter of an hour to settle, and when perfectly
clear, decant it. Isinglass is sometimes used to clarify the
coffee; but by this addition you lose some portion of its
delicious aroma.
This is the ea/e-noir served after dinner in French families,
without cream or milk; the sugar is served in lumps.
Tea.—Tastes differ regarding the flavor of various sorts or
lea: some preferring all black; others, all green; and many,
i mixture of both in different quantities; though most persons
—when not fearful of their nerves—agree that fine Hyson is
the best. A good mixture, in point of flavor, we know to be
two-fifths black—two-fifths green, and one-fifih gunpowder: all
being, of course, of superior quality.
Presuming all ladies to be intimately acquainted with the
mode of making tea, yet, to some, a few hints on the subject
may not perhaps be found objectionable.
First, never make it in any other than a highly-polished tea-
pot, for it is a chemical fact that metal retains the heat longer
than earthenware; and the better it is polished, the more com-
pletely will the liquid be kept hot, and the essence of the tea
be extracted. A silver tea-pot is decidedly the best; for you
will be sure that the metal is not mixed up with zinc or other
materials of a pernicious nature.
Secondly, see that the water be really boiling, not simmer-
ing, as is too commonly the case when taken from an urn, but
kept either on the fire until boiled, or in one of those metal
tea-kettles warmed by a spirit-lamp, as formerly used by pur
grandmothers, and now—thanks to good taste in tea-drinking
.—again coming into fashion.
A good way of making Tea.—A tea-spoonful of tea for each
person. Heat the tea-pot first with some boiling water, then
pour that into the tea-cups to warm them; put in the tea, and
pour water enough on the tea to cover it; let it stand 3 or 4
minutes, then nearly fill the tea-pot with water, let it stand a
few minutes and pour out, leaving some portion of tea in the
pot when you replenish, that all the strength may not be
poured away in the first cup.
Obs.—Never add fresh tea to that which has already been
»oade, by way of strengthening it; for it will not have that


CHAPTER XXX.
LIQUEURS AND SUMMER BEVERAGES.
H 'ater-Filter— Soda. Wa ter—Beer—Spruce— Ginger—Mad—-Nectar—Syrup—Lemonade—Orange Water—Raspberry Vinegat— Verjuice—Cura^ua—Ralafia—Noyeau—Mint Julep—
Sherbets—Nut Beverages—Punch—Milk Lemonade—Bishop—'
Mulled Cider—Mulled Wine—Home-made Wines.
Observations. — Water is the best beverage to quench
thirst and preserve the system in perfect health. But this
requires pure, sweet, wholesome water, and such a beverage is
not often found: therefore, substitutes or antidotes are sought
out. People who decline entirely the use of these, must be
very particular to clarify the water they use; and it would be
well if this were done by all.
A Cheap Water-Filter.—Make a mattress of charcoal to fit
a large common flower-pot,—"put it in the bottom, with a mat-
tress of sand over it, each about 5 inches thick; hang this pot
on a cock, with a vessel under to receive the water. Where
there is no filter, this is in every one's power.
Obs.—A bit of quick-lime thrown into a water-cask is useful
in purifying the water. Agitating the water and exposing
it to the air, will both soften it and help to keep it fresh.
Strain muddy water through a fine sieve, in which a cloth and
sponge, or layer of fine sand or charcoal is placed.
Soda Water rarely contains any soda; it being merely com-
mon water charged with fixed air. It is often drunk to neu-
tralize acid in the stomach, in which case 15 or 20 grains of
carbonate of soda, finely powdered, should be put into a huge
glass, and tho contents of a bottle of soda water poured on it.
442


UQUEUKS AND SUMMER BEVERAGES.
447
ybyeau.—The real liqueur under this name is made in the
island of Martinique, upon a foundation cf French brandy, with
a species of berry grown in the island, and sweetened with
syrup. It requires age to give it the flavor of the berry, and
even in the West Indies is far from being cheap. The follow-
ing recipes, however, are good imitations.
Blanch 3 ozs. of bitter and the same quantity of sweet almonds, and bruise them in a mortar; add them, with tho
rind of 2 lemons, to 1 quart of English gin, which must be kept
in a moderate heat for 3 days and nights. Shake the bottle
3 or 4 times a-day, then add 14 ozs. of loaf-sugar dissolved in
half a pint of boiling water, and let it stand 1 day and night
longer, shaking the bottle frequently; then strain it, and filter
it afterwards in blotting-paper such as the chemists use; bottle
it, and it will be fit to drink in 6 months, but will improve by
keeping for a year.
Or :—To 1 quart of English gin, or, what is better, of good
French brandy, put 3 ozs. of bitter almonds, blanched and cut
into pieces, and the rind of 3 lemons. Let it stand 3 days be-
fore the fire, shaking the bottle 2 or 3 times a-day; then add
1 lb. of good loaf-sugar, or half a pint of syrup; let it dissolve,
shaking it frequently during the day or two which it will take;
then filter it through blotting-paper.
Mint Julep (an American Recipe.)—Strip the tender leaves
if mint into a tumbler, and add to them as much wine, brandy,
or any other spirit, as you wish to take. Put some pounded
ice into a second tumbler; pour this on the mint and brandy,
and continue to pour the mixture from one tumbler to the
other until the whole is sufficiently impregnated with the flavor
of the mint, which is extracted by the particles of the ice com-
ing into brisk contact when changed from one vessel to the
other. Now place the glass in a larger one, containing pounded
ice: on taking it out of which it will be covered with frost-
woik.
Turkish Sherbets.—Extract by pressure or infusion the rich
|uice and fine perfume of any of the odoriferous flowers or fruits; mix them in any number and quantity to taste.
When these essences, extracts, or infusions are prepared,
they may be immediately used, by mixing in proper prepor


448
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
tions of sugar; or syrup and water, some acid fruit, such as
lemon, pomegranate, tamarind, &c., are added to raise the fla-
vor, but not to overpcwer the perfume, or taste of what the
shei bet is made.
These sherbets are very healthy, having all that is exhila-
rating, with the additional refreshing and cooling qualities so
requisite in hot countries, and free from fermentation, which is
destructive in certain degrees to health, however satisfying
for the moment.
Almond and Nut Beverages.—Dry and clear the nuts from
the skins, and blanch the almonds; make them very crisp in
the mouth of the oven, preserving them perfectly white, and
reduce them into fine powder with triple-refined sugar, and
serve it in a crystal basin along with iced water.
This may also be perfumed or acidulated by drying any es-
sence or colors into the sugar, before it is pounded.
To make Punch.—To make 2 quarts, provide 2 fine fresh
lemons, and upon a few lumps of sugar rub or grate off the
outer peel; put the sugar into a bowl, and add half a pound
of white sugar, in powder, upon which press the juice i~" the
lemons; mix the whole with a crusher, add the thin rind of
another lemon, and %\ pints of very hot water that has not
boiled. The sherbet being thus prepared, add a pint of rum,
and half a pint of brandy; stir together; pass it through a
silver strainer, or one of wood and muslin, and let it stand a
few minutes before it is drunk. Whisky punch may also be
made as above.
In making punch, there are a few points to be specially at-
tended to. The water should not be at boiling heat when it is
mixed, nor should it before have been boiled, else the punch
will not have the creamy head sc much relished: the powdered
sugar will likewise aid this effect. Punch should be well mixed,
which may be done by stirring in each ingredient as it is
added; or, a good plan is to pour the punch from one jug to
another, so that it be not too much cooled in the pouring.
Punch, when made with green tea instead of water, is ex-
cellent; or, if it be mixed in a large tea-pot instead of a bowl,
upon green tea leaves.
Arrack will much improve punch: its flavor may be imi


L1QUEUKS AKD SUMMEB BEVEKAftES.
449
tated by dissolving a scruple of the flower of benjamin in each
[hit of rum. The juice and thin peel of B Seville orange add
variety of flavor to punch; especially of whisky punch; lime-
juice is also an excellent addition. On no account, however,
should citric acid be substituted for the fresh juice of the lemon,
since it lacks the delicate flavor and perfume of the fresh fruit.
Several additions may be made to soften the flavor of punch:
as a wine-glass of porter, or of sherry; a table-spoonful of red
currant jelly; a piece of fresh butter • or the substitution of
capillaire for sugar.
Milk Punch.—Grate 6 oranges and 6 lemons with loaf
sugar; pare them very thinly, and steep the peel for a day in
ft bottle of rum or brandy; squeeze the oranges and lemons
upon 2 pounds of loaf sugar, including that with the peel fla-
vor, and pour on it 4 quarts of water and 1 of new milk, both
boiling; strain the rum or brandy from the peels into the
above, and run it through a jelly-bag till clear, when bottle
and cork it.
Delicious Milk Lemonade.—Dissolve 6 ounces of loaf sugar
in a pint of boiling water, and mix with them a quarter pint
of lemon-juice, and the same quantity of sherry; then add
three-quarters of a pint of cold milk, stir' the whole well to
gether, and pass it through a jelly-bag till clear.
Bishop.—Roast A good-sized bitter oranges till they are of the pale brown color; lay them in a tureen, and put over them
half a pound of pounded loaf sugar, and 3 glasses of claret;
place the cover on the tureen, and let it stand till next day
When required for use, put the tureen into a pan of boiling
water, press the oranges with a spoon, and run the juice through
a sieve; then boil the remainder of the bottle of claret, taking
care that it do not burn; add it to the strained juice, and serve
it warm in glasses.
To Mull Cider.—If your cider be hard, reduce it with water
to a palatable strength; set it on to boil with a few allspice in
it For every quart of cider take 8 eggs, and, while the cider *
is heating, beat the eggs in a large pitcher, with as much sugar
as you may think sufficient: by the time the cider boils, they
23


LIQUEURS AND SUMMER BEVERAGES.
451
vegetable extract, the tartaric or malic acids, and water. Sugar is the most essential of these, as "om its decomposition alco-
hol is derived. The mo»i saccharine juices, therefore, produce
the sti ongest wine; hence the necessity of adding sugar to all
fruit in which the tartaric acid predominates.
The use of brandy is quite unnecessary, if the wine is pro-
perly fermented, and it keeps sound much better without it.'' Yeast also should never be used in wine made of fresh fruit, as
if the proportions are properly adjusted, the fruit will ferment
of itself.
Ripe Grape Wine.—Grape wine is the finest of all home-
made wines. In a plentiful year, 15 pounds of grapes, or even
20 pounds should be used to each gallon of water. They
should be picked from the stalks, and slightly broken with the
hand; let them stand for 3 days, when press them, draw off
the liquor and wash any remaining flavor from the husks. Add
2 pounds of good sugar to each gallon of the juice and water,
and draw it off into a cask to ferment: examine it carefully
once a week, and when the fermentation has nearly subsided,
rack it off; if it has been reduced, put into the cask 1 pound
of sugar candy, bung it down, and let it stand 15 months
before it is bottled.
Very superior wine is made from the pure juice of ripe
grapes, with from 1 to 2 pounds of sugar, and 1 ounce of crude
tartar to each gallon.
To make Seven gallons of good Grape Wine.—Take 4 \ gal
Ions of water, and 5 gallons of ripe grapes; crush the fruit, and
soak it in the water for a week; then add 18 pounds of good
loaf-sugar, ferment, and put into a 1 gallon cask. Wine made
as above may be kept good for 10 years.
Wine from Unripe Grapes.—As the stems and husks of
* The use of wine is permitted, we may acid encouraged, by Scripture
•rathority; and, though the abuse of this privilege, when extended to intoxi-
cating drinks in general, has lod to such dreadful results of crime and misery,
as to induce many Christians to abstain entirely from wines, as well as from
distilled liquors, yet that the former may be considered, under proper restric-
tions, a suitable and beneficial beverage, is certain—because the Word of God
sanctions their use. Therefore, a few receipts for the manufacture of these
domestic wines, in which not a drop of distilled spirit is admitted, are neces-
sary to the wise household economy we advocate, that provides for every taste and enjoyment compatible with health, humanity, and virtue.


LIQUEURS AND SUMMER BEVERAGES.
453
gullon Allow 1 gallon of water and 3 pounds of sugar. Dis solve the sugar in the water, and take off the scum ; let it cool
add it to the currant juice, and put the mixture in a keg, buk
do not close it tightly till it has ceased fermenting, which will
not be under a week. In 3 or 4 weeks it may be bottled.
The white of an egg beaten, mixed with a tea-spoonful of cream
of tartar, and st xred into the liquid, makes the wine look clear and bright.
Or:—To every 3 pints of fruit, carefully cleared from any
that is mouldy or bad, put 1 quart of water ; bruise the former.
In 24 hours strain the liquor, and put to every quart 1 lb. of
sugar, of good middling quality of Lisbon. If for white cur-
rants use lump-sugar. It is best to put the fruit, &C., in a
large pan; and when in 3 or 4 days the scum rises, take that
off before the liquor is put into the barrel.
Those who make from their own gardens may not have suffi-
cient to fill the barrel at once: the wine will not be hurt if
made in the pan in the above proportions, and added as the
fruit ripens, and can be gathered in dry weather. Keep an ac-
count of what is put in each time.
French Currant Wine.—Dissolve 8 pounds of honey in 15
gallons of boiling water; to which, when clarified, add the
juice of 8 pounds of red or white currants. Then ferment for
24 hours, to every 2 gallons add 2 pounds of sugar, and clarify
with whites of eggs.
French Blackberry Wine.—Boil together 5 gallons of ripe
blackberries, 7 pounds of honey, and 6 gallons of water; strain,
and leave the liquor to ferment; then boil it again, and put it
into a cask to ferment.
Elder Wine.—To every gallon of picked ripe berries, allow
1 gallon of water, and let them stand 24 hours, often stirring
laem; then put them into a copper, and boil well for half an
hour, when draw the whole off, and strain it through a sieve;
put the juice into the copper a second time, and to each gallon
add 3£ lbs. of moist sugar; boil it for half an hour, and, within
the last 5 minutes, add, tied in muslin, bruised ginger and all-
spioe, of each 4 ounces to every 10 gallons; then take out the
spice, and, when cool, set the must to work, with some good


454
Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
yeast upon a toast. When it ceases to ferment put it into &
cask, bung down closely, let it stand 3 or 4 months, and bottle
it, though it may remain in the wood if more convenient. The addition of a few damsons, sloes, or any rough plum, to the
elder-berries, will give this wine the roughness of port. It
will likewise be improved by the addition of crude tartar,
oefore the wine is set to ferment.
A superior elder wine may be made by using, instead of
moist sugar, 4 pounds of loaf sugar to every gallon of mixed
juiceand water.
A rich and pleasant Wine.—Take new cider from the press,
mix it with as much honey as will support an egg, boil gently
lv> minutes, but not in an iron, brass, or copper pot; skim it
well ; when cool, barrel it, but do not quite fill the cask. In
March following bottle it, and it will be fit to drink in 6 weeks,
but will be less sweet if kept longer in the cask. You will
have a rich and strong wine, and it keeps well. This will
,reserve for any culinary purposes which sack or sweet wine is directed for.
Honey is a fine ingredient to assist, and render palatable,
new crabbed austere cider; but this should be made from
apples that are perfectly sound and of good quality.
RichRaspberry Wine.—Bruise the finest ripe raspberries
with the back of a spoon; strain them through a flannel bag
into a stone jar ; allow one pound of fine powdered loaf sugar
to one quart of juice; stir these well together and cover the
jar closely; let it stand three days, stirring the mixture up
every day. Then pour off the clear liquid and put two quarts
of sherry to each quart of juice or liquid. Bottle it off and
it will be fit for use in a fortnight.
Obs.—By adding Cognac brandy instead of sherry, the mix-
ture will be raspberry brandy.


CHAPTER XXXI.
PREPARATIONS OF FOOD FOR INVALIDS.
General Observations—To make Gruel—Caudle—Arrow-Root
—Tapioca—Sago—Sago Milk—Ground Rice Milk—Milk
Restorative—Suet—Asses' Milk—Barley — Baked— Calves'
Feet—Isinglass—Jellies—Panadas—Snippets—Broths—Eggs
—Stews — Puddings—Bread—Luncheon— Wheys— Butter,
milk—Drinks.
General Observations.—In the " Introductory, or the Phi-
losophy of Cookery"—(see page vii.)—will be found many
interesting facts respecting the properties and effects of differ-
ent kinds of food on the human constitution. From the phi
losophy thus set forth, rules of diet may be formed which will,
undoubtedly, be of much advantage in preserving health. But
still people will, at times, be sick and, for these, particular
care in preparing food is necessary. Many receipts, suitable for
invalids, are scattered through this volume, but we have here
brought together such as are more particularly intended for
the sick. These preparations, requiring great nicety and ex-
actness, should rarely be left to a domestic.
One of the loveliest accomplishments of a lady is to under-
ntand how to make the invalid in her family comfortable.
Food prepared by the kind hand of a wife, mother, sister,
friend, has a sweeter relish than the mere ingredients can give,
and a restorative power which money cannot purchase. These
receipts will enable the watchful attendant to vary the food, as
choice or symptoms may render expedient. Jellies and meat
broths, together with the various kinds of farinaceous food,
are the lightest on the stomach, as well as, generally, the most
nutritious for an invalid. Milk preparations are useful when
455


456
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
the lungs are weak. Food that the stomach can digest
without distressing the patient, is the kind that gives acvaal
strength.
To make Gruel.—Mix a dessert spoonful of fine oatmeal or
j a tent groats, in 2 of cold water, add a pint of boiling water,
and boil it 10 minutes, keeping it stirred.
Or, boil a quarter of a pint of groats in a quart of water for
about 2 hours; and strain through a sieve.
Stir into the gruel a small piece of butter, and some sugar,
nutmeg, or ginger, grated: or, if it be not sweetened, add a
small pinch of salt.
Indian Meal Gruel.—Sift the Indian meal through a fine
sieve; wet 2 spoonsful of this meal with cold water, and beat
it till there are no lumps; then stir it into a pint and a half
of boiling water, and let it boil half an hour, stirring it all the
time. Season it as liked best.
Barley Gruel.—Wash 4 ozs. of pearl-barley; boil it in 2
quarts of water with a stick of cinna-
mon, till reduced to a quart; strain
and return it into the sauce-pan with
sugar and three-fourths of a pint of port
wine; or, the same quantity of milk.
Heat up, and use as wanted.
The Etna.—This useful little ma-
chine is almost indispensable in a sick
room. It enables you to have a pint
of water boiled in a few minutes by
means of a small quantity of spirits of wine burnt in the saucer under the
The Etna. cup. A little measure is sold with it,
by which the quantity required can be regulated according to
whether the fluid to be heated is required to be boiled or not.
Flour Caudle.—Mix, smoothly, a table-spoonful of flour
with a gill of water; set on the fire in a sauce-pan a gill of
new milk, sweeten it, and, when it boils, add the flour and
water; simmei and stir them together for a quarter of an hour.


PREPARATIONS OF FOOD FOR INVALIDS.
457
White Caudle.—Make the gruel as above, strain through a
sieve, and stir it till cold. When to be used, sweeten it to
taste, grate in some nutmeg, and add a little white wine: a
little lemon-peel, or juice, is sometimes added.
The yolk of an egg, well beaten, may likewise be stirred
in when the gruel is boiling.
Rice Caudle.—This may be made with water or milk;
when it boils, add some ground rice, prev iously mixed smoothly
with a little cold water; boil till thick enough, when sweeten
it, and grate in nutmeg, or add a little powdered cinnamon.
Arrow-root.—It is very necessary to be careful not to get the
counterfeit sort; if genuine, it is very nourishing, especially
for persons with weak bowels. Put into a sauce-pan half a
pint of water, a glass of sherry or a spoonful of brandy, grated
nutmeg, and fine sugar; boil up once, then mix it by degrees
into a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root, previously rubbed smooth
with 2 spoonfuls of cold water.
Or:—Mix a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root with a little cold
water, have ready boiling water in a kettle, pour it upon the
arrow-root until it becomes quite clear, keeping it stirred all the
time; add a little sugar. Where milk may be taken, it is
very delicious made in the same way with milk instead of
water, a dessert spoonful of arrow-root, and half a pint of milk;
add a small bit of lemon-peel.
Tapioca.—Choose the largest sort, pour cold water on to
wash it 2 or 3 times; then soak it in fresh water 5 or 6 hours,
and simmer it in the same until it becomes quite clear; then
put lemon-juice, wine, and sugar. The peel should have been
boiled in it. It thickens very much.
Sago.—Cleanse it by first soaking it an hour in cold waters,
and then washing it in fresh water. To a tea-cupful add a
quart of water and a bit of lemon peel, simmer it till the ber-
ries are clear, season it with wine and spice, and boil it all up
together. The sago may be boiled with milk instead of
water, till reduced to one-half, and served without seasoning.
Sago Milk.—Clear.se as above, and boil it slowly, and
wholly with new milk. It swells so much, that a small quan


458
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
tity will be sufficient for a quart, and when done it will be
diminished to about a pint, it requires no sugar or flavoring.
Ground Rici Milk.—Boil 1 spoonful of ground rice, rubbed
down smooth, with 1 \ pint of milk, a bit of cinnamon, lemon
peel and nutmeg. Sweeten when nearly done.
Restorative Milk.—Boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass in
a pint of new milk till reduced to half, and sweeten.
Suet Milk.—Cut one ounce of mutton or veal suet into
shavings, and warm it slowly over the fire in a pint of milk,
adding a little grated lemon-peel, cinnamon and loaf-sugar.
Imitation of Asses' Milk.—Boil together equal quantities of
new milk and water, add 1 ounce of candied eringo-root:
sweeten with white sugar-candy, and strain.
Or: Stir into a gill each of milk and boiling water a well-
beaten egg, and sweeten with white sugar-candy.
Barley Milk.—Boil half a pound of washed pearl barley in
1 quart of milk and half a pint of water, and sweeten: boil it again, and drink it when almost cold.
Baked Milk—Is much recommended for consumptions.
The milk should be put into a moderately-warm oven, and be
left in it all night.
Calves' Feet and Milk.—Put into ajar 2 calves' feet with
a little lemon-peel, cinnamon, or mace, and equal quantities
of milk and water to cover them; tie over closely, and set in
a slack oven for about 3 hours: when cold, take off the fat;
and sweeten and warm as required.
Sheep's Trotters.—Simmer 6 sheep's trotters, 2 blades of
mace, a little cinnamon, lemon-peel, a few hartshorn shavings,
and a little isinglass, in 2 quarts of water, to 1; whe i cold,
take off the fat, and give nearly half a pint twice a-day A'ornv
ne with it a little new milk.


460
MRS. BALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
To make Panada in five minutes.—Set a little water on the
fire with a glass of white wine, some sugar, and a scrape of
nutmeg and lemon peel: meanwhile grate some crumbs of
bread. The moment the mixture boils up, keeping it still on
the fire, put the crumbs in, and let it boil as fast as it can.
When of a proper thickness just to drink, take it off.
Or :—Put to the water a bit of lemon peel, mix the crumbs in, and, when nearly boiled enough, put some lemon or orange
syrup. Observe to boil all the ingredients, for, if any be
added after, the panada will break and not jelly.
Chicken Panada.—Boil a chicken till about three parts ready
in a quart of water; take off the skin, cut the white meat off
when cold, and put into a marble mortar: pound it to a paste
with a little of the water it was boiled in, season with salt, a
grate of nutmeg, and the least bit of lemon peel. Boil gently
for a few minutes to the consistency you like; it should be such as you can drink, though tolerably thick.
This conveys great nourishment in B small compass.
Sippets—When the stomach will not receive meat, are very
nutritious, and prepared in this simple manner:—
On an extremely hot plate put 2 or 3 sippets (small square
pieces) of bread, and pour over them some gravy, from beef,
mutton, or veal, with which no butter has been mixed. Sprin-
kle a little salt over.
Broths, of Beef, Mutton and Veal.—Put 2 lbs. of lean beef,
1 lb. of scrag of veal, I lb. of scrag of mutton, sweet herbs,
and 10 peppercorns, into a nice tin sauce-pan, with 5 quarts
of water; simmer to 3 quarts, and clear off the fat when cold.
Add 1 onion, if approved.
Soup or broth made of different meats is more supporting
as well as better flavored.
To remove the fat, take it off when cold as clean as pessi-
blc; and if there be still any remaining, lay a bit of clean
blotting-paper on the broch when in the basin, and it will take
up every particle. Or, if the broth is wanted before there is
time to let it get cold, put a piece of cork up the narrow end
of a funnel, pour the broth into it, let it stand for a few min-
utes, and the fat will rise to the top- remove the cork, and


462
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
tea through a muslin sieve, and, if the patient be very delicate,
filter it through blotting-paper.
This tea is to be taken when cold, and will remain upon the
stomach when other nourishment fails; it may be given to
infants.
Eggs.—An egg broken into a cup of tea or beaten and mix-
ed with a basin of milk, makes a breakfast more supporting
than tea alone.
An egg divided, and the yolk and white beaten separately,
with a little wine put to each, will afford 2 very wholesome
draughts, and prove lighter than when taken together.
Eggs very little boiled, or poached, taken in small quantity,
convey much nourishment; the yolk only, when dressed,
should be eaten by invalids.
Stew for Persons in Weak Health.—Cut veal into slices, and
put them into an earthen jar, with sliced turnips, and a little
salt; cover closely, set the jar up to the neck in boiling water,
and stew till the meat is tender.
To Stew Partridges for the Sick.—Half stew 1 or 2 par-
tridges; cut them up; take out some of the largest bones;
put them in a chafing-dish, with the liquor they were stewed
in, with a little salt, mace, and lemon-zest; when cooked, send
it in the same dish to table.
All sorts of poultry and game are delicate in this way of
dressing, and most nutritive and proper for patients that re-
quire nourishment.
Puddings for Invalids.—Whatever farinaceous substance is
selected for a pudding should be boiled quite tender in milk,
and of a good thickness, so that the eggs may just set it, and
give it firmness enough to stand without breaking, when turned
out of the mould. These puddings for invalids cannot be made
too delicate: they should be well steamed for about an hour, or a quarter more, according to the size; and whether the
pudding be steamed or baked, it should never be taken from
the stew-pan or oven until within 2 or 3 minutes before it
sent to table,


PROPORTIONS OF JTOOD FOR INVALIDS.
465
plunge it into a jug of cold water, and cover it over an hour
before used. This is of particular use in weak bowels. It
should be of a fine brown color.
Barley Water.—1 oz. of pearl barley, half an ounce of white
sugar, and the rind of a lemon, put into a jug. Pour upon it
1 quart of boiling water, and let it stand for 8 or 10 hours;
then strain off the liquor, adding a slice of lemon, if desirable.
This infusion makes a most delicious and nutritious beverage,
and will be grateful to persons who cannot drink the horrid
decoction usually given. It is an admirable basis for lemon-
ade, negus, or weak punch, a glass of rum being the proportion
for a quart.
Barley Water with Honey.—Add the juice and rind of 1
lemon to 1 table-spoonful of honey and 2 teacupful of bar-
ley; put it into a jug, and pour a quart of boiling water
upon it.
Barley Water with Isinglass.—A table-spoonful of pearl-
barley, 6 lumps of loaf-sugar, half a lemon, and enough isin-
glass to clear it. Pour 2 quarts of boiling spring water on
these ingredients, and let it stand until cold.
Soda Water.—Dissolve 6 drachms of dried carbonate of
Boda in a quart bottle of water, and 4J drachms of tartaric
acid in another bottle of the same size; pour out a wineglass-
ful from each bottle, and throw them at the same time into a
tumbler, when it will immediately effervesce; it should be
drunk in this state. This is a good soda water and very cheap.
If 10 drops of the muriated tincture of iron be previously put
uitc the tumbler a most excellent and agreeable tonic mineral
water is produced, which strengthens the tone of the digestive
organs in a very remarkable degree.
Cream of Tartar—When to be taken, either medicinally or
as a cooling-drink, may be mixed in the proportion of fl heaped
teaspoonful to a pint of water, which has, when hot. been
poured upon the thin peel of half a lemon, and allotted to
stand till quite cold. Sweeten with honey or sugar.
29


466
*rs. male's new cook book.
Apple Water.—Cut 3 or 4 large apples into slices, put them
into a jug, and pour a quart of boiling water over them; cover
the jug. When quite cold, strain and sweeten it, and add a
little lemon juice.
A Refreshing Drink for the Sick.—Boil 2 ozs. of hartshorn
shavings in 1 quart of water; when quite dissolved set it aside
to settle, and before it is cold strain it upon half a lemon sliced
thin, with sugar to taste; cover it, and let it remain till cold,
mixing with it a glass of Moselle or French wine.
Cooling Drink.—A palatable and cooling drink may be
made by pouring hot water over slices of lemon; when cold, to be strained and sweetened.
Balm, Mint, and other Teas.—These are simple infusions,
the strength of which can only be regulated by the taste. They are made by putting either the fresh or the dried plants into
boiling water in a covered vessel, which should be placed near
the fire for an hour. The young shoots both of balm and of
mint are to be preferred, on account of their strong aromatic
qualities. These infusions may be drunk freely in feverish and
in various other complaints, in which diluents are recom-
mended. Mint tea, made with the fresh leaves, is useful in allaying nausea and vomiting.
Wholesome Beverage.—Boil a pint of sweet milk, add a tea-
spoonful of curry powder and sugar to your taste. Drunk
warm, it will be found a grateful beverage ftr those of weak
bowels, who may require to go abroad on cold mornings before
breakfast.
Cold Water and Ice.—A feverish habit in children, indeed real fevers, may be cured by keeping them clean, with fresh
air around them, and plenty of cold water to drink, or ice to
hold in the mouth. Break ice in small pieces, and let the
child or fever patient have it constantly by them. Ice thus
taken, will cure canker in the mouth, putrid sore throat, and
sickness of the stomach. Try it.


CHAPTER XXXII.
COOKERY FOR CHILDREN.
Observations on the Care of Children—Times of Giving Foci
important—Duty of Mothers—Food for Infants—Milk—
Porridge—Meats— Vegetables—Puddings—To prepare Fruit
—Hice and Apples—Fresh Fruits—Blackberry Jam, &c.
Some preparations of food proper for the young have been
given in the course of this work; nevertheless, we are sure a
chapter on this important subject, so generally neglected in
cookery books, will be welcomed by the judicious.
It is of great consequence to fix the times of taking food, as
well as to regulate the quantity given to a child. The mother
should, personally, attend to these arrangements; it is her
province.
There is great danger that an infant, under 3 years of age,
will be over-fed, if it be left to the discretion of the nurse.
These persons, generally, to stop the screaming of a child,
whether it proceed from pain, or crossness, or repletion (as it
often does)—they give it something to eat—often that which
is very injurious, to tempt the appetite; if it will only eat and
stop crying, they do not care for the future inconvenience
which this habit of indulgence may bring on the child and its
mother.
Arrange, as early as possible, the regular times of giving
food to your children, according to their age and constitution.
Young infants require food every 2 hours when awake; after
3 months old, they may go 3 hours—then cautiously lengthen
the time, as the child can bear it. But remember that all tem-
peraments are not alike. Some of the same age may require
more food than others. One rule, however, will apply to all
467


COOKER? FOR CHILDREN.
usually feeble, puny, and diseased in body, and are at best but
moderate in capacity.
The rational course seems to be, to feed infants, till about
3 years old, chiefly with milk and mild farinaceous vegetable
preparations; a large portion of good bread, light, well-baked,
and cold, should be given them; after that period, to propor-
tion their solid food to the amount of exercise they are able to
take. Children who play abroad in the open air, will require
more hearty nourishment, more meat, than those who are kept
confined in the house or school-room. From the age of 10 or
12 to 16 or 18, when the growth is most rapid and the exer-
cises (of boys especially) most violent, a sufficiency of plain
nourishing food should be given; there is little danger of their
taking too much, if it be of the right kind and properly
cooked. But do not allow them to eat hot bread, or use any
kind of stimulating drinks.
Food for a Young Infant.—Take of fresh cow's milk 1 table-
spoonful, and mix with 2 table-spoonsful of hot water; sweeten
with loaf-sugar as much as may be agreeable. This quantity
is sufficient for once feeding a new-born infant; and the same
quantity may be given every 2 or 3 hours—not oftener—till
the mother's breast affords the natural nourishment.
Thickened Milk for Infants, when6 months old.—Take 1 pint
of milk, 1 pint of water; boil it, and add 1 table-spoonful of
flour.
Dissolve the flour first in half a tea-cupful of water; it must
be strained in gradually, and boiled hard 20 minutes. As the
child grows older, one-third water. If properly made, it is the
most nutritious, at the same time the most delicate food, that
can be given to young children.
Broth—Made of lamb or chicken, with stale bread toasted,
tnd broken in, is safe and healthy for the dinners of children,
when first weaned.
Milk-—Fresh from the cow, with a very little loaf-sugar, is
good and safe food for young children. From 3 years old to
7, pure milk, into which is crumbled stale bread, is the best
breakfast and supper for a child.


4T0
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
For a Child's Luncheon.—Good sweet butter, with stale
bread, is one of the most nutritious, at the same time the most
wholesome articles of food, that can be given children after
they are weaned.
Milk Porridge.—Stir 4 table-spoonsful of oatmeal, smoothly,
into a quart of milk, then stir it quickly into a quart of boiling
water, and boil up a few minutes till it is thickened: sweeleu
with sugar.
Obs.—Oatmeal, where it agrees with the stomach, is much
better for children, being a fine opener as well as cleanser; fine
flour in every shape is the reverse. Where biscuit powder is
in use, let it be made at home; this, at all events, will prevent
them getting the sweepings of the baker's counter, boxes, and
baskets." Meats for Children.—Mutton, lamb, and poultry, are the best.
Birds and the white meat of fowls, are the most delicate food
of this kind that can be given. These meats should be slowly
cooked, and no gravy, if made rich with butter, should be eaten
by a young child. Never give children hard, tough, half
worked meats, of any kind.
Vegetables for Children, Eggs, dec.—Their rice ought to be
cooked in no more water than is necessary to swell it; their
apples roasted, or stewed with no more water than is neces-
sary to steam them; their vegetables so well cooked as to
make them require little butter, and less digestion; their eggs
boiled slow and soft. The boiling of their milk ought to be
directed by the state of their bowels; if flatulent or bilious, a
very little curry powder may be given in their vegetables with
good effect—such as turmeric and the warm seeds (not hot
peppers) are particularly useful in such cases.
Potatoes and Peas.—Potatoes, particularly some kinds, are
not easily digested by children; but this is easily remedied
by mashing them very fine, and seasoning them with sugar and a little milk.
* All the loft bread in the nursery, hard ends of stale loaves, &A.,ought to
ba dried in the oven or screen, and reduced to powder in the mortar.


472 *KS. hale's new cook book.
ter over them, and so continue till the dish is full; cover it
with crumbs, or prepared rice; season with cinnamon and
sugar. Bake it well.
Fruits for Children.—That fruits are naturally healthy in
their season, if rightly taken, no one, who believes that the
Creator is a kind and beneficent Being, can doubt. And yet
the use of summer fruits appears often to cause most fatal dis-
eases, especially in children. Why is this? Because we do
not conform to the natural laws in using this kind of diet.
These laws are very simple and easy to understand. Let
the truit be ripe when you eat it; and eat it when you re-
quire food.
Now, nearly one half of the summer fruits used are eaten in
an unripe or decaying state ; more than half sold in the cities are
in this condition. And this unhealthy fruit is often taken
when no fruit is needed, after the full dinner, or for pastime in
the evening. It is given to children to amuse them or stop
their crying, when they are often suffering from repletion. Is
it a wonder that fruits make people and children sick under
such circumstances ?*
In the country, fruits in their season usually form part of
the morning and evening meal of children with bread and milk;
fresh gathered fruits; and they seldom prove injurious, eaten
in this manner.
Fruits that have seeds are much healthier than the stone
fruits, except perhaps peaches. But all fruits are better, for
very young children, if baked or cooked in some manner, and
eaten with bread. The French, who are a healthful people,
always eat bread with raw fruit.
Apples and winter pears are very excellent food for chil
dren, indeed for almost any person in health; but best when
eaten at breakfast or dinner. If taken late in the evening, fruit-
often proves injurious. The old saying that apples are gold in
the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night, is pretty near the
truth. Both apples and pears are often good and nutritious
when baked or stewed, for those delicate constitutions that
cannot bear raw fruit.
* The summer sickness among children is often caused by their eating too
much meut, rich cakes, and high-seasoned, hearty food. During the hot months, they should eat mostly light coli bread, rice, milk, custards, &c,
with good ripefruits.


CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE DAIRY.
American Dairies^-Care of Milk—Devonshire Method—To
Make Butter—To Salt Butter—Making up Butter—Summer
Butter— Winter Butter—To Cure Butte,—Pickle for Butter
—To Make Cheese—Cheshire—Stilton—New Cheese—To
Keep Cheese—To Soften Old Cheese.
General Remarks.—Always to make good butter or cheese
shows great care and excellent judgment in the farmer's wife.
When every department of the dairy is kept perfectly neat,
there is hardly any exhibition of woman's industry more likely
to make her husband proud, or gratify a beholder of good
sense and benevolence, than the sight of a neat dairy-room
filled with the rich, valuable productions which her skill has
fashioned from the milk of the cow.
"The farmer's wife," says the accomplished Addison, " who
has made nine hundred cheeses, and brought up half a dozen
healthy children, is far more amiable in the eyes of unpreju-
diced reason, than the fine lady, who has made two millions
ofinsipid visits, and propagated scandal from one end of the
town to the other." The moral of this sentiment is true; ra-
tional employment, the industry either of hand or head, which
produces benefit to society, is the real test of excellence
in character,—and few American ladies desire any other
standard.
The secret of success in the dairy is strict attention and
scrupulous neatness in all its operations. The best time to
make butter is in June, when the pastures are rich with clo-
ver, and September, when the fall feed is in its perfection.
474


THE DAIRY. be opened, and the butter taken out and put into a shallow pan or tub. The buttermilk should be set aside for pigs or for do
mestic purposes. The next point is to squeeze the milk from
the butter, else it will not keep. This is usually done by
spreading the butter in the tub, beating it with the hand, or a
flat wooden spoon, and washing it repeatedly with clear spring
water, until all milkiness disappears in the water which is
poured off. Some persons maintain that the butter is injured
by washing, and that the buttermilk should be beaten out of it
with the hand, to be kept cool by frequently dipping it into
cold water; or with a moist cloth, wrapped in the form of a
ball, which soaks up all the buttermilk, and leaves the butter
quite dry, No person should work butter who has not a very
cool hand; the less it is handled the better, wherefore a woodet
spoon or spatula, is preferable to the hand.
To Salt Butter.—A half ounce of salt to a pound of but-
ter, is the rule. Add a little powdered sugar, say half a tea-
spoonful, and less salt; the butter is sweeter and keeps
better.
To make up Butter.—Butter requires more working in hot
than in cold weather. When it is free from buttermilk, and
salted, it should be divided into portions, if it is intended to
be eaten soon. It should then be made into rolls of 2 pounds,
or circular forms, to be impressed with some figure from
wooden print; the rolls are made oblong, ^'th four sides,
slightly flattened by throwing the lump on a stone or board
successively on each of the four sides, and then on the two
ends.
To make prints, first, work the butter into balls, and then
press on it the wooden pattern: trim the sides up along the
edge of the wood, and press the whole against a marble or
wooden slab, so as to have the impression uppermost, and
form a flattened cake. The wooden print is readily struck by
holding it in the left hand, and giving a smart blow with the
right upon it. A hole bored through the centre, prevents the
butter sticking from the exclusion of the air.
Box-wood moulds, for shaping butter, may be bought at the
turners': they are in the form of fir-cones, pine-apples, shells,
tud swans, or in little tufts, coral branches, &c.


478 MRS- ualb's new cook book.
Butter in Hot Weather—Is usually soft and unsightly ; to
prevent which, set the dish in which it is kept to stand in cold
spring-water, with a little saltpetre dissolved in it. Butter may also be kept cool in ice, or in water, but it should not
lit and long in the same water.
Butter in Winter.—To ensure good butter in Winter, wash
and beat it free from milk, and work it up quickly with half
an ounce of powdered saltpetre, and the same of loaf-sugar,
powdered, to every pound of butter; pack it very closely in
earthen jars or pots, and in a fortnight it will have a rich mar-
row flavor; it will keep for many months.
Obs.—To prevent butter made from the milk of a cow fed
with turnips having their flavor, pour a pint of boiling water
into the milk after milking: or, dissolve an ounce of saltpetre
in a pint of water, and put about a quarter of a pint into the
cream-pot with the cream from 3 good cows in a week.
To Cure Butter in thebest manner.—The following receipt
is from "The Housewife's Manual." a work said to have been
prepared by Sir Walter Scott.
Having washed and beaten the butter free of buttermilk,
work it quickly up, allowing a scanty half ounce of fine salt to
the pound. Let the butter lie for 24 hours, or more; then, for
every pound, allow a half ounce of the following mixture:—
Take 4 ounces of salt, 2 of loaf-sugar, and a quarter of an ounce
of saltpetre. Beat them all well together, and work the mix-
ture thoroughly into the butter; then pack it down in jars or
tubs. Instead of strewing a layer of salt on the top of the
butter, which makes the first slice unfit for use, place a layer
of the above mixture in folds of thin muslin, stitch it loosely,
and lay this neatly over the top, which will effectually pre-
serve it.
To Freshen Salt Butter.—Churn it anew in sweet milk, a
quart to the pound. The butter will gain in weight, To Improve Rancid Butter.—Wash it, melt it gradually,
»kim it, and put to it a slice of charred or hard-toasted bread
or some bits of charcoal.


THE DAIRY.
479
Pickle for Butter.—Allow half a pound of salt, an ounce of
saltpeter, and half a pound of sugar to 3 quarts of water. Dis-
solve them together; scald and skim the pickle, let it be en-
tirely cold, and then pour it over the butter.
Work out all the Butter-milk.—This must be done, or the
Dulter will not keep well; and do not make the butter too salt.
Never put butter in a pine tub.
TO MAKE CHEESE *
Pour out the milk, as soon as brought warm from the cow,
into the cheese-tub; add a sufficient quantity of rennet to turn
it, and cover it over with a cloth. This will make what is
called a one-meal cheese. Let it stand till it is completely
turned, when cut the curd with a cheese-knife or skimming-
dish, into uniform pieces. Cover up the tub, and allow it to
remain about 20 minutes. The pieces having settled, ladle
off the whey, gently gather and press the curd towards the
side of the tub, letting the whey pass through the fingers.
Then break the curd as small as possible, and salt it to taste,
either in the proportion of a handful of salt for every six gal Ions of milk, or about half an ounce to every pound of curd.
If the cheese be made of two meals of milk, unless in very
dot weather, a portion of the creamed milk of the first meal
should be made scalding hot, and poured back into the cold;
then, when well mixed, it should be poured into the cheese-
tub; and the second meal of milk added warm from the cow.
If, however, the milk be too hot, the cheese will be tough; as
the tenderness of the card depends upon the coolness of the
milk.
In making very rich cheeses, the whey should be allowed
tn run off slowly; for, if forced, it might carry off much of the
fret of the cheese. This happens more or less in every mode
of making cheese. To collect this superabundant fat, the
whey is set in shallow milk-pans, and an inferior kind of
butter, called whey butter, is made from the cream or fat
skimmed off.
If the cheese be colored, the substance used for coloring
* These receipts are, chiefly, English; as the cheese made in that country
At considered, by many people, superior to American cheese.


THE DAIRY. 4S1
the richness of the milk. The rennet should be very pure and
sweet; when the milk is coagulated, do not break the curd, as
in making other cheese, but take it out whole, drain it on a
sieve, and press it very moderately. Then put the curd into
a shape of the form of a cylinder (ten and a half inches deep,
and 8 inches over,) and turn it 4 or 5 times a day into clean
cloths. When it is sufficiently firm, bind a cloth or tape round
it to prevent its breaking, and set it on a shelf. It should be
occasionally powdered with flour, and plunged into hot water;
this hardens the outer coat, and assists the fermentation, or
ripening.
New Cheese.—Add a little hot water to 6 quarts of milk,
warm from the cow, with rennet to turn it; when it is set, cut
the curd, put it into a cheese-cloth, and hang it up; in half an
hour, again break the curd, hang it up, and allow it to remain
a few hours, when put it into the press; on the following day,
take out the cheese, salt each side, and in 2 days it will bo
ready for use.
To Keep Cheese.—The keeping of cheese depends upon the
mode of preparing it. Soft and rich cheeses are not intended
to be kept long; hard and dry cheeses are best adapted to be
kept. Of the first kind are all cream cheeses, and those soft
cheeses called Bath cheeses, which are sold as soon as made,
and if kept too long, become putrid. Stilton cheese is inter
mediate. Dutch, Cheshire, and Gloucestershire, and similar cheeses, are intended for longer keeping. The poorer the
cheese is, the longer it will keep; and all cheese that is well
cleared of whey, and sufficiently salted, may be kept for years.
Cheese is often made from skim-milk, but it is never good.
If the milk be from cows fed on poor land, the addition of
a pound of fresh butter in making a cheese will much improve
it. A few cheeses thus made, in moderately warm weather,
and when the cows are in full feed, will be advantageous for
the parlor table.
To Soften Old Cheese.—If a cheese be much salted and very
dry, wash it several times in soft water, and lay it in a cloth
moistened with wine or vinegar; when it will gradually lose
its saltness, and from being hard and dry, become soft and
mellow, provided it be a rich cheese. This singular method of
30


482
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
impairing cheese, is generally practiced in Switzerland, whria
cheeses are stored for many years; and if they were not very
salt and dry, they would soon be the prey of worms and
mites. A dry Stilton cheese may be much improved by the
above means.
i
Good Rules.—Never wash your cheese shelves; but always
wipe them clean with a dry cloth, when you turn your cheese.
Do not heat the milk too hot; it should never, for new
milk cheese, be more than blood-warm; be sure that your
rennet is good, and do not use more than it requires to bring
the curd.
Cover the pan or tub in which milk is set to coagulate, and
do not disturb it for half an hour or more.
Cut the curd, when fully formed, carefully with a knife;
never break it wit i your hand; and be very particular, when
draining it from the whey, not to squeeze or handle the curd;
if you make the white whey run from the card, you lose much
of the richness of the cheese.
To Preserve Cheese Sound.—Wash in warm whey, when
you have any, and wipe it once a month, and keep it on a
rack. If you want to ripen it, a damp cellar will bring it
forward. When a whole cheese is cut, the larger quantity
should be spread with butter inside, and the outside wiped,
to preserve it. To keep those in daily use moist, let a clean
t loth be wrung out from cold water, and wrap round them
when carried from table. Dry cheese may be used to advan-
tage to grate for serving with macaroni or eating without.
These observations are made with a view to make the above
articles less expensive, as in most families where much is used,
there is waste.
To Prevent Milk turning Sour in Sot Weather.—Add a
little subcarbonate or potass of soda, which will keep milk
'meet for some time.


481
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
education, is the almost total neglect of showing the young lady how to apply her learning so as to improve her domestic
economy. It is true that necessity generally teaches, or rather
obliges her to learn this science after she is married; but it
would have saved her from many anxious hours, and tears, and
troubles, if she had learned how to make bread and coffee, and
cook a dinner before she left her father's house; and it would
have been better still, if she had been instructed at school to
regard this knowledge as an indispensable accomplishment in the education of a young lady.
I was once told by a lady of Boston, that, when she was
married, she scarcely knew how a single dish should be pre-
pared. The first day of her housekeeping, the cook came for
orders—" What would she have for dinner?"
The lady told her, among other items, that she would have
an apple pudding.
"How shall I make it V was the question which the lady
was unable to answer—she knew no more how to make a pud-
ding than to square the circle. She evaded the question as
well as she could, by telling the girl to make it in the usual
way. But the circumstance was a powerful lesson on the in-
conveniences of ignorance to the housekeeper. The lady pos-
sessed good sense, and was a woman of right principles. She
felt it was her duty to know how to order her help—that wealth
did not free her from responsibility in her family. She set
herself diligently to the study of cookery; and, by consulting
friends, watching the operations of her servants, and doing
many things herself, she has become a most excellent house-
keeper.
For the young bride, who is entirely ignorant of her house-
hold duties, this is an encouraging example; let her follow it
if she would be happy and respected at home. But it would
be better to begin her lessons a little earlier; it is not every
woman who has sufficient strength of mind to pursue such a
rigid course of self-education. And no lady can be comfort-
able, unless she possess a knowledge of household work; if
she need not perform it herself, she must be able to teach her
help, otherwise she will always have bad servants.
I am aware that it is the fashion with many ladies to dis-
parage Irish domestics, call them stupid, ignorant, impudent, un-
grateful, the plagues of housekeeping. That they are ignorant,
»» true enough ; it does require skill, patience, and judgment,


HINTS FOR A HOUSEHOLD.
485
to teach a raw Irish girl how to perform the work in a gentle-
man's family ,"bat they are neither stupid nor ungrateful, and
if they are taught in the right manner, they prove very capa-
ble, and are most faithful and affectionate domestics.
A friend of mine, who is just what a woman ought to be,
capable of directing—even doing, if necessary—in the kitchen
as well as shining in the drawing-room, hired one of these pool
Irish girls, new from the land of the Shamrock, who only un-
derstood the way of doing work in a hovel, yet, like all her
class, she said, "Sure couldn't she do anything the lady want
ed?" The lady, however, did not trust the girl to make any
experiments, but went to the kitchen with her, and taught her,
or rather did the work herself,and allowed the help to look on
and learn by example, which for such is much more effectual
than lectures. When the dinner was nearly ready, the lady
retired to dress, telling Julia to watch the roast, and she would
return soon, and show her how to prepare it for the table. We
may imagine with what utter bewilderment the poor girl had
been overwhelmed during this, her first lesson in civilized i.%
The names of the articles of furniture in the kitchen, as wen as their uses, were entirely unknown to her; and she had seen
so many new things done, which she was expected to remem
ber, that it must have made her heart-sick to reflect how much
she had to learn. But there was one thing she thought she
understood—which was to cook potatoes. These were done,
and she would show the lady she kuew how to prepare them
for the table.
When the lady returned, she found the girl seated on the
floor, the potatoes in her lap, while she, with a very satisfied
look, was peeling them with her fingers!
Are there not ladies who would have exclaimed—"Oh, the
stupid, ignorant, dirty creature! She cannot be taught to do
my work. I must send her away!" And away she would
have been sent, irritated if not discouraged, and perhaps with
out knowing a place where to lay down her head in this strange
country.
My friend did not act in this manner—she expressed no
surprise at the attitude of the girl, only quietly said—" That
is not the best way to peel your potatoes, Julia—just lay them
on this plate, and I will show you how I like to have them
done."
That Irish girl remained a servant in the same family for 5


438
Mrs. Hale's new cook booe.
And the other domestics frequently interrupt the arrange-
ments of the cook; or, she is not furnished with proper imple-
ments and articles. All these things try her patience, and if
it sometimes fails, we ought not too much to blame her. But
she need not be always cross. And she should remember,
too. her privileges—mistress of the kitchen, the highest
wages, and, if she conduces well, the favorite always of her
employers.
It is in the power of the cook to do much for the comfort
and prosperity of >e family. If she is economical and con-
ducts with propriety, ine whole establishment goes on plea-
santly; but if she is cross, intemperate, and wasteful, the mis-
chief and discomfort she causes are very great. Never let the
family have reason to say—" The cook is always cross!"
Intemperance is said to be the failing of cooks, oftener than
of other domestics. It is a vice which, if persisted in, will
soon destroy the character and usefulness of the cook. Every
one who desires to sustain a respectable station in her employ-
ment, must abstain totally from spirituous liquors. "Touch
not, taste not, handle not." It is poison to your blood; it is
death to your reputation, if not to your body and soul.
Country girls who come to the cities as help, because they
can there obtain large wages, should be careful in their diet.
Remember that as you cannot take so much exercise in the
open air, you must live sparingly at first, or the change will
injure your health. And all that injures the health, injures
also the bloom and beauty of youth.
To take a young woman, one of our farmer's daughters,
from the free, pure air of the country, and confine her in the
hot kitchen, often under ground, of one of our crowded city es-
tablishments, is such a change, that unless she is very particu-
lar in her care of herself, will soon cause her to look old, hag-
gard, and disagreeable. Her hair will be often matted with
sweat and dust, and her complexion like a mummy. To avoid
these unpleasant results, let the cook, from the first, adopt the
following rules:—
1st. Eat regular meals, instead of tasting of every good
thing you cook, till you have no appetite for food.
N. Keep your sleeping room well aired, and your skin
clean.
The best way is to wash yourself thoroughly when going to
bed; comb your 1 4ir also, and wear a night-cap or handker-
-


III5TT8 FOR A HOUSEHOLD.
chief on your head. The next morning, you will only require
to smooth your hair, not take it down, and wash your face and
hands. It would look neater, and keep your hair much
smoother, if you would wear a cap or handkerchief while at
work, as English servants do.
Let your dress be of good, durable materials, that will
wash well; keep it clean as possible, and always wear an apron.
In the afternoon, when the work is done, then you can
wash and dress as neatly as you choose, only remember that a
domestic in a showy, flimsy gown, and decked out with pinch-
beck rings and ear ornaments, always makes a ridiculous figure
in the eyes of every sensible person; because such persons see
that you are spending your hard-earned wages for that which
really does you no good.
Keep your kitchen, and all the utensils, clean and neat as
possible. Sweep the chimney often, with an old broom kept
for the purpose, so that no soot may collect to fall down on
the dishes at the fire, and be sure that the hearth is neat as a
table.
Always have plenty of hot water ready; and take care that
your wiping cloths are washed every day.
The three rules you must follow, if you would always have
your work done well, are these :—
"Do every thing at the proper time.
Keep every thing in its proper place.
Use every thing for its proper purpose."
If your mistress professes to understand cookery, the best
way will be to follow her directions; if you find the dish is not
so good as when cooked in your own way, respectfully ask
her to let you try once alone. But never be angry or pout
when you are told how your employer wishes to have the
work done.
The great fault of the Irish help is, that they undertake to do
what they have never learned. They will not acknowledge
their ignorance; if they would do this, and patiently try to
learn, they would soon, with their natural quickness, become
good cooks—if they have good teachers. And what a privi-
lege and blessing it is to a poor Irish girl, who has only lived
in a hovel, with scarcely an article of furniture, save the pot
"to boil the praties," to be instructed in household work! It
\% realty a fortune to her; she can then always have ger.d


490
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOS BOOK.
places and good pay, and soon clothe herself well, and lay up
money.
There are benevolent and sensible ladies who do act thus
kindly by the Irish girl; not only teach her how to work in
the kitchen, but teach her needlework, and instruct her in read
ing and writing.
If you have had such a kind mistress, my poor girl, for
the honor of old Ireland be grateful and faithful to your
benefactress; and show yourself worthy to be the mother of
American citizens; for to such good fortune your children,
should you marry, will be entitled.
There is no danger that our domestics will have too much
ambition, if it be of the right kind—the ambition of doing
their duty as faithful, capable help, while they continue to work
for others. But I would wish every young female domestic
to hope that she may some time be mistress of heroin, house;
and I would urge her to improve every opportunity she has of
learning the best and most prudent manner of doing all kinds
of work. Then she will be fitted to make her husband hap-
py, and bring up her children to be respectable members of
society.
One of the most certain evidences that she is worthy to enjoy
prosperity, is her faithfulness to promote the interest of those
for whom she works. If she is really trustworthy, she will
show it in her conduct.
There is a class of cooks who cannot be trusted; every
thing they dare take is slyly carried out of the house, am given to their friends; and they go on with this system of piL
fering till they are turned away from every respectable place.
Do not be tempted to begin this system, nor think that the
broken bits, which the 1 imily may not need, belong to you.
The mistress of the houst must manage these charities; ask
her, and if she give you le we to dispose of the broken pieces,
be very careful not to maJcef. agments unnecessarily for the sake
of giving them to your poor relations.
Act, in all these things, as you would if your employer was
looking on you; and forget not that One, to whom you are
more responsible than to any earthly master or mistress, m
constantly watching you.
Domestic Economy.—If you would practice this economy to
the greatest advantage, be regular in the arrangement of your 


HINTS FOR A HOUSEHOLD.
491
work, punctual in preparing your meals, and take good care
that nothing is wasted.
It is best to have the washing done on Mondays, if this can
be managed without encroaching on that rest from labor which
the holy Sabbath should always bring, as well to the domes-
tics as to every other member of a Christian family. But
whether Monday or Tuesday be the day, let it be fixed, and
the washing never omitted when it is possible to have it done.
The next morning, early, should be the time to begin ironing,
so that the clothes may have time to be aired and put away
before night.
Mend clothes before washing, except stockings; these can
best be darned when clean.
Soft water is indispensable to the washerwoman; rain or
river water is the best. If you have good water, do not use
soda; it gives a yellowish tinge to the clothes. If you buy
your soap, it is most economical to use hard soap for washing
clothes, and soft soap for floors, &c.
To Purify Water.—A large spoonful of powdered alum stir
red into a hogshead of impure water will, after the lapse of a
few hours, precipitate the impurities, and give it nearly the
freshness and clearness of spring water. A pailful may be pu
rifled with a tea-spoonful of alum.
Water-casks should be well charred before they are filled,
as the charcoal thus produced on the inside of the cask keeps
the water sweet. When water, by any accident, becomes
impure and offensive, it may be rendered sweet by putting
a little fresh charcoal in powder into the vessel, or by filter-
ing the water through fresh-burnt and coarsely powdered
charcoal.
Flannels—Should be washed in clean hot suds in which a
little bluing has been mingled; do not rinse them. Woollens
of all kinds should be washed in hot suds.
Colored Dresses.—Turn the inner side out, and wash them
in cold water, in which a little boiled soap is well mixed ; rinse
them well in clean cold water, and the last time with a little
•alt in the water; and dry them in the shade. They should be
washed and dried with as much expedition as possible.


492
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
Mildew Stains—Are very difficult to remove from linen
The most effectual way is to rub soap on the spots, then chalk,
and bleach the garment in the hot sun.
Ink and Iron Mould—May be taken out by wetting the
pots in milk, then covering them with common salt. It should
be done before the garments have been washed. Another
way to take out ink is to dip it in melted tallow. For fine,
delicate articles, this is the best way.
Fruit and Wine Stains.—Mix 2 tea-spoonsful of water and
] of spirit of salt, and let the stained part lie in this for 2
minutes; then rinse in cold water. Or wet the stain with
hartshorn.
To Wash Carpets.—Shake and beat it well; lay it upon the
floor, and tack it firmly; then with a clean flannel wash it
over with 1 quart of bullock's gall, mixed with 3 quarts of
soft cold water, and rub it off with a clean flannel or house-
cloth. A.ny particular dirty spot should be rubbed with pure
gall.
To Sweep Carpets.—The oftener these are taken up and
shaken, the longer they will wear, as the dust and dirt under
neath grind them out. Sweep carpets with a stiff hair brush,
instead of an old corn broom, if you wish them to wear long or look well. At any rate, keep a good broom purposely for the
carpet.
To Clean Paint.—Put a very little pearl-ash, or soda, in the
waier to soften it, then wash the paint with flannel and soft
soap ; wash the soap off, and wipe dry with a clean linen cloth.
To Clean Paper Walls.—The very best method is to sweep
off lightly all the dust, then rub the paper with stale bread—'
cut the crust off very thick, and wipe straight down from the
top, then begin at the top again, and so on.
To Polish Mahogany Furniture.—Rub it with cold drawn
linseed oil, and polish by rubbing with a clean dry cloth, after
wiping the oil from the furniture. Do this once a week, and
your mahogany tables will be so finely polished that hot water


HINTS FOR A HOUSEHOLD.
493
would not injure them. The reason is this, linseed oil hardens
when exposed to the air, and when it has filled all the pores
of the wood, the surface becomes hard and smooth like glass.
To take Ink out of Mahogany.—Mix in a tea-spoonful of
cold water, a few drops of oil of vitriol; touch the spot with a
feather dipped in the liquid.
To Clean Pictures.—Dust them lightly with cotton wool, or
with a feather brush.
To Clean Mirrors.—Wipe them lightly with a clean bit of
sponge or fine linen that has been wet in spirits of wine, or
in soft water; then dust the glass with fine whiting powder;
rub this off with a soft cloth—then rub with another clean
cloth, and finish it with a silk handkerchief. Dust the frames
with cotton wool.
To Clean Straw Carpets.—Wash them in salt and water,
and wipe them with a clean dry cloth.
To Clean Marble.—Pound very finely a quarter of a pound
of whiting and a small quantity of stone blue; dissolve in a
little water one ounce of soda, and mix the above ingredients
carefully together with a quarter of a pound of soft soap; boil
it a quarter of an hour on a slow fire, carefully stirring it.
Then, when quite hot, lay it with a brush upon the marble,
and let it remain on half an hour. Wash it of!" with warm wa-
ter, flannel, and a scrubbing brush, and wipe it dry.
To Clean Freestone.—Wash the hearth with soap, and wipe
it with a wet cloth. Or rub it over with a little freestone
powder, after washing the hearth in hot water Brush off the
powder when dry. i
To Black a Brick Hearth.—Mix some black lead with soft
soap and a little water, and boil it—then lay it on with a
brush. Or mix the lead with water only.
To Clean Brass.—Rub it over with a bit of flannel dipped in
■wect oil—then rub it hard with finely powdered rotten stone


494
MSB. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
—then rub it with a soft linen cloth—and polish with a bit of
wash leather.
Rub creaking hinges with soft soap.
To Prevent the Smoking of a lamp.—Soak the wick in
'strong vinegar, and dry it well before it is used.
Glasses should be washed and rinsed in cold water, and
the water wiped off with one cloth; then rub dry and clean
with another.
Cut Glass should be rubbed with a damp sponge dipped in
whiting, then brush this off with a clean brush, and wash the
vessel in cold water.
An Ironing Board, Sheets, and Holders, should always be
kept purposely for the ironing. A small board, 2 feet by 14
inches wide, covered with old flannel, and then with fine cot-
ton, is handy to iron small articles on.
Isinglass is a most delicate starch for fine muslins. When
boiling common starch, sprinkle in a little fine suit; it will
prevent its sticking. Some use sugar.
Bed linenshould be well aired before it is used. Keep
your sheets folded in pairs on a shelf—closets are better than
drawers or chests for linen, it will not be so likely to gather
damp.
Hair, or even Strata Mattresses, are more healthy to sleep
on than feather beds. Never put children on these heating
beds. Keep your sleeping rooms very clean and well aired;
and do not cumber them with unnecessary furniture.
Bed Curtains are unhealthy, because they confine the air
around us while we are asleep.
Bread.—One of the most important household rules is,
not to eat new bread; for it is expensive and unwholesome,
and does not afford near so much nourishment as bread 2 or 3
days old.


OF DINNER PARTIES AND CARVING.
497
cloth under a fine thin damask, gives it an imperceptible glow;
bat, if such is used, the cloth must not be taken off, as nothing
Kin took well in removing but linen. A scarlet cloth, fitted to
the table, and laid between the table-cloths, preserves the
polish, as well as adds to the appearance.
Finger Glasses, half filled with water, should be got ready
to bo set upon the table with the dessert.
Bread should never be cut less than one inch and a half for
dinner.
To ensure a well-dressed dinner, provide enough, and
beware, of the common practice of having too much. The table
had better appear rather bare than crowded with dishes not
wanted, or such as will become cold before they are partaken
of. This practice of overloading tables is not only extrava-
gant but troublesome. The smaller the dinner, when suffi
cient, the better will be the chance of its being well cooked.
Vegetables, in abundance and well dressed, are important in
a dinner; and it is a good plan to serve a fresh supply with
each dish, to ensure them hot. In France, more attention is
paid to the dressing of vegetables than in this country or in
England; and the French, consequently, produce these cheap
luxuries in high perfection.
Before a dish is placed upon the table, its sauces and vege
tables should be set in their proper places.
Between the serving of each dish should be a short interval,
which will not only be pleasant to the guests, but will give
time to the cook and attendants.
There should be a reserve of sauces as well as of vegetables;
for nothing lessens the enjoyment of a dinner so much as a
short supply of these adjuncts.
A chief point to be attended to for a comfortable dinner is,
to have what you want, and when you want it. It is vexa-
tious to wait for first one thing and then another, and to receive
these little additions, when what they belong to is half or en
tirely finished.
One or more sets of cruets, according to the size of the
party, should be placed upon table; the cruets should con
tail, such articles as are continually wanted, and special atten
tion should be paid to the freshness of their contents, as of fish
sauces.
Much money is often unnecessarily expended in pastry and
desserts. A few kinds of ripe fruit, in season, and not forced,
31


OF DINNER PARTIES AND CARVING.
49'J
In helping at table, never employ a knife where you can use
a spoon.
In giving dinners, avoid ostentation, which will not only be
very expensive, but will make your guests uncomfortable.
Again, it is not merely the expense, but the trouble and fuss
of dinner-giving on the extravagant system, that checks the
extended practice of giving dinners, and imposes a restraint
upon sociable enjoyment.
ON CARVING.
One of the most important acquisitions in the routine of
daily life is the ability to carve well, and not only well but
elegantly. It is true that the modes now adopted of sending
meats, &c, to table are fast banishing the necessity for promis-
cuous carving from the elegantly served boards of the wealthy;
but in the circles of middle life, where the refinements of cook-
ery are not adopted, the utility of a skill in the use of a carv-
ing knife, is sufficiently obvious.
Moreover, the art of carving is a very requisite branch of
domestic management; it not only belongs to the honors of the
table, but is important in an economical point of view; for a
joint of meat ill carved, will not serve so many persons as it
would if it were properly carved.
Ladies ought especially to make carving a study; at their
own houses they grace the table, and should be enabled to per-
form the task allotted to them with sufficient skill to prevent
remark, or the calling forth of eager proffers of assistance from
good natured visitors near, who probably would not present
any better claim to a neat performance.
In the first place, whatever is to be carved should be set in
a dish sufficiently large for turning it if'necessary; but the
dish itself should not be moved from its position, which should
be so close before the carver as only to leave room for the
plates. The carving knife should be light, sharp, well-tem-
pered, and of b size proportioned to the joint, strength being
less required than address in the manner of using it. Large
solid joints, such as ham, fillet of veal, and salt beef, cannot bo
tut too thin; but mutton, roast pork, «nd the other joints of
veal should never be served in very si ider slices.
There are certain choice cuts, or delicacies, with which a good


500
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
carver is acquainted; among them are the sounds of i"od-ftsh,
the thin or fat of salmon, the thick and fins of turbot; the fat
of venison, lamb and veal kidney, the pope's eye in a leg of
mutton, the ribs and neck of a pig; the breast and wings of a
fowl, the legs and back of a hare, and its ears being by some
persons considered a great delicacy; the breast and thighs
(without the drumsticks,) of turkey and goose, the wings and
breast of game, and the legs and breast of ducks.
Fish should be helped with a silver slice or trowel, care
being taken not to break the handsome flaky pieces; a por-
tion of the liver and roe should be served to each person.
Much of the enjoyment of the party will depend on the stuff-
ing, gravies, sauces, &c.. being fairly apportioned to each plate.
By aid of the following instructions, occasional practice,
and by closely observn.g "good carvers," the learner may
Boon become proficient in this important branch of the honors
of the table.
Fish.—The carving of fish calls for but little observation, as
itis always cut with a silver trowel, or a knife and fork made

Knife and Fork.
for the purpose, and should never be approached by steel; but,
in helping it, care should be taken to avoid breaking the flakes,
which should be kept as entire as possible.
Cod's Head and Shoulders.—Take off slices, quite down to

'he bone, in the direction from 1 to 2, and as low as 3. With
each slice of fish give a piece of the sound, which lies under-


OF DINNER PARTIES AND CAHVINQ.
501
neath the back-bone and lines it, and may be found by passing
the slice under the bone. A few choice parts are in and about
the head, as the soft part about the jaw-bone, and the palate
and tongue, to be taken out with a spoon.
Salmon, and all short-grained fish, should be cut lengthwise,
and not across; portions of the thick and thin being helped
together.
Haddock is served like cod—but the head is worthless.
Mackerel are commonly served up head to tail, and a slice
cut lengthwise from the bone.
Sirloin of Beef.—The under part of the sirloin should be
first served, and carved, as indicated in the engraving, across

c
Sirloin of Beef.
tae bone. In carving the upper part the same directions
should be followed as for the ribs, carving either side, or in the
eentre, from a to b, and helping the fat from d.
Ribsof Beef.—The best manner of carving this joint is to
cut across the bone, commencing in the centre, and serving fat
from a, as marked in the engraving of the sirloin. Another
way, is to carve the slices from a to c, commencing either in
the centre of the joint or at the sides. When the bones are
removed, and the meat formed into a fillet, it should be carved
as a round of beef.
A Round (Buttock) or Aitch Bone of Beef—is usually boiled,
and requires no print to point out how it should be carved. A
thick slice should be cut off all round the buttock, that your


502 Mrs. Hale's new cook book.
friends may be helped to the juicy and prime part of it. The
outside thus cut off, thin slices may then be cut from the top;
but as it is a dish that is frequently brought to table cold a
second day, it should always be cut handsome and even.
When a slice all round would be considered too much, the half,
or a third, may be given with a thin slice of fat. On one side
there is a part whiter than ordinary, by some called the white
muscle. In some places, a buttock is generally divided, and
this white part sold separate, as a delicacy; but it is by no means
so, the meat being coarse and dry ; whereas the darker colored
parts, though apparently of a coarser grain, are of a looser texture, more tender, fuller of gravy, and better flavored; and
men of distinguishing palates ever prefer them.
Fillet of Veal—Should be cut in thin, smooth slices, with s
little fat to each; cutting also a thin slice from the stuffing,
which lies within the flap. The brown outside is much liked
by some persons.
The Breast of Veal.—Separate the ribs from the brisket,
cutting from a to b; these small bones, which are the sweetest

and mostly chosen, you will cut them as at d d d, and serve;
thj long ribs are divided as at c, c c, and having ascertained
the preference of the person, help accordingly; at good table*
the scrag is not served, but is found, when properly cooked, a
very good stew.
Loin of Veal.—This joint is sent to table served as a sirloin
of beef. Having turned it over, cut out the kidney and the fat, return it to its proper position, and carve it as in the neck
of veal, from b to a; help with it a slice of kidney and fat.
The kidney is usually placed upon a dry toast when removed from the joint.


OF DINNER PARTIES AND CARVING.
503
Shoulder ofVeal—Is sent to table with the under part placed
uppermost. Help it as a shoulder of mutton, beginning at the
knuckle end.
Calf 8 Head.—There is much more meat to be obtained
from a calf's head by carving it one way than another. Carve
from a to b, cutting quite down to the bone. At the fleshy

Half of Calf' s Head.
part of the neck end you will find the throat sweetbread, which
you can help a slice of with the other part; you will remove
the eye with the point of the knife and divide it in half, helping
those to it who profess a preference for it; there are some
tasty, gelatinous pieces around it which are palatable. Re-
move the jaw-bone, and then you will meet with some fine
flavored lean; the palate, which is under the head, is by some
thought a dainty, and should be proffered when carving.
Leg of Mutton.—The under or thickest part of the leg should
be placed uppermost and carved in slices moderately thin.
Many persons have a taste for the knuckle, and this question
should be asked, and if preferred should be assisted. When
cold, the back of the leg should be placed uppermost, and thus
carved.
. A leg of Lamb—Is carved as a leg of mutton. A leg of mut-
ton or lamb, roasted or boiled, should be laid in the dish back
downwards.
A Shoulder of Mutton—Affords a variety of cuts, fat and
lean, and should be lain in the dish back uppermost. The
leaner parts should be cut straight to the bone, from 1 to 2;
the most delicate slices, however, may be cut on each side of


504
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
the blade bone, 3 to 4; the finest fat lies at 5, and should be :-u t in thin slices. The under-side affords many nice cuts, of fat
and lean intermixed. The most tender of the lean is under
the blade-bone, and is called the oyster-cut.
A Saddle of Mutton.—Cut moderately thick slices, lengthwise, from the tail to the end, on each side the back-bone; if they
be too long, divide them: cut fat from the sides or flaps.
A Haunch of Mutton—Should be carved as venison.
Loin of Mutton.—Cut the joints into chops and serve them
separately; or cut slices the whole length of the loin; or rub the knife along the chine-bone, and then slice it, the fat and
lean together.
Neck of Mutton.—It should be prepared for table as fol-
lows :—Cut off the scrag; have the chine-bone carefully sawn
off, and also the top of the long bones (about 1-J inch), and the
thin part turned under; carve in the direction of the bones.
TheScrag of Mutton—When roasted, is very frequently
separated from the ribs of the neck, and in that case the meat
and bones may be helped together.
A Fore-Quarter of Lamb.—Cut round the shoulder in the di-
tection of 1,2, and 3; then lift up the shoulder, and squeeze
between it and the ribs the juice of half a lemon, with a slice
of butter, some pepper and salt; replace the shoulder, and pre-
sently remove it to another dish, to be cut as a shoulder of


512
HRS. HALES NEW COOK BOOK.
The dishes usually set upon the table are selected from hot,
cold, and cured meats; hot, cold, cured, and potted fish;
game, poultry, cold or devilled; fruit, ripe, preserved, or
candied; dressed and undressed vegetables; meat pies and
parties, cold; eggs; honeycomb; entrees; and savory mor-
sels—as grilled kidneys, ham toast, devils, &c.
Dijhners a la fourchette are laid the same as suppers, ex-
cept that tea and coffee are introduced; but not until the
solids are removed.
When laid for a marriage or christening breakfast, a bride's
or christening cake should occupy the centre instead of the
epergne or plateau.
Luncheons, or Noonings.—The luncheon is laid in two
ways. One way is to bring in a butler's tray with let-down
sides, on which it is previously arranged upon a tray cloth,
and, letting down the sides and speading the cloth upon the
dining-table, to distribute the things as required. The other
is to lay the cloth as for dinner, with the pickle-stand and
cruets opposite each other; and, if in season, a small vase of
flowers in the centre; if not, a water-jug and tumblers, which
may be placed on a side-table at other times. The sides of
the table are occupied by the requisites for each guest, viz.,
two plates, a large and small fork and knifes, and dessert-
spoon. A folded napkin, and the bread under, is placed upon
the plate of each guest.
Carafes, with the tumblers belonging to and placed over
them, are laid at the four corners, with the saltcellars in front
of them, between two tablespoons laid bowl to handle.
The dishes generally served for luncheons are the remains
of cold meat neatly trimmed and garnished ; cold game, hashed
or plain; hashes of all descriptions; curries; minced meats;
cold pies, savory, fruit, or plain; plainly cooked cutlets, steaks,
and chops; omelettes; bacon; eggs; devils aud grilled
bones; potatoes; sweetmeats; butter; cheese; salad and
pickles. In fact, almost any thing does for lunch, whether of
fish, flesh, fowl, pastry, vegetables, or fruit.
Ale and porter are generally served, but occasionally sherry,
marsalla, port, or home-made wines are introduced, with bis-
cuits and ripe fruit.
A good housewife should always have something in the
house ready to convert into a neat little luncheon, in case a


THE TEA-TABLE: LATINO OUT TABLES, ETC.
513
few friends drop in, to what some are pleased to call a " tiffin;"
and it is astonishing how a really handsome-looking affair
may be made out of the remains of the dinner served the day
before, some handsome glass, a sprinkle of good plate, a few
flowers, and above all, a hearty welcome.
Napkins.—Dinner napkins should be about twenty-eight
inches broad, and thirty inches long. They may be folded in
a variety of ways, which impart a style to a table, without
adding much to the expense, and maybe readily accomplished
with a little practice and attention to the following directions
and diagrams :—
The Mitre. (Fig. 1.)—Fold the napkin into three parts
lengthwise, then turn down the right-hand corner, and turn Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.


up the left-hand one, as in Fig. 2, a and b. Turn back the
point a toward the right, so that it shall lie behind c; and b
to the left, so as to be behind d. Double the napkin back
Fig. 4
Fig. 5.

at the line e, then turn up /from before, and g from behind,
when they will appear as in Fig. 3. Bend the corner h
toward the right, and tuck it behind i, and turn back the
corner k toward the left, at the dotted line, and tuck it into a
32


514
MRS. HALE'S NEW COOK BOOK.
corresponding part at the back. The bread is placed under
the mitre, or in the centre at the top.
The Exquisite. (Fig. 4.)—Fold the napkin into three
parts lengthwise, then fold down two fifths of the length from
each side, as in Fig. 5, at a; roll up the part b toward the
back, repeat on the other side, then turn up the corner toward
the corner a, and it will appear as d. The centre part e is
now to be turned up at the bottom, and down at the top, and
the two rolls brought under the centre piece as in Fig. 4. The
bread is placed under the centre band, k, Fig. 4.
The Collegian. (Fig. 6.)—Fold the napkin into three parts
lengthwise, then turn down the two sides toward you, so that
they shall appear as in Fig. 1; then roll up the part a under-
neath, until it looks like 6, Fig. 8. Now take the corner 6
Fig. 6.

Fig
. 7.
/
\
\
Fij. 8.
and turn it up toward c, so that the edge of the rolled part shall
be even with the central line; repeat the same on the other
side, and turn the whole over, when it will appear as in Fig. 6.
The bread is placed underneath the part k.
The Cinderella,(Fig. 9.)—Fold the napkin into three
parts lengthwise, then turn down the two sides as in Fig. 7;
turn the napkin over, and roll up the lower part as in Fig. 10,
a, b. Now turn the corner b upwards toward c, so that it Fig. 9j) Fi». 10. Fig. 11.


THE TEA-TA^iLE: LATINO OUT TABLES, ETC.
515
shall appear as in d; repeat on the other side, and then bring
the two parts e together, so that they shall bend at the dotted
line; and the appearance will now be as Fig. 9. The bread
is placed under the apron part k, Fig. 9.
The Flirt. (Fig. 11.)—Fold the napkin into three parts
lengthwise; then fold across the breadth, commencing at one
extremity, and continuing to fold from and to yourself in folds
about two inches broad, until the whole is done; then place
in a tumbler, and it will appear as in the illustration.
The Neapolitan. (Fig. 12.)—Fold the napkin into three
parts lengthwise, then fold one of the upper parts upon itself
from you; turn over the cloth with the part having four folds
from you, then fold down the two sides so as to appear as in
Fig. 1 ; then roll up the part a underneath until it appears
Fig. 12. Fin. 13.


as in the dotted lines in Fig. 15, at b. Now turn up the
corner b toward c, so that the edge of the rolled part shall
be even with the central line : repeat the same,upon the oppo-
site side, and turn the whole over, when it will appear as in
Fig. 14: the bread being placed underneath the part k, as
represented in the illustration.
The Far.ori'e, or Our Own. (Fi<r. 14.)—Fold the napkin
into three parts lengthwise, then turn down the two sides as
in Fig. 7, and roll up the part a on both sides, until as repre-
sented on the right-hand side in Fig. 14; then turn it back-
wards (as a b) on both sides; now fold down the point c


INDEX.
A
Adulteration of flour 421
Almonds, to blanch 400
to pound 401
Almond bread 410
cakes 412
Anchovy butter 101
8andwiches 101
Toast 101
Apples, to choose 372
jelly 383
for children. 471
water 466
Artichokes 288
boiled 288
stewed 288
bottoms .288
a la poivrado 289
Jerusalem 289
Asparagus 291
boil 29?
dressed like green
peas 291
B
Bacon .203
Bain Marie 337
Baking bread .422
cake 399
meat 120
Beans 278
Windsor, boil 278
stew 278
French or string, to boil278
string, fricasseed 279
string a la fraucals 279
dried French, to dress..279
rod, to stew 279
Lima 280
Bechamel 210
Beef, to choose 123
to cure 199
ro keep 121
to salt 199
baked 126
Beef and Bauer kraut 129
Bonilli 132
Bouilli 133
Bouilli with tomatoes 133
Beef, breslau of. 132
brisket of. 127
bubble and squeak.. 142
cheek, ox, to boil ..139
cheek, ox, to stew.. 140
cellar, to stew 133
collops, niinced 131
cow heels Ill, 112
a. la daube 129
family stew of. 129
feet, ox 142i
fillet qf. 130-
fillet, bruised 130
fillet, to roast 126
fiicandeau of.. 129
gravy sauce for 12.3
heart, to roast 126
kidney 131, 112
marrow bouos 142
minced 131
a la mode 130
olives of. 130
palates and sweet-
bread 140
potted 127
ribs of. 123
ribs of. 123
round of. 127
rump of. 12j
rump to boil 131
rump to stew 128
sauce for tripe 141
sauce piguaute, for
boiled 131
scarlet, boiled 131
*irloin, to roast 121
sirloin, cold, to dress! 26j
steak, to boil 134;
steak, Spanish 133
steak, a la Francaise]36
steak, stewed 136
steak, with vegeta-
bles 136;
Beef steak, with oysters.134
steak, stewed in its
own gravy 137
steak, pie 137
steak and oyster pie.138
stewed 128
tongues 123
tuugucs 138
tongues, to eat cold. n tongues, fresh 139
tongues and helder,
fresh 13f
tongues, to cure 20-
tripe, to clean and
boil 140
tripe, to fry 141
Beer 433
Beets 274
to bake 274
to boil 275
to stew 275
Beverages 242
Birds ,227
Biscuits 430
deviled 290
milk 429
soda 430
Bishop 449
Blanching meat 122
Blanc Mange 374
Blanquette of Lamb 179
of veal 148
Boning meat 122
Bouilli 132
Braising 121
pot 121
Brawn 209
Brains, calf's 157
Braiu sauce E. Bread 423
of flour -420
making 421
of the oven 422
brown, for dyspepsia...425
for flatulent I 424
milk .423
(517)


INDEX.
519
Children, roi»at, for 470
hasty pudding for 471
vegetables lor 470
China Chile 14'
Chocolate 410
to make. 410
to inuke, another way.41
fiuo broma ... 411
Clams, hard shell, to boil.109
to fry 101
to stew 109
Cam fritters 110
Clams, soft shell, to boil.no
to fry 110
to stow 110
Cocoa 437
Coco* $41
Cocoa shells, or ribs 411
Condiment*, their use...-264
Corn, )[»eu 282
Corn pudding 283
Contents of Chapter* 51
Crab, to stew 105
CP-am, to keep 364
Cream* 36U.
h1 titoild l burnt 301
fruit 301
bastv 3*51
Italian 362
lemon 861
lemon, white S61
au inarasgulu, 333
meringue 362
an natural l pine apple 361
raspberry 3fJl
raspberry and currant.361
strawberry 351
it la vaailhi 362
Croquettes of brains 138
French 135
rice 3 "> I
rice (finer) 335
veal 3 Vj
Crullers 418
Crust for pies 311
Cucumbers 286
boiled 2S6'
stewed 286
for the table 206
Curds and sretun 361
(as in 8cotland).... L Curds, Naples 30j
Curing meat* 137
pickle (or beei",pork>&c.l98
pickle fork beef 198
to salt beef red 199
Dutch way to salt beef. 199
to salt beef for Imme-
diate use and to make
into soup 199
nickle for ham,tongues,
kc 200
to salt fat pork 200!
beef tongue* 200
Curing, beef tongue* (Suf-
folk receipt1' 201
beof tongues (to dreps).202
hung beef (Derrynaue
receipt1 20!
hung beef, cheap 20!
Welsh beof 20:
hams, prize receipt for
curing 196
Mrs. Potts' receipt for..196
Mr. Lease's receipt for.196
Westphalia hams 197
bams superior to West-
phalia 198
hams, French method
of smoking 201
curing pork 203
bacou 203
pigs' cheeks 20j
Currants, to clean 398
Curry chicken 223
powder 53
Cnrry lance 79
Custard n... 351
apple fool 369
almond 308
apple or gooseberrv
fool. 360
baked, common 3*9
baked, liner 359
chocolate 3j9
cream 357
French flummery 360
gooseberry fool 360
lemon 318
orange 3 I8
plain 319
rice 357
rico without cream...339
Souffle' apple,or goose-
berry ^
Dairy work. 474
care of milk 473
Devonshire method of
scalding milk 476
to make butter 476
to salt butter 477
to make up butter 477
butter in hot weather ..478
butter in winter 478
to cure butter in the
best manner 478
to freshen salt butter ..478
to improve rancid but-
ter 478
picklo for butter 479
Damson, to preserve 478
Danger from copper
sauce-pans 122
Deteunersa la fourchette.512
Dessert, a pretty 334
Devil, a dry 226
a wet 182
Diet and digestion 113
Dinner parties 495
Directions for soups 47
for choosing fish 74
for cooking pork 183
for salting meats 197
Drinks fur invalids, 464
refreshing drink in a
fever 401
toast and water 464
barley water 465
barley water with ho-
a 463
barley water with isin-
glaws 463
soda water 463
cream of tartar 465
apple water 466
refreshing drink for the
sick 466
cooling drink 'a"" bahn, mint, and other
teas 465
wholesome boverage...466
Ducks 217
canvass-back 229
wild 229
Dumplings 319
Dutch cakes w Dutch fish sauce 230
Eels 100
to boil 100
to fry 100
to broil 100
etewed in the French
way 100
Eggs and omeletts 301
Eggs, to choose 301
to keep for winter 301
to boil 302
poached 302
poached another way..302
cupped 302
scrambled 302
brouillos 303
south' S Francaise 303
savory or ragout balls. 303
to preserve 495
-u 436
Egg plant I to dress 250
to dress (another way).250
UR L (fine way) 280
to fry 2S0
Fillets of beef 130
offish 107
of mutton 164
of veal 145
Fish 74
to preserve Fr i cake 93
Caledonia receipt for
dressing 101
v-


INDEX.
521
Hints, to take Ink out of
mahogony 403
to clean pict ares......493
to clean mirrors 493
to clean straw car-
pets 493
to clean marble 493
to clean freestone 493
to black a brick
hearth 403
to clean brass 493
to prevent the smok-
ing of a Iamp 494
glasses 494
cut glass 494
ironing board, sheet
and holders 491
isinglass 491
bed linen 494
hair or straw mat-
tresses 494
bed curtains 494
bread 494
baking 49.1
old bread 495
crusts and pieces of
bread, Sic 495
to preserve eggs 495
Hogs' lard.. 206
Home-made wines 450
Hominy 253
Horseradish P powder 257
Hotch-potch 62
How to keep various
things 49 j
Ice cream 367
brown 4>read 368
currant 3'S8
ginger 368
cream, strawberry 368
pine-apple 308
vanilla 368
cochineal, coloring for.368
'water ices 368
water ices generally ...369
current water 369
lemon water 369
orange water 369
red currant water 369
Roman punch 369
white currant water .. 3i»9
Icing for targets 309
Indian meal bread 433
muflius 433
cakes 433
[nfants' food. Dr. Meigs'
receipt for 473
Infants' food 469
Ink spots 492
Invalids, food for 455
Irish stew 172
cakes ls isinglass 371
362
Italian pork-cheese ISSjLaplands
Jams SS'j
blackberry 386
cherry 386
currant, black 383
currant, red br white..385
gooseberry 386
grape 380
pineapple 386
raspberry 385
strawberry 383
Jaurnange,or jaunc-man-
ger 374
Jellies 370
to clarify isinglass 371
calf* feet 370
calf's feet blanc mangfi 374
Ainericau blanc mange 371
blanc mange 373
for the sick 439
orange and lemon 373
strawberry isinglass ,. 373
wine 373
apple 393
apple lu moulds 393
curraut 391
currant, white 3'U
grape 391
orange 3 '2
strawberry 392
strawberry, (a fine re-
ceipt) 393
Johnny cake 436
Junket, Devonshire 365
Kedgeree 97
Ketchup, or catsup 255
Kidney, beef 140
mutton 172
veal 158
Kisses 413
Kringles 414
Lamb 174
to choose 174
to cook 175
to dr>-'ss with rice ....179
to fry 179
blanquette 179
breast, to stew 177
chops 178
forequarter 175
garnish and vegeta-
bles 176
head, to dress 178
log, to boil 177
leg, to roast 175
loin, to stew 177
loin, neck, &c 176
quarter, to bone 176
ribs 175
neck or breast 177'
shoulder, to grill... .1*71
431
*rd 18*
Larding 121
needles 121
Laying out tables 510
Leeks 2s 8
Lemonade 413
Lemon syrup 416
Lemonade, excellent 416
Lettuce 294
Liqueurs and summer
beverages 412
almond and nut bever-
age 448
beer, cheap, small 433
beer, common 133
beer, ginger tr beer, ginger, quickly
made 433
beer, spruce 433/""
bishop 41U
cider, to I 4i9
Curaeoa 416
eau sucrj 414
mead 4il
mead, simple 411
milk punch 419
milk lemonade, deli-
cious 419
mint julep 419
mulled wine 450
nectar 414
noyeau 4*7
orange water 413
orangeade 315
orgeat » 415
punch 418
raspberry vinegar 415
rataEe 416
seidlitz powders 413
sherbet, Turkish 412
soda water 444
syrup for liqueurs 443
syrup for currants 416
verjuice 450
Wines, home-made ....453
blackberry 453
currant 433
currant, French 453
elder 433
green gooseberry and
currant 452
raspberry, rich 454
ripe grape 451
unripe grape 451
seven gallons of good451
a rich ....451
Liver, to cook 1;jS
Lobsters 102
to boil 192
to stew 103
to fricassee 103
to roast 103
potted 193
sh ri mps or prawns.l 03
curried I'M
croquettes of. c04


526
INDEX. \
Tea-table, etc........
Tea 43*
making 430
another way 410
hulling water for ....440
IhUhi and mint 486
bwef 461
chicken 461
veal 461
Term pins 106
Thickening for gravies . 2."j6
T"aM 42>t
Toast water 461
T'jffle 407
Everton 396
Tjmatue* 289
to htew 280
to stew another war. 283
to bake 290
to study. 2f>0
Portuguese way 290
BtftfM and 200
Ochra and 200
A Spuulsh dish 200
to keep a year 200
Trifle 366
Turkish pillaa 322
Turnips. 372
to boil 372
to mash 373
white sauce 573
stewed 1u butter ...373
in gr»vy 374
Turnip-tops 374
Turtle soup 66
Vauilla cream 362
Variety in food 112|
"Voitl J 143
IFIOIVmI, to choose 113
tu braise 152
blanquette* 148
cake «9
a la chartreuse 140
collar 153
collops 151
croquettes 155
French 155
cutletf* Ml
Maintenon 151
Fillet, to stew 143
to roast 146
to boil 146
forcemeat 159
fricandeau 140
Gohote 148
Breast, to ragout
stewed with pe»153
to collar 153
Loin, to roast 144
to boil 144
to stew 14.*
Knuckle, to stew 146
to boil 147
with rice 147
marbled * 149
minced 150
mi tor -with oysters 150
neck, to dress 152
olives 15$
olives and cotlops. ...152
potted 150
rolled 150
sweetbreads 154
sweetbread cutlets ...154
sweetbreads, to broil. 154
Vegetables, to dress 265
for children 4701
Yeloute 238
Venison, to choose 180
haunch, to roast ...181
neck and shoulder.l82
steaks 182
to stew 182
pastry 321
Vermicelli 209
Verjuice 446
Vinegar making 262
cider vinegar 262
sugar vinegar 263
pyroligneous acid 263
to strengthen 263
horseradish 263
basil 264
tarragon 204
pepper 264
flavored 264
vol-au-vent S19
W
Wafers 374
Waffles 434
Water, cold with ioe 466
to filter 443
barley 445
soda 465
Water-ices 369
Whey 463
Wine, from grapes 451
from other fruits...4o3
Y
Yeast 426
to assist 427
to preserve 426
to extract bitter.froio.427
hard 427
milk 437
>
THE END





JUL l6 1928