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 COPYRFGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 A DAILY BEFEBENCE-BOOK FOB 
 YOUNG AND INEXPEBIENCED HOUSEWIVES 
 
 Br JULIET CORSON 
 
 II 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 ■FIFTEEN AND TWENTY-riTK CENT DINNERS" ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 
 1888 
 
 T3 
 
,^^•3 3 
 
 Copyright, ISSY, by Harper &l BKOinERs. 
 
 All rights rettrved. 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 DuRiXG the publication in IIarper''s Bazar of the 
 series of articles upon which this work is based, many 
 and vivacious were the comments elicited by the sub- 
 ject-matter. We Americans are nothing if not criti- 
 cal; and we are rather given to thinking imjDossible 
 those things Avhich we have not individually accom- 
 plished. No better answer can be made to such men- 
 tal casualties than the suggestion of that mild j^hilos- 
 opher and observer of fishes and men, Isaak Walton: 
 ^^ Douht not hut that (Jiere) is an art icorth your learn- 
 ing. The questi07i is rather, lohether you be capahle 
 of learning it, since it partakes of those things " made 
 for icise men to conte^nplate^'' etc. 
 
 But seriously we say to our readers, " Study the en- 
 tire book with attention, for it is a record of things 
 most necessary to success in housekeeping, which 
 young housewives generally attain through many try- 
 ing experiences." It would be useless to think of 
 comprehending the system in detail by selecting at 
 random any portion which might fix the- eye during a 
 cursory examination. It is only by understanding the 
 entire plan that it can be successfully practised: in- 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 tending to live in a house, one would not settle down 
 upon the piazza. 
 
 And then, the fact always remains that many house- 
 holds are living comfortably by the application to 
 every- day emergencies of the principles herein set 
 forth, and "facts are stubborn things." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter P'^"'= 
 
 I. A Working Outline 1 
 
 II. The Pukchase of Food 15 
 
 III. General Supplies and Prices 27 
 
 IV. Macaroni and its Cookery 37 
 
 V. Canned Goods 45 
 
 VI. The Economical Purchase and Use of 
 
 Meat 53 
 
 VII. How to Use Quantities of Beef .... 66 
 
 VIII. Lamb, Mutton, Veal, and Pork .... 80 
 
 IX. Suggestions for Country Housekeepers . 95 
 
 X. Vegetables and their Cookery .... 110 
 
 XL Mushrooms and Salad-plants 123 
 
 XII. Salads with Mayonnaise 132 
 
 XIII. Pickles 142 
 
 XIV. Preserves, Canned Fruit, and Fruit-cor- 
 
 dials 154 
 
 XV. Grapes, Oranges, and other Table-fruit 168 
 
 XVI. The Second Service of Food 184 
 
 XVII. Soups 192 
 
 XVIII. Fish 201 
 
 XIX. Game and Game Birds ........ 211 
 
 XX. Some Poultry for Luncheon ..... 229 
 
 XXI. Green Turtle and Terrapin 242 
 
 XXII. Household Suggestions 258 
 
^J CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 XXIII. Informal Table Sekvice 27G 
 
 XXIV. Dining-room Work 293 
 
 XXV. Small Social Entertainments 309 
 
 XXVI. Sunday Teas 316 
 
 XXVII. Luncheons and Suppers 323 
 
 XXVIII. Carting and Serving 329 
 
 XXIX. The Sera^ice of Dinner 338 
 
 XXX. Two Nice Little Dinners 350 
 
 XXXI. Spring Dinners 357 
 
 XXXII. Summer Dinners 373 
 
 XXXIII. A Midsum:mer Experiment, and something 
 
 ABOUT Breakfast 385 
 
 XXXIV. Autumn Dinners 394 
 
 XXXV. Thanksgiving Dinners 407 
 
 XXXVI. Christmas Fare 415 
 
 Index 425 
 
FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A TEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A WOKKING OUTLINE. 
 
 It is not the easiest of problems that we propose to 
 help our readers solve, but it is one that numbers of 
 them are called upon to consider daily. 
 
 If the first thought is that the limit fixed here is too 
 low, let the second be that thousands of active workers 
 live upon one half the amount in every American city, 
 and do not consider themselves deprived of the com- 
 forts of life. It is not within present purpose to de- 
 fine such living, but to outline that which is habitual 
 among those prosperous young professional people who 
 have just secured a foothold in life, and who have rea- 
 sonable hopes of eventual success. 
 
 If we take the average income of the prosperous 
 American household of the medium range of intelli- 
 gence and culture, we shall find it to be from $1500 
 to $2000 a year. Young professional men and young 
 merchants and financial men who have married and see 
 families growing up about them do not usually exceed 
 these amounts in, the years when they are laying the 
 foundations of future fortunes. 
 
 If the parents of these young families are thought- 
 1 
 
2 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 f ul persons, they realize that tliis period stamps a hall- 
 mark upoa whatever true metal of character and ca- 
 pacity there is in them. They know that they are sow- 
 ing the harvest their children must reap — planting the 
 seeds of physical and mental health, which, if they plant 
 wisely, shall grow into the strong and gracious manliness 
 and pure and tender womanhood that are the glory 
 of the earth. They have certain means to work with. 
 Given the habitual surroundincfs of the intellectual 
 classes in this country — a comfortable home, some 
 works of art and literature, now and then a little good 
 music, fair facilities for the education of their children, 
 and probable prosperity in business affairs, but no super- 
 fluity in any direction — the fact is at once evident that 
 both husband and wife have duties, that success or fail- 
 ure in life must be the result of united and sustained 
 effort, not the least upon the part of the wife, since upon 
 her prudence and capacity the judicious outlay of the 
 greater part of the income will depend*. Small fortune 
 will ordinarily attend the household where the wife 
 is an incapable, unless, indeed, the husband carries the 
 purse of Fortunatus. The expenditure which the wife 
 can actually regulate is that bearing chiefly upon the 
 table. Upon her ability depends its use in right pro- 
 portion to the sum of the income. When the ordi- 
 nary expenses of living are considered, the table should 
 not consume more than one third of the entire amount. 
 Suppose this to be $1500. An average rent would be 
 $25 per month; while in some cities it would be more, 
 in many localities it would be considerably less, especial- 
 ly in young and spreading communities and their sub- 
 urbs, and upon the line of metropolitan railways ; in 
 perfectly respectable city neighborhoods a floor or a 
 J part of a small house can be rented for from $25 to 
 
A WORKING OUTLINE. 3 
 
 $30 a month. Fuel for a cooking-stove and two other 
 fires, and lights, would cost about $8 per month, pro- 
 viding coke were used in cities, and the cinders of 
 coal utilized, and if some of the lighting were done by- 
 kerosene. Upon this point it may be well to say here 
 that actual tests have shown possible the entire light- 
 ing of a four-story city house with kerosene at an 
 average cost of 83 per month, not including the cost 
 of lamps. The average single servant's hire is about 
 $12 per month. Then would come household wear 
 and tear and medical attendance, that would proba- 
 bly be covered by $100 a year, the fact being remem- 
 bered that the doctor's visits can be largely affected 
 by the mother's own care of her family, and chiefly 
 by keeping them properly nourished. Church dues, 
 literature, and amusements w^ould require at least $60 
 a year. And this estimate would leave $300 for cloth- 
 ing. 
 
 At the first calculation it would appear almost hope- 
 less to think of supplying such a table as the some- 
 what capricious and uncertain appetite of the people 
 in question would seem to demand upon such a sum 
 as $1 37 a day, for that is about the daily portion of 
 $500 a year. We must cater for those whose occupa- 
 tions exhaust both mind and body, for gentle folk who 
 are accustomed to delicate and varied fare, and who 
 probably could not, if they tried, satisfy their physical 
 needs with the habitual food of the robust worker in 
 the Open air. We shall propose for the daily dinner 
 some such variety as that on the next page, remem- 
 bering that at no season will it be more difiicult to 
 secure this than in midwinter (Avhen the task was first 
 attempted in the columns of Harper's Bazar) ^ when 
 the result was successful: 
 
4 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Soup, or 
 
 a fish -with potatoes. 
 
 Two vegct<ables with a sauce, or 
 
 one entree and one vegetable. 
 
 Roast, baked, or broiled meat, poultry, or game, or 
 
 boiled or braised meat, with a sauce. 
 
 Salad with cheese. 
 
 One large sweet dish or two small ones. 
 
 Fruit, nuts, coffee. 
 
 If, in regarding such an outline, the first thought is 
 one of discouragement, the second reflection is: "Many- 
 do just this, and without any special training. See, 
 then, what can be done by calling into use some of the 
 resources of cookery." 
 
 If we give only one bill of fare occasionally, the ob- 
 jection may be raised that people cannot live upon the 
 same thing for seven days in the week. Tonjours per- 
 drixl But in a short time we shall have several from 
 which to choose for daily use, and, before our limit is 
 filled, more variety than the ordinary household dreams 
 of having during the entire year. For one of the worst 
 evils of American housekeeping is the fact that a small 
 round of dishes serves season after season and year after 
 year, when a seasonable variety would benefit both ap- 
 petite and health. 
 
 Upon the threshold of our experiments we must de- 
 cide that at our figures there is very little margin for 
 the indulgence of individual idiosyncrasies of taste, un- 
 less they are very simple. The caterer must be free to 
 balance an exjoensive dinner — and there is none more 
 expensive than a plain roast or boiled joint — by anoth- 
 er of cheaper materials, being restricted only by con- 
 siderations of health. To people who are obliged to 
 fit strong natural prejudices within narrow financial 
 limits we would suggest the non-advisability of culti- 
 
A WORKING OUTLINE. ^ 
 
 a 
 
 vating them. Even though morally certain that you 
 will not like some dish, rouse up your courage to test 
 it. It may be a sort of " forlorn hope," the only res- 
 cue possible to the culinary commander who is trying 
 to marshal her meagre forces to capture the citadel of 
 your capricious appetite. And your least effort should 
 be in her behalf. 
 
 In the line of economical combination farinaceous 
 food must play an important part, the point being so 
 to combine it with flesh-makino^ elements that it can 
 satisfactorily replace some of the lighter meat-dishes. 
 The various ways of serving macaroni with sauces and 
 cheese will illustrate this point. On a day when the 
 principal meat-dish is small there might be a savory 
 one of macaroni, samp, or polenta (a preparation of 
 Indian meal). Either of these farinaceous foods, com- 
 bined with sauces made of butter or drippings, and 
 with cheese, may be used in place of part of the meat. 
 Nor should they be thought scant fare. The most 
 vigorous races of which history gives us record have 
 lived chiefly upon them. The old Romans and the 
 Greeks fought well upon them, and they are the chief 
 subsistence of some of the hardiest of modern Euro- 
 pean agricultural laborers. Rye, oats, corn, wheat, 
 buckwheat, and rice are staple foods in the most 
 thickly-populated sections of the civilized world, and 
 in Oriental countries such fare has nourished races 
 whose origin is lost in the mists of antiquity; so that 
 the cereals need not be thought lacking in nutriment. 
 Their palatability depends upon their cookery. 
 
 While we begin with the expression of disbelief in 
 Poor Richard's axiom that one should rise from the 
 table before hunger is entirely satisfied, we must in- 
 sist that there should be no waste of food, not even 
 
Q FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 by children. There is no reason why a child cannot 
 be taught to eat nicely from the hour it first takes its 
 place at the table. Indeed, if the mass of American 
 mothers were more attentive to the table-habits of 
 their young children, dining at a public table would 
 be a less uncomfortable matter than it often is nowa- 
 days. Put but little at once upon a child's plate, and 
 if it early shows very marked distastes, try to over- 
 come them, if they are for wholesome food. Unless 
 they are inherited, there is generally some physical 
 cause for them, which parents should endeavor to com- 
 prehend. The morbid tastes of young people gener- 
 ally have their origin in some physical disturbance 
 that calls for medical oversight. This point should 
 be regarded, because there are usually two or three 
 children in the family. There will be the parents, 
 and probably one servant. That is the extent of the 
 household w^hose needs we propose to consider. A 
 dollar extra may be allowed each week for additional 
 children under ten years of age, and two dollars for 
 those older than that, as well as for each additional 
 adult. If the number to be provided for were much 
 larger the proportionate expense would be much less. 
 If there must be no waste by children, far less will 
 any be allowable at the clearing of the table or in the 
 kitchen. There may seem to be an objection to using 
 again food which has once been served; and, indeed, 
 it is the practice in many households to give it to spe- 
 cial pensioners or to applicants at the door. This will 
 be totally inadmissible under our estimate; there ca*n- 
 not be a margin for the supply of any food which is 
 not required for the actual consumption of the family. 
 The mistress must train her maid to be such a neat- 
 handed Phyllis that there can be no objection to the 
 
A WOEKING OUTLINE. h 
 
 second appearance of food; but it will seldom come 
 again to table in its first form under our system, for 
 in that state it would be cold, and health cannot be 
 perfectly maintained upon cold food. Any substance 
 eaten at a less temperature than about 100° Fahr. im- 
 poses upon the stomach the task of heating it to that 
 warmth before digestion can commence. 
 
 To return to our limit of expenses: When any de- 
 gree of hospitality is contemplated it will be necessary 
 to make an additional allowance in about the proj^or- 
 tion given above. The adage that "where there is 
 enough for one there is enough for two " will not ap- 
 ply at the table. It may, however, be noted that it is 
 far easier to furnish the table economically for a large 
 family than for a small one, because there are such 
 indispensable necessities as fuel, light, attendance, and 
 the bases of all meals that are not augmented propor- 
 tionately with numbers. And then, too, in the mat- 
 ter of purchasing supplies, every housekeeper knows 
 that advantages can be secured, even at retail rates, 
 when the number in family allows the buyer to secure 
 a quantity of any article of food temporarily cheap or 
 abundant. 
 
 To afford an immediate example of our economic 
 scheme, the detail of the cost of material and the 
 method of cookery is given. While it is not designed 
 to replace cookery-books by this publication, the fact 
 that success depends upon special methods is so patent 
 that all available space will be devoted to them. The 
 success of all cookery depends upon the most exact 
 manipulation of materials, and from its absence many 
 of the multitude of cookery-books 23rove of scant use 
 to the housekeeper who desires to combine good liv- 
 ing with economy. If the ingredients for making the 
 
3 - FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 dishes now in question are bought at usual retail mar- 
 ket prices, the bill of fare we have chosen will cost 
 about our entire daily average; but, be the fact again 
 repeated, our estimate necessitates the purchase in 
 quantity of such products as will give the w^holesale 
 buyer a margin of price large enough to cover the 
 cost of breakfast and luncheon or supper. As the 
 work progresses, special attention will be given to 
 dishes suitable for these meals. 
 
 Our first bill of fare is suitable for any season when 
 fresh vegetables are available. In the cities connect- 
 ed, by steamer or rail, with Bermuda and the South, 
 fresh garden produce is perennial, although expensive 
 at certain times. 
 
 Cream of beets. 
 
 Fried cauliflower. 
 
 Breast of lamb with stuffed potatoes. 
 
 Stewed beets with brown sauce. 
 
 Eoast beef with cheese salad. 
 
 Marianne puddings with cream sauce. 
 
 Apples, nuts, black coffee. 
 
 If the family are small meat-eaters the beef might 
 be enough, thus saving the cost of the dish of lamb. 
 Or the salad might be omitted, at a saving of about 
 10 cents ; or the fruit, nuts, and coffee, which cost 
 about 20 cents. The ingredients "required to make 
 all these dishes in quantity sufficient for the fam- 
 ily we have in view would be about as follows in 
 quantity and cost: a bunch of beets, 4 cents; a small 
 cauliflower, 15 cents; a quart of potatoes (at 15 cents 
 a half -peck), 4 cents; one or two small heads of let- 
 tuce, 5 cents; a quarter of a pound each of butter and 
 cheese, respectively 6 and 3 cents; two ounces each of 
 citron and coffee, 6 cents ; an orange and two or three 
 
A WORKING OUTLINE. 9 
 
 eggs, 9 cents; a quart of apples (at 40 cents a- peck), 
 5 cents; a pound of nuts, 10 cents; a loaf of bread, 5 
 cents; a quart of milk, 8 cents; a pound of sugar, 8 
 cents; flour and seasonings, 5 cents; three pounds of 
 chuck roast, 30 cents; and a breast of lamb or tender 
 mutton, 10 cents. 
 
 Equally with the details of cost those of cookery are 
 given here, in order to show that careful treatment 
 will give good results from comparatively meagre ma- 
 terials. The dishes will be described in the order in 
 which they would be made to be done at the same 
 time. But this detail must not prepare our readers to 
 expect it in future instances; here it is given to sub- 
 stantiate our financial position. 
 
 The beets must first be boiled in plenty of water, 
 having been well washed with cold water and a cloth, 
 without breaking the skins to permit the escape of col- 
 or. Do not pierce them with a fork to test their ten- 
 derness, but take one up on a skimmer and press it 
 with the fingers, which may be protected from burn- 
 ing by a towel. AVhen the beets are tender, rub off 
 the skins with a wet cloth and slice them. Select 
 about half a large cupful of the deepest red pieces, 
 and rub them through a sieve with a potato-masher 
 to make the coloring for the soup; then set aside the 
 sliced beets and the puree^ or pulp. The time required 
 for cooking the beets will be about two hours, unless 
 they are very young and small. After the beets are put 
 over the fire prepare the meats. The beef should be in 
 the form of a large, thick steak cut from the chuck. 
 Cut out all the bone and gristle, and put them in a 
 baking-pan, after wiping them with a Avet cloth; lay 
 the meat upon the table; season it with salt and pep- 
 per; break a thick slice of bread in crumbs, and put 
 
10 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 it in the middle of the meat, together with a teaspoon- 
 f 111 of salt, a saltspoonf ul of pepper, and either a table- 
 spoonful of beef drippings or of raw beef fat chopped 
 fine; fold or roll the meat, and secure it tightly with a 
 stout cord; put it on the bones, and put the pan into 
 the hottest of ovens until the meat browns; then sea- 
 son it with salt and pepper, and baste it with the drip- 
 pings which it yields. 
 
 If the beef seems tough, add two tablespoonfuls of 
 vinegar to the drip^^ings used in basting. The vine- 
 gar has a tendency to soften the fibres of the meat. 
 Allow an hour for cooking it well done, then take off 
 the strings, and serve it. The gravy is made by tak- 
 ing the bones out of the pan, and pouring out all but 
 about two tablespoonfuls of the drippings; save the 
 drippings, and put the bones aside for the next day's 
 use in soup-stock or to boil for making gravy or sauce. 
 With the drippings put a heaping tablespoonful of 
 flour, and stir them over the fire until brown ; then 
 gradually stir in a pint of boiling water and a palata- 
 ble seasoning of salt and pepper, and use the gravy 
 after it boils. 
 
 The lamb will cook in about three quarters of an 
 hour. First boil it very gently for half an hour in 
 enough boiling salted water to cover it, and then put 
 it between the bars of a double-wire gridiron, and 
 quickly brown it on both sides, seasoning it with salt 
 and pepper. The cauliflower is to be thoroughly 
 washed in salted cold water, and then boiled for 
 fifteen minutes in salted boiling water, and cut in 
 branches. Ten minutes before dinner-time it is to 
 be rolled in flour, seasoned "with salt and peppei', and 
 quickly browned in enough fat to i^revent burning. 
 By breading the cauliflower the size of the dish can 
 
A WORKING OUTLINE. jj 
 
 be increased. After the cauliflower is put to boil, 
 the potatoes are to be washed and put into the oven. 
 The puddings are then to be made as follows, and 
 baked so as to be ready at the right moment: Grate 
 two large cupfuls of stale bread, and soften it with a 
 cupful of water; grate the rind and squeeze the juice 
 of the orange; cut the citron in small bits and mix 
 them with the bread, together with the yolks of two 
 or three eggs, and sugar enough to sweeten the mixt- 
 ure; butter six small cups; just before putting the 
 puddings in the oven beat the whites of the eggs to a 
 stiff froth, quickly mix them with bread and fruit, dis- 
 tribute the mixture in the buttered cups, and bake the 
 little puddings slowly for about twenty* minutes, or 
 until they are brown. They are to be served hot, 
 with cream-sauce. 
 
 After the puddings are made the soups, sauces, and 
 salad may be prepared; and when the potatoes are just 
 tender they are to be finished as follows: as soon as 
 they are perceptibly soft to the touch a piece is to be 
 cut from the upper side large enough to admit the 
 introduction of a teaspoon ; the soft interior of the 
 potatoes is then to be taken out, mashed fine, seasoned 
 with salt, pepper, and butter, and returned to the po- 
 tatoes, when they will be ready to heat again, and 
 serve. 
 
 All the dinner will now be cooking except the soup 
 and sauces. Make the sauce for the beets by stirring 
 together over the fire a tablespoonful each of butter 
 or drippings and flour until they are brown, and then 
 gradually stirring with them a pint of boiling water 
 and a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper; heat the 
 sliced beets in this sauce. For the pudding-sauce, 
 mix together over the fire a tablespoonful each of 
 
12 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 flour and butter, and when they bubble gradually stir 
 in a cupful each of milk and water, and enough sugar 
 to make a sweet sauce; when the sauce boils grate in a 
 little nutmeg, and it will be ready to use. For the soup, 
 mix together in a thick saucepan over the fire two 
 heaping tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour until 
 they are smoothly blended; then gradually stir in a 
 quart of boiling water and a scant quart of milk, and 
 continue to stir the soup until it boils; season it pal- 
 atably Avith salt, white pepper, and a very little grated 
 nutmeg; stir in the beet pulp and its red juice, and 
 serve the soup directly it is made. 
 
 The salad is made of lettuce carefully washed, torn 
 with the fingers, put into a salad-bowd with a cupful of 
 grated cheese, and dressed with two tablespoonfuls of 
 vinegar, six of oil, a level teaspoonful of salt, and quar- 
 ter of a saltspoonful of pepper; the salad should be 
 dressed at the table, because the lettuce soon loses its 
 freshness after the dressing is added to it. If the 
 cheese is omitted, the salad will be simply of lettuce; 
 or cheese and bread or crackers may be served with it. 
 
 In regard to the omission of the salad to effect a sav- 
 ing of about ten cents these two points should be con- 
 sidered; first, if served with bread and butter it may 
 replace a more expensive dish of vegetables; and, sec- 
 ond, in combination with cheese crusts, aj^ple croHtes^ 
 or a sweet omelette it may take the place of a larger 
 dessert. The healthfulness of salads is beyond ques- 
 tion, and their appetizing freshness imparts a new zest 
 to the most perfectly cooked roast or broil. The de- 
 tail is given elsewhere of their many good qualities, 
 and its careful perusal is commended to the reader who 
 has hitherto given them but small consideration. 
 
 The fact cannot be too earnestly emphasized that it 
 
A WORKING OUTLINE. 
 
 13 
 
 will not be possible to carry out successfully the scheme 
 of living set forth in these pages unless there is a con- 
 stant personal oversight on the part of the mistress of 
 the house. That mental quality possessed by our pru- 
 dent New England progenitors, by them called " fac- 
 ulty," which implies the ability to meet emergencies 
 readily, to reconcile contradictory conditions, to make 
 things at hand take the place of desired but unobtain- 
 able ones — in short, to be capable of constant adapta- 
 tion, is indispensable to the task. If the forethought 
 is lacking that decides how one day's superfluity may 
 be balanced by another's more meagre fare, our pur- 
 pose of maintaining the economical level will soon be 
 frustrated. There must be a daily supervision of ma- 
 terials on hand; while no one's fare is to be stinted, 
 nothing may be wasted. One dish spoiled in the cook- 
 ing, or the remains of food given or thrown away, or 
 allowed to stand unused until unfit for the table, may 
 counterbalance a carefully studied economy in another 
 direction. 
 
 Quite small quantities of cold meat, fish, poultry, or 
 vegetables can be rewarmed in the form of breakfast 
 or luncheon dishes. But there must be no experiments 
 based upon doubtful authority. If a new dish is to be 
 tried, do not undertake it in any uncertainty: either 
 obtain the exact recipe from some one who has suc- 
 ceeded with it, or from some reliable cookery-book; 
 or, if the attempt is to be an original one, consider all 
 the prospects of success and the possibilities of failure. 
 To inexperienced housewives let it be said emphat- 
 ically, " Be content to follow good old methods until 
 you are competent to originate new ones; and do not 
 ever change the ingredients of a dish or omit any part 
 of its formula until it has been carefully made accord- 
 
14 FAMILY LIVING ON S500 A YEAR. 
 
 ing to the recipe and tested in its entirety." Do not 
 imagine that you will not like a thing; until you have 
 tried it, give every dish the benefit of the doubt. If 
 you do not like a dish properly made, do not alter it 
 at the risk of failure, but make one about which you 
 are certain. There are dishes enough in any branch 
 of cookery to satisfy every taste, every individual 
 idiosyncrasy, no matter how marked or peculiar. It 
 is poor management, as well as an act of injustice to 
 its originator, to spoil any dish by alteration or omis- 
 sion. 
 
THE PURCHASE OF FOOD. 
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 THE PURCHASE OF FOOD. 
 
 Further on in this book reference is made to an 
 economic experiment, the success of which largely de- 
 pends upon the purchase of supplies at the market 
 early in the day. As this early marketing is some- 
 times inconvenient, a plan is here proposed which can 
 readily be carried out in any city or town where a 
 number of friends live in the same neighborhood; in- 
 deed, it might be followed as a regular business by 
 any responsible person acting for several families liv- 
 ing near each other. An intelligent, active woman 
 could soon make a remunerative connection for her- 
 self, as a matter of pure business, by undertaking the 
 marketinof of half a dozen or more households. If 
 there are facilities for keeping food, the best way of 
 marketing is to buy the dry groceries by the barrel or 
 case, and the perishable articles two or three times a 
 week. Even if only the daily needs are catered to, 
 one person can choose for five or six as well as for one, 
 only a little more time being required, in addition to a 
 definite idea of each household's wants. If this sys- 
 tem of buying were to be undertaken by one person as 
 a business, the evenings might be given up to calling 
 at different houses for orders ; the daily needs having 
 been m.et, the housekeeper could, in a few moments, 
 ascertain what supplies remained on hand, and what 
 would be required for one or more days' use. The 
 
16 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 objection that this would be troublesome is simply in- 
 admissible; no one need hope to profit by the sugges- 
 tions here given unless time and care are made to re- 
 place the expenditure we seek to avoid; no idle or 
 shiftless person can possibly accomplish our results. 
 The advantage of making up the buyer's list in the 
 evening would be that the marketing could be done 
 in the early morning. The housekeeper who habitu- 
 ally markets after breakfast would be astonished to 
 see the activity which prevails in the large markets 
 from four to six o'clock in the morning. It is then 
 that the hotel and club caterers are selecting the 
 choicest of the fresh market supplies, and that the 
 heaviest buying of the day is done. The local vege- 
 table or truck farmers drive their loaded wagons to 
 market during the late afternoon or evening, remain- 
 ing near their stands until the buyers come. The meats 
 are sent at night or early morning from the slaughter- 
 houses; and the milk and local fruit trains speed in their 
 quota in " the wee sma' hours." So the caterer who de- 
 sires the best of the market must needs be early there. 
 The bulk of the local produce commission business, 
 which consists in placing in the retail dealers' hands 
 the daily receipts of perishable supplies, such as fruit 
 and vegetables, is done between the hours of 9 p.m., 
 when the Long Island farmers come in, and about 
 4 A.M., when the last of the Southern trains arrive. 
 The Savannah and Norfolk boats are due about mid- 
 night, with new cabbage, potatoes, pease, string-beans, 
 cucumbers, and tomatoes. The garden truck from 
 Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey arrives by rail 
 between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. All this produce is either 
 on the commission stands or in the retail dealers' wag- 
 ons by daylight. 
 
THE PURCHASE OF FOOD. 
 
 17 
 
 After a " season " is well under way, that is, as soon 
 as any local product ceases to be a rarity, there is but 
 little daily variation in prices, unless the heat is so 
 great as to make the attempt to keep food overnight 
 ill-advised, or unless the regular market days occur 
 but two or three times a week, as is the case in some 
 Western and Southern towns; then the dealers may 
 lower the prices as the day declines rather than try to 
 keep their stock over. As a rule, it is not a good prac- 
 tice to buy from street peddlers in cities: their stock 
 is generally that left on the large dealers' hands at the 
 close of the market demand, and is in danger of spoil- 
 ing, if not already spoiled. The exception to this con- 
 dition is where some dealer or licensed vender, known 
 to his customers, habitually brings his wares to their 
 houses; in some instances quite fresh fruits and vege- 
 tables are thus obtainable, better than those which 
 have been exposed to the sun and dust at the green- 
 grocer's, notably if the vender has a little market gar- 
 den in the suburbs, as many Germans and negroes have 
 near New York, Cleveland, Washington, and other 
 large cities. When licensed itinerant venders who are 
 not produce raisers, or are not known to their custom- 
 ers, have fresh goods, they usually sell from an over- 
 stocked market, or give scant measure, taking advan- 
 tage of the fact that they will not soon revisit the scene 
 of their questionable dealing. But in small country 
 neighborhoods the costermonger of England has his 
 prototype in the peripatetic dealer who brings perfectly 
 good supplies to the doors of his regular customers. 
 
 To return to the question of one person buying for 
 several, there are more advantages in this plan than 
 the securing of fresh supplies; for instance, goods by 
 the case or barrel cost much less than by the pound, ex- 
 
IQ i'AMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 cept sugar and a very few such closely figured articles, 
 and the large quantity might be divided among sev- 
 eral neighbors. Take macaroni as a sample. In most 
 groceries not Italian the price of an inferior article is 
 from fifteen to twenty cents a pound; during the pass- 
 ing season it has been bought by the case at nine and 
 ten cents a pound for the finest imported spaghetti. 
 In buying at the large markets the caterer can usually 
 have the various articles selected sent by the dealers to 
 the local market express, where those for each par- 
 ty can be put into a separate barrel, the name being 
 marked on each article ; the charge for delivering each 
 barrel is about twenty-five cents; the caterer can carry 
 a basket to contain fruit and butter, which might be 
 injured by being packed with other things. For the 
 information of persons apt to question any idea new to 
 them be it said that this system of marketing has been 
 in practice in New York for some years, and that it 
 affords one of the many ways by which ingenious 
 women add to their incomes. In some instances a 
 fixed sum is paid weekly to the caterer, say at the rate 
 of about twenty-five cents a trip ; in others a small 
 percentage on the total of the account is given ; either 
 sum is well expended if tlie caterer is well-informed 
 and careful as to quantities and the freshness of the 
 purchases. In some households the man of the family 
 markets on his way to business, but he is not always 
 as economical as possible, and often provides more 
 than can be used to good advantage, especially if he 
 leaves any margin for the dealer to enlarge upon ; or, 
 if economically inclined, his choice may prove insuf- 
 ficient or unsatisfactory ; at the best such marketing 
 is desirable only when the buyer has a clear idea of 
 the actual and immediate needs of the cook; for un- 
 
THE PURCHASE OF FOOD. 
 
 19 
 
 suitable profusion is as embarrassing to an economist 
 as is scant provision. 
 
 One of the best results of outside catering was seen 
 in California, where the Chinese cook, an artist in his 
 way, requested his mistress to give him weekly the 
 sum she had habitually spent for household expenses ; 
 she did so, and asserted that she had never lived so 
 bountifully or so well, while her "boy" frankly stated 
 that his commission was quite satisfactory to him. 
 Much more compliment could be given to these Chi- 
 nese servants. Before leaving this question of market- 
 ing a suggestion may be made in reference to the green- 
 groceries which abound in New York. Walks in dif- 
 ferent parts of the city in warm Aveather show one 
 lamentable fact — that, as a rule, the green vegetables 
 exposed for sale are so wilted as to be unfit for food. 
 This could be obviated largely if every housekeeper 
 would use her influence to induce her local grocer or 
 marketman to shade his stock from the sun, and to sprin- 
 kle it plentifully with cool water several times in the 
 course of the morning. This would be but compara- 
 tively little trouble to each dealer, and it would not 
 only give his wares to his customers in more whole- 
 some condition, but it would make them more inviting 
 in appearance, and preserve those left on his hands at 
 the close of the day's trade. As nearly every grocer 
 and marketman has a large refrigerator, the bulk of 
 the stock might be left there, or in a cool part of the 
 cellar, well sprinkled at least twice a day. The result 
 would be less loss to the dealer, as well as improved 
 food for the buyer. A rack could be arranged in one 
 side of the ice-box, or the vegetables could be enclosed 
 in a large cloth, and that part of the box frequently 
 washed. The Board of Health would be doing a sani- 
 
20 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 tary service to the public if it would look into this 
 matter. The fact at the root of it is simple enough ; 
 all vegetables thrive on moisture while growing, or 
 keep fresh longer if exposed to it after they are cut. 
 
 Personal experience has shown that even the most 
 perishable of all vegetables, lettuce, can be preserved 
 fresh and crisp for several days in the hottest summer 
 weather by keeping it cool and damp, not by immers- 
 ing it in water, except at first, and then only long 
 enough to revive it; after that it may be wrapped in 
 a wet cloth and laid beside the ice, or put into a paper 
 or wooden box and closed away from the air, care be- 
 ing taken to moisten it twice a day, removing all de- 
 cayed leaves, and keeping it in a cool, dark place. 
 
 The veriest schoolboy conning his Virgil knows 
 
 "How succory drinks the running streams, and how 
 Green beds of parsley by the river grow/' 
 
 and yet the dealer whose best interest lies in the 
 freshness of his wares lets that homely herb, so indis- 
 pensable at every table where taste holds sway, lan- 
 guish in full midsummer heat before his door, and 
 die for lack of a little of its native moisture. 
 
 Our New York Board of Health does occasionally 
 awaken to the fact that it possesses the power to decide 
 upon the character of the food of the people; but in 
 this matter of insisting upon the sale of fresh vege- 
 tables and fruit it is spasmodic in action. At no sea- 
 son of the year would activity in this direction be 
 more acceptable than when the summer heat is upon 
 us. In addition to raiding the large markets now and 
 then, the board could secure the passage of a law 
 compelling dealers to keep their green supplies in a 
 state favorable to health, and so confer a great sani- 
 
THE PURCHASE OF FOOD. 
 
 21 
 
 tary blessing upon that large class of people Avho deal 
 almost exclusively Vv^itli grocers and venders. 
 
 The Board might ^\^ell have oversight of the corner- 
 stands where the frugal Italian regards his perishing 
 wares according to his possible personal use of them; so 
 long as they hold their form he has their salable sound 
 spots in view; only when they are a shapeless mass of 
 decay does he cease to regard them with speculation 
 in his eyes. 
 
 As the warm weather becomes an accomplished fact, 
 the family marketer is disturbed by the consideration 
 that some of the most attractive seasonable novel- 
 ties are so exceedingly perishable that when they are 
 bought in any quantity there is danger that they will 
 spoil before they can be used. In view of this fact, 
 present space will be devoted to devices for tempora- 
 rily preserving perishable articles of food. Most per- 
 ishable of all are the berries and early cherries ; as, if 
 they are marketed at any distance from the locality 
 of their production, they are apt to be over-ripe as the 
 summer advances. The very early fruits are often 
 plucked so unripe that the bruises incurred during 
 transportation cause premature decay ; and a few 
 of the larger fruit, like the medlar pear, incline to the 
 
 "Most putrefied core, so fair without." 
 
 But little can be done to keep ripe fruit fresh except 
 to protect it from heat and moisture, or to cover it 
 with sugar. 
 
 With berries, for instance, if the hulls are on, do not 
 remove them, and lift the berries by them; carefully 
 reject the decayed ones, and separate those which are 
 over-ripe from the firm ones. If they are in baskets, 
 see that the wicker-work of the sides and bottom is 
 
22 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 quite dry. Wipe off with a dry cloth any juice which 
 the berries may have shed. Do not wash the berries, 
 even if they are sandy; leave the washing until they 
 are served. Lay the berries lightly in the baskets, so 
 that they will not crush, and keep them in a cool, dry 
 place; they keep best in a current of dry air — for in- 
 stance upon a window-sill where no sun or dust falls ; 
 if it is necessary to put them in the refrigerator, be sure 
 that no water can fall upon them from melting ice. 
 The over-ripe berries keep best if hulled and covered 
 with sifted sugar. The best method personally reached 
 is this: directly the berries come into the house, sepa- 
 rate the over-ripe from the sound ones, hull them, and 
 cover them with sifted sugar; leave the hulls upon the 
 sound berries, lay them on large platters so that they 
 do not touch, and keep them in the coolest place avail- 
 able; they will shrink a little after keeping them over- 
 night, owing to the action of the air, but very few 
 will spoil if the berries are of ordinarily firm sub- 
 stance. Some berries, especially some of the large 
 fancy varieties, are so soft and juicy that a single day 
 after they leave the vines they become too frail to 
 handle, resolving into a watery pulp. After the first 
 experience the buyer would do well to remember that 
 such fruit is the best kind to leave in the dealer's pos- 
 session. Of course, where berries can be brought 
 fresh from the vines, these suggestions are superflu- 
 ous; but they are valuable to city dwellers, especial- 
 ly when the Sunday supply of fresh fruit is in ques- 
 tion. 
 
 Cherries generally keep well ; but when a second or 
 third day's supply has to be considered, those should 
 be chosen which are firm and rather under-ripe; they 
 should be carefully looked over, the broken and de- 
 
THE PURCHASE OF FOOD. 23 
 
 cayed ones rejected, and the over-ripe ones stoned and 
 sugared. If the whole cherries, on the stems, are placed 
 in the ice-box for two or three hours before using, the 
 entire fruit will become covered with a most enticina: 
 bloom upon exposure to the air of the dining-room. 
 More will be said about cherries in due season, and 
 recipes given for cooking them. 
 
 Next to fruit, green vegetables are the most perish- 
 able market commodities. Some suggestions have been 
 made as to the treatment of vegetables, but it ^vi\\ not 
 be superfluous to add that much of their excellence 
 depends upon their freshness, especially if they are to 
 be used uncooked in salads. After they have been 
 washed, and the decayed and bruised parts removed, 
 they will keep best in a cool, dark place, wet enough 
 to preserve their freshness, but not immersed in water. 
 It is a mistake to leave them in water after they have 
 become fresh and crisj); but they should be freely 
 sprinkled, and covered with a wet cloth; they may 
 be placed in a cellar, or in the refrigerator, wrapjoed 
 in wet cloth. Cooks sometimes hasten the decay of 
 parsley, lettuce, and celery by leaving them for a long 
 time in water, especially if the water is unchanged. 
 It should be remembered that the addition of a 
 handful of coarse salt to a large pail or tub of water 
 lowers the temperature decidedly, and quickly revives 
 wilted vegetables; but to allow lettuce to remain long 
 immersed in it is to destroy the substance of the 
 delicate leaves. After the rooted vegetables, such as 
 kohl-rabi and radishes, are freshened, they should be 
 taken from the water and kept only moist. The ef- 
 fect of soaking them for any length of time is marked 
 by the odor which they impart to the water; this is 
 to be noted particularly in the case of radishes; the 
 
24 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR, 
 
 water becomes decidedly offensive if they remain in 
 it, and tliey lose color as well as some of their char- 
 acteristic pungent flavor. 
 
 Fish which is to be kept overnight may be salted, 
 corned, or put into a onarinade, or pickle; the same 
 method of preservation will answer for any fish, and 
 below are some recipes given as examples. For salt- 
 ing shad: After the fish has been scaled, split it down 
 the back, remove the backbone and entrails, wash it 
 in cold water, lay it skin down on a platter, sprinkle 
 it rather thickly with salt, dust it with pepper to keep 
 off the flies, and let it stand overnight; the next day 
 brush off any salt that shows, broil the fish or fry it 
 as if it were fresh, and serve it with butter and lemon, 
 or any acid table sauce. Fish for corning should be 
 entirely immersed overnight in brine made by boiling 
 water very strongly salted, and allowing it to cool be- 
 fore putting the fish into it. Blue-fish is good corned; 
 it may be broiled, boiled, or baked. If it has been 
 long enough in the brine to be too salt for eating, 
 freshen it by soaking in cold water. Any oily fish, 
 such as mackerel, salmon, or sturgeon, may be j^ickled 
 by immersion, after cleaning, in a marinade made by 
 boiling together equal parts of vinegar and water, 
 with the addition to each quart of liquid of a table- 
 spoonful of mixed whole cloves, pepper, allspice, mace, 
 and bay-leaf. Pickled fish is best when broiled, and 
 served with parsley and lemon, or with chopped gher- 
 kins, capers, or pickled onions. 
 
 It may be said in passing that when a can of pickled 
 or salted fish is opened, such as salmon, sardines, 
 mackerel, or bloaters, the fish should at once be taken 
 from the can; and if it is not all used it should be 
 kept in a cool place in an earthen dish. A pickle of 
 
THE PURCHASE OP FOOD. 
 
 25 
 
 vinegar, salt, and water poured over such fisli insures 
 its preservation, while exposure to the air has been 
 known to generate an actively poisonous property in 
 less than twenty-four hours. 
 
 Cream is usually expensive, but it can be included 
 in our list of indulgences if the milk used is good; and 
 it is most acceptable with berries and fresh peaches. 
 To separate part of the cream from the family supply 
 of milk, and serve it in a little pitcher as a luxury, 
 is certainly an excusable proceeding. The grade of 
 milk now sold in New York and other cities where 
 the Health Board does its duty is far better than it 
 was ten years ago; and in the country, where pure 
 milk is obtainable, we may take the liberty of jug- 
 gling in harmless fashion. As a matter of fact, pure 
 milk from which part of the cream has been taken is 
 sufficiently palatable and nutritious for ordinary table 
 use ; certainly it is good enough for cooking ; the 
 most exact of experts could hardly tell whether a 
 pudding or biscuit were made with entire or skimmed 
 milk. In Aveather which permits keeping milk, let it 
 stand in a cool place, protected from dust and flies, 
 for twelve hours; then dip off half the layer of cream 
 from the surface, and stir the rest down into the milk; 
 it will be quite good enough for ordinary family use. 
 Invalids and children can have entire milk for drink- 
 ing kept by itself, but from the two or three quarts 
 which constitute the daily supply of the average fami- 
 ly more than half a pint of cream can be taken with- 
 out any marked deterioration. One thus "robs Peter 
 to pay Paul," but there is some satisfaction in doing 
 it, and the ailing child, the invalid who needs extra 
 nourishment, or the family favorite wall profit by the 
 theft. If milk is warmed in shallow pans by gentle 
 
26 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 heat until a thin skin begins to wrinkle and dimple 
 upon its surface, and tben carefully set away from the 
 fire without shaking the pans, the quantity of cream 
 will be increased, and the milk will keep the better 
 for the scalding; it must not be allowed to boil, how- 
 ever. Milk and cream should be kept in covered jars 
 or pitchers, in a cool place; the fact should be re- 
 membered that both quickly absorb bad odors and 
 atmospheric taints; too great care cannot be given to 
 keeping them fresh and sweet. 
 
GENERAL SUPPLIES AND PRICES. ^ 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GENERAL SUPPLIES AND PRICES. 
 
 To insure success under our conditions of manage- 
 ment a continual oversight is imperative over all food 
 products on the part of the mistress of the house; 
 equally must she be conversant with market prices, 
 qualities of goods, and seasonable foods, in order to 
 keep a check upon the tradespeople who supply her 
 larder. She must do the most of her own marketing, 
 especially for perishable materials, unless she adopts 
 the co-operative system described in the last chapter. 
 The subject of marketing can be treated only inci- 
 dentally, but the cost of the staples of living must be 
 fully considered. 
 
 In these days of rapid railway facilities there is less 
 difference in the prices of staples in the larger cities 
 than there was ten or fifteen years ago, with the ex- 
 ception that the highest prices prevail in our North- 
 eastern States. This difference is the more notice- 
 able, since farther north, in the Canadian markets, the 
 average is below that which prevails thoughout the 
 States, and nearly 50 per cent, less than in the East. 
 While prices are comparatively less than they w^ere 
 ten years ago, the quality of goods is improved, 
 especially of grocers' sundries, and the variety is ex- 
 tended. 
 
 Noting from retail lists, the fluctuation of prices is 
 less than in the wholesale trade. This is notably 
 
28 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the case at the smallest stores, presumably because 
 their runinng expenses vary but little, while they 
 handle comparatively^ small quantities of goods, and 
 incline to keep the slight advantage offered by any 
 temporary decline in wholesale rates. Except, per- 
 haps, in the price of sugar, the customers of small 
 groceries pay an advance upon wholesale rates of from 
 25 to 50 per cent., and upon retail market prices usu- 
 ally about 30 per cent. Of course dealers argue that 
 they must make this advance to compensate them for 
 bringing market supplies within reach of their custom- 
 ers, and sometimes customers prefer to pay the differ- 
 ence rather than take the time and trouble to go to 
 the markets. Those points are aside from our object, 
 which is to see what can be done well under the care- 
 ful supervision of the housewife willing to give time 
 and attention to the question of economy, who will at- 
 tend in person to marketing. To return for a moment 
 to the prices at the smaller city groceries in ISTew 
 York: the average retail up-town price for table but- 
 ter is 35 cents, the market price 25; for lard, 16 cents 
 as compared to 12; cheese 18 to 12; potatoes, 25 cents 
 per half peck to 15 at the market. When flour and 
 coal are bought in small quantities, the purchaser pays 
 from two to five times their cost by the barrel or ton. 
 Sometimes the larger retail dealers are alive to the im- 
 portance of sharing Avith customers any decline in 
 prices. The comparatively rapid sales made in large 
 stores enable the dealers to place their customers' in- 
 terests more in unison with the changing rates of the 
 wholesale trade, particularly when cash payments make 
 it possible for buyers to go where the most favorable 
 rates prevail, notably to specialty shops, where sound 
 goods are sold at low prices. As such shops are the in- 
 
GENERAL SUPPLIES AND PRICES. 29 
 
 evitable result of competition in trade, there is no 
 reason why buyers should not patronize them. 
 
 In the matter of flour the average is from six to sev- 
 en dollars a barrel, unless there is some local pressure 
 to force the price upAvard temporarily. That has been 
 the average price of good family flour, except in war 
 times, for nearly a century. The finer grades of pastry 
 flour are dearer, but they do not make good bread, 
 and are less nutritious than the second and third 
 grades. 
 
 Judging by retail lists, it appears that the greatest 
 difference in prices in the various cities in the States 
 concerns meat, fish, and vegetable products. Dairy 
 products and groceries range upon a close average. 
 Family flour is sold at about the same figure in differ- 
 ent places, unless there is some temporary local corner 
 in the market. Upon the Eastern and Western sea- 
 boards and near the Great Lakes fish is cheap and 
 abundant. In the mid. -Western cities meat — notably 
 beef — is good and much cheaper than in the East. 
 Despite its possible unwholesomeness, pork is and will 
 be a staple food; in fact, it always has constituted the 
 chief animal food of the meat-eating masses, and prob- 
 ably wnll so remain, because pigs are hardy and pro- 
 lific animals, and can live and thrive W'here other live- 
 stock w^ould perish. Apropos of the prevailing fad 
 for drinking hot w^ater, the fact may be recalled that 
 the ancient Roman populace drank it habitually with 
 their meat diet of fresh pork, to promote digestion. 
 
 There is greater variety in the markets of large 
 cities upon railroad lines than there was ten years 
 ago, especially in vegetables. The increased produc- 
 tion of vegetables and fruits in the Southern States 
 brings both into the market in early abundance. 
 
30 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Fresh tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, onions, spinach, 
 and some salads are to be found in large city markets 
 even in January, at not unreasonable rates. In mid- 
 winter, 1886-7, in New York, fresh tomatoes were 
 from 30 to 50 cents a quart; radishes, 5 to 10 cents a 
 bunch; cucumbers, 25 to 50 cents each; Valencia 
 onions, 10 cents a pound; cauliflowers and egg-plants, 
 about 30 cents each; and spinach, 25 cents a half-peck. 
 All these, except perhaps the spinach, came from the 
 far South. In fortunate California the same vegetables 
 were sold respectively at 8, 2, 5, 1, 5, and 8 cents. The 
 price of the same cuts of beef in the leading cities 
 was at the same time, in Boston, 25 cents; in New 
 York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, 20 cents; in Cleve- 
 land, 12 cents; in Minneapolis, 18 cents; and in San 
 Francisco, 20 cents. These figures are quoted to show 
 that table estimates based upon New York prices will 
 be applicable in different parts of the country; in 
 fact, in several localities in the States and Canada our 
 scheme of living can be more favorably followed than 
 in New York, given the stipulated attention on the 
 j^art of the housekeeper. 
 
 The early Southern vegetables just mentioned can- 
 not be included in the list of our usual supplies at our 
 limited figure; they are quoted simply to show that 
 the state of the market has improved rather than de- 
 teriorated within the last decade. Despite the recur- 
 ring cry of " hard times," the mass of people in this 
 country are better fed and more cheaply clothed than 
 they were a dozen years ago. If the prosperity of the 
 country is to be gauged by the comfort of its people, 
 we have gained ground. There is no time on our 
 record when the masses have fared better than they 
 do to-day, despite the fact just cited that they usually 
 
GENERAL SUPPLIES AND PRICES. 
 
 31 
 
 pay twice the actual price of staples because they buy 
 in small quantities. 
 
 Economy in the matter of table supplies is favored 
 by the purchase in quantity of the less j^erishable 
 foods, the price of which gives the buyer a favorable 
 margin. Such dry groceries as flour, salt, coffee, and 
 tea, and fresh, prime canned goods may be bought in 
 bulk when the prices are reasonably low. Sugar is 
 generally sold so close to the wholesale list that its 
 considerable purchase becomes simply a matter of con- 
 venience. Granulated sugar is generally considered 
 the best value from an economic standpoint, because 
 it is suitable for all household purposes; it is less lia- 
 ble to adulteration than any other form of sugar, 
 even cut loaf, and offers the advantage over that of 
 being in such form as to preclude the use of any more 
 than just the required quantity. The coffee sugars 
 may be a few cents cheaper on the pound, but often 
 their dampness so increases their weight as to more 
 than balance the difference iij price, even w^hen their 
 sweetening properties are taken into account. The 
 light-brown sugars, notably the Demarara, are sweeter 
 than the white grades. Although some of the darkest 
 grades of moist sugar are sw^eeter than the refined 
 sorts, they are handicapped with the positive sani- 
 tary disadvantages of being laxative in their effect 
 and of possibly harboring animalcules. Of the moist 
 sorts Demarara sugar is the best; but it can seldom be 
 bought in American cities, except now and then in 
 Baltimore. The simplest way of testing the purity 
 of sugar is to dissolve a little in clear water in a 
 glass : if the sugar is quite pure, the w^ater will 
 simply be slightly thickened, but not in the least 
 clouded ; and there will be no sediment whatever. In 
 
32 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 keeping sugar it should be protected from dampness 
 and from the inroads of vermin, especially of ants. 
 After years of contest with these tiny storeroom 
 pests, one is compelled to admit that there is only one 
 effectual way to moderate them, and that is to proceed 
 upon the understanding that there are no good ants 
 but dead ones, and persist in treating the crevices 
 from which they issue with boiling water until they 
 are exterminated. 
 
 As coffee improves by keeping, so long as it remains 
 iinroasted, the condition of the market should indicate 
 the extent of purchase. 
 
 Flour, when bought by the barrel, seldom costs 
 more than about four cents a pound for good family 
 brands. The fact should be remembered that the so- 
 called finest brands do not yield the best value for 
 general purposes, because in milling nearly all their 
 constituent parts except starch are set aside. Flour 
 composed chiefly of starch is popularly supposed to 
 make the best pastry ; but individual experience 
 warrants the conclusion that the best puff paste can be 
 made from good family flour, careful treatment being 
 given to insure crispness and tenderness in the com- 
 pleted pastry. So far as the question of bread is con- 
 cerned, there can be no doubt of the fact that a mixt- 
 ure of two or three of the cheaper grades with a 
 small proportion of the best yields the most satisfac- 
 tory results. A barrel of flour, weighing a little less 
 than two hundred pounds, ought to produce some two 
 hundred and sixty pounds of bread — an increase of 
 about one third. Freshly ground flour does not make 
 as good bread as that several months old. Flour 
 should be protected from the air and from dampness, 
 as both these causes favor the production in it of acari. 
 
GENERAL SUPPLIES AND PRICES. 
 
 33 
 
 or mites. The color of good flour is white, with a 
 slight yellowish tinge; gray or bluish flour, or that 
 containing black specks, is bad. To test flour, squeeze 
 a little in the hand : if it remains in a lump, and shows 
 the impression of the lines in the skin, it is probably 
 good. A more conclusive test is to knead some with 
 water in the palm of the hand : if the dough thus 
 formed is tough and elastic, there is the proper pro- 
 portion of gluten in the flour. If the dough is soft 
 and sticky, it shows that the flour is made from wheat 
 which has been wet, or has been overheated in grind- 
 ing ; the bread made from it may soften in the oven, 
 growing semi-liquid. The remedy for this is to with- 
 draw it at once from the oven and knead in more 
 flour, and then bake it quickly; but the bread will be 
 poor. The dark streak that sometimes appears in 
 bread is due to like causes, or because the flour is made 
 from sprouted wheat, or occurs because there is an in- 
 sufficient quantity of alcohol evolved during the proc- 
 ess of baking. To remedy this, add a teaspoonful 
 of alcohol to the dough intended for each loaf of 
 bread while kneading it; the alcohol will evaporate 
 during baking. The addition of alum to poor flour 
 makes it whiter, and causes it to take up more water; 
 although its use is to be reprobated when it is possible 
 to obtain good flour, it does unquestionably improve 
 the bread made from inferior flour when not more 
 than an ounce is used to a hundred pomids of bread. 
 
 The various forms in which wheat is sold — such as 
 cracked wheat, shelled wheat, etc. — are excellent, and 
 can be advantageously bought by the case. They 
 must be kept in a perfectly dry place, shielded from 
 the air. In common with oatmeal and Indian corn 
 meal, they are valuable foods from an economical and 
 3, 
 
34 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 sanitary point of view, especially for children. There 
 is no more vrholesome or agreeable breakfast dish than 
 a well-made porridge combined with milk and sugar. 
 It supplies the growing system with food for the 
 blood, nerves, and brain; it should be u2)on the table 
 at least once a day in every family where health and 
 economy are considered. When time is an object in 
 the morning, the dish of cereals for breakfast may be 
 cooked the previous day, and either served cold, or 
 heated quickly, without much stirring; to avoid stir- 
 ring it is well to cook all cereals in a double kettle or 
 farina boiler. An excellent breakfast dish is oatmeal 
 boiled about two hours — or until it jellies — cooled in 
 cups, and served on deep saucers or oyster soup-plates, 
 with cream and fine sugar. Imported oatmeal is con- 
 sidered superior to the American product by many 
 persons, and it costs nearly twice as much. But the 
 balance of excellence is maintained in at least one 
 native production, which is thoroughly cooked during 
 its manufacture. Like other cereals, oatmeal is in- 
 jured by sea air; the superiority of foreign varieties 
 is impaired unless they are imported in hermetically 
 sealed tin cases. The physical effect of jDorridge made 
 from oatmeal, groats, and the other cereals is strength- 
 ening and laxative, and its tendency to overheat the 
 system can be counteracted by the judicious use of 
 fruit and vegetables; in combination with them and 
 with milk the foundation can be laid in childhood for 
 the most vigorous physical and mental constitution. 
 Finely ground oatmeal is more susceptible to adulter- 
 ation than the coarser grades. Barley meal is the 
 most ordinary addition; it is cheaper than oatmeal, 
 and less nutritious. The black specks which some- 
 times appear in oatmeal are generally particles of 
 
GENERAL SUPPLIES AND PRICES. 
 
 35 
 
 black oats which have not been removed before grmd- 
 ing. As long ago as 1697 a pamphlet on economical 
 living was published in London; it asserts that half a 
 pound of oatmeal porridge is as nutritious as a pound 
 of bread, and calls the porridge " hasty-pudding." 
 
 Our American hasty-pudding is made from Indian 
 meal, like the 2yole?ita of the south of Europe. It con- 
 tains more oil and starch than wheaten flour, and equal 
 flesh food. As an unmixed diet it can sustain health 
 and strength longer than any other one food; com- 
 bined with milk and sugar, maple syrup, or, better 
 still, with salt pork or bacon, it is capable of sustain- 
 ing the strength of laborers engaged in hard and pro- 
 longed work. It costs about half as much as flour, 
 and is more nutritious. Indian meal should j^resent 
 a slightly granular appearance, and be sharp to the 
 touch; if it is ground fine enough to be floury its 
 goodness is impaired. It is not advisable to buy it 
 in large quantities, because it deteriorates easily under 
 the effect of dampness, especially that of the ocean. 
 
 Rice, on the other hand, keeps well; the best grade 
 is so semi-transparent that if it is laid on dark blue 
 paper its color will take on the tint of the paper. 
 
 Rye, which is more extensively used in Europe than 
 in America, is less nutritious and more difiicult of 
 digestion than any of the cereals already mentioned; 
 but it keeps well, and is the source of great muscular 
 force. 
 
 Buckwheat contains less gluten than r3^e, and is 
 consequently less manageable in cookery; it contains 
 an excess of heat food, and for that reason is excellent 
 for winter use in the form of griddle-cakes. Buck- 
 wheat cakes, used with syrup or meat gravy, or with 
 sugar and butter, are a favorite winter breakfast dish; 
 
36 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 if cooked with sausage, or in camp-style with the 
 drippings of salt pork or bacon, their nutritive value 
 is abundant, and the dish is satisfactory to robust 
 appetites. 
 
MACARONI AND ITS COOKERY. 
 
 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MACARONI AND ITS COOKERY. 
 
 Next to bread, the most valuable form in which 
 wheat is marketed is macaroni. Within the past ten 
 years it has become a favorite American food, but its 
 treatment is not so well understood as it should be. 
 As it constitutes one of the most important auxiliary 
 lines of economic dishes, ample consideration will be 
 given to it; and the rest of this chapter is commended 
 as entitled to earnest study from the housekeeper who 
 intends to profit from this work. 
 
 Macaroni is made of the best wdnter w^heat, and con- 
 tains all the elements required to nourish the system. 
 As compared with wheaten bread, Payen estimates 
 that good Italian macaroni contains one third more of 
 the elements of complete nutrition. And when cooked, 
 with the addition of meat drippings or gravy, or with 
 butter or cheese, it may often take the place of a dish 
 of meat when their relative cost is an item of impor- 
 tance. 
 
 Since macaroni has become a usual dish, and par- 
 ticularly since our Italian population has increased, a 
 considerable quantity is made in this country, the 
 quality of which varies decidedly. Good macaroni is 
 slightly yellowish, as contrasted with a poor white, 
 pasty-looking variety. Genoa macaroni is slightly 
 colored by infusing saffron in the water with w^hich it 
 is made. Sometimes eggs are mixed with the maca- 
 
38 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 roni dough, giving it a yellow tint ; this color in the in- 
 ferior grades is obtained by the use of chrome yellow, 
 a poisonous compound, to the use of which certain 
 mysterious deaths were traced in Philadelphia, in 1887. 
 Naples macaroni is made simply of flour and pure 
 water, and when cooked Naples fashion has a greenish 
 tinge. Formerly no good macaroni was made in 
 America; the Italian stores sell the Genoa brand, 
 which is the best, from ten to fifteen cents a pound; 
 upon boxes, holding twenty-five pounds, a deduction 
 of about a cent a pound is made. Macaroni is now 
 largely manufactured in San Francisco, Pliiladeli^hia, 
 and New York by Italians, who can produce a quality 
 equal to the imported when they use the best flour of 
 winter wheat. It is said that macaroni, like all cereal 
 foods, deteriorates during long sea-voyages. 
 
 There are two ways of mixing the macaroni: one by 
 grinding the flour and water with a marble grindstone 
 set in a circular trough ; the other, the primitive Italian 
 method, by kneading the flour and water to a stiff 
 dough — about a gallon of water to thirty pounds of 
 flour — and then working it with a lever fastened to 
 the wall above a large circular platform of wood, the 
 lever describing short arcs as it is moved back and 
 forth, and rises and descends upon the mass of dough 
 upon the platform. It is a singular fact that up to 
 this point the process is identical w^ith that of making 
 the matzo, or unleavened bread eaten by the Hebrews 
 durinof the Passover. The matzo douo-h is rolled to 
 the thinnest paste, stamped out in large round cakes, 
 and then baked. Macaroni dough is pressed through 
 holes so arranged in the bottom of a large copper cyl- 
 inder containing a screw press worked by levers, that 
 tubes of the dough are forced downward through the 
 
MACARONI AND ITS COOKERY. oq 
 
 holes ; these tubes are cut off in desired lengths, and 
 either hung over wooden bars raised upon supports, or 
 laid upon frames covered with cloth, and thoroughly 
 dried from eight to ten days. The tubes are called 
 macaroni, mezzani, and spaghetti, according to their 
 size. The dough is also cut into ribbons, melon-seeds, 
 or semenze cli melloni, capelletti^ or little hats, and occlii 
 di pernici, or birds' eyes. Like all the cereal foods, 
 macaroni should be kept in a perfectly dry storeroom. 
 Americans usually make the mistake of washing 
 macaroni before it is cooked, and of cooking^ it too 
 long, until it becomes pasty. We shall, therefore, 
 hereafter give details of cooking it as Italians do, in 
 the unbroken lengths they luxuriate in. 
 
 "Mellifluous, mild macaroni, 
 The choice of her children when cheeses are old. 
 Lo! over me hover, as if by the wings of it, 
 
 Frayed in the furnace of flame that is fleet. 
 The curious curls, and the strenuous strings of it, 
 
 Dropping, diminishing down, as I eat!" 
 
 While it was still a comparatively infrequent dish 
 upon American tables these two culinary errors were 
 so often repeated in treating it that they became so 
 stereotyped as to find their way into some quite good 
 cookery-books. We are nothing if not accurate : con- 
 sequently it must be insisted from the outset that Ital- 
 ians probably know how to cook macaroni better than 
 any other people; therefore their methods will be fol- 
 lowed. Setting aside all suggestions about washing 
 or soaking macaroni, if it seems at all dusty wipe it 
 with a dry towel: let no water touch it except that 
 which is actually boiling. Have ready a large sauce- 
 pan of salted boiling water, plunge the macaroni into 
 this — a quarter of a pound will make a good dishful — 
 
40 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 and boil it steadily until it softens; it must not boil 
 to a soft paste, but only until a bit can easily be 
 pinched off with the fingers. The length of time re- 
 quired for boiling will vary with the size of the mac- 
 aroni ; vermicelli will cook in three or four minutes, 
 sj^aghetti in from eight to ten, mezzani, or ribbons, in 
 about fifteen, and the large tubes in twenty minutes. 
 A little margin of time is called for by the age of the 
 macaroni ; if it is old and very dry, the time may be 
 lengthened. When the macaroni is tender enough to 
 break under gentle pressure it should be drained, 
 thrown into a large panful of cold water, or held under 
 the cold-water faucet in a colander until the little tubes 
 are quite free from the glutinous coating extracted 
 by boiling and lie separately in the dish ; the maca- 
 roni will then be ready to drain from tlie cold water and 
 finish according to any given recipe. Inferior macaroni 
 assumes a white, pasty appearance, and splits during 
 cooking; the good sorts keep their form and color. 
 
 Italians always dress macaroni with several sauces 
 or different kinds of cheese, so suggestions are offered 
 for the simplest fofms of white, brown, and tomato 
 sauces, to be used when there is not time to follow 
 the elaborate recipes given in some of the foreign 
 cookery-books. For the white sauce the foundation 
 is the white roiix so often referred to in the author's 
 cookery. But this and the brown roux can be made 
 in quantity, and put down in jars or glasses ready 
 for instant use. The quantity required to thicken a 
 pint of sauce is a heaping tablespoonful each of but- 
 ter and flour, stirred constantly over the fire until they 
 bubble ; to make the sauce, stir gradually into the 7'oux 
 a pint of boiling water and a palatable seasoning of 
 salt and pepper. The basis for all brown sauces is 
 
MACARONI AND ITS COOKERY. 
 
 41 
 
 hrown~7'oux, which is a tablespoonful each of butter 
 and flour stirred over the fire until it is light brown, 
 before the pint of boiling water and the salt and pep- 
 per are added. If the flour is thoroughly dried before 
 the fire and the butter clarified before making the 
 roux, it will keep unchanged for months. Butter is 
 clarified by melting it with gentle heat, and then care- 
 fully straining it free from all sediment. Any good 
 brown gravy can be used for macaroni. The plainest 
 tomato sauce is made by mixing a cupful of fresh or 
 canned tomatoes, which have been stewed and rubbed 
 through a colander, w^ith half a pint of either white or 
 brown sauce, or with any good gravy. A more elabo- 
 rate tomato sauce, of delicious flavor, can be made by 
 stewing a can of tomatoes with half a cupful each of 
 sliced carrot and turnip, a small onion or a clove of 
 garlic sliced, a teaspoonful each of broken bay-leaf, 
 whole peppercorns, and salt, a dozen cloves, a stalk of 
 celery or a few green leaves, a sprig of any sweet herb 
 except sage, a little parsley, and a tablespoonful of 
 either white or brown 7'oux; all these ingredients are 
 to be simmered together until they are tender enough 
 to rub through a sieve with a potato-masher. If the 
 sauce thus made is thicker than necessary, it may be 
 thinned with broth or water, and seasoned acceptably 
 before it is used. 
 
 The plainest Italian dish of macaroni is the farmer's 
 dish, which is boiled macaroni heated with onions, 
 peeled, sliced, and fried tender in oil or drippings. 
 Palermo macaroni is first boiled, and then simmered 
 for half an hour with a quarter of a pint each of brown 
 and tomato sauce, and an ounce of grated Parmesan 
 cheese to a quarter of a pound of spaghetti. Maca- 
 roni with Parmesan is boiled, heated with one or more 
 
42 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 sauces, so that it is moist but not sloppj^, then turned 
 out on a hot dish, sj^rinkled plentifully Avith grated 
 Parmesan cheese, and served at once. When the 
 cheese is heated with the macaroni it becomes slightly 
 stringy. A more elaborate dish is made with the ad- 
 dition of meat. Use about a pound of beef without 
 bone ; cut the fat in small dice, put it into the sauce- 
 pan with a small onion peeled and sliced, and fry until 
 the onion is brown ; then add half a pint each of sliced 
 or canned tomatoes and Malaga wine, half a dozen 
 mushrooms, the beef, and enough boiling water to 
 cover all ; season the sauce liighly with salt and pej^per, 
 and cook it gently until it will easily pass through a 
 sieve after the beef is taken up ; heat boiled macaroni 
 in this sauce, and then serve it. The beef may be 
 used for some other dish, or cut in small bits and put 
 with the macaroni. Two or three vears ao^o a dish of 
 macaroni cooked with claret was quite the favorite at 
 one of our best restaurants, and the secret of its prepa- 
 ration was guarded for some time. The sauce was 
 made by browning an onion, peeled and sliced, in two 
 tablespoonf uls of butter ; then a tablespoonf ul of flour 
 was stirred in and browned ; after that half a can of 
 tomatoes, a head of celery chopped, a blade of mace, 
 ten whole cloves, and a pint of stock or broth were 
 added, and the sauce simmered for half an hour; at 
 the expiration of the half-hour the sauce was strained 
 and poured over a i^ound of boiled spaghetti, together 
 Avith a pint of claret; the si^aghetti was set over the 
 fire to heat, a quarter of a pound of grated Parmesan 
 was stirred with it, and then it was ready to serve. 
 This recij^e makes a large platterful of macaroni ; when 
 less is required, the recipe must be divided projDortion- 
 ately. 
 
MACARONI AND ITS COOKERY. 
 
 43 
 
 Naples spaghetti is boiled, and then heated with 
 enough tomato sauce to moisten it, and just before 
 serving it a tablespoonf ul of butter and two of grated 
 Parmesan cheese are stirred well throuirh it. Fidelini, 
 which is simply vermicelli dried straight, is heated 
 with the butter, cheese, and a little salt, making an 
 excellent dish. 
 
 Leghorn macaroni is boiled, moistened with white 
 sauce and the above-mentioned proportion of butter 
 and grated Parmesan ; it is stirred over the fire until 
 the cheese melts, and is then poured out on a hot dish 
 and covered with hot tomato sauce. 
 
 Calabrian macaroni is boiled, and served on a hot 
 dish with layers of grated Parmesan cheese and toma- 
 to sauce, the macaroni being first made very hot, with 
 enough sweet butter to moisten it. The sauce is made 
 by frying an onion, peeled and sliced, in an ounce of 
 butter until it is yellow, then adding a quarter of a 
 pound of ham, chopped, a bouquet of herbs, a quart of 
 peeled tomatoes, and a pint of broth or water ; season 
 the sauce with salt and pepper, simmer it for a half- 
 hour, and then rub it through a sieve with a potato- 
 masher. The bouquet of herbs is made by tying a 
 sprig of any sweet herb except sage, a dozen cloves 
 and peppercorns, a blade of mace, and a bay-leaf in 
 the middle of a little bunch of parsle}^ 
 
 The Spanish method of cooking macaroni, like many 
 other Spanish dishes, calls for fresh pork. Two pounds 
 of lean pork are boiled for three hours in water with 
 a tablespoonful of salt ; the meat is then taken up, 
 and a pound of macaroni boiled in the broth until 
 tender, w4th two large tomatoes and a small red pep- 
 per. While the macaroni is boiling, force-meat balls 
 are made of a quarter of a pound of lean fresh pork 
 
44 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 chopped fine, a clove of garlic, a small onion, a table- 
 spoonful of parsley, all chopped very fine, seasoned 
 with salt and pepper, and formed into little balls by 
 mixing in a raw egg ; the force-meat balls are fried 
 brown, after being rolled in flour. They are added 
 to the macaroni when it is tender, together with a 
 quarter of a pound of cheese grated, and it is then 
 served either with or without the boiled pork. 
 
 The different kinds of macaroni are used in soups, 
 after being first boiled in salted boiling water and 
 washed in cold water. For the various dishes of 
 macaroni the lengths of paste are cooked without being 
 broken ; even if they are longer than the saucepan the 
 paste softens quickly under the action of boiling water, 
 and curls down into the water. Expert macaroni 
 eaters take up the unbroken lengths to eat, but they 
 can easily be divided with the fork. 
 
 If any of these methods are followed, the result will 
 prove far more acceptable than the solid mass of sticky 
 paste that is too often set upon American tables, to 
 the utter confusion of appetite and digestion. 
 
 These recipes are in place here to show cause for 
 buying macaroni by the box, at Italian stores, rather 
 than by the pound at the grocer's ; even the best of 
 these general dealers do not always keep the best Ital- 
 ian macaroni, their assurances notwithstanding; and if 
 a large box is bought it is well to have a fair variety 
 of dishes from which to choose the method of the day. 
 There need be no unnecessary haste in using up the 
 contents of the box; good Italian macaroni keeps well, 
 if the storeroom is dry and free from vermin. 
 
CANNED GOODS. 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 can:n^ed goods. 
 
 When supplies are bought by the quantity there 
 must be a storeroom that is kept locked; not neces- 
 sarily because servants are either wasteful or dishon- 
 est, but because the natural impulse is to use largely 
 from quantities. And the mistress must distribute the 
 stores herself, learning to a nicety how much is re- 
 quired for actual use, and keeping a most careful over- 
 sight upon the condition of her stores, so that none 
 may be lost from decay or mouldiness, because such 
 loss would more than balance the economy of whole- 
 sale purchases. 
 
 In addition to flour, salt, sugar, tea, and canned 
 goods, meat may be bought by the quantity either in 
 w^inter, Avhen the temperature of the open air will freeze 
 it, or when in warmer weather there are the proper 
 refrigerating facilities. This is of the utmost impor- 
 tance. Much of the illness caused by eating bad meat 
 can be traced directly to some taint in the meat. 
 The dangerous attacks of trichinosis that follow the 
 use of unhealthy pork are not in question, because that 
 point calls for more lengthy consideration than can be 
 given here. Aside from that terrible disease, the phys- 
 ical disturbances arisino^ from the use of bad meat are 
 usually blood-poisoning, or the presence in the system 
 of some active poison caused by putrefaction in the 
 meat, or by the chemical action of some metal, or of 
 
46 FAMILY LIVING ON $530 A YEAR. 
 
 the atmosphere, upon canned meat. The greatest care 
 should be exercised in regard to canned meats. Only 
 those should be bought that are put up by the most 
 reliable houses. The fact is unquestioned that the 
 introduction of canned goods to the general market 
 caused great improvement in the commissariat of 
 armies, navies, and exploring expeditions. Nor is the 
 fact forgotten that without canned goods, put up in 
 tin, parties remote from the reach of civilization would 
 be 2:)ractically deprived of fresh food. Hunters, miners, 
 humanity's advance guard of road-builders, would suf- 
 fer greatly Avithout abundance of such fare; but, de- 
 spite all this, there seems to be no good reason why 
 any of the cautions should be withdravrn which Avere 
 originally published in Harper's Bazar in regard to 
 canned goods. The assertion was made and is here 
 repeated, that there can be no absolute safet}^ in the 
 continuous use of canned fish, poultry, acid fruit and 
 vegetables, and meats until they are put up in glass, 
 as many goods are which are intended for family' use. 
 The use of a small cloth bag to enclose the canned 
 food within tins is of questionable advantage when 
 there is any danger of metallic poison, but it at least 
 indicates consideration on the part of the packers. 
 
 The foreign custom of using glass in canning choice 
 grades of goods has caused a few American packers 
 to employ it to some extent in preserving shell-fish and 
 pickled goods. And some ladies, who put up special- 
 ties, use glass for vegetables and mince-meat as well 
 as for pickles and fruit. But the various preserved 
 meats and poultry are chiefly tinned. Next to choos- 
 ing goods from a reputable house, see that the ends of 
 the cans do not bulge outward; this indicates the pres- 
 ence of deleterious gases created by some abnormal 
 
CANNED GOODS. 
 
 47 
 
 and injurious condition of the contents of the can. 
 See, also, that there is not more than one small punct- 
 ure in the end of the can; one hole is left unsoldered 
 until the entire j^rocess of preservation is complete. 
 When there is more than one small soldered place it is 
 pretty good evidence that the tin has been punctured 
 to permit the escape of gases at some period subse- 
 quent to the original closing of the can. Some unre- 
 liable dealers buy canned goods after the tins are 
 bulged by fermentation; and, after puncturing the 
 tin, boil the cans and their contents, and then solder 
 up the little holes. This operation simply checks the 
 progress of fermentation, but does not restore the 
 goodness of the articles so treated. The practice in 
 vogue among careful housekeepers of reboiling their 
 preserved goods is different, because they watch them, 
 and as soon as they detect any sign of fermentation 
 they check it by immediate boiling, before it has time 
 to seriously inpair the article in question. 
 
 As these observations occasioned some comment 
 when first published, it is but fair to repeat the only 
 points made by the critics who took exception to 
 them. 
 
 1st. That the presence of two punctured holes in 
 tins is not always evidence that the contents have been 
 reprocessed on account of fermentation, because some 
 manufacturers of canned goods reprocess all their pro- 
 ducts, i. e., puncture them after once boiling or steam- 
 ing them, repeat the cooking, and then solder the 
 second set of holes. The necessity for this operation 
 may well be questioned by any one who has for years 
 used the French canned goods, where no puncture at 
 all is to be observed; this, however, is a point upon 
 which only experts are entitled to a hearing. 
 
48 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 2d. That the general use of glass is impossible, be- 
 cause of the double danger of breakage in transjoorta- 
 tion, and from the change of weather in high northern 
 latitudes. Nevertheless, food of any kind where acid, 
 in any shape or degree, has been used in the preserva- 
 tion, should not be bought in tin. Many cases of so- 
 called poisoning by canned goods are noted in the 
 press, but the progress of investigation is seldom ac- 
 curately followed to a definite conclusion. In a case 
 of poisoning which was clearly traced to the use of a 
 box of sardines that had been opened for some days 
 and partly used, there was no show of mould or ap- 
 j^earance of fermentation; this case is mentioned simply 
 as a caution, although its authority is unquestionable. 
 The trouble probably had its origin in some atmos- 
 pheric action upon the sardines or the oil in which 
 they were canned. Although the thorough boiling to 
 which they were subjected during the process of pres- 
 ervation would destroy any deleterious germs present 
 in the fish at the time of canning, the lapse of time 
 between the opening of the box and the second use of 
 its contents was sufficient to permit the fresh intro- 
 duction of injurious bacteria from the atmosphere, or 
 there might have been some poisonous element gener- 
 ated as the result of some action of the acid in the oil 
 on the tin or the solder after it came in contact with 
 the air. The experiments of M. Gautier, a French 
 scientist, show that the lead used in soldering tin cans 
 is more readily appropriated by fatty substances than 
 by ordinary vegetable matters; especially the oil used 
 in preserving fish shows a tendency to develop an acid 
 which unites with the lead in a poisonous form rather 
 than with the tin from which the can is made; the 
 lead is so much more easily affected than the tin that 
 
CANNED GOODS. 
 
 49 
 
 the injurious results attending the action of the acid 
 on the lead are first perceived. Tin is not a poison ; 
 indeed, it was one of the remedies of early medicine, 
 recognized even within a quarter of a century. But 
 the fact that certain vesretable acids in contact with 
 air act unfavorably on tin as well as lead, emphasizes 
 the caution to empty all cans as soon as they are 
 opened. 
 
 The muriate of zinc, sometimes used in soldering tin 
 cans, is a saturated solution of zinc in muriatic acid, 
 diluted with from three to seven times its bulk of 
 water; although poisonous, it is not likely to penetrate 
 the can, as it is only brushed upon that outer part 
 which is to be covered with solder, and as any excess 
 of the liquid would cool the soldering iron, thus di- 
 recting attention to possible danger. In passing it 
 may be said that the quantity of copper present in a 
 can of vegetables colored by its use is from 2 to 2.6 
 grains, not enough to prove injurious if received into 
 the system; but it is not assimilated in the least degree, 
 and consequently cannot exert any deleterious action. 
 The anathemas of the various health boards asfainst 
 French canned pease and other green vegetables would 
 seem hyi^ercritical were it not that some vegetable 
 acid might possibly affect the copper to an injurious 
 extent. During some twenty years' use of such goods 
 no such condition has even. been noticed. 
 
 Concerning the value of canned goods among large 
 bodies of men there is ample testimony. One of the 
 best purveyors of the United States Army, Major-gen- 
 eral Hawkins, considers prime canned goods superior 
 to those so-called fresh products which have been ex- 
 posed to variable weather in transportation and im- 
 perfect keeping in the market-stalls. He makes the 
 4 
 
50 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 following valuable suggestion concerning their use : 
 " Before using a canned article it is advisable, if prac- 
 ticable, to place it where it will be subject to a mod- 
 erately warm temperature for a few hours, and if the 
 warmth causes it to bulge it should not be used." 
 Care should also be taken to remove the contents of 
 every can as soon as it is opened ; if it contains beans, 
 pease, asparagus, carrots, turnips, or any vegetable of 
 firm substance, it is well to w^ash them by running 
 cold water over them before heating them for the 
 table. To point the necessity for not allowing canned 
 goods to stand exposed to the air it may be well to 
 remind housekeepers that canned salmon left exposed 
 to the ordinary summer heat of 75° F. has been known 
 to reach a condition favorable to the development of 
 bacteria — the germs of all putrefaction — in less than 
 twenty-four hours. The action of cold is favorable 
 to the preservation of canned goods; even freezing 
 does not impair their flavor. 
 
 Lieutenant Greeley says that his supplies of this 
 character were repeatedly frozen and thawed during 
 two years in the Arctics, without deterioration except 
 from the candying of a few preserves and the burst- 
 ing of some glass jars. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley says that, judging from his ex- 
 perience in India and Egypt, prime canned goods do 
 not undergo damage from any climatic heat. Un- 
 cooked food, such as butter, cheese, and some potted 
 goods, are injured: he objects to the overcooking of 
 meat; a point which must be appreciated by any con- 
 sumer of the so-called roast meats of the best English 
 brands, which will not keep their form pending re- 
 moval from the tins. 
 
 A few words about domestic canning. 
 
CANNED GOODS. 
 
 51 
 
 In these days when factories for canning fruits and 
 vegetables are scattered all over the country, and when 
 some of our finest tree-fruit is evaporated in the or- 
 chard where it grows, home preservation would seem 
 suj^erfluous if the quality of the manufactured article 
 could be depended upon. The secret of success in 
 canning seems to be thorough cooking in intense heat, 
 and subsequent total exclusion of air. It is difficult 
 to accomplish these results w^ith the appliances at com- 
 mand in ordinary kitchens, and only long-continued 
 boiling will accomplish it if the. articles to be canned 
 are cooked in the jars; this method involves the use 
 of steam-tight kettles for boiling. All fermentation 
 is the consequence of the presence of microbes, w^iich 
 can be killed only by the action of high heat; no fer- 
 mentation can take place if these living atoms are 
 killed and no more are admitted to the preserved sub- 
 stance with the air. 
 
 Aj^pert's process, discovered early in the present 
 century, is the one upon w^hich all subsequent ones are 
 based. It was over forty years before tin cans took 
 the place of Appert's glass jars to any extent. One 
 great advantage of glass jars is that fermentation can 
 be seen directly it sets in, Avhile it is not suspected in 
 tin until the ends of the cans bulge. The discovery 
 of gold in Australia and California, and the necessity 
 for overcoming scurvy on long voyages, led to the 
 use of tin receptacles for preserved foods; the civil 
 war in the United States increased the demand great- 
 1}^, and led to many improvements. The use of tin 
 cans implies the necessity of removing the contents 
 once a can is opened, a point which has already been 
 emphasized. 
 
 Glass cans are now in general use in households; by 
 
52 FAMILY LIVING ON 1500 A YEAR. 
 
 separating them with straw or a rack in the boiler, 
 and by putting them over the fire in cold water, the 
 danger of breakage is lessened during the operation of 
 canning. Fill the cans with vegetables washed or 
 peeled, adding a little salt or sugar at will, and only- 
 water enough to cover them, screw on the covers of 
 the jars, and boil them at least three hours; then cool 
 them, again screw down the covers, and before put- 
 ting them away stand them on the tops to make sure 
 they are tight. If properly boiled and closed, and 
 kept in a dark, cool place, the vegetables will not 
 spoil. If they are first boiled, put scalding hot into 
 the cans, and then closed air-tight, they will require 
 to be cooked only until they are tender. A short 
 method of canning vegetables at home is a favorite 
 one in the West. Pack cut corn, pease, or any vegeta- 
 ble down in the jars, adding a little salted water, and 
 steam, until the vegetables are tender, in a boiler with 
 a rack or straw; the cans are then filled up with actu- 
 ally boiling water, and closed while their contents are 
 boiling hot, being screwed tight after cooling. If the 
 cans are air-tight the vegetables keep very well. 
 
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. 53 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. 
 
 In buying meat several points bear u^Don the eco- 
 nomical aspect of the question; without doubt an ad- 
 vantage in price can often be secured by making large 
 purchases, but this would be lost if any of the sujoply 
 spoiled before it could be used. We must then accept 
 the fact that the quantity purchased must be regulated 
 by one's facilities for keeping it. In the country, where 
 tough meat is generally one of the trials, there are 
 usually better ways of keeping food than in the city, 
 where one small ice-box is expected to replace the cel- 
 lar, the milk-room, and the well or sj^ringhouse. The 
 great disadvantage of the ice-box is the fact that there 
 is too little room to permit the various foods to be 
 covered or kept in separate compartments. Although 
 our present consideration is for meat, the point must be 
 marked in passing that under no circumstances should 
 milk be kept uncovered; the facility with which it 
 takes on the qualities of its surroundings cannot be 
 better illustrated than by reminding our readers that 
 if game absolutely tainted is soaked in milk it loses its 
 extreme highness so far as to become eatable. 
 
 When butchers have large icehouses they are gen- 
 erally willing to keep meat for their customers if they 
 will buy it at its fresh weight; in a good icehouse the 
 shrinkage is not great enough to balance the advan- 
 tages of buying by the quantity. The difficulty in the 
 
54 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 way of the wholesale purchase of meat often is the 
 want of skill upon the part of the cook to treat the so- 
 called undesirable pieces so as to produce acceptable 
 dishes. After the roasts and the steaks or chops are 
 considered, cooks do not always know how to trans- 
 form the other parts into dishes that shall be equally 
 appetizing and nutritious. A good cookery-book is in 
 order here. The fact is not generally known among 
 marketers that the fore-quarter of meat is the most 
 highly flavored and tender. If any one wants proof, 
 let a chuck steak, cut from good beef that has been kej^t 
 long enough, be compared, after equally careful cooking, 
 with a sirloin or round steak from the same carcass. A 
 great many butchers use the fore-quarter at home from 
 preference. The price of the fore-quarter would hard- 
 ly influence their choice, and this part is not unsalable. 
 It does not keep as well as the hind-quarter, espe- 
 cially when cut from young meat. The parts that 
 taint first are those adjoining the veins and the tubes 
 or pipes of the throat, consequently it is well to cut 
 all these membraneous passages away before putting 
 the meat in the ice-box or cold room. In preparing 
 meat for use the Hebrew butchers do this as part of 
 the process prescribed by the old religious laws con- 
 cerning food. The hind-quarter is not so easily freed 
 from veins, and therefore from blood, *' which is the 
 life"; and for this reason, as well as because it con- 
 tains that important nerve centre, the sinew that the 
 angel touched, in the hollow of the thigh, it is not used 
 by orthodox Hebrews. The breast of the fore-quarter 
 was the part specified as food for the priests. The 
 ancient Greeks sacrificed "the thighs, selected to the 
 gods," and either broiled or roasted the remainder of 
 the carcass in the Homeric feasts. 
 
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. 55 
 
 The Hebraic method of slaughtering cattle is the 
 best knowiij not only because it makes the use of dis- 
 eased flesh impossible, but because the instantaneous 
 infliction of death precludes the feverish condition that 
 is caused by a prolonged death-struggle. The Rabbi 
 de Sola Mendes, in describing the operation, says: 
 " The principles underlying the Jewish mode of kill- 
 ing animals for food are twofold; one dictates that as 
 much pain shall be spared the animal as possible, the 
 other that as much detrimental matter shall be removed 
 from the dead carcass as possible, and that all possibly 
 unhealthy flesh shall be rejected. The first aim is 
 achieved by having the slaughtering knife^ or ^ challif,' 
 as sharp as possible; it is brought to the most razor- 
 like edge of keenness, and is tested by passing it over 
 a hair hanging freely in the air, which must be sun- 
 dered thereby, or the knife is not sharp enough. More- 
 over, to spare the animal any sharp jag or tear in the 
 wound necessary to be inflicted, the edge must possess 
 no *pegima' or dent in it, and this is tested by passing 
 the blade along the finger-nail or the highly sensitive 
 tip of the tongue. If any nick, the slightest even, 
 should be felt in it, it must be sharpened anew. The 
 second object, the securing of as healthy meat as pos- 
 sible, is secured by cutting the animal in the large 
 arteries which are situated in the throat, besides spar- 
 ing the animal pain by inducing swooning as soon as 
 the brain is emptied of blood. The carcass, too, is 
 speedily emptied as well, and so the element of rapid 
 decomposition, the blood, is as well as may be drained 
 from the body. But the meat is not yet declared fit 
 for food until the principal parts, notably the lungs, 
 have been ocularly examined for traces of disease, 
 tubercles, etc., the appearance of which would cause 
 
56 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 its rejection at once. It will thus be seen that a proper 
 * schocliet,' or slaughterer, must not only be well learned 
 in these appearances, but must possess great manual 
 dexterity and conscientiousness in the discharge of his 
 difficult and disagreeable labors." 
 
 The removal of the veins from the neck and fore- 
 quarter is of the greatest importance in warm, muggy 
 weather. It is moderate heat combined with moisture 
 that makes meat spoil. Fierce artificial heat cooks it, 
 and even the heat of the sun is intense enough in hot 
 climates to perfectly cure meat, providing the air is 
 dry. If a joint of meat is put into a cold oven and 
 the heat gradually increased, the chances are that it 
 wall spoil or taint before the degree of heat is reached 
 which is required to cook it. Something similar oc- 
 curs when frozen meat is exposed to the heat of the 
 fire or of a warm room. All frozen meat, game, or 
 poultry should be plunged into cold water, and kept 
 in a temperature w^here the water will not freeze until 
 the fibre is entirely relaxed. It would be better to 
 throw frozen meat away than to risk tainting it by 
 attempting to cook it before thawing it. Our arctic 
 voyagers' records give diiferent suggestions, possibly, 
 but the fact must be remembered that in the prevail- 
 ing temperature they refer to frozen meat frequently 
 had to be cut by the fire w^th axe or saw% and some- 
 times was eaten while still frozen. Of course our con- 
 ditions are those that generally prevail under the usual 
 household routine in temperate regions. 
 
 If meat or game is actually frozen it wdll keep until 
 it begins to thaw; then the right conditions of heat 
 and moisture will sooner or later occur that favor putre- 
 faction. After it is once frozen or thoroughly chilled, 
 any exposure to moderate temperature will cause it to 
 
TUE ECONOMICAL PUECHASE AND USE OF ISIEAT. 
 
 57 
 
 taint rapidly. In damp summer weather meat that 
 has been in the icehouse will spoil sooner than that 
 which has not been exposed to any lower than the pre- 
 vailing atmospheric temperature. Each of these j^oints 
 has its economic bearing when wholesale purchases 
 are contemplated; otherwise these pages would not be 
 weighted with them. 
 
 If the fore-quarter of meat is the best-flavored and 
 cheapest, the hind-quarter yields relatively more flesh 
 in proportion to fat and bone, especially in the leg; 
 this is why a leg of mutton, a round of beef, or a ham 
 is chosen when a substantial meal is required for large 
 meat-eaters. In order to balance its first higher price, 
 there must be an abundant accompaniment of the 
 cheaper vegetables, and plenty of bread and other 
 farinaceous foods, such as macaroni, rice, or Indian- 
 meal mush, to furnish the bulk of the repast. 
 
 The superfluity of fat, which is the characteristic of 
 prime meat, must always be preserved in order to 
 maintain the balance of expenditure ; there is more 
 than is required for cooking or eating, and too often 
 the excess is thrown away or put into that abomina- 
 tion of waste and temptation, the cook's grease-tub. 
 There is no need to leave on the meat, in order to pre- 
 serve it, any more fat than will be required in cooking- 
 it; and when either suet or drippings are intended for 
 cooking, they should be fresh and sweet; then they 
 acceptably replace butter. After drippings are tried 
 out or clarified, they will keep as well as butter or 
 lard; they are cheaper than good butter, and in gener- 
 al estimation preferable to lard. A use will directly 
 be suggested for them Avhich involves the greatest 
 probable accumulation. These facts in mind, then, 
 save all drippings ; keep them in earthen jars or in 
 
58 FAMILY LIVING ON $600 A YEAR. 
 
 clean butter-tubs, and use tbem for potting, basting, 
 frying, seasoning meat gravies and minces, basb, fried 
 onions and fried potatoes, for making sauces for meat, 
 game, and poultry pies, and for their pastry. Use 
 mutton drippings only witli mutton or venison. 
 
 When meat comes in from market, trim off all fat 
 not absolutely required for cooking; this will be the 
 excess about the kidneys and under the skin. For 
 eating, epicures prefer the fat that lies upon the inner 
 surfaces of meat, closely united to or incorporated 
 with the flesh; leave as much of this as will probably 
 be eaten, and cut tbe rest carefully away, entirely free 
 from particles of meat. The suet or kidney fat is ex- 
 cellent for mince-meat, plum-pudding, suet crust, and 
 dumpling, and even for the most delicate puff paste, 
 after it is specially treated; suet intended for these 
 purposes may be kejot fresh for several days by entire- 
 ly surrounding it with dry flour, as pastry is some- 
 times kept by putting it into the flour barrel ; the suet 
 will not imj^art any taste to the flour if it is good. 
 From the outer surface of meat cut all the superfluous 
 fat without any of the flesh; to try it out cut it in 
 half -inch pieces, put it over the fire in a thick sauce- 
 pan, and keep it where the fat will melt without brown- 
 ing. As the fat melts, pour it into earthen vessels; 
 when nearly all the oil is extracted the solid portions 
 will begin to brown; these "scraps," nicely browned 
 and salted, can be eaten with baked or boiled potatoes. 
 Special directions will be given later for trying out 
 lard, in space devoted to cutting up and curing a bacon 
 pig. The last drippings, in which the scraps are 
 browned, should be clarified, as should be all the drip- 
 pings taken from soups, gravies, and meats during 
 cooking. To clarify fat or drippings, put them into a 
 
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. 59 
 
 saucepan witli plenty of cold water, and heat the water 
 to the boiling-point; then take the saucepan off the fire 
 and let its contents cool. When the fat is cold it can 
 be lifted in large flakes from the surface of the water; 
 if there is any dark sediment on the under side scrape 
 it off; the clarified drippings can now be packed in 
 jars, or slightly warmed and poured into jars or bowls. 
 Each kind should be kept in separate vessels, in a cool 
 place, and used with reference to the flavor it will im- 
 part. Beef, pork, bacon or ham, veal, and poultry fat 
 have marked individual flavors, and each is excellent 
 when used judiciously. 
 
 Marrow adds greatly to the excellence of certain 
 cuts of meat. Nearly all the cuts which include a 
 piece of the leg bone contain marrow, and generally it 
 is boiled in the souj). Experience has brought the 
 personal conviction that this is an extravagant use to 
 make of a substance esteemed as a dainty. B}^ the 
 long-continued boiling involved in the making of soup 
 the substance of marrow is almost entirely disintegrat- 
 ed, the smallest quantity of pulp alone being percepti- 
 ble, while the oil of the marrow is indistinguishably 
 mingled with the fat yielded by the meat. 
 
 Even when the fat is eaten with the soup, or used 
 for drippings, this is still a poor use to make of mar- 
 row. The marrow -bone is of advantage to boil in 
 soup ; in some parts of the bone, and particularly 
 around the joints, the marrow is so incorporated with 
 the substance of the bone as to be inseparable ; there 
 will be enough to give the richness to the soup for 
 which some cooks crave, if the bulk is otherwise used. 
 Let the marrow-bone be cut away from the meat, di- 
 vided with the saw in pieces two or three inches long, 
 and these in turn so split apart Avith the cleaver as to 
 
60 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 permit the marrow to be taken out in unbroken por- 
 tions. Marrow is so delicate in substance that if it is 
 broken in small bits it will dissolve in cooking ; if it is 
 very small it is practically wasted. After all has been 
 extracted that can be taken from the bone in good- 
 sized pieces, let the bone be chopped quite small and 
 put into the soup-kettle. 
 
 Marrow toast, marrow balls, and dumplings for 
 soups and stews, and minced marrow are all delicious 
 and very nutritious, especially for invalids suffering 
 from any lung trouble. Marrow tisane is invaluable 
 in cases of rapid consumption. The more extrava- 
 gant ways of using marrow are in the form of a gar- 
 nish for beefsteak, and as boiled or baked marrow- 
 bones ; for boiling or baking, the marrow-bones are 
 cut into three-inch lengths with the saw, washed in 
 cold water, and tied up in separate cloths after being 
 closed at the ends with a paste of flour and water to 
 confine the marrow; they are plunged into fast-boil- 
 ing water for two hours, or baked for about an hour; 
 the cloth and paste are then removed, and the bones 
 served upon a napkin or upon toast, with a sauce of 
 butter, pepper, and salt, or wnth a little piquant table- 
 sauce, or lemon. If the bones are intended to garnish 
 beefsteak they are sawed in inch lengths, Avashed, and 
 dried on a soft cloth; they are then broiled or fried, 
 while the beefsteak is being cooked; the other garnish 
 for the steak is fried potatoes and parsley; lemon may 
 be used if desired ; beefsteak d la Bearnaise is gar- 
 nished in this way. Marrow-bones thus used may still 
 be boiled in the soup-kettle if they have been careful- 
 ly handled at the table. Marrow tisane is made by 
 melting a tablespoonful of finely chopped marrow in 
 half a pint of milk, seasoning it palatably with salt, 
 
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. 
 
 61 
 
 straining it, and serving it in a warm cup or bowl with 
 one or two thin, crisp crackers. Marrow toast is made 
 by cutting the marrow from a shin of beef into half- 
 inch bits, boiling it for one minute in salted boiling 
 water, then draining it, and heating it again with a 
 tablespoonf ul of chopped parsley, the juice of a lemon, 
 and a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper, while 
 two or three slices of delicate toast are made, upon 
 which to serve the marrow. MarroAV dumplings are 
 made by mixing together half a pound of chopped 
 marrow, a cupful of stale bread softened in milk, a 
 tablespoonful each of dice of bread browned in but- 
 ter and of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of salt, a 
 small half-saltspoonful of j^epper, six raw eggs, and 
 flour enough to enable one to make up the dumj^lings 
 or balls about as large as walnuts. Marrow dump- 
 lings are either poached in salted boiling water until 
 they float, or fried in hot butter, according as they are 
 intended for soup or for a garnish. The dice of fried 
 bread must be very small, and added to the dumplings 
 just before they are cooked, so that the crispness of the 
 fried bread may be preserved. Minced marrow is un- 
 cooked marrow chopped rather small, quickly heated, 
 with a little salt, pepper, and enough cold gravy to 
 moisten it, and then served on delicate toast. 
 
 These details illustrate a point of importance in our 
 culinary scheme — the fact that small appetizing dishes 
 can often be made from some trifling substance which 
 under less close management would be absorbed in a 
 larger dish, perhaps as a garnish. The economical 
 value of garnishes is demonstrated when by their aid 
 some small or cheap material is increased until a large 
 and satisfactory dish is made. For instance, two slices 
 of stale bread, half a cupful of drippings, the giblets of 
 
62 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 a chicken, and a tablespoonful of flour are not a for- 
 midable list. Any kitchen can supply it in which a 
 roast chicken or a fricassee is on the bill of fare, and 
 when either dish is well prepared the giblets will not 
 be specially missed. The liver is usually chopped in 
 the gravy of the roast, which can be so prepared that 
 it will not be absolutely necessary. Even if it is a 
 favorite morsel entire, the dish now in question will 
 give it in all its excellence, and make a delicious entree 
 for dinner, or a breakfast or luncheon dish. First the 
 bread is to be cut in about six large diamond or heart 
 shaped pieces, and all the trimmings and crust into small 
 dice. The drippings are to be put over the fire in a 
 frying-pan, and when they begin to smoke the large 
 pieces of bread are to be fried first, and then the dice, 
 both being taken from the fat with a skimmer, as soon 
 as they are light brown, and laid upon brown paper. 
 While the bread is being fried the giblets are to be 
 prepared. They consist of the heart, liver, gizzard, 
 head and neck, feet, the tips of the wings, the kidneys, 
 so called, if the bird is a cock, or the immature eggs if 
 it is a hen. The gall is to be carefully cut away from 
 the liver, the gizzard freed from the interior sand-bag, 
 and the heart trimmed at the top; the feet are to be 
 scalded in order to permit the skin to be entirely 
 scraped away, and the ends of the toes are to be cut 
 off; the head is to be skinned or entirely freed from 
 feathers, and the end of the beak cut off; the neck is 
 to be freed from feathers, and the windpij^e and gul- 
 let removed ; the tips of the wings are to be singed 
 and freed from feathers; the kidneys or eggs are 
 to be cut away from the intestines. Then all these 
 parts except the liver are to be cut in pieces of less 
 than an inch, and washed in cold water. All the fat 
 
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. 
 
 63 
 
 about the intestines is to be washed and utilized — it is 
 excellent to put over a chicken while it is being roasted 
 — or it may be cut up to try out for drippings. In 
 that case the brown scraps are to be put into the lit- 
 tle dish we are making, when it is nearly done. Old- 
 fashioned cooks always cleaned the intestines by turn- 
 ing them like the finger of a glove, and scraping them 
 with the back of a knife after they have been washed; 
 then again washing them in several waters, and finally 
 scalding them, and cutting them in half-inch lengths. 
 When all the giblets are ready to cook they should be 
 dried upon a clean towel, rolled in flour seasoned with 
 salt and pepper, and broAvned in the drippings in which 
 the bread has been fried. When the giblets begin to 
 brown, the liver should be taken up to avoid breaking 
 it, the flour in which the giblets were rolled sprinkled 
 and stirred among them until it is brown, and then 
 enough boiling water added to cover them, and a pal- 
 atable seasoning of salt and pepper. A good brown 
 sauce will thus be made, in which the giblets are to be 
 simmered until they are tender, the liver being put 
 with them after they grow tender. When they are 
 done, the fried bread is used to garnish the dish. 
 
 It may appear frivolous to devote so much detail to 
 a single small dish, but in just such details lies the 
 secret of luxurious economy. The mistress should see 
 that this dish is properly prepared once, in order to 
 know what can be made of it, before trusting it to the 
 maid. When the tendency is remembered of the aver- 
 age woman cook to neglect the little touches which 
 give character to such dishes, we cannot helj) wishing 
 that they would emulate one trait of the Celestials 
 they are so apt to despise; that is, their accuracy. 
 Once show a Chinese cook how to do a thing, and the 
 
g4 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 plan is never deviated from. Unless a reformation 
 takes i^lace, in many kitchens cooks themselves will 
 force employers to avail themselves of the comfort 
 given by good Chinese servants. 
 
 The treatment of bones in the kitchen is a matter 
 of considerable possible economy. The substance of 
 bone contains some of the most important elements 
 of flesh and blood; these can be extracted only by 
 slow and long-continued cooking, so that it is at once 
 apparent that the bones of broiled, fried, and roast 
 meat retain their nutritious properties. The maid 
 should be instructed to lay them aside upon clean 
 dishes, keeping separate those Avhich have been cooked 
 in gravy or sauce, or served so, for the bones that have 
 flour upon them in any form will not do to put into 
 the kettle in which clear soup is made, because the 
 flour would cloud it; but they are available for thick 
 soups and sauces. At least five hours' continued cook- 
 ing is required to extract the nourishment from bones. 
 To entirely secure their nutritious properties they 
 should be cooked nine or ten hours; that is, overnight 
 or all day long. 
 
 Some time an account will be given of Dr. Edward 
 Smith's experiments showing the food value of bones. 
 Sufiice it now to say that it is considerable. Because 
 bones taint quickly, when meat is first bought all 
 surplus bone should be trimmed off, chopped in small 
 pieces, reserving the marrow to use as directed above, 
 and then boiled long enough in cold water (allowing 
 a pint of water to a pound of bone) to extract the 
 nutriment. If seasonings and vegetables are added 
 as directed in the making of clear soup, and the bones 
 are boiled at least six hours, a good broth will be the 
 result. A small proportion of veal bones, or of the 
 
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE AND USE OF MEAT. (55 
 
 head and feet of animals, or the skin of fish when fish 
 bones are being used — separate from meat bones, of 
 course — will give a semi-gelatinous broth, which will 
 thicken as it cools. When there is a large quantity 
 of bones under treatment they should be boiled until 
 the broth begins to jelly, so that it will harden when 
 cooled; this gelatinous substance can then be dried 
 thoroughly in a cool oven or in the sun and air until 
 quite hard. In this state it will keep indefinitely, and 
 be excellent as a basis for soups, sauces, gravies, and 
 jellies. There is no more savory addition to a cold 
 dish of meat, game, poultry, or fish than a jelly made 
 from the skin and crushed bones, thickened when nec- 
 essary with a little gelatine, and then clarified and 
 cooked. For the use of our readers who are not 
 familiar with meat jellies, explicit directions for mak- 
 ing them will be included in the recipe for galantine, 
 or boned turkey. Although galantines are usually 
 considered expensive dishes, they can be made to play 
 an important part in an economical mhiage, and are 
 light and agreeable animal food for invalids. As well- 
 made galantines keep well in a cool place, they are 
 good reserves for luncheon and supper dishes, es- 
 pecially for Sunday suppers and for high teas. 
 5 
 
QQ FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OF BEEF. 
 
 A FORE-QUARTER of beef will yield, when cut prop- 
 erly, the following - named pieces, which should be 
 treated somewhat after our plan in order to secure 
 satisfactory results. If the number in the family is 
 not at least four or five, it would not be wise to buy 
 this large quantity of meat, except in early winter, 
 when that portion which is to be used fresh can be 
 frozen until it is required for cooking. Under other 
 conditions there would be danger of loss by the spoil- 
 ing of the meat. The beef chosen should be of me- 
 dium weight and fatness. Exceedingly large beef, from 
 prize animals, is over- fat; there is not only a greater 
 proportion of fat to the entire carcass, but there is more 
 fat interspersed through the flesh than can be assim- 
 ilated during digestion. Every one knows that it is 
 the food which we assimilate — tliat is, the food that is 
 acceptable to the system — which is of use to us; physi- 
 cians who investigate dietetics tell us that in normal 
 health we require an average supply of the elements of 
 food, not an excess of any one; therefore the medium 
 way is as safe to follow in the prosaic matter of trying 
 to live well as it would have been of old to Phaeton. 
 
 An old market authority considers the beef of a 
 spayed heifer, about four years old, the choicest. This 
 yields cuts of medium size and weight, and fat enough, 
 and free equally from the tough, sinewy parts of old, 
 
now TO USE QUANTITIES OF BEEF. q^ 
 
 hard-worked muscle that often remain in large an- 
 imals which have been specially fatted, and from the 
 rank flavor which is ajit to pervade old cow or ox beef. 
 When the carcass shows back fat from a half inch to 
 an inch thick, it is proof that the animal has been prop- 
 erly nourished for several months, at least, before 
 killing. The back fat is that upon the outside of 
 roasts and steaks. If, instead of at least a quarter of 
 an inch of clear, healthy-looking, yellowish-white fat, 
 there is a soft, oily, muddy-looking fat, greasy to the 
 touch, and tough instead of brittle; or, if there is a 
 thick, semi - transparent, yellowish cartilage between 
 the scant layer of fat and the flesh, it shows that the 
 animal has been killed either too old, or while in a 
 physical condition unfit for wholesome food. While 
 the back and kidney fat are not excessive in medium 
 good beef, the flesh is well marbled with it, and its 
 color is clear yellowish-white, without any traces of 
 blood, or any dark spots or kernels in its substance. 
 
 The fore - quarter of beef gives thirteen roasting 
 ribs, three neck pieces, the plate, navel, and brisket 
 pieces, and the shoulder clod, cross rib, and shin. The 
 size and names of these cuts do not differ greatly in 
 the various markets. In Boston the cross rib is some- 
 times called the shoulder - of - mutton piece, and in 
 Philadelphia the boler piece, while in Boston the 
 plate piece is called the rattle-ran; the terms for the 
 lower-leg cuts, shin, shank, and leg, are interchange- 
 able. Farther west the butchers naturally carry their 
 local nomenclature with them, but all understand the 
 different names. To cut up the fore-quarter, it is laid 
 upon a block, with the outside exposed; the first cut, 
 made with the aid of the saw, from the neck towards the 
 lower end of the chuck ribs, takes off the shoulder clod; 
 
QQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 then the upper part or ribs is entirely separated from 
 the under portion, comprising the cross rib, brisket, 
 plate, and navel. The plate and navel pieces lie directly 
 at the lower end of the prime roasting ribs; the cross 
 rib is next the plate piece, under the first three chuck 
 ribs; the brisket runs from the end of the navel piece, 
 under the shoulder clod, and past the ends of the chuck 
 ribs to the neck; the shin is the part of the leg which 
 remains after the shoulder clod and cross rib are cut. 
 
 If the weather is freezing, it is well to keep all the 
 prime ribs — that is, the first seven — fresh for roasting; 
 the chuck, which consists of six ribs, might be potted 
 after the old Pennsylvania Dutch method, which will 
 be given in detail, if there is any question of using 
 them before they can spoil. Or they may be used in 
 part as beefsteaks; the fact is not sufficiently well 
 known that a prime chuck steak is as good as, if not 
 better than, a lower sirloin; the steaks should be cut 
 thick, the excess of bone trimmed off (and always 
 used for souj)), and the cartilage of the shoulder-blade 
 cut out; when these steaks are from good beef they 
 are sweet and juicy, of fine flavor, and as tender as 
 ordinary sirloin; from an economical standpoint, as 
 well as from a sanitary one, the entire chuck ranks 
 favorably with any other cut in the carcass. 
 
 The chuck ribs make delicious d la mode beef, and 
 pot roasts; indeed, these ribs are so heavy for use 
 in a small family that it would always be well to have 
 the lower or thin part cut off before cooking, and 
 made into a separate dish; by this method that portion 
 of the slice which is best in roast beef — that is, the 
 part near the union of the rib with the backbone — 
 would be at its best as a roast; and the part which is 
 least desirable as a roast would come before us in an- 
 
HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OP BEEF. gg 
 
 other and more acceptable form. The ends of roast- 
 ing ribs are often a source of trouble to the house- 
 keeper; the lean part is generally tough, as compared 
 with the round muscle that lies at the large end, and so 
 disproportionately mingled with fat as to be unpal- 
 atable to many persons; if it is not w^asted upon the 
 plates at table it is apt to be thrown aside in the 
 kitchen as unavailable for anything but hash, and is 
 sometimes thought too tough for that. In our scheme 
 we cannot afford to waste so much simply for the 
 doubtful satisfaction of putting a large roast upon 
 the table. Of course it would not be possible to per- 
 suade tlie butcher to sell only the available portion, 
 so it devolves upon the housekeeper to use the un- 
 desirable part in the best w^ay. In this case the 
 best way is to cut it off uncooked, to trim away all 
 surplus of fat (saving the fat to make drippings), and 
 then to simmer the meat slowly in a good brown 
 gravy until it is perfectly tender; the gravy can be 
 easily made by putting the meat over a hot fire, in a 
 saucepan without water, until the entire surface is 
 brown, then dredging it plentifully with flour, and 
 turning it about in the saucepan until the flour is 
 brown; after that enough boiling water to cover the 
 meat, and any preferred seasoning or spices can be 
 added, and the saucepan covered and put where the 
 gentle simmering of the meat will make it tender and 
 juicy. The addition of any chosen vegetable after 
 the meat has begun to be tender will increase the size 
 of the dish and add to the flavor of the meat. 
 
 The old Pennsylvania Dutch method of potting 
 roasting pieces is most excellent. As it involves the 
 use of a large quantity of fat, the necessity of saving 
 every particle of uncooked fat and of drippings will 
 
YO FA^IILY LIVING ON 1500 A YEAR. 
 
 be appreciated. All the raw fat not intended to be 
 eaten is cut from the meat uncooked, divided into 
 small bits, and "tried out" over a slow heat just 
 strong enough to extract all the oil from the leaf fat; 
 when the solid ^^ortions begin to brown the process is 
 complete, and the fat may be strained; the brown 
 " scraps," nicely salted, are very good with baked or 
 boiled potatoes; they combine well with cold mashed 
 or chopped potatoes for frying, or with samp or hom- 
 iny to be used as a vegetable; a good "crackling 
 bread " can be made from them, for which the recipe 
 is given elsewhere. The necessary quantity of drip- 
 pings being provided, the joints of meat are to be 
 baked, roasted, or boiled nearly as well done as pre- 
 ferred; they are then cooled; the drippings mean- 
 time are kej^t warm enough to be semi -liquid; the 
 pieces of meat are j^ut into Avooden or earthen vessels, 
 being raised from the bottom by a plate reversed or 
 a rack of skewers, and the melted drippings poured 
 around and over the meat. When the fat cools, no 
 air can penetrate it; and if the meat is kept in a cool 
 place it will remain sweet and good indefinitely. 
 There should be more than an inch of fat around the 
 meat in every direction to perfectly exclude the air. 
 When the meat is wanted for the table, the fat is 
 scraped off and the meat quickly heated; the fat is 
 then clarified and made ready for other use. If only 
 one piece of meat is put into a vessel of suitable size, 
 it will be found most convenient; but the old way 
 sometimes included several joints, when the family was 
 large. Any kind of meat, poultry, or game can be 
 perfectly preserved by this method, if ou\y kept in a 
 cool place, and very quickly heated Avlien required for 
 the table. 
 
HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OF BEEF. >ji 
 
 The roasting pieces disposed of, we shall have the 
 plate, navel, and brisket for corning. Nearly every 
 butcher has his favorite pickle; the plainest is a strong 
 brine made by dissolving in cold water as much salt 
 as it will receive, and then boiling and skimming it 
 until clear; this brine is used cold. Another butcher's 
 pickle is, to two gallons of cold water add four pounds 
 of fine rock-salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and two 
 pounds of brown sugar; thoroughly mix, and dissolve 
 all these ingredients, and skim the brine until clear; 
 it may be boiled, but it is used cold. This quantity 
 will pickle fifty pounds of meat. The addition of 
 molasses instead of half the sugar, and of Avhole spices, 
 sweet herbs, bay leaves, and juniper berries to brine 
 gives the meat cured in it a delicious flavor. The 
 meat must not be frozen when put into the pickle, or 
 still warm with vital heat. Nor should any one hope 
 to restore tainted meat by pickling or salting it. But 
 if by any mischance, in hot weather, untainted meat 
 has become fly-blown, it should be quickly washed off 
 with vinegar or strongly salted water. Sometimes this 
 will happen w^hen care has been taken, for the green 
 fly is a frequent and persistent pest, and may effect 
 an entrance even into icehouses and meat-safes. The 
 eggs hatch in a very short time — an hour or two; 
 either the eggs or the larvas should be washed away as 
 soon as they are discovered. The suggestion is far 
 from pleasant, but fly - blown meat so treated is not 
 positively injurious, as tainted meat is. Meat intended 
 for pickling or corning should be rubbed with a mixt- 
 ure of half an ounce of saltpetre and an ounce of 
 brown sugar to a pound of salt; the addition of gin- 
 ger, pepper, or ground spices would keep off the flies. 
 Rub the mixture all over the meat several times dur- 
 
fj2 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 iiig the day, and keep the meat on an inclined board, 
 so that the blood and brine can drain from it; this 
 preliminary salting may last from one to six days, ac- 
 cording to the weather. The meat is fit to put into 
 brine as soon as the blood is extracted, and is salt 
 enough to cook after five or six days' corning. Or it 
 may be kept for an indefinite time in brine, or be hung 
 to dry, or be smoked like ham or bacon. 
 
 Hamburg beef is salted in a tub, with the herbs 
 and spices scattered among the pieces, after they are 
 thoroughly rubbed with salt and saltpetre mixed, and 
 a heavy stone is laid on the meat; if in about three 
 days a brine does not result that covers the meat, a 
 little strongly salted water is poured in. The beef 
 will be ready to use after three weeks. The propor- 
 tion of pickle for fifty pounds of beef is four pounds 
 of salt and four ounces of powdered saltpetre, well 
 rubbed over the meat; the spices are two ounces of 
 unground white pepper, a quarter of an ounce of juni- 
 per berries, twelve cloves, two large blades of mace, 
 and half a cupful each of broken ba}^ leaves, marjo- 
 ram, thyme, and sweet-basil. The last-named ingre- 
 dient can generally be found at herb-stores, or among 
 the German shops. 
 
 We have now remaining the shin, which is good 
 first to boil in soup, and then to serve for hash and 
 mince, for it gains flavor from tlie soup vegetables, 
 and does not part with all its nutriment; the cross rib, 
 which is good baked, stewed, made into a pot roast, 
 or for beef d la mode; the shoulder piece, which is 
 juicy, tender flesh, for pot roast, beef d la mode, bou- 
 ille, minced meat, and spiced beef, the marrow in the 
 bone adding to the excellence of the meat. The neck 
 pieces are all that have not been considered; the meat 
 
HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OF BEEF. '73 
 
 is sweet and well-flavored, and can be so treated in 
 cooking as to become desirable on account of its nutri- 
 ment; it makes good beef -tea, clear soup, mince-meat, 
 hash, stews, and meat pies. For some of tlie least 
 generally known ways of cooking the inferior parts of 
 meat we shall give some recipes which will prove use- 
 ful to every housekeeper. 
 
 In previous pages we have considered the advisa- 
 bility of purchasing meat by the quantity in cold 
 weather, and indicated some ways of treating it. It 
 may be well to go still further into the detail of pre- 
 paring a few savory and digestible dishes from the 
 least promising cuts, such as the smaller parts of the 
 leg and the neck. The surplus of bone and fat is to 
 be used according to the directions already given. 
 The flesh of the leg and neck is juicy and well-fla- 
 vored, but apt to be tough, even after it has been 
 kept for some time. It is in order to remember that 
 the hardest and toughest meat fibre can be softened 
 by contact with vinegar or sour wine. We receive 
 that knowledge from the French, who marinade the 
 tough cuts for several days in claret, and during the 
 process impart any desired flavor to the meat. Cali- 
 fornia claret made from the Zinfandel grape — a Hun- 
 garian fruit — is about like good vi)i ordinaire, and 
 not exj^ensive; it is retailed in ISTew York for about 
 one dollar a gallon. When only part of a bottle of 
 claret has been used at table, the residue serves well 
 for marinade; there are other uses for it, which Avill 
 be indicated. Vinegar and water equally mixed take 
 the place of claret, and sour cider makes an excellent 
 pickle for the same purpose. The fact that any liquid 
 applied to the cut surface of meat tends to withdraw 
 its juices must be remembered, and for this reason the 
 
'74 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 rnarinade or pickle must be used for tlie sauce, any 
 surplus being strained and kept cold for use within 
 ten days. A cut from the leg, such as is sold for 
 soup, where the bone is round and full of marrow, will 
 afford a fair test of this method. The meat is tough 
 and interspersed with cartilage or gristle, but its flavor 
 is good, and gentle simmering will complete the action 
 of the acid in the wine or vinegar. The meat should 
 be laid in a deep earthen dish or jar about an inch 
 larger in every direction than the meat, and covered 
 with vinegar and water equally mixed, or with claret, 
 or sour cider. iVb salt should ever he used: This is 
 most important, because salt draws out the blood and 
 juice of the meat comj^letely, but pepper or whole 
 spice of any kind may be added, as also may bay 
 leaves, sweet herbs, parsley, onions, carrots, turnips, 
 or any vegetable the flavor of which is desired. About 
 a tablespoonful each of any of the vegetables except 
 the onion (a smaller quantity of this will suflice), and 
 of the herbs, and a dozen each of the whole spice, will 
 flavor six or eight pounds of meat. When there is no 
 fat upon the piece, a small quantity should be added 
 to it to use in cooking. The fat is needed for brown- 
 ing the meat, to flavor it, and also to establish its nu- 
 tritive value. It is an error to suppose that fat has 
 no food value. Apart from the necessary heat it im- 
 parts to the system, its presence makes the complete 
 assimilation possible of the other nutritious elements 
 of meat. The meat may remain in the pickle from 
 two to ten days, at the convenience of the housekeeper. 
 It should be turned over every day, and kept in a cool 
 place, protected from dust and flies, care being taken 
 that it does not taint in close, muggy weather. The 
 fibre will become soft in about two d.ays, and the meat 
 
HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OP BEEF. ^5 
 
 may be cooked after that time, preferably by stewing, 
 because that permits the slow simmering which yields 
 a tender, juicy dish. Take the meat out of the pickle, 
 wipe it with a soft, dry cloth, brown it quickly in 
 enough hot fat to prevent burning; then dredge it 
 thoroughly with flour, and move the meat about in the 
 saucepan until the flour is brown; after that cover it 
 with the pickle, adding water if the quantity of pickle 
 is deficient, and a palatable seasoning of salt, and cook 
 the meat with a gentle heat for about three hours. If 
 a thin sauce or gravy is preferred, omit the flour and 
 strain out the vegetables; if a thick sauce is liked, rub 
 the vegetables through a sieve with a potato-masher 
 after they are soft and the meat is ready to serve, and 
 mix them through the gravy. 
 
 This method of cooking may be applied to any cut 
 of meat. When tough meat is being boiled, put a 
 cupful of vinegar into the water if there is a gallon 
 of it. When a stew is being made of tough meat, add 
 two tablespoonfuls of vinegar to each quart. If a 
 steak is tough, pour three tablespoonfuls of vinegar 
 and one of good salad oil upon a platter, and lay the 
 steak on it; if the steak is to be used for breakfast, lay 
 it in the vinegar early in the evening; turn it over at 
 bedtime, adding more oil and vinegar if the first has 
 been absorbed; in the morning cook it without Aviping 
 it, and season it w^ith salt, pepper, and butter after it 
 is brown. If the steak is to be used for dinner, turn 
 it over in the oil and vine2:ar everv hour for three or 
 four hours before it is time to cook it. The taste of 
 the oil and vinegar will hardly be perceptible after the 
 steak is cooked, especially if lemon juice is used in 
 seasoning it, or lemon served Avith it as a garnish. 
 After this process has been followed, the superexcel- 
 
tjQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 lence of the beefsteaks of such clubs and hotels as em- 
 ploy French chefs Avill no longer be the mystery so 
 carefully guarded by those culinary masters of the 
 arts. This is one of the tricks of trade, like the use 
 of milk in breading smelts; the use of the oil is to 
 keep the fibres of the meat soft after the vinegar af- 
 fects them; melted butter does not answer the pur- 
 pose so Avell, although its use has been reported by 
 some of my far-away followers unaccustomed to the 
 use of salad-oil. 
 
 As a matter of fact, there is no more wholesome 
 and nutritious fat than olive-oil; its vegetable origin 
 insures its freedom from the possible contaminations 
 of animal fats. If it is shielded from light, especially 
 from sunlight, it will keep good for a long time; chill- 
 ing or freezing does not injure it, nor does intense 
 heat. 
 
 In addition to the leg cuts, those from the neck can 
 be made tender by the use of the pickle or of the vin- 
 egar and oil. An excellent dish from the neck of beef, 
 with red cabbage, may be made by first letting the 
 beef remain for two or three days in the j)ickle, and 
 then gently stewing it until it is tender in the brown 
 gravy. Meantime prepare the cabbage, and allow 
 about two hours to cook it; if it is tender sooner, keep 
 it warm until the meat is ready. Trim off the outer 
 withered leaves of a firm head of red cabbage, wash it 
 in plenty of cold salted water, and cut it in slices or 
 shreds ; in the bottom of a saucepan put half a cupful 
 of vinegar or a cupful of claret, a teaspoonful each 
 of salt, whole cloves, peppercorns, and allspice, a bay 
 leaf broken, a tablespoonful each of sugar and of drip- 
 pings from the meat or of good butter; lay the cab- 
 bage on these ingredients, cover the saucepan, place it 
 
HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OF BEEF. ^J^J 
 
 where its contents will heat slowly, and then where 
 they will cook gently until the cabbage is tender at 
 the stalks ; if the cabbage is done before the meat is 
 ready, check the cooking, but keep it hot. The meat is 
 to be laid on a deep platter, with the cabbage around 
 it, and a little of the gravy over it. 
 
 If cabbage is not liked, boiled beets may be used in 
 its place. The beets are to be carefully washed in 
 plenty of cold water, without breaking their skins, 
 and then boiled until tender in enouoh boilins^ water 
 to cover them. To test them, lift one from the water 
 with a skimmer, press it with the fingers, protected by 
 a dry towel; it will yield slightly to pressure when it 
 is done. Then take the beets from the hot water; 
 with a wet towel rub off the skins, and slice them. 
 Just before the meat is done, heat the beets with the 
 seasonings specified for the cabbage, or with salt, pep- 
 per, butter, and a little vinegar, and then serve them 
 around the nieat. In serving the beets or cabbage the 
 whole spices may be removed if they seem objection- 
 able. 
 
 When a large quantity of meat is on hand, some of 
 it may be dried. An old Knickerbocker method for 
 drying beef was to first trim the superfluous fat from 
 pieces of meat containing no bone; the meat was thor- 
 oughly rubbed with salt and saltpetre, and then covered 
 with brine and kept under it for ten days. The brine 
 for ten or twelve pounds of meat can be made by 
 boiling together half a gallon of beer or water, a 
 pound of salt, quarter of a pound of brown sugar or 
 molasses, an ounce each of saltpetre, junijDer berries, 
 peppercorns, and coriander seed, a small shallot or a 
 clove of garlic, and two bay leaves, and removing the 
 scum until no more rises; the brine is then cooled and 
 
<7g FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 poured over the meat, wliich must be kept under it by 
 a heavy stone for about ten days. After that time it 
 is ready to smoke. The best smoke is from sawdust 
 with juniper berries mingled with it, according to the 
 old Dutch method. Ten or twelve days' smoking is 
 sufficient. Or the beef, after being salted, can be dried 
 in a clear strong air or by dry heat. 
 
 Later directions will be given for smoking meat at 
 home. An easy method of drying meat is to trim off 
 all fat and bone, cut the meat in strips about an inch 
 thick, lay it in pans, and dry it out in a cool oven with 
 the door open, or in the air, protected from flies, until 
 it can be powdered. 
 
 This drying of meat in the open air and sun is the 
 most primitive of all methods of curing it. Among the 
 Indians of North America it is both dried in strips and 
 powdered to use for pemican. The charqui of the 
 great South American plains, the jerked beef of the 
 Indies, and the biltong of Africa are cured almost 
 identically; the smoking and salting of meat is an ad- 
 vance in civilization. 
 
 When it is intended to dry meat in the air or the 
 sun, it is best to dip the strips into salted water, and 
 pepper them well to keep off the flies. The dried meat 
 can be packed in tin boxes in the strips, and kept in a 
 cool, dry place; when it is wanted for the table it can 
 be soaked in cold water until the fibre softens, and 
 then used for soups or stews, together with the water 
 used in softening it. Or after it is dried it can be 
 ground or pounded to a powder, mixed with half its 
 weight of melted suet, and packed tight in tin cans; 
 the cans are to be soldered up, a small hole made to 
 admit enough more melted suet to entirely fill them, 
 and this hole soldered, so as to make them perfectly 
 
HOW TO USE QUANTITIES OF BEEF. (79 
 
 air-tiglit. In this condition the meat will keej) in- 
 definitely; it is, in fact, pemican. The pemican pre- 
 pared by the Hudson Bay Company contains, in ad- 
 dition to the suet, sometimes dried currants or raisins, 
 and sometimes sugar. The plain pemican makes ex- 
 cellent soups and stews, in combination with vege- 
 tables. This is a good way to preserve the trimmings 
 of beef when a quarter is being put by for family use. 
 The pemican with fruit would do w^ell as a basis for 
 mince-pies. 
 
 If any of our readers should not find the methods 
 given suflicient to dispose of a quarter of beef, they 
 can write to the author. But under ordinary circum- 
 stances they wdll be able to utilize the entire quarter 
 as indicated. The points to remember are, to freeze 
 the joints intended for roasting and broiling; to put 
 down, after the old Dutch method, the joints which 
 cannot be frozen; to pickle or cure those intended for 
 salting or smoking before they have any chance to 
 taint; to try out all the drippings and use all the bones 
 within a day or two after the meat is bought; and, 
 above all, not to allow a single pound to be w^asted. 
 If a joint is given away because there is so much, the 
 object of buying the quarter w'ill be defeated; the 
 economy of such a proceeding would be nil. 
 
80 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND POEK. 
 
 The general remarks concerning the treatment of 
 quantities of beef will apply to the meats named above. 
 Of these pork is best for winter use; mutton is always 
 in season; and lamb and veal are in their best condition 
 in early summer. The special May delicacies among 
 meats are spring lamb and milk veal; at this season 
 spring lamb weighs from twenty-five pounds upward, 
 and by its gradual increase in weight equalizes its 
 price, which generally maintains its average by the 
 quarter from early March until July. The quarter 
 Avhich in March weighs five pounds, and costs about 
 fifty cents a pound, in late July will have increased to 
 twenty, and the price will be about one third the first 
 cost per pound. The fore-quarter roasted affords the 
 most delicate portions; and the carving is facilitated 
 by having the shoulder blade removed and the ribs 
 cracked apart before the meat is cooked. In buying 
 spring lamb see that the outer la3X'r of tlihi fat which 
 is skewered over the hind-quarter is the same color of 
 the kidne}^ fat, as this indicates that it is the caul fat 
 of the same animal, and not an addition for the pur- 
 pose of " dressing it up " to improve its looks. The 
 fat of different animals has different flavors. See also 
 that the kidney fat is abundant, semi-transparent, and 
 clean, and that there is no indication of softening or 
 discoloration, because that shows that the meat is on 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND TOEK. gj 
 
 tlie verge of spoiling. The kidney of the hind-quarter 
 and the neck of the fore-quarter are the parts which 
 taint first. Bear in mind the fact that refrigerated 
 meat spoils very quickly when exposed to a summer 
 temperature, especially if the day is rainy or muggy. 
 It should be transported from the ice-box at the mar- 
 ket to the coldest place in the house as rapidly as pos- 
 sible, never being exposed to the rays of the sun. Be- 
 fore cooking it should not be alloAved to remain in the 
 kitchen; and it should be cooked at a very hot fire; 
 both lamb and veal are subject to these conditions. 
 The heat of the fire is important; a joint of meat put 
 into a slow oven or before a poor fire will sometimes 
 spoil during the process of cooking; the low degree of 
 heat, combined with the steam generated in the meat, 
 will present a condition most favorable to the taint 
 caused by heat and moisture. 
 
 The veal in market in the early spring is called 
 "milk veal," because the calf is fed solely by the cow; 
 at the age of a month or six weeks the flesh is white, 
 tender, and delicate; at a less age it is soft, watery, 
 and semi-gelatinous, not easily digested, and lacking 
 in nutriment. After six weeks the cow cannot supply 
 food enough, and other milk is used, or the transition 
 in food is made with meal and hay to fresh grass. 
 When the food is wholly of grass the meat is less deli- 
 cate, firmer in substance, and darker in color. When 
 large veal is very white, the suspicion arises that it has 
 been bled before killing, to "blanch" it; the meat of 
 such veal will probably prove dry and tasteless. As 
 with lamb, the kidney-fat and neck of veal show the 
 first indication of spoiling. In city markets the sweet- 
 breads are held at a high price, but places do exist 
 where butchers have not yet discovered how much 
 6 
 
82 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 epicures will pay for such tidbits, and they are sold 
 low enough to come within our limit. 
 
 In poultry the summer dainties are spring chickens, 
 spring ducks and geese, squabs, and capons; but all 
 these are generally beyond our limit of cost. 
 
 Although fresh pork is not the best of summer 
 meats, it is in marketable condition, and as the most 
 economical of all meats it calls for consideration. 
 
 Harj^er's readers are legion, and so many of them 
 are resident upon farms and in country towns, where 
 the supply of fresh meat is uncertain, that the care of 
 large quantities in reference to its most economical 
 use is a question of importance. Already some sug- 
 gestions have been made concerning beef, which may 
 well be supplemented here by others about mutton 
 and fresh pork. Not a few prosperous farmers' fam- 
 ilies largely depend on the annual killing of stock in 
 the fall for most of their fresh meat, and they will 
 welcome a revival of the fireside lore of the past gen- 
 eration concerning the utilization of the entire carcass. 
 Even those families whose means are quite limited 
 generally fatten one pig for their winter's supply of 
 meat, while the curing of pork is a question of con- 
 siderable importance in larger establishments. In 
 another of the author's books a diagram is given for 
 the cutting up of a pig; the following list from this 
 work, "Practical American Cookery," shows the cuts 
 or portions into which the carcass is divided; a few 
 words added to the list will make it fairly intelligible 
 for present purposes. There are two cuts of each kind 
 from the two sides of the carcass, except the feet, of 
 which there are four, of course. The feet extend from 
 the hoof to what is proj^erly the knee-joint; after be- 
 ing scalded and scraped perfectly clean, they are used 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL. AND PORK. 33 
 
 for souse or jelly, or boiled until tender, and then fried 
 or broiled. 
 
 The hock extends from the knee-joint to the begin- 
 ning of the shoulder; hocks are salted, pickled, or 
 smoked, and used for boiling with vegetables. The 
 shoulder runs from the hock upward to the body on 
 the fore-leg; it is used for fresh roasts, for corned pork, 
 and ham. 
 
 The leg is the entire hind-leg from the foot upward 
 to near the backbone, and is roasted while fresh, or 
 corned, salted, or smoked for ham. The tail-piece in- 
 cludes the tail and about eight inches of the backbone; 
 it is a choice roasting-piece while fresh. 
 
 The cheek is the lower jaw and under portion of the 
 head, reaching from the mouth to the neck; it is used 
 for pickling, salting, and smoking; in the South it is 
 called jowl, and is a favorite portion for boiling with 
 cabbage and turnips. The head, or top of head, is the 
 upper-jaw and forehead, reaching from the nose to 
 back of the ears, including the latter; it is salted or 
 pickled. The neck, which lies back of the head, be- 
 hind the ears, is generally used fresh for roasting, or 
 in the form of cutlets. 
 
 The ribs are usually roasted, stewed, broiled, or 
 fried. Spareribs are the ribs from which nearly all 
 the meat has been cut for curing; they are savory and 
 sweet, and make good stews with vegetables; a favor- 
 ite Southern dish is spareribs boiled with green jDcase; or 
 they may be broiled, baked, or boiled, fresh or corned. 
 
 The loin, which lies between the ribs and the hind- 
 leg, or ham, is used chiefly for roasts, baked dishes, and 
 chops for frying and broiling. When the back fat of 
 pork is very thick, it is sometimes partly removed be- 
 fore roasting or being divided into chops. When the 
 
g4 FAl^lILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 skin is left on the loin it is scored in half-inch squares, 
 and basted during cooking like the crackling on suck- 
 ing pigs. The fillets, or tenderloins, which lie inside 
 the bones of the loins, are loose of fibre and very soft, 
 because the muscles winch form them are not exer- 
 cised; they are used fresh for roasting, frying, and 
 broiling. 
 
 The flank and brisket include the entire under por- 
 tion of the carcass, from the hams to the shoulders, 
 taking in the thin ends of the ribs; these portions are 
 pickled, salted, and smoked. Bacon is first thorough- 
 ly salted, and then smoked. The flitch of bacon is the 
 whole side between the shoulder and leg; brawn is 
 the entire side, boned and cured, and then rolled and 
 boiled. 
 
 While many persons, from religious or scientific con- 
 viction, or from ^physiological idiosyncrasies, do not 
 favor the use of pork in any form, the fact still remains 
 that it is a popular food — indeed, it has always been 
 the food of the masses, except among the Israelites — 
 and it is the most abundant meat of this entire country; 
 therefore, without entering upon any discussion con- 
 cerning its use, w^e will serve many of our readers by 
 giving good methods for preparing it for food. 
 
 The most usual American method for curing pork is 
 by salting or pickling; for this process a w^ater-tight 
 l^ickling tub or bin and a salting trough or board are 
 required, the latter being set at an angle to permit 
 the brine formed in the preliminary salting to drain 
 away. For smoking hams, bacon, and tongues a smok- 
 ing-closet or small outhouse can be built for extensive 
 work, or the closet and furnace used which are de- 
 scribed in another of the author's books. ^Yhere an 
 old-fashioned open fireplace is available, the smoking 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND PORK. 35 
 
 can be done in the chimney. Any ordinary family's 
 smoking can be done by suspending the meat upon 
 bars resting on the top of a large barrel open at both 
 ends and set over a smouldering fire partly smothered 
 with hard- wood sawdust; a bar of red-hot iron can 
 be buried in sawdust, or live coals of hard-wood or 
 charcoal covered with damp sawdust; dried corn-cobs 
 make a good smoke, or green hickory or maple; pine- 
 wood should not be used, on account of its odor; sweet 
 herbs and spices, bay leaves and juniper berries, 
 burned with the fuel used for smoking, give the meat a 
 slightly aromatic flavor. An old New-England way of 
 smoking meats was to build a smothered fire of corn- 
 cobs on the bottom of a brick oven, and lay the joints 
 of meat on racks above the smoke; the ovens still re- 
 maining: in old houses are so constructed that the 
 smoke draws forward towards the door, and under the 
 projecting rafter or cap of the fireplace, and thence up 
 the capacious chimney. In some houses the fireplaces 
 are still open, a cooking-stove being set under the man- 
 tel, with a pipe running up the chimney; the brick 
 oven is heated once a week to cook the brown bread 
 and baked beans. 
 
 To put up pork after the old N'ew-England way, 
 remove the bristles by scalding and scraping, and then 
 cut up the carcass. The loins, tenderloins, ribs, spare- 
 ribs, neck, and tail-piece are used while fresh, the cold 
 weather permitting them to be kept free from taint; 
 the fresh trimmings are made into sausages, head- 
 cheese, and scrapple ; the blood into black puddings; 
 the edible entrails are cooked fresh; and the leaf or 
 intestinal fat tried out as lard. The thick outer fat of 
 the sides is salted, the feet and part of the head made 
 into jelly or souse, and the flank and brisket are salted 
 
gg FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 or pickled in brine; the shoulders are usually pickled 
 or corned for about a week, and then either boiled 
 or baked; the hams are first salted and then smoked. 
 To pickle the fat pork, cut it in proper pieces for 
 packing; see that it is clean, rub it thoroughly with 
 salt, pack it in kegs or barrels with layers of salt, al- 
 lowing a bushel of salt to a barrel, and pour in enough 
 cold water to fill the barrel; lay a heavy stone on the 
 pork to keep it under the brine, and keep the barrel 
 covered; if all the salt is dissolved in two or three 
 days, more is to be added, until all is taken up that 
 the water will receive, and a little remains undissolved. 
 The pork can be used in about six weeks after it is 
 salted. Legs of pork which are to be salted for hams 
 are cured both by dry-salting and in brine. The joints 
 are to be properly trimmed, laid skin down in the salt- 
 ing-trough or on an inclined board, so that the brine 
 can drain away, and thoroughly rubbed with the fol- 
 lowing salting mixture, the several ingredients being 
 pounded to a powder: for eighteen pounds of meat 
 allow two pounds of salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and 
 four ounces of brown sugar. Every day for four days 
 rub the meat with this mixture; then every day for 
 twelve days rub the meat with salt, keeping over the 
 meat a board with a heavy weight upon it; be sure 
 that the brine and blood drain perfectly from the meat. 
 Small joints will be ready to smoke in a week; large 
 ones in from ten to fourteen days. Hams should be 
 smoked for about three weeks, then dusted with pep- 
 per, wrapped in brown paper, and sewed up in a thick 
 cloth; the hams thus treated can be hung in a cool, 
 dry closet, or packed in barrels in layers of dry salt, 
 powdered charcoal, slaked lime, burned bran, or clean 
 wood-ashes. 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND PORK. g*; 
 
 A brine for salting hams may be made by boiling 
 together and skimming clear three gallons of water, 
 four and a half pounds of salt, one pound and a half 
 of brown sugar, one ounce and a half of saltpetre, half 
 an ounce of saleratus, and two quarts of molasses,' cool 
 it before putting the meat into it, and keep the meat 
 immersed by weighting it with a heavy stone. Hams 
 should remain in the brine for five weeks, the top ones 
 being put at the bottom once a week; they will then 
 be ready to smoke. 
 
 To dry-salt bacon, trim the sides, rub them thor- 
 oughly with salt, and let them lie on an inclined board 
 for twenty-four hours. For each side allows the follow- 
 ing ingredients, powdered and mixed: half a pound 
 each of salt and brown sugar and an ounce of salt- 
 petre. Rub the mixture well into the pork, and turn 
 it, every day for two weeks; it will then be ready to 
 smoke for ten days, and put up like hams by protect- 
 ing it from the atmosphere and insects. 
 
 One of the most important operations connected 
 with the fall curing of pork is the " trying out " of 
 lard. The white leaf fat of ncAvly-killed pork is to be 
 freed from membranes, kernels, and flesh, and cut in 
 pieces about an inch square; put the fat into a thick 
 saucepan or iron pot over a steady, gentle fire with a 
 pint of cold water, and gradually heat and steadily 
 boil it until the water has evaporated and the fat be- 
 gins to brown and cake together in the form of 
 " scraps"; the fat must be stirred occasionally to keep 
 the " scraps " from sticking. The boiling may occupy 
 about three hours; as it progresses the fat will lose 
 its cloudy look and become clear. When the lard is 
 clear, and the " scraps " light brown, set the pot off 
 the fire and let the lard cool a little ; then lay a clean 
 
88 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 cloth over an earthen jar or tight wooden tub, and 
 strain the lard through it; the bottom of the lard, con- 
 taining the " scraps," should be strained without 
 pressing, and put into a separate vessel, to be used 
 first. When cold, the lard should be covered with 
 waxed paper, and closed from the air. The " scraps " 
 are salted a little, and eaten with baked potatoes; in 
 the South they are mixed with the Indian meal from 
 which crackling pone is made. 
 
 When lamb or mutton is killed in the fall, a portion 
 is generally frozen to be used later. Some parts may 
 be roasted or baked, and potted according to the di- 
 rections given for potting beef in the old Pennsylvania 
 Dutch style. The ribs or spareribs can be corned in 
 salt for two or three days, and then boiled with vege- 
 tables, and the hams and shoulders corned or smoked: 
 corned mutton is excellent among salted meats. To 
 corn mutton for boiling or smoking, trim it, and let it 
 hang in a cool place for two days; then powder the 
 following ingredients, warm them in a thick sauce- 
 pan, and thoroughly rub them into the mutton: half a 
 l^ound each of rock and table salt and brown sugar, 
 and two ounces of saltpetre. Let the mutton stand 
 for four days in a wooden vessel, turning it every day. 
 The mutton will then be ready to use at once for boil- 
 ing, to dry and use like frizzled or dried beef, or to 
 smoke like ham for a week, and then preserve from 
 the air and insects. As the trimmings of both fresh 
 pork and mutton can be made into sausages, scrapple, 
 head-cheese, and souse, recipes follow for the prepa- 
 ration of these dishes. 
 
 In the preceding paragraph mutton is designated as 
 a substitute for fresh pork for corning and smoking. 
 It may be well to assure our readers that not only 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND PORK. 39 
 
 mutton, but veal and beef, make excellent sausage, to 
 say nothing of the flesh of donkeys, which are bred 
 in Italy as the crude material of the famous salami. 
 The so-called German sausages, Gotha and Brunswick 
 cervelat, which find so large a sale among certain 
 classes in the cities of the Continent and England, are 
 unquestionably made from horse-flesh. While we are 
 not disposed to contest the fact with scientists that 
 prime horse-flesh closely resembles rather poor beef, 
 we cannot hesitate to afiirm that its use would be 
 preferable to that of some of the ingredients of which 
 butchers' sausages are composed. And we do assert 
 that vfhen sausages are a favorite dish at table, unless 
 one has every confidence in the dealer, the home-made 
 article is infinitely preferable. 
 
 These savory provocatives to appetite need by no 
 means stand as a synonym of pork — that meat so 
 questionable in many instances; nor need the domes- 
 tic maker take the trouble to stuff the forcemeat into 
 skins. Made into little balls or pats, and rolled in 
 flour before frying, it will not necessarily break apart; 
 certainly it will hold its form if a raw egg is mixed 
 with it just before frying. If frying seems an objec- 
 tionable method of cooking, press the force-meat 
 tightly into a pan or mould and bake it, or enclose 
 small portions in little turnovers or rolls of good pas- 
 try, and bake them thoroughly; so cooked, the meat 
 will keep well in cold weather, and prove an excellent 
 resource for luncheon or hasty impromptu repasts. A 
 delicious pastry for any of these little meat-pies is the 
 Parisian pate hrisee, which is made of flour dried be- 
 fore the fire, about one fourth its weight of good but- 
 ter well rubbed through the flour, a little salt, and one 
 or two eggs to a pound; cold water is used to mix it 
 
90 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 rather stiff, and it is rolled as many times as is possi- 
 ble without melting the butter; a liberal sprinkling of 
 cayenne for pungency and the juice of a lemon is the 
 author's addition to increase the tenderness of the pas- 
 try. Enshrined in such a domicile, the hungry man 
 would welcome without question even " those obscure 
 corners of the pig of which the animal, when living, 
 had the least reason to be vain." Both sausages and 
 sausage meat may be broiled without smoking, and 
 gain in flavor if served with a garnish of fried apple 
 or red-cabbage pickle. 
 
 Pork sausages are made from the lean trimmings of 
 fresh pork and from one half to one fourth of their 
 weight in clear, firm fat cut from the back or from 
 some part of the carcass near the skin (the soft intes- 
 tinal fat is suitable only for making lard) : to twelve 
 pounds of lean pork add three of clear fat (chopping 
 both fat and lean quite fine, removing all tough por- 
 tions), one cupful each of salt and powdered sweet 
 herbs (chiefly sage), six dried red peppers chopped 
 very fine, or two even teaspoonfuls of cayenne and 
 four of black pepper. After the sausage meat is thor- 
 oughly mixed it should be tested to make sure that 
 the flavor is savory, the best test being to fry a small 
 portion. Some persons add ground allspice and cloves 
 to sausage meat, and a powdered bay leaf, or dried 
 parsley or celery leaves. 
 
 The sausage meat, w^hen prepared, is either put up 
 in jars with an inch layer of melted fat on the top, or 
 in small muslin bags or dressed sausage skins; if the 
 bags are dipped in lard just melted after they are 
 filled, the slight coating of fat thus gained will ex- 
 clude the air and retard the injury its action entails 
 on all fresh meat. Sausage meat in bags can be salt- 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND PORK. gj 
 
 ed and smoked like ham, and so prepared is excellent 
 boiled with any fresh vegetable. Although in many- 
 places sausage skins can be bought dressed, they may 
 be unavailable in the country. The suitable intes- 
 tines are prepared by reversing and thoroughly wash- 
 ing them; then they are soaked in salted water or 
 Aveak lime-water for three days, and subsequently 
 scraped with the back of a knife, and washed several 
 times; after they are quite clean they are laid in salted 
 water for ten or twelve days, the water being changed 
 when it gives out any unpleasant odor. The opera- 
 tion is one of the few disagreeable ones which should 
 be understood by housekeepers, especially by farmers' 
 wives. 
 
 The intestinal tubes of beef, veal, and mutton are 
 similarly dressed, and used for other sausages. Bo- 
 logna sausage, for instance, is stuffed into beef cas- 
 ings; the meat is chopped like other sausage, either 
 by hand or in a machine; the meat is usually a mixt- 
 ure of fresh pork and veal or beef, but beef may be 
 used alone in quantity equal to all the lean meat called 
 for in this recipe; the salt pork or fat bacon is indis- 
 pensable, and is to be cut in quarter-inch strips and 
 laid lengthwise of the casings in stuffing them, or 
 chopped fine with the lean meat; three pounds of 
 fresh pork, three of veal or tender beef, and one of 
 beef suet, all chopped very fine or ground in a sau- 
 sage-machine; thoroughly mix with the meat one on- 
 ion and two cloves of garlic peeled and grated, one 
 nutmeg grated, one even teaspoonful each of ground 
 cloves, powdered marjoram, thyme, and savory, one 
 of cayenne, two of black pepper, and six of powdered 
 sage; blend all these ingredients by repeated mixing, 
 and salt the force-meat freely; stuff it into prepared 
 
92 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 beef casings, and either smoke the sausage and dry it 
 for three months, or prick the skin many times with a 
 fine trussing needle, boil the sausages for an hour, and 
 then dry them in the sun, rubbing them with a lit- 
 tle butter melted if the casings seem dry enough to 
 split. Keep the sausage hung up in a cool, dry place. 
 To use them either broil, fry, or boil them ; sour- 
 crout or cabbage boiled with them makes a good heavy 
 dish. 
 
 Veal sausage is made from equal quantities of lean 
 veal and fat bacon or beef suet. To each pound of 
 the sausage meat add an even teaspoonful each of 
 ground cloves, allspice, black pepper, salt, and pow- 
 dered sage; either stuff the meat into small casings or 
 put it up in jars, covering it with melted suet or but- 
 ter; cook it like ordinary sausage. Mutton sausage 
 is made from lean mutton and the suet of veal or beef, 
 with a high seasoning of salt, pepper, and powdered 
 sweet herbs; mutton sausage may be corned and 
 smoked like the mutton hams already described. 
 
 Scrapple may be made from either of these meats, 
 although fresh pork is generally preferred for it. The 
 famous Philadelphia scrapple is made by carefully 
 cleaning a fresh pig's head, or using an equal quantity 
 of the trimmings of fresh pork. After washing the 
 meat, put it over the fire in a gallon of water palatably 
 salted, and boil it gently until the bones drop from 
 the flesh; then the broth is to be strained and returned 
 to the tire; the meat, entirely free from bone, is to be 
 chopped fine and put with the broth; as soon as it be- 
 gins to boil, yellow Indian meal is scattered in with 
 the left hand^ the right being used for stirring with a 
 wooden spoon or spatula. "When the scrapple is as 
 thick as hasty-pudding — that is, when the spoon will 
 
LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, AND PORK. 93 
 
 stand upright in it for an instant — it is to be very 
 highly seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, sage, 
 thyme, and marjoram, the herbs reduced to a fine 
 powder; the scrapple is then allowed to boil slowly 
 for an hour, with occasional stirring to prevent burn- 
 ing; when done it is poured into a square tin pan wet 
 with cold water, and set away to cool. The scrapple 
 is sliced and browned in lard or hot drippings for 
 breakfast or supper, being seasoned with salt and pep- 
 per while browning. 
 
 Head -cheese is made from the head and tongue, 
 boiled tender in enough salted water to cover it; the 
 tongue is cut in strijDS, and the flesh and skin of the 
 head either chopped very fine or ground in a sausage- 
 machine. With the meat mix a half-pint of vinegar, 
 and season it highly with salt, pepper, ground cloves, 
 and powdered sweet herbs, especially sage; pack the 
 head-cheese while hot in jars or earthen dishes, press- 
 ing it down forcibly and leaving a weight above it 
 set on a plate, until it is cold and firm. The pot liquor 
 from the head may be boiled until it will jelly, and 
 then clarified like clear soup, and highly spiced and 
 flavored with lemon and wine; it makes a very nutri- 
 tious jelly. A savory jelly can be made from the 
 skin of fresh pork, at the annual killing, by boiling it 
 v.'ith three pints of water to each pound, until it can 
 be broken by pressure between the fingers; the jelly 
 is to be clarified like soup, and spiced, sweetened, and 
 flavored like wine jelly. A good jelly can be made 
 from fresh pigs' feet, just like calf's-foot jelly. 
 
 Souse is made from pigs' feet scalded and scraped 
 until the skin is free from hairs and white; then boil 
 them, until the bones fall out, in enough salted water 
 to cover them; split the feet, take out all the bones, and 
 
94 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 pack the feet in glass or earthen jars, putting whole 
 cloves, mace, and pej^percorns throughout; mix vine- 
 gar equally with the pot liquor, scald it, and pour it 
 over the feet, and let them stand for twelve hours or 
 longer. Souse is used cold, or sliced and fried. All 
 pigs' feet should be carefully cleaned, and boiled until 
 the bones drop out, and the largest bones should be re- 
 moved always. Fried pigs' feet are sometimes bread- 
 ed, or they are rolled in flour seasoned with salt and 
 pepper; in New^ England salt pork is fried with them, 
 and in the South bacon. Calves' and lambs' feet can 
 be soused. 
 
 Another favorite Southern dish of pork is jowl. This 
 consists of the cheek or side of the head of pork, 
 either salted or cured like bacon; it is boiled with 
 greens or cabbage. Cold boiled jowl makes a good 
 breakfast dish sliced and fried or quickly broiled. 
 
 Crackling pone is always made in Southern country- 
 houses when the bacon pig is cured. For a small pone 
 a quart of Indian meal is scalded with as much boiling 
 water as it will absorb, and allowed to cool until the 
 hand can be used to mix into it a cupful of well-salted 
 '* cracklings," or the scraps produced in trying out 
 lard; the hands are then wet in cold water, and the 
 pone patted about an inch thick on a pan, to be baked 
 in the oven, or on the pone-board, wet with cold water, 
 to be baked before the fire. The old mammies main- 
 tain that no pone is so good as one baked before the 
 fire, or in the ashes, wrapped in a cabbage leaf. 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 95 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 
 
 Many practical housekeepers who are interested in 
 economical experiments in a general way do not al- 
 ways believe that they can be successfully undertaken 
 in their own households. They may be sufficiently 
 liberal-minded to conceive the possibility of success 
 under conditions more favorable than they can com- 
 mand; but they are inclined to doubt the feasibility 
 of applying such eiforts to ordinary housekeeping, 
 the chief objection being the time required, which 
 they may not be disposed to devote to mere experi- 
 ment. It may be true that many of our readers who 
 live the abnormally full life of popular city people 
 will defer testing some of our proposed methods until 
 the ideal suitable hour arrives which never does come. 
 On the other hand, we have the satisfaction of know- 
 ing that numbers do endeavor to carry out the entire 
 scheme here outlined. For just this reason consider- 
 able space has been given to some operations which 
 are far from inviting to any housewife less than en- 
 thusiastic and thorough. Were these most admirable 
 of their kind numbered only by the tens, it would 
 still be worth our best efforts to clearly show them 
 the way to every successful issue of the economic 
 problem. 
 
 As we tried to prove in previous pages, the proper 
 use of such usually disdained portions of food as fat 
 
9(5 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 and bone assume importance in this connection. The 
 experiments of Dr. Edward Smith with bones were 
 cited to instance their possible food value; these ex- 
 periments were undertaken at the command of the 
 English government, and were exhaustive enough to 
 prove that three and a half pounds of mixed bones 
 contain as much heat food as one pound of meat, and 
 six pounds of bones as much flesh food as a pound of 
 meat. As none of the substance of the bones can be 
 eaten except the small quantity of marrow they yield 
 during cooking, two things are needed in treating 
 them, i. e., a vehicle for the extraction of their nutri- 
 ment, the simplest being water, and the addition of 
 such food elements as will afford the substantial bulk 
 needed to meet the requirements of nutrition; these 
 may be chosen from the great variety of vegetables or 
 from the numerous cereals. In order to fully extract 
 all the nutritious substance from bones they must be 
 broken small, and boiled steadily in water for at least 
 nine hours; the result will be a gelatinous broth, the 
 flavor of which depends upon its seasoning, and its 
 capacity for satisfying hunger upon the solid vege- 
 tables or cereals added to it; the broth alone, sea- 
 soned and drank, w^ould nourish a man relatively as 
 beef broth does, according to the quantity of bones 
 from which it is made; but bulk as well as nutriment 
 is required to satisfy the sense of hunger entirely. 
 
 There should always be water enough to cover the 
 bones, a quart to a pound being the maximum quantit}^; 
 and at the finish the broth should be boiled down to 
 one sixth the first quantity of water; if a quart has been 
 allowed for each pound, the proportion of solid food 
 added being the same required for ordinary broth 
 equal in quantity to this sixth of the first amount. 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 97 
 
 The round bones of the legs, which contain marrow, 
 are much more nutritious than the flat bones of steaks 
 and ribs or the bones of the head. The bones of beef 
 are relatively larger and more nutritious than those of 
 sheep and pigs; the proportion of bone in the entire 
 leg of beef is from one third to one half, the best-fed 
 beef having relatively more flesh; the head shows 
 about one half its weight in bones; the neck, shoulder, 
 and thin end of ribs about one tenth, and the choice 
 cuts from one sixth to one tenth; the average weight 
 of bone in the ordinary best cuts of all kinds of meat 
 is about one tenth the whole. 
 
 The proportion of fat depends upon the condition 
 of the meat, the greatest amount being present in the 
 primest cuts. Suggestions have already been made 
 concerning the use of much of the best fat in the form 
 of drippings, and for the purpose of potting and mak- 
 ing gravies. A more homely use remains for such 
 as ordinarily is condemned to the fire or the cook's 
 grease-tub. Let economical housewives who do not 
 blush for their economies remember that of old their 
 most famous prototypes took pride in making their 
 own candles and soap. 
 
 So far as candles are concerned, the economy would 
 be doubtful in towns, or where oil is cheap and good, 
 because an ill-smelling candle is the acme of malodorous 
 torments. Only perfectly good fat should be used 
 for making candles, such as would be fit to cook with; 
 so that only uj^dn large farms where there is an excess 
 of fat — more than can be otherwise utilized — could 
 candles be profitably made. However, for these few 
 requirements we may give brief space to the subject. 
 Moulded candles are cast in metal moulds so construct- 
 ed that the wicks are held in place at the bottom with 
 7 
 
98 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. • 
 
 the pegs which close the apertures in the mould, and 
 at the top by the wire or rod over which they are 
 doubled, or by some patent device; at the top of the 
 mould there is a groove, into which the melted fat 
 is poured, and which distributes it to individual cir- 
 cular tubes; when the candles are hard, the mould is 
 opened by hinges, and the wicks and tops of the can- 
 dles trimmed. 
 
 The more primitive dipping of candles is accom- 
 plished by doubling the wicks over a number of short 
 rods, and stiffening them by several slight applications 
 of tallow, the first being hot enough to saturate the 
 wricks, and those succeeding just liquid enough to ad- 
 here to the wicks; make the stiffened wicks perfectly 
 straight and smooth. For the regular dipping of the 
 candles the tallow must be only warm enough to ad- 
 here; if it w^ere too warm, it w^ould melt off the tallow 
 already hardened upon the wicks. Tlie melted tallow 
 is sometimes in a pail, into w^hich the candles are low- 
 ered straight for an instant, and sometimes in flat pans, 
 wdiere the rod of candles is laid; the candles after their 
 momentary immersion are hung by the rods or hoops 
 to which they are attached until their exterior is firm; 
 they are dipped and cooled repeatedly, and when they 
 are large enough they are smoothed and trimmed, and 
 the tops are pointed ready for lighting. Mutton tal- 
 low is better than beef for candles, and both are im- 
 proved by melting a little w'hite w^ax with them to 
 harden the candles. All tallow must be clarified for 
 candle-making as for frying. In towms candles are 
 so cheap that their domestic production has become a 
 mere tradition. 
 
 Not so the home manufacture of soap. Many mod- 
 ern housewives pride themselves upon their kegs of 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 99 
 
 excellent soft soap. This is much easier to make at 
 home than hard soap; to make that is desirable only 
 in far-away places; however, a formula is given, for 
 Harper's books have readers near and far. The old- 
 time basis of soap was lye made of wood-ashes ; by 
 the simplest method the wood-ashes were boiled with 
 w^ater — a pound to a gallon — and strained ; to the 
 clear lye thus obtained grease was added — a pound to 
 a gallon — and the boiling continued until a soap of the. 
 desired consistency was produced, occasional stirring 
 being necessary. Unless the grease is rancid, no very 
 disagreeable odor accompanies the making of soap. 
 
 Where the accumulation of ashes and grease was 
 gradual, this method w^as followed: The ashes were 
 put into a barrel with a perforated bottom, or into a 
 lye tub shaped like the hopper of a mill, set on posts 
 to permit the placing of a tub beneath it ; the bottom 
 was perforated, and a layer of stones or crossed sticks 
 overlaid with straw furnished drainage ; as soon as a 
 bushel of ashes was in the tub, half a peck of lime was 
 thrown in, and more ashes placed on the lime ; when 
 the tub was nearly full, repeated pailfuls of warm 
 water were poured through the ashes ; the drainage 
 w^as lye; this was concentrated by boiling — a strong 
 lye would float an uncooked egg ; as grease of any 
 kind accumulated it w^as put into a barrel and kept 
 covered with the lye as it drained from the ashes. 
 
 To make soap a gallon of strong lye was put into a 
 kettle w^ith an equal quantity of grease eaten with lye, 
 or a pound of solid fat, and boiled for an hour, with 
 occasional stirring ; more weak lye was added as it 
 was required — enough to neutralize the fat — and the 
 boiling continued for several hours, with frequent stir- 
 ring, until some of the soap cooled showed the proper 
 
100 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 consistency of soft soap. To make hard soap, a usual 
 proportion was fifteen pounds of clean grease to twen- 
 ty gallons of strong lye; these were boiled, with fre- 
 quent stirring, until the soap was quite thick or stringy ; 
 then half a peck of salt was added, and the boiling con- 
 tinued for two hours ; if then the soap did not curdle 
 and harden on cooling a little, more salt was added, 
 until it curdled ; the thick soap was then ladled into 
 a tub and cooled overnight ; the next day the hard 
 portion was melted again with a little weak lye, and 
 boiled for an hour; then it was ready to cool and cut 
 for drying. 
 
 In the absence of ashes, soap is now made with soda 
 and potash. Soda soap: To five pounds of grease add 
 three pounds of washing soda and four gallons of boil- 
 ing water, and stir the mixture daily until the soap 
 forms; reduce it to the right consistency of soft soap 
 with cold water. 
 
 Potash soap is made by dissolving over the fire three 
 pounds of potash with ten gallons of water ; four 
 pounds of clean grease are now stirred in, and the 
 boiling continued, with occasional stirring, until soap 
 of proper consistency is formed, the test being to cool 
 a small quantity. Potash soap without boiling is made 
 by putting into a barrel ten pounds of potash, twelve 
 pounds of clean grease, and cold water to nearly fill 
 the barrel; shelter it from the rain, but let the sun 
 reach it. Let it stand for three or four weeks, until 
 the soap forms, stirring it several times daily. 
 
 The success of all soap-making depends upon using 
 enough alkaline matter, in the form of lye, potash, or 
 soda, to neutralize the grease; that is, if, after the 
 soap is thoroughly boiled, the grease shows on its sur- 
 face, more alkali and water are needed. When the 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. jqi 
 
 soap, dropped from the stirring-stick, looks stringy, 
 it is ready to cool for soft soap, or to receive the salt 
 which separates the portion that will harden upon dry- 
 ing. The liquid part which drains from the curdled 
 portion of hard soap answers for scrubbing. The sec- 
 ond boiling of hard soap clarifies it; a third boiling, 
 with enough soft water to dissolve the soap entirely, 
 frees it from harsh qualities, and it will harden upon 
 the surface of the water when cold. 
 
 The various kinds of manufactured lye, potash, etc., 
 are accompanied by their special formulas for making 
 soap. The vegetable oils are largely used in the man- 
 ufacture of fine toilet soaps. As compensation for 
 these very commonplace recipes, we may offer anoth- 
 er for an admirable toilet soaj), Avhich any lady can 
 make without difficulty, using either common yellow 
 household soap, or a good grade of white Castile soap, 
 which is preferable, because it contains proportionately 
 but little alkaline matter. The soap may be cooled by 
 half filling cups with it after boiling it. Melt by gen- 
 tle heat one pound of soap cut in thin shavings, stir- 
 ring it over the fire in a saucepan set in a pan of boil- 
 ing water. When the soap is melted, stir in half a 
 pound each of palm oil and honey, and boil the soap 
 for eight minutes, stirring it several times. The nat- 
 ural perfume of the soap will be a faint odor of vio- 
 lets from the palm oil, if it is pure; therefore, if any 
 essence is added, it should be that of those blue-eyed 
 darlings of the spring. 
 
 Reference has been made to possible variety in the 
 rather limited range of farmer's fare as bounded by 
 brown bread and soda biscuit, baked beans, dough- 
 nuts, salt pork, codfish, boiled dinner, and pumpkin 
 pie. The limit is sometimes less marked by paucity 
 
102 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 of materials than by rigid adherence to a few methods 
 of cookery. If poultry extends the list, it is either 
 baked, fried, or fricasseed, and eggs are generally fried 
 or boiled. The possible extension of this line of sup- 
 plies to such a number of dishes as will permit a new 
 one every day in the year might seem impossible, and 
 yet there are more than a hundred ways of cooking 
 eggs alone. It is true that chickens, eggs, and cream 
 are not so abundant upon many farms as city dwellers 
 sometimes suppose. IJsually the poultry is raised for 
 market, and every egg that is not permitted to devel- 
 op into a chick is regarded with an eye to all its pos- 
 sibilities ; but we will suppose that eggs are cooked 
 sometimes, and consider a few methods of serving 
 them which are borrowed from the transatlantic rural 
 folk. Take fried eggs, for instance; Avhile the yolk 
 is still soft, as soon as the white is set, take them up 
 carefully with a thin skimmer or pancake turner, to 
 avoid breaking them, and lay each one upon a slice of 
 delicate toast; if there is more than half a cupful of 
 fat in the pan, pour it out; put in a cupful of vinegar 
 and a sharp seasoning of pepper, let it boil up, pour 
 it over the eggs and toast, and serve the dish at once. 
 With coffee and bread and butter this is an excellent 
 breakfast dish. 
 
 If a more substantial meal is desired, boil or bake 
 some potatoes; then fry the eggs and keep them hot 
 on toast; leave not more than two tablespoonfuls of 
 fat in the frying-pan; into the hot fat stir a heaping 
 tablespoonf ul of dry flour, then gradually stir in a pint 
 of boiling Avater, a palatable seasoning of salt and pep- 
 per, let the gravy boil, and stir it smooth; serve it in 
 a bowl, with the fried eggs and potatoes. If fried 
 or scrambled eggs remain unused, mince them, warm 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 103 
 
 them with highly-seasoned gravy, and sei've them on 
 toast. If boiled eggs are on hand, put them over the lirQ 
 in hot water and boil them for five minutes,to make sure 
 that they are hard; when they are cool enough to han- 
 dle break off the shells, leaving the eggs entire; either 
 dip them in batter or bread them, and then fry them 
 like doughnuts, and serve them hot; they combine well 
 with fried or broiled ham, bacon, salt pork, or salt fish; 
 with a dish of baked, boiled, or stewed potatoes and 
 gravy they make a substantial meal. Directions are 
 elsewhere given for breading and making batter and 
 gravy. 
 
 Among the many omelets the most economical are 
 those which gain in bulk from the addition of some 
 ingredient cheaper than eggs; for instance, if a cupful 
 of cold salt fish is on hand, melt together a tablespoon- 
 ful each of butter and flour, gradually stir in a capful 
 each of milk and water, or use a pint of water; add the 
 cold fish freed from bones, three eggs beaten for a min- 
 ute, and a high seasoning of salt and pepper; stir the 
 mixture over the fire until the eggs are cooked to the 
 desired degree, and serve them on toast. The delicacy 
 of this dish may be increased with little trouble: sep- 
 arate the eggs, beat the yolks for a moment, and add 
 them to the fish; beat the whites to a stiff froth, stir 
 them lightly with the fish, and cook and serve it quickly. 
 With cold boiled rice a favorite Southern omelet can 
 be made: mix a cupful each of rice and milk with the 
 yolks of three eggs, an even teaspoonf ul of salt, and a 
 saltspoonful of white pepper; beat the whites of three 
 eggs to a stiff froth, quickly and lightly mix them 
 with the other ingredients, pour the omelet into a hot 
 pan containing a tablespoonful of butter, and bake it 
 in a hot oven until it is done to the desired degree. 
 
XQ4 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 A good bread omelet can be made by softening a 
 cupful of the soft part of bread in boiling water, pour- 
 ing off what the bread does not absorb; to the soaked 
 bread add a cupful of milk, the yolks of three eggs, 
 an ev^en teaspoonf ul of salt, and a saltspoonful of pej)- 
 per; put a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-25an over 
 the fire; beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, 
 lightly stir them with the bread, etc., pour the mixt- 
 ure into the hot pan, and cook it over a moderate fire 
 until the under surface is brown; then fold it together 
 and serve it at once on a hot dish. The drippings 
 from fried salt pork may replace butter for frying all 
 omelets. 
 
 As salt pork constitutes the j^rincipal meat in the 
 farmer's dietary, some novelty in its cookery Avill be 
 welcome. Most country housekeepers know about 
 soaking it overnight, or scalding it for a few mo- 
 ments before frying it, but the hint will be welcome 
 to such city folk as esteem the dish a relish. Cut the 
 salt pork thin; either trim off the rind or cut through 
 it at half -inch intervals; put over the fire in plenty of 
 cold water, heat it, and let it boil gently for ten min- 
 utes; then dry it on a clean towel, put it in a hot fry- 
 ing-pan, and quickly brown it on both sides; season it 
 with pepper, and serve it with baked potatoes. 
 
 The dish may be varied by peeling potatoes, cutting 
 them in halves, and boiling them with the pork, leav- 
 ing them to finish boiling while the pork is being fried. 
 Usually, in the country, the drippings of the pork are 
 served as gravy. The dish will be more savory and 
 wholesome if a gravy is made as follows: pour out of 
 the pan all but two tablespoonfuls of the drippings, 
 saving them for frying potatoes; put in a heaping ta- 
 blespoonful of dry flour, and stir it with the drippings; 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 1Q5 
 
 then gradually stir in either a pint of milk or water or 
 half a pint of each; season the gravy thus made highly 
 with pepper, stir it until it boils, and then serve it. 
 This gravy can be made at any time from cold drip- 
 pings, and served with baked or boiled potatoes or 
 other vegetables ; it is excellent for warming with 
 cold chopped vegetables, or to use with bread for the 
 children's supper. Fried mush served with it makes a 
 hearty breakfast or supper dish. Cold fried or boiled 
 pork in slices may be breaded, or rolled in dry flour 
 or Indian meal, or dipped in batter, and fried in plenty 
 of smoking-hot drippings. A milk gravy made as di- 
 rected above is good to serve with it. 
 
 A bro^rn gravy is made in the same way, except 
 that the flour is allowed to brown with the drippings 
 before any milk or water is added. 
 
 Salt pork can be baked in savory fashion as follows: 
 when milk is abundant, cover a piece of pork with it, 
 and let it soak overnight; the next day, three hours 
 before dinner-time, drain the pork, cut across the rind 
 in opposite directions, so that the surface is covered 
 with scores half an inch square; make deep incisions 
 by running a sharp knife or the carving steel into the 
 pork; moisten some stale bread with some of the milk 
 in which the pork was soaked, season it highly with 
 pepper and powdered sweet herbs, and stuff it tightly 
 into the cuts in the pork; put the pork into a moderate 
 oven, with a little of the milk and a plentiful sprink- 
 ling of pepper, and bake it slowly; baste it occasionally 
 with its own drippings, and dredge it with flour. In 
 an hour peel some potatoes and put them into the pan 
 with the pork to bake. When the dish is cooked, 
 serve it with a gravy made from the drippings; take 
 up the pork and potatoes and keep them hot; set the 
 
1(36 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 dripping-pan OA'er the fire, stir a heaping tahlespoon- 
 ful of flour into it, gradually add enough of the milk 
 in which the pork was soaked to make a good gravy, 
 season it highly with pepper, and then serve the dish. 
 
 An excellent fricassee can be made from salt pork. 
 Cut the pork in pieces an inch square, put it over the 
 fire in plenty of cold water, and let it heat; change 
 the water once or twice if the jDork is very salt; in an 
 hour put in an equal quantity of ^^otatoes, peeled and 
 cut in large dice, and a tablespoonful each of butter 
 and flour rubbed to a smooth paste, and then stirred 
 until dissolved in the water in which the pork is boil- 
 ing; season the sauce thus made with pepper, adding 
 more butter and flour if the first quantity does not 
 make the sauce thick enough; when the potatoes are 
 done, serve the fricassee. To increase the size of the 
 dish, or to vary it when potatoes are not desired, use 
 dumj^lings made as follows, or from any preferred rec- 
 ipe: Sift a pint of flour w^ith a heaping teaspoonful of 
 any good baking powder, or wdth an even teaspoonful 
 of cream of tartar and half that quantity of baking 
 soda, half a teaspoonful of salt, and an even saltspoon- 
 ful of pepper; with cold milk or Avater quickly mix 
 the flour to a soft dough; wet a tablespoon in the sauce 
 of the fricassee, and use it to drop the dough by the 
 spoonful into the sauce, wetting the spoon before cut- 
 ting each dumpling; 'cover the saucepan after all are 
 in, and boil the fricassee gently and steadily for twenty 
 minutes; then serve it hot. 
 
 Chicken fricassee can be varied by rolling the chick- 
 en in flour, after it is cut in joints, and frying it with 
 enough drippings to prevent burning, and one onion, 
 peeled and sliced, to each chicken; when the chicken 
 is brown, cover it with boiling water, season it palata- 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. X07 
 
 bly with salt and pepper, and cook it slowly until ten- 
 der. Dumplings may be added, as to the pork fricassee. 
 The old - fashioned chicken pot - pie was cooked in a 
 round-bottomed iron pot, the sides of which were lined 
 with crust, over a very slow fire, or in hot ashes and 
 embers, or in the oven until the crust was brown; usu- 
 ally the crust did not cover the bottom of the pot, be- 
 cause of the danger of burning. The chicken was 
 sometimes stewed tender in gravy before it was put 
 into the crust, and the sides of the pot were buttered 
 to assist the browning of the crust. 
 
 An excellent way to use cold chicken is to stew it 
 until tender in its own gravy or in just water enough 
 to cover it; then butter a baking dish, put in the chick- 
 en, pour over it the following batter, and bake it until 
 the batter is done in a moderate oven. Beat three eggs 
 very light; mix seven tablespoonfuls of flour, one even 
 teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, with 
 enough cold milk to make a smooth batter, about 
 three cupfuls; gradually add all this quantity of milk 
 and the beaten eggs, and pour the batter over the 
 chicken in the baking-dish ; serve the pudding hot as 
 soon as it is done. When eggs are scarce they may be 
 omitted, and the batter may be made of sour milk in 
 which a teaspoonful of baking soda is dissolved, or 
 with sweet milk and a heaping teaspoonful of baking 
 powder sifted with the flour. 
 
 One of the best family desserts can be made either 
 in city or country of apples and stale bread. Peel ten 
 good-sized apples, core and slice them, and stew them 
 to a pulp with sugar enough to sweeten them ; mean- 
 time thickly butter the sides and bottom of an oval 
 earthen baking-dish, and press all around them crumbs 
 from the inside of a loaf of bread, having them nearly 
 
108 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 an inch thick; when the apple is done, mix with it a 
 tablespoonful of butter and one Qgg beaten ; put the 
 apple into the dish Avithout disturbing the crumbs ; 
 over the surface put an inch-thick layer of crumbs 
 dotted with a few bits of butter, and bake the pudding 
 until the crumbs at the side are brown; turn a platter, 
 just large enough to enclose the dish within its rim, 
 over the pudding dish, quickly turn both upside-down, 
 so that the pudding will slip out on the platter, dust 
 it with powered sugar, and serve it hot. 
 
 Sour-milk biscuit is made by mixing flour with sour 
 milk, and soda enough to sweeten the milk, usually a 
 heaping teaspoonful to a pint. The soda may either 
 be sifted into the flour, Avith an equal quantity of salt, 
 or dissolved in the milk and then mixed with the flour. 
 A more uniform excellence is secured by the first 
 method. From two to four tablespoonfuls of short- 
 ening may be rubbed or choj^ped into the flour before 
 it is wet with the milk, if a rich biscuit is desired, and 
 enough flour should be used to make a dough soft 
 enough to be easily cut or moulded in biscuit form. 
 When there is no sour milk on hand, sweet milk or 
 cold water may be used, and two heaping teaspoonfuls 
 of any good baking powder sifted with one of salt and 
 a quart of flour. A scant even teaspoonful of soda 
 and two of cream of tartar may be sifted together, 
 and used with a heaping quart of flour and a teaspoon- 
 ful of salt instead of baking powder. The advantage 
 of any good baking powder over cream of tartar and 
 soda is that the proportions are chemically correct, and 
 the quantity of the ingredients uniform. But little 
 importance is to be attached to tlie large-lettered com- 
 parative chemical analyses of different baking pow- 
 ders which are published periodically. The safe test is 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPERS. 
 
 109 
 
 successful results. N^o manufacturer will hazard his 
 business by persistently putting on the market an 
 article which is calculated to disappoint customers; 
 in fact, there is so much competition in this line that 
 inferior goods are unsalable. 
 
 Huckleberry spider-cake or bannock is made like 
 biscuit, and cooked over the fire in an old-fashioned 
 spider, or iron frying-pan with short legs, a little but- 
 ter being used to keep the cake from burning. If a 
 deep round pan is laid over the spider loosely, the 
 cooking will be facilitated, but care must be taken not 
 to confine the heat so as to create steam, for that w^ould 
 destroy the crispness of the cake. While the under 
 side is browning, the cake should occasionally be lifted 
 from the pan with a cake - turner or a broad - bladed 
 knife, and, when brown, it should be turned without 
 breaking. Until one becomes expert, a buttered tin 
 plate may be turned over the toj) of the cake and the 
 spider reversed upon it. The cake thus loosened can 
 easily be slipped back into the spider, and the cooking 
 finished. Raised bread dough may be used for either 
 biscuit or spider-cake, the berries being lightly stirred 
 into it when it is ready to bake. All these forms of 
 bread are served hot wath plenty of good butter. 
 
IIQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 VEGETABLES AND THEIR COOKERY. 
 
 Those who spend their summers in town certainly 
 have the advantage of that migratory section of hu- 
 manity from which the typical summer boarder is 
 evolved to become the legitimate prey of the average 
 country-house keeper. Conditions of comfort may be 
 in favor of those who live at well-appointed summer 
 hotels, or in those rare country-houses with old-fash- 
 ioned gardens and shady groves, where good water is 
 available, and where there is at least a share of the 
 summer's abundance of fresh fruit and green vegeta- 
 bles; but generally the contrast is too great between 
 small, stuffy rooms, a scanty and doubtful water sup- 
 ply, the monotonous succession of canned vegetables, 
 and one's own comfortable sleeping-rooms and toilette 
 appliances at home, to say nothing of the seasonable 
 profusion of city luxuries. City stay-at-homes can keep 
 their rooms shady by day with judicious use of blinds 
 and awnings, lowering the temperature to a percepti- 
 ble degree by hanging wet sheets or blankets in the 
 windows; and then they have the decided advantage 
 of cheap and abundant markets; setting aside any ab- 
 solute requirement for change of air on the score of 
 health, city people accustomed to a certain degree of 
 luxury are wise if content to enjoy at home; they need 
 not hope to find in their usual outings the varied season- 
 able delicacies they can command upon their own tables. 
 
VEGETABLES AND THEIR COOKERY. 
 
 Ill 
 
 But some city housekeepers who depend upon their 
 local market-raan or green-grocer to furnish their sup- 
 plies do not obtain all the season's variety and abun- 
 dance, especially in the line of vegetables and fruit; 
 the opportunity for choice of these perishable luxuries 
 certainly repays one for the exertion of an early jour- 
 ney to the lower markets before the day is old enough 
 to give one a foretaste of the horrors of the seventh 
 circle. An abundance of fresh vesjetables beino: secured, 
 and the means already suggested employed to preserve 
 or restore their freshness, some recipes apart from the 
 ordinary routine of cooking them may be acceptable. 
 
 Take egg-plant, for instance; usually it is either bread- 
 ed or rolled in flour and then fried; the preliminary 
 salting is done to deprive it of a certain flavor, some- 
 what bitter, parboiling sometimes being resorted to 
 for the purpose, but the vegetable can be cooked with- 
 out it, and even without peeling, when it is fresh and 
 tender, the rind being well-washed, of course. To bake 
 egg-plant, wash and wipe it, cut it lengthwise, salt and 
 pepper it profusely, and set it in a pan, skin down ; 
 bake it until tender in a moderate oven; while it is 
 cooking put butter by the teaspoonful upon the top 
 until two or three spoonfuls have been absorbed by 
 each section; when the egg-plant is tender, serve it 
 with the drippings poured over it. Egg-plant will 
 usually bake in about half an hour. Another way to 
 bake egg-plant is to cut it lengthwise, scoop out the 
 interior, leaving only a little attached to the rind ; 
 chop it fine, mix it with an equal quantity of bread- 
 crumbs, moisten it with gravy, hot or cold, season it 
 highly with salt and pepper, restore it to the rind, set 
 the sections in a pan just large enough to contain them, 
 and bake them in a moderate oven for about half an 
 
112 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 hour; transfer the egg-plant to a deep dish, pour the 
 dripphigs over it, and serve it hot. It may be chopped 
 and partly fried with butter, salt, and pepper, and then 
 put into a baking-dish with crumbs. A tablespoon- 
 ful of dry flour stirred into the frying-pan with the 
 drippings in which the egg-plant was fried, and then 
 boiled with a pint of hot water and seasoned palatably, 
 will furnish sauce enough to moisten the crumbs; put 
 on a top layer of crumbs with a few bits of butter 
 over them, and brown the dish in the oven before 
 serving it. Cold cooked egg-plant can be used in this 
 way. A stewed dish of egg-plant, seasoned with gravy 
 or with salt, pepper, and butter, will be found good. 
 It may be cut in dice, rolled in flour, partly fried in 
 butter, and then covered with water, seasoned Avith 
 salt and pepper, and stewed gently for five minutes. 
 Equal parts of fresh okra, washed and sliced, or of 
 tomatoes, may be stewed with it, the seasoning being 
 salt, pepper, and butter. Egg-plant cooked, either hot 
 or cold, mixed with a thick batter, makes good fritters 
 or griddle - cakes for breakfast, luncheon, or suj^per. 
 Cold egg-plant mashed, mixed with a little choi^ped 
 onion and crumbs if the quantity is small, highly sea- 
 soned with salt, pepper, and butter, may be baked in 
 small dishes or scallop shells. Small immature egg- 
 plants may be pickled whole like cucumbers, or grated, 
 salted overnight, and drained the next day, mixed 
 with one fourth their quantity of chopped onion or 
 grated horseradish, and highly seasoned with mustard 
 and celery seed, black and red pepper, and then en- 
 tirely covered with cold vinegar, and kept in a cold 
 place. 
 
 Okra may be used in soups and stews of meat or 
 crabs, or stewed with butter, salt, and pepper, or in 
 
VEGETABLES AND THEIR COOKERY. ^^3 
 
 gravy, or with tomatoes, or fried; cold okra is good 
 scalloped, or mashed and fried like oyster-plant. Very 
 tender okra makes a good plain or sweet pickle, or a 
 good salad with plain dressing. During our " late un- 
 pleasantness " the seeds of ripe okra were roasted and 
 ground as a substitute for coffee when the "Arabian 
 bean " v/as blockaded out of Southern homes. 
 
 Besides being stewed, made into soups, stuffed and 
 baked, and fried or broiled, tomatoes may be made into 
 pancakes and fritters, fried with cream or brown gravy 
 made by thickening the drippings in the pan where 
 they were fried, and finishing the gravy with cream, 
 or by first browning flour with them, and then making 
 the gravy with water; if the tomatoes are rolled in 
 flour before they are fried, the addition of very little 
 more will suffice, and if it is cooked before the cream 
 or water is added the flavor will be improved. Toma- 
 toes fried in oil, with a very little garlic or onion, make 
 a good sauce for fish or poultry. Cold tomatoes fried 
 and served on the dish with cold corn fried are good 
 for breakfast or luncheon. In addition to the usual 
 method of canning tomatoes, they may be thoroughly 
 boiled or baked with plenty of salt, and then put up 
 for future use. 
 
 Nearly all housekeepers are familiar with several 
 methods of cooking ripe tomatoes, but the following 
 hints for using green ones may prove acceptable to 
 those who have small gardens of their own. For 
 stewed tomatoes, wash and slice them, stew them for 
 half an hour with half a cupful each of crumbs and 
 butter, and a high seasoning of pepper and salt to each 
 quart. Omit the salt, pepper, butter, and crumbs, and 
 stew the sliced green tomatoes with half a cupful of 
 vinegar to a quart, and sugar enough to sweeten, and 
 
114 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 use them with cold meat as a sauce, or for pies. Fine 
 celery may be cooked as it becomes more abundant; 
 cut it like asparagus, boil it in salted boiling Avater 
 only until tender^ but not at all watery, and serve it 
 hot with salt, pepper, and butter, or with white sauce, 
 or cold with French salad dressing or mayonnaise. 
 The celery also may be cut in half -inch pieces and 
 washed; to a quart so prej)ared add a quarter of a 
 pound of cheese grated, a pint of any good gravy or 
 sauce, and alternate layers of bread crumbs. Season 
 each layer with salt and pepper, dust the top with 
 crumbs, and dot it over Avith butter. Bake the celery 
 for half an hour, or until it is tender, and serve it hot 
 as a vegetable. Or parboil short lengths of tender 
 celery, dij) them in batter, and fry them like fritters. 
 Chili is an excellent table sauce made from tomatoes. 
 Scald ripe, sound tomatoes, peel, and weigh them; to 
 every five pounds allow one pound of peeled and 
 sliced onions, five ounces of chopped fresh red peppers, 
 weighed after the seeds are taken out, a quarter of a 
 pound of brown sugar, two ounces of salt, and a pint 
 of vinegar; boil all these ingredients slowly in a por- 
 celain-lined kettle until they are as thick as jam; tlien 
 cool the chili, and bottle it air-tight. Sugar and spice 
 may be added at discretion. Combination dishes of 
 meat and fresh peppers are often called chilis or chilos. 
 For instance, mutton chili is made as follows: Chop 
 very fine two pounds of lean mutton cut from the 
 neck; remove the seeds from three large green pep- 
 pers, and chop them fine; chop also a large Spanish 
 onion, or a pint of sweet white onions; chop fine a 
 quarter of a pound of mutton suet, and put it, or two 
 tablespoonfuls of butter, in a saucepan; add the other 
 ingredients, seasoning them with salt, and stew the 
 
VEGETABLES AND THEIR COOKERY. 
 
 115 
 
 chili gently for an hour; if it seems in danger of burn- 
 ing, add a little water, but not enough to make it liq- 
 uid. AYhile the chili is cooking boil a dish of rice or 
 green pease to serve with it. Cold mutton may be 
 used for this dish. 
 
 Green peppers, which are j^lentiful in August and 
 September, are excellent stuffed Avith cold meat or 
 poultry and bread, and baked in gravy; they may be 
 fried, or stuffed and stewed, the seeds always being 
 removed; as they are very pungent, they may be dried 
 for seasoning or pickles. To prej^are Oakland stuffed 
 peppers, cut off the tops and scoop out the seeds of 
 half a dozen with a small teaspoon; chop an extra 
 pepper without the seeds, mix it with a small onion 
 peeled and chopped, a cupful of peeled and chopped 
 tomatoes, two tablespoonfuls of butter or salad-oil, a 
 teaspoonful of salt, and an equal measure of bread 
 crumbs; use these ingredients to stuff the peppers, 
 replace the stem ends, and bake the peppers for half 
 an hour, basting them with butter or salad oil two or 
 three times; serve them hot as a vegetable. The 
 Mexican dishes nearly all contain a large proportion 
 of fresh peppers, and the Colorado chili is made of 
 chicken stewed with chopped onion and a pulp of pep- 
 pers, and served with a dish of rice. 
 
 The excuse is frequently made by cooks that a vari- 
 ety of vegetables cannot be prepared without making 
 the atmosphere of the entire house most unpleasant. 
 This is a fallacy. The most strongly flavored vege- 
 tables, such as cabbage and onions, can be cooked 
 with but little escape of their odor if their substance 
 is not disintegrated by excessive boiling. The pun- 
 gent oil which gives flavor to the different kinds of 
 cabbage, turnip, and onion does not escape from their 
 
IIQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 tissues as long as they remain intact. Advantage may 
 be taken of this fact in peeling onions; if only the dry 
 outer layers of skin are removed, and the fresh juicy 
 portion left uncut, very little of the oil can escape; it 
 is so volatile that it dissipates through the air direct- 
 ly the vegetable is cut. If onions are held under wa- 
 ter while they are being peeled, or in a strong draught 
 of air, the oil will not aifect the eyes, because it can- 
 not reach them. At least the onions can be held so 
 that the oil need not rise directly into the eyes. A 
 little washing soda dissolved in the water used for 
 washing knives and dishes employed in cooking onions 
 will remove the strong odor that remains upon them. 
 If a knife that has been used to cut onions is subse- 
 quently used for chopping parsley, the odor will be 
 overcome. Some cooks always keep a parsley root by 
 them, and after cutting onions run the knife through 
 the parsley. If a little parsley dipped in vinegar is 
 eaten after onions, the odor in the breath will be less 
 perceptible. 
 
 The water in which cabbage, turnips, and onions are 
 boiled is likely to impart its odor to sinks and drains; 
 for destroying the odor keep a lump of washing soda 
 in the sink, and pour some boiling water into the drain 
 after emptying the cabbage water. Copj^eras water 
 is a good deodorizer and disinfectant: it is made by 
 putting a pound or more of copperas in a wooden tub, 
 and pouring over it two or three pailfuls of boiling 
 water. As the copperas dissolves and the water is 
 used, more may be added; there should always be some 
 undissolved copperas in the bottom of the tub. When 
 a strong deodorizer is called for, ten per cent, of car- 
 bolic acid may be added to the copperas water. The 
 liquid leaves a brownish stain. 
 
VEGETABLES AND THEIR COOKING. jj^ 
 
 This is such a simple and inexpensive disinfectant 
 that it leaves no excuse for bad odors about the 
 drains. Every housekeeper can see that a pailful of 
 hot copperas water is poured into the sink and closets 
 at least twice a week, especially in hot weather. 
 
 In the country the water in which vegetables have 
 been boiled may go with the pigs' feed, or be poured 
 upon the ground far enough from the well to prevent 
 any drainage into it. 
 
 To return to the subject of boiling vegetables: Gen- 
 erally Americans boil vegetables too long, until their 
 substance is so softened as almost to become a pulp; 
 in this way the flavor, color, and nutriment are sacri- 
 ficed. Sometimes the objection has been made by 
 cooks who followed the old method that certain vege- 
 tables boiled only until tender were not done. The 
 decision is a relative one. When people have been ac- 
 customed to eat vegetables boiled to a pulp they may 
 think those underdone which retain their form, flavor, 
 and color. Strictly speaking, vegetables are done when 
 their substance is tender enough to permit of easy 
 mastication. In the season of green vegetables illus- 
 trations might be multiplied; for present purposes we 
 will take the winter varieties, spinach and cabbage. 
 The principles that are involved in the cookery of 
 spinach will apply to any vegetable known as " greens," 
 such as the various kales, cabbage sprouts, beet-tops, 
 dandelion, etc.; and what is true of boiling cabbage 
 is equally so in regard to Brussels sprouts and cauli- 
 flower. The various " greens " are usually boiled un- 
 til they are a dark brownish-green mass of pulp and 
 fibre, without much individual taste; cooks say they 
 are not done before they reach that stage, because 
 they are trying to make the fibres of the leaf stems 
 
IIQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 tender; they boil them until the edible substance is 
 almost entirely destroyed, and still the fibres remain. 
 
 If before cooking the vegetables the tough fibres 
 were removed, the entire matter would be simplified. 
 The objection is sometimes made that this method is 
 wasteful. When the ''greens" are too mature it may 
 seem so because so much has to be taken away; but 
 if an actual measurement of quantity were made be- 
 tween vegetables properly trimmed and boiled and 
 others untrimmed and boiled to a pulp, the advantage 
 of the latter would prove doubtful in point of quan- 
 tity, while flavor and nourishment would have been 
 sacrificed. The important point is to use only tender 
 vegetables, in which the fibre has not become so far 
 developed as to be stringy. If their appearance does 
 not indicate their condition, break a leaf stem with 
 the fingers; if it is likely to cook tender it will be 
 rather crisp and succulent as opposed to a tough, 
 stringy substance which cannot be broken off. If the 
 tender spinach plants are not available, then only the 
 tender leaves of the older kind must be used; after 
 washing the spinach in plenty of cold water until all 
 sand is removed, take off the tough, stringy stalks; 
 put the spinach into a large pot half-full of actually 
 boiling salted water, and boil it fast until the leaves 
 are tender, but not reduced to a pulp: spinach will 
 boil in from three to fifteen minutes, according to its 
 age. When the spinach is just tender, drain it, throw 
 it into a large pan of cold water, and cool it; when it is 
 cold, drain it again, pressing the water out of it; this 
 process Avill preserve its color and flavor, and it will be 
 ready to heat with any sauce, or simply with salt, pej?- 
 per, and butter; but do not heat it until jiist before it 
 is to be served ; until then leave it in the cold water. 
 
VEGETABLES AND THEIR COOKING. 
 
 119 
 
 If this process is closely followed, the spinach will 
 come to the table green and palatable, a dish wholly 
 superior to the astringent, unsightly compound gener- 
 ally served. If the flavor of ham or corned beef is 
 desired, boil the spinach in water in which either has 
 been cooked; but be sure that the water is boiling 
 when the spinach is put into it, that there is plenty to 
 cover the spinach, and that when it is tender it is 
 drained and laid in cold water. The first contact 
 w^ith the boiling water closes the cells of the vege- 
 table, and preserves its coloring matter and flavor, 
 both of which would be soaked out of it by the action 
 of simply warm water; the immersion in cold water 
 checks the heat, and serves thus to retain the color 
 and flavor, which would escaj^e directly the substance 
 of the vegetable softened by the continued application 
 of heat. 
 
 The same principles apply to the cooking of cab- 
 bage. It is usually served in a watery mass of strong 
 flavor and disagreeable odor. Under proper treat- 
 ment it can be made as delicate and palatable as cauli- 
 flower. This assertion may momentarily tax belief, 
 but it is correct, as any reader may demonstrate by 
 absolutely following the directions here given for 
 cooking it. In all the years of teaching cookery a 
 cabbage has never been found that could not be boiled 
 tender in half an hour; and generally the time re- 
 quired is from ten to fifteen minutes. But in order 
 to do this there must be no deviation from the fixed 
 method: 
 
 Trim off the decayed outer leaves of the cabbage, but 
 do not reject the sound green ones. Cut the head in 
 quarters, or tear the leaves off, so that the cabbage 
 may be thoroughly washed in plenty of cold salted 
 
120 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 water; before wasLiiig the cabbage put over the fire 
 a large kettle half-full of water, salt it, and let it boil; 
 after washing the cabbage cut out the tough, stringy- 
 parts of the stalks, leaving the tender, succulent por- 
 tions; cut the cabbage in pieces which can be man- 
 aged at table, about an inch long and half an inch 
 wide, but leave several bits of stalk large enough to 
 be easily found in trying the cabbage to see if it is 
 done. Put the cabbage into the salted boiling water, 
 cover the kettle, and boil the cabbage fast; do not 
 let the water slop over on the stove, because that 
 would make an odor. Boil the cabbage steadily un- 
 til the stalk is tender — not soft and watery, but just 
 tender enough to be easily masticated. Set aside any 
 preconceived ideas of cooking cabbage, and believe 
 that it is done as soon as the stalk is tender. Drain 
 the cabbage Avhen it is tender, put with it enough salt, 
 pepper, and butter to make a palatable seasoning, and 
 stir it over the fire until the butter is melted; then 
 serve it at once. A little vinegar may be heated with 
 the other seasoning; but the cabbage will be best if 
 just moistened with white or cream sauce, which may 
 be made while it is boiling. Although the recipe has 
 been given, it may be well to rej^eat it: Stir together 
 a tablespoonful each of butter and flour over the fire, 
 and when they bubble gradually stir with them a pint 
 of hot water or milk, and a palatable seasoning of salt, 
 pepper, and nutmeg; let the sauce boil thoroughly be- 
 fore using it. 
 
 Let our readers test this method, and banish forever 
 the disagreeable odor of overcooked cabbage from 
 their houses. 
 
 The preparation of cabbage for sour-crout is simple 
 salting, but the fermentation which attends the i^roc- 
 
VEGETABLES AND TUEIR COOKERY. ;[21 
 
 • 
 
 ess makes it rather unpleasant to some persons. As 
 it is a favorite dish with a large part of our foreign 
 population, it may be well to include the recipe in this 
 series. Firm white cabbages are chosen, the outer de- 
 fective leaves removed, the green ones used to line a 
 firkin or barrel, and the rest shaved rather fine, care 
 being taken that all are clean; to each peck of shaved 
 cabbage allow a pint of salt; pack the cabbage with a 
 plentiful sprinkling of salt, using a potato-masher to 
 pound it down in the barrel; on the top put a layer of 
 green leaves, and a round board weighted with a stone 
 to keep the cabbage under the brine; in about six 
 weeks the sour-crout will be ready to use. To prepare 
 it for the table soak it in cold water until it is only 
 palatably salt, then boil it in boiling water as a vege- 
 table, or with salt meat, pickled pork, ham, or smoked 
 sausage, and serve them together. Cold sour-crout 
 may be chopped and fried, or heated with brown gravy 
 or sour cream. 
 
 In this era of canned goods city housekeepers are 
 not so often called upon to provide a store of fresh 
 vegetables for winter use as those who live in small 
 country places or on farms far from the vicinity of 
 markets; hence comparatively little attention is given 
 to any method of preservation except the ordinary one 
 of canning. It may therefore be the out-of-town read- 
 ers who will practise our grandmothers' wisdom of 
 salting green vegetables. The suggestion has been 
 made to preserve green corn, string-beans, and aspara- 
 gus in this way; cucumbers, cauliflowers, butter and 
 Lima beans, and small cucumbers may be salted and 
 when needed freshened again either for pickling or 
 for table use; placing grape or green cabbage leaves 
 among the vegetables tends to preserve their color 
 
122 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 and prevent the accumulation of mould. Large cu- 
 cumbers may be put up for table use by salting; peel 
 them, slice them a quarter of an inch thick, pack them 
 in wooden kegs with salt plentifully sprinkled among 
 them, and allow them to remain in the salt for twenty- 
 four hours; then drain them, put them into glass or 
 earthen jars with more salt, and close them air-tight. 
 When they are wanted for the table, soak them in 
 plenty of cold water until they are properly freshened, 
 and then dress them like fresh- cucumbers. When anj'- 
 of the green vegetables are in season, and reasonable 
 in price, they can be put up in firkins or small water- 
 tight barrels in this way. 
 
MUSHROOMS AND SALAD-PLANTS. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MUSHROOMS AND SALAD-PLANTS. 
 
 A VEGETABLE production abundant in many parts 
 of the country is the field or meadow mushroom. It 
 is unfortunate that this delicious fungus is so com- 
 paratively little known; it has such definite character- 
 istics that no other fungus, either edible or poisonous, 
 need ever be mistaken for it. Under favorable con- 
 ditions of heat and moisture, generally after late sum . 
 mer or early autumn warm rains, the meadow mush- 
 room, or " pink gill," springs up in the rich soil of 
 sunny pastures where sheep and cattle are kept, or in 
 the furrows turned up during late ploughing; it is 
 most abundant in September and October. The size 
 of the unopen or button mushroom is from half an 
 inch to nearly two inches across the surface of the 
 knob which presently expands into the cap. The color 
 of the top is cream-white, smooth in the early stages 
 of growth, and slightly torn or scaled and perceptibly 
 darkened as it expands; at first the ca^^ is closely con- 
 nected with the stem, and as it parts from the latter 
 underneath a ragged ring shows the point of separa- 
 tion; the under side of the cap is divided into thin 
 gills, running from the outer edge of the cap to the 
 top of the stem; the gills are at first of a delicate sal- 
 mon-pink color, darkening as the cap expands through 
 the shades of dove-color and brown, and finally becom- 
 ing almost black; the color of the cap and stem dark- 
 
224 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 ens a little when broken or bruised; the entire mush- 
 room turns brownish-black and decreases in size when 
 it is exposed to great heat. The size of the stem is 
 greatest near the ground, almost forming a bulb. The 
 flesh of the uncooked mushroom is Avhite, rather firm 
 as contrasted with a watery substance, of fresh odor, 
 and sweet, nutty flavor. The author's test by prefer- 
 ence is the taste; any fungus which has an acrid, bit- 
 ter, or unpleasant taste is unhesitatingly rejected, and 
 about a saltspoonful of salt instantly swallowed for 
 the purpose of neutralizing any possibly poisonous ef- 
 fect. 
 
 If there is any indication of poisoning from the use 
 of mushrooms, emetics and castor-oil should be used 
 freely, and a physician called as soon as possible. 
 Field mushrooms impart a brown color to the water 
 in which they are washed. They should be thoroughly 
 washed in plenty of cold water containing a little salt 
 and vinegar; the salt is used for the purpose of de- 
 stroying insect life, and the vinegar as a possible anti- 
 dote to any poisonous matter. It is a fact that some 
 decidedly poisonous species of fungi are cooked with 
 the addition of vinegar and eaten in Russia. Some 
 cooks use a silver spoon in cooking mushrooms, upon 
 the theory that the silver will be blackened by any in- 
 jurious quality present in the fungus; but other vege- 
 tables, notably onions, discolor silver. When field 
 mushrooms are abundant, they may be trimmed, the 
 caps and stems separated, thoroughly washed in cold 
 salted water, and the mushrooms then dried in a cool 
 oven, on the rack over the stove, or in the sun, pro- 
 tected from dust; for subsequent use they should be 
 soaked in cold water until fully expanded, and then 
 cooked like fresh mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms may 
 
MUSHROOMS AND SALAD-PLANTS. ^25 
 
 be baked on toast with salt, pepper, and butter; stewed 
 with the same seasonings, and the addition, if it is de- 
 sired, of a little water and flour to form a thick gravy; 
 or the stems may be stewed and the caps broiled; or 
 they may be fried entire in butter; they make an ac- 
 ceptable garnish for meat, poultry, and fish, and fla- 
 vor sauces well. Mushroom catsup is made by first 
 thoroughly cleansing the mushrooms, as already di- 
 rected (some English authorities omit the cleansing) ; 
 break them with the hand, put them into a wooden 
 tub or large jar with salt, six ounces being allowed 
 for each gallon of mushrooms; let them remain in the 
 salt for three days, in a cool place, stirring them three 
 or four times a day; on the third day put them over 
 a gentle fire in a porcelain kettle, or in a cool oven in 
 an earthen jar, and heat them for about half an hour, 
 or until the juice flows freely from them; strain off 
 the juice through a hair sieve, boil it for fifteen min- 
 utes, and then measure it; to each quart allow a quar- 
 ter of an ounce each of whole allspice and black pep- 
 per, an inch of ginger root, a bay-leaf, a blade of mace, 
 and a dust of cayenne, and boil it down to one half its 
 first quantity; then cool it, strain it clear, put it up in 
 small clean bottles, and seal them air-tight. A tea- 
 spoonful of brandy added to each bottle of catsup will 
 preserve it. When only a small quantity of mush- 
 rooms is available, they can best be utilized by clean- 
 ing and drying them, and then reducing them to a 
 powder, which can be used for seasoning dark-colored 
 sauces. 
 
 A few words may be said about canned mushrooms. 
 They are generally raised in the cellars or caves near 
 Paris devoted to the culture of mushrooms in enor- 
 mous quantities. If when the can is opened the liquor 
 
126 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 in it seems clear, and the mushrooms look clean and 
 bright Luff in color, free from brownish spots, they 
 are of good quality. The liquor is available in cook- 
 ing, because it has the characteristic mushroom flavor. 
 The liquor from canned mushrooms is made into white 
 or brown sauce according to the directions so often 
 given for those sauces, the mushrooms heated in the 
 sauce, and then served, generally as a garnish; they 
 are put into various fricassees and ragouts, and used 
 in omelets, minces, and various croquettes; a glass of 
 sherry or Madeira is a fine addition to a pint of sauce. 
 They enter into the present scheme as a luxury, be- 
 cause a half-pound can costs from thirty to thirty-five 
 cents. But the fresh mushrooms come quite within 
 our limits in many sections of the country. In the 
 South during the war they were invaluable as a sub- 
 stitute for fresh meat. 
 
 Another edible fungus is the giant puff-ball, which 
 grows in all parts of the country in the fall. It ap- 
 pears above the ground in the form of a white ball, 
 varying in size from a diameter of two or three inches 
 to a ball larger than a man's head; it cannot be mis- 
 taken, because there is no other fungus like it. When 
 it is old the skin is brownish and shrivelled, and if 
 broken it sends forth a cloud of smoke and a fine pow- 
 der. While the puff-ball is young and fresh the in- 
 terior is composed of a Avhite spongy pith, tender and 
 sweet; when cooked, the flavor is excellent. The puff- 
 ball should be washed, peeled, sliced, and fried with 
 butter, salt, and pepper, or stewed with the same sea- 
 sonings; frying, however, develops the most intense 
 flavor. After the interior begins to turn from white 
 to a yellowish color it is no longer fit for food. The 
 author does not remember any instance where puff- 
 
MUSHROOMS AND SALAD-PLANTS. 
 
 127 
 
 balls have been marketed, although their edible quali- 
 ties are well known in England and on the Continent. 
 The giant puff-ball, or vegetable omelette {Lycoperdon 
 gigcmteiim), is the variety in question: the smaller puff- 
 balls are not considered edible, and some of them are 
 poisonous. 
 
 Young and. sound mushrooms make a good salad 
 uncooked. Many of our best-knoAvn old-time flowers 
 and garden plants offer a basis for delicious salads. 
 In city markets during the spring and summer there 
 is an abundance of fresh green salads; water-cress sells 
 for ten cents a quart, dandelion and sorrel for five 
 cents, chiccory, escarole, corn-salad, and lettuce for 
 about five cents, and chives for the same price for a 
 bunch with a little soil attached; the chives can be 
 planted and repeatedly cut as required, one bunch af- 
 fording enough for ordinary use during the entire sea- 
 son. Where dandelion plants grow upon lawns and 
 terraces, if each one can be covered with earth and 
 blanched for about two weeks the leaves will be sweet, 
 tender, and delicately colored. A mixture of mustard 
 and garden-cress seed can be planted in a window box, 
 and cut repeatedly for salads. Young beet leaves, 
 carefully washed and served v>dth French dressing, are 
 very good either alone or in combination with lettuce. 
 Note in passing that this has classic prestige, for it was 
 a favorite salad with Grecian epicures. When the 
 leaves are larger they are excellent cooked in salted 
 boiling water only until tender, then drained and served 
 hot with salt, pepper, butter, and vinegar, or cold with 
 plain French dressing. Still later in the season, when 
 the midrib, or stalk, is quite large, the leaf j^art can be 
 strijjped away and cooked as above, and the stalks tied 
 in little bunches and boiled and served like asparagus. 
 
J 28 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 The white beet has been cultivated in Europe for sev- 
 eral centuries for such use, the midribs being called 
 chards. The leaf -stalk of the cardoon, a sort of this- 
 tle, is used in the same way, but it is not cultivated 
 for market in this country. Even the common thistle 
 can be used for salad; the needle-like spines or prickles 
 must be shaved off, and the tender bottom of the flower 
 head peeled; this part is like the /ond of the artichoke. 
 Like the globe artichoke, which it resembles, the bot- 
 tom of the blossom, the fo^id, is used for salad and as 
 a vegetable with sauce; the tend.er fonds of cardoons 
 and artichokes are eaten raw in salads. 
 
 Kohl-rabi, or turnip-rooted cabbage, is a vegetable 
 which has become familiar in markets supplied by 
 German gardeners. The root is boiled both for salad 
 and as a vegetable, but as a rule no use is made of the 
 leaves; they resemble sprouts in flavor when cooked 
 similarly; the leaf and leaf -stalk should be cooked 
 separately, like mature beet leaves. Very tender kohl- 
 rabi is eaten uncooked in salad. Turnip-rooted celery, 
 or celeriac, is excellent in salad, a few of the leaves 
 chopped, uncooked, and mixed with the root boiled 
 and sliced; the uncooked leaves are used in soups and 
 force-meats. Artichoke bottoms, when used uncooked 
 for salads, are sliced so that a leaf is attached to each 
 portion to serve for holding it while dipping it in the 
 dressing preparatory to eating it. Uncooked kohl- 
 rabi and celeriac are sliced for salads; when any of 
 these three vegetables are boiled for salads they are 
 cut in small dice, boiled only until tender, and then 
 drained and cooled. Parsley or any of the fresh 
 sweet herbs can be used as a garnish for any of these 
 salads. 
 
 Rampion, the long radish-shaped root of the Cam- 
 
MUSHROOMS AND SALAD-PLANTS. 
 
 129 
 
 panula rapuncidus^ a pretty garden bluebell, makes a 
 good salad; the leaves are as available as the root, 
 which somewhat resembles a white radish, but is more 
 nutty in flavor; the root can be scraped and washed, 
 and eaten, like the radish, with salt. The German 
 rampion, or evening primrose, has roots which can be 
 similarly used as a salad. Other garden plants suita- 
 ble for salads are rape, which, like garden cress and 
 mustard, is eaten in the seed leaf, and has a warm, 
 aromatic taste; the young shoots of the horseradish 
 plants, blanched for several days, make good salad; 
 burnet, or pimpernel, which is similar in taste, and the 
 bruised leaves of which have the odor of cucumber, 
 which is credited by the Italians with making a salad 
 both good and beautiful : 
 
 " L' insalata non 5 buona ne hella 
 Ove non e la pimpinella;" 
 
 borage, which has the same cucumber odor, abundant 
 in nitre, the blue-and- white flowers of which "give 
 courage," and beautify a salad of lettuce and nastur- 
 tium; fennel, which crowned the gladiator of old, and 
 was favored by Bacchus; rocket, with its orange fla- 
 vor; sweet woodruff or icaldmeiste7\ so dear to the 
 lovers of " Mai trank," the dried leaves of which make 
 a delicious tea; tarragon, with its odor of new-mown 
 hay and its terrible name of dragon's-wort, which Si- 
 beria gave to an appreciative culinary world three 
 centuries ago; purslane, a friend in the guise of a gar- 
 den pest, for, besides making a good salad, in the ten- 
 der stage it gives an excellent dish of greens; hyssop, 
 with its thymy odor and varicolored blossoms; lovage, 
 like a warm and pungent celery; oxalis, the herb of 
 St. Julien, the veritable shamrock, with its lovely rosy 
 9 
 
130 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 blossoms set in tender green, most delicate of flower 
 salads; the young shoots of costmary; and in the 
 fields and brooks marsh-mallow, cowslip, or marsh- 
 marigold, which our pretty girls honor with a place in 
 their belts in early spring; brooklime, with its azure 
 flowers and dark-green leaves, as good a salad as the 
 water-cress beside which it grows; Solomon's seal, with 
 its healing roots, the first sprouts of milkweed and bur- 
 dock, young fern leaves, the early growths of common 
 red-sorrel, and even the humble chickweed, extend the 
 list of field salads; samphire, whose wild habitat half- 
 way down the cliff of Albion gave the samphire gath- 
 erer his " dreadful trade " ; and all the mint family, 
 wild and tame, without which the most pronounced of 
 spring lambs would not know himself. Truly the tribe 
 of field and garden salads is named legion, from dahlia 
 petals and masturtium flowers to the sweet pot-herbs, 
 with parsley at their head, which stays so long in the 
 ground that superstitious gardeners say it has time to 
 go nine times to the devil and come back before it 
 sprouts. 
 
 The country liver need never be without a salad if 
 he will but use his eyes. Even the despised tansy, 
 finely chopped and judiciously sprinkled over a green 
 salad, provokes the appetite. Let the culinary St. 
 Thomas try with his next roast of lamb or veal a salad 
 of marsh-mallow, mint, and chives, carefully washed 
 and dried, and dressed with salt, pepper, oil, and vine- 
 gar; or one of tender spinach and sorrel leaves, com- 
 bined with hard-boiled eggs and the plain salad dress- 
 ing; or one of parsley and chopped pepper-grass or 
 horseradish tufts, and oil and vinegar, with his ham; 
 or the wdiite part of leeks, or chives with rampions or 
 radishes, and oil and vinegar; or freshly sprung mush- 
 
MUSHROOMS AND SALAD-PLANTS. 
 
 131 
 
 rooms, with oil and vinegar or lemon juice, and a 
 chopped garden pepper. Elder shoots, when they first 
 appear, are good; as they grow a little they can be 
 cooked like asparagus; the green buds salted are a 
 substitute for capers; and even the flowers are made 
 into pancakes. Elderberry wine is too well known to 
 need recalling to country-bred folks. 
 
 The Italian method of dishing a salad of herbs is to 
 arrange each variety in an acute triangle, with the 
 apex towards the centre of the dish, and the base at 
 the edge, the very centre being a grouj) of flowers, or 
 chopped red pepper, or hard-boiled egg, or grated beet- 
 root — any spot of vivid contrasting color; the dressing 
 is salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar. 
 
 While the larger garden salads are only available 
 in the country, the seed leaves, such as mustard, cress, 
 burnet, borage, can be raised by strewing the seeds on 
 a flannel or sponge wet with lukewarm water, or in 
 window boxes, or pots kept in a warm place. All the 
 salad and pot herbs can be cultivated in this unpre- 
 tentious way, parsley, above all, furnishing a perennial 
 resource for flavoring and garnishes. 
 
 The roots of parsley, planted in a box or tub, can be 
 kept in the cellar during the entire winter, if no frost 
 reaches them. If the keepers of boarding-houses and 
 country hotels realized how greatly parsley adds to 
 the enjoyment of many dishes, besides improving their 
 appearance when used simply as a garnish, they would 
 use it habitually. It can be raised from seed with but 
 little trouble. 
 
132 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SALADS WITH MAYONNAISE. 
 
 Certain favorite salads demand a mayonnaise in 
 addition to the plain dressing of salt, pepper, oil, and 
 vinegar. They come quite within our financial limit 
 if made when there is some small portion of poultry, 
 veal, or fish to be disposed of; the best fish salad is a 
 salmon mayonnaise, although any other sweet and 
 firm-fleshed fish may be similarly served. Lobster, 
 crawfish, and crabs are the best for salads when fresh- 
 ly boiled. But most acceptable to the American pal- 
 ate is chicken salad. This is not always well made, 
 even on our best tables, unless the housewife has ab- 
 sorbed one bit of foreign culinary lore — the cutting of 
 the chicken in pieces about half an inch square, after 
 freeing it entirely from skin and bone, instead of mak- 
 ing a hash of the meat Avhich cannot be distinguished 
 from minced veal or fresh pork — two meats which are 
 sometimes substituted for chicken at questionable 
 tables; pork salad and veal salad are both excellent 
 if well made and properly designated. Another point 
 to be remembered is the prej^aration of the salad vege- 
 table. This is generally either celery or lettuce, but 
 escarole may be used, and even the very tender white 
 leaves of uncooked cabbage when there is no other 
 salad vegetable available. The celery is to be care- 
 fully washed, scraped, and cut in small pieces, but not 
 chopped fine; the lettuce is to be washed, dried on a 
 
SALADS WITH MAYONNAISE. 
 
 133 
 
 clean towel, and torn with the fingers, not cut with a 
 knife. If lettuce is used, the salad must not be put to- 
 gether until time for serving it, because the lettuce wilts 
 after coming in contact with the vinegar of the salad 
 dressing. Two dressings are used — one, the plain salad 
 dressing of one third as much vinegar as oil, and a pal- 
 atable addition of salt and pepper, sufficient in quanti- 
 ty to moisten the chicken and celery, which are used 
 in about equal proportions, laid in the centre of the 
 salad dish and pressed in the form of a mound with a 
 smooth surface ; the mayonnaise is thickly spread 
 upon this surface ; the salad decorated with the small 
 leaves of lettuce or celery, and, according to taste, with 
 hard-boiled eggs, olives, capers, slices of boiled red 
 beet, and pickled peppers or gherkins. On no account 
 is the inayonnaise to be mixed with the rest of the 
 salad until it is served ; and the salad should be kept 
 in a very cool place after it is prepared: always bear 
 in mind the fact that lettuce wilts very soon after it is 
 dressed. 
 
 The French raayonnaise is made without mustard. 
 As this dressing is sometinies troublesome to novices, 
 we shall give it additional space hereafter, being con- 
 tent now simply to outline its preparation. To make 
 it, put into a deep bowl an even teaspoonful of salt, a 
 quarter of a saltspoonf ul of pepper, a dust of Cayenne, 
 the yolk of a raw Qg^^ and a teaspoonful of vinegar or 
 lemon juice; mix these ingredients to a cream, and 
 then add good salad-oil, drop by drop, stirring constant- 
 ly, until a thick paste is formed ; then stir in vinegar or 
 lemon juice, drop by drop, until the mayonnaise is 
 again liquid ; oil should then be added as before, and 
 more vinegar when the mayonnaise thickens, until the 
 desired quantity is made, the proportion being pre- 
 
134 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 served of about three times as much oil as vinegar. 
 The mayonnaise, when done, should be thick enough 
 to spread upon the surface of the salad. The possible 
 difficulties in making this delicious salad dressing will 
 be considered, because, although it is expensive, but 
 little of it is required for any salad except chicken, 
 and it is incomparable in its Avay. Lobster and sal- 
 mon mayooinaise are made in the same way, except that 
 lettuce is always used for these salads. 
 
 The service of acid fruit with mayonnaise is grow- 
 ing in favor; its combination with ripe, uncooked to- 
 matoes is almost universal, and it can be as acceptably 
 served with water and muskmelons and other subacid 
 fruit. The combination may seem peculiar at first 
 thought, but it is worthy of consideration, as is the 
 use of the plain French salad dressing with such fruit 
 as tart apples peeled and sliced, firm sour peaches, and 
 pears not quite ripe. Juicy lemons sliced thin, served 
 with lettuce, oil, salt, and cayenne, make a refreshing 
 salad. Grape fruit, which is less sour than lemons, 
 and slightly bitter, makes a tonic salad, with mayon- 
 naise or oil ; if laid overnight in sugar it is a most 
 refreshing and appetizing breakfast dish; every par- 
 ticle of rind and white inner membrane must be re- 
 moved before the grape fruit is dressed either with oil 
 or sugar. 
 
 A delicious spring salad for the lovers of onions is 
 a combination of tart apples peeled and sliced, with 
 young green onions chopped, and plain salad dressing. 
 The salad of tart apples, sliced lemon, oil, salt, and 
 cayenne is good with cold roast or boiled meats. The 
 young onions, with unripe currants or gooseberries 
 and plain salad dressing, are excellent with salt mack- 
 erel boiled or broiled for a breakfast dish. Later in 
 
SALADS WITH MAYONNAISE. 
 
 135 
 
 the year ripe currants or barberries, witb young onions, 
 sliced cucumbers, or lettuce, and plain dressing, are re- 
 freshing and wholesome. Acid plums are good with 
 tnayonnaise, and the large red sour cherry called Mo- 
 rella is delicious. 
 
 With the exception of the orange salad, which is ex- 
 cellent w^ith broiled poultry or game birds, fruit salads 
 with oil are more suitable for breakfast and luncheon 
 than for dinner, although some of the acid-fruit sal- 
 ads with sugar may replace the Roman punch at din- 
 ner. For this service any of the following fruits are 
 suggested: grape fruit or lemons entirely freed from 
 white membrane and skin, cut or torn in small mouth- 
 fuls, and laid in powdered sugar on ice for tw^o or three 
 hours; sour white plums or large Morella cherries, 
 stoned and laid in powdered sugar; or, most refreshing 
 of all, subacid pineapple, peeled, torn from the core 
 with a silver fork, dusted W' ith powdered sugar, and 
 served at once. 
 
 Pineapples should alw^ays be kept in a cold place, 
 and used before they soften to the point of decay. In 
 the Indies care is taken not to slice the fruit with the 
 same knife used for cutting the rind; the reason has 
 been given in an English medical journal that the rind 
 contains an acrid element so pow^erful as to affect 
 the mucous membrane to an irritating degree. Salted 
 water held in the mouth for a moment will allay this 
 irritation to a degree, even if it does not prove entirely 
 palliative. We who have been bitten by its kisses 
 might do well to test this assertion, and all should 
 mark the difference in the flavor of pineapples cut 
 with steel and silver knives. Now that the pineap- 
 ple, like the orange, has become so abundant in North- 
 ern markets, it deserves the attention of the econom- 
 
136 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 ical housekeeper; and a little later some good recipes 
 will be given for using it. Meantime its use at dinner, 
 when the appetite requires a slight incentive, is sug- 
 gested: the single flavor of the fruit without sugar or 
 other dressing is most refreshing; if the fruit is very 
 sweet, a glass of sherry thrown over it at the moment 
 of serving will prevent any cloying tendency. Direct- 
 ly after the fish there may be a service of fresh pine- 
 apple or melon, very cold, as a salad among the relishes. 
 Of course this use of the pineapple is intended for the 
 season when the fruit is sold, as it is in New York, for 
 about ten cents; the plump, juicy strawberry pineapple 
 is best for this service; the more expensive sugar-loaf 
 is sweeter and more in place as a dessert fruit. Sherry 
 or claret may be added to any of the fruit salads. 
 
 The foregoing directions would seem clear enough 
 to insure success in making mayo7inaise, but it may 
 be well to specify some of its difficulties and their 
 remedy. Several conditions which may cause partial 
 or entire failure may be avoided with a little fore- 
 thought. The so-called " breaking " or " curdling " of 
 the mayonnaise is caused by the failure of the oil and 
 vinegar to blend thoroughly from the outset, or by 
 their separation after the dressing is partly made. 
 The temperature of the atmosphere may occasion this, 
 w^hen it is too high, or an improper proportion of oil 
 and acid, or careless mixing, will have like effect. The 
 first cause of failure, heat, may be avoided by placing 
 the bowl in which the dressing is to be made in a pan 
 of pounded ice; or, failing that, of water containing salt 
 enough to lower its temperature decidedly; the ad- 
 ditional precaution may be taken of keeping all the 
 ingredients for the dressing in the coldest available 
 place. No ordinary degree of cold w^ill injure either 
 
SALADS WITH MAYONNAISE. i^^j 
 
 oil, eggs, lemons, or vinegar, from which mayonnaise 
 is made. If these ingredients are cold, and the process 
 already given for making the dressing is followed pre- 
 cisely, and the dressing breaks despite the care taken, 
 the oil and vinegar are probably not mingled in the 
 right proj^ortion; the possible breaking of the dressing 
 is indicated when the gradual addition of oil does not 
 thicken it; sometimes at this stage the judicious use 
 of vinegar, a few drops at once, and continued stirring 
 without the addition of more oil, will restore the creamy 
 consistency. But if the division of the particles of the 
 dressing becomes marked by a granular or curd-like 
 appearance, time and Jabor will be saved by ceasing 
 the operation at once, and beginning to make another 
 dressing. Do this by putting into a clean cold bowl 
 half an even teaspoonf ul of salt, the yolk of a raw egg, 
 and a- dust of cayenne; mix these ingredients to a 
 cream, add oil and vinegar drop by drop, first using 
 the oil until a thick paste is formed, and then slightly 
 thinning it with vinegar, and again thickening it with 
 oil: at this stage slowly add the curdled dressing, a 
 few drops at once, stirring it constantly; this addition 
 must be made very carefully, and more fresh oil or 
 vinegar alternated with the curdled dressing, accord- 
 ing as either ingredient has been omitted from it. The 
 proper proportion is about three times as much oil as 
 vinegar, and it is always well to measure them before 
 commencing to make the dressing. If the dressing 
 breaks a second time, as it sometimes will in hot 
 weather, there is nothing to be done but to cool all the 
 ingredients and begin again. Kever put the broken or 
 curdled dressing aside as useless; a couple of hours' rest 
 in a cold place will restore to the oil sufficient body to 
 thicken the dressing. One hot summer day a jar of 
 
138 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 dressing had been promised to a friend in time for the 
 afternoon sailing of the Cornwall boat; of course the 
 old adage verified itself, " The more haste the less 
 speed"; one, tvro, three attempts' were failures, until 
 a fresh bottle of cold oil gave satisfactory results. 
 The failures were hurried ignominiously into one bowl, 
 which was put into the refrigerator. Upon the return 
 from the boat landing they were inspected, and found 
 to have righted themselves; a solid mayonnaise was 
 ready for the dish of fresh sliced tomatoes that is such 
 an accej^table accompaniment to a summer dinner. 
 
 Some persons dislike the idea of using the right pro- 
 portion of oil for a mayonnaise; to them may be sug- 
 gested two ways of making a substitute for the dress- 
 ing, which were learned from one of the chefs employed 
 at the school of cookery ; as both are palatable and in- 
 expensive, they are commended to our readers. Half 
 a pint of cold asjoic jelly, or of consomme or bouillon 
 containing enough of the gelatinous substance of the 
 bones used in making it to be as thick as wine jelly 
 when cold, is to be warmed until slightly liquid ; then 
 the raw yolk of an Q^^, a palatable seasoning of salt, 
 pepper and vinegar, and a gill or less of oil, are thor- 
 oughly mixed with the melted jelly, until a dressing 
 is made, of the right flavor and of thick, creamy con- 
 sistency. When there is no meat jelly or consomme 
 on hand, enough dissolved gelatine may be used to pro- 
 duce the proper consistency; but little will be required, 
 the fact being remembered that the ordinary package 
 of gelatine makes about two quarts of wine jelly. 
 The second process is to make a thin white sauce, 
 which when cold shall be about the consistency of 
 mayonnaise; about a heaping teaspoonful of flour will 
 thicken a pint of water; put the flour into a saucepan 
 
SALADS WITH MAYONNAISE. I39 
 
 with a tablespoonf ul of butter, and stir them until they 
 begin to bubble; then gradually stir in a pint of boiling 
 water; if the sauce is carefully made it will not need 
 to be strained ; let it boil, season it j^alatably with salt, 
 white pepper, and cayenne; take it off the fire, stir 
 in the yolk of a raw egg, and two tablespoonfuls of 
 vinegar or lemon juice; when the sauce is nearly 
 cold stir in six tablespoonfuls of olive-oil ; the sauce, 
 when cold, should be as thick as inayo7inaise, perfect- 
 ly smooth, of a light yellow color and pleasantly acid 
 flavor. Some discretion is necessary in the use of the 
 flour, because, as housekeepers know, flour containing 
 raiuch gluten thickens more than that which has an ex- 
 cess of starch ; for this reason it is w^ell to allow the 
 sauce to become nearly cold before adding the oil; 
 then, if it is too thick, a little boiling w^ater beaten into 
 it W'ill make it of the right consistency before the oil 
 is stirred into it. 
 
 If people would only think a little, they w^ould real- 
 ize that a vegetable fat like olive-oil must necessarily 
 be purer than any animal fat can be; they object to 
 the use of salad-oil, and constantly use butter, lard, 
 and oleomargarine, any one of which may contain the 
 germs of disease. The objection may be made that 
 pure olive-oil cannot always be obtained. The chief 
 adulterations of salad-oil are by the substitution or 
 combination of peanut, cotton-seed, and mustard oils; 
 all these vegetable oils are innocuous, and, when not 
 rancid, they are sweet and nutritious. The adulter- 
 ation to be feared is the use of lard oil. The safety 
 here lies solely in the integrity of the wholesale dealer 
 in such supplies. In many instances local dealers, es- 
 pecially in small towns, have no i^ersonal knowledge 
 of the goods they sell. They accept any brand of 
 
140 FAMILY LIVING ON f500 A YEAR. 
 
 goods sent by their jobber. In the course of certain 
 far-away lesson-tours the assurance has been received 
 that no such goods existed as were called for, that 
 certain articles sold daily in such cities as New York 
 and Chicago were quite imaginary, and this assurance 
 was most gravely made. If an explanation were en- 
 tered upon, the dealer generally took refuge in the 
 statement that there was "no demand for such things," 
 In one recent experience in a Western city of some 
 forty thousand inhabitants this excuse of "no de- 
 mand" was made to do duty in response to a re- 
 monstrance concerning the quality of canned goods. 
 Only a poor grade was obtainable, and several grocers 
 gave as a reason the fact that there was no call for a 
 better quality of goods, and that housekeepers refused 
 to pay the price of first-class goods. If this were 
 true, those very housekeepers would do well to inform 
 themselves as to the actual physical effect of low- 
 grade or inferior goods, especially if they are pre- 
 served in tin, and of adulterated or " sophisticated " 
 articles of food. 
 
 To return to the question of mayonnaise: Olive-oil 
 is one of the most important of fats, so wholesome that 
 it becomes invaluable in cases of impaired or deficient 
 nutrition. As this effect of oil will be treated fully in 
 the work devoted to sanitary living, it may suflice 
 to say here that a mayonnaise made according to the 
 recipe in which the full proportion of oil is used is an 
 incomparable food for consumjjtives and for children 
 whose nutrition is imperfect. Although contrary to 
 epicurean usage, it may be eaten with any green salad, 
 such as lettuce, celery, escarole, tender white cabbage, 
 fresh tomatoes, acid oranges and grape fruit, sour ap- 
 ples, and any acid fruit. A favorite Cuban salad is 
 
SALADS WITH MAYONNAISE. 
 
 141 
 
 alligator pear with mayonnaise. Watermelon and 
 firm subacid rauskmelon make a delicious salad with 
 mayonnaise. Some persons become so pleased with 
 its flavor that they eat it spread upon crackers or bread 
 in lieu of butter. It makes an acceptable sauce for 
 boiled asparagus, the vegetable, either hot or cold, 
 being drained, and served uj)on toast or on a folded 
 napkin. Mayonnaise should be one of the staple foods 
 of consumptives and delicate children. 
 
142 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PICKLES. 
 
 Late summer and early autumn offer a great variety 
 of immature fruit and green vegetables for pickling; 
 peaches, citron-melons, large cucumbers, small green 
 tomatoes, green grapes, small green muskmelons, 
 watermelons, quinces, and pumpkins are generally 
 used for sweet or spiced pickles ; and the various 
 gherkins, button onions, martinoes, green beans, cab- 
 bage, cauliflowers, and tomatoes, both ripe and green, 
 afford abundant material for sour pickles. 
 
 Small ears of corn in which the cob is still tender 
 may be pickled like cucumbers; sweet-corn can be 
 salted in brine for winter use, first boiling and skim- 
 ming the brine, and then immersing the corn in it 
 after it is cold; aflat stone should be used to keep the 
 corn under the brine, and before it is used it should be 
 freshened to a palatable degree by soaking in fresh 
 water; the brine should contain all the salt it Avill 
 absorb. String-beans, asparagus, and egg-plant may 
 be similarly kept in brine for winter use. Corn, beans 
 of all kinds, fresh pease, and okra are excellent for 
 canning. 
 
 Green tomatoes enter largely into chow-chow and 
 the stufiing for green peppers; a recipe for stewing 
 them has been given; they can be sweetened and 
 spiced to use as a table sauce, or pickled as follows, 
 with onions : To prepare the pickle of tomatoes and 
 
PICKLES. 
 
 143 
 
 onions, wash the green tomatoes and slice them; peel 
 and slice an equal measure of white onions; for each 
 gallon of these vegetables wash or peel and slice four 
 green peppers; put the different vegetables in separate 
 wooden or earthen vessels with a liberal sprinkling of 
 salt, and let them stand overnight; the next day drain 
 off the brine which has formed; add to each gallon of 
 the pickle a cupful of brown sugar and a heaping 
 tablespoonful of unground cloves, mace, and allspice, 
 mixed in equal quantities; put the pickle into earthen 
 jars, cover it with cold vinegar, and keep it in a cool, 
 dark place. To make a sweet pickle of green toma- 
 toes, wash and slice them; add to each pound a quar- 
 ter of a pound of brown sugar and a lemon sliced, a 
 palatable seasoning of salt, pepper, and mixed ground 
 spice, and stew them to a pulp over a gentle fire, tak- 
 ing care that they are stirred frequently enough to 
 prevent burning; when the pickle is done, cool it, 
 and put it up in glass jars; it may be used as a table 
 sauce or for pies. To prepare a tomato paste for 
 flavoring sauces and macaroni, wash and slice a peck 
 of ripe tomatoes, two large carrots, and two medium- 
 sized onions; put them over a gentle fire in the pre- 
 serving kettle with a small stick of fine cinnamon, a 
 teaspoonful each of whole cloves and peppercorns, 
 an entire plant of celery washed and sliced — stalk, 
 leaves, and root — and a level tablespoonful of salt; boil 
 the vegetables slowly until they are soft enough to be 
 rubbed through a sieve with a potato-masher; return 
 the pulp thus made to tlie fire and again boil it, with 
 frequent stirring to prevent burning, until a little 
 cooled upon a plate is as thick as jelly; then remove 
 it from the fire, spread it about half an inch thick on 
 earthen plates, and place it in a cool oven or in the 
 
144 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 sun, protected from dust, to dry thoroughly. When 
 quite dry the tomato paste may be cut in convenient 
 pieces, and packed in wooden boxes with white paper 
 between the layers. Two or three inches of this paste 
 boiled with a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, 
 a pint of boiling water, and a palatable seasoning of 
 salt and pepper make a good tomato sauce. The ad- 
 dition of parsley, mace, bay-leaf, and a little garlic 
 or onion to each peck of the tomatoes improves the 
 flavor of the sauce. 
 
 Although some objections are made to onions be- 
 cause of their odor, they make one of the most whole- 
 some pickles for those who can digest them, and they 
 may be made most easily: the onions are to be peeled 
 Avithout cutting the tops and roots closely enough to 
 break them apart, and soaked for twenty-four hours in 
 strongly salted water; then they should be wiped with 
 a clean soft cloth and put in glass jars with a few 
 red peppers; one jar should be flUed with vinegar, 
 the quantity measured, and enough allowed for all the 
 jars; to each quart of vinegar add a heaping teaspoon- 
 ful of whole spices mixed; scald the vinegar with the 
 spices, and cool it; put it into the jars, distributing 
 the spices through the jars; the second and third days 
 scald the vinegar, cool it, and pour it into the jars 
 again, sealing them air-tight on the third day. An 
 old-fashioned mixed pickle, called oil pickle, contains 
 onions, a quart being alloAved to a dozen medium-sized 
 cucumbers. Wash both vegetables, peel and slice the 
 onions, and slice the cucumbers across a quarter of an 
 inch thick; sprinkle them liberally with salt, and let 
 them stand half a day; drain them, add to each gal- 
 lon one ounce each of whole cloves and allspice, and 
 put the pickle into glass jars; mix together four ounces 
 
PICKLES. 145 
 
 of ground mustard, four teaspoonfuls of pepper, and 
 half a pint of good salad-oil, and divide the mixture 
 among the jars; pour into each jar enough cold vin- 
 egar to cover the pickles, and then seal the jars. 
 
 Gherkins, or small cucumbers, are pickled as fol- 
 lows: wash them in cold water, and pack them in 
 wooden tubs or earthen jars; dissolve salt in cold 
 water, using all the salt that the water will receive, 
 and then pat the brine thus formed over the fire to 
 boil; remove all scum as it rises, and when the brine 
 is clear, strain and cool it; it should be salt enough to 
 float a raw egg ; when the brine is cold cover the 
 pickles with it, lay a wooden cover over them weighted 
 with a stone, and let them stand about ten days; re- 
 ject the soft ^Dickies at the end of that time, soak the 
 others for two days in cold water, changing the water 
 twice, and then wipe them with a soft cloth and put 
 them into smaller tubs or jars; allow a tablesj^oonful 
 of whole mixed spices to each quart of pickles, and 
 vinegar enough to cover them; scald the spices with 
 the vinegar, and cool it before pouring it upon the 
 gherkins; then close them from the air. If a green 
 color is desired, proceed as follows: after the gher- 
 kins are first salted and then freshened and wiped 
 dry, put them into a preserving kettle with layers of 
 grape or green cabbage leaves, pour over them enough 
 cold water to cover them, make the kettle as near 
 steam-tight as possible by putting a cloth under the 
 cover, and slowly heat and scald the gherkins until 
 they steam freely; examine them to see if they are 
 green enough; if not, put in more leaves and continue 
 the scalding; the pickles must not be allowed to boil, 
 lest they become soft. After the scalding is done, 
 cool the pickles, and then pack them in tubs or jars; 
 10 
 
146 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the addition of a piece of alum about a quarter of an 
 inch square to a gallon of pickles will harden them 
 without injury. 
 
 Martinoes or martynias, which are favorite vegeta- 
 bles for pickling, are treated as follows: the pods, which 
 somewhat resemble okra, are washed in cold water, 
 wiped dry, put into a wooden tub, and covered with 
 cold brine made of water to each quart of which a 
 cupful of salt is added, the brine being boiled and 
 skimmed clear; after the martinoes have been salted 
 thus for two days, vinegar enough to cover them is 
 scalded with any spice and seasonings preferred, and 
 poured hot upon the martinoes; after they are cold 
 they are protected from the dust, and kept about two 
 weeks before they are used. 
 
 The large cucumbers w^hich are marketed in the fall, 
 or the last immature crop, may be utilized in the form 
 of catsup. Peel the cucumbers, scrape out the seeds, 
 grate them in a coarse grater, and squeeze away all 
 possible moisture; to fifty large cucumbers allow four 
 large onions, which must also be peeled and grated; 
 with these ingredients mix an ounce of celery seed, a 
 heaping teaspoonf ul of pepper, a tablespoonful of salt, 
 half a pint of salad oil, and enough cold vinegar to 
 make a catsup of ordinary thickness; season it highly 
 with salt and cayenne, and put it up in air-tight jars 
 or bottles. 
 
 To make red cabbage pickle, trim the defective 
 leaves from a sound cabbage, shave it thin and sprinkle 
 salt through it, allowing half a cupful to each small 
 cabbage; leave it in the salt for a day or two; then 
 drain it, and put it in earthen jars; half a cupful of 
 whole mixed spice and a red beet sliced should be dis- 
 tributed among each cabbage; over all pour enough 
 
PICKLES. 147 
 
 scalding hot vinegar to reach above the cabbage; when 
 it cools, close it from the air. Another way is to let 
 it stand one day in salt, another day in cold vinegar, 
 and on the third day to cover it with vinegar scalded 
 with whole spice and sugar; in about a month the 
 pickle is ready for use. 
 
 Green peppers are pickled as follows: soak them 
 overnight in salted water; cut off the stem ends and 
 scoop out the seeds; for two dozen, peel and chop a 
 pint of white onions, six large cucumbers, and a head 
 of celery; mix with them a teaspoonful each of whole 
 cloves, allsjDice, and pej^percorns, a level dessertspoon- 
 ful of pepper, a gill of salad-oil, and enough vinegar 
 to moisten them; stuff the peppers, put in the stem 
 ends, and tie them securely; pack the stuffed peppers 
 in wooden tubs or stone jars, cover them with scald- 
 ing hot vinegar, and keep them in a cool place. The 
 various chow-chows contain green peppers in combi- 
 nation Avith other vegetables. Maryland chow-chow 
 is made by washing and slicing four quarts each of 
 onions and green tomatoes, four green peppers with the 
 seeds, and six dozen cucumbers; they are put in a 
 wooden tub in layers, with a pint each of salt and small 
 red i3eppers, and let stand overnight; the next day the 
 brine is drained off, and the salted vegetables are 
 boiled for half an hour in a porcelain kettle, with three 
 tablespoonfuls of mustard and an ounce of turmeric, 
 mixed with a cupful of cold water, half an ounce each 
 of whole cloves and peppercorns, an ounce each of cel- 
 ery seed, white mustard seed, whole mace, and grated 
 horseradish, two pounds of brown sugar, and enough 
 cold vinegar to cover all these ingredients; when the 
 pickle is cold, it is closed away from the air. The 
 Kentucky chow-chow consists of equal measures of 
 
248 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 wliite cabbage, green tomatoes, cucumbers, and green 
 peppers, all washed and sliced thin; to four quarts of 
 each of these vegetables a pint each of small red pep- 
 pers and salt is allowed, together with an ounce each of 
 mace, peppercorns, and mustard seed, and half an ounce 
 each of celery seed, cloves, and grated horseradish; 
 all these ingredients are covered with cold vinegar, 
 heated, and boiled together for half an hour; then they 
 are cooled, and put up air-tight in glass or stone jars. 
 
 In the South ripe muskmelons, which are abundant 
 all over the country in late summer, are made into pick- 
 les both sweet and sour, and into mangoes. For large 
 green muskmelons, cut them in quarters or eighths, 
 pare them carefully, take out the seeds, cover them 
 with cold vinegar, and let them stand overnight; the 
 next morning measure the vinegar, allow half a pound 
 of sugar to each pint, and boil them together with half 
 an ounce of whole mixed spices to each quart of syrup 
 until it begins to thicken; then boil the melon in the 
 syrup until it begins to look clear; at that point put it 
 into jars, boil the syrup until it thickens again, and 
 pour it over the melons. Put them up like preserves. 
 
 To make a pickle of small melons, wash them thor- 
 oughly, cut them in halves, remove the seeds, but do 
 not peel them ; w^eigh the melons without the seeds, and 
 allow one third their weight of sugar; dissolve an 
 ounce of alum in four quarts of water, and boil the 
 melons in it for fifteen minutes; boil the sugar with 
 vinegar, a pint to a pound; add to this quantity half 
 an ounce of whole mixed spice, and when the syrup be- 
 gins to thicken transfer the melon to it, and boil it until 
 it looks clear; then finish it according to the preceding 
 recipe. For mangoes, use small ripe muskmelons; 
 wash them with a brush, cut out a small circular piece 
 
PICKLES. 149 
 
 around the stem, saving it, and remove the seeds 
 through this aperture with a small teaspoon ; measure 
 cold water enough to cover them, dissolve in it all the 
 salt it will contain, and boil and skim it clear; when 
 this brine is cold, pour it over the melons, and let them 
 stand for a week. For a dozen melons allow two green 
 peppers, one onion, four cucumbers, an ounce each of 
 grated horseradish, mustard and celery seed, and mixed 
 cloves, allspice, and mace, a pound of brown sugar, 
 and enough salad-oil to moisten all these ingredients; 
 if there is not enough to fill the melons, add a little 
 chopped cauliflower or white cabbage; fill the melons, 
 replace the stem ends, and tie them in place with cord. 
 Pack the melons in a wooden tub, or jar, and cover 
 them with boiling vinegar; keep them closed from the 
 air. 
 
 Green mangoes are prepared by salting in brine for 
 a week, then simmering in vinegar for half an hour, 
 and after that stufting them much in the same way 
 as the ripe melons, and keeping them in vinegar like 
 other pickles. 
 
 Spiced peaches are prepared by brushing the skins, 
 sticking six or eight whole cloves in each, and then 
 covering them with cold vinegar; if any mould shows, 
 the vinegar is to be scalded, and again poured over 
 the peaches, which are to be kept cool. Sweet pickled 
 peaches may be left uncut, or the stones may be removed 
 from the halves; brush off the fur, or peel them, and 
 then weigh them; allow half their weight of sugar, 
 a quart of vinegar, and a heaping tablespoonful of 
 whole spice to each pound of sugar; boil the sugar 
 and vinegar together, removing all scum as it rises; 
 when the syrup is clear, put in as many peaches as 
 will float, and boil them until they begin to soften. 
 
150 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 then skim them out; when all the peaches are boiled 
 put in the spice, and boil the syrup until it thickens; 
 put the peaches in jars, pour the hot syrup over them, 
 and when they are cold seal them air-tight. 
 
 Peach mangoes are made from sound, firm fruit. 
 Brush the fur, and soak the peaches overnight in cold 
 water containing as much salt as it will dissolve; the 
 next day cut out the stones, laying the peaches in vin- 
 egar and water, and then fill them with the follow- 
 ing mixture, allowing about one fourth of the bulk of 
 the peaches; one fourth each of grated horseradish, 
 mustard and celery seed, brown sugar, and minced 
 onion; season the mixture highly with whole or ground 
 cloves, mace, allspice, pepper, and salt; moisten it with 
 cold vinegar and salad-oil; a little turmeric may be 
 added if a yellow color is desired ; fill the peaches with 
 the stuffing, fit a j^iece of peach into the hole in the 
 skin, fastening it with a small wooden skewer, or tie 
 the peaches with stout thread; pack them in jars, cov- 
 er them with cold vinegar, pour a little salad-oil over 
 the surface, and keep them cool. The use of the oil 
 makes the mangoes keep w^ell. 
 
 Green grapes make a good table sauce or catsup. 
 Wash and stem them; to five pounds add sufficient 
 water to keep them from burning, and stew them 
 gently until they can be rubbed through a sieve with 
 a potato-masher to extract the seeds; return the pulp 
 thus made to the preserving-kettle; add these season- 
 ings to it: one tablespoonful each of ground cinnamon, 
 cloves, allspice, pepper, and salt, a pint of vinegar, and 
 two pounds of brown sugar, and boil the catsup until 
 it is as thick as other catsups; then cool it in the ket- 
 tle, and bottle and seal it. When both elderberries 
 and green grapes are obtainable, one fourth of the 
 
PICKLES. 25 J 
 
 grapes may be used with three fourths of the berries. 
 The grapes are to be squeezed from the skins — the lat- 
 ter being saved — and then stewed with the berries until 
 the seeds can be separated from the pulp by rubbing 
 through a sieve; the pulp, grape -skins, a cupful of 
 vinegar to five pounds, and sugar enough to sweeten 
 them, are then to be boiled gently until they begin to 
 thicken. The sauce may be used with meats, or for 
 making pies or puddings. Elderberries, ripe in mid- 
 summer, may be made into preserves, jellies, or wine. 
 
 During the summer limes and lemons are plentiful; 
 they make delicious sweet and spiced pickles. An 
 old colored cook's recipe for lemon pickle is as follows: 
 Chocse small, sound lemons, wipe them with a wet 
 cloth, and then rub them dry with a soft cloth; score 
 the skins several times without cutting into the pulp, 
 rub salt into the cuts, and pack the lemons side by side 
 in an earthen dish; let them stand in the brine for 
 several days in a cool place until the rinds begin to 
 grow tender, turning them two or three times a day. 
 When the rinds soften, pour the brine into a preserving- 
 kettle, after measuring it and adding an equal quanti- 
 ty of vinegar; to each quart of the mixture allow two 
 small cloves of garlic peeled and crushed, two ounces 
 of mustard seed, and half an ounce each of whole all- 
 spice and ginge^ root; boil and skim this pickle until 
 it is clear, and then cool it, and pour it over the lem- 
 ons, which should be packed in w^ood or glass. Limes 
 may be pickled in the same way, or as follows: Weigh 
 the limes, and weigh a double quantity of loaf-sugar; 
 wash the limes, then boil them in two or three waters 
 until the rinds- are tender enough to be easily pierced 
 with a straw, when they may be drained; meantime 
 melt the sugar with a gill of cold water to each pound. 
 
152 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 and boil and skim it until it is clear and forms a good 
 syrup; the limes may be cut or left whole, and boiled 
 in the syrup until they begin to look clear; after that 
 they are to be put up like other preserves. 
 
 For pickling plums use unripe or quite hard sound 
 fruit; those so immature that the stones have not yet 
 hardened are the best. Wash the plums in cold wa- 
 ter, wipe them off on a soft cloth, put them into glass 
 or earthen jars; cover one jarful with cold vinegar, 
 pour it out, measure it, and allow the same quantity 
 for each jar; scald the vinegar with any spice desired 
 and salt; a dessertspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful each 
 of mustard seed and unground pepper, and a table- 
 spoonful of whole spice, mixed, to each quart of vin- 
 egar, will give the plums a good flavor; skim the vin- 
 egar, and when it is hot pour it over the plums; let 
 the vinegar remain upon the plums overnight; the 
 next day again scald it and pour it over them. When 
 the pickled plums are quite cold, close the jars air- 
 tight. Ripe plums for pickling should be washed, 
 wiped dry, the skins pricked to prevent bursting, and 
 boiled for five minutes in a syrup made of sugar and 
 vinegar with the desired quantity of whole spice; the 
 syrup is then reduced to the proper consistency by 
 boiling, and used cold to put up the plums, like other 
 preserves. 
 
 To i^ickle pears choose the hard, green kind, which 
 are usually stewed or baked; wash them in cold water, 
 and wipe them. For two dozen pears allow one doz- 
 en button onions, which must be peeled without break- 
 ing; put both into a porcelain preserving-kettle with 
 three quarts of vinegar and a teaspoonful of salt, and 
 boil them steadily until the pears can be pierced with 
 a sharp knife, but are not at all broken, and then take 
 
TICKLES. 
 
 153 
 
 them out of the vinegar with a skimmer and lay them 
 on a sieve; put into the vinegar a tablespoonful each 
 of peppercorns and turmeric, a teaspoonful each of 
 whole cloves, mustard seed, coriander seed, and whole 
 allspice, six blades of mace, tv/o ounces of green gin- 
 ger root scalded and scraped, and two small cloves of 
 garlic; let the vinegar and spices boil together for 
 a few moments while the onions are being rubbed 
 through a sieve with a potato-masher, then put the 
 onion pulp with them, and continue the boiling while 
 the pears are being peeled, quartered, cored, and put 
 into jars; pour the hot vinegar and spices over them, 
 close the jars air-tight at once, and keep the pickles in 
 a cool, dark place. At any appearance of fermentation 
 scald the vinegar and pour it again upon the pickles. 
 
 Apples of firm substance make good pickles if they 
 are not boiled too long; sweet apples retain their form 
 best; they should be quartered and cored, not neces- 
 sarily peeled, and boiled until they look a little clear 
 in a syrup made of vinegar and sugar, spices being 
 used at discretion. Crab - apples make good pickles, 
 as well as excellent jelly and preserves. 
 
 Among pickles, pineapple will certainly be a novel- 
 ty to many. Peel and slice the fruit, put it in a deep 
 dish with whole cloves and cinnamon, an ounce of 
 each to about ten pounds; dissolve five pounds of 
 sugar in a quart of vinegar, and boil it; pour the 
 syrup scalding hot over the fruit, and let it stand 
 overnight; the two next days drain off and scald the 
 syrup and return it to the j^ineapple; on the third 
 day boil both fruit and syrup together for half an 
 hour, and then put the pickled pineapple up like other 
 preserves. 
 
154 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PRESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, AND FRUIT CORDIALS. 
 
 The process of canning fruits does not differ ma- 
 terially from that of canning vegetables, unless the 
 fruit is first scalded in syrup before it is put into the 
 jars, but it does not need to be boiled so long. For 
 berries, fifteen minute^ will be long enough; large 
 currants, cherries, and grapes, twenty minutes ; peach- 
 es, pears, plums, apples, and cut pineapples, about 
 twenty -five minutes; pineapples uncut, quinces, and 
 hard pears require about half an hour from the time 
 when the steam begins to escape freely. The fruit is 
 to be packed rather closely in jars, without sugar or 
 water, the jars set in racks in the boiler, or surrounded 
 with straw or hay, cold water enough added to reach 
 two thirds up the sides of the jars, and the cover of 
 the boiler made as nearly steam-tight as possible by 
 fitting it on over a cloth or rubber band. The boiler 
 is then to be put over the fire, and the boiling steadily 
 continued for the requisite length of time. For can- 
 ning fruit with sugar, make a syrup of the desired 
 sweetness, boil the fruit in it until it begins to look 
 transparent, but not until it breaks, and then transfer 
 it scalding hot to cans heated in hot water; fill the 
 cans to overflowing, and at once screw on the covers; 
 when the jars are cold, tighten the covers, and turn 
 the jars on the tops to make sure that they are per- 
 fectly tight. To fill the jars have ready by the pre- 
 
PKESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. 155 
 
 serving-kettle a pan in which to place the jars while 
 they are being filled, a ladle for the fruit, plenty of 
 towels for handling the jars, a silver spoon to run 
 down the side of each jar as it is filled, so that all the 
 air can escaj^e, and a pan of hot water for heating the 
 jars, so that the hot fruit may not cause them to crack. 
 Small jars are best, because the contents can be used 
 directly the jars are opened, thus lessening the chance 
 of spoiling. 
 
 The jars with j^orcelain or cork lined covers are 
 preferable, because no metal comes in contact with 
 the contents. The danger in this event is not that the 
 metal is likely to be received into the system to any 
 injurious extent, but that certain fruit or vegetable 
 acids form poisonous combinations with some metals 
 when both are exposed to the air, or their contact is 
 continued. This fact should be remembered Avhen a 
 metal preserving-kettle is used; it should be thorough- 
 ly scoured and washed just before using, and no pre- 
 serve or fruit should be allowed to remain in it unless 
 during cooking. A porcelain-lined kettle will admit 
 of letting the fruit stand in it with sugar overnight, 
 and the preserve may be allowed to cool in it. 
 
 The keeping of all preserves and jellies depends on 
 the proportion of sugar used or on their thorough 
 cooking; for instance, jellies must be boiled contin- 
 ously, loitJioiit an instcmfs cessation. The boiling 
 may be gentle enough to prevent burning, but if it 
 ceases even momentarily, the jelly may not thicken. 
 Another possible cause for the failure which some- 
 times occurs in making jelly may be the overripeness 
 of currants; they should be ripe and sound, not over- 
 ripe and watery. If they are picked in the early morn- 
 ing or in the evening of a fair day, when they are cool. 
 
156 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 they will keep longer while fresh, and be less likely 
 to spoil after they are preserved. The clearness of 
 jelly depends ujion the absolute separation of the juice 
 from the pulp of fruit by straining; if the flannel jel- 
 ly bag is dipped in hot water, and then wrung as dry 
 as possible, less fruit juice will be wasted in straining 
 than if the bag has first to become saturated Avith juice 
 before it can begin to run through. Some notable 
 housekeepers claim that jelly will be clearer if the 
 sugar used in making it is heated; this is done by 
 spreading the sugar on pans, and keeping it in a mod- 
 erate oven, stirring it occasionally, while the strained 
 fruit juice is being boiled steadily for twenty minutes. 
 The sugar is then stirred into the juice until it is 
 dissolved, and the jelly kept on the fire until it boils 
 again. Then the kettle is removed to the table, and 
 the jelly put into glasses dii3ped in hot water to pre- 
 vent breaking when the hot jelly is put into them; a 
 silver spoon put into the glass before filling it with 
 jelly serves to conduct the superfluous heat, and thus 
 prevents breaking. 
 
 All fruit should be ripe and sound for preserving, 
 not overripe and on the verge of decay. Perhaps one 
 cause of spoiling in canned fruit and vegetables is the 
 custom of sending them to the second-class canning 
 factories when there is a glut in the market, just as 
 poultry upon the point of tainting is turned over to 
 the canners to be washed with soda or otherwise 
 chemically restored before it is put up in cans. After 
 fruit is put up it should be watched; at the first sign 
 of fermentation it should be scalded. Either the jars 
 may be set in a kettle partly full of warm water, after 
 their tops are loosened, and their contents then heated 
 to the scalding-point, or the preserves may be turned out 
 
PRESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. 15*7 
 
 into a kettle aud so scalded; this is the least trouble- 
 some way, and is not attended with any chance of 
 breaking the jars. The jars are to be thoroughly 
 scalded, and the preserves then returned to them and 
 put up as at first. The appearance of a thick film of 
 mould on the surface of preserves is not an indication 
 that they are spoiling; it is the irregular spots of 
 mould, or the bubbles caused by fermentation, which 
 show that the fruit is in danger. Some housekeepers 
 prevent the formation of mould on the surface of pre- 
 serves by putting on, as soon as they are cold, a half- 
 inch layer of fine dry sugar. The simplest prevent- 
 ive of mould is a circle of white paper dipped in 
 brandy, and an air-tight covering of paper brushed with 
 the white of egg. The fruits containing many small 
 seeds are most apt to ferment; they need thorough 
 cooking, as do tomatoes for the same reason. The 
 seeds are coated with a silicious substance which seems 
 almost to defy the preservative action of heat; in 
 other words, the destruction by heat of the germ of 
 vitality contained in the seeds. 
 
 Some of the larger stone fruit, such as plums, can 
 be kept by simply pouring boiling water over them in 
 the jars, and sealing them at once air-tight. Currant 
 jelly is made without boiling by mixing equal parts of 
 granulated sugar and currant juice until the sugar is 
 dissolved; the jelly is then poured into glasses which 
 are covered with muslin, and exposed to the direct 
 rays of the sun for several successive days until a jelly 
 forms. Still another method is to crush the currants 
 and strain the juice absolutely clear; mix with it double 
 its weight of white sugar, stirring until the sugar is 
 entirely dissolved; then let the juice remain in a very 
 cold place for twenty-four hours, stirring it thoroughly 
 
158 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 three or four times ; after that put it up in glass, cov- 
 ered with brandied paper, and seal it air-tight. But 
 the safest way is to cook all fruit except pineapples; 
 for these a sj^ecial recipe will be given. 
 
 To make any kind of fruit jelly, heat the fruit long 
 enough to start the juice, then crush it, and put it into 
 a jelly bag suspended over a bowl, and let the juice 
 run through without squeezing, leaving it overnight if 
 possible; the next morning measure the juice; to each 
 pint allow a pound of white sugar; either put both 
 together in the preserving-kettle over the fire and boil 
 them steadily, without a moment's cessation, until a 
 little cooled upon a saucer jellies, which will be in 
 about twenty minutes. Or, first boil the juice fifteen 
 minutes, and then put in the sugar, and continue the 
 boiling until the jelly forms ; remove the kettle from 
 the fire, and cool the jelly a little; then put it in glass- 
 es; when the jelly is cold, lay a round of white paper 
 dipped in brandy in each glass, and over the top paste 
 another round of paper wet on both sides with white 
 of egg. 
 
 Fruit butter may be made by boiling the pulp from 
 which the juice has been drained for jelly with about 
 an equal quantity of sugar until it is thick and smooth, 
 frequent stirring being necessary to prevent burning. 
 When fruit is from the outset intended for butter it is 
 simply crushed, the seeds or stones being removed from 
 large fruit, and then boiled with an equal weight of 
 sugar; fruit butter keeps w^ell, and is very wholesome. 
 The fruit pulp remaining from jellies may be boiled 
 with sugar until it begins to look clear, and then spiced 
 to taste with ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, gin- 
 ger, or wdth a combination of spices; fruit butter keeps 
 well either in jars or buckets with ordinary covers. 
 
PRESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. 159 
 
 Fruit jams are made by crushing fruit and boiling 
 it with an equal weight of sugar until it is thick and 
 smooth and looks clear, all scum being removed. Jams 
 are put up like jellies. When very juicy fruits are so 
 prepared, part of the juice is allowed to boil away be- 
 fore adding the sugar. 
 
 Fruit marmalades are made by being stewed, with 
 water enough to prevent burning, until they are ten- 
 der enough to rub through a sieve for the purpose of 
 removing the seeds; the pulp thus obtained is then 
 boiled gently with an equal weight of sugar until a 
 little of it, cooled upon a saucer, thickens like jelly, 
 and is slightly elastic, clinging to the spoon when cut; 
 it is then ready to j)ut up like jelly. 
 
 Most housekeepers have their favorite methods of 
 putting up preserves. The following have always 
 been successfully used in the New York School of 
 Cookery, the second being the least troublesome. 
 Choose firm, ri2)e, sound fruit; do not wash berries 
 unless they are very sandy; remove the stones from 
 peaches or plums, if desirable, and peel them at will; 
 pare and core quinces and pears. Weigh the fruit 
 after it is prepared, and allow an equal quantity of 
 sugar; put the fruit and sugar in layers in a porcelain 
 lined kettle, with sugar at the bottom and top, and let 
 them stand overnight. The next morning set the ket- 
 tle over the fire and gently boil its contents until the 
 fruit is soft, hut not broken^ removing all scum; trans- 
 fer the fruit to heated glass jars without breaking it, 
 boil the syrup until it begins to thicken, then pour it 
 over the preserves, and close the jars; when they are 
 cold, make sure that they are air-tight, and keep them 
 in a cool, dark place. The other way of preserving 
 is to weigh the fruit, and allow a scant quantity of 
 
IQQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 sugar to balance the waste of paring, etc.; put the 
 sugar over the fire in the preserving kettle, with half 
 a cupful of cold water to each pound, and boil it, re- 
 moving all scum. Meantime prepare the fruit ; when 
 both are ready, boil the fruit in the syrup until it be- 
 gins to look clear, but do not let it hreah; transfer the 
 fruit to glass jars heated in water, and then boil the 
 syrup until thick, and put up the preserves as usual. 
 
 During the progressive publication of this work in 
 IIarper''s Bazar there were received several requests 
 for special recipes for preserving peaches. The sim- 
 plest way is canning; the peaches are to be stoned, 
 pared at v\dll, and canned according to the directions 
 already given in detail. For preserving in any way 
 except in jam, marmalade, and peach - butter, firm 
 peaches should be chosen, perfectly sound, and not 
 overripe. The decayed spots in unripe fruit are some- 
 times due to its poor stock, and sometimes to exposure 
 while rijDening, or to sudden and severe electrical dis- 
 turbances, Av^hich disorganize the substance of even 
 fine fruit; whatever their cause, they should always 
 be carefully removed, and the fruit stewed before it 
 is eaten, to destroy any possibly injurious germs. If 
 mothers could only control the use of such fruit by 
 their children, there would be much less pain and 
 sickness than now befalls the unconscious arbiters of 
 their own destiny. In selecting fruit for preserving, 
 reference should be had to the remarks concerning the 
 care with which such choice should be made. Peaches 
 of rather firm flesh are always best for preserving. To 
 make the ordinary sweet preserves, peel them, remove 
 the stones, and put the halves into the porcelain-lined 
 preserving-kettle in layers, with an equal amount of 
 sugar; the next morning set the kettle over the fire, 
 
PRESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. jg^ 
 
 and boil and skim its contents until the syrup is clear 
 and the fruit begins to look transparent, but do not 
 allow it to break; then put up the preserves as already 
 directed. A second method is to weigh the fruit, and 
 allow about two thirds its weight in sugar; put the 
 sugar over the fire in the preserving-kettle with a gill 
 of cold water, and boil it, removing all scum that 
 rises; meantime prepare the peaches, and when the 
 syrup is clear, put in as many as will float, and boil 
 them until they are slightly transparent, but not bro- 
 ken; then skim them out and lay them on sieves or 
 dishes, or in jars ; when all are done, boil the syrup 
 until it is thick, and pour it over them in the jars. 
 Put them up like other preserves. Refer to the recipe 
 for brandy peaches for methods of peeling peaches. 
 
 Peach jam is made from inferior fruit, from which 
 all decayed parts are carefully removed. Unscrupu- 
 lous manufacturers use fruit as it comes to them from 
 orchard or market, without selection, trusting to the 
 process of cooking to destroy all noxious germs and 
 unfavorable conditions ; but the appearance and fla- 
 vor of their products is inferior to those made from 
 sound fruit. Allow one third the weight of the peach- 
 es in sugar, and put them over the fire together; boil 
 them gently and steadily until they are sufliciently 
 thick, stirring them frequently — the time may be near- 
 ly two hours; remove all scum that rises, and continue 
 the steady, gentle boiling without cessation, and when 
 the jam is nearly done it must be stirred constantly 
 to prevent burning. Put it up like other preserves. 
 Marmalade is made in the same way, except that the 
 boiling is continued until the marmalade is a little 
 elastic, clinging to the spoon with which it is tested. 
 Both jams and marmalades keep best of any pre- 
 11 
 
152 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 serves. They may be made from the fruit pulp wMch 
 has been strained for jelly. Peach -butter can be 
 made from imperfect fruit, the decayed j^ortions and 
 stones being removed, and the fruit then weighed. To 
 twelve pounds allow four of sugar and a pint of vine- 
 gar; boil the butter in the preserving-kettle over a 
 steady fire until it is as thick as jam, stirring it fre- 
 quently — and as it approaches completion, almost con- 
 stantly — to prevent burning. When it is done, put it 
 up like other preserves. It keeps well, and is a most 
 wholesome sweetmeat. 
 
 Fried peaches may be a novelty to some readers. 
 Firm, rather tart, ones should be chosen, the skins 
 brushed, the halves evenly separated, the stones re- 
 moved, and the peaches laid skin down in a large pan, 
 with butter enough to prevent burning, a little salt 
 and pepper, and fried just tender. They are to be 
 served with any meat or poultry which requires a sub- 
 acid sauce. 
 
 During the early summer pineapples are abundant 
 and quite cheap, for as early as May fine strawberry 
 pines are sold as low as twenty-five cents in the Broad- 
 way fruit stores, large sugar-loaf pines for seventy-five 
 cents, and Porto Ricos weighing twelve pounds for 
 $1.25. The July market of 1886 reached a lower fig- 
 ure than ever before, owing to the increased importa- 
 tion. Two methods of preserving pineapples without 
 cooking have long been in use m the South, both of 
 which retain the delicate flavor of the fruit better than 
 the regulation way of preserving it, the first being per- 
 sonally preferred. Pare sound ripe pineapples with a 
 sharp knife, remove the eyes (so-called) with a silver 
 fruit-knife, cut the fruit about half an inch thick, and 
 weigh it; weigh a fourth more granulated sugar than 
 
PEESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. ^^3 
 
 fruit; use glass jars large enougli at the top to admit 
 the slices of j^ineapple; in the bottom put an inch of 
 sugar, and then alternate thick layers of sugar and 
 slices of fruit until the jar is filled, having plenty of 
 sugar on top, literally running over the jars. Seal the 
 jars perfectly air-tight ; the success of the operation 
 depends upon this. The second method is to peel and 
 slice the fruit thin, and lay it overnight in a tureen 
 with an equal weight of sugar; in the morning drain 
 off the syrup and boil it steadily, removing all scum, 
 for half an hour; pour the boiling syrup over the fruit, 
 and allow both to cool, then transfer the fruit and 
 syrup to glass jars and seal them air-tight; this is a 
 favorite Carolina preserve. For both these prepara- 
 tions the finest fruit is required; inferior or unripe 
 pineapple should be boiled tender in syrup, and put 
 up like other preserves. AYhole preserved pineapples 
 were the pride of old-time Southern housekeepers; the 
 fruit was carefully washed, the lower leaves and most 
 of the crown trimmed away, and the pineapple boiled, 
 in sufiacient hot water to cover it, until tender enough 
 to pierce with a broom straw; after the pine was 
 cooled it was smoothly peeled, and then weighed; an 
 equal weight of sugar was put into a deep kettle just 
 large enough to contain the pine, with a gill of water 
 to each pound, and boiled and skimmed until it became 
 a clear syrup; in this the pine w^as boiled for twenty 
 minutes, and then cooled and put with the syrup into 
 a glass jar, which was sealed air-tight. 
 
 The ordinary way of j^reserving pineapples is to 
 peel them carefully, remove the eyes and defective 
 parts, slice them, and lay them overnight in an equal 
 weight of sugar, all the trimmings except the decayed 
 portions being saved and enclosed in a thin muslin bag 
 
1Q4 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 to boil with the fruit; the next morning drain off the 
 syrup and boil it with the trimmings, skimming it un- 
 til clear, then put the fruit into it and boil it tender; 
 cool both fruit and syrup, and put them up in air- 
 tight jars. Marmalade is made by peeling and grating 
 the fruit, and then boiling it, with an equal weight of 
 sugar, for an hour or longer, until it assumes a smooth, 
 elastic consistency, removing all scum that rises. It is 
 put up like other marmalades. 
 
 The brandying of fruit is a favorite method of 
 preservation ; cherries, plums, grapes, apricots, and 
 peaches brandy well whole, the stems are removed at 
 discretion, but only the peaches are peeled, the skins 
 of the other fruit being pierced in "several places with 
 a needle to prevent bursting. Only the j^eaches need 
 to be cooked; the small fruit is frequently j^ut into 
 jars with half or three fourths of its Aveight in pounded 
 loaf sugar or rock candy, the jars filled with the best 
 brandy, and corked air-tight; the fruit is sometimes 
 allowed to remain in the brandy for five or six weeks 
 before adding the sugar ; this is Gouffe's method. 
 Grapes are sometimes brandied in clusters. Morclla 
 cherries are the best for brandying, and their flavor is 
 improved by the addition of five or six blanched bitter 
 almonds to each jar or bottle. A little whole spice is 
 sometimes added to brandied fruit. Large plums, 
 apricots, and small pears may be boiled for five min- 
 utes in syrup before they are brandied; in that case 
 the sugar is used to make the syrup, and subsequent- 
 ly mixed with the brandy as directed in the recipe for 
 brandy peaches. Either peel sound Morris White 
 peaches very smoothly with a silver knife, or scald 
 them until the skins wrinkle or burst, in a gallon of 
 hot water in which a teaspoonful of washing-soda has 
 
PRESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. 1(35 
 
 been dissolved; in a few moments the skin can be 
 rubbed off with a wet towel; the water must be scald- 
 ing hot, but not boiling. As fast as the peaches are 
 peeled, drop them into a large jar of cold water; 
 weigh the peaches after they are peeled. While the 
 peaches are being peeled boil a pound of sugar with 
 two quarts of water, removing all scum; when this 
 syrup is clear, boil the peaches in it until they begin 
 to grow tender enough to yield to the least pressure, 
 putting in only as many as will float, and being care- 
 ful to take them up without breaking them; when the 
 peaches are cooked, either lay them on a sieve or put 
 them in jars without crushing them; in this case, be- 
 fore adding the brandy and syrup, drain them care- 
 fully. In another kettle put as many pounds of white 
 sugar as there are peaches, with half a pint of cold 
 water to each pound, and boil and skim this syrup 
 until it is quite clear and thick; then add an equal 
 measure of the best French brandy, and let the syruj) 
 cool. When the brandied syrup and peaches are both 
 cool, put them together in glass jars a,nd seal them 
 air-tight. 
 
 Among the most delicious and useful preparations 
 from fruit are the various syrups and cordials which 
 were the pride of old-fashioned housekeepers, and which 
 can be made without unwarrantable expense when fruit 
 is cheap. Like preserves, the cordials seem best which 
 have been thoroughly boiled and duly sweetened, lu- 
 cent syrups that " dart their arrowy odor through the 
 brain," and flood the slow veins with the warmth they 
 garnered from m.idsummer suns. For summer use the 
 cordial made from ripe blackberries and spices is pref- 
 erable. Break the berries with a wooden spoon in 
 an earthen bowl, and strain their juice through a cloth ; 
 
1QQ FAMILY LIVING ON 5500 A YEAR. 
 
 to each quart of juice add a pound of sugar, and a 
 quarter of an ounce each of whole cloves, allspice, cin- 
 namon, and pounded nutmeg ; boil all these together 
 for two hours over a gentle fire, and then strain the 
 cordial ; when it is cold, add to it half a pint of the 
 best brandy, and bottle it. This cordial is a specific 
 for summer complaints, and a few spoonfuls in cool 
 water make an acceptable and healthy beverage for 
 use in warm weather. 
 
 To make raspberry liqueur, bruise a quart of ripe 
 raspberries, pour over them two quarts of proof spirits, 
 close them from the air, and let them stand Uvo weeks. 
 Then make a medium thick syruj) by boiling together 
 half a pound of sugar with a gill of cold water, remov- 
 ing all scum ; when the syrup is cool, mix it with the 
 crushed berries and spirits, and pour them into a jelly 
 bag wrung out of hot water ; when the liqueur has 
 run through the bag, bottle it, cork it tightly, and keep 
 it in a cool place for two weeks. At the end of that 
 time pour it carefully from the bottles without dis- 
 turbing the sediment in the bottom, and again filter it 
 through the wet jelly bag. After it is filtered, it can 
 be bottled for use. Mixed with ice-water it makes a 
 delicious beverage. 
 
 Currant shrub is made by bruising ripe currants, 
 heating them until the juice runs freely, and then strain- 
 ing the juice through a jelly bag wrung out of hot 
 water ; to each pint of the juice add six ounces of 
 sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved ; when the 
 syrup thus made is quite cold, add to each pint of it a 
 quart of Jamaica rum, and strain and bottle it for use. 
 A small quantity in ice-water makes a refreshing and 
 wholesome summer drink. 
 
 " The British Jewel," a curious cookery-book of the 
 
PRESERVES, CANNED FRUIT, ETC. ^gy 
 
 early eigliteentli century, gives the following excel- 
 lent recipe for lemon shrub : " Take two quarts of 
 brandy and put it in a large bottle ; put into it the 
 juice of five lemons, the peelings of two, and half a 
 nutmeg ; stop it up, and let it stand three days ; then 
 add to it three pints of white wine, a pound and a half 
 of sugar, and mix and strain it twice through a flannel, 
 and bottle it up. It is a pretty wine and a cordial," 
 as witness can well be borne, but it calls for discretion 
 in use. 
 
 Pineapple shrub is prepared by peeling a large ripe 
 pineapple and grating it, being careful to save all the 
 juice ; put it into an earthen jug with a gallon of cold 
 water and a pound of sugar, and shake the jug for five 
 minutes; let it stand in a temperature of about 90° 
 Fahr. for two or three days, until it begins to ferment; 
 then cool it with ice, and use it as a beverage. 
 
IQQ FAMILY LIVING ON f500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 GEAPES, ORANGES, AXD OTHER TABLE FRUIT. 
 
 Fresh fruit for table use is always obtainable in 
 the cities of the United States, varying according 
 to the season, from the products of the tropics to 
 the local harvest. Of the tropical fruits oranges and 
 bananas are the most abundant. There are some spe- 
 cial uses of bananas which may be novel to some of 
 our readers, and assuredly are excellent. In the Indies 
 and the South this fruit enters largely into routine 
 cookery, frying being a favorite method of serving it. 
 On very warm days iced bananas with Madeira poured 
 over them, eaten with some light cold bread, form 
 quite a satisfactory repast. New Orleans baked ba- 
 nanas are peeled, cut lengthwise, dusted with fine sug- 
 ar, dotted with butter, baked for a half-hour, and served 
 in the dish in which they are cooked. New Orleans 
 fried bananas are peeled, cut lengthwise, steeped for a 
 half-hour in orange juice and sugar, and then rolled in 
 flour, and fried in hot salad oil; they are dusted with 
 sugar before serving. They are very good peeled, 
 sliced, covered with orange juice and sugar, or with 
 whipped cream, and made very cold before they are 
 served. Note that the substance of this fruit is so 
 dense that it is apt to be indigestible if eaten uncooked 
 without a light bread or cake. A banana cake is made 
 with alternate layers of the sliced fruit and some light 
 cake, with either fine sugar or sweetened whipped 
 cream on the layers. 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. IQQ 
 
 Banana pie is made with two crusts of delicate pas- 
 try, the fruit being peeled and sliced, thickly sprinkled 
 with fine sugar ; to each pie allow half an even tea- 
 spoonful of any powdered spice preferred, and a table- 
 spoonful each of butter and apple or cider jelly. 
 
 Some favorite New Orleans ways of using pineap- 
 ple may be added to the recipes already given for that 
 delicious fruit. Pineapple cake is made of layers of 
 grated pineapple, profusely sugared, and white cake. 
 Pineapple cream pie is made with a bottom crust and 
 a covering of meringue ; the quantities for a large pie 
 are the yolks of three eggs, a cupful of cream, or a 
 cupful of milk with two tablespoonfuls of melted but- 
 ter, a cupful of sugar, and a small pineapple peeled and 
 grated ; the three whites are beaten stiff, and enough 
 finely powdered sugar is mixed vrith them to make a 
 firm meringue, which is usually put over the pie after 
 the crust is done, and then slightly browned. 
 
 As both bananas and pineapples make delicious 
 creams and ices, it may be well to give directions here 
 for preparing those most refreshing of summer SAveets. 
 There is nothing more acceptable in sultry summer 
 weather than a fruit ice; the variety is almost infinite, 
 the materials not costly, and the preparation is simple. 
 In many kitchens there is some form of patent freezer, 
 for these utensils are not expensive; but in their ab- 
 sence a substitute may be made from a covered tin 
 can or pail set within a wooden tub or bucket at least 
 twice its diameter, the space between to be packed 
 Avith a freezincy mixture to within two or three inches 
 of the top of the inner can. Care must be taken to 
 prevent the mixture getting into the can when the ice 
 or cream which is freezing is being stirred; the stirring 
 is mechanical with the patent freezers, and constant, 
 
170 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 thus securing the smooth, thorough freezing of their 
 contents. To stir an ice in a pail, remove the cover 
 carefully enough to prevent the admission of the salt 
 of the freezing mixture, use a broad-bladed knife or 
 spatula to scrape the frozen ice from the sides of the 
 can, and mix it smoothly and thoroughly with the un- 
 frozen part; then replace the cover, and turn the can 
 with a quick circular motion which will whirl the con- 
 tents about. Stir the ice three or four times in the 
 course of a half -hour; the patent freezers accomplish 
 their work in about that time, the ordinary cans take 
 longer. After the ice is frozen it may be packed down 
 in the can, the cover replaced, the freezing mixture re- 
 newed, and a folded blanket or carpet laid over the 
 can; it will keep well for half a day or more. The 
 freezing mixture is one fourth of coarse salt to three 
 of finely broken ice; it is not necessary to draw off 
 the water as the ice melts, unless there is danger of 
 its penetrating the can. Fruit or fruit juices may be 
 frozen with the simple addition of sugar and water, 
 or when they are half solid the beaten Avhites of two 
 or three eggs may be stirred in, and the freezing com- 
 pleted; the egg gives a white, foaming appearance to 
 an ice, but makes it less immediately refreshing, while 
 it increases the food value. The crushed 'pulp of such 
 fruit as strawberries, raspberries, peaches, and pine- 
 apple, mixed with an equal quantity of cold water and 
 overs weetened, makes delicious ices; the pulp of wa- 
 teraielons freed from seed, palatably sweetened and 
 frozen, is refreshing; the beaten whites of four eggs 
 may be added to a large melon when it is half frozen. 
 The juice of oranges, lemons, and limes, with a little 
 water and plenty of sugar, makes the most wholesome 
 and acceptable ices during seasons of excessive heat. 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. ;[Yl 
 
 Lemon, orange, and pineapple ice, flavored with Ja- 
 maica rum, and served witli a teaspoonful of rum in 
 each glass, makes Roman punch. Fresh peaches, apri- 
 cots, and hananas, mixed with sweetened cream and 
 frozen, make excellent summer desserts. 
 
 Oranges enter largely into ices and mixed fruit des- 
 serts. While oranges are in season they should be 
 plentifully used, both fresh and cooked. 
 
 The late winter and early spring months bring to 
 the Northern market an abundant supply of oranges 
 of delicious flavor, so cheap that they demand atten- 
 tion from the thrifty housewife. The increase of or- 
 ange-orchards in Florida insures the permanency of 
 this suppl}^, and promises to diminish the cost until 
 oranges become as marketable an American fruit as 
 apples are. Not only have we an abundance of the 
 large orange, the subacid flavor of which is most re- 
 freshing and vvholesome, but yearly the supply of 
 Mandarins and Tangerines, the native fruit of China 
 and Africa, now cultivated abundantly in Florida, is 
 more inexpensive. Florida oranges now compete fa- 
 vorably with the Valencia and Seville fruit, and have 
 largely taken the place of the sweet and rather dry 
 Havana variety, which was considered the best ten or 
 fifteen years ago. The California fruit is large and 
 handsome, but, like some of the other vegetable pro- 
 ductions of the land of sunshine, it is rather juiceless 
 and insipid. However, the California citrus fair of 
 1886 gave promise of decided improvement in both 
 oranges and lemons, and some of the seedless or navel 
 oranges, which were marketed in the East during the 
 spring of the same year, were delicious fruit, large and 
 well-flavored, and as full of luscious juice as the most 
 thirsty mouth could wish them to be. The Seville 
 
l^J2 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAE. 
 
 bitter orange somewhat resembles grape fruit in flavor, 
 althongli smaller and less fine; the skin, which is of 
 a deep orange color, is deeply pitted and very thick 
 and bitter; the aromatic oil of the skin is also bit- 
 ter; the pnlp separates easily from the inner white 
 membranes and seeds, and is refreshing in sultry 
 weather. 
 
 In addition to the regulation way of peeling and 
 quartering oranges, they may be cut, for eating in 
 smaller pieces, through the skin, so that the pulp re- 
 mains attached to it, and the pieces can be lifted to 
 the mouth by it. The knife must be sharp enough to 
 divide the fruit in sections without squeezing it and 
 depriving it of its refreshing juice. There is no more 
 delicious breakfast fruit than a ripe, juicy orange. A 
 good way to eat oranges at breakfast is to cut them in 
 halves across the sections with a sharp knife, and then 
 take out the pulp and juice with a teaspoon. A fruit 
 napkin facilitates the operation, for the orange can be 
 held with it in the hollow of the left hand. Another 
 way is to soften the fruit by pressure, and then cut 
 out from the top a circle of the skin, letting the knife 
 divide the membranes of the quarters, so that the juice 
 can easily be taken out with a teaspoon. The Cali- 
 fornia oranges and the Mandarins and Tangerines are 
 so readily separated from the skin that they can be 
 opened with ease, but the more juicy Floridas require 
 careful handling. 
 
 There is no more delicious fruit for preserving, 
 either as jellj^, or marmalade, or entire in a rich syruj). 
 Although the imported Dundee marmalade is now 
 sold in New York for twenty-five cents a small jar, the 
 fruit can be put up at home at a less cost and with 
 little pains. The regulation Dundee recipe is given, 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. 2-^3 
 
 together with an American one, either being good. In 
 slicing the oranges use a very sharp knife, holding the 
 fruit over a platter to save all the juice; and first wash 
 the oranges in cold water, and wipe them on a clean 
 cloth. 
 
 For Dundee marmalade, slice a dozen large oranges 
 very thin, removing the seeds; if a bitter orange is 
 available, use it in addition. Use also the juice of two 
 lemons, and enough cold water to make seven pints. 
 Let the fruit thus prepared stand overnight in an 
 earthen bowl, protected from the flies. The next 
 morning put it over the fire in a preserving-kettle, heat 
 it, and boil it gently until the orange rind is tender; 
 then -stir with it seven pounds of granulated or loaf 
 sugar, and continue to boil it gently, stirring it occa- 
 sionally, until the rind looks clear, and a little of the 
 marmalade, cooled upon a saucer, has a jelly-like con- 
 sistency. After that point is reached, take the pre- 
 serving-kettle off the fire, partly cool the marmalade 
 in the kettle, and then transfer it to glass or earthen 
 jars or jelly glasses. In the top of each one fit a round 
 of paper dipped in brandy, and either close the jars 
 or seal the glasses with paper brushed with the white 
 of egg, in order to exclude the air. If the marmalade 
 is well cooked and properly put up, it will keep in- 
 definitely in a cool, dark place. If put up when 
 oranges are plentiful, it is one of the least expensive 
 of preserves, and is wholesome and nutritious, espe- 
 cially for invalids and children. 
 
 It may be said in passing that preserves can often 
 be used for the food of children with advantage; they 
 give variety Avlien it is not desirable to use meat, and 
 supply food elements favorable to health. A healthy 
 child requires a certain proportion of sweet food. The 
 
1*74 FAAllLY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 craving for it is natural, and should be judiciously in- 
 dulged. Sugar in its simplest form, or as pure can- 
 dy or sweetmeats, should make part of the children's 
 habitual fare; it is injurious only when it is not used 
 with discretion; that is, in excess, or between the regu- 
 lar meals. With this fact in mind, some good recipes 
 for making pure and wholesome candies will be given 
 later. 
 
 Florida marmalade is made by slicing a dozen or- 
 anges, removing the seeds. Weigh the sliced oranges, 
 and pour cold water over them in the proportion of 
 two pints and a half of water to a pound of orange; 
 to a dozen oranges add the juice of one lemon; let the 
 fruit stand overnight. The next day boil it until the 
 rind looks clear; then cool it and weigh it. After it 
 is cold, put it again over the fire, with an equal weight 
 of sugar, and boil the marmalade until it jellies. Then 
 cool it, and put it up as directed in the preceding rec- 
 ipe. Either of these recipes will produce about four 
 quarts of marmalade. 
 
 The recipe of Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford for 
 marmalade is one of the best extant, and it is with 
 pleasure that it is presented to our readers: 
 
 Peel the oranges very thin. Soak the peel twenty- 
 four hours, more or less, in salted water. The next 
 day boil the peel three hours in fresh water, changing 
 the water once. Cut the boiled peel in small narrow 
 strips, and these in small bits, the finer the better. 
 Throw away all the white skin you can take off the 
 oranges. Cut them in small pieces, taking out the 
 seeds. Weigh the pulp, juice, and peel, and to every 
 pound allow a pound of granulated white sugar. Boil 
 twenty minutes, and bottle in jars. This should be 
 made in February or March, as oranges become taste- 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. j ^^ 
 
 less later in the season. Four dozen oranges make six 
 quart jars. 
 
 Combined with apples, our other most plentiful winter 
 fruit, oranges make a good and cheap jelly, at a season 
 when most preserves are unavailable. The jelly may 
 be made in connection with the candied orange peel 
 for which the recipe is given. This can easily be j3re- 
 pared at home, to replace the store preserve, or to take 
 the place of citron in cakes and puddings. Use an 
 equal number of apples and oranges. Wash the ap- 
 ples, slice and core them, put them over the fire in the 
 preserving -kettle with enough cold water to cover 
 them, and simmer them until they are reduced to a 
 pulp. Pour the apple pulp into a jelly bag, and let 
 the juice drain from it, but do not squeeze the bag; 
 after the juice has ceased to drip, take the pulp from 
 the jelly bag, and sweeten and spice it a little to use 
 as apple sauce. Measure the apple juice. To each 
 pint of apple juice add one of boiled orange juice and 
 a pound of sugar, and boil them together, removing 
 all scum that rises, until a little, cooled upon a saucer, 
 forms a jelly. Then take the preserving -kettle oiff 
 the fire, partly cool the jelly, and pour it into glasses; 
 when it is cold, seal it up like other preserves. 
 
 To make candied orange peel cut the fruit in even 
 slices about a quarter of an inch thick, so as to make 
 the rinds uniform in size, and scrape the pulp av/ay 
 with a spoon; save it to boil with enough cold water to 
 cover it, as directed for cooking the apples, and then 
 drain it, as the apples are drained, in a jelly bag, and 
 mix it with the apple pulp; the juice is to be mixed 
 with the apple juice, and made into jelly, as directed 
 above. Put the pieces of orange peel in enough cold 
 water to cover them, with a level tablespoonful of salt 
 
1Y6 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 to a quart of water, and let them stand overnight. 
 The next day drain them, put them over the fire in 
 fresh water, and boil them for about half an hour, or 
 until the rind is tender, but not at all broken; then drain 
 the orange rind upon a sieve. Meantime make a 
 syrup, allowing a pint of water and a pound of sugar 
 for a dozen oranges; boil the sugar and water together, 
 skimming it clear, until it begins to thicken. When 
 the orange peel is dry, dip it in brandy and lay it again 
 upon the sieve. When the syrup is ready, keep it 
 scalding hot until the orange peel has been dipped in 
 it and dried three times, always being laid upon the 
 sieve to drain. Twice a day heat the syrup and dip 
 the orange peel in it, draining it on the sieve and dip- 
 ping it three times; do this for several days, until the 
 peel looks like that sold in the shops. Finally, dry the 
 orange peel thoroughly, and pack it in boxes, with white 
 paper between the layers; keep it in a cool, dry place. 
 
 The process may sound troublesome, but it is not so 
 when followed in connection with other kitchen work, 
 and when the good results are considered. 
 
 Some excellent recipes have been given for udng 
 oranges, which may be acceptably supplemented by 
 suggestions concerning orange cakes and puddings. 
 For the latter the combination of orange juice and 
 grated peel, or of the grated peel, pulp, and juice with 
 corn-starch j^wdding, or with bread or rice pudding, 
 affords variety; or orange juice may be heated with 
 sweetened milk, thickened with a tablespoonf ul of corn- 
 starch and the yolks of raw eggs, four being added to 
 a quart of boiling milk and juice after they are taken 
 from the fire; two minutes' constant stirring will mix 
 the yolks smoothly, and then the cream thus made is 
 to be cooled in little cups. 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTUER TABLE FRUIT. ^^^7 
 
 Orange cake is a good combination with snow cake, 
 angels' food, or meringues, for which are used the 
 whites of eggs only. To the yolks of six eggs, beaten 
 to a cream with half a pound of powdered sugar and 
 two ounces of butter, add the grated rind and pulp of 
 three oranges freed from seeds, and about half a pound 
 of j^repared flour, or enough to make a batter as thick 
 as that for pound-cake; a heaping teaspoonful of bak- 
 ing-powder may be sifted with half a pound of flour 
 in the absence of prepared flour. The lightness of the 
 cake depends upon baking it directly the flour is add- 
 ed, in a pan lined with buttered paper; the heat of the 
 oven should be moderate, and the cake baked until a 
 broom straw run into the thickest part can be with- 
 drawn dry. 
 
 Sweetened orange pulp freed from seeds can be used 
 with layers of good plain cake as jelly is used; or the 
 cream of orange juice, eggs, sugar, milk, and corn- 
 starch can be put between layers of cold cake. Orange 
 pulp, juice, and grated rind mixed with sugar and 
 water can be frozen as orange ice. 
 
 Some of our readers may like to try a new orange 
 cream: put over the Are a quart of good milk, add a 
 little cream if it is available, oversweeten it, add to it 
 the grated rind and juice of four oranges, and let it 
 boil; then take it off the stove, stir it a minute, stir in 
 the yolks of four eggs beaten smooth, and strain it ; 
 when it is cool, freeze it like other creams. 
 
 In many vineyards of the country the harvest is 
 yearly more abundant, and we should fail in the spirit 
 of our scheme of living judiciously if we did not try 
 to turn all available treasures to our uses. Many 
 points of fruit management remain to be treated, but 
 the importance of seasonable provision against the 
 13 
 
l^jQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 time of scanty fresh supplies, whereof keen airs warn 
 ns, searching past St. Martin's sunshine, when grapes 
 are most plentiful, warrants detail of recipes. The 
 fruit of the day abounds in nearly every section of the 
 country, from the White House trellises whose roj^es 
 of yellow globes were brought from Palestine to trail 
 their sweets for that regnant lady who — strange sar- 
 casm of circumstance! — disdained their potable gold, 
 through the mild spice of Catawba's vines, and the 
 white syrup of Niagara's clusters, to the great crimson 
 and purple masses of the Pacific slopes. 
 
 Nearly everywhere the housewife may feast lier 
 flock upon this luscious fare, and if she is wise she will 
 lay by good store for the winter. Grapes may be 
 kept fresh well into cold weather, and with a little 
 trouble fine clusters can be reserved for the Christmas 
 table. Only quite sound fruit well set upon the stems 
 should be so kept; grapes which fall are useless, as are 
 those that burst from excessive ripeness. One reason 
 why some grapes fall from the stems is that their 
 ripening has been accomplished in a time of rain; this 
 is indicated by a brownish, semi-decayed appearance 
 where the fruit is attached to the stem. If, then, 
 when a cluster is lifted by the stem the graj^es drop 
 off, examine them for this dark spot, and do not choose 
 them for economical use at table, for many persons 
 would not eat the fallen fruit, thinking it must be im- 
 perfect, forgetting that they pluck each grape from 
 the bunch before eating it. If, by any mistake in buy- 
 ing, such grapes are on hand, they can best be utilized 
 in pies, preserves, or puddings. A few will suffice for 
 a pudding. Cut them open and remove the seeds, but 
 do not reject the skins; put them into an earthen bak- 
 ing-dish with broken bread and as much sugar as their 
 
GRAPES, OEANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. 1^9 
 
 flavor demands, and bake the pudding in a moderate 
 oven for about half an hour, or until the grapes are 
 cooked. The pudding may be made richer by adding 
 a little butter. Grapes are unfit for food only when 
 the pulj) is so far changed in substance as to cause the 
 skins to wrinkle or become partly sunken, or when they 
 have fermented or soured. 
 
 Overripe grapes should be eaten or cooked directly 
 they are bought. For fresh preservation choose per- 
 fectly sound clusters which remain upon the stems, 
 having them as newly j^lucked as possible; examine 
 each cluster carefully, cutting away every imperfect 
 grape with a pair of small, sharp scissors; holding the 
 bunches by the stems, dip each one in a large basin of 
 clean water and move it gently about so as to wash off 
 all dust and cobwebs, and lay the clusters separately 
 upon a sieve or a dry clean towel until they become 
 quite dry; then tie a strong cord to each stem. If the 
 grapes are to be used within a week or two, suspend 
 the bunches upon a series of rods or stout strings, or 
 from hooks on the under side of shelves in a dry, cool 
 room, taking care that a cloth or uniDrinted paper is 
 spread beneath them to receive any which may fall; 
 so treated, grapes will keep better than if laid upon 
 each other in any receptacle not air-tight or very cold. 
 Many soft, rich grapes crush under their own weight 
 during transportation, even if carefully handled. 
 When grapes are to be used within the month, it will 
 suffice to lay them in wooden or paper boxes between 
 cotton batting, taking care not to crush them by over- 
 weight; the air will be so far excluded by the cotton 
 as to preserve the freshness of the grapes. They must 
 be kept in a cool, dry place. Of course, only perfect 
 fruit should be packed. 
 
jgQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 When the fruit is to be kept for a longer time, more 
 pains must be taken, and A^arious methods have been 
 devised. Recently some newspaper comment has been 
 excited by a new way of packing fresh fruit in a kind 
 of silica or infusorial sand; this precise agent may be 
 new, but the idea is old enough, the end sought being 
 to shield the fruit from the air and the variation of 
 temperature — in fine, to keep the fruit dry and mod- 
 erately cool. Sand, infusorial or otherwise, has long 
 been successfully used. In Florida, lemons, oranges, 
 and sweet potatoes buried in dry sand keep from the 
 harvesting of one crop to the ripening of another; 
 each fruit or vegetable is so surrounded by the sand as 
 to prevent the communication of any possible decay 
 which might arise in an individual. 
 
 Powdered gypsum, plaster, and slaked lime have 
 been similarly employed. In Russia lime is slaked 
 with water containing a little creosote, and then dried 
 and powdered; the fruit is packed in boxes in layers 
 of lime, with paper between, and the corners filled 
 with powdered charcoal; the box is tightly closed, and 
 kept in a cool place. This method can easily be ap- 
 plied at home; even the powdered lime, without the 
 creosote or charcoal, would serve the purpose if each 
 individual fruit or bunch were wrapped in unprinted 
 paper. Any kind of sawdust free from odor makes an 
 excellent vehicle for packing fruit; of course, it must 
 be thoroughly dry, the box or barrel containing the 
 fruit closed air-tight and kept in a cool, even temper- 
 ature free from dampness. The best way to dry the 
 sawdust at home is to heat it thoroughly in the oven; 
 no harm will be done if it is a little scorched. Indeed, 
 bran roasted to a sort of charcoal has been employed 
 successfully in packing the most perishable of the Cali- 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. X81 
 
 fornia fruits for transportation to the Eastern markets; 
 peaches so packed have been kept good for six weeks. 
 
 In packing grapes in sawdust or bran, hold each 
 bunch by the stem so that it does not touch the case 
 or any other bunch, and dust the sawdust or bran plen- 
 tifully around the fruit; let the sawdust be shaken 
 down around the fruit, and fill the case to overflowing, 
 so that when it is closed all air may be excluded. To 
 restore the bloom to grapes or plums which have been 
 packed, brush ofl^ the sawdust, put the fruit into the 
 ice-box for at least an hour, and then serve it; the 
 change from the temperature of the ice-box to that of 
 the dining-room will generally bring back the van- 
 ished bloom, proverbial wisdom to the contrary not- 
 withstanding. 
 
 Correspondents have asked for directions for evap- 
 orating apples. For extensive work it would be well 
 to employ some good apparatus of approved fashion; 
 for small operations the heat of the sun or of the shelf 
 above the stove may be depended upon, care being 
 taken to shield the fruit from dust and flies; fruit 
 dried in this way is apt to be dark-colored, and in 
 out-door drying it is sometimes injured by dampness. 
 A bushel of apples should yield about six or seven 
 pounds of the dried fruit. A primitive sort of out- 
 door drier can be arranged by fitting a hot-bed glass, 
 or even a window-sash, on the top of a square board 
 frame which slopes on one side about one fourth of its 
 height ; the frame should have a solid bottom, and be 
 raised from the ground at least a foot by stout legs; 
 the highest side should open on hinges like a door, and 
 the interior be fitted with shelves, or with cleats for 
 the support of wooden trays; at the bottom of the 
 door and of the front there should be several apertures 
 
132 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 for the free admission of air, shielded from the en- 
 trance of insects by wire cioth. Fruit or vegetables 
 placed within this drying-frame will dry more rapidly 
 and perfectly than in the open air, and be entirely pro- 
 tected from dampness unless during a long-continued 
 storm. Apples for drying should be cored, and cut 
 about an eighth of an inch thick, the paring being 
 taken off at will. The latest process for evaporating 
 fruit exposes it first to the fumes of sulphur, which 
 check fermentation and whiten the fruit, and then to 
 hot dry air until it is thoroughly dry. 
 
 The evaporated apples sold at the best grocery stores 
 are cored and thinly sliced by machinery, and then 
 evaporated, with an advantage over the primitive 
 method of drying in favor of weight, color, and flavor. 
 Half a pound of evaporated apples soaked overnight 
 in warm water, enough to cover them, and then stewed 
 in the same water, produce more than a quart of good 
 apple sauce, equal in flavor to that made from fresh 
 fruit. Sugar is to be used at discretion in the sauce. 
 
 Grapes are evaporated, and also peaches. Grapes 
 may be canned by separating the pulp and skins af- 
 ter taking them from the stems, and putting them 
 over the fire to heat slowly; the moment they begin 
 to boil strain the juice from the skins into the pulp 
 without squeezing the skins, put the pulp at once into 
 glass cans, as already directed in this series, and seal 
 the cans air-tight; half the grapes' weight of sugar 
 may be boiled with the pulp if a sweet preserve is 
 desired. Some housekeej^ers first heat the pulp until 
 it is soft enough to separate from the seeds, and then 
 rub it through a sieve with a potato-masher; mean- 
 time the skins arc being boiled with half the grapes' 
 weight of sugar; after the pulp is added to the skins 
 
GRAPES, ORANGES, AND OTHER TABLE FRUIT. ^gS 
 
 and sugar, the preserve is allowed to boil until it looks 
 a little clear, all scum being removed, and then it is 
 put up like other preserves. Grape catsup is made by- 
 boiling the pulp of grapes, freed from skins and seeds, 
 with vinegar and spice; to three pints of grape pulp 
 are allowed half a pint each of vinegar and broAvn 
 sugar, a level dessert-sj^oonful each of salt and black 
 pepper, a teaspoonful each of ground mace, cinna- 
 mon, and cloves, and cayenne to taste; reduce the cat- 
 sup one half by boiling, remove all scum, and then 
 cool and bottle it. These are but few of the uses to 
 which provident housekeepers, especially those blessed 
 with a vineyard, can put Leigh Hunt's "tight little 
 bags of wine." 
 
184 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAK. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE SECOND SERVICE OF FOOD. 
 
 Apart from the fact that every particle of food 
 capable of being served the second time must be pre- 
 sented in attractive form under our present scheme of 
 economy, there are times when the appetite craves the 
 lighter dishes of poultry, fish, and the lean meats, and 
 they are so imj^ortant that a brief glossary of charac- 
 teristics may prove useful, the application in detail 
 being left open to the requirements of occasions, the sug- 
 gestion being made that these dishes may take the place 
 at breakfast or family dinners of steaks or chops, or 
 be served with either as a substitute for a large meat 
 dish. Too much attention cannot be paid to this second 
 service of meats; much of the success of this scheme of 
 living depends upon it, for by it alone can the residue 
 of unused dishes be transferred to the credit balance. 
 A succession of roasts, steaks, chops, and never a sa- 
 vory rechauffe, would make failure a foregone con- 
 clusion, for there is no more exj^ensive fare; and the 
 most diificult people to cater for are those who like 
 "a good plain table — just a broiled steak or a bit of 
 roast." Much of the cook's success in these dishes de- 
 pends upon a keen taste and appreciation of relative 
 flavors, the general rule being to preserve individual 
 flavors, and thus extend the variety of warmed-over 
 dishes. While high seasoning is permissible, there is 
 nothing more fatal than the injudicious combination 
 
THE SECOND SERVICE OF FOOD. 135 
 
 of many seasonings constantly employed. The fat 
 meats and poultry seem to call for sage above all other 
 herbs, mint has an affinity for lamb and green pease, 
 and beef never yields its flavor more completely than 
 when stimulated with horseradish or mustard. A little 
 vinegar subdues the tough fibre of meat, and, mixed 
 with sugar, overcomes an excess of salt. A dish of 
 sliced cucumbers with fish in any form heightens the 
 flavor. Salt meats in hash or mince require the foil of 
 a vegetable comj^onent. Game rewarmed has its flavor 
 intensified by any acid jelly or wine. The list might 
 be extended, but the limit here set permits only the 
 suggestion of alimentary congruities. 
 
 The numberless rechcmffes, or warmed-over dishes, 
 which are the glory of European cooks, are composed 
 in accordance with these principles; for instance, brown 
 sauces are used with beef, mutton, venison, and dark 
 games, and white sauces with the lighter meats and 
 poultry. If acids are required, lemon juice, white- 
 wine vinegar, and white wine are suitable for poultry 
 and the white meats; and dark acid-fruit jellies, vine- 
 gar, and strong and red wines for the dark meats and 
 game. The judicious cook holds in reserve for insipid 
 dishes the least touch of that alliaceous magician — old 
 Homer's " wholesome garlic " — with which Arsinoiis's 
 golden-haired daughter "crowned the savory treat." 
 It is not every housekeeper who realizes how great is 
 the economical importance of increasing the nourish- 
 ment of such so-called small dishes by always serving 
 with them some cheap farinaceous or vegetable food; 
 stale bread as toast, baked or boiled j^otatoes or cold 
 potatoes, warmed in gravy, or boiled rice, samp, or 
 macaroni, make a dish of fish, chops, liver, tripe, sau- 
 sages, ham, fried eggs, or omelet hearty enough to sat- 
 
18G FAillLY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 isfy a vigorous appetite which would not be content 
 with the mere addition of bread and butter. Only 
 this point must never be forgotten: the success of any 
 sauce or gravy depends upon its consistency and flavor; 
 a thin, watery, or greasy sauce is simply disgusting; 
 but a rich, smooth, savory sauce, whether brown or 
 white, more than doubles the satisfaction one feels 
 with the dish it accompanies. Learn to make a good 
 sauce before the day passes: mark your fortunate day 
 with a white sauce instead of a white stone. 
 
 Soups and sauces which are to be used the second 
 time should be carefully examined to make sure that 
 they are not sour or fermented; if they are covered, 
 except with a sieve or a thin cloth, before they are en- 
 tirely cold, they will almost invariably spoil. If they 
 are in good condition, put them into an earthen or por- 
 celain-lined vessel, set this in a pan of salted boiling 
 water and heat them, occasionally stirring them to in- 
 sure smoothness; if they are too thick, thin them with 
 broth, milk, or boiling water, according to their orig- 
 inal composition, and then see that they are well sea- 
 soned. Stews are similarly warmed. 
 
 Fish may be dressed the second time in the form 
 of thick soups, scallops, rissoles, croquettes, fillets, fish 
 cakes, fish hash, flaked fish, gratins, fritters, sand- 
 wiches, pies, matelotes, omelets, and savory butters; 
 the latter are good made of smoked and salted fish. 
 
 Meats are served twice as mirotons, croquettes, ris- 
 soles, salmis, ragoilts, fricassees, blanquettes, curries, 
 devils, mince, hash, omelets, fritters, scalloj^s, patties, 
 and with suitable vegetable combinations; j^/e^5 of cold 
 meats are warmed entire, or sliced in their original 
 sauce or gravy; cold soup meat is excellent potted, 
 as also is poultry and game. The joints of rare game 
 
THE SECOND SERVICE OF FOOD. 187 
 
 and cold poultry are good dipped in melted butter 
 and broiled, or first very highly seasoned and then 
 broiled; game and poultry make good scallops, salads, 
 patties, croquettes, salmis, fritots, rissoles, civets, and 
 2nirees; they combine well with olives, mushrooms, and 
 oysters. 
 
 Vegetables by no means suffer in the second service, 
 for what they lose in fresh flavor they gain in savor; 
 instance the kolcannon, for which a recipe is given 
 elscAvhere, and the warmed-up boiled dinner of New 
 England. Re warmed vegetables may appear with 
 mince, chopped and moistened with gravy, or as a fried 
 accompaniment of warmed-over meat. Under the va- 
 rious minced cold meats and vegetables toast is usu- 
 ally laid to absorb the superfluous gravy and increase 
 the size of the dish. Sometimes slices of bread, cut in 
 fanciful shapes, are fried in plenty of smoking-hot fat 
 like doughnuts, and used to garnish these dishes ; 
 enough trouble is sometimes taken to cut large pieces 
 of stale bread in the form of dishes or low vases before 
 frying it; these are called croHstades; the fried slices 
 are cro'Citons, and the little dice of fried bread which 
 appear in some soups are croutes, or crusts; all the 
 trimmings of bread are to be dried, crushed with a 
 roller, and sifted, the finest crumbs being saved for 
 breading, and the largest for puddings and scallops. 
 When stews or soups are thin, dumplings make a bet- 
 ter garnish than crusts. Fried oysters are a good gar- 
 nish for white-meat hash, the salad herbs for game, 
 cucumbers for fish or brains in savory form, mush- 
 rooms for chicken and calf 's-head, olives for game 
 birds, and tomatoes for meats. 
 
 Following is a list of some of the dishes which may 
 be made from cold food: 
 
133 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Blcmquette, a white stew of flesh of any kind, or fish, 
 warmed or cooked when fresh in white sauce; a little 
 chopped parsley is a good garnish for a hlanquette. 
 
 Boudin, a small meat roll or pudding, very highly 
 seasoned, either blanched, boiled, or baked. 
 
 Bomllahaisse, a thick soup or stew of several fish, 
 containing saffron and wine. 
 
 Brochette^ a small skewerful of pieces of poultry, 
 oysters, sweetbread, chicken livers, etc., broiled and 
 served on the skewer. 
 
 Cannclon^ a small roll of minced meat highly sea- 
 soned and bound w-ith raw ^^^^ either fried or baked; 
 a roll of sausage meat enclosed in good pastry and 
 baked, for example. 
 
 Chartreuse, a mould of game or meat in cold meat 
 jelly or aspic, enclosed in an outer layer of vegetables 
 cut in cubes or cylinders. 
 
 Civit, a delicious stew made of venison, rabbit, hare, 
 or any dark game, cut in small pieces, fried with a 
 little ham or bacon until brown, then covered with cold 
 sauce or gravy and simmered for a half -hour; a glass 
 of red w^ine to finish, and toast or crol2tO)is as a garnish. 
 
 Coquilles, or scallops, are made of bits of game, 
 poultry, or fish, oysters, livers, sweetbreads, or any del- 
 icate morsel, wnth sauce and bread crumbs; these are 
 placed in small shells, dusted with crumbs and dotted 
 with butter, and then browned in the oven. 
 
 Croquettes, little rolls of chopped poultry, game, 
 meat, or fish, bound with raw ^gg, variously seasoned, 
 breaded, and fried; the usual garnish is parsley or 
 cress. 
 
 Cutlets, slices of meat from the leg; also a thickened 
 mixture of chopped poultry or shellfish, made in the 
 shape of chops, and breaded and fried. 
 
THE SECOND SERVICE OF FOOD. 159 
 
 Devils, pungent tidbits of cold game, poultry, or 
 bones, highly seasoned with a mixture of salt, pepper, 
 mustard, and oil, broiled quickly, and served very hot 
 on a hot dish, with all the seasoning that the name im- 
 plies. 
 
 Filets, the tenderloins of meat, small strips of fish, 
 the inner muscles of the breasts of poultry and game 
 birds, may be fried, broiled, stewed, or made into pat- 
 ties with sauce. 
 
 Fricandeau, the noix or cushion from a leg of veal ; 
 also a slice of veal about two inches thick ; the shoul- 
 der muscles of green turtle; usually larded w^ith salt 
 pork and baked, rewarmed in sauce. 
 
 Fricassee, a white stew of poultry, veal, or fish, 
 may be made from cold pieces, with a thick white 
 sauce. 
 
 Fritot, joints of cold poultry or game birds, soaked 
 in French salad dressing an hour, then dipped in bat- 
 ter, and fried in smoking hot fat. 
 
 Gratins, small dishes of sauce and meat, fish, 
 game, poultry, or vegetables, dusted w^ith crumbs and 
 browned in the oven. 
 
 Grenadins, small slices of meat, larded with salt 
 pork and baked in sauce. 
 
 Haricots, brown stews of dark meat and vegetables, 
 or white meat, vegetables, and white sauce; the meat 
 and vegetables in equal proportions. 
 
 FromesJceys, a croquette mixture made in small rolls, 
 dipped in batter, and fried; a thin slice of fat salt j^ork 
 is generally wrapped around the roll before it is dipped 
 in batter. 
 
 3Iatelote, a thick stew of fish and wine. 
 
 Miroton, dollar-shaped slices of cold meat warmed 
 in brown sauce, and dished in a circle. 
 
190 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Patties, small cases of pastry filled with a ricli 
 mince of cold meat, fish, game, or poultry; bouchees 
 are very small patties. 
 
 JPanures, breaded dishes of any kind. 
 
 Puree, a pulp of vegetables made by rubbing them 
 through a sieve with a potato - masher after they arc 
 boiled soft. 
 
 Magoilt, a brown stew of meat with wine. 
 
 JRissole, a small turnover of fine pastry filled with 
 a rich mince of any kind, and then fried like dough- 
 nuts. 
 
 Salmi. — This form of stew is usually made from 
 cold game, although other ingredients are sometimes 
 used. The pieces are cut of even size, put into a 
 saucepan with gravy, wine, or lemon juice, a little 
 chopped onion, and seasonings, and a little oil or butter, 
 and stewed for ten minutes; if the meat is tough, the 
 cooking is continued gently until it is tender. Sahnis 
 are served on toast or with croiltoiis. Cold salmis are 
 prepared as above, then taken from the sauce and 
 cooled; when cold, each joint is dipped in melted 
 meat jelly, and laid on a dish in some regular form; 
 the garnish of the dish is cold jelly cut in varied 
 shapes. Hunter's salmi is made by heating the joints 
 of cold or half-roasted game in equal parts of lemon 
 juice, red wine, and salad-oil, and serving them in the 
 sauce. A good form of sahni is also called capillo- 
 tade / it is made by frying a little chopped onion and 
 mushroom in salad-oil, then adding the game, sauce, 
 and wine, and serving when hot on toast with small 
 pickles. 
 
 Scallops, or coqiiilles, are little dishes of meat, fish, 
 game, or 2:>oultry, in sauce, dusted with crumbs and 
 browned in the oven. 
 
THE SECOND SERVICE OF FOOD. jGl 
 
 Turbans are small rolls of fish filled with force-meat 
 and baked in sauce. 
 
 Vol-au-vents are large patty cases of puff paste 
 filled with a rich, delicate stew, generally of chicken, 
 sweetbreads, and mushrooms. 
 
192 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 SOUPS. 
 
 In the range of economical cookery there is no more 
 important dish than soup. This may seem surprising 
 to many American housekeepers whose ideas of soups 
 are confined to, perhaps, half a dozen kinds. That one 
 may serve a different soup day after day, week after 
 week, month after month, each one savory and not too 
 expensive for ordinary use, is a revelation. We can 
 only indicate the possibilities that await the investi- 
 gator in this culinary direction. There is no clean 
 scrap of any edible substance too insignificant for use 
 in the soup kettle. The old story of the Frenchman 
 who taught the Irish peasant-woman to make a soup 
 from a stone is a practical ilhistration of the fact ; he 
 asked for a bit of bone, a potato, and any other scrap 
 of vegetable she had; a few field herbs that she thought 
 weeds he had gathered, and of these with the water 
 and salt she supplied he made his stone broth, first de- 
 positing in the kettle a well-washed stone from the 
 roadway. If all is not fish that comes to our net, all 
 is fit material for soup that remains from any repast. 
 Fish, flesh, fowl, vegetables, all are promising candi- 
 dates for the soup kettle. 
 
 As the smallest practical illustration is worth more 
 than a page of assertion, Ave will make an immediat'e 
 application of our theory of using up " scraps." Sup- 
 pose there is a cupful of any vegetable puree or pulp, 
 
SOUPS. 193 
 
 that is, any cold cooked vegetable rubbed tbrough a 
 sieve with a potato-masher; or half a cupful of fish, 
 poultry, or meat freed from skin and bone, chopped 
 fine, and then rubbed through a sieve; combined with 
 a pint each of milk and water, a tablespoonful each of 
 butter and flour, and some seasonings; this will make 
 a quart of savory and nutritious soup. This quantity 
 would generally serve four persons when soup is part 
 only of a dinner, giving each one a deep souj^plateful 
 — four or five ladlefuls where usually one or two are 
 served. When soup is to make up tlie bulk of the 
 meal, as it sometimes does on busy household days, 
 the thick beef and vegetable soup is recommended 
 that can be made at a cost of about ten cents a gallon. 
 
 To return to the cream soups. When the puree or 
 pulp is ready, put a tablespoonful each of butter and 
 flour in a saucepan over the fire, and stir them until 
 they are smoothly blended; then gradually stir in a 
 pint each of milk and water, adding about half a cup- 
 ful at a time, and stirring the soup until it is quite free 
 from lumps before putting in any more liquid; when 
 the soup is smooth, stir the puree or pulp with it, sea- 
 son it with a teaspoonf ul of salt and a quarter of a ^alt- 
 spoonful each of white pepper and grated nutmeg. As 
 soon as the soup boils it is ready to serve; it will take 
 its name from the puree of which it is made, being 
 called cream of beets (a most delicious souj)), cream 
 of rice, cream of cod, etc. When all water is used, 
 the milk being omitted, a good white soup is made by 
 following the same method. 
 
 All white soups and sauces should be seasoned with 
 
 white pepper, which can now be bought at ordinary 
 
 grocery stores at about the same price as is paid for 
 
 black pepper; the black husk of the berry is removed 
 
 13 
 
194 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 before it is ground in making white pej^per. The milk 
 is most necessary in making the vegetable soups, be- 
 cause to a degree it replaces the nutritious elements of 
 the meat that is absent. We must largely depend 
 upon these soups in alternation with fish. We cannot 
 often afford meat soups, esiDCcially houillon and con- 
 somme, or chicken soup, unless in that combination 
 with rice which is known to epicures 2i^potage d la reine^ 
 one of the most delicious upon their list and one of the 
 least expensive. We can have the various white and 
 cream fish and vegetable soups, made from tomato, 
 cauliflower, green pease, string beans, potatoes, carrots, 
 beets, dried beans and pease, clams, oysters, any fresh 
 fish, crabs, lobsters, salmon, sturgeon, poultry, game; 
 ham, tongue, and meat. 
 
 The purees of meat, game, and the dark flesh of 
 poultry will be mostly accej^table in combination with 
 a brown soup, which is made like the white soup, ex- 
 cept that the butter and flour are allowed to brown 
 after they begin to bubble in the saucepan, before any 
 liquid is added to them; the butter and flour must be 
 constantly stirred while they are browning, and not 
 allowed to burn ; when they form a smooth, light- 
 brown paste, or roux, it is time to stir in the boiling 
 water gradually, in the proportion of a quart of boil- 
 ing water to a tablesj^oonful each of butter and flour. 
 After the soup is smooth and boiling the puree of meat, 
 poultry, or game, first chopped fine and then rubbed 
 through a sieve, may be stirred in, together with a 
 rather high seasoning of salt and pepper, and then the 
 soup will be done. If there is any cold gravy or broth 
 on hand which is not needed for any other purpose, it 
 may be added to the soup. A variation can be made 
 by serving with it a plateful of little crusts or dice of 
 
SOUPS. 
 
 195 
 
 bread fried brown in the frying kettle. As the amount 
 of fat absorbed by the bread is inconsiderable, and as 
 the crusts themselves are made from scraps, the ad- 
 ditional cost is but slight. If the fat is smoking hot 
 when the bits of bread are put into it, they will brown 
 quickly, and can be entirely freed from grease by be- 
 ing laid on brown paper for a moment after they are 
 skimmed out of the fat. The fat must be taken off 
 the fire as soon as the bread is fried, allowed to cool a 
 little, and then strained through a fine wire or hair 
 sieve or a thin cloth; this will free it from crumbs, 
 and prepare it for future use. 
 
 Any of these soups can be made at a cost of from 
 five to ten cents for a dinner, allowing the i^roportion 
 of half a pint each for four persons; that, as has al- 
 ready been said, is more than is usually served. If 
 the thicker soup, for which a recipe follows, is used, 
 the cost of the dinner will be very much reduced, be- 
 cause, with plenty of bread, it makes the bulk of a 
 very hearty and nutritious meal; in fact, some persons 
 consider it too hearty. It does not legitimately be- 
 long in our present scheme of cookery, and is given 
 only because it may serve on some very busy day satis- 
 factorily to complement an otherwise scant supply of 
 food. For two quarts of soup, peel and cut in small 
 dice half a cupful each of carrots, turnips, and toma- 
 toes, or use the canned tomatoes; also peel and chop a 
 small onion; cut a quarter of a pound of soup beef in 
 small bits; pick over and wash in cold water half a 
 cupful of rice. Put all these ingredients over the fire 
 in two quarts of cold water, with two teaspoonfuls of 
 salt and half a saltspoonf ul of pepper ; cover the soup 
 kettle, and cook the soup slowly for two hours, or un- 
 til all the vegetables are tender; if the soup has be- 
 
196 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 come too thick, add a little boiling water, see that it is 
 palatably seasoned, and it will then be ready to use. 
 
 If the flavor of onions is undesirable, use instead 
 about two tablespoonf uls of chopped parsley, or half a 
 cupful of chopped celery, or any sweet herb preferred, 
 to flavor the soup. But do not confuse the flavors. 
 Remember that the same soup may be served frequent- 
 ly if it is distinctly and differently flavored. The 
 taste of every dish depends upon its seasoning ; so 
 great is the variety of flavors which can be developed 
 by the judicious use of condiments that a skilful cook 
 can closely imitate the flavor and odor characteristic 
 of certain foods when not a particle of them enters into 
 the composition of his dish. 
 
 By discriminating in the use of seasonings the most 
 appetizing novelty can be attached to rather unprom- 
 ising materials. The lighter and more delicate meats 
 and j^oultry and fish, and the white soups and sauces, 
 seem to call for distinct and mild flavors ; fat meats 
 and poultry are most palatable with sharp and acid 
 condiments and sauces, and strong spices and herbs, 
 like pickles, black pepper, and sage. Such combination 
 dishes as soups, ragolXts or stews, and minced - meats 
 are made most palatable by several seasonings. Plain 
 roasts and broiled meats are best with the simple ad- 
 dition of salt and pepper, or a single acid or relish. 
 The physiological action of condiments is stimulating, 
 appetizing, and digestive. Without salt it would be 
 impossible to keep the blood in a healthy condition, all 
 the food reformers in the world to the contrary not- 
 withstanding. Of the peppers, black is the sharpest 
 and most aromatic, but, owing to the presence of the 
 husk of the berry, it is slightly irritating to enfeebled 
 digestive organs. White pei)per is milder and more 
 
SOUPS. lQ^J 
 
 subtle, and has the advantage of not discoloring white 
 soups and sauces. Red pei3per is more stimulating, and 
 exceedingly useful in dyspepsia. Sweet red pepper, 
 or paprika, is the most delicious and pleasant of all 
 the varieties. The sweet garden pepper, which can be 
 bought fresh during the summer and autumn, is an 
 excellent condiment; the same pepper dried is availa- 
 ble all the year; a small piece cooked in soups, stews, 
 and sauces seasons them more acceptably than ground 
 pepper. Several delicious dishes can be made from 
 the fresh peppers, for which recipes are given else- 
 where. 
 
 To illustrate the question of preserving the econom- 
 ical balance, we will take the making of two soups, 
 bouillon and a puree, or thick soup of meat and vege- 
 tables. Houillon is the most elaborate, and at the 
 same time the most delicate and nutritious soup that 
 can be made. It would be too expensive to admit into 
 our culinary scheme were it not that the meat and 
 vegetables used in making it can be cooked a second, 
 time in a very appetizing way. Bouillon is a highly- 
 flavored, aromatic clear soup of a dark amber- color, 
 so nutritious that a cup of it drank hot will restore a 
 tired or sick person as quickly as, and far more effect- 
 ively than, a glass of wine. It is invaluable for the 
 use of convalescents and for delicate children, so that 
 it should be made in every household. Elsewhere is 
 given a recipe for making clear soup, or consomme; 
 the same process is to be followed in making bouillon, 
 but the materials differ. In the clear soup one pound 
 of beef and bone is allowed for each quart of soup; 
 for bouillon three kinds of meat are used; that is, in- 
 stead of beef alone, there is in bouillon beef, veal, and 
 poultry. The nutritive broth of Francatelli and Du- 
 
'IQQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 bois resembles houillo7i^ and the consomme of Gouffe 
 is made of meat and poultry. The two names C07i- 
 som,me and bouillon are used here as they are gener- 
 ally understood in this country. 
 
 To make four quarts of hoidllon., or broth, use four 
 pounds of soup beef and bone, the bone from the small 
 end of a leg of veal, called the knuckle, and a chicken 
 or fowl weighing from three to four pounds. Let the 
 fowl be carefully plucked, singed, drawn, and trussed 
 for boiling. The beef is to be cut in a large piece 
 from the bone, and the bone broken or chopped in 
 small pieces; the marrow, if there is any, being re- 
 served to make any of the dishes for which recipes 
 have already been given. Put all the bones in the 
 bottom of the soup- kettle, lay the beef and fowl on 
 them, pour in four quarts of cold water, and let the 
 water gradually heat and boil; remove all scum as it 
 rises. While the soup is heating, peel a large carrot 
 and turnip, a medium-sized onion, and make a bouquet 
 of herbs as directed in the recipe for consomm^e ; after 
 the bouillon is skimmed clear, add the vegetables and 
 an even tablesjDOonful of salt, and boil the broth as di- 
 rected in the consomme recipe. When the chicken is 
 tender, take it up, and use it for any of the dishes 
 made from cooked chicken. When the soup is ready 
 to strain, save the meat and vegetables to make a 
 puree, or thick soup, which may be prepared within a 
 few days, care being taken not to kee23 the cooked 
 meat and vegetables until they spoil. The bouillon 
 will keep from three to ten days after it is clarified, 
 according to the weather; if it is sealed in air-tight 
 bottles or jars, it will keep indefinitely, and can be 
 heated when required for the table. For a journey a 
 bottle of bouillon is invaluable, especially if there are 
 
SOUPS. 199 
 
 children or invalids in the party. If cold houillon 
 solidifies, heat it in the bottle until it can be poured 
 out. 
 
 To make a puree, or thick soup of cold meat and 
 vegetables, allow a cupful of cold meat of any kind, 
 and an equal quantity of cold soup vegetables, for two 
 quarts of soup; cut the meat in small pieces, put it over 
 the fire in the soup kettle with enough good drippings 
 or butter to prevent burning, and fry it brown; when 
 the meat is brown, stir with it two tablespoonfuls of 
 dry flour; when the flour is brown, add the cold soup 
 vegetables, cut in small pieces, and two quarts of boil- 
 ing water; season the soup palatably with salt and 
 pepper, and cook it slowly until both meat and vege- 
 tables are tender enough to be rubbed through a col- 
 ander or sieve with a potato-masher. Several hours 
 will be required to cook the meat to this point. After 
 the meat and vegetables have been rubbed through the 
 sieve they will form a puree, or pulp ; this is to be re- 
 turned to the soup kettle; if it is thicker than thick 
 cream, more boiling water is to be added, and a pal- 
 atable seasoning of salt and pepper. \Yhen the soup 
 is of the right consistency, and has boiled, it will be 
 ready to serve. 
 
 This soup may be varied to suit the materials on 
 hand. It can be made from any cold meat or poultry; 
 one or more kinds of meat can be used; scraps of cold 
 roast beef or mutton, cold steak or chops, cold veal 
 cooked in any way, cold poultry or game birds browned 
 in butter, and then boiled until the bones fall out; cold 
 venison, antelope, bear, or buffalo meat, rabbits, or 
 squirrels — in fact, any kind of animal flesh. At least 
 two kinds of cold vegetables should be used, with a 
 small proportion of onion or leeks. Canned tomatoes, 
 
200 FAillLY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 cold boiled rice, and cold veal or mutton make a good 
 soup. Cold poultry, boiled rice, and a little milk make 
 a delicious and nourishing soup. Cold gravy may be 
 added to any of the cold meat soups, and the merest 
 scraps of meat utilized in this way. The odd pieces 
 of cold food which many persons would throw away 
 can thus be transformed into a palatable dish. Our 
 readers must not think this too small an economy to 
 be practised. Even if there is no pressing necessity 
 for such close calculation the prudent housewife will 
 prefer to save a trifle in this way, and so increase the 
 reserve from which she can draw some pleasant in- 
 dulgence. The smallest economies need not be dis- 
 dained when it is remembered that a few will put a 
 new book on the shelf, or a bit of lace or a fresh pair 
 of gloves in the dressing-case. 
 
FISH. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 FISH. 
 
 Pendi:n'g all changes of season there is an invol- 
 untary longing for novelty in diet, and especially in 
 summer fish seems more seasonable fare than heavy 
 joints. Even the early warmth of spring induces an 
 almost imperceptible lassitude, which gradually affects 
 the appetite. Without being conscious of any definite 
 physical ailment, a disinclination to eat becomes more 
 or less marked. The substantial meats are distasteful. 
 Fresh fish, with a garnish of cress or lemon, is a more 
 welcome breakfast dish than the familiar chop or steak, 
 and at dinner the large roast or boiled joint is accept- 
 ably replaced by some palatable side dish. Some of 
 the larger sea and lake fish are nutritious enough to 
 form the basis of a family dinner without any meat. 
 Baked fish with tomatoes, a barbecue of shad or lake 
 fish, or a stuffed blue-fish with brown gravy, is sug- 
 gested for such use. If any of the fish remains cold, 
 it can be scalloped as a side dish for the next day's 
 dinner. 
 
 When in summer the wise housekeeper seeks to 
 tempt with varied and dainty devices at table the ap- 
 petite exhausted by too fervent heats she has the sea- 
 son's abundance in her favor. Unless unusually long 
 cold storms prevail, the summer markets upon lake 
 and seaboard abound with excellent fish, w^hich is as 
 well calculated to reduce the cost of our bills of fare 
 
202 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 as to vary them. Alternating with soup, or combined 
 with it to replace a heavier meat dish, fresh fish is one 
 of the most Avholesome and valuable of summer foods. 
 The regulation dinner fish when served as a course is 
 boiled, dressed with a sauce, and accompanied with 
 plain boiled potatoes, the latter not usually being sent 
 to the table a second time during dinner; when fish 
 replaces meat, it may be stuffed, baked, and served 
 with its own gravy, made, like meat gravy, from the 
 drij3pings in the baking-pan. Combinations of baked 
 fish and tomatoes are excellent, and a trifle of chives, 
 shallot, garlic, or onion adds a zest to the flavor; as a 
 rule this is used by all Creole and colored cooks, the 
 name " Creole " attached to a dish implying the presence 
 of tomatoes, and garlic or one of its congeners. 
 
 Among the many palatable fish e^itrees w^hich may 
 replace meat for a light dinner are all the forms of 
 breaded, fried, and scalloped fish; cold fish warmed in 
 sauce and then dusted with crumbs and browned in a 
 hot oven; thick slices of fish basted frequently and 
 baked with potatoes in the pan; strips of boned fish 
 rolled, with a little stuffing in the middle, baked in 
 gravy, and then served with mashed potatoes. Part 
 of a large fish may be cooked, and the rest salted as 
 directed in the recipe for corned blue-fish. It is an 
 economy to buy such fish w^hen it is cheap, and pre- 
 serve it for future use; that which is intended for 
 cooking within two or three days may be laid in a 
 brine composed of water, vinegar, salt, and whole 
 spice. Oysters may replace meat w^hen care is taken 
 to increase the size and vary the flavor of the dish; 
 for instance, fried oysters, wdth a brown gravy made 
 from the drippings in the pan mixed with flour, boil- 
 ing water, and seasonings, may be served in a border 
 
FISH. 
 
 203 
 
 of mashed potatoes; or oysters stewed in a wliite sauce 
 made from their own liquor, in the same border; the 
 raw yolk of egg added to the sauce just before serv- 
 
 The favorite American delicacy, soft-shell crabs, in 
 July and early August, are often quite cheap enough 
 to come within our limit. As they are exceedingly 
 fragile, full directions for treating them will be in 
 place. They come to market in shallow wooden 
 boxes, packed in wet sea- weed or eel-grass, and if they 
 are kept cool they will remain in good condition for 
 several days. When they come into the house it is 
 well to lay them gently in a pan of cold water while 
 the grass is being washed; then cover them with it on 
 a deep dish or in a box, and keep them in the coldest 
 place available; by washing them in this way every 
 day, and keeping them in the refrigerator, they have 
 been preserved in the school of cookery for several 
 days; this possibility is referred to in case of emer- 
 gencies. Unless for good reasons, the crabs should 
 not be bought in large quantities. They are good as 
 long as they are alive, and are heavy in proportion to 
 their size when in good condition; the color of their 
 shells is a dark bluish-green, and the consistency like 
 a tough paper; when cooked the shell is easily cut with 
 a knife, and is eaten. To prepare the crabs for cook- 
 ing remove the flap or apron on the under shell, and 
 the soft fins which lie under the sides of the back shell; 
 make a semicircular cut just back of the eyes, through 
 both shells, using a very sharp knife, and throw away 
 this portion; all the rest of the crab is good. Soft 
 crabs are fried by being entirely immersed in smoking 
 hot fat after being rolled in flour or meal, or breaded 
 by being dipped first in cracker-dust, then in beaten 
 
2Q4 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 eggf and again in cracker-dust; tliey are also dipped 
 in melted butter, and broiled; thej^ are seasoned with 
 salt and pepper, and served with a garnish of lemon 
 and parsley or watercresses. 
 
 A good fish for baking is halibut neck, available on 
 the seaboard, or white fish, on the lake shores; near 
 the Mississippi, buffalo and catfish are suitable, and 
 on the shores of the Gulf and on the Pacific coast the 
 variety is unlimited. The fish is to be cleaned and 
 washed, and the fins and tail trimmed ; it is then laid 
 in a baking-dish which can be sent to the table, or in 
 a pan from which the fish can be removed, when done, 
 without breaking. For a fish weighing about four 
 pounds "a quart of tomatoes, peeled and sliced, are 
 placed in the pan, together with a medium-sized onion 
 peeled and sliced, a palatable seasoning of salt and 
 pei^per, and a small piece of garlic, not larger than a 
 dried pea, chopped very fine. The fish is to be 
 dusted w^th fine sifted crumbs, dotted with butter, 
 and then baked for half an hour in a moderate oven. 
 Either fresh or canned tomatoes may be used for this 
 dish. 
 
 Catfish, like buffalo fish, come to the consumer v>dth- 
 out head or skin. After washing the fish, dry them 
 on a towel, score them on both sides at intervals of an 
 inch, roll them in Indian meal or flour seasoned with 
 salt and pepper, and fry them brown ; salt pork is used 
 when the fish are rolled in meal, and lard, butter, or 
 drippings when they are covered with flour. With 
 flour a brown gravy may be made by stirring an ad- 
 ditional spoonful of flour with the brown drippings in 
 the frying-pan, after the fish is cooked, then adding 
 enough boiling water to make a good gravy, and a 
 palatable seasoning of salt and cayenne; part milk and 
 
FISH. 
 
 205 
 
 part water makes an excellent gravy, and with it either 
 baked or boiled potatoes augment the size of the dish. 
 
 A barbecue of shad, Spanish mackerel, or white-fish 
 is made by splitting the fish down the back, cutting 
 out the backbone, cleaning, and then washing it. Af- 
 ter this is done the fish is laid, skin down, in a pan 
 containing two tablespoonfuls of butter, and seasoned 
 palatably with salt and pepper; the pan is then set 
 before the fire or in a hot oven, and the fish frequently 
 basted with the melted butter until the flakes begin to 
 break apart; the fish is then transferred to a hot dish, 
 without breaking, and kept hot. A tablesj^oonful of 
 dry flour is stirred into the baking-pan, which is to be 
 set over the fire; when the flour is brown a pint of 
 boiling water is gradually added, with a palatable sea- 
 soning of salt and pepper. After this gravy boils it 
 is to be poured over the fish, and the dish is ready to 
 serve. 
 
 Blue-fish is excellent as a substantial dish when 
 stuffed and baked. Put a cupful of dry bread-crumbs 
 in a frying-pan over the fire with two tablespoonfuls 
 of drippings, and stir them until they begin to brown; 
 then add to them enough boiling water to moisten 
 them; season them highly with salt, pepper, and any 
 powdered sweet herb, or celery salt, or a teaspoonful 
 of finely chopped onion, and use them to stuff the fish; 
 sew the stufiing in the fish, place it in a baking-pan, 
 with a few slices of salt pork or two tablespoonfuls of 
 drippings under it; season it Anth salt and pepper, 
 dredge it with flour, and put it in a hot oven. As the 
 fish browns, dredge it repeatedly with flour, and baste 
 it. When a fin can easily be pulled out, or the flakes 
 of the fish begin to separate, it will be done. A fish 
 weighing five or six pounds will bake in about an hour 
 
206 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 in a moderate oven. A brown gravy is made as for 
 barbecued fish. 
 
 Scalloped fish is prepared by first freeing it from 
 skin and bones, then moistening it with the gravy 
 which has been served Avith it, or with white sauce 
 palatably seasoned; the fish is then put into scallop 
 shells, or an earthen dish which can be sent to the 
 table, finely sifted bread-crumbs are dusted over the 
 surface, and a little butter dotted over it, and the scal- 
 loped fish is then quickly browned in the oven, and 
 served hot. If cold boiled fish is scalloj^ed, it may be 
 moistened with the sauce which has been served with it. 
 
 Among the many excellent fish in the summer mar- 
 ket is one almost unknown to the majority of house- 
 keepers, unless at market their attention has been at- 
 tracted by a large middle cut, rosy in color as prime 
 veal, well veined with yellowish fat, and noticeable for 
 the absence of bones, these troublesome adjuncts being 
 replaced by cartilage. To the wondering inquiry, 
 " What is that ?" the dealer Avill reply, " Sturgeon, 
 and very chea])." The price ranges during the sum- 
 mer about ten or twelve cents a pound, and the fish is 
 generally to be found in the lower markets. If the 
 uncooked fish looks like veal, the resemblance is 
 heightened when it is served. The texture and flavor 
 suggest a combination of tender veal and fine poultry. 
 Classical epicures did full justice to this superb fish 
 when they crowned it and carried it to the table with 
 music; it has always been known in Europe as a 
 "royal" fish, but from our very excess of it we fail to 
 appreciate it. It possesses the advantage of keeping 
 well; in fact, if sturgeon is large, it is better the second 
 or third day than when freshly caught, but it should 
 never be kept until it grows dark red or has a bad 
 
FISH. 
 
 207 
 
 odor. Sturgeon in good condition has a clear, rosy- 
 white flesh, with many intersecting lines of semitrans- 
 parent orange-colored fat, thick about the fins and ab- 
 domen; the spinal cartilage is semitransparent, blu- 
 ish-white, enclosing a thick nerve cord of marrow- 
 like consistency, which is esteemed as a great delicacy 
 in Russia, where the fish abounds. The cutlets are 
 about the size and shape of slices of halibut, and the 
 fish when cooked is firm and rather dry, slightly tinged 
 with color, and of a peculiar but most appetizing flavor. 
 It is much more nutritious than any other fish except 
 salmon, and may be cooked like it. Although in Eng- 
 land Miss Jewry, in her admirable cookery-book, says 
 that it seems almost useless to give recipes for cooking 
 this fish, so rare and expensive there as to be divided 
 between royalty and the Lord Mayor of London, it 
 will prove an acceptable addition to our bills of fare. 
 As an introductory dish let a thick slice be fried like 
 a veal cutlet for either breakfast or dinner, or a piece 
 of three or four pounds baked and served with a brown 
 gravy in place of the roast at dinner. Any cold cooked 
 sturgeon can be laid in a pickle made by boiling, for 
 two or three minutes, equal parts of vinegar and water, 
 enough to cover the fish, with a tablespoonf ul of mixed 
 whole spices and a sliced lemon to each quart of pickle; 
 the cold sturgeon should be put into the pickle after 
 it is cooked, and allowed to stand overnight. Pickled 
 sturgeon is a good dish for breakfast, luncheon, or sup- 
 per. 
 
 Among the cheaper kinds of fish for which recipes 
 have been promised are skate or ray, and catfish; the 
 latter is a favorite fish among Philadelphia house- 
 keepers, and the former is best known to English and 
 Continental cooks, although cheap in this country at 
 
208 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 certain seasons. Unlike most fish, skate will not only 
 bear keeping for a day or two in dry, moderately cool 
 weather, but will be improved thereby. As the fish 
 is quite large, one fin or wing, or a portion of a large 
 one, will furnish several dishes; the thickest part may 
 be cut in small pieces suitable for broiling or frying, 
 and either cooked at once or, if seemingly tough, laid 
 in an equal mixture of vinegar and water — enough to 
 cover the fish — with salt, pepper, and a teaspoonful of 
 whole cloves and allspice, for one or two days. For 
 broiling, dry the skate on a clean towel, dip it in a very 
 little melted butter seasoned with salt and pepper, 
 and brown it on both sides at a hot fire; serve it with 
 the melted butter heated with two or three tablespoon- 
 fuls of vinegar and poured over it, or with a little 
 fresh butter, salt, pepper, and a sliced lemon if it is 
 available. Fried skate should be rolled in fiour or 
 Indian meal seasoned with salt and pepper, then fried 
 brown in enough drippings to prevent burning, or 
 with a few slices of salt pork; serve the fish very hot, 
 with the fried pork, or with a brown gravy made by 
 stirring a teaspoonful of dry flour into the frying-pan 
 after the fish is taken up, gradually adding about a 
 pint of boiling water, a palatable seasoning of salt and 
 pepper, and boiling it for a minute; the gravy is to be 
 served in a bowl, and if a dish of boiled or baked po- 
 tatoes is also served, the fish becomes a substantial 
 breakfast or supper dish, or may replace a small meat 
 at dinner. The thin, gelatinous portion of the fin is 
 excellent if boiled in salted boiling water until tender, 
 then served on a napkin with parsley and lemon, or 
 a dish of sliced cucumbers, or some tomato sauce, or 
 burned butter. The burned-butter sauce is made by 
 browning tAVO tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying- 
 
FISH. 
 
 209 
 
 pan, and then stirring in two thirds of a cupful of vin- 
 egar ; two tablespoonf uls of either capers, parsley, or 
 pickles chopped fine make an excellent savor for the 
 boiled skate with burned butter. Any small portion 
 of the boiled skate which remains unused should be 
 freed from bones directly it comes from the table, and 
 rubbed through a sieve or colander with a potato- 
 masher, and kept cool until the following day for the 
 preparation of soup; a cupful will be enough for three 
 or four Joints of soup, made as follows : 
 
 To make two quarts of cream of skate, put over the 
 fire in a thick saucepan two heaping tablespoonf uls of 
 dry flour, and two even spoonfuls of butter; stir them 
 until they bubble; then gradually stir in a quart of 
 boiling water, a quart of milk, the puree of skate, and 
 a palatable seasoning of salt, pepper, and a very little 
 grated nutmeg; stir the soup with an egg- whip until 
 it is smooth, let it boil for a moment, and then serve it 
 hot. If by standing it becomes thicker than cream, 
 thin it with boiling water or milk. When there is as 
 much as two cupfuls of the cold boiled skate, free it 
 from bones, break it in small flakes, leaving on the 
 skin, and heat it in a cream sauce made by mixing 
 over the fire a tablespoonf ul each of flour and butter, 
 a pint of hot milk or milk and water, and a rather high 
 seasoning of salt and cayenne; heat the fish in the 
 sauce and serve it on nicely made toast. 
 
 Many soups have been given, and one more good win- 
 ter recipe is included for brown chowder. Use for this 
 any cheap winter fish, and take care to serve it very 
 hot, with a plate of sea-biscuit. The chowder should 
 have either the flavor of onion or tomato, one onion 
 peeled and sliced or a cupful of peeled tomatoes being 
 fried for five minutes with a tablespoonf ul of sweet drip^ 
 14 
 
210 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 pings; meantime fry in a saucepan a pound of fish, 
 cut in small slices and rolled in flour, in enough good 
 drippings, butter, or salad - oil to prevent burning ; 
 when the fish is brown, take it up and lay it on brown 
 paper ; put into the saucepan two tablespoonfuls of 
 dry flour, and stir until the flour is brown; then gradu- 
 ally stir in two quarts of boiling water, the fried onion 
 or tomato, and a high seasoning of salt and cayenne. 
 When the soup thus made has boiled put the fried fish 
 with it, and serve it hot with sea-biscuit. 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 
 
 Many of the smaller dishes given in the chapter de- 
 voted to the second service of food will well repay 
 careful study on the part of the housekeeper who de- 
 sires to make the best and most attractive use of cold 
 food. The fact has been reiterated that good living 
 within the limits prescribed in this work is possible 
 only where the utmost value of food is obtained. " No 
 margin for waste " is the inexorable rule. Fortunate- 
 ly for the success of such an endeavor, there is a grow- 
 ing inclination on the part of some servants to learn 
 all their mistresses can teach them of the many little 
 niceties which make up the sum of perfect cookery. 
 It is designed to gather as many as our space will re- 
 ceive, and in such explicit form as to prove intelligi- 
 ble alike to housekeeper and help. Only such things 
 are advised as have proved practicable under ordinary 
 circumstances. 
 
 If occasionally a departure seems to be made, as in 
 this chaj)ter, from the line of strict economy in the 
 selection of food, it is because at certain seasons, and 
 in certain sections of the country, products are plenti- 
 ful and cheap which are scarce and high in others. 
 Take, for instance, venison, to which our present space 
 is dedicated: during the winter it can be bought as 
 cheap as mutton and cheaper than beef in many places. 
 The recipes which are given for treating it can be ap- 
 
212 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 plied to any such game as antelope, elk, moose, buffalo, 
 bear, or the flesh of the most important smaller game 
 — raccoon, wooclchuck, beaver, and opossum. The last- 
 named game is now regularly marketed in many of the 
 Western and Northern cities, where our dusky South- 
 ern brethren have made its merits known as second 
 only to those of prime roasting pigs; let doubters try 
 a fat, tender 'possum, baked in brown gravy, with 
 sweet potatoes, and see if 
 
 " Wben ycr's eat an' cat an' cat 
 Ez full cz yer kin liol', 
 Yer hopes dar's 'possum fur ter cat 
 Up wbar de streets is gol'." 
 
 Venison costs from fifteen to twenty-five cents a pound 
 during the winter in New York, the lowest figure be- 
 ing that paid for large portions, and the highest by 
 the single pound. There is so little fat upon venison 
 that when the intention is to put it down in drippings, 
 like the old Pennsylvania Dutch roast beef, extra pro- 
 vision must be made. In England the fat of mutton 
 is always used to supplement that of venison; either 
 that or beef suet is suitable, or lard may be em23loyed 
 if it is used. The venison to be potted should be cut 
 in pieces suitable for the table, wiped with a wet 
 cloth to free it from hairs, cooked to the desired de- 
 gree either by roasting, baking, broiling, or frying, 
 rather highly seasoned, and then cooled. Meantime 
 the fat in abundant quantity should be heated until 
 quite melted; a separate vessel is to be used for each 
 piece of meat, enough larger than the meat to permit 
 it to be surrounded by an inch or more of fat; reverse 
 a deep plate on the bottom of the vessel, lay the cold 
 cooked vension upon it, pour in the liquid fat, which 
 should be only warm enough to run freely, making 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 
 
 213 
 
 sure that there is at least an inch of fat on all sides 
 of the meat and under and over it; when the fat is 
 cold it will entirely exclude the air, and keep the meat 
 from spoiling, providing it is kept in a dry, cool, even 
 temperature. 
 
 When the venison is required for the table, scrape 
 off the fat, quickly heat the meat, and send it to the 
 table, or serve it cold. Small joints may be corned 
 like the leg of mutton, or smoked like dried beef, and 
 then shaved and frizzled, or cut in small cubes or thin 
 strips, and dried in the open air (above a freezing 
 temperature) or in a cool oven. These dried portions 
 can subsequently be softened by soaking in cold 
 "water, and cooked tender in the same water for soups. 
 Stews, or pies. The merest scraps of venison can be 
 dried in a cool oven, then pounded to a powder, and 
 used in sauces and soups; half a cupful of the pow- 
 dered meat boiled with two quarts of water, and thick- 
 ened with a brown roux made by browning together 
 two tablespoonfuls each of dry flour and butter, will 
 produce an excellent soup; it should be highly seasoned 
 with salt and cayenne, and is improved by the addition 
 of a glass of wine, or a little good table sauce or cat- 
 sup. The dried venison, powdered, mixed with half its 
 weight of melted suet, seasoned and sealed from the 
 air, constitutes pemican. An excellent recipe for dry- 
 ing and smoking beef could be used for venison. 
 
 In freezing weather venison will keep indefinitely; 
 it should be trimmed free from ragged and bruised 
 parts, the loose fur wiped off with a wet cloth, and 
 the entire surface tliickly powdered with ground gin- 
 ger or pepper to protect it from insects and mice; it 
 should be hung from a stout hook so that it does 
 not touch anything, and in a dry place. An excellent 
 
214 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 pickle or marinade for venison can be made of the 
 claret remaining in opened bottles, with the permission 
 of our California critic, who at least cannot make us 
 Charles Lamb's reproach that " everything is sopped in 
 claret, steeped in claret, basted with claret, as if claret 
 were as cheap as ditch water." A half-bottle of ordi- 
 nary claret is well wasted on venison, especially as the 
 marinade can be used for the sauce, or again as a 
 pickle for other meat; to it add half a cupful of whole 
 spices mixed together, such as cloves, allspice, mace, 
 pepper-corns, or a red pepper, a broken bay-leaf, and 
 a sprig of any sweet herb except sage, that being re- 
 served for very fat meat and poultry; in this pickle 
 turn the venison every day for a week, or longer, ac- 
 cording to convenience. 
 
 To cook it, drain it from the pickle, brown it in 
 butter or sweet drippings, dredge it with dry flour, 
 and permit that to brown, and then cover it either 
 with the pickle or with boiling water ; season the 
 gravy palatably, and gently simmer the venison until 
 it is tender; then strain the gravy, and serve it with 
 the venison very hot. Venison chops or steaks are 
 delicious first quickly browned in butter enough to 
 prevent burning, and then simmered for about five 
 minutes with the addition of a tablespoonful of cur- 
 rant-jelly to each pound of meat, the seasoning being 
 of salt and cayenne. A perfect sauce is Mrs. Howe's 
 for broiled venison or any game — a spoonful of dry 
 mustard smoothly blended cold Avith four times its 
 quantity of currant jelly. A good soup can be made 
 from the bones of venison boiled for three or four 
 hours in water, with any cold gravy and scraps of 
 meat — a pound to a quart of water — until the meat 
 falls from the bones; break the bones and extract tlie 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 215 
 
 marrow; rub it and the meat to a pulp throiigli a col- 
 ander or sieve, return it to the broth, and thicken it 
 with flour and butter browned together, a tablespoon- 
 ful of each to a quart of broth; season the soup high- 
 ly, and serve it hot. ISTo meat-pie more savory than a 
 well-made venison • pasty, the crust brown and crisp, 
 the venison first stewed tender in good gravy, which 
 is subsequently to be poured into the j^asty through a 
 funnel inserted in a cut in the crust after it is baked; 
 the juice of a lemon or a glass of port may be added 
 to the gravy. 
 
 An English method of potting venison is to bake it 
 with a little mutton suet and whole spices, in enough 
 claret to cover it, until it is tender, and then pack it in 
 earthen jars and cover it with clarified butter. Again 
 the claret; but perhaps it may be permitted, so long 
 as we do not suggest Lord Bacon's expedient of raising 
 "a turf or two in the garden walks to pour down to 
 each a bottle of claret to recreate the sense of smell- 
 ing." To pot the trimmings or remains of venison, 
 stew them gently until quite tender in enough gravy 
 or water to cover them; chop the cooked meat fine, 
 then pound it smooth in a mortar, or rub it through a 
 sieve with" a potato-masher; season it highly, press it 
 down firmly in small jars or glasses, and cover it at 
 least a half-inch thick with clarified butter; close the 
 vessels from the air and dust. Or, cooked and fine- 
 ly minced, mix the venison with an equal portion of 
 minced or grated ham, season it highly, and j^ot it in 
 reserve for a sandwich meat. So prepared, a spoon- 
 ful mixed with three slightly beaten eggs, seasoned 
 with salt and pepper, makes a most savory omelet for 
 breakfast or luncheon. 
 
 There are special autumn luxuries well known in the 
 
216 fa:mily living on $500 a year. 
 
 South and Southwest, which may prove welcome to 
 urban housekeepers w^ho favor the savory pasties and 
 " ragoos " we hokl in legacy from the mother country; 
 those living in the country will have no difficulty in 
 obtaining the requisites for making the dishes, nor 
 need city cooks if they wall take the trouble to skin 
 rabbits or squirrels according to the directions given 
 for making Brunswick stew. The operation is not 
 very hard, although it seems somewhat sanguinary; in 
 accom.plishing it the blood should be saved to aug- 
 ment the flavor of the dish. No more washing need 
 be done than that necessary to remove the hairs from 
 the meat, as the entrails are not to be broken in dress- 
 ing the carcass. The w^ashing can be done wdth w^ater 
 containing a little salt or vinegar, and the blood sub- 
 sequently mixed with this and strained to free it from 
 hairs. It may be said in passing that the skins can 
 be cured at home by a simple process not disagreeable. 
 The recipes w^hich follow are those of old-time house- 
 wives, whose every dish was a savory temptation. The 
 squirrel dishes have somewhat the flavor of poultry, or 
 rather of partridge; California squirrels are large and 
 fat — witness the havoc they make in ripening wheat 
 fields — and their flesh is tender and savory. As the 
 recipes for squirrel and rabbit are interchangeable, 
 only one will be given for each dish, except where 
 both white and broAvn gravies are desirable. 
 
 To make a soup, which is almost a stew, suitable 
 for a meagre dinner, while green corn and beans are 
 available, or when canned vegetables can be obtained, 
 skin and cut in joints a pair of small squirrels, or one 
 larger, put the meat over the fire in two quarts of cold 
 w^ater, with the blood, and boil it until the bones can 
 be taken out, removing all scum as it rises; meantime 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 217 
 
 prepare a cupful each of corn from the ear, Lima 
 beans shelled, okra washed and sliced, tomatoes peeled 
 and sliced, and sweet potatoes peeled and sliced into 
 cold water; rub a tablespoonful each of butter and 
 flour to a smooth paste. After the bones have been 
 taken from the meat, put in the vegetables, the paste 
 of flour and butter, and a palatable seasoning of salt 
 and pepper; if there is not liquid enough to make the 
 soup about as thick as cream, add boiling water; keep 
 the soup covered, boil it until the vegetables are ten- 
 der, and then serve it. Rabbit soup is made by dress- 
 ing a rabbit and cutting it in small joints; peel and 
 slice half a cupful of onion, and slice thin a quarter of 
 a pound of fat ham or bacon; put all these ingredients 
 over the fire, with just enough extra fat or drippings 
 to prevent burning, and brown them; then add the 
 blood and two quarts of boiling water; if there is pars- 
 ley, add a tablespoonful chopped fine, a blade of mace, 
 a dozen whole cloves, a small red pepper chopped fine, 
 and a palatable seasoning of salt; keep the saucepan 
 covered, and boil the soup until the meat can be rubbed 
 through a colander or sieve with a potato-masher; 
 return the pulp thus made to the saucepan, after hav- 
 ing browned a heaping tablespoonful each of butter 
 and flour together in the bottom ; add all the broth and 
 enough boiliug water to make a good soup, test the 
 seasoning, and serve it. 
 
 The last soup may be used whenever a heavy one is 
 desired as a first course at dinner; the first one, made 
 with the vegetables, is in fact a savory stew which can 
 be used as the chief part of a dinner. An old Knicker- 
 bocker fricassee was made by rolling joints of rabbit or 
 squirrel in flour, browning them in butter enough to 
 prevent burning, covering them with boiling water, 
 
218 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 seasoning them liigbly with salt and pepper, and then 
 gently stewing until the meat became tender; the blood 
 might be added to increase the savoriness of the dish. 
 The flavor of the dish may be varied by using a little 
 cream in place of the blood, or by the addition of a 
 few slices of salt pork. 
 
 A stew of squirrel which closely imitates terrapin 
 was a noted dish in old Washington days; the recipe 
 came directly to the author from Mrs. S. S. Ward, 
 whose terrapin was so entirely appreciated by Clay 
 and Webster. To make the dish, dress three fat squir- 
 rels, cut off the legs with the larger or second joint at- 
 tached, cut off the feet, and trim the joints to resem- 
 ble the legs of terrapin, removing the large bones; put 
 aside the bodies for another dish; wash the joints in a 
 little water to remove the hairs, mix the blood with 
 this water, strain it to free it from hairs, and save it; 
 put the chosen joints of squirrel over the fire in water 
 enough to cover them, w^th a little salt, adding the 
 mixed blood and water as the water boils away; stew 
 the squirrel gently until the meat is tender; then take 
 it up, and strain the broth; quickly brown the squirrel 
 over the fire in a saucepan, with a heaping teaspoonful 
 each of butter and dry flour, then gradually stir in the 
 strained broth, until a smooth sauce is formed; season 
 the dish highly with salt, pepper, cayenne, and a very 
 little grated nutmeg. While the squirrel is heating 
 make half a cupful of egg balls — for which the recipe 
 is elsewhere given — and add them to the stew; remove 
 the saucepan from the fire, stir in the yolks of two 
 raw eggs and a gill of good Madeira or sherry, and 
 serve the stew at once; the imitation is admirable, 
 and the dish quite possible in any part of the coun- 
 try where squirrels abound. Another imitation of 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 219 
 
 terrapin with calf s-head is described further on. A 
 good squirrel or rabbit pie can be made by removing 
 the fur and entrails, saving the blood; the meat may 
 be stewed as directed above, and then baked in a crust, 
 or put uncooked into a crust with the blood and a little 
 water and seasonings, and the j)ie baked thoroughly 
 in a slow oven to insure the perfect cooking of the 
 meat; both the tenderness of the meat and the savori- 
 ness of the pie can be best secured by first stewing 
 the squirrel. 
 
 A good pudding can be made of either meat by first 
 dressing, and stewing it with only enough sauce to 
 prevent burning; or the meat may be fried if it is 
 very tender. For one rabbit or a pair of squirrels use 
 the yolks of five eggs beaten smooth and mixed in a 
 bowl with a heaping tablespoonf ul of butter slightly 
 softened by heat, a palatable seasoning of salt and 
 cayenne, a pint of milk, and enough flour to make a 
 batter thick enough to hold a drop from the mixing 
 spoon for a moment on the surface; beat the whites 
 of five eggs to a stiff froth, quickly and lightly mix it 
 with the batter, lay the meat in an earthen dish, pour 
 in the batter, and bake the pudding for a half-hour in 
 a moderate oven, until the batter is cooked. Like the 
 other dishes here described, this one is to replace a 
 heavier meat dish. Rabbits and hares are generally 
 made into brown stews, or potted after being stewed, 
 an inch-thick layer of clarified butter being poured 
 over them, after they are cold, for the purpose of ex- 
 cluding the air. Butter is clarified by melting it with 
 gentle heat, and then carefully pouring it away from 
 all sediment. 
 
 Along the Eastern Shore and through the Southern 
 States savory dishes are made from raccoons and opos- 
 
220 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 sums, and in certain Xew England localities young 
 woodchucks are cooked successfully. The old South- 
 ern cooks made excellent dishes. The following re- 
 cipes are locally noted. Any of these animals can be 
 skinned, or they can be scalded and scraped like suck- 
 ing pigs; the skin, especially of the 'possum and 'coon, 
 is considered a delicacy, like "crisp, tawny, well- 
 w^atched, not over-roasted crackling "; therefore scald 
 and scrape, but do not skin, a 'possum or 'coon; if it 
 is young and tender it need not be parboiled, but old 
 ones should undergo this operation if they are to be 
 used at all. Remove the entrails carefully, chop the 
 heart and liver, and fry them brown with a heaping 
 tablespoonful of butter and a small onion peeled and 
 chopped; meantime soak enough bread to fill the car- 
 cass in cold water, squeezing out the water w^hen the 
 bread is soft; when the liver and onion are brow^n, 
 put the bread w^th them, season the stuffing thus made 
 highly with salt, pepper, any sweet herb, or parsley, 
 and sew it up in the carcass; an Qgg may be added if 
 it is desired; either roast or bake the 'possum, basting 
 it wdth its own dripping or with butter until it is 
 brow^n and crisp; if young, it will require about an 
 hour to cook; a gravy is made from the drippings in 
 the pan as gravy is made for roast or baked poultry; 
 roast 'possum is sometimes stuffed wdth sliced apple; 
 it should be served with aj^ple-sauce, and have a baked 
 apple in the mouth, like roast pig. 
 
 In the ante-bellum days cold roast 'possum was a 
 favorite Southern dish. When either 'possum, 'coon, 
 w^oodchuck, or beaver is old, it should be parboiled to 
 remove its strong flavor, and then baked or roasted; or 
 it may be dressed, soaked overnight in cold salted 
 water, and then made into a savory stew with sweet 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 
 
 221 
 
 herbs and spices. Sweet potatoes are sometimes baked 
 in the pan with them, and a dish of either baked or 
 boiled sweet potatoes always goes to the table with 
 them. 
 
 In Kentucky and Tennessee the favorite " bluesrrass 
 burgoo ".is a savory stew of squirrels or some wild 
 meat, with sweet potatoes, green corn, gumbo, and 
 other late summer or autumn vegetables. All through 
 the Southern States cranes, herons, and other wild 
 water-birds are cooked as game birds, broiled or 
 roasted when tender, or made into high-seasoned stews. 
 It is a noticeable fact that where prejudice is not al- 
 lowed to restrict the bill of fare to a few well-known 
 articles of food, the table is enriched with many pala- 
 table and nutritious dishes; even at the risk of revolt- 
 ing the fastidious, the fact must be recorded that in 
 a neighboring Southern city muskrats are sold on 
 market-days by some of the dealers in garden truck. 
 Cooked by the old negro cooks, a stew of muskrat, or 
 musquash, is excellent. Colonel de Yoe, in his " Market 
 Assistant " says that the old-time dealers in the l!^ew 
 York market sold opossums, and occasionally wood- 
 chucks; and that the musquash, as dressed and eaten 
 by persons known to him, is "tender and very well 
 flavored;" he also records a raccoon hunt in "the do- 
 minions of New Jersey," and the excellence of the 
 flesh of 'possums which have fed on persimmons. Both 
 persimmons and 'possums come to the New York 
 markets now. 
 
 It is Haslitt — is it not ? — who says that man ap- 
 proximates to his inferior contemporaries only in the 
 matter of fruits, salads, and oysters, "not to mention 
 wild duck"; but some American housekeepers ignore 
 this grand verity in their cookery of game; they might 
 
222 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 almost say with tlie prairie hostess that "when it's 
 done b'iled, ye'd never know it fur pa'tridge." If 
 game must be very well done to suit the family taste, 
 it would be well to pot it, or make it into a savory 
 stew in accordance with some of the recipes already 
 given, or to prepare a Kentucky gumbo. The vege- 
 tables required for this dish can be used either fresh 
 or canned, or the dried ones may be softened by soak- 
 ing overnight in cold water, the same water being 
 used in the gumbo. A large rabbit or three squirrels 
 will make two quarts of gumbo. After being skinned, 
 roll the joints in flour, fry them brown in butter, or 
 with a quarter of a pound of "middling," or bacon, 
 sliced, add two quarts of boiling water, one pint of 
 okra, one onion sliced, three sweet potatoes cut in 
 small dice, a cupful each of chopped cabbage and 
 grated carrot, a red pepper chopped, and a rather high 
 seasoning of salt and pepper; if gumbo filet is avail- 
 able, stir a tablesjooonful into the gumbo after it is 
 dished; or if the shoots or young leaves of sassafras 
 can be obtained, tie a handful in a thin cloth and boil 
 them with the gumbo; w^hen both vegetables and meat 
 are tender, serve the gumbo in a tureen, very hot. 
 
 Small game may be barbecued successfully, either 
 being quartered for convenience, or left entire and 
 stuffed with a highly seasoned force-meat of the heart 
 and liver chopped and fried with sweet herbs, and 
 then mixed with bread softened in cold water, or with 
 mashed potatoes; the game is to be dredged with flour 
 and basted with drippings until it is brown, and then 
 covered with boiling water, Avell seasoned, and baked 
 until tender. Another way is to remove the largest 
 bones after splitting the carcass down the back; to 
 chop and fry the edible entrails with butter and bread- 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 223 
 
 crumbs until brown, then moisten them with boiling 
 water, season them highly with salt, pepper, sweet 
 herbs, and spices, and sew this force-meat up inside the 
 flesh; roast or bake the game, making a brown gravy 
 from the drippings in the pan; potatoes may be baked 
 with it if it is to be eaten hot. A brown stew may be 
 made by frying joints of cold or uncooked game with 
 flour and butter, then covering them with boiling 
 water well seasoned, and stewing them until tender; 
 sweet potatoes cut small, or corn or beans, may be 
 stewed with the game if it is to be eaten hot. The 
 fact should be remembered that when any such dish is 
 to be potted for keeping, the vegetables would inter- 
 fere with its preservation. To pot any of these meats 
 take them from the gravy, cool them, pack them in 
 earthen jars or covered dishes, just cover them with 
 their gravy, and then with clarified butter, or with 
 claret if it is available, and pour about a half -inch of 
 olive-oil upon the surface of the claret to exclude the air. 
 Claret, like sack, was much used with game in early 
 English cookery. A favorite dish of the last century 
 may prove useful in the preservation of small game; 
 rabbits, hares, pigeons, or any other of the larger birds 
 will serve for if. After they are dressed, cut them in 
 joints, put them into a wide-mouthed jar with salt, 
 whole spice, sweet herbs, and a little marrow or suet 
 interspersed; cover the meat with broth or claret, or 
 with the blood of the game mixed with vinegar, close 
 the jar, and boil it in a deep saucepan half full of 
 water, or bake it in a moderate oven, for three or four 
 hours; use it either hot or cold. A gallimaufry of 
 game was made by stewing joints of cold game with 
 salt, pepper, a whole shallot or a few chives, some pars- 
 ley, the yellow rind of lemon or orange, the juice, a 
 
224 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 few crumbs, and brotli enough to moisten the dish. 
 Another gallimaufry Avas made by mincing the flesh 
 of one bird or animal, seasoning it highly with salt, 
 pepper, sweet herbs, spice, lemon, wine, chopped mush- 
 rooms, chives, parsley, suet, or fat bacon, and then us- 
 ing it to stuff another boned carcass; in fact, the dish 
 was very like the modern French galantine, or boned 
 bird or game. Partridges, or " short-legged hens," 
 Avere favorite English fare long before Justice Shal- 
 low bade Davy tell " William cook " to set before Sir 
 John "some pigeons, a couple of short-legged hens, 
 and any pretty little tiny kickshaws," which latter 
 dainties Avere simply patties or rissoles of fruit or 
 mince-meat, baked or fried. Delicious, too, Avere the 
 pigeon dumplings, made by enclosing cold pigeons 
 minced, and highly seasoned with rich gravy, in a del- 
 icate pastry, and baking them like apple-dumplings, 
 for use either hot or cold; the bones and trimmings 
 Avere stewed for the graA^y. 
 
 Pigeons stuffed with bread and oysters, or with 
 grated ham, or small tongues boiled, and baked in 
 pies, or stCAved and potted, are excellent winter dishes 
 to hold in reserA^e for unexpected guests. Or they 
 may be coA^ered with partly melted currant jelly, and 
 that with oil or clarified butter to shield them from 
 the air. Joints of game fried in butter may be potted 
 with jell}^, or Avith Mrs. Howe's game sauce of jelly 
 and mustard. A pudding may be made of joints of 
 cold game coA'ered with a batter of a quart of milk, six 
 eggs, and six tablespoonf uls of flour, the game being 
 Avell seasoned, and the pudding baked until broAAm in 
 a moderate oven; or small birds filled Avith the fried 
 hearts and livers mixed Avith crumbs, and fried before 
 the batter is poured OA'er them; or a batter pudding, 
 
GAME AND GAME BIRDS. 225 
 
 made of a pint of milk, four l^eaten eggs, a teaspoon- 
 f ul of salt, and three tablespoonfuls of liour, baked un- 
 der any large land game birds. All these dishes are 
 both excellent and easy of preparation. 
 
 The water game birds should neither be stuffed nor 
 baked with batter or pastry, but they may be made 
 into ragoHts when cold. These dishes are of impor- 
 tance, because all such game is preferred by epicures 
 rare, and only the breast is carved ; the rest of the 
 carcass being tough and underdone, requires the sec- 
 ond cooking. The meat may be boiled in sufficient 
 water to cover it, until tender enough to rub through 
 a sieve with a potato-masher, and then highly seasoned 
 and potted, being covered with melted or clarified but- 
 ter. 
 
 As a second dish, to be used in combination with 
 fish, at a small dinner, any of the cheaper game birds 
 are excellent. The small birds can be broiled if they 
 are in prime condition; but if they are lean and possi- 
 bly tough, they will be best stewed in a ragoUt, and 
 served on toast, with plenty of brown gravy. After 
 they are dressed, brown them with sweet dripj^ings or 
 butter, dust them over with flour, and brown it; then 
 cover them with boiling water, season them, and stew 
 them gently until they are tender. 
 
 The larger game birds are to be broiled or roasted; 
 the various ducks are in season in the spring. Of 
 course canvas-back are best, but they are generally too 
 expensive for our use in the East. Upon the Great 
 Lake borders and on the southern Pacific coast they 
 sometimes come within our limit of cost. Of the 
 smaller duck, teal are the most delicious. If the reader 
 is not familiar with broiled teal, the dish is commend- 
 ed. Few game birds can compare with a plump, ten- 
 15 
 
226 FAMILY LlVl^'G ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 der teal broiled rare, and served hot, with salt, pepper, 
 and butter. The cost of teal in the New York market 
 varies from fifty cents to one dollar a brace, but in the 
 West they are much less expensive; in the early spring 
 they often are plentiful in the Mississij^pi River cities 
 at about thirty cents a brace. Teal are about as large 
 as prime pigeons after they are cooked. 
 
 Like terrapin and green turtle, canvas-back ducks 
 are luxuries upon the Eastern coast, how^ever plentiful 
 they may be on the Pacific and the great Western 
 lakes; but if one has only a single feast in a lifetime 
 there is all the more reason why it should be properly 
 dressed. To no dish does Dean Swift's injunction 
 more fitly apply than to canvas-back: "See that nei- 
 ther yourself nor the meat be overdressed;" no system 
 is more pernicious, for w^ater-birds especially; but w^e 
 cannot yet conform to the good old Maryland mam- 
 my's rule of " jes' lettin' de duck fly froo de kitchen." 
 From twenty to twenty-five minutes in a hot oven 
 seems to be ample time to allow for baking a canvas- 
 back; if a clear, hot, roasting fire is available, five min- 
 utes less w^ould serve to cook the breast rare or medi- 
 um rare; only the breast is eaten at the first service, 
 and, if quantity permits, the entire portion is allowed 
 for a lover of the bird; half the quantity would serve 
 a lady jDossessed of a legitimate apj^reciation of the 
 luxury; but where appetite or expediency dictate less 
 bountiful service, the breast should be quickly cut 
 straight down to the bone, in as many slices as are 
 desired, before lifting any out, for not a drop of the 
 gravy nor an atom of heat should be lost. 
 
 For baked or roast canvas-back the seasoning should 
 be simple — only salt, cayenne, and butter, with a gar- 
 nish of acid jelly or lemon. Sometimes a few stalks 
 
GAME AND GAME BIKDS. 227 
 
 of celery are inserted in the bird, but absolutely no 
 stuffing is permissible: the cook Avho would dress this 
 prince of the shore like an ordinary water-fowl could 
 never be made to understand flavors, much less to de- 
 velop them. Celery is considered the proper salad for 
 canvas-back, sometimes accompanied by a mayonnaise. 
 
 Broiled canvas-back is delicious, either with lemon, 
 sour orange, or Mrs. Howe's jelly and mustard sauce. 
 The inside of the bird should be exposed to a clear 
 hot fire for about twelve minutes, and the skin turned 
 to the heat just long enough to brown it; the service 
 should be immediate, so that the bird can be eaten 
 hot. 
 
 A favorite Philadelphia method is to roast the bird 
 nearly done, and then send it to the table in a chafing- 
 dish over a lighted lamp. 
 
 On the Eastern Shore canvas-back is served with a 
 garnish of fried hominy and jelly. The question at 
 once arises of the second service of the duck, since 
 only the breast is served at the first. Several excel- 
 lent recipes have been given for brown stews of birds 
 and game, and for an Indian curry of duck; rice ac- 
 companies the curry, of course. 
 
 In a ragoUt the carcass of the cold duck would be 
 cut in joints, browned in butter, dredged with a table- 
 sj^oonful of dry flour and stirred until the flour 
 browned, then covered with boiling water, seasoned 
 lightly with salt and cayenne, and stewed tender. 
 Fried hominy, fried bread, or boiled or fried rice could 
 be served with the rago^dt; in dishing it, a glass of 
 wine, or a couple of tablespoonfuls of acid jelly would 
 greatly add to its flavor. A delicious pie could be 
 made by enclosing such a ragoUt in a light pastry, 
 pouring the surplus gravy into the pie after baking it. 
 
228 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 The joints could be stewed and j^otted like game, or 
 made into a savory soup; in no case should a particle 
 of the bird remain unused. 
 
 A delicious salmi of cold duck can be made by fry- 
 ing the joints in a little salad-oil, covering them with 
 claret, or with gravy and lemon- juice, seasoning the 
 salmi highly with cayenne and lightly with salt, and 
 simmering it until the duck is tender. Or it may be 
 stewed tender in brown gravy with a few olives, and 
 finished with a crarnish of fried bread. 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 
 
 229 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 
 
 Elsewhere in tliis book mention is made of the 
 various dishes which can be made of the fowl or 
 chicken used in making bouillon, the condition being 
 laid down that the bird is to be taken out of the broth 
 as soon as tender, not being allowed to cook until the 
 flesh is ready to fall from the bones. The boiled 
 chicken may be used while it is still hot by wiping it 
 with a dry towel, rubbing it with butter, dredging it 
 with flour, and then browning it in a hot oven. A 
 gravy can be made for it by stirring over the fire in 
 the baking -pan a tablespoonful each of butter and 
 flour until they are brown, then gradually stirring in 
 a pint of boiling water and a palatable seasoning of 
 salt and pepper; as soon as the gravy boils it will be 
 ready to use. While the chicken and gravy are being 
 prepared, a dish of potatoes (or any vegetable) and a 
 simple dessert can be cooked, thus laying the basis of 
 a good plain dinner. Elsewhere a good recipe is given 
 for roast chicken with liver sauce, for which the boiled 
 fowl could be used. The cold chicken could be used 
 for the chicken pie for which a recipe is also given, or 
 for brown fricassee. This dish is made by cutting 
 cold chicken in small joints, putting it over the fire in 
 a saucepan with enough sweet drij^pings or butter to 
 prevent burning, and browning it; when the chicken 
 is brown, add a tablespoonful of flour, and stir the 
 
230 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 chicken until the flour is brown; then cover it with 
 boiling water, season it wath salt and pepper, and 
 let it boil five minutes, stirring it until the gravy is 
 smooth; the fricassee Avill then be ready to serve. 
 
 The same preparation will answer for a chicken pot- 
 pie. After the chicken is prepared as directed above, 
 sift half a pound (about a pint) of flour with half an 
 even teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of a saltspoonful 
 of pepper, and a heaping teaspoonful of any good 
 baking -pow^ler; quickly wet the flour with enough 
 cold w^ater to mix it to a dough just stiff enough to 
 flatten with the hand to a cake which can be laid upon 
 the chicken in the saucepan. Work very quickly, put 
 the dough on the top of the chicken, butter the lid in- 
 side, and cover the saucepan to keep in the steam. 
 Let the pot-pie steam for twenty minutes by gentle 
 heat; then try the crust in the thickest part, when it 
 is done, put the chicken on a platter, lay the crust on 
 it, and serve it. The success of this dish depends 
 upon cooking the crust or dough as soon as it is mixed, 
 before the carbonic-acid gas can escape, which results 
 from the whetting of the baking-powder, and w^hich 
 should make the crust light. 
 
 A very good French dish made from boiled chicken 
 is called a fritot; the chicken is cut in joints, laid in 
 a bowl wdth three tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, one of 
 vinegar, a saltspoonful of salt, and a quarter of a salt- 
 sjioonful of pepper, and turned several times in the 
 course of two hours. About twenty minutes before 
 dinner-time put the frying-kettle half-full of fat over 
 the fire to heat; make a frying batter by mixing in a 
 bowl a cupful of flour, the yolk of one Qgg, a table- 
 spoonful of salad-oil, half an even teaspoonful of salt, 
 and a quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper; beat the 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 
 
 231 
 
 white of the egg to a stiff froth; with the flour mix 
 enoiio^h cold water to make a batter stiff enouo'h to 
 hold a drop from the mixing spoon upon its surface; 
 when the fat begins to smoke, lightly add the beaten 
 white to the batter, dip the chicken into it, and fry it 
 light brown in the smoking hot fat; take the chicken 
 from the fat with a skimmer, lay it for a moment on 
 brown paper to free it from grease, and then serve it. 
 After frying any article of food the fat should be 
 strained through a hair sieve or a thin cloth, and kept 
 in an earthen bowl. 
 
 The cold chicken may be breaded and fried after it 
 is cut in joints. Have ready the frying-kettle half- 
 full of fat over the fire; sift a large platter of dried 
 bread crumbs, and beat two eggs until they are quite 
 smooth. When the fat begins to smoke, dip the 
 chicken first in crumbs, then in beaten egg, and again 
 in crumbs, and fry it brown in the hot fat, laying it 
 on brown paper for a moment, after it is done, to free 
 it from grease. There can always be j^lenty of crumbs 
 on hand if care is taken to dry all bits of broken bread 
 in a cool oven, and then crush them with a rolling-pin, 
 and sift them; the fine crumbs are suitable for bread- 
 ing, and should be sifted every time they are used; 
 the coarse crumbs are good for puddings. Crumbs 
 should be kept in glass or earthen jars in a cool place. 
 
 Cold boiled chicken makes a good supper dish pre- 
 pared as jellied chicken. Put an ounce of gelatine in 
 a pint of warm water on the back of the stove, and 
 occasionally stir it until it is dissolved; then add a 
 pint of chicken broth or houillon to it, and a palatable 
 and rather high seasoning of salt and pepper, and 
 strain it. While the gelatine is being dissolved cut 
 all the chicken off the bones; save the skin unless it is 
 
232 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 particularly disliked; put the chicken into an earthen 
 or tin mould, press it down, and pour the dissolved 
 gelatine into the mould, taking care to completely 
 saturate the chicken; set a flat dish or a piece of board 
 on the chicken, with a weight on it, and let it cool; 
 when the jellied chicken is cold, remove it from the 
 mould, slice it, and serve it cold. 
 
 Chicken croquettes, which are esteemed as great del- 
 icacies, can be made from cold boiled chicken. As 
 they contain mushrooms, eggs, and wine, they must 
 rank among our extravagances, but they need by no 
 means to be tabooed; we can occasionally afford them, 
 even as we can afford now and then to offer a friend 
 a glass of good claret at a nice little dinner. In order 
 to make chicken croquettes successfully, the croquette 
 mixture should be made several hours before the time 
 of serving, so that it may become hard enough to be 
 easily shaped with the hands, and yet be creamy after 
 it is fried. A good croquette will be quite soft inside 
 the crust of egg and bread crumb, and a little practice 
 is needed to gain the light and yet firm touch which 
 is required in shaping the croquettes. Any tyro can 
 roll the thick, hashlike mixture which is too often 
 served as croquettes; but an epicure would decline 
 to eat such an apology for one of the daintiest of 
 dishes. It is really worth while to take the trouble 
 to arrive at the happy medium in consistency which 
 makes the manipulation of the mixture possible, and 
 yet leaves it creamy when finished. For a dozen 
 croquettes use three quarters of a pound of chicken 
 cut quite fine, but not hashed; a quarter of a pound, 
 or half a can, of mushrooms, also cut fine; a tea- 
 spoonful of grated onion; a tablespoonful of butter; a 
 heaping tablespoonful of flour; the yolks of two raw 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 233 
 
 eggs; and a glass of sherry: these ingredients make 
 the chicken croquettes of Gouffe, the chef oi the Paris 
 Jockey Club; no croquette served at the best Amer- 
 ican hotel or club is superior to this, and it is infinite- 
 ly more delicious than those prepared by celebrated 
 caterers. Sometimes chopped truffles replace the mush- 
 rooms, but they make croquettes very expensive. Put 
 the grated onion and butter in a saucepan over the 
 fire, and fry them until the onion begins to color, then 
 stir in the flour, the liquor from half a can of mush- 
 rooms, or a scant cupful of chicken broth, the chopped 
 chicken and mushrooms, a palatable seasoning of salt 
 and pej^per, a very little grated nutmeg, and a glass of 
 sherry; stir the mixture over the fire until it begins 
 to boil; then take the saucepan off the fire, stir in the 
 yolks of two raw eggs without beating them, and pour 
 out the mixture on an oiled dish; put a few drops of 
 salad-oil on the surface of the croquette mixture to 
 keep it from hardening while it is cooling, and set it 
 aside in a cool place for two or three hours until it is 
 stiff enough to handle with ease. The first time the 
 croquettes are made, allow five or six hours from the 
 beginning; the mixture Avill not be injured by stand- 
 ing overnight, and by so doing it becomes sufficiently 
 firm to form and bread without breaking. The moulds 
 for croquettes are practically useless. After the cro- 
 quettes are shaped and breaded they may remain in a 
 dish of crumbs for several hours before frying without 
 injury. These remarks are made so that the novice 
 may allow time enough to make sure that the cro- 
 quettes can be easily manipulated. If after the mixt- 
 ure is quite cold it is too soft to shape with light 
 and careful touches, mix over the fire a tablespoonful 
 each of butter and flour, and when they are smoothly 
 
234 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 blended put the croquette mixture with them, heat 
 it, then again cool it, and shape it in croquettes. To 
 shape chicken croquettes, have ready a large dish of 
 sifted crumbs, two or three eggs beaten smooth, and 
 the frying-kettle half-full of fat heating over the fire. 
 AYet the hands in cold water and shake it off, take a 
 tablespoonful of the mixture in the palm of the left 
 hand, with the right hand roll and pat it into the form 
 of a thick cork, an inch and a half thick, and about 
 two and a half inches long. Be careful not to make 
 the roll long and thin, as that form is apt to break; 
 keep it short and compact; use only enough water to 
 keep it from sticking to the hands, and work quickly 
 and lightly. As each croquette is formed, lay it in 
 the dish of crumbs. When all are made, roll them in 
 the crumbs; dip each one in beaten egg, and again 
 roll them in the crumbs, and then fry them in smok- 
 ing hot fat. When the croquettes are light brown, 
 take them from the fat with a skimmer, lay them on 
 brown paper for a moment to free them from grease, 
 and then serve them hot. When the croquettes are 
 allowed to stand after they are shaped, they must have 
 a final roll in crumbs before they are fried. When 
 eggs are plentiful, three or four yolks may be used; 
 they will serve to thicken the mixture without impair- 
 ing the delicacy of the croquettes. The croquettes 
 should be served on a folded napkin, or in a bed of 
 parsley when that pretty garnish is available. 
 
 Among the many savory side dishes which can be 
 held in reserve for an unexpected addition to the usual 
 number at table, or for use with small hot dishes of 
 meat when large joints are not desirable, the French 
 galcmti7ie and its accompaniment, aspic jelly, stand 
 pre - eminent for attractiveness and convenience ; its 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 235 
 
 economy depends upon its ingredients. From the 
 truffled turkey the scale of cost descends to the boned 
 shoulder of mutton, and we shall run the scale, because, 
 while we cannot afford the luxury of boned turkey 
 frequently, we may attempt it at least for wedding 
 festivities, golden and otherwise. And the humbler 
 forms of galantines will prove gastronomic treasures 
 in the hands of housewives who are capable of evolv- 
 ing distinctive flavors from the chaos of kitchen spice- 
 boxes. Much of the success of economical cookery 
 depends upon the flavor of the dish; the simplest 
 food, well cooked and palatably seasoned, is far more 
 aj^petizing than expensive fare that is devoid of salt 
 or savor. The necessity for preserving individual 
 flavor has already been indicated as a means for ex- 
 tending the variety that is such a charm at table, but 
 when the force-meat of ^galantine is composed wholly 
 or in part of cooked food, the seasoning must be ])vo- 
 nounced enough to replace the intense flavor of fresh- 
 ly cooked meat. The galantine proper is made from 
 choice poultr}^, game birds, or small animals, boned, 
 stuffed with a force-meat of fresh meat, and boiled in 
 a broth which is subsequently made into aspic jelly. 
 The dish is always served cold. Somewhat similarly 
 composed dishes of ordinary poultry and meats are 
 baked and served hot, with a brown sauce made from 
 their ov\m drippings. 
 
 The operation of boning is the same in both in- 
 stances; briefly as possible described, it is as follows: 
 After carefully removing all feathers or fur from the 
 subject to be boned, great care being taken to preserve 
 the skin intact, the carcass is laid back upward upon a 
 table. Where, in the boning of a bird, the wings and 
 second joints are referred to, the fore and hind legs 
 
236 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 of game animals or sucking pigs would be similarly 
 treated, and the same care would be exercised to avoid 
 penetrating to the entrails. With a sharp, small knife 
 cut the skin at the back of the neck, loosen the skin 
 from the neck, and cut off the neck and head, leaving 
 the neck skin attached to the body; cut the skin down 
 the middle of the back the entire length, and loosen 
 it with" the knife point from the backbone, leaving the 
 flesh attached to the skin; return to the neck, cut the 
 skin with the flesh attached away from the upper part 
 of the backbone, working towards the junction of the 
 wings and the body; unjoint the wings from the inside, 
 leaving the bones in the wings for the present, and 
 continue to cut forward until the crop is reached; 
 loosen the crop from the skin and flesh, and remove it 
 without breaking it; cut downward from the wings, 
 taking care not to penetrate to the intestines where 
 the thin inner membrane is stretched over the ribs. 
 When the union of the second joint and the body is 
 reached, unjoint the legs from the inside, leaving the 
 bones in the legs, and cut forward towards the middle 
 of the breast. The skin with a slight inner layer of 
 flesh is stretched very taut across the breastbone, and 
 careful cutting is here required to keep the skin in- 
 tact; if it is cut or torn, it must be sewed before the 
 galantine can be stuffed. 
 
 When both sides of the turkey have been cut free 
 from the carcass, the flesh and skin can be spread out 
 on the cutting board or table, the thickest part of the 
 flesh cut and laid over the scant portions, and the 
 bones of the wings and legs taken out from the inside 
 by cutting the flesh loose from the bone and turning 
 it with the skin off the bone as a glove would be 
 turned off the hand, until the second joint of the wing 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 237 
 
 and the drumstick of the legs are reached; these may be 
 cut off to save bonhig, and are to be boiled with the 
 galantine. The bones of the carcass freed from the en- 
 trails are to be boiled as a basis for the aspic jelly; the 
 heart, gizzard, and neck are also to be boiled; the liver 
 is to be freed from the gall, and used as will presently 
 be indicated. 
 
 Put the bones and trimmings of the turkey in a 
 large pot, like a ham-boiler, with a gallon of cold water 
 and half a cupful of salt, and let them boil, remov- 
 ing all scum as it rises; peel a carrot, a turnip, and an 
 onion, and stick into the onion a dozen whole cloves; 
 lay on the left hand a small bunch of well- washed pars- 
 ley with the root attached; Avithin the leaves lay a blade 
 of mace, a bay-leaf, a small red pepper or a dozen pep- 
 percorns, a sprig of any sweet herb except sage, and a 
 few celery leaves if they are available; fold the root 
 and leaves of the parsley so as to enclose the spices, 
 and tie the little package compactly with a string. 
 
 All these vegetables are to be put with the bones as 
 soon as the scum has been removed. While the water 
 is boiling, make the force-meat for the galantine. Its 
 ingre'dients determine the cost of the dish; a small 
 box of truffles costs in New York from seventy-five 
 cents to a dollar; a box or can of mushrooms from 
 thirty to forty cents; either or both may be used, or 
 only half a can of mushrooms. The force-meat is 
 made from finely chopped poultry and lean veal, or 
 from veal and lean fresh pork, or from good sausage 
 meat; in quantity about two thirds the weight of the 
 turkey is required. The meat must be free from 
 membranes and sinews, and chopped as fine as sau- 
 sage meat. A quarter of a pound of clear salt pork 
 or a half-pound of boiled tongue, cut in long strips, 
 
238 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the pork a quarter of an inch square, and the tongue 
 half an inch, greatly imjorove the flavor of the force- 
 meat. To each pound of the force-meat allow one 
 raw egg, one even teaspoonful of salt, and one of the 
 following spices mixed — not one spoonful of each 
 spice — ground cloves, allspice, mace, and nutmeg, and 
 a saltspoonful of black pepper. A glass of good 
 sherry or Madeira to each pound is imperative if the 
 proper flavor is desired; no other flavoring will replace 
 it, or assist in keeping the force-meat, which is espe- 
 cially important in warm weather. After the season- 
 ings are thoroughly mixed with the force-meat an inch 
 layer is to be spread uj)on the flesh of the turkey, 
 which is laid, skin down, flat upon the table; at inter- 
 vals of about an inch lay portions of the tongue or 
 salt pork, and some of the mushrooms; then put on an- 
 other layer of force-meat, more of the pork or tongue, 
 and the mushrooms ; when the force-meat is all in 
 place put the liver and trufiles in the centre of the 
 whole, fold the sides up over them without disturbing 
 the other ingredients, and secure the force-meat by 
 sewing up the skin. 
 
 This operation of sewing the boned bird demands 
 a careful hand, for the skin of a tender bird breaks 
 easily away from the string. The following has been 
 found to be the most satisfactory method of j^rocedure. 
 Use strong white cord, and a large needle which car- 
 ries it readil}^; if several needles are at hand, thread 
 them with the cord doubled, two carrying a yard 
 each of cord to be used for the ends of the bird, and 
 one carrying about a yard and a half for the back. 
 Sew up the two ends first by running the needle in 
 loose stitches, such as are used for overcasting, so that 
 by drawing both ends of the doubled cord the end of 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 
 
 239 
 
 the bird can be closed as a bag is drawn together, and 
 the ends of the cord tied to hold the skin in place. 
 After the ends are secured,, the back can be sewed 
 more easily. The best stitch for the back is a button- 
 hole about half an inch long; the stitches must be so 
 set through skin and flesh that the bird can be rounded 
 to its first form, and the cord must be carefully drawn 
 to avoid breaking through the skin. If, as the sewing 
 progresses, the force-meat proves to be excessive in 
 quantity, some of it may be taken out and put aside 
 to fry like meat balls or to bake in puff-paste as sau- 
 sage rolls. AYhen the bird is sewed, it is to be wiped 
 with a wet towel, and rolled up in a cloth for boiling. 
 Cut four pieces of inch-wide w^hite tape about a yard 
 long, and spread out on the table a yard and a half of 
 clean cloth about half a yard wider than the length 
 of the boned turkey; have stout cord or tape for ty- 
 ing the ends. The operation of rolling the turkey is 
 best performed by two persons, but one can accomplish 
 it if care is taken to keep the cloth free from wrinkles, 
 and pull it very tight and even, so that the bird is en- 
 closed in a compact roll; when the length of tlie cloth 
 has been wrapped firmly around the bird, secure it by 
 tying the four broad tapes at intervals around it; then 
 make the ends of the cloth free from folds on the in- 
 side, and gather and tie first one and tlien the other, 
 holding the cloth in the left hand pushed as close as 
 possible to the bird, the hand being held exactly in the 
 centre of the end of the roll, and the string used to hold 
 the cloth in place being Avound around it many times. 
 The object sought is to enclose the bird so smooth- 
 ly in the cloth that its surface will show no creas- 
 es w^hen cooked, and so tightly that its shape will 
 be kej^t intact during boiling. After the turkey is 
 
240 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 wrapped and tied, weigh it; allow twenty minutes to 
 a pound for boiling it with the bones and vegetables, 
 and enough boiling water to cover it; if at the end of 
 that length of time the cloth appears a little loose, 
 the bird is properly cooked; if it is still tight, con- 
 tinue the boiling. When the turkey is done, take it 
 up and let it cool a little while the broth is strained 
 through a clean towel laid double in a colander. From 
 this broth the aspic jelly is made. For each quart of 
 the broth soften two ounces of gelatine in cold water; 
 put it into a thick saucepan with the white and shell 
 of one raw egg and a quart of broth; stir the broth 
 over the fire until the gelatine is dissolved, then let it 
 boil until it looks perfectly clear under the scum of 
 egg which will rise to the surface; when it is clear, 
 strain it through a clean towel folded in a colander, 
 letting it run through the towel without squeezing or 
 stirring; to each quart add a glass of sherry or Ma- 
 deira, and see that it is palatably seasoned. The aspic 
 jelly can be colored in several shades by caramel made 
 hj dissolving burned sugar in boiling water, and cooled 
 from one to two inches thick in shallow dishes; when 
 cold, it can be cut in fanciful shapes, and used to gar- 
 nish the galantine. 
 
 When the boned turkey is cool enough to be han- 
 dled, untie the tapes and unroll it; quickly rinse the 
 cloth first in hot and then in cold water, again roll up 
 the bird and tie it, lay it between two platters with a 
 heavy weight on the upper one, and allow it to re- 
 main until quite cold. Then it can be unrolled, the 
 strings used to sew it removed without tearing the 
 flesh, and the galantine will be ready to garnish with 
 the cold aspic jelly. 
 
 Although the operation of boning may seem com- 
 
SOME POULTRY FOR LUNCHEON. 241 
 
 plicated, many of our culinary followers have succeeded 
 in accomplishing it under these directions. If these 
 do not seem sufficient, further details can be found in 
 other of the author's works. 
 
 Many cookery-books give directions, under the title 
 of boned turkey or chicken, for boiling poultry, remov- 
 ing the bones, pressing it in a mould, and pouring some 
 thickened broth over it; but this dish, although good 
 when well made, has no claim to the title of boned 
 poultry, or galantine. 
 
 As to the reduction of cost, less expensive material 
 can be chosen, the shoulder of mutton for instance; 
 the force-meat may be of sausage meat, or any sa- 
 vory dressing of cold meat chopped, mixed with bread, 
 and highly seasoned. The wine may be omitted if the 
 dish is not to be kept very long, but the eggs are 
 needed to keep the force-meat intact when it is cut. 
 The boned mutton may be boiled like the turkey, and 
 jelly made from the broth, or it may be baked and 
 served hot; if it is baked, the cloth is not needed to 
 preserve its form. 
 
 Other birds and small game animals may be boned, 
 and either boiled or baked. The boiling gives the 
 meat jelly, which so greatly adds to the appearance 
 and flavor of the dish. 
 
 The best turkey for boning is a short, plump, hen 
 turkey a year old; a tenderer, younger bird would be 
 torn in boning or sewing. Boned quail are delicious 
 roasted or baked, as is a boned chicken stuffed with 
 a chestnut force-meat. Any of these galantines are 
 admirable dishes for luncheons, receptions, and social 
 occasions where cold dishes are most suitable, and 
 the prettiest effects can be accomplished by garnishing 
 with several shades of aspic jelly. 
 16 
 
242 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 
 
 Among the luxuries to whicli our plan of living will 
 permit access is green turtle; altliougli diamond-back 
 terrapin can hardly be hoped for unless in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of its own happy hunting-grounds, there 
 are several of its congeners that may be classed among 
 our proper fare. Green turtle is seldom seen upon pri- 
 vate tables, because of the formidable size of this game 
 of the sea; but it has been suggested that several friends 
 divide a turtle, or a good-natured dealer might arrange 
 to dress one and share it among several customers. As 
 this operation of dressing a turtle is seldom undertaken 
 except by chefs or caterers, it may be well to give it in 
 detail. Green turtles weigh from fifty pounds upward, 
 those below fifty being known as "chicken turtle;" a 
 good size is from eighty to a hundred pounds, but they 
 weigh as much as five and six hundred. When the 
 question is one of the preparation of soup alone, a fifty- 
 pound turtle is allowed for the service of fifty covers; 
 but the various portions of the carcass are suitable for 
 different dishes, the white flesh being the tenderest, 
 and the green fat the greatest delicacy. 
 
 To kill a turtle, either secure it on its back with its 
 neck over a tub, or hang it up by a stout rope attached 
 to the hind-flippers, and tie the fore-flippers to prevent 
 struggling; cut off the head, and let it bleed all night. 
 The next morning it must be dressed. This operation 
 
GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 243 
 
 requires so miicli care that its description must needs 
 be given in detail in order to be intelligible. 
 
 First lay the turtle on its back on a large dish, or an 
 inclined board which will conduct the blood and water 
 into some receptacle, to be saved for the soup stock; 
 run a thin sharp knife-blade inside the under shell until 
 all the skin and flesh is cut through, but do not allow 
 it to penetrate to the intestines; when the edges of the 
 shell are loose, lift it as far as possible, and cut the 
 muscles which hold it to the body; lay the shell in a 
 large tub of cold water. The under shell is called the 
 calipee, the upper shell the calipash; both are used in 
 the cooking of the turtle. After the calipee has been 
 removed, cut off the fins and the cushions of flesh at- 
 tached to them, and put them into another tub of cold 
 water; the deposit of dark, bluish-green fat which lies 
 near the sockets of the fins, and about some portions 
 of the intestines, should be cut in rather small, regular 
 pieces, and put into a separate vessel of cold water, to 
 be equally divided with the flesh of the turtle. 
 
 The gall lies deeply embedded in one side of the 
 liver; in cutting it out a quarter-inch part of the liver 
 should be left around it to obviate the danger of 
 breaking, because its bitter liquid destroys the flavor 
 of every particle it touches; once it is cut out it should 
 be thrown away; the other intestines must be care- 
 fully removed without allowing their contents to reach 
 the flesh; when they are empty — as they are when the 
 turtle has not been recently fed — they are esteemed 
 for use in the soup; when they are designed for this 
 they are to be split open, or reversed like a glove fin- 
 ger, soaked in plenty of cold water, scraped with the 
 back of a knife, and repeatedly washed in cold salted 
 water, then scalded, and subsequently boiled tender in 
 
244 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the soup stock, and cut in half-incli lengths for thick 
 turtle soup; the heart, kidneys, and liver are to be laid 
 in plenty of cold water until they are boiled in the 
 soup stock; the green fat and the eggs, vi^hich are em- 
 bedded with the intestines, are to be removed carefully 
 and laid in separate vessels of cold water for subse- 
 quent boiling in the soup stock; after parboiling, the 
 outer membrane of the eggs is to be stripped off, and 
 the eggs kept in water or in a Avet cloth ready for ser- 
 vice in the soup. The white meat of a young turtle 
 is sometimes tender enough to fry or broil without 
 parboiling; but the dark meat should always be boiled 
 tender before it is dressed in any special dish; all parts 
 of the turtle, after thorough cleansing, are to be boiled 
 in salted water with whole spices and sweet herbs, 
 each portion being taken up when sufficiently cooked, 
 and covered with a wet cloth until wanted for the final 
 dressing; the green fat, which should be enclosed in a 
 thin cloth to keep it unbroken, will boil in half an hour, 
 the white meat in an hour, and the dark meat in from 
 two to three hours. 
 
 The shell, after washing, should be sawed in pieces 
 three or four inches square, and scalded until the outer 
 layer can be removed; then it is to be boiled for six 
 hours in the soup stock; the portions that soften dur- 
 ing boiling are to be cut in half -inch sections for use 
 in the soup, where they are sometimes supposed by the 
 unsophisticated to be green fat. Like the flesh, the 
 cooked shell is to be kept moist by wrapping it in wet 
 cloth. A lifty-pound turtle should produce about five 
 gallons of rich soup stock. In addition to the turtle 
 flesh and shells, the following ingredients are boiled 
 in the stock, and when it is done it is strained, like or- 
 dinary stock, through a clean folded towel laid in a 
 
GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 
 
 245 
 
 colander: half a pound of onions peeled, sliced, and 
 browned in one pound of butter, one pound of raw 
 ham cut in small pieces, two w^hole carrots and tur- 
 nips, celery leaves or root, one teaspoonful each of 
 whole cloves, allspice, peppercorns, mace, and a bou- 
 quet of herbs, and the blood of the turtle. 
 
 Beef or veal bones, or calf's-head, are sometimes 
 boiled in the stock. Green-turtle clear soup is made 
 by clarifying the stock; the white and shell of an egg 
 mixed with a tablespoonf ul of cold water is boiled with 
 a quart of the stock until the soup is clear under the 
 egg scum; the juice of a lemon and a glass of Madeira 
 are put into a hot tureen with a fair proportion of the 
 turtle eggs, green fat, or boiled shell ; the soup is prop- 
 erly seasoned, and served very hot. 
 
 Green-turtle thick soup is made by browning to- 
 gether for each quart of stock a tablespoonful each of 
 butter and flour, constantly stirring them; when they 
 are smooth and w^ell colored, but not burned, gradu- 
 ally stir in a quart of the turtle stock, a palatable sea- 
 soning of salt and cayenne; the usual addition of eggs, 
 green fat, lemon, and wine are made ; and with the 
 thick soup some portions of the turtle flesh, and a f ev/ 
 force-meat balls or quenelles. In the absence of eggs, 
 egg balls are used. The quenelles are made of half a 
 cupful of the white meat of the turtle or of chicken 
 chopped fine and then rubbed through a sieve with a 
 wooden spoon or a potato-masher; the yolks of two 
 hard-boiled eggs are also rubbed through the sieve; 
 these ingredients are mixed with a high seasoning of 
 salt and cayenne, the yolks of one or two raw eggs, 
 and flour enough to permit the rolling of little balls of 
 the force-meat in the palms of the hands, or shape it 
 as quenelles by pressing it in ovals between tTvo tea- 
 
246 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 spoons dipped in cold water; poach the quenelles until 
 they float in salted boiling water, and then use them 
 for soup, or fry them for addition to other dishes for 
 turtle for which recipes follow. 
 
 After the turtle flesh is boiled tender it can be made 
 into the most savory dishes known to the epicure. Of 
 course, in this series it can claim place only when a 
 turtle is treated on the co-operative plan, a number of 
 persons paying a ^proportionate price for the part of 
 the carcass they receive, as has already been proj^osed. 
 In England it has always remained the food of the 
 rich since it was first brought from her West Indian 
 Islands: Dr. Kitchiner reverently styles it ''the far- 
 fetched and dear-bought turtle," and Mrs. Glasse de- 
 votes pages to its consideration. She says, by the way, 
 that in the Indies, in her time, the fins were soused and 
 eaten cold. Here is a hint for the canned goods manu- 
 facturers; indeed, they might put green turtle upon 
 the market Avith profit to themselves and advantage to 
 the great mass of the buyers of their products. 
 
 In Mrs. Glasse's method the calipee was baked with 
 butter, spice, and sweet herbs; the lights, heart, and 
 liver stewed with broth and Madeira thickened with 
 flour and highly seasoned; the calipash was boiled or 
 baked in broth entire, and then used to contain a thick 
 brown stew of the turtle flesh; the fins were stewed 
 with thickened broth and wine; the entire service con- 
 sisting of the soup in the centre of the table, the fins 
 and liver at the sides, and the calipash and calipee at 
 the top and foot. A Carleton House turtle stew was 
 made early in the present century by stewing the fins 
 in a thick sauce of broth and port-wine, with mush- 
 rooms or button onions. So far beyond the reach of 
 ordinary mortals was the dish considered that but few 
 
GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 
 
 247 
 
 of the early cookery-books contained any more than a 
 hint of it in the form of recipes for dressing mock tur- 
 tle, which recalls the good story that Colonel De Yoe 
 tells of the speechless astonishment of the fish-dealer 
 when one of his newly-rich customers ordered turtle, 
 and marked emphasis by *' and it won't do for you to 
 try to put off any of your confounded mock turtles on 
 to me !" 
 
 Turtle steaks are cut half an inch thick from the 
 white meat, dipped in melted butter seasoned with salt 
 and cayenne, and broiled in a double-wire gridiron, at 
 a moderate and clear fire, for about seven minutes on 
 each side. They should be served on a hot dish with 
 currant jelly. When turtle flesh is not very tender, 
 roll the steaks in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, 
 brown them quickly in enough butter to prevent burn- 
 ing, then cover them with any cold broth or gravy, or, 
 in default of either, with boiling water; stew them 
 gently until they are tender; add a glass of Madeira 
 and the juice of half a lemon to each pint of turtle and 
 gravy, and serve the dish hot. Tender, uncooked tur- 
 tle steaks, or those which have been parboiled, may be 
 breaded and fried in just enough butter to prevent 
 burning; take them up on brown paper when they are 
 done, and keej) them hot. In the pan put half a pint 
 each of cream and tomato catsup; boil the sauce while 
 the turtle is being laid on a hot dish with a garnish of 
 sliced lemon, and then send it to the table with the 
 sauce in a bowl. Tartar sauce is excellent with fried 
 turtle steaks. It is made by adding a teaspoonful of 
 grated onion, and a tablespoonful each of chopped 
 parsley, capers, and pickles to half a pint of mayon- 
 naise. 
 
 The most savory of all turtle dishes is a ragoilt, or 
 
248 FAMILY LIVING ON 1500 A YEAR 
 
 brown stew, of small j^ieces of the flesh, and gelatinous 
 shell, with a garnish of turtle eggs or egg balls, que- 
 nelles, and the priceless green fat, all these having been 
 boiled as directed in the recipe for turtle-soup stock. 
 For each pint of these ingredients put over the fire in 
 a thick saucepan a heaping tablespoonful of butter, an 
 even tablespoonful of flour, a saltspoonful of grated 
 onion, and stir them until they brown; then gradually 
 stir in suflicient broth or turtle stock to make a good 
 gravy, put in the turtle, a gill of Madeira, a few mush- 
 rooms if they are available, and season the whole highly 
 with salt and cayenne, and lightly with mace; add a 
 bouquet of sweet herbs, cover the saucepan, and let 
 the stew cook very slowly until the turtle flesh is ten- 
 der; more wine may be added in dishing it if it is de- 
 sired, and the strained juice of a lemon. There is no 
 question of the fact that this is a most extravagant 
 dish; it cannot be properly cast within our limits, but 
 under the given conditions its service is possible. 
 
 On the other hand, calf's-head can be cooked so as 
 to closely resemble turtle, and at a moderate cost; it 
 comes into some markets properly cleaned, the hair 
 being removed, and the skin of the head looking fresh 
 and white; it is not right to skin the head, because 
 that operation destroys the best portion; and the 
 tongue and brains should be saved, the latter to be 
 used instead of turtle or chicken meat for making 
 quenelles or force-meat balls; Qgg balls, of course, are 
 required to replace the turtle eggs. The flesh and skin 
 of the head are to be cut off in large pieces and laid in 
 cold, salted water; the tongue and brains removed and 
 also put into water; the bones of the head are to be bro- 
 ken and thoroughly washed, and then put over the fire 
 in plenty of cold water to boil ; add a bouquet of herbs, 
 
GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 249 
 
 a whole carrot and turnip peeled, an onion peeled and 
 stuck with a dozen cloves, a red pepper or a teaspoon- 
 ful of peppercorns; when the water boils salt it, put 
 in the head and tongue, and boil them until they are 
 tender, when they are to be taken up, wrapped in cloths 
 wet in cold water, and kept in a cool place until re- 
 quired for the various dishes for which recipes are 
 given on other pages. The bones are to be boiled at 
 least five hours, and the stock then strained. The stock 
 and head may subsequently be dressed according to the 
 recipes given for green turtle, except that no clear soup 
 is made. 
 
 A most savory dish is a mince made of boiled calf 's- 
 head, seasoned with a chopped green pepper or a small 
 mango, a little tomato or walnut catsup, and moistened 
 w^ith a brown gravy made from the stock ; this may be 
 served on toast or in small patties. Some of the head 
 broiled and dressed with salt, pepper, and butter, or 
 garnished with fried oysters, is excellent. A portion 
 of it may be rolled in flour seasoned with salt and 
 cayenne, and fried. A delicious pie can be made of 
 the head, together with egg balls, quenelles, and a few 
 mushrooms in season, or some fried oysters; the pas- 
 try should be very light and tender, and extra gravy 
 poured into the pie after it is baked ; a glass of wine 
 and a little lemon juice adds much to the flavor of the 
 gravy, which should be brown. 
 
 Of the many varieties of terrapin abundant in some 
 sections of the United States, notably in the South, 
 the best known are the diamond-back terrapin of the 
 Chesapeake, the Egg Harbor from the Delaware River, 
 the Carolina gopher or land terrapin, the wood tortoise, 
 land terrapin, and snapper of the Western and Middle 
 States, and the small fresh-water or " red-leg " terrapin. 
 
250 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Like the California canvas-hack, the terrapin from that 
 land of sunshine are large and fine. Diamond-hack 
 terrapin have a sharply defined series of elevated 
 points down the middle of the upper shell, long, nar- 
 row heads, and the well-known diamond-shaped sec- 
 tions on the back. In the New York markets terrapin 
 are classed as " counts " and " bulls." The former are 
 from six inches in length upward on the under shell, 
 their flavor is fine, and they contain the much-prized 
 eggs. Twelve "counts" are sold as a dozen; the 
 smaller male terrapin, or "bulls," are sold by the hun- 
 dred if quite small and inferior, or by the dozen, 
 eighteen of those less than six inches long being count- 
 ed as a dozen; of terrapin less than five inches long 
 twenty-four are allowed to the dozen, and under that 
 length from forty-eight to sixty, according to size. 
 Terrapin are best in the autumn, when they are the 
 fattest, and if kept in their native mud or in the tanks 
 at the terrapin farms, they remain in good condition 
 all Avinter. 
 
 All kinds of terrapin are cleaned and cooked in the 
 same way up to the point of removal from the shell, 
 and all make savory dishes if boiled gently until the 
 flesh is tender, but the diamond-back of the Eastern 
 Shore is undoubtedly the finest, especially if prepared 
 by an old-fashioned negro cook. Like lobsters, terra- 
 pin should be alive before cooking. It is well to put 
 them for an hour or longer in a large tub of clean, cool 
 water; then wash the shells, and plunge the terrapin 
 head first into a large pot of boiling salted water, and 
 let them boil for ten minutes, or until the thin outer 
 skin of the legs can be loosened and rubbed off with a 
 wet cloth; the thick semi-gelatinous under skin is con- 
 sidered a " tidbit " ; no particle of it should be lost. In 
 
GREEN TUETLE AND TERRAPIN. 251 
 
 putting the terrapin into the cold and the boiling water, 
 grasp them from the tail end to avoid a bite; so pug- 
 nacious are some of the species that the Chinese cooks, 
 with whom terrapin is a prime delicacy, provoke them 
 to bite at a stick, and while the terrapin hold it in 
 their bills they are quickly decapitated before they are 
 cooked. The flesh may be somewhat whiter under this 
 treatment, but all the blood should be saved to cook 
 with the terrapin. After the terrapin are scalded, and 
 the outer skin of the legs has been rubbed off, put them 
 again over the fire in enough clean boiling water to 
 cover them, with a teaspoonful of salt to each quart of 
 Avater, and boil them slowly and steadily until the ser- 
 rated edges at the sides where the upper and under 
 shells are joined begin to separate. The length of 
 time required for boiling will depend upon the condi- 
 tion of the terrapin ; California terrapin, which are 
 very tender and gelatinous, have been boiled in fifteen 
 minutes, but ordinarily the time varies from a half- 
 hour to an hour. As the entire operation of dressing 
 terrapin demands exact care, plenty of time should be 
 allowed; an expert may accomplish it in about two 
 hours, but the novice will do well to boil the terrapin 
 and remove it from the shell the day before it is in- 
 tended to serve it. After the shells of terrapin can 
 be loosened at the sides, part them there, then lift off 
 the upper shell, cutting the bands of flesh which hold 
 it in place upon the backbone; take off' the under shell, 
 which is held by the ligaments of the legs; then care- 
 fully cut the bands of flesh which cross from the legs 
 over the intestines, cut off the nails at the extremities 
 of the claws, and lay the legs on a dish; the head is to 
 be thrown away. The entrails are now exposed. The 
 eggs are to he carefully separated w^ithout breaking 
 
252 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the slight membrane which encloses the yolk of which 
 they are composed, and laid in cold water; subsequent- 
 ly they are to be boiled in salted boiling water for 
 five minutes, and again put into cold water until they 
 are required, the thin membrane covering them being 
 stripped off before they are used. 
 
 The liver, which is proportionately very large, 
 should be separated from the entrails with the great- 
 est care, to avoid breaking the dark-green gall-bag 
 that lies partly embedded in one side: if the gall-bag 
 is cut or broken, its intensely bitter fluid will impart 
 its flavor to everj^thing it touches; therefore in cut- 
 ting it out the liver should be held over a dish, and 
 the i^art nearest the gall-bag cut oat with it. Some 
 of the old negro terrapin cooks carefully mingled two 
 or three drops of the gall with the sauce prepared for 
 each large terrapin, but the experiment should not be 
 tried by any one unaccustomed to it. The negro 
 cooks also used the intestines of terrapin when they 
 found them empty, rejecting the lower end for a couple 
 of inches, and cutting the white upper portions in half- 
 inch lengths. The bluish-green fat which lies about 
 the sockets of the legs of terrapin in good condition 
 is to be most carefully saved, and equally distributed 
 in serving the terrapin, for it is the most coveted part. 
 The sandbag, which is a soft, spongy organ of a dark 
 liver color, lying among the intestines, near the back, 
 should be rejected. 
 
 The second water in which the terrapin are boiled 
 should be saved to use for the sauce, or the shells may 
 be put into it, with the regulation soup vegetables, and 
 slowly boiled for five or six hours, or until some por- 
 tions of them become soft and semi-gelatinous; these 
 parts are cut small and added to the stock after it 
 
GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 253 
 
 is strained and clarified, together with some egg balls. 
 The soup thus made and palatably seasoned is very 
 delicate and excellent for invalids. Egg balls are made 
 by adding to the yolk of a hard-boiled egg which has 
 been rubbed through a sieve a raw yolk, a teaspoon- 
 f ul of good salad-oil, a palatable seasoning of salt, and 
 enough flour to permit the compound to be made up 
 into little balls by rolling between the palms of the 
 hands; they are to be boiled in boiling salted water 
 until they float, then skimmed out, and laid on a clean 
 dry towel until needed. 
 
 To stew wood terrapin in the old Virginia style boil 
 it and remove it from the shell, as directed above; 
 to each pint of the dressed terrapin add the ingredi- 
 ents specified below, and stew all together gently for 
 twenty minutes: the yolks of eight hard-boiled eggs 
 rubbed through a sieve with a potato-masher, half a 
 pint of cream, a quarter of a pound of butter, a table- 
 spoonful of dry flour, and a gill or two of Madeira; 
 season the terrapin palatably with salt and pepper, 
 stew it gently, and serve it hot. Gophers are cooked 
 in South Carolina by first dressing them according to 
 the above directions; for each large gopher alloAV a 
 quarter of a pound of butter; in this fry a level tea- 
 spoonful of grated onion, then stir in a tablespoonful 
 of flour, half a pint of Madeira or sherry, the gopher 
 meat, and a high seasoning of. Cayenne pepper, salt, 
 and powdered mace; as soon as the gopher is tender, 
 serve it hot. To stew red-leg terrapin dress them as 
 already directed, and boil the flesh gently until it is 
 tender in enough water to cover it ; then to each pint 
 of meat add the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs rubbed 
 smoothly with half a pound of butter, half a pint of 
 good cream, and a palatable seasoning of salt and pep- 
 
254 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 per; stew all these ingredients together for about fif- 
 teen minutes, and then serve them hot. To dress ter- 
 rapin after an Eastern Shore recipe, have it properly 
 boiled and taken from the shell; to each pint of the 
 meat allow a heaping tablespoonful of dry flour 
 rubbed smoothly with half a pound of butter, half a 
 pint each of cream and sherry, and a gill of brandy; 
 stew the terrapin for five minutes with these ingre- 
 dients and a rather high seasoning of salt and cayenne, 
 and serve it very hot. 
 
 In the preceding recipes wine has been called for, 
 and it is generally believed to be inseparable from the 
 cooking of terrapin; but a recipe was some time ago 
 received from a prominent Baltimore lady of rigid 
 temperance principles, which substitutes currant jelly 
 for the wine; and the fact remains that the most deli- 
 cious terrapin ever eaten by the author was prepared 
 in that city without wine, by a negro cook, old Madeira 
 being placed upon the table with the stewed terrapin. 
 The suggestion is made that all the blood of the ter- 
 rapin be saved in dressing it, and put into a saucepan 
 with a brown roux made by stirring a tablespoonful 
 of flour into two of butter until they begin to brown; 
 then stir in the terrapin blood, and the yolks of four 
 hard-boiled eggs rubbed smooth with half the livers 
 and green fat of the terrapin ; put in the terrapin meat 
 and eggs, and a high seasoning of salt and cayenne, as 
 much grated nutmeg as will rest upon the point of a 
 small penknife blade, and as much cream as is needed 
 to make the sauce of the proper consistency. With 
 the utmost care mix two drojys only of the terrapin gall 
 with the yolks of two raw eggs, beating them until 
 they are quite smooth ; when the terrapin is tender, 
 set the saucepan containing it off the fire, stir in the 
 
GREEN TURTLE AND TERRAPIN. 
 
 255 
 
 raw egg smoothly, then a tablespoonf iil of lemon juice, 
 and serve the terraj^in hot. To use the terrapin gall 
 successfully one needs nerve and precision; for the 
 least excess would ruin one of the best dishes ever de- 
 vised. 
 
 It is an axiom with terrapin lovers that only good 
 old Madeira should be drank with it. Mrs. S. S.Ward's 
 famous old Washington recipe for terrapin adds a tea- 
 spoonful of mixed mustard, a tablespoonful of brandy, 
 and half a pint of sherry to the usual terrapin stew. 
 Another, which was served in the old Washinofton 
 days to Webster, Clay, and their intellectual and gas- 
 tronomical compeers, has come to us direct from this 
 grande dame of the old school, whose own hands gave 
 the magical final touches to this perfect compound. 
 For each pint of terrapin meat a saltspoonful of grated 
 onion was fried in a saucepan with a quarter of a pound 
 of butter, while half the terrapin liver was rubbed 
 smooth with the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, a 
 heaping teaspoonful of corn-starch, and another quarter 
 of a pound of butter; this paste was added to the 
 onion and butter, together with the meat of one large 
 terrapin, half a pint of cream, a teaspoonful of Soy, 
 and a palatable seasoning of salt. The terrapin was 
 stirred constantly until it began to boil, then half a 
 pint of sherry was added to it, and it was immediately 
 sent to the table in a hot chafing-dish — a dish fit for 
 the gods. Mere ordinary mortals may be content to 
 brown their dressed terrapin in butter over a hot fire, 
 to dust a tablespoonful of flour over a pint of it, and 
 then pour in the terrapin blood and enough boiling 
 water to make a proper sauce; this should be highly 
 seasoned with salt and cayenne, and gently boiled for 
 five minutes; then take the saucepan from the fire, stir 
 
256 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 in the yolks of tv/o raw eggs beaten smoothly with a 
 tablespoonful of lemon juice, or half a cupful of cream, 
 and eat and be thankful for the dish, even without 
 Madeira. 
 
 The imitation of terrapin based upon calf's-head is 
 not difficult of preparation; the head, as sold in the 
 New York market, is already scalded and scraped free 
 from hair, like the feet prepared for jelly. A note of 
 the method may be useful to some of our readers, be- 
 cause in many towns in the West the butchers remove 
 the skin in dressing the head, thus destroying the most 
 desirable part of it. The head should be dipped in 
 cold water after it is cut from the carcass, then taken 
 out and thoroughly rubbed with powdered resin; next 
 it should be plunged into scalding hot water for two 
 or three minutes; this will generally loosen the hairs 
 so that they can be scraped off without marring the 
 skin; the scalding and scraping can be repeated if 
 necessary. After the skin is clean, the head should 
 be soaked overnight in plenty of cold salted water to 
 extract the blood. When dressed, the skin should 
 look white and clean, free from hair and cuts, and be 
 without any trace of unpleasant odor. A stale calf's- 
 head would not only be disagreeable to manipulate, 
 but positively dangerous, because it might occasion 
 blood-poisoning, if there was any cut or abrasion upon 
 the hands. After a calf's-head is thoroughly cleaned, 
 remove the skin and flesh together, cutting close to 
 the bone with a sharp, thin-bladed knife; take out the 
 tongue without tearing or cutting it, and remove the 
 brains entire from a cut in the top of the head, laying 
 both tongue and brains in cold salted water. The 
 bones well boiled form the basis of soup or jelly, and 
 the flesh can be variously dressed. 
 
GREEN TUETLE AND TERRAPIN. 257 
 
 To imitate terrapin with calf's-head, boil the skin, 
 removed from the bones as directed above, in enough 
 water to cover it, until it is tender; take it up then 
 and strain the broth; while it is being boiled, make 
 some egg balls; cut the skin in pieces about an inch 
 square, and for each pint bowlful so prepared make a 
 sauce as follows: brown together in a saucepan over 
 the fire a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, then 
 gradually stir in enough of the broth to make a good 
 sauce; season it palatably with salt and pepper, put 
 in the head and heat it, and the egg balls, and then 
 take the saucepan from the fire, stir in the yolks of 
 two raw eggs, the juice of a lemon, and a glass of 
 sherry or Madeira, and serve the dish at once. The 
 unused portion of the head may be kept in a wet cloth 
 in a cold place, or in a bowl with the broth poured 
 over it, until it is needed for other dishes. 
 17 
 
258 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 Although the greater portion of this work is in- 
 tended for the guidance of the mistress of the house- 
 hold, and is by her to be imparted to her help as suits 
 the exigencies of occasions, certain points may be 
 touched upon which concern the servant as an individ- 
 ual. They may be repeated to her in so far as they 
 seem to apply, or the entire matter may be given her 
 to read. First in importance is personal neatness; 
 while it is happily the fact that the type of hel]) which 
 certain English novelists depict as the "slavey," or 
 general house-servant, is utterly unknown in America, 
 the girl who does general house-work is sometimes not 
 only untrained in the performance of her duties, but 
 quite unused to the appliances j)laced in her hands 
 and the methods of work she is expected to follow. 
 Besides, in very crowded quarters, and under careless 
 habits of living, she may have become indifferent to 
 the sanitary routine of cleanliness which becomes sec- 
 ond nature, or is totally neglected, according to one's 
 surroundings. Therefore, the first care of the mistress 
 should be to provide j^i'oper toilet appliances, and 
 see that at all seasons the temperature of the servant's 
 sleeping - room permits their free use. It is sim- 
 ply absurd to say that such consideration would be 
 wasted; even a child can be made to understand that 
 untidy habits are intolerable; no mistress need be 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 259 
 
 obliored to have a slattern about her while the waters 
 flow. 
 
 It is more difficult for a general house-worker to be 
 always tidy than for waitresses and up-stairs servants, 
 but it is by no means impossible. Much dej^ends upon 
 the management of the work; when one person has it 
 all to do the worst of it can be massed into one part 
 of the day; for instance: except in the winter, when 
 fuel has to be replenished all day long, the dirtiest 
 part of the work could be done early in the morning, 
 before the family are up, an old wrapper being worn, 
 or the dress protected by a very large apron, and the 
 hair shielded from dust by a cap or handkerchief; the 
 handkerchief can easily be twisted into a turban to en- 
 tirely cover the hair; or a large, loose cap made from 
 a circle of thin cloth with a drawing-string run in 
 about two inches from the edge, all around, thus form- 
 ing a frill which effectually protects the short hair 
 upon the neck and forehead. Such a cap can be put 
 on over neatly-dressed hair without disarranging it, 
 just as a large apron or wrapper can be worn over the 
 clean gown it is desirable to shield. 
 
 A young housewife who believes in seeing that 
 everything is always right in the kitchen has such 
 loose wrappers, which she slips on over her gowns even 
 after she is dressed for dinner, when she goes to the 
 kitchen for her final inspection; two or three minutes 
 is time enough for her to throw off one in her room, 
 and she reaches the dining-room as soon as the dinner, 
 and in equally acceptable condition. The early morn- 
 ing work might include the sifting of the cinders, the 
 trimming of lamps, cleaning of shoes, scouring of any 
 unused utensil or of knives, tins, coppers, or brasses, 
 although the knives and utensils in general use can 
 
260 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 always be scoured Avhen they are washed if any of the 
 numerous white scouring-soaps are used, which are now 
 sold as cheaply as common soap; copper saucepans, for 
 instance, which many housekeepers think difficult to 
 keep clean, can be kept shining if they are filled with 
 warm water after they are used, and then rubbed dur- 
 ing the washing with a cloth well covered with white 
 scouring-soap. 
 
 Knives with steel blades can be kept sharp as well 
 as bright by rubbing them upon a board covered with 
 emery cloth, or thinly dusted with pow^dered Bath- 
 brick; if a brick is used, rub it several times np and 
 down over the board until enough remains there to 
 scour the knives; this is easier than rubbing the blades 
 with cloth or potato dipped in the dust. If the blades 
 are drawn the right way, the edges can be kept quite 
 sharp, as well as bright. 
 
 It is the scouring operations and the preparation of 
 certain vegetables which so often stain the hands; a 
 little care will greatly modify this unsightliness; very 
 often in peeling vegetables the blade of the knife is 
 allowed to come in contact with the forefinger; if the 
 knife is held by the handle the vegetable juice upon 
 the blade is less likely to stain the hand; if it is washed 
 off directly the vegetables are pared, and especially if 
 they are held under water while being peeled, the stain 
 will be less. Certain acids act chemically upon the 
 stain made by the contact of vegetables with the steel 
 knife-blade; acetic acid or strong vinegar, a lemon, or 
 a tomato cut and rubbed on the hands, will remove 
 much of the stain. A piece of pumice-stone should 
 be kept in the soap-dish, as well as a small brush; bo- 
 rax, which is very cheap, is as effectual as washing- 
 soda in removing grease from dishes and saucepans, 
 while it keeps the hands in good condition. 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 261 
 
 There is no reason why this ordinary care should 
 not be given for appearance sake (especially if the 
 general servant attends the door and table), and a dish 
 of oatmeal or cornmeal or fine sand, or a piece of 
 white Castile soap, kept ready for use; five cents' 
 worth of any of these things would last a month. 
 
 If a little borax is put into the water used for wash- 
 ing dishes, both dishes and hands will be the better 
 for it. A cloth or soft brush should be used for wash- 
 ing potatoes, beets, or any root which is to be cooked 
 without peeling. The pods or shells of green pease 
 should be washed before shelling them, and the hands; 
 then the flavor of the pease need not be impaired by 
 subsequent washing before they are cooked. Toma- 
 toes which are to be served raw should either be 
 washed and carefully wiped before they are sliced, or 
 they should be thrown for a moment into scalding-hot 
 water, and then the skin can easily be strij^ped off. 
 
 When the constant wetting of the hands roughens 
 them, and even makes them chap, as in winter, the pain 
 and unsightliness can be overcome by rubbing them 
 every night with mutton tallow. The surplus fat of 
 mutton, melted by gentle heat and cooled in a small 
 cup or mould, has unequalled healing properties. 
 These points are far from trivial; there is no reason 
 why the pains of work should not be overcome as well 
 as its difficulties. 
 
 This brings up the question of labor-saving devices. 
 There are many mechanical contrivances of this kind, 
 which are very helpful in households where service is 
 scant. But while of great use in intelligent hands, 
 they often come to grief for lack of understanding. 
 Housekeepers should always be sure that such things 
 are well enough understood by help to save them from 
 
262 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 destruction. As a rule the general house-servant is 
 young, and whether she comes from some rural neigh- 
 boring locality, from some small village or farm in an- 
 other country, or from the tenement district of a city, 
 the chances are that the methods and utensils of work 
 in a house with the so-called modern improvements 
 may at first confuse and even impede her. Even girls 
 brought up in prosperous workingmen's families do 
 not have at home the same things to work with that 
 are common in private establishments where the 
 least -elaborate labor-saving utensils are part of the 
 outfit. 
 
 Be it repeated, that all mechanical devices should 
 be made clear to the help, or else their use forbidden. 
 Then the daily or special use of the ordinary utensils, 
 dishes, and general house-fittings should be explained; 
 then the fact made clear that such articles as brooms, 
 dusters, towels, etc., are expected to last a certain time, 
 and not to disappear inopportunely. The fact should 
 be emphasized that broken dishes or glasses must not 
 be concealed, but spoken of at once; and in the outset 
 a clear understanding should be had that undue break- 
 age from carelessness must be replaced by the party 
 causing it. If the servant is inexperienced, the mis- 
 tress should explain that pouring very hot food or 
 liquid into glass or delicate china is likely to crack 
 it; that putting dishes in the oven checks the glaze 
 and discolors them; that a piece may be wiped out of 
 a thin tumbler, or the stem of a goblet or wineglass 
 snapped by the rough or careless use of a coarse, wet 
 towel; that using fine knives near the fire, for frying, 
 destroys their temper; that to leave a tea-kettle or 
 saucepan empty on the stove is to ruin it. In fine, the 
 list of things by which an intelligent housekeeper can 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. . £63 
 
 shield her uninformed assistant from disaster is lim- 
 ited only by her own experience. That it is not worth 
 while to try to teach a girl such things is an idea to 
 be scouted by all but pessimists; and a pessimist never 
 can be a success as a housekeeper or homemaker. 
 
 More words from the help's standpoint. We have 
 considered some small matters of personal cleanliness 
 and of carefulness in the use of utensils, assuming 
 that an ordinarily intelligent and kindly disposed 
 girl is willing to give her best service in return for 
 her wages. I^ow let us take the question of keeping 
 the kitchen in such order that it can be entered at any 
 time with satisfaction. First, in regard to cleanliness 
 and light: these are the indispensable conditions of 
 success and comfort in the kitchen, the first depend- 
 ing upon the second to a much greater extent than is 
 generally supposed. If a girl is harassed by insuffi- 
 cient appliances, inconvenient and restricted surround- 
 ings, she cannot do herself the justice of performing 
 her task in the most perfect way. 
 
 When there is necessity for curtailing outfit ex- 
 penses, the first articles bought should be those re- 
 quired for every-day use, of plain and substantial pat- 
 tern. Fancy housekeeping articles and patent con- 
 trivances may be left until there is a surplus with 
 which to purchase them. Space does not here permit 
 a list of such things, but the inexperienced buyer can 
 easily take the advice of some careful and economical 
 housekeeper, or of a conscientious servant — rarely of 
 a dealer, who will necessarily recommend what he has 
 in stock. 
 
 New dishes, glass, and cutlery need thorough w^ash- 
 ing. If all new crockery is put over the stove in a 
 large boiler full of cold water, and heated to the boil- 
 
264 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 ing-point and then allowed to cool in the water, it will 
 not be so likely to break or check subsequently from 
 heat. A wooden tub is better for washing delicate 
 china and glass than a metal pan, but it should be 
 scalded with clean boiling water after it is used, and 
 thoroughly aired. All dish-cloths and tQwels should 
 be scalded every day, and dried in the sun if possible, 
 but at all events in the open air. Table-linen does 
 not need to be boiled every time it is washed, but it 
 should be scalded; a little borax dissolved in the wash 
 water will thoroughly cleanse the cloth without in- 
 
 Borax, ammonia, or a little washing-soda, dissolved in 
 the hot water used for washing silver, will keep it look- 
 ing bright, especially if after it is wiped it is rubbed 
 with soft chamois. The polish imparted by scour- 
 ing powders and soaps is really a removal by friction 
 of a minute surface of the silver or electro-plate, while 
 the soda or ammonia are cleansing agents. The cham- 
 ois can be washed as often as necessary in warm 
 water in which enough soap is dissolved to make a 
 lather; rub the chamois well in this water, applying 
 more soap to discolored portions, then rinse it through 
 several waters, lukewarm, and hang it to dry without 
 wringing it. Several times, while it is drying, shake 
 it and stretch it by pulling, until it is soft and pliable. 
 
 New metal utensils should be put over the fire, with 
 a little washing-soda dissolved in the water with which 
 they are filled, and thoroughly scalded before they are 
 used the first time for cooking. If they are always 
 filled with water and set where it will keep warm, 
 directly after they are used, they can be cleaned readi- 
 ly when they are washed. A little powdered brick 
 dust or ashes, sifted very fine, or some scouring-soap 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 265 
 
 upon the dish-cloth, will clean them as part of the 
 operation of washing them. If salt and vinegar are 
 used in scouring coppers they will tarnish again 
 quickly; they should be carefully washed off if they 
 are used, to prevent the formation of verdigris. Uten- 
 sils which have become discolored by lack of use, or 
 coated with any substance from carelessness, can be 
 easily scoured if they are first boiled for a few moments 
 in plenty of water containing washing-soda. The 
 network of iron or steel links which is sold for clean- 
 ing kettles is useful where there is no tin or porcelain 
 lining; it will rub off the coating of rust on iron 
 pots, and burnish the surface which has been rough- 
 ened by the action of the rust, but will destroy the 
 thin tin or porcelain surfaces. 
 
 A lump of soda laid upon the drain down which 
 waste water passes will prevent the clogging of the 
 pipe with grease, especially if the pipe is flooded every 
 day with boiling water. All sinks and drains can be 
 kept in a perfectly sanatory condition if they are 
 flushed two or three times a week with scalding-hot 
 copperas water. This is made by putting several 
 pounds of copperas in a barrel or tub, and keeping it 
 filled with water ; a pound and a half of copperas will 
 form a saturated solution with a gallon of water. 
 There should always be some undissolved copperas in 
 the bottom; the water can easily be heated before it is 
 used. As the copperas water is an odorless disinfec- 
 tant, servants are generally willing to use it for their 
 own sake when it is provided; it is quite inexpensive. 
 
 The abundance of light in a kitchen is second in 
 importance to air only. If the kitchen is in the base- 
 ment, light-colored or white walls reflect the light; if 
 the stove is set in a dark corner, and is movable, it 
 
266 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 should be brought to the light, even at the expense of 
 extra pipe; if there is a fixed range, some means for 
 lighting it should be devised. It should be remem- 
 bered in this connection that the vapor of gas from 
 kerosene, which fills that space in a lamp unoccupied 
 by oil, is both inflammable and explosive, and there- 
 fore a shelf over a stove or fireplace is not the safest 
 spot for a lamp. Many persons may say that they 
 have always kept their lamps there without any ac- 
 cident, but that does not obviate the danger any more 
 than does the fact that people given to lighting fires 
 with the aid of kerosene do not always get blown up 
 the first time they do it. 
 
 The odors from cooking can be collected and con- 
 ducted to the chimney by a hood of tin hung from 
 the ceiling above the stove, and connected with the 
 chimney by a pipe. Where such a contrivance is not 
 available, the tops of the windows and the ventilators 
 above the doors — if there are any — should be kept 
 open. To a great extent these odors can be prevented 
 by avoiding spilling anything on the stove, and by 
 taking care that saucepans do not boil over. If atten- 
 tion is paid to the rules which have been laid down 
 for boiling vegetables, especially cabbage, the usual 
 kitchen odors can be controlled. Plenty of fresh air, 
 cleanliness of towels, tables, sinks, closets, and uten- 
 sils, and above all personal neatness, will keejD the at- 
 mosphere of the kitchen fresh. Steam from boiling 
 should always be expelled by ventilation, particularly 
 when washing is going on, and that which condenses 
 upon wood-work should be wiped off. In fact, the 
 wood-work of a kitchen should be cleaned as regularly 
 as the windows. A little ammonia in hot water — a 
 tablespoonf ul to a quart — or a small quantity of borax 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 267 
 
 dissolved in the water, applied with a soft cloth or 
 flannel, will clean paint and windows without soap ; 
 washing-soda dissolved in hot water and used with a 
 soft cloth will remove paint from glass. 
 
 Oil-cloths should not be scrubbed or soaped; wipe 
 them first with a damp cloth, and then with a dry one; 
 occasionally a little milk and water may be used to 
 brighten them, and if the pattern is worn off while the 
 cloth is still good, they can be painted like a wooden 
 floor. If the floor is bare, it can be kept spotless by 
 regular scrubbing with soap and sand, or water con- 
 taining borax or a little soda; if bad spots necessitate 
 the use of lye, apply it with a brush, and remember 
 while rinsing it off that its caustic action will injure 
 the hands unless it is washed from them at once. 
 
 Tables, pastry -boards, slop-pails, and the other 
 wooden articles used in the kitchen should be cleaned 
 frequently with hot water; meat -boards are best 
 cleaned by scraping off the surface roughened by 
 chopping. Japanned bread and cake boxes and trays 
 are best cleaned by washing with warm water and 
 soap, and, after they are dry, polishing them with dry 
 flour and a soft cloth. 
 
 The stove should be kept free from any spilled par- 
 ticles of food, or grease from boiling or frying. If 
 any falls upon it, a cloth dipped in hot water contain- 
 ing a little borax or washing-soda should at once be 
 used to wipe it off. Blacken the stove when it is cool, 
 using any good polish moistened with cold water or 
 vinegar, and then polish it with a brush. If there are 
 steel fittings, polish them with a burnisher or with 
 emery cloth, which can be bought in small sheets at 
 the hardware -stores. Always clean the stove from 
 ashes and cinders before making the fire, and take 
 
268 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 care that the water tank is filled, and the flues and 
 tops of the ovens free from soot and ashes. All the 
 cinders should be sifted from the ashes and used again; 
 they facilitate the lighting of the fire. This is not a 
 difficult matter if the draught is good. First in the 
 empty grate place shavings or bits of paper loosely 
 crumpled together, then small sticks crosswise, and 
 larger ones on them, and finally cinders or small pieces 
 of coal. Have all the covers of the stove on, and the 
 draughts open, and light the fire from the bottom. 
 When the lighter fuel burns brightly, add more coal, 
 until the volume of heat desired is obtained. A wood 
 fire is much easier to light, but requires to be rej^len- 
 ished more frequently, than one of coal. Hard wood 
 burns longer than soft. Charcoal is a good fuel, but 
 expensive. Gas, oil, and vapor or gasoline stoves are 
 in use in many places. Instructions for managing 
 them always accompany them. 
 
 The best result from coal as a fuel is obtained when 
 the fire is of moderate size, replenished often enough 
 to keep up a steady but not excessive heat. It is a 
 mistake to choke the stove with coal. The heat of 
 the fire can be maintained at an equal point if the 
 fuel is supplied in small quantities often enough to 
 give a clear, bright fire. If possible, add the fuel 
 through the side or front door of the stove. Remov- 
 ing the covers cools the top of the stove, and so inter- 
 feres with cooking. Do not remove the covers if it can 
 be avoided; it cools the oven as well as the top. Try 
 to have the lower part of the fire clear enough to broil 
 by; if this is impossible, do not try to broil while any- 
 thing is being baked that requires high, steady heat. 
 In some houses there is a broiler, heated by charcoal, 
 separate from the stove. 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 269 
 
 When saucepans are flat on the bottom it is not 
 necessary to remove the stove covers as in using the 
 old-fashioned pots. Ovens will not bake well unless 
 the flues and bottom are clean. When an oven burns 
 on the bottom, cover it half an inch deep with clean 
 sand; if it burns on the top, put a layer of sand or 
 ashes over it. Sometimes the fire will not burn readily 
 at first, because the air in the chimney is cold; in that 
 case, burn a quantity of paper or shavings before try- 
 ing to light the other fuel. 
 
 Finally^ if there are no poultry, pigs, or cows to use 
 the refuse of food, burn it at the back of the fire, with 
 all the draughts open and the covers tightly closed, at 
 some time of the day when there is no cooking in prog- 
 ress. The solid portions can usually be kept separate 
 from the slops; tea leaves and coffee grounds can easi- 
 ly be drained. Above all, never allow slops or garbage 
 to remain in the kitchen until they become offensive. 
 
 Every point here enumerated can be so set before 
 an intelligent servant as to convince her that it is not 
 only feasible but desirable; and nothing is required 
 which does not fall within her province of work. If 
 systematically accomplished, the work will be made 
 easier, and the kitchen, where the most of her waking 
 time is passed, will be the pleasanter abiding-place for 
 these suggestions. 
 
 If cleanliness in the kitchen conduces to the comfort 
 of a household, from the head down to the help, so 
 does that of the cellar and storeroom, Avhen there are 
 such adjuncts to the establishment, and this can be as- 
 sured only by care on the part of the help. Explicit 
 directions for the guidance of the housewife have al- 
 ready been published in the author's " Practical Ameri- 
 can Cookery." These are more specially intended for 
 
270 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the use of domestics. In the country, where the cellar 
 is usually the storeroom, too constant care cannot be 
 given to it. If it is wet, some means must be devised 
 to dry it, for the health of the household as well as 
 for the preservation of the food stored there; and 
 no drainage from outside should ever enter it. The 
 whitewash used for the walls should be made with the 
 copperas water already spoken of, and applied at least 
 four times a year, for it is one of the best of disin- 
 fectants. 
 
 If the ice-box is kept in the cellar the water caused 
 by the melting ice should never be allowed to drip 
 on the floor. Milk, vinegar, cider, and other liquids 
 should be carefully guarded against leakage, and the 
 brine from salted meats never spilled upon the ground 
 or floor. 
 
 All barrels and boxes stored in cellars should be 
 moved occasionally to make sure that no dampness or 
 mould is collecting under them; and vegetable bins 
 should receive attention, especially in rainy seasons; 
 if carpets or blankets are used to cover the vegetables, 
 they should be washed and dried out-of-doors occa- 
 sionally, and straw or hay used for such purpose should 
 be renewed whenever it becomes damp. 
 
 All the root vegetables keep best in sand; onions, 
 on shelves or in open baskets; cabbages, in bins or 
 barrels, with the roots uppermost; melons, squash, and 
 pumpkins, laid without pressing; the green vegeta- 
 bles, in a tub sprinkled with water, or in the ice-box 
 wrapped in a wet cloth. Sweet potatoes need to be 
 very dry, and do not keep long. White potatoes do 
 well in barrels or bins; towards spring, when they are 
 likely to sprout, they should be washed, put success- 
 ively in a basket which will fit in a large boiler, and 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 271 
 
 plunged into boiling water for three minutes; this 
 will destroy the sprouts without injuring the potatoes, 
 which may be cooled, dried, and kept as usual. 
 
 Meats, poultry, and game should be hung up, not 
 laid on shelves or dishes; if fresh fish is to be kept 
 overnight, it should be salted and peppered and laid on 
 an earthen dish, not on a board or shelf. Milk and but- 
 ter should be kept in closed vessels or tubs, the butter 
 being covered with brine or with salt, and a cloth under 
 the head of the firkin. All such things will keep very 
 well in a dry cellar temperature of from 40° to 50° F. 
 
 If there is no ice-box, and it is desirable to keep ice 
 temporarily, wrap it many times in newspapers, and 
 lay it on a rack in a tub set in a dry place. Frozen 
 fish, meat, poultry, and vegetables should be thawed 
 by total immersion in a tub of cold water set in a 
 cool place; never hy exposure to heat. If an ice-box 
 is used it should be thoroughly washed with hot water 
 and soda at least twice a week in summer, and once 
 in winter, and food should never be laid upon the 
 shelves, or put into it wrapped in paper ; it should 
 always be on earthen dishes; no food of any kind 
 should ever be put away in metal dishes unless they 
 are porcelain-lined or glazed. Wooden racks and 
 shelves in ice-boxes need frequent scalding and dry- 
 ing; galvanized iron ones are better. "When there is 
 the least unpleasant odor about an ice-box it shows 
 either ignorance or carelessness on the part of those 
 in charge of it; it is unquestionably the duty of the 
 faithful servant at least to observe and report all un- 
 desirable conditions, even if it is not in her power to 
 remedy them. As everything connected with the 
 larder is constantly under her observation, she can- 
 not fail to see things which may escape the eye of the 
 
272 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 mistress, unless the latter makes a careful daily in- 
 spection; she certainly should keep an outlook for 
 possible wrong conditions. Sometimes a trusted ser- 
 vant has entire charge of the market supplies, and if 
 she is worthy of the confidence reposed in her she 
 will take pride in making the most of them; certainly 
 if she knows how to take care of them she can be a 
 greater help, and therefore her services will be more 
 valuable, especially in emergencies when the mistress 
 is ill or absent. 
 
 In the storeroom proper or the pantry the same 
 cleanliness should be exercised; no liquids should be 
 spilled without being at once wiped up; no solid par- 
 ticles, like flour or sugar, should be allowed to remain 
 upon the shelves or floor, lest those two household 
 pests. Croton-bugs and ants, be attracted to the store- 
 room. It is claimed that powdered borax mixed with 
 sugar and laid under the shelf papers will drive them 
 away; the genuine Persian insect powder, which is 
 made from dried Persian camomile, should drive away 
 or destroy them; but certainly some of the creatures 
 seem to be the Wandering Jews of the insect world, 
 for they flourish on all insecticides. One notable house- 
 keeper reports much satisfaction from the use of wild- 
 thyme as repelling the invasion of red ants; this 
 comes naturally into the storeroom as one of that 
 
 " Odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds," 
 
 the flowering aromatic herbs, with which housewifely 
 custom hangs our pantry shelves; in addition to its 
 excellent culinary qualities, it is a good antiseptic and 
 aromatic, like all the rest of the mint family. 
 
 To guard against the spilling of dry groceries they 
 should be changed from the paper bags in which 
 
nOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. £73 
 
 many of them are bought to tin cans or wooden boxes; 
 even paper boxes are preferable to bags. Order should 
 be preserved upon the shelves, and receptacles so 
 closed as to conceal their contents should be labelled. 
 Preserves, pickles, catsups, sauces, and oil in bottles or 
 glass jars keep best if shielded from the light with 
 paper wrappers. The pantry should be well venti- 
 lated and protected from dampness; hot food should 
 not be put into the pantry or storeroom, because the 
 steam from it causes dampness; no hot food should 
 ever be covered, unless in the process of canning or 
 preserving, for which explicit directions are given. 
 
 When groceries and provisions are bought at whole- 
 sale, there is one idea which should never be admitted 
 to the mind: that is, that because there is abundance 
 on hand there may be any waste tolerated; small 
 quantities given or thrown away soon balance the 
 saving of purchase by the case or barrel. It is for 
 this reason that some housekeepers decline to buy 
 largely; but that only argues lack of good manage- 
 ment. If a servant shows any lavish disposition, the 
 mistress should deal out exactly the weekly, or even 
 daily, supply — if the latter course is necessarj'^ — mak- 
 ing the fact perfectly Ave 11 understood that certain giv- 
 en proportions of uncooked food must yield a relative 
 number of finished dishes. Any servant who possess- 
 es reasoning powers and conscience will soon see that 
 this is the only system of economical management which 
 can end favorably. The housekeeper's rule should be 
 to supply enough of the ingredients called for to make 
 a good dish; then, if there is failure, the cook is either 
 incompetent or dishonest. For such qualities there 
 are remedies, the first being tolerable if there is an ac- 
 companying disposition to learn. 
 18 
 
2 '7 4 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Some culinary failures come from an unwillingness 
 on the part of the help to acknowledge that she does 
 not know how to do the thing required; if there is in 
 the kitchen a perfectly accurate and reliable cook- 
 ery-book containing clear and continuous recipes, the 
 chances are that a girl who can read, and lolio likes 
 her business in life, will be anxious to put its teach- 
 ings into operation. 
 
 An earnest word may be said to mistresses in 
 this connection: before asking a girl to prepare any 
 definite dish, every ingredient called for should be 
 given her; no reasonable person w^ould expect even 
 the best of cooks to make a plum-pudding without 
 plums ; and yet mistresses sometimes say of a miss- 
 ing ingredient, perhaps indispensable, " Xever mind; 
 leave it out." Then one of three — the author, the cook, 
 or the instigator — is responsible for a spoiled dish. 
 
 Next to the pantry proper comes the butler's pan- 
 try, which in modern houses is often a recess or small 
 room between the kitchen and dining-room. Where 
 there is only one general servant, this wdll fall under 
 her care, as also will the dining r room. The same 
 neatness should prevail there as in the kitchen, espe- 
 cially in regard to the sink, wiiere the dining-room sil- 
 ver and china are generally washed; hot water wdth 
 borax, and a lump of washing-soda in the sink, and 
 plenty of clean towels — all these are required. Glass 
 and delicate china require gentle handling and w^iping 
 wdth soft, dry towels. Sometimes the mistress w^ill 
 wash these and the silver at the table after the meal 
 is over. There can be no more housewifely and grace- 
 ful custom, and, if it is followed, certain cherished 
 pieces are the better for it. 
 
 The closets where the dishes are kept should be 
 
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. 275 
 
 dusted at least once a week, and always kept in order. 
 Powdered borax under the shelf paj^ers will tend to 
 free them from small vermin. For mice the best rem- 
 edy is a well-trained cat; the destruction of rats and 
 mice by poison is questionable, because the creat- 
 ures are apt to die in the walls, and thus temporarily 
 poison the atmosj^here. An absolutely effectual rem- 
 edy against the invasion of these small Attilas was 
 communicated to the writer some time ago by Pro- 
 fessor Van der Weyde, the well-known authority on 
 physical science. It is safe in the hands of a careful 
 person. The holes from which the rats or mice 
 emerge being found, the edges are to be rubbed with 
 a stick of lunar caustic held in a pair of pincers: the 
 caustic burns severely if taken in the fingers. It can 
 be bought at the druggist's, and kept in an air-tight 
 bottle, and 7iever should be handled unthout the pin- 
 cers. The rats and mice, attempting to leave the holes, 
 are turned back by it, and eventually driven away. 
 If there are no bits of food left about the rooms or 
 closets, or in available places in the cellar, rats and 
 mice are not apt to congregate in occupied houses. 
 
 Sometimes the most absolute cleanliness does not 
 seem to guard against the pest of Croton-bugs and 
 black beetles or roaches. The specific use of these 
 creatures in the scheme of modern civilization not 
 yet being so fixed as that of the Mexican air-beetle, 
 which the dark-eyed senoritas confine with a golden 
 harness as an ornament to their dress, it remains only 
 to wage unremitting war against them with borax, in- 
 sect powder, cucumber rinds, and the jDoisonous roots 
 of black hellebore for the last-named midnight mon- 
 sters; the hellebore must be used cautiously, for it is 
 an absolute poison. 
 
270 FA]\1ILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 
 
 When the household is small it is necessary, if it 
 is to be comfortable, for the one servant to be well 
 versed in the duties of the dining-room as well as the 
 kitchen. If she is not an ill-regulated woman, mental- 
 ly and nervously, she can so arrange her Avork as to 
 be able to lay the table while the dinner is cooking, 
 and serve it after it is done. When there is room 
 enough to devote one apartment to the sole use of eat- 
 ing, this extra work can be done without much wor- 
 ry. For instance: in clearing the table after one meal 
 many articles can be replaced directly the soiled dishes 
 are removed and the cloth is brushed; the glasses, sil- 
 ver, and various small articles can be laid in readiness 
 for the next repast; the salt-cellars should be freshly 
 filled for every meal; the table may be fully laid or 
 not, according to circumstances. There is really no 
 objections to this on the score of neatness; the table 
 can be covered with a light cloth to protect its con- 
 tents from dust and flies. Absolute neatness at the 
 table is one of the best incentives to appetite, and in 
 these days of cheap fabrics and abundant water supply 
 there is but little excuse for soiled table-linen. 
 
 When small children are admitted to the family 
 table their special trays or water-proof napkins can be 
 made to shield the cloth, and as soon as they can un- 
 derstand the meaning of words they should be taught 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 277 
 
 not to spill or scatter their food. While a well-be- 
 haved child at table is a source of family pride, there 
 is no torture this side of purgatory that can compare 
 with the presence of an ill-bred, spoiled young human 
 animal engrossed in eating and in making it impossi- 
 ble for any one else to eat. Any spot upon a table- 
 cloth should be covered directly by a clean napkin; 
 if claret is spilled, the spot should be thickly covered 
 with salt before the napkin is laid upon it; tea and 
 coffee stains can be partly or wholly washed out and 
 the cloth pressed before another meal; small spots can 
 be rubbed out with a sponge or soft cloth dipped in 
 warm water, a plate or platter being put under the 
 cloth to raise it from the table. 
 
 Usually, in ordinary family service, the same nap- 
 kins are laid for all three meals, but the dinner nap- 
 kin proper is larger than those used for breakfast or 
 luncheon, and a colored napkin is sometimes used 
 with fruit. When there is plenty of table linen and 
 dishes, the regulation way is to lay a small fancy doily 
 on the dessert plate, set on it the finger-bowl, one fourth 
 filled with water, and lay the dessert silver by the side 
 of the bowl; the fruit napkin is placed on the bowl; 
 the plate being placed upon the table by the servant 
 after the crumbs are brushed off, the person served 
 lays the silver and napkin off the plate, and places the 
 finger-bowl, with the doily under it, within easy reach 
 of the left hand; the dinner napkin remains upon the 
 knee, the fruit napkin being used for the lips and fin- 
 gers when fruit is served which might stain the white 
 napkin; at the close of the dinner the tips of the fin- 
 gers are dipped in the bowl, and the lips wiped with a 
 corner of the white napkin dipped in the water, unless 
 a small glass containing water is set within the bowl; 
 
278 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 then the lips are moistened Avith this, and lightly 
 wiped with the white napkin. A guest lays the nap- 
 kins loosely at the left hand when done using them, 
 but at the family table they are sometimes folded in 
 napkin rings. It may be remarked in connection with 
 colored fruit napkins that while they are cheap enough 
 to permit a fresh supply when they are faded by wash- 
 ing, the cheap colored table-cloths are apt to fade long 
 before they are worn out; it is therefore better econ- 
 omy to use white cloths until colored ones can be af- 
 forded which are dyed with fast colors. 
 
 A large cupful of salt dissolved in the water in 
 which colored table-linen is washed will tend to pre- 
 serve the color; a beef's gall and two cupfuls of salt, 
 used at the first large washing, will generally set the 
 dye in colored linens, care being taken to rinse them 
 thoroughly. In regard to the use of napkins by the 
 waitress in the service of the table — a large fresh nap- 
 kin should be carried for the purpose of lifting hot 
 dishes, holding water carafes and claret flagons, and 
 to cover the hand when it comes in contact with the 
 plates. A napkin is also folded about bottles contain- 
 ing iced wine when it is poured by attendants. 
 
 These napkins generally replace the white gloves, 
 the wearing of which used to be ridiculed by some 
 who did not comprehend that the gloves were worn 
 for the comfort of fastidious diners, and not for per- 
 sonal adornment of the attendant, as some of our crit- 
 ics would seem to imply. 
 
 When any entertainment is attempted, there should 
 ahvays be a reserve supjoly of fresh napkins; and if 
 there is not abundance of glass and silver, there 
 should be appliances at hand near the dining-room for 
 washing and drying them quickly. A little washing- 
 
INFOEMAL TABLE SERVICE. 2*79 
 
 soda in the water in which the silver is washed quick- 
 ly removes all odor of food. 
 
 If possible, in laying the table, put on at first the 
 large and small spoons, an extra fork on the left, and 
 on the right two knives, generally a silver and steel 
 one, or a large and a small silver knife, the latter for 
 butter, which is generally used in this country at plain 
 dinners; special forks for shell-fish are laid on the 
 plate containing it, which is usually placed before the 
 family sit down. When soup is served, the plates 
 and tureen are set before the lady of the house, 
 either just before dinner is announced, or as soon as 
 she is seated. The plates and dishes for the rest of 
 the dinner, with the exception of the dessert plates, 
 are to be either in the plate-warmer, or in a large pan 
 of hot water, with plenty of dry towels at hand for 
 wiping them quickly when they are needed. Heating 
 plates and dishes in the oven is to be reprobated, be- 
 cause the intense heat checks the glaze, and the china 
 is darkened by the absorption of grease through the 
 fine cracks in the glaze. 
 
 The dessert plates, cups and saucers, and silver 
 should be ready upon the side-board or side-table, so 
 that no time need be lost in hunting for them. Break- 
 fast or tea plates answer for dessert when there are 
 not special ones. 
 
 Of late years the custom has so grown of putting an 
 extra small dish at each place for bread and butter 
 (where small butter-plates are not used), the stalks of 
 asparagus, the small bones from poultry, cutlets, etc., 
 that fanciful little "bone -plates" are now sold at 
 house-furnishing stores. Any small plate or large 
 shallow saucer will serve this purpose; it should be 
 put on the table when it is laid. In addition to this 
 
280 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 plate, the necessary silver, the water tumbler, and pos- 
 sibly cider or wine glasses, each cover or place should 
 have its napkin and a thick, small slice of bread; either 
 individual salts are at each cover or several large salt- 
 cellars with spoons are placed at convenient intervals 
 on the table. Of late years the large central caster 
 with many bottles has been displaced by oil and vin- 
 egar cruets in a double stand, small fancy pepper- 
 boxes, and sauces in their original bottles, unless, in- 
 deed, there is some special value or association at- 
 tached to the larger caster. 
 
 Pretty colored dishes containing flowers, fruit or 
 nuts for dessert, olives, pickles, or relishes, may be scat- 
 tered about the table, space being reserved at the head 
 and foot for the large dishes of hot meat, etc., and 
 for the smaller vegetable dishes at the sides. Water 
 is sometimes poured from a large pitcher by the ser- 
 vant, and sometimes placed on the table; water bottles, 
 or carafes^ are placed upon the table, with a bowl of 
 cracked ice and a small ladle or large spoon, so that 
 the water can be cooled in the glasses, unless it has 
 already been cooled in the ice-box. As a matter of 
 sanitation water should be cooled Avithout the addi- 
 tion of ice, by being put in the ice-box in carafes or 
 pitchers, preferably covered, because ice cut from im- 
 pure water in turn imparts that character to the water 
 cooled with it. 
 
 The laying of the knife and fork side by side on a 
 plate is considered a signal for its removal. The 
 crumbs can be removed with a large silver knife to a 
 plate or tray held under the edge of the table — the 
 fish or pie knife will answer an emergency — or brushed 
 and scattered with a crumb brush. After the dinner 
 proper is cleared away, the dessert dishes can be i3laced 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 281 
 
 on the table, and the large sweet, which in American 
 families is usually a pie or pudding, placed before the 
 mistress. 
 
 Tea or coffee, with cups and saucers, sugar and milk, 
 being placed at her left, the servant may go to the 
 kitchen to arrange for her own dinner, and the subse- 
 quent clearing of the table. A few words here about 
 the art of waiting at table: in the first place, see that 
 every dish likely to be needed is at hand clean; if 
 there is any scarcity have things ready for washing 
 them; think beforehand what there is to be done, and 
 how to do it quietly and without getting nervous; a 
 considerate mistress will aid her help by suggestions, 
 and make the dining-room service as light as possible 
 where there is only one girl. If matters are prudently 
 managed in the kitchen, the girl will have nothing to 
 worry about there after the dinner is dished; by hav- 
 ing the table set, and all necessary hot dishes ready, 
 she can partly fill each saucepan with water as she 
 dishes its contents, and place it where the water will 
 heat while the dinner is in progress. A small lump 
 of washing-soda in each utensil will make it easy to 
 wash. When there is any special sauce or dish which 
 requires to be kept hot for a while, the saucepan con- 
 taining it can be set in a pan of hot water on the stove, 
 and there will be no danger of burning. If during 
 the preparation of the dinner dishes have been washed 
 and restored to their places as far as possible, the labor 
 of the final clearing up will be lightened. A handy 
 girl will find innumerable ways of quickly doing the 
 work which will hang on the hands of a sloven. A 
 servant who is equally capable in kitchen and dining- 
 room is a treasure to her mistress, and if her manners 
 are good she becomes invaluable. If to faithful and 
 
232 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 intelligent service a girl adds a pleasant bearing and 
 good manners, she is indeed a honsehold jewel. 
 
 First, at the table. Already the suggestion has 
 been made that the work which is to be done should 
 be clearly defined and perfectly understood; that the 
 dishes and various table fittings should be at hand, 
 that nothing in the kitchen should be in a condition 
 to worry about. All this being assured, proceed to serve 
 each person's needs systematically and quietly. In 
 order to move about quickly, the dress should be rather 
 close, but not tight; that is, there should be no super- 
 fluous ribbons or drapery to catch uj^on chairs or 
 door-knobs; the hair sliould be guarded from falling 
 down by a clean white cap, the dress covered with a 
 white apron, and a large clean napkin carried to use 
 in holding dishes and passing plates; if it is necessary 
 for the thumb to project over the edge of a dish or 
 within the rim of a plate, it should be covered by the 
 napkin. If the meal consists of more than one course, 
 all the dishes composing each should be brought from 
 the kitchen at one trip, if possible, or very quickly, if 
 successively, on a tray, and from that transferred to 
 the table, the large ones being placed first at the head 
 and foot of the table, so that the carving can begin at 
 once, while the smaller dishes are being arranged at 
 the sides. AYhen the master and mistress sit at oppo- 
 site sides of a long table, instead of at the ends, the 
 order of the dishes is to be reversed. When, as this out- 
 line presuj^i^oses, there is only one maid, it is both con- 
 venient and well-bred for people at the table to help 
 each other; and indeed in some large establishments 
 it is customary to dismiss the attendants at informal 
 meals after the first service is performed. This con- 
 sists of pouring the water, passing the tea or coffee, 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 283 
 
 with the accompanying milk and sugar, and so placing 
 the various dishes upon the table that all can be easily 
 reached. All the table sauces likely to be needed 
 should be on the table, with plenty of bread, butter, 
 and whatever relishes are served. 
 
 When the servant remains in the room during the 
 meal, after every one is served, she should stand at 
 the left hand of the mistress, a few steps back from 
 the table, and watch the occupants of the foot and 
 sides, to be sure that they are well supplied. If one 
 motions to her, she should go quickly and ascertain 
 what is wanted; if a plate is to be passed or removed, 
 she should take it from over the right shoulder, hold- 
 ing it with her napkin over the thumb so that it can- 
 not slip, and being careful not to throw down the knife 
 or fork, and not to drag the napkin over the guest's 
 shoulder. In serving a dish she should hold it at the 
 left, so that its contents can easily be reached by the 
 person receiving it. Meats, fish, and j^oultry should 
 have a knife and fork on the dish, and a spoon if there 
 is stujBfing or gravy; most vegetables can be heljDed 
 with a spoon, but asparagus, cauliflower in branches, 
 macaroni, and salads require both fork and spoon, or 
 special appliances. If a spoon, knife, fork, or napkin 
 drops to the floor, she should pick it up quickly, and 
 replace it with a fresh one. If anything is spilled 
 upon the table-cloth, she should at once cover the spot 
 with clean napkins. A large napkin should always be 
 laid under platters of meat, fish, etc., and but very lit- 
 tle sauce should be put on the dish, that it may not be 
 spilled in carving ; there are many pretty table mats 
 to keep the other dishes from soiling the cloth, but the 
 bottoms should be carefully wiped before they are 
 brought into the dining-room. A bell should be near 
 
284 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 tbe mistress, so that the servant can be signalled with- 
 out rising from the table. Doors between the dining- 
 room and kitchen, and those enclosing dumb-waiters 
 or lifts, should always be kept closed to prevent the 
 passage of objectionable odors, although these can 
 generally be avoided if attention is paid during cook- 
 ing to the directions already given. 
 
 When the solid portion of the repast is removed — 
 the plates having been taken away when done with 
 — the large dishes are to be taken first, then the veg- 
 etables and relishes, the bread, butter, condiments, and 
 the mats or napkins used to protect the cloth, and 
 finally the crumbs cleared off, and the remainder of the 
 dishes placed for tea, coffee, fruit, or regular dessert, 
 according to the character of the meal in progress. 
 At dinner, when cheese has been served Avith the salad, 
 it may remain for the dessert if desired; if nuts are used, 
 salt should be left on the table; if cider, beer, or wine 
 has been served, the glasses are generally taken away 
 before the coffee is served. At dinner coffee is usu- 
 ally strong, and served in small cups, with loaf-sugar, 
 without milk; the coft'ee is brought in the cups to the 
 table. If milk is preferred, a large cup is provided. 
 At breakfast, Avhen there is fruit or oatmeal, either is 
 usually served before the coffee and the heavier dishes 
 are brought on. It is safest to boil oatmeal, hominy, 
 and other cereals thoroughly the day before they are 
 needed, and heat them before breakfast, to save time. 
 
 Fruit for breakfast should be as fresh and cool as 
 possible; if it be only oranges, they should be put in 
 the ice-box or cellar overnight; melons should either 
 have been on the ice, or in large vessels of cold water; 
 ice served in direct contact with them impairs their 
 flavor. Hot waffles and griddle cakes should be sent 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 285 
 
 to the table with clean hot plates and fresh knives and 
 forks, generally towards the close of the meal; but in 
 winter hot buckwheat cakes are often eaten with the 
 meat. Of course the service of hot cakes necessitates 
 the servant's presence in the kitchen for the purpose 
 of cooking them; they are best fried on a soapstone 
 griddle, which does not require greasing; if an iron 
 griddle is used, it should be kept perfectly smooth, 
 and then the least fat will suffice for frying — only 
 enough to make the surface shine. It is most easily 
 applied with a small cloth tied on a stick, or a flat 
 wooden rubber covered with cloth; a brush is apt to 
 burn with the heat of the griddle. 
 
 Waffles are baked in their special iron, which should 
 be made hot and thoroughly covered with melted but- 
 ter ; i. e., butter put in a cup set in a pan of hot water 
 until melted, and then poured from the sediment in 
 the bottom of the cup. When there is only one ser- 
 vant, the mistress in planning the various meals should 
 remember that such dishes will necessarily keep the 
 girl in the kitchen, and should consequently manage 
 in the dining-room without her services; that can be 
 done without much difficulty if the table is properly 
 laid. Every mistress should remember, in the begin- 
 ning of service with a new girl, that her own ways may 
 be quite different from those at the last place, and 
 therefore should explain them clearly. A well-inten- 
 tioned girl will soon adapt herself to every household's 
 peculiarities. 
 
 One very important thing for a mistress to remem- 
 ber is that the work which she may do quickly and 
 easily upon occasions, by bringing her intelligence to 
 bear upon it, and putting all her energies into it, may 
 be more difficult to a less competent person, and may 
 
286 • FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 become tiresome and irksome from constant repetition; 
 she therefore should exercise forbearance when her 
 handmaid is overtaxed or half sick. As a rule, ser- 
 vants are human enough to appreciate kindly treat- 
 ment ; one so devoid of conscience as to abuse it is a 
 most undesirable inmate, and should be dispensed with 
 at the first opportunity. 
 
 While every mistress is bound by her relation to her 
 servant to be habitually considerate, no one should per- 
 mit the governing hand to slacken entirely. It is sim- 
 ply natural to slight habitual tasks sometimes, and if 
 this is always overlooked, the remissness becomes chron- 
 ic. Every mistress should insist upon good and faith- 
 ful service, and in turn be willing to reward it; it calls 
 for more than the regular payment of wages, and kind- 
 liness of spirit lies at the root of the proper and har- 
 monious relation between mistress and servant. In 
 leaving this part of our subject some final words may 
 be said to the servant, based upon the impression of 
 the household and its ways that she unconsciously 
 gives new-comers. 
 
 The appearance of the servant who ushers a visitor 
 into the house is an almost infallible index to the sit- 
 uation. Boorish manners imply a careless or uncult- 
 ured mistress ; uncertainty of action shovrs that the 
 girl has not been instructed how to receive. When a 
 girl opens the door she generally knows vrhether or 
 not her mistress is at home, and so can answer intelli- 
 gently at once. If she is out, or not receiving callers, 
 the servant should say so j^leasantly, and ask the visitor 
 to leave the name or a card; if she is uncertain, she 
 should usher the caller into a waiting-room, ask the 
 name, and go at once to ascertain, returning as quick- 
 ly as possible with an intelligible answer. When 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 287 
 
 there are many callers it is best to provide a call-plate, 
 or paper and pencil to receive the names of those un- 
 provided with cards. Although it is largely the habit 
 to speak the name to the servant, it is safer in a strange 
 house to send one's card. The personal appearance of 
 a servant at the door should be neatness personified; 
 and that is possibl'e if the suggestions are regarded 
 which have already been given in the preceding chap- 
 ters. Stress has already been laid upon the imj)ortance 
 of personal cleanliness on the part of servants. Accept- 
 able as this condition is, we by no means OAve it to mod- 
 ern culture, for as long ago as 1670 Hannah Wolley, in 
 " The Queen-like Closet," forcibly admonishes the foot- 
 man or v/aiting-woman that to " lean upon a chair when 
 they wait is a particular favor shown to a superior ser- 
 vant," and proceeds, in Saxon more emphatic than ele- 
 gant, to interdict any defilement of plates with the 
 breath: nor, quoth she, must one "touch them upon 
 the right or inner side." Waiters do not always real- 
 ize that the appearance of a labor-stained thumb on 
 the edge of a plate is not very conducive to appetite, 
 nor, indeed, do all hostesses; otherwise they would 
 either supply their help with wash gloves (which 
 should be immaculate at every meal), or instruct them 
 to cover the visible part of the hand with a spotless 
 napkin. Unquestionably too many housekeepers look 
 upon the use of gloves or napkins by their waiters as 
 part of a ceremony rather than a condition inseparable 
 from neatness. The niceties of service at table, which 
 become second nature to well-bred people, are too 
 often by careless persons regarded as useless formali- 
 ties, only occasionally to be indulged in at such times 
 as demand great ceremony. " We are too busy," 
 they say, "for such unnecessary observances every 
 
288 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 day," just as many inhabitants of civilized communi- 
 ties are too busy for an habitual daily bath, and face 
 the possible contingencies of life on a j)int of water 
 a day. 
 
 The true secret of perfect table service is its every- 
 day performance. If the family table is well served, 
 there need never be any anxiety attending the unex- 
 pected arrival of a guest. Only recently a friend by 
 evolution from a pupil, gave her personal solution of 
 the question, which is too delightfully simple not to be 
 shared with our readers. We were speaking of break- 
 fast, the one meal of the day necessarily hurried. The 
 family was large, the attendance at breakfast uncer- 
 tain and irregular ; if the host and hostess were punc- 
 tual, not so always the sons and daughters, " the sis- 
 ters and the cousins and the aunts." Each one came 
 to table at his or her own sweet will, and the result 
 was so often an interrupted or utterly ruined break- 
 fast on the part of the long-suffering host and carver 
 that the service d la Russe was substituted. The large 
 dishes and coffee were kept hot at the fire or on chafing- 
 dishes, and as each delinquent appeared the waitress 
 served him or her. 
 
 The system told. The host ate his breakfast in 
 peace and went to business; the waitress attended as 
 faithfully to her duties as if a formal dinner were in 
 hand. If any late -comer failed to secure his or her 
 favorite morsel, the remedy remained to come early 
 enough to table the next day to make sure of it. Of 
 course this presupposes plenty of help; in the event 
 of only one servant — a general helper — the first service 
 of dishes and their return to the heating lamp or the 
 hot closet before the fire attended to, she would retire 
 to do her other work, and late-comers would follow the 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 289 
 
 English fashion, prevailing even in great establish- 
 ments, of helping themselves. 
 
 So far as personal neatness for table service is con- 
 cerned, most girls pride themselves upon looking trim 
 and tidy. Let the mistress follow the suggestions 
 given earlier concerning toilet accommodations, and 
 the average good girl will avail herself of them. The 
 manners of a maid are of far greater importance than 
 the color of her hair and eyes and the symmetry of her 
 features. True, there are human boors, feminine as 
 well as masculine, but they are a race that we do not 
 willingly admit to our homes in any capacity. Of all 
 the types of American help none have ever rivalled 
 the comfortable charm of the old-time house-servant 
 of the South. ISTaturally polite, close imitators of the 
 urbane hospitality of "the family," with the personal 
 pride in the time-honored ''open-band, open-house" 
 welcome to the master's friends which was a sixth sense 
 to the Southern man or maid — who that has known 
 their loving service fails to regret that the last of their 
 race are passing away ? And from every section of 
 the country the demand is loud for good and faithful 
 service. 
 
 " From whence shall it come ?" is one of the most 
 serious social problems of the day. Not from the na- 
 tive rural population. No one can hope it who has 
 known the tribulations of the country hosts that battle 
 with the untrained local summer help ; too ignorant to 
 be made conscious of their own deficiencies ; too vain 
 to perceive the advantage of quiet ways and gentle 
 words; too utterly possessed with that detestable sense 
 of equality which is the curse of the time, to realize 
 that no one can command well who has not first learned 
 to serve well. Alas ! no hope from that direction ; but 
 19 
 
290 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 little hope from the growing daughters of the workers 
 who have sought in this too generous country better 
 fortunes than those of their forefathers in older lands. 
 The little learning of our doubtful public-school sys- 
 tem has proven the dangerous thing that sends thou- 
 sands yearly into the shops, the factories — the mills 
 where the devil's grist is ground — rather than to the 
 safe shelter of such decent domestic work as would fit 
 them for the 
 
 "chaste lives, 
 Home-keeping days, and household reverences" 
 
 that are our only hope for social regeneration in these 
 uncertain times. It argues ill for the future of any 
 country when its women decry the homely virtues and 
 the knowledge imperative to the making of good wives 
 and mothers. 
 
 If the yomig women of America are all unwilling to 
 gain experience in household matters either in their own 
 homes or those of others, it will be hard to conceive what 
 the family will be over which they may sometime reign. 
 
 Unless home conditions are varied and extensive, the 
 house of a prudent, accomplished matron is the best of 
 places in which to learn domestic lore. The staid and 
 sensible German race have long since set us the exam- 
 ple of exchanging their daughters in the pursuit of this 
 wisdom. Even among the wealthiest classes the young 
 women serve out their term in the household of some 
 notable Haiisfrau. 
 
 Let us consider what such service implies, and then 
 ask if we, as a nation, are too great or too cultivated to 
 undertake it ? Carefully read over the matter which 
 immediately precedes this, and follow that which goes 
 to make uj) the sum of our suggestions, and then de- 
 cide, mothers Avho have failed to train your daughters, 
 
INFORMAL TABLE SERVICE. 
 
 291 
 
 daughters vdio have not yet realized the importance of 
 such knowledge, whether one thing is suggested which 
 seems useless to maid or to mistress, remembering the 
 fact that in this country the maid of to-day may to- 
 morrovv^ be called upon to guide a maid of her own. 
 
 We have briefly covered the questions of service in 
 the kitchen and at the formal dinner-table; let us next 
 take the service of the plainest dinner and other less 
 important meals. Under the least elaborate conditions 
 the table can be made as inviting as it sometimes is re- 
 pulsive, and the servant who can do this is invaluable 
 to her fortunate possessor. 
 
 The typical maid will have clean face and hands and 
 tidy hair, a gown of wash material that is short enough 
 to escape draggling, free from puffs and looj)s that 
 catch upon door-knobs, and drag books and ornaments 
 from every table or shelf she paisses; her apron will be 
 smooth and spotless (if she is wise she will, while busy, 
 cover it w^ith a large work-apron, which can be easily 
 laid aside when she is called suddenly from her work), 
 her shoes will be whole and noiseless, and her under- 
 wear so fresh that no odor is perceptible. If the sleep- 
 ing-room is properly aired, the personal habits neat, 
 and the kitchen or laundry where she works well ven- 
 tilated, there never need be the least unpleasantness in 
 her personal contact, even if she has been called at her 
 busiest moment. Her manners will be quiet and cheer- 
 ful, her voice not too loud, her attitude respectful and 
 attentive, and she will remember what is said to her. 
 If she answers a call at the door, she will see that any 
 person waiting has a seat either in the reception-room 
 or the hall, she will quickly bring their answer, and see 
 that the door is closed when they leave. 
 
 If she is called to a room, she will knock before she 
 
292 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 enters. If she brings a card or letter, she will hand it 
 upon a little tray. A glass of water she will set upon 
 a plate. If she serves a little lunch, she will arrange 
 the dishes upon a salver covered with a clean napkin, 
 and see that there is bread and butter, salt and pepper, 
 sugar and milk for the tea and coffee, always a glass 
 of water, and as many knives, forks, and spoons as are 
 likely to be needed; and she will not leave soiled dishes 
 standing after they are used. 
 
 If she has to make or replenish the fire, she w^ill do 
 it with the least possible attending dust and noise. In 
 winter she will keep doors and windows closed, except 
 when the room is being aired; in summer she will see 
 that there is always cool, fresh drinking-water in the 
 dining-room all day and in the bedrooms at night. At 
 night also she will replenish the suppl}^ of toilet wa- 
 ter, and remove all waste water and soiled towels from 
 the bedrooms. If there are fancy bed-covers, she will 
 remove them, and turn the bed-clothes ready for the 
 sleeper. In the morning she will rise early enough to 
 make her room and herself tidy, and to get through 
 the most unpleasant daily duties and have the living- 
 rooms in good order before the family appear. She 
 will know what she has to do during the day, and will 
 not shirk. If she is honest, she will try to do in the 
 best way the work she is paid for doing; she will take 
 pride in doing it well, just as a good workman does, or 
 a successful business man. And the wise mistress who 
 has such a domestic treasure will show her apprecia- 
 tion by kindly encouragement, by gentle and system- 
 atic government, and by practical co-operation in emer- 
 gencies. There are mistresses alive to do just that, 
 and maids as well, who might sit for this portrait. 
 May both multiply and increase ! 
 
DINING-ROOM WORK. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 DINING-ROOM WORK. 
 
 Let us suppose that a girl is to be trained in the de- 
 tails of ordinary family work. Even if the mistress 
 has no experience, she can gain substantial knowledge 
 from the many good works now extant on domestic 
 management. The least intelligent and most unsys- 
 tematic person can be impressed to some degree by the 
 repetition of certain acts: if you want a thing well and 
 easily done, have it done so often that its performance 
 becomes a habit. Make every day's service perfect in 
 every department ; be as well served alone as when 
 guests are present, and then there will be no uncer- 
 tainty or incomj)etence visible before them. 
 
 This idea is quite practicable; the same plates and 
 glasses may not always be used, but all can be used in 
 the same way; when only the family is present the 
 mistress will not be embarrassed if she has to repeat 
 some direction to her untrained girl; and the girl her- 
 self will be less nervous than she must necessarily be 
 when using unfamiliar appliances which are reserved 
 for special occasions. Very few domestics ever use in 
 their own homes the ordinary table furnishings of the 
 well-to-do classes, and almost never have a defined idea 
 of such service of a meal as is habitual in modern house- 
 holds of any standing. Where the extent of the estab- 
 lishment permits it, one of the best ways to secure 
 perfect service at the family table is to insist that the 
 
294 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. " 
 
 kitchen table shall be properly laid, the linen neat, and 
 the food perfectly prepared; such premises are excep- 
 tional, however. 
 
 To return to probable conditions: after a servant is 
 competent in such kitchen work as has already been 
 outlined, she will be quite prepared to follow the de- 
 tails of dining-room work, either under the guidance 
 of her mistress or with these directions in her own 
 hands — perhaps the last way is the best, provided the 
 mistress overlooks the routine of work. Let her fill 
 out this outline so as to meet the requirements of the 
 entire day, beginning with the opening of the room in 
 the morning. Remember that but few of the family 
 rise early, and it is incumbent on those who do to move 
 about quietly, to open and close doors and windows 
 without banging and slamming, to move furniture 
 carefully while sweeping and dusting (especially in 
 the halls), and to sweep the stairs without striking the 
 balusters with the broom or brush; above all, take care 
 to wear noiseless shoes, and protect the hair and dress 
 from dust. The halls and stairways in order, the 
 kitchen fire lighted, and breakfast gotten under way, 
 the dining-room is next to be put in order. OjDcn the 
 windows to air the room ; make the fire, and tidy the 
 room while it is burning. A stove is lighted just like 
 the kitchen fire, which has already been described; a 
 grate needs special care. 
 
 If a poor fire is burning, put up the blower and rake 
 the ashes out of the bottom, so as to admit enough air 
 to create a draught; then take down the blower, put 
 plenty of kindling-wood on the live coals, and a few 
 pieces of fresh coal on the wood, and replace the blow- 
 er; do not put on much coal, and do not pack it down 
 so closely as to smother the draught. The success of 
 
DINING-ROOM WORK. 
 
 295 
 
 starting a grate fire depends upon building it so loose- 
 ly that the air can freely pass through every j^art of 
 it; if the draught is poor, loosely crumple some balls 
 of paper, lay them on the top of the coals, and set 
 them on fire to heat the air in the upper part of 
 the fireplace, and so create a draught ; in a fireplace 
 that has long been unheated, burn enough straw, shav- 
 ings, paper, or pine kindlings to warm the chimney, 
 and so create a draught. If the fire of the previous 
 day has gone quite out, empty the grate, put in paper 
 or shavings, then kindling-wood or charcoal, then a few 
 pieces of cinders, coke, or coal, and proceed to light the 
 fire as just directed. 
 
 A poor draught can be helped by opening a door or 
 window a little, or by using a bellows. If the fuel 
 settles together before the fire is well lighted, stir it 
 and make openings through it with the poker so that 
 the air can pass. Replenish the fuel by degrees, keep- 
 ing the blower up until a clear, steady fire is burning; 
 then remove the blower, and place the wire fire-guard 
 in front of the grate. After the kindlings are first 
 lighted, take up the ashes, putting the large cinders 
 with the coal to use presently, and the ashes aside to 
 be sifted. If in taking up the ashes a newspaper is 
 held in the left hand, above the scuttle, and the shovel 
 is gently emptied into the very bottom, the ashes being 
 allowed to slide from it, but little dust will escape to 
 settle about the room. Brush up the hearth, dust the 
 ashes from the fender and fireplace frame, and polish 
 the brass or steel fittings while the blower is still in 
 place. Never leave live coals near the woodwork of the 
 fireplace ; never hang towels or dusters near an open fire ; 
 never use kerosene or oil to kindle a fire; never leave 
 lamps upon the mantel-shelf over a burning fire. Dur- 
 
296 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 ing the day replenish the fire as fresh coal is required. 
 Do not let the fire get too low in the evening if it is 
 to be kept alive all night. Before retiring put on a 
 little fresh coal, then a good layer of cinders, and a 
 covering of ashes from under the fire — all that can 
 safely be heaped upon the grate; arrange the blower 
 in front of the fender so as to prevent any stray coal 
 from falling out upon the floor, and close the windows 
 and doors to stifle the draught. Take every precau- 
 tion against accidents from fire. 
 
 It is said that a handful of salt thrown uj^on a fire 
 in the grate or stove will extinguish fire in the chim- 
 ney by the evolution of muriatic-acid gas from the 
 burning salt. If the chimney is found to be on fire, 
 throw salt into the stove or grate, close all doors and 
 windows, and at once give notice to the mistress or 
 to some one who can aid in this emergency. Although 
 the burning of soot in the chimney is not necessarily 
 dangerous, such a fire may spread to adjoining wood- 
 work, and therefore it should be smothered as quickly 
 as possible. 
 
 After the fire is lighted, arrange the furniture and 
 dust it. If the room needs sweeping, either sj^rinkle 
 tea-leaves or small bits of wet pajoer upon the carpet, 
 and wet the broom, shaking off all superfluous water. 
 Sweep from the walls towards the centre of the room, 
 and take up all the dirt there w^th a dust-pan and a 
 small broom. Sweep with long, even strokes, always 
 lifting the broom from the floor and holding it flat 
 over the spot it was raised from for a moment to keep 
 the dust from flying about the room; hold the broom 
 squarely, and touch the carpet with its entire width. 
 One sweeps more rapidly in this Avay, and wears the 
 broom less. The new, unworn brooms should be kept 
 
DINING-EOOM WORK. 
 
 297 
 
 for the carpets; partly-worn ones will do for sweeping 
 flag-stones, cellars, and rough places. A broom which 
 is wetted occasionally wears best; when partly worn, 
 a broom can be trimmed down, as will be shown in 
 the hints for preserving household utensils. 
 
 Although the dining-room needs some sweeping in 
 the morning, it is best to thoroughly clean it when 
 there is plenty of time to dust and polish the furniture 
 by rubbing with a soft cloth, to polish the windows, 
 and clean all the white wood-work. AYindows can be 
 cleaned perfectly and easily as follows: powder a lit- 
 tle whiting, mix it to a smooth paste with just enough 
 cold water to moisten it, rub it all over the glass with 
 a soft rag, and then polish it off with a large, dry, clean 
 cloth or a piece of chamois; a little washing-soda dis- 
 solved in hot water will remove spots of paint from 
 window glass. 
 
 For cleaning white paint, put a tables|30onful of 
 ammonia in a basin of water, and rub the paint with 
 a rag wet in it; stains can be removed by using any 
 kind of sapolio on a wet rag, but it must be remem- 
 bered that this takes off the paint with the stain; flan- 
 nel is the best cloth for cleaning paint. To clean the 
 dark wood-work of floors use a damp dusting cloth 
 and then a dry one, or lightly brush the paint with a 
 feather duster Avhen it is only dusty. Painted floors 
 imply the use of rugs; these should be lightly shaken 
 every day if they are small, and brushed with a small 
 broom every day when they are too large to be shak- 
 en frequently. 
 
 Druggets used to protect the carpets of dining-rooms 
 should be kept clean in the same way. Curtains at 
 the windows should be lightly shaken every morning 
 when the windows are opened, and shades dusted with 
 
298 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 a feather brush. Upholstered furniture should be 
 brushed with a soft brush every day, and leather 
 rubbed with a soft cloth. 
 
 Mirrors can be polished with a soft cloth wet with a 
 few drops of ammonia. The sun should not be al- 
 lowed to fall on mirrors, because its rays affect the 
 metallic coating on the glass. The rag wet with am- 
 monia will easily clean the plated door knobs and any 
 metal trimmings about the fireplace; also silver or 
 plated salvers used at table. In using ammonia be 
 careful not to inhale its fumes, as its action upon 
 the mucous membrane is irritating, and may be pro- 
 longed to a point of danger. Japanned trays can be 
 polished with a little powdered whiting or dry flour, 
 all of it being rubbed off with a soft cloth. Thus, it 
 will be seen, an active, tidy girl can always keep her 
 room absolutely clean by making it tidy every morning. 
 
 The outfit of a dinino;-room of medium size and 
 moderate comfort is not a formidable matter at pres- 
 sent. No other room demands less ornamentation, 
 although certain pictures are admissible, and richly 
 colored china is always in place. Fortunate indeed is 
 the possessor of old Staffordshire blue ware, for no 
 coloring is more effective than its magnificently dark 
 blue displayed against any background of wood or 
 wall. If a dish or plate is fixed in the holders now 
 sold at house-furnishing stores, or in an improvised 
 wire holder, it may be hung wherever a picture would 
 be in place, or set iipright upon a shelf or sideboard. 
 
 The draperies of a dining-room should be of some 
 light material, preferably not woollen, because that 
 fabric so readily receives and persistently retains the 
 odors of food and smoke; the best window fixtures 
 are of linen and lace, both in suitable form for washing. 
 
DINING-EOOM WORK. 
 
 299 
 
 The best floor arrangement is oiled hard wood or 
 stained floors with rugs for winter, or matting in 
 summer-houses. Smooth floors of hard wood can be 
 kept in good order by rubbing them very forcibly 
 along the grain with a soft rag moistened Avith hot 
 boiled linseed-oil; if the floor needs to be stained, mix 
 with the oil a little powdered burnt umber. When 
 hard floors simply require polishing, apply the follow- 
 ing mixture with a soft cloth, and polish the floor with 
 a proper brush (full directions are given for this process 
 elsewhere in the author's works; sufiice it to say here 
 that the ingredients should be melted by stirring in a 
 basin set in hot water, without being exposed to con- 
 tact with fire, because they are inflammable) : half a 
 pint of turpentine, two and a half ounces of powdered 
 resin, and three quarters of a pound of yellow bees- 
 wax. Common wood floors may be stained by rub- 
 bing in with the grain one whole portion of raw lin- 
 seed-oil, half a portion of turpentine, and enough 
 j)owdered sienna or burnt umber to make the desired 
 color. A liquid staining mixture is sold at paint- 
 shops. Before applying the stain the floor should be 
 freed from nail-heads, and made smooth. After the 
 stain is dry the floor should be dusted every day, and 
 occasionally wiped with a cloth moistened in clean 
 water. 
 
 Rugs, or carpets sewed in the form of rugs, are the 
 best woollen coverings for dhiing-room floors, because 
 they can be shaken frequently. Dining-room fur- 
 niture should be light enough to be easily moved, the 
 sideboard and tables being set on casters. Full direc- 
 tions have been given for keeping the room and its fit- 
 tings clean ; and what is said about the choice of linen, 
 glass, china, silver, and cutlery for other meals, and its 
 
300 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 care, applies in this instance as well. It hardly need 
 be said that the room should always be well aired and 
 lighted, and that any unsightly outlook should be con- 
 cealed by opaque muslin curtains run upon rods or 
 firm cords attached to the sides of the windoAV-frames. 
 Madras cloth is a favorite material for such curtains. 
 
 Some directions have already been given for the 
 service of, the family breakfast, but in the interest of 
 good service it may again be said that the table is laid 
 as directed for luncheon, and the service of dishes is 
 similar, unless fresh fruit begins the meal ; in that 
 case colored napkins, and sometimes finger-bowls, are 
 l^laced upon the table with the fruit, which is eaten 
 first, and the napkins and bowls removed before the 
 breakfast proper is served. 
 
 After the meal is over, the dishes are to be gathered 
 and washed — the glass and silver first, then the cups 
 and saucers and anj^ dishes and plates not greasy; these 
 are to be washed last of all. A little ammonia or wash- 
 ing-soda in hot water, with soap and a soft cloth, will 
 clean dishes well, and they should be thoroughly dried 
 with clean soft towels. Many persons always wash 
 glasses in cold water, without soap. Never pour hot 
 water into a glass unless it contains a spoon; this will 
 serve as a conductor for the heat of the water and 
 lessen the risk of breakage. 
 
 If all glass and china, when it first comes into the 
 house, is put into a large boiler full of cold water, and 
 gradually brought to the boiling-point, the subsequent 
 chance of breakage is diminished. Ivory handles on 
 knives should not be wet; the blades of steel knives 
 should be washed before they are scoured with fine 
 brick-dust on a wet cork or rag. 
 
 Soda in hot water will clean silver; all polishing soaps 
 
DINING-ROOM WORK. 
 
 301 
 
 and powders simply scratch a bright surface upon it. 
 When silver is not in constant use, keep it entirely 
 wrapped in tissue-paper, and shut from the air in suit- 
 able boxes. A little olive-oil rubbed on steel knives 
 prevents rust. Keep a lump of washing-soda in the 
 sink, and flush it with hot water after washing dishes. 
 Wash the dish towels, after using them, with hot water 
 and soap or soda, and dry them in the air; wash and 
 dry the dish-cloths also. 
 
 In clearing the table lay all the pieces of bread and 
 the food that can be used again upon separate dishes, 
 and dispose of it as the mistress directs. Put all the 
 butter upon the individual plates on one plate, for 
 use in cooking. Fill the salt-cellars, pepper-boxes, 
 and other condiment-holders after every meal. Brush 
 up the crumbs from the floor, arrange the furniture, 
 and darken the room. Some housekeepers permit the 
 table to be laid for the next meal, and covered with a 
 light cloth to keep off dust and flies. This is well 
 when there is only one servant. 
 
 Always before every meal wash out the water pitch- 
 ers and carafes^ and fill them with fresh, cool water. 
 Carafes uj^on the table save trouble to the waitress. 
 When finger-bowls are used, have them ready on the 
 side table with a little fresh w^ater in them, each one 
 set upon a doily on a plate. Some ladies have a small 
 glass set in the finger-bowl and partly filled with scent- 
 ed water. Take care always that the table-cloth is 
 clean ; if a spot stains it when it cannot be changed, 
 cover it with a clean napkin. Always have plenty of 
 clean napkins ready ; they are cheap enough to come 
 within the reach of all. Table-linen need not be boiled 
 every time it is w^ashed, if borax is used in the water; 
 the borax is excellent for washing colored table-cloths 
 
302 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A. YEAR. 
 
 and napkins. To iron table-cloths without creasing 
 them, roll them upon a long curtain roller as fast as 
 they are ironed dry, beginning at one end. A Canton- 
 flannel cloth under the linen one makes the table-cloth 
 look well, and saves spots upon the table. 
 
 There are many ways in which an intelligent girl 
 can promote economy in the household. She will go 
 far towards doing this if she will practise the sugges- 
 tions already given, and if she will carry out those 
 which follow. The careless use of different utensils 
 and mechanical appliances of work is a source of great 
 expense to the housekeeper; the helpful girl will try 
 to make such things last as long as possible. Take, 
 for instance, the use of brooms: brooms which are 
 hung up keep their first shape better and sweep more 
 evenly than those left standing; if they are dipped in 
 warm water every day, they will last longer than if 
 left dry. When a broom is worn unevenly, soak it in 
 warm water for a half-hour, tie the stalks, if they have 
 broken apart, and trim the bottom even with large, 
 sharp scissors. If very much worn, soak and trim the 
 broom, shorten the handle, and use it for a hearth 
 broom. While sweeping keep a pail of warm water 
 near, frequently dip the broom in it and shake off the 
 water, changing it as it becomes soiled; the wet broom 
 wears the carpet less than a dry one, and the damp- 
 ness keeps the dust from flying. 
 
 To clean ordinary spots from a carpet have a pail 
 of warm water containing a tablespoonf ul of ammonia, 
 or some soap-suds, and another of clean water, a large 
 piece of flannel, and half a dozen dry cloths that do 
 not shed lint: first wet the flannel in the soap-suds 
 and wring it nearly dry, then quickly rub about half 
 a square yard of the carpet with it, rinse the flannel in 
 
DINING-ROOM WORK. 
 
 303 
 
 the clear water, and again wring it out, and rub tlie 
 carpet with it, and then witli the dry cloths rub the 
 wet spot on the carpet until it is dry. As soon as a 
 cloth becomes wet hang it in the air to dry; change 
 the water as often as it becomes soiled; work quickly, 
 so that the carpet may not become wet. If the carpet 
 is much spotted use instead of the soap-suds a quart 
 of fresh ox-gall in three quarts of warm water. If 
 there are grease -spots on the carpet, remove them, 
 before washing it, either Avith some reliable grease- 
 extractor, or by using flour as f uller's-earth is used in 
 cleaning woollen goods; if the flour is thickly spread 
 upon the grease-spot and allowed to remain for sever- 
 al days it will usually eradicate the stain; sometimes 
 several applications of flour are required. A warm 
 iron passed lightly over the flour will promote the ex- 
 traction of the grease. 
 
 In choosing a dining-room carpet, it should be re- 
 membered that small figures and medium light colors 
 show dust less than dark, solid colors. Painted, oiled, 
 and parquette floors, linoleum, and oil-cloth are injured 
 by scrubbing; wipe them vfith a cloth Avet in borax- 
 water and then with a dry one; milk on a cloth gives 
 a good appearance to oil-cloth. AYash matting with 
 warm water containing a pint of salt to a gallon of 
 water, and quickly rub it with a clean, dry cloth. 
 Wash cane-seat chairs with ammonia and water, or 
 with hot water, soap, and a sponge; if the cane is 
 stretched out of shape, thoroughly saturate it under- 
 neath. 
 
 To clean the walls of the dining-room tie a large 
 soft cloth over a broom and rub the walls with it, re- 
 newing the cloth as it becomes soiled; if the walls are 
 papered, rub them in even downward strokes with a 
 
304 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 loaf of stale bread cut through, the centre to expose 
 the largest surface of crumb. If there are any vermin 
 in the floor or base-board crevices saturate them with 
 strongly salted water or with alum dissolved in water, 
 a pound to a quart. Do not use soaj) in cleaning mar- 
 ble mantels, tables, etc., but wash them with ammonia 
 and clear water — enough ammonia to make the water 
 feel smooth. Before beginning to clean the dining- 
 room cover all the small ornaments with clean dusters, 
 and dust the furniture, and either cover it or set it out 
 of the room. Plain, substantial furniture is best for 
 the dining-room; but where carved wood is used it 
 must be frequently dusted with a brush made of soft 
 bristles, and rubbed with a soft, clean cloth; a very 
 few drops of ammonia in water, lightly rubbed with 
 a soft cloth on spots will remove them, but it must be 
 cautiously used, because it takes off the varnish if 
 freely applied. After lightly passing the wet cloth 
 over the spots, let them dry, and then polish them 
 with a soft dry cloth. Upholstered furniture should 
 be beaten with a light cane or a furniture-beater or 
 rattan, and then dusted. 
 
 Ammonia should not be used in the evening, or 
 near a fire, or the bottle left uncorked, because in its 
 way it is dangerous; its volatile character makes the 
 escape of an inflammable gas possible; the fumes 
 should not be breathed, and on no account should a 
 particle of the crude preparation be swallowed, be- 
 cause it is quite capable of causing a spasmodic con- 
 traction of the throat which may result in death. Re- 
 member, then, to have the bottle uncorked only long 
 enough to pour out the required quantity. Use a rub- 
 ber cork in the bottle. Like kerosene, it is a bad mas- 
 ter. 
 
DINIr^G-KOOM WORK. 
 
 305 
 
 Too much care cannot be taken in using kerosene. 
 The best quality will not ignite by contact with flame, 
 but it gives off a gas or vapor that explodes and sets 
 fire to everything it touches. The flames from kero- 
 sene cannot be extinguished with water, but flour 
 thrown profusely upon them will smother them, or a 
 large woollen rug or cloth will help stifle them. When 
 kerosene is used for lighting, the lamjDs should be 
 trimmed early in the day. Keep all the apparatus on 
 an old tray, and never use the rags, brushes, or scis- 
 sors for any other purpose than trimming the lamps. 
 Lamp chimneys wdll not break easily if they have been 
 put over the fire in a pan of cold water, with cloth be- 
 tween them to prevent breaking, and boiled for a half- 
 hour or longer. Let them cool in the water. Some 
 housekeepers soak the larap-wdcks in vinegar, and then 
 dry them. If a wick does not move easily in the 
 holder, draw out one or two threads from one side. 
 The wdck should be as large a one as the holder will 
 receive. Do not cut it after the first trimmino: to 
 make it even, but pinch off the burned portion every 
 day with a cloth. The best wicks are woven soft and 
 loose. If lamps or burners become sticky or clogged 
 with dust, boil them in soda-water, taking care not to 
 use it on gilt metal. Metal lamps are safer than those 
 made of china or glass; no opening is needed save the 
 one which receives the wick-holder; the lamp can be 
 filled through that. Do not fill lamps to the top, and 
 do not burn them until they are entirely empty, for 
 fear of an explosion. Do not keep them on the chim- 
 ney-piece or in a very w^arm place, lest the gas ex- 
 pand with heat, and thus cause explosion. Do not 
 carry a lighted lamp from a warm room into a cold 
 one without turning the wick low. Do not bring the 
 20 
 
306 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 lamps or oil suddenly from a cold room to a warm 
 one; a gradual change of temperature will render less 
 likely expansion of the explosive gas. In lighting 
 and extinguishing lamps turn the wicks up or down 
 gradually to avoid exposing the chimney to a sudden 
 change of temperature, which causes breakage. 
 
 It seems superfluous to say that the utmost neatness 
 should attend the filling and trimming of lamps, and 
 that the cloths used about them should frequently be 
 washed and dried. When oil stoves are used, the same 
 care should be exercised, because there is always dan- 
 ger that the gas generated from the oil by heat may 
 explode. Naphtha is a very dangerous fuel, for the 
 same reason. In the matter of fuel, a servant can save 
 or waste with equal facility, either using it unneces- 
 sarily when but little heat is required, or saving it in 
 many ways. When wood is used, the ashes should 
 be saved to use in making lye, and, in the country, as 
 a fertilizer. 
 
 In cities the question resolves itself into the treat- 
 ment of hard and soft coal and coke; the two latter 
 leave but little residue save ashes, but the hard coals 
 usually yield many cinders if sifted after burning; 
 cinders are excellent fuel for kindling, and when a hot 
 fire is required, resembling coke in their action; the 
 latter is an excellent fuel when an intense heat is called 
 for, but unless mixed with coal, coke burns out very 
 soon, necessitating frequent replenishing. When clink- 
 ers form in the fire grate, burn a few oyster shells to 
 loosen them, and reject them in sifting. If there is a 
 proper sifter that fits over a barrel or box, it is but 
 little trouble to sift cinders; they should have water 
 thrown upon them before they are burned. When a 
 hot fire is not needed, fuel can be saved by closing the 
 
DINING-ROOM WORK. 
 
 307 
 
 draughts, partly opening the top front door of the 
 stove or range, and pressing the coals closely together. 
 To revive the fire, rake it clear, throw fuel lightly upon 
 it, and open the draughts after closing the upper door. 
 When cooking, do not take off the covers of the stove 
 if it can be avoided, as it usually can with flat-bottomed 
 utensils, because the removal of the covers dissipates 
 the heat from the entire top of the stove; when the 
 covers remain closed an equal temperature prevails 
 over the surface, suitable for cooking if the fire is hot 
 enough. 
 
 A painful burn is often received when doing kitchen- 
 work. Without making any other application, break 
 an egg, cover the burn with several coatings of the 
 raw white, allowing each one to dry before putting on 
 another; as often as the film of egg becomes loosened, 
 renew it; by thus keeping the burn free from the air 
 and contact with any substance, it will heal quickly, 
 and no wrappings are needed. After work is done 
 at night, saturate cloths with the pure extract of ha- 
 mamelis, and bind them upon the burn; if they are 
 wet at intervals during the night the pain will be con- 
 quered by morning. 
 
 The careful use of cooking utensils is an economical 
 item. When they have been used, fill them with wa- 
 ter and boil a small lump of soda in them; to clean 
 them thoroughly, boil them with soda in a wash boiler^ 
 and do not injure them by scraping or rubbing with 
 any metallic article. Do not use good knives around 
 the stove, because the heat destroys their temper. Do 
 not throw away soiled rags, unless they are worn out; 
 wash them to use as dusters or scrubbing cloths. Be 
 very careful not to break dishes and glasses. The 
 amount of outlay occasioned by breakage makes a 
 
308 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 dreadful balance on the wrong side of some household 
 accounts, which is as unnecessary as it is aggravating. 
 If loss can be avoided by the proper use of utensils, 
 a careful maid can materially second her mistress's 
 efforts to be economical by using all remains of food. 
 A few ways are indicated here. AVhen too small a 
 quantity of meat, fish, game, or poultry is left to make a 
 large dish, cut it in small, even pieces, put it into a jar, 
 and cover it with vinegar, scalded with whole spices; 
 when it is cold, it can be used as a relish. Bits of 
 ham may be grated or chopped very fine for sand- 
 wiches or omelets, or very highly seasoned as a relish. 
 When there is no other use for broth, thicken it with 
 an ounce of gelatine to each pint, and clarify it like 
 the aspic jelly described in the recipe for boned turkey, 
 to use with cold meat. When part of a jar of pre- 
 serves or canned fruit is likely to sj)oil, boil the fruit 
 and syrup with an equal quantity of vinegar, and so 
 make sweet pickles. Grate the dry rind of cheese for 
 macaroni. To keep cheese from drying, wrap it in a 
 cloth wet in sherry or any Avhite wine; when a pine- 
 apple, Edam, or other fine cheese is partly scooped 
 out, pour sherry into it to improve the flavor and pre- 
 serve it. If milk sours suddenly, drain off the whey 
 and serve the bonny-clabber with brown sugar and nut- 
 meg, very cold, as a breakfast dish; or scald it until 
 the curd sets, and then drain it dry in a cloth laid in 
 a sieve, and season it with salt to make cottage or pot 
 cheese. These are but few of the waj^s in which waste 
 of food can be avoided, and they are offered here mere- 
 ly as an indication of the economical results possible 
 from an intelligent co-operation between mistress and 
 maid. 
 
SMALL SOCL^ ENTERTAINMENTS. 399 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SMALL SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 As our sclieme of living includes some of the pleas- 
 ures of entertaining our friends, we may give space to 
 outlining a few of the small festivities which can be 
 enjoyed with little trouble. The most popular way 
 of meeting one's social obligations is the reception of 
 visitors on a certain day or days. The day of the 
 week is usually engraved upon the visiting-card when 
 the intention is to receive on that day throughout the 
 entire season. If the time is limited to certain days 
 of certain months and to special hours, the specifi- 
 cation is indicated upon engraved cards, as, for in- 
 stance, " Wednesdays in February, 5 o'clock," being 
 engraved on the lower left corner of the visiting-card, 
 the address being on the right. If the purpose is to 
 give a more formal single reception, the lower left 
 corner will bear the inscription, " At Home, Wednes- 
 day, February — , from — to — o'clock," the address 
 being on the right. All the details of invitation, re- 
 ception, toilet, etc., are given in books on social eti- 
 quette, of which one of the best is Mrs. Sherwood's 
 " Manners and Social Usages in America." The part 
 appropriate here concerns the refreshments provided 
 for the guests. Although it is not imperative to pro- 
 vide any, some simple repast laid upon a side-table 
 where one of the ladies receiving presides, or passed 
 upon a small tray by a maid, suffices. In the latter 
 
310 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 case there should be several little tables near the 
 guests to receive the cups and plates. The very best 
 tea, freshly made, with a few delicate sandwiches, or 
 the fancy cakes called by the coniectioners petitsJ^ourSj 
 are suitable for any reception; Avine or cordial may be 
 served, but tea is preferable; too elaborate refresh- 
 ments would be out of place at simple receptions. 
 
 The invitations to teas and kettle-drums bear the 
 words, "Tea at 5 o'clock." On such occasions the 
 small tables may be disposed about the rooms for the 
 convenience of the guests, or the tea-table may be laid 
 with more or less elaborate linen and china, and cor- 
 sage bouquets may be provided for the guests at will. 
 Some special color is often chosen for these teas, and 
 it prevails in the linen, china, glass, flowers, and even 
 in the toilets. • The tea should be the best obtaina- 
 ble, freshly made, and served in delicate china. Rus- 
 sian tea is served in thin glass tumblers, each contain- 
 ing a spoon and a slice of lemon; sugar is served with 
 Russian tea, but no milk. The refreshments may be 
 simj^le, and never should be too elaborate; thin bread 
 buttered and doubled, dainty sandwiches, small cakes 
 and macaroons, are suitable. Coffee may be served; 
 oysters and salads are suitable, but too great abun- 
 dance is ostentatious. The table is laid as for any tea, 
 only care must be taken not to crowd it, and not to 
 give a heavy character to the repast. The hot dishes 
 suitable for a family tea would be entirely out of 
 place. The proper refreshments for evening recep- 
 tions are fine cake, chocolate, coffee, fancy biscuits 
 and sherry, claret-cup, punch, ices and creams, salads, 
 cold entrees, candied fruit and confectionery, houillon, 
 tea, egg-nog — in fine, any small dishes, preferably cold, 
 and plenty of the chosen beverage. At a wedding 
 
SMALL SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 311 
 
 reception the simplest refreshments are cake and one 
 wine; beyond that the range is upward to a full wed- 
 ding breakfast. No tea or coffee is served. Wine at 
 choice, generally champagne. All the service is laid 
 before the guests come to the table. The wedding- 
 cake is set before the bride, who cuts the first slice. 
 JBoicillon may be served hot in cups, in place of tea or 
 coffee, when wine is not used. The more elaborate 
 salads, entrees of game and shell-fish, creams, ices, jel- 
 lies, and small sweets are suitable dishes. Small boxes 
 of wedding-cake, tied with white ribbon, are placed 
 ujDon the table for the guests to carry away with them. 
 In this, as in other entertainments, the refreshments 
 should not be so profuse as to seem ostentatious. 
 
 If the collation is simple at ordinary receptions, it 
 may be laid upon a side-table, and served at any time 
 after eight o'clock. When there is a set table in a 
 supper-room, any hour after ten is proj)er for serving. 
 At card parties the best way to serve refreshments is 
 upon small tables, so placed that the guests can par- 
 take at any time without leaving the card tables. 
 Sherry and biscuit; claret-cup or lemonade with fancy 
 cakes; crackers and cheese with ale, tea, coffee, or choc- 
 olate, with delicate sandwiches, are suitable. If sal- 
 ads, oysters, or ices and creams are served, they can be 
 best dispensed from a side-table. These refreshments 
 are excellent for chess and domino parties, and for any 
 informal evening gathering. 
 
 W^hen supper parties are given, either on invitation 
 or after an evening's amusement, the service is similar 
 to that of luncheons. The table is laid with pretty 
 china, a few flowers, the relishes and table sauces. At 
 elaborate suppers there is candied fruit or confection- 
 ery, but no large sweets. No soup is ever served ex- 
 
312 FAMILY LIVING ON 1500 A YEAR. 
 
 cept houiUo7i in cups. Stewed oysters or any hot dish 
 of oysters; raw oysters on the half-shell may be served 
 as at dinner, with cut lemon and brown bread buttered. 
 Cold roast game and poultry, or either, broiled and 
 served hot, deviled bones, salads, rarebits, toasted 
 cheese, terrapin, creams, ices, jellies, the various iced 
 " cups " in summer, and punch in winter, or egg-nog, 
 or mulled wine, or tea, coffee, or chocolate — all are 
 suitable beverages. The wines generally used at sup- 
 pers are sherry, Madeira, Burgundy, and champagne. 
 Raw oysters, a salad, and a rarebit, with any chosen 
 beverage, make an enjoyable sapper; or broiled game 
 or chicken, with a green salad and some rich cheese; 
 or hot oysters, cold roast chicken, and some ice or jelly; 
 or hot houillon^ and sweetbreads with asparagus or 
 pease, and a few bonbons. The variety is limited only 
 by the season. 
 
 Never was a more delicious supper dreamed of than 
 six little oysters on the half-shell, a dish of terrapin, 
 and celery ^nayonnaise, and a bit of Roquefort, the 
 beverao;e being: left to individual choice. At the 
 other financial extreme lies a supper of hot panned 
 oysters, a slice of rare roast beef cut thick and dev- 
 iled, a plain lettuce salad, and some cheese crusts. 
 
 The recipe for the oysters may be smuggled in be- 
 tween lines here because it is but little known. Be- 
 fore supper-time have some toast nicely made, and see 
 that the oysters are drained and absolutely free from 
 bits of shell. For a solid pint put two large table- 
 spoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and let it begin to 
 brown over a hot fire; then put in the oysters with- 
 out any liquid, and stir them until the edges begin to 
 curl; add a glass of Madeira, pour them upon the 
 toast, and eat them very hot, with no regret save that 
 
SMALL SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 313 
 
 the sense of taste is limited by mortality. Gentle- 
 men's suppers may be made triumphs of housewifely 
 skill. As the hostess never is present at table, she 
 can make every dish absolutely perfect, and be sure 
 that a chorus of approbation is rising in her praise. 
 If tea or coffee is served, the table is laid as for break- 
 fast; if wine is used, as for an informal dinner. 
 
 When the supper is elaborate, it may be served in 
 courses like a dinner d la Husse, or all the dishes may 
 be placed upon the table as soon as the guests are 
 seated, and after the first service no attendant need 
 remain in the room. If, however, the hostess is at- 
 tending in person to the preparation of certain dishes 
 for which she is famous, she will do well to send each 
 one in at the moment of its perfection. All entrees^ 
 hot and cold, the various dressed salads, all kinds of 
 fish and shell-fish, highly seasoned relishes, rarebits, 
 broiled or deviled poultry and game, and any favor- 
 ite small sweet, are suitable. The beverage may be 
 tea, coffee, chocolate, malt drinks, or wine, at choice. 
 The recipe for an unusual form of chocolate seems in 
 place here for use when a sweet beverage is desired. 
 It can be made successfully, because the hostess will 
 be able to give her entire attention to it. The writer 
 learned it from an Indian who had been taus-ht its 
 composition in Mexico by an Aztec. The rich, foam- 
 ing beverage is well worth all the care required in its 
 preparation. Two, three, or four eggs may be used 
 to each quart of chocolate, according to the consis- 
 tency desired, and three or four of the small cakes of 
 sweet chocolate. The quantity of chocolate depends 
 upon the taste of the maker, a fair proportion being 
 one division about an inch wide and three or four long 
 for each half -pint of water. Grate the chocolate or 
 
314 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 break it in small pieces, put it over the fire in a thick 
 saucepan or chocolate pot, and stir it until it softens; 
 then stir in a quart of milk to four small cakes of 
 chocolate. While the milk is heating, separate the 
 yolks of the eggs from the whites, beat the yolks to a 
 smooth cream, and the whites to a stiff froth. When 
 the chocolate boils, take the pot off the fire, or move 
 it where it cannot boil. Dip half a cupful of chocolate 
 into the beaten yolks, quickly mix it w^ith them, at 
 once pour them with the rest of the chocolate, and 
 mix them in with the chocolate stick or a wire egg- 
 beater. Next beat in the whites thoroughly, and 
 serve the chocolate hot. The success of the beverage 
 depends upon the rapidity with which the beaten eggs 
 are mixed with the chocolate after it once boils. If it 
 w^ere allowed to boil after the eggs are added, they 
 would become " curdled " or cooked, of course. As 
 chocolate retains heat, there is time enough to blend 
 the beaten eggs with it before it cools, when the oper- 
 ation is deftly and rapidly accomj^lished. When the 
 chocolate is properly made it is a rich, foamy beverage, 
 absolutely luscious. Delicate crackers may be served 
 with it or English bread-and-butter. A more perfect 
 combination than this can scarcely be conceived. 
 
 If one has a steady hand, the " knack " of cutting 
 English bread - and - butter can easily be acquired. 
 Choose a fresh loaf of home-made bread w^liich has a 
 soft even crust, or trim the crust from an uneven loaf 
 so that the outside is smooth, and cut off one end 
 slice; have a thin, sharp bread knife, plenty of sweet 
 butter of the best quality just firm enough to s^^read 
 well, and use a knife that will spread it smoothly. 
 Hold the loaf with the left hand against the left side; 
 upon the smooth-cut end spread a thin, even layer of 
 
SMALL SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENTS. 3^5 
 
 butter ; then with the sharp bread knife cut a perfect- 
 ly even, wafer-like slice off the entire end, and roll it 
 together, or fold it so that the buttered side is enclosed. 
 As each slice is cut lay it upon the plate intended for 
 the table. When all are prepared, set the plate in the 
 refrigerator, or where the bread can be kept cool and 
 moist until it is wanted for the table. There is but 
 one objection to English bread-and-butter — it is such 
 an enticing edible that the services of the household 
 might be called upon to supply the demands of a lover 
 of it. 
 
316 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 SUNDAY TEAS. 
 
 SuNDAY-NiGHT teas are sometimes occasions of em- 
 barrassment to the housekeeper; even if she has two 
 servants, one is absent. If it is the waitress, there is 
 apt to be trouble in the service of the table; if the 
 cook is out, the dishes are likely to be meagre or poor- 
 ly prepared. As servants are entitled to some out- 
 ings, it may help many of our readers to devote space 
 to the situation. First, in regard to the laying of the 
 table, if the waitress has not attended to that before 
 going out. Unless the meal is to be served in a room 
 in general use, the table can be made entirely ready 
 at any time, and covered from disturbance with a 
 light cloth. The butter may be cut, and placed in the 
 refrigerator or some other cool place; the bread made 
 ready in the box, with the knife and board available for 
 cutting; when biscuits are desired in the absence of the 
 cook, it is best to have previously made raised biscuits 
 from the bread dough, which need only be covered with 
 a wet cloth, and warmed in the oven for about ten min- 
 utes before tea - time. The carafes or water - pitcher 
 should be clean and ready to fill just before serving 
 the tea, and in the absence of the waitress they should 
 be placed upon the table so that they can be used by 
 any one. If meats or fish are to be served, all the 
 proper condiments and cold table sauces and relishes 
 should be upon the table, even if the waitress is at 
 
SUNDAY TEAS. 31 7 
 
 homey because her necessary absences in the kitchen 
 will make her service less thorough than usual at table. 
 Fresh fruit is not generally served except in berry sea- 
 son, and then the necessary dishes are placed before 
 the person who is to help the fruit, as is the case when 
 preserves are to be used. It is well to have plenty of 
 spoons on the table, either laid at the covers with the 
 other silver, or in several holders at intervals on the 
 table. Both powdered and loaf sugar should also be 
 placed there in several bowls; and syrup, if any hot 
 cakes are to be served, although it is not advisable to 
 undertake these in the absence of the cook. 
 
 To lay the tea-table, first spread the under cloth of 
 Canton flannel, then the linen cloth, which may be 
 white or of some delicate color, either plain or appro- 
 priately embroidered, with napkins to match. Spread 
 the cloth smoothly on the table, so that it hangs even- 
 ly in all directions, equally far from the floor every- 
 where. If table mats are used, place the largest be- 
 fore the master's place for the most important dish; 
 this will be of meat, fish, or game, if either is served, 
 or of milk toast, rarebit, salad, or preserves, if either of 
 these constitute the largest dish ; special small plates 
 are needed for any of these, and a large spoon and fork 
 for helping all except the preserves, which require 
 only a spoon. Mats may be laid at the sides for other 
 dishes, together with the proper spoon or knife and 
 fork for serving them, or for plates of bread, crackers, 
 cheese, or small fancy dishes of relishes, such as sar- 
 dines, sliced smoked fish, or sausages — all of which 
 should have a fork ready for helping them — or for 
 dry toast, hot biscuit, or knj other dish. 
 
 The spoon-holder, butter-dish, salt-cellars, and con- 
 diment-holders are to be placed at convenient inter- 
 
318 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 vals, not too stiffly, and at least two large carafes of 
 fresh water. A dish of fruit, a few flowers, or the 
 relishes in fancy dishes, make the table bright and in- 
 viting. At the mistress's place put the cups and 
 saucers for tea or coffee at the upper left hand, the 
 milk and sugar in the centre, and the stands for the 
 tea-pot and coffee-pot at the right hand. Then lay the 
 places. At every cover put a fresh napkin, a water- 
 glass, individual dishes for salt and butter if they are 
 used, or a small fancy plate or large saucer at the up- 
 per right to hold the bread, butter, salt, etc.; a special 
 small knife is laid with this plate. At the left of the 
 cover put the fork, at the right the knife and any 
 spoon required; or, if the waitress is absent, lay all the 
 silver and cutlery likely to be used during the meal, 
 and the regular tea plate. 
 
 If any hot dish is to be served, set the plates and 
 dishes required for it ready to put into a pan of hot 
 water to heat just before tea-time, and when they are 
 hot wipe them and place them in a pile at the cover 
 where the hot dish is to be served. If the hot dish is 
 to be passed by the waitress, let her lay a hot plate at 
 each cover just before serving the dish. Make sure 
 that everything is upon the table, or within easy reach, 
 that will be needed for the tea, and then close the 
 room until just before the meal is to be served. At 
 that time put the fresh water, butter, bread, cheese, 
 and any cold dishes upon the table, and ^Drepare and 
 serve the tea and hot dishes. Preferably these should 
 be few in the cook's absence, for there are many ex- 
 cellent cold ones that can be made ready in advance, 
 a few of which are indicated below. The waitress 
 might make a rarebit, an omelet, or milk toast, or 
 pan some oysters, or devil some bones or cold poul- 
 
SUNDAY TEAS. 3^9 
 
 try or game. Recipes for these dishes are in place 
 here. 
 
 Rarebits are usually made with ale, but for the bene- 
 fit of people who do not wish to use it the suggestion is 
 made to substitute for it the yolk of a raw egg beaten 
 with a half -cupful of sweet milk. Otherwise proceed as 
 follows: put in a small saucepan two tablespoonfuls of 
 butter, a quarter of a pound of cheese grated, a salt- 
 spoonful each of salt and dry mustard, a quarter of a 
 saltspoonful of pepper, a dust of cayenne, and two 
 tablespoonfuls of ale; stir these ingredients over the 
 fire until they are melted, and then pour them on 
 toast, and serve the rarebit at once. If a plate of dry 
 toast is prepared in advance, the rarebit may be made 
 in a chafing-dish at table. 
 
 The best omelet for tea is made by beating sepa- 
 rately the yolks and whites of three eggs, adding the 
 desired seasoning, and at once cooking the omelet in a 
 hot pan containing a teaspoonful of butter (it can be 
 made in a chafing - dish at the table) ; beat the yolks 
 with a saltspoonful of salt and quarter that quantity 
 of pepper; beat the whites to a stiff froth; lightly 
 mix them a little, put them into the hot buttered pan, 
 with a fork constantly lift the cooked portion from the 
 pan and throw it to one side until the omelet is done 
 enough ; then lightly loosen it from the pan, turn it 
 out by holding a hot dish over the side of the pan, and 
 serve it at once. If the salt and pepper are omitted, 
 the omelet sweetened and flavored to suit the palate, 
 it affords an agreeable change. 
 
 The toast for milk toast may be prepared in ad- 
 vance, and the cream sauce also, which can be melted 
 when needed, or made in a chafing-dish, if desired; 
 for each pint of the sauce stir together in a saucepan 
 
320 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 over the fire a tablespoonful eacli of butter and dry 
 flour until they are smoothly blended; then gradually 
 stir in a pint of milk, or milk and water, and an even 
 teaspoonful of salt; as soon as the sauce boils pour 
 it over the toast and serve it; to warm it when it has 
 been prepared in advance, put the saucepan containing 
 it in a pan of boiling water over the fire and stir it 
 until it is hot. 
 
 To pan oysters have some toast made in advance, 
 and the oysters drained and carefully freed from all 
 particles of shell; for each solid pint of oysters put in 
 a frying-pan two heaping tablespoonful s of butter, and 
 let it brown quickly; then put in the oysters, and stir 
 them until their edges curl, dust them with cayenne, 
 and at once pour them upon the toast and serve them. 
 For Maryland panned oysters, a glass of sherry or Ma- 
 deira at the moment of dishing them. The oysters 
 can be prepared at table in a chafing-dish. 
 
 Poultry, game, and bones are deviled as follows : 
 deep cuts are made in the pieces, reaching to the bone, 
 and the seasoning rubbed into the cuts; the joints are 
 then either broiled on a buttered gridiron, or heated in 
 any highly seasoned sauce or gravy at the table ; the 
 seasoning is made by mixing together for each pound 
 of meat two tablespoonfuls of dry mustard, one of 
 flour, a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, 
 a liberal dust of cayenne, and enough vinegar or any 
 good table sauce to form a paste which can be put 
 into the cuts in the meat. 
 
 As will be seen, nearly all these dishes can be made 
 partly ready in advance, and easily finished at tea- 
 time. Among the dishes of larger size that the cook 
 can prepare in advance to serve cold are chicken salad, 
 for which a recipe is given on another page ; chicken 
 
SUNDAY TEAS. 321 
 
 croquettes, which can be laid as soon as fried upon 
 bfiown paper in a dripping-pan and kept in a dry place 
 until time to put the pan into the oven to heat just 
 before tea-time; berry or canned-fruit short-cake; sev- 
 eral fruit salads mentioned elsewhere; the galantines of 
 boned poultry, and the various potted meats, fish, and 
 same which are f ullv described. Cold rare roast beef 
 cut thick, seasoned with salt and pepper, quickly broiled 
 at a hot fire, and served with a little sweet butter, 
 makes a good, hearty dish. Cold lamb or mutton sliced 
 thin, and warmed in its own sauce or gravy; any kind 
 of cold fish heated in white sauce; smoked salmon, hali- 
 but, sturgeon, or mackerel scalded and then broiled; 
 salt fish several times heated in water and then mixed 
 with scrambled eggs; dried beef cooked with scram- 
 bled eggs or in white sauce — these are but a few of 
 the many little dishes entirely suitable for Sunday- 
 night teas. Then there should never be forgotten 
 canned salmon; this may be simply heated and sea- 
 soned with salt and pepper, or heated in white sauce, 
 or served with 7nayo7inaise, or chopped and heated 
 with cold mashed potatoes, or heated and served in 
 the midst of a dish of canned pease turned from the can, 
 rinsed with cold water, and then heated with salt, pep- 
 per, and butter, or with a little white sauce. 
 
 As a matter of fact, this meal that so often is most 
 uninviting can be made one of the most delicate and 
 savory if the housekeeper will give a little care to its 
 preparation, and remember that a single hot dish, how- 
 ever small, gives a zest that is lacking to any cold food 
 except the more delicate salads and expensive luxuries. 
 The various scalloped dishes can be made ready all ex- 
 cept the final browning, and we cannot close better 
 than by giving the recipe for scalloped chicken. Any 
 21 
 
322 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 kind of poultry, game, meat, fish, or vegetables can 
 be served in the same way. Use equal quantities of 
 cliopped chicken, free from bones, and bread crumbs, 
 and enough white sauce or any good gravy to moisten 
 the dish; put the chicken and crumbs in layers in an 
 earthen dish suitable to send to the table, or in indi- 
 vidual scallop shells; season rather highly with salt 
 and white pepper or cayenne; moisten with sauce, and 
 cover the top with sifted crumbs; dot the crumbs with 
 bits of butter. Fifteen minutes in a hot oven will pre- 
 pare this dish for the table, and it is to be served hot. 
 
LUNCHEON AND SUPPERS. 
 
 323 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 LUNCHEON AND SUPPERS. 
 
 The Canton flannel under table - cloth has been 
 spoken of as improving the appearance of the upper 
 cloth, and saving the dining-table from the spots made 
 by heated dishes; this is of imi^ortance when table 
 mats are not used. After all, the use of the mats is 
 general upon family tables although they are banished 
 from formal feasts. 
 
 To lay the table for luncheon proceed as for break- 
 fast. The coffee or tea equipage is to be arranged 
 before the seat of the mistress, a large tray not now 
 being used unless because of some special preference. 
 Place the cups and saucers at the upper left, the sugar, 
 milk, and cream about the centre, and the mats or 
 stands for tea and coffee at the right hand ; if a table- 
 bell is used, it should be where the mistress can easily 
 reach it. A table mat or large napkin should be at 
 the other end of the table, before the master's place, 
 and others at the sides for various dishes. 
 
 The old-fashioned caster is no longer used in the 
 centre of the table unless there is special direction 
 given by the mistress; the condiments are on the table 
 in their original bottles, or in fancy stands in flasks. 
 When small salt-cellars are used, one is at each place, 
 but the preference now is for large salt-cellars and 
 fancy pepper-boxes at different parts of the table. A 
 low stand for fruit or flowers is in place in the middle 
 
324 FAIVIILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 of the table, and small fancy dishes of olives, pickles, 
 radishes, and the various small relishes are placed 
 wherever they look well. The aspect of the table 
 should be bright, and not too regular or formal. At 
 dinner and large luncheons salted almonds or peanuts 
 and some rich cheese have place among the relishes; 
 sardines, small bits of various salted fish, and thin 
 slices of imported dried sausage are also served. 
 
 At each place there is a napkin with a thick piece 
 of bread laid on it, a knife and fork, and spoon if there 
 is soup; teaspoons are laid with the service of the dish 
 for which they are required, or placed on the family 
 table in the usual holder, with the handles U23ward; a 
 small piece of chamois or felt in the bottom of a glass 
 or china spoon-holder often saves breakage. When 
 more than one course is to be served, as many forks 
 and knives as will be required are laid at first, if there 
 are plenty, the forks at the left, the knives at the right; 
 an extra small knife for butter is convenient, and a 
 small fancy plate at the upper right hand for holding 
 salt, bread, butter, and the various relishes is really 
 an admirable thing. The water-glass is at the uj^per 
 front of the place, and any extra glass likely to be 
 used; carafes full of cool, fresh water are upon the ta- 
 ble, or water is poured from the pitcher by the waitress 
 directly the party are seated. The water should al- 
 ways be freshly drawn, and in summer made cool by 
 ice, and enough of it may be drank to quench the 
 thirst. It is an error to think that the use of moder- 
 ately cool water affects the action of the gastric juice 
 in any way. Milk may be drank at meals, but it is a 
 food and not a beverage, and has but little effect in 
 quenching thirst; skim-milk and buttermilk do quench 
 thirst to a degree. Tea and coffee should be served 
 
LUNCHEON AND SUPPERS. 325 
 
 veiy hot, and hot milk always with coffee; both these 
 beverao'es retard the di^'estion and assimilation of food 
 
 CD Cj 
 
 when used excessively. 
 
 All the dishes likely to be needed for the meal should 
 either be in the dining-room or in one place in the 
 kitchen being heated; unless there is a regular dish- 
 heater, the best method is to put the plates into a 
 large pan of hot water, and wipe them as they are 
 needed for the table ; heating dishes in the oven 
 cracks the glaze, and often the dish. Hot plates are 
 needed for everything except oatmeal, fruit, salad, rav/ 
 oysters, cheese, and the various sweets. 
 
 Unless special orders have been given otherwise, it 
 is not well to put any food upon the table until the 
 family is seated, unless raw oysters are served. They 
 may be arranged in the shells on a plate, with a piece 
 of lemon in the centre, and the small oyster fork laid 
 across them. Two plates of brown bread, cut thin, 
 buttered, and folded together, should be on the table 
 to eat with the oysters, and an extra plate of white 
 bread. Some persons serve crackers with oysters, and 
 celery or a dish of cold-slaw. Small oyster crackers 
 are served with stewed oysters. 
 
 Unless there is this service of oysters or of soup at 
 luncheon, the various dishes composing it are brought 
 to the table directly the mistress is seated. The hot 
 drinks are before her, the largest dish at the opposite 
 end or side of the table, and the smaller ones within 
 easy reach at the sides. If the luncheon is formal, the 
 dishes which compose each course are served together, 
 and the plates are changed with each course, as at 
 dinner. 
 
 In Avaiting at luncheon, as at other meals, the meats 
 or large hot dishes are served by the person before 
 
326 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 whom they are placed, on plates set wpon the table. 
 The waitress takes each plate from the left, and carries 
 it on a salver, holding it at the left of the guest, or 
 placing it upon the table. The tea, coffee, and water 
 are placed at the right hand; the plates, etc., changed 
 from the right. Remember it is the easiest to set 
 things upon the table from the right hand, and to hold 
 the tray at the left of the person who has to take any- 
 thing from it, and it is decidedly preferable for the 
 person served to take whatever is being passed from 
 the tray at the left hand. 
 
 As soon as the large hot dish is served, put the other 
 dishes in succession upon the tray and pass them as 
 rapidly as possible. Always pass the proper sauce 
 with every dish, and take care that there is a spoon, 
 with the handle towards the guest, and a fork if it is 
 needed in the service of the dish. When it is neces- 
 sary to hold a dish in the hand, cover the hand with a 
 perfectly clean napkin. Always wear a spotless apron, 
 and carry a clean napkin. Be very neat in using this 
 napkin; only use it to hold the dishes with. If by any 
 accident one needs wiping, have a clean towel in readi- 
 ness at the side-table. Nothing so marks a slovenly 
 waiter as the habit of polishing everything within 
 reach with the one napkin. 
 
 If there are crumbs upon the cloth, they can be re- 
 moved more easily with a small napkin or a large sil- 
 ver knife than with a crumb-brush, which is awkward 
 to handle, and apt to scatter the crumbs. Finger- 
 bowls are not generally used at ordinary luncheons, 
 but there is no reason why they should be banished if 
 they are needed. 
 
 In some families where only one or two ladies lunch, 
 the service is often made upon a large tray in the sit- 
 
LUNCHEON AND SUPPERS. 327 
 
 ting-room. Upon the tray place a large clean napkin, 
 the water glass and carafe^ salt, pepper, bread, butter, 
 milk and sugar if there is tea or coffee, a napkin, the 
 necessary silver, and the luncheon itself. Carry the 
 tray to the room where it is to be served, and either 
 place the tray upon a table, or lay the luncheon on a 
 cloth or on the table, according to directions. Be sure 
 to carry at first everything required, and have warm 
 dishes for hot food. Perform this small service as care- 
 fully as at table, and remember to have every dish 
 dainty and appetizing. 
 
 Teas and suppers are served very much like lunch- 
 eons, except that the bread is not put upon the nap- 
 kins, but is served on the table in plates. In warm 
 weather there is generally ice in the butter dish at all 
 meals, and ice is used to cool the drinking water. Sup- 
 pers are generally late meals improvised after a busy 
 evening or some out-door pleasuring. The table is 
 laid in an informal way with the necessary dishes and 
 viands, care being taken to have plenty of condiments 
 and relishes, because the meats are generally served 
 cold. Cheese, crackers, rarebits, broiled bones, oysters, 
 cold meat or poultry, game, salads, crackers, and bread- 
 and-butter are the usual dishes, all being placed upon 
 the table. 
 
 Gentlemen's suppers are more elaborate, and where 
 they are affairs of invitation the table should be laid 
 as carefully as for a formal luncheon when tea or cof- 
 fee are to be served; or in dinner style when wine or 
 punch is to be the beverage. The service for black 
 coffee should always be upon the side-table for those 
 who do not wish to use wine. Malt beverages, cocoa, 
 or chocolate may be used. All the small, hot, highly 
 seasoned dishes are suitable, together with salads, oys- 
 
328 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 ters, rarebits, game, any sweets desired, and plenty of 
 relishes. The number of dishes depends upon choice, 
 but all should be excellent. Flowers and fruit may 
 be used. All the dishes are placed on the table at 
 once, and after the first service the guests wait upon 
 themselves. 
 
CARVING AND SERVING. 
 
 129 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CARVING AND SERVING. 
 
 One of the most trying duties of the inexperienced 
 housekeeper is the proper service of dishes. If she is 
 fortunate enough to have them brought to table well 
 cooked, they may be spoiled in the serving unless the 
 person helping them understands how to carve them. 
 To explain the mysteries of carving, w^ithout the ob- 
 ject before one, or without the aid of diagrams, seems 
 almost a hopeless task; but let us attempt it, referring 
 the readers to illustrations given in " Practical Ameri- 
 can Cookery" for details beyond present treatment. 
 The most familiar dish upon ordinary American tables 
 is beefsteak. In steaks cut from the chuck and round 
 all parts are equally tender and well flavored, so that 
 the carving resolves itself into the question of whether 
 the person to be helped prefers fat or lean, well-done 
 or rare portions. In sirloin steak that part near the 
 end bone and below the bone running at a right angle 
 from the former is the tenderest; the upper part, called 
 by the butchers the " top sirloin," is the most highly 
 flavored and nutritious; the part nearest the small end 
 is composed of loose, large .fibres, tougher than the 
 more compact parts, and less easy of mastication and 
 digestion; it is w^ell-flavored and nutritious. 
 
 The same portions of loin chops are similarly consti- 
 tuted; shoulder chops are the sweetest and leanest, and 
 rib chops are moderately tender; cutlets from the leg 
 
330 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 are lean, well-flavored, and lender, if the meat has 
 been kept long enough. Yeal-cutlets from the leg are 
 tender and lean; loin chops are fatter, and include a 
 portion of the Jilet or tenderloin; rib and neck cuts are 
 lean and sweet. As veal is larger than mutton, it is 
 sometimes necessary to divide the chops; this should 
 be done so as to give the eater the preferred portion. 
 
 The legs, shoulders, breasts, and loins of pork, lamb, 
 mutton, and veal are carved in the same way; the loins 
 are cut through, in the divisions indicated by the cracks 
 or cuts through the chine or backbone, in moderately 
 thick slices. When force-meat or stuffing is part of 
 the dish, it should be put uj^on the plates at the choice 
 of the eater; if the loin has been boned, the cuts are 
 made down through the meat and stuffing, beginning 
 at the right end. The breast is often boned and rolled, 
 and then is sliced from the right end; when the bones 
 are left in they are cracked, so that the carver can fol- 
 low beside them in carving. 
 
 Shoulders boned are carved from the largest end, 
 care being taken to serve each plate with a portion of 
 the stuffing and some of the crisj) brown surface. If 
 the bone remains, the slices are cut from the outside 
 down to the bone, through the thickest part, crossing 
 the grain of the flesh, and a small slice of fat is served 
 on each plate; unless the shoulder-blade has been re- 
 moved, it is necessary to cut from beneath as well as 
 above it in order to serve the choice parts. 
 
 Legs are carved through the thickest part, directly 
 across the grain of the flesh, from the outside down to 
 the bone, a portion of the fat being served on each 
 plate. The choice portion lies at the largest end, 
 where the flesh is the most abundant; the lower end 
 of the leg is somewhat stringy, unless the meat is 
 
CARVING AND SERVING. 33 j 
 
 young and thoroiigbly cooked. In carving roast pork 
 care must be taken to place a portion of the crisp 
 brown " crackling " on every plate. 
 
 Roast beef is served in ribs, loins (boned and rolled), 
 and as filet or tenderloin; the latter is sliced down 
 from the right end, a small bit of the choice fat being 
 put on each plate. When the bones of the ribs have 
 been removed, and the beef rolled before roasting, the 
 carving consists in simply cutting slices from the end 
 across the grain of the meat. There is no question 
 that this is the best way to serve roast beef. The 
 bones can be taken out without mano-linq* or wasting: 
 the meat, the roll made compact, and secured with 
 stout cord, which is removed before sending the beef 
 to table; skewers do not keep the meat in good shape 
 while it is being cooked, and they make holes which 
 permit the juice to escape. If the meat is cooked 
 only until it is purple in hue, the fibres will still be 
 elastic enough to partly straighten when the string or 
 skewer is removed, and consequently the meat will 
 not retain the shape in which it was secured before 
 cooking. When the beef is cooked medium rare 
 — that is, until it is pink — the shape of the roll will 
 remain if it has been properly tied. 
 
 Of course all the bones are to be used for soup, 
 either when cut out before cooking or saved after the 
 carving; but bones which have flour gravy on them 
 are used only in thick or brown soups. The sirloin of 
 beef is not usually boned, and consequently is carved 
 in another way. As it lies upon the platter, with 
 the tenderloin underneath, the upper portion is first 
 carved by cutting slices across the grain of the meat 
 the entire length from the backbone to the thin end; 
 to reach the tenderloin it is necessary to turn the meat; 
 
332 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 cut in the same way across the grain, and include in 
 the slice a portion of the savory fat under the thin end 
 of the meat. A portion of the gravy which flows in 
 carving medium rare beef is esteemed by all lovers of 
 good living; for delicate children and invalids it is in- 
 valuable, because it contains some of the best qualities 
 of the beef. Any which remains on the dish after din- 
 ner should be carefully saved for their use. 
 
 The carving of fish is not difficult if the fact is re- 
 membered that the backbone is jointed, and that the 
 largest side bones project from it; a skilful use of the 
 fork will break the backbone at any joint, and then, by 
 sliding the fish-knife between the flesh and the project- 
 ing side-bones which enclose the entrails of the fish, 
 portions can be lifted off in suitable sizes, or cuts can 
 be made down through the entire fish, leaving the 
 bones within the slices. The thin part below the neck 
 and the cheeks of some fish are highly esteemed. 
 When a fish is stuffed a portion of the force-meat 
 should be served with each slice. A dish of plain 
 boiled potatoes and a sauce are the usual accompani- 
 ments of fish at dinner, and both are put upon the plate 
 with it. Broiled fish, which should be split down the 
 back and freed from the largest bones, is very easily 
 carved; when the roe is served a small piece should 
 accompany each portion. The fact is not known to 
 all housekeepers that the roes and milts of all fish are 
 edible, and also the livers of those which are not too 
 oily; they can be broiled, or fried, or made into a 
 ragoiit with any chosen sauce. 
 
 Game in joints is carved very like mutton. The 
 English method of carving venison is to cut long slices 
 parallel with the backbone from end to end of a loin 
 or saddle, cutting from the outside down to the bone 
 
CARVING AND SERVING. 
 
 333 
 
 which runs at right angles from the backbone and sep- 
 arates the tenderloin from the top cut. When veni- 
 son is very lean, the fat of choice mutton is cooked 
 with it, and a small portion served with each slice; 
 like mutton, venison should be served on very hot 
 plates, and with currant or some other acid jelly or 
 jelly sauce. 
 
 Squirrels, rabbits, and hares are cut in joints and 
 ribs, several of the latter in one piece. 
 
 The smallest game birds are served w^hole; those 
 the size of large woodcock are cut in halves. The 
 breasts of pheasant and partridge are cut in two pieces 
 only w^hen the service is abundant, or in several parts 
 when the suj)ply is limited. Only the breast of wild- 
 duck is carved, because the birds are best liked when 
 cooked rare; the remainder is used for a ragoilt or 
 salmi. When there is plenty of duck, half the breast 
 is served on each plate. 
 
 Canvas-back duck is carved in two portions only, or, 
 when there is plenty, an entire breast is a feast for an 
 epicure. If it is necessary to make one duck serve 
 several persons, cut the breast in thick slices from the 
 outside down to the breastbone; use a sharp knife, and 
 do not remove a single slice until the entire breast is 
 carved. This should be done as quickly as possible in 
 order to preserve all the gravy, and the service should 
 be upon hot plates, with currant or damson jelly, or 
 jelly and mustard sauce. Broiled game birds are split 
 dowm the back, and the heads are left on. 
 
 Serve small birds entire; cut the medium-size ones 
 in halves. If there is an abundant supply, serve only 
 the breasts of large birds. When it is necessary to 
 use the entire bird, quarter it, and give the breast to 
 the ladies. 
 
334 FAMILY LIVING ON |500 A YEAR. 
 
 Broiled chickens, when small, are cut in halves, the 
 larger ones in quarters; all portions are good. When 
 a chicken is too large to serve in quarters, it is gener- 
 ally too old to broil. The flesh about the joints of 
 broiled chicken should be cooked until the juice is no 
 longer red. Only the breast of roast domestic ducks 
 and geese is served when there is an abundance; they 
 are carved by cutting from the outside straight down 
 to the breastbone. When it is necessary to serve the 
 entire bird, carve it like roast turkey. 
 
 Roast turkey and chicken are similarly carved. An 
 expert carver can divide poultry without removing the 
 fork from the breastbone or turning the bird on the 
 dish, but a beginner w^ill do well to have a small fork 
 at hand for the purpose of laying cut portions aside 
 as the carving progresses. Turn the bird so that the 
 carving-fork can be held in the left hand and firmly 
 fixed in the breastbone, and use a very sharp knife 
 with a small, flexible blade. First cut off both drum- 
 sticks at the knee-joint, and then remove the second 
 joints. With a tender bird this is not a difiicult mat- 
 ter; but both strength and skill are needed to cope 
 successfully with a tough or underdone turkey, be- 
 cause very strong sinews are plentiful all about the 
 leg joints. Next cut off the first joints of the wings, 
 or the pinions, and then the joints nearest the body. 
 This method of cutting off the first joints of the legs 
 and w' ings before separating them from the body saves 
 that troublesome feat of holding those members while 
 they are being disjointed after being removed from 
 the bird; frequently they slip about on the platter 
 and spatter the dish gravy. 
 
 After the wdngs are removed cut off the merry- 
 thought, or wish-bone, and then the wing side-bones 
 
CARVING AND SERVING. 335 
 
 which hold the breast to the backbone; then carve the 
 breast in medium thin slices, and serve the bird, giving 
 gravy and stuffing on each plate. If the diners are 
 numerous it may be necessary to cut off more of the 
 flesh, and even to dismember the carcass; this can be 
 done with more or less ease as the carver understands 
 the anatomy of the bird. If a carver would study the 
 location of the joints while carving, and take the trouble 
 to cut up several carcasses by striking the points where 
 the bones are jointed together, subsequent carving 
 would be easy. The joints of all birds are similarly 
 placed, so nearly identical in point of junction that 
 one is a guide to all others. The detail of carving 
 poultry, with illustrations and full explanations, can be 
 found in the writer's " Practical Americail Cookery," 
 but if these remarks are studied they will help the 
 learner to acquire this useful art. 
 
 In planning a little dinner, three things are to be 
 considered — facility in its preparation and service, mod- 
 eration in its cost, and its suitability to the needs of 
 the family. If there are diverse tastes, as naturally 
 there may be, they can be met by serving several small 
 dishes rather -than one or two large ones. The fact is 
 pretty generally conceded that the favor with which 
 any dish is received depends upon its appearance and 
 flavor. It does not take long to make the cook un- 
 derstand whether single or combined seasonings are 
 most acceptable, or whether they are liked mild or 
 high. The merest novice in cookery will soon learn 
 that while an unseasoned dish is the most " flat, stale, 
 and unprofitable" of all things, she cannot safely over- 
 charge her productions with any condiment. It is 
 easy enough to add seasoning at the table, but almost 
 impossible to redeem the taste of an overseasoned dish; 
 
336 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 however, the too pungent taste of pepper can be some- 
 what modified by the addition of a little warm milk 
 to the dish containing it; and the excess of salt can be 
 partly overcome by mixing with an oversalted soup, 
 sauce, or stewed dish a teaspoonful of sugar and a 
 tablespoonful of vinegar to each quart of the liquid 
 or semi-liquid food. Of course it is understood that 
 all salted and dried articles of food are to be partly 
 freshened by being soaked for several hours in cold 
 or warm water before they are cooked. 
 
 Secondary only to the flavor of a dish is its appear- 
 ance. The foreign usage of garnishing dishes is gain- 
 ing favor rapidly; in most cultured households as 
 much care is given to the daily service at table as 
 when strangers are expected. A cook or general ser-" 
 vant who cannot be made to appreciate the difference 
 between a pretty dish and one dashed together hap- 
 hazard does not promise mucli satisfaction. Even if 
 there are no green vegetables or lemon available, the 
 food can be so neatly dished as to gain the inviting 
 aspect which appeals to the appetite. If it is dry or 
 solid, like potatoes, cauliflower, boiled or fried fish, 
 breaded meat or poultry, it can be served upon a clean 
 napkin, or on the perforated papers intended for such 
 use. When there is a sauce, the bottom of the dish 
 can be covered with it, the food laid upon the sauce 
 without splashing it over the edge of the dish, and the 
 rest of the sauce sent to the table in a bowl. 
 
 The more tender vegetables, Avliich are served upon 
 toast, such as asparagus, kale, elder and poke berry 
 shoots, can be so arranged as to make a pretty dish ; 
 the toast is intended to serve the purpose of a napkin 
 in absorbing the water that may drain fi'om the veg- 
 etables, but in this country it is sometimes eaten. If 
 
CARVING AND SERVING. 
 
 337 
 
 that is intended, it should be very carefully made, and 
 seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and butter: a very 
 correct diner might think the napkin could be eaten 
 with equal propriety. The toast served under birds 
 or game is esteemed a tidbit, because it receives the 
 trail and gravy; it is all the more delicious if it can 
 be placed under the bird while it is being cooked with- 
 out burning. 
 
 Chops and steaks can be garnished with fried pota- 
 toes, sliced lemon, parsley, or a few green leaves of 
 any salad vegetable, such as celery, endive, w^ater- 
 cress, lettuce, dandelion, fetticus or corn-salad, the 
 tender tops of oyster-plant, a little shaved cabbage, or 
 uncooked tomatoes. 
 
 A border of rice or maslied potatoes makes a good 
 garnish for a curry or a fricassee. Potatoes baked in 
 the pan with meat, or potato or plain rice croquettes, 
 are a good garnish for roast meat and poultry, as also 
 are stuffed potatoes and tomatoes. Green pease and 
 string beans, cooked so as to preserve their color, and 
 mixed wdth little cubes of boiled carrot and turnip, 
 make a good garnish for boiled, braised, or baked meat 
 or poultry. In winter the carrots and turnips can be 
 interspersed w^ith beets so boiled as to retain their 
 color, and then peeled and cut in small dice. The 
 garnish of fried bread is referred to in the directions 
 for making a dish of the giblets of poultry. These 
 crusts, or croHtons, are preferable to toasted bread as 
 a garnish because they are more savory, and they re- 
 tain their crispness for some little time, while the 
 toasted bread soon becomes saturated with the sauce 
 or gravy. AVhen it is not convenient to fry the bread, 
 it can be buttered and put into a very hot oven until 
 it is crisp and brown. 
 22 
 
338 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE SERVICE OF DINNER. 
 
 In preparing for a special service the dining-room 
 should first be made scrupulously clean, then vi^ell 
 warmed to a moderate temperature, and pleasantly 
 lighted. The number of guests indicated, the cloth 
 should be laid smoothly over the under cloth of Can- 
 ton flannel, and the covers or places arranged; all the 
 covers should be laid exactly alike, so that the effect 
 of the table may be symmetrical. If there is plenty 
 of silver and cutlery, as many knives, forks, and spoons 
 as are likely to be used during the course should be 
 arranged thus: at the left side the forks and a large 
 spoon, at the right the knives, and above the water- 
 tumbler and the receptacles for salt and butter; when 
 oysters are served, the plate containing them is set. 
 upon another plate in the centre of the cover — this 
 necessitates laying the napkin beside the forks instead 
 of between the forks and knives. The piece of bread 
 for dinner is cut thick, and not more than three inches 
 across; it should be laid upon the napkin so as to be 
 seen; for a family dinner a plate of similar pieces of 
 bread is put upon the table, for more formal service 
 upon the sideboard ready to be passed. The small 
 salt-cellars and butter plates are used at will, or large 
 salt-cellars are placed near the ends of the table, with 
 spoons laid ujoon them, and pepper casters near them; 
 in such case a small fancy plate may be laid at each 
 
THE SERVICE OP DINNER. 339 
 
 cover to receive the salt, butter, bread, and relishes, 
 and a small, pretty knife beside it. 
 
 Although some people follow the European way of 
 not using butter at dinner, it will ahvays hold its place 
 on the typical American dinner-table ; it should al- 
 ways be cold enough to be firm, but not too hard to 
 be readily cut; small squares and little pats or balls 
 can be laid in ice- water or in salt-and-water until just 
 before serving, or a piece of ice can be placed inside 
 the butter dish; it is well to place a few of the small 
 pieces on the table, and have others in reserve in the 
 cold water. 
 
 When any beverage except water is to be served, 
 the proper glasses are arranged at the upper part of 
 the cover. The proper knives, forks, and sjDOons for 
 serving the various dishes should be arranged at the 
 covers where the dishes are to be 2:)laced, together with 
 the plates required if the dish is cold; if it is hot, the 
 plates are to be brought to the table with it. When 
 table-mats are used they should be placed vrhere they 
 belong, otherwise a large, fine napkin should be laid 
 where any large dish containing sauce is to be served 
 or anv carvins: is to be done. 
 
 The centre of the table sometimes has a fanciful 
 square or width of embroidery or cq?2:>lique^ or a mass 
 of flowers or foliage where the caster or epergne was 
 formerly placed; the caster is seldom used now, the 
 various table-sauces and relishes now being put upon 
 the table in their original bottles or set on the side- 
 board; the relishes, such as olives, salted nuts, gher- 
 kins, salami, etc., are disi3ersed about the table in 
 small, pretty dishes. Usually a low mass of flowers 
 or a dish of fruit is in the middle of the table; the 
 entire picture depends upon the taste of the one who 
 
340 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 lays the table. The mistress will do well to make a 
 careful inspection before the time of service arrives, 
 to make sure that all things needful are either upon 
 the table or sideboard; and unless there is plenty of 
 silver, arrangements should be made for quickly wash- 
 ing it with hot water and soap and drying it with 
 clean towels. 
 
 The laying and serving of a small comj^any dinner 
 is a matter of interest to many housekeepers who do 
 not wish to serve d la Russe. There is a happy com- 
 bination of methods which will answer admirably for 
 the smaller dinners, calculated for the attendance of 
 one servant. In using this form of service, indicated 
 by the diagram, the housekeeper will do well to trace 
 four outlines upon paper that will not tear, to write 
 upon each the names of the dishes Avhich constitute 
 the different courses, putting the name of each dish in 
 the place where she wishes it to be placed upon the 
 table. For instance, let the diagram on opposite page 
 represent the first course; in the place where the fig- 
 ures appear on it let the name of the proper dish be 
 written, according to the list given below the diagram, 
 each list being supposed to represent a course, and the 
 service of the dinner being made in four courses, as 
 follows: in the first course let the fish, soup, boiled po- 
 tatoes, and cucumbers be placed upon the table, to be 
 served as indicated hereafter. After the course has 
 been finished and the dishes removed, let the second 
 course be served, the dishes being placed as follows: 
 the principal dish of the course at No. 2, for the host 
 to serve; if there is a second entree^ place it before the 
 hostess at No. 1; otherwise put there the principal 
 vegetable, and the others at Nos. 3 and 4. In the 
 third course place the roast before the host at No. 2, 
 
THE SERVICE OF DINNER. 
 
 341 
 
342 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the salad at No. 1, with the oil, vinegar, salt, and pep- 
 per within reach; at Nos. 3 and 4 put the cheese and 
 crackers, which many persons like to eat with a green 
 salad. After the roast and salad have been eaten, the 
 table is to be cleared of all things except the cheese, 
 crackers, and the dishes belonging to the dessert; the 
 crumbs are to be removed, the finger-bowls placed ac- 
 cording to the directions given elsewhere, and the 
 chief dessert dish placed before the hostess at No. 1. 
 At Nos. 2, 3, and 4 the smaller dessert, such as candied 
 fruit, macaroons, etc. ; if nuts are served the salt should 
 be returned to the table. 
 
 This is the outline for a simple dinner for six or 
 eight persons. A servant who knows what she has to 
 do, and is not likely to become nervous, can easily at- 
 tend to that number at table, especially if the guests 
 are friends or congenial people. The diagram shows 
 the table properly laid for a small dinner company, 
 and quite suitable for family service, because the wise 
 hostess will be equally well served at all times. Flow- 
 ers, the finest linen, china, and silver will not be used 
 daily; but a dish of seasonable fruit or nuts and raisins 
 can be placed in the centre of the table where the 
 flowers might be, and the daily service made as deli- 
 cately and exactly as upon more ceremonious occasions. 
 If such careful service is an every-day matter, there 
 need be no confusion wdien an unexpected guest is pro- 
 duced by the hospitable master of the house. This 
 fact should be remembered: the more ceremonious 
 the dinner, the greater time there is for service, and 
 more opportunity occurs for general conversation. 
 All this assists the service of unaccustomed atten- 
 dants. 
 
THE SERVICE OF DINNER. 
 
 343 
 
 LIST OF SERVICE BY COURSES. 
 
 FIRST COUIiSE, 
 
 1. Soup. 
 
 2. Fish. 
 
 3. Boiled potatoes. 
 
 4. Cucumbers. 
 
 SECOND COUIISE. 
 
 1. Small entree or vegetable. 
 
 2. Principal dish of course. 
 
 3. Vegetable. 
 
 4. Vegetable. 
 
 THIRD COURSE. 
 
 1. The salad. 
 
 2. The roast. 
 
 3. Cheese. 
 
 4. Crackers. 
 
 FOURTH COURSE. 
 
 1. Principal dessert dish. 
 
 2. Some small sweet. 
 
 3. Macaroons, 
 
 4. Candied fruit or nuts. 
 
 After the dinner-table has been laid, the service of 
 the various dishes is to be considered. The maid 
 should understand what dishes are to be brought to 
 the table at the same time, in what order all are to be 
 removed, and how the table is to be arranged for the 
 course next in service. Less for the purpose of for- 
 mality than convenience, the dinner should be served 
 in courses; that is, the dishes which are to be served 
 at the same time may be designated as a course. 
 
 The soup (which the hostess serves) and the fish 
 may come in the same course, because many persons 
 eat but a few spoonfuls of soup ; while they are taking 
 this the fish may be placed before the host, who may 
 at once begin to serve it. The fish sauce in its boat 
 should be at the right side of the dish, and plain boiled 
 potatoes, in an open vegetable dish, near the fish. The 
 only covering permissible for boiled potatoes is a clean 
 napkin, but this may be omitted. The dish of pota- 
 toes may be passed when the plate of fish is laid be- 
 fore the guest, but the service is facilitated if a potato 
 is laid upon the plate with the fish ; the sauce is to be 
 put upon the fish when it is laid on the plate. As 
 each guest finishes the soup the plate should be re- 
 
344 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 moved at once, and rei^laced Avith tbe plate of fisb; 
 this is to be removed in its turn, and then the guest is 
 supposed to occupy the time until the service of the 
 next course with the various relishes upon the table. 
 
 If there is only one attendant the guests assist each 
 other to the relishes, to bread, water, etc. In this 
 event carafes containing cool water, placed upon the 
 table, are preferable to a water pitcher. A bowl of 
 cracked ice is quite in place upon the table where the 
 company is small and there is only one waiter. A 
 way of freezing the water in the carafes is described 
 by the author in her "Practical American Cookery." 
 
 A few words about serving shell-fish at dinner. If 
 raw 03^sters or clams are included in the dinner, they 
 should be arranged in their shells upon cold plates, 
 with a piece of lemon in the centre of each plate, and 
 the oyster fork laid upon them. Care should be taken 
 to remove every particle of broken shell from the 
 oysters, and they should be very cold ; the plates con- 
 taining them are set on dinner plates, and put at each 
 place at the table before the guests enter the din- 
 ing-room. Althoucrh crackers are served with them 
 at informal dinners, the choice accompaniment is 
 brown bread cut very thin, buttered, and folded to- 
 gether; plates of this are at each end of the table. 
 While the oysters are being eaten, the soup may be 
 placed before the mistress, with the ladle and plates 
 convenient for her to serve it. As she fills each plate 
 the waitress should take it from the left, put it on a 
 small tray, and either pass it at the guest's left hand 
 or place it upon the table by reaching over the right 
 shoulder. The soup plates can be removed by the 
 waitress as soon as each diner has finished eating, and 
 either left in a pile on the side-table near the door, 
 
THE SERVICE OF DINNER. 
 
 345 
 
 ready to be removed, or put at once into the butler's 
 pantry. 
 
 If there is any scarcity of spoons, a jar or pitcher 
 of hot water containing a little washing-soda should 
 be ready to receive them, and a clean towel laid by it 
 for drying them. Both plates and spoons should be 
 handled carefully and v/ithout noise. An expert wait- 
 ress will never lose time by idly waiting for any course 
 to be finished by all the guests; she will be making 
 ready for the service of the next dish, removing empty 
 plates and soiled silver and cutlery as soon as she sees 
 that they are no longer being used. She Avill be pre- 
 pared to remedy accidents: if a glass of water is spilled, 
 or a large spot made upon th ^ table-cloth, she will 
 quietly cover the place with a clean napkin; if claret 
 is spilled, she will spread salt on the stain before lay- 
 ing a fresh napkin over it; if a napkin falls where she 
 can reach it she will quickly restore it, but she must 
 always have several clean ones in reserve, in case it 
 falls under the table, and for covering stains; if a 
 knife, fork, or spoon falls, there must be others to 
 place, instead of putting the fallen piece upon the 
 table. In order to avoid accidents herself, she must 
 move quietly, keep her mind steadily fixed on her 
 work, carry dishes carefully, and hold them firmly in 
 placing them on the table or removing them. She 
 must not fill glasses to overflowing. Before holding a 
 dish to a guest she must see that there is no chance of 
 spilling its contents by tipping. 
 
 After the sou^d and fish have been removed, the entrees 
 or side dishes are in place; or the large boiled or baked 
 dish of poultry, meat, or large game, with its accom- 
 panying vegetables. Sometimes tliis course consists 
 of a joint of baked, boiled, or braised meat, or such 
 
340 PAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 large game as venison; or a Lot pie of game or poul- 
 try. This is the time for serving the most substantial 
 portion of the dinner. 
 
 The roast proj^er, which is in place with the salad 
 before the dessert, should be choice poultry or game 
 birds really roasted or broiled; no cooked vegetable is 
 used w^ith it, but a green salad of any kind, wdth a 
 plain dressing of oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. 
 Between the entree or joint and the roast the Roman 
 punch is served at formal dinners. Although this is 
 usually part of an elaborate dinner, there is no reason 
 w^hy it should not be served on any occasion; as a 
 matter of enjoyment it is beyond question. While 
 there are many expe^ sive sorbets, a 2)lain Avater-ice is 
 quite suitable; a teaspoonful of Jamaica rum in each 
 glass of w^ater-ice makes a simple Roman punch. The 
 Roman punch is brought to the table in large w^ine- 
 glasses set upon small plates, wdth a teaspoon laid on 
 the plate, after the service of joint or entrees, and be- 
 fore the roast. It is most refreshing, especially w^hen 
 the preceding course has been heavy, or the w^eather 
 is oppressive. Like melon or pineapple after a heavy 
 fish course, the sorbet prepares the palate for renewed 
 enjoyment of the roast. 
 
 With the salad that accompanies the roast no cheese 
 is regularly served, but sometimes a green salad with 
 some rich cheese or cheese-straw^s is served as a suc- 
 ceeding course; pepper sticks, made of delicate pastry 
 very pungently seasoned with cayenne, make a good 
 accompaniment for salad. When a combination salad 
 is desired at dinner, it should be served as an entree^' 
 but these salads are best suited for luncheons, suppers, 
 and cold collations. 
 
 After the green salad, the table is cleared for the 
 
THE SERVICE OP DINNER. 347 
 
 dessert. If there is any large sweet, such as a pud- 
 ding or tart, it is served before the ices, creams, can- 
 died fruit, or any of the innumerable sweets which 
 constitute the dessert proper. The finger-bowls are 
 put upon the table when it is prepared for the des- 
 sert course; the detail of their use has already been 
 given. 
 
 The lr.st service is that of the coffee, which at dinner 
 should be strong and hot, in small cups. Loaf-sugar 
 is placed upon the table. When at informal dinners 
 any one desires to use milk, the coffee is served in a 
 large cup. 
 
 To sum up the service in proper order, let the wait- 
 ress proceed as follows: 
 
 Fii'st Course. — If raw oysters or clams are served, 
 let them be upon the table before the guests come into 
 the dining-room. Have on the table either small crisp 
 crackers or plates of buttered brown bread. As soon 
 as the guests are seated, fill the water-glasses. Next 
 bring the soup tureen; the ladle and plates should 
 be upon the table before the mistress. As fast as she 
 fills the soup plates, take them at her left hand upon a 
 small tray and pass them to the left side of the guests. 
 As soon as the soup is served bring in the fish, the hot 
 fish plates, the fish sauce, and the boiled potatoes, and 
 place them before the host. As each guest stops eat- 
 ing soup, remove the plate, and replace it with one of 
 fish, taking care that it contains a potato and some 
 sauce. When all the guests have been served, remove 
 the fish and the soup tureen. Make the service of this 
 first course without losing a moment, and be sure that 
 every one has bread, water, and the relishes within 
 reach. Take away the fish plates as soon as the guests 
 finish eating. If the first course goes off smoothly and 
 
348 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 quickly, the guests are prepared to enjoy the rest of 
 the dinner. 
 
 Second Course. — Bring in the largest hot dish first, 
 and place it before the host, together with the plates 
 needed for it, and its appropriate sauce. While this 
 dish is being carved, bring the other dishes of the 
 course — which will probably be vegetables — and put 
 them in their proper places on the table. As the host 
 serves each plate, carry it to the guest, taking a vege- 
 table Avith it (be sure there is a spoon in the vegetable 
 dish), and as soon as all are helped to the principal 
 dish, pass the remaining ones of the course as quickly 
 as possible. In bringing dishes from the kitchen, take 
 care that they are not too full. Xever put much 
 sauce on a platter; serve the most of it in a sauce-boat; 
 not enough sauce or gravy to spill under a dish that 
 is to be carved; every joint in a dish large enough to 
 contain it after it is carved. Keep your eyes open, 
 and save your steps by removing soiled dishes, filling 
 glasses, and passing sauces and vegetables in the inter- 
 vals of waiting. 
 
 lloinan Punch. — If this refreshing sorhet, or sherbet, 
 is to be served, be making ready for it during the ser- 
 vice of the second course by removing every dish the 
 moment it has been served, and by taking the plates, 
 silver, etc., from before the guests the moment they are 
 no longer needed. Remember that the table should 
 look fresh and orderly for this service to be enjoyed. 
 
 TJiird Course. — After the roast is placed before the 
 host, bring the hot plates, and while it is being carved 
 set the salad before the hostess with cold plates. If 
 it is not dressed, put the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper 
 w^ithin her reach, so that she may dress it Avhile the 
 roast is being passed. Be sure that every one has 
 
THE SERVICE OF DINNER. 349 
 
 bread and water. When the roast is game, and jelly 
 accompanies it, the salad may be served after it, with 
 a little rich cheese: see that there is a knife for the 
 cheese, and that every one has bread to eat with it. 
 
 Fourth Course. — After the salad, take away all 
 the table sauces and all the relishes except the olives 
 and salted nuts. As each guest finishes the salad, re- 
 move the plate. With a large knife like a pie or fish 
 knife scrape the crumbs into a plate or tray — a crumb 
 brush scatters them. Make the table ready for the 
 dessert; place the largest dessert dish before the host- 
 ess, with the proper plates for serving it. Before 
 each guest put a dessert plate containing the finger-bowl 
 set upon a small napkin or doily, and the dessert silver. 
 The guest sets the doily and bowl upon the table, and 
 lays the silver ready for use. If coffee is to be served, 
 put the sugar on the table, and the cream or milk, if it 
 is required. If the dessert includes nuts, see that the 
 nut crackers and picks are where all can reach them, 
 and put salt upon the table. If there is juicy fruit, 
 lay colored fruit napkins; if there are berries or acid 
 fruit, put powdered sugar near them. After making 
 sure that every one is well served, try to arrange the 
 dishes that have been taken from the table in some 
 order for washing, but do not move them noisily or 
 begin to wash them until the guests have left the 
 
350 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 TWO NICE LITTLE DINNERS. 
 
 The prospect of giving a little dinner to a few 
 fastidious friends is one that troubles many a modest 
 housekeeper needlessly. Certain conditions that should 
 not be forgotten, and that insure success if they are 
 observed, have already been defined. Do not attempt 
 to do anything that is not clearly understood both by 
 mistress and servant; and if only one servant is kept 
 let as man}^ things as possible be done in advance, and 
 give her some intelligent help in the kitchen to make 
 sure that nothing is spoiled during her absence in the 
 dining-room. 
 
 Take one of the following little feasts for an initial 
 dinner; as all the ingredients are available wherever 
 canned goods are obtainable, all the dishes can be 
 made at any season of the year; two bills of fare are 
 given, so that a choice may be had; and the sugges- 
 tion is offered that the bulk of such a dinner be hrst 
 served to the family before guests are invited. Every- 
 thing can be so settled that there need be no trouble 
 even at the first service. If any dinner-wine is de- 
 sired, a good native sherrj'- or claret will be quite suf- 
 ficient; but wine can well be dispensed with and yet 
 the dinner be good. The first bill of fare is planned 
 without reference to the use of wine; in the second it 
 is optional, except that the soup is made with claret, 
 but any other soup can be used. , Recipes for many of 
 
TWO NICE LITTLE DINNERS. 
 
 351 
 
 the dishes have been given, and but few brief explana- 
 tions are needed for clear understandinor of both 
 menus. In the first, fresh salmon can be replaced 
 with the canned fish at any season; any good fish for 
 broiling may be used instead of shad, and the salad 
 of the season be served for the celery. If oranges 
 are out, bananas or fresh or canned pears combine ad- 
 mirably with canned apricots. 
 
 Cream of salmon. 
 
 Broiled shad with boiled Bermuda potatoes, and 
 
 Cucumbers or caper butter. 
 
 Salted almonds. Olives. 
 
 Beef a la mode rolls, with green pease. 
 
 Stuffed potatoes. 
 Roast chicken with Ducliesse loaves. 
 
 Celery or salad of season. 
 
 Apricots and oranges. Macaroons. 
 
 Cream-cheese. Coffee. 
 
 A cupful of cooked salmon rubbed through a sieve 
 with a potato-masher, and heated with two quarts of 
 the cream soup described elsew^here, furnishes the 
 soup. The broiling of fish has been fully treated; 
 the potatoes are to be peeled and boiled ; the cucum- 
 bers peeled and sliced, or the caj^er butter made by 
 mixing chopped capers with sweet butter, rolling it in 
 little pats and cooling it before serving. The salted 
 almonds are prepared like salted peanuts, elsewhere 
 described. 
 
 The beef rolls are strips of tender round steak with a 
 small piece of suet or fat salt pork tied wuthin; they are 
 first browned in butter or drippings, then dusted with 
 flour, which is allowed to browm, and after that cov- 
 ered with boiling water, well seasoned wdth salt and 
 pepper, and cooked slowly in the gravy thus made for 
 
352 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 an hour; the strings are taken off before the rolls are 
 served, of course. 
 
 The cooking of green pease has been given, or 
 canned pease can be washed in cold water and then 
 heated, with salt, pepper, and butter. The recijje for 
 stuffed potatoes appears on another page, as does that 
 for the roast chicken. Celery needs to be trimmed 
 and freshened in cold salted water. Full information 
 concerning salads appears in the proper chapter. 
 
 Tlie dish of apricots consists of the fresh or canned 
 fruit nicely arranged in a circle about a mound of 
 oranges cut in small pieces and freed from seeds ; 
 either plenty of powdered sugar is strewn over the 
 fruit, or a rich sj^rup is made by boiling sugar with 
 the juice of the canned apricots. The use of the 
 cream-cheese is described on another page. 
 
 The choice has been made of articles of food pre- 
 sumably familiar to our readers, because the success of 
 such a menu would naturally seem insured to any one 
 accustomed to these methods. In the above bill of 
 fare these dishes can be prepared in advance and left 
 in a cool place; the cucumbers or caper butter, the 
 salted nuts, in a dry place, with the salad and dish of 
 fruit; the stuffed potatoes, the DucJiesse loaves, and 
 the pease can be made ready to heat, and the souj) and 
 beef rolls cooked, and the saucepans containing them 
 placed in a large pan of salted boiling water on the 
 back of the stove. This plan would leave the cook 
 free to prepare and roast the chicken, boil the Ber- 
 muda potatoes, and broil the fish, just before dinner- 
 time. 
 
 So, likewise, in the second bill of fare, the soup, be- 
 ing served cold, could be made at any time, the cu- 
 cumbers and salad put into a cold place, the dessert 
 
TWO NICE LITTLE DINNERS. 353 
 
 frozen and packed in ice, the mushroom sauce finished 
 and kept hot like the soup and beef of the first dinner, 
 the string-beans and cauliflower made ready for the 
 second cooking, the fish prepared to put into the oven, 
 leaving the salmi of duck and the hv oiledi Jilet of beef 
 as the chief sources of attention. The advantage of 
 such an arrangement cannot fail to strike any house- 
 keeper who realizes the importance of avoiding un- 
 necessary worry when the routine of work is changed 
 or increased. The second menu is 
 
 Cold wine soup. 
 Baked white-fish, Forest City style. 
 
 Cucumbers. Boiled potatoes. 
 
 Salted peanuts. Various pickles. 
 
 Salmi of duck with olives. 
 
 Baked cauliflower. 
 
 String-beans, sautes. 
 
 Broiled filet of beef with mushroom sauce. 
 
 Lettuce salad. 
 
 Frozen apples with cream. 
 
 Roquefort cheese. Coffee. 
 
 The recipe for soup is on page 382. The fish is to 
 be freed from skin and bone, cut in pieces about two 
 inches square, laid in a dish suitable for the table, sea- 
 soned with salt and white pepper, and moistened with 
 white "wine, preferably Sauterne. Upon the upper 
 layer a few bits of butter are laid, and over the dish a 
 cover or soup plate slightly buttered is turned. A 
 half -hour before dinner it is to be put into a moderate 
 oven and slowly baked until the flakes begin to sepa- 
 rate, but it must not brown. It is to be served in the 
 dish in which it is baked, with a dish of plain boiled 
 potatoes and another of sliced cucumbers. 
 
 The duck, which may be dressed and cut in small 
 joints before cooking, is to be browned in its owm 
 
 9 ft 
 
354 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 fat, dusted with dry flour, Avliicli is also browned, and 
 then covered with boiling water, and slowly stewed 
 until tender. A palatable seasoning of salt and pep- 
 per, and a cupful of olives are to be added at any time. 
 Like the beef rolls of the first bill of fare, the duck can 
 be cooked in advance and kept hot in a pan of hot 
 water. Just before serving it a glass of sherry or 
 Madeira is to be added. 
 
 The cauliflower is first to be washed, then boiled just 
 tender in salted boiling water; after it is drained, trans- 
 fer it to a baking-dish, pour around it about a pint of 
 the white sauce so often described, dust it with fine 
 crumbs and a little grated cheese, if this is available, 
 dot it with butter, and keep it in a cool place until 
 fifteen minutes before dinner-time; then brown it in a 
 hot oven. The beans are to be boiled only tender in 
 salted boiling water, and laid in cold Avater until near- 
 ly dinner-time; then drain them and heat them in a 
 frying-pan, with a tablespoonful each of grated onion, 
 butter, and chopped jitarsley, and mushrooms. Canned 
 beans may be washed in cold water and heated in the 
 same way. 
 
 To make the sauce, open a can of mushrooms; put 
 into a saucepan a tablespoonful each of flour and but- 
 ter, and stir them over the fire until they are light 
 brown; then gradually stir in the liquor from the can, 
 and enough boiling Avater to make a sauce of the prop- 
 er consistency; that is, thick enough to coat the spoon 
 used for stirring it; season the sauce with salt and j^ej)- 
 per, put in the mushrooms, and keep the sauce hot like 
 the salmi. Just before serving it add a glass of wine, 
 and send it to the table with the hroiledi Jilet and a dish 
 of salad. 
 
 Thafilety or tenderloin, of beef is cut about an inch 
 
TWO NICE LITTLE DINNERS. 355 
 
 tbick, broiled over a hot fire five minutes on each side, 
 seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, and served on a 
 hot platter as soon as it is cooked, with the sauce in a 
 bowl, and the salad of lettuce. 
 
 The Hoquefort cheese may come before the frozen 
 apples or after, at the will of the diners. It is to be 
 served with thin water crackers and sweet butter; the 
 unleavened bread or Matzo crackers are excellent for 
 this service. 
 
 The frozen apple can be prepared at any time, a 
 sweetened apple-sauce being frozen like ice-cream, and 
 served in the same way with a dish of whipped cream. 
 Canned apples or evajoorated apples stewed are as good 
 as freshly stewed apples, and often less expensive. 
 Full directions for freezing are giving in the chapter 
 on the use of fruit. 
 
 The whipped cream can easily be prepared early in 
 the day, and left in a cool place, in the colander set 
 upon a dish, until time to send it to the table. Put 
 the cream into a large bowl, oversweeten it, and add 
 any desired flavoring; beat it with an egg-whip with 
 quick strokes for two or three minutes, then leave it 
 for a minute; the bubbles will break and the foam 
 concentrate so that it can be skimmed off into a colan- 
 der set in a deep dish. Repeat the beating and skim- 
 ming until the cream is nearly all used; that which 
 drains from the colander can be poured back into the 
 bowl and whipped again. The cream should be sweet 
 and cool, and the motion of whipping brisk; a slow, 
 lazy motion would churn the cream, and probably pro- 
 duce butter. Keep the whipped cream in a very cold 
 place. 
 
 On other pages the laying of the table and its ser- 
 vice is fully considered. If the mistress will follow 
 
350 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the suggestions given to have a careful and dainty ser- 
 vice every day, and then will compose her company 
 dinners after the method outlined here, she will be 
 able to entertain with comfort to herself and her 
 household, and with enjoyment to her guests. Un- 
 fortunately for mistresses, there are some servants who 
 are constitutional grumblers; they Avould demur under 
 all circumstances, like Howells' pig, whose principal 
 grievance was the fact that he was a pig. There is 
 no hope of reformation in them, and no consolation in 
 possessing them. They never will be any good until 
 they are dead; and so a housekeeper afflicted with one 
 of the species had better do away with her at once, 
 while yet life offers some inducement to live. But 
 with a bright, intelligent girl she can accomplisli all 
 the domestic triumphs that are suggested to her in 
 this or anv other of the author's works. 
 
SPRING DINNERS. 357 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 SPRING DINNERS. 
 
 While tlie articles from which this book is com- 
 piled were being published in Harper^s Bazar many- 
 requests were received for seasonable bills of fare and 
 accompanying recipes, and the satisfaction which at- 
 tended their issue was great enough to warrant their 
 reproduction in this permanent form. Among the first 
 appeared the following: 
 
 Consomme a la royale. 
 
 Carrots and turnips glazed. 
 
 Bagout of beef with Lima beans. 
 
 Baked veal-cutlet. 
 
 Corn-salad, Bomaine dressing. 
 
 Salted peanuts. 
 
 Mrs. Locke's white custards. 
 
 Fruit. Coffee. 
 
 The soups which have been given so far have been 
 the inexpensive kinds, made without broth or stock. 
 While it is a fact that the soup kettle wellmanaged is 
 an aid to economy, it is equally true that meat bought 
 especially for clear soup, or consomme, or for bouillon, 
 costs a considerable sum. The butchers prefer to sell 
 the leg or shin for soup, and many cooks have a fixed 
 idea that they must have an entire cut for stock at least 
 twice a week. The cost of a shin is from thirty to fifty 
 cents — as much as we have usually to spare for our 
 dish of meat. Such expenditure would be inadmissi- 
 
358 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 ble in our sclieme of living unless we could show how 
 to turn the soup materials into several dishes. The 
 soup meat and vegetables required for our current bill 
 of fare serve as well for the ragoUt of beef and the 
 dish of glazed vegetables. If the soup meat contains 
 a section of marrow-bone, the fact must be remembered 
 that the substance of the marrow would be practically 
 wasted in the soup, while if it is taken from the bone 
 before cooking, it may serve as part of some such dish 
 as is described in the pages devoted to marrow. If the 
 quantity is small it may be finely minced, laid upon 
 delicate slices of bread, seasoned with salt and pepper, 
 and put into a hot oven just long enough to soften the 
 marrow and crisp the bread. This tidbit must be served 
 as soon as it is done. 
 
 The royale custard for the soup would be an ex- 
 travagance if the whites of the eggs were not utilized. 
 If for any reason the white custards — a special dish of 
 that admirable economist, Mrs. Clinton Locke — are 
 not desired, the whites should be put upon a platter 
 and dried by gentle heat until they are perfectly fri- 
 able. In this condition they can be powdered and 
 kept perfectly free from moisture in a closed glass 
 jar. When they are required for use, mix them with 
 half their measure of cold water until they are com- 
 pletely dissolved; they will be as available as the fresh 
 whites, and can even be beaten to a froth. 
 
 The proportion of meat and bone for soup stock is 
 a pound of meat and bone to a quart of water. As the 
 stock will keep for several days, three or four pounds 
 of meat can be used at once. Have the butcher cut 
 the meat from the bone in a large i^iece, and crack the 
 bone small; if it contains marrow, keep it as unbroken 
 as possible. If there is any fat upon the meat, trim it 
 
SPRING DINNERS. 
 
 359 
 
 off and save it for drippings, but there should not be 
 much. Wipe the meat with a wet cloth, but do not 
 wash it; put the bone in the bottom of the soup ket- 
 tle, lay the meat on it, pour cold water over the meat 
 in the proportion of a quart to a pound, and place the 
 soup kettle over the fire. As fast as any scum rises, 
 remove it with a skimmer; the scum is composed of 
 blood and albumen, and is removed only because the 
 soup is wanted clear; it is not rejected on the score of 
 uncleanness, and may be added to any thick soup or 
 brown sauce; a good French cook alwaj^s saves the 
 skimmings of the clear soup to use in dishes that lack 
 savor and nutriment. AYhile the soup stock is being 
 skimmed, peel a small onion without trimming the root 
 and top closely enough to separate the layers, and in- 
 sert a dozen whole cloves in it. Wash a handful of 
 parsley — that is, two or three roots with the stalks and 
 leaves attached; lay it on the left hand; in the midst 
 of it put a small blade of mace, a sprig of any dried 
 herb except sage, a dozen peppercorns or an inch of 
 dried red pepper, and a small bay-leaf; wrap the root 
 and leaves of the j^arsley about the smaller dried sea- 
 sonings so as to enclose them, and tie them in a com- 
 pact little bundle with a string; a stalk of celery or a 
 few green leaves may be used with the other herbs if 
 it is in season ; this makes a bouquet, or fagot, of herbs, 
 which gives the soup an indescribably delicious flavor. 
 Wash a large turnip and a carrot, and peel them, leav- 
 ing them whole. Add all these vegetables to the soup 
 after it is clear, with a level tablespoonful of salt; 
 cover the kettle, and place it where its contents will 
 boil slowly from one side for at least three hours: the 
 soup will be better if it boils four or five hours. 
 
 When the vegetables are tender, but not broken, 
 
300 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 take up the carrot and turnip and cool them. Take 
 out the meat when it is tender, but let all the other 
 ingredients boil in the soup. When it is done, strain 
 it through a clean towel laid double in a colander set 
 over an e^arthen bowl, and let it cool; cover it with a 
 thin cloth or a sieve, to keej^ out the flies, but not 
 with anything which can confine the steam. After 
 the soup stock is cold take oSP the fat upon its surface, 
 saving it to clarify, according to the directions given 
 for drippings. To clarify the soup, mix for each quart 
 the white and shell of an egg and a tables^DOonful of 
 cold water in a saucepan, pour in the stock, set it over 
 the fire, and stir it occasionally to keep the egg loos- 
 ened from the saucepan until the stock begins to boil; 
 then place the saucej^an at the side of the fire where 
 the soup can boil gently until it looks as clear as wine 
 under the thick scum of egg upon the surface. It 
 will then be ready to strain through a folded towel 
 laid in a colander; the soup must be allowed to run 
 through without squeezing the towel, for that might 
 force through some tiny particles of egg. The soup 
 should be perfectly clear and sparkling, about the color 
 of sherry; it will then be ready to season, heat, and 
 serve. This may seem a rather long and tedious proc- 
 ess, but it is the only one that will insure a good, 
 clear soup, or coiisortime. Some pieces of royale cus- 
 tard heated in clear soup make the soup named on 
 our bill of fare. The royale custard is made by mix- 
 ing the yolks of two raw eggs with a half -gill of 
 clear soup and a grate of nutmeg; beat the custard 
 well, pour it into a shallow oiled dish, and set it in a 
 pan of hot water, in a moderate oven, to harden; do 
 not let it brown, only become firm enough to cut in 
 strips; cut the custard in small strips or diamonds. 
 
SPEING DINNEPwS. 
 
 361 
 
 put it into the hot clear soup, or consomme, and serve 
 it. 
 
 The veal -cutlet should be cut about two inches 
 thick from a rather small leg, and all the fat should 
 be cooked with it. After wiping it with a wet cloth 
 to remove the bone dust, lay it in a pan just large 
 enough to hold it, and bake it for about an hour, or 
 until the flesh is quite w^hite; during baking season it 
 with salt and white pepper, and, if the fat is deficient, 
 baste it with a tablespoonful of butter. When the 
 veal is done, transfer it to a hot, deep platter, and 
 keep it hot; set the dripping-pan on the stove, stir in 
 a tablespoonful of flour, and brown it, and then a pint 
 of boiling water, and a palatable seasoning of salt and 
 pepper; as soon as the gravy boils it will be ready to 
 serve, some around the veal and the rest in a bowl. 
 
 The ragoilt is made from the soup meat cut in inch 
 squares, rolled in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, 
 and browned in two tablespoonfuls of hot drippings 
 or butter; when the beef is brown, cover it with boil- 
 ing water, and season it palatably. Open a can of 
 Lima beans, drain them, wash them v\'ith cold water, 
 and again drain them, and then heat them with the 
 beef, and serve them with it. Or a cupful of dried 
 Lima beans may be soaked overnight in cold water, 
 simmered until tender the next day in boiling watei", 
 and then added to the beef and gravy. 
 
 The glazed vegetables are prepared by cutting the 
 carrot and turnip which were cooked in the soup in 
 small dice; just before dinner-time put a frying-pan 
 over the fire containing a tablespoonful each of butter 
 and sugar, and stir them until they begin to brown; 
 then put in the vegetables, shake them about in the 
 pan to coat them with the butter and sugar, and then 
 
302 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 serve them hot; be careful not to break them in glaz- 
 ing them. 
 
 The custards are made by heating a pint and a half 
 of cream or milk; stir the four whites of egg until 
 liquid, and then stir the hot cream into them ; sweeten 
 and flavor the custard, put it into cups set in a pan of 
 water, cover the cups Avith thick brown paper to pre- 
 vent the coloring of the custards, and bake them in a 
 moderate oven only until they are firm. Use the cus- 
 tards hot or cold. If the whites are beaten before the 
 cream is added to them, they may rise to the surface 
 of the custards in baking, leaving the lower portion 
 liquid, like whey in a custard. If after the whites of 
 eofs:, suGfar, and hot cream are mixed tosfether thev do 
 not seem perfectly smooth, the custard may be strained 
 before it is put into cups. In making these custards 
 in cooking-lessons very fine powdered sugar is used, 
 because it dissolves quickly; the sugar and whites are 
 stirred together for a moment, and the hot cream is 
 then mixed with them until the sugar is entirely dis- 
 solved. 
 
 The salad is to be carefully washed in cold water, 
 shaken dry in a towel, and dressed with a Momaine 
 sauce. Make the sauce by mixing together a tea- 
 spoonful each of grated onion and lemon juice, a salt- 
 spoonful each of salt, dry mustard, powdered sugar, 
 and white pepper, one tablespoonful of vinegar, and 
 three of oil. The corn-salad is a small, tender leaf 
 about the size of cultivated sorrel. Any green salad 
 can be dressed in this way. 
 
 The salted peanuts make a good relish. Shell them, 
 remove the skins, put them into a dripping-pan with 
 just enough butter to make them glossy, and then 
 brown them in a hot oven, shaking the pan frequently 
 
SPRING DINNERS. 3g3 
 
 to make them brown evenly. When the nuts are 
 brown, sprinkle them with salt. Salted almonds are 
 prepared in the same way. 
 
 Another good spring bill of fare is 
 
 O^'ster cream soup. 
 
 Philadelphia fried oysters, with brown gravy, in 
 
 Mashed potato border, 
 
 New beets fried. 
 
 Ragout of small birds. 
 
 Breast of lamb with tomatoes. 
 
 Cream-cheese salad. 
 
 Swiss pudding with lemon sauce. 
 
 Nuts, cheese, and coffee. 
 
 The dish of lamb and the pudding require the long- 
 est time for cooking of any of the dishes on the bill of 
 fare. The lamb is to be wiped with a wet cloth, the 
 bones cut out and placed in a saucepan, the lamb sea- 
 soned with salt and pepper; if it is desirable to in- 
 crease the size of the dish, put on the inside of the 
 lamb a layer of bread-crumbs mixed with one Qgg, a 
 tablespoonful of butter, an even teaspoonful of salt, 
 and a quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper ; roll the 
 lamb and tie it in a compact roll, put it into the sauce- 
 pan with the bones, and brown them over a hot fire; 
 dredge a tablesj^oonful of dry flour over them, and 
 brown that; put with the lamb a quart of fresh or 
 canned tomatoes, peeled and sliced; season the to- 
 matoes highly with salt and pepper; if the sauce they 
 make is thicker than a good gravy, add enough boil- 
 ing water to make it of the proper consistency, and 
 cook the lamb slowly for an hour, or until it is tender; 
 then remove the string, and serve the lamb with the 
 tomato sauce. 
 
 After the lamb is placed over the fire, put there also 
 
304 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 a largo saucepan partly filled with water to heat, and 
 make the pudding. Butter a tin pudding mould and 
 dust it with flour; sift together half a pound or a 
 scant pint of flour, a heaping teaspoonful of baking 
 powder, and an even one of salt; rub four ounces of 
 granulated sugar with two ounces of butter until they 
 are mixed to a granular condition, but not at all 
 creamy; stir tlie flour with the sugar and butter, then 
 quickly mix with them one Qgg, half a pint of milk, 
 and half a teaspoonful of lemon extract; Avork quick- 
 ly; as soon as the pudding is mixed put it into the 
 buttered and floured mould, cover the mould to ex- 
 clude the water, if the pudding does not fill it more 
 than half, buttering the inside of the cover; otherwise 
 leave off the cover of the mould, but take care that no 
 water boils into the pudding; the water in the sauce- 
 pan should reach about two thirds up the side of the 
 mould, and should boil steadily for three quarters of 
 an hour, the saucepan being covered to prevent the 
 escape of steam. Test the pudding with a broom 
 straw or a small knife-blade to make sure that it is 
 done. If the pudding is done before it is time to 
 serve it, let it remain in the mould, standing in the 
 hot water, but not boiling. The pudding is to be 
 turned from the mould and served with a lemon sauce 
 made thus: grate the yellow rind of a lemon; squeeze 
 and strain the juice; put over the fire a tablespoonful 
 each of butter and flour, and stir them smooth; then 
 gradually stir in a pint of boiling water, four table- 
 spoonfuls of sugar, and the lemon rind, and let the 
 sauce boil once; just before serving it add the lemon 
 juice. A heaping tablespoonful of sugar and a scant 
 one of butter arc equal to about an ounce of cither 
 substance. 
 
SPRING DINNERS. 355 
 
 The beets are to be washed without breaking the 
 skins, boiled tender — about half an hour if they are 
 young — and then sliced, and fried with salt, pepper, 
 and butter. The potatoes are to be peeled, sliced, 
 boiled tender in salted boiling water, then drained 
 and mashed through a colander held above a platter; 
 after the potatoes are mashed, shape them around the 
 inside of the rim of the platter like a little wall, using 
 two forks to press them lightly into shape; set the 
 platter in the oven to keep the potatoes warm. 
 
 After putting the beets and potatoes to boil, wash 
 a head of lettuce, dry it carefully on a clean towel, 
 arrange it in a salad bowl with a small cream-curd 
 cheese, or a roll of fresh Jersey Neufchdtel cheese; 
 pour over the salad six tablespoonfuls of oil, two of 
 vinegar, add a saltspoonful of salt and a quarter of a 
 saltspoonf al of pepper, and keep it in a cold place un- 
 til the time for serving it. This is a delicious break- 
 fast salad for a warm morning; served with good cof- 
 fee and fresh rolls, it makes a refreshing and whole- 
 some breakfast. 
 
 After preparing the vegetables and salad, make the 
 soup and fry the oysters, using a quart of good ones 
 for both dishes; strain the oyster broth, and add to it 
 enough water to make a quart, and a quart of milk, 
 and put them over the fire to heat slowly; then care- 
 fully remove all bits of shell from the oysters, and lay 
 them on a clean towel; when all are ready, roll them 
 in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. About ten 
 minutes before the oysters are Avanted for the table, 
 put a frying-pan over the fire with enough butter and 
 lard or good salad-oil mixed equally to cover the bot- 
 tom of the pan half an inch deep; let the fat get hot, 
 put in the oysters, and fry them light brown; then 
 
QQQ FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 take them up one by one to allow the fat to drain off, 
 and lay them inside the border of mashed potatoes; 
 stir a heaping teaspoonf ul of dry flour into the frying- 
 pan, gradually mix in enough boiling water to make a 
 good gravy, let it boil, season it with salt and pepper, 
 and serve it with the fried oysters and mashed potatoes. 
 The soup may be hastily made after the oysters are 
 laid ui)on the towel to dry. Put two tablespoonfuls 
 each of butter and flour over the fire, and stir them 
 until they are smoothly blended; then gradually stir 
 in the hot milk and oyster liquor. When all has been 
 used, season the soup palatably with salt, white pep- 
 per, and a very little nutmeg. Let the soup boil once, 
 and then serve it. This soup should be made in a 
 thick saucepan to prevent burning; if a double kettle 
 is used, longer time should be allowed for making it. 
 A few oysters may be added to it if they are desired, 
 but it is very delicate without them. If it is allowed 
 to stand any length of time after it is made it may 
 become too thick; in that case add suflicient hot milk 
 to produce the desired consistency. If the soup is 
 carefully made it will be free from lumps, and there 
 will be no necessity for straining it. Like all cream 
 soups, it will need to be kept hot by placing the sauce- 
 pan in a pan of hot water, unless it is to be used as 
 soon as it is made. 
 
 Cream of carrots. 
 
 Potatoes baked in cream sauce. 
 
 Chicken pie. 
 
 Stewed new cabbage. 
 
 Drumsticks and pinions, with orange salad. 
 
 French candies. 
 
 Coffee. 
 
 The first glance at this bill of fare shows a blend- 
 
SPRING DINNEKS. 36^ 
 
 ing of the fine with tlie commonplace, and a sugges- 
 tion of possible extravagance in cream. But the house- 
 keeping expert will not take alarm, knowing that in 
 good cookery the nature of things is interchangeable, 
 and that milk is the basis of many " cream " dishes. 
 The soup is a representative one, such as can be made 
 from any seasonable vegetable which possesses dis- 
 tinctive flavor or color, either one being sufficient to 
 give character to a cream soup. 
 
 To begin the preparations for dinner, peel and slice 
 enough bright orange-colored carrot to nearly fill a pint 
 bowl, and put it over the fire to boil in a quart of boil- 
 ing water slightly salted; while the rest of the dinner 
 is being cooked, let the carrot boil until it is soft enough 
 to rub through a sieve or fine colander, with a potato- 
 masher or a wooden spoon, in the form of a pulp or 
 puree. Fifteen minutes before dinner heat a quart of 
 milk; mix together over the fire in a thick saucepan 
 two tablespoonfuls each of flour and butter, stirring 
 them with a small wooden pudding-stick until they are 
 smoothly blended and begin to bubble together; then 
 gradually stir with them heated milk, the carrot pulp, 
 and enough hot water to make about two quarts of 
 soup as thick as good cream; season the soup palata- 
 bly with salt and pepper, let it boil, and then serve it. 
 Like other soups made with butter and flour, it -will 
 thicken by standing; should it become too thick, mix 
 in a little hot milk. When green pease, string-beans, 
 asparagus tops, or lettuce are in season, the appearance 
 of the soup is much improved by the addition of about 
 half a cupful of either, boiled tender in salted boiling 
 water, drained, thrown for a moment into cold water 
 to set the color, and then again drained and put into 
 the soup. Care should be taken to boil the green vege- 
 
368 FAMILY LIVING ON 1500 A YEAR. 
 
 tables in actually boiling salted water, and only until 
 they are tender, but not at all broken. The pease 
 should have the pods washed before they are shelled 
 and boiled; the beans should be cut in long diagonal 
 strips and boiled; the lettuce in narrow strips, about 
 two inches long, boiled for a minute in salted boiling 
 water, and then thrown into cold w^ater before being 
 put into the soup. The contrast of color is exceeding- 
 ly pretty, and the effect good. 
 
 Either one large or two small chickens will answer 
 for both of the dishes mentioned on the bill of fare; 
 those poor skeletons are not meant whose purplish 
 flesh, showing under the skin of the back and legs, 
 suggests their having been too often left out overnight 
 in the cold, but plump, comfortable-looking birds that 
 have been able to accumulate a layer of fat between 
 the flesh and skin. One j^oung fowl weighing about 
 four pounds w^ill serve, if the bones are small and well 
 covered with tender flesh, or two smaller ones. Poul- 
 try with disproportionately large bones is apt to have 
 coarse, stringy flesh, unless it is carefully fed. The 
 age of poultry can easily be decided by examining the 
 lower end of the breastbone; if it is soft and pliable — 
 in other w^ords, if the cartilage has not yet hardened 
 into bone — the bird is still young, and may reasonably 
 be thought tender; there should be some appearance 
 of fat under the skin, and the bones should be well 
 covered with flesh. Care should be taken to select 
 clean-looking poultry, perfectly sweet in odor, and with 
 unbroken skin. 
 
 After the feathers and pinfeathers are removed the 
 bird should be singed, carefully wiped with a wet 
 towel, and drawn without breaking the intestines. 
 The tips of the wings should be cut off, and the legs 
 
SPRING DINNERS. 
 
 369 
 
 just below the knee-joint. The head, neck, and crop 
 are also to be removed, the neck being cut in pieces. 
 The v/ings should be cut off with a piece of the breast 
 attached to each; the drumsticks and second joints are 
 to be cut off together, and part of the bone taken out 
 through a clean cut from the inside. Lay the legs 
 and wings aside, and use the body of the bird as fol- 
 lows: To make a chicken pie, cut the chicken in pieces 
 about two inches square, taking out some'of the most 
 unmanageable bones ; put the chicken over the fire 
 with enough butter to prevent burning, and brown it 
 quickly, dust the browned chicken with Hour, and move 
 it about in the pan until the flour is brown; then cover 
 it with boiling water, season it palatably with salt and 
 pepper, and let it stew very slowly while the crust is 
 being made. 
 
 To make good plain flaky pastry, use either the best 
 lard, white and firm, or the best butter. It is not 
 reasonable to hope to make good pastry or cake un- 
 less prime materials are used. Allow half as much 
 shortening as flour, by weight ; that is, half a pound 
 of flour and a quarter of a pound of butter will cover 
 a chicken pie in a baking-dish, or make two fruit pies 
 of ordinary size. Avoid melting the shortening, and 
 thus heating the pastry, by handling it. Sift the flour, 
 mix it with just enough cold v/ater to make a dough 
 which can be rolled out without sticking to the hands 
 or the pastry board; use a little extra flour in rolling 
 out the pastry; roll it out about square, and half an 
 inch thick; lay the shortening on it in rather large 
 slices, leaving a clear margin around the outer edge of 
 about an inch; fold this in towards the centre, and 
 then double the pastry together so as to enclose the 
 shortening; roll and fold the pastry quickly several 
 24 
 
370 FAMILY LIVING ON foOO A YEAR. 
 
 times ; each fold makes a fresh layer in the pastry; 
 work rapidly ; do not melt the shortening ; bake the 
 pastry in a rather quick oven, and it will be light and 
 tender. 
 
 Either line an earthen dish entirely or only half- 
 way down the sides with the pastry; put in the stewed 
 chicken and gravy, cover the pie with a top crust, wet- 
 ting the under crust to make the two adhere. Do not 
 pinch or press the outer edges of the crust, because 
 that will destroy the layers, but cut them sharply off 
 with a keen-bladed knife. Cut several apertures in 
 the top crust to permit the escape of steam while the 
 pie is being baked. If the top crust is prettily cut or 
 ornamented with figures of flowers and leaves made 
 from the pastry, and then brushed with beaten egg 
 before it is baked, the pie will be very inviting in ap- 
 pearance. It should be baked in a moderate oven un- 
 til the crust is done. If there is any sign of burning, 
 a large sheet of thick paper should be rubbed with but- 
 ter or lard and laid double over the pie to protect it 
 from the intense heat. The pie should bake in less 
 than an hour, and be served hot in the baking-dish; as 
 the chicken is already cooked, only the crust has to be 
 baked, and the more quickly that is done, the more 
 palatable will be the pie. The excellence of all pastry 
 depends upon the quick, light touch of the baker. 
 After putting the pie in the oven, lay the wings and 
 legs of the chicken between the bars of a double wire 
 gridiron, well buttered, and have them ready to broil 
 about the time of finishing the soup, so that they will 
 be hot and brown when dinner is ready. Broil them 
 quickly, so as to preserve their juice; season them with 
 salt, pepper, and butter, and serve them with an orange 
 salad, or garnish them with tart oranges sliced. 
 
SPRING DINNERS. 
 
 371 
 
 An orange salad is made by slicing tart, juicy- 
 oranges, removing the seeds, arranging tliem on a 
 salad dish, and dressing them with salad-oil, salt, a 
 squeeze of lemon juice, and a dust of cayenne. There 
 is no more delicious accompaniment for broiled or 
 roasted poultry or game. 
 
 After the pie is in the oven, peel half a dozen sound 
 white potatoes, cut them in slices about a quarter of 
 an inch thick, letting them fall into cold water as they 
 are sliced. When all are done, put them into an earth- 
 en dish suitable to send to table, season them rather 
 highly with pepper, salt, and butter, pour over them 
 sufficient milk to entirely cover them, and bake them 
 for about half an hour, or until they are tender. Serve 
 them hot in the baking-dish. 
 
 Full directions for boiling cabbage and making 
 cream sauce have been given. 
 
 French candies are made by two methods, the sim- 
 plest of which is given here; the more elaborate for- 
 mula will be the subject of subsequent observations. 
 One ingredient is sometimes difficult to obtain — the 
 finely powdered sugar called XXX, or confectioner's 
 sugar; it is as fine and smooth as flour. Any good 
 grocers' jobber will supply it; the candy cannot be 
 m^ade successfully vvithout it. Sift the XXX sugar 
 to insure perfect smoothness; separate the white and 
 yolk of a fresh egg, and measure the white; add to 
 the white an equal measure of cold water; then grad- 
 ually work in the sugar until as much has been used 
 as is necessary to form a thick creamy paste which can 
 be rolled in the hands without stickino^ to them. This 
 cream is the basis of cream walnuts and other cream 
 nut and fruit candies. 
 
 To make cream walnuts, remove the nuts from the 
 
372 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 sliells, keeping the kernels intact; roll a little ball of 
 the cream candy, put two nuts on opposite sides of the 
 ball, flatten it between them, and the confection is 
 made. The candies may be used as soon as they are 
 made; they will keep good for several days. Other 
 forms of using this cream will be given later. 
 
SUMMER DINNERS. 3*73 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 SUMMER DINNERS. 
 
 A TYPICAL summer dinner is based upon fish, the 
 only meat nsed being a little already cooked, for stuff- 
 ing the baked peppers. The repast will probably be 
 found hearty enough for the season. The bill of 
 
 fare is: 
 
 Shad roes with potatoes. 
 
 New cabbage stewed in milk. 
 
 Baked peppers with gravy. 
 
 Planked shad. 
 
 Barrow tomato salad. 
 
 Strawberry short-cake. 
 
 Coffee. 
 
 The entire dinner can be prepared in about two hours. 
 The objection is sometimes made that on busy house- 
 hold days a great deal of time must be given to the 
 making of many of the dishes included in our list. 
 Much time is demanded; but w^hen the truth is realized 
 that no other household department is more important 
 than the table, and that the excellence of the dishes 
 largely dej^ends upon the time given to their prepara- 
 tion, the objection cannot be sustained. 
 
 The straw^berry short-cake is' the old ideal dainty, 
 seldom seen in these days, when a few sour berries are 
 hidden in layers of dry cake, to the utter confusion of 
 the anticipations aroused by the name. As it is eaten 
 cold, it may be made at any time in advance of dinner. 
 For two medium-size cakes use a pound of flour, half 
 
374 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 a pound of good butter, about a pint of milk,-and ei- 
 ther baking j^owder or cream-tartar and soda; if the 
 last-named ingredients are used, be sure that they are 
 fresh and of good strength, and reduce them to a pow- 
 der, allowing a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to half 
 that quantity of soda. Sift together the flour, an even 
 teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonf uls of baking powder, 
 or the above-named quantity of cream of tartar and 
 soda; add a quarter of a pound of batter, chopping it 
 into the flour with a knife; butter or flour two tin pie 
 plates, and see that the oven is hot; quickly stir with the 
 flour enougli milk to make a dough whicli can be di- 
 vided in two cakes and flattened on the pie plates; put 
 them into a hot oven, and bake them about twenty 
 minutes, or until a straw run into them can be with- 
 drawn clean. If in about five minutes the cakes begin 
 to burn, cover them with buttered paper until they 
 are nearly done, and then remove it to allow them to 
 brown. Partly cool the short-cakes after they are 
 done, tear them apart with a fork, and spread the sec- 
 ond quarter of a pound of butter on them while they 
 are still warm enough to melt it, applying it so lightly 
 that the short-cake is not made heavy. While the 
 cakes are being baked, hull three pints of ripe straw- 
 berries, or more if they are not too expensive. In 
 city markets in June the berries average in cost about 
 fifteen cents a quart. Do not wash the berries unless 
 they are very sandy; then do it as fast as possible, and 
 lay them on a clean towel to dry. After the short- 
 cakes are buttered, distribute the berries over them, 
 placing the finest upon the slices designed for the top; 
 dust them plentifully with finely powdered sugar, free 
 from lumps, and lay the slices one above the other. 
 Keep the short-cakes in a cool place; if cream is to be 
 
SUMMER DINNERS. 
 
 375 
 
 served with them, have it very cold, and do not pour it 
 over the cakes until they are cut. Just before serving, 
 dust them again with powdered sugar, and send more 
 to the table with them, and a pitcher of cream if the 
 indulgence can be permitted. In cities cream costs 
 from thirty to fifty cents a quart, and less in the coun- 
 try if there is no local creamery to monopolize it; the 
 most economical way to use cream with fruit or short- 
 cakes is to sweeten it and then whip it ; keep it very 
 cold until it is served. 
 
 The peppers may be prepared for baking in advance. 
 Either wash and wipe them, or blister them before the 
 fire or in a very hot oven, and rub off the outer skin, 
 being careful not to break them (this operation is rath- 
 er diflicult, and not absolutely necessary) ; cut out the 
 stem end in a circular piece (which serves to close the 
 l^eppers again after they are stuffed), making an aper- 
 ture large enough to admit of removing the seeds with 
 a teaspoon; the seeds are very pungent and indigesti- 
 ble, but they may be dried for seasoning catsups; mix 
 in equal quantities enough cold meat finely chopped 
 and soft bread crumbs to fill the peppers, seasoning 
 them with salt and butter or gravy; stuff the peppers, 
 and put in the stem end; set them in an earthen dish, 
 pour cold gravy around them, and before dinner-time 
 bake them half an hour in a moderate oven. The 
 chopped meat may be replaced by sausage-meat fried 
 wdth a little finely minced onion; and if no gravy is at 
 hand, some may be quickly made by browning to- 
 gether over a hot fire a heaping tablespoonful each of 
 flour and butter or drippings, and then gradually stir- 
 ring with them a pint of boiling water, and salt and 
 pepper in a palatable quantity. 
 
 After the peppers are put to bake, half a dozen large 
 
3Y6 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR 
 
 potatoes may be peeled, sliced, and boiled, and the cab- 
 bage carefully washed, the tough stalk being cut away, 
 and the rest put into a large pot half full of actually 
 hoiling salted water; let the cabbage boil fast until 
 the thickest part is just tender, hut not at aU watery, 
 and then drain it, cover it with hot milk, and season it 
 palatably with salt, pepper, and butter. 
 
 Have a shad split down the back, and the backbone 
 cut out; if the fish is large, half will be sufficient for 
 one meal; the second portion can be salted, peppered, 
 and kept in a cool place to cook for the next morn- 
 ing's breakfast. Carefully wash the roes, dry them on 
 a clean towel, and put them into a covered frying-pan 
 with enough drippings to prevent burning, and fry 
 them brown. To plank the shad, put a two-inch hard- 
 wood board before the fire to get very hot; fasten the 
 shad on it skin down, either with the regular shad- 
 plank wires or with several large sharp-pointed nails 
 — five w^as Uncle Sammy Shipman's magic number — 
 and broil it in front of a hot fire, turning the board as 
 often as the juice of the fish runs from it; the plank 
 may be proj^ped up in a dripping-pan, and the shad 
 basted with salt, pepper, butter, and its own drippings; 
 when the fish is brown the board is to be laid on a 
 large platter or tray, with folded napkins to coy^er the 
 edges of the plank, and so sent to the table. The 
 drippings in the pan and a cut lemon are served with 
 planked shad. 
 
 The boiled potatoes are to be drained in a colander, 
 and then mashed through it upon a platter, and lightly 
 formed into a border with two forks; the fried shad 
 roes are to be laid wnthin the border; gravy may be 
 made, if desired, by pouring nearly all the fat out 
 of the frying-pan, stirring in first a tablespoonful of 
 
SUMMER DINNERS. 3^7 
 
 flour, and then <i pint of boiling water, and some salt 
 and pepper. When the shad is a buck, the roes of 
 haddock or any other large fish may be used. 
 
 For the Barrow tomato salad we are indebted to an 
 enthusiastic reader of Harper's Bazar. It is made of 
 ripe tomatoes, peeled, cut in thick slices, each slice be- 
 ing well seasoned with salt and pepper, and all laid in 
 piles in the salad bowl. Just before serving, a glass 
 of sherry is poured over the tomatoes. Mrs. Barrow 
 says that " each slice of tomato must be white with 
 salt and black Avith pepper." The salad is delicious, 
 and entirely novel. 
 
 An acceptable July dinner would be: 
 
 Okra soup with crabs. 
 
 Broiled fluke with pickle butter. 
 
 New potatoes fried. 
 
 Green corn, Southern stjie. 
 
 Maryland fried chiclven, witli Mandrang sauce. 
 
 Iced pineapple. 
 
 The soup is the dish for which the most time is re- 
 quired, nearly five hours, during which it should be 
 kept covered closely to prevent evaporation. For 
 two quarts of soup peel and slice an onion, fry it 
 brown withatablespoonful of drippings, a small slice of 
 fat ham, and the bones from a knuckle of veal; wash a 
 dozen large pods of fresh okra and a green pepper, and 
 slice them, rejecting the okra stems and the seeds of 
 the pepper; when the onion is brown, add the okra 
 and pepper, two quarts of boiling water, and a palata- 
 ble seasoning of salt and pepper, and slowly boil the 
 soup for two hours. Meantime peel and slice six 
 large tomatoes, and boil and take the meat from three 
 hard-shell crabs, or cut up two soft-shell crabs, and 
 fry the crab meat with a small onion, chopped, and 
 
378 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 enough butter or drippings to prevent burning. At 
 the end of two hours add the tomatoes and crab meat 
 to the okra and other ingredients, and continue the 
 boiling of the soup for two hours longer. Then re- 
 move the bones, add enough boiling water to increase 
 the quantity of the soup to two quarts, see that it is 
 palatably seasoned, and serve it hot. After putting on 
 the soup, cook the hominy as directed in the recipe for 
 Maryland fried chicken. 
 
 The iced pineapple may be prepared at any time 
 and kept in a cold place; peel it, hold it by the crown, 
 and grate it, using a grater with unbroken surface and 
 a dish large enough to receive all the juice; put the 
 grated pineapple into a glass dish, dust it with pow- 
 dered sugar, pour a glass of sherry over it, and put it 
 near the ice for at least an hour; before serving it, 
 dust it again v/ith powdered sugar. 
 
 The potatoes may be scraped and boiled just tender, 
 at any time, and then rolled in a towel to dry them, be- 
 fore frying them with the chicken. The pickle but- 
 ter may be made by chopping a small pickle very 
 fine and mixing it with an equal quantity of cold but- 
 ter; keep it cold until the fish is cooked. The Man- 
 drang sauce may also be prepared and put in a cold 
 place before the chicken is cooked. Peel one large or 
 several small cucumbers, cut them in half-inch strips 
 and then in dice; cut an equal measure of young green 
 onions in dice, and squeeze the juice of a lemon; mix 
 these ingredients with a glass of Madeira and a high 
 seasoning of salt, pej^per, and cayenne, and serve as a 
 salad with fried or roast poultry or fish. 
 
 In the South little cakes of fried mush or hominy 
 are always served with chicken; as it fries best when 
 cold, it may be made in advance of the time for cook- 
 
SUMMER DINNERS. 3/^9 
 
 ing the chicken. Pick over a pint of fine white hom- 
 iny, Avash it in three waters, put it over the fire in a 
 thick saucepan, or farina-boiler, with a \mit and a half 
 of cold water, and let it heat slowly and boil steadily 
 for half an hour; if the hominy is coarse, it may re- 
 quire longer boiling; if when it is done it is not thick 
 enough to hold the spoon upright, it must be boiled a 
 little longer, uncovered, to evaporate the superfluous 
 water. While the hominy is being boiled it must be 
 stirred often enough to prevent burning. If a double 
 kettle is used, it will take longer than half an hour 
 to cook it. When the hominy is done, mix with it a 
 tablespoonful each of butter and flour rubbed togeth- 
 er to a smooth paste, and a palatable seasoning of salt; 
 let it boil once more, and then pour it into a dish wet 
 with cold water, and let it cool before cutting it to 
 fry; cut it in little cakes, and roll them in flour to fry, 
 for garnishing the chicken. 
 
 To prepare the chicken, remove the feathers ; singe 
 it ; wipe it with a wet towel ; draw it without break- 
 ing the intestines, and then there will not be any need 
 of washing it; cut it in joints as for fricassee; dip 
 each joint quickly in cold water, and then at once roll 
 it in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, covering it 
 thoroughly. Melt lard in a large shallow frying-pan, 
 covering the bottom a quarter of an inch deep, and 
 when the fat begins to smoke put in the chicken, leav- 
 ing a space between the pieces, and slowly fry it until 
 it is light brown and tender. Allow three quarters of 
 an hour for preparing the entire dish. When all the 
 chicken is fried, keep it hot while the hominy is fried; 
 this is first cut in half -inch slices, and then in pieces 
 two inches square, and rolled in flour before it is 
 browned in the pan where the chicken was fried. Tlie 
 
380 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAK. 
 
 potatoes can also be browned in the same pan; tliey 
 are not a part of the regulation clisli of fried chicken, 
 but are used here to increase the size of the dish, and 
 served on a separate platter or in a vegetable dish. 
 The hominy is laid around the fried chicken. If 
 necessary, use extra lard for frying the hominy, but 
 not enough to make an excess in the pan after the 
 hominy is cooked — there should be about a table- 
 spoonful. After the hominy is fried, keep it hot with 
 the chicken, and make the gravy by stirring into the 
 frying-pan a heaping teaspoonful of flour, half a pint 
 of cream or rich milk, and a palatable seasoning of 
 salt and pepper; let the gravy boil for a moment, stir- 
 ring it to insure smoothness, and then serve it with 
 the fried chicken and hominy. If milk is used instead 
 of cream, just before pouring the gravy from the fry- 
 ing-pan mix the yolk of a raw egg with two or three 
 spoonfuls of cold milk, and stir it into the grav}'', but 
 do not allow it to boil, or the egg may cause the gravy 
 to be lumpy. Nearly every good old Southern cook 
 had some special way of frying chicken; sometimes 
 half lard and half butter Avere used, sometimes oil and 
 lard, or a little bacon fat. The chickens were some- 
 times killed just before they were cooked; other 
 dusky authorities thought they should be put in a 
 cold cellar or in the well for a day after they were 
 killed. But no matter by what method prepared, 
 Southern fried chicken was always delicious, like 
 Southern green corn. 
 
 One reason for the excellence of the latter was the 
 fact that it was generally freshly plucked just before 
 it was boiled; after green corn has been cut for even 
 a single hour it begins to deteriorate, losing its sweet 
 flavor and milky juice. To prepare corn for boiling, 
 
SUMMER DINNERS. 381 
 
 strip off the outer husks, turn the inner ones away 
 from the cob to permit the removal of all the silk, and 
 then replace them and secure them at the end with 
 a bit of white cord; put the corn into salted actually 
 boiling water, and boil it for fifteen or twenty min- 
 utes, according to the size of the kernels, and then re- 
 move the strings, and send the hot corn to the table. 
 If the husks are taken off before the corn is served, it 
 must be done very quickly, and the corn at once rolled 
 in a hot, dry naj^kin. Serve with it plenty of sw^eet 
 butter and salt and pepper; sometimes the butter is 
 melted and seasoned and sent hot to the table with the 
 corn. Boiled corn can be kept hot in the husks for 
 some hours if there is moist heat or steam surround- 
 ing it. 
 
 The fluke is to be put into a very hot oven about 
 twenty minutes before dinner-time, and seasoned with 
 salt, pepper, and butter; if care is taken that it does 
 not burn, it will not need any water in the pan. The 
 pickle butter is to be spread upon it after it is trans- 
 ferred to a hot dish to send to the table. 
 
 A light and palatable midsummer dinner may be 
 arranged as follows, despite the fears of one of our 
 California friends, that we might never have claret on 
 the table : 
 
 Cold wine soup. 
 
 Fried eels, with brown gravy. 
 
 LoDg Island new potatoes. 
 
 Egg-plant fritters, sugar pease, Evergreen corn, 
 
 Muskmelon salad. 
 
 Bartlett pears iced. 
 
 None of these dishes require long cooking, but the 
 pears and melon will be better for being prepared 
 early in the day and placed in the ice-box until they 
 
382 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 are needed. Peel the pears thinly and smoothly with 
 a silver knife, quarter them evenly and remove the 
 cores, lay them in a glass or china dish, squeeze over 
 them the juice of one orange, and dust them with fine 
 sugar. The melon should be washed with a brush, 
 put on ice, and just before serving cut in squares with 
 a very sharp knife after the seeds are removed, and 
 dressed with two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice or 
 vinegar, six of oil, and a palatable seasoning of salt, 
 pepper, and cayenne; this, of course, is for service 
 with the bulk of the dinner; if it is to be used instead 
 of the pears for dessert, ice it and serve it with lemon 
 juice and powdered sugar. 
 
 The fish, jDotatoes, and pease may be laid in separate 
 vessels in cold water for some hours before cooking 
 them. As the soup is served cold, it may be made at 
 any time during the morning ; two ounces of fine 
 tapioca or sago are to be i)icked over and washed in 
 cold water; put the sago over the fire in a quart of 
 cold water and boil it gently until all the grains are 
 transparent; add more water if the sago absorbs the 
 quart; when the sago is transparent there should be 
 nearly a quart of soup; then add a quarter of a pound 
 of sugar and a j^int of any kind of fair claret, and cool 
 the soup; when quite cold it should be about the con- 
 sistency of cream; if it is thicker, thin it with either 
 claret or cold water, sweeten it palatably, grate a very 
 little nutmeg into it, and serve it cold. 
 
 The fritters can be made from cold cooked egg- 
 plant; chop it fine, mix a cupful with the yolk of a 
 raw Gggy a cupful of flour, a tablespoonful of salad- 
 oil, a rather high seasoning of salt and pepper, and 
 enough cold water to make a smooth batter thick 
 enough to hold on its surface a drop let fall from the 
 
SUMMER DINNERS. 
 
 383 
 
 mixing-spoon ; just before dinner-time have ready a 
 deep kettle of fat on the fire, and when it is hot beat 
 the white of an egg stiff, stir it into the batter, drop it 
 by the tablespoonfiil into the smoking hot fat, and fry 
 the fritters light brown; take them up with a skim- 
 mer, free them from fat by laying them for a moment 
 on brown paper, and then sprinkle them w4th salt and 
 serve them. 
 
 The corn is to be husked, freed from silk, put into a 
 baking-pan with salt, pepper, and butter enough to 
 just moisten it, and baked in a hot oven for about 
 twenty minutes, or until it begins to brown, turning 
 it occasionally in the pan. The sugar pease, which 
 are rather broad and flat in the pod, are to be washed, 
 the stems and strings removed as from string-beans, 
 and the pods cut in equal lengths; twenty minutes be- 
 fore dinner-time put them over the fire in plenty of 
 salted boiling water, and boil them fast until they are 
 just tender; then drain them, dress them with salt, 
 pepper, and butter, and serve them hot. The pota- 
 toes are to be scraped, or rubbed clean with a cloth, 
 in plenty of clean, cold water, then boiled just tender 
 in salted boiling water, drained, and heated whole 
 with salt, pepper, and butter, and served with the fried 
 eels. 
 
 The eels are to be thoroughly washed, and then put 
 over the fire in cold water and quickly heated; after 
 that drain them, roll them in flour highly seasoned 
 with salt and pepper, and fry them in just enough hot 
 drippings to prevent burning; after the eels are fried, 
 pour nearly all the fat out of the frying-pan, stir in a 
 tablespoonful of dry flour and brow^n it, and then stir 
 in a pint of boiling water and a palatable seasoning of 
 salt and pepper, and let the gravy boil two or three 
 
384 FAMILY LIVING ON f500 A YEAR. 
 
 minutes ; meantime make enough toast to cover the 
 bottom of a platter, pour the gravy over it, and serve 
 the eels on it. 
 
 Some recipes may "be accej^table for warming sum- 
 mer vegetables, the new potatoes, for instance. When 
 cold they can be S2:»lit in two pieces, dipped in butter 
 seasoned with salt and pepper, and then broiled in a 
 double wire gridiron, and served hot; or they may be 
 chopped, and fried with butter, salt, and pepper, or 
 with a little cream when it is available. IsTew pota- 
 toes, chopped and fried with cold corn which has been 
 cut from the ear, or with cold butter or Lima beans, 
 make a good breakfast or luncheon dish. Cold corn 
 and beans may be fried together, or heated in white 
 sauce, or Avith a little cream, as succotash. Succotash 
 proper is green corn cut from the ear and stewed with 
 beans, salt, pepper, and butter; some cooks add a little 
 milk to it; a small piece of salt pork boiled with suc- 
 cotash is often served in the country for dinner. Green 
 corn baked in the pan with meat is good ; the South- 
 ern style of boiling it is given elsewhere; it may also 
 be broiled on the ear, stewed in milk, or made into a 
 pudding with milk and eggs. A good vegetable dish 
 is made by cutting cold boiled sugar-beets in small 
 dice, mixing a pint with a pint of milk, three eggs, and 
 a palatable seasoning of salt and j^epper, and baking 
 them as a vegetable; this is a favorite South Carolina 
 dish. Colcannon is made of potatoes and cabbage 
 chopped, fried with butter, pepper, and salt, and then 
 pressed down in a dish or pudding mould and browned 
 in a hot oven; made from summer cabbage and new 
 potatoes this dish is excellent. 
 
A MIDSUMMER EXPERIMENT. 335 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 A MIDSUMMER EXPERIMENT, AND SOMETHING ABOUT 
 
 BREAKFAST. 
 
 If certain conditions indispensable to the success 
 of the scheme of living which is here set forth are 
 disregarded, housekeepers cannot hope to attain the 
 promised result. To act upon the ground laid out in 
 one or two of the chapters, with the suj^position that 
 the result obtained will be a fair example of that which 
 might follow the practice of the entire scheme, would 
 be fatuitous. To comment upon a doorway as repre- 
 senting the possibilities of living offered by a house 
 would be equally sensible with the conclusion that 
 every two or three thousand words out of a possible 
 hundred thousand must be an epitome of the entire 
 number. While the writer aimed to give many sea- 
 sonable hints as the series progressed, she could not 
 expect any reader to master or even comprehend the 
 possible results of her system until it should be fully 
 outlined. However, it may be said in passing, to those 
 who are not familiar with her facilities for under- 
 standing the needs of housekeepers and her practical 
 ability to meet them, that she has for some ten or 
 twelve years been in a position to answer the ques- 
 tions of housekeepers all over the country, and it is 
 quite probable that if a measure of success had not 
 attended her suggestions she would by this time have 
 been known as a pretender rather than as an instructor. 
 To those newly alive to the difficulties of the domestic 
 25 
 
386 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 situation be it said that the Harpers are not publishing 
 the theories of a young experimenter, but the conclu- 
 sions of an exact investigator. And, moreover, these 
 very pages were suggested by the fact that a number 
 of comfortable households in New York have for some 
 time been living upon the plan which is here being 
 outlined. For the immediate comfort of those newly 
 aroused friends who are fearful that they will have 
 nothing for breakfast, luncheon, or supper, because an 
 unusually attractive dinner is offered them now and 
 then, a chapter may be devoted to the details of an 
 experiment made in the writer's family in midsummer, 
 in a year when prices prevailed on an average similar 
 to the general. The family consisted of five per- 
 sons with normal appetites, all interested in a lively 
 discussion which was then going on in the columns of 
 the New York Tribune. A well-known writer, Shirley 
 Dare, had asserted that two dollars per week for each 
 person, in a family of not less than six, was an ample 
 table allowance for the season. Not a little derision 
 was indulged in apropos of the possible character of 
 the meals for six persons which should cost only about 
 fifty-seven cents each. As the writer is nothing if not 
 matter-of-fact, she at once put her household upon the 
 proposed financial limit. An inventory was made of 
 the storeroom supj^lies, and the quantity requisite for 
 a week's use was set aside and valued at the actual 
 cost. The fresh meats, fish, vegetables, and fruit were 
 bought at Fulton Market, the car fare and exi^ressage 
 being included in the cost; the milk, eggs, and butter 
 came from the local dealer. In order that there should 
 be no waste there was a personal supervision of cook- 
 ery, service, and the food remaining after each meal — 
 just what the present scheme of living demands. The 
 
A MIDSUMMER EXPERIMENT. 
 
 387 
 
 fact that the same article of food used for dmner re- 
 appears at breakfast or luncheon is evidence that the 
 supply was ample. To show that the fare was varied 
 and palatable, the bills of fare for the entire week are 
 given below; recipes of the least-known dishes are 
 also given, and all are described within this book : 
 
 SUNDAY. 
 
 Breahfast. 
 Fried scallops. Fried potatoes. Peaches. 
 Vienna rolls. Coffee. 
 
 Din ner. 
 
 Roast Duck. Succotash. Fresh tomatoes. Baked new 
 
 potatoes. Bread. Muskmelon. Tea. 
 
 Supper. 
 Biscuit. Peaches and cream. Cookies. Tea. 
 
 MONDAY. 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 Fried hacon. Fried succotash and potatoes. 
 
 Cucumbers. Rolls. Coffee. 
 
 Luncheon. 
 
 Cold duck. Peaches. Rolls. Tea. 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Lamb chops. Green corn. Potatoes. Lettuce. 
 
 Bread. Bartlett pears. Tea. 
 
 TUESDAY. 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 Fried tomatoes. Fried bashed potatoes. Ham. 
 
 Graham bread. Coffee. 
 
 Lunclieon. 
 
 Peaches and cream. Rolls. Cookies. Tea. 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Broiled bluefish. Porterhouse steak. Potatoes, Green com. 
 
 Watercresses. Bread. Peaches. Tea. 
 
388 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 WEDNESDAY. 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 Scalloped bluefisli. Fried egg-plant. Fried potatoes. 
 
 Frencli rolls. Coffee. 
 
 Luncheon. 
 
 Peaclies and cream. Graliam bread. Rusks. Tea. 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Roast chicken 'witli baked potatoes. Stewed okra. Baked 
 
 corn. Bread. Muskmelon. Tea. 
 
 THURSDAY. 
 
 Breahfast. 
 
 Lamb cliops. Fried tomatoes. Stewed okra. Fried potatoes. 
 
 Vienna rolls. Coffee. 
 
 Lunclieon. 
 
 Cold chicken. Rolls. Rusk. Muskmelon. Tea. 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Roast lamb with baked potatoes. Green corn. Sweet potatoes. 
 
 Lettuce. Bread. Watermelon. Tea. 
 
 FRIDAY. 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 Broiled bacon. Fried corn and potatoes. Fried egg-plant. 
 
 Vienna bread. Coffee. 
 
 Liinclieon. 
 
 Peaches and cream. Rolls. Rusk. Tea. 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Porterhouse steak. Pilaff of lamb. Potatoes. Lima beans. 
 
 Bread. Cookies. Peaches. Tea. 
 
 SATURDAY. 
 
 Breakfast. 
 Broiled beefsteak. Fried beans and potatoes. 
 Vienna rolls. Coffee. 
 
 Luncheon. 
 Pilaff. Peaches. Rolls. Cookies. Tea. 
 
A MIDSUMMER EXPERIMENT. 
 
 389 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Broiled bluefish. Lamb chops. Green corn. Rice and 
 
 muslirooms. Potatoes. Bread. Peaches. Tea. 
 
 The supplies used during this experiment were all 
 bought at retail prices, and without that careful whole- 
 sale calculation which insures a profitable balance to 
 the purchaser of at least twenty-five per cent. The 
 point is reiterated, that every advantage must be taken 
 of the favorable condition of the market, all tempora- 
 rily cheap perishable goods being so cooked or canned 
 as to preserve them for future use. 
 
 A plan for co-operative marketing is outlined else- 
 where which would greatly favor such an experiment ; 
 the rest of this space must be devoted to recipes for 
 some of the dishes noted above. One of the first 
 dishes is fried scallops, a favorite New York dish. 
 The scallops reach the market fresh from Long Island, 
 and are a savory and inviting repast to the lovers of 
 sea-food; they are to be washed in cold water, rolled 
 in a towel until dry, and then either breaded and fried 
 according to directions already given, or rolled in In- 
 dian meal and fried with slices of salt pork, or covered 
 with flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and then 
 fried in enough drippings to prevent burning. When 
 there is no prejudice against the use of olive-oil in 
 frying, the scallops gain an added flavor from it, but 
 it is rather expensive; fine cotton-seed or peanut oil, 
 when sweet and fresh, is an excellent frying medium. 
 
 For scalloped blue-fish, or any fresh fish, take out 
 all the bones, leaving the fish in flakes, but do not re- 
 move the skin unless it is objectionable; make a white 
 sauce by melting a tablespoonful of butter with one 
 of flour, then gradually stirring in a pint of boiling 
 water smoothly, and seasoning it with salt and white 
 
390 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 pepper; when the sauce boils, use it to moisten the 
 fish; if a larger dish is required, put layers of bread- 
 crumbs in the dish with the fish, seasoning each layer, 
 and moistening them with sauce; dust crumbs over 
 the top, and quickly brown the scalloped fish in the 
 oven. Serve it hot. 
 
 A very palatable and economical dish called a pilaff 
 can be made from lamb or any cold meat; as its name 
 indicates, the dish is Arabian in character. Cut the 
 meat in small dice; put it over the fire in a saucepan 
 to fry with its own fat chopped, or with driiDpings or 
 butter enough to prevent burning; a little chopped 
 onion is usually fried with the meat. Fry also a cup- 
 ful of rice, which has been washed and dried, until it 
 begins to brown, with the meat, or in a separate uten- 
 sil if there is any lack of surface, stirring the rice to 
 insure even browning; Avhen rice and meat are brown, 
 add to them a pint or more of tomatoes peeled and 
 sliced, and a pint of boiling water; as the rice cooks, 
 the water will be absorbed, and more must be added, 
 but in small quantities, so that when the rice is tender, 
 which will be in about twenty or thirty minutes, it 
 will be just moist; a palatable seasoning of salt and 
 pepper completes the dish, which is to be served hot. 
 A cupful each of meat and rice will make a large dish 
 of pilaff. 
 
 Similar in character is the dish of rice and mush- 
 rooms. Peel and slice a small onion, put it over the 
 fire with a cupful of rice, washed and dried, and two 
 or three tablespoonfuls of drippings or butter; stir 
 the rice so that it may brown evenly, and meantime 
 carefully wash and chop the stems from a quart of 
 fresh mushrooms and the broken caps, reserving the 
 whole ones to bake; when the rice is brown, add the 
 
A MIDSUMMER EXPERIMENT. 39 x 
 
 chopped mushrooms and a pint of boiling water; as 
 the rice cooks, add water enough to keep it moist, and 
 a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper; when the 
 rice is tender, which will be in about half an hour, serve 
 it hot. This is an excellent dish for luncheon or sup- 
 per, or it can be used as a vegetable for dinner. The 
 caps or toj^s of the mushrooms, after they are washed, 
 and-the defective portions trimmed away, can be best 
 cooked by laying them on small slices of buttered 
 bread with a dust of salt and pepper and a small bit 
 of butter in each cap, and baking them in a very hot 
 oven; the mushrooms will be done by the time the 
 bread is brown, if they are fresh, and they should be 
 served at once on a hot dish. 
 
 A very satisfactory thing was said recently in the 
 course of a discussion upon this series of papers. The 
 point in question was special marketing for breakfast 
 and luncheon. The speaker was of the type of wom- 
 en peculiar to this country — cultured to the point of 
 social supremacy, and still young enough to aspire to 
 it; practised in the numberless graceful economies 
 possible or imperative to many such women in their 
 intellectual and artistic way of living; bright, healthy, 
 alert mentally to perceive and physically to attain 
 every advantage of circumstance. Said she, after hav- 
 ing outlined a dinner which very nearly filled the mar- 
 gin of daily expenditure, in answer to a question about 
 marketing for the chief breakfast dish: " But I seldom 
 market for that. We have good breakfasts, because 
 my husband is a hard worker." (He is a rising young 
 lawyer.) "We buy our dry groceries in quantities; 
 tea, coffee, sugar, oatmeal, etc., are in the house, as 
 well as eggs and butter. If there is steak, it is part 
 of a larger one than has been needed for dinner, cut 
 
392 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 off and reseiwed uncooked; or chops, they have been 
 taken from the roast before it is dressed. But usually 
 there are croquettes, meat-balls or mince on toast, or 
 rewarmed fish, the basis of which remains from some 
 previous dinner, and eggs fried, boiled, or in omelet. 
 Always there is some inexpensive fruit, either fresh 
 or stewed, a good dish of oatmeal with milk and sugar, 
 or hominy, samp, or rice; sometimes these are fried 
 for a change. A few potatoes more than are needed 
 are boiled at dinner-time, and in the morning are 
 hashed and fried, or stewed in white sauce; when too 
 many mashed potatoes have been prepared, they serve 
 the next day as croquettes or Duchesse loaves. If fish 
 remains from dinner, it is rewarmed in its sauce, or 
 minced with potatoes, or made into balls or croquettes. 
 Then there are waffles or griddle-cakes occasionally. 
 This gives us such a breakfast: fresh or stewed fruit; 
 oatmeal, rice, hominy, or grits; meat croquettes, mince 
 on toast, rewarmed fish, or fish-cakes; eggs, boiled or 
 fried or omelet; potatoes, stewed or fried; coffee, 
 milk, bread and butter; hot bread or cakes." 
 
 When one thinks of it, this sort of a breakfast is quite 
 as good as a more expensive one w^here there is one 
 large dish of meat. Setting aside individual peculiar- 
 ities which have a definite physical basis, the prepara- 
 tion of an attractive morning meal becomes a triumj^h 
 of economical resource. The wise housekeeper will 
 not discuss it much with her family, however much 
 she may ponder over it in private; for second in per- 
 niciousness only to the dying idea on the part of fool- 
 ish servants that economy in details is based on penu- 
 riousness is the fostering of morbid appetites. As a 
 matter of fact, we generally eat what is set before us, 
 unless it is too utterly bad, so largely is appetite the 
 
A MIDSUMMER EXPERIMENT. 393 
 
 result of habit. And the woman who caters to diges- 
 tive cranks, large or small, does well to deliberate in 
 secret session what sort of fare is at once harmless, at- 
 tractive, and economical. If only the most expensive 
 dishes can be digested, and there is a limit to expendi- 
 ture, the way of the provider is indeed hard; but given 
 a normally healthy appetite and ordinary market fa- 
 cilities, the breakfast-table may be made more inviting 
 with every change of season and supplies. 
 
394 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 AUTUMNDINNERS. 
 
 In most cities the fare of early autumn differs from 
 that of late summer but slightly, and the luxuries of 
 field, orchard, and vineyard are at their prime. For 
 the early Sejitember days, while the summer heat yet 
 lingers, the housewife may still be gratified by a din- 
 ner w^ithout meat; the fish offered in its place, stur- 
 geon, which is at its latest and best, resembles delicate 
 veal in flavor and texture. Any light meat or poultry 
 
 m.ay replace it. 
 
 Jerusalem articliokc soup. 
 
 New potatoes stewed in cream. 
 
 Baked sturgeon with brown gravy. 
 
 Salad of artichokes and cress. 
 
 Cream-cliecse with water crackers. 
 
 Peach short-cake, or plum tart. 
 
 As the short-cake is to be used cold, it can be made 
 at any convenient time of day, according to the direc- 
 tions previously given for strawberry short-cake, ripe 
 peaches, peeled and sliced, being substituted for the 
 strawberries. Raspberries, blackberries, and subacid 
 plums all make good short-cake. A practice largely 
 prevails in New York of using a sort of cup-cake in- 
 stead of genuine short-cake, but the result is question- 
 able. Another delicious dessert is a tart made of ripe 
 fruit, especially if some whipped cream is available to 
 serve with it; the cream may be sweetened before it 
 is whipped, if that is desirable. There are many de- 
 
AUTUMN DINNERS. 
 
 395 
 
 vices for whipping cream, but the simplest and most 
 effective is several loops of wire bound together at one 
 end to form a handle; such a whip or beater can easily 
 be made at home by any ingenious person, and serves as 
 well for beating eggs, mixing mayonnaise, etc. To pre- 
 pare whipped cream, let it be cool; have ready a skim- 
 mer, a colander set in an earthen dish, and a large bowl 
 for the cream: whip it with an even, quick stroke for 
 two or three minutes, until a froth rises; then let it 
 remain undisturbed for a moment; the large bubbles 
 upon the surface will burst, and the smaller ones co- 
 here so that they can be lifted in a mass with the skim- 
 mer from the surface of the cream and transferred to 
 the colander; the liquid cream will drain into the dish, 
 and can be poured back into the bowl to be whipped 
 again. After skimming off the froth, again whip the 
 cream and remove the coherent froth; so proceed un- 
 til all is whipped, and allow it to remain in the colan- 
 der, in a cool place, until it is required for use. Some 
 cooks mix a little melted gelatine or white of egg with 
 whipped cream to stiffen it, but the delicacy is thus im- 
 paired. The English do not usually sweeten cream 
 which is to be served with fruit tarts; it is lightly 
 heaped on a pretty dish, and sent in with the tart. A 
 good recipe has been given for light pastry; very firm 
 lard made at home is excellent for pastry; if butter 
 is used, all the buttermilk should be washed out of it, 
 and care taken not to melt it in making the pastry; if 
 this is mixed with very cold water in a cool place, the 
 chances are better for its lightness than when it is 
 heated or carelessly handled; such treatment ruins 
 pastry. 
 
 Before the pastry is made, prepare ripe plums by 
 removing the stems and stones, and heap them in 
 
396 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 an oval or round deep earthen dish; sprmkle them 
 judiciously with granulated sugar, wet the edge of 
 the dish, and lay on the npper crust; or first line the 
 sides of the dish with a strip of pastry, and then 
 brush that with cold water to make the top crust ad- 
 here; do not flatten or press the edges of the pastry, 
 but after putting on the top crust cut them at intervals 
 of half an inch with a sharp knife; bend the forefinger 
 a little, and press it on the upper crust just within the 
 edge of the dish, so as to form a groove about a quarter 
 of an inch deep all around the tart; cut several small 
 slits through the pastry in the groove, so that the 
 fruit juice can escape into it, and thus prevent its loss 
 from the edges of the crust; cut small slits in several 
 parts of the crust; if a glossy surface is desired, brush 
 it with beaten egg, and then bake the tart in a mod- 
 erate oven. The cream-cheese can be bought at the 
 fruiterer's or at fine grocery stores for twenty cents a 
 cake, large enough for two or three desserts of our 
 proportions ; or small Brie cheeses for less than a 
 quarter. If put in a cool place, protected from flies, 
 either will keep good for several days. It is excellent 
 for salads, sandwiches, and curd cakes. 
 
 The sturgeon should be baked about an hour. As 
 the fish appears on the stands it is free from skin, and 
 generally cut in pieces a foot or more square. In buy- 
 hig it the fact should be remembered that there is no 
 waste, and that it is quite as satisfactory to the appe- 
 tite as the more delicate meats, such as veal and poul- 
 try. Before putting the fish in the oven, wash it with 
 cold water, season it with pepper and salt, and put in 
 the pan with it any vegetables or herbs desired for 
 flavoring the gravy. A little water may be added, if 
 it is in danger of burning, but no drippings or butter 
 
AUTUMN DINNER3. 397 
 
 are needed, because the fish is very oily. After the 
 sturgeon has been cooked until it looks firm and white, 
 like choice veal, keep it hot while the gravy is made 
 as follows: set the pan containing the vegetables baked 
 with the sturgeon over the fire, stir in a heaping table- 
 spoonful of dry flour until it is brown, then gradually 
 stir in a pint of boiling water, season the gravy pala- 
 tably with salt and pepper, let it boil for a minute, rub 
 it through a sieve or colander to insure smoothness, 
 and then serve it with the baked fish. When salt pork 
 is liked, the fish may be cut two or three inches thick, 
 larded like a fricandeau of veal, and cooked and served 
 in a similar manner. 
 
 The artichokes for the soup and salad can be boiled 
 together, after being thoroughly washed with a cloth 
 or brush in cold water; if they are first peeled or 
 scraped they must be put directly in cold water con- 
 taining salt and a little vinegar to keep them white 
 until all are peeled, and then boiled until tender in 
 salted boiling water, but not allowed to become soft 
 enough to break. All root, or Jerusalem, artichokes 
 are more or less watery, their substance when cooked 
 resembling that of kohl-rabi, and their flavor that of 
 the garden or globe artichoke, which is also in season, 
 but rather beyond our limit of price. The Jerusalem 
 artichokes sell at about ten cents a quart; they look 
 like uneven potatoes, and vary in color like them; the 
 finest specimens are seen in the markets of Montreal, 
 where they are as cheap and plentiful as potatoes. 
 For the salad the artichokes are to be sliced and ar- 
 ranged on a salad dish with water-cress, being dressed 
 with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar just before serv- 
 ing. A puree or pulp of boiled artichokes, rubbed 
 through a colander with a potato-masher, mixed with 
 
398 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAE. 
 
 a cream soup, can be qnicldy made; the cream soup 
 is prepared by stirring butter and flour together over 
 the fire until they bubble — a tablespoonf ul of each for 
 a quart of soup — and then gradually mixing in a quart 
 of hot milk or milk and water, and a good seasoning 
 of salt and white pepper. The same combination of 
 flour, butter, milk, and seasoning — half the quantity 
 of milk being used — gives the cream sauce required 
 for the potatoes; the small new potatoes from Long 
 Island are very good, first scraped and boiled only 
 tender in salted water, and then drained and served 
 in cream sauce, or in a white sauce made in the same 
 way, with the substitution of hot water in place of the 
 milk. 
 
 Another good September bill of fare is: 
 
 Brunswick stew. 
 
 Point Shirley fish barbecue. 
 
 Sweet-corn with butter. 
 
 Curry of duck witli rice. 
 
 Breast of duck broiled. 
 
 Apple short-cake. 
 
 The first dish is of the composite kind which may form 
 the bulk of a hearty meal in household emergencies. 
 Although squirrels are called for, rabbit, hare, chicken, 
 or even a piece of tender beef will make a good Bruns- 
 wick stew; the hare, squirrel, or rabbit would have to 
 be skinned and cut in joints, the chicken prepared as 
 for fricassee, or the beef cut in small pieces. To skin 
 the small game, cut through the skin of the under part, 
 from the neck downward to the tail; either cut off 
 the feet when they are reached, and turn the skin off 
 the legs as a glove would be turned off the fingers, or 
 cut down the inside of the legs and turn the skin back 
 until they are free; then turn and cut it downward 
 
AUTUMN DINNEKS. 
 
 399 
 
 and off the entire body, holding the carcass by the 
 head, or hanging it np; cut all the fleshy bands or 
 ligaments, and work cautiously to avoid tearing the 
 skin. When it is quite separated from the carcass, 
 wipe the latter with a wet towel to free it from hairs; 
 remove the entrails without breaking them; save all 
 the blood to add to the gravy, and be sure that all the 
 hairs are taken off. 
 
 To make a Brunswick stew with rabbit (or any other 
 meat), have about two pounds of meat cut in medium- 
 sized pieces, put it over the fire with two quarts of 
 cold water, and let them heat gradually; meantime 
 peel and slice a quart of tomatoes and one sweet onion, 
 shell a pint of Lima beans, and cut from the cob the 
 same quantity of green corn; add these ingredients 
 to the meat, with a palatable seasoning of salt and pep- 
 per; cover the saucepan, and cook the stew gently for 
 about four hours, then add to it six medium-sized po- 
 tatoes peeled and sliced; stir the stew frequently after 
 the potatoes are added, to prevent burning, and when 
 they are just tender melt a quarter of a pound of but- 
 ter in the stew, and serve it hot, after removing the 
 bones. A quarter of a pound of salt pork cut in dice 
 is sometimes added to this stew; sweet potatoes some- 
 times enter into it; indeed, there are many excellent 
 local recipes for making this famous Virginia dish, 
 some of which were referred to in Chapter XIX. 
 
 Next to the Brunswick stew the dish requiring the 
 longest time for making is the apple short-cake. For 
 a medium-sized cake prepare about a quart of apples 
 by peeling, cutting in eighths, and stewing them gen- 
 tly, until tender, in a syrup made by boiling about two 
 cupfuls of granulated sugar with a little water until 
 it begins to thicken; at this point put in the apples 
 
400 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 and cook them slowly, taking care that they do not 
 break. Follow the directions previously given for 
 making short-cake proper, or use a good biscuit dough. 
 Tear the short-cake open with a fork w^hen it is done, 
 butter it while it is still warm, put in the stewed apple 
 as the berries are used, and dust the short-cake plenti- 
 fully with powdered sugar. The syrup in which the 
 apples were stewed may be poured over the short-cake 
 when it is served, or sweet cream may be used, although 
 this increases the cost of the dish. 
 
 The next dish in point of time is the curry of duck: 
 after the feathers are removed, the bird singed, drawn, 
 and wiped with a wet towel, hut not washed, it is to be 
 cut in joints, reserving the breast entire, the rest being 
 put into a saucej^an with enough butter to prevent burn- 
 ing, and quickly browned over a hot fire; a small onion 
 is to be peeled, cut thin, and fried with the duck. When 
 the duck is brown, a heaping tablespoonf ul of dry 
 flour is to be stirred through it until it is brown, then 
 boiling water enough to cover it is poured in, and salt 
 and pepper used for seasoning. The duck is to be 
 gently simmered until tender; a tablespoonf ul of cur- 
 ly powder is a moderate seasoning; if it is added be- 
 fore the duck is cooked, the curry will be less pungent 
 than if it is put in directly before the dish is served. 
 A cupful of grated cocoanut, or a large sour apple 
 peeled and cored, may be cooked with the curry at will. 
 After the curry is prepared to the point of simmering, 
 pick over a cupful of rice, wash it in cold water, put 
 it over the fire in a large saucepan of actually boiling 
 salted water, and boil it fast for ten minutes; then 
 drain it, cover it with a thickly folded towel, set the 
 saucepan in the oven, leaving the door open, or on a 
 brick on the back of the stove, and steam the rice for 
 
AUTUMN DINNERS. 
 
 401 
 
 about twelve minutes, or until the grains are dry and 
 just tender. A border may be made of the rice, or it 
 may be served in a separate dish. 
 
 The Point Shirley barbecue may be made of any 
 large, well-flavored fish ; it is to be scaled, washed in 
 plenty of cold salted water, put into a dripping-pan 
 with just enough hot water to cover the fish two 
 thirds; dissolve in it a quarter of a pound of butter 
 for every three or four pounds of fish, add a palatable 
 seasoning of salt and pepper, and bake the fish ; every 
 ten minutes pierce it repeatedly with a fork, dredge it 
 with dry flour, and baste it with the butter and wa- 
 ter in the pan; cook the fish about fifteen minutes to a 
 pound. When the flakes begin to separate, or a piece 
 of the back fin can easily be pulled off, the fish is done, 
 and should be dished without breaking, some of the 
 gravy in the pan being sent to table. A dish of plain 
 boiled potatoes should be served with it. This fish, 
 like the Brunswick stew, may be made the basis of a 
 simple family dinner. 
 
 Late in the green-corn season, when the vegetable 
 becomes a little hard from maturity, it may be accept- 
 ably prepared for the table by stewing it with but- 
 ter. After the husks and silk are removed, cut down 
 through the middle of each row of grains, turn the 
 back of the knife to the cob, and with it scrape and 
 force out the tender part of the kernels of corn which 
 lie beneath the skin; put these into a thick sauce- 
 pan with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper, and just 
 enough milk or cream to cover them, and stew them 
 gently for ten or fifteen minutes, only until they seem 
 juicy and tender; then serve the corn hot. 
 
 The breast of duck should be served directly it is 
 cooked, to be at its best; remove all the feathers, put 
 26 
 
402 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 it between the bars of a buttered double wire gridiron, 
 broil it quickly, rather rare, over a clear fire; season 
 it with salt, pepper, and butter, and serve it as soon as 
 it is done. Any fresh green salad w^ith French dress- 
 ing, or sour oranges sliced and dressed w^ith salt, oil, 
 and cayenne, or any acid jelly melted with a little 
 French mustard, will make a good accompaniment for 
 the broiled duck. 
 
 The little dinner next proposed includes both soup 
 and lish, and gives only one meat (or rather poultry) 
 dish, in the cooking of which the soup is concerned: 
 
 Potage a la reine. 
 
 Smelts breaded and fried. 
 
 Duchesse loaves. 
 
 Rice croquettes with brown sauce. 
 
 Roast chicken with liver sauce. 
 
 Cabbage and tomato salad. 
 
 Orange fritters. 
 
 Fruits. Nuts. 
 
 Coffee. 
 
 •According to our custom, we will begin with direc- 
 tions for the dish which requires the longest time for 
 cooking — the chicken. If cost were not an item of 
 importance, a choice bird might be used (of all poultry, 
 capons are the finest), but a fowl of four or five pounds 
 must suffice. The bird need not be excessively fat, 
 but it should have small bones, well covered with 
 rather light flesh; dark purplish flesh showing through 
 the skin indicates an old fowl the flesh of which has 
 not been renewed by special feeding for the market. 
 In a young bird the lower end of the breast-bone will 
 be so soft as to bend easily beneath the pressure of 
 the fingers; in fact, the cartilage there has not yet 
 hardened into bone. In an old bird tlie tip of the 
 breast-bone is hard and pointed. The skin of a fowl 
 
AUTUMN DINNERS. 4Q3 
 
 in good condition will look clean, and be underlaid 
 with more or less fat, the eyes will be bright, and the 
 joints flexible, unless the bird is frozen. If the fowl 
 is frozen, soak it, without cutting it, in cold water 
 enough to cover it, until the frost is all drawn out; 
 otherwise, carefully remove all feathers, singe the hairs 
 off with a piece of paper lighted or a little alcohol 
 burning upon a plate, and then wipe it thoroughly 
 with a wet towel. Cut off the head, and skin it; cut 
 off the neck close to the bod}^, and the first joint of 
 the wings; cut off the feet, and scald them, so that 
 the scales can be scraped off, and then cut off the claws. 
 Boil all these parts with the chicken in the soup until 
 the flesh and skin are tender enough to rub through 
 a sieve with a potato-masher, making a scant cupful 
 of puree, which is to be used in finishing the soup. 
 Draw the bird, without breaking the intestines, and 
 clean the heart, gizzard, and liver, being careful not to 
 break the gall at one side of the liver, because the bit- 
 ter fluid it contains will spoil any part of the chicken 
 it touches. In drawing a fowl French cooks do not 
 take away the dark portions embedded in the hollows 
 of the backbone, which look like liver, or the bright 
 red lungs that lie under the ribs; if either part is 
 taken away, it should be cooked with the giblets, as 
 also should the kidney-shaped organs or the eggs, when 
 either are found. If the fowl is carefully drawn, 
 without breaking the intestines, it will not need to be 
 washed, unless the object is to deprive it of blood, ac- 
 cording to the Hebraic rule. 
 
 The legs and wings are to be secured close to the 
 body of the bird, and it is to be put over the fire in 
 enough boiling water to cover it, with salt to make a 
 palatable broth, and an inch bit of dried red pepper- 
 
404 FAMILY LIVING ON fSOO A YEAR. 
 
 pod, or a dozen peppercorns. The foAvl is to be boiled 
 very slowly for two hours, or until it begins to grow 
 tender. When the fowl grows tender it is to be taken 
 from the broth and browned in a very hot oven, being 
 dredged w'ith flour if a frothed appearance is desired. 
 It may be stuffed w^ith any cooked force-meat, or with 
 oysters, or chopped celery which has been j^arboiled, 
 before browning it. The sauce is made by boiling 
 the liver, heart, gizzard, and other giblets in enough 
 water to cover them, wdth a little salt and pepper, until 
 they are tender; they are then to be chopped very fine, 
 browned quickly wdth a level tablespoonful each of 
 butter and flour, and again blended with the w^ater 
 in which they were boiled, and the grated rind and 
 juice of a lemon, and this sauce served hot with the 
 chicken. 
 
 After the chicken is taken up, half a cupful of rice 
 is to be boiled in the broth until it and the flesh of 
 the neck are tender enough to rub through a sieve 
 with a potato-masher; the puree of chicken, the rice, 
 and the broth mixed together, seasoned palatably with 
 salt, white pepper, and grated nutmeg, and boiled once, 
 will form the soup; if the soup is thicker than thick 
 cream, a little boiling milk should be stirred with it 
 to make it of an acceptable consistency. AVhen there 
 is cold chicken on hand, boil it w^ith an equal quantity 
 of rice in chicken broth, or in water, wdth the chicken 
 bones, until it can be rubbed through a sieve, and then 
 finish the soup as directed above. 
 
 The rice croquettes are to be formed from half a 
 cupful of rice boiled tender in salted boiling water, 
 then drained, seasoned with salt and pepper, and bound 
 with one or two raw eggs mixed with the rice while 
 it is hot. After the rice is cool, wet the hands in cold 
 
AUTUMN DINNERS. 
 
 405 
 
 water, take it up by the tablespoonful, and shape it 
 like large corks or pears; roll the croquettes first in 
 cracker dust, then in beaten egg^ and again in cracker 
 dust, and fry them brown in smoking-hot fat; after 
 taking them out of the fat with a skimmer, lay them 
 on brown paper for a moment to free them from 
 grease, and then serve them. Any good gravy may 
 be heated for them, or a brown sauce made by stirring 
 over the fire until they are light brown a tablespoon- 
 ful each of butter and flour, then gradually stirring in 
 a pint of boiling water, and a palatable seasoning of 
 salt and pepper; as soon as this sauce boils it is ready 
 to use. 
 
 The Dicchesse loaves are made of mashed potato; a 
 cupful heated, seasoned with salt and pepper, and mixed 
 with the yolk of a raw egg, is made into little loaves 
 half an inch thick, an inch wide, and two inches long; 
 the loaves are brushed with the white of an esfir, and 
 browned slightly in a hot oven. 
 
 The process of breading smelts differs a little from 
 the ordinary way; the smelts are wiped clean, dipped 
 in a little milk, then rolled in cracker dust, dipped in 
 beaten egg, and again rolled in cracker dust, and fried 
 brown in plenty of smoking-hot fat, being laid upon 
 brown paper for a moment, after they are taken from 
 the fat, to free them from grease. If they are entirely 
 covered with egg and crumbs, they will not impart 
 any taste to the fat; but many cooks keep a special 
 frying-kettle for fish. 
 
 The salad is made of crisp and tender cabbage 
 thinly shaved, one or two tomatoes sliced, and the 
 plain dressing of three times as much oil as vinegar, 
 and a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper. In sea- 
 son, fresh tomatoes are best, but there are some canned 
 
40G 
 
 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 brands so perfect that the tomatoes are quite firm 
 enough to slice. 
 
 Fritters made from Florida oranges are delicious. 
 The oranges may be peeled and quartered or sliced, 
 the seeds being removed, and then dipped in batter 
 and fried in smoking-hot fat; like all fried articles, 
 they are taken up Avith a skimmer, and laid for a mo- 
 ment on brown paper to free them from grease. A 
 delicious batter can be made as follows: put a cupful 
 of flour in a bowl, mix Avith it the yolk of a raw egg, 
 a level teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of salad- 
 oil, and sufficient cold water to make a batter thick 
 enough to hold a drop let fall from the mixing spoon; 
 just before using the batter, beat the white of an egg 
 to a stiff froth, mix it lightly with the batter, and use 
 it at once. The fritters are to be dusted with pow- 
 dered sugar after they are fried. 
 
THANKSGIVING DINNERS. 4Q7 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 THANKSGIVING DINNEES. 
 
 The casements fast, the heavy curtains so close 
 drawn that the only visible sign of the driving fall 
 storm outside is some fitful gust which sweeps down 
 chimney to blow the glowing back-log to a flame, 
 while one, half dreaming over " gentle Elia's " pages, 
 sees a vision of ISTovember " in a garment of change- 
 able green and black, upon his head a garland of olives, 
 with the fruit in his left hand, bunches of parsnips 
 and turnips in his right;" great golden pumpkins heap 
 themselves there too, in the coals, and the leaj)ing 
 lights shine through ricks of yellow corn; the visible 
 fulness of the harvest burns there — pine cones and the 
 drift of the woods — until the mortal mood glows like- 
 wise, and assumes congenial warmth of thankfulness. 
 
 In no place as in New England, or where Xew Eng- 
 land's sons and daughters sojourn, does the Thanks- 
 giving season seem complete; and no sort of homely 
 feasting ever attains the absolute comfort of an old- 
 fashioned New England Thanksgiving Day dinner. 
 The many scattered children of that rocky soil from 
 which their forefathers wrung scant living will wel- 
 come this recall of the old-time festivity, even if they 
 cannot perfectly reproduce it. 
 
 There is a distinction without much difference in 
 the dinners at the coast and in the interior; on farms 
 and in villages away from the railroads fresh fish is 
 
408 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 seldom used, v/Lile on the coast baked tautog is a 
 prime Thanksgiving hixuiy; oysters reach the interior 
 both in cans and in the shells, and are regarded as 
 special rarities worthy to be served at the greatest 
 festivals; then, too, away from the large towns game 
 birds are rarely cooked, partridge being the exception; 
 so much of an immunity does that proverbially shy 
 bird enjoy even on the tourist-haunted slopes of Pro- 
 file Mountain that a hen and her brood of five young 
 birds as large as ordinary spring chickens let our 
 climbing party approach and knock over one with a 
 walking-stick; and all the autumn the clucking and 
 drummino: of the old birds have been audible from 
 our windows. Even the interior dinners might be 
 varied with game, for in addition to the partridge 
 there are plenty of woodcock, wald duck, and herons, 
 to say nothing of a Gargantuan widow's cruse full of 
 young rooks for pies. 
 
 A typical dinner near the New England coast would 
 be somewhat as follows: 
 
 Baked tautog. 
 
 Boiled chicken with oyster sauce. 
 
 Potatoes. Beets. Onions. Mashed turnips and 
 
 squash. Sweet potatoes. 
 
 Beef d la mode. 
 
 Roast turkey with cranberry jelly. 
 
 Roast venison witli currant jelly. Assorted pickles. 
 
 Roast or baked partridge or wild duck. 
 
 Celery. 
 
 Plum-pudding. Various cakes. 
 
 Apple, mince, squash, pumpkin, and custard pies. 
 
 Cider. Nuts. Apples. Raisins. Coffee. 
 
 The fish is stuffed with a force-meat seasoned with 
 summer-savory or marjoram, and baked with a few 
 
THANKSGIVING DINNERS. 
 
 409 
 
 slices of salt pork in the pan, a brown gravy being 
 made with the drippings. The chicken is stuffed with 
 bread and oysters, boiled slowly until tender, and 
 served with a sauce made from the broth and oyster 
 liquor thickened w^ith flour, and seasoned with salt, 
 pepper, and butter, a few oysters being scalded in the 
 sauce. The turkey is stuffed with bread soaked soft 
 and seasoned with sage, salt, pepper, butter, and some- 
 times a little onion, and then roasted or baked, and 
 served, like the fish, with a brown gravy made from 
 its own drippings. The partridge and duck are some- 
 times parboiled, if there is any doubt of their tender- 
 ness, and then baked, sometimes with stuffing, and 
 served with a gravy made from the drippings. The 
 venison is baked, and served with brown gravy and 
 currant jelly. Contrary to accepted usage, all the 
 game is cooked well done in the country. The plum- 
 pudding and various pies are made specially rich to 
 do honor to the season, and the other sweets are pro- 
 fuse. The farther one goes into the interior, the 
 greater is found the supply of pies and cakes. 
 
 Much sarcasm is called forth by the New England 
 custom of using such food to excess, but it does not 
 seem so very absurd to those "to the manner born." 
 The fact is that many of the pickles are sweetened 
 and spiced, especially in regions where maple sugar is 
 made, and the crust of the pies is so plain as to be al- 
 most like bread; the doughnuts eaten with coffee for 
 breakfast are but little sweeter than French and Ger- 
 man coffee-cake. But the pastry and cake for festi- 
 vals are much richer, and generally well made, each 
 hostess striving to outdo the most notable housewives 
 among her guests. It seems also that the company 
 dinners of the interior are more profuse in quantity 
 
410 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 and variety than those of the towns ; all the good 
 things in the form of j^reserves, jellies, and pickles 
 (sour and sweet), and all the favorite pies and pud- 
 dings are made, except perhaps plum-pudding, which 
 some reserve solely for the Christmas dinner; but 
 generally throughout ]!!^ew England more attention is 
 given to Thanksgiving than to Christmas — the linger- 
 ing trace of the old Puritans' and Covenanters' protest 
 against the observance of the highest festival of the 
 Established Church. 
 
 The next bill of fare may seem exaggerated, but 
 the reader must remember that many of the Thanks- 
 givings in the interior, especially upon large farms, 
 are family gatherings to which the children of sev- 
 eral generations come, and all traditions of mother's 
 and grandmother's culinary skill must be sustained; 
 every homely dainty is called out from the shadows 
 of the pantry and spring-house, and the embers re- 
 vived in the old brick oven and under the back-log in 
 fireplaces where the modern cooking stove burns all 
 the rest of the year. If the feast seems heroic, so too 
 are the appetites of the guests, tempered to meet the 
 exigencies of the exceptional occasion. We will sup- 
 pose that oysters are available, for some effort is usu- 
 ally made to obtain them; and preference is generally 
 given to the frying of them, as evincing the most con- 
 sideration in treating the unusual luxury. The bill 
 of fare then will be: 
 
 Fried oysters, or oyster stew. 
 
 Baked chicken pie. 
 
 Sweet and sour pickles and catsup. 
 
 Mashed potatoes and turnips. Boiled -^-hole potatoes. 
 
 Boiled onions. Baked beets. Squash. 
 
 Roast spareribs with stuffing and apple-sauce. 
 
 Roast turkey, goose, or chicken with cranberry-sauce. 
 
THANKSGIVING DINNERS. 4^ 
 
 Fried sausage "with fried apples. 
 
 Baked Indian pudding. Steamed fruit or cracker pudding. 
 
 Mince, apple, squash, pumpkin, and berry pies with clieese. 
 
 Doughnuts, crullers, cookies, cup cakes, gold-and-silver, marble, 
 
 and sponge cakes. 
 
 Washington pie. Various preserves. 
 
 Cider. Home-made wines and shrub. 
 
 When the oysters are stewed, milk or cream is added, 
 and sometimes cracker crumbs. Among the vegeta- 
 bles, cream is added to the mashed turnips and onions, 
 the beets are baked whole, then sliced, and heated in 
 the oven with salt, pepper, and butter. The chicken 
 for the pie is usually boiled tender before the pie is 
 made, and the crust is the best which can be made; 
 a good recipe has been given for this dish. When 
 there is any question of the tenderness of any of the 
 poultry, it is parboiled before it is stuffed, in just 
 water enough to cook it, and this water is used for the 
 gravy. The sausages are fried either with or without 
 apples, and usually accompany roast goose. 
 
 The sour pickles are made of small cucumbers, not 
 many gherkins being raised; ripe cucumbers are cut in 
 eighths and seeded, and then made into a sweet pickle; 
 green tomatoes with onions and whole spice are pickled 
 sweet, as also is a mixture of equal parts of tomatoes, 
 green or ripe, cucumbers, cabbage, and a smaller pro- 
 portion of onions; brown sugar and molasses are used 
 in sweet pickles, except in localities where maple sugar 
 is made; the maple sugar is more apt to ferment than 
 other kinds, and consequently needs longer boiling. 
 Among the preserves and jellies are blueberries or 
 huckleberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, 
 currants, gooseberries, barberries, whole crab-apples, 
 quinces, pears, and apples; the berries are freely canned 
 to use in pies, and wine is made from blackberries, 
 
412 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 raspberries, elderberries, and currants, and also liqueurs 
 and shrubs; good recipes have been given for both 
 these beverages. Tea and coffee are used throughout 
 the dinner, being poured at the table or on a side-table, 
 according to convenience. The fruit roly-poly is made 
 with plain pastry, or a suet crust, steamed and served 
 with a sweet sauce made with butter and wine or spice. 
 The cracker pudding, which is made with milk, eggs, 
 and raisins, is served with a hard sauce of butter, sugar, 
 and nutmeg, and the baked Indian pudding with sweet- 
 ened cream. 
 
 It may be well to give recipes for the latter. A 
 plain Indian pudding is made as follows: scald a quart 
 and a pint of milk without boiling it, take it off the 
 fire, stir in half a pint of molasses, eight tablespoonfuls 
 of Indian meal, any spice preferred, and a teaspoon- 
 ful of salt; pour the mixture into a buttered earthen 
 pudding dish, add a pint of cold milk without mixing 
 it with the rest of the ingredients, and bake the pud- 
 ding for six hours in a very moderately heated oven. 
 Of course a hot oven would dry or burn the pudding 
 long before that length of time had elapsed. Another 
 Indian pudding is differently made. Into a quart of 
 boiling milk stir half a pint of molasses, and three 
 quarters of a pint or a cupful and a half of Indian 
 meal, and let the mixture cool; meantime remove 
 the membrane from half a pound of suet, and chop 
 it fine ; butter an earthen pudding dish, put in the 
 suet with a teaspoonful of salt, add the scalded meal 
 and molasses, a quart of cold milk, and any spice pre- 
 ferred; mix these ingredients thoroughly; set the dish 
 in a moderate oven, pour in another pint of cold milk 
 without stirring it, and bake the pudding slowly for 
 six hours. The meal in the puddings would be cooked 
 
THANKSGIVING DINNERS. 4^3 
 
 in four hours, but it is all the better for the long- 
 continued baking. Indian puddings sometimes contain 
 seeded raisins. 
 
 Another Thankss^ivinor luxury is boiled cider. This 
 is simply sweet cider slowly boiled to a semi-syrup 
 over a gentle fire; the boiling takes from four to five 
 hours, and the quantity is reduced to about one fifth. 
 Cider apple-sauce is made by peeling and coring ap- 
 ples, and boiling them to a pulp in sweet cider; the 
 cider is first reduced about one half by boiling; a quart 
 of the boiled cider is allowed to a peck of apples, the 
 best sauce being made of half sweet and half sour ap- 
 ples; a plate reversed in the bottom of the j^reserving- 
 kettle lessens the tendency of the sauce to burn; boil 
 the sauce for an hour; then add a pint of molasses, 
 and continue the boiling very slowly and steadily for 
 five hours; the heat should be only intense enough to 
 maintain the boiling, and the sauce should be boiled 
 until it turns red ; it should occasionally be stirred 
 from the sides to prevent burning, and, as it thickens, 
 the stirring must be frequent, unless the heat can 
 be so graduated as to obviate all danger of burning. 
 Sometimes one fourth the quantity of fruit is made up 
 of quince parings when jelly or preserve is being made 
 from that fruit. When the apple-sauce is cold it is 
 put up in glass or stone jars or wooden buckets, and 
 closed air tight, \yhen a smaller quantity of sauce is 
 made, it can be boiled in about two hours if the thick 
 boiled cider is used. 
 
 To preserve the sweetness of cider, besides boiling 
 down some, to at least one fourth, it may be put into 
 bottles or jugs, with a lump of loaf-sugar and two or 
 three raisins to each quart; the bottles should be 
 stronof, and the corks tied down or wired, because 
 
414 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 the cider will begin to effervesce very soon; when 
 the bottles are opened, the cider will foam like cham- 
 pagne. Cider bottled in this way will not keep very 
 long, but it is delicious. 
 
 A word of caution might be said regarding the 
 traditionary indulgence of sucking cider through a 
 straw. On a recent autumn two of the feminine house- 
 hold craved the refreshing juice of apple in the ab- 
 sence of any one competent to draAV it from the barrel; 
 one found the vent in the barrel, and began to imbibe 
 the cider after the manner of the seductive urban cob- 
 bler; the aider and abettor leaned over the barrel near 
 the bung-hole, and as the first thief abandoned the straw 
 the air rushed in at the vent-hole to fill the vacuum 
 which nature abhors, even in a cider barrel; out flew 
 the bung plumb into the second thief's eye, in quite 
 too forcible and painful commentary upon the adage 
 that " the way of the transgressor is hard." Let those 
 Avho put cider into barrels without a faucet, or into 
 bottles with raisins, heed the lesson. 
 
CHRISTMAS FARE. 4^5 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 C H R I S T il A S FARE. 
 
 Of all known Christmas-tides in the affairs of men 
 none was ever more needed than this* to bear its mes- 
 sage of peace on earth and good-will from man to man. 
 Most earnestly be it hoped that none among our read- 
 ers are made desperate by scant living in this time of 
 plenty, that no hungry mouths of children cry for the 
 good cheer that should keep Christmas ovens so busy. 
 If other feast-days claim small notice in this work-a- 
 day world, there are but few hearts unwarmed by the 
 thought of Christmas merr}" -making, and few hearths 
 cold. ^Yhatever novelty is demanded for other feast- 
 ing, Christmas fare has changed but little for many 
 generations; the general disposition to revive the cus- 
 toms and dainties of the good olden time must warrant 
 the reproduction of the time-honored turkey and plum- 
 pudding of our English forebears of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury. But slight change have the intervening years 
 effected, excej^t that suet replaces marrow, and verjuice 
 gives way before "strong Avaters." 
 
 The best Christmas puddings are those which are 
 made before the feast-day — the longer before the bet- 
 ter. In any event, our cooks are advised to mix the 
 ingredients named before the eggs in the following 
 recipe, and allow them to stand for at least twenty- 
 
 * The winter of the strike. 
 
416 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 four hours before the pudding is boiled. First stone a 
 pound of raisins, and saturate them with half a gill of 
 good brandy while the other fruit is being prepared. 
 Upon the raisins lay two ounces of citron, and one 
 each of candied orange and lemon peel sliced, the 
 grated yellow rind and the juice of one orange and 
 one lemon, four ounces of shelled almonds, from which 
 the skins have been removed by scalding, each nut be- 
 ing cut several times, a pound of currants, washed, 
 dried in a towel, and rubbed in a sieve with flour to 
 free them from stems; a pound of suet freed from 
 membrane, chopped, and rubbed with four tablespoon- 
 fuls of flour, a poimd of sugar — Demarara or light cof- 
 fee sugar is the best — and a pound of the interior of 
 a fresh loaf of baker's bread, are to be well mixed with 
 the fruit, together with a grated nutmeg, a dash of 
 cayenne, and a teaspoonful of salt; over all is to be 
 poured a gill of sherry, and the bowl containing the 
 pudding covered from the air and kept in a cool place 
 for one or two days. Just before boiling the pudding- 
 add eight eggs, and enough sweet cream to moisten it, 
 but not enough to make it sloppy. Now let all the young 
 ladies of the house descend to the kitchen, and in turn 
 vigorously stir the fruity compound for the sake of 
 the good- fortune it will bring them in the coming 
 year. Let a Avater-tight pudding-mould be well but- 
 tered, dusted with flour, and then reversed and smart- 
 ly struck upon the table, and the pudding well jDressed 
 into it, leaving a couple of inches in space for the jDud- 
 ding to swell during the cooking; put a round of but- 
 tered paper over the pudding, and close the mould tight, 
 making sure that no v/ater can penetrate it. Either boil 
 or steam the pudding steadily for ten hours. Do not 
 open the pudding-mould until the pudding is to be 
 
CHRISTMAS FARE. 
 
 417 
 
 served. It will keep indefinitely in a cool, dry place. 
 Before using it is to be again boiled for two hours. 
 Just before sending it to the table pour a glass of bran- 
 dy or rum over the pudding, set it on fire, and send it 
 into the dining-room blazing. Either brandy or rum 
 sauce accompanies it. A hard sauce is made by mixing 
 equal parts of butter and white sugar, and flavoring it 
 with either liquor. 
 
 Most delicious is Mrs. Howie's rum sauce; to make it 
 four large or five small eggs are broken, keeping yolks 
 and w^hites separate; wdth each mix two ounces of 
 sifted powdered sugar, and beat both to a froth; just 
 before serving stir a gill of rum and a pinch of grated 
 nutmeg w^ith the yolks, and quickly and lightly mix 
 them wuth the stiflly beaten whites; work fast, avoid 
 breaking down the whites, and serve the sauce at once. 
 A liquid brandy sauce is prepared by stirring two ta- 
 blespoonfuls each of brandy and white sugar over the 
 fire until the sugar begins to brown; then add half a 
 pint of boiling w^ater, four whole cloves, half an inch 
 of cinnamon, the yellow rind of a lemon, and four ta- 
 blespoonfuls of sugar; boil the sauce five minutes; 
 pour it into a bowl containing the juice of the lemon 
 and a gill of brandy, and serve it. Foaming sauce is 
 made by mixing smooth a quarter of a pound of butter 
 with a cupful of powdered sugar, and then for a minute 
 beating in the white of one egg; place the bowl con- 
 taining the sauce in a basin of hot water, gradually 
 beat in half a gill each of brandy and boiling water, 
 beat the sauce for two minutes, and serve it at once. 
 
 A less expensive and excellent pudding can be made 
 
 by mixing like plum-pudding the following ingredients, 
 
 and boiling the pudding for three hours (any of the 
 
 sauces will answer to serve with it): six ounces each 
 
 27 
 
418 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 of bread crumbs, currants, suet, apples, and sugar, four 
 ounces of citron, one orange, a lemon, six eggs, a tea- 
 spoonful of salt, and any spice preferred. If sauce 
 without liquor is desired, the juice and grated rind of 
 orange or lemon may be sweetened, spiced, and mixed 
 with a little boiling water. 
 
 For mince-meat good recipes are always acceptable; 
 even if they have seen the light before, they need not be 
 changed for novelty, since at the table we not only par- 
 don, but. applaud, the reappearance of well-tried dishes. 
 The first given is rather expensive — a fault to be con- 
 doned because of the season — but the second is both 
 cheap and good. The fruit is prepared as for plum- 
 puddings, as also are the suet and almonds, and both 
 mince-meats improve by keeping. Boil three pounds 
 of lean beef from tlie neck or round in sufficient water 
 to cover it, with a little salt; soak a smoked tongue 
 overnight in cold water, boil it nntil tender in fresh 
 water (about four hours), skim it, cool it in the pot 
 liquor, and use two pounds of the least desirable por- 
 tions to chop with the beef; remove the membrane 
 from three pounds of suet, and chop it fine. With 
 these meats mix four pounds of apples weighed after 
 they are pared and cored, four pounds of raisins stoned, 
 two pounds of currants, one pound of citron, a quarter 
 of a pound each of lemon and orange peel candied, a 
 pound of shelled sweet almonds and two ounces of bit- 
 ter almonds both blanched and cut, the grated yellow 
 rind and strained juice of four oranges and four lemons, 
 four pounds of coffee sugar, two nutmegs grated, an 
 , even teaspoonful each of ground cloves, allspice, cin- 
 namon, mace, and pepper, and two even tablespoonfuls 
 of salt; add also one quart of Madeira, half a pint of 
 good brandy, and cider enough to moisten the mince- 
 
CHEISTMAS FARE. 419 
 
 meat. Taste it to make sm-e that it lias a rich, even 
 flavor in which no one ingredient predominates. Mince- 
 meat improves by being packed in jars and kept in a 
 cool, dry place. Some honsekeepers prefer to add the 
 apples and suet wlien they bake their pies. 
 
 Several recipes for pastry are included in this vol- 
 ume, but the fastidious housevv^fe will be amply re- 
 warded for all the care demanded in the making of 
 puff paste; a fully illustrated recipe, replete with ac- 
 curate detail, is given in the author's " Practical Amer- 
 ican Cookery." 
 
 This plainer mince-meat is very good; the quantity 
 is less than that of the preceding recipe: two pounds 
 of lean beef, one pound each of suet, raisins, and cur- 
 rants, a quarter of a pound of citron, four pounds of 
 ajDples, two pounds of sugar, two nutmegs, one tea- 
 spoonful each of pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and all- 
 spice, two even tablespoonfuls of salt, half a pint eaf;h 
 of molasses and wine, a gill of brandy, and cider 
 enough to moisten the mince-meat. 
 
 For the other dainties that make up the usual Christ- 
 mas bill of fare recipes have at different times been 
 given in this series, except, perhaps, for Charles 
 Lamb's " best of sapors," roast pig. This " weakling 
 — a flower," should be dressed very like the immemo- 
 rial Christmas turkey, and roasted with much careful 
 basting, that his crackling may be v/orthy to enclose 
 his " animal manna." 
 
 As a contrast to the family Christmas dinner, a Del- 
 monico bill is given in all its glory of polyglot, that 
 our readers may not lack guidance should they wish 
 to venture within the limits of a French chefs Christ- 
 mas feasting at $12 a cover: 
 
420 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 Huitres. 
 Pot AGE. 
 
 Consomme a la Souverainc. 
 
 Bisque cV Ecrevisse. 
 
 HoRS d'CEuvre. 
 
 Timbales des Gourmets. 
 
 Releyes. 
 
 Aiguileites de bass rayee Demidoff. 
 
 Paupiettes d'EiJerlans diplomate. 
 
 Selle de Chevreuil d la Granville. 
 
 Entrees. 
 
 Ris de veau d la Biissy, 
 
 Filets de grouse, puree de truffes. 
 
 Ailes de wlaille a V Imperairice. 
 
 Voliere d3 faisan aux Anglais. 
 
 Sorbet Paradis. 
 
 Rotis. 
 
 Dinde sauvage aux marrons. 
 
 Canvas-back duck. 
 
 Entremets de Legumes. 
 
 Cardons d la moelle. Haricots verts sautes. 
 
 Petits p)ois aux laitues. CJioux Brussels a V Anglais. 
 
 Dessert et Glaces. 
 
 Batons royeaux, sauce aux f raise. Gateau Ananas. 
 
 Pain d'abricot d VAngelique. Plaisirs a la creme. 
 
 Maccdoine Marecliale. Delicieux aux noisettes. 
 
 Ponding Mcssire-Jean. Petits fours. Bonbons. 
 
 Pikes 7nontees. Compotes. Fruits. Cafe et liqueur. 
 
 A very eatable American dinner is: 
 
 Oysters on the half -shell. 
 
 Oyster or turkey soup. 
 
 Fried smelts with potato balls. 
 
 Celery fritters. Stuffed sweet potatoes. 
 
 Roast sucking pig with bread-sauce, or 
 
 Iloast turkey with oyster force-meat. 
 
 Celery. Cranbcrr}^ jt'H}'- Various relishes. 
 
 Plum-pudding with brandy sauce. 
 Mince-pies. Cranberry-tarts. White grapes. 
 Assorted fruit and nuts. Candied fruit. 
 Confectionery. Black coffee. 
 
CHRISTMAS FARE. 421 
 
 Recij^es for preparing these dishes have been given, 
 even to the making of confectionery. The cream can- 
 dy ah'eady described can be so varied by the addition 
 of fresh fruit juice, candied fruit, nuts, and liqueurs as 
 to afford great variety. To test the keeping qualities, 
 some of the candy, about a cupful, was put into a tin 
 box, and has been exposed to all the changes of tem- 
 perature and climate attending journeys from the 
 southwest to the Atlantic coast, thence to mountain 
 regions, and again to the seashore; after nine months 
 it was quite sweet and good, save that the outer surface 
 had hardened from exposure to the air. So our read- 
 ers will be quite safe in packing tlie cream in glass or 
 earthen jars, which will protect it from the action of 
 the atmosphere. 
 
 The French cream, or fondant^ is made as follows: 
 Put a pound of loaf sugar and a half -pint of cold wa- 
 ter over the fire in a sugar-boiler or a thick saucepan, 
 and boil it until it reaches the degree called by con- 
 fectioners "the ball"; that is, until a little of the sugar 
 cooled in cold water can be rolled to a little ball be- 
 tween the wet fingers. If, when the sugar is first put 
 over the fire, about a third of an even teaspoonful of 
 cream of tartar is added to it, the danger of " graining " 
 will be obviated; this is an important point for begin- 
 ners in sugar-boiling. When the sugar reaches " the 
 ball," remove it from the fire, and cool it in the sugar- 
 boiler for five minutes; meantime beat the whites of 
 five eggs to a stiff froth; hold the sugar-boiler above 
 the bowl containing the beaten whites, and slowly pour 
 the sugar into them, beating the mixture constantly, 
 so that it may be quite smooth; if the sugar hardens 
 it can be melted again, but the beating of \\iq fondant 
 — for so the mixture is called — must not cease until all 
 
422 FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR. 
 
 of the sugar has been added to the eggs. This fon- 
 dant is the basis of many French bonbons^' it is also 
 called Italian meringue^ and baked in a cool oven, on 
 a papered board, in the form of ^neringues or kisses 
 A third form of cream for candy is made by boiling a 
 pound of sugar with one third of an even teaspoonful 
 of cream of tartar and a gill of cold water to '' the 
 thread." This is tested by dipping the thumb and 
 forefinger of the right hand into cold water, then for 
 an instant into the boiling sugar, and pressing them, 
 together; separate them; if the sugar stretches be- 
 tween them like a thread, without breaking, it is suffi- 
 ciently boiled. Remove it from the fire, and let it 
 cool in the boiler for fifteen minutes; then with a 
 wooden spatula or spoon rub the sugar against the 
 sides of the boiler; as the portion being rubbed be- 
 comes white and creamy, stir it with the clear syrup; 
 when all is creamy, it can be kept just warm enough 
 to remain as soft as it should be for forminor into va- 
 rious shapes. 
 
 With any of these three " creams " and fruit juice, 
 nuts, candied fruit, or liqueurs^ tlie various bonbons^ or 
 French cream candies, can be made with ease. The 
 first method given is the simplest, and is entirely 
 satisfactory. The little ones can have their festal in- 
 dulgence of candy entirely harmless; a small sum for 
 pretty papers or fancy boxes, and the waxed paper 
 used for wrapping the candies, will give them all the 
 charm of the products of confectioners, and the moth- 
 er can have the satisfaction of knowing that the feast 
 is absolutely innocuous. «, 
 
 Another old and favorite Christmas luxury is snap- 
 dragon ; some raisins are laid uj^on a large shallow 
 bowl or platter; a tablespoonful of brandy, alcohol, or 
 
CHKISTMAS FARE. 423 
 
 any spirit is poured over them and lighted; the sport 
 is to catch a raisin from the midst of the flames with- 
 out burning the fingers. If the snap-dragon is lighted 
 in a dark room the game becomes weirdly fascinating. 
 Of course there should be no inflammable drajDery 
 about the wrists of the players, or within reach of the 
 flames. With this suggestion for the close of the 
 children's greatest festival, w^e heartily wish that of 
 all merry Christmas Days this one may be the merriest, 
 and that every house may be made bright with 
 
 "Sunshine from heaven and the eyes of a child." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Almonds, salted, 3G3. 
 Ammonia, use of, 304. 
 Appert's canning process, 352. 
 Apple — and orange jelly, ITS; 
 
 pudding, 107; sauce, cider, 413; 
 
 short-cake, 399. 
 Apples — directions for evaporat- 
 ing, 181, 182 ; evaporated, 182 ; 
 
 pickled, 153. 
 Apricots and oranges, 352. 
 Artichoke — and cress salad, 397 ; 
 
 Jerusalem, 397; soup, 397,398. 
 Aspic jelly, 234, 240 ; lor salads, 
 
 138. 
 Autumn dinners, 394 -406 ; bills 
 
 of fare for, 394, 398, 402. 
 
 Bacox, dry-salting, 87. 
 
 Baked peppers, 375. 
 
 Baking powder, advantages of 
 good, 108. 
 
 Balls — egg, 253 ; forcemeat, 245 ; 
 marrow, 60 ; sausage, 89. 
 
 Banana — cake, 168; pie, 169. 
 
 Bananas, wavs of using, 168, 169. 
 
 Bannock, 109. 
 
 Barbecue — of shad, 205 ; of small 
 game, 222 ; of Spanish macker- 
 el, 205; of white-fish, 205 ; Point 
 Shirley fish, 401. 
 
 Bartlett pears, iced, 382. 
 
 Beef — broiled cold roast, 321 ; 
 best smoke for, 78 ; carving 
 roast, 331 ; carving sirloin, 331 ; 
 cooking cross rib, 72 ; chuck 
 
 ribs make delicious d la mode, 
 68 ; drippings, 57, 58 ; end of 
 roasting ribs, 69 ; excellent dish 
 from neck, 76, 77 ; garnishes 
 for steak, 60 ; Hamburg, 72 ; 
 how to choose, 66, 67 ; how to 
 use quantities, 66-79 ; Knicker- 
 bocker way of. drying, 77, 78; 
 marrow, 59 ; marrow garnish 
 for steak, 60 ; neck pieces, 72, 
 73 ; Pennsylvania method of 
 potting, 68-70 ; pieces for corn- 
 ing, 71 ; pieces in forequarter, 
 67, 68 ; points to remember as 
 to, 79 ; pot roast of shoulder 
 piece, 72 ; prime ribs, 68 ; pro- 
 portion of flesh on hindquarter, 
 57; recipes for corning, 71, 72 ; 
 remarks about steaks, 329; rolls, 
 to cook, 351 ; savory dishes from 
 leg and neck pieces, 73-77; shin 
 of, 72, 357 ; steak d la Bear- 
 naise, 60 ; to cut up forequar- 
 ter, 67, 68 ; to soften fibres of 
 tough, 73, 74 ; trimming, 57. 
 
 Beets — baked, 411 ; fried, 365 ; 
 pudding of, 384. 
 
 Beverages for dinnei', 339. 
 
 Bill of fare, 4 ; breakfast, 392 ; 
 Christmas, 420 ; Delmonico's 
 Christmas, 420 ; for autumn 
 dinners, 394, 398, 402 ; for 
 midsummer, 387, 388; for 
 spring dinners, 357, 363, 366 ; 
 for summer dinners, 373, 377, 
 
426 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 881 ; for Tlianksgiving dinners, 
 408, 410, 411 ; 'for the week, 
 887 - 389 ; for two nice little 
 dinners, 351, 353 ; our first, 8. 
 
 Biscuit, sour milk, 108. 
 
 Blackberry cordial, 105, 1C6. 
 
 Blanqueite^ 188. 
 
 Blue-fish — baked, 205 ; scalloped, 
 389, 390. 
 
 "Bluegrass burgoo," 221. 
 
 Bologna sausage, 91, 92. 
 
 Bone jelly, 65 ; proportion of, to 
 meat, 97. 
 
 Bones — deviled, 320 ; food value 
 of, 64, 90 ; to be used for soup, 
 331 ; treatment of, 64, 65, 96 ; 
 Avhicli are the most nutritious, 
 97. 
 
 Boxulxn, 188. 
 
 BouiUahahe^ 188. 
 
 Bouillon, 229 ; making, 197, 198. 
 
 Brandied fruit, 104, 105. 
 
 Bread — brown, 344; disposal of 
 pieces of, 301 ; fried for gar- 
 nish, 187. 
 
 Bread - and - butter, brown, 344 ; 
 English, 314, 315. 
 
 Breakfast — dislies for, 8, 34, 35, 
 391, 392; marketing for, 391; 
 service of, 284, 285, 300; some- 
 thing about, 386. 
 
 Breast of duck, 401, 402. 
 
 Brine for beef, 71, 72. 
 
 Brochette, 188. 
 
 Brooms — care of, 296, 297 ; treat- 
 ment of old, 302. 
 
 Broth, a semi-gelatinous, 65. 
 
 Brown roux, 41, 194, 195, 213. 
 
 Brunswick stew, 216, 398, 899. 
 
 Buckwheat cakes, 85 ; camp stvle, 
 36. 
 
 Burns, treatment of, 307. 
 
 Butter — burnt, 208 ; caper, 209 ; 
 clarified, 41; fruit, 158; parslev, 
 209 ; pickle, 378. 
 
 Buvinir, co-operation in, 15, 17-19, 
 27.^ 
 
 Cabrage — and tomato salad, 405 ; 
 avoiding odors from cooking, 
 115, 120 ; how to boil, 120, 376 ; 
 preparing and cooking, 119, 
 120; pickled, 146, 147. 
 
 Calf's-head — minced, 249 ; imita- 
 tion of turtle, 248, 249; imita- 
 tion of terrapin, 257 ; to clean, 
 250 ; to skin, 250. 
 
 Cake — banana, 108; orange, 177. 
 
 Cakes and pies, New England, 
 409. 
 
 Call-plate, 287. 
 
 Candied orange peel, 175, 176. 
 
 Candies, French, 370, 421. 
 
 Candles, dipped, 98 ; moulded, 97. 
 
 Candy, creams for, 421-423. 
 
 Canned goods — criticisms on direc- 
 tions for choosing, 47, 48 ; dan- 
 ger of using meats, fish, etc., 
 put up in tin, 46 ; directions for 
 choosing, 46, 47; purchase of, 
 45; resort to, 121; should be 
 put up in glass, 46 ; some words 
 about, 45-52 ; suggestions con- 
 cerning use of, 50 ; testimonies 
 to value of, 49, 50. 
 
 Canning — domestic, 51, 52 ; jars 
 for, 155 ; kettle for, 155. 
 
 Canvas-back duck — baked, 226; 
 broiled, 227 ; Eastern shore, 
 229 ; in chafing-dish, 227 ; ra- 
 c/out of, 227 ; roasted, 226 ; sal- 
 mi of, 228. 
 
 Canncllon, 188. 
 
 Caper-butter, 209. 
 
 Capillotade, 190. 
 
 Cardoons, 128. 
 
 Cards, visiting, 809. 
 
 Carpet — for dining-room, 303 ; to 
 clean spots from, 302, 803. 
 
 Carrots, cream of, 367, 368. 
 
 Carving, mvsterics of, 329-334. 
 
 Caster,"the"old-fashioned, 823. 
 
 Catfish, cooking, 204, 205. 
 
 Cattle, Hebraic method of slaugh- 
 tering, 55. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 427 
 
 Catsup — grape, j50, 183; mush- 
 room, 125 ; to keep, 273. 
 
 Cauliflower, baked with sauce, 
 354. 
 
 Celery, cooked like asparagus, 1 14. 
 
 Cellar— cleanliness of, 269, 2*70; 
 drainage of, 270. 
 
 Cervelat^ Gotha and Brunswick, 89. 
 
 Chards, 128. 
 
 Chartreuse, 188. 
 
 Cheese — cream, 396; Roquefort, 
 355 ; to improve flavor of, 308; 
 with salad, 346. 
 
 Chefs, tricks of trade of French, 
 76. 
 
 Cherries, keeping, 22. 
 
 Chicken — baked, 229 ; breaded 
 and fried, 231 ; carving broiled, 
 334 ; carving roast, 834, 335 ; 
 boiled, 229 ; boiled, with oyster 
 sauce, 409; cold boiled, 231, 
 232 ; croquettes, 232-234, 321 ; 
 excellent way to use cold, 107; 
 fricassee, 106 ; frilot, 230, 231 ; 
 giblet stew, 62, 63 ; how to 
 dress, 403; Marvland fried, 379, 
 380; pie, 229,368-370; pinions 
 and drumsticks, 369, 370 ; pot- 
 pie, 230; roast, with liver-sauce, 
 402-404; salad, 132; scalloped, 
 322. 
 
 Children — must not waste food, 
 6 ; taught to cat nicely, 6. 
 
 Chili — Colorado, 1 1 5 ; to make, 1 14. 
 
 Chimneys, care of lamp, 305. 
 
 China — treatment of new, 300 ; 
 washing, 274 ; wooden tub for 
 washing, 264. 
 
 Chinese cook, 19, 63. 
 
 Chocolate, Mexican recipe for, 313, 
 314. 
 
 Chops— loin, 329 ; shoulder, 329. 
 
 Chowder, brown, 209, 210. 
 
 Christmas — bill of fare, Delmoni- 
 co's, 420; dainties, 419; fare, 
 415-423; pudding, 415-418 ; 
 rum-sauce for pudding, 417. 
 
 Cider — apple-sauce, 413; boiled, 
 413 ; sucking, 414 ; to keep 
 sweet, 413. 
 
 Civit, 188. 
 
 Clams, raw, 344, 347. 
 
 Closets, care of dish, 275. 
 
 Coffee, place at table of, 181. 
 
 Colcannon, 384. 
 
 Cold meats, fish, etc., rewarmcd, 
 
 1 o 
 ±o. 
 
 Condiments — physiological effect 
 of, 196, 197; use of, 335, 336. 
 
 Consomme, 197, 198; to clarify, 
 860. 
 
 Cook, Chinese, 19, 63. 
 
 Cookerv, conditions of successful, 
 7. 
 
 Cooking, collecting odors of, 266. 
 
 Cordial — blackberry, 165, 166; 
 raspberry, 166. 
 
 Copperas water — a good disinfect- 
 ant, 116, 117, 265; to make, 
 265. 
 
 Coppers, scouring, 265. 
 
 Coqnillcs, 188. 
 
 Corn — baked, 384; canned, 54; 
 evergreen, 383 ; pickled, 142 ; 
 Souihern stvle of green, 381, 
 382 ; stewed', 384. 
 
 Country housekeepers, suggestions 
 for, 95. 
 
 Courses — dinner, 347-349; list of 
 service by, 343. 
 
 Crabs — okra soup with, 377 ; soft- 
 shell, 203. 
 
 Crackling — bread, 70 ; pone, 94. 
 
 CraneSjherons, etc., Southern game 
 birds, 221. 
 
 Cranks, catering to digestive, 393. 
 
 Cream, 25; forcandy,422; French, 
 421 ; how to keep, 26 ; of car- 
 rots, 367, 368; sauce, 12; soups, 
 193, 194; walnuts, 371, 372; 
 M'hipped, 355, 371, 372, 395. 
 
 Croquettes, 188; chicken, 232, 
 234 ; rice, 404, 405. 
 
 Croustadcs. 187. 
 
428 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Croutes, 187. 
 
 Croutons^ 187. 
 
 Crumbs, removal of, 326. 
 
 Cucumbers — and onions, pickled, 
 
 144, 145 ; pickled, 146. 
 Culinary failures, 274. 
 Currant shrub, 166. 
 Curry of duck, 400. 
 Curtains, shaking, 297. 
 Custard, royale^ 860. 
 Custards, Mrs.Clinton Locke's, 362. 
 Cutlery, washing of new, 263. 
 Cutlets, veal, 330. 
 
 Dainties, summer, 82. 
 
 Dandelion plants for salad, 127. 
 
 Delicacies, special May, 80. 
 
 Delmonieo's Christmas bill of fare, 
 420. 
 
 Deodorizers, 116, 117, 265. 
 
 Dessert of apples and stale bread, 
 107. 
 
 Devices, labor-saving, 261, 262. 
 
 Deviled bones, game, and poultrv, 
 320. 
 
 Devils, 189. 
 
 Diagram of dinner-table, 341. 
 
 Dinner — a typical Thanksgiving, 
 408 ; beverages for, 339 ; cost 
 of family, 8, 9 ; courses of, 340- 
 .342 ; entrees and side dishes, 
 345 ; laying table for, 339-343 ; 
 list of service by courses, 343 ; 
 materials for family, 9, 10; plan- 
 ning a, 335-337 ; preparing and 
 cooking family, 10-14 ; prepa- 
 ration of fastidious, 851-356; 
 remarks about fastidious, 350 ; 
 remarks on service of, 348 ; Ro- 
 man punch at, 348 ; service at, 
 281,284; service of, 340; service 
 of coffee, 347 ; service of dishes 
 at, 343, 349 ; service of shell- 
 fish at, 344; table, diagram of, 
 341 ; the daily, 8, 4; the roast 
 at, 846 ; two bills of fare for 
 fastidious, 851, 353. 
 
 Dinners — autumn, 394 - 406, and 
 bills of fare for, 394, 898, 402; 
 spring, 357-372, and bills of 
 fare for, 357, 363, 366; summer, 
 373-384, and bills of fare for, 
 373, 377, 381; Thanksgiving, 
 407-414, and bills of fare for, 
 408, 410, 411; preparation of, 
 408, 409, 411, 412; two nice 
 little, 350-356, and bills of fare 
 for, 851, 353. 
 
 Dining-room — choosing carpet 
 for, 803 ; cleaning, 803, 304 ; 
 draperies of, 298 ; dusting fur- 
 niture in, 296, 297; Hoor, ar- 
 rangement for, 299 ; furniture 
 for, 304 ; outfit of, 298. 
 
 Dish, responsibility for a spoiled, 
 274. 
 
 Dishes — best method to heat, 325 ; 
 borax for washing, 261 ; cheap 
 appetizing, 61 ; for breakfast, 
 391,392; garnishing, 336; prep- 
 aration of Fi'ench, 421, 423 ; 
 proper service of, 329 ; ' wash- 
 ing of new, 263. 
 
 Dish-cloths and towels, 264. 
 
 Disinfectant, copperas water a 
 good, 116, 117,265. 
 
 Donkey sausage, 89. 
 
 Dress, working, 259. 
 
 Drains, destroving odors in, 116, 
 117,265. 
 
 Draperies of dining-room, 298. 
 
 Draught, helping a poor, 295. 
 
 Druggets, to clean, 297. 
 
 Duehessc loaves, 405. 
 
 Duck— breast of, broiled, 401 , 402 ; 
 canvas-back, 226, 227; curry of, 
 400 ; salmi of cold, 228 ; salmi 
 with olives, 354 ; to cook, 353, 
 354. 
 
 Dumplings — for fricassee of salt 
 pork, 106 ; marrow, 60, 61. 
 
 Economies, small, 200. 
 
 Economy — in table supplies, 31 ; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 429 
 
 there must be careful and stud- 
 ied, 13. 
 
 Eels, fried. 383. 
 
 Egg-balls, '253. 
 
 Egg-plant — fried, 112; fritters, 
 112,382,383; griddle- cakes, 
 112; pickled, 112; scalloped, 
 112; stewed, 112; to bake, 111, 
 112; with okra, 112. 
 
 Eggs — boiled and fried, 103 ; po- 
 tatoes and fried, 102 ; toast and 
 fried, 102. 
 
 Elderberry and grape sauce, 150, 
 151. 
 
 Entertainments — refreshments at, 
 309-315 ; remarks on small so- 
 cial, 309. 
 
 Entree^ a delicious, 62, 63. 
 
 Expenses, household, 2-4, 6-9. 
 
 Failures, culinary, 2*74. 
 
 Fare — bill of, 4 ; bills of, for din- 
 ners, 351, 353, 357, 363, 366, 
 373, 377, 381, 394, 398, 402, 
 408, 410, 411 ; bills of, for the 
 week, 387-389; Christmas, 415- 
 423 ; extension of farmers', 
 102 ; farmers' limited range of, 
 101 ; favorite English, 224. 
 
 Fastidious dinner, remarks about, 
 350. 
 
 Fat — and bone, importance of, as 
 food, 96 ; scraps, 70, 87 ; treat- 
 ment of, 57-59 ; uses of, 97. 
 
 Filds, 189. 
 
 Fire — helping a poor, 293 ; light- 
 ing a, 268 ; making a grate, 295. 
 
 Fish — abundance of, 29; baked 
 blue, 205 ; baked halibut neck, 
 204 ; barbecue of shad, 205 ; 
 barbecue. Point Shirley, 401 ; 
 breaded and fried, 202 ; broiled 
 skate, 208 ; broiled fluke, with 
 pickle butter, 381 ; carying, 
 332 ; cheaper kinds of, 207 ; 
 cooking cat - fish, 204 - 205 ; 
 cream of skate, 209 ; for din- 
 
 ner, 202 ; fried skate, 208 ; 
 cold, heated, 321 ; how to cook 
 and serve pickled, 24 ; how to 
 keep, 24 ; prices of, 29 ; remarks 
 on, 201 ; scalloped, 202, 206 ; 
 scalloped fresh, 389, 890 ; stur- 
 geon, 206, 207 ; used the second 
 time, 186. 
 
 Floor — dining-room, 303; rugs 
 for dining-room, 299 ; staining, 
 299. 
 
 Flour — average price of, 29 ; 
 grades of, 29 ; remarks about, 
 
 « 1 O o o 
 
 oZ, OO. 
 
 Fluke, baked, with pickle butter, 
 381. 
 
 Fondant for candy, 421. 
 
 Food — economical use of remains 
 of, 308 ; farinaceous, 5 ; method 
 of purchasing, 15-18, 386 ; over- 
 seasoning, 335, 336 ; perishable 
 articles of, 21, 23; remarks on 
 the second service of, 7, 184- 
 186. 
 
 Forcemeat — balls, 245 ; bread, 9, 
 10, 363; celery, 404; for poul- 
 try, 409. 
 
 French candies, 371, 421. 
 
 FricandeaUy 189. 
 
 Fricassee, 189 ; chicken, 106, 107 ; 
 of salt pork, 106. 
 
 Fritot, 189, 230, 231. 
 
 Fritters — egg - plant, 882, 883 ; 
 orange, 406. 
 
 Frozen apple, 355. 
 
 Fruit — brandied, 164, 165; butter, 
 158; cordials, 165-167; for 
 breakfast, 284 ; for pickling, 
 142 ; ices, 169-171 ; jams, 159 ; 
 marmalades, 159 ; perishable, 
 22 ; power of Board of Health 
 in regard to, 20, 21 ; process of 
 canning, 154, 155; remarks on, 
 168; roly-poly, 412; tropical, 
 168. 
 
 Fuels — compared, 268 ; cost of, 3 ; 
 saving, 306, 307- 
 
430 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Furniture — for dining-room, 304 ; 
 cleaning upholstered, 304. 
 
 Galantines, 234-241. 
 
 Game — canvas -back duck, 22G, 
 227 ; carving, 332, 333 ; claret 
 ■with, 223 ; cooking small or 
 large birds, 225, 226 ; deviled, 
 320 ; galliraaufrv of, 223, 224 ; 
 how to cook wildi221, 222 ; pot- 
 ted, 224 ; pudding of cold, 224 ; 
 salmi of cold duck, 228 ; teal, 
 226; to cook small, 222, 223; 
 to keep, 271 ; to pot, 223 ; to 
 prepare water birds, 225 ; words 
 about, 211,212. 
 
 Garnish — a border of rice or 
 mashed potato for, 337 ; fried 
 bread for, 187; for chops and 
 steaks, 337 ; for sausages, 90 ; 
 marrow, 60. 
 
 Garnishes, 336, 337; for beef- 
 steak, 60 ; value of, 61. 
 
 Gentlemen's suppers, 327, 328. 
 
 Gherkins, picklinc:, 145. 
 
 Giant puff-balls'^— edible, 126; 
 stewed or fried, 126. 
 
 Glass, treatment of new, 263, 
 300. 
 
 Grains, merits of different, 35. . 
 
 Grape — and elderberry s:iuce, 150, 
 151; catsup, 150, 183; sauce, 
 150. 
 
 Grapes — canning, 182, 183; re- 
 marks on, 177, 178 ; to keep, 
 178-181. 
 
 Gratins, 189. 
 
 Green-groceries, suggestions in ref- 
 erence to, 19. 
 
 Greens, boiling, 117. 
 
 Grenadins, 189. 
 
 Groceries — care of, 272, 273 ; pur- 
 chase of dry, 31. 
 
 Grocers, excuses of, 139, 140. 
 
 Grumblers, some servants consti- 
 tutional, 356. 
 
 Gumbo, 222. 
 
 ITamdut neck, baked, 204. 
 
 Haricots, 189. 
 
 Hams — brine for salting, 87 ; how 
 
 to cure, 86. 
 Hash, shin of beef for, 72. 
 Hasty-pudding, American, 35. 
 Head-cheese, 93. 
 Herbs, sweet, 196. 
 Hominy, boiled and fried, 378. 
 Household — expenses, 2-4, 6-9; 
 
 promotion of economy in, 302. 
 Housekeepers, suggestions for 
 
 country, 95. 
 Housekeeping, one of the worst 
 
 evils of American, 4. 
 Housewife, guidance of, 269. 
 House-work, management of, 259. 
 Howells' pig, 356. 
 Huckleberry spider-cake, 109. 
 
 Ice, to keep, 271. 
 
 Ice-box, care of, 271. 
 
 Ices, fruit, and ice-creams, 169- 
 
 171. 
 Income, average family, 1. 
 Indian meal — comparative cost of, 
 
 35 ; more nutritious than flour, 
 
 35. 
 Indian puddings, 412. 
 Insect poisons, 275. 
 Insects, destruction of, 272. 
 Invitations to kettle-drums and 
 
 teas, 310. 
 Italian vieringuc, 422. 
 
 Jam, peach, 161. 
 
 Jams, fruit, 159. 
 
 Jars for canning, 155. 
 
 Jelly — aspic, 234: keeping, 155, 
 
 156 ; making, 158 ; orange, 172, 
 
 175. 
 Jowl, 94. 
 
 Kentucky gumbo, 222. 
 
 Kerosene oil — care required in us- 
 ing, 305 ; explosiveness of, 266 ; 
 to extinguish flames of, 305. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 431 
 
 Kettle for canning, 155. 
 
 Kisses, meringue for, 422. 
 
 Kitchen — cleaning utensils in, 
 2G7 ; cleaning woodnork of, 
 2G6, 267 ; cookery-book in, 274 ; 
 fresh atmosphere in, 266 ; keep- 
 ing in order, 263 ; light neces- 
 sary in, 265 ; refuse to be 
 burned, 269. 
 
 Knickerbocker fricassee, 217. 
 
 Knives, to scour, 260. 
 
 Kohl-rabi, 128. 
 
 Kromeskeya^ 189, 
 
 Labor-sating devices, 261, 262. 
 
 Lamb — best in early summer, 80 ; 
 breast of, ^vith tomatoes, 363 ; 
 frozen, 88; how to keep, 81; 
 pilaff of, 390; potted, 88; pur- 
 chase .of, 80 ; roasted forequar- 
 ter, 80; varying prices of, 80; 
 warmed cold, 321. 
 
 Lamps — filling, 305, 306 ; metal, 
 the safest, 305. 
 
 Lard — for pastry, 395; trying 
 out, 87, 88. 
 
 Lemon shrub, 167. 
 
 Lemons, spiced, 151. 
 
 Lettuce salad, 365. 
 
 Lighting, cost of, 3. 
 
 Limes, spiced, 151, 152. 
 
 Liqueur, raspberry, 166. 
 
 Loaves, Duchesse, 405. 
 
 Lunar caustic for vermin, 275. 
 
 Luncheon — dishes for, 325; laying 
 table for, 323-325 ; marketing 
 for, 391 ; service of hot dish at, 
 326; service upon tray, 327; 
 waiting at, 325, 326. 
 
 Luxuries, autumn, 215, 216. 
 
 Luxury, a Thanksgiving, 413. 
 
 Macaroni — and its cookery, 37- 
 44 ; buying, 44 ; Calabrian, 43 ; 
 chrome yellow in, 38 ; dry rind 
 of cheese for, 308 ; farmer's 
 dish of, 41; for soups, 44; 
 
 Genoa, 37; how to tell good, 
 37; how to cook, 39-44; Italian 
 dish of, 41, 42 ; Italian dressing 
 for, 40 ; kinds of, 39 ; Leghorn, 
 43 ; manufactured in United 
 States, 38; methods of making, 
 38, 39 ; Naples, 38 ; observa- 
 tions on, 37, 38 ; sauces for, 40 ; 
 Spanish method of cooking, 43. 
 
 Maid — the typical, 291, 292; 
 training of, 6. 
 
 Mangoes, green, 149. 
 
 Manners of servant reflect on 
 mistress, 286. 
 
 Marinade, 73. 
 
 Marketing, 15-17; early. 111. 
 
 Markets, early activity in, 16. 
 
 Marmalade — Dundee, 172, 173; 
 Florida, 174 ; Mrs.Prescott Spof- 
 ford's, 174; orange, 172-174; 
 peach, 161. 
 
 Marmalades, fruit, 159. 
 
 Marrow — balls, 60 ; tisane, 60 ; 
 toast, dumplings, and mince, 61. 
 
 Martinoes, pickled, 146. 
 
 Matelote, 189. 
 
 Matting, to wash, 303. 
 
 Mats, table, use of, 323. 
 
 3Iayonnaise, 132-141 ; difficulties 
 in making, 136-138 ; French, 
 133, 134 ; service of acid fruit 
 with, 134, 140, 141; substitutes 
 for oil in, 138, 139 ; watermelon 
 salad with, 141. 
 
 Meals, planning for, 285. 
 
 Meat — and fresh peppers, 114; 
 an easy way of drying, 78 ; 
 cheaper in West than East, 29 ; 
 disposition of large pieces of, 
 54; frozen, to thaw, 56 ; drying 
 in air or sun, 78 ; how tainted, 
 56, 57; May delicacies in, 80; 
 mince,418, 419 ; parts that taint 
 first, 54; pliysical effects of bad, 
 45 ; prices of, in leading ciiies, 
 30 ; primitive method of curing, 
 78 ; purchase of, 53, 54 ; re- 
 
432 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 moval of veins from, 5G ; stew 
 of tough, 15 ; to keep, 271 ; 
 trimming, 57; used second time, 
 186, 187; warmed cold, 321. 
 
 Meringue, Italian, 422. 
 
 Alilk — a food, not a beverage, 
 324 ; how to keep, 25, 26 ; 
 sour, 308 ; toast for tea, 319, 
 320; veal, 80, 81. 
 
 Midsummer experiment, 385. 
 
 Mince — calf's - head, 249 ; meat, 
 418, 419 ; shin of beef for, 72. 
 
 Miroton, 189. 
 
 ]\Iirrors, polishing, 298. 
 
 Mush, fried, 378. 
 
 Mushroom — catsup, 125; salad, 
 127. 
 
 Mushrooms — canned, 125, 126; 
 fresh field, 123 ; remarks about, 
 123; remedy for poisoning from, 
 124; rice and, 390, 391; Ilus- 
 sians eat poisonous, 124; test 
 of, 124, 125 ; treatment of, 124 ; 
 uses of, 126 ; with rice, 382. 
 
 Muskmelon — pickled, 147, 148; 
 salad, 381. 
 
 Muskrats as food, 221. 
 
 Mutton — always in season, 80; 
 carving, 330; corned, 88; frozen, 
 88 ; potted, 88. 
 
 Napkins, uses of, 277, 278. 
 Naphtha, a dangerous fuel, 306. 
 New England pies and cakes, 409. 
 
 Oakland stuffed peppers, 115. 
 
 Oatmeal — adulteration of, 34 ; 
 imported, equalled by Ameri- 
 can, 34. 
 
 Odors, destroying bad, 116, 117. 
 
 Oil,explosivencss of kerosene, 266. 
 
 Oil-cloths, cleaning, 267. 
 
 Okra — soup with crabs, 377 ; 
 uses for, 112, 113. 
 
 Olive-oil — nutritious, 76 ; an im- 
 portant fat, 140; should be 
 kept from the light, 76. 
 
 Omelet — an, 103; bread, 104; for 
 tea, 319; salt-fish, 103; South- 
 ern, 103. 
 
 Onions — a wholesome pickle, 144 ; 
 avoiding odors from cooking, 
 116; peeling,116; pickling,144. 
 
 Opossum — cold roast, 220 ; dishes 
 made from, 220. 
 
 Orange — cake, 177; cream, 177; 
 fritters, 406; jelly, 172, 175; 
 marmalade, Dundee, 172 ; Flor- 
 ida, 174; Mrs. Prescolt Spof- 
 ford's, 174; peel, candied, 175, 
 176; pudding, 176; pulp, uses 
 of, 177; salad, 370. 
 
 Oranges — preparation of, 172; 
 remarks on, 171 ; ways of using, 
 171-177. 
 
 Outfit of dining-room, 298. 
 
 Oversight, personal, 13, 27. 
 
 Oysters — fried, 365, 366; Mary- 
 land, panned, 320; panned, 3 12; 
 raw, 344, 347 ; serving, 325 ; 
 stewed, 411. 
 
 Paint, cleaning white, 297. 
 
 Pantry — cleanliness in, 272; the 
 butler's, 274 ; ventilation of, 
 273. 
 
 Panurcs, 190. 
 
 Parsley — butter, 209; winter-grow- 
 ing, 131. 
 
 Parties, refreshments for supper, 
 311,315. 
 
 Partridge, baked, 409. 
 
 Pastry — lard for, 395; plain flaky, 
 369. 
 
 Pate brhee, 89. 
 
 Patties, 190. 
 
 Peach — jam, 161 ; mangoes, 150 ; 
 marmalade, 161, 162. 
 
 Peaches — brandied, 164, 165; 
 fiied, 162; preserving, 160, 161; 
 spiced, 149, 150. 
 
 Peanuts, salted, 362, 363. 
 
 Pears — iced Bartlctt, 382 ; pick- 
 led, 152, 153. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 433 
 
 Pcmican, 79. 
 
 Pepper — action of, 196; sticks, 
 
 346. 
 Peppers — baked, 375 ; green, 115; 
 
 meat and fresh, 114; Oakland 
 
 stuffed, 115; to pickle green, 
 
 147. 
 Pickle — an old-fashioned mixed, 
 
 144 ; butter, 378 ; for corning 
 
 beef, 71. 
 Pickles, 141-153; fruit for, 142, 
 
 148-153; New England, 409; 
 
 to keep, 273 ; vegetables for, 
 
 142-147, 149. 
 Pihiff— of lamb, 390 ; of rice, 390. 
 Pic, chicken, 229, 368-370. 
 Pies and cakes, New England, 409. 
 Pig — cutting up a, 82-84 ; pieces 
 
 of a, and how used, 82-84 ; roast 
 
 sucking, 419. 
 Pigeons — dumplings, 224; stuffed, 
 
 224. 
 Pineapple — iced, 378 ; pickled, 
 
 153; shrub, 167; New Orleans 
 
 \vav of using, 169; preserving, 
 
 162-164. 
 Planked shad, 376. 
 Plum tart, 396. 
 Plums, pickled, 152. 
 Poisons, insect, 275. 
 Pork — a staple food, 29; baked 
 
 salt, 105 ; best for winter use, 
 
 80 ; breaded, 105 ; carving, 330; 
 
 curing, 84 ; curing legs of, 86 ; 
 
 fricassee of salt, 106 ; New 
 
 England way of putting up, 85, 
 
 86 ; novelty in cookery of salt, 
 
 104; salad, 132; smoking, 84; 
 
 to pickle fat, 86. 
 Porridge — a good breakfast dish, 
 
 34 ; nutritiousness of oatmeal, 
 
 35 ; physical effects of, 34. 
 Pot roast of shoulder piece of 
 
 beef, 72. 
 Pot age a la 7'eine, 404. 
 l^ot-pie, chicken, 230. 
 Putatoes — and fried eggs, 102 ; 
 28 
 
 baked in cream, 371 ; brush for 
 Avashing, 261; Diichesse, 405; 
 fried with corn, 384 ; mashed, 
 365 ; new, broiled, 384 ; new, 
 fried, 378; stuffed, 11. 
 
 Poultry- — deviled, 320 ; for lunch- 
 eon, preparation of, 229, 230; 
 salad of bits of, 132; summer 
 dainties in, 82; to keep, 271. 
 
 Preserves — as food for children, 
 173; fruit for should be ripe and 
 sound, 156; keeping, 155, 156, 
 273; orange, 172; pineapple, 
 162; putting up, 159; requests 
 for special recipes, 160; select- 
 ing fruit for, 160. 
 
 Prices, comparison of, 27, 28. 
 
 Problem of family living, 1. 
 
 Provisions, care of, 270, 271, 273. 
 
 Pudding — apple and bread, 107; 
 chicken, 107; Christmas, 415- 
 418 ; cracker, 412 ; game, 224; 
 Indian, 412; Indian with suet, 
 412; making Swiss, 364; Ma- 
 rianne, 11 ; orange, 176; rabbit, 
 219 ; roly-poly, 412 ; rum sauce 
 for Christmas, 417 ; squirrel, 
 219. 
 
 Puff-ball, giant, 126. 
 
 Punch, Roman, 348, 
 
 Purchase of supplies, 386. 
 
 Ficree, 190, 197 ; making, 199, 200. 
 
 Purees^ brown soup with, 194. 
 
 Quenelles^ 245. 
 
 Rabbit — pudding, 219 ; stew, 219. 
 
 Rabbits, 216. 
 
 Raccoon, dishes made from, 220. 
 
 ^a<70u^, 190; how made, 361; soup- 
 meat, 361 ; turtle, 248. 
 
 Rampion, 128. 
 
 Rarebits, 319. 
 
 Raspberry— cordial, 166 ; Uqiteiir, 
 166. 
 
 Rechatiffes, 185. 
 
 Recipes, requests for special, 160. 
 
434 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Reception, refreshments at, 310, 
 311. 
 
 Refuse, kitchen, to be burned, 
 209. 
 
 Rent, average, 2. 
 
 Rice— and mushrooms, 390, 391 ; 
 croquettes, 402, 405 ; to boil, 
 400. 
 
 Hissole, 190. 
 
 Roast — beef, carving, 331 ; cold 
 opossum, 220. 
 
 Rolls, to cook beef, 351. 
 
 Romaine sauce, 362. 
 
 Roman punch, 348. 
 
 Roquefort cheese, to serve, 355. 
 
 Roiix — brown, 194, 195; white, 40. 
 
 Royale custard, how made, 360. 
 
 Rum sauce for Christmas pud- 
 ding, 417. 
 
 Salad — a delicious spring, 134; 
 alligator pear, 141 ; apple and 
 onion, 134; artichoke and cress, 
 397; artichoke, globe, 128; Bar- 
 row tomato, 377 ; cabbage and 
 tomato, 405; cheese, 12; cheese- 
 cream, 365 ; cherry, 135; chick- 
 en, 132; corn, 362; dressing, 
 French, 133; dressing, ma_(/o?i- 
 naise^ 133, 136, 137; dressings, 
 132; grape-fruit, 134; lemon, 
 134 ; lettuce, 365 ; lobster, 134 ; 
 mayonnaise, 133, 136, 137; ma- 
 yonnaise, substitutes for, 138, 
 139; mushroom, 127; musk- 
 melon, 134, 141, 381 ; of herbs, 
 Italian dishing of, 131 ; oil, 140; 
 oil, adulteration of, 139; oil for, 
 139; orange,135,370; plum, 135; 
 pork, 132; preparation of chick- 
 en, 132, 133; Romaine, 362; 
 salmon, 134 ; sorrel leaves for, 
 130; thistle, 128; vegetable, 
 preparation of, 132, 133 ; water- 
 melon, 134, 141. 
 
 Salads — abundance of fresh green, 
 127-130 ; country folk need not 
 
 be without, 130; for lamb or 
 veal, 130; fruit, 135, 136 ; grow- 
 ing in window - boxes, 127; 
 larger garden, 131 ; prices of 
 green, 127 ; with mayonnaise^ 
 132. 
 
 Salami, 89. 
 
 Salmi, Hunter's, 190; of duck, 
 228; with olives, 354. 
 
 Salmon, mayonnaise with canned, 
 321. 
 
 Salt pork, 85, 86 ; baked, 105 ; 
 fricassee of, 106 ; fried, 105 ; 
 novelty in cookery of, 104, 105. 
 
 Sauce — brandy pudding, hard,4l7, 
 brandy pudding, liquid, 417 ; 
 butter, burnt, 208; butter, caper, 
 268; butter, clarified, 41; butter, 
 parsley, 209 ; butter, pickle, 378 ; 
 brown, 11 ; cream pudding. 12; 
 foaming pudding, 417; game, 
 Mrs. Howe's, 214 ; giblet, 404 ; 
 grape, 1 50 ; grape and elder- 
 berry, 150,151 ; lemon pudding, 
 364; Mandrang, 378; mush- 
 room, 126, 354; roast chicken 
 with liver, 402-404 ; Romaine^ 
 362 ; rum, for Christmas pud- 
 ding, 417; Tartar, 247; tomato, 
 41; tomato paste for, 143: 
 white, 40. 
 
 Sauces — brown, 40 ; to keep, 273 ; 
 used the second time, 186. 
 
 Saucepans, flat-bottomed, 269. 
 
 Sausage — Bologna, 91, 92; gar- 
 nish for, 90; pork, 91; skins, 
 91; veal, 92. 
 
 Sausages — German, 89 ; donkey, 
 89 ; horse, 89 ; liow to make, 
 89 ; to preserve, 90. 
 
 Scalloped — blue -fish, 389, 390; 
 cold fish, 206 ; dishes for tea, 
 321,322. 
 
 Scallops, 190; fried, 390. 
 
 Scouring knives, etc., 260. 
 
 Scrapple, Bhiladelphia, 92, 93. 
 
 Scraps, 70, 89. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 435 
 
 Seasoning, action of, 19G, 197. 
 
 Servant — appearance of, 28 G ; 
 average wages of, 3 ; how train- 
 ed, 258, 26i-263 ; in the dining- 
 room, 276, 277, 293, 297 ; man- 
 ners of, reflect on mistress, 286; 
 personal cleanhness of, 287 ; 
 sleeping-room of, 258 ; Southern 
 house, 289 ; sweeping, 296 ; the 
 typical, 291, 292; toilet appli- 
 ances for, 258 ; use of utensils 
 by, 262; waiting at table, 281, 
 282 ; words from standpoint of, 
 263 ; work of, 259, 260. 
 
 Servants, Chinese, 19, 63, 64. 
 
 Service — directions for table, 301 ; 
 in Germany, 290 ; demand for 
 good, 289 ; niceties of table, 
 287; of dinner, 340; of food, 
 remarks on the second, 184- 
 186; secret of perfect table, 
 288. 
 
 Shad — barbecue of, 205 ; planked, 
 376 ; roes, fried, 376. 
 
 Shell-fish, serving at dinner, 344, 
 347. 
 
 Short - cake — apple, 399 ; peach, 
 394 ; strawberry, 373-375. 
 
 Shoulders, carving, 330. 
 
 Shrub — currant, 166 ; lemon, 167; 
 pineapple, 167. 
 
 Silver — chamois for polishing, 
 264 ; cleaning, 300, 301 ; pol- 
 ishes for, 264 ; washing, 274. 
 
 Sinks, destroying odors in, 116,117. 
 
 Sirloin of beef, carving, 331. 
 
 Skate— boiled, 208 ; broiled, 208 ; 
 cream of, 209 ; fried, 208. 
 
 Sleeping-room, servant's, 258. 
 
 Smelts, breaded and fried, 405. 
 
 Smoking, famil}', 85. 
 
 Smoking-closet, 84, 
 
 Snapdragon, 422, 423. 
 
 Soap — hard, 101 ; home manufac- 
 ture of, 98, 100, 101 ; potash, 
 100 ; soda, 100 ; soft, 99 ; toilet, 
 101. 
 
 Sorrel leaves for salad, 130. 
 
 Soup — artichoke, 397, 398 ; botcil- 
 lon, 197, 198 ; brown and white, 
 cost of, 195 ; brown chowder, 
 209, 210 ; hvown purees for, 194, 
 196, 199 ; clear, 197 ; cold wine, 
 382 ; consomme, 358 ; cream, 
 193, 194; cream of beets, 12, 
 193; cream of carrots, 367; 
 cream of salmon, 351 ; cream 
 of skate, 209 ; cream oyster, 
 366 ; flavors for, 196; making, 
 
 195, 196 ; materials, uses of, 
 358 ; okra, with crabs, 377 ; 
 potage d la reine, 404 ; poultry 
 and rice, 200; rabbit, 217; re- 
 marks on, 192, 193 ; royale cus- 
 tard for, 358 ; seasonings for, 
 
 196, 197; squirrel, 216, 217; 
 stock, making, 358-360 ; stock, 
 proportion of meat and bone 
 for, 358 ; stock, turtle, 243, 
 245 ; thick green turtle, 245, 
 246 ; turtle, clear, 245 ; used 
 the second time, 186; venison, 
 214 ; white vegetable, 193, 194. 
 
 Soup-meat, ragout of, 361. 
 
 Sour-crout, 120; preparation for 
 table of, 121. 
 
 Souse, 93, 94. 
 
 Spaghetti, Naples, 43. 
 
 Spiced limes and lemons, 151. 
 
 Spinach — for salad, 130; treat- 
 ment of, 118, 119. 
 
 Spring dinners — bills of fare for, 
 357, 363, 366 ; preparation of, 
 and dishes for, 357-372. 
 
 Spring lamb and milk veal, 80. 
 
 Spoonholder, chamois in bottom 
 of china or glass, 324. 
 
 Spots on carpet, 302, 303. 
 
 Squirrel — fricassee of, 217; Mrs. 
 S. S. Ward's stew, 218, 219; 
 pudding, 219 ; soup, 216, 217 ; 
 to skin, 398. 
 
 Stains — removing coffee, 277 ; re- 
 moving, from hands, 260. 
 
436 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Steak, how to treat a tough, TS. 
 
 Steaks, turtle, 24 fi. 
 
 Stew — a Carletou House turtle, 
 246; Brunswick, 398, 399; rab- 
 bit, 219 ; squirrel, 218, 219, 221 ; 
 turtle brown, 248 ; wood terra- 
 pin, 253, 254 ; wood terrapin, 
 wine with, 254, 255. 
 
 Storeroom — cleanliness of, 269, 
 270, 272 ; necessity for, 45. 
 
 Stores, care of, 270. 
 
 Stove, attention to, 267, 268. 
 
 Strawberries, care of, 22. 
 
 Strawberry short-cake, 373-375. 
 
 Stringbeans saiUes^ 354. 
 
 Sturgeon, 206, 207 ; baked, 396, 
 397; pickled, 207. 
 
 Succotash, 384. 
 
 Sugar, 31 ; keeping, 32 ; to test 
 purity of, 31. 
 
 Summer dinner, a typical, 373. 
 
 Summer dinners — bills of fare 
 for, 375, 377, 381 ; preparation 
 and cooking of, 373-384. 
 
 Sunday teas, 316-322. 
 
 Supper — a delicious, 312, 313; 
 elaborate, 313-315 ; parties, re- 
 freshments for, 311-315. 
 
 Suppers — gentlemen's, 327, 328 ; 
 service of, 327. ' 
 
 Supplies — and prices, remarks on, 
 27, 28 ; improved quality of, 
 28 ; purchase of, 45, 368. 
 
 Sweeping, 296 ; directions for, 302. 
 
 Swiss pudding, making, 364. 
 
 Table — clearing the, 301 ; service, 
 directions for, 301 ; service, in- 
 formal, 276-292; service, secret 
 of perfect, 288 ; setting the, 
 276-280 ; small children at the 
 family, 276, 277; waiting at, 
 281. 
 
 Table-cloth — Canton flannel un- 
 der, 317, 323; ironing, 302; 
 spots on, 277. 
 
 Table-linen, washing colored, 278. 
 
 Tables, cleaning, 267. 
 
 Tart, plum, 396. 
 
 Taste, indulgence of, 3-4. 
 
 Tastes, dishes enough to satisfy, 
 all, 14. 
 
 Tautog, baked, 408, 409. 
 
 Tea — invitations to, 319; omelet 
 for, 319 ; place at table of, 281 ; 
 refreshments for, 310; service 
 of, 327. 
 
 Teal, 226. 
 
 Teas, Sunday, 316-322; cold 
 meats and fish warmed for, 
 321; dishes for, 318-322; hot 
 dish for, 318; laying table, 317, 
 318; preparation of, 316-318; 
 scalloped dishes for, 321, 322; 
 the housekeeper embarrassed 
 by, 316. 
 
 Terrapin, 249; California, 250, 
 251; cooking, 249-253; dia- 
 mond-back, to boil, 250; dia- 
 mond-back, to dress, 251, 252; 
 imitation, 256, 257; Maryland 
 stew, 254 ; Maryland, without 
 wine, 254; Mrs. S. S. Ward's, 
 255; Pennsylvania wood, 253; 
 red-leg, 253 ; soup, clear, 252 ; 
 South Carolina gophers, 253. 
 
 Thanksgiving dinner, a typical, 
 408. 
 
 Thanksgiving dinners — bills of 
 fare for, 408, 410, 411; prepa- 
 ration of, and dishes for, 408, 
 412. 
 
 Thanksgiving luxury, a, 413. 
 
 Thanksgiving time, 407. 
 
 Thistles for salad, 128. 
 
 Toast — and fried eggs, 102; mar- 
 row, 60, 61 ; milk, for tea, 319, 
 320 ; purpose of, 336. 
 
 Tomato — and cabbage salad, 405 ; 
 sauce for macaroni, 41. 
 
 Tomatoes — paste for sauce, 143; 
 pickling green, 142-144 ; styles 
 of cooking, 113. 
 
 Turbans, 191. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 437 
 
 Turkey — baked, 409 ; boned, 235- 
 241 ; carving roast, 334. 
 
 Turtle — brown stew, 248 ; Carle- 
 ton House stew, 246 ; green, ob- 
 servations on, 242; Mrs. Glas- 
 se's method of cooking, 246; 
 preparing, 243, 244 ; quenelles^ 
 245 ; ragout, 248 ; soup stock, 
 243-245; steaks, 247; thick 
 soup, 245, 246 ; to kill a, 242,243. 
 
 Utensils — careful use of cooking, 
 307, 308; careless use of, 302; 
 cleaning cooking, 307 ; treat- 
 ment of new metal, 264 ; use 
 of, by servants, 262. 
 
 Veal — best in early summer, 80 ; 
 carving, 330 ; cutlet, prepara- 
 tion for table of, 361 ; cutlets, 
 330 ; milk and grass, 81 ; salad 
 of bits of, 132 ; sausage, 92. 
 
 Vegetables — a pretty dish made 
 of tender, 336; and their cook- 
 ery, 110-122; avoiding odors 
 from cooking, 115 ; boiling, 117; 
 brush for washing, 261 ; canned, 
 52 ; early Southern, 30 ; for 
 pickling, 142; glazed, 361 ; how 
 to keep, 270 ; judging of ten- 
 derness of, 118; keeping fresh 
 green, 20, 21 ; power of Board 
 of Health in regard to green, 20, 
 21 ; preserving for winter use, 
 121, 122; recipes for warming 
 summer, 384 ; use only tender, 
 118; used second time, 187. 
 
 Venison — baked, 409; chops, 214; 
 corned, 213 ; dried, 213; keep- 
 ing, 212-214; pickled,214; pie, 
 215; potted,212,213,215; price 
 of, 212; remarks about, 211, 
 212; sauce for, 214; smoked, 
 213; soup, 214; to cook, 214, 
 215 ; used in sauces and soups, 
 213. 
 
 Vermin, destruction of, 272, 275. 
 
 Visiting-cards, 309. 
 
 Visitors, servant's reception of, 
 286. 
 
 Vol-au-verds^ 191. 
 
 Waffles, baking, 285. 
 
 Wages, servant's, 3. 
 
 Waiting at table, 281. 
 
 Walls, to clean dining-room, 303, 
 304. 
 
 Walnuts, cream, 371, 372. 
 
 Water-drinking, error as to, 324. 
 
 Watermelon salad with mayon- 
 naise, 148. 
 
 Week, bill of fare for, 387-389. 
 
 Wheat, cracked, shelled, etc., 33. 
 
 White custards, 362. 
 
 White sauce, 40. 
 
 White soups, 193, 194. 
 
 Whipped cream, 355, 395. 
 
 Wicks, treatment of lamp, 305. 
 
 Wife, ability of, 2. 
 
 Wine soup, cold, 382. 
 
 Woodchuck, 220. 
 
 Work — din in g - room , 293-297 ; 
 servant's early morning, 259 ; 
 slighting, 286. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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