Elizabeth Douglas

“ Vegetables.—In hot weather it is better to make stock without vegetables, as they often turn it sour.
See that all vegetables used are perfectly clean. Cut them in two or three pieces if to be used for flavouring stock. If they are to be served with the soup, cut them regularly and carefully to the size required, and do not cook them in the soup for more than half-an-hour, or their flavour will be impaired.
Vegetables should be added in the proportion of about one carrot, one onion (or leek) , half a turnip, a piece of celery, to every quart of stock. In the onion can be stuck a clove. ”

“ Cut the best of the meat into pieces. Put them into a stew-pan. Add the strained stock, half a pint of mixed parboiled vegetables cut in small rounds, or olive-shaped, a lump of sugar and more pepper if required. Heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.
The vegetables should be shaped with a vegetable cutter, and are best parboiled in a little stock.
Ox-tail soup may be thickened by a purée of carrots, turnips, peas or lentils. The purée is made by boiling whichever vegetable is required until very tender, and pressing it through a sieve or tammy. Add it to the strained stock and mix well. ”

“ It is essential in making invalid soups that the meat used should be uncooked and very good.
For beef tea use steak or shin of beef.
Every piece of skin, membrane and fat should be carefully removed from the meat to be used.
Vegetables, spice and seasoning should not be used unless permitted by the doctor.
When soup has to be made quickly a little time can be saved by removing the fat from it while it is still hot (see p. 3) . ”

“ Pour slowly into the soup, which should be nearly boiling. Let it come to a boil. Continue boiling for ten minutes (stirring all the time) , or it will taste of flour. About one table-spoon of flour should be used to thicken each quart of stock.
To thicken soups with butter and flour (roux) .—Melt some butter. Skim it till quite clear. Pour it into an earthenware sauce-pan, and add to it its weight in flour. Work with a wooden spoon until perfectly smooth. Stir over a fire for a few minutes. ”

“ Make up a big fire. Set the sauce-pan on it and let the contents boil violently for twelve to fifteen minutes. Then add a table-spoon of chopped parsley. Let it continue boiling for a minute.
In a warmed soup tureen put a number of [Pg 83] slices of roll or bread. Pour the liquid over them. See that they become thoroughly soaked with it. Add the best of the fish and serve.
The best fish to use for Bouillabaisse are cod, whiting, mullet, sole, turbot and langouste. It is absolutely essential that all the fish used should be perfectly fresh. ”

“ For thick white soups, chicken or veal stock is used. For brown thick soups, a dark stock. For purées, white or brown stock, according to their colour.
Stock will keep for several days—in winter for a week.
A tea-spoonful of Liebig’s Extract of Meat will greatly improve the flavour of a poor stock.
Utensils.—Of special utensils for making soup, porcelain-lined sauce-pans are the most satisfactory, and should always be used if possible. There is nothing so good or clean as the large French pot au feu, which can be bought in Soho. ”

“ Earthenware sauce-pans are also good.
It saves trouble when straining soup to have a large deep bowl or jar, and a colander or wire sieve which fits perfectly into it.
Wooden or silver spoons should be used.
The fire.—In making stock it is most important [Pg 2] to have a steady fire, which need not be interfered with, so that an even temperature may be kept. Stock should be allowed to come slowly to the boil, and then be set back to simmer so gently that bubbles rise from one side only of the pot.
To prepare fresh meat for stock.—Look over the meat carefully. ”

“ Let the vegetables (which should be cut up) and the ham stew gently in the butter for ten minutes. Strain the lentils from the water they have soaked in. Put them with the ham, vegetables and stock into a sauce-pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for two hours. Strain off the liquid. Pound and mash the lentils, etc., and pass them through a sieve. Return them to the liquid. Boil up again. Add a tea-spoonful of powdered sugar, seasoning and the cream, scalded. ”

“ To remove fat from stock it is best to let it first become quite cold. The fat will then become quite solid, and can easily be removed with a knife. To remove the small particles which may still be left, dip a cloth in hot water, wring it out, and pass it over the stock. ”

“ All are good, few are expensive, and none exotic. I should like it to be understood also that the directions need not be considered absolutely final. Every recipe can be made the basis of mild experiment, by slight differences in the ingredients or quantities. ”

“ If there is not time to allow the stock to cool first, a great deal of fat can be absorbed by tissue paper, which should be laid over it. Or it can be strained two or three times through cloths which have been put in very cold water and wrung out. ”

“ Julienne 2 large carrots
1 turnip
1 piece of celery
1 small onion
1⁄4 white cabbage
1 lettuce
A little sorrel
1 quart consommé
2 ozs. butter
Cut all the vegetables into thin shreds of equal length (about one inch) . Use the red outer part of the carrots only, and the hearts of the lettuce and cabbage. ”

“ Imperial Soup 1 quart clear consommé
For Custard 1 gill consommé
4 yolks of eggs
Nutmeg
Salt
Beat the yolks in a basin. Add a little salt and nutmeg. Stir in the consommé. Strain through a fine hair sieve into a shallow plain mould. Put it into a pan of boiling water, and steam until it sets. Turn out carefully on to a wet napkin. Cut into fancy or square shapes. Half of the mixture can, if wished, be coloured green with spinach colouring (p. 104) . Place the custards carefully in a tureen, and pour the hot consommé over them. ”

“ Add vinegar, salt, pepper to taste. This sauce should be made in a cold place and will take about fifteen minutes to make. Finely chopped tarragon, chervil and olives may be added to the mayonnaise.
Mint Sauce 1 handful of mint chopped
1 gill vinegar
2 table-spoons powdered or brown sugar
Melt the sugar in the vinegar. Chop the mint very fine. It cannot be too fine. Add it to the vinegar.
[Pg 139]
Sauce for Cold Fish 4 anchovies
3 yolks (hard boiled)
2 yolks (raw)
1 tea-spoon mustard
Oil
Vinegar
A little smoked salmon
Clean, bone and pound the anchovies with the hard boiled eggs. ”

“ Remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Stew them with the onion, ham and clove in an enamel sauce-pan until well cooked. Rub through a tammy. Return to the sauce-pan. Add the gravy and brown roux (see p. 12) . Simmer for quarter of an hour.
[Pg 125]
Hot Sauces for Fowls, Ducks, Rabbits, etc.
[Pg 126]
Apple Sauce
Set the required quantity of sour apples, pared, cored and sliced, in a small pan inside a large sauce-pan containing boiling water. Let the water boil quickly until the apples are done. Mash them and add sugar to taste.
Or,
Pare, quarter and remove the core of several sour apples. ”

“ Add the oil drop by drop, stirring continually in one direction, and working it well against the sides of the bowl. When the sauce becomes thick, the oil may be added more quickly. Continue adding oil until sufficient sauce has been made. ”