Juliet Corson

“ Pot liquor in which meat has been boiled should always be saved and used for soup the next day, when by the removal of all fat, by careful skimming, and the addition of a few vegetables or some dumplings, rice, or macaroni, it will make a palatable broth. Experiments made by French chemists prove that the delicacy and richness of soup may be increased by first soaking the meat in tepid water enough to cover it, and adding this to the second water in which the meat is put over the fire, just as it reaches the boiling point. ”

“ The proper proportions for soup are one pound of meat and bone to one and a half quarts of cold water; the meat and bones to be well chopped and broken up, and put over the fire in cold water, being brought slowly to a boil, and carefully skimmed as often as any scum rises; and being maintained at a steady boiling point from two to six hours, as time permits; one hour before the stock is done, add to it one carrot and one turnip pared, one onion stuck with three cloves, and a bouquet of sweet herbs. ”

“ Any elaborate discussion of the relations of food to the needs of the body would not come within the scope of a work of this character; but there are a few facts concerning the diet of children to which we would call the attention of those mothers who wish their little brood to brighten home with radiant eyes, rosy cheeks, plump, graceful forms, and hearts bubbling over with the vivacity which springs from perfect health. ”

“ These general principles readily apply to the preparation of the numberless made dishes which are the glory of European cookery, and which transform the remains of an ordinary meat breakfast into a delicious luncheon, or an inviting side-dish for dinner. The fact that the secret of all good cookery is economy, must be our apology for treating this division of our subject at some length ”

“ This is an excellent reason why the housewife should not spend the bulk of her market money on a large roast of beef, or a leg of mutton, but should rather divide the amount among [Pg 6] the different dishes of soup, fish, a ragout, or stew of some cheap cut of meat, and a few vegetables; and now and then indulge in a plain pudding, or a little fruit for dessert. With judicious marketing and proper cooking, the food of our well-to-do classes might be made far better than two-thirds of that now served on the tables of the wealthy ”

“ Two gills of soup are usually allowed for each person at table when it is served as the first part of the dinner, and meats are to follow it. Care should be taken that the stock-pot boils slowly and constantly, from one side, as rapid and irregular boiling clouds and darkens the stock as much as imperfect skimming. Stock should never be allowed to cool in the stock-pot, but should be strained into an earthen jar, and left standing to cool uncovered, and all the fat removed, and saved to clarify for drippings; the stock is then ready to heat and use for soup, or gravy. ”

“ CHAPTER X. CHEAP DISHES WITHOUT MEAT.
"Bread is the staff of life;" in all ages and countries farinaceous foods have formed the bulk of man's sustenance; under this general term we include macaroni, which contains more gluten than bread and consequently is more nourishing, the different wheat flours, oat and barley meal, pearl barley, peas, beans, and lentils; the latter are the nearest article to meat in point of nourishment, containing heat-food in quantity nearly equal to wheat, and twice as much flesh food. ”

“ When dough has soured, the acidity can be corrected by the use of a little carbonate of soda or ammonia. If the sponge of "raised bread" be allowed to overwork itself it will sour from excessive fermentation, and if the temperature be permitted to fall, and the dough to cool, it will be heavy. Thorough kneading renders yeast-bread white and fine, but is unnecessary in bread made with baking-powder. Great care should be taken in the preparation of yeast for leavened bread, as the chemical decomposition inseparable from its use is largely increased by any impurity or undue fermentation. ”

“ Americans are beginning to realize the wealth of green food abounding in their gardens and fields, which they have too long abandoned to their beasts of burden. We are wise in letting the ox eat grass for us, but with the grass he too often consumes tender herbs which might find a place on our own tables, to the advantage of appetite and digestion. Dandelion, corn-salad, chicory, mint, sorrel, fennel, marshmallows, tarragon, chives, mustard, and cresses, and their numerous kind, grow wild, or can be cultivated with but little trouble ”

“ Hearty, vigorous children, who play much in the open air, can digest more meat than those who are confined indoors; and the cravings of a healthy appetite should always be appeased, care being taken that the stomach has the proper intervals of rest. Regularity of meals is really most important at all ages; the digestive organs must have time to assimilate their food supply. In childhood and youth, the period of growth, the needs of the system are more [Pg 118] pressing than at any other time of life; if at this time children are fed on rich and stimulating food, they will be prone to fevers ”

“ The object in cooking meat is to prepare it for easy mastication and complete digestion; and it should be accomplished with the least possible waste of the valuable juices of the meat. The roasting of meat before the fire is not often possible in ordinary kitchens, but with a well managed oven the same result can be attained. If meat is placed before a slow fire, or in a cool oven, the little heat that reaches it serves only to draw out its juices, and with them its nutritious elements. ”

“ It is her pride to make the most of everything in the shape of food entrusted to her care; and her pleasure to serve it in the most appetizing form. In no other way can she prove her excellence; for poor cooks are always wasteful and extravagant.
Housekeepers can safely make this book a guide for those of their cooks who are willing to learn new and good methods of cooking familiar foods. Lest it should be said that undue preference is given to foreign ways of cooking, the author begs her readers to remember how much of the success of any dish depends upon its taste ”

“ To forward in some measure this result, the present collection of Cooking School receipts is offered to the public, with the assurance that every one given has been tested by the author, and is complete in every detail, as economical as care and use can make it, and plain enough for ordinary households. The quantities mentioned in the various receipts are calculated to serve for a family of eight persons, when two or more dishes constitute a dinner, with the addition of soup; of course when only one dish is to form the meal, with bread and vegetables, a larger quantity must be allowed. ”

“ The author of The Cooking School Manual is doing her best to answer it satisfactorily. She has worked earnestly in a comparatively new field of labor, and she prays that strong hands may unite in the effort to show how excellent a thing it is to make the best and most of the bountiful supply our country's teeming bosom bears at every harvest tide. ”

“ Meats should be carefully cooked, so as to preserve all their natural juices; but no rich sauces, or made gravies, should accompany them to the table; a few ripe vegetables cooked until perfectly tender, roasted or baked potatoes, seed-bearing fruits, generally stewed, and plenty of light bread at least a day old, should be eaten with the meat. In stewing fruit only enough water should be used to prevent burning, and plenty of sugar should be employed to sweeten it; all fruit is less apt to be injurious if eaten early in the day. Eggs should be plain boiled, and rather soft. ”

“ Corn starch, arrow root, and potato flour are better than wheat flour for thickening soup. The meal of peas and beans can be held in suspension by mixing together dry a tablespoonful of butter and flour, and stirring it into the soup; a quarter of a pint of peas, beans, or lentils, is sufficient to make a quart of thick soup. Two ounces of macaroni, vermicelli, pearl barley, sago, tapioca, rice, or oatmeal, are usually allowed for each quart of stock.
If you wish to darken soup use a teaspoonful of caramel; but avoid burnt flour, carrot, and onion, as all these give a bad flavor. ”

“ It is just there that benefit is derived from European culinary skill; the judicious use of a few inexpensive sweet herbs, and savory sauces, will raise a side dish, made from the cheapest cut of meat, in gustatory excellence far [Pg 4] above a badly cooked porterhouse steak, or a large but poorly flavored roast. Because the art of utilizing every part of food is eminently French, the New York Cooking School plan has been to adapt foreign thrift to home kitchen use. To provide enough at each meal; to cook and serve it so as to invite appetite ”

“ Green vegetables are best just before they flower; and roots and tubers are prime from their ripening until spring germination begins.
Fruit.—All fruit should be purchased ripe and sound; it is poor economy to buy imperfect or decayed kinds, as they are neither satisfactory nor healthy eating; while the mature, full-flavored sorts are invaluable as food.
Sweet Herbs.—Sweet and savory herbs are absolutely indispensable to good cooking; they give variety and savory flavors to any dish into which they enter, and are nearly all of some decided sanitary use ”

“ Blanch one quart of oysters by bringing just to a boil in their own liquor, then strain them, saving the liquor, and keeping it hot; wash them in cold water and drain them; mix [Pg 38] one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together in a sauce-pan over the fire; as soon as it is smooth gradually stir in one pint of the oyster liquor, which must be boiling; season the sauce with half a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful each of white pepper and nutmeg; put the oysters into it to heat, while you thoroughly wash eight or ten deep oystershells with a brush ”

“ Beef should be of a bright red color, well marbled with yellowish fat, and surrounded with a thick outside layer of fat; poor beef is dark red, and full of gristle, and the fat is scant and oily. Mutton is bright red, with plenty of hard white fat; poor mutton is dull red in color, with dark, muddy-looking fat. Veal and pork should be bright flesh color with abundance of hard, white, semi-transparent fat; when the fat is reddish and dark, the meat is of an inferior quality; veal and pork should be eaten very fresh. ”

“ In cold weather, the dough should be mixed in a warm room, and not allowed to cool while rising; if it does not rise well, set the pan containing it over a large vessel of boiling water; it is best to mix the bread at night, and let it rise till morning, in a warm and even temperature.
257. Milk Bread.—Take one quart of milk, heat one-third of it, and scald with it half a pint of flour; if the milk is skimmed, use a small piece of butter; when the batter is cool, add the rest of the milk, one cup of hop yeast, half a tablespoonful of salt, and flour enough to make it quite stiff ”

“ Another excellent method is to beat three eggs, without separating the whites and yolks, with one tablespoonful of milk, and a little salt and pepper, and put them into a frying-pan containing two ounces of butter browned; let the omelette stand for a moment, and then turn the edges up gently with a fork, and shake the pan to prevent it burning or sticking at the bottom; five minutes will fry it a delicate brown, and it should then be doubled and sent to the table at once on a hot dish. Three eggs will make an omelette large enough for two persons, if any other dish is to be served with it. ”

“ How Meat should be Broiled.—In broiling all meats, you must remember that the [Pg 42] surface should not be cut or broken any more than is absolutely necessary; that the meat should be exposed to a clear, quick fire, close enough to sear the surface without burning, in order to confine all its juices; if it is approached slowly to a poor fire, or seasoned before it is cooked, it will be comparatively dry and tasteless, as both of these processes are useful only to extract and waste those precious juices which contain nearly all the nourishing properties of the meat. ”

“ Mayonnaise.—Place in the bottom of a salad bowl the yolk of one raw egg, a level teaspoonful of salt, the same quantity of dry mustard, a saltspoonful of white pepper, as much cayenne as can be taken up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade, and the juice of half a lemon; mix these ingredients with a wooden salad spoon until they assume a creamy white appearance; then add, drop by drop, three gills of salad oil, stirring the mayonnaise constantly; if it thickens too rapidly, thin it with a little of the juice from the second half of the lemon, until all is used ”

“ A lump of loaf sugar boiled with turnips neutralizes their excessive bitterness. Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, and beets, are injured by being boiled with fresh meat, and they also hurt the color of the meat, and impair its tenderness and flavor. When vegetables are cooked for use with salt meat, the meat should first be cooked and taken from the pot liquor, and the vegetables boiled in the latter. The following table will be a guide in boiling vegetables, but it must be remembered that the youngest and freshest boil in the least time ”

“ Stuffed Cabbage.—Cut the leaves of a large white cabbage as whole as possible, cut out the stalks, wash the leaves well, and boil them only until tender, in three quarts of boiling water and salt, with a piece of soda as large as a dried pea; have ready some sausage meat highly seasoned, and as soon as the cabbage is tender carefully drain it in a colander, run cold water from the faucet over it, and, without tearing the leaves, lay them open on the table, two or three upon each other, making eight or ten piles. ”

“ The giblets of poultry consist of the head, neck, wings, feet, gizzard, heart, and liver; and make good soup, fricassees, pies, and various entrées, or side dishes.
Game.—Fine game birds are always heavy for their size; the flesh of the breast is firm and plump, the skin clear; and if a few feathers be plucked from the inside of the leg and around the vent, the flesh of freshly killed birds will be fat and fresh colored; if it is dark, and discolored, the game has been hung a long time. The wings of good ducks, geese, pheasants, and woodcock are tender to the touch ”

“ Meats.—While meats are in season all the year, they are better at stated times; for instance, pork is prime in late autumn and winter; veal should be avoided in summer for sanitary reasons; and even our staples, beef and mutton, vary in quality. The flesh of healthy animals is hard and fresh colored, the fat next the skin is firm and thick, and the suet or kidney-fat clear white and abundant; if this fat is soft, scant and stringy, the animal has been poorly fed or overworked. ”