Chopstick

“ Their use is one of great antiquity in Japan, as attested by references to it in the ancient records of that country. One may search in vain for the trace of any object in the nature of a chopstick in Central or South America. Knitting needles of wood are found in the work baskets associated with ancient Peruvian mummies, but the chopstick has not been found. Curious pottery rests for the chopsticks are exhumed in Japan, but even this enduring testimony of its early use is yet to be revealed in this country.
The plow in all its varieties has existed in China for countless centuries. ”

“ As soon as the 200,000 Chinamen ordered by Mynheer KOOPMAN-SCHOOP arrive in this country, a good business can be driven by Yankee toothpick makers in supplying them with chopsticks. This word was originally "stop-chick," being so called from the use occasionally made of it by Chinamen for knocking down young poultry. It became corrupted, like everything that is good and pure, by contact with extreme civilization. Anybody who can make a shoe-peg or wooden toothpick can make a chopstick. It is to be hoped that the chopstick may ultimately be adopted here instead of the knife and fork. ”

“ Held between the thumb and fingers of the right hand, they are used as tongs to take up portions of the food, which is brought to table cut up into small and convenient pieces, or as means for sweeping the rice and small particles of food into the mouth from the bowl. Many rules of etiquette govern the proper conduct of the chopsticks; laying them across the bowl is a sign that the guest wishes to leave the table; they are not used during a time of mourning, when food is eaten with the fingers ”

“ Although our chopsticks may have some resemblance to magic wands, the purpose they fulfil is a much more prosaic one, and, at the same time, a much more useful one. They are the auxiliaries which help us to convey to our mouths the food which we need for our bodies, the coal required by the human machine. It is generally thought in Europe that we use two chopsticks—one in each hand—for taking up the morsels of food, and for conveying these to our mouths. That is a mistake: our knife and fork exercise is much less complicated. The chopsticks are held in the right hand. ”

“ With the evidences of Asiatic contact supposed to be so strong in Central America, one might have imagined that so useful a device as the simple chopsticks would have secured a footing. These two sticks, held in one hand and known in China as "hasteners or nimble lads," are certainly the most useful, the most economical, and the most efficient device for their purposes ever invented by man. Throughout that vast Asian region, embracing a population of five hundred million, the chopstick is used as a substitute for fork, tongs, and certain forms of tweezers. ”

“ Holding a bowl of the rice in such a manner that the nearer edge of it almost touches his chin, and grasping two chopsticks, about the shape and size of penholders, between his fingers and thumb, he feeds himself with a lively and dexterous motion of the hand, not very unlike a musician playing upon a jewsharp, and continues the feat without intermission until he has finished. ”

“ The foreigners put sugar on their rice and one of them even put sugar in his tea. They handled their chopsticks so awkwardly that it was marvellous that they did not spill the rice grains on the matting. She thought of the twenty rules in etiquette for the proper and graceful use of chopsticks and she imagined that if there had been a ten score of rules they might have all been broken. At last the three feasters finished their mighty meal and stretched out on the cushions to smoke in deep contentment. ”

“ Next came the savoury meats—of these the most remarkable were sea-slugs, like turtle-soup in taste, bamboo sprouts, sharks’ fins, and deers’ sinews—all gelatinous dishes are the most highly prized; the famous bird’s-nest soup is just like isinglass not quite boiled down. Finally came a sort of soup of rice. I found it very difficult at first to eat with chopsticks. The manner of eating is to dip your chopsticks into any one of the bowls, and transfer a morsel to your own saucers, which are not changed, neither are the chopsticks wiped, during the whole proceeding. ”

“ One of the courses of this dinner of dinners was a chicken, provided out of deference to my European tastes, and Inchie carved it. It was a muscular bird; but Inchie 183 carved it with a pair of large chopsticks as I have never seen a chicken carved before in any part of the globe. Not even Joseph of the Savoy with his flourish of fork and knife in mid-air could compete with Inchie and his pair of wooden chopsticks. ”

“ For stirring and clearing the hearth, we use a shovel with a long wooden handle and a pair of long iron rods which are held like chopsticks to pick up pieces of charcoal or cinders. The tongs which are used for braziers are much shorter and made of iron, copper, or brass; they are also used like chopsticks and are indeed called in Japanese “fire-chopsticks.” A hollow bamboo tube with a knot at one end which has a little hole in the centre takes the place of bellows. ”

“ I think there must be as much of a knack in handling poi as there is in eating with chopsticks. The forefinger is thrust into the mess and stirred quickly round several times and drawn as quickly out, thickly coated, just as it it were poulticed ”

“ If the fire is not clear, so that you cannot grill the chops, you must fry them. Take a frying-pan and make it very hot indeed; then lay in the chops and cook one side very quickly, and then the other, and after that let them cook more slowly. When they are done—you can tell by picking open a little place in one with a fork and looking in the inside—put them on a dish as before, with pepper and salt. If they are at all greasy, put on kitchen paper in the oven first, to drain, leaving the door of the oven open. Be careful not to let them get cold. ”

“ Stewed Chop or Cutlet.—Put it into a stewpan or small saucepan, with a pint of water, and a little salt and sugar; let it stew as gently as possible from an hour and a half to two hours, skim off all the scum and fat, and the patient may partake of both chop and broth; if seasoning is allowed, put a teaspoonful of pearl-barley, with a little celery, leek, and turnip, cut up very small, into the stewpan with the water, when you first put the chop on, and proceed as before; serve the broth in a soup basin, with the chop in it; should the meat happen to be tough, let it stew rather longer ”

“ Have six chops cut one and one-half inches thick, season with salt and pepper. In a sauté pan on the stove put one spoonful of fat or lard, and when hot add the chops and fry on both sides until brown. Then drain off the fat, add two ounces of butter, sprinkle with a spoonful of flour, add one pint of stock, one crushed tomato, one bay leaf, one clove; and then simmer slowly for an hour and a half. When done place the chops on a platter, season the sauce well, and strain over the chops. ”

“ Chops.—Take some chops from a loin of mutton, trim them neatly, and remove all fat; lay them in a deep dish, with slices of onion, a few cloves, whole pepper, salt, and sweet herbs; add oil and vinegar in equal parts just sufficient to cover them; let them marinade for 10-12 hours, turning them occasionally, then broil over a clear fire; arrange them neatly on a dish. Fry one or two shallots, minced very finely in butter; when just beginning to take colour, pour on the chops, and serve with sharp sauce in a boat. ”

“ Put eight mutton chops in a frying-pan in which you have melted an ounce of butter, adding a pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg; when the chops are colored on both sides, take them out and let them become cold. Chop fine three quarters of a pound of sausage-meat, add eight mushrooms, a little parsley and sage, all chopped fine; mix all together, and cover your chops on both sides with the farce, and wrap up each chop with the caul of pork. ”

“ A tiny food chopper, which can be regulated to chop finely or coarsely as required, may be bought for 3s. at most food-reform stores. It also has an attachment which macerates the nuts so as to produce "nut butter." The larger size at 5s. is the more convenient for ordinary use. If only one machine can be afforded, the food chopper should be the one chosen, as it can also be used for vegetables, breadcrumbs, etc. The nut-mill proper flakes the nuts, it will not macerate them, and is useful for nuts only. But flaked nuts are a welcome and pretty addition to fruit salads, stewed fruits, etc. ”

“ The chop-sticks are held between the first and second, and the second and third fingers, and constant practice enables a Chinaman to lift up and hold the minutest atoms of food, oily and slippery as they often are, with the greatest ease. To most foreigners their skillful use is well nigh impossible. To the view of the Chinese the use of chop-sticks is an evidence of superior culture ”

“ Use a cupful of chicken or beef stock in the cooking of this, adding it when the vegetables are added. On account of the gravy in this Chop Suey, it is served in soup bowls. There is a special sized bowl used for serving this.
AMERICAN CHOP SUEY
Extra Fine Make the same as plain American Chop Suey, but omit the onions and use bamboo shoots (cut thin) instead.
AMERICAN CHOP SUEY
Fine Cut Make the same as Extra Fine American Chop Suey but cut all ingredients smaller and thinner. ”

“ Mix the seasoned fish with the white sauce, then spread it on a dish and set aside for several hours to cool and stiffen. It will not be difficult to mold if it stands long enough. Take a tablespoonful of the mixture in the hands, and mold into the form of chops, round at one end and pointed at the other; roll the chops in crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in coarse bread crumbs grated from the loaf (see croquettes, page 293) . After the chops are molded let them stand for a time to stiffen before frying. Place them in a basket four at a time, and immerse in hot fat until an amber color. ”

“ A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed, and broiled to a turn, is a dish to be recommended for invalids; but it must not be served with all the fat at the end, nor must it be too thickly cut. Let it be cooked over a fire free from smoke, and sent up with the gravy in it, between two very hot plates. Nothing is more disagreeable to an invalid than smoked food.
In making toast-and-water, never blacken the bread, but toast it only a nice brown. ”

“ Cook them on a hot pan. Turn them frequently after the surfaces are seared so they will cook evenly and slowly. If preferred, they can be broiled over hot coals, but are then more likely to lose their shape and the skewers will be burned.
Arrange the chops flat on the dish in a circle with the skewers pointing out. Cover the top of each chop with a sauce made of the chopped mushroom stems, and place in the center of each chop a large mushroom cap. Place a paper frill on each skewer. Fill the center of the ring of chops with green peas or any small vegetable, or with mashed or fried potatoes. ”

“ Poor Man’s Soup, as the French call it, is [Pg 47] a very restorative dish after a bad day on the Stock Exchange, although there is little of the Poor Man about it save the name.
Put a finely-shredded onion and a walnut of butter in the Chafing Dish and fry to a light brown colour, then add a heaped teaspoonful of flour and stir well; pour in a pint of stock, add pepper and salt to taste. Peel and slice a potato and scatter it in the soup; let the mixture come to a boil, and then allow it to simmer for ten minutes. ”

“ Cooks can slice, chop or mince vegetables and various other food rapidly by placing the little device, as shown, on a chopping board. Ii is an ordinary staple, driven in just far enough to allow a space for the end of an ordinary pointed kitchen knife to fit in it. The staple is driven in the edge of the chopping board. The knife can be raised and lowered with one hand, as the material is passed under the blade with the other. Great pressure can be applied and the knife will not slip. ”

“ Broil the chops, spread them with butter, and sprinkle them with chopped parsley, pepper, and salt. Arrange them symmetrically on a platter and place on each one an artichoke bottom holding a little good sauce, such as bearnaise or Hollandaise, or even melted butter, and a few green peas.
Artichoke bottoms come in cans and can be purchased from a grocer. The French ones are the best. They do not need any more cooking, but should be heated by placing them in hot water. ”

“ Put the chops into a stew-pan with cold water enough to cover them, and an onion: when it is coming to a boil, skim it, cover the pan close, and set it over a very slow fire till the chops are tender: if they have been kept a proper time, they will take about three quarters of an hour’s very gentle simmering. Send up turnips with them (No. 130) ; they may be boiled with the chops; skim well, and then send all up in a deep dish, with the broth they were stewed in.
N. B. The broth will make an economist one, and the meat another, wholesome and comfortable meal. ”

“ A large French knife chops vegetables on a board more rapidly than they can be done in a chopping bowl; it also slices onions, shaves cabbage, cuts croutons and does many things as no other knife can, while smaller ones of different sizes all have their uses.
For stirring dry flour and meal into hot liquid, for gravies, and for beating all batters, nothing can take the place of a strong wire batter whip.
The “Surprise” beater with fine cross wires makes the whites of eggs for meringues and cakes lighter than any other. The smaller the wire around the edge, the lighter the eggs will be. ”

“ Chopped celery, or onion, or both, improves the flavor for some people, and some like a teaspoon of chopped parsley.
No. 125. Clam Chowder.—There are innumerable ways of making this chowder, every cook book has one or more recipes for it, yet, hardly any two are alike. We give recipes for two ways of making, which we do not think can be improved upon. For the first one open clams enough to make a quart without the liquor, which you save and strain for the chowder. ”