Ham (food)

“ In the restaurants and hotels of France and Switzerland, no less than in those of London, York ham is often served, and York ham at its best is considered by epicures equal to the hams of Prague or Westphalia. But if the English hams must share honors with the products of Germany and Bohemia, when it comes to bacon, Britannia rules the world. ”

“ Eel and other fish in jelly are other characteristic edibles the Fatherland has reason to be proud of; and have you ever eaten cold goose in an acidulated meat jelly? It is worth while going to Berlin, just to taste this Prussian Gänseweisssauer.
Smoked Pomeranian goosebreast is always in stock; its taste is not unlike that of raw smoked ham and there is no danger of trichinosis, though, to be sure, that danger from eating ham has been reduced in Germany to a minimum by the strict system of meat inspection.
The heads and feet of calves, sheep, and swine, wild and domestic, are much in demand ”

“ Graham Lusk of Cornell—have demonstrated, independently, that a dime a day, intelligently expended, is enough to keep body and soul together. What more we spend on food—and we probably average five times that amount—goes chiefly for flavor. It is the flavor that makes us willing to pay more for good butter than for good oleomargarine, for fresh chicken than for cold storage fowl, for Virginia ham than for ordinary ham, and so on throughout the list of foods ”

“ It is passing strange how patiently the average Englishman, and still more the average American, allows himself to be fooled by food manipulators whose chief aim is to save time, trouble, and expense.
The familiar definition of genius as "a capacity for taking pains" is incorrect, but such a capacity is certainly necessary for the production of the best foods, including bacon and ham. We Americans, speaking collectively, lack it and that is one of the main reasons why we must be branded as an ungastronomic nation. ”

“ It should never boil hard, but simmer gently until the ham has cooked fifteen minutes to every pound. It must cool in the liquor, and the skin should not be removed until the meat is entirely cold, taking care not to break or tear the fat. Brush over the ham with beaten egg, strew it thickly with very fine bread crumbs, and brown in a quick oven. Arrange a frill of paper around the bone of the shank, and surround the ham with water-cress, or garnish the dish with parsley. ”

“ Americans who wish to eat ham and eggs, or hash, or corn muffins, griddle cakes, breakfast cereals and that sort of thing, may find them in hotels and in not a few of the restaurants. American lobsters, at Eiffel Tower prices, are on every menu, and there are places where oysters from across the Atlantic, as well as native, can be ordered raw, scalloped, fried, broiled, or in diverse stews, tout comme chez nous. ”

“ In the morning, when the water—enough to cover the ham—is nearly boiling lay the ham in, and keep the water in a simmer. When it has boiled about an hour throw in two carrots, four onions, two heads of celery, a sprig of parsley, two or three blades of mace and four cloves. If the ham is very salty, it is well to change the water before putting in the seasoning. To obtain tenderness and mellowness the ham must not be allowed to boil hard, only simmer. Too much heat hardens all meat, especially salt meat. When the ham is done set it off in its own water, let it cool in it ”

“ In the best Italian restaurants, as in those of Paris, it is understood that garlic, while delicious for flavoring, is so only in homœopathic doses. Moreover one can always dine without garlic by simply saying to the waiter, when ordering a dish, senz' aglio.
Whether Italian peasants eat raw ham, as that Spanish teamster did, I do not know. Ham is not an [337] Italian specialty. At Naples one may get the genuine smoked article, but it is so expensive that only the wealthy folk can afford it. But in his enthusiastic addiction to tomatoes that Spaniard was akin to the Italians. ”

“ We always boil a ham the day before it is to be eaten. Take it out; remove the skin carefully, and put the latter back into the cold liquor when you have skimmed all the fat—which makes excellent dripping—from the surface of the liquid. Press soft paper on the top of the ham, to take off the clinging drops of grease. Brush all over with beaten egg. Work a cup of rolled cracker into a paste with warm milk, butter, pepper, salt, and a beaten egg. Coat the ham thickly with this, and set to brown in a moderate oven. Twist frilled paper around the knuckle, and garnish with cresses. ”

“ Dealers have slyly taken advantage of the naturally growing aversion to "smoked" meats. "Slightly Smoked" is a label one often sees now, and ere long, if not checked they will have the audacity to say to a housewife asking for smoked ham or fish or bacon that they have "none in stock," there being "so little demand for it." ”

“ On a warm summer day, when you are not hungry and yet feel a vague longing for something piquant, try a Bismarck herring with potato salad. You will bless me for the advice. It is very good for the stomach, too, the doctors say.
SAUSAGES AND SMOKED HAM.
The French have excellent sausages and so have the Italians. They are hard to beat, and yet, in the matter of variety and general excellence, the Germans as makers of würste are supreme.
Various are the tastes of sausage eaters, but all of them may be gratified west of the Rhine. ”

“ Make a gravy with milk, a little flour, and a teaspoonful of sugar; pour over the ham.
HAM TOAST. MRS. E. SEFFNER. Chop lean ham (the refuse bits) ; put in a pan with a lump of butter the size of an egg, a little pepper, and two beaten eggs. When well warmed, spread on hot buttered toast.
BOILED HAM. The best ham to select is one weighing from eight to ten pounds. Take one that is not too fat, to save waste. Wash it carefully before you put it on to boil, removing rust or mold with a small, stiff scrubbing brush. Lay it in a large boiler, and pour over it enough cold water to cover it. ”

“ When you looked at them you thought of the country, the orchards where they had been gathered, and Fetter Lane, with all its hawkers' cries and screaming children, vanished from your senses. You do not get that sort of an impression when you look in the window of a ham and beef shop. A plate of sliced ham, on which two or three flies crawl lazily, a pan of sausages, sizzling in their own fat, bear no relation to anything higher than the unfastidious appetite of a hungry man. ”

“ A FRENCH HAM PIE.—Having soaked and boiled a small ham, and taken out the bone, trim the ham nicely [86] so as to make it a good shape; and of the bone and trimmings make a rich gravy, by stewing them in a sauce-pan with a little water; carefully skimming off the fat. Make a sufficient quantity of force-meat, out of cold roast chicken or veal, minced suet, grated bread-crumbs, butter, pepper, chopped sweet-marjoram or tarragon; and grated lemon-peel, adding the lemon-juice, and some beaten egg. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. You may add some chopped oysters. ”

“ If it come out only a little smeared, and smells well, you may be assured that the ham is good, but if it be daubed, and have a fetid smell, it is good for nothing. When freshly cured, and not over salted, a ham may be trimmed, and wrapped in a coarse paste, and will be found more juicy, and of finer flavour baked than boiled. ”

“ When a fork stuck into the ham comes out readily, the ham is cooked. Take from the boiler and skin carefully, removing all the discolored portions of the smoked end, stick 2 dozen whole cloves into the thick fat, and sprinkle a couple tablespoonfuls of brown sugar and fine bread crumbs over top. Place in a very hot oven a short time, until the fat turns a golden brown. Watch carefully to see that it does not scorch. When cold, slice thin and serve. Aunt Sarah frequently added a pint of cider to the water in which the ham was boiled. She said this improved the flavor of the ham. ”

“ To have this dish in a perfection, ham must first be soaked, then boiled nearly done, and set aside to take slices from, as wanted. Cut rather thin, lay on a gridiron over hot coals; when hot through, lay on a dish, and pepper well. Pour over fresh butter melted, and serve. If a raw ham is used, the slices must be cut thicker, dropped in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes, then broiled as above.—Mrs. ”

“ Pour in a very little water, merely sufficient to keep the ham from burning. Put on the lid of paste, and having wet the edges slightly press them together, so as to unite closely the top and bottom crust. Bake it over a steady fire, from four to five or six hours, or more, according to its size. When done, skim the gravy, remove the paste, (which is of no farther use,) and take off the skin of the ham. Dredge it all over with finely grated bread-crumbs, before it goes to table. A ham can scarcely be cooked too much, and too slow. The general fault is in cooking them too little, and too fast. ”

“ Soak and clean your ham, boil it with onions, cloves, parsley and sweet herbs until it is nearly done, then let it cool in its own liquor; when cold, pull off the skin and place the ham in the oven gate, with a little sugar and bread crumbs over it till it is brown. If it is to be eaten hot, serve with vegetables and some acid or piquant sauce; if cold, send up savory jelly, No. 21.
[Pg 60] TO BOIL A HAM
Run a knife, or skewer, into the thickest part of the ham next the bone; if the knife comes out clean the ham is good, if it smells rank and smears the knife the ham is not good. ”

“ Shave some good ham very thin, pour over it boiling water, and let it scald a minute, pour it off, add a little more, let it boil up once, then put it into the thickened milk, leaving it there while you toast carefully a few evenly cut slices of bread. Lay them into a deep dish, skim out the ham from the milk and lay neatly on the toast, and then pour over all the thickened milk. You can beat an egg and put to the milk if you like. It makes it richer, but is not necessary. ”

“ Hams short in the hock are best, and long-legged pigs are not fit to be pickled.
HAM SAUCE. When a ham is almost done with, pick all the meat clean from the bone, leaving out any rusty part. Beat the meat and the bone to a mash, put it into a saucepan with three spoonfuls of gravy, set it over a slow fire, and stir it all the time, or it will stick to the bottom. When it has been on some time, put to it a small bundle of sweet herbs, some pepper, and half a pint of beef gravy. Cover it up, and let it stew over a gentle fire. When it has a good flavour of the herbs, strain off the gravy. ”

“ Mix in orange rind, 3 tablespoons peanuts, and salt; stuff into prunes.
Arrange prunes on salad greens and sprinkle with rest of peanuts.
Luncheon chef salad bowl 6 main-dish salads
2 medium heads lettuce
8 radishes, thinly sliced
4 green onions, with tops, thinly sliced
3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
3 cups cooked ham (about 1 pound) , cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups coarsely shredded Swiss cheese
Croutons (p. 56)
Salad dressing
Wash and drain lettuce. ”

“ If you have no ham mould take some jelly, cut in diamond shape, and put around the dish, and the rest cut fine and put all over the ham. Garnish your dish with carrots, beets cut into flower forms, parsley, a little here and there on either side of the ham.
No. 171.
WHOLE CHICKEN IN GLACEE.
Take out all the bones in a medium-sized chicken; 1⁄4 pound ham, 1⁄2 pound veal, 1⁄2 can mushrooms, 1⁄4 can truffles, small piece of onion, a little thyme and parsley. Chop the meat, parsley, thyme, celery, very fine together. Cut the mushrooms in slices ”

“ TO BAKE A HAM. Unless when too salt from not being sufficiently soaked, a ham (particularly a young and fresh one) eats much better baked than boiled, and remains longer good. The safer plan to ensure its being sufficiently steeped, is to lay it into plenty of cold water over night. The following day soak it for an hour or more in warm water, wash it delicately clean, trim smoothly off all rusty parts, and lay it with the rind downwards into a large common pie-dish; press an oiled paper closely over it, and then fasten securely to the edge of the dish a thick cover of coarse paste ”

“ A wooden tub would do well. Let them lie as flat as possible, rind down, and put the salt, sugar, etc., over the fleshy part, basting frequently with the brine that runs from it, and turn every morning for a week, then every other day. Let it remain for a full month. At the end of that time, drain, and throw some dry bran over it, and it is then ready to be smoked or hung, if the latter, let it be in a cool place—the dairy or meat room. If hung in a hot place it will become hard and dry. A ham should be three months old before it is cut. ”

“ At one time hams were cut in various fashions; now that the majority of the hams are cured with the side of bacon, the shape or cut of the ham varies but little.
To choose a Ham, select one fine in the bone, then run a skewer in close to the bone to the middle of the ham. If it comes out clean and smells sweet, it is good, but it it smells strong and has fat adhering to it, choose another. If the ham be cut, see that the fat is white and not streaked with yellow. All meat first goes bad near the bone. A ham may not be rancid, yet not of the best quality ”

“ Take off the rind, and, if the ham is old or hard, parboil it for five minutes. Have the pan hot, and, unless the ham is quite fat, use a teaspoonful of drippings. Turn the slices often, and cook from five to eight minutes. They can be served dry, or, if gravy is liked, add a tablespoonful of flour to the fat, stir till smooth, and pour in slowly a large cup of milk or water. Salt pork can be fried in the same way. If eggs are to be fried with the ham, take up the slices, break in the eggs, and dip the boiling fat over them as they fry. If there is not fat enough, add half a cup of lard. ”