Part 1

A HANDBOOK OF COOKERY

THE ART AND PRACTICE OF INNKEEPING.

By ALEXANDER F. PART.

Demy 8vo. 1Os. 6d. net.

A GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY.

By A. ESCOFFIER.

Demy 8vo. 21s. net.

THE COMPLETE INDIAN HOUSEKEEPER AND COOK.

By FLORA ANNIE STEEL and GRACE GARDINER.

Cr. 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.

THE COOK’S DECAMERON.

By Mrs. W. J. WATERS.

Cr. 8vo. 2s. 6d. net.

THE BELGIAN COOK BOOK

Edited by Mrs. BRIAN LUCK.

Cr. 8vo. 2s. 6d. net.

_London: WILLIAM HEINEMANN, Ltd._

A HANDBOOK OF COOKERY FOR A SMALL HOUSE

BY JESSIE CONRAD

_With a preface by_ Joseph Conrad

London WILLIAM HEINEMANN, Ltd.

_First published, February, 1923._

_Printed in Great Britain_

PREFACE

Of all the books produced since the most remote ages by human talents and industry those only that treat of cooking are, from a moral point of view, above suspicion. The intention of every other piece of prose may be discussed and even mistrusted; but the purpose of a cookery book is one and unmistakable. Its object can conceivably be no other than to increase the happiness of mankind.

This general consideration, and also a feeling of affectionate interest with which I am accustomed to view all the actions of the writer, prompt me to set down these few words of introduction for her book. Without making myself responsible for her teaching (I own that I find it impossible to read through a cookery book) I come forward modestly but gratefully as a Living Example of her practice. That practice I dare pronounce most successful. It has been for many priceless years adding to the sum of my daily happiness.

Good cooking is a moral agent. By good cooking I mean the conscientious preparation of the simple food of every-day life, not the more or less skillful concoction of idle feasts and rare dishes. Conscientious cooking is an enemy to gluttony. The trained delicacy of the palate like a cultivated delicacy of sentiment stands in the way of unseemly excesses. The decency of our life is for a great part a matter of good taste, of the correct appreciation of what is fine in simplicity. The intimate influence of conscientious cooking by rendering easy the processes of digestion promotes the serenity of mind, the graciousness of thought, and that indulgent view of our neighbours’ failings which is the only genuine form of optimism. Those are its titles to our reverence.

A great authority upon North American Indians accounted for the sombre and excessive ferocity characteristic of these savages by the theory that as a race they suffered from perpetual indigestion. The Noble Red Man was a mighty hunter but his wives had not mastered the art of conscientious cookery. And the consequences were deplorable. The Seven Nations around the Great Lakes and the Horse-tribes of the Plains were but one vast prey to raging dyspepsia. The Noble Red Men were great warriors, great orators, great masters of outdoor pursuits; but the domestic life of their wigwams was clouded by the morose irritability which follows the consumption of ill-cooked food. The gluttony of their indigestible feasts was a direct incentive to counsels of unreasonable violence. Victims of gloomy imaginings, they lived in abject submission to the wiles of a multitude of fraudulent medicine men--quacks--who haunted their existence with vain promises and false nostrums from the cradle to the grave.

It is to be remarked that the quack of modern civilisation, the vendor of patent medicine, preys mainly upon the races of Anglo-Saxon stock who are also great warriors, great orators, mighty hunters, great masters of outdoor pursuits. No virtues apparently will avail for happiness if the righteous art of cooking be neglected by the national conscience. We owe much to the fruitful meditations of our sages, but a sane view of life is, after all, elaborated mainly in the kitchen--the kitchen of the small house, the abode of the preponderant majority of the people. And a sane view of life excludes the belief in patent medicine. The conscientious cook is the natural enemy of the quack without a conscience; and thus his labours make for the honesty and favour the amenity of our existence. For a sane view of life can be no other than kindly and joyous, but a believer in patent medicine is steeped in the gloom of vague fears, the sombre attendants of disordered digestion.

Strong in this conviction I introduce this little book to the inhabitants of the little houses who are the arbiters of the nation’s destiny. Ignorant of the value of its methods I have no doubt whatever as to its intention. It is highly moral. There cannot be the slightest question as to that; for is it not a cookery book?--the only product of the human mind altogether above suspicion.

In that respect no more need, or indeed can, be said. As regards the practical intention I gather that no more than the clear and concise exposition of elementary principles has been the author’s aim. And this too is laudable, because modesty is a becoming virtue in an artist. It remains for me only to express the hope that by correctness of practice and soundness of precept this little book will be able to add to the cheerfulness of nations.

JOSEPH CONRAD.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE v

A FEW INTRODUCTORY WORDS 1

ON KITCHEN REQUISITES 4

TREATMENT OF VEGETABLES 8

BREAKFAST DISHES, ENTRÉES, SAVOURIES, STUFFINGS, SAUCES, HORS D’ŒUVRES, SANDWICHES 25

SOUPS AND STOCKS 63

BEEF 71

MUTTON 78

VEAL AND PORK 84

FISH 89

FOWLS AND GAME BIRDS 96

VEGETABLES AND SALADS 102

PASTRIES, SWEETS AND CAKES 115

_A Handbook of Cookery_

_For a Small House_

A FEW INTRODUCTORY WORDS

Cooking ought not to take too much of one’s time. One hour and a half to two hours for lunch, and two and a half for dinner is sufficient, providing that the servant knows how to make up the fire in order to get the stove ready for use. Most girls will quickly learn to do that and how to put a joint properly in the oven. For my part I never went into the kitchen before half-past eleven for a half-past one lunch of three dishes. But once the cooking is begun one must give all one’s attention and care to it. No dish, however simple, will cook itself. You must not leave the kitchen while the cooking is going on--unless of necessity and only for a very few minutes at a time.

The bane of life in a small house is the smell of cooking. Very few are free from it. And yet it need not be endured at all. This evil yields to nothing more heroic than a simple but scrupulous care in all the processes in making food ready for consumption. That is why your constant presence in the kitchen is recommended. Unremitting care should be directed to the following points:

No saucepan should be allowed of course to boil over.

No frying pan should ever be put on the fire without the butter or lard being first placed in it, and that not before the pan is required for use.

No joint should be placed in the oven so high as to allow the fat to splutter against the roof of the oven.

No joint should be baked in a tin which is too small for it.

No vegetables should be cooked without a sufficient amount of water in the saucepan and no green vegetables should be cooked with the lid on.

No frying pan while in use should be allowed to remain on the fire with only the fat in it. A piece of whatever you are frying, bacon, fish, fritters should be left in till another piece is placed in the fat.

The pan must be removed directly finished with.

No fat once used for frying should be kept for future use. The economy is not worth making. The fat, for instance, in which potatoes have been fried will always contain a certain amount of moisture and the next lot of potatoes fried in it will turn out greasy and flabby. Fried potatoes should be crisp and melting in the mouth and if properly prepared make a delicate dish for a discriminating palate.

In the same way the fat used for fish however finely strained will contain particles of fish or breadcrumbs which will be certain to catch and cause an offensive smell. And the fish fried in such second-hand fat may perhaps be eatable but will certainly not be worth eating.

The above recommendations are founded on personal experience. The author advances them with the greater confidence because she had to find them out for herself. They present no difficulties in practice. If they are exactly followed, and due regard is paid also to incidental remarks of the same nature contained in the body of the book, your little house need never be invaded by the smell of cooking, generally so offensive and always unnecessary, which too often meets one in the hall and in nine cases out of ten--if not in every case--means simply that good food is being spoiled in the kitchen.

The recipes in this book are calculated for a household of four persons.

GENERAL REMARKS ON KITCHEN REQUISITES AND THEIR CARE

This small book may be called the A. B. C. of cookery and the writer is mainly anxious to give her experiences as a general guide and help both for cooking and the preparing of an appetizing meal.

Take for instance either a small flat in town or a cottage in the country with one maid. It is quite possible to have two dishes for breakfast with toast, tea or coffee, and to vary those dishes for every day in the week. Easy breakfast dishes will be found in the body of the book. All the statements in the book will justify themselves if the directions are carefully followed.

To begin with let us furnish our kitchen with those most necessary utensils which should always be kept either in a drawer in the dresser or in a dry cupboard. We shall need several enamelled basins of various sizes, a fish slice, vegetable slice, wire salad basket, one or two wooden spoons, two large iron ones, a good toasting fork; a small Dutch-oven to hang in front of the fire (either to cook bloaters, or chops, or even a steak if one prefers that form of cooking to frying); an apple corer, a potato ricer, one or two enamelled frying pans of various sizes and depth. It is best to keep the pan that is to be used for omelettes for that purpose alone, also the one that is to be used for making pancakes. Care should be taken in purchasing these articles as you will often find that some frying-pans will be deeper in the middle while others will be found to rise and be deepest round the edges. These are serious defects because the one that rises in the centre will be useless for either omelettes or pancakes; the one that sinks in the middle would be equally unsatisfactory as both will be found to catch.

A double saucepan will be needed either for boiling milk or making porridge. We must not forget a fish kettle and a steamer. The care of the tea-kettle is also important. Once the tea is made and the kettle not needed for a time, the water should be turned out and the kettle removed from the stove. If it is allowed to remain boiling or nearly empty on the stove it will quickly become coated on the inside and the water thick and cloudy. We will need an enamelled cullender, a large cheese grater, a nutmeg grater, some cake tins of different sizes, and pie-dishes. Our choice of saucepans should also be carefully considered; it should contain at least two large iron ones and the rest may be enamel. We need two or three baking tins, some china and block-tin moulds for jellies and a selection of fire-proof earthenware of various shapes and sizes; wire strainers, to put under fish or fried vegetables to drain them; an egg poacher, an egg-boiler which is so much more reliable than even the best memory or the most accurate clock. There is this golden rule that must always be observed: Never attempt to make an omelette unless your fire is hot enough to cook it with the top ring of the stove on. This rule of course applies also to the pancakes, fritters, or to any form of frying. For if you are frying a steak or cutlets, fish, potatoes or bacon, you will require to put the top of the stove on after the first few minutes. Otherwise your meat or fish will be liable to burn on the surface and remain raw inside.

All the utensils must be washed in hot soda water and thoroughly dried before putting them away. Having regard to the fact that soda is most injurious to one’s hands, and whether for the mistress or maid the care and appearance of one’s hands is of great importance, it is best to place the saucepans, pans, etc. (not earthenware) on the stove with a certain amount of water and a good piece of soda, and let them stand to soak on the side of the hot stove, together with such articles as ricer, poacher, strainer, etc. When ready to wash them up scour well with a long-handled pot brush, pour off the soda water, rinse in clean hot water, and dry with a cloth. They can then be placed on the rack above the stove to dry thoroughly. In this way the hands need not come in contact with the soda water at all.

We shall also need a nice smooth pastry board, a rolling pin, and a small board for chopping parsley or mint. The meat chopper and the mincer and the meat-saw will require to be kept perfectly clean and dry to avoid rust, and should always be carefully wiped with a dry cloth before being used. Should earthenware cooking-vessels or pie-dishes become burnt, as is sometimes unavoidable, a little rough cooking salt, or a little ashes rubbed on the burnt surface will be found effective.

ON THE TREATMENT OF VEGETABLES

_With a Few Illustrative Recipes_

Great care should be taken in the use of an onion. One often finds that if by accident a knife used for cutting an onion has been overlooked and it comes in contact with any article of food the flavour of the onion will spoil everything. It is also a fact that if an onion is cut before it is put into soup or sauce, the soup at once becomes cloudy, while on the other hand if it is merely peeled and put in whole, soup or sauce will remain perfectly clear. Then again for onion sauce or soup which would be made with milk, you must never put in any salt or any other ingredient till _after_ the milk has boiled. If the onion is added before, the milk will curdle and be spoilt.

If you want to fry onions for steak, etc., have some good beef dripping already melted in a baking tin and when it is boiling put in the quantity of onions you may wish to cook cut in thin slices (cut always round the onion) then add salt and pepper to taste and bake in a steady oven, turning them once or twice with the blade of a knife.

For stuffing for either meat or poultry never put the onions in water. Cut thin as above directed (never chop) and _boil_ in a deep frying pan in butter. By boiling I mean using a larger quantity of fat and not allowing the onions to be browned: one-fourth lb. will be quite sufficient for stuffing intended for a goose. Have ready on the board the crumb of a stale white loaf rubbed through a cheese-grater, and from four to five large sage leaves chopped fine. Mix the two together with pepper and salt to taste, turn the whole contents of the pan into the crumbs and chop finely all together. In this way the stuffing will be found moist and will not repeat after eating.

In cooking green vegetables use common soda not bi-carbonate. They should be always put into _boiling_ water.

Fresh peas should never be shelled over night and should be kept in a covered dish after shelling till it is time for them to be cooked. Peas will become quite tough if exposed to the air for any length of time. Always put into boiling water, never add salt or soda till the peas are boiling. Scarlet runner beans should only be cut in strips in time for boiling as the edges become hard and dry if left for more than an hour. These are best kept in cold water. Dwarf beans should be treated in the same manner, but can be served with only the ends and edges removed.

All salads should be put into a bowl of cold water with a good piece of salt for not more than ten minutes before needed. A wire basket swung round vigorously will be found the best mode of drying all salads before dressing.

If lettuce is to be cooked, cos-lettuce will be found better than the cabbage variety. It will become greatly reduced in the cooking and is much improved by being lightly sauté in a frying pan in which a finely shredded spring onion has been lightly fried in a little butter. Form into small mounds with a tablespoon, and serve very hot.

Cabbage and cauliflower should be put for awhile before cooking into a bowl of cold water with a good piece of salt, head down and the stump cut four times across.

Spinach requires washing in several waters with a liberal quantity of salt. But the last water without salt. Have ready a large saucepan at least half full of boiling water. If, as some people direct, you put spinach into a nearly dry saucepan on the assumption that it has absorbed enough water to be cooked in, there will be an unpleasant smell. Add salt and a piece of ordinary soda about as big as a large pea. Boil with the lid off till quite tender. The spinach should then be a beautiful shade of green. Treat sorrel the same way; only it will be noticed that it will change colour directly it is put into the boiling water, becoming a greeny yellow, and is slightly acid in taste. It is usually eaten with veal, with poached eggs served on it, or as a dish by itself served with fried bread round the edge.

Tomatoes are always very useful and can be accommodated in many different ways. For a breakfast dish--take, for two persons, four nice sound tomatoes. Place in a large basin and scald with boiling water over them. The skin will then peel off quite easily leaving the tomatoes perfectly whole. Cut into slices and put into a cold pan with a piece of butter about the size of a tablespoon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on the fire and break the tomatoes in the butter as they cook. Let them fry frequently and serve under poached eggs. Another way: Take four or more tomatoes, remove the stalk but not the skin. Cut the top off, scoop the fruit out leaving a wall, have ready some chopped lean ham, chicken or other meat, add a little onion to the inside which has been taken out of the tomatoes, pepper and salt. Put into a small frying pan, and fry lightly, put the mixture into the tomato, have a little dripping melted in a baking tin, place the tomatoes into it, when hot put the top on the tomato to form a lid and bake from 15 to 20 minutes.

In preparing mushrooms, peel carefully the skin, gently pull the stalk out and lay them dark side down in a little cold water with a good knob of cooking salt, this will remove any grit or insects. Have ready a flat frying pan large enough to take the mushrooms lying flat; lay each one dark side down and boil in butter gently for about seven minutes, turn them over with the blade of a knife and let them continue cooking for another ten minutes to a quarter of an hour; pepper and salt to taste. Or in another way, take a large flat frying pan; put into it about an ounce of butter, two tablespoonfuls of best malt vinegar, place over a quick fire and let it burn slightly. That is to say it is ready when it smokes. Lay the mushrooms as before directed, proceed in the same way, adding only a little finely chopped onion in the centre of each mushroom, place dark side up either on toast buttered or on a flat dish, pour over the butter from the pan and serve very hot. Sprinkle thinly with chopped onion after the mushrooms are in the dish.

Mushroom rissoles make an excellent breakfast dish and may be served in little stone marmites instead of pastry. Carefully wash mushrooms as directed above. Take a little strong beef gravy (not bovril or other meat essence) cut the mushrooms into lengths, each one into four or five, put them into a small saucepan with pepper and salt and enough gravy to cover, stew for an hour. Thicken with a little flour mixed smoothly with water. This can be kept over night and warmed in the morning.

Turnips make a very good dish with roast pork, treated as follows: Carefully peel ten or twelve nice firm turnips, reject the woolly as they are not worth cooking (except for flavouring); cut into slices, then into lengths, then into small squares (the appearance of a dish is as important as the taste); boil gently for about half an hour or until tender, strain and serve very hot with a little melted butter poured over them, pepper and salt to taste.

Carrots, if very young, must on no account be peeled, but only lightly scraped and then cooked in a covered saucepan till tender. Serve very hot with a little melted butter and a little finely chopped parsley sprinkled over them. Care should be taken not to boil too long as these tender young vegetables are apt to become soft and tasteless. When the carrots are older and bigger they should be carefully peeled and cut in rings about one-eighth of an inch thick. There is also this pretty and appetising way to serve carrots. Cook them as above directed and have ready the following in a lined saucepan (double saucepan): a half pint of boiling milk with salt to taste, one and a half level tablespoonfuls of household flour mixed smoothly in a basin with a half ounce of butter. Should the butter be hard and difficult to mix smooth, place the basin on the stove till the butter is soft enough to handle with a firm spoon. When mixed pour the boiling milk straight into the flour and butter stirring all the time, and always the same way; put back into the double saucepan and stir till it boils, add the cooked carrot and serve very hot as an additional vegetable or as a separate dish. Should the sauce be sticky or too thick judgment which will come with experience will quickly show the error to be a little too much flour or careless mixing. This sauce is also useful to compose a lunch dish with, by adding to it some chopped roast chicken and a thin slice of onion instead of carrots. Serve in a rather deep dish with croutons of fried bread or dry toast round the edge. A tin of prawns can be used instead of chicken in which case a small teaspoonful of anchovy sauce may be added at the last, instead of salt, as the prawns may be already a little salt.