Part 13

_Ingredients._—About 18 Savoy biscuits, ¾ pint of cream, flavouring of vanilla, liqueurs, or wine, 1 tablespoonful of pounded sugar, ½ oz. of isinglass. _Mode._—Procure about 18 Savoy biscuits, or ladies’-fingers, as they are sometimes called; brush the edges of them with the white of an egg, and line the bottom of a plain round mould, placing them like a star or rosette. Stand them upright all round the edge, carefully put them so closely together that the white of egg connects them firmly, and place this case in the oven for about 5 minutes, just to dry the egg. Whisk the cream to a stiff froth, with the sugar, flavouring, and melted isinglass; fill the charlotte with it, cover with a slice of sponge-cake cut in the shape of the mould; place it in ice, where let it remain till ready for table; then turn it on a dish, remove the mould, and serve. 1 tablespoonful of liqueur of any kind, or 4 tablespoonfuls of wine, would nicely flavour the above proportion of cream. For arranging the biscuits in the mould, cut them to the shape required, so that they fit in nicely, and level them with the mould at the top, that, when turned out, there may be something firm to rest upon. Great care and attention is required in the turning out of this dish, that the cream does not burst the case; and the edges of the biscuits must have the smallest quantity of egg brushed over them, or it would stick to the mould, and so prevent the charlotte from coming away properly. _Time._—5 minutes in the oven. _Average cost_, with cream at 1_s._ per pint, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1 charlotte. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CHEESE.

Cheese is the curd formed from milk by artificial coagulation, pressed and dried for use. Curd, called also casein and caseous matter, or the basis of cheese, exists in the milk, and not in the cream, and requires only to be separated by coagulation: the coagulation, however, supposes some alteration of the curd. By means of the substance employed to coagulate it, it is rendered insoluble in water. When the curd is freed from the whey, kneaded and pressed to expel it entirely, it becomes cheese; this assumes a degree of transparency, and possesses many of the properties of coagulated albumen. If it be well dried, it does not change by exposure to the air; but if it contain moisture, it soon putrefies; it therefore requires some salt to preserve it, and this acts likewise as a kind of seasoning. All our cheese is coloured more or less, except that made from skim milk. The colouring substances employed are arnatto, turmeric, or marigold, all perfectly harmless unless they are adulterated; and it is said that arnatto sometimes contains red lead.

Cheese varies in quality and richness according to the materials of which it is composed. It is made—1. Of entire milk, as in Cheshire; 2. of milk and cream, as at Stilton; 3. of new milk mixed with skim milk, as in Gloucestershire; 4. of skimmed milk only, as in Suffolk, Holland, and Italy.

The principal varieties of cheese used in England are the following: _Cheshire cheese_, famed all over Europe for its rich quality and fine piquante flavour. It is made of entire new milk, the cream not being taken off. _Gloucester cheese_ is much milder in its taste than the Cheshire. There are two kinds of Gloucester cheese, single and double:—_Single Gloucester_ is made of skimmed milk, or of the milk deprived of half the cream; _Double Gloucester_ is a cheese that pleases almost every palate: it is made of the whole milk and cream. _Stilton cheese_ is made by adding the cream of one day to the entire milk of the next: it was first made at Stilton, in Leicestershire. _Sage cheese_ is so called from the practice of colouring some curd with bruised sage, marigold-leaves, and parsley, and mixing this with some uncoloured curd. With the Romans, and during the middle ages, this practice was extensively adopted. _Cheddar cheese_ much resembles Parmesan. It has a very agreeable taste and flavour, and has a spongy appearance. _Brickbat cheese_ has nothing remarkable except its form. It is made by turning with rennet a mixture of cream and new milk; the curd is put into a wooden vessel the shape of a brick, and is then pressed and dried in the usual way. _Dunlop cheese_ has a peculiarly mild and rich taste: the best is made entirely from new milk. _New cheese_ (as it is called in London) is made chiefly in Lincolnshire, and is either made of all cream, or, like Stilton, by adding the cream of one day’s milking to the milk that comes immediately from the cow: they are extremely thin, and are compressed gently two or three times, turned for a few days, and then eaten new with radishes, salad, &c. _Skimmed Milk cheese_ is made for sea voyages principally. _Parmesan cheese_ is made in Parma and Piacenza. It is the most celebrated of all cheese: it is made entirely of skimmed cows’ milk; the high flavour which it has is supposed to be owing to the rich herbage of the meadows of the Po, where the cows are pastured. The best Parmesan is kept for three or four years, and none is carried to market till it is at least six months old. _Dutch cheese_ derives its peculiar pungent taste from the practice adopted in Holland of coagulating the milk with muriatic acid instead of rennet. _Swiss cheeses_, in their several varieties, are all remarkable for their fine flavour; that from _Gruyère_, a bailiwick in the canton of Fribourg, is best known in England; it is flavoured by the dried herb of _Melilotus officinalis_ in powder. Cheese from milk and potatoes is manufactured in Thuringia and Saxony. _Cream cheese_, although so called, is not properly cheese, but is nothing more than cream dried sufficiently to be cut with a knife.

In families where much cheese is consumed, and it is bought in large quantities, a piece from the whole cheese should be cut, the larger quantity spread with a thickly-buttered sheet of white paper, and the outside occasionally wiped. To keep cheeses moist that are in daily use, when they come from table a damp cloth should be wrapped round them, and the cheese put into a pan with a cover to it, in a cool but not very dry place. To ripen cheeses, and bring them forward, put them into a damp cellar; and to check too large a production of mites, spirits may be poured into the parts affected. Pieces of cheese which are too near the rind, or too dry to put on table, may be made into Welsh rarebits, or grated down and mixed with macaroni. Cheeses may be preserved in a perfect state for years, by covering them with parchment made pliable by soaking in water, or by rubbing them over with a coating of melted fat. The cheeses selected should be free from cracks or bruises of any kind.

CHEESE, Mode of Serving.

The usual mode of serving cheese at good tables is to cut a small quantity of it into neat square pieces, and to put them into a glass cheese-dish, this dish being handed round. Should the cheese crumble much, of course this method is rather wasteful, and it may then be put on the table in the piece, and the host may cut from it. When served thus, the cheese must always be carefully scraped, and laid on a white d’oyley or napkin, neatly folded. Cream cheese is often served in a cheese course, and, sometimes, grated Parmesan: the latter should be put into a covered glass dish. Rusks, cheese-biscuits, pats or slices of butter, and salad, cucumber, or water-cresses, should always form part of a cheese-course.

CHEESE, Pounded.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of cheese allow 3 oz. of fresh butter. _Mode._—To pound cheese is an economical way of using it if it has become dry; it is exceedingly good spread on bread, and is the best way of eating it for those whose digestion is weak. Cut up the cheese into small pieces, and pound it smoothly in a mortar, adding butter in the above proportion. Press it down into a jar, cover with clarified butter, and it will keep for several days. The flavour may be very much increased by adding mixed mustard (about a teaspoonful to every lb.), or cayenne, or pounded mace. Curry-powder is also not infrequently mixed with it.

CHEESE, Toasted, or Scotch Rarebit.

_Ingredients._—A few slices of rich cheese, toast, mustard, and pepper. _Mode._—Cut some nice rich sound cheese into rather thin slices; melt it in a cheese-toaster on a hot plate or over steam, and, when melted, add a small quantity of mixed mustard and a seasoning of pepper; stir the cheese until it is completely dissolved, then brown it before the fire, or with a salamander. Fill the bottom of the cheese-toaster with hot water, and serve with dry or buttered toasts, whichever may be preferred. Our engraving illustrates a cheese-toaster with hot-water reservoir: the cheese is melted in the upper tin, which is placed in another vessel of boiling water, so keeping the preparation beautifully hot. A small quantity of porter, or port wine, is sometimes mixed with the cheese; and, if it be not very rich, a few pieces of butter may be mixed with it to great advantage. Sometimes the melted cheese is spread on the toasts, and then laid in the cheese-dish at the top of the hot water. Whichever way it is served, it is highly necessary that the mixture be very hot, and very quickly sent to table, or it will be worthless. _Time._—About 5 minutes to melt the cheese. _Average cost_, 1½_d._ per slice. _Sufficient._—Allow a slice to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CHEESE, Toasted, or Welsh Rarebit.

_Ingredients._—Slices of bread, butter, Cheshire or Gloucester cheese, mustard, and pepper. _Mode._—Cut the bread into slices about ½ inch in thickness; pare off the crust, toast the bread slightly without hardening or burning it, and spread it with butter. Cut some slices, not quite so large as the bread, from a good rich fat cheese; lay them on the toasted bread in a cheese-toaster; be careful that the cheese does not burn, and let it be equally melted. Spread over the top a little made mustard and a seasoning of pepper, and serve very hot, with very hot plates. To facilitate the melting of the cheese, it may be cut into thin flakes, or toasted on one side before it is laid on the bread. As it is so essential to send this dish hot to table, it is a good plan to melt the cheese in small round silver or metal pans, and to send these pans to table, allowing one for each guest. Slices of dry or buttered toast should always accompany them, with mustard, pepper, and salt. _Time._—About 5 minutes to melt the cheese. _Average cost_, 1½_d._ per slice. _Sufficient._—Allow a slice to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—Should the cheese be dry, a little butter mixed with it will be an improvement.

CHEESE SANDWICHES.

_Ingredients._—Slices of brown bread-and-butter, thin slices of cheese. _Mode._—Cut from a nice fat Cheshire, or any good rich cheese, some slices about ½ inch thick, and place them between some slices of brown bread-and-butter, like sandwiches. Place them on a plate in the oven, and, when the bread is toasted, serve on a napkin very hot and very quickly. _Time._—10 minutes in a brisk oven. _Average cost_, 1½_d._ each sandwich. _Sufficient._—Allow a sandwich for each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CHEESECAKES.

_Ingredients._—8 oz. of pressed curds, 2 oz. of ratafias, 6 oz. of sugar, 2 oz. of butter, the yolks of 6 eggs, nutmegs, salt, rind of 2 oranges or lemons. _Mode._—Rub the sugar on the orange or lemon rind, and scrape it off. Press the curd in a napkin, to get rid of moisture; pound it thoroughly in a mortar with the other ingredients till the whole becomes a soft paste. Line 2 dozen, or more, tartlet-pans with good puff-paste, garnish these with the cheese-custard, place a strip of candied-peel on the top of each, and bake in a moderate oven a light colour; when done, shake a little sifted sugar over them. Currants, dried cherries, sultanas, and citron may be used instead of candied-peel. _Time._—20 minutes to bake. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per dozen. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CHEROKEE, or Store Sauce.

_Ingredients._—½ oz. of cayenne pepper, 5 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoonfuls of soy, 1 tablespoonful of walnut ketchup, 1 pint of vinegar. _Mode._—Boil all the ingredients _gently_ for about ½ hour; strain the liquor, and bottle off for use. _Time._—½ hour. _Seasonable._—This sauce can be made at any time.

CHERRIES, Dried.

Cherries may be put into a slow oven and thoroughly dried before they begin to change colour; they should then be taken out of the oven, tied in bunches, and stored away in a dry place. In the winter, they may be cooked with sugar for dessert, the same as Normandy pippins. Particular care must be taken that the oven be not too hot. Another method of drying cherries is to stone them, and to put them into a preserving-pan, with plenty of loaf sugar strewed amongst them. They should be simmered till the fruit shrivels, when they should be strained from the juice. The cherries should then be placed in an oven cool enough to dry without baking them. About 5 oz. of sugar would be required for 1 lb. of cherries, and the same syrup may be used again to do another quantity of fruit.

CHERRIES, Morello, to Preserve.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of cherries allow 1¼ lb. of sugar, 1 gill of water. _Mode._—Select ripe cherries, pick off the stalks, and reject all that have any blemishes. Boil the sugar and water together for 5 minutes; put in the cherries, and boil them for 10 minutes, removing the scum as it rises. Then turn the fruit, &c., into a pan, and let it remain until the next day, when boil it all again for another 10 minutes, and, if necessary, skim well. Put the cherries into small pots, pour over them the syrup, and, when cold, cover down with oiled papers, and the tops of the jars with tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg, and keep in a dry place. _Time._—Altogether, 25 minutes to boil. _Average cost_, from 8_d._ to 10_d._ per lb. pot. _Seasonable._—Make this in July or August.

CHERRIES, to Preserve in Syrup (very delicious).

_Ingredients._—4 lbs. of cherries, 3 lbs. of sugar, 1 pint of white-currant juice. _Mode._—Let the cherries be as clear and as transparent as possible, and perfectly ripe; pick off the stalks, and remove the stones, damaging the fruit as little as you can. Make a syrup with the above proportion of sugar, mix the cherries with it, and boil them for about 15 minutes, carefully skimming them; turn them gently into a pan, and let them remain till the next day, then drain the cherries on a sieve, and put the syrup and white-currant juice into the preserving-pan again. Boil these together until the syrup is somewhat reduced and rather thick, then put in the cherries, and let them boil for about 5 minutes; take them off the fire, skim the syrup, put the cherries into small pots or wide-mouthed bottles; pour the syrup over, and, when quite cold, tie them down carefully, so that the air is quite excluded. _Time._—15 minutes to boil the cherries in the syrup; 10 minutes to boil the syrup and currant-juice; 5 minutes to boil the cherries the second time. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable._—Make this in July or August.

CHERRY BRANDY, to make.

_Ingredients._—Morello cherries, good brandy; to every lb. of cherries allow 3 oz. of pounded sugar. _Mode._—Have ready some glass bottles, which must be perfectly dry. Ascertain that the cherries are not too ripe and are freshly gathered, and cut off about half of the stalks. Put them into the bottles, with the above proportion of sugar to every lb. of fruit; strew this in between the cherries, and, when the bottles are nearly full, pour in sufficient brandy to reach just below the cork. A few peach or apricot kernels will add much to their flavour, or a few blanched bitter almonds. Put corks or bungs into the bottles, tie over them a piece of bladder, and store away in a dry place. The cherries will be fit to eat in 2 or 3 months, and will remain good for years. They are liable to shrivel and become tough if too much sugar be added to them. _Average cost_, 1_s._ to 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb. _Sufficient._—1 lb. of cherries and about a ¼ pint of brandy for a quart bottle. _Seasonable_ in August and September.

CHERRY JAM.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit, weighed before stoning, allow ½ lb. of sugar; to every 6 lbs. of fruit allow 1 pint of red-currant juice, and to every pint of juice 1 lb. of sugar. _Mode._—Weigh the fruit before stoning, and allow half the weight of sugar; stone the cherries, and boil them in a preserving-pan until nearly all the juice is dried up, then add the sugar, which should be crushed to powder, and the currant-juice, allowing 1 pint to every 6 lbs. of cherries (original weight), and 1 lb. of sugar to every pint of juice. Boil all together until it jellies, which will be in from 20 minutes to ½ hour; skim the jam well, keep it well stirred, and, a few minutes before it is done, crack some of the stones, and add the kernels: these impart a very delicious flavour to the jam. _Time._—According to the quality of the cherries, from ¾ to 1 hour to boil them; 20 minutes to ½ hour with the sugar. _Average cost_, from 7_d._ to 8_d._ per lb. pot. _Sufficient._—1 pint of fruit for a lb. pot of jam. _Seasonable._—Make this in July or August.

CHERRY SAUCE, for Sweet Puddings (German Recipe).

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of cherries, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 oz. of butter, ½ pint of water, 1 wineglassful of port wine, a little grated lemon-rind, 4 pounded cloves, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice, sugar to taste. _Mode._—Stone the cherries, and pound the kernels in a mortar to a smooth paste; put the butter and flour into a saucepan, stir them over the fire until of a pale brown, then add the cherries, the pounded kernels, the wine, and the water. Simmer these gently for ¼ hour, or until the cherries are quite cooked, and rub the whole through a hair sieve; add the remaining ingredients, let the sauce boil for another 5 minutes, and serve. This is a delicious sauce to serve with boiled batter pudding, and when thus used, should be sent to table poured over the pudding. _Time._—20 minutes to ½ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 2_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in June, July, and August.

CHERRY TART.

_Ingredients._—1½ lb. of cherries, 2 small tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, ½ lb. of short crust. _Mode._—Pick the stalks from the cherries, put them, with the sugar, into a _deep_ pie-dish just capable of holding them, with a small cup placed upside down in the midst of them. Make a short crust with ½ lb. of flour, by either of the recipes for short crust, lay a border round the edge of the dish, put on the cover, and ornament the edges; bake in a brisk oven from ½ hour to 40 minutes; strew finely-sifted sugar over, and serve hot or cold, although the latter is the more usual mode. It is more economical to make two or three tarts at one time, as the trimmings from one tart answer for lining the edges of the dish for another, and so much paste is not required as when they are made singly. Unless for family use, never make fruit pies in very _large_ dishes; select them, however, as _deep_ as possible. _Time._—½ hour to 40 minutes. _Average cost_, in full season, 8_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ in June, July, and August.

_Note._—A few currants added to the cherries will be found to impart a nice piquante taste to them.

CHESTNUT SAUCE, Brown.

_Ingredients._—½ lb. of chestnuts, ½ pint of stock, 2 lumps of sugar, 4 tablespoonfuls of Spanish sauce (_see_ SAUCES). _Mode._—Prepare the chestnuts as in the succeeding recipe, by scalding and peeling them; put them in a stewpan with the stock and sugar, and simmer them till tender. When done, add Spanish sauce in the above proportion, and rub the whole through a tammy. Keep this sauce rather liquid, as it is liable to thicken. _Time._—1½ hour to simmer the chestnuts. _Average cost_, 8_d._

CHESTNUT SAUCE, for Fowls or Turkey.

_Ingredients._—½ lb. of chestnuts, ½ pint of white stock, 2 strips of lemon-peel, cayenne to taste, ¼ pint of cream or milk. _Mode._—Peel off the outside skin of the chestnuts, and put them into boiling water for a few minutes; take off the thin inside peel, and put them into a saucepan with the white stock and lemon-peel, and let them simmer for 1½ hour, or until the chestnuts are quite tender. Rub the whole through a hair-sieve with a wooden spoon; add seasoning and the cream; let it just simmer, but not boil, and keep stirring all the time. Serve very hot, and quickly. If milk is used instead of cream, a very small quantity of thickening may be required: that, of course, the cook will determine. _Time._—Altogether, nearly 2 hours. _Average cost_, 8_d._ _Sufficient_, this quantity for a turkey.

CHESTNUT (Spanish) SOUP.

_Ingredients._—¾ lb. of Spanish chestnuts, ¼ pint of cream; seasoning to taste of salt, cayenne, and mace; 1 quart of stock. _Mode._—Take the outer rind from the chestnuts, and put them into a large pan of warm water. As soon as this becomes too hot for the fingers to remain in it, take out the chestnuts, peel them quickly, and immerse them in cold water, and wipe and weigh them. Now cover them with good stock, and stew them gently for rather more than ¾ of an hour, or until they break when touched with a fork; then drain, pound, and rub them through a fine sieve reversed; add sufficient stock, mace, cayenne, and salt, and stir it often until it boils, and put in the cream. The stock in which the chestnuts are boiled can be used for the soup, when its sweetness is not objected to, or it may, in part, be added to it; and the rule is, that ¾ lb. of chestnuts should be given to each quart of soup. _Time._—Rather more than 1 hour. _Average cost_, per quart, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from October to February.

CHICKENS, Boiled.