Part 5

_Ingredients._—½ pint of port wine, a saltspoonful of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 2 sliced onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, nutmeg and mace to taste, the juice of a lemon, 2 anchovies; 1 or 2 barbels, according to size. _Mode._—Boil the barbels in salt and water till done; pour off some of the water, and to the remainder put the ingredients mentioned above. Simmer gently for ½ hour or rather more, and strain. Put in the fish, heat it gradually, but do not let it boil, or it will be broken. _Time._—Altogether 1 hour. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from September to November.

BARBERRIES (Berberis vulgaris).

A fruit of such great acidity, that even birds refuse to eat it. In this respect, it nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with sugar, it makes a very agreeable preserve or jelly, according to the different modes of preparing it. Barberries are also used as a dry sweetmeat, and in sugarplums or comfits; are pickled with vinegar, and are used for various culinary purposes. They are well calculated to allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted with fevers. The berries, arranged on bunches of nicely curled parsley, make an exceedingly pretty garnish for supper dishes, particularly for white meats, like boiled fowl à la Béchamel, the three colours, scarlet, green, and white, contrasting well, and producing a very good effect.

BARBERRIES, to preserve in Bunches.

_Ingredients._—1 pint of syrup, barberries. _Mode._—Prepare some small pieces of clean white wood, 3 inches long and ¼ inch wide, and tie the fruit on to these in nice bunches. Have ready some clear syrup (_see_ SYRUP); put in the barberries, and simmer them in it for 2 successive days, boiling them for nearly ½ hour each day, and covering them each time with the syrup when cold. When the fruit looks perfectly clear it is sufficiently done, and should be stowed away in pots, with the syrup poured over, or the fruit may be candied. _Time._—½ hour to simmer each day. _Seasonable_ in autumn.

BARLEY SOUP.

_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of shin of beef, ¼ lb. of pearl barley, a large bunch of parsley, 4 onions, 6 potatoes, salt and pepper, 4 quarts of water. _Mode._—Put in all the ingredients, and simmer gently for 3 hours. _Time._—3 hours. _Average cost_, 2½_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year, but more suitable for winter.

BARLEY-SUGAR, to make.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of sugar allow ½ pint of water, ½ the white of an egg. _Mode._—Put the sugar into a well-tinned saucepan, with the water, and, when the former is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire, adding the well-beaten egg before the mixture gets warm, and stir it well together. When it boils, remove the scum as it rises, and keep it boiling until no more appears, and the syrup looks perfectly clear; then strain it through a fine sieve or muslin bag, and put it back into the saucepan. Boil it again like caramel, until it is brittle, when a little is dropped in a basin of cold water: it is then sufficiently boiled. Add a little lemon-juice and a few drops of essence of lemon, and let it stand for a minute or two. Have ready a marble slab or large dish, rubbed over with salad-oil; pour on it the sugar, and cut it into strips with a pair of scissors: these strips should then be twisted, and the barley-sugar stored away in a very dry place. It may be formed into lozenges or drops, by dropping the sugar in a very small quantity at a time on to the oiled slab or dish. _Time._—¼ hour. _Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 sticks.

BARLEY-WATER, to make.

_Ingredients._—2 oz. of pearl barley, 2 quarts of boiling water, 1 pint of cold water. _Mode._—Wash the barley in cold water; put it into a saucepan with the above proportion of cold water, and when it has boiled for about ¼ hour, strain off the water, and add the 2 quarts of fresh boiling water. Boil it until the liquid is reduced one half; strain it, and it will be ready for use. It may be flavoured with lemon-peel, after being sweetened, or a small piece may be simmered with the barley. When the invalid may take it, a little lemon-juice gives this pleasant drink in illness a very nice flavour; as does also a small quantity of port wine. _Time._—To boil until the liquid is reduced one half. _Sufficient_ to make 1 quart of barley-water.

BATTER PUDDING, Baked.

_Ingredients._—1½ pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 4 eggs, a little salt. _Mode._—Mix the flour with a small quantity of cold milk; make the remainder hot, and pour it on to the flour, keeping the mixture well stirred; add the butter, eggs, and salt; beat the whole well, and put the pudding into a buttered pie-dish; bake for ¾ hour, and serve with sweet sauce, wine sauce, or stewed fruit. Baked in small cups, very pretty little puddings may be made; they should be eaten with the same accompaniments as above. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

BATTER PUDDING, Baked, with Dried or Fresh Fruit.

_Ingredients._—1½ pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 3 eggs, 2 oz. of finely-shredded suet, ¼ lb. of currants, a pinch of salt. _Mode._—Mix the milk, flour, and eggs to a smooth batter; add a little salt, the suet, and the currants, which should be well washed, picked, and dried; put the mixture into a buttered pie-dish, and bake in a moderate oven for 1¼ hour. When fresh fruits are in season, this pudding is exceedingly nice, with damsons, plums, red currants, gooseberries, or apples; when made with these, the pudding must be thickly sprinkled over with sifted sugar. Boiled batter pudding, with fruit, is made in the same manner, by putting the fruit into a buttered basin, and filling it up with batter made in the above proportion, but omitting the suet. It must be sent quickly to table, and covered plentifully with sifted sugar. _Time._—Baked batter pudding, with fruit, 1¼ to 1½ hour; boiled ditto, 1½ to 1¾ hour, allowing that both are made with the above proportion of batter. Smaller puddings will be done enough in ¾ or 1 hour. _Average cost_, 10_d._ _Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time, with dried fruits.

BATTER PUDDING, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—3 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 1 pint of milk, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour, a little salt. _Mode._—Put the flour into a basin, and add sufficient milk to moisten it; carefully rub down all the lumps with a spoon, then pour in the remainder of the milk, and stir in the butter, which should be previously melted; keep beating the mixture, add the eggs and a pinch of salt, and, when the batter is quite smooth, put it into a well-buttered basin, tie it down very tightly, and put it into boiling water; move the basin about for a few minutes after it is put into the water, to prevent the flour settling in any part, and boil for 1¼ hour. This pudding may also be boiled in a floured cloth that has been wetted in hot water: it will then take a few minutes less than when boiled in a basin. Send batter puddings very quickly to table, and serve with sweet sauce, wine sauce, stewed fruit, or jam of any kind: when the latter is used, a little of it may be placed round the dish in small quantities, as a garnish. _Time._—1¼ hour in a basin, 1 hour in a cloth. _Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

BATTER PUDDING, with Orange Marmalade.

_Ingredients._—4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1½ oz. of loaf sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour. _Mode._—Make the batter with the above ingredients, put it into a well-buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 1 hour. As soon as it is turned out of the basin, put a small jar of orange marmalade all over the top, and send the pudding very quickly to table. It is advisable to warm the marmalade to make it liquid. _Time._—1 hour. _Average cost_, with the marmalade, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time; but more suitable for a winter pudding.

BEANS, Boiled Broad or Windsor.

_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water, allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; beans. _Mode._—This is a favourite vegetable with many persons, but, to be nice, should be young and freshly gathered. After shelling the beans, put them into _boiling_ water, salted in the above proportion, and let them boil rapidly until tender. Drain them well in a colander; dish, and serve with them separately a tureen of parsley and butter. Boiled bacon should always accompany this vegetable, but the beans should be cooked separately. It is usually served with the beans laid round, and the parsley and butter in a tureen. Beans also make an excellent garnish to a ham, and when used for this purpose, if very old, should have their skins removed. _Time._—Very young beans, 15 minutes; when a moderate size, 20 to 25 minutes, or longer. _Average cost_, unshelled, 6_d._ per peck. _Sufficient._—Allow one peck for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ in July and August.

BEANS, Broad, à la Poulette.

_Ingredients._—2 pints of broad beans, ½ pint of stock or broth, a small bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, a small lump of sugar, the yolk of 1 egg, ¼ pint of cream, pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Procure some young and freshly-gathered beans, and shell sufficient to make 2 pints; boil them, as in the preceding recipe, until nearly done; then drain them and put them into a stewpan with the stock, finely-minced herbs, and sugar. Stew the beans until perfectly tender, and the liquor has dried away a little; then beat up the yolk of an egg with the cream, add this to the beans, let the whole get thoroughly hot, and when on the point of simmering, serve. Should the beans be very large, the skin should be removed previously to boiling them. _Time._—10 minutes to boil the beans, 15 minutes to stew them in the stock. _Average cost_, unshelled, 6_d._ per peck. _Seasonable_ in July and August.

BEANS, Boiled French.

_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, a very small piece of soda. _Mode._—This vegetable should always be eaten young, as when allowed to grow too long it tastes stringy and tough when cooked. Cut off the heads and tails, and a thin strip on each side of the beans to remove the strings; then divide each bean into 4 or 6 pieces, according to size, cutting them lengthways in a slanting direction, and as they are cut put them into cold water, with a small quantity of salt dissolved in it. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, with salt and soda in the above proportion; put in the beans, keep them boiling quickly, with the lid uncovered, and be careful that they do not get smoked. When tender, which may be ascertained by their sinking to the bottom of the saucepan, take them up, pour them into a colander, and when drained, dish and serve with plain melted butter. When very young, beans are sometimes served whole: thus dressed, their colour and flavour are much better preserved, but the more general way of sending them to table is to cut them into thin strips. _Time._—Very young beans, 10 to 12 minutes; moderate size, 15 to 20 minutes, after the water boils. _Average cost_, in full season, 1_s._ 4_d._ per peck, but when forced very expensive. _Sufficient._—Allow ½ peck for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ from the middle of July to the end of September, but may be had forced from February to the beginning of June.

BEANS, French Mode of Cooking French.

_Ingredients._—A quart of French beans, 3 oz. of fresh butter, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Cut and boil the beans by the preceding recipe, and when tender, put them into a stewpan, and shake over the fire, to dry away the moisture from the beans. When quite dry and hot, add the butter, pepper, salt, and lemon-juice; keep moving the stewpan, without using a spoon, as that would break the beans; and when the butter is melted, and all is thoroughly hot, serve. If the butter should not mix well, add a tablespoonful of gravy, and serve very quickly. _Time._—About ¼ hour to boil the beans; 10 minutes to shake them over the fire. _Average cost_, in full season, about 1_s._ 4_d._ per peck. _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from the middle of July to the end of September.

BEANS, to Boil Haricots Blancs, or White Haricot.

_Ingredients._—1 quart of white haricot beans, 2 quarts of soft water, 1 oz. of butter, 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. _Mode._—Put the beans into cold water, let them soak from 2 to 4 hours, according to their age; then put them into cold water salted in the above proportion, bring them to boil, and let them simmer very slowly until tender; pour the water away from them, let them stand by the side of the fire, with the lid of the saucepan partially off, to allow the beans to dry; then add 1 oz. of butter and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Shake the beans about for a minute or two, and serve: do not stir them with a spoon, for fear of breaking them to pieces. _Time._—After the water boils, from 2 to 2½ hours. _Average cost_, 4_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter, when other vegetables are scarce.

_Note._—Haricots blancs, when new and fresh, should be put into boiling water, and do not require any soaking previous to dressing.

BEANS, Haricots Blancs & Minced Onions.

_Ingredients._—1 quart of white haricot beans, 4 middling-sized onions, ¼ pint of good brown gravy, pepper and salt to taste, a little flour. _Mode._—Peel and mince the onions not too finely, and fry them in butter of a light brown colour; dredge over them a little flour, and add the gravy and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Have ready a pint of haricot beans well boiled and drained; put them with the onions and gravy, mix all well together, and serve very hot. _Time._—From 2 to 2½ hours to boil the beans; 5 minutes to fry the onions. _Average cost_, 4_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.

BEANS, Haricots Blancs à la Maître d’Hôtel.

_Ingredients._—1 quart of white haricot beans, ¼ lb. of fresh butter, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Should the beans be very dry, soak them for an hour or two in cold water, and boil them until perfectly tender, as in the preceding recipe. If the water should boil away, replenish it with a little more cold, which makes the skin of the beans tender. Let them be very thoroughly done; drain them well; then add to them the butter, minced parsley, and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Keep moving the stewpan over the fire without using a spoon, as this would break the beans; and, when the various ingredients are well mixed with them, squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve very hot. _Time._—From 2 to 2½ hours to boil the beans. _Average cost_, 4_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.

BÉCHAMEL, or French White Sauce.

_Ingredients._—1 small bunch of parsley, 2 cloves, ½ bay-leaf, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs, salt to taste; 3 or 4 mushrooms, when obtainable; 2 pints of white stock, 1 pint of milk or cream, 1 tablespoonful of arrowroot. _Mode._—Put the stock into a stewpan, with the parsley, cloves, bay-leaf, herbs, and mushrooms; add a seasoning of salt, but no pepper, as that would give the sauce a dusty appearance, and should be avoided. When it has boiled long enough to extract the flavour of the herbs, &c., strain it, and boil it up quickly again, until it is nearly half reduced. Now mix the arrowroot smoothly with the milk or cream, and let it simmer very gently for 5 minutes over a slow fire; pour to it the stock, and continue to simmer slowly for 10 minutes, if the sauce be thick. If, on the contrary, it be too thin, it must be stirred over a sharp fire till it thickens. Always make it thick, as it can easily be thinned with cream, milk, or white stock. This sauce is excellent for pouring over boiled fowls. _Time._—Altogether, 2 hours. _Average cost_, 3_s._ per quart, with cream at 1_s._ 6_d._ per pint.

BÉCHAMEL MAIGRE, or Without Meat.

_Ingredients._—2 onions, 1 blade of mace, mushroom trimmings, a small bunch of parsley, 1 oz. of butter, flour, ½ pint of water, 1 pint of milk, salt, the juice of ½ lemon, 2 eggs. _Mode._—Put in a stewpan the milk and ½ pint of water, with the onions, mace, mushrooms, parsley, and salt. Let these simmer gently for 20 minutes. In the meantime, rub on a plate 1 oz. of flour and butter; put it to the liquor, and stir it well till it boils up; then place it by the side of the fire, and continue stirring until it is perfectly smooth. Now strain it through a sieve into a basin, after which put it back in the stewpan, and add the lemon-juice. Beat up the yolks of the eggs with about 4 dessertspoonfuls of milk; strain this to the sauce, keep stirring it over the fire, _but do not let it boil, or it will curdle_. _Time._—Altogether, ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 5_d._ per pint.

This is a good sauce to pour over boiled fowls when they are a bad colour.

BEEF, Aitchbone of, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—Beef, water. _Mode._—After this joint has been in salt 5 or 6 days, it will be ready for use, and will not take so long boiling as a round, for it is not so solid. Wash the meat, and, if too salt, soak it for a few hours, changing the water once or twice, till the required freshness is obtained. Put into a saucepan, or boiling-pot, sufficient water to cover the meat; set it over the fire, and when it boils, plunge in the joint, and let it boil up quickly. Now draw the pot to the side of the fire, and let the process be very gradual, as the water must only simmer, or the meat will be hard and tough. Carefully remove the scum from the surface of the water, and continue doing this for a few minutes after it first boils. Carrots and turnips are served with this dish, and sometimes suet dumplings, which may be boiled with the beef. Garnish with a few of the carrots and turnips, and serve the remainder in a vegetable-dish. _Time._—An aitchbone of 10 lbs., 2½ hours after the water boils; one of 20 lbs., 4 hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb. _Sufficient._—10 lbs. for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year, but best from September to March.

_Note._—The liquor in which the meat has been boiled may be easily converted into a very excellent pea-soup. It will require very few vegetables, as it will be impregnated with the flavour of those boiled with the meat.

BEEF À LA MODE.

_Ingredients._—6 or 7 lbs. of the thick flank of beef, a few slices of fat bacon, 1 teacupful of vinegar, black pepper, allspice, 2 cloves well mixed and finely pounded, making altogether 1 heaped teaspoonful; salt to taste, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, all finely minced and well mixed; 3 onions, 2 large carrots, 1 turnip, 1 head of celery, 1½ pint of water, 1 glass of port wine. _Mode._—Slice and fry the onions of a pale brown, and cut up the other vegetables in small pieces, and prepare the beef for stewing in the following manner:—Choose a fine piece of beef, cut the bacon into long slices, about an inch in thickness, dip them into vinegar, and then into a little of the above seasoning of spice, &c., mixed with the same quantity of minced herbs. With a sharp knife make holes deep enough to let in the bacon; then rub the beef over with the remainder of the seasoning and herbs, and bind it up in a nice shape with tape. Have ready a well-tinned stewpan (it should not be much larger than the piece of meat you are cooking), into which put the beef, with the vegetables, vinegar, and water. Let it simmer _very gently_ for 5 hours, or rather longer, should the meat not be extremely tender, and turn it once or twice. When ready to serve, take out the beef, remove the tape, and put it on a hot dish. Skim off every particle of fat from the gravy, add the port wine, just let it boil, pour it over the beef, and it is ready to serve. Great care must be taken that this does not boil fast, or the meat will be tough and tasteless; it should only just bubble. When convenient, all kinds of stews, &c. should be cooked on a hot plate, as the process is so much more gradual than on an open fire. _Time._—5 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 7_d._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year, but more suitable for a winter dish.

BEEF À LA MODE (Economical).

_Ingredients._—About 3 lbs. of clod or sticking of beef, 2 oz. of clarified dripping, 1 large onion, flour, 2 quarts of water, 12 berries of allspice, 2 bay-leaves, ½ teaspoonful of whole black pepper, salt to taste. _Mode._—Cut the beef into small pieces, and roll them in flour; put the dripping into a stewpan with the onion, which should be sliced thin. Let it get quite hot; lay in the pieces of beef, and stir them well about. When nicely browned all over, add _by degrees_ boiling water in the above proportion, and, as the water is added, keep the whole well stirred. Put in the spice, bay-leaves, and seasoning, cover the stewpan closely, and set it by the side of the fire to stew very _gently_, till the meat becomes quite tender, which will be in about 3 hours, when it will be ready to serve. Remove the bay-leaves before it is sent to table. _Time._—3 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

BEEF, Baked.

[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 1.] _Ingredients._—About 2 lbs. of cold roast beef, 2 small onions, 1 large carrot or 2 small ones, 1 turnip, a small bunch of savoury herbs, salt and pepper to taste, quite ½ pint of gravy, 3 tablespoonfuls of ale, crust or mashed potatoes. _Mode._—Cut the beef in slices, allowing a small amount of fat to each slice; place a layer of this in the bottom of a pie-dish, with a portion of the onions, carrots, and turnips, which must be sliced; mince the herbs, strew them over the meat, and season with pepper and salt. Then put another layer of meat, vegetables, and seasoning; and proceed in this manner until all the ingredients are used. Pour in the gravy and ale (water may be substituted for the former, but it is not so nice), cover with a crust or mashed potatoes, and bake for ½ hour, or rather longer. _Time._—Rather more than ½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—It is as well to parboil the carrots and turnips before adding them to the meat, and to use some of the liquor in which they were boiled as a substitute for gravy; that is to say, when there is no gravy at hand. Be particular to cut the onions in very _thin_ slices.

* * * * *

[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 2.] _Ingredients._—Slices of cold roast beef, salt and pepper to taste, 1 sliced onion, 1 teaspoonful of minced savoury herbs, 12 tablespoonfuls of gravy or sauce of any kind, mashed potatoes. _Mode._—Butter the sides of a deep dish, and spread mashed potatoes over the bottom of it; on this place layers of beef in thin slices (this may be minced, if there is not sufficient beef to cut into slices), well seasoned with pepper and salt, and a very little onion and herbs, which should be previously fried of a nice brown; then put another layer of mashed potatoes, and beef, and other ingredients, as before; pour in the gravy or sauce, cover the whole with another layer of potatoes, and bake for ½ hour. This may be served in the dish, or turned out. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the cold beef, 6_d._ _Sufficient._—A large pie-dish full for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

BEEF-BONES, Broiled.

[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The bones of ribs or sirloin; salt, pepper and cayenne. _Mode._—Separate the bones, taking care that the meat on them is not too thick in any part; sprinkle them well with the above seasoning, and broil over a very clear fire. When nicely browned, they are done; but do not allow them to blacken.