Part 101

_Meat._--Veal and lamb are in full season, and sweetbreads are in great request. As the supply is always limited, butchers not seldom try to pass off bullock’s sweetbread--i.e. the pancreatic gland--on their customers. True sweetbread is a gland in the neck of the young animal only. This should not be tolerated, as bullock’s sweetbread is coarse-flavoured and hard, and needs long and careful washing and cooking before it comes to table. It can, however, be made very palatable with care, and is occasionally worth buying as a change, under its rightful name, and at a legitimate price. Brains parboiled in salt and water to harden them are another good substitute for sweetbreads, and offer one more change from the perpetual joint and fowls that are on every table.

_Game and Poultry._--A young fowl has large feet, knees, and neck in proportion to its size, and its thighs look white or pinkish. An old one has thin, scraggy legs and purplish tinge on its thighs; the scales look hard and horny, and often there are long hairs on the skin. If the beak is on, it should be soft, and so with the breast bone, which is frequently broken by the poulterer to give the bird a plump appearance. The length and size of the claws is another indication of age; the size is little or no guide, as that depends on the variety and the feeding. The small-boned, short-legged varieties are generally said to be the best. A very fat bird is to be avoided, for it wastes much in cooking, and even what remains of the fat cannot be eaten. Birds that are kept in the dark and crammed previous to killing become very fat, but the flesh loses flavour and firmness, and they are far inferior to barndoor fowls. Cleanliness is also essential to the production of a well-flavoured fowl; the same may be said of ducks, now as ducklings to be eaten with the earliest green peas. Full-grown ducks are better in late summer or autumn. Their age can be judged from the appearance of the feet, and by the pliability of the bill. The down that covers them may be an indication of youth, but it may also be put on by the poulterer with a sprinkling of gum.

Chickens, turkey poults, ducklings, goslings, and guinea-fowl dispute supremacy, but very little is to be said for any of them. The pigeon is possibly the best bird procurable during May. Plover’s egg, always delicious, even when eaten under difficulties, seems to gain in beauty when presented in the form of an aspic.

_Fish._--May is the true mackerel month. The herring too puts in an appearance during the month of May, and is a thoroughly delicate fish. The only valid accusation against the herring is on account of his innumerable bones, but this is not the true reason of his being voted unfashionable. Unfortunately, the herring is too cheap, and, in consequence of this defect, is in the habit of haunting vulgar localities, and thus excluding himself from the refined society that he is so well qualified to exhilarate.

Whiting and smelts still appear, but are practically superseded by whitebait. The Salmonidæ are in grand condition. Salmon, salmon trout, lake and brook trout prevail on our dinner-tables; but the most delicate member of the entire family is rarely seen. Either from scarcity, the distance of the lakes from the metropolis, or from some other cause, the beautiful silvery char seldom reaches London. Small as he is, he has all the richness of the _salar_, and possesses a delicacy all his own. Turbot now ceases, and codfish has retired. Brill, gurnet, soles, plaice, and flounders are in season. Oysters having departed, other shell-fish improve much in quality. Lobsters and crabs now lose much of the dryness that is so conspicuous a fault with them during the winter months.

_Vegetables._--Vegetables are now plentiful and cheap. In warm seasons that are yet sufficiently damp they grow quickly, and the fibre is less woody and hard than that of vegetables grown in cold or dry weather. With the warm weather comes the difficulty of transport, but it is not yet so great as in July and August, when the plants are full of sap and ferment quickly under a hot sun. Gardeners have a habit of keeping vegetables for a few hours in a hot bed or greenhouse before sending them to the kitchen. They have some idea that it improves the quality--an idea that is wholly erroneous, and should be combated. Potatoes are often laid in the sun for a few hours to dry, but they should never be allowed to lie long enough for fermentation to set in. All withered vegetables should have the stalks freshly cut, and the ends should then be put in a bowl of water, just as withered flowers would be treated. Through the stalks they suck up water enough to fill their shrunken cells, and make them green and stiff once more, but to plunge the entire plant under water is a mistake, and after a few hours of such treatment the water is often perceptibly warm, and the leaves bruised and decaying. Of course this does not apply to washing vegetables and salads, which cannot be too thorough and complete, especially of the vegetables that many housekeepers buy off barrows in the streets.

Asparagus is now in great perfection, and green peas wait upon the insipid duckling. Unless young, quickly grown, freshly gathered, and properly cooked, green peas are apt to be a failure, and when four important conditions have to be fulfilled the chances are naturally against success. Summer cabbages, cauliflowers, spinach, young carrots, turnips, and potatoes are all to the fore; nor do salads fail to keep pace with these, as cabbage, lettuce, summer endive, and corn-salad are to be had in profusion.

_Fruit._--The weak point of May is fruit, as almost the only good fruit that can be obtained at a reasonable price is the orange. Strawberries are to be bought for money, but in this instance the open-air-grown fruit is far preferable to the productions of the hothouse.

June.

_Meat._--Lamb is now in fine condition, and, besides the ever-welcome fore-quarter, supplies admirable material for entrées of various kinds. Lamb’s head, either baked and served upon a mince or stewed with green peas, will always find legions of admirers.

On the subject of veal mankind is by no means so unanimous as on that of lamb, and in this country especially veal is generally denounced as unwholesome. Although it is unfortunately the custom to allow calves to grow unreasonably large before the day of sacrifice, and to compensate the loss of whiteness by phlebotomy, thereby losing much of the tenderness and succulence of the meat, veal is after all one of the most valuable materials for the production of dainty dishes. Calf’s head is susceptible of various treatment and the ears are esteemed choice morsels. Tongue, liver, sweetbread and feet have their several admirers. Breast of veal, either stuffed or curried, is a good dish, and so is the _fricandeau_ well larded and served with mushrooms, peas, spinach, or--best of all--with sorrel. To the various forms of _paupiettes_, _escalopes_ and cutlets there is verily no end, and to sum up its qualifications, veal makes an excellent roast. This latter remark, however, applies only to the loin. The huge mass called in English fillet of veal is one of the most tasteless and barbarous of joints.

Buck venison is in season from the middle of this month until September. It is one of those delicacies of the table that is not very often bought in the open market, and no one looks a gift horse in the mouth. Lean venison is scarcely worth eating, and is often sold at a very small price; the fat should be thick and abundant, clear and bright looking; the hoof smooth and close. In cool weather a haunch may hang for a fortnight, and it should be kept perfectly dry by wiping with cloths. Tastes, however, differ greatly as to the length of time that venison should be hung, and indeed “high” meat or game is actually in a state of decomposition, and it has been known to produce symptoms of poisoning in persons unaccustomed to its use. It begins first to decompose near the bone, and its state can best be ascertained by running a skewer into the middle of the joint.

_Fish._--Lobster, whiting, trout, eels, and salmon, continue in season. The tiny Thames flounder is exceedingly sweet in flavour, and although lacking the firmness of the sole has peculiar merit of its own, either accommodated in _sootje_, or fried in perfect style.

_Game and Poultry._--Goslings and half-grown geese--called in many country places green geese--are in season from now to September. The 29th of that month is a fixed date when every one knows that geese are in season to continue so until early spring. Ducks have no such date in their history; and, beginning in April or May as ducklings at a high price, they grow larger and cheaper all through the summer until the decline and disappearance of green peas. The age of both these birds may be guessed from the toughness of pinion, beak, and feet; from the deep orange or red colour of the feet of an old goose, those of a young bird being yellow; from the downy appearance of the feathers, and the size of the quills. A duck or goose, especially if not very young, is better for hanging a day or two, but it must not be in the least high, as the abundant fat would be rank. Rabbits, that is wild rabbits, are out of season. A few are seen in the shops, for they are not protected by game laws, but careful housekeepers know better than to buy them. Tame rabbits are fattened for market all the year round, though it is in winter that they are imported and sold in largest quantities.

Chickens are larger, and turkey poults assume respectable dimensions; but the great event of the present month is the advent of quail, wheatear, and ortolan. These delicious birds are doubly welcome at the present moment, as they afford inestimable relief from the insipid sameness of spring banquets. Of all game birds the quail is the most dainty, and combines in the highest degree delicacy of texture, beauty of form, and subtle aroma.

It is generally admitted that of all small birds the ortolan is the best, although some fastidious epicures affect to prefer the becafico and the reed-bird. Caught in great numbers in the south of France, ortolans are subjected to a preliminary process of fattening before the day of doom. Perhaps the most refined method of cooking ortolans is the traditional one of wrapping them in a vineleaf and simply roasting them. Johannesberg is the wine of all others which has the greatest sympathy with the tiny bird of the sunny south. Wheatears abound on the great South Downs of England, and these plump morsels may be dealt with in the same fashion as their foreign compeer.

_Eggs._--During spring and early summer eggs are cheap and good. Those of the plover, turkey, and guinea-hen are exquisite in flavour, and always command a comparatively high price; but the productions of the barndoor fowl, the game-fowl, the bantam and Cochin China are to be obtained at a very moderate price, while the choice vegetables now in season suggest varieties of omelet but little known to the English cuisine. Eggs should be put by for winter use during this month or next. Recipes for preserving them are given on p. 117. Fresh eggs are not easy things to choose. It is quite easy to distinguish a distinctly bad egg, because, on holding it to the light, it is seen to be opaque, and a fresh egg is transparent; but there is no such visible difference between a new-laid egg and one that is some days or weeks old. The actual difference consists in the evaporation of water and its replacement by air, so that at one end there is a large air bubble in a stale egg. This is often enough to cause a rattling of the yolk if it is shaken close to the ear. Sometimes the yolk is seen to be settled on one side. The comparative weight is a sure test, for the air is lighter than the water, and a stale egg floats in brine where a fresh one sinks; but the drawback of this test is that the salt and water are not available in the market. Dissolve 2 oz. kitchen salt in 1 pint water. When a fresh-laid egg is placed in this solution it will descend to the bottom of the vessel, while one that has been laid on the day previous will not quite reach the bottom. If the egg be 3 days old it will swim in the liquid, and if it be more than 3 days old it will float on the surface, and project above the latter more and more in proportion as it is older.

_Vegetables._--Green vegetables of all sorts are now at their best. Green peas, asparagus, summer endive, spinach, and sorrel. New potatoes are plentiful, and though really inferior to the ripe tuber, are greatly preferred by many persons pretending to taste.

As is fitting in summer, salads are to be found in great abundance, and perhaps the best of these is the Cos lettuce; for plain salad or for _mayonnaise_ of fish or fowl no better basis exists. Lobster, crab, salmon, trout, sole or chicken _mayonnaises_ form an agreeable interlude in any repast, and the prevailing fashion of serving a plain salad with roast meat is both healthful and appetising. In all salads compounded of Cos lettuce it should never be forgotten that tarragon vinegar is indispensable, as this pleasant condiment relieves the flavour of the lettuce in the most agreeable and refreshing manner.

_Fruit._--At present rhubarb and gooseberries are the only fruits available for kitchen purposes. Apricots have even descended to street barrows; they are imported, and of the hard variety generally used for cooking. By the end of the month we shall be thinking of jam, and it is not amiss to issue an early warning against the idea that damaged or over-ripe fruit is good for jam.

Early raspberries, cherries, currants, apricots, peaches and nectarines are to be obtained, but the strawberry is master of the situation. Some pretend that the flavour of the wild strawberry is superior to that of the finest cultivated varieties. Strawberries make an excellent beginning for the day, and never taste better than when plucked and eaten at once. One great advantage the strawberry unquestionably has over other fruits--it may be eaten at any time and in any quantity “without compunction.”

July.

_Meat._--The fiery temperature of the dog-days renders necessary some departure from the national system of alimentation. Even the carnivorous Briton turns aside with weariness, if not absolute loathing, from huge masses of tough beef and tasteless mutton, and sighs for a break in the monotony of our insular cuisine. There is veal it is true, but the fatted calf is not relished by everybody, and grass lamb, although now in superb condition, has lost the charm of novelty, and, like salmon, is viewed askant during the torrid days of July.

Red-deer venison is the flesh of a thoroughly wild animal, and possesses a high flavour, but is unfortunately not free from a certain dryness and toughness of fibre, resulting from “too high training” or superabundance of exercise; while buck venison is a delicious compromise between the wild flavour of “beasts of venerie” and the luscious products of artificial feeding.

By many epicures the neck of a fine buck is held in almost equal estimation with the haunch. Lovers of tit-bits linger affectionately over a venison fry; this prime delicacy must be ordered of venison dealers a few days in advance, especially if the weather be very hot.

Large joints--excepting in the case of venison which is readily convertible into stews and hashes--are not to be recommended, and a recourse to “kickshaws” is almost unavoidable.

_Game and Poultry._--Entrées of fowl are always dainty and wholesome. Quail and ortolan still supply the roast, which in this month receives an important addition in the leveret--the _avant-courier_ of the game season.

A guinea-fowl well hung is the nearest approach to a pheasant that the season affords. Then there are turkey poults, green geese, ducks, wild ducks, wheatears, and plenty of poultry, besides rabbits.

_Fish._--The fish for the month are salmon and salmon trout, which will not be cheaper or better than now; grey and red mullet, which was in ancient Rome prized above all fish, and is still thought a delicacy; prawns, shrimps, crayfish, most often used for soup or garnish to other fish; mackerel, still abundant, but not so good as it was some weeks ago; fresh haddocks, conger, whiting, herrings, eels, soles, plaice, turbot, Thames flounders--the cheapest of flat fish, and sometimes muddy-flavoured, though a good flounder makes not a despicable dish. A large number of ling, hake, or white salmon, coalfish, roker, and other little-known fish find their way to the less fashionable quarters of London, and are sold at a low price.

At the best tables trout take the place of salmon, while chicken-turbot and whitebait supply an agreeable variety, and the much-vilified mussel partly fills up the vacancy left by the secession of the oyster. The John Dory is now in fine condition, and yields to no fish in the sea for fineness of texture and delicacy of flavour. It is unhappily the custom to stuff the Dory with an over-rich stuffing and serve him with a potent sauce. This treatment effectually destroys the fine flavour of a fish which requires no stronger condiment than caper-sauce.

_Vegetables._--Of vegetables we have a great abundance. Green peas are plentiful and cheap, and the later varieties will keep our tables supplied for many weeks yet. French beans, said to be in season when beef is in perfection, broad beans, artichokes, cauliflowers, cabbage, carrots, marrows, outdoor mushrooms if the weather is propitious, outdoor cucumbers for the next 10-12 weeks, and salad of all kinds grown quickly and crisp in summer weather, new potatoes at their best, all belong to July.

_Fruit._--Walnuts should be ready for pickling at the beginning of this month. They should be so soft that a pin easily penetrates them. This is a good time to make all sorts of pickles; but it is cheaper to buy them than to buy all the materials. Ketchup can be made of the shell when the walnuts are ripe in September.

What fruit ripens this mouth depends greatly on the part of England where one looks for it. In the large markets, where much foreign fruit comes, the seasons are not definitely defined, and all sorts of fruits are to be found out of their proper season. Much, probably more than half, of the peaches and nectarines and better kinds of fruit grown for sale, are grown in houses, or at least with some protection of glass. Without it they will hardly ripen in the north of England, and everywhere the uncertainty of spring weather, and the fatality of a wet frost while the fruit is setting, make the glass almost a necessity where the crop is raised for profit.

The cry of “cherry ripe” is still familiar, and the subacid fruit is exceedingly grateful to a parched palate. Strawberries are on the wane, but raspberries, currants, and gooseberries take their place. On the good qualities of raspberry and currant tart it is needless to dilate.

August.

_Game._--The great events for the fashionable and dining world during the coming month are, no doubt, the commencement of grouse shooting on the 12th, and of black-cock shooting on the 21st. At one time, when it was less customary for gentlemen to sell game, a great part of that sold in shops was obtained in some questionable manner. Perhaps even now there will be some who do not think of marketing for grouse, but wait until a present comes from friends at a Scotch or Yorkshire moor. From whatever source grouse are obtained, the housekeeper ought to know if they are old or young birds, in order to avoid the old in case of purchase, and to cook the young and hang the old in case of gift. It is comparatively easy to distinguish the two when lying side by side. The undeveloped plumage, the smooth legs, the short spur are conspicuous. The old birds are usually larger than the young, and the bones of the pinion and thigh stiffen with age. They are not so easy to distinguish apart, except by practice. The old birds not only are improved by longer hanging, but require longer to cook, so that it is better not to serve old and young on the same day. Except for this addition, the meat supply remains as for last month.

_Vegetables._--Some of the summer vegetables are past their best days, but their place is speedily taken by others. Vegetable marrows can be cut and hung up for winter use, and French beans are still tender enough for pickling, though the length of time they will continue so depends on getting a due proportion of rain with summer sunshine. In dry seasons vegetables are always stringy and tough.

_Fruit._--Gooseberries, raspberries, and currants will not last the month out in the warmer parts of England. Even if they are kept from the birds they drop from the trees as soon as they are perfectly ripe, and there is so much other fruit that they are not missed. Strawberries are nearly over, although a few late varieties are still fit for table. But there is no scarcity of fruit for those who have money in pocket. The market lists comprise peaches, nectarines, apricots, greengages, melons, grapes, green figs, early pear and apples, pine-apples, oranges, lemons.