Chapter 2

Oatmeal water is considered a most strengthening beverage, and is used by men in foundries when beer and fermented liquors would be found too heating.

Of alcoholic drinks, Mr. Buckmaster says (echoing the opinion of eminent physiologists): 'BEER, WINE, and SPIRITS are never to be regarded as foods. Their popular use is entirely due to their stimulating properties. They contain no nitrogen, and are therefore not flesh-formers, nor can they add anything to the wasting tissues. All stimulants act by increasing, for a time, the vitality of the body; but this activity is always followed by depression in proportion to the previous excitement. TEA and COFFEE do, to some extent, prevent waste; but their value as foods depends mainly on the sugar and milk taken with them; and their use, _instead of food_, is almost as hurtful as intoxicating drinks. COCOA differs very much from either tea or coffee, since it is a nutritious liquid food.'

In a lecture on the action of alcohol upon health, Sir Andrew Clark says of health: 'That it is a state which cannot be benefited by alcohol in any degree.' He also states: 'It is capable of proof, beyond all possibility of question, that alcohol, _in ordinary circumstances, not only does not help work, but is a serious hindrance of work_.'

These facts are so important, and ought to be so universally known, that it is to be hoped before long the chemistry of food will occupy the place it should as one of the most necessary branches of everyone's education.

THE TABLE.

A properly cooked meal, and a neatly arranged dinner-table, are helps to the happiness and moral progress of the humblest of families.--Buckmaster.

A really capable housekeeper will not be satisfied with good cookery only. She will be careful to have each dish nicely served, however plain it may be. Culture, or the want of it, will be seen at once in the appointment of her table. This remark does not apply to a profusion of glass, silver, or flowers--these are questions of wealth--but to the neatness and order with which a table is laid, and the manner in which the meal is served.

Some people are particularly sensitive to external impressions; and to them a dinner, or any other meal, however costly, served in an untidy room, with table-cloth soiled, silver tarnished, glasses smeared, and above all a slovenly servant, would be enough to give a feeling of depression that would anything but aid digestion.

A great point to be attended to is to have everything perfectly clean and orderly, however old and plain. Clean table-cloths make a wonderful difference to the look of a table; a few flowers also will do much to give it a bright appearance. Servants should be neat in their dress, and quiet in their movements. If only one is kept, that is no reason why she should wait at table in a slovenly dress and with ruffled hair.

The dining-room should be, if possible, a bright room with a good aspect. Heavy, sombre furniture, however fashionable, should be avoided. It is unfortunate that so little attention is paid to the influence of colour; a warm colouring will do much to give a bright look to a room which would otherwise be dull.

The influence of the mental emotions on the digestion is so great that it is important that the conversation at meals should be as cheerful as possible, and no unpleasant subject should be discussed: anything that disturbs the appetite disturbs the digestion also.

With these points carefully attended to--a bright room, neatly-laid table, well-cooked food, and cheerful conversation--dinner, or any other meal, will become what it should be, a refreshment to both mind and body.

HOW TO COOK.

Hints to Beginners.

A few hints to beginners on the proper way to set about their work may be, perhaps, of some use; as I know many people get disgusted with cookery at the very outset, and after one attempt, form a resolution never to enter the kitchen again. They have spent the whole morning trying to make a single dish, and that has proved a failure; they have become hot, tired, and irritable, and ill able to bear the laughter their failure has excited. There has been a waste of material to no purpose, and they conclude, therefore, that it is useless for _them_ to make any further attempts. At any rate, they determine that they will not try again 'just yet;' and that often means that they do not try again at all. This disappointment and fatigue is generally the result of want of method and forethought. A recipe has been taken into the kitchen to be tried; very probably one half of the terms used in it have not been understood by the would-be cook. She at once begins to make the dish, going to the recipe to look for each article required as she wants to use it. If some of the supplies have run short, she has perhaps to wait in the middle of her operations while she sends to purchase them. Moreover, when the cake, pastry, or whatever it may be, is made, the fire has very likely been forgotten. In this way, even if the dish has been properly prepared, it is spoiled in the cooking.

Those, too, who have some knowledge of the art and perhaps, can cook fairly well, will often find the work a great fatigue and toil. They spend double or treble the time they need in the kitchen, just for the want of a little judicious management.

Before trying a recipe read it over, _carefully_ notice how a dish is to be cooked, and make up the fire accordingly. If it is pastry, take means to get the oven hot; if a boiled pudding, make a good fire, and put a large saucepan of water on to cook it in before doing anything else. When this most important matter is attended to, put all the materials required on the table with the weights and scales; notice what cooking utensils will be required, see that they are all clean and ready for use, and put them near to hand. If, for example, you want to make a cake, proceed in this manner:--Attend first to the fire to get the oven lightly heated, then put out the weights and scales and all necessary materials; put a basin on the table for mixing, two or three cups for breaking eggs in, one or two plates to put the different ingredients on as they are measured, a grater, and anything else that may be required. Then carefully weigh the materials, taking the exact quantities named in the recipe. Prepare them all before mixing any of them. Wash and pick over the currants, and while they are drying, cut up all the candied peel; beat up the eggs, and grease and prepare the cake-tin. The butter should then be rubbed into the flour, and the other dry ingredients should be added. The cake should then be quickly mixed, put into its tin, and placed at once in a hot oven.

If several dishes are to be made, a little thought beforehand will often prevent a very great deal of fatigue and waste of time. Suppose, for example, that you wish to prepare two or three dishes for supper and to make some cakes for tea. You have, perhaps, decided to have a chicken coated with Béchamel sauce, a _gâteau_ of apples with whipped cream, a custard pudding, and some rock cakes. Make, the day before, if possible, a list of the articles required for the different dishes, and order what is necessary in good time, so that there may be no delay the next morning. Have the kitchen quite clear from all litters before you begin to work. No one can cook well in a muddle. Then commence operations by making up the fire and putting a saucepan of stock, or water, on to boil for the chicken. Next put the gelatine to soak for the _gâteau_, not forgetting a little in the Béchamel sauce. The longer gelatine soaks, the more quickly it will dissolve. Then slice the apples and put them to stew with the sugar, so that they may be cooking while you are preparing something else. Afterwards truss the chicken; and probably, by the time it is ready, the water or stock in the saucepan will be boiling. Put the chicken into it to simmer gently, noticing the time, so that it may not be over-cooked. Then prepare the ingredients for the rock cakes; mixing them--as they require a quick oven--before the pudding. While they are cooking, prepare the custard; and by the time it is made, the cakes, if the oven is properly hot, will be sufficiently set to admit of the heat being moderated. Now make the Béchamel sauce; strain it and add the dissolved gelatine. Take up the chicken, remove the skewers, place it on a dish, and coat it nicely with the sauce. Then rub the apples through the sieve, and finish making the _gâteau_. By this time the chicken, _gâteau_, and rock cakes are made, and the custard will be cooking. While waiting for the custard, whip the cream for the _gâteau_ and put it on a sieve to drain; prepare any decorations you may intend to put on the fowl, and lay them on a plate near to it in the pantry, ready to put on just before serving. Everything will now be ready. With just a little management, even a slow worker would scarcely take a longer time to make these dishes than an hour and a half.

Whatever failures and disappointments you may meet with at first, do not be discouraged. Success is certain if you will only have a little patience and perseverance. Do not be disheartened because you feel very awkward, and because you not unfrequently forget the oven, and let your cakes and pastry burn. Try not to mind the banter of your relations and friends at any possible failure. Many well-meaning efforts to acquire this useful knowledge have been nipped in the bud by the thoughtless, silly way in which some people will laugh at any mistake or blunder. A cake which has caught in baking, or a pudding with the sugar left out, will probably afford them an inexhaustible subject of mirth. Make up your mind, however, not to be discouraged by any of these things. Practice will give nimbleness to your fingers and strength to your memory. As regards any laughter your mistakes may cause, only persevere, and it will not be long before the laugh will be on your side. But keep in mind in any of your attempts that you must be _exact_ in all you do. If you try to cook without paying strict attention to weights of the materials to be used and to the other directions, you will deserve to fail. Be very particular in measuring quantities; bear in mind that carelessness in this respect is no mark of a superior cook as some people imagine, but rather of a careless or ignorant one.

As whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well, bring all your intelligence to bear upon what you take in hand.

HOW TO CLEAN STOVES AND COOKING UTENSILS.

Iron Saucepans.

Immerse them in a pan of hot water with soda in it, and wash them thoroughly inside and out, taking care that nothing is left sticking to the bottom of the saucepans. If anything has been burnt in them, boil some strong soda and water in them before washing them, and then rub the bottom of the saucepan with sand until it is quite clean. The sand must be used nearly dry; if too much wetted it loses its power.

The saucepan lids should be thoroughly rinsed and dried.

Enamel Saucepans.

Wash them thoroughly in hot water with soda in it, using soap if necessary. If anything has been burnt in the saucepan, boil strong soda and water in it before cleaning it, and rub it well with sand. Rinse and dry thoroughly.

Anglo-American Saucepans.

Clean like enamel saucepans. They should be kept perfectly clean inside and out.

Tin Saucepans.

Clean these like iron saucepans.

Dish Covers and Jelly Moulds.

Wash with soap and water and dry thoroughly. Powder some whiting, and mix with a little cold water; brush the mixture over the covers and moulds; when dry, rub off with a plate brush or soft cloth or leather.

To Clean a Roaster.

Wash the dripping-pan and inside of the roaster with hot water and soda to remove all grease, then rub them with sand until they are quite bright, rinse and dry thoroughly. Clean the outside of the roaster with whiting, used according to directions given for cleaning dish covers.

Hair and Wire Sieves.

Wash these thoroughly with hot water with soda in it, and scrub them quite clean with a sieve-brush. Dry them thoroughly, and keep them in a _dry place_. If this is not done a hair sieve will get mildewed, an iron one rusty, and a copper one will verdigris and become poisonous. Copper-wire sieves should always have especial care.

Paste Boards and Rolling Pins.

Scrub them well with hot water and sand. Do not use soda, as it will make the wood yellow.

Baking Tins.

Wash them in hot water with soda in it, and rub with sand until they are bright; rinse and dry well.

To Clean a Close Stove or Open Range.

Scrape out all the ashes and brush up all the dust. Then, with a brush, thoroughly clean the flues. Brush the stove over with liquid blacklead, and when it is dry polish with brushes. Then clean any steel about the stove and the fire-irons and fender with emery-paper; any brass with brick-dust well rubbed on with a leather.

Brush all the dust from the oven, and wipe it round with a cloth wrung out of hot water.

To Clean a Gas Stove.

Wash off any grease that may have been spilled on the stove with a cloth dipped in hot water, and wipe the inside of the stove, taking care to dry it thoroughly. Wash the dripping-pan in hot water with soda in it, and rub it with sand to brighten it. Then wipe it quite dry.

Brush the stove over with liquid blacklead, and polish it with brushes.

Copper Cooking Utensils.

Wash them well in hot water with soda in it; moisten some salt with vinegar, and rub them well with this to remove stains and tarnish. Then wash them quickly with soap and water, and dry them thoroughly; polish them with a little powdered whiting rubbed on with a soft leather.

RULES FOR BOILING.

All meat, with the exception of salt meat, should be put into boiling water, and should be well boiled for quite five minutes, in order that the albumen on the outside of the joint may be set. The hardened albumen forms a kind of casing. This casing serves to keep in, as far as possible, the flavour and juices of the meat. When the meat has been boiled sufficiently long to effect this hardening, the kettle should be drawn to one side of the fire. The water should be kept at simmering point until the joint is cooked. The general rule, as regards time required for boiling, is a quarter of an hour for each pound of meat and a quarter of an hour over. But only general rules can be given, as the time will vary according to the nature of the joint to be cooked. A thick piece of meat will necessarily take longer to cook than a thin piece with much bone, although both may be the same weight. Very _fresh_ meat will also take longer to cook than that which has been hung.

As soon as the water boils, after the meat is in it, the scum should be carefully removed from time to time, while it is cooking. If the scum be allowed to boil down, it will settle on the joint and discolour it. It is best, however, as a precaution, to wrap the meat in a very clean cloth; this will effectually preserve its colour. Salt meat should be put into lukewarm water, for the purpose of drawing out some of the salt. It should be simmered gently, allowing always twenty minutes to the pound, and twenty minutes over. Salt hardens the fibre of the meat; it, therefore, requires to be cooked for a longer time to make it tender.

RULES FOR ROASTING.

To roast successfully, make up a nice clear fire. When once made up, it should be replenished, if necessary, by putting on coal or coke at the back. The live coals should be drawn to the front to prevent smoke. Fasten the joint to the jack. Place the roaster close to the fire for the first ten minutes, so that the heat of the fire may at once harden the albumen, and form a case to keep in the flavour and juices. Afterwards, draw the roaster farther back and cook gradually, basting every ten minutes. The basting keeps the meat from drying up, and gives it a better flavour. The length of time allowed for roasting is the same as for boiling, the rule being a quarter of an hour for each pound, and a quarter of an hour over. For white meat, veal and pork, or solid joints without bone, allow twenty minutes to the pound, and twenty minutes over. These rules, however, cannot always be strictly adhered to, as the size and shape of the joint must be taken into consideration, as well as the weight. Meat that has been frozen will take longer to cook than fresh meat. Meat which has been well hung will take a shorter time than fresh meat. If a jack is not used, the joint should be fastened to a rope of worsted, which should be kept constantly turning.

Gravy, for a joint, may be made according to two methods. The first method is to take the dripping-pan away half an hour before the joint is cooked, then to put a hot dish in its place, and to pour the contents of the pan into a basin. Put the basin into a refrigerator; or, place it on ice. As soon as it is cold, the fat will cake on the top of the gravy, and should be removed very carefully. Make the gravy hot, diluting it with warm water, if necessary, and pour it round the joint.

The other and more usual method of making gravy, is to pour away all the fat from the pan as soon as the joint is cooked; and then pour into the pan a sufficient quantity of hot water, scraping well the brown glaze from the bottom; colour carefully with caramel, or burnt sugar, and pour it _round_ the joint, not _over_ it. Pouring the gravy over the meat destroys its crispness.

On no account make gravy from stock; stock is quite unsuitable, as the vegetable flavour is, to many persons, disagreeable.

RULES FOR FRYING.

French or Wet Frying.

This is cooking in a large quantity of fat sufficient to cover the articles fried in it. Oil, lard, dripping, or fat rendered down, may be used for this purpose. Oil is considered the best, as it will rise to 600° without burning; other fats get over-heated after 400°, and therefore require greater care in using. Success depends, almost entirely, on getting the fat to the right degree of heat. For ordinary frying, the heat required is 345°. Unless this point is carefully attended to, total failure will be the result. There are signs, however, by which anyone may easily tell when the fat is ready for use. It must be quite still, making no noise; noise, or bubbling, will be caused by the evaporation of moisture, or water in it. The expression, 'boiling lard,' or 'boiling fat,' has been misleading to many inexperienced cooks, who, not unnaturally, imagine that when the fat is bubbling, like boiling water, it is boiling, and, therefore, at the right heat. But boiling _fat_ does not bubble. When it has the appearance of boiling water, it is simply due, as already explained, to the presence of water in it, which must pass away by evaporation, before the fat can reach the required heat. When it ceases to make any noise, and is quite still, it should be carefully watched; for very soon a pale blue vapour is seen rising, and then the fat is sufficiently hot. If, from the position of the stove, it is not easy to see this vapour, a piece of bread may be held in the fat as a test; if it begins to turn brown, in about a minute, the fat is ready. It should then be used without delay; since, when once hot enough, it rapidly gets overheated or burnt. Fat is burning when the blue vapour becomes like smoke. Burnt fat has an unpleasant smell, and is apt to give a disagreeable taste to the articles fried in it. With ordinary care fat need not get overheated. Next to oil, fat rendered down (_see_ Rendering down Fat), is best for the purpose. If strained after each time of using, and not allowed to burn, it will keep good for months, and may be used for fish, sweets, or savouries, and no taste of anything previously fried in it will be given to the articles cooked. For this kind of frying, a kitchener, or gas stove, is preferable to an open range.

All kinds of rissoles, croquettes, fillets and cutlets of fish, fritters, &c., should be fried in this manner, and should not be darker than a golden brown. It is an advantage to use a frying-basket for all such things as are covered with egg and bread-crumbs; but fritters, or whatever is dipped in batter, should be dropped into the fat, as they become so light that they rise to the top of it. When they are a pale fawn colour on the one side, they should be turned over to the other. Care must be taken to drain everything, after frying, on kitchen paper in order to remove any grease.

Dry Frying.

This is frying in a cutlet or frying pan, with a small quantity of fat, and is only suitable for such things as require slow cooking, such as steaks, mutton or veal cutlets, fillets of beef, liver and bacon. Pancakes also are fried in this manner. Success depends, as in French frying, in having the fat rightly heated, taking care that the outside of the meat cooked be sealed up. In this way the juices and flavour will be retained in it. Make, therefore, the frying-pan hot, then put in the fat; and when that is also perfectly hot, put in the meat to be cooked. When each side has been well sealed up, the heat applied must be moderated, so that the cooking may be gradual. The common mistake in this kind of frying is to put the meat into the fat when it is but barely melted; the juices of the meat are thus allowed to escape, and the meat is toughened.

RULES FOR BAKING.

To bake meat successfully, the oven must be well ventilated, otherwise, the joint cooked in this manner will have an unpleasant flavour. The meat should be put on a trivet, which should be placed on a baking-tin. The oven must be very hot when the meat is put into it, and the heat should be kept up for the first quarter of an hour. This is to form the casing already alluded to in the directions for roasting and boiling; the heat of the oven must then be very much moderated, and the joint cooked very gradually, allowing twenty minutes for every pound, and twenty minutes over. The meat should be basted; and the gravy may be made in the same manner as in roasting.

RULES FOR GRILLING.

For this method of cookery, a clear fire is essential. The griller is warmed, and the meat fastened in it. It is then hung on the bars of the fireplace, and a dish passed underneath to catch any gravy. An ordinary sized chop, cooked in this way, will take about five minutes on the one side, and three on the other.

RULES FOR BROILING.

This is cooking over the fire on a gridiron. The flavour of broiled meat is usually preferred to that of grilled. Put the gridiron over the fire to heat, and then put the chop, or steak, on it; place the gridiron close to the fire at first, that the heat may rapidly seal up the outside of the meat. When this has been accomplished, lift the gridiron further from the fire, and cook gradually, turning occasionally. A clear fire is essential. Coke is better than coal for broiling, because there is less smoke from it.

JOINTS.

Sirloin of Beef.

This is the primest joint, and must be either roasted or baked (see directions). Horse-radish should be served with it. Yorkshire pudding is also liked with roast beef.

Ribs of Beef.

These should be cooked like sirloin, and served with the same accompaniments. A neater looking joint is made by boning and rolling them. The bones can be used for soup.

Aitch Bone, Round, Thick and Thin Flank of Beef.

Those are usually salted and boiled (see directions for boiling salt meat). Serve with carrots and turnips, and yeast, Norfolk, or suet dumplings.

Brisket of Beef.

This should be stewed (see directions for stewed brisket).

Leg of Mutton.

This may be roasted, baked, or boiled. If roasted, it should be served with red-currant jelly; if boiled, with caper sauce. Carrots and turnips are liked with boiled mutton.

Shoulder of Mutton.

This may be either roasted or baked. Serve with onion sauce.

Saddle of Mutton.