LXXVII.MORE ABOUT SOUPS.
MANY suppose they can obtain just as good soup by preparing the whole between breakfast and dinner, claiming that the idea of keeping “stock” on hand is a foolish one, and an increase of the cares and labors of providing. We think this is a mistake, springing from ignorance in some cases, in others from the fact that the objectors have never tried what seems to us the better way. It is certainly the most economical, and on trial we are sure will be found a saving of time and labor, instead of an additional tax.
By allowing the material for stock to simmer slowly, one obtains the foundation for the strongest and best flavored soup which can be made from flesh. Whereas, if the meat is taken in the morning, and prepared for dinner the sameday, one must hasten matters, and cannot take time to separate the meat in small pieces, or have a soup free from muddy streaks and a strong, disagreeable flavor.
Liebig objects to cooking the stock for any great length of time, because he assumes, and justly, that the albumen and fibrin which, after protracted cooking, will rise hard and bony, cannot be so thoroughly separated as not to leave some disagreeable flavor, and take away much of the real nutriment of the soup. He says if we take one pound of beef free from fat, and separate it from the bones finely, as for mince-meat or sausages; then mix it uniformly in its own weight of cold water, heat it slowly to a boiling point, and allow the liquid to boil briskly for only a few minutes; then strain through a towel to free it from the coagulated albumen and fibrin which will be mixed with it, we can, by this short boiling, secure an equal weight of the most aromatic soup or beef-tea, of such strength as cannot be obtained, even by boiling for hours, from a solid piece of flesh. Youmans says, by long boiling the rich part of the meat extracted by the cold water coagulates and becomes insoluble, instead of remaining dissolved in the soup, as it should do, in order to secure the most highly nutritious substance of the meat. A piece of flesh put into boiling waterundividedis in the most unfavorable condition possible for making good soup. It is customary to protract the boiling, because it is supposed to thicken and enrich the soup.
We have no doubt, if the mistress could oversee the whole process, that a better soup would be obtained by less than the four or five hours’ cooking which we recommended in our last article for stock. But if she is obliged to commit the preparing of stock or soups to willing but careless hands, who half the time do not cut the meat up fine or crack the bones, a longer time is necessary to extract the full flavor, which will not then be as pure.
What are calledclear soupsshould be of a light straw color, and not too strongly flavored with the meat.
Whiteorthick soupsmust only be thick enough to adhere slightly to the spoon when hot.
Puréeconsists of vegetables or meat reduced to a very smooth pulp, and then mixed with enough stock to make a thick soup like most of the bean or pea soups.
One of the most generally palatable soups is theturtleorblack bean soup, with rich beef stock for the foundation.
Soak a pint and a half of the beans overnight in plenty of lukewarm water. In the morning drain off all the water and cover with fresh cold water; see that your soup-digester is perfectly cleaned, and three quarts of beef stock put in it, then set it over the fire. (Of course you never allow your digester or soup-pot to be put away without being thoroughly cleaned; butsometimesgirls have been known to forget or make a mistake; and it is best for many reasons that all utensils should be examined thoroughly, rinsed with hot water, and wiped dry each time you take them out for use, if only to remove what dust may settle on them while in the closet.)
As soon as your kettle is in order and the stock in it, drain off the water from the beans; put them into the stock and set at once over the fire where it will come to a boil slowly. As soon as that takes place, set it a little one side, and it will simmer, notquiteboil, till time for dinner. It will take some four or five hours to make the beans perfectly tender. Half an hour before straining, add a teacupful of tomato catsup and half a pint of canned tomatoes or six fresh ones. Let it cook a little more briskly for a half-hour, then rub through a coarse sieve or colander, and serve hot. In preparing stock for this soup, the savory herbs and mushrooms may be omitted, also the tomatoes, as it is better to add them just before the beans are done, and strain all together.Some like to squeeze a few drops of lemon-juice into soup when in their plates, and it is well to have a quarter of a lemon put on a small saucer or cup-plate by every one at the table, so that they can add it if agreeable.
An excellentbeef soupcan be made from the bones left from a roast. Cut the bones apart, and crack them to pieces with a broad hatchet kept for that purpose only, as the good husband may object to having his carefully kept hatchet used by “women folks,” andyoumay be equally unwilling to take articles that have been used you know not for what. Cover the bones with cold water, and set on the range where they will simmer,not boil, between three and four hours. When the meat is so tender as to slip easily from the bones, scrape it all off and set it aside; put the stock thus made in a stone pot and cover closely, after it is cold. We should have said in former directions that stock must not be covered up till cold, then closed carefully. The next day remove every particle of the fat; warm the stock enough to strain it; cut up one onion (if you and your family like them), two or three potatoes, one turnip, a few bits of cauliflower or cabbage, if desired, and two carrots. Put these in the stock, adding, if you like, a half-pint of rich stock; add pepper and salt to your liking, half a teacupful of tomato catsup, a table-spoonful of rice washed clean, or “star” macaroni. Boil one hour, and dish without a second straining. Of course all these seasonings and vegetables must be varied or modified to suit the special tastes of different families.
The meat cut from the bone may be made into nice “force-meat balls,” and put into the soup when dished for the table. To make these balls, rub the meat smooth in a marble mortar. If very dry, moisten with a spoonful of rich stock. When smooth, season with salt, pepper, a little thyme, summer savory, and green parsley chopped fine.Beat one egg light and stir in, thickening the whole with cracker crumbs, enough to roll into small balls the size of a large walnut, and fry in boiling lard, or place on a dish and bake a clear, even brown, and put into the soup the last thing before sending to the table.
Julienne soupis among those most used at hotels and eating-houses. Put half a spoonful of butter into the soup-kettle; slice in two onions, and fry to a clear brown, taking care not to scorch them; then add three quarts of good stock, two small turnips and two carrots chopped small. Let this boil gently one hour, and then add a pint of green peas, freshly gathered, and the same of young and tender string-beans, a little mace, salt and pepper as needed, and a single stock of celery chopped fine. Too much celery gives a bitter taste to soup. Boil two hours more; then rub a table-spoonful of butter, with the same amount of flour, and stir gradually into the soup. Boil a few minutes and dish.
A goodvermicellisoup with stock made from a shin of veal, boiled in three quarts of water, can be prepared with little trouble. The stock must be skimmed carefully, and, this done, put in one whole turnip, one carrot, and one onion; none of these should be cut up. Boil three hours; add salt and pepper to taste, and a quarter of a pound of vermicelli after the three hours’ boiling, and let it boil gently one hour more, then take out the bone and vegetables and serve. If the stock boils away too much, add a little water.