46-*A chapter of advice to cooks will, we hope, be found as useful as it is original: all we have on this subject in the works of our predecessors, is the following; “I shall strongly recommend to all cooks of either sex, to keep their stomachs free from strong liquors tillafterdinner, and their noses from snuff.”—VideClermont’sProfessed Cook, p. 30, 8vo. London, 1776.50-*Meat that is not to be cut till it iscold, must be thoroughly done, especially in summer.51-*See chapterXV. “Chaque Pays, chaqueCoutume.”—Cours Gastronomique, 8vo. 1809, p. 162.52-*Cook to SirJoseph Banks, Bart., late president of the Royal Society.53-*“The diversities of taste are so many and so considerable, that it seemeth strange to see the matter treated of both by philosophers and physicians with so much scantiness and defect: for the subject is not barren, but yieldeth much and pleasant variety, and doth also appear to be of great importance.”—From Dr.Grew’sAnat. of Plants, fol. 1682, p. 286. The Dr. enumerates sixteen simple tastes: however, it is difficult to define more than six.—1st.Bitteras wormwood. 2d.Sweetas sugar. 3d.Souras vinegar. 4th.Saltas brine. 5th.Coldas ice. 6th.Hotas brandy. “Compound tastes, innumerable, may be formed by the combination of these simple tastes—as words are of letters.”—See alsoPhil. Trans.vol. xv. p. 1025.53-†“I am persuaded that no servant ever saved her master sixpence, but she found it in the end in her pocket.”—Trusler’sDomestic Management, p. 11.55-*“A surgeon may as well attempt to make an incision with a pair of shears, or open a vein with an oyster-knife, as a cook pretend to dress a dinner without propertools.”—Verrall’sCookery, 8vo. 1759, p. 6.55-†ManyCOOKSmiss excellent opportunities of making themselves independent, by their idleness, in refusing any place, however profitable, &c. if there is not akitchen maidkept to wait upon them.There are many invalids who require a good cook, and as (after reading this book they will understand how much) their comfort and effective existence depends on their food being properly prepared, will willingly pay handsome wages, (who would not rather pay the cook than the doctor?) but have so little work in the kitchen that one person may do it all with the utmost ease, without injury to her health; which is not the case in a large family, where the poor cook is roasting and stewing all day, and is often deprived of her rest at night. No artists have greater need to “make hay while the sun shines,” and timely provide for the infirmities of age. Who will hire a superannuated servant? If she has saved nothing to support herself, she must crawl to the workhouse.It is melancholy to find, that, according to the authority of a certain great French author, “cooks, half stewed and half roasted, when unable to work any longer, generally retire to some unknown corner, and die in forlornness and want.”—Blackwood’sEdin. Mag.vol. vii. p. 668.56-*“The season of the year has considerable influence on the quality of butcher-meat; depending upon the more or less plentiful supply of food, upon the periodical change which takes place in the body of the animal, and upon temperature. The flesh of most full-grown quadrupeds is in highest season during the first months of winter, after having enjoyed the advantage of the abundance of fresh summer food. Its flavour then begins to be injured by the turnips, &c. given as winter food; and in spring, it gets lean from deficiency of food. Although beef and mutton are never absolutely out of season, or not fit for the table, they are best in November, December, and January. Pork is absolutely bad, except during the winter.”—Supplement to the Edin. Ency. Brit.p. 328.57-*“Larders,PANTRIES, andSAFESmust be sheltered from the sun, and otherwise removed from the heat; be dry, and, if possible, have a current of dry, cool air continually passing through them.“The freezing temperature, i. e.32 degrees of Fahrenheit, is a perfect preservative from putrefaction: warm, moist, muggy weather is the worst for keeping meat. The south wind is especially unfavourable, and lightning is quickly destructive; but the greatest enemy you have to encounter is the flesh-fly, which becomes troublesome about the month of May, and continues so till towards Michaelmas.”—For furtherObs.on this subject see “The Experienced Butcher,” page 160.58-*“Buy it with health, strength, and resolution,And pay for it, a robust constitution.”Preface to the Cook’s Cookery, 1758.See the preface to “The Cook’s Cookery,” p. 9. This work, which is very scarce, was, we believe, written to develope the mistakes in what he calls “The Thousand Errors,” i. e. “The Lady’s Cookery,” i. e. Mrs. Glasse’s, i. e. Sir John Hill’s.61-*“He who will not be cheateda little, must be content to be abuseda great deal: the first lesson in the art ofcomfortable economy, is to learn to submit cheerfully to be imposed upon in due proportion to your situation and circumstances: if you do not, you will continually be in hot water.“If you think a tradesman has imposed upon you, never use a second word, if the first will not do, nor drop the least hint of an imposition. The only method to induce him to make an abatement is the hope of future favours. Pay the demand, and deal with the gentleman no more: but do not let him see that you are displeased, or, as soon as you are out of sight, your reputation will suffer as much as your pocket has.”—Trusler’sWay to be Rich, 8vo. 1776, p. 85.63-*SaysTom Thrifty, “except catching of fleas.” See T. T.’sEssay on Early Rising.64-*N.B. “If you will take half the pains to deserve the regard of your master and mistress by beinga good and faithful servant, you take to be considereda good fellow-servant, so many of you would not, in the decline of life, be left destitute of those comforts which age requires, nor have occasion to quote the saying that ‘Service is no inheritance,’ unless your own misconduct makes it so.“The idea of being called a tell-tale has occasioned many good servants to shut their eyes against the frauds of fellow-servants.“In the eye of the law, persons standing by and seeing a felony committed, which they could have prevented, are held equally guilty with those committing it.”—Dr.Trusler’sDomestic Management, p. 12, andInstructions to Servants.
46-*A chapter of advice to cooks will, we hope, be found as useful as it is original: all we have on this subject in the works of our predecessors, is the following; “I shall strongly recommend to all cooks of either sex, to keep their stomachs free from strong liquors tillafterdinner, and their noses from snuff.”—VideClermont’sProfessed Cook, p. 30, 8vo. London, 1776.
50-*Meat that is not to be cut till it iscold, must be thoroughly done, especially in summer.
51-*See chapterXV. “Chaque Pays, chaqueCoutume.”—Cours Gastronomique, 8vo. 1809, p. 162.
52-*Cook to SirJoseph Banks, Bart., late president of the Royal Society.
53-*“The diversities of taste are so many and so considerable, that it seemeth strange to see the matter treated of both by philosophers and physicians with so much scantiness and defect: for the subject is not barren, but yieldeth much and pleasant variety, and doth also appear to be of great importance.”—From Dr.Grew’sAnat. of Plants, fol. 1682, p. 286. The Dr. enumerates sixteen simple tastes: however, it is difficult to define more than six.—1st.Bitteras wormwood. 2d.Sweetas sugar. 3d.Souras vinegar. 4th.Saltas brine. 5th.Coldas ice. 6th.Hotas brandy. “Compound tastes, innumerable, may be formed by the combination of these simple tastes—as words are of letters.”—See alsoPhil. Trans.vol. xv. p. 1025.
53-†“I am persuaded that no servant ever saved her master sixpence, but she found it in the end in her pocket.”—Trusler’sDomestic Management, p. 11.
55-*“A surgeon may as well attempt to make an incision with a pair of shears, or open a vein with an oyster-knife, as a cook pretend to dress a dinner without propertools.”—Verrall’sCookery, 8vo. 1759, p. 6.
55-†ManyCOOKSmiss excellent opportunities of making themselves independent, by their idleness, in refusing any place, however profitable, &c. if there is not akitchen maidkept to wait upon them.
There are many invalids who require a good cook, and as (after reading this book they will understand how much) their comfort and effective existence depends on their food being properly prepared, will willingly pay handsome wages, (who would not rather pay the cook than the doctor?) but have so little work in the kitchen that one person may do it all with the utmost ease, without injury to her health; which is not the case in a large family, where the poor cook is roasting and stewing all day, and is often deprived of her rest at night. No artists have greater need to “make hay while the sun shines,” and timely provide for the infirmities of age. Who will hire a superannuated servant? If she has saved nothing to support herself, she must crawl to the workhouse.
It is melancholy to find, that, according to the authority of a certain great French author, “cooks, half stewed and half roasted, when unable to work any longer, generally retire to some unknown corner, and die in forlornness and want.”—Blackwood’sEdin. Mag.vol. vii. p. 668.
56-*“The season of the year has considerable influence on the quality of butcher-meat; depending upon the more or less plentiful supply of food, upon the periodical change which takes place in the body of the animal, and upon temperature. The flesh of most full-grown quadrupeds is in highest season during the first months of winter, after having enjoyed the advantage of the abundance of fresh summer food. Its flavour then begins to be injured by the turnips, &c. given as winter food; and in spring, it gets lean from deficiency of food. Although beef and mutton are never absolutely out of season, or not fit for the table, they are best in November, December, and January. Pork is absolutely bad, except during the winter.”—Supplement to the Edin. Ency. Brit.p. 328.
57-*“Larders,PANTRIES, andSAFESmust be sheltered from the sun, and otherwise removed from the heat; be dry, and, if possible, have a current of dry, cool air continually passing through them.
“The freezing temperature, i. e.32 degrees of Fahrenheit, is a perfect preservative from putrefaction: warm, moist, muggy weather is the worst for keeping meat. The south wind is especially unfavourable, and lightning is quickly destructive; but the greatest enemy you have to encounter is the flesh-fly, which becomes troublesome about the month of May, and continues so till towards Michaelmas.”—For furtherObs.on this subject see “The Experienced Butcher,” page 160.
58-*
“Buy it with health, strength, and resolution,And pay for it, a robust constitution.”Preface to the Cook’s Cookery, 1758.
See the preface to “The Cook’s Cookery,” p. 9. This work, which is very scarce, was, we believe, written to develope the mistakes in what he calls “The Thousand Errors,” i. e. “The Lady’s Cookery,” i. e. Mrs. Glasse’s, i. e. Sir John Hill’s.
61-*“He who will not be cheateda little, must be content to be abuseda great deal: the first lesson in the art ofcomfortable economy, is to learn to submit cheerfully to be imposed upon in due proportion to your situation and circumstances: if you do not, you will continually be in hot water.
“If you think a tradesman has imposed upon you, never use a second word, if the first will not do, nor drop the least hint of an imposition. The only method to induce him to make an abatement is the hope of future favours. Pay the demand, and deal with the gentleman no more: but do not let him see that you are displeased, or, as soon as you are out of sight, your reputation will suffer as much as your pocket has.”—Trusler’sWay to be Rich, 8vo. 1776, p. 85.
63-*SaysTom Thrifty, “except catching of fleas.” See T. T.’sEssay on Early Rising.
64-*N.B. “If you will take half the pains to deserve the regard of your master and mistress by beinga good and faithful servant, you take to be considereda good fellow-servant, so many of you would not, in the decline of life, be left destitute of those comforts which age requires, nor have occasion to quote the saying that ‘Service is no inheritance,’ unless your own misconduct makes it so.
“The idea of being called a tell-tale has occasioned many good servants to shut their eyes against the frauds of fellow-servants.
“In the eye of the law, persons standing by and seeing a felony committed, which they could have prevented, are held equally guilty with those committing it.”—Dr.Trusler’sDomestic Management, p. 12, andInstructions to Servants.
Toreduce our culinary operations to as exact a certainty as the nature of the processes would admit of, we have, wherever it was needful, given the quantities of each article.
The weights areavoirdupois.
The measure, the graduated glass of the apothecaries. This appeared the most accurate and convenient;the pintbeing divided into sixteen ounces,the ounceinto eight drachms. A middling-sizedtea-spoonwill contain about a drachm; four such tea-spoons are equal to a middling-sizedtable-spoon, or half an ounce; four table-spoons to a common-sizedwine-glass.
The specific gravities of the various substances being so extremely different, we cannot offer any auxiliary standards65-*for the weights, which we earnestly recommend the cook to employ, if she wishes to gain credit for accuracy and uniformity in her business: these she will find it necessary to have as small as the quarter of a drachm avoirdupois, which is equal to nearly seven grains troy.
Glass measures (divided into tea and table-spoons), containing from half an ounce to half a pint, may be procured; also, the double-headed pepper and spice boxes, with caps over the gratings. The superiority of these, by preserving the contents from the action of the air, must be sufficiently obvious to every one: the fine aromatic flavour of pepper is soon lost, from the bottles it is usually kept in not being well stopped. Peppers are seldom ground or pounded sufficiently fine. (SeeN.B.to369.)
N.B. The trough nutmeg-graters are by far the best we have seen, especially for those who wish to grate fine, and fast.
65-*A large table-spoonful of flour weighs about half an ounce.
65-*A large table-spoonful of flour weighs about half an ounce.
Thismost simple of culinary processes is not often performed in perfection. It does not require quite so much nicety and attendance as roasting; to skim your pot well, and keep it really boiling (the slower the better) all the while, to know how long is required for doing the joint, &c., and to take it up at the critical moment when it is done enough, comprehends almost the whole art and mystery. This, however, demands a patient and perpetual vigilance, of which few persons are capable.
The cook must take especial care that the water really boils all the while she is cooking, or she will be deceived in the time; and make up a sufficient fire (a frugal cook will manage with much less fire for boiling than she uses for roasting) at first, to last all the time, without much mending or stirring.
When the pot is coming to a boil there will always, fromthe cleanest meat and clearest water, rise ascumto the top of it, proceeding partly from the water; this must be carefully taken off as soon as it rises.
On this depends the good appearance of all boiled things.
When you have skimmed well, put in some cold water, which will throw up the rest of the scum.
The oftener it is skimmed, and the cleaner the top of the water is kept, the sweeter and the cleaner will be the meat.
If let alone, it soon boils down and sticks to the meat,67-*which, instead of looking delicately white and nice, will have that coarse and filthy appearance we have too often to complain of, and the butcher and poulterer be blamed for the carelessness of the cook in not skimming her pot.
Many put inmilk, to make what they boil look white; but this does more harm than good: others wrap it up in a cloth; but these are needless precautions: if the scum be attentively removed, meat will have a much more delicate colour and finer flavour than it has when muffled up. This may give rather more trouble, but those who wish to excel in their art must only consider how the processes of it can be most perfectly performed: a cook, who has a proper pride and pleasure in her business, will make this her maxim on all occasions.
It is desirable that meat for boiling be of an equal thickness, or before thicker parts are done enough the thinner will be done too much.
Put your meat intocold67-†water, in the proportion of about a quart of water to a pound of meat: it should be covered with water during the whole of the process of boiling, but not drowned in it; the less water, provided the meat be covered with it, the more savoury will be the meat, and the better will be the broth.
The water should be heated gradually, according to the thickness, &c. of the article boiled. For instance, a leg of mutton of 10 pounds weight (No. 1,) should be placed over a moderate fire, which will gradually make the water hot, without causing it to boil for about forty minutes; if the water boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened, and shrink up as if it was scorched: by keeping the water a certain time heating without boiling, the fibres of the meat aredilated, and it yields a quantity of scum, which must be taken off as soon as it rises.
“104. If a vessel containing water be placed over a steady fire, the water will grow continually hotter till it reaches the limit of boiling, after which the regular accessions of heat are wholly spent in converting it into steam.
“Water remains at the same pitch of temperature, however fiercely it boils. The only difference is, that with a strong fire it sooner comes to boil, and more quickly boils away, and is converted into steam.”—Buchananon the Economy of Fuel, 1810.
The editor placed a thermometer in water in that state which cooks call gentle simmering; the heat was 212°, i. e. the same degree as the strongest boiling.
Two mutton chops were covered with cold water, and one boiled a gallop, and the other simmered very gently for three quarters of an hour: the chop which was slowly simmered was decidedly superior to that which was boiled; it was much tenderer, more juicy, and much higher flavoured. The liquor which boiled fast was in like proportion more savoury, and when cold had much more fat on its surface. This explains why quick boiling renders meat hard, &c., because its juices are extracted in a greater degree.
Reckon the time from its first coming to a boil.
The old rule of 15 minutes to a pound of meat, we think rather too little: the slower it boils, the tenderer, the plumper, and whiter it will be.
For those who choose their food thoroughly cooked (which all will who have any regard for their stomachs), twenty minutes to a pound for fresh, and rather more for salted meat, will not be found too much for gentle simmering by the side of the fire, allowing more or less time, according to the thickness of the joint, and the coldness of the weather: to know the state of which, let a thermometer be placed in the pantry; and when it falls below 40°, tell your cook to give rather more time in both roasting and boiling, always remembering, the slower it boils the better.
Without some practice it is difficult to teach any art; and cooks seem to suppose they must be right, if they put meat into a pot, and set it over the fire for a certain time, making no allowance whether it simmers without a bubble or boils a gallop.
Fresh-killed meat will take much longer time boiling than that which has been kept till it is what the butchers callripe, and longer incoldthan inwarmweather: if it befrozen, it must be thawed before boiling as before roasting; if it befresh-killed, it will be tough and hard, if you stew it ever so long, and ever so gently. In cold weather, the night before the day you dress it, bring it into a place of which the temperature is not less than 45 degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer.
The size of the boiling-pots should be adapted to what they are to contain: the larger the saucepan the more room it takes upon the fire, and a larger quantity of water requires a proportionate increase of fire to boil it.
A little potIs soon hot.
In small families we recommend block tin saucepans, &c. as lightest and safest. If proper care is taken of them, and they are well dried after they are cleaned, they are by far the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being little more than the expense of tinning a copper one.
Let the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to prevent unnecessary evaporation of the water, but to prevent the escape of the nutritive matter, which must then remain either in the meat or in the broth; and the smoke is prevented from insinuating itself under the edge of the lid, and so giving the meat a bad taste. See observations on Saucepans, inchapter 7.
If you let meat or poultry remain in the water after it is done enough, it will become sodden, and lose its flavour.
Beef and mutton a littleunder-done (especially very large joints, which will make the better hash or broil,) is not a great fault; by some people it is preferred: but lamb, pork, and veal are uneatable if not thoroughly boiled; but do notover-do them.
A trivet or fish-drainer put on the bottom of the boiling-pot, raising the contents about an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that side of the meat which comes next the bottom from being done too much, and the lower part of the meat will be as delicately done as the other part; and this will enable you to take out the contents of the pot, without sticking a fork, &c. into it. If you have not a trivet, use four skewers, or a soup-plate laid the wrong side upwards.
Take care of the liquor you have boiled poultry or meat in; in five minutes you may make it into excellent soup. (Seeobs.toNo. 555andNo. 229.)
The good housewife never boils a joint without converting the broth into some sort of soup (readNo. 5, andchapter 7). If the liquor be too salt, only use half the quantity, and therest water. Wash salted meat well with cold water before you put it into the boiler.
An estimation of theLOSS OF WEIGHTwhich takes place in cooking animal food.—FromMr.Tilloch’sPhilosophical Magazine.
“It is well known, that in whatever way the flesh of animals is prepared for food, a considerable diminution takes place in its weight. We do not recollect, however, to have any where seen a statement of the loss which meat sustains in the various culinary processes, although it is pretty obvious that a series of experiments on the subject would not be without their use in domestic economy.
“We shall here give the result of a series of experiments which were actually made on this subject in a public establishment; premising that, as they were not undertaken from mere curiosity, but, on the contrary, to serve a purpose of practical utility, absolute accuracy was not attended to. Considering, however, the large quantities of provisions which were actually examined, it is presumed that the results may be safely depended upon for any practical purpose. It would, no doubt, have been desirable to have known not only the whole diminution of weight, but also the parts which were separated from the meat in the form of aqueous vapour, jelly, fat, &c.; but the determination of these did not fall within the scope of the inquiry.
“Hence, the weight lost by beef in boiling was in this case about 261/2lbs. in 100lbs.
“The weight lost by beef in roasting appears to be 32 per cent.
“Weight lost by beef in baking 30 per cent.
“The shank-bones were estimated at 4 ounces each; therefore the loss by boiling was 55lbs. 8oz.
“The loss of weight in legs of mutton in boiling is 211/3per cent.
“The loss of weight in shoulders of mutton by roasting, is about 311/3per cent.
“Hence, loins of mutton lose by roasting about 351/2per cent.
“The loss in necks of mutton by roasting is about 321/3per cent.
“We shall only draw two practical inferences from the foregoing statement.—1st, In respect of economy, it is more profitable to boil meat than to roast it. 2dly, Whether we roast or boil meat, it loses by being cooked from one-fifth to one-third of its whole weight.”
The loss of roasting arises from the melting out of the fat, and evaporating the water; but the nutritious matters remain condensed in the cooked solid.
In boiling, the loss arises partly from the fat melted out, but chiefly fromgelatineandosmazomebeing extracted and dissolved by the water in which the meat is boiled; there is, therefore, a real loss of nourishment, unless the broth be used; when this mode of cooking becomes the most economical.71-*
These are to be sent up in boats, and never poured over the meat, &c.
Thefollowing observations were written expressly for this work by Mr. Turner, English and French bread and biscuit baker.
“Baking is one of the cheapest and most convenient ways of dressing a dinner in small families; and, I may say, that the oven is often the only kitchen a poor man has, if he wishes to enjoy a joint of meat at home with his family.
“I don’t mean to deny the superior excellence of roasting to baking; but some joints, when baked, so nearly approach to the same when roasted, that I have known them to be carried to the table, and eaten as such with great satisfaction.
“Legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal, and many other joints, will bake to great advantage, if the meat be good; I mean well-fed, rather inclined to be fat: if the meat be poor, no baker can give satisfaction.
“When baking a poor joint of meat, before it has been half baked I have seen it start from the bone, and shrivel up scarcely to be believed.
“Besides those joints above mentioned, I shall enumerate a few baked dishes which I can particularly recommend.
“A pig, when sent to the baker prepared for baking, should have its ears and tail covered with buttered paper properly fastened on, and a bit of butter tied up in a piece of linen to baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to blister: with a proper share of attention from the baker, I consider this way equal to a roasted one.
“A goose prepared the same as for roasting, taking care to have it on a stand, and when half done to turn the other side upwards. A duck the same.
“A buttock of beef the following way is particularly fine. After it has been in salt about a week, to be well washed, and put into a brown earthen pan with a pint of water; cover the pan tight with two or three thicknesses of cap or foolscap paper: never cover any thing that is to be baked with brown paper, the pitch and tar that is in brown paper will give the meat a smoky, bad taste: give it four or five hours in a moderately heated oven.
“A ham (if not too old) put in soak for an hour, taken out and wiped, a crust made sufficient to cover it all over, and baked in a moderately heated oven, cuts fuller of gravy, and of a finer flavour, than a boiled one. I have been in the habit of baking small cod-fish, haddock, and mackerel, with a dust of flour, and some bits of butter put on them; eels, when large and stuffed; herrings and sprats, in a brown pan, with vinegar and a little spice, and tied over with paper. A hare, prepared the same as for roasting, with a few pieces of butter, and a little drop of milk put into the dish, and basted several times, will be found nearly equal to roasting; or cut it up, season it properly, put it into a jar or pan, and cover it over and bake it in a moderate oven for about three hours. In the same manner, I have been in the habit of baking legs and shins of beef, ox cheeks, &c. prepared with a seasoning of onions, turnips, &c.: they will take about four hours: let them stand till cold, to skim off the fat; then warm it up all together, or part, as you may want it.
“All these I have been in the habit of baking for the first families.
“The time each of the above articles should take depends much upon the state of the oven, and I do consider the baker a sufficient judge; if they are sent to him in time, he must be very neglectful if they are not ready at the time they are ordered.”
For receipts for making bread, French rolls, muffins, crumpets, Sally Lunn, &c., see theAppendix.
66-*“The process by which food is most commonly prepared for the table,BOILING, is so familiar to every one, and its effects are so uniform, and apparently so simple, that few, I believe, have taken the trouble to inquirehoworin what mannerthose effects are produced; and whether any, and what improvements in that branch of cookery are possible. So little has this matter been an object of inquiry, that few, very few indeed, I believe, among themillions of personswho for so many ages have beendailyemployed in this process, have ever given themselves the trouble to bestow one serious thought on the subject.“Boilingcannot be carried on without a very great expense of fuel; but any boiling-hot liquid (by using proper means for confining the heat) may be keptboiling-hotfor any length of time almost without any expense of fuel at all.“The waste of fuelin culinary processes, which arises from making liquids boilunnecessarily, or when nothing more would be necessary than to keep themboiling-hot, is enormous; I have not a doubt but that much more than half the fuel used in all the kitchens, public and private, in the whole world, is wasted precisely in this manner.“But the evil does not stop here. This unscientific and slovenly manner of cooking renders the process much more laborious and troublesome than otherwise it would be; and, (what by many will be considered of more importance than either the waste of fuel or the increase of labour to the cook) the food is rendered less savoury, and very probably less nourishing and less wholesome.“It is natural to suppose that many of the finer and more volatile parts of food (those which are best calculated to act on the organs of taste), must be carried off with the steam when the boiling is violent.”—CountRumford’s10th Essay, pp.3, 6.67-*If, unfortunately, this should happen, the cook must carefully take it off when she dishes up, either with a clean sponge or a paste-brush.67-†Cooks, however, as well as doctors, disagree; for some say, that “all sorts of fresh meat should be put in when the water boils.” I prefer the above method for the reason given; gentle stewing renders meat, &c. tender, and still leaves it sapid and nutritive.71-*The diminution of weight by boiling and roasting is not all lost, theFAT SKIMMINGSand theDRIPPINGS, nicely clarified, will well supply the place of lard and for frying. SeeNo. 83, and the receipt forCHEAP SOUP(No. 229).
66-*“The process by which food is most commonly prepared for the table,BOILING, is so familiar to every one, and its effects are so uniform, and apparently so simple, that few, I believe, have taken the trouble to inquirehoworin what mannerthose effects are produced; and whether any, and what improvements in that branch of cookery are possible. So little has this matter been an object of inquiry, that few, very few indeed, I believe, among themillions of personswho for so many ages have beendailyemployed in this process, have ever given themselves the trouble to bestow one serious thought on the subject.
“Boilingcannot be carried on without a very great expense of fuel; but any boiling-hot liquid (by using proper means for confining the heat) may be keptboiling-hotfor any length of time almost without any expense of fuel at all.
“The waste of fuelin culinary processes, which arises from making liquids boilunnecessarily, or when nothing more would be necessary than to keep themboiling-hot, is enormous; I have not a doubt but that much more than half the fuel used in all the kitchens, public and private, in the whole world, is wasted precisely in this manner.
“But the evil does not stop here. This unscientific and slovenly manner of cooking renders the process much more laborious and troublesome than otherwise it would be; and, (what by many will be considered of more importance than either the waste of fuel or the increase of labour to the cook) the food is rendered less savoury, and very probably less nourishing and less wholesome.
“It is natural to suppose that many of the finer and more volatile parts of food (those which are best calculated to act on the organs of taste), must be carried off with the steam when the boiling is violent.”—CountRumford’s10th Essay, pp.3, 6.
67-*If, unfortunately, this should happen, the cook must carefully take it off when she dishes up, either with a clean sponge or a paste-brush.
67-†Cooks, however, as well as doctors, disagree; for some say, that “all sorts of fresh meat should be put in when the water boils.” I prefer the above method for the reason given; gentle stewing renders meat, &c. tender, and still leaves it sapid and nutritive.
71-*The diminution of weight by boiling and roasting is not all lost, theFAT SKIMMINGSand theDRIPPINGS, nicely clarified, will well supply the place of lard and for frying. SeeNo. 83, and the receipt forCHEAP SOUP(No. 229).
Inall studies, it is the best practice to begin with the plainest and easiest parts; and so on, by degrees, to such as are more difficult: we, therefore, treated of plain boiling, and we now proceed to roasting: we shall then gradually unravel to our culinary students the art (andmystery, until developed in this work) of making, with the least trouble and expense, the most highly finished soups, sauces, and made-dishes.
Let the young cook never forget that cleanliness is the chief cardinal virtue of the kitchen; the first preparation for roasting is to take care that the spit be properly cleaned with sand and water; nothing else. When it has been well scoured with this, dry it with a clean cloth. If spits are wiped clean as soon as the meat is drawn from them, and while they are hot, a very little cleaning will be required. The less the spit is passed through the meat the better;74-*and, before you spit it, joint it properly, especially necks and loins, that the carver may separate them easily and neatly, and take especial care it be evenly balanced on the spit, that its motion may be regular, and the fire operate equally on each part of it; therefore, be provided with balancing-skewers and cookholds, and see it is properly jointed.
Roasting should be done by the radiant heat of a clear, glowing fire, otherwise it is in factbaked: the machines the economical grate-makers callROASTERS, are, in plain English, ovens.
Count Rumford was certainly an exact economist of fuel, when he contrived these things; and those philosophers who try all questions “according to Cocker” may vote for baked victuals; but the rational epicure, who has been accustomed to enjoy beef well roasted, will soon be convinced that thepoet who wrote our national ballad at the end of this chapter, was not inspired by Sir Benjamin Thompson’s cookery.
All your attention in roasting will be thrown away, if you do not take care that your meat, especially beef, has been kept long enough to be tender. See “ADVICE TO COOKS,” andobs.toNo. 68.
Make up the fire in time; let it be proportioned to the dinner to be dressed, and about three or four inches longer at each end than the thing to be roasted, or the ends of the meat cannot be done nice and brown.
A cook must be as particular to proportion her fire to the business she has to do, as a chemist: the degree of heat most desirable for dressing the different sorts of food ought to be attended to with the utmost precision.
The fire that is but just sufficient to receive the noble sirloin (No. 19), will parch up a lighter joint.
From half an hour to an hour before you begin to roast, prepare the fire by putting a few coals on, which will be sufficiently lighted by the time you wish to make use of your fire; between the bars, and on the top, put small or large coals, according to the bulk of the joint, and the time the fire is required to be strong; after which, throw the cinders (wetted) at the back.
Never put meat down to a burned-up fire, if you can possibly avoid it; but should the fire become fierce, place the spit at a considerable distance, and allow a little more time.
Preserve the fat,75-*by covering it with paper, for this purpose called “kitchen-paper,” and tie it on with fine twine; pins and skewers can by no means be allowed; they are so many taps to let out the gravy: besides, the paper often starts from them and catches fire, to the great injury of the meat.
If the thing to be roasted be thin and tender, the fire should be little and brisk: when you have a large joint to roast, make up a sound, strong fire, equally good in every part of the grate, or your meat cannot be equally roasted, nor have that uniform colour which constitutes the beauty of good roasting.
Give the fire a good stirring before you lay the joint down; examine it from time to time while the spit is going round; keep it clear at the bottom, and take care there are no smoky coals in the front, which will spoil the look and taste of the meat, and hinder it from roasting evenly.
When the joint to be roasted is thicker at one end than the other, place the spit slanting, with the thickest part nearest the fire.
Do not put meat too near the fire at first; the larger the joint, the farther it must be kept from the fire: if once it gets scorched, the outside will become hard, and acquire a disagreeable, empyreumatic taste; and the fire being prevented from penetrating into it, the meat will appear done before it is little more than half-done, besides losing the pale brown colour, which it is the beauty of roasted meat to have.
From 14 to 10 inches is the usual distance at which meat is put from the grate, when first put down. It is extremely difficult to offer any thing like an accurate general rule for this, it depends so much upon the size of the fire, and of that of the thing to be roasted.
Till some culinary philosopher shall invent a thermometer to ascertain the heat of the fire, and a graduated spit-rack to regulate the distance from it, the process of roasting is attended by so many ever-varying circumstances, that it must remain among those which can only be performed well, by frequent practice and attentive observation.
If you wish your jack to go well, keep it as clean as possible, oil it, and then wipe it: if the oil is not wiped off again it will gather dust; to prevent this, as soon as you have done roasting, cover it up. Never leave the winders on while the jack is going round, unless you do it, as Swift says, “that it may fly off, and knock those troublesome servants on the head who will be crowding round your kitchen fire.”
Be very careful to place the dripping-pan at such a distance from the fire as just to catch the drippings: if it is too near, the ashes will fall into it, and spoil the drippings76-*(which we shall hereafter show will occasionally be found an excellent substitute for butter or lard). To clarify drippings, see (No. 83,) and pease and dripping soup (No. 229), savoury and salubrious, for only a penny per quart. If it is too far from the fire to catch them, you will not only lose your drippings, but the meat will be blackened and spoiled by the fœtid smoke, which will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders.
A large dripping-pan is convenient for several purposes. It should not be less than 28 inches long and 20 inches wide, and have a covered well on the side from the fire, to collect the drippings; this will preserve them in the most delicatestate: in a pan of the above size you may set fried fish, and various dishes, to keep hot.
This is one of Painter’s and Hawke’s contrivances, near Norfolk-street, Strand.
The time meat will take roasting will vary according to the time it has been kept, and the temperature of the weather; the same weight77-*will be twenty minutes or half an hour longer in cold weather,77-†than it will be in warm; and if fresh killed, than if it has been kept till it is tender.
A good meat-screen is a great saver of fuel. It should be on wheels, have a flat top, and not be less than about three feet and a half wide, and with shelves in it, about one foot deep; it will then answer all the purposes of a large Dutch oven, plate-warmer, hot hearth, &c. Some aremade with a door behind: this is convenient, but the great heat they are exposed to soon shrinks the materials, and the currents of air through the cracks cannot be prevented, so they are better without the door. We have seen one, which had on the top of it a very convenienthot closet, which is a great acquisition in kitchens, where the dinner waits after it is dressed.
Every body knows the advantage ofslow boiling.Slow roastingis equally important.
It is difficult to give any specific rule for time; but if your fire is made as before directed, your meat-screen sufficiently large to guard what you are dressing from currents of air, and the meat is not frosted, you cannot do better than follow the old general rule of allowing rather more than a quarter of an hour to the pound; a little more or less, according to the temperature of the weather, in proportion as the piece is thick or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness of the meat to it, and the frequency with which you baste it; the more it is basted the less time it will take, as it keeps the meat soft and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts with more force upon it.
Reckon the time, not to the hour when dinner is ordered, but to the moment the roasts will be wanted. Supposing there are a dozen people to sip soup and eat fish first, you may allow them ten or fifteen minutes for the former, and about as long for the latter, more or less, according to the temptations the “BON GOUT” of these preceding courses has to attract their attention.
When the joint is half done, remove the spit and dripping-pan back, and stir up your fire thoroughly, that it may burn clear and bright for the browning; when the steam from the meat draws towards the fire,78-*it is a sign of its being done enough; but you will be the best judge of that, from the time it has been down, the strength of the fire you have used, and the distance your spit has been from it.
Half an hour before your meat is done, make some gravy (see Receipt,No. 326); and just before you take it up, put it nearer the fire to brown it. If you wish to froth it, baste it, and dredge it with flour carefully: you cannot do this delicately nice without a very good light. The common fault seems to be using too much flour. The meat should have a fine light varnish of froth, not the appearance of being covered with a paste. Those who are particular about the froth use butter instead of drippings; (see receipt to roast a turkey,No. 57)—
“And send up what you roast with relish-giving froth,”
says Dr. King, and present such an agreeable appearance to the eye, that the palate may be prepossessed in its favour at first sight; therefore, have the whole course dished, before roasts are taken from the fire.
A good cook is as anxiously attentive to the appearance and colour of her roasts, as a court beauty is to her complexion at a birthday ball. If your meat does not brown so much, or so evenly as you wish, take two ounces of Glaze,i. e.portable soup, put four table-spoonfuls of water, and let it warm and dissolve gradually by the side of the fire. This will be done in about a quarter of an hour; put it on the meat equally all over with a paste-brush the last thing before it goes to table.
Though roasting is one of the most common, and is generally considered one of the most easy and simple processes of cookery, it requires more unremitting attention to perform it perfectly well than it does to make most made-dishes.
That made-dishes are the most difficult preparations, deserves to be reckoned among the culinary vulgar errors; in plain roasting and boiling it is not easy to repair a mistake once made; and all the discretion and attention of a steady, careful cook, must be unremittingly upon the alert.78-†
A diligent attention to time, the distance of the meat from, and judicious management of, the fire, and frequent bastings,79-*are all the general rules we can prescribe. We shall deliver particular rules for particular things, as the several articles occur, and do our utmost endeavours to instruct our reader as completely as words can describe the process, and teach
“The management of common things so well,That what was thought the meanest shall excel:That cook’s to British palates most complete,Whose sav’ry skill gives zest to common meat:For what are soups, your ragoûts, and your sauce,Compared to the fare ofold England,Andold English roast beef!”