Also red raspberries and all delicate berries.
For each 2 qts. of hulled berries (just enough to fill one quart jar), use 1 cup of granulated sugar. Put a layer of berries into an earthen or granite ware dish, sprinkle with sugar, cover with another layer of berries and so on. (Strawberries are so juicy they will not bear any water). Let berries and sugar stand together in the ice box or cellar for several hours. They may be prepared late in the afternoon and put into the jars the first thing the next morning.
When ready to can the fruit, drain off the juice, heat it to boiling, turn the berries carefully into it and shake and turn the dish once in a while to keep the fruit heating evenly. When just boiling all through, dip carefully into cans with a handled cup. Put the covers on quickly, no matter how many bubbles of air there are nor how much froth there is in the jars, and screw down tight with a can opener. After pressing the edge of the covers down if necessary, lay the jars on the side (instead of inverting, for strawberries) and turn over occasionally while cooling.
When perfectly cold, set jars upright and you will find the berries evenly distributed through the jars and they will never rise to the top.
Allowing the berries to stand in sugar and afterwards putting them into boiling syrup hardens them so that they keep their shape. It is better to heat just enough at once to fill each jar. You can have several dishes (milk crocks, granite, porcelain and aluminum kettles) on the stove at once at different stages of heating so that you can fill one jar after another.
This was my auntie’s method and I have never seen it excelled.
Prepare pineapple as for fresh pineapple, put into stone jars or earthen vessels with layers of sugar; stand in ice box a few hours (not long enough to ferment), drain off the juice, add lemon juice and water, heat to boiling, add fruit. Let all just boil up, fill jars, seal as other fruits. The delicate flavor of pineapple is lost by long cooking.
Grated pineapple canned with ½ cup of sugar to the quart is suitable for ices and other uses.
Put stewed rhubarb into jars as soon as it boils up well.
A reliable method which gives the natural flavor.
Wash rhubarb and cut into inch pieces without peeling, pour boiling water over, drain at once, cool, pack in cans and fill with boiled, strained, ice-cold water. Seal cans, invert in cold place and cover from the light. Set upright after a few hours. To use, drain, let stand in fresh cold water ½ hour and drain again.
Cranberries may be canned in the same way.
Pare off the thin green rind, cut into pieces 1 in. square, or into strips, stand in cold water for two or three hours, changingthe water occasionally; drain thoroughly, make syrup of 1 pt. water to 1 or 1½ pt. sugar, according to the richness desired. (3 or 4 tablespns. of lemon juice may be used with the larger quantity of sugar). When syrup is boiling, add rind, simmer until pieces can be pierced easily with a broom straw, or until they are clear, put into jars and seal.
One part raisins to five or six of the rind gives a nice flavor. Or, orange flowers, rose leaves or rose water may be used, but the fruit is nice without any flavoring.
Green melons which did not have time to ripen before the frost, are excellent prepared in this way.
The rind may be steamed before putting it into the syrup, and less water used for the syrup.
Pulp the grapes, run skins through the food cutter and cook for 20 m. in the water. Boil pulp until tender and rub through colander to remove the seeds. Add pulp and sugar to skins, heat to boiling and put into jars. The juice may be strained from the pulp and used to cook the skins in.
Very nice for garnishing fruit salads, desserts or cakes.
Select only perfectly fresh, well ripened tomatoes, wash and drop into kettle of boiling water, remove with skimmer, drop into cold water, peel, leave whole or slice. Boil well and put into jars the same as other fruit. Long boiling frees the acid and takes away the fresh, delicate flavor. When tomatoes are very watery, drain off some of the liquid and can it separately for use in soups and broths.
Wash and slice tomatoes without peeling. Heat to boiling, rub through fine colander or sieve to remove skins and seeds. Reheat and put into jars.
Pack peeled or unpeeled tomatoes in wide-mouthed jars. Cook a few nice ripe tomatoes, strain and pour the liquid, cold, over tomatoes in jars, seal, set jars in cold water as in canning vegetables, bring slowly to boiling point and boil ½ hour. Remove from water, tighten covers and invert jars as usual.
Begin with the earliest fruits and can some of the juice of each kind through the summer until you come to grapes and apples in the autumn. When diluted with water, these juices are delightful beverages for sick or well. A little lemon juice gives character to the drink. Without diluting, they make nice flavorings for fruit salads, egg creams and pudding sauces. Blueberry, black raspberry and other sweet juices make excellent dressings for grains instead of milk or cream.
Concords or some of the dark purple grapes are the richest and most satisfactory for juice. Pick the grapes from the stems, wash and drain, put into a preserving kettle without water, cover and put on back of stove on an asbestos pad or a ring so they will heat slowly. When the skins are broken and the juice is free, bring just to the boiling point, put into jelly bags and drain without squeezing. To each quart of juice add from ½ to 1 cup of sugar. Very ripe grapes will require no sugar. Heat to boiling and can the same as fruit.
Add more water to the pulp that is left in the jelly bag, reheat, strain, boil and put into large jars for a drink, or, rub the pulp through a colander, sweeten, heat and can for marmalade.
To Bottle Juices—Nearly fill bottles, standing on cloth wrung out of cold water, with boiling juice, through hot funnel. Press clean cork into bottle, cut off even with the top of the bottle and cover immediately with sealing wax made by melting together resin and oil. Use only enough oil to make the resin soft enough to spread over the cork and around the edges of the bottle. If too soft, the wax will run off.
Cook apple and other fruit juices rapidly until thick, then simmer slowly over the fire or in the oven until as thick as desired. Seal in jars or put into glasses or cups as jelly. Convenient for travelling, diluted.
When apples are plentiful or likely to spoil, make into any of the apple sauces, put hot into jars and seal.
Bake unpared apples, sweet or sour, in halves or quarters, leaving them rather juicy, put into jars and seal. On opening, put apples into oven in baking dish and dry out a little more.
Red or black raspberries with currant juice.
Red or black raspberries with cherries.
Plums with sweet apples.
Currants or currant juice with pineapple.
Orange, strawberry and pineapple juices with sugar, for strawberries and pineapple canned together, or for pineapple alone.
Strawberries with pineapple.
Pears and barberries. Cook barberries in water, rub through colander, add sugar, 1–1½ cup to the pint of pulp. Return to the fire and when hot, lay in halves or quarters of nice ripe pears. Cook until pears are tender. If the pears are not quitesoft, steam, or cook in pulp without sugar first. Sweet apples may be used instead of pears.
Because of the large proportion of sugar required in jellies it is not best to use them freely.
Fruit for jelly should always be a little underripe and should not be picked just after a rain. Combine the juices of such fruits as do not jelly easily, or of the more expensive fruits, with apple juice which jellies the easiest of all. With strong flavored fruits, apple makes the jelly more agreeable. Jellies may be made in the winter of canned fruit juices and the juice from apple skins and cores. The addition of lemon juice to sweet fruits will convert them into jelly-making products. A few pieces of rose geranium leaves dropped into apple jelly just before putting it into glasses and removed in a minute, give the jelly a nice flavor.
Always boil the juice the required length of time before adding the sugar. It requires longer boiling on damp days.
Heat sugar in flat pan in oven before adding to jelly.
Thorough straining is necessary to make clear jelly. For the finest jelly, use first a double thickness of mosquito netting; then the same of cheese cloth, and lastly, one thickness of flannel.
Wet the cloth before putting the fruit in, to save the waste of juice. Hang in a warm place to drain.
It is said that if a little jelly dropped into cold water falls immediately to the bottom, the jelly is done; or, if it jellies on the spoon it is done.
Glasses for jelly may be set cold on a cold cloth, or warm on a warm cloth. Fill to the brim, as the jelly shrinks.
When the jelly is soft, set in the sun for a day or two, covered with panes of glass. When ready to set away, turn hot melted paraffine over the jelly. The heat destroys any germs which may have settled on the top. Cover with paper or withtin covers and set in a dark place. When using the jelly, wash and save the paraffine.
If jelly is to be moved or shipped, use a covering of ¼ inch of powdered sugar instead of the paraffine.
Or, cut rounds of toilet paper, two for each glass, large enough to overlap an inch; dip one at a time into a saucer of cold boiled milk, cover glass and press down, then put on the second piece quickly.
One thickness of Manila paper may be used instead of the toilet paper. When dry, a thick parchment-like cover will be formed and the jelly will keep well. Some housewives cover jelly while hot, thinking it keeps better.
Soak a cord in turpentine, tie it tight around bottles and set fire to the cord.
Wash and drain currants. They are usually left on the stems but strain more easily if stemmed. Crush the berries, a few at a time and throw into the preserving kettle. Do not add any water. Set on back of range and heat slowly to nearly, not quite, boiling. Strain, measure juice, return to kettle and set over fire. At the same time put into a moderate oven in broad bottomed pans, sugar in the proportion of ¾–1 pt. to each pint of juice (¾ is sufficient). After juice begins to boil, boil 20 m., skimming as the scum rises. Add hot sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved, remove from fire and put at once into glasses.
⅓ white currants may be used with red.
A thinner jelly to be used with meats and over puddings underneath the meringue, may be made with½ pt. of sugar to the pint of juice.
A little celery salt may be added when jelly is to be used with meats.
⅔ currant juice and ⅓ raspberry or ⅓ currant and ⅔ raspberry makes a delightful combination.
Prepare stemmed currants as for red currant jelly. Use ¼ to ½ cup of water to each quart of currants and ¾ pt. of sugar to a pint of juice. 10 m. boiling is sufficient.
½ or ⅔ apple juice will make a more delicate flavored jelly.
Measure skins and cores by pressing firmly into the measure. Add ⅓ (no more) as much water as of fruit—you will think it is not enough. Boil 20 m., stirring often. Strain. Measure juice, boil 20–30 m., according to juiciness of apples, skimming. Add ½ as much sugar, hot, as of juice, boil 5–10 m., or until foamy. Put at once into glasses.
If apple jelly is as thick as desired when it first cools, it will be too thick after standing a few days. If apples are very juicy, use only one-half as much water.
Wash apples and cut into quarters or eighths. Do not pare or core. Add ¼ as much water as of apples in the kettle. Cook, stirring occasionally until apples are tender, not too soft. Finish as in jelly of parings. It is difficult to give the exact time for cooking, as apples vary in jellying properties. Use less water if apples are very juicy. One quince to every 10 or 12 apples gives a nice flavor. A few green grapes combined with apples or crab apples make a nice jelly.
Crab and Baldwin apples may be combined.
Stew 1 qt. of apple parings with 1 cup of cranberries and a pint of water until tender. Strain. There should be about ¾of a pint of juice. Boil 5 m.; add ¾ pt. sugar, boil 2–4 m. Or, use 1 doz. large tart apples to 1 qt. of berries, or equal parts apple and cranberry juice. Proceed as in other jellies.
Cook elder-berries with ½ cup of water to each quart of berries. Strain and combine with apple juice in the proportion of ⅓ elder-berry juice to ⅔ apple juice. Use ¾–1 pt. of sugar to each pint of juice. Finish as for currant jelly. Elder-berries alone make a strong flavored jelly, but this combination is delightful.
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, wild cherries, pineapple, barberries, peaches, plums and some other fruits, all make better jelly by combining with apple juice in proportions according to flavor. Use no water with any of the fruits but the apple.
Currant juice may be combined with these fruits instead of apple juice.
2 qts. berries, ¾ qt. water; stew, mash, strain; boil 20 m. for each quart of juice, add 1 qt. of hot sugar, boil 2–3 minutes.
Wash quinces, cut into quarters or eighths, remove part or all of the seeds, use ⅓–½ as much water as of fruit and ½ as much sugar as of juice. Cook and finish as apple jelly.
⅓–½ apple juice with quince is better.
Use one cup of water to each 4 qts. of cranberries; cook until the berries are tender, strain and use equal quantities of sugar and juice. Boil the juice 10–12 m., add the sugar hot, stir till it is dissolved and turn the jelly into glasses or a mold. The jelly may be molded in a shallow pan and when perfectly cold cut into cubes.
Rub stewed cranberries in the preceding recipe through the colander, boil 8 m., add sugar, stir carefully until dissolved, mold.
1 qt. berries, 1 pt. sugar, ½–1 cup water. Pour water over berries with sugar, in kettle, cover, cook 10 m. without stirring. Put into large or individual molds. Unmold at serving time.
If berries are very dry, add a little water, heat, strain; use ½–¾ as much sugar as of juice.
4 qts. berries, 1 cup water; cook and strain, add 2 tablespns. of lemon juice to each pint of juice. Cook 20 m., add ¾ as much sugar, hot, as of juice, boil up well, pour into glasses.
Wild grapes are preferable, but underripe Concords, Catawbas, and other varieties may be used.
Proceed as for currant jelly, using only ⅔ as much sugar as of juice. If necessary, boil 5 m. after sugar is added. Use no water with cultivated grapes, but with underripe wild grapes, ½ cup of water may be added to each quart of stemmed grapes.
Take ¾ their weight of sugar to berries. Mash berries in kettle over fire, add 1 pt. currant juice to each 2 qts. of berries, cook until thickened, 40–45 m., stirring and skimming, add sugar hot, boil, put into glasses or seal in jars.
Allow ¾ their weight of sugar to berries; cook in a little of the sugar, stirring, 20–30 m. Add remainder of sugar hot, cook 10–20 m., if necessary. Small berries may be used for jam.
Press the juice from 3 oranges and shave off the rind, being careful not to get any of the white part. Remove blossoms and stems from 5 lbs. gooseberries, seed 2 lbs. of raisins, and chop all together very fine. Add 3–4 lbs. sugar and the orange juice and cook slowly for an hour. Turn into jars or tumblers and when cold spread a layer of powdered sugar on top of glass and seal.
Let rhubarb and sugar stand together over night, add other ingredients and cook slowly for about 3 hours.
Cook rhubarb and sugar ½–¾ of an hour, add pineapple, boil up, put into jars, seal.
7 lbs. pared, quartered and cored apples, 3 lbs. molasses sugar if obtainable, if not, dark brown sugar. Put apples and sugar in layers in a kettle, cover tight, let stand 12 hours or over night. Then let come just to boiling and simmer without stirring, or uncovering for 5–12 hours.
Apple juice made by boiling the skins of apples in ⅓ their bulk of water, as for jelly, with lemon juice to taste, is a valuable addition. Finely-ground coriander seed may be added. A little date or prune marmalade may also be used.
A delightful butter may be made by combining plums and apples.
To each 2 qts. of elder-berry juice prepared as for jelly take 2lbs. brown sugar and ½ peck sour apples. Put juice and sugar on to boil and add the apples pared, quartered and cored; simmer slowly until thick. May be put into jelly glasses.
Equal quantities tomato and apple make a nice butter.
Pulp the grapes and put the skins through the food cutter. Cook the pulp and rub through the colander to remove the seeds. Take ½–¾ as much sugar as there is of fruit, cook 20 m. The skins improve the flavor.
Wash and rub the peaches well, drop into boiling syrup of lemon juice, sugar and water, cook until tender, put into jars and seal.
Pare and seed cucumbers and cut into eighths if large. Soak over night in lemon juice and water; in the morning drain, add to hot syrup and boil until soft; skim out of syrup and put into jars standing in hot water. Keep hot. Boil syrup 10–15 m., pour over fruit and seal; let stand three or four weeks before using.
Syrup—
Flavor with celery salt or seed, ground coriander or anise seed, and raisins to taste. (Use anise seed sparingly). The cucumbers may be steamed tender, put into jars and the reduced syrup poured over.
Watermelon rind may be prepared the same.
For buns, puddings and cakes.
Mix, heat in preserving kettle until juice begins to exude. Spread on buttered plates, dry carefully, stirring often.
I prize this recipe highly, as all will, I am sure, after trying it. Cherries, peaches and pears are better with sugar sprinkled over them before drying.
Dried fruits make a pleasant change from canned ones, besides not requiring jars. Home-dried fruit far excels factory products.
While vegetables require a little more care than fruit in canning, if they receive that care one will be rewarded with nice fresh canned vegetables, free from harmful preservatives, all through the winter.
In the first place, vegetables must be fresh, especially corn and peas. Corn gathered early in the morning ought to be in the cans and on the fire before noon, and peas the same day.
If one is alone with all the housework to do, it is better to put up a few jars at a time.
Always use new rubbers on jars in canning vegetables.
“Blanching”, in this connection, means a short boiling in a weak brine (¼ cup of salt to 3 qts. of water) and is used with vegetables to eliminate the acids which they contain.
Place the vegetables in a wire basket or a cloth bag and dip into the boiling brine, then into cold water.
Prepare nearly all vegetables as for the table, before blanching, (okra and corn are exceptions).
After blanching, pack as close as possible in jars. Fill jars to overflowing with water with or without salt, according to special directions; fasten covers on tight (do not be afraid the jars will burst), and set into a kettle or boiler with a board containing holes or with several thicknesses of cloth or with thin tin rings underneath. Surround jars ¾ their depth with water, cover the vessel close so that the steam will be retained, bring to theboiling point and boil rapidly and continuously the required length of time.
Use wrench for tightening covers of Mason jars during the cooking. If Lightning jars do not seem to be air-tight, thin bits of wood may be placed under the wires. With corn and peas, it is better to have the water deep enough to cover the jars, for boiling after tops are tightened.
Invert jars after removing from the water, cover to exclude light, cool.
Store in dark, rather cool place.
Use cold water to surround jars at first if contents are cold and warm water if contents are warm.
The length of time given is for cooking quart jars. ½–1 hour less will be required for pints and 1 hour more for 2 quarts.
Asparagus—Prepare asparagus as for the table; blanch tips 3 m., other parts 5 m., dip in cold water, pack in jars—the tips in one, the middle of the stalks in a second, and the inferior ends for soups, in a third.
Fill jars with cold water to which salt has been added in the proportion of 1 teaspn. to the quart.
Fasten covers and cook according to general directions for two hours, tighten covers and cook for one hour longer.
Asparagus in Full Lengths—Place stalks in jars, heads up, and pack as close as possible.
To Use—Open jar, add ½ teaspn. salt, set jar in cold or lukewarm water, heat to boiling, pour water off (save for soups), and draw stalks out carefully on to slices of prepared toast.
Shelled Beans—Follow directions for canning asparagus.
String Beans—Prepare as for the table or leave whole, blanch for 2 m., and follow directions for canning asparagus, using water without salt to fill the jars.
Greens—Narrow dock, milkweed, pigweed, purslane or spinach. Wash the greens thoroughly, drop into boiling salted water andleave just long enough to wilt. Remove from water with skimmer, pack into jars, cover with cold salted water and proceed as with other vegetables.
There are no vegetables that we enjoy more in winter than our “greens.”
Okra—Wash young tender okra, cut off stems and tops, blanch 10 m., dip in cold water, cut in transverse slices or leave whole, and finish the same as asparagus.
Peas—Blanch fresh-gathered, mature, but not old peas, for 5 m. (old for 8 m.), dip in cold water, proceed as for canning asparagus, using sugar, 1 teaspn. to quart of water if peas are not sweet. Boil 3–4 hrs. in all; 1 hr. after tightening covers, with water covering jars if possible.
Corn—Prepare fresh-gathered corn as for drying. Pack at once (filling all spaces) in clean jars to within an inch of the top, cover to the depth of a half inch with slightly salted water, fasten covers on as tight as possible, cook 3 or 4 hours, screw covers down again, cover jars with boiling water and boil for 1 hour longer. Remove boiler from fire and let jars cool in the water.
Ears of corn may be boiled in clear water 5 m. and dropped in cold water before removing kernels.
Corn No. 2—Prepare as in preceding recipe and cook for 1 hr. after the water is boiling; tighten covers, invert and leave until the next day. Cook for 1 hr. the second day and again the third day, that is, 1 hr. each for three consecutive days.
Beets—Boil small dark red beets for 30 m., drop into cold water and rub the skins off. Place in jars, cover with cold water, fasten covers, boil 1 hr., tighten covers and boil for 1 hr. longer.
Mushrooms—Pour boiling salted water over mushrooms and allow them to stand in a warm place until withered; cool, drain, pack close in jars and cover with the water in which they were standing; seal and cook 1½ hr. Tighten covers and cook ½ hr. longer. Invert jars until cool.
Corn—Boil corn 2–5 m., score down the center of each row of grains with a sharp knife. With a large sharp knife cut off the thinnest possible layer from each two rows, then with a dull case-knife scrape out the pulp from the hulls on the cob. Mix pulp with that which was cut off, spread on plates or granite pans and dry in a warm oven, stirring often. If the oven is too warm, the corn will turn dark. Corn may be dried in the sun if it is hot, but must be brought in before the dew begins to fall and spread out in the house. It is better to dry a little at a time in the oven and have it out of the way in a few hours. With proper care it can be done in an afternoon.
When dry, put at once into dry clean jars and seal, or into paper sacks tied tight so that no insects can get at it.
With care to keep it from souring, the corn may be dried without cooking.
Any dried corn has a richer flavor than canned corn, but words are inadequate to express how rich and fine flavored the yellow sweet corn is when dried.
Corn for drying should be nice and tender; a little younger, if anything, than for cooking green.
Directions for cooking dried corn are among the vegetables.
Shelled Beans—Lima and all green beans may be dried after shelling by being spread out in a dry, airy place and stirred occasionally, and are quite different in flavor from dry, ripened beans.
String Beans—Cook beans until half done; drain, dry in sun, pack in paper bags, keep in cool place. To cook—soak over night, cook shorter time than usual.
Mushrooms—String mushroom caps, also stems, on a cord the same as apples, for drying, hang in sun and wind until just before the dew begins to fall and finish drying over the stove, or, dry entirely over the stove.
Put into dry, close covered jars or thick paper sacks. (May wrap in waxed paper before putting into sacks). Keep in dry place.
When first dried, mushrooms may be pulverized in a mortar and the powder put into clean, dry jars. It is delightful for flavoring soups and sauces.
Put layer of salt 1 in. deep in bottom of stone jar or cask; then a layer of nice, tender string beans 3 in. deep; continue layers until cask is full. Cover beans with a board a little smaller around than the inside of the cask or jar and put a heavy stone on it so that the beans will be well covered with the brine. The beans may be put in at different times, but must be covered with the board from the first.
To Cook—Soak over night in cold water, changing the water several times in the early part of the evening. Cook the same as fresh beans, changing the water once or twice while cooking.
They are as nice and fresh as when picked.
Put layers of fresh picked corn, cut from the cob, in crock the same as string beans except that the layers of corn should be 1 to 2 in. deep only, and salt ½ in. deep. Have the top layer of salt, and thicker than the others and keep the corn well under the brine with a board and stone.
Soak over night for cooking, changing the water 2 or 3 times. Cook in unsalted water.
“The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest, for the liquid must first be absorbed.”
Consequently, the most perfect hygiene in the use of soups, would call for a few sips only, at the beginning of the meal, which in some cases stimulates the flow of the digestive juices.
With a hearty dinner of other foods, a small portion of some light soup or broth should be served, while a legume soup a chowder or a purée may make the principal dish of the meal.
We seldom make a soup after a recipe. When we serve soups every day, we purposely cook more than is required for other dishes of such things as will make good ingredients for soups; or, if used occasionally only, we make soup at a time when there are left-overs that are suitable. We get better results from these combinations, both from the variety of flavors, and because, with few exceptions, reheating develops richer flavors in foods.
“Our Famous Soups” are some that we have made, at different times, after this plan.
Under the head of soups are classed, bouillons or consommés, bisques, purées and chowders; though some of them are not soups in the strictest sense. For instance, a chowder is often made of the consistency of a stew, with a small proportion of liquid, and, as Francatelli says, “a purée is a kind of pulpy maceration of legumes, vegetables, etc., which have been passed through a fine colander,” but both of these are sometimes made with a larger proportion of liquid and served as thick soups.
The word “bisque” means rich soup, so in using it we do not say “tomato bisque soup” because the word soup is comprehended in bisque.
Bouillons (boo-yon´orbool-yon´) or consommés are broths.
Do not put everything through the colander, (celery and oyster plant, never). Mastication in connection with soups is an aid to their digestion as well as being more satisfying.
Use potatoes seldom in any but potato soups; potato water, not at all. The addition of potatoes to an otherwise wholesome soup might convert it into a fermentable combination: as well as to remove it from the dietary of those who cannot use starchy foods.
Cook turnips and carrots by themselves and drain before adding to soups. The flavor of turnip in soup is often disagreeable.
Utilize the food cutter in preparing vegetables for soups.
As a rule, use oyster plant in slices, ¼ in. thick in the largest part and a little thicker toward the end; but if desired fine, grind it before cooking. In this way it retains its characteristic flavor.
Often the best way to thicken a soup is to heat the flour in oil or butter (without browning) and add some of the hot soup to it as for gravy, so avoiding a scorched taste.
Dried mushrooms washed well, soaked 2 to 4 hours, simmered 5 m., cut fine and added, with their juice, give a fine flavor to many soups. Three or four small pieces are sufficient for 1½ to 2 qts. of soup.
Always keep a quantity of consommé or bouillon on hand, for soups or sauces, or to pour over hash, or chopped potatoes, or to moisten roasts.
Serve bouillon or consommé in cups with or without the beaten white of egg in teaspoonfuls on each.
Whipped cream may be added to bouillon just before serving or dropped by teaspoonfuls on the cups, with a leaf of parsley laid on each.
When soups are lacking in character, the addition of water and salt will develop a meaty flavor, relieving the “porridgy” taste.
Raw nut butter may be added to any of the combinations of vegetables in the proportion of 1 or 1½ tablespns. to each quart of soup.
The water drained from boiled peanuts may be used in place of raw nut butter, taking care not to use too much.
If you should have the thick nut stock, use not more than 2 tablespns. to each quart of soup.
Use herbs sparingly, some, such as mint and thyme, in minute quantities.
In putting corn through a colander, first crush the kernels in a pan or grind them through a food cutter, and put a very little into the colander at a time.
Use poor or top parts of stalks of celery, crushed, for flavoring soups.
Okra is a valuable addition to some soups, tomato soups especially. When using it, take about ¼ less water for the soup, and add from ¼–½ of a pint can to each pint of soup. Heat carefully and serve at once.
The water from spinach is an invaluable addition to vegetable soups, and with the addition of a little cream it alone makes a delightful broth. The water from nearly all greens is desirable in soups.
A little stewed asparagus adds very much to any vegetable soup or chowder.
If soup has thickened by standing, add water or milk before serving.
Rub the nut butter smooth with part of the water, simmer allingredients together 1½–2 hrs., strain vegetables out, add water to make 1¼ qt., heat, serve.
To Clear—Add water for one quart only, cool, beat with the white and shell of one egg, set over a slow fire and stir often until the broth boils rapidly, then boil without stirring until it looks dark and clear below the scum. Let stand off the fire about 10 m., strain through 2 or 3 thicknesses of cheese cloth laid over a colander; pour through wire strainer on to the cheese cloth. Add more water if necessary after straining, to develop a meaty flavor. Reheat, serve.
With or without 2–3 tablespns. raw nut butter or soup stock.
Cook together 1–2 hours, strain, add water to make 2 quarts, more salt if necessary, heat, serve.
Omit browned flour and garlic in preceding recipe, substitute celery salt for celery tops, and add a trifle of sage.
Mix dry ingredients, add nut butter which has been stirred with water, simmer all together 1½–2 hours, strain, and add water to make 2½ pints, heat, serve.
Finish the same as white stock, leaving 2½ pts. of stock.
Simmer all together 3–4 hours; strain, serve. Parsley may be added after straining soup. Savory, marjoram and other herbs may be used, or the herbs may be omitted altogether.
Other legumes may be substituted for the ones given. Tomato or browned flour or both may be added. This stock is excellent for gravies and sauces. A thick soup may be made by rubbing the vegetables through the colander instead of straining them out.
2½ pts. nice fresh bran pressed down. 2½ qts. boiling water.Simmer together 2 hours or more; strain, add
Simmer together ½–1 hour, strain, salt to taste, heat, serve. This should make 2½ qts. of soup. Other flavorings maybe used.
In using the bran put up in packages, sift it and use only the coarse part.
Simmer all together about 20 m., strain and add water for 1½ qt. of broth. Use plenty of salt. This broth may be cleared the same as bouillon, leaving 1 qt. only. 3 or 4 teaspoons of browned flour may be used.
Cook beans, lentils or whole green peas, until the water looks rich, but not until the skins begin to break. Strain, making 1 pt. of broth from each pint of legumes. (The legumes remaining may be used for stews and soups). Add salt, heat and serve. These broths are very satisfying. They may be varied by adding different flavorings to legumes while cooking or to broths after straining. Tomato, celery, onion with or without browned flour, or thyme are suitable. Brown beans with onion have quite a different flavor from white beans with onion.
Simmer ½–1 hour, strain, reheat, serve. An English woman in sampling this soup after I had made it up, remarked that it tasted like some of the French soups, hence its name.
Add salt and butter to water, break eggs into a cup, one for each cup of water, leave whole and turn slowly into the rapidly boiling water, beating briskly with fork or wire whip until the egg is in white and yellow shreds. Boil up well and serve with crackers and celery. This is an emergency soup. Cream may be added to the water instead of butter, or part milk may be used.
Cook barley and nut butter in part of the water for 3–5 hours. Add water to make 2 qts., with celery and bay leaf. Simmer from 15–20 m., no longer. Remove celery and bay leaf, serve. Bay leaf may be omitted.
Cook chopped or finely-shredded cabbage in boiling salted water until tender; add stewed tomatoes, simmer 15–20 m., add necessary salt and water, serve. Excellent.
Use stewed celery instead of cabbage in cabbage and tomato soup. A delightful combination.
Blend nut butter and water. Heat to boiling, add rice, onion,sage and salt. Boil rapidly until rice is tender.
It may be necessary to add 1–2 cups of water after rice is cooked.
Simmer sliced onions in butter without browning; add water, boiling, cook until onions are tender, thicken slightly with flour, rub through colander, add salt and a little browned flour, more water if necessary, and chopped parsley.
May cook raw nut butter with onion instead of using dairy butter.
Split peas, water, salt, raw nut butter and onion, a little tomato sometimes. Cook all ingredients together until peas and onion are tender. Strain or not as preferred.
Simmer chopped onion in oil or butter, add boiling water, potatoes cut in small pieces, and salt. Cook until potatoes are tender, add water to make of the right consistency, salt, and chopped parsley.
Serve with shelled nuts and croutons.
Finely-sliced celery may be cooked with the potatoes, and onions omitted.
Cook all except rice for ½ hour, add rice and cook until it is tender; add 1 tablespn. parsley, more salt and water if necessary.
Equal quantities carrot and turnip in small pieces, twice as much onion and celery, with raw nut butter and water. Cook until vegetables are tender; add salt and necessary water. In their season, asparagus, peas, and string beans may be added.
Simmer sliced onions, celery or carrots and cabbage in water, with raw nut butter, until tender. Add browned flour, salt and necessary water; heat.
Mashed legumes may be used in place of nut butter in these vegetable soups. Or they may be made into cream soups by using milk instead of nut butter and water, with or without thickening. Chopped parsley may be used in any of them.
Add flour to melted butter in saucepan, pour boiling water over, stirring, add tomatoes and salt. Boil up well.
Chopped onion may be simmered in the oil before adding flour.
Cook raw nut butter in part of the water, add other ingredients, heat well. Cooked noodles may be used instead of rice.
Cook tomato, raw nut butter, the 1¼ qt. of water, okra and onion all together, rub through colander and add to sauce made with oil, browned and white flour and the 1 cup of water. Add salt and more water if necessary, and when boiling, the trumese and nutmese, with chopped parsley. Throw egg balls into the soup just before serving, or serve separately in each dish. Or, pass a dish of boiled rice with the soup.
Cook all except turnip and thyme together 1½–2 hours. About 20 m. before removing from the fire add the turnip, and in 10 m. the thyme; after another 10 m., strain, add salt and more water if necessary, heat.
When soup is boiling rapidly, turn in slowly, in a slender stream, batter for cream noodles, stirring constantly. Boil up well, remove from fire, serve at once.
3–4 tablespns. raw nut butter may be used for stock instead of bran, and 1½ teaspn. lemon juice added when soup is done.
Put the beans into boiling water and cook rapidly until the skins begin to break, then simmer until tender and well dried out. The longer and more slowly the beans are cooked the richer the soup will be. Rub beans through colander, keeping them where they will remain hot during the process. Return to the fire, add boiling water and salt, and simmer for an hour. Stir well and serve.
There are three things essential to the perfection of bean soup: 1st., cook the beans without soaking or parboiling, 2nd., dry out well after they become tender, 3rd., do not let the beans or soup get cold at any time before serving. Warmed-over bean soup is very good, but there is a certain meaty flavor lost by cooling and reheating. Left-overs of bean soup, we usually combine with other ingredients. Brown beans and red make very rich soups, much better than black. One pint of beans will make about 3 qts. of soup.
Make the same as bean soup (except that peas require longer cooking), or cook in consommé. Very rich in flavor.
Cook nice tender white beans until partially cooked to pieces. Add salt, and water to make of the right consistency, and simmer slowly ½ hour or longer.
Cook lentils and sliced onion together until lentils are tender and well dried out, rub through colander, add the browned flour and salt, with water to make of the right consistency. (There should be from 2½–3 qts. of soup). Heat ½–1 hour. This makes an unusually meaty-flavored soup.
The idea of combining onion and browned flour with lentils was given me by one who had spent some years among the French in Switzerland.
Swiss Peas or Swiss Bean Soup—May be made the same.
Cook whole ripe peas with onion and a little garlic, rub through colander, add salt, a little browned flour and powdered sage, with water to make like a broth. Unusually good.
Cook green peas until tender, put ¾ of them through the colander, add water and salt, boil up, thicken with a little flour and butter rubbed together, add the whole peas, heat to boiling and serve.
Cream soups do not necessarily contain cream, though the addition of a little improves their flavor.
The simplest ones consist of milk thickened to the consistency of very thin cream, salt, and a vegetable or some other ingredient. If the vegetable is mashed, or is one that does not break to pieces easily, the milk may be added to it, and the whole brought to the boiling point and thickened. In a few exceptional cases the ingredient may be cooked in the milk; nice tender green corn, for instance.
A richer sauce is made by making a roux of 2 level tablespns. of butter, and 1–1½ level tablespn. flour, with a pint of milk,put together in the regular way for sauces; but you will be surprised to see how much better soups (with few exceptions) are without thickening, being free from the porridgy taste of those thickened a trifle too much.
A little cream with the water in which the vegetable was cooked often gives a finer flavored soup than milk and is no more expensive.
Sour cream makes a delightful as well as wholesome substitute for sweet cream in corn, cabbage, tomato, in fact, nearly all vegetable soups.
The following is a list of soups in which the general directions are understood when no exceptions are noted. Salt is understood in all.
★Cream of Asparagus—Cook tougher parts and rub through colander. Throw cooked tips in last unless desired for some other dish. The very toughest parts only make a nice, delicate flavored soup. This is one which favors cream and water instead of milk.
Cream of Bean—Lima, common white, or colored. Cook as for water bean soup, rub through colander or leave in broken pieces. Milk, or cream and water, no flour. 1 cup beans to 1½–2 qts. soup.
Cream of Bouillon—¼–½ cup cream salted and whipped, to each quart bouillon just before serving, either stirred in, or laid on top of each cup in spoonfuls with a leaf of parsley.
★Cream of Cabbage, or Celery and Tomato—Cabbage or celery, and tomato soup, with a little heavy cream added.
Cream of Carrot—1 cup of ground or grated carrot, cooked, 3 pts. milk and water, 1½–2 tablespns. butter, 1¼ tablespn. flour; or, 1 cup strained tomato, ½–¾ cup cream, with water to make 3 pts., and no butter.
Without the tomato, soup may be flavored with onion or celery, and bay leaf, with chopped parsley.
Cream of Celery—1 pt. finely-sliced celery, stewed, milk and cream added to make 3 pts., 1–1½ tablespn. flour with or without 1 or 2 tablespns. of butter. Do not strain. When soup is thickened, crushed stalks of celery may be steeped in it for 15 m., then removed.
★Cream of Celery No. 2—Steep leaves or poor stalks of celery in milk for 15 m., add cream and flour, or flour and butter, to make of the consistency of thin cream. Strain. May add a little celery salt.
Cream of Chestnut—Mashed boiled chestnuts, milk to thin, cream, plain or whipped, or, milk and butter. May be flavored with celery or onion or both.
★Cream of Corn—1 pt. canned or grated corn to 3 pts. rich milk, 1 level tablespn. only, of flour, a very little salt. Do not let soup stand long before serving. A little onion improves the flavor. If fresh corn is used, the milk may be heated in a double boiler, the corn added and cooked 20–30 m., or it may be boiled in a small quantity of water 6–10 m. The cobs may be boiled in the water for 10 m. before and removed; or they may stand in the milk while it is heating and be removed before corn is added.
Fine fresh cracker meal gives a nice flavor to cream of corn soup when used instead of flour for thickening.
A very little strained tomato imparts a delightful flavor and makes a different soup.
Cream of Dried Corn—Soak corn, grind, add to hot milk, or cream and water. Heat in double boiler 1 hour, add salt, serve. If necessary, thicken a trifle.
Cream of Dried Corn and Carrot—Add cooked grated carrots to corn and milk in above recipe and heat. Delicious.
Cream of Leek—Boil sliced leeks to pulp or cook only until tender.
Cream of Lentil—1 cup lentils cooked and rubbed throughcolander. 1½–2 qts. soup. No flour. May flavor with celery and onion.
Cream of Onion—Cook sliced onions in salted water. Do not strain. Nice thickened with tapioca instead of flour.
Cream of Oyster Plant—Cook sliced oyster plant in water until just tender, not soft; add salt, simmer 5 m. Add cream and more water if necessary. Or, grind oyster plant before cooking. May thicken a trifle.
Cream of Peas, dry—Canadian, dried green, split or chick; 1 cup to 1½–2 qts. of soup. Cook, rub through colander; milk, or cream and water. No flour. Celery or onion flavor or not.
Cream of Potato, or Sweet Potato—1½–2 qts. of milk, or cream and water, for each pint of mashed potato. Flavor with onion, celery salt or bay leaf.
Cream of Spinach—Use a very small proportion of cooked spinach rubbed through a colander, with rich milk, or with cream and the water in which the spinach was boiled. Whipped cream may be added just before serving. Thicken with tapioca sometimes.
Cream of String Beans—Cook beans in small pieces, add rich milk, thicken with flour or tapioca.
Use 1 part of beans to 2 parts of corn; put either, neither or both through a colander; add rich milk and salt.
For variety, flavor the soup with celery or onion or both, and add a sprinkling of chopped parsley just before serving.
Equal quantities cooked celery and corn, rich milk thickened a trifle if desired, salt.
Cook peas, rub through colander, corn also if preferred. Add milk to make of the right consistency. Put over fire in double boiler with salt and the stalks of celery crushed. Heat for 15 m., remove the celery and serve. 1 pint of canned green peas may be used instead of dried ones.
1 pt. canned okra, vegetable consommé to make of the right consistency, ½–1 cup cream, salt. If the okra is in large pieces, cut smaller.
Cook rice with salt and water in a double boiler or in a pan in the oven until the water is absorbed, add the milk hot, and cook stirring often, on top of stove or in double boiler till rice is soft and creamy. Add cream and more salt and water if necessary. Soup may be flavored with 2 teaspns. finely-chopped onion, a crushed half clove of garlic, or ⅛–¼ teaspn. sage, or with a bay leaf, or crushed stalks of celery. All milk may be used.
Cook sliced onion with browned flour in salted water until tender. Rub through colander, add cream or butter, milk and salt. Thicken a trifle, heat and add chopped parsley.
Wash peas pods, stew 3 hours with a small sprig of mint. Rub through a coarse wire sieve (a few at a time) until nothing is left but the membrane. Add milk and butter, or cream and water, with a little flour to thicken if desired, then a few whole peas; season with salt.
1 pt. split peas, 1 onion sliced; cook in water till soft. Addmilk to make of the right consistency and salt to season. Good without onion.
Cook peas and rub through colander, add water, tomato, cream and salt. Heat. Serve.
1 pt. stewed or canned, well matured green peas, 1–1½ qt. rich milk, salt. Heat peas, rub through colander, add hot milk gradually, stirring, then salt. Heat well, serve. If peas are not sweet, 2 teaspoons of sugar may be added. The soup may be thickened with 1 level tablespn. of flour. It also may be flavored with stalks of celery or slices of onion, for variety; but nice-flavored peas do not require any additional flavoring.
Heat milk, thicken with flour, add tomato, then salt; serve hot.
Same as Tomato Cream Soup, with 2½ cups of tomato instead of 1 cup, and 1½–2 teaspns. salt.
Heat butter, add flour, then water, milk, tomato and salt, stirring smooth.
Cauliflower, cabbage or spinach water, with a little cream, make delightful broths; also barley or rice water or juice of tomato.
Cook ground nuts in the water for 2 hrs., add onion and celery, and cook 15 m., to ½ hr., add the milk, heat, strain, add salt and more milk or water if necessary, reheat. Other flavorings may be used.
This may be used as a white stock with or without the milk.
1 pt. of potato, in small pieces, cooked, mashed and well beaten, 3 tablespns. butter and oil mixed, 4–6 tablespns. chopped onion, 2 or 3 teaspns. browned flour, 1½ teaspn. white flour, 3 cups milk, salt. Heat onion in oil, add flour and mashed potato, then milk and salt with a little chopped parsley. If too thick, add a little more milk or water.
1 pt. of potato in thick slices, 1 medium sized onion chopped, salt. Cook until potatoes are tender but not soft; add 1 tablespn. butter, or 2–3 tablespns. cream with milk to make 1¼–1½ qt. of soup, salt, and chopped parsley. Finely-sliced celery may be used in place of onion.
For parsnip soup substitute parsnip for half or all of the potato.
Simmer, but do not brown, vegetables in oil 10–20 m., add boiling water and bread crumbs and cook till vegetables are verytender. Rub through colander or not as preferred. Add milk, salt and parsley. Reheat. If too thick add more milk or water. Soup may be thickened slightly with pastry or rice flour instead of crumbs.
Cook nut butter, onion and garlic in salted water; when tender add tomato and corn; heat. Rub butter and flour together, pour hot milk over gradually, stirring. Boil up well, combine with vegetables, add salt and celery salt, and if necessary, water to thin.
A little cream may be used in place of butter, but the soup is excellent without either.
Cook oyster plant in 1½ pt. water; when nearly tender, add salt. Cook cabbage till tender (20–25 m.), in so little water that it will be nearly dry when done. Add milk, heat, strain; add liquid from oyster plant. There should be 3 pts. of liquid in all. Boil, stir in flour rubbed smooth with the oil and part of the cold milk. Boil up well. Add cooked oyster plant. Heat. Do not make too thick. The flour may be omitted entirely. The oil may be cooked with the oyster plant.
Cook cabbage and onion in the water 20–25 m. leaving ½ pt.of liquid. Blend butter and flour and pour hot milk over; boil, add cooked cabbage and chopped parsley. Heat. Serve.
Cook 1 qt. of sliced oyster plant in a small quantity of water. Add salt when nearly tender; drain, add rich milk to liquor to make 1 qt. Pour over oyster plant, heat, add salt. Turn into tureen containing ¼ cup heavy cream, or 1 tablespn. butter.
Cook oyster plant in water and add heavy cream.