Alexis Soyer's Part 3: The Iron Pot and Saucepan
Welcome to FabulousFusionFood's Alexis Soyer's Part 3 (The Iron Pot and Saucepan) Page — Here you will find the full text from the third section: The Iron Pot and Saucepan; of Alexis Soyer's A Shilling Cookery Book for the People As well as the full text this page also provides links out to the overall index of the book and links to modern redactions of each and every recipe (where practicable). This site builds a complete library of Eliza Acton recipes, allowing the modern cook to make them at home today. Enjoy...
INTRODUCTION.
Dearest Friend,—You are aware that every cottage throughout the land has a peculiarity in cookery and cooking utensils, which nothing can alter. One of them has a great claim on our gratitude, which neither time nor place can erase. War, famine, epidemic, revolutions, which have from time to time shaken the foundation of mighty empires, has not caused a wrinkle to appear on his noble brow even in this miraculous age of discovery, which has created railways, steam, electricity, photography, and by the last powerful agent we are actually enabled to take the strongest fortifications without bloodshed.
Not even one of the miracles of the nineteenth century has affected his noble position one jot: he is a posterity in himself, and no throne ever has been, or ever will be, stronger than his.
In winter, when all nature is desolate, when hoary Frost spreads his white mantle over the myriads of defunct flowers, then this homely king rallies round him his subjects, to entertain, comfort, and feed them, and make them happy, even when nature has almost refused to humanity her powerful service. This mighty monarch, Eloise, is no other than the three-legged iron pot, who has done such good service for so many generations, and will continue to do so if properly treated by his subjects.
So much for his moral virtues; but let us see what he has been doing, and if we can make him do anything more, and that in accordance with the enlightenment of the nineteenth century. You will perhaps say, that it is dangerous to try to make any change in a government so well established. Not at all; my object is not to interfere with his noble position, and deprive him of his rights. On the contrary, I only wish to enrich his kingdom, which I am sure no sensible monarch can object to.
Now for the immortal Pot-luck. All these receipts are for one containing two gallons.
78. Salt Beef.—Put in a piece of six pounds, add four quarts of cold water; boil gently for three hours. One hour before serving, wash clean, and cut the roots away of two cabbages, which cut up in four pieces, and put in the pot with the meat. When done, drain the cabbage, and place round the beef on the dish, and serve. Leave the broth or liquor from the meat on the fire, put in two pounds of split peas, a little pepper and brown sugar; boil slowly till done, and put by, uncovered, for next day, to drink with the cold meat. If more salt and pepper is required, add it: if, on the contrary, it should be too salt, add more water and a pound of potatoes. Or skim-milk may be added, and about one pound of toasted bread, cut into dice, and put in the soup when serving; or half a pound of flour, mixed with a pint of water. Every part of salted beef may be boiled thus, using about four ounces of vegetables to every pound of meat, instead of cabbage. Turnip-tops, brocoli-sprouts, green kale, carrots, turnips, Swedes, parsnips, &c. &c., may be used. Suet dumpling may be served with it.
The pieces of beef generally salted are the brisket, edge bone, round, flank, skirt. The ribs, when salted, are very fine, and much more economical than when roasted. This receipt if adopted for a farm-house; but two pounds of beef, and the other things in proportion to be used for a small family. Rice may be used instead of peas.
79. Salt Pork.—Put four pounds of salt pork, either leg, loin, head, belly, or feet, into the pot with six quarts of water, and one pound of split peas. In one hour add four greens, cut small, or turnip-tops, leeks, parsnips, &c. &c., placed in a net, and boiled in the pot. When done, take them out, and keep warm. Mix half a pound of flour with one pint of water, and put in the pot, and stir it round. Boil for ten minutes, and serve the meat and soup separate, and vegetables round the meat. Pieces of bacon, knuckles of ham, cooked in the same way, are very nice, only they will take rather longer boiling. A teaspoonful of pepper may be added.
You will perceive, my friend, that I have already opened a large field for our old hero, adding in a few lines about twenty new subjects in the shape of receipts to his kingdom.
80. Veal.—The flesh of the calf being of that light nature, requires more the process of roasting, or stewing, than of toiling, except for the purpose of making broth, for which purpose it is superior to any other kind of meat. The only part which is usually done so, is the knuckle, and if cooked in the following way, is not an expensive dish:—Get a knuckle of veal and a small knuckle of ham, weighing together about six pounds. Or in the absence of the ham, or bacon, two pounds of the belly of pork. Put this in the pot, and fill up with six quarts of water and four spoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, two carrots, cut in dice, two onions and two turnips. Boil gently for three hours, take out the meat and serve with mashed turnips, or potatoes. Plain, or parsley and butter over. The liquor boiled up with a pound of ground rice, mixed in a quart of cold water. Put in and boil for half an hour, and save for the next day's use. When boiled for next day, add any remains of the veal, cut small, and put in it, with a little milk, if handy, Whole rice, or peas, may be used. Four Swedish turnips, may be boiled with the veal, and eaten with it, mashed up with pepper, salt, and butter. Vegetables may be omitted when scarce.
81. Mutton.—The leg, neck, breast, head, and feet, are most often boiled; sometimes the shoulder, when not too fat, is boiled, smothered in onions. Whichever joint it is, the pot must be filled with water, to which six teaspoonfuls of salt and one of pepper have been added. Put in the joint and ten peeled turnips. When either joint is done, take it out, and serve the turnips round. Parsley and butter, capers, or chopped gherkins, mixed with melted butter, may be served with boiled mutton.
Save the liquor for the next day, add to it half a pound of Scotch barley and a pound of any vegetables that may be in season. Boil for one hour, and serve with toasted bread. Or instead of barley, two pounds of potatoes, sliced, and boiled with the vegetables, make a nice soup. For every pound of this joint, let it cook fifteen minutes.
82. Ham.—A ham of about fourteen pounds will take about four hours, and ought to be boiled in a three-gallon pot. Put in the ham, and fill up with water: skim off the scum as it rises; if wanted to be eaten cold, allow it to get cold in the pot. If it is an old ham, it should be soaked for twelve hours previously. Some carrots, turnips, and other vegetables, may be boiled, with also a bunch of sweet herbs, which will improve the flavour of the ham. If the liquor is used for soup, a couple of cow heels may be boiled with it, which may be eaten, separately, or cut up in the soup, which should be strained. Or, fry ten onions, sliced, until nearly brown; add to them half a pound of flour, stir well in, then add some of the liquor from the ham, until it is rather thick; put into a tureen, and pour more over it, and serve with slices of bread. Or instead of onions, use cabbage or leeks.
As many cottagers kill their own pigs, and cure the hams and bacon, and often boil only half the ham at a time, the knuckle part should be boiled last, and the yellow fat, if any on it, should be cut away.
IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS ON CURING HAMS AND BACON.
Tons of ham and bacon are yearly wasted throughout the country for want of proper attention and judgment, in allowing the fat to get rancid. Instead of hanging them up, as is the custom, to a low ceiling, in every cottage or farmer's kitchen, the consequence of which is, that the continual heat turns the fat and flesh of such a quadruped as dry as a mummy, while, by the following simple rules, they would keep equally as long without undergoing this antique Egyptian process.
To prove to you the truth of my remarks—about six months ago, I was on a visit to our excellent friend, William Tucker, Esq., of Coriton Park, near Axminster, Devon, when all the neighbourhood was searched to get a couple of home-cured country hams; however, no such thing was to be found; every one of them bought were dried to chips. The fat of the first one we operated on, when sawn in two, (for we could not cut it in the ordinary way,) was of a blackish yellow, and the meat of the same colour as rotten wood, only much harder. Being anxious to see the person who had so effectively "preserved" this ham, a very natty, clean old woman was brought to me; and on showing her the bone, and asking her for the receipt, she said she did not know how it was done, but her son Thomas did, and she knew he would be glad to give me the receipt, to which proposition I strongly objected, at the same time writing down the following receipt, which she said her son would doubtless follow.
After you have pickled your ham or bacon for either winter or summer use, dry the moisture with a cloth, and hang it in your kitchen for about three weeks, or until the outside begins to crystallize; then remove it to your dairy, or any other dampish place, for a few days; then place it in your kitchen again, and so on, backwards and forwards, three or four times, till perfectly dry, and quite sound; if any part should happen to get yellow and rancid, scrape it off, rubbing the spot with a mixture of salt, pepper, and flour; but be sure you don't keep it eighteen months, as it appears the old woman's son did; so that, with all the indulgence of nature, who allows us to preserve meat, by means of pickling it, for some considerable time, yet common sense tells us, that it will not last for ever. Ham, when well cured by experienced hands, can be kept good for several years. The fault I before mentioned, exists in every county, not excepting Westmoreland and Yorkshire, which two latter, being ham counties, of course the evil does not run to so great an extent. I daresay, Eloise, you will fancy this country conversation rather too long to be pleasant. You may be right, as far as its value as reading for the drawing-room goes, but let me tell you again, that if these simple plans were adopted, more than one hundred thousand tons of meat would be saved throughout the kingdom yearly, and made to feed man rather than wasted as it is at present.
LAMB.
I think I ought not to mention this innocent and playful little animal, but on second consideration, and remembering that King Alfred once sought shelter in a cottage, and it being possible that from accident, or some other cause, that a cottager might find himself unexpectedly honoured by a guest, to whom he would like to give a delicacy, which could not be done better in the elaborate kitchens of the most wealthy, than in the old iron pot of the most humble abode.
It is rare that lamb is partaken of by the labourer, as he requires more strengthening nourishment for his hard-looking frame, which can digest everything eatable, without the aid of medical science. These delicacies are left to those who would give a great deal if they could possess the good appetite and the organic mastication of a labouring man.
83. Boiled Leg of Lamb.—Put six quarts of water into the pot, with six teaspoonMs of salt; when boiling put in the lamb, boil slowly for one hour; remove the scum as it rises; serve it with plain melted butter, or parsley and butter, or caper sauce; boiled turnips or spinach. The broth may be made into soup the same as the mutton.
84. Boiled Rabbit.—-Stuff a rabbit as No. 456; put in pot ten or twelve large onions, with four quarts of water; boil them till tender, then add the rabbit, simmering slowly for one hour, if large; dish it up, keeping it warm; take out the onions, chop them, and put into a pan or the pot with two ounces of butter, half a teaspoonful of pepper, four of flour; mix all well to form a puree, add a pint of milk, boil twenty minutes, stirring now and then; pour over the rabbit and serve; little pieces of pickled pork boiled with it is an improvement. Use the broth as above.
85. Our Christmas Dinner—Small Boiled Turkey.—Put into the pot four quarts of water, three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, have the turkey ready stuffed, as No. 454; when the water boils, put in the turkey, and four pieces of salt pork or bacon, of about half a pound each, or whole, if you prefer it; also add half a pound of onions, one of white celery, six peppercorns, a bunch of sweet herbs; boil slowly for one hour and a half, mix three ounces of flour with two ounces of butter; melt it in a small pan, add a pint of the liquor from the pot, and half a pint "of milk, the onions and celery taken out of the pot, and cut up and added to it; boil for twenty minutes, until it is thickish; serve the turkey on a dish, the bacon separate, and pour the sauce over the bird.
A turkey done in this way is delicious. With the liquor, in which you may add a little colouring, a vermicelli, rice, or clear vegetable soup can be made; skim off the fat, and serve.
The above with a plum pudding boiled the day before, and rewarmed in boiling water in the pot whilst eating the soup and turkey, and the addition of potatoes, baked in the embers, under the grate, is a very excellent dinner, and can all be done with the black pot.
Fowls and Chickens may be done the same way, giving only half-an-hour for chickens, and three quarters for fowls.
86. A cheap Tripe Dinner.—Sometimes the cuttings of tripe, or pig's chitterlings, or even a cow-heel, can be had very cheap, in which case they should be cut into square pieces; peel eight good onions, and ten large potatoes, for every four pounds of the meat; lay some of the potatoes at the bottom of the pot, season with salt and pepper, then some of the tripe, then onions and potatoes, until all is in; then mix a quarter of a pound of flour with three quarts of water; mix smooth, and boil gently for two hours; scum and serve. This will make enough food for a family of twelve, and cost about one shilling and sixpence.
87. Calve's Head and Feet.—If by any chance either of these articles are to be bought cheap, which is sometimes the case in London or any market town, cut the head open, take out the brains, put it in the pot with six teaspoonfuls of salt, two of pepper, four onions, parsley, and a little thyme; put in six quarts of water, in which mix one quarter of a pound of flour; being placed, set it to boil gently, skim it occasionally, boil three hours ; just before serving, add a wineglass of vinegar; serve with parsley and butter, alone, or with the brains, cleaned and boiled in it; sharp sauce, No. 411.
The feet may be boiled in the same way. The liquor makes an excellent soup for the next day, either thick or thin, and with or without vegetables, or puree of peas, carrots, turnips, &c, or mock turtle.
88. Sheep's Head and Feet.—Take two sheeps' heads and cut the same as calf's head, and put in pot, with half a pound of pearl barley, four spoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, two carrots, four onions, and four quarts of water; boil for about two hours, or until tender, and serve.
Four feet added to it improve the broth. The heads when cooked may be egged and bread-crumbed over, and then put in the oven to brown for fifteen to twenty minutes. Eat it either plain or with sharp sauce. Calves' head is very good done the same.
89. Curry Fish.—Put into the pot four onions and two apples, in thin slices, some bayleaf, thyme, or savory, with a quarter of a pound of fat or dripping, three tablespoonfuls of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, and fry for fifteen minutes; then pour in three quarts of water and one pound of rice; boil till tender; add one tablespoonful of curry-powder, mixed in a little water; cut up six pounds of cheap fish the size of an egg; add to the above, and boil for twenty or thirty minutes, according to the kind of fish. If salt fish is used, omit the salt. If no herbs, do without, but always use what you can get.
90. Savory Rice.—Take six pounds of bones, broken small; boil in eight quarts of water for three hours, having added three tablespoonfuls of salt, a bunch of thyme, bayleaf, and savory, if any. When done, pour it into an earthen pan, remove the bones; the fat will do for puddings; or put the fat or two ounces of dripping into the pot, with two onions cut thin, half a pound of either carrots, turnips, or celery, cut thin; two teaspoonfuls of sugar; put it on the fire for fifteen minutes, stirring it continually; add half a pound of oatmeal, and mix well; then pour over the stock that has come from the bones. Add one pound of rice previously washed; boil till tender, and serve. This will be found both cheap and nutritious.
91. Rice Panada.—Boil one pound of rice in four quarts of water; add one tablespoonful of powdered sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of salt. Mix with some cold water one pound of flour or oatmeal, so that it forms a thin paste; stir in three teaspoonfuls of curry powder, add all to the rice, boil for twenty minutes, and serve. A quarter of a pound of butter or dripping may be added. Should it be preferred sweet, use a quarter of a pound of treacle instead of curry. This will make ten pounds of solid food, and is good either hot or cold.
92. Peas Panada.—Cut a quarter of a pound of fat bacon, or pork, into small dice; put it in the pot with two onions, sliced, or leeks: fry for ten minutes; keep stirring; then add one and a quarter pound of split peas, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one of sugar, and one gallon of water. Boil till it becomes a purée, or pulp; then add sufficient oatmeal or flour to make it very thick; simmer twenty minutes; keep stirring it, and serve.
Indian meal may be used, but it must be soaked; the husk, which floats, removed, boiled for two hours, and then added to it. If there are no onions, use some sweet herbs.
This may he made sweet by omitting the bacon, and using a quarter of a pound of treacle, and when cold, may be cut to pieces, and given to children as food.
93. Cheese Stirabout.—Nearly fill the iron pot with water, throw in three table tablespoonsful of salt; when boiling, throw in by degrees some Indian meal,—the quantity depends on the quality; on an average, if the water is soft, one pound to every two quarts; that would be four pounds. When well stirred, remove the husk with a spoon, which floats on the top. Then throw in one pound of strong cheese, broken in pieces, or grated Boil for twenty minutes, and serve. Or, put it on a greasy baking-tin, throw some more cheese on the top, put in the oven for twenty minutes, and serve. Or, allow it to get cold, cut in pieces, and fry.
94 Indian Meal Poullenta.—Boil the meal as above (it must be very thick), without the cheese; mind that it is stirred up a great deal, or it will catch to the bottom of the pot; pour some into a baking-dish well greased; cut some beef or pork, sausages, saveloys, or black puddings, into slices, and place them on it. Cover this over with some more meal from the pot; bake for twenty minutes, and serve.
This is an excellent and cheap dish, and well worthy the attention of all classes, now that flour has become so expensive; it is fit for the tables of the most wealthy, if a strong gravy is poured over it when served. This may be made sweet with either jam, treacle, or brown sugar.
95. Another Way.—For the above proportion, mince about two pounds of meat, as No. 156, or liver. Mix well, then let it get cold; cut and fry anyhow you like; of course omit saveloys and black-puddings when meat is used.
In France, ox-liver is used in soup, to flavour the broth, and many people eat it, fried or stewed. If it is in use in cooking in one country, why should we not give it a trial. The proverb says, "what is good for the goose is good for the gander," therefore what is good for our neighbours and allies cannot possibly be bad for us. An ox in France is uncommonly like an English one, and these quadrupeds are equally as particular in their selection of food as ours; and if the calves', pigs', sheep's, and lambs' liver is fit for the tables of the wealthy, why should not that of the ox be deemed good for human food.
It is our duty, Eloise, in this work, to bring every wholesome kind of cheap food to the notice of the poor, so that with a little exertion, they may live, and live well, with the few pence they earn, instead of living badly at times, and most extravagantly at others, and not to allow nourishing food to be wasted, as it is at present. In many parts, and even in Ireland, during the year of the famine, those who were starving would not partake of ox-liver. These are bought up in that country, put into casks, with salt, sent over to a sea-port in England; they are then subjected to a cold pressure, by which the liquid is extracted, which is used for adulterating an article in universal use; the remains are then dried in ovens, pounded, and sent back to Ireland to be made into snuff.
96. Stewed Ox Heart and Liver.—Wash the heart well; chop a few onions and sage, and mix with it a teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter of pepper. Put it in the heart, and lay it in the pan with the top part downwards. Cut one pound of suet in quarter of a pound pieces; also two pounds of ox liver, and a little bacon, if handy. Season with three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, four or five onions, three pounds of potatoes, and pour over three quarts of water. Place it in the oven for three hours, and it is done.
In this dish, dried pulse of any kind, previously soaked, may be used with advantage, such as the white harico bean, the dried Windsor bean, the lentil bean; all of which may be had in the winter time in great abundance; and it is to be regretted that there is not a large consumption in this country of pulse, as the crop does not rob the ground so much as the potato, and is considerably cheaper than flour. Dried yellow or green peas may be used.
They are a good article for a tradesman to keep in stock, as they do not deteriorate, like the potato, and only require to be known, to be equally as much esteemed as that root.
FRENCH POT AU FEU.
(This may also be done in the iron saucepan, stewpan, or baking-pan.)
I cannot expect that this truly national soup of Franco can be made to perfection, or done with so much care as in that country, therefore I have simplified it, and shall call it The French Cottage Pot au Feu, or French Soup.
97. Put a gallon of water in the pot, put four pounds of the buttock of beef, or shin, or five pounds of the thick part of the leg, three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, four onions, four leeks cut in pieces, two carrots, and two good-sized turnips, three cloves, one burnt onion, or three spoonfuls of colouring; set it on the fire; when beginning to scum, skim it, and place the pot on one side of the fire. Add now and then a drop of cold water; it will make it clear. Boil four hours. Bread sliced, put into the tureen, and pour the broth, with some of the vegetables, over; serve the meat separate, and the remaining vegetables round.
If this simple receipt is well attended to, you will find it a very good soup and bouilli. If you run short of any of the vegetables, make it good with others. If no burnt onions or colouring, the soup will be white, instead of a sherry colour; but still it will be good. In France they always put in half a pound of ox-liver to every four pounds of meat. I am sure they are too good judges, over the water, to spoil their soup; in fact, there the ox-liver costs as much as the meat — sixpence per pound — therefore it is not with a view of saving, but to make it better. 97A. French Ragout of Mutton.—Put in the pot a quarter of a pound of dripping: when hot, peel and cut twenty small turnips, or ten large ones, into pieces the size of a walnut; put them into the fat, and fry until brownish. Take them out, then put into the fat a quarter of a pound of flour; stir round until brown. You have prepared four pounds of scrag of mutton, cut in small pieces; put them in, and stir round; then add enough water to cover the meat; stir until boiling. When the mutton is nearly done, which you will find by trying it with a fork, add the turnips; season with three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, the same of brown sugar, and a little hit of scraped garlic, if handy. Any part of mutton may be used. Ragout of veal or lamb may he done in this manner.
The following receipts to he done in a middle-sized iron saucepan.
98. Stewed Eels.—Put into a saucepan a teaspoonful of chopped onions, half a pint of melted butter, No. 410, one teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, one of vinegar, and one teaspoonful of colouring. Cut up one pound of eels in pieces two inches long, rub them in a little flour and salt, put them in the pan, and stew for half an hour, and serve with some toasted bread round. A little ale or wine may be used instead of vinegar, and the sauce should be thick.
99. Stewed Eels. No. 2.—Cut them as above, dip in flour, and partly fry them in fat a few minutes, and stew them as above, and serve with toast.
100. Eels Stewed White. No. 3.—Cut up one pound, as before; put them in the pan with half a pint of milk and three-quarters of a teaspoonful of salt, half of pepper, half an onion, in slices, and some sprigs of parsley. Stew gently for twenty minutes; mix one ounce of butter with half an ounce of flour, put in your stewpan in small pieces, stir round gently, boil for five minutes, or longer, if largo, and serve. The juice of a lemon, or a little vinegar, is an improvement. Lampreys and weaver may be done the same.
101. Cod's Hard, Roe.—Tie a cod's roe in a cloth, place in a pan two quarts of water and two teaspoonfuls of salt; put in the roe, boil gently for one hour, take it out, cut off as much as you require, put it in the dish, pour over parsley and butter, and serve. Or egg sauce, or plain, with a little butter and pepper. The remainder, when cold, may be cut into slices and semi-fried, as fish.
102. Cod's Sounds, Melt, and Frill.—Nothing is more delicate than this dish. Boil thirty minutes in boiling salt and water. Dish it up, pour thick egg sauce over, or fennel sauce, or black butter, No. 425a. The first-mentioned, if salted, must be well soaked.
Truly, my dear Eloise, I cannot but return you my very best thanks for the incessant inquiries you make as to the state of my health.
You blame me in your last letter for having visited the small town of Castleford, as also the beautiful little village of Methway, while the cholera was raging in those places. Allow me to impress upon your mind that, first of all, I have no personal fear of the epidemic, and that I take a deal of interest in endeavouring to ascertain the cause, or partly so, of such an awful visitation, as my letter of the 25th of March, which has appeared in the public press, will partly explain the cause of this calamity.* In that letter I ought to have included Leeds, Hull, and Bradford, those immense towns of thick fog, wealth, manufacturers, charming habitations, palaces, bad drainage, and real black—not sea, but—river, which, for want of proper drainage, if not attended to, will always subject those places to such epidemics.
The working classes of the commercial districts of Yorkshire earn very good wages, though, at the same time, they work very hard; their ignorance in the science of cooking is deplorable, and, without boasting, Eloise, I must say that I have been of some service to these same people, in improving the condition of their homes, as three parts of the wives of this hard-working class are utterly devoid of any knowledge of domestic economy. Cookery to them is almost unknown; but I must say they are willing to learn, and I hope this work will be the means of terminating that which I have so success; folly begun.
Respecting my visiting prisons, hospitals, lunatic asylums, workhouses; also the interior of mines, coalpits, &c. &c.; and though I must admit that those localities do not show the brightest part of the mirror of life, still, you must not fancy that these people are all unhappy; on the contrary, they are as contented as I am, and not a day passes but what I teach them something in my way, at the same time learning many little things from them, and I think you will own that my correspondence partakes more of a jovial than a morose nature.
Such is my opinion of that large class of society, termed the million, after nearly twelve months stay among them, throughout the united queendom.
IMPORTANT REMARKS ON COD-LIVER OIL.
But now to a very important culinary, and I think medical discovery, which I owe to my persevering visits to various public charities in the towns through which I passed. This happened at Hull, about three months ago, from which town, if you recollect, I forwarded you the drawing of the Station Hotel, where I was staying—I call it the Monument Hotel, being so large and beautiful. But to come back to the question; one of the proprietors, Mr. Jordan, on my asking if I could visit the infirmary, kindly proposed to conduct mo there, and introduce me to the governor, which was done to my entire satisfaction; and I must say that the sick arc not better attended to in any similar establishment I have visited in the country.
Being aware of the immense quantity of cod-liver oil taken by delicate persons, now-a-days, and the great benefit derived from its use, I asked the medical officer present his opinion of its efficacy. "Nothing can be better," was his reply, "in many cases. But," said he, "many patients cannot take it, being of such an unpleasant taste, more especially children, and as we in this establishment use the second quality, from motives of economy, it is doubly unpleasant." I myself tasted some, and must say that I found it anything but relishing.
After bidding adieu to the doctor, I and my host left, and while returning to my hotel, T thought that something could be done to alter the present unpleasant way of administering it. Accordingly, upon reaching home, I sent for the following:—
103. One pound of fresh cod-liver; I then peeled and steamed two pounds of nice floury potatoes, then cut the liver in four pieces, placed it over the potatoes, and then steamed them, letting the oil from the liver fall on the potatoes; I then made some incisions in the liver with a knife, to extract the remaining oil, afterwards dishing up the liver, which was eaten with a little melted batter and anchovy sauce. The potatoes were served up with a little salt and pepper. Both dishes were found extremely good.
The following is another way of extracting the oil of a cod's liver, with the aid of that abundant article, rice.
104. Rice and Cod Liver.—Boil half a pound of rice in two quarts of water. When nearly done, remove three parts of the water; then put over your rice a pound of cod's liver, cut in large dice. Put the saucepan in a slow oven for about thirty minutes, by which time it will be nicely cooked. Then take the liver out, which serve as above directed. Stir the rice with a fork, and serve it; if allowed by a medical man, add a little salt and pepper. If no oven, cook the liver and rice on a very slow fire, for otherwise it would burn, and be unwholesome as food. Of course you can easily see what a blessing such diet as this must be to a person incapable of taking the oil by itself, as, by mixing it with the food, it entirely loses that rancid quality for which it is proverbial.
105. Tapioca and Cod Liver.—Boil a quarter of a pound of tapioca till tender in two quarts of water; drain it in a cullender, then put it back in the pan; season with a little salt and pepper, add half a pint of milk, put over one pound of fresh cod liver, cut in eight pieces. Set your pan near the fire to simmer slowly for half an hour, or a little more, till your liver is quite cooked. Press on it with a spoon, so as to get as much oil into the tapioca as possible. After taking away the liver, mix the tapioca. If too thick, add a little milk, then boil it a few minutes; stir round, add a little salt and pepper, and serve. If you have a slow oven, use it in preference to the fire; but if you are without an oven, here is another good way of cooking it:
106. Put three inches depth of water in a largish pan; then put the pan containing the tapioca in the above-mentioned pan; let it simmer till quite done. It will take about an hour. By adopting this plan, all fear of burning is obviated; afterwards remove the liver, which serve as at No. 103.
107. Sago, or semolina, may be done the same way, and by adding an egg, ;t will make a delicate pudding; or by cutting the liver in small dice, you may add it to your pudding, putting in a little more milk to make it moist; then add a couple more eggs, well beaten, and mix; putting it in a basin, previously well buttered; then let it summer in a stewpan for half an hour, or till set; then turn it out on a dish; sauce with a little plain melted butter, anchovy, or parsley and butter.
A little stringent food, such as the above, will be found very refreshing, even to persons in good health.
108. Rice may be also turned to good account; and I do not see why, after having taken the liver out, and adding four teaspoonfuls of sugar, two eggs, one ounce of butter, and a little lemon peel, it would not make a very good sweet pudding. Pour over it, when done, a little melted butter with a spoonful of sugar, some lemon juice, or wine; or treacle, for children.
109. Cod Roe and Cod Liver.—Buy a cod's liver and roe, cut open the skin which surrounds it; put the eggs in a basin, pour water over them, mashing them with your hand, to separate them, throwing away the water; add half a pound of salt, and a teaspoonful of pepper; let them soak all night, afterwards washing them well in two or three waters, leaving about a gill at the bottom; then put about two pounds of cod liver over it, cut in six or eight pieces, putting the stewpan either on a very slow fire, or in an oven, for one hour; then take out the liver, which serve as usual. Add about a gill of melted butter in the roe, when it will be ready.
110. Or for any one in health four hard-boiled eggs, chopped, may be added, or three raw ones instead, and make a pudding of it; pour it in, steam it in water till well set, then turn it out, and sauce over with any fish sauce you like. The hard roe of any fish may be dressed like this, especially the roe of sturgeons.
CARTHUSIAN OF MEAT AND VEGETABLES.
You will perhaps be surprised at the name I have given to this curious mixture of vegetable produce, but you will immediately perceive that I have taken it from those well known monks who took vows to partake of no animal food, something like our strict vegetarians of the present day; but those jolly old dogs in former days were obliged, at times, to break their vow; as, however, it could not be done openly, they were obliged to mask the object cooked in a covering of vegetables, and thus cheated their oath and their own conscience. Carthusian, or Chartreuse, in French cookery, means any article of food, such as meat, game, or poultry, so surrounded hy vegetables, that even a vegetarian would be deceived with its appearance, while sitting at dinner, and would not find out his mistake until helped with some of the dishes.
111. 1st Lesson.—If in winter, cut crossways, in four, a large savoy cabbage, or two small ones; take off a few of the outside green leaves; wash the cabbage well, then put on the fire either an iron pot, or a three-legged black pot; put in about three quarts of water; when boiling, add your cabbage, boil them for ten minutes, or a little longer, then drain them in a cullender or cloth, pressing out the water; cut away the stalk from each piece, then chop your cabbage, though not too fine, letting it weigh about two pounds; when thus prepared, which will be our proportion of vegetable to one pound of meat; previous to chopping them upon the board, season with one teaspoonful of salt, that is, if salt meat be used; two ditto if the meat be fresh; one teaspoonful of pepper at all times.
Suppose we select for this, our first lesson, three middling-sized pigs' tongues. You have put them to boil with your cabbage, then cut them through lengthways, then place at the bottom of your pan about an inch deep of cabbage, and half an inch round the inside of the pan, placing your meat in the centre, thus making the meat invisible to the eye when turned v out of the pot; when filled, add a quarter of a pound of butter or dripping, two wineglasses of vinegary if English, or one, if French, one gill of water; set it on a brick, placed in the oven, for two hours; then open your pan, and place over your cabbage a tea saucer; press out all the gravy in a cup, pass a knife round your pot, then put a dish over the mouth inside downwards, turn the pot or basin upside down, when your carthusian will turn out like a pudding: pour the gravy or bread crumb sauce over, and serve.
112. 2nd Lesson.—The above may be done in pudding-basins, or in deep oval pie-dishes, and either baked slowly as above, or steamed as puddings, but as there will be no cover to it, put over a cover of pudding-paste (see No. 319); fix over as for pies or puddings, making several small holes in the paste, and only putting half the moisture in. When done, remove the paste, which put on the dish you intend to serve it in; press out the gravy, turn your Carthusian out on the paste, already laid oh the dish; then proceed with the gravy as above described; red cabbage is also very good, but requires double the quantity of vinegar, and more pepper; proceed the same; they require boiling in water about thirty minutes, if at all large, and rather old, as they are at Christmas.
113. 3rd and General Lesson.—Having given you the base or foundation in the above receipts on animal food, I will now in a few words describe the extraordinary variations that can he made with this favourite dish of the best judges of good cheer, —viz., the monastic fraternity of olden times.
Instead of the above, you may use pig's feet, cheek, pickled pork, bacon, ham, liver of all kinds, previously fried, or partly so, sausages, black-pudding, or salt beef, previously boiled and cut in slices, or any part of fresh meat previously roasted, any remains of poultry or game may be done the same by cutting them in slices; if, however, they have not been previously cooked, they will take two hours instead of one. Pigeons, partridges, and all kinds of small birds, may be put in rows, only they should be larded or stuffed previously.
This will give you an idea of the various ways in which this dish can be made, as far as animal food goes.
The following will, by omitting the meat, be applicable for vegetarians.
VEGETABLE PUDDING.
114. 4th and General Lesson for the Use of the Vegetarian.—You must observe, Eloise, that the above receipts are all made with cabbage only. I have made them so, because, while travelling last winter, I found that every cottager grew cabbage, while no other vegetable was to be seen in his garden; but now that summer is here, I will give you the receipts in the way the monks used to make them; and, mind, they were all good cooks in those days. They always had a foundation of cabbage or greens, or some kind of Brussels sprouts, one pound of either of the above done as in the first receipt; then they added a pound of either boiled carrots, turnips, parsnips, beetroots, artichokes, potatoes, leeks, celery, or onions; boil the pound of whatever you choose from the above till tender; chop it with your cabbage; season, and proceed as with cabbage only. Sprue-grass, cut. small, or peas, may also be boiled and mixed, but not chopped; a little sugar is an improvement to vegetables, as it varies the flavour; use any aromatic herbs and spice you choose, but always in proportion.
You may also, for a change, pour either a little white or brown sauce over (see sauces), but observe that the vegetables must always be kept firm enough to turn out as a pudding; either serve in a pan: or, to save trouble, turn the whole into a tureen, or in a large dish, that is, if for a large family, but the proper way is as first described. In fact, there is no end to the ingenuity which may be displayed in the variation of this dish; and to the cottager, with his small plot of garden-ground, wherein he can produce sufficient vegetables for his family, it is one of great economy, besides being exceedingly conducive to health at all times.
THE THREE-LEGGED IRON POT.
Dearest Friend,—You are aware that every cottage throughout the land has a peculiarity in cookery and cooking utensils, which nothing can alter. One of them has a great claim on our gratitude, which neither time nor place can erase. War, famine, epidemic, revolutions, which have from time to time shaken the foundation of mighty empires, has not caused a wrinkle to appear on his noble brow even in this miraculous age of discovery, which has created railways, steam, electricity, photography, and by the last powerful agent we are actually enabled to take the strongest fortifications without bloodshed.
Not even one of the miracles of the nineteenth century has affected his noble position one jot: he is a posterity in himself, and no throne ever has been, or ever will be, stronger than his.
In winter, when all nature is desolate, when hoary Frost spreads his white mantle over the myriads of defunct flowers, then this homely king rallies round him his subjects, to entertain, comfort, and feed them, and make them happy, even when nature has almost refused to humanity her powerful service. This mighty monarch, Eloise, is no other than the three-legged iron pot, who has done such good service for so many generations, and will continue to do so if properly treated by his subjects.
So much for his moral virtues; but let us see what he has been doing, and if we can make him do anything more, and that in accordance with the enlightenment of the nineteenth century. You will perhaps say, that it is dangerous to try to make any change in a government so well established. Not at all; my object is not to interfere with his noble position, and deprive him of his rights. On the contrary, I only wish to enrich his kingdom, which I am sure no sensible monarch can object to.
Now for the immortal Pot-luck. All these receipts are for one containing two gallons.
78. Salt Beef.—Put in a piece of six pounds, add four quarts of cold water; boil gently for three hours. One hour before serving, wash clean, and cut the roots away of two cabbages, which cut up in four pieces, and put in the pot with the meat. When done, drain the cabbage, and place round the beef on the dish, and serve. Leave the broth or liquor from the meat on the fire, put in two pounds of split peas, a little pepper and brown sugar; boil slowly till done, and put by, uncovered, for next day, to drink with the cold meat. If more salt and pepper is required, add it: if, on the contrary, it should be too salt, add more water and a pound of potatoes. Or skim-milk may be added, and about one pound of toasted bread, cut into dice, and put in the soup when serving; or half a pound of flour, mixed with a pint of water. Every part of salted beef may be boiled thus, using about four ounces of vegetables to every pound of meat, instead of cabbage. Turnip-tops, brocoli-sprouts, green kale, carrots, turnips, Swedes, parsnips, &c. &c., may be used. Suet dumpling may be served with it.
The pieces of beef generally salted are the brisket, edge bone, round, flank, skirt. The ribs, when salted, are very fine, and much more economical than when roasted. This receipt if adopted for a farm-house; but two pounds of beef, and the other things in proportion to be used for a small family. Rice may be used instead of peas.
79. Salt Pork.—Put four pounds of salt pork, either leg, loin, head, belly, or feet, into the pot with six quarts of water, and one pound of split peas. In one hour add four greens, cut small, or turnip-tops, leeks, parsnips, &c. &c., placed in a net, and boiled in the pot. When done, take them out, and keep warm. Mix half a pound of flour with one pint of water, and put in the pot, and stir it round. Boil for ten minutes, and serve the meat and soup separate, and vegetables round the meat. Pieces of bacon, knuckles of ham, cooked in the same way, are very nice, only they will take rather longer boiling. A teaspoonful of pepper may be added.
You will perceive, my friend, that I have already opened a large field for our old hero, adding in a few lines about twenty new subjects in the shape of receipts to his kingdom.
80. Veal.—The flesh of the calf being of that light nature, requires more the process of roasting, or stewing, than of toiling, except for the purpose of making broth, for which purpose it is superior to any other kind of meat. The only part which is usually done so, is the knuckle, and if cooked in the following way, is not an expensive dish:—Get a knuckle of veal and a small knuckle of ham, weighing together about six pounds. Or in the absence of the ham, or bacon, two pounds of the belly of pork. Put this in the pot, and fill up with six quarts of water and four spoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, two carrots, cut in dice, two onions and two turnips. Boil gently for three hours, take out the meat and serve with mashed turnips, or potatoes. Plain, or parsley and butter over. The liquor boiled up with a pound of ground rice, mixed in a quart of cold water. Put in and boil for half an hour, and save for the next day's use. When boiled for next day, add any remains of the veal, cut small, and put in it, with a little milk, if handy, Whole rice, or peas, may be used. Four Swedish turnips, may be boiled with the veal, and eaten with it, mashed up with pepper, salt, and butter. Vegetables may be omitted when scarce.
81. Mutton.—The leg, neck, breast, head, and feet, are most often boiled; sometimes the shoulder, when not too fat, is boiled, smothered in onions. Whichever joint it is, the pot must be filled with water, to which six teaspoonfuls of salt and one of pepper have been added. Put in the joint and ten peeled turnips. When either joint is done, take it out, and serve the turnips round. Parsley and butter, capers, or chopped gherkins, mixed with melted butter, may be served with boiled mutton.
Save the liquor for the next day, add to it half a pound of Scotch barley and a pound of any vegetables that may be in season. Boil for one hour, and serve with toasted bread. Or instead of barley, two pounds of potatoes, sliced, and boiled with the vegetables, make a nice soup. For every pound of this joint, let it cook fifteen minutes.
82. Ham.—A ham of about fourteen pounds will take about four hours, and ought to be boiled in a three-gallon pot. Put in the ham, and fill up with water: skim off the scum as it rises; if wanted to be eaten cold, allow it to get cold in the pot. If it is an old ham, it should be soaked for twelve hours previously. Some carrots, turnips, and other vegetables, may be boiled, with also a bunch of sweet herbs, which will improve the flavour of the ham. If the liquor is used for soup, a couple of cow heels may be boiled with it, which may be eaten, separately, or cut up in the soup, which should be strained. Or, fry ten onions, sliced, until nearly brown; add to them half a pound of flour, stir well in, then add some of the liquor from the ham, until it is rather thick; put into a tureen, and pour more over it, and serve with slices of bread. Or instead of onions, use cabbage or leeks.
As many cottagers kill their own pigs, and cure the hams and bacon, and often boil only half the ham at a time, the knuckle part should be boiled last, and the yellow fat, if any on it, should be cut away.
Tons of ham and bacon are yearly wasted throughout the country for want of proper attention and judgment, in allowing the fat to get rancid. Instead of hanging them up, as is the custom, to a low ceiling, in every cottage or farmer's kitchen, the consequence of which is, that the continual heat turns the fat and flesh of such a quadruped as dry as a mummy, while, by the following simple rules, they would keep equally as long without undergoing this antique Egyptian process.
To prove to you the truth of my remarks—about six months ago, I was on a visit to our excellent friend, William Tucker, Esq., of Coriton Park, near Axminster, Devon, when all the neighbourhood was searched to get a couple of home-cured country hams; however, no such thing was to be found; every one of them bought were dried to chips. The fat of the first one we operated on, when sawn in two, (for we could not cut it in the ordinary way,) was of a blackish yellow, and the meat of the same colour as rotten wood, only much harder. Being anxious to see the person who had so effectively "preserved" this ham, a very natty, clean old woman was brought to me; and on showing her the bone, and asking her for the receipt, she said she did not know how it was done, but her son Thomas did, and she knew he would be glad to give me the receipt, to which proposition I strongly objected, at the same time writing down the following receipt, which she said her son would doubtless follow.
After you have pickled your ham or bacon for either winter or summer use, dry the moisture with a cloth, and hang it in your kitchen for about three weeks, or until the outside begins to crystallize; then remove it to your dairy, or any other dampish place, for a few days; then place it in your kitchen again, and so on, backwards and forwards, three or four times, till perfectly dry, and quite sound; if any part should happen to get yellow and rancid, scrape it off, rubbing the spot with a mixture of salt, pepper, and flour; but be sure you don't keep it eighteen months, as it appears the old woman's son did; so that, with all the indulgence of nature, who allows us to preserve meat, by means of pickling it, for some considerable time, yet common sense tells us, that it will not last for ever. Ham, when well cured by experienced hands, can be kept good for several years. The fault I before mentioned, exists in every county, not excepting Westmoreland and Yorkshire, which two latter, being ham counties, of course the evil does not run to so great an extent. I daresay, Eloise, you will fancy this country conversation rather too long to be pleasant. You may be right, as far as its value as reading for the drawing-room goes, but let me tell you again, that if these simple plans were adopted, more than one hundred thousand tons of meat would be saved throughout the kingdom yearly, and made to feed man rather than wasted as it is at present.
I think I ought not to mention this innocent and playful little animal, but on second consideration, and remembering that King Alfred once sought shelter in a cottage, and it being possible that from accident, or some other cause, that a cottager might find himself unexpectedly honoured by a guest, to whom he would like to give a delicacy, which could not be done better in the elaborate kitchens of the most wealthy, than in the old iron pot of the most humble abode.
It is rare that lamb is partaken of by the labourer, as he requires more strengthening nourishment for his hard-looking frame, which can digest everything eatable, without the aid of medical science. These delicacies are left to those who would give a great deal if they could possess the good appetite and the organic mastication of a labouring man.
83. Boiled Leg of Lamb.—Put six quarts of water into the pot, with six teaspoonMs of salt; when boiling put in the lamb, boil slowly for one hour; remove the scum as it rises; serve it with plain melted butter, or parsley and butter, or caper sauce; boiled turnips or spinach. The broth may be made into soup the same as the mutton.
84. Boiled Rabbit.—-Stuff a rabbit as No. 456; put in pot ten or twelve large onions, with four quarts of water; boil them till tender, then add the rabbit, simmering slowly for one hour, if large; dish it up, keeping it warm; take out the onions, chop them, and put into a pan or the pot with two ounces of butter, half a teaspoonful of pepper, four of flour; mix all well to form a puree, add a pint of milk, boil twenty minutes, stirring now and then; pour over the rabbit and serve; little pieces of pickled pork boiled with it is an improvement. Use the broth as above.
85. Our Christmas Dinner—Small Boiled Turkey.—Put into the pot four quarts of water, three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, have the turkey ready stuffed, as No. 454; when the water boils, put in the turkey, and four pieces of salt pork or bacon, of about half a pound each, or whole, if you prefer it; also add half a pound of onions, one of white celery, six peppercorns, a bunch of sweet herbs; boil slowly for one hour and a half, mix three ounces of flour with two ounces of butter; melt it in a small pan, add a pint of the liquor from the pot, and half a pint "of milk, the onions and celery taken out of the pot, and cut up and added to it; boil for twenty minutes, until it is thickish; serve the turkey on a dish, the bacon separate, and pour the sauce over the bird.
A turkey done in this way is delicious. With the liquor, in which you may add a little colouring, a vermicelli, rice, or clear vegetable soup can be made; skim off the fat, and serve.
The above with a plum pudding boiled the day before, and rewarmed in boiling water in the pot whilst eating the soup and turkey, and the addition of potatoes, baked in the embers, under the grate, is a very excellent dinner, and can all be done with the black pot.
Fowls and Chickens may be done the same way, giving only half-an-hour for chickens, and three quarters for fowls.
86. A cheap Tripe Dinner.—Sometimes the cuttings of tripe, or pig's chitterlings, or even a cow-heel, can be had very cheap, in which case they should be cut into square pieces; peel eight good onions, and ten large potatoes, for every four pounds of the meat; lay some of the potatoes at the bottom of the pot, season with salt and pepper, then some of the tripe, then onions and potatoes, until all is in; then mix a quarter of a pound of flour with three quarts of water; mix smooth, and boil gently for two hours; scum and serve. This will make enough food for a family of twelve, and cost about one shilling and sixpence.
87. Calve's Head and Feet.—If by any chance either of these articles are to be bought cheap, which is sometimes the case in London or any market town, cut the head open, take out the brains, put it in the pot with six teaspoonfuls of salt, two of pepper, four onions, parsley, and a little thyme; put in six quarts of water, in which mix one quarter of a pound of flour; being placed, set it to boil gently, skim it occasionally, boil three hours ; just before serving, add a wineglass of vinegar; serve with parsley and butter, alone, or with the brains, cleaned and boiled in it; sharp sauce, No. 411.
The feet may be boiled in the same way. The liquor makes an excellent soup for the next day, either thick or thin, and with or without vegetables, or puree of peas, carrots, turnips, &c, or mock turtle.
88. Sheep's Head and Feet.—Take two sheeps' heads and cut the same as calf's head, and put in pot, with half a pound of pearl barley, four spoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, two carrots, four onions, and four quarts of water; boil for about two hours, or until tender, and serve.
Four feet added to it improve the broth. The heads when cooked may be egged and bread-crumbed over, and then put in the oven to brown for fifteen to twenty minutes. Eat it either plain or with sharp sauce. Calves' head is very good done the same.
89. Curry Fish.—Put into the pot four onions and two apples, in thin slices, some bayleaf, thyme, or savory, with a quarter of a pound of fat or dripping, three tablespoonfuls of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, and fry for fifteen minutes; then pour in three quarts of water and one pound of rice; boil till tender; add one tablespoonful of curry-powder, mixed in a little water; cut up six pounds of cheap fish the size of an egg; add to the above, and boil for twenty or thirty minutes, according to the kind of fish. If salt fish is used, omit the salt. If no herbs, do without, but always use what you can get.
90. Savory Rice.—Take six pounds of bones, broken small; boil in eight quarts of water for three hours, having added three tablespoonfuls of salt, a bunch of thyme, bayleaf, and savory, if any. When done, pour it into an earthen pan, remove the bones; the fat will do for puddings; or put the fat or two ounces of dripping into the pot, with two onions cut thin, half a pound of either carrots, turnips, or celery, cut thin; two teaspoonfuls of sugar; put it on the fire for fifteen minutes, stirring it continually; add half a pound of oatmeal, and mix well; then pour over the stock that has come from the bones. Add one pound of rice previously washed; boil till tender, and serve. This will be found both cheap and nutritious.
91. Rice Panada.—Boil one pound of rice in four quarts of water; add one tablespoonful of powdered sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of salt. Mix with some cold water one pound of flour or oatmeal, so that it forms a thin paste; stir in three teaspoonfuls of curry powder, add all to the rice, boil for twenty minutes, and serve. A quarter of a pound of butter or dripping may be added. Should it be preferred sweet, use a quarter of a pound of treacle instead of curry. This will make ten pounds of solid food, and is good either hot or cold.
92. Peas Panada.—Cut a quarter of a pound of fat bacon, or pork, into small dice; put it in the pot with two onions, sliced, or leeks: fry for ten minutes; keep stirring; then add one and a quarter pound of split peas, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one of sugar, and one gallon of water. Boil till it becomes a purée, or pulp; then add sufficient oatmeal or flour to make it very thick; simmer twenty minutes; keep stirring it, and serve.
Indian meal may be used, but it must be soaked; the husk, which floats, removed, boiled for two hours, and then added to it. If there are no onions, use some sweet herbs.
This may he made sweet by omitting the bacon, and using a quarter of a pound of treacle, and when cold, may be cut to pieces, and given to children as food.
93. Cheese Stirabout.—Nearly fill the iron pot with water, throw in three table tablespoonsful of salt; when boiling, throw in by degrees some Indian meal,—the quantity depends on the quality; on an average, if the water is soft, one pound to every two quarts; that would be four pounds. When well stirred, remove the husk with a spoon, which floats on the top. Then throw in one pound of strong cheese, broken in pieces, or grated Boil for twenty minutes, and serve. Or, put it on a greasy baking-tin, throw some more cheese on the top, put in the oven for twenty minutes, and serve. Or, allow it to get cold, cut in pieces, and fry.
94 Indian Meal Poullenta.—Boil the meal as above (it must be very thick), without the cheese; mind that it is stirred up a great deal, or it will catch to the bottom of the pot; pour some into a baking-dish well greased; cut some beef or pork, sausages, saveloys, or black puddings, into slices, and place them on it. Cover this over with some more meal from the pot; bake for twenty minutes, and serve.
This is an excellent and cheap dish, and well worthy the attention of all classes, now that flour has become so expensive; it is fit for the tables of the most wealthy, if a strong gravy is poured over it when served. This may be made sweet with either jam, treacle, or brown sugar.
95. Another Way.—For the above proportion, mince about two pounds of meat, as No. 156, or liver. Mix well, then let it get cold; cut and fry anyhow you like; of course omit saveloys and black-puddings when meat is used.
In France, ox-liver is used in soup, to flavour the broth, and many people eat it, fried or stewed. If it is in use in cooking in one country, why should we not give it a trial. The proverb says, "what is good for the goose is good for the gander," therefore what is good for our neighbours and allies cannot possibly be bad for us. An ox in France is uncommonly like an English one, and these quadrupeds are equally as particular in their selection of food as ours; and if the calves', pigs', sheep's, and lambs' liver is fit for the tables of the wealthy, why should not that of the ox be deemed good for human food.
It is our duty, Eloise, in this work, to bring every wholesome kind of cheap food to the notice of the poor, so that with a little exertion, they may live, and live well, with the few pence they earn, instead of living badly at times, and most extravagantly at others, and not to allow nourishing food to be wasted, as it is at present. In many parts, and even in Ireland, during the year of the famine, those who were starving would not partake of ox-liver. These are bought up in that country, put into casks, with salt, sent over to a sea-port in England; they are then subjected to a cold pressure, by which the liquid is extracted, which is used for adulterating an article in universal use; the remains are then dried in ovens, pounded, and sent back to Ireland to be made into snuff.
96. Stewed Ox Heart and Liver.—Wash the heart well; chop a few onions and sage, and mix with it a teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter of pepper. Put it in the heart, and lay it in the pan with the top part downwards. Cut one pound of suet in quarter of a pound pieces; also two pounds of ox liver, and a little bacon, if handy. Season with three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, four or five onions, three pounds of potatoes, and pour over three quarts of water. Place it in the oven for three hours, and it is done.
In this dish, dried pulse of any kind, previously soaked, may be used with advantage, such as the white harico bean, the dried Windsor bean, the lentil bean; all of which may be had in the winter time in great abundance; and it is to be regretted that there is not a large consumption in this country of pulse, as the crop does not rob the ground so much as the potato, and is considerably cheaper than flour. Dried yellow or green peas may be used.
They are a good article for a tradesman to keep in stock, as they do not deteriorate, like the potato, and only require to be known, to be equally as much esteemed as that root.
(This may also be done in the iron saucepan, stewpan, or baking-pan.)
I cannot expect that this truly national soup of Franco can be made to perfection, or done with so much care as in that country, therefore I have simplified it, and shall call it The French Cottage Pot au Feu, or French Soup.
97. Put a gallon of water in the pot, put four pounds of the buttock of beef, or shin, or five pounds of the thick part of the leg, three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, four onions, four leeks cut in pieces, two carrots, and two good-sized turnips, three cloves, one burnt onion, or three spoonfuls of colouring; set it on the fire; when beginning to scum, skim it, and place the pot on one side of the fire. Add now and then a drop of cold water; it will make it clear. Boil four hours. Bread sliced, put into the tureen, and pour the broth, with some of the vegetables, over; serve the meat separate, and the remaining vegetables round.
If this simple receipt is well attended to, you will find it a very good soup and bouilli. If you run short of any of the vegetables, make it good with others. If no burnt onions or colouring, the soup will be white, instead of a sherry colour; but still it will be good. In France they always put in half a pound of ox-liver to every four pounds of meat. I am sure they are too good judges, over the water, to spoil their soup; in fact, there the ox-liver costs as much as the meat — sixpence per pound — therefore it is not with a view of saving, but to make it better. 97A. French Ragout of Mutton.—Put in the pot a quarter of a pound of dripping: when hot, peel and cut twenty small turnips, or ten large ones, into pieces the size of a walnut; put them into the fat, and fry until brownish. Take them out, then put into the fat a quarter of a pound of flour; stir round until brown. You have prepared four pounds of scrag of mutton, cut in small pieces; put them in, and stir round; then add enough water to cover the meat; stir until boiling. When the mutton is nearly done, which you will find by trying it with a fork, add the turnips; season with three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, the same of brown sugar, and a little hit of scraped garlic, if handy. Any part of mutton may be used. Ragout of veal or lamb may he done in this manner.
The following receipts to he done in a middle-sized iron saucepan.
98. Stewed Eels.—Put into a saucepan a teaspoonful of chopped onions, half a pint of melted butter, No. 410, one teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, one of vinegar, and one teaspoonful of colouring. Cut up one pound of eels in pieces two inches long, rub them in a little flour and salt, put them in the pan, and stew for half an hour, and serve with some toasted bread round. A little ale or wine may be used instead of vinegar, and the sauce should be thick.
99. Stewed Eels. No. 2.—Cut them as above, dip in flour, and partly fry them in fat a few minutes, and stew them as above, and serve with toast.
100. Eels Stewed White. No. 3.—Cut up one pound, as before; put them in the pan with half a pint of milk and three-quarters of a teaspoonful of salt, half of pepper, half an onion, in slices, and some sprigs of parsley. Stew gently for twenty minutes; mix one ounce of butter with half an ounce of flour, put in your stewpan in small pieces, stir round gently, boil for five minutes, or longer, if largo, and serve. The juice of a lemon, or a little vinegar, is an improvement. Lampreys and weaver may be done the same.
101. Cod's Hard, Roe.—Tie a cod's roe in a cloth, place in a pan two quarts of water and two teaspoonfuls of salt; put in the roe, boil gently for one hour, take it out, cut off as much as you require, put it in the dish, pour over parsley and butter, and serve. Or egg sauce, or plain, with a little butter and pepper. The remainder, when cold, may be cut into slices and semi-fried, as fish.
102. Cod's Sounds, Melt, and Frill.—Nothing is more delicate than this dish. Boil thirty minutes in boiling salt and water. Dish it up, pour thick egg sauce over, or fennel sauce, or black butter, No. 425a. The first-mentioned, if salted, must be well soaked.
Truly, my dear Eloise, I cannot but return you my very best thanks for the incessant inquiries you make as to the state of my health.
You blame me in your last letter for having visited the small town of Castleford, as also the beautiful little village of Methway, while the cholera was raging in those places. Allow me to impress upon your mind that, first of all, I have no personal fear of the epidemic, and that I take a deal of interest in endeavouring to ascertain the cause, or partly so, of such an awful visitation, as my letter of the 25th of March, which has appeared in the public press, will partly explain the cause of this calamity.* In that letter I ought to have included Leeds, Hull, and Bradford, those immense towns of thick fog, wealth, manufacturers, charming habitations, palaces, bad drainage, and real black—not sea, but—river, which, for want of proper drainage, if not attended to, will always subject those places to such epidemics.
The working classes of the commercial districts of Yorkshire earn very good wages, though, at the same time, they work very hard; their ignorance in the science of cooking is deplorable, and, without boasting, Eloise, I must say that I have been of some service to these same people, in improving the condition of their homes, as three parts of the wives of this hard-working class are utterly devoid of any knowledge of domestic economy. Cookery to them is almost unknown; but I must say they are willing to learn, and I hope this work will be the means of terminating that which I have so success; folly begun.
Respecting my visiting prisons, hospitals, lunatic asylums, workhouses; also the interior of mines, coalpits, &c. &c.; and though I must admit that those localities do not show the brightest part of the mirror of life, still, you must not fancy that these people are all unhappy; on the contrary, they are as contented as I am, and not a day passes but what I teach them something in my way, at the same time learning many little things from them, and I think you will own that my correspondence partakes more of a jovial than a morose nature.
Such is my opinion of that large class of society, termed the million, after nearly twelve months stay among them, throughout the united queendom.
But now to a very important culinary, and I think medical discovery, which I owe to my persevering visits to various public charities in the towns through which I passed. This happened at Hull, about three months ago, from which town, if you recollect, I forwarded you the drawing of the Station Hotel, where I was staying—I call it the Monument Hotel, being so large and beautiful. But to come back to the question; one of the proprietors, Mr. Jordan, on my asking if I could visit the infirmary, kindly proposed to conduct mo there, and introduce me to the governor, which was done to my entire satisfaction; and I must say that the sick arc not better attended to in any similar establishment I have visited in the country.
Being aware of the immense quantity of cod-liver oil taken by delicate persons, now-a-days, and the great benefit derived from its use, I asked the medical officer present his opinion of its efficacy. "Nothing can be better," was his reply, "in many cases. But," said he, "many patients cannot take it, being of such an unpleasant taste, more especially children, and as we in this establishment use the second quality, from motives of economy, it is doubly unpleasant." I myself tasted some, and must say that I found it anything but relishing.
After bidding adieu to the doctor, I and my host left, and while returning to my hotel, T thought that something could be done to alter the present unpleasant way of administering it. Accordingly, upon reaching home, I sent for the following:—
103. One pound of fresh cod-liver; I then peeled and steamed two pounds of nice floury potatoes, then cut the liver in four pieces, placed it over the potatoes, and then steamed them, letting the oil from the liver fall on the potatoes; I then made some incisions in the liver with a knife, to extract the remaining oil, afterwards dishing up the liver, which was eaten with a little melted batter and anchovy sauce. The potatoes were served up with a little salt and pepper. Both dishes were found extremely good.
The following is another way of extracting the oil of a cod's liver, with the aid of that abundant article, rice.
104. Rice and Cod Liver.—Boil half a pound of rice in two quarts of water. When nearly done, remove three parts of the water; then put over your rice a pound of cod's liver, cut in large dice. Put the saucepan in a slow oven for about thirty minutes, by which time it will be nicely cooked. Then take the liver out, which serve as above directed. Stir the rice with a fork, and serve it; if allowed by a medical man, add a little salt and pepper. If no oven, cook the liver and rice on a very slow fire, for otherwise it would burn, and be unwholesome as food. Of course you can easily see what a blessing such diet as this must be to a person incapable of taking the oil by itself, as, by mixing it with the food, it entirely loses that rancid quality for which it is proverbial.
105. Tapioca and Cod Liver.—Boil a quarter of a pound of tapioca till tender in two quarts of water; drain it in a cullender, then put it back in the pan; season with a little salt and pepper, add half a pint of milk, put over one pound of fresh cod liver, cut in eight pieces. Set your pan near the fire to simmer slowly for half an hour, or a little more, till your liver is quite cooked. Press on it with a spoon, so as to get as much oil into the tapioca as possible. After taking away the liver, mix the tapioca. If too thick, add a little milk, then boil it a few minutes; stir round, add a little salt and pepper, and serve. If you have a slow oven, use it in preference to the fire; but if you are without an oven, here is another good way of cooking it:
106. Put three inches depth of water in a largish pan; then put the pan containing the tapioca in the above-mentioned pan; let it simmer till quite done. It will take about an hour. By adopting this plan, all fear of burning is obviated; afterwards remove the liver, which serve as at No. 103.
107. Sago, or semolina, may be done the same way, and by adding an egg, ;t will make a delicate pudding; or by cutting the liver in small dice, you may add it to your pudding, putting in a little more milk to make it moist; then add a couple more eggs, well beaten, and mix; putting it in a basin, previously well buttered; then let it summer in a stewpan for half an hour, or till set; then turn it out on a dish; sauce with a little plain melted butter, anchovy, or parsley and butter.
A little stringent food, such as the above, will be found very refreshing, even to persons in good health.
108. Rice may be also turned to good account; and I do not see why, after having taken the liver out, and adding four teaspoonfuls of sugar, two eggs, one ounce of butter, and a little lemon peel, it would not make a very good sweet pudding. Pour over it, when done, a little melted butter with a spoonful of sugar, some lemon juice, or wine; or treacle, for children.
109. Cod Roe and Cod Liver.—Buy a cod's liver and roe, cut open the skin which surrounds it; put the eggs in a basin, pour water over them, mashing them with your hand, to separate them, throwing away the water; add half a pound of salt, and a teaspoonful of pepper; let them soak all night, afterwards washing them well in two or three waters, leaving about a gill at the bottom; then put about two pounds of cod liver over it, cut in six or eight pieces, putting the stewpan either on a very slow fire, or in an oven, for one hour; then take out the liver, which serve as usual. Add about a gill of melted butter in the roe, when it will be ready.
110. Or for any one in health four hard-boiled eggs, chopped, may be added, or three raw ones instead, and make a pudding of it; pour it in, steam it in water till well set, then turn it out, and sauce over with any fish sauce you like. The hard roe of any fish may be dressed like this, especially the roe of sturgeons.
You will perhaps be surprised at the name I have given to this curious mixture of vegetable produce, but you will immediately perceive that I have taken it from those well known monks who took vows to partake of no animal food, something like our strict vegetarians of the present day; but those jolly old dogs in former days were obliged, at times, to break their vow; as, however, it could not be done openly, they were obliged to mask the object cooked in a covering of vegetables, and thus cheated their oath and their own conscience. Carthusian, or Chartreuse, in French cookery, means any article of food, such as meat, game, or poultry, so surrounded hy vegetables, that even a vegetarian would be deceived with its appearance, while sitting at dinner, and would not find out his mistake until helped with some of the dishes.
111. 1st Lesson.—If in winter, cut crossways, in four, a large savoy cabbage, or two small ones; take off a few of the outside green leaves; wash the cabbage well, then put on the fire either an iron pot, or a three-legged black pot; put in about three quarts of water; when boiling, add your cabbage, boil them for ten minutes, or a little longer, then drain them in a cullender or cloth, pressing out the water; cut away the stalk from each piece, then chop your cabbage, though not too fine, letting it weigh about two pounds; when thus prepared, which will be our proportion of vegetable to one pound of meat; previous to chopping them upon the board, season with one teaspoonful of salt, that is, if salt meat be used; two ditto if the meat be fresh; one teaspoonful of pepper at all times.
Suppose we select for this, our first lesson, three middling-sized pigs' tongues. You have put them to boil with your cabbage, then cut them through lengthways, then place at the bottom of your pan about an inch deep of cabbage, and half an inch round the inside of the pan, placing your meat in the centre, thus making the meat invisible to the eye when turned v out of the pot; when filled, add a quarter of a pound of butter or dripping, two wineglasses of vinegary if English, or one, if French, one gill of water; set it on a brick, placed in the oven, for two hours; then open your pan, and place over your cabbage a tea saucer; press out all the gravy in a cup, pass a knife round your pot, then put a dish over the mouth inside downwards, turn the pot or basin upside down, when your carthusian will turn out like a pudding: pour the gravy or bread crumb sauce over, and serve.
112. 2nd Lesson.—The above may be done in pudding-basins, or in deep oval pie-dishes, and either baked slowly as above, or steamed as puddings, but as there will be no cover to it, put over a cover of pudding-paste (see No. 319); fix over as for pies or puddings, making several small holes in the paste, and only putting half the moisture in. When done, remove the paste, which put on the dish you intend to serve it in; press out the gravy, turn your Carthusian out on the paste, already laid oh the dish; then proceed with the gravy as above described; red cabbage is also very good, but requires double the quantity of vinegar, and more pepper; proceed the same; they require boiling in water about thirty minutes, if at all large, and rather old, as they are at Christmas.
113. 3rd and General Lesson.—Having given you the base or foundation in the above receipts on animal food, I will now in a few words describe the extraordinary variations that can he made with this favourite dish of the best judges of good cheer, —viz., the monastic fraternity of olden times.
Instead of the above, you may use pig's feet, cheek, pickled pork, bacon, ham, liver of all kinds, previously fried, or partly so, sausages, black-pudding, or salt beef, previously boiled and cut in slices, or any part of fresh meat previously roasted, any remains of poultry or game may be done the same by cutting them in slices; if, however, they have not been previously cooked, they will take two hours instead of one. Pigeons, partridges, and all kinds of small birds, may be put in rows, only they should be larded or stuffed previously.
This will give you an idea of the various ways in which this dish can be made, as far as animal food goes.
The following will, by omitting the meat, be applicable for vegetarians.
114. 4th and General Lesson for the Use of the Vegetarian.—You must observe, Eloise, that the above receipts are all made with cabbage only. I have made them so, because, while travelling last winter, I found that every cottager grew cabbage, while no other vegetable was to be seen in his garden; but now that summer is here, I will give you the receipts in the way the monks used to make them; and, mind, they were all good cooks in those days. They always had a foundation of cabbage or greens, or some kind of Brussels sprouts, one pound of either of the above done as in the first receipt; then they added a pound of either boiled carrots, turnips, parsnips, beetroots, artichokes, potatoes, leeks, celery, or onions; boil the pound of whatever you choose from the above till tender; chop it with your cabbage; season, and proceed as with cabbage only. Sprue-grass, cut. small, or peas, may also be boiled and mixed, but not chopped; a little sugar is an improvement to vegetables, as it varies the flavour; use any aromatic herbs and spice you choose, but always in proportion.
You may also, for a change, pour either a little white or brown sauce over (see sauces), but observe that the vegetables must always be kept firm enough to turn out as a pudding; either serve in a pan: or, to save trouble, turn the whole into a tureen, or in a large dish, that is, if for a large family, but the proper way is as first described. In fact, there is no end to the ingenuity which may be displayed in the variation of this dish; and to the cottager, with his small plot of garden-ground, wherein he can produce sufficient vegetables for his family, it is one of great economy, besides being exceedingly conducive to health at all times.