The Book of Household Management
by
Mrs. Isabella Beeton
Part 20 out of 34
_Time_.--15 to 20 minutes. _Average cost_, 4d. for a dish for 3 persons.
_Seasonable_ in March, April, and May.
CABBAGE, TURNIP-TOPS, AND GREENS.--All the cabbage tribe, which
comprises coleworts, brocoli, cauliflower, sprouts, and
turnip-tops, in order to be delicate, should be dressed young,
when they have a rapid growth; but, if they have stood the
summer, in order to be tender, they should be allowed to have a
touch of frost. The cabbage contains much vegetable albumen, and
several parts sulphur and nitrate of potass. Cabbage is heavy,
and a long time digesting, which has led to a belief that it is
very nourishing. It is only fit food for robust and active
persons; the sedentary or delicate should carefully avoid it.
Cabbage may be prepared in a variety of ways: it serves as a
garniture to several recherche dishes,--partridge and cabbage
for example. Bacon and cabbage is a very favourite dish; but
only a good stomach can digest it.
BOILED VEGETABLE MARROW.
1170. INGREDIENTS.--To each 1/2 gallon of water, allow 1 heaped
tablespoonful of salt; vegetable marrows.
[Illustration: VEGETABLE MARROW ON TOAST.]
_Mode_.--Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, salted in the above
proportion; put in the marrows after peeling them, and boil them until
quite tender. Take them up with a slice, halve, and, should they be very
large, quarter them. Dish them on toast, and send to table with them a
tureen of melted butter, or, in lieu of this, a small pat of salt
butter. Large vegetable marrows may be preserved throughout the winter
by storing them in a dry place; when wanted for use, a few slices should
be cut and boiled in the same manner as above; but, when once begun, the
marrow must be eaten quickly, as it keeps but a short time after it is
cut. Vegetable marrows are also very delicious mashed: they should be
boiled, then drained, and mashed smoothly with a wooden spoon. Heat them
in a saucepan, add a seasoning of salt and pepper, and a small piece of
butter, and dish with a few sippets of toasted bread placed round as a
garnish.
_Time_.--Young vegetable marrows 10 to 20 minutes; old ones, 1/2 to 3/4
hour.
_Average cost_, in full season, 1s. per dozen.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1 moderate-sized marrow for each person.
_Seasonable_ in July, August, and September; but may be preserved all
the winter.
FRIED VEGETABLE MARROW.
1171. INGREDIENTS.--3 medium-sized vegetable marrows, egg and bread
crumbs, hot lard.
_Mode_.--Peel, and boil the marrows until tender in salt and water; then
drain them and cut them in quarters, and take out the seeds. When
thoroughly drained, brush the marrows over with egg, and sprinkle with
bread crumbs; have ready some hot lard, fry the marrow in this, and,
when of a nice brown, dish; sprinkle over a little salt and pepper, and
serve.
_Time_.--About 1/2 hour to boil the marrow, 7 minutes to fry it.
_Average cost_, in full season, 1s. per dozen.
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.
_Seasonable_ in July, August, and September.
[Illustration: VEGETABLE MARROW.]
THE VEGETABLE MARROW.--This vegetable is now extensively used,
and belongs to the Cucurbits. It is the _C. ovifera_ of science,
and, like the melon, gourd, cucumber, and squash, is widely
diffused in the tropical or warmer regions of the globe. Of the
nature of this family we have already spoken when treating of
the cucumber.
CUT VEGETABLES FOR SOUPS, &c.
[Illustration: VEGETABLE-CUTTER.]
1172. The annexed engraving represents a cutter for shaping vegetables
for soups, ragouts, stews, &c.; carrots and turnips being the usual
vegetables for which this utensil is used. Cut the vegetables into
slices about 1/4 inch in thickness, stamp them out with the cutter, and
boil them for a few minutes in salt and water, until tender. Turnips
should be cut in rather thicker slices than carrots, on account of the
former boiling more quickly to a pulp than the latter.
CARROTS.--Several species of carrots are cultivated,--the red,
the yellow, and the which. Those known as the Crecy carrots are
considered the best, and are very sweet. The carrot has been
classed by hygienists among flatulent vegetables, and as
difficult of digestion. When the root becomes old, it is almost
as hard as wood; but the young carrot, which has not reached its
full growth, is tender, relishing, nutritious, and digests well
when properly cooked.
VEGETABLE MARROWS IN WHITE SAUCE.
1173. INGREDIENTS.--4 or 5 moderate-sized marrows, 1/2 pint of white
sauce, No. 539.
[Illustration: VEGETABLE MARROW IN WHITE SAUCE.]
_Mode_.--Pare the marrows; cut them in halves, and shape each half at
the top in a point, leaving the bottom end flat for it to stand upright
in the dish. Boil the marrows in salt and water until tender; take them
up very carefully, and arrange them on a hot dish. Have ready 1/2 pint
of white sauce, made by recipe No. 539; pour this over the marrows, and
serve.
_Time_.--From 15 to 20 minutes to boil the marrows.
_Average cost_, in full season, 1s. per dozen.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ in July, August, and September.
BOILED INDIAN WHEAT or MAIZE.
1174. INGREDIENTS.--The ears of young and green Indian wheat; to every
1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt.
_Mode_.--This vegetable, which makes one of the most delicious dishes
brought to table, is unfortunately very rarely seen in Britain; and we
wonder that, in the gardens of the wealthy, it is not invariably
cultivated. Our sun, it is true, possesses hardly power sufficient to
ripen maize; but, with well-prepared ground, and in a favourable
position, it might be sufficiently advanced by the beginning of autumn
to serve as a vegetable. The outside sheath being taken off and the
waving fibres removed, let the ears be placed in boiling water, where
they should remain for about 25 minutes (a longer time may be necessary
for larger ears than ordinary); and, when sufficiently boiled and well
drained, they may be sent to table whole, and with a piece of toast
underneath them. Melted butter should be served with them.
_Time_.--25 to 35 minutes. _Average cost_.--Seldom bought.
_Sufficient_,--1 ear for each person. _Seasonable_ in autumn.
_Note_.--William Cobbett, the English radical writer and politician, was
a great cultivator and admirer of maize, and constantly ate it as a
vegetable, boiled. We believe he printed a special recipe for it, but we
have been unable to lay our hands on it. Mr. Buchanan, the present
president of the United States, was in the habit, when ambassador here,
of receiving a supply of Indian corn from America in hermetically-sealed
cases; and the publisher of this work remembers, with considerable
satisfaction, his introduction to a dish of this vegetable, when in
America. He found it to combine the excellences of the young green pea
and the finest asparagus; but he felt at first slightly awkward in
holding the large ear with one hand, whilst the other had to be employed
in cutting off with a knife the delicate green grains.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXVI.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON PUDDINGS AND PASTRY.
1175. PUDDINGS AND PASTRY, familiar as they may be, and unimportant as
they may be held in the estimation of some, are yet intimately connected
with the development of agricultural resources in reference to the
cereal grasses. When they began to be made is uncertain; but we may
safely presume, that a simple form of pudding was amongst the first
dishes made after discovering a mode of grinding wheat into flour.
Traditional history enables us to trace man back to the time of the
Deluge. After that event he seems to have recovered himself in the
central parts of Asia, and to have first risen to eminence in the arts
of civilization on the banks of the Nile. From this region, Greece,
Carthage, and some other parts along the shores of the Mediterranean
Sea, were colonized. In process of time, Greece gave to the Romans the
arts which she had thus received from Egypt, and these subsequently
diffused them over Europe. How these were carried to or developed in
India and China, is not so well ascertained; and in America their
ancient existence rests only on very indistinct traditions. As to who
was the real discoverer of the use of corn, we have no authentic
knowledge. The traditions of different countries ascribe it to various
fabulous personages, whose names it is here unnecessary to introduce. In
Egypt, however, corn must have grown abundantly; for Abraham, and after
him Jacob, had recourse to that country for supplies during times of
famine.
1176. THE HABITS OF A PEOPLE, to a great extent, are formed by the
climate in which they live, and by the native or cultivated productions
in which their country abounds. Thus we find that the agricultural
produce of the ancient Egyptians is pretty much the same as that of the
present day, and the habits of the people are not materially altered. In
Greece, the products cultivated in antiquity were the same kinds of
grains and legumes as are cultivated at present, with the vine, the fig,
the olive, the apple, and other fruits. So with the Romans, and so with
other nations. As to the different modes of artificially preparing those
to please the taste, it is only necessary to say that they arise from
the universal desire of novelty, characteristic of man in the
development of his social conditions. Thus has arisen the whole science
of cookery, and thus arose the art of making puddings. The porridge of
the Scotch is nothing more than a species of hasty pudding, composed of
oatmeal, salt, and water; and the "red pottage" for which Esau sold his
birthright, must have been something similar. The barley-gruel of the
Lacedaemonians, of the Athenian gladiators and common people, was the
same, with the exception of the slight seasoning it had beyond the
simplicity of Scottish fare. Here is the ancient recipe for the Athenian
national dish:--"Dry near the fire, in the oven, twenty pounds of
barley-flour; then parch it; add three pounds of linseed-meal, half a
pound of coriander-seed, two ounces of salt, and the quantity of water
necessary." To this sometimes a little millet was added, in order to
give the paste greater cohesion and delicacy.
1177. OATMEAL AMONGST THE GREEKS AND ROMANS was highly esteemed, as was
also rice, which they considered as beneficial to the chest. They also
held in high repute the Irion, or Indian wheat of the moderns. The flour
of this cereal was made into a kind of hasty pudding, and, parched or
roasted, as eaten with a little salt. The Spelt, or Red wheat, was
likewise esteemed, and its flour formed the basis of the Carthaginian
pudding, for which we here give the scientific recipe:--"Put a pound of
red-wheat flour into water, and when it has steeped some time, transfer
it to a wooden bowl. Add three pounds of cream cheese, half a pound of
honey, and one egg. Beat the whole together, and cook it on a slow fire
in a stewpan." Should this be considered unpalatable, another form has
been recommended. "Sift the flour, and, with some water, put it into a
wooden vessel, and, for ten days, renew the water twice each day. At the
end of that period, press out the water and place the paste in another
vessel. It is now to be reduced to the consistence of thick lees, and
passed through a piece of new linen. Repeat this last operation, then
dry the mass in the sun and boil it in milk. Season according to taste."
These are specimens of the puddings of antiquity, and this last recipe
was held in especial favour by the Romans.
1178. HOWEVER GREAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE QUALIFICATIONS of the ancients,
however, in the art of pudding-making, we apprehend that such
preparations as gave gratification to their palates, would have
generally found little favour amongst the insulated inhabitants of Great
Britain. Here, from the simple suet dumpling up to the most complicated
Christmas production, the grand feature of substantiality is primarily
attended to. Variety in the ingredients, we think, is held only of
secondary consideration with the great body of the people, provided that
the whole is agreeable and of sufficient abundance.
1179. ALTHOUGH FROM PUDDINGS TO PASTRY is but a step, it requires a
higher degree of art to make the one than to make the other. Indeed,
pastry is one of the most important branches of the culinary science. It
unceasingly occupies itself with ministering pleasure to the sight as
well as to the taste; with erecting graceful monuments, miniature
fortresses, and all kinds of architectural imitations, composed of the
sweetest and most agreeable products of all climates and countries. At a
very early period, the Orientals were acquainted with the art of
manipulating in pastry; but they by no means attained to the taste,
variety, and splendour of design, by which it is characterized amongst
the moderns. At first it generally consisted of certain mixtures of
flour, oil, and honey, to which it was confined for centuries, even
among the southern nations of the European continent. At the
commencement of the middle ages, a change began to take place in the art
of mixing it. Eggs, butter, and salt came into repute in the making of
paste, which was forthwith used as an inclosure for meat, seasoned with
spices. This advance attained, the next step was to inclose cream,
fruit, and marmalades; and the next, to build pyramids and castles; when
the summit of the art of the pastry-cook may be supposed to have been
achieved.
DIRECTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAKING OF PUDDINGS AND PASTRY.
1180. A few general remarks respecting the various ingredients of which
puddings and pastry are composed, may be acceptable as preliminary to
the recipes in this department of Household Management.
1181. _Flour_ should be of the best quality, and perfectly dry, and
sifted before being used; if in the least damp, the paste made from it
will certainly be heavy.
1182. _Butter_, unless fresh is used, should be washed from the salt,
and well squeezed and wrung in a cloth, to get out all the water and
buttermilk, which, if left in, assists to make the paste heavy.
1183. _Lard_ should be perfectly sweet, which may be ascertained by
cutting the bladder through, and, if the knife smells sweet, the lard is
good.
1184. _Suet_ should be finely chopped, perfectly free from skin, and
quite sweet; during the process of chopping, it should be lightly
dredged with flour, which prevents the pieces from sticking together.
Beef suet is considered the best; but veal suet, or the outside fat of a
loin or neck of mutton, makes good crusts; as also the skimmings in
which a joint of mutton has been boiled, but _without_ vegetables.
1185. _Clarified Beef Dripping_, directions for which will be found in
recipes Nos. 621 and 622, answers very well for kitchen pies, puddings,
cakes, or for family use. A very good short crust may be made by mixing
with it a small quantity of moist sugar; but care must be taken to use
the dripping sparingly, or a very disagreeable flavour will be imparted
to the paste.
1186. Strict cleanliness must be observed in pastry-making; all the
utensils used should be perfectly free from dust and dirt, and the
things required for pastry, kept entirely for that purpose.
[Illustration: PASTE-BOARD AND ROLLING-PIN.]
1187. In mixing paste, add the water very gradually, work the whole
together with the knife-blade, and knead it until perfectly smooth.
Those who are inexperienced in pastry-making, should work the butter in
by breaking it in small pieces and covering the paste rolled out. It
should then be dredged with flour, and the ends folded over and rolled
out very thin again: this process must be repeated until all the butter
is used.
[Illustration: PASTE-PINCERS AND JAGGER, FOR ORNAMENTING THE EDGES OF
PIE-CRUSTS.]
1188. The art of making paste requires much practice, dexterity, and
skill: it should be touched as lightly as possible, made with cool hands
and in a cool place (a marble slab is better than a board for the
purpose), and the coolest part of the house should be selected for the
process during warm weather.
1189. To insure rich paste being light, great expedition must be used in
the making and baking; for if it stand long before it is put in the
oven, it becomes flat and heavy.
[Illustration: PASTE-CUTTER AND CORNER-CUTTER.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENTAL-PASTE CUTTER.]
1190. _Puff-paste_ requires a brisk oven, but not too hot, or it would
blacken the crust; on the other hand, if the oven be too slack, the
paste will be soddened, and will not rise, nor will it have any colour.
Tart-tins, cake-moulds, dishes for baked puddings, pattypans, &c.,
should all be buttered before the article intended to be baked is put in
them: things to be baked on sheets should be placed on buttered paper.
Raised-pie paste should have a soaking heat, and paste glazed must have
rather a slack oven, that the icing be not scorched. It is better to ice
tarts, &c. when they are three-parts baked.
[Illustration: PATTY-PANS, PLAIN AND FLUTED.]
[Illustration: PIE-DISH.]
[Illustration: RAISED-PIE MOULD.]
[Illustration: RAISED-PIE MOULD, OPEN.]
1191. To ascertain when the oven is heated to the proper degree for
puff-paste, put a small piece of the paste in previous to baking the
whole, and then the heat can thus be judged of.
1192. The freshness of all pudding ingredients is of much importance, as
one bad article will taint the whole mixture.
1193. When the _freshness_ of eggs is _doubtful_, break each one
separately in a cup, before mixing them altogether. Should there be a
bad one amongst them, it can be thrown away; whereas, if mixed with the
good ones, the entire quantity would be spoiled. The yolks and whites
beaten separately make the articles they are put into much lighter.
1194. Raisins and dried fruits for puddings should be carefully picked,
and, in many cases, stoned. Currants should be well washed, pressed in a
cloth, and placed on a dish before the fire to get thoroughly dry; they
should then be picked carefully over, and _every piece of grit or stone_
removed from amongst them. To plump them, some cooks pour boiling water
over them, and then dry them before the fire.
1195. Batter pudding should be smoothly mixed and free from lumps. To
insure this, first mix the flour with a very small proportion of milk,
and add the remainder by degrees. Should the pudding be very lumpy, it
may be strained through a hair sieve.
1196. _All boiled puddings_ should be put on in _boiling water_, which
must not be allowed to stop simmering, and the pudding must always be
covered with the water; if requisite, the saucepan should be kept filled
up.
[Illustration: BOILED-PUDDING MOULD.]
1197. To prevent a pudding boiled in a cloth from sticking to the bottom
of the saucepan, place a small plate or saucer underneath it, and set
the pan _on a trivet_ over the fire. If a mould is used, this precaution
is not necessary; but care must be taken to keep the pudding well
covered with water.
1198. For dishing a boiled pudding as soon as it comes out of the pot,
dip it into a basin of cold water, and the cloth will then not adhere to
it. Great expedition is necessary in sending puddings to table, as, by
standing, they quickly become heavy, batter puddings particularly.
[Illustration: BOILED-PUDDING MOULD.]
1199. For baked or boiled puddings, the moulds, cups, or basins, should
be always buttered before the mixture is put in them, and they should be
put into the saucepan directly they are filled.
1200. Scrupulous attention should be paid to the cleanliness of
pudding-cloths, as, from neglect in this particular, the outsides of
boiled puddings frequently taste very disagreeably. As soon as possible
after it is taken off the pudding, it should be soaked in water, and
then well washed, without soap, unless it be very greasy. It should be
dried out of doors, then folded up and kept in a dry place. When wanted
for use, dip it in boiling water, and dredge it slightly with flour.
[Illustration: PUDDING-BASIN.]
1201. The _dry ingredients_ for puddings are better for being mixed some
time before they are wanted; the liquid portion should only be added
just before the pudding is put into the saucepan.
1202. A pinch of salt is an improvement to the generality of puddings;
but this ingredient should be added very sparingly, as the flavour
should not be detected.
1203. When baked puddings are sufficiently solid, turn them out of the
dish they were baked in, bottom uppermost, and strew over them fine
sifted sugar.
1204. When pastry or baked puddings are not done through, and yet the
outside is sufficiently brown, cover them over with a piece of white
paper until thoroughly cooked: this prevents them from getting burnt.
[Illustration]
RECIPES.
CHAPTER XXVII.
VERY GOOD PUFF-PASTE.
1205. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 1 lb. of butter, and not
quite 1/2 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Carefully weigh the flour and butter, and have the exact
proportion; squeeze the butter well, to extract the water from it, and
afterwards wring it in a clean cloth, that no moisture may remain. Sift
the flour; see that it is perfectly dry, and proceed in the following
manner to make the paste, using a very _clean_ paste-board and
rolling-pin:--Supposing the quantity to be 1 lb. of flour, work the
whole into a smooth paste, with not quite 1/2 pint of water, using a
knife to mix it with: the proportion of this latter ingredient must be
regulated by the discretion of the cook; if too much be added, the
paste, when baked, will be tough. Roll it out until it is of an equal
thickness of about an inch; break 4 oz. of the butter into small pieces;
place these on the paste, sift over it a little flour, fold it over,
roll out again, and put another 4 oz. of butter. Repeat the rolling and
buttering until the paste has been rolled out 4 times, or equal
quantities of flour and butter have been used. Do not omit, every time
the paste is rolled out, to dredge a little flour over that and the
rolling-pin, to prevent both from sticking. Handle the paste as lightly
as possible, and do not press heavily upon it with the rolling-pin. The
next thing to be considered is the oven, as the baking of pastry
requires particular attention. Do not put it into the oven until it is
sufficiently hot to raise the paste; for the best-prepared paste, if not
properly baked, will be good for nothing. Brushing the paste as often as
rolled out, and the pieces of butter placed thereon, with the white of
an egg, assists it to rise in _leaves_ or _flakes_. As this is the great
beauty of puff-paste, it is as well to try this method.
_Average cost_, 1s. 4d. per lb.
BUTTER.--About the second century of the Christian era, butter
was placed by Galen amongst the useful medical agents; and about
a century before him, Dioscorides mentioned that he had noticed
that fresh butter, made of ewes' and goats' milk, was served at
meals instead of oil, and that it took the place of fat in
making pastry. Thus we have undoubted authority that, eighteen
hundred years ago, there existed a knowledge of the useful
qualities of butter. The Romans seem to have set about making it
much as we do; for Pliny tells us, "Butter is made from milk;
and the use of this element, so much sought after by barbarous
nations, distinguished the rich from the common people. It is
obtained principally from cows' milk; that from ewes is the
fattest; goats also supply some. It is produced by agitating the
milk in long vessels with narrow openings: a little water is
added."
MEDIUM PUFF-PASTE.
1206. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 8 oz. of butter, 4 oz.
of lard, not quite 1/2 pint of water.
_Mode_.--This paste may be made by the directions in the preceding
recipe, only using less butter and substituting lard for a portion of
it. Mix the flour to a smooth paste with not quite 1/2 pint of water;
then roll it out 3 times, the first time covering the paste with butter,
the second with lard, and the third with butter. Keep the rolling-pin
and paste slightly dredged with flour, to prevent them from sticking,
and it will be ready for use.
_Average cost_, 1s. per lb.
BUTTER IN HASTE.--In his "History of Food," Soyer says that to
obtain butter instantly, it is only necessary, in summer, to put
new milk into a bottle, some hours after it has been taken from
the cow, and shake it briskly. The clots which are thus formed
should be thrown into a sieve, washed and pressed together, and
they constitute the finest and most delicate butter that can
possibly be made.
COMMON PASTE, for Family Pies.
1207. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/4 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of butter, rather more
than 1/2 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Rub the butter lightly into the flour, and mix it to a smooth
paste with the water; roll it out 2 or 3 times, and it will be ready for
use. This paste may be converted into an excellent short crust for sweet
tart, by adding to the flour, after the butter is rubbed in, 2
tablespoonfuls of fine-sifted sugar.
_Average cost_, 8d. per lb.
TO KEEP BUTTER FRESH.--One of the best means to preserve butter
fresh is, first to completely press out all the buttermilk, then
to keep it under water, renewing the water frequently, and to
remove it from the influence of heat and air, by wrapping it in
a wet cloth.
FRENCH PUFF-PASTE, or FEUILLETAGE.
(Founded on M. Ude's Recipe.)
1208. INGREDIENTS.--Equal quantities of flour and butter--say 1 lb. of
each; 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, the yolks of 2 eggs, rather more than
1/4 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Weigh the flour; ascertain that it is perfectly _dry_, and sift
it; squeeze all the water from the butter, and wring it in a clean cloth
till there is no moisture remaining. Put the flour on the paste-board,
work lightly into it 2 oz. of the butter, and then make a hole in the
centre; into this well put the yolks of 2 eggs, the salt, and about 1/4
pint of water (the quantity of this latter ingredient must be regulated
by the cook, as it is impossible to give the exact proportion of it);
knead up the paste quickly and lightly, and, when quite smooth, roll it
out square to the thickness of about 1/2 inch. Presuming that the butter
is perfectly free from moisture, and _as cool_ as possible, roll it into
a ball, and place this ball of butter on the paste; fold the paste over
the butter all round, and secure it by wrapping it well all over.
Flatten the paste by rolling it lightly with the rolling-pin until it is
quite thin, but not thin enough to allow the butter to break through,
and keep the board and paste dredged lightly with flour during the
process of making it. This rolling gives it the _first_ turn. Now fold
the paste in three, and roll out again, and, should the weather be very
warm, put it in a cold place on the ground to cool between the several
turns; for, unless this is particularly attended to, the paste will be
spoiled. Roll out the paste again _twice_, put it by to cool, then roll
it out _twice_ more, which will make 6 _turnings_ in all. Now fold the
paste in two, and it will be ready for use. If properly baked and well
made, this crust will be delicious, and should rise in the oven about 5
or 6 inches. The paste should be made rather firm in the first instance,
as the ball of butter is liable to break through. Great attention must
also be paid to keeping the butter very cool, as, if this is in a liquid
and soft state, the paste will not answer at all. Should the cook be
dexterous enough to succeed in making this, the paste will have a much
better appearance than that made by the process of dividing the butter
into 4 parts, and placing it over the rolled-out paste; but, until
experience has been acquired, we recommend puff-paste made by recipe No.
1205. The above paste is used for vols-au-vent, small articles of
pastry, and, in fact, everything that requires very light crust.
_Average cost_, 1s. 6d. per lb.
WHAT TO DO WITH RANCID BUTTER.--When butter has become very
rancid, it should be melted several times by a moderate heat,
with or without the addition of water, and as soon as it has
been well kneaded, after the cooling, in order to extract any
water it may have retained, it should be put into brown
freestone pots, sheltered from the contact of the air. The
French often add to it, after it has been melted, a piece of
toasted bread, which helps to destroy the tendency of the batter
to rancidity.
SOYER'S RECIPE FOR PUFF-PASTE.
1209. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow the yolk of 1 egg, the
juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, cold water, 1 lb. of fresh
butter.
_Mode_.--Put the flour on to the paste-board; make a hole in the centre,
into which put the yolk of the egg, the lemon-juice, and salt; mix the
whole with cold water (this should be iced in summer, if convenient)
into a soft flexible paste, with the right hand, and handle it as little
as possible; then squeeze all the buttermilk from the butter, wring it
in a cloth, and roll out the paste; place the butter on this, and fold
the edges of the paste over, so as to hide it; roll it out again to the
thickness of 1/4 inch; fold over one third, over which again pass the
rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus forming a square;
place it with the ends, top, and bottom before you, shaking a little
flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and turns twice again,
as before. Flour a baking-sheet, put the paste on this, and let it
remain on ice or in some cool place for 1/2 hour; then roll twice more,
turning it as before; place it again upon the ice for 1/4 hour, give it
2 more rolls, making 7 in all, and it is ready for use when required.
_Average cost_, 1s. 6d. per lb.
VERY GOOD SHORT CRUST FOR FRUIT TARTS.
1210. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 3/4 lb. of butter, 1
tablespoonful of sifted sugar, 1/3 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Rub the butter into the flour, after having ascertained that
the latter is perfectly dry; add the sugar, and mix the whole into a
stiff paste, with about 1/3 pint of water. Roll it out two or three
times, folding the paste over each time, and it will be ready for use.
_Average cost_, 1s. 1d. per lb.
ANOTHER GOOD SHORT CRUST.
1211. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 8 oz. of butter, the
yolks of 2 eggs, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, about 1/4 pint of milk.
_Mode_.--Rub the butter into the flour, add the sugar, and mix the whole
as lightly as possible to a smooth paste, with the yolks of eggs well
beaten, and the milk. The proportion of the latter ingredient must be
judged of by the size of the eggs: if these are large, so much will not
be required, and more if the eggs are smaller.
_Average cost_, 1s. per lb.
SUGAR AND BEETROOT.--There are two sorts of Beet,--white and
red; occasionally, in the south, a yellow variety is met with.
Beetroot contains twenty parts sugar. Everybody knows that the
beet has competed with the sugar-cane, and a great part of the
French sugar is manufactured from beet. Beetroot has a
refreshing, composing, and slightly purgative quality. The young
leaves, when cooked, are a substitute for spinach; they are also
useful for mixing with sorrel, to lessen its acidity. The large
ribs of the leaves are serviceable in various culinary
preparations; the root also may be prepared in several ways, but
its most general use is in salad. Some writers upon the subject
have expressed their opinion that beetroot is easily digested,
but those who have taken pains to carefully analyze its
qualities make quite a contrary statement. Youth, of course, can
digest it; but to persons of a certain age beet is very
indigestible, or rather, it does not digest at all. It is not
the sugary pulp which is indigestible, but its fibrous network
that resists the action of the gastric organs. Thus, when the
root is reduced to a puree, almost any person may eat it.
FRENCH SUGAR.--It had long been thought that tropical heat was
not necessary to form sugar, and, about 1740, it was discovered
that many plants of the temperate zone, and amongst others the
beet, contained it. Towards the beginning of the 19th century,
circumstances having, in France, made sugar scarce, and
consequently dear, the government caused inquiries to be
instituted as to the possibility of finding a substitute for it.
Accordingly, it was ascertained that sugar exists in the whole
vegetable kingdom; that it is to be found in the grape,
chestnut, potato; but that, far above all, the beet contains it
in a large proportion. Thus the beet became an object of the
most careful culture; and many experiments went to prove that in
this respect the old world was independent of the new. Many
manufactories came into existence in all parts of France, and
the making of sugar became naturalized in that country.
COMMON SHORT CRUST.
1212. INGREDIENTS.--To every pound of flour allow 2 oz. of sifted sugar,
3 oz. of butter, about 1/2 pint of boiling milk.
_Mode_.--Crumble the butter into the flour as finely as possible, add
the sugar, and work the whole up to a smooth paste with the boiling
milk. Roll it out thin, and bake in a moderate oven.
_Average cost_, 6d. per lb.
QUALITIES OF SUGAR.--Sugars obtained from various plants are in
fact, of the same nature, and have no intrinsic difference when
they have become equally purified by the same processes. Taste,
crystallization, colour, weight, are absolutely identical; and
the most accurate observer cannot distinguish the one from the
other.
BUTTER CRUST, for Boiled Puddings.
1213. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 6 oz. of butter, 1/2
pint of water.
_Mode_.--With a knife, work the flour to a smooth paste with 1/2 pint of
water; roll the crust out rather thin; place the butter over it in small
pieces; dredge lightly over it some flour, and fold the paste over;
repeat the rolling once more, and the crust will be ready for use. It
may be enriched by adding another 2 oz. of butter; but, for ordinary
purposes, the above quantity will be found quite sufficient.
_Average cost_, 6d. per lb.
DRIPPING CRUST, for Kitchen Puddings, Pies, &c.
1214. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 6 oz. of clarified beef
dripping, 1/2 pint of water.
_Mode_.--After having clarified the dripping, by either of the recipes
No. 621 or 622, weigh it, and to every lb. of flour allow the above
proportion of dripping. With a knife, work the flour into a smooth paste
with the water, rolling it out 3 times, each time placing on the crust 2
oz. of the dripping, broken into small pieces. If this paste is lightly
made, if good dripping is used, and _not too much_ of it, it will be
found good; and by the addition of two tablespoonfuls of fine moist
sugar, it may be converted into a common short crust for fruit pies.
_Average cost_, 4d. per pound.
WATER:--WHAT THE ANCIENTS THOUGHT OF IT.--All the nations of
antiquity possessed great veneration for water: thus, the
Egyptians offered prayers and homage to water, and the Nile was
an especial object of their adoration; the Persians would not
wash their hands; the Scythians honoured the Danube; the Greeks
and Romans erected altars to the fountains and rivers; and some
of the architectural embellishments executed for fountains in
Greece were remarkable for their beauty and delicacy. The purity
of the water was a great object of the care of the ancients; and
we learn that the Athenians appointed four officers to keep
watch and ward over the water in their city. These men had to
keep the fountains in order and clean the reservoirs, so that
the water might be preserved pure and limpid. Like officers were
appointed in other Greek cities.
SUET CRUST, for Pies or Puddings.
1215. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 5 or 6 oz. of beef suet,
1/2 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Free the suet from skin and shreds; chop it extremely fine, and
rub it well into the flour; work the whole to a smooth paste with the
above proportion of water; roll it out, and it is ready for use. This
crust is quite rich enough for ordinary purposes, but when a better one
is desired, use from 1/2 to 3/4 lb. of suet to every lb. of flour. Some
cooks, for rich crusts, pound the suet in a mortar, with a small
quantity of butter. It should then be laid on the paste in small pieces,
the same as for puff-crust, and will be found exceedingly nice for hot
tarts. 5 oz. of suet to every lb. of flour will make a very good crust;
and even 1/4 lb. will answer very well for children, or where the crust
is wanted very plain.
_Average cost_, 5d. per lb.
PATE BRISEE, or FRENCH CRUST, for Raised Pies.
1216. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 1/2 saltspoonful of
salt, 2 eggs, 1/3 pint of water, 6 oz. of butter.
_Mode_.--Spread the flour, which should be sifted and thoroughly dry, on
the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into which put the butter;
work it lightly into the flour, and when quite fine, add the salt; work
the whole into a smooth paste with the eggs (yolks and whites) and
water, and make it very firm. Knead the paste well, and let it be rather
stiff, that the sides of the pie may be easily raised, and that they do
not afterwards tumble or shrink.
_Average cost_, 1s. per lb.
_Note_.--This paste may be very much enriched by making it with equal
quantities of flour and butter; but then it is not so easily raised as
when made plainer.
WATER SUPPLY IN ROME.--Nothing in Italy is more extraordinary
than the remains of the ancient aqueducts. At first, the Romans
were contented with the water from the Tiber. Ancus Martius was
the first to commence the building of aqueducts destined to
convey the water of the fountain of Piconia from Tibur to Rome,
a distance of some 33,000 paces. Appius Claudius continued the
good work, and to him is due the completion of the celebrated
Appian Way. In time, the gigantic waterways greatly multiplied,
and, by the reign of Nero, there were constructed nine principal
aqueducts, the pipes of which were of bricks, baked tiles,
stone, lead, or wood. According to the calculation of Vigenerus,
half a million hogsheads of water were conveyed into Rome every
day, by upwards of 10,000 small pipes not one-third of an inch
in diameter. The water was received in large closed basins,
above which rose splendid monuments: these basins supplied other
subterranean conduits, connected with various quarters of the
city, and these conveyed water to small reservoirs furnished
with taps for the exclusive use of certain streets. The water
which was not drinkable ran out, by means of large pipes, into
extensive inclosures, where it served to water cattle. At these
places the people wished their linen; and here, too, was a
supply of the necessary element in case of fire.
COMMON CRUST FOE RAISED PIES.
1217. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 1/2 pint of water, 1-1/2
oz. of butter, 1-1/2 oz. of lard, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt.
_Mode_.--Put into a saucepan the water; when it boils, add the butter
and lard; and when these are melted, make a hole in the middle of the
flour; pour in the water gradually; beat it well with a wooden spoon,
and be particular in not making the paste too soft. When it is well
mixed, knead it with the hands until quite stiff, dredging a little
flour over the paste and board, to prevent them from sticking. When it
is well kneaded, place it before the fire, with a cloth covered over it,
for a few minutes; it will then be more easily worked into shape. This
paste does not taste so nicely as the preceding one, but is worked with
greater facility, and answers just as well for raised pies, for the
crust is seldom eaten.
_Average cost_, 5d, per lb.
LARD OR FLEAD CRUST.
1218. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 1/2 lb. of lard or
flead, 1/2 pint of water, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt.
_Mode_.--Clear the flead free from skin, and slice it into thin flakes;
rub it into the flour, add the salt, and work the whole into a smooth
paste, with the above proportion of water; fold the paste over two or
three times, beat it well with the rolling-pin, roll it out, and it will
be ready for use. The crust made from this will be found extremely
light, and may be made into cakes or tarts; it may also be very much
enriched by adding more flead to the same proportion of flour.
_Average cost_, 8d. per lb.
NUTRITIOUS QUALITIES OF FLOUR.--The gluten of grain and the
albumen of vegetable juices are identical in composition with
the albumen of blood. Vegetable caseine has also the composition
of animal caseine. The finest wheat flour contains more starch
than the coarser; the bran of wheat is proportionably richer in
gluten. Rye and rye-bread contain a substance resembling
starch-gum (or dextrine, as it is called) in its properties,
which is very easily converted into sugar. The starch of barley
approaches in many properties to cellulose, and is, therefore,
less digestible. Oats are particularly rich in plastic
substances; Scotch oats are richer than those grown in England
or in Germany. This kind of grain contains in its ashes, after
deduction of the silica of the husks, very nearly the same
ingredients as are found in the ashes of the juice of flesh.
Fine American flour is one of the varieties which is richest in
gluten, and is consequently one of the most nutritious.
ALMOND CHEESECAKES.
1219. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of sweet almonds, 4 bitter ones, 3 eggs, 2
oz. of butter, the rind of 1/4 lemon, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 3
oz. of sugar.
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds smoothly in a mortar, with a
little rose- or spring-water; stir in the eggs, which should be well
beaten, and the butter, which should be warmed; add the grated
lemon-peel and -juice, sweeten, and stir well until the whole is
thoroughly mixed. Line some pattypans with puff-paste, put in the
mixture, and bake for 20 minutes, or rather less in a quick oven.
_Time_.--20 minutes, or rather less.
_Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_ for about 12 cheesecakes.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: ALMOND AND BLOSSOM.]
ALMONDS.--Almonds are the fruit of the _Amygdalus commenis_, and
are cultivated throughout the whole of the south of Europe,
Syria, Persia, and Northern Africa; but England is mostly
supplied with those which are grown in Spain and the south of
France. They are distinguished into Sweet and Bitter, the
produce of different varieties. Of the sweet, there are two
varieties, distinguished in commerce by the names of Jordan and
Valentia almonds. The former are imported from Malaga, and are
longer, narrower, more pointed, and more highly esteemed than
the latter, which are imported from Valentia. Bitter almonds are
principally obtained from Morocco, and are exported from
Mogador.
ALMOND PASTE, for Second-Course Dishes.
1220. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of sweet almonds, 6 bitter ones, 1 lb. of very
finely sifted sugar, the whites of 2 eggs.
_Mode_.--Blanch the almonds, and dry them thoroughly; put them into a
mortar, and pound them well, wetting them gradually with the whites of 2
eggs. When well pounded, put them into a small preserving-pan, add the
sugar, and place the pan on a small but clear fire (a hot-plate is
better); keep stirring until the paste is dry, then take it out of the
pan, put it between two dishes, and, when cold, make it into any shape
that fancy may dictate.
_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. for the above quantity.
_Sufficient_ for 3 small dishes of pastry.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BITTER ALMONDS.--The Bitter Almond is a variety of the common
almond, and is injurious to animal life, on account of the great
quantity of hydrocyanic acid it contains, and is consequently
seldom used in domestic economy, unless it be to give flavour to
confectionery; and even then it should he used with great
caution. A single drop of the essential oil of bitter almonds is
sufficient to destroy a bird, and four drops have caused the
death of a middle-sized dog.
BAKED ALMOND PUDDING.
(_Very rich_.)
1221. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of almonds, 4 bitter ditto, 1 glass of
sherry, 4 eggs, the rind and juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 oz. of butter, 1 pint
of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds to a smooth paste with the water;
mix these with the butter, which should be melted; beat up the eggs,
grate the lemon-rind, and strain the juice; add these, with the cream,
sugar, and wine, to the other ingredients, and stir them well together.
When well mixed, put it into a pie-dish lined with puff-paste, and bake
for 1/2 hour.
_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--To make this pudding more economically, substitute milk for the
cream; but then add rather more than 1 oz. of finely grated bread.
USES OF THE SWEET ALMOND.--The kernels of the sweet almond are
used either in a green or ripe state, and as an article in the
dessert. Into cookery, confectionery, perfumery, and medicine,
they largely enter, and in domestic economy, should always be
used in preference to bitter almonds. The reason for advising
this, is because the kernels do not contain any hydrocyanic or
prussic acid, although it is found in the leaves, flowers, and
bark of the tree. When young and green, they are preserved in
sugar, like green apricots. They furnish the almond-oil; and the
farinaceous matter which is left after the oil is expressed,
forms the _pate d'amandes_ of perfumers. In the arts, the oil is
employed for the same purposes as the olive-oil, and forms the
basis of kalydor, macassar oil, Gowland's lotion, and many other
articles of that kind vended by perfumers. In medicine, it is
considered a nutritive, laxative, and an emollient.
SMALL ALMOND PUDDINGS.
1222. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of sweet almonds, 6 bitter ones, 1/4 lb. of
butter, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of
cream, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.
[Illustration: ALMOND PUDDINGS.]
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds to a smooth paste with a spoonful
of water; warm the butter, mix the almonds with this, and add the other
ingredients, leaving out the whites of 2 eggs, and be particular that
these are well beaten. Mix well, butter some cups, half fill them, and
bake the puddings from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Turn them out on a dish,
and serve with sweet sauce.
_Time_.--20 minutes to 1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
THE HUSKS OF ALMONDS.--In the environs of Alicante, the husks of
almonds are ground to a powder, and enter into the composition
of common soap, the large quantity of alkaline principle they
contain rendering them suitable for this purpose. It is said
that in some parts of the south of France, where they are
extensively grown, horses and mules are fed on the green and dry
husks; but, to prevent any evil consequences arising from this
practice, they are mixed with chopped straw or oats.
ALMOND PUFFS.
1223. INGREDIENTS.--2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of
pounded sugar, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, 4 bitter almonds.
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds in a mortar to a smooth paste;
melt the butter, dredge in the flour, and add the sugar and pounded
almonds. Beat the mixture well, and put it into cups or very tiny
jelly-pots, which should be well buttered, and bake in a moderate oven
for about 20 minutes, or longer should the puffs be large. Turn them out
on a dish, the bottom of the puff upper-most, and serve.
_Time_.--20 minutes. _Average cost_, 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 2 or 3 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
AUNT NELLY'S PUDDING.
1224. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of treacle, 1/2 lb. of
suet, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, a few strips of candied lemon-peel,
3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 eggs.
_Mode_.--Chop the suet finely; mix with it the flour, treacle,
lemon-peel minced, and candied lemon-peel; add the cream, lemon-juice,
and 2 well-beaten eggs; beat the pudding well, put it into a buttered
basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil from 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
_Time_.--3-1/2 to 4 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time, but more suitable for a winter pudding.
TREACLE, OR MOLASSES.--Treacle is the uncrystallizable part of
the saccharine juice drained from the Muscovado sugar, and is
either naturally so or rendered uncrystallizable through some
defect in the process of boiling. As it contains a large
quantity of sweet or saccharine principle and is cheap, it is of
great use as an article of domestic economy. Children are
especially fond of it; and it is accounted wholesome. It is also
useful for making beer, rum, and the very dark syrups.
BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS (a Plain Family Dish).
1225. INGREDIENTS.--6 apples, 3/4 lb.. of suet-crust No. 1215, sugar to
taste.
_Mode_.--Pare and take out the cores of the apples without dividing
them, and make 1/2 lb. of suet-crust by recipe No. 1215; roll the apples
in the crust, previously sweetening them with moist sugar, and taking
care to join the paste nicely. When they are formed into round balls,
put them on a tin, and bake them for about 1/2 hour, or longer should
the apples be very large; arrange them pyramidically on a dish, and sift
over them some pounded white sugar. These may be made richer by using
one of the puff-pastes instead of suet.
_Time_.--From 1/2 to 3/4 hour, or longer. _Average cost_, 1-1/2d. each.
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March, but flavourless after the end of
January.
USES OF THE APPLE.--It is well known that this fruit forms a
very important article of food, in the form of pies and
puddings, and furnishes several delicacies, such as sauces,
marmalades, and jellies, and is much esteemed as a dessert
fruit. When flattened in the form of round cakes, and baked in
ovens, they are called beefings; and large quantities are
annually dried in the sun in America, as well as in Normandy,
and stored for use during winter, when they may be stewed or
made into pies. In a roasted state they are remarkably
wholesome, and, it is said, strengthening to a weak stomach. In
putrid and malignant fevers, when used with the juice of lemons
and currants, they are considered highly efficacious.
APPLE CHEESECAKES.
1226. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of apple pulp, 1/4 lb. of sifted sugar, 1/4
lb. of butter, 4 eggs, the rind and juice of 1 lemon.
_Mode_.--Pare, core, and boil sufficient apples to make 1/2 lb. when
cooked; add to these the sugar, the butter, which should be melted; the
eggs, leaving out 2 of the whites, and take grated rind and juice of 1
lemon; stir the mixture well; line some patty-pans with puff-paste, put
in the mixture, and bake about 20 minutes.
_Time_.--About 20 minutes.
_Average cost_, for the above quantity, with the paste, 1s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for about 18 or 20 cheesecakes.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
[Illustration: APPLE AND BLOSSOM.]
THE APPLE.--The most useful of all the British fruits is the
apple, which is a native of Britain, and may be found in woods
and hedges, in the form of the common wild crab, of which all
our best apples are merely seminal varieties, produced by
culture or particular circumstances. In most temperate climates
it is very extensively cultivated, and in England, both as
regards variety and quantity, it is excellent and abundant.
Immense supplies are also imported from the United States and
from France. The apples grown in the vicinity of New York are
universally admitted to be the finest of any; but unless
selected and packed with great care, they are apt to spoil
before reaching England.
BOILED APPLE DUMPLINGS.
1227. INGREDIENTS.--6 apples, 3/4 lb. of suet-crust No. 1215, sugar to
taste.
_Mode_.--Pare and take out the cores of the apples without dividing
them; sweeten, and roll each apple in a piece of crust, made by recipe
No. 1211; be particular that the paste is nicely joined; put the
dumplings into floured cloths, tie them securely, and put them into
boiling water. Keep them boiling from 1/2 to 3/4 hour; remove the
cloths, and send them hot and quickly to table. Dumplings boiled in
knitted cloths have a very pretty appearance when they come to table.
The cloths should be made square, just large enough to hold one
dumpling, and should be knitted in plain knitting, with _very coarse_
cotton.
_Time_.--3/4 to 1 hour, or longer should the dumplings be very large.
_Average cost_, 11/2d. each.
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March, but flavourless after the end of
January.
LAMBSWOOL, or LAMASOOL.--This old English beverage is composed
of apples mixed with ale, and seasoned with sugar and spice. It
takes its name from _Lamaes abhal_, which, in ancient British,
signifies the day of apple fruit, from being drunk on the apple
feast in autumn. In France, a beverage, called by the Parisians
_raisinee_, is made by boiling any given quantity of new wine,
skimming it as often as fresh scum rises, and, when it is boiled
to half its bulk, straining it. To this apples, pared and cut
into quarters, are added; the whole is then allowed to simmer
gently, stirring it all the time with a long wooden spoon, till
the apples are thoroughly mixed with the liquor, and the whole
forms a species of marmalade, which is extremely agreeable to
the taste, having a slight flavour of acidity, like lemon mixed
with honey.
RICH BAKED APPLE PUDDING.
I.
1228. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of the pulp of apples, 1/2 lb. of loaf
sugar, 6 oz. of butter, the rind of 1 lemon, 6 eggs, puff-paste.
_Mode_.--Peel, core, and cut the apples, as for sauce; put them into a
stewpan, with only just sufficient water to prevent them from burning,
and let them stew until reduced to a pulp. Weigh the pulp, and to every
1/2 lb. add sifted sugar, grated lemon-rind, and 6 well-beaten eggs.
Beat these ingredients well together; then melt the butter, stir it to
the other things, put a border of puff-paste round the dish, and bake
for rather more than 1/2 hour. The butter should not be added until the
pudding is ready for the oven.
_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 10d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
II.
(_More Economical_.)
1229. INGREDIENTS.--12 large apples, 6 oz. of moist sugar, 1/4 lb. of
butter, 4 eggs, 1 pint of bread crumbs.
_Mode_.--Pare, core, and cut the apples, as for sauce, and boil them
until reduced to a pulp; then add the butter, melted, and the eggs,
which should be well whisked. Beat up the pudding for 2 or 3 minutes;
butter a pie-dish; put in a layer of bread crumbs, then the apple, and
then another layer of bread crumbs; flake over these a few tiny pieces
of butter, and bake for about 1/2 hour.
_Time_.--About 1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
_Note_.--A very good economical pudding may be made merely with apples,
boiled and sweetened, with the addition of a few strips of lemon-peel. A
layer of bread crumbs should be placed above and below the apples, and
the pudding baked for 1/2 hour.
CONSTITUENTS OF THE APPLE.--All apples contain sugar, malic
acid, or the acid of apples; mucilage, or gum; woody fibre, and
water; together with some aroma, on which their peculiar flavour
depends. The hard acid kinds are unwholesome if eaten raw; but
by the process of cooking, a great deal of this acid is
decomposed and converted into sugar. The sweet and mellow kinds
form a valuable addition to the dessert. A great part of the
acid juice is converted into sugar as the fruit ripens, and even
after it is gathered, by natural process, termed maturation;
but, when apples decay, the sugar is changed into a bitter
principle, and the mucilage becomes mouldy and offensive. Old
cheese has a remarkable effect in meliorating the apple when
eaten; probably from the volatile alkali or ammonia of the
cheese neutralizing its acid.
RICH SWEET APPLE PUDDING.
1230. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of suet, 1/2 lb. of
currants, 1/2 lb. of apples, 1/2 lb. of moist sugar, 6 eggs, 12 sweet
almonds, 1/2 saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 wineglassful of brandy.
_Mode_.--Chop the suet very fine; wash the currants, dry them, and pick
away the stalks and pieces of grit; pare, core, and chop the apple, and
grate the bread into fine crumbs, and mince the almonds. Mix all these
ingredients together, adding the sugar and nutmeg; beat up the eggs,
omitting the whites of three; stir these to the pudding, and when all is
well mixed, add the brandy, and put the pudding into a buttered mould;
tie down with a cloth, put it into boiling water, and let it boil for 3
hours.
_Time_.--3 hours.
_Average cost_, 2s.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
TO PRESERVE APPLES.--The best mode of preserving apples is to
carry them at once to the fruit-room, where they should be put
upon shelves, covered with white paper, after gently wiping each
of the fruit. The room should be dry, and well aired, but should
not admit the sun. The finer and larger kinds of fruit should
not be allowed to touch each other, but should be kept separate.
For this purpose, a number of shallow trays should be provided,
supported by racks or stands above each other. In very cold
frosty weather, means should be adopted for warming the room.
BAKED APPLE PUDDING.
(_Very Good_.)
1231. INGREDIENTS.--5 moderate-sized apples, 2 tablespoonfuls of
finely-chopped suet, 3 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 pint of milk,
a little grated nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Mix the flour to a smooth batter with the milk; add the eggs,
which should be well whisked, and put this batter into a well-buttered
pie-dish. Wipe the apples clean, but do not pare them; cut them in
halves, and take out the cores; lay them in the batter, rind uppermost;
shake the suet on the top, over which, also grate a little nutmeg; bake
in a moderate oven for an hour, and cover, when served, with sifted loaf
sugar. This pudding is also very good with the apples pared, sliced, and
mixed with the batter.
_Time_.--1 hour.
_Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
BOILED APPLE PUDDING.
1232. INGREDIENTS.--Crust No. 1215, apples, sugar to taste, 1 small
teaspoonful of finely-minced lemon-peel, 2 tablespoonfuls of
lemon-juice.
_Mode_.--Make a butter-crust by recipe No. 1213, or a suet one by recipe
No. 1215, using for a moderate-sized pudding from 3/4 to 1 lb. of flour,
with the other ingredients in proportion. Butter a basin; line it with
some of the paste; pare, core, and cut the apples into slices, and fill
the basin with these; add the sugar, the lemon-peel and juice, and cover
with crust; pinch the edges together, flour the cloth, place it over the
pudding, tie it securely, and put it into plenty of fast-boiling water.
Let it boil from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, according to the size; then turn
it out of the basin and send to table quickly. Apple puddings may also
be boiled in a cloth without a basin; but, when made in this way, must
be served without the least delay, as the crust so soon becomes heavy.
Apple pudding is a very convenient dish to have when the dinner-hour is
rather uncertain, as it does not spoil by being boiled an extra hour;
care, however, must be taken to keep it well covered with the water all
the time, and not to allow it to stop boiling.
_Time_.--From 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, according to the size of the pudding
and the quality of the apples.
_Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_, made with 1 lb. of flour, for 7 or 8 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March; but the apples become flavourless and
scarce after February.
APPLE TART OR PIE.
1233. INGREDIENTS.--Puff-paste No. 1205 or 1206, apples; to every lb. of
unpared apples allow 2 oz. of moist sugar, 1/2 teaspoonful of
finely-minced lemon-peel, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice.
_Mode_.--Make 1/2 lb. of puff-paste by either of the above-named
recipes, place a border of it round the edge of a pie-dish, and fill it
with apples pared, cored, and cut into slices; sweeten with moist sugar,
add the lemon-peel and juice, and 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of water; cover
with crust, cut it evenly round close to the edge of the pie-dish, and
bake in a hot oven from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, or rather longer, should the
pie be very large. When it is three-parts done, take it out of the oven,
put the white of an egg on a plate, and, with the blade of a knife,
whisk it to a froth; brush the pie over with this, then sprinkle upon it
some sifted sugar, and then a few drops of water. Put the pie back into
the oven, and finish baking, and be particularly careful that it does
not catch or burn, which it is very liable to do after the crust is
iced. If made with a plain crust, the icing may be omitted.
_Time_.--1/2 hour before the crust is iced; 10 to 15 minutes afterwards.
_Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 2 lbs. of apples for a tart for 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March; but the apples become flavourless
after February.
_Note_.--Many things are suggested for the flavouring of apple pie; some
say 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of beer, others the same quantity of sherry,
which very much improve the taste; whilst the old-fashioned addition of
a few cloves is, by many persons, preferred to anything else, as also a
few slices of quince.
[Illustration: QUINCE.]
QUINCES.--The environs of Corinth originally produced the most
beautiful quinces, but the plant was subsequently introduced
into Gaul with the most perfect success. The ancients preserved
the fruit by placing it, with its branches and leaves, in a
vessel filled with honey or sweet wine, which was reduced to
half the quantity by ebullition. Quinces may be profitably
cultivated in this country as a variety with other fruit-trees,
and may be planted in espaliers or as standards. A very
fine-flavoured marmalade may be prepared from quinces, and a
small portion of quince in apple pie much improves its flavour.
The French use quinces for flavouring many sauces. This fruit
has the remarkable peculiarity of exhaling an agreeable odour,
taken singly; but when in any quantity, or when they are stowed
away in a drawer or close room, the pleasant aroma becomes an
intolerable stench, although the fruit may be perfectly sound;
it is therefore desirable that, as but a few quinces are
required for keeping, they should be kept in a high and dry
loft, and out of the way of the rooms used by the family.
CREAMED APPLE TART.
1234. INGREDIENTS.--Puff-crust No. 1205 or 1206, apples; to every lb. of
pared and cored apples, allow 2 oz. of moist sugar, 1/2 teaspoonful of
minced lemon-peel, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1/2 pint of boiled
custard.
_Mode_.--Make an apple tart by the preceding recipe, with the exception
of omitting the icing. When the tart is baked, cut out the middle of the
lid or crust, leaving a border all round the dish. Fill up with a
nicely-made boiled custard, grate a little nutmeg over the top, and the
pie is ready for table. This tart is usually eaten cold; is rather an
old-fashioned dish, but, at the same time, extremely nice.
_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE SNOWBALLS.
1235. INGREDIENTS.--2 teacupfuls of rice, apples, moist sugar, cloves.
_Mode_.--Boil the rice in milk until three-parts done; then strain it
off, and pare and core the apples without dividing them. Put a small
quantity of sugar and a clove into each apple, put the rice round them,
and tie each ball separately in a cloth. Boil until the apples are
tender; then take them up, remove the cloths, and serve.
_Time_.--1/2 hour to boil the rice separately; 1/2 to 1 hour with the
apple.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE TOURTE OR CAKE.
(_German Recipe_.)
1236. INGREDIENTS.--10 or 12 apples, sugar to taste, the rind of 1 small
lemon, 3 eggs, 1/4 pint of cream or milk, 1/4 lb. of butter, 3/4 lb. of
good short crust No. 1211, 3 oz. of sweet almonds.
_Mode_.--Pare, core, and cut the apples into small pieces; put
sufficient moist sugar to sweeten them into a basin; add the lemon-peel,
which should be finely minced, and the cream; stir these ingredients
well, whisk the eggs, and melt the butter; mix altogether, add the
sliced apple, and let these be well stirred into the mixture. Line a
large round plate with the paste, place a narrow rim of the same round
the outer edge, and lay the apples thickly in the middle. Blanch the
almonds, cut them into long shreds, and strew over the top of the
apples, and bake from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, taking care that the almonds do
not get burnt: when done, strew some sifted sugar over the top, and
serve. This tourte may be eaten either hot or cold, and is sufficient to
fill 2 large-sized plates.
_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour.
_Average cost_, 2s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for 2 large-sized tourtes.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLES.--No fruit is so universally popular as the apple. It is
grown extensively for cider, but many sorts are cultivated for
the table. The apple, uncooked, is less digestible than the
pear; the degree of digestibility varying according to the
firmness of its texture and flavour. Very wholesome and
delicious jellies, marmalades, and sweetmeats are prepared from
it. Entremets of apples are made in great variety. Apples, when
peeled, cored, and well cooked, are a most grateful food for the
dyspeptic.
ALMA PUDDING.
1237. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of fresh butter, 1/2 lb. of powdered sugar,
1/2 lb. of flour, 1/4 lb. of currants, 4 eggs.
_Mode_.--Beat the butter to a thick cream, strew in, by degrees, the
sugar, and mix both these well together; then dredge the flour in
gradually, add the currants, and moisten with the eggs, which should be
well beaten. When all the ingredients are well stirred and mixed, butter
a mould that will hold the mixture exactly, tie it down with a cloth,
put the pudding into boiling water, and boil for 5 hours; when turned
out, strew some powdered sugar over it, and serve.
_Time_.--6 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BAKED APRICOT PUDDING.
1238. INGREDIENTS.--12 large apricots, 3/4 pint of bread crumbs, 1 pint
of milk, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 glass of sherry.
_Mode_.--Make the milk boiling hot, and pour it on to the bread crumbs;
when half cold, add the sugar, the well-whisked yolks of the eggs, and
the sherry. Divide the apricots in half, scald them until they are soft,
and break them up with a spoon, adding a few of the kernels, which
should be well pounded in a mortar; then mix the fruit and other
ingredients together, put a border of paste round the dish, fill with
the mixture, and bake the pudding from 1/2 to 3/4 hour.
_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour. Average cost, in full season, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ in August, September, and October.
APRICOT TART.
1239. INGREDIENTS.--12 or 14 apricots, sugar to taste, puff-paste or
short crust.
_Mode_.--Break the apricots in half, take out the stones, and put them
into a pie-dish, in the centre of which place a very small cup or jar,
bottom uppermost; sweeten with good moist sugar, but add no water. Line
the edge of the dish with paste, put on the cover, and ornament the pie
in any of the usual modes. Bake from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, according to size;
and if puff-paste is used, glaze it about 10 minutes before the pie is
done, and put it into the oven again to set the glaze. Short crust
merely requires a little sifted sugar sprinkled over it before being
sent to table.
_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour. _Average cost_, in full season, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ in August, September, and October; green ones rather
earlier.
_Note_.--Green apricots make very good tarts, but they should be boiled
with a little sugar and water before they are covered with the crust.
APRICOTS.--The apricot is indigenous to the plains of Armenia,
but is now cultivated in almost every climate, temperate or
tropical. There are several varieties. The skin of this fruit
has a perfumed flavour, highly esteemed. A good apricot, when
perfectly ripe, is an excellent fruit. It has been somewhat
condemned for its laxative qualities, but this has possibly
arisen from the fruit having been eaten unripe, or in too great
excess. Delicate persons should not eat the apricot uncooked,
without a liberal allowance of powdered sugar. The apricot makes
excellent jam and marmalade, and there are several foreign
preparations of it which are considered great luxuries.
BAKED OR BOILED ARROWROOT PUDDING.
1240. INGREDIENTS.--2 tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, 1-1/2 pint of milk, 1
oz. of butter, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 2 heaped tablespoonfuls of moist
sugar, a little grated nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Mix the arrowroot with as much cold milk as will make it into a
smooth batter, moderately thick; put the remainder of the milk into a
stewpan with the lemon-peel, and let it infuse for about 1/2 hour; when
it boils, strain it gently to the batter, stirring it all the time to
keep it smooth; then add the butter; beat this well in until thoroughly
mixed, and sweeten with moist sugar. Put the mixture into a pie-dish,
round which has been placed a border of paste, grate a little nutmeg
over the top, and bake the pudding from 1 to 1-1/4 hour, in a moderate
oven, or boil it the same length of time in a well-buttered basin. To
enrich this pudding, stir to the other ingredients, just before it is
put in the oven, 3 well-whisked eggs, and add a tablespoonful of brandy.
For a nursery pudding, the addition of the latter ingredients will be
found quite superfluous, as also the paste round the edge of the dish.
_Time_.--1 to 1-1/4 hour, baked or boiled. _Average cost_, 7d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_ARROWROOT_.--In India, and in the colonies, by the process of
rasping, they extract from a vegetable (_Maranta arundinacea_) a
sediment nearly resembling tapioca. The grated pulp is sifted
into a quantity of water, from which it is afterwards strained
and dried, and the sediment thus produced is called arrowroot.
Its qualities closely resemble those of tapioca.
A BACHELOR'S PUDDING.
1241. INGREDIENTS.--4 oz. of grated bread, 4 oz. of currants, 4 oz. of
apples, 2 oz. of sugar, 3 eggs, a few drops of essence of lemon, a
little grated nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Pare, core, and mince the apples very finely, sufficient, when
minced, to make 4 oz.; add to these the currants, which should be well
washed, the grated bread, and sugar; whisk the eggs, beat these up with
the remaining ingredients, and, when all is thoroughly mixed, put the
pudding into a buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 3
hours.
_Time_.--3 hours. _Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
BAKEWELL PUDDING.
(_Very Rich_.)
I.
1242. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of puff-paste, 5 eggs, 6 oz. of sugar, 1/4
lb. of butter, 1 oz. of almonds, jam.
_Mode_.--Cover a dish with thin paste, and put over this a layer of any
kind of jam, 1/2 inch thick; put the yolks of 5 eggs into a basin with
the white of 1, and beat these well; add the sifted sugar, the butter,
which should be melted, and the almonds, which should be well pounded;
beat all together until well mixed, then pour it into the dish over the
jam, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
II.
1243. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 pint of bread crumbs, 1 pint of milk, 4 eggs, 2
oz. of sugar, 3 oz. of butter, 1 oz. of pounded almonds, jam.
_Mode_.--Put the bread crumbs at the bottom of a pie-dish, then over
them a layer of jam of any kind that may be preferred; mix the milk and
eggs together; add the sugar, butter, and pounded almonds; beat fill
well together; pour it into the dish, and bake in a moderate oven for 1
hour.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_. 1s. 3d. to 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BARONESS PUDDING.
(_Author's Recipe_.)
1244. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 lb. of suet, 3/4 lb. of raisins weighed after
being stoned, 3/4 lb. of flour, 1/2 pint of milk, 1/4 saltspoonful of
salt.
_Mode_.--Prepare the suet, by carefully freeing it from skin, and chop
it finely; stone the raisins, and cut them in halves, and mix both these
ingredients with the salt and flour; moisten the whole with the above
proportion of milk, stir the mixture well, and tie the pudding in a
floured cloth, which has been previously wrung out in boiling water. Put
the pudding into a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil, without
ceasing, 4-1/2 hours. Serve merely with plain sifted sugar, a little of
which may be sprinkled over the pudding.
_Time_.--4-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 4d.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons.
_Seasonable_ in winter, when fresh fruit is not obtainable.
_Note_.--This pudding the editress cannot too highly recommend. The
recipe was kindly given to her family by a lady who bore the title here
prefixed to it; and with all who have partaken of it, it is an especial
favourite. Nothing is of greater consequence, in the above directions,
than attention to the time of boiling, which should never be _less_ than
that mentioned.
BARBERRY TART.
1245. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of barberries allow 3/4 lb. of lump
sugar; paste.
[Illustration: LEAF IN PUFF-PASTE.]
_Mode_.--Pick the barberries from the stalks, and put the fruit into a
stone jar; place this jar in boiling water, and let it simmer very
slowly until the fruit is soft; then put it into a preserving-pan with
the sugar, and boil gently for 15 minutes; line a tartlet-pan with
paste, bake it, and, when the paste is cold, fill with the barberries,
and ornament the tart with a few baked leaves of paste, cut out, as
shown in the engraving.
_Time_.--1/4 hour to bake the tart.
_Average cost_, 4d. per pint.
_Seasonable_ in autumn.
[Illustration: BARBERRY.]
BARBERRIES (_Berberris vulgaris_.)--A fruit of such great
acidity, that even birds refuse to eat it. In this respect, it
nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with sugar, it makes
a very agreeable preserve or jelly, according to the different
modes of preparing it. Barberries are also used as a dry
sweetmeat, and in sugarplums or comfits; are pickled with
vinegar, and are used for various culinary purposes. They are
well calculated to allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted
with fevers. The berries, arranged on bunches of nice curled
parsley, make an exceedingly pretty garnish for supper-dishes,
particularly for white meats, like boiled fowl a la Bechamel,
the three colours, scarlet, green, and white, contrasting so
well, and producing a very good effect.
BAKED BATTER PUDDING.
1246. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/4 pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz.
of butter, 4 eggs, a little salt.
_Mode_.--Mix the flour with a small quantity of cold milk; make the
remainder hot, and pour it on to the flour, keeping the mixture well
stirred; add the butter, eggs, and salt; beat the whole well, and put
the pudding into a buttered pie-dish; bake for 3/4 hour, and serve with
sweet sauce, wine sauce, or stewed fruit. Baked in small cups, this
makes very pretty little puddings, and should be eaten with the same
accompaniments as above.
_Time_.--3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BAKED BATTER PUDDING, with Dried or Fresh Fruit.
1247. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/4 pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 3
eggs, 2 oz. of finely-shredded suet, 1/4 lb. of currants, a pinch of
salt.
_Mode_.--Mix the milk, flour, and eggs to a smooth batter; add a little
salt, the suet, and the currants, which should be well washed, picked,
and dried; put the mixture into a buttered pie-dish, and bake in a
moderate oven for 1-1/4 hour. When fresh fruits are in season, this
pudding is exceedingly nice, with damsons, plums, red currants,
gooseberries, or apples; when made with these, the pudding must be
thickly sprinkled over with sifted sugar. Boiled batter pudding, with
fruit, is made in the same manner, by putting the fruit into a buttered
basin, and filling it up with batter made in the above proportion, but
omitting the suet. It must be sent quickly to table, and covered
plentifully with sifted sugar.
_Time_.--Baked batter pudding, with fruit, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour; boiled
ditto, 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour, allowing that both are made with the above
proportion of batter. Smaller puddings will be done enough in 3/4 or 1
hour.
_Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time, with dried fruits.
BOILED BATTER PUDDING.
1248. INGREDIENTS.--3 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 1 pint of milk, 3
tablespoonfuls of flour, a little salt.
_Mode_.--Put the flour into a basin, and add sufficient milk to moisten
it; carefully rub down all the lumps with a spoon, then pour in the
remainder of the milk, and stir in the butter, which should be
previously melted; keep beating the mixture, add the eggs and a pinch of
salt, and when the batter is quite smooth, put it into a well-buttered
basin, tie it down very tightly, and put it into boiling water; move the
basin about for a few minutes after it is put into the water, to prevent
the flour settling in any part, and boil for 1-1/4 hour. This pudding
may also be boiled in a floured cloth that has been wetted in hot water;
it will then take a few minutes less than when boiled in a basin. Send
these puddings very quickly to table, and serve with sweet sauce, wine
sauce, stewed fruit, or jam of any kind: when the latter is used, a
little of it may be placed round the dish in small quantities, as a
garnish.
_Time_.--1-1/4 hour in a basin, 1 hour in a cloth. _Average cost_, 7d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
ORANGE BATTER PUDDING.
1249. INGREDIENTS.--4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1-1/4 oz. of loaf sugar, 3
tablespoonfuls of flour.
_Mode_.--Make the batter with the above ingredients, put it into a
well-buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 1 hour. As
soon as it is turned out of the basin, put a small jar of orange
marmalade all over the top, and send the pudding very quickly to table.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, with the marmalade, 1s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time; but more suitable for a winter pudding.
BAKED BREAD PUDDING.
1250. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of grated bread, 1 pint of milk, 4 eggs, 4
oz. of butter, 4 oz. of moist sugar, 2 oz. of candied peel, 6 bitter
almonds, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.
_Mode_.--Put the milk into a stewpan, with the bitter almonds; let it
infuse for 1/4 hour; bring it to the boiling point; strain it on to the
bread crumbs, and let these remain till cold; then add the eggs, which
should be well whisked, the butter, sugar, and brandy, and beat the
pudding well until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed; line the
bottom of a pie-dish with the candied peel sliced thin, put in the
mixture, and bake for nearly 3/4 hour.
_Time_.--Nearly 3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 4d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--A few currants may be substituted for the candied peel, and
will be found an excellent addition to this pudding: they should be
beaten in with the mixture, and not laid at the bottom of the pie-dish.
VERY PLAIN BREAD PUDDING.
1251. INGREDIENTS.--Odd pieces of crust or crumb of bread; to every
quart allow 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 3
oz. of moist sugar, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1-1/4 oz. of butter.
_Mode_.--Break the bread into small pieces, and pour on them as much
boiling water as will soak them well. Let these stand till the water is
cool; then press it out, and mash the bread with a fork until it is
quite free from lumps. Measure this pulp, and to every quart stir in
salt, nutmeg, sugar, and currants in the above proportion; mix all well
together, and put it into a well-buttered pie-dish. Smooth the surface
with the back of a spoon, and place the butter in small pieces over the
top; bake in a moderate oven for 1-1/2 hour, and serve very hot. Boiling
milk substituted for the boiling water would very much improve this
pudding.
_Time_.--1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 6d., exclusive of the bread.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BOILED BREAD PUDDING.
1252. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 pint of milk, 3/4 pint of bread crumbs, sugar
to taste, 4 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 3 oz. of currants, 1/4 teaspoonful of
grated nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Make the milk boiling, and pour it on the bread crumbs; let
these remain till cold; then add the other ingredients, taking care that
the eggs are well beaten and the currants well washed, picked, and
dried. Beat the pudding well, and put it into a buttered basin; tie it
down tightly with a cloth, plunge it into boiling water, and boil for
1-1/4 hour; turn it out of the basin, and serve with sifted sugar. Any
odd pieces or scraps of bread answer for this pudding; but they should
be soaked overnight, and, when wanted for use, should have the water
well squeezed from them.
_Time_.--1-1/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BREAD.--Bread contains, in its composition, in the form of
vegetable albumen and vegetable fibrine, two of the chief
constituents of flesh, and, in its incombustible constituents,
the salts which are indispensable for sanguification, of the
same quality and in the same proportion as flesh. But flesh
contains, besides these, a number of substances which are
entirely wanting in vegetable food; and on these peculiar
constituents of flesh depend certain effects, by which it is
essentially distinguished from other articles of food.
BROWN-BREAD PUDDING.
1253. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 lb. of brown-bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of currants,
1/2 lb. of suet, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of
brandy, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, grated nutmeg to taste.
_Mode_.--Grate 3/4 lb. of crumbs from a stale brown loaf; add to these
the currants and suet, and be particular that the latter is finely
chopped. Put in the remaining ingredients; beat the pudding well for a
few minutes; put it into a buttered basin or mould; tie it down tightly,
and boil for nearly 4 hours. Send sweet sauce to table with it.
_Time_.--Nearly 4 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time; but more suitable for a winter pudding.
MINIATURE BREAD PUDDINGS.
1254. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of milk, 1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 4 eggs, 2
oz. of butter, sugar to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy, 1 teaspoonful
of finely-minced lemon-peel.
_Mode_.--Make the milk boiling, pour it on to the bread crumbs, and let
them soak for about 1/2 hour. Beat the eggs, mix these with the bread
crumbs, add the remaining ingredients, and stir well until all is
thoroughly mixed. Butter some small cups; rather more than half fill
them with the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven from 20 minutes to
1/2 hour, and serve with sweet sauce. A few currants may be added to
these puddings: about 3 oz. will be found sufficient for the above
quantity.
_Time_.--20 minutes to 1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 small puddings.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BAKED BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.
1255. INGREDIENTS.--9 thin slices of bread and butter, 1-1/2 pint of
milk, 4 eggs, sugar to taste, 1/4 lb. of currants, flavouring of
vanilla, grated lemon-peel or nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Cut 9 slices of bread and butter not very thick, and put them
into a pie-dish, with currants between each layer and on the top.
Sweeten and flavour the milk, either by infusing a little lemon-peel in
it, or by adding a few drops of essence of vanilla; well whisk the eggs,
and stir these to the milk. _Strain_ this over the bread and butter, and
bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour, or rather longer. This pudding may
be very much enriched by adding cream, candied peel, or more eggs than
stated above. It should not be turned out, but sent to table in the
pie-dish, and is better for being made about 2 hours before it is baked.
_Time_.--1 hour, or rather longer. _Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BUTTER.--Butter is indispensable in almost all culinary
preparations. Good fresh butter, used in moderation, is easily
digested; it is softening, nutritious, and fattening, and is far
more easily digested than any other of the oleaginous substances
sometimes used in its place.
CABINET or CHANCELLOR'S PUDDING.
1256. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 oz. of candied peel, 4 oz. of currants, 4
dozen sultanas, a few slices of Savoy cake, sponge cake, a French roll,
4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, grated lemon-rind, 1/4 nutmeg, 3 table-spoonfuls
of sugar.
[Illustration: CABINET PUDDING.]
_Mode_.--Melt some butter to a paste, and with it, well grease the mould
or basin in which the pudding is to be boiled, taking care that it is
buttered in every part. Cut the peel into thin slices, and place these
in a fanciful device at the bottom of the mould, and fill in the spaces
between with currants and sultanas; then add a few slices of sponge cake
or French roll; drop a few drops of melted butter on these, and between
each layer sprinkle a few currants. Proceed in this manner until the
mould is nearly full; then flavour the milk with nutmeg and grated
lemon-rind; add the sugar, and stir to this the eggs, which should be
well beaten. Beat this mixture for a few minutes; then strain it into
the mould, which should be quite full; tie a piece of buttered paper
over it, and let it stand for 2 hours; then tie it down with a cloth,
put it into boiling water, and let it boil slowly for 1 hour. In taking
it up, let it stand for a minute or two before the cloth is removed;
then quickly turn it out of the mould or basin, and serve with sweet
sauce separately. The flavouring of this pudding may be varied by
substituting for the lemon-rind essence of vanilla or bitter almonds;
and it may be made much richer by using cream; but this is not at all
necessary.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
A PLAIN CABINET or BOILED BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.
1257. INGREDIENTS.--2 oz. of raisins, a few thin slices of bread and
butter, 3 eggs, 1 pint of milk, sugar to taste, 1/4 nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Butter a pudding-basin, and line the inside with a layer of
raisins that have been previously stoned; then nearly fill the basin
with slices of bread and butter with the crust cut off, and, in another
basin, beat the eggs; add to them the milk, sugar, and grated nutmeg;
mix all well together, and pour the whole on to the bread and butter;
let it stand 1/2 hour, then tie a floured cloth over it; boil for 1
hour, and serve with sweet sauce. Care must be taken that the basin is
quite full before the cloth is tied over.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
CANARY PUDDING.
1258. INGREDIENTS.--The weight of 3 eggs in sugar and butter, the weight
of 2 eggs in flour, the rind of 1 small lemon, 3 eggs.
_Mode_.--Melt the butter to a liquid state, but do not allow it to oil;
stir to this the sugar and finely-minced lemon-peel, and gradually
dredge in the flour, keeping the mixture well stirred; whisk the eggs;
add these to the pudding; beat all the ingredients until thoroughly
blended, and put them into a buttered mould or basin; boil for 2 hours,
and serve with sweet sauce.
_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BAKED OR BOILED CARROT PUDDING.
1259. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 4 oz. of suet, 1/4 lb. of
stoned raisins, 3/4 lb. of carrot, 1/4 lb. of currants, 3 oz. of sugar,
3 eggs, milk, 1/4 nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Boil the carrots until tender enough to mash to a pulp; add the
remaining ingredients, and moisten with sufficient milk to make the
pudding of the consistency of thick batter. If to be boiled, put the
mixture into a buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for
2-1/2 hours: if to be baked, put it into a pie-dish, and bake for nearly
an hour; turn it out of the dish, strew sifted sugar over it, and serve.
_Time_.--2-1/2 hours to boil; 1 hour to bake. _Average cost_, 1s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from September to March.
CARROTS, says Liebig, contain the same kind of sugar as the
juice of the sugar-cane.
ROYAL COBURG PUDDING.
1260. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of new milk, 6 oz. of flour, 6 oz. of sugar,
6 oz. of butter, 6 oz. of currants, 6 eggs, brandy and grated nutmeg to
taste.
_Mode_.--Mix the flour to a smooth batter with the milk, add the
remaining ingredients _gradually_, and when well mixed, put it into four
basins or moulds half full; bake for 3/4 hour, turn the puddings out on
a dish, and serve with wine sauce.
_Time_.--3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 9d.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
CHERRY TART.
1261. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of cherries, 2 small tablespoonfuls of
moist sugar, 1/2 lb. of short crust, No. 1210 or 1211.
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