 Section 18 of the Book of Household Management. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton. Recipes. Chapter 8 Part 5. Boiled Turbot. 337. Ingredients. Six ounces of salt to each gallon of water. Mode. Choose a middling-sized turbot, for they are invariably the most valuable. If very large, the meat will be tough and thready. Three or four hours before dressing. Soak the fish in salt and water to take off the slime, then thoroughly cleanse it, and with a knife, make an incision down the middle of the back to prevent the skin of the belly from cracking. Rub it over with lemon, and be particular not to cut off the fins. Lay the fish in a very clean turbot kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it and salt in the above proportion. Let it gradually come to a boil and skim very carefully. Keep it gently simmering, and on no account, let it boil fast, as the fish would have a very unsightly appearance. When the meat separates easily from the bone, it is done. Then take it out. Let it drain well and dish it on a hot napkin. Rub a little lobster spawn through a sieve. Sprinkle it over the fish and garnish with tufts of parsley and cut lemon. Lobster or shrimp sauce and plain melted butter should be sent to the table with it. See colored plate E. Time after the water boils, about one half hour for a large turbot, middling size about 20 minutes. Average cost, large turbot from 10 shillings to 12 shillings, middling size from 12 shillings to 15 shillings, seasonable at any time. Sufficient, one middling sized turbot for eight persons. Note, an amusing anecdote is related by Miss Edgeworth of a bishop who, descending to his kitchen to super intend the dressing of a turbot and discovering that his cook had stupidly cut off the fins, immediately commenced sewing them on again with his own episcopal fingers. This dignitary knew the value of a turbot's gelatinous appendages. Garnish for turbot or other large fish. Take the crumb of a stale loaf, cut it into small pyramids with flat tops, and on the top of each pyramid, put rather more than a tablespoon full of white of egg beaten to a stiff froth. Over this, sprinkle finely chopped parsley and fine raspings of a dark color. Arrange these on the napkin round the fish, one green and one brown, alternately. To choose turbot, see that it is thick and of a yellowish white, for if of a bluish tent, it is not good. Illustration, the turbot. The turbot. This is the most esteemed of all our flat fish. The northern parts of the English coast and some places off the coast of Holland produce turbot in great abundance, and in greater excellence than any other parts of the world. The London market is chiefly supplied by Dutch fishermen who bring to it nearly 90,000 a year. The flesh is firm, white, rich, and gelatinous, and is the better for being kept a day or two previous to cooking it. In many parts of the country, turbot and halibut are indiscriminately sold for each other. They are, however, perfectly distinct. The upper parts of the former being marked with large, unequal, and obtuse tubercoils, while those of the other are quite smooth and covered with oblong soft scales, which firmly adhere to the body. Illustration, turbot kettle. Fish kettles are made in an oblong form and have two handles with a movable bottom, pierced full of holes on which the fish is laid and on which it may be lifted from the water by means of two long handles attached to each side of the movable bottom. This is to prevent the liability of breaking the fish, as it would necessarily be if it were cooked in a common saucepan. In the list of Mishir's Richard and John Slack, C71, the price of two of these is set down at 10 shillings. The turbot kettle, as will be seen by our cut, is made differently from ordinary fish kettles, it being less deep. Whilst it is wider and more pointed at the sides, thus exactly answering to the shape of the fish, which it is intended, should be boiled in it. It may be obtained from the same manufacturers and its price is one pound. Baked fillets of turbot, 339. Ingredients. The remains of cold turbot, lobster sauce left from the preceding day, egg and breadcrumbs, cayenne and salt to taste. Minced parsley, nutmeg, lemon juice. Mode. After having cleared the fish from all skin and bone, divided into square pieces of an equal size, brush them over with egg, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, mixed with a little minced parsley and seasoning. Lay the fillets in a baking dish with sufficient butter to baste with. Bake for one quarter hour and do not forget to keep them well moistened with the butter. Put a little lemon juice and grated nutmeg to the cold lobster sauce. Make it hot and pour over the fish, which must be well drained from the butter. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon. Garnish with thyme, altogether one half hour. Seasonable at any time. Note, cold turbot, thus warmed in the remains of lobster sauce, will be found much nicer than putting the fish again in water. Filet of turbot, a la taglienne. Ingredients. The remains of cold turbot, Italian sauce, sea sauces. Mote, clear the fish carefully from the bone and take away all skin, which gives an unpleasant flavor to the sauce. Make the sauce hot. Lay in the fish to warm through, but do not let it boil. Garnish with croutons. Thyme, five minutes, seasonable all the year. The ancient Romans estimate of turbot. As this luxurious people compared souls to partridges and sturgeons to peacocks, so they found a resemblance to the turbot in the pheasant. In the time of Domitian, it is said one was taken of such dimensions as to require in the imperial kitchen a new stove to be erected and a new dish to be made for it in order that it might be cooked and served whole. Not even imperial Rome could furnish a stove or a dish large enough for the monstrous animal. Where it was caught, we are not aware. But the turbot of the Adriatic Sea held a high rank in the eternal city. Turbot alla creme. 341. Ingredients. The remains of cold turbot. For sauce, two ounces of butter. For tablespoon fulls of cream, salt, cayenne, and pounded mace to taste. Mode. Clear away all skin and bone from the flesh of the turbot, which should be done when it comes from table, as it causes less waste when trimmed hot. Cut the fish into nice square pieces as equally as possible. Put into a stew pan the butter. Let it melt and add the cream and seasoning. Let it just simmer for one minute, but not boil. Lay in the fish to warm and serve it garnished with croutons or a paste border. Time 10 minutes, seasonable at any time. Note, the remains of cold salmon may be dressed in this way, and the above mixture may be served in a vol au vin. Turbot au gratin. 342. Ingredients. Remains of cold turbot. Bechamel, sea sauces, breadcrumbs, butter. Mode. Cut the flesh of the turbot into small dice. Carefully freeing it from all skin and bone. Put them into a stew pan and moisten with four or five tablespoonfuls of bechamel. Let it get thoroughly hot, but do not allow it to boil. Spread the mixture on a dish. Cover with finely grated breadcrumbs and place small pieces of butter over the top. Brown it in the oven or with a salamander. Time altogether one half hour. Seasonable at any time. Boiled whiting. Ingredients. One quarter pound of salt to each gallon of water. Mode. Cleanse the fish, but do not skin them. Lay them in a fish kettle with sufficient cold water to cover them, and salt in the above proportion. Bring them gradually to a boil and simmer gently for about five minutes, or rather more should the fish be very large. Dish them on a hot napkin and garnish with tufts of parsley. Serve with anchovy or capersauce and plain melted butter. Time after the water boils five minutes. Average cost for small whiteness four pence each. Seasonable all the year, but best from October to March. Sufficient one small whiting for each person. To choose whiting, choose for the firmness of its flesh and the silvery hue of its appearance. Illustration, the whiting. This fish forms a light, tender, and delicate food easy of digestion. It appears in our seas in the spring, within three miles of the shores, where it arrives in large shoals to deposit its spawn. It is caught by line and is usually between 10 and 12 inches long and seldom exceeding a pound and a half in weight. On the edge of the doger bank, however, it has been caught so heavy as to weigh from three to seven or eight pounds, when less than six inches long, it is not allowed to be caught. Broiled whiting, three forty-four. Ingredients, salt and water, flour, mode. Wash the whiting and salt and water, wipe them thoroughly, and let them remain in the cloth to absorb all moisture. Flour them well and broil over a very clear fire. Serve with metre d'otel sauce, or plain melted butter. See sauces. Be careful to preserve the liver, as by some it is considered very delicate. Time, five minutes for a small whiting. Average cost, four pence each. Seasonable all the year, but best from October to March. Sufficient one small whiting for each person. Buckhorn. White whiting caught in cornwall are salted and dried, and in winter taken to the markets, and sold under the singular name of Buckhorn. Fried whiting, three forty-five. Ingredients, egg and breadcrumbs, a little flour, hot lard, or clarified dripping. Mode, take off the skin, clean and thoroughly wipe the fish free from all moisture, as this is most essential, in order that the egg and breadcrumbs may properly adhere. Fasten the tail in the mouth by means of a small skewer. Brush the fish over with egg, dredge with a little flour, and cover with breadcrumbs. Fry them in hot lard, or clarified dripping, of a nice color, and serve them on a napkin, garnished with fried parsley. See colored plate D. Send them to table with shrimp sauce and plain melted butter. Time, about six minutes. Average cost, four pence each. Seasonable all the year, but best from October to March. Sufficient one small whiting for each person. Note, large whiting may be filleted, rolled and served as fried filleted souls. See colored plate A. Small fried whiting are frequently used for garnishing large boiled fish, such as turbot, cod, etc. Whiting Ogratin, or Baked Whiting. 346. Ingredients, four whiting, butter, one tablespoon full of minced parsley, a few chopped mushrooms, when obtainable, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste, butter, two glasses of sherry, or madera, breadcrumbs. Mode. Grease the bottom of a baking dish with butter, and over it, strew some minced parsley and mushrooms. Scale, empty and wash the whittings, and wipe them thoroughly dry, carefully preserving the livers. Lay them in the dish, sprinkle them with breadcrumbs and seasoning, adding a little grated nutmeg, and also a little more minced parsley and mushrooms. Place small pieces of butter over the whiting, moisten with the wine, and bake for twenty minutes in a hot oven. If there should be too much sauce, reduce it by boiling over a sharp fire for a few minutes, and pour under the fish. Serve with a cut lemon, and no other sauce. Time, twenty minutes. Average cost, four pence each. Seasonable all the year, but best from October to March. Sufficient this quantity for four or five persons. Whiting ophine herbs. Three forty-seven ingredients. One bunch of sweet herbs, chopped very fine. Butter. Clean and skin the fish, fasten the tails in the mouths, and lay them in a baking dish. Mince the herbs very fine. Strew them over the fish, and place small pieces of butter over. Cover with another dish, and let them simmer in a Dutch oven for one-quarter hour or twenty minutes. Turn the fish once or twice, and serve with sauce poured over. Time, one-quarter hour or twenty minutes. Average cost, four pence each. Seasonable all the year, but best from October to March. Sufficient one small whiting for each person. The Whiting Pout and Pollock. About the mouth of the Thames, and generally all around the English coasts, as well as in the northern seas, the pout is plentiful. It bears a striking resemblance to the whiting, and is esteemed as an excellent fish. The Pollock is also taken all around our coasts, and likewise bears a striking resemblance to the whiting. Indeed, it is sometimes mistaken by the inexperienced for that fish. Its flesh being considered by many equally delicate. To dress, white bait. 348. Ingredients. A little flour, hot lard, seasoning of salt. Mode. This fish should be put into iced water as soon as bought, unless they are cooked immediately. Drain them from the water in a colander, and have ready a nice clean dry cloth, over which put two good handfuls of flour. Toss in the white bait, shake them lightly in the cloth, and put them in a wicker sieve to take away the superfluous flour. Throw them into a pan of boiling lard, very few at a time, and let them fry till of a whitey brown color. Directly they are done, they must be taken out, and laid before the fire for a minute or two, on a sieve, reversed, covering with blotting paper, to absorb the fat. Dish them on a hot napkin, arrange the fish very high in the center, and sprinkle a little salt over the whole. Time three minutes. Seasonable from April to August. Illustration, white bait. White bait. This highly esteemed, little fish, appears in innumerable multitudes in the River Thames, near Greenwich and Blackwall, during the month of July, when it forms, served with lemon and brown bread and butter, a tempting dish to vast numbers of Londoners, who flock to the various taverns of these places, in order to gratify their appetites. The fish has been supposed to be the fry of the shad, the sprout, the smelt, or the bleak. Mr. Yarrow, however, maintains that it is a species in itself, distinct from every other fish. When fried with flour, it is esteemed a great delicacy. The ministers of the Crown have had a custom, for many years, of having a white bait dinner, just before the close of the session. It is invariably the precursor of the prorogation of Parliament, and the repest is provided by the proprietor of the Trafalgar Greenwich. Fish pie with tench and eels. Three forty-nine. Ingredients. Two tench, two eels, two onions, a faggot of herbs, four blades of mace, three anchovies, one pint of water, pepper and salt to taste, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs, puff paste. Moat. Clean and bone the tench, skin and bone the eels, and cut them into pieces two inches long, and leave the sides of the tench whole. Put the bones into a stew pan with the onions, herbs, mace, anchovies, water and seasoning, and let them simmer gently for one hour. Strain it off, put it to cool, and skim off all the fat. Lay the tench and eels in a pie dish, and between each layer put seasoning, chopped parsley and hard-boiled eggs. Pour in part of the strained liquor, cover in with puff paste, and bake for one half hour or rather more. The oven should be rather quick, and when done, heat the remainder of the liquor, which pour into the pie. Time one half hour to bake, or rather more if the oven is slow. Fish scallop. One. Three fifty. Ingredients. Remains of cold fish of any sort. One half pint of cream. One half tablespoon full of anchovy sauce. One half teaspoon full of made mustard. Ditto of walnut ketchup. Pepper and salt to taste. The above quantities are for one half pound of fish when picked. Breadcrumbs. Mode. Put all the ingredients into a stew pan, carefully picking the fish from the bones. Set it on the fire, and let it remain till nearly a hot. Occasionally stir the contents, but do not allow it to boil. When done, put the fish into a deep dish, a scallop shell, with a good quantity of breadcrumbs. Place small pieces of butter on the top, set in a Dutch oven before the fire to brown, or use a salamander. Time one quarter hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold fish, 10 pence. Two. Three fifty one. Ingredients. Any cold fish, one egg, milk, one large blade of pounded mace, one tablespoon full of flour, one teaspoon full of anchovy sauce, pepper and salt to taste, breadcrumbs, butter. Mode. Pick the fish carefully from the bones, and moisten with milk and the egg. Add the other ingredients, and place in a deep dish, or scallop shells. Cover with breadcrumbs, butter the top, and brown before the fire. When quite hot, serve. Time twenty minutes. Average cost, exclusive of the cold fish, four pence. Water souchi. Three fifty two. Perch, tench, souls, eels and flounders are considered the best fish for this dish. For the souchi, put some water into a stew pan with a bunch of chopped parsley, some roots and sufficient salt to make it brackish. Let these simmer for one hour, and then stew the fish in the water. When they are done, take them out to drain. Have ready some finely chopped parsley, and a few roots cut into slices of about one inch thick, and an inch in length. Put the fish in a terrine, or deep dish, strain the liquor over them, and add the minced parsley and roots. Serve with brown bread and butter. Three fifty three. Supply a fish to the London market. Mr. Mayhew's work on London Labour and the London Poor, and other sources. We are enabled to give the following table of the total annual supply of fish to the London market. Description of fish, number of fish, weight of fish and pounds. Wet fish. Salmon and salmon trout. Twenty nine thousand boxes, fourteen fish per box. Number four hundred and six thousand. Weight ten pounds. Three million four hundred and eighty thousand. Turbot. From eight to sixteen pounds. Number eight hundred thousand. Weight of fish and pounds. Five million six hundred thousand. Live cod averaging ten pounds each. Number four hundred thousand. Weight in pounds four million. Souls averaging one quarter pounds each. Number ninety seven million five hundred and twenty thousand. Weight in pounds twenty six million eight hundred and eighty thousand. Brill and mullet averaging three pounds each. Number one million two hundred and twenty thousand. Weight in pounds three million three hundred and sixty six thousand. Whiting averaging six ounces each. Number seventeen million nine hundred and twenty thousand. Weight in pounds six million seven hundred and twenty thousand. Headic. Averaging two pounds each. Number two million four hundred and seventy thousand. Weight in pounds four million nine hundred and forty thousand. Place. Averaging one pound each. Thirty three million six hundred thousand. Weight in pounds thirty three million six hundred thousand. Macarole averaging one pound each. Twenty three million five hundred and twenty thousand. Weight in pounds twenty three million five hundred and twenty thousand. Fresh herrings. Two hundred and fifty thousand barrels. Seven hundred fish per barrel. Number one hundred and seventy five million. Weight in pounds forty two million. Ditto and bulk. One billion fifty million in number. Weight in pounds two hundred and fifty two million. Sprats. Weight in pounds four million. Eels from Holland principally England and Ireland. Number nine million seven hundred and ninety seven thousand seven hundred and sixty. Weight in pounds one million six hundred and thirty two thousand nine hundred and sixty. Flounders. Two hundred and fifty nine thousand two hundred. Weight in pounds forty eight thousand two hundred. Dabs. Two hundred and seventy thousand. Weight in pounds forty eight thousand seven hundred and fifty. Dry fish. Barreled cod. Fifteen thousand barrels. Forty fish per barrel. Number seven hundred and fifty thousand. Weight in pounds four million two hundred thousand. Dried salt cod five pounds each. Number one million six hundred thousand. Weight in pounds eight million. Smoked attic. Sixty five thousand barrels. Three hundred fish per barrel. Number nineteen million five hundred thousand. Weight in pounds ten million nine hundred and twenty thousand. Bloaters. Two hundred and sixty five thousand baskets. One hundred and fifty fish per basket. Number one hundred and forty seven million. Weight in pounds ten million six hundred thousand. Red herrings. One hundred thousand barrels. Five hundred fish per barrel. Number fifty million. Weight in pounds fourteen million. Dried sprouts. Nine thousand six hundred large bundles. Thirty fish per bundle. Number two hundred and eighty eight thousand. Weight in pounds nine thousand six hundred. Shellfish. Oysters. Number four hundred and ninety five million. Eight hundred and ninety six thousand. Lobsters averaging one pound each. One million two hundred thousand. Weight in pounds one million two hundred thousand. Shrabs averaging one pound each. Six hundred thousand. Weight in pounds six hundred thousand. Shrimps three hundred and twenty four to a pint. Number four hundred and ninety eight million four hundred and twenty eight thousand six hundred and forty eight. Welks two hundred and twenty seven to a half bushel. Number four million nine hundred forty three thousand two hundred. Muscles one thousand to ditto. Fifty million four hundred thousand. Cockles two thousand to ditto. Sixty seven million three hundred and ninety two thousand. Perry winkles four thousand to ditto. Three hundred and four million in number. The whole of the above may be in round numbers reckoned to amount to the enormous number of three billion fish with a weight of three hundred thousand tons. Addendum and anecdote. It will be seen from the number and variety of the recipes which we have been enabled to give under the head of fish. That there exists in the salt ocean and freshwater rivers and abundance of element which the present state of gastronomic art enables the cook to introduce to the table in the most agreeable forms and oftentimes at a very moderate cost. Less nutritious as a food than the flesh of animals more succulent than vegetables. Fish may be termed a middle dish suited to all temperaments and constitutions and one which those who are recovering from illness may partake of with safety and advantage. As to which is the best fish there has been much discussion. The old Latin proverb, however, de gustivas non disputatum and the more modern Spanish one sobre los gustos no hay disputa declare with equal force that where taste is concerned no decision can be arrived at. Each person's palate may be differently affected, pleased or displeased, and there is no standard by which to judge why a red mullet, a soul, or a turbid should be better or worse than a salmon, trout, pike, or a tiny tench. Fish, as we have explained, is less nourishing than meat, for it is lighter in weight, size for size, and contains no osmosome, sea number 100. Shellfish, oysters particularly, furnish but little nutriment and this is the reason why so many of the latter can be eaten without injury to the system. In Brilat's sovereigns, footnote, Brilat's sovereign was a French lawyer and and judge of considerable eminence and great talents, and wrote under the above title a book on gastronomy, full of instructive information, enlivened with the fund of pleasantly told anecdote. In Brilat's sovereigns, clever and amusing volume, the physiology of taste, he says that towards the end of the 18th century it was a most common thing for a well-arranged entertainment in Paris to commence with oysters and that many guests were not contented without swallowing twelve dozen. Being anxious to know the weight of this advanced card, he ascertained that a dozen oysters, fluid included, weighed four ounces, thus the twelve dozen would weigh about three pounds, and there can be no doubt that the same persons who made no worse a dinner on account of having partaken of the oysters would have been completely satisfied if they had eaten the same weight of chicken or mutton. An anecdote, perfectly well authenticated, is narrated of a French gentleman, M. Le Père, residing at Versailles, who was extravagantly fond of oysters, declaring he never had enough. Savarin resolved to procure him the satisfaction and gave him an invitation to dinner, which was duly accepted. The guest arrived, and his host kept company with him in swallowing the delicious bivalves up to the tenth dozen, when exhausted he gave up and let M. Le Père go on alone. This gentleman managed to eat thirty-two dozen within an hour, and would doubtless have got through more, but the person who opened them is described as not being very skillful. In the interim, Savarin was idle and at length tired with his painful state of inaction. He said to Le Père, whilst the latter was still in full career, m'en cher, you will not eat as many oysters today as you meant. Let us dine. They dined, and the insatiable oyster eater acted at the repest as if he had fasted for a week. Fish carving. General directions for carving fish. In carving fish, care should be taken to keep it in perfect flakes, as if these are broken, the beauty of the fish is lost. The carver should be acquainted to with the choicest parts and morsels, and to give each guest an equal share of these tidbits should be his maxim. Steel knives and forks should on no account be used in helping fish, as these are liable to impart to it a very disagreeable flavor. Where silver fish carvers are considered too dear to be bought, good electroplated ones answer very well, and are inexpensive. The prices set down for them by Monsieur Slack of the Strand are from a guinea upwards. Cods head and shoulders. For recipe C number 232, and for mode of serving, colored plate C. Illustration. First, run the knife along the center of the side of the fish, namely from D to B, down to the bone. Then carve it in unbroken slices downwards from D to E, or upwards from D to C, as shown in the engraving. The carver should ask the guests if they would like a portion of the row and liver. Note, of this fish, the parts about the backbone and shoulders are the firmest and most esteemed by connoisseurs. The sound, which lines the fish beneath the backbone, is considered a delicacy, as are also the gelatinous parts about the head and neck. Salmon. For recipe C number 301, and for mode of dressing, colored plate B. Illustration. First, run the knife quite down to the bone along the side of the fish, from A to B, and also from C to D. Then help the thick part lengthwise, that is in the direction of the lines from A to B, and the thin part breadthwise, that is in the direction of the lines from E to F, as shown in the engraving. A slice of the thick part should always be accompanied by a smaller piece of the thin from the belly. Where lies the fat of the fish? Note, many persons in carving salmon make the mistake of slicing the thick part of this fish in the opposite direction to that we have stated, and thus by the breaking of the flakes, the beauty of its appearance is destroyed. Boiled or fried soul. For recipe C numbers 321 and 327. The usual way of helping this fish is to cut it quite through, bone and all, distributing it in nice and not too large pieces. A moderately sized soul will be sufficient for three slices, namely the head, middle and tail. The guests should be asked which of these they prefer. A small one will only give two slices. If the soul is very large, the upper side may be raised from the bone, and then divided into pieces, and the underside afterwards served in the same way. In helping filleted souls, one fillet is given to each person for mode of serving C colored plate A. Turbot. For recipe C number 337 and for mode of serving colored plate E. First, run the fish slice down the thickest part of the fish quite through to the bone from A to B, and then cut handsome and regular slices in the direction of the lines downwards from C to E, and upwards from C to D, as shown in the engraving. When the carver has removed all the meat from the upper side of the fish, the backbone should be raised, put on one side of the dish, and the underside helped as the upper. A brill and John Dory are carved in the same manner as a turbot. Illustration. Note, the thick parts of the middle of the back are the best slices in a turbot, and the rich gelatinous skin covering the fish as well as a little of the thick part of the fins are dainty morsels, and should be placed on each plate. Whiting, etc. Whiting pike, headache, and other fish, when of a sufficiently large size, may be carved in the same manner as a salmon. When small, they may be cut through, bone and all, and helped in nice pieces, a middling-sized whiting serving for two slices. Note, the thick part of the eel is reckoned the best, and this holds good of all flat fish. The tail of the lobster is the prime part, and next to that the claws. Illustration. Fish carvers. Illustration. End of section 18. Read by Dennis Sayers and Modesto California for LibriVox. Section 19 of the Book of Household Management. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Dennis Sayers. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton. Saucers, Pickles, Gravies, and Force Meats. Chapter 9. General Remarks. 354. An anecdote is told of the Prince of Subis, who, intending to give an entertainment, asked for the Bill of Fair. His chef came, presenting a list adorned with vignettes, and the first article of which, that met the Prince's eye, was fifty hams. Bertrand, said the Prince, I think you must be extravagant. Fifty hams? Do you intend to feast my whole regiment? No, Prince. There will be but one on the table, and the surplus I need for my Español, blondes, garnitures, etc. Bertrand, you are robbing me. This item will not do. Monsignor, said the artist, you do not appreciate me. Give me the order, and I will put those fifty hams in a crystal flask no longer than my thumb. The Prince smiled, and the hams were passed. This was all very well for the Prince to Subis, but as we do not write for princes and nobles alone, but that our British sisters may make the best dishes out of the least expensive ingredients, we will also pass the hams, and give a few general directions concerning sauces, etc. Three-fifty-five. The preparation and appearance of sauces and gravies are of the highest consequence, and in nothing does the talent and taste of the cook more display itself. Their special adaptability to the various vians they are to accompany cannot be too much studied in order that they may harmonize and blend with them as perfectly, so to speak, as does a Piano Forte accompaniment with the voice of the singer. Three-hundred and fifty-six. The general basis of most gravies and some sauces is the same stock as that used for soups. See numbers 104, 105, 106, and 107. And by the employment of these, with perhaps an additional slice of ham, a little spice, a few herbs, and a slight flavoring from some cold sauce or ketchup, very nice gravies may be made for a very small expenditure. A milk, either of a bullock or sheep, the shank end of mutton that has already been dressed, and the necks and feet of poultry may all be advantageously used for gravy, where much is not required. It may then be established as a rule that there exists no necessity for good gravies to be expensive, and that there is no occasion, as many would have the world believe, to buy ever so many pounds of fresh meat in order to furnish an ever so little quantity of gravy. Three-hundred and fifty-seven. Brown sauces, generally speaking, should scarcely be so thick as white sauces, and it is well to bear in mind that all those which are intended to mask the various dishes of poultry or meat should be of a sufficient consistency to slightly adhere to the fowls or joints over which they are poured. For browning and thickening sauces, etc., browned flour may be properly employed. Three-hundred and fifty-eight. Sources should possess a decided character, and whether sharp or sweet, savory or plain, they should carry out their names in a distinct manner, although of course not so much flavored as to make them too pecanth on the one hand or too makish on the other. Three-hundred and fifty-nine. Gravies and sauces should be sent to table very hot, and there is all the more necessity for the cook to see to this point, as from there being usually served in small quantities, they are more liable to cool quickly than if they were in a larger body. Those sauces, of which cream or eggs form a component part, should be well stirred as soon as these ingredients are added to them, and must never be allowed to boil, as in that case they would instantly curdle. Although pickles may be purchased at shops at as low a rate as they can usually be made for at home, or perhaps even for less, yet we would advise all housewives who have sufficient time and convenience to prepare their own. The only general rules perhaps we're stating here, as in the recipes all necessary details will be explained, are that the vegetables and fruits used should be sound and not over-ripe, and that the very best vinegar should be employed. Three-sixty-one. For force meats, special attention is necessary. The points which cooks should in this branch of cookery, more particularly observed, are the thorough chopping of the suet, the complete mincing of the herbs, the careful grating of the breadcrumbs, and the perfect mixing of the whole. These are the three principal ingredients of force meats, and they can scarcely be cut too small, as nothing like a lump or fiber should be anywhere perceptible. To conclude, the flavor of no one spice or herb should be permitted to predominate. End of Section 19. Read by Dennis Sayers in Modesto, California for LibriVox. Fall 2007. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton. Recipes, Chapter 10, Part 1. Saucers, Pickles, Gravies, and Force Meats. Enchovy Sauce for Fish, 362. Ingredients. Four enchovies, one ounce of butter, one-half pint of melted butter, cayenne to taste. Mold, bone the enchovies and pound them in a mortar to a paste with one ounce of butter. Make the melted butter hot. Stir in the pounded enchovies and cayenne, simmer for three or four minutes, and, if liked, add a squeeze of lemon juice. A more general and expeditious way of making this sauce is to stir in one-and-a-half tablespoonfuls of enchovy essence to one-half pint of melted butter, and to add seasoning to taste. Boil the whole up for one minute and serve hot. Time, five minutes, average cost, five pence for half pint. Sufficient this quantity for a brill, small turbot, three or four souls, etc. Enchovy Butter, C. No. 227. Illustration, the Capsicum. Cayenne. This is the most accurate and stimulating spice with which we are acquainted. It is a powder prepared from several variety of the Capsicum annual East India plants, of which there are three so far naturalized in this country as to be able to grow in the open air. These are the guinea, the cherry, and the bell pepper. All the pods of these are extremely pungent to taste, and in the green state are used by us as a pickle. When ripe, they are ground into cayenne pepper and sold as a condiment. The best of these, however, is made in the West Indies from what is called the bird pepper, on account of hens and turkeys being extremely partial to it. It is imported ready for use. Of the Capsicum species of plants, there are five, but the principles are Capsicum annuum, the common long potted Capsicum, which is cultivated in our gardens, and of which there are two varieties, one with red and another with yellow fruit. Two, Capsicum bachetum, or bird pepper, which rises with a shrubbery stalk four or five feet high, with its berries growing at the division of the branches. This is small, oval-shaped, and of a bright red color, from which, as we have said, the best cayenne is made. Three, Capsicum grosum, the bell pepper. The fruit of this is red and is the only kind fit for pickling. Apple sauce for geese, pork, etc. Three, sixty-three, ingredients. Six good-sized apples, sifted sugar to taste, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, water, mode, pear, core, and quarter the apples, and throw them into cold water to preserve their whiteness. Put them in a saucepan with sufficient water to moisten them, and boil till soft enough to pulp, beat them up, adding sugar to taste, and a small piece of butter. This quantity is sufficient for a good-sized terrine. Time, according to the apples, about three-quarter hour. Average cost, four pence. Sufficient this quantity for a goose or a couple of ducks. Brown apple sauce, three sixty-four, ingredients, six good-sized apples, half pint of brown gravy, cayenne to taste. Mode, put gravy in the stew pan and add the apples after having paired, cored, and quartered them. Let them simmer gently till tender. Beat them to a pulp and season with cayenne. This sauce is preferred by many to the proceeding. Time, according to the apples, about three-quarter hour. Average cost, six pence. Asparagus sauce, three sixty-five, ingredients, one bunch of green asparagus, salt, one ounce of fresh butter, one small bunch of parsley, three or four green onions, one large lump of sugar, four tablespoons of sauce tournée. Mode, break the asparagus in the tender part. Wash well and put them into boiling salt and water to render them green. When they are tender, take them out and put them into cold water. Drain them on a cloth till all moisture is absorbed from them. Put the butter in a stew pan with the parsley and onions. Lay in the asparagus. Fry the whole over a sharp fire for five minutes. Add salt, the sugar and sauce tournée, and simmer for another five minutes. Rub all through a tammy and if not very good color, use a little spinach green. This sauce should be rather sweet. Time, altogether forty minutes. Average cost for this quantity, two shilling four pence. Aspic or ornamental savoury jelly, 366, ingredients, four pounds of knuckle of veal, one cow heel, three or four slices of ham, any poultry trimmings, two carrots, one onion, one faggot of savoury herbs, one glass of sherry, three quarts water, seasoning to taste of salt and whole white pepper, lay ham on the bottom of a stew pan, cut up the veal and cow heel into small pieces and lay them on the ham. Add the poultry trimmings, vegetables, herbs, sherry and water and let the whole simmer very gently for four hours, carefully taking away all scum that may rise to the surface. Stream through a fine sieve and pour into an earthen pan to cool. Have ready a clean stew pan and be particular to leave the sediment behind or it will not be clear. Add the whites of three eggs with salt and pepper to clarify. Keep stirring over the fire till the whole becomes very white, then draw it to the side and let it stand till clear. When this is the case, strain it through a cloth or jelly bag and use it for molding poultry, etc. See explanation of French terms, page 44. Terragon vinegar may be added to give an additional flavor. Time altogether four and a half hours. Average cost for this quantity four shillings. White pepper. This is the produce of the same plant as that which produces the black pepper from which it is manufactured by steeping this in lime and water and rubbing it between the hands till the coats come off. The best berries only will bear this operation, hence superior qualities of white pepper fetch a higher price than those of the other. It is less acrid than the black and is much prized among the Chinese. It is sometimes adulterated with rice flour as the black is with burnt bread. The berries of the pepper plant grow in spikes from 20 to 30 and are when ripe of a bright red color. After being gathered, which is done when they are green, they are spread out in the sun where they dry and become black and shriveled when they are ready for being prepared for the market. Bechamel or French white sauce, 367. Ingredients one small bunch of parsley, two cloves, one half bay leaf, one small faggot of savory herbs, salt to taste, three or four mushrooms when obtainable, two pints of white stock, one pint of cream, one tablespoon full of arrowroot. Mode. Put the stock into a stewpan with the parsley, cloves, bay leaf, herbs and mushrooms. Add a seasoning of salt, but no pepper, as that would give the sauce a dusty appearance and should be avoided. When it has boiled long enough to extract the flavor of the herbs, etcetera, strain it and boil it up quickly again until it is nearly half reduced. Now mix the arrowroot and simmer it very gently for five minutes over a slow fire. Pour it to the reduced stock and continue to simmer it slowly for ten minutes if the sauce be thick. If, on the contrary, it be too thin, it must be stirred over a sharp fire till it thickens. This is the foundation of many kinds of sauces, especially white sauces. Always make it thick as you can easily thin it with cream, milk or white stock. Average cost, one shilling per pint. Illustration, the clove. The clove. The clove tree is a native of the Malacca Islands, particularly Amboina. It attains the height of the laurel tree and no verger is ever seen under it. From the extremities of the branches, quantities of flowers grow. First white, then they become green and next red and hard when they have arrived they assume a yellowish hue, which subsequently changes into a dark brown. As an aromatic, the clove is highly stimulating and yields an abundance of oil. There are several varieties of the clove. The best is called the royal clove, which is scarce and which is blacker and smaller than the other kinds. It is a curious fact that the flowers, when fully developed, are not in the least aromatic. The form is that of a nail having a globular head formed of the four petals of the corolla and the four leaves of the calyx not expanded with nearly cylindrical German scarcely an inch in length situate below. Bechamel meager or without meat. 368. Ingredients. Two onions. Parsley. One ounce of butter. Flower. One half pint of water. One pint of milk. Salt. The juice of one lemon. Two eggs. Put in a stew pan. The milk and half pint of water with the onions, maize, mushrooms, parsley and salt. Let these simmer gently until it boils up. Then place it by the side of the fire and continue stirring until it is perfectly smooth. Now strain it through a sieve into a basin after which put it back in the stew pan and add the lemon juice. Beat up the yolks of the eggs with about four dessert spoonfuls of milk. Strain this to the sauce. Keep stirring it over the fire but do not let it boil lest it curdle. For the average cost, five pence per pint. This is a good sauce to pour over boiled fowls when they are a bad color. Pickled beetroot. 369. Ingredients. Sufficient vinegar to cover the beets. Two ounces of whole pepper. Two ounces of allspice to each gallon of vinegar. Mode. Wash the beets free from dirt put them into boiling water. Let them simmer gently and when about three parts done which will be in one and a half hour take them out and let them cool. Boil the vinegar with pepper and allspice in the above proportion for 10 minutes and when cold, pour it on the beets which must be peeled and cut into slices about one half inch thick. Cover with bladder to exclude the air and in a week they will be fit for use. Three shillings per gallon. Illustration. Black pepper. Black pepper. This well-known aromatic spice is the fruit of a species of climbing vine and is a native of the East Indies and is extensively cultivated in Malabar and the eastern islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java and others in the same latitude. It was formerly confined to these countries but it has now been introduced to Cayenne. It is generally employed as a condiment but should never be forgotten that even in small quantities it produces detrimental effects on inflammatory constitutions. Dr. Paris in his work on diet says foreign spices were not intended by nature for the inhabitants of temperate climbs. They are heating and highly stimulant. I am however not anxious to give more weight to this objection than it deserves. Man is no longer the child of nature nor the passive inhabitant of any particular region. He ranges over every part of the globe and elicits nourishment for the productions of every climate. Nature is very kind in favoring the growth of those productions which are most likely to answer our local wants. Those climates for instance which engender endemic diseases are in general congenial to the growth of plants that operate as antidotes to them but if we go to the east for tea there is no reason we should not go to the west for sugar. The dyspeptic invalid however should be cautious in their use. They may afford temporary benefit at the expense of permanent mischief. It has been well said that the best quality of spices is to stimulate the appetite and their worst to destroy by insensible degrees the tone of the stomach. The intrinsic goodness of meats should always be suspected when they require spicy seasonings to compensate for their natural want of sepidity. The quality of pepper is known by rubbing it between the hands. That which withstands this operation is good. That which is reduced to powder by it is bad. The quantity of pepper imported into Europe is very great. Benton sauce to serve with hot or cold roast beef 370 Ingredients One tablespoon full of scraped horseradish One teaspoon full of made mustard One teaspoon full of pound sugar Four teaspoon full of vinegar Mode Great or scrape the horseradish very fine and mix it with the other ingredients which must be all well blended together Serve in a terrine With cold meat Good substitute for pickles Average cost for this quantity Two pence Bread sauce To serve with roast turkey Fowl, game, etc. One 371 Ingredients One pint of milk 3 quarter of the crumb of a stale loaf One onion Pounded mace Cayenne Peel and quarter the onion and simmer it in the milk till perfectly tender Break the bread which should be stale into small pieces Carefully picking out any hard outside pieces Put it in a very clean saucepan Strain the milk over it Cover it up and let it remain for an hour to soak Now beat it up with a fork very smoothly and add a seasoning of pounded mace cayenne and salt with one ounce of butter and serve To enrich this sauce a small quantity of cream may be added just before sending it to table Time altogether one three quarter hour Average cost for this quantity four pence sufficient to serve with a turkey pair of fowls or brace of partridges Illustration Mace This is the membrane which surrounds the shell of the nutmeg Its general qualities are the same as those of the nutmeg Producing an agreeable aromatic odor with a hot and acrid taste It is of an oleaginous nature is yellowish in its hue and is used largely as a condiment In Beaton's dictionary we find that the four largest of the Benda Islands produced 150,000 pounds of it annually which with nutmegs are their principal articles of export 372 Ingredients Giblets of poultry 3 quarter pound of the crumb of a stale loaf One onion 12 whole peppers One blade of mace Salt to taste Two tablespoonfuls of cream or melted butter One pint of water Mode Put the giblets with head, neck, legs, etc. into a stew pan Add the mace, salt and rather more than one pint of water Let this simmer for an hour when strain the liquor over the bread which should be previously grated or broken into small pieces Cover up the saucepan and leave it for an hour by the side of the fire Then beat the sauce up with a fork until no lumps remain and the whole is nice and smooth Let it boil for three or four minutes Keep it stirring until it is rather thick When add three tablespoonfuls of good melted butter or cream and serve very hot Time 2 and a quarter hours Average cost 6 pence 2 372 Ingredients Giblets of poultry 3 quarter pound of the crumb of a stale loaf One onion 12 whole peppers One blade of mace Two tablespoons of cream or melted butter One pint of water Mode Put the giblets with the head, neck, legs, etc. into a stew pan Add the onion, pepper, mace, salt and rather more than one pint of water Let this simmer for an hour when strain the liquor over the bread which should be previously grated or broken into small pieces Cover up the saucepan and leave it for an hour by the side of the fire Then beat the sauce up with a fork until no lumps remain and the whole is nice and smooth Let it boil for three or four minutes Keep stirring it until it is rather thick When add three tablespoonfuls of good melted butter or cream and serve very hot Time 2 and a quarter hours Average cost 6 pence 373 The Browning for Soups C. No. 108 Answers equally well for sauces and gravies when it is absolutely necessary to color them in this manner But where they can be made to look brown by using ketchup, wine, browned flour, tomatoes or any color sauce it is far preferable As however in cooking so much depends on appearance Perhaps it would be as well for the inexperienced cook as it would be for the C. No. 108 When no browning is at hand and you wish to heighten the color of your gravy dissolve a lump of sugar and an iron spoon over a sharp fire When it is in a liquid state drop it into the sauce or gravy quite hot care however must be taken not to put in too much as it would impart easily 3 tablespoons of vinegar salt and pepper to taste Mode Put the butter into a frying pan over a nice clear fire and when it smokes throw in the parsley and add the vinegar and seasoning Let the whole simmer for a minute or two when it is ready to serve This is a very good sauce for skate Time, quarter hour before the fire and when it melts stir it round once or twice and let it settle Do not strain it unless absolutely necessary as it causes too much waste Pour off gently into a clean dry jar carefully leaving all sediment behind Let it cool and carefully exclude the air by means of a bladder or piece of wash leather tied over If the butter is salt it is melted butter 1 376 ingredients quarter pound of butter a dessert spoon full of flour one wine glass full of water salt to taste Mode Cut the butter up into small pieces put it in a saucepan dredge over the flour and add the water and a seasoning of salt blended Let it just boil when it is ready to serve If the butter is to be melted with cream use the same quantity as of water but omit the flour Keep stirring it but do not allow it to boil Time, one minute to simmer Average cost for this quantity 4 pence 2 More economical 377 ingredients salt to taste half pint of water Mode Mix the flour and water to a smooth batter which put into a saucepan Add the butter and a seasoning of salt Keep stirring one way till all the ingredients are melted and perfectly smooth Let the whole boil for a minute or two and serve Time, two minutes to simmer Average cost for this quantity 2 pence Melted butter in a saucepan 378 ingredients quarter pound of fresh butter one tablespoon full of flour salt to taste one half gill of water one half spoon full of white sugar a very little grated nutmeg Mode Mix the flour and water into a smooth batter carefully rubbing down with the back of a spoon any lumps that may appear Put it in a saucepan with all the other ingredients but do not allow it to boil lest it should taste of the flour Time One minute to simmer Average cost 5 pence for this quantity Illustration The nutmeg Nutmeg This is a native of the Malakas and was long kept from being spread in other places by the monopolizing spirit of the Dutch who endeavored to keep it holy to themselves by eradicating it from every other island We find it stated in the history of universal information under the article Banda Islands that the four largest are appropriated to the cultivation of nutmegs of which about 500,000 pounds are annually produced The plant through the enterprise of the British has now found its way into Penang and Benkulu where it flourishes and produces well It has also been tried to be naturalized in the West Indies and it bears fruit all the year round with nutmeg one wild and long and oval shaped the other cultivated and nearly round The best is firm and hard and has a strong aromatic odor with a hot and acrid taste It ought to be used with caution by those who are of paralytic or apoplectic habits Thickened butter 379 Ingredients Quarter pint of melted butter number 376 Mode Make the butter quite hot and be careful not to color it Well whisk the yolks of the eggs pour them into the butter beating them all the while Make the sauce hot over the fire but do not let it boil add a squeeze of lemon juice Melted butter made with milk 380 Ingredients 1 teaspoon full of flour 2 ounces butter milk a few grains of salt Mode Mix the butter and flour smoothly together on a plate Put it into a lined saucepan and pour in the milk Keep stirring it one way over a sharp fire Let it boil quickly for a minute or two and it is ready to serve This is a very good foundation for onion, lobster or oyster sauce 10 minutes Average cost for this quantity 3 pence Camp vinegar 381 Ingredients 1 head of garlic 1 half ounce cayenne 2 teaspoon full of soy 2 ditto walnut ketchup 1 pint of vinegar Cochineal to color Mode Slice the garlic and put it with all the above ingredients and it will be fit for use Keep it in small bottles well sealed to exclude the air Average cost for this quantity 8 pence Capersauce for boiled mutton 382 Ingredients 1 half pint of melted butter Number 376 3 tablespoons full of capers or nasturtiums 1 tablespoon full of their liquor Mode Chop the capers twice or thrice to 1 half pint of melted butter Made very smoothly Keep stirring well Let the sauce just simmer and serve in a terrine Pickled nasturtium pods are fine flavored and by many are eaten in preference to capers They make an excellent sauce Time 2 minutes to simmer Average cost for this quantity 8 pence Sufficient to serve with a leg of mutton Capersauce for fish Ingredients 1 half pint of melted butter Number 376 3 dessert spoonfuls of capers 1 dessert spoonful of their liquor A small piece of glaze if at hand This may be dispensed with 1 quarter teaspoon full of salt Ditto for pepper 1 tablespoon full of anchovy essence Mode Cut the capers across once or twice but do not chop them fine Put in a saucepan with half pint of good melted butter and add all the other ingredients Keep stirring the whole until it just simmers when it is ready to serve Time 1 minute to simmer Average cost for this quantity 5 pence Sufficient to serve with skate or 2 or 3 slices of salmon Illustration The capers These are the unopened buds of a low trailing shrub of the rocks of Greece as well as in northern Africa The plant however has come to be cultivated in the south of Europe After being pickled in vinegar and salt they are imported from Sicily, Italy and the south of France The best are from Toulon A substitute for capersauce 384 Ingredients 1 half pint of melted butter Number 376 2 tablespoon fulls of cut parsley 1 tablespoon full of salt 1 tablespoon full of vinegar Mode Boil the parsley slowly to let it become a bad color Cut but do not chop it fine Add to it half pint of smoothly made melted butter with salt and vinegar in the above proportions Boil up and serve Time 2 minutes to simmer Average cost for this quantity 3 pence Pickled capsicums vinegar quarter ounce of pounded mace and quarter ounce of grated nutmeg to each quart brine Mode Gather the pods with the stalks on before they turn red Slit them down the side with a small pointed knife and remove the seeds only Put them in a strong brine for three days Changing it every morning Then take them out Lay them on a cloth Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them with mace and nutmeg in the above proportions Put the pods in a jar Pour over the vinegar when cold and exclude them from the air by means of a wet bladder tied over Cayenne vinegar or essence of cayenne 386 Ingredients ½ ounce of cayenne pepper ½ pint of strong spirit or 1 pint of vinegar Mode Put the vinegar or spirit into a bottle with the above proportion of cayenne and let it steep for a month when strained off and bottled for use This is excellent seasoning for soups or sauces but must be used very sparingly Celery sauce for boiled turkey, poultry etc 387 Ingredients 6 heads of celery 1 pint of white stock 1 small bunch of savory herbs Thickening of butter and flour or arrowroot ½ pint of cream Lemon juice Mode Boil the celery in salt and water until tender and cut into pieces 2 inches long Put the stock into a stew pan with the mace and herbs and let it simmer for half hour to extract their flavor Then strain the liquor Add the celery and a thickening of butter which is still better with arrowroot Just before serving put in the cream boil it up and squeeze in a little lemon juice if necessary add a seasoning of salt and white pepper Time 25 minutes to boil the celery Average cost 1 shilling 3 pence sufficient this quantity for a boiled turkey This sauce may be made brown by using gravy instead of white stock Illustration Arrowroot This nutritious fecula is obtained from the roots of a plant which is cultivated in both the east and west Indies When the roots are about a year old they are dug up and after being well washed are beaten to a pulp which is afterwards by means of water separated from the fibrous part After being passed through a sieve once more washed the sediment is dried in the sun when it has become arrowroot The best is obtained from the west Indies but a large quantity of what is sold in London is adulterated with potato starch As a means of knowing arrowroot when it is good it may be as well to state that the genuine article when formed into a jelly will remain firm for 3 or 4 days whilst the adulterated will become as thin as milk in the course of 12 hours in a simple recipe 388 ingredients 4 heads of celery half pint of melted butter made with milk number 380 1 blade of pounded mace salt and white pepper to taste mode wash the celery boil it in salt and water till tender and cut it into pieces 2 inches long make half pint melted butter by recipe number 380 minutes when the sauce will be ready to serve time 25 minutes to boil the celery average cost 6 pence sufficient this quantity for a boiled fowl celery vinegar 389 ingredients quarter ounce of celery seed 1 pint of vinegar mode crush the seed by pounding it in a mortar boil the vinegar and when cold pour it to the seed infuse for a fortnight when strain and bottle off for use this is frequently used in salads chestnut sauce for fowls or turkey 390 ingredients half pound of chestnuts 1 half pint of white stock 2 strips of lemon peel cayenne to taste quarter pint of cream or milk mode peel off the outside skin of the chestnuts and let them simmer for a few minutes take off the thin inside peel and put them into a saucepan with the white stock and lemon peel and let them simmer for one and a half hour or until the chestnuts are quite tender rub the whole through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon add seasoning and the cream let it just simmer but not boil and keep stirring all the time serve very hot and quickly if milk is used instead of cream a very small quantity of thickening may be required that of course the cook will determine time altogether nearly two hours average cost eight pence sufficient this quantity for a turkey brown chestnut sauce 391 ingredients half pound of chestnuts half pint of stock number 105 four tablespoons of sugar four tablespoons of Spanish sauce sea sauces mode prepare the chestnuts as in the foregoing recipe by scalding and peeling them put them in a stew pan with the stock and sugar and simmer them till tender when done add Spanish sauce in the above proportion and rub the whole through a tammy keep this sauce rather liquid as it is liable to thicken time average cost eight pence Bengal sauce for making mango chutney 392 ingredients one and a half pounds of moist sugar three quarter pound of salt one quarter pound of garlic one quarter pound of onions three quarter pound of powdered ginger one quarter pound of dried chilies three quarter pound of mustard seed three quarter pound of stone raisins two bottles of best vinegar thirty large unripe sour apples mode the sugar must be made into syrup the garlic, onions and ginger be finely pounded in a mortar the mustard seed be washed in cold vinegar and dried in the sun the apples be peeled, cored, sliced and boiled in a bottle and a half of the vinegar when all this is done and the apples are quite cold put them into a large pan and gradually mix the whole of the rest of the ingredients including the remaining half bottle of vinegar it must be well stirred until the whole is thoroughly blended and then put into bottles for use tie a piece of wet bladder over the mouths of the bottles after they are well corked this chutney is very superior to any which can be bought and one trial will prove it to be delicious note this recipe was given by a native to an English lady who had long been a resident in India since her return to her native country has become quite celebrated amongst her friends for the excellence of this eastern relish illustration garlic garlic the smell of this plant is generally considered offensive and it is the most acrimonious in its taste of the whole of the Aleatius tribe in 1548 it was introduced to England from the shores of the Mediterranean where it is abundant and in Sicily it grows naturally it was in greater repute with our ancestors than it is with ourselves although it is still used as a seasoning herb on the continent especially in Italy it is much used and the French consider it essential in many made dishes chili vinegar 393 ingredients 50 fresh red English chilies one pint of vinegar mode pound or cut the chilies in half with a spoon of vinegar for a fortnight when it will be fit for use this will be found in agreeable relish to fish as many people cannot eat it without the addition of an acid and cayenne pepper Christopher North's sauce for meat or game 394 ingredients one glass of port wine two tablespoons of Harvey's sauce one dessert spoon full of mushroom ketchup ditto of pounded white sugar one tablespoon full of lemon juice quarter teaspoon full of cayenne pepper ditto of salt mode mix all the ingredients thoroughly together and heat the sauce gradually by placing the vessel in which it is made in a saucepan of boiling water do not allow it to boil and serve it directly it is ready this sauce if bottled immediately will keep good for a fortnight and will be found excellent consomme or white stock for many sauces 395 consomme is made precisely in the same manner as stock number 107 and for ordinary purposes will be found quite good enough when however a stronger stock is desired either put in half the quantity of water or double that of the meat this is a very good foundation for all white sauces crab sauce for fish equal to lobster sauce 396 ingredients salt, pounded mace and cayenne to taste half pint of melted butter made with milk C number 380 mode choose a nice fresh crab pick all the meat away from the shell and cut it into small square pieces make half pint of melted butter by recipe number 380 put in the fish and seasoning let it gradually warm through and simmer for two minutes it should not boil average cost cream sauce for fish or white dishes 397 ingredients one third pint of cream two ounces of butter one teaspoon full of flour salt and cayenne to taste when liked a small quantity of pounded mace or lemon juice mode put the butter in a very clean saucepan dredge in the flour and keep shaking round till the butter is melted add the seasoning and cream and stir the whole till it boils let it just simmer for five minutes when add either pounded mace or lemon juice to taste to give it a flavor time five minutes to simmer average cost for this quantity seven pence this sauce may be flavored with very finely shredded shallot end of section 20