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34 chapters
Introduction.
Introduction.
"She looketh well to the ways of her Household , and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed: her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."— Proverbs , Chap. xxxi., vs. 27, 28, & 29. I have taken so much pains to make the following work deserving of the title it bears, that I could not, without affectation, pretend to undervalue my own performance, by anticipating doubts of its utility, or b
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I. General Observations
I. General Observations
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. It would be impossible to give rules for the management of a domestic establishment, because they would necessarily be subject to many and various exceptions, produced by various circumstances. But a few general observations, accompanied by remarks on the most important matters in domestic life, may not be unacceptable to young housekeepers. In the young and thoughtless, a spirit of emulation, leading them to vie with those who are richer than themselves, is often the sourc
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II. The Store Room
II. The Store Room
THE STORE ROOM. Every housekeeper knows the value of a good Store-room; for it seems to be little less essential than a good kitchen. Few modern town residences, except those for large establishments, have a store-room sufficiently large to answer all its purposes. In the country a good store-room is so indispensable that where there is none it ought to be built; it should be on the same floor with, and as near as possible to, the kitchen; and as this would be on the ground floor, it would be ne
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III. The Pantry
III. The Pantry
THE PANTRY. What is commonly called the Butler's Pantry , does not of necessity imply the presence of a butler; nor does it require to be spacious, when the china and glass not in daily use are kept in the store-room. Where women servants only are kept, the care of the pantry belongs either to the parlourmaid or the housemaid, and the same servant usually performs the office of laying the cloth, and waiting at table: which is always done better by women than by men servants, except it be the hig
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IV. The Larder
IV. The Larder
THE LARDER. A good larder is essential to every house. It should have a free circulation of air through it, and not be exposed to the sun. If it can be so contrived, the larder ought to be near the kitchen, for the convenience of the cook. For a family of moderate style of living it need not be very roomy. There should be large and strong hooks for meat and poultry; a hanging shelf so placed as for the cook to reach it with ease; and a safe, either attached to the wall, or upon a stand, for dish
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V. The Kitchen
V. The Kitchen
THE KITCHEN. The benefit of a good kitchen is well known to every housekeeper, but it is not every mistress that is aware of the importance of having a good cook. I have seen kitchens which, though fitted up with every convenience, and certainly at considerable expense, yet failed to send forth good dinners, merely because the lady of the house was not happy in her choice of a cook. I do not in the least admire gourmands, or gourmandism; and yet I would be more particular in selecting the servan
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VI. Jointing, Trussing, and Carving
VI. Jointing, Trussing, and Carving
JOINTING, TRUSSING, AND CARVING. Below will be found the figures of the five larger animals, followed by a reference to each, by which the reader, who is not already experienced, may observe the names of all the principal joints, as well as the part of the animal from which the joint is cut. No book that I am acquainted with, except that of Mrs. Rundell , has taken any notice of this subject, though it is a matter of considerable importance, and one as to which many a young housekeeper often wis
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VII. Boiling
VII. Boiling
BOILING. There is no branch of cookery which requires more nicety than plain boiling, though, from its simplicity, some cooks think it does not. They think that to put a piece of meat into water, and to make that boil for a given length of time, is all that is needful; but it is not so. To boil a leg of mutton, or a fowl, properly, requires as much care as to compound a made dish. Meat which is poor and tough cannot be made tender and fine flavoured by boiling; but that which was, to all appeara
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VIII. Roasting
VIII. Roasting
ROASTING. For roasting, meat should be kept longer than for boiling, or it will not, though ever so good, eat well. The proper length of time depends upon the state of the weather, and the age of the animal when killed, for young meat bears keeping less time than old meat. Two days of hot weather will do as much to render meat fit for the spit, as a week of cold weather. Next after the state of the meat, the thing of most consequence is preparing the fire, which ought to be made up (of the size
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IX. Baking
IX. Baking
BAKING. Some joints of meat bake to advantage. It is convenient, occasionally, to send the dinner out to be cooked, and the meat which suffers least from such cookery ought to be selected; veal is good baked, so is pork, a sucking pig, a goose, and a duck; but not mutton. Some pieces of beef bake well, with peeled potatoes under to catch the gravy, and brown. Some sorts of fish also bake well. ( See Fish in the Index. ) Breast, Loin, Fillet, or Shoulder of Veal. The two last stuffed with forceme
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X. Broiling
X. Broiling
BROILING. This is seldom excelled in, though it appears simple, and is of general utility; for few like to dine on cold meat, and none dislike a broil. There is no economy in broiling, but such meat, poultry, or game, as cannot be hashed with advantage, had best be broiled. The great art in broiling is to have a suitable fire. It must be strong, bright, and clear, and entirely free from smoke; if half burnt down, so much the better. Have two gridirons, one for meat and poultry, the other for fis
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XI. Frying
XI. Frying
FRYING. Not so difficult to fry as it is to broil well, and it is quite as good, for some things, but the fat must be good. Lard, butter, dripping, topfat (i.e. the cake of fat which is taken off soup or broth, when it has stood a night), oil, and suet, are all good for frying. If butter, suet and dripping be clarified, the pan will not be so apt to burn, and the fat will be more delicate. Housekeepers lose much of their credit by neglecting this, and similar niceties. The pan should be thick at
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XII. Soups and Broths.
XII. Soups and Broths.
SOUPS AND BROTHS. The prejudice against French soup, arising from a belief that it must be maigre , is as ridiculous as was the assuming that all Frenchmen are the small, thin, miserable looking creatures which they used to be represented in caricatures. Soup is nourishing, and also economical, as it converts into palatable food, the coarser parts of meat, all trimmings, and much that could not be cooked with effect in any other way. The French excel, merely because they take such pains in makin
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XIII. Fish
XIII. Fish
FISH. To Boil. The fish-kettle ought to be roomy: the water should, according to some, be cold, and spring water, and be slow in coming to a boil. I incline to this: according to others, it ought to be hot at the time of putting in the fish, upon the supposition that the shorter time it is in water the better. Experience must, however, be the best instructor; and much depends on the size, and sort of the fish. A handful of salt in the water, helps to draw the slime from the fish, and gives it fi
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XIV. Made Dishes
XIV. Made Dishes
MADE DISHES. What is generally understood in England to represent a "made dish" is something too rich, or too highly seasoned, to be available for a family dinner; but this is an error. Made dishes are not of necessity rich or costly, but judgment is required in compounding them, and, by a little practice, a cook will acquire this judgment, and then will be able to convert the remains of joints, and much that would not appear to advantage if plainly cooked, into nice palatable dishes. It is the
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XV. Stuffing and Forcemeat
XV. Stuffing and Forcemeat
STUFFING AND FORCEMEAT. With regard to the flavouring ingredients to be used in making these, no precise instructions can be given, because what is disagreeable to one palate is indispensable to another one, therefore, practice alone will teach a cook how to succeed in the art of forcemeat making; and so many flavouring condiments may be used that she may vary her forcemeats to almost any variety of dishes, taking care that no one flavour predominates, but the whole be so blended that the proper
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XVI. Gravies and Sauces
XVI. Gravies and Sauces
GRAVIES AND SAUCES. Read the directions for making stock for soup.—A cook ought never to be without stock for gravy, as she may preserve all bones and trimmings of meat, poultry and game; also liquor in which meat (unsalted), and poultry have been boiled, and thus seldom buy meat expressly for the purpose. Sauces in which cream and eggs or acids are mixed, must be constantly stirred to prevent their curdling. Cream heated first, then stirred in by degrees.—The greatest nicety should be observed
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XVII. Seasonings
XVII. Seasonings
SEASONINGS. Except in the matter of plain roasting, boiling, or baking, the test of good cooking is the taste and skill displayed in giving flavour to the composition. Care is not all that is required here; there needs study, and practice. No rules can be given, except to avoid over flavouring, and to suit the ingredients, as much as possible, to the compound which is to be flavoured. In order to be able always to do this, some forethought is requisite on the part of the housekeeper, who will sa
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XVIII. Vegetables
XVIII. Vegetables
VEGETABLES. Persons who live in the country, may generally have fresh vegetables; but in towns, and especially in London, the case is different; and vegetables not quite fresh are very inferior to those which have been only a short time out of the ground.—Take the outside leaves off all of the cabbage kind, and plunge the part you mean to cook into cold water, the heads downwards; let there be plenty of water, and a large piece of salt, which helps to draw out the insects. Examine the leaves wel
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XIX. Pastry
XIX. Pastry
PASTRY. Practice is more requisite than judgment to arrive at perfection in making pastry, particularly raised crusts, and very little can be given in the way of general instruction on the subject.—The flour should be of the best quality, dried before the fire, and then allowed to get cool before it is wetted.—Good salt butter, washed in several waters, to extract the salt, is cheaper in some seasons, and is as good as fresh butter. Fresh butter should be worked, on a board, with a wooden spoon,
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XX. Puddings
XX. Puddings
PUDDINGS. Practice , which, generally speaking, is every thing in cooking, will not ensure success in making puddings, unless the ingredients be good. For pudding crust, nothing is so good as veal suet finely shred, though beef suet and beef marrow make light crust. Fresh dripping is also very good. Lard is not so good, for either meat or fruit puddings. Meat puddings (or dumplings, as they are called, in some of the counties in England) are generally liked, and are, either in crust or in batter
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XXI. Bread, Cakes, Biscuits, Rolls, and Muffins
XXI. Bread, Cakes, Biscuits, Rolls, and Muffins
BREAD, CAKES, BISCUITS, ROLLS, AND MUFFINS. Almost every county has its peculiar fashion of making bread: and almost every hand differs in the practice. The receipt here given is the one followed by most persons in Hampshire; and I select it, being the one I am most familiar with, and not because that county is famed for excellence in bread; for much depends upon the goodness of the flour, and some other parts of England excel Hampshire in this respect. Good bread is so essential, that no pains
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XXII. Confectionary
XXII. Confectionary
CONFECTIONARY. As I should always have recourse to the confectioner for all ornamental dishes, I shall give under this head, only such things as may be prepared at home with comparatively little risk of failure, and consequent waste of materials; observing, at the same time, that the plainest custard requires as much attention as the richest cream, and that all sweet dishes require to be flavoured with judgment. It is impossible to produce delicate creams, jellies, &c., &c., unle
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XXIII. Preserves
XXIII. Preserves
PRESERVES. Fruit for every sort of preserve, ought to be the best of its kind; ripe enough, but not over ripe; gathered on a dry day, and after a dry day. The sugar of the best quality, and plenty of it, otherwise they are not good, neither will they keep; and much is wasted by boiling up a second time. Long boiling injures the colour of preserves, and they must be boiled too long, if there be not sugar enough. The bags and sieves should be kept delicately clean; wring them out of hot water the
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XXIV. Pickles
XXIV. Pickles
PICKLES. The great art of pickling consists in using good vinegar, and in selecting the various articles, at the proper seasons.—Pickles are indigestible, but their liquor is good to give relish to cold meat, therefore the strongest vinegar should be used, because a less quantity will suffice. They should be kept in a dry place, and glass jars are best, because then it is easy to perceive whether the vinegar diminishes, and if it does, more should be boiled with spice, and poured over the pickle
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XXV. Vinegars
XXV. Vinegars
VINEGARS. Vinegar is seldom made at home, and as the best is made from wine only, it is scarcely worth the trouble, for, for every purpose, the best vinegar is the cheapest. Gooseberry Vinegar. To every quart of bruised ripe gooseberries, put 3 quarts of spring water, stir well, and steep them eight and forty hours; then strain into a barrel, and to every gallon of liquor, put 2 lbs. white pounded sugar, and a toast soaked in yeast. Put it in the sun in summer, and by the fire in winter, for six
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XXVI. Essences
XXVI. Essences
ESSENCES. Some of the following are useful in culinary, others in medicinal compounds, and some in both. Essence of Ginger. Put 3 oz. fresh grated ginger, and 1 oz. thinly cut lemon peel into a quart of brandy, let it stand ten days, and shake it every day.— Essence of Allspice —Oil of pimento, 1 drachm, strong spirits of wine, 2 oz., mix them by degrees; a few drops will flavour a pint of gravy or wine.— Essence of Nutmeg, Clove, or Mace —Put 1 drachm of either into 2 oz. of the strongest spiri
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XXVII. Catsups
XXVII. Catsups
CATSUPS. These should be made at home, as well as pickles. A small quantity of catsup every year is sufficient, and very little time and trouble will provide it. It should be put into small bottles (filled to the neck), for when a cork is once drawn, catsups, essences, and pickles begin to decay. The bottles kept lying on their side, because this tends to preserve the cork. Keep them in a dry place. Mushroom Catsup. Made in September. The large flaps are best. Break off whatever parts are dirty
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XXVIII. The Cellar
XXVIII. The Cellar
THE CELLAR. A good cellar, besides its general convenience, in regard to a variety of household purposes, is indispensable to every one who wishes to have good beer. However skilful and successful the brewer, no beer, nor, indeed, any fermented liquors (with few exceptions), can be kept good, any length of time, especially in the summer months, unless they be secured from being turned sour by heat, and by sudden variations of the atmosphere. No cellar can be considered perfect which is not below
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XXIX. The Dairy
XXIX. The Dairy
THE DAIRY. This , of all the departments of country house-keeping, is the one which most quickly suffers from neglect; and of all the appendages to a country dwelling, there is nothing which so successfully rivals the flower garden, in exciting admiration, as a nice dairy. From the show-dairy, with its painted glass windows, marble fountains and china bowls, to that of the common farm house, with its red brick floor, deal shelves, and brown milk-pans, the dairy is always an object of interest, a
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XXX. Cookery for the Sick
XXX. Cookery for the Sick
COOKERY FOR THE SICK. Often when the Doctor's skill has saved the life of his patient, and it remains for the diligent nurse to prepare the cooling drinks and restorative foods, the taste and the appetite of sick persons are so capricious that they will reject the very thing which they had just before chosen: and frequently, if consulted upon the subject, will object to something which, if it had appeared unexpectedly before them, they would, perhaps, have cheerfully partaken of. Everything whic
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XXXI. Medical Recipes
XXXI. Medical Recipes
MEDICAL RECIPES. In almost every family little illnesses are likely to occur, which may require medicine, though not, perhaps, the aid of a Doctor; it is, therefore, convenient to keep a small supply of common medicines in the house, especially in the country. The list I give was written by a medical gentleman; but while I am induced to insert it in this work, from a belief that it may, in some cases, be found of use, I cannot refrain from observing that it is far from my desire to lead any youn
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XXXII. Various Receipts
XXXII. Various Receipts
VARIOUS RECEIPTS. Eau de Cologne. Into 2 quarts spirits of wine, at 36, put 2 drachms essence of bergamot, the same of essence of cedrat (a superior kind of bergamot), 2 drachms essence of citron, 1 oz. essence of rosemary, and a ¼ drachm of the essence of neroly (an oil produced from the flowers of the Seville orange tree); let it stand 24 hours, then strain through brown paper, and bottle it. Lavender Water. Into 1 pint of spirits of wine put 1 oz. oil of lavender, ½ a drachm essence of amberg
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XXXIII. Cookery for the Poor
XXXIII. Cookery for the Poor
COOKERY FOR THE POOR. I have selected such receipts as appear to be the most profitable to adopt; and the insertion of these will accomplish nearly all that I can hope to effect under the above head, for we all know that a supply of food alone can avert the misery of hunger, and that if there were a thousand different systems for feeding the poor by the means of voluntary aid, the success of each system must depend on the practical efforts made in its application. Some persons object to making s
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