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A Course Of Lectures On The Principles Of Domestic Economy And Cookery

Juliet Corson

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A COURSE OF LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND COOKERY, BY MISS JULIET CORSON, Superintendent of the New York School of Cookery.

A COURSE OF LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND COOKERY, BY MISS JULIET CORSON, Superintendent of the New York School of Cookery.

Delivered in the Farmers’ Lecture Course of the College of Agriculture of the University of Minnesota. APPENDIX TO SUPPLEMENT I. FOURTH BIENNIAL REPORT OF Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota. 1886. ST. PAUL, MINN.: The Pioneer Press Company. 1887....

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PREFACE.

PREFACE.

The following lectures were delivered in the “Farmers Lecture Course,” at the College of Agriculture, Minneapolis, during the session of 1884. The topics selected at previous sessions had been such as to especially interest the male members of the large classes in attendance, and it was considered no more than fair to the women of the State that attention should be given to such matters as would aid them in the conduct of home duties. Influenced by this desire, I secured the services of Miss Jul

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INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION.

This course of lectures is designed to meet the wants of two classes of persons: First —Those who are experienced housekeepers, familiar with the principles and practice of cookery, but who desire information concerning the preparation of the finer dishes of the modern school. Second —The young ladies in attendance at the University and others like them, who have had their time and attention so engrossed with studies and other duties that they have not had the opportunity to qualify themselves i

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BILL OF FARE FOR THE HOUSEKEEPERS’ COURSE.

BILL OF FARE FOR THE HOUSEKEEPERS’ COURSE.

First Day. Soup Stock. Boiled Salmon, with Cream Sauce. Potatoes, Stewed in Butter. Quail, boned and broiled. Omelettes. Second Day. Clear Soup. Caramel for coloring Soups and Sauces. Baked Whitefish. Beefsteak, broiled and fried. Baked Apple Dumplings. Third Day. Cream of Salmon. Shoulder of Lamb, boned and roasted. Forcemeat for Meats. Potatoes, broiled and baked. Cheese Crusts. Fourth Day. Pea Soup with Crusts. Salt Codfish, stewed in Cream. Venison with Currant Jelly. Stewed Carrots. Cabinet

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THE UNIVERSITY COURSE.

THE UNIVERSITY COURSE.

AT 2 P. M. DAILY. First Day — Soup Making , and Stews . Second Day — Good Breads , Plain Pastry and Puddings . Third Day — Fish and Poultry . Fourth Day — Meats and Vegetables . Fifth Day — Cheap Dishes and Rewarmed Foods . Sixth Day — Cookery for the Sick . Tea, Coffee, Omelettes, Sauces, and various small dishes will be treated when the occasion offers. The last half hour of each day will be devoted to the discussion of questions referring to the subject in hand, and to the testing of dishes c

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BOILED SALMON WITH CREAM SAUCE.

BOILED SALMON WITH CREAM SAUCE.

In boiling a whole fish, or a large piece, use cold water. If you put a large piece of fish into boiling water, the outside will be cooked before it is done near the bone. Nothing is more disagreeable than a piece of fish half raw at the bone; it is uneatable. For a small piece of fish, such as I have here, use boiling salted water enough to cover it, and boil it until the flakes begin to separate, or until, by testing a fin, you can easily pull it out. That will probably be, if you use cold wat

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POTATOES, STEWED IN BUTTER.

POTATOES, STEWED IN BUTTER.

The potatoes are peeled and sliced in rather small slices of even size; put them over the fire in enough salted boiling water to cover them, boil them until they begin to grow tender; not till they break, but just till they begin to grow tender; after the potatoes are boiled tender drain them, and suppose you have a pint bowl full of potatoes, use about two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter; melt the butter in a scant half cupful of milk. When the butter is melted put the potatoes into it, and wi

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OMELETTES.

OMELETTES.

First, I will make a plain breakfast omelette. Use for two or three people not more than three eggs. You can not very well manage more than three in an ordinary pan. It is better to make several omelettes, especially because people are not apt to come to the table all at once, and an omelette to be nice must be eaten directly it is cooked. Say three eggs; break them into a cup or bowl; add to them a saltspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and mix them just enough to thoroughly

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BONING QUAIL.

BONING QUAIL.

After the quail have been picked, cut the wings off at the first joint, cut the legs just above the joint of the drum-stick. Cut off the head, take out the crop, cut the quail down the back bone; from the inside, cut the joint where the wing joins the body; and having cut that wing joint, begin and cut close to the carcass of the bird till you get down to the leg joint, where the second joint of the leg unites with the body; break that joint, and keep on cutting the flesh from the carcass, takin

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BEEF AND VEGETABLE SOUP.

BEEF AND VEGETABLE SOUP.

For four quarts of soup use one cupful each of the ingredients which I shall name: lean beef cut in half-inch pieces; carrot, which must first be scraped and then cut in half-inch bits; turnip, which must be peeled and then cut in small pieces; rice, picked over, washed in cold water; tomatoes, peeled and sliced if they are fresh; but if you use canned tomatoes simply cut them in small pieces; half a cupful of onion, peeled and chopped rather fine; and four quarts of cold water. First put the wa

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MEAT STEWS.

MEAT STEWS.

For a brown stew, use any kind of dark meat. To-day I am going to use some of the cooked round of beef; but you can use fresh beef; you can use raw beef, rare roast beef, or any of the dark meats; always use white meats for white stews. Presently we will make a white stew of veal; but for a brown stew use dark meats. Cut the meat in pieces about an inch and a half square, put it over the fire with enough fat of some kind to keep it from burning; use the fat of the meat, or drippings, or butter,

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PEA SOUP—Continued.

PEA SOUP—Continued.

(The pea soap being now about ready to take up, Miss Corson continued:) You know how the flour of the peas settles to the bottom of the soup tureen or plate, and leaves the top clear? Prevent that by adding to the soup, just before it is dished, a little paste made of flour and butter. For four quarts of soup a tablespoonful of flour and a tablespoonful of butter; mix the flour and butter to a smooth paste just before the soup is done. After the peas are soft pour them into a fine sieve and rub

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PLAIN PASTRY.

PLAIN PASTRY.

Use butter, or lard, or very finely chopped suet. If you can get good lard it makes nice pastry; by that I mean lard which has a very little water in it. A good deal of the lard that you buy in the stores has a large proportion of water in it, and I believe in these days it is apt to be sophisticated with several articles which are not exactly lard, so that home-made lard is decidedly the best; that which you try out yourself. First take the butter, or whatever shortening you use,—butter, lard,

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BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.

For apple dumplings, after the pastry is made, cut it in pieces about four inches square and about a quarter of an inch thick. One of the ladies asks about sifting the flour. That is necessary, always. For apple dumplings, peel the apples and take out the cores, leaving the apples as whole as possible. The corer that I have here is nothing but a round tin cylinder. Use any apple corer that will take the core out without breaking the apple. For this purpose Greening apples are the nicest. These a

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STEAMED APPLE DUMPLINGS.

STEAMED APPLE DUMPLINGS.

For steamed dumplings usually a suet crust is used. You could use this crust if you wanted to, but it would not be sure to be light. It might possibly absorb a little of the steam. For suet crust you would use half a pound of suet chopped very fine, a teaspoonful of salt and a pound of flour. Mix carefully the flour and suet and salt with enough cold water to make a pastry just soft enough to roll out. Roll it out about a quarter of an inch thick, and then cut it in little squares; prepare the a

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FRIED BEEFSTEAK.

FRIED BEEFSTEAK.

That is supposed to be the great abomination of American cooking, so that we are going now to see whether it can not be nearly as nicely fried as broiled. It seems a heresy, but it is true, and there are very many occasions where it is not possible to broil in an ordinary kitchen; the fire may not be good, or uncovering it may cool the oven. There is a very important secret in frying beefsteak, or chops, and that is to have the pan hot before you put the meat into it. It doesn’t make any differe

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CARAMEL FOR COLORING SOUP.

CARAMEL FOR COLORING SOUP.

A heaping tablespoonful of common brown sugar if you have it; if not, use any kind of sugar; put it in the frying pan and stir it until it is dark brown; that is, until it is on the point of burning; see that it browns evenly. Then put in a tablespoonful of water, either hot or cold—it does not make any difference; stir that until it is mixed with the sugar; then another tablespoonful, until you have used about half a cupful of water. If you should pour the water all in at once the sugar would s

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CLARIFYING SOUP.

CLARIFYING SOUP.

To clarify soup stock: For each quart use the white and shell of one egg and one tablespoonful of cold water. Put the white and shell of the egg and the cold water into the bottom of the saucepan, and mix them together. Then put in the soup stock. Set the saucepan over the fire and let it boil gradually, stirring it every minute to mix the egg thoroughly so that it will not cake on the bottom of the pan before it begins to boil. When you have the stock made quite hot, when it begins to boil, the

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SLICED APPLE PIE.

SLICED APPLE PIE.

Half a pound of shortening to a pound of flour, the shortening to be rubbed into the flour with the hands until it is so thoroughly mixed that it seems like meal, but not at all melted or softened; then just enough cold water to make a pastry which will roll out. Roll out the pastry and use it at once to line the pie plates. Fill the plates with sliced apples, or with any fruit or mince meat. To-day I shall use sliced apples. Sprinkle flour over the pastry, and then roll it out and line the plat

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BREAD MAKING.

BREAD MAKING.

Now take your recipe for bread making. Use the compressed yeast which you buy at the grocery store. For two small loaves of bread or a large pan of biscuit use a whole cake of yeast. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water, a cupful of lukewarm water. Then add enough flour to form a thick batter; that will be about a cupful of flour; a thick batter which will cling to the mixing spoon when you lift the spoon and let a drop fall on the surface. Cover the bowl with a towel folded several times, or a

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BREAD AND APPLE PUDDING.

BREAD AND APPLE PUDDING.

Stale bread cut in slices or small pieces, fill a pudding dish of medium size, only three eggs, or if eggs are very dear, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a pint of milk, or enough more milk to saturate the bread. If the bread is very stale and dry you will have to use a pint and a half of milk. Three eggs, a pint of milk, four tablespoons of sugar, will make about a quart of liquid. The custard you pour over the bread; let the custard soak into the bread; then on the top of the pudding put a l

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MERINGUE.

MERINGUE.

I will next make a meringue . I have already told you to use the whites of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar—and that really must be pulverized very fine and sifted. In beating the eggs you can always get them light very quickly, if they are reasonably cold in the beginning, by beating with a change of movement. Beat until your hand grows tired, and then simply change the way you hold the beater. Don’t stop beating. Of course you can use any kind of an egg-whip you like. This wh

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CREAM OF SALMON.

CREAM OF SALMON.

A cupful of boiled salmon separated from the skin and bone and rubbed through a sieve with a potato masher, mixed with a quart of cream soup, gives you cream of salmon. Any of the ladies who have seen cream sauce made will understand the making of the cream soup. Put a slice of salmon that will make a cupful, over the fire in enough boiling water to cover it, with a heaping tablespoonful of salt, and boil it until the flakes separate. That will be perhaps ten minutes. Watch it a little. When the

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BOILED POTATOES.

BOILED POTATOES.

The boiling of potatoes is a very simple operation, but there is a good deal of talking to be done in connection with it. It does not make any difference whether you use hot water or cold in boiling potatoes. What you want to watch is the stage at which you take the potatoes out of the water. That is what determines whether they are to be mealy or not. The cause of the potatoes being mealy is the rupture of the starch cells and the escape of the steam just at the right moment, just when the pota

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CHEESE CRUSTS.

CHEESE CRUSTS.

For cheese crusts use bread that is a day or two old, baker’s bread or home-made bread; baker’s bread is the best for toast of all kinds, and this is a sort of toast. Cut the bread in even slices, rather small, cutting off the crusts. There is no waste in doing that, for I have already told you how to use up pieces of stale bread by making them into crumbs. Grate some cheese so that you have a tablespoonful of cheese for each little slice of bread. On each of the little pieces of bread put a tab

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GRAVY FOR MEAT.

GRAVY FOR MEAT.

There are about two tablespoonfuls of drippings in the pan. I am going to put a heaping tablespoonful of flour with it and stir until it is brown; then I am going to stir in gradually about a pint of boiling water, and season it with salt and pepper, and then I will send it down and show it to you. Make gravy in this way for any baked meat. Our first dish this afternoon, ladies, will be roast chicken. The lesson will include fish and poultry. First, to choose a tender chicken, examine the tip en

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FRICASSEED CHICKEN.

FRICASSEED CHICKEN.

I shall use this chicken for fricassee; it has been singed, picked and wiped with a wet towel. First, cut the skin down back of the neck, and cut off the neck. I shall talk about this chicken as if it was not drawn at all. Showing you how to cut it up and draw it at the same time. Cut off the neck and take out the crop, as I showed you with the other chicken. Then cut off the wings, taking a little of the breast with the wings. Find the joint where the wings join the body, cut at that joint; the

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FRIED CHICKENS.

FRIED CHICKENS.

Next the fried chicken, Maryland style, will be prepared. We will fry the chicken, and then I will tell you about hominy. The Southern cooks use lard for frying, either lard entirely or half lard and half butter; enough to cover the bottom of the frying pan about half an inch. Let the fat get hot, put some flour on a plate, season it with salt and pepper, and roll the pieces of chicken in it. When the fat is hot in the pan and the chicken has been rolled in the flour, put it into the hot fat and

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HOMINY.

HOMINY.

First pick the hominy over and wash it. Fine hominy is generally used for this dish. Put it over the fire in cold water, a cupful of hominy to about four cupfuls of water. Boil it and stir it often enough to prevent sticking, until it begins to be tender. Boil it for an hour, until it begins to grow tender. Then place it where there is no danger of burning, pour off the water, or leave off the cover of the sauce pan so that the water will evaporate. The hominy will need to cook pretty nearly an

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FRIED FISH.

FRIED FISH.

I have here some fish which I shall fry. We will not try broiled fish, because this has been frozen; we will do that some other day. In frying fish use either Indian meal or flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, to roll the fish in. Fry the fish in lard or the drippings from salt pork. In case you use salt pork, fry it brown. Olive oil is one of the nicest fats for frying fish. You may have your choice whether I fry with lard or oil. We will fry in oil. If you use lard at all you want it to be v

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CABINET PUDDING.

CABINET PUDDING.

The cabinet pudding as I shall make it to-day will be rather elaborate. You can make it more plainly. It is made of cake,—sponge cake is the best,—French candied fruit, eggs and milk. So that, first, I shall give you the recipe for the pudding as I make it to-day, and then I will give you the recipe for the plainer form. For the pudding use a pudding mould of the size I have in my hand (holding about a quart), about half a pound of French candied fruit, which you can get at the confectionaries h

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PEA SOUP WITH CRUSTS.

PEA SOUP WITH CRUSTS.

Next take the recipe for pea soup. Some of the ladies who were at the Monday afternoon lesson will need only to make one or two notes, and the others will take the full recipe. For pea soup, four quarts, use a cupful of dried peas, yellow split peas. Pick them over, wash them in cold water, put them over the fire in two quarts of cold water and let them heat slowly. As the water heats it softens the peas. When it is boiling add half a cupful more of cold water and let that heat; then add more co

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SALT CODFISH, STEWED IN CREAM.

SALT CODFISH, STEWED IN CREAM.

Next take the recipe for salt codfish, stewed in cream. First, to freshen salt codfish; that, of course, is always the first thing you do with salt codfish, no matter how you finish. You can do that by soaking it over night in cold water; if it has any skin on it be sure to have the skin side up. If you put it in the water with the skin side down, the salt which soaks out of the fibre of the fish simply falls against the skin and stays there. The fish does not get any fresher. A great deal of co

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CODFISH CAKES.

CODFISH CAKES.

To make codfish cakes, first make the fish fine; after freshening it and taking off the skin and bone, chop it or tear it in fine flakes; mix it with an equal quantity of potato either mashed or chopped—mashed potato is rather better for codfish cakes because you can pack it a little more closely in the form of cakes. To a pint bowlful of codfish hash add a tablespoonful of butter, a palatable seasoning of pepper and the yolk of one raw egg. That is, half codfish, half potato, a tablespoonful of

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STEWED CARROTS.

STEWED CARROTS.

Next take the recipe for stewed carrots. Carrots, peeled, as many as you wish to make a dishful; cut them in rather small slices, a quarter of an inch thick, put them over the fire in salted boiling water enough to cover them; boil them steadily until they are tender. That will be in perhaps half or three-quarters of an hour; if the carrots are young and fresh they will boil in half an hour; longer as the season advances and the carrots grow denser in their fibre. Late in the winter it may take

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VENISON WITH CURRANT JELLY.

VENISON WITH CURRANT JELLY.

Take the recipe for venison now, ladies. Enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan about a quarter of an inch. Let it get smoking hot, then put in the venison. You must have the pan large enough to hold the venison. As soon as the venison is brown on one side turn it and brown it on the other. Brown it very fast. As soon as the venison is browned put with it the currant jelly. For every pound of venison use two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly—not heaping spoonfuls; or you might put one heapin

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MEATS AND VEGETABLES.

MEATS AND VEGETABLES.

We will begin to-day with so-called roast beef, it is really baked. This is what is called a shoulder cut of beef, and is just as the butcher has sent it home, that is, without any of the bones being taken out. This thin part of the beef can be either roasted with the rest or cut off and used as a stew. It is not very available at the table. It almost always is tough, and there is a great deal of fat proportionately. The lean that is there is very apt to dry and harden in the baking. So that the

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TURNIPS.

TURNIPS.

To bake turnips, peel the turnips, either white or yellow ones, cut them in rather small slices, a quarter of an inch thick; put them over the fire in salted boiling water enough to cover them, and boil them fast until they are tender. It may take ten or fifteen minutes, possibly twenty minutes, according to the age of the turnips. Of course you will understand that if the turnips are old and corky they will not be as nice when they are done as if they are in good condition. But as soon as the t

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BEEF A LA MODE ROLLS.

BEEF A LA MODE ROLLS.

Our lesson this morning will begin with beef a la mode rolls. Use the round of the beef or the end of sirloin steak. I have here a piece of round of beef. Cut the beef in pieces about two inches wide and five long; lay these strips of meat on the cutting board and season them with salt and pepper. In the middle of each one put a little piece of salt pork about a quarter of an inch thick. Roll the meat up in such a way that the pork is inclosed in the middle of the little roll. Tie the roll to ke

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CARAMEL CUSTARD.

CARAMEL CUSTARD.

I will make a caramel custard next. For caramel custard use a plain tin mould, oval or square in shape, that will hold about three pints. Put a teaspoonful of sugar in the bottom of the mould and set the mould on the top of the stove where the sugar will brown. You may want to shake the mould a little to scatter the sugar evenly over the bottom. When the sugar is brown set the mould off the fire on the table where the burnt sugar will get cold; that forms what is called a caramel or coat of burn

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TOMATO SOUP.

TOMATO SOUP.

Next take a recipe for tomato soup. A can of tomatoes; put them over the fire. In the summer use about two quarts of fresh tomatoes. You will find that about two quarts will be sufficient. After the fresh tomatoes are peeled and sliced (you will remember canned tomatoes are already peeled), put them over the fire and stew them gently for about half an hour, or until they are tender. If the canned tomatoes are entirely solid you may need to add a little liquid, but I find there is generally more

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FRIED PICKEREL.

FRIED PICKEREL.

Next take a recipe for fried pickerel. Some of the ladies will remember that a few days ago we were talking about frying fish in this way with salt pork. If any of the ladies have the recipe, of course they do not need to take it again. For fried fish of any kind, enough salt pork to cover the bottom of the frying pan that you are going to use for the fish. You find you have three or four pounds of fish; you will need at least half a pound of salt pork. Cut the pork in very thin slices; fat salt

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CHEAP DISHES AND REWARMED FOODS.

CHEAP DISHES AND REWARMED FOODS.

We begin our lesson this afternoon with a dish of rice,—piloff of rice,—any cold meat cut in small squares, an onion peeled and chopped fine, and if you have tomatoes, either canned, fresh, or cold stewed tomatoes, a cupful. Sometimes the dish is made with tomatoes, sometimes without. Put the onion in the sauce pan with a tablespoonful of drippings; set it over the fire and let it get light brown. When it is light brown put with it a cupful of rice, picked over and washed and dried by the fire.

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FRENCH HASH.

FRENCH HASH.

Next take the recipe for a dish called French hash. There is no potato in it, it is simply meat and gravy, so that you must not let the name mislead you. Little slices of cold meat, fat and lean together. For a pint bowlful of meat use about a tablespoonful of chopped onion. First slightly brown the onion with a tablespoonful of butter or drippings or fat from the meat; then when the onion begins to brown put in the meat and let that brown. Next a tablespoonful of dried flour; stir the flour wit

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BAKED TENDERLOINS.

BAKED TENDERLOINS.

The next recipe will be for baked tenderloins. Split the pork tenderloins in such a way as to make rather thick slices. Tenderloins are so thick that by cutting you spread them out. Inside the slice of tenderloin put any stuffing that you like. I have given two or three recipes for different kinds of stuffing. For this to-day I shall use a little stale bread, crumbed, seasoned with salt and pepper, and moistened with butter; a tablespoonful of butter to a scant cupful of bread, or in place of bu

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FRIED LIVER.

FRIED LIVER.

First, wash the liver in cold water, then pour scalding water on it and let it stand for about ten minutes to draw out the blood; slice it about half an inch thick. After the liver is scalded and sliced, roll it in flour, season it with salt and pepper and put it into the frying pan containing about a quarter of an inch of hot fat, which may be drippings or fat from bacon or salt pork. In that case you first would fry the salt pork or bacon to get the fat or drippings, and put the slices of pork

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BAKED HASH.

BAKED HASH.

Next take a recipe for baked hash. Equal quantities of chopped meat and stale bread, meat of any kind. Suppose you have a pint bowl of each. Mix with the meat and the bread a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper, and that, of course, will depend upon the seasoning of the meat. You may use corned beef or highly seasoned meat, and then you will not need so much seasoning as you would if you used fresh meat. A heaping teaspoonful of chopped parsley, enough cold

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CORNED BEEF HASH.

CORNED BEEF HASH.

Now I will give you a recipe for corned beef hash. Yesterday we spoke about boiling corned beef. You will take cold corned beef and boiled potatoes, either hot or cold, about equal quantities. Sometimes people like a little more potato than meat. Mix the meat and potato together; add just enough water or broth to moisten the meat and potato. Season palatably with salt and pepper and butter; have the hash nicely mixed together; put into the frying pan; suppose you have a quart of hash, about two

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OYSTERS.

OYSTERS.

We begin our lecture this morning with roast oysters, Mobile style. All oysters, when cooked in any way, should be first put in a colander and the juice allowed to drain off, then strain the juice. Always take each oyster in the hand and carefully remove all fragments of shell from the gills. The shells of oysters are dangerous to swallow, and serious illness is often the result. Hold the oyster by the hard part, removing pieces of shell with the finger. Then wipe the oyster with a wet towel. Ke

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WELSH RAREBIT.

WELSH RAREBIT.

For a rarebit large enough for three or four persons, put in a sauce pan a quarter of a pound of grated cheese, two tablespoonfuls of butter, a saltspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of ale, one teaspoonful of mustard, a little dust of cayenne pepper, stir all these together over the fire and serve on toast....

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Cookery for the Sick. BROILED CHICKEN.

Cookery for the Sick. BROILED CHICKEN.

For broiled chicken choose always a tender chicken. Remove all the feathers, singe it over the fire, and wipe the chicken with a wet towel. Split the chicken down the back. In doing that one can remove the entrails without breaking. Take out the entrails and crop; lay the chicken open on the gridiron. It is better to use a double gridiron, well buttered. If the chicken is not tender, break the joints so the chicken will lie flat on the gridiron. Put the inside of the chicken to the fire first an

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BARBECUED CHICKEN.

BARBECUED CHICKEN.

Split down the back, and after breaking the joints dress and lay it open. Use two tablespoonfuls of butter and one cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken well, dredge it with flour and baste it every fifteen minutes with drippings from the pan until tender. Pour over it the gravy that you find in the pan, and serve. The Southerners, with whom this dish is a great favorite, usually put in this gravy some nice table sauce....

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JELLIED OATMEAL.

JELLIED OATMEAL.

Take one-half cup of very finely ground oatmeal and put it over the fire with a pint of boiling water and a level teaspoonful of salt. Boil it very slowly until it becomes transparent. This will require two hours or longer. Do not add any more water unless it is positively necessary. When it is done it should be stiff and hold its form when it is turned out. It makes a dish which is very nice and nutritious for sick people, when it is quite gelatinous. Add sugar, if it is desired, and put it in

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BOILED TROUT.

BOILED TROUT.

Boiled trout makes an excellent dish for convalescents and it is very nutritious. Have the fish cleaned and the scales removed. The entrails should be drawn from the gills. After the fish has been thoroughly washed boil it in salted boiling water till you can easily pull a fin out, then serve it with a white sauce either made plain or with milk. French canned green peas are nice with trout. If the peas are served with the trout put the peas on the dish and lay the trout on them. Clam soup may be

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RENNET CUSTARD.

RENNET CUSTARD.

Heat a half pint of milk until it is lukewarm. While the milk is heating beat one egg with a teaspoonful of powdered sugar and stir the egg and sugar in with it. When the milk is lukewarm add one teaspoonful of liquid rennet and one teaspoonful of wine or one tablespoonful of rennet wine. Mix all together and let it become cold. Rennet custard may be given safely when the invalid is not able to take more than broth....

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BEEF TEA.

BEEF TEA.

For a pint of beef tea take one pound of beef chopped very fine. All the fat is to be cut away. Put it in a bowl with a pint of cold water. Let it stand in an earthen bowl at least an hour, and longer if possible. Put the water and beef in the sauce pan over the fire, and heat them very slowly indeed. When the beef tea arrives at the boiling point pour it into a wire sieve to allow the juice and the little particles of meat—not the fibres—to pass through. Season it very lightly, and if any parti

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