Grocers' Goods - free ebook by Frederick B. (Frederick Bartlett) Goddard

Read as playlist

Grocers' Goods

Frederick B. (Frederick Bartlett) Goddard

107 chapters

2 hour read

Read as playlist

Selected Chapters

107 chapters

Grocers’s

Grocers’s

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain. Housekeepers will find this list suggestive and helpful in making up orders for the Grocer, as well as useful for page reference. In the ancient times of twenty-five or thirty years ago, the grocer’s goods consisted chiefly of codfish, flour, sugar, tea, coffee, salt, molasses and whale oil. There were also a little candy in glass jars, some nuts in bins, a few drums of figs and a box of sour oranges. The grocer h

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE MODERN GROCER.

THE MODERN GROCER.

Nor has the enterprising retail grocer of to-day failed to catch the spirit of this progress and keep even step with it. He has become the Popular Food Provider, and his store represents about everything which is palatable in either hemisphere or any zone. As the world has grown enlightened and refined, his stock has become more and more varied and better adapted to the wants of mankind, until it embraces every delicacy of the land, sea or air. His cunningly prepared sauces provoke the appetite

47 minute read

Read Chapter

Food Never Before so Low.

Food Never Before so Low.

Nor would a day’s wages ever before purchase so much of food products. In the English market, for the ten years from 1870 to 1880, the price of wheat was forty-three per cent. higher than the average of 1886. Sugars have fallen in price nearly one-half in ten years, and teas, coffee, and many other articles are proportionately low. This is due to improvements in machinery, increased transportation facilities and the opening up of new and fertile sections of the earth, under all of which the worl

33 minute read

Read Chapter

Food Adulteration.

Food Adulteration.

There has long been an uneasy feeling lest many articles of food and drink were not only mixed with substances which reduced their nutritive value, but were also often colored with cumulative poisons, and adulterated with substances injurious to health. These fears have not been altogether groundless. There can be no doubt that this monstrous crime has been practiced to some extent in respect to certain articles. But, thanks to the diffusion of intelligence, the teachings of science, the operati

56 minute read

Read Chapter

Adulteration Laws.

Adulteration Laws.

Yet even this class of adulterated goods is objectionable, from the fact that there are always dealers who will be tempted to sell them as “Strictly pure,” thus defrauding the purchaser, out-reaching honest rivals and losing their own self-respect. Probably, therefore, most of the upright and leading grocers of the country would be glad to see wise and effective general laws passed against food adulterations, under which all could unite and be freed from unfair competition by the unscrupulous. B

36 minute read

Read Chapter

Less Adulteration than Commonly Supposed.

Less Adulteration than Commonly Supposed.

The general Government is also moving in the matter. Last year (1887) three “Bulletins” were issued at Washington, which deal exhaustively with current adulterations of dairy products, spices, etc., and fermented beverages. These reports, made under direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture, were prepared respectively by Messrs. H. W. Wiley, C. Richardson, and C. A. Crampton, who state in substance that they found certain articles extensively adulterated, but generally with harmless materials

51 minute read

Read Chapter

Hints to Housekeepers.

Hints to Housekeepers.

As a rule, whole or unground articles are to be preferred to those which are powdered; not only because they are less liable to adulteration, but also because the latter more quickly lose flavor and strength. This objection applies also to buying goods in large quantities of wholesale dealers, for family use. This plan may appear to be economical, but is generally disadvantageous both to buyer and seller. Tea, aromatic and ground goods, and many other commodities often deteriorate in quality bef

49 minute read

Read Chapter

The Daily Food of a Model Man.

The Daily Food of a Model Man.

A healthy man, weighing, say, one hundred and fifty-four pounds, consists of water one hundred and nine pounds, and of solid matter forty-five pounds. His blood weighs about twelve pounds, or, when dry, two pounds. The quantity of food substances he should consume every day, and their relative proportions necessary to keep him vigorous and well, are stated by Prof. Johnston to be about as follows: If for a time the proper balance of constituents is not preserved in the food, even though the heal

31 minute read

Read Chapter

Variety in Food.

Variety in Food.

If any constituent is deficient we must supply it; hence variety in food is not only agreeable but necessary to health. Albumen, fibrin, casein and gluten build up the muscles and tissues, while starch, sugar and fat produce the warmth and energy of the body. The mineral substances are necessary for the framework—the bones. Grains, fruits and vegetables contain starch and sugar and more or less gluten; meats contain fibrin and albumen; milk, casein, etc....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

Beef and Bread

Beef and Bread

have the following composition: This shows that the main difference between beef and bread is that the meat contains no starch, and nearly three times as much of the muscle making fibrin as the proportion of gluten (which is similar in many respects) in wheaten bread. The water, climate, season, age, habits, etc., all have to do with the choice of food we eat. Besides the quantity of nourishment contained in the food, there is also the question of the ease and completeness with which it can be d

29 minute read

Read Chapter

Milk.

Milk.

Woman’s milk is considered the type of human food when the conditions approach that of the child, as the milk of the mother is the natural food of all young animals. Milk partakes of the nature of both animal and vegetable food. It contains: These are average analyses. The casein is equivalent to the gluten of vegetables or the fibrin of meat, and the sugar to starch. With these few general observations, let us pass on to consider in detail the Grocer’s Goods....

24 minute read

Read Chapter

WHEAT.

WHEAT.

The cereal grains consist of solidified vegetable milk, drawn from the bosom of Mother Earth. But two of them all are used for making light and spongy bread with yeast, and wheat has the universal preference because it contains all the elements necessary to the growth and sustenance of the body. It makes bread which is more inviting to the eye and more agreeable to the taste. It is the highest type of vegetable food known to mankind, and it is claimed that the most enlightened nations of modern

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Wheaten Flour.

Wheaten Flour.

Wheat was formerly ground by mill stones, and the product bolted and sifted into the different grades. But during the last twelve years, this process has been largely superseded by the “Patent Roller” process of crushing and separating the flour from the bran. This is a great improvement over the old method; more flour is obtained from the wheat, and it is whiter, contains more gluten, and is therefore stronger. The first consideration is the color or whiteness; second, the quantity of gluten th

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Points for Purchasers of Flour.

Points for Purchasers of Flour.

As starch is whiter than gluten, whiteness is therefore really no indication of the sweetness and strength of flour; and, although flour becomes whiter with age and will take up more water and make a whiter loaf, many prefer freshly ground flour for family use, as being better in flavor, while others claim that flour will “work better” if kept for some time after grinding. The brand or word “Patent” on packages of flour has come to signify, not that the flour is really patented, but that it is o

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Corn or Maize.

Corn or Maize.

This is one of the most beautiful of plants, and the Indians formerly ascribed to it a Divine origin. Hiawatha watched by the grave of the Spirit Mondamin, Indian corn contains more oil or fat than any of the common cereals. It will make as white and fine flour as wheat, but this does not make good fermented bread, unless mixed with wheaten flour. Corn Meal is healthful, nutritious and cheap, but, owing to its fat, is prone to attract oxygen and spoil, especially in warm weather. There are two k

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Rye Flour.

Rye Flour.

Rye ranks next to wheat for bread making, and is equally nutritious. It yields less flour and more bran than wheat, contains more sugar, and is darker in color. Its gluten has less tenacity and it will not make as light and spongy bread as wheat flour, hence is little used in this country. Rye flour should contain a little of the bran, as this has a pleasant, aromatic flavor. The “Black bread,” so extensively eaten in portions of Europe, is made of rye flour. It is dark, heavy and sourish, but l

33 minute read

Read Chapter

Barley.

Barley.

This grain is less nutritious and less digestible than wheat, but contains more sugar and more of the phosphates, and is also cooling. It will not make good bread, but is sometimes used for the purpose, mixed with wheaten flour. Pearl Barley is the whole grain freed from its hulls like rice. It is used in soups, etc., and is sold by all grocers. In the best qualities the grains are large and well rounded. It is sold in bulk and in pound packages....

24 minute read

Read Chapter

Oatmeal.

Oatmeal.

Oats are substantial, nutritious and wholesome, being rich in gluten and fat. Oatmeal for the table is made from kiln dried, large, white oats, freed from the husks. Alone it does not make good bread. If long used as a sole or chief food it is reputed to overtax the digestive organs, heat the blood, and produce eruptions of the skin. Many claim, however, that these effects are due solely to insufficient cooking of the meal or porridge, and there are excellent preparations in market which have be

47 minute read

Read Chapter

Buckwheat.

Buckwheat.

This grain may be classed with wheat as regards its nutritive qualities. It contains thirteen or fourteen per cent. of water, about fifteen per cent. of gluten, and sixty or sixty-five per cent. of starch. It will not make good fermented bread, but its delicious cakes are an essential and attractive feature upon American breakfast tables everywhere, especially in cool weather. It is sold in bulk and is also put up in three and six pound packages....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

Rice.

Rice.

Although this grain is the main food of one-third of the human race and is very easily digested, it contains too little gluten and fat and too much starch to be considered alone as a perfect food for man. Rice has a slightly constipating effect but is an excellent and wholesome occasional article of diet, and one which could not well be spared from the family list. Rice is sold deprived of its husk. It is imported from the East Indies, but the best is the fine, large head rice of the Carolinas.

32 minute read

Read Chapter

Farinaceous Foods.

Farinaceous Foods.

These are very numerous and some of them are excellent. Among them may be named the “ CEREALINE FLAKES ,” made from white corn; CRACKED and CRUSHED WHEAT , WHEATEN GRITS , FARINA , which is the inner part of the wheat granulated, SELF-RAISING , BUCKWHEAT and other FLOURS ; “ WHEATLET ,” “ GRAINLET ,” “ GRANUM ,” “ FARINOSE ,” “ MAIZENA ,” MANIOCA , INFANT FOOD , MILK FOOD , ARROW ROOT , CORN STARCH of various makes, GRAHAM FLOUR , BOSTON BROWN BREAD MIXTURES , etc. Many of these preparations are

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Bread.

Bread.

One hundred pounds of good, fine, wheaten flour will take up forty-five pounds of water, and yield one hundred and forty-five pounds of bread. The proper and legal weight of bread is while it is hot. A four pound loaf loses in twenty-four hours one and one-quarter ounces; in forty-eight hours five ounces; in seventy hours nine ounces. The quantity of water which flour will absorb depends largely on the proportion and quality of the gluten. The best flours absorb most, and will take up more in dr

33 minute read

Read Chapter

Feed for Stock.

Feed for Stock.

Among the articles largely used as food for animals are the refuse products of the various grains made in preparing them for human consumption; as, for instance, the refuse left in the pearling of barley, or in making hominy and samp; dried Barley Sprouts from malt, low grade flour; Middlings , which are a mixture of bran and flour; Bran , etc. Besides these, Oats , white, black and mixed, and vast quantities of Southern and Western Corn are also used for stock, ground into coarse meal....

27 minute read

Read Chapter

Bread Raising Materials.

Bread Raising Materials.

Fermentation, says Liebig, is not only the simplest and best, but likewise the most economical way of making light and porous bread. Yeast is a true fungous plant, which has the power of establishing fermentation and changing starch into sugar, and the escaping gas makes the loaf light and spongy. Hops prevent too great fermentation and impart an agreeable flavor. Brewers’ Yeast is largely used when obtainable, and there are many domestic modes of preparing yeast from potatoes, flour, etc. Dried

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Biscuits, Crackers, etc.

Biscuits, Crackers, etc.

The word biscuit means twice baked, and is a survival from the ancient mode of cooking the cakes which is now no longer in use. Plain biscuits are said to be more nutritious than bread in the proportion of five to three, and are most digestible when light and well browned in baking, so as to turn much of the starch into dextrine. Sea biscuit or ship bread is made simply of flour and water baked at a high heat. In the large cracker bakeries the dough is mixed, rolled and cut by machinery and the

4 minute read

Read Chapter

Sugar Candies.

Sugar Candies.

Whatever dangers may have lurked in confectionery in times past, parents may now be assured that they can gratify the natural and healthy appetite of their children for sweets, without fear of poisonous colorings or harmful adulterants. The “National Confectioners’ Association,” (an organization formed by a large proportion of the leading manufacturing confectioners of the United States,) “is pledged by its constitution and by-laws to prosecute all parties using poisonous colorings, terra-alba,

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Making Candy, etc.

Making Candy, etc.

Glucose or grape sugar now enters largely into the manufacture of many kinds of confectionery, and harmless vegetable colors are used. Manipulation breaks up the crystals of sugar and thereby renders it whiter, and the difference in the price of candies is now largely due to the amount of manipulation it receives. Few have an idea of the vast quantities of confectionery manufactured. It amounts to many hundred tons daily; much of it is made almost entirely by machinery, and the business is divid

1 minute read

Read Chapter

TEA.

TEA.

This staple necessity of modern life is now consumed by more than five hundred millions of people, and its use appears to grow with the growth of civilization. There is but one species of the tea plant and its varieties are due to differences of soil and climate. China alone produces annually nearly a million and a half tons of tea; to say nothing of the teas of Japan, Corea, Assam, and Java....

20 minute read

Read Chapter

Effects of Tea.

Effects of Tea.

Tea exhilarates without intoxicating; rouses the mind to increased activity without reaction, while at the same time it soothes the body, dispels headache, and counteracts the effects of fermented liquors and narcotics. It lessens also the waste of the tissues under the labors of life. As an English authority says: “When the time has arrived to the old and infirm, that the stomach can no longer digest enough of the ordinary elements of food to keep up the waste of the system, and the size and we

41 minute read

Read Chapter

Black and Green Teas.

Black and Green Teas.

Either may be prepared at will from the same leaves; the difference lies in the mode of treatment. The earliest leaves are the tenderest and best flavored; later gatherings grow more woody and bitter. Black teas are spread in the air for some time after gathering, then roasted and rolled by hand, again exposed to the air, whereby they undergo a slight degree of fermentation, and finally are dried slowly over charcoal fires. The leaves for green tea are, as soon as gathered, roasted a few minutes

31 minute read

Read Chapter

Analysis of Tea by Dr. Hassall.

Analysis of Tea by Dr. Hassall.

The aroma and commercial value of tea are due to a small quantity, (from 1/4 to 1 per cent.) of a volatile oil which it contains. This oil, as in coffee, is developed by roasting, the fresh picked leaves having neither an astringent, aromatic, nor bitter taste. But the effects of tea are due to its theine and tannin. Theine is present in all kinds of tea, as well as in coffee and cocoa, but it has no flavor. Tannin forms from a fifth to a seventh of the weight of the dried tea leaf, and is the m

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Tea Made to Order.

Tea Made to Order.

There are tea coloring and facing establishments in this country which use for the purpose substances very similar to those used by the Chinese, and they have become so expert of late years that they can turn a black tea into a green (or vice versa ) at short notice. Tea buyers judge quality by the aroma, flavor, and the color and strength of the infusion. They detect vegetable adulterations by the shape and size of the leaf when unrolled, and sometimes burn the leaves and weigh the residue of a

27 minute read

Read Chapter

Gunpowder, Hyson, and Imperial.

Gunpowder, Hyson, and Imperial.

Some of the most experienced tea dealers in New York declare that there is really no essential difference in the quality of the “Firsts” or choicest grades of any “Chop” of either Gunpowder, Hyson, or Imperial, the only difference being in the form or fineness of granulation. But the popular preference in green tea is for Gunpowder, which is believed to consist of the first leaves or leaf buds of the plant. It is graded from “common” or “fair” up to “choicest.”...

23 minute read

Read Chapter

Varieties of Tea.

Varieties of Tea.

Hyson is a widely used green tea. The name is derived from He-chun, a noted Chinese tea grower. Young Hyson is said to be made from the earlier leaves; Imperials and Hysons from later gatherings. Hyson skin is the light inferior leaves winnowed out. Twankay is the poorest of the green, as Bohea is of the black teas. Pekoe is the best of black teas, but is little used, except to give fragrance to mixtures. “Capers” is used similarly to flavor green teas. Congou (made with care) and Souchong are g

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Japan Teas.

Japan Teas.

A. &amp; A. Low, of New York, imported the first cargo of Japan tea about twenty years ago, and since then its consumption has constantly increased. The natural leaf is yellowish brown, and the first Japan teas brought here were of that color. But the tint has changed. The “uncolored” Japan tea is in fact now all colored with some substance like the Chinese green teas, but not injuriously. The “Basket fired” is the nearest to the uncolored leaf. The “Sun-dried” is very popular here, and is b

29 minute read

Read Chapter

Blended Teas.

Blended Teas.

New crop teas are the best. Japan teas come in June, and Chinese later, say in July and August. Many prefer a mixture of green and black tea for family use, and retail dealers often have the knack of so blending the two that the excellence of each is enhanced. Such a combination has less effect upon the nerves, and is less expensive than good green tea, while it may be more delightful in flavor than either black or green tea alone....

23 minute read

Read Chapter

COFFEE.

COFFEE.

Coffee has been aptly called the “Beverage of Intelligence.” It quickens the functions of the brain, arouses all the intellectual faculties, stimulates and gives clearness to thought and increases the powers of judgment. It exhilarates the nervous system, counteracts the stupor caused by fatigue, by disease, or by opium, allays hunger, retards the waste of the tissues, fortifies the powers of endurance, and to a certain extent gives to the weary and exhausted increased strength and vigor, and a

33 minute read

Read Chapter

Coffee Better than Alcohol.

Coffee Better than Alcohol.

Coffee tends to lessen the desire for alcoholic drinks, and possesses some of their properties without their bad effects. Alcohol is a false and dangerous friend. Its free use enfeebles the vital organs, reduces the power of resistance, degrades the mind and body and leads on to poverty, disease, and death. Coffee produces the beneficial effects of moderate doses of alcohol, without its injurious effects. It does not, like alcohol, destroy the nerves, or invite immoderation, and even when used t

35 minute read

Read Chapter

Coffee Growth and Production.

Coffee Growth and Production.

Coffee plants are raised from the seed, are set out in 12 months, 450 plants to the acre, begin to bear in 4 years, mature in 7 years, and continue for 40 years. The flowers are white and fragrant; the fruit, which grows in clusters, resembles a red cherry and contains two seeds, which are the coffee of commerce. The world’s total annual production of coffee is about 666,000 tons, of which Brazil furnishes 360,000 tons. The entire population of the United States averages to consume, per capita 7

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Coffee and Tea Compared.

Coffee and Tea Compared.

Tea yields, weight for weight, twice as much caffeine (or theine) as coffee; but as we use more in weight of the latter, a cup of coffee contains about as much caffeine as a cup of tea. The composition of roasted coffee and the tea leaf are given as follows, although the proportions are variable:...

16 minute read

Read Chapter

Modes of Making Coffee.

Modes of Making Coffee.

One pound of the properly roasted bean or berry should make 55 or 60 cups of good coffee. Coffee may be made too bitter, but it is impossible to make it too fragrant. Coffee is much the best when freshly ground. The French and many Americans merely steep or infuse their coffee at a temperature just below the boiling point, claiming that boiling dissipates the aroma; others bring it only to a boil; while others still, hold that boiling it a little is more economical, as giving an increased quanti

35 minute read

Read Chapter

Coffee Substitutes and Adulterations.

Coffee Substitutes and Adulterations.

Rye, beans, peas, acorns, carrots, turnips, dandelion root, burned bread, and many similar substances have at times been used as substitutes or adulterants for coffee. But as none of them contain caffeine or the volatile aromatic oil, they cannot serve the same physiological principle. Ground coffee is extensively adulterated, and mainly with the much cheaper...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

Chicory or Wild Endive.

Chicory or Wild Endive.

Roasting develops in this root an empyreumatic, volatile oil which exercises upon the system some of the nerve-soothing, hunger-staying effects of tea and coffee. A little chicory gives as dark a color and as bitter a taste as a great deal of coffee. It is not unwholesome unless taken in excess, when its effects are bad. It is a poor substitute for coffee, but some people seem actually to prefer coffee which contains chicory....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

Tests for Adulterations.

Tests for Adulterations.

If ground coffee cakes in the paper, or when pinched by the fingers, or if, when a little is put into water, a part sinks while the rest swims, and the water becomes immediately discolored, the coffee is probably adulterated. The more caking and discoloration, the more chicory and the less value. There are numerous brands of ground coffee on the market, and some of them are very popular and satisfactory. There are also various kinds of “Extracts” and “Essences” of coffee, and even humble chicory

28 minute read

Read Chapter

Cocoa and Chocolate.

Cocoa and Chocolate.

The theobroma tree grows in Central and South America. The seeds of its fruit, which are about the size of almonds, are gently roasted, deprived of their husks and ground to a paste. This is Cocoa . If this paste be mixed with sugar and flavored with vanilla, bitter almonds, etc., it forms the well known, delicious, and nourishing Chocolate , which may either be eaten as a confection or drank as a beverage. The husk, which forms about 10 per cent. of the weight of the bean, is called “ Shells ,”

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Milk, Etc.

Milk, Etc.

Milk is sophisticated by robbing it of its cream, or by adding to it “The milk of the cow with the iron tail,” and by coloring it. Cream contains about 40 per cent. of fat and 55 per cent. of water; SKIMMED MILK is water, with sugar and caseine. Whey is merely a solution of milk sugar with a little albumen. Milk is best and most plentiful in spring, and richer but less abundant in dry seasons. The last milk drawn from the cow contains most cream. Koumiss , the use of which is rapidly increasing,

45 minute read

Read Chapter

Butter.

Butter.

Good, fresh butter, contains 84 to 88 parts of milk fat, 10 or 12 parts of moisture, and a little milk sugar, caseine and salt. inferior butter may contain as much as 33 per cent. of water, or buttermilk, and salt. The more buttermilk left in, the sooner the butter grows rancid, while over-working tends to make it soft and oily. The melting of butter changes its physical properties, and long exposure to the air injures the best butter. Good butter is solid and of a grained texture, has a fine or

47 minute read

Read Chapter

Classification of Butter.

Classification of Butter.

The New York Mercantile Exchange classification, which is standard, is as follows: Eastern Creamery , Sweet Cream Creamery , Dairy Butter , Western Creamery , Imitation Creamery , and Dairy , also “ Ladle ” and “ Grease Butter .” Creamery Butter is the best. It is such as is made from the cream obtained by setting the milk at the creamery, or by the system known as “Cream gathering,” by which the farmer delivers his cream to the creamery to be churned or made into butter. Butter made under the f

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Artificial Butter.

Artificial Butter.

About 20 years ago a French chemist tried to imitate the process which takes place when cows are underfed, and when, therefore, the butter they yield is supplied from their own fat. His aim was to make a substitute for butter for the poor, etc., which should be healthful, agreeable and cheap, and which should keep a long time without becoming rancid. The man’s name was Mege-Mouries, and he discovered Oleomargarine . This product has been, and is still extensively manufactured in the United State

51 minute read

Read Chapter

Oleomargarine Laws.

Oleomargarine Laws.

In 1886 Congress passed the “Oleomargarine Bill,” defining butter to be an article made solely from milk and cream. It imposes a tax of two cents per pound upon oleomargarine and similar butter substitutes, compels their sale in certain sized packages, plainly marked or branded with the name of their contents, and requires manufacturers and dealers to take out special licenses, all under heavy penalties. Some of the State laws, restricting the sale of oleomargarine, are still more stringent, and

26 minute read

Read Chapter

Cheese.

Cheese.

No article of food appears to be more affected than cheese by slight variations of the materials from which it is made, or by such apparently trifling differences in the methods of manufacture. Both full and skimmed milk are used; the former yielding, of course, the best product. The latter cheese is little used in this country. An English writer says that if milk is skimmed for several days, “it yields a cheese so hard that pigs grunt at it, dogs bark at it, but neither dare bite it.” People’s

34 minute read

Read Chapter

Cheese as a Staple Food.

Cheese as a Staple Food.

Some nations (as Great Britain, etc.,) consume cheese largely as a staple food, while others use it more sparingly, and mainly as a condiment or relish. Bread and cheese consort better with ale than with whiskey and this country is not greatly given to cheese as a staple food, although its consumption is increasing here, owing to recent improvements in the modes of manufacture and in its quality. Two-thirds of our total product now goes to Europe....

22 minute read

Read Chapter

Analysis of Full and Skim Milk Cheese.

Analysis of Full and Skim Milk Cheese.

The composition of cheese is given as follows:...

4 minute read

Read Chapter

Good and Poor Cheese.

Good and Poor Cheese.

Cheese dries fast and shrinks in weight; hence the grocer who sells it in small quantities is compelled to charge a fair margin or advance upon its cost to save himself from loss. The ordinary weight of American cheeses is about 60 lbs., but smaller ones are growing in favor, and many are now made weighing from 35 to 40 lbs. A grocer who has a good class of custom soon realizes that our poor cheese takes the place of several good ones, and it is his aim to secure a good and popular quality and s

28 minute read

Read Chapter

Facts About Cheese.

Facts About Cheese.

The best cheese is made from the rich June grasses, the poorest in the heats of summer. June cheese is safest to keep, as the curds are then scalded higher, to ensure that they will sustain the coming warm weather. Cheese may be made for immediate use—and such will grow sharp if long kept—or it may be so made as to keep a year or more with constant improvement or ripening. It requires about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. “Filled” Cheese is made by substituting lard in place of t

36 minute read

Read Chapter

Classification of Cheese.

Classification of Cheese.

Cheese made in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin has the first “Call” in the New York Mercantile Exchange. “ Fancy ” must be full cream, perfect in flavor, close made, well cured, of uniform color and perfect surface. “ Fine ” is the next grade below—must be also full cream, clean flavor, etc. “ Known Marks ” or Factory Cheese may not be full cream. “ Western Cheese ” “Shall include those of all States not mentioned above and shall be classified as fancy, fine, and known marks, but they may n

27 minute read

Read Chapter

Imported Cheese.

Imported Cheese.

Swiss Cheese comes from Switzerland, and more of this is imported than of all others combined. Next stands Edam from Holland. The delicious Roquefort Cheese , made in France, from ewes milk and kept in mountain caves to ripen, stands third in the list of imported cheeses, and Parmesan stands fourth; it is made from skimmed milk, the curd hardened by a gentle heat. This and SBRINZ cheese are used for soups—grated. Gorgonzola is a fine, rich, Italian cheese, each weighing about ten pounds. Other g

46 minute read

Read Chapter

Eggs.

Eggs.

Eggs are cheap and substantial food. The white is mostly albumen, while the yolk is two-thirds oil. Turkeys eggs are pronounced the best in flavor. Guinea hens eggs are excellent, and keep well on account of their thick shells. Goose eggs are larger, whiter, and less esteemed. Duck eggs are bluish, and less desirable than hens eggs. Eight hens eggs weigh a pound. A fresh egg feels heavy in the hand and is semi-transparent before the light. Its large end feels warm to the tongue. The older it is,

38 minute read

Read Chapter

Lard.

Lard.

Good, pure lard should be white, should melt without ebullition or sputtering, be almost as clear and white as water, and not deposit any sediment. It is composed of oleine 62 parts, stearine 65 parts. The fat of the hog taken from around the kidneys and the layers over the ribs is called “Leaf lard” and is better, firmer and will stand warm weather better, than lard made from the entire fat of the animal. Lard Admixtures. —There is no complaint that lard is adulterated with substances injurious

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Fresh Meats and Poultry.

Fresh Meats and Poultry.

Beef. —Good beef should be juicy, somewhat firm and elastic, velvety and smooth grained to the touch, and “marbled” with little streaks, dots or points of fat. The suet fat should be plentiful, white, firm, dry, and crumbly; if the fat is yellow, oily, or fibrous, the beef is inferior. Mutton is wholesome, nutritious, and easily digested. The best is from a plump, small boned animal, with abundant white, clear, solid fat. The lean should be firm, dark red, and juicy, the leg bones clear, white,

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Smoked and Dried Meats and Fish.

Smoked and Dried Meats and Fish.

Hams, etc. —The best are of medium size, weighing, say, from 8 to 14 pounds, plump, round, and the bone small. The shank should be short and tapering, skin thin and not shriveled or wrinkled, and the fat white and firm. To ascertain if ham has begun to spoil, thrust a skewer or knife in at the side of the aitch bone and at the knuckle joint; if sound there, it is good throughout. Bacon. —This is the smoked flank. Breakfast Bacon , made from young pigs, is very delicate and palatable. Beef Tongue

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Salt or Pickled Fish.

Salt or Pickled Fish.

Mackerel have the front rank in this line, and there are few good tables on which they do not occasionally appear. They are sold by the grocer in barrels and fractions of barrels, in kits of 20, 15, and 10 pounds, in tins, minus heads and tails, and by the single fish. The best are the fattest, largest, and freshest of the current season. They should be free from rust and soaked before cooking until all the brine is drawn out. They can be afterwards salted, if necessary. They are graded as “Extr

44 minute read

Read Chapter

Meat Essences and Extracts.

Meat Essences and Extracts.

There are several varieties of these articles in liquids, pastes, and solids. Some, at least, of them, without being true nutrients are excellent as condiments, stimulants, and tonics for digestion. Meat juices contain a substance called kreatine, which is similar in its exhilarating properties to the peculiar principles of tea and coffee. Fifty pounds of meat are said to be required to make one pound of Liebig’s meat extract. These preparations are valuable additions to other foods, but all tha

52 minute read

Read Chapter

Excellence of American Canned Goods.

Excellence of American Canned Goods.

M. Appert, of France, first patented (in 1810) a process for preserving animal and vegetable substances in close vessels of glass—after subjecting them to the action of heat—and an English firm soon after introduced provisions preserved in tin. But it was reserved for Americans to lead the world, not only in the magnitude of their canning industries, but also in the art of preserving meats, vegetables, and fruits, by processes so delicate and effective, as to retain their original shape and text

36 minute read

Read Chapter

Varieties of Canned Goods.

Varieties of Canned Goods.

Among canned goods, in glass or tin packages of various sizes, qualities and prices, are the following:...

6 minute read

Read Chapter

Canned Meats.

Canned Meats.

Corned beef , boiled; ROAST BEEF , BEEF A LA MODE , BOILED HAM , BOILED TONGUE , ROAST MUTTON , ROAST VEAL , ROAST CHICKEN , ROAST TURKEY , BRAWN , POTTED MEATS of all kinds; GAME PATES of WILD DUCK , GROUSE , PARTRIDGE , PLOVER , WOODCOCK ; BONED TURKEY AND CHICKEN , with jelly; CURRIED CHICKEN , DEVILLED CHICKEN , TURKEY , HAM , PIG’S FEET , LAMB’S TONGUES , etc....

35 minute read

Read Chapter

Canned Soups and Broths.

Canned Soups and Broths.

Beef , CHICKEN , GREEN TURTLE , OXTAIL , JULIENNE , MOCK TURTLE , CONSOMME , MACCARONI , VERMICELLI , PEA , MUTTON BROTH , etc....

11 minute read

Read Chapter

Fish.

Fish.

Clams , CLAM CHOWDER , ANCHOVIES , CRABS FRESH , CRABS DEVILLED , CODFISH BALLS , MACKEREL FRESH , LOBSTER , OYSTERS , PRAWNS , SHRIMP , SALMON , SARDINES , TROUT , TURTLE , KIPPERED HERRING , BLOATERS , etc....

20 minute read

Read Chapter

Canned Vegetables.

Canned Vegetables.

Asparagus , Baked, Lima, and String BEANS , GREEN CORN , MUSHROOMS , OKRA , ONIONS , PEAS , PUMPKIN , SQUASH , SUCCOTASH , SPINACH , RHUBARB , etc....

12 minute read

Read Chapter

Canned Fruits.

Canned Fruits.

Apples , APRICOTS , BLACKBERRIES , BLUEBERRIES , CHERRIES , GRAPES , GOOSEBERRIES , PEACHES , PEARS , PLUMS , PINEAPPLES , QUINCES , RASPBERRIES , STRAWBERRIES , etc....

13 minute read

Read Chapter

Canned Sundries.

Canned Sundries.

Besides the above, there are “Heaps” of canned delicacies, such, for instance, as TRUFFLES , TRUFFLE PATES , TRUFFLE DU PERIGORD , in tins and glass, PLUM PUDDINGS , PLUM PUDDING SAUCES , etc. Some of the French vegetables in glass and tin are beautifully green in appearance, but it is evident that they are artificially colored. A more wholesome device is to put the articles up in the intensely green bottles sometimes seen. The Tin Cans. —Tin is mainly used for canned goods, and is the least obj

36 minute read

Read Chapter

Jellies, Preserves, etc.

Jellies, Preserves, etc.

Jellies are made from nearly all the fruits by mixing their juices with sugar, and often with gelatine or isinglass, (four parts of which will convert 100 parts of water into a tremulous jelly) and boiling them down. Jellies are wholesome, cooling, and grateful, provided they are free from adulterations and noxious colorings, and are much used upon the tea table and in the sick room. Among the varieties of jelly in the market are APPLE , CRAB APPLE , BLACKBERRY , CURRANT , GRAPE , LEMON , GUAVA

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Flavoring Extracts and Essences.

Flavoring Extracts and Essences.

The delicate flavors of fruit and the fragrant principles of spice and other substances, as vanilla, etc., are extracted by pressure or distillation, and dissolved in spirits of wine for culinary purposes. It is found also, that certain ethers and oils may be so combined (as, for instance, potato oil) as to yield the taste and smell of many fruits, such as pears, apples, grapes, pineapples, etc. Flavoring extracts and essences are variously put up in vials and bottles; among them are LEMON , VAN

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Spices and Condiments.

Spices and Condiments.

Spices are generally understood to be more aromatic and fragrant and less pungent than what are called condiments. Spices are usually added to sweetened food, while condiments, as pepper and mustard, are better suited to meats and food containing salt. It is impossible to supply genuine articles if the public are not willing to pay for them, and it may be accepted as a general rule, that the lower the price of ground spices and condiments, the more they are adulterated. The materials chiefly use

3 minute read

Read Chapter

Salt.

Salt.

Common Salt varies in purity and sometimes contains salts of lime, magnesia, and potash. But as those are more soluble in water than common salt, it is easy to remove them in the process of manufacture. Our culinary salt comes from several sources; rock salt deposits or mines, sea water, and salt springs. There are numerous brands of salt which are freed from all impurity, ground to various degrees of fineness, and put up in barrels, sacks, bags and packets of all sizes; also in stone jars. Cele

42 minute read

Read Chapter

Vinegar.

Vinegar.

The sour principle is acetic acid, of which good vinegar contains about four per cent. Vinegar may be obtained by fermentation from the juice of any starchy or sweet fruit or vegetable, from beer, or even from sweetened water, to which “mother” or other vinegar is added. Cider vinegar is most used, as it retains the fruity flavor of the apple, but good vinegar is also made from wine, malt, oranges, raspberries, etc. There are many varieties in market, both domestic and foreign. Stringent laws re

28 minute read

Read Chapter

Pickles.

Pickles.

These are fruits and vegetables preserved in vinegar, after first steeping them in brine. Certain articles require to be pickled in scalding hot vinegar, others with cold; salt, pepper and spices are added to suit the taste. Pickles were formerly extensively colored green with copper, but the ghastly practice has gone out of date. Intelligent people will prefer those which have the more natural and wholesome yellowish, olive green tint. There are all sorts of pickles in market, put up in glass o

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Sauces.

Sauces.

These articles give zest to food and stimulate digestion. Their composition is very varied and embraces many fruits and vegetables, as the tomato, walnut, garlic, shallot; many herbs, as tarragon, chervill, mint, thyme, marjoram; many condiments, as cayenne, black pepper, mustard, and all the spices; many fish, as lobsters, oysters, clams, shrimp, anchovies; the juices of meat, besides salt, sugar, molasses, etc. Pepper sauce is made from the little Jamaica peppers, the Mexican, Chili pepper, or

2 minute read

Read Chapter

Tropical Fruits.

Tropical Fruits.

The increased knowledge in regard to the excellence and healthfulness of these fruits has, within a few years, greatly enlarged the demand for them, and they are now sold at moderate prices in almost every city and town in the land. Oranges. —Those from Florida and California are richer and of finer flavor, while the Mediterranean variety are thin skinned, juicy, hardy, and will keep longer. That region sends us annually a million boxes of oranges, and the annual product of Florida and Californi

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Where Early Vegetables Come From.

Where Early Vegetables Come From.

The Bermudas send annually about $400,000 worth of potatoes, onions, beets and tomatoes to New York, during the months of March, April and May. Florida garden produce finds its way North very early in the Spring, and later, in regular order, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia, wheel into line with their numerous productions, until, finally, our home gardeners have their season. During all this time our vegetables on sale are improving in freshness as they are drawn from sources near

25 minute read

Read Chapter

The Varieties.

The Varieties.

Potatoes. —The heavier ones are more mealy and nutritious than those which are waxy and soft. There are many favorite varieties. Some are early but less mealy, others prolific but lacking in flavor, etc.—hence prices vary. Sweet Potatoes. —There are two varieties—the red and yellow—with but little difference in price. Cabbage. —A standard vegetable the year round; the heaviest are the best. Cauliflower , best from April to December; the large, creamy white, solid heads are preferred; dark or sof

3 minute read

Read Chapter

DRIED FRUITS.

DRIED FRUITS.

The chief consideration with articles in this line is, that they should be as fresh as possible, and free from vermin and traces of vermin. Worms in dried fruits are never in sight, even though they may swarm below the surface. Dried Apples should be light colored, plump and acid. Evaporated fruit (by the Alden process, etc.) is preferred to sun-dried. It is often bleached in the fumes of sulphurous acid, which has a tendency to keep the fruit free from worms, and does not injure the flavor. Dri

33 minute read

Read Chapter

Raisins.

Raisins.

Raisins are dried grapes. The finest are the Dehesa “Layers;” next are the Cluster , or Bunch raisins, and the “ Loose ,” which are without stems. They are better in proportion to the number of crowns in the brand, as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Crowns. The small seedless raisins are called “ Sultana ,” and come from Smyrna. Valencias are the common cooking raisins. California Raisins (Muscatel) are excellent, very fast growing in popular favor, and are the coming summer raisin. The best raisins are of the “L

1 minute read

Read Chapter

NUTS.

NUTS.

Almonds are of two kinds, the sweet and bitter; the latter are only used for making extracts. Among the edible varieties are the Tarragona, Valencia, “Jordan,” a corruption of Jardin (garden), etc. There are hard, soft, and “paper shell” almonds, and almond meats freed from their shells. Filberts are cultivated hazel nuts and come mainly from Sicily. Pecans come from Texas. Walnuts from Italy, France, and Chili. Brazil Nuts grow along the Amazon in clusters on high trees. They are oily and rich.

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Chewing Tobacco

Chewing Tobacco

Is used both in the “ PLUG ” form and as “ FINE CUT ,” and in some localities preference is given to the one, while little of the other is sold. The New England and some of the Western States take their chewing tobacco largely in plugs, while the Middle States take more kindly to the fine cut. Detroit has a national reputation for the manufacture of fine cut tobaccos, which are extensively sold in tin foil and paper packages, and in bulk, in pails, etc. There are many hundreds of brands of chewi

33 minute read

Read Chapter

Smoking Tobacco.

Smoking Tobacco.

North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky are foremost among the States in the manufacture of the smoking tobaccos, which are almost infinite in variety and sold in all sorts of packages. Among them are the “Long” and “Short cut,” “Navy Clippings,” “Granulated,” “Nigger Head,” “Sweet Spun Roll,” “Golden Cavendish,” “Durham,” “Fruits and Flowers,” “Seal of North Carolina,” “Seal of Virginia,” and many others, besides imported varieties, as Persian, Latakia, Havana, etc. In addition to smoking tobacc

30 minute read

Read Chapter

Cigars.

Cigars.

The value of a cigar depends not only on the quality of the leaf, but largely also on the mode of manufacture. If rolled too hard or too loosely, it will burn badly....

12 minute read

Read Chapter

Why a Cigar Should Burn Well.

Why a Cigar Should Burn Well.

The best burning leaves must be used for wraps; if not, the air has no access to the inside burning parts, and the empyreumatical substances are volatilized without being decomposed. Such cigars make much smoke and smell disagreeably. If the cigar burns well, more of the nicotine is consumed and decomposed. Cigars, therefore, which contain little nicotine and burn poorly, are more narcotic in their effects than well burning cigars which contain a greater quantity of nicotine. Hence, the leaves o

35 minute read

Read Chapter

Quality of Cigars.

Quality of Cigars.

The real excellence of a very high-priced cigar is not in proportion to its cost, which depends largely on its size and the fancy of the buyer. For instance, a 50-cent cigar will burn no better nor be much, if any more fragrant than a 25-cent cigar. It may be larger, and the large Havana leaves, free from veins and suitable for use as wrappers for fine, large cigars are so scarce and high, as to enhance their cost out of all proportion to that of an equally well flavored, though smaller cigar. I

1 minute read

Read Chapter

The Most Economical Soap.

The Most Economical Soap.

Soap may be two-thirds water and still remain solid. Even dry, hard soap contains 20 or 25 per cent. of moisture. An excess of water causes soap to waste or dissolve too freely in use; hence, as soap is perpetually losing water by evaporation, the most economical to buy is that with some age and moderately dry, yet not so much dried that it will not dissolve readily and make a good lather or suds....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

Effects of Strong Soap on Fabrics.

Effects of Strong Soap on Fabrics.

Soap must not be strong enough to injure fabrics or discharge colors, yet sufficiently powerful to render grease and dirt soluble, so that it may be washed away in water. Rosin soap hardens the fibers of wool, and alkalies, if used to excess, shrink woolen fabrics. Hard water, or that containing lime or magnesia, more or less decomposes soap, and it floats on the surface as a greasy scum. But if an oily film rises to the top of soft water, it shows that the fat in the soap is not all saponified.

30 minute read

Read Chapter

What Soaps Are Made Of.

What Soaps Are Made Of.

Common Yellow Bar Soap contains soda with fat and rosin. White Soap consists of tallow and soda. Castile Soap is made of olive oil and soda. Common Fancy Soaps are mainly ordinary soap colored and scented. Real Brown Windsor Soap is made of goat tallow, olive oil and soda. Transparent Soaps are those which have been dissolved in alcohol. Fine Toilet Soaps are made with as little alkali as possible, of almond, palm or olive oil, suet, lard, etc., colored and perfumed. Shaving Soaps and Creams are

53 minute read

Read Chapter

A Wide Range of Choice.

A Wide Range of Choice.

There is a great variety of soaps upon the market, and language has been ransacked to find appropriate names for them. Among them are “ Family ,” “ Laundry ,” “ Ivory ,” “ Best Soap ,” “ Electric ,” “ Ozone ,” “ Borax ,” “ Sand Soap ,” “ Silver Soap ,” “ Sapolio ,” etc., and many scouring and detergent articles, as “ Pearline ,” “ Soapine ,” “ Scourene ,” “ Washing Compound ,” “ Washing Crystal ,” etc. In Toilet Soaps there is an equally wide range of choice, embracing every color and variegatio

42 minute read

Read Chapter

STARCH.

STARCH.

Laundry starch is mostly made from corn. The grain is crushed and fermented to a degree, when the starch is washed out and allowed to settle in large vats. The best qualities are washed and settled again and again; the number of washings grading the strength, purity and cost. Potato starch is more costly than corn starch, and, as it gives a softer finish to fabrics, is chiefly used by manufacturers. Corn starch for culinary purposes is thoroughly washed, purified and deodorized. Laundry starch s

58 minute read

Read Chapter

Blueing (Laundry).

Blueing (Laundry).

This article may be had in balls, powders, or in a liquid form. There are a goodly number of proprietary brands, some of which give a tint which appears somewhat greenish when placed by the side of a pure and delicate blue. The coloring principle is usually indigo, Prussian blue, or the favorite ultramarine. The most satisfactory laundry blueing is that which is really and intensely blue in tint, and which is most completely soluble in water, so that it will be well distributed and not make the

25 minute read

Read Chapter

Candles.

Candles.

In some sections, candles form an important article of trade. They are now made in a great variety of exquisite tints by the use of analine colors of various sizes and weights, and with patent self-fitting ends. The more costly kinds are made of spermaceti, wax, stearine, paraffine, etc., down to the pressed, adamantine, and common tallow candles. Some carry embossed and handsome decalcomania decorations and are either white, blue, green, pink, yellow, red, etc., or assorted. There are “ Boudoir

3 minute read

Read Chapter

Grocers’ Sundries.

Grocers’ Sundries.

Among other articles sometimes kept by the grocer, may be mentioned: Irish Moss, Anatto and other butter colorings, Licorice, Chewing Gum, Fruit Juices, Hops, Rennet, Ink, Paper and Pens, Pencils, Slates, Mucilage, Playing Cards, Beeswax, Cement, Concentrated Potash, Lye, Lime, Chalk, Oils, Kerosene, Dyes, Paints dry and mixed; Rosin, Tar, Turpentine, White Lead, Varnishes, Indigo, Glue, Putty, Powder, Shot, Caps, Wads, Axle Grease, Curry Combs, Condition Powders, Can Openers, Cordage, Coffee Mi

55 minute read

Read Chapter

WINES.

WINES.

Pure wine is merely grape juice fermented. When the sugar of the grape is wholly or nearly converted by fermentation into natural vinous spirits or alcohol, the result is a STILL or DRY WINE . If the sugar is very abundant, as in overripe grapes, and a considerable portion of it remains unfermented, a SWEET WINE like Tokay or Malmsey is produced. When fermentation has proceeded to a certain stage and the liquid is bottled, so that it continues to ferment and produce carbonic acid gas, the result

37 minute read

Read Chapter

Composition of Wines.

Composition of Wines.

Wines, as well as all varieties of malt and spirituous liquors, owe their intoxicating qualities to alcohol. But the medical and dietetic qualities of wine are not solely due to it; a mixture of water and alcohol, or whiskey of equal strength, has a very different effect on the animal economy. Pure wines contain also natural acids, sugar, ethers, albumen, phosphates, etc. Their value is, however, mainly determined by their “Bouquet” or flavor, produced by substances natural to the grapes, height

27 minute read

Read Chapter

Alcohol and Acids in Wine.

Alcohol and Acids in Wine.

The quantity of alcohol in natural wine from grapes, varies between 5 and 12 per cent.; the quantity of free acid from 3 to 7 per cent. If more of the latter be present, the wine tastes excessively sour, and is less easily digested; but some acid in wine is essential, and contributes much to its flavor and virtues. Besides the natural acids which exist in the juice of the grape, cheap and inferior wines often contain, also, the hurtful acids of spoiling, showing the approach to vinegar....

24 minute read

Read Chapter

WINES OF THE WORLD.

WINES OF THE WORLD.

Even a bird’s-eye glance at the wines of the world, might easily fill a volume. There are the superb French wines of Burgundy and Champagne, which ancient Provinces are now almost one splendid, continuous vineyard; and the Clarets, Sauternes, etc. of Bordeaux and Languedoc. Medoc and Haut Medoc are known to wine lovers everywhere, for here are the famous vineyards of the Chateau Lafitte, owned by Baron Rothschild; the Chateaux Margaux, Latour, and many others. The principal wine districts of Ger

2 minute read

Read Chapter

MALT LIQUORS.

MALT LIQUORS.

Malt liquors, properly so called, should be made only of malted barley, hops, yeast and water, but other materials are also used. Porter is a beer of a high percentage of alcohol and made from malt dried at a high temperature, which gives it its dark color. Ale is pale beer with considerable alcohol and made of pale malt, with more hop extract than porter. As every per cent. of sugar in the malt yields by fermentation about half a per cent. of alcohol, it is evident that ale, porter, and lager b

30 minute read

Read Chapter

ALCOHOL IN BEERS.

ALCOHOL IN BEERS.

Beers are stimulating from their alcohol and refreshing from their carbonic acid, besides being tonic and somewhat nutritive. The oil of the hops gives them aroma and the lupulin they contain soothes the nerves. Their taste is vinous, sweetish, and bitter at the same time. The quantity of alcohol in malt liquors was given by Prof. Englehardt, as the result of analyses made for the N. Y. State Board of Health, in 1885, as follows....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

Beer Adulterations.

Beer Adulterations.

It has been popularly supposed that beer is much adulterated. But the result of many analyses made by Mr. C. A. Crampton, for the Department of Agriculture at Washington, last year, show him “That beer is as free from adulteration as most other articles of consumption, and more so than some.” The analyst found that, practically, no foreign bitters other than hops were used; but he also found that nearly one quarter of the samples analyzed contained, as a preservative, the unwholesome salicylic a

57 minute read

Read Chapter

DISTILLED LIQUORS.

DISTILLED LIQUORS.

The disagreeable taste of freshly distilled ardent spirits is due to the presence of fusil oil and other empyreumatic substances, which time alone can transform into harmless ethers which smell and taste agreeably, and produce an exhilaration over and above that of the alcohol which holds them in solution. Spirits can be distilled from any vegetable matter which will yield alcohol, yet many substances yield only a rasping, nauseous or flavorless liquor, which age does not improve. To some of the

32 minute read

Read Chapter

Alcohol in Liquors.

Alcohol in Liquors.

The following table shows the proportion of alcohol (by volume) in the various liquors. Brandy. —This is made from wine; that from white grapes is preferred and it requires about seven bottles of wine to make one of brandy. Even the best Cognac is burning and rough until kept for two or three years, and it improves with increased age, until, when thirty or forty years old, it develops a flavor somewhat similar to that of vanilla. Whiskey is a spirit distilled either from fermented malt, rye, bar

51 minute read

Read Chapter

Favorite Brands.

Favorite Brands.

Champagnes come in quarts and pints, Sec or “Dry,” “Extra Dry,” etc. Among favorite Brands are those of Heidsieck, Mumm, Roederer, Cliquot, Bouché, Morizet, Pommery, Delbeck, etc.; the American Champagnes of California, Urbanna, Pleasant Valley, etc., besides various imitation sparkling wines. Among favorite Clarets are St. Julien, Medoc, St. Emillion, St. Estephe, Floirac, Pontet Canet, Chateaux Margaux, Lafitte, La Rose, etc.; also the Sauternes and White Wines of Graves; Barsac, Chateaux, Yqu

1 minute read

Read Chapter