Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 2

BAKE-PANS.

A bake-pan for baking meat, fish, or any other object that requires liquor of any kind, must have borders in order to hold that liquor; but a bake-pan for cakes or any other object that does not require any liquor, or that does not turn liquid in baking, is better without borders--that is, a simple piece of sheet iron of a size to go easily in the oven.

BAY-LEAF.

This is known also under its French name laurier.

It is used as a spice; it is exceedingly cheap and is excellent to flavor sauces, gravies, etc.

It comes especially from Italy, where it is used to pack figs, oil, and different fruits.

BEETS.

The red beet is much used to decorate different dishes.

It is boiled, then pickled, cut in fancy shapes, either with a knife or with paste-cutters, and tastefully placed on or around the object it is used to decorate.

It is served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, pickled, and cut in slices.

_To boil._--Set it on a good fire in a pan, covered with cold water, and boil gently till done.

The beet must not be touched at all with any thing rough, for if the skin or root is cut or broken, all the color goes away in boiling, it is not fit to decorate, and loses much of its quality.

When you buy beets, see that they are not bruised, and that the root is not broken.

BRAISING.

Braising, in cookery, means to cook any thing with fire under and upon the pan, kettle, or other utensil.

A good oven is by far more easy, and answers perfectly the purpose. An oven not only warms the under and upper parts of the utensil, but all around it also.

BUNCH OF SEASONINGS.

It is composed of parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and cloves, and sometimes a clove of garlic is added. Place the sprigs of parsley in the left hand, rather spread, lay the others on and in the middle of the parsley, and envelop them in it as well as possible, then tie the whole with twine.

As all these seasonings are never served except when chopped, they are more easily taken out than if they were not tied together.

b.u.t.tERED PAPER.

Dip in lukewarm b.u.t.ter a piece of white paper of the size you want, and envelop the piece to broil or roast with it. Tie the paper around with twine or coa.r.s.e thread.

OILED PAPER.

The only difference between oiled and b.u.t.tered paper is, that it is dipped in sweet or olive oil instead of b.u.t.ter.

CATSUP.

Beware of what is sold under the name of catsups and pickles; many cases of dyspepsia, debility, and consumption come from using such stuff.

CAVIARE.

It is made with the roes, hard and soft, of the sterlet. It is imported from Russia, and is served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, with slices of lemon and toast.

CERVELAS, SAUCISSONS, ETC.

Cervelas, saucissons, as well as smoked sausages, are pork-butchers'

preparations, cut slantwise in very thin slices, and served as _hors-d'oeuvre_, with parsley in the middle of the dish.

CHEESE.

Cheese is the first plate of _dessert_ to be partaken of. "A dinner without cheese is like a handsome lady with but one eye."--_Brillat-Savarin_.

"Cheese takes away all the taste that might be left from preceding dishes, and by that means prepares the palate for the appreciation of the good things, the delicate flavors of the dessert and wines."

COCHINEAL.

Cochineal, or carmine. Buy the cochineal in powder, prepared for cooking purposes, mix some (say the size of half a split pea) with a few drops of cold water and mix that again with what you wish to color. The quant.i.ty of cochineal is according to the quant.i.ty of mixture and also according to how deep the color is desired.

CHERVIL.

This comes from Italy, and is used in salad and as a spice.

COLANDER.

Besides the ordinary colander, it is necessary to have a fine one. We mean, by a fine colander, one with holes half the size of the ordinary ones, that is, just between the colander and strainer. A colander should not have holes on the sides; it is handier and more clean with holes at the bottom only.

CURRY.

We think that curry is very good and necessary on the borders of the Ganges River, and for that very reason we think also that it ought to be eschewed on the borders of the Hudson, Delaware, Ohio, and thereabouts.

We cannot describe curry better than by giving here the answer (_verbatim et literatim_) of a gentleman who has lived a few years in Java, to a question on the properties and qualities of curry. He said that he thought it good and even necessary to use some there on account of the climate, but every time he had eaten it he thought he was swallowing boiling alcohol or live coals.

DINING-ROOM.