Miss Parloa's New Cook Book Part 4

All fowl less than a year old come under this head. The lower end of the breast-bone in a chicken is soft, and can be bent easily. The breast should be full, the lean meat white, and the fat a pale straw color. Chickens are best in last of the summer and the fell and winter. The largest and juciest come from Philadelphia.

Spring Chickens.

These are generally used for broiling. They vary in size, weighing from half a pound to two and a half pounds. The small, plump ones, weighing about one and a half or two pounds, are the best. There is little fat on spring chickens.

Fowl.

These may be anywhere from one to five or six years old. When over two years the meat is apt to be tough, dry and stringy. They should be fat, and the breast full and soft. The meat of fowl is richer than that of chickens, and is, therefore, better for boiling and to use for salads and made dishes. The weight of bone is not much greater than in a chicken, while there is a great deal more meat. Another point to be remembered is that the price per pound is also generally a few cents less.

Turkeys.

The lower end of the breast-bone should be soft, and bend easily, the breast be plump and short, the meat firm and the fat white. When the bird is very large and fat the flavor is sometimes a little strong.

Eight or ten pounds is a good size for a small family.

Geese.

It is more difficult to judge of the age and quality of a goose than of any other bird. If the wind pipe is brittle and breaks easily under pressure of the finger and thumb, the bird is young, but if it rolls the bird is old. Geese live to a great age--thirty or more years. They are not good when more than three years old. Indeed, to be perfect, they should be not more than one year old. They are in season in the fall and winter.

Green Geese.

The young geese are very well fed, and when from two to four months old are killed for sale. They bring a high price, and are delicious.

They are sometimes in the market in winter, but the season is the summer and fall.

Ducks.

The same tests that are applied to chickens and geese to ascertain age and quality are made with ducks. Besides the tame bird, there are at least twenty different kinds that come under the head of game. The canvas-back is the finest in the list; the mallard and red-head come next. The domestic duck is in season nearly all the year, but the wild ones only through the fall and winter. The price varies with the season and supply. A pair of canvas-backs will at one time cost a dollar and a half and at another five dollars.

Pigeons.

There are two kinds of pigeons found in the market, the tame and the wild, which are used for potting, stewing, &c. Except when "stall-fed"

they are dry and tough, and require great care in preparation. The wild birds are the cheapest. They are s.h.i.+pped from the West, packed in barrels, through the latter part of the winter and the early spring.

Stall-fed pigeons are the tame ones cooped for a few weeks and well fed. They are then quite fat and tender, and come into market about the first of October.

Squabs.

These are the young of the tame pigeon. Their flesh is very delicate, and they are used for roasting and broiling.

Grouse, or Prairie Chicken.

These birds comes from the West, and are much like the partridge of the Eastern States and Canada. The flesh is dark, but exceedingly tender. Grouse should be plump and heavy. The breast is all that is good to serve when roasted, and being so dry, it should always be larded. The season is from September to January, but it is often continued into April.

Venison.

There should be a good deal of fat on this meat. The lean should be dark red and the fat white. Venison is in season all the year, but is most used in cold weather. In summer it should have been killed at least ten days before cooking; in winter three weeks is better. The cuts are the leg, saddle, loin, fore quarter and steaks. The supply regulates the price.

Partridge.

This bird is so like the grouse that the same rules apply to both.

What is known as quail at the North is called partridge at the South.

Quail.

These birds are found in the market all through the fall and winter.

They are quite small (about the size of a squab), are nearly always tender and juicy, and not very expensive. They come from the West.

Woodc.o.c.k.

Woodc.o.c.k is in season from July to November. It is a small bird, weighing about half a pound. It has a fine, delicate flavor, and is very high-priced.

Other Game.

There are numerous large and small birds which are used for food, but there is not s.p.a.ce to treat of them all. In selecting game it must be remembered that the birds will have a gamey smell, which is wholly different from that of tainted meat.

FISH.

To fully describe all the kinds of fish found in our markets would require too much s.p.a.ce and is unnecessary, but a list of those of which there is usually a supply is given, that housekeepers may know what it is best to select in a certain season and have some idea of the prices.

To Select Fish.

When fresh, the skin and scales will be bright, the eyes full and clear, the fins stiff and the body firm. If there is a bad odor, or, if the fish is soft and darker than is usual for that kind, and has dim, sunken eyes, it is not fit to use.

Codfish.

This is good all the year, but best in the fall and winter. When cooked, it breaks into large white flakes. It is not as nutritious as the darker kinds of fish, but is more easily digested. The price remains about the same through all seasons.

Haddock.

This is a firmer and smaller-flaked fish than the cod, but varies little in flavor from it. The cod has a light stripe running down the sides; the haddock a dark one.

Cusk.

This also belongs to the cod family, and is a firm, white fish. It is best in winter.