Barkham Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information Part 52

TO PRESERVE FRENCH BEANS FOR WINTER.--Pick them young, and throw into a little wooden keg a layer of them three inches deep; then sprinkle them with salt, put another layer of beans, and do the same as high as you think proper, alternately with salt, but not too much of this. Lay over them a plate, or cover of wood, that will go into the keg, and put a heavy stone on it. A pickle will rise from the beans and salt.

If they are too salt, the soaking and boiling will not be sufficient to make them pleasant to the taste.

STEWED BEANS.--Boil them in water in which a lump of b.u.t.ter has been placed; preserve them as white as you can; chop a few sweet herbs with some parsley very fine; then stew them in a pint of the water in which the leaves have been boiled, and to which a quarter of a pint of cream has been added; stew until quite tender, then add the beans, and stew five minutes, thickening with b.u.t.ter and flour.

HOW TO BOIL BROCCOLI.--Peel the thick skin of the stalks, and boil for nearly a quarter of an hour, with a little bit of soda, then put in salt, and boil five minutes more. Broccoli and savoys taste better when a little bacon is boiled with them.

HOW TO BOIL CABBAGE.--Cut off the outside leaves, and cut it in quarters; pick it well, and wash it clean; boil it in a large quant.i.ty of water, with plenty of salt in it; when it is tender and a fine light green, lay it on a sieve to drain, but do not squeeze it, it will take off the flavor; have ready some very rich melted b.u.t.ter, or chop it with cold b.u.t.ter. Greens must be boiled the same way. Strong vegetables like turnips and cabbage, etc., require much water.

CABBAGE SALAD.--Three eggs well beaten, one cup of vinegar, two tablespoons of mustard, salt and pepper, one tablespoon of b.u.t.ter; let this mixture come to a boil, when cool add seven tablespoons of cream, half a head of cabbage shaved fine.

HOW TO BOIL CAULIFLOWERS.--Strip the leaves which you do not intend to use, and put the cauliflowers into salt and water some time to force out snails, worms, etc. Boil them twelve minutes on a drainer in plenty of water, then add salt, and boil five or six minutes longer.

Skim well while boiling. Take out and drain. Serve with melted b.u.t.ter, or a sauce made of b.u.t.ter, cream, pepper and salt.

HOW TO FRY CAULIFLOWERS.--Wash as before. Boil twenty or thirty minutes; cut it into small portions, and cool. Dip the portions twice into a batter made of flour, milk and egg, and fry them in b.u.t.ter.

Serve with gravy.

CUc.u.mBERS FOR IMMEDIATE USE.--Slice, sprinkle with salt; let them stand several hours, drain, and then put to them sliced onions, vinegar to cover them, and salt, pepper, etc. Cayenne pepper and ground mustard render them wholesome.

STEWED CELERY.--Wash and clean six or eight heads of celery, let them be about three inches long; boil tender and pour off all the water; beat the yolks of four eggs, and mix with half a pint of cream, mace and salt; set it over the fire with the celery, and keep shaking until it thickens, then serve hot.

COLD SLAW.--Half a head of cabbage cut very fine, a stalk of celery cut fine--or teaspoon of celery seed--or, a tablespoon of celery essence, four hard-boiled eggs, whites chopped very fine, a teaspoon of mustard, a tablespoon of b.u.t.ter and the yolks of the boiled eggs, salt and pepper, mix well; take an egg well beaten and stir in a cup of boiling vinegar, pour over and cover for a few minutes.

EGG-PLANT.--Slice the egg-plant an eighth of an inch in thickness, pare it, and sprinkle salt over it an hour before cooking; then drain off all the water, beat up the yolk of an egg, clip the slices first in the egg, and then in crumbs of bread; fry a nice brown. Serve hot, and free from fat.

HOW TO COOK EGG-PLANT.--Cut the egg-plant in slices half an inch thick, sprinkle a thin layer of salt between the slices, and lay them one over the other; and let them stand an hour. This draws out the bitter princ.i.p.al from the egg-plant, and also a part of the water.

Then lay each slice in flour, put in hot fat and fry it brown on both sides. Or boil the egg-plant till tender, remove the skin, mash fine, mix with an equal quant.i.ty of bread or cracker crumbs, and salt, pepper and bake half an hour. This makes a delightful dish, and a very digestible one, as it has so little oily matter in it.

HOW TO BROIL MUSHROOMS.--Pare some large, open mushrooms, leaving the stalks on, paring them to a point; wash them well, and turn them on the back of a drying sieve to drain. Put into a stewpan two ounces of b.u.t.ter, some chopped parsley, and shalots, then fry them for a minute on the fire; when melted, place your mushroom stalks upward on a saucepan, then pour the b.u.t.ter and parsley over all the mushrooms; pepper and salt them well with black pepper put them in the oven to broil; when done, put a little good stock to them, give them a boil and dish them, pour the liquor over them, adding more gravy, but let it be put in hot.

HOW TO PICKLE ONIONS.--Take two quarts of the small white round onions. Scald them in very strong salt and water. Just let them boil.

Strain, peel, place in jars; cover them with the best white wine vinegar. In two days pour all the vinegar off, and boil it half an hour, with a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, 1 oz. of ginger, 16 cloves, 1/2 oz. ground mustard, 2 ozs. mustard seed. When cold, pour upon the onions. Some persons prefer the vinegar boiling hot.

HOW TO FRICa.s.sEE PARSNIPS.--Boil in milk till they are soft, then cut them lengthwise in bits two or three inches long, and simmer in a white sauce, made of two spoonfuls of broth, and a bit of mace, half a cupful of cream, a bit of b.u.t.ter, and some flour, pepper and salt.

HOW TO MASH PARSNIPS.--Boil them tender, sc.r.a.pe then mash them in a stewpan with a little cream, a good piece of b.u.t.ter, and pepper and salt.

HOW TO STEW PARSNIPS.--Boil them tender; sc.r.a.pe and cut into slices; put them into a saucepan with cream enough; for sauce, a piece of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, and a little salt; shake the saucepan often, when the cream boils, pour them into a dish.

HOW TO BOIL PEAS.--Peas should not be sh.e.l.led long before they are wanted, nor boiled in much water; when the water boils, put them in with a little salt (some add a little loaf sugar, but if they are sweet of themselves, it is superfluous); when the peas begin to dent in the middle they are boiled enough. Strain, and put a piece of b.u.t.ter in the dish, and stir. A little mint should be boiled with the peas.

PUREE OF POTATOES.--This differs from mashed potatoes only in the employment of more milk and b.u.t.ter, and in the whole being carefully reduced to a perfectly smooth, thick, cream-like mixture. Where economy is a great object, and where rich dishes are not desired, the following is an admirable mode of mas.h.i.+ng potatoes: Boil them till thoroughly done, having added a handful of salt to the water, then dry them well, and with two forks placed back to back beat the whole up until no lumps are left. If done rapidly, potatoes thus cooked are extremely light and digestible.

HOW TO BOIL POTATOES.--Boil in a saucepan without lid, with only sufficient water to cover them; more would spoil them, as the potatoes contain much water, and it requires to be expelled. When the water nearly boils pour it off, and add cold water, with a good portion of salt. The cold water sends the heat from the surface to the center of the potato, and makes it mealy. Boiling with a lid on often produces cracking.

NEW POTATOES.--Should be cooked soon after having been dug; wash well, and boil.

The Irish, who boil potatoes to perfection, say they should always be boiled in their _jackets_; as peeling them for boiling is only offering a premium for water to run through the potato, and rendering it sad and unpalatable; they should be well washed, and put into cold water.

NEW POTATOES.--Have them as freshly dug as may be convenient; the longer they have been out of the ground the less well-flavored they are. Well wash them, rub off the skins with a coa.r.s.e cloth or brush, and put them into boiling water, to which has been added salt, at the rate of one heaped teaspoonful to two quarts. Let them boil till tender--try them with a fork; they will take from ten or fifteen minutes to half an hour, according to size. When done, pour away the water, and set by the side of the fire, with the lid aslant. When they are quite dry, have ready a hot vegetable dish, and in the middle of it put a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut--some people like more--heap the potatoes round it and over it, and serve immediately.

We have seen very young potatoes, no larger than a marble, parboiled, and then fried in cream till they are of a fine auburn color; or else, when larger, boiled till nearly ready, then sliced and fried in cream, with pepper, salt, a very little nutmeg, and a flavoring of lemon juice. Both make pretty little supper dishes.

POTATOES ROASTED UNDER THE MEAT.--These are very good; they should be nicely browned. Half boil large mealy potatoes; put into a baking dish, under the meat roasting; ladle the gravy upon them occasionally.

They are best done in an oven.

POTATO RIBBONS.--Cut the potatoes into slices, rather more than half an inch thick, and then pare round and round in very long ribbons.

Place them in a pan of cold water, and a short time before wanted drain them from the water. Fry them in hot lard, or good dripping, until crisp and browned; dry them on a soft cloth, pile them on a hot dish, and season with salt and cayenne.

POTATO ROLLS.--Boil three lbs. of potatoes; crush and work them with two ozs. of b.u.t.ter and as much milk as will cause them to pa.s.s through a colander; take half a pint of yeast and half a pint of warm water; mix with the potatoes; pour the whole upon 5 lbs. of flour; add salt; knead it well; if too thick, put to it a little more milk and warm water; stand before the fire for an hour to rise; work it well and make it into rolls. Bake it half an hour.

POTATO RISSOLES.--Boil the potatoes floury; mash them, seasoning them with salt and a little cayenne; mince parsley very fine, and work up with the potatoes, adding eschalot, also chopped small. Bind with yolk of egg, roll into b.a.l.l.s, and fry with fresh b.u.t.ter over a clear fire.

Meat shred finely, bacon or ham may be added.

POTATO SAUTEES.--These are even more agreeable with meat than fried potatoes. Cold boiled potatoes are sliced up, and tossed up in a saucepan with b.u.t.ter, mixed with a little chopped parsley, till they are lightly browned. Pure goose or other dripping is by many cooks preferred to b.u.t.ter for this purpose.

POTATO SOUFFLES.--The delicious blistered potatoes are prepared as follows: The potatoes, if small, are simply cut in halves; if large, cut in three or more slices; these are fried in the usual way, but are taken out before they are quite done, and set aside to get cold; when wanted they are fried a second time, but only till they are of a light golden color, not brown.

TOMATOES.--Cut ripe tomatoes into slices, put them in a b.u.t.tered dish with some bread crumbs, b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt, and bake till slightly brown on top.

FORCED TOMATOES.--Prepare the following forcemeat: Two ounces of mushrooms, minced small, a couple of shalots, likewise minced, a small quant.i.ty of parsley, a slice of lean ham, chopped fine, a few savory herbs, and a little cayenne and salt. Put all these ingredients into a saucepan with a lump of b.u.t.ter, and stew all together until quite tender, taking care that they do not burn. Put it by to cool, and then mix with them some bread crumbs and the well beaten yolks of two eggs.

Choose large tomatoes, as nearly of the same size as possible, cut a slice from the stalk end of each, and take out carefully the seeds and juice; fill them with the mixture which has already been prepared, strew them over with bread and some melted b.u.t.ter, and bake them in a quick oven until they a.s.sume a rich color. They are a good accompaniment to veal or calf's head.

TO MASH TURNIPS.--Boil them very tender. Strain till no water is left.

Place in a saucepan over a gentle fire, and stir well a few minutes.

Do not let them burn. Add a little cream, or milk, or both, salt b.u.t.ter and pepper. Add a tablespoonful of fine sugar. Stir and simmer five minutes longer.

TO BOIL OR STEW VEGETABLE MARROW.--This excellent vegetable may be boiled as asparagus. When boiled, divide it lengthways into two, and serve it upon a toast accompanied by melted b.u.t.ter; or when nearly boiled, divide it as above, and stew gently in gravy like cuc.u.mbers.

Care should be taken to choose young ones not exceeding six inches in length.

[Ill.u.s.tration: How to Calculate]

HOW TO CALCULATE.

PRACTICAL RULES, SHORT METHODS, AND PROBLEMS USED IN BUSINESS COMPUTATIONS.

Rapidity and accuracy in making estimates and in figuring out the result of business transactions is of the greatest necessity to the man of business. A miscalculation may involve the loss of hundreds or thousands of dollars, in many cases, while a slow and tedious calculation involves loss of time and the advantage which should have been seized at the moment. It is proposed in the following pages to give a few brief methods and practical rules for performing calculations which occur in every-day transactions among men, presuming that a fair knowledge of the ordinary rules of arithmetic has previously been attained.

ADDITION.

To be able to add up long columns of figures rapidly and correctly is of great value to the merchant. This requires not only a knowledge of addition, but in order to have a correct result, one that can be relied upon, it requires concentration of the mind. Never allow other thoughts to be flitting through the mind, or any outside matter to disturb or draw it away from the figures, until the result is obtained. Write the tens to be carried each time in a smaller figure underneath the units, so that afterwards any column can be added over again without repeating the entire operation. By the practice of addition the eye and mind soon become accustomed to act rapidly, and this is the art of addition. Grouping figures together is a valuable aid in rapid addition, as we group letters into words in reading.

862 538 / 674 843 / ____ 2917

Thus, in the above example, we do not say 3 and 4 are 7 and 8 are 15 and 2 are 17, but speak the sum of the couplet, thus 7 and 10 are 17, and in the second column, 12 and 9 are 21. This method of grouping the figures soon becomes easy and reduces the labor of addition about one-half, while those somewhat expert may group three or more figures, still more reducing the time and labor, and sometimes two or more columns may be added at once, by ready reckoners.