The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary Part 8

BROKEN CHINA. To repair any article of this description, beat some lime into the finest powder, and sift it through muslin. Tie some of it into a thin muslin, put on the edges of the broken china some white of an egg, and dust on a little lime as quickly as possible; but be careful to unite the broken parts very exactly.

BROTH. A very nouris.h.i.+ng kind of broth for weakly persons may be made as follows. Boil two pounds of loin of mutton, with a large handful of chervil, in two quarts of water, till reduced to one. Any other herb or roots may be added. Remove part of the fat, and take half a pint three or four times a day. If a broth is wanted to be made quickly, take a bone or two of a neck or loin of mutton, pare off the fat and the skin, set it on the fire in a small tin saucepan that has a cover, with three quarters of a pint of water, the meat being first beaten, and cut in thin bits. Put in a bit of thyme and parsley, and if approved, a slice of onion. Let it boil very quick, skim it nicely; take off the cover, if likely to be too weak; otherwise keep it covered. Half an hour is sufficient for the whole process.

BROWN GRAVY. Cover the bottom of a stewpan with lean veal an inch thick, overlay it with slices of undressed gammon, two or three onions, two or three bay leaves, some sweet herbs, two blades of mace, and three cloves. Cover the stewpan, and set it over a slow fire; but when the juices come out, let the fire be a little quicker. When the meat is of a fine brown, fill the pan with good beef-broth, boil and skim it, then simmer it an hour. Add a little water, thickened with flour; boil it half an hour, and strain it. Gravy thus made will keep a week.

BROWN BREAD ICE. Grate some brown bread as fine as possible, soak a small proportion in cream two or three hours, sweeten and ice it.

BROWN BREAD PUDDING. Half a pound of stale brown bread grated, half a pound of currants, ditto of shred suet, sugar and nutmeg. Mix it up with four eggs, a spoonful of brandy, and twice as much cream. Boil it in a cloth or bason of proper size three or four hours.

BROWNING. Powder four ounces of double-refined sugar, put it into a very nice iron fryingpan, with one ounce of fresh b.u.t.ter. Mix it well over a clear fire; and when it begins to froth, hold it up higher: when of a very fine dark brown, pour in a small quant.i.ty of a pint of port, and the whole by very slow degrees, stirring it all the time. Put to the above half an ounce of Jamaica, and the same of black pepper, six cloves of shalots peeled, three blades of mace bruised, three spoonfuls of mushroom and the same of walnut ketchup, some salt, and the finely-pared rind of a lemon. Boil gently fifteen minutes, pour it into a bason till cold, take off the sc.u.m, and bottle it for use. This article is intended to colour and flavour made-up dishes.

BRUISES. When the contusion is slight, fomentations of warm vinegar and water, frequently applied, will generally relieve it. Cataplasms of fresh cow-dung applied to bruises, occasioned by violent blows or falls, will seldom fail to have a good effect. Nothing however is more certainly efficacious than a porter plaster immediately applied to the part affected. Boil some porter in an earthen vessel over a slow fire till it be well thickened; and when cold spread it on a piece of leather to form the intended plaster.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. Boil, chop and fry some cabbage, with a little b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt. Lay on it slices of underdone beef, lightly fried.

BUGS. Dip a sponge or brush into a strong solution of vitriol, and rub it on the bedstead, or in the places where these vermin harbour, and it will destroy both them and their nits. If the bugs appear after once using it, the application must be repeated, and some of the liquid poured into the joints and holes of the bedstead and headboard. Beds that have much woodwork require to be taken down and well examined, before they can be thoroughly cleared of these vermin, and the mixture should be rubbed into all the joints and crevices with a painter's brush. It should also be applied to the walls of the room to insure success; and if mixed with a little lime, it will produce a lively yellow. The boiling of any kind of woodwork or household furniture in an iron cauldron, with a solution of vitriol, will prevent the breeding of bugs, and preserve it from rottenness and decay. Sulphur made into a paste, or a.r.s.enic dissolved in water, and applied in the same manner, will also be found an effectual remedy for the bugs. But if these do not completely succeed, take half a pint of the highest rectified spirits of wine, and half a pint of spirits of turpentine; dissolve in this mixture half an ounce of camphor, and shake them well together. Dust the bed or the furniture, dip a sponge or brush into the mixture, wet them all over, and pour some of the liquid into the holes and crevices. If any should afterwards appear, wet the lacings of the bed, the foldings of the curtains near the rings, and other parts where it is at all likely the bugs may nestle and breed, and it will not fail to destroy them. The smell of this mixture is not unwholesome, and may be applied to the finest damask bed without any fear of soiling it. It should be well shaked together, but never used by candle-light, for fear of its taking fire.

BULLACE CHEESE. To every quart of full ripe bullace, add a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered. Put them into a pot, and bake them in a moderate oven till they are soft. Rub them through a hair sieve; to every pound of pulp add half a pound of loaf sugar powdered, and in the meantime keep it stirring. Pour the pulp into preserving pots, tie brandy paper over; and keep them in a dry place. When it has stood a few months, it will cut out very bright and fine.

BUNS. To make a good plain bun, that may be eaten with or without toasting and b.u.t.ter, rub four ounces of b.u.t.ter into two pounds of flour, four ounces of sugar, a nutmeg, a few Jamaica peppers, and a dessert-spoonful of caraways. Put a spoonful or two of cream into a cup of yeast, and as much good milk as will make the above into a light paste. Set it to rise by the fire till the oven be ready, and bake the buns quickly on tins.--To make some of a richer sort, mix one pound and a half of dried flour with half a pound of sugar. Melt eighteen ounces of b.u.t.ter in a little warm water, add six spoonfuls of rose-water, and knead the above into a light dough, with half a pint of yeast. Then mix in five ounces of caraway comfits, and put some on them.

BURNS. In slight cases, the juice of onions, a little ink or brandy rubbed immediately on the part affected, will prevent blisters. The juice of burdock, mixed with an equal quant.i.ty of olive oil, will make a good ointment for the purpose, and the fresh leaves of that plant may also be applied as a kind of plaster. Houseleek used by itself, or mixed with cream, will afford quick relief in external inflammations. A little spirit of turpentine, or linseed oil, mixed with lime water, if kept constantly to the part will remove the pain. But warm vinegar and water, frequently applied with a woollen cloth, is most to be depended on in these cases.

BURNT CREAM. Boil a pint of cream with a stick of cinnamon, and some lemon peel. Take it off the fire, and pour it very slowly into the yolks of four eggs, stirring it till half cold. Sweeten it, take out the spice, and pour it into a dish. When cold, strew over it some white pounded sugar, and brown it with a salamander. Or, make a rich custard without sugar, and boil in it some lemon peel. When cold, sift over it plenty of white sugar, and brown the top with a salamander.

b.u.t.tER. No one article of family consumption is of greater consequence than b.u.t.ter of a superior quality, and no one requires more care and management. It possesses various degrees of goodness, according to the food on which the cows are pastured, and the manner in which the dairy is conducted; but its sweetness is not affected by the cream being turned, of which it is made. When cows are in turnips, or eat cabbages, the taste is strong and disagreeable; and to remedy this, the following methods have been tried with advantage. When the milk is strained into the pans, put to every six gallons one gallon of boiling water. Or dissolve one ounce of nitre in a pint of spring water, and put a quarter of a pint to every fifteen gallons of milk. Or, in churning, keep back a quarter of a pint of sour cream, and put it into a well-scalded pot, into which the next cream is to be gathered. Stir that well, and do so with every fresh addition.--TO MAKE b.u.t.tER, skim the milk in the summer, when the sun has not heated the dairy. At that season it should stand for b.u.t.ter twenty-four hours without skimming, and forty-eight in winter. Deposit the cream-pot in a very cold cellar, unless the dairy itself is sufficiently cold. If you cannot churn daily, s.h.i.+ft the cream into scalded fresh pots; but never omit churning twice a week. If possible, place the churn in a thorough air; and if not a barrel one, set it in a tub of water two feet deep, which will give firmness to the b.u.t.ter. When the b.u.t.ter is come, pour off the b.u.t.termilk, and put the b.u.t.ter into a fresh scalded pan, or tubs, which have afterwards been in cold water. Pour water on it, and let it lie to acquire some hardness before it is worked; then change the water, and beat it with flat boards so perfectly, that not the least taste of b.u.t.termilk remain, and that the water which must be often changed, shall be quite clear. Then work some salt into it, weigh, and make it into forms; throw them into cold water, in an earthen pan with a cover. Nice cool b.u.t.ter will then be had in the hottest weather. It requires more working in hot than in cold weather; but care should be taken at all times not to leave a particle of b.u.t.termilk, or a sour taste, as is too often done.--TO PRESERVE b.u.t.tER, take two parts of the best common salt, one part of fine loaf-sugar, and one of saltpetre; beat them well together. To sixteen ounces of b.u.t.ter, thoroughly cleansed from the milk, add one ounce of this mixture: work it well, and pot down the b.u.t.ter when it becomes firm and cold. b.u.t.ter thus preserved is the better for keeping, and should not be used under a month. This article should be kept from the air, and is best in pots of well-glazed ware, that will hold from ten to fourteen pounds each. Put some salt on the top; and when that is turned to brine, if not enough to cover the b.u.t.ter entirely, add some strong salt and water. It then requires only to be covered from the dust, and will be good for winter use.--IN PURCHASING b.u.t.tER at market, recollect that if fresh, it ought to smell like a nosegay, and be of an equal colour throughout. If sour in smell, it has not been sufficiently washed: if veiny and open, it is probably mixed with stale b.u.t.ter, or some of an inferior quality. To ascertain the quality of salt b.u.t.ter, put a knife into it, and smell it when drawn out: if there is any thing rancid or unpleasant, the b.u.t.ter is bad. Salt b.u.t.ter being made at different times, the layers in casks will greatly vary; and it is not easy to ascertain its quality, except by unhooping the cask, and trying it between the staves.

b.u.t.tER DISH. Roll b.u.t.ter in different forms, like a cake or a pine, and mark it with a tea-spoon. Or roll it in crimping rollers, work it through a cullender, or scoop it with a tea-spoon; mix it with grated beef, tongue, or anchovies. Garnish with a wreath of curled parsley, and it will serve as a little dish.

b.u.t.tERMILK, if made of sweet cream, is a delicious and very wholesome article of food. Those who can relish sour b.u.t.termilk, will find it still more light, and it is reckoned very beneficial in consumptive cases. If not very sour, it is also as good as cream to eat with fruit; but it should be sweetened with white sugar, and mixed with a very little milk. It does equally well for cakes and rice puddings, and of course it is economical to churn before the cream is too stale for any thing but to feed pigs.--The celebrated Dr. Boerhaave recommended the frequent use of sweet b.u.t.termilk in all consumptive cases, and that it should form the whole of the patient's drink, while biscuits and rusks, with ripe and dried fruits of various kinds, should chiefly be depended on as articles of food. For this purpose take the milk from the cow into a small churn; in about ten minutes begin churning, and continue till the flakes of b.u.t.ter swim about pretty thick, and the milk is discharged of all the oily particles, and appears thin and blue. Strain it through a sieve, and let the patient drink it as frequently as possible.

b.u.t.tERMILK PUDDING. Warm three quarts of new milk, turn it with a quart of b.u.t.termilk, and drain the curd through a sieve. When dry pound in a marble mortar, with nearly half a pound of sugar, a lemon boiled tender, the crumb of a roll grated, a nutmeg grated, six bitter almonds, four ounces of warm b.u.t.ter, a tea-cupful of good cream, the yolks of five and whites of three eggs, a gla.s.s of sweet wine and a gla.s.s of brandy. When well incorporated, bake in small cups or bowls well b.u.t.tered. If the bottom be not brown, use a salamander; but serve as quick as possible, and with pudding sauce.

b.u.t.tERED CRABS. Pick out the inside when boiled, beat it up in a little gravy, with wine, pepper, salt, nutmeg, a few crumbs of bread, a piece of b.u.t.ter rolled in a little flour, and some vinegar or lemon juice.

Serve it up hot.

b.u.t.tERED EGGS. Beat four or five eggs, yolk and white together; put a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter in a bason, and then put that into boiling water. Stir it till melted, then put that b.u.t.ter and the eggs into a saucepan; keep a bason in your hand, just hold the saucepan in the other over a slow part of the fire, shaking it one way, as it begins to warm.

Pour it into the bason and back again, then hold it over the fire, stirring it constantly in the saucepan, and pouring it into the bason, more perfectly to mix the egg and b.u.t.ter, until they shall be hot without boiling. Serve on toasted bread, or in a bason, to eat with salt fish or red herrings.

b.u.t.tERED LOAF. Take three quarts of new milk, and add as much rennet as is sufficient to turn it; then break the curd, and drain off all the whey through a clean cloth. Pound it in a stone mortar, add the white of one and the yolks of six eggs, a good handful of grated bread, half as much of fine flour, and a little salt. Mix them well together with the hand, divide the whole into four round loaves, and place them upon white paper. After they are well b.u.t.tered, varnish them all over with a feather, dipped in the yolk of an egg stirred up with a little beer. Set the loaves in a quick oven three quarters of an hour; while baking, take half a pound of new b.u.t.ter, add to it four spoonfuls of water, half a nutmeg grated, and sugar sufficient to sweeten it. Stir them together over the fire till they boil; when sufficiently thickened, draw the loaves from the oven, open their tops, pour in the b.u.t.ter and sugar, and send them up with sugar strewed over them.

b.u.t.tERED LOBSTERS. Pick out the meat, cut and warm it, with a little weak brown gravy, nutmeg, salt, pepper, b.u.t.ter, and a little flour. If done white, a little white gravy and cream.

b.u.t.tERED ORANGES. Grate off a little of the outside rind of four Seville oranges, and cut a round hole at the blunt end opposite the stalk, large enough to take out the pulp and seeds and juice. Then pick the seeds and skin from the pulp, rub the oranges with a little salt, and lay them in water for a short time. The bits cut out are to be saved. Boil the fruit in fresh water till they are tender, s.h.i.+fting the water to take out the bitterness. In the meantime make a thin syrup with fine sugar, put the oranges into it, and boil them up. As the quant.i.ty of syrup need not be enough to cover them, turn them round, that each part may partake of the syrup, and let them remain in it hot till they are wanted. About half an hour before serving, put some sugar to the pulp, and set it over the fire; mix it well, and let it boil. Then add a spoonful of white wine for every orange, give it a boil, put in a bit of fresh b.u.t.ter, and stir it over the fire to thicken. Fill the oranges with it, and serve them with some of the syrup in the dish, with the bits on the top.

b.u.t.tERED ORANGE-JUICE. Mix the juice of seven Seville oranges with four spoonfuls of rose-water, and add the yolks of eight and the whites of four eggs well beaten. Strain the liquor on half a pound of sugar pounded, stir it over a gentle fire; and when it begins to thicken, add a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a small walnut. Keep it over the fire a few minutes longer, then pour it into a flat dish, and serve it to eat cold. If no silver saucepan for the purpose, do it in a china bason in a saucepan of boiling water, the top of which will just receive the bason.

b.u.t.tERED PRAWNS. Take them out of the husk; warm them with a little good gravy, a bit of b.u.t.ter and flour, a taste of nutmeg, pepper and salt.

Simmer them together a minute or two, and serve with sippets; or with cream sauce, instead of brown. Shrimps are done in the same manner.

b.u.t.tERED RICE. Wash and pick some rice, drain, and set it on the fire, with new milk sufficient to make it swell. When tender, pour off the milk, and add a bit of b.u.t.ter, a little sugar and pounded cinnamon.

Shake and keep it from burning on the fire, and serve it up as a sweet dish.

C.

CABBAGE. Wash and pick it carefully, and if very large, quarter it. Put it into a saucepan with plenty of boiling-water, and a large spoonful of salt; if any sc.u.m rises, take it off, and boil it till the stalk is tender. Keep the vegetable well covered with water all the time of boiling, and see that no smoke or dirt arises from stirring the fire.

With careful management the cabbage will look as beautiful when dressed, as it did when growing. The flavour of an old cabbage may be much improved, by taking it up when half done, and putting it directly into another saucepan of fresh boiling water. When taken up, drain it in a cullender. It may be chopped and warmed with a piece of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt, or sent to table whole with melted b.u.t.ter. Savoys and greens in general are dressed in the same way.

CAKES. In making and baking cakes the following particulars should be attended to. The currants should be nicely picked and washed, dried in a cloth, and set before the fire. If damp, they will make cakes or puddings heavy. Before they are added, a dust of dry flour should be scattered among them, and then shaken together, which will make the cake or pudding lighter. Eggs should be beaten a long time, whites and yolks apart, and always strained. Sugar should be rubbed to a powder on a clean board, and sifted through a fine hair or lawn sieve. Lemon peel requires to be pared very thin, and with a little sugar beaten to a paste in a marble mortar. It should then be mixed with a little wine or cream, so as to divide easily among the other ingredients. After all the articles are put into the pan, they should be long and thoroughly beaten, as the lightness of the cake depends much on their being well incorporated. Both black and white plumb cakes, being made with yeast, require less b.u.t.ter and eggs, and eat equally light and rich. If the leaven be only of flour, milk and water, and yeast, it becomes more tough, and is less easily divided, than if the b.u.t.ter be first put with those ingredients, and the dough afterwards set to rise by the fire. The heat of the oven is of great importance for cakes, especially large ones. If not pretty quick, the batter will not rise; and if too quick, put some white paper over the cake to prevent its being burnt. If not long enough lighted to have a body of heat, or it is become slack, the cake will be heavy. To know when it is soaked, take a broad-bladed knife that is very bright, and thrust it into the centre; draw it out instantly, and if the paste in any degree adheres, return the cake to the oven, and close it up. If the heat is sufficient to raise but not to soak the baking, a little fresh fuel should be introduced, after taking out the cakes and keeping them hot, and then returning them to the oven as quickly as possible. Particular care however should be taken to prevent this inconvenience, when large cakes are to be baked.

CAKE TRIFLE. Bake a rice cake in a mould; and when cold, cut it round with a sharp knife, about two inches from the edge, taking care not to perforate the bottom. Put in a thick custard, and some spoonfuls of raspberry jam; and then put on a high whip.

CALF'S FEET BROTH. Boil two feet in three quarts of water till reduced to half the quant.i.ty; strain it, and set it by. When to be used, take off the fat, put a large tea-cupful of the jelly into a saucepan, with half a gla.s.s of sweet wine, a little sugar and nutmeg, and heat it up till it be ready to boil. Then take a little of it, and beat it by degrees to the yolk of an egg, adding a bit of b.u.t.ter the size of a nutmeg; stir it all together, but do not let it boil. Grate a little fresh lemon peel into it.--Another way is to boil two calves' feet with two ounces of veal, and two of beef, the bottom of a penny loaf, two or three blades of mace, half a nutmeg, and a little salt, in three quarts of water, till reduced to half the quant.i.ty. Then strain it, and take off the fat.

CALF'S FEET JELLY. Boil two feet, well cleaned, in five pints of water till they are broken, and the water half wasted. Strain it, take off the fat when cold, and remove the jelly from the sediment. Put it into a saucepan, with sugar, raisin wine, lemon juice and lemon peel. When the flavour is rich, add the whites of five eggs well beaten, and their sh.e.l.ls broken. Set the saucepan on the fire, but do not stir the jelly after it begins to warm. Let it boil twenty minutes after it rises to a head, then pour it through a flannel bag, first dipping the jelly bag in hot water to prevent waste, and squeezing it quite dry. Run the jelly repeatedly through the bag, until it is quite clear, and then put it into gla.s.ses or forms. The following method will greatly facilitate the clearing of the jelly. When the mixture has boiled twenty minutes, throw in a tea-cupful of cold water; let it boil five minutes longer, then take the saucepan off the fire covered close, and keep it half an hour.

It will afterwards be so clear as to need only once running through the bag, and much waste will be prevented.--Another way to make jelly is to take three calf's feet, or two cow-heels, that have been only scalded, and boil them in four quarts of water, till it be half wasted. Remove the jelly from the fat and sediment, mix with it the juice of a Seville orange and twelve lemons, the peels of three ditto, the whites and sh.e.l.ls of twelve eggs, brown sugar to taste, nearly a pint of raisin wine, one ounce of coriander seed, a quarter of an ounce of allspice, a bit of cinnamon, and six cloves, all bruised and previously mixed together. The jelly should boil fifteen minutes without stirring, and then be cleared through a flannel bag. Take a little of the jelly while running, mix it with a tea-cupful of water in which a piece of beet root has been boiled, and run it through the bag when all the rest is run out. The other jelly being cooled on a plate, this will serve to garnish it. Jelly made in this way will have a fine high colour and flavour. But in all cases, to produce good jelly, the feet should only be scalded to take off the hair. Those who sell them ready prepared generally boil them too long, and they become in consequence less nutricious. If scalded only, the liquor will require greater care in removing the fat; but the jelly will be far stronger, and of course allow more water.

Jelly is equally good if made of cow-heels nicely cleaned, and will be much stronger than what is made from calf's feet.